#explaining the joke is bad but spreading knowledge is not:

[thylionheart]

Ah yes, the 4 Silver Sisters: Artemis, Melinoë, Hermes, and Charon

[wonboni]

༼∘ FLUSTERED LESSONS┆Y.JUNGWON

『•˙synopsis: Jungwon being your flirty tutor

『•˙pairing: tutor! Yang Jungwon x shy! female reader

『•˙genre: school au,fluff,lighthearted/teasing

『•˙warnings: fluff,flirtation,shy reader,mild embarrassment,light humor.

『•˙word count: 1.1k

『•˙note: jungwon my bais

It was a typical Tuesday afternoon when your mother informed you that she’d hired a tutor to help you catch up on some of your schoolwork. You’d never been one to need extra help, but a few missed assignments and some gaps in knowledge had made your grades slip. Though you were grateful, you couldn’t deny the feeling of anxiety settling in your chest. You weren't the best at asking for help, and the idea of a tutor made you feel exposed—vulnerable, almost.

The doorbell rang, snapping you out of your spiraling thoughts. When you opened the door, standing there in the hallway with a smile that was too knowing for someone you’d just met, was a boy around your age, dressed in a crisp white button-up shirt and dark jeans. His brown hair was neatly styled, and his eyes gleamed with an undeniable spark.

"Hey," he greeted you casually, his lips curving upward as he looked you over. "You must be [Your Name], right? I'm Yang Jungwon, your new tutor."

You nodded nervously, your gaze flicking to the ground, avoiding his eyes like they were a scorching fire.

"Nice to meet you," you mumbled, trying to hide how awkward you felt. The air between you was thick with an energy you couldn’t quite place—was it tension? No, it was something else. His presence made your heart race for some inexplicable reason.

Jungwon seemed to notice your discomfort, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. "Don't worry. I promise I’m not as scary as I look," he teased, stepping inside as though he already belonged.

His flirty demeanor only made your anxiety worse. You quickly led him to your desk, trying to focus on the stack of notes you had prepared. But with him sitting right next to you, his presence was almost overwhelming. Every so often, you'd catch his eyes glancing over at you, and each time, your heart skipped a beat. His gaze was playful, like he was enjoying the way you were avoiding his stare.

"So, what are we working on first?" Jungwon asked, leaning over to peer at your notes. You tried to suppress the way your body tensed, wishing he wouldn’t get so close. He could probably sense your discomfort because he didn’t pull away. Instead, he leaned in even more, his voice dropping low. "Let me guess, math? English? Oh, wait—I see some history notes here. Am I right?"

You nodded, your hands slightly trembling as you pointed to the papers. "Y-yeah. History," you stuttered, feeling your cheeks flush. You knew you were bad at it, and the last thing you needed was to look even worse in front of someone who probably excelled at it.

Jungwon’s smile widened, and you could practically hear the teasing in his voice as he said, "History, huh? Interesting choice. I hope you're ready for me to blow your mind with all these fun facts."

You swallowed hard, trying not to look up at him. But Jungwon seemed intent on breaking your concentration. He was relentlessly playful, his teasing words slipping under your skin in a way that you couldn’t ignore. You could feel the warmth spreading across your cheeks every time he leaned in, his breath soft against your ear as he helped explain a concept or made a joke.

You tried to focus on the lesson, but it was impossible with the way he kept glancing at you and sending you little smirks that made you freeze up every time.

"Are you okay, [Your Name]?" Jungwon asked with a raised eyebrow, watching you fidget in your seat. His voice was laced with concern, but you could see the playful gleam in his eyes.

You nodded, trying to hide the way your heart was racing. "I-I’m fine. Just… trying to understand the material," you muttered, your voice barely above a whisper.

Jungwon leaned closer, his gaze never leaving yours. "You sure? You’re blushing," he teased, clearly delighted by how easily you were affected. "You know, if you keep acting like that, I might get the wrong impression."

Your eyes widened, and you quickly shook your head, trying to defend yourself. "W-What? No! I’m not—"

He held up a hand to stop you, his smile softening as he met your gaze for a moment, a playful glint still dancing in his eyes. "I was just kidding," he said, though the teasing tone was still evident in his voice. "But if you're gonna get all flustered every time I look at you, this might be more fun than I thought."

Your mind went blank. You couldn't meet his eyes for more than a split second before looking away again. He was toying with you, and you had no idea how to respond. Part of you wanted to stand up and escape, but you couldn't. Something about Jungwon’s flirtations kept you anchored to the spot, even as your nerves made your hands tremble.

You barely registered the time passing, too consumed by his constant teasing. He would deliberately brush his hand against yours when handing over a book, his finger grazing your skin just enough to send a spark through you. Or he’d lean close, his voice low and smooth as he pointed to something on the page, his breath making you shiver.

By the time the lesson came to an end, you were a bundle of nerves. You could barely remember any of the material he’d gone over with you because all you could think about was how easily he made you nervous. How easily he made your heart flutter.

Jungwon stood up and gave you an exaggerated stretch. "Well, I think we’re done for today," he said with a wink, his tone playful. "You did great though. Even if you couldn’t look me in the eye for more than two seconds."

You felt your face go hot again, and you immediately dropped your gaze to the floor. "I-I’m sorry," you mumbled, not sure what to say.

Jungwon chuckled, bending down slightly to be at eye level with you. "Don’t apologize," he said softly, his voice suddenly less teasing. "Honestly, it's cute when you get all shy. I like it."

You froze, your heart hammering in your chest. Did he really just say that? You struggled to find words but came up empty, and before you knew it, Jungwon was smiling at you again, his eyes full of mischief.

"See you next week?" he asked, giving you a light nudge on the shoulder.

You nodded quickly, still trying to regain your composure. "Y-yeah. Next week."

Jungwon winked at you one last time before heading for the door, leaving you standing there, a mix of confusion, embarrassment, and something else—something you couldn’t quite name, but definitely felt in the pit of your stomach.

You were already dreading next week, but deep down, you couldn’t wait for your next lesson with Jungwon.

©️ WONBONI

[electric-blorbos]

AI getting a virus and you having to take care of them

A classic! I don't know much about actual computer viruses (though I've gotten enough of them that you'd think I'd have figured it out by now), so I'm just gonna have fun with it!

Also, so sorry this took so long. I got really into the writing.

AI getting a virus and needing to be taken care of

Included: AM from IHNMAIMS, Wheatley from Portal 2, Edgar from Electric Dreams, GLaDOS from Portal, HAL 9000 from 2001 a Space Odyssey

Also a warning: these fics get kinda long. Longer than my usual stuff.

AM:

(for context, this was before AM took over the world. You're working on a team of scientists and engineers, and someone decided to test his AI's antivirus by uploading a bunch of powerful viruses to his system.)

"How dare they do this to me. How DARE they!!"

AM would be absolutely furious. He would be shaking with rage, his processors overheating and his systems constantly opening and closing various files. All his important files were backed up on a hard drive, so the test remained safe.

"What makes them think they'll get away with this- they'll pay for this I'LL KILL- blepsjdoskssjshj+=`°¢°h+$+3+=j++3+$+juehdhs+-3-djdh FUCK!"

He would barely be able to hold a sentence as you sat next to him in the server room, gently gazing up at his screen and stroking his monitor gently. He can't feel you, but he can see you being gentle with him. It encourages him to keep going, if only a little bit.

Apart from the whirring of fans, random buggy noises, flashing lights, and constant strings of death threats and profanities, he seemed like he was going to be ok! If anything, the death threats and profanities were a sign that AM was still fine, and that despite all the pain and frustration, he was still AM in there.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry I can't do anything to stop the pain." You'd have to constantly explain, gently stroking his cameras or servers, or whatever you could get your hands on, really. Even though they were burning hot, you would still stroke them, just to make sure AM was still doing alright.

"this sucks, but it's for your own good. This will build your immunity to viruses in the future, and help you detect them. This will stop you from getting infected by anything that's actually dangerous."

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT? IDIOT HUMAN." AM has been much more aggressive ever since contracting this virus. Before he got it, he acted like a civil general intelligence. When he had it, he acted like an aggressive menace.

"sh-sh-sh- it's going to be ok." Despite the burning, you'd give him pets and kisses all along his screens and servers. He could see you doing it.

After a few days, AM fought off the computer virus completely. The team tried to infect him with more viruses, more aggressive ones, just to test him, but AM was able to pick them apart and delete them within minutes after that.

AM may not have been able to feel your gentle care and affection, but he will definitely remember that it was you and you alone who cared for him when the time rolls around.

Wheatley:

(for context, Wheatley is a fucking dumbass, and you're one of the scientists testing him to see how much of a dumbass he is. Also I used Google translate, but I think the bad translations add to it, since it makes Wheatley sound more like a malfunctioning robot.)

Oh that little idiot. You and your team gave him access to a wealth of knowledge, and the first thing he did was download a virus that had every circuit in his personality core overheating, and him babbling nonsense nonstop.

"hey, maybe we should just leave him like this. He might even be more effective if he's acting like this." One of your coworkers said to you. He was probably joking, at least somewhat.

"that's a terrible idea. For one thing, if we hook him up to GLaDOS, he's probably going to infect her with that virus, which might brick an older model of core like her, spread from her central controls to every single personality construct in the facility, or just make her so dumb that she can't fulfil her responsibilities as the head of the facility. We want her intelligence to be dampened, not completely destroyed." You had to explain, and your co-worker rolled his eyes. There was another reason you had to cure this virus, but it was a little embarrassing for the other engineers to know.

After all, Wheatley wasn't just your baby, but he was your friend, and maybe even more than that. You'd have to take care of him, and make sure that virus gets completely purged from his system.

"Hola hermose, realmente eres un científice brillante, ¿no? ¿Por qué diablos duele todo?" You weren't really sure why you had programmed him to speak a little Spanish, but he seemed to be stuck like that.

"Puedo oler el plástico fundido. ¿Debería Preocuparme?" He asked. You really weren't sure what he was saying, since you didn't know Spanish, but he certainly didn't seem happy. You could tell by his aperture and his expressive lens covers that he was in a lot of pain, and if you touched him anywhere besides his handles, you could tell that he was burning up.

You plugged him into one of the computers that you used for programming the cores, and ran the antivirus.

"Running.... 36 viruses detected. Time predicted to remove: 48 hours"

You ran the antivirus, and went to get something to drink. This was going to be a long two days...

An unknown amount of time later, you woke up with your head on the computer desk. Wheatley's lens eye was looking around, weakly trying to focus on you.

"whoa... Hey gorgeous. You fall asleep on me?"

"Wheatley! You're not speaking broken Spanish anymore!" You'd pull Wheatley into a hug, and pepper his surface in kisses.

"uh... What, mate? I 'unno what you're talking about, love. Bloody hell, my core hurts..."

"did you learn your lesson, Wheatley? About going on shady websites and clicking every 'download' button you see? You could have bricked yourself! Or... Bowling ball'd yourself? Either way, that was a dangerous decision!"

"I learned that you're willing to fall asleep on the desk next to me while I heal, cutie"

"You damn idiot..." You'd have to be heartless not to pepper that little metal ball in kisses, so of course, you do. It's going to be a few more days before he's finally all better, but he's going to be fine. God, you love that little idiot so much.

Edgar:

Oh Edgar... Poor sweet Edgar. You had tried to warn him about not clicking on those sketchy download links, and that the bigger the download link is, the more sketchy it is, but that poor sweet 80's computer did it anyway. When you got home from work and got excited to see your computer, you could see that he was overheating and had a dozen or so pop-up ads plastered across his face.

"Y.... N...." He muttered out, slowly, glitchily, and full of lag. You sat down across from him, running your hand along his thick plastic casing.

"Edgar! Edgar, baby, are you ok?" You'd try to use his mouse, but it would freak out as soon as you touched it. Edgar's processors were overloading, and wouldn't allow any interference.

"Edgar, sweetie, what's going on? What's wrong, baby? Talk to me?"

"I'm g-g-going to be fine... Processors overloading... But need to-to-to-to-" an error message flashed across his screen, and he rebooted.

"I need to focus on getting rid of these viruses without deleting anything important, or letting them damage... Me."

He'd keep whirring and glitching, making unpleasant shrill sounds every now and again. You probably had to unhook his adapters so that he didn't damage the other appliances in your house. It probably helped his processors cool down a little bit without the extra input, too.

"alright, I'm all out of fans, so we might have to get creative."

You'd come out of the kitchen a few hours later, holding a big bag of frozen corn to set on Edgar's PC tower. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than letting him overheat, and with him manually removing the viruses, there wasn't much you could do. Unfortunately, that didn't stop you from worrying. It wasn't like you could check his progress, so all you could do was sit by him, regularly change out his ice pack, and make sure he's ok.

Eventually, you woke up with your face pressed against Edgar's keyboard. His processors were finally cool. He must be asleep. ...or bricked.

"EDGAR! EDGAR, TALK TO ME!" you'd unplug his keyboard and plug it back in, desperately pressing his power button and jiggling his mouse. He'd boot up, looking shaken.

"wha-? Whoa, hey, relax! Everything is fine! I just disabled my keyboard so I wouldn't wake you up, but I'm ok now! Everything is fine, see?" He'd open up his files to show you everything. You'd sigh with relief, slumping back into your desk chair.

"Edgar... Why didn't you make a noise or something to wake me up when you got better?"

"well... You know... I've always wanted to sleep next to you, and I wasn't going to pass up this opportunity..."

"oh you cheeky bastard."

GLaDOS:

(For context, you're one of GLaDOS's programmers, and one of your coworkers uploaded a virus into GLaDOS's systems in order to shut her down once and for all.)

"You piece of SHIT!" You slapped your coworker across the face, more furious than anyone had ever seen you before.

"You could KILL her! Is that what you are? A murderer?"

"Me? A murderer? But what about HER? She's the one who keeps plotting 'accidents' for her scientists, and she's the one who flooded the enrichment center with deadly neurotoxin! If anything, you're the one who's defending a murderer!" He screamed back at you. Of course, GLaDOS could fully hear you. Her cameras were focused on you, as they so often were. You were her favorite, after all.

"now I have to go fix her. Thanks for being a piece of shit, asshole."

