#looking back at those resources is probably wild to a random person
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hearteyedfeelings · 3 months ago
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“I want to sink my fingers into your heart to feel its beat”
— “for me”
This is an idea that came to my head. My writer brain first came up with the quote and then the art came after
I love these little freaks
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theoutlasttrials24 · 5 months ago
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Inside The Outlast Trials: A Deep Dive
It’s easy to draw comparisons to Saw or Hostel, but The Outlast Trials carves out its own unique yet familiar atmosphere, and it looks beautifully gruesome, enticing gamers looking to buy Xbox games. Whether you’re playing with friends or solo, the game delivers on what Outlast does best, and Red Barrels nailed the game balancing perfectly for both styles of play. It’s just a pity there’s not much drawing me back once I’ve seen it all. Still, if they add more maps to explore and scream in later on, count me in for another visit to the Murkoff Facility.
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Character Roles in The Outlast Trials
Each session follows a similar pattern: sneak into the building, stay low-key, complete the task, and get out. The specific objectives change, but the core gameplay stays consistent, making it a compelling choice for those interested in buying PS5 games. Going solo is totally doable and probably the purest way to play Outlast, keeping that lone wolf vibe where your success depends solely on you. It ramps up the tension, though it does stretch out the missions by like three times. Playing with friends tones down some of the scare factor. One person can distract the creepy stalkers while the other handles the objective, and they can switch roles easily if needed. It makes everything more efficient, which is key since your performance gets graded each session. Being faster, using fewer resources, and taking less damage means a better grade and more XP. As you level up, you earn currency to upgrade your character at vendors in the main hub. The Pharmacist boosts your personal skills, like stamina or inventory size. The Engineer gives you powerful abilities, like healing everyone nearby, seeing enemies through walls, or throwing stun grenades. You can only pick one at a time, so having a diverse team makes a big impact. At level 10, you also unlock The Shadowy Dame who provides perks, sort of like power-ups to enhance your gameplay.
Unpredictable Thrills in Multiplayer Chaos
There’s a group finder feature, though, which is where things really kick off. Finding instant games or forming groups for specific trials—it’s like the game hits its stride here. Playing with randoms is wild and unpredictable. Lobbies light up with chaos—players getting chased, trying to survive while you either dodge the mayhem or jump in to save someone’s skin. But nothing beats rolling with your crew. The Outlast Trials is all about bringing your squad into the madness, where it becomes a savage, scary party. Sure, teamwork makes things smoother, but seeing your friends getting wrecked by horrors—it’s a mix of fun and fear like nothing else. One moment I’m decoding some signal, next thing I know, my teammate’s running past, and suddenly I’m the main course for some psycho killer. That unpredictability amps up the excitement—you never know what your buddies are gonna do next, just hope it doesn’t end with you as monster chow.
Challenging Modes and Team Triumph
The devs are dropping hints about what’s next for The Outlast Trials now that it’s out of early access. New zones and weekly challenges are on the horizon, keeping the hype alive beyond the current content. One thing bugging me though: there's this pricey Reagent Starter Pack with 4 legendary skins and other cool stuff, all just for looks. No in-game store yet, but dropping nearly $30 AUD just to glam up your character feels a bit much. They might rethink this down the line depending on how long the game sticks around. I hope they keep the freebie cosmetics interesting for us non-premium players! After smashing the trials multiple times, you unlock tougher modes like "Advanced Therapy" and "Extreme Therapy". It’s all about ramping up the challenge for bigger rewards, especially if you're brave enough to keep coming back. Collecting new gear after surviving the bloody trials is cool, but surviving with your crew is the real win!
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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years ago
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Spilled Pearls
- Chapter 29 - ao3 -
“In the future, you should send your children to the Cloud Recesses for me to teach,” Lan Qiren said. He was sitting with Wen Ruohan on one of the rooftop gardens in the Nightless City, watching the moon and stars from a pavilion placed there for that purpose; their bodies were pressed close together, and it felt as if they were far away from all the things that were familiar. “You and Lao Nie both, and naturally I’ll come visit with you often as well, bringing my nephew. Between the three of us, we might even be able to teach them how to be proper human beings.”
Wen Ruohan laughed in his ear and pressed his lips to his cheek – he had taken to kissing him at random, spontaneous, as if still overwhelmed by the fact that he now had the right to do it.
“I will,” he promised. “I agree, I think they’ll turn out better that way…you would really have me educate your precious little A-Huan?”
“If I’m willing to entrust myself with you, why not him? Anyway, I can teach him music, and with the aid of the other teachers in my sect the sword in the Lan sect style, but you can teach him much more than that. You know how to look at the world and see it for what it is, and then bend it to your will, make it sing to your tune. He’ll be sect leader in the future; he needs to learn that, and you can teach it to him.”
“I can, and I will,” Wen Ruohan said, then thought for a moment and asked, “What does Lao Nie bring to the table?”
“Flexibility, mostly.”
Wen Ruohan barked out a laugh. “He certainly has that.”
He didn’t even sound bitter about it any more.
Lan Qiren smiled.
“In the meantime, I will handle the rest of it,” Wen Ruohan added, and Lan Qiren looked at him in silent question. “Come now, Qiren. Did you really think that I would allow you to remain caged in the Cloud Recesses your whole life?”
Lan Qiren paused. That was the sorest part of his heart, his most painful misery, but he didn’t think Wen Ruohan would bring it up casually. If anything, he was a bit more afraid of what Wen Ruohan might get into his head to do about it – there was very little Wen Ruohan wouldn’t dare.
“Da-ge –” he started warily.
“No, no,” Wen Ruohan said, lightly scolding. “Little Lan, be serious! I already rejected the opportunity to cage you here at the Nightless City, playing only for me, despite how much I longed to do so. I refused to do it – me, refusing myself – because I knew it would only make you sad. Do you really think I would allow other people a privilege that I have denied myself?”
Lan Qiren did not laugh, but he dearly wanted to. It might be the first time he’d ever wanted to laugh about his situation – not even Cangse Sanren had managed that. “Has anyone told you that you are extremely self-absorbed?” he asked instead. “Arrogance is forbidden. Do not be haughty and complacent.”
Wen Ruohan smirked back at him. “All true, little Lan, but don’t forget your favorite: Do not tell lies.”
Self-absorbed, narcissistic and arrogant, Lan Qiren concluded, and there was no helping it. It was clearly a terminal case.
He used his sleeve to hide his laughter.
“What are you planning, exactly?” he asked once he had recovered. “If you harm my sect, whether directly or indirectly by denying them my services, I would be even more upset than if you tried to lock me away in here.”
Wen Ruohan waved a hand dismissively. “Do you think me so incapable? I have already begun making arrangements. Discussion conferences may only be once or twice a year, being as they are tremendously irritating to arrange, but there’s no reason that we of the Great Sects should not recognize our greater duty towards the smaller sects, and not to mention our obligations to protect the mortal world –”
“You know that it exists, then?”
Wen Ruohan ignored him. “The resources of cultivation clans are limited, and the world large. There are many places which would benefit from aid that do not see any simply because they are far away or tucked in inconvenient places, and no sect lives nearby – naturally, it is our duty to fight evil no matter where it is encountered. Lao Nie has already agreed that it is critical that the sect leaders demonstrate our sincerity by fulfilling this duty in person, leading by example.”
Lan Qiren’s heart had already felt as if it were overflowing with warmth, and it felt even more so now, almost squeezed to pain by how much joy was there. More than he had known he could contain.
Bad luck in brothers, he thought to himself - but oh, he had such good luck in friends!
“I see,” he said, thankful that his usual neutral tone concealed how happy he felt. “And naturally, where you and Lao Nie go, Sect Leader Jin cannot be far behind in his eagerness not to lose out, and where three of the five Great Sects lead, naturally the rest cannot be far behind. So I, too, will be obligated to...what? Go out on night-hunts in inconvenient places?”
“The world is too large, and the number of cultivators too few – and at any rate, there’s no point in setting up a full night-hunt which draws in every person from a thousand li for a few paltry fierce corpses or a ghost or two. I propose, instead, that we would send cultivators out alone, in pairs or in small groups, to wander for a few months through the remote places in the world and clean them up. Then, at the next discussion conference, the Great Sects could jointly agree that whoever was most enterprising would receive a reward, and naturally, stories of various exploits could be exchanged – ”
“Ah. Another reason for young men and women to gather and boast of improbable exploits.”
“Think of it as giving them more opportunities to win glory,” Wen Ruohan said. “And stop talking down about ‘young men’; you are a young man. Naturally you are also qualified to go out to do such things. Required, even: if our Great Sects do not set a proper example, who will?”
“Mm. A proper example. Even if I coincidentally happen to spend more time playing music than hunting demons?”
Wen Ruohan’s eyes were bright. “Even so. And naturally, you could always bring along someone more powerful to do the demon-hunting for you…”
“How convenient.”
Wen Ruohan smirked. “Do you doubt that I will be able to make it happen, little Lan?”
“No,” Lan Qiren said, then added, honestly: “I think you could take over the world if you wished.”
“Naturally! But it would be quite irritating, I think, if I had to also ensure that both you and Lao Nie did not disapprove of my methods…” He paused, lips twitching. “By coincidence, while we’re discussing convenience, I was thinking that it would be dangerous to send all those wild and reckless young men out there without proper support. Surely it would be only reasonable to set up a few convenient places here and there, not so far away, to provide them with supplies and a place to rest and recover –”
Convenient places that would fly the Wen sect’s flag and spread its influence, Lan Qiren presumed. Lanling Jin would be furious – using wealth to buy influence was their favorite technique, and they resented other people copying it – and would immediately insist on establishing their own set of “supply stations”, and then the rest of them would have to catch up and make their own. Yet another expense, and the Great Sects would need to do more than most; it would probably wreck havoc with the Lan sect’s annual budget.
On the other hand, well the remote parts of the world really did need the help. One of the Lan sect’s newly recruited guest disciples had been talking about a place not far from his hometown that specialized in making coffin goods; it was, according to him, the most inauspicious place that could possibly be imagined…
Not a place anyone might want to go, unless they truly were intent on traveling.
Lan Qiren smiled once again. He thought he might never stop smiling.
“Indeed,” he said, trying to sound dry and rational. “Very coincidental. No one will doubt that this is nothing but a scheme to expand your reach and power, rather than any personal motive.”
Wen Ruohan did not answer, but instead, matching a smile of his own to Lan Qiren’s, pressed his lips against Lan Qiren’s once more.
After a little while of silence, Lan Qiren cleared his throat and asked, “Do you intend to tell people?”
He was not referring to Wen Ruohan’s plans for the future.
Wen Ruohan understood.
“In time,” he said. “As much as I would love to shout that you are mine and I am yours from the rooftops and perhaps have bulletins be posted to every town -”
Lan Qiren grimaced. It would be one thing if he thought Wen Ruohan was exaggerating for romantic effect, but unfortunately it would be just like him to engage in that level of over-the-top grandstanding.
“– but your position is not yet certain, and my reputation is too questionable. People would make assumptions and spread malicious gossip, and I – I would not harm you to please myself.”
“Sweet-talker.”
“It’s not sweet-talking when it’s true,” Wen Ruohan protested, although he was chuckling. “When you are more renowned as a teacher than a sect leader, when little A-Huan is old enough to have passed the worst stretches of childhood – then we will announce it, and let the rest of the world choke on it if they like. You, me, Lao Nie…hmm. Jin Guangshan will probably think we’re concealing a conspiracy and ask to join in.”
Lan Qiren gagged. “I refuse,” he said. “I don’t care if I’m not physically involved, neither you nor Lao Nie are allowed to even think about it. That man has visited so many prostitutes that one might be forgiven for thinking he believes that the road to immortality is paved with venereal disease.”
“…thank you, that was an image I did not require.” A pause. “Jiang Fengmian –”
“Remember when he punched me in the face in a fight over a girl I didn’t even want?”
“It wasn’t a serious suggestion.” Wen Ruohan chuckled once more and pressed another kiss to his cheek. “Some years ago now, I swore to your Cangse Sanren that I would do right by you. I ought to invite her here and show her that I’ve made good on it.”
“You haven’t made good on it.”
“I haven’t?”
“No. Such a promise is fulfilled through the keeping – if you want to do right by me, there is no one singular moment that would qualify, but rather a continuing obligation.” Lan Qiren smiled up at him. “I’m sorry, da-ge. You’ll have to continue to do right by me for the rest of our lives.”
“I will,” Wen Ruohan said, and smiled back. “It would be my pleasure.”
-END-
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yostresswritinggirl · 4 years ago
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It is time. This took a while but I figured I should give you guys the closure you've wanted, even tho uh it's not really a closure lmaooo. Here's the first part for the new readers!
Xiao's Personal "Chef" Travel Edition
Xiao with a Reader who is not only his Personal Chef but assistant, adventuring together
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General/Preparation
A visionless chef with an adeptus by their side, going in a routeless journey together to savor the world that had once been pulled away from their grasps.
It must be the cause of the recent ressurection and defeat of the Lord of Vortex, immobilizing him once more for thousands of years. And in the window time, there would be less worries for the Qixing and Liyue Adepti to worry about. Think of it as a day-off for the Adepti, and a vacation for you.
While you carry with you no traces of elemental blessings and an enthusiasm for swordplay, the blessed Sigil of Permission given to you by your adeptus (whom claimed it was created by Rex Lapis himself before his untimely death) grants you a special connection with Xiao.
Sadly a vacation from Liyue does not mean a break from the constant voices of demons within Xiao's mind. And you've prepared him the medicine necessary to soothe his mind even if temporary, three bottles to be exact, all of which can last him several months.
He looks at you with confusion and silent question, of which you waved away because you had prepared this batch in your room in the Inn to make sure he doesn't run out of stock.
He doesn't tell you this but lately the voices had been not intrusive while he gets distracted by your presence. Like a soothing balm, to numb the effects of the pain. It's still there but not as annoying.
Your adventure or journey usually lingers around Liyue for the first parts of it, looking around the nation to enjoy the sceneries without thinking about errands or protecting the villages from impending doom.
Xiao already uh announced his indefinite leave to the other adepti beforehand, but well, when you wanted to visit their domains, which you countered was PERFECTLY safe (almighty Sigil of Permission has lots of perks) it was a very awkward time for him upon meeting them again. It was inevitable because of the energy the sensed from Xiao and your Sigil.
"Hello again, Guardian Yaksha, were you not on leave?" "Y-Yeah... we're just... passing through"
Field trip with the Adepti!!!! Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper brought you around their domains as if to test you, like Ganyu's trials, while also flexing their achievements and who has the best domain. Humans are rare, but you are a mortal who carries the last blessed Sigil and you're tamed in the ways of the adepti because of your exposure to Xiao.
Cloud Retainer not only teaches you the glory of gliding, but she also has cute and embarrassing stories of Xiao from way back! Xiao is in the background trying not to scream or rage at the ensemble in front of him-
"He really likes collecting Qingxin flowers, always bringing one whenever he comes back from his exterminations. He even offers one to Morax everytime." "Yes, yes, such flowers grow common before, right?" "Wha- (Y/N), what do you think you're writing down in that book?!"
"The devoted that carries the last essence of Morax's powers. We've heard much about you from your adeptus, it is relieving to finally put a face to your name. Tell us, child, what is it that you seek in our domain?"
They pretty much just outted that Xiao talks about you to the others, and he- he's just so done. He's either going to hide, leave the area or pull you out of the conversation before someone *coughCloudRetainercough* starts embarrassing him in front of you.
Once you've gotten the supplies you wanted to collect from Liyue's wild lands, like flowers or ores, your little party will start going further away from the familiar nation.
Comfort on the Streets
Being the chef in the party, a lot of the time, resource collection stops you short from travelling despite the many prepped ingredients you had carried with you. There's a lot of things laying around and you just couldn't let such opportunities go. Your adoptive mother Verr had taught you to indulge in your curiousities, as a mother, as a traveler, and as a cook.
Xiao takes the brute force, the frontline of being the tank and general fighter of your band. He indulges himself with unhinged strength so long as he was sure that you were perfectly safe from his own barrage of offense. You think in the back of your mind that he's enjoying the exterminations but in his mind he indulges himself with your cheers and praises after fending off some pesky slimes that strayed too close to your temporary camp.
Xiao does not need rest and barely breaks a sweat but you're quite fragile of a human being, you still need rest and consumables, things that you had the luxury of despite working in the Inn. Here you were alone to carry your own weight and care for yourself. You look up from the boiling pot that was settled over the bright campfire to see Xiao's figure coming into view, a freshly killed boar in hand as some kind of offering for your sacred stomach.
