#how proud he was to belong to it and how he respected to the fullest apparently

[cherryatiny]

𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲! 𝐀𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳: 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭

GIFs are not mine, credit goes to their respective owner

❁ 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠

It was no secret that your sugar daddy Hongjoong is a born aristocrat, as his rich taste in everything showed up a lot. Ever since a young age, he was taught to love art in all its forms. When his grandparents passed away sadly, he was the chosen one to inherit the prestigious art gallery their family ran for more than 7 decades.

Although he wasn't an artist of the top level, his love to express himself through art never died. So the very first day he took over the gallery, the first thing he ordered his subordinates to do, was to clear out the smaller room in the back of the director's office.

Soon after, he designed the space to an art studio of his liking, where he could freely spend his free time painting, reconstructing clothes, or just rest while stimulating his brain to function more creatively.

Soon after he met you and you two got into the sugar daddy relationship, he found his muse in you. At first, it started by him just taking pics of you at the moments he deemed to be artsy, not long after that he however started calling you to his little studio in the gallery he ran. Always making you sit or lay down on the old valuable settee, that looked like the ones from Renaissance paintings.

Taking you by your hand, he showed you the paintings of the new exhibition he was preparing. The paintings harmonized well, all of them tuned in a dark abstract setting. Loosening your hand out of his grip, you grasped his wrist the same he did with your often, dragging him to the office. He was slightly taken by surprise as he did not expect you to drag him there since you haven't agreed on him painting you today. „Lay down, for today, you'll be my muse Joongie.“

He was laying on the settee, looking up at the ceiling, so his side-profile was fully visible to you, as you painted him on the canvas. Mixing colours to your liking, you made the portrait of your Hongjoong look abstract, as it matched the art style he often used.

After hours of painting, when you did the last line with your paintbrush, you sighed out tiredly, wiping the sweat off your forehead as you observed your creation. „My muse, you can come here and admire yourself on the canvas.“ Standing up swiftly, he came over to you, leaning forward, his arm wrapping around the shoulder of your sitting self as he was all eyes on the painting.

„It's... spectacular. I- I'm at a loss of words, why did you never tell me you had a talent for painting my darling? If I added this painting to the exhibition there, I can guarantee you, that this will be the most favoured painting in my gallery.“

❁ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚

You don't even know why you applied to become Seonghwa's secretary a few months ago, considering you've never worked in this type of branch. But it was probably the best decision of your life because if you wouldn't have applied for the secretary position, you wouldn't have met your sugar daddy Seonghwa.

At first, the work was a disaster as your relationship with your boss didn't start off very well. He was giving you tons of work to do, the stupidest arrangements that were completely unnecessary to make, or the most boring workshops and meetings to take you to with him.

But after the one night at a business conference in Milan when you two got closer than one would expect you to and got into the sugar daddy relationship, his attitude to you drastically changed.

Your secret relationship also made him give you easier and different tasks to do, he as well deemed you to be more reliable than before, which resulted in him giving you free hand in literally everything. He was actually taken aback by how competent you were at your tasks. Doing everything you were told to do, ten times better than he would have probably done.

One night, as you two were cuddling on the couch in his place while looking out of the large glass wall with the sighting of the whole town, he spoke out, „Y/N why didn't you tell me you had such talent for scheduling, strategic planning and business stuff? I should have made you the director of strategic planning or something like that. But then... I get to be closer to you when you're my secretary, my beautiful baby.“

❁ 𝐉𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨

„Ah, shit! The actress who was supposed to play the walk-on in the hospital scene with Yunho, can't get here as something happened to her. What do we do now?“ yelled the director out of frustration as the actress announced she can't arrive just a few minutes before they were supposed to shoot.

You were just finishing your sugar daddy Yunho's outfit for the shoot as you were the main costumer for this k-drama. Yunho stood up from his seat as you finished his stylist, bending down to plant a kiss on your lips, before going over to the director with a worried look on his usually joyful face.

You were clearing off the stuff you used on him back to where it belonged to. Eyeing Yunho talk with the director from distance, the two of them occasionally flashing looks at you. When they stopped talking, Yunho jogged to you with the beaming smile you knew that well on his face. His puppy-like features always flashed out when he had any good news, giving him the look that was asking him what he wanted to say.

„Get changed. You've got the role of the girl who's missing.“ you raised your eyebrows at what he just said, taken aback as you did not really understand what he was talking about. You and acting? „Come on, get dressed, we don't have much time. Here's the script.“ handing you the bunch of papers and the outfit the girl was supposed to wear, he motioned for you to go to the changing room.

You wiped the sweat off your forehead as you went away from the shooting site. „Wow, ms. Y/N, are you sure you didn't study acting? Although it was supposedly your first time acting, it was so natural. Wow, I'm glad Yunho showed you to me, you are for real like a hidden gem. Would you... maybe be interested in any more acting in future?“ asked the director with a glance of hope in his eyes after you finished shooting the small part in the k-drama your sugar daddy was starred in. Looking at him, wondering what Yunho's opinion was, the proud and encouraging smile on his face hinting that he really wanted you to accept the offer made by his boss.

„I'm so proud of you princess. My little talented actress, I love you.“

❁ 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠

Groaning softly, you rubbed your eyes as you sat up, looking at the empty spot beside you. You were sleeping at Yeosang's home, but as you could see, he didn't seem to be sleeping. Slipping your feet into the fluffy slippers with rabbit eyes, you wrapped your body tighter in Yeosang's shirt you were sleeping in, as the air was rather cool.

Opening the door of his bedroom, you went down the stairs of his apartment, down to the living room where a small table lamp was lit. Your sleepy sugar daddy sitting by the desk covered in many papers that seemed to be related to his prosecutor work.

Approaching him, you caressed his shoulder, which woke him up from his quick nap, „Mhm, Y/N. You can go back to sleep, I'll be there soon, I just have to finish this.“ You knew well that that wasn't the case and he won't be there soon. Sighing, you wrapped your arms around his neck, sitting down on his lap, his hand caressing your exposed thighs. „What are you working on, Yeo?“

„I'm treading through the case files, but I just can't take the next step. The police want me to indict him of murder, but the defendant is justifying himself saying that it was an accident and that he should be only indicted of manslaughter.“ Taking the case files from his hand, you read through them since your unbiased opinion might be of help to him.

Taking a pen from his desk, you underlined the facts you thought were important in your lay opinion. Handing it to him, he read focused on the underlined sentences, his eyes lighting up in hope. „Oh my god, Y/N. You're the saviour of my life, this is the core issue but it hasn't even struck up to me. I love you so much, my little prosecutor.“

❁ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐧

„Sannie, could you please tie my swimsuit?“ you held your hair in a ponytail so it did not get into the way as San tied the ribbon on the back of your swimsuit. You smiled at him as a way to say thank you, leaving the hotel suite your sugar daddy San reserved for you two to enjoy your vacation to the fullest.

San took your hand in his, your fingers intertwining as you walked down the hotel's luxurious corridors to the private beach. „Now, what does my beautiful baby plan on doing today?“ questioned san as he pulled you to him as close as possible. „Hm, I don't know, I'll probably do nothing all day long, just lay on the beach and sunbathe.“

„Then I'll keep you company while you do your nothing.“ giggles were leaving you two as you talked more while on the way to the sea. But as you started nearing the beach, loud dance music coming from the speakers. „What's that...?“ As you got to the beach, a group of people was doing dance work-outs there to the rhythm of the music.

„I have no idea what they are doing, but let's try Y/N“ and without giving you a chance to protest, San tugged you there by your wrist, right to the centre of the imaginary dance floor. He started dancing just as the instructor did, gesturing you to do the same.

Soon after you submitted to his nagging, doing the same as him to the rhythm of the energetic music. „Y/N, you're doing so well. Would I have known about your talent to dance, I would have taken you to some studio a long ago.“

❁ 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢

After that one ball, you two met together at, you got invited to countless more balls to keep your boss company. Over that many times you two spent together, you get to know each other more and more until eventually, he somehow became your sugar daddy and boyfriend in one.

Tonight was very special, Mingi as the chairman of one of the biggest conglomerates in the country, got invited to the ball held by the president for the most influential people in the country. And when he stopped by your apartment with a beautiful night-robe, a pair of brand-new heels and a golden envelope with the letter of invitation in it, you almost fainted from the delight you felt.

Sometimes he couldn’t help but watch you like a movie on nights like this. Because you seemed so interested in these events, that it truly amazed him how you could act so interested in the talk of the attendants when it bore him to death. You just seemed so natural at attending events like this, you could dance, you knew all the protocol rules, you could pretend interest or know how to answer to the business talk others often held with you. He just couldn’t help but admire the talent you had for the formal events.

Excusing you from their speech, Mingi wrapped his arms around your waist, taking you to the middle of the dance floor as your favourite dance song was playing. Moving slowly, you melted into his touch as you enjoyed each other’s presence dancing the slow dances. „I'm amazed my dear Y/N, I can't bring myself to be interested in talking to these egoistic geezers for more than 5 minutes. Thank god I have you, my talented princess.“

❁ 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠

When you spent the night at your sugar daddy Wooyoung’s place, you usually weren’t allowed to even be near the kitchen as he insisted “he treats his princess food and she shouldn’t cook, because what if she cuts herself?” so today, as he had to rush to the work early in the morning because of some urgent, leaving you in his immense mansion alone.

And that meant you had a free pass to cook something in his kitchen. But seeing how emptied his fridge was, you opted for something more simple in a form of stir-fried tofu with vegetables. Washing the fresh vegetables thoroughly, you dried them, placing them on the breadboard, to cut them. All of his knives were sharp as Wooyoung was doing his best to keep his kitchen in the best state.

Throwing the tofu cubes onto the pan with a heated droplet of olive oil, you stirred them until they roasted into golden colour, adding the cut vegetables and cooking rice in the meanwhile. Not at all realizing that there was a pair of eyes watching you from the doorframe.

Leaving you like that, Wooyoung in the meanwhile went to change into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, maybe a quick shower. And so when he came back, you were already turning off the stove. „Well, well, well, what do I see? Looks like someone used my kitchen behind my back.“

You jumped in your place lightly, your breathing heavy at how startled you were upon Wooyoung talking to you out of nowhere. „Jung Wooyoung, for how long have you been there?“ he put on a grimace, pretending to be pondering over it. „Probably ever since you added the veggies to eat and started singing to those annoying songs.“

„They’re not annoying, you’re just too old to understand them. Anyway, if you want to nag at me for using your kitchen, do it after you taste my delicious meal. Seems like you were in rush this morning, so you probably haven’t eaten anything“ Placing the plate in front of him, you sat opposite of him, waiting to see what his reaction would be as he had never tasted your cookings before.

„Mhmm, are you sure you’ve cooked it yourself? If so... why have I never let you in my kitchen, when this is so delicious? Gosh, my princess is such a good cook.“ Your smile was full of delight at his compliment as you watched him stuff his mouth full of your food.

❁ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨

„Y/N, I’m going to the restroom, you’ll wait for me, right?“ you nodded, watching your sugar daddy Jongho leave the studio. Standing up, you sat down on the now-emptied armchair in front of the PC screens, your eyes scanning the colourful music segments on the screen.

You picked up the sheaf of papers with the notes to his newest song, along with the lyrics he’s written himself. Your eyes ran over the notes and the lyrics and as you were re-reading the text for the 3rd time, you started humming to it, trying to get the right melody Jongho was intending on having in the song.

Opening the door to the studio, Jongho noticed you sitting on the chair, your back turned to him and that resulted in you still being oblivious to his presence. And he didn’t dare to make a move, standing in the door-frame and watching you humming to the song in amazement that you weren’t tone-deaf like most non-musical people were, as you hit all the tones.

„Woah Y/N, are you a trained singer or something? Why didn’t you tell me you were good at music? I would have taken you here long time ago...“

❁ taglist : @galaxteez @gyubaby @bobateastay @tinytinyblogs @ateezinmymind @chososchaos @cvtiehoon @a-soft-hornytiny

[ducavalentinos]

On one side alone behind an expanse of polished tabletop, sits Cesare, master of the situation no less than of the sleeping city of Urbino. Cesare the crafty, the self-dramatizing, playing his little trick of meeting with callers in the middle of the night, a single burning candle placed behind him so that he can see the faces of his visitors while his own remains in shadows. Dressed as always in a simple black tunic that sets off his ivory skin and is adorned with nothing except the emblem of the Order of St. Michel that the king of France first placed around his neck. Cesare, the conqueror. Valentino.

The Borgias - G.J Meyer

[ecliptsukki]

quirk that leaves you nude ❧ bakugou katsuki, midoriya izuku, todoroki shoto

navigation | music

➣ genre: fluff

➣ warnings: mentions of reader being left nude, the smallest smallest hint of suggestiveness in bakubro’s, two curse words

➣ request: Class 1a big 3 with a reader that quirk leaves them nude and the reader don’t really care about it

➣ a/n: this one took me a while to find out what quirk would leave the reader nude because i didn’t want it to simulate mirio’s quirk. i’m actually quite proud with how this turned out. i’ve also noticed how my bnha headcanons always end up being gender neutral lmao. anyways, enjoy!

- your quirk was shapeshifting. you could change into whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. although, as with every quirk, there were drawbacks. unlike other students, the drawbacks of your quirk never hurt you.

- other quirk users couldn’t say they envied you, but they definitely didn’t say they didn’t wish for their drawbacks to not take tolls on their health and body

- your drawback, similarly to mirio’s, was the loss of your clothing

- whenever you shape shifted, your clothes would either become to big and fall off your body or your clothes would be shredded by the expansion of your size

- your ability didn’t change the anatomy of others, nor the size

- this drawback led to many accidents and flashing of fellow classmates and strangers

- mineta, being the openly perverted person he is, didn’t mind ogling your body whenever he had the chance

- but someone did

- if you and bakugou hadn’t started dating yet, he would mostly respect your pride and never glance at your bare body. even if you were training against each other, whenever you turned back, he already was holding your fallen clothes or giving you his jacket to you without sparing you a glance.

- definitely gets flustered by the idea of you standing nude beside him

- the boy respects you for your unbreaking spirit and strong will to not only help others but to be number one

- if you and bakugou were dating, he wouldn’t care if he was looking at your bare body

- he’s seen it multiple times, why would he shy away?

- he would simply once over your body, hum in approval, and hand you spare clothes

- if mineta even tries to peek

- yiKeS

- “i’m going to fUCKING KILL YOU, GRAPE BALLS”

- *bOoM*

- never wants anyone else to see your gorgeous body

- “you belong with me and only me”

- your quirk is camouflage. you can blend in with anything. your quirk is almost like hagakure’s because of how you practically turn invisible.

