#minimum city the return trip

[joyride-time]

How Old is Bang DuPree? Timeline Speculation

Bangladesh DuPree is a character we’ve got a decent amount of background info about. She is the daughter of a deposed and now dead pirate queen who was out on a solo trip when her group’s attempt to keep Zeetha captive and sell her as a slave went lethally wrong. Afterwards she signed up with Klaus as the right monster for the right job, and has been having a good time despite the Empire not giving her any more information on who destroyed her fortress. Klaus assigned her to spend some time with Gil in Paris, they became friendly, and the last bit of pre-canon info we have is that she is the one who destroyed Moloch’s squad.

One thing we don’t know is how old she is. I think that’s fine: the timeline has a lot of moving parts and nailing things down without thinking them through carefully can have awkward results. But I like to guess.

Zeetha has been wandering for three years at the start of canon. Tarvek took Tinka from the Circus three years precanon. Book 2 states that Bang has been working for Klaus for three years. This makes Klaus sending Bang to Paris with Gil one of the very first things he ever ordered her to do.

Secret Blueprints is supplemental material that isn’t necessarily accurate, but it states that Bang led the pirates for two years, and it’s the only statement we have about this.

This isn’t quite enough information to tell Bang’s age, but we do have some other information: her family! She actually has a named brother, Deathwish DuPree and an unnamed but onscreen father. Deathwish is her older brother, but he’s not visibly aged. And her father left her mother ten years ago (2.5 years after canon starts): the way that Bang is upset about it, it feels like she was a kid when that happened. And her mother seemed to still be in control of her country at the time, since he refers to the pressure of monarchy to explain why he left.

I’ll set the minimum age as 22 at the start of canon, since there’s in-universe speculation about whether Gil and DuPree banged or not and that’s Gil’s age in the books.

This makes her personal timeline at the youngest look like:

14 years old = Bang’s father abandons her and her mother.

1? years old: Deathwish leaves his family behind, possibly because of amnesia.

1? years old: The people of Bang’s island city rebel, deposing them. Her and her mother begin gathering resources to retake the throne.

17 years old: Bang’s mother dies. Bang becomes leader of her pirate crew.

19 years old: Bang returns from a solitary trip to find her fortress completely destroyed.

19 years old: Bang meets Gil in Paris and hangs out with him for an undisclosed amount of time

22 years old: Bang kills most of Moloch’s squad under the Baron’s flag. She also sees the time windows and informs Klaus of this. Canon happens.

23-25 years old: Mechanicsburg is timestopped. Bang sticks close to Gil through his early years of Baroning,

25 years old: Bang is informed that Zeetha is the one who destroyed her fortress. She quits working for Gil temporarily and leads Agatha’s expedition to Rat Island. She seems to have rejoined the Empire after Rat Island.

I always felt like Bang was a little older than Gil, but looking at when her father left, I think her being the same age works. It does make her a young pirate queen, but Europa seems to look at competence more than age when it comes to these things.

If anyone has any relevant info from the radio show they’d like to share, I am very curious to hear it!

[froginninjago]

What if Tomorrow's Tea went differently? (AKA my on the spot villain AU)

From what I've seen, Tomorrow's Tea is when it kind of really settled in that Lloyd was going to be a "hero". He couldn't use the excuse of young age anymore. He was given expectations that no one has met before, before he even made it to middle school.

What if the other ninja weren't ready for that? What if they got fed up with Wu's cryptic sayings and being told to save everyone? First they were supposed to put their lives on the line, but now they're throwing a child out there?

Kai was the first to go. When he saw Lloyd, forced to grow up literally and metaphorically, he saw himself. He saw his younger self taking care of Nya long before he could provide for himself, and he knew that he couldn't watch that same thing happen to Lloyd. So he left. He ran off in the night, and everyone woke up to a note assuring them he wasn't taken, but that was it.

Cole was the second to leave. He was also the one to take Lloyd with him. Lloyd had been close to Kai, ever since the incident in the volcano. When Kai left, right after he'd just had his world turned upside down? Lloyd couldn't handle it. He trained, and only trained. He'd take breaks to eat the bare minimum of food he needed, and sleep only a few hours each night. After a month of this, Cole stormed into Lloyd's room as he was waking up for more training and announced they were leaving. Lloyd, not realizing that this wasn't a trip, went with him. They set out the next morning, and found Kai on the outskirts of the city, planning how he'd return to Ignacia. They convinced him to stay in the city, and stayed with him.

Jay was next. With Kai, Cole, and especially Lloyd gone, Wu had been treating him and Zane especially harshly. It was fine for the first few days, when he could at least talk to Nya. Sure, she was a bit off, but he chalked that up to her missing her brothers. After a week though, when it came clear no one was coming back, she gave up on talking to him. He didn't know where she kept disappearing to, but now it was just him, Zane, and Wu. So he left too. By coincidence, he ran into Cole at the grocery store, who took him back to where he was staying with Kai and Lloyd.

Zane stayed the longest. He saw nothing wrong with his training. Perhaps Wu was being harsh on Jay, Cole, and Lloyd, but he was a nindroid and equipped to handle this. He was built to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, and if he didn't have help, it made sense he'd work harder. He did miss Lloyd, Jay, Kai, and Cole. It was lonely. He hadn't known that he'd formed a relationship, until it was gone. Then, one night, his door was slammed open. Nya announced that she was leaving to find her brothers, and Zane wished her luck. He informed Wu of it the next morning, and that's when he started to consider leaving. Wu hadn't showed any sign of caring that Nya was gone. He hadn't shown much concern for any of the ninja leaving, but Zane had assumed that was due to their training and elemental powers. Now though? He realized what it was. Wu wasn't trying to have them be heroes.

Wu was turning them into weapons. And Zane wasn't going to sit around and let that happen. So he left, and ran to catch up with Nya. Together they found Kai, Cole, Lloyd, and Jay. They all agreed they didn't have the money or experience to stay in Ninjago City, and decided to head to Jay's parents junkyard.

It was a long trip on foot, but they all learned something about themselves. It started when Lloyd was out of his strict training regime. They had run out of money and food, and their youngest picked the pocket of a businessman who happened to pass them. Zane was originally against it, but they all talked him out of reporting them to the police. After all, it was only a one time thing, right?

It was a one time thing. Until they found someone in an alley beating up another. Zane stepped in, defending the woman on the ground and letting her run free. He accidentally hit the offending man too hard and knocked him out. They decided to take some of his money while he was down. After all, he wasn't using it, and they still had to travel a while. Little did they know, this was the start of a new life.

[justenjoythegossip]

WHAT ABOUT NOW ? DO YOU SEE HOW COMPLICIT CHRIS IS?

Very quick recap of recent events: Some very staged pics of Chris & Abba in Lisbon surfaced yesterday at approximately the same time, hours after some good old classic teasing and trolling. The previous weeks, we had a few interesting events that all seemed to point to a possible (but unlikely) separation: a sight of Chris’ doppelganger with no ring, Abba on a ski trip with her friends without her ring, Chris posting Dodger in MA for Valentine’s, Chris posting pictures of himself in LA without his wife, the very questionable Medium article about their alleged split… 

Chris’ participation in the latest silly stunt & the point of recent events..

I know a big chunk of his fandom has given Chris the benefit of the doubt since the start of this shitshow. Chris liked to joke that he is quite the “meatball” but as RDJ his frequent costar has said, he is very “shrewd”. And I believe it’s now pretty obvious Chris knows exactly what he is doing and he is more than complicit in those PR games. 

Chris came back to Instagram just in time for the Back Friday, with a very different grid and a much more professional account. When he posted that story of his beloved dog Dodger running in the snow on Valentine’s eve, it was the FIRST time he had posted a private moment since his return to Insta. The first time and it wasn’t random. He then posted 2 pics of him with the Russo brothers that were taken a month prior to their being published. A month before and it wasn’t random! 

The optics were pretty obvious, he was showing himself to be alone. He was selling a narrative. Alone on Valentine’s day. Alone at a party in a city where his wife says she lives. Oh and by the way, his kinda wife did pretty much the same thing at the same time, showing herself on a ski trip without her ring. It was a concerted effort as both sides worked IN UNISON to paint the picture of a possible separation as a misdirect. 

And to that, let’s add the super sketchy Medium article that discussed their alleged split. I wrote a post about it if people want to check it out… https://www.tumblr.com/justenjoythegossip/742890431073992704/will-albas-immaturity-racism-and-alleged?source=share

The role of that questionable Medium article in that latest stunt…

I strongly suspected his team was behind that article. But now even more so and for several reasons. First of all, that article supported the exact same narrative that Chris & Abba were selling at the exact same time. I have difficulties believing in a coincidence. Obvious plants in the fandom made such a big fuss about this article while being very adamant about not having written it. Both DM & ENTY (overkill much?) pinned this article on “crazy fans that took it too far”. Last but not least, the article was posted online 3 days before team PR blogs mentioned it. So his team knew about it. And I strongly suspect that they would have had taken that article down if they had wanted to. But they didn’t. 

What was the goal then? Well I don’t need to tell you that given how staged those Lisbon pics are, they were planned for some time & curated (oh yes, Abba’s movie is coming out soon but surely another coincidence). Chris, Abba and their teams knew it was coming, so by breadcrumbing and hinting at a separation, what they did was to ADD SHOCK VALUE to their latest stunt. To get people more excited. To have their emotions run as high as possible. 

Because let’s be honest, what they just did is basically “same old, same old”. So that narrative of a separation helped achieve maximum impact with minimum effort.

Team PR’s role in this latest stunt and the lies they are currently selling…

By drawing so much attention to that sketchy article, Team PR blogs tried to give Chris & Abba’s separation as much hype as they could. Kudos to them for still lying with a straight face. But I guess it’s easier to do that when you are sitting behind a keyboard. https://www.tumblr.com/justenjoythegossip/737798414679605248/pr-spin-credibility-of-team-prteam-real-and-the?source=share

So now after the pics of Chris & Abba in Lisbon, they are selling more lies, but the 2 key ones being that:

The pics are either old and or fake because they are photoshopped and they don’t mean anything

Abba is the one that photoshopped the pic with Chris’ side unaware of it. 

There is a lot to unpack here and to debunk so I am sorry I’ll try to be as succinct as I can. Let’s state the obvious, Chris is the powerful Hollywood star while Abba is a no-name actress from a small country. She is not in charge of anything, his team is likely in command while she is kept on a short leash. She isn’t even allowed to speak in public (remember the GQ event). So to claim that Abba is pulling the strings is absolutely ludicrous. Having said that, neither Chris or Abba is running this shitshow. CAA is most likely in charge. 

Also even if you believe that the pics in Lisbon are fake (more on that later), it doesn’t make one bit of a difference but it does mean something (more on that later as well). There is absolutely no way that either Abba’s side or Chris’ side would leak anything, especially pictures without the other side knowing about it and approving it. If either one of them made the mistake of being seen somewhere when they are supposed to be someplace else, the house of cards would fall down. These people do know how to disappear when they want to or to be seen when they want to. So again, regardless of what you believe of those sights in Lisbon (real or not), Chris was complicit. Without a question. But Team PR blogs always try to soften the blow by presenting Chris as a poor innocent victim to make him look more sympathetic and they present Abba as this arch-villain trolling Chris’ fandom. Their constant lying serves one main purpose: to distract from the actual truth. So let’s spell the truth out. Chris and Abba’s shitshow isn’t over. They lied. Once again. Chris is more than a willing participant in those despicable PR games and Abba is not in charge.