You guess now the caring isn't one-sided.
When taking things into careful detail that requires precision and undivided attention, it seems the voices of the demons and revelled gods in the depths of his mind disappears, more so under the presence of you.
So it was the perfect opportunity now that no other errands hold you back, to teach Xiao how to make the infamous Almond Tofu.
When you teach him survival he takes into consideration everything despite the bored/blank face he dons.
Oh but he still prefers your way of cooking, he can never get the same soft texture of the jelly that you easily make.
Xiao doesn't really need to eat but he's glad to be your taste-tester for the new dishes you cook from the random, probably edible, ingredients you find here and then.
The stew continued to boil with bubbles popping despite the fire under it extinguished for a while now. It was an unnamed soup you concocted from the various seafood you've gotten from the ocean paired with the meat the adeptus hunted.
It was delicious. Despite being a palette he was not used to, it was something he can stomach. And despite the different meat mixed in, the flavours didn't clash like he thought it would but instead blended the tastes quite well. Xiao hums as he sips the soup politely, tilting the bowl as he gulps down.
"It is manageable, despite your first try, I can see this being sold in one of the restaurants in Liyue Harbour-" he turns to you as he proceeds to hold out his bowl for seconds when he stopped in his tracks, eyes slightly widening a crack at the sight of tears free falling off your chin.
The spoon on your hand was slack, eyes distant yet dilated as you silently cried. When you felt the glove of his hand cup your cheek, tilting your head to make you face him, your expression cracked to that of grief melded with forced laughter. "It's... it's just like what mum used to make." You sob, and his hand wavered from its touch.
Travelling reopened old wounds. For you and for him.
Xiao doesn't NEED sleep nor does he WANT it, despite the many times you had caught him dozing off in the middle of the day during your work at the Inn. Such occasions usually meant that there was an event that needed his aid the night prior.
Your guardian yaksha usually stays up to keep watch and when you wake up, you would find him spaced out or in the brink of passing out, desperately holding himself together
But there are other times when he feels more restless and not content with just standing guard to make sure you are protected—
Those moments are when you are held in his arms, him resting against a tree and you resting against his lean chest, travel blanket laid over the both of you. When the terrain allows it, the sleeping bag would be under your bottom and legs for extra comfort.
When you can't rest, he whips out his flute to play you a soft tune hoping to lull you to sleep. If he sinks into the comfort of the mood, he'll continue playing much softer to prevent waking you up so early
But the guardian yaksha can buckle at the temptation of comfort, a humanistic desire fuelled by the assurance that in his arms you are absolutely safe-
And you two lay under the stars in peaceful slumber. Good night~
Combat-side of Travelling
Kicking the bottom shaft of the jade spear, Xiao swiftly catches it with his other hand, a small smile aimed for himself at the expert action before he raises his eyes back at you where you lay splayed on the floor. Drenched in your own sweat and desperately breathing. A long, wooden stick discarded by your side.
You pried your eyes open when the rays of the sun suddenly stopped invading through your thin eyelids, the shadow of the Yaksha looming over your form with a rare triumphant smirk. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you're gonna say-"
"I told you so."
"Oh hush you!"
His soft laugh was melodic and it made you break a smile despite the exhaustion.
We've already established beforehand that Xiao is your main dps here and you're just support/utility. But you've expressed your desire to AT LEAST pick up some weight, asking the man to help you hone your weapon proficiency, even if you knew he'd decli-
He accepts. Oh. But it's not about swords sadly, it's for polearms. Since it's the weapon he uses, it's the only thing he can teach you.
Will be CONSIDERABLY gentle in training you compared to his massacres, and will be ever so patient so long as progress is made. Surprisingly, Xiao is actually a really good teacher, and you'd find his points to be precise and on the spot.
He'll be there on the side as you try to fight off a hydro slime for the first time, with the aid of your cheap spear you both from the nearest town over. If you get cornered, he'll be there to instantly swoop in. Fortunately you managed, and he gave an approving nod.
Despite his acceptance to teach he's not gonna let you fight actual threats because he doesn't wish to risk your safety. And you're still gonna be a hundred feet away as he does his job
If he ever managed to hurt you himself, it's... it's not gonna be good, not good at all for the both of you... luckily that hasn't happened! Uh, yet lol
Just admire him from afar, he looks pretty anyways, although the black particles that seem to surround him before the end of the fight
But he'll always come back to you, with a slight limp you always notice despite his attempts to hide, and you'll be there to heal him up
Like a knight to his princess? Or healer, more so
And the process rinses and repeats at your generally peaceful trip
"Oh, oh, I see it! Uuup there!"
His honey amber eyes follow where your fingers point, high and up against the cliff until he sees the glimpse of the swaying violetgrass. No orders needed to tell him what the objective is, but as you place your hand on his elbow when he was about to leap, you had different plans.
"Woohoo!" Please be careful, he shouts in his head as you rode the tides of his Anemo currents, gliding over to where the violetgrass awaits for your plucking hands. When the glider retracts as you grip the cliff face, you broke the stem of the flora. A eureka in your voice as you held it up like a treasure before pushing yourself off the cliffside.
The wind on your back was not harsh, carefully constructed and maneuvered as you seemingly float down into the arms of the awaiting Yaksha, as per routine of your retrieval, "Thank you!"
"Is it in good condition?" It didn't bother you that he has yet to put you down, nodding with a grin as you gently waved the perfectly grown violetgrass in your hand. Satisfied, he turns around to go back to your route when
golden, brown and white silhouettes entered your peripherals among the turn.
"Eh?"
"Ah?"
"Traveler, Paimon and Zhongli?"
"Well, it is the most intriguing that we meet again this far out and in such a circumstance, Xiao and (Y/N)."
Party gained 2 ½ members!
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I noticed upon writing that after you started travelling with Xiao, the formality in your tone of speaking started to dissipate. Easing into the comforts of your relationship with him, Xiao is relieved.
@kookieyachi @moaa @dandelion-dreams @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @witchsungie
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thekisforkeats · 3 years ago
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So a European told me today “must be nice to have a culture.”
And I... kind of lost it.
Context: we’d been chatting for a while, and I’d already had to deal with a couple of moments of... white people being white. Being clueless and talking over people, not being outright racist but saying clueless shit. The first couple of times I explained what was wrong and moved on.
To try to lighten the mood, I shared a video of the Métis jig that’s been going around. It’s a really great dance, and the video has some context on it--specifically that the dance had been suppressed for a long time.
I was talking about the Métis people, and how they had created their own unique culture, which I personally find really fascinating and inspiring as a mixed indigenous/Native person. It’s a hopeful thing--even if they wound up losing a lot of that culture, and having to fight to get it back, there was a time where people could create new things without having to burn down the old.
(And I am not Métis, so if I am misrepresenting Métis culture and history here please feel free to correct me.)
But the key thing is that I mentioned being “cut off from everything.” Because I am. Because I cannot wholly embrace my European ancestry. Because I don’t know Kanien’kahe:ka or Choctaw. Because I am stuck between two worlds and sometimes it feels like a struggle to try to create anything new, any hopeful way forward.
And then they said “it must be nice to have a culture.”
This is a European. Living in Europe.
I lost it.
Any white person, and particularly any European, who thinks “I don’t have a culture”--don’t try to justify this stance. Stop and consider that you don’t feel you have a culture because your culture took over the world. Literally, Western European culture is everywhere.
And yes, I am lumping in all of Europe here, and no, I don’t care how different you all think you are, I was getting the same exact attitude from someone in France and someone in the UK. An attitude of “my specific experience is better than anyone else’s.” An attitude of “I don’t know about this so I will disparage it instead of politely asking questions.” An attitude of becoming defensive upon being called out. The same attitude I get from American white people. You’re not that different. You’re really not.
Culture is about food, and language, and art, and religion, and music.
I do not eat the food of my Native ancestors. I don’t even know what most of it was, and if I did, I couldn’t find it in a grocery store, and where I can it’s being marked up for white people to eat. (Wild rice, anyone?)
I do not know their languages, and I probably never will. There’s no Duolingo for Choctaw or Kanien’kahe:ka
If I use art or music of my ancestors I am derided and belittled or else white people come in to steal it and claim it as their own.
My ancestral religions were outlawed in the US until three years before I was born.
And before any European goes “well that’s the US, not me!” No. No. It’s you. It’s still you. The US just imported all the colonialist bullshit your ancestors put out there, and you’re still being isolationist and racist while the world is on fire.
The saddest part is, I don’t hate European culture as such. I am mixed! Many of my ancestors were from the UK or France or Austria! I love frybread, and I love soda bread, and I love strudel! I honor all of my ancestors, and the complex and difficult relationship I have with them. Some of my ancestors are the same people who did the colonizing and the genocide. I have to live with that. But many of them were good people living difficult lives, just like many of the people I know today.
I owe a great deal of my moral and ethical upbringing to my Oma, who was Austrian. She was 9 years old when the Nazis came--invited in, I will note, as she made sure we knew--and her family detested them, and she lost friends. She left as soon as she could. She taught me about her homeland, and she taught me about solidarity, and about the evils of sympathizers. She taught me about the Holocaust. She refused to let those horrible things go silent to her children and grandchildren. She did her best to teach us what she knew of my Opa’s culture, the few things he’d shared when their children were young, because she knew it was important. She was not perfect, but she tried.
White Europeans do not have to continue to be complicit in racism and colonialism and genocide. You can choose to do better.
The first thing to do? Shut up. Seriously. Stop talking. Sit down and listen. Maybe it’s hard, maybe you’ve come from an abusive background, maybe you’re neurodivergent. Maybe you’ve had to be quiet all your life already.
But I am all of those things, too, and I am a survivor of a very recent attempted genocide. Imagine how much time I have spent in my life being talked over. Being told to be quiet. To not make a scene.
Maybe you’re young, but I knew better than to say that sort of thing before I hit puberty. I had to, because to be a person of color--even a mixed one, even one with light enough skin to pass for white--is to be deeply aware of these things at all times.
Which is not to say I haven’t had my moments. I have. But dear gods am I aware of them.
And that’s the thing--the lack of awareness. The lack of consideration. The continual spouting of something clueless and hurtful and then “oh I didn’t know” as the response.
You should know. If you don’t, then go learn.
And for the love of all that is holy, if you read this in the tags and you’re some random person who didn’t already follow me, don’t come into my damn inbox looking for education, because I will kick your ass out so fast your head will spin. If you’re on the internet in 2021, there are so many resources about European colonization and white supremacy that you have no excuse not to at least try to learn things on your own.
The one lesson I will give? Stop talking. Start listening. I don’t need to hear your cutesy shit about how different France and England are from each other. You both did horrible awful fucked up things in the not-so-distant past. Stop talking about yourselves and start listening to the people affected.
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diaco1968 · 4 years ago
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Teeth
Hawks x reader
Warnings! Nsfw/lemon/smut, biting, hairpulling, oral sex, unprotected vaginal sex no pull outs... He has exogenous zone between his wings...he can go feral... can't convince me otherwise... reader quirk works by getting saliva/venom on the victim. Long
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~fight so dirty but you love so sweet~
When a hawk hunts it's first ever viper, sweeping in, catching the clueless creature and taking it back to the sky, it can go any of 3 ways. He's either succesful in incapacitating the viper and can feast on his prey later. Or the viper manages to land a venomous bite on him, in which case they fall to their doom. Now if they don't die from the fall, the viper is the one feasting on the paralyzed young hawk. Nature is a wild thing indeed with how fast the hunter can turn into the prey.
The first time he met you he was on his way somewhere else and he spotted you in a dead end , the only thing running through his mind was 'what a hassle.' His wings shuddering in agitation, the feathers ruffling noisily when he landed behind you in the dead end where you were toying with your paralyzed victim. A middle aged man whom you just mugged and was now making fun of as he could do nothing but watch you, standing there like a stone statue.
"That is not really fair is it, kid?" You turned around slowly and gracefully locking eyes with him "can't be any less fair than following and harassing an innocent little girl in a dead end. He picked the wrong person. Now he pays little price than he deserves, Birdie." You mocked back crossing your arms and taking a nonchalant pose. Though he could tell just how tense and ready to jump you were under that posture. Like a coiled snake. So that was the problem, now he knew why his nerves were on fire when he spotted you. He raised an eyebrow "you don't strike me as an innocent little girl though." You smiled sweetly as you freed the guy from your paralysis who stumbled and scrambled away and out of sight apologizing. "So what? That's what you're into, hero? Innocent little girls? Please." You emptied the content of the man's wallet right in front of Hawks and put it in your back pocket before throwing the wallet to the side. Looking up at his annoyed expression playfully keeping your smile. "Alright! That's it. You're coming with me for theft." You raised your hands in front of you submissively as if ready to get cuffed "oh no, he gonna chain me up." He wasn't amused as he stepped forward grabbing your shoulder to turn you around. That's when in a heartbeat you striked, pushing him off towards the wall and stepped back from him. You were fast, but so was he blocking your way when you tried to make a run for it "nice try. That all you got?" He said casually squeezing his shoulder where you hit but you could tell he was slightly distressed by your speed. "Oh you should not have said that." You grinned raising your hand that was holding one of his crimson feathers between your thumb and forefinger firmly but delicately. "It's okay, I can grow more of those, don't worry about it." He smirked walking back towards you. His smirk was easy to like. It was not like yours, it was calming. You ignored his comment as you brought the feather up to your lips, his steps faltered and came to a halt watching you intently. Your tongue darted out and licked up the side of it, sucking it into your mouth and pulling it out, making a show of it for the winged hero, loving the way his feathers fluttered and shuddered in response "oh, and that's what you are into, huh?" He said trying to sound sarcastic but as intrigued as he was it sounded like a genuine question. He wanted to know what the hell you were doing. You chuckled dropping the feather and stalking towards him. The feather fell limp to the floor much to his surprise. But he was in for a much bigger surprise. When you were only inches away from him, he went to grab you. And he couldn't. He couldn't move a single muscle below his neck. "What the... how did you-" he fell quiet inspecting you as you let your hands wander under his coat and ran your fingers up over his abs, over muscles that were prominent through his skin tight suit before reaching up and grabbing his shoulders to use as leverage and pull yourself up to his ear. "You're lucky I like you, cause if not, this is still not 'all I've got'." You repeated his phrase from earlier your tongue lightly brushing over the shell of his ear, enjoying the way he tensed up even more under your touch. "Okay... I really should not have said that I guess..." he scoffed and You moved your lips to his shoulder sliding his coat off only a little "too late." You sunk your teeth in his shoulder through suit and all making a loud hiss escape his lips. His smart mouth wasn't going to quit it though "ow, that's definitely going to leave a mark. what a kinky little thing you are." You chuckled fixing his coat up and stepping back, turning on your heels to leave "you can move again soon, see you around hero." And with that you were gone."Damnit..."
~call me in the morning to apologise, every little lie gives me butterflies~
It was truly a hassle explaining to the nurse who patched him up that it was just a cat that bit him, right on the shoulder, clean and no bleeding. Only a little less bothersome than admitting his embarassing defeat. He hadn't seen you since, and it's been two weeks. During which the clear set of teeth marks on his shoulder remained, unchanged, as if only just bitten into his skin moments ago. He couldn't dig up anything about you, and damn he tried, knowing his resolve and resources it was saying something. No one had heard of you. Were you even a villain? "Tsk." He traced his fingers over the mark as he craned his neck to look at it in the mirror before sticking the bandage back over it, covering it up with his shirt. Not a moment of his days went by without having you in somewhere in his mind, taunting him, haunting him... and what annoyed him was that it did not ALL relate to his embarassing paralysis in that dead end. He imagined and thought about you way more than just that. He headed out on his day off, to the bar, definitely for gathering info. Of course.
He stepped off into the cold night air and looked up at the sky, stiffening ever so slightly, invisible to the untrained eye. "Speak of the devil, ey?"
You pushed yourself off the wall where you were leaning against and approached him as he turned his head towards you, hands still in your pockets. "Aw, were you thinking about me? Do you happen to do it often?" You smirked, eyes trailing over his face to his shoulder where you've put your little art piece then back to his eyes. His eyes narrowed immediately, turning towards you and getting in your face "you did something to me didn't you?! I knew it!" He growled under his breath glaring at you realizing he had put his hand instinctively over his wounded shoulder to cover it. You put your hands up in the air as if surrendering and looked up at him sincerely, his wound started throbbing for some reason. "Yeah I did. But... I decided you probably don't deserve it. I mean... you were just doing your job. So. I've come to help you remove it." He blinked a few times looking at you unamused "riiight." You rolled your eyes "right!" He frowned and tilted his head to the side "...right? Really?" You groaned pushing him towards the door "ugh you're even more annoying than I remember. Let's go inside." He raised an eyebrow with a hand on the knob still uncertain of your intentions "do you usually invite yourself in people's house like that? Cause I'm not sure you're the type of gal I want to pick up and take home with me..." 'well ouch' He was right not to trust you but you didn't have all night "listen jerk, do you want to get rid of this or not?!" you hissed at him, and as you expected his feathers ruffled at the sound before you could even touch his shoulder. It was in his nature to find it threatening after all. It was kinda cute. He braced himself for you to be nasty and squeez his wound or something but your hand just lightly brushed over his coat, he barely even felt it "okay okay! Sheesh." He opened the door and stepped aside for you to get inside.
