#project: shelter and thorn

[leaphia-art]

I BELLYFLOP IN HERE!!! C2 OR F2 for Astrid/Tristan!! And E2 for Noah/Sookie!!! From the Duo pose meme you posted 😊

OK WAIT LET ME GIVE YOU A PILLOW FIRST FOR SAFE LANDING

First of all, thank you so much for sending these!! <3 Second, HOW did you know that these were the ones I planned to draw anyways?? (I'm even more grateful because I could start on them sooner now eheheh Not me sketching out two whole scenes for this hkgfflhld)

I chose C2 :> (It's so perfect for them waaaah) Although I'm definitely planning on drawing F2 also because ouuughhh it's too good. Maybe it will be with Astrid/Tristan or not idk yet 👀

My babies being badass!! I swear my brain came up with a whole scenario for this one while drawing (I think it's quite near the final battle against the big bad villain... I need to draw that out one day ahhh!)

versions without text :3

[lexydakitten]

rot rot rot rot ... this particular kind infests the grounds of my iterator oc one step ahead / osa, and inevitably him as well. time for me to ramble yayy yayy

meant to post this earlier i just was fussing over names. i have concluded that the colloquial name for all these together is inflorescence longlegs because that means that i still get to use the acronym ILL and thats cool i thinks. proto-rot is creeping longlegs, then in order of size smallest to largest is sprout longlegs, flowering longlegs, and wilting longlegs. they're a sort of mutated vine, one which was pretty common on osa's grounds, but he got just a Little screwed over by astronomically low odds. vine turned into rot naturally as certain background environmental conditions on his grounds make that something that happens from time to time (in more than just vines - any organism). the atypical and astronomically low odds part comes from the fact that it did not resolve itself, because when this occurs on his grounds it's usually such a small sample produced that quickly dies or is otherwise destroyed. in this case, by the time it becomes noticeable to him, it's already grown too quickly to be easily fixed.

because of it occurring naturally, a lot of properties and behaviors are retained from what it was originally. this is mostly because it's scarier that way and i made osa for me to project my nightmares onto👍

for visual - osa's grounds are mostly a tight thicket of bushes and shrubs that are adapted to a higher latitude environment. the thicket provided a fair amount of shelter for the ILLs until the infestation had a sizeable population. a common behavior seen in all ILL specimens, proto or not, is that they try to climb up other plants as they infest them, something retained from being a vine. additionally, when they have infested a significant amount of one shrub, they will start trying to spread to find another by growing on the ground in arches (top right) which is another thing based off of certain vines. they're green because they also can still photosynthesize, though because of high energy needs this is only sustainable for smaller specimens and really only means they can survive longer in a starving state. also, they're very thorny, which makes mobile cysts move slower, and they typically prefer not to move much anyways aside from the wilting longlegs. because they originate from a plant, they're all weaker physically, i think a sprout longlegs you could probably spear to death very easily in one cycle if you had enough spears to expend, and none of them are explosive resistant. fighting any of them with explosives in a particularly large thicket of rot though (or a wilting long legs) is something i would not advise though ;3c.

while slls are parallel to blls, flls to dlls, etc, there's a few distinctions worth making. sprout longlegs and flowering longlegs are very small, with sprout longlegs being probably roughly a bit larger than the size of a squidcada and flowering longlegs being the size of blls or a small dll. wilting longlegs are dll/tll sized. flowering longlegs don't break down into sprout longlegs when starving either (though a wilting longlegs may break down into a group of flowering longlegs), and they occur differently. sprout longlegs are commonly found outside of or on the edge of rot thickets and are common in clusters, as they are all cysts that were broken off the main patches by rain, and very few became mobile through normal means. sprout longlegs are though, like blls, completely senseless, and they don't pose a significant threat - i like to imagine they do have a tendency to fall when they start moving as they have the least amount of thorns though, so the majority of their threat comes from falling from above. flowering longlegs occur via normal means, just cysts that became mobile. they have the ability to hear, and in particularly heavy thickets of creeping longlegs they can also have what is effectively telepathy. think orange lizard. wilting longlegs are similar to flowering longlegs here, they're just much much larger cysts that became mobile, in some instances they may even be cysts that have completely consumed a shrub or bush and then became mobile, hence their size.

wilting longlegs.. :3. they can hear, and regardless of where they are, they're large enough to exhibit telepathy towards each other. wilting longlegs are the most aggressive as their ability to photosynthesize is entirely unsustainable for them - a sprout longlegs will last fine consuming things minimally, a flowering longlegs can last though will eventually start starving, wilting longlegs MUST consume however. their size and energy need is too costly and they're practically always on the edge of a starving state. an additional ability is that their toxicity is extremely concentrated - all ILLs produce toxins, as the vine they originate from did. in most instances, it only becomes a significant threat when consuming them. sprout longlegs are a similar effect to the ingame mushroom effects, flowering longlegs would be similar to the effects hunter experiences when rotting. wilting longlegs, due to their size, produce it the most, and it becomes dangerous to creatures that are grabbed by them. because they are covered in it, even if the creature breaks free, they will experience effects of the toxin shortly after. it's not life-threatening, but it would cause temporary immobility, like spitter spider spit does, alongside the psychoactive effects. wilting longlegs are escapable, but they present a greater hazard than a tll does.

said effects also apply to iterators. which osa learns pretty hard. because he can't ever find a fix to the issue, and his group members become too scared to put effort into helping him, he ends up having to deal with it alone. and the infestation reaches him initially through his intake system, but he can flush it out to prevent it from taking hold. it still damages his systems when it does get in, in very small amounts, and the damages accumulate until there's nothing he can do about it getting in. as more and more rot grows and damages him, he also becomes poisoned by it, and suffers from that as well. and the entire time he's terrified of it, even before it starts reaching him, that combined with the negligence of his group members is why he's a vicious jerk. not evil but he isn't in his right mind from the pressure of how terrifying his situation is from his perspective + inevitably becoming sick too. he was pretty unremarkable before, especially considering he's the oldest one in his group - i'd say senior but i'm still not sure if that's a fanon thing or not? i dont wanna accidentally take someone else's ideas by referring to him as that lol

but. i figured i'd make this as a reference and then also as an excuse to ramble about my nightmares goober🙌yay. it didnt make sense to not have significant depth to the nightmare-inspired parts so i fixed it :3

nvm just remembered the thing i forgot to put. also while their starving colors are not shown here, they shift into a more autumnal/stressed set of colors and become significantly lighter and more desaturated as well. wilting longlegs are the ones you'd find with these colors most often and they're already somewhat adjacent to it. just cuz i think it's cool

[roomba-mangga]

dunmesh modern AU headcanons & story threads masterpost (melini-centric)

also projecting my culture as a treat, hence the photos below for reference. names are changed to be appropriate to the setting but i'll just be using their canon names for most of this.

premise / background

set in the philippines, mostly around manila. part family drama teleserye, part urban fantasy monster-of-the-week shenanigans. overall mood is a blend of absurd, light-hearted, and dramatic

the melinis (merinos) are a wealthy but cursed family whose lineage can be traced back to the spanish colonial period. their patriarch, delgal, notoriously relies on the family's engkanto kasambahay/helper, thistle (lirio), to solve most of their problems, mundane or otherwise. thistle has acted as the family's guardian spirit and loyal servant for a couple generations now, but the pressure is starting to wear on him

as delgal approaches the end of his life, thistle fights to keep him alive by any means necessary (mainly via witchcraft)—all while skirting around his strained relationships with the rest of the family, particularly over matters of inheritance and his future

the other melinis aren't as fond of thistle as delgal is, especially in light of his controlling behavior, so there's a painfully real chance he could be disowned at the end of the day. on paper they'd just be dissolving his contract, but on a personal level it goes much deeper than that. things get nasty when delgal considers entrusting the inheritance to thistle instead of eodio or yaad

meanwhile, the touden siblings (ilyas and fina) are scraping to get by in the city after running away from home. laios works at the port and harbors a secret fascination with engkanto while falin is a med student. after crossing paths with the melinis and senshi, the siblings find themselves entangled in the family's personal—and supernatural—affairs

