#largest importer of human hair

[anamseair]

Discover the rising demand for human hair imports in India! Learn about the top buyers, import statistics, and market trends driving this booming industry. Find out which countries supply human hair to India and explore the future of this dynamic market. Stay ahead in the trade of human hair for wigs, extensions, and more with the latest data and insights!

[seair]

The Growing Demand for Human Hair Imports in India: A Booming Market

India, renowned for its rich supply of temple hair, has seen a surge in the demand for imported human hair. With the global market for wigs, extensions, and medical hair products expanding rapidly, the beauty industry in India is also witnessing a notable shift. This article delves into the rising trend of human hair imports, the key factors driving this demand, and the future of this dynamic sector in India.

Why Human Hair is in High Demand

The global human hair trade has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry, primarily driven by the beauty and fashion sectors. Wigs, hair extensions, and hairpieces have become popular accessories, offering people the chance to experiment with different looks while maintaining a natural appearance. Human hair, unlike synthetic alternatives, provides a realistic texture, shine, and durability that is hard to replicate.

In addition to cosmetic uses, human hair has an important role in the medical field. Individuals dealing with hair loss due to conditions like alopecia or undergoing cancer treatments often seek out human hair wigs to regain their confidence and sense of normalcy. The superior quality of human hair for medical use has further fueled its demand worldwide.

The Shift Toward Human Hair Imports in India

India is famous for its naturally black, lustrous hair, which has been exported globally for decades. However, as consumer preferences evolve, there has been a growing demand for hair with varied textures, colors, and characteristics that are not as easily sourced domestically. As a result, India has begun to import human hair from countries like China, Myanmar, and Vietnam, where lighter-colored and straight hair is more common.

This shift reflects a change in the beauty standards of Indian consumers, who now seek more diverse options in terms of hair texture and style. The rise in demand for different hair types has opened up a lucrative market for imported human hair.

Key Countries Supplying Human Hair to India

The global human hair trade includes several countries that are major suppliers to India. China is one of the leading exporters of human hair, along with Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia. These countries offer hair that suits the growing demand for unique textures and styles that cater to a wider range of fashion trends and personal preferences in India.

Human hair from these regions is highly sought after for its quality, durability, and aesthetic appeal, making it a preferred choice for Indian buyers looking for high-end wigs, hairpieces, and extensions.

Top Human Hair Buyers in India

The expanding market for human hair in India has attracted several businesses specializing in importing and distributing hair products. Some of the leading human hair buyers in India include:

Devansh Enterprises

Lush International LLP

Rbl Hair Export

Manisha Impex

Fancon

Vipin Hair Extension

1 Hair

Danish's Scrap Hub

Elite Hair Studio Pvt Ltd.

Esskay Beauty Resources P Ltd.

These companies are key players in the industry, meeting the growing demand for human hair products in India’s bustling beauty and fashion markets.

The Impact of Human Hair Imports on the Indian Market

As the demand for diverse hair textures and colors rises, human hair imports have become essential in meeting the needs of the Indian market. According to recent human hair import data, India saw a significant increase in human hair imports in 2023-2024, with a substantial volume of hair being sourced from various countries.

The popularity of hair extensions and wigs, particularly in urban areas, has significantly boosted the demand for imported hair. Indian consumers are increasingly opting for hair products that offer a wider variety of styles and textures not commonly available locally. This trend is expected to continue, driving further growth in the human hair import sector.

Global Leaders in Human Hair Imports

While India is a major player in the human hair export industry, several other countries dominate the global market for human hair imports. The top three countries leading human hair imports globally are:

The United States: The largest importer of human hair worldwide, with over 103,000 shipments.

China: A close second, importing approximately 99,000 shipments of human hair.

Myanmar: Holds the third spot, importing around 13,500 shipments.

These countries play a pivotal role in the global human hair trade, both as suppliers and buyers, and contribute to the steady rise in the market’s value.

The Future of Human Hair Imports in India

Looking ahead, the future of human hair imports in India seems promising. As beauty standards continue to evolve and consumers seek more options, the demand for high-quality human hair is expected to rise further. The Indian beauty industry, particularly in urban regions, has embraced hair extensions and wigs as fashion essentials, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down.

With the growing popularity of unique hair textures, lengths, and colors, Indian businesses are increasingly exploring international markets to meet local demand. This surge in interest is not only a reflection of changing beauty trends but also the expanding purchasing power of Indian consumers.

As technology in hair processing and care continues to advance, the human hair import market in India is set to remain a dynamic and profitable sector. The beauty-conscious population is expected to continue driving demand for imported hair that offers greater variety and quality than domestic supplies.

How to Find Human Hair Buyers and Suppliers

For businesses looking to enter the human hair trade or expand their reach, there are several platforms available to help identify buyers and suppliers. One such platform is Seair Exim Solutions, which provides detailed market insights, global trade data, and HS codes related to human hair. This platform offers access to data from over 120 countries, including key markets like the UAE, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, and the USA.

Businesses can use these tools to stay ahead of market trends, identify potential partners, and make informed decisions in the highly competitive human hair market.

Final Thoughts

The demand for human hair imports in India is rising steadily, fueled by the country's growing beauty and fashion industries. As consumers continue to seek high-quality, diverse hair products for wigs, extensions, and medical purposes, the market for imported human hair is poised for continued growth. For businesses involved in the human hair trade, staying informed about global trends and market data is crucial to capitalizing on this evolving industry.

Whether you're a buyer, supplier, or investor, the future of human hair imports in India presents exciting opportunities for growth and innovation in a rapidly expanding market.

[nasa]

Roman's primary structure hangs from cables as it moves into the big clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

What Makes the Clean Room So Clean?

When you picture NASA’s most important creations, you probably think of a satellite, telescope, or maybe a rover. But what about the room they’re made in? Believe it or not, the room itself where these instruments are put together—a clean room—is pretty special. 

A clean room is a space that protects technology from contamination. This is especially important when sending very sensitive items into space that even small particles could interfere with.

There are two main categories of contamination that we have to keep away from our instruments. The first is particulate contamination, like dust. The second is molecular contamination, which is more like oil or grease. Both types affect a telescope’s image quality, as well as the time it takes to capture imagery. Having too many particles on our instruments is like looking through a dirty window. A clean room makes for clean science!

Two technicians clean the floor of Goddard’s big clean room.

Our Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland has the largest clean room of its kind in the world. It’s as tall as an eight-story building and as wide as two basketball courts.

Goddard’s clean room has fewer than 3,000 micron-size particles per cubic meter of air. If you lined up all those tiny particles, they’d be no longer than a sesame seed. If those particles were the size of 16-inch (0.4-meter) inflatable beach balls, we’d find only 3,000 spread throughout the whole body of Mount Everest!

A clean room technician observes a sample under a microscope.

The clean room keeps out particles larger than five microns across, just seven percent of the width of an average human hair. It does this via special filters that remove around 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns and larger from incoming air. Six fans the size of school buses spin to keep air flowing and pressurize the room. Since the pressure inside is higher, the clean air keeps unclean air out when doors open.

A technician analyzes a sample under ultraviolet light.

In addition, anyone who enters must wear a “bunny suit” to keep their body particles away from the machinery. A bunny suit covers most of the person inside. Sometimes scientists have trouble recognizing each other while in the suits, but they do get to know each other’s mannerisms very well.

This illustration depicts the anatomy of a bunny suit, which covers clean room technicians from head to toe to protect sensitive technology.

The bunny suit is only the beginning: before putting it on, team members undergo a preparation routine involving a hairnet and an air shower. Fun fact – you’re not allowed to wear products like perfume, lotion, or deodorant. Even odors can transfer easily!

Six of Goddard’s clean room technicians (left to right: Daniel DaCosta, Jill Bender, Anne Martino, Leon Bailey, Frank D’Annunzio, and Josh Thomas).

It takes a lot of specialists to run Goddard’s clean room. There are 10 people on the Contamination Control Technician Team, 30 people on the Clean Room Engineering Team to cover all Goddard missions, and another 10 people on the Facilities Team to monitor the clean room itself. They check on its temperature, humidity, and particle counts.

A technician rinses critical hardware with isopropyl alcohol and separates the particulate and isopropyl alcohol to leave the particles on a membrane for microscopic analysis.

Besides the standard mopping and vacuuming, the team uses tools such as isopropyl alcohol, acetone, wipes, swabs, white light, and ultraviolet light. Plus, they have a particle monitor that uses a laser to measure air particle count and size.

The team keeping the clean room spotless plays an integral role in the success of NASA’s missions. So, the next time you have to clean your bedroom, consider yourself lucky that the stakes aren’t so high!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[serpentface]

A braithuvi horse at rest under the close protection and watchful, scary, pale-eyed gaze of her herd's guardian, a dírgrahdain. Both are landraces developed within the Highlands. The ancestors of braithuvi (and other Highlands native horses) were brought overseas by the ancestors of the Hill Tribes, while the dogs were obtained from native livestock guardian landraces used by proto-Wardi tribes. Each have become distinct over their centuries of living in the Highlands, and dírgrahdain are have a particularly unique place in the cultural schema.

Braithuvi are a woolly horse breed (and one of many, wool horses are widespread, second only to camala in value for textiles) that are also somewhat specialized for milk production. Their meat is relatively poor (other horses are preferred), but they produce high yields of milk and thick, continuous growths of wool.

Horses are not as culturally significant as cattle to most in the Highlands, but are still highly valued animals that are critical to subsistence. Few plant-based textiles can be produced in the Highlands, and almost all in the region are made with braithuvi wool. They can eat a greater variety of forage than cattle, more efficiently converting energy intake from pastures into milk and wool. Their milk is considered to be the very best of all livestock, and is usually what is used to make the prized murre beverage.

Dogs have a very small specific place in the cultures of the Hill Tribes as utilitarian working animals (specifically for livestock and occasionally as home/village guardians), and rarely ever fill other functions. The practice of keeping dogs purely for companionship is virtually nonexistent (though affectionate bonds between people and their herding or household guard dogs will be fairly common), and their meat is considered worthless. Most dogs are not elevated within the cultural schema, and tend to be merely appreciated as useful, loyal animals. Livestock guardian dogs are an exception to this, and tend to be of more significant cultural import. They are animals that exist to protect the herds on which all subsistence depends, and thus have an elevated cultural status and roles in religion and folklore as uniquely protective entities.

Dírgrahdain are the key livestock guardian dogs in the region, and the only natively developed LGD. Their name means 'lion dog', both in reference to their maned appearance and their ability to fend off and even kill the largest of predators. The dogs are characterized by tall, long-legged builds, deep chests, a curly tail, thick hair (and a thicker winter coat), and a shaggy mane. Their bodies tend to be thinner and lankier than their fur coat suggests, but still well-muscled and powerful. Their coloration can vary wildly, but a black mask with a brown or reddish body like this is most typical. Unnerving, pale eyes are prized in these dogs, with the belief that they not only intimidate predators but are uniquely potent at fending off malicious spirits.

The dog's exclusive function is to protect livestock. They are used primarily for the defense of horses, which are small and very vulnerable to predators (lions, hyenas, king hyena, wild dogs, jackals, nechoi, and even eagles can be threats), though some dogs will usually be posted up with cattle herds to deter raiders.

Pups are most commonly born in the field among their herds. They will be carried in their master's coat while still nursing, but will be allowed to join their mother in her duties from the moment they are strong enough to follow. Dírgrahdain live with their herds day and night. Most will never see the inside of a home, and most seem to prefer it that way. They form close and protective bonds with their charges, and will thoroughly integrate themselves into the social fabric of the herd.

These dogs are not human-oriented, and will usually only form bonds with people that they have imprinted on as puppies (and will merely be cool and polite to those met later in life). They are highly aggressive towards strangers, and introductions must be done incrementally and with great care. This is desirable, as this trait makes them an excellent line of defense against livestock raids. Their loud, booming barks can alert of intruders from a great distance, and they can often successfully intimidate khait, causing some mounted raids to end in humiliating failure. Dírgrahdain are often killed in raids, either to fend off the attacking dog or to silence it before its master can be alerted. This is not outright dishonorable, but not something one will be commended for. Cattle raiding culture here values swiftness, stealth, and strategy- such smash and grab tactics are seen as brutish (and will often result in harsher retribution).

Like most LGDs, they primarily defend their herds by displays of aggression and power, using their loud bark, fearsome growl, and powerful bodies to chase and intimidate predators away without physical contact. Even so, it is necessary for all working dírgrahdain to be willing and able to physically confront predators when necessary. A well-trained, well-bonded dog will defend their herds with their very life, and is often effective in combat against even very large wild predators. Their dense ‘manes’ offer a degree of protection from wounds to the throat, and may be supplemented with spiked collars.

If a mother dog kills a predator, it is often customary to open the carcass and lead her puppies to feed on it. This is thought to teach the pups to be fearless against their enemies, and that they will grow up to be uniquely powerful and brave adults. Pups are given names upon reaching adult size, and ones who have consumed the flesh of predators will get unique names related to their mother's kill, or epithets as supplements to a given name (the exact details of this practice culturally varies). One might encounter dogs in the Highlands named things like Lionsbane, Hyena-killer, She Who Bites Jackals, Lion-Fed Shaggy (Lion-Fed being the honorable epithet, Shaggy being the dog's name, possibly given by a very small child)

The mere gaze of a dírgrahdain is said to fend off malicious spirits, and their thundering bark can scare away even the most dangerous of mountain devils. Their shed hair is needle felted into little dolls (usually into the form of dogs themselves) and placed into the cradles of infants and worn as charms by children to protect them from harm (both mundane and supernatural). Manes taken from dead dírgrahdain have uses among some of the Hill Tribes, and are typically only allowed to be used by their masters (unless recieved as a gift). The most prominent usages are being worn to fend off evil spirits and predators while traveling alone, and some traditions involve placing the manes around the necks or across the bellies of women in labor as a means of spiritual protection for mother and child during birth.

