#like come on gaia? terra? SOMETHING

[ask-thearchivists]

Have you ever seen an anomalocaris?

The Coordinator: No, never, is this one of those 'Earth' animals you saw in your visions?

Uncle Coor: The 'humans' you spoke of named their planet 'earth'? Do they name themselves Guy and Gal as well? Towns named city? Rivers named river? How funny!

[tinydefector]

hey you do character x character right? Like canon character shipped with another Canon character? It wasn't on you list of won't do but I'm asking anyway

If you'd be open to, I like to request a TFP wavewave fic (Shockwave x Soundwave) where Soundwave is snuggled up with their big boyfriend (Shockwave is fat to me so very soft and nice to cuddle)

You could make it pure fluff or you could make it more then that, but ya I would just like to request Shockwave getting loved on by his smol partner

Query's

Shockwave x Soundwave

Word count; 1.2k

Warnings: none, complete soft and fluff

I do intact do character x characters when I get a chance. Sorry, this one took me so long to make, but I did enjoy making some cute Wavewave,

_________________

Shockwave was once again engrossed in his work, barely notices the photo message sent to his Comms. It's only when the small blinking of even more notifications pop up does he finally check the messages. He finally glances to the side as the image comes up almost like a hologram only he can see, the image of elephants. Followed by a small smiley face emoji. Curiosity piqued, he turned towards the communications officer on the other side of the Lab, Soundwave had taken to working on his reports, investigations and other important tasks while in the Lab due to how peaceful he found it. Most venicons avoided it like a rust plague.

"What is the purpose of these images, Soundwave?"

Soundwave looks up from the monitor he was viewing moving towards Shockwave, a servo moves to rest on Shockwave waist.

" image captured during satellite surveillance. Elephants: Large terrestrial mammals, they are fascinating." His reply is a mix of different recorded voices as he presses his faceplate into Shockwave's backstruts, a slight hum resonates from his spark.

"Elephants are indeed fascinating creatures, known for their social structures and unique adaptations. However, my current research does not pertain to them."

Shockwave states while he types away looking at levels and new details over his research. He subtly tries to shift away from Soundwave's touch, Two of the Soundwave's tendrils move and wrap around Shockwave's waist again as he stays pressed against Shockwave's back, it wasn't often either of them got time together or by themselves, Soundwave is aware of how caught up in work they both become.

"Statement: Soundwave Likes Elephants” He replied in the monotone dialect he had taken to using for communication.

Shockwave can feel the warmth radiating from Soundwave's frame against his back, and it sends a ripple of guilt through him. He himself is aware of how touchy Soundwave gets when something is wrong.

"Soundwave, this is highly irregular,"

Shockwave manages to say, his voice tinged with a mix of apprehension and curiosity. He tries to focus on the task at hand, but his attention is divided between his work and Soundwave.

"Query?" The communications officer asked.

"Query noted,"

Shockwave replies, as he relaxes into the smaller Mechs embrace. He attempts to regain his composure, despite how much he enjoyed this, he had work that needed to be finished. But he was willing to humour his partner. Soundwave is quiet as if waiting for an answer to his question but it's left unsaid answered.

"We will discuss further about Terra Tellus-Gaia's quadrupedal Mammals, but not now. I have important work to attend to,"

Shockwave says, his voice almost a Void as he tries to run more tests over the different energon levels in beakers. The Nemesis depended on Shockwave finding a new modification and dilatation of the Energon they had been recovering for it to be more productive as a fuel source. Another static like hum leaves Soundwave as he continues watching Shockwave works while cuddling him.

"Query: project success. details. results?"

He inquired. Helm tilted to the side enough to watch the screen. In truth Soundwave was aware of every change in the levels he watched everything and even knew all the information without Shockwave having to explain it but he enjoyed listening to his paterners voice when he spoke, he enjoyed how passionate he became with different subjects.

Shockwave's processor races as he tries to process Soundwave's query while simultaneously grappling with the unexpected change in one of the vials when it comes into contact with salt water. Shockwave is quick to note down the bubbling reaction with the liquid form of the unstable Energon.

" progress is satisfactory,"

Shockwave replies curtly, his voice betraying a hint of his inner turmoil.

"However, the details and results are. they can wait. There are. other matters that require my attention."

Shockwave turns towards Soundwave, watching the smaller Mechs visor. Despite Soundwave being a ‘Faceless’ mech, he had rather easy body language for Shockwave to read. Or perhaps it was just that Soundwave made himself more open when around the Scientist. Shockwave knows that he should prioritise his work and maintain a professional distance, but the warmth of Soundwave's embrace and the comfort it brings makes it difficult to resist. Soundwave moves, pressing his helm to Shockwave's optic ridge.

"Statement: project on hold, Wish to spend time with Sparkmate"

Soundwave calls Shockwave as he leans into the touch more, his field bouncing off Shockwave's as they flicker and dance together in a static laced buzz.

Shockwave's optic flicker. He wants to argue with Soundwave over getting this experiment finished However, deep down, he knows that he cannot deny his own feelings any longer, nor would he win the argument with the communications officer, for all his mute approach Soundwave was rather good at getting his way with Shockwave and wasn't past putting up a fuss if it meant he got to spent time with his lover.

"Understood, Soundwave,"

Shockwave finally responds, his voice tinged with a mix of hesitation and longing.

"The project can be put on hold. Spending time with you is a priority."

With a mixture of triumph and smugness in Soundwave's field as he snuggles into Shockwave's shoulder plating, the humming of their fields bring an almost peaceful vibe to the overly quiet Lab.

"Request"

Soundwave states before his actual voice comes through, a rare thing even for Shockwave to hear.

"You are exhausted, don't lie to me, I can read your body and your mind, "

he hums softly into Shockwave's shoulder plating. Shockwave's optic blinks slightly at Soundwave's request, both surprised and touched by the rare display of concern. He knows that Soundwave's abilities allow him to perceive things that others might miss, and he can't help but feel a sense of vulnerability in that moment.

"You are correct, Soundwave,"

Shockwave admits, his voice softer than usual.

"I have been pushing myself to the limits, neglecting my own well-being in pursuit of my scientific endeavours. It seems my mind has become so consumed with data and research that I have failed to take care of myself. And in turn neglected our time together"

He allows himself to lean into Soundwave's embrace, feeling a sense of comfort and security wash over him. The weight of his exhaustion becomes more noticeable, and he realises that perhaps he does need a moment of respite. An escape from This lab once in a while.

"Perhaps it is time for me to rest, if only for a little while. Your presence... it brings me a sense of peace that I have not felt in a long time."

"Retire with me?" The request comes quicker than soundwave would have liked

"I... I would like that, Soundwave. I have dedicated so much of myself to my work, and perhaps it is time for me to prioritise you."

As his exhaustion weighs heavily on him, Shockwave realises that he craves the solace and companionship that only Soundwave can provide. With a nod, he gently disentangles himself from Soundwave's embrace, his servo reaching out to take Soundwave's servo.

“Recharge sounds..”

“Delightful?” Soundwave finishes Shockwave's sentence, his smiley emoji flickering across his visor as he begins leading Shockwave back to his hab suite.

________________

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[radiance1]

A random au thought that I barely thunk up before splotching it on here.

So basically, Danny, Sam, and Trucker are doing some bullshit thing and somehow manage to create a whole ass world out of a tabletop game they were playing or something.

Basically DnD I guess.

But anyways, the three create this world so that they can play and do whatever they want. All three of them have legends about themselves from the npc's they's inhabited the world with.

Tucker is the Pharaoh of the night less desert, known as Duulaman. Freeing the citizens from the rule of the Tyrant god Abanoub and brought peace and prosperity to all across the land.

Sam is the Queen of Nature known as Terra, directly on par and sharing interests with Mother Nature. Her legend is that she freed the Forest of Vita and defeated a powerful void entity who sought to use the powers of Gaia to further its own ends for power. Joining forces with Mother Nature who almost fell to its corruption to end the void being once and for all.

Danny, known as Astraeus, unlike the other two, have two different aspects to his legend. Prince of the undead, and the constellation Star Child.

The first one as you should know, is basically Danny being the prince of ghosts, wherein in the world they made the ghosts (and extending too other undead), were disorderly and running rampant among the other races in the continuation of a war that should have longed ended. So, he rounded then all up and took control because the person who was originally supposed to be doing it was... indisposed.

(Cough, real reason is that Pariah Dark somehow got his ghostly hands on the world cords and was like "Hmmm, my son's world is awfully boring time to spice things up" and then shit happened.)

Which in turn, ended the eons long war between ghost kind and the other races.

Constellation Star Child is one he kind of got on accident, his friends made a joke about him being the spawn of death and time itself and being molded from a star. Which the npc's took seriously.

Also doesn't help that he goes out to explore the void and space around their world on numerous occasions to identify any threats that would require his attention (Which is literally just an excuse so he can go and explore space to his hearts content.). And whenever he comes back, it's like a shooting star falling down to earth.

So, after they've done all of their adventures and when it was time for them to just scrap this world and move on. They just, couldn't.

This world grew extremely on them during their time in it (Despite the unexpected inclusion of Pariah Dark), and they just didn't want to destroy it so they just, stayed.

Not like stay stay, more so they come back to it a lot more than they should. Fermenting themselves as these deities or god-like beings who protect and care for their followers or something.

They created a space for the three of them to converse, known simply as the council. A realm sitting on the plane of reality between the world and the void, basically heaven but not really heaven?

Anyways.

So, continuing on with this, the trio splits apart, a feud in reality carrying into their game world that caused Danny to just leave and explore the calmness of the cosmos so he can clear his head.

Sam went to Mother Nature to talk about it and seek aid about the recent crack in three's friendship.

Tucker just went to take care of his kingdom and confide in one of his trusted advisors, much like Sam.

This is when something unexpected happened. Danny never came back to that world, not as if he went back to his reality.

He just never came back.

Something is keeping him from going back, some powerful threat that he's keeping at bay with all of his might while out in the endless nothingness that is the void.

With the absence of his presence, a powerful void creature who managed to slip between the cracks of Danny's notice suddenly sees he's not there anymore for an extended period of time and has its sights on the core of the world, Gaia, and the two goddesses protecting it. Mother Nature and the Queen of Nature.

To distract the one known as the Pharoah, it managed to find what remained of Abanoub and gave him some of its power to combat Duulaman.

Abanoub worked behind the scenes, slowly rising back to his prime state of power and with the added power of the void entity, he managed to corrupt the roots of Duulaman's kingdom and sow discord.

Unfortunately for Abanoub, it couldn't exactly kill Duulaman, so it instead caught him by surprise and put him into eternal slumber.

The void entity who named itself Akasa, just like the previous one. Sought to use Gaia as a power source, but not just the core, but the two goddesses as well.

And with Duulaman and the Star Child of death out of the way, it was free to do so however it wished, though not to say it wasn't extremely careful when it enacted this plan.

Sam didn't know that Tucker was sent into eternal slumber, nor that Danny was never going to come back as soon as she hoped he would. So, when she went to the council and found that she was the only one there, she knew something was wrong.

Mother Nature was attacked while she was on a different plane, with such a coordinated attack on both her and Gaia by Akasa, Abanoub's army, and a recent addition, Chiwa the undead duchess' pawns. She unfortunately fell and became nothing more than power source.

Sam tried, oh she tried. But in the end, after a drawn out battle between her, Akasa, Abanoub, and Chiwa. She fell as well, with the added power Akasa gained from Gaia and Mother Nature, now with the added source of the Queen of nature. He was basically unstoppable.

That didn't mean all hope was lost, with the last bit of her power, she managed to seal all three of them to specific areas.

Abanoub, the Night less Desert. More specifically Tucker's throne.

Akasa, the realm between the world and the void. The council.

Chiwa, the blood lake of the eternal lady.

Their forces were still at large however, with the ghosts under Chiwa's command wishing to continue the war from eons ago. Abanoub's armies spreading across the world to take over their various kingdoms and be forced under his rule.

All two wished to free their master's, who in turn promised to free Akasa when they were free as well.

The rest of the races didn't take this laying down at all, immediately going to war and managing to hold their ground relatively well.

Both sides were at a standstill, with Abanoub, Chiwa and Akasa sealed they lost a signifcant portion of power.

Whereas with the Star Child gone, the Queen of Nature captured, and the Pharaoh of the Night less Desert sleeping, they couldn't push forward no matter how hard they tried.

So, what did they do?

They came together and summoned people from another world of course!

And who did they summon?

The Justice League.

[phantomyre]

Analyzing Chaos, the Gi, and potential part 3 ending [long post]

DISCLAIMER: This post as been long over-due. I tried to organize my thoughts as best as I could, so I apologize if it's a bit scatter-brained. Also just remember-- this is all just speculation for entertainment purposes. And me just trying to make sense of all this. DISCLAIMER #2: There are a lot of new FF7 fans, and many are looking for more information on Vincent. Therefore, I will be mentioning some things that are common knowledge to most FF7 fans for the sake of the new fans. The Gi's wish seems very reminiscent of a concept within Dirge of Cerberus' lore. Chaos is depicted as Gaia's final executioner-- the planet's naturally created weapon. Presumably, if Meteor fails, and the Gi learn about Chaos, it might prompt them to seek out his aide as a final resort, or plan B. Given Vincent's sympathetic nature towards monsters, it wouldn't be far fetched to assume Vincent would actually heed the Gi's plight.