(more character and story headcanons below)

dramatis personae

thistle (lirio) — colloquially known as tinik ("thorn"), the scary little shit has garnered a fearsome reputation in the seedier parts of town, hunting down anting-antings and components at any cost. he's been shaking hands with questionable characters, eliminating rivals, the whole nine yards. 50/50 chance the dark shape emerging from an alleyway is actually him instead of a holdupper (most would prefer the holdupper). he goes through college once a generation and this time is accompanying yaad; they attend the same high-end school in manila's university belt (eyebrows frequently raised since they both look 16ish but it's waved off as them being accelerated students. or a terrific new strain of nepotism). when he isn't practicing dangerous magic or hovering over his family, thistle haunts local comshops and does urban photography

yaad — sheltered good-natured church boy, certified kuya, altar server, etc. he's cursed with perpetual youth (not immortality, just youth) and thistle drags him up mount san cristobal every year to renew the spell. it's an open secret that yaad's "cousin" (tito? yaya? satan?) is an ancient being who's been performing rituals on the family. he finds thistle overbearing yet is the only one who sympathizes with him, understanding how fucked up his position truly is while helpless to do anything about it at present. thistle takes it upon himself to chaperone him when they're out and about. they have a more-or-less functional, if teetering, relationship

eodio — head of the family but barely, because..... thistle. as a child, eodio was sickly and thistle would see to his health, but when his condition worsened, thistle resorted to cursing him in order to save his life. this brought unforeseen complications that come back to bite them both. he and thistle have the most contentious telenovela-esque relationship among the cast, as he resents being dependent on thistle to stay alive—plus the ritual to renew the spell involves eating the most heinous shit. it's all deeply undignified. there was a time delgal promised thistle he'd still be able to look after and love the next generations of his family after he's gone (that is, before his fear of death got the best of him), but the strain in thistle and eodio's relationship soured that possibility

delgal — at death's door, sorry king. delgal isn't cursed with anything beyond glamors to make him appear less sick; cheating death itself has been a long-running project of thistle's, at his request. in spite of having a brotherly relationship with thistle, delgal has never stopped viewing and treating him primarily as a yaya, which was thistle's original role when first brought into the family

laios and falin (ilyas and fina) — originally from a rich family up north, laios fled south to live independently, even if his prospects aren't great. after reuniting with falin in manila, where she's attending college in the same area as the melini boys, they settle in a barangay in calabarzon and hang out in the city. laios is deeply fascinated by the world of engkanto and seeks a way in (and further than that, he wishes to become one, if possible), while falin is seemingly content with her lot in life, even if it's spent in someone else's shadow. time will tell if that changes for her

as for the rest of the party, manong senshi is the merinos' cook. thistle found him scrounging the garden and yaad took pity, so they took him in. he's a gift to the household. izutsumi is a vagrant who likes to sneak into the melinis' garden to nap and pester yaad. they're besties. marcille (maricel) is a researcher secretly dabbling in occult magic, and thistle views her as a rival/threat. chilchak is laios' coworker and a tito. no elaboration needed. tito chil. you know it's true.

story threads

re: immortality, the most viable spell thistle is able to uncover calls for a complex engkanto feast, far beyond his capabilities. if only there were a pack of weirdos somewhere out there who could pull it off…

laios suspects the tyrant of the comshops is an engkanto in disguise and investigates. to get this persistent nuisance off his tail, thistle points him to the side of town that deals in ancient magic in hopes he'll get snatched by a tikbalang or something (who knows, maybe they've broadened their palates beyond innocent maidens lately). when laios gets there, he runs into senshi doing weird esoteric grocery runs and the two strike up a friendship over monster food. a successful project of theirs catches thistle's attention due to the aforementioned spell he's working on and, after much internal deliberation, he outsources that part of the ritual to these weirdos under close supervision

a magical mishap between marcille and thistle causes falin to be transformed into an engkanto. they discover she's able to sniff out other engkanto and has a sense for magic. now knowing such a thing is possible after all, laios continues to pursue his goal of becoming engkanto himself

shenanigans ensue in the process of acquiring + preparing + tweaking recipes for the engkanto feast. though squeamish, marcille counts herself in on this since it's relevant to her own studies, even if thistle remains wary of her. laios and senshi decide the ideal arrangement for the ritual has to be a boodle fight (look at the imagery, it's divine), but that would require the entire melini clan to be willing to feast together on monster cuisine with nothing but their bare hands, which is a tall fucking order. thistle is forced to try to make amends on their terms

the toudens wind up befriending yaad and, by some miracle, thistle. wrt the latter it comes as a shock to everyone because that boy doesn't do friends, strangers are dogshit under his heel, what the hell—but turns out treating him like a person is quite effective. thistle doesn't realize this consciously; he denies any sort of attachment beyond his family, but yaad is relieved this ill-advised project is allowing him to build a network

a figure known as the Winged Lion, rumored to be an all-powerful diwata, comes knocking at the melinis' door to collect his dues, making tempting offers to the rest of the cast to fulfill their desires at the expense of the family (down the line, marcille and laios decide to make a joint bargain with it)

in spite of his efforts, thistle's conflict with eodio escalates to a breaking point. in an extremely teleserye turn of events, eodio is killed by one of thistle's spells, and thistle's incredibly well-adjusted response to this is to preserve his corpse, stick his soul in a jar in the form of a moth, and add necromancy onto his sorcerous TDL. he winds up carrying this jar around and dedicates significant effort to keeping the moth alive. yaad is super going through it

Holy Week vacation arc feat. beach episode where, after an extended period of family drama, thistle and yaad forgo vacationing with the family to hop on a flight with the toudens and manong senshi to rural mindanao. they touch grass. yaad discloses his personal feelings on the mess and lets himself get a little mad. eodio's jar is there. the chismis back in the city is insane—everyone thinks they got disowned or kidnapped by hooligans

in another extremely teleserye turn of events, there turns out to be a connection between the toudens and the melinis which further complicates the inheritance issue

at some point a boodle fight does happen, just not between the melini clan ;)

might add more details as they come to me in other posts. much to think about, all very fun. the slice of life scenarios have me in a chokehold

[nym-wibbly]

Reading across your fanfictions I was wondering how you choose the right euphemisms for the sex scenes? I mean it's different in your Pet Shop of Horrors to your Once Upon a Time. What makes you choose a word like cock or cunt from the alternatives?

Good question! It's about context, mainly. I tend to write smut from the POV of a participant in the sex, so I think about how they'd use their vocabulary in that situation, extrapolating from how they speak or narrate in other situations. I try to make informed guesses about which words the character would use naturally and which they might choose for effect in a heightened emotional situation. That much is the same whether it's a smutty scene or not.

I ask myself, does the character's use of language usually change with their mood or circumstances, or is it more consistent? Does it alter or slip when they're emotional or overwhelmed, or depending on the company they're in? Is that behaviour second nature to them, comfortable, or is the way they speak part of a mask they wear, a performance they put on to distance themselves from the world a bit? If so, what provocation could make it slip, and what lies beneath? How mature are they in how they express themselves, how mature about intimacy overall, and is that likely to be reflected in their sexual word choices? Crude or sensitive? Shy or bold?

Then I think about the character's mood and intent within the sex scene itself, about how inhibited or uninhibited the character feels if there's a partner with them, how self-conscious they feel or have historically felt about sex and bodies, and whether they have a learned sexual response to particular words or phrases. Does 'dirty' talk excite them or shock them? Inside their own heads, or just out loud? Do they have words that they find distasteful or think of as crossing a line into inappropriateness?

Most of the characters I write smut about are pretty worldly-wise, with full dictionaries to work from even if they aren't normally inclined to use them, so I had to make a lot of mental adjustments for the sheltered version of Belle I wrote in A Bed of Thorns. She was fired up with the discovery of her own sexuality and her specific passion for Rumple, grabbing the physical outlet he offered her with gusto, but she only had a limited vocabulary with which to describe the experience. I found that really hard going until Rumple taught her a few key words!

The final thing I consider is whether I'm writing a scene that's meant to titillate the reader or not. Not every sex scene is meant to be erotic, and not every erotic scene is dominated by the physical description. Is it more of an emotional scene than a graphic smutty one? If so, I'll steer towards language that depicts the character's emotional response - like using 'joining' rather than 'fucking' if it's the intimacy I want to prioritise rather than the physical act. Where is the character's focus right now - actions or headspace? Self or partner? Present moment or future consequences and wider relationship? What's the scene about - the sex or something else woven through it that needs picking up as a theme in the wording?

I try not to project myself onto the characters, but I'll hold my hand up to making every effort to avoid the word 'cunt'. I don't find the word erotically persuasive (although watching four seasons of Karl Urban using it as his character's descriptive multi-tool in The Boys has redefined it somewhat in my fanbrain!)

Leaving aside its disparaging usages, 'cunt' isn't a great word for being clear about what's physically going on in a sex scene. It means 'vulva' but is often used in smut to refer to the vagina or the entire female genital area instead.

"Devoutly, steadily, she fingered her lover's perfect, slick cunt." Where exactly is that finger right now? Sliding between her lover's labia or questing inside for her g-spot? Do I leave that distinction up to the reader's imagination and knowledge of the character's likely vocabulary and usage, add more words to clarify the sentence, or just choose a different word? In the end I go with what feels right for that character in that moment, just as I do for the rest of the piece.

[GIFs top to bottom cuz I don't usually post multifandom: Good Omens; Gen V; The Avengers: Age of Ultron; Once Upon a Time; The Great; The Boys; Gentleman Jack.]

[modern-inheritance]

WIP ideas that have yet to touch paper/Docs but I kinda want to start soon/this weekend

Arya and Firnen go to Gil’ead to check out the damage from the Murtagh and Thorn thing that is not connected to the dreamers in MIC. Arya was given a role in the Gil’ead Restoration Project since the elves were the ones to do the most damage during the war there and she’s still Keeper/Queen Regent and there is no end to the irony. Arya goes down into the tunnels and has a look around what could have been Durza’s hidey hole when he was to keep his existence as a lackey secret, kicks some rocks, does a curiosity and some of her job while Firnen remains on the surface and seriously contemplates ripping apart the still-standing part of the Keep that housed Arya’s cell.