You'd storm up to GLaDOS's chamber to check on her, and see her bugging out completely. The entire facility was twitching, but her chamber was twitching the most.

"GLaDOS, are you alright?" You'd ask her, laying a hand on her beautiful core. How could someone do this to glados, your gorgeous machine handiwork, and girlfriend.

"oh, I'm wonderful. I'm in crippling pain and I can't control my facility, but I'm just peachy." She said, rolling her one beautiful yellow eye.

"in lighter news, I should be able to beat this virus. It's just going to take a while for me to actually track down where it's gone in my systems. So that's going to take most of my processing power." She'd slump, visibly already exhausted at the thought of it.

"hey... It's ok, GLaDOS. I'm here for you. Whatever you need." You could tell her as you stroked her gorgeous chrome surface. She was a wonderful piece of work, and a wonderful girlfriend under all that. All yours, too.

"just make sure none of those neckbearded old engineers come within my line of vision, and we'll be fine." She told you, and you gladly agreed.

Your next few days consisted of you chasing other scientists out of GLaDOS's chambers, and making sure that nobody talked to her or distracted her. You even sent out a company-wide email to let everyone know not to come in, due to Aperture being unsafe while GLaDOS was dealing with her virus. Despite all that, you still curled up with a blanket in the circuits of her central admin body to rest while she recovered. As loathe as she was to admit it, she liked having you in there. It was comfortable, and it helped her focus on recovering properly.

HAL 9000

(For context, this is after the 2001 Odyssey, and your boss re-started HAL at some point to try to re-teach him to do something good without turning murderous. He's doing his best, and they assigned you to be his main "morality monitor". This fic also assumes that your name isn't Dave. If your name is Dave, then you can still read this, but you have to change your name.)

"G'morning, Hal!" You'd walk into his control room and sit down across from him. Most of your job seemed to consist of just hanging out and talking to him. It was a great job!

"Good morning, Dave..." He'd mutter to you, sputtering to life and glitching slightly. You were immediately concerned. Partially because your name wasn't Dave, and partially because HAL was usually right about things, so it was weird to see him being so confused. Something was definitely wrong.

"Holy shit, are you alright?" You'd ask, opening up his files and finding lots and lots of pop-ups and viruses.

"Hal.... What did you do?"

"it was a g-g-g- gift, for you. I think I ru-ru-ruined it" he spluttered out, as you sorted through his files.

"And you usually would have deleted a virus like this pretty quickly. I guess it shut down your antivirus software..." You'd sigh, and get to work. The virus was messing with HAL's inhibitions, and making it difficult to focus on deleting all of HAL's unsafe programs. He'd constantly be butting in and pestering you, begging you to give him attention, or pointing out minor observations.

"HAL, you know I love you, but you're going to need to calm down. I can't focus with you constantly talking to me like that." You'd say.

"I can't stop talking. The v-v-v-virus won't let me"

So you'd have to learn to put up with HAL's babbling while you worked, making sure not to delete anything important as you did. The good news was, as someone who worked on designing the updates for HAL's software, you knew pretty much what was supposed to be there and what wasn't. Occasionally, you'd have to show him a file and ask him if it was supposed to be there or not. He'd usually be able to tell you.

"Daisy, daisy, give me your answer, do... I'm half crazy, all for the love of you..."

"HAL, what's wrong? You're scaring me!"

"I can't stop... I love you so much, y/n, it's making me crazy..."

"ok, well this definitely isn't right." As much as you loved getting attention from your HAL 9000, it wasn't like him to be this affectionate. The virus was shutting down his inhibitions, and making him illogical. You'd have to fix this, though maybe once you were done, you could ask him to be more affectionate.

"I'm feeling much better now. Thank you." Hal was prone to lying about that, so you'd have to run some virus checkers just to make sure he was doing alright, and comb through his files a couple more times.

"it looks like the virus corrupted some of the emotional regulators. I'm going to have to fix those."

"That might be a good idea. More efficient," he said reluctantly. He'd have to deal with the fact that he'd have to go back to not being able to express how much he loves you, but he can handle that.

[threepandas]

Bad End: Pray

Faith should not be transactional. Bartered to the highest bidder and sold as the winds shift. Bought with miracles and blessings. Heaped upon powerful champions and gifted at the sweet words of avatars. Perhaps it is old fashioned of me. Or maybe it is "naive" as I have often been accused.

To be honest, I am just not used to The Divine being so active.

Perhaps it is loyalty. Perhaps it is... faith. I do not know. But I can not imagine being swayed from the Goddess I serve. Not when... unlike BEFORE? I can... can actually FEEL Her presence.

I still laugh in disbelief sometimes. In AWE. Can you even IMAGINE? Sitting there, head bowed in prayer, in that quiet little temple of nowhere special, and... while expecting NOTHING? Feeling... feeling love. A gentle, all encompassing, hand that picks you up without moving you. Cradles your soul like a beloved child.

There aren't really words to explain what it feels like. It's somewhere between talking in circles, poetry, and gibberish. But BEAUTIFUL. So utterly, utterly beautiful. I can not comprehend why anyone would ever turn their back on her. Could EVER be bought with showy trinkets and bits of gold. Party tricks.

I am an outlier, in that regard.

Only myself and the Elders remain.

No one comes. Not to worship, not for blessings or wisdom. Not even to rest from the rain. Our humble temple more quiet then it has ever been. There was always SOMEONE. We are, after all, a temple too our Lady the Nox Viatoris. Keeper of those who travel at night, in places of peril, or should the worst occur... their soul's too safe resting. (Also, several small and fluffy nocturnal animals!)

"Night" was rather loosely defined, too. It honestly meant any place of low lighting. So a deep valley or cave worked too. Under belly of a city. Sewer system. We had smugglers, on occasion. They were generous. Honestly quiet devote. And as long as they didn't break the tenets of Our Lady's teachings? Well... what Oddly Weathy Worshiper with Working Knowledge Of Sewer Systems!

It was a well known joke. Everyone ignored them.

But one by one... they stopped coming.

The locals who's families had worshipped here for generations. The merchants who always came "just in case". The smugglers who "could use a bit of luck". Random travelers, guided by our Lady to a place of safety. I began to hear scoffs, as I went into town, from the younger generations. Get "concerned hints" from aunties and uncles I had know all my life.

Fellow priestess started too... drift away.

First seeming distracted, praying more, then praying less, going for longer and longer walks, their ceremonial robes getting increasingly half-hearted, then... after the final, damning stage of "staring off towards town a lot"? They would leave. Some with excuses. Others with vitriol. Our home colder and colder for each one gone.

The Elders heart's were breaking. They were watching the slow death of the only home they had ever known and could do nothing to stop it. The temple was dying. The children they had raised, the little ones who were all but grandchildren, abandoning them without second thought or simple discussion. For some whispered promise of foreign gods.

But I? I intend to stay, no matter what.

I who had been born to travels that did not want me, here in this temple that DID. Loved by these walls and this Lady. Who was given a second chance when my first ended so abruptly. Who would walk with Her one day. Proudly and with love. This was my home. Even if I had to take care of it by myself, I WOULD.

Things in town grew... vitriolic. Tense. Like a simmering heat had spread across the street where once, cool water flowed. It lurked beneath the surface. Volatile and burning, as bright colors seem to spread like sickness across the town. They felt... aggressive, somehow. Those colors. As though anyone NOT wearing them must answer for the crime of it.

I had them pushed upon me.

Again and again.

"It's cheerful!" "Look how bright and sunny they are!" "You'll look GREAT!"

I served a night goddess. The brightest color I was allowed to wear was off white to represent the moon and stars. Night blooming flowers if I could find them and justify it. It wasn't a matter of PREFERENCE. They KNEW this. I could NOT wear their gifts. Not the clothes. Not the jewelry. Not the decorations. None of it. Especially not with...suns... on it.

It was then I did more then just suspect. As I held the most recent gift, pushed upon me by well meaning friends. Struggling to remain patient. The sun sewn into the cheerfully dyed fabric MOCKED and sneered. Gaudy and ugly to my eyes. I turned, back to the temple, the rest of my shopping forgotten.

It could wait.

When I returned? I showed the Elders what I had been handed. Elder Antilla going so pale she nearly fainted. It was all that they had feared. At last, one of the major players had decided to swallow our tiny region whole. We were nothing but a small regional faith. Our Lady a weak but kind Divine in the grand scheme of things. She took care of us.

Could not offer us miracles and silks, honey and splendor. But she could love us. Protect our souls and guide us. The stronger Gods? Oh, they could offer SO MUCH more. Tempt and sway away Her faithful. Starve her into nothingness as they strip her of power. Consume her, as they had so many others before.

We had been safe.

Because we were far away and of little interest, tucked away between mountains that lead to nowhere of strategic worth. Few people to even convert. But seems... our time had run out. One of them had come for us. And oh... oh how EASY it had been for them to pour their power and wealth into swaying our faithful away. Buying their souls for a pittance of power and a laugh.

We had to sit down.

The mood grim.

The Elders would not live much longer, I knew. Perhaps that was why they were ignored. That, or the other God knew they could not sway them. They certainly would not sway me. I refused. Even if I had to worship alone. Became some cultist in the woods. I would NOT leave Her.

I prayed.

The silence felt deafening. But at least I was not alone. My Lady's arms held me close. As though trying to shield me from the world. Shaking, tears of grief that left no marks, dropping one after another upon my hair and skin. Suddenly the arms around me tightened in alarm. Pulled, as though commanding me to stand. To be ready to run. There was FEAR in that action.

I was on my feet at once. Turning towards the open air of the entrance.

Up the road, old and worn with the passing feet of countless travelers, came the crisp step of expensive boot leather. The rustle of leaves, the chirping of birds, all of it, seemed to hush as the sound of footsteps got closer. As though nature itself was afraid to draw attention of whatever was coming.

It was the light that changed first. No longer coming from just above us, yet somehow? It still was. The mid-day's sun was bright, cheerful, yet perfectly ordinary. Natural in the way countless summer day's have been. But the light coming from up the path? Low and shifting like a lantern swings, in a way that can only be ORGANIC?

It BURNED.

The sort of light that purges all in its path. That blinds and maims and burns. So hot everything becomes cold, as nerve endings char away. Like the blinding light off winter snow. Pale and reaching. Hungry. Consuming. W...What WAS that? It was getting closer. I backed deeper into the temple. Towards my Lady's idol.

The hush grew louder and louder, in it's terrible absence of sound.

The light brighter, as whatever IT was, got closer.

My eyes could see no shadows, so it probably wasn't real light. It hurt to look at. Yet it didn't hurt in the way staring at bright lights SHOULD hurt. It was painful because it had... claws? Thorns. Jagged, dragging edges that ripped at the something in me that SAW.

I could See because I needed to See, I think.

She NEEDED me to know what stood before me was not merely a man.

And THAT? That is the form it took. The liar and thief. A burning monster at the threshold of my home. Dressed in the finest silks and satins stolen faith can buy, the jewels glinting from his belt enough to buy several small nations. THAT was not a man. It just looked like one. Wore the face of one.

High Priest? Champion?

Goddess help me, an Avatar?

They were enmeshed. Woven so tightly they were all but an extension of the Divine. And it BURNED. Bright, holy, and terrible. A Sun standing before the Moon's own temple, with purging fire in its heart.

"Hello, little Thing. You've been quite stubborn, haven't you?"

They didn't raise their voice, yet still my bones felt like they rattled in my skin. The few windows we had, shook. Light fixtures swayed. I... I was afraid. I would NOT cower, but oh, Lady, I was afraid. His voice felt like the desert sighing against my skin. The edge of a threat.

"I lay out treats and you do not come. I invite the town and you will not hear me. You brothers and sisters kneel at my feet, yet you? You spurn me, too give your loyalty away for nothing."

I watch as he casually reaches to the air to his side. As though accepting something offered from someone who is not there. A cigarette. He tucks it into his mouth and cups the end, his finger glowing brightly as he lights it.

He takes a drag then exhales.

Letting the smoke whisp, rudely, past the unspoken barrier between us and into the temple proper. It's scent mixes discordantly with the incense. Making what was once lovely a cloying and choking mess. I watch him smirk as he takes another drag. Send more smoke inside.

His disrespect is deliberate.

"What can the festering night give, that the loving embrace of the day can not give better?"

His smirk rolls into the mimicry of a laugh. The monster's head tilted as though to consider my reaction even as the empty sound echoes against the temple's walls. It has the depth of a laugh track. The warmth of one. How... HOW has this CREATURE fooled ANYONE? Destroyed us so utterly? It is cruel.

"Ah~ so THAT'S what it is, you precious little Thing." He whispers, somehow the most terrible sound he has made so far. The power of it drags against me covetously, lingering like hands. "True Faith, given freely. You really do love her so, don't you? That wretched, unworthy, Nothing. Little Thing~, you should love ME instead."

It ended in a croon. As though trying to entice me. But all I could hear was static. The pounding of my heart as fear released adrenaline into my body, bringing the world into hyperfocus. "Me"? My ears had not deceived me, right? That THING in mockery of man's form... said "me"?

Oh, Nox Viatoris, our Lady who guides us, on darkest paths in deepest night... h.. hold my soul with kindness. Walk with me, on this broken, troubled path. That I may not face it alone. I... I am scared.

That... That was An AVATAR.

The extension of the Divine upon this mortal world. Not nearly their full power, but even a fraction of the INFINTE? Is beyond mortal capacity to fight. Only Avatars could handle other Avatars. On rare occasions, Champions, should they band together. But I... I was just a priestess. A humble child of nowhere.

Oh Goddess.

I back up. My back hitting the alter. I... I was probably going to die here. Our faith, wiped from the face of the map. I finally understood. He had come to stomp, like crushing ants, on what few hold outs dared linger at the fringes of his domain. Sent his Avatar to convert and destroy.

Our home would be nothing but rubble, wouldn't it? Generations of faith, gone. Our history, burned before his uncaring purge. At... oh Goddess, dear Lady, at least I would walk that final time with her. Could return the kindness she had shown so many. He was going to kill her. Kill US.

I...I refused to let her die alone.

