#im still faithless

[unmerrymagdalene]

If you write and share Sydney venting about Sirris to PC, then I’ll share the short thing I wrote about Sirris not knowing how to communicate with Sydney.

Anon…this was supposed to be a short quick fic…it got out of hand…it doesn’t have nearly enough venting but it’s too late now…but here you go:

“…Lene? Are you awake?”

Your eyes blink openly slowly. Soft, light blue sheets enter your vision, matching the dark blue comforter warming you. The room’s closet door faces you, even if it’s a few feet away. Your head sinks into plush pillows; more than you could ever have in your own room. 

You rise up sluggishly. The night sky bleeds into the guest room, shadowing it in deep dreamlike blue. It’s modestly decorated: a dresser for clothes and storage, a small bathroom for cleaning, and a few plants to top it off. Fake plants, to your disappointment. 

You look over to the bedroom door. It’s slightly cracked, barely revealing who’s behind it. But from his bright amber eyes, you get a good idea.

“…Sydney…?”

He opens the door further, peeking his head through. “Can…can I come in?”

You nod. Sydney walks in slowly, careful to not slam the door completely. He sits at the end of your bed, feet resting on the floor.

With a clearer view, you observe him more. His hair is shockingly messy, layering over his shoulders. Flyways litter it all over, blocking parts of his eyebrows and the sides of his face. 

It’s different from how he usually styles it: tucked in a ponytail, without a hair out of place. But as you watch him more, bathed in blues, your breath deepens in an unusual way. 

Huh. +Love, +Lust

A long sleeved baggy shirt covers his body, paired with black shorts. It hangs off him, exposing his shoulder. Instead of his contacts, round rose gold glasses frame his face. Tape wraps the bridge and hinges, staying on with only a prayer.

Sydney twirls part of his hair with his fingers. He glances at you, a nervous smile on his lips. “I…just w-wanted to check on you. Is that ok?”

“Um… yeah…” You keep watching him. He shifts in place, his eyes moving from his place to yours. 

While you’ve been to Sydney’s house many times, this is the first time staying overnight. Between how late it got, and the sudden thunderstorm earlier, staying felt like a safer option. Sirris was especially excited about it, to Sydney’s dismay.

She was very eager to give you towels and other toiletries, making sure you had enough. You at least had some of your own clothes, stored from previous visits. But you didn’t wear much to bed; just an oversized white shirt and underwear.

It was Sydney’s suggestion to stay in the guest room, though. Something about him not being the easiest to sleep with. And that you two sleeping together could only lead to “bad things.” To Sirris’ confusion, and yours.

You’d been in his bed before. Laying on crisp, faded white sheets. Sydney’s arms wrapped around your stomach, lips pressed against the crook of your neck. Cuddling wasn’t the only thing you did, either. 

But you took it in stride. Sydney didn’t want you there and, being a guest, you understood. You didn’t want to be a burden. 

So why was he here now, this late? And moving so jittery too. It’s almost like he couldn’t-

Oh. Hm. 

You scoot closer to him. “Do you…want to sleep with me..?”

Sydney’s face immediately flushes, his body soon trembling. “N-no! I mean, I-I only came down here because I was worried!” He says in a hush whisper. “That wouldn’t b-be right to you if I-”

“I’m fine with it…” Your eyes stay locked on his, leaning closer to him. You untuck yourself and cross your legs. “Really…I promise…” 

It was easy to tell what Sydney wanted, but harder for him to act. He’d ignore the gnawing want entirely, practically combusting from it. 

But convincing him? Far easier than you expected. 

You ignored the deep, sickening feeling that you were doing something wrong. That girls were supposed to follow, not lead their boyfriends. Especially with this. 

You also ignored how right it felt. To lead, to take charge, to be on top. +Control

His face deepens in color, still trembling. He brings his feet up and scoots over to you.

Sydney’s eyes stay down and stare at your bare legs. They travel up, landing where your shirt bundles near your crotch. They widen briefly before focusing on your face, his face blushing wildly. +Sydney’s Lust

Your eyes squint lightly, glancing down. Oh. Right. Underwear.

“I-I didn’t mean to look! Honest!” He raises his hands. “It’s j-just-”

“Come closer…” You gesture towards him. +Control

Sydney stops. He moves even closer, his knees touching yours. “S-so, am I laying next to you or-”

You quickly wrap an arm around Sydney, pushing him into your chest. You feel his heart thumping rapidly. 

You scoot back to your spot. You lay down and adjust Sydney, his head resting on your chest. Your other arm pulls him closer, hugging him firmly. “…Is this ok…?” ++Control

He doesn’t respond. His body stiffens against yours, like he’s holding his breath. Slowly, he softens. He melts into you, letting out a shaky breath. 

Sydney nuzzles into your breasts, sliding his free hand up. It rests on one of your boobs and gropes it. “Mhhmm.” He mumbles quietly. +Sydney’s Lust, +Sydney’s Love

The two of you lay in silence, only accompanied by your breaths. Your eyes start to relax, until-

“U-um…” He stiffens again for a second. His face stays firmly in your chest. “I…really wanted to do this. With you.”

You open your eyes slightly. “…Really? I thought-”

“I know, but-” Sydney’s breath shakes and deepens. “W-when I was trying to sleep, I…kept thinking about you. Being h-here and so close, I-”

He shifts in your grasp. “My thoughts went to a v-very…sinful p-place.”

“Oh…” 

“And I couldn’t stop it! I d-don’t know what came over me, but…” He pushes his face deeper into your chest. “I just…had to see you, I guess. Be close to you.”

You stay quiet. Your hand travels up his back, reaching the back of his neck. “Why didn’t…we sleep together in your room…?”

Sydney sighs, immediately sounding exhausted. “I don’t want my mom getting the wrong idea. You saw how she reacted, right?”

“…She seemed pretty ok with it…”

“Yeah, but-” He huffs and lifts up his head, focusing on you. “If we did, she might think we were…you know…” His face blushes once more. 

You look back, squinting your eyes. “But…don’t we do that already…? Not that, but…other stuff…?”

“Well…she doesn’t know that. I haven’t told her.”

You blink. Confusion forms in your mind. “…What?”

Sydney frowns. He gets off and sits up, still eyeing you.

You do the same. “What…does she think we’re doing… when we’re alone?”

His fingers grab at the comforter, pinching it. “Studying. Talking. Nothing…obscene.”

You furrow your eyebrows lightly, trying to wrap your head around it. 

This was Sirris: the one who’d openly talk about sex with her students. Who’d show off low-grade (and presumably, home made) sex tapes in class for “educational reasons.” Who, while working in the adult shop, offered you a vibrator half off. Which was quickly taken away by Sydney.

Out of all the adults you’ve seen, she was the most enthusiastic about sex. She was also the only adult who treated you kindly. There was no way-

“Do…do you think she believes you…?”

His hand handles the comforter roughly, bawling it in one. “Why wouldn’t she? I’ve never lied to her before…not like this.” He chuckles, with all the humor drained out. “She probably thinks I’m “too good” for it.”

You observe Sydney carefully, crossing your legs again. “…maybe…you should tell her…”

He looks at you with wide eyes. He settles, still frowning deeply. “I…I can’t.”

“Why…? She loves that stuff…she’d be cool with it, right?”

Begrudgingly, Sydney nods. 

You both stare at each other for a moment. Then, Sydney huffs. “It’s just…I don’t think my mom’s ever taken my vows seriously.” It comes out fast and rushed.

“…You mean for the Temple…?” You squeeze your hands briefly, warding off the tight feeling rising in your chest. +Trauma

He nods. “She knows I can’t have…or do anything like that. But-” Sydney keeps a firm grip on the comforter. “Since we’ve started dating, I think she expects that to change. It’s what everyone our age does. Why would I be any different?”