The Hill Tribes and Wardi both identify the same constellation along the ecliptic as a dog. In the case of the former, this stellar dog is identified as Mak-Urudain, a gigantic dírgrahdain with fur the color of flame and eyes as bright as stars, who is the eternal guardian of the Celestial Fields. He allows the souls of the worthy dead to pass into the afterlife and for esteemed ancestors to descend back to the land to guide the living, while preventing malicious spirits, devils, and the dishonored dead from entry.

One Bernike tale describes her attempting to fly into the Celestial Fields to steal the heavenly cattle who graze there. She took the form of a golden eagle, pretending to be an ancestor returning from a sojourn to the world of the living in order to get past the guardian hound. Mak-Urudain was not fooled for long, and led her on a long chase through the night sky before capturing her and hurling her out of the Celestial Fields.

She was never able to even touch the ground of the Fields (much less take any cattle), but had just enough time to take a single seed of heavenly grass in her beak. She returned to her mountain (missing most of her tail feathers and much of her pride) and planted the grass in her then-barren slopes. This is why the grass on Bernike's mountain is so tall and abundant and why cattle there grow so fat and healthy, like all cattle will in the afterlife. The howling winds heard from the mountaintops are playfully suggested to be the barks and howls of Mak-Urudain, calling down from the heavens to keep the witch grounded in the world of the living.

[gh0st-t0wn3]

I finally had time to make proper designs for the Trio!

Redson: Ver 1

Ver 2

I couldn't decide on if I liked it better with the braids or not so I just posted both, but anyways!

I gotta admit, I used to not like the idea of redson having Bull features (except for a small pair of horn maybe) but the concept really grew on me and now I really love it and wanted to try making my own design and I'm really proud with how it turned out.

I would've added more scars, since Guanyins throne pierced his entire body, but there came a point where it just looked like there was too much going on so I had to get rid of a few scars to tone it down, so we're just gonna say they faded over time, okay? Okay.

I also made him Miao (one of the largest ethnic minorities in southwest China) on PIF's side, and Mongolian on DBK's.

The Miao ethnicity of China has a long history, rich culture, and an ancient folk religion. Adorned in beautiful traditional clothes, possessing natural talent for singing and dancing, they live in uniquely designed indigenous architecture, which I think fits perfectly with how I imagined Princess Iron Fan and with her; Redson.

As for DBK being Mongolian, I saw someone else talking about this headcanon and I just liked it so I decided to use it, I don't really have a specific reason for it, I just thought it fit, not sure why though, it's just one of those things that makes sense even if you don't know why, you know?

Mei:

I made her taller and gave her a long dragon tail (like really long, it drags along the floor if she's not holding it up), though her scales are pretty much everywhere across her body they're most noticeable on her shoulders, thighs, and face (they're a bit hard to see in this photo because they're kinda hidden behind her hair, but I did give her scales beside her eyes)

I also gave her horns these little spiral designs around them, gave her sharper nails, and designed her ears to look like coral, since she's a water dragon and I thought they looked cool.

Honestly idk what else to say about her design, I didn't have anything specific in mind when designing her, I kinda just had to wing it, but I'm happy with how it turned out :)

(I also made her Bengali, on her dad's side, but it's not really important or has any reason behind it, just a headcanon I've had for a while, don't know where it came from though)

MK:

Alot of people have speculated that the monkey form we see during the fight against Azure in season 4 isn't MK's full form yet, that we're just seeing a fraction of what he's yet to become, based on the fact that while he has the weird side burns, the tail and the face marking, he also lacks a natural skin tone, they didn't give him a proper nose etc, so I wanted to play with the idea.

I decided to make him this strange mix between human and monkey, leaving him pretty much human with the addition of his tail(s), and weird li'l monkey feet.

(I was also gonna give MK more arm/leg hair, it was in my first sketch, but I forgot to add them when I was doing the line art and didn't realize until after I saved it as a jpeg, so that's my bad, but I'm gonna add it in to any other art I make)

It's also a bit hard to see in this, but I designed his staff with more details, specifically adding dragon-esque imagery to the Golden ends, this is because (for anyone who's new to the fandom/hasn't read JTTW) Wukong's staff was originally one of the several pillars that held up the sea in the dragon palace, until he stole it and shrunk it down to use as his weapon.

I also did MK's clones :)

Porty MK:

I gave him stripes of coloured hair and gave his tails all different colours, though I don't think he would actually dye it, instead I like to think that he would use that really crappy dollar store spray in hair dye (or hair chalk). I kept the fishnet clothes that I added in my originally design of him for my headcanons post, and decided to give him striped elbow length fingerless gloves.

I also gave him a cropped shirt, ripped shorts and these weird fingerless glove-esque shoes for convenience, since regular shows seem like they would be uncomfortable.

Edit: my dumbass forgot Porty's stupid print jacket 😭

Artist MK:

For Artist MK I gave him overalls and a jacket over it, which he wears specifically for when he's doing paintings so he doesn't ruin too many of his actual clothes (I know I said that this was inspod by Circusapple, which it still is, but this is almost exactly what I wear when I'm painting too, just in different colours).

I also gave him those gloves that digital artists wear so they're hands don't accidently trigger something on the screen because everyone knows that every artist just walks around with their art glove on even when it's not necessary.

Delivery MK:

I have to admit, I was never a big fan of MK's work uniform just being his regular clothes with a work jacket thrown over it so I wanted to try and make him look a little more professional and decided to instead give him a chef coat (similar to the one Pigsy wears on the show as well), with a logo for the restaurant on the chest, along with it I gave him plain black pants, since casual red jeans didn't seem very professional (I know he's just a delivery person, but if you were to look at pretty much any food corporation, even people who do deliveries have to wear uniform, so it's always been kinda strange to me that he's just in regular clothes). 

The shoes were harder to make professional given the whole "half-monkey" thing so I opted to give him the same strange fingerless glove-esque shoes for comfort and convenience, but made them plain black as well.

[bestanimal]

Round 1 - Phylum Arthropoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Arthropoda is a phylum of animals that have segmented bodies, possess a chitin exoskeleton, and have paired segmented appendages. They are colloquially called “bugs” though this is often only used for terrestrial arthropods, and sometimes only used for insects specifically.

After Nematoda, this is the most successful phylum, and it is far more diverse, with up to 10 million species! Arthropods account for 80% of all known living animal species. The three major subphyla include the Chelicerates (sea spiders, horseshoe crabs, arachnids, and the extinct eurypterids and chasmataspidids), the Myriapods (centipedes and millipedes), and the Crustaceans (shrimps, prawns, crabs, lobsters, crayfish, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, opossum shrimps, amphipods, mantis shrimp, entognaths, and insects).

Arthropods are so diverse in fact that it is next to impossible for me to describe a model arthropod. They are important members of marine, freshwater, land, and air ecosystems and are one of only two major animal groups that have adapted to life in dry environments, the others being chordates. All arthropods have an exoskeleton and must molt as they grow, replacing their exoskeleton. Some arthropods go through a metamorphosis in this process. They have brains, a heart, and blood (called hemolymph, though some crustaceans and insects also use hemoglobin). They sense the world through small hairs called setae which are sensitive to vibration, air currents, and even chemicles in the air or water. Pressure sensors function similarly to eardrums. Antennae monitor humidity, moisture, temperature, sound, smell, and/or taste, depending on species. Most arthropods have sophisticated visual systems ranging from simple eyes (ocelli) which orient towards light, to compound eyes consisting of fifteen to several thousand independent ommatidia capable of forming images, detecting fast movement, or even seeing polarized or ultra-violet light. Some arthropods are hermaphroditic, some have more than two sexes, some reproduce by parthenogenesis, some by internal fertilization, some by external, some have complex courtship rituals, some lay eggs, some give live birth, some have prolonged maternal care. The first arthropods are known from the Ediacaran, before the Cambrian era.

Propaganda below the cut:

Insects are the first animals to have achieved flight

The smallest arthropods are the parasitic crustaceans of the class Tantulocarida, some of which are less than 100 micrometres long. The largest arthropod is the Japanese Spider Crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) with a legspan of up to 4 metres (13 ft) long. The heaviest is the American Lobster (Homarus americanus), which can get up to 20 kilograms (44 lb).

Many arthropods are popular pets, including various species of crab, shrimp, isopod, crayfish, mantis shrimp, millipede, centipede, tarantula, true spider, scorpion, amblypygid, vinegaroon, mantis, cockroach, beetle, moth, and ant! Some are even domesticated, including silk moths and honeybees.

Many arthropods are eaten by humans as a delicacy, and farming insects for food is considered more sustainable than farming large chordates. These farmed arthropods are referred to as “minilivestock.”

Arthropods feature in a variety of ways in biomimicry: humans imitating elements of nature. For example, the cooling system of termite mounds has been imitated in architecture, and the internal structure of the dactyl clubs of mantis shrimp have been imitated to create more damage tolerant materials.

Spider venoms are being studied as a less harmful alternative to chemical pesticides, as they are deadly to insects but the great majority are harmless to vertebrates. They have also been studied and could have uses in treating cardiac arrhythmia, muscular dystrophy, glioma, Alzheimer's disease, strokes, and erectile dysfunction.

Shellac is a resin secreted by the female Lac Bug (Kerria lacca) on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze, natural primer, sanding sealant, tannin-blocker, odour-blocker, stain, and high-gloss varnish. It was once used in electrical applications as an insulator, and was used to make phonograph and gramophone records until it was replaced by vinyl.

One of the biggest ecosystem services arthropods provide for humans is pollination. Crops where pollinator insects are essential include brazil nuts, cocoa beans, and fruits including kiwi, melons, and pumpkins. Crops where pollinator insects provide 40-90% of pollination include avocados, nuts like cashews and almonds, and fruits like apples, apricots, blueberries, cherries, mangoes, peaches, plums, pears, and raspberries. In crops where pollinators are not essential they still increase production and yield. Important pollinators include bees, flies, wasps, butterflies, and moths.

Many arthropods are sacred to humans. In Ancient Egypt, scarab beetles were used in art, religious ceremonies, and funerary practices, and were represented by the god Khepri. Bees supposedly grew from the tears of the sun god Ra, spilled across the desert sand. The goddess of healing venomous bites and stings, Serket, was depicted as a scorpion. Kalahari Desert's San People tell of a legendary hero, Mantis, who asked a bee to guide him to find the purpose of life. When the bee became weary from their search, he left the mantis on a floating flower, and planted a seed within him before passing from his exhaustion. The first human was born from this seed. In Akan folklore, the cunning trickster figure Anansi/Ananse is depicted as a spider. Western astrology uses the crab constellation, called Cancer, and the scorpion constellation, called Scorpio. Dragonflies symbolize pure water in Navajo tradition. In Anishinaabe culture, dreamcatchers are meant to represent spiderwebs and are used as a protective charm for infants. They originate from the Spider Grandmother, who takes care of the children and the people of the land in many Native American cultures. The Moche people of ancient Peru often depicted spiders and crabs in their art. In an Ancient Greek hymn, Eos, the goddess of the dawn, requests of Zeus to let her lover Tithonus live forever as an immortal. Tithonus became immortal, but not ageless, and eventually became so small, old, and shriveled that he turned into the first cicada. Another hymn sings of the Thriae, a trinity of Aegean bee nymphs. Native Athenians wore golden grasshopper brooches to symbolize that they were of pure, Athenian lineage. In an Ancient Sumerian poem, a fly helps the goddess Inanna when her husband Dumuzid is being chased by galla demons. In Japanese culture, butterflies carry many meanings, from being the souls of humans to symbols of youth to guides into the afterlife. Ancient Romans also believed that butterflies were the souls of the dead. Some of the Nagas of Manipur claim ancestry from a butterfly. Many cultures use the butterfly as a symbol of rebirth. And the list goes on…

cute crab eat a strawbebby:

[itchytitss]

Thinking about taking care of scars and kissing with Shadowheart

It kills you to see Shadowheart struggling with the pain on her hand almost every day, waking up at night wincing, tossing and turning and sometimes and crying softly due to the pain and the constant reminders of her stressful past that it brings.

When the scar on her hand aches, you take her hand in yours and gently trace over the aching wound with your fingers. Softly and slowly rubbing soothing sensations into her traumatised skin. You know you can’t take the pain away from her, but gods do you try your absolute hardest to make her feel better and to let her know that you’re there.

You try to distract her with kisses. Because who doesn’t like kisses?

You take her scarred hand in yours and slowly bring it to your lips, your eyes locked with hers as you bend down to press a delicate kiss to the scar. She giggles at the soft and loyal gesture. Sometimes you close your eyes and let your lips linger there for as long as she’d allow, pressing final kisses up her arm as she tries to shoo you away with a chuckle and a roll of her eyes.

It took her longer than she’d like to admit to realise that when you would kiss her cheek, you were actually just kissing over her facial scar. Of course you can’t just neglect the rest of her face after that, so you pin her down while pecking sweet kisses all over her face. She can feel your smile against her skin as you loudly smack kisses all over her face with exaggerated mwahs! Only stopping once she’s a giggling, squirming mess under you.