- in order for your quirk to work at its fullest, your clothes must go

- you never have to manually strip because when you use your quirk, it creates an acid that comes out of your pores, burning away any material on your body

- if you overuse your quirk, it could result in acid dissolving your skin

- from training, you were able to lengthen how long you could control the quirk for, which was about 30 minutes

- since your quirk didn’t give you advantages in combat, you had to train your body to be strong and to be able to defend and attack others

- deku always admired you from the sidelines, watching your precise movements as you kicked and punch the practice targets

- his pencil would constantly be jotting down his observations and what techniques of yours he could use to improve himself

- “they angle their body at...” mumble mUmBle MuMblE

- when you actually use your quirk for the first time in training, he gets so hyped to write it down

- oH BOY, just wait for the shock to appear on his face

- his pencil in hand, fresh with lead, ready to write at lightning speed, eyes locked on your figure

- you disappear, enabling your quirk and attacking your opponent

- deku thinks you have an invisibility quirk like hagakure, except with different features. he noticed how your clothes turned invisible with you, looking like they were melted away

- as he was about to write down what he observed, you appeared once more but much MUCH more revealed than you were before

- drops everything, including his jaw

-  you walk off and grab spare clothes on the bench and act like nothing happened, like you weren’t just nude five seconds ago

- he’s so flustered and his emotions are going haywire

- he knows he shouldn’t be reacting so inappropriately but you were just to beautiful and talented and smart

- later on, baby scolds himself for ogling you and telling himself that he should go apologize 

- forgive him *insert doe-eyed emoji*

- he goes up to you after practice and profusely apologizes

- and you’re just like “it’s aight,” shrugging it off as if he accidentally brushed his shoulder against yours

- this leads to the two of you starting a full on conversation, starting from deku fawning over how awesome you are

- over time, when you start dating, he gets used to seeing your bare body and always bring a spare outfit for you to wear

- very much dislikes others seeing something that should be reserved for him and him only

- your quirk was elemental control, similar to todoroki’s. even your drawbacks were similar to the two-toned boy, except a smidgen worse

- you could control wind, earth, fire, and water

- overuse of fire would lead to the destruction of any product on your body and then your body itself. overuse of wind leads to incapability to control it’s strength and your clothing getting ripped off by the strong currents. overuse of earth would lead to your quirk extracting the organic materials in your clothing and using it as a weapon. overuse of water would lead to either you losing control and a heap of water crashing over you, ultimately ruining your outfit, or you freezing your clothes off

- having a lot of power meant many drawbacks

- at UA, you and todoroki often trained together because of how similar your quirks were

- before you trained, you could only use your quirks for 2-3 minutes consecutively and had to take 1 minute breaks before using your quirk again

- though, as you began to train alongside todoroki, you were able to use your quirk for a longer time and take shorter breaks in between

- obviously, since you trained with him, he was the first to see the awkward drawbacks of your quirk

- “oh yeah, that happens quite a lot”

- he blinks and doesn’t know how to respond because, as not inert as he is, your lightheartedness towards the situation shocks even him

- eventually, he gets used to it and doesn’t even care that you’re nude 

- one day, he had a sudden thought that was totally random and didn’t make sense whatsoever but at that moment it did to him and so, he confronted you about it

- “since i’ve seen your bare body many times, wouldn’t it be fair if you saw mine?”

- sounds much weirder than he thought it would

- you CHOKE on your saliva and break out into a coughing fit

- “sho, are you okay?”

- you most definitely declined the offer, though it was very tempting

- only was that offer fulfilled once the two of you began dating and he saw your nude body tons more of times

- he asked you out at the weirdest time, though

- you’re literally butt naked, training beside him and he just drops whatever he’s doing and asks, “wanna go on a date this weekend?”

- flusters you beyond belief and suddenly you feel all too exposed

- “u-um sure?” you splutter, hiding your dignity body in your arms

- “cool”

- wHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED

- when you were friends, he was already protective of your bareness, but once you started dating, he would literally never take his eyes off of you when you are using your quirk so that he can be there to cover you up right away

- doesn’t matter who they are, if they catch even the slightest of glimpses of your skin, todoroki will fight them

- on many occasions did you have to hold him back

- he just loves you. let him love you uwu

[delimeful]

or set your teeth against my throat (1)

warnings: vampires, blood, injury, violence, abduction, non consensual blood drinking, depressive thoughts, mild hypnosis, murder mention

-

Vampires, Roman was finding, seemed to have an even more shit sense of hospitality than he’d previously assumed.

Maybe it was ungenerous of him, considering this was the only coven he’d interacted with up close and personal, but he wasn’t really feeling particularly generous at the moment. When he’d been cornered, isolated from the rest of his pack, he’d expected a quick and valorous death, fighting to the last. Not… this.

Another rock made contact with the bars of his cage, the clang of stone on metal vibrating around him. His ears twitched down to flatten against his skull without his input, and he snarled low in his throat as a jeering laugh rose from the crowd.

As if it wasn’t bad enough, being taken hostage for whatever nefarious purposes they had in mind, bound and muzzled like some common animal, no, they had to parade him through the streets and batter his cage with pebbles and glass and whatever other projectiles the bloodsuckers thought fitting to torment their captive audience with.

None of it could get through the enchantment on the bars, so he wasn't struck, but it was still rough on the ears. And his feelings.

Not that they cared. That was probably the point, actually.

Gathering his resolve, he forced himself to remain still and unflinching as another shard of rock hit the cage and spun away, clenching his hands to keep them from trembling. None of this mattered. It didn’t matter what they did to him, because he would not break. He wouldn’t tell them a single thing about his pack, not one scrap of information.

He would die first, and without regrets.

-

As it turned out, the coven-- Kin of Æternam, they called themselves-- didn’t seem to care for information. Not a single vampire spoke to him as he was moved further and further into the town, and he couldn’t exactly initiate a conversation himself with a gag in his mouth.

Instead, he watched, and found to no surprise that he didn’t like what he saw.

He’d known many vampires were nomadic, but it was one thing to distantly know and another thing entirely to see the human town around them, half the houses smoldering and the other half looking uncomfortably ransacked. He could see the dark splatters of dried blood along walls or among the dirt, though mercifully it seemed like it had been long enough since their invasion that any remaining human bodies had been cleared away.

Roman didn’t risk interacting with humans often. He knew the tales that were spread about werewolves, and the last thing his tiny pack needed was an angry mob on their tails. Even with his reservations, though, he would never wish something like this upon them. Upon anyone.

The Æternam vamps walked among the ruins casually, as though this was everyday scenery, and Roman supposed that for them, it probably was. Simple routine; find a human settlement, feed to their unbeating hearts’ content, hold revel, and then depart again. Rinse and repeat.

It was enough to turn his stomach, and he was almost grateful when his view of the town was blocked off by their entry into the large stone fort that loomed over all else. Almost.

His opinion of the place went downhill as soon as he saw the ostentatious throne and the vampire sprawled across it, both placed on a literal gilded pedestal. Dark raven hair, corpse-like skin, and glowing red eyes painted the picture of the archetypal tyrant vamp. He found himself strangely disappointed by the lack of originality in the man’s presentation. If he was going to die to a bloodsucker, couldn’t it at least be one with a sense of style?

One of the attendant vamps pulled the door of his prison open, and Roman lunged against his restraints with all his might, snarling past the muzzle. The attendant flinched back, but the iron cuffs that bound him held firm no matter how hard he strained. The vampire on the throne laughed, the way one might at a child throwing a tantrum.

“Oh, you are a spitfire, aren’t you? All the better.”

Roman tried to convey how much this guy’s villain aesthetic sucked with his heated glare alone. He was pretty sure Virgil could have created a better evil persona than this guy in his sleep. At age twelve. While feverish. It was sad, really.

The platitudinous prick-- Roman instantly decided to alternate between very clever and very rude nicknames for the guy in his head-- beckoned, and the attendant unlocked the chain keeping him bolted to the floor of the cage. They proceeded to grab the connecting bar between the cuffs locked around his arms and maneuver him up the steps to the pedestal with probably more force than strictly necessary.

Roman had been riding in that cage for hours, and as such, had time to prepare for a lot of potential scenarios. He grew more and more tense the closer he got to the trite enthroned bastard, mentally readying himself for what was likely to be at best an assault on his person and at worst, a horrifying and gory death.

Instead, he was steered to the side of the throne, and then shoved to his knees, at which point he realized that a horrifying and gory death might not be so bad after all. Because now the attendant was locking his cuffs into a new platform, one that was designed to force him to stay hunched over and kneeling at the side of the throne. He growled, prying at the restraints, but there was little give in the cuffs. He was stuck like this, practically on display for the world to see.

“Perfect, right where a mutt like you belongs,” Vlad the Contemptible smiled sharply, as though proud of his pitiful insult.

Were all vampires this insufferably smug? Like, was it part of the package, along with the dumb looking fangs and the tacky glowing eyes? He was glad that werewolves had eyes that merely reflected light, like the respectable, well-designed creatures of nature they were.

It was possible that Roman was rambling, mentally, a little bit. He wished desperately that he could protest the indignity of it all, denounce these freaks and their humiliating tactics, but in this state, there was little he could do but glare impotently.

The bloodsucker seemed entirely too content to ignore him and his glaring hatred entirely for the next few hours, which confused Roman at first. Clearly, he was still alive for a reason, and he felt as though he’d done more than enough waiting to learn about his fate at this point. Plus, his knees hurt.

At the very least, the pain in the neck on the throne next to him seemed like the type to gloat, so why wasn’t he?

As dusk fell, Roman got his answer. More and more vamps filtered into the wide stone hall, filling the space with their corpse-cold bodies and idle chatter. Once the last bit of sun had faded over the horizon, the Toothed Tyrant slowly straightened up in his seat, drawing all the eyes in the room to him. This was what he’d been waiting for.

What was the point in gloating about your evil deeds without an audience to lavish you in praise for it?

“Kin of mine. As I’m sure many of you have noticed, we have a... guest with us this evening.”

Roman shivered as those icy, glowing gazes moved towards him, jeering or morbidly curious or hungry. He pulled at the chains once more just to have something else to focus on, the shift and clink of the metal drowned out by his rapid heartbeat in his ears. He wondered if the vamps could hear it, too.  

The pitiful excuse for a villain was still talking. “... fullest potency once the full moon hits, and our hunt will decide who claims such a reward.” His half-lidded gaze slid over to Roman. “A beast like this one has engaged in plenty of hunts before, I assume? Though, probably not as prey. I’m sure it’ll get used to the sensation eventually.”

Even with the gag, Roman could snarl as fierce as any wolf, and the rumbling growl emanating from his chest made some of the closer vamps lean away.

It didn’t seem to have any effect on the worst human leech of them all. He just smiled in a satisfied sort of way before rising to his feet. “What a rebellious spirit. Perhaps you should save that for the hunt, mutt?”

Think up some new nicknames, you absolute bore, Roman thought at him, just in case those rumors about vampires reading minds were true.

The vamp walked closer, until he was at the edge of the platform and Roman had to crane his head back to see his face.

“Let’s give us both a taste of what’s to come, then.”

Without pause, there were suddenly hands on his shirt, dragging him upwards until the restraints threatened to dislocate something. One moment, he was nearly face to face with the vamp, meeting those eye-searing red pupils. In the next, his vision blurred as sharp pain shot through his neck.

The vamp had sunk its nasty fangs in on either side of his jugular, not deep enough to kill him, but enough that it would only take the slightest twitch of the head for his throat to be ripped right out. His body kept frozen even as he began to choke, his mouth tasting of iron and salt.

There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t escape, couldn’t attack, couldn’t even die until these monsters allowed it. The more he fought and resisted, the tighter their grasp on him would become, and the more he would suffer. It would be better to just give up now, save himself the trouble.

(Why am I… That’s not right--)  

Roman only realized the vampire was withdrawing when those sharp teeth finally pulled away carelessly, causing a new wave of pain to roll through him. He automatically tried to reach for his throat, to stem the bleeding, but his bound hands could barely rise a few inches. He bent his head down instead, his pride stinging silently as a cacophony of mockery sounded all around him.

Once his fingers touched flesh, however, he could only feel shallow cuts rather than the gaping wounds he knew should be there. He coughed wetly, and red splattered across his hands, but he could breathe once more. However bad the bite had been, it had healed near instantly.

Of course. It was beginning to sink in that they wouldn’t let him perish that easily.

The vampire king was speaking again, eyes brighter than before, and his words blurred together and slipped away from Roman’s understanding. He could only notice the smear of deep red on the vampire’s face, and shudder where he lay as a chill set into his bones.

-

Time passed in a haze, marked by the constant flurry of vamp activity in the fort around him, the occasional meal to keep him alive, and his connection to the ever-waxing moon.

He felt a faint sense of concern about the way days seemed to slip away, and also about how far away and hard to grasp the concern itself felt. There was something seriously wrong when the growing light of the moon felt more like an approaching deadline than a relief.

The one other thing marking the time, he would much rather forget. Every night without fail, no matter how he fought, the same vampire would drag him up and plunge dagger-like teeth into his throat, leaving him drained and weak on the cold floor afterwards.

Roman wasn’t a fool; he knew that the bites were the reason he felt so exhausted and fuzzy. He just couldn’t do anything about it. The feeling of helplessness only grew stronger and stronger after each night, and slowly, he began to lose the will to fight the dreary feelings off.

By the time the night before the full moon hit, hope was hard to find.

He was slumped awkwardly against the ground when the door to the chamber creaked open, and the noise jolted him out of his dozing as quick as anything. His muscles went rigid and tense.

The head vamp hadn’t drank from him yet today, having left in the middle of the day with an  extensive entourage for… something. It had probably been mentioned in earshot-- they weren’t very careful about what he did and did not hear-- but Roman hadn’t been paying enough attention. Maybe they were scouting out new territory?

Regardless, he had sort of been hoping it would keep the bloodsucker out of his hair for long enough that he could recover even just a bit before… before he ran out of time. So much for that.

To his surprise, there was no trace of the vamp’s normal arrogant strides. In fact, there was barely any sound at all. Roman could only tell that someone was approaching by the shifting of shadows and that dusty undead smell.

Suddenly, there was a cold palm on his arm, and he jerked up with a jagged snarl, his mind screaming at him to do anything to prevent being bitten again. The palm was yanked away instantly, and Roman could see the silhouette of the vamp before him.

It definitely wasn’t the head vamp. Smaller, and with curled hair that reflected the torchlight. He couldn’t see his expression, and his mind still screamed dangerous. His growl increased in intensity as the vamp extended a hand again, but he’d called Roman’s bluff: he had no way to defend himself in the restraints. Whatever the vamp was going to do, he couldn’t stop it.

The vamp’s other hand rose, and Roman couldn’t stop himself from flinching.

It made it all the more surprising when he heard the clank of a key in a lock. His eyes shot open, and to his disbelief, the chain connecting his cuffs to the platform went loose, no longer attached. A moment later, the vamp’s hands were on his cuffs, but rather than grab them and drag him, there was another clank.

For the first time in days, fresh air grazed his wrists. His hands were free.

A surge of adrenaline hit him, and he twisted quicker than the vamp could react, pinning him to the ground with a knee to the abdomen and a hand over his throat. It would keep the creature from getting enough air to call out an alarm. With his other hand, he immediately tore at the muzzle, his nails going claw-sharp to tear through the straps. He spat the remnants of the wretched thing out, and turned his attention to the vamp.

Cold hands curled over Roman’s own, like he wanted to pry the hand off his throat, but other than that, he wasn’t struggling against Roman’s hold. Oddly enough, his chest was rising and falling in an uncanny mimicry of panicked breathing, and even his eyes seemed oddly dark for a vamp. Roman would have thought him a human if not for the unmistakable fangs.

His grip tightened at the reminder. “You’re not getting any more blood out of me,” he growled, his voice rough and crackly. His whole body felt out of practice. If he stood up and bolted, he risked falling flat on his own face, and if he turned and the vamp lunged…

No. Easier to just… just vanquish the vamp so he couldn’t do anything. One less thing to worry about during his escape.

He lifted his other hand, claws pinched together as a makeshift stake. The vampire twitched once, his mouth opening briefly as though to speak, and then seemed to slump. His hands stopped tugging at Roman’s fingers around his neck, and he pinched his eyes closed, bracing for the blow.

Roman frowned. Was this a ploy for sympathy?

He could feel the way the vamp trembled under him, unnaturally lifelike.

… It was an effective one. Shit.

He lowered his hand slowly, loosened his grip, waiting for the moment the stranger dropped the ruse and lunged. It didn’t come. He just kept waiting for Roman to hurt him.

He abruptly felt a little sick to his stomach. He let go of the vamp’s throat. The guy opened one eye slowly, like he thought it was a trick.

“If you get up from this spot, if you even twitch before I’m out of this building, I’ll make sure you regret it,” Roman threatened, a growl under the words and his lip curling up slightly to bare his teeth. “You won’t get mercy twice.”

