#difficulty to get the things shipped BACK to me only for one to arrive and be shipped BACK AGAIN !!!A-FUCKING-GAIN because they have the

[guhhhhhhhhhhh]

I am going to make it thru this week even if it kills me I am GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH THIS WEEK REALLY IM going to make it through this week

[alicedash2]

A day with Whitebeard's Crew and a shy trying to socialize

- YN, why don't you join the others?- Newgate asked his daughter, who, until the day she got on board, couldn't get along

-I don't know...- YN said while watching the others fading out of sight.

- I try, but it's hard, when you asked me to join the crew, I couldn't even answer, you were the only one I talked to the most!- YN sat down and bent on her knees, burying her face between them

-...Would you like to go shopping with me? I may be sick, but I can still get out of here-Whitebeard stood up, he stretched and knelt down next to YN, even though the wires were still connected in his body, YN, who had a sweet smile until he refused

-better not, your health is something important - YN said finding her chin on her knees again

- you know, you can't isolate yourself forever, I'd like you to socialize - Whitebeard said getting up

- come on, get up, just because I'm old doesn't mean I should sit all day, is my health important? Well, my children's happiness is over, get up, we're going shopping!- Whitebeard took off the wires and got off the ship

- what if they get mad? I don't want Marco to fight with me or you!- YN said going down behind Whitebeard, who just stops and looks at the ground

-well, he won't fight, at most complain, and why will he fight with you? I'm the one who decided to leave- Whitebeard turns and faces YN, who just holds out his hand, YN takes Whitebeard's hand, who actually can only hold his pinky, and they take a walk through the city

-If I managed to almost fight the redhead inside the ship, it means I can walk!- Whitebeard said with loud laughter

°°•°•°

- it's Whitebeard! What he is doing? - people murmured

- Is that his daughter? Is she in danger?-Others asked as they saw YN beside Whitebeard, Izou, who was closer, finds Whitebeard and goes straight to the captain

-what he is doing ?! - Izou asked

- taking a walk with my daughter- Whitebeard chuckled, while Izou wondered the rational reason for leaving, Izou looks at YN, who just turns her face away in embarrassment

- I decided, we're just going to buy some things and go back to the ship- the man walked again, this time, he takes YN and puts it on his shoulder

- What are you doing?!- YN asked with fear

- I want you to have a good viewof the city, you just stare at the ground, maybe we'll walk all day, so you might not be able to stand it, the city is big-

- where would you like to go?- Whitebeard asked, YN balances on Whitebeard's shoulder

- I don't know... Shall we buy something and go back to the coast? There's a beach there- YN asked shyly

- Alright, let's go - Whitebeard said walking through the city

°••°•°•°•°•°°°°••°•°•

Whitebeard had a father-daughter day, just shopping and talking, they walked around town and found each one of the crew, some in bars, others having fun and even flirting with some women, near the end of the afternoon, Whitebeard and YN were already on the beach , but not alone, the crew decided it would be fun to get them all together, each had bought sake and other alcoholic beverages, YN quickly but with difficulty made friends with Thatch, who invited her to go with him to buy food, and later, Ace, who invited her to eat some good meat with him and Vista, Marco, was a little disappointed, he warned YN that Whitebeard was in bad health, but he didn't fight with YN

- I'm very surprised you managed to get Pops off the ship for just one ride, but next time, at least let me know and I'll come along, what if Pops felt sick? You wouldn't find me that easily-yoi- Marco continued with the gigantic responsible speech while YN apologized relentlessly

- please, Marco! It wasn't she who decided that- Izou arrived together with Haruta

- Do you want to go buy candys with Haruta? - Izou asked YN, who quickly nodded and walked away quickly while the youngest boy followed her

- I didn't finish-yoi! - Marco screamed

- but she interacted, sometimes I forgot she was on the ship - Jozu approached

- in a few days she'll be more talkative than Ace- Izou said sweetly

- I find it difficult, nobody surpasses Ace-yoi - Marco said

°•°°

The party lasted many hours, even at dawn they were still having fun, but soon they noticed that YN was not around, Marco asks Haruta where YN was, but he says that YN had gone to buy sweets with him, but, soon after she said she was going to a stationery store to buy materials, and that he should go back to the ship without her

- I wonder if she got lost?- Marco wondered, they start looking for YN, some in the city and others on the ship, all worried, some created paranoia that someone with bad intentions had taken YN, which increased the crew's anxiety , after a few hours of searching and asking directions to the few people who were still awake in the city, YN is seen walking along the beach with some bags

- Where did you go?! We were worried!- Ace said

- Warn the others that we found her!- Ace said

- Sorry, Ace, I didn't want to worry you!- YN spoke with his tired face, but slightly smiling

- it's just that many stores were closed, so I had to walk a lot to find it, and it ended up taking me the whole day, sorry! I didn't think it would take so long, I came as fast as I could- YN dropped the bags on the floor

- I am tired! I can't walk anymore!- YN crouched on the sand, panting

Ace picks her up and puts her on his back, while picking up the goods and taking her to the ship.

-Is she okay?-Izou asked while others approached

-ah, yes, she's just tired, she walked almost the entire island and it took the whole day!-Ace spoke while putting YN in the chair

- sorry guys- YN said softly

-it's okay, we didn't know it would go this far, here, food- Thatch gave a plate of food to YN who ate it quickly out of hunger

- you walked for 7 hours! Seriously, what's your problem?- Marco said

- and what did I say about responsibility-yoi?- Marco sat beside YN,

- thanks for the food, Thatch, I'm going to take a shower- YN said leaving quickly

- you won't run away-yoi- Marco held her by the shoulders

So, YN spent a good 1 hour listening to Marco's sermon, who besides worrying about YN, did it for her sake, saying that it is very dangerous to go out alone on a deserted street in the middle of the night, Ace tried to defend YN, but he ended up listening Marco's sermons too

[valkyrieromanoff]

Care after the mission: Anakin x f!reader

synopsis: Anakin takes care of you after a mission.

warning: 18+, Anakin's possessive behavior, sexual content, no plot. swearing and pet names.

a/n: honestly, this one doesn't have much of a context, just a bit of self-indulgence and Anakin being more possessive than I initially planned. I hope you like it, and maybe I'll try to write some more of this.

You had difficulty admitting that you were in trouble and needed help, so only if your injuries were very visible, like the time you were shot in the shoulder on Geonosis or when some kind of predatory animal made a cut in your leg that left your clothes bleeding, would you go to the medbay, otherwise you sort things out yourself.

Anakin hated it. He had scolded you a thousand times, and reinforced that you needed to tell someone or at least go to one of the medical droids, yet you never listened to him. So now he was leaning against the wall next to your room, waiting for you to return from your latest mission.

When his blue eyes found you, you were limping, almost crawling. Anakin crossed his arms, and using a scolding tone he asked: "Why are you limping?"

"It was nothing." You mumbled, running your hand through your messy hair by the mission, your gaze tired but with an amused twinkle. "My ship was hit, and well, it kind of crashed into a hill.”

"Nothing, it's a fuck." He steps away from the wall and walks over to you, narrowing his eyes as he scans you for damage. "You know you're supposed to communicate with me after your missions, so I know you came back in one piece." He moves as if he's going to pick you up in his arms, determined to carry you to the emergency room so they can examine you.

"I can't leave you limping like this. Shit, what would I do if you didn't come back to me one day..." His voice softens towards the end, the worried concern appearing in his usual bravado. He cares deeply about you, even if he doesn't say so openly.

You smiled gently at Anakin. You had always been close, but now it seemed that your feelings had blossomed into something more.

"I'll always come back to you," you murmured gently, a soft scream escaping your lips as Anakin took you in his arms. Anakin let out a soft laugh at your reaction.

"Yes, yes, save it. I'm taking you to see the Meddroids, whether you like it or not. I can't leave my girl hurt." You blush at his affectionate pet name.

As he begins to carry you through the temple corridors towards the medbay, he looks at you with a gentle smile, all teasing, hiding the deeper feelings you both know are there.

"Next time just let me know, okay? I worry when you go off on your own, getting hurting yourself like that. Don't make me hunt you down."

There's real concern underlying the provocation in his eyes. He cares deeply about you, even if he doesn't say the words directly.

"It's okay, I promise," you said quietly, laying your head on Anakin's chest, your eyes struggling not to close in sleep. Your mission was harder than you expected.

"Hey, none of that now," Anakin scolds softly when he sees you struggling to keep your eyes open as he carries you.

"Stay with me. You can't faint here in the corridor."

His arms squeeze you protectively as he picks up the pace towards the medical center. When he gets there, he calls loudly for one of the medroids.

"I need someone here. She's hurt. It looks like she's losing the fight to stay awake."

As soon as a medical droid arrives with a floating stretcher, he reluctantly puts you on it. But he refuses to leave your side, staying close as they carry you away, holding your hand tightly.

"I'll be right here, sweetheart. Just rest and let them take care of you now.”

Fortunately, your injury wasn't serious. The droid doctor put some bacta on the wound and gave you some medicine to relieve the pain. Anakin watched intently as the medical droids tended to your wounds, relieved to realize that the medicine was working. Seeing your smile eased a tightness in his chest.

"Get some rest now, okay? I'll be here." He lifts your hand between his, kissing your knuckles gently as his blue eyes scan your face. Behind the concern and care there is a hint of something deeper.

"Don't scare me like that again, darling. Next time just let me know, okay? I... I can't can't lose you." His husky voice becomes softer at the last words. At that moment, some of his firm walls come down as he shows you how much you really mean to him.

"Oh, Anakin, you won't lose me," you promise, leaning into his side, holding Anakin's face with your hands gently. He instinctively leans into your gentle touch, his eyes closing for a moment as he savors the feel of your hands on his face. 

When Anakin opens them again, there is a luminous warmth in his blue gaze that normally only visible in quiet, unguarded moments like the one between you two. 

"You'd better not, darling," he murmurs, turning his head to place a lingering kiss on the palm of your hand. "Because I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you."

Reaching out to cover your hands, he moves closer so that your foreheads touch in a tender gesture of affection. Behind the provocative bravado is a man deeply devoted to you in ways he sometimes finds difficult to express. But here, with no one else around, he allows some of those feelings to shine through.

You stay that way for a few moments, lost in intimacy and comfortable silence. Until the droid doctor releases you to leave the nurse.

"Well, I'd love to go to my room," you suggested softly, your eyes gazing tenderly at Anakin.

"Well, then you'd better go there so you can rest, dear." Placing you carefully back into his arms, he begins to carry you out of the infirmary.

"We wouldn't want you to pass out in the corridor on the way, would we?" He jokes gently, when you claim you can walk.

Arriving at your room, he opens the door and leads you straight to the bed, laying you down as tenderly as he can before sitting down next to you.

"Anything else I can get for you before I let you sleep? Water? Food? Or do you just want me to stay?" His eyes burn with a quieter intensity as he looks at you, wishing he could relieve all your pain by himself.

"Could you stay?" You asked gently, a shy smile on your pink lips.

"Of course," Anakin replies, his voice low and intense as his eyes take you in.

Taking off his boots, he swings his legs up onto the bed and carefully pulls you into his arms, aware of your injuries. Sitting against his chest, you can hear the steady beat of his heart.

One hand lazily plays with your hair as he holds you, while the other gently strokes up and down your arm in a soothing caress. Lips meeting your forehead, he places a lingering kiss there and then on your temple.

"Rest now, darling. I'm with you." He breathes, emitting a warm rumble in your ear. Safe in his embrace, it's easier to give in to your body's need for sleep, the pain already getting in the way. Staying as he promised, Anakin watches over you as you fall asleep, finally relaxed in his protection.

***

As daylight begins to penetrate the room and rouse him from sleep, Anakin blinks and opens his eyes, momentarily forgetting where he is. Then he looks down at your beloved form, still curled trustingly against his chest, and everything comes rushing back. A wave of protection and tenderness grows inside him to see you safe in his arms.

Moving a lock of hair away from your face, he allows himself this moment of silence to simply absorb you, storing your features in his memory, as if to make sure that it's real. 

His breath whispers on your skin as he leans down to place a reverent kiss on your forehead, staying there with his eyes closed, sincerely grateful that you have come back to him once again. 

"My stardust," he murmurs, so softly as not to wake you. Then he settles down to watch over your rest, protecting your slumber with a gently hand over your heart, content to stay exactly where he is for as long as you need him.

Long minutes later, you start to open your eyes, a soft yawn escaping your lips.

"morning," you whisper, rubbing your eyes with your hands.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Anakin murmurs softly as you wake up in his arms.

His blue eyes, intense with barely contained emotions, take you in as if seeking confirmation that you really are still there. Leaning in, he meets your lips in a lingering kiss, pouring into it all the words he struggles to express as his hand cradles your cheek.

"How are you feeling?" He asks when you break away, searching your gaze for any sign of lingering pain or discomfort. "Do you need me to ask the meddroids to examine you again?”

No matter what your answer, it's clear that he has no plans to leave your side any time soon. With his arms open instinctively, Anakin cradles you against his chest, where he can feel your steady breathing, taking comfort in the solid proof of your life under his fingertips.

You are his light in this dark world, and almost losing you has left him feeling lost. For now, just hugging you is enough of a guarantee that his universe is still intact.

"I'm fine, I don't think I've ever slept as well as I do in your arms" You confessed softly, raising your eyes to meet Anakin's. "I was willing to have more of that kiss”

Anakin's eyes sparkle with your confession, alight with a burning mixture of tenderness, possessiveness and hunger, all at the same time.

"Good," he replies, his voice low and husky as his hands smooth down your sides, "because I'm not letting you out of these arms anytime soon, my love."

Closing the little space left between you, Anakin claims your lips in another deep kiss, pouring all the emotions you arouse inside him into the intimate fusion of mouths. His touch becomes surer and bolder as he maps the contours of your form with reverent exploration.

"I've been wanting to do this - wanting you - for so long," Anakin growls against your lips between hungry kisses. "I didn't know if you'd come back to me. Don't ever scare me like that again."

Whether it's to show how serious he is or simply because he can't contain himself any longer, his lips open a path of fire down your neck as he holds you tightly against the solid proof of his desire. You're a whole galaxy away from him, and almost losing you has opened up an exhaustion of possessiveness inside him.