In return, I imagine she’d treat your scars just like she treats the rest of your body. Sacred. A gorgeous, warm and soft gift to adore. You never thought about the hidden beauty of your scars until you met Shadowheart. You marvel at how easily she fell in love with your body, worshiping every inch like it’s second nature to her.

Shadowheart traces her dainty but strong fingers over your marks, leaving a trail of goosebumps wherever she touches. Whispering sweet nothings into your ear and chuckling at how you shiver in pleasure.

While you cuddle, she absentmindedly rubs her thumbs over the scars. Humming along in acknowledgment while she listens to your various stories about how you got them. If you don’t want to tell her just yet, that’s okay. She won’t push. Though she’s curious, she respects your privacy as much as you respect hers.

Shadowheart kisses over them all, keeping eye contact as she moves over your soft, gorgeous body, starting from your legs and slowly making her way up to your forehead, making sure to pay attention to every inch of you.

“Your scars—“ She says in between kisses “—do not make you— any less beautiful.” She tucks your hair behind your ear as she finally presses a hot kiss to your lips.

If you have newer scars, Shadowheart will look after them with a detailed and thorough multi step routine. Being a cleric, she obviously knows how to tend to new wounds and deeply believes in keeping a good skin care routine. After all, the skin is the largest and one of the most important organs of the human body. She can’t have the person she loves be so neglectful to their own health.

Every day Shadowheart applies sunblock to your scars and bare skin, even if you try to shoo her away. She rubs nice smelling oils on your scars that she said helps the healing process. You’re not sure what it is or what it does specifically, but you can’t deny Shadowheart when she so desperately wants to take care of you.

She’ll never tell you, but you’re the first person she’s ever shared her routine with. Now every time she’s buying or mixing some new skin products, she always makes sure to get some extra just for you. She even makes sure to get the ones with your favourite smells💜

[randomfoggytiger]

David Duchovny's "Hail Mary" Nose (and Beard): an Aesthetic Study

Been tumbling down some fashion rabbit holes, and came across the Golden Ratio: simply put, the face is divided lengthwise (horizontally) into thirds (the Thirds Ratio) and crosswise (vertically) into fifths. We're not going to get caught in the weeds with the latter category today, but I was curious to figure out David Duchovny's very singular features.

The Thirds Ratio is key to understanding the universally recognized standard of beauty. What is "pleasing", aesthetically, is proportionate uniformity. Because the eye (and human brain) works to find and replicate patterns, more uniformity means less information for the eye to bounce around and take in. The brain rewards less work with pleasure-- hence, why we are consciously or unconsciously "pleased" with symmetrical features. In short, this is why humanity pretty much agrees on what is most "desirable." Ideally, each third is identically proportioned, regardless of individual striking characteristics (large or narrow eyes; small or large lips; wide or narrow nose; etc.)

In the picture below, I very helpfully divided DD's face into horizontal thirds: the upper third, the middle third, and the lower third.

As we can see, his face-- like most faces on the planet-- is not cut up into idealized thirds: his upper third (hairline to eyebrow) is the largest section, while his middle third (eyebrow to nose tip) and lower third (nose tip to chin-- which includes double chins and beards) are smaller, but equal, thirds.

Now: David is obviously a handsome man... but why? He has a big forehead (large upper third), a big nose, small eyes, and a small chin. How do they work together to harmoniously frame his face?

Simply, simply put: the face draws the eye up or down depending on the length and width of its features. It's all about balancing each feature to draw the eye exactly where a person wants it to rest.

For David, his longest and widest part is his forehead: hence, our eyes are invited to rest there naturally.

To minimize a large (and wide) forehead, bangs are traditionally recommended-- side-swept particularly-- that cut off the corners of the rectangle. (Hence, why DD's most iconic roles-- and hairstyles-- usually feature bangs... unless he razes his hair short.)

Too short, however, will only highlight how much forehead there is:

Now, you might be saying: "But David looks great in pretty much any haircut (unless super flat or super short.) If he has a large forehead, why doesn't he 'need' bangs to hide it all the time?"

Because of his face's saving grace:

THE NOSE

No, I'm not kidding.

DD's thirds we already know; but that's not the end-all-be-all. This is where we divert from the Ratio principle: his forehead pulls the eye towards it, of course; but his other distinctive feature-- his nose-- carries a lot of visual weight, and captures our attention secondarily. So, his forehead may draw our gaze naturally UP, but his nose draws our gaze immediately back DOWN. If David had a more tapered or slender nose, our eyes would have nothing to land on except his forehead.

Our eyes, we've established, bounce quite naturally from The Forehead to The Nose. And where from there?

What is the next distinctive feature? The eyebrows. And what do the eyebrows frame? The eyes. Therefore, our eyes come to land quite naturally on his --exactly where you want them to.

Which is why filled in (and darker) eyebrows are important to David's face, as well: they help hold structure and redirect attention. Without them, the eyes have no place to be directed to other than The Nose:

I personally think "no bangs" suits DD better; with them, our glance is drawn first to The Nose, which can then seem out-of-proportion compared to his small eyes and small chin (which is probably why Hank Moody wore sunglasses all the time-- to make his "eyes" appear bigger, thereby rebalancing his middle third.) David has to turn for us to notice his broader, masculine jaw; but even then, we would be focusing on his profile instead of his face.

We come to the truth of why I started this little journey: The Beard.

THE BEARD

Why, oh why, does David look good in a beard?

Again, again, we refer back to his thirds proportions: top 1/3 largest, middle and lower 1/3s equal.

Now. As we've already explored, David's middle third draws our eyes down from his forehead because of The Nose; which means, the upper and middle thirds now have distinctive, eye-catching features. But what about the lower third? His chin isn't particularly long or sharp or pointed; and his lips aren't especially plump or full or wide. In fact, both attributes are rather short and delicate compared to the whole.

So, what adds distinction-- even length-- to his lower 1/3 ratio?

A beard.

By wearing a beard, DD (unintentionally) tricks the eye into recreating a false, perfected balance between his thirds: a long upper third, a false long middle third (because of The eye-catching Nose), and a false lower third (because of the chin-lengthening beard.) Meaning, his thirds are in equal, idealized harmony.

BALANCE IS KEY

But what happens if he mashes strategies together? Does that work out for him?

Well, he can pull it off... but not as effectively.

On the left, we see David sporting a hairstyle that maximizes his concerns: side-parted and up-and-back, which draws more visual attention to his large upper third. He's corrected that on the right with bangs; but now that his upper third isn't the focal point, we're left with The Nose and The full Beard as two (rivaling) features. This, in effect, drags our eyes DOWN and bounces them back and forth between two focus points; which, in effect, makes his face appear wider and heavier around the jowls. Not as flattering as Bearded and Bangless, but not as terrible as Severe Side-Part and Up-Swept.

CONCLUSION

So: what's the takeaway?

David can wear any hairstyle except ones flat to his head or severely swept up and away from his crown. Those maximize the appearance of his forehead.

He can also pull off bangs-- side bangs in particular-- that shave away the edges of his forehead.

But DD doesn't need them, really, because his nose draws our gaze down and rests them in his middle third (where his eyebrows and eyes are.)

If he wanted to draw a more natural, "even" proportion between his top and middle third, darkening or filling in the top line of his brows (and creating an arch for his hooded eyes) would help to hold one's gaze there (e.g. why photos of his face without darker eyebrows look "off.")

And, lastly, The Monotone can maximize his thirds by growing out a beard.

We can see these five principles at play in the picture below: bangs on the right to hide his forehead; beard on the left to equalize his upper, middle, and lower thirds.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[niteshade925]

April 12, Xi'an, China, Daci'en Temple/大慈恩寺 and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda/大雁塔 (Part 1 - Temple and Architecture):

Daci'en Temple is famous in popular culture mainly for one reason: the monk Xuanzang/玄奘, or the real person who inspired the character of Tang Sanzang/唐三藏 (sometimes translated as "Tripitaka") in the novel Journey to the West/西游记. Xuanzang was in charge of Daci'en Temple after he returned to China in 645 AD from his journey throughout Central Asia and India. More on him later.

The temple is also known for two more things, first is its importance to Chinese Buddhism, as the temple is considered the cradle of the Consciousness-Only School (weishizong/唯识宗) and the Dharma Characteristics School (faxiangzong/法相宗)(both are part of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism), and second is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (built in 652 AD while Xuanzang was in charge of the temple).

The temple has been rebuilt over the years, and the current temple (excluding the pagoda) was mainly built in 1466, during Ming dynasty, thus the current temple consists of Ming-era architecture:

Drum and bell towers within the temple

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in the distance

More pictures of the architecture. I have to say it's better preserved here than in other places so far...

Coming up to the Mahavira Hall/大雄宝殿 of the temple

As mentioned in the previous posts on Qinglong Temple, I avoided taking pictures of the Buddha statues as this is considered disrespectful. But because it's just hard to avoid including them in pictures of the architecture, the statues may be partially visible sometimes.

Approaching the Tushita Hall/兜率

More pics of the architecture, note the pattern on the windows, called chuangling/窗棂. This particular one is a "three-crossing"/三交 pattern, the highest grade of chuangling.

There were two visiting monks taking pictures of this relief behind Mahavira Hall, so it's probably okay to snap a picture of it. The interesting thing is the bian'e/匾额 above it, which says 人天欢喜 (right to left: "human and heaven rejoice together"). Usually it's "heaven" before "human" (天人), but here it's clearly "human" before "heaven".

The Guanyin Hall/观音殿. Guanyin is the Chinese name for Avalokitesvara. The smaller red lanterns are where visiters hang their wishes from:

And finally the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, one of the landmarks of Xi'an. This pagoda was originally built to house all of the Buddhist texts and relics Xuanzang had brought back from India, and is the largest Tang-era brick pagoda remaining today. In Tang dynasty (618 - 907 AD), people who passed the imperial exams to become jinshi/进士 would tour around Chang'an on horseback with flowers in their hair and write poems before this pagoda, called "雁塔题名".

Before we entered the temple, I could hear a weird jingle-jangle from across the street, but it was only when we came up to the pagoda that I realized where the sound was coming from. There were bells hanging from every corner of every level of the pagoda, and they were pretty loud for their size.

Since it was pretty hot outside that day, to avoid possible heat stroke we didn't attempt to climb the pagoda (I don't think there's air conditioning inside considering that this pagoda is 1300+ years old.....). I think there were several important artifacts/relics inside? But I can find some pictures from online for part 3.

[random-tail]

These 2 harpies were ispire by @missterious-figure dca au Wine and Feathers au.

A small drabble underneath featuring these 2 with in the au.

Its early morning as you walk leisurely through the Safari Zone to your section that you manage. The peacock section. As the handler of the 3 biggest attractions to the Birds of Paradise casino, you had to make sure everything and everyone was ready for the day. Yet as you sip your coffee, you can’t help but take your time just to enjoy a small bit of solitude before you are suffocated by the attention of 3 very clingy peacock harpies.

As you walk however, something gets your attention. Or more specifically someone. You recognize the much smaller harpy as a white browed tit warbler, a newer addition, added for their more diluted colors as a type of cool down from the more vibrant birds. They waved at you from out under a tree, and after doing a quick glance around and seeing no one else. You knew they were asking for you. You even point to yourself to make sure and they nod.

Glancing at your watch, you have enough time to see what they needed, even though they really should consult their own handler. But you shrug it off and start to approach. Yet as you grew closer, something was off as you could catch something on their flight feathers. Is that.. blood?

You kick up into high gear as you drop your coffee and full out run to the small injured harpy. Your lack of caffeine was not as important then getting the poor thing to the medical wing. Though your sudden walk to run must of startled them as they jolt and step back. Your too concerned however to catch them glancing to their side.

Once you get to them, you quickly and calmly offer your hand to them. “What happened? Are you alright? Where does it hurt?” you fire off one question after another as the harpy seams to stammer, perhaps their in shock? You gently cradle the wing/arm that seems to have the most blood on it. “Come on. Lets get you to the medical wing. I’ll stay with you till we can get ahold of your handler and-“

“My, my, what a sweet little mouse you are. No wonder those pompous peacocks are so smitten with you.”

You jolt and spin around to see the other side of the tree just in time for a clawed hand to grab you by your jaw. Lifting it up so you were on your toes and couldn’t open your mouth. “Such an ugly thing too. At least some humans have the decency to wear makeup.”

You immediately glare at the new person holding you up. Only for the glare to drop when you realize it’s not a person put another harpy. A sectary bird harpy. And he was BIG. He looked as if he could butt heads with Eclipse which was a feat in itself. Specially considering Eclipse is the largest of the harpies in the casino.

He regards you with dark, sharp, eyes like a falcon would a field mouse. Just before it strikes. But you recompose yourself as your attention is drawn to his free claw, which was caked in dried blood, as he tucks a stray hair behind your ear.

“No matter, you don’t need looks for what I need you for.” He smiles at you with a tilt of his head.

You smack his hands away and off you before pointing an accusatory finger at his chest. “Did you do this to them?” You use your other hand to motion to the smaller harpies wing. His grin grows sharp. “Hmm I don’t know? Did I do that little Crest?” You turn to who you assume is Crest, just in time to see them lower their head, terrified, and shake their head no. You frown.

He chuckles “See, not me. But enough of that. I’m Lance and I have a little message for you little pea-" you cut him off as you turn to Crest. “Hay, Crest was it? lets get you to the medical wing now ok?” you ignore the pompous bird as you cup Crests injured wing and begin to move them to the right direction.

