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5eraphim · 2 years

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TF2 The Medic Yandere Alphabet

Link to @cuteghostwriter ‘s original alphabet

Character, The Medic 🕊 (Team Fortress 2)

Rating: T

Content warnings: yandere, unhealthy relationship dynamics, slightly suggestive, implied mind break

MASTER LIST

Word Count: 2.6k

song inspo

TIP JAR

(Last edited 1/3/2023)

Attachment, how do they become obsessed?

Considering the Medic is hardly the "love at first sight" type, more than likely, he needed to analyze and learn more about you before becoming truly smitten. Perhaps you were a rookie trainee working at his Medical Bay, another fledgling like so many before, but through trial by fire and a fighting spirit, you remained dedicated to your work. For so long, the Medic considered his craft his first and only love, yet something about you had him reconsidering. The feeling was as unnerving as it was bewitching.

Brutality, how vicious can they be towards a rival?

Well, brutal may be putting things lightly. (To no one's surprise.) The man is nothing short of ruthless in getting what he wants, no matter what or who it may be. The Medic isn't afraid to get his hands dirty to keep others away from you. But, so long as you were his, it's all worth it. Also, considering his implied unfruitful prior marriage, he feels he needs you all the more. Medic knows he enjoys brutalizing others as much as he loves protecting those he loves and isn't afraid to admit this.

Caring, how well do they take care of their obsession?

This likely won't come effortlessly for him or as naturally as it may come to others. But he can start with what he knows, ensuring your physical needs are always met, be it thirst, hunger, warmth, or exhaustion. If he notices you appear ill or in need, he'll be there to step in. Then, after a bit more time, the Medic may try to appeal more to your emotional side in the form of little gifts and tokens of affection, small gifts with immense meaning coming from him. Medic isn't very experienced in relationships or seduction and is insecure about coming on too strong and repelling you, and prefers to play it safe at the best of times.

Depraved, do they have a shrine? (If so, what's on it?)

The Medic is pragmatic and logic-driven, and it's hard to think of him utilizing precious resources to construct a "shrine." But as mentioned before, it's easier for him to communicate and comprehend physical objects over words and sentimentality. So, most likely, the Medic keeps a private little stash of pilfered belongings away from prying eyes. Handwritten notes, pens, jewelry, things like that. So, while he doesn't have a "shrine," he has a little hiding spot for his eyes only.

Erratic, how unpredictable are they? How quickly are their mood changes?

This poor man is egregiously love and touch-depraved, as well as being wholly unhinged. Once he thinks you return his affections, he's ready to pounce, not one to fall fast, but with his entire heart all the same. (Though his ability to differentiate platonic from romantic affections leaves much to be desired.) Once he's sure you feel the same way, all your little acts of kindness towards him mean the world, and he's not afraid to let you know. Likewise, he's fiercely competitive and territorial. If he senses another man is infatuated with you, their ass is gone. (You ought to be thanking him, really-)

Fun, what do they do to keep their obsession entertained

Considering this man's idea of fun involves organ harvesting and human experimentation, it may be best to leave this one to your interpretation. Likely the most wholesome quality time with him will be spent tending to his birds, but considering how he treasures his bird children, allowing you to help care for them is a massive display of trust from him.

Good, do they reward their obsession for good behavior?

But of course! He's the type to get off on obedience, and the idea of programming you into becoming his perfect, doting, and loving spouse is a very appealing endgame. Unfortunately, he's also a massive manipulator with ulterior motives and a nasty lying streak. He likely will bait you by being softer with you and "stay on his good side," so you are conditioned into subconsciously keeping close and subconsciously trying to appease him. Only allowing himself to indulge in his darker impulses when you display fear or resistance.

Hysterical, how quickly would their facade break?

Bitch, what facade? The man is past unhinged, and there is no conceivable way he could maintain a "sensible, unthreatening normal boss for long. Despite this, it would likely be a while before you discovered his mad love. Considering his deranged obsession with his work, his eccentricities were easily accepted as part of his "quirks." And though you were frightened, you wanted to believe deep down he was a nice guy, and you just needed to give him a chance. Unfortunately, by the time you came to grasp the weight of his obsessive fixation with you, it was already far too late for you to save yourself.

Intimate, how intimate are they with their obsession?

The Medic never had a good way with words. His communication skills left much to be desired, much less in a romantic context. Physical touch and gentleness are equally troublesome for him to comprehend and exemplify. It's all considerably foreign to the Medic, but he wants you and desires to be wanted in kind. He simply has a unique way of showing it. He'd make sure if the two of you were working together, no one interrupted, or he would always offer his personal quarters to you in your downtime if you wanted a bit of privacy from the rest of the staff. Things that are objectively gracious but not explicitly romantic.

Jealous, what makes them the most jealous?

While he would never admit it, seeing you buddy up with the other members of his team, especially the more extroverted and outspoken members, triggers his insecurities. Although Medic genuinely worries they overshadow him in your eyes, even if he knows your relationship with him is much more personal, the doubt lingers all the same. How was it fair these men who would never love you as he did, were so comfortable at your side? Would you still remember him if you preferred his comrades' company to his own? That unfairness and the threat of being your "second choice" destroys him. Jealousy never fails to bring out the worst in him and is one of the few things that can trigger him to act on impulse or spur-of-the-moment acts of aggression.

Kindness, so they think what they're doing is kindness?

The Medic isn't stupid, he may be delusional, but he can't turn his rational mind off entirely. He knows imprisoning you and conditioning you into becoming his lover isn't right and not normal, but that isn't to say he regrets his actions. On the contrary, it's all worth it so long as he can keep you out of the dangers of war, untrustworthy men, or whatever else may come your way. Whether you see it that way or not.

Lust, what is the most beautiful thing about their obsession?

He may be a bit older, but Medic's no stranger to acting on his more sinister desires, no one provoking these desires quite like yourself. He's more the type to appreciate your figure and how your body moves and reacts more so than any particular body part. As a doctor, if he could, he'd want to explore every inch of your body if you'd allow him. The only exception may be how he can feel your heart beating in your chest when he stalks close enough to listen in those precious few moments. He dreams of resting with you in his bed, his head in your arms, nestling into your chest, listening to the hypnotic rhythm. No clothes to hide behind, just you running your fingers through his hair as he can feel the warmth of your body perfectly against his own.

Makeout, what are their kisses like?

Unfortunately, he's not very practiced, or rather, he's considerably out of practice compared to his younger years. Even when he manages to muster up the courage to kiss you after thinking of this moment a hundred times before, preparing for this one instant, he'll always come off as a bit too forceful. Too handsy, too needy, desperate to feel your body against his own. Bless his heart, he's doing his best to make this moment pleasurable for you, but he can't help himself! His hands have a mind of their own, pulling your body closer to his, feeling you up all over. But, when the Medic's voice drops into that breathy, lusty, deep moan- You can't help but melt a little despite yourself. He may mellow out a touch the more time he spends with you, but that's no promise.

Never, what is one thing they would never do to their obsession?

He would never try to punish you by forcing you out on your own to fend for yourself. He can be cold when pushed to anger, but this would be going too far. The Medic is far from a softie when it comes to punishment. But he's also hyper-vigilant in keeping you perfectly healthy and in his care. Likely if he heard whisperings of you planning on leaving the med bay to find work elsewhere, he would have the opposite response. This would be the tipping point that convinces him to kidnap you for your own good. At his coldest, he would deny you healing but could be pushed to enforce more physical punishments. Imagine Medic keeping you locked up without sunshine, food, or warmth for several days until you start to break down and can no longer resist him.

Outrage, what makes them furious?

Watching you act up or in any way endanger your physical health recklessly or allowing others to heal or dote on you instead of him. This includes pursuing relationships with "the wrong crowd," i.e., his comrades. You were too precious to be running around with the other lunatic mercenaries, and he would be furious to learn of you sneaking around with anyone behind his back. Likewise, accepting their help or taking their offerings of food/healing in his eyes is equally self-endangering.

Pleasure, what is something they love making their obsession do?

Making you behave as his obedient little assistant. He's likely thought of trying to conduct a total mind-break on you, but he's conflicted. While nothing arouses his affections and passions like watching you obey his commands and keeping close to no one but himself, he still treasures your mind. You're bright, and your intellect ought to be cultivated and protected, and clearly, he can't have it both ways, but he may still consider it a last-ditch effort to possess you if you try to run away and keep you as some mix between a house-servant and a trophy wife.

Quick, how quick are they to figure out escape plans?

Precisely that, quick. The Medic is hyper-attentive to details and very quick to pick up and learn your natural subconscious patterns. Once he notices something off with you, perhaps acting a little too charming, a possible sign you're trying to flatter him, so he'd lower his guard around you long enough to slip away. Or too withdrawn, like you're trying to break free as fast as possible, trying to drop under his radar. Either way, it's enough to arouse his suspicions, and he's not afraid to directly confront you on this kind of behavior.

Romantic, how romantic can they be or try to be?

The Medic loves you with all his heart, more than he's loved anyone else before, and he would do anything to show he cares. But this is, unfortunately, not one of his proficiencies, and he knows it. The Medic knows most people see him as cold, cruel, or creepy; unfortunately, at this late in his life, he has mostly resigned himself to his fate. No matter how sweet or caring he tries to act around you, there is always that voice in the back of his head telling him he's not compassionate enough to truly captivate you. (Poor baby)

Self-indulgent, how possessive are they, if at all?

This man has more than enough self-importance to see himself as totally in the right to take you under his wing and mold you as he pleases. Unsurprisingly, the answer is a hard yes. After all, now that he's spent all this time making you dependent on him, it would be horribly cruel to abandon or give up on you!

Trust, how much information about themself would they grant their obsession?

As little as possible, if you're working under him, close enough to be his right hand, clearly you're sharp. And he's likely quite paranoid you'll catch onto the game he's been playing and run away before he can steal you away. So the Medic wants to keep you in the dark as long as possible. And would do his best to play his concerning behavior off on his eccentric persona as long as possible. Medic isn't the kind of person to feel any reservations or moral qualms about lying to you if it's within his self-interest.

Unattractive, what is their most unattractive trait besides being a yandere?

