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florenceafternoon · 10 months ago

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━。゜✿ jily fic recommendations ✿ ゜。━

Really, we shouldn’t be surprised by now but I have more amazing jily AU fics to share because the writers of this fandom are incredibly talented and I have my screen report to prove it.

For reference, anything in italics is taken from the summaries on ao3.

serendipity by desperateforsanity (on ao3)

Modern college/uni AU. Dearest Students and Staff, I am pleased to announce Hogwarts University’s fourth annual Pen Pal Program. Upperclassmen and sophomores likely remember and cherish the memories of their previous penpals and are excited to make another friend this year.

TW: for the later chapters for discussions of grief and its effects on one's mental well-being. For the most part, though this is a fun fic full of great banter!

The Frenzied Misadventures of Balcony Man and Window Woman by @clare-with-no-i

prompt: "It's 3am why are you outside my window- are you trying to rob me?"

It feels necessary to preface this entire thing with the fact that, yes, James had good reason to be dangling precariously from a third-floor balcony, and anyone who says differently is simply attempting to smear his good name.

At least, that’s the story he’s sticking to.

Hijinks & Shenanigans

mellow is the man (who knows what he's been missing) also by @/ clare-with-no-i

Earl's Court. 24th May, 1975. Led Zeppelin live in concert like you've never seen them before.

FEATURING: prolonged eye contact, deeply metaphoric descriptions of cigarette smoke, painful levels of detail about makeup, and a special one-time performance by Two Teens In Love! OR: the "we made eye contact at a Led Zeppelin concert but my friends pulled me away to mosh before I could come say hello" AU

So when I say that I saw this unfold frame by frame in my head, I mean the writing is on another level. The way that I could almost smell Earl Court ... I regret waiting so long to read it. Also, found out this is written by the same author as one of my favourite jily fics foreigner’s god so that explains it “I'm not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.” ― Sally Rooney, Normal People

but he’s a little bit too far away by @firefeufuego

Historical AU. A decade after they met as cadets for The Times, the toll of James chasing stories in war zones is starting to hit home for Lily.

Taking A Shot At You by @annabtg

Modern AU. Lily Evans, pharmacist, has to work all day and night on New Year's Eve - and ends up ringing in the new year with a bloke who just got himself a dog bite.

The Right Track by BeeDaily (on ao3)

Co-workers modern AU. When James is first handed the train ticket, his immediate reaction is to laugh openly in his father's face.

the horoscope by lirians

Modern AU. James stops momentarily to give way to a bunch of rambunctious teenagers on the pavement before he regains his step. Lily has come to a halt a bit further, waiting on him.

“Horoscopes?” he asks as they move onwards. He’s relieved that any awkwardness between them is apparently gone. “How so?”

“Marly sent me mine this week because it said I would meet someone from the past again,” she explains. “I’m still not sold on the idea of it, but isn’t this weird?”

I was inspired to read this by this art

The Falcon and The Squid by @jfleamont

There's a Lego Millennium Falcon that needs to be built. There's also a bet, a ring and a bike.

Put it all together and what do you get?

Leda's jily will always be a favourite of mine. They're idiots in love your honour

Glastonbury by elanev91 (on ao3)

Prompt: we're at a music festival and you crawled into my tent when drunk and fell asleep, now you've woken up bewildered and to be honest I should be more annoyed but you're just so good looking

One Day at Time by @sweeethinny

Single-mum-lily AU. One day at a time is the mantra Lily uses to keep peace inside her mind, but there are days when it's simply impossible and in the end all she needs is a glass of wine, a cozy hug with her boyfriend, and a serious talk with her son.

Note that you can read this as a stand-alone one shot but it's part of a series that takes place in this AU

For All My Life by aheartcalledhome & SecondJadeofLan (on ao3)

When saving the bees ends in a happy family.

pumpkins and blueberries by evotter (on ao3)

Modern soulmate AU. In which Lily Evans hates puzzles, Marlene McKinnon is a coffee-making goddess, and the stuffy manager with the unkempt hair just so happens to be Lily's soulmate. In the wise words of Mary Macdonald, nothing is scarier than a relationship. Especially if it's with your soulmate.

After Moon by lovesickjily (on ao3)

When the universe sent Lily back in time for some inexplicable reason, she didn’t realise that she’d fall for the charming, messy-haired Prince along the way, nor did she realise that she’d see him once again.

here's to never growing up by elixirsoflife (on ao3)

Chat fic where a group chat documents the lives of four highly dramatic teenage boys as they navigate their A Levels.

Or, like, die trying.

Okay, I rarely ever read chat fics, they're just not my thing. BUT this one had me wheezing on my way to school. It's crack. Just treat it like crack

Ice Baby also by elixirsoflife

Modern college/uni AU. In his defence, James never expected to meet his soulmate at thirteen minutes past eleven on a Sunday morning when he’s aiming a puck at Sirius’ balls.

Or: call me sweetheart again and I'll punch you in the throat.

Not a Clue by PotterandEvans (on ao3)

Modern college/uni Quarantine AU. Lily stood in the doorway of the flat, looking at the boy in front of her. She had spent most of the last two years keeping her distance from the annoying piece of work, staying away from his ego mostly. “Come in.” She said, stepping away from the doorway to let him into the flat that she usually shared with Remus.

"Ah, so kind." James muttered as he walked inside, his heavy bag weighing him down. This really was not the ideal situation, for either of them. But he had nowhere else to go, so staying with Lily Evans it was going to have to be.

they were zoommates (requires an ao3 account) by elanev91 (on ao3)

Modern college/uni Quarantine AU. Lily's on lockdown and, because she can't help herself, signs herself up for a whole bunch of extra (and free) work with her ad agency. Minerva, her boss, assigns a cheeky social media manager to her team to help her. Also, Marlene discovers TikTok (this is nowhere near as important to the narrative as its inclusion here suggests).

And You Heard About Me (Ooh, We’ve Got Some Big Enemies!) by @wearingaberetinparis

Fame AU. Lily Evans is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and global superstar, who recently broke up from her latest and long-term actor boyfriend Amos Diggory. James Potter is a professional football player who plays as a forward for Manchester United and has never been quiet about his celebrity crush: Lily Evans. When Lily Evans thus plays at Wembley Stadium - a place he is more than familiar with due to his being part of the England team - he just has to go and see her perform, embracing his inner, besotted fan boy, while the woman on stage is completely oblivious to his presence. Or is she?

The most unrealistic part was man u winning (but it's James so that explains it). Regardless, I started this fic while waiting for my final grades from last year to come through, and while they were disappointing, this sure wasn't. I was crying so hard that I fell asleep. Then I woke up and continued the fic and suddenly I was giggling along with Lilly. Anything and everything Mary writes is a masterpiece. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story.

it continues (the beginning doesn't matter) by whitesunlars (on ao3)

She is the last person he expected at his door at that exact moment, despite feeling unsure about the fact that she managed to track down his address, he agrees to go out to coffee with her. A lot could be said about James Potter, but nobody could claim that he had good self-preservation skills.

They meet in a bar. Mistakes happen. They learn to keep going.

#lily evans #james potter #jily #lames #jple #jily fic rec list

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mybeautifulchristianjourney · 3 months ago

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The Lord is My Shepherd

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. — Psalm 23 | Third Millennium Bible (TMB) Third Millennium Bible, New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Cross References: Deuteronomy 20:1; 2 Samuel 22:19; Psalm 5:8; Psalm 16:5; Psalm 19:7; Psalm 25:7; Psalm 25:10; Psalm 36:8; Luke 7:46; John 10:11; Philippians 4:19; Revelation 7:17

Psalm 23 Meaning: Analysis of This Powerful Scripture

#Lord #God #Shepherd #safety #provision #trust #reliability #enemies #goodness #mrcy #house of the Lord #dwelling place #eternity #Psalm 23 #Book of Psalms #Old Testament #TMB #Third Millennium Bible #Deuel Enterprises Inc.

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fanficsformyfaves · 1 year ago

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Cardigan

Loki Laufeyson x Fem Asgardian!Reader

WARNINGS: ANGST, Mentions of Death and Grief, Abandonment Issues, Insecurities

PREFACE: Loki and Reader have always been frenemies of sorts, constantly teasing and getting on each other's nerves, but that all changed when Loki started growing distant.

A/N: Flashbacks in Italics!

Frigga doesn't die and Loki knew he was adopted since he was a child in this A/U!

My big scary baby :,(

I've been with the Royal Family since I was merely a child. My father was one of King Odin's guards, so I'd spent nearly my whole life within the palace's walls, becoming one of Queen Frigga's handmaidens.

Thor and I got along great...it was his brother that was the issue. All I ever heard about the young prince was that he liked to cause trouble. For his family, the people of Asgard and the staff who worked to end, trying to clean up his messes.

I was more than certain it had to do with his Jotunn side, but, I withheld from making such remarks.

To say our friendship was complicated would be the understatement of the millennium. He was always so audacious, especially towards the staff, which did not exclude me.

A vivid memory I had growing up was one where Loki decided it would be a good idea to shapeshift into snake and 'surprise' me, as I was making a visit to Thor's chambers.

"Thor?", I called out into the room,

Peaking my head in.

"Your mother says it's supper time"

Being met with no response, I figured he was already on his way to the dining hall and just as I was turning to leave and head back to my quarters, I see a serpent hastily slithering towards me.

I let out a blood-curdling scream, jumping back against the door and landing inside of Thor's room.

"Help! Someone!", I yell,

"(Y/N)?", I hear Thor's voice,

I turn back and see him, looking down at me with concern laced in his eyes. A flash of green catches my attention and when I face the front of me once more, I was met with Loki struggling to breathe from laughing so hard.

"You should've seen your face!"

"That is not funny!", I scold,

As Thor helped me onto my feet.

"Oh, lighten up, it was a harmless joke"

"Harmless? My heart nearly gave out!"

He scoffs, before exiting the room.

Let's just say that wasn't the first nor the last of his practical jokes, so at some point, I've just grown accustomed to the mischief. You can only be poked at so many times, before you've grown immune to the constant teasing.

But despite everything and him being the snarky son of a bitch that he was...I still found myself falling for him.

I remember the night that it happened.

I was just nineteen, when my father died protecting Odin. It took place on one of his missions, when an ambush broke out and he was pierced through the heart by someone after the king.

I was sitting in my room, stitching up one of Thor's capes, when my best friend walked.

"(Y/N)", the fellow handmaiden called out into my room,

"Yes?"

That's when I noticed the worry in her eye.

"What is it?", I questioned,

Standing up from the bed.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry", her voice gives out,

"You're scaring me", I warned.

It took her a moment to get the words out, but when she did, I felt my stomach drop to my feet.

"It's your father...he's dead"

Nothing felt real in that moment. I was more than convinced that I was just simply having nightmare.

"What?"

"There was an ambush during one of King Odin's expeditions and he took a sword through the heart", she wept.

I shook my head in disbelief.

"No"

"(Y/N)-", she says,

Taking steps towards me.

"No, you're lying"

She attempts to hold me, as I was repeatedly trying to pull away.

"You're lying!"

"(Y/N), please", she sobbed,

"YOU'RE LYING!"

Finally, she was able to pull my defeated frame into her arms, trying her hardest to soothe me.

"You're lying", I cried against her shoulder,

"Papa"

That was all I could do in that moment. Repeatedly call out to him, knowing there would be no answer.

