#life isn't more than just surviving and in fact human race doesn't even get to survive

[yanderes-galore]

Well, this is going to be my last request.

Fandom: Mortal Kombat

Character: Reptile/Syzoth (from MK 1)

Tupe of fic: Romantic concepts

So, for this one, darling is an ally to Liu Kang and joins the group, getting specially close to Reptile after they escape from Shang Tsung's lab and Syzoth discovers his family was killed.

I'd love to write Reptile! He was cool in MK1 :) I love him... and apparently the rest of the fandom does too 👀 He's just so sweet!

Let me know what you think! I need to do Shang Tsung soon :D

Yandere! Syzoth/Reptile Concept

(Mortal Kombat 1)

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Fear of loss, Clingy behavior, Stalking, Manipulation, Technically terato(?), Mentions of "mate", Biting, Violence, Possessive behavior, Delusional behavior, Brief mention of abduction, Dubious/Forced relationship.

You briefly met Syzoth when you and the rest of the group were captured.

To hear he was a slave to Shang Tsung saddened you, yet you currently could only focus on your own survival.

You don't get to properly meet Syzoth until after Baraka defeats him and you all flee.

You pitied him for being a slave... only to still lose his family in the end.

Syzoth just looked so... devastated afterwards.

While you were also aiding the group by watching over Kenshi until he could get a doctor, you wouldn't help but try to mend Syzoth's broken emotions.

This is what brings you two closer.

You find out that Syzoth isn't that bad of a man... or Zaterran.

His story is actually quite sad.

He left his race in order to find a better life... only to be sucked into something worse.

At first he's apologetic if he hurt you in the lab while also being distant.

Syzoth fears to be close with many due to all the shame he has faced and the fact he lost his family.

Despite this you appear to be... welcoming to him.

In fact... the group itself accepts him and finds him useful.

For that... he is happy.

Syzoth could be an intimidating yandere even if he is really kind with you.

His natural Zaterran form is strong, capable of crushing and jumping large distances.

He is also capable of invisibility, allowing him to spy and stalk.

Syzoth is much nicer than his other counterpart(s).

He genuinely wants to help his allies because he cares for them.

He sees them like they're new family.

Including you.

Syzoth most likely fell for you the moment you tried to help him.

Well, not entirely, but he certainly got attached.

You greeted him with open arms and accepted him into your band of warriors and for that... he feels he's loyal to you.

He understands he's free now, yet he feels like he must stick around you.

Syzoth would try to play bodyguard around you.

He primarily keeps his human form around you but also uses his Zaterran form to intimidate others.

This is a person HC but I feel Zaterrans are possessive towards those they see as a "mate".

Even when in human form he snarls and hisses at others.

He also appears to be way too clingy?

If Syzoth was close enough to you or managed to get you somewhere private... he'd probably bite and nip at you in an attempt to claim you as his.

He doesn't mean it to hurt you, he just wants to show you and others he takes a claim to you.

If you're comfortable with it Syzoth will appear in his natural form before you.

He's nervous at first because you're from Earthrealm, yet you reassure him it's fine.

Now picture this: Giant Zaterran cuddles.

When in private Syzoth shows his natural form more often, pushing his head into your lap and making guttural yet pleased noises.

Syzoth feels at peace with you.

You may not know his true feelings towards you until the clingy behavior, biting, and nuzzling manifest.

Perhaps you make the mistake of asking him... only for him to perk up and answer.

"Right... you're from Earthrealm. Do you not do "courting" in your realm?"

Syzoth is incredibly honest with you.

He thinks you feel the same for him so he has decided to show you he's capable.

Even when you try to tell him you may not be ready, that you just see him as a friend and ally, Syzoth ignores you.

"There's no need to worry, I promise I can be a good mate if you let me."

Even if you try to ignore Syzoth after that he simply follows loyally.

There's times you even feel like you're being watched due to Syzoth going invisible to follow.

Syzoth is incredibly overprotective, often swapping to his natural form to attack those he feels will take you away.

He's clingy as he's already lost his family.

With you... he has potential to have a new family.

Just a cute thought, Syzoth melts when you hold him or stroke under his chin.

He loves you so much.

Syzoth tries to show restraint but he may kidnap you to hide you from others.

He feels guilty but he just gets so... possessive at times.

Syzoth wants nothing more than to have you love him back.

He may even try to guilt you into it, mentioning his past to you and appearing upset.

Syzoth tries his best to care for you... bringing meat and showering you in affection.

His tail probably wags in his natural form if you praise him.

Once Shang Tsung is dealt with... Syzoth hopes to continue a future with you.

He apologizes if he seems so forceful...

He just feels he has to claim you as his before he loses you like he did his family.

"Oh, please don't ignore me, dear... am I going too fast? I'm sorry... I'll try to be patient. But... you must understand I've already claimed you as mine, yes?"

[nanomooselet]

Elendira the Crimsonnail (II)

It's within your right to care not at all about any defence I mount of Elendira in Stampede. This is profoundly not my wheelhouse and I'm no fan of the creepy little girl archetype myself - but I think she's not going to stay as she is forever, and I think she serves a thematic purpose. Whether that justifies the new backstory for her is, of course, up to you.

Right. I'll need to start with the fact that in Stampede, Knives hates women. Oh, certainly Knives attacks and kills a lot of people - after all, his stated goal is the genocide of the human race - and many of his victims are men, since they typically make up the majority of fighting forces. But with them he's eliminating a threat. He's efficient about it. They're dead or at least incapacitated before they know anything. Think the Plant technicians, the MPs in July, the patrol officer outside Jeneora Rock.

It's when he targets women that he's hateful. Rosa's people didn't have to die like that. Knives drew it out for fun and let Rosa live with witnessing it. Similarly, he hated Luida so much he went for the throat bare-handed. He didn't get to Meryl, but Knives was so determined to harm her that it took Vash a few tries to redirect his attention while she fled. Let's also not forget that his abuse of Vash is centred around trying to destroy all influence Rem, a woman, had on his brother. Knives is openly contemptuous of human women in a way he simply isn't with men - Meryl is a "disgusting parasite", Luida a "witch".

You'd think championing Tesla and the dependent Plants (whom he refers to as female) would check him some - but it doesn't! Because they're defined by helplessness. They can't argue or tell him he's wrong, nor can they leave him or hurt him or take Vash from him. I'm sure he cares about them but, well, he cares about Vash too, and we know how that works out.

And thus of Knives's closest followers, only Elendira is afforded a place among their ranks. No others allowed. I have a feeling it'll be a little more gender-balanced once Legato steps in (he's got an entirely different flavour of hang-up), but that's for the future.

So why is Elendira the exception?

For a start, she's more directly attached to Dr. Conrad than Knives himself. Conrad seems to treat her as his companion or child, though she doesn't seem terribly fond of him or inclined to respect him. She is loyal to Knives, enough to recoil from Vash for being a "traitor".

In addition, she's Knives's partial clone. Knives is extremely self-absorbed, and she does look like he did as a boy. On a creepier note, she looks like Vash, too.

She's also not human. From what I can tell, rather she's a sort of an Independent/dependent Plant, a hybrid of their characteristics. Her body has proportions similar to the dependent Plants when they're unfurled, except on smaller scale and without the "petals" - large head, big eyes, long hands/feet, slender body - and, like them, she lacks sexual characteristics (so, she's arguably not a woman either - but put a pin in that). She can survive outside her case and doesn't need to eat or drink. However, her Gate seems too weak to afford her the toughness and regenerative abilities of the twins. Which probably explains why she reacted the way she did to a relatively minor cut.

I think her genetic makeup might be why she hasn't grown beyond "childhood". She isn't a child, she's a fully-developed adult. It's just that she's got the proportions of a fully-developed adult Plant, which look childish to a human. And might explain why she flat-out murders Roberto for being unable to look past that and see the threat she represents.

Anyway, I imagine, for Elendira, the problem is that the whole fact of her existence brings with it... expectations. The most obvious:

Elendira is almost certainly an attempt by Dr. Conrad to further his "atonement" by recreating Tesla to give her another chance at life. He probably treats her like one, anyway, even if not consciously. (Whether or not she has any part of Tesla integrated into her is an interesting question but not relevant - it's an emotional thing.)

Yet Tesla remains a silent victim. It's her tragedy. That's all she ever got to be and all that she will ever be. Elendira simply isn't Tesla - might even have come to resent Tesla, because this poor little girl no one ever got to know has overshadowed her entire life. She's a sibling El can never surpass. Forever perfect because she never got to be enough of a person to disappoint anyone. It's no wonder Elendira hates being pitied if it means being reminded that Tesla, born an Independent, is a standard she falls short of - but all the ways Tesla was superior didn't save her from the fate she suffered. She isn't Tesla. She can't be Tesla. She refuses to be.

And then there's this asshole.

(Vash is of course the perfect precious boy, but I'm talking from Elendira's perspective.)

We don't outright hear how Knives talks about Vash to his followers, but Elendira gives us a hint. She calls him a traitor and won't allow him to even touch her. We know Knives is obsessed with his twin to the exclusion of anything or anyone else (ask Legato) - and I suspect he sought replacement in his followers… but you know how it is when you're around someone who's really hung up over an ex? (Again whether it's romantic or not really doesn't matter, he's Very Normal etc.) Knives hates every single choice his brother's ever made but it's painfully obvious that he'll never love anyone else. For Elendira, that's another sibling setting a standard she'll never reach in a game she didn't sign up to play. She isn't Vash. She can't be Vash. She refuses to merely be a replacement for Vash, who hurt Lord Knives so deeply.

So fuck all that, right?

Given the scanty details we've been given, I can easily imagine her deciding she won't play anymore. She won't be Tesla. She won't be Vash. Instead, she'll carve out her own identity. Tesla didn't get to grow up, so Elendira's an adult and nobody's victim. Vash is a sentimental idiot, so she's the woman who kills without pity.

I can also easily imagine her going to Dr. Conrad and leaning on him to make improvements after the Punisher defeated her. She already wears lipstick and colours her nails, along with wearing a pink dress - experimenting with her presentation - and uses very adult, aggressively femme body language and articulation.

In short, I get the feeling Elendira dislikes her look as much as the fans do. And she's going to try and remedy it at the earliest opportunity.

@ultraviolet-cello

Part I

And one more important detail.

[justintaco]

I've been up for almost 24 hours so

superheavy Lonetrail Muelsyse spoilers

Besides the like, uncountable amount of stuff that blew me away in Lonetrail,

linking together Mansfield Break and Dorothy's Vision with Vigilo and Walk in the Dust

creating thematic parallels with Near Light at the end,

what really blew me away was Muelsyse.

Anyone who's followed this blog for a long time knows I'm not big on shipping and I'm semi-public with my opinion that most times shipping brain completely poisons someone's ability to actually engage with a narrative. But honest to god, even to me, they seemed to be almost writing a romance with Doctor and Mumu.

Blink twice if you don't think I'm crazy.

like any gacha you have a lot of flirty lines between the player character and a million of the girls (and guys), but like, this seemed unusually genuine and romantic?

(x)

Like besides them sharing a dance and all their cute little scenes, they seemed to be creating a genuine parallel in their backstories and who they are as people here

Mumu discovers she isn't actually the last of her race but realizes that she has so little in common with them she cannot form any meaningful connection or even find a shared language with them. Her integration into human society is like, almost all just an act of survival by her own admission, she doesn't feel any belonging there either. In fact, most of the time her real body is hiding in her vivarium because the physical world itself is becoming so poisoned by originium that it's dangerous to leave using anything but a clone. Even in her flashback with Saria and Kristen, she seems to be the third wheel.

She is by every possible metric, completely alone. And it seems like her chronic teehee backstabbing is a coping mechanism to feeling completely alienated from even her closest friends and what becomes her second family with the Rhine Lab directors. Even that dysfunctional and over idealized family is gone now too. She even says the following after she betrays Doctor for one last ditch effort to throw in her lot with Kristen and maybe find somewhere out in the stars she can belong:

Compare that with the Doctor, who in this event witnesses what seems to be the death of the last member of their race. In fact, the dialogue implies that Doctor feels an incredible amount of anguish even just pulling the plug on Trevor since it's not so quick a death. Directly after this event, after escaping the big silo bunker thing, Doctor's first thought is to go seek out Mumu rather than regroup with everyone from RI (including Saria who just reentered the atmosphere Halo 3 style). It feels like a response to an epiphany.

Earlier, Doctor had managed to actually get her to tell the truth about herself during their dance. How isolated she feels without any past or family, just like Doctor. So they go directly to her, fresh off of losing the last connection to their past life besides Kal'tsit (who is implied to not only be unwilling but in some way unable to share more info with Doctor).

You then get what is this, extremely deeply intimate conversation between Doctor and Muelsyse, commiserating over their shared loneliness.

She tries to play things off with her usual shtick but pretty quickly she admits that saving those random Control goons on the ship was her failed attempt at suicide because Saria had well and truly kicked her out of the triumvirate to confront Kristen alone.

After that she begins connecting with Doctor on a deeper level than any character I can really recall. As much as I love the ex wife Kal'tsit stuff, they really don't seem to have a romantic attachment. A very very close and intimately trusting one, maybe a past romance, but never romantic with Doctor as they exist in the present since waking up. Doctor views other characters like Amiya, Ifrit, and Rosmontis as children to be protected. But this here is these two really baring their souls and it's just crazy to see in a gacha game where the format discourages stuff like this.

Just, man I love this whole conversation. They've both just learned recently that they can't shed their loneliness with what's left of their races. Muelsyse is totally at the end of her rope, but Doctor has just learned that the only thing they can do is fully commit to the people they know in the present. So despite Mumu's one final attempt to put a barrier up between her and another person, a literal physical barrier of water

Doctor walks right into the barrier and literally reaches out to her to help save her with what they just learned that same day

Muelsyse refers to the parts not in blue here (blue usually being the only confirmed dialogue Doctor says out loud in any given cutscene) when she talks to Nasti later. That means the Doctor said all of this out loud.

Again, am I crazy or does this feel like the most romantic Doctor has ever been with another character?

A lot of himejoshis on Twitter have been mad about the event and what it means for Mumu x Ho'ohleyak, Mumu x Saria, or Muelsyse x her OT3 with Saria and Kristen, and honestly

they might have a point

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond!: Tails's Message

This takes place before this story's beginnings... in preparation for the demo of Sonic.EXE One More Time Repixeled going out.

INSPIRED BY: Alan's Monologue from Sonic.EXE The Art of Possibility

The strength of someone's mind is something that varies greatly from person to person. Some crumble at the slightest struggle, while others are unbreakable. Of course... HE never believed in the latter. He's certain that every Mobian and human has a breaking point, and so far, nothing's proved him wrong in his endeavours.

