#it's likelier than you think

[wearemercs]

Deneve (Claymore) by m4rjinn

[a-murmur-of-a-prayer]

Snippet Sunday

Satine froze. She knew very well who was standing behind her; because only now did he allow himself to move closer, until she could feel the heat of the body at her back, but not the body itself. 

“Obi-Wan,” she said. “I would have thought you’d be forward enough to announce your presence.” 

“What you're looking at is classified information,” Obi-Wan said, removing his hand. 

Satine turned around, so that they were standing almost nose to nose. 

“Is it,” she said. “I had no idea. Anakin told me I could go wherever I pleased.” 

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a long moment, looking unbearably exhausted. “Of course Anakin said that. You never knew him…before. And in case you haven’t figured this out, he likes to cause problems.” 

“I did gather that,” Satine said. 

Oh, no. Now there was no more easy conversation. 

The air grew immediately awkward. 

[punalippulaiva]

Surely that is misdated? 1971 was still the long-haired era, and he didn't grow the mullet until some time into his glamrock period, which would make this likely to be from 1973/74.

David Bowie, 1971.

[rocketbirdie]

i feel like i failed you.

[sejarcus-archive]

Dorothea modern Sejarcus au, in which they were childhood best friends but they fell out of touch, and now Sejanus is a famous dancer traveling across the country, and Marcus watches his success grow from afar, wishing they could still be part of each other’s lives

[incohorace]

GHKJHGFHK?????

[catoswound]

i think caesar should have just told cato to kill himself after one of his half day filibusters

[randomingoftherandomness]

This was inspired by a part in a fic you just recently wrote about (which was amazing btw). I was wondering if you could write about didi doing all kinds of reckless and stupid things and gege has had enough of it. When ge confronts his didi about it all, didi states he's doing it all for his gege and that geges goals are more important than him/his life, or he thinks gege feels that way

A/N: I took waaaayyy too long getting round to this but I hope you’ll like what I’ve got for you here x

—

“He did what?”

The attendants barely has time to grab on to the reins of his horse before Shangjue is dismounting and throwing his travelling coat off to Jin Fu.

Ziyu is solemn as when he falls into step with him. Stalking towards the grounds of Zhi residence, impatience and worry war in Shangjue’s chest when they take a corner and their family’s Zhiren does not speak.

“Explain.”

It’s only half a demand and Ziyu knows it because his shoulders relax just that tiny bit, and he makes no effort to correct his tone.

“Last week, Yuanzhi and Zishang got it in their heads that they could make a stealth weapon of sorts that can be deployed to track a target. They overestimated how much they needed of a type of explosive and Yuanzhi… took the brunt of it when he tried shield Zishang.”

Shangjue swallows back whatever bile that sits thick on the tip of his tongue.

“And then?”

Ziyu nods his head at a few servants who salute him. “Then, a few days ago, Yuanzhi caught some measure of epiphany and decided it would be wise to ignore the advices of even Elder Yue to start developing some form of poison that will be slow acting and can kill the intended target after a period of time.”

Suppressing the urge to sigh, he lets Ziyu walk ahead of him as they approach the clinic.

They both acknowledge the salutes they receive as they climb the short stairs to the treatment rooms. Ziyu stops him just before they can push the doors open.

“He’s…” Ziyu starts. Pausing, then pursing his lips into a determined line. “Elder Yue is with him.”

Shangjue doesn’t wait to ponder on that. Pushing through, he immediately makes for the rooms reserved for members of the family.

The room stinks of blood. It is cloying and almost unbearable. Shangjue says ‘almost’ because the truly unbearable part of it all is how Yuanzhi is hugging a bucket and is bleeding from his nose and ears.

“Ge? What are you—“

Whatever he has to say is buried under the sounds of retching when he throws up a mouthful of fresh blood. Horror ices his veins. He takes a half step forward and has to stop when Elder Yue holds him by the elbow.

“Perhaps this isn’t a good idea.”

“Let go of me.”

Elder Yue tightens his grip. “It’s for his good.”

��Let,” Shangjue growls. “Me go.”

The corner of Elder Yue’s jaw ticks, but he steps aside for Shangjue to immediately rush to Yuanzhi’s side. Gently pushing back the tangle of sweat damp hair, he runs the palm of his hand in circles on Yuanzhi’s upper back.

“What were you thinking?” Shangjue demands the moment Elder Yue debriefs him — Yuanzhi will be fine, if not very sick, in a couple of days and will need a lot of nourishing food — and his Didi has the audacity to look absolutely unrepentant.

Shaking like a leaf in his arms with dark circles under his eyes, Yuanzhi is fearless when he meets Shangjue’s eyes.

“Because you needed it. So I had to provide.”

Shangjue frowns. “I never asked you for this.”

Yuanzhi gets a bit of a gleam in his eyes, but whatever he has to say is cut off when he curls his body back over the bucket and starts up another bout of retching.

“I never want you to put your life at risk like this.”