I was so devasted by his loss. I locked myself away for days, not being able to sleep or eat. Whenever someone would try to check in on me, they were simply met with my voice through the door telling them I was fine.

Thor, being my best friend, organized a private funeral to honor his last selfless act.

So, there I stood before his casket, with tears streaming down my face, as I wished it had been me who took that blade instead.

"He was a noble man, (Y/N)", Thor said,

Placing a careful hand on my shoulder.

"This isn't fair", I whispered,

"I know"

"Of all people, why him? He was good. He's only ever been good", I struggled against my tears.

No longer being able to hold my composure, I walk out of the room and collapse onto the floor, gathering the remainder of my strength to sit up against the wall, before burying my face in my knees.

I'd never felt so crushed. Like, the rug had been ripped away from beneath my feet, sending me crashing onto the cold hard ground face first.

A moment of quiet passes, when I hear the door's handle click open.

"Thor, please leave me alone", I pleaded,

"It's not Thor"

I look up and see Loki, standing before me.

"Sorry to disappoint"

I sigh.

"If you're here to pick on me, now isn't exactly the best time", my coarse voice warned,

As I turned away. Just as I thought he would take the hint and leave me be, he joins me on the floor.

"I'm not going to. Not on a day like this", he reassured,

Placing a hand atop mine.

"He truly was a good man"

I nod, still unable to look him in the face.

"Yeah. He really was", I agreed,

Tearing up once more.

"I am aware of the fact that we do not always see eye to eye, but...I'm here to listen. Whether it's you crying or spilling your heart out, I will be there. Believe it or not, I do care about you"

"You don't have to-"

"I do"

I look back at him, confused.

"You and your father have always been so good to my family, even if it meant putting yourselves in harm's way"

"So this is what this is? A pity talk?"

"What? No-"

"If you're doing this because you feel bad for me, then don't"

He sighs to himself, before continuing to speak.

"I am here because you've turned everyone away and try as you might, it won't work on me. I've known you long enough to know that isolating yourself will only make things worse for you in the end"

I was speechless. I'd never seen him so sincere or honest. It was almost chilling.

"I'm not going anywhere", he promised,

Intertwining our fingers. That was the first time I'd felt something other exasperation for the prince. I felt...safe. Like, for the first time in what felt like my entire life, I was finally being seen.

Too tired to argue, I lay my head against his shoulder, whilst closing my eyes.

Since that day, our relationship had mellowed out and we could actually communicate without biting the other's head off. I actually grew to enjoy his company more and more as the days went on, but with the enjoyment, came the worry.

I was falling for him and I knew it.

What worried me wasn't the act of actually falling, more so the certain rejection I would face, if my true feelings were to ever surface past the bounds of my mind.

Despite that, he and I would eventually become the best of friends. Sneaking out past curfew to drink till the sun came up, whilst he talked about the adventures he and Thor would go on.

"It's true!", he defended,

As I let out a loud cackle.

"Oh, you and your brother are something else", I reply,

After catching my breath.

"Well, what can I say? I'm quite fun"

"I'm sure"

I turn to face him and he was already staring at me, with a soft smile. I shoot him a confused look, taking a sip from my cup.

"What?"

"Nothing", he shakes his head.

I couldn't help but blush at his gaze.

Seemingly, out of the blue, Loki had begun distancing himself from me. He would no longer meet me at midnight or even make his usual sarcastic remarks at me.

"Loki, I had a question about this book I found-", I asked,

Walking up to him, when he cuts me off by slightly brushing past me.

"Ask Thor", he replied dismissively.

This would go on for the next following weeks. Him avoiding me and me endlessly wondering why. Yes, I was confused, but more than anything, I was hurt. After everything, he was back to being cold and unkind.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine"

"Loki-"

"I said I'm fine! Could you please leave? I don't have the patience for your vexing today!", he yells.

I hadn't seen him for days after that. All I could do was carry on with my duties and spend the nights crying till I was to exhausted to stay awake. Was it something I had done? Or said? What could have possibly happened to make him hate me? Too many questions left unanswered, till I could no longer bare the agony.

If this was meant to be the end of the line for us, I was going to get that closure. No matter the hurt that awaited me at the other side of it.

I searched up and down the entire palace looking for him, but to no avail. I eventually run into Thor, but he was more nervous than usual.

"Thor, have you seen your brother?"

"No", he said,

Avoiding my gaze whilst trying to walk past me, when I block his way.

"Thor"

"(Y/N), I must go"

"What? I just need-"

"I must", he interrupts,

Finally making contact with my eyes. That's when the realization sunk in.

"Loki", I mutter under my breath.

He sighs, shapeshifting back into his usual form and brushing past me.

Being much taller than me, I chased him down the halls, struggling to keep up with his long strides.

"Loki!", I yelled after him.

But alas, my call was ignored.

"Loki, I can't keep up with you!"

"Then leave"

"Loki!"

He finally stops in his tracks and hesitantly turns back to face me.

"What?"

"You've been avoiding me for weeks", I shrug,

"And?"

"And I deserve to know why"

He scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"You owe me that-"

"I owe you nothing"

His words cut deeper than he knew. Just as I was about to speak, he turns and walks away.

"I'm not done talking to you!"

"I am"

I could no longer hold back the sadness that turned into rage. I was at my limit and I wanted him to know that.

"You're a coward!"

He pauses for a moment.

"After everything, you're just gonna walk away? That's how you wanna end things?", I yell on the verge of tears.

I knew he could hear it in my voice. The pure disappointment and defeat intertwined with my words.

"Fuck you! Fuck you!", I repeated.

I see him take a deep breath, before continuing to walk.

"At least tell me why! What did I do to make you hate me?"

"I don't-", he says,

About to reach his chambers.

"Then why?!"

"Because I love you!", he finally admits.

In that exact moment, everything went quiet. It was as if the world had stopped spinning on its axis and the rest of humanity disappeared around us.

As I stood there, trying to process what I'd just heard, he began slowly making his way to me.

"That is why I've been so cold. See, despite you being a thorn in my side, I couldn't help myself from falling for you. You are beautiful, brave and smart"

I had no words. Did I hear him correctly or had I finally lost my mind?

"But what I admire most...is your heart", he said,

Gesturing to his own.

"I was a lost cause till you deemed me otherwise. You believed that I was worthy of redemption regardless of everything horrible thing I'd done. Not many did and yet that did not sway you. You found it within yourself to forgive me for all the years I'd mistreated you and I will never be able to repay you for that"

"Loki", I whisper,

"I was and still might be that monster parents tell their children about at night, which leaves me wondering how someone like me end up with a person such as yourself in my corner. I know I do not deserve you, (Y/N), but I can no longer hide my true feelings for you"

It was getting harder and harder to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill. To hear him speak so lowly of himself was utterly painful. He wasn't that monster anymore and I knew that to be true.

"Now...feel free to tell me how repulsed you are and how much you hate me, so that we may resume our regular banter, before I inevitably lose my mind over you again"

"Loki-"

"TELL ME!", he screamed,

Causing me to flinch back in shock.

"I can't do that", I said quietly,

He shakes his head, aggressively wiping a tear away.

"Because I don't hate you. I never have"

I take a few careful steps towards him, as he eyes me down.

"Yes, the things you've said to me in the past have gotten under my skin...but none of that matters anymore"

Gently cupping his face, before finally closing the gap between us. His lips were softer than I could've imagined.

It took a slight beat, but he eventually melted into my touch, as his hands held me by my waist. The kiss wasn't rushed or hasty, in fact, it was delicate and soft, like he was making up for the years he'd missed out on. Eventually, I pulled away, pouring my eyes deeply into his and pressing our foreheads together.

"I love you too", I reassured,

"You didn't give up on me...and I won’t give up on you"

#loki laufeyson #mcu #loki laufeyson x reader #loki laufeyson oneshot #loki laufeyson fanfic #loki laufeyson fluff #loki laufeyson angst #loki laufeyson smut #tom hiddleston

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madarasgirl · 1 month ago

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A Night for Hunting Ch.22 -Hell on Earth

C/W: Alucard (Ultimate) x F!Reader, Millennium, Nazis, canon-typical violence WC: 5256

I’m trying to control my bad habit of switching perspectives within a scene, which I used to do liberally when it was between only Alucard and the Reader. It was an easy and quick way to include Alucard’s POV as well. But from here on, the Reader only knows what she knows, so I’ll behave myself…

The Millennium characters are some of the hardest to write since they’re like caricature villains at their best. I don't even like the Millennium cast besides the Captain.

Excerpt under the cut

Your gaze roamed the crowd of warmongers onstage. The Major, a brutal looking woman covered in tattoos holding a scythe, the Doc, the boy with cat ears. Your eyes paused on a behemoth of a man. He was as tall as Alucard. Shaggy white hair peeked out, but his features were otherwise obscured by a cap. You felt his gaze and suppressed a chill.

Horrifying power wasn’t necessarily evil. It was simply horrifying. But these Nazis, they were evil. And there were few things in the world as dangerous as people who believed they were right.

"And why am I here?”

"What a question. I did not expect Alucard to suffer a daft woman. You are here to be a witness to our drill. That is, after you help us invite Alucard to participate.”

All this was...training? The callous truth was worse than the assumption that you were only to be the hostage who lures Alucard to wherever their prepared ‘battlefield’ would be.

The Major liked to monologue. One of those self-important men who talked a lot, but said very little. “We have allies throughout the world who would join our cause. Decades of painstaking data collection to engineer ever greater troops. We have built monsters, though we aim towards true Midians. Train them, equip them, and command them. No longer is simple warfare adequate for our needs. Gentlemen, I call for a Great War, worthy of one in Hell itself. We are the Letzte Battalion!”

“Krieg, krieg!” The crowd chanted.

“Yes, then war it is… I expect the world to burn.”

In the calm before the storm, suddenly you saw him for what he was. The Major was only a man. Once upon a time, he was human, and like many others, he desired the powers and temptations of immortality. He may be the worst yet, arrogant beyond imagination and ambitious. Alone he was no match for Alucard, but how many vampires did he have in this army?

You were not strong in body, but words were a weapon you wielded well. The Nazis did not respect meekness. Neither could you be brazen in your disrespect. This was almost a reminder of home, the games of Hellsing’s staff, except no one was here to defend you at all. The atrium was silent after the delivery of the Major’s speech. The vampires below thrummed with soundless anticipation for the war to come.

"He isn't a monster, you are," you said, braving the Major's mercurial moods by stating the truth.

~To be Continued~

Ch.23 -The Art of War

#alucard x reader #alucard x you #alucard fanfiction #hellsing ultimate #alucard hellsing #hellsing fandom #alucard #millennium #hellsing captain #captain hans #hellsing major #hellsing doctor #schrodinger #my writing

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blueiscoool · 5 months ago

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Woman's $3.99 Thrift Store Find Is a Priceless 2,000-Year-Old Mayan Vase

It’s the find of the millennium - well, two. It turned out to be much more. The vase dated back 2,000 years, and her

Anna Lee Dozier knack for second-hand shopping near her Washington, DC, home paid off big time. She was in a Maryland thrift store in 2019 and found a vase on the clearance rack for just $3.99.

“I saw this vase, and I assumed it was like a tourist reproduction,” Dozier told The Independent. “It did look old, but I was thinking a 20- or 30-year-old tourist reproduction.”

It turned out to be much more. The vase dates back two millennia. Her thrifty find was, in fact, priceless.