The necessary discussion about Photoshop and the reasons for its blatant use…

I definitely dreaded talking about Photoshop because this subject tends to trigger people, and also because Majorscammer has turned that topic into a complete joke. Since I’m not a tech person, I will discuss it strictly from a PR/marketing standpoint.

Digital retouching is used all the time to try to make a product more appealing to the public so that they buy it. It’s no different in PR. Sometimes, an actress might want a slimmer waistline, an actor who is super self-conscious about his age next to his teenager looking wife might want some wrinkles erased or a fuller set of hair. Photoshop does not equate fake. Sometimes they are just slight (or big) alterations but it’s still very real. 

One friend who is a tech guy did tell me that sometimes when you use AI to alter a picture, you get “weird” mistakes in the pic. So again, the weird digital retouching in a pic might be totally organic. But obviously most of the time, it isn’t organic. And indeed, a pic can be badly altered on purpose because it serves a clear purpose. And agencies do use badly photoshopped pictures as an efficient tool in a PR strategy all the time for the simple reason that it’s meant to get people to talk. It is supposed to drive traffic and feed the discourse.

So again, I won’t discuss whether one pic in Lisbon might be old while the other might be legit or not but seems to have many issues. Why? Because it’s pointless as there is no way to know the truth and more importantly it serves as a distraction. The point is, the truth is right in front of our eyes. They are still selling the narrative that they are a married couple and they use cheap tricks to keep the fandom engaged. 

Chris’ love/hate relationship with his fans and the evil/corrupt tactics in the PR strategy

Chris has very often said that he has the best fans and that he loves them. But I would argue that his relationship to his fandom is far more ambiguous that he would care to admit. We have witnessed a few hints that would suggest that Chris doesn’t value his fandom as much as he should. Scott made certain remarks where he definitely threw his fans under the bus. Even recently on a podcast this past summer. There was also an interaction on Twitter between Chris and Yvette Nicole Brown where Chris thanked her. It was right after Chris & Abba’s first papwalk. And Yvette made some very negative comments about Chris’ fans that were totally over-the-top and unhinged. 

But more importantly, I would argue that actions speak a lot louder than words. And what has Chris signed on? A PR strategy that involves teasing his fans, trolling them, toying with them, manipulating them, gaslighting them and more disgustingly villainizing them. He can claim that “the industry makes you do things you don’t want to do” all he wants but it’s a rationalization. The truth is many of his peers haven’t resorted to such despicable tactics.

Many people have claimed that he has looked ashamed as hell when he was next to her. People have speculated that it was likely because she is a fat shaming, racist, antisemitic, arrogant Nazi sympathizing yacht girl but I don’t think so. I think he has looked embarrassed because of the optics of their relationship, because he looks so much older next to her. This is probably why they were wearing masks for their first papwalk, why all the content that comes out is so heavily curated, why he didn’t want to walk the red carpet with her for the Ghosted premiere etc. Why do I say that he is not ashamed of her Nazism? Well, for the simple reason that he and his team chose her and they very likely knew who she was from the very start. Abba was in a (PR? Real?) relationship with Lucas Bravo before she was linked to Chris. And Lucas and Chris share the same publicist: Meghan. It’s not very believable that she didn’t know who Abba was when they signed on this PR. So if Chris feels any shame other than his age, hopefully it comes from the fact that he knows that this PR strategy that demonizes his fans is despicable. And it is morally and ethically corrupt. 

Laura Benanti’s hilarious sketch as she impersonates Melania Trump for the Colbert show

To end on a much lighter note, I would like to recommend this amazing comedy bit performed by Tony Award winning actress and comic genius Laura Benanti. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8crpSnfl6Hs (start video at 1’54”)

It’s both hilarious and so on point but also very informative on the strategies used in PR tactics. I won’t spoil the ending of the sketch but I think you’ll understand right away why I chose this to illustrate this post. 

[the-chosen-fanfiction]

Gentile. | Chapter XL

Quintus confronts you about the notes on Jesus from Nazareth found in your room. You run into the same woman on the streets again. You find something meaningful to do with your love for writing.

Chapter list

The news of Jesus’ followers being back in town spreads like wildfire amongst the soldiers, allowing you to remain somewhat in the loop in spite of spending your days in either your personal study or Quintus’ office. Jesus is conspicuous by His absence and hasn’t been seen in a while, even by His students. It seems that nobody knows where He is and when He will return from His journey, causing the people of both Capernaum and the rapidly expanding tent city to grow restless and impatient.

You find yourself taking half-hourly trips to the lavatory at this point in your pregnancy. With the broken cistern you attempt to keep your visits to a minimum in order to not strain the servants too much, but your unborn child does not seem to comprehend your moral considerations but knows perfectly where to aim their kicks in order for you to rush out of the office again. Despite his usual sour mood, Quintus seems to find the whole ordeal quite humorous, huffing in amusement whenever you hurry away. Yet another way he appears to be enjoying the way you suffer, you bitterly think.

A few days pass, nearly a week, and you have almost forgotten about your encounter with Cecilia during the party. It isn’t until one morning that you enter your husband’s office and find him with a particularly hard line in his brow, but before you can ask him what is on his mind, Gaius enters the workroom with heavy steps.

“You wanted to see me, Dominus?” The Praetor has apparently called in the Primi for an audience before your arrival so you find your usual spot in the corner of the room, sinking into the plush upholstery of the chaise longue that has started to take the shape of your body at this point, the imprint on the sofa barely visible to the naked eye until one takes a seat and finds its shape slightly altered. 

Quintus’ gaze snaps up to meet he man in question with a glare that indicates thorough displeasure. 

As Gaius turns and leaves the room, Quintus has a thoughtful frown on his otherwise sharp features. “I thought you took on the task of repairing the cistern, no?”

“Yes, Dominus, we are still waiting for the materials to arrive from Jeru—” 

“Well, wait faster.” Quintus gestures towards you, “I’ve got a pregnant wife, remember? She needs the cistern more than anyone.” That isn’t necessarily true but your bite your tongue.

Gaius’ jaw tightens. “I understand, Dominus. I will inquire about its status as soon as I can.”

With a sharp wave of his hand, Quintus sends him on his way dismissively. 

A brief silence lingers between you and your husband as he grits his teeth. Something is on his mind and you wait for him to speak it out loud. Tension grows — crackles — as he points at the chair in front of his desk.

“Sit.” 

You frown, sitting in your chaise longue already. As you open your mouth to mention this, your husband repeats, firmer this time, “I said sit. There.” 

He narrows his gaze when you stand and walk towards the seat he is gesturing at. You fold your hands in your lap under your belly as you sink into the less comfortable wood, trying to make yourself appear as small as you can. 

“I do so much for you. You know that, right? I make sure you’ve got a roof over your head, the best food on your table, the prettiest dresses imported for you…” He doesn’t look at you as he traces the edge of his desk with his finger. There is a dangerous glower on his features, “I did your family a huge favour by accepting your father’s offer. For what it’s worth, I could have refused and found myself a different wife instead, but here we are.” 

You tilt your head, not liking where this is going, even though the conversation — monologue this far, really — hasn’t really taken a definite turn yet. 

“Every woman in this entire Empire would kill to take your place.” Quintus lets out a humourless chuckle. “I’m being serious here, (Y/n). They’d stab you in the back if they saw an opportunity!” 

You try and swallow the words, you really do, but they escape you no matter how hard you try to fight them. “Women… Like Cecilia?” 

Quintus sharply stands, the legs of his chair scraping loudly against the tile floor of his office, which makes you shrink and pull up your shoulders as if it would block out the penetrating sound. “I found out something about you, (Y/n). Something… That could get you killed.” 

Your heart rears inside your chest as you look up at him, eyes widening. 

“Tell me where I went wrong!” he exclaims, glaring at you across his desk, “Tell me how it happened, that my wife, who lacks absolutely nothing in her lavish, lazy little life, where everything is being done for her, tell me where she gets the gall to find religious texts from the Jews, brings them home and then meditates on them!” 

All air leaves your lungs at the hatred that lingers in his unforgiving intonation, the way Quintus’ eyes glitter with unvoiced hatred towards everything Jesus is — “That my own wife, my insolent, puerile and spoiled little wife, feels the need to commit such blasphemous acts regarding a Preacher Whom her husband has been trying to banish from the streets he is supposed to keep safe!” 

He paces around the desk and traps you between his body and the chair you’re sitting on before you can even rise to your feet. His breath stinks as he leans closer to you, eyes wide-blown with adrenaline and unbridled rage. “How will I even explain to Caesar that my wife has left me for some— Some infatuation with a Jew of all people!” 

“It’s not an infatuation!” you defend yourself, “Jesus’ words and teachings are everything I’ve ever needed in my life! This empty, hollow and meaningless life where I am locked inside a gilded cage—” 

“A gilded cage?” Quintus guffaws, “It is obvious that you know next to absolutely nothing about life itself, (Y/n), but to accuse me of keeping you prisoner is a very bold and dangerous claim.” 

“It is not up to you how I feel about my life! You can’t dictate what — or Whom — I do or do not believe in!” 

Quintus steps away, turning his back to you sharply as he paces towards the window. It gives you a moment to breathe before he sharply turns to you again, pointing a finger at you. “I warned you about that Man, and yet you went to see Him?!” 

Before he can trap you against your chair once more, you stand on wobbly knees, the baby taking the worst moment to turn inside your belly, a wave of nausea causing you to gasp and support yourself against the table. 

“You never warned me about Him. You said that His popularity would blow over! It was Atticus who warned you about Him instead!” 

“Oh,” Quintus’ brows rise, “I thought you always listened to what Atticus said. It seems like his judgement is way more important to you than mine!” 

You narrow your eyes at your husband. “Well, obviously I didn’t follow Atticus’ advice!” The words exchanged between the Praetor and the investigator concerning Jesus had been way different from what you had discussed with Atticus, but Quintus didn’t need to know that. “I am my own person, and so I can decide what I find important in my life!” 

“Unless it brings you, or worse, my reputation in danger!” 

“So you give the key to my study to some woman for her to snoop around through my belongings?!” 

Quintus brow lowers. “I was right to distrust you,” he hisses, “The means of my investigation are none of your concern.” 

“They are of my concern, since you’ve invaded my privacy!” 

He snorts. “A husband and a wife shouldn’t keep secrets from one another, darling. Don’t force me to dig through your room again to find out what other things you are hiding from me.” 

Panic suddenly claws at your throat as he glares at you, stepping closer until his face is right in front of yours. “Don’t think that just because you’re pregnant, you can say everything to me that comes to mind. This time, I will let it slide, because it might be your hormones telling you that whatever this Jesus of Nazareth is preaching is what you want to hear, but… If I find out you are listening to His sermons again, or have spoken to Him or any of His followers, or…” 

He pauses, your heart stuttering inside your chest as fear increases the pressure in your abdomen tenfold. “Or if I find out anything else that I don’t like one bit… You can make sure I’ll lock you up in that precious little study of yours and not let you out of my control again. Do I make myself clear?” 

You let out a shaky exhale. No mention of the rumours regarding Atticus, at least. 

“Plenty,” you whisper coldly. “Can I go? I need to use the bathroom—”

“Fine. I can’t stand the sight of your face right now, anyways.” 