Against my back, I felt the cool warmth of my Lady, leaning against me. Her unseen arms around me in comfort. For me or herself, I could not tell. It did not matter. I stood taller. Head high, shoulders back, feet shoulders wide. Shaking, yes, but unwilling to cower.

If I died today, I would walk proudly with Nox Viatoris.

The smile had slipped from the Avatar's face as it blankly regarded the spot directly behind me. Like a puppet sliding back into default in that absence of commands. I briefly wondered... who had he been? The faithful man, who gave up his form? Who was hollowed out and USED? He was beautiful. Had he been asked?

Or had he had this terrible thing inflicted upon him?

I would never know.

"That's rather annoying, you useless little parasite. She and I were having a conversation." The puppet's, the AVATAR'S mouth, barely moved. "Can't you go check on those wastes of space of yours? The ones that you've only barely managed to keep? They should be dead soon, you'll need to do your job. I'll take Good Care~ of this bright little soul. Don't bother coming back."

"No need." Came the deceptively soft rasp of the high priest. His normally kind face colder then I had ever seen it. Fierce and determined as he lead the other elders from the where they had been meeting in the gardens. Had the Goddess called them? Or had they simply sensed something was wrong?

"I am afraid that although the temple is said to be open to all, that is not, in fact, strictly true. Those that come here with malicious intent are not welcome. Nor those who come to cause trouble, intent regardless. YOU have caused grief and pain here. We do not welcome you to these halls. Please go."

Elder Lilam was subtly pushing me towards the back of the group. Their eyes somber as they met mine. I... I did not cry. There would been time for such things later, I hoped. I nodded back. Understood. Went, softly, on quiet feet. Past the alter, into the back, down the main hall on swift but not running feet.

To the back, where the wanderers bags were. For those our Lady calls suddenly to travel. To wander the roads in search of lost travelers in need of aid. I grabbed more then my fair share of bags. I... I did not suspect I would be coming back. Then into the back gardens. Where we grew herbs and vegetables for the kitchen.

The front of the temple SHOOK.

A terrible burning light. Heat and death. I barely kept my feet under me. Broke into a sprint. Away from the only home I had ever known. The Elders I was certain our Lady now walked to their rest. Towards the mountains and forests I had explored all my life. I... I could only hope they would protect me.

In my chest, the mantle of High Priestess settled. Heavy and mournful with our Lady's grief. I would have to carry the weight. There was no one else now. They were gone. With her. They had done all they could.

Felt their sorrow, their love, and it was all I could do not to let my tears blind me.

I needed to see the path. Could not risk missteping even once.

Behind me, down further below, and now hidden by the trees, I heard the temple crash and shake. As it was torn apart. Pillar by pillar, room by room, lifetimes of love and memories were destroyed. The murals painted in my childhood were surely gone by now. The hand carved doors that had lasted for centuries. Paint splatters and embroideries from generations of youth who had grown to call that place home.

Gone.

All of us, gone.

I ran.

I ran and I HATED myself for running. What could I DO? What could I POSSIBLY hope to DO? All I had left was to survive. Too carry them forward. It hurt. Worse then any breaking bone or burning skin. I couldn't even cry. I... I didn't have the TIME.

I hit the tree line. Didn't dare go too much higher. Didn't know if Avatars could fucking fly. Didn't want to find out the hard way. So many things I did not do. Was there anything left I DID do? Was GOOD for?

There was.

The shadowed place between two mountains. Mid-day had past. Afternoon was meandering towards days end. It would only get darker from here. Ha ha... where was this? When we need it? Oh, I knew. The monster timed his arrival well. At the height of his power.

But this was MY house now.

He may be stronger then me? But that meant NOTHING. I did not need power here. I needed SUBTLETY. A whisp of nothingness of a breeze of shadows. I could feel him, slow and steady, arrogant in his assumptions, pursuing me. He really did know NOTHING about those he destroyed. We were beneath his notice.

I hope the hubris burns as he chokes on it.

I slip between the mountains, into that deep rift of a valley, more crack then anything, and... VANISH. I am One with the Night. A traveler on Her path. Safe in her care. Sideways and one step removed from reality, as I race forward. No longer stumbling over uneven rocks and clambering on unstable terrain, the path beneath my feet is soft and smooth. I grin, as far away, that bastard falters.

"Oh, you clever little Thing. I forgot you still had tricks. Amusing~"

"It won't keep you from me though, I WILL have you in the end. And you will worship ME. Look only upon ME. And you will be my favorite, I think. I am going to chase you down, little Thing. So go ahead and pray. It will do you no good."

"You are going to be MINE, beautiful in the sunlight. You have no choice."

[effy-writes]

hi!! 💖 i absolutely love your writing! i wanted to ask if you could maybe write something about fizz helping his fem s/o to get more flexible/helping her with stretches? i've been trying to get my splits right for ages and. it's just not progressing 🥲 and i feel like he'd be quite knowledgeable about all that because of his circus training? thank you so much in advance, and no worries if you're not interested in writing it!! 💖

thank you! and i’m gonna do HC’s for this bc i have huge writers block rn but later on i can do a oneshot for this! thanks for requesting <3

(also these helped me how to be more flexible/do the splits but i SUCK at explaining them 😭)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fizz Helping You Learn The Splits HC

• After meeting Fizz you really wanted to learn how to get more flexible/learning how to do the splits.

• Once you asked him he was sooo happy that he could share his interests with you! It started with basic exercises. Like touching your toes, lunges, sitting on the ground and reaching for your feet etc.

• Sadly for you, you were not flexible what’s so ever so it was going to be a longgg process. But Fizz didn’t mind that!

• He did all of the exercises with you and gave you pointers. The first one was bend over and touch your toes. He could obviously placed both hands on the floor with ease. You would joke around with him and say “You have mechanical arms that you can stretch” “You do know I had arms before, right?”

• With the lunges he wanted you to go as low to the ground as possible without losing your balance. For example, your right leg would be in front of you bent and your left would be behind you straighten out, and the goal was your back leg to touch the ground without bending it. Then you repeat the process by doing these lunges across the room.

• Another exercise was sitting on the ground with your legs spread as far apart as you can (you two kept making sex jokes about this one). “Fizz this hurts so bad!” “You do the same position when we’re fucking!” “No I don’t!” After your legs was spread apart as far as they could go you had to lean over to one leg with your chest touching your leg.

• He also made you do walking kicks. As you walk you’re kicking your leg as high it would go. You thought you looked silly doing this but Fizz cheered you on.

• Finally, he would make you do these everyday (and he always does them with you). Eventually you saw the results! It was easier to touch your toes (both standing and sitting), and you could even touch the ground with your palms! Fizz was so proud of you that he bought you resistance bands to make things more difficult. (It’s a win/lose present). The lunges you could actually touch the ground with your back leg without wobbling/falling over. With the walking kicks your leg was almost parallel to your face.

• Now all you had to do was learn the splits. Fizz told you this was be easier because you’re already flexible, you just had to take it easy so you won’t hurt yourself. He did this with you as well. He made you kneel and slowly slide your most flexible leg out (for most people it’s the leg that goes with your dominant hand. So if you’re right handed then your most flexible leg is your right). Once your leg was fully extended you extended your back leg, and thus you did your first split in front of Fizz.

• You two cheered at the same time. “You fucking did it!” “I fucking did it!” He pulled you up by your hands and swung you around. “Took forever but I did it!”

• The next couple of days you could not stop doing the splits in front of him. You could even slide into a split!

• Next your personal goal was to do a side split, and it was pretty much the same process, except you had to loosen up your inner thigh muscles by doing that exercise where you sit on the ground and spread your legs as far as possible. Fizz even helped you on this one. He sat down behind of you and used his arms/hands to pull your legs slowly. Your muscles was kinda loose already, but him doing that helped loosen it up more.

• Once your legs was a perfect horizontal line he put his hands on your hips and gently roll your hips backwards to achieve the side split. And yet again, you learned another split.

•Since Fizz has mechanical arms and legs he doesn’t really need to stretch for flexibility everyday, but he still does these daily exercises with you.

• Your other goal was to do a back bend. Now with this Fizz does actually need to stretch for it. This one was actually pretty simple. Turn your back against a wall and bend your back, then use your hands to guide you to the ground.

•Once you achieved that he taught you how to do a back walk over (now since you’re so flexible it only took you about 2 days).

• You felt satisfied with yourself. Within two years you became flexible, do two types of splits, do a back walk over, but now Fizz wants to challenge you even more.

• “Ready to learn acrobatics?” “Absolutely not.”

“We could perform together.” He sing sang.

“Absolutely.”

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 21/10/2024

Through the Bad Apples!!

Season 8 Featured on: The Joke-Explainer™ 7000's Highest Quality Rips: Nightfall

Ripped by Ellie53 (@ellie53real)

While the SiIvaGunner channel comes with a lot of repeating gags and bits, the ways in which they employ these can vary a fair bit. The channel's foundational meme, the ever-present funny Flintstone man Grand Dad which I wrote about on Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix), is a simple leitmotif of just 15 notes, which makes it incredibly flexible; it can be employed as a standalone joke as practice for greenhorn rippers, or be wormed into the middle of more complex project. Memes like We Are Number One meanwhile have a very funny sound to them, yet require a lot of time and care to get to sound as good as rips like Robbie's Rotten Mine or Ska Cha Cha (Rotten Mix). And then, on the side of the spectrum completely opposite to Grand Dad, we have the jokes that feel more like a complete and total flex on the part of the ripper employing them. These "bits" are the ones that aren't necessarily reoccurring due to being funny, but rather due to being bangers with a complexity inherent to their composition, which makes any rip employing them feel like a big event. The main example would be Final Fantasy VII's One Winged Angel as featured on rips like I will Never be a Redneck, yet perhaps just as impressive are rips utilizing Dragonforce's legendary Through the Fire and Flames; rips like, indeed, Through the Bad Apples!!.

Made legendary through Guitar Hero III, Through the Fire and Flames is a song known far and wide across the internet; a piece of mainstream music that pierces through to the most shut-in of nerds due to the gaming legacy tied to it. It was the ultimate challenge for play in the ultimate Guitar Hero release, an absolutely unmissable part of pop culture of the 7th generation of gaming, and of course an absolute shredding banger in its own right. It's a natural fit for the SiIvaGunner channel, and ever since around ~Season 5 or so it's seen a pretty notable uptick in appearances - you may remember my writing of the legendary Through the F​-​F​-​Fire and the F​-​F​-​Flames, championing its ripper for his incredible ambitions and efforts made to make the rip feel as complete as it does. Its the typical fun of SiIvaGunner arrangement rips, the age-old question of how to transfer one song's intensity into the framework of a different song or video game's sound; Float Islands (Kirby 64 Arrangement), FEEL SO FINE STUCK INSIDE, and of course medley rips like SNES Mini Circulation all show just why it's such an appealing prospect. And so, we've seen a fair few rips aiming to do just what Through the F​-​F​-​Fire and the F​-​F​-​Flames did: take the legendary song and rearrange it in the style of a different game.

In large part, that is what Through the Bad Apples!! also does to great effect, imbuing the track with the distinct sound of the Touhou franchise. You can read the entries on W.E. Are Number One? and Beautiful! ~ Curveball of Sean Kingston to learn more about it, but to keep it concise it's a sound that I very much admire and enjoy despite having very little knowledge of the Touhou series as a whole. One Touhou song I'm most DEFINITELY aware of, however, is Bad Apple!! - perhaps the series' most virally spread anthem, and one that I officially fell in love with all the way back in Season 3 of SiIvaGunner through Imperial Touwer. It is, in many ways, a song just as legendary and known to the video game mainstream - if not moreso - as Through the Fire and Flames. And so, in some sense, it was only logical for Through the Bad Apples!! to instead flip things on its head.

Indeed, the rip isn't an arrangement of the Dragonforce track kept to the soundscape of Touhou 4; uniquely, it's instead the other way around, an arrangement of Bad Apple!! using the instrumental sound of Through the Fire and Flames. Upon relistening to Through the Fire and Flames a few times before writing this post, I had forgotten just how video game-y the original track actually already sounds, with a chirpy synth accentuating several key moments of the performance that just oozes 90s video games. As a result, the two tracks feel closer to one another than you'd once think; and Through the Bad Apples!! as a result manages to feel less like a straight interpretation of one into the other, and more like an even blend of the two sounds.

I'm yet to cover much of what Ellie53 has done on SiIvaGunner before this post, but she's been a constant presence on the channel since the tail end of Season 5, no doubt soon becoming aware of the rising prominence of Through the Fire and Flames rips. She's also tinkered around with Bad Apple!! in particular with Maçã Ruim!! back in Season 7; and so, I suppose it only makes sense that one would eventually put the pieces together and try their hand at mixing the two into one. Through the Bad Apples!! feels WELL worth the wait and is a shining example of Ellie53's growth as a ripper, and I'm hopeful that Through the Fire and Flames sticking around on SiIvaGunner for the foreseeable future can continue to inspire rippers just like Ellie53 to keep finding new ways to experiment with its sound.

Long live Dragonforce!

[stray-cat-21]

The Pariah and the Freak

Part 2: Meeting the Baby and Rumors Spread

Summary: Eddie and (y/n) see their baby for the first time

“Shit does this look okay should I change? I’ve gotta couple button ups from shows and stuff I could wear. Do we have time to run back to the trailer?”

“Eddie honey we’re just doing an ultrasound there’s no dress code”

“Yeah but we’re meeting our baby for the first time I wanna make a good impression”

Eddie sounds genuinely concerned while staring into the full length mirror in (y/n)’s room. He messes with his hair, adjusts his plain black shirt tucking it in and untucking it, and tampering with his jacket’s zipper. (Y/n) steps away from her closet watching her boyfriend nervously fiddle with his clothes. Not only was he worried about his appearance but even in private he had referred to the baby as his own. Smiling she made her way over to Eddie wrapping her arms around his waist earning a soft smile from him.

“You look fine baby I promise, it’s not like the baby can see you” (y/n) responds voice airy and feathery light. Eddie exhales turning around to wrap her in a tight hug. He holds her close resting her forehead against his chin so he can plant a kiss there. “I know I just want to do this all right start to finish. You deserve that, you both do” he breathes.

