#is it better than losing instructional time again? also yes

[lightblueminecraftorchid]

Packing ice cubes in an insulated bottle to attempt to schedule the near-inevitable dissociative episode today. We deal with trauma LATER when I don’t have MEETINGS.

[kiwicopia]

MDNI | Themetober: Midnight Ball

Vampire!Sylus x Fem!Reader

CW: Vamp feeding, use of a pet name, praise, sex against a window, licking, biting, begging, cunnilingus, slight orgasm denial, creampie, cock warming.

tags: @sweetchildcloud

Themetober Masterlist

Things were never supposed to end up like this. Perhaps if you had listened to the rumors about the ball tonight, you would have left with most of the others that attended the event—or, better yet, never came at all. Still, the rumors of the midnight activities afterwards had piqued a certain curiosity within you, and it couldn’t be helped if you desired to see what all it entailed. Though this may have been more than you bargained for with your curious little mind.

Your nails scraped against the surface of the desk as your eyes burned a hole into the ceiling while another moan was pulled from your lips. Strong arms were looped around your legs, keeping them apart and pinned in place while a tongue lapped at your cunt in slow, methodical movements. “Please,” you begged. “Go faster.” 

His movements ceased for a moment, allowing a few small tuts to be heard before he continued at the same agonizing pace. The tip of the man’s tongue rolled over your clit, sending a sharp pang of pleasure up your body, causing your legs to quiver beneath his hold. Sylus was biding his time with you, tasting all that he could before ruining you, however, he was beginning to find difficulty in his pace. 

Your eyes tore away from the ceiling to look down at him, but all you could see was the fabric of your dress shifting as his head moved beneath it. All of a sudden, his nose rubbed against your bundle of nerves as his tongue delved in between your folds to lick at your insides. The sudden action pulled another moan from your throat while also causing your back to arch from the surge of pleasure that flooded your body further. 

Sylus’ pace quickened, his head bobbing faster the harder his tongue lapped at your insides. He was losing control and falling deeper into his desires, but you never noticed. You were too focused on how good everything felt. The way his nose constantly nudged against your clit, the shake of your legs, and the bubbling of the pleasure that built up within your core. Release wasn’t too far away now, and you hung your head back and released another breathy moan before closing your eyes. “Yes, yes,” you whispered. A small chant that only served to spur him on even more. Faster, faster, so close, so close, almost there, and—. 

The white-hot pleasure you so desperately awaited never came, and the bubbling in your core ebbed away when he suddenly unhooked his arms from around your thighs and stood up. Your eyes snapped open as your confusion etched itself on your face, and your eyes met his shortly after realization hit, and your parted lips closed the second he spoke. 

“Against the window.” It was a demand, and your body obeyed without a single hint of hesitation. Sliding off the polished oak, and with legs a bit shaky from the earlier pleasure, you moved towards the bay window within the study. With knees pressed into the plush pillows beneath you, and hands firmly planted against the glass in front of you, your eyes glanced over your shoulder and at him. “Face forward, kitten, and keep your legs apart,” he instructed. 

Again, your body listened without fail, and your legs parted as the soft clinking of a buckle rang in your ears. A shaky breath fell from your lips when his chest pressed against your back, moving you further up and against the glass window. Sylus’ hands started at your shoulders, with his fingers slipping beneath the fabric and slowly tugging it down before pressing his lips against the soft skin. Tender kisses trailed from the back of your right shoulder and up your neck the more he peeled your dress down, only ceasing when your tits finally spilled out. 

“Pretty girl,” he whispered. His lips parted as his tongue slid out and licked a thick stripe from your pulse point up to the lobe of your ear, earning a soft mewl from you. Sylus chuckled as an arm slid around your waist, allowing his large hand to cup a breast while the other slid to his pants, freeing his cock from the confines of the fabric. His index finger and thumb tweaked at the nipple, toying with the perky nub until it pebbled. The other hand began to slowly pump himself for a moment, and he groaned softly at the ache that clawed within his abdomen. 

Sylus then gave your nipple a harsh pinch, causing you to cry out from the mixture of pleasure and slight pain before he moved it lower to hike your dress up around your hips. His body shifted behind you, eventually squishing your tits against the window as he aligned the head of his cock with your entrance. Realization quickly flashed in your head. “Wait—.” 

The rest of your sentence turned into a sharp gasp when his hips thrusted forward, burying his cock inside your warm cunt inch by inch. Your nails scraped against the glass in an attempt to quell the burning stretch caused by his sheer size. Sylus didn’t whisper any sort of apology as he repeatedly snapped his hips against you, groaning softly in your ear each time your gummy walls pulled at him when he slid back. Greedy little thing, he mused. 

Your head shifted to the side, with your cheek shoved against the glass as moans spilled from your lips the more his cock bullied your slick hole. Sylus watched your eyes grow heavy with lust, half-lidding the more he fucked into you, and he soon pressed his face against your neck. Your delicious scent wafted through his nose, filling him with a different type of need, and it only grew when hearing how wildly your heart thumped in your chest. 

Blood was pumping, and he couldn’t hold himself back any longer—not that he planned to that night. His tongue lapped at the soft flesh covering your pulse point before allowing his fangs to scrape against the skin. Your gasp didn’t go unheard, and he kept you still and in place before letting his fangs dig against your skin once more, this time drawing blood. A primal growl rumbled in his throat the moment the sweet substance touched his tongue. His fingers dug into your hips, holding your wriggling body as still as possible while he both fucked and fed on you. 

The sensation burned at first, what with the way his fangs tore small bits of flesh to procure the sweet ambrosial substance within, however, the burning ebbed away, having been replaced by a soothing and pleasurable warmth that blanketed your body. With your body more pliant now, Sylus continued with his feeding, all while pumping his cock deeper inside you. 

You moaned at the delicious sensation as the pleasure licked at your core. The familiar feeling returned, and your walls squeezed around him the closer it came for you. The vampire groaned again before moving his arms around your waist, hugging you tightly against him while also keeping you up against the window. Sylus knew you were reaching the end, and so was he. His cock twitched inside of you each time your walls squeezed around him, coaxing him to simply let go, but he didn’t. Not yet. Not until he heard you say it. His lips detached from your neck as he moved to your ear. 

“Say it,” he growled. “Tell me that you want it inside, kitten.” 

His length shoved itself back into the warm embrace of your cunt, earning a sharp moan from your pretty lips. “Want it,” you replied. “I need it.” The slight whine in your voice was all he needed to finally let himself come undone. 

Sylus’ arms tightened around your waist as he fucked into you one last time, burying himself as deep as possible before spilling into you, painting your insides white with cum. It was enough to finally drive you over the edge. Your sharp cry pierced his ears as your release finally came, causing your legs and thighs to shake against him before going slack. 

“Good girl,” he praised. While still inside of you, the vampire shifted his body around, lifting you up against him as he sat down on the pillows in the bottom of the bay window. Once situated, Sylus carefully maneuvered you around until your chest laid against his. You were worn out, he could tell, and he placed a hand to your neck before letting his thumb gently rub against the spot he fed from. His lips soon curled into a slight smirk as you drifted off on top of him. 

You would never know that he had his eyes set on you the second you entered his mansion, or how he purposely danced with you, staking claim to ward off others of his kind. Sylus had to be thankful for your curious little mind. If not for your desire to know what the activities after a midnight ball were, then he never would have been able to make you his.

[weebsinstash]

so like in the most awful manipulative evil way possible can you imagine Valentino pulling some outright DEBAUCHED, VILLANOUS shit like making Angel do one of those "ha ha you were blindfolded and your partner isn't who you thought it was" sorta pornos because yes that's an entire genre and for him, the blindfold gets ripped off and it's, ya know, his friend, YOU

and you'd think "oh chicks would be safe though right" WRONG BECAUSE APPARENTLY ON ANGEL'S WIKI IT SAYS HE'LL FUCK WOMEN IF THEY PAY EXTRA also like how does that even work out. Like... dude is a hole a hole for you??? Like with Husker??? I guess being able to withstand sex is different than being actively turned on and desiring but I guess that's pretty sad on his part, he's probably snorting pills and shit to get it up just to get the job done

Also I need to visit genuine nonplatonic yan Angel x male Reader at some point but that's a story for another time. God the absolutely TOXIC potential of poly Val/Angel/Reader like ughhhhh the suffering, throw Vox in there too and you've got just a bunch of toxic codependent horny addicts and then also there's the TV they watch porn on cjfjfnfjr

But like. Valentino just being a MENACE because one or both of you have CROSSED HIM. he wants to punish you both in such a fucked up horrible way that he also wants to get off on and potentially film for himself or profit(and I imagine even outside of this specific scenario, Val would be 500% a voyeur/cuck to some degree and loves watching his toys play together, like didn't he even kinda make Vox strip in a gram post once? Once you're his ho, you're his ho, that certain "I haven't fucked you" type of respect is never regained back)

I just picture. Maybe Angel is blindfolded but he's still in an aggressive dominant role and maybe even instructed to be rough or say really mean shit (slapping you, calling you a whore, demeaning you about how much you're definitely enjoying this) and all he can tell is that his partner is gagged and restrained, and at some point in the most traumatizing post nut clarity possible the blindfold is removed and one of two things happens

1. You were gagged but unlike him WASNT blindfolded so you could see him and cry through your gag and like pointlessly uselessly call for his help and tell him who you are but it doesn't work and that's like part of your punishment

Or 2. You're blindfolded and kept ignorant and Valentino holds this over Angel's head like an atomic fucking bomb. "You better remember this the next time you try to betray me, because I have pleeeenty of nice footage to show your little friend if this happens again"

just saying, I doubt Valentino would even NEED to use Angel's contract to make him behave anymore after getting THAT kind of dirt on him. Angel's SO lonely, and he can't lose his best friend, and also, he couldn't possibly traumatize you even worse like that.... totally not also being potentially selfish and self serving "I can only protect you if you're around me" or some deranged shit... and of course, now Val gets another nice little plaything out of it too, isn't that so nice for him ❤️

[honestlyvan]

CONTROL ANNOTATED: DIDN’T WE JUST DO THIS?

(Also available on Dreamwidth!)

Hi! It’s me and @drdarling again! We wrote the Alan Wake 2 annotation for Ahti’s dialogue! I’m aware there’s been guides like this out for like three years but also I wanted to do it myself in the style of the previous guide, mostly out of curiosity to see how the style of his dialogue has changed because it’s… definitely different :’D

Once again thanks to Saikku and RH for the help with the translations, and once again Finnish is very regional and my translations are just one Finnish reading on what the fuck he is saying. The point here is to demonstrate that Ahti isn’t cryptic, he’s quite comprehensible but he’s also definitely just saying shit to mess with people.

Spoilers for all of Control past this point.

Ahti intro, points Jesse to the elevator:

There you are! You are here about the job. Janitor’s assistant. You need to go to the interview. Go that way to the elevator. Very good. I’m Ahti, the janitor, by the way. You’ll work for me. You can say I sent you. If they don’t hire you, niin johan on helvetti. There be work for the axe, take them behind the sauna, jumalauta.

“niin johan on helvetti” – cursing. “it (sure is/will be) hell” translates broadly to “there will be hell to pay”

“There be work for the axe” – “olla kirveelle töitä”, open-ended threat; something needs rectifying, with force if necessary

“take them behind the sauna” – “viedä saunan taakse”, “put someone out of their misery”, to execute someone. Saunas are usually built away from the house, so anything happening behind them would not be visible to the main house and yard.