That makes two of us, you want to say, but decide it would be best to let the words die somewhere between your throat and lungs, where countless other statements directed towards him had been caught overtime, known by you and God alone. 

Without saying any other word, nor in greeting, you hurry out of the office as fast as your aching ankles can take you. You make it to the lavatory just in time, red hot embarrassment colouring your cheeks as you sit to relieve yourself, remaining there until you’ve calmed down your racing heart. 

Of course it would have come to light sooner or later, you think to yourself as you clean yourself up. Heading back to your study would be too stifling to you right now, causing you to take another road instead — the one leading to the local library, where you will hopefully find some comfort in written texts.

The librarian gives you a once-over when you enter sans escort. It has been awhile since you were here and your stomach is obviously way larger than when she last saw you. You can barely recall the last time you were here, but a fond memory of standing trapped between the shelves and Atticus’ body comes to mind, flushing your cheeks into a shade of pink. 

Your fingers slide admiringly over the spines of the books. You inhale deeply, the scent of parchment, ink, leather and wax filling your nostrils like a soothing balm for the soul. Looking over your shoulder, you check to see if anyone has their curious gaze on you. When you find the librarian busy with something else than paying attention to you, you slip into the section with religious texts.

The selection of Jewish literature you find is greater than back in Rome, and you slide something with ‘Rabbinic midrash on the Lamentations’ written on it out of the pile before opening it up, letting your eyes scan over it. Five meditations on five chapters, one longer than the other, and you immediately notice the implication of these laments. A plea to God, a cry for help whilst also maintaining Jeremiah’s guilt towards Him, sketching a vivid image of a broken world. The Rabbi wrote down his meditations on how the texts highlights the importance to focus on God, or ‘Adonai’, no matter how dark things might get in life, and a clear yearning for redemption lingers through his commentary.

The Lamentations themselves seem to be dark and desperate, but you find hope and renewal when trust is put in the Lord. Something tightens inside your chest and creeps up towards your mind, where it brews for but a moment until it forms an idea. Or rather a strong urge, you realise upon closing the written work in your hands. 

The librarian at the counter gives you a strange look when you walk up to her. “Could I please have a journal, some ink and a pen?” She looks you up and down and opens her mouth to speak, when you already take your purse from your pocket and slide a few denarii her way, more than the items you requested would ever cost you. “Keep the change.” You have noticed how easily you give away money that isn’t really yours. One of the few ways you can hurt Quintus is by spending his income like water, but you’re not materialistic enough to keep up with draining his funds.

You sit down at the table, happy to be off your feet for a bit since your ankles have been killing you for a while now, and flip open the crisp, leather-bound book in front of you. For a moment, your teeth sink down in the back of the reed pen as you think what to write first. 

Overcome by a sudden burst of inspiration, you put the nib into the ink before setting it against the fresh parchment, starting to scribble over it without really thinking about it.

“Entangled in the cold of darkness my soul drifted into nothing but despair. Warmth enveloped me when Your hand found me and tore me away from the claws of desperation. My whispers reached Your ear although I did not name You, but You knew mine and breathed it in the darkness, where I said Yours, a foreign language, yet familiar to my very soul.” 

You lift your pen to refill the ink, and whisper to yourself as a small smile spreads over your lips. “Adonai…” you murmur before continuing to write again.

“Your ways are a mystery, unknown to my sorrowful heart. Yet it seeks Your path like the desert chases the drops of dew landing on her surface, like the rain descends from the heavens to the Earth with invisible strength, finding its way. In the blackness of night, Your light burns brighter than my wounds, it is here where You will make me whole.”

For a moment, you sit up straight and sigh as the baby kicks your bladder. “Not now, little one,” you mutter to yourself more than to your unborn child, for the last thing you want right now is to have to rush to the bathroom once again, and you force yourself to go back to your work.

“And at the same time, I feel like I’ve known You forever, just like how You have known my soul forever. My Lord and my God; if I may call You that, for I do not comprehend all that my heart is saying. All I know is that You are all I’ve been yearning for, the One Who heard my call in my darkest hour.” 

A second Psalm — song — poem, whatever you’ll end up calling these. You had filled journal after journal about your experiences with Quintus, the desperation and lack of relief you have come across under his control. There have been poems about those you love, about your nieces, your brother, about Atticus. But now… These are for the God you have just met, and yet believe.

Jesus’ words are unfamiliar, yet you know them to be true. Wax poetic has meant little to you in your time of need, and you have always wondered if there was something wrong with you for not feeling connected to the Roman deities. 

“You are the One true God, and Jesus Christ is Your Son.” 

The moment the words are jotted on the page in your very own handwriting, you drop the pen from your fingers with a sudden gasp. The sentence stands there, black on white, indelible, an indisputable proclamation of faith that has left your wrist before fully realising that the words were being formed by your hand. 

It feels as what you are writing down are not your own words, but sent through your system by a higher power, as if revealed to you by divine intervention. You don’t even know what the name ‘Christ’ means, yet it has appeared right there, written in your hand, in clear Latin.

The ink does not bleed through the paper. You slam the journal shut and put the cork back on the inkwell, only bringing the book along as you rush out of the library. Your own decree of faith seems to have shaken you, as if it is just settling in. 

Quintus had been right to be suspicious about your interest in Jesus of Nazareth. He could have you killed for this. Your feet carry you back to the villa as fast as you can, where you are eager to lock yourself up in your room to let your mind run amok with everything that is going on inside your very heart and soul at this very moment—

—You nearly collide with someone face-first, and you profusely start apologising. 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t look where I was going.” 

“Neither was I,” a woman breathes, stepping back as she looks you up and down. There is something familiar to her. “I’m sorry, too.” 

Something solemn falls over her features as her eyes lock onto your stomach, and you put a hand over it as you realise that she had made that gesture towards her own belly, too, when you last ran into her. The very same Jewish woman you had almost bumped noses with only a few weeks ago. Your gaze travels down and find no evident swelling of her abdomen. Your heart sinks at the realisation. 

“You’ve lost your baby,” you whisper with so much emotion that the woman seems both touched and taken aback at your words, and a frown falls over her brow. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” Then, it twists into something sadder. She doesn’t need to ask, just as you do not need to know more. You reach out, taking her hand in yours, and she squeezes.

A second chance encounter, two complete strangers who knew nothing of each other besides that they are supposed to be one another’s enemy. Yet connected intimately through motherhood — or lack thereof, and the pain that losing it brings forth. 

A tear rolls down your cheek when you see the heartbreak on her face. “Aside from my mother, nobody knows.” She whispers, her face turning red as her brown eyes swim with tears. “You are a complete stranger, a Roman at that, and yet you read it from my face.”

You swallow hard lest you start crying harder at sensing what this woman must be going through.

“I feel like I know you from somewhere,” the woman says, “Are you from around here?” 

“I live in the Roman quarter,” you state the obvious. “I… I visit the market on a regular basis.” 

She nods, sniffling. “Well, maybe we have ran into one another there at some point.” 

You can’t help a small smile from forming. “It seems that we’ve got a knack for that, of literally colliding with one another.” 

The Jewish woman lets out a small, light-hearted giggle. You can tell it’s been a while since she genuinely laughed. 

“Perhaps we will meet again, then.” 

“Yes, who knows? Once again, I’m so sorry for your loss.” 

She gives you a small bow of her head, her face falling into solemnity again, until she walks past you and disappears around the corner just the way you nearly had slammed into her. For a moment, you consider calling after her to ask for her name, but a sharp kick in the bladder prevents you from doing that.

With a heavy sigh, you once again make your way over to the restroom, suddenly on the brink of peeing yourself.  

Once you are home again, you head for your study to lock yourself up, bitterly considering getting the locks changed without Quintus knowledge, and take a seat at your desk before grabbing your brand new journal again. With your own pens, ink, and personal environment, you hope your inspiration to flow more freely, although you find that your first poems - Psalms, hymns, whatever they may become — have turned out quite nicely. 

You draw the Roman numeral III on the left of the page, thinking for a moment. Your first two poems had been about redemption from the dark pit you had been in. Perhaps the next one could be about…

…You press an ink-filled pen against the surface of your journal and start scribbling without a second thought. 

“Proud and cold stand the marble statues of Vesta, Jupiter, Minerva, as unyielding as their unforgiving hearts, to worship, pray more, shout harder, wail louder. Requiring sacrifice for an ear unhearing, draining my soul, from which I pour until there is nothing left. Then, I whisper a prayer in the breeze, a simple word is all it takes, for You, my God, to hear and listen, and answer not in a storm, or a fire, but in a breath that fulfils everything.” 

Finding your flow, you start on another one. For a second, you look out the window in thought, listening to the sounds of Capernaum drifting through your window. 

“In untainted light I stand exposed and seen at last, with every nerve and wrongdoing bare and open, vulnerable, deserving nothing more but my shame. But there You are, and You see, and You smile.” 

A heavy familiar tread that you know like none else draws your attention from your writing, and you quickly shut the journal without leaving it open to dry, shoving it into your drawer before grabbing a random book from the shelf, settling on your sofa in an attempt to appear busy. 

Just as you sink down in the pillows, Quintus opens the door without knocking, ready to catch you in the act of anything, really, until his eye falls onto your reading form, causing his shoulders to relax and his accusing finger drop back to his side. “Oh, you’re just reading. Dinner is almost ready.” 

“I’m not hungry,” you state, which isn’t a lie. He narrows his gaze at you and sighs.

“Suit yourself,” says he, and heads back downstairs. 

Only when his footsteps are audible from the kitchen, you dare to exhale again. Snapping your book shut, you bite your lip in thought, momentarily looking at the closed drawer, which isn’t that good of a hiding spot, as last week had proven. You might have to find a different location for your secret papers, you conclude.

With an aching back, you stand up and stretch, deciding it is best to get something to eat regardless of your lack of desire for food. 

-

Chapter list Next chapter (TBA)

[shinycozytwistedglam]

Onyx Storm RECAP ch22-24

Okay kids, welcome to The Isles!

Deverelli - An isle of merchants known for beautiful fabrics. Remember Cat showing up at Violet & Xaden's bedroom wearing a see-thru Deverelli silk nightdress? These people despise thieves and are extremely serious about holding up bargains. (Like fucking Fae) The language of the isle is Krovlish, which Dain learned from Asher Sorrengail.

Deverelli is the only populated area in this book not named for a deity. They don't do religion, they're science/business people.

WTF is happening in ch22-23?

The riders arrive in Deverelli. Violet notices that the natural colors here are beautiful, but somewhat muted. I look forward to the next 2 years as we theorize about why the colors in the Isles aren't quite right. (Lack of magic?) The isle is armed with cross bolts to defend against dragons, but the riders land safely at Tecarus's estate.

On the beach, Violet learns none of the other riders can talk to their dragons. Mira has a bunch of runes with her to try out in the Land of No Magic. (I guess Mira is the Rune Girl now?) Xaden seems extremely happy to be away from the lure of magic.

The Quest Squad ride horses into the city to find the bookseller Asher sent Violet to meet. Xaden seems so relaxed that the others remark on it. He's making normal conversation and Dain is like, "Who the fuck are you?" (There are probably rEaSoNs for this behavior change involving venin & lack of magic and that's fine.) Violet is carrying her mysterious pack with her, and she admires a bolt of shimmering black silk as they dismount in the city.

People in the city aren't happy to see riders and shout the insult "fire-bringers!" at them. Despite this, Violet & Xaden are extremely horny & eye-fucking each other as much as possible.