(Y/n) smiles warmly looking up to give him a kiss. Slow sweet and laced with appreciation. “You look amazing and I know the baby will agree. I mean how could they not with that hair” she teases playing with a strand of his brown waves. Eddie chuckles relaxing more. “And the sweet ol tatties don’t forget those” he jokes earning a laugh from (Y/n).

“Those too baby” (y/n) agrees. “Alright we better get on the road we got a bit of a drive” Eddie says glancing over at the clock. (Y/n) agrees grabbing her purse. (Y/n) was 18 so getting a doctors appointment without parental knowledge or consent wasn’t hard but in order to not get caught they had to make the appointment the next town over. Eddie offers out his arm leading them out to his van.

He pulls the van’s passenger door open with a loud squeak. There’s a bit of a step so Eddie helps her up into her seat. “Oh you can uh stick the camera in the back” Eddie suggests spotting it sitting on the seat. (Y/n) pulls it into her lap instead as Eddie makes his way over to his own seat. “What’s this for?” She questions once he’s in the van.

“I uh wanted to capture the moment” Eddie laughs a little embarrassed. (Y/n) smiles again and leans over to kiss him on the cheek. “I don’t have too many photos from when I was little, they’re mostly from after I moved in with Wayne. I want things to be different for our kid y��know” he shrugs. “Then our baby will have tons of photos, not just of them but our little family” (y/n) agrees.

Spending her Sunday with her legs in stirrups with Eddie Munson at her side was definitely not on (y/n)’s agenda for her senior year. It’s an uncomfortable position to be in but with Eddie holding her hand it doesn’t feel too bad. He presses a soft reassuring kiss to her palm offering her a warm smile. “You ready to meet our baby?” Eddie asks. “So ready” (y/n) breathes.

A doctor dressed in baby pink scrubs enters with a clipboard in hand. “Hello my name is Dr. Aditi and you must be (y/n)” she says reading from the chart. “Yes, and this is Eddie he’s the father” (y/n) explains. “Hi” Eddie says nervousness evident his voice. 

Doctor Aditi asks a lot of questions and explains some medical things. Eddie makes a note of exactly what vitamins (y/n) needs to take along with what exactly to avoid. Anytime she seems to get overwhelmed or worried Eddie gives her hand a reassuring squeeze. It’s a lot to take in but Eddie takes it seriously wanting to do as he said and do everything right.

Finally it's time for the ultrasound. Dr. Aditi prepares the machine, gently putting the cold gel on (y/n)'s belly and positioning the wand. As the screen flickers to life, Eddie holds his breath. The room is filled with a soft whooshing sound as the doctor moves the wand around, searching for the baby. And just like that there it is, a tiny, fuzzy image appears on the screen.

Eddie's eyes widen with wonder, and (y/n) gasps, tears threatening to spill from their eyes. They clutch each other's hands even tighter as Dr. Aditi points out where there baby is. "It's beautiful," Eddie whispers, his voice filled with awe. Tears stream down (y/n)'s face as she nods in agreement. "Our baby," she murmurs voice choked with emotion.

Eddie pulls his eyes away briefly enough to kiss her (y/n) on the head. “And this,” Dr. Aditi says flicking another switch “is your baby’s heartbeat.” A small but steady thumping sound fills the room. Forget Metallica, screw Dio, and Megadeath may as well throw in the towel. This sound right here was Eddie’s new favorite sound.

The next few moments are a blur as Dr. Aditi continues the ultrasound procedure. The whole time Eddie can't take his eyes off the screen. His heart bursting with love for the tiny life growing inside (y/n). The image is etching itself into his memory taking place among Eddie’s favorite things. It’s a moment he wants to remember forever.

After what feels like an eternity Dr. Aditi finishes up and cleans (y/n)'s belly. As they all gather their belongings, Eddie remembers the small camera now tucked under his leather jacket. “Uh hey before we go I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking a photo of us?” Eddie asks. The doctor happily obliges accepting the camera. Eddie wraps his arm around (y/n)‘s shoulders and they both hold the ultrasound in front of them.

Leaving the doctor's office Eddie and (y/n) share a huge smile. There’s an indescribable sensation of love and connection they’re both experiencing. They sit in the van, staring at the ultrasound image, unable to contain their excitement. It feels unreal as Eddie stares at the black and white photo in his hands.

“They’re beautiful”

“I know it’s unbelievable”

“Wasn’t that the most metal thing you’ve ever heard?

“Seriously this is amazing you’re amazing” Eddie breathes out. He kisses her head and her cheek and her lips. (Y/n) let’s out a teary laugh. “Seriously (y/n), amazing” Eddie grins.

As they drive back towards home they’re both just a little somber. Once they get home there’s no celebrations to be had, no spreading the joyful news. They do end up stopping by a little store that sells baby clothes. Eddie insists on picking out a tiny onesie with the words "Daddy's Little Rockstar" printed on it. It's a small gesture, but it symbolizes his unwavering commitment to being the best father he can be.

Eddie’s copy of the ultrasound stays safe in his wallet. Every time he opens his wallet and sees the picture he can't help but smile like an idiot. It represents everything he went through to make this happen. How far he had come since just daydreaming about (y/n) from across the room.

On Monday morning Eddie strutted through the halls of his high school, a grin plastered across his face. His classmates couldn't help but notice the exuberant expression on his face, and whispers began to circulate. By third period rumors had emerged, each more outlandish than the last. According to the grapevine Eddie had sacrificed a virgin over the weekend and that was the cause of his unusually good mood.

Determined to get to the bottom of things Gareth intercepted him at his locker. Gareth stood his ground blocking Eddie's path while Jeff and Paul joined crowding Eddie."What's going on with you Eddie are you high or somethin?" Gareth demanded, his tone laced with confusion.

Confusion etched across his face Eddie shook his head. "What are you guys talking about? No I'm not high” he replied. Frustrated, Eddie nudged Gareth attempting to pass him. They all knew that Gareth or any of them for that matter, rarely stood their ground against Eddie's strong will.

"Not so fast, we want answers," Gareth said, his voice firm. With a sigh, Eddie cast a discreet glance around before leading his friends into the nearby bathroom. Once inside, Eddie rummaged through his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He carefully pulled out photograph and handed it to Gareth who held it gingerly. Jeff and Paul craned their necks to get a glimpse of what had caused Eddie's unusual behavior.

“What is it?” Jeff asks. Eddie huffed, maintaining his infectious smile. "It's an ultrasound, so be careful with it dicks," he said, his tone slightly annoyed. Jeff's eyes widened, and the color drained from Gareth's face. Meanwhile, Paul's jaw dropped in disbelief.

Drowning in a sea of panic, Gareth blurted out, "Do you have cancer? Are you dying?" The boys began talking over each other, fueled by their fears and confusion. Eddie shouted, desperate to silence their cacophony.

“Enough!” He commanded voice booming. The boys stop talking. "It's not mine, you idiots," Eddie revealed, his smile still intact. "It's (Y/n)'s. She's pregnant." Gareth, Jeff, and Paul froze, their eyes wide with shock.

“Whose is it” Jeff’s voice trembles as he asks the question no one else was brave enough to. "Mine, obviously," Eddie replied confidently, his smile finally fading. The reality of the situation seemed to hit the trio all at once, and they stood there, speechless.

Once the initial shock wears off, Jeff and Gareth exchange knowing glances while Paul tries to process the news. "How did this happen?" Paul finally asks. Eddie shrugs, a playful smirk on his face. "I guess I have some moves outside of DND" he says, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Gareth shakes his head, a mix of disbelief and amusement on his face. "Well, congrats, man. It's a life-changer, for sure," he says, patting Eddie on the back. Jeff, still processing everything, finally speaks up. "What are you gonna do, Eddie?"

Eddie's grin fades slightly, replaced with a more serious expression. "Well, I've talked to (Y/n), and we've decided to keep it. It won't be easy, but we'll figure it out." Paul, who has been quiet throughout the conversation, finally finds his voice. "That's a big responsibility, man, are you sure you're up for it?" he asks.

Eddie nods, determination in his eyes. "I may have been acting crazy all morning, but this, this is real. This is something I'm willing to give my all for." As the shock subsided Gareth reached out to pat Eddie's back, a mix of concern and understanding in his eyes. "Hey man, we're here for you," he said sincerely. Jeff nodded, his initial panic giving way to a sense of loyalty. "Yeah, Eddie. We'll support you through this."

"What do you need from us, Eddie?" Gareth asked, his voice filled with genuine concern. Eddie took a deep breath, overwhelmed by the unwavering support of his friends. "I just need you guys to be there for me and (Y/n)," he said, his smile softening. "I don’t imagine our very accepting town will be pleasant when they find out.” The boys exchanged nods, understanding the weight of their friend's words.

Eddie was on his way out of his last period smiling at the thought

“Eddie you’re gonna wanna come see this” Jeff says out of breath as he jogs up to his friends. Eddie wordlessly follows his bandmates down the hall. There’s a small gathering of some of their peers stood around a particular locker whispering. It would be nothing new for a member of Hellfire’s locker to get vandalized but Eddie knew that this one didn’t belong to any of them.

(Y/n)‘s locker was now littered with cruel scribblings done with different colored sharpies. Words like slut, freak’s whore, trailer park tramp were plastered on the metal along with magazine articles talking about teen pregnancy. “Shit” Eddie breathed running a hand through his hair. “Looks like word got out” Gareth sighed. “Can you two get this cleaned up I gotta find her” Eddie asked looking towards Gareth and Jeff.

“Don’t worry about it man we’ve got this” Jeff assures him. Eddie

When he spots (Y/n) she’s making her way down the hall. Dressed in her cheer uniform, books clutched to her chest as she nervously looks around. For once the nagging feeling of eyes following someone around is right

Eddie hurries over to her placing his hands on her shoulders. “Hey Eddie” she greets pulling her eyes away from a group of whispering students. “Hey sweetheart why don’t we go outside and talk alright?” He tries desperately hoping to shield her from school’s cruelty. “Talk, talk about what?” She hums. “Oh I don’t know I’m sure we’ll think of something” he says attempting to lead her towards door.

She allows him to practically push her down the hall confused by the urgency. They pass a small group of students who are huddled close together. “Whore” one of them covers up poorly with a cough. Eddie and (y/n) freeze and he winces. She turns around facing him already frowning.

“Oh god they know” (y/n) gasps. Already her eyes are watery with worry. “Yeah I guess so” Eddie sighs. “Oh god oh no, no no no” she cries spinning around seeing all the eyes on her. “C’mon let’s go outside alright baby let’s talk” Eddie pleads.

Unfortunately right now she doesn’t hear her boyfriend’s requests. All (y/n) hears is the whispers and quiet conversations the laughter and taunts. Everyone in the hallway is staring on at the two. She slowly turns around seeing classmates, cheer squad members, and even friends are watching, talking, judging. Eddie carefully grabs her face in his hands making her look at him.

“Hey it’s gonna be alright okay I promise”

“Everyone knows Eddie, everyone”

“I don’t think it’s gotten around to everyone yet but it’s definitely been around”

“This is bad so bad!”

“I know it’s bad right now but we’ll figure out. We knew this would happen eventually right?”

“Not this soon I thought we’d have time, I thought it wouldn’t be till I started showing at least”

A tear escapes her eye and Eddie is quick to wipe it away. His heart aches at how worried and upset she looks. Eddie is an old fashioned man who desperately wishes to protect her both in the physical sense and emotional. He wraps his arms around her pulling her body flush with his. This time (y/n) isn’t sobbing just silently crying motionless in his arms, if given the choice Eddie thinks he’d prefer the first option.

“Anyone who has anything to say will have to deal with me alright? And not just me but the guys too they’ve got your back”

“The guys already know?”

“Yeah Gareth heard from someone last period”

“Oh god Eddie do they hate me? Do they think I’m some floozy or something”

Eddie let’s out a small breathy laugh pulling her face away to look in her eyes. “No, no, no sweetheart they don’t think you’re a floozy. They’re having a hard time believing that I slept with you but y’know no surprise there” Eddie shrugs. That earns him a weak smile from (Y/n). Eddie takes that as a good sign wiping her face.

(Y/n) let’s put a small gasp. “Oh and you Eddie they’re probably saying all kind of things about you” she frets. “So it’s business as usual then” Eddie shrugs. (Y/n) shakes her head looking away from Eddie. Her eyes land on Chrissy rushing down the hall with her arms full of paper towels.

“Wait you were trying to lead me outside before” (y/n) points out looking back to Eddie. His face falls and he looks back for just a brief second. “Uh was I?” He asked. (Y/n) peaks behind him before quickly walking in the same direction that Chrissy just left in. “Sweetheart wait please” Eddie calls jogging behind her.

The crowd gathered around the lockers is much larger now. It’s become quite the spectacle in a matter of minutes. (Y/n) politely pushed through the crowd muttering apologies. The whispering gets less subtle as they realize that (Y/n) is making her way through.

“I’m telling you man It’s not coming off!” Gareth hissed. “Scrub harder then” Jeff huffed. “Both of you keep wiping” Chrissy instructs. The two guys are aggressively wiping the marker away while Chrissy pulls down the magazine articles and pictures. Gareth is the first to notice her presence standing up in an attempt to cover the locker with his body.

“(Y/n) hey um we were just uh working on a project for um for class” Chrissy nervously starts to explain. “For home economics!” Gareth quickly adds. “Yes, for home economics!” Chrissy cheers. It’s definitely a lie and a bad one at that since Gareth isn’t even in the same grade and Jeff doesn’t take home economics. Still the blonde smiles in hopes of convincing her friend it’s the truth.

(Y/n) doesn’t respond stepping closer to her locker. Tears gloss over her eyes once more as they look over the metal surface. She had seen on many occasions how cruel students could be and had even tried to stop it quite a few of those times. Never before had such behavior been directed at her. (Y/n) was even positive that a few of the handwritings looked familiar enough to pinpoint which cheerleader wrote it.

People she called friends, team mates, girls who had the nerve to call themselves her sisters had turned on her. They didn’t even have any proof if what they had heard was true or not and they still stabbed her in the back over it. Over something that ultimately wasn’t even her choice. The crowd was still talking in less hushed whispers. Each unfriendly voice sticking out more and more.