In your time being Suns, Moons, and Eclipses handler. You’ve learned the best punishment for those who demand attention, is to ignore them out right. So you start to lead a very shocked, if not concerned, Crest away from Lance. Only to receive a very rough and a very sudden reminder of just how dangerous harpies can be.

Lance rips you away from Crest who lets out a sharp shriek as he slams you up against the tree and pinches you jaw hard. His grin was gone as he stares you down with wild angary eyes. “You little rodent. I was gonna have you deliver a verbal message for me but perhaps a more.. physical,” you feel his claws dipping into the flesh of your cheeks. “message will be more necessar- CAW!!” he drops you as Crest rips out one of his tail feathers. Scrambling to your feet, you get away enough to duck under his talons when he try’s to snatch you again. You then tackle Crest to the ground feeling you needed to protect the already hurt and scared harpy.

Yet as you brace yourself to feel Lance’s talons, you and Crest are yanked back behind a wall of Gold, Silver, and Bronze feathers. You breathe a sigh of relief as you look up to find Sun and Moon holding both you and Crest away safely while Eclipse with his plumage fully fluffed. Size up the sectary harpy.

Eclipse and Lance were practically equal in hight as the 2 stared each other down. You could see Eclipse readying his talons while Lance’s was on full display. Yet he then suddenly relents. “Well, looks like I won’t need you to give my message after all, little mouse.” Eclipse blocks his view of you. “Back off! What kind of idiot goes after a handler unprovoked?!” Lance makes a gasping motion. “unprovoked? Mwa? I was merely trying to get a message to you 3 and my talons just..” he glances over Eclipses wall of feathers towards you with a sharp grin. “slipped.”

Wasn't quite sure how to continue it after that so anyone's free to interpret what would happen next.

[stvrdrops]

soul ties ☆ | shuri x fem!reader

love at first sight was something everyone believed in. for wakandans, it was something entirely different. it was the belief that bast had created lines to connect each human to their perfect fit. shuri believed that you were the end of that line for her.

warnings : some fighting mentioned, mature themes, and cursing.

word count : 6.2k+

note : i would play the song right when the word "she" is highlighted. :) also this is the largest fic i've ever written so yayyy

song : un-thinkable (i'm ready) by alicia keys ft. drake

"shuri?" a voice peeks through shuri's daydreaming. when the princess looks slightly down to her left she sees riri speaking to her.

"are you even paying attention to the tour?"

"yes, of course i am." shuri says in a tone that sounds almost as if she were offended that riri would even ask such a question. even though she did in fact have her attention elsewhere.

"don't front. what do you see that's so important?"

riri follows shuri's eyesight across the quad, until it lands on you. her face lights up and her eyes widen.

of course. she thinks as she watches you in a world entirely of your own. your airpod maxes had been on and you were stuck in a studying session. your braided hair was tied back into a long ponytail, keeping the strands from falling in your face. riri could see even from afar that you were wearing very little makeup. your natural face was the one she preferred, and it was one shuri quickly grew attached to. you were in spandex shorts and a red hoodie that proudly repped MIT in white lettering.

"no."

shuri looks back over to riri, "what?"

"i said no. you're not going to get anywhere with her. no one has. not even i could crack that code." riri mumbles out, clearly butthurt.

"so, i'm hearing that you two know each other."

riri rolls her eyes, "yeah, we're friends. i tutored her last year."

"will you introduce me?"

"no."

"the dean said meeting fellow students would be a good idea. y'know, so i can be more accustomed."

"the dean ain't here though, is she?"

"oh don't be like that."

riri grumbles. she assumes that it can't hurt to introduce the two of you. it's not like any of the other generational wealth kids impressed you. however, a princess with panther powers just might do the trick.

"fine. you get five minutes."

shuri smiles and begins making her way towards you. with every step she noticed how much more beautiful you got. she also happened to notice how her heart would be tugged on, as if being pulled along on a string by you. you reminded her of the beauty she found in wakanda. with your rich skin and dark brown eyes, she couldn't help but notice you.

shadows of figures fall over your textbooks as you were reading over a line about quantum physics. annoyance began to bubble up, considering you had to have all of this material memorized by tomorrow afternoon for a test.

your eyes raise to meet the people causing the shadows, ready to ask them exactly what it was that they needed. that is, until you see riri, and a face you've only ever known in the news. your hands quickly find their way to your headphones, slipping them around your neck.

"hey y/n." riri says so casually that it shocks you. did she not know who was standing right beside her?

"uh, hey riri."

riri does her silly smile that she does every time you say her name. you knew she was utterly smitten with you, but you also knew that your friendship to her mattered more than anything.

"hi y/n." shuri says with a sultry wakandan accent. riri knew that wasn't how she usually talked, all sexy like that. a swift elbow was placed into shuri's side. due to her panther powers she could barely feel it.

"are you who i think you are?" you can't help but ask, struggling to pick your jaw up from the floor. shuri was someone you would say you looked up to. politics was something you were extremely interested in and watching her on tv speak about wakanda inspired you deeply. you wished so badly to visit wakanda since they opened up their borders, but their policy on foreigners remained the same. they were not to enter unless absolutely necessary. riri was only granted access because of her and shuri's close friendship, that riri never thought to mention until now.

she laughs, which makes your eyes light up. riri notices and figures it's just because you're starstruck. that's what you assume too, but it doesn't feel like that.

"yeah, this is the princess of wakanda, shuri." riri says as she rolls her dark brown eyes, "enough about her though," she slides next to you on the bench. "what are you studying?"

"i'm trying to study quantum physics right now. which is proving to be practically impossible." you say with a heavy sigh. at this rate you were doomed.

"oh, that's real easy baby. i can help you with it later tonight if you want." riri says as her eyes rake over the material in the book.

"very funny riri."

"no, i'm serious. i'm holding a little study session later for shuri to meet some friends. i know you don't hang out with my crew all like that but you're welcome to join."

the invite is enticing.

"i happen to know a decent amount of quantum physics myself." shuri says with a charming smile, "i can help you if you need it."

now the invite seems even more enticing.

"i mean, i guess. as long as we actually study. last time you had a 'study session' we all ended up high."

riri puts her arm around your shoulder, "yeah, but you passed that test the next morning, didn't you?"

a smile can't help but make its way across your face, "yeah, that's true."

"mhm, i thought so."

"shouldn't you be off giving the princess a tour?"

"shuri." the wakandan says.

"hm?" you ask, your eyes torn away from riri.

"you can just call me shuri." she says, "no need for formalities."

"oh, okay. shuri." you say, testing how her name sounds against your tongue. it feels natural and comfortable. shuri would be lying if she said her heart didn't flutter.

riri's eyes shift back and forth as they watch you and shuri.

"ookayyy. yeah, it's time for us to go shuri." riri speaks as she gets up from her spot next to you. she walks back over to shuri, who is still gazing at you. "see you later y/n."

"bye girls." you say as you watch them walk away. riri is saying something to shuri with a weird look on her face, but you can't tell what it is. you're just surprised you kept your cool in shuri's company.

then almost as if by clockwork, your phone begins to ring. you stare at the name on the screen and a sigh leaves you. of course he's calling.

"y/n is here!" riri shouts to the rest of the guests in the room. the couch had been filled with the couple guests riri had waiting in her living room. you thought this was going to be a small gathering, which granted it was. six people, including yourself, wasn't even all that bad. you just felt like you weren't going to actually study tonight after seeing them all. also, you were the only one with a school book in your hand. you weren't surprised to see a few people you knew, with the exception of one girl who had been in the kitchen with shuri.

you set the book onto the table as you take a seat on a beanbag. you notice the girl you're unfamiliar with is hanging onto shuri in the kitchen, keeping her preoccupied with conversation. however, when she feels a gaze lingering on her she's not shocked to see that it's yours. despite how fast you looked away, she knew you were staring.

"you want a hit?" a girl you recognize as karly says before extending her arm out to you. you can't help but look at riri, who just shrugs at you.

"sure." it can't hurt to relax if everyone else was. besides, this might be exactly what you needed. if you took a break from studying maybe you'd do better on the test type deal.

you take a hit of the blunt, making sure to show off how much experience you have with one. it felt good as it scratched the back of your throat. it took you some time to get used to the feeling. now you could successfully take in large amounts without coughing your guts out.

"we got a pro over there." riri says with a smirk on her face. she moves closer to you and sits on the floor. you pass her the blunt and she takes a hit equivalent to yours.

"with the amount of times you persuade me to smoke with you i should be a pro by now."

she laughs at your remark and passes the blunt onto someone else.

shuri makes her way into the room after watching the conversation for a while. you could tell from her eyes that she had already had the blunt a couple times. you wondered how she looked as she smoked. she takes a spot on a chair opposite of the beanbag.

"ri, so you ain't gonna update us on you and justice? i saw you sneak back into the apartments with her. it's almost like you forget that just because you stay in the bougie ass campus apartments means we can't spy on you."

"she not important."

"mhm, not like how y/n is."

riri narrows her eyes at her friends.

you laugh though, the weed taking your edge off. "i don't think my boyfriend would like that very much."

the whole room's eyes are now on you. your smile slowly dissipates from your face and your eyes go wide when you realize what you've said.

"boyfriend? since when the fuck do you have a boyfriend?" riri asks, a bit hurt that you never bothered to tell her this information.

"since my senior year of high school. he goes to a different school out of state." you say this so matter of factly. you weren't lying, you did have a boyfriend. he did also attend an out of state school. he was studying computer engineering. he was pissed when he didn't get into MIT and you did. he viewed it as an insult to his intelligence. that should've been one of your first of many red flags. you two talked at max five times a day. any more than that would just be a headache. two busy schedules don't mix well, especially when sometimes you're filling up your schedule just to make sure you had a solid excuse for missed calls.

"you didn't think that was important to tell us? no wonder someone hasn't been walking on campus bragging about how they nailed you." jacari says, a mutual friends of your's and riri's.

"lay off, at least she's faithful." karly says, staring daggers at him.

"i mean, you guys don't really ask me about my romantic life because you assumed there wasn't one."

"is there one? if he's out of state i'm sure that's hard to deal with." shuri can't help but say. the entire room turns to look at her, surprised she's asked such a question like that. she barely knew you. the one fact that she now did know about you was that you had a boyfriend that you didn't like to bring up. that was something she wasn't hoping to learn at all.

"yes, i have a very happy relationship with him." you say, knowing it's a lie. why are you lying? are you still trying to convince yourself? just today when he called you as you studied you argued with him. he wanted to stay where he was at for spring break and you wanted him to come visit you. it was months away, but you had to plan these things in advance with him. he never came to see you anymore. just this past christmas he lied saying he couldn't get out of his internship, but instead he was at his mother's house opening presents as she asked where you were.

you should have broken up with him by now. however, he was comfortable for you. did you really have the time to get to know someone entirely new? did you want to relearn someone's favorite color, zodiac sign, dreams, and goals? granted, there were plenty of choices in front of you that you already knew. such as riri, who you could see yourself being with. however, you prized her friendship so much more.

"that was intrusive, forgive me." shuri apologizes. her thick accent making your skin crawl.

"it's okay.." you mutter out.

"what's his name?" she asks, desperate to get any more information out of you. really, she just likes to hear your voice.

"monty." you say, his nickname rolling so easily off of your tongue, "i mean, his real name is montell. i call him monty."

"he sounds nerdy as fuck." riri can't help but say out of her own saltiness.

"i mean, he is."

"oh my god, so when was the last time you had an orgasm?" the mystery girl can't help but ask.

now this was a question shuri was interested in.

"i don't know. the beginning of this past summer." you wouldn't dare tell them that it had been one you pulled out of yourself.

"sis, you're kidding." jacari says, shocked at how long it had been. "y'all don't have phone sex?"

not even once.

"nah, it just never comes up for us." you try to say in a nonchalant manner, as if it doesn't bother you how you don't get turned on for him anymore. as if you ever did.

"that sounds miserable."

"it is." you can't lie as you laugh, "i've been itching to have sex for a while now. guess it'll just have to wait."

"whew, you're better than i am. i would've fucked half the campus by now if i were you." jacari continues on before taking a hit.

the conversation ends abruptly when riri's roommate comes out of her room and towards you.

"i need my beanbag please." she says, standing right over you. "i'm about to start studying and i'd rather not do it on my bed."

it takes a second to realize what she's saying to you through your high.

"yeah, of course." you say as you get up, pulling the chair from beside you and handing it to her.

"thanks." she says kindly, and then glares at riri. she goes back into her room, leaving you to stand.

"that bitch is always tripping. she didn't need her damn chair. she's just mad i have people over." riri says as she glares towards the door.

shuri notices you're standing and her mouth begins to speak before she can stop herself.

"do you want to sit in my lap? it's probably more comfortable than the floor." shuri offers up, everyone looking at her with wide eyes. it was a bold move that she was practically flirting with you despite finding out you have a boyfriend. also, after insulting the said relationship between the two of you.

of course, you didn't pick up on how charged that question really was. you were naturally oblivious to that stuff.