The trip to the bookstore nearly turns into a fight but the riders keep the stabbing to a minimum and an old lady appears (Narelle Anselm). She knows who Violet is and says she must be here to collect the books (plural!) that Asher wrote for her.

WTF is happening in ch24?

Narelle bosses everyone around and comments on what fine-looking men the Continent has.

New vocabulary word has entered the chat: Amaralis. (It means people from the Continent, which is named for Amari, the mother of the gods.)

Narelle comments on the visible alchemy created by Violet + Xaden, which is very romantic, until she calls him Dain Aetos based on what Asher Sorrengail told her years ago. (Oh shit)

Xaden is no longer chill and relaxed, bless him. Posessive Venin Mode returns!

Narelle is every wise NPC from any video game ever, and requires Violet to answer 3 questions before she'll turn over the books. Her third question is "Why did you leave the prince?" and everyone assembled gets to learn about Violet interrupting Halden while he fucked a professor. Awkward! Mira takes the books, but Narelle makes a point of saying they weren't for her, she has a different path set by their mother.

Chapter ends with Violet taking a bath because sex is gonna be possible on the isle of no magic!

Interlude: what the fuck was the Second Krovlan Uprising and why do I give a shit?

The short answer is that you don't need to understand this, you just need to know that Violet is smart enough to piece it together. The important takeaway from the story is that one of the isles tried to acquire dragons nearly 200 years ago.

The long answer is that Krovla is a province of Poromiel that borders Tyrrendor. A group there decided they wanted to break away from Poromiel (because they were subjugated?). They worked with Deverelli to acquire weapons & extra soldiers from another (unnamed) isle to aid their rebellion against the Poromiel throne. Violet figures out that the Krovla rebels promised dragons (!!) to the mystery isle in exchange for their aid. When the rebels failed to provide the dragons, the isles withdrew their support and the rebels were slaughtered.

The interesting thing is that Asher doesn't tell Violet about an isle trying to acquire dragons. He writes a book about a rebellion in Krovla instead, with a few oblique references to Deverelli. And he makes her learn about a border incursion from Krovla near Athebyne around the same time.

RY also included a Taylor Swift Easter Egg in the second Krovlan uprising, if you're interested.

[thethief1996]

Even if Israel concedes to a ceasefire, construction materials are still considered dual usage items and barred from Gaza under the blockade. A ceasefire doesn't change the fact there's a 40 mile long wall fencing Gaza by land and sea which Israel has extensively used to starve and corner Palestinians. A ceasefire doesn't change the fact that Israel has turned hospitals into the sites of mass graves. A ceasefire is the bare minimum. Even while we discuss ceasefire, Israel destroys and bombs kettled Palestinians in Rafah, the only route for Gaza not controlled by the occupation.

Will the assassins simply go home? Will preachers sell pilgrimage trips in their churches and the murderers will walk us through occupied Jerusalem while they subdue Palestinians and Armenians out of sight? Is that what peace looks like? A world in which an army has the power to kill so many parents and children and siblings at whim with no repercussion?

I keep thinking of Rachel Corrie's letter to her mother, in which she argues so wholeheartedly in defense of the resistance: "This is not at all what I asked for when I came into this world. This is not at all what the people here asked for when they came into this world. This is not the world you and Dad wanted me to come into when you decided to have me. This is not what I meant when I looked at Capital Lake and said: “This is the wide world and I’m coming to it.” I did not mean that I was coming into a world where I could live a comfortable life and possibly, with no effort at all, exist in complete unawareness of my participation in genocide." I beg you to read it in full.

Rebuilding Gaza is not fully possible under Israel. The return of refugees is not possible under Israel. Justice for the martyrs and the survivors can't happen under Israel, because acknowledging the size of the violence commited is to admit Israel should not exist. How come Israel can execute hundreds of public workers and our newspapers hazily dismiss it because they were Hamas workers? Can you imagine if hundreds of government workers were slaughtered in your city and the local news dismissed the tragedy because they worked for the government which has ties to... the ruling party? This attempt to cloud our judgements and to cause apathy is transparent. The New York Times had a memo decrying any words that might cause sympathy to Palestine. Their goal is to desensitize us.

We have to do everything in our power to stop normalization. Deny as loudly as you can this insidious narrative that others Palestinians. We can't call ourselves free if we can't make changes. The occupation is a gaping wound in our world and we can't live in ignorance.

Donate to a vetted fundraiser to help families escape Rafah. Ask your friends to match your donations. Help save these lives.

If you have Israeli citizenship and wish to denounce it, a group of Jewish anti zionists have organized a guide on how to.

Keep yourself updated and share Palestinian voices. Muna El-Kurd said every tweet is like a treasure to them, because their voices are repressed on social media and even on this very app. Make it your action item to share something about the Palestinian plight everyday. Here are some resources:

Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency, Mondoweiss

Boycott Divest Sanction Movement

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing protests and direct action against weapons factories across the US

Muhammad Shehada (twitter)

Hind Khoudary - reporting directly from Gaza.

You can participate in boycotts wherever you are in the world, through BDS guidelines. Don't be overwhelmed by gigantic boycott lists. BDS explicitly targets only a few brands which have bigger impact. You can stop consuming from as many brands as you want, though, and by all means feel free to give a 1 star review to McDonalds, Papa John, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks. Right now, they are focusing on boycotting the following:

Carrefour, HP, Puma, Sabra, Sodastream, Ahava cosmetics, Israeli fruits and vegetables

Push for a cultural boycott - pressure your favorite artist to speak out on Palestine and cancel any upcoming performances on occupied territory (Lorde cancelled her gig in Israel because of this. It works.)

If you can, participate in direct action or donate.

Palestine Action works to shut down Israeli weapons factories in the UK and USA, and have successfully shut down one of their firms in London.Some of the activists are going on trial and are calling for mobilizing on court.

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing direct actions to stop the shipping of wars to Israel. Follow them.

Find your local BDS chapter on this website and check out the ways to help them.

Columbia students are organizing in coalition with Jewish Voices for Peace to divest from Israel. Support them if you are on site.

Educate yourself. Read into Palestinian history and the occupation. You can't common sense people out of decades of propaganda. If your arguments crumble when a zionist brings up the "disengagement of Gaza", you have to learn more.

Read Decolonize Palestine. They have 15 minute reads that concisely explain the occupation (and its colonial roots) and debunk popular myths, including pinkwashing.

Read on Palestine. Here's an amazing masterpost.

Verso Book Club is giving out free books on Palestine

Call your representatives.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls, here's a document that autosends emails to your representatives and here's a toolkit by Ceasefire in Gaza NOW!

FOR PEOPLE IN EUROPE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace targeting the European Parliament and one specific for almost all countries in Europe, including Germany, Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Finland, Austria, Belgium Romania and Ukraine

FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails. London Students for Palestine is also organizing encampments across Britain.

FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA: Here's a toolkit by Stand With Palestine

FOR PEOPLE IN CANADA: Here's a toolkit by Indepent Jewish Voices for Canada. You can also email Ottawa Municipality asking for an amendment to the noise bylaw that's been used to target pro-Palestine protests.

Join a protest. Here's a constantly updating list of protests:

Global calendar

Palestinian Youth Movement's Canada chapter is organizing buses for the Nakba Rally on May 11th in Toronto, which you can sign up to here.

Another global calendar (go to the instragram of the organizers to confirm your protest)

USA calendar

Australia calendar

Feel free to add more.

[racercedricsblog]

Want to Know Here How to Rent a Luxury Car in Dubai?

When it comes to luxury and riding high, Dubai is one of the ultimate places — and definitely one of the best spots to put the pedal to the metal in a luxurious car. If you are short on time or simply want the nice car, you can always rent a luxury car which can spark excitement and sophistication to your stay, be it for a special event, business trip or just have that fun ride during your stay. Car rent in Dubai does not have to be stressful. Here’s a guide on how to do it.

Select The Best Rental Company

The first and most important is, selecting right car rental agency. Always look for the companies that have made a special name in the luxury cars since they have numerous high end models. These agencies, in fact, allow you to browse through their selection on line, so that you can easily compare cars, prices and availability.

Consider the Available Models

You can't expect to simply rent a car. So, when you rent a luxury car, you should know what models are available for renting. There is a wide variety of styles of sports car, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, or more elegant sedans, such as Rolls Royce and Bentley, in Dubai. Choose the type of the vehicle to your liking. They’re available for all preferences, whether yours be speed, or comfort, or prestige.

Know the Rental Requirements.

There are some requirements to rent a luxury car in Dubai. These include a valid driver’s license and being above the minimum ages which are usually 25 for high end car. You’ll also need to show identification like a passport and a credit card for the deposit. If you’re a tourist then some rental agencies may ask for such documents as a return flight ticket.

Check Insurance Options

Insurance is super important when you are renting a luxury car. While most car rental companies cover only basic insurance, it wouldn’t hurt to double check what comes with your package. Also, buy the extra insurance for full coverage when renting an expensive vehicle. It will give some peace of mind when damages or accidents happen.

Plan Your Rental Duration

You’ll also want to decide how long you’d like to rent the car, as the price is dependent on rental duration. Luxury car rentals can be per hour, by the day and in some cases, by the week. If you’re going to drive a lot, renting by the hour might not make sense; instead, you may be better off renting for several days and paying one rate. There are some companies that give discounts when you rent for long time, so go and ask them if there is any deal going on.

Please Review the Terms and Conditions.

Read through terms & conditions carefully before you finalize your rental. And check mileage limitations, fuel guidelines and also any further fee that might relate. There are some luxury car rentals that have a mileage cap, and if you exceed that mileage you could be stuck with extra charges. Also, be sure to understand the fuel requirements as some customers will tell you they will only take premium fuel.

Book in Advance

Despite peak tourist seasons and big events, there’s a need for luxury cars in Dubai. It’s a wise thought to book your rental in advance to be on the safe side. Also if you book early on your car rentals, you may have access to lower rates and a greater number of cars to choose from.

Pick Up and Enjoy the Ride

After everything is familiarized, you go to pick up your luxury car at the given place. What’s more, all rental agencies in Dubai offer airport pick up services, or drop the car on your hotel doorstep. Once you drive off, check to see if there are any pre existing damages and report them to the rental company.

Luxury car rental Dubai allows you to drive a luxurious car in that notorious city of opulence. Following these steps, you’re guaranteed to have a smooth and pleasant rental process without having to worry about anything else than the thrill of it all.

[thatblackravenclaw]

That Night On The Ferris Wheel

(Images above are from Pinterest)

Blog Details | Let’s take a trip

Dean Thomas x black!fem!reader (no y/n)

warning(s): reader hinted to have a fear of heights, cursing, reader hinted to have anxiety, smut, fingering in a public setting

word count: 1.2k

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“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Dean grips my hand as he pulls me to the Ferris Wheel.

“What if it gets stuck?”

“It’s not gonna get stuck.” He says with an eye roll.

His stride gets us to the line in half the time it would’ve taken me. My heart beat is in my ears and the world turns into a kaleidoscope. I’ve never been on a Ferris Wheel. I never wanted to. They’re high and barely safe. You’re putting all your safety in the hands of a teenager who barely knows how to work the mechanical box and are just here to earn minimum wage, if even that.

The line goes faster than I would like.

“It’s going to come off of the hinges.”

“The box will malfunction and the wheel will speed up.”

“You’re gonna be stuck at the very top for hours.”