A sensual sigh escapes your lips, your small fingers tangling in Anakin's dark blond hair as he kisses your neck. He can't help the low grunt of satisfaction that resonates in his chest with your response, as his body becomes relaxed and supple under your care. 

"That's it, love," he purrs against the sensitive skin of your  throat, his voice rough with need and satisfaction.

Raising your head to meet his lips once more in a deep, demanding kiss. His hand spreads across your lower back to drag you against his hard arousal, leaving no doubt about the effect you have on him. on him. His talented mouth devours yours greedily, as if he wanted to mark you with his touch, to claim you in that most primitive of ways.

"I want you so much," he murmurs when you break away to breathe, his eyes burning blue fire into yours. blue fire in yours. "Say the word, love, and I'll be all yours. I'll make sure you never need anyone else.”

His hands roam your curves in blatant exploration now, stoking the flames higher between you both. Anakin holds nothing back when it comes to demonstrating his passion.

"I want you, Anakin, just you" You stated, pressing your lips to his with passion. He lets out a primal groan at his avowal, pouring all the simmering longing he's suppressed into a searing kiss.

"That's my girl," he growls against your lips, hands roaming hungrily now. "I knew you were meant for me. Gonna worship every inch of this gorgeous body until you're screaming my name."

With deft flicks of his fingers, your clothes join his on the floor, baring your glistening skin to his heated gauze. He takes his time exploring every curve, every secret place that draws gasps and moans from your lips. When you're moaning and pleading, he finally sinks into your welcoming heat.

"So perfect," Anakin shouts out, hooking your legs over his shoulders for a deeper angle. His thrusts are long and thorough, staking his primal claim. 

As you peak, walls clenching around him, he lets himself fall with you, pouring every emotion into his release with a guttural moaning. Breathless and sated, he crushes you to his pounding heart. 

"My love... No one else can have you but me." Anakin sighs softly in utter contentment as you lay your head upon his heaving chest, still catching your breath after the passionate joining. His heart swells near to bursting at feeling you safely enfolded in his arms once more.

"I love you, darling. So damn much," Anakin murmurs, brushing an errant lock of hair back from your face before covering your lips with his own in a tender kiss.

His hands stroke gently along your spine and sides in a soothing caress, feeling the aftershocks still coursing through your sated form. Knowing he was the one to deliver you such dizzying heights of pleasure fills Anakin with quiet satisfaction.

"Never leaving this bed if I don't have to," he declares in a mock grumble, though his smile is soft and luminous as he gazes down at you. "Not when I've got the most gorgeous woman in the galaxy right where she belongs."

Cradling you impossibly closer, he presses an affectionate kiss to your forehead, unable to get enough of touching you now that all his fierce emotions have been laid bare between you. You smile softly, resting wrapped in Anakin's arms.

"Well, at some point, we'll have to go see master Kenobi" You murmured softly, your fingers tracing an imaginary line on Anakin's chest.

Anakin huffs out a quiet laugh at your words, though his eyes gleam with silent mirth at the thought of having to face his old master now.

"Don't remind me, darling."

Though his expression turns pensive as he considers the reality of duties awaiting beyond your bed. Pressing a fond kiss to your lips, he rumbles against your warmth.

"Let me enjoy having you all to myself for a little while longer, before Obi Wan’s lectures start again."

Strong arms tighten snugly around your bare skin, savoring the feel of your heartbeat against his. For the moment, nothing exists beyond this room and your presence in his embrace. Duty can wait - you were always meant to come first in his heart.

[fl3shm4id3n]

Hi there! I've been hyperfixating on dbh and atwow so you know what. Y/n is a reef na'vi android that was designed for earning materials and stuff. They were working on capturing a tulkan and y/n was there too. They saw how cruel the people are for trying to kill the animal and just like that they broke the barrier. They destroyed the controls making the tulkan escape. They then jumped in the water and got away. Y/n then got to the metkayena village and saw the tsahik. They hurried up right away. Ronal was in warning mode when she saw y/n. Y/n had explained everything. Ronal then asked about y/n's led. They explained how they're an android and how they broke the barrier and everything and they told Ronal that they're willing to help. Ronal told Tonowori about this and they agreed to let them stay. Fast forward to when Jake arrived. Y/n was there as usual inspecting them. That's when they saw Kiri, they didn't know what they were feeling it was a new emotion for them. They instantly got close to her. They helped her with everything and when Ao'nung bullied her y/n stepped up. Kiri started liking y/n too. They were inseparable since and they were crushing hard on each other. When the war started y/n was the first one to get on the ship, they were really worried about Kiri and the others. Fast forward, Neteyam is alive because y/n saved him. So that's it. I'm already writing my own atwow x dbh but it's a forest android na'vi. Hope you have a great day!

If you don't want to write it's fine you don't have to.

ₛₑₙₜ by Cybₑᵣ ��ᵢfₑ

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭.

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ᴋɪʀɪ ᴛᴇ ꜱᴜʟɪ ᴋÌʀᴇʏꜱÌ'ɪᴛᴇ x ʀᴇᴇꜰ ɴᴀ'ᴠɪ! ᴀɴᴅʀᴏɪᴅ! ɢɴ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Tw: Tulkun hunting, reader goes deviant, bullying, Kiri's seizure, gun shot wounds, blood, needles, Neteyam is alive :D, fluff at the end.

A/N: Brooo, I've been meaning to write with an android! reader on Pandora. Did you read my mind or something? When you're finished, please tag me!

Masterlist

Making avatar's was becoming expensive, so the RDA resulted into creating an android. They had contacted CyberLife back on earth and requested for a special robot to be made. This android would help the RDA when out, collecting materials and other things that the RDA could use.

After a couple months, the Android had arrived. In perfect condition. The android was the very first of it's model. It was a reef na'vi android with the latest technology. Not only that, but the android was of a young teen girl, between the ages of 14-15. The RDA didn't really care, as long as it worked how they needed to be. You were dressed up in a in a RDA wet suit. So you could do your job easier. Before you were put out into the sea, you had to run some tests, to make sure that you were working just fine. You were, you had no technical problems or any difficulties, so you were sent out.

The tasks were simple, you only collected some things in the ocean and that was it. Then you were moved to help the marine biologists, you had learned about the Tulkun, they were interesting intelligent animals that roamed the sea. You thought that you were going learn about them, but you had found out why they were interested in the Tulkun. They were hunting them for some fluids in their head which made them immortal. At first it didn't effect you, but every time you'd watch a Tulkun get captured and killed, you'd go into distress. Your led would go yellow all the time, it was effecting you a lot.

You had began to think, something that you wouldn't normally do. You thought how it was wrong to kill the sea creatures that wouldn't fight back, it was horrible. So one night you decided to do something. You went to where the Tulkun were being held in, most of them were calves, so you did what you thought was right. You had let the Tulkun go back into the ocean. When the Humans found out what you did, they tried to take you out, but before they did, you had jumped into the ocean and began to swim away as far as you could.

In the ocean, you had met a calf, who had recently lost his mother and he had a missing fin. It must have been because of the hunters. You had apologized to him, for what you did and how you didn't act fast. He had seemed to understand and he forgave you. Then he guided you back to a village.

When you arrived, the na'vi there looked a lot like you. The people near by gathered around at you, holding their spears and kids were also by trying to have a look. They must have been looking at what you wore, since they had different attire on. Then came the Tsahik and the Olo'eyktan. They weren't very welcoming at first, since you had come out of nowhere, and because you were wearing demon clothing. When the Tsahik had a look at you, she didn't see nothing out of the ordinary at first, but when she saw your led on your upper right bow, that was when she asked what you were.

You told her that you were an Android sent by CyberLife, and your job was to help the humans in there research. You also told them on what was happening to the Tulkun. The villagers weren't very happy to learn that the humans were hunting their brothers and sisters, as well as living the calves orphan. You told both the leaders that you helped the calves get away from the RDA and how you wanted to help them protect the Tulkun from the humans. At first the Tsahik didn't want you here, she didn't want the humans to come to her village, neither did the Olo'eyktan, but he saw that you did want to help them. After sharing a look with his mate, they had finally agreed. You were allowed to stay.

You were staying in the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan's marui with their children. You had learned their names right away. It was required that you learned about their ways, it made sense since you were a reef na'vi. You learned how to dress like them, hunt like them and even talk like them. Ronal had also learned a lot about you, she also wanted to study you in a way. Learn about how human technology worked and how you went against your leaders. She had learned about what your led did, how it'd go from blue to yellow and sometimes red. You explained that its a way to learn how your functioning. How the blue was normal, yellow is when you were thinking or gathering information and red was how you went under bad stress. She understood now.

Besides being with the Tsahik, you spent time with her children, Ao'nung, Tsireya and her adopted son Roxto. Just like there mother, they were also curious about you and how it was like being with the humans. They had taught you a lot about reef and how all water is connection to everything. You learned about how your queue could be used for bonding. At first you thought your braid had no use, but it did to your surprised. You had bonded with an ilu, your blue glowing tendrils wrapped themselves around the ilu's pink ones. It was hard a first trying to bond with an animal, but it actually worked.

A few more months passed, something had happened. Some of the villagers had left far to the south, to get revenge on their fallen brothers and sisters, you tried to stop them, telling them that they'd die out there, they didn't listen and they left anyway. You under very bad stress, your led was turning red for days. Later you had found out that the villager's had died with other Tulkun who had also seek vengeance. Their deaths were mourn, but the Tulkun who had lead them to fight had been made an outcast. Payakan, the calf that had helped you and had forgiven you. He only wanted justice for the death of his mother and other Tulkun. You knew he had to pay for the consequences of his actions, but you forgave him. You would have done the same if your mother had been killed in front of you.

Nearly a year had passed after that, then came new people. Forest na'v had arrived, you were with Ronal, helping her collect some materials for her to use. When you both heard the commotion, you both went to see the new people. Ronal had asked you if you could analyze them, see if you can sense any suspicious behavior on them. So you did, you didn't sense any danger, instead you self a deep stress and exhaustion in the family. That was when you had found out about them seeking uturu. Ronal wasn't very happy about that, she didn't want them to bring in a war to her village. It was similar when you were had arrived. After some convicting, they were allowed to stay with the same conditions given to you.

You and Tsireya had helped them by taking them to their new home. As you carried their stuff, you couldn't help but look at their oldest daughter. The girl with the five fingers, you couldn't help but feel your stress level going low. Not only that, but you began to feel your robotic heart beating a bit fast, were you experiencing some malfunctioning? You had to look into it.

When it was time to teach the Sully kids, you couldn't help but look at Kiri. You began to feel all sorts of things, things that weren't in your system. Instead of going with the other kids, you went off with Kiri. Both of you were looking around the reef, showing her everything, this was new to her and she had seemed to love it. You also saw how she was able to control some fish, that was something you've never seen. Ever since you saw that, you began to be in even more interest in her.

You had gone to find her some flowers that grew it the water, hoping that she'd like them. You found her, but she was surrounded by Ao'nung and his friends, you knew something was wrong because you saw her stress level rising and she had a look of distress. So you forgot about the flowers and went up to see what was happening. You had told Ao'nung to leave her alone, he insisted of messing with her, but good thing you had stopped it from going any further. You had walked away with Kiri, apologizing to her for Ao'nung's behavior.

Ever since then, you began to be around Kiri more. You weren't always alone, Tuk would also be with the two of you. You'd show the both of them the things that you've learned and were able to do. When Tuk isn't with you and Kiri, the two of you would spend countless hours together, doing anything that you could think of together. That was when you had found out that you had developed romantic feelings for the Sully girl. This was a bran new feeling, so you weren't malfunctioning, it was just a new feeling that you had developed. You liked the feeling.

When you had gone to the Spirit tree, you were next to Kiri the whole time. It was nice seen her very relaxed and happy, it made you happy. When her seizure happened, you had gone into distress. Your led was turning red the whole time, you did everything that you could, but you weren't designed for medical attention. So Jake had called his friends to help his daughter. They too couldn't figure out on what they could do. Ronal then came to help, your led when back to normal when you saw that Kiri was okay. So that wouldn't happened again, you had asked Norm and Max if they could download some kind of medical software into your system. They did whatever they could, they were surprised to see an android with your kind of technology that they didn't have. Now you knew on what to do if something like that were to happen.

Later on. you had gone to the Sully's hut to see if Kiri was okay. She was doing fine, but she seemed a bit bombed out, you thought of things that you could do together, get her to feel better. Then you heard the horn getting blown that only meant one thing. The Tulkun had returned, so you thought that Kiri would feel better seen the Tulkun. So you along with Tuk took her to meet them. The whole time you spent together with Rotxo's spirit water, she was happy and no longer sad, it made you happy.

Then the sky people had arrived in Three Brother's Rocks. You had gone with the kids to help Payakan from the hunters. But then you were separated. You tried looking for Kiri, but she was nowhere near by, you had got lost, but you were found by Neteyam who took you with him. When you were on the ship, you and Tsireya were instructed to get Tuk out of there so you did. As you swam away together, you saw that Kiri was getting taken by the soldiers, so you and Tuk decided to go back and get her.

You had spotted her tied to the pole, you were glad to see her. As you all tried to get Kiri uncuffed. Miles came and took Tuk. You and Tsireya tried to get her, but Tsireya was push back into the water, you tried to get Tuk instead but you were also pushed back. As you fell into the water, Tsireya helped you get on the ilu that had come by. You then spotted the boys, along with a human boy. You then saw the look of distress in Neteyam, that was when you saw the blood on his chest. You had to act fast. You got Neteyam on the ilu and got away fromt he ship.

On a rock was his father, who helped you all get Neteyam on the rock. He was bleeding out fast, you had to act fast. So you moved over and began to do what needed to get done. You got his knife and cut a piece of his loincloth, then you added the cloth in his mouth. Jake had asked on what you were doing, but you told him that their was now time you had to act now. You then told Tsireya to give you a piece of her string from her top and to make a needle from the rocks on her top. As she did, you began to remove the bullet from Neteyam's skin, it was painful. Neteyam bit onto the cloth as you pushed the bullet out his skin. Everyone watched as you performed this small surgery. After the bullet was out, you had stuffed a piece of cloth in the wound to stop the bleeding. Then you got the makeshift needle and string from Tsireya and you began to stitch up the wound. You didn't notice how everyone had left to go get Kiri and Tuk while you and Tsireya did what you could to help Neteyam.