"yeah, okay. thanks." you say as you sit on her lap, or more specifically her knee. your spandex shorts made it so that practically every inch of your exposed skin was touching with hers, considering she had on shorts as well. you could tell they were riri's.

maybe it was the weed, or maybe it was the lack of sexual release. all you knew was that it felt damn good to have yourself pressed up against her knee. it was like she was teasing you, without even having to do it on purpose. you felt embarrassed as you felt yourself pulse from the closeness and how wonderful it felt. you attempted to get up, scared that she might know how you were feeling. however, her arm quickly found its way around your waist as she held you down onto her lap. your skin covered itself with goosebumps from the dominating grab. it was hard to act like you were interested in whatever conversation riri and her friends had been having with one another. shuri, on the other hand, had no problem continuing in the conversation as she felt how warm you were.

really shuri had not noticed just how bold her movements were. she had this want to protect you, as if you were hers. she wondered if it was because of her panther powers. however, she also wondered if it was something more. the reality that you had a boyfriend kept her from doing anything unwanted. she didn't know the way you felt towards her, if you had any feelings at all. if she couldn't get to know you in a romantic way then a friendly manner would have to do. even if she would ache for something more despite just meeting you this afternoon. shuri recalled a moment with her brother earlier in her life that left her thinking for the rest of the day after meeting you.

"when did you know nakia was the one for you, brother?"

he chuckles, "when i saw her."

shuri couldn't believe it, "what kind of hopeless romantic answer is that?"

"exactly what i just said. bast created soul ties underneath the rich vibranium soils that our eyes are unable to see. even us panthers can not view where the lines lead us. however, we can see when they have reached their destination. when you see that person, you just know that this is where your line ends. you know that bast made you for one another. you also know that you no longer need to search for that line."

"is there a chance that bast would forget to create a line for me? or at least, in the same way she created nakia's to you?" shuri began to wonder, scared because when she was young she didn't know where her sexuality laid.

"oh sweet little sister," he sighs, "bast would never forget to make you a person. after all, your annoying tendencies were made for someone to love."

"ugh, you suck!" shuri says, a wide smile on her face as she playfully hits her brother. he just smiles in return.

shuri believed that she saw the soul tie that connected to you. an american girl who she had never seen before. her brother was gone, but he was right.

your phone that is sitting in your lap starts to buzz, interrupting your train of thought as you attempt to uphold your composure and try not to seem too high. you squint your eyes at the bright screen.

"hi monty." you answer the phone, buzzed enough to sound happy that he's called. shuri watches the phone out of the corner of her eye. she's too curious to see what her competition looks like. he's sun kissed and has a buzz cut. he looked just as nerdy as his name sounded.

"where are you at?" he asks, not greeting her back.

"i'm at riri's."

shuri watches as his face turns into one of disgust. "i thought i told you to stop going over there. all she ever does is get you high."

riri is far too buzzed and in her own world to realize what he's said. shuri heard it though, and furrowed her brows.

"getting high is my own choice, monty. i know you get high with your frat bros in north carolina."

"it's different."

no it isn't.

"wait a minute, are you sitting on some other dude's lap?" he asks, as all he can see is shuri's curly hair.

"no, this is shuri. like the princess of wakanda shuri." you whisper that last part into the phone. it shows just how truly geeked you are.

"you're lying. that's a fucking dude."

before you can say anything, shuri takes the phone from you and puts it on her own face. you watch as monty's face goes wide and for once he has nothing to say.

"hello montell."

"oh, um. i-i'm sorry, princess." monty is scrambling to find the words and shuri can tell he wants to hang up. he always hated to be embarrassed. being embarrassed by royalty was the lowest it could get.

you take the phone back before he gets the chance to hang up, "wait, monty, what were you calling for?"

"well, i thought about what you were saying earlier. i'll come home for spring break. i miss you baby."

his voice sounded so insincere and shuri cringed at it. this was the man who got to claim you as his own? you had a beauty unrivaled and here you were wasting it on some man who couldn't even seem excited about seeing you. she felt offended for you, even though you were use to this by now.

"really? what made you change your mind?"

"i don't know. i guess i'll see you over break though. we can talk more about this at another time."

you knew what he meant by this.

"i'm not out partying, monty."

"you are. at least be a responsible adult and get up for your classes tomorrow. bye."

"bye." you say back, unwilling to fight.

when he hangs the phone up you realize the everyone is looking at you. your face heats up from noticing that everyone probably witnessed that entire exchange. of course they caught him on a night where he was being a dick. it was pretty much every night, so this did make your case to defend him a little harder. you didn't want to get up from shuri's knee considering it felt so nice up against you. however, you also didn't want to hear any comments from the gallery.

"i'm going to go home." you say, pulling yourself into sobriety after that conversation. "hope you all have a good night."

shuri lets you up from her lap. she feels bad you're walking home but it's not like you've never done it before. the heat you resonated leaves her feeling cold when you stand away from her. everything inside of her is screaming for her to grab you back into her arms and keep you there. a part of you wanted that too, but it was unrecognizable.

riri hands you the physics book on the table. "get home safe, y/n."

"i always do."

you got home safe that night. you also searched for an orgasm multiple times that night as you recalled how good you felt against her. you replicated her knee with a pillow and held on tight to yourself with your free hand. you tried so desperately to think of monty as you rocked against it. however, nothing worked. all you could do was imagine your head placed in the crook of the princess's neck, smelling her enticing cologne. you could hear her wakandan accent telling you how good you were doing and how badly she craved you. they were all words that monty could never say to you. they were words you searched so bad for because you ached for her praise. only when you moaned out her name as you finished made you so self aware to what you had been doing. this made you dig your head into your pillow, still heaving from the high.

what you did weighed heavy on your conscience. especially when you had been practically spending every day with shuri. she was basically attached to your hip. she joined your study sessions, she came with you to try american cuisine, her favorite being wingstop for some strange reason, and she even waited for you after every class. she was your best friend, making riri fall into second place.

at one point a rumor had been going around campus that the two of you were in a relationship, despite the fact you had a boyfriend. after all, who could deny a princess of the most powerful and advanced nation in the world? you could deny her as much as you wanted. however, you knew deep down that you couldn't do it for long. you didn't know how much longer you'd keep stringing monty and yourself along. commitment was something you were scared of. commitment to a future leader of a nation was something entirely different. what if you had decided to dump monty for a potential happy relationship with shuri? what would happen if it ended? you'd rather not think of all the possibilities, instead you preferred self sabotage. you appreciated shuri so dearly, in the a.m. and in the p.m. when you would finish to thoughts of her. whether it be how she played with your hair when she got bored, how she laughed so sweetly at your jokes, or how she constantly had her hand in yours or on your waist. you knew friends didn't do that. you knew that she also knew that.

the more time you spent with shuri meant the more time you spent ignoring monty. he saw paparazzi pictures that his friends would show him of the two of you together. he felt some type of way of course, blowing up your phone with "she might as well be your boyfriend the way she's touching on you." your only response being a swift "okay" and an "i'm sorry." you weren't sure how else to respond to him, knowing that you were cheating emotionally and even somewhat physically. you imagined that monty couldn't have stayed loyal to you with the lying he did. so what did it matter if you told a couple white lies too?

you didn't even realize that at one point whenever you brought him up you'd start referring to him again as his birth name, montell.

"montell?" you can't help but ask in surprise as you open the door to your dorm.

"surprise!" he says with the most emotion you've heard out of him in weeks. a bouquet of flowers are in his large hands. a nice turtleneck adorned his chest, which had gotten bigger. he must've been putting his frustration into working out. "you back to calling me by my birth name?"

he pushes his way into the dorm, looking around at your space that you shared with your roommate who had been out of town.

"um, you're early. a week early." you express to him, rubbing your forehead. you weren't prepared for his arrival in the slightest. your hair had been pulled into a bun and your face was bare. you adorned some grey sweatpants that did not belong to you. shuri had left them here the last time she slept over. she claimed it was "too warm" in the room to wear such pants. instead she wore a pair of your shorts that you never got back.

"you weren't going to tell me that your spring break started a week earlier than mine? i just decided to do my coursework ahead of time and then surprise you."

"honestly it slipped my mind." you say, which was the truth.

he sets the bouquet down.

"you look pretty." he says as he gets closer to you. his hands grab your waist, pulling you in and looking at you as if he wanted to devour you. it was almost as if he had forgotten how pretty you were. or maybe he was just jealous, because he knew the pants were too big for you.

you wanted to pull away, not wanting to kiss him despite thinking that you had been missing him all this time.

"not right now, i kinda just woke up." you say, which was a lie. it was eight p.m. on a rainy night. you could never sleep when it rained.

"okay, i guess later then when we go out to dinner. you looked like you were expecting somebody though with the way you opened up the door. is it that stupid princess you've been hanging around?"

there was the montell you were used to. a jealous, insecure, fucking man child.

"no." you say, a lie. your face scrunches up in disgust that he would refer to her in that tone.

he knows you're lying.

"okay. so if i wait up around in here she's not gonna show up?"

"i don't know. i can't control what she does."

"bullshit. you've got her walking around behind you like you're the one who's royalty. call her."

what?

"no."

"i said, fucking call her."

before you can say anything he's attempting to grab your phone. you put up a good fight, causing the phone to get launched right into his face. you gasp when you've realized what you did. instant regret fills your body as you spurt out countless apologizes.

"it would've been better if you just fucked her, y/n. cause then i could confidently say i don't give a fuck about you and finally tell you about all the girls i've been nailing since i went away. heh, just like how you've been. guess we finally have something in common."

your eyes go wide at his words. there it was. there was the truth that you had been begging to hear in some deep part of your brain. those were the words that could allow you to finally let him go. this was the moment you decided that you weren't okay with being 'comfortable' anymore. you were utterly repulsed at him and yourself for letting this go on for so long. for months you refused to act on impulses that you craved so badly to have. your lip trembled when you thought about how you could've kissed shuri ten times over by now. you had been holding onto something that you didn't realize had no real value to you anymore. and for what? to be treated like some idiot? you didn't deserve that.

"get the fuck out. you should've never come home."

"yeah i should've stayed with my other girlfriend. at least she doesn't flaunt herself around with other people in fucking tabloids. it's embarrassing you know that? when your buddies send you links of some bitch having her arm wrapped around your girlfriend? they teased me about it in my frat for weeks after she got caught playing in your hair and looking so lovey dovey with you. they called me a pussy for not coming back home sooner."

"so that's why you came back? to prove yourself to some idiot frat boys who are gonna be stuck drinking out of kegs the rest of their life while you write all their code, making them the millionaires? get the fuck out montell."

"you bitch-"

"i said leave."

you don't have to tell him again before he's grabbing up his roses and muttering curse words at you under his breath. you held your composure until he slammed the door shut. when surrounded in your own hospitality you finally crack. the tears fall down your face and plop as they hit the wooden floor. you were crying because you were upset about losing someone you loved. you were crying because you had let yourself be played for a fool for so long. a part of you feels liberated as the weight of montell is lifted off of your shoulders.

"y/n?" a voice says from behind the door. you recognize it's shuri.

attempting to speak only results in you being choked up. the door opens as you raise your head to look up at her.

her grey hoodie that says MIT has raindrops all over it. her curls are wet and drip against the wood floors. she looked beautiful despite being soaked. the fact she looked so beautiful made you cry even more.

when she lays her eyes on you she can't help but immediately rush over. she drops the books about physics she had in her hand. she had every intention on coming over here to study with you, but now she didn't care about any of that. she had never seen you like this before. her only priority was you. her heart was set solely on you.

"what happened?" she asks, her arms wrapped around your body as you huddled into yourself. you don't dare to look at her, feeling too ashamed.

"montell.. i'm so stupid." you manage to choke out.

shuri puts it all together. she thought that man she had passed in the hallway just now looked familiar. she knew even more that something was up when he gave her a glare that could've had him killed. had she known he left you like this, she would've killed him herself. how dare he cause such pain to someone who did nothing but care for others?

"whatever happened, you are not stupid. you are one of the brightest girls i know, and that's saying a lot."

you somehow manage to laugh and look back up at her. she's still holding on tight, making you feel warm in her embrace. it reminds you of the study session at riri's. it feels pure. it feels like you're the only person in the world to her.

she wipes away your tears with the pads of her thumbs, her eyebrows contorted into a face that resembles worry.

"please don't cry. you are too pretty to cry over such ugly things. i hate to see you cry."

you think that this is exactly how love is supposed to feel as she says those words to you.

"shuri.."

"y/n. you make me feel things that i've never felt before. you're something that is so impossible to ignore that i can't help but spend every second with you. you put up with my annoying tendencies. you put up with my clinginess. you put up with my lack of american pop culture knowledge. you denied me my feelings because you knew it was the wrong thing to do if you fell into my temptation. i know you know deep down how i feel for you. it is quite obvious. you are an angel among men, y/n. you are my angel. you've saved me in ways that you can't even begin to think of. i never had any intentions on falling in love with you, but it has happened. you may not be in love with me but you are what makes my world spin. you are what makes my oceans flow and earth quake. you are exactly who bast intended me for and i can't ignore this anymore. i can't let you sit here and think you are foolish when you are anything but. you are considerate, you are kind, you are a person worthy of being a queen. you are my queen, wakanda's future queen."

her words have shocked you as you sit there, eyes wide and your mouth partly gaped open. you thought you'd want to hear those words from montell, but really it had been shuri all along. you couldn't ignore your feelings towards her after a love confession of such caliber. it had shaken you to your core and it took you out of your sadness. your heart was beating at a dangerous tempo, but it was aligned with hers. you didn't know what she meant by her goddess creating you for her, but you could feel it. you could feel it because you knew she was made for you as well.

you hadn't realized, but you knew everything about her. you knew shuri's favorite color was purple. you knew her zodiac sign was sagittarius. you knew her dreams and goals of advancing wakanda. you also knew how scared she was to become the future queen as she once cried in your arms.

you love shuri. you love her so much that it made you blind. you'd rather ignore that feeling than feed into it, but that's all changed now. she took the lead tonight and now it was time for you to express what came to your mind.

so you did.

your lips connected to hers in a wild frenzy. finally you were quenching this thirst you had been searching for since she came into your life. after all this time you were doing the unthinkable. you were allowing yourself to be her's, rather than anyone else's. your fears of commitment felt like things of the past when your hands made their way to her face. her skin felt so soft against yours, as it got wet from your tears. her plump lips are attached to your soft ones. it felt like you were intertwining yourself with her. for shuri, it felt like the soul ties were becoming knotted into one. finally she had you and she had no plans of ever letting you go. this was the unthinkable and it was so beautiful as you held onto each other, placing intimate kisses one one another. this was you saying you loved her just as deeply as she loved you, in very little words.

you were ready. after all this time you were ready to see what was right in front of you this whole time. you could never go back to what it was before. she was your soulmate.