Why are my thoughts so loud? I’m going to throw up.

“Hey.” Dean’s voice pushes through my thoughts. The world silences, but his voice.

“It’s going to be okay. I’m right here. I’ll always be right here.”

The line moves. Halfway there. His words slow my heart beat back to its normal rate. I give him an acknowledging nod while praying that the line slows down.

It doesn’t.

Soon we’re second in line and my nightmare is coming true. I could tell Dean that I’m uncomfortable with this and don’t want to go on. He would say okay and we’d go on another ride. That simple. I don’t want to though. I want to do this. I want to overcome this fear. Prove that I can do it. Not for Dean, but for myself. That’s why I don’t say anything.

The Ferris Wheel comes to a stop and the previous couple walk out of the car, bright smiles across their faces. The sight doesn’t ease me any. The only thing that eases me is the smile on Dean’s face when I look up at him. He looks down at me and I can’t help but return the smile. He squeezes my hand and we walk up the stairs to the car.

There’s not much space. Our thighs squish together as we both sit in the car. There’s a slight rocking as we get settled and my heart rate picks up again. This cannot be safe. I quickly grab his hand and squeeze it along with my eyes.

“It’s going to be okay. I’m right here. I’ll always be right here.”

I take an inhale as his words echo through my head. As I exhale, the Ferris Wheel starts to move. I don’t open my eyes, not trusting my calm demeanor to last long. I allow myself to loosen my grip on his hand and stretch mine out on my thighs.

The Ferris Wheel creaks as it rises. Children and teenagers scream and laugh as they ride the other carnivals attractions. Dean is going on about something going on with his flatmates. All I can hear is Seamus… Kitchen…, and boy toy. I love him, but his roommate is the last thing on my mind right now.

“Sweetheart,” He asks.

“Mhm?” My tone is squeaky.

The wheel comes to a sudden stop. No. No, this can’t be happening.

“Why are we stopped?” My eyes stay closed as I ask the question. It’s stuck. I bet a million pounds that it’s stuck.

I feel his upper body shift away from me. The car creaks with his movement. I accidentally open my eyes and realize just how high we are.

“Holy shit.” My voice barely above a whisper.

“Damn, I think the mechanical box stopped working.” I open my mouth to give him an ‘I told you so.” when he quickly tells me to shush.

Tears prick in the corner of my eyes. I feel myself start to hyperventilate. I avert my eyes to the sky and work on the breathing exercises that my therapist gave me.

The sky has transitioned into an astronomical twilight. The stars are dimly lit due to the city lights, but I can vaguely point out Spica shining bright next to the first quarter moon. You can just make out the Mare of Serenitatis clearly. The more I stare at it, the closer it seems to get. The change of focus only works for so long. Then, he starts speaking again and I’m reminded of the predicament we’re in. My eyes widened with realization as I looked at Dean.

“Hey, what did I say,” he asks softly.

“It’s going to be okay. I’m right here. I’ll always be right here.”

“Here, I wanna try something.” I raise a quizzical brow as he puts his hand on my thigh. His nimble fingers grazes my jean zipper before moving up to the button.  

“Right now?” A wave of nervous shakes roll through my body as I look around. You aren’t able to see the lower parts of our body due to the design of the Ferris Wheel car, but that doesn’t ease my nerves any.

“Do you trust me?” He unbuttoned my jeans and pulled down the zipper.

“Yes,” I responded without hesitation.

He grabs my leg closest to him and pulls it over his thigh. His fingers slip through my pants and trace from my clit, down across my folds, and back up again. He does the teasing motion until my clit is throbbing with need. I tried my best not to moan, but a whimper slips through every now and then. He proceeds to lay his palm on my lower abdomen while the tips of his fingers play with the band of my underwear. I shiver as his fingers touch my bare skin every so often.

“You gotta be nice and quiet for me, okay? Can you do that for me?” His voice now deepened. Arousal dripping from his tone. I lose the ability to speak any words and just nod my head. I can hear my heart in my ears, but at this moment it is only him and I.

He reaches inside of my underwear and completely bi-passes my clit. My look of confusion morphed into a calmed look with a satisfied sigh. His middle finger slips through my folds and gathers the slick on the pad of his middle finger. You can hear the squelching but not loud enough to cover the noise from the carnival. His finger then moves up my folds until it gets to my clit causing my thighs to twitch. The begging died in my throat as he circled my clit. I lean my head back but don’t let a sound slip out my lips so as not to alert other carnival-goers.

He puts a little pressure on it, just how I like it. I grab on to his arm to ground myself. He’s worked me up to a point that I feel like I’m floating. The pleasure was so far away. Now, my arousal grows and seeps through my underwear while he brings me closer to my impending orgasm.

“Dean,” I gasp out.

“Sshh. It’s okay. I know. I got you. Let go whenever you need to.”

His finger speeds up and slightly more pressure is added. My grip tightens on him. The world blurs as my eyes roll to the back of my head. I cum with a hushed curse and melt into the seat beneath me. Dean removes his fingers and lightly pats my clothed over-sensitive clit.

“Still scared?” He chuckles at my now weak figure.

“Fuck you.” I match his playful tone while attempting to zip up my jeans.

“Oh, I plan to.”

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Dean Masterlist | United Kingdom

[ferrocyan]

FFXIV Write Day 1 - Envoy

(AU: Canon divergence)

I come as the envoy of the Crystal Exarch, who wishes to exchange in martial knowledge between the Crystarium and Eulmore.

Well, of course saying something like that wouldn't work on Ran'jit. Neither the general nor Vauthry gave much mind to the Exarch's warrior, brushing her off to be assigned with Eulmore's city guards. The Exarch had told her that she should just go along with their bidding--he likely has predicted Eulmore's disinterested response--so she does. Makes a trip down the city's enormous staircase towards the guards' base at the Understory.

Lack of interest is good. Means it'll be that much easier to snoop around and gather information. Shame that she has to waste time keeping up the facade, too, but... nothing to be done for that. Keeping out of the general's eagle eyes is important, after all--

"Aha! So you've arrived, soldier of the Crystarium!" She's only cracked the office door open when the voice calls out. A young miqo'te man sits on the largest desk in the room. He pushes himself off with a huff, looking pleased with himself. "Welcome to the headquarters of the greatest military force in Norvrandt! We're glad to have you here," the man exclaims. He approaches her with a grin, and extends a hand.

She looks around the room. Empty save for the two of them. The young man is of stocky build, but has a boyish cut to his dusty blue hair. He stands about half a head shorter than her. "Is this... the Captain's office?"

"Er, yes? I just told you that." The young man's smile wavers as she sizes him up, then quickly adds, "Oh, no, I'm not the captain of the guards, if you're wondering. That would be my father. But I am his second-in-command, and thus, your partner for the rest of your time here!" He offers another handshake. "I'm the first squad leader, Lue-Reeq."

She takes it. "Ash-Tart," she tells him, because it's the mystel-like name the Exarch told her to use during her time there, "but just Tart is fine."

"Oh? Then you can call me Reeq too!" he says, excited. "Though maybe that wouldn't be necessary since I'm your superior... no, no, we're partners. It's better to be familiar," he muses to himself. Then to her, "Pleased to make your acquiantance, Tart."

She smiles at his exuberance. "Looking forward to working with you. So. What's it you guys... do?"

Reeq grimaces. "Currently? Not... much. Not that that's a bad thing, of course! Ever since Lord Vauthry rose to his rule, the sin eaters around the city has fallen under his absolute control. Eulmore has become the perfect city of peace. It's a great thing, really! His Grace does an amazing job of keeping this city peaceful."

The city of peace. That was what Vauthry said in their meeting, too, she recalls. Despite formerly being Norvrandt's greatest military force, Eulmore is now defined by its peace. Ran'jit, the relic of its martial past, said nothing to contradict his liege either.

That peace is certainly evident. Lue-Reeq explains the duties of the city guards and shows her around to their stations around the Canopy and Gatetown. They clearly don't have much to do. The officers are doing the bare minimum of their job, and most points in Gatetown are unmanned, and the majority of Eulmore's military force seems to have disappeared altogether.

Don't like it, she thinks. It feels wrong. Like when Ishgard play-acted at achieving "peace". As a part of the Vigils, peace just isn't where Tart belongs.

And it seems that the same applies to Reeq. He covers it up with excitement and praise for Vauthry, but his words ring false. He's the only one showing interest at the arrival of the Crystarium's envoy. There must be something more to this man.

Her suspicions are confirmed at the end of the day. When they return to the Understory, Reeq announces that their work is finished.

"Already? It's only one bell past noon." Good thing, though. She can start the recon early. "Then, thanks for your hard work today. See you--"

"Wait, you're really leaving first before your superior? We're not quite done yet, you know!"

Highbloods everywhere are the same, she sighs. "Sorry, Ser. What do you have in mind?"

Reeq motions her to take a seat at the side of the main desk. He goes over to the other side and settles comfortably on the seat next to the Captain's. "So, since I've fulfilled Eulmore's side of the deal for today, isn't it time for the Crystarium to do the same?" He tries to be professional, but a devilish grin can't help but sneak onto his lips. "I hear the Crystarium still does regular sorties to cull sin eaters around Lakeland, is that correct? Can I ask where you were stationed before? Have you killed eaters yourself?"

Tart nods. "Was at Ostall Imperative for a while," it's not a lie, really, "and yes. I have killed a few."

"Oh come on, no need to be modest, I want to hear all the details!" Reeq reaches into a drawer and pulls out a journal. "I have a few questions to ask, if you don't mind. But you must spare no details! This is the point of our arrangement, yes? So please, talk my ears off!"

His excitement is contagious. Tart feels herself smile as she discusses the few clashes with eaters she's had after coming to this world. Then continues with stories of her other exploits, disguised as sin eater hunts. She gets more animated as she goes on, in response to Reeq's rapt investment.

They're the same, she thinks. He doesn't belong in Eulmore's peace either. She didn't know she hungers for his interest, in her, in warfare, in her knowledge of it, until she has it. It doesn't matter if this exchange is a sham to Vauthry and the Exarch. It's real to Reeq, so being here is worth it. This is no longer a waste of time, Tart concludes.

Being the envoy who brings war back into the city of peace may be the best assignment she's had yet.

[msommers]

leave, education, kill, wish for riya, maeve and meredith!

muah i place kees on ur nose // oc asks: firsts

LEAVE: What was the first time your OC left home? Why? If they've never left home, do they want to? Where would they go?

RIYA — victor had been killed and she was ((sebastian voice) allegedly) framed for the crime and there were a few too many people eager to make an example of a mage/noble who wouldn't be let off easy this time, so her family broke her ass out of jail, handed her a bag of supplies and told her that she had to get the fuck out of the city until it was all resolved. she wouldn't have made it past city lines if she hadn't gone to beg bastian for help tbh.

MAEVE — when c- 🤢 when card- 🤢 when carden swept her off her feet, right into a carriage that would take her out of white orchard. she was excited about it at the time and later on in life would certainly prefer to never return to that place, but damn. if she doesn’t wish it had been under any other number of circumstances that helped her out of there.

MEREDITH — she has no memories of it because she was far too little, but almost certainly meredith’s first trip was to denerim when she was still a toddler because of some duty or other her father had to maintain. she was definitely one of those babies/kids that was great during travel and she got brought along to most everything because of it.