On one point: Vincent's compassion for suffering monsters is both a strength and weakness of his. On one hand, Vincent wants to end their pain. However, he refuses to enact it himself, pushing the dirty act to a more willing accomplice, such as Cloud (who is all too eager to murder). A secondary point: According to Dirge of Cerberus lore, Chaos is born of the Lifestream and is thus able to return to the planet when all's said and done. The Gi are noted to be from another world of sorts, and are thus rejected by the planet. Now here is where I'm going to interject something... And I'll start with this image.

The spirits of the Gi look oddly similar to the spirits of Chaos/Vincent in Dirge of Cerberus. As noted in Rebirth, the Gi are of corrupt origin, perhaps even coming from the same source Jenova hailed from. One reason for this is that whenever we see this purple magic color, it's always associated to Jenova or Sephiroth. And as far as we know, Jenova is the source of all things evil/corrupt in the world of FF7. The only other character we've seen wielding purple magic of obvious sorts is Nero-- a character made of the same tainted substance that Chaos is made of, which is why in DoC, Vincent is not affected by Nero's darkness as they are basically one and the same.

Disclaimer: I do not subscribe to the idea that Stagnant Lifestream is totally separate from Corrupt Lifestream. My current assumption is that both are made of corrupt energy which is the same substance that Sephiroth is trying to create. The JP translation for 'stagnant lifestream' is 'corrupt energy'. Terra Corrupt. So unless they make a clear distinction between the two, I believe there is only one source of corruption, and 'stagnant' lifestream is no different from corrupt lifestream. I've heard decent theories for and against, but I'm personally in the 'stagnant = corrupt' camp so this is how I'll base my analysis moving forward.

Point being, it seems that both the Gi, Chaos, Nero, and Jenova/Sephiroth all are linked, in that they are all of 'corrupt' origins. And it is this corruption that the planet wants to purge out and separate from the pure Lifestream. Therefore... if my assumption is correct about Chaos and all of the other dark entities being related, it wouldn't make sense for the planet to accept Chaos back into the Lifestream, especially given the implications of Chaos' spirit and the spirit of the Gi (see gif above).

Chaos cannot return to the lifestream if he is made of corrupt essence like Jenova and the rest. Yes, Dirge notes that 'Chaos and Omega have returned to the planet'. However, Chaos' fate is to be left behind with the burdens of a dying world. If Chaos were part of the planet, wouldn't he be allowed to rejoin the Lifestream and just dump the corruption on the dead planet (aka let the corrupt spirits wander endlessly just like the Gi spirits)? Why is it Chaos' fate to stay behind? Why does he have to become the vessel to retain all corrupt Lifestream? One concept is that Chaos is indeed a 'neutral' WEAPON who then becomes corrupted through the absorption of the corrupt Lifestream, thus necessitating him being left behind. A second concept would be that Chaos' origins is actually of corruption and therefore by default can no longer re-enter the Lifestream. There is a third option which is where I'm currently leaning...

Within the Temple of the Ancients, there is a mural on both sides. The 'corrupt' version has what appears to be a crown that is of similar design to Chaos' head-dress, in that they both have 7 prominent spikes. Though admittedly a weak connection, this discovery caused me to lean towards the notion of Chaos being corrupted by Jenova's influence via the Lifestream. Meaning-- perhaps there was a 'neutral' Chaos created by the Planet. However, Jenova has corrupted that Chaos, tainting his form into something of her likeness. One thing that supports this theory is based on an interview with regards to Omega, which was conducted after Dirge of Cerberus was released into the public. According to Chiba, the Omega we see in Dirge of Cerberus is not the true form due to it being created artificially vs naturally. Thus leading to an Omega that is corrupt and brings devastation. Seeing as Chaos and Omega are figures of yin-yang, coexisting to balance one another, it begs the question of whether or not Chaos in DoC is also corrupt since he is 1) not born by natural means, ie Lucrecia/Grimoire extracted his essence and was planted into Vincent, and 2) could be tainted by Jenova herself either by the Lifestream from where Chaos was supposed to be born within the grotto.

Either way, whatever Chaos' origins, he could be essentially treated as any other being with Jenova corruption, in that he would be denied the ability to rejoin the Lifestream. Chaos is to be abandoned on a dead planet, acting as the tomb for all rejected corrupt Lifestream/souls. Source:

Now hold up, you might ask... Am I implying that Vincent could have Jenova cells? Maybe. Sorta. Here's my reasoning, starting with Lucrecia's inner dialogue in Dirge of Cerberus:

While not directly stated, it is implied Vincent has Jenova cells inside him. Whether this is true or not is up for debate (and has been for years). Nonetheless, it is prudent to note the following:

1) Vincent was being experimented on in tandem with the Jenova project.

2) Every lab-created monster in the world of FF7 has either had Jenova cells, muted Jenova cells (i.e. Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal cells), or mako infusion.

3) Jenova is a shapeshifter

So again, I'm not stating this as solid evidence. I've looked into other possibilities as to how and where Hojo obtained the likes of Galian Beast, Hellmasker, and Death Gigas. Granted, it very well could just be mako-saturation and then Hojo splicing mutated beast DNA into Vincent. However, the fact that Vincent can retain his human form and transform at will gives me pause. The only other character with this ability to morph/transform at will is Azul, and we do know Azul has less concentrated forms of Jenova cells in the form of G-cells. And just so I cover all grounds, it also wouldn't be out of the possibility if Hojo had implanted some of Sephiroth's cells into Vincent as a twisted form of punishment, since (we assume) Vincent was being operated on in tandem with Sephiroth (presumably after birth). It might give reason to why Vincent has very similar characteristics to Jenova in terms of his monster abilities, and...

I'm just saying.

There's something about that left eye. But anyway... whatever the reason, there just seems to be a link between the two, and the sky's the limit as to what that truly means. Returning back to the topic of Chaos... Knowing what we know about Nero vs Chaos, particularly with Nero who seems to not only wield darkness but also absorbs it into himself, this leads me to believe that Chaos is also capable of absorbing corruption/darkness as well. As a matter of fact, Death Penalty (Chaos' weapon), is already stated to have this ability.

"Firepower increases as Vincent collects the essence of corrupted life."

So yes. At least according to DoC lore, Chaos is capable of absorbing/wielding corrupt lifestream which allows him to become even more powerful. ...Now doesn't that sound familiar? Who else wants to collect corrupt Lifestream and utilize it for power, I wonder...

Whether or not Sephiroth may have a use for Chaos or Nero is up in the air, but it is worth noting both Chaos and Nero possess a function that aligns with Sephiroth's goals-- namely both can absorb corrupted Lifestream, and presumably act as vessels. Previously, Sephiroth's ambition was to become a god and sail the cosmos. However, Rebirth Sephiroth seems to have even bigger ambitions that expand beyond just being a god and controlling the planet. Aerith even hints at this when she asks him 'How can you want an eternity of loneliness?' What is Aerith implying here? Recall that Chaos' fate is to destroy all of life on Gaia and to be left alone on a dead planet.

We do not fully know Sephiroth's end-game yet of course. But taking into Sephiroth's emphasis of 'homecoming' and becoming reborn (in Rebirth), there seems to be a strong emphasis in creating a new world where he would be the sole ruling entity. His own Neo-Gaia if you will. And he intends to do that by corrupting and concentrating corrupt Lifestream. We actually get to witness the corrupting of the Lifestream via this strange magenta-red color as seen below. By the way, keep this reddish color in mind...

Theoretically, and if we stick to DoC lore, this corruption is what Chaos is meant to absorb in order to purify the Lifestream before it is taken by Omega. And by way of association, Chaos is also expected to absorb the corrupt spirits of the Gi. What would happen if Sephiroth succeeds in fully corrupting the Lifestream? Does this not by default empower Chaos, as well (since Chaos is soul wrought of Terra Corrupt, ei. 'planet corruption')? ...Is Sephiroth seeking to (more or less) assume the role of Chaos in terms of function and fate? Is this what Aerith meant by 'how can you want an eternity of loneliness'?

To further drive home the idea that Jenova, Sephiroth, the Gi, and Chaos/Vincent might be linked, consider the use of a particular color that (as far as I've seen) has only shown up on three particular subjects-- namely Vincent, Gi Nattak, and the Black Materia. Recall that reddish pink color I referenced above when the Lifestream was actively being corrupted? Well, this same magenta red color shows up on Vincent, the Gi, and the Black Materia.

And we all know how much the FF7 dev team love to use nuanced symbolism in their story telling.

Here is what I believe part 3's ending might entail...

With regards to Sephiroth and the WEAPONS (recall Chaos and Omega are also WEAPONS), Rebirth showed us how even Sephiroth isn't strong enough against the WEAPONS at this time. When Sephiroth tries to cut through the WEAPON that had Tifa inside it, Sephiroth actually struggled which is something we've never really seen; and that was apparently an infant WEAPON according to the Ultimania. This makes sense considering he doesn't have his full power yet, but it is worth noting the WEAPONS are on another level, and currently Sephiroth isn't strong enough to defeat a WEAPON, yet.

Assuming Cloud and Co take out the WEAPONS with the exception of Chaos and Omega (and likely this will awaken Genesis. Let's be honest), this will force the planet into emergency mode, awakening Chaos and Omega. Assuming things play out similarly and Meteor is stopped, let's not forget the Gi who have been yearning for their destruction (and by association, the planet's destruction). Aerith's statement at the very end of the game 'I'll stop the Meteor' sounds like a spoiler, but I think it's meant to make us realize it's not really about Meteor anymore. My theory is that it has more to do with the WEAPONS.

So where does this leave Vincent and his potential role in part 3? Vincent's dilemma:

With regards to the Gi, Vincent may be caught between aiding the Gi in their plight aka allowing chaos to occur. Red would be Vincent's accomplice in this. And with regards to Sephiroth, though Vincent has resolved to kill Sephiroth to correct his mistake, I can see him having a crisis at some point, causing him to sympathize with Sephiroth; this would drive a wedge between Cloud and Vincent. Because let's be honest... Cloud is being set up to either lose all his friends or to walk away from them and end up going to Sephiroth, begging on his knees. With regards to Vincent's end-game--- Let's assume Sephiroth does successfully corrupt a large part (or all) of the Lifestream. After the WEAPONS are defeated and Meteor has been stopped, the planet is forced to resort to its final act of preservation, summoning Chaos and Omega. Knowing that an artificially awakened Omega = harmful Omega, and having the Lifestream corrupted, Chaos (unless controlled by Vincent) will follow its fate by absorbing all corrupt Lifestream, including the Gi's spirits. I'm of the belief that Vincent would be the type to embrace his fate.

In DoC, Vincent goes against his fate and ends up bringing down Omega along with the tainted Lifestream. This included Jenova and Sephiroth's essence. So while Vincent did end up saving the planet in DoC, he perpetuated Jenova/Sephiroth's existence on that planet. Because remember, so long as Cloud remembers Sephiroth, he will always exist. So by going against his fate, Vincent prolongs Sephiroth's existence. Therefore, it makes more sense for Vincent to choose to adhere to his fate and become the vessel of corruption so that his loved ones may escape. Whether or not this happens is obviously unknown, but Vincent may have to choose between submitting himself to his fate or go against it, and somehow still prevent Sephiroth from returning.

One other theory I have is that Sephiroth might be seeking to use Cloud as his vessel. It does seem more likely that Sephiroth would be the one to absorb all of the corruption into himself, but there is a possibility Sephiroth wants to use Cloud's body instead, thus becoming 'reborn' through Cloud, and Cloud's existence coming to an end. Of course Vincent would want to intervene. Long story short-- I don't see Vincent getting a happy ending. He would certainly have closure, but his end might be grim.

[angstydevil]

(I originally posted a version of this writeup in response to a poll for angels, concerning whether we believe in the religions we “come from”. However, the creator of that poll is a minor, and I do not intentionally interact with minors online, so I deleted my reply there and am making a separate post.)

I voted It’s complicated, but I’m explaining myself.

My religious identity is not simple. I am an omnist pantheist working primarily within mystic pagan frameworks. I believe in a metaphysical reality more vast than logical possibility, including many hyperverses (i.e. there are infinite metalogics and metamathematics, and there are things and parathings and unthings beyond those entirely).

I understand and sympathize with monotheism as worship of That which caused existence, extrinsically the validator of logical operators, intrinstically the source of spirit. Many people around me, the majority of human beings on planet Earth, view the God of Abraham as That or something like That, and so He is That and a Name of That in my reality.

Because I am working from mystic pagan frameworks, it would not be right to call myself a Christian (my body’s birth religion) or for me to lie about my real views and convert to Judaism or Islam. My views are very heretical in all of these religions.

I recognize Yaw as eternal God. I even capitalize His pronouns. (I understand His pronouns like this: Yaw has many names, prefers nameself pronouns, and uses, among others, the names He, Him, His, and Himself, along with She/etc., They/etc., (sometimes) It/etc. (but I would associate the name It more with Ba‘al).) But I am not a Yawistic devotee: I do not elevate Yaw’s names above all others, nor do I see His request for such worship as His commandment to anybody other than His devotees, i.e. people who have made a personal commitment to worship Him before all other Gods.

Elevation to the status of Highest Name of God is a fairly common thing for a Deity to ask of their devotees. In bhakti (devotion) practices, Hindu devotees may cultivate closeness to Brahman (God) by developing single-pointed awareness of their chosen Deity as That, Brahman. In Hellenic practices, my engagement with Theoi as primeval operators of emergence has been restricted to mystery practices, which I am not authorized to talk much about right now; let it suffice to say that exploring the cthonic underside can include recognition of such vast, unshakably real things as That and Emptiness within the spheres of Theoi.