The vamp’s expression did something complicated (Confusion? Relief? Disappointment?) but when Roman scuttled back, he stayed laid out on the floor, not moving a muscle. Roman let a breath out slowly, some of the tension fading from him. “Well… good. Keep doing that.”

He could practically hear Virgil sighing as his awkwardness overwhelmed any menace his threat might have instilled. It wasn’t his fault he was off-script, okay? This vampire was… weird.

Roman shuffled back a few more steps on weak legs, and then, once he was sure he was far enough away, he let the shift wash over him like a warm breeze. Four unsteady legs were better than two, and if he leaned a little on his instincts, his inner wolf would make his gait mostly smooth. It was a small but invaluable aid as as he sprinted down long, musty halls until he was finally, finally out of that cursed fortress.

Roman was so relieved he could have cried. He was still weak, and his head was still foggy, but he didn't stop until there was finally trees around him and dirt under his feet. As he collapsed, the night air still tasted like victory.

[radcalm]

If he didn't treat your mother right, he is not your father.

No matter he may repent and try to get on my side to team up.

Sometimes it hurts more from the defenders rather than the perpetrator of violence. You can't believe how many good people you trust would simply choose to ignore you in face of a "good man" who does bad things.

Bad husbands can not make good fathers. By showing disrespect for women in their lives they are also they don't respect their kids and harming them.

****************

Tw// domestic abuse

Long rambling- read at your own discretion

I've hurt more from seeing my mom hurt or be guilty or doubtfull of everything she done, even years after the aborted failed abusive marriage. I've also been beaten as an infant and a little kid but i've kept quiet to divert his attention from my mother. I was very young barely able to speak full sentences yet but i still remember dodging his blows and tantrums by hiding under furnitures while alone and thinking of how i tried my best to act normal and hide what he did around my mother because i knew it would break her. I knew people would look at my mother first with questioning looks. These thoughts formed before i could voice it out, and i was praised for being a quiet brooding infant- to a kid - to early teens - that i seemed so adultlike and pensive. It's an adult's world i should've never known at that age

Yet my existence itself was marred from the moment of birth since i was a female baby. He wanted abortion and i'm reminded of that fact seldom that i could've been killed in favour of a male baby and heir. What he is a failure no matter what i do because i'm female and will be the secondary variation of males that devalues the same achievements i do, the milestones i make. While he believes in housewives and servitude he gets onto his knees and begs for my forgiveness and that he loves me. I feel contempt at his "love" and cut him out from my life making me the stubborn heartless girl and kicking away my filial duties and virtues in a particular traditional east asian Confuscianist society. The world moves foward but male perception of women stays the same.

The father being praised and him bragging about what a good father he was. Because he was perfect from the outside, the perfect career, money and social circles, social justice work. My mother also had all of those things before was gaslit into giving all those things to provide for me. His showoff wealth actually belonged to my mother. But since women and wife, daughter is considered property to some regressive cultures, he could pass the property now as his own. The fact that a woman forshadowed him hurt his pride and he felt the need to compensate it on his masculinity. What better way than to subjugate the very women who made him feel lost and inferior?

Every now and then i'm seething with hot coal when i see my mother regretting or doubting, or feeling guilty about her divorce, and the people who judge her for not being strong enough to endure and stay. I'm proud and happy that she was strong and smart to confront the demons and made a choice to protect herself and her family. Of people who tell her there would've been warning signs, that it's her fault for not being able to fix him. Of a society that made her feel that she failed at making a feminine virtue, of making a family and maintaining it. Of the world that made the girl in pigtails cry in silent angry tears while my father was in court for an attempted murder of his little kid and that kid who vowed to become a judge to take revenge and make every sick man pay, instead of acquitting them like he was dimissed lightly. Of the murmers and words from adults who pitied but also blamed my mother and the rude kid turning against her own father. While people scrutinized us for being female or not being female enough, or not being strong enough that women dont fend for themselves, the focus was already off the actual man who did it. And they forgot. But that anger and fear as a little girl persisted and stays a part of me as a young adult.

Such first few short years of my life formed me and my anger and guilt and the things i experienced after only confirmed my female bias by people i trusted. I was terrified of all the anger i had in my heart, and i was afraid to be like my father. That we might be similar. But that's an another story for later...

*****************

Tldr; My father and relatives were upset i was born female and beat me up as infant to preschool and my rich&working mom and the father beat up myself and went to court for attempting my murder before divorce and got uncharged because he had good reputation, which traumatized and guilted my mom, and traumatized the angry kid, that man is now lovebombing and begging me(while trashing my mother) to forgive him and some people are angry i ignore him and blame my mom for getting divorce and not enduring 🤧

******************

Now I don't want revenge, i just want a happy life and live to the fullest while achieving my dreams

I sincerely wish women would have a choice other than to feel their life is incomplete because they didnt find the right man. I want women to know the risks and be emotionally and structurally independent from men. Young or old or any social status we have a common danger from this male centric society and that is what we can focus on.

[archetypal-archivist]

Sky’s Limit- Hermitcraft- Worldbuilding

Heyo! This was the product of a plot bunny I got while watching the newest animated music video by Porter Robinson, and it features pretty much all the hermits. Long into the distant future, there is a city of gleaming white and technological marvels. Electricity is entirely clean, its people are always happy, and life- as it has always done- goes on. However, for all it seems like a utopia, there is one facet that may seem out of place. The city is truly, utterly silent. Sure, there are voices and happy chatter, laughter on street corners and children running in the streets. But there is no hum, no electric buzz that most crafters of the past would have been familiar with. There is no redstone. For indeed, the red dust is entirely illegal and those who work with it are relegated to the city’s dark underbelly. And not all of them are happy to be there. It is in this city, the city of Sky’s Limit, that I have dropped our hermits. Time will tell what happens next.

----

A story in which the world has been… purified. Think skyblock, portrayed as a world of natural wonder, soft angles and high rises that scrape the clouds above, all in shimmering shades of pearlescent white. The only noise is the rushing of the wind through the grass far, far below and the distant echo of passing conversation and laughter. There are no cars, no chatter of coms, no hissing creepers or vroomping, thieving endermen. Just peace. And sometimes, if you listen carefully enough, the flapping of wings as the most blessed of the city’s inhabitants fly  overhead, the celebrity darlings and envy of everyone below. For some of the hermits, life is good. Bdubs, Xisuma, Grian, and Jevin are all upper nobility. Xisuma and Grian are some of the lucky few with wings (bee and bird respectively for X and G), while Jevin is blessed simply for being sky blue and transparent- and a being so like the sky must surely be worthy of high ranking. Surely. Xisuma is an administrator of the city, one of those who keep track of the nitty-gritty bits, like how much food each sector goes through a month, the efficiency of the watering systems in the fields, etc. Grian is just a straight up celebrity darling, beloved by the people for his pranks and personality. Late at night, he runs a TV talk show. Jevin has a seat on the city governance, one of thirteen “elected” chancellors. Bdubs is another chancellor, low-key the one in charge, as it was his idea to create a city of white, one that ran on clean energy and lawfulness, who drew up the first blueprint and built much of the city himself. It’s said that there’s no corner of it he isn’t aware of, no part that he didn’t have a hand in designing. While this isn’t quite the case, one thing is certain- BDubs certainly has “designs” and they are very grand indeed. After these hermits fall the ones who are upper to middle class. Stress is a well-trusted doctor in the city’s finest hospital. She believes in the system that saved her life so long ago with all her heart and does her best to keep the city and its people running as best as they possibly can. Compassion and lawful goodness fall into the same boat for Stress, which can sometimes end poorly for criminals who go to her for medical care, thinking that surely a doctor as kind as Stress would never turn away someone, even if they have broken the law. What they forget is that becoming a doctor takes a spine of steel, and Stress has gone one step above the rest- she has a spine of chrome, and she will do what she must to keep her city running strong. (Incidentally, that chrome spine of hers? Not hyperbole, an “accident” at 6 made sure of that.) Vintagebeef runs a butcher shop and is mid to low ranking. He serves the best sandwiches in the city, as attested to by his best customers, Rendog and Falsesymmetry. Rendog is a happy go lucky reporter who spends equal time chasing skirts as he does chasing his next scoop. False is a beat cop, one of the best, and she’s gone viral at least once for dumping criminals who think that just because she's a girl that means she can’t fight. She’s particularly embarrassed (and a bit proud) of the video of her literally picking up a criminal and dumping him the nearest trash chute. Welsknight, the unfortunate garbage man, was quite unhappy to have to remove the criminal from the chute, as for all of False’s strength, she wasn’t quite strong enough to pry the man loose again. He now low-key follows False around to clean up all of her messes as while the media at large is quite fond of her feats, the local infrastructure isn’t.  Somehow, he always ends up at the right place at the right time. Scar is a bit down on his luck, but overall is doing pretty well for himself. He’s one of the architects for the city, was in fact famous for a time for creating a specific style of sheer white skyscraper that allowed for more solar panels to be placed along its side. However, 2 years later and people are starting to realize that for some reason, his buildings aren’t as efficient as they ought to be and his designs have since fallen out of favor. Rendog had taken great joy running his name through the muck, unfortunately, as a man’s got to eat and for all the Scar is a nice guy, a renowned architect falling from grace makes for quite the scoop. The two don’t like each other much, but they’ve actually seen each other’s faces. Anyway, Scar has been living off of his savings, hoping that someone up top would care enough about him to fix the issue and find out what went wrong. After 2 years of nothing, however, he has realized that if he ever wants to figure out the mystery of his buildings’ lack of efficiency, he’ll need to find out himself. Little does he know, Keralis, the architect that replaced him, has been doing quite well for himself and the last thing he wants is to lose his position to the guy he had replaced. While a generally nice guy, Keralis has had a taste of the high life and now there’s no going back. He knows what Scar is up to, and is quite… invested in keeping the status quo. No. Matter. What. Joe Hills runs a bookstore. A completely normal bookstore. Yes, really officer, I promise. Just like how XB, his best friend and right hand man, employee of the month, every month, is entirely average in every way and has never done anything wrong in his life, ever. There is one more among the hermits who has wings- Etho. Or rather, had. Etho had his wings cut off for undisclosed crimes against the city and now works in a toy shop on the outskirts of town. He’s thoroughly mysterious and always looks tired, but his toys and trinkets business does surprisingly well and he always seems happy, behind that mask of his. The only hint that this isn’t quite the case is the tightness around his eyes. A secret? When they told him that the pain would never stop, that awful night when they burnt his wings off? He didn’t believe them. (Oh god, the way it smelled.) He really, really should have. 

You’ve heard about the shining white walls, the perfect healthcare, the love the people hold for the city and the rigor with which they defend it. The quiet, the peace, the wonderful golden silence found in its streets and reflecting from its windows. Even the light seems quieter there. If you’re smart, you may have picked up that something isn’t quite right with the city, that 2/3s of our cast seems to be missing. You’d be right, almost. Mumbo, Cub. Cleo? They aren’t missing- they’re hiding. And they have very good reason to do so. 

The city’s name is Sky’s Limit, and it is built on a foundation of marble and hard, cold law. It is a city of white… and black. And lurking in its shadows are all those that do not belong, those whose colors do not fit, those who can’t afford the brilliant marble towers or the plastic smiles popularized by the rich and famous. It is a city choked into silence by its secrets and one thing it cannot abide is the humming electric whine of redstone. And those who practice it are criminals in the eyes of the law, to be persecuted to its fullest extent and often, even beyond. Even to the grave, if needs must or the council orders such. And BDubs is so very, very fond of his restful, quiet beauty sleep. Not everyone agrees with these laws however, and brewing in the black, sunless shadows of the city’s underbelly are those determined to see the city shine red. Zedaph is the closest to legal of the underground hermits- he has to be when he has two more mouths to feed, Tango and Impulse. Although the latter two are redstone geniuses and do well in making food stretch and and make their ramshackle rented apartment livable, it is Zedaph alone who  fake any marketable skills. While Impulse and Tango do their best to keep the lights on and use redstone wiring to steal power from the city’s solar- and wind-powered electrical grid, Zedaph peddles the doodads and toys he makes to the poorest children of the city. Many of them still contain some measure of redstone, as it's nigh-impossible to ignore its thrumming call entirely if you are born to do the stuff, but his target audience is usually too young, too uneducated, and too scared of the law to recognize it or say anything about it. And if a bit of redstone Impulse or Tango put together can help someone make it another day, and Zedaph can make it look passably legal? Well, some of the poorest housewives and mothers can look the other way The trio are happy together, but making ends meet is hard and with summer coming, resources are soon to be harder to get than ever. (A city of light and pure white? Things start to heat up fast, and water becomes more precious than ever. And with summer coming, it means less water gathering in puddles and drain pipes in the city, and thus less water for the underground redstoners and hybrids to tap into.) Little does Zedaph know, however, he’s caught the attention of another toymaker in the city. In addition to this, Tango is getting restless, frustrated with the trio’s lot in life. Even under normal circumstances he can’t sit still, and being cooped up inside all the time because his glowing red eyes give him away as being both a hybrid and really in tune with redstone? It sucks. A lot. Impulse tries to keep his buddy distracted, but there’s only so much he can do, and now, Tango has been disappearing at odd hours, frequently when he and Zedaph are trying to sleep, and coming back with an odd look in his eyes. Just a few days ago he had found the remains of a charred pamphlet in their dumpster out back. Something is coming to head, and Impulse isn’t sure he’s going to like the outcome. Not that he’d ever mention the mounting tension to Zedaph, of course. His buddy has enough to worry about. ZombieCleo… runs a speakeasy/burlesque show underneath Joe’s bookstore. She has his full approval of course, and they’re fast friends under the merits of he’s one of the only decent men she’s ever met. It helps that he’s hardcore aro-ace and has no interest in her or her girls. Cleo, being a zombie hybrid, knows all too well about the tough life being a hybrid is and how it can make people turn to awful things just to make ends meet. She knows that doing sex work is the last thing her girls want to be doing, not that they have a choice, and she does her best to do right by them. She protects her workers viciously, and if any of her patrons try to treat her girls too roughly, or try to skip out on payment? Well, being a hybrid comes with a few perks and a nice pair of teeth and nails is all part of the package. Coincidentally, Joe is awfully good at hiding a body. Doc is perhaps the most down on his luck of the hermits. As both a redstoner and an obvious hybrid, he can’t find work, he can’t find anyone willing to rent to him, he can barely even find food enough to eat. He’s resorted to petty theft and squatting, and if it wasn’t for his ruthless determination that this city would not be the death of him, he would have laid down and given up long ago. Not even the occasional rendezvous with the local garbage cans is enough to deter him (courtesy of the local beat cop. That woman has no right to be as strong as she is). It’s on one such day, trying to pry himself out of yet another trashcan far too small for him, that Doc finally gets his lucky break. The old man to whom the trashcan belongs to comes out, hoping to dispose of his waste for evening, and instead finds the creeper hybrid there, cursing up a storm and angry enough to kill. The sight would almost be threatening to TFC if, you know, he hadn’t seen worse and the hybrid in question looked like he hadn’t had a good meal for years. TFC invites Doc inside after helping to pry him loose, and Doc, while suspicious, accepts. TFC low key makes Doc move in with him and treats the man well, seeing as the poor hybrid reacts to every little thing as if he had never seen kindness. TFC also begins to tell stories to Doc about the time before the city was built, before redstone was outlawed and hybrids were looked down upon as lesser beings. And Doc, utterly enchanted by the concept, begins to have… ideas. Iskall was in the same position as Doc for a while, but they too get their lucky break. They get picked up by Mumbo Jumbo and is introduced to the Cotillion, the rebel group who are out to shake the city to its very foundations and bring about an age of redstone dominance. Mumbo and the hundreds of people under him plan on breaking the social order and instating redstoners and hybrids as the top dogs, and Iskall finds themself shocked that the rebels seem to have the organization and resources to actually do it. Mumbo is witty and charismatic, seemingly always having a plan and a silver-tongued speech to go with it. He also installs Iskall as second in command, much to their shock. Time will tell if the Cotillion is going to succeed. Cub is living in one of Scar’s buildings, along with many other redstoners. Just... Not entirely legally.