EDUCATION: What was your OC's first experience with school or education? Were they homeschooled? Apprenticed? Sent away to study? If they didn't have any kind of schooling, where did they learn about the world or pick up the skills they have now?

RIYA — answered xoxo

MAEVE — very basic lessons from her mother while she was still with her parents, learned the fundamentals of reading and writing because fanette couldn't stand the idea of her own child Not having those minimum levels but she also hated being the one to actually teach her. after her move to vizima, carden would have thrown all kinds of tutors her way so that she would be a Presentable and Proper Lady when he took her places. if there's one good thing that man ever did for her it was providing the resources to make her one of the most knowledgeable ladies around in his haste to up her intelligence score, i suppose. she also developed a very lovely handwriting style due to a particularly detail-oriented tutor. she absolutely could not stand the woman who taught her politics of the continent but no amount of complaining had her sent away smh

MEREDITH — she would have had multiple tutors and trainers i’m sure, being the daughter of the second most powerful family in the kingdom lmao. perhaps more lonely of an education than she would have liked as her brother was already in his studies and she wasn’t sent to learn with the other children in the castle, but she excelled nonetheless. i actually think she would have really liked the historian we saw in the cousland origin, old ass aldous who tutored the kids of the castle and surely taught meredith her histories aka one of her favorite subjects.

KILL: When was the first time your OC killed someone? How did they feel about it then, and do they still think about it now? If your OC has never killed before, would they? Under what circumstance?

RIYA — answered xoxo

MAEVE — we've stumbled across a rare maeve question i don't think has been considered, at least in default witcherverse. it would happen a few years into her time traveling with witchers, and likely while with one of them because that's when she's in the most danger (usually). she'd be fucked up about it no doubt. the panic to wash herself clean, the guilt over ending a life, the fear she could have torn apart a family somewhere, the stress of her own life being disrupted by a constant reliving of the entire event. you know, all that fun stuff she didn't sign up for. give it a few years and she'll probably still be sad about it, some amount of guilt will always linger because her heart is so gentle, but her own life experience and learning that of others will have helped her come to terms with it. (especially because it was likely in some sort of defense??? i don't see her just popping up on the kill feed for fun)

MEREDITH — when homegirl opened her bedroom door to find one of howe’s men standing there with a weapon drawn and she was forced into immediate combat. panic is all she felt then, and a rising anger the further she and her mother pushed into the castle during their search for bryce and an escape. she has never felt guilt for that first kill—or the dozen or so that came after it that night—because they displayed no guilt for the murders they took part in and showed no mercy in going after her next, but flash-forward some years and she feels a sorrow over it all having taken place. it wasn't fair to have such horrors forced upon a young girl who had done nothing wrong, merely had a father who perhaps needed to reevaluate his friendships more often 🤷‍♀️ sorry bryce that was uncalled for, you're already dead about it lmao

WISH: What's the first thing your OC ever wished for or wanted? Do they still want that, or have their desires changed? If so, what changed them? If not, how far would they go to fulfill their wish?

RIYA — i mean, for two decades i’m sure all her wishes were dumb as hell because she was a spoiled, sheltered girl. wishing her birthday celebration would be bigger than the last each year, wanting a new dress in the style of one she saw at a gala or smth, etc etc. her first genuine wish would have come during her time on the run, curled up next to bastian, wishing with a desperation that she'd never felt before that they could just go home.

MAEVE — any answer i think of is sad as hell. i imagine that the earliest thing she can remember wanting so terribly would be the approval of her parents because it always seemed Just out of reach. if she tried hard enough on the next task then she’d get the pride and affection she craved! surely that’s true!! it wasn’t tho, we know that. the only memory maeve has of her mother looking at her with pride was on that day carden took her away, which was a comfort for a few years while she still believed she’d finally done something good enough in their eyes. but then the “wait, she was just happy that i Sold To A Man for a fantastic price” reality hit and she’d do anything to forget that final day together.

MEREDITH — probably something cheesy like wanting to one day be like her father. the desire changed a bit over time, though not by much, spurned on by her witnessing too many moments of people being treated horribly because of how they were born. she wished to one day hold enough power and influence to make changes for good in the world, to care for others and make their lives better. historians and scholars are gonna debate for who knows how long about what schemes she enacted to take that power but like. it was right there. sitting out in the open. was she Not supposed to take it? c'mon now 🙄

[maireadralph]

Is the plan with MCM London still standing? And if so how many of us Entrapdaks are surely coming? Thinking about coming, but London isn't cheap, its somewhat of a trip from Germany and also I hardly ever traveled alone, so I need to know more details.

Amazing that you organize stuff like this btw, I love it.

Yes indeedy! I’m just waiting on MCM to open applications for Fan Meets their website but the MCM London May SPOP meet is still in the works!

Well currently there’s me, my hubby (the photographer for this meet), @kuurankaiho , @grot-bag and friend, with the possibility of @lisshstuff. Other than that it’s whoever feels like showing up on the day, everyone who is interested is welcome to attend…and if anyone is being an arse I WILL get venue security to throw them in the river.

The plan is:

Gather everyone

Take photos

Have fun

Oh yes London isn’t cheap I’ve lived here for over 10 years now 😅 …actually I did a write up on Cons a while ago which might be of help here. I’m not 100% certain on the pricing of flights from Germany but if it helps the most useful London airports for this event are:

London City Airport (very near the venue but expensive)

Heathrow (travel in via the Elizabeth Line)

Gatwick (lot of trains and connections but doable)

Luton (no never Luton, Luton is never useful)

I would not recommend this as a day trip, make this a weekend trip at a minimum - London is really draining when you’re not used to it.

I will admit that cheap/er hotels for MCM tend to sell out as soon as the dates are announced so please keep that in mind. MCM London is currently held twice a year in May and October. As it’s my local Con I keep returning!

As for more details currently I’m working out meeting points but it’s looking like the dry weather one is going to be this: found on Google Maps Street View (yes it still looks the same to this day) - there is a view to going up the Royal Victoria Dock Footbridge (party mobility access pending as the lifts are usually out of order) to get some epic photos with Canary Wharf in the background. The wet weather meeting point is still pending and will be dependent on what indoor space is available during the event.

I love organising stuff like this actually, it’s so much fun when it all come together!

I’ll also be looking towards running another SPOP Meet at MCM Birmingham (it’s currently TBD but usually November time)? This Con has the added benefit of having everything and I mean EVERYTHING in one handy dandy location and it’s currently becoming one of my favourite Cons. I’m not even joking the airport is genuinely on top of the NEC venue

[umbracirrus]

Some writing simply to try and start building up Ingja and Edwyn's story :)

Technically a prequel to The Perfect Storm, but I'm not going to post this on AO3. This is just the first chapter of it. It is titled Tenacity, and no doubt likely going to be subject to editing at some point down the line.

Arrows were carefully bundled up, bow string was sufficiently taut, and most importantly of all, her aim was as true as it could get. The bare minimum which she needed for a brief hunting trip.

She wouldn’t be venturing too far from home, but she had some rations in a satchel tied to her waist as a ‘just in case’ – something her father had put her in the habit of doing following on from the nightmarish tales he would tell of his experiences in the Great War which had ended little over a year and a half earlier. She didn’t want to dare getting stranded out in the wilderness if conditions grew too bad... And this was Winterhold they were talking about – bad conditions were practically a given.

“You’re hunting? Again? For the love of the Ni- Eight, Ingja, this is the third time this week. Your father and I are worried that you are pushing yourself too much.”

Ingja looked up from where she was preparing, and frowned at her mother. “It’s just practice, you know that! I find it easier to practice hunting out in the wilderness instead of in the village.”

Her mother, the stern woman that she was, frowned at the given response. Her thin eyebrows narrowed as her lips curled downwards. “City. The City, Ingja. You, of anyone, should know this.”

“If this is a ‘city’, then what the fuck would you call Windhelm? Whiterun? Markarth or Riften or Solitude?”

Red flared up on her mother’s face. “Language! Watch your language! You will never find a suitable husband with such a filthy tongue, and your father is fretting enough that you are spending too much time on hobbies-“ A pointed glare was given towards the bow in her hand. “-than your future responsibilities.”

“And that is an issue which he can talk to me about himself, if it is his concern,” Ingja retorted, knowing full well that it was more of an issue to her mother than her father, given that he knew the necessity for skills beyond properness and manners in the current state of the world. “Now, if you will excuse me, I would like to make a prayer to the Divines before I leave. I will be back by evening, if that will reassure you any.”

The look on her face clearly said that no, it did not.

Nonetheless, that wasn’t going to stop her.

Grumbling under her breath in an attempt to ask the Nine for protection – because screw the new rules which came into place since the signing of the Concordat the other year saying that there was only Eight, she had spent twenty years of her life praying to Nine and that wasn’t going to change – she made her way over to the door and slammed it behind her as loud as she could. Sure, it would likely earn her a telling off when she returned, but she simply wasn’t in the mood. Her mother always knew how to get on her nerves, and this was no different.

The only way in which she could really calm down was when she was surrounded by the cold and snow, making it all the better that she was going out to practice hunting. There wasn’t exactly a surplus of places in which she could do so in Winterhold, especially given that any sort of forest or woodland was scarce if not non-existent due to the conditions there, but for some reason, wolves seemed to thrive locally in the ice plains nearby. Mudcrabs too when she got close enough to the Sea of Ghosts, but her arrows never did much to their shells, so she never bothered with them unless she brought a mace with her too.

As she navigated through the city which was clearly more of a village than a city, she allowed her brow to furrow as she looked between the houses. It had been just over fifty years since the Great Collapse, and consequences were still being felt to that day. Just a few weeks earlier, a few households had to move to elsewhere – she believed Dawnstar due to it being one of the closest cities following an agreement being made with Jarl Skald – because their homes had ended up too close to the cliffs which were still crumbling. It was an absolute disaster and a tragedy that the effects were still being felt, and that those foolish mages in the College never acknowledged their part in the incident.

Once more under her breath, she addressed the Divines, giving her thanks that at least she and her family lived in one of the furthest buildings from that cliff. With luck, the collapse would have been stabilised or it would be beyond her lifetime when it reached the point that it would reach her home.

The wind around her began to pick up once she had made her way past all the buildings, a clear sign that she was now in the open beyond seeing as such. One of the corners of her lips turned up as she tightened her grasp around the grip of her bow, starting to feel much more in her element. It was a shame that the weather wasn’t the best though, the distance looking little more than a pale grey haze of snow and mist. On an ideal day, the skies would be clear and blue, the snow crisp and unmoving to allow her to follow any tracks and trails towards her prey, and there was a shipwreck not too far from the coast which would be visible if she dared to get close enough to the ledges and cliffs. However, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. If it were a blizzard, then she would be in trouble.

Her footsteps began to slow down and become much more careful and calculated once Winterhold began to get lost in the mist behind her. She didn’t want to get too far just in case conditions took a turn for the worst, and she needed to make sure that she left a trail for herself to follow back. The feeling of the snow beneath her feet compressing with every step was always one of comfort, but also one which made her incredibly glad for her fur-lined leather boots.

A shiver went down her spine at the thought of the snow melting because of her body heat through linen or cotton akin to some of the more formal boots which she had for when there were guests visiting her family. At the very least what she was wearing now was warm and both water- and snow-proof.