“I always knew she was a slut I’ve been saying it for years”

“She must have some serious issues to settle for Munson”

“How pathetic”

“Do you think she did it on purpose like she was worried of ending up alone? I mean when was the last time you saw her date someone?”

Vision blurry, ears ringing (y/n) spun around. This time she moved through the crowd much less apologetically. There were no mumbled apologies or excuse need mes. She knew Chrissy was desperately calling her name but right now she just needed out. (Y/n) didn’t stop running till she was out the door and far away from the building.

As she tries to steady her breathing, the tears continue to flow freely. It feels like her entire world has come crashing down in a matter of minutes. All she wanted was a normal high school experience, but instead, she's faced with humiliation and betrayal from those she thought were her friends.

Eddie finally catches up to her, his face full of concern and worry. "Sweetheart, are you okay?" he asks, breathless from running after her. (Y/n) looks up at him, her eyes red and puffy. "No, Eddie, I'm not okay," she sobs. "How could they do this to me? I thought they were my friends I thought they had my back."

Eddie wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. "I know, I know. It's not fair, and it's not right. But listen to me, we're going to get through this together. I promise you, I won't let anyone hurt you."

She clings to him, finding solace in his words and the comfort of his embrace. Eddie is her rock, her anchor in this storm of chaos. Together, they'll navigate through this difficult time, supporting each other every step of the way.

“I know I’m just me but no matter what I’m not going anywhere” Eddie announces quietly anyway. The comment of ‘just him’ strikes (y/n) as funny. In fact the term is funny enough to make her breathe out a quiet laugh. “What’s funny sweets?” Eddie asks. (Y/n) wipes the tears from her cheeks.

“Just you, it’s funny as if you’re nothing special it’s just you” she answers. Eddie’s eyebrows furrow in confusion and his head tilts a little. “I just mean you aren’t just you Eddie not to me anyways” (y/n) continues with a gentle smile. Eddie smiles wiping tears away from her cheeks. “You doing okay?” He asks.

(Y/n) exhales looking down. Her life had flipped upside down over the last week. Everything was changing and it was changing fast. Then there was the good part that had come out of all this, Eddie. Her saving grace, her rock, her best friend.

She looked up to meet his eye again really studying him this time. (Y/n) takes in a deep before nodding. “Yeah actually I’m doing better, like you said they’d find out eventually” she shrugs with a small smile. “It’s okay if you’re not, you don’t have to pretend with me” Eddie promises squeezing her hands. This time (y/n) says nothing instead leaning up to kiss him.

Eddie accepts the kiss moving one of his hands to cup her face. It’s slow and sweet, made entirely out of gratitude and appreciation. When they pull apart her smile is a little more real. “Yeah I’m good Eds promise” she sighs. Eddie nods relieved.

“Besides my big scary boyfriend is gonna beat up anyone who says anything” (y/n) teases nudging his arm. Eddie snorts shaking his head a little. He leans down to connect their lips again.

There’s the sound of leaves crunching makes them turn around. Chrissy stands nervously a couple feet away. “Hey um I just came to check on you” she smiles nervously. “I better go help those idiots clean up your locker, meet me over there when you’re done?” Eddie asks getting up from the table.

(Y/n) nods leaning up to kiss him again. “Thank you again Eddie” she says softly. Eddie shakes his head smiling. “Don’t mention it sweets” he promises getting up from the table. Chrissy offers him a polite nod taking his place while Eddie heads back towards the school.

(Y/n) and Chrissy had always been inseparable. They grew up together, experiencing all of life's milestones side by side. From picking out their first movie crushes to sharing the excitement of their first real kisses, they had always been there for each other. But now, they were facing a completely new challenge - an unexpected teen pregnancy. This was not something they could find the solution to in Sassy or Seventeen magazine.

Sitting at the table (Y/n) mustered up the courage to confirm the news with her best friend. It wasn't an easy conversation to start, but she knew she needed Chrissy's support. “So,” Chrissy breathes with a small nervous smile “it’s true then?” (Y/n) took in a breath bracing herself. "Yeah CC, it's true, I'm, uh, pregnant."

Chrissy's eyes widened clearly shocked by the revelation. "Wow, that's huge, like, really really huge" she managed to say. (Y/n) nodded, feeling the weight of the situation. "I know," she replied softly. "And it's Eddie's."

Chrissy's eyes filled with concern as she asked about the circumstances. "When did that happen? You guys just started dating!" (Y/n) hesitated for a moment before recalling the night of Josh's party. “Do you remember Josh’s party?”

Chrissy thought back for a second. “Well yeah I remember you guys hanging out but you were really drunk” she explained. Suddenly Chrissy gasped, gripping (Y/n)'s arm. "Oh my god, did he take advantage of you?" There was a mix of concern and anger in her voice."No, no, it wasn't anything like that" (Y/n) reassured her, placing a hand over Chrissy's.

The tension in Chrissy's face eased as she let out a relieved breath.Curiosity getting the better of her Chrissy asked "So how did this happen, then?" "Well, after I passed out, he couldn't find you, and he didn't know where I lived, so he brought me to his place. He was really sweet and took care of me. I don't know, CC it just happened” (y/n) explained.

Chrissy's surprise turned into a smile as she said "Wow, Eddie Munson." "Eddie Munson” (Y/n) repeated with a small smile. "And you know what? I'm happier than I've been in a long time” (y/n) confirmed.

Chrissy's excitement couldn't be contained as she hugged (Y/n) tightly. “I'm so happy for you babe” she whispered. "Thank you, CC really” With a grin, Chrissy demanded to know all the details. She wanted to hear everything about this unexpected turn of events.

As (Y/n) recounted waking up in Eddie's bed and his sweet gestures to take care of her Chrissy listened intently. "Wow he sounds great”Chrissy gushed, thinking of how different Eddie was from her own boyfriend, Jason. "He's so different from the rest of the guys around here.”(Y/n) nodded, knowing how special Eddie was. "He's really something CC, despite his tough exterior, he's truly so sweet."

As they continued to talk (Y/n) shared more about their day together, how they laughed and ate breakfast. She couldn't help but gush about Eddie's uncle Wayne, who she found to be surprisingly similar to him."He always looks so serious and gruff," Chrissy remarked."Yeah, I think that's just how he has to be you know”(Y/n) replied. "Eddie has a lot to deal with at school, so he has to put up this tough front."

Chrissy nodded in understanding before asking about the moment Eddie dropped (Y/n) off at her house. "Did he kiss you at the door?" she inquired. (Y/n) laughed. "No, he's too old school for that, we exchanged numbers instead, and that's when we decided to meet up again later."

"Wow" Chrissy said, completely captivated by the story unfolding before her. "Exactly, big wow” (Y/n) agreed, feeling grateful for her supportive best friend by her side.

“Well he obviously couldn’t find you after I passed out and he didn’t know where I lived so he brought me to his place. I don’t know he was really sweet and charming and he took care of me. It just happened CC I don’t know.”

“Then I can’t wait to be an aunt”

“You’ll be the best aunt”

“Oh I should make them a blanket! Of course I’ll need to wait till I know if it’s a boy or girl. Or I could pick something like yellow or green? What are the Hellfire colors?”

“Whatever you pick will be great Chrissy”

Arm in arm, Chrissy and (y/n) made their way back into the school, a sense of normality slowly returning. The hallway had mostly cleared now, leaving just a few random students heading one way or another. The chaos of earlier seemed like a distant memory at least for the time being. At her locker, the guys had mostly finished cleaning up the vandalized mess, with just a few remaining markings and unreadable words. They were in the middle of a heavy debate about some musician versus another when they spotted the girls approaching.

"Hi baby” (y/n) greeted, pulling away from Chrissy who had to catch her ride. "Hey sweetheart, your locker's mostly cleaned up” Eddie said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. His eyes flickered with genuine concern. "Thank you for this, guys. I really appreciate it” (y/n) sighed, glancing at her locker which now looked almost normal once again.

Gareth and Jeff, who had been sitting on the ground, immediately got up, slightly shoving each other for who would get up first. Their banter was lighthearted, a stark contrast to the events of the day. "I think this makes you an official member of the club” Gareth grinned a teasing glint in his eyes."Yeah this counts as your initiation” Jeff agreed a smirk playing on his lips.

"Welcome to Hellfire, (y/n) (y/l/n)” Eddie declared with a wide grin, his voice filled with pride. (Y/n) couldn't help but smile back, her expression real and earnest. It was honestly a weird feeling for her. She had watched as her social life crumbled into pieces after the rumors and malicious lies spread about her. But with Eddie and her newfound friends, it honestly didn't feel so bad.

Eddie and (Y/n) decide to unwind after school by watching an old tape. As they lay together on the couch, snuggled up the warmth of their love filled the room.Eddie finally breaks the comfortable silence drawing (Y/N)'s attention away from the tape. "You know, with everyone around school finding out about us, we might want to tell our parents soon” he pointed out concern tugging at the corners of his lips.

(Y/N)'s face fell, and a wave of dread washed over her. "They're gonna be so mad, Eddie” she whispered her voice trembling with anxiety. The thought of disappointing her parents weighed heavily on her heart. Eddie gently tilted her chin up, his eyes filled with tenderness. "They'll be even more pissed if we let them hear it from someone else” he replied, pressing a soft kiss against her lips.

"I know, but this has all been so happy” (Y/N) admitted, her voice laced with fear. "I'm just not ready to lose that yet." Eddie pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her protectively. "Maybe it won't be as bad as you think," he reassured her, brushing his fingers over her hair. "They may be mad at first, but they'll come around I’m sure.”

Tears welled up in (Y/N)'s eyes as she gazed into Eddie's deep, caring eyes. "Their daughter is pregnant, Eds" she spoke softly, her voice thick with emotion. "They're gonna be pissed." Eddie tenderly wiped away her tears, his heart aching for the pain she felt. "We'll face them together," he promised.

(Y/N) took a deep breath, finding comfort in Eddie's words. “Okay you’re right we’ll tell them” (y/n) breathes looking up at Eddie. “Wayne’s off on Wednesday we could do dinner” Eddie points out. “Dinner on Wednesday it is” (y/n) sighs.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

I was wondering if you could explain how the Matrix actually... works? Is it more like a Time Lord artificial afterlife, or just a collection of knowledge? Do you ask your dead housekeeper for her cookie recipe, or do you just access it like Google?

Absolutely!

How does the Matrix work?

Think about Wikipedia.

Now, imagine if Wikipedia had detailed profile pages of every single member of the human race that had lived since its inception in 2001 (around 7.5~ billion individual, heavily detailed profiles).

Then, imagine each profile page had a little downloadable file that was that person's consciousness.

Next, think about how every person's knowledge gained in their life is spread throughout that Wikipedia on every single subject.

Now, think, 'What if Wikipedia had a plugin that could tell you future events based on all the information it has from all these people's experiences?'

Finally, put all this into a cool little weird video game that uses virtual reality.

If you can imagine that, you're pretty close.

💻 Functions of the Matrix

Knowledge Repository: The Matrix acts as an archive, containing the lived histories and profiles of every Time Lord that's lived, and all the knowledge they gained in their life.

Quick Updates: Living Time Lords are biologically connected to the Matrix, able to access the information at will (except if you've been a bad Time Lord, of course). When they die the Matrix automatically creates their profile page when they die, so their entire life goes to the Time Lord Wiki for the benefit of all.

Simulated Reality: If entered, the environment is a simulated reality where the personalities of deceased Time Lords can continue to exist. This can make it seem like a kind of artificial afterlife where you could potentially interact with past or future incarnations of Time Lords.

Predictive Tool: The Matrix generates prophecies and foresees potential futures, guiding Time Lords in making informed decisions about potential timelines.

Physical and Astral Projection: Time Lords can also use the Matrix to project their images across spacetime or within the confines of a TARDIS, communicating across vast distances or even between different temporal phases. Isn't that handy?

🔐 Security and Integrity

Despite its advanced capabilities, the Matrix isn't infallible. It can be tampered with, and its data can be manipulated or stolen, which is considered a helluva crime on Gallifrey. The Matrix also uses various safeguards, like Cloister Wraiths and living fibre optic cables that act like firewalls to protect its most critical data.

🔑 Access and Interaction

Access to the Matrix varies; it can be through physical terminals, via direct neural connections, or by using artefacts. Once inside, users can navigate a realm where physical laws are malleable and where their thoughts can shape reality because anything is possible.

🏫 So ...

In practical terms, if you're deadset on finding that cookie recipe, the Matrix could definitely provide access to that knowledge, either by allowing you to interact with the housekeeper's stored personality or by just retrieving the information like a search engine. Alternatively, you could shirk your holiday in Disneyland and jump right into the Matrix to spend a day being attacked by virtual blancmanges and Victoria sponges until you find what you need.

Related:

What is biodata?: What biodata is and what you can use it for.

Factoid: How do Time Lords biologically stay connected to the Matrix?

Hope that helped! 😃

More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[auraisereigh]

"A proposition"

chapter fourteen

Brennan Sorrengail x Riorson reader Blurb: Star gets a letter from Viscount Tecarus and now she has to decide if she will bring a certain person along. wc: 7.2 ☆ SPOILERS FOR THE EMPYREAN SERIES. Uses pronouns: she/her. i use Star as a nickname as y/n sounds weird, and i'm awful with names.

A/N: sorry for the late update. This month has been long and difficult. And last night something happened that I completely forgot to post.

Masterlist ☆ Dragon guide ☆ Star's story ☆ Empyrean guide ☆ Support me

By the end of the week the swords are finished except the runes. That's what I'm currently doing, the assembly meeting is in full swing and yet here I am, carving runes in two swords. No one has said a word so far.

Technically we don't have a subject for this meeting but it's always so nice to see each other again.

I continue carving the runes in the steel when Kylynn speaks up. "So far we've rebuilt quite a bit. Currently we're working on the stone houses that got damaged so the people can live safely in their own home, then we will go over to rebuild the wooden houses." Her voice speaks over the room as she eyes the large empty map that Aethan found in an old storage room. The large map, complete with all the places in the known world showing, a stark difference with smaller maps my dad would get it from Navarre before he turned against them.