This is pretty much the end of the world-building section, I’ll come out with a post on the general plot as soon as I can. TBC :)

[amindofmanystories]

Mother of a warrior

Pt. 2 

Clark clicked his mandibles triumphantly as he held the decapitated head of his trophy, a cult leader who killed several innocent families and cops. He carefully places his trophy in a bag and ties it to his side. His mother shall be proud of him and his trophy. He walks threw a hallway filled with the mutilated bodies of several cult followers and exits the old building. When he finally reached a safe distance, he activated a bomb he had planted to destroy not only the bodies but also the weapons the cult had planned to use to kill a whole town for a sacrifice. The explosion shook the ground beneath him. That’s when he noticed a something glisten somewhere in the woods. He quickly raises an arm and shoots a warning shot at whatever was there. The figure quickly dodged the shot and jumped toward him. Clark dodged the figure and pulled out his machete. The figure growled and swiped a blade at him. Clark blocked the blade and punched the figure in the throat. The figure clutched its throat and swiped at Clark’s legs so he’d fall on his back. Clark fell with a thud and held up his blade defensively glaring at the figure. They were rather tall, probably even bigger than himself, and wore a helmet almost like the one his mother had given to him. The figure coughed and glared at Clark. The figure then began to speak in his species native tongue “Not bad, young one.” Clark froze at the rough voice “Who are you?” Clark asked. The figure stood up straight and removed their helmet. It was indeed another yautja. This yautja had scars on his face and neck. Their long dreads glistened in the fires light “I am known as Fang on this planet. You are a young one indeed and you are strong. What is your clan? Who leads it?” Clark stood himself up and stared confidently at the older yautja “ This is my clan. My mother and I are the last of them. She is my leader.” Clark holds out the pendant that belonged to his birth mother. The other yautja eyed the pendant intensely “This mark. It belonged to a well respected clan that went missing some time ago. If your mother is your clan leader then I must meet her. Take me to her.” “How do I know you won’t harm her?” Clark stood defensively. Fang eyed Clark and in a blink of an eye he was holding a blade at Clark’s throat. If I wanted to cause harm I would have killed you and used your helmet to track its oldest whereabouts.” Clark held his breath. Fang chuckled and pulled his blade away “Let us go before humans arrive. This fire will surely attract some attention.” Clark nods his head and they both make their way to Clark’s home.

Clark felt his heart speed up as he saw the metal gate that surrounded his home. Fang stood back and eyed his surroundings as Clark unlocked the heavy gate doors. Clark pushed the gates open and walked inside “Mother!” Clark called out “I’m home from my hunt!” He got no response “Mother?’ Clark continued to walk toward the cabin, Fang following him inside. The cabin was empty and the only thing he could hear was the TV playing something in the living room and the smell of burning wood filled the air. Clark stepped into the living room “Mother?” Clark asked. Fang stood back and watched as Clark called out to his mother. As Fang watched, a cup fell suddenly fell off of a table and as the two glanced at the cup, (Y/n) jumps down from the corner of the roof and onto Fang’s back. (Y/n) grabbed Fang’s dreads and yanked on them hard. Fang growled and slammed himself against the wall in hopes to get his attacker to let go. (Y/n) grunted but didn’t let go. She pulled a metal chain and put it in Fangs mouth and pulled his head to the left hard so he would run into the couch and fall over. The two fell over and (Y/n) held a sharp blade to Fang’s throat “No sudden movement. This blade is coated in a toxic mixture that will paralyze and shut your body down in minutes.” she hissed in the native tongue. Fang stood still but eyed the human on his chest with an impressed expression. Clark sighed in relief that his mother was safe “Mother, that is no intruder. I had met him on my hunt. He is here to meet you.” (Y/n) and Fang looked at Clark confused. This human is the leader of a well respected yautja clan? This yautja came to see me? Why? These were questions that ran threw their mind. (Y/n) glared down at the new Yautja and cautiously got off of him and stood in front of her son. Fang stood up and stared down at the odd human in front of him. (Y/n) stood her ground and showed no fear. Fang liked that human. She knocked him down and showed great skill. They stood in silence. Clark cleared his throat and began introductions “Mother, this is Fang. Fang, this is my mother and also my clan leader.” Fang lowered his head in respect “I will not lie. I am surprised at what I see and it is an honor to be in your presence.” Fang clicks. (Y/n) stood silently for awhile then nodded her head “I accept your greeting. It is true that I am this clan’s leader and I have raised my son Clark to meet both human and yautja standards.” Fang looked at (Y/n) pleased “Your son is indeed an impressive hunter, but-” “but what?” “Your son still has much more to learn. If you would like, I can help your son exceed to his fullest potential.” (Y/n) eyed Fang “And what is it that you want in return?” Fang felt confident “If you’d have me, it would be an honor to join your clan.” Clark glanced at his mother. (Y/n) had an unreadable expression. (Y/n) looked up at Clark for a moment and then looked at Fang “You may join our clan, but ONLY if you prove your worth to us. You will train my son and help around our home. You have one earth year. Do not try anything funny or I WILL  end you.” (Y/n) threatened. She held out her hand to Fang and he stared at it before shaking it “It is a deal.”.

[llzehs]

As a fan of these three, but most importantly as a fan of Dean Ambrose, this video is everything to me. To know the company Dean almost killed his body for doesn’t appreciate him, but his peers and brothers make sure Dean knows how much he’s loved and admired and respected for everything he has done for the locker room and the business just warms my heart so much. Seth and Roman’s love for Dean is out there. 

I firmly believe WWE had nothing to do with this. It was all Seth (& Roman). Two locker room leaders who realize they are losing the backbone of the company they have worked so hard to built their legacies around. I am so grateful for them always having Dean’s back.

The contrast between Roman and Seth’s relationship with Dean is beautiful. Roman’s clearly Dean’s best friend in real life, but Seth’s someone who loves and respects Dean SO MUCH for what they have shared in this business. The way he loves Roman and Dean both, you can easily see how genuine and sincere and grateful he is for their presence in his working place.

The absolute cuteness that is Roman and Dean’s friendship/bond 😭 You watch them, and you can easily tell how close they are. Dean’s an utter goofball. Watch at 4:36 mark, while Seth’s showering him with praises and saying how much he’s learned from Dean and how much he loves him Dean leans into Roman and Roman so attentively turns to him but then break into a hilarious set of laughter at whatever Dean said. Its like when it comes to Dean, Roman’s always like ‘omg why you gotta be like this, you are such a fool and I love your ridiculous ass so much’ 😂

Dean being the source of Roman’s constant smile, the way his eyes crinkle and the way he shakes his head in amusement and adoration...My heart just can’t take it. He loves Dean so much.

This video also soothes the ache and worry for Dean cuz Dean genuinely looks at peace with his decision. He seems so happy that he was able to work one last time with his brothers, and for someone who’s not big on using words, him being so expressive when it comes to how much he loves Roman and Seth is just beautiful and tells you what a sweet soul he really is.

Roman’s body language was depressing to be honest, but at the same time it looked like he chose to focus on celebrating his boy rather than dwelling on losing him. He knows Dean is happy, and that matters the most. You can tell through the whole video that was the vibe between Dean and Roman. 

This also showed to me that Dean’s extremely shy when it comes to expressing emotions in front of the world. Like, you can tell its not his thing to listen to someone tell him how amazing he is. He tries to turn focus back on Roman and Seth even when the moment was about him and its just so sweet and admirable cuz it just shows how down to earth he really is and how much he values the relationships and bonds he formed. 

The most important and admirable thing about Dean is that he’s such a positive human. He has so many things to be bitter about, but he’s simply grateful for fans and moving onto the next chapter of his life. He doesn’t hold grudges, he doesn’t complain, he never focuses on negativity even though he has ton of reasons to do so. This man is just a professional on a complete different level.

Seth’s ‘we gotta give my boy the send off he deserves’ and ‘I love you please would you come out here so I can tell you that to your face’ had me like 😭 😭 😭 And the way he smiled like ‘yes’ when Dean’s music hit like he half expected him not to come...I just can’t.

Dean looking an absolute piece of art in his new leather jacket, neat jeans and fancy watch and earing 🤤 Boy is leaving but he is glowed up to the fullest.

At 3:44 mark just before entering the ring when Dean’s perched up on the ropes, he points at both Roman and Seth and yells something. Which to me seemed like he was proudly claiming they were his boys/brothers which is cute as fuck if that was the case.

Dean being an utter cutie when he comes into the ring and after hugging Seth is raising his arm, once again trying to turn HIS moment into THEIRS. The smile on Seth’s face is so cute, and then he’s shaking his head and shrugging it off as like he’s implying ‘nah its bout you tonight’ which just makes me 😭

WWE never treated Dean as Seth or Roman’s equal, but here you have Seth giving all credit to Dean for his success. Roman has also talked about Dean in interviews like Dean’s the most important thing. Which is just like a slap in the face for WWE, cuz there’s your top guys, the faces of your company telling you even though you paid Dean dust, they see him as someone without whom they wouldn’t have happened anyways.

‘Please don’t go’ chant and Seth heartbreakingly saying he has already tried that and it didn’t work 😔 Also his voice broke when he started saying ‘that title wouldn’t be around my waist if it wasn’t for Dean Ambrose’.

Dean still avoiding addressing the exact subject of his departure. He’s a closed book, and only future will tell what’s really going on with him. But I get the vibe he’ll eventually be back in WWE.

For Dean nothing matters more than the bonds he formed with the Shield, his brothers being the best thing that ever happened to him. He gets the mic and that’s all he wants to talk about. Not him. Not his future. But his brothers and what they mean to him. He’s so unselfish and loyal, and you can tell he NEEDED this after WWE put him through emotional hell by making him use his best friend’s real life situation for storyline purposes. Dean loves wrestling, but money, titles, top spots, he was never here for that. So its fitting how he values the thing which gave him the most in this business, and that’s the bonds/relationships he got cuz of The Shield.

These three are super proud of being the work horses of WWE for these last 7 years. That’s what brings them even closer to each other. Same passion, same goals, and in the end what matters the most is how much they love each other outside of this business.

Dean’s so pure. Even if WWE never let him reach his true potential, he’s so damn proud of his brothers for getting there. No jealously. No bitterness. He’s just so proud like ‘yeah that’s my brothers you fuckers’ which is just beautiful.

Also Dean’s the goofy child of the group, cracking jokes and all. Seth and Ro are always shaking their heads, laughing and looking at him with hearteyes. It makes me so happy cuz after the life Dean lived, its so comforting to know he has people who love and admire him so much. And values him to the moon.

Dean’s ‘woofs’ omg how cute is he 😂

Seth and Dean being able to have their happy ending after the hell hole WWE put them both through. They deserve it after they were forced into doing something neither one of them wanted to do after losing their cornerstone in Roman. I am so happy they are here proclaiming their respect and love for each other and going out the way they deserved.

At 7:16 mark when Dean’s talking about fans making a building matter, you can see Seth’s face in the background and it looks like he’s crying 😔

Thank you Dean chants 😭 Finally some acknowledgment and respect from fans that he deserves so much. Roman and Seth making sure their boy got it. I love them so much for this.

At 8:00 mark when Dean’s done, Seth is raising his fist and his lips are trembling as he looks at Dean with this smile, then when Dean beckons them in the middle to do their fist bump, Roman just looks at him, trying to keep his composure but its pretty evident he’s crying too. That just broke my heart, cuz Seth and Roman are so damn sad and heartbroken, and even if they are trying to be supportive and celebrate their boy and wish him the best in future, they cannot help but be emotional cuz they won’t have him anymore which is fucking hard to deal with. Its bittersweet really. It makes me wish Dean would one day come back in the arms of two guys who loves and admire him the most. He belongs with them, and its so sad cuz of WWE’s constantly fuckery these three have to loose something so precious and special.

Right before the video ends Dean and Roman are leaning on the ropes side by side and Dean is laughing this full laugh at something Roman says and its so good to see him happy again specially with his best friend 😭

All in all, The Shield will live forever. I wish Dean the best in future. I am grateful he has people like Roman and Seth in his life. Specially Roman who’ll still remain being a very big part of his life.

[anuknowha]

Till Death Do We Part// Chapter 9, XOXO

He sat there, combing his dreads through his hands. He picked up the pillow off the bed and threw it at a nearby wall, pissed.

“What the fuck?!” He screamed.

He was pissed off about the situations of his life. This wasn't what he wanted. His life was taken away from him before he even got a chance to live it. And although his ways were a bit controversial, he still knew he had a right to live. He actually didn't know how long he was dead, there hadn't been even a gut feeling telling him how long he's been there. He never really thought of time the way it was supposed to be. It never really was something that occurred to him because he thought he would have all the time in the world. He'd be wrong. Because in June of 2018 he was shot to death in his car. And even as he was dying, taking his last breath he couldn't believe this was happening to him.

“Fuck.” He paced around the room his footsteps hard and heavy.

Pacing wasn't the average for him but he couldn't help it as he tried to walk off his anger which was something that seemed almost impossible.

He continued to curse under his breath. He punched at the wall angrily. His fists starting to get coated in blood. Every punch made the wall weaker, a small crack forming in the dark blue paint. And within a few more punches he made an inch wide hole in the wall. And even with bloody fists he continued to punch at the wall, causing the wall to vibrate. This rung up the attention of the guy who was next door who was trying to concentrate. He instantly put his guitar down and got up to unlock his door. He peeked out of it and looked around. And he heard the sound coming from his left. He was slightly fed up as the pounding continued even as he approached the door. As calmly as possible he knocked at the door. Only to not receive an answer. He knocked louder before the punching paused. Taking this as an opportunity, he decided to knock as loud as possible drawing the complete attention of the guy in the room.

A disgusted shy left his lips as he walked over to the door and opened it.

“May I-” he cut himself off, taken aback by the shorter man standing in front of him.

“Prince?” the boy said raising a brow.

“In the flesh.” Prince said, irritation lingering in his voice only some. “Now could you please keep it down some? I'd appreciate if you did. Just some if any. I'm trying to practice a new song.”

“Yeah… yeah… Sorry.” He sighed as he rubbed his face with both his hands.

And with that Prince noticed the boy's bloody knuckles. This caused him to peek in and look in in which he found a small crater starting to form in the wall. Little bits of brick crumbling from it every so often. He turned his attention back to the boy and raised a brow.

“Who are you?”

“I'm Xxxtentacion. Well that's my stage name at least.”

“Uh huh.” Prince stated as he nodded. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah? Yeah!” He said suddenly as he felt himself getting flustered for annoying someone who paved such a path; for annoying a legend.

And although he wasn't a big fan of Prince he did enjoy his music and respect him for many reasons more than one. But he was never expecting to meet him in person.

“Sorry I was loud man. I'm just stressed out.”

Prince didn't respond and instead walked over to the hole in the wall that was covered in a thick layer of the crimson liquid.

“You did that huh? Must be a hell of a reason to be angry.”

Tentacion walked over to the bed and sat down on it scratching the back of his head and nodding. Prince took this time to sit next to him.

“I'm sure I've heard of you before, at least once before I died but it doesn't quite ring enough of a bell.”

“I was just hitting fame back in 2016, one of the best years of my life honestly. Coming up with a girlfriend and some money. I didn't want to be broke ya know?”

“No one wants to die broke or alone. I assume that there's more than that that's wrong.”