Jesse: Ahti the janitor is a friendly face in my book.

Better than somebody with no face at all. Think about it, no face.

Jesse makes her way down to Ahti’s office in Maintenance:

Well done. You got the job. It’s place for congratulations. Jippii, saatana. (note from Autumn: Very deadpan delivery on this one that makes me lose it every time.) It happened in the last drop. I truly need an assistant.

“Jippii, saatana.” – “Yippee, (saatana)”, loanword from English.

“in the last drop” – “viime tipassa”, common idiom, “in the nick of time”

Jesse asks for help getting to the override to get the lockdown lifted:

Yes, yes. Easy peasy. It’s just around the corner. But first we need to get you working! Very small couple of hours job.

“just around the corner” – interesting case of Ahti using the correct English idiom rather than saying “behind the corner” as we’d say in Finnish.

“Very small couple of hours job.” – not an idiom, but a very common part of ESL English from a Finnish speaker, dropping verbs and particles.

Jesse inner monologues, “Something tells me it’s gonna be more than that.”:

Jahaa, jaa-a, you think there’s a dog buried in this? I can tell you are not a yesterday’s grouse’s son. That’s why you’ll make a great assistant. Very well, I’ll hit the facts on the table. Mä kyllä sanon perkele suoraan että this house has a vermin problem, a bad one. They’ve already messed up the cooling pumps and the power generators of power plant, perkele. And the pensioner inside is starting to feel the band around his head tighten. The situation needs to be fixed before the plant blows up and we all disappear like a fart in Sahara, perkele. But don’t you worry, I’ve left you clear instructions. You’ll catch the end of the thread before I go to my vacation. The works on the task board here you can do later when you have time.

“there’s a dog buried in this” – “koira haudattuna”, common idiom meaning that the situation is not what it seems, or there is a hidden (negative) side to the story being told.

“a yesterday’s grouse’s son” – “eilisen teeren poika”, common idiom, “born yesterday”

“Mä kyllä sanon perkele suoraan että” – “Perkele, I’ll say it (straight, directly), that”

“feel the band around his head tighten” – “vanne pään ympärillä kiristyy”, growing more agitated as the situation gets more serious. Sometimes you also hear “feel the band around the barrel tighten”, about situations that get more stressful before they resolve.

“like a fart in Sahara” – “kuin pieru Saharaan”, common turn of phrase, “into thin air”

“catch the end of the thread” – “langan päästä kiinni”, common saying, understanding the situation, “getting up to speed”

Jesse inner monologues, “Vacation? Right.”:

Yes. No-one's gonna cancel my holiday, or sheaths gonna rattle. But don’t worry at all. You’ll take care of it, and soon this crisis gonna be last winter’s snow. You better go now so you don’t have to run with your head as your third leg. The door in the back leads to the plant.

“sheaths gonna rattle” – “tulee tupenrapinat”, common idiom meaning that there’s going to be an argument or a fight. “The knives will be drawn”.

“last winter’s snow” – “menneen talven lumia”, water under the bridge.

“run with your head as your third leg” – “juosta pää kolmantena jalkana”, common idiom, to be in a rush.

Incidental dialogue hanging around in Ahti’s office throughout:

It’s time for a coffee break soon. Aah, kaffea.

“kaffe” – “coffee”, a Swedicism

Pensioner, yes. Northmoor, mister director. Starting to climb on the walls in his bachelor pad.

“to climb on the walls” – “kiipeillä seinille”, idiom, to act nervous and jumpy, “going spare”

Tango is a window into a Finn’s soul. It came from Suomi Finland. Anyone who says anything else is a lying goat. Perkele.

“a lying goat.” – “valepukki”, idiomatic. What it says on the tin.

(Translator’s note: Ahti is 100% lying when he says this. Autumn confirmed that this is a reference to the Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki talking about Finns inventing tango and sailors taking it to Argentina with them, but unlike Ahti we know he was joking.)

The Bureau is trying to dig a hole in their own cellar, looking for gold. Greedy will have a shitty end.

“dig a hole in their own cellar, looking for gold” – “kaivaa kultaa omasta kellarista”. As far as we can tell, this is not a saying anywhere in Finland, but as always this means it might just be an obscure one.

“Greedy will have a shitty end.” – “Ahneella on paskainen loppu”, a common saying. Exactly what it says on the tin.

Where did I leave my mop again? Pirulauta. Burnout, cosmonaut. I really need a holiday.

“Pirulauta” – “Devil, help me”, more commonly in the form “jumalauta” (god help me). The “devil” referenced in this is not a capital-letter Devil, but rather a folk devil/evil spirit.

“Burnout, cosmonaut” – Not directly a saying in Finnish. “Kosmonautti” gets used the same way “space case” does in English, he is berating himself for his attention slipping.                                             

The Containment Sector has blown to pussy’s splinters. The work won’t end even if you keep doing it.

“pussy’s splinters” – “vitun päreiksi.” “Vittu” is more properly translated as “cunt”, it’s the most common swear in modern Finnish. (Note from Saikku: In Ostrobothnia folks also say "pillun päreiksi", with "pillu" translating literally to "pussy".)

When the time comes, I’m gonna go on my vacation, like dad went into mom.

“like dad went into mom” – “kuin isä äitiin.” Exactly what it says on the tin. (Also not a saying, Ahti is just making a dirty joke.)

You know what’s the worst thing about this vermin? Saatana! The noise! They don’t appreciate good music. And that’s the reason they can go as far as pepper grows.

“go as far as pepper grows.” – “mennä niin kauas kuin pippuri kasvaa”, a common idiom. In essence, “fuck all the way off.”

The first thing I’m gonna do when I get to my vacation is to get drunk. Anyone who doesn’t respect that can go to hell’s spruce tree. Sausages on eyes. A drop won’t kill you and you can’t drown in a bucket.

“hell’s spruce tree” – “helvetin kuuseen”. This is a mistranslation from Ahti, since the more appropriate translation would be “to the backforests of hell”. Also, in essence, “fuck all the way off”.

“Sausages on eyes.” – “nakit silmillä”, common idiom, “extremely drunk”

“A drop won’t kill you and you can’t drown in a bucket.” – “Ei tippa tapa ja ämpäriin ei huku”, a reference to a pop song by Irwin Goodman of the same name about drinking lots of booze.

The Research Sector is the worst. The doctors don’t know how to clean after themselves. That Arish fellow is not a useless guy. Respects his elders. Makes good coffee. Yep yep. The janitor is the one who makes everything running and under control.

What A Mess: Burn The Trash dialogue:

Yep. Burn the trash. Throw it in the fire. Burn it all. Burn it into a reindeer, not into a moose.

“Burn it into a reindeer, not into a moose.” – (Translator’s note: *drags hands over face*) The word for ashes/cinders, “poro”, is a homonym with the word for reindeer, also “poro”. It’s a play on words.

Ahti dialogue on The Clog:

My old enemy, the Clog, is blocking the pipes. You need to deal with that shit. He’s my very old enemy, the clog, Paska.

“Paska” = shit

He’s very clever, he’s trying to sneak in. We got him caught with his hand in the fish trap. Get rid of him.

“caught with his hand in the fish trap” – “jäädä rysän päältä kiinni”, a common idiom. “Get caught with your pants down”.

It’s back. What would kill a bad thing? Paska mikä paska.

“What would kill a bad thing?” – “Mikä pahan tappaisi”, a common turn of phrase. What it says on the tin.

“Paska mikä paska” – “The shit is what it is.”

Ahti dialogue while fixing the power plant:

Broke. Gone to shit. Fix it fast. If the plant goes boom, we can throw the spoon in the corner.

“Gone to shit.” – “mennyt paskaksi”, translates directly.

“throw the spoon in the corner” – “heittää lusikka nurkkaan”, idiomatic, “buy the farm.” (This is a slightly odd translation to me, as it is being used more in the same sense as “throw in the towel”, creating the implication that dying in huge explosions is voluntary.)

It’s fried up. You need to fix it before the old twig-pants inside the plant has a shit-fit.

“the old twig-pants” – “vanha vihtahousu”, idiomatic. Broadly “that old devil”, in Finnish it’s common to have many names for evil or just strong spirits, because calling them by their proper name invites them to come bother you. (“Vihtahousu” gets translated in AW2 as “Ol’ Scratch”)

“shit-fit” – “paskahalvaus”, interesting case of a missed opportunity for a funny Finnicism in the form of “shit-stroke/shit-arrest”

Ahti dialogue while clearing darkness:

Darkness everywhere. New day, same old bloody shit, said the old lady. Like tar, but good for nothing. Get rid of it!

“New day, same old bloody shit, said the old lady.” – “Uusi päivä, samaa vanhaa paskaa, sanoi vanha täti.” This is not an idiom, but the “x, said y” format is a common one for proverbs, and a common way for people to quote wisdom from their family.

Ah, tar. Sauna, tar and booze, they’ll get you through anything! Like the winters in Finland. Long dark winters. As dark as in a sack, perkele.

“Sauna, tar and booze, they’ll get you through anything!” – this is a paraphrase of a saying that goes “if sauna, tar and booze doesn’t cure it, the disease is lethal”.

“As dark as in a sack” – “pimeää kuin säkissä”, common turn of phrase, what it says on the tin.

Ahti dialogue while cleaning up Mold:

The air in here is getting bad. The vents, they are full of mold-shit. It’s no good for you! Headache, nausea, mold-lung... Depression, but how can you tell when you’re a Finn? Helvetin home, eikö siitä nyt saatana pääse eroon.

“Helvetin home, eikö siitä nyt saatana pääse eroon.” – “(Helvetin) mold, is there really no way to get rid of it, (saatana)!” The sentence is in passive voice (“Can it not be gotten rid of”) which gets used in Finnish a lot to refer to ongoing problems.

You need to scrub that clean or there goes my reputation and honor. And then the good won’t swing.

“reputation and honor” – “maine ja kunnia”, common turn of phrase. The “honour” here does not mean personal honour, but rather community reputation.

“the good won’t swing” – “ei hyvät heilu”, common turn of phrase, usually used to threaten someone akin to “you’ll be sorry.”

More of it! This thing is completely leaving from the mitten. Perkele, saatana, helvetin helvetti. Loma tulossa ja tällästä paskaa.

“leaving from the mitten” – “lähteä lapasesta”, common idiom, “get out of hand”.

“Loma tulossa ja tällästä paskaa.” – “The holidays are coming and (we have to deal with) this kind of shit.”

Ahti dialogue while taking care of the plants:

They are very good listeners, you can tell them anything. Or you can sing to them. They like that.

For the plants in Investigations:

The plants in here have died standing up. Piruparat. Lighten them up!

“died standing up” – “kuolleet pystyyn”, common turn of phrase that gets used about neglected plants a lot.

“piruparat” – “poor devils”, again with the small first letter, referencing folk devils and evil spirits.

Ahti tells Jesse to take a break:

Hurry is not good for you. And the contract says you can take a break. Ten points and a parrot patch. Now you know what this job is all about. Could be worse. There are good benefits.

“Ten points and a parrot patch” – “kymmenen pistettä ja papukaijamerkki”, common turn of phrase, “ten points and a gold star”. Comes from an old children’s show called “Sirkus Papukaija” (“Circus Parrot”)

When you’re done with all the tasks:

Tattis! A crazy person works hard, and a wise person gets away with less. Happy vacation to me!

“Tattis” – “thank you”, a Swedicism

“A crazy person works hard, and a wise person gets away with less.” – “hullu huhkii, viisas pääsee vähemmällä”, a proverb about working smarter, not harder.