Suddenly, a flash of white moved past her, almost completely blended in with the snow, and she snapped to attention. That was a rabbit. A decent amount of them lived out in the ice fields, and were very peaceful creatures. She once actually tried to tame one of them, or at the very least befriend one, but had ended up in trouble – unsurprisingly with her mother. ‘Vermin’, she had said. ‘What if it bites or kicks your little brother’, she had complained. It was always about how things would impact her brother, and she had never been allowed a say in the matter.

There was something which she couldn’t help but note about the rabbit which had just gone past her though… It was rushing. Trying to move away from something. A predator.

A wolf.

She turned in the direction that the rabbit had come from, and instinctively reached behind her shoulder to grab hold of an arrow before nocking it in her bow.

What she hadn’t expected though, was a wolf which looked so vastly different to the ones often found in that area. What was typically shades of white and silver were instead blues and purple. It looked almost… ghostly. Ethereal, even.

She needed to get that wolf.

The mere thought of showing that to her mother to show that she was not wasting her time by hunting – and no doubt also showing her father, given that he was often much more approving of her activities – brought an elated smirk to her face. She was not the delicate little thing her mother wanted her to be, she was no fucking milk-drinker – how would she ever face her ancestors in Sovngarde otherwise?!

With determination now fuelling her every action, she began to follow the wolf in its own pursuit of the rabbit.

It didn’t take long for her to notice that the route which she was taking was steadily starting to descend, meaning that she would have to take particular care with her footing from there on. Lower ice levels meant that there were likely to be slippery patches, and the last thing that she wanted was to injure herself by being too reckless. However, it seemed that the wolf was not being so cautious about its own movements. It was rushing, as though desperate to get its prey. It almost felt as though it had never actually hunted prey before, its behaviour was so reckless in comparison to the wolves which she would normally encounter in the area.

Eventually though, she found the wolf stood at a ledge, looking around. It appeared to have lost its prey, and most importantly of all, it provided her with her chance. She raised her bow, then focussed in. Slow, steady breaths, hand stable, arrow positioned just right.

Perfect.

She let her arrow loose, and her heart skipped a beat when it hit its mark dead on. Pride was quick to give way to horror though, as the wolf simply… dissipated. Her arrow fell to the ground with a clatter, and her entire body froze.

It was as though the wolf had never even been there, but how?!

Clenching her teeth together in frustration, she walked over to the arrow and picked it up to look it over. Not a trace of blood, or… anything, beyond the snow which it had fallen into.

But then...

Crack.

Time seemed to almost freeze, yet completely paradoxically, move too fast for Ingja to properly process what was happening around her. But she knew one thing…

She was falling.

A scream of pain tore through her lips as she hit the ground, her leg colliding with the rubble and ice she had just been stood on when she landed.

And it hurt.

----------

“O… Okay. It’s time to show them. I’ll show them that I can tame one of my conjurations. I can absolutely do this…” A flicker of violet magic began to form in the mage’s hands from where he was stood on one of the lower layers of the Winterhold ice plains. He slowly held them out, and inhaled deeply. “Come on Edwyn… you can do this…”

A flash and accompanying sound of magic crackling and whooshing formed in the direction which he had held out his arms, making him squint momentarily as his spell came to fruition. He then blinked a few times to clear his vision, before letting out a loud sigh. It had worked, and there was now a wolf familiar before him, staring up in his direction. That was as far as he had gotten all of the other times he had attempted this pursuit, so he knew that this was his chance to finally make progress.

It definitely helped that he was away from the College grounds. He could have sworn that somebody kept sneaking around in there and catching his eye every time he attempted to practice, and it always seemed to come from whichever direction Enthir happened to be in. No doubt he was sneaking somebody who wasn’t a member of the College inside. That… or one of his classmates were playing tricks on him with illusion magic. Or he was just being incredibly paranoid that he would be mocked for attempting to tame a conjuration yet again.

Here though, he was alone. Aside from the wolf. Obviously.

Carefully, he took a step towards the wolf, and watched to see its reaction. After nothing happened, he took another one and slowly raised his arm. Eventually, he was close enough to it to be able to place his hand on its head. It continued looking up at him in the process, and once a few moments passed, he let out a shaky breath.

Progress.

“Wow… Aren’t you an impressive beast?” he whispered, now starting to kneel down. It continued watching him as the snow crunched beneath his knees under his robes, feeling his heart starting to race as a flurry of thoughts went through his head about what he could say and write about what had happened. He would certainly have to make an emphasis about suitable environments being needed in order to prevent immediate hostility of the wolf. “Should I name you? I think that I should name you, I can’t keep calling you ‘beast’ or ‘wolf’ all of the time, can I?” He hummed quietly in thought, then nodded. “I am going to call you Spectre.”

Spectre’s tail started slowly swaying side to side after that, and he took that as a good sign. Or at least he hoped that to be the case – he’d met a few dogs before whose tails would start moving when happy, and wolves were close enough to dogs…

But then there was a quiet noise, almost like a grumble which came from Spectre. The wolf’s eyes were no longer on him, but had darted to the side. He moved his hand away from it, then decided to observe what Spectre’s next actions were going to be.

He never expected a sudden snarl and growl, teeth flashing. It gave him enough of a fright to send him onto his backside in the snow, and what was worse, he didn’t know if that was directed at him.

Until he caught sight of a rabbit.

Another thing he would have to add to his notes and report back – that natural instincts appeared to take precedence if the opportunity were to arise. He would have to keep an eye on Spectre to make sure that he was correct in his assumption though… but by the time that he was on his feet once more, the creatures – both natural and conjured – had vanished from his line of sight. He could only hear the loud growling of Spectre getting quieter as they moved further away from him. There wasn’t a single chance that he would be able to catch up.

Groaning disappointedly, he dragged his hands down his face before turning around to where his slightly damp notebook and pen were resting in the snow, and picked them up in order to make some quick notes about the situation before backtracking to the College. Spectre wouldn’t last long enough to catch the rabbit, he was certain of that because his conjurations never lasted more than about five minutes if he didn’t intentionally dispel them, and if there were rabbits in the area, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to try again just yet.

As he was in the middle of scribbling down his notes though, now that the sound of Spectre was completely absent, a new sound echoed around from in the distance. A cracking noise. He had to remind himself that it was completely natural to hear such things in this area of Skyrim’s coastline…

But shrieks of pain were not.

Not caring in the slightest that he would be losing what he had written about what he had uncovered over the past few minutes, he was quick to drop pen and paper onto the ground and run in the direction of the scream. He cursed his low stamina levels as he moved, it not taking long for his muscles to scream at him for the sudden exertion, but he didn’t care. If somebody was injured, he needed to help!

It was barely a minute before he had found the scene of the incident, and his breath caught at the sight. There was a woman lying in the snow, her breathing heavy and erratic between sobs as she attempted to move. Not too far from her was a bow, and arrows were scattered around. She was clearly a hunter of sorts, and had clearly fallen from a nearby ledge.

“T-T-Talos f-fucking damn- damn it-!” She cried out as she attempted to pull herself up, but by the looks of things, she was in too much pain to be able to do so properly.

He ran over to her, and was quick to kneel at her side. “A-Are you okay?!”

Her eyes darted towards his, their sharp blue almost paralysing him momentarily, with the look on her face seemingly uncertain and flickering between annoyance, relief, and excruciating pain. “No- L- Leg,” she hissed out between clenched teeth, during which he moved an arm to beneath her back in order to sit her upright. “D-Do you… Potion, do you have a- a potion?!”

“No, I- I don’t, but I know a little bit of restoration magic. Where exactly on your leg did you-?!”

A noise which almost sounded disgusted slipped out from her as she seemed to try and wrest her arms out of his supportive hold. “Y-You have got to be fucking kidding me… A fucking m-mage-?! Argh, shit-“ She winced, but the resistance to his presence faded just as quickly. “Left leg… knee. Shin. J… Just be- be quick about it.” Her eyes clamped shut then, clearly an attempt to blink away the tears in her eyes. “Please.”

[ciryze]

Butterfly Effect turns 1 year old today :D (I pushed the release date on AO3 back in the day but it counts!)

For all 3 of you actually following the story, have a cute family picture <3

Also some Butterfly-Funfacts under the cut :)

The actual "Butterfly Effect" is actually not Raine turning to look for her mother in the prologue, but Kloitz holding Genis instead of Virginia doing so.

The flashback chapters are intentionally scrambled through the actual timeline as Raine doesn't exactly remember the order of events herself

Zelos did return several times to the spot where he met Raine for the first time. However at that point, she was already with Pronyma

Presea is still alive in this story. However she is held in the underground research lab in an isolated container, making her crystal grow under similar circumstances as Expheres do in human ranches. She dies during Raine's first test-run with Odin in Sybak.

Regal is also absent in this story. Mithos has him executed in order to take over his company

The spelljammers (both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant) are made and built by Lezareno company. The ones in Sylvarant are brought over by Cruxis and built by Desians

There's a total of 6 human ranches in Sylvarant (the original 4 as well as one in Triet and one in Hima. Both these locations were suggested by Raine

Sylvarant is much heavier regulated by the Desians. With several large borders, it's harder to manuver around, so most rebel groups are local to their respective city.

Raine manipulated the Cardinals enough so that they raised the minimum age for new recruits. She also made them offer childcare and education in their ranches. Kvar thinks it was all his idea though

Raine still caries a scar on her back where the flames of the Broken sprouted originally in The Broken Ones. It looks like a shard of broken glass.

Zelos made several trips to the Meltokio slums in his life, disguised under rags and looking for Raine

Both Zelos and Colette have elvenblood in them

The higher ups in Tethe'alla have their children operated on if they turn out to have even slightly tipped ears. It's common procedure, although it was made less painful after a few years. Zelos had a particular bad case of tipped-ear-syndrom which is why his ears seem unnatural if you look close enough

Raine in this story is nonbinary, preferes the 'she/her' pronouns though. She occasionally goes around as "Ray" having he/him pronouns

Raine is also demisexual

Zelos is pansexual. He's also the only one thinking of Raine as nonbinary, thus avoiding any pronouns for her as well as he can, which is also the reason he calls her 'Master' instead of 'Mistress'

Kratos is genuenly interested in Raine up until the Altamira incident

Although not explicitly said, Sheena tries to convince Zelos to leave several times while they are still in Sylvarant

The heavy accent Raine has naturally is a mix between her growing up with elvish and the accent they carry in Sybak. It sounds remotely like russian

[roaming-kerala]

Rent a Car in Kerala, Trivandrum: Your Ultimate Travel Companion

Kerala, known as "God's Own Country," is a place of stunning natural beauty, rich culture, and a variety of travel experiences. Whether you're visiting Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) for business, leisure, or to explore the surrounding landscapes, renting a car is one of the best ways to explore this gorgeous state. From the bustling city to the peaceful backwaters and hill stations, having a rental car ensures flexibility, comfort, and convenience.

Here’s everything you need to know about rent a car in kerala trivandrum.

Why Rent a Car in Trivandrum, Kerala?

1. Convenience and Flexibility

Renting a car gives you the freedom to travel at your own pace, whether you're heading out to explore the vibrant city of Trivandrum or visiting nearby attractions like Kovalam Beach or Ponmudi. You won’t be dependent on public transport schedules or taxis, and you can plan your itinerary as you wish.

2. Comfortable Travel

Kerala's scenic beauty is best enjoyed from the comfort of a rental car, especially during longer journeys to hill stations or beaches. Avoid the discomfort of crowded buses or unpredictable taxis and travel in style, with air-conditioning and plenty of space.