Sydney continues, as if it’s spilling out of him. “And she thinks the Temple is why I’m like this…like it’s holding me back or something,” he lets go of the comforter and gestures with his hands. “When there’s a million reasons why I wouldn’t want to do that. Any of it!”

“…Like what…?” 

“Huh?”

You lean forward, still watching him. “What...are the reasons…?”

He freezes. He stares back at you, before looking off to the side. Instead of bundling the comforter, Sydney’s hands paw at the bottom of his shirt. “T-that’s…u-um…”

His voice trembles, lips quivering as he speaks. “I-it’s…I-I-” ++Sydney’s Trauma

A faint pang of familiarity strikes through your heart. You’ve been here before. Struggling to remember a moment. Something deeply buried, prickled with pain in every crevice. 

You shake your head. “You don’t have to tell me…it’s fine…”

Sydney sighs, his shoulder slacking. “Thank you…you understand, right?” He raises his eyebrows expectantly at you.

“Um…” Truth be told? You were still confused. Sure, Sirris might’ve focused too much on sex. But whenever she came around the library, ruffling his hair and asking about your day, you felt…odd.

It was hard to describe. Sirris was. You’d never seen a woman dress so masculine before. But she’d always include you whenever Sydney was around. She’d answer all your questions in class, and even checked in with you after. She was very attentive. Motherly. 

You don’t know if you’ve ever experienced that before. Bailey was anything but motherly and…

Flashes of a prayer closet enter your mind. Your chest aches under the immediate pressure.

…the few memories you had weren’t good. ++Trauma

Sirris seemed like a good mom. Was being too encouraging about sex that bad?

“I just think…if she knew…it wouldn’t be terrible…”

Sydney furrows his eyebrows, lips pressing together. “But she doesn’t understand. No one does, except-”

He catches himself. Sydney sighs, pulling his knees close to his chest. “Nevermind. It doesn’t matter.”

Your eyes lower to the comforter. “…Sorry…”

“It’s fine.” -Sydney’s Love

You look back at Sydney, still curled up. You start to move towards him. “Do you…want to do anything …?”

He groans. “What do you mean anything-”

A hand covers Sydney’s. You grasp it tightly and keep looking at him. 

He soon catches on. 

“O-oh! We don’t-” Sydney’s face blushes. “We don’t need to do that!”

“So… you don’t want to…?”

His blush deepens. “It’s…n-not that…”

He rubs the back of his neck. “W-when we’re together…I don’t just want t-to…you know-”

Sydney leans closer to you, sitting on his knees. “We can hang out and cuddle and talk! Doing that is not a requirement, you know?” 

“I know, but…” Your thumb caresses the back of his hand. Warmth sparks inside you, rising up to your skin.  “We could do both…right…?”

At first, he doesn’t respond. His eyes lower to your hands, holding his own. Sydney takes a deep breath. “Y-yeah…we could.” +Sydney’s Lust, +Sydney’s Love

Your free hand cups Sydney’s face. You both gaze at each other and slowly move in. Your lips press his quietly. Sydney’s breath quivers, lips still shaking.

He pulls himself towards you, wrapping his arms on your shoulders. You gasp as Sydney deepens the kiss, sliding his tongue against yours. It felt awfully fast, but you figure he was more eager than you realized…

Your arms wrap around his waist. You tug at his lower lip, biting it firmly. He lets out a shaky moan, before practically jumping into you. You stumble and fall back onto the bed. +Sydney’s Pain, +Sydney’s Lust

Your eyes flutter briefly and look back at Sydney. His eyes lid at yours, breaking the kiss with a soft pop. 

“S-sorry…” His lips mumble on yours, a trail of spit connecting them. 

“It’s fine…” Your hand trails up his back. It soon passes his neck and reaches the back of his head. You press his head lightly, letting him restart it.

He does, immediately bringing his tongue back into your mouth. You gasp again, shifting into a deep low moan. Your fingers scratch the back of his head, ruffling his hair more. 

You both shift further, resting on your sides. Sydney moves his knee between your legs, inching to your crouch. Your shirt lifts up, revealing dark brown boy shorts. 

You (abit shamelessly) grind against his knee. Warmth builds around your thighs, spreading throughout your lower half. Your other hand, still on Sydney’s waist, pulls him closer to your core. +Lust

Sydney’s hands move off your shoulders, drifting to your chest. They grope at your boobs, pushing and squeezing them through your shirt. Your breath grows heavy, arousal heating your skin. ++Lust

One of his hands continues down, right to the end of your shirt. Coolness touches your stomach as his hand slips under. Your breath trembles more as he moves up, caressing the underside of your breast. He gropes them again.

“AH~” You moan louder than expected, eyes fluttering heavily. His fingers dig gently into your chest, massaging it in slow motions. Your nipples harden at the attention, brushing against the palm of his hand. 

His thumb focuses on that, flicking it back and forth. Your skin flushes as you grind heavily, warming your core. Wetness forms on your crouch, dripping on his knee. You didn’t like making a mess, but at this rate-

Fingers pinch and pull at your nipple, pleasure shooting straight to your clit. +++Lust

“Oh fuck~” You mutter in Sydney’s mouth. 

“Does…that feel good?” His voice is low, rumbling into yours. 

“Y-yes…” You keep grinding on to him, pressed so close together. With a few humps, you feel another bulge near your crotch. “What a-about-”

“I m-mean,” he pants. “There’s not much you can do w-with my-”

You bite into his lower lip again, far deeper than before.

“AUGHhhh~” Sydney moans, melting into the pain. You push his body back, landing on top of him. +Sydney’s Lust

You grind on his crotch. Hardness immediately meets your wet lips, greeting your clit kindly. Though Sydney had a chastity belt, there were ways to…circumvent that. If you could just-

He gasps, throwing his head back slightly. You lean over him, running your hand through his hair. You both kiss each other deeply, heat radiating between your bodies. ++Sydney’s Lust

Your lips trail down to his neck, kissing it lightly. You feel him tremble beneath you as your teeth dig into his neck. 

“Yes~” He lets out a moan, hands moving to your upper back. “H-harder please-” ++Sydney’s Pain, ++Sydney’s Lust

You sink deeper, sucking hard.

“Fuck! Yes yes yes-” 

THUD!

You feel Sydney freeze under you. His skin runs cold, while his hands quickly cover his mouth.

You lift your body up. You turn to the bedroom door, ears pricking up. It sounded like it came from the kitchen; not too far from the guest room, since that was tucked underneath the stairs. But if you listened closely enough-

“Shit!” A hush whisper cuts the sudden silence. It’s Sirris.

Sydney’s heart races, but for an entirely different reason. +Sydney’s Stress

After a few minutes of fumbling around, you both hear her walk up the stairs. 

You turn to look down at Sydney. He looks back with wide eyes, hands clutching his mouth in a hard grip. He starts to shake. ++Sydney’s Stress

Your eyes soften. Hands reach for his hair again, rubbing it lightly. “Do you…want to stop…?”

Sydney thinks for a moment. His eyes relax, growing heavy and tired. His grip loosens as he lets one hand travel to his neck. He pinches at the collar of his shirt and nods. 

Wordlessly, you get off him. 

His body turns to you, letting you observe him. His hair is even messier than before, clothes disheveled as well. His glasses are still intact, framing his worried eyes. 

Sydney rubs his legs together, trying to ignore the apparent arousal at his crotch. He lets go of his mouth. “D-do…do you think she…?” His voice comes out quiet and shaky, a stark difference from before.