For five years after finding the vase on the clearance rack, Dozier kept the vase at home, she said, not thinking twice about it until she went on a trip Mexico’s Museum of Anthropology in January. There, Dozier said she saw vases that reminded her of her thrift store find, so she asked the staff what to do if she might have an artifact.

The museum staff told her to contact the US embassy.

“I came back to DC not thinking it could really be something, and I didn't want to bother the embassy, so I googled some professors who were experts on Mayan or Mexican history,” she told The Independent. When no one responded, Dozier reached out to the embassy, where staff asked her to send detailed pictures of the vase.

A month later, Dozier learned it was a ceremonial urn from the Mayan community dating anywhere from the year 200 to 800.

After learning she had thrifted a priceless, ancient artifact, Dozier was connected with the Cultural Institute of Mexico, where a ceremony was held Monday for the vase’s return. It will now make its way to Mexico’s Museum of Anthropology for analysis.

Dozier, who works as a human rights advocate for Mexico’s Indigenous communities, said she was glad to be a part of the vase’s journey home.

“Human rights extend to culture and history,” Dozier said at the event on Monday.

Dozier isn’t the first to accidentally stumble upon an ancient artifact.

In 2017, an Italian marble expert discovered a 2,000-year-old Roman mosaic was being used as a coffee table in a Manhattan apartment for the last 50 years.

The apartment owners thought nothing of it when they purchased the table from an Italian noble family in the 1960s, they said at the time. It has since been returned to the Italian government.

By Katie Hawkinson.

#Woman's $3.99 Thrift Store Find Is a Priceless 2000-Year-Old Mayan Vase #thrift store finds #ancient artifacts #archeology #archeolgst #history #history news #ancient history #ancient culture #ancient civilizations #mayan history #mayan culture #mayan mythology #mayan art #ancient art #lost and found

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leahsfiction · 1 year ago

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PALISADE 20: In Their Fear Pt. 1 (00:22:21–00:29:57)

“Well, the good news is that it’s still 3 Grip, which means that—”

“Yeah.”

“—we will have a chance to take care of this.”

“Jack? Take it away.”

Something bad is in the air. Bilat crafts teeter in the sky like anxious flies. The distant sound of heavy ships taking off in great black columns of launch smoke. Everything seems too bright. The day is too warm. The headache sits on your forehead and on your temples.

In Carhaix, someone drops a tray of wine glasses. Pleasure yachts and private transit gather at the closed Portcullis Gate, and as it opens vanish into distant Principality space, passing ship after ship of settlers as they pour into the Palisade System.

In the early afternoon, the sun dims, and a red band of light appears around the middle of it, like a bauble wrapped in a ribbon, or a horrible mirror of the Diadem. It’s dim enough to look at directly, but it still hurts your eyes. There is a whine in the air. Every couple of hours there is a rumble of radiation static, and a corona jets from the surface of the sun.

The animals respond in fear. Birds rise, suddenly alarmed, from the trees, or cower silently in crowded branches. Rabbits and foxes freeze, dumb, in the middle of walkways. Ants rise en masse from cracks in the walls. Rivers seem to run slow, with an algaed stink.

Some of the spies know nothing and continue as usual, keeping their mouths shut, answering questions curtly, bargaining limitedly for clemency. When others see the quality of light in the room change, and the demeanour of the people around them alter—why do the calls to Gucci Garantine keep getting dropped? What was that scream of Nidean engines overhead?—they change their tune quickly. They start making specific bargains. Get me off-world. Get me through the Portcullis Gate and I will tell you anything you want. Or they close their mouths, defiant, eyes up. Millennium Break. You do not know the sharpness of the dagger on which you walk.

Of course this is unproportional, they think. What a waste. We’re in a good place. We know the identity of Hexagon. So they made some gains in the Bontive Valley. So they fucked us up on the Isle of the Broken Key. Small beer. We are the most powerful empire in the galaxy. The blood is in the grip. But the Stargrave, these pissant revolutionaries, are gonna get this whole thing blown up.

Or: they let something slip in their fear. The Stargrave has gone mad. She was on the edge and you fucked it. They say the BIS boss went to stay with her, try and calm her down. They say she makes her staff practice dying. They say she got wind that you were trying to come for her and fled, it only made this malady worse, this is the end of the world.

When the message comes to you—secondhand, of course, the Cause council has seen this first—it shows in grainy low-resolution the pinched face of an aide-de-camp as she turns the camera on. Then she tilts it nauseatingly, the view dips, and we see the only remaining right angle of a small ruined building. It seems to be surrounded by trees. The roof came away long ago; just two brick walls stand, forming the corner in which the Stargrave stands.

She is a blonde woman in her late fifties, maybe her mid sixties. She wears full military regalia. On her right arm, from her hand up to her shoulder, is clamped an unwieldy metal device, somewhere between a leg brace and a trigger mechanism. A leather strap, almost like the bit of a horse’s bridle, with eight buttons on it, crosses the palm of her right hand which faces towards the camera. Beneath the device you can almost see that her right sleeve has been rolled up to the shoulder, or cut neatly, and two IV needles run from its metal armature: one into her upper arm, and one just above her wrist. Her face is very pale; her lips white, pressed tightly together; dull light from the armed sun. She opens her mouth: silent for a second, lips parted. Then the man standing to her right—another aide-de-camp, carrying an assault rifle—speaks.

“Terrorists of Millennium Break. As a result of recent assaults on sovereign holdings in the Bontive Valley and the central transit network of this planet, as well as targeted assaults on her office, the Stargrave has been left with no choice but to arm the stellar combustors entrusted to her in holy power for the preservation of the Divine Principality.”

He takes a shaky breath.

“She has instructed me, in her wisdom, to communicate to you that any attempt to approach the Brecheliant Forest or the stellar combustor units, covertly or otherwise, as well as any attempt on Stargrave Elcessor’s life or liberty, will be met with—will be met with an immediate detonation. Resulting in the destruction of the planet Palisade, the sector designated the Twilight Mirage, and the twenty-three systems within the nearest achievable firebreak.”

“I have also been instructed to inform you that any attempt to seek a loophole, magical or mundane, or otherwise circumvent the terms of this message, will also result in an immediate detonation. The stellar combustors will remain armed until August Righteousness of Jade Kill; Véronique and the Divine Fealty of Rose River; Captain Skelton Knaggs of Carmine Bight; Saint Decario Dicario of Violet Cove; Jesset City of Gray Pond; and Gucci Garantine of Blue Channel turn themselves in to the Bilateral Intercession at the nearest checkpoint. This message will be rebroadcast throughout the Palisade System on the hour and at the half-hour.”

There is a long moment of silence. Then the Stargrave nods imperceptibly; then the aide behind the camera turns it off.

#friends at the table #palisade #palisade spoilers #audio #let me know if the transcript above the cut is too spoilery!

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yamayuandadu · 10 days ago

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Hey, I just got done reading your amazing write up about Nanaya. I honestly didn’t expect to find the best information yet on Tumblr! I did have one question though: given that Nanaya was heavily influenced by Inanna/Ishtar, do we have any information concerning whether her cult had similarly third gender/gender non-conforming parts of its clergy?

Gala (Akkadian kalû) are mentioned among Nanaya's clergy in Kish (during the reign of Ammi-ditana; Drenowska-Rymarz, The Mesopotamian Goddess Nanaya, p. 67), in Larsa (during the reign of Rim-Sin I; p. 69), and in Uruk (historical note in an inscription of Simbar-Shipak from Nippur; p. 70). Pretty sure only Borsippa is missing out of her major cult centers. Given that the evidence pertaining to clergy of Nanaya is relatively sparse overall, especially before the first millennium BCE, it seems safe to say it was a fairly common phenomenon. However, as gala were by no means "priests of Inanna" as commonly incorrectly claimed online, and their much debated gender identity had nothing to do with Inanna (as they also occur in the cults of deities who were essentially paragons of gender conformity; plus even when ambiguity occurs in the case of Inanna, it's not really making her identity gala-like... in fact, other than Lumha no deity is really described as a gala - and Lumha was essentially a personification of the profession), I feel the question is a bit misguided. Gala were professional lamenters, and not really any less common than ritual purificators or temple scribes. Any deity major enough to have multiple types of specialists attached to their temples had gala. They were a core part of the religious landscape of Mesopotamia basically to the same degree as the āšipu, and by the first millennium BCE these two specialized priestly professions are in fact often mentioned side by side (Uri Gabbay, The kalû Priest and kalûtu Literature in Assyria, p. 116). With that in mind, it's safe to assume the presence of gala in the cult of Nanaya has nothing to do with association with Inanna, all it shows is that she was worshiped commonly enough to warrant the existence of multiple types of clergy in multiple cities. To further demonstrate that gala were a class of clergy like any other as opposed to "priests of Inanna": Ninurta's cult involved gala (Wolfgang Heimpel, Balang Gods, p. 583; "chief gala" mentioned among the staff of Eshumesha in Nippur alongside a "chief singer"), as did Ninazu's (Paul-Alain Beauieu, Remarks on Theophoric Names in the Late Babylonian Archives from Ur, p. 170; influential enough for the name to be spelled in emesal as standard in late sources), or Nanshe's (Gebhard J. Selz, Untersuchungen zur Götterwelt des altsumerischen Staates von Lagaš, p. 205-206 discusses members of Nanshe's clergy in ED Lagash); even the late invention of an "antiquarian" cult of Anu involved gala (Julia Krul, The Revival of the Anu Cult and the Nocturnal Fire Ceremony at Late Babylonian Uruk, p. 31), the examples keep piling up. It's also worth noting even the arts of the gala were believed to be an invention of Ea (Uri Gabbay, The kalû Priest and kalûtu Literature in Assyria, p. 116), same as most other professions. I think connecting Inanna's gender nonconformity (which occurs primarily in association with her military role) or occasional ambiguity (which is best attested in astronomical context) with the presence of gala in her cult is an issue in itself (even without going into the mess that is the common trend of connecting gala with the sexual aspect of Inanna specifically, for no particularly strong reason) but I will cover these matters (and more) in a separate long post soon.

#mesopotamian miscellanea

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ashensgrotto · 1 year ago

Text

Protective (Part 2 of 'Am I Feeling Love')

Characters: Azul Ashengrotto x F!Reader

Word Count: 5,328

Part 1 Part 2 (You Are Here) Part 3a Part 3b

I had someone ask if I was going to do a continuation of ‘Am I Feeling Love?’ that was orinally written on my main blog @kiy-anna after I rewrote the story to fit the tags better. I was mulling over the idea and my poor sea-rotted brain decided “Screw it, Mari! Just write the damn thing!”

It took a bit to figure out how I wanted to execute the process, but I’m honestly more curious to see what you guys think as well. Also, don’t forget, I have a poll that ends in a few days that will help me decide what sort of fanfiction I will be posting going forward, so please vote! It ends on Wednesday!

Warnings: yandere behavior, beatings, manipulative behavior, and foul language

***

The world is cruel, the world is wicked

It’s I alone whom you can trust in this whole city, I am your only friend

How can I protect you, girl, unless you always stay in here

Away in here…

***

Azul tapped the desk he sat behind impatiently.

For the past hour, he had been cooped up in the VIP Room of the Mostro Lounge dealing with those poor unfortunate souls that sought him out - the pathetic fools making deals with the octomer as his patience thinned by the minute. All he wanted at this point was to get out of his office and watch you.