“Yeah, I was about to have a son.”

“Interesting, pretty young to be having a child aren't you?” Prince joked. “A lot of people have children your age, whether it be on accident or on purpose. Youth.” He sighed with a small smile on his lips, it was barely noticeable. noticeable

“Speaking of how old are you anyway? 24? 25?”

“20…”

“That’s actually a lot younger than I expected…” Prince trailed off highly caught off guard. “How'd you die?”

“I was shot in my car. Drivers seat.”

“I'm sorry… Not sure if you're aware how I died but you could just say it was an accidental overdose.”

“Was it?”

Prince shrugged and looked at the tv in front of him that was hanging on the wall.

“If I told you it was more of an accident than you realize, you wouldn't believe me. They never believe people like us.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that.”

“They’re probably still trying to hide the truth about how I died.”

“What do you think happened?”

“I think I just lost it, or maybe they just wanted to get rid of me. I had an addiction, yes, but, I didn’t think it would kill me.” he chuckled to himself. “Always isn’t it? They always believe that “this” isn’t how they’d die but that’s exactly what happens. It didn’t go at all as planned but I can’t say that I regret it much. I’m glad to be free from the bounds of the company. You know? It felt like I was trapped, that I was a slave.”

“I’ve heard about that. When you wrote “slave” on your face.”

“Yeah, I did, for reasons. And people found it a problem, well the company did. Not my fault you know? You can’t just hold back someone from their creative freedom and keep them held captive for years on end both financially and mentally. Slavery in the music industry is the same as it was when people were in fields picking cotton, especially if you’re black, but the only difference is you get paid. But, the pay doesn’t mean anything if you’re still leashed around and housed by a company that doesn’t know any better. I had tried to change my name so I could get out of it but I couldn’t. I was still dragged back to the same company with the same treatment. Letting them suck me dry of funds and my enjoyment. I didn’t like it, and I would’ve been damned if I kept it up longer than I needed to. I’m free now, just like a dove.”

“How can you be so calm about being dead? Being free from a company is one thing but being dead? That’s another.”

Prince chuckled and brushed his hair from his face with his hand.

“It's not easy to except that I’m dead, it really isn’t. I wish it was though. I always liked the life of fame, it was exciting and thrilling. It had so much potential and I was head over heels to be in the limelight because I knew that’s where I belonged. I was meant to perform regardless of how you look at it. But I wasn’t meant to be broken like that. I wasn’t meant to be used for personal gain and I wasn’t meant to lose myself along the way.”

“I never thought about it that way.”

Prince patted the boy’s back and laughed.

“You weren’t in the industry long enough to know when you’re trapped. You were only 20, and you were in there for about a year or two right? Once they start seeing you as profitable enough they’ll start eating at you like a pack of wild dogs. There’s no holding them back, there never was. It’s their plan from the beginning. Unless you cut the leash right before they get you, you’re in for it; you’ve lost it all. And I never expected to make it big but I knew I needed to because this was the career path I chose. And I feel bad for people like you, especially since you didn’t really get to get your feet off the ground before your life was taken from you. I was at least 57, I had a good long run, but I still wish it lasted longer than it had. 57 is still pretty young to die, since there’s musicians out there in their 70’s still strumming their string to a familiar tune.”

“I know but it just seems all too real. I don’t get to enjoy enough. I was happy, I finally was trying to be a better person and than it’s over.”

“A better person? What have you done in the past?”

XXXTentacion laughed as tears started to stream down his face.

“What haven’t I done? I’ve assaulted women, I’ve carried illegal weapons, I’ve done drugs at one point. I’ve been a very cruel person a lot of my life, even as I was rising into fame. I was that kid who took it too far or overstayed their welcome on decisions. I fucked up a lot, and I wish I could take it all back. I really do. Maybe if I didn’t do any of that stuff I would’ve received a better sentencing for life. Karma is a bitch.”

Prince stares at him, his eyes wide and following the tears that were flowing down the boy’s cheeks. He looked away and placed his hands on his lap, brushing off invisible dirt from his bright purple jacket.

“Just because you’re dead doesn’t mean your adventure has to end here too. Your legacy will live on forever either way it must. Hopefully for the better, but no telling.”

“Yeah… no telling.” A voice came from the doorway.

His head was shaved, and his ears had black gauges in both of his ears. He was currently leaning in the doorway, which caught both of the guys’ attention.

“Chester?” Tentacion, asked.

“You’re Chester Bennington aren’t you? From… Linkin Park right? I’ve heard of you.” Prince added.

“I’m pretty sure many were fond of me.” Chester sighed.

“I thought you were alive last time I listened to your music?” Prince questioned.

“He committed suicide in 2017. Hung himself.”

“I can tell my own story, thanks kid.” Bennington huffed.

“You hung yourself? I know you’ve been through a lot, you lived a long life and I’m proud that you lived so long. I wish you could’ve lived your life to the fullest but I can understand how it feels to be degraded.” Prince frowned.

“I don’t think you understand on the exact same level.” Chester sighed as he walked into the room. “I actually came to ask you guys to quiet down and seemingly I was late to the party. I’ve trying to get myself together. I really am trying to get all my thoughts through okay?”

“What exactly do you mean?” A mysterious voice added from behind him.

A tall brunette with glasses stood in the doorway fixing the collar of his shirt with a hum.

“Don’t you look familiar? Well, two of you do.” he said.

“And who are you?” Tentacion said heading towards the man.

“I’m Ray, from the Doors. I wanted to see if anyone knew where Jim was? Do guys even know if he is here?”

“Jim Morrison? I thought I heard him downstairs a few days ago but I’m not too sure. I just woke up not long ago. I don’t actually remember being here, actually thought I would’ve ended up somewhere else.” Chester said rubbing his chin. “But I actually don’t know where here is.”

“This can’t be heaven.” Ray expressed.

“And why can’t it be? All can be forgiven at some points in their lives, and there are ways to be received by Jehovah.” Prince said as he gave a soft smile.

"You're telling me that a suicidal man and an abuser ended up in heaven?" Chester sneered. "I wouldn't believe that I had my "sins" taken away before I made that decision." "I don't really believe in a god anyway." Tentacion sighed. "I'm one of the last people I'd actually believe would end up here. And even if I was a Christian, I wouldn't be here by the time I had died. I didn't have time to be "forgiven" like most sinners." "Than where do you think we are? I doubt this is hell. Hell is whatever we fear most. It's are deepest pains being relived over and over again. I would probably be stuck enslaved forever by the industry. That's definitely my hell." "That's the "Bible's" version of it. Maybe this is what hell really is. A bunch of stars here living the rest of eternity out in an endless world." Ray uttered. They looked at Ray and laughed some. "But we're not suffering, we're happy. Well, I'm happy." Prince grinned. "I'm still upset about being murdered. I'm still upset about my child. I'm upset about my girl. And I'm upset about my career. I didn't live long enough to see everything." Tentacion hissed under his breath. Ray dug into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and put it to his mouth. "How old is he?" Tentacion looked up at him. "20." Ray shrugged. "Be lucky you got to live as long as you did. I died from cancer." "You lived longer than all of us, how could you just say these things?!" Tentacion exclaimed "I'm just thankful I was alive at some point at all. I'm not religious, I never was, but I did believe in living life to the fullest. I believed in making my life better and less stressful. I took a road I enjoyed and I ran the race to the end. Didn't matter what I did while I was on my way as long as I didn't cause as much trouble as Jim.” Ray chuckled. He took this time to pull a matchbook out his pocket and take one out. He struck it and gently lit his cigarette before blowing it out.

"That's how life is supposed to be lived, regardless of how it ends but not everyone could do that. We were lucky enough that we were able to." Chester added, crossing his arms and looked at Ray. The room got quiet as Tentacion took it all in. His breathing became heavy. "Can everyone get out of my damn room?"

The tension in the room grew and they could tell the young boy was furious. They were only slightly taken aback. Not like they wanted to be there much anyway, they just either wanted to find someone or get the loud wall hitting to stop. And it did a while ago, so maybe there was no need for them any longer. They all looked at him and than each other. He hung his head down not seeing Prince get off the bed though he felt the shift of the mattress underneath him. They walked off, one by one, not a word from their mouths as they left the room to head their separate directions. Chester went back to his room and shut the door, locking it and took the time to wash his face as he still tries to get himself together in thought. He's been dead a year and he still didn't believe it.

Ray left the room and started to check other doors looking for Jim. Door after door, knock after knock, there was either no answer or just the answer of someone didn't really recognize. Eventually a familiar voice answered him. "Yes?" Jim said from the other side of the door before walking up to it so he could hear better. "Jim, Morrison?" "That's me, may I ask who's calling?" Jim smirked cheekily from behind the door as he leaned against it, pressing his ear to it. And awaiting a response. "It's Ray you fuck-" "Ray? Hmm? I don't think I remember any Ray." He chuckled. "Open the door Jim." "Or what?" Ray sighed, his voice becoming slightly annoyed with the thought. He could tell by the way the leader sounded that he might have had one too many drinks, something that seemed impossible in the after life. "I will kick it down. Because I know too well you're intoxicated." "Yeah, you're right. I am... And?" "Open the door." Ray's voice became stern. The room became silence as he did not receive an answer back. After a while he heard the unlocking of a door followed by it opening. Jim stood there, his clothes only slightly messy and his eyes in a daze. Their eyes meant for a brief moment and Ray gave him a brotherly hug. "Ah Ray, welcome to this place of mine. Wait a minute... You're dead?" "Why else do you think I'm here?" "How long has it been?" Jim squinted and shook his head confusingly while he tried to clear his vision. "According to the guys in the other room, about 47 years." "Shit man." He placed his hand on his band mate's thigh and shook it. "You must've lived a long time and lived an extraordinary life huh?" "Yeah, I did. I had my fun." "So how'd you-?" "I died of cancer Jim." Jim's eyes widened as he looked over his partner, sympathy tugging at his slightly drowsy eyes. "Sorry to hear that. Thought all of you guys would have hit old age." "Being in your 70's when you die seems like a pretty well lived life. After all, you didn't even make it to 30 and I just met a boy who ain't make it to 27." "Damn, how old?" "20. Claimed to have been shot in the driver seat of his car." Jim's brows shrugged as he crossed his arms in thought. "What are you thinking about?" Jim didn't give a response because he wasn't paying attention, he actually didn't hear him. His mind was still foggy and cloudy from taking in so much alcohol. "Would you like a bottle?" "Fine, hand it over." Ray said ignoring the fact that he himself was just ignored. It didn't matter much to him whether or not he gained a response at the moment. It wasn't that important. Jim went over to the small bedside table and grabbed a can of beer. It was still cold, condensation dripping off of it and onto his hand as he hands it to Ray. "How'd you get these?" "There's some in the fridge downstairs." "They just have these stacked up in the fridge? Are there more left?" Jim shrugged. "I dunno." "Useless, like always." Ray laughed to himself as he popped open the can of beer and took a sip. He closed his eyes tight and coughed. "That's stronger than any shit I've had when I was alive." "That's because its absinthe. And seemingly heavenly absinthe as that."

“Strong. I love it. Now how about a card game like good old times?” Ray smiled patting Jim on the back.

As Prince left out the room he bumped into a woman. Her black hair was in small buns. She slightly blushed upon impact.

“I’m sorry-” she said shaking her head as she took a good look at the short man standing in front of her.

“Prince!?” she screamed.

“Aretha!?” he said as he embraced her, only to receive a hug back.

“Aretha? I’m surprised you’re here… how long has it been?”

“Two years.”

“Two? Seems like it's been longer than that.” Prince nodded. “Maybe we should catch up later, after I get finished writing a song.”

He started to walk past her and towards his room.

“A song? Do you need to write music up here while we're in heaven, while we're free? We shouldn't have to carry no more burdens.”

Prince laughed to himself as he entered the room.

“I never suffered making music. I suffered from being control and held back from everything I am.”

And with that he shut his door and went back to his bed and started strumming his guitar. Aretha continued on downstairs, thinking about what Prince told her for the rest of the day.

Taglist: @lennonwhipped @rogers-flowered-blazer @caviarandqueen @sweet-mother-love @peacelennon @caminc91

[flemmie]

Are You Ready?

I hope this is good. Those who follow my blog, betcha didn’t know I could write. tbh, I’m really proud that I wrote something this long, and with as much detail as I can, but at the same time I feel it’s not enough and I’m not fully happy with it. But hey, I wrote the best I could. After all, I’m only 14. I’m not a professional writer.

 This beautiful sander sides au belongs to @the-pastel-peach. 

This is about what happened before the animatic. Some phrases in here were inspired by The pastel Peach. !!Please do correct me for any mistakes, whether it be punctuation, grammar, spelling!! It’s quite long so get comfortable to read. Hope you enjoy. 

A knock at the large doors to the castle library. The King took his gaze up from a book to see a man with chestnut brown hair, with white, formal attire, red scarf draped over his shoulder and around his waist.

“Hello, Roman, what brings you here?” setting aside his book, placing his hands in his lap. Clearing his throat, and preening at the small kind “hello”, he stepped further into the library. The library was a place to bestow, although other rooms could easily override the library, it still seemed to be the Kings favorite place. Bookshelves as tall as you could possibly imagine, lined against walls and walls of the room, books you can read till your heart contents. The library has been here for generations and generations, books held by queens and kings, princes and princesses. Most covers seem worn down, but it gave them more specialty to them, made them all the more astonishing. Tables lined in the center as a seating area for those who wish to spend hours away here, just like one King.

“Your majesty” bowing and kneeling, hand on chest, in respect, and showing him a simple smile at his presence.

“Please, no need for my dearest friend to bow down” The King had said. Roman walked closer to him, taking a seat in the chair across from him.

“I just wanted to see what you’ve been up to, reading as usual” he placed his hands together on the table, running his thumb over his other hand, seeming has if he’s falling into his thoughts. “Thomas…” Roman spoke, with a sigh, not knowing whether he will get the answer he wanted or not by his king. He noticed Thomas had his crown set aside on the table. Roman never understood why he hardly wore that crown, Thomas would always take it off whenever he had a chance. It was something to be proud of Roman thought, if it were him, he’d where that crown with pride, possibly even in his sleep.

Roman and Thomas had been close friends for a long time; they’ve grown up together, and Roman had always looked at Thomas as if he was the luckiest person alive. To be a prince, and to grow to be a king. It’s something Roman dreamed of for years to come. He never failed to remind Thomas he was the luckiest person ever, but Thomas had always resented that idea. He never felt lucky, but he never entirely hated that he was to be a king. Thomas was willing to take that role for his people, he had always been the one to put his care aside for others, and if his people wanted him as king, so be it. As they grew, Roman slowly lost hope that he could ever be king or prince. He learned at a fairly young age that he had to have royal blood to be king or prince, or even marry a royal family member, but he never looked at Thomas that way.

The closet he could get was a royal knight, and as soon as he was at age, he trained and trained, and soon became Thomas’ loyal knight. He was happy for that, but still deep down inside, he yearned for that higher role. A king.

With a sigh, Roman spoke “I know I’ve asked you every possible way, but please...!” looking up, and giving Thomas his fullest eye contact. Thomas could see the plea in his eyes, he knew exactly what was to come out of Romans mouth next. “Was there any- anyway I could have been a prince, a king, if you truly never intended or gave a slight interest in being one, that I could have taken up the role before you had?”

Thomas sighed, feeling pity for his friend. All he could do was give the same answer, the true answer, the only answer he gave for years. “Roman, I’m sorry, but you know the rules. You have to have royal blood or marry into the castle. I know for sure, you do not want to marry someone you don’t truly love just for the royalty. I’m sorry, but there is no other way.” He leaned in, placing a comforting hand on Romans, in hopes to reassure him that he gives him his best wishes for it to be some easier way.