Well, his unbridled malpractice is a bit of a vibe killer. :/

Viscous, how viscous can they get?

C'mon now, if you know anything about him, you'll see the answer here is as much as possible. There is no brutality he won't sink to, no moral boundary he won't cross. If he suspects someone is plotting against him, they're gone. He is cold, swift, efficient, and proud of it. He knows acting like this is doing him no favors in your eyes, but he also rationalizes if you ever do come around to him, all will be forgiven.

Weakness, what is something they can't resist?

The Medic is too calculating for his own good. While he may dream of an ideal life, just the two of you forever, he's too paranoid and insecure to completely let his guard down around you. Unfortunately, his paranoia is his own worst enemy. It clouds his judgment and keeps him from ever letting his guard down around you entirely.

Xenodochial, how fast would their obsession cut them off after an escape?

If you had a single brain cell, you would run far away and never look back. Don't tell anyone where you're going, don't try to play mind games with the Medic, and don't leave him any clues behind. If you challenge him to win your freedom or engage in a civil, normal relationship, he'll pull you back in for good this time. Your only hope to escape him is to outrun him. If you can, that is.

Yearning, how much do they pine for their obsession?

More so than he ever has before. It surprises everyone to see the Medic acting so lovesick, and there's even a chance the others might catch on to how he reacts differently around you before he does. He certainly never thought he'd become so lovesick for another, and you wouldn't expect him to take so warmly to you so quickly. Basically, the Medic is down BIBLICALLY and tearing himself apart. He doesn't know how to deal with this. Love is as disturbing as it is beguiling.

Zealous, how devoted to their darling are they?

With all his heart! He was never one to half-ass anything he set his mind to, much less something as important as his relationship with you. However, once a bit of time passes and he determines he's properly and hopelessly smitten with you, he will resign himself to his fate. The Medic knows he'll need drastic measures to ensure the future he dreams of, but he's ready to fight for it, tooth and nail.

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere alphabet #yandere tf2 #yandere tf2 medic #tf2 medic #yandere medic #yandere tf2 medic x reader #tf2 medic x reader #yandere medic x reader

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consumare · 1 year

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i'm gonna take some time to talk about h.annibal's office today because that's what's on my mind.

this is his office in baltimore. i was thinking that maybe the building could hold several leases in it, like have different offices, but we know how h.annibal is with his money, so i have to assume he bought the whole thing. there's no way he planned to share anything, so the building is his to do with what he will. it was built in 1873, and it's neighbors with a fucking church. i could probably talk about how ironic that is, but that's for a different post. h.annibal liked this building because of the windows, how much light could be let into his office, and the architecture caught his eye. this was the third lease he'd look at, and this was the one he chose. it's a historical building that he took over and paid for out of pocket, most likely.

the interior is very interesting. there is an art nouveau style ( quoted as 'characterized by its use of a long, sinuous, organic line' ) and neoclassicism. there is a lot of danish furniture, which gives way to his european roots. the walls are a warm grey, but then there's an accent wall with a pop of red. i personally think this office was meant to make people comfortable, but have that little bit uncertainty. he wanted the space to feel welcoming, but overwhelming. there are hundreds of books on his shelves, some first additions even. the art, sculptures, books, they're all put there purposefully, since he has a meaning for everything in there ( quoted as 'a stunning library that has become a symbol of demonstrative, straightforward art and object collecting that reflect the course of a person's entire life' ). i think he decorated with a few intentions in mind, contradicting somewhat, wanting his patients to feel both ease and unease, so they couldn't really be comfortable there, even with how charming / open their therapist seemed to be. and they wouldn't really know why they couldn't get to that point, which is why hannibal did it - because it's amusing.

the rug is persian. the striped curtains are 13 feet high. i was trying to find what the photography framed on the walls might be, or what art he collects to put in his office, to no avail. will update if i find anything, though i did find this about the art in his waiting room -

quoted from this post - 'this painting in h.annibal's waiting room is part of a triptych called “suzumi no hotaru” (納涼の蛍 - “catching fireflies in the cool of the evening”). the triptych is part of a larger collection called “shiki no yuukan” (四季遊観 - “pleasures of the four seasons”) by utagawa kuniyoshi and it dates from around 1843.'

his desk is an original leif jacobsen design. he doesn't sit behind it when patients are in the office, he reserves conversations for the two grey leather chairs in front of it, to make therpy feel more open. his desk is always clean, always neat and tidy. he puts everything back where it belongs. found there are his therapy notes, several notebooks. in one of the drawers he keeps his sketches, pencils, and scalpel ( which he uses to sharpen his pencils ). the desk is reservd for after appointment work only, basically.

and finally the floorplan. there is a waiting room, and then there is also a foyer, which doubles as a private exit for his clients. outside the waiting room is where the receptionist would be if he hadn't eaten her.

edit: i found some of the art, cause i'm a boss.

the fall of the rebel angels from book i of paradise lost by john milton c. 1868.

summer: buckwheat harvest by jean-françois millet. c 1874.

i can't find anything concrete for this one. this piece could be another by utagawa kuniyoshi or perhaps utagawa kunisada, or it could be by anyone who used the triptych style, so i can't say for sure nor can i find this specific print anywhere.

#wow thank you for comign to my ted talk ig #STUDY.

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bizarrequazar · 1 year

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GJ and ZZH Updates — August 20-26

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

08-20 → The Instagram posted three photos of “Zhang Zhehan” in Tibet and six scenery photos.

08-21 → The Zhang Sanjian TikTok account posted a video where “Zhang Zhehan” did the haizhe hand signal wrong and distinctly had breasts rather than pecs.

→ Hogan posted nine behind the scenes photos (1129 kadian) and a video from their recent shoot with Gong Jun.

→ Fresh posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. Caption: “Love is a romantic surge day and night, and it is also a brave rush across mountains and seas. In the days when we can't see each other, I subconsciously want to put everything about the other party higher, including their address. This year's Qixi festival, Fresh joins hands with the spokesperson @ Gong Jun Simon to wish all long-distance couples a happy delivery and a harvest of love.”

→ Madame Tussauds posted a promotional video spoken by Gong Jun for Qixi. [subbed video]

08-22 → 361° posted two photo ads featuring Gong Jun.

→ A special episode of Hello Saturday was released for Qixi featuring Gong Jun and several other actors from Legend of Anle. (Filmed 07-22, the same day as the other episode.) (Not on YouTube yet, a link will be added here once it is.)

→ The Instagram posted two photos of “Zhang Zhehan” and seven scenery photos.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted ten photos of him from the Hello Saturday episode. Caption: “His Royal Highness the Prince (Qixi Edition) @ Gong Jun Simon is back for a limited time, adding a little sweetness to your Qixi Festival~”

→ Rare posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun Outdoor Office posted a video of him learning a Douyin dance. Caption: “Dancing miracle”

→ Ranyi Music announced another Zhang Sanjian concert, this time in Kuala Lumpur. As a reminder, [here] is my post collecting information about how the Bangkok concerts were sketchy as fuck. The venue for this one is inside a mall that is largely empty aside from the concert hall itself and adult-oriented stores.

→ Fresh posted a promotional video spoken by Gong Jun.

08-23 → Gong Jun’s studio posted a promotional image for Fox Spirit Matchmaker to celebrate 2 million users setting notifications for its airing. Caption: “It’s hard to cool down with a passion in the blood, and he is unrestrained between heaven and earth. The number of reservations on the site has exceeded 2 million! Dongfang Yuechu @ Gong Jun Simon will see you soon!” Gong Jun Outdoor Office posted the same image without the text overlay, caption: “Posted the original picture!“

→ The Fox Spirit Matchmaker Weibo posted a promotional image of Gong Jun and his costar Yang Mi to celebrate the same milestone.

08-24 → Gong Jun’s studio posted a promotional video for 361° and the Asian Games spoken by him.

→ The Instagram posted ten photos of “Zhang Zhehan”, a dog, and scenery. The caption included 🐶😺 and ⛰️ and reeked of desperation.

08-25 → Rare posted two photo ads featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

08-26 → The Instagram posted a video promoting their money laundering concert.

→ Da Zhangwei, one of the other regulars from Go Fighting!, posted a video Gong Jun filmed sending him a support message.

Additional Reading: → Flora finished translating the article on money laundering that she started last week. [follow up on how this potentially relates to the situation]

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

#Zhang Zhehan #Gong Jun #Word of Honor #woh cast #lld timeline

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anonmothgod · 1 month

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Worldbuilding; Furry Edition pt 2.5

Werewolves Social Time!

Another longer post folks, I'm not too ashamed considering I found my Aderall so we are productive today!

Werewolves have a social heiarchy. While Clans follow by family being leaders then freinds, in middle and highschool these are typically cliques that last a school year at a time.

Adults refer to these friend groups as "whelp clans" or "pup clans" depending on the age.

You have Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omega rankings.

Alphas are the leaders of their clans. Making exectuive descions and make plans, Alphas help lay down the foundations for any major choice. They are referred to by title in place for "yes sir/yes ma'am.", and ouside of immediate family no one knows names. Example; "Thank you, Alpha." "Yes, Alpha." "No, Alpha.". You only add their name if there are multiple clans meeting together.

Betas are the right and left hand people for the Alphas. They make sure that plans are approved, proofread, and organizing meetings with the clans. Betas are not reffered to by title Beta, but not by name either. They are reffered to by sir/ma'am, and their names are not said either.

Deltas are the libarians of the clan, those that are spiritally close to the Great Mother and those who transcribe all documentations of every meeting, plan, path, territory, everything that would need to be kept track of. If anyone needs information, they go to the delta. Deltas are reffered to as "Great Trackers", "Seers" or "Seekers". Example; "I need your help, Seeker.", "Thank you, Tracker." "Thank you, Seer."

Omegas are the scouts. Deltas and Omegas work close with eachother as Omegas are responible for front line work, such as hunting and gathering. They do the phsycical labor of the clan, and tend to everyone. They are physically built strong, and are reffered to by title and title alone. Example; "Thank you Omega.", "Our Omega has brought up a great hunt!".

In most clans, there is no difference of power between the titles. Each person in a clan, in their village has a role and that title reflects that. Its not unusual for an Omega to take the place of an Alpha, and the Alpha becomes the Omega for the clan.