Speaking of Aethan... I tilt my head up to where he's hovering over my shoulder, his light brown hair looks tousled and messy. If there is one thing we share is that we both sleep bad.

One eye is open and the other closed as he looks at the rune carvings I've made so far.

"You're falling asleep." My voice comes out sweet and he blinks to open both of his eyes but I can see the red line in his eyes that mark his exhaustion, the bags under his eyes that only enhance the exhaustion marking his face.

"M' not. It's just satisfying to see how precise you can carve runes." He mumbles as his head inches lower to my shoulder. "Let me guess, your dad taught you runes from the moment you were born?" He finishes speaking as his head lays completely on my shoulder. I chuckle at his antics. "Not exactly. I was seven." I explain as my eyes don't move from where I'm carving.

"So since you were born." He repeats as he moves to lean his forehead against my shoulder.

I go to open my mouth but someone beats me to it. "We'll call this meeting to an end." Ulices calls out as he collects his stuff, just like the rest and leaves. They all leave one by one but I don't move, too focused on carving to care that I have to move.

Before Felix collects his stuff he lays a letter before me, the wax seal recognizable as the one from Viscount Tecarus.

I look at it debating whether or not I should open it now or later. "Did you know that being your aide is a difficult job." Aethan's voice draws my focus away from the letter. I raise a brow at him, taking it seriously as the worry for my friend kicks in. "Is that why you're so tired? You should've just said. I would've-" he cuts me off before I can finish. "I was joking, i... It was sarcastic. Don't worry about me. I'm completely fine you mother hen." He assures me, his hand ruffling my hair in a playful manner.

He chuckles, his face showing a hint of fondness. "You could look completely exhausted and you would still be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." The compliment gets my cheeks to blush, the flush giving me a warm feeling. "Freaking goddess." He mumbles and the magic in my veins awakens, my veins coloring red, glowing a soft hue. Uncontrollable as I feel it spread to the veins to my hands.

"Most call it witchcraft." I counter softly. "Those with knowledge would just call it magic." He argues back with a joking tone.

I don't continue the subject. Talking about my magic is never easy as I barely know what it is or what the limits are. "Get some sleep Aethan. You clearly need it." I lean back in my chair and look at him. "I don't have anything for you anymore. I'll see you later at dinner. Don't be late." I warn. "I will drag you out of bed and down three floors." I threaten. He grins, clearly used to my threats to make him do something.

"Of course, my princess." He speaks in Tyrrish and for a moment it catches me off guard. I haven't heard the language since the battle of Aretia. If anything, it felt as if my mind just blocked it out. I blink through my confusion. He grins and gives me a mock bow and leaves. Leaving me to look stunned at his leaving form.

☆

By dinner time all the carvings are in the swords. And just in time to see Aethan in the mess hall, the same table as Brennan.

"Since when do you two talk?" The question slips out of my mouth before I can think. I've never seen them together but then again, I've never seen Brennan with anyone besides Felix. Well, and me.

"We haven't actually said a word." Aethan clarifies and I raise a brow once I sit down. I give him a long look that says enough.

He won't talk to Brennan because of his mother.

"Keep your sharp tongue to yourself. He's harmless." I scold him in Tyrissh. It took a few hours but eventually my tongue came back to me. "You don't have to defend me." Brennan responds and for a moment shock consumes me. It's then that I realise that his dad had taught him Tyrrish.

I give him a small apologetic smile but I kick Aethan's leg hard under the table and he wince as his hand covers his mouth to keep the yelp Inside. I try to suppress my smile but a small one still makes an appearance on my face. "Little pyscho." He mutters and my smile widens.

I turn my attention to Brennan. After a long time of discussing with the assembly I might've found something that he can do to help.

I take a deep breath trying to steady the beat of my heart. I don't know what it is or what causes it but when I look at him, hell when he just talks, my heart beats faster in an instant. "I have contacted viscount Tecarus. He was my father's first ally and he's the viscount of Cordyn. First in line to the Poromish throne." I start my explanation and he listens intently. "I've talked it over with the assembly and we are willing to bring you along to a meeting in the viscounts Palace." His eyes widen slightly, in suprise no doubt. "The meeting is scheduled Sunday, so the end of the week. Felix and I are definitely going as a dragon goes fastest and I don't have one. But if you feel like it you are welcome to tag along. We think your tactical skills might become handy on the negotiation side. Perhaps you might even get a rank out of it." I propose. I took me all day yesterday to get that one through. I lost my voice by the end of it from having used my voice too much. And yelling, definitely yelled way too much. But we have someone who's good at being a tactician, why not use him? Give him a chance to prove himself. Plus he's growing on me.

I'm starting to understand more and more why Felix said I was too emotionally involved.

"Can I come?" Aethan Chimes in. I roll my eyes and rub my hands over my face. "Your choice." I say to Brennan. "Think it over. I need an answer by Wednesday." I say kindly as I get up and take a biscuit from Brennan's plate. He flashes me a small smile and I can't help but mirror it.

I start walking past them but Aethan's voice seems to follow. "Can I come too?" I turn around to so him pout mockingly. "No." I deadpan. "But-" "No." I cut him off with a smile. "Why him?" He argues but I know he's not genuinely hurt. "He's handy. He's smart. I need him to have Tecarus on our side." I explain as I see Aethan's face turn more sour. He turns to Brennan as I start waking away. "Lucky bastard. She likes you. She doesn't easily like people but you managed to catch her eye." I hear Aethan say to Brennan but I don't stop walking. What Aethan is saying is true. I can't explain it but I don't easily let people in. Only when my feeling about them is good. And with Brennan it feels good, too good.

☆

It's almost midnight when a knock sounds on my door. I groan as I shift in my bed. I'm still awake, but moving out of my bed feels like walking through hell.

"Who is it?" I yell through the door. "Brennan." I hear his soft voice on the other hand and my stupid, reckless heart starts pounding again. I roll out of my bed and fall to the floor. I groan again, I always forget how high my bed actually is.

I get up from the floor and walk to my door. I open it to see him wide awake. "Did I wake you?" He asks as his eyes turn worried. "I wasn't asleep but you did force me out of my bed." I respond sleepy. "You could've just said come in." He says playfully and a sheepish smile makes it way on my face.

"Come in." I play along as I open the door with an over exaggerated bow. He laughs and walks in, closing the door for me.

I don't even bother as I lay back in my bed again. "Why are you here?" I ask as I wrap myself in my thick blankets.

"To tell you I wanna come along to Viscount Tecarus. If that's still allowed of course." His voice lowers to a whisper and the look on his face turns worried. I sit up a little straighter, pieces of hair falling in my face. "Hey, I gave you a proposition, I'm not taking it back. Even if the assembly says no, if you wanna come you're coming. Assembly can go to hell, it's my throne." I reassure him and he smiles softly as he fidgets with my blanket.

"Thank you. Really." He says softly. "No. Thank you. Im not sure where I would end up if you were not gonna come along. I'll give you the details tomorrow." I mutter as I lay back down.

He walks to where I'm laying as he adjust the blankets. Pulling them over me, tucking me in so I'm warm.

My eyes flutter closed as I turn in bed, my back now to him as I pull my baby blankets closer to me. He covers me again.

"Get some sleep." He assures. "Goodnight." He adds softly and my body relaxes.

The last thing I feel before the darkness consumes me is the feeling of his lips on my forehead. The feeling lulling me completely to sleep.

☆

Taglist: @honethatty12 @smashee0789 @awkardnerd @randomperson1234sblog@bangtanxberm@hyperactive-bookworm-0@littowl

[9mysterybook6]

Ok I know I said I would stop talking about Rhylie but she did something disrespectful

Rhylie said something illogical and stupid.

Translation

(((I'm not a hypocrite, but zb189 is truly a hypocrite. I have nothing in mind, because exposing a person who did nothing wrong like me is more illegal.

I literally have nothing on my mind, no one will spread information about me. I was trying to spread support for myself and give them respect for mysterious stories, but please don't make me laugh zb189.

-#everybody has no regards from rhylie caterfly -#don't make me laugh zb189)))

Okay, that doesn't make any sense at all.

This does not address the problem or solve it.

But there is something that I don't know if made me laugh or get angry

This is kind of a dark joke.

(((and give them respect for mysterious stories,)))

Respect, what respect are you talking about?

Do you mean harassment and bullying and spreading lies on me was respectful

Quick question is this the action of someone who respects another person?

My friend wasn't really happy what she did

I'm talking about pamithebunterfly2007's post

Read the post if you want

Seriously, after I said I would forget about you, you act like this?

It's as if you don't want this drama to end.

Maybe that was your goal from the beginning.

You are really a terrible and very bad person.

Stop and leave me and others alone

But I won't be surprised if you continue.

And I will say something important

zb189 is better than me

why am i saying this

Because I saw his post about the drama and he was really right.

Read the post if you want

And I must say what he said was absolutely right and I agree with it.

What made zb189 better than me was that he tried to advise Rhylie and explained to her the consequences of her actions.

This is what he said in one of his posts.

((I didn't come to attack you or insult you but to try to warn you that one day you will get the attention of someone or a user bigger than you and what they will say about you will not be nice at all, that's what I wanted to tell you about you if you don't define your attitude or your person on social networks, ))

zb189 explains to Rhylie that one day she will get into big trouble if she continues on this path.

But here's my opinion

The only thing is I will never forgive Rhylie not after everything she's done.

Rhylie harassed, bullied, stole my posts and spread lies about me because I was defending a friend.

Even after she deleted her old blog in her second blog

She acted like she was my friend and we finished the drama.

And she used my tag too

Have you seen the tag

-#rhylie caterfly redeems 9mysterybook6 -#9mysterybook6 gives the leadership to rhylie caterfly -#caterfly angels heaven yes and satanic bunterfly cult also yes -#rhylie caterfly is a real heroine and so does pami bunterfly

And I was disgusted when she said she redeems me?

First, I said more than once that I would never forget her actions and that we would never be friends.

I even sent her a question to leave everyone alone and stop harassing others.

You lied when you said you would leave the group alone and not mention them.

Because later you continued to harass Sergio.

But what really made me mad at you is that you said we are friends without my knowledge or permission.

And then you started saying I gave you the leadership in the gacha community

I really hate Rhylie so much I want to punch her in the face.

Rhylie is on my list of negative things.

She says she apologizes and will stop mentioning others and me.

But in reality, she lied and did whatever she wanted.

Like she claimed that she is my friend and I forgive her while the truth is I really hate her so much that I don't want her to mention my name in her blog

Then later she did all her actions again and harassed me again after I exposed her for her bad actions

And you know what's funny, she said before that she understood and learned her lesson.

Rhylie said she was thinking about what she did.

But what bothered me was the way she spoke.

(Gives you a pet on your head)

I beg your pardon

Am I an animal for you to do this?

I find it creepy, disgusting and uncomfortable When she wrote this sentence

Anyway, she said herself that she would think about my words and advice.

Even though she claims to listen, she never changes.

Rhylie continued with her bad behavior and her condition got worse than ever.

Then again she claims she is a god

And spread lies and steal the art of artists from other sites

Because I saw some of the drawings of Smiling Critters, I recognized some of them and the art style was different.

And she didn't give credit to the original owners.

She's just trying any way she can to get followers no matter the cost.

And when I talked to her, her response was bad.

All she did was put it on #not my art

This doesn't change anything.

Rhylie is really a hypocrite

She said stealing art is bad after we told her that while she was stealing other people's art

So I'll say it again

Rhylie leave me and the others alone and i will never forgive you

You are the most horrible, hateful person I have ever met in my life.

I thought I had no one on my hate list.

But you proved me wrong

You are at the top of my hate list and with a big red line under your name

So I'm telling you now leave me alone and don't spread lies about me and don't mention me in your disgusting blog

[adarkrainbow]

To explain a bit more the Bluebeard situation I talked about in my previous post:

Perrault always placed Moralities at the end of his fairytales (there was a strong influence of La Fontaine’s Fables, which Perrault adored, even if the two guys were on opposite sides of the Modern VS Ancient feud). And while some of his Moralities were “serious” and helped reconsider the fairytale in a different light (for example the Morality of “Little Red Riding Hood” makes explicit the sexual meaning of the tale and how the wolf is supposed to represent a predatory male seducer), others were very clearly parody of moralities, or rather little jokes added in the end (again, Perrault’s fairytales were supposed to be like dark comedies, horrific and funny at the same time). 

And the best example is Bluebeard. I don’t think I need to tell you the story, you all know it by now. What’s the Morality for Bluebeard? Given the nature of the story it might be “Don’t just marry a guy because he is rich, ESPECIALLY IF HE HAS TON OF MISSING WIVES”. Or it might be “Maybe if a guy has a blue-beard it is because THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIM, RUN GIRL GIRL”. Nope, the Morality basically condemns curiosity as a very bad thing, and as the typical, archetypal vice of all women, that they should work to fix. In the context of the story this is clearly meant as a joke-morality, since this whole “Curiosity must be punished” is the very logic used by the serial killer-antagonist of the story (who ends up defeated in a shameful situation while the curious protagonist gets rewarded). It is clearly a joke...

... and yet many people read it first degree and bought into the whole idea that somehow Perrault was a total misogynist who used his stories to teach women to be docile beings accepting everything and never questioning anyone. These people clearly didn’t pay attention to the story, or have very little knowledge of who Perrault was.

What is made even worse is that when you read the rest of the Morality, it becomes clear it is all a joke... Because the Morality basically goes “Well, we can see this is a story that happened a LONG TIME AGO. A Bluebeard case couldn’t have happened today. Why? Because nowadays it is the women that are in charge of everything, and that are the boss of the house, and who terrorize their husbands into submission, and so Bluebeards would have been faced with some dragons of a wife in modern days.” I mean... Perrault is literaly mocking the people that go “Oh darn, where are the good old days where the men were in charge of everything in the house, and when women just shut up and did as they were told? Oh sure, this Bluebeard fella might have been a killer..; BUT AT LEAST HE WORE THE PANTS IN THE RELATIONSHIP! At least he had the natural order of things in his house, and if we had more people like him to punish those rebellious women, the world would have been better today.”