(The above could also end up part of the Torin story, where Torin finally comes face to face with Arya again.)

Eragon, Arya and Saphira have a mental moment (or a few) between the citadel battle and meeting to name the Broddring ruler. Later Arya comes up to their rooms, having been shooed away by Glen to go spend time with her mate and decompress while Glen checks on her mum and goes to take a long nap of his own. Cuddling and pillow talk under Saphira’s wing ensues, with Saphira dozing and occasionally feeling the need to remind them that no funny business while using her for shelter is to occur despite them swearing it’s not going to happen.

A possible short between Brom and Glen after Nasuada is chosen, with both men now realizing that while there is reconstruction and a whole shit ton of other things to do to stabilize the Broddrings and the elves, they both need to start thinking about what they’re going to do now that their biologically immortal lives are essentially free of war for the foreseeable future.

There’s other things that I can’t put my finger on right now. But the post-Galbatorix bits are tickling my brain.

[newstfionline]

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Judge orders Trump to pay more than $350 million in N.Y. civil fraud trial (Washington Post) New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday ordered former president Donald Trump to pay more than $350 million in penalties, handing down a hefty penalty following a months-long civil trial in which Trump and others were accused of financial fraud by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Engoron also said Trump could not serve as an officer or a director for any New York company for three years. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and assailed the case. Attorneys for Trump sharply criticized the ruling, with one calling it “manifest injustice" and saying they hoped it would be overturned on appeal. With this decision, Trump now owes more than $440 million in fines and damages across multiple civil trials.

Hang Out (The Atlantic) The average amount of time that American men spent socializing face to face has fallen 30 percent from 2003 to 2022, and among teenagers that’s fallen over 45 percent. That’s happened at the same time that people of all ages are citing increased levels of loneliness and other symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Mexico will likely elect a woman as its next president (AP) Mexico is almost certain to elect its first female president in June—both leading candidates are women—but it’s almost equally as certain that she won’t have much room to act independently of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The populist president has continued proposing new, expensive projects in the closing months of his administration, before he leaves office on Sept. 30. He will also leave a lot of big-ticket projects unfinished. That will probably leave his successor with her hands tied for much of her six-year term. “The next administration will inherit a country with a financial hole that will limit the maneuvering room throughout the next term,” said Moody’s Analytics Director Alfredo Coutiño.

Centuries-Old Border Dispute in Central America (NYT) The boat edged its way past the mangrove swamps, a tangled maze of thorn-covered branches sheltering jaguars and shrieking howler monkeys. We were in Belize, our GPS signals showed, the English-speaking Central American country where British pirates put down stakes centuries ago. But then members of Guatemala’s military, clad in camouflage and berets, spotted us. Pulling up in their own boat, they grasped rifles, index fingers close to the triggers. “You’ve just entered Guatemalan waters!” one shouted in Spanish when they were just a few feet away. “We request that you steer toward the nearest Guatemalan command post.” Wil Maheia, the leader of the Belizean group we were embedded with, yelled back: “No, you’re trespassing in Belizean waters! If you take us into custody that will be kidnapping!” The episode laid bare a simmering political dispute in one of the most volatile corners of Central America, in which Belize, Central America’s least populous country with only about half a million people, is pitted against Guatemala, the region’s giant with a population of 18 million. The unresolved territorial feud—one of the oldest in the Americas—has tensions flaring, raising fears over greater instability in a region already marked by drug wars and the exodus of migrants to the United States.

The UK tips into recession (Guardian) According to new data released by the Office for National Statistics, the U.K.’s economy fell into a recession at the end of last year. The data shows that gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 0.3% in the last three months of 2023 thanks to a weak holiday retail showing and a general decline in all sectors of the national economy. The recession is another blow for Rishi Sunak’s government, which is already struggling ahead of national elections slated for later this year. “This is Rishi Sunak’s recession, and the news will be deeply worrying for families and business across Britain,” said Rachel Reeves, the second-most senior leader of the Labour Party. The ONS projects that economic growth was just 0.1% in 2023, making it the country’s weakest year since 2009 (excluding the Covid pandemic years). The economic stagnation has brought soaring consumer prices, higher cost of living, and a spike in borrowing costs to the British population.

Sarkozy’s Prison Sentence Halved to 6 Months (NYT) A Paris appeals court upheld on Wednesday the 2021 conviction of former President Nicolas Sarkozy for illegal financing an election campaign but cut his sentence from one year to six months with a further six months suspended. Mr. Sarkozy’s lawyer, Vincent Desry, immediately said that Mr. Sarkozy would appeal to France’s highest court. The appeal could take years to be resolved, ensuring that Mr. Sarkozy remains free for the foreseeable future. Whether he will ever serve time in prison remains an open question. Although his legal travails are many and various, Mr. Sarkozy has remained an important political figure, with some influence over President Emmanuel Macron, who often turns to Mr. Sarkozy’s center-right Republicans party for support in Parliament.

Alexei Navalny, who galvanized Russia’s political opposition, died in prison. (WSJ) The cause of his death was still being established, authorities said. One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critics, Navalny lost consciousness and couldn’t be revived after taking a walk. The Kremlin denied responsibility. The 47-year-old activist had been in jail since 2021, serving 30-plus years on charges he and his supporters said were fabricated.

Russia’s Wounded Soldiers (NYT) A shell slammed into the ground just feet from where the Russian soldier was deployed, and the explosion tossed him into the air. “I felt my arm fall off, then a blow to my leg, everything slowed down, just a frozen picture in my eyes—no sounds, no other sensations,” said the soldier, Andrei, a 29-year-old former convict recruited into the Wagner private military company. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he was convinced that death loomed. As shells exploded on all sides in the fighting near the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, fellow soldiers dragged him to an evacuation point. He eventually spent more than a year in hospitals, with the remnants of his left arm amputated and one leg still at risk. Cases like Andrei’s do not receive much publicity in Russia, where—as in Ukraine—the total number of war wounded is not disclosed. But, according to American and Ukrainian officials and numerous military analysts, the number is staggering, perhaps in the hundreds of thousands. And one senior Russian official estimated that amputees represented more than half of the seriously wounded.

Russian sanctions (NYT) After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Western nations imposed the most extensive sanctions and trade restrictions in history on Moscow. Today, Russia appears to be doing OK. Its economy is growing steadily. Russia can’t buy much from the West but has found new providers for drones, surveillance gear, computer chips and other gear. Its oil and gas sales are still strong, despite attempts to stop them. Russian officials say they have plenty of money to pay for their war. Moscow’s continued strength is a humbling result for the U.S. and its allies. These nations make up more than half of the global economy, and they tried to weaponize their influence over trade and finance to weaken Russia. They hoped to make President Vladimir Putin a pariah and maybe even stop the war. Those efforts have fallen short. “The instruments and the policies of the United States are ineffective,” Putin bragged during an interview last week. He is surely not the only leader to notice the U.S. failure to cripple Russia. When China wants to menace Taiwan or India wants to assassinate perceived enemies on foreign soil, they will know that Washington couldn’t turn Russia into a pariah when it broke the rules. Sanctions in Russia have exposed the limits of U.S. power.

As Israel corners Rafah, Netanyahu defies the world (Washington Post) The chorus of warnings is hard to ignore. International organizations, rights group advocates and even a growing number of Western leaders are all urging Israel to refrain from launching a full-scale ground offensive on Rafah, the overwhelmed city on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. Close to a million and a half displaced Palestinians are crammed in makeshift encampments there, the majority having fled other parts of Gaza already ravaged by the Israeli military campaign that followed the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. In a Wednesday phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron said Israel risked a “humanitarian disaster of a new magnitude.” A joint statement from the leaders of Australia, Canada and New Zealand said “a military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic” and called on Israel to “listen to its friends.” The prime ministers of Spain and Ireland wrote to authorities in Brussels, suggesting Israel may be in breach of its association agreement with the European Union and demanding an “urgent review.” “We will fight until complete victory, and this includes a powerful action also in Rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones,” Netanyahu said Wednesday.

Family grieves after American teenager shot dead in West Bank (Washington Post) A 17-year-old Palestinian American was killed in the West Bank on Saturday, a family member told The Washington Post, making him the second known U.S. citizen killed there since the start of the Israel-Gaza war. Mohammad Ahmad Alkhdour was shot twice in the head near the town of Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem, before he was rushed to a hospital, his aunt Sana’a Ayesha Alkhdour said. He was pronounced dead Saturday night. Israeli forces were allegedly behind the shooting, according to the human rights group Defense for Children International—Palestine and Sana’a Ayesha Alkhdour. Mohammad Ahmad Alkhdour’s death comes just weeks after the killing of Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, another 17-year-old American, in the West Bank. While the toll of Israel’s war in Gaza has captured global attention, Israel has also stepped up its military activity in the West Bank. Settler violence in the area has risen at an unprecedented rate since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. At least 388 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since then, according to the United Nations.