3. Ideal for Families and Groups

If you're traveling with family or friends, renting a car can be more affordable and convenient than booking multiple taxis. A spacious vehicle like an SUV or minivan can accommodate everyone comfortably, along with luggage, making it easier to explore the region together.

4. Access to Remote Areas

Trivandrum and Kerala as a whole are known for their off-the-beaten-path destinations, like the quiet backwaters, hill stations, and coastal areas. Public transportation may not reach these remote spots, but with a rental car, you can access even the most hidden gems with ease.

Types of Cars Available for Rent in Trivandrum

When renting a car in Trivandrum, you’ll have a variety of options to choose from based on your preferences and needs:

Economy Cars: Small, budget-friendly cars like hatchbacks or sedans, ideal for solo travelers or couples looking to explore the city or take short trips around Kerala.

SUVs and MUVs: Spacious vehicles like SUVs or Multi-Utility Vehicles are perfect for families or larger groups, offering ample luggage space and comfort for long drives.

Luxury Cars: For those who want a premium experience, luxury cars like sedans or high-end SUVs are available for a smooth, comfortable ride.

Minivans: A great option for large families or group travel, with enough space to accommodate both people and luggage.

Self-Drive or Chauffeur-Driven: You can choose between driving the car yourself (self-drive) or hiring a professional driver to take you around (chauffeur-driven).

How to Rent a Car in Trivandrum, Kerala

Renting a car in Trivandrum is a simple process. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Choose a Rental Service

Several local and international car rental agencies operate in Trivandrum, and you can choose based on your preferences for price, vehicle availability, and customer service. Some well-known services include:

Zoomcar

Drivezy

Savaari

Kerala Car Rental

Indus Go

Many of these services allow you to book online via their websites or mobile apps.

2. Select the Car and Duration

Choose the type of car that best suits your needs, based on the number of people traveling, luggage space, and your travel budget. Rental periods vary, and you can opt for daily, weekly, or even monthly rentals, depending on how long you plan to stay.

3. Provide Required Documents

To rent a car in Trivandrum, you’ll need to provide a few documents:

Valid Driver’s License (both Indian and international licenses are usually accepted)

Proof of Identity (passport, Aadhar card, etc.)

Security Deposit (refundable upon return of the car)

Age Requirement (generally, you must be at least 21 years old with a minimum of 1–2 years of driving experience)

4. Pick-Up and Drop-Off

You can either pick up the vehicle from the rental agency’s location in the city or opt for delivery to your hotel or the airport. When picking up the car, inspect it for any pre-existing damage, and clarify the fuel policy (full-to-full is most common).

5. Driving and Returning the Car

Drive safely and keep the car within the local traffic rules. Upon returning the car, ensure it’s in the same condition as when you picked it up. If you’ve chosen a self-drive option, make sure to refill the tank to the level agreed upon, as most rental services follow a "full-to-full" policy.

Popular Places to Visit with a Rental Car in Trivandrum

Trivandrum and its surroundings offer a range of attractions that are best explored with the freedom of a rental car:

1. Kovalam Beach (16 km from Trivandrum)

Famous for its crescent-shaped beaches, Kovalam is perfect for a relaxing day by the sea. You can enjoy activities like surfing, swimming, and sunbathing, or explore the nearby lighthouse.

2. Varkala (50 km from Trivandrum)

Known for its beautiful cliffs and Papanasam Beach, Varkala is a popular coastal town. It's also home to the Janardhana Swamy Temple, an ancient temple with a picturesque backdrop.

3. Ponmudi (61 km from Trivandrum)

Ponmudi is a serene hill station offering cool weather and breathtaking views of the Western Ghats. It’s ideal for trekking, photography, or just enjoying the scenic beauty of Kerala’s landscapes.

4. Neyyar Dam (32 km from Trivandrum)

Located near the Western Ghats, the Neyyar Dam is perfect for nature lovers. You can take a boat ride, visit the wildlife sanctuary, or simply enjoy the peace and tranquility of the area.

5. Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple

This iconic temple in Trivandrum is famous for its Dravidian-style architecture. It’s one of the richest temples in the world, and a visit here is a must for those interested in Kerala’s cultural heritage.

6. Meenmutty and Attukal Waterfalls

Located a short drive from Trivandrum, these picturesque waterfalls are perfect for a nature-filled day trip.

Things to Keep in Mind While Renting a Car in Trivandrum

Traffic: Trivandrum can experience heavy traffic, especially in the city center. It's best to plan your trips during non-peak hours to avoid delays.

Road Conditions: While the main roads are in good condition, rural roads leading to hill stations or remote areas can be narrow and winding. Be cautious when driving in such areas.

Parking: Ensure you know where to park, especially when visiting crowded tourist spots. Look for parking spaces in advance, or ask locals for guidance.

Local Traffic Rules: Familiarize yourself with local traffic regulations, including the fact that driving in India is on the left side of the road.

Conclusion

Renting a car in Trivandrum gives you the flexibility and comfort to explore Kerala at your own pace. Whether you're visiting the cultural landmarks of the city or taking road trips to nearby beaches and hill stations, having a rental car ensures a stress-free, enjoyable experience. So, book a rental car, hit the road, and uncover the beauty of Kerala like never before!

[rekha789]

Delhi Airport Metro Timings: Complete Guide to Schedule, Routes, and Travel Tips

Traveling to and from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) has never been easier, thanks to the efficient Airport Express Metro. Whether you're catching a flight or heading to the city, knowing the Delhi airport metro timings can help you plan your journey smoothly. This guide provides a complete breakdown of the airport express metro timing, including schedule, routes, and essential travel tips.

1. Overview of Delhi Metro Airport Line

The Delhi Metro Airport Line, also known as the Airport Express Line, is the fastest and most convenient way to travel between IGI Airport and the city. Covering a distance of approximately 22.7 km, the metro connects New Delhi Railway Station to Dwarka Sector 21, with key stops at IGI Airport and Aerocity.

2. Delhi Airport Metro Timings

Understanding the Delhi airport metro timings is crucial for both early morning travelers and late-night commuters. Below is the detailed schedule for the Airport Express Metro Line:

First Train from New Delhi to Dwarka Sector 21: 4:45 AM

First Train from Dwarka Sector 21 to New Delhi: 4:45 AM

Last Train from New Delhi to Dwarka Sector 21: 11:30 PM

Last Train from Dwarka Sector 21 to New Delhi: 11:15 PM

The frequency of trains varies depending on the time of day:

Peak Hours (Morning & Evening): Every 6–10 minutes

Non-Peak Hours: Every 10–15 minutes

3. Airport Express Metro Timing for IGI Airport Travelers

For passengers arriving or departing from Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), the airport express metro timing ensures a quick transfer between the airport and city.

Trains run from early morning (4:45 AM) to late night (11:30 PM), covering key locations.

If you have a late-night or early-morning flight, alternative transport options like cabs or airport shuttle services should be considered.

4. Route and Key Stations on the Airport Metro Line

The Delhi Metro Airport Line has six major stations:

New Delhi (Connects to New Delhi Railway Station)

Shivaji Stadium

Dhaula Kuan

Delhi Aerocity (Ideal for hotel transfers and nearby accommodations)

IGI Airport (Terminal 3)

Dwarka Sector 21 (Connects to Blue Line of Delhi Metro)

5. Fare & Ticketing Options

Minimum fare: ₹20

Maximum fare: ₹60

Smart Cards: Recommended for frequent travelers

QR Code Tickets: Available for a contactless experience

Airport Metro Token: For one-time travelers

6. Travel Tips for Delhi Airport Metro Users

Plan Ahead: Check Delhi airport metro timings in advance to avoid missing the last train.

Use Smart Cards: Saves time and offers discounts compared to tokens.

Baggage Allowance: Carry-on luggage is allowed, but large suitcases should be checked with airline policies.

Security Checks: Arrive early to pass through security screening smoothly.

7. Conclusion

The Delhi Metro Airport Line is the best transportation option for travelers looking for a fast, affordable, and reliable connection to IGI Airport. By keeping track of the airport express metro timing, you can ensure a hassle-free journey. Whether you're catching an early flight or returning from a trip, the Delhi airport metro timings make commuting easy and efficient.

For the latest updates, always check the official Delhi Metro website or app before traveling. Safe travels!

[cecestudies]

How to Find the Perfect Car Rental in Australia?

Finding the perfect car rental in Australia requires thoughtful planning to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience. Start by defining your travel needs—whether you’re embarking on a city tour, a coastal road trip, or exploring the rugged Outback. Choose a vehicle that suits your group size, luggage requirements, and terrain preferences, such as a sedan for city drives or an SUV for off-road adventures.Research and compare reputable car rental companies online to find the best deals. Look for providers with flexible pick-up and drop-off locations, especially at airports or major cities like Sydney, Melbourne, or Perth. Check for hidden costs, including insurance, fuel policies, and additional driver fees.

Understand Your Travel Needs

Start by identifying the purpose of your trip. Are you planning a city tour, a road trip along the Great Ocean Road, or an adventure in the Outback? The type of car you choose should align with your travel goals. For city drives, a compact car is ideal for navigating tight spaces and saving on fuel. For rugged terrains, opt for a sturdy SUV or a 4x4 to handle challenging roads effortlessly.

Research Reliable Car Rental Companies

Car rental in australia has a wide range of car providers, including international giants like Hertz, Avis, and Budget, as well as local companies like Redspot and East Coast Car Rentals. Research each company’s reputation by reading online reviews and customer testimonials. Look for factors like customer service, fleet variety, and ease of booking to ensure a hassle-free experience.

Compare Pricing and Inclusions

Pricing can vary significantly between providers. Compare rental costs across platforms to find the best deal. Look for packages that include unlimited mileage, GPS navigation, and insurance. Be wary of hidden fees, such as one-way rental charges, late return penalties, or additional driver costs. Booking directly through the car rental company’s website often provides better deals than third-party platforms.

Check Insurance Options

Rental insurance is crucial to protect yourself from unexpected expenses in case of accidents or damages. Most car rental companies offer basic coverage, but it may include high excess charges. Consider purchasing additional coverage or excess reduction packages to minimize out-of-pocket costs. Alternatively, check if your credit card or travel insurance policy covers rental cars.

Plan for Pick-Up and Drop-Off Locations

Convenience is key when selecting a car rental. Choose pick-up and drop-off locations that fit seamlessly into your itinerary. Major airports and city centers often have rental desks, but ensure these locations align with your travel plans. If you’re considering a one-way trip, confirm that the company allows drop-offs at different locations and check the associated fees.

Book Early for the Best Deals

Car rentals in Australia can become expensive during peak travel seasons, such as summer or major holidays. To secure the best rates and vehicle availability, book your car as early as possible. Early bookings often come with discounts, and you’ll have more options to choose from. Keep an eye out for promotional offers or loyalty programs that can help reduce costs.

Read the Fine Print

Before finalizing your booking, carefully read the terms and conditions. Check for restrictions such as mileage limits, fuel policies, and age requirements. Some companies have a minimum or maximum age limit for renters. Ensure you understand the cancellation and refund policies in case your travel plans change.

Conclusion

Finding the perfect car rental in Australia requires research, planning, and attention to detail. By identifying your travel needs, comparing rental providers, and understanding insurance options, you can secure the best deal for your trip. Planning early, checking pick-up/drop-off locations, and reading the fine print will help you avoid unnecessary hassles. With the right car, your Australian adventure will be smooth, enjoyable, and unforgettable.