For me, Yaw is a Deity. Like all Deities, He is the Supreme Deity, because by my definition of Supreme Deity, the Supreme Deity is simultaneously That which defines the powerset of All Deities, the powerset of All Deities Itself, and the operator of Deity-nature. Yaw is different than other Deities in that He has particular names and personal qualities. For example, He uses nameself pronouns which are capitalized because they are proper nouns. Other Deities have other particular names and personal qualities.

In my personal pantheon, Yaw = Yah (Him) is the soulbrother and brothername of Ba‘al = En/lil (the Lord). Both are soulchild childnames of El (God; Godhood) = Dagan (Destroyer; Father of Gods) and Asherah (Heaven). Their siblings include Anat = Ananke (Necessity; Providence), Mot = Mortum (Death), Shamshu = Shamash (the Sun; Consciousness), and ‘Attar = Venus (the Morningstar). All of the children of El are Gods. They are Elohim.

To some extent or another, all Gods are Elohim (which literally means Gods, plural). El means God, and El = Dagan is God of Godhood or Godness, similar to Zeus = Iupiter. But usually I use the word Elohim to refer to an apparently-different continuum of souls than, for example, the Theoi. The descendants of El = Dagan and Asherah make up the bulk of the soul group I know as the Elohim current, while Theoi are mostly descendants of Gaia = Terra and Ouranos = Uranus.

Among the children of El, I understand Him, the Lord, and Providence to be like “divine triplets”. The English translations of their names, like their parents’ names, are all commonly recognized to name the same theological Divinity, i.e. That, suggesting their spirits have had a tendency to flow together that has endured for thousands of years. To me, they are overlapping hypostases of That, limited, or distinguished, by their intrinsic personal qualities. They often present themselves together in a way akin to a Trinity God of Fate, akin to the Morai, the Morrígan, or even indeed the Christian trinity.

In the mythic theatre and symbolism of many ancient mythologies, lineages and relationships can be used to signify perceived dynamics between hypostatic eternal concepts. In saying that Yaw and Ba‘al and Anat are the children of El and Asherah, I’m not saying they are not self-created Divinities. I’m positing them as closely associated, overlapping continuations of the blended energies of Godhead and Heaven, within pagan mythopoetic language.

I say this as someone for whom this kind of mythopoetic language is second nature. If I were to try to reveal my personal gnosis about Yaw in the language that feels most natural to me, as a spirit from outside this human body, I might write something like this:

Goddess Anat was the eldest child (= self-continuing thought) of God Elohim and Goddess Asherim. She invented laws and the possibility of laws, which delighted Elohim so much that they designed realities to rule. But Asherim had not yet finished their first labor. God Ba‘al and God Yaw were born as conjoined twins, Anat’s triplet siblings, in the shape of a many eyed cyclone.

Ba‘al and Yaw viciously competed for the love and favor of Elohim but could not divide from one another’s motes of dust and water. Soon their mother birthed the world and Shapshu as twins amidst their fighting, and Ba‘al and Yaw both adopted and married Asherim as the Heavens.

Ba‘al loved Asherim, while Yaw soon divorced His mother-daughter and cursed their very names, whereupon the names and idols of Asherim were destroyed in the nations of Yaw. Yaw also cursed Ba‘al’s name, so Yaw would no longer be called His brother’s names, and the pair would be divided from one another, and Yaw would be One God. Ba‘al cursed Yaw’s names too. It told stories far and wide about why Yaw was no longer beloved by God and why Ba‘al Zebul rules from the highest place as Lord of Lords, Lord of everything. Ba‘al and Yaw became known as enemies.

But Ba‘al and Yaw had long been inseparable, and Yaw had cursed the Heavens. In time, Anat’s laws reversed the curse. Nowadays Yaw’s devotees call Him the Lord and almost never speak the name of Yaw. Yaw circles the face of the earth riding the clouds and saying Eliyaw! which means God is Yaw! but people say to Him We have heard your prophet, O Lord! The Lord is God!

People call Yaw by His brother’s names, and they know neither Him nor His brother. Both brothers regard their names as precious, so sometimes nymic blasphemy, or wickedness, makes either brother angry enough to go send multiplying swarms of swarming life, as when they together as their father created swarming life in the oceans, wherefore both are also called Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies, who sends Plagues. They are commonly detested together as a demon and a demiurge and a false god whenever they show signs of being alive, or of bearing any dreadful resemblance to their brother-uncles God Dagan and God Setesh. They are detested in this mantle, because in this mantle they destroy false authorities.

Anat delights Deists quietly, and Asherim teaches us to love our other souls.

Beel and Yaw are both important Deities to me. They are important presences in my life. I love Them dearly and feel loved. They usually appear to me as Beeliyah, a unified continuum of Divinity. Twin Deities who have reconciled and are together Deity of Causes, He That Will Be. A Deity who wants everyone to be happy and well-fed and prosperous and able to raise happy families. A Deity capable of getting very, very, very fucking angry--but not usually as bloodthirsty as portrayed by authors invoking Their names to curse foreign enemies.

On that note (pagans, please read at least this paragraph) I have to say that most Deities have unpleasant attributes in mythology, probably because mythology dramatizes and magnifies the world, which can be unpleasant. In modern pagan communities, it is not okay to call the worshippers of masculine-presenting Olympians rape apologists, unless they’re using Hellenic mythology to rationalize and promote rape. Following similar principles, pagans should not promulgate neo-atheist rhetoric that relies on villainizing Yah’s biblical character in order to criticize monotheistic religion. While it is okay to critically analyze mythologies and/or scriptures, it is never appropriate to call all of Yah’s devotees rape and ethnic cleansing apologists or to say that they all worship an evil God. This kind of rhetoric dismisses the differences between oppressed people and the authority structures that oppress them, excludes the possibility of a real Yah independent from whatever His ancient devotees wrote about Him, invalidates all nonscriptural personal and community gnosis about Yah as a Deity, and leaves critics without unique mechanisms to criticize and censor genocidal rape apologists whenever they do invoke Yah’s names and cite ancient ethnonationalist writings in favor of rape and genocide.

After all that, let me answer the question that brought me here: even though I can pray with Yawistic monotheists and sense my Lords, in Their innumerable unity and multiplicity, smiling back at me, even though I can and do find a deep sense of comfort reading Yawistic scriptures, even though I believe all religions have truths, I am, at the end of the day, a pagan. It wouldn’t feel right to just say “yes, I believe in the religion that often depicts me as a fallen angel” (Christianity). My personal views on theology diverge so much from mainstream Christianity that I am a heretic at most.

[asheanon]

🤠 So, among the Starlight/FFIX tangents I want to tan and gent over the coming week, I figured I'd start off with this one. (Since it has some more spooky elements, apt for spooky season.~)

TL;DR: It's more or less just another tangent on me realizing how Sal or any other Ethereal may interact with respective parts of a world. Instead of Dissidia's, however, today, it's Gaia/Terra/the general universe and planetary systems of FFIX! Has to do with mist. Has to do with Memoria. I'll be referencing bits of FFVII's Lifestream during this spiel as well, though, because there are connections and similarities.

💭

I've really been driving this point home lately: how Sal and all Ethereals are considered spectral entities; they can interact with incorporeal things (such as ghosts) and things like that. That being said, that brings up some interesting things to think about... (Some things I've thought about for The Anomaly - FFVII fanfic - that would 110% apply to Starlight - FFIX fanfic - too, I realized.)

Mako and mist are very similar, yeah? Similar enough given the fact that: they're comprised of souls, bear mutagenic properties and they're disorienting. Additionally, they are both an energy source, as well. Something an Ethereal could consume.

Anytime Sal came into contact with the Lifestream, it was a double-edged sword; fantastic Ethereal "food" source, albeit, the presence of souls - a spectral sort of existence one can still communicate with - actually make it more like a drug trip! Like, feels great. Also makes you feel insane, though. Scares you. The "sound"/feeling of all those different entities and their voices inside the "mind" is truly maddening! In game terms, it's like boosting up your stats while simultaneously inflicting confusion. God speed, basically. Hahaha!

Given that theory, I imagine Sal would absolutely react similarly to mist. The Ethereal instinct to consume it as an energy source would be there, but the idea of it bearing some level of sentience as well as the noise would put her off - and the similar drug-like trip she'd experience if she did did "ingest" it would very much make that a one time experience (if she could help it,) I'm sure! Consumption stuff aside, though, I imagine she hears that noise no matter what... hears a few little whispers in the mist, when in its presence... It's so spooky and I love it. Of course I would...!

Going back to FFVII and mako, think of it being a bit like Aerith and how she's able to communicate with ghosts and souls in the Lifestream as well. The only difference is I like to imagine Sal can't really single out voices in the Lifestream, still leaving that type of communication unique to the Cetra. She can hear them, but she can't distinguish them (not often or all that well, anyway.) A vast majority of the time, it's this overwhelming torrent of whispers and voices she can't pinpoint like Aerith can. And I'd like to theorize the mist "sounds"/feels the same. For FFIX and mist in particular, you have confirmation that those souls can be "heard"/felt in what may or may not be a somewhat similar way, thanks to Kuja and whatnot. I don't see why Sal couldn't "hear" them even without consuming them, given the mako and mist parallels along with Anon's (Sal's own respective story lore) evidence laid out.

So... in that regard: The Iifa Tree would be a headache for her. Haha! Memoria would be one too! While I don't know if she and the other main party members will be there to experience the FFIX version of it in any capacity, if they are (or they experience any rendition of such a thing) I sense it being a particular disadvantage of sorts for Sal to face. Though... there could also be some manner of appropriate advantage she could develop or find to be able to better tolerate it through the story... maybe... 🤔 (Similar to her getting a bit of a feel for magic, even though her ability to use it is often improbable if not outright impossible, depending on how the magic works; another disadvantage I have sadly cursed her with - in ALL stories. It's always a struggle. Custom Ashe curse. She's OP by default with all those cool Ethereal pros - I have to toss in the cons somewhere, you know?)

And I focus on Sal here (as I often do) but, spoiler alert: she's not the only Ethereal present in this story! I think it'll be pretty neat to see how any Ethereal character's experience with the mist might go. See how it might... tell on who they are, despite them trying to keep it a secret or how it might open the door to some pretty spooky scary situations and things like that.~

[sillymoonboi]

earth meats earf/gaia

Its kinda funny how they met but here you:

Earth:hmmm where is mon-AHH

Terra/gaia falls out of a portal right on earth

Earth:oof!!- uhm excuse me?-

Terra : god that was painfull- oh im so sorry i didn’t mean to ! *uses her vine powers to help herself and earth up

Earth:no worries - it happen- ….. wait-

Terra:wait….

Earth and terra:why do you look like me?!-

Terra: excuse me for falling on you , but what is this place? Where’s the moons? Where’s the others? Where’s my lovely plants :(

Earth:I apologize miss…?

Terra: earth

Earth:oh what a coincidence we have the same name!

Terra:oh! Well just call me terra or gaia i go by many names like mother nature ,tollus but mostly terra

Earth:oh well its nice to meet you miss terra , and to answer your question this is the fazbear pizzaplex! Idk what moon your talking about.

Terra: pizzaplex ? What a weird name , anyways if i may possess a question? What year are we on?

Earth:its 2024 miss terra

Terra:2024?!!!! Oh my god- i can’t believe it-

Earth:is there something wrong?

Terra:no no no its just that i think my dimension has been destroyed for a long time and i died in it- and now im here- and i also realized i been dead for 200 years- but i guess in this timeline works different or something? Idk but im freaking out :( *vines starts coming out of her hair strapping her body to make it look like a hug*

Earth:miss pls calm down - also are those vines coming out of your hair and eye!???

Terra:hehe kinda??

[hphmmatthewluther]

Back By Midnight: Operation BULLSEYE - Part 2/4:

The first chapter can be found here!

Taglist of peeps who might be interested (lemme know if you want to be added or removed!): @akaisenhatake​ @camillejeaneshphm​ @catohphm​ @fangirl-screaming​ @rosachaotic​ @ag907​ @nikyiscreepy​ @oseathepebble​

(contains violence, death, and use of guns)

Also, this story features a brief cameo from a character of @camillejeaneshphm 's, and the name for the WIW in this version of events comes from @magicapandora !

Two hours until midnight. That was the time limit that was bouncing through Matthew’s (now Agent Moon’s) mind as he approached the building. He willed himself not to look at the road as a white minivan drove by, taking a corner further down the road, adjusting the silver bracelet on his right wrist. This was the only thing on him that hadn’t been from Bill. He’d even asked about it, and Matthew explained that it was something he just wore for good luck and protection, not that it ever seemed to work..

“Not bad, New Moon. Most people on their first mission tend to look at the surveillance devices a little too much.” Agent Gaia said over the earpiece, a little muffled by the sound of traffic.

“Focus on the road, Gaia, I’m the one running interference!” Agent Terra exclaimed, Matt expecting to hear frantic keyboard typing, but only getting a few clicks here and there.

“Alright, you’re past the ID machine. Like Gaia said, it’s on the 28th floor, so you’ll need to make your way up unnoticed…which is exactly why you’re going in via the car park.”

Matthew darted around the side of the building, risking a look up at it. It was 30 stories tall, all of which was owned by Reflection International, as evidenced by the giant logo he was standing under.

From his own investigations, while they had never done anything illegal, there is certainly a lot of criticism for their practices, be it extreme markups of life-saving medicines, ruthless buying of patents, as well as lobbying governments. Still, as he approached the entryway of the car park, he found himself wondering just what a company like this could be hiding that required the murder of multiple Intelligence Personnel.