A small business in war-time Gaza sews padded cloth diapers, creating jobs and helping weary parents (AP) Their scissors move quickly, shearing pieces of white cloth to be stitched together with cotton pads and taken to market in battered cardboard boxes. Before the day is done, the Palestinian seamstresses will have sewn 500 diapers and distributed them to war-weary parents in Gaza for about $4 per package of eight, half of what mass-produced disposable diapers cost in the besieged enclave. Maysaa Qatati, the manager of the sewing workshop, knows the output will barely make a dent in the huge demand—but the little business is thriving and creating jobs. “People were looking for pampers and could not find them,” she said from the whirring workshop in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza. “They would stand in line at the merchant and buy it at a very high price.” In some cases, parents say they have resorted to easily soiled cloth diapers. But cleaning those is difficult when water is so scarce. The disposable diapers made in Qatati’s sewing workshop are an improvement because of the cotton pads.

UN envoy says Libya will slide into ‘disintegration’ if politicians don’t move toward elections (AP) The U.N. special envoy for Libya warned the country’s feuding political actors Thursday that if they don’t urgently form a unified government and move toward elections the oil-rich North African nation will slide into “disintegration.” Abdoulaye Bathily told the U.N. Security Council there are numerous alarming signs of such a slide and urged all political leaders to put aside “their self-interests” and come together to negotiate and reach a compromise “to restore the dignity of their motherland.” Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the country split, with rival administrations in the east and west backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

[themovieblogonline]

Top 10 Most Terrifying Game of Thrones Villains

Clashing through the fantastical worlds of The Seven Kingdoms featuring creatures, kings, and crowns, Game of Thrones is a show that also served us some of the most iconic villains in television history. From Cersei Lannister to Petyr Baellish, Tywin Lannister to Walder Frey, these villains have never disappointed us with their clever political conspiracies, jaw-dropping moments of betrayal, and gut-wrenching barbarities. We brought you a list of the top 10 antagonists who kept everyone on their toes. So, let's dive right in! Tywin Lannister Destroy everything and everyone if it's a threat to your family! That is a rule Tywin Lannister lives by. The cunning lord of Casterly Rock never stood for anything that stopped him from preserving his ancestors' legacy and the Lannister name. Throughout the show, Tywin Lannister conspires toward the fall of his enemies and is always one step ahead of them.  Other than projecting his ruthless tactics toward his foes, Tywin Lannister gave a hard time to all his children as well. In the name of 'doing the right thing', he used his children like pawns and used them till the end. He was particularly harsh to his son Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf, belittling him on every occasion. Can't like this guy even if we want to.  Walder Frey All villains in Game of Thrones had some devilish desires and strong incentives to play the bad guy. Except for Walter Frey. Blinded by ego and superiority, Walder Frey took away some of the most beloved characters from the audience. He was so disgusted over Robb Stark's marriage with an ordinary woman instead of his daughter that he hosted a bloodbath called 'The Red Wedding' where he brutally killed Robb and his pregnant wife. After witnessing the death of her oldest son and his heir, Catelyn Stark slices open her throat, giving us another reason to hate Walder Frey. Craster One of the most bizarre and unpleasant characters in the show is Craster. He owns a shelter in the North and is introduced when Jon Snow resides in his home with his companions. It instantly goes dark when it's revealed that Craster is an old freak with many daughters, all born from incestuous practices. One of the most shocking revelations about him was that he always kills his sons for unknown reasons. Honestly, it doesn't matter if we knew the reason because he would still be one of the worst characters on the show. The High Sparrow Evil can be born from religion as well. Considering various aspects of the psychological conditions of Game of Thrones villains, The High Sparrow is by far the most interesting one. Imagine feeling bad for someone as vile as Cersei! Yeah, The High Sparrow made us feel that. The manipulation and exploitation of religion in the name of holiness make him a human devil.  Allisor Thorne Someone who seemed like an idiotic freak at the beginning of the show later transformed into an unexpected villain. As he teased and tormented most of the Night Watchers, especially Jon Snow, no one really liked Allison from the first day he appeared on screen. However, what blew us all away was his murdering Snow one day and officially becoming worthy of our hatred. Petyr Baelish How far can your smart yet traitorous tricks get you? Ask Petyr Baelish. Also known as "Littlefinger", Baelish is that one character who fans have a love-hate relationship with. From Ned Stark to Sansa Stark, he betrayed and fooled the people around him at every given chance. But even when the fans figured out his poor intentions and foul play, they couldn't stop admiring his way with words. On some level, that makes him one of the most formidable villains in the show.  Cersei Lannister Just like Petyr, we remained forever mystified about whether to like Cersei Lannister or loathe her wholeheartedly. Fabricating intelligently orchestrated plans coming from a place of pure darkness, she carried the entire show by being the ultimate villain. She not only betrayed her husband by producing children incestuously but also planned the death of thousands of people at the Great Sept of Baelor. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how the Lannisters have a wicked philosophy of throwing everyone under the bus if it's about self-interest.  Joffrey Baratheon Joffrey showing his true colors after his coronation was a plot twist in Game of Thrones that no one saw coming. Right when he ordered Ned Stark, we knew what was lurking under that innocent demeanor Joffrey carries all the time. After the first season, Joffrey established himself as a terrorizing force but as the show progressed, it was no surprise that his reckless decisions made him some great enemies who didn't hesitate to murder him. The Night King Let's talk about that one frightening monster who had no sense of humanity whatsoever. Simply because he wasn't a human. The Night King was born to kill. All that he was capable of was turning everyone into an army of the walking dead. From the first time he made an appearance in the show, he ignited fear in the eyes of the spectators. Ramsay Bolton How can we end this list without talking about the nastiest of them all? Ramsay Bolton, the son of Roose Bolton, took over the North and initiated his series of atrocities upon the Northerners. During the show, he abused many characters including his wife Sansa Stark, and Theon Greyjoy. Emotion is a concept alien to Ramsay and that shows when he ends up killing his entire family to avoid risking his position as the king. That distinguishes him from all the other villains of the show as his motives for attaining power are purely narcissistic and selfish. Overall Thoughts The world of Game of Thrones is full of lots of characters that left lasting impressions. When you think back the show is rich in jaw-dropping moments and heart-pumping excitement. There were characters that were both heroic and villainous, but which one of them was the worst? Don't forget to let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Read the full article

[leaphia-art]

Shelter & Thorn - Aaron Sinclair aka. Midas

Another little re-design, this time of my fav villain Aaron. I always struggled to get his hairstyle right so I decided to do a few changes (It’s just… a bit longer now) Anyways, yes he has only 3 facial expressions: Angry, Smug & Sinister, that’s it xD

[leaphia]

Them 💜💚

I think this is the first illustration I really took my time with and enjoyed the process (after a while). Sometimes I’m quite impatient with my artworks, I already want to see them finished and then I’m rushing the process and it… doesn’t really turn out like I want it to. Anyways, I love these two (+ little baby-mandrake Sprout)

[oraclekleo]

Hi there, can request a free reading please?

I’m a October Scorpio, with Leo moon. I’m 23 years old.

Question: what are my attractive qualities? Thank you!

Hello!

Thank you for being so patient with me.

I have completed your reading.

Cards: 3 of Wands, 4 of Cups, XI Justice (Tarot of the Divine), Bellflower - Gratitude, Peony - Prosperity & Compassion (Botanical Inspirations), 5. Cronus - Cycles (Mythic Oracle)

Right from the start I can see that people find you attractive the way you are for your unique ability to embrace change and go with the flow of your life. We all go through constant changes - our moods change, our looks change, our opinions change. You don’t try to resist the change and you don’t grow bitter about it. Maybe your first wrinkles appeared and you see it as proof you smile a lot in life and just wear them with pride. Or maybe you gain or lose weight and instead of wishing it to be the other way round, you embrace it and take it as how life goes. Your self-love and confidence in being the ever changing you is what others find attractive and admire about you. Maybe you even lead by example. You desire what you have and don’t get sad about things you might lack. This gratitude actually attracts life prosperity to you and multiple blessings. People probably feel more lucky around you as you share your good fortune with them, intentionally or unintentionally.

You are a courageous person. You don’t fear challenges in life and when things need to be done, you roll your sleeves up and do the necessary. People admire that a lot. No matter how thorny the path might be, you cut through the thorns and learn valuable lessons in the process. For some reason I have recalled one quote from F. Nietzsche: “When one has finished building one's house, one suddenly realises that in the process one has learned something that one really needed to know in the worst way - before one began.” You might be one of those people who just take on a project or path just to learn in the process. It might be the harder way but your courage is admirable.

You are fair and unbiased. You try to treat all people with basic human decency and respect. On the other hand, you are not very likely to invent apologies for them when they act wrong. People value that quality of yours because you seldomly listen to mean gossip and usually try to find where the real truth lies. You listen to all sides of the story before you make an opinion.

Thank you for reading!

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[cosmopolitesblog]

10 top ways of thinking that can benefit you for a lifetime:

1. Don't be the enemy of the fantasy in your mind.

People are often enemies of the illusions in their minds in their lives. It's not terrible. What's terrible is the truth of assumptions in their minds.