“I…” You hold your legs, resting your hands on your knees. “I don’t know…”

Sydney crumbles, tugging at his collar. His eyes avoid yours. ++Sydney’s Stress

A small pang strikes through your heart. You hated seeing him like this: curled up in himself, filled with guilt and shame. He worked so hard, was so good…

…and you were causing this. It was your fault. ++Stress, ++Trauma

You gaze at your knees. Your hands scratch at them, as your purse your lips together. 

“…Are you gonna leave…?” You lower your head.

“H-huh?” Sydney’s eyes go to you. He gets up and moves closer. Gently, his hand touches your shoulder. “I-I don’t…want to.”

You lift up your head, moving your legs down. “…What about-”

“I’ll have to wake up early for the Temple. My mom won’t know the difference.” His grip tightens. “I’ll be gone before you guys wake up...” 

“…Oh…” -Hope

You try not to sound too dejected. What else would happen? You’d wake up next to him, with the morning light shining on your faces? Talk over breakfast like a normal couple? 

He had his vows and duties. That was more important. +Trauma, - -Hope

Suddenly, your body flinches once Sydney’s arms wrap around you. His face nuzzles the crook of your neck. “But, I still want to be with you now…ok?” +Sydney’s Love

Your face flushes lightly. Then, you return his hug. +Love

A beat of silence fills the dreamy blue room. Sydney clears his throat. “By the way, I snore really bad in my sleep so-”

“I won’t mind…”

[romantichopelessly]

EVEN IF IVE GOT NOBODY ELSE !

I KNOW IVE GOT HER ^ !!!!!!!

[pigeonliker420]

whenever i go looking into help or random talk about bg3 i keep seeing people like comparing it to dragon age either in expectations or selling points and bro. ghirl. its not dragon age. its baldurs gate

[ckiramman]

[dotnscal]

roy siblings hoax edit when. when

[kyojurosprettygirl]

ok so... Gyomei and gorgon! reader? (like medusa) she turns ppl to stone of they look at her but he's blind, so he's immune. reader is very lonely and when she meets Gyomei they're happy to finally talk to someone. Gyomei also gets some eyewear so she doesn't hurt anyone else as they be together. she'd wear a cloak or hijab to hide her snakes. as they walk together and the snakes on reader's head also likes gyomei Hhehvibdnvjfnf

a/n: I love the way you think!!! GOSH, i feel this is perfect for Gyomei (UvvvU) I rarely see anyone write for Gyomei, so I was pretty excited to write for him, but very nervous as well! Since, I don't feel I know enough of his character, and as far as im aware, hasn't been animated in action that much. I can really only write him based on what I know from his wiki and manga... Hope this atleast meets your expectations!! also, because of my lack of knowledge in Hijabs, I decided not to use that as a cover for her snakes, simply to be respectful, apolgies in advance!!

love casted in the stones.

Gyomei Himejima x Gorgon! Fem! reader

a man with tremendous faith, who never once doubted his gods plans for him, how peculiar, you think. he had every right to give up on religion, would a god really cast blindness upon their child? hell, you see and hear your own brother curse the gods for who they made you and him to be on the daily. but, he never thought of it as a set-back, rather, a small exchange.

in life, balance is an important part of it to upkeep. the same way life does to death, and darkness does to light. unbalance would bring chaos, something you learned to understand. it cannot always be day, but it cannot always be night. to him, losing one sense simply acted as a sacrifice, let the illness take you, or, let the illness take your sight. losing your sight isn't a curse, its not something you'd willingly live without, sure, but what good will cursing the gods out because of it do for you? besides, you can't get it back, so why dwell on it? why dwell on something you cannot change? It is a part of you, why not embrace it?

but oh, does it get lonely...

.

"furukawa." your tone is stern and harsh, a drastic difference from the soft honey your tone usually held. he stutters and closes his eyes, furrowing his brows he sighs. you gently remove his prayer beads from his hands and kneel next to him, you look up at him expectantly and he kneels next to you. hes embarrassed you caught him in such a state.

having lost faith isn't something unheard of, it happens almost every day, infact gorgons are known to be faithless beings by default, but, cursing the gods you swear you don't believe in is unheard of. gorgons had no reason to believe in the higher powers when, lets face it, if they existed, they wouldn't curse the souls they created for no apparent reason. gorgons are faithless as a means to respect the gods, not to detest them. they know gods are supposed to love every being they sculpted, lead them to abundance and fortune, not into the hidden parts of the earth to live the rest of their lives as mere folktale and legends. but alas, 'lost' faith still lingers. deep down, gorgons still believe. the reason why is subjective, 'to each their own', but they all hold their arms out in hope. hope that they'll hear their desperate cries to allow them to live with the others who walk on the planet.

most your kind, mistaken as demons, had been killed in what the last of your kind knows as 'The Great Extinction'. you can't blame the humans, it was in their instincts to survive.. ugly faces that had snakes for hair...ones that couldn't wait to bite and poison you...glowing silver eyes that turn you to stone while your still alive, feeling the very painful change your body was going through.. your kind truly was demonic, but you didn't choose to live that way. You were innocent souls that had been dealt the unfortunate, forced to hide away simply for being born. it was a horrible fate, but, 'everything happens for a reason'

"it's a wonder this temple is still standing," you pause and look at him. he nods, his eyes casted to the floor. you tap his cheek and offer him a gentle smile, one he returns. "speak to me, Kaito." you place his prayer beads down, and face him. he opens his mouth to speak, but sighs. "i can't find the words." his snakes sensed his sadness and awoke to try and comfort him, but he simply brushes them away gently and orders them to stop. they sit still on his head the way hair naturally would, and close their eyes to rest once again. "we're not going to exist soon. after you and i die, that's it." you wince subtly and look to the side.

kaito and his grandfather had taken you and your grandmother away from where your kind had hidden themselves for generations, a group of humans having found it and planned an attack that killed them all. 'they've gotten smarter' kaitos grandfather said. 'used mirrors to kill us!' your grandmother shouted, anger filled her soul. after many weeks of hiding, once your grandparents deemed it safe to go back to your old home, you went back. you spent a year burying statues of those you called friends and family, and rebuilt one single home to live in. you and kaito went as far to bury humans statues simply because 'it was the right thing to do.' your grandmother died angry, and kaitos grandfather had died depressed.

"and maybe it's for the better, kaito." his brows furrow, frustration evident in his face. "we're going to all die out and never experience the way life was mean't to be lived. all we know is that demons walk upon us and eat everyone they see-" you pinch his arm, "we are apart of those demons kaito. that's what the humans see us as. monsters. they won't accept us with open arms, just one more issue to deal with. two of us versus millions of them. " he grunts. "you shouldn't curse the gods who keep us alive and hidden." he gets up. "oh, you mean the ones who keep us alive to mourn everyone whos died. keep us alive to hide and only see the sun for one hour a day. is that what we live for? is that what we thank them for? for absolutely nothing?" you stare and him and grab his prayer beads, gently fixing them into the correct position in his hands. you take your own prayer beads out and hold them, closing your eyes. "protect us. it's all i ask of you." kaito prays the same as you and smiles.