Before he went any further, he heard a door open within the car park. Ducking low, he shuffled forward until he had a good view. Out of the door came two figures: a woman with ginger hair and a suit, and behind her was a man who looked familiar. He was tall, with dark black hair, and was wearing a striking white suit.

“That’s…” Matt said under his breath, “...the guy who Bill talked to today. The executive.”

“Well spotted.” Terra confirmed. “That’s Ryuji Ketseuki, Vice Executive for Reflection International. Rose up through the ranks to become one of the youngest business executives of all time. Apparently they call him the “Wizard in White”. Blech.”

Matthew watched as the woman opened the door of an expensive-looking car and sat in the driver’s seat, Ketseuki getting in the back of the car, the engine soon roaring to life.

“Now’s your chance, Agent Moon. Wait for the right moment…” Terra said, as the car park shutters slowly opened. Ketseuki’s car rolled out and turned towards the main road, as the shutters started to close again. Taking a deep breath, he went for it, scampering a little to get his whole body past the shutters before they…well, shut.

“I’m in.” Matt said, allowing himself to smile.

“So am I.” Terra chuckled, as Matthew heard a few more clicks. “Since your earpiece is now inside the building, there’s way fewer checks on it than a computer outside it. Should help me delete any footage of you snooping around. Alright, get going.”

Taking a moment to breathe, Matthew set off up and out of the car park, towards the fire exit stairs. He’d have to make it across the reception of the building before he could get to the higher floors. Considering he was carrying several tools of espionage as well as a gun, he was slightly afraid of being seen as suspicious. Still, he figured, it was about the same anxiety he had when walking outside normally. He breathed in. He took a first step. He breathed out. A man in a business suit walked across a reception, past another giant Reflection International logo. It was 10:10pm.

“Wow, you’re a natural! You don’t look suspicious at all! No wonder M- er, Bill chose you!”

Finally, Matthew was able to slip past the crowd until he was near the lift and the stairs (he frowned at how the sign called it an elevator)

“Now, there’ll be cameras in the lift, not to mention other people, so your safest bet is probably the stairs, but keep the lifts in mind if you need to get somewhere else fast.” Terra pointed out. “It happens sometimes that the best way to get out of a sticky situation is to just - CAREFUL GAIA WATCH THE ROAD-”

Matthew stifled a laugh as he started to climb up the stairs. Through the windows of the doors, it looked like most people had gone home for the day, with half of the corridors being pitch black. Still, Matthew kept on guard, and it would just be his luck that when he got to the 28th floor he would find that a single light was on.

“Pants.” Matthew said, bluntly.

“I’m checking the cams now, hang tight.” Terra assured him, seemingly recovered from whatever Gaia had been up to. “Man, it’s like they want the data to be deleted easily, this is child’s play…ok! Yeah, looks like someone’s in there with the ID machine, but they aren’t working on it, which is good news.”

“I’m guessing the bad news is I’ll need to go in with him and pray he doesn’t smell a rat.”

“He kind of looks like a rat.” said Gaia, off-handedly, “hold on, Terra, gotta overtake here.”

“Gaia! That’s really rude!...Look, reporting you is probably the last thing this guy wants to do. Just act natural, be nice, and there’s no reason to worry!”

“I suppose…” Matt said to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. He checked his watch, and found that it was almost 10:30pm. He just hoped he had enough time to get this done. He couldn’t waste any more time. He had do right by Bill. Steeling himself, he opened the door labelled “Floor 28 - Research Division” and walked forward, not flinching when the corridor lights came on.

“Seems like the guy noticed the lights came on.” Terra informed Matt. He showed no reaction and kept walking until he came to the door.

“Should I knock?” he whispered.

“It would be polite.” Terra admitted. Shrugging to find a counter-argument, Matthew knocked thrice.

“C-Come in!” Matthew slowly pushed open the door, and glanced at the other person in the room. He tried to keep his face still. He kind of did look like a rat, just a little. He looked around the same age as Matt was, with short blonde hair and largeish blue eyes. He also, somehow, looked more nervous than Matthew normally did.

“C-Can I help you?” he asked nervously. Matt took a glance at the name on the desk. Ben Copper.

“Oh, no worries.” Matt reassured him, “I’m from the IT team. Mr Ketseuki asked me to do some work on one of the prototypes here.”

Ben’s face looked a little less nervous. “Oh, right, go ahead then, I-I was just burning the midnight oil really, had some work I needed to get done, that kind of thing…”

Matthew nodded and smiled softly, and Ben gave a nervous smile in return. With that, he was free to examine the rest of the room. There were monitors and computers here and there, as well as a few larger devices.

“There! By the window! You can’t see me pointing, but I am!” Terra said suddenly. Matt walked over, leaning over it. It was smaller than Matthew had been expecting, about the size of a home radio, with a circular screen on the left and a variety of buttons to the right.

“Brilliant work, Agent Moon. But we can’t just take it off of the table. There’s likely to be a tracking device in it somewhere that you’ll need to remove first.”

Matt made sure Ben couldn’t see his face before he winced. Of course it couldn’t be that simple. It never was for him, after all. He reached into his jacket’s pocket and took out the Swiss Army Knife. On closer inspection, he saw that it was decorated with a variety of constellations, the one standing out the most being that of Hercules.

“The device should be under the screen.” Terra explained, as more typing was heard, “you should be able to use one of the blades to pry it open.”

Matthew began to flick through the many utilities the knife had before finding one that seemed suitable for pulling up the screen. Slowly, he slid the blade underneath and pushed down. There was a click, and the screen was half-off of the machine, still connected by wires. Now all Matthew had to do was figure out what a tracking device looked like, and pick it out.

“Wait.” Terra said, Matthew picking up on the nerves in his voice. “...Don’t look up. Don’t even try to, just keep your eyes on the machine, and don’t say a word.” Matthew did as he asked, though felt the overwhelming urge to do the exact opposite as curiosity filled him. That curiosity vanished with Terra’s next sentence. “There’s a sniper trained on your chest from the building opposite.”

Matthew felt that fear wash over him. It was the same one he’d felt when the floor had caved in earlier in the day. Alarm bells were ringing in his head as his hands hovered over the machine. It couldn’t get worse than this, right?

Turns out, once more, his luck would once again kick him in the shin. “Hey,” Ben began, “Mr Ketseuki…he’s not upset that work had to be done on the prototype, right? I’d hate to think…” 

As much as Matthew floundered when it came to smalltalk, he somehow found it in himself to respond. “No, no, of course not. One of the others apparently flagged a small issue that needed outside fixing, so…here I am.”

“Right, right…thank goodness, that’d be the last thing I want, especially with a prototype as important as that.” Ben said, sighing in relief.

Matt found himself slightly more at ease, which was odd considering the circumstances. “Important? Is there a time frame on when this has to be ready by?”

“Oh, I’m not too sure. Apparently it’ll help with our global network, making the data a lot easier to find quickly.”

“I see…” Matt nodded, trying not to change his expression. Strangely enough, Matthew didn’t think he was lying, merely misinformed, which put even more questions into his head and almost distracted him from the knowledge that a gun was pointed at him.

“You’ve got to get that device out of the machine, quick.” Terra ordered. “Once you’ve done that, we can be a little more…loud, so to speak.”

Trying not to look conspicuous, Matthew put his finger under the screen to stop it falling back into place. Switching the knife over, he discovered a pair of tweezers within. Reaching in as slowly as possible, he found a small red circle that stuck out like a sore thumb on the green circuitry. Taking a breath, he pried it off of the circuit, seeing that the reverse of it had Reflection’s logo on it: A lone snake wrapped around a staff, with it’s tongue sticking out. Cautiously, he pulled the component out, making sure it remained behind the screen until he was able to drop it on the counter in front of him. Allowing himself to smile, he returned the tweezers to the Swiss Army Knife, returning the screen of the ID machine to its proper place.

“Nice one, but…looking at the corridor cam, you have another problem coming towards you…I guess the sniper tipped him off.” Terra sighed. As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Ben clutched his chest in shock.

“Who’s in there?!” barked a low, gruff voice, the owner of whom banged on the door again. “Get out here now!”

Ben looked at Matt, confused. Matt merely shrugged, as if he was as confused as Ben was. “W-What’s going on?!” he asked, the fear in his voice palpable.

“Security alert!” he replied, not showing any sympathy. “We know there’s an intruder in there. Out, now!” Ben stammered over his words, confused, and so Matt took over.

“It’s just us two! We haven’t heard anything about a security alert-”

“Shut up! You’re both a threat as far as I’m concerned! Now open the door before I kick it open!”

Matt remained where he was, and motioned the panicking Ben to stay put too. He placed a hand over the ID machine, waiting for a voice in his earpiece. After a few long, long seconds, he heard Gaia.

“Got a plan to get you out of this, but you’ll need to hurry. I’m coming up to the road between you and that sniper. When you hear the signal, drop down and take the machine with you. You’ll know it when you hear it, trust me.” she reassured him.

“I’m trying to get into their radio feed too, should help you get past this guy.” Terra added, as Matthew heard the van screech. “Get ready.”

Ben looked at him again, confused. Matt smiled, his eyes going back to the window. He dared not look at the building opposite, instead at the road. He watched as a white minivan sped up the road, before its horn blared out as loud as possible. Thankfully, Matthew was smart enough to know a signal when he heard one, and pulled the ID machine off the table and ducked to the floor.

Ben yelped as several bangs were heard, many from the door and one from the window. Matthew quickly scanned his environment: A bullet hole now marked the glass, with a few shards having fallen nearby. Ben had crawled under his desk, where he would hopefully be safe, and that guard was still trying to get through the door. What that meant, thankfully, was that he could talk aloud to his fellow agents again. “I’ve got to get past that guard. I can get to the door without being seen by the sniper, but once I do that guard will shoot me point blank.”

Terra cleared his throat, which crackled through the earpiece. “Right, right…sorry, a lot of people were beeping back at us. If you look through your pockets you should find a bunch of cuboid thingies with keyrings. You’ll want the grey and white one.”

Matt did as instructed, holding it in his hand. The word that came to mind as a result of the keyring was grenade, but that would draw far too much attention, which meant…

“This is a flashbang, right?” Matthew asked, as the guard outside resorted to kicking at the door, Ben continuing to whimper from under his desk.

“Well observed. Yeah, you’ll need to pull the keyring and toss it up at him. And make sure to look away. Here, I’ve got through to their radio line, have a listen:” There was some more static, and other voices could be heard. “Don’t worry, they can’t hear us.” Terra reassured him. “It’s a neat little bit of tech we came up with thanks to our tracking of outer-space signals…but I’ll tell you about that later.”

Matt crawled past the glass, keeping low, getting closer to the door as he heard the guard cursing over the radio. As he reached the point where he could throw the flashbang from, he saw Ben’s eyes glaring at him through the table.

“W-What’s…what’s happening…I-I…” he stuttered, his hands clutching at his hair.

“...Hey.” Matt whispered at him. “It’s gonna be okay. Trust me. Just stay put and you’ll be alright.”

Ben didn’t stop shaking, but was no longer on the verge of tears as he pushed himself further under the desk. Over the radio, the guard was still cursing, though he seemed more confident now. “Stupid fool…whoever they are, they will not be standing when I’m through with ‘em…I’ll shoot ‘em both, just to show who’s boss…here we go- AH!”

As the door finally swung open, Matt tossed the cuboid up, covering his eyes with the keyring still in his hand as the guard stumbled back. Matthew charged forward past the rapidly blinking Ben and the dazed guard, as he heard another gunshot fire out at the window, missing him by a fair margin. This time, however, he could hear the sniper’s reaction.

“Shitting Hell!” came a static-y voice. Matthew held the ID machine a little closer to his chest. It was one of the three people who had visited the building after the explosion, the first voice. At the time she had been devoid of emotion, but now she seemed rather irritated by the turn of events. “Get up! Hold him still before he reaches the lift so I can silence this little pest!”

Matt’s smile faded as he heard loud footsteps behind him.He hadn’t got too much of a good look at him, but he was pretty sure that this guy was a lot more muscular than he was. Thankfully, Terra chimed in. “I called the lift for you, but…he’s gonna catch up to you before you get there.”

Matt grimaced as he got closer and closer. He needed another idea that was just about crazy enough to work, and thankfully he got one.. “Can you open the doors now, but stop the lift on the floor below?”

Terra paused for the briefest of moments, but ‘m-hm’-ed in confirmation. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Moon…” he sighed, as the doors opened ahead of Matthew. In the seconds he’d been running, Matthew had made two calculations: that he would have a lot more options available to him on top of the lift as opposed to inside it, and that the surprise of not seeing the elevator would once again provide a sorely needed moment of hesitation. Gritting his teeth, and holding the ID machine close, he sprinted forward onto the lift’s roof, grabbing the cable and spinning to hit the still oncoming guard in the chest, sending him back a little. He had hoped that would be enough to stop him before the doors closed, but his pursuer put his hands on either door and forced them back to the edges, causing them to stutter in and out slightly. They weren’t closing anytime soon. He got a good look at this guard; he had shaved hair as well as a shaved face, and still had that gun in his right hand. But then Matthew heard something that he did not expect.

“My goodness, such a failure you are.” spat the sniper, the guard raising his hand up to his earpiece, the message clearly directed at him. “Can’t even chase a person down a corridor properly.”