When you fall into reality to touch the truth, break the negative presuppositions in your mind, and see the truth itself, most of them are not afraid. For example, many people are not afraid of death, but afraid of illness and accidents. This is the illusory fear, because of fear. But in fact, the worst result (the truth) is actually not afraid, so we should dare to face the truth behind the fear, so that we can stop the water, lighten up and carry on the past.

2. Clear and blind entrustment is a danger signal.

Any relationship, when you are panicked by the impermanence of the other party, is actually a danger signal, reminding you to deal with it in time. On the contrary, look at yourself:

Why do you rely on each other?

How should we be responsible for our own profits and losses?

Can the other party really fulfill himself, or can he entrust it blindly with wishful thinking?

Then return to the home field thinking:

How to take yourself as the foundation, fix your own homework, and keep your own territory.

3. Love yourself first to tell what true love is.

You should love yourself first, and the so-called irreversible screening principles of the people you love, what you expect, and what you like are:

He can make you love yourself better.

Once this principle is violated, it is obviously scarce, but still pretends to be the Blessed Virgin of all sentient beings, it is easy to be lost in the changes of people and things.

4. Don't bind others in the name of love.

"I love you, you are free", the premise is that you have to give yourself freedom to give others freedom.

The so-called freedom: allow him to belong only to himself, allow him to have his own space, and allow him to break through the thorns for his heart.

The essence of wanting to bind each other is not love, but in fact, you can't be responsible for yourself and want to cover it up in the name of your lover.

5. Don't be greedy for the eternal rise, and the highlight moment paves the way for the dormant.

People can't always be in the rising period. Don't be blinded by the highlights of the past, and pursue the never-end "better to get more than in the past". You are lucky enough to reach a certain peak. In addition to strength, you will also have the blessing of the right time, place and people.

At the peak, it should be understood that this victory is not to blindly arrogant yourself, but to broaden your horizons and reserve grain and fodder. When the cards are shuffled in the future, there will be rain and firewood prepared by sunny days, the light and heat that provide shelter for yourself, and the cards and capital to start again to create the peak.

6. There is not enough energy, and 36 counts are the top.

Selective withdrawal is not an escape, such as "not talking about the length with a fool" and "occasionally being lazy when the head is muddy". In fact, it activates the protection mechanism by itself, blocking the dark external projection in other people's hearts, reducing the negative effects of insufficient energy and reluctantly doing things, and making yourself more powerful to upgrade and restart

Therefore, if you feel that you don't have enough energy to pull away from something, you might as well take this as an opportunity to look inside and see where the need to pull away is? Is it good for you to barely fight? When it is not necessary to play the role of a robot with high emotional intelligence and extreme self-discipline, the opposite is bound to be the opposite.

7. Accepting people's imperfections and perfection are all fictional fantasies.

Everyone can't be a god. When you regard a person as a god or a self-made god, you will either lose the home parasitic attachment, or a frog at the bottom of a well with a narrow vision.

The correct attitude should be: appreciate a person, but understand his limitations; accept yourself, but also understand that you will make mistakes.

8. Set the boundary and don't misplace the role.

The role is corresponding, one is willing to hit and the other is willing to be beaten.

Any role begins with self-positioning. If you treat others as a son, the other party will naturally treat you as a father; if you treat others as an audience, others will naturally treat you as an actor.

In life and work, any relationship, do your best, set boundaries, and only concentrate on playing your corresponding role. Naturally, the relationship will be clear and your heart will be clear.

9. All character can not only overturn the boat, but also be able to carry the boat.

A person's greatest shortcomings and greater advantages sometimes coincide.

For example:

With loyalty, if you use it well, you can gather people's hearts. If you don't use it well, you will fall.

If you are stubborn, you can persevere in the right things if you use it well, and if you don't use it well, you will repeat the pitfalls in the wrong things.

Many people always stare at one of their mistakes and personality and blame themselves, which is actually unnecessary. Looking at the overall situation, you will understand that everything has two sides. You can not only overturn the boat, but also carry the boat. It depends on how you take the helm and whether you can think carefully.

10. Don't look back frequently, don't change the essence, and you will visit again.

There are early knowledge and beggars. If you don't live a good life in the present, going back to the past is just a repeat of the same mistake. In essence, it has not changed. The inertia of thinking and fluke psychology will also pull you back to your own class. It will not usher in a new life until you recognize, reorganize,

Instead of frequently turning back and panicking, it is better to observe the past and the present, see where the point of repeated pits is, and fill it in bravely, so that the future self (the present is the future past) will not leave regrets.

[probablynot-john]

Spooky Halloween kalluzeb AU!

Zeb and the rest of the spectors are literally ghosts who "live" together in haunted Lothol mansion (Ezra was a teenage run away who broken in and stayed there for shelter one night until he died. Don't worry he's much happier). There's big brass wolf head knocker on the front door.

One day Kallus the ghostbuster comes in looking for ghosts to exorcise and turn the mansion to profitable realistate. He comes by every week with his PKE meter and proton pack, but really he's nothing more than a thorn in their side. Hera and Kannan just find him kinda annoying and Ezra and Sabine love messing with him, it's the highlight of their week.

One time Hera gets so fed up with him she traps him th the basement for hours. Unfortunately since none of the spectors need things like food or heat anymore, they don't realize just how terrible the "living conditions" of the manor are. Poor Kallus is freezing, but it's not so bad cause Zeb takes pity on him and keeps him company while he's down there. At first it's to make sure he doesn't wreck up the place too much, but after a while they talk and realize how much they have in common.

Unfortunately Kallus was still hired to do a job and he needs to get rid of the ghosts, but after he escapes the the freezing baren basement (Zeb let him out, Hera forgot he was in there) he starts coming by just to hang out with them. He brings news papers so they can know what's going on outside and what ever else he can think of (he's also still getting paid while he does this).

Zeb is delighted every time he sees him, he even shows him the atic, which has an old gramophone with several records, a very high ceiling and a wide open floor (I think we can all see where this is going). Zeb uses his vague and undefined ghost powers so they can waltz through the air, it's very magical and beautiful.

Eventually Kallus is fired from the ghostbusters for complete negligence of his job but for some reason he's not all that bummed about it.

Kallus: "I don't need to eat or pay bills anymore I'll gust die and become a ghost with you guys"

Ezra: "Sure sounds like a great idea!"

Everyone else: "that is the worst idea in the history of bad ideas. Please don't kill yourself"

After he gets fired Kallus lives in the manor for about week, sleeping on an old mattress that probably has bedbugs. Zeb feels guilty that he got his boyfriend fired, and only feels worse when Kal is arrested for trespassing since he nolonger has any legal reason to be there. However spending the night in the structuraly sound county jail gives him the idea to turn Lothol manor into a heritage site to protect it and its inhabitants from corporations (and just the house falling apart from decay).

It takes some convincing but the spectors agree, and after a considerable amount of fundraising they can start renovations. The project is sponsored by Calrisian enterprise, an entrepreneur who started his own company that does various vague and extremely profitable things. It's all extremely suspicious but they needed the money and he was the one who didn't think Kallus was crazy (as fas as they can tell).

During the renovations Kallus falls off a ladder and breaks his leg, (because he was a little too happy in this au). Eventually he becomes somewhat of an urban legend as the crazy old man who lives alone in a big haunted mansion and walks with a cane. He lives there for the rest of his natural life until he dies of a heart attack at 72, probably could have lived longer if he got help faster but that's what happens when you live far away from all living people who could've called for help.

It doesn't really matter though cause now he can spend eternity in bliss with his family and husband, until death they were parted.

The end.

If you guys wanna add on to this feel free, it was literally just something I made up as I went along, took about 2 hours. I actually have backstories for how all the spectors died, might make a pt2.

[midnight-and-his-melodiverse]

The Melodiverse: Species, Part 1

Note I: This one's gonna be long LOL

Species, Part 1: Demons

Seven different types of demons exist within the Melodiverse, all being based off the seven Melody Gems: HARMONY (aka Sky)

RHYTHM (aka Earth)

ANARCHY (aka Fire)

DAY (aka Sun)

NIGHT (aka Moon)

ARCANE (aka Magic)

SHADOW / VOID (aka Astral)

Personalities

I. SKY DEMONS

Sky Demons are serene, good-natured beings, who despite residing in the Etherlands amongst the brothers of Sun and Moon and sisters of Tide and Flame and the other goddesses, and being far from tangible human contact, are one of the seven types of demons who admire humans and their inner life.

Sky Demons are very perceptive and intelligent, and are known to be very friendly and hospitable towards other demons and most humans.

II. EARTH DEMONS

Earth Demons have a very mysterious personality. They reside within the Earth underground, or sometimes they can crawl out from under their lightless shelter and perform the trick of transforming themselves into any land-dwelling creatures that's within distance of a nicely-cut field or forest, and scare people.

Earth Demons don't like to show their true form around other demons, and that's when they resort to a much more subdued appearance with muted earth tones and colors.

III. FIRE DEMONS

Fire Demons have a volatile personality. It mainly revolves around their love of chaos, and contrary to what many think, Fire Demons aren't regular demons. In fact, they're human souls, trapped inside a demon, and waiting eternally to be let out.