You, the magicless guest of Octavinelle, had been living in the guest rooms of the dorm for a little over two months and were working within the Mostro Lounge to pay for said room - not that you needed to, it was merely a lie so Azul could keep tabs on you. The other students of the Octavinelle dorm did not completely understand his reasoning; some thought that he was merely being a nice housewarden to a poor soul with no one else to turn to, others that knew the housewarden too well thought that he was using you as a way to lure in unsuspecting victims for his contracts.

Whatever their thinking was, only Azul and his vice-warden, Jade, along with the problem twin, Floyd, knew the real reason as to why you were kept close by.

Soulmates were rare and finding that ‘other half’ is like the story of the mermaid princess and her longing to be with a human. It’s a rare occurrence that only happens once in a millennium if not longer. Many times, people - humans, fae, and merfolk alike - often settle for someone they are content and happy with, someone that isn’t their other half. Azul, at the time he first learned about soulmates, wanted nothing more in the world than to find them - to have that one person who would see him for himself and not the pathetic octo-twerp he had been called during his youth; thus, he began working on himself, his powers increasing as he lured his victims in and stole away their most treasured gifts - a beautiful singing voice, powerful magic… all of it.

But even with the changes and his new found strength, Azul had no luck in finding the other part of his soul - that was until about two months ago when you first appeared in Twisted Wonderland.

Azul had been ecstatic the first few weeks after you had taken up residence in his dorm; consistently coming to check on you, making sure you weren’t too tired, asked if you had eaten… and sometimes just watching you from the darkness of the lounge as you shifted from table to table, taking orders and bringing food and drinks to the guests. Nearly two weeks into working at the lounge, the clientele number increased slightly - making Azul at first wonder what had happened.

Turns out, some of the students who had frequented the lounge had made mention of you in passing and how you were nicer compared to the other staff members - hence the students came to the lounge to, not just get a glimpse of you, but to also shoot a chance at getting you as their waitress. Jade and Floyd, who were consistently in the lounge and operated as Azul’s eyes and ears - especially when it came to you - informed Azul of what was going on. Hence, Azul decided to restrict your hours to only working when he, Jade, or Floyd was. When you asked if you had done something wrong, Azul merely rested a hand on your shoulder, eyes shining with a possessive kindness, as he explained there were certain students who had been watching you - and he was only doing this for your protection. After all, it wasn’t like he could monitor you twenty-four-seven - he still had his grades to keep up and you weren’t a student, technically.

It worked momentarily, but then Azul was back to the drawing board again when Jade had mentioned Riddle Roseheart’s overblot in passing.

Turns out, you had asked Azul for a day off the same day Riddle went berserk. Azul had asked what for, but you merely said you wanted to explore the school grounds, specifically the rose gardens that surrounded Heartslabyul. He knew that you had ‘made friends’ with two freshmen from the dorm - Deuce Spade and Ace Trappola, both who had been collared by Riddle because of their bad behavior. If Azul could work his will, he would have locked you up in his own room and thrown away the key to prevent anyone from looking at you or speaking to you - but he couldn’t find the strength to do so. Even so, he had agreed, allowing you to go to the unbirthday party that was randomly held on different days during the year, with the promise that you would come back as soon as it was over and not a minute later.

Turns out, the ‘unbirthday party’ had been a lie since Deuce and Ace both had challenged Riddle for his position as headwarden and you wanted to go to support them in their fight. However, Ace made a valid point about the rules that had been pressed upon the students of Heartslabyul and practically turned the whole dorm against Riddle - which caused his temper to flare up and the overblot to happen. Luckily, you didn’t get hurt during the fight between Riddle, Deuce, Ace, Trey, Cater, Crowley, and the pyromaniac demon cat-weasel, Grim - but you had been the one to smack sense back into Riddle with a slap to the face when he had gone after you next.

And it was because of that slap and knocking some sense back into the headwarden of Heartslabyul that those who heard about what happened began to flock to the Mostro Lounge in search of you once more.

Azul pressed his face to hands and rubbed at his skin hard enough to turn it red as he thought and thought. What was he going to do? He couldn’t let anyone else get close to you! You were his! His soulmate! You should be putting your entire focus on him and him alone! Was that too much to ask?!

“What’s with the face?” the unwelcomed voice of Leona reached Azul’s ears as the octomer sat up and righted himself.

“What’s it to you? Nevermind, I’m busy at the moment, Leona. If you wish to speak with me, you have to make an appointment…”

“I already did, did you forget?” The beastman prince strolled into the room and plopped on the couch, arms dangling behind the rest and feet landing on the table before him, “I need to make a contract with you for a potion.”

Azul shifted his glasses into place before reaching into his desk and pulling out the familiar golden paper he used for his contracts, his pen twirling in his fingers as it shifted into a fishbone and began to write, “What sort of potion?”

“An enhancement potion,” Leona answered, side eyeing the Octavinelle headwarden before explaining, “With the Spelldrive Tournament coming up in a few weeks, and with all of these little mishaps that have been going around the campus lately, it would be a shame if something were to befall a particular headwarden we know too well.”

Azul did not need Leona to explain any further nor to question who he was referring to.

It was no secret that the Diasomia dorm had taken first place in the Spelldrive Tournament for the past two years straight - practically overrunning Savanaclaw who usually held that spot. The dorm’s success had been due to the new headwarden - Malleus Draconia - who had taken up the position the year before Azul arrived at Night Raven. Malleus was a dragon fae and one of the top ranking mages in Twisted Wonderland - so powerful that he alone was the reason for Diasomia’s success, making ninety percent of the scores by the dorm’s team. He probably would be the only player if Crowley had allowed it.

Many of the other headwardens were disgusted by the losses and damage that had been dealt to their teams over the course of the past two years - even Azul had been winded by Draconia once and had no desire to be the dragon’s dinner again; due to this, the headmage had made the offer to place Draconia in the hall of fame, which would prevent him from participating in any more of the Spelldrive matches this year and next year. At first, all of the headwardens were in agreement - but Leona argued that it wasn’t a fair fight, claiming that they were acting like a bunch of cubs. Azul had twitched at that remark, but agreed that the fight wasn’t fair - as much as he hated it, he agreed that Leona did have a point about allowing Draconia to continue; he wanted to prove that Draconia wasn’t invincible nor was he immune, he wanted to prove that anyone could beat the Diasomia headwarden - even if it was just another individual.

Azul adjusted himself in his chair, thoroughly invested in the deal now, “If we’re thinking the same thing, Leona, you must be willing to offer something in agreement of equal price. How about that speciality spell you’re so fond of? You barely use it.”

“‘King’s Roar’?” Leona arched a brow in his direction, “I may not use it, but it does come in handy from time to time. How about my nephew instead?”

Azul twisted his features in disgust, “No thank you. I’m not Rumplestiltskin, nor a babysitter.”

Leona laughed, his voice shaking the settee for a moment, “I was only joking, Faleena would never allow me to hear the end of it. Well, then… perhaps a little advice on that soulmate of yours?”

Azul nearly dropped his pen, surprise appearing on his normally calm face before his pale blue eyes narrowed at Leona menacingly, “What do you know about that?”

“It’s not a surprise given your behavior as of late,” Leona curled his fingers inward as his gaze shifted toward them as if to inspect his nails, “Besides, I heard from a few of my dorm members that frequent here that you’ve been keeping a pretty close eye on our magicless guest.”

‘The sneaky lionfish,’ Azul sneered at Leona, feeling his temperature rising as his gloved hands curled inward.

“Personally, I have nothing against wanting to keep (Y/N) close,” Savanaclaw’s headwarden continued, “She’s cute and pretty, nevermind that fact that she’s a hard worker and kind - sucks big time that she’s a female. She probably would’ve done well in Night Raven if she was a boy.”

“What’s the point you’re getting at?” Azul seethed.

“Merely that everywhere she goes, she is welcomed. (Y/N) has made a few friends without your knowledge by working the floors of the Mostro Lounge. Every time she shares a smile, a laugh, or anything - someone undoubtedly falls for her charm.”

Azul leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his chin in thought. Leona had a point - (Y/N) may have been his precious pearl, his soulmate, but she was also well liked by any and all who encountered her. Deuce, Ace, and Grim were just the stepping stones, Cater, Trey, and Riddle also fell in line with her presence and kind words - and even many of the Octavinelle dorm that worked alongside her in the lounge had gotten close with the magicless guest. However, the students of the Octavinelle dorm knew that Azul had marked (Y/N) as his - those that did not understand the process, such as the humans of Heartslabyul, would always be a threat to the octomer’s happiness; they might even go as far as to ask the headmage to allow (Y/N) to stay in their dorm!

Azul clenched his hand tighter at the thought, ‘No! She’s mine! I will not allow anyone to touch nor taint her perfection or soul.’

The headwarden of Octavinelle leaned forward, fingers crossing together as his elbows rested on the desk and his chin on his folded hands, “I’m willing to make a deal with you, Kingscholar.”

Leona arched a brow as Azul continued in a dark voice, “(Y/N) is very important to me, the other half of my soul - as you know. Her recent encounter with Riddle Rosehearts’ overblot has left me worried that she might attempt to leave Octavinelle. I know that I promised I would help her return home, but I need to keep her close by in order to do so. Soulmates are rare - whether they are humans, beastmen, faes, or mers - and they need to be kept close to each other. I do not want to put (Y/N) on a leash nor lock her up, but she is far too free for my liking. I will create the spell enhancement potion for you in exchange for your help with (Y/N)’s freedom.”

“What is it you have in mind?”

“... Merely a little scare that will show her how cruel and twisted this world can be.”

***

It was a few days later when the plan was set in motion.

You had been helping with the set up for the vendors surrounding the colosseum where the Spelldrive tournament was set to take place in a few days; setting up tents and tables, covering areas with cloths and helping move heavy objects. You wiped at your brow as a bit of sweat dribbled down before a cloth was pressed to your face.

“You’re working too hard,” the familiar voice of your employer pulled your attention to him, a smile appearing on your face as Azul’s lips quirked into a grin.

He was dressed in the headwarden’s dorm uniform - a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt and purple tie and the dorm’s scarf hanging loosely around his neck, a pale gray overcoat that hung on his shoulders, and a black fedora perched on his head. He was leaning against the silver tipped cane with the large octopus on the handle - the mage stone held securely between its silver tentacles. It was strange to see for someone who was working on setting things up, but Azul was in charge of overseeing everything and making sure everything was where it needed to be and making changes as needed, using maps and planograms as reference points.

“Well, I always believed in the phrase ‘working hard or hardly working,’” you answer, taking the offered handkerchief and wiping away the sweat and grime from your features.

“Quite an interesting phrase,” Azul nodded, resting his hands on his hips, “Care to enlighten me on the meaning?”

You shrug, “I’m not really sure, honestly. People in my world use it for small talk or to point out a person’s laziness. For example, if someone wasn’t doing anything, someone might ask ‘working hard or hardly working?’”

Azul hummed in thought, “I suppose it is a good phrase to use - maybe it might actually get Floyd to do something for a change… however, as I’m sure you know, that eel will whatever whenever he wants to, regardless of what I tell him.”

I giggle, nodding in agreement, “Yes, and half the time he dumps his work on his twin - poor Jade.”

“Jade’s used to it,” Azul waved his hand dismissively, “but speaking of ‘dumping things onto others,’ I hate to ask this of you, but I do need you to do something for me.”

“Hmm? What is it, Azul?”

