#imagine the multiple tanyas

[yzur02]

Okay, I was just being mentally ill, business like usual, when a random concept came to me: Overlord, but, one of the NPCs is replaced with Tanya von Degurechaff

[thegamingcatmom]

Guess who? Spoiler: me, its me and I come with a question(s) bc it is 3am and my mind can't shut up (:

So I think this was mentioned previously in another ask or post but I don't remember if it went much into detail. My question is about mates and separation. It is said (dont remember if canon said something about it) that vampires have a hard time being away from their mates and I would like to go deeper into this, know your thoughts on the matter.

Like, how bad it is? How long can they stay away from their mate? Is it minutes, hours, days? Is it painful, like physically? What do they feel, like I think despair, anxiety? Are there vampires who have a better time than others?

And finally how each sister individually is regarding this 'separation' situation? How clingy are they, if they are that is? How do they handle it? Do they call a lot? Text? (They know what phones are right? Ancient creatures they are :p)

Thanks as always for the answers❤️ (this is so long and i probs forgot something but i cant think so im gonna try to sleep xD)

Hiii! <3

Totally relatable! 3am has, unfortunately, become the time my brain works on overdrive as well. Which means I usually have to quit when I feel like I'm making actual progress, because I do need to sleep at some point. 😭

Right so, I think vampires defo have a hard time being away from their mates. I don't think it's actual pain in the sense of being "physical," but I reckon it very much feels like that for them.

I also think that, just like us humans, they have different ways of dealing with that pain. Some seek the company of their other coven members, some prefer to be alone, some (try to) play it cool and don't let anything show, and so on.

With that said, how long they´re able to stay away also varies and depends on multiple factors, I´d say. It´s not just their own personality and their way of dealing with things that plays into it, but also the cause of the separation. I think the latter plays a rather big part, actually. Like, if it´s for a "good" cause then it might be a lot easier for them to endure, I imagine.

...Y´know, this kinda reminds me of Carmen and El and the things I have planned for them in The Sisters, because separation might actually become a recurring theme for them (we see a snippet of that in the upcoming chapter.) I haven´t quite decided yet how far I wanna take it, but your ask kinda makes me wanna explore how Carmen might cope with a possible long-term separation. 💔🥺

As for what they´re feeling when separated from their mate:

JOKES ASIDE THOUGH-

Truly mated/bonded vampires (thinking of James and Victoria here cause I have my doubts about those two) are like fitting puzzle pieces, shaped to align perfectly with the other. If one breaks away, you won´t have a complete picture. Other puzzle pieces might fit with some force, but it will always result in a crooked picture because it´s just not meant to be.

With that said:

I think it´s agony. Like a part of you is missing. A big part. Like, half your body, to be precise.

As for the sisters:

(yes, they do know what phones are, lmao)

(...valid question though)

Tanya would probably cope best. Or, well, she´d be the most convincing at pretending she´s alright. She´s a leader and, in my head, that´s like its "own" personality. If the situation calls for it, a switch is flipped in her head - topdog leader mode activated.

Ofc, the separation from her mate is more of a personal challenge and probably her biggest one yet. Also because it´s one she´s never had to face before meeting MC. But I still think she would handle it a lot better than her sisters...at least on the outside. Like I said, it´s like a switch being flipped, a "mental shield," if you will. She will put on a brave face, act like nothing´s out of the ordinary. She will do her damn best to function, because that´s what she always does in times of hardship. It´s what leaders do.

It might not be the healthiest way to cope with things, but it´s what she knows and feels comfortable with.

…Besides, you can bet your ass there´ll be at least 50 calls, 30 FaceTimes, and 250 messages per day.

A good leader always stays on top of things.

Kate is a lot softer than she lets on, so I think she´d actually struggle the most with being separated from her mate. She would probs try and avoid her family for the most part. As a former warrior, the last thing she wants is to be seen as "weak." Like with Tanya, it´s not the healthiest way to cope with it, but there´s still this thinking that feelings get you killed on the battlefield, y´know? There´s just some things and habits we can´t shake, no matter how hard we try. Kate being reluctant to show any kind of "weakness" in front of others is one such habit. She´s gotten a lot better at allowing and showing those feelings since meeting MC for sure, but when MC´s gone? I imagine she´d be quick to fall back into that spiral.

So yeah, you´ll probs find her in the woods, sparring with the trees or smt to get her mind off things, to distract herself from the immense distress she´s feeling over her mate being gone.

As for contacting her mate:

Hm...I´m actually torn on that one. On one hand, you have the battle-hardened warrior who refuses to show feelings. On the other hand, you have the moonstruck sap who turns into mush the moment her mate is involved in any shape or form.

With that said:

Kate would struggle with exactly that, lol. Like, it´s a constant inner battle between who she was and who she has become since meeting MC. So I can imagine her sitting somewhere, glaring at her phone, doing her best to keep herself from typing in those damn numbers or writing out that stupid message because warriors don´t show "weakness."

...She caves, eventually. And both she and MC are damn glad she did, that lovable dork.

Irina would cope better than Kate, but her struggles would still be more obvious because she doesn´t usually hide her feelings like Kate does. On the contrary, she pretty much wears her heart on her sleeve, which is also why she´s the only one (out of the sisters) who feels 100% comfortable with confiding in others about how she feels. She usually goes to Carmen when she seeks comfort or guidance, like pretty much everyone else in the coven, lol. So, when it comes to dealing with that pain, I´d say Irina defo has the healthiest way of doing it.

She also has the healthiest call/message count btw, lmao. She´s not as overbearing as Tanya (nobody is, lel), and also not as stone-faced as Kate. She gives a quick call or leaves a heartfelt message here and there, just checking in, y´know? Sometimes they´re short and sweet, other times they´re literal novels in which she proclaims her undying love over and over and over and over and over and-

...I mean, there are times where she just...she gets carried away a bit, which usually ends with her dropping everything to go and seek out her mate.

...Her mate, who went to the supermarket for a quick errand.

I mean, listen-

In the end, I think it all comes down to why the sisters have been separated from MC. They´ll probs cope a lot better if they know the separation is short-lived.

...Or maybe not, lol. *points to Irina*

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Thanks a lot for your ask! Always stoked when those pop up in my inbox. 💋

#keepthethirstalive #keepthedenalisalive

[nachofuck3r]

Johnny Cages future partner!Reader Intros + others

Johnny: You're just what the doctor ordered

You: I didn't know doctors prescribed ass whoopings

You: So, kenshi tells me you have a PhD

Johnny: I'm packing more than a doctors title babe

You: I'm never attempting small talk with you again

You: How come you and Johnny are friends?

Kenshi: It's not that hard to believe.

You: No, it really is.

Tomas: I am Johnny's new prescribed wingman

You: And that concerns me because?

Tomas: Well-

You: Hard Pass.

Johnny: Kenshi talks about my PhD?

You: Yeah, but anytime he does he seems like he still can't fathom you actually achieved something.

Johnny: Ouch.

Liu Kang: What you have with Cage is long foretold.

You: yuck.

Liu Kang: There are multiple timelines-

You: I'm gonna beat your face, god or no god.

Mileena: Still in denial about your unwavering future?

You: I didn't think a princess was into earthrealm gossip

Mileena: No, but I do like to see you and Cage fumble

Tomas: What kind of movies do you like?

You: Looking to ask me out, smoke?

Tomas: Ehrm well I-

You: anything that doesn't feature Johnny Cage

Tomas: Oh-

Tanya: At first I found Mileenas attitude to be a pain, but getting to know her made my heart grow fond-

You: Stop, listen you guys are cute but yall need to mind your own business! I am not hooking up with wish.com Chris Evans.

You: Madam Bo keeps asking about you

Johnny: What why?

You: She offering to do the catering at our wedding

Johnny: But I haven't even proposed yet!

You: yet?!

Johnny: You gotta stop running from your destiny, babe

You: Only if it stops pursuing me!

Johnny: That we were at that same mc donalds at 3am was a total coincidence!

You: You're a performer at heart- I just wish that didn't get in the way of your critical thinking skills.

Johnny: You're right, I'm such himbo.

You: Ok, no more small talk! I mean it this time!

Bi-Han: My condolences, I could not possibly imagine, having my furture tied to Cages.

You: I don't recommend imagining it.

Johnny: Hah! I saw that, you smiled. You are happy to see me

You: Oh, I was just thinking about wiping the floor with your face

You: I am the only Earthrealmer you have tried persuing, why is that?

Johnny: You haven't seen me with Kenshi on karaoke night.

You: Why don't you pursue Kenshi, he seems far suited for you!

Johnny: He lacks the what you have, tenfold

You: Don't say looks...

Johnny: Sass! I was gonna say sass!

You: I'm starting to come around to the idea of us being acquainted

Johnny: Knew you couldn't resist the Cage experience

You: I never learn.

(I have a whole one shot planned out but this is a little something for the ride since I am way too busy this week to come around to writing)

[odditycircus-2002]

This is the same anon who sent you the reaction requests to several music videos as well as the Outworlders stumbling upon an Adult store and I had another reaction request for you. Could you please do a reaction of Medusa Reader and Syzoth accidentally stumbling upon an adult website like Pornhub and watching several videos with the volume set on high so when Johnny and several of the Outworlders as well as a few Earthrealm fighters drop in on them everyone's just having a massive freakout trying to understand what's going on. You wrote how both of them like to watch random videos online whenever they're with Johnny and they just happened to see a link to a video so they check it out not thinking much and after watching several videos they badger Johnny with questions as well and they even get inspired by some videos to try out on their partners later on and both Ashrah and Baraka quietly thank Johnny without telling him why they're thanking him.

A/N: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 You always come up with the FUNNIEST scenarios!!! Hope you don’t mind headcanons and your request slightly altered in minor ways😂

To set the scene, you and Syzoth were in your dressing room in between shoots for Johnny’s latest movie project. One that’s somewhat more physically demanding than either you or your Zaterran friend anticipated. Primarily because of how Johnny keeps demanding dozens of multiple takes for a lot of fighting scenes until he deems it just right. Honestly, it can be tedious.

So now that you and Syzoth had some downtime, you decided to pull out one of the magical devices (this one an iPad), Johnny Cage, which was confiscated initially from you. Immediately you start looking up the sequel to the Predator movie Cage showed you and Syzoth.

"Why would you look up more of that Predator film?"

"Because I found it rather fun to watch despite how frightening it was. You don't have to watch if you don't want to."

Syzoth eventually joins you in watching since, at first, it seemed more like one of Johnny's movies. However, you and Syzoth didn't know how many sketchy ads pop up when using one of these pirating sites. One of these ads includes a woman with her butt front and center looking over her shoulder. You and Syzoth weren't surprised by this as much as you were irritated since it blocked you from seeing the movie. Of course, you go to push the x button to delete the advertisement; however, it was tiny, and so the ad took you both away from your movie to an adult film site.

You're immediately greeted by a plethora of naked women being pleasured by muscular men in every way imaginable. Syzoth shouts at you for clicking the site as he attempts to exit, but the device doesn't quite pick up his heat signature needed to interact with it. So Syzoth just ended up selecting a video about a student wanting their swimming instructor's big dick.

You don't know why you and Syzoth sat through the 40-minute video, nor why you both continued to watch the next one and then the next one, then another. You hypothesized it was because you and Syzoth wanted to absorb how to please your partners, or it was akin to a train wreck. This is true for everyone else, although to varying degrees. See, you and Syzoth were watching the video at full volume, so anyone who passes by your dressing room would be able to hear every moan, whimper, and cry of ecstasy.

When Mileena and Tanya passed by while the video was playing, Mileena immediately stopped dead in her tracks as her entire face turned red when hearing a woman's voice begging for more. Tanya didn't have any of it and immediately turned her Empress around in the opposite direction before walking away.

Kitana lingers for a bit at the sounds, but walks away mortified when hearing you and Syzoth with said noises and thinking that you must be cheating your partners.

Li Mei shouts over the noise that Cage wants you and Syzoth on set soon and to cut that racket out. Also, it is a reminder that public indecency is a crime. You open the door to apologize to Li Mei and promise to turn it down. Li Mei doesn't assume the worst with you, seeing as you and Syzoth have no wrinkle of fabric out of place, and the room smells the same as the other dressing rooms. Syzoth does turn invisible out of embarrassment, though.