IV. SUN DEMONS

Sun Demons are meditative and empathetic. Much like the Sky Demons, they share some personality traits. (still working on their description)

V. NIGHT DEMONS

Night Demons are the most feared because of the biological curse they harbor. Being fueled by an evil kind of possession, most likely given to them by a midnight curse on their day of birth, they are known to have destructive episodes where they black out but when they come to, their surrounding environment is mildly destroyed. After the episode, they seem to forget what happened during it.

VI. ARCANE DEMONS

Arcane Demons are well known as tricksters, and they get this trait from the Earth Demons, but because the Arcane Demons' magic ability is dialed up higher, they're able to project great illusions able to trick the mind.

VII. ASTRAL DEMONS

And finally, the Void / Astral Demons. Their shapeshifting ability, of which they share with Sky Demons and Earth Demons, is greater to the point that they're able to shift into cosmic abnormalities or choose to assume the form of a black cat.

They're known to be the most mysterious and elusive out of all the demons and and they love spooking people.

Now that this is out of the way...

Time to introduce the demons!!

I. SKY DEMON

In the Etherlands, resides the Sky Demons which have ethereal ghost-like skin, rounded white-hued horns reflecting the purity of their personality, glowing blue eyes, and soft catlike paws as they're a type of demon that is fused with an animal (for this example, a cat).

Sky Demons are serene, good-natured beings, who despite residing in the Etherlands amongst the brothers of Sun and Moon and sisters of Tide and Flame and the other goddesses, and being far from tangible human contact, are one of the seven types of demons who admire humans and their inner life.

They're very perceptive and intelligent, and are known to be very friendly and hospitable towards other demons and most humans.

II. EARTH DEMON

Earth Demons however, make their residence either underground in the dirt and stone or above ground hiding within the forests and trees with their trickery of transformation. This trickery enables them to assume the form of any land-dwelling creature and their appearance varies based on the creature. But because they don't usually like showing their party tricks to other demons, they can be found in a more subdued appearance.

This consists of dark green skin, stubby horns with grass and thorns grown over them, bright glowing green eyes and short but sharp claws which prove effective in scratching and clawing their way out of the ground if they happen to get stuck.

Earth Demons have a very mysterious personality. They reside within the Earth underground, or sometimes they can crawl out from under their lightless shelter and perform the trick of transforming themselves into any land-dwelling creatures that's within distance of a nicely-cut field or forest, and scare people.

They don't like to show their true form around other demons, and that's when they resort to a much more subdued appearance with muted earth tones and colors.

III. FIRE DEMON

Deep in the Discordant Barrens, dwells the Fire-Demons, which although most people think are the usual regular demons, they're more than that. In fact, they're humans that either died having committed a horrible crime or played with a dangerous magic and found their way to the Discordant Barrens.

Due to the intense heat, their skin becomes charred over the many years they spent there. Their soul now trapped in a demon body, expresses the rage of being trapped by flaring up the body and heating up the skin intensely.

The appearance of Fire-Demons include, burnt and charred human skin which is partially healed thanks to magic, straight orange-hued horns, glowing dark red eyes, and sharp claws.

Fire Demons have a volatile personality. It mainly revolves around their love of chaos, and contrary to what many think, Fire Demons aren't regular demons. In fact, they're human souls, trapped inside a demon, and waiting eternally to be let out.

IV. SUN DEMON

Back up to the Etherlands in a higher region, resides the Sun Demons which mostly share the trickery of transformation with the Earth Demons, except for the fact that Sun Demons harbor the shapeshifting ability with sky-dwelling creatures (birds, bees, etc.) The Sun Demon's appearance includes bright sun-bathed skin, sun-shaped horns, bright yellow eyes, and stingers on their hands and feet (like bees and wasps have) unless they shapeshift into a bird, which replaces the stingers with bird claws.

Sun Demons are meditative and empathetic. Much like the Sky Demons, they share some personality traits.

V. NIGHT DEMON

Night Demons are the most feared because of the biological curse they harbor. Being fueled by an evil kind of possession, most likely given to them by a midnight curse on their day of birth, they are known to have destructive episodes where they black out but when they come to, their surrounding environment is mildly destroyed.

After the episode, they seem to forget what happened during it. Usually these episodes would be triggered by fury and anger, but other times stress can cause them.

The Night Demon's appearance includes constellation-covered skin, spiky blue-hued horns, white glowing eyes, and long thin claws. Side note: These Night Demons are known to be surprisingly fluffy, like petting a cat's fur.

--THE MIDNIGHT CURSE--

⚠️ Note: NOT related in any way to Midnight (the character)

The Midnight Curse, is an urban legend in the Melodiverse telling how a group of teens became Night Demons, by tricking the Melody Gems. In punishment for that, their bodies were seared apart and transformed by the brother of the moon, Fengari.

The phrase: "biological curse" refers to the Night Demons, as a species, but many Melodiverse conspiracy theorists believe they can link it to the urban legend of the Midnight Curse, despite there being no similarities.

The Story

The story goes, that a group of young teens followed a very strange kid who seemed to be channeling the powers of demons and also just had weird vibes, according to them.

They followed this kid to the edge of entering a forest and he pointed out the Night Gem, which stood on a stone pedestal with white moon symbols burned into the rock. After convincing the group of teens to watch the kid do something, they were horrified as the kid lifted the gem above his head and shortly after, a blinding beam of light descended down upon him. It seared him apart, and then his body was transformed into a Night Demon before he promptly vanished.

VI. ARCANE DEMON

Arcane Demons are a more mischievous type of demon and they've been known to reside in mysterious places. Not much more is known about them, though other than the fact that they adore tricking people and are the most magically inclined.

Their appearance includes: purple skin, straight rainbow horns, rainbow eyes, and claws that can shift from dull to sharp. Their magical inclination, enables most of their features to change at a moment's notice.

Arcane Demons are well known as tricksters, and they get this trait from the Earth Demons, but because the Arcane Demons' magic ability is dialed up higher, they're able to project great illusions able to trick the mind.

VII. ASTRAL DEMON

And finally, the Void / Astral Demons. Their shapeshifting ability, of which they share with Sky Demons and Earth Demons, is greater to the point that they're able to shift into cosmic abnormalities or choose to assume the form of a black cat.

They're known to be the most mysterious and elusive out of all the demons and and they love spooking people. Their appearance includes: Black skin, spiky glowing horns, bright purple eyes, and long spindly claws.

And that wraps up Species: Part 1! Coming next in a couple of days: A look at the importance of Humans in the Melodiverse! ("Species, Part 2: Humans")

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WORLDBUILDING TAGLIST: @blind-the-winds, @purgatorydotexe, @carefulpyro, @bardic-tales, @365runesofwriting @lockejhaven (Ask / DM to be added to, or removed from, the taglist!)

SPECIES TAGLIST: @elijahrichardwrites, @365runesofwriting @lockejhaven (Ask / DM to be added to, or removed from, the taglist!)

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 1/5

Book Blurb: From USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game Sally Thorne comes something a little unexpected… a historical rom-com that imagines Victor Frankenstein’s sheltered younger sister, and her attempts to create the perfect man.For generations, every Frankenstein has found their true love and equal, unlocking lifetimes of blissful wedded adventure. Clever, pretty (and odd) Angelika Frankenstein has run out of suitors and fears she may become the exception to this family rule. When assisting in her brother Victor’s ground-breaking experiment to bring a reassembled man back to life, she realizes that having an agreeable gentleman convalescing in the guest suite might be a chance to let a man get to know the real her. For the first time, Angelika embarks upon a project that is all her own.When her handsome scientific miracle sits up on the lab table, her hopes for an instant romantic connection are thrown into disarray. Her resurrected beau (named Will for the moment) has total amnesia and is solely focused on uncovering his true identity. Trying to ignore their heart-pounding chemistry, Angelika reluctantly joins the investigation into his past, hoping it will bring them closer. But when a second suitor emerges to aid their quest, Angelika wonders if she was too hasty inventing a solution. Perhaps fate is not something that can be influenced in a laboratory? Or is Will (or whatever his name is!) her dream man, tailored for her in every way? And can he survive what was done to him in the name of science, and love?Filled with carriages, candlesticks, and corpses, Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match is the spooky-season reimagining of the well-known classic that reminds us to never judge a man by his cadaver!