But when it comes to whelp and pup clans, and some minor clans, this is not the case. Each title holds power and some shame.

It goes from Alpha -> Beta -> Delta -> Omega in the heiarchy. Alphas get whatever they want, when the want and the Omega is ruthlessly harrashed for any needless task. Betas bully Deltas, in a way to mirror the dynamic of the Alpha and the Omega.

The age range goes from middle school to even into college depending on the leadership at the campus where this title competition happens.

Similarly, titles can be challanged. Typically physically, and it gets bloodly. Puncture wounds and claw slashes are frequent during these title disputes, as it must be done without any outside tool like a knife. While clans usually are able to sit down and have a discussion before resorting to battle, whelp clans do battle first.

However, there are some things that are NOT allowed. No nose hits, or going for the ears or tail. It is seen as incredibly dishonorable, from all cultures of werewolves and even from Mewf'ias.

Ear cropping and tail docking, for the Clans on the East Coast in the U.S, is seen as a shameful act. It marks that indivuial that they have either been rejected from their clan, or have broken one of the Old Laws.

Old Laws are oral laws passed down, referring to what actions a werewolf can and cannot do when "In the tribes of the Humans", or when werewolves live in cities or towns and not the home clan. Every werewolf, from a pup to grown, are taught these laws.

Some of these laws include; Do not hunt or maime a human, do not steal the claws of the Mewf'ia, obey the moon cycles and stay inside during an all-bright (Full moon) or a no-bright (New Moon), do not eat forbidden foods of humans (typically referring to chocolate or harvested grain), ensure the safety of the pack above your own self want, ect.

Some of these laws are outdated and some choose to omit those laws, such as no eating the forbidden human foods, but others are kept strictly enforced.

Old Laws are different for each clan, but universal laws are typically a.) don't hunt, maime, kil or eat humans or Mewf'ias b.)Don't risk clan safety for personal wants and gains and c.) No turning humans to werewolves for personal want.

Werewolf bites on humans frequently lead to Wolf Bite Fever (like Cat Sctrach Fever), which either ends up with a newly turned werewolf or a very sick human.

Sucess of transmition depends on the werewolf, the severity of the bite, and even inentions (A werewolf who has intentions of infecting produces more saliva, and more saliva is transmitted into the blood system. It is also why survivors of werewolf attacks end up turing into a werewolf due to the high amount of saliva and blood transmission.)

Oddly enough, only bites are able to turn. Blood donations, organ transplant, even sharing a toothbrush or meal won't risk transmission. Even the social rank of a werewolf can affect transmission rates. (On average, a werewolf who has been deemed an Alpha is able to transmit within 2 years of holding said status)

Werewolf ranks is able to affect werewolves on the physiological level. It takes on average 3 months to start seeing noticable effects, where Alpha and Omega build up muscles and typically have longer claw growth while Deltas start to show better short-term memory retention and start to get more defined leg muscles. Betas remain unaffected.

Since welp clans have yearly change since the school year ends and the titles don't hold over the summer due to issue of conversion in places, there is no real risk of accidental bites.

Once 18 and in college, however it all changes. Actual Clans are in colleges, and none of the issues with whelp or pup clans are found here. Titles are just old things, and ususally titles are nulled all together.

College Clans are deemed very safe and are the best indroduction to mature clan dynamics outside of family clan afflliations. Without titles, it is often a group of college students who are able to relate to eachother very well. Mewf'ias and Humans are found in these clans as well, rather it is from familiarity with friends or wanting to learn and socalize with different people.

Body language is everything with werewolves. Able to read ear and tail movements, how they react to certain actions, and how to even give greeting is essential.

Human smiling =/= Werewolf smiling. Barring teeth is a threat, so 'full tooth smiles' are more unerving then friendly. Soft smiling is the way to go when it comes to greeting.

Smells are important too. Werewolves want to know where you went, when did you go, and who went with you. Perfumes and scented lotions are usually not allowed in schools or in work places due to giving migranes to both Mewf'ias and Werewolves.

Hugs are a very reserved action. Pat on the shoulders or handshakes are done more then hugs since the sensation of someone holding your chest makes most of them tense and panic. Getting a werewolf hug is of a high honor.

Sleep piles. All the time. Half the time you find a werewolf alseep it is either in a sleep pile with other werewolves, or if you're a loner without anyone, a pile of blankets and stuffed animals/pillows. They are able to curl up tightly, like the Mewf'ias, so on average only 25% is taken up by the person while the other 75% is a fort of pillows and stuffed animals.

Couches are uncommon furnature items. Many werewolves prefer sitting on the floor for enterainment, while chairs are for working areas and beds for sleeping.

Beanbags? Beanbags everywhere. You could roll off one beanbag and into another one.

Whew! I have alot of ideas so I'm going to be listing more hc's soon. Thanks for reading this far!

#aphblr #mystreet #omen of a half blind raven #aphmau #personal headcanon

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thebaconspider · 1 year

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okay i guess people are coming to tumblr from reddit so i figured i'd make my own guide because the other ones piss me off

so first things first

you're going to want to change your pfp/header/blog description off of the defaults. tumblr has a pretty big bot problem so blogs with default pfp/headers are usually a block on sight for most people. you may also want to make a post saying your new from reddit and maybe reblog some things.

thats the most important thing the rest of this is pretty optional

you're going to want to go into settings under the dashboard tab and change some things.

Endless scrolling: preference thing, i prefer to have it on but you could turn it off if you wanted

Show timestamps on posts, reblogs, and notes.: you're going to want to make sure this is on, posts circulate on tumblr a lot longer than they tend to on other sites. seeing posts from 5+ years ago is a pretty common occurrence.

Shorten long posts: turn this on, you don't want to get color of the sky'd.

Use blog colors when viewing blogs: another preference thing, i personally have it on but there are many reasons you might want to turn it off.

Best Stuff First: you're going to want to turn this off if you want a chronological dashboard.

Include stuff in your orbit: most people will tell you that you must turn this off but you really don't have to, i turn it on myself from time to time. it just puts stuff the people you follow have liked on your dashboard occasionally.

Include "Based On Your Likes!": another one most people will say you need to turn off but you don't really need to. personally i leave it off because if i want to see stuff based on my likes i just go to my for you page.

Include followed tags post: you can turn this one off if you want, i'm not sure why you would follow a tag if you didn't want to see posts from it occasionally.

Enable colorized tags: a preference thing, you can turn this off if you want.

Snooze Tumblr Live: you probably should turn this on but i got tired of turning it on every week so i just ignore the tumblr live stuff. whatever you do don't use tumblr live it's run by another company and harvests your data. EDIT: Tumblr Live was removed a while ago

next your gonna want to go to your blog settings.

Enable custom theme: i would really recommend turning this on. it lets you do a bunch of crazy stuff with your blogs theme (including just straight up editing the html) and it also gives you back your [blank].tumblr.com url instead of your just using the tumblr.com/[blank] url.

Share posts you like: makes your likes public, i would recommend turning this off.

Share the Tumblrs you're following: makes the blogs you follow public, i would recommend turning this off.

now for some feature of the site

this is the like button, you press it if you like something. you can only like a post once. some users will bitch at you if you use it, kill them.

this is the reblog button, you press it if you want something to show up on your blog. you can reblog a post as many times as you want.

you can add tags, text, images (anything you could put in a post) on a reblog but you don't have to.

this is the reply button, you press it if you want to leave a comment on a post. it's kinda strange and i don't like using it.

tags

tags are cool, you can use them to find things or organize the stuff on your blogs.

some people say the search function doesn't work which just isn't true. sure searching for the content of a post doesn't really work but searching by tag works pretty well in my experience.

to do this type the tag you want into the search bar and then click "Go To #[tag]"

you can also filter tags if you don't want to see posts with that tag, they'll still show up on your dash they'll just be blurred and you'll need to click on them to see them. it will say which tags it has that are causing it to be filtered.

people also often use tags to leave a little comment on posts or communicate back and forth or hold additional information.

community labels

i don't really see people talking about these, i don't think many people use them, but your probably going to want to set these to either "Show" or "Blur"

note: if you set a label to "Hide" posts with that label will not show up for you at all

iirc all of these are set to "Hide" by default so remember to change that setting if you want to.

one last thing: the queue

the queue is pretty neat, if you want to reblog something later, but don't have a specific time in mind, you can queue it!

you can change how many things in your queue are posted a day and what times of day they get posted on your queued post page.

and thats everything i can think of.

apologies if i forgot anything. EDIT: Additional Information

Asks

i totally should've covered these when i first made the post, sorry.

asks are pretty cool. if asks are turned on people can send little messages to your inbox.

ask options are found in your blog settings. you can choose to allow anonymous asks, asks with media, or just turn off asks all together.

Destiel News

important news is often shared in the form of a meme from the scene in supernatural where castiel confess his love for dean, with the top image being castiel with the caption "i love you" and the bottom image being dean with whatever recent news the user is sharing as the caption.

here's the blank for your news announcing purposes

#reddit migration #reddit #posts for new users #bacon posts #i'm probably going to regret posting this #i'm also a pretty new user all things considered and some of the older users probably won't agree with the thing i said about...#... likes specifically #quite honestly i just get unreasonably angry whenever people start bitching about the like button #i probably wouldn't have made this post if the one user guide i saw didn't complain about likes vs reblogs bullshit

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chaosoftheages · 6 months

Text

Vita Carnis: Real Things I Said, Part 2

Link:

youtube

Key: Dialogue from the video is in italics.

*The last 30 seconds of The Mimic*

"What the fuck is going o-OH GOD" *gagging sounds*

My friend: WHAT THE-

*ad break*

"OH THANK FUCK IT'S OVER-"

The Harvesters

"This can't get worse."

"ok that's not so bad...why am I saying that it's probably gonna get worse."

"I'm sorry 6 feet?"

"WOAH WOAH THE TENDRILS CAN REACH ALMOST 500 FEET-"

"of course it's deadly-wait what?"

"Why does it look like it's from a Doom game?"

*Glaring at the Winnie The Pooh movie playing for my sister* Do you mind I'm giving myself nightmares for the next 5 decades?!