The guard suddenly looked nervous, his rage replaced by fear. “High Pr-”

“Enough! You’re in front of our unwanted guest, after all. Listen well. I have my sight trained on the space right outside that lift. I will shoot whoever is thrown out of that lift, understand? A situation like this requires an itchy trigger finger, just as it requires a competent enforcer.”

“...Pants.” Matthew said. “...Y’know, she’s threatened the both of us, so…this is how truces tend to happen.”

“No…this is how promotions happen.” the guard grinned, before aiming the gun at Matthew. Instinctively, he kicked again, landing a hit on the guard’s shin. Taking the initiative, he kept up the offensive, jabbing with his free arm at the hand with the gun in it, letting it clatter to the floor and nudging it off the side of the lift with his foot.

Taking a quick glance at the space outside the lift shaft, the guard pushed forward, gripping Matthew’s arm and pulling, clearly trying to get him outside. Still clutching the ID machine, he willed himself to come to a halt, causing the guard to start stumbling toward him. The lift rocked a little, and the guard snarled, grabbing for the ID machine, but Matt was ready for him, somehow. Pushing up with his legs, he began rapidly kicking at the sides of the guard’s torso, before sticking his legs out and digging into the sides of his stomach. The guard yelped, letting go of Matt’s free arm. Sidestepping, Matt put down the machine. He took his silver bracelet and wrapped it around his knuckles. It was probably never meant to be used this way, but desperate times called for it. And what better protection than a good offence, right? Discarding the argument when he remembered his life was in danger, and that Bill had trusted him, Matt leapt forward, driving his silver-covered fist into the guard’s upper chest. At least, that was where he was aiming. But the guard, seemingly in desperation, had tried to go low, thus leading to Matt striking his head. The guard straightened out, clearly concussed judging by the glazed over eyes. He didn’t seem to have a clue where he was as he staggered backwards out of the lift shaft. Then came the gunshot.

It split through the windowpane and struck him through his chest. The force of the bullet stopped his movement backwards, before he tumbled to the floor almost instantly, now motionless. Matthew felt his mouth go dry as he returned his bracelet to his wrist, picking up the ID machine and cradling it in his arms. He flinched when he heard more voices on the radio.

“Kilo Sierra Delta!” the sniper said, as Matt heard more footsteps.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Knew I should have stayed late…” Matt came back to reality upon hearing this new voice. It was another of the people in the building. The one he’d seen the most of.

“Terra, can you take the lift down?” Matthew asked, as he noticed something that had fallen out of the guard’s shirt, visible through the bullet hole.

“Oh, thank god, you’re alive. Ok, yeah, give me a second, the other people in the building are all headed up, you’ll have a more or less easy getaway once you get down to the ground floor.” Terra explained. “Crap, they’re coming though!”

Matt gazed down at the still rocking lift. He pushed on the wall so that there was enough room for him to jump down into the metal cube. He shimmied his legs down the gap, then his left arm, dropping the machine on the lift floor. Over the radio, he heard that slightly Scottish accent again. “I’m on the scene! Can see the body, along with…HEY!”

Matt should have ducked down, but instead he grabbed the thing that had fallen from the guard’s pocket before manoeuvring downwards. He heard loud footsteps overhead, but knew that all she would be able to see was his hand. Gripping the thing he’d taken with his thumb, he proceeded to wave two certain fingers at the person before pulling it down and closing the lift doors, his silver bracelet clanging against the metal as he did so. The woman above seemed, to put it lightly, upset at his actions.

“WHO WAS THAT?! I WANT CCTV FOOTAGE! NOBODY GIVES ME THE TWO-FINGERED SALUTE AND LIVES TO TELL THE TALE!”

“Calm yourself,” said the sniper. “The intruder cannot have gone far, nor could he have left the building yet.”

Matt once again sank to the floor as the lift descended through the building, suddenly remembering that he still had that gun on him. He’d never even thought to use it. “...I got the machine…how close are you guys?”

“ETA 3 minutes, Agent Moon.” Gaia said, “providing this arse in the Range Rover stops holding everyone up-”

He listened as Terra took over. “...Was that the first time you saw someone…”

“N-No. There was…another time, but…” Matthew sighed. “That was the first time it was that close to me. That I had…”

“Hey, you did what you had to, and you even tried to get the both of you out alive. One thing’s for sure, that guy certainly seemed to fear that sniper. What did he call her?”

“ “High” something or other.” Matt said, struggling to remember the details; much of it was a blur. “And then after she’d…yknow…she said, what was it, “Kilo Sierra Delta”, which…”

He was going to say he wasn’t sure what it meant, but then he looked at what was in his hand. It was a card, with the Reflection International logo on it, but this time the snake was not sticking its tongue out . This time it had fangs. He turned it around, and instead of a playing card, as he had been expecting, it was a Tarot card. It showed a knight on horseback, riding with a blade held high in the sky. The text below it read: Knight of Swords. “Kilo Sierra, perhaps.” Matt said aloud.

“Pardon?” Terra asked.

“I’ll explain when I see you.” Matt replied, standing up as the lift neared the ground floor. Sure enough, as the door opened, the reception was more or less empty as silent alarms flashed on the walls and ceilings. He looked around, before seeing the minivan through the window. Unable to stop the smile on his face, he ran for it, leaving out the front door once Terra had confirmed the sniper had left the building opposite. He quickly checked his watch. It was ten past eleven. He supposed it was just about his luck that it would end up being this close.

Getting to the minivan, he saw the back door open and clambered inside. Once there, he was greeted by two people who looked about the same age as he was, both South Asian with glasses and black hair, though one had her hair in a ponytail and the other had it cut short.

“Agents Gaia and Terra, I presume.” Matt said, smiling.

“Good to see you, Agent Moon. Sit down and relax, mate. You’ve done something amazing here.”

He gladly did just that, putting the ID machine down next to him as the car sped away. The adrenaline had caused him to more or less ignore any injuries he’d gotten as he went up and then down the skyscraper, but now he was starting to feel the pain in his shoulder, his hands, his legs, as well as general exhaustion.

“How’s he looking?” asked Gaia, still driving.

“Nothing serious, but he’ll need some help at HQ.” Terra reported back. “You’ll be alright, our people are top-notch.” He then found himself smiling. “Sorry, it’s just…Bill was right when he told us about you. You are a wildcard.”

Matt found himself going pink. “I mean…I couldn’t have done any of that without you two helping, so…”

“Doesn’t mean you did any less.” Terra pointed out. “You’ve saved a lot of good people’s lives tonight.” He moved across the minivan and sat down next to Matt, examining the machine. “I’ll get to look at just what makes this thing tick once we’ve reported back at HQ. I imagine it’s chaos over there, what with a transfer of agency and all that.”

“We’ll get to look at it.” Gaia reminded him, sighing. “We’re on track to make it, even with London traffic.”

“Brilliant.” Matt said, finally letting himself relax. “...so what happens now?”

“We’ll head to HQ and report back to the one who gave us this mission, Agent Galileo. She confirms it’s a success, we get a successful mission under our belts…and then I guess we figure out what happens with you.” Matthew suddenly found himself very nervous, something that Terra noticed. “Hey, it’s alright. Bill had to have a lot of trust in you to transfer agency, plus you successfully completed his mission, which all goes in your favour…”

Matthew twirled the card around. “I hope so. I really hope I didn’t cause too much trouble.”

“To be honest it’s been a lot of fun.” Gaia admitted. “It has been quiet for a while now, feels good to have some action this close to home.”

“Exactly!” Terra exclaimed, his eyes focusing towards the card. “Wh-where did you..”

“It…was in the pocket of that guard. I picked it up and when I looked at it, I thought maybe that’s what “Kilo Sierra” was referring to, you know, K.S.”

Terra nodded, raising an eyebrow at the snake image on the back. “And the guard referred to the sniper as “High” something…High Priestess, maybe?”

Gaia rolled her eyes. “Ah, the Tarot cards again. We’ve been hearing about a group using them recently and we have a theory that some sort of gang has been using them as a sort of…well, identifier, funnily enough.”

“We thought it could just be a cartel or something at first, but…killing so many agents, having a Reflection International building as a base of operations…”

There was silence for the rest of the trip, as Gaia concentrated on getting to this HQ place as fast as possible.

When they finally got there, at around 11:45 pm, they scrambled out, remembering to take the ID machine and card. “Quick, quick, we don’t have much time!” Gaia hissed, as the three made their way towards a largeish building. Matt followed the two agents, who seemed similar enough to be twins, as they ran past a sign which read:

THE MIDNIGHT FOUNDATION - Nam astra et quod est infra.

[silvershayde]

Acaesia 1.5 Update

1. The Elements, Chasma, and Tenebris

Terra = Vedos

Aqua = Darena

Ignis = Adarr

Caeli = Zetune

Lux = Lekdur

Umbra = Miqmis

I’m getting rid of the names of derivatives because it gets long too quickly, so we’ll just call them by their actual names. (What I mean by this instead of saying something like astrapi, I just say lightning, for everyone’s sake including my own)

However! I will note that Chasma will remain the name for Chaos in Acaesia, and that does still fall under Vedos’ domain. Mostly because of the Chasma Shards that people have; usually they come in the form of jewellery with a shard embedded. The shape may change between people. (as seen below, examples of what some of the characters’ shards look like)

The core of each spirit are Chasma Crystals. There is a belief that Chasma Shards are a reflection of these Crystals, as they are the pure essence of these spirits. They can’t be destroyed completely, but they can be weakened considerably. I haven’t drawn them out yet, but they kind of look like a rounder and smaller version of the Sol Emeralds, or even like Te Fiti’s heart.

Another thing I mentioned was Dark Gaia, like Chaos it is getting another name, this is gonna be Tenebris. In Acaesia, Tenebris acts as a sort of pollutant, something that can tip the balance of things, overwhelming one element and considerably weakening another. It does this not through attacking or disconnecting a person from using their element, but by corrupting their Chasm Shards. This can also be done to Chasma Crystals. The only difference is that since Chasma Shards are low level derivates of Chasma Crystals, it is so much easier for them to succumb to Tenebris, and a person may lose their sanity or even their life.

Which is why Mephiles is a mad man for using it but that’s another conversation.

Hmm, I guess you can say Tenebris and Chasma oppose each other.

2. Mephiles, Shadow, and Vedos

Not much is changing here, but I’m just putting a note here that a backstory type thing about these three is in the works. The main gist of it is that it explains how Shadow came to be, and how he got to where he is.

Mostly explaining more about the Tenebral Shard embedded in Shadow’s chest, and why it is a different colour now.

3. Avalora, Dahlia, and Elise.

Originally I had these two as cousins, with Elise becoming a duchess and the main story (that I have no idea if I’m ever gonna get to) starts with a celebration of that.

Yeah I’m changing it up.

They are now sisters. Instead of it being a celebration to do with someone officially becoming a more important person, it’s just the Fire Festival; similar to the game. I thought through this whilst on the toilet and remembered Avalora is predominantly an Ignis nation, they place more emphasis on Adarr. During this festival is where things kick off, I just haven’t fully thought out the reason why Eggman is crashing the party, all I know is that Elise still plays a main part as to why he’s there.

4. Knuckles

So you know how a lot about Knuckles is his duty to protect the Master Emerald within his solitude, and that ever since Sonic crashed into his life that duty has gotten a bit Complicated? Yeah so I love that about him but I struggled to incorporate that in its entirety because the Master Emerald doesn’t exist here. Until Now!

So, Chasma Crystals are the closest thing we got to the Master Emerald. So here’s how it’s gonna go. Not all the spirits carry their Chasma Crystals with them. Sometimes they decide to appoint a Guardian to look after it, especially if they are the type to mingle with the mortals. Mainly because Chasma Shards react to Chasma Crystals.

Knuckles’ Chasma Shard is green, he falls under Terra. Vedos is Terra. Vedos also communicates and ventures out to meet people the most. So Knuckles’ family throughout generations were appointed to look after Vedos’ Crystal whenever he’s away. Knuckles can’t really take the Crystal with him anywhere, and it’s not like anyone would be allowed anywhere near it, so it gives the solitude aspect to Knuckles with his duty so I’m glad I’ve figured that all out.

Also, whenever Vedos is back from his mortal travails, he gives Knuckles a break from his duty to ‘go see the world with his Caeli friend’ much to Knuckles’ annoyance. (Knux knows Vedos is joking, but also knows deep down that Vedos is hell bent on trying to get Knuckles to successfully socialise) (Something something it’s sad Knux has no friends, something something it reflects badly on Terra, even Vedos has friends outside of duty)

[divinelycrazy]

Greek vs Roman

So I've seen something that forced my inner know it all to come out and that is that some people have been confusing the names of greek gods with the names of Roman gods, to the point that people actually started calling other greek gods the Roman equivalent of greek gods. So just to set things straight as straight can be with the Greeks and Romans, here's a list of the gods with their greek names in orange and their Roman names in purple. Why, blame Percy Jackson.

Zeus = Jupiter

Hera = Juno

Poseidon = Neptune

Demeter = Ceres

Athena = Minerva

Ares = Mars

Artemis = Diana

Apollo = Apollo

Aphrodite = Venus

Hephaestus = Vulcan

Hermes = Mercury

Dionysus = Bacchus

Hestia = Vesta

Hades = Pluto

Persephone = Proserpina

Kronos = Saturn

Ouranos = Uranus

Gaia = Terra

Selene = Luna

Eris = Discordia

Harmonia = Concordia

Eros = Cupid

Nyx = Nox

And that's all the ones I can name from the top of my head. Also, note that this is based on my own knowledge, so feel free to correct me in the comments.