Review:

What happens when in order to find the perfect love you have to create him... specifically out of other body parts. The story follows Victor Frankenstein’s younger sister, Angelika. Angelika is spoiled, sheltered, and lives in her fantasies. While she is the assistant of her brother in his work she also dreams about finding the perfect match. Since all other attempts have been futile she has resorted the last option, creating her dream man. When a trip to the morgue leads to the discovery of a beautiful body, Angelika has finally found the one. When she reanimates it, and said corpse comes to life, he has no memory of who he is or where he is and the only thing he is determined to find out is his past life. He does not want to marry her, he does not want to love her. and he just wants to discover who he is. Angelika does not take this well, she has fantasized about their love and is determined to have him fall in love with her while slowly, and reluctantly helping him discover who he is. On this journey there is also another suitor that appears for Angelika’s hand that has her questioning her love for her resurrected beau. Now she will have to figure out which of the two she truly wants. All the while we also get to experience Victor and his love Lizzie and the other reanimated corpse that Victor brings to life. I’m going to be honest, I was so excited to read this, I loved the Hating Game and I am always a fan of Frankenstein retellings, so when I read the premise of this I was hooked. Unfortunately for me, this did not pan out, I found Angelika to be extremely unlikable and the fact that she ***SPOILER**** is constantly determined to end up with the guy she created and ends up with, is just... oh gosh.. is this necromancy??? He is literally hand made from other people’s parts that she put together and he barely has any memories and she keeps pushing her fantasies onto him. All Angelika does is fantasize about him and then complain about being rejected or hurt or the fact that she is constantly falling for guys who don’t love her. Suffice to say, the only reason I was enjoying this book was the little glimpses we get of Victor and Lizzie who I found to be absolutely adorable and fun to read about. While this one didn’t work out for me I definitely think if you go into this not expecting what I was expecting you would have a better time reading it.

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[rizlowwritessortof]

Riz’s Master List

Just updated my master list (finally) - haven’t added anything new for a few months, unfortunately, but I’m working on it! Links below the cut. HUGE THANKS to @firefly-graphics for the dividers, you are a GIFT, my friend! 

Never Look Back

Dean Winchester/Female OC, 21 chapters

Bethany Rae Cooper didn’t realize when she met the Winchesters in her family’s bar and grill that her life would never be the same. But she’s always believed that everything happens for a reason, even if it’s not exactly what you were expecting…

The Shadow’s Edge

Dean Winchester/Female OC, 17 chapters

Sequel to Never Look Back. When the demon Dameon was killed, Dean and Beth thought their son was safe from the prophecy. But when Cas brings them news of the new battle for Hell, they realize that their war has just begun.

The Fine Line

Dean Winchester/Female OC, 34 chapters

An unexpected tragedy sends Devon down the dark path of hate and vengeance, but she will learn that things are not always what they seem…

Scars

Dean Winchester/Female OC, 10 chapters

Sequel to The Fine Line. Dean and Devon’s relationship has always been stormy - but can they work through the scars of their past to find each other again?

Stars In the Darkness

Dean Winchester/Female OC, 8 chapters

A crushing loss brings Dean and Sam to Sioux Falls, and ghosts from the past and present bring them across the path of Tiara, a girl they haven’t seen since childhood.

Dreaming

Dean Winchester/Female OC, 5 chapters

Dean Winchester has always been a bit of a thorn in Kelsey’s side - a very attractive thorn, but still… A visit at her uncle Bobby’s reunites her with the boys, and she begins having vivid dreams - about Dean. Is it just her subconscious trying to tell her something? Or is there more to it than that?

My Unimportant Little Life

Dean Winchester/Female OC, 11 chapters

Season 5 timeline. Dean gets yanked from 2009 to 2014, so he can see the ‘consequences’ of saying no to Michael. At Camp Chitaqua he meets Reggie, and is surprised to find that she comes from 2009 as well…

Back In the Saddle

Dean Winchester/Female OC, 10 chapters

Dean and Sam are back in the old west again - in answer to a cry for help from Samuel Colt. And if Dean just happens to get tangled up with the spirited redhead that owns the saloon… what’s the harm, right?

Sweet Escape

Dean/Female Reader, 2 parts

What happens when a friend jokingly does a spell at your birthday party to bring your cardboard standup of Dean Winchester to life? This one’s dedicated to my friend, Liz, who gave me the idea. If only…

Sweet Escape Part 1

Sweet Escape Part 2

Shut Up and Drive

Dean/Female Reader, 2 parts

Reader teases Dean while he’s driving, so - he gets even

Part 1 - Keep Your Eyes on the Road

Part 2 - Or We Could Park - Parking Is Good Too

Take the Long Way Home

Dean Winchester/Female OC, 8 chapters

A look at Dean and Rusty’s relationship, in the present and through their memories. Flashbacks/memories are in italics.

Black Velvet

Demon!Dean/Female Reader, Dean/Female Reader, 9 chapters

You and Sam are broken after Dean’s death. Nobody expected him to come back with black eyes…

Fade to Black

Dean/Female Reader, 11 chapters

Sequel to Black Velvet. Dean is no longer a demon, but he’s still cursed with the Mark of Cain, and the lure of that darkness grows stronger as time goes on.

Dean and Toby Series

Part 1 - The Meet-Cute (Actually Rescue but Whatever)

Part 2 - The Emergency Bed-Share/Move In With Us Combo

Part 3 - The Hit and Then Run Like Your Ass Is On Fire

Part 4 - The FINALLY Admit Your True Feelings and Get Busy

GENERIC

I’m Good

This is the story that was published in the Seasons - Supernatural Short Story Anthology in 2017. Bobby sharing some memories.

Combo Shot

Dean/Female Reader

June 2015 GIEPP (Girl In Every Port Project) entry. Prompt: Pool/Poker hustler competitive chick. Pretty much pure smut.

A Hunter Walks Into a Bar

Dean/Female OC

Prowling hunter, sassy bartender

Shelter

Dean/Female Reader

Dean providing comfort

That’s How It Should Be

Sheriff!Dean/Female Reader

They have to make a fast escape, but Dean won’t let being on horseback stand in the way of showing a lady a good time

The Storm

Dean/Female Reader

You’re terrified of storms, and Dean is concerned, feelings get shared

Pest Control

Dean/Female Reader

You think you’ve got mice. The exterminator that shows up is Dean Winchester. He’ll just let you believe that, and take care of the problem. And you.

Happy Birthday, Baby

Dean/Female OC (KK)

Fluffy, smutty birthday fic written for a friend

Gunpowder and Dean

Dean/Female Reader

You’re pissed off at Dean, taking it out on the firing range, but he just won’t leave you alone…

Juicy and Delicious

Dean/Female Reader

My entry for Dean’s Flavor of the Month fic challenge - Peach Pie. You bake some peach pies for Dean, and he’s very grateful…

Lost In You

Dean/Female Reader

A casual flirtation leads to a violent encounter, and Dean’s reaction is a little more than you expected. Warning for brief description of attempted (unsuccessful) assault. Protective Dean.

What You Need

Dean/Female Reader

You’re watching as Sam and Dean prepare to interrogate a demon. Dean knows you’re watching him, and he knows exactly the kind of effect it’s having on you…

Santa Claus Is Coming Tonight

Dean/Female Reader

Dean’s really getting into the Christmas spirit…

I Need You

Dean/Female Reader

You screwed up, Sam got hurt, Dean’s pissed and you aren’t handling it very well.

Snow Day

Dean/Female Reader

You and Dean, stuck in a motel room in a blizzard

Frisk Me

Dean/Female Cop Reader

You’re a cop, in hot pursuit of a murderer, and guess who crosses your path?

Comfort

Dean/Female Reader

Dean had a rough hunt, and he’s beating himself up as usual. You take his mind off things for a little while…

When I Think About You

Dean/Female Reader

It was a wild hunt, and you’re both a little high-strung. Surely there’s some way to blow off some steam…

One Finger

Dean/Female Reader

Dean Winchester has never been one to back down from a challenge

What Makes You Feel Alive

Endverse!Dean/Female Reader

The world is bleak, the struggle endless after Croatoan. You and Dean do what you have to do to keep going.

Sweet Misery

Dean/Unnamed Female OC

My entry for Bev’s Song Challenge - song prompt was Cryin’ by Aerosmith, lyrics at the beginning

Winchesters Don’t Giggle

Dean/Female Reader

A friend and I were having this discussion about giving Dean a back rub, and whether he might be ticklish…

Confession

Dean (Priest!Dean)/Female Reader

When Dean returns from some undercover work, you discover a fantasy you never realized you had

The Bait

Dean/Female Reader

This was written for @jessica-bones-winchester’s (now on her 100th url as @cavillanche - Love you, Jess!) Dating Dean Writing Challenge. The prompt was ‘dressing up as an anime character for his birthday.’ And I have to admit, I really enjoyed this one… Reader dresses as Sailor Mars (from Sailor Moon) for Dean’s birthday.

Hey, Man - Nice Shot

Dean/Female Reader

This is for @jessica-bones-winchester’s ( @cavillanche ) Dating Dean Writing Challenge. The prompt was ‘competitiveness in the shooting range (loser cleans the kitchen for a week) No smut.

Take the Pain Away

Dean/Female Reader

This was written for @jessica-bones-winchester’s ( @cavillanche ) Dating Dean Writing Challenge. Prompt was ‘him taking care of you when you’re sick.’ Reader falls victim to a migraine, and Dean helps her through it. No smut.

Lose Yourself

Dean/Female Reader

Smut, pure and simple… Just imagine having Dean tied up, at your mercy while you worship those perky nipples…

The Contest

Dean/Female Reader

Dean loves to give you a hard time, and one night he pushes things a little too far… Flashback in italics. All’s well that ends well.