However, unlike Li Mei, Johnny Cage does assume the worst especially when you both speak

"I'm not sure we should be doing this, Y/N. I mean, what if we get caught?"

"The door is locked, which should give us some privacy."

Johnny being a bro to Baraka and Ashrah, immediately breaks down the door after hearing all of that.

"WHAT IN THE FUCK YOU TWO!? I-"

Johnny's accusations die in his throat when he gets a good look at the porn video playing on the IPad he lent you, with every noise of flesh slapping flesh echoing in the now silent room. You're the first to break the silence.

"So Cage, I have a few questions about-"

"NOPE!"

Johnny then turns around and walks the fuck away from the room. But then turns around to swipe the iPad from you again. He states that the next time you have it back, there's gonna be full parental controls on it. Then, the action star runs out when Syzoth tries to inquire about the videos he saw.

A few months after you and Syzoth stumble upon those porn videos, Johnny Cage is once more in Outworld for some research for his next project and to shoot some of the locations. When he ran into Ashrah, she seemed to be on cloud nine, more or less. Cage thought it was because the former demon was closer to absolution. The action star, now director, finds himself dumbfounded when Ashrah shakes his hand with a grateful smile on her face, stating that Cage has her deepest gratitude. Johnny is left even MORE befuddled when he later runs into Baraka, who just gives him a curt nod with a slow blink of his eyes.

What Johnny didn't know was that you and Syzoth took what you learned from those porn videos and applied them to your respective partners. You don't know about Syzoth, but you can confidently say you have no regrets about stumbling upon those sites if it meant bringing Baraka to Nirvana in ways you could never have initially thought of.

[whumpsday]

i'm gonna talk about my very first ocs because i feel like they deserve it :) when i was a kid i didn't quite have the imagination yet to create whole worlds, so my ocs were often inserts into existing things i was into.

this is a very long post with a lot of useless personal information, and is more a diary entry than anything.

i had many more ocs than what's listed here, but i can't remember most of them, so here are just the ones i remember.

childhood:

at 7, the very first oc i can ever remember making was Maya, a pokemon oc. she was the fourth member of team rocket in the anime canon, and could shapeshift between being a human and a celebi. i remember her being "older" but that could mean anything from a middle schooler to an adult.

also pokemon-related but not quite an oc, i had a lot of fakemon around that time. the only one i remember was a raccoon-like one named Tyco.

at 9, soon after was Tanya, a fairly oddparents oc. she was a little girl who was friends with the main character.

at 10, i really got into oc-making, and the next bunch are all from when i was about 10.

i started getting into "somewhat whumpier" things and made my first "edgy" oc, Deepheart, for warrior cats. she was a black cat with purple eyes and a tragic backstory i can't remember, who eventually got with stormfur.

i was very into danny phantom and continued my tragic backstory experiments with Chelsea. she was a ghost and the younger sister of ember (she was basically an ember recolor) who died in the same fire. she also had fire+music powers, but a polar opposite personality to ember (she was nice).

i can't remember the specifics or names of the ocs i made for a bunch of these, but i also made oc-inserts for the following around this time:

total drama island - multiple ocs, i think i had a whole fancast, which was the closest i got around this time to making an original story.

monster buster club - character existed to be friends with chris, who was my favorite. she was a monster in disguise or something of that nature.

percy jackson - i definitely had one and i was REALLY into it, but can't even remember what god she was a daughter of.

in middle school as i entered early teenhood, i started reading YA books. sadly, my taste was not that great.

preteen:

at 12, i made Chelsea (reused the name from the danny phantom oc because i just rly liked the name), a twilight oc. she was the first vampire oc i ever made, so i guess she was the start of All This. she was the youngest cullen at 14 years old (i do not remember if this was a chronological age or just a physical age and i think i was too oblivious to realize just how significant that difference was), and had a Forbidden Romance with seth, the werewolf kid.

at 13, i realized i could have ocs that were boys! a fantastic revelation! technically i already had ones from the total drama fanseason i had in my head but they were all side characters. made my first main guy, Oliver, a scott pilgrim oc and ramona's 8th ex-boyfriend.

i made a LOT of other ocs for YA books in middle school, but i don't remember much about the others.

teenhood - homestuck:

at 15, i got into homestuck, and that was when things got out of control.

i started with a literal self-insert with my birthname, who eventually got split into 2 alt-timeline versions of herself (i was a girl at the time), one who went with dave and rose during the timeskip and one who went with john and jade during the timeskip. when they met back up, they fell in love and got together, which i think might be the truest expression of self-love i've ever had.

but it didn't end there. i got really into making fantrolls, and made TONS of them. i don't remember their names very well (esp bc they were all made up alien names) but i remember my favorites: a bronzeblood with an eyepatch whose name started with a P, and a violetblood whose name started with an I.

the violetblood was probably my first true whumpee. while violetbloods are normally amphibious, he was born with lungs that don't work, and was forced to remain underwater at all times since he could only use his gills. when sgrub caused the apocalypse, he had a little tank he would stay in on the ship. and when gamzee started killing everyone, he couldn't get away.

this was also where i branched out into creating original characters not tied to an existing IP!!! FINALLY!!! it all started with fantrolls. i made two more significant sets of fantrolls: one centering around an abnormally overpowered purpleblood who had his memory erased and used to be a cruel whumper-type (and a set of supporting characters to go with him), and one centering around a purpleblood who'd been tortured and the lowblood who acted as his caretaker. you can tell i was very much getting into whump at this point, despite not yet knowing the term.

i eventually decided that homestuck's lore was not equipped to carry the stories i wanted to tell for those two, and split them each off into original universes. i am not into homestuck anymore and it's really a relic of its time, but it impacted me quite a lot creatively.

teenhood - original stories:

the amnesia guy came to be named Nova, my first wholly-original character. he existed in a magic/fantasy type universe, and was the most powerful magic-user in his world. he'd previously been extremely evil and caused untold carnage, countless people tortured to death. the heroes, after realizing they could not stop him, decided to try to wipe his memory instead. this did, in fact, work. Nova became a character saddled by EXTREME ANGST about his past wrongs. to make it worse, his pre-memory-wipe evil self eventually started to slowly come back as a separate entity in his mind, essentially haunting him. i daydreamed about Nova for a long, long time, and occasionally still do.

the whumpee-caretaker duo became Dwar and Clobu, members of an original alien species i came up with. unlike Nova's story, which became so divorced from his fantroll beginnings that his origin was basically unrecognizable, this one remained heavily homestuck-inspired. the aliens here were grouped/inspired by the layers of the atmosphere, rather than the signs of the zodiac. Dwar (the whumpee) had skin that looked like the night sky, dark blue with stars all over, while Clobu (the caretaker) looked like a cloudy day. they were pretty :) these guys are a very very early inspiration for the Kane & Jim dynamic.

i also started making non-IP-related ocs without "converting" them around this time. in particular, i became very interested in demons.

first i made Charlie, a teenage demon raised by humans who just wanted to be A Normal Kid. he played the guitar and used tumblr and was all in all very nonthreatening and normal. he was a bit boring.

at about 16, i later made Nicky, a "redo" of the Charlie concept but with more pizzazz. his mother had brought him on a hunt (for humans to kill and eat) while he was an infant, and she was killed by a demon hunter. the hunter couldn't bring herself to kill the baby, so she took him in and raised him instead. Nicky's story is very very long, because he is the only oc from my childhood i still regularly daydream about to this day, and i have been building him up for a decade. some highlights:

accidentally burns his adoptive mom when he's a little boy who's just gotten his fire powers, and it's what makes him realize he never wants to hurt people. she forever has a scar shaped like his tiny little 5-year-old hand.

demons generally need to eat human flesh to be healthy. this is obviously not something Nicky wants to do or even feasibly can do when he's younger. he eats a lot of other meat (mainly pork), and is basically constantly hungry. he carries jerky around with him all the time to snack on.

as a young adult, he and his (human) best friend (mutual pining crush) are stuck in a cave (entrance blocked by rocks) with a bunch of demons waiting to kill them when they leave. Nicky knows he's not strong enough to defeat them, but he could be if he wasn't malnourished. in a moment of desperation, his friend ends up giving him a few fingers to eat so they can make it out alive, and he feels guilty forever that it's the best thing he's ever tasted.

his mom is killed by demons in a fight in his early 20s, and he goes on a ballistic rampage murdering everyone in sight. after this, he runs away and ends up moving to hell.

when he's in his 40s, he sees a little human girl who's been captured and brought to hell, and quickly rescues her. he can't find a way to smuggle her back to earth, so he ends up raising her in his apartment.

when he does eventually get her back to earth years later, he moves in with her dad and they co-parent. becomes a love triangle thing with the dad and his childhood friend who he eventually reconnects with- not for the usual "you have to choose one!" reasons that i hate, but because his relationships with each are honestly very tumultuous.

my other early demon oc was Crimson, a magicless demon who'd been captured by hunters and tortured until a kind hunter rescued him and became his caretaker. this character would later become Kane, but originally there was no "former whumper" backstory, he was just a pathetic little guy.

at 16, my other main obsession as a teenager was dangan ronpa, and of course i made several dangan ronpa ocs whose names i can't remember. one of them was a girl who had a fierce rivalry with togami. i started getting into g/t around this time, and liked to play around with that with my dangan ronpa oc for some reason. i don't know why, it's not like DR had any kind of g/t in it. but i would always imagine a story where togami became tiny and he and my oc came to a begrudging alliance as they tried to fix it.

i also ended up converting this into an original story, taking place in a low-fantasy universe, where a bully character Damien got shrunk by magic, kept in a jar, and was tortured by some of his former victims. his one victim who thinks this is fucked up (can't remember his name) rescued him, and they put aside their differences to fix it. i just love reluctant caretakers and whumper-turned-whumpees.

and that's all the notable ocs i can think of from my childhood! figure they deserve at least a small space on my blog :) and i still might write Nova, Nicky, or Damien's stories someday.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What if humans go extinct before Aro and Caius and Marcus gets their shit together? Assuming everyone doesn't just give up, what's the Volturi's "save the world" plan look like now it's just vampires and animals?

It means we're entering the Children of Men fusion. There's no saving the world anymore, at least, not how it's traditionally understood.

The human species is dead, gone, it's over, and there's no means of bringing them back. All that's left now are the vampires, a race that can no longer reproduce without humans around. They live in a dying world and that's going to really take its emotional toll.

First, I imagine you're going to get initial panic as vampires search desperately for food (this is in part how humans die out so fast). I imagine some plague swept in, killed most of the population, this is combined with for whatever reason an uptick in vampire population. The vampires panic, there's a run on the bank so to speak, and in their panicked haze they overeat other populations in terror.

Eventually though, through starvation, they're all going to discover the animal diet. There's no alternative and per Carlisle and Tanya, the vampire body will instictively eat anything if it can't find its natural food source.

The panic subsides somewhat, this isn't an immediate agonizing death, for all I'm sure many vampires do ask their friends and family for suicide during this trying time.

The aftermath isn't much better, though.

I imagine Aro, Marcus, and Caius dedicate themselves to the task of protecting hunting grounds. The vampires really fucked up with the humans, this is their last chance for survival, you will not hunt these creatures out of existence.

"WE ARE EATING RABBITS," Aro declares, because they breed very quickly and there's a fucking million of them everywhere.

The Volturi are now environmental warriors, killing off those who threaten key creatures in any one environment and threaten mass extinctions of multiple edible species.

Otherwise, I imagine Aro devotes himself even more to being a historian and probably feels really weird about killing anyone for all that he still does it.

Oh, it was bad before, but now he's slowly but surely whittling away at his own species when there will never be another new vampire. Everyone who's here now is everyone who's going to be here forever. Aro will never meet anyone knew, civilization will never change from what it was, all they have left is each other until even they die out likely due to their own stupidity of killing all life again.

I imagine the gang's mostly just very very depressed about all of this and that Aro's new goal is "preserve what we have" and see that what's left of vampires/humanity isn't wiped out in the most agonizing, stupid, way possible.