A knock had grabbed their attention. Turning to see who it had been, it was Logan, yet another one of their closets and dearest friends. They had met him on the day of Thomas’ correlation. He was introduced to Thomas as his royal advisor. They soon became close, and grew their friend group.

“Sorry to bother you, your majesty, but you’re needed greatly.” Logan pushed his glasses up, making sure he stood formally, hands placed behind back, making sure he showed his respects for the King. He had the same shade of hair as the others, but his was smoothed back, in his way of formal. Logan rarely kneeled down in the presence of Thomas, he had already understood Thomas’ wishes for him not to.

“Please, just call me Thomas, Logan. I’d appreciate it if you remember that as well as the kneeling thing. I’ll be right there” Logan nodded, waiting for Thomas. Standing up, and placing his crown back upon his head, he gave Roman a reassuring smile. Roman returned it, watching Thomas walk off to wherever it is his royal presence is needed.

Cursing himself, he placed his head in his hands, feeling this deep feeling of great sorrow and disappointment for receiving the same answer he had always heard. A long sigh flowed from his mouth, as he looked out the large, colored stained window, that viewed over the town.

“Could I ever be a good king to start with?”

-

A walk through the forest was a good idea Roman thought, and surely it was. He had come across this man, eyes as uneasy as a snake, scales that line half his face, and cynical grin. This man had promised to grant his deepest wishes, to be a king, a prince, a royal ruler. Roman was suspicious of this man, someone out of nowhere simply told him he can make his wish come true. But his suspicions were soon gone, as this was all his last bit of hope could hold onto. The yellow eyed man had given him a fairly large bouquet of the most astonishing, beautiful roses he had ever seen.

“Give each person you see a rose. Reign over you own kingdom, for they shall kneel down in your kindness, see you a promising king. After all, a king needs loyal civilians”

“A… a king?” Roman spoke, with disbelief, under a soft voice, falling into thought. Him a king, it was something hard to believe after what he had been told his whole life. But of course it was something easy to believe, start his own kingdom, how could he have never thought of that. He thanked the eerie man, ready to turn back to the town and hand out roses to those he believed would make good people for his kingdom. People really did love him for the gifts he gave, he was slightly surprised with how much roses he could handout, but was greatful.

He attempted to give one to Logan, and yet another one of his dearest friends, Patton, a rose. Patton was just a simple staff that worked in the castle, always there to brighten up things with his bubbly personality. He was always the perfect one to talk to about emotions, he knew how to handle them. He made someone smile even when they were deep, deep into their sorrows.

Logan simply declined, saying “I don’t need a simple trinket to know the admirable affection you have, as my friend, for me. I do appreciate the thought though.”

It was weird for Patton to decline a rose, normally he accepts any gift given to him, but he had stated “Oh, I’m sorry Roman, I don’t need a rose from you… because I already have seven vases full of flowers you gave me over the years! Sure they may dead, but that doesn’t mean I won’t still love them. And I sure as heck won’t stop loving you when you’ve died. And It’s just, I don’t really like roses, they hurt, you know?” with the usual chuckle he gave, he patted Roman on the back.

Weeks after he had given out the roses to whomever took one, the man had appeared again, in town. Roman was browsing the markets for foods, for his home. The man had a hood on, hiding as if he was a wanted man. He took Roman to a secluded place, and took out this rose flower crown from under his cape. It was a beautiful crown, Roman flushed at the thought of wearing something oh so beautiful.

“What is a king without a crown” He said, placing the flowers upon his head. Roman, yet again, thanked him for the flower crown, but before he could walk away, he fell to the ground in excruciating pain. Something was digging into his scalp, it burned, it stung, and couldn’t help but hold his head tight, howling in pain.

The scaled man began laughing in a cynical way, howling laughter with Romans screams. “I promised you a kingdom, I never said I’d Give you an entirely new one.”

Those were the last he heard of that man, he vanished. Those who had the roses, and ever pricked by the thornes through the weeks, soon acted in a zombie like daze. The flowers upon his head drained of the beauty they once held, now wilted and pitch black. Roman, soon calming down, no longer in pain, but a urge to dominate over this kingdom that already stood upon him. He stood to his feet turning to see the castle in the distance, with the coldest look, smirking, he began his journey towards it.

-

Bursting through the doors of the library, he had found who he was looking for, Thomas. He was standing, crossing his arms in worrisome, looking out the window at his people, wondering what was going on. A group of people walking towards the castle, banging on the entrance, fighting past guards. Thomas worried. Seeing the group of people building, he soon realized something was up. Quickly turning around to fetch the other guards, he stopped at the sight of Roman.

An evil glint in his eyes, sending shivers through Thomas. Walking up to the window, he gazed at the people Thomas was just looking at, humming in satisfaction.

“Roman, what is going on. Why aren’t you down there? People are gonna get hurt!” Thomas spoke.

“Hmm… is that so?” Roman spoke in a nonchalant tone, keeping his gaze through the window. Thomas stayed silent, wondering what could possibly be going through this mans head to seem so careless. Roman turned to Thomas, looking him up and down.

Thomas soon felt worry for his friend, he didn't look like himself once he got a closer look at him. “Roman-”

“Quiet!” His voice echoed, silencing Thomas immediately. “Come with me” he spoke more calmly.

“No, Roman, what the hell is going on with you. What is going on with my people. They need you! You need to be the guard you trained for” He stepped closer to Roman, daring to get in his face. Sighing, Roman pulled his sword out of the scabbard that was attached to his side. Pointing it forward, forcing Thomas to step back, the tip of the sword against his throat.

“I need to be the king I dreamed of, the king you denied me of, the king you could have easily given to me, because you never cared for it to start with. This will now be my kingdom, your majesty”  Cooing the last words in a mocking tone, followed by a smirk.

-

Virgil. He was just a simple messenger boy, but he was much more. He was the best friend of Logan, Patton, and possibly the love of Roman. Virgil was never the most upbeat person you’d meet, he could possibly bring down the moods of those who were happy at first with what would spill from his mouth. He was never one to strike up conversation. But as a kid, he had found those who saw he was more than just a walking ball of anxiety. They were willing to look deeper. He was thankful for the friends he had made, even if he wasn’t the one who spoke first.

He was heading towards the castle, doing his job, when he noticed people walking strangely in groups up to the castle. Workers simply dropping what they had in hand, mothers leaving their children, lovers hand in hand, etc. They all began their march for the Castle. Strange, he thought.

He tried not to think much of it, and leave it to the guards, he just wanted to continue his job and get paid. That’s all he cared for. He never really took it upon himself to care for others issues. (besides his dearest friends) He was soon stopped when he saw Logan striding towards him in the distance on a horse. “Logan?” Virgil spoke, voice practically cracking because it was the first word he spoke of that day. Again, he was never the social one.

“Virgil, thank goodness I found you as soon as I can. I figured you’d be on your job, delivering messages to the castle” (I don’t know what entirely a message boy in medieval times did, so I’m writing what I think they did) The horse seemed a bit frightened at what was going on, more and more people headed towards the castle. Logan was calming the horse, as she trotted and neighed trying to run elsewhere. He patted her and shushed her in a calming voice.

“What’s going on? Why did you need to see me? And also, why are there people fleeing the town, and some herding towards the castle?” the questions that filled his head but refused to spill, soon came spilling out.

“Hop on, I’ll explain the whole predicament when we get to our destination” reaching his hand out, Virgil took it, climbing on the horse behind him. “Hold on” Logan said, and he did so, wrapping his arms around Logan’s waist. Virgil rarely rode horses, he knew how, but he was never keen for the idea. He still never got used to the bumpy ride they gave.

What the hell is going on here? Is something that serious happening? Virgil thought. As they rode to wherever Logan was taking them too, he noticed those fleeing, they were running, pushing one another, trampling over the unlucky ones, leaving them probably broken and bruised on the ground. Virgil felt a wave of pity for them, he almost wanted to hop off the horse and help those who were hurt by the madness that ensued.

Taking his gaze from the poor people, he noticed the sun was setting, night began to fall. The cold breeze sent shivers down his spin, knowing well something wasn’t right. He noticed the red scarf on the horse, between him and Logan, now realizing who’s horse this was. Roman’s. He grabbed it, filling with dread. Where was Roman, Virgil thought. His chest pained at the thought of what could possibly be happening to him. The breeze brushing through his hair, as Logan kept this focused and serious gaze.

-

It really was a large kingdom, it felt like they had been traveling for ages only to just find themselves at the outside of the kingdom entrance. People were gathered here, and as people who flee’d made their welcome. Others were calming the new comers, explaining what's happening. Virgil couldn’t help but overhear a woman tell her husband, who just made it with the kids “-did you hear? King Thomas had been kidnapped-”.

Virgil quickly turned to Logan, they were climbing off the horse. “Thomas was kidnapped?!” Virgil exclaimed, in shock, almost in anger. Logan turned to him, keeping a serious gaze.

“Yes, Virgil, he was kidnapped-” he cut him short

“Then where are the guards! They should be saving him!- Roman! He’s rescuing him right?!” Virgil couldn’t help but overthink things, what if Roman couldn’t, who’s attacking that’s so bad? What is happening! Roman. He had to save the day, he was the highest ranking guard there was. Virgil felt this dreaded gut feeling as if something happened to Roman. They had their best friend group, but Virgil was closet he could ever be to Roman, something about the boy who dreamed to be royal always caught his attention. How he’d dream the biggest of them all, how he had such passion for things, and how he never gave up hope. Virgil always loved that about him. Unlike Roman, Virgil always wanted to give up. If he couldn’t get it right, he was just gonna give up, but Roman was always there to change his mind, tell him to never give up, because the biggest mistake he could make in life is giving up to early.

Virgil remembers one moment, when Roman was still in training for a guard, Roman had taught him some of the tricks he had learned in training. He was full of pride, excitement, and confidence, and Virgil’s heart fluttered to see him so happy.

Virgil was soon brought from his thoughts when Patton ran up to him, and engulfed him in a hug. “Virgil! Thank god you’re okay. Just stay calm, everything's gonna be fine!” They held each other's gaze, calmness in Patton’s, worry in Virgil’s. Patton soon let him go. Virgil almost yearned for that comfort again, but put it aside.

Patton was always one to try and stay calm in situations as bad as this, he was always there for his friends when they find themselves lost. On days where Virgil was so upset, so sad, Patton was always there to pick him back up, help him walk his path again. Never did Patton let any of his friends lose their feeting. “Guys, explain to me, what’s going on?” Virgil spoke, calmed a bit.

“Roman… Roman has turned against us” Patton spoke.

“He’s holding Thomas hostage, forming an army. I tried to get some guards to go check on Thomas when I couldn’t find him in his usual area’s, I even tried to find him. But all the guards were busy trying to hold the people attempting to break into the castle, and cause more havoc than needed”

Virgil's heart sank. Why was he doing this? The Roman I know would never cause such chaos, sure Roman can get head over his heels, but he always made time for others, cared for others, Virgil thought. He turned back to the town, looking at the mess that was going on, wondering how this could have all been caused by Roman, so much passion he had seemed to have become obsession. “What happened to him? Why is he doing this?” He asked his two friends.

“We have no idea, Virge, were hoping the guards can get a hold of this. We evacuated out here in hopes to stay safe” You could almost hear the hopelessness in Patton’s voice, but he quickly covered it up.

“How long has everyone been here?” Virgil asked.

“For quite some time, Virgil” Logan answered, looking back at all the people with some pity. Children cling to their parents in spite of fear, others looking around for their family they lost, some even isolated from the group, mumbling a string of worries and prays.

“We need to fight back…” Virgil mumbled, thinking, eyeing all the people. He knew exactly what they can do.

“What?” Patton peaked his curiosity, not helping the slight smile from what he thought he heard.

“We need to fight back” He spoke louder, “we need to bring our friend back, h-he must have been corrupted or something. Do you really think Roman would do this out of nowhere?” Logan and Patton shared glances, agreeing.

“Then, we should prepare” Logan suggested.

“We should make our own army!” Patton gleamed with triumph.

“Yes, but we need to teach them how to weild a weapon, the proper dynamics on how they can strike an enemy…” Logan trailed off, on ways how to show their supposed new army.

“Logan, we don’t really have time for that” Virgil spoke, bringing him out of his thoughts, “We need to prepare now. Bring Roman back. Save. Thomas.”

He nodded, thus, began their preparations, for the rescue of their friends.

“Are You Ready?” Virgil smiled triumphantly, ready to prepare for the fight for their friends, and bring back the one he loved.

Animatic

[bipolar2homeostasis]

Weird shit

S Aries

M Leo

R Cancer

Gemini, Virgo, and Aquarius are also the other moderately compatible moon signs with Cancer. On the off chance, if a Cancer ascendant wants, he or she can make things work between them in case the partner belongs to the above-mentioned moon signs. Keeping your partner on the equal level as you and having a mutual understanding for almost everything with a genuine feeling of respect for your partner’s opinions and decisions will take a Cancer’s relationship a long-long way.

According to the Vedic Astrology, Leo ascendants (zodiac sign) are known to be a fancifully romantic moon sign. They are highly passionate as lovers and consider themselves as solo in-charge of love similar to the Lion or Lioness of the Jungle and hence would not settle for anything less than a Lioness or Lion. Their level of is grand just like everything else in their life. Aries, Virgo, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aquarius, and Pisces are the perfect partners for a Leo.

Taurus, Gemini, Libra, and Capricorn also can be considered as a moderate match for Leo unless Leo wants to make it grand just by putting in a bit of effort and patience. Leo needs to stop taking their partner for granted and start respecting their decisions and opinions with a load of mutual understanding that acts as a base for their relationship to bloom

Being in a committed relationship with a Virgo ascendant (zodiac sign), it means that you are two of two things in your life forever: stability and security. Virgo native has a very simple and sincere approach to their relationship and their partners. Though you may feel extremely secure and stable with your Virgo partner but still do not expect them to woo you off the ground as this is one art that the Virgo as a lover or partner is not good at. He or she is more of a family-oriented person and extremely proud of their family lineage and ancestral history. For the Virgo ascendant (zodiac sign), Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn, and Pisces are considered as the ideal match.

Aries, Scorpio, and Sagittarius are the other signs that have moderate love compatibility with the Virgo sign. Though, he or she can improve the compatibility level simply by learning how to listen to their partner’s problems and opinions patiently and without apprehensions against her or him.

Libra enjoys life to the fullest and is known to be extremely passionate and incurable as lovers. Known to be seductively charming and attractive, Libra ascendant (zodiac sign) seeks harmony emotional peace and balance in their relationship. They love to get involved in cheesy emotional or sentimental romance. Charming as they are, they are also known as the master of the art of love-making. It is advised to the partners of the Libra to be patient as they believe in fulfilling their romantic fantasies to the fullest. Aries, Cancer, Gemini, Virgo, Scorpio, and Aquarius are the idea lovers for a Libra.

Leo, Sagittarius, and Pisces share moderate love compatibility with Libra. If Libra wants things to work, he or she will make efforts such as respecting personal boundaries and having a mutual understanding with his or her love partner.