"i'm sorry." you whisper out after you pull away to breathe.

her hands begin caressing your face as her eyebrows furrow. "what are you sorry for, my love?"

"i'm sorry for not doing this any sooner. i'm so sorry."

"you never have to apologize to me. i would've waited until the end of time for you."

you smile, feeling your heart swell.

as the rain falls down around outside of your dorm walls, you stay in her embrace. shuri could feel her brother smiling at her from a distant plane, knowing in death that he was right. he had been smiling even brighter at the prospect that shuri did indeed find her nakia.

˖⁺｡˚⋆˙✧⋆｡°✩☼⋆｡°✩☽︎

[whiskeyandcigarsmoke]

*Soooooo, you know how when a dog wants something, they’ll point with their eyes. Same logic applies to Wolverines. A specific fic requested by someone. There might be more in this series in the future, but currently unsure*

Stretched out on the couch, Logan had his head in Wade’s lap as they spent a lazy day watching whatever happened to come up on the TV. Having recently moved into their new place, Logan in particular had been enjoying the chance to be a bit more casual in his behaviors then when they were living with Al. Wade openly encouraged traits that others would turn their noses up at in the past. Or worse, make fun of Logan for some of his softer traits. So over the years he had re-trained himself on “proper human” behaviors, both to blend in when around humans and also to fit in with the non-feral coded mutants. Not all mutant behaviors were openly accepted and over the years, Logan had learned that the hard way. Over the last couple months though, upon learning about Logan’s animalistic traits, Wade had been working to get Logan to reconnect with all those behavioral aspects of his mutation, because he felt it was important for Logan to actually be himself.

So here they were, about six months post Void, living together and watching TV like some kind of normal couple. Both were in loungewear, Wade wearing a pair of soft, pink sweatpants that clung a bit too tightly to his body with a Hello Kitty t-shirt and my little pony hoodie. Logan on the other hand was just wearing gray sweatpants and a standard white tank. He had become more comfortable and accepting of Wade's obsession with his chest and stomach, starting to bait him a bit with playful days when Logan was particularly after something he wanted from Wade. And today was one of those days.

It was basically a game for them and currently the furthest Logan had come to for asking, or indicating what he wanted from Wade. And Wade definity knew what Logan wanted, but enjoyed making him work for it. They were in the perfect set up to begin, just needed one of them to start the game. Logan got up and went to the bathroom, returning shirtless with his pajama pants slung low. He decided he wanted to stretch out his display and sauntered to the kitchen. Reaching the cupboards, he reached towards the highest shelf to grab the largest glass they had. Turning towards the sink, Logan pulled an absolutely unnecessary move, but he was feeling particularly full of himself at the moment. Bending over and deeplying arching his back, he filled the cup to the brim at the sink. Logan turned to face the living room and leaned back against the counter, stretching out his legs in front of him, crossing one over the other. Lifting the glass to his mouth he looked towards the couch, saw Wade watching him with a predatory gaze. Now that Logan knew he had Wade's full attention, he played his first hand. Tilting his head back and closing his eyes, he slowly chugged the entire glass, letting water spill from his mouth and trickle down his throat and collecting in his chest hair. As he drained the glass, he opened his eyes and saw Wade staring at him, gripping the back of the couch tightly, eyes narrowing. The glass now empty, Logan wrapped his hand across his mouth, and dragging it slowly downward he wiped all the spilt water from his chiseled torso. Ready to get things started, he returned to the couch with a swaying swing in his hips. As he strutted forward towards Wade, each step slowly pulled his sweatpants further down. By the time he got to the couch, they had slid well past his hip bones. Reaching the couch, he casually laid back down on his side, with his head in Wade’s lap.

You can find the rest up on Ao3

[atlasbeanswrites]

Chapter 1

Alien encounter

We sat in the lobby of the interspecies communications office, waiting to be assigned to the Crew and ship we would be part of. Synth and I had taken the only two chairs in the small room while Ash sat by my feet, fiddling with the wiring on his translator watch. These watches were mandatory for us to be able to communicate not only with each other in our native languages but also to understand the yautja of our future crew.

Yautja spoke a language based mainly on clicks and rumbling sounds in their chests. While humans could learn to understand the language, they would never be able to speak it because they could not produce the right sounds. A small spark lit up from the old watch, causing Tracker to jump back, smacking his arm lightly.

"Dude!" Acting as if he had been burned by the tiny spark tracker rubbed his hand.

"THERE!!!! GOT IT!!!" Ash exclaimed loudly in German but through my translator, it came through as perfect English if not a bit synthetic sounding.

Synth nudged me gesturing for me to look down at the "all about Yautja" pamphlet She had been reading.

"it says that the women are the more dominant in their species and are like way more intimidating"

"Have you ever seen one?" I asked

"Not in person but I have seen a ton of pictures of them" Synth was playing with Tracker's hair when we saw a man in a military standard-issue uniform and a man in the typical researcher get up walk through the door and into the small room.

"Group..." There is a pause as the researcher looks down at his digital clipboard "6 you will be meeting your new crewmates in a matter of moments but I am here to set some rules and give some advice before you board the... " looking down at his clipboard again. " The Angler. "

We got to our feet waiting for the man to continue talking. There was a buzz of excitement between us. I rocked back and forth on my heels tucking my hands into my pockets.

"The Rules... As you know this is a diplomatic mission so there is a way you must conduct yourself. Because if you insult someone of importance you could cause all-out war and we can't afford that happening got it!!!"

there was a long pause as the military man scowled at us only getting a few quiet and confused "Got it." in return.

"three main rules.

1.If you are ever around a yautja pup DO NOT touch it or threaten it of even talk about threatening it!! They are extremely protective of them and will kill you on the spot if they even suspect you have a thought like that about their children."

"wild you even need to say that as a rule. Thats fucked up" I whisper to Ash earning a Nod in agreeance.

"2. There will be a room on the ship called a trophy room. DO NOT go into it! That is where they keep the skulls and bones of the beasts they have killed and it is extremely important to them.

3. DO NOT challenge a Yautja to a fight! Even if you are not a Quote 'Honorable kill' They will still KILL YOU!!! you will not win this fight."

We all stand there in silence as he finishes before the military man checks his watch

"Best not to keep them waiting... Let's Go!" he says in a harsh tone. Starting to lead us out of this small waiting room into the large ship hanger. As we approached a round ship with a large light hanging from the top front, you could tell where the ship got its name.

"The Angler:"

Getting closer we could see 3 large Yautja standing outside of the ship battle-ready. Some had their arms crossed others stood with one hand on their weapons and the largest of the group stood in the middle glaring down at us as we approached. He was clearly the captain. OUR new captain. They all looked to be male by their builds and the stories I had heard about the females made these guys look like any other soldier. We all stood there a moment taking each other in.

My eyes were locked on our new captain he was definitely the most colorful of the group. while all of them had skin that was soft browns and yellows but his was a striking green color. With yellow spots and stripes all over the skin, I could see. He spoke in a loud rumbling voice of clicks and chittering. Which was instantaneously translated to us.

"This is MY ship and MY crew. I am your Captain as of right now and you will follow my orders. Understood?" it wasn't even a question. it was a firm statement that we were going to understand one way or another. We bristled a bit at this statement all remembering our last boss.

"can't be worse than Jimmy... so why no" Tracker shrugged followed by a few laughs from myself and Ash.

"True," we said following the yautja who hadn't even addressed us or introduced themselves on the ship.

This will be fun!

authors note:

thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed this first Chapter I will hopefully upload more soon. And apologies in advance if it has any grammar or spelling mistakes. No betas we die like men!!!!

-Love Atlas <3

More Chapters are found here...

[naavispider]

Merciless - part 2

(Part 1 here)

In which John Mercer stops by Bridgehead during the events of ATWOW. When he hears of the human boy raised on Pandora with the natives, his curiosity gets the better of him.

The sound of his clunky footsteps echoed down the pristine corridor. John Mercer had never been down in this section of the RDA’s largest stronghold. It all looked the same as what he was used to however; the hallways and signage were presented in a similar layout, and the gleaming metal walls just barely reflected his determined gait as he made his way down to the boy’s cell.

Technically, he didn’t have clearance to be down here, but thankfully for him, years of service and being a veteran of Pandora meant he had fingers in a few very important pies. He stopped when he reached the sign displaying ‘Socorro, Miles’. 

He laughed to himself - Quaritch always did have an extremely large ego. How did he expect to keep it quiet that this was his boy with a name like that? He stopped short of the cell entrance, opting instead for the observation room next door. Stepping into the dark viewing space, his eyes took in the monitors and discarded notes, still attached to clipboards with coffee mug stains on them. He shook his head, marvelling at how amateur the whole operation was. 

Thankfully, no one else was here, so he took a seat behind the double sided mirror. 

It was quiet inside the cell. The boy was in a corner, sleeping with his head resting on his knees. The first thing Mercer noted was how big he was. From what he understood, the kid could only be around 16, yet he was larger than the average fully grown man. Even sitting down, it was obvious he was over six feet tall. And strong too. He was perfectly toned all over without an inch of excess body fat. He was probably in better shape than most athletes. 

Aside from the tarzan-style fashion choices, the boy looked like a formidable opponent in the field. Mercer glanced at the camera footage, playing on one of the monitors while the boy slept, which showed Socorro first being brought in. His suspicions about the boy’s strength were confirmed at the sight of four men struggling to drag him into the room. Socorro used every asset available to him to fight and resist his captors until he was eventually overcome by sheer force of manpower. Curious, Mercer fiddled around to unmute the footage. Had the boy developed language? Could he speak Na’vi or English? It would be interesting to get a glimpse into his psychological state. 

Socorro seemed to scream and shout a lot, most of it unintelligible. That was definitely an American accent though. Interesting. Even the youngest of his previous students never lost their Na’vi accents. Further evidence that the indigenous were less adaptable than humans due to their more constricted vocal chords. 

The tingling sense of excitement that Mercer hadn't felt in a long time started to return. Finding this boy was like finding a goldmine. It would be a complete and utter waste to use him for anything other than research purposes. There was no doubt in Mercer’s mind that the boy held the key to advancements for mankind. Maybe it would even be enough to rebuild his tattered reputation within the RDA and prove once more the worthiness of his projects. It was a sham how TAP ended, and Mercer wouldn’t be blamed for it for one more day. Socorro spelled redemption. 

A warm flare had sparked to life in Mercer’s belly, one he knew too well. It would grow and grow, burning in the background until it finally blazed hot down his veins. 

He took a deep breath, regaining some control over his runaway thoughts. He couldn’t get overexcited. Ardmore wasn’t budging, and neither would Colonel Quaritch. 

Just then, his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door clicking. He spun around to see a woman with brown hair wearing medical scrubs enter the dark room. 

“Oh! Sorry…” she said when she saw him, frowning in confusion at his presence.

“Don’t be.” He offered her a slick smile. “I’m only observing.”

“Right…” she still looked unsure as to why he was there, which perhaps explained why she hadn’t moved from the doorway. 

“Please, don’t let me get in your way.”

She entered hesitantly, bringing out a clipboard and viewing the boy from the mirrored glass. Her name badge told him her name was Janine. 

“Is he in good health?” he asked, suddenly concerned there was an unforeseen issue.

She sighed. “Generally, yes. The neuroscanner is taking its toll on him though.”

“What are the side effects?” 

“Headaches, nausea… that type of thing.”

“Anything permanent?”

She turned to look at him. For some reason, Mercer got the feeling that she was judging him. What for, he couldn’t possibly predict.

“No. Nothing permanent.”

The air suddenly became very still and cold between them. Satisfied that the boy wasn’t going to be permanently damaged by Ardmore’s interrogation techniques, he decided that stepping out and introducting himself was better than remaining here with the nurse with a stick up her ass.

As his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the corridor outside, he once more took in the strange sight of the half-naked, feral hybrid sitting behind the glass. 

“Miles?” he asked, his heart beating rather faster than usual. It felt strange to call him that. 

The boy’s head lifted from his knees, and Mercer had to contain his gasp. Miles’s brow was furrowed and the expression of disgust was so akin to his father’s that it threw him temporarily off guard. 

“How are you doing in there?”

The boy’s eyes narrowed in even further suspicion. “Amazing, asshole.”

A sense of humour too - this was the dream project. 

“How long have you been in there?” He kept his tone light, but was careful to fake enough concern. 

Miles scoffed. “Why do you care?”

“It doesn’t look very comfortable.”

The boy scoffed again, shaking his head. “What do you want?”

“I want to introduce myself. My name is John Mercer. I used to work on the Western Frontier.”

Miles scrunched his nose up. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

“No,” Mercer chucked slightly. “I suppose it wouldn���t.”