I imagine Aro's also searching far and wide for any surviving humans. Praying to god it's enough to, perhaps someday, bring back the human species. There's probably a lot of trips to remote island chains the world over where he'd hope hungry vampires didn't eat fucking everyone.

[raedroid]

The Star Covers Meets The Soul Of The City

Part 8: Confusion and Chaos

——————————————————————————

Tanya, Cassie, Veena, Sara and Anna were searching every place imaginable for Katherine. All sorts of shops, offices, restaurants, businesses and schools and they still couldn’t find her. Additionally, their search was difficult with fans and paparazzi surrounding them everywhere they went. They were starting to feel hopeless about their situation and they were running out of options, especially with their concerts currently coming in closer. They rested at a nearby bench, feeling uncertain about where their friend would go to.

“Thank you Miss Dre- I mean Miss Anders.” A shopkeeper called out. A young woman with auburn hair and brown eyes went out of a small shop as she gave the shopkeeper a glare. The girls immediately recognized her as Carissa Drew from the news report and they nodded at each other, believing she had information about the whereabouts of their friend

“Excuse me? Are you Carissa Drew?” Veena asked, approaching her. She looked at the rockstar with pure annoyance and disgust

“Hush brat! You can’t say that out loud!” She snapped, confusing Veena

“Sorry it’s just… the news said you were dead?” Veena replied

“Well clearly I’m not. I only pretended to get that bloody child in prison. I just didn’t expected to get your bandmate in trouble too.” She answered.

“You mean Alex?” Sara asked

“Move out of the way will you? I don’t have time for this!” She ordered, pushing Veena out of the way. They watched the woman leave and looked at each other confused. They weren’t sure if she was joking or if the news made a mistake. As they stood in bewilderment, a large truck pulled up behind them and the driver rolled down his window

“Looks like you don’t have a lot of luck on your hands. How does it feel huh?” The driver mocked. They turned and saw Darien smirking at them. When they saw him, Veena started fuming at him.

“What do you want Darien? Katherine and Alex got arrested last night. We don’t want to deal with you.” Anna responded annoyed

“Well I’m the crew leader now so I don’t care. Besides he had it coming. Anyone chosen by the Minister gets in the same situation.” He said. His last sentence made the girls worried

“What do you mean by the same situation?” Cassie asked

“Everytime the competition comes up, Minister Edgar chooses a new host to get The Crisis Rods, in this case Alex. Everytime he chooses someone, he sends his men to keep an eye on him. When something goes wrong or the host wins, The Minister takes the host and lock him up for corruption and harvest their souls.” He explained casually. The girls were horrified by this explanation and knew they had to find them

“You know about this! Take us to them at once!” Tanya shouted

“Leave them be. There’s no way in hell they’ll get out alive. So I say good riddance.” He replied. Veena ran over to the open window and grabbed his shirt and almost pulled him out of the car.

“You know this place don’t you?! So you better tell us where they are now. Otherwise I’ll take my blades and shove it up your-“

“Fine fine. Since you want to be so unreasonable. Get in.” Darien ordered, pointing to the trailer behind him. They each got in and Veena glared at him at the rear mirror.

“Also sir, take us to the Cosmic Emporium. Don’t do anything suspicious. I mean it.” Veena ordered. Darien looked at her expression, twisted in anger that he started to feel uneasy at her. At her request they drove down the streets, going through multiple turns and paths. The girls were terrified of Katherine’s safety. No one knows where she is and they couldn’t move in the trailer seats. Veena stared out at the window and felt her heart racing. She had a deep fear of losing her best friend and, by extension, her first love. If only she could convey it

Darien looked to his right and saw five men being attacked by the rest of the girls. Bruno was still standing but Brittany was about to attack him with a weather attack. As he pulled over, the girls in the trailer busted open the door and rushed to the scene

“Hey Bruno! Get over here!” Sara screamed, grabbing Bruno and throwing him over her shoulder. He landed in a corner and rubbed his head in pain. He looked at his group and groaned at them, disgusted at their failure and ran off, leaving them behind.

“What the hell!” Alfred shouted. He pulled his crew mates up and hurried out of the scene, running down to follow Bruno back to his place.

“Whoever thought that a couple of random people in a creepy trailer would help us?” Bella joked. The girls shared a quick laugh and hug before Frank and Kaya went out to join them

“Is that what you call your friends?” Cassie teased back.

“I wouldn’t be calling this guy your friend.” Frank replied grimly, pointing at Darien who rolled his eyes.

“So Katherine just got arrested and-“ Anna started but Lexy pressed her finger against her lips

“Say no more. I hope you have more space in that trailer.” Lexy said to Darien. Frank walked over to the driver window and glared at him

“I heard about that attack on Alex. And at Alexander and Mary’s place. I’ve got my eye on you. And if you do anything to those girls, it’ll be your head.” Frank threatened

“Who cares? Mary’s already pretending to be dead!” Darien brushed off. Frank got concerned and grabbed Veena as she was climbing into the trailer

“Listen Veena. I’m grateful for all of the things you and your friends have been doing lately. I know you don’t know Alex but he means a lot to me. Promise me you’ll get him back too.” He pleaded.

“I will. You have my word.” She agreed. The trailer drives off and Frank and Kaya looked at each other, contemplating their friends. Kaya stared at her phone and looked at her contacts. Adrien and Edward were right at the top and she felt like a monster.

“Kaya. You’re still meeting with them at that conference right? Maybe they have something on those two?” Frank encouraged. They felt like their worlds were in shambles when secrets kept coming to haunt them

The only option they have now can determine if they are going to be safe

——————————————————————————

“Don’t worry. You’re in good hands.” Those were the words of Simon Evesville and Margaret Tillerson when those two had arrived at this facility. Alex laid in bed, contemplating on his decision to bring them here. Ever since they arrived, he had been separated from Katherine. He was starting to worry about her and what the doctors and scientists working at the facility could be doing to her. When he got here, he had seen nothing but torture and taunting, he was abused every second of the day and he was starting to lose hope

Every day he would be strapped down to a podium, being stabbed by tubes with pins attached to them, each one injecting him with dark matter. With the energy he had been building up from masking his abilities, the pain from each injection was getting stronger. It left him feeling empty and paralyzed with anxiety and fear. Soon Margaret came into the room, seeing Alex laying down in dread and took the seat next to the bed, one of the few pieces of furniture in his quarters

“Well according to my calculations, you should be recovering soon. We’ll continue with this process until Edgar thinks you are ready to go back out. I know we’ve been hard on you but we have to. Otherwise, you can’t go back to normal.” Margaret explained, writing notes and checking his body. Small scars from the injections were present along his back and arms and he was clearly losing sleep and weight.

“But all of this is terrible.” He protested.

“Of course. Guardians are very terrible things and so are anyone who trusts them. But you and your friend will be cured of this disease.” She argued, making him think about his powers

“But how did you guys know I was a guardian? I never told anyone this except for Katherine?” He asked

“Some things are better left unsaid.” She answered.

“Where is Katherine anyways?”

“That’s none of your concern. Not until you are properly healed. However, if you behave in the next few hours, then you may see her in the next session.”

“Really?”

“Yes my boy. And that energy we’ve been giving you was from the Minister himself. So once you keep taking that energy, you will disregard all forms of magic and see it as a danger to our society. That’s why we keep giving it to you.”

“You sure it’ll help?”

“We know what we’re doing. There’s no need to question it.” He watched her leave the room and Alex continued to hope that Katherine will be ok.

Something he never felt in a long time

——————————————————————————

Once again, Alex was strapped down on a large platform with tubes injecting dark energy into him. This was the process he endured for hours and it left his head spinning and his body draining. But this time, he was forced to stare at Katherine.

Unlike him, she was hung up in the air with large blades piercing her body and sending dark energy through it, the same as him. Each time she attempted to move lead to more excruciating pain, the blades digging further into her skin. Edgar stood to the side and stared at Katherine, a devious smile on his face

“Don’t fear for her Alex.” Edgar told him grimly. “She did this by her own free will. You will learn how to behave like her soon enough.” Alex looked up at her, sweat pouring down her face from the pain, all the life drained out of her eyes. She looked like a completely different person and he couldn’t even imagine what she was going through. He felt tears building up in his eyes and couldn’t bare to look anymore

“Stop it! Please! Let her go!” He screamed, loud enough for Edgar, Simon, and Margaret to hear. “Please stop hurting her! Why would you use her magic against her?! Why would you use her like this?! She didn’t do anything to you!”

“I’m sorry Alex but this creature is a monster! You have to understand that!” Edgar shouted back. “Keep that energy up.” He muttered to his two colleagues

“No! Just do it to me! I’ve lost everything! She’s suffered enough! She doesn’t need any of this! I’m the one who’s a monster and I beg you to free her!” Alex pleaded.

“But Alex you swore to never give me orders again. You are completely obedient to me!” Edgar pointed out, causing Simon and Margaret to laugh

“I’m a monster! I understand that I am nothing! I’ll always be nothing no matter how hard I try! I deserve nothing! I deserve the worst of all! Just let her go! I AM NOTHING!” He screamed in pain. Soon Edgar looked at his two victims and pressed a few buttons. The tubes and blades were ripped out of their bodies and Simon walked over to free Alex from his bounds.

“Well that was a little over dramatic young man. At least she knows how to behave. I hope you improve your attitude because tomorrow, I’m gonna present you both to a lovely crowd of spectators. I hope you can make a good impression.” He ordered. Alex weakly nodded at him and Simon and Margaret brought them away from the room

Alex felt nothing inside of him as he was dragged down the dimly lit hallway. He looked at Margaret who was carrying Katherine in her arms. Something about Katherine’s appearance was confusing him but he couldn’t get a good look at her. Simon tugged on his arm, forcing him to look away. Alex felt his eyes watering up and tears started pouring down his face from the pain and the absolute shock of it all

“Good news Alex, you get to be with Katherine again.” Simon said, dragging him into his quarters and Margaret laid Katherine’s lifeless body on the bed. Simon patted him on the head as they left the room, leaving the two young kids alone in their thoughts.

Alex looked at Katherine and saw the bags under her eyes, just as her body slowly started to move. She looked up at Alex and his terrible shape. The more that Alex looked at her, the more worried he got. Strangely enough, her entire appearance looked darker than before, making his thoughts from before come true. Her hair used to be a bright brown but now it was almost black in colour. Her skin colour was once a beautiful tan but now was almost white as snow. Her eyes used to be a lovely light blue but now have been turned to grey.

“Alex…. Are you… what… happened…?” She whispered weakly. She looked around and looked at her hands, and Alex noticed her eyes growing wider in horror as she stared at her whitening skin. She started to bolt out of her bed and collapsed on the floor, screaming in fear and agony

“Katherine please stop!” He pleaded, watching her punch the floor and wall and crying her eyes out, screaming in deep pain.

“I CANT FEEL ANYTHING!! HE RUINED ME!!” She bellowed, falling onto the floor and weakly crying, her knuckles bruising from the punches. Alex got down next to her and started stroking her back, trying to sooth her.

“Katherine, it’s ok. I’m here.” He whispered softly

“He ruined me… I can’t feel… my body…” She muttered, letting him continue. Alex looked around for anything to help her. There was no window in the room, no way to escape, no sign of help. All he can do now is hope that The Star Covers were coming soon

“Please help us….”

——————————————————————————

Tagging those who might be interested:

@2hotintheshade @gh0stfl0ra @criminallyoverrated @elrohare @ericcarrsworshipper @heavy-metal-baby @starry-eyed-never-satisfied @namelessbutters-doodles @spacedoutman @spacefoxy-irl

[firagafury]

Mortal Kombat 1 did some things so right and some so wrong.

Spoilers ahead.

The good:

Sindel is back to being the hardcore yet kind and compassionate ruler she was always supposed to be.

Mileena is finally getting to experience real love both romantically with Tanya(LESBIAAAAAAAANS) and Familially with Sindel and Kitana, I can't tell you how refreshing it is to finally get to see them be a happy family. not to mention how touching it is to see Kitana be so genuinely devoted to making sure her sister is safe and able to ascend to the throne.