But, for the time being... maybe I'm something that serves to force him to question that. He's bent me, yes, in more ways than you could ever imagine. But he's yet to make me truly give up fighting, as scared of him as I am. I've yet to go back to the young hero I once was before I was dragged into this mess, but, even with everything he's put me through, I remain alive in this loop, and right now, I'm still sane.

That... doesn't mean I've managed to evade death, no. Death is never the end in this horrid domain of his, and it's never uncommon. It's just the end of his latest game. Just when you begin to fade out, suddenly you're awake somewhere new, fully restored to full health and the default life count. Then it's... back to square one.

I've lost count of how many times I've died at his hands, and even more so of how many ways. He's killed me in more ways than I ever could've imagined. One minute, I'll be drowning perpetually, being kept alive as the water continues to fill my lungs and the blood rushes to my brain... The next, I'll be getting torn clean in half with a lack of known precision, before he starts taking me apart... bit by individual excruciating bit. Sometimes, I'd be claimed by his spider state, either drained for blood, or being a painful host for the eggs, left to bleed out slowly... A-Another time... h-he just caved my head in with only his foot...

I'd never know what he'd come up with next, with the vast scope of his domain. All I could ever know is that it would never be quick, and it would never be easy. And the "death" that finally comes after isn't even a release. Not in any sense of the word. That's just when the next game would start.

Hide and seek, tag, foot races... Those ones sound simple, right? Easy, maybe even a little bit fun in the depression I've lived through in the past two months. Games like that are typically his favourite, but his idea of "fun" is... well, I'm sure you can imagine, but even so, I know for a fact that you don't fully comprehend - you can't even grasp just... what he is.

The closest thing to a name he has is "Outbreak Malware Threat", or "OMT" for short. Sometimes he likes to throw in the term "god", but I wouldn't be caught dead calling him that! ...or maybe, "caught dead" isn't the appropriate phrase around here. But... I'd never show that kind of reference, not to him!

Yes, I am afraid of him, but I know that as long as I keep a strong mind, he will keep me around for however many rounds he plans on. And as long as I'm around, there are chances upon chances escaping him, outsmarting him, maybe even killing him...

Things like that certainly feel impossible, but this place, his world... it embodies the very idea of possibility. Anything his twisted mind conjures up can and will happen, and in a place with endless possibilities, even ones as twisted as these will always carry a glimmer of hope somewhere, no matter how far away, how faint or how small. It is there!

But until then, I have to keep playing along. Through every game, every loss and every death. I may not have a choice in the fate that awaits me, but I do have a choice in how I approach it, and that is what will make all the difference. I mean, I've already survived for a whole three days with only my toolkit and whatever healthy food I could scavenge from the pre-horror side of his world, so I'm on a good streak, right?

OMT is a very strange concept on paper. As far as I know, he is some kind of sentient energy that's taken a liking to our world. So much so, that he's meshed his appearance and his world to it, but not without his own... "creative liberties". You could be in, say, Green Hill, with flowing blue water, beautiful flowers and the bright warm sun, wondering what could possibly go wrong.

But soon, that warmth would turn into a sense of pure dread. The plants and soil would grow gaping mouths, teeth and other appendages, as if they themselves were a living, breathing organism. The rivers would run red with blood and an alien substance, and the skies would blacken, HIS presence looming over you all the while.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. It sounds edgy, absurd, try-hard, and... you'd be right. But I guess that's just what he likes. It's his... sense of style. I know hearing me describe it doesn't sound all that scary, not in the slightest. But... when you're really there, getting strangled by the corpses of my last failures, jumping into that river to extinguish the flames of Angel Island, only to be greeted with that now too familiar metallic taste... I think it'll make you rethink things a little bit.

It is the most extreme and over-the-top example of a nightmare, and the absurdity truly is lost on you when you have to confront the reality of things. As you'd expect, his appearance would match the world that he's made. Shocking nobody, he looks like Sonic.

When I first got trapped here, he looked barely different, but with VERY stark differences. His eyes were black caverns with glowing red pupils on occasion, and his mouth was a gaping jaw twisted into a constant smile, and he sometimes also showed sharp yellow teeth in that mouth. But that was a whole two months back.

He's changed very visibly since then. His fur is a darker shade of blue, his shoes are now pitch-black with what looks like talons, and his tail is now double-tipped, for some twisted reason. And he learned how to shapeshift, with the Sonic form being the basis, but with no limit on what he could be. From what I witnessed Knuckles and Robotnik going through, he's also capable of becoming a snake or a goat-man. Is he... some kind of Satanic creature? I dunno.

And to top off all this madness, he creates these... vessels for his victims that he'll put their souls into. And these vessels, you guessed it, are of me and my friends. I'm the real Tails myself, though I've seen him put souls into bodies resembling me... especially any children unlucky enough to stumble across him.

Normally, I'd deem explaining the beginning of this mess a waste of time, due to it being unnecessary in the eyes of some. But I'm making an exception, because I want you to understand how dangerous OMT is. See, this place is connected to your world through one key thing; a fan-game he puts out on this "GameJolt" website, under a guy known as "Mr. Pixel". This game acts as a gateway he can drag your soul through, where he'll make you go through all that me and whoever else has come before and after me have experienced.

For me, personally, me and Sonic had an argument the day before it all went to hell. I could tell he was scared about losing me, though neither of us could predict what came next. Robotnik managed to catch OMT and planned to use him to create his empire... but OMT had other plans.

I was following Sonic one morning before I saw horribly disfigured Badniks fleeing for their lives, and just breaking one of them... the animals were all horribly mangled beyond anything I'd seen. And when I encountered HIM feasting on one of the poor critters... that's what got me trapped here.

I'd tell you to use this as a warning, but truth be told, I imagine he's smarter than to solely use the same trojan horse on one website over and over. He could use all sorts of disguises for his games, plenty not even under the guise of a horror game. And he can put on a very good act, too, considering there's plenty more like him out there. What I can't imagine him doing, however, is dropping the Sonic lookalike schtick. It's his thing, his obsession. It's the only thing he likes as much as playing his twisted games.

I don't know how you're hearing me right now. Whether it be through a recording, words on a screen or hidden in a titanic wall of binary code... that's if anybody hears me at all. I may not be able to tell you a definitive way of escaping him, nor can I give you any step-by-step guide to surviving if you decide to play along anyway.

Just... be careful and trust your instincts. If you feel something is wrong when playing the game, do not ignore your gut, or you'll wind up stuck here like me. Whoever you are, just don't mess it up like the others, okay? And I'd highly suggest you back out before you even get into things.

Because, spoiler alert; YOU CANNOT SURVIVE in his game! He teases you with the possibility, but will always get you killed off, no matter which way you go or how far you get. And after burning out his three to six target picks, some of which might actually include me... well, you're pretty much screwed if you don't quit out before then.

Yes, recounting and ultimately reliving my own mad encounters may be detrimental in some cases, but the key to finally breaking me is making me forget who I still am at the end of the day. Letting the days blur together completely is the first step in a slippery slope into madness.

But I've had enough of just waiting for a miracle to happen. Sonic wouldn't want this, would he? It's time for me to start acting and advancing further into his domain than he'd EVER allow me to. Perhaps there, I'll find the answer as to where he's keeping Sonic, and if I break him out so far before he stops me... that's the key to finally bringing my home and yours salvation.

I've got multiple supplies on hand to have a fighting chance. A medical kit, my arm cannon, stamina boosting... all of these will be essential to breaking the unfair rules of his game, cracking his patience, and getting me to where I need to be. I may be very far from where I'm supposed to be right now, but that means nothing once I get there.

Whenever I start doubting myself, I'll keep looking back at how far I've come. It'll help me stay strong, and it'll help me finally win fair and square against him! He's gonna regret ever stepping foot into my world. I'm ready to start being the hero Sonic desperately needs, considering I'm the only one who remembers everything I've experienced in contrast to the others getting their memories wiped each time. Hmph. We'll see if I remain his "favourite" victim once I wipe that grin off his ugly face.

I will save Mobius and find the way to our salvation...

No...

matter...

what!

"OMT" Tails

P.S.: I've adopted the version signifier out of spite for my tormentor, and it'll be what I use once this is all over to stand out from other versions of myself.

Happy Halloween, folks!

[ey-there-little-guy]

Made up fake fic title?

OH HECK YEAH I'LL GIVE YOU A FEW!!!!!!!! <3

Take me deeper than I've ever known

Put me together with staples and string

Never Ever

A Race to one's demise

Twisted Fates

DO WITH THESE WHAT YOU WILL!! DON'T HAVE TO DO EM ALL JUST HAVE FUN WITH IT!!! :3

OH THANK YOU :D these are great, so I definitely tried to think of something for all of these <3

They all turned into g/t or somewhat g/t bullet-point plots haha. Still tried to do summaries since that's usual for these tho

-

Take me deeper than I've ever known

Ranboo doesn't know what happened to him, just that one day he was tall enough to do all the stuff humans do, then the next day so small that a mouse could probably fistfight him and win. The even crazier thing is that he meets someone just as small, who apparently has been the one taking snacks from his stash, and not a ghost. Great, one question solved and a thousand more left unanswered. At least while they're stuck like this they won't have to be alone, Tommy may be strange but he isn't all that bad, besides the fact he'd probably ditch Ranboo if they revealed they're human. But while it lasts, he doesn't mind seeing more of Tommy's world.

magic, tiny fairy or fae, hmm

Ranboo gets shrunk and found by a tiny Tommy who decides 'gosh you suck at survival, i'll help you'

Tommy acts like he doesn't know Ranboo was shrunk, but he does

like 'don't interact with bigs, but they're not big anymore so…'

Ranboo doesn't know this but learns interacting with humans is a no-no so keeps their shrinking a secret

Ranboo learns more than they thought about the world at a smaller size

and they do want to be normal height again, someday (…maybe), but his life with Tommy is something they start to cherish, and the tiny really loves having them around

the twist is that Tommy is a fae of sorts that shrunk Ranboo, bc they were interesting and alone and and it seemed like something fun to do, but then feelings and friendship happened

Ranboo will have to find out eventually..

fae shenanigans and morals

Put me together with staples and string

What do you do when your reason for existing is to comfort and make smiles bloom, but you're built of dead things brought back, nightmarish and far too tall? For Ranboo, the answer is to enjoy what he can. Tubbo certainly makes this strange second-first life worth being a monster, at least.

second idea version:

Tubbo might not be real, full of stuffing and magic, but Tommy wants a friend, a best friend, and maybe Tubbo wants that too. So if Tommy thinks he's real enough to be that friend, despite how much smaller he is and inability to go places with Tommy without acting like a normal doll, then Tubbo is happy. Tommy may have done some questionable magic because he was lonely and desperate, but Tubbo is amazing, so he doesn't regret it. If only others could see it the same way.

Angst angst angst?

ended up with two ideas oops:

Ranboo is a minigiant frankenstein's monster kinda creature (created by Tubbo because Dude Is So Alone He Reanimated A Corpse For Company)

OR Tubbo is a life-like doll brought to life to be a friend (clingyduo and magic)

whichever idea, they have existential issues and put their worth into how useful they can be

both want to be able to go out into the world but don't, because they know if they're seen they'd terrify or unsettle people

Ranboo idea: sad times, fluff times, and sneaky outings with Tubbo

maybe at some point Ranboo's thoughts that he's a monster get real bad and he's convinced he'll hurt Tubbo and runs away to some woods

so then Tubbo has to go find him and bring him back before other people find him and think he's some monster come to terrorize them

who knows maybe Ranboo will even make some friends in a surprising twist?

Tubbo idea: lots of 'im not real' thoughts but also sweet friendship times

possible interference from other people coming back into Tommy's life since the magic to make Tubbo may or may not have been illegal

insisting that Tubbo isn't a real friend and this isn't healthy

Tubbo would normally agree, but seeing how much it hurts and upsets Tommy he might have some Choice Words instead

do these stories have happy endings? I wanna say yes, things work out, issues are eventually addressed, and there is lots of holding small friend in arms throughout.

Never Ever

The lives of borrowers are far from easy, even if they have family, but that doesn't mean it's terrible or always dangerous. A skilled or very sheltered borrower especially has very few worries, to the point that the universal rules of borrowers can be disregarded. But there are times when borrowers are reminded of why these rules are important, so that the worst never, ever happens.

after much thought, a 5+1 story

like '5 things a borrower should never ever forget and 1 thing they do' or something along those lines

5 are angst or close calls, etc. and 1 is good times, fluff

maybe tiny bedrock bros?

or five borrowers, one chapter each, with a borrower problem or angst, and the +1 is something nice with them all together

could be sbi+tubbo in that case

kinda slice-of-life regardless

+1 could also be angst instead of fluff, like they get caught, leaving story with an open end lol

A Race to one's demise

Slaying a giant is no easy task, especially one as infamous as The Lady Death—giants are already enough trouble without magic, thanks. Yet a few people head out for her territory anyway, not from any real drive to kill giants, simply because it was the only option given that lets them live a little longer. Their odds still aren't good, but really how much worse could a giant be from what they came from? (... No, yeah, probably worse.) Kristin and Phil find some truly exhausted kids on their doorstep and decide to invite them in, which they surprisingly agree to. The hard part is getting them to stop the halfhearted murder attempts and open up.

they know they're going to die. will they actually? nah

a handful of people are chosen for what's seen as a suicide mission

(probably benchtrio + wilbur and techno for these guys)

the mission/quest is to steal a magic item from a giant

they all upset the leaders of wherever they're from in some way, so this is those guys' way of either getting them to redeem themselves or get rid of them

both options seem like death though, if not immediate then eventually

they also specified that only one of them can come back victorious, so they're all doing their best to reach the giant's territory before each other, using sabotage or whatever they can, maybe even a little attempted murder or two at the start

near the end of their journey though there is talk of teaming up, because really None of them are capable of taking down a giant alone

The Lady Death is what they call her, a giantess that lives on the edge of a wasteland, who scoops up travelers that come too close never to be seen again

there is a lesser known story about the giantess that some of them know, saying she is more benevolent than she seems, with an angel on her shoulder

if you prove yourself to the angel she will listen and grant you passage into the wastes where, supposedly, there is a lush sanctuary somewhere (Philza's builds inspired?)

none of them actually think this version of the tale holds more truth, but it does stick with them, the tiniest idea that maybe they have a third option that's not 'death now' or 'death later'

Lots of build-up? since i want it to be g/t but the main giant only appears later. more focus on the stories they know and what they imagine they'll find

also run-ins with 'smaller' giants on the way

Obviously Kristin and Philza just gain a bunch of tired, scared kids from this

the story after that likely has found family as a main focus whereas it was more like a subplot when benchtrio+twinsduo were traveling