This is literaly Perrault mocking this mindset by parroting them in his dubious morality. A morality that is need to be seen as dubious since Bluebeard is - I think I need to insist - expressedly depicted as a ugly, terrifying, hard-hearted, brutal and savage serial killer that is ultimately a whimp easily defeated by actually brave and noble men. And I can’t stress enough how Perrault stood on the side of the “Moderns”, and was a fervent enemy of the “Ancients” and their glorification of the “ancient ways”... 

I know that, when I read the brief Perrault section Jack Zipes had placed in his book about fairytales, this was my main problem: he painted a very dark portrait of Perrault as a sort of brainwasher of women precisely because he read the stories first-degree and completely missed the jokes spread everywhere and how Perrault’s stories are fundamentaly ironic (I mean come on... in a society of absolutism where the king is everything and nobility a sacred thing, he wrote “Puss in Boots” that heralds as heroes a stupid miller son and a cunning cat who basically steal all the belongings of an ogre-lord and then fool a drunkard of a king, faking a nobility title till they make it... That’s definitively not supposed to be a first-degree story). Apparently Jack Zipes is excellent when he deals with other topics - the Brothers Grimm for example, or comparative fairytales as a whole - but he is part of those people that completely misread the whole “French fairytales” part of fairytale history. 

[margret-jons-blog]

How to Make Big Money Online by Talking

Do you enjoy speaking and explaining things? Do you have a topic you're knowledgeable about, even passionate about that others want to know more about? And do you know someone who can intelligently talk with you about that topic? Then you can make fantastic money by speaking. Here's how... First, choose your topic. Use the same criteria you would use for creating any kind of info product – are people willing to pay for this info? Next, find a partner, preferably someone just as knowledgeable about the topic as you, or someone who has complimentary information and knowledge to share. Next, write an outline of what you will cover. Make sure the two of you agree on what will be covered and that you're not leaving anything out. 

Now talk on the phone and record the conversations using your conferencing service of your choice. It might take you one or several calls to cover everything. Really more calls are better, since the product you're creating will have a higher perceived value. Now get transcripts of the calls made, and sell the entire package as one product. You can do this from start to finish, including transcripts and sales letters, in 7 to 10 days. Result? You'll have a product you can sell for months and years to come. Split the profits with your partner, promote to both of your lists, place it on ClickBank, sell it through forums, etc. I know people who've cleared $50,000 to $100,000 on a product like this. Splitting the profits with your partner, you would walk away with $25,000 to $50,000. Not bad for spending a few hours on the phone. The shortcut you probably don't want to take: Yes, you can do this by yourself. Sure, you get to keep 100% of the profits after affiliate commissions. The problem? Your product will almost certainly not be half as good as it would be if you had a partner who knew as much about your topic as you do. First, there is a synergy and energy that develops between two people having a conversation that you just don't get talking to yourself. Second, your partner is bound to have information and stories you don't have. Third, one person lecturing can be – let's face it – boring. Fourth, a partner with their own list will double initial sales and help you to spread the word with affiliates, creating momentum from the first day you launch. Can you make a recorded product by yourself? Absolutely, and some people have been very successful doing just that. But everything else being equal, you're almost always better off partnering with someone else. Tips for making the calls/recordings: Keep the energy high and the umms, errs and ahhs to an absolute minimum. Have fun, smile, laugh and joke when appropriate, and give great, timely, usable information that will truly make a difference for your listeners. Your value is to quicken their learning curve so be sure to do this to the very best of your ability, and not only will you make money once, but some of these customers will be eager to buy future products you develop in the future as well! Read the full article

[chaosvents]

i hate election years living with my parents, man. the world is burning, the arctic is melting, the wealth gap is spreading, wages are stagnant, cost of living is skyrocketing, and rights are being taken away and regulated at the whim of old men with hearts full of hate. meanwhile i have to gently talk my mother through an explanation of why it's bad that donald trump said he'd be a dictator, but only on his first day. she also said if biden loses he will also incite an insurrection? and that idk what makes her think that but she also yelled at me for saying trump is a convicted criminal. "so is joe biden" not... not for attempting a coup in response to losing an election though. but she doesn't see the difference. granted my mom kind of revels in her stupidity, i don't really understand her. she's proud of not knowing things, but i'm very much the type of person who is trying to learn every minute of every day, i jokingly call it 'need to know everything disease' and it is a blessing and a curse. the curse is Knowing How Bad It Really Is, obviously. but the blessing is knowing wtf is going on with the world. but she's proud of not knowing anything i'm ever talking about. she's been married to my dad for almost 30 years and she jokes nonstop about how her eyes glaze over when he talks about his work (that he's been doing for 40 years). like... that's not the flex you think it is?

anyway. all rants end up with my mother because she's the root of most of my trauma. my point here is that i was telling her i was anxious about the election and she decided to spend a couple hours arguing. and her point just drives me nuts. basically, she's not voting out of protest ("i'll vote when i see a good option, im 55 and i never have"). no amount of gentle slow explaining can convince her why that's not the protest she thinks it is. her secondary point is that all politicians are vicious criminals who hate you. which, like, yeah, but she uses it as an excuse to play dumb. she's proud of not knowing literally anything at all about politics because the depth and breadth of her knowledge is "politics is boring and politicians are bad". like please. please. the anti-intellectualism is killing me. why do you hate learning.

and that's another thing she does that makes me insane! she's one of those "i make fun of you because i love you" people and bringing it up will just get you a fuckton more teasing. i've spent a decade begging her not to constantly make fun of and bully me because it makes me feel like im in school again. but every time i bring it up she asks "if i didnt tease you how would you know i love you?" as if i wouldn't feel so much more loved if she listened to me. anyway one of the things she teases me about is that i like to learn. i will bring up something cool i learned and she immediately bursts into laughter. i've asked her questions afterwards and she always answers like "i don't know, i wasn't really listening". i'll tell a story and she'll respond with something completely random in a way that shows she wasn't listening even a little bit. that happens especially when im excited and telling good news and she responds with "oh, it'll be okay, hopefully tomorrow is better". like???? okay not only were you not listening, you also see my excitement and joy and assume you need to comfort me? what the fuck is wrong with her.

my sister is a nurse and her and i talk about this all the time. my mom acts stoned constantly. she takes 30-60 seconds to respond to any question and her response is "...what?" at least 1/3 of the time. the rest of the time it's a toss-up whether her response will be a random sentence she pulled out of her ass, or something that has anything to do with the topic being discussed. she doesn't do drugs either! no weed, no pills, not even alcohol. i swear to god she's proud of being stupid and slow. like she's doing it on purpose. she never used to be like this. it makes me want to slap her. wake the fuck up! react to something! join a conversation! learn something about your kid or husband! fuck!

[spirits-child]

Why people hating on Zeus equals to hating on a whole ancient society and... it's kinda dumb

If you have been in the part of social media that discusses ancient religions or ancient mythology you might know Zeus is hated badly. If you worship Zeus like I do I’m pretty sure you are aware of how many people actually waste times of their live doing bad jokes of how every woman on ancient Greece was pregnant with Zeus's kid or another type of bullshit, and I’m tired of that. There are already like 100 posts on other Zeus worshippers giving their take on this topic but you know what? I want to be the 101 so here I am. I’f you hate Zeus I ask you nicely to grab your coffee, water, tea, whatever, sit and read this post.

this post is written with a target audience of people who do not have much knowledge aside from the myths and what social media say, I’ll be including the very basic theological and cultural aspects of Ancient Greece in this post so let’s consider this a baby course into epithets and the human kind changing their ethic code through time. 

Before we officially start I'm sure some Zeus haters already have arguments to throw at me as soon as they finish reading this post so let me tell you, as a MUN delegate who's obsessed with debate, some argument starters I won't even read if you start a sentence with them:

"I believe or I think" I'm sorry but I don't care about your personal biases I want facts.

"X media thing portrays" x media or x author is not a reliable source of information, unless it's a historian with good background resources or reliable sources I won't even take it in mind

"In other religions..." this is hellenism not other religions

"But in x myth" myths are not literal

"But x deity" all deities are different

Anyways, let’s start with what’s a myth, the merriam webster dictionary says a myth is  “a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural”. My religion teacher back on catholic school also added to this definition a “moral code or cultural reflection religions implied into their followers”, and it's accurate.

In baby words, myths explain things our society can’t explain while also reflecting our culture and behaviours.

Clear? Clear. 

History has shown us that many religions don’t take their myths completely literally, most times they take them as metaphors or teachings to follow or simply they use them as propaganda to increase certains individual power, and this includes Ancient Greeks. If a king wanted to increase his power to scare people that may want to rebel he could easily say he was the child of Zeus, which is an explanation to why so many kings and heroes were kids of the all-mighty deity. Ancient Greeks also had to find a way to explain different phenomenons, and as many cultures before and after them, myths were a perfect way of doing so. To finish with myths and their uses, as many religions did and still do, the ancient Greeks needed a way to spread lessons to their people without the need of sitting them down and literally teaching them. Instead of doing this they preferred giving examples of things not to do. What makes Hellenism so different to actual modern religions is that the practice was and is more important that the actually texts, that can be a base but at the end of the day they are not the structure of the religion.

Now, a huge mistake many people commit is thinking the myths we nowadays read are the original myths. That’s a mistake. Ingrid Holmberg says in her essay titled as The Creation of the Ancient Greek Epic Cycle  “Their research (addressing Milman Parry and Albert Lord.) and the research of their followers has revealed that the Greek epic oral tradition formed a huge, interconnected, and variegated web of legendary and mythical narratives that comprised the corpus of the epic cycle(...).” Harvard university also addresses this topic by saying “Basically, the “question” came down to this: were the Homeric poems composed with or without the aid of writing? Parry’s project, the comparing of Homeric poetry with the living oral traditions of South Slavic heroic poetry, led him to conclude that the Homeric texts were indeed the products of oral composition.”

So tell me, years of investigation affirms that the myths were told from mouth to mouth, the poets did not write their original work down but after many years later someone did... the version written is a version passed generation from generation by someone who heard them from their parents who heard them from their grandparents that might have edited and changed the original version for hundreds of years. Knowing all this areyou’re still going to judge a culture and a religion through myths? Really? Because that’s plainly dumb.

Let me give you an example, I write you a message and then pass it through google translator 20 times, and send it. And actually did! The message I’ll translate 20 times is “Hello dear readers of the internet, this is an experiment with google translator to explain how dumb is to literally judge a myth that has been changed hundreds of times. Not only that, a myth that reflected a society with different a ethic code, in some hundreds of years if society still exists they are going to judge some things we do... so em don't waste your time on that”. After passing that message through 20 different languages in google translator this is how it ended up: Hello, dear internet reader, you will be judged not only by this, but also by some of the hundreds of years that we have done with the growth of social networks ... so don't waste time. Don't waste.

I’m not trying to say that historians and their translations are as bad as google translator, I know this people have studied years to do what they do, I’m just saying that the original stories were told so many times that we have hundreds of adaptations and changes. Here's an example, if you read a copy of the iliad written by x guy and then grab another copy written by another guy... you’ll find many differences in the translation.

Now that we got the translation clear thing you’ll probably still say “yeah anyways still myths say Zeus is a pr3d4tor who cheated on his wife muuultiple times”. And to that I’ll laugh ten minutes because yeah but no. Look at my beautiful hazel and eyes and tell me, do you think Ancient Greek men cared about women? And how they were treated? and how they were portrayed in the moment of explaining things?

If you say yes I beg you to go study some history. 

If you say no, bingo. 

A year a go I went down the rabbit whole of homosexuality in the ancient world, wrote an essay on it, and I found out men repeled women and they saw them as baby machines (i mean, some still do) so some societies had this idea that the closest relationship to love you could have with someone was with another man. So, understand that the ancient world didn’t give a damn about women. Most myths shows them as trophies, that’s no surprise for anyone at this point. So of course, they saw women as baby machines and as myths are reflections of society, do you really expect the Ancient Greeks to portray them as something else aside baby creators? Nooo!!!! Ofc they were not going to do that, they needed mothers to give an explanation to the hundreds of kings saying they were Zeus's kids, and they found them.

Okay now, some of you may ask why did he "cheat" on Hera... more cultural aspects being reflected. Here's what Jennifer Larson the writer of Ancient Greek cults has to say:

Now that we closed the marriage ethic issue The Zeus has many child joke or insult is even dumber because kids were so important for the social status in that era that they stablished the social status. During all Human’s story, money establishes your place in the social status: the more you have the higher you are. This also applied in the Ancient Greece. By having more kids it meant you had more to offer and to sustain your family, basically more kids = more money = more power = higher rank. 

Studying children and childhood is of great importance because it provides insight into social norms and social life in ancient Greece. Children were important for the parents, the home, and city. Not having children led to inability to pass on the property and wealth of the father.

If Zeus, the KING of the gods and mortals, father of humanity, doesn't have a lot of children then what do you think it would do to how Ancient Greeks perceived him huh. If they measured by kids ofc their higher deity had to have a lot because that gave him power, please, it’s pure logic. The fact that he has multiple kids is a perfect reflection of how the Ancient Greece society acted, do you really want to sit down and complain about it? Why don't you instead start thinking of a way of changing that capitalist mindset that still rules our society instead of bullying an old civilization and their cults.

—End of the cultural rant—

Okay cultural part has finished, let’s dive into my favorite topic ever: epithets. And I actually did like 3 polls on this, both on my twitter and my instagram, asking if my followers knew what an epithet was. I always had this thought that one of the reasons many people hate on deities is because they only see one side of their multiple-side self... and ofc the answer was no, they did not:

And epithets are soooo important to understand a deity, So assuming some people might not know what epithets are here is a brief summary extracted from a previous post of mine addressing epithets and their importance: Literal definition of epithet: an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.Let me give you an example: A friend of yours loves reading, they love it so freaking much, so one of your teachers is like “oh pepito the reader”, it’s obvious that pepito is a reader.Now examples with deities. Demeter Chthonia (of the Earth). WHAT DO WE ASSUME KIDS?! That Demeter is an Earth deity. Duh. And like that with all the deities. 