My friend: Those look like balls-

Me: Dude what the fuc-

"I'm sorry that thing has PARALYSIS ABILITIES?!"

"The prey will immediately collapse"

"OH HELL NO-"

My friend: Cause of death: blood loss.

Me: Dude.

"That shit be drinking blood. What is it, a vampire?"

"WELCOME TO THE UNDERGROUND-"

My friend: *humming the Stranger Things theme song*

"Causing very prominent plant growth-"

"Why does this sound like it's gonna get worse."

"-Attracting more animals."

"Yup. It got worse. I called it."

"Oh thank God the bunnies are saved."

"So the bunnies lure the foxes and shiz...oop-"

"SPECTACULAR?!? BITCH IT'S NOTHING BUT DEADLY-"

"Oh God it's coming for us-"

"OH GOD THERE'S NO CURE FUUUUUUU-"

"Oh yes, it's good for the ecosystem BITCH THAT SHIT IS GONNA WIPE OUT THE HUMAN RACE-

"DO NOT PANIC-BITCH THAT THING IS GONNA BE THE NEXT LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH OF COURSE IMMA PANIC!!!!"

"Yeah no I ain't sacrificing my computer to a fucking creature with a bulb that looks like someone's balls-"

My friend: Be naked.

Me: Sacrifice your balls if your gonna go naked.

My friend: No-

"The Host? Oh for fucks sakes-"

The Host

*Munches Oreos* This is a bad idea but I've done worse. Moving on-

"Semi-human organism BITCH THE FUCK-"

"Welp the planet ain't safe anymore Imma just move to another fucking planet OH WAIT THERE'S FUCKING ALIENS UP THERE FOR FUCKS SAKES-That's it I'm moving to Antarctica they can't get me there."

"Muscular tissue what-nows?"

"Yeah that's a monster from like...Silent Hill or Resident Evil or Dead by Daylight. I'm out."

"Oh so it basically can cause another worldwide pandemic. Okay!"

"Wait wait wait NORTH AMERICA?!!? OH FOR FUCKING FUCKS SAKES-"

"HAH SEE I CALLED IT WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC 2.0 BECAUSE OF THESE MOTHERFUCKERS-"

"Tf these bitches gonna do to my brain-"

"How do restlessness and sluggish movements end up on the same list of symptoms????"

"Impaired speech? Trembles??? Heh???? Elaborate."

"Ehjebe-CONTACT POISON CONTROL?!?!?!?!?!?"

*Gagging sounds*

"Oh for fucks sakes- why can't the symptoms just kill me? I'd rather die from a fuckin migraine than expose my fucking intenstines to THAT-"

"Tell me that bitch did not just take my heart and leave my dead body and blood behind THE HARVESTERS HAD THE AUDACITY TO TAKE MY BLOOD WITH IT-"

"How the fuck do you treat all of that in 36 hours-oh wait NVM. Let it just...be in another country so I can board a plane and never see it again because I ain't reaching that shit in 36 hours."

"I'm sorry, unroot?"

"The mono-what?"

The Monoliths

"Why the fuck did you just give me a laundry detergent ad."

"Where the fuck did that guy's arms go?"

"June of 1972 holy shit. Where?"

"OWWWWWWWWW MY EARDRUMS YOU BITCH-"

"Oh thank God there's only seven-"

"The Mono-Cult."

"OH FOR FUCKS SAKES IF I HEAR THAT DAMN SOUND ONE MORE TIME-"

"Titanic-sized? Is it the length of the titanic...wait wasn't that thing like 800 feet-OH HELL NO"

"Oh. 120 meters. Wait how much is tha-393 FEET?!?!?!??"

*Staring at the photo on screen*

"Are those it's feet?"

"Ehejebe holy shi-"

"Meaty what-now."

"Hardened W H A T."

"Illuminati: Upside Down Edition."

"This bitch is the new SCP 096 with those long ass...whatever's."

"What the monoliths do is simply stand and do nothing."

"Ex-fucking-cuse me?"

"O GOD THE SOUND IS BACK-"

"AGAIN SERIOUSLY?!?!? WE NEED THIS SHIT-"

"So the only information I have so far is it's only sighting was in June 1972, it's almost 400 feet tall, the seven existing Monoliths stand in a circular motion and play "Cult", and it stands there and doesn't do shit. That's it. All other information has left to meet Navy."

"Navy ik your a bitch but can I have that info please-"

"Ehejebe-"

"They dispatched the military?! THE MILITARY LOST?! HOW THE FU-"

"Woah woah woah DID THE ROCKETS WIN?!?!?!?"

"What's with the noises???"

"O shi-"

"Wait wait WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!?"

"That low-key looked like that one Siren Head TikTok video I saw like 3 years ago."

"Oh. I don't think the rockets won."

The captions: Restricted to wall.

"Ok I can't take this damn video seriously with these fucking captions."

"Now only a grand spectacle of awe and mystery."

"A grand what of what and mystery?"

"Meat what nows."

"The last creature on this list is what? I need to know!!!! NAVY COME BACK HERE WITH MY INFO-"

"Thank you! Jesus Christ...The Singularity? Oh God what is this?"

The Singularity

"I'm about to turn into Melvin Sneedly from that one episode of Captain Underpants where he was just like "THE SINGULARITY!" for a horror story."

"I CAN'T READ JACK SHIT WHAT THE FUCK-"

"The Singularity is estimated to be about...1 meter in diameter? That thing is 3 feet? PFFFFFF-"

"Serveral unique qualities that are not well understood? From the picture it looks like a black orb in the sky."

"OHHHH THAT'S WHAT THE MONOLITHS ARE SURROUNDING-"

"So The Singularity is basically a floating ball and the singular...fuck, anyways...the singular time the Monoliths got aggressive was because of The Singularity. Interesting."

*Watching the Storybook video in confusion*

"...What the fuck did I just watch."

#autumn being autumn #autumn reacts #analog horror #vita carnis #Scarlet's puns are getting to me #God damn it #I think there's more but I've given myself enough nightmares #Youtube

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septima-severa · 7 months

Text

Chapter 4 of Thrawn story available

This time, I edited the chapter heavily and shortened it considerably before publishing, as I got another idea how to incorporate Ezra Bridger to the story (it is not vital for the storyline itself, though... probably). I let him drag our OC into the World between Worlds for the first time, as we will return there for more discussions about nothing in the next chapter.

As for the science behind my writing, I would like to pay homage to this amazing research done on slime mould. Back in November 2023, we invited Dr Audrey Dussutour to our Department to deliver a talk "Problem solving in slime molds" which was amazing. There are sure many things floating around the internet about these amazing single-celled creatures, and some of you may have heard about this experiment from Japan when slime mould was made to grow over the map of Tokyo to show that it copies the engineering of the city, and thus proves that these moulds can be quite efficient. Well, they were sent to ISS, too, showing that instead of a regular 2D growth, they grow into a 3D maze, and this was done by Dr Dussutour.

You can read an older interview from 2019 with her with the Joyful Microbe here.

excerpt from the story:

While you were waiting, the automaton slicing the ancient bones you had collected, selecting pieces for different methods, your attention shifted towards the microscope with sampled lichen and moss from the mountains. One of the stacks of dishes was overgrown with a strange slime mould, a single-celled hunter always in search of food in its proximity. Apparently, you did a terrible job feeding it because now it was stretching its protoplasmic strands in all directions, feeling for a gradient of nutrients to follow… The lab was a mess. But your mess. A little chaos you had created to challenge yourself in times of boredom. Although you had attempted to mend Thrawn’s uniform in the past – and to be honest, your needlework on his worn-out lapel and collar had come out as quite good to your opinion – you needed a change in routine.

So, you perched on a tiny stool and moved slides under the set of magnifying lenses, checking on the tiny microworlds again. You had noticed that their fluorescence grew more prominent in the proximity of the kyber crystal you had harvested in the cave, and its potent power manifested again now when it slipped out of your open shirt collar, dangling secured to a string around your neck. You could watch the pulsating life for hours.

You didn’t hear him coming in. Thus, when his presence hit your senses, you were completely unprepared, freezing mid-movement on your way from the shelf back to the microscope. You accidentally spilled the contents of the dish you were currently holding on the floor, the delicate glass smashing into pieces at your feet. When you bent down to retrieve whatever was salvageable from the floor, cursing mildly in the process, he made a few steps towards you.

---

This chapter is not plot-heavy, but as I promised some shibari in the past that should take place here... Yes, my dear thirsty reader, you're gonna be Thrawn's personal piece of this art for the night here.

#grand admiral thrawn #fanfiction #star wars #thrawn x reader #peridea #science behind fanfiction

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zydrateacademy · 7 months

Text

Current Activities in Gaming #230

Since my last Starfield post I discovered a handful of mods that really "make" a character. I believe I had already spiked Contraband prices. That 13k might look good but once you get it to a vendor that quickly turns into 3k which isn't much more than guns and spacesuits you can sell without having to avoid ship scans.

But there's two mods that allow you to harvest organs. One is called "Recycle Scum", wherein based on your Medicine/Zoology skills you can harvest corpses for the "Harvested Organs" contraband. Pretty dark, but another one came along that made it even darker. Called "chopshop". Every npc you kill comes with a 40 pound "corpse" item which themselves can be converted into contraband. I then made the above character, nicknamed "The Bloody Butcher". I also downgraded my contraband prices from 5x to 3x, because I was just drowning in organs after a certain point.

As dark as it is I'm enjoying playing the game in an entirely different way. Often having to balance my greed with my carry weight. Once you go over encumbrance, the slightest little jog will completely tank your oxygen and you'll be unable to sprint and start losing health. The Personal Atmosphere ability cancels this out... except for the fact that I am sometimes full of corpses before entering an enemy base. So I'm constantly juggling Personal Atmosphere with Reactive Shield to reduce incoming damage. I basically have to time my engagements with one or the other, and it's pretty awesome.

This is very likely the reason I haven't entered a 'cooldown' period with Starfield yet. Every time I consider taking a break a mod comes along that makes me think "Oh I need to hit Unity and start a playthrough to utilize this".