I've always preferred Johnny Cage in MKX and 11 where he's a father and therefore a little more mature, but this new version of Johnny before fatherhood is still better than the old ones. He's still obnoxious, but he's also educated, generous, and knows when it's time to get serious. a massive improvement, and his friendship with Kenshi is excellent.

Baraka and Reptile both got infinitely more interesting backstories and were instantly more likeable after 10 seconds on screen than they ever were in past versions. Ashrah's story was always interesting and they expanded on it really well. I hope they keep her around in future games and we don't have to go ANOTHER 17 years before seeing her again.

This version of Raiden where he's a young mortal is a nice new take on his character. up until this game i always considered him a boring character but if they continue writing him reasonably well i won't have any complaints about him being a staple character.

The Bad:

Nitara, Havik, and Rain's roles in the stories as mere henchmen who do the bare minimum in the story is disappointing. Each of their new designs are excellent aesthetically but their writing leaves much to be desired. Plus as previously stated, Megan Fox definitely did not do Nitara justice. and side note, just once i would like to see Nitara and Rain be on the good side. Rain's lust for power leading him down the wrong path is getting old, and Nitara is canonically morally neutral, she only does what she thinks will help her race survive and free her realm. It wouldn't be out of character for her to get help from someone who ISN'T an evil scumbag.

Just once. ONCE. FOR ONE MORTAL KOMBAT GAME. ONE. I would like to see Sindel survive the entire story. for the love of god why do they like killing her off so fucking much.

They really badly need to stop using the "multiple timelines" trope in their stories. They didn't do it horribly this time, but it was still kinda a bummer to see it STILL be the main plot device after the disaster mk11's story was.

The Neutral:

The new take on the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu is....interesting. I can't say whether or not it's good or bad yet, I'll have to see how they continue writing it in future installments.

Using Ermac as a Vessel for both Jerrod and the (unfortunately) newly deceased Sindel's souls COULD be interesting, i can imagine a few different ways they could expand on it but until i see the direction they choose to take it i am reserving judgement.

[phyrs]

To Survive is to Stay Alive in the Face of Opposition

December 8,

A significant date to celebrate someone who I adore.

Dear Onika Tanya Maraj,

Today is a full circle moment.

I’m so grateful for having you as one of the main person that i look up to in my whole life so far. Nothing can make me feel content other than your appearances. Your inducing words put me in so much constructive mindset on each day.

I've never in my whole entire life thinking that I'd found someone that is incredibly inspiring and empowering. I grew up listening to your music since I was 7 year old and the fact that you're still dominating and relevant is absolutely bizarre to me. I would never be who I am now without your impact on style, music, persona, hardwork and intelligence. Looking back from where you came from to the place that you are now is proven that it's crucial to appreciate all the little steps to reach the top of the ladder.

Life is so beautiful. You can develop multiple versions of yourself just by experiencing. I am in love of how you treat your music like a diary. I have been waiting for this album for five years. A lot can happen in five years. You’ve been a mogul, a legend, and a mother. Great art takes time. And this masterpiece is not just a masterpiece. It is a staple for Hip-Hop and the Music Industry.

Here are my Top 5 Favorite songs from the album + Review;

Pink Friday 2

Now before i start, words aren’t enough to determine how i feel. But I’d say that Are You Gone Already made me goosebumps. Life can be so tough. You can be euphoric but something else could intensely break your spirit. This song is a progressive motion of that experience. I knew this song is going to be a melancholic once I heard Papa Bear’s voice. What a genius way to start the album. I couldn’t imagine how it feels for a father never got to meet his grandson and losing a father at the same time. Sending my condolences to Nicki and her family. Sampling "when the party's over" by Billie Eilish not only strengthen the meaning of this song, but creates an immaculate texture and atmosphere of the album. So proud to know that this is the intro of the album.

5. Fallin 4 U

The first note that came out from the violin increased my heartbeat. I've always loved when she sings the background vocals that feels like a destiny to a particular song. It just fits the album like a pair of gloves. A solid proof that Nicki pays attention to every details in the production. I'm obsessed with how she spits rap in the second verse with multiple word plays and bars that you need to listen repeatedly to really decipher the meaning behind it.

4. Nicki Hendrix ft. Future

I fall in love with the texture of this song that complements the atmosphere of the album. Her vocals gave me life. The mixing of the outro is a spiritual experience with futuristic twist sonically.

3. Big Difference

A Hip-Hop classic. No words can describe the gaggery of her lyrical content, delivery, cadence and most importantly the production. Once the beat switches in the second verse, it just immediately explodes the album.

2. Everybody ft. Lil Uzi Vert

Instant hit. You can't listen to this song without bopping around and jump. It sounds like fireworks. The true exuberant of the album. Epicness.

1. Just The Memories

As a fan, it is impossible to listen to this song without crying. It is a symbolic for hope, longevity and memories.

My favourite lines are;

Greatest female rapper to ever live, and that's on my kid (Memories) I could've overdosed, could've been comatosed Wait, hold on, Juice, I feel the baby kickin', holy smokes I prayed for a son, my husband wanted one If they ask about me, tell 'em I was one of one

One word to describe the album.

Mellifluous.

This is such a monumental element in my life. I could not thank you enough for this. I hope you are blessed with tremendous amount of happiness. You deserve everything that you desire. I will always continue to admire and love you.

Happy Birthday

Nicki Minaj.

Love,

Fairus

[delurkr]

I like to think it's the diner Tanya worked at, because while I'm sure there could be multiple diners in the area I love being able to imagine characters doing their thing in canon places if that makes sense.

And I guess anyone could be working there since it is indeed open (the bus driver got his drink there and the open sign is lit up). If it is the diner where Tanya worked maybe Jeannie is still there 😁

I was today years old when I realized there is a water tower behind the diner. No clue how I missed it.

Was this important to point out? No, but this is always a pretty screenshot so let's admire the lighting too

[lilietsblog]

so whenever Russian characters crop up in American/English-speaking media theres a very noticable thing where writers v often dont understand patronymics and full names.

Now, there’s two gradations of “full name” that are in use here. There is the “FIO” full name, or SGP perhaps (surname, given name, patronymic), and there is the full given name.

As an example, let’s take Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich.

Ivanov is the surname. You can tell bc of hte -ov suffix at the end. (Not the only one possible but a pretty decent indication something is a surname when it is there)

Ivan is the given name. You can tell bc Russian has a set (an expansive one) of given names and this is one of them, one of the most historically popular at that.

Ivanovich is the patronymic, it can be translated as “son of Ivan”. You can tell bc of the “ovich” suffix. There is also “evich” and for at least one name just “ich”. Colloquially they will also get shortened into just “ych” making the variation “Ivanych”. (”Y” is the letter used for transliteration of a sound that doesn’t exist in English but is considered fairly close to “i’)

To be clear, “Ivanov Ivan Ivanych” is the exact same person as “Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich”, this is hte exact same name, the only thing that changes is how formal the speaker is being about it.

Female suffixes are “evna” and “ovna”. Anna Petrovna, Anna Fadeevna. There is also “ichna” for at least one name and an antiquated “ishna” which is the colloquial alternative in some cases. Anna Fadeevna = Anna Fadeishna. This IS antiquated tho.

Coming back to our Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich, this is the “FIO” form of his name, the way it will be put on formal documents that require one’s full name. The “Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov” form is also acceptable, its just not the order you write on documents in. The patronymic (Ivanovich) always comes after the full given name (Ivan), the surname can be stuck on either side of that.

The traditional respectful address to someone you know is the full given name + patronymic. Ivan Ivanovich! Could you come over here? It’s used with plural/formal ��you”. This form is also becoming obsolete in recent years but if you’re writing mid-20th-century or characters of middle age+ Ivan Ivanovich is the name to go.

(Note the difference from the address + surname form in English: Dr. Smith or Mr Smith etc. In Russian this form does not exist except several centuries back or in very very impersonal century back “citizen Ivanov” that like a policeman would use to address you. Not anyone you actually know personally. Schoolchildren will often not know their teachers’ surnames because they are all Ivan Ivanovich to them.)

Now I keep saying “Ivan” is the FULL given name. The short given name from “Ivan” is “Vanya”. This is a set linguistic fact - the set of given names in Russian is factually two linked sets, a set of full given names and a set of short given names. Some short given names can  be short from several full given names, some full given names can have several short names (a person will usually pick one to use). A short given name doesn’t go anywhere on formal documents. It just follows from your full given name naturally, like conjugation. Some full given names (Gleb, Oleg, Diana, Vera) are short enough to be used as short given names too and so don’t realy have assigned short counterparts. In fact Vera can be both a full name on its own - Ivanova Vera Ivanovna - and short for Veronica - Ivanova Veronica Ivanovna.

Short names are formed through a variety of rules. There are basic requirements for the form they take as a result though. Full given names can have “complicated” consonant pairs together: Dmitriy, Aleksandr, Pavla, Anna. Short names are “simple” will almost always go consonant-vowel. Dmitriy -> Dima, Aleksandr -> Sasha, Alik or Shura (don’t ask how that last one happened, it’s a miracle of absurdity, but it’s one of the traditional shortenings), Pavla -> Pasha (well, Pavla is a rare name, you hear Pasha and you usually assume Pavel, the male name), Anna -> Anya. (”y” is not a consonant here, “ya” is a vowel sound English doesnt really have)

(As an exception to the consonant-vowel rule, when there’s a consonant pair the second of which is “l” it’s usually kept together in the short name - it’s just very simple to the Russian ear / tongue. Vladislav - Vlad or Slava, for example)

Often a name will be formed fully from the syllables / consonants of the full name, give or take changing the last vowel to the gender neutral “a”/”ya” (It will either be “a”/”ya” or a consonant). Vladimir -> Vlad, Ruslana -> Lana, Tatiana -> Tanya, Anna -> Anya, Katerina -> Katya, Dmitriy -> Dima or Mitya, Ivan -> Vanya. And then there’s the “sha” suffix tacked on as the second syllable: Pavel -> Pasha, Natalia -> Natasha or Tasha, Daria -> Dasha, Aleksandr -> Sasha, etc.

So long as they conform to these rules, you can kind of make them up. Though considering the whole of history, you’re not super likely to make up something that hasn’t been made up before you. Anna historically speaking turns into Anya, Nyura, Nyusha... -shudders-

So how are short names actually used?

As an implication of familiarity/subordination, that’s how. For the weebs in the audience, you know the ‘-chan’ suffix in Japanese? Kind of exactly like that. Japanese has more nuances, but generally if you wouldn’t call someone -chan, you shouldn’t call them by their short name. (Unless they specifically asked you to, but I think that’s a thing in Japanese too)

Short names are never paired with patronymics. The steps of formality in address are basically “Ivan Ivanovich” => “Ivan” => “Vanya”.

(There’s also formal you, so to be completely clear: “Ivan Ivanovich” (formal you) => “Ivan” (formal you) => “Vanya” (formal you) => “Vanya” (informal you). If someone is getting called their full given name + informal you, it’s either implying antiquity - pre 20th century - or they’re using their full given name as their short given name.)

You call your children and siblings by short names. You call your friends by short names. You MIGHT call your employees, especially if they are sufficiently young, or if you’ve known them for a long time and the “familiarity” part applies, by short names.

SHORT NAMES ARE NOT FORMAL. This is important. Nobody has “Natasha” written in their passport (unless I guess they were making new documents in America or something from scratch and didn’t use any old ones as basis of establishing idenity so could make up whatever. It’s still weird! It’s like having “Johnny-boy” written in your passport!)

SHORT NAMES ARE OFTEN GENDERED BUT YOU CANNOT TELL HOW WITHOUT KNOWING THE CORRESPONDING FULL NAME. “Pasha” and “Misha” are both male names becaus they are short from “Pavel” and “Mikhail”. Of course you could have a Pavla or a Mikhaila, but the former is very rare and the latter is probably a foreign Mykaila Russianified or something. In these cases it’s usually considered normal to assume gender, even if there’s a tiny chance you could be wrong.

PATRONYMICS ARE NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES INTERCHANGEABLE WITH SURNAMES. You have the same surname as your family members, but if you have the same patronymic, either you’re siblings or there are multiple people with the same given name in your immediate family, which is slightly odd. A patronymic is formed from your father’s name by unambiguous and definite rules. Foreign names can be turned into patronymics easily. (Though kids of foreign citizens can get whatever their parents want on their birth certificate - patronymic by the rules of one of the parents’ home country, no patronymic at all, whatever) Surnames are surnames and work the same way they work anywhere else.