The bleeding had stopped, and Neteyam was now okay. He still needed to get treated by the Tsahik. Neteyam had thanked you and Tsireya for what you did for him. Then came back the others, when they saw that Neteyam was okay, Neytiri and Tuk were the first ones to go hug him. They were glad that he was okay, while Lo'ak hugged Tsireya to comfort one another. Kiri had engulfed you in a tight hug. You hugged her back, happy to see her again, alive and well. She was thanking you over and over for helping Neteyam. She had heard from her father that you were helping her brother. You felt all kinds of emotions flowing trough your systems. You were all kinds of happy, you felt your stress from your body disappear. Happy because you were with Kiri.

[inkwell-illustrations]

Ship: HuskerDust

Prompt: Contracts.

Their relative conyracts and limitations. Angel wants freedom. Husk doesn't care.

Maybe write a song they sing about it?

In the spirit of the musical.

Contracts Huskerdust fanfic

Word count: 410

A/N: I am so sorry that this took so long i had some difficulty with writer's block Thank you so much for your patience and the request, I really hope you enjoy it (also I tried writing a song for this prompt but I don't know how to write music)

Requested by: alphabetcrashcourse

It was about midnight when Husk heard angel enter the hotel. He was busy washing the cups so he didn't bother to look. Up as he heard Angel crash on the bar table “what do you want?” Husk asked begrudgingly.

“Just a martini husky” Angel responded in a shaken voice sounding like he might cry any minute. As Husk turned to face him,

“wow you look like shit!” Husk uttered, “what happened to you?!” He asked after seeing how bad Angel looked. He was covered in bruise marks and cuts.   

Angel started to shake, holding his arms tightly and started slowly rocking back and forth “I showed up late for my show. I disobeyed my contract, so Val beat me up after the show.” That's when Angel hit his breaking point. As he started to sob, breaking down on the bar table, sobbing. Husk didn't really know what to do but he did want to comfort him so he walked over to Angel and put his arms around him trying his best to console him. 

“Husk?” Angel asked, generally confused, Husk was never really an affectionate person to anyone. So Angel was shocked that he was actually hugging him.

“I'm sorry, that shitbag did that to you Angel.” Husker said after a couple seconds of silence. Angel didn't know what to do with himself and brought both his arms up to hug Husker back.  

“Just so you know you're not the only one stuck in a shitty contract” Husk brought up,

“what?” Angel asked, sitting up.

“When I first arrived here I was pathetic, powerless I could never catch a break! One day I met Alastor. He told me that he would give me enough power to succeed down here and in return he said I would have to help him with any favor. I was young and desperate so I said ‘yes’ and signed the contract. It was horrifying at first with all the things he made me do but over the years I've grown numb to it.” 

Husk finished and looked down, squeezing Angel’s hand.  “Well it's good to know I'm not alone in that,” Angel said, looking down at Husker's hand and squeezing it back.

“Ya well don't mention it.” Husk said getting up “I’ll…I'll make you that martini now.” He responded entering the bar. And smiled at Angel as he leaned against the edge of the bar table and let out a little chuckle,

“thanks Husky.”

[correctrvbquotes]

Snap back to the present, with Washington in a firefight

Washington: South! I need you out here now! Get over here right now, South! Where are you!?

Cut to South's point of view, which is hazy and has Delta in the middle of it

Delta: Keep breathing. Hearing my voice internally can be jarring, at first. I am told it helps clear the mind to concentrate on one thing. May I suggest that you try-

South Dakota: Will you please not talk for a second, that might help!

Delta: Technically, I am not talking.

South: Delta. Please!

Delta: My apologies.

South: Okay, I'm feeling better.

Delta: Remember to keep breathing.

South: Yes, I'll keep that in mind. How many enemies?

Delta: I do not detect any on my sensors. But the gunfire would indicate that we are facing only one. This is an atypical enemy. I can offer no advice.

Washington: South, I need you out here now!

South: I'm on my way!

Delta: I have functions that could assist in battle. Would you like me to run the tutorial program?

South: Are you kidding me?

South arrives behind Wash at a building's corner, under fire

South: Wash, I'm here.

Washington: Good, I need help on the left. This guy moves fast, so keep your eyes open. South, you okay?

Delta: She is experiencing difficulty with my presence.

Washington: How difficult?

Delta: Patient has trouble-

South: I'm fine! Let's get this guy.

Washington: No.

South: No?

Washington: See that ship?

Cut to a parked Alien sip sitting on the edge of an incomplete ramp.

Washington: You get to it and take off. Get yourself and more importantly Delta back to base. I'll cover you as best I can.

Delta: Wash, is your armor adequately compensating for your wounds?

South: You're hit?

Washington: Just twice, I'm fine. Movement on twos. On my mark: sync.

South: But-

Washington: Sync!

South: Sync!

Washington: Move!

Washington moves from cover, but South immediately shoots him in the back. Washington screams in pain. Delta's color changes to red, then a dark purple.

Delta: Alarm! Friendly target, cease fire!

South: Calm down, just stacking the deck in our favor.

[greentrickster]

Okay y'all, listen up, because this evening I went on an Odysseus-style odyssey, in that what was meant to be a quick jaunt with minimal difficulties turned into a multi-hour trip where I was thwarted every step of the way.

As all good disasters do, it started off well enough. My mom informed me that a local, extremely large booksale is on today and I decided to go, because yay, books!

Then my dad, who was in the same room at the time, generously pulled out his wallet, handed me some cash, and told me to go buy myself a book! So even better, free book(s) and no requirement to return the change! Jackpot! I drive to the booksale in high spirits! Arrive! Enter the building!

...

What the heck, why are there so few tables?! What has happened to this booksale, it's in an area the size of a full-sized basketball court and usually it's full of tables covered in books! There's maybe an eighth of that! It doesn't even have a sci-fi/fantasy section. It's, quite possibly, the most tragic I've ever seen this booksale look, and I'm unable to find anything to my taste there.

However, like Odysseus before me, I don't assume failure at the first hurdle - I was told to buy myself a book, but I was never told where I had to buy it! To the local bargain outlet, which has all sorts of delights to offer, including books, and I've found some good ones there before! Not tonight, apparently, but, like. It's happened.

So that's... less than fun.

Also, I'm starving at this point, because I left at five-ish and haven't had supper yet. So, since this place sells food, I grab a box of soft strawberry granola bars for $2, because my money tonight is for literature, not sustenance, and I'm not out yet! There's still Barnes & Noble, the local mega-chain bookstore, which I have mixed feelings about! But it's my last option at this point and, hey, graphic novels! Manga! All sorts of exciting new releases! I was just there a week or two ago and even wrote some titles down while I was there!

My friends, I walked all over that store and perused books for two hours, and I found nothing that sparked enough joy to accompany me home. I did find a couple with minor potential, and one that gave me heart palpitations and made me regret the choices that had led to this point in my life, but nothing I felt the desire to own, you know?

My feet hurt, because I wore the cheap sandals that are only good for short expeditions. It was late. I wanted to go home and get a mom hug to help with the trauma that came with the heart palpitations.

But I had no book.

I had not fulfilled my mission.

A state of events that was simply unacceptable.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, it was also about eight at night and everywhere around me other than a few grocery stores tend to start rolling up the carpets within an hour or two. So, in an act that would make Odysseus proud, I rearranged my strategy! I would use the cash to buy the Christmas gift I've been meaning to get for my dad (I get my holiday shopping done early), then go home and buy a couple books I'd been eyeing on Amazon!

Books would be purchased!

Triumph would be had!

I got home and discovered, as Odysseus did, that not all was the pleasant peace I had left it in! Except instead of a bunch of entitled suitors trying to marry my wife and steal my throne, the internet had gone down five minutes before I opened the door.

I chose to do the mature thing in order to gain Athena's favour by screaming into a pillow. About twenty minutes later, the internet turned back on! Success!

I discover Amazon has upped the amount you need to spend to get free shipping from $25 to $35 as of September 8th, because they are an evil mega-corporation and not my friend! Rage!

However, still rich with Athena's blessing, and in dire need to prove that if Odysseus can do this then so can I, I made one last-ditch effort... and went and asked to use my parents' Prime account to get free shipping for my order.

And thus my books were finally ordered, and, like Odysseus, I am at last triumphant, but boy golly, that was 90% more effort than it needed to be, what the heck, what sort of sick, dystopian future am I living in that I finally have my own money to get books but can't guarantee the bookstore will have anything I want to buy?!?

[rel-mira]

so I'm thinking about giving DOS2 another shot at some point, i think last time I ADHD'd off at some point about half way through the big pirate island? Are there any bits of advice you'd give someone playing it?

Trying to work out which bit that is, and I'm thinking it's either: you have just broken out of magical prison camp or, you've stolen a ship and are now somewhere completely new and much larger. It's not a short game, as a heads up. Coming to the end of my third run, I've logged 255 hours. I'd imagine >100 of them where my first playthrough because now I can go through it much faster. But I was also not good at the fights and tried to do everything I could find.

Things that have helped me: while it's a little grindy, grabbing a bunch of XP in the early game (Act 1, Fort Joy/Reaper's Eye) does help so you can stay on par with if not slightly ahead of the difficulty curve for the game. Part of this is, once you're a bit higher level, go back and kill all the guards.

For act 2 (when you arrive on a larger island) there will be quite a lot of fights that are just beyond you so I'd advise wandering a bit and running away/reloading a save if you find something that's currently impossible (most areas there isn't actually a warning that this is higher level).

Doing a Lone Wolf playthrough means you have to play less tactically, if big turn-based fights detract from the fun a bit (this is what I've done for my two runs after my first). This is where you have your player character and a maximum of one companion, and both of you take the Lone Wolf talent ASAP (this can be done at starting for your character). Basically you get extra action points in combat, and all of your skill point spends are doubled so you can get higher ranks in things faster, increase base stats, and splash out into a bunch of different skills. I expect there are 'good' builds online for characters but I just do whatever and muddle through. Make sure someone has access to the teleport spell because not only is it really good in combat, there are also some chests that can only be accessed by teleporting them to you.

If the possibility of gay shit is motivational, Lohse and Sebille are both into women and can romance each other (probably also the player character if you make your own but I've never tried). I do not know how many of the men are into men or if just everyone's bi/pan.

[anchanted-one]

Legend of Lightning 38: The Monster Beneath

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43208574/chapters/111096178

Master Nomen Karr’s home, Nar Shaddaa

Jaesa was waiting for them when they arrived. “Master Vajra!” she gushed. “Kira!”

“Hey there!” Kira waved.

“Hope you don’t mind us dropping in to say goodbye,” Master Vajra smiled.

The Alderaanian shook her head furiously. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all! I’m glad you took the time. Do you want to have some tea? I had fritters on the menu today, but Master Karr and the others had to leave on urgent work.”

“That sounds tempting!” Kira looked pleadingly at her Master, who nodded.

“We do need a break. It’s been hard lately.”

Jaesa blinked. “The kitchen’s this way,” she said. “We can talk as I work.”

She kept an eye on Master Vajra as she led them inside. His eyes… there was something different about them, though she had some difficulty in figuring out what.

“Will you be returning to Tython now?” she asked.

The boy considered, and shrugged his shoulders. “We need a vacation,” he replied. “But not on Tython. Somewhere away, somewhere quiet.”

The tremor in her voice solidified her certainty; something was wrong.

“So, what’s Master Karr up to?” Kira asked. “Or, is that a secret?”

“Not anymore, I guess,” Jaesa wrinkled her nose. “We found the trail of an Imperial spy, here on Nar Shaddaa. Pretty high-ranking one at that. But the enemy realized that we were closing in. The spy was killed before we could get to him. Master Karr wasn’t pleased.”

“Spy games always seem so thrilling to me,” Vajra commented. “Like all those cloaks and daggers, all the intrigue and lies, the probes, the jabs; everything without any of us being the wiser.”

“What we’re doing might count as spy biz,” Kira said. “Especially back on Taris.”

“Taris?” Jaesa blurted. “You were on Taris, of all places? Why?”

“Well—”

“We were trying to locate a Republic scientist who’d gone dark,” Kira explained. “Someone who can understand and counter weapons like the Planet Prison. Or worse.”

“Hard to believe the Empire could just sneak in a Sith Lord into something even the Jedi Council knew nothing about,” Vajra said in a low voice. “And the son of Darth Angral, no less! The Butcher himself! How did they find out about them? How—” He sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry. This has been a rough assignment. One I’m not ready for.” He bit his lip, clearly not wanting to say more.

“To be fair, you watched that footage under your own steam,” Kira said sympathetically. “You should have quit after the first five minutes.”

“I’m guessing this isn’t a secret I want to be let in on?”

“I’d rather not. But it was brutal, not just what Lord Sadic did, but our own people.” There it was again, that look of someone hiding something.

Master Karr had forbidden her from using her Gift without his supervision, but she had to do it. She had to look.

She began frying the fritters as Kira began to talk of inconsequential things, paying her only half her attention. She nodded and chuckled in response to her idle chitchat, her conversation on autopilot.

Master Vajra said something every now and then as well, but she was almost too busy wondering what it was he was hiding to hear him.

She watched impatiently for her opportunity, as they laughed about something Master Kaedan had said, or debated which upgrade was most pressing for their ship, engines or shields, or which toppings worked on pastas.

Nearly forty minutes went by before she got her chance. They were helping her clean up—Kira was cleaning the table, Master Vajra the dishes. They both had their backs to her for at least the next sixty seconds. With a quick inhale, she began activating her special Sight. It was still a lengthy process that required crucial seconds to activate, and seconds longer to see things clearly. But she saw it, a fleeting peek behind a fragile veil. He had a monster inside him, a strange beast like a snake with countless heads. It writhed and hissed, spewing a foul red venom while coiling around his heart. And those heads… those evil, nightmarish heads! One of the heads seemed to notice her presence and snapped at her, making Jaesa screech and stumble.