I've also spent a bit more time with ship building and I've become a bit more savvy with it. I've learned I can CTRL+Click things to target multiple items, which even works with the duplication hotkey and coloring. I've figured out cockpits have a different "entry" point so you can't just slap them all on the top of the ship, you need to figure out where its backdoor is. I've also learned why I have so much trouble with docker modules, basically no other item can go past it, even a weapon mount. I guess because it would clip with the ship you're docking with. That was always the problem I ran into with that, and figured out that the extra weapon mounts I was placing was interrupting my ship's ability to dock.

I still have more plans for ship building as well which certainly keeps me playing, because I don't just want to look at it and go "ah, pretty"... I want to put it to use.

I forget if I've mentioned this within my last couple of posts but I really like space combat and traversal... except with how shallow it is. Once you're done with an encounter it's done. Major space battles only happen a couple of times. The end of the Crimson Fleet is one, and there's a side quest helping a cabal of farmers fight off various teams of spacers though even that one is just a 3v1. Most space combat fights only take a few seconds and I'm REALLY holding out for the Creation Kit to let modders beef up enemy health values, or have enemy ships level alongside me. There's already mods like that for on-foot enemies, but not for ships. I think it's because people can't really edit any vanilla ship modules right now, just add onto what's there. I also wouldn't mind some level of damage scaling. I run around with a 4,000 shield module and rarely lose half of it.

Space combat was intense and exciting at first. You got the Frontier, worst ship in the game, and it sort of teaches you like "Okay, what are you lacking, upgrade that, add a new cannon here..." But like me if you've played for a couple hundred hours you can pretty much go to a ship technician right out the gate and just throw a few things on it to make half the game's space combats trivial. (Combination of a better shield and those Vanguard autocannons).

I'm enjoying the game but I am also slowly running out of content. A lot of what I'm doing is prepwork for my eventual "alright let's do all the side quests" run. Not quite there yet.

#Starfield #Bethesda #bethesda softworks #gaming #PC gaming

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meanwhileinstasiville · 1 year

Text

Taking inventory on showing up when I normally depart the library

Stopping for the bathroom at the DHS office instead of shopping the dollar store. Am grateful for having the following experiences, instead of dying.

The white teslas. Notably at the exit at siskiyou as someone tall and blond "opened a door" at the consultant offices up there. Anyone's guess what *that's supposed to mean*. A mexican is white because he can white teslas follow me around? Janneke will open a door if he runs me over? What next?

We've got the coopers. A red one at mountain avenue braced against a spacer vehicle from city cruiser. There was another in the vicinity of student housing. Same repeating plates. Different time of day by hours, as though they were *waiting for me* to enter town, or something.

We've got people taken together, dressed entirely in yellow next to the fire department I pass there.

This isn't the grating of nerves work of a friend; if there is such a thing. This feels more the work of an enemy who can kill for not being heard.

A sort of enemy who reasonably expects people to conform to their labels (out of a pure selfish interest) instead of dying or something. And none of this is going away. (Shelver spy was waiting where I habitually sit, right in the way, several hours after *usually doing that* where I'm sitting, around the time the library opens. Not mid afternoon.

Edit: You know you'll never meet the tall man/woman of your dreams if anyone finds out they can be killed for being taller than you. Some secret. That's about the extent of it.

Post script: As I was going to Safeway, I noticed they were emptying *the entire bottle machine* which was not empty nor even close. So the coop, then? What's at the Safeway to main crossing? Not one guy with teardrop tattoo in gang style, but *four*, waiting across the street. And later still, the *only car the whole length of a road*, a 484-NN cooper. And then, since my journaling seems to net a very real life response *in the form of people and their time and their stuff* as though they are words.

A stalker from the park essential alone outside at the coop restaurant. After I warned him about following me around.

So it's *superfluous* seeing a "coincidental" phil and ryan expy at the rotary bridge and *again at the park department bridge* showcasing a yellow "becees" backed shirt. Be see five fives.

Meaning they are on the same side as a group of what might be called thugs across from rear safeway.

When I change clothes with the seasons, the coop desk staff looks at me like I've become a different person. With that kind of alarm. "Name" they ask. But not always.

I feel like I should become the kind of person who mails someone a bag of human teeth as "a message", as they say. And it becomes clear, seeing all these people used as words in a sentence or something, how the *whole valley* was nearly destroyed by fire. Also, fire outbreaks annually across the California border. Every. Single. Pot harvest season.

"What you really want is..." I want what I came for. "Have you considered the prospect of an elevated mood instead of meeting a need?" That's insane. Drug traders are networked and armed and organized, and this happens to be a border crossing with the wealthiest us state. Shops on the plaza believe a lot of weird stuff accordingly. And now, there's a lavender emporium.

Seems like some folks think so little of me that if they thought *better*, I'd be dead. Or in jail by the same basis as being killed. Which seems funny to me, a white guy from one of the whitest cities in the whitest state, to be experiencing daily. When you want to talk about how murders are tragedies where all crime is organized, this is sort of a hiccup.

A Hungarian woman causes people to die with her presence, can be reasonably claimed.

A Dutch woman who's from here? How?

Long winded, I know, but I had to get the pins in the graph in there.

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raybyanothername · 1 year

Text

A Week in Odora - Celestials #1

Here we go again!

Another of my previously self-published books I'd like to make available to people now that it's no longer available elsewhere. This particular book I wrote back in 2019 for Sapphic September and was the beginning of a larger universe I'm still exploring. It's sequel was the last book I self-published back in 2021. Neither has seen much editing since then and you can really so my growth as a writer from the first to second book.

Starting today, I'll be posting one 'chapter' twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. Each part will be exclusive on my patreon for one week before they go public and I post them to both Tumblr and Ao3 as well.

You'll find the first part below the cut, and Day One - Part One will be up on my patreon at 8am, June 16th. It will be public on June 23rd. There's 30 parts total, so the last chapter will be public on September 29th.

Just in time for me to start posting the sequel in October! XD

Without further ado...

-.-.-

Day Zero

Odora didn’t know what was coming. No one ever expects disaster, not when the cornfields are empty and the tornado sirens are quiet. They weren’t some big city with crime statistics – Odora was a small town in a small county in northwestern Kentucky with the great distinction of housing both the sheriff’s office and the county clinic. Their sheriff still only had the one deputy though.

Usually, the scariest thing about Odora is that it is surrounded on all sides by cornfields – grown by local farmers, thank you very much. Usually. April showers hit a little harder than usual this year and they’d stayed through May so there’d been a shorter and harder growing season.

In a few years, everyone will point to that as the first sign of the coming calamity. Still. The cornfields had already been harvested by the time September rolled around. Save for Mr. Mack’s fields, who’d planted late – whether he got lucky or was a corn whisperer depended on who you asked and how drunk they were.

It wasn’t Mr. Mack’s field they found her in though. Oriana Davies looked like she was sleeping when her father’s farm hands found her that morning. Hands folded atop her stomach like a regular Disney-style Sleeping Beauty.

‘Cept for the part where her lips were blue.

Most people thought it was just an accident that first day. Ana was a bit of a dreamer after all. “She must have just fallen asleep looking at the stars.” “An absolute tragedy, her poor mama is heartbroken.”

The cause of death was no cold autumn night.

“Strangled?” Dominique Davies was shaking as she stood before the town doctor. Her baby sister was lying there between them, a sheet tucked around her for modesty.

“Yes,” Dr. Jameson pointed with his pen at some marks towards the top of Ana’s throat. “There’s bruising here and the hyoid bone was broken. That’s what tipped me off to look for the bruising.”

Normally, Oriana shared Dominique’s bronze skin tone, but as she lay on the metal table in the county morgue her skin had faded to a tawny brown. And tucked in the curve beneath Ana’s chin were some yellow-purple smudges. Faint. They burned into Dominique’s irises. Someone had hurt her sister.

“I’ve submitted my report to the sheriff and he’ll find who did this.” Dr. Jameson offered Dominique an encouraging smile that she did not reciprocate. The lines in his forehead deepened as she continued to frown.

Dominique knew the sheriff. Or she had. She’d had the unfortunate luck of being his first crush back in elementary school. A crush that had taken on a possessive side when Dominique took a cheerleader to the eighth grade dance.

“Thanks, doc.” Dominique nodded to the aging man, still frowning, and walked out with a copy of his report tucked under her arm.

The clinic outside was packed with mothers who’s children all had running noses and sticky fingers. Each woman offered her a quick condolence as she passed them. It would have been annoying if she hadn’t known that each and every one of them was sincere.

These were women that Dominique had gone to school with. These were the women that had all spoken up for her when she’d broken Emmett Jones’ arm the summer before freshman year. His father had been sheriff then and he’d been all ready to send her to juvie.

Southern women did not suffer a liar or an abuser well, not even when they were just southern girls.

Dominique gave each woman a weak smile as she walked to the break room. This had not been the homecoming she had expected when she’d taken the offered position as Dr. Jameson’s partner.

She’d been looking forward to needling her sister back into business school. Maybe convincing Sera to move back in a year or two. Ana’s groans and whines and eye rolls. That was what she’d been expecting for today.

Instead she’d driven up the driveway yesterday to see her sister being zipped into a black bag and her mother sitting in the dirt, eyes on the sky as tears slid quietly down her cheeks.

The chairs in the break room were a hard plastic, well-worn. The coffee was bitter, even with three cubes of sugar and a splash of whole milk. Dominique sat in a chair and drank her coffee. She gave herself ten minutes.

“Okay.” Dominique set her empty coffee cup on the table and blew a breath out of her mouth with more force than necessary. Then she pulled her phone out and clicked three on her speed dial.

-.-.-

In a downtown Nashville office building, Sera crashed through her door. The sound of ringing in her head growing louder with each step. She winced as the door slammed behind her. The sound echoed, pinging around her skull like a ping pong ball. It was four steps to her office couch.

She’d already pulled her ponytail out and put on the darkest sunglasses she owned. They were, unfortunately, still not dark enough – probably because whoever made them meant for people to see out of them.

When her head hit the couch cushion and the ringing continued, Sera realized it was her phone. Sera forced herself to unclench her jaw and plaster on her fakest smile. She reached into her back pocket and stopped the ringing with a quick swipe of her thumb, “Angelic Consulting, Seraphina speaking.”

“You sound like shit.”