Twisted Fates

Being a crown prince sounds great unless you're actually a crown prince; Techno would much rather live far away from people, never having to deal with their problems, only whatever challenges come his way. Wilbur longs for a life where providing for himself isn't a constant struggle with danger wherever he looks, a life where he can relax or even meet people. Just watching and swiping the occasional thing from the royalty in this castle isn't enough to fulfill this dream. Until Techno wakes up to the disorienting sight of the castle far larger than he recalls and Wilbur is suddenly big and visible and sees an opportunity for both of them. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time might've just fixed both of their problems, or given them entirely new ones.

for this one I've settled on swapped sizes and royal au

twinsduo. Techno is (reluctantly) a crown prince and Wilbur is (enthusiastically) a borrower in the castle

Wilbur happened to be sneaking around the same room Techno is in when some magic mishap happens, swapping their sizes

princess and the pauper situation where they realize they look very similar and think the other's life sounds amazing so they swap places

I like giving borrowers tails so Wilbur has to either pass his off as the magic accident or hide it, same with his hair or he dyes it

and Techno still has bright pink hair he's unwilling to part with so he stands out a bit too much sometimes

but they seem to be having fun? at least for now. no care for fixing the situation yet

Philza is the king who loves his son very much but starts suspecting this might not be his son

angst and misunderstandings and reveals, by the end of this Phil has two sons

And that's all of them! Thank you again, I had fun brainstorming these. Also if anyone else likes these ideas feel free to use them or whatever :]

[rozyrne]

deep dive character sheet

stolen from: reeathan tagging: breathes down ur neck

NAME: ROSADO

BODY

height: 5'7" / 170cm

strength ★★★☆☆ (damagingly below average str and bld bases for his class but high str growth makes for a whack situation narratively)

dexterity ★★★★☆ (can't be butterfingers designing ur own fit)

health ★★★★★ (canonically kind of ridiculous. shining hair, shining skin, never gains weight, eats and sleeps however he wants. life just isn't fair huh)

energy ★★★★☆ (lively naturally while also being prone to an indulgent kind of laziness. the vibe of energetically deciding to spend the day napping)

beauty ★★★★★ (tfw the resident dancer stalks you for your beauty regimen)

style ★★★★★ (whether it's to everyone's tastes or not is different, but he certainly makes statements wherever he goes)

hygiene ★★★☆☆ (a weird situation because he canonically does very little actual styling / upkeep. he actually just wakes up like that)

SKILLS

perception ★★★★☆ (surprisingly)

communication ★★★☆☆ (a bit broad to ascribe a ranking. he's fantastic at natural charisma and conversation. a whiff of conflict though and he'd sooner ghost)

persuasion ★★★★★ (incredibly charming naturally. has a way of kind of being charming about it even when he's being dogmatic or manipulative that still makes it hard to say no)

mediation ★★☆☆☆ (would much rather try to console separate parties after the fact. doesn't want to be in the middle of a disagreement)

literacy ★★☆☆☆ (rosado: when's the paper due. someone: it's on the syllabus. rosado: yeah but i don't want to read, i want you to tell me)

creativity ★★★☆☆ (again kinda depends in what sense but eh)

cooking ★★★☆☆ (it's not something he does, but he'd be decent if he put in the effort to learn. perfectly passable.)

tech savvy ★★★★★ (you can't tell me he wouldn't be a tiktok celebrity in modern au)

combat ★★★☆☆ (it's fine. he's canonically a pretty good fighter per ike bond conversation, but given his dislike of it i can't see him ever be better than ' good enough to do his job ')

survival ★★★☆☆ (honestly he knows when he's in over his head and needs to get tf outta dodge and that's like 60% of surviving)

stealth ★★☆☆☆ (i mean have u seen him)

street smarts ★★★☆☆ (another weird one because his haggling and ' knowing which hole in the wall shop has the best merch and the best deals ' is second to none but that's probably that only type of street smarts where he knows anything)

seduction ★★★★☆ (all i'm saying is he's descended from a race of faefolk who are known for ensnaring hapless highborn humans throughout history for a reason)

luck ★★★☆☆

handling animals ★★★☆☆ (he likes them more than he's good at handling them, generally speaking)

pacifying children ★★★☆☆ (eh. no better or worse than the next guy)

MIND

intelligence ★★★☆☆ (what... kind... hahaha. vastly different answers depending)

happiness ★★★★★ (optimism is his middle name)

spirituality ★☆☆☆☆ (... i mean... he sure thinks the divine dragon is neat!)

confidence ★★★��★ (a bit delusionally at times)

humor ★★★☆☆

anxiety ☆☆☆☆☆ (this guy wouldn't know social anxiety if it hit him in the face. doesn't generally tend to get hung up about stuff on the whole)

patience ★★☆☆☆ (physically speaking, average. will fall for a ' oooh what is it what is it? ' ' i'm not tellinggg ' bait every time tho)

passion ★★★★★ (it's his other middle name)

nice         ★☆☆☆☆ mean (most of the time genuine! most of the time)

brave       ☆☆★☆☆ cowardly (he wouldn't consider himself braver than his job demands, but also both his hortensia a and fell ending have him risking / giving his life for hortensia. and the whole stealth emblem ring steal was ballsy af)

pacifist     ★☆☆☆☆ violent

thoughtful ☆☆★☆☆ impulsive (again, depends about what)

agreeable ☆☆★☆☆ contrary (very agreeable and accommodating of others, until he's Not skjglskdl)

idealistic   ☆★☆☆☆ pragmatic (he's not reckless but that's about the only thing keeping him from a full 5)

frugal        ☆☆☆★☆ big spender (it's just a very good thing he wasn't born into high society)

extrovert   ☆★☆☆☆ introvert (prefers to be around others if there's an opportunity, but doesn't get restless being on his own)

collected   ☆☆☆★☆ wild (again, context. but generally being effusive and energetic tips it)

ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist

SOCIAL

charisma ★★★★★

empathy ★★★☆☆ (in a strange position of being compassionate and genuinely wanting to be / good at being there for others while also being more self-centered on the whole than not)

generosity ★★★☆☆ (sort of in the same vein as empathy)

wealth ★★★★☆ (i mean he's a royal retainer so. plenty of disposable income generally)

honest  ☆★☆☆☆ deceptive (ahahahaha..... a can of worms for rosado. honestly deceptive? unintentionally deceptive? master of ' the truth but not All Of It '? at the very least he doesn't usually intend to deceive)

leader   ☆☆☆★☆ follower (i think in the right scenarios he wouldn't make a bad leader because he does have a way of influencing and inspiring others. but he's too much of a free spirit / swayed by whatever or whoever he likes)

polite    ☆★☆☆☆  rude (kind of Much / presumptuous sometimes? but in a way where you can tell it doesn't come from a bad place)

political ☆☆☆☆★ indifferent (he could not be less bothered)

BELIEFS

higher power ★★☆☆☆ (the reason it's not a 0 or 1 is because he factually knows they exist thanks to the lake of mystery / dragons, etc. that's as far as it goes tho)

fate/destiny ★★☆☆☆ (it's fun to joke around about, but the real thing? never thought much about it)

magic ★★★★★ (it's fire emblem)

soulmates ★★☆☆☆ (same as fate/destiny)

good and evil ★★☆☆☆ (also similar to fate/destiny. thinks it can be a useful binary, but deep down recognizes that it's mostly just that: useful in certain situations)

luck ★★★★☆ (weirdly, given his ambivalence about the other above metaphysical things)

PRIORITIES

family ★★☆☆☆ (mostly shrug emoji because family is handled deliberately in a kind of alienating way in the village of the fair folk. stay tuned)

friends ★★★★★ (arguably one of the the most important things to rosado outside of staying true to himself)

love ★★★☆☆ (values connections to others but also naturally independent and unanchored)

home ★★☆☆☆ (like. it's nice! but it's cool, he can also bounce)

health ★★★☆☆ (not literally health so much as whatever he needs to do or maintain in order to stay cute and appealing)

praise ★★★★★ (oh my god)

justice ★★☆☆☆ (sure, that always sounds like something good)

truth ★★★☆☆ (complicated because he doesn't care/consider/pursue it actively as an ideal, but his approach to visual art seems to drain down at its heart to a desire to capture truth)

power ☆☆☆☆☆

fame ★★☆☆☆ (not an active pursuit, but wouldn't mind it if he stumbled into it along the way)

wealth ★☆☆☆☆ (same as fame, but less)

others' opinions ★☆☆☆☆ (has learned to ignore what most people think, except for those he really respects. currently only hortensia and to a lesser extent goldmary)

[in-the-abyss]

can-can i ask about some evolutionary facts. (from that special interest blog) i’m making an oc and i wanted to make a fair argument for a humanoid race with two tails that lives on an isolated island and figure out why they would have evolved that feature and what purpose it would serve (i thought of it for aesthetic purposes fjskjfkd) no pressure to respond tho :> thank you!!

Sure! thank you for the question, I finally have a good excuse for infodumping about genetics >:D

so, two tails is kind of an uncommon thing in vertebrates, because the tail is just an extension of the spinal chord and it is kind of delicate. but! some animals like lizards and invertebrates DO have two tails, so I can give you a couple reasons why that might have evolved.

first, some context (you can skip this if you want, but I wanted to give you the full answer). you might've heard about darwinism, where genetic variation exists within a species and only the most suited for its environment survives. what darwin didn't know, and what we didn't discover until a bit later, was WHY this variation occurs. basically, every member of a species has the same DNA, with a few variations (that's why humans can have curly or straight hair, for example). these variations, although small, are really important for the diversity of the species, and are caused by something called mutations. mutations occur when a chain of DNA isn't copied correctly, and the genetic material changes as a result. these changes are totally random and the majority of times are innocuous, but sometimes can affect protein expression and that's how you get variations in skin tone, body size or even number of limbs. and, if this variation isn't harming the animal, it will stay in the genetic pool, and sometimes it will even help the species to adapt better to its environment. this is because of natural selection, illustrated in this cool diagram

okay, so what reasons has a trait (like the two tails) to become the norm in a species?

the first one is similar to what you suggested: sexual selection. yes, sometimes traits that give no apparent advantage to the animal stay in the pool because they are sexy to females, and that's just how it is. as an example we have the birds-of-paradise; because they have so little predators they can just be Like That. look at this weirdo (/affectionate)

does it have a reason for having such colorful feathers? of course not! yet it does, because they are better for attracting mates. maybe your species doesn't have many natural predators, and some of them are sometimes born with two tails due to a common mutation. some individuals have only one tail, but they reproduced less and less until they disappeared.

other reason is something that can actually be found in some species of lizards. these animals can lose their tails when a predator attacks, in a process called caudal autonomy; a detached tail creates a decoy that distracts predators and can allow the lizard to escape. I came across one study that investigated reports of "abnormal regeneration" in lizard tails, in which lizards that lost their tails grew back two, three or more appendages. like this!

To do this, researchers combed through hundreds of records of more than 175 species and spanning more than 400 years; they combined scientific studies with non-peer-reviewed descriptions to create the first global database for sightings of multi-tailed lizards.

Lost tails are regrown as cartilage rods, and sometimes the mechanism gets its signals crossed and the lizard acquires more than one new tail. Lizards can end up with two tails of equal length, or "twin tails," according to the study. [...] Having two or more tails could be life-changing for lizards in a number of ways — from hindering future escapes from predators to affecting social interactions with other lizards, said study co-author Bill Bateman, a behavioral ecologist and an associate professor at Curtin University.

if your species can regenerate limbs, maybe they are frequently attacked by predators, so the majority of them end up with two tails once they reach adulthood. or it could be a cultural thing, cutting one's tail to allow them to regrow into two as a ritual of passage to maturity. these tails can't actually be passed to descendants (for the same reason that when you lose a finger, the children you have will not be missing a finger as well), but the practice is common enough that all members of that species have two tails, with one being seen as an abnormality or a sign of immaturity.

finally (wow, this got LONG, sorry) I want to point out that evolution isn't a long-term plan to better a species into the Optimal Animal, the one best suited for its environment. sometimes genetic variation is actually random, and there might not be a reason why a trait succeeds. my advice is to look at real-life animals, because sometimes nature is stranger than anything we can imagine!

[average-mako-enjoyer]

I thought a lot about whether or not to respond to this post, but I have a bunch of thoughts about the issues it raises, so I decided to respond.

It's not a personal attack, I don't want to force my opinion on you, I just want to share my vision and maybe correct some of the misinformation about Ashley.

Ashley "family honor" Williams takes 3 games to really learn that hey aliens aren't the problem, government is

No, it doesn't take her three games to learn that.

In fact, Ashley is the only squadmate in ME1 who talks openly about how corrupt the Council is and how shady the Alliance is. By comparison, Kaidan is much more neutral, and because he's less brash and outspoken, he just doesn't voice his opinions about authority unless he's covering them with a thick layer of sarcasm (more about him later).

And it makes sense. Ashley's family is suffering under the Alliance's policies more than 20 years after her grandfather surrendered the garrison in Shanxi. That's why she bonds with Tali, because she knows what it's like to have people look at you funny all the time and talk behind your back.

The best example of this is her bear vs. man story, which people treat as proof of her racism, when in fact it proves the opposite.

Here's a transcript of that dialogue:

ASHLEY: I don't think we should turn down allies. I just think we shouldn't bet everything on them staying allies.

SHEPARD: How do you get from "relying on ourselves" to "mistreating our allies?"

ASHLEY: I don't mean we should mistreat them, Commander. I just think we should be prepared to go it without them.

ASHLEY: As noble as the Council members seem now, if their backs are against the wall, they'll abandon us.

ASHLEY: Look. If you're fighting a bear, and the only way for you to survive is to sic your dog on it and run, you'll do it. As much as you love your dog, it isn't human. It's not racism. Not really. Members of their species will always be more important to them than humans are.

And here's what she says after Virmire:

SHEPARD: The Alliance should be able to stand on is own. We can’t. Yet. Why not learn from the races that have been standing for the last thousand years?

ASHLEY: How can you say that, given everything we’ve seen out here? They’re already acting like Saren is our problem. Already siccing us on the bear.

And you can find her elevator talks in here.

Ashley's not anti-alien, she's anti-Council, and she's right. Everyone should be anti-Council in these games.

And Liara "mommy issues" T'soni has to be perfect so everyone will love her and not see her as "the girl with the dead mom who helped Saren"

If she really wants to be perceived as perfect, she does a shitty job of it. Liara is a very complex character. She is a wallflower who is hungry for new knowledge and experiences. She's both sweet and ruthless, naive and cruel, she's obviously grown up too fast.

For most of her life she was a scientist who chose her niche (mind you, Prothean research has clearly fallen out of fashion) and worked in it, and then suddenly she was thrown into the middle of a literal war with her beloved mother at the helm.