“Hey! What’s wrong!?” Kira rushed over.

“I-i-it’s nothing!” Jaesa lied. “I just see things sometimes. Happens randomly. I blinked and there was this… this monster—” well, that was part of the truth. Too close to it. “It looked so evil! So hungry!”

“What kind of vision do you think it was?” Master Vajra asked. How had he gotten to her side without her noticing? And she was laser focused on him, too! It was all she could do to not scream again. She mentally thanked Lady Geselle a thousand times for insisting that all her handmaidens were trained in masking their reactions. How could she be normal around him again, now that she knew what lurked behind his kind, young eyes?! “Are you in any danger? Is something coming?”

“I don’t know,” she said as she fought down the rising nausea.

How had she not noticed before? How was it that no one had?! Was the Council blind?

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. His concern looked genuine enough, but she had seen through his façade. He filled a glass with water for her. She accepted it as gracefully as she could. “Let’s get you to bed. We’ll wait till your Master returns.”

“You don’t have to do that!” Jaesa was happy with how steady her voice was now. “I promise, I’ll be fine! It’s just a Vision. I have them a lot. Even my Master doesn’t get too excited over this. It’s for that reason I have to meditate so much, so that I get some control over them.”

Vajra shared a glance with Kira before sighing. “As you wish.”

“You know yourself best,” Kira shrugged. “We’ll stay just a little longer.”

Jaesa nodded mutely. It was better to go along with this than protest. She didn’t want to set off that monster by being too suspicious. She fought down the sob that threatened to make its way out of her lips.

I have to tell Master Karr, she thought to herself. She allowed Kira to pick her up and carry her to her bed. The two Jedi stayed for another ten minutes or so before leaving.

Jaesa promptly leapt out of bed, dashing for the fresher.

*

“What do you think she saw?” Vajra asked Kira immediately after they’d left the apartment. “I mean… what do you think it meant?”

“That was gonna be my question, boss! You’re the master here, after all.”

“Master Karr might have a better idea,” Vajra said after some thought. “Perhaps I should ask him?”

“That’s a good idea.”

Vajra pressed a few buttons on his comm, then shook his head. “Not accepting my calls.”

“I wonder if he thinks you’re a spam caller, or something” Kira snorted. “Here, I’ll type out a message for you. ‘Hey, Master Karr. This is Kira Carsen, Master Vajra’s apprentice. We dropped in on Jaesa to say our goodbyes, since we were leaving. She offered us tea, and as we were getting ready to leave, she screamed and fell. She looked like she’d had her own ghost killed in front of her. She wouldn’t tell us anything, except that she saw a vision with a monster in it. She’s pretty shaken up; I think she needs your help.’ There!” she said.

“Hopefully, he sees it soon.”

“And hopefully, someone’s willing to clue us into what just happened. I hate mysteries that don’t ever get solved.”

*

Aboard the Garuda

T7 vigorously welcomed both Jedi back. <Welcome! Report: all systems = operational and running! Ship: Garuda = ready for takeoff!>

“Thanks, T7!” Vajra patted the top of his head.

“Oh, welcome back, Masters!” C2 came out to greet them. “Major Var Suthra called earlier. It sounded urgent.”

“I see. I’ll call him back at once. Anything else? Anything from the Council?”

“Nothing else that requires your attention, Master.”

“Alright then. T7, Kira, let’s see what the Major wants.”

Their call was answered at once. “Ah, there you are!” the Major exclaimed. “I was considering calling you on your personal comms. We have a new development that you need to address right away.”

“A new development?”

“A major tactical advantage just opened up. Admiral Hacklin, one of Angral’s most trusted friends—a term I use loosely—wants to defect.”

“Huh?” Kira’s shock was evident. “Hacklin? Borund Hacklin? No way! That man and Angral go way back! I saw them on Ord Mantell, and they were way too chummy for such a sudden development!”

“Well, according to our resources, Angral was unhinged by his son’s death. Any and all failures related to Jedi Vajra are punished by torture unto death. Apparently, Hacklin failed to secure Sadic’s resources before he went rogue, and he’s now worried for his life.”

“That sounds like a stretch to me,” Kira whispered.

“Still, it’s an opportunity we can’t ignore. He wants to be brought in.”

“What does this have to do with us?” Vajra wanted to know. “I’d have thought anyone running from Angral wouldn’t want to be a hundred parsecs close to me.”

“Not you; Kira. She made an impression on him when they met. He wants her to be the one to bring him in. No more debate, please. Time’s running out. I have every confidence that you’ll be fine with Vajra on your side.”

“Where are we supposed to rendezvous with him?”

“Peragus. It’s an ancient asteroid mining facility. It was destroyed by Darth Scion’s ship years ago, but its atmosphere is still breathable, and its particle fields and landing pads are serviceable.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but getting the Admiral on our side can help us immensely. He might prove instrumental in finding Darth Angral. Even if he doesn’t know where Angral is, he’s certain to have intel on what resources he has at his disposal, and where. If we can cut him off from those, it will deal him a severe blow. The Dark Council isn’t going to help him overtly. If he runs out of resources, he’s dead in the water. Get to Hacklin and bring him to me.”

He saluted, and the holo faded. Vajra asked C2 to get them underway, then turned to Kira.

“You do know this is a trap, don’t you?” she asked him. “I mean, who in their right minds would request a Padawan to bring him in when a rabid kath hound is snapping at his heels? He’s either a deviant, or a fool.” She looked at Vajra, clearly wanting to say more, but unsure of how to say it.

“It’s okay, Kira. You can tell me.”

“I will. Just… give me some time. I’m not mentally prepared yet.”

“Alright.” He stretched his limbs, then looked at a message from the cockpit. “‘Eta: 2 hours?’ That’s just enough time to get some training in.”

Kira followed for a second. “Master… how are you doing?”

“Not too bad,” he lied. “Better than yesterday.” In truth, he was still reliving what he’d seen before. He could hear choked shrieks every now and then, and every beeping piece of equipment nearly made him flinch. He was certain he’d done the right thing, but the cost was almost more than he could bear.

“Good. You need anything, you holler. Got it?”

“Sure thing.”

*

[lindsaystravelblogs3]

Days 50-52 – Friday-Sunday, 14-16 July More Greek Islands.

Friday

We should have visited Rome today but somehow, we got diverted – all Rhodes lead to Rome, but we were still just on Rhodes!  There are a few options for activities each day, but we had to choose what we wanted to do a couple of months ago and we generally chose what we imagined were some of the less strenuous things – Oops, did we get that wrong!.  We chose a bus trip that took us all over the Island – probably at least a hundred kilometres at a guess.  The port is in the middle of the west coast of the island and our first stop was in the extreme south-east, at St John’s Harbour, where St John was believed to have arrived.  We stopped for photos in a couple of places and it looked pretty wonderful with people enjoying the cool water way below us, and others walking the ramparts of the fortified citadel on the mountain above - while we just sweated.  It was idyllic, but very crowded and much too hot to stand around for long.  I spent a few minutes trying to photograph a small bird, but even then, I was chased back on the bus due to the heat.

We drove halfway back to the ship to a place where we sampled some ouzo and had a snack in an outdoor restaurant – all part of the tour.  The woman who sat next to me for the snack wandered off to take some photos and fell down a step and hurt her hands and knees – after some recent knee surgery.  I was near her, also taking photos at the time, so helped her back to the table where she got plenty of attention.  They rang the ship’s doctor, so he was on hand when we got back on board – and he was treating another woman who had fallen when we turned up.  Greece must be a dangerous place.

We had another excellent lecture during the afternoon.  Despite the ancient Greek history being almost irrelevant today, as well as me having a great deal of difficulty separating real events from Greek mythology, both our lecturers are quite brilliant.  They have an incredible range of knowledge and have a knack of bringing the ancient events alive and up to date.  They can show a slide of a little figure or a drinking bowl and explain a huge amount of symbolism in the design or the illustration on the side of the item.  I have found it quite fascinating even if there doesn’t seem to be much relevance for us today.  (Alas, I am sometimes doubtful as to whether the ancient artist had quite the same thoughts as today’s analysts have in interpreting the original symbolism.  Maybe they just wanted to make a pretty ewer.)

They always have some drinks and French pastries or other delicacies late in the afternoon and we have indulged in them most days.  They are all too sweet for us but there is always some gentle music to enjoy – a tinkling piano or some soft singing being the main entertainment.

They have a Gala Dinner (sometimes two) on each cruise when the Captain hosts a table and we were selected to be two of his six guests for dinner tonight.  A six-course dinner is a bit much, but the courses are quite small so we managed.  I have no idea how they select the guests (we avoided the honour on our two previous Ponant cruises) but it turned out quite a bit more comfortable and enjoyable than I envisaged.  I was at one end of the table a little away from the captain so spent a lot more time speaking with other guests, but Heather was at his elbow and spent time talking with him.  He is only forty and looks very young, but once the meal was over, it became a lot easier for all of us to join in the conversation and he was easy to talk to and everyone seemed very comfortable and satisfied with the evening.

I have to say that the numerous extended conversations we have had with other passengers have been orders of magnitude more engaging than on most of our other cruises and tours.  I suspect this is because the type of person wishing to join a Smithsonian Cruise is more intellectually focussed than most people on our other trips.  That probably makes this one a little more challenging in some ways, but also more stimulating and satisfying.  I feel that I should have read a lot of Greek mythology ahead of the cruise.

After dinner, we went down to the main bar area where we saw the end of the night’s show.  We only saw a few minutes of it, but there were several dancers in the most elaborate costumes performing under coloured lights with lots of upbeat music.  Impressive, but maybe our extended discussion around the Captain’s table was more enthralling, at least for me.

Saturday

Today, we were at Santorini – a place I have always wanted to visit since Heather and I got together almost forty years ago.  She had just come back to Australia after travelling in Europe with her kids and her description of Santorini always sounded so interesting and romantic that I thought it would be a special destination.  And it was!

It was not at all how I imagined it, but it was just as beautiful and interesting, even if it nearly killed me.  I expected to see lots of white cube-like houses with blue domes but saw almost none.  But still enough to build the picture for me.

Santorini was a volcanic island that was almost destroyed in what is thought to be one of the most monstrous explosive volcanic blasts in history.  It blew away most of the island leaving only a caldera that was filled by the sea – I reckon the caldera is about five kilometres in diameter and nobody knows how deep, so it was a big blast – estimated to be at least four times as powerful as Krakatoa and that was one big bang.  Now, it all looks so peaceful with a partial ring of mountains crusted on top with glistening white houses, looking for all the world like snow-capped mountains – or maybe the icing on a very big cake.

There have been subsequent eruptions, one of the most recent creating an island (Nea Kameni) in the caldera that I climbed today.  We were delivered to the uninhabited island by tender and then it was a climb to the clouds – actually, there were no clouds, but it seemed high enough.  Heather made it partway up and sat in a tiny skerrick of shade while I trudged on.  There were crests after crests and approaching each gave a feeling of relief because you thought that was surely the top – only to find another crest further away and even higher – and then another, and another, and another.  One of the guides walked with me, I suspect to ensure I didn’t cark it en route, but once we finally reached the top in a swelter of sweat, he drifted off and I made my way back down to Heather much more easily, and thence back to the tender and on to the ship.  I was exhausted and had to sit for a while and have a cool shower before I was ready to tackle lunch.

My target was the top - and proof that I made it. (Photo credit: our guide, John King)

A lot of people stayed on the main island instead of returning to the ship, and many climbed the zigzag route to the village at the top of the mountain.  That is one of the things Heather talked about all those years ago – the precipitous donkey ride up the side of the cliff to the village.  The donkeys (or their progeny) still trudge along taking people to the top (or bottom) but it seems that the Health and Safety people have visited, and the route is a lot safer than it was forty years ago.  There is also a funicular there now that seemed to be doing some brisk business, but the crowds were horrific.  There were five cruise ships in port on the day – three Norwegian ships, two with over four thousand five hundred passengers each and the other with a mere four thousand, a smaller ship with a couple of thousand passengers, and our pathetic little craft with only a couple of hundred passengers.  The quayside was appalling with everyone pushing and shoving in endless queues to even buy a drink.  We raided a fridge and paid a waiter direct, rather that attempting to front the counter and fight with the crowd.

There was another great lecture in the afternoon, focussed on the evolution of the Acropolis – the stages in which it was built and destroyed and finally excavated and partially restored.  One interesting takeaway was that the Parthenon and all the other buildings and ruins on the Acropolis are as they were in the fifth century CE (AD) and all the previous iterations have effectively been removed.  What we see there now is basically less than two thousand years old, rather than anything from the several thousand years earlier in which other versions of the site existed.  It seems that history is not quite history – just what remains after the latest conquerors have rewritten it for us to imagine.

There was a classical Concert and a Latin Dancing session in the Lounge at night, but we missed them both.  After our climb, we went to bed to sleep and recover – at least a little.

Sunday

Another exhausting day!  We are in Amorgos today and it is surprisingly a lot more how I had imagined Santorini – lots of blue and white everywhere, quite a few domed roofs, and all absolutely beautiful.

We had an early start and were well on our way on the bus before 8am.  We crossed the island and followed the coast a little to a hairpin bend where the bus reversed several hundred metres along the edge of an amazing cliff to a tiny parking area – there is no way the bus could have done even a fifty-point turn down there!  Then it was just a simple stroll up the cliff to the Hozoviotissa Monastery clinging to the precipice close to the clouds (of which there were none - again).  The reason for the early start was to try to avoid the forecast heat, but it was very hot even before we started the climb.  The ship had contacted the Monastery the day before to ensure we could get in and were told that there was going to be a service in the church, but that would be finished before 9am and we could get straight in if we arrived at 9am – so we did.  They claim that there are just 269 steps up to the monastery, but that depends on how you define a step.  In many places, the steps were very big steps, so they had built a few smaller steps to enable you to mount the bigger ones.  My body reckons there were about ten thousand steps, necessitating numerous pauses to recover some breath along the way.

Getting close to the big non-event.