Sera let her face relax when the rich baritone of Dominique’s voice carried over the line, “Hey Domi, you drive your sister nuts already?”

There was no answer. If Sera’s head weren’t still threatening to rip itself from her body she might have noticed. As it was, she was currently shoving a pillow over the top of her head and praying that business would be slow for the rest of the day as she burrowed into the couch.

“My sister was murdered two days ago.”

Sera’s eyes flew open and she flinched at the pain that caused. A wave of nausea rose in her stomach. She reached immediately for the trash can beside the couch and hurled her empty guts out.

“Migraine?” Dominique’s voice pitched low and soothing as Sera dry heaved. Sera kept the phone clasped in her hand as she hugged the trash can. Her vision blurred as she heaved until eventually her stomach untwisted itself.

Her whole body felt lighter, her head ached considerably less. A dull throbbing in the center of her skull was all that remained. Sera kept the lights off just in case.

“Sorry,” Sera huffed as she brought the phone back to her ear. She shuffled towards the kitchenette on the far wall, “What happened to your sister?”

Dominique took an audible breath, “Strangled. Dumped in a field.” Sera froze with her hand on the counter.

“Shit.” Sera knelt to pull a water bottle from her mini fridge. She held it to her head as she closed her eyes. “What can I do?” Sera sat on the floor, back against the cabinets, and began taking small sips of her water.

“Are you still dating that P.I.?”

Sera pulled the phone away from her ear, stared at the screen. She pulled the phone back to her ear with a nervous chuckle, “Did you just insinuate that you would like Eleanora’s help?”

This silence, Sera both expected and noticed.

“Yes…” Dominique growled. Sera’s lips quirked up into a smile. “I still think she’s nuts, but the woman is good at her job and I don’t trust the sheriff to find this guy.”

Sera didn’t roll her eyes – Dominique was grieving after all and she could be a bit brash at the best of times - but she really wanted to. “I’ll give her a call.”

#ray writes #original fiction #horror #psychological fiction #mystery #murder mystery #thriller #celestials #supernatural creatures #magic #a week in odora

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dalekofchaos · 3 years

Note

What would you say are the biggest mistakes Mass Effect 3 made?

Okay this is going to be a long one, but these would be the biggest mistakes ME3 ever made in my opinion

Choosing Cerberus over The Reapers. The thing that annoyed me most about ME3 is the fact that Harbinger is not the main threat. The Illusive Man is. Harbinger has been built up as the big bad since ME2. "YOU HAVE FAILED. WE WILL FIND ANOTHER WAY." He says as he discards the Collectors. Then his speech to Shepard as the base blows up. "Human, you've changed nothing. Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction. You will surrender your potential against the growing void. We return, and you will rise. We are the harbinger of your perfection. We will bring your species into harmony with our own. Your species will be raised to a new existence. We are the beginning, you will be the end. Prepare for our domination. Prepare for our coming." Then in Arrival, he came pretty damn close to unleashing quick subjugation and harvest upon an unprepared galaxy. Upon Shepard foiling his plans. "Shepard. You have become an annoyance. You fight against inevitability. Dust struggling against cosmic winds. This seems a victory to you. A star system sacrificed. But even now, your greatest civilizations are doomed to fall. Your leaders will beg to serve us. Know this as you die in vain: Your time will come. Your species will fall. Prepare yourselves for the Arrival." The perfect final villain right? Unfortunately, Cerberus was more focused on than The Reapers. My problem with Cerberus and no Harbinger is Too many Cerberus, too few Reaper forces in plot. We fight Cerberus more often than the reapers. Hardly any boss fight and the one with Reaper Destroyer on Rannoch was more an interactive movie than fight. During the Horizon mission in Mass Effect 2, Harbinger was solidified as the Big Bad. It was menacing and ominous, with just the right amount of annoying. It taunted us throughout the game, telling us how insignificant we were, and how our actions were pointless. It was willing to posses drones through the Collector General to fight us personally, and when we killed the host, it tossed them aside. Harbinger even gave the typical “You haven’t seen the last of me!” villain rant. It made any fire fight frustrating, and that made me want to kill it even more; I hated Harbinger. Many games fail to do that. Harbinger was an enemy which I looked forward to defeating. I had the desire to annihilate. In Mass Effect 3, I got a codex entry and a cameo. Harbinger just swoops in at the last second and blows my friends and I to hell(and lets the Normandy save them), then flies off. Personally, I would have loved to hear Harbinger’s menacing monologue, it drove me on. I would have felt a deeper motivation to take the fight back to Earth if it told me how much destruction the Reapers were causing, how many lives were lost. I felt cheated when I got to the final mission, only to suddenly realize it was largely absent from the game. Harbinger has been replaced. Replaced by the Illusive Man and Kai Leng. The former is an old acquaintance, albeit one now controlled by the Reapers. The latter is a space ninja from a terrible book. What would've been amazing is if Harbinger IS the Catalyst. Harbinger taunts and haunts Shepard throughout the game He uses the memory of that child to haunt Shepard as a symbol of humanity lost. After Shepard activates the Crucible. Harbinger appears. He explains to why and how The Reapers were made. the AI Leviathan created to solve the equation is Harbinger all along, Harbinger manipulated The Leviathan into giving it Reaper form and birth at first it did what it commanded and what they asked of it was to look at the dark energy building up which back then was only an anomaly that Leviathan was concerned with but then the first harvest began and Harbinger and The Reapers were born. Funny enough, Leviathan reminds me so much of FMA:Brotherhood. The Intelligence tricked Leviathan to create the Reaper is very similar to how the Dwarf in the flask became Father. So what I think should have happened is it would've been revealed that Harbinger is the AI that convinced the Leviathan that harvest was the only way to survive and justifies the harvests not because organics and synthetics can't coexist, but because of the dark matter crisis. Throughout the game we would have more confrontations with Harbinger. Have him "ASSUME CONTROL" during fights. Give us a voiced confrontation between Shepard and Harbinger. Make it clear that Harbinger chose The Illusive Man and convinced him of together they could uplift and empower humanity over the lesser races. The Illusive Man is to Harbinger, as what Saren was for Soverign. Then the Crucible will grant us the choice to Destroy or Control The Reapers or Harvest this cycle to survive the Dark Matter crisis. You could either. Destroy Harbinger and The Reapers, while the united races would discover a way to stop the dark matter problem. Give in to Harbinger to harvest humanity to save the galaxy. Control The Reapers to stop the harvesting and to work together to stop the dark matter crisis.

Choosing to have a smaller crew than ME2 and focusing solely on the ME1 characters and screwing over or ignoring the ME2 crew, especially romancing Jack, Miranda and Thane. If it were up to me, this is what my ideal ME3 line up would be Ashley/Kaidan EDI Garrus Liara Tali Javik Jack Miranda Thane(EA forgot about him and simply chose to kill him off, I think Thane could’ve rejoined the crew and even had a mission where we find a cure for Thane and Kolyat) Grunt Mordin(you'll see how later) Legion(You'll see later) Balak or any Batarian Squadmember. Ideally it would be someone who survived the Bahak system or even a Batarian freedom fighter who puts his people’s survival over the pride and prejudices of the Hegemony. His sole goal is to liberate Khar'shan and save his people. But for a more memorable person, Balak would be the squad member. I would make killing Balak not an option. The last high ranking officer in the Hegemony. Instead of causing deaths on the Citadel, he seeks Shepard out. It’s an enemy of my enemy is my friend. Over time, Balak would show remorse for his past actions as a terrorist and for the Hegemony’s past. Shepard and Balak learns to overcome their differences and see each other as friend and works together to destroy the Reapers. We would get a Priority Khar’shan where we could liberate the planet and the Batarians would be in a fighting force.

Keeping James alive. I like James, but he added absolutely nothing to the game. We already had an Alliance character. Ashley Williams/Kaidan Alenko. James should have been the Jenkins/Wilson of the game. He should have died in the crash to take out Eva and Ashley/Kaidan should have been with us from beginning to end. James is a character we barely know. We’ve waited a long ass time to see Ashley/Kaidan and it was downright disappointing that neither Ashley nor Kaidan did not get to interact with Garrus on Priority Palaven and Wrex during Priority S’Urkesh.

Mirandafying Ashley Williams. Mirandafying Ashley Williams for Mass Effect 3 was shallow and unnecessary. Wearing loose and long hair and skimpy clothing? Ashley Williams is a by the books soldier. She would not look like this. She would not grow her hair or let it down like this. I mean, it’s not that they changed her face so much, but they just tried too hard with the makeup, hair and outfit. Ashley didn’t need to be model-sexy and run around in heels and showing cleavage. She was already sexy as hell in her own way. All they needed to do was give her the Alliance Crewmen outfit as her casual look and the Phoenix Armor and the current Alliance type armor she was given in ME3, as well as a unique Spectre armor. It's not just the shallow Mirandafying. It's the fact that Ashley has little to no interactions. Ashley barely has any interactions in the game. Compared to Kaidan, Ashley is not interactable. I don't like that Ashley barely has any interactions and just feels...hollow. Ashley should have crew moments with Joker, Adams, Ashley at the monument mourning those who died with the original Normandy, Liara, Tali and Garrus. Was it so much to ask for simple interactions? And really, Ashley in the first game had a personality, Ashley in ME3 feels hollow.

Choosing Diana Allers over Emily Wong and Khalisah al-Jilani. Emily and Khalisah are two reporters we actually know and respect. They earned their place on the Normandy. Emily reported on crime and traffic controllers. Khalisah gave us hard hitting questions and actually cared about reporting on what the fuck was going on in the galaxy. They earned their place on the Normandy as far as I'm concerned. Compare that to Diana Allers. What has Diana Allers done to deserve a spot on the Normandy? Nothing. They created the Battlespace to make her seem like a hip and cool Alliance News Correspondent. Allers looked, weird and she just comes off as annoying and she's a waste of space on the Normandy when we could've had a whole new or returning squad member. God, I WISH Javik could throw her out the fucking airlock. You had TWO perfectly great reporter characters and you did jackshit for any of them. Just so you could have an excuse to hire Jessica Chobot.