Here, have a little knick-knack as a thanks from me. Not too owly at all!

“Not too owly at all!” – “ei pöllömpi”, idiomatic, here meaning “impressive” or “well done”.

Ahti goes on vacation:

Now this boy left, said the son of Annikki Tähti. My assistant will keep work in the glove and the house standing. Lomille lomps, holiday homps.

“Now this boy left, said the son of Annikki Tähti.” – (Translator’s notes: *long pained groan*) This is a strange half-pun, half reference. The phrase usually shows up in Finnish as “nyt meikä lähti, sanoi Annikki Tähti” (“I’m leaving now, said Annikki Tähti”, a famous Finnish iskelmä singer who is not relevant to the phrase other than to create alliteration). Ahti is doubling up on the alliteration and saying complete nonsense as a result.

“keep work in the glove and the house standing” – “homma hanskassa ja tupa pystyssä”, common idiom, what it says on the tin.

“Lomille lomps, holiday homps.” – “Lomille lomps/lompsis” is a persistent popculture reference that lives on among Finnish conscripts and the rest of the culture. Ahti’s translation is quite accurate, although “lomps/lompsis” can be used as an onomatopoeia for stepping into a puddle/swamp, while “homps” means nothing. Alliterative jokes like this are common in Finnish.

Dialogue during Finnish Tango when you first enter the Ashtray Maze:

Broke. There is no way through. Badly made. Wolf shit. Somebody cut costs in the wrong place. Contact the janitor if you need to get through.

“Wolf shit” – “susipaska”. The word for wolf, “susi” is idiomatically used to mean broken, flawed or unusable, and is here a modifier for “paska” rather meaning the droppings of the animal.

Jesse contacts Ahti in The Foundation:

Aah. Aijai. Vikingit saatana. Ei kestänyt ruottalaisen veljekset kunnon löylyjä.

“Aijai” – Filler phrase. Literally means “ouch/ouchie”, but can be used to signal appreciation.

“Vikingit saatana. Ei kestänyt ruottalaisen veljekset kunnon löylyjä.” – “(Saatana), them vikings. The Swedish brothers couldn’t stand a proper löyly.” “Löyly” is both the steam from throwing water on the stove in a sauna, and the humid warmth that follows from “throwing löyly”. Ahti is making fun of the Andersons for not tolerating a hot sauna. It’s a very common shot across the border for Finns to say Swedes don’t tolerate “real” löyly. (Translator’s note: Ahti is using “ruottalaisen” rather than “ruotsalaiset”, as is typical of the Ostrobothnian dialect)

Hey, girl. For a Finn, holiday is holy, perkele.

“holiday is holy” – The word for any nationally mandated day off (+ Sundays) is “pyhäpäivä”, literally “holy day”. Extended national holidays, such as the three days around Christmas, and even long weekends can be called “pyhät”, the holies.

Did you miss me? Did you have piss in your sock? Yes. Now now now now. Bark don’t make a wound. You did good. Take my cassette player. You can borrow it. The song is a present from my friends to you. It will get you through the maze so you can do your job.

“piss in your sock” – “kusi sukassa”, common idiom, meaning “frozen with fear”

“Bark don’t make a wound.” – “ei haukku haavaa tee”, common proverb, “sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me”

Ahti in Jesse’s Hiss nightmare:

Are you sure you are not lost? Maybe you can find yourself in the Director’s Office. You should keep trying. You are getting closer. Welcome back. I knew I chose a good assistant.

Closing notes: Despite Ahti having significantly less dialogue in Control than he does in AW2, this document ended up nearly as long as the other one. All the way through working on this I’ve been commenting on how his English is both weirdly better and worse in AW2, like, his use of English overall is a lot less stumbling and his vocabulary seems larger, but at the same time he uses less English, relies on just directly saying in Finnish what he’s thinking, using a lot more filler Finnish… It’s an interesting choice overall.

I’m not sure it’s relevant to the character, but having seen it I’m now gonna be very interested to hear what he sounds like if he shows up in Control 2 or other relevant RCU projects :3c Hope you had fun, and maybe learned something new.

[my-deer-friend]

Oh, I'm after reading some letters you recommended me to read from Henry Laurens Papers! Thanks to this reading his bio is much better because I actually know how MUCH pressure Henry Laurens put on his oldest son. 

John was constantly reminded about Virtue and poor boy was so scared of losing his father acceptance, he letters to him are so heartbreaking and you can feel how unhappy he was with some choices to make his father HAPPY.

I'd be very interested in what specifically you found heartbreaking, and which choices you're referring to, if you'd like to share!

In either case, I want to encourage you to resist a one-sided interpretation of letters like that and keep the broader context in mind.

Yes, Henry was a strict father – but he was not vastly more strict than others at the time. As a single parent, he had the duty of ensuring his children would be set up for success in the world that they lived in. The things that he encouraged John to do – live frugally, choose a financially viable career, build a positive public reputation, practice the virtues and behaviours of a gentleman, prioritise his family – were very much in John's interest, and importantly, John aspired to many of those things too.

Henry's advice and directions lined up with societal expectations for young men at their time. You can certainly make the case that he held John to a higher standard than other sons in their orbit, but he also gave John a lot of freedom to make his own choices – such as in his education and his career – and trusted him to make those decisions for Harry and Jemmy too. Again, whether it was entirely fair to give him that degree of responsibility is something we can discuss, but we also shouldn't ignore that John was largely equal to the challenges, and he had support as well (financially from his father, and more generally from his uncle and aunt, the Mannings, and other friends of the Laurens family).

The other thing to remember is that, from 1776 onwards, Henry believed there was a very real chance that he would be killed for taking part in the American rebellion, and his entire fortune lost – so it would be up to John to play a pivotal role in supporting his family financially and societally. Was it unfair? Probably yes. Was it their reality at the time, despite whatever Henry or John may have wanted? Also yes. In either case, John made his own decision and returned to America against Henry's wishes, and Henry supported his choice, even though he disagreed with it.

I'm not trying to say that Henry was a perfect father; like any parent, he had his own biases, ideas about proper conduct, "old-fashioned" notions, and – because he was a product of his society's norms – expected his children to obey his instructions (at least before they came of age). At the same time, he encouraged John to make the most consequential decisions for himself. I don't think Henry would have been "happy" if John had made himself entirely miserable for the sake of gratifying him; equally, Henry would not have been a good father for his time if he'd just let John do whatever he wanted, and neglected to give him a framework of virtues and morals to live by. We need to keep in mind which standards we are judging a set of actions by.

[iamvegorott]

Busy Birthday

I was celebrating my grandma’s birthday on Henrik’s birthday, so we’ll pretend I wrote this on time XD ----------

Busy Birthday

“And I did like a really cool jump from one building to the other and an even cooler jump to the next building’s fire exit stairway…thing.” Jackie used his other hand to gesture while Henrik held the other. “And then I saw a bus going where I wanted to, so I figured I could hitch a ride when it stopped at the stop. I did like a totally wicked launch from the rail and the-uh-the bus...”

“The bus moved, and you landed on the ground?” Henrik suggested the ending of the story, wrapping the last bit of the thin brace to Jackie’s wrist. Thankfully, nothing broke, but there was enough of a sprain that it would need extra support for the next day or so. 

“Yeah,” Jackie confessed. 

“You are very lucky that you did not shatter your bones. You may heal quickly, Jackie, but injuries still hurt.” Henrik used a scolding tone. 

“I was being all safe and stuff. I just didn’t plan for the bus to not follow its routine.” Jackie pursed his lips in a bit of a pout. 

“New rule, no more using buses as landing pads,” Henrik stated.

“But-”

“Yes, you can still jump off of them. I am willing to compromise. But if you get hurt again, you will also lose that privilege. So be careful."

“Will do!” Jackie stood up and gave a little two-fingered salute.  

“I want you to take it easy for a little bit. Come back to me tomorrow morning, and let me give your wrist another look,” Henrik instructed.

“Got it!” Jackie started to leave but stopped and turned, suddenly yanking Henrik into a way-too-tight hug. “Happy birthday!” 

“Need air.” Henrik wheezed.

“Oh! Sorry!” Jackie quickly let Henrik go. 

“Thank you, and thank you for the birthday wishes.” Henrik waved Jackie off when he tried to check that he didn’t break anything.  

“I’ll see ya later!” Jackie grinned and then took off this time. “Sorry!” He repeated an apology after almost running into Marvin. “I-why is your arm wrapped in a towel?” 

“Don’t worry about it. Go do your hero stuff.” Marvin shooed Jackie away as he slipped into Henrik’s office, closing the door behind him. 

“Why is your arm covered in a towel?” Henrik echoed Jackie’s question. 

“I didn’t wanna scare whoever else might have been in here,” Marvin said as he unwrapped the towel. The second Henrik saw blood, he took over.

There were small pieces of glass in Marvin’s arm. Nothing looked too deep. Some tweezers for the glass, cleaning off the blood, and a handful of bandages would do him all well. These Septiceyes really needed to count their blessings that their skin didn’t scar after healing, regardless of how long or short that process was.

“How in the world did this happen?” Henrik asked, leading Marvin to sit down so he could get to work. 

“I might have mismeasured the heat of a potion, and the glass couldn’t handle it,” Marvin muttered a bit, not looking the most pleased about his admission. Always annoyed when one of his projects didn’t go to plan. 

“I am going to jinx us by telling you that you are also very lucky,” Henrik noted that none of the injuries were on the underside of the arm, allowing him to prop it on the counter and prevent Marvin from getting tired of holding it up.

“It is your birthday, so maybe that’s giving us some extra luck today,” Marvin suggested with a chuckle, looking up at the ceiling and flinched a little with some of the glass removal. 

“A sprained wrist and an arm embedded with glass is lucky?” Henrik had a little laugh with his scoff. 

“Better than a broken wrist and an amputated arm.” 

“Do not give the universe any ideas.” 

“Hey, Hen, you got any ice packs?” Chase asked as he walked in and went straight for the small freezer tucked away in a corner. 

“I do. Why?” Henrik asked, beginning to clean off the blood from Marvin’s arm, double-checking for any remnants of glass as he did so. 

“JJ was doing the dishes, and Anti tried to spook him because he’s bored and, well, JJ was working on a frying pan and-” Chase pantomimed what looked like swinging a bat, popping his lips as well.  

“Does he need to come see me?”

“Nah, he’s more pouty than anything. The ice is like a precaution or something. My money is on Anti wanting it to add to his pout.” 

“That does sound about right for him.” Marvin rolled his eyes. 

“You say that like you don’t pout all the time.” Henrik chuckled. 

“I do not-”

“Yes, you do.” Chase and Henrik said in unison. 

“See? Exhibit A.” Chase gestured at Marvin’s face. 

“I will bite you,” Marvin stated.

“Gotta go, bye.” Chase quickly turned and left the room, knowing the warning would be a promise if he stayed. 

“So much for having a lucky birthday.” Henrik did one more look before beginning to bandage up Marvin’s arm. 

“I feel like Anti getting smacked with a frying pain is pretty lucky for us,” Marvin said with a cheeky grin. 

“I have nothing to say.” 

“Admit it, it’s kind of funny.”

“Maybe a little.” Henrik’s smirk with his confession got Marvin to laugh. “Do not tell him that, or I will never hear the end of it.” He added, getting the last bit of bandage on. 