Heather did a great job but conked out halfway up so sat on one of the steps huddled down for a tiny bit of shade cast from the low wall at the side of the steps – but I trudged on.  (Silly me!!)  I am usually quite nervous of heights but I was fine going up and down – but not at all happy at the top of the climb.  At least two people started the climb and had to turn back because of their own height phobias.

So here we are, sweating like pigs and gasping for air, aching all over from the strenuous effort and arriving the monastery door at ten past nine – to find that the service hasn’t started yet so we can’t go in.  There is not a blade of shade anywhere and the only place to sit is on the wall at the edge of the steps with a thousand-foot drop into the sea immediately behind us.  Did I mention I was a bit uncomfortable at the top of the climb? – and not just from the extreme exertion.

The service went on for an hour and we were almost dying in the blazing sun.  Our guide spent at least ten minutes hammering on the door, trying to get the attention of someone inside, and at last the door opened – no, you can’t come in until the service is finished!  How long will that be?  Maybe another half an hour – and we had been there in the sun for fifty minutes now.  I gave up and started back to collect Heather, but I heard our guide pleading for them to let us in where we could shelter from the sun.  It turns out that our group was allowed to stand inside the foyer (but in bad grace, somewhat contrary to Christian charity), but I had had more than enough and kept steadfastly undoing all the hard work I had done in climbing the cliff.  The other two groups and numerous individuals who had made the ascent hadn’t been there as long as us and were not allowed in. 

Heather was fine – surprisingly – and had the company of a cat and two cute little kittens.  There have been healthy-looking cats everywhere during the past few days, almost all quite small cats, allegedly all neutered (although I doubt that: otherwise, how could there be so many of them around?).  Their diminutive stature may be hereditary, but equally, it may be a lack of nutrition, but either way, they are very cute and pretty.

I was pretty disillusioned with the whole thing.  I had exhausted myself climbing the mountain and back down again, as well as sitting around with no shade for at least an hour in very hot weather, and still didn’t get to see any of the ‘attraction’ that was the cause of all the angst.  Not happy Jan!

The bus took us back to one side of Chora (the capital towns of most of the islands are called Chora) where we were treated to a glass (or two) of the local brew, Raki, very powerful stuff it was too.  Ouzo is supposed to be forty-proof, but this stuff is about sixty-proof, and very tasty, so you are tempted to take a second or third glass to your own detriment.  They also gave us a local cake and some water, probably to dilute the stuff – but we did enjoy it and both went back for more.  A good job the glasses were quite small.

We then walked through the village with our guide striding out ahead, making it a bit hard to hear what she said, but we stopped outside a cute little church fronting a cute little village square – everything in blazing blue and dazzling white.  Some people went wandering, but we just sat and enjoyed a drink.  There was a special service coming to a close in the church, with lots of loud singing and chanting, celebrating the special day for the village’s patron saint, so everything was crowded, but it was the picture-perfect blue-and-white Greek village.  We sat under a big Aussie gum tree in the middle of the tiny square and I simply loved it.  All too soon, we were back on the bus, back on the tender, and back on the ship – just in time for giros for lunch.

Drinks in the village - just before it got really crowded.

[summoner-starlight]

Among Heroes

Just as an author's note: this isn't canon. I just needed a way to get through the fact that Johanna is having a really rough time right now so her character bleed doesn't ruin my life thanks.

---

“I think it’s important to remember why you started hero-ing in the first place,” Sherwood says, tossing his line out into the water. “Helps put things back into perspective when they get like this.”

Johanna kicks her legs over the edge. “Well, I never sought out to do any hero-ing. Perhaps that’s the problem; I’m working a job I was never cut out for.” She fiddles with her Paladin’s crest.

“I don’t know about that. But if you never sought to be a hero, how did you get here?”

“It’s a bit of a long story…I’m not terribly sure you’d find any interest in it.”

“My lady, there is nothing quite as good as a long story. Please, indulge me.” He gives her his trademark smile before fumbling the rod, nearly dropping it.

She laughs. “Alright.”

---

My Mother left me with my Father and the Rothgimil when I was still a baby. She vanished after that, though her memory would live on forever. I was celebrated on the ship, as all children were, and raised in a deeply caring environment. My family had incredible patience for my shenanigans once I could walk and talk. I had a bit of a habit of getting myself into trouble.

I was deeply curious, very self-confident, and absolutely hated being told I couldn’t do something without the best of explanations as to why. My family tried all manner of things to keep me out of trouble, but I was too stubborn for most of them. My father learned it was best to let me make my own decisions, while keeping an eye out from a distance. He taught me how important it was that a child be able to make their own mistakes.

I met my best friend, who later would become my wife during one of these indicents.

---

Sherwood laughs. “An excellent start. You know, I was something of a troublemaker myself.”

“Forgive me for such a quick judgement, but I figured that may be the case.” She giggles as he feigns insult.

“So, what, your troublemaking lead you to trying to use your powers for good?”

“Well, as a child what I really wanted was to become a Ship Mother.” She pauses at the confused look on his face. “Ship Mothers are Captains, I suppose, but more than that they’re in charge of taking care of everyone emotionally and physically. They offer guidance and make important decisions and work to ensure the ship operates harmoniously.”

Sherwood nods, impressed. “I don’t know enough about sailing to say much here, but being a parent of any sort is a noble pursuit.”

“I admired my own Ship Mother so much, I wanted to be just like her: if not for the Rothgimil, then for my own ship, maybe.” Johanna looks wistfully out to the horizon.

There’s a tug on Sherwood’s line. He reels it in with some difficulty only to find a rather small fish on the end of it. Johanna giggles. Sherwood shakes his head, carefully unhooks the fish, and tosses it back into the water before attempting to re-bait his hook. “So…what happened?” he finally asks.

“Well…”

---

Living on a ship, my family told many stories to help the time pass while we were all together. Among the tales of adventure through The Great Storm, scary stories of Drownies and ghost ships, and many a grand tale of Leviathan, were stories about my Mother.

She was a wonder all her own to the Rothgimil; the woman who, from the moment she arrived, captured everyone’s hearts. She was only with us for a short while, but she managed to become quite the legend among the crew. She even befriended the Naga despite being a human. Everyone spoke so sweetly of her, I decided I had to try meeting her for myself.

So, starting when I was eight years old, I took the opportunity when we docked to try and find her. I never had long, and I never left the towns we docked in, but I tried.

---

“Forgive me,” Sherwood interrupts, “but were you not angry that your Mother left?”

Johanna shakes her head. “I never had any reason to. I was…envious, sometimes, that she was supposedly my Mother but I was the only one without a story to tell but I had no reason to be angry with her. She left me with a family that loved me more than anything in the world and that was enough.” She cocks her head at him. “This sounds like a personal question.”

“You got me,” he replies. “My Father left when I was very young. Or…that is what I always thought. My Mother worked very hard after that to take care of me. We didn’t have much growing up and she always seemed so tired. I decided I hated him for that.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Johanna says, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Sherwood smiles and waves her off. “All in the past,” he says. “Anyway, forgive my interruption. Did you ever find her?”

“No…well…not exactly, but we’ll get to that later. I did find something else, however.”

---

On my first search, I met a man from the Church of Life. He gave me a token and said if I ever needed help, with this or otherwise I could always turn to the Church. I didn’t know much about the land at the time. I learned later that he had been keeping an eye on me because some children had gone missing some time earlier and he feared some scoundrels would try to take advantage of a young girl alone in an unfamiliar city.

I did, eventually seek out the Church. They didn’t know about my Mother, but they welcomed me in and told me they would keep their eyes open. They let me borrow books and fed me snacks; it felt like being at home. I made an effort every time we docked to visit and ask questions and spend time with the other children I had met. Eventually I stopped going in the search for my mother and started going just to read and learn alongside the other kids.

I was twelve when I learned what an orphan was. I didn’t know that parents would abandon their children with no one to care for them. I mean, I knew on some level; there are plenty of us on the Sea that were born elsewhere under different parents, but on a ship you are always family. You don’t think much of it in my experience.

For many of those children, the Church was the only family they had and for some, the only family they would ever have. It was comforting that there was an organization determined to care for those who had been left behind, but devastating that it was happening at all. That was when I decided to start Acolyte training.

---

Sherwood casts his line back into the water. “So you took your compassion for others and channeled it into being a Sister of the Church, rather than as a Ship Mother.”

Johanna nod. “I wanted to help and take care of people. It would have taken me years to become a Ship Mother. If I was still after that now, I could still be waiting. But as a Sister, I could take care of people who really needed it right away.”

“It must have been hard to leave your family behind.”

“Oh, well. I trained when I could but I continued to sail with my family until I turned eighteen. That helped ease the transition…mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“Well…Daza, my best friend? The Naga?” She waits for him to nod. “She wasn’t thrilled. We got married right before I left; as a promise that I would be hers and she would be mine no matter how far apart we were. And, I had to promise I would come home to visit. I worked out a system with the Church to stay home over the summers.”

“Oh. That was nice of them.”

“Family is very important to the Church. They didn’t want me to place duty over family any more than Daza did.”

He nods again. “And she couldn’t come with you? I know when I sought my grand adventure, my best friend came along for the ride. She was worried I’d get into trouble.”

“Did you?” Johanna asks with a knowing grin.

“Of course!” They both laugh.

“She had no interest in coming with, and even if she did, Naga don’t do well on land. They’re aquatic creatures. If they go too long without large amounts of water they can die.”

“That complicates things, for sure. But you still haven’t gotten to how you got here yet.”

“Now Sherwood, if I gave you that without any context you’d have too many questions. We’re getting there.”

---

I spent many years working with the Church at the Abbey. I helped take care of the children, as that was one of few ways I could be helpful outside of brute strength. It was such a wonderful and rewarding feeling. I made new friends, helped out the locals, and spent every day making sure the kids ate and learned and slept and grew. As I said before, it felt a lot like being home. I also got into my fair share of trouble. The Church is flexible, but some priests are more so than others. I was banned from the kitchen and faced my fair share of lectures on speaking blasphemy to children. I also got spoken to for working too hard on several occasions.

A few of the other Church members suggested I get into the Paladin program. Between my compassion and my strength they thought I would play the part excellently. I didn’t know if that’s what I wanted. I had never been a warrior. Sister Heartless offered, at the very least, to give me some combat training and asked me to sit in on a few classes. She knew I enjoyed fighting and thought it would be a good way to channel some of my energy. I agreed to that, at least, without the commitment of being a true Paladin.

---

“Why the hesitation? That seems like a great honor.”

Johanna frowns and offers a small shrug. “There are a lot of responsibilities that come with taking on an Oath. I was worried it would take me away from what I loved about being a Sister. I didn’t want honor, I just wanted to take care of people.”

“Do you feel that way now?”

“Honestly? A little, yes. I feel like people expect me to be…a Justicar or something. The job has become all about being the sword…or I guess the spear? Of the Church rather than another gentle caretaker.”

“So…then why go against your judgement and become a Paladin at all?”

---

One day, we heard about a riot that got out of control and the Abbey was asking for volunteers to help with the recovery. I volunteered. What I lacked in magic I made up for in a strong desire to be helpful, my recent combat training (in case things got out of hand again) and my ability to carry very heavy things.

I was shocked at the sight of the place. I have never seen so many dead or such devastation. It was so hard to believe that a world that I had known as being so gentle and good and kind could be equally as cruel. I realized then what a sheltered life I had been living as survivors struggled to pull their shattered lived back together among the wreckage and blood.

More importantly, while I was there I met Eeka. She was a tiny little thing, no older I was sure than my youngest daughters at the time. She had no family to speak of and, worse yet, she had a terrible scar on her cheek; a mark of a thief. Imagine, harming a child over stealing something. She was terrified of us all. She bit a few other Sisters that tried to get too close. I watched as even my Sisters seemed to give up on her.

But I couldn’t. I stuck by and reached out and let her fight back in whatever way she needed to. Eventually, she warmed up to me, and when we were finished with our recovery I asked if I could bring the girl back to the Abbey. I promised I would be responsible for her, I just wanted to give her the best chance. There were arguments, of course. There’s always a risk in relocating a child that they won’t adjust well, but I was as stubborn as ever. So we took her home with us.

That trip triggered so many realizations. The world could be a dangerous place, people could be terribly cruel, and even children were not immune to such things. I thought about my own children and realized that it was no wonder Daza hated this place. There are people in the world who would kill my children solely because they appear different. I hated these truths. I wanted to fix it. I needed to be able to go out into the world and stop this sort of thing from ever happening again.

So I decided to become a Paladin.

---

“Wow…that is way more impressive than my Hero’s Journey,” Sherwood stays, eyes wide as he is stunned by her words. There’s another tug on the fishing pole that catches him off guard. He scrambles to maintain control and reels in the fish; larger than the last, but still not particularly impressive.

“Arguably, that’s not even the real beginning of it. There’s more.”

“More?” Sherwood asks, shocked. He drops the worm he’s holding onto the dock and it wriggles through the space between the boards.

Johanna nods. “But, out of curiosity, how did you get started?”

He shrugs. “My mother introduced me to a book about a famous archer who steals money from the rich and gives to the poor; I decided if I could do that then I could earn enough money to pull my mom out of poverty.”

“That’s it? That’s kind of sweet, though.”

He shrugs again, working another worm onto the hook. “Eh, I also have an issue with Justice and Bravado and impressing women. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all mad that I did it but…wow your story just feels like it puts things into perspective.” He laughs, dryly.

She shakes her head. “I don’t think it’s the how or the why that’s really important. The fact that you chose to walk out into the world to make it better for others is what’s important.”

“If that’s true, I feel like you’re not following your own beliefs. Shouldn’t the fact that you’re out here trying to do good be enough?”

She shakes her head again. “No. See…It would be one thing if I had actually done anything good or helpful….but I feel like I keep messing things up.”

“Okay, okay…finish your story.” He says.

---

On some occasions, typically while I was gone for the Summer, the other members of the Church would manage to get Eeka moved to another Orphanage in another Church outside of the Abbey. I always managed to get her back, but this rather frustrating move happened more often than I would have preferred.

One Summer, I returned to find she had been moved to an Orphanage in a little port town called Salt Cove. I was familiar with the town in an abstract sense, it had the poor reputation of being the sort of place where Naga leftovers would wash up. I was on my way to discuss her return with the All Mother when I overheard that there had been an issue at the Orphanage.