That's why she's so messy. That's why she crosses so many red lines in her relationship with Shepard. That's why, even though she's in love with Shepard, she's so creepy and weird about it. She has never been in a normal relationship before and has no idea how it should work.

Comparatively, the backstories of all the other romance options in the first game, Kaidan is the only one who actually learned something from his own mistakes!

I wouldn't call killing the teacher who beat the crap out of you and stuck a knife in your face a mistake. And if we're not talking about learning from mistakes, but overcoming past trauma, I don't think that's really true, because in ME1, Kaidan is clearly still dealing with killing Vyrnnus. His elevator conversations reflect that.

KAIDAN: I’ve always held back a little when I used my powers on living targets. Fear of hurting someone, I guess. After what I saw on Eden Prime, I’m not holding back any more. Not against the geth, not against anyone.

And it's only after Shepard's death and under Shepard's influence that he finally tries his hand at teaching, and I think that's when we can finally say that he's over what happened to him in BAaT.

Emotional maturity isn't your turn-on? That sounds like a you issue.

I keep seeing people mention Kaidan's maturity in this context, and yes, I agree. He is literally the only emotionally mature squadmate. But can we also talk about how cool he is? And how cool is his story?

He was basically kidnapped from his home at 16 by a government-sponsored agency:

KAIDAN: To the kids they hauled in, it was “Brain Camp.” Sorry, “hauled in” is unkind. We were “encouraged to commit to an evaluation of our abilities so an understanding of biotics could be compiled.”

KAIDAN: Bunch of guys in suits show up at your door after school, and next thing you know you’re out on Jump Zero.

He suffered some unspeakable things there:

KAIDAN: I mean, you either came out a superman or a wreck. A lot of kids snapped...a few died.

Then he killed a guy and the whole thing was buried. Despite this, he decided to return to military service.

KAIDAN: I dropped out of sight for a bit. They let me go. I guess they wanted it to blow over as much as I did. I came back on my terms because I wanted to serve.

You can compare this story to that of Garrus (he served in the military, fucked a girl then decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a cop in the most luxurious place in the galaxy). Or that of Tali (the admiral's daughter on her pilgrimage, who never saw anything outside the starship she was born on). Or Liara (a scientist who has never seen anything but her dig sites). Kaidan has a lot in common with Jack, but she's not that popular in the fandom either.

The thing about Kaidan's story is that he managed to kill an enraged biotic with extensive military training and war experience at the age of 17. He only had one year of biotic training, and he killed this guy. And then he somehow rose to the rank of Staff Lieutenant on the most advanced ship in Alliance history???

In ME2, TIM says that the information on Kaidan's activities is "surprisingly well-classified," and then we find out that he's assembled and trained an entire squad of biotic superspies, and it's… amazing? Idk about you, but I want to know about this a lot more than I want to know about Garrus playing Batman on Omega with some random mercenaries and gang members.

He survives an attack during the Mars mission and returns to his duties aboard the Normandy less than a month later despite having a literal ticking time bomb in his head.

He continues to use his biotics, training himself to the point where he can do things that only Asari matriarchs can do.

He's literally the second human Spectre and one of the strongest (if not the strongest) biotics in the Alliance forces.

He's not boring, and not only is he emotionally mature, he's damn COOL.

"KAIDAN IS BORING! HES SO BORING OMG!"

I'm sorry you don't want to hang out with a guy who has his shit together cause he has to be on ALL THE FUCKING TIME. I'd bet half the migraines he gets are from having to constantly box his problems up and deal with everyone else's shit! Comparatively, the backstories of all the other romance options in the first game, Kaidan is the only one who actually learned something from his own mistakes! Ashley "family honor" Williams takes 3 games to really learn that hey aliens aren't the problem, government is; And Liara "mommy issues" T'soni has to be perfect so everyone will love her and not see her as "the girl with the dead mom who helped Saren"

Kaidan is already there, 32 year old independent man with trauma he has dealt with and dealing with of his own design. he knows the Alliance and governments meddle and make hard, fast decisions the enlisted pay for with their lives. He gives you advice on how to avoid making those mistakes. Emotional maturity isn't your turn-on? That sounds like a you issue.

[travllingbunny]

#TakeBackThe100

Day 5: Favorite Quote(s)

Some of the amazing themes/messages of the show - most of which it ended up completely contradicting and throwing away by the end (unless we ignore season 7).

[carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich]

Arranged marriage 💍

For this ask game (I assume)

How likely am I to write it: Fun fact, I have actually written this trope but it was before I started writing for DL. In terms of how likely I am to write it for DL... I'd say a solid 20-30%, as in I don't have any plans to include it in any of the fics I currently have planned out but that doesn't mean it won't crop up at some point. I quite like the trope but I will admit that I'm much more a fan of accidental marriage (see Siren's Call and Forgotten Gods) X'D

What character/ pairing would I be most likely to write it for:

So there's every chance I'd write use this trope in a Shin x reader story in some sort of royalty AU because that's just my favourite pairing to write for :D I could also potentially see myself using it in a Carla x reader royalty AU fic.

In terms of having something canon compliant then I might write something involving one of the Sakamaki bros in an arranged marriage. My immediate inclination would be to play around with using this trope with Laito because I feel like that could make for the most interesting story but I haven't really thought about it beyond that.

I will admit I've played around with the concept of the reader being a founder who was betrothed to Carla but ended up falling for Shin (totally not me projecting).

Having another founder survive being trapped in Banmaden alongside Shin and Carla kind of complicates things from a writing point of view though. Like if that other founder is able to bare children then there's nothing to stop the Tsukinami boys from immediately trying to rebuild the founder race, which really isn't a story I'd be particularly interested in writing. Unless I'm writing a drabble, I like for there to be some sort of plot when I write and I don't see a way to make things very interesting in that setting and actually keep any sort of good narrative flow.

Sure, you could introduce some angst with having the reader and/or Shin blurt out something about having feelings for the other in front of Carla but that doesn't leave you anywhere to go aside from 1) Carla gets so pissed at the betrayal that he kills the pair of them and then takes the reader's heart with plans to implant it into a human, 2) Carla confines Shin to the dungeon and/or kills him and continues to use the reader as he sees fit, 3) Carla realises he's about to drop dead from Endzeit and allows the reader and Shin to be together. Idk, I just can't find a hook there that interests me.

So if I were ever to write this, I'd have the reader meet some sort of tragic end and then after Carla and Shin break out of Banmaden, they run into the reader who has been reincarnated as a human and has no memories of their previous life. The Tsukinami boys would kidnap the reader because they're both like ???

Carla tries to test whether they have any memories of their past and upon realising they don't, he shuts himself off from them. Shin naturally has his own go and initially comes to the same conclusion but then the reader says something to him that they said before in their past life. He also realises their blood has started to smell better than since they were brought to the demon world and decides to keep them around.

Turns out that as the reader spends more time in the demon world, they start to regain some of their memories and they slowly turn from being human into being a founder.

Anyway from there it would just be an angst fest as the reader remembers more and more of their past life and the Tsukinami brothers start to realise what's going on, with Carla trying to find some sort of explanation for it while Shin sees it as a golden opportunity to have both you and the chance to secure the founder bloodline himself. I'd intersperse these scenes with scenes of the reader's old life back before the founders were sealed away and their interactions with the brothers.

Unless I decided to play around with the reason the reader had been reincarnated then you would eventually end up at the same forked ending I described above but there would be a journey to get there rather than having it as the starting line.

I know some people are not keen on reincarnation plotlines and this one would be enough work that I probably won't write it myself (if someone else wants to use this plot themselves then please feel free to but I would ask that you credit where you got the idea from).

I have once again managed to go insanely overboard with this but thank you for the ask anon!

[transgenderer]

There isn't a lot of good Sci fi set in the 2100s. You can extrapolate a little bit, get some future flavor but keep society recognizable, or go way in the future where things are barely tethered to earthly reality, but hitting in the middle is hard, because you need to present a long but plausible path from here to there. The Mars trilogy and rifters trilogy are both set in that sort of far-but-not-too-far future, and they're both good, but very different, in ways that invite comparison.

The obvious duality is dystopian/utopian, and theres definitely something to that, but I think it oversimplifies both works. The world of rifters is pretty terrible, but if you know more about peter watts, or if you just pay attention as you read, it becomes clear that rifters is actually something close to a best case scenario, a vision of the world where people in power are ultracompetent and for the most invested in the continued survival of the human race. The world of rifters has faced massive challenges, but society has kept on ticking regardless.

And similarly, while the Mars trilogy is certainly utopian at parts, this utopia is hard won, and fragile, and takes a looooong time to achieve. And the Mars trilogy's vision of earth is at times dystopian, and ever trying to spread it's sickness to earth. So yes, a simplification. But the real duality that interests me is the role of....well I'm not sure what the word for it is. "Homesteads", perhaps? Mostly isolated communities, independent from the rest of society, especially resource-wise, under the control of no government. Obviously informed by the American west, but also the long history of hill peoples around the world

I think people who are aware of the fact the systems that govern our world are chaotic and fragile and uninterested in human values have a tendency towards homesgead-ism, myself included. When you feel like everything is barreling towards collapse, or at least has an unacceptable likelihood of collapse, and it's all coercive and molochian and hostile, then the idea of having a little house, maybe with a community of like minded people, that doesn't depend on the massive unknowable machine or global politics/markets/etc, is very appealing! I mean, you might not endorse that urge, but it's common to have it

So anyway, homesteads in rifters and mars! Rifters is, in large part, the story of such a homestead, and not just a homestead but the sort of extra-smug one where not only do you not need society, society needs you! Of course it's watts, so this homestead is bizarre and fucked up and at the bottom of the ocean, but it's there, and the idea is expanded on significantly in the later books. But the wattsian homestead, is importantly 1) hard-won, and 2) not replicable. The rifters group has lucked into their beautiful little isolated world, the best they can hope is to stay in it, and even thats unlikely.

Mars, on the other hand, takes homesteads as a given. Mars is covered in homesteads, powered by robotics and hard work and cleverness. These homesteads are clearly difficult to build in the literal sense, they require work, but (except for the first one) to the reader they basically just pop up. Mars takes as a given that you can happily separate yourself from society and live in a nice bubble on Mars, but the characters are determined to do more than that, to build a free world, and then to free earth too. And fundamentally thats where the utopianism lies! The Mars trilogy said, not only can you live a good life, but it's so easy to achieve a good life that you can build a good world. Which is a very nice sentiment, altho perhaps not so personally resonant as watts

[lnkedmyheart]

Something I don't like about the people who criticize skam og is this. The criticism often comes in the case for Vilde's sexuality, Evak, and Sana and Isak's conversations.

Here's the deal, Vilde's whole fan made lesbian storyline was high key based on stereotypes. She doesn't actually show any evidence of being gay or wlw like Isak did from day 1. At best some of her interactions can be seen as bi-curious but she is pretty consistently into men. Eva is most definitely bi and yes something CAN be said about the easy sexualisation of women in general but that's because it's more normal (unfortunately) like lingering shots on girl's asses and shit.

The Evak situation. Well, just because these guys are white men doesn't reduce the fact that they are gay. Hi, white gay men also have problems. There is nothing wrong with Skam having white gay men, it's not an attack on your identity and it's not them being white supremacists. Also the show itself handled their story with a lot of respect (more than straight pairs even) it's only the rabid side of the fanbase that went too far but that's everywhere. Also I saw someone say they were horrified that Even was presented as a good guy and not some awful human being because of his mental disorder which triggered their trauma with a bipolar abusive bf so I guess we should just demonise this kid with a mental illness. Like buddy, if one guy was a jackass to you and used his mental health issues as an excuse it doesn't mean all bipolar people deserve to be demonized. You aren't wrong for having trauma but you are a bitch if you think people with bipolar disorder should never be depicted getting a happy ending. Get some therapy for that bitchy behaviour and grow the fuck up.

Lastly, the Sana situation. As a queer, poc I actually agree with white boy Isak on what he told Sana. Asking questions is important. But any sane person knows that doesn't mean actual racists mocking you. Seriously, not once did Isak mock her Or question her experiences, he simply told her to stop looking for racism in every little interaction. It's heights of gaslighting if you're sitting there waiting for someone to make a comment that sounds vaguely like a remark that could have racist undertones under a microscope. Context matters. Most people of a different race will ask you about things because we only have the internet. Half of my culture is presented in the most skewed and ridiculous manner possible online. It's detached and covered in tons of commentary by both people who want to pedestalize and demonize my culture. You don't know if everything online is a fact. So yes, I would much rather someone come up to me and ask about the various things about my culture and know how to respect it. Even if they keep doing so again and again. And I'm not stupid so as to not know when someone is being a racist dick vs when someone has a genuine question. I don't need to sit there on my high horse getting livid about people not knowing about my religion and presenting myself as a cynical twat to others when racists are out there to do just that. And if some jackass does come up to me to mock me I have enough brains to know that I'm being mocked. And how the hell are non racist people supposed to know what is and isn't acceptable unless they know what they need to know through someone who lives that life.

Stereotypes don't make a lesbian, white gay men doesn't equal racism and white supremacy, and most importantly ignorance isn't racism. And y'all keep insisting "go educate yourself" but are such lazy fucks that you don't even wanna inform them about the reality and instead tell them "google exists" Like google isn't a fuck ton of garbage that works on which site pays the most amount of money and survive solely on misinformation and spice factor. Half the racist bs people spout is shit they've seen on the internet.

[capri-ramblings]

Yikes,I know there's bound to be questions but trust me, chapter 3 will answer most of them. Aha,I'm sorry if this chapter is kinda confusing at first,I'm not good at planning out thoughts or stories systemically,it kinda makes it harder for me to write whenever I try to. But here,the second chapter of Raptured! Thank you for reading! ( ꈍᴗꈍ) ♥️

[ R a p t u r e d ]

Chapter 2: Banter

In the moment Riddle had finished telling his brothers what conspired with their human captive, the first to speak up was Azul.

"They offered what?" His words were a mix of shock and amusement, gaze fixated on Riddle who seemed almost flustered from how red his cheeks were.

The red haired sighed, sending him a narrow eyed glare before crossing his arms.

"The head of their own brother"

"By their own hands?" Kalim asked aloud, his features scrunched up worryingly. "Isn't that bad? Why would anyone want to kill their own brother so suddenly?"

From the chaise across the room,Leona let out a scoff, lips upturned into a smirk.

"What are you? A five year old? If you give a herbivore the chance of freedom,they'd leave their entire fleet open to make sure they survive. Humans aren't so different."

"Indeed" Vil joined in with a smile of his own. "Humans are very fickle things, they live out their life struggling and as a result they stink of repulsion."