“I have an order waiting to be picked up at the school store. You’re familiar with Mr. S’s mystery shop, yes?”

You nod with a smile, “Yep, I’ve been there a few times.”

“Good, I need to go there and get the parcel. It has a few items that we’ll need for the Lounge and for the tournament. I would get it myself, but I have to keep things going here and Jade and Floyd are working on their own projects for the tournament. Would you be willing to go pick it up for me?”

“Why not have it delivered to the dorm?”

“It’s easier to travel to the store instead of going to the dorm and back. I had intended on getting it earlier, but it completely slipped my mind until now.”

You frowned a bit as something crawled up your back and tingled behind your head, a feeling that something didn’t sit right with the whole situation. However, Azul had slipped to your side as his arm came around your shoulders and pulled you close enough for you to smell the expensive cologne he always wore.

“Please, (Y/N), it’s very important that you do this for me. I’ll reward you, too, for your efforts - a drink of your choice from Mr. S’s shop or from the Mostro Lounge, on the house. Besides, you’ve been working so hard as of late that you need a little bit of a break. Take this as an opportunity to stretch your legs and cool down a bit.”

A refreshing beverage was starting to sound good. You had been working in the sun for a while like everyone else that was part of the setting up, never mind that your bottle of water had been drained a while ago and you had yet the opportunity to refill it. Perhaps just going to get the parcel for Azul as well as a small drink wouldn’t be so bad.

“Ok, do you mind if I finish up here?”

“Of course,” Azul pulled away before resting a hand on your head and messing your hair, “but as soon as you finish, please go and get the package. I need it as soon as possible.”

You nodded in understanding before turning back to your tasks as Azul walked away.

***

The parcel wasn’t big, thankfully, but it was awkward - an odd shape that looked spherical, but was flat with pointed edges.

‘I wonder what’s on here?’ you shake the package gently as you walk away from Sam’s shop, heading back toward the colosseum. You discard the thought, tucking it under your arm and taking your time, enjoying the shade the trees provided and the gentle cool breeze of autumn ruffling the changing leaves of the school campus and pulling some off and away from their homes. The colors reminded you of home - how the trees in the parks would shift from greens to yellows, reds, and oranges before fading into dark browns. It was strange to see all the trees do the same thing here - it made you wonder if Twisted Wonderland celebrated holidays like your world did.

You were so busy admiring the colors and deep in thought that you didn’t see where you were going and ran into the back of a very large student.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” you smile apologetically, “I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“Well, then, watch it,” the student growled.

“Hey man, look what she did to your jacket,” another student pointed at the sleeve of his uniform’s coat.

The charcoal gray coat that all of the students were required to wear was typically a heavy cotton and ridiculously hard to damage - however, low and behold, one of the pointed ends of Azul’s mystery order had put a decently sized tear in the student’s coat. The tear revealed the golden yellow of the student’s vest, traveling from his mid back to just the top of his waist. You covered your mouth in shock as the student took his jacket off and examined the tear, rage budding on his features.

“You stupid - look what you did!”

“I’m sorry! It was an accident -” you try to explain.

“Do you know how much this cost?” the student shook the coat at you, “Now I have to buy a whole new one!”

“Just make her pay for it,” another student spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest.

“P-Pay?”

“You damaged it, didn’t you? So, you’re the one who's going to buy me a new replacement.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money…” you bit your lip as you felt your heart rate jump up, clutching Azul’s package close to you, “I-If you give me a moment, I’ll go talk to my employer and see-”

“Oh, no way,” the student grabbed the front of your borrowed button down shirt, “You’re going to pay for the jacket one way or another.”

Something within you snapped, you had tried to be reasonable with these three and had apologized for the trouble; however, it seemed now that you could only run and hope that you got to Azul before these guys did something to you. Your face hardened as you gave the student holding you a kick to the groin with your knee, the student releasing you as he groaned in pain at the sudden attack. Once you were out of his clutches, you took off in the opposite direction as the three students shouted at you and chased after.

You clutched the package close to your chest as you bolted into the school and down a corridor, staying close to the windows, hoping for someone to see you as you shouted out for help. Your cries echoed off the high ceiling, alerting a few students and staff members - but it seemed everyone elected to ignore your screams for help as the three pursuers gradually came closer and closer.

You threw yourself around a corner which led out into the courtyard to throw them off.

Unfortunately, an uneven stone caught on your shoe, causing you to stumble forward and land on the ground, Azul’s package flying from your hands and landing with a sickening crack against the side of the wishing well. You tried to stand to move, but something heavy came down on your ankle, a loud snapping sound and a cry of agony echoing across the lawn.

“You stupid bitch! All you had to do was pay up,” the student’s voice from earlier came in your ear as a large fist grabbed a handful of your (h/c) hair, pulling your head up to look into his rage filled eyes, “but nooo, you just had to kick me then run and tried getting help.”

“I think punishment is in order - after all, what can someone without magic and a broken ankle do now?”

Something heavy collided with your face as tears welled up from the punch, the pain coming again from the opposite side. Your hair was released before you felt a heavy boot collide with your stomach as you were kicked across the lawn like a football, landing a few feet away from the wishing well. You tried to sit up with a groan, your arm coming around to clutch your side as you spat out blood. Your entire body was shaking and was sore - you were beginning to wonder if they had hit any vital organs. A large hand came forward and grabbed at your hair again, pulling you up as you cried out.

“Piece of fuckin’ shit, you don’t know when to give up, do you?”

You bit your lip, fighting to hold onto consciousness and the tears that were slowly slipping from your eyes. You were scared and were still wishing beyond a doubt that someone would find you and stop these three from beating you up more. However, the wish was short lived when you were dropped to the ground, causing you to wince as more pain came from your side.

“Time to say good-bye,” your eyes widened as you pulled your arms up toward your face, the student rearing his foot back with his aim clear in his dangerous eyes.

“Care to explain yourselves?” a familiar voice asked, stopping the students as their eyes widened in fear.

You peered out between your fingertips as the familiar figure of Azul came forward, his dorm overcoat fluttering behind him in the breeze as his walking cane tapped against the dirt. His face looked difficult to read as he came forward, eyes sharp and filled with rage.

“H-Headwarden Azul,” the student put his foot down and backed away from you, “W-We thought you were over by the colosseum.”

“I was - I was looking for my errand runner,” Azul’s gaze shifted between you and the three students before repeating, “Care to explain yourselves?”

“I-It’s nothing, honestly,” one of the students visibly shuddered.

“Y-yeah, just a m-misunderstanding is all!” the third student smiled wobbly.

“A misunderstanding, hm?” Azul cocked a brow, eyeing the students, before lifting his walking stick and tapping the head against his gloved palm like a baseball player would, “I will only ask one last time. What. Did. You. Do.”

“S-she destroyed my jacket!” the first student tried to explain, “She wouldn’t pay up for a replacement so-”

“So you decided to attack a defenseless angelfish who is under my protection?” Azul snickered, “How very foolish and pathetic…”

He snapped his fingers as Jade and Floyd appeared before the students. Azul came over and lifted you into his arms, “I’m taking her to the infirmary to get patched up - Jade, Floyd, have some fun.”

You ducked your head close to Azul’s chest, a headache slowly forming as he carried you away. You swallowed and began to open your mouth to speak, but Azul hushed you.

“Rest, (Y/N). You’re safe - there is nothing to be said nor to say. Just relax - I won’t let anything harm you.”

***

You must have fallen asleep because when you opened your eyes, you were in your room back in Octavinelle’s dorms. Azul was there, resting in a chair beside your bed with his arms folded over his chest and eyes closed. You shifted slightly, which caused the octomer to open his eyes - blinking rapidly before they fell on you as a smile crossed his face.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, standing and coming to sit beside you.

“Sore, tired,” you answered.

“That is typical after a fight,” Azul nodded, handing you a glass of water that had been perched on your bedside table, helping you to drink the cool liquid.

You smiled as he returned the glass to its spot before your face fell, “I’m so so sorry, Azul.”

“Whatever for, (Y/N)? You did nothing wrong.”

“Your package - you entrusted me to get it, but it probably got broken after that fight…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Azul’s fingertips curled under your chin, lifting it up to force you to look at him, “I’m not going to be concerned about a package that was damaged when you - someone I’ve been tasked to keep an eye on - was hurt severely. You’re very lucky. But, I do need to ask, what in the world happened? What did you do?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I… I accidentally ran into him because I was taking my time and admiring the changing colors of autumn, not paying attention to where I was going. When I ran into him, one of the parcel’s sharp points must’ve caught onto his coat and when I pulled away, it tore it.”

“NRC’s required suits are relatively expensive, so I can see why he was upset,” Azul nodded thoughtfully, “However, why did he attack you? You could’ve come to me and explained you needed money for a replacement jacket - ”

“I tried telling him that, but he wouldn’t listen and grabbed me. I kicked him so I could get away and was intending on going straight to you, but he…” you didn’t want to say anymore, the memory of what happened only a few hours ago was still painful in your mind.

Sensing your distress, Azul cooed to you, pulling you into his arms as his head landed on top of your head, hands running up and down your spine gently. You sniffled into his suit coat, hand coming up and gripping the back of his jacket, feeling the familiar warmth and comfort that was Azul Ashengrotto.

“Shh… it’s alright, (Y/N)... you’re safe now,” Azul murmured, his voice soft and soothing in your ear, “I know, I know… I can only imagine how afraid you were…”

You nod as you sniffle more.

“It’s alright, though… I’m right here beside you. Those monsters can never touch you again… but you have to promise me something.”

You look up at him as his eyes shine with pain and… something else.

“This world is cruel and wicked, (Y/N),” Azul reached up, resting a gloved hand against your cheek and wiping away the tears that gathered in your eyes, “It’s only I you can trust in this place - Jade and Floyd as well - your only friends. We can’t protect you if you are away from our sight, so you must stay here in Octavinelle - where we can always be within an arm’s reach.”

“B-But, what about the others? Deuce? Ace? Grim? Surely they…”

“(Y/N)... did they come to help you during your darkest hour? Who was there when you were getting beaten by those mongrels?” Azul asked, eyes narrowing slightly, “I did not see Deuce or Ace. Nor did I see Grim or Trey… the twins did not see any of them nor Riddle or Cater either. Who came for you?”

“...You did.”

“Exactly,” Azul nodded, “I will always be there for you. Jade will always be there. Floyd, as strange as it may seem, will also always be there.”

You nod slowly, tucking yourself against his chest as you realize the dark truth. They had abandoned you, left you to fend for yourself while you were getting hurt - it was Azul that came and found you and it was Jade and Floyd that put the trio in their place. The three of them were the only ones who cared about it - showing you love and support through these last two months in this strange, dark, twisted world. Tears fell faster as you sniffled under the calming strokes of Azul’s fingertips.

If you had happened to look up at that point, you would have seen the octomer grinning devilishly down at you, his eyes of pale blue filled with possessive love and adoration.

***

Azul ventured out later after you had fallen asleep with the twins in tow. The trio met with Leona in the lounge of Savanaclaw’s dorm, the octomer pulling out a vial of strange green liquid.

“As promised,” the headwarden of Octavinelle presented the vial to Leona, “for services well rendered.”

“This is it?” Leona snatched the vial, inspecting it closely, “I thought there’d be more.”

“Too much and the power will cause the user to overblot,” Jade explained, “We don’t want a repeat incident.”

Leona hummed in agreement, looking back toward the trio, “Speaking of which, what do you intend on doing since you hurt three of my best players with that little incident?”