you and kaito venture out during the night, deciding to find ways to blend in as you traveled. for about two hours into the night all seemed fine, but a demon had made their way to you both, mistaking you as humans. she growled as she jumped at you and kaito, you and him barley missing her attack, and you looked at kaito for a plan. he shrugged and you realized she didn't turn to stone. your eyes widen as you speak, "she's immune to us, she's a demon.." kaitos eyes widen and he runs to grab you. he helps you to your feet and commands you to run. in a state of panic, you do as told, and its only when you hear a humans agonizing scream when you realize he wasn't following. "Kaito!" you scream, he turns around to face you and he looks afraid. You reach your hand out and run to him, "Kaito!" you scream again. He reaches his hand out to you, and your three feet away when a blade finds it's way infront of you, cleanly beheading him. You gasp and open your mouth to scream, it's silent. its once his head falls to the floor when you kneel down and find it in you to scream. You hold his head close to your body and weep. You look up at the demon slayer, making eye contact, and you don't realize your mistake until his arms are stuck in place. "im sorry! im sorry! im sorry!" you frantically repeat. his eyes widen and he screams in pain, you don't look away as you watch him turn to stone; punishing yourself. you made that bed, now you lay in it.

you stayed on the floor holding kaitos head until sunrise.

once you stood up, you analyzed the landscape and came to the conclusion that he had ripped off the demons head with his bare hands, his hands still having blood on them, and had made eye contact with the first demon slayers partner; turning her to stone, evident in the way her body stayed in a fighting position. mistaking him for a demon, her partner beheaded him, which led to the events that followed. you gently placed kaitos head down and lifted his limp body to drag him onto a bed of flowers near by. once you did you placed his head next to him and let the last few tears out. you grabbed the demon slayers and placed them near his body, gently, and placed yours and kaitos prayer beads around their neck.

.

"this is fucking sick." sanemi says. tengen looks at kaitos body and then the two slayers statues. "how disturbing.." he sighs. Sanemi looks at tengen, "so, what do you think this is?" tengen crosses his arms and looks at the scene again. "a demon, 's the only explanation." sanemi rolls his eyes, "Yeah, no shit. but what kind. we need to have an idea of what we're dealing with. we were sent to investigate and all you can conlcude is 'demon!'" tengen grunts and shrugs, scratching his head. "we won't know until we face it. for now, its just a demon that has the ability to turn people to stone." sanemi kicks Kaitos body, "and this?" tengen, not being able to think of anything shrugs at sanemi. sanemi hums to himself, "it might have the ability to turn humans into gorgon like creatures, having them do its dirty work,i mean.." sanemi pauses to pick up kaitos head from his dead snakes and holds it up for tengen to see. "snakes" tengen says. "well he's not a demon, he was beheaded and his bodies here, so he could be an extension that won't die until the main body does." tengen says, too serious for his liking he continues. "unflashy way to die if you ask me." sanemi stares tengen down and tengen laughs. "let's take this back, we need the others opinions as well." they make their way back to the headquarters to have another pillar meeting.

you spent what felt like years hiding in the forests, but it was only a few months. you only ever snuck into villages during the night to take food and maintain your hygiene, laying low for the rest of the time unknowingly giving people more reason to think of you as a demon and keeping the demon slayer corps on their feet. no matter what, the only evidence they had to go off of was village peoples words. there was too many people confirming you existed, but not enough proof that you were actually there. after those two slayers; they hadn't seen any more of people turning to stone, just stolen food and a shadowed figure with snakes sticking out of their silhouette. you weren't a danger to them. 'for now' they said. The master had decided to send a final order on your matter, to keep an eye out for you and if you were seen to behead you. You were no longer being scouted for, nor investigated, so you used this as your chance to freely wander around the forest as pleased, allowing yourself to indulge in the lushness of the earth. Kaito would've liked all of this.

it was lonely for the longest time, you hadn't used your voice in months and the forest became your home. you walked in its paths as a lonely soul, having forgotten the sound of kaitos and your grandmothers voice, so there was nothing to hold onto in those dark moments, deciding to allow yourself to get hurt by demons that crossed your path and only running when you heard foreign footsteps or when it got too painful.

.

your heart pumped in your chest, 'is this really what im doing now?' you thought to yourself. the cold wind caressed your sweaty body, cooling you down after your face off with death. the wind was silent, but created soft sounds with the trees leaves near by. you found yourself walking to the singular wisteria tree in the area, it was the biggest you'd seen and it was absolutely gorgeous. your snakes had awoken and they stayed still, a silent way to ask for permission, you giggle and say yes, they can play. they nuzzle your face and you begin to cry, an overwhelming feeling taking over you. you felt heavy weight come off of you as your snakes "stood" to play in the wisteria flowers. you laughed to yourself and let wisteria envelop your figure; finding comfort in such a beautiful sight , completely forgetting exactly what you were running from...

Mitsuri abruplty stops her chase, causing Gyomei to stop with her. "Kanroji?" Gyomei asks. she looks over at you as your engulfed in wisteria, completely fine, she stutters a little before getting her sentence out, "she's completely engulfed in wisteria, she seems completely fine." she gasps when she sees you grab into the flowers and cry, "she's grabbing it even, it's doing nothing to her! are we sure she's a demon?" Gyomei hums, "it's the only valid explaination Kanroji, she must be more powerful than we thought if she can withstand the wisteria." Mitsuri shakes her head, "No, Himejima! theres no way she's a demon. No matter what, demons experience effects from the flowers, if she only hurt three people, she's weak enough for it to paralyze her!" Gyomei nods, "i see." he states. They stay there and they debate their next move. "we must find a way to take her to the master." he says, Mitsuri hums in agreement, "should we just.." she pauses, "how are we going to do that.." Gyomei thinks for a moment, hearing your laughter causes thin tears to cascade over his face, "it sounds so innocent, so full of life" he thinks. "are you okay Gyomei?" mitsuri asks, he nods, "it's just because of her laughter." mitsuri quietly lets an 'oh' escape her, she always forget's that the smallest things can make him cry. she looks over at you and she can hear it too, she wonders how you can be so happy and caught in the moment. "mitsuri?" she looks over at gyomei, "Yes?" He turns his heaed to the sound of her voice, "can you describe her to me?" she smiles, "ofcourse, gyomei!" she takes you in and begins to speak after a moment. "She has many really long black snakes on her head, like hair it seems..and they're playing in the wisteria. beautiful eyes, ones that glow in a way similar to the moon. other than that, she looks completely human, as far as I can tell. she's wearing a black kimono, with small detailings that match the color of her eyes." she stares at gyomei expectingly, and smiles. "thankyou mitsuri" he says. she hums fondly as a way to say your welcome, and goes back to looking at you. she and gyomei begin to walk towards you, trying to stay far enough so that you don't get scared and so that you don't harm them. you hear mitsuri sheathe her blade and your head snaps to her, her snakes quickly snapping back onto your head and closing their eyes, going back to their usual resting state. you step back and cover your eyes, holding your free arm out. "no!" you scream, voice hoarse from lack of usage. "please," you get on your knees, "if i.." you let out a shakey breath, "if we make eyecontact, you will turn to stone." your lips quiver, and gyomei hears the almost silent whimper you let out. mitsuri steps back and looks away, urging gyomei to follow suit, instead, he plants himself in place. mitsuri isn't afraid, she just wants to make you feel safe enough so that you'll allow her to take you to Ubuyashiki. "does it apply to those who are blind?" he asks, and you calm down at the softness in his voice. "i don't want to find out." you say, and you panic as he removes your hand from your eyes. you gasp and shut your eyes. "she has her eyes shut Himejima.." mitsuri states. he closes his eyes, "my eyes are closed, you can look at me." you open one day to look at him, and it's then when you realize how much bigger he is than when you first saw him. he unexpectedly opens his eyes, and you panic at first, noting how he doesn't move, but then you realize he has no pupils. "so it must not apply to the blind then." he says, tears escape your eyes, "i guess not.." you say. you indulge in the moment, and carefully place your hands on his face, giving him an out. he doesn't move. "you.." you begin, your voice wavering. "i can look you safely in the eyes." you exhale a laugh in disbeleif and smile. he smiles back, being able to hear your smile. "you can." mitsuri softly says, trying her hardest to not look you in the eyes, and suddenly, your no longer conscious.