"They can barely even stand on their own.." Idia added thoughtfully and as the gazes of his brothers turned to him, the flames on his hair flickered and he looked away.

"Maybe the isolation's got to their head?"

Riddle let out a scoff, his lips upturned in a sneer almost too vicious to be formed on such a delicate looking face.

"The cottage they were in was secluded from the rest of the village,they were already a reclusive. Why should it bother them now?"

"Maybe Idia has a point" Kalim interjected then "Before they were on their own by choice...and they weren't exactly trapped in a tower either"

"It's all the same" Leona snapped " Damn herbivores will always be too fragile."

"Though, our soft-shelled brothers have a sound reason" Vil's lips curled in an effortless smile,his ever sharp gaze glinting like jewels.

"At this rate our small hare is going to die before the homage from her brother, and that makes all of this pointless."

The room went silent then. Each males having their own thoughts wrapped around the situation.

When they came to a decision to face the hunter who killed their family beast, he was nowhere to be seen and left tending to his cottage was none other than their captive human, a young sibling unaware of what their fool brother had committed. They opted it was easier to simply kidnap them and have their brother come looking since neither one of them wanted to wait around. There was also the fact that the death of the beast had affected their Mother's health greatly, and all seven brothers fumed with rage.

"Our methods doesn't matter anymore" Riddle spoke up, "What's done is done. We can't exactly just put them back where we found them."

"I agree" Azul said "Though if the human dies in our care now, when we're fully able to change their situation, I fear the price of that loss would be great."

"What? Are the humans going to chase us around with pitchforks?" Leona sneered,his sharp fangs visible as he leaned back into the chaste. "You saw how further in their cottage was, chances are the herbivore doesn't even go down to the village often enough for people to notice them missing."

"They can't die." Idia drawled the words out this time,his gaze sharp and harsh as he stared down Leona who all but grinned at his brother.

"Why? Because you like them?" The laugh that barked out from Leona was cruel and Idia flinched.

"Go ahead and save the poor herbivore then,Prince Idia of the lands of burrowed moles. You think they'd ever look at you fondly?"

"Enough." Riddle came between the fight with his own ire and before he sent a glare towards Leona, he let Idia catch the solace in his.

The situation was getting worst. They needed a decision quick.

"You're not a five year old as well,Leona, so keep that tongue of yours tamed"

"What are you? Suddenly playing the role of the Eldest when you can't even reach his height?" Leona scrutinized Riddle with an aggression that seemed ready to claw him in the face, but Riddle kept his own spite and promptly choose to ignore his brother.

Instead,he turned to Azul.

"The hunter should've came back and see his sibling gone, you even sent those eels of yours to make sure he got the hints. Why hasn't he made a single move? It's been two months."

"Maybe he's forgetful?" Kalim chipped in, eyes glowing. Riddle wanted to tap the side of his face and gently tell him to shut up but Vil patted his head instead.

"A forgetful hunter managing to kill a wild beast is unlikely, mein bruder"

Azul crossed his arms,gaze narrowing.

"They've sent word that they have information regarding our human and the whereabouts of their brother"

"And?" Vil prompted.

"I told them to come meet us as soon as they can, which shouldn't be long."

The moment those words were uttered, a dull thud came from the would-be-entrance of the tower, and a familiar voice calling out.

"My Princes! Open the door please!" The urgency of the voice had all the present Princes turning their head, though the one who seemed genuinely surprised and concerned was Kalim.

"That voice..." He said, turning to Azul "Is that who I think it is?"

Azul's lips curled into a knowing smile and with a flick of his fingers, the sound of a door being swung opened then slammed shut could be heard within the tower itself,followed by light rapid footsteps approaching them.

Out of breath and desperately panting, a young girl made a hasty bow as she came before the Princes, though the way her legs slightly trembled suggested that she was near collapsing.

"It is her!" Kalim's eyes grew wide with familiarity, the worry in his voice replaced with joy as he came up to place his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"The last time I saw you, you were still learning how to walk!" Kalim's loud voice seemed to make her flinch but the girl met his gaze with warmth before she bowed her head again.

"Pleasure to meet you again,Prince Kalim." She's heard stories of him, the Prince Fae known to give out bits of his treasures to those who come wishing at his well. It seemed odd to act as if she's known him, but she knew better than to put logic before courtesy. He was one of the seven Princes after all. Acting too smart with them was a fool's mistake.

Before Kalim could say anything else, Azul stepped forward and the girl promptly met his side with a suddenly serious demeanor.

"I'd ask you for the information I had you fetch but I wonder why you were running in the first place?"

The girl laughed dryly if not nervously.

"Floyd wanted to see who could win in a race in getting here,your Highness."

Azul frowned, internally sighing.

"Why on Earth did you agree to that?"

Again, the girl laughed. "He terrifies me,my Prince."

Riddle couldn't place where he's met her, but hearing her words had him internally sympathising her. Azul's leeches were a pair he'd gladly avoid for eternity as well.

"So,you got a changeling to be at your beck and call as well,Azul?" Vil sounded amused as he turned to Azul, but the degrading glance he gave the girl bellied the smile coyly sitting on his lips then.

"She's indebted to us anyway" Azul stated simply "Why not put her to work?"

His gaze returned to the girl.

"What do you have about our human then?"

It took a full ten minutes for the young changeling to inform them of what she's managed to compile on their human and hunter. Turns out they aren't related by blood but by marriage. Apparently most of the villagers knew of the hunter but rarely saw the younger sibling as they took more liking in staying indoors. There was also talk that their relationship with one another was never close and answered Riddle's question as to why he hadn't showed up yet.

"So, he's just going to leave his sibling at our mercy?" Kalim asked,he had his expression scrunched up with worry and pity again but Leona shared none of it and only growled with distaste.

"There won't be mercy if they're left with us a second longer"

Riddle caught the flicker of Idia's flames and instantly reacted.

"Threaten to murder our captive one more time and I'll have your head,Leona."

"Hah, you're trying to scare me,Riddle?" Leona sneered,fangs glistening with malice. He's been irritated by the whole situation since the beginning. Taking in a human in hopes that another would appear to save them, it was all a damn fairytale. Leona knew humans were selfish, his brothers should've had that piece of common sense drilled into their heads as well. No one was going to play hero for their captive.

Riddle gritted his teeth and again instead of lashing out senselessly, he swirled around to face the changeling. Every bit of his anger flaring in his grey gaze.

"Where's the hunter now?" He asked,though it sounded painfully like a death threat.

The changeling bowed her head.

"He's at the human King's palace,Prince Riddle. King Aothor ...of Nostorne"

The words sent the entire room tilting, and Riddle would've gripped her by her neck if Azul hadn't stepped forward.

"King? Since when did the humans have a King?" The last time they came to the world,their mother's shrine was built almost everywhere to acknowledge her ruling. Had times changed so drastically since their absence?

"Yes. It's been this way for years now. A dukedom raised after Her Most Divine's departure from the human realm and ever since then a lineage of human nobles have taken the throne as the Human ruler."

"My, how futuristic, and here we were in the guise that we still sat on the top of their world" Vil was laughing but his words cut into the tension of the room like a blade coated in venom and the changeling girl shifted uncomfortably.

"It seems like the order of the slaughtering was made by him and ultimately fulfilled by the hunter. His name is Cyril and he's being celebrated by the King for his bravery."

Leona heaved a heavy sigh,leaning once more into his chaise. He looked ready to fall into a deep slumber already but his irritation kept him awake.

"So,we have information. Now what's the plan?"

***

Jade and Floyd,two of Azul's trusted companions came into the situation while the Princes were sorting out their thoughts and opinions (Which all greatly contradict one another) and brought word that their hunter had refused to save their sibling in a conversation Jade overheard him had with another hunter right before he was called on by the King.

"He said he knew of the Fae's trick and that by taking something of theirs as his own, he'd gladly give anything they took from him as compensation." Jade explained in his usual matter-of-fact tone,his mismatched gaze still and knowing.

Riddle clicked his tongue, brows furrowing. Idia's was the most sympathetic along with Kalim while Leona and Vil seemed ready to send a fleet of their army to storm into the human villages.

"I'm not really surprised though" Floyd spoke up lazily "He seems like a guy who'd do that kind of thing anyways"

"But now the Princes are stuck with keeping a human captive in their care", Boe,the young changeling from earlier, pointed out grimly.

"What if we sent you to negotiate with him in our stead?" Idia suggested which earned a rather hasty look from the girl.

"Human royals don't take too kindly to my kind,Prince Idia. I doubt he'd even let me enter"

Leona let out a menacing growl. One that reverberated through the tower walls.

"This is going nowhere. Riddle, go up to that damn herbivore and have them beg their brother come and pay his homage so we can give them back."

Riddle frowned.

"You heard the changeling,Leona. If their relationship with their brother is as bad as we've heard, do you really think they'd beg for him to come save them?"

"Couldn't you talk some sense in them?" Azul had eyes turning once more to the young changeling who all but reluctantly slumped her shoulders.

"I don't see how me being the one talking will get them to cooperate..."

"Clamshell,you should at least try,right?" Floyd's smile was sickly sweet and when he attempted to sling his arm over her shoulders, she avoided the outcome by shifting close to Jade.

"What would you want me to say to them?"

"The offer they gave" Riddle said "Have them elaborate more on that. I'm not going into a deal without knowing why it was proposed in the first place."

There was hesitation in her eyes but it was swiftly changed to a silent resolve as she nodded her head.

"I'll see what I can do."

[sophi-s]

Cost of Kindness

Chapter II: Fear me not

By: sophi-s

Fandom: Darksiders video games

Words: 6373

Characters: Raphael, Original Character (OC)

Warnings: Blood and injury, suffocating, violence, Raphael is sad :(

Summary:

Nicola is quick to find trust in herself and quick to lose it. She doesn't realise however, that the man she fears sees something in her others cannot. And this something is what made him save her life again.

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

Through the few short weeks, the apocalypse has taught the dying Humanity many different things. Resourcefulness, cunning, true strength of unity… and among other things, the cruel life had taught them, was bravery in its purest form. Bravery that isn't simply an absence of fear but the power to overcome it. Stay cool-headed even in the most extreme scenarios, allowing them to face down even the most horrifying demons and either get away mostly unscathed or sometimes even beat them if they were lucky. Without those traits, survival was nigh impossible these days.

This last very important lesson however, Nicola seemed to have quite spectacularly failed to learn. Even as lucky as she was - considering that she lived thus far - she never was the bravest creature in this God-forsaken world. Smart? Sometimes. Ingenious? Sure. But brave? Not really, no. Especially now, as she was staring up at the angel who she decided to trust not even a minute before and who has just ruthlessly murdered a demon with little to no remorse in a very, very sickening way. Her muscles refused to move as though Raphael had already used the spell of paralysis against her as she watched the corners of his mouth, previously quirked upwards in a small smile, slowly descend. His expression in the matter of seconds morphed into confusion when a quiet sob escaped her. This horrifying, agonized screeching was still ringing in Nicola's ears, the demon kept writhing before her eyes and she couldn't help but wonder.. what did it feel like? To have one's life drained like that. Because judging by the sounds the Goreclaw produced, it must've been truly torturous.

"Human…?"

The soft voice of Raphael snapped her out of this strange haze and the sight of his hand extended towards her once again made her heart jump and begin to race. Her mind was telling her that if Raphael wanted to harm her, he would've done it already. Besides, moments before the demon came, he healed the cut on her forehead demanding nothing in return. Only because he could and - for some reason - wanted. But the chilling claws of panic gripping her throat and the fight-or-flight instincts kicking in, screaming inside her head made the voice of reason merely an inaudible whisper drowning in the sea of primal fear of the possible approaching danger. And right now, her body definitely settled on "flight".

"No! "

She yelped and tried to get away but her heels met the corpse behind her and it caused her to trip over the husk of the once frightening demon. With an expression of shock, Raphael retracted his hand as her rear painfully met the tough and damp floor. There was utter horror gleaming in her emerald green eyes, matched by lack of comprehension in his.

"Why are you frightened?"

And he has the audacity to ask why. Nicola thought bitterly as she started to scramble away. At the first glance, Raphael seemed so kind, he was such a gentle soul. Even his face, despite the collapsed cheeks, has the most trustworthy look to it Nicola had ever seen. This kind is the worst. Makes you trust them, lower your guard.. It seems she'd conveniently forgotten about one fact she noticed moments after she found Raphael. He's completely, absolutely and utterly insane. Unpredictable. At first he couldn't even remember his own name or how he got here. Who can guarantee her that he won't have an abrupt change of heart and lash out at her? She wasn't going to take chances. Leaping up to her feet, Nicola blindly runs off into the dark pathway she initially emerged from, her shotgun left forgotten on the floor just as she heard an almost frantic-sounding call echoing from the haphazard hide-out alongside the sound of rustling feathers and cloth.

" NICOLAAA! "

To her, this shout may have as well been a roar of a Fallen that not so long ago nearly succeeded in ending her life. A golden hue on the walls glistening with wetness trembled and started to move. No one had to say that out loud for her to realise that the angel was actually chasing after her. And to think that merely seconds ago Raphael was struggling with standing up properly… The pain of her overworked legs was gone, forgotten. They carried Nicola like a completely different entity, moving on their own, tireless and strong with only one purpose. Get away. Survive. Escape.

How Nicola managed to get to the point where she started her sightseeing tour of the sewers without any source of light and without tripping over all those bodies she found before was a mystery even to her. Even the slickness of the ladder didn't phase her as she pushed the lid off and quite literally pounced out of the hole in the sidewalk like a puma. She only hoped she'd managed to lose her pursuit in the winding corridors. Placing the lid back where it belonged, Nicola immediately booked it for the nearest alley just to be sure.

Once she was more or less hidden, she leaned against a crumbling wall, breathed out silently and covered her mouth to muffle the uncontrollable sobs. She thought that for once she found something that wasn't about to end her where she stood but it seems that the Universe has taken it as a matter of some twisted honor to slaughter every single member of the human race. This is just unfair. Sure, there was a lot of people who deserved to be smited into oblivion by the God himself for what they'd done but if the apocalypse was supposed to be some kind of punishment, then for fuck's sake why does the entire race has to suffer for it?! How is this even fair ?!

It's not. That's how.