~talk so pretty but your heart got teeth~
"So what were you thinking about?" He was taken aback by the sudden question as he closed the door behind him turning to find you make yourself comfortable on the couch. Your question was out of the blue, yes, but it shouldn't have made his so distressed. "Nothing...?." He lied. You sighed "I can't help you like that." Silence filled the room as the two of you stared each other down before you decided to relent "look. The venom in the bite-" he gasped at the words "venom?!" You looked at him unfazed making him feel embarrassed by his own outbursts "sorry, do go on." He gestured for you to continue. "... the venome will eventually make you hallucinate. And it will remain there till you do as it tells you. So I need to know what you've been thinking about most. By the little time that has passed I don't think you are at the point of hallucination yet, yeah?" He was now more anxious about his thoughts by the things you just told him. "I don't hallucinate... do I just start hallucinating random things?... are you some kind of mobile LSD fairy or something?" He frowned at you for real this time making you sigh. "You hallucinate what you want and desire at the moment of the bite, I don't have control over it. So... yea I guess I am." You looked down and he immediately felt terrible "I didn't mean it like that... I just...sorry..." he had no idea why he was apologizing. You were the one who bit him. And he didn't recall you apologising even once so far. "It's fine, I understand." You looked back up at him and cocked an eyebrow "now that that's out the way, much like yourself I don't want to be here anymore than I need to. You can probably take care of the matter on your own from now on. Goodbye birdie." You got on your feet and walked for the door but just as you were going to pull it open his hand shot up from behind you and pushed it back closed. It was your turn to get anxious heart sinking and the hair on the back of your neck standing on end, he was looming over you from behind and you could feel his hot breath on the back of your neck and see the shadow of his wings spreading intimidatingly behind you both. "Actually, in that case, YOU are so not done here."
~Late night devil put your hands on me
And never never never ever let go~
"Uh..." you slowly turned around pushing yourself back against the wall and looking up at him to see the easy smirk from before back on his face, eyes half lidded, dripping with confidence "I don't... um... what do you m-mean?" He raised a hand and brushed a finger on the side of your jaw, stroking it lightly as he leaned in closer "it's you I was thinking about the whole god damned time. The way you'll look, they way you'll sound. The way you'll taste. You said you will help me fulfill my hallucinations." He looked down over your form taking his time as he did so before his eyes landed back on yours "do you still want to help me?" He was actually asking. Despite the way his voice faltered at the thought of getting rejected there was a choice in his question. You could refuse. But why would you? He was hot. Annoying. But still hot. "So you got to be on LSD to take girls like me home?" You scoffed crossing your arms over your chest, the way the shadow of his wings covered you making you uneasy. He smiled apologetically "in my defense, last time we met you assaulted me in a dead end, gal." You huffed "(y/n)." His smile brightened as he watched you intently "Keigo. So (y/n), what do you say?" You hummed looking thoughtfully, almost shamelessly down his form, raising a hand and barely brushed your fingers against his crotch before pressing them firmly to his abs and chest. His chest tightened in anticipation as he felt his stomach drop. Maybe it was just for now and how you were touching him, maybe it was for the way his wounded shoulder throbbed, knowing this was almost exactly what happened before he got bitten last time. "I don't know Keigo, I kinda get the feeling you actually like the bite. A lot." Your hand traced his shoulder now leaning up to kiss it softly from over his clothes, him inhaling in sharply "oh to hell with it, you make me want to give you more, birdie."
~don't know if you love me or you want me dead~
He walked you back towards the bed, hands cupping your cheeks on both sides, his lips locked on yours. His hands moved down the sides of your neck, slipping your shirt off to expose your shoulders and pushing you down so you sit on the bed, loving the way you were already panting breathlessly from his kiss, flushed. He pulled his shirt off still standing over you with his signature confident smirk, throwing it to the side. You smirked back as you leaned in pecking his abs before dragging your lips over them, looking at his eyes through your lashes as you moved down and mouthed over his crotch, making him shudder, watching as those same abs rippled ever so slightly. He ran his fingers through your hair letting out a shaky breath "I'm sorry if I don't trust those teeth anywhere around that area, baby girl. Plus you already know how I taste. It's my turn." You rolled your eyes leaning back on your arms behind you as he leaned in and pulled your pants off along with your panties "fine, birdie." Your blush darkening as it creeped to the tips of your ears. He huffed kicking off his jeans and kneeling in between your legs grabbing your thighs "it's Keigo." He gripped your legs and pulled you to the edge of the bed before you could retort, only managing to let out a gasp. He smirked releasing your legs when over his shoulders running his hands up over them, kissing your inner thighs, his stubble scratching lightly over your sensitive skin making you wriggle a bit. His hands grabbed your hips tightly pressing you firmly to the bed "oh no you don't." You looked down at him to whine quietly. A choice you immediately regretted. Holding eye contact he buried his face between your legs and plunged his tongue right in. You gasped arching your back, hands shooting up to grip his hair. He hummed delighted by your rich reaction, moving his face closer, nudging his nose against the sensitive bud, as his tongue switched between lapping up your juices and thrusting in through your soft, fluttering folds. You a whimpering writhing mess under him. The soles of your feet not too gently brushing against the base of his wings on his back, where they were connected through his skin, along with your fingers tangling and tugging his hair had him groaning and moaning deeply into you. He removed his tongue only to lick up a wet hot line up to your bud latching onto it and sucking just as two of his fingers pushed inside at once giving you no time in curling up and rubbing against the spot you wanted them to. "Shit! Kei-go!" You moaned loudly, your toes curled and your thighs squeezed his head as he chuckled pushing your hips down further on the bed with an arm over your belly, nails digging in your hip where they rested. The pleasure had you seeing white and Right as you were about to get tipped over the edge of your climax he stopped. His fingers and lips, all gone. "Pay back is a bitch, huh?" He wiped off his glistening wet face with his hand as You whined desperately and squeezed your legs shut when he removed them from his shoulders grinning at you "you jerk!"
He leaned over you grabbing your loose sweatshirt and pulling it over your head reaching behind you to unclip your bra as he kissed your neck "let's free these lovely things first." You huffed still annoyed but soon it started into contented sighs and quiet moans as his kisses and nips moved down to your chest. His teeth grabbed your nipple in a sharp nip and you mewled grabbing the back of his neck, your other hand moving lower between his wings. As your nails dug right in the spot between the two giant heaps of crimson feathers, he let out a loud breathy gasp freeing your abused nipple from his surprisingly sharp teeth. Evil flashed in your eyes as you smirked down at him when he gulped and looked up at you "...no." his voice was shaky "oh yeah." You replied raking your fingers on the same spot. His giant wings shook, the feathers rustling as he hissed through his teeth, grabbing your breast harshly in one hand and pulling you closer with the other fisted in your hair, crashing his lips onto yours with a feverish hunger. You were shocked, moaning into his mouth. His reaction was thrilling and you wanted to see more, tightly grabbing onto the base of his wings this time digging your nails there. He sneered and growled loudly in your mouth, sounding feral. You whimpered at the sound the reaction you got more than you bargained for. "On your hands and knees, (y/n)." He barked urging you up by his hand, still tightly fisted in your hair pulling you up. You gasped scrambling up to turn around and do as he had told you. His fingers dug in your hips and he pulled you back onto himself, in one fluid thrust, your pussy already gushing around him from his earlier change of tone. You cried out as you gripped the sheets in front of you. His wings were distracting as they spread once, engulfing you in their shadow. It felt safe, but extremely dominating. Or rather quite deliciously. He tucked them back behind himself when he leaned down over you, one hand still on your hip and the other running up your spine gripping the back of your neck tightly. He pulled back out right to the crown of his cock, before snapping his hips back inside all the way, at the same time his teeth sinking in your skin over your shoulder blade, drawing another loud cry from your throat. He set a brutal pace as his teeth worked on littering your back with bites and nips. "F-fuck!... Kei... shi-... Keigo!" Your breath coming out in short moans and gulped in with high pitched gasps. His fingers creeped from around the back of your neck towards your throat, squeezing it tight and firm, your breath and voice hitching as the thrill ran down your spine straight to your core, folds fluttering around his rock hard cock. He pulled you back up by your throat so your back was flush against his chest, your hand reaching up to claw at his wrist, squealing. His hold was not suffocating, just restricting the amount of air you were allowed. The new angle made his cock poke and drag over your walls, sending you right into your much desired orgasm eyes rolling to the back of your head. He was panting heavily and movements faltering and sloppy from holding you and himself up like that. Your cunt clenching around him, milked him dry, him moaning and biting your shoulder one last time. He remained inside you as you both came down from your highs, removing his hand from your throat to your shoulder, stroking one of his own bite marks lightly. He pulled out and let you drop on your belly with a tired sigh turning into a heavy strained "oof!" As he fell over you playfully, barely careful not to crush you. "Fuck, (y/n). Looks like I did all the biting this time." He laughed as he held himself up on his forearms gently kissing and soothing your sensitive skin. "Shut up...damn... I'm gonna bite you again if this is what I'm gonna get every time." You muttered tiredly. "I was right. You are a kinky little thing." He smirked laying down next to you this time, draping an arm over your waist and nuzzling your neck "you can bite me whenever you want, baby girl. I'm in."
~push me away, push me away
Then beg me to stay, beg me to stay~
Hey hey hey @queensynderella
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c-is-for-circinate · 4 years ago
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Post-ep 123 Reaction
Wow, y’all.  What a ride.
You know, I used to do these after every single CR episode.  Every single one, 2 AM, exhausted and dazed, trying to pour out smart thinky thoughts onto tumblr because I’d be so overflowing with ideas and feelings.
I haven’t so much, lately, and I think part of that is just the fact that I have not been enjoying this Aeor arc.  I’ve hated the traveling along with Lucien in a way that’s made it unpleasant to watch, instead of fun.  (For me, personally!  Many people have been enjoying the tension, and I know the players have been enjoying the tension, and that’s fine!  Yay for them!)  Some of the ancient ruins explorations, too, have gotten just a little too creepy-horror-game for sitting alone in my apartment at one in the morning.  I’ve had less to say.  I’ve wanted to say it less.
And that’s not true tonight.  I can’t remember the last time I got excited about a CR episode like I was tonight.  Oh, there’ve been bits and moments I loved all throughout, there always are, that’s why I’m still watching live even in an arc that hasn’t thrilled me, but I loved the whole episode today, all five and a half hours of it, and god that feels good.
So in celebration, some specific bullet points:
The start of the episode, the discovery of the eyes on Beau and Caleb.  The attempts at science.  The fear, and yet, also, the glimmers of...okay but what if we could use this?  (The moment in the second half, after the Tombtakers ran off, when Beau suggests going into her dreams to ask for help to find them--yes.  Yes.  I still don’t have a lot of interest in evil wizard plotlines when you doom yourself/the world/etc out of curiosity, but the willingness to dive into this terrifying thing that might change you, might break you, because you need what it can give you in order to save a thing you love (your friends, the world) more than you need to be whole or sane or even, necessarily, alive--that is my GOOD SHIT.)     
Guys, I just loved every single minute of that white dragon fight, okay?  It was such a mess.  It was such a mess!  And look, there’s a very specific kind of frenetic energy that the table gets when they find themselves in the middle of a terrifying boss battle, and there’s a different very specific kind of wild ‘this may as well happen’ energy they get when things go terribly wrong entirely due to random chance, and getting the compound of both of those things at once is always glorious.  Nobody is prepared for anything!  Everybody is freaking out!  There’s good reason to suspect that, even if someone dies a bit, everyone’s going to make it out alive, but shit’s wild in the middle there and it’s just such a joy to watch.     
Likewise, I know that final fight was really stressful for both the cast and a lot of viewers, but honestly in so many ways I watched it feeling so much less stressed than the past few weeks have made me?  Yes, it was a horrible, horrible fight, the team in so far over their heads, so low on sleep and spells and any resources at all.  But, god, thank god, at least it was finally over.  There’s no going back to fake amity with the Tombtakers after this, no more playing along and trying to plot treason while the person you’re plotting against is probably hearing every word.  Enemies can be faced!  They can be fought, or fled, or defeated, they can be destroyed or put off for another day, but at least nobody’s pretending any more while trapped in wary uncertain fear of their own houseguests.  At least now it’s done.     
The fucking Iron Shepherds parallels.  Just.  Yes. I have hated the trapped feelings of traveling alongside Lucien and his crew, but the Iron Shepherds parallels are, while stab-me-in-the-heart painful, so fucking good.  The very best moments with Lucien have been the ones that mimic Mollymauk, not even because they bring hope that Molly could come back to us someday (although that’s there, that faint shimmering thread), but because it is always the best, worst, most glorious twist of irony. Molly died trying to save his friends, saving his friends, from the violence of a monster who was so very like him in all the ways he was terrified to know.  Lorenzo and his ragtag group of multiclassed minions, full of loyalty, arrogance, unexpected powers, here to torture and enslave.  The Nein have more power now, a little more negotiated control, they are different--but so much of it is just window-dressing as they’ve been dragged along on this pell-mell journey against their will, told when to walk and when to sleep, headed towards a place they would’ve gone anyway at the behest of someone they really do not give a shit about any more.  It’s so much the same. And the thing that is beautiful, and the thing that I love, the one thing for which I do love Lucien, is just--god, the irony.  The irony!  Because it’s not just that Lucien is like Lorenzo, that Molly turns out to be like the man that killed him after all; it’s not just Lucien, all unknowing, rebuilding old grudges and replaying old scenes without even knowing them.  It’s the fact that Molly’s death is the only reason this can happen in the first place. Mollymauk Tealeaf, murdered and buried, wanting only to protect his teammates from a megalomaniacal killer--sacrificing himself on a hope and a chance that maybe, maybe, he and his friends could all survive, and they’d all be fucked anyway if he didn’t--he died to do it.  And it worked.  They were safe, for a little while, for long enough to rescue Jester and Yasha and Fjord.  Long enough to keep going, to leave part of the world better than they found it, to canonize him in his own way.  Except now here they are again, worse and deeper into the same shit than ever before, and it never could have been like this if Molly had survived.  He derailed Lorenzo long enough to save them then, and created the forward path for the Lucien they’re facing now. It’s terrible.  It’s beautiful.  And that’s some damn good storytelling.
The start of the next episode is going to be very very hard for the Nein!  In so many ways, they’re back exactly where they were episodes ago when they first started traveling with Lucien’s crew to begin with: one threshhold crest in their possession, beat to hell and almost entirely out of spells, exhausted, in desperate need of a long rest, with a probably-pursuing enemy that doesn’t seem inclined to let them have one.  It’s as untenable now as it was then.
They have so much more knowledge now (was it worth it?).  They have their own connection to the city now (will it cost them more than they’ve gained?).  Maybe they have a direction.  Probably they’ve got options.  They’ve got an angel, an owl, a wooly mammoth, and a destination.  Maybe, if they’re very fast and very lucky, maybe, if Caleb uses a teleport spell or they somehow manage to navigate through the snow in their exhaustion with all their luck, they’ll make it to Essek in time to collapse almost safely.  They’ve needed backup so badly.  They’ve needed someone, anyone, to keep them safe for just a few hours so they can plan, and think, and sleep.
And they’ve been so busy trying to play nice, giving in to their fear, trying to avoid the fight they just dove into (with half the team exhausted and half their spell slots gone!), that they haven’t let themselves go and get those things.  And now they’re out the other side of that fight.  Now they know, just a bit more, what Lucien and his team are made of.
Now they can finally, maybe, maybe, start finding ways to take back their own control instead of keeling over with the fear.  I hope.  I hope, I hope, I hope.
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the-wiresmarvelau · 4 years ago
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T.H.E. W.I.R.E.S
Peter and his Friends are allowed to design the compound and couldn't help but riddle it with secret tunels and hallways. While Peter installs said hallways he makes some new acquaintences who he has to help and gets help from.
chapter 2
Chapter 1:  Set up
Peter let his mind wander, only barely noticing the scenery passing by behind the car window.