.

your body lays infront of them in the shaded area of the garden as four demon slayers keep their blades pointed at your neck. the pillars talking among each other, some bickering about what they think you are, as they wait for the master to make his appearance. "we had it under control!" mitsuri states, the lower ranked demon slayer huffs. "didn't seem like it. the sun was coming up and we needed to get that demon to the master before the sun killed it." gyomei sighs, "you are mistaken, she's not a demon. the wisteria would have paralyzed her if she was" mitsuri nods and huffs. the kakushi near by hits the demon slayer in the head. "watch how you talk to the hashira!" you wake up and gasp as one of the blade inchs close to your neck. you catch yourself before you look up at the demon slayer and push your head down, causing the other blade to dig intself into your neck. letting out a yelp, it silences all the hashira. they quickly look above their heads to avoid making eyecontact and meet eyes with gyomei. He can't see you, but he can hear you well enough to know where you are and looks your way regardless. you keep your eyes locked on gyomei.

.

after a very long meeting,not everyone is fond of you. you are a danger, a small mistake will lead to bigger ends. but gyomei still insists that you aren't, explaining what he knows to his comrades, trying to get them to understand. once the meeting ends, and you apologize to the master for having turned two of his children to stone. he gives you his condolonces for losing your brother, and you decide to stay where you were and face the wall. you weren't demon, but you might as well have been one, atleast then they'd have a reason to get rid of you, atleast then they won't feel like they'll have to watch out for you for the rest of their time in the corps. you couldn't go to the villages, but you couldn't stay out in the forest, you were split. Ubuyashiki decided to have you be under Shinobu's care, since she seemed the most levelheaded in the situation. She agreed, as long as the master gave her time to prepare the butterfly girls and until she knew enough about you. he agreed.

gyomei sits next to you, to keep you company he says. and you both sit there for awhile. just enjoying each others presence. you hum a lullaby softly, and you both stay in silence until the end of it. once you stop, gyomei speaks up. "what is it you said you were?" he asks softly, trying to keep the peaceful atmosphere. "a gorgon" you say, and he hums. "i see." you snicker at that, "no you don't". and you cover your mouth, you had forgotten he wasn't your friend, it might be seen as rude. you open your mouth to apologize and he laughs. "i'll give you that one, that was hilarious!" he calms down and clears his throat. "it's not often that people joke with me, especially about my sight. they fear they'll hit a nerve if they do." you breathe out, "i just thought i did.." he hums and smiles. "stone breather, they said," you start, you hesitate, "do you like, breathe real stone?" he snickers. "i'll explain it to you, if you explain your eyes and hair to me." you giggle and shake his hand in a flimsy manner, "deal!" you say.

"are they just, staring at a wall?" Obanai says. Mitsuri shakes her head quickly, "no, they're falling in love!" he nods to her as a way to say 'okay, whatever you say' and she walks infront of Obanai. "just wait!" she perks up, "you should've seen them when we first found her!" she puts her hands on her cheeks and fondly smiles at the memory. Obanai shifts in place and changes the subject, them both walking away as they leave you and gyomei.

[nothing-but-glitter-and-lashes]

idk if people have already said this but i have some vague thoughts about a false god / hoax mashup

your faithless love’s the only hoax i believe in / even if it’s a false god we’d still worship this love

you know i left a part of me back in new york / im new york city / you’re the west village etc etc

[disneybrandautism]

here are some taylor swift songs i think each of the sides would like! (with some explanation)

nobody asked for this but im doing this instead of my APUSH homework. i’m going to start with roman and go through all of them!

(some ships are mentioned but it’s only a couple times. i promise it’s not all the songs.)

(roman has the most because he would be the biggest swiftie leave me alone)

Roman

enchanted- you cannot tell me roman wouldn’t love the disney romcom vibes of this song. he would love how sweet it was. it’s like meeting your hero.

i bet you think about me - he’s so petty. he would eat this song up.

mirrorball - i feel like this is a given. he would relate an insane amount to this song.

hoax - “your faithless love is the only hoax i believe in” be so fr. this could apply to any of his friendships or relationships with the other sides. his blind faith in the other sides. yeah.

the archer - we all knew this was coming. he would sob listening to this song.

jump then fall - again with the hopeless romantic bit. he would just thing this song is really cute.

question…? - i just think he’d have fun with song. he’d like the beat and just how much of a bop it is.

tolerate it - do i really have to explain myself? come on. he tolerates all the insults. this is his like standing up for himself era.

king of my heart - king is literally in the title. he would again just have fun with this song. so disney prince of him.

champagne problems - feeling the bad guy and knowing you fucked up. it’s so him oh my god don’t even with me.

i could continue. i won’t. next up is logan!

Logan

say don’t go - i just feel like logan would really relate to needing to hear someone tell him not to leave when he gets into an argument.

innocent - i can’t explain this one i just feel like he would get it.

the lakes - he would love the lakes and just this idea of loving someone like this. “take me to the lakes where are all the poets went to die”. this is his song.

marjorie - i feel like he would appreciate that taylor used her grandmothers vocals for this. i feel like he’s more in it for the genius behind her lyrics.

delicate - he lacks understanding of social cues often. “i know that it’s delicate”. he would eat this song up.

glitch - he would get this song in ways i can’t even describe. he would love the beat. his vibes fr.

no body, no crime - a story based song. he would think about this all the time.

lover - idk a reason i just think he’d really enjoy this song.

Patton

never grow up - he’s like a dad. so. watching his kids grow up. it would destroy him.

invisible string - i feel like he would love the idea of the string of fate. he would like the idea that he was just supposed to know these people.

you’re on your own kid - he would feel the pressure of just being on his own and feeling the pressure of being the moral compass.

state of grace - he feels like everyone is the “worth while fight”. yeah you know what i’m saying.

ivy - “you pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand” THE CARETAKER AGAIN

Me! - listen i know it’s not everyone’s favorite but this makes so much sense. the bright colors. the message of the song. the whole thing screams patton.

long live - he would think it’s a really sweet song. he adores the whole message and just how sweet it is. the nostalgia aspect. yeah.

love story - if anyone was getting this song it would be patton. queue the scene of richie from the bear where he is singing this in the car. that’s pat.

Virgil

electric touch - this is so in your face obvious. of course virgil would love the song with fob on it.

clean - i feel like he would relate to this. he’s finally not an “other side” and he’s just virgil. but he sometimes still misses them.

today was a fairytale - i feel like he would be unapologetically a fearless fan. he’s more of a hopeless romantic than i’m willing to admit. it’s so prinxiety coded idk.

closure - idk just very like “other sides apologize” to virgil. (i believe firmly in sympathetic other sides but i think virgil would struggle for a bit to forgive them)

my tears ricochet - “an i can go anywhere i want, anywhere i want just not home.” home was confusing for a bit. where did he belong? yk?

afterglow - the bridge sounds like asking for reassurance during a panic attack. he would love this song.

the lucky one - he for a bit thought that he was the lucky one but realized that all the sides are messy and no one is perfect.

new year’s day - this is so analogince and it would remind him of his boyfriends. he would pick up bottles with them on new year’s day.

holy shit this is getting long. i’m sorry.