A local sister had written expressing her concerns that some children had gone missing, and she suspected they had been kidnapped. I could tell from the discussion that Eeka was likely among them. To make matters worse, the Abbey was going to wait three days before even attempting to send a Paladin.

I was furious, but I also knew I that no amount of arguing was going to get this done faster. So, I stole the note, took a set of armor out of the armory, gathered my most important gear, and left for Salt Cove without so much as a word to anyone.

Once I was nearly there, a bandit snuck up on me and, out of reflex, I stabbed him. That’s when I met my friends and, knowing I would need help, lied about being a Paladin.

---

“Wait, you killed a man and then lied about being a major authority figure in your church?” Sherwood asks. Johanna nods and Sherwood doubles over laughing just as there’s another tug on the line. It slips out of his grasp and falls down into the water below.

“Oh no, you’re fishing pole,” Johanna says. She moves to dive in after it but Sherwood pulls her back.

“It’s alright. I don’t think it will get too far and…I think I’m done anyway.”

“You’re not very good at this.”

“Fishing?”

“No…well….yes. But you’re also not terribly good at making me feel better.”

“Sorry,” he says honestly, putting his hands up. He’s still grinning. “But what you did was the most honest dishonest way to try and help someone. You filled a need you saw wasn’t being met.”

“…I didn’t mean to kill him…” She says sheepishly.

“I figured. You don’t seem the type. But, hey, he attacked you first there’s no need to feel bad for that one.”

The sun was beginning to set, casting orangey hues on the sea and sky.

Sherwood lets the silence settle in for a moment before breaking it again. “Listen, Sister, I think it’s important to remember why you started because it can help you continue on.”

“But I didn’t want to start…”

“I know! I know, but then it sounds like you did want to start. And if you really didn’t want to be doing this, you would have given up well before you took your Oaths. So think about that: why did you start?”

“I…I wanted to make the world a better place for my kids…for all kids. I wanted to be a Ship Mother but…for the world.” She looks down on the fishing rod caught up in some rocks. “I’m doing a terrible job of that…”

Sherwood shakes his head. “First of all, that’s a huge goal. You’re one person, Sister. You’re never going to achieve that.”

“Gee…thanks…”

“More importantly,” he interrupts, giving her a nudge, “when you were talking about growing up what did you say about how your family raised you?”

She thinks on this and, for a moment, becomes rather frustrated when she cannot seem to find the information she thinks Sherwood is looking for. Then, it clicks. “I…was able to make my own decisions while my family kept me from the worst of it.”

“You had to be able to make your own mistakes.”

She shakes her head again and tries not to cry. “No! But that’s different! I was never trying to hurt anyone! I was never trying to end the world!”

“Okay, sure, but even still: you’ll never be able to control everything everyone else does. Sometimes taking care of someone means helping them after things fall apart and they learn their lesson. Just like sometimes it means trying to keep them from getting hurt in the first place.” He places a gentle hand on her shoulder-blade. “Look, Johanna, just like you, people are always going to make their own decisions and choices. You can try to steer them in the right direction, but it is up to them. I get that you want to be proactive, but sometimes we have no choice but to be reactive; and that’s okay.”

She sighs, letting a tear escape but without full on crying. “I just…feel like I’m screwing everything up.”

“Hey, I’m speaking from experience here. I toyed with a villain and when she came back for her revenge she killed my best friend in front of me. Later on, I watched another one kill nearly everyone I cared about while I couldn’t do anything, including the mother of my child.”

“…How in the world did you move on after that?”

“Well…I got really depressed, drank a bunch of alcohol, and then decided maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a hero; but I didn’t have a choice. Luckily, my daughter snapped me out of it. She reminded me of who I was and why I bothered. She reminded me that if I sat around and did nothing then we would all lose, no matter what.” Johanna remains in a contemplative quiet. Sherwood continues, “So, I got back into it. I still struggled to go back to who I was before but I got better…and then, when the odds were against us and I saw the dominos lined up to repeat history I stepped in and did my best to stop it.”

She looks at him, as if waiting for him to continue but he doesn’t. He looks out on the sunset and she can see the soft sorrow in his face. In that moment, he’s a mirror of all of her feelings and she feels herself relax at the knowledge that she truly isn’t alone. “…What happened?” she finally asks.

“I dealt the bad guy a blow hard enough to give my team a chance, told my daughter I loved her, and then he killed me.” There’s another long silence before Sherwood says, “I cannot really recommend martyrdom tho.” Johanna looks at him inquisitively and he turns back to her with a smile. “Just because you seem the sort who would do that. It sounds nice on paper, but….it’s a bit rough.”

He laughs and, in the moment, Johanna finds herself laughing too.

[elizabethrobertajones]

3: Honestly nothing; but the fact they say that Labyrinthos has a similar environment to Corvos is a tiny pin in my G'rerenville shipping by creating this weird ghost of a shared home neither of them actually know but one of them is from there and the other has spent a lot of his time at work in a place meant to mimic it. What a weird thing to share. They should go there, together. And hold hands.

4: things people say if they're brought up with Wuk Lamat:

Don't eat the hornbill, Erenville. I'm watching you.

5: On the subject of hornbills, I've been meaning to make this post forever on account of thinking I can't be the only person to think it but then never seeing it. Might as well use this week's random energy allowance to get around to it :P

We do know that Erenville and Hermes are direct mirrors of each other on account of having identical but opposite jobs, right? Like, we all read the two of them as supposed to be read together in their places and what they say about the worlds they occupy? I hope we were all doing that.

It's absolutely not a coincidence that the second task we do with Erenville is flying critters, and that we end up grabbing a green hornbill for him.

We're supposed to remember Erenville at this point in the story if we have not already made the very very obvious connection between Labyrinthos and Elpis as artificial laboratories for flora and fauna. One for Creation and the other simply for preserving, studying and cataloguing said Creation (and things from outside it... gulp. There's beavers down here...)

It's also important everything Erenville says about the specimens they're collecting and what Sharlayan is doing with them; we get just a few lines of dialogue in MSQ (vs doing side quests which fill in a lot of worldbuilding to back this all up) in Labyrinthos about the specimens versus in Elpis where the entire first half is pretty much just about Hermes drowning in grief from his job.

Erenville says they remove the specimens for not being needed for study or difficulty raising. The latter we specifically get in Elpis as what tips Hermes into crisis, because there they just desynthesize the mega carnivores like the WoL going through a stack of unwanted ocean fish. For Erenville, this all seems very natural, and doesn't bother him because gleaners have a much more sensible habit of returning the creatures to where they found them.

It's Alphinaud (oh lordy unless it was Alisaie, I logged out between cutscenes so I don't have the log and now I may be committing Estinien level crimes) who jumps to "they're doing EVIL EXPERIMENTS on them in the EVIL SCIENCE ZONE" because the other scions are primed to be highly suspicious of the Forum so that we the player at this point are being given really different vibes from different characters, and Erenville's innocence and "they don't tell me anything" while describing really odd behaviours that even he currently finds sort of weird for his job, are meant to make us a bit uncertain of if the Forum is up to something really suspicious or just being secretive. Anyway Erenville isn't worried about anyone making Allagan level chimeras or cutting things up while cackling in a dark room with bubbling lurid test tubes around the walls. Of course if you did the Thavnair side of the story first, you get the Amon reminder and a glimpse into HIS evil Allagan laboratory so we have a direct comparison there too, and the reminder that he uses animals and people indiscriminately in his horrible experiments if we forgot what happened to Scylla.

In any case, while Erenville isn't really the leader out here or anything, he ends up obviously being a highly ranked gleaner because he's the one trusted to make deliveries down below, to talk to the Forum on behalf of the Gleaners, and if you start doing your crafting leves immediately on arrival, you'll find leves from him rewarding the team, so he clearly is important even in a place which has very little hierarchy. Erenville doesn't need a job review because his competence is clear to see in every line he says and everything we can learn about him as a side character with 3 short but critical appearances in the opening of the story. The second quest with the hornbill, again you simply assist while he does the competent animal handling rolls and walk in on him basically ready to handle it alone, and you're simply saving him time and ensuring his success in something he did already feel competent to attempt alone.

This care is reversed in Hermes, where everyone else seems to love him and is really worried about him and we go around asking about him and find out how he gets a glowing job recommendation, but that his caring for the creations is a defining feature and also weakness as he's genuinely unsuited to their methods of working. It's interesting in comparison that Erenville's defining feature is his care for the other gleaners - exemplified in his conversation with the Forum members arguing everyone's overworked and exhausted and even making ultimatums for their conditions. He cares about the creatures around him but has the emotional resources even under this extreme duress we find Labyrinthos under, to focus on really important details. While Hermes crumbles and dithers on important decisions about mulching creations and generally seems to be overwhelmed by even simple tasks. If he was in a good headspace I think he could have got that axolotl out of the tree without getting stuck upside down in it, is what I'm saying :P He probably WAS like Erenville at the beginning of his tenure, and only got more and more wobbly in his footing as an animal wrangler (getting eaten by a proto morbol oh NO) as his corresponding faith in their mission failed.

In the nature of time travel we get Labyrinthos first and therefore get to see a sort of ideal version of what Hermes could have been and how he could have been doing his job; how Elpis could have been run with compassion and a place that, at least in how it is relating to the natural world (temporary worker crimes aside) has succeeded where Elpis failed (I would call it a failure not because Creation Bad but because the work practices and lack of mental health care for its employees DID lead to about 10 apocalypses.)

Similarly Elpis acts as a warning because Erenville is beginning to push back against the Forum, and unlike Hermes crumbling under the pressure and mortality that the Convocation represents, Erenville is highly focussed on the here and now, and that includes being far more dangerous to the Sharlayan Ark project simply by standing up for the Gleaners and threatening industrial action (I love him I lov ehim). But like, SAY we weren't meddling and saving the universe without any silly moon spaceship, and the teeny weeny boat was the only option, AND Erenville didn't know the stakes and convinced the gleaners to picket Labyrinthos... We could have all died of the apocalypse pfff.... I mean I fully support him, it's just very funny that this is a threat to the Forum on an existential level, and it's one guy with an absolutely unflappable demeanour bringing up calmly that everyone's rather tired and don't know what's going on. Versus Hermes being a darling of the Convocation but dithering and mourning and panicking ALSO as an existential threat to us all.

ANYWAY I could probably go on all day about these two different magical nature reserves and what they speak to for the story and the worldbuilding and so on, and the two characters who represent both to us. Unless Endwalker IS all just a metaphor that crunch is bad for the games industry. Who knows! Interpretation is in the eye of the beholder.

Oh! The headaches. Definitely the headaches :)

...

And I can teach him so much more.

[cycas]

Hello. Can I ask you about timeline of Return to Aman? I would love to know when the separate stories happened. Did Maglor visit his mother soon after they arrived to Aman? Was it in their first year or did he wait some time? How long do they live on Tol Eressëa when the house of Fingolfin was released? When Mereth Aderthad happened? I'm thinking about it every time I read RtA, it's bothering me a great deal. Thank you.

I started cheerily answering this thinking: there are only 15 stories, this will be easy, I don't even need to check my notes! And I got about half way through and realised that yes, I needed to check my notes and also I re-read half of it. Which was fun, but, um, sorry for the delay?

So I've ended up with this loooong timeline post.

Return to Aman Timeline

About 400 Second Age : And the wind as sweet as honey in the mouth (Elrond finds Maglor) It's summer in this one, because the eyebright is in bloom. Probably June: it's not so warm that you don't want something to wrap up in outdoors in the evening.

Third Age:

Late September 3021 Remembrance of Time Long Past (Elrond persuades Maglor to join him on the ship, and Galadriel to go along with it, while the Hobbits have a series of jolly good meals and a chat, and completely fail to notice that Elrond has popped out for a while)

October 3021 :

5th Across so Wide a Sea Elrond goes to see his mother, taking a deeply embarrassed Maglor along with him. On their way back to Tol Eressëa afterwards, they meet Finrod on the ferry.

6th In Avallónë by the Sea : Maglor and Finrod discuss poetry and First Age Beleriand.

10th Love, Politics and Pastries : Elrond and Celebrían, finding their way back together.

15th Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima ; Eärendil, returning from a voyage, takes a day off to visit his son. It's a little unfortunate that he encounters Maglor first but fortunately, Frodo smooths thing over. The first autumn storm hits Tol Eressëa.

November 3021

5th Nov Come Home : Maglor, Elrond and Finrod visit Tirion, manage to prevent the resulting fireworks among Maglor fans from getting out of hand, and visit Nerdanel and Finarfin. Nerdanel's roses are still in bloom but getting a bit tatty.

Mereth Aderthad : Once More: With Feeling begins about 15th Nov 3021, but it has time-skips. Elrond and Gil-galad have seen each other before this, of course, but this is their first chance to have a proper reunion banquet.

Then there is the planning for the really big Mereth Aderthad bash, which will be the celebration for Fingolfin's return. I think the planning scene is probably some time in December.

Elrond is busy researching the appeal to the Valar for the return of the House of Fingolfin (and Lalwen) which isn't fully in the story, partly because I have difficulty imagining anyone at the end of the Third Age in Valinor, up to and including Manwe, being able to look Elrond and Celebrian in the face and say 'no' to whatever they think is a good idea.

Fourth Age Year 1

The first part of this year is taken up with Mereth Aderthad planning and organisation, Elrond and his household visiting everyone, and people visiting them. Maglor is working hard on his Mereth Aderthad songs, and basically avoiding talking to anyone but Elrond, Celebrian and the hobbits. Occasionally Gandalf if he doesnt' manage to avoid him in time.

Fingolfin and his house return from the Halls of Mandos triumphant at Midyear's Day in Year 1 of the Fourth Age. If Elrond seems slightly less than entirely cheerful, it might be because the last big party he attended at midsummer was Arwen's wedding two years previously.

(Cirdan is briefly visiting Tol Eressëa in this story but is still officially resident in Lindon: he can't visit Aman.)

By 3rd July 1 FA the main party is over, and Maglor runs into trouble with his Oath: Seeds of Lies.