He was thinking back to the events of the past one and a half years.
It had been soo much.
Somehow Tony fricking Stark had ended up in his living room to recruit him for an Avengers infight, and ended up mentoring him in not only superheroing, but also all things science related and even normal everyday stuff.
The rest of the consequences from this so-called civil war however hadn’t been as awesome.
Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, owner of one of if not THE most successful companies in the world and, not to forget, Iron man himself, came home beaten, and in shock. Nobody really knew what happened over in Siberia, apart from those who were there when it all went down.
Back then Iron man hat hated Captain America and, by extension, his team.
Now, Tony was convinced he would be able to get them back in a few weeks; it ‘had taken long enough’ according to him.
Not even four months after the whole Civil War thing went down Mr. Stark had decided to get over himself and begun to consider what would be best in the grand picture; and in his opinion: The world needed the Avengers.
Anytime something like the Chitauri invasion could happen again, a mutant could decide to use their powers for their own gain or organisations like HYDRA could manage to create another super solider.
Not to mention the personal attacks aimed for specific Avengers. Those often included less casualties but if said Avenger isn’t there to react, those people tended to lash out.
So, he had put his personal quarrels with the rogues aside and doubled his efforts to alter the accords in a way that every party could agree and to get the ex-Avengers pardoned.
Before that Tony had already worked hard to mend them in a way that Peter didn’t have to reveal his identity as Spiderman and he was eternally grateful for it; Peter didn’t want this kind of attention, he cherished his anonymity.
And that wasn’t even everything. Tony wanted to make sure everyone felt and was safe.
Safety. Something that the Tower wasn’t entirely fit to provide anymore.
It had been built in a time when more or less everyone had agreed that the Avengers were a good thing or at least no danger for the immediate vicinity.
Nowadays not everyone agreed with Tony on whether the rogues should come back or not.
The general consensus of the public was that the Winter Solider was a threat to society as a whole and their opinions in Wanda weren’t much better.
At least with these two there was a consensus. That couldn’t be said for the rest if the Avengers, team Cap as well as team Ironman.
If the Avengers were to move back to the Tower, everyone in New York would feel threatened and protests were sure to break out, which in turn would bring down the already almost non-existent moral of the team (if you could call them that).
Peter couldn’t help the tiny smile creeping on his face.
As extra as Mr. Stark was he had deemed the already existing compound as too small and unwelcoming.
Without further ado he had ordered to tear the old Structures down and build everything new.
The younger of the two geniuses would never forget the day on which he had found Mr. Stark in his lab, loudly ranting to F.R.I.D.A.Y. about how little time he had; Between the accords, SI and planning the new Compound he was stretched thin as a paper.
As a joke Peter had offered to design the compound for him, stunned when the man paused and decided that, yeah, why not; Let a 17-year-old and his friends go wild with near unlimited resources to plan a living facility for a bunch of spies, mutates, super soldiers and people who could keep up with those.
On the other hand, said teenager should have seen this coming. It was incredibly on brand for the billionaire to forward the most ridiculous tasks to the most unfit to do them (in Peter’s opinion).
At first, he had been horrified to hear what he was asked to do but after some time – and three best friends positively freaking out about the idea of becoming one-time-architects for THE Avengers- the boy relaxed a bit.
Especially Shuri’s assertion, that this wouldn’t be her first time devising such a structure helped.
That was why, the next day, the boy had told his mentor that he had changed his mind and would plan the compound.
How hard can it be, right?
Turns out: it was harder in ways he didn’t expect to become problems and easier when it came to the rest. Overall: feasible.
They had finished the layout about four months ago and by now it was ready to get furnished and finished.
Exactly that was what Peter was gonna do over the next few weeks.
It was summer and he was done with his finals; Not wanting to go stir-crazy with so much time on his hands he had insisted on furnishing the compound by himself.
It was much but manageable. For him at least.
The last year had taught the young hero much, especially about himself and his limits.
For example: Peter had not known that his spider powers included that he needed much less sleep than normal humans, given that he was relatively uninjured.
How had he found out? Well between school, studying for finals, going out as Spiderman and going to the tower to tinker with his mentor he had found himself sleeping only about four hours a day and after a short adjustment period, he was more energetic than ever.
He had also realised just how much his pattern recognition had improved since the bite; and to what extent that helped with learning, for example new languages.
Shuri had taught him a little Wakandan ever since they met which had made him aware that learning languages could actually be fun, if done correctly.
His friends, of course, encouraged him to try for other languages too.
Bevor he just couldn’t decide which one to learn first. There were too many interesting ones
Now that the Avengers were about to reunite, he wanted to make them feel welcome and especially Wanda could probably use someone her age speaking a language more familiar to her than English; so Sokovian would be ideal.
On the other hand, Peter knew that both Black Widow and Mr. Barnes spoke Russian and he really liked the idea of impressing them by speaking a language so different from his native one; he liked that almost as much as he disliked the possibility that the two spies could talk about him or Mr. Stark without them understanding, right in front of them.
Then he had found out that Hawkeye was almost completely deaf and that this had caused some tension in the past whenever Natasha wasn’t around to translate.
Like that, ASL got added to his list.
Three languages were ambitious but at least more manageable than the original list of over a dozen.
Peter was still a bit apprehensive about learning them all at once. That was, until MJ and Shuri began to bet on whether and if: how fast the boy would give up on it.
He knew that if he decided to start learning, he would have to see this through.
But his friends’ gentle bullying and a short motivational speech from Ned gave him the push he needed to take on this challenge.
That was how he found himself practicing every day.
With KAREN it was much easier to practice casually over the day. while he was on patrol, in the lab or at home
She began by telling him random words, in either Sokovian or Russian, apposite to what he was doing at the moment, and also describing the sign in ASL, providing animations of the gestures if needed.
Whenever he had nothing to do, she would quiz him on the learned vocabulary, encouraging him to sign along, and once he had a reasonable basis, she began stating sentences he was supposed to translate or ask questions which he had to answer.
To avoid him mixing up Sokovian and Russian, he always practiced one language for a week, and then the other for another week.
Following Shuri’s advice, he also made sure to have a physical “marker” associated with each language.
On the days he practiced Russian, he put on a watch on his right wrist, when he learned Sokovian he wore a soft fabric bracelet on his left.
According to the princess that would help his brain connect the different lectures within a language.
At first, this process was tedious; Sometimes he just didn’t have the nerves for another lesson or he got frustrated if he didn’t get the words right.
It didn’t help that KAREN sometimes misjudged how much he had to concentrate on different things and began quizzing him at inconvenient times.
But as time went by KAREN got better at knowing when she could distract him and the young genius settled into the routine; to a point where he started to randomly sign words along as he spoke.
It helped him focus on what he was saying, but it also distracted others sometimes. Especially Happy had a hard time following what the boy said when his hands were moving all the time.
Being reminded of the head of security, Peter chanced a glance at said man, who was currently driving.
He was irritable as ever, scowling at him through the rear-view mirror every so often.
Peter flashed him a blinding smile, the next time he looked, before turning his head back to the window and his attention to thinking about the last few weeks.
Distinctly, the new… acquaintance he had made.
About two weeks ago, during an otherwise normal patrol he had found himself further outside of Queens than he usually went.
In the outskirts of hell’s kitchen to be exact.
The spider-powered vigilante hadn’t thought much of it at first and began swinging his way back in the general direction of the tower when a twinge of his spider-sense and curious soundscape in one of the smaller alleys caught his attention.
More specifically the sound of a pretty intense fight going on.
Peter, of course, promptly changed direction to find out what was going on.
Now, he hadn’t expected anything in particular; Peter had learned that having expectations means it is likely that he will be surprised. And that being surprised only paved the way for getting punched, cut or shot, depending on the situation he stumbled into.
Still. He couldn’t help but be confounded when what he saw was a young to middle-aged man, clad in a deep red suit including a helmet with tiny horns, fighting a hoard of.. freakishly soundless … ninjas?
Fortunately for the wall-crawling-superhero the ninjas hadn’t noticed him yet, giving him time to compose himself.
While he had no idea who he should be rooting for, a general rule was that the one fighting alone against a group was usually not the one who picked the fight and would be more cooperative.
Additionally, the man in red seemed somehow familiar; he had probably seen a picture of him once, but he wasn’t sure.
Still. He looked like he needed some help and helping was what the mutate was there for.
“Hey Mr. Red, need a hand dealing with these guys?” Peter asked, already webbing up the first few Ninjas. Completely oblivious to the pun* he just made.
The man scoffed slightly. “Just when I thought you wouldn’t join in on the fun” He huffed out.
“How could I not” Peter replied, delighted that the other quipped back despite his clearly visible exhaustion.
After that the fight didn’t last too long. The horned stranger asked Peter to web all of them up because he neither wanted to be followed by them nor did he kill, which, again, counted as a win in the younger one’s eyes.
They talked a bit afterwards. The man introduced himself as Daredevil aka the Devil of Hell’s kitchen. Peter answered that he was Spiderman and then started to ramble about the article he had read, about the other bringing down this renowned mob boss.
The whole time Daredevil seemed a bit irritated, or confused by something. But he didn’t ask the boy anything and the teenager wasn’t sure if it was rude to ask; after all, vigilantes relied on secrecy, so Peter didn’t comment on it.
Looking back, he kind of regretted it. He would have loved to know what had been on the other one’s mind. But he didn’t have time to sulk about it much, because they arrived just then.
Giddy excitement surged through Peter as he got out of the car and found himself standing before the massive building, that was soon to become the new Avengers compound.
Another reason for why he wanted to furnish everything was, that Mr. Stark had allowed Peter to include secret passageways, which he wasn’t forced to reveal to anyone. He was even allowed to include his own AI in them, which Ned and him had been coding for what felt like forever.
They still had to follow some rules though.
For one: the secret hallways weren’t allowed to contain any clearly dangerous contraptions or traps like great heights, spikes, or an Indiana Jones stile Stone-ball-trap. Ned had been a bit disappointed at the last one but got over it quickly enough.
A secret lab was equally off limits, because “accidents are inevitable” as Tony put it.
Another rule: he had to be able to communicate with F.R.I.D.A.Y., one way or the other, at all times.
He was permitted to veil his exact position as long as the AI could always check whether he was inside the passage ways or not.
FRIDAY also wasn’t allowed to disclose the entries to anyone in any way - unless there was an emergency that is. Most emergency protocols included giving away the entrances to the secret passageways on request of any inhabitant; as either hideout or escape routes.
A tap on the shoulder from Happy brought him back to the present and he hurried to help his driver getting his luggage out of the car.
He would spend his whole summer at the compound, half of it almost alone; with only Tony, Pepper, Vision and Happy checking in occasionally.
For the nights he could decide whether to stay at the Tower after patrolling or go back to the compound, depending on what he felt like.
He’ll still patrol of course.
He had planned to spend most of his daytime putting everything in place. Getting furniture where it belonged, disguising his secret passages, ordering final decorations and equipment, making sure everything was in place.
In the evenings he would swing his way to Queens and fulfil his responsibilities as Spider-Man.
He had to report back to either Tony or Pepper at least every two or three days, because May was on a trip for Doctors without borders and therefore not available all the time; but he had promised to call May every day.
Happy bid the Yong hero goodbye and, with a last good look back at the kid, drove off. He wasn’t convinced that letting the kid go nuts with designing and furnishing the entire compound alone was that good of an idea.
On the other hand: it was by far not the most questionable thing Tony had done -or had allowed to be done for that matter- and he didn’t have a say in the decision anyways.
Peter, energetic as ever, went straight to work, deciding that he should start by setting up his room, so he had a place to sleep for the night. For convenience.
Then he would set up his lap before furnishing Tony and Peppers room as well as Vision’s, and Happy’s, since those four would probably be his only visitors for the next five or so weeks.
Whenever he got bored of moving stuff around -or he just wanted to tinker for a bit- he could prepare the entrance mechanisms for his secret pathways, which he and his friends had begun to call “T.H.E. W.I.R.E.S.”; Short for “The Hidden Entry’s Will Indefinitely Remain an Elaborate Secret”, a sarcastic remark from MJ which Shuri proposed to send as cryptic letter to one of the Avengers, in case they didn’t notice the pathways for long enough that it got boring.
As Peter wrote the phrase down, he realised what a perfect acronym it was, since the small hallways and crawlspaces connected the rooms like wires the different parts of a machine. And just like that - the new name was born.
As he stepped inside, the boy couldn't help the chills running down his spine at the emptiness of the building.
For some reason it reminded him of the abandoned warehouse that the Vulture dropped on him.
Huge.
And empty
And. . . MASSIVE.
'No!' he reprimanded himself in his thoughts.
’This is different. These walls could withstand such a silly. Little .. sharp clawed wingsuit.
Probably...’
And besides! He was not as helpless as he had been back then.
‘I have my suit; I'm more experienced and I have Karen. I’m not on my own.’
With that in mind he began to make his way up to his new room to deposit his luggage.
The elevator was already working and connected to Karen for the time being. Tony had agreed that it would be easier to keep THE WIRES a secret if Peter were to set up the entries before FRIDAY was installed.
Additionally, Tony had more time to code the update he had planned for her; it would have been an unnecessary hustle to upload FRIDAY only to get her shut down for the update a week or so later.
"KAREN? Up to the first floor please" Peter asked; ever politely.
'of course, Peter' his AI replied.
"Where did Mr. Stark say the furniture was delivered to again?" the young hero inquired, just as the elevator came to a stop and he headed over to what would soon be his room;
Designed by himself for himself.
'Mostly in the Garage and the adjoining lap.' Karen’s melodic voice answered.' The furniture for your room and the kitchen on the ground floor are closest to the lifts entrance. For easy access. Oven, fridge and other kitchen machinery on both floors is already installed.'
"I knew I forgot something." he mumbled under his breath; then, louder: "Thanks’ Karen. What would I do without you?"
‘Starve; as it seems' Came Karen’s answer - cocky and with an almost human level of amusement.
‘Or you would have long since bleed out in some ally; refusing to call Mr Stark because „it’s just a little stab wound".'
They continued to banter back and forth like that, while Peter began furnishing his room.
His super-strength combined with his intuition for, and knowledge of physics made it fairly easy for him to manoeuvre all the stuff in and out of the, fortunately, large elevator... or maybe less fortunate and more designed that way.
‘By myself!!!’, he couldn’t help but think, as a spark of pride and excitement surged through him, while thinking about it.
He finished to set up his room and unpack rather quickly.
The carpets and wallpaper had luckily already been put up, which made the whole ordeal at least ten times easier.
Afterwards, at the insistence of Karen, he went on to get the kitchen ready for use while a Pizza was already in the oven.
Everything worked out as planned. There was no furniture missing, nothing broke and he got all the things done that he planned for the day.
It went fairly similar the day after.
And the day after that.
And the day after that and so on for about three weeks.
Patrolling seemed to go smoother lately; he got injured less, most likely because he actually went to sleep regularly; for once in his teenage years; and Peter felt the days fly by in a fulfilling blur.
But as relaxing and comfortable as these past weeks had been, Peter couldn’t help but wish for something interesting to happen. Especially as he swung through the city one night, elated from the adrenalin coursing through his veins with every twipp of his webs, every fall he caught in the last second.
He let his mind wander - through the compound, which looked more and more like a home with every shelf he installed, every painting he hung up – to Daredevil, who he hadn’t seen again even though he went near Hell’s kitchen more and more often, -to his friends, Ned and MJ, who had come over to help him for a few days, Shuri, sadly, hadn’t been allowed to come over, but at least they facetimed almost every day.
Just as his thoughts meandered to the special guestroom Mr. Stark had requested for some mysterious person who might move to the compound, according to Tony, in the not so near future; the boys attention got caught by a strange, greenish-gold light on one of the higher roofs.
It seemed so unnaturally... natural.
Too natural to belong in the middle of a city.
Nothing like the artificial neon lights and light up adds.
But it didn’t trigger his Spidey-sense, which was curious.
The spider themed hero landed on a roof not far away to inspect that strange source of light.
Now that he got a proper look at it, he realised that it was humanoid figure surrounded by something like an .. aura? in gold and a deep green. The person had about shoulder-long, black hair and wore a long, dark, leather looking coat with green accents.
They looked somewhat familiar but Peter wasn’t quite able to place them; that is, until they turned their head around, ever so slightly.
“Karen..? activate ’don’t tell mom Protocol’ please”
chapter 2
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jeanjauthor · 3 years ago
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Hello there. Please can you do a guide on how a king would live in the Medieval Era/Middle Ages? (Daily routine, hourly tasks/things they occupy themselves with each week) etc. Thanks.