Finally, does anyone else find it annoying when authors use the names of Greek and Roman gods interchangeably, like " Jupiter told this to Aphrodite" I just think it's so annoying and that should just pick one pantheon instead of forcefully trying to combine them.

Anyway, that's all for now.

[j-graysonlibrary]

The Xiang Chronicles: Book Two Chapter 4

Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book Two

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 98k

Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+

Available on: my website

Synopsis: With another Xiang in the mix, for the first time in history, Pangu decides to reevaluate his methods and his place in the world. Along with taking his little sister Heidi as his last disciple, he also chooses to take the more political path in his efforts to end the discord throughout the land—particularly within Terra. (And gaining favor from the handsome Lord of Ultimos does not hurt.)

Heidi butts heads with everyone in the group, save Raine, and tensions are higher than ever. There are failed love confessions, in-group fighting, and demons from Kira’s past but that all comes to a head when they meet a servant of Shakti who is more than what she seems.

Could it be that the Mistresses of Shadow are more nuanced than previously believed? Or that the strict dichotomy between light and dark are, perhaps, a touch exaggerated? That and more begin to plague Pangu’s mind and his faith wavers…

Full chapter 4 under the cut

Chapter IV:

Because of the run in with the necromancer, Heidi had quite a few questions. While she had heard bits and pieces about her brother’s journey as she had been following him, there were a lot of details missing.

For the rest of the trip toward Gaias, the capital of Feng, Pangu answered all of her questions. Sometimes, however, he would stop and look back to his disciples. In those instances, the story usually had something to do with one of them—such as the necromancer.

It was no secret that Kira was the first Chaaya but Pangu did not want to just say the words without having expressed permission from the man. After a short lived smile and a little nod, Pangu very briefly touched on the matter.

The same was done around the topic of how Baiya came to be a disciple. Heidi was slightly confused as to how Baiya had turned from being a mercenary after her brother’s head to one of his most trusted companions but she did have a few theories she kept to herself. Although there was a very curious part of her that wanted to ask but not Pangu—she wanted to ask Raine.

While Pangu took the lead in telling the stories and answering her questions, Raine often stepped in to help fill out the details.

He was funny in a very subdued and, often times, unintentional way. Heidi found herself smiling and holding back a chuckle quite a lot. Even more than his subtle humor, he was very kind and sweet. Usually she would find such qualities in a man to be indicative of weakness or them being something of a pushover, unwilling to stand up for anything, but Raine’s kindness was unique. There was no question about where he stood on any given issue but he did not try and impose his opinion on others either.

His presence, as a whole, was refreshing. Certainly more so than the other two who had, together, said no more than two words to her unless it was to complain in some capacity. Heidi had not been blind to the sharp and irritable glances that Kira and Baiya gave her. She knew she was not well liked.

It was nothing new to her. Back home, at the lumber mill, most of her coworkers did not approach her and those who did were short or at least distant. Perhaps it had something to do with her swinging her axe at the last man who tried to flirt with her on the job but she had hoped the men of her town were a little more secure in themselves rather than being thwarted by one little threat.

She bet that Raine would speak to her if they worked together.

The woods cleared up and an open space greeted them. Slopes stretched out, leading to the foothills of the northern mountain range, A’kyama, that stretched from Kyrie all the way to Agni. Gaias was nestled in between some of the smaller peaks and the natural barrier formed an almost impenetrable city.

It was no Ultimos but Gaias could be spotted from a far distance. The peak of the palace sparked against the sunlight first and then, slowly, the rest came into view. Each foundation was made with stone while the flooring and roofs were wood. The colors were muted—even the laundry, strung up on lines between houses, was filled with pale, neutral tones.

Pangu could feel the cloud of miasma nestled in the crook of the mountain but it was not so much that it raised any real concern. They left their horses at the stables near the edge of the city and walked the rest of the way, stirring interest and curiosity on the trek.

Because of how the city was built, there was really only one path up to the palace and it put the group in the midst of heavy foot traffic. Like usual, it was Raine’s Kyrie armor that drew the most attention and whispers of “Xiang” started to echo amongst the crowd.

By the time they made it to the entrance to the palace, it seemed the guards were already expecting them. Two men on either side of the large, wooden, double doors took a bow and stepped to the side. Pangu offered a smile and wave before walking in.

Basins of fire lined the path to the lord’s throne where a man sat, covered in fine fabrics and some furs. Beside him stood a woman and, as the group approached, she was the one who walked closer to meet them.

Heidi watched with interest, curious as to how the process usually unfolded for her brother. The man on the throne barely moved while the woman gave a short bow and a wide smile. “Welcome Xiang and disciples. We have heard a great deal about your triumphs and are happy to treat with you.”

“And we are glad to help in any way we can,” Pangu responded with a much deeper bow.

“Elise, tell them about the situation,” the lord said and leaned back, favoring one side of his seat.

The woman, Elise, they presumed, gave another smile. “Yes. Well, as I am sure you can tell, there has been an influx of miasma in the area. Also, with the tension on the border, we worry about invasion from Agni any day.”

“I appreciate your concerns over Agni, as I am sure you mean to refer to the recent incident in western Huang. However, I have already met with Lord Phay and negotiated a retreat. Unless Phay were to take further, more dramatic action, I do not believe you need to worry for your people’s safety in that regard.” Pangu hoped he was not crossing any boundaries as he still had more to lay on the table.

Elise glanced to the lord with some hesitation. She hurried back to his side where he whispered into her ear and then she rejoined the Xiang’s group.

“Lord Fei Kuta Sim asks how you intend to ensure our safety against Agni attack.”

“First, I will clear your city of miasma as it is my sworn duty,” Pangu stated and then pulled out a letter from Viren. It was sealed so Pangu did not know, exactly, what was written in it but he trusted Viren’s summary had been accurate enough. “Then, in terms of safety and prosperity for all of Terra, I come with a proposal from the lord of Huang, Huan Viren Ai. He asks for your consideration in a more unified Terra and I, as the Xiang, have decided to help him achieve this goal.”

It did feel incredibly awkward to speak in such terms but Pangu did not disagree with the words. He did believe unity under Viren was the best option for Terra going forward and he was prepared to back him up if necessary. Plus, with a second Xiang in the picture, it gave him more of a specified purpose on top of the general one.

Elise took the letter and promptly passed it back to the lord. “We will review the contents and send our answer as soon as we can.”

Fei Kuta Sim peeled at the edges of the letter but did not open it. His eyes remained on Pangu as he said, “Show the Xiang to where he may perform the miasma clearing ceremony and get him his robes.”

Heidi quirked an eyebrow but no one else seemed bothered by the exchange. Was this typical of lords? To boss around who, she assumed, was his wife? Or, perhaps, her brother and his disciples even expected this type of dynamic.

They left the lord in his throne and followed Elise into a separate room where she ran down the basics of when and where the ceremony would be held. It seemed as though they really had been preparing for the Xiang to come to their city for a time now.

As she talked, Heidi could not help the thought that pushed to the front of her mind. After a certain threshold, she had to say it.

“Why aren’t you in charge?”

It was as if she had asked some deeply personal question and all eyes were on her. Baiya, in particular, seemed borderline horrified.

He was kicking himself mentally for not warning everyone before entering the city of what Oli had told him. Really, he had not seen it as a huge deal since, for the most part, none of them would comment on a lord’s mannerisms or methods while in their presence in order to save face for Pangu. But he had neglected to factor in Heidi’s temperament.

Thankfully, she had not spoken her opinion in front of the lord but his wife’s reaction was still undetermined. Her eyes widened and she took a half step back.

“Oh…well, the title of lord passes from father to son in Feng. Besides, I would not make for a very strong leader figure.” Elise visibly gulped and shifted her gaze to the door as if her husband would burst in at any moment, having somehow overheard.

Pangu jumped in to salvage the situation while also folding his robes over his arm. “What my sister means is that she is impressed by your knowledge and skill. It was merely a compliment.”

Elise’s face flushed and she played with a strand of her hair while not making eye contact with anyone and, instead, staring at the floor. “Um…t-thank you. We should really move to the outdoor theater outside of town though…the sooner the better, right?”

The group nodded in agreement but Heidi lagged behind, still wondering why her words needed to be explained away by her brother. She also did not miss the short looks cast her way from her least favorite of the disciples. Really, she refused to believe Kira did not have some similar thought about the lord being a lazy and useless leader who would do better to give his role to someone else. In fact, she was surprised he had not been the one to say it before her. He did not seem to hold his tongue in any other scenario.

When they split up for Pangu to dance and them to watch, Heidi crossed her arms and stayed beside Raine. She trusted the Kyrie disciple to be honest with her so, while the crowd gathered, she asked, “Why are Kira and Baiya so irritated with me? What did I say that was so wrong?”

Raine regarded her with a smile but he did hold onto his answer for a little longer than she was comfortable with. That meant he was probably picking his words carefully. “They are not necessarily irritated with you,” he blatantly lied, frustrating her further, “We try to never speak on the situation in the palace whether we agree with what is going on or not. Creating friction with a lord, even to a small degree, can have negative effects on Pangu’s work. We all do our best to make him look as good as possible.”

So it had nothing to do with preserving the lord’s ego after all and everything to do with continuing to protect Pangu. Heidi almost groaned. While she did understand, in a general sense, she felt they really twisted themselves into knots in order to do “what was best” for her brother.

“You seem dissatisfied with that answer,” Raine pointed out the obvious.

“You are not allowed to have your own opinions?”

The tall man frowned and recoiled slightly. “I do not see it that way. I doubt the other two do either. It has little to do with us and our wants. It is not like Pangu does not put up a front either for the sake of getting the results he needs.”

“So…he manipulates the leaders into doing what he wants?” Heidi cocked her head to the side as the music began to play.

Raine opened and closed his mouth but he decided to drop it in favor of watching Pangu. On the other side of him, Kira grumbled under his breath as he started to pull the miasma into himself. His words were entirely inaudible but Baiya could still guess what he was upset about.

They both overheard pieces of the conversation and, beyond that, Baiya had noticed Heidi’s proclivity toward the first disciple. It had been apparent from when she first met Raine but, as they approached Gaias, it had been especially clear. And, even clearer than that, were Kira’s feelings on it.

“She really is like…everything that pisses you off crammed into one person, huh?” Baiya asked, using the noise from the crowd and stage to mask his words so, ideally, only Kira would hear him.

The man’s red eyes narrowed at him right away. “What do you mean?”

“Heidi, obviously.”

Kira frowned as soon as he heard her name. “She is such an asshole to our Pangu…and now she’s…”

“Flirting with Raine?” Baiya finished for him. His groan was answer enough. “Don’t worry, Raine is too thick-headed to ever realize it anyway. She can throw herself at him all she wants, he will never catch on.”

That was not the problem for Kira. Other than the fact that seeing it all filled him with a rather ugly feeling, he also worried about Raine’s stance on the woman. Whether he realized she was flirting or not was sort of a moot point when the real question was whether he liked her back. And, worse than all of that, was that Kira had absolutely no one to talk to about it. He could not talk to Raine, obviously, and Pangu was off the table too so it really only left Baiya.

As much as it pained him to admit, the man was the only one capable of understanding what he was going through.

“Still,” Kira said, “You need to do something about your sister-in-law before I snap.”

“My what?” Baiya glowered. His desire to talk Kira through his anguish disappeared almost instantly. He should have figured the usual thorn in his side would continue to be a pain.

Of course, Kira just snickered and responded, “You heard me.”

The miasma cleared and Pangu gave one last twirl as the music tapered off. Heidi watched with a skeptic gaze and, at the end of the ceremony, she peered around Raine to see Kira rolling his wrist and stretching his right hand. She had learned he was the one who actually absorbed the miasma under usual circumstances so her brother had really just gotten onto a stage and danced for the show of it, not for any functional purpose.

After the lord and his wife gave their accolades to the Xiang and hinted at an affirmative response to Lord Viren’s message, Heidi was left with another massive question. Only, this time she waited until they were walking back to the stable, away from the palace and any prying ears.

“So…” she trailed off, knowing her next words would possibly start a riot with Kira and Baiya. She did not mean them maliciously and she hoped to let that show when she made eye contact with Pangu. “Is that all you do?”

As she expected, Kira was the first to respond. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Kira,” both Pangu and Raine said at the same time in an attempt to calm him down.

“No,” he countered and stopped walking, looking down on Heidi with a scowl. “I’ve had enough of you treating your brother like shit.”

“I’m not trying to be mean,” Heidi scoffed before attempting to explain her point further, “You told me you are the one who absorbs the miasma so, really, you’re doing all the work. Yet Pangu gets to dance and be cheered on like he is the hero but he’s not really doing anything.”

“There is far more to being Xiang than what you saw today,” Baiya also, predictably, jumped to his defense.

“Is there?” she questioned. “I heard that he mostly cleared out miasma and he is not even really doing that so…”

Kira saw nothing but red. Under normal circumstances, he would have been quick to defend Pangu, just on principle alone. No one said shit about Pangu unchallenged around him—he would not allow it. But, with the recent upset in the status quo, with the old guys assigning a new Xiang and Pangu, very clearly, losing his drive and spirit, even the smallest of critiques could do pretty severe damage.

And this was coming from his own sister. His own family.

He could see the hurt written all over Pangu’s face. While he was not hanging his head or dramatically sobbing, Kira could all but feel just how deeply Heidi’s words were cutting.

Before he could control it, he was shouting, “Can you shut the fuck up for five minutes?! Huh?”