Even the Very Wise could be later that same year, but I'm inclined to think it is set in the summer of the next year, 2FA or maybe even 3FA, perhaps June since Lalwen has had time to start planning her new house on Tol Eressëa (so she can spend some time with Gil-galad). Nerdanel finally makes up her mind exactly how she feels about Fëanor.

Shadows Cast by Memory I think is slightly out of order in the sequence: the apples in the orchard are ripening when the heroes of Gondolin turn up, having decided that Maglor is too dangerous to be left to Elrond's supervision. I think this is probably still September 1FA, and follows fairly closely after Seeds of Lies. I suspect there was another conference in Tirion after Mereth Aderthad concluded, at which Turgon had a good deal to say and this led to both the appearance of Ecthelion and friends, and also the visit from Fingon and Finrod.

Sometime between 5 FA and 30FA Among the Ainur and Other Animals : Nimloth visits, then Bilbo & Elrond have a Road Trip to Valimar. Bilbo is well enough for a long horse-ride and debating with the Vanyar, though Frodo is still suffering occasionally from seasonal depression. At some point during this period, Celebrian writes to Manwë about Maedhros.

30 FA Many Meetings: The Night is Passing. Celebrimbor returns from the Halls of Mandos, and then there's a timeskip to :

September 61FA: Sam, Cirdan, Elrohir and Celeborn sail to Aman

Also September 61FA : I Will Not Say the Day Is Done in which Maglor comes to an understanding of a kind with both Ecthelion and Celeborn.

100FA The House of Fëanor : Little Pity Aragorn is still alive, though old at the start of this story. Celebrimbor has been running the Fëanorian Quarter of Tirion for almost seventy years, which gives plenty of time for Finrod to hand over to him and for Celebrimbor to have thoroughly got to know the job.

The meeting with Elrond, Finarfin, Celebrimbor etc is a month before the House of Fëanor are released.

1 month later: Fëanor and his sons leave Mandos and come to Tirion.

12 years for Fëanor to get to know the Noldor, during which Maglor leaves Tol Eressea, and lives in Tirion with his brothers. A transition period during which the House of Finarfin get to start considering where they would actually like to live if they didn't have to all spend their time managing Tirion.

112FA Fëanor takes responsibility, and the crown, and begins to make new plans about what to do with it.

120FA September : Aragorn is dead: Arwen is dying. Legolas and Gimli come to Aman in time for Bilbo's twenty-fifty-first birthday, and Frodo's seventeenty-third. Gimli and Legolas meet Maglor, and then Aulë and Fëanor. Elrond and Celebrian grieve for Arwen. Maglor has complicated feelings about his father. Galadriel manages an entire conversation with Fëanor that is reasonably civil.

Nienna speaks with the spirit of Maglor's wife (and her horse)

Sam and Frodo make their Big Decision, and meet Ulmo.

Fëanor Does The Thing. Amazingly, nobody dies or even gets burnt.

Three years (and a bit) to build the ships.

Spring 124FA The Noldor carry out Fëanor's Plan. Fingolfin becomes Fëanor's regent (and effectively co-monarch) in Tirion. Finarfin finally gets to live in the nice house by the beach with peach trees in the garden that he's been pining for since before the Sun rose.

nine years later:

Summer 133 FA Maglor and Finrod's all-night song-writing barbecue on the beach near Alqualondë is interrupted, and that's the last fixed date in the series because after that it starts to fold out from a calendar into myth.

(The weather in each story is more or less seasonal British/North west European weather, just because I found it easier because that's my weather. )

[astealthman]

Spectrum Binder Review

Having used GC2B binders for the last 5/6 years I finally took a dive and ordered the only British made binder from Spectrum Outfitters. I ordered a short version as I’ve grown to like these with GC2B.

It arrived a few days ago, immediately it felt very rigid, a lot more so than GC2B and even Underworks binders from memory, which for me isn’t something I’m looking for. I want compression but not to the point that your upper half feels like you have an armoured vest on! Anyway, persevered - getting it on is a CHALLENGE! No way I could get it on like my usual (2 arms in then head through and pull down) so I followed the advice on the pamphlet (one arm in, get the binder as close into the armpit as possible, head through then your other arm and pull down). Now I’ve used binders for maybe 10+ years and know that they’re a little tight so not as easy to throw on as regular clothes but I’ve never had as much difficulty as I had with Spectrum despite buying a larger size than my measurements as I was hoping to have one that’s a little loose for when I’m doing a lot physically. Anyway after a couple of tries I gave up for the day. Tried again the next morning and followed the same steps but with more determination, and I did manage to get it on but trying to get an extremely tight and rigid binder over a large chest and down is a mission and a half, it’s uncomfortable beyond anything I’ve used previously. Perhaps better suited to smaller chests?

Now, does it bind? Yes. Once it’s on it does a good job of holding things in place and it doesn’t roll up as much as my GC2B one, it is somewhat longer though so that probably helps. In fairness it holds things better than GC2B but it does come at a price - your comfort! It is cut very close to your armpit so when you move the very rigid front material feels like it’s gnawing it’s way through your flesh - for me this is one of its biggest downsides, I need to move a lot physically during the day and I can’t deal with the sensation every time my arm moves a slight amount. I also don’t like the cut of the neckline, it’s more of a straight line from the arm straps either side which doesn’t sit flush to your body - it stick out when leaning forward in a way that makes it noticeable that you have something on underneath your shirts; underworks binders used to have a similar issue in that it used to protrude forward for no reason and I hated it - again this was another dealbreaker for me. I definitely think the shape of the binder needs some work/adjustments overall as the armpit cut in combination with the neck line is a no-go for me.

So overall I’m a little unimpressed. It’s retail is £38, this includes UK shipping and it did arrive within 3 days of ordering so a faster turnaround than most others if you’re a UK buyer. GC2B work out at slightly more expensive with shipping but when they have offers/discounts available they’re similarly priced. I wouldn’t buy another Spectrum binder unless the cut/fabric changed. For now it’s back to old faithful GC2B…

[doctorwhoandfairytaillover]

Part 1 - Vikings: Una Flor

Summary: When someone returns from a journey, one would expect for them to return with trinkets and gifts from the journey. Apparently, Ragnar didn’t get the message and instead returned with a foreign flower his family wasn’t expecting.

Pairings: Ragnar x reader (platonic), Ragnarssons x reader (romantic)  

A/N: I would love to know what y’all thought of the first part to this new series. It will definitely be a little different from my previous work, but I’m excited to share it. 

                                  ---------------------------

All waited anxiously for the arrival of the men that after several months, had returned with whatever treasures they had taken from the raids. Amongst those in the crowd the sons of Ragnar; Bjorn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar along with Queen Aslaug waited patiently for the man to dock ship. It did not take long for the men aboard the ship to make their way to their loved ones amidst the cheers of celebration of another successful plunder.

The royal family were pleased to spot Ragnar as he made his way to his family, a proud and accomplished look to his face. He greeted his family with a jovial wave, walking toward them with his cloak loosely wrapped around his shoulders. 

His family greeted him with various forms of Welcome back, and Ragnar looked to Ivar, as the boy stared at his father with a furrowed brow.

“Is there someone underneath your cloak?” Ivar asked in bewilderment.

Ragnar chuckled as he pulled away his arm from himself and the cloak opened to reveal a younger woman nestled beside him, drawn close to him against the bitter cold as her own cloak was wrapped over her to hide most of her from sight.

“Come my sweet (Y/N), introduce yourself” he said.

Hesitantly, she pulled away the hood of her cloak and revealed her youthful features to Ragnar’s family as she nervously looked at them. She fidgeted where she stood, shivering from the cold and tightly holding onto her own cloak to stay warm.

“Tu familia?” she asked timidly, turning to him in confusion.

At his nod, her eyes widened in glee as she smiled widely and turned to them, leaving his side as she reached his son’s. Without another word, she grabbed Bjorn’s hands and kissed him on both cheeks.

“Un placer” she whispered in embarrassment as her cheeks reddened, reaching toward Ubbe and doing the same to all the brothers who merely watched her in fascination. After greeting them, she stood before Queen Aslaug and smiled despite not receiving one in turn. Taking the Queen’s hand in her own as she kneeled and pressed the back of the Queen’s hand to her forehead. 

Afterward with a nervous giggle, she returned to Ragnar’s side as she wrapped her arms around his waist as he pressed a kiss to her cheek in pride.

“This is (Y/N), a girl I paid for in a place known as Iberia and I have brought her to be a bride” he said.

His son’s and wife bristled in anger but before they could protest, he said “So boys which one of you would be willing to make her your wife?”                                   ----------------------------

Seated at the head table, (Y/N) was placed between Sigurd and Ivar as she stared wide eyed at the abundance of food lain before her very eyes. Seeing her apprehension, Sigurd placed a few things on her plate as she stared at him with her eyes glittering in excitement. Queen Aslaug watched the interactions of her son and the young girl that was apparently “bought” and turned to her husband.

“How is it that you came to find this girl?” she asked taking sips of her mead.

“We were caught in a massive storm that veered us greatly off course, it lasted for several days and it seemed that we would never see it calming at last the rains calmed and the wind had blown us to a coastal village” he said. “The locals were kind and many offered their homes as we intended on fixing many of the damages our boats had received. Floki and I were brought to the home of the richest man but also the most miserly.”

“Why would you say that?” Bjorn asked, having been listening in to his father.

“The man had eight children and whenever he set any of them out to trade or buy, he had each of them line up and have them mention the price and many other things to him before making sure they hadn’t spent more than what he thought necessary. The poor girl was treated worse than her brothers, the majority of my stay I had the assumption she was his slave with all that he expected of her.”

“Is that how you bought the girl?” asked Hvitserk. “Thinking she was the slave?”

“Oh no, I had stumbled into her room as she was changing and her brothers were quick to go to their old man. From what little I understood of their language, they claimed I had shamed them and needed to pay for her and take her with me. In his fit of rage, the man grabbed her long hair and cut it off at the ears as punishment apparently.”

All looked to the girl that was happily munching away at her food with stuffed cheeks, stopping mid-chew when she felt their stares. Sheepishly she swallowed and timidly smiled when she looked to them. As previously mentioned by Ragnar, (Y/N) had her (h/c) hair messily cut and near her jaw.

“Of course, in the time that she has been with us, her hair has grown some but it was much shorter. But I argued for some time with the man that I hadn’t shamed them, but eventually I agreed to take the girl and during the trip came to care for her as a daughter. It is on the voyage with some difficulty she told me about herself, and she revealed that her mother was a princess to a tribe of warriors that was kidnapped. I figured that she could be a wife for one you boys and provide an alliance of this group if one of you can somehow catch her eye and find the location of these warriors.” 

The boys scoffed, they assumed it would be a simple task as (Y/N) seemed to be naïve to the advances of men and could be swayed to like them, but their interest was certainly peaked that she was a grandchild to a group of warriors. 

With a smirk, Ragnar took a sip from his chalice.

“One more thing, (Y/N) is still learning our language. She understands some phrases and can say some things, but she is at a lost for the most part” he chuckled. “I will give you all an introduction and leave it to all of you.” 

A sharp whistle and (Y/N) quickly got out of her seat to stand beside Ragnar. He cleared his throat and spoke thickly, “Te presento a mi familia. As visto a mi esposa Aslaug.” (I present to you my family, you have seen my wife Aslaug)

“Ella es muy bella” (Y/N) said sweetly. (She is very beautiful)

Ragnar then pointed to Bjorn, “El es mi hijo mayor Bjorn. El es un gran guerrero.” (This is my eldest son Bjorn, he is a great warrior)

She stuck closer to Ragnar,“No me sorprende con su estatura.” (It doesn’t surprise me with his stature)

“Este es mi hijo Ubbe, un hombre sabio” (This is my son Ubbe, a wise man)

“El parece mucho como usted Ragnar” (He looks a lot like you Ragnar)

“A lado de el esta mi otro hijo, Hvitserk. A el le encanta mucho la comida.” (Beside him is my other son, Hvitserk. He loves food a lot)

“Oh! Seguramente el le gustaría platillos de mi pueblo.” (Oh! Surely he will like the dishes of my village)

“Del lado tuyo es mi hijo Sigurd, el sabe como tocar el oud” (Beside you is my son Sigurd, he knows how to play the oud.)

“Me encantaría escuchar cuando el toca” (I would love to hear when he plays)

“Y finalmente este es mi hijo Ivar un muchacho listo.” (And finally is my son Ivar, a clever boy)

“Ivar?”she gasped in excitement and realization. “El es como mi hermano Ivan.” (He is like my brother Ivan)

“My name is Ivar, not Ivan” the boy scoffed as he took a drink from his cup.

She scrunched her face in annoyance, clearly trying to find the right words to explain what she was trying to say and called out to Floki. The man in question looked to the girl as she pointed to Ivar in frustration.

Once again she said, “Ivan.”

The man giggled and sat beside Ivar.

“She knows your name Ivar” Floki laughed, “But she has a younger brother whose name is Ivan.”

“Well what does that boy have to do with her saying his name when she sees me?” Ivar asked.

“Because Ivan happens to be exactly like you Ivar, a little boy with broken legs. Only difference between you two is that Ivan has a sunny disposition” Floki giggled.  

“Well would you look at that Ivar, she only sees you as nothing but another little boy that should be pitied” Sigurd sneered. “Looks like we can count you out.”

Ivar scowled at his brother but said nothing. 

“No entiendo, que están diciendo Floki?” (I don’t understand, what are they saying Floki?)

“No te preocupes, solo son tonterías de muchachos” Floki said. (Don’t worry it is merely boyish foolishness)

She turned to Sigurd and Hvitserk, gesturing with her hands “You play and you dance, yes?”

“Are you asking if I can play?” Sigurd asked. 

Instantly the girls face lit up as she nodded excitedly, once again gesturing him playing on the oud. Taken by her sweet nature, Sigurd stood to play his oud as she had requested and instantly (Y/N) stood up from her seat taking Hvitserk by the hand to dance. In comparison to her light and quick steps, Hvitserk stumbled to keep up with her as she danced in a way that none of the Ragnarssons had seen before. She was not shy to fix Hvitserk’s movements and laughing when he would stumble, not out of mockery but in excitement that he was learning.