PATRONYMICS AND SURNAMES ARE NOT CONNECTED IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. Any surname goes with any patronymic same as it goes with any given name. Except for the obvoius “statistically likely to be from the same culture” part. (Your “Russian” character could have Georgian, Ukrainian, Armenian, Lithuanian, Bielorussian, Kazakh, Tatar descent, descent from any number of indigenous cultures on the territory of Russia that I personally never heard about until I started translating documents in high amounts and stumbling upon them. Russia is an empire!) But even that’s just statistics - you could have a Tsukino Farha Bogdanovna and I’d just go “that’s a fascinating family history right there”.

GOOGLE RUSSIAN GIVEN NAMES, DON’T MAKE THEM UP. And pay attention if something is marked as “diminutive” - that means it’s a short name, and it will not be used on formal documents or in conjunction with a patronymic. Go for the name it’s diminutive for and just have the character ask everyone to use their short name if you want - it’s trendy these days.

There’s all kinds of fuckery going on with name use on the margins - some old people will call their close friends the “patronymic + informal you” construction. (Actually it’s a “Russian babushka” stereotype that actually exists within the culture. And if anyone ever uses the “short name + patronymic” form irl it’s this category of people, though I’d imagine only in third person) Some bosses or even teachers will invite their students to call them by their short name (I am so deeply uncomfortable with this). Age is often the difference between a Vanya and an Ivan Ivanovich in the same situation.

All patronymics and a good share of surnames conjugate by gender! “Ivanov” and “Ivanova” are the exact same surname, but a guy will have the former writen in their documents and a gal would have the latter. If you legally change your gender that letter changes too. (No, there’s no gender neutral form. Some surnames, like those ending in -enko, just don’t do this, but those that do are at all times one or the other) I guess expatriates a couple of generations down could have whatever going on, but if you have an actually-born-in-Russia “Ivanova Ivan Ivanovna” that means “Ivan” is a girl with a male name for some fucking reason. Name gendering is just tradition, patronymic gendering is grammar. (And if you have an “Ivanova Ivan Ivanovich” that’s just someone making a typo) (Maybe our hypothetical Ivanova Ivan Ivanovna transitioned and liked her birth name so much, she decided to not even go for Ivanna or something else plausible, Ivan or bust. Officials would probably just shrug and go with it lmao)

Oh, and in less formal lists and situations, surname + short given name is a classical combination. When I call my grandboss, surname + short given name is how I introduce myself, because I’m much younger and much subordinate so short name it is, but she’s under no obligation to identify me from my given name so surname it is. (To people who I expect to remember my name but who weren’t expecting me to call, just surname is good, but to people who can connect my surname with my identity but probably don’t remember my given name immediately & exactly from that, giving also the form of given name they address me by is the reasonable person thing to do)

If I were introducing myself in the “Hi! I’m Tsukino Usagi!” anime intro format, I’d go for “Short given name + surname”. Short name is usually the one people think of as their personal identity as it’s whatt their close circle will have been calling them for their entire life, and ACTUALLY it’s normal for the surname to come after the given name. In a book citation of “famous doctor X did Y” they will probably be “famous doctor fullgivenname-patronymic-surname”. For a Russian speaker, switching between Japanese name order and English name order is not a difficulty, but we WILL be distressed by not being able to tell which is which and therefore which it is on sight )=

MARVEL COMICS WALL OF SHAME

- Natasha Alianovna Romanova. First, “Romanov” is not a common surname, it’s the surname of the royal family, it’s like a random English guy being called “Tudor”. Well, it’s plausible, it IS formed by the classic “common given name + -ov” rule, but Roman isn’t even that common a name (and not exactly Russian), and... well. It’s just weird. I don’t think there’s good chances for it to have come into existence as such historically WHEN IT WAS THE RULING FAMILY SURNAME. Second! Natasha is a short name! She should be Natalia/Natalya! Third... I mean I will not say Alian is not an existing male name, and I won’t even say it’s not used in any cultures that exist within Russia, but if they were aiming for “common Russian male name” they missed 180 degrees.

- Ilyana Rasputin. First, -in is a suffix that makes this surname adjective-ish, meaning it conjugates by gender, meaning she is RASPUTINA. Her brother is Rasputin. She is Rasputina. Second, again, I have heard of exactly one (1) guy with this surname, and it’s the same guy you’re thinking of right now. It is in no way, shape or form common, or reasonable to give to a character without making it a plot point. Third, Ilyana is not a Russian name that exists. Ilya is a male name, but there’s no female form. FOURTH, I distinctly remember reading a comic where she was calling her brothers “Piotr” and “Mikhail”. That’s their full names! I mean bonus points for actually finding the full names this time, but it’s extremely weird for their LITTLE SIBLING to use them! They should be Petya and Misha as far as her own speech is concerned!

P.S. “All Night Laundry” is a fantastic webcomic, but “Grandimir” is not a real name, “Grand” is not a Russian word root and will not be used in a name this way, you’re looking for “Velimir” or somethng (though that’s, like, a thousand years antiquated). Also while both the uncle and the nephew having the “Petrovich” patronymic is not that odd, Petr is not THAT rare a name and maybe their brother/father was Petr Petrovich... considering we never learn their surname, I seriously suspect the writer just confused a patronymic with a surname. Also, naming their dog the same name crosses the line into slightly weird. Who names a dog after their father? This is actually what prompted this...

[thegamingcatmom]

For the Student Denalis

Can't help but to imagine what if the sisters see MC, the new girl getting bullied and wonder how each sister would react?

It's that or MC is getting flirted with by someone random, but I'd see that as more Kate and Tanya being more driven to action

AHHH HI HELLO

It´s so funny to me how y´all are just immediately vibing with me on this silly idea. I love it. 😩🤌

Oh man, I feel that topic.

Listen-

THAT´S IT THAT´S THE REACTION. 💀

Honestly though-

Tanya

Unlike Kate, the oldest sister doesn´t tend to get physical. Also because she doesn´t have to. No. Instead, she´s just gonna let her "coven" loose on them, lol. She´s the Queen Bee in this after all, so ofc she´s gonna make use of that power. She´ll make damn sure those bullies (dunno if we´re talking multiple?) will be treated as the scum that they are. I´m talking randomly getting shoved/tripped in the hallways, their trays of food getting sent flying, their backpacks ripped off and emptied right in front of them before being shoved back in their faces-

...In other words: Everything they´ve done to her girl.

Well-

Let´s just say, MC wasn´t best impressed...

MC: "Stop that." Tanya, utterly confused: "...Why? They deserve it." MC: "You´re no better than them." Tanya: "..."

Needless to say, that didn´t change a thing, lol.

(She thought MC´s attempt utterly charming though. That girl is too precious for this harsh world.)

She still keeps it up until they apologize.

Personally.

Heartfelt.

(She´ll be observing from afar ofc. Enjoying the sight. Making sure it´s groveling enough for her tastes. It isn´t.)

Kate

The middle sister is the captain of the school´s [insert sport here] team. She has muscles is what I´m saying. And she´s not afraid to use them. Fists are flying. Literally. She will not hesitate to defend her lady´s honor, cheered on by her teammates.

...Her teammates who will not participate btw, because the middle sister has made herself more than clear that those wimps are for her alone to deal with. They disrespected her girl, after all.

It´s a matter of honor, aight?

...Needless to say, MC wasn´t best impressed-

MC, joining the scene: "What´s going on here?" The football team: *parts for her like the sea, offering a clear view of-* Kate: *in the middle of delivering another punch* MC, absolutely appalled: "Kate?!" Kate: *whips her head around, a goofy smile starting to spread* Kate: "Oh, hey babe!" Kate: *gets whacked in the face cause she was too busy admiring her love* MC: *makes to intervene but is stopped by a hand on her arm* MC: *whips around, ready to give whoever an earful-* Whoever, who turns out to be Tanya: "Let her." MC: "Wha-Tanya?!" Tanya, all smiley, like someone isn´t in the middle of perhaps losing some of their teeth: "Hey love." MC, who can´t deal anymore: "...What are you all doing?! Tanya, utterly confused: "...Watching a fight?" MC:❓💀❓ MC, who sees no other choice but to resort to using her secret weapon: "Okay, y´know what? I´m getting Irina. This is ridiculous-" Tanya: *stops her again, points to somewhere across from them* MC: *looks* Irina, standing on the opposite side of the fight: "YOU CALL THAT A PUNCH?? GET HIS ASS, KATIE!!" MC: "..."

Irina

The youngest sister doesn´t usually throw punches, but she does have moments where she just...doesn´t give a f. And MC getting bullied would defo be one such moment where she shows everyone why they better not mess with the youngest Denali member. Cause y´know what they say:

The calmest waters hide the strongest currents.

So yes, she´d defo throw a punch if she´s close with that person. And that punch would be nothing to sneeze at, lemme tell ya. But she doesn´t get into huge ass fights like Kate does. Before that happens, she gets a teacher involved.

And that´s really what sets her apart from her sisters: She ain´t got the time OR the patience for yall´s bs. She does things to get them done, not to get something else out of it (like Tanya with the public humiliation or Kate with the ego boost).

Getting a teacher involved is probs the fastest way to solve the problem, so that´s what she´ll do. 👍

Also, I can´t help but be reminded of this:

That´s literally what Irina embodies for me, no matter the universe. She´s the one to end all bs because she actually wants to end it. 😅

As for MC getting flirted with:

No, fr this time. 💀

Listen-

It´s likely gonna be the same reactions we got with MC getting bullied. Just much, much worse.

Tanya might just actually throw a punch this time. Or two. Or 20.

Kate´s gonna obliterate them. No mercy. (MC has to hold her back.)

As for Irina:

The calmest waters hide the strongest currents.

😉

.

.

.

Thanks a lot for your ask! 💋

EDIT:

I just realized these are all more scenarios for an MC who´s not quite as "new" anymore. Whoopsie. Oh well. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[tech-girls]

Spotlight: Analia Marzoratti

Each month we spotlight a woman or girl in tech who inspires us. This month we are highlighting Analia Marzoratti. Analia is a PhD student in the Applied Developmental Science program in the School of Education at UVA. She works with Dr. Tanya Evans, studying the cognitive and neural systems most affected by facing adverse environmental conditions (like those linked to poverty) in early childhood. Her long term goal is to use this research to help make changes in early childhood education practices that can make schooling more equitable long-term for children from all backgrounds.

How do you work with technology today? For my research I analyze neuroimaging data (EEG, and fMRI). This involves not just physically working with technological equipment, but also using computers and statistical software to process and analyze the data I collect with it. I write and adapt lots of code, and read a lot of papers about how other people have tackled research questions similar to mine.

What drives your interest in technology? Technology and knowledge go hand-in-hand. New knowledge helps us create technologies, and new technologies are what help us create knowledge. As a part of the really new field of educational neuroscience, it’s hard not to notice that a lot of the research questions being asked today would not have been thought of even 5 years ago, because there was no way to evaluate them and scientists just didn’t know what they didn’t know. I’m interested in staying up-to-date with and even contributing to creating the newest technologies, because that’s where I know I can find the most innovative research questions that can lead to significant changes.

What do you remember about your first coding experience? I decided to learn how to code early on while working on my Bachelor’s degree because I realized how much I needed it in my work as a research assistant, where I was helping process EEG data. My first solo-coding project was writing a script to produce a set of plots in MatLab for multiple datasets. I remember a lot of yelling at my computer, angrily hitting the run button, and late night video-calling an engineer friend. However, while it was painful at first, I found coding was one of the most valuable skills I could have gotten, and each new coding language has gotten infinitely easier!

Why is it important to get more girls and women interested in technology? For way too long now white, male voices have dominated all the platforms we use to create and disseminate knowledge, which is a great way of stifling other voices and stepping on potential innovation. This has also kept the interests of the many people out there from being equally represented in the decisions being made using what knowledge we do manage to gather. If more girls and women get into technology, we can add our unique perspectives to the process of creating new knowledge from the very beginning of the process. We can promote changes based on our own needs and take research to places it might not go otherwise, paving the way for even more women and girls like ourselves to become a part of research.