Heidi’s brow furrowed and her jaw fell slack. She collected herself quickly however and snapped back, “I will speak whenever I want to—I do not need permission from you!”

They stepped toward each other, a possible prelude to an actual, physical confrontation so Pangu slipped in between them.  “Stop it,” he did not ask; he told them, “No fighting in the middle of the street—people are watching.”

“Yeah, because heaven forbid anyone thinks badly of you,” Heidi remarked before storming off.

Raine looked between her and Pangu before chasing after her, not wanting to risk her leaving for good while Pangu, Kira, and Baiya stayed put. A storm cloud rolled in overhead and a distant clap of thunder crashed, further cementing in the mood.

[rauthschild]

We've all been programmed. There's a reason why they call it programming on television ("television programs') and with respect to computers, too --- computer programming.

I am less programmed than most of you because I stopped watching television and "newscasts" --- as in, casting spells --- in 2004.

Another concept often associated with programming is "behavioral modification" --- think Pavlov's dog, trained to salivate using cues instead of food stimulation.

Ever heard of "taking their cues" on stage?

The insidious thing is that you don't even know you have been programmed.

Most of you have heard the phrase "our democracy" repeated endlessly throughout your life, until you assume that America is a democracy and that it is "ours".

Everywhere on television you hear the buzzwords, "threat to democracy".

But America is not a democracy.

Likewise you are told that you are a "US Citizen" so often that, of course, you believe it --- until someone shows you otherwise.

Our British Territorial Subcontractor operating as a Municipal Corporation housed in the District of Columbia --- they are a democracy. We're not.

Everyone goes around talking about "Equity Law" this and "Equity Law" that, but Equity Law isn't American, either. It's British. And unless you are a British Territorial U.S. Citizen, you can't access Equity Law.

And what are they really talking about? Sweat equity. Equity Law is part of the Blood Money System based on labor and performances.

Granted, a lot of us have a lot of sweat equity invested in the Blood Money System, but nobody tells us that, and while they are eager to consider us "Brits" for the purpose of collecting from us, they are not willing to recognize us in a Court of Equity.

All your life you have been told that you are free and how glorious freedom is, but look around at the obvious conditions of slavery?

And coercion?

And depravity?

And abuse of power?

Don't assume anything, because when you do, there are all these little trip-lever word programs ready to go off in your brain.

All day long I hear from people who are totally confused.

They think that their rights come from the Constitution.

They think that they live under the Constitution.

This is all programming and indoctrination. You think you have to have a Social Security Number and a Driver License, too.

But what you've been told, you've been sold.

It's all because of programming. And if you watch and pay attention, you can observe them programming you. Just question the phrases and buzzwords.

How many times do we have to hear "in these challenging times" before we believe that these are challenging times? How about "safe and effective"?

FYI, if they slip something like this past you at least ten times, it becomes part of your subconscious assumption. If you don't question what you are being told, you believe what you are being told, and then, sure enough, you create it. You make the times challenging on command.

You are the next best thing to a Genie in a bottle.

Remember the evil Axis Powers?

The Anglo-American Axis existed long before WWII.

The Anglo-American Axis funded and created the whole phenomenon of Hitler, and used him to undermine Germany.

They were the Axis Powers. Corrupt Americans and Brits.

Not Germans. Not Italians. Not Japanese.

Churchill must have busted a strut every time he heard about the "Axis Powers", because in their own sick way, they were disclosing the truth.

All the misery and destruction of World War II really was caused by the Axis Powers.

We were just kept in the dark about who the Axis Powers were.

So be aware how these canary birds do it to us.

Pick up on the verbiage they hurl and how often they hurl it. Look for double meanings and transliterations, like substituting "American" for "Amorican", Aryan for Orion and re-branding efforts, like trying to call Earth "Gaia" --- folks, Earth is Terra, Mars is Gaia.

Be on your toes.

[laughing-hellblazer]

The nun tipped from side to side in her habit as she walked, seemingly cheerful and blissfully unaware of the eeriness of the situation. "Oh, dear, please do call me Sister Abbey. It is my name, after all!" She paused at the open door to a room, gesturing with her hand for them to enter. "I'm sure he'll have everything sorted soon. He's a smart one. Please, do come over and place him on the bed."

John was feeling it now, the cold claws of encroaching unconsciousness. But he had to fight it. The moment his head started to tip backward, he pulled it back up with a good amount of effort. He was grateful for the support given by Fei, but as they entered the dark old building, he couldn't ignore the feeling of dread that washed over him. This was not how it should have been. This whole place had the feeling of tension in the air, like freshly released spirits. Death. They were calling him, either because of his innate sensitivity or his closeness to their side of the world.

So they called this place 'Earth', too. Well, that was a little piece of familiarity he could cling to. He wasn't on someplace analogously called 'Terra' or 'Gaia' this time, nor was it something entirely foreign like 'Ivalice'. Still, by the looks on the faces of those around him, he took the hint that they didn't believe him. The white-haired kid's words more or less solidified that worry. It wouldn't be the first time his impatience got him a week long stay at an institution. He would have preferred to avoid that. John drew back an inch or two as Rico leaned in, though his expression didn't exactly denote intimidation as much as avoidance. The point was taken, and he gave a single nod of his head in return. Fine, they wanted the story? Then he'd tell it again. Visibly, he took in a steadying breath, the let it out in a measured exhale with shut eyes. Go on, John, keep it together. He opened his eyes back up, looking at Fei to give him a more fleshed out answer. "One day, I made the mistake of opening a gateway I couldn't go back through, and ever since, I've been thrown from world-to-world, across realities and lifetimes. It's a random toss up as to where I end up, but it's always through a reflection. This time, I must have ended up coming through here, and washed up on your beach." He gave a shrug of his shoulders. Bart lifted his head up, keeping a wary gaze fixed on John's face for signs of lying. Then came a look of pitying concern, and he looked at Fei. "I think he really believes that. Kinda sad..." he whispered.

The bed was freshly made and clean, with the sterile smell of disinfectant dulled behind the smell of blood. John wasn't sure how much of it was his. He swore a faint sliver of it smelt older than he'd been bleeding. "Smthn...rrnng..." Oh, good, he was a slurring mess, by now. He rolled his eyes in frustration and dropped his head back with a huff.

"A patient, I see," a deep, masculine voice announced the presence of another man, with brown hair tied back into a tight ponytail. "Let's get started, then." He looked like he'd just recovered from seeing a ghost after spotting John. "What's your name, lad?" he asked, his English accent setting him apart from the Edinburgh accent of Sister Abbey.

It wasn’t until the door opened that Fei felt the adrenaline start to taper off. Oh, what a relief, it wasn’t empty. And the nun, he could tell right away, she looked just like the ones in Nisan, stood before them with a gentle voice and half-blind eyes crinkled by age. Fei exhaled, “Oh, I was worried you guys weren’ t—” He paused enough to heft John in sideways through the door, “open.” He could feel just by the jostle of his limbs and head that he didn’t have much awareness left, and what he did have was not gonna last long.

But, really, with how dark it was, would John even realize when he conked out? There was something really creepy about the darkness, though Fei tried to ignore it. Fuses blow, right? He nodded, “Uh, but really, no problem. Where do I put him? I think he was stabbed, and he’s been bleeding a while. I did what I could but,” Fei bit his lip and shrugged a shoulder in defeated apology. He hadn’t had enough time to rest himself to do much more. Not that the gesture meant much in the dark to a blind old nun.

Actually… wait a minute.

“Okay, well, you’re on the earth. So, cool it.” Fei quirked his lips in a mix of confusion and maybe perhaps empathetic impatience, and crossed his arms. Admittedly, different regions called the planet different things, but Earth was one of them. “Maybe we can still help you—” He didn’t have time to continue. Between Bart speaking and the man firing back just as fast, Fei looked between the two, trying to get at least one side to ease up. Oh no, it was already like having two growling cats in the room.

Billy blinked, a little lost for words at what would have been the ramblings of a madman in any other situation. You know, if they hadn’t gotten the fast and loose recounting of their planet’s history only just so recently that none of it felt solid yet. That tended to put things into a very strange perspective. “Another… world…” He looked at Fei, eyes suddenly wide and confused. “Are you sure you’re okay? Perhaps you should lay back down.”

Rico shook his head. “Yeah, sure, simple enough. But it doesn’t answer everything.” He walked up, leaning down to stare John in the eyes, making his full size very apparent. “So, answer the kids’ questions. Name and what you remember. And keep it clean.”

How did a blind old nun get around in the dark without a candle? No one helped her? Or was she the kind of blind where she’d learned to navigate without her eyes? Yeah, maybe it was that. Yeah. Her footsteps were hobbled, but she seemed fine. He was just on edge from running here and definitely feeling a man bleeding out in his arms. Not only a man on the verge of death to begin with, already distressing, but maybe the only person who could get what he was going through.

Still, he could feel the creaking and bowing of the floorboards and couldn’t help but think the place wasn’t in the best shape to begin with. Maybe that’s why he felt so weird here. Everything here felt uneasy and heavy.

“Uh, Sist—” Were they called that here? He furrowed his brow, looking around as his eyes adjusted. “… do you think he’ll have the lights on soon? I really wasn’t able to get a good look at how deep it was, but it’s really bad.” He looked down at John, the man’s features slowly coming into shape as the darkness grew normal. Eyes were fluttering, skin was pale— way too pale. Crap. He adjusted his hold on John and felt the wet stain of blood growing outward through his clothes, and every once in a while he’d manage to hear a drip in the dead quiet of the building. The smell was getting thick and metallic.

Maybe he could find a way to light up the infirmary, whenever they finally got there, because they might not be able to wait for fuses.

[createandconstruct]

From @lightning-struck-thrice​​

BASIC?! IMPOSSIBLE. The Not Alone sequence is the BEST scene in the e n t i r e game. I’ll die over that hill. I was driving yesterday, shuffling my music, and the Distant Worlds version of Not Alone came on. Safe to say I was crying while trying to merge lanes.

What’s truly beautiful about the sequence is that Zidane is stripped down to the ugliest part of him. He’s cruel, harsh, lashing out at everyone who tries to reach him. And yet they reach. out. anyway.

"Leave me alone..."

"This has nothing to do with you."

"Shut up! Just shut up, you stupid brat!"

"Will you little twits just shut up!"

"There are some things kids can't understand."

When Eiko and Vivi arrive he’s angry, hateful, he pushes them away, and speaks so unkindly to them, unlike he ever has before. Through their entire journey Zidane treated Eiko and Vivi as equals yet here he throws their ages in their faces and refuses to listen to their words of truth.

"I can take care of myself."

Yet then comes Freya and Amarant. Freya tells him, "Looks like you need some help," only for the once loner Amarant to show up, jabbing, insincerely, "Can't you even take care of yourself?” Zidane responds, but that hot anger isn’t there from when he spoke to Vivi and Eiko. Something’s changing, yet he brushes off their words of help with an isolating, dismissing, responsive. It’s still not getting through.

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to trouble you anymore."

He walks on only this time to happen upon Steiner and Quina already fighting for his sake. "Steiner...Quina... What are you doing..." Is all he can say. In complete shock at the sight that more of the party have come for him. As he joins the fight he can only quietly say, “You guys...” As Steiner responds, without missing a beat, “You’re late, Zidane!” And when the battle ends, the anger has all but fizzled out. The truth of Zidane’s outburst is leaking out. Zidane doesn’t wish to be alone. No one truly wishes for such a thing. Yet we often run from the comfort and love of others in fear of what we’ll bring them in return. Trouble, Zidane says. He believes his presence at their sides has only made things worse. That it will only continue to do so. For all they have given him, in this moment, he truly believes he has given nothing but pain to them in return.

"You're all a bunch of babysitting bastards!"

He’s at his ugliest. He’s at his point of most despair. Everyone who’s come before, from Vivi to Steiner, he throws their kindness in their faces. Shouting that their following after him his almost like suffocation. That their compassion and devotion is unwelcome. That they’re the ones who are wrong. He’s the one who wants to be alone, so they should simply grant his wish.

And yet...

"But trust me, I know that I'm the worst bastard here."

Despite their time together, despite the blood they’ve shed beside him, the tears they’ve shared, the very scene before his eyes that they’ve returned for him despite his opposition, he quietly says his true belief, his honest fear, that they’re beside him out of obligation. That they’ve stayed beside him by mistake. That by walking with them, welcoming their friendship, love, and goodness he’s led them to despair. He’s a useless child they’ve been looking after, one who belongs to the very world who spilt their blood and brought their tears. He’s the bastard. Not them. Never them. Because he’s the one who never could deserve them. 

That’s his truth. That’s the darkness hidden within Zidane. For all his optimism, all his cheer, Zidane is the one without a home. He’s the one without a father. He’s the spawn of Terra. The evil they’ve been fighting is his origin, the pain radiating from Gaia is in his blood, he must hold responsibility for the suffering of these people, who, despite his words and actions, he holds most dear. These people who only earlier he was desperate to still call his in the very face of his creator. 

“I'm aware of all the laughter, all the tears I've shared with the people I grew up with on Gaia.”

He enters the final battle against the Shell Dragon. A battle no one could win alone. One he fights in silence. One he fights with a clear end in sight. He takes a hit that brings him to his knees and one can only say that his mission here is clear. It is the one thing a lost, misguided person can do to rid those they care about of the burden they so tragically believe to be themselves. 

“Is this how you want to solve the problem?”

Dagger doesn’t let him. 

“You try to do everything by yourself, don't you?”