Janus

mastermind - he is so this song. he would love this song. he masterminds everything so i just know he would adore this song.

foolish one - i don’t know but i feel like he would love this song in a way no one can understand.

bigger than the whole sky - he probably feels remorse for all he did to roman. maybe he’s saying goodbye to the possibility of friendship? i don’t know but he would like this song.

you’re losing me - i really don’t have explanations for all these. i feel like janus angst always. he would like how this songs has a lot of self blaming.

bad blood - he has beef with a lot of people. i think he would enjoy this song ironically at first. then he didn’t.

so it goes - he is rocking out to this in his room. i just know it in my heart and soul and it makes me nuts.

dear reader - “if it feels like a trap, you’re already in one” this just feels like janus’ internal monologue. all the contradictions feels like deceit. yeah.

cowboy like me - he just wants someone to want the things he wants. he loves this song. it makes sense in his head.

Remus

cruel summer - he would love the beat. he could and would shake ass to this song.

getaway car - i think he’d endorse the message of this song and think it’s a lot of fun.

cardigan - he comes out when people are bored of roman. he definitely struggled being pushed aside so he likes cardigan a lot.

the way i loved you - he would love the idea that even after fighting with someone an insane amount you can still miss them.

i don’t have anything else for remus. i hope this makes sense. if not i apologize. if you think of anything else for remus let me know. i am just slightly nuts about taylor swift.

[greenhouse-studies]

Day 37 • 100 Days of Productivity

happy sunday! i didn’t have any homework to do today so i cleaned both of the bathrooms! these are some books i’m currently reading, though i’ve only made it past page 20 in one of them (the faithless). i’ve been struggling to find a book that captures me, but i do want to read the other two still, but i may not pick them up for a while. oh well, i have them and they will be read at some point, reading isn’t a race and i want to enjoy what i’m reading. and it’s not like i’m not enjoying the books, i am and i definitely want to continue, im just VERY MUCH a mood reader lol

also i have hummingbird cake and it’s sooooo good

🎶 flaws - bastille 🎶

[ohtobesolonely]

today i went to march for our rights to have public education, walked many blocks, sang and jumped alongside thousands of students, professors, graduates. i felt a kind of hope and companion you only feel in this gatherings, my heart felt full. but now im back at my house, about to fall asleep and yet i'm rather anxious, sad, worried and my hopeless and faithless mind came back. this country gives you everything and then it takes everything from you, just like that and im not strong enough to handle the turmoil. its been years of the same and i still cant get used to it. i hate this bitterness rooted deep inside me but the loneliness will never leave and i will never get better or be better. i really really want to but i dont think theres a chance for me, i pray theres a chance for my country, for its people, for my friends. whatever happens to me, i know its for the better. i loved today but i hate why today happened and that's stronger than any tiny spark of hope. i'm so tired.

[themagikmirror]

🐲 Let's Begin the Transition 🐉

Greetings & Again, HappyNewYear! Im starting off 2024 praying that we can all manifest & maintain a ThroatChakra as strong, active and healed as Katt Williams LOL, especially if you’ve been following along with my 2023 content ! This video is full of quick reminders and tips to start 2024 as we simultaneously come out of 2023’s Final Mercury Retrograde ! I start the video explaining why self care is not selfish AT ALL right now! It’s aligned with what God needs us to do to be our best! Self Care may come through a multitude of things for us this Winter Season like slowing our pace, better boundaries, stillness, deeper meditation and realigning with regimens, rituals and routines that refill our cups. A chunk of the video reviews time stamps where I received similar messages, yet I still give additional info about how this Mercury RX may challenge us to communicate & engage with more honesty, intention & mindfulness. Lastly, before giving a quick reading : I drop downloads putting the start of each “New Year” into perspective. The most important thing opening up 2024, is PEACE .

Here are some key messages from Spirit right now : 🕊️“Peace is trusting yourself, having/building faith and listening to your intuition.” 🕊️“Internal Guidance > External Guidance right now “ 🕊️“What’s Meant for You Will Match Your Peace, not disturb it” 🕊️“It Will Work Out in God’s Timing” 🕊️"Remember all that I've brought you through..."

Definitely use January to GO WITHIN! Coming out of this RX you should feel more confident in your voice, truth & personal wisdom. No one can advise you better than yourself right now. Starting off the year may come with a little bit of disillusion & unmet expectations from 2023. There may be a bit of grief and confusion around things that didn’t go or aren’t going quite as expected, as well as uncertainty with how to move forward. Know our guides don’t want us to cry over spilled milk and ESPECIALLY over milk that has yet to spill! Reflect & Release as needed, but try not to sulk in that energy. Instead, tap into your spirituality and communal resources to get you through your struggles. Understand there’s a bigger picture at play and transitioning into a new space/new year is a chance for you to think & dream bigger when feelings of lost hope & faithlessness seep in. Know if you are maintaining YOUR PEACE, you are always winning in God’s eyes! Prioritizing Peace is the key to getting the most out of January 2024 and anchoring yourself through this major state of transitioning from an old space into something new.

🪞Self Check with these questions / Meditate on where you are beginning 2024 :

Are you listening to your body?

Do you have rituals, community & connections that fuel your faith?

What is the main thing(s) you harbor disappointment about from 2023?

How can you release your expectation / idea of how things should’ve been in 2023 or could be in 2024?

What does prioritizing YOUR peace look, feel & sound like in January 2024?

🚫No written Retrograde Receipt graphic for this one

🚫No additional written summary (its already in the caption)

🪞✨Join Post+ for community building, Book the Full Moon Session under service on the Facebook Page for Year Ahead/2024 readings : divine message & a divine look at your authentic reflection!

[one4theoverlypassionate]

speaking of house music im still in mourning over 50% of the responses to a do you like this song poll saying they didn't like or know insomnia by faithless. people are allowed to like different things but im aghast

[thenocturnenarrator]

heheheheheheheeheheheheheh here is my school writing project it’s a work in progress atm sorry for the spelling errors and stuff

Faithless

——————-

“…And i mean, have you seen them? ITheyre like nature’s little- Hey, are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, course i am.” I replied.

I don’t know why he chooses me of all people to talk to about bees. I’m barely interested. Still, it’s nice to hear him talk so passionately about something, especially while on the job.

Us Greens don’t end up in many fights, but when we do, we often lose. It’s honestly ridiculous that we ended up part of The Alliance. We woulda been a far easier target than the Blues, but who am i to judge. Im not really supposed to be on gate duty with my little brother but I’m replacing one of his teammates, who went missing a couple days ago, and we have yet to find.

The last place her tracker was seen was on the edge of the Red territory, and no one has the guts to go look for her. The Red are fierce soldiers, and we’d probably find her dead. Greusomeley, at the least. Last time someone was found, their eyeballs had been gouged out, and their teeth put in their eye sockets. I think they have fun with the corpses of their enemies, even though they aren’t really supposed to kill us as part of the Alliance. It’s on the verge of collapsing though, as the Gods are getting sick of it. After a long time of waiting around with, to nobody’s surprise, nothing happening, someone took over gate duty and me and my brother went to dinner. It was almost all vegetables, but they were cooked *really* well, almost as if there was a new-

“COOK! You look different. Really different. Wait a second, i didn’t think we were getting a new-“

“Are you enjoying the food? Is it good?” The new cook was short, with blonde medium length hair. I had never seen her before, except for maybe…

“Hey, doesn’t she look a bit like one of the Red fighters? a bit like Char-“ I leant over to whisper to my brother

“Well, have fun!” She quickly left, and moved to the next table. No idea why she was doing that.

“What were you saying?” My brother turned to me.

“I was saying, the cook looks a little bit like Charlotte. You know, that red soldier.”

“Well, yeah, a bit. And I don’t recognise her. Maybe we should talk to our superiors about it.”

“You know how hard it is to raise concerns with them. They don’t listen to anyone.”

“I guess you’re right.”