Unfortunately, there's a LOT of ground to cover in that request, because the Middle Ages covers basically from 600s-1500s, and is presumed to be European, which means a gazillion kingdoms big and small. The best I can do for you is to point you at some possible times & places where there might actually a number of resources.
There isn't a lot of information on the early period stuff outside of Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire), but you might want to look at resources covering that empire/timeframe as Romans were notorious for writing down almost everything. There may be more information floating around Charlemagne (the start of the Holy Roman Empire).
Next era could be in England, the time of Richard the Lionhearted (Richard II, his brother King John & the Magna Carta era, etc), also the Empress Maude (Empress Mathilda, mother of Richard & John) who lived in France, etc--her epitaph reads something like "Daughter of a King, Wife of a King, Mother of a King, but Never A Queen"...so you know there's going to be some history there.
Other spots that have royals that are fairly well studied: the Borgias and their influence across Mediterranean Europe, the Holy Roman Emperors of Austria, et al, all the way up through to the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France (admittedly more Age of Exploration than Middle Ages). With these latter timeframes, remember that a king's life gets more complicated and regimented by customs & rituals the closer you get to our most recent centuries, less complicated the further back in time you go.
For much of the above 1000-year timeframe, the daily life of kings wouldn't be that much different from the daily lives of nobles--better than peasants, with people to do your cooking, cleaning, and laundry--and if if you were lucky, you'd be able to read and write, though not always. The daily schedule would vary from place to place, time to time, and would not necessarily reflect our own mealtimes of breakfast-lunch-dinner for a start. Breakfast might be something simple like fruit, cheese, bread, or it could be pottage (porridge, a mix of grains & dried fruits, or leftover veggies & meat, etc), or it could be an actual elaborate meal, depending on the era, etc.
Daily concerns, there wouldn't be the agricultural labor expected of 90% of the population, and not so much any of the crafting labor expected of most of the population, though it's possible a king could have an interest in blacksmithing, leatherworking, even doing spinning. (Spinning was done by everyone, regardless of age or gender, though social class did have some effect.)
For absolute sure, most kings would definitely spend a few hours a day, either each day or most days a week, in combat training, weapons practice, mounted combat, and of course riding, since they could afford the horses. It is also possible some kings did their own falconry, but as rearing, training, and caring for hawks, falcons, etc, is a daily job, that would more than likely actually be the work of the king's falconer, with the king knowing enough of how to handle the bird (well, one hopes he'd know enough).
Hounds (various breeds of dogs) are depicted quite frequently in the presence of kings, so having a loyal canine companion would be a high probability (cats would be around, too, and might be favored), and while the full training and responsibility of feeding wouldn't be on the king's shoulders in all likelihood, dogs are much more likely to stick around than fly off back into the wild than, say, a hawk, so the king would have a lot more daily contact and interaction with them.
I include hounds and hawks because one of the things a king would be expected to do was to hunt. A lot of places had rules about the deer in the king's forests belonging to the king, to the appointed game wardens, to the local nobles...but hunting down feral animals was also an expected job of the nobility, so feral cattle and pigs, wild boar, those would be skills a king would train for, and would certainly have specialist warriors and huntsmen to surround him when going out on one of these hunts.
The king (or queen) would likely have petitioners arriving to speak with him. In earlier eras when travel was more difficult, these would probably be less formalized, but might still be frequent enough to require a formal royal court session (you know the one portrayed in movies, with the audience members, the petitioner being announced and brought up to the throne, etc).
Remember, however, that the earlier you go, the smaller the facilities, the less regimented-by-custom the activities, the less formal things will be--the king might hear petitioners in the solar (a room with a lot of natural light, where the royal family would hang out and do things indoors), the equivalent of sitting down in someone's living room and having a chat over coffee or tea. (Or rather, small beer, lightly alcoholic and drunk instead of water because after being brewed, it was more sterile and safe to drink, plus, calories!)
There might be specific days when the king does have royal court sessions, but again, that'll depend on timeframe, nation size, ease of travel, and overall frequency of petitioners asking to be heard...along with how close an acquaintance or how unknown they are to the king. Some would bring gifts as bribes in the hopes of getting their petition favorably handled...but this wouldn't always be guaranteed. (iirc, there's a cueniform tablet saying that a pair of sandals "in the greek style" had been brought to a king in the Middle East as a gift, and that said king had ordered them returned, though the reason why was not written down, wrong size, wrong person, wrong petition, who knows?)
The king's taxes would have to be assessed, with reports coming in and orders going out across the kingdom at certain times of year. This could be in the form of coin, crafted goods, or raw resources such as grain, lumber, ore ingots, etc. He would have to see to whatever passed for a standing army, making sure from time to time that they were being kept well-trained and well-armed--not all kings or kingdoms or eras had a standing army! But there would be a group of warriors whom the king would be able to call upon, professional or voluntary (or voluntold, as the case may be).
This is because one of the duties of a king (at least a good or reasonably competent one) would be to ensure the kingdom--ts peoples, livestock, resources, borders, etc--were kept as safe as possible from invasions, raiders, roadside banditry, random skirmishes between disgruntled nobles, possible uprisings, etc.
Another duty (presuming good or competent) would be to engage in diplomacy both within (disgruntled neighboring nobles) and without (neighboring nations, potential trade partners farther away, etc) their lands. This could involve sending diplomatic couriers with letters, or it could involve sending spies to integrate and ingratiate their way into the ranks of the persons or groups trying to be spied upon and/or influenced in certain ways.
Queen Elizabeth I of England had a very widespread network of spies and informants throughout most of her reign, and engaged in diplomacy while wielding the weapons of knowledge and influence upon her opponents--not necessarily her enemies every time, but her opponents. (Mind you, she also had a temper at times, and could make threats with the best of them, but most often she chose to try things diplomatically to start, at least from what I understand.)
One more thing to consider when it comes to Medieval Europe and the monarchy. The Church's power stretched everywhere--even after Protestantism got started!--so a monarch would be expected to bow to the religious expectations of piety, etc. They'd be expected to pray near-daily, would certainly be expected to attend masses, and would without a doubt be expected (pressured or coaxed) into giving gifts to the Church.
When King Henry VIII got pissed off at the Catholic Church (and was strapped for cash), he did an about-face to Protestantism so fast, there were monasteries and churches in England literally in the midst of upgrades and renovations that got informed all the Church lands belonged to the king now, so bugger off, but leave all the valuable silks and gold and silver behind, kthxbai! *doorslam!* That was because the Church held a lot of lands, and a lot of wealth, and the king was tired of not having all that land and wealth himself.
In earlier periods, the fear of Excommunication was strong, because Christianity was what tied disparate peoples together...gingerly and fragilely in many cases, but even if you couldn't speak each other's language, you could mumble along the Latin phrases for the prayers and services of a mass, and your unintelligible buddy over there would know and nod along and mumble them, too, hey, you do have something in common!
In later periods, when trade became quite widespread and strong, when secular interactions could hold together alliances, not just the "we're all in this together as fellow worshippers," then it became easier to break away from the Church's hold, and to not fear excommunication so much. (Shunning can be a powerful social activity regulator.) So that's something to consider: how strong is the influence of the local religion(s) in your area? The heart of Byzantium, Constantinople, had many religions working and living together for years. A lot of that was live-and-let-live in attitude. Other areas were very...fanatical...about their specific local belief systems, and so the local sovereign would be expected to go along with that, or be trampled by the zealotry of their population base.
...As you can see, there is quite a lot to consider. The daily life wouldn't always be the exact same 9-to-5 office hours, but there were certain rhythms to the day, the week, the season (life was very much seasonal in medieval times), and the passing of each year. But in many ways, there would be many similarities.
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Text
Girl Talk
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This place is actually kinda cozy.
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Well, I live by myself, like I said, so whatever mess there is, you can blame it on me.
*Komaru walks into the living room of Kanon’s apartment, where she’ll be staying for the evening. Kanon has a kotatsu set up, which Toko is already nuzzling under.
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Mmm...It’s waaaarm...
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Mind if I squeeze in?
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Knock yourself out. There’s enough room for a few people.
*Komaru and Kanon snuggle under the kotatsu and sigh happily.
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Excuse me?
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Oh. Hey there Hatsudoki. Are you ok?
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I was wondering where my client was...There was a matter of which I needed to talk to him about.
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But...I can’t seem to find him.
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Oh, Kuripa and Yasu are downstairs right now. Kuripa’s trying to teach Yasu how to use an electric baton better in case he needs to fight...
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[Downstairs]
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AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! STOP CHASING ME!
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THEN FIGHT BACK YOU COWARD, FIGHT BACK!!
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Anyway, I’m sure they’re doing alright...But I wouldn’t interrupt them if I were you.
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I see...Well, I guess I’ll just wait for him to come back...
*She begins to head into the kitchen.
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Huh? Wait, you’re leaving?
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I’m not leaving. I’m just going to wait for Kurafto in the kitchen.
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Isn’t that a little bit...boring?
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Why don’t you join us?
*Kibin looks at Komaru with a surprised expression.
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Are you...asking me to stay?
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Uh-huh. We haven’t gotten to chat yet, and I want to get to know you.
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Sorry but...I don’t really like having close relations with my clients...
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Kuripa’s your client. He’s the one paying you, so we’re a separate entity, aren’t we?
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I’m pretty eager to talk too. I’m curious as to how someone so young could be a bounty hunter...
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Hmmm...Very well...If you insist...
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Huh? What’s up? You look a little red?
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N-Not true...!
*A few minutes later, Kibin is snuggled under the kotatsu, trying to hide her satisfied expression.
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It feels...nice...
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Haha...You act all serious, but you’re really just a big softy, huh?
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...
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That was a joke...
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I-I see...It was a joke...
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So...What’s your stories?
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Huh?
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What do you mean?
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You want me to talk about myself...something I’m not that good at...But I’d like the three of you to go first.
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Please, tell me about yourselves.
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What’s there to tell really? For the most part, I’m just a normal girl...
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No normal girl has an iron leg...
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Well, that’s...a recent addition.
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I was part of the demon hunting game that the original Warriors of Hope played in Towa City over 8 years ago...That’s where I learned to use a hacking gun.
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Yeah, same here.
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I was kind of dragged along. But that’s how I met Komaru and the other warriors.
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If I understand correctly, the Warriors of Hope are your friends now, aren’t they? Why make friends with old enemies?
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Well, to be honest, they were just as much victims of the Demon Hunting as the adults were.
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Monaca manipulated both the adults and the kids, for reasons everyone believed to be making a paradise for kids to live peacefully...
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But in the end...She just wanted to slaughter a bunch...And she wanted Komaru to become the successor to Junko Enoshima.
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But...well...She made me this leg, so I can’t really hate her...
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Well, I suppose people can atone for their misdeeds...I can’t complain on my lonesome...
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What about you Nakajima?
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Well, my story is pretty similar...
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I’m from a pretty rich family. My dad was a director at TAT Television.
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That’s a pretty large TV conglomerate...!
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The largest in the world actually.
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I used to be super infatuated with my cousin Leon, and when we got into high school, I signed up to be manager of his baseball team in order to be close to him.
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You were infatuated with your own cousin?
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I know...I’m weird...I’m sorry...
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D-Don’t apologize, I’m not judging.
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I can’t judge...My love life has been a total mess...
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But...I still have feelings for Master Byakuya...!
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Charming...
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But...my real question is how are you associated with Hagakure?
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I met him by chance. At first I thought that he was just a random citizen, caught up in the whole mess, so I used my hacking gun to save him...
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We...didn’t have the best relationship when we first met...Yasu realized that if he brought me back safely to my father, he would be able to pay off his remaining debt. From then on, he began treating me royally...
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Tch...Selfish, money-grubbing dumbass...
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Um...is he really that bad?
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He wasn’t entirely to blame either...To be honest my own intentions weren’t very...pure...either.
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What do you mean?
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I hated the Future Foundation. When I found out that Leon had died in the killing game, I resented them and blamed them for allowing him to die...
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And so...I swore that after I escaped the demon hunting game...I’d take them all down...and kill every last one of their members...!
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Jesus...
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But...that didn’t happen, did it?
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No...Yasu found out...I’d wrote about it in my pocketbook and he somehow read it. And when I found this out...I...
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You tried to kill him?
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...
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Yes...I tried to strangle him to death...
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But as that was happening, Kotoko Utsugi showed up and tried to kill me...And she almost succeeded...
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But...Yasu powered up a train and rammed into Utsugi’s robot, then he scooped me up and ran away with me. 
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We nearly died...since we were being chased by both Utsugi and Daimon...But no matter what, he refused to be the helpless guy that he usually was, and he refused to let me go.
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Wow...He really did that...? Maybe I judged Hiro a little too quickly...
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Yeah, maybe he’s cooler than we first thought.
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[Downstairs]
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HELP MEEEEEEEE! GOD! BUDDHA! SAVE ME PLEEEAAASSE!
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RAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!
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Ok, what about you then?
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Me?
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Yeah, it’s your turn! Go on, what’s your story?
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...
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Before the tragedy hit...I had a small family. I was an only child, and I lived with my parents.
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When Junko Enoshima and the Remnants of Despair all attacked, one person came into my house and burnt everything down...
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I escaped the blaze...but my parents weren’t so lucky...
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In the years that the tragedy raged on for...The Future Foundation never found me...So I had to survive by myself...for so many years...
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H-Hold on a second...Hatsudoki, how old are you?
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Is that really important?
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J-Just answer...I want to know if I’m doing the math right...
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I’m 19.
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Th-Then...if the tragedy first hit, and you lost your family, and were forced to survive in the apocalyptic wilds on your own over 10 years ago...then you would have been...!?
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Holy shit...!
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...It’s tough living in post-apocalyptic times...And I certainly did things that I wasn’t proud of.
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In order to ensure my own survival, I killed anyone who had resources that I needed...For someone like me, it was get busy killing, or get busy dying...
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Even after the area that I lived in at the time began going through rejuvenation after the killing game, I still had blood on my hands and no money...And that’s where I first got a job...
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Someone approached you and told you you could kill for money, huh?
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Yes...and I accepted.
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As much as it pained me, I only knew two skills...how to survive, and how to kill...I couldn’t cook well enough, I had no social skills, I didn’t have an education...
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I had nothing that would allow me to live a normal life...
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Assassin work was really all there was, huh?
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After I went through training, I was free to live on my own...But from then on, I had a goal in mind...
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I wanted to gain enough money that would last me a lifetime. I wanted to get so rich that I’d never have to live life like a slumdog again...
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I wanted to live the rest of my life peacefully...So I began to get better at my job...I charged more because of it...and I also ended up saving money...Just so I could achieve that dream. It’s selfish...But I want it more than anything...
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No...After all you’ve been through...You probably deserve a happy life...
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You don’t like being a hitman, do you? You just want to be done with that life...
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...Who, other than a psychopath, could enjoy a job where you kill people unjustly...?
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Hatsudoki...
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I always thought something was slightly off...And now I know what it is...
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Those clothes of yours barely fit you...Is that because...?
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I only own a few sets of clothes. I don’t waste money on new ones when these ones still just about fit me...
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...
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...
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...
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Hey...we’re back...
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Oh, hey guys! How’d it go...?
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I thought I was gonna die...!
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Ooookay then...?
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Seriously, go easy on me Ripa! I’m not used to fighting like you are!
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How many times do I have to say, don’t give me a stupid nick-
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...!
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Actually, I like that one. It sounds like “Reaper.”
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It’s getting late...we should probably turn in for the night...
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Agreed...so, what were the sleeping arrangements again?
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I’m sleeping on the floor in Kanonball’s room, Toko and Komaru get the other bedroom...
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Doki-Doki’s on the sofa and Reapers on the futon in the front room.
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Doki-Doki?
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Alright then...
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Goodnight you guys!
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sasuhinasno1fan · 4 years ago
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The deer of the forest- Luktober Day 10
Oh look, another prompt from @write-it-motherfuckers, not that I’m really complaining. They’re prompts are good and there are others of there’s I hope to use one day. I didn’t have a solid idea, but then I found this prompt and I had to. I also tried my hand at second person point of view I think it’s called? The point of view the prompts are usually in, I would usually change the pronouns, fix the tense, but to challenge myself, I left Luka’s point of view as that and had Adrien’s in my usual third person. I hope it sounds ok and you like it. I mean, I wouldn’t be that surprised if this actually happens to Luka. He probably attracts all sorts of mythical creatures. Deer 
You found a stag a few weeks ago, on the edge of the forest that surrounded your home. It was in bad shape, its body covered in grime, and a number of wounds visible. It was a strange looking thing, bigger than any stag you had ever seen, antlers badly broken, and eyes a strange silvery colour all over. At first you had thought maybe it was blind, but it seemed to see perfectly despite its strange eyes. 