“Whatever,” Miles retorted. “You’re a coloniser. Congratulations.”

“I know why you see it that way. But my line of work was a little more… political than all that. I wanted to build bridges, not tear them down. I did a lot of work for SciOps.”

“You’re a scientist?” The boy didn't look impressed, but Mercer could tell he was curious.

“In a manner of speaking.”

Miles’s eyes were beginning to lock onto Mercer’s. Somehow, Mercer’s words were working. He'd surprised even himself.

“Did you know Dr Augustine?”

Grace Augustine? How the hell did this kid know about her? She died around the time he was born, if Mercer’s timeline was correct. 

“Not personally.”

Some of the fire behind the kid’s eyes seemed to die down at this news. He slunk back against the wall. 

“Listen, Miles-”

“That’s not my name,” the kid hissed. 

Daddy issues too? Perfect. 

“Okay. What do they call you then?”

The boy grinned conspiratorially, as if by withholding his name he’d won some kind of strategic standoff. 

“Okay,” Mercer said slowly. “Your file says Socorro. So let’s use that shall we?”

The kid’s eyes flashed dangerously in his direction, but he didn’t speak. 

“Ardmore’s drilling you pretty hard. You don’t want to give up everything and everyone you’ve ever known. I understand that. But she’s not your problem.”

Socorro was playing the part of the moody, uninterested teenager well, but Mercer knew he was listening closely. 

“The recombinant out there? That’s not your father. And you being here causes him a few issues.”

Socorro glanced up, ill-hidden confusion written all over his face. 

“Think about it. Don’t take this personally, but your existence is embarrassing for him. You shouldn’t have been born. He broke a huge safety protocol and will have to face the consequences. Second, if you’re not going to talk, then you’re useless to him and them. They won’t keep you around for long.” Suddenly, Mercer felt sorry for him. “I know this is a hard situation for you, but there’s no use forming an attachment with someone who’s going to have to terminate you.”

Socorro hissed loudly at this, catching Mercer off guard. He truly was a feral little Na’vi after all. 

“I’m sorry to put it so bluntly-”

But he was stopped in his tracks by a large, cold hand gripping his shoulder from behind and spinning him around, bringing him face to navel with the intimidating figure of Miles Quaritch. 

“What the hell are you doing talking to him?” 

Quaritch’s hand was vice-like on his shoulder, and Mercer tried his best to not let the strain of it show in his face. 

“Colonel Quaritch. I’m afraid I couldn’t control my… professional curiosity. Is there a problem?” He recounted what he had just said to the kid, trying to work out whether Quaritch had a right to be mad. From the looks of him, whatever he’d heard, he didn’t like. 

Quaritch’s face was seething with barely repressed anger, his clipped ears pinned down almost flat against his skull. His eyes darted from Mercer to Socorro, before settling on burning a laser hole through Mercer’s own eye sockets. “Get. Out,” he growled, his voice deadly. 

With that, Mercer was shoved out of Quaritch’s way so forcefully he stumbled and almost fell. Behind Quaritch stood Wainfleet, who Mercer was not surprised to see still acted as his boss’s obedient dog. Knowing his time was over, he stood up straight and dusted down the front of his previously crisp shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles from Quaritch’s grip. 

“Gentlemen,” he said more confidently than he felt, and then turned his back on the cell and the recoms, his mind spinning with everything he had just learned.

It was so interesting to write from Mercer's perspective and give him and Spider some interaction! I have ideas about where this fic could go... but I won't commit to anything right now! As always, big thanks to @hyperfixatedfandomer for being such a huge source of inspiration!

[y-rhywbeth2]

Lore: Baldur's Gate #2

Demographics of the Western Heartlands

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. There's a lot of lore; I don't know everything. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest]

The City | Demographics | Law & Legal System | Administration & Government | ??? - WIP

A sort of overview of how people fit into the region. When I say "Baldur's Gate is a human city" I am not overexaggerating.

So: detailing the five main human groups of the region: the elves would rather stay in Evereska, thanks; the half-elves would rather not stay in Evereska: the halflings are cheerfully exploiting the local adventurers; the gnomes mind their own business; the dwarves have a local history that's just the world hitting them with sticks; and for some reason the Hells have it out for the Western Heartlands, and tieflings are resented for being a reminder. (And the occasional half-orc and dragonborn is there too, I guess.)

-

While the exact percentages may have shifted up or down somewhat over the course of events at the end of the Era of Upheaval and so on, they're still a pretty solid idea of what to expect from the Western Heartlands, and thus Baldur's Gate as the largest population centre (it's also where the most diversity is, being the only major port city for miles).

The breakdown is:

78% Human 7% Elven 4% Half-elven 3% Halfling 2% Gnome 1% Dwarf 1% "Other" [Tiefling, Half-orc, Dragonborn]

-

So 78% of the entire population of the Western Heartlands is human; consisting mostly of five ethnic groups. These groups being defined by their shared inherited cultural norms and genetics across Faerûn. Chondathan culture heavily shapes Baldur's Gate.

80% of these humans are Tethyrian [melting pot of cultures and genetics, predominantly Calishite and Chondathan by ancestry. By average: brown skin; black hair; blue eyes (northern) or brown eyes (southern). Their primary ancestors were the native people of the lands that became Tethyr and Calmishan. The further north you go the more Netherese and Illuskan genes enter the pool, and lighter skin and blue eyes becomes more common. In the Western Heartlands - they mostly follow Chondathan cultural norms. They have a history of being colonised and enslaved (largely by Calimshan), value freedom and community above all else; slavery is the pinnacle of evil. They have a strong bardic tradition due to relying on oral lore and song to keep their histories and what remains of their distinct culture alive (the majority of their cultural norms will be determined by the dominant culture they've mixed with). The average Tethyrian is raised to mistrust authorities with more jurisdiction than a city state (kingdoms and empires = bad). -

10% are Calishite [dark brown skin; black hair; dark brown eyes. Tend to be short. Due to genie ancestry, most genasi are Calishite]. The percentage is probably higher in the 15th century, due to a wave of refugees. The ancestors of the Calishites were slaves of genies who came to Toril, set up their empires, annoyed the local elves and got wiped off the map and left the humans to inherit their master's empire. Calimshan is one of the oldest human empires still standing, and they're very proud of this fact. They value reputation above all else (personal and family, both highly interconnected) which is basically a form of social currency. Very strict social divides: Class matters, traditionally they're patriarchal and gender roles are strict, marriage is important and the father determines social class (only women may marry "above their station"). In recent history, a return of the ruling djinn and efreeti led to a lot of war and destruction in Calimshan, sending a wave of refugees into the world. Most of those refugees live seperate from the main city in "Little Calimshan" in the Outer City. Said war has recently ended, due to the actions of a Chosen of Ilmater, and many Calishites in Baldur's Gate are considering returning home (especially because there is considerable friction between the refugees and the locals). Sorcery is a common occurance, and Calishites have a strong arcane and divine tradition. -

5% are Chondathan ["tawny" brown skin; light brown to black hair; brown or green eyes. Tend to be tall]. Their ancestors started off as warriors, whose many wars led to them destroying an elven city and a retaliatory tidal wave that eventually led them to discover that trade worked better for them (this did not stop them pissing off elves everywhere they went), they did such a good job that they dominated Central Faerûn through mercentile skill, and Chondathan culture (i.e. language, the Thorass alphabet and such) is a major influence pretty much all over Faerûn. Typically Chondathans have adapted quickly and peaceful to the norms and laws of other peoples, and a Baldurian, Cormyrian and a Sembian will not be perfectly interchangable. Still they will often have shared values: Violence is tacky and counterproductive. a reputation for honesty is paramount and breaking your word is taboo. Tend to be cat people, with a strong appreciation for tressyms. They value hard work, industry and admire wealth (which is power and evidence of a good work ethic). Social standing is determined by money and influence. Class divides don't tend to be rigid, and it's generally believed that hard work should open doors. You start work at 12 (apprenticeships) and if you're able bodied you will be shamed for "not pulling your weight". The elderly tend to hang around after retirement and tutor the next generation. They have little in the way of magical traditions, or interest in it. -

3% are Illuskan [pale skin; blonde, red or black hair; blue or grey eyes. Tend to be very tall]. Rarely found outside of the North (including the Sword Coast North, across the border), most Illuskan cultures are tribes and settlements on the frontiers. They value courage, battle prowess and survival and haven't been as successful in the larger world because they tend to prefer war and raids to trade. Larger civilisation hinders growth and encourages weakness and dependency, and is largely shunned. The rest of the world considers them "no better than orcs" and the Illuskans think the rest of the world are a bunch of cowards unworthy of respect. Not being able to be the warrior hero of some kind of epic tale (or being bold enough to aspire to be) is not necessarily a thing to be ashamed of that you will be mistreated for, but you won't be given any respect past basic courtesy either. Magic is not infrequent amongst Illuskans, due to Netherese ancestry, but it is mistrusted due to the history of the Arcane Brotherhood of Luskan, who are evil bastards. Religion is eh. Illuskans generally only have uses for gods who serve a practical purpose (so appeasing the gods of fury (such as Auril and Umberlee) and Tempus, god of war). -

1% consists of the Gur [brown skin; thick, straight black hair; dark brown eyes. Tend to be hirsute and short, but "stocky"] The ancestors of the Gur were Rashemi, a people they still strongly resemble, physically. The modern people feel no kinship with their distant kin though. They're mostly nomads, but some Gur can be found permanently settled in the slums of cities like Baldur's Gate and Elturel, where they're treated as subhuman. Their patron deity is Selûne: protector of travellers and outcasts, and a patron of diviners, which the Gur practice for protection and aid in navigation (as such they also worship Savras, god of truth and fate, patron god of divination). Amongst their own the Gur speak a unique dialect of Rashemi that no outsiders are privy to. There's not a lot on the Gur, but if they share any cultural norms with the Rashemi, it might be something like this: The Rashemi value personal skill/strength (in whatever form that takes) and achievements, and scorn the concept of inherited (unearned) titles and wealth. They also value the wellbeing of the land itself, to which they show respect. While they don't shun work, they don't live for it either; the youth are often found carousing loudly with their friends, and while the adults are expected to contribute to society, they also enjoy a good time. Children are subject to tests as they mature, and elders are afforded great respect for their experience and the challenges they have overcome in reaching their age. Interestingly, Rashemi expats also have a reputation for being "nuisances" outside of Rashemen: many struggle with culture shock, and the stereotype is that they will get drunk and wander around picking fights everywhere (the Rashemar norm of challenging others to help them and you improve comes across as aggression to outsiders). -

The remaining 1% is a mixture of the many, many, many different humans on Toril. This canonically includes one of Faerûn's only Maztican communities, consisting of the Nexala people living in Baldur's Gate (I think they drew inspiration from the Mexica?) and there appears to include a Kozakuran (Japanese fantasy counterpart) minority. TSR's decision to start creating fantasy world counterparts to real world cultures for "exotic" expansions is... hmm, contentious, and I don't know enough about the real world counterparts to know if I'm handling it well, so I'm not going further into that.

------

7% of the population of the Western Heartlands is elves, making up the largest non-human population of the region.

It's mostly moon elves [fair skin, often seen in literal white hues likened to alabaster and marble, with blue undertones; white, silver (like the metal, not grey) or black hair; eyes always flecked with gold] and then some wood elves [copper brown skin, tinged with green; blonde, red, brown or black hair; brown or green eyes. Metallic sheen to hair and skin.] Some sun elves returned to Faerûn in the mid-1300s [gold, bronze or amber skin; blonde, red or black hair; golden brown, green or black eyes. Metallic sheen to hair and skin.] (both moon elves and sun elves are categorised as "high elves", in BG3 mechanical parlance). Moon elves are individualistic and have a reputation for flightiness, thrill-seeking and hedonism. Sun elves are conservative, more observant of social hierarchies, have a strong cultural focus on magic (divine and arcane both) and extremely wary of humans due to historical conflict and human expansion into (now lost) elven lands. Wood elves are known for their open mindedness towards non-elves and many hope for elves to live fully amongst the non-elves one day, but due to their nature-oriented spirituality and way of life they rarely venture into human civilisation and are usually highly uncomfortable there. When compared to the percentages of other demihumans in the area, the elven population seems very high, though that 7% accounts for Evereska, the last major bastion of elven civilisation on Faerûn. Although apparently the elves are trying to rebuild Myth Drannor yet again, and good luck with making that stick. While elves do make up the largest non-human minority group in Baldur's Gate, the vast majority of that 7% traditionally remains in Evereska and refuses to leave their homeland's borders, and of those that leave it's almost entirely moon elves, who are the most likely to assimilate into human culture. A minority of wood elves might be able to get comfortable in cities. Your average sun elf, to whom preservation of elven culture is a sacred duty given by Corellon him/herself, would be horrified by the concept of assimilating into the N'Quess, and any that aren't are going to be under immense social pressure from their house/clan to come home and conform (especially because there's a chance that their family may view humans as dangerous). That said, the flightiness of youth can generally be forgiven (they'll grow out of it). Most encountered are young adventurers under 100 years old and semi-nomadic family groups of moon elves who wander between human settlements as their whims (and/or the mercantile work of their clan/house) takes them. Older elves are unlikely to be found in Baldur's Gate in high numbers, as the rapid, demanding pace of the metropolis clashes badly with the "take your time" philosophies and lifespan of elves. A few families of sun elves also established themselves in the minor human cities of Iriaebor and Berdusk, further South East, after returning from the Retreat.