“My lips are sealed.” Marvin did a zipping motion across his mouth. 

x~x~x

After finishing his work with Marvin, Henrik spent some time updating his files, noting down what he had done that day. He always kept a good record of all injuries for the Septiceyes. If there was a case of a repeat injury, Henrik could rely on previous notes to recall what was average and what stood out as an anomaly. 

“Hen! Hen! Hen!” Jackie called out as he sprinted into the office. 

“Please tell me someone else has not-” Henrik got cut short as Jackie grabbed his arm, and the next thing the poor doctor knew, he was across Jackie’s shoulders and being walked out of the room. “What is the meaning of this!? Put me down this instant!” 

“Jackie, when I said to get Henrik, I didn’t mean to fireman carry him.” Marvin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Oh…” Jackie held out the word. “Sorry.” He added as he placed Henrik back on the ground. 

“Can I have an explanation for-why is there a pile of pillows and blankets on the couch?” Henrik felt like he was going to get a headache with how often his brain was forced to jump thoughts before he could finish one. 

“It’s a throne!” Jackie perked up, bouncing over to stand next to Marvin, gesturing toward said ‘throne’ with both arms. 

“A…throne?” Henrik echoed. 

“It’s a comfortable seat for you to enjoy the rest of your birthday without any more worries,” Marvin explained. 

“We felt bad you had to do work on your birthday,” Jackie added. “So you’re going to sit and chill.” 

“That sounds like I do not have a choice,” Henrik said.

“You don’t.” Chase came into the room with a mug in his hand. “Now you either sit on your own, or Jackie will make you.” 

“I am sitting, I am sitting.” Henrik held up his hands as he sat down on the throne of pillows. “Oh…this is actually very nice.” 

“Of course it is,” Jackie said with a puff to his chest. 

“And people say I’m prideful.” Marvin teased. 

“You are.” Henrik and Chase spoke together.

“You two need to stop that.” Marvin huffed.

“Nah.” Chase chuckled, giving Henrik the mug of coffee and the TV remote. He bent over and pulled a lever that pushed out the bottom of the couch, putting Henrik's feet up. “And you, Hen, are now only allowed to get up for the bathroom. If you need anything, text one of us.” 

“I guess I can handle doing this for a good while.” Henrik sipped his coffee. 

“Have fun~” Marvin sang as he, Jackie, and Chase left the room.

“Such an interesting family I have.” Henrik chuckled to himself, a soft smile on his lips as he sighed happily and relaxed on the couch. 

[mdhwrites]

There's something I don't understand... since the Collector (or one of his siblings) trapped the owl beast in the scroll, but couldn't the Collector remove Eda's (and by extension, Lilith's) curse and free the owl beast from her body since he's basically a young god? Even if they insist on treating the curse like a chronic illness, it wouldn't have hurt to mention it since it just seems like a plot hole.

So the only time this would matter would be in the epilogue. Otherwise, the Collector is never on Eda and Lilith's side and so doing a kindness of that sort for them wouldn't make sense. Maybe taking it away to depower them while the Collector is ruling the Isles but that's frankly more work than just turning them into a puppet. Should he have done it at the end? Eeeeh. I think the creators reasonably decided that Harpy Lilith would be a flashier way that more fans would want to see as a resolution to the curse than simply getting rid of it. It also allows those who see it as a disability or chronic illness to not just have a god whisk away those issues but instead see how these characters are thriving in spite of it. Not that I'm too happy with the allegory in the end with the Harpy forms, I'd rather be rid of my own disability frankly than pretend it's a superpower but *shrug*.

I wouldn't call this a plot hole though. Nothing is actively contradicting this point or is missing from the logic of the show's events to justify it as one. That's what causes plotholes after all. When something actively goes back on what it has shown or done or blatantly changes the rules of reality for what it wants to do. I would personally argue that TOH's biggest plotholes either go to A: Why the fuck was Belos able to make a portal out of a stone arch and Titan's Blood and LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE and it worked better somehow than the explicit instructions that he himself left on how to make a portal door? There's just a LOT of levels of bullshit and contradictions that we're never going to get an explanation for. B: "How do we stop this draining spell that kills people by feeding on their magic?" "I know! Let's mix it with a curse that turns people into monsters by feeding on and corrupting their magic!" And then everyone should have just stared at whoever offered that idea before immediately moving on with the meeting like nothing had happened and that person hadn't said anything. And yes, it's trying to play off of Eda's Requiem but in that, I never got the feeling of "This weakened the spell," I got the feeling of "OH! This made it so she has a disintegration spell!" because let's face it: Her and Raine's spell was not WEAKER than anything else Raine could do. Not if it was their only option to nullify, stop and then murder two coven heads who were actively trying to find them.

God this show's writing got stupid. Then again, in both cases you have plot holes that exist because, well... The show wrote itself in a corner. The show spent so much time on Belos' backstory and on Hunter and Lumity in S2 that they hadn't actually come up with a real way to stop The Day of Unity. Even if you do want to use Eda's Requiem as an excuse, they also have to retcon in that same scene the fact that Darius, Eber and Raine can't just sit out the ceremony anymore like they had previously established, making the one way they HAD established to beat it not matter anymore, even though Odalia could have just told Luz about an off screen raid that was happening on the CAT's hideout and effectively nothing changes except Eda doesn't lose an arm. The other is of course the portal. The portal not working immediately is a cool idea but one they don't explore AT ALL. And it presents the obvious problem of "Okay, what was the missing piece?" Yes, Belos theoretically knows that piece but even his Isles door looked like it needed a lot of extra elements to function and work properly that let you assume that what Luz had gotten before was a prototype door, not the real thing. But... Then it's literally just a stone archway and liberal application of Titan's Blood because Belos is a monster and can't have gotten the materials for a proper door anymore. What leads to these moments in both cases aren't bad ideas but they're also stepping away from the fantasy genre without knowing why the genre uses these tropes. Why can't you just remove one of the things necessary for the villain to win is a common problem for a lot of fantasy stories and most are just smart not to EVER BRING IT UP because of it. Magic working on the first try may not make sense but it means that there isn't further experimentation that's required, or the spell only works once before devouring itself or the like, a trope TOH even played into because suddenly the door required more Titan Blood every time it was opened and yet the key isn't fully drained after probably hundreds of years. It's all a part of that feeling of TOH wanting to be smarter than it's writers are. At least for this genre.

[nancypullen]

Whatcha' Doing?

I eased into Sunday morning (that reminds me of a Lionel Richie song) and plan to spend the day doing as I please. The house is mostly clean. I could mop, but why would I? I need to dust in our bedroom, but what's one more day? I'm declaring this a day of rest and relaxation. I may toodle into Easton and treat myself to a lipstick at Ulta or hit the Target Halloween section and see what needs to come home with me. Or maybe not. I'm feeling lazy. I'm also feeling frugal- do I need a new lipstick? No. Do I need Halloween decor? Well, yes, but I won't die without it. It would just make me very, very happy. Better stay home. We'll probably go walk through the auction house and see what treasures are on the block this week. I saw this pretty cupboard on their website. It would be nice in the grandgirl's room but I'd have to get rid of her reading fort to make space and she's not ready for that. I'll let someone else love it.

Speaking of loving things, I'm still in a one-sided romance with my pumpkin plants. They look so healthy and beautiful and I just know they'll break my heart. According to experts, this stuff is a must.

I've grown pumpkins successfully in the past without using it, but I'm not taking any chances this year. Yesterday I gave them all a good drink and marked the calendar. I'll do that every two weeks as instructed, and send a plea to the universe to give me pumpkins. Once there are blooms I'll probably have to get out there with a paintbrush and pollinate them myself. If these things fail it won't be from lack of effort on my part.

Lack of effort....that made me think of my hair. It always comes back to my hair, doesn't it? *sigh* After getting several inches cut off a couple of weeks ago I keep hearing, "It must be easier." No, it's not. My hair is never easy to beat into submission. In fact, length and weight make it slightly easier. Without weight my hair springs into action, ready to fight me. Losing a lot of hair does make my drying time a bit shorter, so I like that. I'm okay with it at this point, but I'll never be in love with my hair. Having said all of that, and accepting that it is what it is, I had a moment on Friday evening that made me want to shave my head. I was invited to dinner with a group of women that I like. They range in age from late twenties to mid-sixties. We cover every bit of the maiden-mother-crone span. I can't say that I have a lot in common with any of them, but there's something to like about each and every one. I was comfortable, relaxed, having a nice time...when someone mentioned my haircut. I agreed that, yes, I'd taken off a lot of length (every woman there has long hair) and that I've decided to stop coloring. One exclaimed that now I look like Paula Deen and they all agreed.

Paula. Deen. I'm not knocking her, I just don't want to look like her. The sad part is that I think they're right.

I just can't win at this hair game, y'all. Did I mention that not one, not two, but three different library patrons told me that I remind them of Dolly Parton? I just don't see it. A large bust and a massive amount of blond hair, sure -but not a single similar feature otherwise. I love Dolly, but I do not swan around town in sequined jumpsuits with my hair teased to the heavens. Why would anyone say that? Prior to getting my hair cut I entertained the thought that I'd just let it get even longer and spend the rest of my years with a long white braid. I'll bet if I did that people would tell me I'm a dead ringer for Willie Nelson.

Not gonna' lie, I think I look more like Willie than Paula. Maybe folks should just keep their unflattering comments to themselves. There's a thought. From auctions to pumpkins to hair, once again I've taken you on a tour of the construction zone that is my brain. Piles of rubble, some stuff half finished, but there's always a plan. A loose plan, and subject to change, but still a plan. Before I wrap up this nonsense, I'll share what I'm reading. Haven't done that in ages and so far this book is interesting enough to share. I say "so far" because I'm only a couple of chapters in.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR FOR 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • A “thrilling and superbly crafted” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day. “Hampton Sides, an acclaimed master of the nonfiction narrative, has taken on Cook’s story and retells it for the 21st century.”—Los Angeles Times

I really enjoy non-fiction and I'm sometimes embarrassed by what I don't know, or should have already learned. This is a fascinating account of someone we've all heard of, read about, but I had stored away only basic facts in my brain. Very interesting! This is where I'll leave you. It's time for a little Sunday lunch and then we'll mosey over to the auction house. Hope I find treasure. I'm sending out loads of love and wishing you a relaxing and peaceful Sunday. Stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 148 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: mowing the lawn.

ELIAS: (mumbling) "Here we go" (normal) Good evening, Detective." [BASIRA IMMEDIATELY ASSAULTS HIM.] ELIAS: "Ow!" That whispered "Here we go"...(btw in neither the fan transcript nor the official one) Was it just "ah yes, Basira is back" or was it "ok, Basira is fuming and I know what she wants to do, let's get this over with...". He says it later, Basira is becoming predictable. Also very satisfying sound, 10/10, only MAG 200 is even better.

ELIAS: "– I’ve – I’ve always thought that a man’s eating habits were his own private business –" [BASIRA STEPS CLOSER] BASIRA: "Mm-hm." ELIAS: (strained like he is being choked) "– but… I can see how maybe I should have mentioned it." [ELIAS CATCHES HIS BREATH] Holy shit, I either can't remember Basira choking him or I never caught it before. Fan transcript doesn’t mention any sounds in this (I added them here), official transcript only describes Elias answer as "conciliatory".

ELIAS: "Look, look – I’ve been doing this a long time now, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Web, it’s that it plays its own game. All you can really do is hope it doesn’t get in the way of whatever your plan is. Because the Spider usually wins." We know that Elias finally saw his chance when Jon came to him already marked by the Web. And yeah, the Spider does win.