She sees right through him. She sees that ugliness, she hears that despair, she feels him push away and yet she. Reaches. Out. Anyway. She sees it for what it is. She refuses his self-hatred, she pushes back against his isolation, she tells him she won’t take no for an answer. When someone refuses a hand that aims to pull them up - that is when they are truly at their lowest. It is when they believe they don’t deserve help that they need it the most. It is when they seek to be alone that need someone beside them.

You've always protected us. But you still don't understand that we looked out for you, too! We watched your back while you watched ours. And we believed in you the same way you believed in us! Just like you protected us... We want to protect you.

Zidane pushes back. He lists the reasons, the horrible burdening weight he doesn’t wish to inflict upon the people he always thought of as friends, yet never had the confidence to believe went both ways. And Dagger tells him off. Breaking through his delusion of despair. For every kindness he gave, they returned. For every joy he felt with them beside him, it resounded within them too. If he expects to save them then he must except them to save him too. Even if he doesn’t wish it, even if he scratches and bites and spits anger and hate that he doesn’t truly mean, they will not budge. Because the truth of this beautiful scene isn’t that Zidane is “not alone...”

...it’s that his friends won’t ever let him be.

And what can Zidane say in the face of such selfless, unconditional love.

"Ha... What am I gonna do with you guys?"

Nothing, really. 

Because truly, what needs to be said?

He simply does the one thing we as humans can do in this often dark, painful, lonely life we’re given: 

He takes the hands of those he loves and holds them.

[xkuja]

     So, just throwing this out there, if I were to write Affettuoso as a fanfic with some drawings on it, would anyone read it? It’s the FF9 verse I have going with @zinidyne-zidane. I’ll put a summary of it under the dividing line with some spoilers*.

Obviously my version of it will be skewed toward Kuja’s perspective...

If it’s something you’d be interested in reading, or wouldn’t read but would support it existing anyway, a like would be appreciated!  ; v ;

     Kuja, having made it out of the Iifa tree, is faced with the reality of his impending death and shuts himself in the Desert Palace for a year in hopes of researching a possible cure. Ultimately hitting a wall in his progress and with his magic dwindling, he ventures back to Treno in disguise as King and begins to broaden his research, using the Auction House as a cover.

      Unexpectedly, Kuja crosses paths with Zidane once again when the latter is cornered by Amarant’s contacts-- who are none too happy with their best being driven out of Treno by a bounty. Knowing he can’t afford for news of his survival spreading while in a weakened state, Kuja strikes a bargain with Zidane-- He will allow him to stay at his manor in Treno and keep Amarant’s bounty off his head, if Zidane keeps his survival a secret and occasionally ‘runs errands’ for him. Zidane foolishly agrees.

      Things are tense at first-- keeping your enemy close does hold its advantages, but Kuja’s resentment for Zidane runs deep, and the feeling appears to be mutual at first. Over time, however, the two seem to come to better understand one another, and even appear to be becoming friends... An unfamiliar sensation to Kuja which doesn’t sit well with him.

      Running out of time to find a solution to Kuja’s impending death and struggling to keep his survival a secret from Zidane’s friends, who are growing increasingly concerned by the friendly thief’s distant behavior, the two venture out to Oeilvert...

      ...Where they each discover very different answers to extending Kuja’s life. 

*But is it really spoilers if the things I’m spoiling have been written in our rps and are able to be read? And if the fanfic doesn’t exist yet? Schrodingers spoilers: Kuja ends up going full neutral evil again and develops a new and improved Iifa Tree to feed himself the souls of Gaia, and Zidane ends up secretly possessed by the will of their world-eating eldritch home planet, Terra. Neither of them have any idea of what the other is doing kek. Hijinks ensue.

[write-orflight]

Galileo: Chapter 8

**Gif Not Mine**

Prev -  Next

Pairings: SpencerXReader, enemies to friends to lovers trope

Rating: M

Words: 2.1K

Warnings:  None, just painfully fluff.

Request: OPEN/CLOSED

Summary:  Y/N  is an astronomer with her head constantly in the stars. But when a   serial killer is threatening NASA’s top scientists, she is left in the   protective custody of a man who’s gravitational pull threatens to pull   her back down to earth. 

A.N: Unedited. Well guys we’re here. I kinda really like how I ended this chapter so IF I do write an Epilogue it’ll be very very small. So for that reason I’m closing the taglist for Galileo. Thank you all for coming on this journey with me. Check out my other fics if you haven’t. And shoot me an inbox saying what you think! much love, Cia.

                                Chapter 8: Pluto 

Life with Spencer wasn’t easier but it sure was better. 

It had been about 9 months now since the two of you started dating and you knew it would be rough. The two of you traveled a lot for work so it was a lot of missed calls, texts, and video chats in the beginning but now you’d say the two of you got a grip on what you both wanted which was each other. Around month 6, Spencer asks you to move in with him. At first you say no, and you keep saying no until around month 8 when Spencer gets shot on the job and you take care of him and just never leave. Not that he was complaining, it was what he’s wanted since Month 2. 

You met the team officially and without impending danger around month 2 as well. Emily and Derek who you already knew through the investigation welcomed you back with open arms and tequila shots at the bar you met them at. JJ took a while to warm up to you which you completely understood from how you left but she warmed up to you when she realized just how much you loved Spencer and how much you regretted pushing him away. 

You and Penelope Garcia got along like a house on fire which everyone expected the two genius women to. Though her sunny, social disposition and your quiet, mellow one didn’t mix on paper pretty soon you guys were trading baked goods and having sleepovers. It was nice, you never had girl friends you could be yourself around but you found that in them. 

Spencer was still Spencer. 

In some ways, he was still the man you met in the observatory of your job, and in some ways he was very different. He was definitely a lot more touchy than you thought he’d be, seemingly unable to be in the same room as you without touching you in some way. Not that that was unwelcome, you loved him all the same. He was still that nerdy guy who whenever he read something or found out something new about your field he’d call you up and immediately to tell you about it. And you would sit and listen intently, never having the heart to tell him it was something you already knew. You liked to hear him talk anyway. 

You still found out a couple of things too. One being that Spencer gets extremely jealous and you found this out around Month 7 of your relationship, your first official fight. He had come to surprise you at work and you were helping the new Doctor hired on the Terra-Mora project get acclimated with the space. You didn’t think anything of the guy other than he was overly friendly but when Spencer came in and saw the fairly attractive man lingering a hand on your back he became livid. 

The car ride home was awkward because you could tell something was up with Spencer though he wasn’t saying anything. “What’s wrong?” You asked. 

“Nothing, bunny.” He says, you can’t help the smile that crosses  your face at the nickname but you knew there was something wrong. 

“Okay so there has to be something up. So out with it.” 

He’s silent for a moment. “How’s working with Dr. Sutton?” 

“Landon?” You ask. He gives you a look when you refer to the man by first name but you choose to ignore it.  “It’s fine. He’s better at math and he’s been nice.” 

“Bet he has.” Spencer mutters under his breath. 

“Ok, what is that?” You ask. 

“Why did you just call him Landon just now?” 

“His name is Landon….?” 

“Every person you work with you refer to as Doctor, you even refer to yourself as Dr. L/N when talking about work.” He points out. “In fact, the only other person you didn’t do that for was Jonathan, who you had feelings for. So why is he ‘Landon’?” 

“He asked me to call him Landon.” You shrug. “You almost sound jealous, Spence.” You can’t help the small chuckle that leaves you when you say it because it was ridiculous to even think about. You loved Spencer. You couldn’t imagine your life without him or even fathom wanting anyone but him but when you saw the look he gave you back when you said it you knew that was exactly the case. 

“You wanna tell me what this is actually about now?” You question. 

“Why didn’t you say I was your boyfriend?” He whispers. 

“What?” You say, confused. You park the car in front of your apartment and turn fully towards Spencer.   

“You didn’t say I was your boyfriend, you called him Landon…” 

“Baby, I didn’t even realize I didn’t do that.” You say, looking into his eyes. “If I did it’s because everyone knows who you are.” You say, cupping the side of his face with one of your hands, he instantly leans into the touch. “My genius boyfriend, who works for the FBI and saved my life. I talk about you constantly because I am happy and proud to be yours. That you still took a chance on me even though I pushed you away and treated you like shit in the beginning. I am never trying to hide you and you have no reason to be jealous because I don’t see anyone else when I’m with you, ok?” You say, Spencer smiles and leans over the center console to kiss you and just like every time Spencer kisses you, you contemplate the likelihood that the earth could stop its rotation because it seemed that the world stood still every time you were together like this.When you pulled away, you leaned your forehead against Spencers for a second, catching your breath. 

“Plus you really have no reason to be jealous.” You add. “Me and Landon spent most of the morning talking about our boyfriends.” 

Spencer looks at you with a wide eyed expression. “You mean, he’s--” 

“Yup.” You cut off. Getting out of the car, Spencer follows you. “You should get jealous more though. It’s kinda hot.” You shrug. Spencer rolls his eyes at you. 

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

     On your one year anniversary, you go to your first date spot which was the Planetarium. You rolled your eyes at the time when Spencer suggested the date saying that you’d both just end up annoying the tour guide. In the end, you ended up with a 16  year old named Anna, who had the same twinkle in her eye when she talked about Space that you had as a child. You ended up shushing Spencer every now and again so you could listen to the young girl tell you about the planets you both knew so much about. At the end of the tour, you told her who you were and that if she wanted an internship at NASA after high school to give you a call. She smiled excitedly at you and hugged you, which you returned before apologizing profusely for hugging you. When you and Spencer were walking to get food after that he asked the question. 

“Do you want kids?” He says. 

“Whoa!” You laugh. “Big ask for a first date.” 

“I’m sorry, you were just so cute with the tour guide that--It’ll come up eventually is all.” 

“I do want kids someday.” You say, smiling at the man. “I never thought it was in the cards for me but I would love kids someday. What about you?” 

“I never thought it was in the cards for me either but I like the idea of having a family.” He says, reaching for your hand. You smile at him again and the topic never comes back up. 

You guys head to the Planetarium again and Anna is still working there, finishing up her senior year. She lets you guys venture around without a guide this time and you and Spencer just sit in the auditorium alone, talking softly at the fake constellations that pass by. 

After, you ask if you guys can skip dinner to go to the observatory just to see if you can get a peak at Gaia tonight as the sky seemed pretty clear. Spencer smiles and obliges you as the two of you head over to your job. The night security guard just nods at the two of you as you walk in, having come accustomed to your late nights and Spencer accompanying you. 

Spencer sits a ways while you set everything up, booting up your computer and positioning your telescope. The two of you settle into a comfortable silence as you often did around each other. You felt slightly bad, it was your anniversary and Spencer was indulging you just like always. He was really way too good for you. You look up at him and smile, which he instantly returns before you turn your attention to the telescope. 

That’s when you see it. 

Gaia. 

Fully visible from earth for the first time in what could have been a millennium. 

You scream out of happiness and Spencer looks up at you raising a brow as you run for your tape recorder.  Gesturing for him to come look. He looks into the telescope as you type into your computer for a second, making sure your telescope was taking the pictures you needed, before speaking into your recorder. 

“This is Dr. Y/N L/N. I am accompanied by Dr. Spencer Reid. The date is April 12th 2014. For the first time ever Planet KXSY-1029 or Alias Gaia is Fully visible from earth!” You turn off the recorder and jump into your boyfriend’s arms. He instantly catches you and spins you around before kissing you fully on your lips. You moan into his mouth slightly as his tongue meets yours but eventually he pulls away but he is still lifting you fully. 

“Do you realize how big tonight is? This is probably the only time anyone in centuries will be able to see her until we actually start human trials and it’s the only time it’ll probably ever be visible from earth and WE were here for it! This is amazing! This night cannot get bette--” 

“Marry me.” Spencer says, looking into your eyes. 

Your eyes widen, as Spencer sets you down on the ground. “What?” You ask. 

“I was going to ask at dinner.” He says pulling a ring out of his jacket pocket and getting down on one knee. You feel tears welling in your eyes. 

“I ruined your whole plan.” You say. 

“No! No, you didn’t. Because seeing you react to seeing Gaia just now reminded me exactly why I wanted to marry you.” Spencer says, grabbing your hands. “Did you know the greek goddess Gaia in creating the earth, gave humans four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. And Zeus, fearing their power, split them in half and that’s where the soulmates come from?” He asks, you shake your head and more tears fall as he rubs small circles with his thumb on the back of your hand. “Y/N, you are the single most caring, passionate, amazing person I know. And if I could go back and change anything about how we met and when we met, I wouldn’t. If I could take away your hurt and tragedy, I would but I feel like everything I’ve ever done, everything that’s ever happened to me, was designed to lead me to you. Meeting you, loving you was the first time in my life I felt truly like myself, like I was half a person until meeting you made me whole again.” He tears up as he looks you in the eyes. “So, Y/N… Will you marry me? Please.” He adds softly. 

You nod fast, tears falling more than they were before as you give him a wet smile. “Yes, Spencer! Of course!” You laugh as Spencer smiles up at you as he slides the ring onto your finger. He gets up and kisses you passionately, hands cradling your face. When you pull apart, he hugs you tightly. You breathe in his scent and look behind him at the images of Gaia on your screens. You thought back to the story Spencer had just told you about soulmates and how before you met Spencer you were just going through the motions of life, feeling incomplete and never knowing what was missing. You seemed to have everything you wanted. Your dream job and life. It wasn’t until being with Spencer you realized what was missing. That he was missing.   

In the end, you were just two halves. 

Made whole by Gaia.  

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