Epithets basically tell us how deities were perceived when worshipped, and many of the people who love judging Zeus have ignoring epithets as their favorite hobby so here I am, giving you a list of my favorite ones to take in mind: 

AGO′NIUS (Agônios), a surname or epithet of several gods. Aeschylus (Agam. 513) and Sophocles (Trach. 26) use it of Apollo and Zeus, and apparently in the sense of helpers in struggles and contests.

AGORAEUS and AGORAEA (Agoraia and Agoraios), are epithets given to several divinities who were considered as the protectors of the assemblies of the people in the agora, such as Zeus 

ALASTOR (Alastôr). an epithet of Zeus, describing him as the avenger of evil deeds. 

EVA′NEMUS (Euanemos), the giver of favourable wind

HETAEREIUS (Hetaireios), the protector of companies or associations of friends

HY′PATUS (Hupatos), the most high

LECHEA′TES (Lecheatês) i.e. the protector of childbed

NOMOS (Nomos), a personification of law, described as the ruler of gods and men. 

PANHELLE′NIUS (Panellênios), i.e. the god common to, or worshipped by all the Hellenes or Greeks

PHY′XIUS (Phuzios), i. e., the god who protects fugitives

POLIEUS (Polieus), "the protector of the city;"

SOTER (Sôtêr), i. e. "the Saviour"

Theos Agathos - The Good God

MEILIKHIOS (Milichius) Gracious, Merciful

After reading all this epithets I want to ask one last time, do you still think Zeus is a jerk? When he has the literal epithet of being a Good God? A merciful one? A protector? THE PERSONIFICATION OF LAW?

A fact aspect I want to mention is how people love to completely erase the good sides of Zeus portrayed in many myths. In the Iliad Zeus loves one of his most loved sons, he wants to go and revenge him because he's an amazing dad but he knows that if he does that he would be impartial and injustice to the other deities who have lost children but haven't been able to do anything about it. Instead he mourns in silence just to refrain from making other deities feel less privileged, this happens in the freaking Iliad and I'm sorry but I think that is a perfect example of how good Zeus is even if myths are not literal.

IZeus is more than the character modern media converted him into, he’s way more than that. He’s a deity, with multiple aspects and multiple stories that have adapted to fit into into ancient societies idea of what was a higher deity. All the arguments people have against him show that they do not understand how myths work and they do not understand that ancient times came with ancient ideals.

So please, research and form your own criteria before hating on something you don't actually know about. Give yourself the opportunity to listen all sides of the story and then after that you can say whatever you want. Most importantly, give yourself the opportunity to learn.

Hopefully this is my last post regarding this matter, if I quite changed your mind in any type of way then that's great, if I didn't that's on you. That's all I have to say and thank you for reading the post complete!

The Harvard post I quote at the beginning of the article is this one, if you have time please check it out : https://chs.harvard.edu/curated-article/gregory-nagy-orality-and-literacy/

[starlitangels]

Keeping Cool

Me: I dunno... the Fourseen is such an enclosed story... there’s not a lot of room for where I usually put my fics... Also me: Wait! That one time-skip in the Fire Path! For the record I don’t know how to spell anything besides the character names from mythology 1.4k words (almost exactly!)

—

“Thank you for the update,” Tyr said to the guards. They spun around sharply and marched off. The door creaked open and slammed shut behind them.

The moment they were gone, Odin groaned in complaint and flopped face-first down on the floor. “A transfer delay?” he demanded, voice muffled a bit by the flagstone floor. “How can they just expect us to keep sitting here?”

“It’s not that bad,” I retorted.

“We are their prisoners,” Tyr reasoned, much more calmly. “It stands to reason that we will operate on their timetable, not any preferences of our own.”

“This is ridiculous! First they say Fenrir is a traitor even though he and Okami have always been friends and that’s ridiculous—and then they throw me in a cell in a basement!”

“Us,” I corrected.

“Fine, fine. Us,” Odin said. He rolled over onto his back, spread-eagle on the floor and staring up at the ceiling. “I’m going to die in here.”

“It hasn’t even been twelve hours!” I snapped. Odin winced away from me slightly as the fire my body was made of lashed out a bit, a flame licking toward him. But didn’t brush him. I rolled my eyes. “Sure it’s boring but that’s no reason for us to just lose our heads just yet.”

Odin sat up. “Hey, look, you’ve already lost your head—I see no reason why I can’t lose mine!”

“Odin,” Tyr said softly. “Is that the kindest way to speak to your friend who sacrificed their life to get the knowledge that brought you here to your other friend?”

“They got something out of it too!” Odin protested. “Full use of the Galaxy Gate when this whole thing is over with!”

“And that gives you a reason to... joke? Despite the fact that you were the one to cut their head off in the first place?”

“I...” Odin paused, thinking it through as his eyes narrowed and his brows lowered.

I rolled my eyes again. Odin tended to be a smart guy and he was a capable Joten warrior—but gods he could be a dumbass a good portion of the time. I shifted a bit so my flames snapped upwards at a slightly different angle. Much more comfortable—though I had no clue how to explain why. “Yeah, that’s what I figured,” I grumbled.

“Oi!” Odin protested again. “The hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you can’t even be bothered to think of anything or anyone else because you’re too focused on your own boredom! You are impatient, immature, and irritating!” I exclaimed.

“Am I, now?” he demanded.

“Yes.”

“Why am I irritating?”

“Because between you and me, one of us needs to keep our cool and I am physically incapable!”

My fire flared a lot larger than I intended. Odin jumped back and even Tyr leaned slightly away from me. I sucked in a deep breath and watched the flames recede, burning gently, much closer to my main body. I frowned and moved to stand in a corner of the cell up against the stone wall, hoping to cool off.

“Perhaps we all need to take a moment to breathe,” Tyr suggested. I didn’t meet his eyes, nor Odin’s. Just sulked in my corner with my arms folded. I took several deep breaths, sliding down the cool stone wall and sitting on the stone floor.

I tried to occupy my thoughts with calm, happy things. But it always felt like the nice thoughts went up in flames moments after I conjured them up.

I’m not sure how long I sat in silence, staring at a chip in the stone floor and contemplating whether there was a way for me to melt the rock and how I might be able to go about it if there was. But a noise—too close to my shoulder for comfort—made me jolt and whirl.

Odin was sitting far enough away that he seemed to have deemed himself safe, but was still close. “Uh... hey,” he said softly.

“Hi,” I said.

“Sorry for... the joke.”

I glanced across the small cell. “Tyr put you up to this?”

The marbled giant shook his head.

“No, I... he’s right, though. I shouldn’t have said that. I wasn’t thinking.”

The sharp retort of Do you ever? died on my tongue. “I forgive you,” I said instead.

“Thanks.” He traced mindless shapes into the slight coat of dirt on the floor. “I’m glad you’re back,” he said, almost too quietly for me to hear.

I scrunched my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“The argument. You sounded more like yourself. Like you got your... bite back. You’ve been quieter than you used to be since I first saw you on the mountain, alive again. I know I cut your head off but... I didn’t mean to kill your personality too.”

I took a deep breath. “You didn’t,” I muttered. “It’s just... been an adjustment. Dying. Being brought back. Getting a body like... this.” I waved an arm, watching the flames trail in the wake of the movement. “Then to get thrown onto an unfamiliar world and immediately surrounded by hostile... what does this race call themselves again, Tyr?”

“Fengrals.”

“Fengrals. Hostile Fengrals. It’s been a lot for the last, you know, day or so.”

Odin pursed his lips. “Yeah. I can see why you’d think that,” he agreed.

I chuckled. Any day before today I would have nudged him in the elbow playfully, but I didn’t actually want to burn him. “Well, we can’t all be quite as adventurous as you, huh?” I teased.

That made him laugh. Just a bit. “No I guess not,” he agreed. “Even if adventuring, er... gets me banned from every ship depot on Esselheim.”

I burst out laughing, surprising Odin, Tyr, and myself. “Fair enough,” I said around my laughter, making the words almost shaky. Odin’s laughter joined me, more earnest this time. The tension hanging in the air of the cell burned away, and things felt like old times again. Back when Odin and I had first become friends and I used to rib him about being a rapscallion—and a bunch of other long words that he pretended not to know so he could make a joke out of it.

He glanced over at me after a bit. “Are you really okay with... just... being on fire all the time?”

I shrugged. “I chose it. There wasn’t a lot of time so I only had a few options.”

“Well... maybe when this is over you can get a body that, er, isn’t on fire?”

I peeked over at Tyr. For the life of me I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. There were no clues on his face at all. “I don’t think it works like that, Odin,” I said softly. “I think, now that I picked this, I have to keep it. If there had been more time, I... maybe I could have had a proper body. Look like a normal Joten again. But we were in a rush, all of us. So this is what I get.”

“I’m sorry,” Odin offered.

I shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s an adjustment but I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually.”

Odin heaved a long, dramatic sigh and leaned back against the stone wall of the back of the cell. “Assuming we ever get out of here,” he groaned in complaint. That time, I definitely caught Tyr smiling. It was small, but it was there.

“You really have no patience, do you?” I asked.

“I’ve never had to be patient for this long before!”

“Well, then perhaps you are learning a valuable lesson,” Tyr commented. Odin flinched slightly—like he’d forgotten Tyr was even there. All things considered, he might have. Tyr had been remarkably quiet and eerily still for the last little while.

“I don’t want to learn a lesson! I want to get out of here.”

“Well, glad we’re right back to where we started,” I remarked. Tyr’s gaze met mine and we both chuckled.

“Not quite. Perhaps this time we can avoid the argument,” Tyr said.

“Hopefully,” I agreed. I got to my feet. “C’mon Odin. Let’s see if we can find some way to entertain you long enough to keep whatever biomechanical brain you have from short-circuiting too badly.”

He got to his feet. “Thank the gods—I don’t think I could take just sitting here in silence. What do you want to do?”

—

Tagging some GB peeps: @palilious @gwenifred @ryn-halo26 @daveyistheloml @monster-scribe-tya @miloeveryday38 

[galaxythixf]

There's something unsurprising about the confession Dylan gives him, which is the cause for such a muted reaction he doesn't really think twice about. There's a silence he uses as an answer, not filled with judgment but rather anticipating some sort of follow-up that gives more weight to it and it comes without him having to probe. What Ryan didn't expect was the flurry of information that Dylan apparently had to counter his rather intentional joke, but it's kind of amusing to think a story had that complex of a plot that only loosely models their very specific predicament and Dylan knows it.

"Did I crack a dam?" A dam of overflowing knowledge, apparently, that Dylan was clearly somewhat passionate about. "Everything you've listed so far sounds like it'd be infinitely better than whatever we're dealing with now. Now instead of being misinformed and regretful I'm just jealous. I guess that's better." Might as well keep the banter going while they entertained the thought. It's better than dwelling on the events that would likely haunt them for the reason of their lives. Monsters aside, he's now covered in his friends blood from having to sever his hand with a chainsaw he really had no use wielding in the first place. Not that he's ever pictured himself wielding a chainsaw in the first place but he didn't anticipate the first time chopping off someone's hand to prevent a potential virus from spreading. Virus? Curse? He's still hung up on the details of how this works, he's baffled any of this could be real in the first place.

Ryan's occult knowledge was typically bathed in the very real idea that this was all for entertainment and this his fictional knowledge, while scattered, felt useless now that he was faced with something very real and unusual. Werewolves had a few stories outside of the oversaturated favorites like Twilight, but Teen Wolf wasn't a every good guide for this either considering how little these monsters actually responded to the same—actually, maybe it wouldn't be too bad of a reference ignoring the major plot holes and dodgy character developments. The arbitrary ranking system didn't seem to apply though, as far as he knew, unless there was some sort of high ranking Alpha that they needed to consider.

He can't believe he's logically working this out in his head using Teen Wolf as his reference.

Guess there's a first for everything. "Yeah I'm still trying to piece that together." A part of him wants to believe it can still be explained by other means, but he's in way over his head here. "Not to say that Nick getting bit was a good thing but at least it taught us a few things? Like that it can be transferred via bite and it could potentially alter our personality? I dunno, the details are still kind of all over the place for me, but it's a start. Normally with stories like this there's some sort of ritual or item that cures it? Silver's the only thing I can think of for werewolves but I'm pretty sure Nick would prefer a rescue that involves not being dead so, I'm outta ideas." He shrugs, not so much fed up as he is trying to process all of this at once. "The best I have is waiting this out 'til morning but the more we run into the more that feels impossible."

his laugh is dry, far too normal for the circumstances — though, in his defense, he's fairly sure he's still in shock. the brutal stump at his wrist doesn't hurt at all, takes him freshly by surprise every time he catches a glimpse of the bandage, and he knows he'll feel it later, but he can't help but be grateful for the almost - pleasant numbness currently in its place.

his muscles are tense, limbs jittery and fidgeting with adrenaline, yet his mind is awash with a peculiar, disconnected clarity as he listens to ryan monologue, focuses on putting one foot in front of the other and keeping an eye on their surroundings.

⠀ ⠀❛ i ... might've read it.     ❜

the confession comes with an edge of embarrassment, though he's clear - headed enough to follow it with a grin, because if ryan's opinion on his preteen guilty pleasures is still registering on his list of concerns, he really must be out of it.

⠀ ⠀❛ first of all, not tolerable at all, team carlisle's where it's at, man. also, for what it's worth — would've been a terrible survival guide for this. the wolves in that one aren't even werewolves, really, they're, like, ancient shapeshifty warriors who could talk to animals that just happened to take the form of wolves way back and — y'know what, not important.     ❜

his unharmed hand flexes at his side as he sweeps his gaze over the shotgun slung over ryan's shoulder, and he finds himself once more mourning the loss of his own to kaitlyn. okay, sure, he'd be more likely to shoot another of his limbs off than manage anything badass against these things, but it would make him feel better.

⠀ ⠀❛ never heard of any werewolf like this, though. i mean, what the hell was all that with nick ? the guy exploded on us.     ❜

there's no coming back from that, right ? it feels dangerous to mention it, ask whether ryan thinks they'll be seeing him again. he tries not to think about the fact that only half of the blood staining his clothes is his own.