BASIRA: "You always call me “Detective.” Is that supposed to mean something?" ELIAS: "Honestly, I just like the way it sounds." In 159 episodes this is probably the only time he's clear about something and honest xD

JON: "I can’t believe you’ve been seeing him all this time." BASIRA: "Oh, yeah. That’s the terrible secret sabotaging the trust between us." Yeah, compared to others things, this does seem quite as big of a deal. Still, I think it's something that would have been worth mentioning. Since of a lot of relevant things happened because of this, that seemed like a dead end to them. That's suspicion. I saw an old post from 2019 some time ago, where someone said something like "The way the Dark ritual lead nowhere Jon's gonna kick off the Watcher's Crown by accident". Oops...

BASIRA: "Yeah. John, We’ve been over this. the key is to not force people to feed you their trauma. You know – just don’t do it?" Oh yeah, Nicotine is bad for you health? Just stop smoking. Easy. You're depressed? Just be more positive. Wow! /sarcasm

JON: "It’s not that simple." BASIRA: "No. It is. Or I put you down." Holy... Threatening to kill him... Wow. After she has watched Daisy for years and said nothing. She’s kind of extra aggressive on this day, first Elias, now this... Frustration?

BASIRA: "Daisy’s been managing." JON: "Daisy is… yeah. She’s managing." Daisy is fucking starving. Even if she hasn’t crossed into full Avatarhood (I think that happens after MAG 158...), Jon also was already dependent on statements in S3...

JON: "I have been meaning to ask: the tape, the one of the uh… my victim. You said Martin gave it to you." BASIRA: "Yeah." JON: "How was he? How did he look – was he – uh –" BASIRA: [interrupting; sounding slightly less harsh] "I don’t know. I didn’t see him. He just left it on my desk with a note." JON: "Oh. Right." BASIRA: "Yeah." JON: "Can I ask what it said?" BASIRA: "Um, yeah. It said, uh. “Talk to him”" JON: [harsh breathing/sobbing sounds] T_________T  It’s been a while since we had a heartwrecking scene like this...

I'll be honest, I have no memory of this statement...

There is so much more rambling about their general situation and less things actually happening, I'm already losing track again...

"So he found the manual. More of a pamphlet, really. Can’t have been more than ten pages of A5 in the whole thing, yellowed and water-damaged. Well-used, though. Someone had even put their name in the front, like they were afraid people were gonna steal a manky instruction book." Oh hold on, is that a Leitner?

Sounds like this Sampson really got into I'm On Observation Duty XD

"He kept saying, 'what do we do with his eyes?'" So the cameras?

"'He won’t stop,' he said. 'We can’t get rid of his face.'" On the CRT screen, Sampson wouldn't stop looking at them I guess.

Aw man, that post statement scene. It seems like it did something at least cause he says he's (feeling) better. But it’s not as nutritious as a new statement. And he’s needing more and more of the old statements. That’s also a effect of (some?) addicting substances. Getting accustomed to smaller doses and needing more to get the same effect as before. This is the only thing, which makes it seem like an addiction and not a need to survive. Though there are some indications that Avatars do need to cause fear to survive. “Feed your god, or it will feed on you” (MAG 89),  “Hopefully, he’ll fade away or burn out as they tend to when robbed of their purpose” (MAG 130),  “John Amherst was encased in concrete, and shrivelled away to nothing after just a few years” (MAG 184). Accepting less and less of old statements is probably just an effect of the Eye to bring him to get new experiences. And since there are some indications that also written statements given to the Archivist can cause those dreams (Dekker MAG 113, Salesa MAG 115) it will become more and more difficult to survive without harming others.

@a-mag-a-day

[swiftsaltsweet]

The Hunt for Kyoshi: Chapter 3- Motivations

Characters: Rangi and Kyoshi (plus whoever appears in Rok)

Pairing: Rangshi

Summary:  

“What are we going to do?” She asked steely, still not looking up from the ground. She was ready to uphold her duty, or at least, what remained of it. “We need you to capture Kyoshi,” Jianzhu instructed. “Capture?” “Yes, we need to set an example of an Avatar murderer,” Jianzhu responded, oh so matter of factly again.

(Canon Divergent AU- “What if Rangi wasn’t there when Kyoshi ran away, and Rangi had to hunt her down?)

Prev chapter

Other Sites: AO3 and Fanfic.net

A/N: Sorry this one is so short, I literally have nothing else to add to it (esp considering the canon convo that already took place, I just didn't want it to feel redundant).

______

Jianzhu walked into his gallery where he had left Hei-Ran, who was still pacing the same line he had left her in when Rangi left the estate. He'd excused himself from her presence to write out a quick message to Rangi, to fill in the gaps she was missing, and to make sure she was set with whatever she needed to bring Kyoshi back.

He hadn't expected the girl to lose control as she did; running off without getting all the information and supplies he was preparing for her. But Jianzhu had chosen to look at the incident in a more positive light, he really admired Rangi's ability to take the initiative and not waste time.

If she was really as good as everyone said, then it may be possible for them to get Kyoshi back within a fortnight at most!

Hei-Ran only noticed he had entered the room when she heard the door shut. She looked up and marched out of her trench straight over to Jianzhu, and slapped him.

Jianzhu had expected the reaction, in all honesty he was lucky she hadn't set fire to the estate. Firebending mothers can just be so dramatic.

"She's going to be fine, Hei-Ran," Jianzhu rubbed his jaw, sore from the second slap he'd received from Hei-Ran within the past twenty-four hours. The first time was when he told her his first version of events with Yun, Kyoshi, and Kelsang. This time, it was for holding her back from chasing after her daughter. Or maybe it was also for making her lie to her daughter? To be completely honest, both went hand in hand.

"How can you say she's fine when she looked-" Hei-Rang closed her eyes and looked away, unable to finish the sentence. Jianzhu understood it probably hurt a mother seeing their daughter like that. Grieving…and unstable.

"She's fine," he repeated to his old friend.

"She seemed out of control, Jian."

"She's….motivated."

"She looked like she wanted to kill Kyoshi! Not capture her!" Hei-Ran waved her hands at him for emphasis.

"She won't do that, it would go against her duty. Her mission. Her honor!"

Hei-Ran slapped him again. Maybe he shouldn't have said the last bit?

"Don't you dare speak of honor! Of her honor!" She bellowed at him. Yeah, it was definitely the last part. "And how dare you speak as if you know my daughter better than I?!"

Jianzhu put his hands up in surrender. "You're right, I was out of line."

Hei-Ran took a step back, her fist clenched, but she seemed to accept his apology to some degree. "We shouldn't have lied to her."

Jianzhu frowned, he thought he finally made her see reason. Why they'd have to lie to Rangi, but apparently she needed a reminder. "Hei-Ran, remember, we need Kyoshi back here. That girl isn't thinking straight, she's blaming us for something outside our control."

He put a delicate hand on Hei-Ran's shoulder, and guided her to a chair and sat her down. He had to appear sympathetic, not that he wasn't. He was very understanding for his friend. He knew how hard it was for a parent to see their child go through such an arduous mental strain.

He had felt a similar feeling when Yun couldn't firebend.

"If we told Rangi the truth, how Kyoshi is the Avatar and she ran away under a misconception. Do you think she wouldn't run away with her? It's her duty to look after the Avatar, regardless of whatever asinine decisions they make." He rubbed a hand down his face in exasperation. "Remember Kuruk?"

Hei-Ran flinched at their old friend's name, and a deep frown creased her lovely face. Possibly remembering one of their botched adventures.

"Kyoshi is floundering, she doesn't know what decisions to make, let alone the right ones. And Rangi will nobly follow her because it's her duty." He paused. "And because of how close they are."

"Were." Hei-Ran interjected. "How close they were. We've destroyed a friendship, Jianzhu. If Rangi brings Kyo-"

"When she brings Kyoshi back."

"When she brings Kyoshi back, those two aren't going to be the same." Rangi and I won't be the same. Jianzhu could hear his old friend's other unsaid words in his own mind.

Jianzhu sighed mournfully, but this time he didn't really care. Two girls' friendship was small in the grand scheme of the whole world. Same for a mother and daughters. His friend knew there needed to be sacrifices in life, that's how she got to the position she was at.

Hei-Ran sighed too, exhausted. "I just don't want Rangi to be hurt more than she's already been. She's already lost Yun, I don't want her to lose Kyoshi too."

"I know." Jianzhu went over to a desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a brush. "Which is why we need to bring them both back as soon as possible."

He handed his friend the items, and she took them, knowing he wanted to get started on writing a letter of her own. As she had promised him earlier.

_______

A/N: The next one should be longer, sadly it may take a minute because part of it has to be written alongside ch 5.

Also sorry it took a minute to get this one out, it was mostly because I wanted to make sure ch 4 was mostly done, alongside a big portion of ch 5.

Brightside, I might be posting another Kyoshi/Rangshi fanfic soon (it's a more canon compliant one ;U). This one gets priority tho.

[lowkeyclueless5137]

Doodles dump! Digital edition >:3c

Bcs on the sketchbook I did references for my current comic and thus I won't spoil u yet :3

This time is a lot of Jade for sum reason :v

We starting with the new au i didn't explain: the fight club au

The premise is basically MK meets Streetfighter, meets twst, meets real world. With Epel trying to get around New York and attending the prestigious NRC school for mages. He uncovers a secret fight club and gets recruited by a misterious fighter in order to uncover a secret drug ring.

The magical girl au :D

This was more of silly doodle time, but there are a few hints of the au's plot :P

Lowkey I didn't know how Ace was gonna look like at first, but now I know EXACTLY why he turned out like this. Parkour I guess :'3

This is from the lettler exchange p5 x twst au :v

Noting how I confirmed that the velvet room attendees are siblings, I HAD to make a few shenaningans in between them :3

Lavenza and Floyd are the ones who get a new fusion method, thus Igor(the deemed parent), Had to instruct Floyd first so he could tell Lavenza as well. I really like how the uniforms turned out tbh.

And yes, this implies that all the attendees are mers. Lavenza, Theo and Elizabeth are eels, while Margret and Azul are octopuses. Might draw those one day :v

For context, it's this spuerhero au. :'3

Ace is the funny lil guy that has and absolute TRAINWRECK of a backstory. And Riddle as well, but I wanted to practice a bit on backs and side profiles, but I also wanted to add sum context ;3

TWO :D

I tried to get around model references, because GODDAMN some of those peeps look like sum bones are in the wrong place :v

also colored vgs, bcs I saw some using those and I do enjoy sum complementary color sumtimes :'3

And what better au than jjba au? The first one is ur hint at the main plot idea of this au, while the latter is a ref for Azul and his stand: Dark Side Of The Moon. I tried to also see how realistically his stand would resist against things, seeing how it is made out of bulletproof glass, also a lot of Drag inspo for his stand tbh. :'3

You know it, I know it, WE AIN'T ESCAPING THE MLB MILD AU<3

It's a sort of tease of what happens during the mlb specials, which all happen post the main 4 seasons ya'll read and saw me losing my shit abt. :'3

YES, THERE WAS A REASON I TEASED MALLEUS'S FAM DRAMA!

Think that NY and Shangai Specials happen at the same time, but each of the our main 2 heroes go through sum self discovery post all that chaos with Madame Moth. Riddle with accepting the flaws of himself and coming in terms with his new family dynamic, while Malleus comes in terms with the tesnsion and the chaos around himself and the fact that he cannot ignore changes he doesn't like anymore.