We left the cafeteria, and went to get some sleep before our next shift.

About halfway through our shift, I had an idea.

“What if we took off our uniforms, and changed into our normal clothes, and went out onto the field to start our OWN team?”

“Why would we- Hey maybe you have a point. Management for us is so strict, maybe its strict for everyone else too. And we wouldn’t have to bow to the gods, OH OH AND WE COULD GO LOOK AT THE BEES! Yeah, this is a great idea! But when should we start…”

“Tomorrow. They have the least people on at 9 in the morning. We could sneak out.”

“Right. This is an awesome plan!”

The next morning, we were almost caught by one of teammates.

“And where do you think you're going?”

“Crap-“

“And why are you headed to the gate?”

“Oh- Uhm- Hi Alice! We were just uhh-“

“And most importantly, can I come with you?”

Eventually, we ended up with her following us. Three of us, all leaving. The gate staff also joined us. Now we had no reason to be skeptical of our plan. Our awesome plan was working.

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

After a couple months of being out on the field, we had a well-established fort in the forest; the no-man's land, and began calling ourselves the Faithless. The fort was made of old machinery and found resources. The structure resembled that of a castle, and was, in my opinion, far better than the main items forts, just like our team!. We ate at one big table, all, well, 30 of us. A sizeable amount of members, all fed up with their management, just looking for a reason to leave. No-one missed them, we think. We were steadily gaining members, not just through word of mouth, but we occasionally sent out scouts to the gates and front lines. Scouting had proved to have no issues thus far, and it was my responsibility today. I had to head to the Yelloe team. Not really a threat.

What was usually a long and treacherous journey turned into a short walk through the desert with some found technology i personally had assembled into a flying machine. The propellers surprisingly worked on the hot desert sands. At the gate, I was surprised to the the guards staffed with nets. They’d be useless, unless they knew what happened to their staff. The staff that joined us.

“Still, i refuse to believe they weren’t killed. Maybe they died of heatstroke?” I overheard the guards discussion.

“Nope, they definitely ran away. Management says there’s camera footage.”

That’s impossible. We made sure to kill all the cameras nearby. And it was a planned ordeal. They would run to us within the next week, not that night.

“Hey, ’s there someone there?”

“Where?”

“Just there, behind that pillar,” The guard pointed at the pillar i was hiding behind. I had been spotted. I tried my hardest to run, but their new nets caught me.

“Hah, gotcha, filthy runaway!” The taller guard said.

“Nonono, you’ve got it all wrong! You see, I’m just a delivery scout! Out to ensure that uh, your gate is up to our gate-using standards!” Drat! Of all the times for me to be bad at lying!

“Silence, criminal! We know of your evil plans! And we have our own, even eviler plans!”

“Archibald and Alvin, celebrated as the heroes of the Yellow team! Recruiting the runaways’s most sneaky spies, and forcing them to join us!” He kept talking for probably the next ten minutes, maybe more. His voice was so boring. I reached for the knife in my back pocket, hoping to cut the net i was trapped in. The ropes were sharp, and if i didn’t get out of here soon, i would end up cut. As i tried to manoeuvre my arm around far enough to cut the rope, the two guards, who i had now gathered to be Archibald and Alvin, brought me through the gate. Any chance of a quiet escape went out the window.

“... and no, you can’t escape, no, you can’t build a bomb, and most importantly, you don’t get to go to the gate. You have stay within your bounds.” Archibald, or maybe Alvin, was trying to point out everything on our tour of the grounds. Eventually, we reached the board room. They’d decide what would happen to me. I looked back at the hallway, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

———————————————————————

The leadership issued a guard to take me back to where i would be staying. I surely hoped that it would not be some kind of prison cell, but was pleasantly surprised. My first shift back as a technician was tomorrow, at 0945. I just had to hope, hope that they’d realise i was missing.

———————————————————————

The next morning, people were starting to notice i was gone. These missions usually never took more than 12 hours, and i had been gone for almost a full day. My brother was asking anyone if they’d seen me. all of them had the same answer. ’No, sorry. Last i heard she was at the yellow base.’ and he was dreading coming to break me out. But it was nessacary. i WAS his sister, after all.

Rescue missions are ill-advised amount the main teams, but in a team like ours, the loyalty to one another is immeasurable.

When he tried to assemble a team, almost everybody showed up. “Well, guess we’re all going.” he said to the small crowd.

Everyone here was all different, but they all have one thing in common. “You all ready to beat up some corrupt leaders and get our friends out?“

The group began cheering

They were definitely ready to beat up some corrupt leaders. And also get their friends out, but beating up corrupt leaders had more enthusiasm.

—————————————-

My cell, more similar to a hotel room than anything, was on a lower floor. It had some outside access, but the window didn’t open further than a couple inches.

The food was okay, as was work.

I had to work as a technician, fixing things. All of the other technicians knew seemingly nothing about the tech. No wonder repairs here took over a month, even with all of the high tech equipment in this dimly lit room, with the walls covered in a mess of pipes and wires, similar to the inside of some massive machine. Every time I tried talking to the other technicians, even just about the weather, they would mutter something quietly, and not wait for a response.

One time, I asked them why they were so quiet. One of them lent over to me, and whispered; “They used to be able to hear us, so we made things to communicate with one another without them hearing.” They handed me an earpiece, and when I put it on, there was a buzzing conversation.

They sounded like they were planning an escape. Except, they knew nothing of the Faithless. From what I heard, the only thing sitting between them and freedom was numbers. They couldn’t escape, all because of their numbers.

But knowledge of people on the outside was just the push they needed

.

————————————————

The plan that the yellow tech team came up with was an amazing idea. With the knowledge that they had a place to get to on the other side, it was perfect. Cause an electrical fault with the gate, the biggest piece of equipment, bringing all of the technicians there, broadcasting their message, and then running. Running and running and running. Running until finally…

————————————————

Halfway to the yellow gate, the Faithless saw a large group of yellow workers, running like their lives depended on it. Which they did, kind of. But they had reached a safe point, and they were out. They burst into the fort of the Faithless, relieved to finally have escaped.

————————————————

We had made it. We were all free.

With our numbers nearly doubled, we recruited far more people, eventually dwindling the numbers of the main teams to a small team of those in charge and some incredibly loyal staff. The rest were all those who were so sick and tired of fighting. We had all ran from the battlegrounds, much to the dismay of management.

We were on our way to a new, far brighter, future.

@everydaygremlin This wow this is AMAZING

I LOVE IT IT IS SO GOOD

I THOUGHT I WAS READING AN ACTUAL BOOK ITS SO GOOD I WANT TO KNOW MORE, HAVE THEY GIVE YOU A 10/A?????

[sorcererslittledragon]

The silly weaknesses vampires have arent arbitrary but based on some fairly significant underlying logic. Now, a lot of this hasnt really been well explored in modern vampire media, and it also ignores a truly massive textual body of lore, primarily drawing from Bram Stoker's Dracula. So lets examine some of that here and figure out how modern day changes some things.

Note. There are many versions of vampire myths across the planet. I am most familiar with the european variants and while i am not a true expert. I am the next best thing. Autistic with a special interest in vampires.

Vampires have no reflection. Historically this is because mirrors were often made of silver which was considered a "pure" metal (also, something to do with that purity interacting with the soulless nature of vampires but ill get into that later), as such we can infer that (at least) one of three possibilities is true.

First. That the "purity" being refered to is theological. This is supported by vampires being unable to enter hallowed ground and their aversion to crucifixes.

Second. That the "purity" being refered to is chemical. There isn't anywhere near as much support for this (i cant actually recall any), but it does have some very fun implications that i'll get to later.