Nicola looked up at the night sky glittering with numerous stars, winking at her like thousands of watching eyes as tears spilled down her cheeks, leaving clean trails in the dust and grime. Eventually, her heartbeat started slowing down, her breath evening out and the adrenaline gradually receding from her system. Now she had a moment to clear her head and think. She had no doubts she can be forgiven for running away. Every person in their right mind would do the same in her situation. Nicola refused to die like this.. But on the other hand… This panic in Raphael's voice, the almost childishly innocent smile as he closed the cut on her skin and the gentleness to his every move as he tried to heal a defenseless kitten… God, this is so… so… Nicola couldn't even find the right word. Despite what the angel did to that Goreclaw, no one said he meant to hurt her too. He may be crazy but that doesn't mean he's a psychotic murderer. This was a demon and angels rightfully hate demons! In his mind there was most likely nothing wrong with that. Besides, she gave Raphael no reason to think of her as a target. All of the sudden, Nicola felt unbelievably foolish for running off like that. Raphael saved her life after all. And she acted nothing if not horribly ungrateful. Should I go back? She'll have to anyway. In a hurry, she left her weapon back down there and Haven was short on those… Dang it…

She sighed. It honestly made her feel like a moron. Damned survival instincts… Sure, they were keeping her alive all the time but sometimes they were just so incredibly annoying. Why would they make her run away from someone who protected her even though he had no reason to do so and nothing to gain from it? From the first angel who seemed to care what fate befalls her? Goodness me, this is so stupid… Nicola shook her head and was about to walk back to the entrance to the sewer when she noticed something in an adjacent alley. Seeing a pair of hungry yellow lights slowly moving closer to her, just above the ground made her heart drop. Her sight has long got used to darkness and so it took her only a fraction of a second to notice curved, black horns above them, long and spindly arms on either side of a slender body ending in a long, scaly lube. A snake-like tail…

With a pounding heart, Raphael quickly moved through the sewer that has long ago turned into his hide-out. Tracking down the strange little human who unexpectedly visited him in his "lair" was harder than it seemed. She was way faster than he would have given her credit for. By all means, in her short legs she shouldn't be that quick. Fear does strange things to people.. But why was she afraid? This short meeting was inarguably the most wonderful thing that happened to him ever since he left the White City. He couldn't quite remember how long ago it was but definitely too long for his taste. All he recalled was the horrible, sharp bite every time he repeated the ritual to finish his greatest creation, followed by a short-lived feeling of elation soon to be replaced by deathly cold within the centre of his being. Each time getting worse and worse until he couldn't stand it anymore. Quickly descending into madness caused by never-ending pain and the chill of his damaged soul, the invisible wound in his chest as cold as a forgotten grave, he knew he can't keep doing this. And so, after having lost his purpose, there was no reason for him to stay anymore. He refused to disappoint his brethren.

You've fulfilled your task. They don't need you anymore.

Raphael halted for a moment, blinking to try and chase away the taunting whisper in the back of his head. It is not true.

"You're wrong. They do. More than ever…"

In the premature Endwar, Heaven's Legions probably wished he was with them. But that doesn't change a thing. He's not going back. Not after he failed to save Ithuriel as an unexplainable surge of panic paralyzed both his hands and his magic. It still sometimes haunts his damaged memories… The young warrior slowly languished from a poisoned wound, grew weaker and weaker with every moment and the archangel couldn't move, couldn't even speak to call for help. Just.. stood there and watched unable to act. Until… A painful twinge through his chest made him wince. No. He can never allow something like this to happen again. He cannot fail them.. He refused to let anyone down like that. Ever.

Frankly speaking, Raphael started to wonder when he'd taken to talking to himself. Solitude clearly wasn't serving him… It's been so long since he had anyone to speak to and even longer since his mind felt this clear. This woman, Nicola, told him she is a human. Considering what has happened to the Third Kingdom, Raphael found it hard to believe. But the spark of life in her soul… it really did feel human. She wasn't a fiend from the Black Depths, nor was she of his own kin. Earth was where she belonged. But there was something in her… something so oddly familiar.. soothing. A flame like those burning in hearts of Heaven's people, just somehow fainter. Only a small fraction of it. Maybe her soul belonged to an angel before it was purged by the Well? Who knows?

But that aside, she was still human. And so, it might as well make her the last survivor of her race and the first creature to show him a lick of sympathy ever since he chose the path of a hermit. The Balance was in danger and this human was imperative for its preservation. For the first time in decades, Raphael felt needed. He had a purpose again. No one was forcing him to do this but the words in a caring tone leaving Nicola's mouth and clear concern for his well being even though she barely knew him for a couple of minutes were something he has been so… so dreadfully missing. As confused as he was by her attitude, he couldn't deny that it was… nice. How long has it been since someone expressed clear worry for him? Too long… The archangel wished this odd mortal near even if for just a short moment because strangely enough, her kindness directed specifically to him somehow eased the never-ending suffering and helped him focus his thoughts that kept running rampant without control whenever he couldn't busy himself with something other than the hole in his chest. And now they were focused on one goal. Find the human.

Raphael waved his bandaged hand through the air before him to invoke a spell and frowned when he detected the familiar presence he was searching for somewhere over his head. She must've left for the city above him. Right where she's out in the open for demons to pick out. Why did she run?

She knows what you are. And she is just a human. Of course she would run like a coward.

No. Raphael brushed this poisonous voice off. Believing in a single word it says will mean his failure. If he does, he will be doomed. Forever lost in the depths of insanity. No matter.. Channeling his magic, Raphael warped and reappeared amidst the sorrowful ruins of the city once inhabited by hundreds of humans. A wave of fresh air hit him in the face and for a moment made his head feel like it was spinning. His eyes opened wide when he took a huge gulp of oxygen. He never realised how sweet it can taste. After such a long time in the damp darkness… The stars peered down at him from the moonless sky, shining like shattered diamonds woven into black velvet. Enchanting and stunningly beautiful. If it wasn't so dangerous out here, Raphael would've surely been more eager to leave the dark pit he was stuck in to marvel at the Earth's still present beauty but such as it was… The moment he let his eyes wander across the vast expanse of the Earthen sky, his feathers bristled at the sound of a shrill cry of fear that tore the silence asunder. A cry of a female voice. Familiar voice. It could only mean one thing. His heart skipped.

Rushing towards the source of the scream, Raphael soon discovered the reason right behind a corner. The same human that indulged him in a much needed interaction, that calmed his restless spirit, was now struggling against the tightening coils of a serpentine body of a demon sorcerer which apparently has picked her as its midnight snack. Already feeling a mist of rage fall over his mind, Raphael shook his head to shrug it off for a little longer. Keeping his head as cool as he could, he performed a gesture with his hands as a string of words in his mother tongue slipped past his lips and his vision zeroed on the Shadowcaster.

Nicola was absolutely sure these were her final moments on this horrible, horrible world when the Shadowcaster jumped at her from a nook and wrapped its tail around her to try and strangle the life out of her like a gigantic, twisted constrictor snake, and watch her perish in suffering. What an awful way to die. Seeing the wicked grin of this malformed face as the last thing before her consciousness leaves her for good. Nicola hoped that if she had to die, then at least she would be sent off by a friendly face… But it seems that God denied her even this last, small comfort.. She fought ferociously against the crushing pressure that was successfully preventing her from catching another breath but to no avail. Her lungs felt as though they had been set on fire and her desperate wriggling only made the demon laugh excitedly as it whispered something she couldn't understand. She didn't have to though. Something told her it was nothing nice.. Dark spots started to gather in the corners of her vision and slowly encase her mind in darkness and she has already come to terms with the fact that this time she isn't getting out of this one alive when… the hold the Shadowcaster had on her loosened.

Taking a wheezing breath, Nicola fell over, still trapped in the coils of the scaly body. What? Once her vision cleared out a little, she saw her attacker lying stiff like a statue with its nasty eyes, previously burning with malice, now opened wide in shock and a web of golden lights crawling across its skin spoke for itself. Before any coherent thought could form in her head she was suddenly yanked free from the demon's grasp by an invisible force. A small cry escaped her when she felt a sharp sting on her thigh where the monster held her with its claws and soon she was gently deposited on the ground. Looking up into a pair of big, white eyes blinking down at her upside down from underneath a green, ragged hood.

"Raph-... phael…?"

She gasped to let her crushed lungs expand properly, though she needed no answer. It was him. He did follow her. And he saved her bacon. Again. Nicola truly wanted to laugh. If there were any doubts still left in her mind that Raphael is a friend before, they disappeared at this very moment. You bloody idiot, you ran from a dude who was trying to protect you and almost got yourself killed in the process. Nicola scolded herself inwardly as she struggled to breathe properly. No running again. Although she was most glad to see Raphael, she immediately noticed something was wrong. He was looking at her but without this soft smile. His eyebrows were knitted together in an expression of worry and… guilt? Why the…? And that's when she noticed that his eyes were flicking between her face and the spot on her leg which was quickly starting to grow warm and wet. Craning her neck to see, Nicola nearly choked once she caught the sight of three deep gashes torn into her flesh. And they were spurting about a lot of blood… Like.. a lot.

"You're bleeding… Hurt…"

His hesitant words only confirmed that it wasn't a hallucination caused by oxygen deprivation. Nicola bit her lip and tried to find that healing shard in her pocket but between being nearly choked to death, her empty stomach, sharp pain and seeing that amount of blood leaving her injured appendage she felt too dizzy to keep her head up and laid back down on the ground with a miserable mewl.

"In the eyes of our blessed Father, your days are numbered, foul beast.."

She heard Raphael hiss through his teeth once he looked up towards the place where the Shadowcaster was surely still face planting under the influence of the spell and his troubled frown turned into a scowl. There was this weird sound once more. Oh my God, he's doing it again… Nicola gulped, already preparing for the round two. Even though she was certain now that she had nothing to fear from him, it still doesn't mean she liked what she saw back then when the Goreclaw jumped her. She was already hearing the screeches of the demon even before they could come to be but this time no such thing happened. Something was different. The light that coalesced around Raphael's hand was not green but golden as the magic vibrated through the air once again. Everything lasted but a second. And instead of a series of pained shrieks, Nicola heard a single, sickening crunch. And then silence. Nothing more. Whatever happened, it was quick and mostly quiet. Probably because they were outside and more demons undoubtedly prowled nearby, and Raphael was definitely smart enough to realise that. Thank goodness… Nicola breathed before she saw the shimmering stars swimming before her eyes quickly starting to disappear along with her hearing. Soon, she slipped her eyelids closed in spite of the pain in her leg and found herself sliding into the dark. Hold on. Just a little longer.. Just… a little…

… longer…

If anything could be said about Shadowcasters, was that their skeletons, as flexible as they are, characterize with astonishing brittleness. One flick of Raphael's wrist was more than enough to snap its neck and give it a far quicker and more merciful death than it deserved. He couldn't allow himself for another drain as it would bring half of the Horde bearing down on both him and the wounded human at his feet. Besides, he didn't feel in need of its energy. The human…

Looking down at her, Raphael felt his heart cease for a second. She was lying there on her back, pale and motionless, her intricate green eyes shut. Alive, the blaze in her soul flickering, but clearly unconscious. Blood was still oozing from the wound he himself had made because of the spontaneous decision to wrench her free from the fiend's hold. He wasn't careful enough and failed to notice that the demon dug its talons into her skin. The archangel had seen a fair share of pain. He used to be the head healer back in the White City after all. The number of warriors he'd pulled out of the cold clutches of death was impossible to count. But somehow this was different. The poor woman was defenseless, weak and delicate. She couldn't even fight the demon that tackled her.

Azrael was right. Humans are very, very fragile.. Compared to other races, they were frighteningly easy to crush. Anything could kill them. From eating something wrong, through illnesses, to even falling into the water. Truth be told, Nicola was the first human Raphael had met in person and he didn't want her to be his last. Just stay calm. Don't panic… Not now… Kneeling down next to her, so small in comparison to him, Raphael gingerly peeled the torn trouser leg off the wound and placed his quivering hand over it, concealing the whole thing with his palm. His magic began to flow into the human once again to seal the torn flesh but there was very little time he had.

He barely managed to lessen the bleeding when a sound of a distant roar and a crash of a car being tossed aside, reached his ears. His head snapped up as his eyes darted around, searching for the owner of this cry. He would recognise it even in his sleep, even if the last scraps of his sanity left him. A Trauma was somewhere nearby. No doubt heading in this direction, attracted by the commotion and possibly the smell of blood as well. And a Trauma he couldn't afford to fight right now. Those things are hearty enough to break through his magic and get to him before he is able to put them down. Scooping up Nicola into his arms, Raphael wrapped his dusted wings around both her and himself and with a single arcane word they both vanished, leaving only a trace of quickly dissipating golden glow in their wake.

-

How long had she been out, Nicola couldn't tell. All she knew that she felt as though someone ran into her with a car. Her breaths were shallow and her heart was beating way too fast for comfort. Groaning quietly, she laid her arm over her face before opening her eyes. To see a dark, damp ceiling gently illuminated by a warm light. Where the Hell-...? The last second before the blackout came back to her like a punch to the gut. The Shadowcaster. Raphael.. With a startled gasp, she shot up, looking about, promptly regretting her decision when the world started to spin again. And to her utter astonishment, she was once again in the small section of the sewers where she met Raphael, settled on some ratty blankets and covered with another one that fell from her chest the moment she stirred.

"Keep still.."

She heard and nearly jumped when she felt a hand fall onto her shoulder and gently coax her into lying down again. And honestly, with how nauseous and weak she felt, Nicola wasn't about to resist and let herself be lowered to the ground. Unsurprisingly now, she saw the familiar scrawny angel sitting cross-legged next to her and staring intensely at her with those big, disturbingly hollow eyes. He brought her back into his hidey-hole? It looks like it.. Why exactly however, Nicola couldn't tell. And there wasn't much she could read from those eyes. A couple of seconds passed. A minute. Two. Five. And he still kept staring. The awkward silence continued until Nicola decided to break it by clearing her throat.

"Uh… what's up, buddy?"

If she wasn't feeling like shit, Nicola would've burst out laughing when she saw Raphael look up at the ceiling confused but she really didn't have strength to explain that this was just an expression. Chucking to herself quietly, she rubbed her eyes with pads of her fingers to clear her blurry sight a little when again her stomach loudly demanded nutrition. And the poor angel who was still looking at the ceiling quite literally jumped away and glared at her abdomen distrustfully when it "growled at him". Seems like angels know as little about humans as humans about them…

"What… was that.?"

Carefully pulling herself up to a sitting position, miserably failing to stop a fit of giggles - even though it pulled her sore muscles over her ribs - Nicola waved her hand dismissively. Any fear she once felt in the presence of Raphael was gone now. Not only did he rescue her twice but the way he was getting confused or spooked by literally anything Nicola did - purposefully or not - was just somewhat endearing.

"I'm just hungry.. I haven't eaten for a whole day.."

"Oh… hungry… hmmmm… Yes.."

Raphael murmured, seemingly a little embarrassed by the whole situation and twisted his body around to reach for something. Furrowing her eyebrows, Nicola tried to shift to see what exactly he was doing back there but she didn't see a lot. At least not until he turned to face her again and very slowly - like he was afraid he would frighten her again - extended his hand to her. And in his palm sat a paper bag where undoubtedly Nicola's sandwich was. Hesitantly, she reached for the packet that rustled encouragingly and a faint, pleasant smell of cheese, ham and pickled cucumbers emerged from within. A nice change from the stench around. It wasn't much but made her mouth water nonetheless.