“If anything, it’s compensation for us after what you did to three of our best players,” Azul let out a shrug, “but remember, Leona - there’s a much bigger fish to fry in the ocean that has nothing to do with me or the twins nor anyone in Octavinelle.”

Leona grumbled, turning his head, “Ruggie!”

The hyena appeared out of nowhere, landing next to Leona with a soft thump, “You called?”

“Take this,” Leona handed the vial to him, “On the day of the Tournament, you know what to do.”

Ruggie snickered with a nod.

“Well, we’ll be going,” Azul smiled, turning away, “pleasure doing business with you, Kingscholar.”

“And I hope that you live a long life with that soulmate of yours.”

“Oh, after that little incident - I doubt she’ll be going anywhere… at least for a while.”

***

You do not comprehend (You are my one defender)

Why invite their calumny and consternation, stay in here

Be faithful to me, grateful to me

Do as I say, obey

And stay in here…

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bypandoramaxum · 2 years ago

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journey through the reefs [an atwow series] chp. 1

summary: after the sudden death of your parents, your life soon turned upside down as the RDA took drastic measures to advance their colonisation of Pandora, which led to you being used as their guinea pig in their sick games.

[next]

pairings: ao’nung [25] x fem!human!reader [20]

word count: 3.4k

warnings: depictions of death of parents, swearing, abduction, restraints, manipulation, coercion, human experimentation, surgery, reader wanting out and everyone else being a dick to her.

a/n: it’s been so long since I last wrote a fanfic, let alone a series. I’m feeling confident about this one, as the ideas keep flowing in my brain. hope you’ll enjoy this first chapter!~

»»————-　.　————-««

It was almost as if the universe itself was mourning with you, conveying the deep sorrow that had longed settled within your weary heart through heavy raindrops against the windowpanes as you watched the two cardboard caskets that laid both your parents were slowly being transferred into the crematoriums for a final send off.

This was not the goodbye you expected to bid to the two most prominent figures of your measly life. It was almost too sudden, too hasty, unbelievable really. Your tearful gaze numbingly watched as the doors of the crematoriums slammed shut, but still leaving an opening for you to witness the golden flames erupting around the caskets, which oddly helped in allowing you to process and acknowledge the gravity of the reality you were experiencing.

A vast array of emotions swarmed you intensely, trying to overtake each other, making your head spin in the process, not knowing which one to feel.

But one thing was for certain.

Loneliness.

Never again would you hear your mother knocking on your bedroom door before entering, telling you good morning in that gentle, soothing, hush voice of hers, paired with the soft strokes of her hand against the flow of your hair.

The sounds of sips coming from your father drinking his morning cup of tea would soon become a distant memory soon. His usual question of how you slept last night can only be heard within the confines of your recollection.

The day ended with you being escorted out of the crematorium by your parents’ scientist colleagues, who, for the record, did not seem too upset by the events that played out for the day. It almost seemed as if the whole funeral was just another tedious task that had to be carried out before they could move on to their next one at hand. Well, it wasn’t like that wasn’t obvious, considering they couldn’t even get proper coffins to lay your parents to rest, as if common decency was a thing of the past.

Truthfully, no one really held proper funerals anymore, not in this current millennium at least. With the Earth flooded with overpopulation, people are dying at a larger and faster rate. Something quick had to be done to make room for others more.

“Well, let’s get back to business, shall we? We’ve stalled long enough, thanks to the cry-baby over here.” a man huffed as he straightened his lab coat, ready to get back to work.

Dr. Kurtis Aragon. The man who had your parents serve as his apprentices, unfortunately. You had overheard countless stories of him from them, mostly of how he had no problem blatantly mistreating his staff into obeying his every order, no matter how detriment the consequences might be of said actions, as it was either his way or the highway.

His views of the surrounding world were black and white, leaving no room for doubt. He truly believed his words held gravity compared to the opinions of those around him, and he made sure people knew their places in the lab.

“Since your folks have proved themselves to be fairly incompetent in their roles, I have no choice but to have you continue their work for me.”

“After all, you are the offspring of two rather gifted individuals despite what happened. I’m sure you won’t disappoint me too quickly like they did.” he added.

You could feel your blood boiling, face flushing with anger. Begrudgingly, you held back and replied,

“Since when was it decided that I’ve signed up for any of this?”

“Since your parents signed a legal contract stating that if anything were to happen to them, guardianship of you shall be transferred over to me.” said Dr. Aragon as he pulled out an envelope from his lab coat, handing it to you.

You snatched it from him, tearing the envelope urgently and began reading through the contract. Fresh tears started brimming at your eyes as you read the terms and conditions of said contract. There was no way. Your parents wouldn’t have entrusted your well-being to this man, knowing how much misery he brought to them.

“This is all bullshit! There’s no way they agreed to this. You must’ve threatened them into signing it.” you yelled as the tears ran down your cheeks, balling up the contract before chucking it to the ground. “I don’t care what this contract says. I rather be dead than work for you or your sick cause.”

“Now, it’s not up to you, now is it, little girl? Doesn’t matter whether they agreed to it or not, what’s done is done. With their signature sealing the deal, I have the willpower to do what I wish with you. You possess great qualities and potential for the RDA’s future, and I plan on fully utilising it.” Dr. Aragon paid no heed to your outburst, lighting a cigarette as he spoke.

“Looks like we’re going to have to do this the hard way, little one. Boys, you know the drill.” Dr. Aragon mumbled before gesturing to his men.

“To hell with the RDA! You all are the reason why my folks are dead in the first place, and now you’re looking for your next guinea pig to continue the colonisation of that beautiful moon. Well, count me out! Screw you all.” you declared before storming off into the heavy rain, allowing it to wet the black dress you wore.

“Yes, sir.” they obeyed before marching to you, surrounding you.

“Move, assholes!” you yelled as you tried to push through them to no avail.

“Listen, you are coming with us whether you like it or not.” said one of the men cladded in military gear.

“I don’t have to do jack shit for anyone. You can’t make m-“ your rage was cut short when you felt volts of electricity surge through your being, making you fall to the ground before knocking you unconscious.

The men wasted no time in restraining you and throwing your drenched, sleeping body into the readied vehicle, waiting to bring you to God knows where. Dr. Aragon just stood there, watching the whole thing unfold with a smug smirk on his face, simultaneously taking puffs from his cigarette.

“Seems like she’s going to be a handful, huh?” one of the scientist next to him uttered.

“She’ll learn to comply soon enough. We just need to give her the right push, that’s all.” Dr. Aragon replied as he took one last puff of smoke before throwing the cigarette to the ground, stepping on it to put out the flames.

“I’ve got one good trick up my sleeve that’ll surely get her to obey.”

“And just what might that be?”

“We’ll have to get her to Pandora first. While she’s in cryo-sleep, we shall get everything ready to perform Operation: Lab Rat. Our next project will be targeting the reef clans.”

Dr. Aragon let out a wicked chuckle, almost as if understanding where this plan was going.

“I knew I could count on my best student.”

»»————-　.　————-««

Five years later…

Waking up had never felt so draining before. Sure, a little sleepy and drowsy, perhaps an urge to fall back asleep just to bask in a few more minutes of comfort, but this time, it came with a throbbing headache. You tried your best to fall back asleep, in hopes to be rid of it, but you found your attempts futile.

Looking around, blue light surrounded the little space you were in. Your body was strapped in by safety belts, and you could feel yourself floating slightly. It didn’t take long for the panic to start setting in, as your hands started wandering, looking for any possible escape from wherever you were in.

All of a sudden, you feel yourself being ejected from the claustrophobic confinement, white light shining directly onto you. As you looked around, you were met with a figure floating in front of you, cladded in medical wear.

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.” the man said, in an attempt to joke lightly.

“Where am I?” you asked hesitantly, fearing the possible answers.

“We’re on our way to Pandora. Almost there, in fact.” he replied, patting your shoulder comfortingly.

His words stunned you, eyes widened in true shock. You looked around you to see others being ejected from their sleep capsules, unbuckling themselves from the safety restraints, which prompted you to do the same.

If what that man said was true, then that could only mean…

No, there was no way. This had to be a nightmare. All you had to do was close your eyes again and fall back asleep. You would be right back in your childhood bedroom in no time.

“I need everyone’s attention! It has been 5 years, 7 months, and 13 days since departure. You will feel hungry and weak to the bones. Please rehydrate yourself immediately with the water bottles in your lockers.” one of the staff announced to the room.

The look of dread on your face was no secret at this point. You didn’t care to hide your worries and panic anymore as your frantic outburst alerted everyone in the shared space, startling many of them.

It took a group of five men holding you to get you under control. That didn’t stop you from voicing your thoughts out loud, making sure your problem was now everyone else’s as well.

“Let me go! Take me home! Get me out of here! I’ll send you all to hell myself if it’s the last thing I’ll ever do.” you screamed at the top of your lungs, empty threats being thrown around, mostly directed to the men restraining you.

“Sedate her immediately!” Dr. Aragon called out to the men; frustration painted his expression. “Can’t have this little bitch causing a goddamn ruckus on my ship.”

“You! You’ll be first on my hit list, motherfucker! Be glad they’re holding me back, ‘cause once I get the chance, you’ll be begging me for mer-“

You felt something sharp pierce your arm, halting your verbal assault. You tried fighting against the drowsiness, but it soon overtook you easily as you succumbed to the effects of the sedation, putting you to sleep once more.

The men were then instructed to bring you to a holding cell while the scientists bunch had an impromptu meeting together, with Dr. Aragon fuming.

“What did I say about waking her up with the other crew members? Do you imbeciles just not listen to anything I say? Her antics could’ve costed us our only chance at getting the operation running smoothly.” Dr. Aragon lectured his team sternly, his being shaking from anger.

“We are terribly sorry, sir. It seems there was an error in communication with the medical team. We’ll ensure nothing of sort will occur again.” Thomas answered apologetically, gesturing to his fellow colleagues to do the same.

“I expect better from all of you, especially you, Thomas. You’ve been with me the longest so far and this is the work being presented to me?”

“It was never my intention to disappoint you at all, sir. All I want is to provide a better life for all of humanity and serve the RDA. Please, allow me to prove it to you, and I’ll be sure to give my very best to our current cause.”

The glare that Dr. Aragon was giving Thomas was deeply unsettling. It didn’t allow him to read through his boss’ emotions at all. He couldn’t predict what his answer could be towards his pathetic plea of proving himself worthy in the eyes of the RDA. Despite that, his eye contact never faltered, hoping his determination will overshadow his nervousness.

“Once we land, notify the sterile team to have a room prepared immediately. I don’t wish to delay Operation: Lab Rat any longer. The medical team better be ready to get their hands dirty.” Dr. Aragon broke the uncomfortable silence before leaving his team.

“Yes, sir!” everyone shouted in unison, scampering to get ready for landing.

»»————-　.　————-««

The shuttle soon landed on the far east of Pandora, nearby a fleet of ships that were waiting, ready to transport the newcomers to the outskirts of Pandoran reefs. Neighbouring the Metkayina and Ta’unui clans, but still hidden enough to not alarm any of the natives. Stealth was required to ensure the colonisation of the area ran smoothly.

Soldiers geared up marched into their respective troops, the sound of combat boots synchronising. Dr. Aragon and his team were escorted onto one of the ships, with the medical team behind them pushing your once again unconscious self, secured on a stretcher with an oxygen mask. Once everyone boarded, the ship set sail and the journey to the nearby RDA base began.