And the other miraculous au, this time the maleidiazu hard au version.

Since Jade got the butterfly miraculous, I thought that the twins would be ABSOLUTE MENACES to Azul.

For Jade's design, I saw those very pretty butterfly decorations photos and I fixated on Gabe's butterfly tending hat. I also wanted to allude to his eel form, so I imagined a long, sleek, trein, reminescent of a cocoon, that can flare up and reveal it's true shape of a half wing, the top vest part acting as the 2nd part of the wing. He looks pretty aloof, the kind of person you'd assume would be nice, but the veil is like your warning sign, with the butterflies always sitting on the outside, all alert. I really liked how he turned out and probably is one of my favorite designs in this au tbh.

And again, Jade for the last one: the Jjk mild au. damn, I can't find the post

I knew right off the batch that I wanted this mf to get some inspo from Nobara's uniform, just because I think Floyd-pre curse era would have a more yuji insp uniform and since in cannon jjk these 2 were like besties and up to shenaningans at first, I thought it would be a fun and subtle reference. :3

The reason that yellow overall is shown, is bcs underneath the jacket, Jade has a top of a similar shape, mostly to accomodate his brother.

It's fun to think that Jade's so reserved and acts humble, but in here there's literally the truth. He's thrown in this world with 0 knowledge, trying to gather up the disaster that was left behind his brother and just fix things that he isn't responsible for in the first place, all for his own selfish reasons. It's fun :D

and that would be all for now :3

[all-the-things-2020]

Further Along the Way - Chapter Ten

Summary: Din makes a decision.

Rating: PG

“It’s a done deal,” Shandilon said smugly. “They’re going to call us up. My dad heard it from Senator Kilgore himself. The Parliament okayed it yesterday.”

Din let the cadets talk. With all the rumors swirling around campus recently, he’d found that letting the students gossip a bit before class started helped keep them focused once instruction actually began. He lost a few minutes of time each day, but better to have 45 minutes of kids paying attention than 60 minutes of them only half heeding his words.

“What will we be doing?” Limante asked. He was one of Shandilon’s buddies, always ready to back the other boy up.

Shandilon shrugged. “Probably something boring, to tell the truth. The plan is to use the military reserves to replace the troops that are being sent to the Danda sector, so we’ll just take over some dumb job like guarding an embassy building. The pilot cadets might get to escort a merchant ship through the inner trade routes, but that’s about as exciting as it’s going to get for us. Still, it’ll be better than sitting in a classroom being told what to do all day, right?”

Din called the class to order at that point and ran them through some hand to hand drills. X’intari was getting better, but he still held back too much, even though his physiology made him inherently stronger than the human cadets. Din looked forward to the day when the Bendaski was confident enough to just be himself. And on that day, Din was going to match him with Shandilon and enjoy watching X’intari wipe the floor with that little jerk’s ass.

The final bell rang and Din dismissed class. As he was gathering his things, a cadet popped in the door. “Mr. Djarin, sir, the Colonel would like to see you ASAP.”

“Thank you, Cadet,” Din said. He’d been expecting this. “I’ll be right there.”

Din walked to the admin building. There was already an air of urgency on campus; everyone seemed to be a bit more focused, a bit more hurried, a bit more on edge. He recognized the atmosphere of preparation before a battle. It felt familiar but at the same time, strangely foreign. This isn’t my life anymore, he reminded himself.

The Colonel greeted him solemnly and asked Din to take a seat.

“I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors, Mr. Djarin,” Braxden began. “The Republic has asked for our help in the Danda sector, and we have responded. To replace the troops that are joining the Republic forces, we are deploying our military reserves. This means I’m losing several key members of my staff, including Lieutenant Mondella.” He paused. “High Command has also asked that we pull out third and fourth year cadets and deploy them. Captain Woreg will be forming a squadron of flight cadets to assist in routine escort duties within our local system. And we will be deploying a squadron of ground officer cadets for guard duty somewhere in the local system, as well.”

“My students,” Din said.

“Yes, your students.” Braxden leaned forward. “I’d like you to lead them, Djarin. They know you and respect you. You’re a civilian, so this isn’t an order, you have every right to refuse, but I hope you’ll volunteer for duty.” He looked Din in the eye. “I’d feel much better sending them out with you in charge.”

Din held the Colonel’s eye contact as he said, “I’m afraid I must respectfully decline, sir.”

Braxden blinked. “Are you certain?” He wasn’t angry, but looked disappointed.

Din nodded. “As you said, I’m not a member of your military, and I have other obligations that require me to stay here.”

Braxden sighed. “Your wife’s due in a few months, isn’t she? Look, Djarin, we expect this to last a few weeks, a month at most. You’ll be back long before the baby comes. These kids need you.”

Din shook his head. “My family needs me. I made a promise not to leave them again. I had to do it once and I won’t put them through that again; won’t put myself through that again.” He sat up straight. “You can fire me if you like, but I won’t go.”

Braxden sat back in his chair. “I’m not going to fire you,” he said. “You are well within your rights to refuse. This means I’ll have to send Corporal Fennic with the squadron. He’ll start assisting you with the third and fourth year classes as of tomorrow, so he can get a feel for them before they’re deployed. It might be a few days, maybe even a week, before we know where they’ll be going and what they’ll be doing.”

“I’ll get him up to speed, Colonel,” Din promised. Fennic was a good officer and a natural instructor. It shouldn’t take him long to grasp the capabilities of the cadets he’d be commanding.

“I do wish you’d reconsider, Djarin,” the Colonel said wearily. “These kids … they’re still just kids, as much as they want to think they’re ready to take on the galaxy. I just want them safe.”

“So do I, sir,” Din said. “But I can’t … I’ll do everything I can to prepare them for what lies ahead, but that part of my life is over.”

He took his leave of the Colonel and made his way to Garrick’s office, where his friend was hunched over a data pad.

“Just talked to the Colonel,” Din said.

Garrick looked up. “What did you tell him?” He already looked haggard and Din felt a pang of empathy for the man. He wasn’t going to be babysitting a bunch of green cadets on a job within the local system. The reserves could be called anywhere the Thantosian military was currently operating; maybe suppressing the pirates harassing the Clovan system, or patrolling the Survanti asteroid belt for smugglers. Or even joining the regular forces in the Danda sector.

“I told him no,” Din said.

Garrick looked relieved. “Good,” he said, closing his eyes for just a moment. “I was hoping … you’ll look after Tress and the girls for me while I’m gone, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Din replied. “Anything they need, we’re just a comm away.”

Garrick buried his face in his hands. “I thought going into the reserves was the right move,” he said thickly. “Best of both worlds. Keep my military rank, keep earning points toward a cushy pension someday, but still be here for my family. But now … maybe I should have just resigned when my time was up.” He looked up at Din, his eyes bright with unshed tears.

“You can’t second guess yourself, Garrick,” Din said. “Just move forward with what you have.”

Garrick smiled crookedly. “I know, I just … I feel bad for Tress and the girls. They didn’t choose this; I did.”

“Tress did choose this,” Din said. “She knew who you were and what you did when she married you. She chose to make a life with you, have a family with you.” He knew that the couple had met while Garrick was still on active duty. Tress had married a soldier.

“Thanks, buddy,” Garrick said. “I knew you’d understand.” He shook his head and gave a weak laugh. “Now, I’m going to go home and tell my family how much I love them. You should do the same.”

“I will,” said Din. As they stood, he pulled Garrick into a firm embrace. “K'oyacyi, my friend.”

“What does that mean?” Garrick asked.

“Hang in there,” Din replied. Stay alive was the more literal translation, but he wasn’t about to tell Garrick that.

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

Mariana could tell that something had happened the moment Din walked in the door. “They’re going?,” she asked.

“They’re going,” he replied. “Fennic will be going with the cadets in my place. And Garrick’s reserve squad has been called up as well.” He picked up Ad’ika, who as usual was tugging at his pant leg before he’d gotten two steps inside.

“Oh, poor Tress,” Mariana said. She’d had lunch with the other woman just yesterday and while Tress had tried to be upbeat, it was clear that she was worried. “And I was just asking her if she can watch Ad’ika while I meet with the midwife.” Tress’ cousin’s neighbor’s aunt was a very reputable midwife and had agreed to take Mariana on as a patient, which meant weekly appointments at the woman’s office. “Maybe I should just stick with the doctor at the clinic …”

“No, I think it would be a good distraction for her,” Din said, sitting on the couch. Mariana settled beside him. “And for the girls. A weekly play date would cheer them up immensely. Besides, the clinic relies too much on med droids … I’ll feel better if Valinda Knorros delivers the baby.”

Still with the droid thing, Mariana thought with a smile. Of course, she felt a lot better knowing she’d be in the hands of a woman who had three children of her own, as well as the experience of having delivered dozens more over the years, rather than a med droid. Droids were very capable (she still thought fondly of RN-42, who had informed her of her pregnancy back on Florian), but she doubted one would be very sympathetic to the pain of childbirth.

“How are your classes going?” Din asked.

“Well,” she replied. “I’m almost done with my paper for the Rhetoric class and we’ll get our scores on the Theoretical Physics of Hyperspace exam tomorrow. I just have to finish the reading for the Art History discussion, but that’s not due for a couple of days yet.” The hyperspace class was kicking her butt, as she had never been as strong in mathematics as she was in other areas, but she was very much enjoying the other two classes. Surprisingly, Ad’ika was very good about knowing when she needed to concentrate, and so far she’d been able to keep up with the workload.

“Think we can manage dinner at the Mondella’s one night this week?,” he asked.

Mariana thought over her upcoming deadlines. “Tomorrow would work,” she said. “Should I comm Tress or do you want to talk to Garrick in the morning?”

“Comm her,” Din said. “I have the feeling Garrick and I won’t have much time to chat before he’s deployed.” Mariana squeezed his hand. How many comrades has he said goodbye to and never seen again?, she wondered.

“I’ll call her right after dinner,” she said. “Speaking of which, why don’t you two get washed up while I set the table?”

When he and Ad’ika were behind the closed door of the ‘fresher, she allowed herself a moment to lose composure. Her heart was breaking at the thought of Garrick having to leave, at the thought of Tress and the girls being left behind, wondering every day if he was coming home. She’d been through that when Din had gone off after Moff Gideon, and they’d only been together a few months at that time. She couldn’t begin to imagine how hard it would be after being with someone for years.

She also felt selfish for being so thankful that Din wasn’t going. Why am I the lucky one? Why should Tress have to go through this and I don’t? The ‘fresher door opened and she wiped the tears off her face, bustling into the kitchen to get the plates. Din was probably feeling guilty enough about his decision without her blubbering all over the place making him feel worse. She smiled brightly at him as he and Ad’ika took their places at the table, but she could tell from the gentle smile on his face and the tired look in his eyes that she wasn’t fooling him one bit.

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

“What?” X’intari blurted out when Din told the class he would not be accompanying them when they were deployed. “Oh, sorry, sir, sorry, I just … I kind of assumed you’d be going with us.” The boy blushed dark green and several of the other cadets snickered.

“I can see why you might assume that, Cadet,” Din said evenly, shooting a look at the ones who were laughing. “But as you recall, I’m a civilian, and therefore Corporal Fennic will be your commanding officer.” He gestured at the young officer, who stood calmly in the corner, observing. “He’ll be assisting with your classes from here on out so he gets a chance to see you all in action, so to speak.”