"Thanks.. though I'd be glad if you didn't go through my things. Okay?"

"Okay…"

He replied with a nod and sat down again, watching Nicola devour - not eat - devour half of her sandwich in a few bites. Goodness, she was so hungry she could eat a horse.. However, halfway through something beside Raphael's thigh caught her attention. There, next to his knee sat a small cat. The same back and white kitten the angel was taking care of before. Looking at her with those blasted big, green eyes with pupils expanded almost to the point where its irises weren't visible and hungrily licking the sides of its mouth. At first she tried to ignore it. But the cursed look cats, especially the little ones, can give! The longer it stared at her, the more sure she was that she doesn't have the appetite anymore.. Goddamnit. Pulling a slice of ham out of her sandwich - the only part that would be of interest to it - Nicola clicked her tongue and offered the food to the kitten.

"Here, little buddy.. Come here."

I'm too soft for my own good. One day, some cat will be the death of her… Carefully and slowly, the kitten approached her, sniffing the piece of meat before snatching it out of her hand and retreating into the safe place behind Raphael to consume the gift. Cats can smell good people from a mile. Looks like she was wrong to ever doubt Raphael had anything but good intentions. Smiling slightly, the angel reached out to the cat and brushed his knuckles against the black fur around a new scar on its back. The loud and comforting purr interrupted only by an occasional swallow rung out and made even Nicola smile as she finished her own food. Even with how meager her snack was, hopefully it was going to last her at least until she finds her way back to Haven. One day of poor eating wasn't going to kill her after all.

When she was done, she peeled back the blanket to examine her injured leg. Nicola pulled a face at the three - even if mostly closed - claw marks on her thigh and the bloodied trouser leg. It didn't look that bad anymore but she could imagine that it would definitely slow her down. The slightest move was causing her mild discomfort. Running and walking anywhere is definitely off the table for now. Still, Nicola much preferred the dull ache that was now in place of excruciating throbbing.

There was no doubt in her mind that this is all once again thanks to the kind, even if a bit unhinged, angel who was now sitting beside her with a quietly purring kitten nested on his lap as he kept stroking its head and back and murmuring something to himself in a strange, melodic language Nicola couldn't understand but found beautiful and enchanting nonetheless. She watched Raphael for a few moments, listening to his deep, soothing voice that made her feel a bit sleepy. After the apocalypse Nicola rarely slept well because of nightmares. And it showed. But before she inevitably dozed off, she felt she had to say something.

"So uh…"

She started, successfully getting his attention, judging by how his eyes shifted to look at her.

"Um… Thanks. For… for everything I guess.."

For a whole minute Raphael didn't answer, simply watched her with his head tilted to the right, a silent question in his eyes. Nicola scratched the back of her neck awkwardly and decided to clarify.

"You know.. for saving my butt two times now, treating me.. And sorry I ran away. I was scared, you got pretty spooky with that Goreclaw back then…"

"Oh…"

He replied with raised eyebrows.

"Forgive me then… I did not mean to frighten you…"

"Oh, no no no, you don't have to be sorry, it's okay! I'm not scared anymore.."

Nicola assured him quickly. Making him feel bad for it wasn't her intention at all.

"Seriously though. Thank you.."

She repeated with a grimace when she tried to shift to a more comfortable position but the ache in her leg made it significantly more difficult. With an empathetic look to his face, Raphael steadied her by returning his hand to her shoulder and moving the other - already radiant with his Heavenly magic - to her wound. The prickly sensation came back, bringing relief in pain as he sighed tiredly.

"This is.. my duty…"

As surprising as it was, Nicola couldn't deny that Raphael seemed to have changed in some way since she found him absolutely deranged. Now he seemed a little more… collected. Focused. Calmer. But simultaneously even sadder and very jumpy. Still, he remained as mysterious as he did before. But maybe if he retains this composure, Nicola could pry something from him about his background. Why is he here alone? What happened to him? How did he get here? There were way too many questions to ask at once but she had to start with something.

"Your duty? You're some sort of a… uh, what shoudma' call it? Doctor, medic, something like that?"

Despite the question being seemingly innocent and harmless, Raphael reacted by turning his eyes down to look at his hands as he flexed his fingers a couple times with a barely noticeable wince twisting his lips. His answer was so quiet that Nicola barely caught it.

"... was… I left.."

"Huh? Wh- why?"

At that, Raphael looked up at her, again with this tortured gleam in his eyes that made her heart squeeze painfully and shyly pointed at Nicola's side.

"It hurts.."

He chimed as she stared at her own hip in confusion. Again, the angel was making no sense. Her side didn't hurt for one, and two, it can't have been the reason why he left… whatever he left to abandon his previous life. A little startled that maybe he knew something she didn't, Nicola probed the place he pointed out but all she could feel was the healing shard in her… in her pocket… All of the sudden she recalled what Raphael told her before.

Hesitantly, she dug the glowing crystal out of her vest and lifted it for Raphael to see better and asked a wordless question which he answered almost immediately.

"The shards… they hurt me.."

This was probably the lowest Nicola's eyebrows have ever descended, making the look of confusion on her face even more blatant. I thought they were supposed to be healing shards? Why would something made to heal one person hurt another?

"How?"

With an expression of anguish, Raphael placed his hand over his chest and took a small gasp of air as if to make his point.

"I created them.. and some of them hurt…"

The revelation made Nicola's jaw fall slack. She'd been suspecting this before when Raphael referred to the crystal as "his" shard but hearing the confirmation almost had her gag. How many times a healing shard has saved either her or someone else from the Tree, she couldn't count on both of her hands. After Ulthane snatched her from the Fallen's talons it took the large one to heal her and make sure she survives afterwards and still it shattered after it served its purpose. At this very moment, no one could ever convince her that the sad, mad angel before her is evil in any way. With a huff of disbelief she shook her head, shifting her gaze between Raphael and the shard.

"Wait, hold up, you made those?! Oh.. my God, I could kiss you, my dude."

A very undignified snort almost escaped Nicola when she saw the face Raphael made. Something between astonishment, horror and curiosity. She remained oblivious to how improper it sounded in his ears. He cocked his head again. Goddamnit. Every time he does that, Nicola just… can't. It constantly reminds her of a puppy looking at some bizarre wonder of nature.

"But.. why would you want to do this..?"

"It's an expression. In other words, I wanted to say I can't thank you enough. How did someone like you ever end up in… like- like this?"

Nicola said "like this" in the last moment before she could say "in such a shitty situation" because she realised just in time how inappropriately awful this sounds, considering they're in the damned sewers. I'll have to learn to stop accidentally making jokes.. For some reason Jones absolutely adored her for it, unlike most of her friends who kept either groaning or facepalming every time and begging her to stop before they kicked a bucket from the sheer badness of her jests. The kitten in Raphael's lap meowed in annoyance when it lost the touch of the angel, coaxing him to keep smoothing out its fur still stained with dried blood. He did, and Nicola didn't miss that he was deliberately avoiding her gaze.

"Long story.. very long.."

"That's alright, we have time!"

The words left her mouth before she could stop them. Her curiosity was just too strong. Besides, Nicola wasn't going anywhere anytime soon with how her leg was fairing (just thinking about how worried Ulthane and the rest have to be made her a little sick) and she honestly doubted Raphael is going anywhere either. But the way it came out made her sound like she was prying to get to something the angel clearly wished to keep to himself. Whether because it was something to be ashamed of or something very unpleasant to speak of. In honesty, Nicola was sure he would scowl at her for this but he simply looked away with a grim look on his face. And it was even worse because it made her feel awful.

"Oh… sorry, if you don't wanna talk about it then it's alright! You don't have to tell me."

"Another time.. rest now."

He hummed and extended one finger towards Nicola's forehead. Before she had time to ask him what he was doing, he lightly poked her right between her eyebrows and all of the sudden she felt unbelievably drowsy. She blinked a couple of times but everything was starting to double before her eyes which were closing all by themselves. With a wide yawn Nicola soon fell into the embrace of magical slumber Raphael called upon her.

He caught her before she could fall down and lowered her onto the blankets to let her sleep in peace. The poor human needed her rest to make up for the amount of blood she lost merely an hour before. Sitting back, Raphael settled for keeping a silent vigil over her until magic wore off. What am I going to do with you? He wondered. For some reason he felt so inexplicably drawn to her and couldn't help it. Something about her was just easing in the pain and warming up the empty void in his tormented soul, even if only a little. The small animal he rescued before rubbed its fuzzy head against his hand and started to knead the fabric of his trousers with its laughably tiny claws that compared to demons' talons were nothing. Still, it stung a tiny little bit. Despite this, Raphael let it curl up in his lap again and fall asleep as well while he watched the human woman and the strange spark dancing within her like a candlelight.

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

Chapter II is done! Getting angsty. And say hi to Raphael's kitty. Isn't it cute? :3

Also, here's part 1 if you haven't seen it yet.

[godstrain]

as time had passed, albert wesker had come to the rather horrid conclusion that a great many unsavory sort had been influenced by all that he had done. it only made it clearer as to how wrong he had been- and loath was he to admit such a thing! but he was also a strong believer in the truth / fact, it stemmed from his nature as a man of science (and not that horrid rhetoric from spencer- no, there was no real proof of any of that- human beings had proven to be all the same / flawed no matter what. so much for perfection / a fool's desire)- and the truth was thus. chris deserved better than to have to listen / watch wesker come to terms with such things. with his flaws that he had been so desperate to believe were not there. the ones he was forced to live with now (physical marks left upon his body / he would look at himself and tear himself apart and know that he had failed / for the better or for the worse).

chris had been forced into cleaning up wesker's mess- or at least he had taken it upon himself, and to wesker, it wasn't supposed to be chris' burden. this was his responsibility, whether he wanted it or not (because he couldn't blame anyone else. in the end, he could've chosen a different path, and he didn't). chris was going to ...

to what? march back into that hellscape? save people and risk his life doing so? chris was telling him to stay out of trouble as if he was some sort of impulsive child- another truth that he didn't want to admit. he'd never really grown up. the world was full of pain and he couldn't handle it, so he decided it needed to burn. now, it was burning in a different way and this wasn't what he wanted- this isn't what he wants!

❝ wait- ❞

wait for what? there's no time for that. what's wrong with you, you stupid child? keeping him here and delaying the inevitable! you selfish, wicked thing! he finds he's taken a step forward as his thoughts continue to race- ❝ this will be easier if you- you're really going to just rush in there on your own? ❞ he's shaking. chris has done this plenty of times, he's proven time and time again that no matter what sort of horrors wait, he can save people- or at the very least he's proven he can survive. maybe not everyone makes it out.

realistically, from the way chris holds himself, he must come out alone time and time again. his friends are only human- they're fragile and they're liabilities and they die. there's never any time to mourn the dead. he's trying to see it from chris' point of view, even if he barely knows the chris who stands before him / pain and loss will always warp someone, he's seen it enough times to know it's simply fact. he hates that there's so much he doesn't know now- it leaves too many variables and he's terrified and he only knows how to fall back on old habits of observation-

❝ let me come with you. i'm not going to ask you to trust me, but having someone else is practical- ❞ he realizes how stupid that must sound, but he's said it now. what's the worst that could happen? chris saying no? chris shooting him? as if that would do anything- ❝ one day you could get yourself killed- ❞ he trails off, then, because the very thought of a world without chris redfield is rather terrifying-

chris had been wesker's anchor practically from the day they first met. something had told him that he would always run into the brunette even if he didn't want to / as if they were supposed to find each other. in his madness, chris had been the only familiar thing. an enemy or not, chris gave him some sense of purpose- if chris was there to challenge him, then things would continue to move forward. because he'd want to find a way to best chris, or to draw him back in- it was easier to have that anger instead of whatever had settled in its place. longing? a need to continue some semblance of their bond-

he knows it's rather pathetic and even more-so unrealistic, because he isn't the global threat he'd been before and even if he wanted to be, he'd become predictable. the challenge and the thrill wouldn't be there- without the lingering rush of mania, he found that he didn't want to work for something that would only be torn apart in the end. wesker had always hated to do things that he wasn't immediately skilled at- and a failed plan was just that- he'd have to go through the horrific process of trial and error, and this- this rushing into the fray alongside chris instead of against him? that had come easily. that was something he was good at-

it was the thing he mourned most when he clawed his way out of the wreckage of the arklay mansion. he spent his brief recovery grieving in his own way- never really making it past anger, spending too long in denial. he had thought, once, that he could go back and find a way to explain why he'd led them to the mansion and why he wanted them- wanted chris- at his side when he broke free from umbrella's influence. when he gained glory by delivering his research to the organization- and what would the survivors of s.t.a.r.s say to that? it had sounded ridiculous when he played through the scenario back then, and it seemed even more now-

so, why was he still consumed by that longing? he should know better than to be so sentimental- he'd been taught from a young age that it would do him no good to dwell in the past- but he did. more than he cared to admit- ❝ we made a good team once- ❞ really, albert? as true as it was, the more he talked, the more wesker wished he wasn't- that was one of his problems; a tendency to just say the most inane things when he attempted any form of social interaction- fists clenched and shoulders tensed, he lets out a huff (still rather childish, but everything he'd said before was rather absurd, and chris would have to be out of his mind to say yes-) before fixing his stare on the other man (a part of him hoping that he'd look back again-) ❝ damn it, chris, just don't die. ❞

➤  [ 𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙽𝚂𝙼𝙸𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙻𝙾𝙶𝙶𝙴𝙳 . . . ]

Things always had a way of escalating whenever he was around. He was starting to believe he was genuinely cursed, with either good luck for being caught coincidentally within the eye of yet another storm come his way with the skills & know how to fix things before they'd grow to something less manageable, or the bad luck of never being able to know peace because of his magnetic ability to attract trouble like it'd been handmade & picked for him. In a way, a lot of the past incidents had been - the man across from him holding a heavier hand then most in orchestrating a lot of those prior attacks, those experiments that'd been cultivated, treated to be more fearsome - all made with the foolish intent to remake the world through death.

He's seen more then enough during his life to grow sick of it, but it was a cycle he'd stepped into willingly, knows for damn sure that so long as there was someone out there inspired by the actions of Umbrella, of Spencer, Wesker, of anyone else that'd come trailing after his heels in the past to make a bigger name for themselves with those in mind as a rolemodel - he'd never be able to rest.