“Let’s not waste any more time than we already have! Medical and sterile, gear up and get to work!” Dr. Aragon instructed with a stern tone.

“Yes, sir!” his team responded as they directed your stretcher to one of the readied surgical rooms.

»»————-　.　————-««

Doctors and nurses were busy prepping your body for the experimental procedure, while at the same time sick with worry, but not for you, however. Knowing that any failure on this would end up with someone within the base being the next test subject. The unspoken dread seems to spread all across the room as it was dead silent other than the sound of surgical tools clanking against each other.

“Jesus, just thinking about what could happen if we fuck this up again makes me want to throw up.” one of the nurses whispered.

“Well, gee, you sure know how to set the mood, huh?” another nurse replied sarcastically.

“You’re really not worried one bit? We’ve been at this for God knows how many times, and there’s not been one success case in our books.”

“Of course, I’m worried, goddamnit! I’m just trying not to think about it at the moment. So do me a favour and shut your trap!”

“How about we stop all this bickering and focus on the task at hand? It’s best not to anger the big boss of the ship.” the head nurse, Tori, intervened before a bigger argument could set off.

A few minutes had passed before Dr. Aragon entered the room, cladded in a surgical suit. Everyone stood frozen in their spots, awaiting their next order to be given.

Dr. Aragon strode over to the surgical bed, giving the marking drawn onto your sternum and just below the diaphragm a quick study before picking up a scalpel that was laid on a tray.

“Your sacrifice shall not go unsung, kid.” he said before gesturing to his team to follow his lead.

»»————-　.　————-««

Twelve hours later…

Most of the staff collapsed onto the cold vinyl flooring of the room, some of them shedding tears after a long, torturous procedure on you. The ones left standing were finishing up the stitches from your successful surgery. In fact, you were their very first and only success case ever since the RDA deemed the avatar program too expensive to continue and started their lengthy and experimental respiratory enhancing surgery on countless unwilling participants, with the hope that these test subjects can breathe Pandoran air with no need for an oxygen mask. None of them ever saw the light of day again.

Except for you.

Little did you know that this was just the beginning of your brand new existence. Your current purpose was to serve and be loyal to the RDA, and that sooner or later, you would learn to obey and do as you were told.

»»————-　.　————-««

Two weeks later…

As your eyes struggled to open, you were forced to shut them again as a bright white shine blinded your vision for a moment. Once your eyes have adjusted to the light, you looked around your surroundings to find that you were in a well-conditioned room. The softness and comfort that you felt yourself lying on signalled to you were most likely in the hospital. Have you been rescued from the RDA? Were you back on Earth? Or was all of it just a bad dream and all of that never even happened?

You were about to relish in sweet relief, only for it to be cut short when you went to raise your arm to rub the sleep from your eyes, but it was stopped short by a handcuff that was linking your wrist to the metal bed frame. You looked over to your other arm to find that it was cuffed as well.

The violent clunking that you caused had alerted a group of nurses as they rushed into the room to calm you down.

“Now, dear, I know you must be confused and terrified, but you must calm down.” one of the nurses reassured.

“Where am I? Why am I here? What have you people done to me? ANSWER ME!” you cried out angrily, continuing your struggle.

“Call the doctor in! NOW!” the head nurse ordered.

The room stared in awe and shock as Dr. Aragon walked into the room. Next to him, stood an almost ten foot tall avatar wearing a green tank top and camo cargo pants. Your eyes were immediately drawn to the figure next to the doctor, the fear and anxiety evident in your eyes.

“So, this one here was a success, huh?” the avatar voiced out while staring down at you menacingly.

“She is the first one. But not to worry, as I do plan to continue producing more test subjects.” Dr. Aragon responded. “Sooner or later, humans shall be taking over this moon without needing the aid of these dumb masks.”

The avatar chuckled at that statement before striding over to you, kneeling down to speak to you directly.

“I’m Colonel Quaritch, commander of the first Recom Squad. Just thought you should know the face of the person you’ll be taking orders from.”

“And why would I be taking any orders from the likes of you?” you spat while grimacing at the colonel.

Quaritch lips pulled into a smirk, as if he was expecting this sort of response from you. He then gestured to the other humans in the room.

“Take a good look at every single one of them. All masked up.”

You looked around the room, scanning every human face in there. They were all, in fact, masked up. You however…

…could breathe with ease.

“H… How?” you stuttered.

“Let’s just say we gave your respiratory system a bit of an… upgrade, so to speak.” Quaritch replied nonchalantly. “Financing the avatar program is getting a little too hefty for our budget, so we needed a more affordable project to continue our operation.”

All of this was getting too much for you. The stress of everything that had happened finally took a toll on your poor soul. Tears started flowing down your rosy cheeks as you sobbed pathetically in front of your audience. Everything that has happened up to this point had sealed your fate forever.

You would never see Earth again.

You would never be able to sit at your parents’ graves for a chat.

Your education could never advance.

You would never experience another day of normalcy in your pitiful existence.

“Why are you doing this? Why me? What have I done to deserve this? Please, just let me go. I promise I won’t tell anyone about this. Let me go home, please.” you begged sorrowfully, any ounce of dignity thrown away at this point.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that, sweetheart.” Quaritch responded, moving to sit at the foot of the bed.

“You’re the first one to ever survive this dangerous and risky procedure. Your value here is far too important for us to just let you go. With your help, you’ll be giving mankind another chance at a better life. Treat this as a fresh start for yourself.”

You knew there was no backing out from this situation in anyway, shape and form. Your only choices on the table were to either die, possibly painfully, or follow the lead of the RDA. You weren’t exactly thrilled to be alive at this point, but entertaining the idea of death so soon wasn’t something you were up for either.

But maybe you could get yourself out of this, the only thing you needed was patience and hope, and you prayed that you would be able to stay loyal to those traits.

You allowed yourself to relax back onto the bed before turning to face Quaritch, looking him dead in the eyes.

“So, where do I start, Colonel?”

»»————-　.　————-««

a/n: that’s the end of chapter one! let me know what you think and stick around for chapter two.

like and reblog if you enjoyed!~

#bypandoramaxum #avatar #avatar 2 #avatar the way of water #avatar x reader #avatar x human reader #avatar x human!reader #human reader #na'vi x human #ao'nung #ao'nung avatar #ao'nung x reader #ao'nung x human!reader #miles quaritch #quaritch #avatar fanfic #avatar fanfiction

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ihavenoideahowtodream · 6 months ago

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The cane in question:

Pronouns: she/it/ya boi

I love this cane with all my heart and its the first one I've ever taken a picture with in 10 years.

#cane #poll #i love this cane #she even stands by itself ❤️❤️

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talktomeinclexa · 8 months ago

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Death Is Not the End

Summary: Lexa is an Angel of Death tasked with helping the spirits seamlessly move on. Clarke is a doctor who has fought her whole adult life to keep Death at bay, and now she’s the one whose days are numbered. It would suck if those two were to fall in love, wouldn’t it?

***

“Damn it. Time of death: 22:16.”

Clarke throws her gloves onto the floor and lets out a strangled cry of frustration. Her staff gives her a wide berth, well accustomed to her intense reaction every time a patient under her care dies.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Lexa whispers even though she knows the distraught woman can’t hear her. “You did your best.”

Dr. Clarke Griffin, MD, FACS, and Head of the Emergency Department of Arkadia General, has saved more gray cases than Lexa has ever seen another doctor do. She’s excellent at her job and, despite having worked for years in the ER, refuses to bow to Death. She fights for every single patient no matter the state they arrive in.

But Atom Ward wasn’t a gray case. He was brought to the hospital with a barely visible aura and a large gash to his throat that let out blood faster than the IV could replenish it. His time was up, and Clarke had fought a lost battle from the start.

Even he seemed to have accepted it. His spirit severs the connection with his body without Lexa needing to intervene, and he moves on by himself.

Not that Lexa stuck around for him. It has become a habit at this point to hover in the background whenever Clarke deals with a tough case. She’s not the one Lexa is meant to help let go, yet she hopes her invisible presence can alleviate some of Clarke’s pain whenever things don’t go the way she wishes them to.

“I can talk to his family if you want.”

Lexa jerks aside as Wells Jaha, the cardio attending, passes through her to approach Clarke. After decades spent in the narrow corridors and overcrowded rooms of various hospitals, she should be used to mortals moving through her immaterial form. Alas, as with the pungent smell of bleach inseparable from the white walls she often occupies, she has yet to ignore her disgust.

Clarke shakes her head, her brows stubbornly furrowed. She won’t cry. Not in front of her coworkers or when she tells Atom’s parents the worst news of their lives. She will hold it inside until she can find a quiet spot—the stairs or her office—and allow herself to crumble for a minute. Lexa has witnessed the scene a few times. Perhaps that’s why she feels this irrepressible need to shadow Clarke.

“I will do it,” Clarke replies, and Wells doesn’t press the matter.

Lexa is distracted from the scene by the call from an angry spirit one floor below. He doesn’t understand what happened to him and wants to linger. She’s down to her knees through the floor when she senses another Angel of Death’s presence below. They will take care of the issue and help the spirit accept his new reality.

Lexa floats back up into the room. She shouldn’t go with Clarke. There’s no need for her in the waiting area, and the hospital is full of dying people who might require her aid.

“Good luck,” she whispers in Clarke’s direction before freezing.

With the agitation caused by Atom’s arrival and the doctors’ attempts to save him, Lexa was distracted. She was supposed to focus on him. But now that he’s gone, all she can see is Clarke’s fading aura, slowly turning from its usual indigo to a washed-out sky blue.

Lexa has been an Angel of Death for over a millennium. She knows what fading auras mean—they call to her and her fellows. It’s not fair, but then, Death rarely is.

With a heavy heart, she watches as Clarke leaves the room, unaware of how numbered her days are, and sighs. “I will see you soon.”

#Clexaweek24 #Clexa #Lexa #Clarke Griffin #Death is not the end #Angel of death Lexa #Dying Clarke #snippet

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scullysexual · 9 months ago

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You're Never Just Anything To Me (6)

@today-in-fic | ao3 | Prev. Chapter

A look into Mulder and Scully’s relationship starting from Millennium going all the way up to Requiem.

VI. Signs and Wonders.

He wakes naturally. Devoid of the usual sluggishness comes with a 6:30 start. The sun appeared brighter, what beams peak through the slight break in the curtain, unusual for this time in April.

Scully is dead weight next to him, Mulder knows even the alarm clock struggles to wake her up. She is bare and warm next to him in his bed, on a school night. He still smiles thinking of how he convinced her to stay over on a Wednesday and he didn’t need broken heaters or traumatic events this time.

He thinks about that alarm and frowns, he doesn’t remember waking up to its annoying sound.

And he quickly realises why.

08:47 glares back at him in big red letters. He stares in horror as the last digit flips to an 8.

“Oh shit!”

The relaxing morning he thought he was going to have has now been bulldozed over by panic and chaos. He pulls on his boxers and the pants from yesterday that had been discarded on the floor the night before. Still bare chested, he leans over, furiously trying to shake Scully awake.

An impossible even when they weren’t running late.

Scully shrugs his hand away from her, rolling away from him. He sighs.

“No Scully, we have a meeting today, you’ve gotta get up,” he says trying to rouse her.

“5 minutes…” she answers but the end trails off as she falls back under.