Shandilon raised his hand. Din suppressed a groan and nodded at him. “Mr. Djarin, sir,” the boy said, looking pointedly at X’intari, who was still mortified at his outburst. “I can understand why you aren’t going, being just a civilian, after all … but why are we being placed under the command of a corporal? I’d have thought we’d have a proper officer in charge.”

“Fennic is a proper officer,” Din replied. “He’s my assistant instructor in the first and second year classes, and he earned his rank by coming up through the ranks. Just because he didn’t graduate from the Academy doesn’t mean he’s not a good officer.”

“But he’s a non-com,” Shandilon protested. Cadets who graduated from the Academy and were accepted into the military started at the commissioned rank of Lieutenant, and tended to look down on the Ensigns and Corporals who had worked their way up from Private.

“He’s still an officer,” Din said. “Hell, even a Private outranks you right now, Cadet.” That didn’t sit well with the boy, but Din was past caring. “Corporal Fennic knows what he's doing, and I trust him implicitly, and he will be in command of your squadron by order of the Colonel. End of discussion.”

“Yes, sir,” Shandilon muttered.

Din approached him and said quietly, “If I hear one word about you disrespecting him, Shandilon, I’ll flunk you, and you’ll never get that diploma.”

The boy’s eyes flared. “You wouldn’t dare. My father would have you fired so fast …”

“Do you think I care?” Din shot back. Shandilon closed his mouth and looked away. Din turned to the other cadets. “Do any of you think I care more about my paycheck than keeping you all safe?” They shook their heads. “That’s right, I don’t. And the best way for you to get through this is to listen to your commanding officer, to trust your commanding officer and to obey your commanding officer. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” the cadets chorused.

“So if anyone gives Corporal Fennic any trouble, he or she will answer to me. And if that ends my career here at the Adademy, so be it.” He turned to Fennic. “Corporal, the class is yours.”

Fennic nodded and stepped forward. “Thank you, Mr. Djarin. Now …”

Din stepped back and let Fennic take control. He was still seething at Shandilon’s attitude but he forced himself to take a deep breath and relax. At least I won’t have to put up with the little shit for a while, he thought. But he would miss the others terribly.

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

Mando’a words:

K'oyacyi = 1. *Cheers!* 2. Can also mean: *Hang in there* or 3. *Come back safely.* Literally, a command; *Stay alive!*

[octopus-reactivated]

Kicked While Down - Bad Things Happen Bingo

If anyone was ever interested in Juli's backstory, there it is :3

(also requests for BTHB prompts are open)

Tw/cw: Pet Whump, Institutionalized slavery, kicking and beating down, scars mention, unfair punishment

Another day, another bruise. 

753 was trying so hard to follow instructions, to be part of the team. He could swear he was doing everything like everyone else. 

And yet, Trainer dragged him out of the group again and threw him on the ground. He was yelling, but the meaning of words was lost to 753. 

He made a mistake, and no matter how many times he tried to correct himself he couldn’t do anything right. 

753 was grabbed and lifted by the collar of his shirt and pushed back to the group who had to start the task from the beginning. 

“I’m sorry” he wanted to say “I don’t want you to suffer because of me”

But he couldn’t say that and his apologies meant nothing anyway when he’s not getting any better. 

__________

Again, and once more. 

His group had to repeat the same task so many times, and it was mostly his fault. 

More than once his group missed a meal or went to sleep late because of it. 

If only he could explain that he was trying, trying to not be a burden… But who would listen? Who would believe him? Who would care?

At least sometimes only he was punished. At least sometimes his teammates didn’t have to suffer because of him. 

__________

One day he was punched in the stomach. It wouldn’t be anything unusual, he was beat up all the time. But this time it wasn’t another punishment from the Trainer, it was another Pet. 

It was because 753 stumbled and that could interrupt the flow of the group and it was bad enough to make one of Pets snap.

He grabbed 753’s shirt.

“I had enough of you” he hissed “get your act together or get lost” he then threw a punch into 753’s stomach, strongly enough to make him lose all the air in his lungs. 

Later on 753 learned that the other Pet was a former Guard Dog who was repurposed because of some injury.

“Do you know how hard it is for us, because of you?”

Putting arms up and trying to shield the stomach and the face gave nothing. The beating ended only after Trainer jumped in and separated them. 

Later that day 753 got his meals taken away for starting a fight. 

__________

“Sir” he said, bowing down so much that his forehead almost touched the floor. 

“Why doesn’t it surprise me anymore?” Trainer asked. “You are getting worse by the day. Of course you would talk without permission”

Trainer Roger was right. Talking without permission was bad enough, and asking for something other than punishment was even worse. But if he won’t his team will be stuck in training forever. 

The shoe tapped on the back of his head.

“Now what was so important that you had to speak to me?”

“Can I be placed back into the chore Pet… I meant the individual chore Pet training? 

Trainer Rogers pressed the shoe down, so 753 shut down. 

“No, continue” prompted him Trainer Rogers “If you think you’re so smart as to question our decision on what purpose you’re about to serve”

“I am dragging the team down! Please! I know I am bad and useless and that there is no hope, but the rest of them don’t have to suffer because of me!”

The pressure on his head disappeared and for a second the room was completely silent.

And then the shoe came back crashing into Pet’s face.

753 was never kicked in the face before. Punched - yes, or kicked in the stomach, but never kicked straight into the jaw.

He instantly felt a metallic taste of blood and his scar that should be healed by now started hurting again. His vision got blurred by the tears and his body was shaken by a sob. 

Trainer Rogers grabbed Pet by the hair and forced him to look into his face.

“Honestly, it’s humiliating that I have to explain myself to a Pet, but I feel like this won’t stop otherwise. When we assigned you to a team we didn’t consider your thoughts about  - oh stop whining - about what the team needs or deserves. We considered where you would sell and you won’t sell unless someone is getting a lot of cheap Pets and is willing to overlook if one is useless or has a history of violence or both. You say that you drag everyone down? True, but you wouldn’t leave the training ever unless others pull you up. Is that clear?”

“Yes- yes sir” 753 sobbed out. 

“You better remember that. Now, I hope you’re ready to start your punishment”

__________

Taglist: @kim-poce @whatgoeswhumpinthenight @wolfeyedwitch @dont-touch-my-soup @obsessedwithegos @cicatrix-energy @jordanstrophe

[auncyen]

I'm still working on part two of "Journal Page #16" (which, yes, should have been given a better title; still don't have one) but I wanna share this first bit because I like it.

Temenos’ dreams dimmed to match the waking world almost as soon as the unnatural night started, but as the travelers cross the Sundering Sea, his dreams darken even further.  Awake, he can call on Aelfric for holy light; in his dreams, on his own, he sees nothing, grasping with sound and feeling and fear.  He is asleep in his home.  Roi is pounding on the door, calling in that urgent, fearful tone, though the words are garbled to meaninglessness.  Temenos could rise from the bed and find his way to the door by sound and feel and memory, but he does not try, because it’s the middle of the night and he, having slept, is not dressed to run as Roi is.  If he dresses before opening the door, Roi will be gone.  If he lets Roi in first, he’s transfixed by his friend’s fearful tone as he describes finding a cursed weapon and losing trust in the church, and Roi is gone by the time Temenos realizes he needs at least shoes if he is to follow, never mind Roi’s instructions.  Temenos knows how this goes.  He already knows.

The dream changes to something he is less familiar with.  Now he is Roi, cold and afraid, panting for breath as he runs with the bow.  Petrichor laughs behind him, sounding much like Deputy Cubaryi, another woman blindly devoted to a wicked one.  He runs and runs, but it is the darkest night.  The gods are also fond of sleeping when they are needed.  There is no light to guide Roi, and he inevitably trips over a rock he had no way of seeing and falls on the ground.  Cubaryi-Petrichor’s laugh grows wilder, louder, and as he fumbles to get up, a blade pierces his side from behind and he cries out with the little air left in him–

And he’s just Temenos, again, tangled in a rough, disgustingly sweat-soaked blanket, with a single line from Ori’s damned journal impressed on his mind:

“Sometimes, I hunted people too, like the time I came to possess the Darkblood Bow.”

He already knew Roi was most likely killed that night, or soon after, since he never returned.  It’s that word.  ‘Hunted.’  As if he was just another beast.

*

It takes a week longer than usual to make the sea crossing with both visibility and navigation hampered.  It doesn’t help that at least part of the crew has been afflicted by the same dullness of mind found on land, speaking as though the night is normal.  It doesn’t seem to have affected their ability to work, but they’re directed to very few duties to make sure they don’t get themselves or anyone else into trouble should their minds be prone to other errors not yet discovered.  The travelers keep busy working alongside the sailors who are still sane, including Temenos.  He does some physical work.  He also makes light in the most mundane application of Aelfric’s sacred power.  And very often, he puts on his best cleric behavior and inquires about how each crew member is doing, gives counsel as Pontiff Jörg would have and reassures them, feeling as though he is lying through his teeth.  He intends to bring back the dawn; the lie is in having to mask every doubt and worry, to have to appear as the paragon of faith others need in this trial.  He never did understand how the Pontiff and Roi could be so solid in their own reassurance.

The end of their sea journey nears: they find the eastern continent’s coast and realize they’re nearly a hundred miles off from the anchorage despite their best attempts at hindered navigation, but they are at least in sight of familiar land, which is enough to have sailors praising various deities among the eight, depending on who they think is most responsible for guiding a safe sea passage in total darkness.  (Temenos hears the most thanks for Aelfric and Aeber, the one most strongly associated with sacred flame and the one most acquainted with darkness.  There are a few thanking Bifelgan and Alephan, a patron of trade and a patron of the wisdom needed to navigate when conventional methods flounder.  He hears one sailor thank Dohter, and wonders at that until he thinks of Dohter’s chosen being set adrift at sea only to be safely found by a boat.  Perhaps in the end, they all rely on charity.)  They should be ashore in hours.  Temenos checks on the tucked away, folded journal scrap in the midst of one last bout of worry–should he show Throné, ask her to confide in him should she feel unwell?  Show everyone, and make sure no one is caught off guard?  Throw the scrap in the sea for the fish?--when his hand freezes.  His fingers brush the edges of the folded paper.

It’s been flipped over.

He scans the room with a summoned holy light: nothing of value is missing, immediately ruling out the idea that any of the sailors decided to take up thievery.  He takes the paper out, unfolds it, examines it.  It’s the same paper.  The passage he’s nearly memorized by heart reads the same, no evidence of alteration apparent.  He folds it back up and puts it back down the same way, considering the direction the edges are pointed in.  It’s not how he laid it down before.

…But surely it is?  He can’t see who–Throné herself is the strongest candidate for rifling through another’s room, and if she found the paper, it would have either been taken or placed back exactly as she found it.  Ochette is the next most likely to ransack someone’s room out of sheer curiosity, but the room as a whole would be more disorganized.  Hikari and Partitio are so principled about others’ belongings that Temenos has a hard time imagining either would search his room, let alone closely enough to find the paper, and if they’d read it they’d have either confronted him about hiding it or simply told the group.  Similarly Agnea, even if she is the one easiest to imagine making a clumsy mistake in putting the paper back while keeping the scene otherwise orderly.  Osvald is too attentive to detail.  Also, he would have just taken the paper, not put it back.  Castti…Castti, maybe?

It’s been nearly three weeks at sea in the dark.  Roughly two months total of darkness.  Temenos considers he may just be losing his mind, because humans were not made for this.

Only one more week of travel to Flamechurch.