Somehow, it'd always circled right back to Wesker, always would, whether either of them liked it or not - his life was nothing more then a series of events that'd always remind him of Arklay where it'd all began. Even as he feels anger stir in the pit of his gut, something magma-like in the way it sears through his veins in a low rage, the way his glare narrows to a dangerous thin, the way his teeth press together to strain at the hard line of his jaw with the forced pressing.

Even as his finger curl, balling themselves up tightly into clenched fists that tremble with fatigue, anger & something vaguely overwhelmed from another mission well done - what he'd lost, what he'd seen had chipped away at more of his shelled armour leaving him feeling like he was teetering along the verge of snapping. Though Wesker may not have had a direct hand in this attack - he would argue he'd started all of it. That it didn't matter either way if he wasn't involved because as petulant as it sounds - he'd started it & maybe Chris still needed some kind of a weather vane to conduct all his ire towards then to let it fester & rot in his chest.

But as all that poisonous rage continues to seethe through him, lips ready to curl into a bared snarl as he mutters out with a pained scowl that things are always happening, how they'd happen once again - his dagger toned gaze remains fixed on the other, darting between his features, studying each miniscule twitch, each shift in his pale brows with a focus to find something to justify his hurt & anger to lash out - but nothing is found. Disappointment curls, but is quick to freeze him in place when Wesker flinches, a mirroring look of tired pain briefly caught as he looks away, seems to shrink in on himself like he'd been kicked.

The memories of the man from the past, the arrogant, inhuman one he'd gotten so used to blaming, to pushing all his anger on like a target at the shooting range - he wasn't here. Not anymore. It was jarring, startling, leaving Chris deflating in all his bitter emotions as he brings aching hands to his chest to massage & press into stiff skin with the silent intent to give himself something else to focus on.

Things'd changed. He wasn't sure what to fucking do next or who to cast blame onto now. As much as he still wants to blame the blonde man, that wasn't an option anymore - there was rarely any joy to be found even in their past dynamic, but it was comforting to have that safety net of anger to fall back onto. Now . . . it was nowhere in sight, the fight to pull himself back up & try to find a new way to move ahead being new territory for him. & evidently . . . Wesker himself too if the way he remained standing in place with a strained sort of tension knotting along his frame in how tightly he kept his limbs pressed to his frame, out of the way, kept to himself despite bearing the same air about him as a lost child.

With a tired sigh, he feels the weight of his rifle slung over his shoulder still, the weight of his body armour, his gear. He knows they don't have much time. There's still the clean up to take care of, the evacuation of the mess before they can really sit down to even try talking things through - for the moment, it's a blessing in disguise because it gives him a chance to slip back into that mindless state of being where he has a known, familiar goal to focus on over floundering as he is now.

Conflicted, but willing to drop it for the time being, he sighs, letting the last of his anger release through that small gesture, moving to gather his gun into his gloved hands from where it'd hung along it's sling, offering Wesker an indiscernible look before he nods, moving to turn on his heel & take his leave.

What he does see on the man's face makes him pause, even more so, his words, but in a way, it gives him some small tethered thread to cling to, however small. Nostalgia is one hell of a thing, something that brings . . . something stable for him to ground himself back on as he stands, peering at Wesker from over a shoulder. A pep talk almost, something still strangled, tensed, but it's a start despite the way it's near whispered. He shakes his head, turning back before he laughs tiredly, a sound that's slow in bleeding off.

"Right . . ." It's cautious, but Chris decides to make a tiny, almost playful nod to the past, how things used to be over what they'd gradually become with something almost testing lining his tone. It still bears a bitter edge, but he knows by now, it's likely always going to linger. "Just stay out of trouble till then."

                                                •     •     •     •     •

[nemesis-nexus]

Full Harvest Moon

Hail ENKI unrelenting defender of all, hear us! This is the night of the Full Harvest Moon when are gathered, the Great Wheel turns yet again as Autumn comes strolling along in no great rush to get here understanding that everything happens in its own time. Such is the wisdom of Nature itself, that it does not hurry itself along to appease anyone no matter how much they complain! We wish the same could be said for those that we work with because sometimes humans can be incredibly unreasonable regarding how long things take to happen!

During this time many things begin to change, the Earth begins to prepare itself for its Golden Season when all the leaves on the trees will begin to change color and the air will get cooler and the ground will begin to harden signaling the time of the Great Harvest when the remaining crops will be gathered and the Earth will be put to bed so when the Death Season comes along those who work farms or have gardens of their own will have fresh soil to work with at the start of the Rebirthing Season. This is not unlike what we humans do all the time when it comes to our own situations regarding the people and organizations we deal with.

There are times when we are employed at places doing what we love and then after a while someone comes along and makes working there unbearable for one reason or another. When this happens we have the choice to simply quit (going from Summer to Winter, completely skipping over Autumn) and thus cause a collapse in the Seasons that make up our lives or like the Earth who takes its time to prepare for the harshness of winter by sending all wildlife that can't sustain to other areas or into hibernation and vegetation into a sort of suspended animation, we can seek alternate employment either at another location or with another company altogether.

If the Earth skipped Autumn and went straight to Winter, the entire ecosystem would collapse because there would be no food or shelter available to those who were not able to survive on what was available because sooner or later those resources will run out and starvation as well as freezing to death from having no shelter would be a constant threat.

ENKI, we all know that when you defied the Grand Council that you did so because your faith in us compelled you to insist that the humans you saved would take care of the island known as Earth and although there are many who think they can own the Earth because they have enough human currency to throw around, we also know that they can NEVER own Nature which is what truly governs it! The problem with the human condition is that over the years it has become VERY arrogant, oftentimes placing itself over the rest of the ecosystem and yet it is that very ecosystem that it relies on to keep it going! We have those who claim that if we truly cared for nature we would not eat animals but I contend that the ONLY reason that certain animals are here is BECAUSE they were meant to be a food source!

Just as the Lion eats the Zebra, just like the Spider eats the Fly, just like the Cat eats the Mouse, so do we humans eat Cows, Chickens, Pigs, Goats, Deer, Bison, Buffalo, Fish, Snails, Grasshoppers, Crickets etc, not because we are ABOVE them but because it's all part of the food chain and we humans are NOT above that either, in fact if a human were to get too close to an alligator or wander into the rainforest and run into a jaguar or even if were to get to close to an anaconda NONE of these creatures would think twice (or even ONCE for that matter) before making US dinner, nor would they feel any regret with having eaten meat instead of a nice salad! If people are to truly respect nature then they can start with not denying their own!

Hail NINHURSAG - Loving and Gracious wife of our Blessed NINGIZHEDA! You who are loyal to NINGIZHEDA and keeps his strength up (in more ways than one) we learn from you that faithfulness and fortitude are constant imperatives if anything is to survive the harshness of the Season! Sometimes it is not the Earth that turns cold but our own hearts and when this happens we must analyze the reason WHY it happened and if we conclude that the death of the relationship - be it personal or professional - is NOT our doing but that of the other party, then we need to decide if it is worth trying to save or if it is time to move on! Thankfully this has not occurred between the two of you and as such you are an inspiration to all to always stand by and fight with and for the one you love no matter who the aggressor might be!

Hail URURU - Eternal and Grand Creatrix of All Things - we pay our deepest respects to you! Without you the Multiverse would not have undergone the many transformations it has since it became aware of itself! Without you we would have no Hero named Gilgamesh! It was you who blessed him with the companionship of Enkidu after hearing the lamentations of the people as you knew that he was NOT heartless, he just did not understand what compassion was because he was raised to believe he was entitled to certain things in life and as such even HE had lessons to learn. So rather than give up on him, you provided the lesson through a new and dear friend who was for all intents and purposes the mirror image of himself!

Hail the Grand Council who brought down the flood! Am I praising the death and destruction generally speaking? Not at all. I AM however saying I can understand WHY it needed to happen. It occurred because ALL the living things of the time forgot themselves and became so corrupt that what happened THEN is really what is happening NOW - humans slaughtering animals for pleasure rather than food, destroying the Earth in the name of the Almighty Dollar because they felt entitled to do as they pleased with it rather than honor it as the home it was created to be and starting wars to kill off each other in senseless tirades that threatened existence itself yet again!

Do I feel it was a bit extreme to annihilate everything? Yes and No. I do because not everyone was guilty at the same time the punishment should fit the crime and with the extent of the damage the humans caused they left little room for ANY form of reparations to take place and what do you do when something you created ceases to perpetuate the creation as it was supposed to? You scrap the plan and you start over. If we are not careful this may happen again only this time it will NOT be at the hands of the Grand Council, it will be ENTIRELY at the hands of the humans who will bring it upon themselves and EVERYTHIHG ELSE! The point of the flood was to wipe the slate clean and give humans a fresh start in the hopes that they will get it right this time and yet once again we find ourselves in a similar cycle of senseless death and destruction! WE MUST WAKE UP BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE FOR US TO REVERSE THE CURRENT SITUATION!

We see how the severe LACK of communication or acceptance of another person's lifestyle has caused MANY lives to be ruined if not all together TAKEN! This is NOT acceptable behavior especially not from a race who likes to think that it is on the top of the food chain! The human race is currently the LEAST enlightened of all species on the planet! I have no qualms saying this because even if a dog bites its owner, it USUALLY only does so if it has been mistreated, it does not care AT ALL what their owner believes or who they are dating or who they plan to vote for, all the dog cares about is giving and receiving love and being treated with the same respect the human would want for itself, otherwise why should it defend its human if its human doesn't give a damn about it as well?

Humans need to learn that it isn't always about them all the time, in fact our main job was and still is conserving and preserving the planet and the ecosystem for ALL future generation across the board just as our Father stuck his neck out to protect US when he could have just let the deluge annihilate everything as it was supposed to! This is the lesson we REALLY need to glean from what ENKI did, he put his own well being on the back burner and his life in danger to do what had to be done at the time! We see our military personnel do the very same whenever they are deployed no matter where they are stationed! We 'civilians' may not have military training HOWEVER we DO have the skills needed to take care of things at home which is what makes how our Veterans are treated when they return all the more despicable because the government limits what actions can be taken to assist our Vets and how do they determine this? MONEY!!! Apparently the government has no problem sending them to war zones, spending BILLIONS on the war because the WAR is worth it, but when it comes to taking care of those who actually fought in those wars, there simply isn't any money to spare! Imagine where we would be had ENKI taken that same stance!!

This is what I mean when I say we have to wake up before it's too late - right now our governments and even 99% of Clergy are as corrupt as those humans back then were and we will be the engineers of our own downfall! I am SICK AND TIRED of hearing people say ignorant bullshit like "I don't care, I'm not going to be around in x amount of years" WELL GUESS WHAT - if you have CHILDREN and GRANDCHILDREN - they WILL be here in x amount of years! So when you say you don't care just because of that, what you are REALLY saying to all of THEM is that you don't give a rats ass about them OR their future and that even as small children they are on their own! Think about that the next time you decide to announce your position on the planet and ITS future!

Now more than anything we need to eradicate that which is the underlying cause of the problem - we need to get more people to stand up against terrorist factions no matter WHAT religion they represent; this includes Islam as well as Christianity, Judaism and even some groups who call themselves Satanists but in NO WAY represent Satan, Satanism or even HUMANITY! Those who use their religion as a weapon of oppression, repression, misogyny, slavery, rape and murder need to be destroyed because they are so full of their own self-righteousness they don't care WHO they attack as they will even attack their own if those who may share the faith generally speaking do not adhere to the extremes that these psychopaths demand they do! World leaders who also terrorize their people into submission to the point where they are not allowed to even acknowledge the world beyond their borders must also be done away with! They are creating an environment where they deem EVERYTHING to be an act of aggression or war and putting their own people in harm's way and if the people DON'T pretend they agree with the so called leader then THEY will be arrested for TREASON! This is NOT why ENKI saved us, he saved us because he believed that we were better than what we had become and now we are reverting back to the very actions that made the Flood necessary!

There are a lot of things that need fixing in this world, but we need to take the time to work on ourselves as well because there is always room for improvement on our own parts as well! Personal evolution and growth are absolutely necessary in order to adequately provide not only for ourselves but our Families both Blood and Spiritual as well as those on the other side of the Great Divide and the planet itself! Our ever-loving Father ENKI is always willing to give his unwavering support to those who do what needs to be done in order to help Life carry on and maintain its course while they are doing what they need to do to advance their own living situations! They say that the only way to multiply happiness is to divide it and I agree!

This does not mean to glue rose colored glasses to your face and pretend everything is peachy when it isn't, it DOES mean that we should help one another out when we can by donating food to local shelters and food banks, those who own businesses can employ the homeless who are looking to improve THEIR situations and help them regain their self respect by becoming productive members of society! There are many smaller things that can be done to change the bigger picture and we all need to throw our hats into the ring to make it happen! No one person can do it all and its time we stopped acting like it’s everyone else's responsibility except ours!

This is not to say that everyone we try to help will be grateful or that it will even work out giving someone a job, there are people out there who only want to take advantage of someone else's good deed, this should NOT prevent anyone else from being afforded an opportunity to excel! The IMPORTANT thing is to put forth the effort so that at least the one who DOES want to go the extra mile has a fighting chance to do so! Unfortunately it has gotten to the point where the manipulators and lost causes have overshadowed those who just fell on hard times and are looking to do whatever they have to to get back on their feet again! We should help build one another up rather than tearing our communities down over paranoia that resulted from having been burned! Things happen but the ONLY people to blame are the ones who are holding the matches, not the one trying to put out the fire! If we work together we CAN change the human environment and maybe even IMPROVE on a thing or two while we're at it!

“We are Voyagers

Summoned by the mighty gods

Of this mighty ocean to come

We take up the good challenge to get ready

We know the ways of the sea

We look to the stars and other signs

To find our way to discover new lands

To make our home

Oh! Oh!

There is land up ahead

A bird in flight to take us there

Oh! Oh!

This beautiful land

The place we were looking for

We will make our home!

We read the wind and the sky when the sun is high

We sail the length of the seas on the ocean breeze!

At night, we name every star

We know where we are!

We know who we are, who we are!

Aue, aue!

We set a course to find

A brand new island everywhere we roam!

Aue, aue!

We keep our island in our mind

And when it's time to find home

We know the way!

Aue, aue!

We are explorers reading every sign

We tell the stories of our elders in a never-ending

chain!

Aue, aue!

Te fenua, te mālie

Nā heko hakilia!

Etiamsi MULTA Et Nos UNUM Sumus Nos Sto Validus Ut Nos Sto Una!

We know the way!

-Lin-Emanual Miranda (“Moana - We Know The Way”)”

AVE URURU! AVE ENKI/EA!

AVE NINGIZHEDA! AVE NINHURSAG!

AVE ININNI! AVE DIMUZI!

AVE IGIGGI! AVE ANUNNA!

AVE DRACONIS! HAIL THE GREAT SERPENT!