It took a lot of effort, but eventually you managed to get the poor animal inside your garage, as it was too big to take anywhere else. Luckily the thing remained lethargic and peaceful, mostly allowing you to manhandle it as you pleased. Part of you couldn’t help but wonder how it had even survived here so long. The forest was dying, the trees and plants rotting, the animals sick, and the water poisoned. It was a hard living out here, and the only reason you survived yourself, was because you had other resources, unlike the animals of this area. Despite the fact that most of the people who had been causing this place to die, had left almost a year ago, the damage was too great.
Though you held out little hope for the animal, something urged you to try. After giving it a thorough wash, so that you could treat its wounds, you were shocked to find that it was actually a startling white, rather than the dull brownish grey, you had assumed. The stag had a lot of wounds, all that you treated to the best of your ability, the town not really having a vet, thanks to its now minuscule size, and you being unable to move an animal of this size to somewhere else. 
After weeks of careful care and love though, the stag was looking a lot healthier and livelier. The creature even seemed to trust you. To your surprise, its antlers were regrowing at an astonishing rate, its wounds healing quickly too. The antlers themselves were bizarre, massive and pointed, they looked like the cluttered branches of a tree. There were even small random nubs on the antlers, that kind of reminded you of flower buds. You had never seen anything like it, but somehow it seemed to fit the unusual creature perfectly. 
While cutting up some food for the stag, you pause, peering out the window. You can’t help but wonder, at what point the forest started to regain life. You had been so focused with your strange new charge, that you hadn’t even noticed the way the forest and its creatures seemed to perk up a little bit every day. Even the waters were clearing, as the days went by.
You’re so focused on the scene outside the window, you don’t hear the sound of hooves against the tile floor. You do feel the unwelcome nose pushing itself under your jacket and between your legs. You let out a surprised yelp, the apple and knife in your hand dropping into the sink as you push the nose away. It’s the first time you’ve seen the stag anywhere but the garage. It was starting to try and stand up, but you’d never seen it walk much, no doubt still weak from its injuries. But this white stag seems to love nothing but to surprise you so you wonder how you’re even confused at what you’re seeing at this point.
You scratch underneath its chin, its head leaning into your palm like a cat getting attention. The nubs on its antlers have grown bigger and a part of you thinks of the forest spirit from pictures, with ivy and flowers growing from its antlers. But you know those are the things of fairy tales. You’re broken out of your thoughts by the stag starting to chew on the sleeve of your jacket.
“Alright, alright. If you didn’t get so impatient, I’d be done by now.” You quickly finish cutting the apple. You know that the stag would have no trouble biting through seeds but you’ve been spoiling your little charge and you can’t help it. You moved into the French countryside when the city you grew up in became so overcrowded with noise you couldn’t stand. You came to this family cottage, the only thing left of your father not counting his eye colour, hoping to find peace, but you wondered how long it would last because of state of the nature around you. so many others were gone and you didn’t think the sudden peak in change would change that. You didn’t mind being alone but you also wanted company. Maybe that’s why you spoiled the stag, it was the only company you had so far.
You hand feed the stag, watching the sliced disappear into its mouth and still come begging for more attention. You let it lick your hand clean, using the other to pet it between the ears, selfishly hoping for a moment that it won’t want to leave. You know you shouldn’t. it’s a wild animal who even though it easily accepted help, probably had a home in the healing forest. You couldn’t keep it chained here just to keep yourself from feeling lonely. A bitter pill to swallow, yes, but a necessary one.
                                           ____________________
His father was wrong it seemed. He told Adrien that humans cared only for themselves, that they only destroyed and never cared for what they left behind. For a while he did believe it. The area that belonged to him, the one he protected was being treated horribly. Turning into a white stag caused hunters to come after him and scientist wanted to study his horns. Their case after him started to affect his domain. For every bad thing they did to him, it affected the forest life around it. Before he knew it, he ran them out of town, but they left destruction behind them.
he was so close to dying, thinking his father was right, but then a human helped him. Dark hair, with shades of light blue in it, odd little pricks of metal in his face and ears, his nails dark like some of the tar left on the trees. He thought he was a creature, but he smelt human. He cooed over him, asking out loud what had happened to him. He brought him to his home, even if Adrien’s size didn’t make it easy. The human washed him down, fed him, treated his wounds. He cared for him and in return, unknowingly helped the forest area around him. He’d been feeling up to walking today, a big leap in how he was feeling earlier and went looking for the human, surprising him when he stuck his nose between his legs. He’d seen mothers doing it to their young when helping them to stand, he didn’t know why he reacted like that. But he scratched under his chin and he felt himself melt. He was like a wildcat despite usually changing into a deer and eating the apples out of the painted nails hand was nice too.
He wanted to change back into his normal form, but he knew that wouldn’t be for a while. The forest was healing, but it still needed more time before his powers would allow him to change back. It was fine though; he liked this time with his human. His…Luka. He could only assume that was his name. he heard him once answer with ‘Luka here’ on those odd-looking objects that some humans seemed glued too.
He was resting now in his usual place, warm in his round and soft bed, an equally soft blanket over him. Luka had gone into town and the house was quiet, only the sounds of the recovering area singing to him.
“There you are!” he looked to see a large black cat; his green eyes narrowed at him. Only a moment later was a dark-skinned man, black hair as long and wild as the fur on the cat that once stood there. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you? I knew you weren’t dead because the forest still had some life to it, but we couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“They came after me in this form. I had to keep them away from you and try to escape. They didn’t make it easy.” He said, this thought easily going to the man in front of him.
He kneeled and looked at Adrien’s antlers, the buds growing. “When do you think they’ll bloom?”
“Not all of them will. There’s still much healing to be done. But I’m recovering, so that means something.”
“A human is taking care of you?”
“Yes. It seems father was wrong about all humans. Or at least, this one.”
The man scoffed. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Plagg.” he scolded lightly. He couldn’t blame his closest friend. He came to this forest and bonded himself to it because trying to live in the forest he grew up in felt like trying to bring life back to the areas full of steel and metal and loud noise. “I’m getting better. I know I’ll eventually be better to leave, but…I want to thank him first.”
Plagg raised an eyebrow. “You seemed to be attached.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Whatever. I’ll be nearby. Once you feel able to come back, just call for me. Adrien, I am really glad you’re ok.”
“Me too. And we have him to thank for that.”
                                               ________________
You noticed a black cat leaving your garage as you come home from sending things at the post office. It’s easy to work from home, though most emails have to be sent from town rather than your own home because of the weak signal. You see the stag, still sitting in its bed, its head turned to you as you walk inside. It didn’t seem bothered so you guessed a cat felt curious and came to look. It also fills you with hope. The stag was the only animal you’d seen since you arrived. If others were coming out, that plus the slowly recovering area meant to things were finally fixing themselves.
As the days went on, the stag continued to walk, getting better and stronger. Its wounds were gone and its fur was starting to glow. It still begged for attention like a spoiled pet and since it could now follow you into the house, its pleas became constant.
The dreams that started confused you. you’d be walking thorough a forest, one out of a fairy tale, or maybe what the one outside the cottage used to look like. Standing under a drooping tree would be your stag, white fur gleaming, its eyes a bright icy blue, the antlers bursting with flowers. Mostly white ones, but dotted with pale pastels. And then in its place, would be a boy. No, not boy, he looked to be the same age as you, but he seemed so innocent and delicate. He looked different than the stag, his hair like spun gold and his green eyes shinning in the sun. even if he didn’t have the same flower dotted antlers upon his head, you still know that the person is your stag. You could see it in the kind eyes and gentle smile. Before you could ask his name or anything, you’d wake up, visions of what he looked like escaping your memory.
You’d watch the stage explore the garden, not chewing on the newly grown grass, but nudging at it, like it was trying to encourage it. Your favourite movie is Princess Mononoke, a story about a human raised by wolves wanting to protect her home and a cursed prince who honoured the gods and tried to help protect them. you look at the odd nubs on the antlers, that seem to be becoming a different colour, like flowers ready to bloom and you wonder if you helped a forest god. Then the stag comes, tugging at your jacket, like it does when it wants something, its eyes trained on the handful of nuts you’ve been eating. It seems so unlikely, but you’ve been known to attract some odd things before.
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Back to my Safari bookmarks! If you’re wondering why I’d make hundreds and hundreds of bookmarks from tumblr, it’s because I had anxiety and didn’t have a blog yet. Took me a while and eventually I just impulsively made it one night.
- awww ancient Stucky fanart
- several etsy articles that are no longer available
- “Oops! Website deactivated”
- many, many, many links to nothing, but also an array of super random tumblr posts, and when I say random I mean random
- this was when CATWS was fresh and people were like :O
- a list of recipes to replicate fast food from some American chains at home... ew why would I want to eat any of these things ew ew
- past me, please explain, why would you bookmark all this stuff. why so many bookmarks of possible iphone cases to buy. you did buy some eventually. why keep these b--
- horizontally cutting an apple and putting peanut butter inside it DOES NOT make it a sandwich, American person who wrote this article about sandwich ideas. Wait, “Apple and Gruyere Waffle Sandwich”? That’s even worse.
- you again?? No, using a tomato instead of hamburger buns DOES NOT make a hamburger. How am I supposed to bite into the sk... nevermind.
- awww a bunch of etsy links about products for babies! This is from when my nephew was born ^-^
- a 2004 essay about Dumbledore
- that manga about Jesus and Buddha in modern Japan
- pictures of blooming tea... I have purchased some from a Chinese reseller through Amazon a very long time ago, but the package is “in transit but late” :(
- Roberto Ferri’s paintings (those beautiful ones you saw years ago all over tumblr)
- pictures from the 1930s/40s in color
- super cute pet videos
- nothing says “Etsy” like kintsugi kits where you’re sent a broken object to repair (I didn’t want one, but the link showed me those)
- sure, pick a theme for your blog where microscopic text is written in beige over white background, I’m sure that’s a good idea
- do you think John Winchester apologists who get really intense when someone brings up literal canon still exist on this site or. Actually no I don’t want to know.
- I miss the Carver era meta guys
- an essay that reads the Iron Man trilogy through the lens of “cyborg feminism” but somehow the Iron Man trilogy seems to be a fever dream. That’s what happens when you make other 9472 terrible movies with Tony Stark in it when he’s always written terribly.
- Oh boi remember fanmail. I miss fanmail. They should being back fanmail.
- random stuff, broken links, random stuff, I’m deading, even Safari is suffering I had to close it and open it again asdfghjkl
- Writing Exercises (I’m not checking if it’s actually useful rn tho)
- this smol 2014 article about the Captain America fandom will make you cry now because we had such a good thing and they chose to punish us for it
- https://musicroamer.com and http://www.liveplasma.com
- oh man an essay on why it would be so important for many people if Johnlock became canon. I feel so sorry for the TJLC people, they deserved better
- damn!! Look at this Etsy store!! Look at this stuff!! I want!!
- that time Sergei Polunin danced to Take Me To Church
- the Supernatural soundtrack, episode by episode
- a twitter account that got suspended?? (But also ewwwww twitter shows me what’s trending in my country and ewwwww)
- Centuries Before Memes, There Were The LOLCats Of Japanese Woodprints
- there’s a broken link to a page inside the site “thetoast” and their broken link page says “Oh, bother.” and a picture of a burnt toast
- http://lexicity.com (The first and only comprehensive index for ancient language resources on the internet.)
- NASA Goddard Youtube channel
- omg this is so funny. An article about “awesome recycling ideas”. The objects to recycle? Include? A grand piano; a sea mine; an old boat; another grand piano; A BOEING 747 JUMBO JET ENGINE; another boat; sliced cars; multiple more pianos... thank you I really needed an idea on what to do with that stuff in my garage
- one of my first tumblr posts............. you really want to see it? do you? okay. But you need to be familiar with that famous Nietzsche passage about the announcement of the death of God. Yeah, I know. I can’t fathom how I got thousands of people to follow me.
- an amigurumi project I actually tried, with an acquaintance’s help and all, but I just couldn’t
- a folder of random stuff lebeled “bau” (“woof” in Italian, you know, what the dog says)
- more resources for my thesis I never used
- the map of the central building of my university (I always get lost in it)
- once upon a time, the most used word on the internet was “codependency”
- thanks, past me, for grouping all these links from tumblr blogs that changed their url all together so I can just delete everything with a single click.
- a folder “sherlock meta”. Blogs that deleted. (*touches the ground*...)
- discussions on the dismissal of the queer reading of Sherlock :’) I’m sorry guys
- it’s a good thing I didn’t have a blog back then. If I’d reblogged all the posts I’ve saved it would have been a mess.
- TEEN WOLF META asdfghjkl I routinely forget that Teen Wolf is a show I actually watched. Sure, I abandoned it at some point. Like everyone else did, I think.
- guys, we’re at posts from the first few days of 2014. We’re about to enter 2013. I don’t know what we’ll find.
- Destiel posts. These are all Destiel posts.
- a link to the Naruto manga on a manga reader site.
The Safari bookmarks end here, I think because for Christmas 2013, if I remember correctly, I got a new laptop. But there’s a folder with some bookmarks I imported from the old one... 
- some resources on disability representation, random tumblr posts, and the family free of the Julio-Claudian dynasty
- super random tumblr blogs?? including the demo.tumblr.com??? idek
- oh boi. A super mega amount of tumblr blogs. How am I supposed to open these?? If I open all the tabs I’ll make my laptop crash... I’m not opening them. Most are unfamiliar, probably fandom blogs that changed their url twice a month, but I can spot a few I still follow :) Congrats, I “followed” you long before I had a blog myself.
Well, this was anticlimatic. Apparently, past me already got rid of all the wild stuff. There’s not even a SINGLE Glee thing? Not one? From 2014? Wait, what was airing in 2014? Season 5? Yeah, maybe that’s a reason. Still.
NEVERMIND I FOUND THEM, they’re no longer saved in a browser, I had changed laptops or sth and I had copied my bookmarks in a email I sent to myself so I could find the links again (which obviously says I made a selection, who knows how many bookmarks were lost. I don’t want to know lmao). I obviously have no reason, time or will to open them, but I can tell you I had divided them in categories:
- uni courses; Japan/Japanese; manga; philosophy and academical stuff; recipes; mixed [oh boi there’s some weird stuff here]; very useful sites; quotes & lyrics [what for?]; videos; Glee stuff; Glee art from DeviantArt; Glee tumblr blogs; Klaine-specific tumblr blogs; Supernatural stuff; Destiel-specific; my most used sites; Deviant Art - fanart [not specified, so I’m betting this is manga fanart - correction from some urls I can tell this is yaoi fanart, yep]; Deviant Art - non-fanart; watercolor images; Deviant Art - food; Deviant Art - pictures of Japan; something very embarrassing I’m not admitting it [no it’s not porn, that would be less embarrassing]; assorted tumblr posts; Supernatural meta; other tumblr posts.
So yeah that was my 2013, how was yours?
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gg-astrology · 5 years ago
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Can you tell us 10 things about you? and about ur friends irl? How u met them/ how long u know them/ what u like to do with them? This is gonna sound nosy but how's ur love life hdjsks LISTEN YOU'RE LIKE MY DREAM BEST FRIEND AND I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU AND ACT LIKE WE'RE TOTES HOMIES OKAY IM A VIRGO SUN PISCES MOON smh a girl is cURIOUS AND (platonically) IN LOVE WITH YOU 😖❤❤❤❤
Hey there!! 💕💓❤️ Oh wow!!!! 💕💓❤️💕💓❤️ Don’t worry this is fine!! I’m actually -- like, really happy and giddily flustered you’d want to get to know me!? 💕💓❤️ I’m really flattered and really grateful/touched aaaaaaa only virgo/pisces deserve rights, my current wife is also a virgo/pisces this is obviously some kind of synastry destiny (jk *wink wonk?*)!! 💕💓❤️thank you for caring about me!!! 💕💓❤️💕💓❤️💕💓❤️💕💓❤️
Yeah sure!! 💕💓❤️I can tell you more things about me!! 💕💓❤️
Disclaimer? I think it’s good for the audience to know where I’m coming from and who I am? I just think transparency/knowing who you’re talking to is important because knowing who I am, can also help you and me see where my flaws are and where I may be coming from! 💕💓❤️ Or what I provide, but where I might miss my mark somewhere, y know? 💕💓❤️ Not to say you have to judge me, I just don’t see the point in not just being who I am and saying yeah I can see where I took the L there. It’s just-- better? for future endeavors as well? So here we are? 