Not letting us see Tali's face on Rannoch. Legendary Edition fixed the mistake by finally showing us Tali's face, but it's still exclusive to Shali romancers. What should have happened was we see Tali's face when she unmasks on Rannoch. If we don't romance her, she unmasks and gives us a smile. If we romance her we see her face and kiss her. Something simple like that. It would've been great to see

Not having the ME2 squad members join in on the Citadel DLC. I mean for fuck's sake, it's like they want us to know "fuck you, ME1 squadmembers only" Again, why? Why wasn’t Jack, Miranda, Grunt, Samara, Jacob, Zaeed and Kasumi not added? If we romanced Jack or Miranda, why didn't they come to save us when we were being hunted? Why not REALLY making it feel like Team Hammerhead by actually adding the ME2 Squad members to the Citadel DLC before the party? There was no reason why you couldn't include the ME2 squad members in the Citadel DLC

Making Cerberus the villains instead of uneasy allies, when The Batarians were the perfect allies for The Reapers. This might just be me but I think Cerberus should have been on our side in ME3 and The Batarians should have been fighting for The Reapers. Makes sense Cerberus has just been a rouge organization doing what the job no matter what the cost(even if the cost is atrocities) and instead of indoctrinating themselves they could of studied it to make themselves immune to indoctrination and The Illusive Man's goal was to use any means necessary in order to destroy The Reapers. I also like the idea that you know you can't trust him, but he does get results. The Council and The Alliance are desperate, so they accept a partnership with Cerberus. The Batarians have always held a grudge against The Alliance, The Council and would have wanted revenge for Bahak/ Viper Nebula. The fact that there are no consequences for what we had to do in Arrival from The Batarians just doesn't make any sense and you'd think this would give The Batarians the motive to turn to The Reapers. Hell in the Terra Nova DLC in Mass Effect 1 it seemed to me that Balak was already indoctrinated and Balak’s revelation of the “Batarian rebellion” makes it seem like they would be the perfect tools for The Reapers. Balak will be the new Saren figure. If you killed Balak, then The Reapers would just bring him back. The first act of war for the Batarians was the destruction of the Viper Nebula, so their retaliation was killing Udina. Prior to the Reaper invasion of Earth, Udina would go to Omega to make peace talks with Aria. The Batarians attack and gain control of Omega, Aria is ousted(but saved by General Petrovsky) and Udina is executed live for the galaxy to see. Because of Udina's execution and Anderson leading the resistance on Earth. The Illusive Man is now the Human Councilor. Miranda and Kai Leng would be squad members. Depending on if you gave TIM the Collector Base or destroyed it, he will either keep you in the dark or help you at every turn. Just think of the Cerberus War Assets Cerberus Scientists General Oleg Petrovsky Collector Base Cerberus Fighters Cerberus Phantoms Cerberus Engineers Project Phoenix We would get a big mission to deal with the Batarians, Priority:Khar'shan. If you do not deal with the Batarians, there will be major casualties. However half of the Batarian forces are not indoctrinated and just want to end the mistakes of their government and live. Balak wants to kill the rebellion of his people. Ironic. Somehow Balak has placed enough bombs on the planet to destroy everyone who is resisting Reaper indoctrination. We can either. Talk Balak out of it. Telling him to resist and fight for your people(which WOULD gain Balak as an ally) or talk Balak into killing himself. Or the true Renegade option is to kill Balak and order a strike that wipes out the Batarian forces, but sacrificing the Batarian Rebellion. By the time we get to Priority Earth everyone is on the same page and united against the true threat, The Reapers. And it is Harbinger who is the final boss

Not having Maelon be there with Mordin in ME3. This isn't really a problem, but I had a thought. If we spared Maelon and kept Maelon's data for the cure. Maelon should have been on board to help Mordin with the cure. If we warn Mordin and Maelon about the sabotage, then Maelon would choose to sacrifice himself to save Mordin. And after that, Mordin would choose to join Shepard's crew.

Legion's "death" is pointless. He....is software. He could easily copy and paste The Reaper code without sacrificing himself in the same manner when he was broadcasting the Reaper signal to all Geth. Or he could've disseminated himself after he made a copy and transfer that copy over to his platform. I just get the feeling that they didn't want to keep Mordin, Thane or Legion alive....for reasons.

#Mass Effect #Mass Effect Legendary Edition #Mass Effect 3 #Ashley Williams #Kaidan Alenko #Commander Shepard #Femshep #Harbinger #Miranda Lawson #Jacqueline Nought #Tali'Zorah #Garrus Vakarian #Urdnot Grunt #Mordin Solus #Thane Krios #Legion #Emily Wong #Khalisah al Jilani #Ka'hairal Balak

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someone-elsa · 3 years

Photo

Azure Betta for Love at Mua Pel’am by @wastelandwhisperer

Female • Pansexual Joke Star Aspiration • Glutton • Family-Oriented • Clumsy

Originally, I created Azure for another challenge but since wasn’t chosen, she could try her luck again! :) (She got a little makeover and her bio was edited a bit)

Azure is a rare sewer mutant/mermaid hybrid. Like her father, the sewer mutant, she has only one form and can’t blend into the common crowd. She likes dark, damp places — like sewers. She has very good night vision and sense of smell. Azure isn’t picky about food: rotten, moldy, full of maggots, anything is fine!

From her mother she got a beautiful singing voice — underwater. If she sings surfaced she sounds like a rusty fork scratching a blackboard. She can breath underwater but she gets a headache if she stays submerged too long. Her colourful appearance definitely comes from her mother and Azure likes colourful things and pearls and seashells.

Currently, Azure lives in San Myshuno sewers. She works in not-so-voluntary organ donating business with vampire gangs. She lures human victims into the sewers where the vampires suck the blood and she harvests the organs and sells them in the blackmarket. The arrangement has worked so far but Azure isn’t sure if she wants to do it forever...

Maybe it’s time for a fresh start? With new love? 👀

Questions: What’s your family like? Favourite holiday?

#my entries to BCs etc #ts4 #the sims 4 #love at mua pel'am #simblr

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cinaja · 3 years

Text

Before the Wall Epilogue

Masterlist

----

Ten years after the Wall

The crops have been coming along well this year, just the right balance of sun and rain and wind promising a rich harvest. It leads to a good mood throughout the human parts of the Continent. In the aftermath of the war, they have all made their experiences with food shortages, and so everyone is relieved that they seem to have moved past these times. All the bigger is the shock when, only a week before the grain was meant to be brough in, heavy thunderstorms with rain and hail ruin most of the harvest in one of Angolere’s northern provinces.

Andromache spends two mildly exhausting days visiting the region, travelling from city to city and offering reassurances that everything is under control, there are no risks of food shortages. Her presence has no practical purpose, the local authorities are more than capable of handling the situation, but everyone is nervous enough that they need someone to reassure them that all will be well.

By the time she reaches the last village, she is drained, although she is too well-trained to show it. As patiently as in the first village she visited yesterday, she listens to the town spokeswoman describe their situation, allows her to show her the village and the mostly-ruined regions.

“We will send grain from other regions,” she promises, as she did in every place she visited so far. The south of Angolere had rich harvests these years, and the other queens have already promised to send food as well should we not get by after all.”

She accepts an invitation for dinner and spends a few hours sitting in the townhall together with most of the village, making pleasant conversation, before she excuses herself. When she steps outside, she expected to be greeted by one of her guards. Instead, Yanis is waiting for her, leaning against a fence.

When he sees Andromache, he offers an exaggerated bow, grinning broadly as he straightens. “Good evening Your Majesty. May I be your escort for the evening?”

Andromache grins back. “I don’t know. You see, I have a husband who is waiting for me at home with our children.”

“I hear those children are sleeping already, and your husband missed you terribly these last few days and thought he’d pick you up.”

Andromache laughs and leans over to kiss him.

“How did it go?” he asks, wrapping an arm around her middle.

“All good,” Andromache says. “I barely needed to do anything, just reassure people a bit.”

These days, all problems she has to deal with seem easy. There is still a lot of work – drafting laws, dealing with arising problems, day-to-day governing work – but it only ever seems pleasant. What is a disagreement over a new law compared to the horror of war? Or to the initial years afterwards, when there were millions of displaced, traumatized people to deal with and they came close to starvation almost every year. Six years ago, a loss of harvest like this would have meant famine and deaths. Now, all she has to do is organize for food to be sent over from different provinces.

Things are good.

“I’m sure you were brilliant,” Yanis says with a broad smile. “Meanwhile, I have won a significant victory in the never-ending battle of convincing Leli that when her teachers tell her something, it is not a suggestion but an order, and I managed to keep Tano from breaking any priceless artifacts while running through the palace.”

Andromache laughs. “You’re my hero,” she says, half-teasing and half-sincere.

Yanis quit his work in the palace guard when Andromache got pregnant with Leli six years ago and has been staying at home to raise her and – three years later – Tano ever since. He could have kept his job had they hired someone to look after their children, but for Yanis, there was never even a question in that regard: He wanted to be there for their children as they grew up. It makes it easier for Andromache to know that even when she is busy at work, sometimes for days at a time, he is home with their children.

“My first meeting tomorrow is at eleven,” she says. “That ought to leave plenty of time for a nice family breakfast.”

----

Mor spends her days travelling the Continent, dealing with anyone her uncle currently wishes to improve relationships with. She has yet to decide whether she loves or hates her new position. Both, perhaps. She loves that it allows her to travel far and wide, to leave the Night Court and its restrictions behind, if only for a few weeks at a time. She loves the protection it gives her.

She hates the memories it brings up, though. For her, the Continent is full of memories of happier times. (No, that is not right. She shouldn’t think back to the years of war and wish herself back into that time. But then, to go back would mean getting Andromache back, and for that, she would accept a hundred years of war. But Andromache is on the other side of the Wall, married now and forever lost to her.)

Sometimes, Mor also hates the people she has to deal with. Today, it is Shey, who has been loosely allied with the Night Court ever since the war ended. Mor doesn’t know exactly how that came about, but her uncle exports iron for weapons and armour to Shey and he sends Mor to visit the emperor at least once a year.

Today is the first day of that annual visit and Shey is holding a welcome-celebration for her. It is a huge honour – Shey is easily the most important person on the Continent now, and him holding a celebration in honour of the emissary from a tiny Prythianian court is very unusual.