“No, no minutes.” It was 08:53 now. “You’ve got 7 minutes to get up and get to work.”

That works. She flips over, eyes wide.

“We’re late?” she asks horrified.

Mission accomplished, Mulder climbs off her and starts trying to locate his shirt.

“Yes!”

She rips back the covers and immediately darts into the bathroom, taking her neatly folded clothes with her (because he watched her fold her clothes last night and laughed at her while she did. “It’s a pointless task, Scully,” he’d told her) He couldn’t even appreciate her naked body because he was still trying to find his shirt. So much for pointless tasks…

He's found it when she emerges and it’s 08:57.

“This is your fault,” Scully says. She brushes her hair as they make their way to the elevator.

“What did I do?” Mulder asks. He spams the elevator button. “The clock was on your side, you were in charge of setting it.”

“I’m not even supposed to be here.”

When they get to the parking lot they realise their next problem.

“I don’t have time to get my car,” she says with fear.

Not that it mattered anyway. Her car was still in the FBI garage because she went home with him.

“Get in,” Mulder says, he still holds the door open for her. “Maybe we’ll get there on time.”

But it was already 09:02.

…

The budget staff were growing increasingly restless.

Skinner glares at the two vacant chairs. Perhaps if he burns a hole into them his two truant agents might just appear.

Of course that doesn’t work.

He looks to the clock that reads 09:09 and then back to the staff.

“I’ll see if I can locate them,” he says.

He has Kimberly call both their home phones and cell phones. All four of which go through to voicemail. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t worried. Mulder was often late, that part didn’t concern him. It was Scully. In the six years he’d known her, she had never been late to anything, often arriving before anyone else had even got there. If she wasn’t here it usually meant she wasn’t here.

He sticks his head out into the long corridor looking both ways, still seeing nothing. The elevator doors opening grabs his attention and he sees his two missing agents fly out of it.

“We’re here! We’re here!” Mulder yells and Scully trails behind him.

First is the relief that spreads through him. They were still alive, thank god. Next, it’s frustration.

“You were supposed to be here…” he looks at his watch. “…11 minutes ago, Agent Mulder. Both of you.” Scully uncharacteristically cowers, moving slightly to hide behind Mulder. “What happened?”

“A kid got run over.”

“We got stuck in traffic.”

They both speak simultaneously. Skinner just stares at them.

“One at a time perhaps?” he says.

“A kid got ran over,” says Mulder.

“We got stuck in traffic,” says Scully.

Skinner sighs. He doesn’t exactly believe them but what cause would they have to lie. Then he properly looks at them. He doesn’t pay attention to what people usually wear but he’s sure he saw them wearing those clothes yesterday.

“A kid got ran over and we got stuck in traffic because of it,” clarifies Mulder.

“Both of you?” asks Skinner.

Mulder nods.

“Don’t you live in opposite directions? Take different roads?”

He watches as Mulder and Scully look at each other. Yep, they were definitely holding something back.

“They’re waiting for you now, sir,” Kimberly utters behind him.

The meeting Skinner remembers. He’ll interrogate them later. For now. He opens the door and lets them in. Kimberly opens the other door for all three of them. They sit down and the meeting can finally start. Skinner tries to pay attention but his focus keeps going over to the other two. Somebody asks him a question but Skinner doesn’t hear it. Is that a hickey on Mulder’s neck?

…

“A kid got ran over?!” Scully almost yells as she pushes her way into their office. “You couldn’t have just said what I said?”

“Next time we need to plan our excuse,” says Mulder tossing his blazer to the side and sits down in his chair. “Do you think Skinner knows?”

Scully laughs. “Skinner definitely knows, Mulder.” Scully sits in the guest chairs facing him. “Question is, when he is going to ask us about it.”

“What makes you think Skinner will ask us about it?”

Just then there’s a knock on the door. Scully goes pale. Mulder stands, tepidly making his way to the door. He lingers for a moment wishing the office door came with a peep hole.

“It’s me, Mulder,” Skinner’s voice sounds through the door.

Without any other option, Mulder opens it. “Sir,” he greets. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Skinner steps in, closing the door behind him. He stands about awkwardly. The basement always felt crowded when there was more than two people in it or maybe Scully had just become used to her and Mulder being the only occupants.

“I’m not stupid,” Skinner says and Scully clutches the edges of her seat. “I’ve heard the rumours.” Scully eyes meet Mulders. They both know just what rumours Skinner is referring to. “I need to know, off the record, for the…safety of everyone involved…Are the rumours true?”

Mulder and Scully look at each other again, each waiting for the other to proceed and take the lead.

“You can lie, of course, but I know there was no kid ran over,” he looks at Mulder. “Or traffic to be stuck in,” he looks at Scully who immediately looks away. “And your clothes and that…mark,” he looks so incredibly uncomfortable. “give cause to say that someone wasn’t alone last night. Now if it was with other people then that is your business but if you spent it with each other then, unfortunately, it becomes my business.”

Scully thinks, wondering just what she should say. There’s no point in lying, he’s pretty much sussed them out but how to confirm it was another matter.

“Off the record?” asks Mulder, he looks briefly at Scully. Of course he was doing this for her sake. Mulder’s made it clear in the past that he doesn’t care who knows about their relationship, it was always her that had issues.

“Yes,” says Skinner.

“Yeah, the rumours are true.”

Skinner looks to Scully for confirmation. She nods, smiling awkwardly. She wonders, for a second, if he might congratulate them, if he might grab a chair and exclaim ‘Finally!’, asking for all the details but one look at him and seeing his face have the faintest tint of pink covering it tells her otherwise.

“Very well,” says Skinner beginning to make his way back towards the door. “Thank you for being honest with me.” He has the door open now and coughs. “I need your expense reports by noon,” he says and it’s business as usual. “The budget staff are requesting it.”

“Of course,” says Scully happy now that that conversation is over.

Skinner nods them farewell, still looking from one to the other awkwardly, before he leaves and Mulder closes the door behind him. Listening as his boss’s footsteps get further away he turns towards Scully, grinning.

“Now he knows does this mean we can have sex in the office now?”

Scully just glares at him.

…

“So Skinner knows now, huh?”

They stand in the FBI garage, another workday behind them, and only one more day to go before he can finally have Scully back in his bed. They stand at their respective cars, Scully having made it very clear that she didn’t want a repeat of this morning.

“He does,” Scully agrees, tossing her bag into the front passenger seat.

“How do you feel? I know you wanted to keep quiet…”

“Honestly? Relieved actually.”

“Really?” That surprises him.

“Yeah. It feels less like we’re teenagers trying to hide our relationship from our parents and more like actual adults.” He smiles. “Besides we can’t hide it forever. Oh, that reminds me.”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t do Friday.”

His stomach sinks. “What? Why not?”

Friday is their night, what else could be so important that—But Scully is smiling, brightly, like she can barely contain it.

“I have an appointment. About my ova,” she adds at Mulder’s questioning look. “To see if it’s viable.”

“Well shit, Scully…” A grin forms onto his own face then. “That’s great. You’ll tell me what they say, yeah?”

“Of course.”

They climb into their own cars then and Mulder watches as she pulls out and drives away. His stomach twists. He was happy, of course, for Scully, she’s wanted a baby for as long as he’s known her but the thought of him being the father…His own father wasn’t very good, he couldn’t even keep his little sister from being taken. What if he’s just as bad with their baby? What if he’s just bad?

…

He itches to call her. He bounces his basketball instead.

It’s Saturday morning, at this time he and Scully might have just woken up, another hour would pass before they ordered breakfast, half hour before they found themselves back in bed again. It was a routine he’d gotten use to, every Saturday (unless on assignment in which case that still wouldn’t stop them) she would be here and today she wasn’t.

The ball bounces out of his hands and Mulder sits down. He grabs the case they’re currently working on- some religious thing- and tries to focus on that instead.

About 10 minutes into reading the case there’s a knock on the door. Mulder frowns, the Gunmen maybe? He walks over to it and opens it.

And there stands Scully.

“Hi,” she says.

“Hi.”

She doesn’t seem distressed, she doesn’t seem angry or upset. She seems…content.

“Are you gonna let me in?” she asks with a knowing smile.

“Of course.” He pushes the door open wider and moves out the way. “I didn’t think you would be here today,” he says shutting the door and putting the latch back on it.

“I was bored.” She spins around to look at him. “I thought about calling but I wanted to tell you the news in person.”

Was it what he thought it was? Mulder makes his way back to the couch. He sits though Scully remains standing.

“Dr Parenti thinks there’s potential.”

A smile breaks out across his face. “Scully, that’s amazing.” And Scully can’t contain her own smile any longer.

“Yeah, it is. It really is.”

They stare at each other, smiling for a few minutes longer.

“Uh…Dr Parenti said we could start right away. That’s if…you’re still interested?”

His smile fades as does hers, a worried look crossing it.

“Scully, I—”

“It’s fine,” she interrupts. She bites her lip and he can see her trying to keep the disappointment, the tears at bay. She’s got it wrong. “I knew it was a big ask, I just thought…”

Mulder shakes his head, standing up from the couch and going over to her. He holds her in his arms. She still spirals.

“Scully,” he says more firmly to stop her rambling. “My answer is still yes.”

She stops suddenly then, looking at him. “But I thought…”

“Sit down. Please. I think we need to talk.”

She does so, sitting down beside him, far enough away so they can see each other easily. It’s so unusual for them not to be touching that Mulder reaches out and grabs her hand, pulling it towards him.

“Scully…I have my fears,” he says watching as his fingers circle her palm. “My own father wasn’t very good and I don’t know if I’ll be the same…”

“Mulder?” He looks up at her then, sees the love and understanding in her eyes. “We’ll figure it out together, okay.”

Because of course they will. They do everything together. He nods and she leans towards him, kissing him. Mulder pulls her closer and she sits in his lap facing him, their usual Saturday routine.

He lets himself get excited about the prospect of a baby. Wills his fears away, riding solely on Scully’s strength and belief that he’d be a good dad. He can picture it; a child with fire for hair and a forest landscape for eyes, a perfect combination of his reckless curiosity and her cautious inquisitiveness. He hugs her to him, his head resting on her chest as her hands stroke through his hair. He believes in this possibility.

Later when the sun is hanging low and she is quiet and sleepy in his arms he brings the subject back up.

“It was never a big ask, Scully.”

“What do you mean?” she asks.

He’s quiet for a moment and his silence makes her look up at him.

“I guess…I think there’s a end in sight, Scully.”

“You mean with the X-Files?”

“Yeah. A natural end, not one brought on by higher ups or office fires.” He sighs and Scully hangs on to every word. “I think it’s an end of my choosing- our choosing- It feels right.”

It’s Scully’s turn to be quiet as she takes it all in.

“What about Samantha?”

He thinks of the clones, of the little girls in the field, of the visions Cancer Man handed him.

“I think there’s a universe out there where she’s happy, where she is loved.” He looks at Scully with a soft smile. “I think I can believe that. I think that’s what I want to believe.”

She smiles back at him.

“It’s not gonna stop me from going looking for Big Foot or aliens or whatever.” She laughs, affectionately rolling her eyes. “But I think the main quest, the main search…I can see an end. I think I’m ready to get out of the car.”

Scully sits up, moving to straddle his hips. Her lips touch his, kissing him slowly. The car stops and Mulder climbs out, the door locking itself behind him.

#the x-files #the x files #txf fic #xfiles fanfiction #soss #season 7 #scullysexualwrites

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