What most excites you about the future of technology? I’m excited for all the ways that technology can help make things more accessible for people, make it so that there are fewer barriers to entry for people in any field based on their background. I’m also looking forward to witnessing the moments of new discovery that we can’t even begin to imagine from the point we’re at in history.

What advice would you give to your younger self? I would absolutely tell my younger self to bite the bullet and LEARN HOW TO CODE. Like any other language, the earlier you learn it, the easier it is to pick up one coding language, and then to build on that momentum and keep learning more. Coding is everywhere and is only spreading more across every part of life and every field. I think by studying coding earlier, I also would have learned to enjoy it sooner.

[odditycircus-2002]

Medusa!Reader and Shang in Mortal Kombat 1 Part 9

Previous

NEXT

Spoilers for Mortal Kombat 1 Story Mode: Proceed with Caution

As you expected, you started to gag the moment the door to Shang Tsung's True Laboratory opened. However, what you didn't expect is learning that Earthrealm's protector and God of Fire, Lord Liu Kang, was a Titan that created existence as you know it! As if that isn't enough, some other Titan named Kronika made it so you too were a mistress of the vilest magics and married to the vilest Sorcerer to match, Shang Tsung.

Yet, it got worse when I learned that in the previous timeline, you took control of Sindel's body and made her do the most despicable acts imaginable. You noticed how your Empress glanced towards you when Geras showed her this vision, shock just as apparent. You had no words.

Liu Kang then tells you and Sindel how she was now meant to be the Empress of Outworld who ruled firmly, but fairly. With you as her loyal friend and a compassionate Healer to all. The former Titan then explains how you were never meant to become monstrous, how it was outside influences that have affected this timeline so that Shang Tsung, Quan-chi, and Shao became the villains they were once more. Yet, thankfully, they weren't able to influence you to join them.

That's when burst into Shang Tsung's laboratory with some of his soldiers with Nitara and Rain at his sides. You crouch down into a fighting stance with your sickles out and ready to rip and tear; while internally cheering on Sindel as she angrily reprimands Shao. Your snakes hissing and writhing as they leaned toward the General's direction, eager to bite. You and the snakes let out a hiss when Shao pulls out an amulet that shined brightly with unholy power. You managed to duck out of the way when a beam of red shoots out from the amulet, sucking Mileena, Kitana, Tanya, and Geras into it. This broke the camel's back, causing a full-out melee to take place.

You and Li Mei immediately partnered to take on General Shao. Although the latter has certainly learned a few things from his last fight with you, such as keeping his eyes purposefully closed or using the reflection of his ax to fight you, specifically aiming for your neck with his ax. Honestly, you probably would've loosed your head multiple times if it weren't for Li Mei pushing and pulling you out of the way. Unfortunately, General Shao manages to slip away from both of you long enough to make an attempt to use the amulet on Sindel. That doesn't happen since Li Mei kicks the disgraced General in the head hard enough to send him to the ground, with you following up with a stab to his solar plexus. This causes Shao to drop the amulet right into Sindel's hand.

With the amulet secured, you follow Li Mei and everyone else out of the lab. Not surprisingly, you're soon pursued by more of Shao's loyal soldiers. After Lord Liu Kang held the initial group back with a blast of fire; you follow it up by ripping off your mask to turn the soldiers attempting to sidestep or go under the fire, into stone; with Sindel finishing them off by unleashing her banshee shriek into the stone ceiling, causing it to collapse on the soldiers.

More of Shao's soldiers, including his loyal second-in-command, Reiko, were waiting for all of you in the upper level. You again partner up with Li Mei, this time to take down Motaro. As Li Mei occupied him from the front, you were able to sneak behind the centaurian and jump on his back. This did not make Motaro happy at ALL, as he simultaneously attempted to throw you off him and stab you with his bladed tail. However, you've been doing this sort of thing for moons when handling rage-blind Tarkatans! You bite deeply into Motaro's neck, however with only enough venom to hopefully paralyze him, as you hope to save more of it for later. Although, even sluggish, Motaro still put up a fight until one well-placed kick from Li Mei knocked him out.

The fight isn't over yet as you then had to fight alongside Sindel to take down Rain after he knocked out Li Mei with a powerful burst of water meant for the Empress. The latter also shares your deep disappointment in the High Mage.

"He disappoints us both, my Empress... I still remember the eager young boy who often stayed in my workshop for hours with a hunger for knowledge."

You soon showed Rain that you haven't actually taught him EVERYTHING you know about water magic. Unlike most of your opponents thus far, you refrained from giving Rain a lethal taste of your venom or blades. You internally scold yourself for being so soft, even though you know it's true. This fact is reaffirmed when rather than fighting with Li Mei and Sindel against Shao, you instead quickly attended to the Umgadi priestess Shao cut down. You hastily grab the nearby medical supplies to save them, although only one of them was still alive since the other died instantly from having her skull split open. Your steady hands worked fast to clean the wound, stop the bleeding, disinfect, and finally wrap and patch up the deep cut. Before you then get to work for the other Umgadi and Constables. By the time Sindel finally took down Shao and removed his forces from the building, lord Liu Kang was able to free all those who were trapped in the amulet.

You gave a smile when Sindel embraced her two daughters, sharing the feeling of immense relief that they're unharmed. Although, as Lord Liu Kang would remind you all, there's no time to waste to save the realms. You agreed and gathered all of the medical supplies Shang Tsung had lying around before embarking with your Empress. her daughters, and the others.

[shapeshiftinterest]

Thought Process, Does Mao Mao Is Gay?: mao x considering multiple ships

mao mao heroes of pureheart pride month event

prompt mix:

prompt 1 - Questioning

side: current and possible future questioning, because sometimes ppl find a label that they vibe with more and that’s hella valid

prompt 2 - Realization

story under the read more

Thought Process, Does Mao Mao Is Gay? (also on ao3)

Mao and Badgerclops were sitting on the couch, having a lazy day watching TV. It’d been surprisingly peaceful as of late, and Adorabat was on a class field trip with her dad as one of the chaperones.

Badgerclops was laughing at one of the cooking contestants flailing about as dramatic music playing during the timed challenge.

Mao shuffled in his seat, sparing a glance to his left before looking back at the TV.

“...Hey, Badgerclops,“ he started, “do you think I’m gay?“

The cyclops in question hummed, lowering the volume and leaning back on Sofia’s armrest so he could focus on his friend. “Whaddaya mean?”

Mao mimicked the other’s pose. “I dunno, just been thinking about it recently and I think I might be gay. Maybe. Maybe not??”

Badgerclops nodded, a silent encouragement for him to continue.

“I’ve dated girls before,” he started, before grumbling under his breath, “well, one girl. But that was a long time ago.“

“I mean, I used to think maybe you were aroace and just like, super flirty by nature or something,“ Badgerclops shrugged. “Most of your attention was geared towards becoming a hero, y’know?“

Mao rested his chin on his knuckles, taking a moment to gather and reword his thoughts. 

“Sometimes I get flustered talking with the King but he’s always like that,” he said, more to himself than to Badgerclops, “I banter with Orangusnake a lot but we’re rivals so that’s normal hero business. Eugene’s pretty interesting but I’m sure it’s only because we’re looking after Adorabat, and there was that whole thing with Tanya when she visited and almost took you as a bounty...“

Mao gnawed on the index knuckle of his glove before looking up. “It’s kind of embarrassing but I’ve tried imagining myself in couple situations with guys and-.”

He sighed, picking at his gloves. “I’m not sure if it’s only guys is what I’m trying to say.”

Badgerclops nodded. “You don’t have to like girls just because you dated them in the past, I get it,“ he said, patting the cat’s shoulder. “Hmmmm. Did you feel anything when Tanya was here?“

Mao’s brow furrowed. “Irritation, frustration, some sad and confused feelings, I guess? I can’t really remember, I was more focused on getting you back.“

Badgerclops aaawwwed. “But she was hot though, right?“ Aaand moment ruined.

“Badgerclops!“ Mao blustered, sitting up and blushing. His friend just laughed  and swung a leg over, pinning the cat’s down so that both heroes were lying down on their respective couch sides with their heads against the armrests.

“Answer the question, Mao~.“

Grumbling, Mao bit out a huffy ‘yes’ and crossed his arms.

“Hehe, so we’ve established that you at least still kind of like Tanya,” Badgerclops stated, ticking a claw, “and before that, you said you like daydreaming about (and flirting with) the King, Adorabat’s dad, and the leader of the Sky Pirates.” He ticked 3 more fingers.

“Wh- I said we bantered, Badgerclops! It’s completely different!“

Badgerclops rolled his good eye.

"Oh yeah, you guys were tooootally just bantering during last week’s fight," he scoffed, crossing his arms, "was checking out his butt when his axe got stuck in the fountain part of your word battle or was it a distraction tactic on his part?"

Mao let out a string of indecipherable sounds as his partner snickered.

“Dude, Mao. The king gives you looks when the two of you ‘talk’. Looks and sass that don’t really come out when he directly talks to any of the villagers. From a third party perspective, he’s definitely flirting. Same with Orangusnake. Well,” Badgerclops made a face, remembering their recent hospital visit, “almost the same.”

“Honestly I don’t talk to Eugene all that much, but I’m pretty sure he’s been warming up to both of us. Plus, I do think you should also consider...,“ he gestured between the two of them, raising an eyebrow. 

Mao stared at his co-hero, unamused. 

Badgerclops repeated the gesture, this time wiggling the eyebrow and giving a suggestive hum.

Mao snorted, giving a few half hearted kicks to the other’s leg until the other freed him. The two sat up and faced the TV again.

“Maybe,“ Badgerclops said, “you’re bi, instead of like, being into guys, specifically.“

Mao blinked, heroic brain thinking about what his companion just said. “Huh. Maybe you’re right.” He glanced at his friend and smiled, before going back to watch the screen. “Thanks, Badgerclops.”

Badgerclops raised the volume back up. “No problem, dude.” He grinned, wrapping an arm around Mao as he leaned into his side. The cat’s head rested on his chest as his ears brushed against the taller’s cheek. 

They stayed like that until both of them fell asleep.

________________________________________________________________

this is semi based on how i talk out my problems to my siblings sometimes

the couple situation is an actual thing i did when i was questioning if i liked guys and girls or just girls, in possible romantic ways

so like, could i realistically imagine and be ok with holding hands, kissing, just lying next to a person, having them touch my hair or something if they were a girl vs a guy if i HAD to be in a relationship with someone

bonus stuff i wasn’t sure how to write in:

mao and BC were holding hands while watching the TV before this conversation

mao has had dreams of him and BC living together before coming to PHV, and even after living there

mao and BC are both bi leaning towards men in this fic (badgerclops already knows about himself)

overall vibe is badgermao but they’re not dating (closer to queer platonic i think?), BUT neither of them would be opposed to dating the other

also if they did date each other later on in this fic they would definitely talk about the others (tanya, snugglemagne, orangusnake, eugene) and who would be their 3rd for a polyamorous kind of thing

[scullydubois]

Only the Light Ch. 18

18/? | AU where Melissa moves in with Scully after Scully’s abduction | angst, msr slow-burn, occasional fluff | currently: mid-s3 (canon-divergent) | T | 5k | previous chapters | read on ao3 | tagging: @today-in-fic <3

Scully, Mulder, and Missy travel to California to meet Emily and wrestle with the future.

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

The echo of Scully’s heels against the linoleum is almost enough to drown out her racing heart. Mulder’s thumping steps and her sister’s daintier ones help too, but their collective power does nothing to ease Scully’s awareness that the Earth circles the sun at a thousand miles per hour. Today, she’s feeling every bit of it. 

The three of them round a corner, and a broad-shouldered man and tiny-waisted woman come into view. Agent Feniston and the lawyer, this must be. Outside of conference room C--as planned. 

Straightening every disc in her spine, Scully extends a hand and exchanges a firm shake with each of them. Mulder and Melissa hang back. 

“Dana Scully,” she declares. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“That decision rested with the foster parents,” the male agent insists. “As does any from this point forward.”