If Mor had been stupid enough to think it is for her sake, she might have actually felt honoured. But this celebration isn’t because of her, none of this is because of her at all. It’s all about Miryam and the fact that everyone knows that Mor was friends with her. That is why there are no doors locked to her on the Continent, why everyone so readily meets with her. Because Miryam and Drakon were her friends, and so to host her is to flaunt some sort of connection to them.

No, Mor does not enjoy the party at all, even if the music is brilliant, as is the food. She just makes conversation because it is what is expected of her and downs glass after glass of the clear, sparkling wine favoured here in the north to make it bearable.

She wonders what they would all say if they knew how things ended between Miryam and her, that she abandoned her before the end and left her to die. If they knew that she was so terrible that Andromache could no longer bear to so much as be around her anymore. If they knew about the charmed necklace that still lies unused at the bottom of some drawer in her rooms in Velaris.

No one knows about any of that, though. And no one ever will. Maybe one day, Mor will even be able to fool herself into believing that the sole reason her and Andromache split up was the Wall, that she never argued with Miryam and the only reason she isn’t visiting her is out of worry for her safety. It is not today, though, and so she downs another glass of wine and smiles at the nearest dignitary and allows him to pull her to the dance floor.

----

No one is coming for him.

Jurian fought against that truth for years, but he has given up on denying it for a while now. What use is it to lie to himself? No one is coming to save him. His allies, his friends, seem to have forgotten entirely about him. They moved on with their lives and likely never thought of him again, didn’t care enough to bother freeing him from that terrible nightmare his life turned into.

Jurian hates all of them. Andromache and Nakia and all the others for leaving him behind. Drakon for pretending to be his friend and then betraying him and making Miryam turn away from him. Miryam for turning against him. For not saving him. For dying. Her, he hates most of all.

----

Drakon puts down his quill and scans the contents of the text he just finished once more before putting the paper on the stack with the other usable results. That stack is the only tidy part of the table he was working on, the rest is a mess of books, most of them lying open on the relevant pages, and crumbled papers filled with ideas he dismissed as useless already. A few of those even ended up on the floor.

Well, that ought to be enough for now. He’s done with his edits on the draft for the new tax law they will be discussing later today. He still wants to show his edits to Miryam before then, but he still has plenty of time left for that.

Rising to his feet, he sets about cleaning up his mess. The papers he doesn’t need anymore go into the fire, he closes the books he used for reference and puts them on a second stack next to the one with the finished edits. He will be taking them with him, just to be sure.

Carrying the eight books as well as the stack of papers is a difficult task, given that he still doesn’t have proper use of his right arm. He has to carry the books with his left hand, the papers stuck between his useless right arm and his body. That movement alone hurts, but he is used to it by now. (There are magical prosthetics that function almost as well as an actual limb. But… well, Drakon hasn’t decided yet.)

A look at the clock reveals that it is almost seven. Drakon was in the library for the last four hours, and by now, Miryam should probably be awake. (Their sleeping schedules do not align very well lately. They usually go to bed together, but Miryam rarely manages to sleep more than half an hour before waking up again and then spends most of the night working, going to bed only in the early hour of the morning, while Drakon generally manages to sleep for a few hours but then cannot go back to sleeping when he wakes up. Miryam sometimes jokes that at least their inability to ever sleep through the night makes them both very productive rulers.)

Books balancing on his left hand, he walks through the halls of the library and out into the city. They founded their new capital nine years ago, and everything about the city still screams new. Many houses are only half-finished, as are all government buildings. Right now, their government meets in an improvised city hall and most of the high-ranking government members (including Miryam and Drakon) live in nearby houses. The council insisted that they start building a palace sometime, but that hasn’t been a priority yet.

The city Drakon is walking through now is nothing like Sajeo or any of the other cities in Erithia, all of whom were old, each building full of history. Drakon does miss Erithia, but he doesn’t think that difference is necessarily a bad thing, at least for their purposes. Not all history is good, after all, and in their situation, it certainly isn’t helpful. As it is, they all get a fresh start. There are human houses being build next to faerie ones, and all of them are equally new. They are all starting over together, and in a few centuries when this city has matured a bit, that will be the history the people living here will be able to look back upon. It will be one of unity, Drakon hopes.

----

Miryam frowns at her reflection in the mirror. Hair mussed from sleep and still wearing her long nightdress, she doesn’t look particularly dignified, but that is not what she has a problem with right now. No, the problem is that she looks young. It’s like she hasn’t aged at all in the last ten years. If she is being honest, the years of peace actually make her look far younger than she did at the end of the War. Then, at twenty-five, she looked more like thirty-five than she does now.

“Would you say,” she asks, turning to look over at Daín who is floating over her bed, “that I look my age?”

Daín is silent for a moment, cocking his head to the side to study her. “Now?” He asks. “You want to talk about that now?”

Miryam shrugs.

“Mortal ages are terribly hard to tell just by looks, really. There is no telling how old anyone truly is, as evidenced by you now looking younger than you did when we first met,” Daín says. When Miryam gives him a flat look, he quickly adds, “But in your case, I would say that you look twenty-five, for the simply reason that you haven’t aged a day since you were resurrected. Which is what you were getting at, isn’t it?”

Miryam glares at him, trying to ignore the sting of the words. “You knew the entire time,” she says, more statement than question. “And you never thought to tell us? Even when we spent the last five years trying to figure out if I was aging or not?”

“And yet, through all that time, you never thought to ask me,” Daín says with a sharp smile. He has been getting better at mimicking precise expressions lately. “You ask about everything – history, human culture, magic, the other worlds. Yet this one thing, you never brought up, not once in the four years since you decided to talk to me again. Neither did Drakon.” He shrugs. “I figured you didn’t want to know.”

Like it or not, he might have a point. Miryam didn’t want to know. If she is entirely honest, she still doesn’t. She never wanted to be immortal, not even in the not-actually-immortal way the Fae are. She always thought that having a limited number of years made those years more precious.

“Resurrections are a tricky matter,” Daín offers. He actually manages to sound comforting. “There is no telling what side-effects there might be. Even I still cannot tell exactly how it works.”

“Well.” Miryam wraps her arms around herself. “I suppose the alternative was to be dead.”

She doesn’t like the idea of being immortal. Not at all. But if there is one thing she knows for sure, it’s that she prefers it to having died and stayed dead at the end of the war. These last ten years certainly weren’t easy, but they were good. The best ones of Miryam’s life, probably. She wouldn’t have wanted to trade them for the world.

“So you’re alright with it?” Daín asks.

“I guess I’ll have to be,” Miryam says with a shrug. At least it doesn’t bother her as much as she thought it might. It isn’t ideal, but she would rather have a too-long life than a too-short one. She smiles at Daín in a way that is hopefully reassuring. “And now, I need to get dressed. So, you know.”

“I’m already gone,” Daín says, winks at her and vanishes.

Miryam glances at her reflection once more before turning to her wardrobe. She sincerely hopes that she is at least only “immortal” in the way the Fae are, which isn’t so immortal at all. But well, that is a question for later. For now, she has other things to worry about, and for those, she needs to dress.

Drakon barges into the room just as she buttons up her jacket. He doesn’t look at Miryam – cannot, because he is balancing a stack of books on his left hand, it swaying dangerously with each step.

Miryam picks up the four books at the top and stands up on her toes to kiss him over the now-smaller stack of books he is still holding. “Busy morning?” She asks, smiling softly.

Drakon smiles back and manages to place the rest of his books as well as the stack of papers he was holding under his right arm on the nightstand without any incidents.

“Yes,” he says, turning back to Miryam and wrapping an arm around her. “Very productive, though. I reviewed the new tax law we were drafting, and I think it should probably work out. Maybe you could read over it once more before the meeting later, though. And I brough along the books I used for reference, just to be sure.”

Miryam’s smile deepens. Of course be brought the books, as if there will be anyone but him at the meeting who read all of them.

“Sure,” she says, although she doesn’t think her reading over it will accomplish anything but making Drakon feel more secure about it. “I’ll read them right after breakfast.”

That way, they will still have time for small changes before the meeting, even if Miryam doubts she will find anything of note. She learned a lot about law-making in the last years and she would say that she is decent, but especially when it comes to the small details (which is what they are dealing with at this stage), she’s nowhere near as good as Drakon.

They go have breakfast on the small balcony belonging to the set of rooms they share. It is Miryam’s favourite place in the entire city, high enough that she can overlook the square below as well as some of the nearby streets. As her and Drakon eat and discuss the things they both worked on during the night (the tax laws for Drakon and a logistic issue with distributing food for Miryam), Miryam looks out over the city.

By now, the city has awoken and the square is full with people rushing about, going about their daily activities. Humans and faeries, all living together in peace. A woman is hurrying along, trailing two small children behind her. A young Seraphim girl and a human boy are playing together by the fountain. Next to them, a group of adults sits and eats a quick lunch, likely before going to work.

Miryam could spend hours watching them. On bad days, when her nightmares are worse than usual and the shadows of what happened chase her, she sometimes does. Watching the people down there go about their lives, happy and free and at peace, always makes the guilt and pain easier to bear. These people will have good lives, they and their children will be free, and that alone makes all that it took to get them here worth it. It makes everything worth it.

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A/N: So, this is the final chapter. After over a year and 370k words written, I can't quite belive that this story is actually over. Writing this story has been lots of fun (and I might revisit it for a few oneshots sometime), and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

At this point, I'd also like to thank everyone who read this story and left comments or likes - all of you have really made my day every time. A special thanks goes (once again) to @croissantcitysucks for all the wonderful conversations we had about this story, for all the great feedback and help when I had problems, and, of course, for all of the backstory surrounding Daín and the Mother (also, I'm looking forward to you acotar rewrite so much and I can only recomment everyone read it when it comes out!) It's really been so much fun!

Tags: @femtopulsed @aileywrites

#this is it guys #the last chapter #i can't believe this story is over #i will miss these characters #might write smth with them again if I have time #i hope you liked this (hopeful - like I promised) ending #and ofc the story in general (although if you stuck around through the last 370k words i hope you did lmao)#before the wall #THE LAST CHAPTER!!!#miryam #jurian #drakon

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