[iviarellereads]

The Shadow Rising, Chapter 6 - Doorways

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Wheel of Time, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(White lion icon) In which someone drops a metaphorical mic.

PERSPECTIVE: Elayne follows Moiraine into the room, angrily. Moiraine is complaining, openly, about how stubborn Rand is. Elayne thinks of her childhood nurse, Lini, saying you could weave silk from pig bristles before you could make a man anything but a man. But that's no excuse.

Egwene asks what Rand did, and Moiraine glares at her. El jumps a little as she realizes Joiya isn't bound, and hopes nobody noticed. She finds it hard to be as brave as the Daughter-Heir should be. Moiraine tells Joiya she's made arrangements for her and Amico to be taken upriver to Tar Valon, and the Traitors' Court. Moiraine clearly intimidates Joiya, who looks away with murder in her eyes. Moiraine undoes Amico's binding, more deftly than any of the wondergirls can manage yet, and El is a little jealous. It's small comfort that they can do some things Moiraine can't.(1)

Moiraine calls in some guards to escort the prisoners back to their cells, with specific instructions about their care. As soon as everyone else is gone, Egg puts an arm over El's shoulder and asks what's wrong. El tries very hard not to cry.

Nyn tells Moiraine off for vanishing and then coming back just to calmly announce she's sending their prisoners away. Moiraine says the Amyrlin may have set them to chase Liandrin and co, but they're still only Accepted, and they need to make a decision at some point about them. Then she turns to El and tells her to pull herself together, and remember that not every land has the customs she was born to.

Egg asks what customs, and El says she knows Berelain was in Rand's bedchamber. Moiraine says she'd have spared Egg if she could, but either way, Rand belongs to the Pattern, to history, not to either of them. Egg tells El she doesn't have those feelings for Rand anymore, she thinks of him and El as brother and sister to her, and wishes them the best.(2) Then she asks Moiraine if she's ever been in love.

The slender woman was not at all taken aback. For a long moment she looked levelly at the pair of them, each with an arm around the other. Finally she said, “I could wager I know the face of the man I will marry better than either of you knows that of your future husband.” Egwene gaped in surprise. “Who?” Elayne gasped. The Aes Sedai appeared regretful of having spoken. “Perhaps I only meant we share an ignorance. Do not read too much into a few words.”(3) She looked at Nynaeve consideringly. “Should I ever choose a man—should, I say—it will not be Lan. That much I will say.”

Nyn gets back to business and says she doesn't like dithering here, but they've walked into too many traps not to be cautious. How do they know if the women are lying, either or both or neither? She's tugging her braid so hard it looks like she wants to use it to strangle Moiraine.

El changes the subject slightly and suggests Nyn might want to know why they were summoned to Rand. He's fine now, Moiraine healed him.(4) Nyn gasps and asks what happened. Moiraine explains about bubbles of evil, and the state of Rand's room, and how she's sure Perrin and Mat also got some weirdness but escaped unharmed.

Tension rises again, and Egg asks what Rand was being stubborn about. Moiraine says he must make a move, but instead he just sits here, and Tear loses its fear of him. The Forsaken will see it as a sign of weakness, and the Pattern is built inherently on movement, only the dead are still. He must act, or die.

Nyn says Moiraine knows what action he has to take, doesn't she? Yes, Moiraine confirms, but she can't risk him going off alone again. The wondergirls ask Moiraine to tell them what she intends, and she agrees with only a little reluctance. She thinks Rand should take Tear to war with Illian, to bring down Sammael.

There's some discussion about the uses of war (few and far between) and El remembers that Moiraine was raised in the Royal Palace in Cairhien, not in the line of succession but related to the ruling family.(5) She understands world politics well. Nyn asks why this war, what makes it better than any other. Moiraine asks El to explain. El says war will come whether Rand is involved or not, the Forsaken won't just stand idly by, and he can't be the only other one who's seized a country's reins. They'll come after Rand eventually, and even the countries who aren't under Forsaken command might well declare him false, the fall of the Stone a lie. One way or another, war will come.

Mo adds that the war she proposes wouldn't be better or cleaner, but it would cement the Tairens to Rand, and bring Illian under his banner. In one swoop, he would establish himself strong enough that only a coalition of every other country in Randland could take him down. He has to be the hammer, not the nail, and he has to move first, but instead he just sits here and reads himself into more trouble.

Nyn and Egg are kinda shaken, so El asks how he can read himself into more trouble. Moiraine says he's been reading the Dragon Prophecies, they're forbidden in Tear but the Chief Librarian had some translations locked up. Rand has them all, now. She pointed out a verse that applies, and he quoted it to her.

"Power of the Shadow made human flesh wakened to turmoil, strife and ruin. The Reborn One, marked and bleeding, dances the sword in dreams and mist, chains the Shadowsworn to his will, from the city, lost and forsaken, leads the spears to war once more, breaks the spears and makes them see, truth long hidden in the ancient dream."

Illian under Sammael could qualify as a forsaken city, if he leads Tear to war and chains Sammael, it could fulfill the verse, but he refuses to see it.(6) He even has a copy in the Old Tongue, though he surely can't read it.

Nyn says he's surely desperate to find his own way. Moiraine says she's desperate too, she's dedicated her life to finding him and ensuring his success. She's almost desperate enough to... she cuts herself off, but El forces her to finish the thought. The Tairens hold a collection of ter'angreal, the Great Holding. There's one particular ter'angreal, a redstone doorframe, slightly twisted. If she can't make him reach a decision, she may have to go through it.

Nyn asks what's through it, and Moiraine says you can gain answers. Three true answers about anything. The wondergirls immediately ask why she didn't tell them before, they could get answers to all the questions before them! Moiraine says they rush to run where a hundred Warders would fear to tread. No one may step through more than once, frivolous questions are punished, and questions touching the Shadow can have dire consequences. And it may not be possible to ask a question about the Dragon that doesn't touch on the Shadow in some way.(7)

Nyn asks how she knows all this, and Moiraine says until about 300 years ago, it was a possession of Mayene, who used its answers to keep Mayene out of Tear's grasp. One of them made a gift of it to the High Lords, in his attempt to do such.

Egg says they're right back where they started. Moiraine invites them to question the prisoners again, they have right up until they're loaded onto their ship. She reminds the wondergirls that they're the hounds the Amyrlin set after the Black Ajah,(8) and they must set the course. then she leaves.

They sit down with some cooled wine and El asks Egg if she really meant it about Rand, and Egg nods. She brings up Min's talk of sharing him and wonders if there was a vision involved. She worries that Rand still loves Egg, and Egg says he'll just have to be set straight. El is still worried that Ber was in his chambers, but Egg says she was looking at Rhuarc two days ago, and in another day she'll be looking at someone else.

El doesn't know what to do. She loves Rand, wants to marry him. She knows exactly what her mother will say about it, but she can't help it. Nyn reminds her of what Rand is, a man who can channel. He might have a year, or two, or only months before he goes mad and worse. El says she knows it should matter, but it doesn't. Nyn smiles and says she had to be sure. So, what do they do about it? Especially about Berelain. El says they've only talked a half dozen times in a whole year, she doesn't have the right to be angry at him OR Ber. Egg suggests there are other ways to make your feelings and intentions known. El thinks about doing it the Mayener way and just saying it, but has to down her whole goblet of wine at the thought.

Elayne looked from one to the other of them. “In truth, I feared you might tell me I was foolish, fretting over a thing like this when we have the Black Ajah to worry about.” A slight flicker of Egwene’s eyes said the thought had occurred to her, but Nynaeve said, “Rand is not the only one who might die next year, or next month, We might, too. Times are not what they were, and we cannot be, either. If you sit and wish for what you want, you may not see it this side of the grave.” It was a chilling sort of reassurance, but Elayne nodded. She was not being silly. If only the Black Ajah could be settled so easily. She pressed her empty silver goblet to her forehead for the coolness. What were they to do?

=====

(1) You gotta walk before you can run, and raw strength is rarely any competition for practiced skill. (2) And I reiterate that I thought this was all settled two books ago, but okay. Like, seriously, the subject takes up about 5 or 6 pages out of the 18 of this chapter in my paperback. There's so much wishy-washing in this series. Some of it is character building, but after a certain point, it's just dragging your feet. (3) That's an awfully sloppy cover-up for a slip of the tongue, ma'am. What do you know? Who is it? How? (Well, we can guess how: Moiraine was the first to know Min. Perhaps Min gave her enough detail about someone Mo already knew to identify them.) (4) I totally don't remember Elayne being there when Moiraine healed Rand, but whatever, my memory's got almost as many holes as Mat's. Especially after a few rounds of covid. Maybe they went back to do it again? (5) Elayne would know: Moiraine is her paternal aunt, Taringail was Mo's half-brother. Not that El ever thinks of her that way, or that anyone ever seems to care up to this point. (6) It's funny how Moiraine goes back and forth between "the prophecy must mean this specific thing I'm assuming it to mean" and "prophecy is vague and often only means anything after the fact" depending on whether it's her making the assumption or someone else. (7) It sounds like it would definitely take someone well trained in all manner of statecraft and linguistics to craft the right questions to get an answer. They could almost be the Fae. (8) I love-hate this implication that the wondergirls are the hounds set after the Black Ajah, because hounds need training and they need to obey as much as they need to do their jobs. It's such a subtle little dig at the wondergirls' impatience.

[tarot-by-e11e]

Yes I did and it was horrible, thank god no other passwords were lost or well I'd be dead, and it seems it's tweaking again but anyway, ha.

I mean, you and your energy are the reason I can't help but genuinely compliment your skill, and YES I'MMA HYPE YOU ON EVERY WAY OF YOUR STEP and I will not stop spoiling your leo moon, because can you even blame me?!

I see, that really opens so much of insights because i was taking the glasses one literally and wondering "am I not pessimistic enough?" And you cleared it perfectly. Thank you so VERY much 🤧🫶

Yes, AS YOU SHOULD, and I know you are one heck of a warrior—coming back up strong every time even though you might not realize it. Did you know that deers spend their lifetime searching for the fragrance they smell, but little do they know it comes from their own navel? So you're worth it, really. Don't just survive—thrive, even with the smallest things. And I know it’s easier said than done, but let’s try and not cry (I mean we should release the baggage too, but you get the metaphor? Yeah!!)

I just saw some posts about Halloween/inner demons ask readings ongoing—are the slots still open? Because I scrolled all the way down, and not sure why, but my Tumblr is tweaking (I’M DONE). The same posts keep popping up again and again, so I had to ask you! If the Halloween/inner demons slots are still open, I’d love to join in! (And if not, I’ll be cheering you on all the same! ^^)

Thank you once again, and remember that both fear and faith require you to believe in something you can’t see—believe in yourself. We all do, too.

Hope your days keep thriving! Each better than the last.

Hi dear,

Thank you so much for this reply!

I'm really happy that you didn't lose your passwords, even I'd cry for you if that happened!! Actually, even my account tweaks every now and then, there were even moments were one of the ask went missing, I'd had me crying in panic.

Thank you and please spoil me Leo Moon! I really appreciate it!

Don't worry, it happens, sometimes we need a bit of nudge and shifting perspectives to get to the interpretation the reading requires.

I know, I'm taking the time to doing right by everyone and also myself.

With the Inner Demons ask game, I mentioned before that I'm open for the next batch of participants that send me an ask with the required instructions fulfilled.

I just need to finish this ongoing games first, then take a day off before going back to read for the next batch.

So just send an ask and I'll answer yours on the nect batch!