More about me? In sections?
10 things about me? 
I’ll start with this since it’s the shortest!
This may come off as totally random but I do better in colder climate than hotter ones -- even though I currently live in a tropical island 
I used to live in the US!
I actually have a designated place where I go to sit, open up my laptop and answer asks from tumblr. I sit outside my little patio and stare out at my garden, and then answer qs from here!
This means I’m always subjected to the Wild Life coming at me unexpectedly sometimes, but my cat also visits me at my table! So it balances out! 
My favourite drink is milk but I like plant-based ones, or rice milk? Or the lactose free ones! They’re delicious! 
Cherries are my favourite snacks but I usually get them once every 3 months -- so the result is I don’t tend to snack often. This is by design of me trying to Not Snack + using my pickiness to weaponize against myself and my eating habits.
To unwind I watch cat/animal videos on youtube before I go to sleep - it’s not very effective because I have to keep my eyes open to see, plus I always end up making cooing noises at the screen -- so I’m not sure when if it’s actually making me sleepy or not. But it’s working so far so I’m continuing to do it.
I have very specific knowledge of certain things in very acute details + link/resources of further studies on the topic, but otherwise I have 0.5 braincells most of the time, just a lot of Forbidden Knowledge.
I have a folder of cursed memes and that’s all you need to know about my sense of humour I think? 
Love life?
I am currently single! 💕💓❤️ Gf application is always open! 💕💓❤️ However, I’d like everyone of you to know I’m a 95 liner and I will not accept applications from those born after 98′ 💕💓❤️
Although I’m bi + had ex-bf before... I am (as of right now) on the fence about men personally in my personal life (disclaimer) because I’ve got a week of quarantine, thus I haven’t been doing the do and can think clearly for once. I am contemplating. Men. And the necessity in life. Y know? 
Although my love life is free!! I am not excused from the occasional panic of having a crush (annually). I’m lucky enough to go through it just once every year, but every time it happens I am an absolutely clown + always in turmoil. It’s what happens when you’re a sag venus who can’t control your p***y brain. Luckily, my crush just have to insult me or make me explain things from my past and then I’d be too traumatize to crush on them again. It’s quite effective, and works out best for all of us! 💕💓❤️
I’ll refrain from talking about my ex because I know I have a habit of recounting the good and being mushy. Even if we ended it on rocky terms. So! I’ll save everyone from that. 💕💓❤️    
Friends (expanded, clarifications?) 
The ones I mention on the blog are usually 
taurus/taurus, 
cancer/cancer, 
leo/libra, 
leo/cap (x2), 
virgo/sag, 
libra/aries (x2), 
scorpio/sag, 
scorpio/cap, 
sag/taurus, 
pisces/scorpio, 
pisces/aqua,  
Oof that’s alot.. This might be better to outline in a timeline format... so leo/libra, scorpio/sag, libra/aries and partially virgo/sag are whom I grew up for the majority of my childhood-teenage life! 💕💓❤️ 
They obviously made a very big impact on me! 💕💓❤️ They’re with me through thick/thin, leo/libra (sag rising) is the extrovert of the bunch. He’s one of my best friends, close guy friend, most of the time I too find him a little exasperating because he’s.. well its his problem so nevermind, but he’s also very endearing! 💕💓❤️ If it wasn’t for him-- well, there’s also another leo I thought was very endearing in a little brother kind of way. So leos to me have a very positive influence in my life, they’re very cute especially when they ask for your attention. I think they are like puppies/kitties when they are needy, and their blatant way of just being themselves always makes me feel refreshed + I  admire them for it. In the end, I’m totally heart-eyes endeared for Leos! 💕💓❤️
Scorpio/sag is also my best friend! 💕💓❤️ She’s a taurus rising, and she’s so sweet, kind, chatty and very open/friendly to people! 💕💓❤️ Her, my cousin (who’s also a scorpio but a scorpio/pisces), and quite a few of my other best friends who are scorpios - actually made me realize they’re not like what they’re usually describe as. Maybe that’s just me? But I think they’re very sweet and comforting to be around, not to mention they’re quite supportive and willing to listen when you’re having a tough time with something!! 💕💓❤️The pillar of support and one of the few rare people I don’t mind interacting with (actually crave interacting with them) because of just how chill they are, I wish more people recognize that in a scorpio! 💕💓❤️
Libra/Aries is one of my longest childhood friend, probably from birth! 💕💓❤️ He’s a supportive big brother type figure. But he can be very silly and he doesn’t hold himself so seriously most of the time! 💕💓❤️ Whilst he’s very understanding and quite nosy with others, he tries to be subtle/sleek but he isn’t! I think he’s very endearing when he wants to be, and he deserves someone who loves him lots as well 💕💓❤️ We reunited for the first time in 6 years the other day? And I think we both ended up crying a little and holding hands because we miss each other alot! 💕💓❤️ It was very nice, I think he’s much more emotional (just suppressed) than what people realize! 💕💓❤️ He’s very caring though - like willing to talk you through your problems and make sure you’re taken care of, back on your feet, but also willing to smile scarily at people who’ve hurt you and actually take them to court/yell at them for you. I think its very sweet! 💕💓❤️
Virgo/Sag is someone I hung out with for a short period of time, but kept in contact with periodically throughout my life because we ended up going through similar majors/path in life! 💕💓❤️ She’s someone who’s very caring, wants to take care of you, when she’s endeared by you she makes sure to dote on you often! 💕💓❤️ Actually, she’s born a day after Namjoon I think? But that’s not the point, the thing is - she’s my virgo/sag and when she’s not by my virgo/sag she’s super cool and I can see that many of our friend respects her/think she’s very mature + she’s the Shit! 💕💓❤️ I really admire her too and I think she’s super cool, but more than that, I love how caring and tender she is. She’s the best 💕💓❤️
These are the people I grew up with, and then I went to college and met/lived with Scorpio/Cap + Pisces/Scorpio+Aqua. 
Scorpio/Cap and I actually hit it off since the first day? We were in orientation, and we’re both talkative I guess! But in similar ways. He appreciates my bluntness/sense of humour and I like that he’s sarcastic and the only one engaging enough to be around/paying attention to what’s happening. We went to a house party together and then had 1 class together the semester. After that, me and him decided we’d live together off campus (along with our other friend who fell through, I think he’s a Leo?) - whilst we lived together we share majors in the same division, on holidays or at night after class, we’d grab dinner together + walk there, or we’d eat at home and binge watch a marathon he’d pick together. 💕💓❤️ It’s really fun! 💕💓❤️ 
Both of us like cooking, so he’d make dishes/drinks and I’d do that and we’d coerced each other to hang out in the living space together. Basically, we’re there to force each other to socialize/hang out with people and also encourage each other. It’s very fun! But we also had moments where we’d buy each other dinner/go to art galleries/exhibit together. There’s more serious too of course, like talking about our problems or worrying about stuff. But I think I found someone who looks out for me/I can look out for him, be confidants for each other and not be embarrassed with each other. Besides this, he also found my p0rn collection and suddenly mentioned it when we’re on campus so now I can never unfriend him because he has blackmail material on me. I’m forced to be his friends forever now. 
Pisces/Cap and Pisces/Aqua are my roommates after Scorpio/Cap - actually, Pisces/cap invited me to live with them when I was finding a place, it was very fortunate! 💕💓❤️ We’re all close friends because we live in the same hall during first year, plus me and Pisces/cap (and a Gemini friend) would get drunk + go to parties together so!! This is very convenient! 💕💓❤️
Actually.. Pisces/cap, me and Gemini friend.. I went with Gemini friend to buy his apartment with him (along with his friends, I’m good friends with them too) and Pisces/cap went with him to buy furnitures lmao! 💕💓❤️ And then me and Pisces/cap moved in together, although I didn’t room with them. I roomed with Pisces/Aqua whom till this date is my favourite roommate I’ve ever lived with! 💕💓❤️
It’s a little messy with Pisces/Cap but not in a? bad way? at all? Like we’re close friends who still talk often, but they did confess once over the holidays, and I turned them down (that was when I was about to move in) - we did make out along with pisces/aqua but like.. that’s... I guess that’s normal for college y know? We did a couple projects together for their class, like a comic about me and gemini friend, poems, photography, I drew them something. And I think they did have something with Gemini friend as well but! Gemini friend moved away on the last year so it never went anywhere there. 
But these are all good memories we had together and it’s not like-- bad at all, I don’t ever think badly at them for it because it was honest to them/for them, it was their emotions and tenderness from the heart? I can’t ever look down on anyone for that or judge them for being true to themselves, I actually think they’re very brave to be able to heal themselves and process things especially involving emotions like that. I also think these are all precious and honest memories, being friends with them definitely helped me grow my EQ by so much. Without them, I’d be very close-minded today! 💕💓❤️ 
Pisces/aqua is my roommate for a long time, and I love them to bits too! 💕💓❤️ They have two cats, both I love so so much and would sacrifice getting up for very often! 💕💓❤️ More than that, Pisces/aqua is so smart and able to pick things up immediately! It’s honestly very admirable, how they pierce things together. Whether it’s tarot or astrology, they’re the one who got me into this actually? 💕💓❤️ It was their interest before it became mine through proxy or maybe osmosis lmao, but they’re quite judgey and sometimes have a ? idk, superiority complex/elitist attitude towards stuff sometimes? So I never really talked about it much with them because it can get really frustrating sometimes 💕💓❤️ I do love them lots though, I can be ignorant of a lot of things and really slow on the uptake, but they’re very nice and kind and patient with me - honestly they’re as patient as a saint sometimes with me. And I’m really really thankful to them for it! 💕💓❤️ They’re getting married this year to a Scorpio! 💕💓❤️
Taurus/taurus and Cancer/cancer are my college best friends. Actually we hang out outside of class too! 💕💓❤️ I celebrated cancer/cancer’s birthday with them and their friends/roommates and it’s really fun. Heres why it’s -- like, momentous. It’s because my college classmates are more like colleagues or co-workers, so we don’t usually have that kind of camaraderie outside of first year. Plus, we’re all kind of working or busy with our private life outside of class - so it’s hard to reconvene that with who you know in classrooms. 
They like their private life separated from the college one, which is what I prefer as well. I really adore them though, since we have a major that usually makes us get little to no sleep and have to stay at school at night-till morning most nights (for programs on the computer or printing facilities, rip) -- they’re the one who would either stay up with me, working together at the same table and we can ask each other for fresh eyes on our work. Or they’d motivate me to go home and not be stupid to stay at school. Or they’d drive me home so they know I get back safely/on time. It’s just -- I adore them so much they’re very very good! 💕💓❤️
Taurus/Taurus is also a college best friend whom I befriended later on in the years, they’re really sweet! 💕💓❤️ We have more of a friendship where we spend time outside together, walking in the city trying out a new cake store or just going back to their place to play games or talk about what else we have going on in our lives. They’re really busy!! Since they’re involved in church activities, they travel to another town an hour away every sunday - their dedication to their work, school and church (AND spending time with their fiance’s family + fiance) is amazing! 💕💓❤️ They also got me my first job at the firm they’re working in, in our last years - I made sure they’re not too tired and get their work done on time so they don’t rush their finished project. Or give better advice if the teacher is making them fume. I really like them lots too, we had alot of fun together AND they’re a foodie! 💕💓❤️
There’s another Libra/Aries whom I knew from college, while I was still living with Scorpio/Cap - I was in another town/not the same town as the Pisces back then. But Libra/Aries was close and she’d come by often! We’d travel the city together, lay on the lawn, go to parks together or exhibit. They’re very proactive and we spend a lot of time talking about work and projects, personal interests, when we watch movies together - we’d spend time sitting in cafes after watching them to talk for hours/until closing about the movie ( ‘we have alot to unpack’) -- they’re a lot of fun to talk to because they’re just as intense about stuff! 💕💓❤️ And their interest is genuine, give good hugs, a little too loud for our cats but she means well! 💕💓❤️ 
This is brief recount of everyone, mostly focusing on activities we did together but knowing them as people obviously made a big impression on me! 💕💓❤️ 
Leo/Caps are people I met since I finished college/working now, they’re my two admins on the blog actually! 💕💓❤️So internet friends, but I really click with and they’re soothing + fun to be around when I’m home/anywhere! 💕💓❤️ 
Sag/Taurus is also another internet friend, I’ve known her for a year now? But man, every conversation is an adventure and she’s so fun to be around! 💕💓❤️ Also very sweet and an extremely kind person, in a fire sign kind of way. Which means a lot of gawking from me and very loud laughs. But yes! 💕💓❤️ Very good people! 💕💓❤️
I do have friends from work... but well we’re not close enough for me to actually consider them good friends/talk about them personally? They’re nice! But I have yet to form a more positive opinion about them - it’s positive and negative, so I’ll see who survives and come through as a person I’d like to hang out with outside of work. 💕💓❤️
To Virgo/Pisces anon: 
Here’s my best friend application do I make the cut please reply 💕💓❤️
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cowboyshit · 5 years ago
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tagged by @adampage (thank you babe!!!!)
name: ashley nickname(s): ash, doe, pirate/pir, uni, glitzy zodiac sign: sagittarius height: 5′2″ nationality: american languages spoken: english, and very rough spanish what time is it: 11:34PM celebrity crush: hangman page, drew mcintyre, piper niven, eoin macken, tom hiddleston, richard madden, emeraude toubia, penelope cruz, and honestly probably so many more but I’m drawing a big ol’ blank favorite fictional character: charles vane (black sails) favorite musician: ahhh I have trouble picking just one. but if I HAD to, probably my chemical romance favorite sports team: I don’t really watch sports as much as I did growing up but when I was watching them the denver broncos was my football team and the sf giants was my baseball team. if I catch a game of theirs I get swept up pretty easy, though... that kind of goes for any sports with me. favorite season: autumn! though spring is a close second. favorite flower: I’d say roses! favorite scent: the mountains favorite color: pink favorite animal: horses, deer, and wolves! favorite food: PASTA!!!!!! dream car: mini cooper or a jeep renegade dream trip: scotland for sure, but definitely would love a long like six-month stay through europe to really get a feel for everything and feel like I sank my teeth in instruments: I don’t play any unfortunately, but I love the acoustic guitar, the piano, and the violin so much.  coffee, tea or hot chocolate: all three!!! depends on the mood i’m in tbh  dog or cat person: both! well, okay so while I do love both (my cat is my BABY I get teary-eyed just thinking of being separated from her) I will say I do bond easier and quicker to dogs. but I still love cats!!!! following: 64 (i’ve been meaning to do another wave of follows now that I’ve adjusted to the flow of my dash - it takes me awhile to get used to everyone and then once I am I’ll start following new people) followers: 2,114 although I’m pretty sure 2,105 of those are porn bots tbh other blogs: my non-wrestling/random blog that i’ve had for like 10+ years is @doedreamss; I have a few blogs I’m no longer running, a blog just to throw resources on, and a blog that I treat like a lovesick diary for my dude blog established: january 1, 2020 babeeyyy.. I can’t believe I’ve only been on this blog since then. feels like I’ve been over here forever in the best way possible tbh do you have a tumblr crush: if you mean like friendship crushes, like my heart goes all aflutter when I see their username and I giggle and grin all big when I interact with them then YEAH mark it down as all the people I regularly interact with thanks very much!!!!  do you get asks: yeah! *adam cole voice* makes my FRICKIN day! what is your lucky number: I don’t really have one but I always say 23 when people ask instead of going in to explain that I don’t have one. which I just did here... whoops ajdsfjkdf what are you wearing right now: a lil spaghetti strap summer dress!! it’s comfy to lounge around in. it’s blue with these lil black hearts all over it. super super cute!! drink of choice: non-alcoholic is gonna be a dr. pepper. alcoholic... I’m really into bahama mamas when I can get my hands on them tbh but just really any of those mixed drinks that taste like juice? that’s what I’d grab if I was out drinking. and summer bbqs and things like that I’ll always take those sugary fruity drinks like smirnoff’s or mikes hard lemonades or seagrams. that sweet stuff!!!!  number of blankets you sleep with: one comforter in the fall/winter, a sheet in the summer. I run so hot I can’t sleep with any more than that. average sleep hours: hmm... technically my body feels it’s best when I manage to consecutively get 9 - 10 every night but realistically I probably give it anywhere from 5 - 7. random fact: hmm about me or just in general? if in general - sometimes wild stallions will trail bands (herds of wild mares with their one stallion) for YEARS looking for their “in” to try and steal one of the mares away or become strong enough to beat the band stallion in a fight to take all his mares from him. on one range in nevada there’s been records showing a bachelor stallion who has been trailing a herd and occasionally picking fights/trying to steal the mares for the past three years. also on rare occasions sometimes other stallions will act as a “second in command” of sorts to the band stallion, helping him protect the herd from other stallions and predators. however, while the stallions are there for protection from predators, etc. it’s actually one lead mare in the herd who’s the entire boss of the herd and decides EVERYTHING. she picks where the herd migrates to, which mares are even ALLOWED in the herd (if a stallion fights and brings a mare back but the lead mare doesn’t like her she’ll drive her away from the herd and fight the band stallion on it until that mare is gone) and is always seen at the front of the herd when they’re traveling. she has a lot of very important roles for the entire dynamic of the herd. the stallion is just the muscle, but SHE’S the brains and the heart of the family. if you meant a random fact about ME uhhh... I know too much about wild horses???? asjfdjhfklg
i’m tagging whoever wants to fill this out. seriously. do it. tag me. you like this and wanna talk about yourself? fill this out and TAG ME. I want to read about you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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rosecorcoranwrites · 5 years ago
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Libraries Are a Writer's Best Friend
There are a lot of resources out there for writers, from helpful websites to books to workshops, but the oddly overlooked one, in this day and age, is libraries. I'll chock this up to people assuming they can find everything they need on the internet (which, to be fair, is mostly true) or to thinking that libraries and physical books are passé (which is blatantly false). Sadly, many writers—who, if they do well, will have their books in libraries someday—don't understand how much libraries can offer them, for free.