“Yes, and I’ll be sure to thank them as well,” Scully acquiesces.

“Hello, Ms. Scully.” The lawyer uncrosses her ankles. “I’m Tanya Joyce, you can call me Tanya. As a representative of the state of California, my priority is guarding the child’s wellbeing and ensuring that any choice made is what’s best for her.”

“Of course,” Scully murmurs. “Thank you for being here.”

Tanya thumbs toward the closed door of the conference room. “Brian and Cecily are eager to meet you. The foster system has extremely limited information on little Emily. Your testimony will help us all fill in some blanks.”

Scully nods. “Me as well...this is as much a surprise for me as all of you.”

“Are we to understand that you were not aware you bore a child, Ms. Scully?” Agent Feniston asks. 

“Yes, sir. I know it’s quite hard to believe, I feel the same. I was missing for a period of time last year and was comatose when I returned.”

“Yes, and how long was that period of time, Ms. Scully?”

The edges of her lips fall. “Approximately five weeks.”

“So is it safe to assume that though the child shares your DNA, you did not carry her?”

“No sir, not that I know of. I believe that my eggs were harvested, and she was...well, she comes from one of those.”

The agent hums a note of acknowledgement. “As I told you over the phone, the federal database contained no viable DNA match of a father.”

Scully nods. “Yes sir, and I have no knowledge of what sperm may have been used.”

“Noted.” He rubs his neck. “We were lucky, we only found you because you were in the missing persons database.”

“I had no idea I was still listed there,” Scully says. “I’ve asked the FBI to remove it.”

“Well, it was a stroke of luck for us,” the agent tells her. “This little girl’s foster parents encouraged the state to pursue child abandonment charges against whoever left her. She was found outside a local care center at two weeks old, as I’ve told you.”

“Yes.” Scully purses her lips. She imagines a baby with her eyes, nose, toes, chromosomes crying on a nondescript doorstep...she and Mulder did not know what they were doing when they said they wanted the truth. 

“We’ve already confirmed your story with the FBI,” Feniston continues, “and we have proof that you were working on cases in the east at the time of Emily’s delivery to the foster center, so you are free of any child abandonment charges.”

“Wonderful,” Scully replies, but really, those were the least of her concerns. “May I see my daughter now?” 

That’s the first time she’s ever said that sentence, and she didn’t expect terror to shoot up her spine. Is this what it is, having an extension of your life outside your body?

The lawyer steps forward. “I’ll introduce you to Brian and Cecily, they’d like to speak with you first.”

Scully does not like the way that sits in the air. Still, she musters a smile. “It would be my pleasure.”

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

Mulder and Melissa make themselves at home on a pair of leather chairs outside the conference room. They have been the pall-bearers keeping Scully aloft as her crushed dreams reinvent themselves as high hopes. They don’t understand how it happened any more than Scully herself: one phone call turned into multiple consultations with Agent Feniston, then Tanya and California Social Services and finally, DC social workers who performed background checks and prepared forms so that Scully could come here today to meet her baby and, God-willing, bring her home.

It doesn’t happen this fast, it never does--different voices said these same words to them a dozen times. And yet, barely two weeks after Agent Feniston’s fated voicemail, here they are. On All Hallow’s Eve, no less. Just in time for Emily to complete her first rotation around the sun.

They both play contrasting yet crucial roles in Operation Miracle Baby, as Mulder dubbed it. Dana has sobbed into Missy’s shoulder every night for the past two weeks; happy tears (her baby! she has a baby!), sad tears (she has a baby…and she didn’t even know...), scared tears (a baby! a baby, Missy! probably already walking, and maybe even talking if she’s exceptional...). The situation--and its implications--are impossible to reconcile in such a short time, if at all. Scully’s petite frame could not physically contain it. 

Mulder’s the comic relief, the distraction, the reminder that nothing can be so grave if there's still breath left in your body. He bought a CD of nursery rhymes and stuck in it his beat-up office radio, playing it through the day while Scully labored over this form or that and he pretended to alphabetize the case file drawer. Now, he hums himself to sleep every night with one of those rhymes; he’s hoping this new skill will come in handy. 

He would’ve bought toys and baby clothes too, but Melissa made him swear not to in case the adoption falls through. And she’s right, he can’t bear to imagine the pain Scully would feel packing those away. For sale: baby shoes, never worn hits you no matter who you are. Still, he has a stuffed UFO and a Build-a-Bear fox (yes, he went in and filled it himself) hidden in his closet, and he hopes they won’t go to waste. 

Operation Miracle Baby has been as covert as anything Mulder’s ever been involved in. He, Melissa, and Mrs. Scully are the only ones in his partner’s circle with any knowledge of what’s going on. No one else, in Scully’s words, matters. Trinity too has received a full briefing from Missy and is ecstatic about her girlfriend potentially becoming an auntie. Skinner was told it was a family emergency--and well, it is--though surely he’s suspicious about both of his agents requesting time off. Bill Jr. has no idea they’re in San Diego, though they may seek “refuge” (the air quotes are Missy’s) at his place if the proceedings drag on. 

This is a triumph or failure to be shared only with those most beloved, that’s what Scully said to them the night before they boarded the plane. Mulder has never been included in anyone’s most beloved before. It feels pretty damn good.

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

The perky lawyer raps on the conference room door, opening it in response to a voice on the other side. Scully’s breath catches….a strawberry-haired infant rests in her mother’s arms (Scully hates to think it, but surely this woman is more Emily’s mother than she is), pulling at a lock of the woman’s blonde hair. 

The woman turns her way, and Scully gets her first glimpse at Emily’s face. Emily. Her baby. She wondered the whole flight here whether she would feel a connection….a sense of recognition...upon laying eyes on her daughter. And my god, it’s like some chained section of her heart has burst open, flooded with all the good feelings of the world. Icy blue eyes and cherub cheeks...that’s her baby. That’s her baby.

She watches as her baby is passed to a woman in a CA Social Services button-up who slides past Scully in the doorway like she’s not even there. Scully has a split-second to notice the dimples on her daughter’s cheeks, but that’s it. Emily’s gaze misses her entirely. 

Tanya strides toward the couple in the room, Scully following behind. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Lace, this is Dana Scully, Emily’s biological mother.”

“We’re so glad to meet you,” the man says, shaking Scully’s hand with a firm grip. “I’m Brian, and this is my wife Cecily.”

“Thank you for speaking with me,” Scully tells them, shaking Cecily’s hand in kind. “I understand you’ve cared for Emily since shortly after she arrived at social services.”

“Yes,” Cecily confirms. “She came to us when she was a month old. Raising her has been an absolute joy.”

Brian nods. “She’s the second infant we’ve fostered. We adopted our first one, Andrew, when he was a year and a half.” 

“I didn’t realize you had another child,” Scully converses, feeling out of her depth. “It must have been quite a transition, taking Emily in.”

“It sure was, but she’s an angel, truly,” Brian says. “We couldn't fathom that someone could abandon her and get away with it, that’s why we contacted Agent Feniston.”

Cecily chimes in--”We were told the chances of finding a DNA match in the federal database was slim. We didn’t expect to learn that you were unaware of Emily’s existence!”

“Yes, I’m still coming to terms with it all,” Scully replies. “I’m grateful that you’ve given me the opportunity to see her, at the very least.”

“When we heard your story, we knew it would be heinous of us to say no,” Cecily says, offering a sympathetic smile. 

“You’re an FBI agent, did we hear that right?” Brain asks.

“Yes sir, I’ve been with the Bureau five years now.”

“You live in DC?”

Scully nods. “Around the corner from the National Mall.”

“That’s exciting!” Cecily pipes up. “How did you find yourself having Emily in San Diego?”

“I actually have no idea, Mrs. Lace,” Scully murmurs. “My family lived here when I was young, but I haven’t been back since. Coincidentally, my brother lives not too far off.”

“Wow,” Cecily gasps. “They weren’t kidding about you being a missing person.”

“No ma’am.” She went from a missing person to missing a person. No wonder she’s spent the past year feeling so empty. 

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

Mulder and Melissa get only the slightest moment to catch their breath before a child that is unmistakably the progeny of Dana Scully is carried into the lobby. Her hair curls around her ears in a cute mushroom top, her tongue dancing in her mouth like it has a mind of its own. They stare; they know better, but fuck it, if any baby is worth staring at, it’s this one. 

“Is that--?” Mulder whispers.

“Yeah,” Missy breathes. 

They’ve both seen the pictures, they are well aware that it’s her. They say these things for the awe of it. 

“She’s…” Mulder’s eyes are wide. “She’s bigger than I thought she would be. Not fat, I mean. Just...a whole tiny human.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Melissa smiles at her niece, who is now seated on her caretaker’s lap across the hallway. Emily’s big eyes blink at her, containing silent judgements. How like her mother she is.

Missy elbows Mulder. “I bet she orders mushroom pizza and then picks the mushrooms off because apparently ‘the cheese tastes better than on the regular cheese pizza,’” she muses, naming one of her sister’s quirks. 

Mulder likes this game. “I bet she vehemently denies the existence of extraterrestrials only to secretly believe that her dashing partner is right,” he offers.

Missy smirks. “I bet she would find this game very stupid if she understood it.”

“I’m all in on that one.” Mulder mimes pushing a pile of poker chips into the center of a table. 

Missy laughs, looks toward her seat partner with soft eyes. “She’s gonna be a great mom, isn’t she? Dana, I mean?”

“Oh yeah.” Mulder clasps his hands in his lap. “We should be so lucky to have a little Scully in the world.”

“Mm-hm.” Missy focuses on his face, watching for the slightest move that might give his thoughts away. “And she’ll be able to do it alone, do you think?”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll need some help from Mrs. Scully, and you, and…” he trails off before adding his own name, but Missy’s mind fills it in reflexively. “She’ll need help,” Mulder finishes, “but yeah, she’ll be incredible.”

The details have already been parsed out. As a single mother, Scully is required to list a guardian who would take custody of Emily if something were to happen to her. She listed her mother as the primary one--the social worker told her it’s best if it’s someone who has child-rearing experience--and Missy as the secondary guardian. She would, after all, already live in the child’s household. 

Then there was the matter of the job--its extensive time requirements, travelling, and danger level were all of concern to the agency. This came as no surprise to Scully; a single female FBI agent does not make the ideal adoption candidate. And though she hasn’t yet spoken to the Bureau, Mulder has promised her they’ll work something out. It can be like your leave of absence, he assured her. You tackle the paper trail and I’ll focus on following the suspect’s trail. Easy-peasy.

That’s what he says to her, though he’s terrified of losing her as his partner...Of her being reassigned to something simpler or leaving the Bureau entirely. She could teach at Quantico, that schedule would be a hell of a lot easier than running on Mulder time. Agent Scully can pack for hastily-booked flights at midnight then catch them at 7am, but Emily’s mother couldn’t. He will have to reckon with this if all the pieces fall into their graceful place. He’ll have to figure out how to rearrange their partnership for her, or even worse, how to live without her as his partner. Or maybe even at all. 

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

Scully glances at her shoes, then summons the courage to meet Mrs. Lace’s hazel eyes. “I hope you will consider my request. I know it’s not up to you entirely--the court will have the final say--but my abduction experience has left me unable to have a biological child, so learning of Emily was truly a miracle of the highest order.” 

Her voice clips as she takes a breath. “I understand that it would be a huge sacrifice on the part of your family, and that you’ve developed a bond with Emily over the past eleven months. I just ask you both to please...think about it.” Tears twinkle in her eyes. She made it, thank god, she made it without breaking down! She’s rehearsed that speech ten times over.

Cecily lays a hand on her husband’s arm. “Of course, Dana. It would be a painful sacrifice to us, you’re correct, but we understand that you’ve flown across the country to be here, and that you’ve brought witnesses to testify to your character, so your commitment is clear. We’ll listen and make as compassionate a decision as possible.”

Scully’s lips creep into a smile. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” She steps back, the weight of imminent sobs settling over her chest. 