- 4% of the population is half-elven, almost entirely of moon elven descent, and, on the human side, likely to be of Tethyrian ancestry.

It's likely most are found in human cities, even if they weren't already born there. The noble houses of Evereska have traditionally been extremely xenophobic (even the elven commoner clans were considered beneath them), and the only non-elves permitted entry for most of Evereska's existence have been Harpers: the opportunities for half-elves to be born within the realm have been fewer that otherwise. Human civilisations also saw an influx of half-elven immigration during the late 14th century - albeit most moved North - when the Spellplague caused Evereska and the Feywild to merge slightly, and an increase in xenophobic attitudes made many feel unwelcome.

- 3% is halfling, almost entirely lightfoot [very, very wide genetic pool. The hin have moved around enough that no features or colouration has become a norm for an entire geographic population.]

Lightfoot halflings - or hin, amongst themselves - are pretty much all over Faerûn, having made themselves comfortable and unobtrusive living alongside humans. They mostly assimilate into human cultures, though there is still a focus on clan and family. There is a small village in the region called Gullykin, which mostly keeps to itself and profits from its brewery (which also happens to be the temple of Yondalla). They also cheerfully make a side profit off of the frequent adventuring parties who use the village as a rest stop while exploring the nearby ruins (Durlag's Tower and the Firewine Ruins). The locals have no interest in the ruins themselves, considering Firewine particularly cursed, and pride themselves in being as peacefully boring as they possibly can.

- 2% consists of gnomes, almost entirely rock gnomes [brown skin; white hair; no information given on eye colour, although "glittering black" has been used as a descriptor.]

Gnomes prefer to stay well hidden, in secret villages scattered around the world and unseen by outsiders, but a minority are drawn to Baldur's Gate. Rock gnomes split their time and focus between their career (usually craft of some sort, and rock gnome working environments are known for their very relaxed, friendly atmospheres) and partying.

- 1% consists of dwarves, shield dwarves [pale to light brown skin; dark hair; blue eyes] and gold dwarves [light to dark brown skin with a reddish hue; black, grey or brown hair; brown or hazel eyes]. Exact numbers aren't given, but as, historically, the shield dwarves almost went extinct due to wars where the gold dwarven numbers reached such levels of overpopulation in the Great Rift during the Thunder Blessing of 1306 DR that many were forced to migrate in droves, I would assume that it's either, like, a 50/50 split, or the gold dwarven population is the higher one.

Gold dwarves put their success and survival down to adherence to dwarven ways of life and are staunch traditionalists, cleaving to family, clan and faith: Dwarven history being characterised by the loss of homeland after homeland, they are very keen to ensure that their way of life survives. They have a bad history with the various inhabitants of the Underdark (especially drow). Shield dwarves have been in the area the longest. They have lost many of their homelands in the North to orc invasions and the expansion of humanity in their subsequent weakened state. Those found in the Western Heartlands belong to a subdivision called the Wanderers; dwarves who after the loss of their ancestral homes took to a more nomadic life, making a living as mercenaries and crafters in the settlements of other races. Many may have non-dwarven ancestry, as shield dwarves started intermarrying to bolster their numbers due to wars and an infertility crisis rendering their population dangerously low - non-dwarven ancestry is mostly humans and gnomes, though some hin and elven blood can be found. The same traditions their gold dwarven kin hold to exist in shield dwarven culture, but due to the pressures of survival many traditions are looser or have fallen by the wayside. The most successful dwarves are presumably the Shattershield clan, who settled in Baldur's Gate at the time of the city's origin and became the Gate's sole non-human Patriar family. There have been attempts to create new homelands in the Western Heartlands, and all of them met with disaster. The town of Kanaglym, established in 722 DR eventually discovered that they'd accidentally found a portal to the Fugue Plane in the town well. The half-dwarven adventurer Daeros Dragonspear established Dragonspear Castle aboveground, over the town's location in 1255 DR, creating a safe haven for the dwarven people that was also guarded by Daeros' copper dragon companion Halatathlaer, who had a lair nearby. Then a mage, seeking the dwarves' wealth, decided to embark on a complicated plot, of which the most relevant step was opening a portal to Avernus and tricking Daeros to walk into it, and also destroying the castle with an invasion of dragons. A dwarf by the name of Durlag Trollkiller also established a home for his clan (Durlag's Tower) at some unknown date, and that was later annihilated by an infiltration of doppelgangers and mind flayers. The Orothiar clan settled in the Cloakwood, however they were forced to abandon their clanhold when a mine wall was accidentally breached: the river flooded their home, and wiped out most of their people, bar a few survivors.

- 1% covers everybody else. Hobgoblins, gnolls, goblins, kobolds and such will make up the majority of this category; the recently established Yuan-ti kingdom of Najara has also joined this percentage; with a minority of half-orcs (orcs are not really found in the Western Heartlands, the nearest are mountain orcs in the North), and then a smaller handful of planetouched (tieflings, genasi, aasimar (mostly tieflings and genasi)) and dragonborn left over.

While generally not popular anywhere, tieflings are particularly mistrusted in the Western Heartlands. They're associated with the Dragonspear Wars - the first of which took place in 1356 DR - where Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate went to war with the invading forces of Avernus (coming from portals set up in the eponymous Dragonspear Castle). There was another invasion in 1363 DR. Then that time Mephistopheles invaded Waterdeep in 1372 with the intention of conquering Toril and turning it into the tenth layer of hell probably didn't help their reputation either. Nor the fey'ri invasion of Evereska in 1374 DR. Nor did the Elturel incident... It's not unlikely that there are a fair few people with dormant infernal blood in their veins, but the tiefling population isn't likely to see much growth, as the birth of a tiefling child to human parents is not infrequently met with panic and infanticide.

There's nothing I can really find on half-orcs, but I would imagine most are of mountain orc and Illuskan heritage, and they or their ancestor/s migrated from the North.

I'd hazard a guess that the entire dragonborn population of Baldur's Gate - possibly the entire region - can be seen in-game. They have no history in the area that I know of.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: The price of faith

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)  

“As you can see here,” Dr. Sasha Rebick said as she held the x-ray up to the light, “the tumor has grown close to one of your lungs, and as it has grown it has pushed into the lung resulting in your labored breathing.”

Sitting across from the good doctor was her recent patient, Oma.  She had never treated a Parcoren before but she had read the research file about them. Humanoid in shape one could almost be forgiven for mistaking them as humans were it not for the series of bone spikes that protruded from the back of their heads down their neck.

Sasha had expected her Thursday for her schedule appointment but had been awoken early Tuesday morning when a local hospital had contacted her saying Oma had just been admitted to their ER and they needed her expertise to operate.

Twenty minutes later Sasha was in the ER operating on Oma to save her life and after four hours of grueling surgery her patient had gotten through the worst of it. Or so she had hoped until she saw the first x-rays.

Pointing to a mass on the x-rays Sasha continued. “Your shortness of breath, coughing blood, and feelings of drowning are all results of this tumor’s proximity to your lung, and I’m afraid the symptoms will only get worse the longer it remains.”

Oma’s spines twitched at this and they looked at the x-ray in disbelief. “But you save me now.” She spoke softly, her every word a ragged labor. Dr. Sasha shook her head at her patient’s optimism.

“It would be incorrect to believe that what we did tonight resolved the issue.” Sasha said regretfully. “The biochemical we used to restore you airways is a temporary solution.”

At this Oma’s expression only further darkened. “Can you remove the tumor?”

Sasha took a look at the x-rays once more and gathered her thought before answering. “The tumor has grown to such an extent that it is no longer possible to separate it from your lung.” She pointed to the mass itself and dragged her finger across the deadly vein like tendrils that spread out over the entire lung itself. “Even if we removed the largest mass of the tumor, any one of these offshoots could develop into a full grown tumor itself within a matter of months.”

She leaned back into her doctor’s chair, running her hand through her red hair as if to clear her thoughts of impending dread. “The fact that this hasn’t spread to the rest of your internal organs is nothing less than an act of god to be honest.”

Her patients head shot up at this and Sasha had realized her mistake. Though she knew little of the Parcoren as a species, she did know that they were heavily spiritual and by extension their faith seeped into nearly every aspect of their day to day lives. She had once her it joked that a Parcoren would not take a bite of breakfast without first consulting their holy book.

“So you are saying this is god’s will?”

Sasha looked at Oma and saw a mixture of emotions washing over her patients face. Fear, disbelief, disdain, anger, sorrow; one could hardly blame her with the idea Sasha had just put in her head about her current situation being part of their god’s will.

“Forgive me,” Sasha spoke up quickly, “I meant it more as a passing expression than a religious statement.”

This seemed to confuse Oma. “Your people use your god’s name…so recklessly?” To which Sasha shrugged as she opened a file cabinet underneath her desk and searched for a particular file.

“If you’d hear half the words shouted at a world cup finale you’d understand.” She replied drily as she found the file and pulled it out. She opened the folder on the desk and began spreading its contents out for Oma to see.

“We may not be able to remove the tumor itself from your lung, but we do have alternatives to combat this.”

She laid out a picture of particular importance right in front of Oma who looked down at it silently.

“Cybernetics has advanced by leaps and bounds within the last twelve years and it is now possible to give you a new biomechanical lung that will restore your health.”

Oma picked up the picture and examined it. It was a promotional page sent out by cybernetic implant companies showcasing their latest models. It detailed which species they could manufacture for as well as boasting that they could replicate any organ to the extent that one could not tell the difference between it and a biologically grown one.

“So you would…” Oma spoke up through strained breaths, “give me this cybernetic and I would be healthy again?”

She sounded like she couldn’t believe her fortune so Sasha leaned forward and rested her hand on Oma’s. “You’d be swimming across the crimson seas, dodging nerve sharks again in no time; give or take a month or two of rehabilitation to get used to the implant.”

Behind those darkened eyes of despair Sasha saw the spark of hope rekindled as a smile crept on to her face. Her eyes were barely holding back her tears of joy as she clutched the flyer tighter between her fingers.

“That would be wonderful!” she exclaimed loudly, before her glow shrunk somewhat and she followed up with, “But will there be enough room?”

This was something Sasha had not expected. “Room for what?” she asked.

“For another lung.” Oma said directly. “I already have two so if you were to give me a third lung I do not believe my body would have enough space for it.”

Sasha had to control her facial expressions as she pondered how someone from a species lightyears ahead of humanity could be so dense.

“Oma,” Sasha spoke up clearly and slowly, “we would need to remove the entire tumor lung from your body to ensure the operations success; you would not have three lungs.”

Her patient said nothing at this clarification. She withdrew her hand from the doctor’s gentle grasp and let the flyer fall to the desk as if it was burning hot.

“I’m sorry, but that is not an option for me.”

“I assure you,” Sasha began, “that the surgery is completely sa-“

Oma cut off the doctor by pushing her chair back loudly. Her behavior had gone from joyous relief to now acting like her mother had just been called a series of horrific words.

“It is against our faith that any portion of our body be willingly removed.” Oma stated as if quoting a book.

“Oma,” Sasha began calmly, “it is not a matter of debate between scripture and science.” She tapped the x-ray still hanging behind her showcasing the tumor. “If you do not have this lung removed you will die.”

“Then it is god’s will that my time will end.” Oma replied without hesitation.

This was not the first time Sasha had come across religious restrictions for such procedures. Yet it was still surprising all the same to hear someone be given a lifeline to continue their existence only to throw it back so casually.

“Tell me,” Sasha began, “did your god gift you with intelligence?”

This question took Oma off guard. “Intelligence?” she repeated, and Sasha nodded. “The ability to adapt, to learn, to improve yourself in the face of adversity,” Sasha clarified, “that is what I mean.”

Oma nodded. “It is written that our lord chose us as their favored creations and bestowed the gift of knowledge to our humble vessels.”

“So it is not against your faith to solve problems that are presented to you?” Sasha asked. Oma nodded again in agreement and so Sasha continued.

“Then by that logic this is no different. You have bene presented with a problem that you are capable of solving.”

Oma stood up suddenly, nearly knocking the chair over in the process. “It is not the same.” She loudly declared. “We are created in our lord’s image and to pervert it with foreign objects would be the most unforgivable offenses!”

“But you just said that your god gave you knowledge; do you not think they would be more offended that you did not use their gift to continue your existence?”

She ripped the x-ray off the wall and slapped it down on the desk. “Was it your god’s plan that you should die today? And if so why did you come here for treatment?”

“That is not the same!” Oma shouted again, though this time with less fervor. Sasha pressed on and continued to barrage her patient with questions.

“Why then is it okay for you to use medicine sometimes but not others? Why is it your faith allows good Parcoren’s to die when they could have been saved? What sort of spiteful god would deny his favored creations happiness?”

Oma said nothing in response and simply stormed out of the room with what vigor she had left. The spines along her neck vibrating in irritation loudly enough that Sasha could hear her walking all the way to the end of the hall and out the doors leading to the hospitals exit.

Sasha fell back into her chair and stewed while replayed the moments out again and again in her mind. Her assistance came into the room several minutes later and found her as such.

“Shall I remove Ms. Oma from your patient list?” they asked with data pad in hand, but Sasha shook her head.

“She may have given up on me, but I will not give up on getting her the proper treatment.” Sasha said as she cleaned up her desk and prepared for her next appointment.

“How very honorable of you.” Her assistance remarked as they stowed away the data pad. “I never took you for a faithful one seeking to save the lost souls.”

Sasha looked down at the x-ray one last time before placing it back into Oma’s folder and putting it away.

“One does not need faith to do the right thing.”