Third. Both are true.

Now for where the fun begins.

If it is theological purity then all religious centers, cemetaries, and ritual spaces innately keep them out. So to will religious and ritual objects. Icons, holy symbols, consecrated tools. Of significance is that there are way more religions than just christianity so we can absolutely explore the imteractions there.

Many pagan beliefs holds that not only are their shrines holy places, many natural locations are held as equally holy. How will your vampires cope with seemingly innocuous locations being effectively hallow. Do they still keep them out? Or do your vampires simply avoid such places out of fear or to avoid harm? Do they keep a mental catalogue of all such sites to ensure they dont accidentally destroy themselves? Or do they keep to cities in an effort to avoid having to worry about it?

Judaism will probably some very fascinating interactions here. Now. Let me preface that i am not Jewish and as such i cannot speak in depth here. Jewblr, please pipe in here with what you know would be relevant. I really want to hear from you.

Theres also a lot of fun to be had with christian theology. Did you know that theologically speaking, in an emergency, any christian can perform the rite of consecration (for rpg nerds this is the spell Bless)? This is strongly advised not to do even in an emergency, but i think vampires would constitute being granted a dispensation for having done that. So in otherwords you can turn any object into a vampire repellant or bane if you are christian.

Bear in mind that according to lore it is the strength of the faith in such things that grant them this power so a particularly faithful person will be able to use these to incredible effect, possibly allowing even the simple presentation of a holy symbol to destory one. While a sufficiently faithless individual might theoretically strip such things of that power with their mere presence. Have fun with that.

If it is chemical purity? Well to start. They shouldnt be visible via any sort of tech. Our ability to chemically purify matter so greatly outstrips that of the pre-industrial world that i doubt there is a single material we do not have the ability to purify entire orders of magnitudes above what we were able to do previously. This means that vampires should be completely invisible to tech.

Anyway im tired now. Thank you so much ADHD (sarcasm). Thats all food for thought. Please, explore the historic roots of vampirism across the globe and extrapolate how those interact with modern society. Its fun and an excellent exercise in critical reading and critical thinking skills.

Wouldn't it be entirely possible, even likely, that with all the silly weaknesses vampires and stuff were supposed to have, they'd also turn out to be weak to any number of things that have only been invented more recently? Like who's to say vampires aren't also repelled by the smell of play-doh or driven insane by MIDI music? We've invented so much shit in just the last century there'd be NO predicting this. For all we know they burn to ash if they look at Luigi.

[dexare]

[ Grace ]

Log - 014 By Dr. Vincent Monet of the Constance Foundation on CF/Local-0003.

" I think I understand a little better now. We found a tablet.. and I think it's better that I read it on its own. The language is registered in the PCW network as Hemekien, a brach of ancient Sumerian:

"Age of the fallen sky, life taken without remorse, all days where lost, all was lost, for in its wake, sand remaind. From ashes, we grew, having nothing again, a war of bread by endless tar.

Far below the great desert of Montezuma, rest the last living god of our world from a top of his chest lays the corpse of the Dreaming City, gift of seekers who promised life. Bregars came an for a time we prosperd, yet for all they said, lies remain, spoken by the faithless. Our God was mucked, opposed and shamed, many left, but we remained.

Let his life look apon our souls, let his Grace take us to the heavens, let's his life give us confort."

.... Well, there you go.. In a previous report, I noted how strange it was that no personal items were ever found in the city. Now, looking at the scrape around me, I know where it all went..

As the status noted, the people of these land are human, meaning that whether or not they knew it, the radiation emanating from that pyramid was killing them an though that's an assumption the bones around me say otherwise.

I'll surmise what I understand happened here as far as I can tell.. Based on some of the other tablets and scrolls here somewhere around a 100 years ago, the population of this planet suffered a catastrophe from the sky that nearly killed all life on the planet, turning the earth into sand. Some people survived, but they fought against each other for food this implying that these humans were either different from us and didn't have the luxury of using this planets strange blessing, that or the blessing wasent active at the time.

Regardless, at some point an alien civilization came into contact with them and offered them help, even going as far as to build a city for the remaining population. Note that they made it from sandstone.. for a civilization as advanced as theirs, it seems kinda cheap for them to do it like that... Eventuallyit all came ahead when the aliens became aware of the pyramid.

I have no idea what that damn thing is, but at some point after the city was built, the population bagan to worship it "again" and somehow managed to...

$@&$*!^#$ [ Living pyramid ]

Log - 014 [p2] By Dr. Vincent Monet of the Constance Foundation on CF/Local-0003.

... Yeah. Go ahead and turn it on.. Ehm, alright, so let me break it down better. This living pyramid is surrounded by not only bones but basically piles of personal items, everything from tablets to papyrus scroll, carts, tools and even clothes along side piles of trash hidding below the sand, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. I'm sure the foundation will be investigating the details later on. So don't be too mad at me for skimming over this mess.

From just the tablet, you can guess what whent down. The aliens or Bregarians, as a different papyrus scroll mentions, are alien species that came here for who knows what reason. Aperently, they tried to warn this planets inhabitants of the radiation and im guessing they didn't do it in the best way, so It is easy enough to guess what happened next based on what it says here.

The population divide and some left with the "seekers" to who knows where while the other desprety clung to there God and died hoping he was good...

Though i gotta wonder what sort of despret logic drove them to take everything they ever had here.. Again, im guessing, but still, knowing all this.. i still feel like I'm missing something. Like i mentioned, the city is in perfect condition, its brand new basically, while at the same time, most of the randomly placed statues are destroyed.. also gotta wonder if the seekers were the ones that left that message in the pyramid, or was it someone else? What about this living godthing? It radiates the area as much as the fucking sun, but I don't really get what's it's for maybe the signal it's sending straight up has something to do with it but there's nothing around it beside trash. is it magic? I mean, I don't see any mechanical parts, so.. i guess.. That might explain the blessing this planet has, but Ahhh nevermind dud!, theirs no point.

This is way above my head dud.. *sigh* Trooper might be able to figure it out.. probably..

Anyway, there's a lot of shit that went down here. I haven't even mentioned the tar thing. We're gonna try to pick up as many tablets and scrolls as possible and send them back. As far as I can see, Mission is complete.. for now..

buttt~~ that all said and done, we found a tunnel..."

#ChroniclesofRebellion #pyramid #Sun #MissingChronology Part 14

[ithisatanytime]

i was saved from the curse of death by my faith in jesus christ alone, literally and practically let me explain. from the time i was like 5 i was extremely aware of my own mortality more so than any other kids my age, i thought about it always, and i was certain for some reason i was hellbound. i would go from complete faithlessness that this was it and death was the end and forever, to a weird faith where an afterlife might exist but if it did i was destined for hell. this colored my ENTIRE LIFE, it was the substance of my entire life. i didnt immediately stop thinking this way when i became born again, it took years and it was so gradual and subtle i didnt know it when it happened. i talk a lot about death and the afterlife, but as a means to an end, to try to explain god better, i dont think about it very much at all. my faith is so solid that jesus died and rose himself up from the dead for my sins, that i no longer fear death, now if i was falling from a building or about to get in a head on collision i would be afraid that isnt what im saying. the fear of hell and death not just the fear but the fact it renderred everything i might do in my life meaningless, WAS my life. its just because i believe that i dont live in that universe anymore. so if i tell you dont worry about death, because god came to earth and rose the dead and rose himself from the dead, specifically to let you know there IS an escape from the "inevitable" suppose i told you that and you simply refused to believe, well you would still be under the curse of death. it is only because i believed for so many years and i believe with all my heart, that i no longer live in that universe and am spared from the curse, by faith alone.