[chrisfranklinchow]

contested territories: the problem with memories

cw: death mention (daddy issues? hitting of children?)

when i was going through my historiographical methods course, one method that stuck out to me was the use of oral history. while often a compelling way to convey personal and community-based histories, it also has its controversies and challenges. one such challenge is the reliability of one's memory.

recently, both my sisters have chided me for jokingly telling them that my late father was a "bad father". they told me that my words are hurtful and can soil their memory of him. interesting response, but of course i put my head down because i love my dad and i miss him dearly.

was my dad a bad dad? what is a bad dad? does each child have their own limits on what a bad dad is? let us delve into some memories shall we?

one of my fondest and funniest memories that i can remember is in the last few months of his life, me running home excitedly after finding out i aced my chinese national exams and letting him know how happy i was. and how he laid in bed and smiled and laughed through his excruciating pain. teasing me and saying was it an imposter who took the test, his second daughter who has developed an accent and hesitancy when it came to her mother tongue. however, praising me and telling me how proud he was of me. he told me that even though he might be gone when my actual o levels rolled about, at least i have one 'a' under my belt. he told me that i should live my life to the fullest. he told me he loved me.

but my younger sister recently shared one of her fondest memories with my father. my younger sister was obsessed with glee but she was also considered to be "less intelligent" and had many remedial classes after school to help her improve her grades. apparently, one day, my dad calls her teacher-in-charge to tell them that my younger sister would not be attending remedial classes for a day due to some family matters. turns out, he accompanied my younger sister to watch the glee movie.

one thing i have to note is that my younger sister is the apple of my father's eye. and anyone who treated her 'badly' (in his eyes), was subject to punishment.

and that's where i reveal that i was often seen as an antagonist to my younger sister while we were growing up. as someone who grew up being told that i should stand my ground, i sure was punished a lot when i stood my ground against my younger sister!

i don't have many memories of my childhood but i will never forget when my younger sister decided that she wanted one of my belongings and laid claim to it. and when i retaliated, i was marched into a room behind closed doors, and dealt a harsh slap to my cheek. i was told that i should give in to my younger sister because she has it very hard in life since she's hard of hearing.

my siblings and i to this day still agree that our mom dealt harsher punishments and was stricter on us. but i cannot forget the times when i was slapped or caned or asked to choose the belt in which i were to be hit with by my dad. i don't remember the reasons for the punishment, but i remember the screaming and crying and begging of the punishment to end.

so based on my memory, which is apparently empirical evidence, does that make my dad a bad person? am i allowed to sort of 'defame' him in his death? should i only remember the good and not the bad?

i highly, highly respected my father. he truly did so much to ensure that i lived my best life growing up. but i think i was always scared of him because he never showed weakness, and he only showed weakness at the end of his life; and that's the man i remembered the most because he spent so much time at home.

i don't think my negative memories of him negate the many more positive memories i had with him. but i do think that my sisters not allowing me to voice out that "hey, maybe papa wasn't a perfect father", is very strange because they've enshrined him and anyone who talks bad about him, gets punished.

and isn't that reminiscent of how my dad punished me for standing up for myself all those years ago?

[lyralumina]

UM YES IS THAT EVEN A QUESTION???

It was a lovely Tuesday morning in Domino City. The skies overhead hung with patches of white fluffy clouds and the sun that hung above welcomed everyone with its warmth. The birds chirped happily and everything today was just picture perfect.Despite it being a weekday, the kids nation wide were off from school today as it was a holiday for them so paents with children woke up to their kids still sleeping in and not having to wake up at their usual early time to head off to school. Parents did not have to wake up to make them breakfast or pack them school lunch or even rush off to go to work as today for them was also a holiday. Today was carefree to everyone and to many parents; this was rather odd to them. They have adapted themselves to being busy working machines that days off like this were something they could not handle anymore. They had to do something or else the day would simply go to waste.For Yugi Muto and Ryou Bakura, today was rather odd but not too odd. The two families decided to spend some time together as it has been rather a long time since they have seen each other, having children and work was another factor that  made them hardly have time to see each other. They took the opportunity of this day to meet up but the children made it rather difficult. The little one of the Muto household refused to wake up at a reasonable time and when his father yelled from outside his door to get up he moaned and groaned ‘ screamed at the top of his lungs ‘No.’ or ‘Five more minutes.’ Yugi then waited five more minutes. Five more minutes soon passed and he then walked up to his sons door and asked him again if he could please wake up, which prompted the little one to whine even louder than before ‘No!’ and fussed the entire morning. The promise of food was the ticket to getting the little one up and out of his room and when Yugi chimed in at his son that they will go out and get breakfast today, the little one just jumped out of bed and zoomed out of his room to go and get ready to head out. The promise of food worked. The little one of the Bakura household was not as troublesome as the little one of the Muto household. He was just a bit still tired from staying up late with his father watching a movie. The Prince Of Egypt the young one chose to watch with his father. The movie was wonderful and they enjoyed it despite there being a few scenes the little one would cling to his father just a tad frightened but the two soon after the movie was done fell asleep on the couch together with a cheap old blanket and a few pillows and woke up very surprised that the TV was still on in its main menu select screen and that their instincts made them wake up at seven AM. Four hours of sleep was enough for the both of them but my god did the little one want more sleep. Their morning was them preening themselves up and cleaning up the living room as they left it a mess. A bowl of spilled buttered flavor popcorn laid on the floor, the TV of course was still on, one of the pillows was on the floor and cups of watered down fizzy soda were still on the coffee table in front of them. Ryou did most of the cleaning as the pet Kenyan Sand Boa kept the little one from doing an ounce of work. Yugi as soon as his son was sitting in the living room with his grand father as they talked about Duel Monsters called both his boss Seto Kaiba and Ryou Bakura. Seto for the sole fact that if he could not bother him too much today as he would be hanging out with Ryou. The reply he got was on a good note. Seto barely hearable from what it sounded to be thousands of kids around him told him that he will do his best to try not to bother him but he could not promise such a thing. Today was rather busy over at Kaiba Land as the kids roamed rampant since being off from school and that prices today were slashed in half and to make matters better, Anzu and her children were with him as it was that time of the month that Kaiba Land’s Castle would be having a special event. Seto was with him to act as his Queen of the Castle to take photos with the children or possibly duel, they brought their respective decks along just in case if they were to duel under any circumstance. Their own little ones were free to roam the park and do whatever they pleased but under the supervision of Mokuba and Roland. Their kids got to escape any long lines with their special passes.Seto left with the fact that Anzu will be doing some official Kaiba Corporation work for them for the next month. She will be doing advertisements and other media work for them. She is garnering world wide attention for her side profession being dueling, being a world famous professional ballet dancer was also another reason she was gathering attention so with that, Anzu under her dueling alias ‘Graceful Odette’ will be doing commercials to get young girls and women into Duel Monsters. Anzu herself is also scheduled to tag team duel with Mai Valentine by her side against, you guessed it; Seto and Yugi. That was scheduled till the end of the month and it was on a Friday night so the kids were going to be there and would be dragging their parents to see them duel. Yugi surprised by Anzu being at Kaiba Corporation to do some work for them suddenly beamed with joy as ‘Wow, Anzu sure is amazing.’ She is living her life to the fullest. He was so proud of her. A lot of people were proud of her.Ryou for the sole fact if he and his son were ready to go get some breakfast as that would be something fun to do and then they could spend the rest of the day together. Ryou picked up and told Yugi that  they would be happy to go and get some breakfast as that sounded just lovely but they were not ready just yet, Ryou just had to make sure that his son properly placed their pet back in its cage and gave it the proper care it needed for the rest of the day but Ryou told Yugi that he could start walking to their place. He apologized for the inconvenience.“Nonsense Ryou its okay, Ill start walking as soon as possible with the little one. We will meet you guys there.”“Thank you so much Yugi. Oh dear! I must go now, the little one is starting to get fussy with the snake.” “It’s fine do your thing.” The call ended, Ryou had hung up the call.  Yugi sighed with a smile as he placed the home phone back in its proper place but as soon as he did his son from all the way in the living room yelled for his father. “Dad! I’m hungry! Where’s breakfast?” Jaden whined, Dramatically crossing his arms and slumping on the couch. He pouted soon afterwards. Yugi then heard his grandpa reply back to Jaden as Yugi was scrambling to find the house keys and other personal belongings he needed, “Now now Jaden, if you want I can cook you up something.” Jaden then beamed at his great grandfather, He quickly unfolded his arms and threw them up in the air very dramatically and very enthusiastically. “Yeah! I love your cooking grandpops!” he giggled soon after exclaiming his joy, he could just picture the tamagoyaki and mini sausage octopuses that would surely be in front of him as well as some soup and a hot mountain of steamed fluffy white rice. It almost made the young boy drool.“That wont be necessary Grandpa.” Yugi who was all preened up and ready to go with his mini black leather satchel and with his official Kaiba Corporation ear set on waltzed in on them, he came in adjusting the ear set, turning it on just in case Kaiba had his ear set on at the moment and needed to speak with him and or if needed something from Yugi because you know, Smart phones were out of season for Kaiba so it seemed. Whatever, Yugi will surely text Kaiba that he has his ear set turned on and that if he needs him he could report to him from the ear set, if he did not have it on him then he can simply text him. Yugi knows that Kaiba is still a young one deep inside and cannot live without his Smart phone but instead of constantly checking social media, it was constantly checking important phone calls that could only be answered from his smart phone or how the stock market was doing, you know; adult things.Yugi walked over to Jaden and lifted up Jaden into his arms from off the couch, Jaden very confused as to what was going on clung to his father tightly, his cinnamon brown eyes locking on to his fathers amethyst eyes. Yugi then using his free hand brought it to his sons head and ruffled his hair just a tad, he knows he spent quite a while brushing it.“I am so sorry to keep you waiting Jaden, We will go get breakfast now.” Muttered Yugi to Jaden. Jaden’s eyes twinkled and he nodded at his father. Yugi looked back at his grandpa and told him that they will be off to go get some breakfast and they wont be back till much later. His grandfather gave them the okay. As soon as Jaden heard that his father said they’re going to be gone from home for a while literally jumped off of Yugi’s arms, prompting Yugi gasp in shock; “Jaden!” Jaden ran to his room and slammed his door, leaving Yugi to catch his breath and to calm his racing heart down. Heck even Grandpa Muto was rather shocked at the little ones sudden action. A couple seconds later Jaden closed his door from his room and rushed up to his father sporting his tiny Duel Monsters inspired backpack. Yugi who stood in the same place looked down at his son grinning up at him chuckled to himself. There’s a few things his son cannot be without for even one second so it seems. Quickly bending down on his knees to scoop up his son in his arms and having a good grip on him this time so he wont go jumping out of his arms, Yugi then spared no time leaving the house but did say bye to his grandpa. “Bye pops!” shouted Jaden with a big ole smile plastered on his face.Yugi then practically shut the door shut just the same way his son did so with his room door. As Yugi and Jaden walked up the street to meet up with the Bakura’s, Yugi engaged in a short but sweet conversation with his son still in his arms. Jaden was fiddling with the ear set Yugi had on, tapping the huge glowing magenta bulb. He was always curious to know how that thing works, too bad his father would never let him get his hands on it. “So Jaden do tell me, What did you pack in that backpack of yours?” Yugi asked softly, not looking down at his son as he needed to keep his eyes on the street to ensure both their safety. Jaden who was still distracted with the ear set responded back to his father. “Oh! I packed my Game Boy Color, My Duel Monsters coloring book and a pack of crayons, My duel monsters deck and my Elemental Hero action figure!” Beamed the child in his fathers arms, suddenly looking up at his father, smiling widely. “Your duel monsters deck huh? I’m surprised that you picked up that habit of taking your deck everywhere from me.” Yugi laughed as he too had his deck in his satchel, not just one deck though, He had two decks on him. His main deck containing his famous deck masters like the Dark Magician, Celtic Guardian, and of course his sons favorite Kuriboh but the second deck was a work in progress. It is a Dragon deck that he and Kaiba have been structuring together for fun but it was not as powerful as Kaiba’s own Dragon deck. His Blue Eyes White Dragons were going to be tough to beat with this Dragon Deck but Yugi had secretly placed in a few other Dragons in there that Kaiba has no idea of. One of them he will surely give him a raised eyebrow. Yugi just imagining Seto give him that look made him snort to himself. Oh when he takes a gander at his dragons lustrous red eyes.Yugi and Jaden continued to talk to each other as they walked as soon as they got to where they needed to be. A couple of minutes of walking later the Muto family made it to Ryou’s place and they were greeted with the family of two patiently waiting for them outside their home. “Ah! Yugi!” Ryou shouted and waved his right arm up in the air to grab Yugi’s attention as he could see them just up ahead. Yugi heard his name be shouted and from the sound of the persons voice,He knew who it was. Yugi smiled at Ryou and stopped walking to set his son down from his arms, he had carried him all the way from home and his arms were starting to ache from holding him, he was starting to become a big boy. Carrying him in his arms was going to be a thing of the past soon.His son then held onto his hand as they walked together to reach up to Ryou and his son. A few steps later and Yugi was just inches away from Ryou. “Yugi! I’m so happy to see you its been such a long time!” Ryou said delightfully, hugging Yugi and patting his back. Yugi laughed as he hugged the young man with powdered snow hair. Yugi closed his eyes and embraced the hug. Jaden had let go of his fathers hand and ran up to the little one of the Bakura family; Johan. Johan was reading a small chapter book about flowers that truly fascinated him when he went to the school library with the rest of his English class. The cover had this amazing photo of a huge American Bumble Bee on a huge sun flower covered with pollen and so he checked out the book faster than the blink of an eye. He was the first to check out a book that day and spent the rest of the school day that day reading the book about the conservation of both flowers and bees and how both flowers and bees go hand in hand, how their relationship is beneficial to the planet. Truly remarkable. Johan noticed Jaden run up to him to greet him. He used his long book mark to mark where he left off and closed the book, placing it into his tiny Duel Monsters inspired backpack. He packed a few other items he found essential to him as well in his backpack.“Hello Jaden.” Johan said as he zipped up his backpack then proceeding to put the backpack on his back, adjusting the straps as well. Jaden gave Johan a big hug. Johan caught the young boy and returned the hug, holding the boy as he jumped up and down. He was very happy to see him and Johan was too but the boy was so famished at the moment, he wanted some food. “So. Are you ready to go and get some breakfast?” Chimed Yugi as he had finished hugging Ryou and Ryou was ready to book it to get some food. “Finally! I’m so hungry I could eat a Kuriboh!” Jaden dramatically yelled. Yugi blinked a few times to process what his son said, he then looked to Ryou who also was surprised at what the young boy had just exclaimed. A few seconds later Ryou snorted and both young fathers were laughing hysterically. Tears of laughter formed around Ryou’s eyes, thank goodness he wasn’t wearing eyeliner. Jaden and Johan looked at each other in confusion as their fathers laughed up a storm. It wasn’t even that funny. They came to the conclusion that old jokes like that are just meant for old people like them. Yugi settled his laughter down and thankfully he didn’t cry in laughter. He would have ruined his eyeliner and the rest of his makeup he spent a good amount of time applying. Foundation, Concealer, Contour, Highlighter, all that other sweet jazz. “Oh Jaden you wouldn’t want to eat him. Trust me he wouldn’t like that very much.” Yugi could already hear the inner and spiritual whimpers of fear from the Kuriboh in his own main deck. Poor thing. “But I know well enough that it was just a figure of speech.” Yugi lastly added. Just then out of the blue Johan’s stomach growled loudly, silencing out everyone. Ryou turned to look at his son, his tawny hues dancing in empathy, he too was hungry. Johan quickly covered his stomach, his face flushed crimson and he was super embarrassed at what just happened. “Dad… can we go eat now?” Asked Johan shyly. Ryou nodded at his son and whipped his head back to look at Yugi. “Lets go now, the kids need food.” Yugi agreed. “As so do we.” Yugi added. Ryou then extended his hand to Johan and Johan quickly took hold of his hand. Finally! food was just around the corner. Yugi did the same with his son and followed the Bakura’s to the western styled diner right around the corner from the Bakura’s house. How convenient to have a cool American diner so accessible like that. Cafes and fast food were all that Yugi had close to home besides the always convenient 7-11, Those were literally everywhere, you couldn’t miss them. To think, The hamburgers,The chili cheese fries, The onion rings and milkshakes. Holy Ra did that all sound so wonderful to just eat up but it was only eleven AM, the diner would only be serving breakfast till the clock hit twelve, maybe if they stalled just a few minutes longer they could get there in time for lunch time so the diner then switches it’s menus but really aside from absolutely loving burgers to death; Yugi could really go for a stack of western styled pancakes and hash browns with some scrambled eggs and bacon, A nice hot cup of black coffee with two creamers and two packets of sugar too as he needed the caffeine as a ‘pick me up’. Kaiba was going to be on his ass tomorrow surely as one day off was like missing one day of high school, only much worse. You know how missing one day of high school literally feels like you missed three tests that you must now retake, homework for just one single day piles high, and apparently there was a good round of gossip going around that then prompted in a school fight in the quad. Imagine that but instead of tests it’s deals with other Corporations, homework being stacks of files and paperwork to go through as tall as the Statue of Liberty in New York, The United States of America and the gossip turning into a brawl is just the boss screaming at his or her workers to get back to work or else they were fired.As the bright sky that hung above them with the sun now enveloping its human children with all the love and warmth she could possibly give, Yugi smiled to himself knowing that today was going to be a good day. He was so sure of it.