Yuanzhi heaves a heavy sigh as he leans back. Shangjue is immediately there with a fresh cup of tea for him to clear his mouth with.

“You never have to ask. I’ll do anything for you.” Yuanzhi states. The lilt of his voice is matter of fact. As if they were just discussing the weather. Shangjue is floored by the open and unfettered devotion. He has always known that there aren’t many bottom lines to his Didi when it comes to him, and for the first time, it scares him to have to acknowledge that.

Cupping Yuanzhi by the cheeks, he shakes his head, pushing back the prickle of tears that burn hotly in the corner of his eyes.

“You’re more important to me than my goals. Yuanzhi, you’re the reason I have goals to achieve,” Shangjue whispers, almost begging him to understand. “All I want is to come home to you every time I have to leave, and the biggest goal I have is to grow old with you. Do understand me?”

Yuanzhi sputters. “Ge, you should let go of me now.”

Shangjue does and immediately feels guilty again when Yuanzhi goes back to vomiting.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of this conversation just because you’re puking your guts out,” Shangjue warns, voice carrying none of the heat, tenderly going back to rubbing comforting circles on his back.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Gege.”

[jynjackets]

the power of jyn and cassian that i gotta defend both of them left and right because individually they annoy people and get misinterpreted all the time by both tacked on “canon” material and ignorant fan theories

even the fandom meta is giving soulmatism 🤌

[cypric-rat-hyperfixation]

As my following grows and as I meet more and more people who have rats, had rats, know someone who has/had rats, and love rats...

increasingly I wonder if/when a day will come... a day that I'll express rat enjoyment to someone and they'll enthusiastically ask me if I've heard of This Funnie Little Rodent Blog they like, figuring I may already know it or will enjoy it if not...

and it's.. my blog... and then I have to come out as popular Rat Tumblr blogger that they follow and now know IRL.......

[rythiansuggestions]

From the ashes, a garbled signal sings.

[bytebun]

would you love me if i were a squid 🦑

[rocketbirdie]

he's definitely compensating for something 🤨

[drhu0806]

This one little indie game is singlehandedly letting me live out my childhood dream of playing with Sun Wukong and saving his good-for-nothing dumbass monk master

11/10, GOTY

[waltwhitmansbeard]

my fair lady: chapter twenty-six

there are more of these! don't forget to check out @romeoandjulietyouwish's medieval au too!

Vex is asleep, body long and loose and draped along Percy's torso. The most significant inconvenience to spending the night together in the cottage is having to share one narrow single bed, as opposed to the generously large one in his quarters in the castle, but it is worth it to be as loud as she pleases as they engage in their favorite late-night activities. The lack of space is the reason she falls straight off the bed when a loud, persistent banging at the door startles them both out of sleep. She hits the wood and swears, and Percy, groggy but concerned, leans over to ask, "Are you alright?"

"Better than whoever that is is about to be," she grumbles. She throws on some clothes as Percy fumbles about for his glasses. The pounding at the door continues. When they're both more or less decent, they make for the door, Percy with his pistol in hand. Vex unlocks and whips open the door, her eyes narrowed. "Who in the Nine Hells—"

She cuts herself off, eyes widening, when she sees her brother, shirtless and bleeding, half-carrying Princess Keyleth, who herself looks like death warmed over. Behind Vex, Percy yelps, "Keyleth!" and knocks her out of the way to get to the princess, the pistol tossed atop the dining table. Vex makes room for the two of them to enter, checking the vicinity outside for hostility before quickly shutting and bolting the door.

"Help me," Vax urges, settling the princess to one of the two armchairs in front of the fireplace. Percy immediately begins stoking up a flame as Vax wraps a blanket from their stash by the hearth around her shoulders.

"I'm fine," the princess insists, though she can barely keep her eyes open. "Honestly, you don't need to fret so much."

Vax works his jaw in tight circles, a motion Vex knows means he's biting his tongue. She sees now that in addition to the stab wound in his arm, there is a burn of some kind on one of his legs. She stomps over to him and grabs his uninjured arm, halting his frenetic attempts to get the princess settled. "What happened?"

"Finefirn," he spits, not even looking at her. He kneels down before the princess, pressing his fingers to her wrist, seemingly to check for a pulse. Vex furrows her brow; the princess in clearly alive—why would he be checking for a pulse?

Percy stands, the fire now lit and crackling, and asks, "What do you mean, Finefirn?"

The princess's eyes are now fully closed and her head has fallen back against the seat. Vax watches her face in the same manner that Vex does her mark in the forest on a hunt. "He appeared in the middle of her rooms with two accomplices. His goal was retribution for Keyleth's uncovering his plot in Syngorn. He wanted her dead." He swallows. "And he got what he wanted."

Vex's jaw drops. She exchanges a bewildered look with Percy before asking, "What does that mean, brother?" She waves a hand in the princess's direction. "She seems alive to me!"