“I am going to cut in and see if I can do better, I’m sure that the dance isn’t as hard as Hvitserk makes it out to be” Ubbe said as he took his younger brother’s place.  

Both Bjorn and Ivar looked on at their brothers make fools of themselves as they struggled to figure out the quick steps of the girls dance, attempting with the little she knew of their language and gestures as to how they would communicate with each other.

“You don’t truly think one of us will marry the girl, do you father?” Bjorn asked seriously.

“I fully expect it Bjorn, it doesn’t matter who wins her heart but I intend for that girl to marry into our family even if it means forcing one of you” Ragnar said taking a long drink from his cup. “None of you might realize it yet, but that girl is more special than any of you know.”

With that, Ragnar said no more and Ivar was staring intently at the girl wondering what could be so special about this foreign flower that his father would want one of them to marry her.  

Tag List (Open) 

@heavenly1927, @princesscornbread, @fairyofvoid

@ivarthebloodyking, @shit-i-say-shit-i-think

@youbloodymadgenius, @youbleed-justtoknow-yourealive, 

@leahh19​, @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch​ 

(If I forgot to tag you or you would like to be tagged, please let me know)

[julisa-s]

"part one" ship: kisuke x lucia note: This is just a dumb little thing I wrote a few days ago >:) It's supposed to be their first meeting. But it's also part one of a SHORT little one shot series I'm doing to flesh out Lucia :)

"Lucia? Lucia! What are you doing?"

It took a few moments for Lucia to snap out of it. She blinked once, hard, then shook her head, tearing her eyes away from the empty alleyway behind her. The sky was darkening, oranges and purples staining it as the evening pressed on. For such a warm, quiet time of day, Lucia couldn't help but feel on edge. 

"Sorry-" She stuttered, turning to jog and catch up with Misato, her roommate and fellow teacher. "I thought I heard something behind us."

Misato raised an eyebrow, but looked unbothered as she led Lucia off towards the main street. "Maybe you did. There are a few stray cats living around here, I think. Nothing dangerous, though."

"Right, right."

Lucia couldn't help but glance back at that spot, the hairs on the back of her neck still pricking. 

No… Misato's right. There's nothing dangerous in this little town. 

Maybe it was just nerves; Lucia had only just moved to Japan after all. Taking this job, teaching English at a local high school, seemed perfect at first. It gave Lucia the chance to leave home, travel the world, and feel like she was being useful for once. She didn't have many friends, or family for that matter, back home, so uprooting herself was easy. Of course, such a venture was full of other difficulties… 

"Don't worry about dinner, I'll handle it!" Misato told her when they arrived back at their apartment. "You go sit down and keep studying. There's only a few days before school starts, after all."

Lucia nodded, quickly hanging up her purse and sitting down at the kitchen table. Stacks of books were placed there, one already open from her last study session. "Thank you very much, Ms. Misato."

Misato gave her a long look. "See? You're being too formal. Study!"

"R-right!"

It wasn't that Lucia hadn't studied Japanese at all back home. She had done so extensively. But actually being here and using the language on the fly was a different situation, one that Lucia needed to acclimate to, fast. Luckily, with the help of Misato, she was nearly there; a few more days would be more than enough. 

After dinner, and after Misato had quizzed her a bit, Lucia finally headed up to bed. Her room was still sparsely decorated, as she hadn't had much time to fully unpack. But she didn't mind, because at least she had a warm place to sleep. 

I'm so nervous, she thought as she brushed her teeth, staring blankly at her reflection. What if the students hate me? I feel like I'm prepared for anything, but who knows what will actually happen…

With those lingering anxieties, Lucia turned off the lights and curled up in bed, trying to relax. 

It was a short lived sleep. Lucia suddenly sat up, short of breath, cold sweat pricking on her skin. Her heart pounded along with the violent awakening, pumping adrenaline through her veins. Her panicked gaze flickered to her window, where her parted curtains revealed a pitch black night. Without thinking, she scrambled forward on all fours, hurriedly drawing the curtains shut, shutting out whatever it was she sensed outside. 

Lucia didn't dare move for a moment, then, as she caught her breath, she sank back down into her sheets. 

It was a dream… just a dream.

She could vaguely remember it. She was curled up in her bed, frozen, as she felt the rumbling footsteps of something coming closer, reaching up from the street towards her window, towards her-

It’s that dream-

Lucia squeezed her eyes shut. 

No… it wasn’t like that. You get nightmares when you're nervous, remember? Just a dream…

---------------------------------------------------

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I just haven't been sleeping well."

"Well, you'll need to sleep well tonight. Tomorrow's the first day of school!"

"Don't remind me…"

Lucia sighed, following along behind Misato a few days later. It was a hot day, and both women were sticking to the shady side of the street on their outing. Misato had quickly realized that she did not have enough household supplies to support two residents, which was what called for this impromptu shopping session. Plus, she had dragged Lucia to buy some more clothes (which Lucia was not upset about). 

"Listen, let's buy something fun for dinner tonight," Misato suddenly suggested. "Maybe some beer! Not too much. Just enough to settle your nerves for tomorrow."

"Ah, I don't know," Lucia answered. "I don't really drink much… but… why not!" She suddenly smiled. "You're right, it'll help me relax."

"That's the spirit! Come on, this is our last spot."

The door of the unassuming little shop dinged as it swung open for the two women. The inside was just as humble, if not a little cluttered. Lucia quickly noticed that there were only two other people in the shop, both seemingly employees. A young-looking girl was sweeping in the corner, humming to herself and paying them no mind. The other was a man, dressed in a greenish kimono and sitting up on the counter in the back. He simply looked up at the sound of guests, his eyes piercing through the shadow cast by the low brim of his hat. 

Lucia gulped. This seems like a very casual place… maybe business is slow.

"Grr… they usually carry my favorite brand," Misato grumbled to herself, rummaging through the cooler close to the front of the store. With a sigh, she sat up, glancing back at the man in the back, before a smirk moved over her lips. "Hey, Lucia, this is the perfect chance to practice your Japanese! Go ask that guy if he has any Sapporo in the back."

"H-Huh? Right now?" Lucia whispered back, paling. "I-I can't!"

"Why not? You want to get better at it, right?"

"I know, but-" Lucia gulped nervously. "He's scary- I can't see his eyebrows under his hat-"

"Can I help you ladies with something?"

Both Lucia and Misato jumped in surprise as the very man they were whispering about popped up behind them with no warning. His stance was casual, with both hands planted on his hips, his form hidden by the loose-fitting layers of his clothes, but his smile didn't quite reach his shadowy eyes. 

"U-um-" Lucia gulped, wondering why the hell she was suddenly forgetting every word of Japanese she thought she knew. "I-I was- do you have- have any-"

"Mr. Urahara! Thanks for coming over!"

Misato must have noticed Lucia's sudden stumble, and quickly stepped in. "We were looking for the Sopporo. Do you have any in the back?"

"... maybe. I'll go check."

Urahara? Lucia thought to herself, watching the back of his head as he walked off and disappeared behind the counter. This shop is called "Urahara," I guess he's the manager…

"Here it is! You're lucky I had some sitting around." 

"Thank you!"

Misato kept her cheery smile up as they moved to the register. Lucia did her best to keep smiling as well, even though she was feeling a little embarrassed. Urahara looked up for a moment as he worked, his eyes meeting hers once again. Lucia felt her heart jolt in her chest. 

O-oh-

"I haven't seen you around before," he suddenly said, his little smile returning. "What's your name?"

"...Lucia," she replied, managing to return the expression calmly. "I just moved here."

"Right! She barely knows any Japanese!" Misato suddenly said, giggling. 

"W-what? I know plenty!" Lucia shot back, face reddening. "I'm just… I'm still getting used to it."

Urahara shrugged, nodding along. "Makes sense. I hope you'll feel at home here soon."

"Thank you." Lucia glanced down at his hands, watching him deftly leaf through a few bills before handing Misato her change.

"No problem." He closed his eyes for a moment, offering her a more cheerful smile. Lucia felt herself relax a little. 

See? He's nice. Not every stranger is scary, after all.

"See you next time, Lucia!"

"Thank you!"

Lucia waved goodbye before following Misato back onto the street, and let out a shaky breath. "Jeez, I need to get used to having conversations in Japanese."

"You sure do!" Misato scolded playfully. "Don't worry, I'm going to drill you again tonight. You'll be fully prepared for school tomorrow if I get my way!"

That sounded… a little terrifying. 

---------------------------------------------

But Misato was true to her word. By the next morning, Lucia was exceptionally prepared and well rested. Best of all, she had completely forgotten her nightmare the other night, as well as that strange feeling of being followed.

"I killed it!" she exclaimed to Misato as they walked home after that first day of school. They had stayed after late, preparing lessons for the next day, but Lucia was anything but tired. "I didn't mess up at all! Can you believe it!"

Misato giggled at Lucia's uncharacteristic burst of excitement. "See? I knew you could do it."

Lucia beamed proudly, a newfound skip in her step. 

That's right! I made it through the first day. Before long, this is going to feel like second nature! See… this whole venture was worth it-

Suddenly, she felt it again. 

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and her stomach dropped. 

… it's back. 

Something was looming up ahead of them. Lucia was suddenly frozen in place, staring straight ahead, past the now-worried Misato as she called her name again and again. Yet, Lucia couldn't shake the feeling that, whatever it was, it was looking right at her.

"I-I forgot something at the school!" she suddenly blurted out, not taking any time to explain to Misato before she whirled around and ran off. "See you at home! Bye!"

Misato stood there for a moment as Lucia disappeared around the corner, confused. 

"Oh… okay. See you…"

She turned to head home, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. 

Lucia's breath became shallow, her heart pounding as she ran. She could feel the thing keeping up with her, hunting her, just steps behind. 

She couldn't go home. She couldn't go back to school. Lucia knew that she would only bring this thing with her. 

Why- why now? Why does something always happen and ruin everything?

Her lips parted as she ran down the alley, acting on pure instinct. 

Am I… going to die?

Just then, the thing that until this point had been intangible, unseeable, just a feeling, suddenly reached out and grabbed her leg. With a strangled cry, Lucia toppled to the ground, raising her head just in time to feel the thing's shadow pass over her. Her leg was burning, both of her knees screaming in pain, but she couldn’t even muster the strength to crawl away.

It's on top of me- it's going to kill me!!!

Before the terror of that moment had time to fully sink in, something flashed behind her. 

Just like that, the oppressive, terrifying sensation disappeared, as if it had never been there at all. Still shaken, Lucia rolled over to look back above her, blinking a few times as her panicked vision calmed. 

"Oh, it's you. Are you alright?"

To her surprise, none other than the shopkeeper from yesterday, Urahara, stood there. In his hand was some sort of weapon, which he was just sheathing back into a cane-like object. Lucia didn't answer at first, unsure if she was just seeing things or not.

"I-I don't know…" Her voice trailed off as she sat up a little more. Her eyes darted around, still on high alert. "That- that thing, did you-" Her gaze fell back on his, to see that now he looked surprised. 

"...you could see it?" Urahara asked, disbelief lacing his voice. 

Lucia quickly shook her head, gulping. Urahara nodded, reaching up and rubbing his chin. "Huh… you could feel it though?" Lucia nodded, paling a little. 

Oh… so there was something there. But… what is it? Why is Urahara here? Did he really…"

Urahara quickly noticed Lucia's continued silence, his face softening. "It's alright now, though. Come on-" He moved towards her, extending a hand. Lucia glanced up at his face, and relaxed a little. She nodded, and took his hand, allowing him to pull her back to her feet. She stumbled a bit, her knees still weak from the encounter. "You alright?"

Lucia drew in a shaky breath. "Y-Yeah. I think so." She looked around one last time, then realized that his hand was planted gently on her back. Clearing her throat, she pulled away a little. "What was that thing? I- I couldn't see it,"

"Hmmm…" Urahara's eyes darted around, unsure of how to answer. "It's a long story… uh… well, have you ever felt that sensation before? Obviously, nothing like what happened tonight, but similar?"

"I have," Lucia replied, slightly worried about how he seemed on edge still. And the way he kept looking at her, as if he were surprised about something. "A few days ago, I felt it following me, and then it was on the street outside my apartment, and…" She faltered for a second. "A long time ago. Back in America. I thought I was crazy, so I didn't say anything, but-"

"Well, long story short, you aren't crazy," Urahara cut in. He gave her what was supposed to be a comforting smile, even though this new information was slightly disturbing. "Listen- I thought I sensed it before, but now I know for sure; you possess a very… very faint spiritual energy. There are creatures who can sense that too, and they'll come for you like this one did tonight."

"H-Hold on!" Lucia exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Creatures? What do you mean?"

"They… well. They're like spirits. Come on-"

Before Lucia could ask any more questions, he grabbed her arm and guided her back down the alley towards the street. Lucia stumbled but quickly matched his fast pace. "Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you home."

Lucia didn't protest, silently thankful that he was staying with her for now. Despite this scary and unexpected situation, Urahara at least seemed to know what he was talking about, even if he was having trouble explaining it all to her. “Trouble” wasn’t the right word, though. Even through her shock, Lucia could tell that Urahara was holding information back from her on purpose. Maybe, for now, that was a good thing.

"So… will one of those creatures come for me again?"

"...Maybe."

Urahara frowned to himself, the shadows around his eyes growing deeper. Lucia felt that fear start to grow back. Almost as if he could sense it, Urahara's mood suddenly perked back up. "But that's alright! If you feel it again, all you have to do is come visit me, ‘kay?"

"...okay."

Lucia wasn't really in the right mind to ask questions, even if more were burning in her chest. But tonight had left her in shock; she would have time to get answers later. For now, it was all she could do to weakly answer him.

"...this is my place."

"Right." Urahara came to a stop, looking over at her again. "You sure you're alright?"

… who knows. 

Lucia nodded anyway, swallowing thickly. Urahara smiled, satisfied. "Alright. Well…" He reached out, patting her on the shoulder in what was supposed to be a friendly manner. "Have a good night. You know where to find me."

With that, he turned and started to walk away. Lucia watched him for a moment before turning towards her door, drawing in a shaky breath before she opened it. 

… what on Earth just happened…