[i-am-your-demon]

People can be cruel

As most of you know, I play the deadbeat poet punk AuRa with wild green dreadlocks in Final Fantasy 14. A lot of you know I suffer from LGS, a rare and extremely severe form of epilepsy. I take 14 prescriptions a day. 8 for my epilepsy. I have a VNS implant. A VNS implant is a battery in your clavicle, which sends electrical signals to your brain every 5 minutes. It changes your voice forever, but in my experience, so far it has been worth it.

What a lot of you don't know is that the rest of my medications literally give me the will and desire to survive. I was diagnosed with Borderline personality disorder in February, after an event which landed me in a psychiatric ward for 2 months. I'm not proud. I'm not glorifying anything. I want to explain how eye opening that experience was. I made a lot of friends with people who go through so much every day. One legged people, one eyed people, a man with a colostomy bag, a man who literally found out he has a hole in his heart while we were in there. But my absolute favorite person, who has become one of my very best friends, was a homeless man who had been disowned by his family. Every day he drank 4 cups of coffee for each meal. He used to go bat shit crazy when people didn't close his door (for good reason, it was always annoying.) He has paranoid schizophrenia, but always accepted me through thick and thin. He was there for multiple seizures. He was there to calm me down after every anxiety attack, to talk me out of my crazy ideas. He's honestly one of the most down to earth, beautiful souls I have ever met. He taught me a lot about my own life. He taught me to respect myself. He taught me that I am worthwhile. That I'm someone who can achieve anything.

Since my two months in hospital, I have continued to stay in contact with him, even though he's 2 hours away. I have only missed one day of work, and have moved into my own home. I'm damn proud of myself.

But society still holds massive stigmas over neurological and mental illness. Yes, my moods change every hour. Yes, I may feel too anxious to participate in activities, including Ffxiv. I hate bailing on people, and feel terrible for doing so. I have had to miss a lot of wonderful events due to my health. Society expects people to work 40 hours, then hold down a home. I'm doing that myself now. Every single day I open my eyes is a difficult day. Every breath is hard labor. Yet I'm proud to say I've survived. People often don't survive with borderline personality disorder, because they are misunderstood. It's one of the hardest mental illnesses to treat, because it's often loaded on people in conjunction with multiple other mental illnesses. For example, I have depression, PTSD,OCPD,Dissociative disorder, anxiety. Yet no matter what, I force myself to strive to survive.

People don't understand BPD. It's not like cancer, but its effects can be devastating. Simple little things said to a person with BPD can drive them over the edge. There's an imbalance of cortisol in the brains of BPD sufferers, and so areas of our brains are literally corroding. We react to things in a much more emotional way than the average person. Take the emotions of a normal person, times it by 100, and you may have a close estimate as to how a person with BPD feels. We fear everything. Rejection, abandonment, loss,failure. Everything. People don't understand how much they hurt us with what they do and say.

I'm currently feeling deeply upset about FFXIV, and my experiences on Balmung. Several times I have been reprimanded for not being able to attend events, or having to cancel at the last minute because my mind literally cannot handle people. I've been reprimanded for spending 2 months in hospital, rather than playing FFXIV. I've been disrespected because of my inability to follow through with every single thing. I can't always follow through because of my health. I've been disrespected for being too honest. I've been treated like crap because of the character I play in FFXIV. I don't play Mary Sue. Sorry. My character is a deadbeat with multiple flaws, who doesn't belong in the high class society. I've been denied RP because I'm not playing the "right" type of character. I've been shot down and found myself being replaced because of my inability to play 100% of the time.

So what am I saying? Even in online games, you have ignorant people who refuse to accept people for the way they are. People who claim to be open minded, but refuse to RP with you because you're not a perfectly prim and proper character. People who breed intolerance, when they claim to accept anyone. People who ditch you if you can't make one day of RP, one event.

Yes, I do cancel a lot of events when I feel like shit, but I fucking rock at being me. I kick ass at surviving. I am great at working hard and maintaining my home. If I can't play because of life, something that "always comes first", yet gets in the way of gaming and causes rifts, so fucking be it. I'd rather strive to live my life to the fullest, than try to be the perfect roleplayer, the perfect Eorzean citizen. If people don't like it, they can kiss my fucking ass. I have always been open minded, always respected people for who they are, but if I do not get the same respect back, those people aren't worth my time.

I may lose all of my FFXIV friends for saying all of this, but right now, I don't give a flying fuck.

Peace out ignorant, closed minded shit heads. I know who my real friends are.

[non-tintedglasses]

1st lesson of 2018: It’s (Clout over Basic Decency) Everyday, Bro

CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF SUICIDE, DEATH & MENTAL HEALTH

For those who have no idea about who this generic American high school jock-looking guy is, the guy above is Logan Paul, an American Youtuber and “actor” notorious for having a obnoxious personality, an even more annoying brother and an equally brainwashed “Logang” consisting of children and pre-teens.

On the 31st December 2017, he uploaded a vlog where him and his friends went to the Aokigahara forest of Japan (also known as the Suicide Forest)  and filmed their “spooky adventure”. During this 15 minute vlog, he stumbles upon a dead body hanging from a tree, films it up close, focusing on certain bits of the corpse & make jokes on it, and uploads it to YouTube for millions of underaged fans to see. In other words, he had no consideration for the culture & laws of the country he was visiting, nor for those who could potentially have flashbacks or suicidal thoughts from this video, and certainly not even for the dead.  As expected, this has garnered a ton of backlash from Japanese & non Japanese people alike, especially those from the YouTube & mental health community and suicide/self-harm survivors or those who have lost someone to suicide. This lead to Paul issuing two apologies on Twitter and YouTube, which seemed incredibly insincere to many. After all, if you have to issue a second apology because you mentioned how you get views & film for 460+ days more than the word “Sorry” and end it with “Peace ✌️ #logang4life”, you bet no-one is going to take your second one that seriously. 

However, what was more harrowing than his actions, were his fanbase that were defending those actions. I can’t blame them, they’re children & they don’t know better. However, despite the fact that their idol told them specifically in his second apology not to defend his actions, they completely ignore that very statement & go on to post many bizarre reasons as to why people should “just let it go” and why they shall forever stan Logan. They even go on to spread xenophobic hate on people who criticise him (case in example, Reina Scully).  Some examples of things I’ve seen in this video is “He’s human like the rest of us. Everybody makes mistakes”, “Can we stop all of the hate, it’s a new year!!”, “It’s not like he killed someone” and even someone saying “That dead body should be lucky that he appeared in Logan Paul’s video” Little do they know, they are completely belittling the fact that a person, who seemed like he was stuck in his completely dark and abysmal mind, took his life, and how his loved ones now have to deal with the repercussions of bereavement and loss; and that another person saw that as an opportunity for exploitation & a joke. They make death seem like a joke, just like their idol did. Which is why I have a few points to address:

Dear #Logang or Logangsters or whatever the hell you’re called,

I understand personally what it’s like to be infatuated with a celebrity. I get a certain light, happy feeling whenever I see my favourite celebrity & I think to myself “Yeah, this person is literally gold!” You also probably get this feeling on a frequent basis whenever you see Logan. I also understand that being part of a fandom makes you feel a sense of belonging & unity. But ask yourselves this. What drew you to this guy? Why do you enjoy his videos?

Is it because he’s attractive? (which in that case, they’re plenty more fish in the sea) Is it because he’s a “maverick” and “living life to the fullest”? Is it because he “appreciates” his fans and the people around him?

The reason why I ask you this is because I really want you to consider his actions. See, whenever you are obsessed with a celebrity, it’s easy to throw moral compass out of the window; it’s easy to forget what’s right and what’s wrong. However, you cannot deny the fact that it is common sense to not film a dead body and to make jokes about it, irrespective of what your coping mechanism is. Even if you have a tiny lapse of judgement, people would have the sensibility not to edit that footage and upload it with a clickbait title for your cult of 15 million children to see. It’s also common sense to not run around a foreign country, disturb its people and nature & treat it as if it’s your playground. I cannot, for the life of me, understand how you find disrespect funny? As far as “living life” is concerned, I’m pretty happy sitting down and leading a calm “boring” life rather than be an obnoxious inconvenience to those surrounding me.

“But.. he’s human?? Haven’t we all done mistakes?” Let me educate you on what a mistake is. It’s stepping on the back on someone’s shoe whilst walking (I should know about that). It’s occasionally forgetting the odd birthday. It’s accidentally spilling something; in other words, something small & occasionally forgiven. However, being disrespected, even after your death, is something the majority of people can’t tolerate. On top of that, he’s a 22 year old, fully developed adult who has the ability to differentiate right from wrong; He isn’t a kid who needs people to constantly educate him on social etiquette and sensibility. He saw an insensitive bait for views, he took it, he screwed up, and now he needs to be held accountable. 

“He just wanted to raise awareness about suicide. Doesn’t that make him good?” This video had the same impact as “13 Reasons Why”. The complete opposite.                                                                                          There are several other ways to raise awareness about suicide, other than going all the way to a suicide forest to exploit someone’s death for views; Sitting down & thoroughly explaining why mental health should be a top priority, explaining the effects of going through suicidal thoughts, self-harm & mental illnesses, and providing resources & helplines to help those who are distraught is more convenient, correct and cheaper (but why do that when you’re an obnoxious brat with a couple of thousands of dollars & yes men to spare?)

“I’ve forgiven him. At least he’s said sorry”   Please, spare me the naivety. To be frank, his apologies (if you would like to call it that) is the equivalent of saying sorry after shooting someone in the leg. If this guy wasn’t a celebrity & if this didn’t get the backlash it received, he would have slithered away in his anonymity. Another reason why he’s apologising is because he wants to salvage the tiny amount of respect that he has so that he can guilt-trip you into liking him again. One of my favourite YouTubers, Nathan Zed, once said in a video that “You have a choice. Entertain & educate, or entertain & manipulate”  It doesn’t take a donkey to realise that Logan is doing the latter. As one tweet rightfully put it, he views you the same way as he sees that dead body: as a way to earn money. Please listen to yourself.

Even to the parents of these children, you have an equal responsibility of monitoring your child’s internet access. In fact, you have a larger responsibility of monitoring what content your child sees, since YouTube are failing to fulfil that very responsibility (with many examples of inappropriate content related to child exploitation on the YouTube kids app not being taken down). I’m not a parent myself, hence I have zero rights to talk about parenting, but all I know is that if my younger loved ones were watching these kind of people that encourage them to forget all human etiquette & join their “cult”, I would tell them to think about the consequences that their actions could face. And possibly break their device & delete their accounts while I’m at it.

You may choose to ignore my advice (after all, it’s mostly a free world and you can choose whatever you want to do). You can “dab” on me like I’m a hater. But when you choose to condone the actions of a celebrity who self-admittedly screwed up royally, and when you look back at this ten or fifteen years later, you would probably think “What the hell was I thinking?” If you think about it, for one person who spouts blatant and shameless ignorance about such sensitive issues, there would be another person who would be thinking that their death would bring nothing but a sigh of relief to those around them and choose to leave. I hope and pray for nothing but that you educate yourselves and become more aware of the effects of depression and suicide. Because as far as I know, if we take out the time to listen and empathise with those who are suffering with such illnesses and lend them a hand, I swear that you could give someone a reason to smile and to live (and to possibly do something Logan Paul couldn’t do, even if he tried). And if this is the generation we could become, then would raise my head high and be proud to be part of this.

Last but not the least, to those who are surviving these dark moments. Please get yourselves the help that you need (I will be reblogging some hotlines, websites and resources as soon as I upload this). I, along with all of the people of this world, have no idea how tomorrow would turn out, but the only way you could know is by being there. And regardless of how tomorrow turns out, I would certainly welcome you with open arms and stand by you.

PS: By the time this post comes out, you would have probably found out that Youtube has severed certain ties with Logan Paul. But considering that him and his brother are still trying to gain sympathy (and subscribers), his head won’t be coming out of his arse any time soon. So please still think about who and what you’re watching.

[sadiebeckenridge]

Amber: The Daughter Intro & 1st Chapter

Amber was born in the early spring of the 1970s, in Hamptonville. She is the daughter of Morgan Mitchell and David Lightenbock. It is said that no one remembers anything before their birth and after their death. Amber cannot remember anything in her life before the age of three. She has been told of occurrences and events in the family’s lives that led up to the beginning of her story.

CHAPTER 1

To understand the foundation of one’s story, it may be best to look at the people who have contributed to their creation. Amber has two very different sets of grandparents. One set lives a wealthy lifestyle where the other lives among the middle-class.

Amber’s maternal grandparents were Harold and Vicky Mitchell who lived the life everyone desired. It appeared they had everything money could buy. They were private people who did not air their dirty laundry in public. One had to be within the inner circle to be told the family secrets that haunted many.

Amber’s mother grew up in this family of lies, manipulation, abuse, and secrets. Long into adulthood Morgan continues to suffer from these dreadful experiences and has transferred them to her three children and six husbands.

Amber’s paternal grandparents were Charlie and Birdie Lightenbock. The Lightenbock family were middle-class farmers who lived the simple life. They were respected and proud of their heritage and were well known within the farming community. Amber is uncertain what type of daunting secrets might be embedded within this family since she had been separated from them since the age of five.

Amber’s father, David Lightenbock, is her mother’s second husband. David had the traits of an outsider and a loner. He has very few friends and trusts even less people in his life.  He had addiction problems and could be abusive. David was tired of living the farmers’ life and had bigger dreams he wanted to pursue. Hamptonville was an up-and-coming little city offering greater employment opportunities. He ended up isolating his family by moving them far from their hometown.

The stress of disconnection from Morgan’s extended family was taking its toll. Amber’s parents began to fight all the time, causing the relationship to unravel. David started to drink heavily and became a public nuisance. One late evening in the summer, the neighbors overheard disconcerting noises coming from David and Morgan’s townhouse and called the police. David was placed in handcuffs and taken away. This occurrence has been burned into Amber’s memory. The family did not live in Hamptonville long afterward. Within a few days, her mother had all their belongings packed and was waiting for Harold and Vicky’s arrival to take them back home. At the age of two, Amber was already facing the possibility of having divorced parents.

Amber does not remember the move or how long they lived with her grandparents. It was if they were visiting Harold and Vicky one day and then living in another location the next. Her mother began dating a man named Michael before her divorce even became final. To Amber, Michael was her mother’s good friend who lived life to the fullest.

A year later, Amber’s father showed up unannounced for her third birthday. He had brought along another woman. David tried to make the most of his visit. He would be the one to tell his daughter that her mother and father were getting a divorce. Amber remembers the short visit to her grandparents’ farm and going shopping with her father and brother, Brian. The other woman left no lasting impression on Amber. David took his daughter home, dropped her off, and said goodbye for the last time.