Vax doesn't answer. He's rubbing Keyleth's arms, as if trying to will warmth into them. Vex is about to demand more answers when in the distance, bells begin to clang ominously. Some of the tension leaches from Vax's body at the sound. "Those are the warning bells," Vex announces, peeking through the curtains up toward the castle, where dozens of external braziers are being lit one by one. "Brother, what happened?"

"Kynan is dead." Vex claps a hand over her mouth. "We escaped, but no guard was called—until now." He looks up at Vex. "I can't bring her back there unless I know it's safe, but she needs to see a healer."

Vex nods. "I ought to go up anyway, as Captain of the Royal Guard. I'll send someone when we know it's safe for her to return." She starts to make for her bedroom, then stops and turns and says to Vax, "Come with me for a moment." Vax glares daggers at her. "Percy will stay with her. Please, Vax."

He watches the princess breathe for a few more moments before standing and following her into her bedroom. Once behind the closed door, Vex wheels on him. "I want the whole story and I want it now."

"You need to go to the cas—"

"I'm not going to ask you again."

His nostrils flare. "Fine. We were attacked. Kynan was killed before he could sound the alarm. I fought them off so Keyleth could escape, she assisted with some...truly incredible magic, but as we were fleeing down into the catacombs..." His eyes shut. "She...he killed her. Finefirn killed her. With magic."

Ice grips Vex's heart. She reaches out to grab his hand. "Vax...I..." But what does she say to this? What are the words that heal this wound?

When Vax's eyes open again, they are tired, as though he has aged a decade just this one night. "I got lost trying to carry her out, and I found myself in a shrine to the Raven Queen." Vex knows little of the gods, but she knows well enough that this goddess holds dominion over life and death. "And I...struck a bargain."

"Struck a bargain. What does this mean?" His jaw is working that same tight circle. She squeezes his hand. "Vax! What does it mean?"

"It hardly matters, Vex'ahlia. She is here, and she is alive, and you need to be up at the castle."

"No." She grabs his face and forces him to look at her. Tears have pooled in her eyes, threatening to fall. "What have you done?" Her tone is one of desperation, because at her core, she already knows the answer, but she needs him to tell her that she is wrong, that of course he has not done the thing that she believes him to have done, the thing that she knows he would do in a heartbeat.

"You know what I did," he breathes, and the tears spill down her cheeks.

"Vax." She throws her arms around his torso, pulling him close. Perhaps if she holds him tightly enough, she can keep him here, keep him whole. She sobs into his chest, her entire body shaking with the force of it, and he keeps her head under his chin, running a hand up and down the curve of her back.

"How long?" she manages to say through the tears.

He doesn't need to ask for clarification. "I do not pretend to know the machinations of the gods, Vex'ahlia. To be honest, I feel it is a miracle I am standing here now."

Vex looks up at him, can barely see him through her watery vision. "And I am supposed to leave? Go up to the castle and come home to nothing, to no one?"

"Hey." This time, he takes her face in his hands, gently thumbing away the tears. "You do not have nothing. We have built a good life here, you and I. There are those who care for you, who will be there for you when I am gone. You will have Percival, and you will have Keyleth, and you will not be alone."

She narrows her eyes. "How do you expect me to have Keyleth when she is the one who took you from me?"

"Vex." The tenderness has left his voice, and the way he scolds her reminds her uncannily of their mother. "She has done nothing of the sort. All she has done is love your bastard of a brother, who, by the bye, has absolutely no regrets. I would make my bargain a dozen times over, and I would do it for you without a second thought." He smiles sadly. "Please don't be cold to her, when I am gone. The two of you will be sharing in your grief; there is no need for you to be enemies in it."

Vex hugs him again. There is a sinking in her chest so heavy it's a wonder she can stand. She is desperate not to go, to stay here and cling to her brother for as many minutes as she has left with him. But he peels her off of him, kissing her forehead before saying, "Get dressed, Captain. Your duty awaits."

"Fuck duty," she grumbles, but she moves toward her uniform anyway. Vax leaves the room, giving her the privacy to dress, which she does in a daze, her head now stuffed with cotton and her eyes sore.

When she emerges, more or less dressed in her full captain's regalia, she sees her brother and Percy attempting to negotiate Vax's mattress through the door and in front of the fire, presumably to allow the princess to lie down and be warm. Percy stops and pulls her in for a kiss. "Do be careful," he murmurs against her lips. "I should hate to lose such a skilled sparring partner."

Despite her gloom, she cocks a half-smile. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily, de Rolo." She turns to her brother, who is now holding the mattress entirely on his own and clearly struggling a bit. "You had better be here when I return," she threatens, pointing a finger at him, just as their mother used to do.

He brings a hand to his heart to draw a small X over it, a promise they both know he may very well not keep. She kisses him briefly on the cheek before spinning for the door, grabbing her bow on the way out. If Gaben Finefirn is still in that castle, Vex is going to ensure that he never gets to leave it.

[incohorace]

im actually enjoying studying the republic a lot.....i would still rather be doing verse but the language is soooo much easier than lysias or (shudder) thucydides its like a breath of fresh air