“Ms. Scully has already undergone most of the requirements needed for adoption,” the lawyer tells Mr. and Mrs. Lace. “Medical clearance, psychiatric clearance, criminal background check, and home study. In the spirit of her unique circumstances, California and the District of Columbia have agreed to cooperate to make the process as smooth and expedient as possible, if you should choose to surrender Emily to her. I don’t mean to sway your decision in any way, just to give you all the available information.” 

The couple nods. “Thank you, Tanya,” Cecily answers. “We’d like to speak with the first witness now.”

Scully balks. She expected more questions, a barrage of them, as intense and prying as if she were testifying in front of Congress. And she was ready for that--she was prepared to do whatever they asked of her, to show that there are no lengths she wouldn’t go for Emily. She’s already documented every detail of her life for social services and given over the necessary specimens to prove that no, she’s not a drug user, and yes, her thyroid is hyperactive, but she takes medication for that and her doctor will confirm that it’s under control. 

And if they wanted to know more, she’d tell them. She’d tell it all. Her deepest, darkest secret (telling Daniel that yes, he should leave his wife & kids...all for her, to be with her), the most petty thing that haunts her (stolen cigarettes, smoked on the family porch at 1am), what she wants to say most but can’t (I love you)...a part of her was taken to create Emily. She would give the rest away to keep her.

There was a moment, in one of the drab little interrogation rooms at DC social services, where Scully was met with a question that lunged toward her like a time-bomb. Pull the fuse, pull the fuse it taunted her. See what happens. Instead, she played it off. Pretended she didn’t hear its doomed tick. Feigned none the wiser. No, she isn’t aware of any potential medical condition that would inhibit her life expectancy or ability to care for a child, she told the nice woman. Thank god they got the chip out of her neck before it showed up on any x-rays. 

She snaps back to reality, watching as the conference door opens, and her sister enters the room. 

“Thank you, Dana,” Tanya says, and she assumes that’s the lawyer’s way of telling her to get out, so she does. Outside the room, she settles next to Mulder in a seat that’s still warm.

“How’d it go in there, champ?” he chatters. “You need some water or anything?”

Scully’s not listening. Her eyes are trained on the baby girl across the way with hair too auburn to be brunette that’ll require a smattering of box dye every two weeks to qualify her as a soulless ginger. 

Emily’s eyes land on the woman she does not know is her mother, studying this new face with an infant’s usual curiosity. Mulder has realized by now that the little girl is of much more interest to his partner than he is, and he watches as mother and daughter wave to each other.

Scully lets out a laugh so strangled that for a moment Mulder thinks it’s a cry and jumps to comfort her. He relaxes back into his seat once he sees the joy on her face.

“She’s a sweetheart, huh?” Mulder wisecracks as the young girl jams her fingers into her mouth.

Scully beams. “She’s a baby, that’s her way of learning the world!”

“Hey, I’m not knocking it. That’s my personal preference as well,” he says with a lop-sided smile. 

“Yeah, well, she’s not licking evidence,” Scully quips. 

Mulder shrugs. “A man can’t help his oral fixation. Haven’t you ever heard of Freud…?” he lets it slide off his tongue. 

Scully rolls her eyes. His inability to maintain an appropriate manner is nothing if not inspiring. 

She gestures toward Emily. “You’re already encouraging bad behavior. Tsk-tsk,” she teases. 

“That’s my job as--hey, wait. What’s she gonna call me?” If you get custody, of course passes silently between them.

“I don’t know, Mulder,” Scully says, watching her daughter out of the corner of her eye. “I hadn’t really thought about it.” That’s a lie. She’s sat up during the night trying to decipher Mulder’s relation to Emily. He would certainly be the male authority in her life, but that doesn’t make him a father figure. Right? 

Scully adored her father because he was the head of the family, and he embraced the responsibility, always making sure they had what they needed. While her mother was often the one doing the grunt work of caring for them, her father provided for them. His long deployments with the Navy protected them. Scully understood his sacrifice and loved him for it 

That’s not how it would go with Emily. If she were so lucky as to get the child, Scully would be the caretaker and the provider. A two-in-one deal with a high price. What would that mean, for Emily? Scully could do it, she believes that. Not that it would be anything less than utterly exhausting, but with a little help from her mother and her sister, she could make do, and they say it takes a village to raise a child anyway, so what’s so bad about that?

Since she’s filling those roles herself, that leaves...well, Mulder could be the fun uncle, that fits him. Bill Jr. isn’t gonna cut it, and neither is Charlie, considering that he’s god knows where. Besides, it’s unlikely that Mulder will get a chance to know a biological niece or nephew. He and Emily could fill missing pieces in each other’s lives.

Scully’s eyes trace the contours of her partner’s face. “Do you have a preference about what she calls you?”

“I was hoping for His Royal Highness Fox Mulder of Martha’s Vineyard--is that too much?”

Scully lets a strand of hair fall over her face. “It might take her awhile to get her tongue around that.”

“Or it’ll speed up her speech acquisition,” Mulder replies. 

“Oh, you’re a child-rearing connoisseur now?”

Mulder twiddles his thumbs. “It is my goal to raise the first kid to transcribe canine language into English.”

“Really? I wasn’t aware of that,” Scully tells him, a smile flitting on her lips. It’s this kind of banter that keeps her sane. A few minutes out here with him, and she’s forgotten that what happens in that conference room will dictate the rest of her life. 

Across the hallway, Emily giggles at the air, and it fits, doesn’t it? Here she is, already laughing at Mulder’s jokes like the Scully girl she is. 

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

It feels like a prisoner exchange when witness number one in their civil-that-sure-feels-like-a-criminal case joins Scully back in the hallway, and Mulder is called forward “to the stand.” He swears he found a penny in the parking lot this morning & promises to bring back good news. Scully’s pretty sure he made that story up, but she’s no less hopeful that it’ll come true.

Returned from her brief stint in captivity, Missy dives right into a discussion of her niece: “Look at her, Dana, she looks just like you!”

“Well, she does have fifty percent of my DNA,” Scully concedes with an admiring glance at the little girl.

“Have you gone over to see her?”

Scully shakes her head. “I didn’t think that would be proper.”

“Are you kidding me?” Missy retorts. “First of all, Brian and Cecily are very nice people, and I’m not supposed to say this, but I think there’s a chance that Emily will be yours. Secondly, this could be your only opportunity to interact with your daughter and you’re not gonna take it?”

Scully bites her lip. Her sister knows how to craft an argument. “Alright, but you have to back me up.”

“Trust me, I wanna see her just as badly as you.”

Scully steels herself, then approaches the woman in the polo shirt. “Hello.” She does a polite half-wave, which she’s never done before and which makes her feel ridiculous. “I’m the potential adoptee, and I was wondering if I could say hello to this precious little girl.” It all feels completely out of character, like she’s reading lines from a script. But this is it, this is her reality.

The woman’s face offers little in the way of recognition. “You can have a supervised visit with her, yes,” she recites, as rehearsed as Scully. 

“Great.” Scully claps her hands together. “May I take her to my sister right over there?”

The woman nods. Scully lays her hands on Emily’s waist and lifts the girl gently from the woman’s lap. She is heavier than Scully imagined, or maybe just heavier than she hoped. Every ounce is a reminder of unseen existence and unwitnessed growth.

Emily does not balk, just stares up at her mother with those probing eyes. 

“Hi baby girl,” Scully coos to her daughter as she settles her against her hip. “Can you say hi? Have you got that one yet?”

The girl blinks. “Ma-ma.”

Scully crooks her neck, tries to reign in her racing imagination. All babies do this at this age, don’t they? Calling every woman mama and every man dada. Emily’s no exception. And yet...for that to be the first word her daughter has ever said to her. God winked at her, and she’s glad to have caught it. 

The pair makes it to Missy, who blows a kiss in Emily’s direction. “Hey there little one.” She extends her index finger, and the girl latches onto it. 

Scully cradles her baby’s head, Emily’s fine hair soft beneath her fingers. 

“She’s even-keeled for a baby,” Missy remarks, wiggling her finger and watching Emily crack a smile. 

“Yes,” Scully gurgles out of the sheer joy. She settles into her chair with Emily in her lap. “Do you know what she said to me?”

Missy looks up. “What?”

“Mama.” Scully dons a triumphant grin. “She called me mama.”

“Oh, no way!” Missy squeals. It’s a bit too loud and sudden, making Emily jump. The ladies laugh, and Scully pulls her daughter in closer, kissing the crown of her head. She still has that baby smell; the freshness of new life and all its purity. Scully sighs. It must have been even stronger when she was born.

Scully closes her eyes. If she had one chance to pause life somewhere along the way, to linger in a perfect moment longer, she would do it right now and she would never regret it. 

“My baby…” she breathes into Emily’s ear, hoping it will stick. That one day she’ll remember and find her way home, should she need to.

A warm tear slides down Scully’s cheek and lands in Emily’s lap, a dark drop on the girl’s corduroy pants. “Mama loves you, Emily.” She tightens her embrace. “That’s me,” she sniffs. “I love you, Emily.”

Observing this, Missy feels that she is an interloper and slips off to the bathroom, leaving mother and baby to have their moment. 

Scully strokes the girl’s tiny palm with her thumb. She has missed so much already, and my god, she could miss so much more. What is love, if not sacrifice? Hadn’t that been the takeaway from each week of Sunday school?

The conference door opens, and Scully finds herself irritated that life has failed to pause. Oh, what wouldn’t she do to take the reins from God, even for a moment? She looks up at Mulder, doe-eyed as he processes the optical illusion that is Emily and her mother. Said mother sees the tenderness on Mulder’s face as he comes to terms with this sight, and something in both of them breaks, and something else opens. 

Mulder approaches quietly, apprehensive about ruining the moment. Little does he know, he’s not ruining it; he’s completing it. 

“Hey,” Scully swoons. “How was it?”

He’s too earnest to crack a joke right now. “Less nerve-wracking than I expected,” he murmurs. “Brain and Cecily are good people.” 

Scully can’t help but wonder if they’re hammering this point about Brian and Cecily to make her feel better when the gavel falls in their direction. Mulder directs her train of thought away from this when he kneels in front of Emily.  His eyes are as soupy as ever, Scully notices; she could sink right into them.

“May I?”

Scully chuckles under her breath, like a stranger has just asked if they could pet her dog. “Of course, Mulder. Say hi.”

Over the past weeks, Mulder spent considerable time anticipating this initial interaction. First impressions are important, after all, and there is no one he has wanted to impress more than this sweet girl. Ultimately, he decided that he didn’t care what their meeting was, as long as it would be. And now that he’s here, knelt in front of his two favorite girls, he’s ready to make a promise.

He envelops Emily’s closed fist with one hand and uses the other to caress Scully’s palm. “I want you to know,” he begins, shifting his gaze between mother and daughter, “that I’ll always be here for you.” 

He looks to Scully, realizing that Emily is unable to comprehend what he is saying. “Regardless of Brian and Cecily’s choice, I am prepared to make every sacrifice so that you two can be a family. The family you deserve to be. I know what it’s like to not have that, and christ, Scully, I’m not letting you go through that. You’ve had enough for one lifetime.”

Scully’s face puckers. She is moved on a dimension that transcends the spiritual, if such a thing is possible. She closes her eyes, lets the tears slip out, then softens her focus on him. 

“Thank you, Mulder...Fox,” she effuses, needing to heighten the intimacy. “Emily and I…” she kisses her daughter’s temple again. “Well, you know. You already know.” Her voice is somber almost, reminiscent of a wedding vow’s binding utterance.

Mulder smiles up at them, pats Scully’s hand. “I know. Me too.” 

There are many phrases that could fill her blank, but he chose his favorite, and he’s got an inkling that he’s right.

Scully sucks in a breath, and it’s the first one that has ever counted. Earth is new to her, again.

The door opens a second time, and the lawyer approaches with Brian and Cecily behind her.

“Mr. and Mrs. Lace would like to take some time to think about their decision,” Tanya announces. “You will understand, they hope…?”

Scully nods, swallowing back a lump in her throat. She would like to break into a tantrum, throwing chairs and screeching every obscenity she knows. Begging please, please, don’t let me miss another heartbeat. Let me live in this Heaven I’ve found. But no answer is better than an immediate rejection, so she screws her lips into a smile and gives away two more handshakes. 

“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Lace. I’m grateful for this opportunity.”