Non-Book Resources
First and foremost, libraries have the internet. And yes, most people don't care, because they have their own, but not everyone does, and not all the time. If you're a poor writer who can't afford your own internet and really don't want to use up your data for a hotspot, go to your library. This is also true if, like me, your internet sometimes decides not to exist. Though this usually happened when I was a student, it could happen to any writer, at any time of the day and night. Now you might be thinking that libraries are closed at night, but that doesn't matter for wi-fi. I have sat in the parking lots of two different libraries at around midnight, using their wi-fi to submit last minute assignments when my home internet kicked out (don't judge me!). The point is, all those writing resources available on the internet are therefore available at your library through their wi-fi.
And there are computers. Did I mention that libraries offer free computer use? You don't even need a card (though you usually need some type of ID, even student ID). If you find yourself without a computer for some reason, go to your library. They also have printers, copiers, and scanners, should you need that for printing out drafts or working on cover art. Your library also has subscriptions to online databases, like encyclopedias (because we've all fallen down the wiki-walking rabbit hole at one time or another, and sometimes we just want something short and dry) or old newspaper scans.
Ah, but what if you need a human being to talk to? There are always the librarians, who will attempt to answer any question you have. Nothing is too esoteric or weird or random. No, really, try us. We've heard things you can't imagine. We've seen things. You wouldn't think that you'd encounter that much human blood when working in the library, but... I digress (and no, I am not joking!). My point is, you're not going to shock or annoy us if you need us to look up books about soviet psychic research or have to know who started some revolution in an obscure country or need help printing out the entire first draft of your novel. We're literally there to help you. We're happy to do it.
Some libraries also offer writing workshops, mini-book festivals, or author panels. My own library has an ongoing writers group that meets every other week at a coffee shop downtown. We were also fortunate enough (and by fortunate, I mean one of the librarians worked hard and got a grant) to get two Writers in Residence this year. For those of you who don't know, a Writer in Residence is an author who works for a short time at the library and is available to help patrons. Along with hosting special programs, such as one on flash fiction or one focusing on blogging tips, our Writers in Residence also run a lunch-time group every week where writers can come and talk, write to prompts, work on their own WIPs, and just hang out. It's a great way to get out of your own head, meet other people, and learn different techniques. Consider asking your local librarians if they could create a writing program or get a Writer in Residence in the future. You'll be glad you did.
Book Resources
But, of course, one could not have a library without books (it would just be a "-ry"), but all the books in the world don't do a person much good if they can't find what they're looking for. First and foremost, let me again say talk to your librarian. They know where everything is, and what a library has to offer.
One resource that you might not have considered is writing magazines, such as Poets and Writers and Writer's Digest. Even if your library doesn't have physical copies of these (which they probably do, as well as back issues), they likely have a subscription to them online.
Another handy resource is Writers Market. For those of you who don't know, Writer's Market is a guide for people wanting to get traditionally published. It updates every year, so it's got current listings of agencies and publishers, what they accept, and how to contact them. It's really helpful, but kind of pricy for a book that's only accurate for a few years. Luckily, your library has a copy. Or they can get a copy at your request. Our library buys each volume as a continuing resource, and also has the Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market. For those of you looking to traditionally publish, I highly recommend you take a look at this book.
And then there are the regular old books, which I would divide into two categories: books on writing and books for research. That first category includes "How to Write X", where X is every genre and format under the sun: thrillers, romance, children's books, memoirs, sci-fi, and so on. There are also guides such as Forensics and Fiction, Careers for YourCharacters, and The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the Wild West. These oddly specific books can be helpful to those of us writing genre fiction who want to be accurate without spending months on research.
But I love spending months on research, which is why I've become familiar with the weirder sections of the library, such as true crime, parapsychology, forensics, and folklore. How deep into book research anyone wants to go is up to them. Your library likely has broad resources—an encyclopedia of psychic phenomena, for example—as well as narrow, niche books—one focusing on the CIA's Stargate program, for instance. A tip I offer is to not shy away from juvenile nonfiction. Sometimes these books offer a nice overview of a topic without spending 500 pages on it. They also tend to focus on some of the weirder details that are of interest to writers and not researchers.
Finally, I offer you this handy list of Dewey Decimal Numbers that might be of interest to writers, broken down vaguely by what genre you're writing and what you want to research. Note that if the number ends in "0", I mean the entire section, so "130" means "130 to 139.9999". Happy researching!
General writing
Publishing - 070.5
How-to writing guides - 808
Mysteries, thrillers, detective fiction, etc:
Forensics - 363.25 and 614.1
True Crime - 364
Secret Societies - 366
Fantasy, magical realism, horror, supernatural, etc:
UFOs, Bigfoot, Conspiracy Theories, etc - 001.94
Psychics, Magic, Ghosts, etc - 130
Secret Societies - 366
Folklore, Mythical Creatures, etc - 398
Science Fiction:
Astronomy - 520
Physics - 530
Chemistry - 540
Paleontology - 560
Space Travel - 629.4
Historical Fiction:
Costume / Historical Clothing - 391
Ancient History - 930
European History - 940
Asian History - 950
African History - 960
North American History - 970
South American History - 980
History of Pacific Islands - 993-996
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wild-blue-sonder · 5 years ago
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Tips for Breath of the Wild Newbies
Or anyone who may be as obsessed with the game as me.
I’ve officially done five playthroughs of Breath of the Wild since I got the game and Switch last year. Even though I’m on my sixth now, I’m still somehow discovering things while playing it! That goes to show how expansive and utterly amazing it is. If I had to choose just one game to play for the rest of my life, it’d be Breath of the Wild without hesitation. It has officially dethroned Twilight Princess as my favorite Zelda title which I never thought would happen. Anyway, if you’re a new player like I was just last year, or a veteran looking to critique some hints and tips, I hope this post doesn’t disappoint!
1: Thoroughly explore the Great Plateau This area is the beginning of your journey, and methodically running all over it will equip you for the rest of your adventure. There are some weapons lying around other than weak Traveler’s and Boko gear, such as a Soldier’s Bow at the top of the Temple of Time (which you literally can’t miss after the first major cutscene), a Throwing Spear in the Bokoblin camp behind the Temple, and a Soldier’s Broadsword under the waterfall of the snowy area. Raiding all the Bokoblin camps will reward you with a few ambers and opals you can sell for rupees early on. Keep the Iron Sledgehammer you get in the Owa Daim shrine and use it to defeat the Stone Talus near Hopper Pond instead of expending precious, expensive Bomb Arrows. Make it a habit to use Magnesis near any body of water, especially bogs. Comb the Forest of Spirits for all its insect and food resources. Lastly, there are eighteen Korok seeds to be found around the Plateau which gives you a good start to upgrading your inventory.
2: Gather Korok seeds early and efficiently Most new players probably want to know how they can carry more gear since it breaks. Hestu provides the solution to that issue and you can’t miss him if you follow the main questline. There are 900 Korok seeds in the whole game but you only need 441 to max out your gear slots. My favorite areas for getting a lot of seeds early on are the Dueling Peaks and Hateno regions (combined to form Necluda), the Lake region, and north-northwestern Faron. You can easily glide to many seed locations from the Lake tower and the top of Dueling Peaks. Zelda Dungeon is the best resource for finding seeds.
3: Embrace the durability system Something I hear from many players is their hatred for weapons breaking, but that system is in place for a reason! There’s tons of gear scattered all over Hyrule and breaking it gives you the opportunity to try out everything. I’m sure you will come to favor certain items as you progress. I hate finding a chest with a good weapon or shield in it that I can’t carry because my inventory is full, so I have to throw something on the ground ‘cause I’m too impatient to come back and get the better thing later. I’d rather break weapons by fighting enemies and gathering resources instead of letting them poof. You will also get the most mileage out of your gear by using it appropriately. Instead of running into monster camps and breaking all your swords and spears on tough enemies, take some of them out with bow headshots. Instead of trying to melee certain enemies, use shield parries to deflect their projectiles and kill them. And don’t use your claymores to smash ore. One last aspect of the durability system is to learn where certain weapons spawn, providing you with an endless supply. For instance, there will always be Iron Sledgehammers leaning against Link’s house in Hateno and a Silver Longsword behind the Ne’ez Yohma shrine in Zora’s Domain.
4: Save Guardian gear for Guardians Guardian gear is most effective against the various types of Guardians loitering around Hyrule. After passing some Minor or Moderate Tests of Strength, hang onto those weapons for Guardian Scouts you’ll encounter in certain shrines, Decayed Guardians posted around certain areas, and Guardian Stalkers which yield the highest amount of ancient materials. You can use Guardian gear against regular monsters, but it’s not as efficient. Shock Arrows are also effective against Guardians if you need something in a pinch.
5: Ignore Yiga Footsoldiers If you see random people on the side of the main roads in Hyrule either whimpering or standing around like creeps, they turn out to be Yiga assassins 99% of the time. I personally find them annoying so I just ignore them. They won’t pursue you unlike the archers and blademasters that poof in to disrupt your questing later on.
6: Use Dragonbone Moblin Clubs to defeat Taluses Dragonbone Moblin Clubs are highly effective and extremely common two-handed weapons that work well for dispatching Taluses in the early stages of the game. The easiest way to get these clubs is to run around at night and wait for Stalmoblins to pop out of the ground; they are commonly found in the Gerudo mountains. It should be noted that these clubs aren’t as effective against Igneo Taluses due to catching on fire. But Frost and Stone Taluses of the plain, rare, and luminous ore varieties will fall quickly beneath the might of the Dragonbone Moblin Club, especially if you hold a charge attack after climbing onto them. It should also be noted that Boulder Breaker is actually the best weapon in the game for farming ore from Taluses, so you can just use that after you get it. I still hang onto Spiked and Dragonbone Moblin Clubs for smashing regular ore if my sledgehammers break.
7: Do not fear Hinoxes, Moldugas, and Lynels These are the three most intimidating monsters in the game, but engaging them is entirely optional. You can hear Hinoxes snoring from a mile away so they’re easy to stroll past or ignore altogether. After a certain heart count they’ll almost always have boosted weapons around their necks, usually Royal gear, and there are three methods for gathering them. You can sneak onto their hand and wait for them to drop you onto their belly, then nab the weapons and carefully jump off. You can engage them, shoot them in the eye once, and grab the weapons while they’re sitting on the ground before running away. Or you can just kill them which is easy if you have Urbosa’s Fury and hold a charge attack with any two-handed weapon. This method will even kill red and blue Hinoxes in one go with a strong Royal Claymore! Moldugas only spawn in specific areas of the Gerudo Desert and you can see their sand ripples from far away, so you can give them a wide berth if you want. But they’re worth engaging for the good weapons in their treasure chests. Again, the best method for defeating them is to use a strong two-handed weapon (Royal Claymores are my personal favorite for their abundance and high durability), hold a charge attack, and make sure Urbosa’s Fury is active. Lynels are obnoxious to fight due to how much they dick around. The key to defeating them is to master perfect dodging because their attack patterns are extremely predictable. Use a combination of high durability and high damage one-handed weapons, such as Royal Broadswords and Lizal Tri-Boomerangs, paired with strong shields. Always try to swoop in on Lynels with the Paraglider from a high point because if they spot you from afar they’ll shoot you with elemental arrows. Speaking of which, Lynels are immune to elemental arrows and weapons so don’t waste them. Just go toe to hoof and have good reaction time.
8: Learn the best locations for farming resources After five playthroughs I’m still working on this one, but here are some tips I can share. Razorshrooms and Zapshrooms are commonly found all over Akkala. Rhino beetles are best gathered in Faron. Equip the Sheikah set, start in Lurelin Village, and run along the beach checking palm trees along the way. Hearty Lizards are also commonly found in Faron. For gathering Rushrooms with minimal climbing, stay in Necluda. Naydra Snowfield yields more Chillshrooms than you’ll know what to do with. To get Gourmet Meat either to sell to Trott or make expensive kebabs, hunt Tabantha Moose and Great Horned Rhinoceros in Hebra; wolves and coyotes tend to yield Prime Meat. Avoid bears because they’re jerks. If you’re in need of the three varieties of Safflina, you can’t do better than farming the Ruins and Great Fairy Fountain of Gerudo. Lastly, if you want a lot of ore for upgrading clothes or selling to get rich, turn on your Sheikah Sensor in Eldin. Of course I wouldn’t leave out the dragons. Farming parts from them can be frustrating because of the elements that hurt you, but you need horn shards for upgrading the Champion’s Tunic. It is easiest to fly at them head-on and use either a Golden or Phrenic Bow, or the Ancient Bow since it shoots straight, then stay in the updraft so you can see where the part lands. In my experience, the best spot for Farosh is on Floria Bridge in Faron. Hylia Bridge and the Gerudo Summit are good second and third areas. The best spot for Dinraal is Tabantha Great Bridge; the second best is near the Eldin Great Skeleton. Climb one of the rock spikes along the edge of the map or up the mountain to catch an updraft and shoot him. My favorite spot to farm Naydra is in Lanayru Promenade. Climb up either of the dilapidated sides and wait for her to come down. You might also catch her while gliding southeast from Vah Ruta.
9: Explore one region at a time I started doing this during my most recent playthrough. Previously I would go around activating each tower as soon as possible to fill in the map, but exploring each area as I reveal it has led to some fun discoveries, like a big stash of gear just north of the Gerudo tower, and certain side quests I’d never done before such as A Parent’s Love. Methodical searching is also the best way to find Korok seeds if you don’t want to use a guide. There are so many secrets in Hyrule that you’ll definitely miss stuff when you have the whole map laid out before you, so consider exploring one region at a time!
10: Try the Expansion Pass content Master Mode is probably the best offering from both DLCs. It does ramp up the difficulty to a certain degree and is worth a full playthrough even though the base game stays the same. There are no red enemies, you start facing off against the blue versions of each monster type. In addition to black and silver, you will fight golden enemies which are quite tough. Monsters also regenerate health which can be frustrating. However, there are way more and better weapons to be found! Floating alongside most bridges and waterfalls will be Bokoblins and Lizalfos guarding treasure chests. Master Mode also gives you much more rare ore. The Champion’s Ballad is enjoyable and has three main parts. First, you run around with the One Hit Obliterator and if the name of that weapon doesn’t sell you, then don’t buy the content. Second, the shrines you must beat to complete each champion song are difficult, good for anyone who complained about a lack of a challenge. Third, the final dungeon is like a fifth Divine Beast and the boss fight is kind of easy compared to everything you had to do to get to that point. But the Master Cycle is worth it. Think “steampunk unicorn dirt bike” and if you have no desire to drive Link around Hyrule on such a vehicle, then you are playing the wrong video game. I can’t talk about the Master Trials since I have yet to complete it, but I loved going on a treasure hunt for all of the EX armors, the Royal Guard uniform being the best. They can’t be upgraded, though, which is a bit disappointing.
Was this post helpful to you? Am I completely wrong about something? Do you have anything to add? Feel free to reblog with your own hints and tips! And let’s all hope that Breath of the Wild 2 measures up to the awesomeness of the first game!
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