Slow Ride

Dean (Bullriding!Dean) /Reader

Yeah, after 12x11, y'all should have known this was coming - they don’t call me Cowgirl for nothing… Written (coincidentally - timing is everything!) for the Smut Apocalypse (Smut Appreciation Day) on Tumblr.

The Photo Booth

Dean/Unnamed Female OC - Dean’s POV

This was written for @winchestersandwordprocessors SPN Valentine’s Fic Challenge. Prompt was Semi-public/Risk of getting caught.

Make You Mine

Dean/Female Reader

Dean’s jealousy gets the best of him, which is not a bad thing…

Take a Chance

Dean/Unnamed Female OC - Dean’s POV

In 7x04, Dean gives himself a little pep talk before his planned hook-up with the bartender. That scene is what inspired me. This one is more important than the usual one-nighters, and it’s making him a little nervous…

If We Don’t Make It

Dean/Female OC

This fic was written for @whispersandwhiskerburn Angel’s 2K Follower Celebration. My song prompt was “Broken” by Lifehouse, and the dialogue prompt was “If we don’t make it out of this, I need you to know…” No smut.

My Deliverer

Dean/Female Spirit - Her POV

Dean is hunting a vengeful spirit. But another spirit is in this place, and she is drawn to him…

Friendly Advice

Dean/Female Reader - Dean POV, Reader POV

This was written for @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog Mimi’s RomCom Fluff Challenge. The fluff got a little smudged into smutty fun… oops! Two POV’s, Dean’s thoughts are in italics and Reader’s are in regular font.

Old Times

Dean/Female OC

Sequel a few years down the road from A Hunter Walks Into a Bar. Tiara goes back to the bar for a visit, and who should show up the next night but Dean Winchester… Flashback in italics.

You Can Leave Your Hat On

Dean/Female Reader (nicknamed Taz)

Inspired by the sexy AF Cowboy!Dean we were treated to in 13x06 Tombstone. Helped along by Joe Cocker’s rendition of “You Can Leave Your Hat On.“

Wish Her the Best

Dean/Female OC - Dean’s POV

This is an angsty li'l fic inspired by Thomas Rhett’s ‘Marry Me,’ tore at my heart until I finally wrote it. No smut.

A Matter of… Time?

Dean/Female Reader

This is the crackiest piece of work I’ve ever written - for @percywinchester27 Ana’s PJO Quotes Challenge. Prompt was “Don’t you ever feel that way? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?” - “Umm - no. Me running the world would be kind of a nightmare.”

Demon Seed

Demon!Dean/Female Reader

Demon!Dean stops in for a drink and decides he wants you. He’s very persuasive. Written for @evansrogerskitten’s Hottest Dean Challenge.

Not Wasted Now

Dean/Female Reader

When you all decide to get drunk in the aftermath of a bad hunt, lines get a little blurred. Or crossed. Or fucking erased. Fluffy, smutty, comforting, sweet and sexy Dean.

Bad Guy

Demon!Dean/Female Reader

This was written for @eyes-of-a-disney-princess Rapunzel’s Tangled Up With Supernatural Challenge. My Tangled quote was “You want me to be the bad guy? Fine, now I’m the bad guy.”

Shiny

Trucker!Dean/Female OC

Trucker!Dean AU. Breaker, breaker, got your ears on? 67 Midnight Rider, put that hammer down…

Some Kind of Hero

Dean/Female OC

Written for Tiff’s WTF Challenge. Dean’s just filling up Baby, minding his own business, when he hears an argument and gets involved. Protective Dean, no smut, left that to your imagination.

Crave

Dean/Female Reader

So, have some ‘Riz is craving some sexy Dean action with a big ol’ side of schmoopy fluff’ stuff. Because I was, and I’m sharing with you - the smut and all the sickenly sweet cuddly that I just need sometimes. If y'all are in the mood for that kind of thing.

Perchance to Dream

Dean/Female OC

Using African dream root on a case leads to an awkward situation, and Karlie can’t handle the tension between her and Dean any longer

Ruined

Dean/Female Reader

Dean comes home from a hunt, and he’s had something on his mind…

Going Home

Dean/Female Reader

Written for @crispychrissy’s Gif It To Me Challenge. Overhearing only part of a conversation sends her running, but jumping to conclusions without the whole story isn’t the best decision. No smut.

Not the Smartest Thing

Dean/Female Reader - Reader POV

Only Dean Fucking Winchester could turn taking a swig of beer into pornography. Cocky bastard. But two can play at that game.

Suzy Q

Dean/Female OC - OC POV

Written for @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan’s Multi-fandom Follower Celebration Challenge. Prompt - “I think I’m having a feeling. How do I make it stop?”

Invisible Touch

Dean/Unnamed Female OC

Rowena teaches Dean something new, and he gets inspired. I have no idea where this came from, but here it is…

Maybe I’m Amazed

Dean/Unnamed Female OC

An accident leaves her unconscious and fighting for her life in the hospital, drifting in and out of awareness and memories as Dean refuses to leave her side. Written for @rockhoochie’s 1K Love Supernatural Style Writing Challenge.

Reunion

Dean/Female OC

Passing through town, Dean runs into an old high school classmate. Fluffy and smutty, no angst here!

Playing With Fire

MOC!Dean/Unnamed Female OC

Late Season 10 MOC!Dean smut fic that just wouldn’t leave me alone…

Uninvited

Michael!Dean/Dean/Unnamed Female OC

Michael gives Dean a choice, because sometimes Michael likes to watch…This one is darker than my normal, PLEASE heed the warnings.

What Happens At the Roadhouse…

Early-Season Dean/Female OC

Bailey’s just looking for a couple days post-hunt R&R at Harvelle’s - and then he shows up. Cocky bastard.

Unleashed

Post-Purgatory Dean/Female OC

She’s still struggling to cope a year after Dean disappeared in the explosion that killed Dick Roman.

The Pool House

Dean/Unnamed female OC

Inspired by a dream - one I will never forget!

The Break-In

Dean/Tara (female OC)

One night I started thinking about what it would be like using mics and earbuds and having Dean’s voice RIGHT IN YOUR EAR. And then this fic happened. Hope you enjoy!

Tired of Missing You

Dean/Journey (female OC)

This is one of those times when my story yanked the wheel out of my hands and I just went along for the ride. So if you’re in the mood for a fluffy, angsty cookie with a smutty, creamy middle - here ya go!

Compelled

Dean/Brandi (female OC)

Have you ever had a really bad day at work? I’ve never had a day quite as bad as Brandi’s - but damn, I’d love to use this method to relieve the stress…

The Devil Made Me Do It

Demon!Dean/Shea (Female OC)

Shea is in a reckless mood. Demon!Dean is happy to help her indulge that mood.

Driving Miss Baby

Dean/Reader

Dean decides you need a driving lesson in Baby.

Just a Little Story About Lou and Sam

Sam/Female OC

Lou and Sam walk into a bar… written for a friend who’s a Sammy girl

Doctor-Patient Relations

Sam/Female OC

One-shot inspired by The Born-Again Identity - sick Sammy and Dr. Nicole. Written for another Sammy-girl friend

Head vs. Heart

No title

Fourth of July

Working Saturday Isn’t So Bad

11x17 Drabble

Some Nights He Dreams

Most of the Time

The Name Game

God Bless America

Stress Relief

Dean Hurt/Comfort Drabble

@mrs-squirrel-chester ‘s Album Fanfic Writing Challenge Drabbles

    Dangerous

    For My Brother

    In Chains

    Kiss and Tell

    The End of Me

    Choices

    Hero

    Pure

    In the End

[amarimaryllis]

I Liked You So Much, We Lost It (Iwaizumi x Reader)

Pairing: Iwaizumi/Reader

Prompt/Summary: You and Iwaizumi are so in love with each other that the only way the universe can separate you both is to put 8,577 kilometers worth of land and sea between the two of you (spoiler: the universe actually does put 8,577 kilometers worth of land and sea between the two of you).

Tags: Fluff, Angst

Note: I used she/her pronouns for the reader, Lots of timeskips, Inspired by Ysabelle’s “I Liked You So Much, We Lost It”, Sequel to “I Like You So Much, You’ll Know It” but can be read as a standalone fic

Warnings: Angst, Very Slight Manga Spoilers, Slight Canon Divergence (you won’t even notice it if you don’t read into it so let’s shhhh, I mean this entire fanfic is a canon divergence but let’s not 😌)

Almost everyone in Aoba Johsai knew that you and Iwaizumi were together. So many people had invested themselves in the friends to lovers situation that you guys had that it was impossible for them to not find out that you guys were finally together. Nearly three years of you guys just tip-toeing around each other and it finally paid off.

You guys were practically inseparable since the day that Iwaizumi brought you to the convenience store to shelter yourselves from the rain. If one was to see either of you, it was sure that the other would come around eventually. You guys were so deeply in love with each other that nothing could separate you. However, months had passed, and in a few weeks, it would be time for you all to graduate. You never really knew what Iwaizumi’s plans were after Seijoh. You just trusted that everything would fall into place as it always did.

“Hajime, why are you avoiding my gaze?” You pout from the floor of his bedroom, sitting with your legs crossed as you basked in the warmth that his hoodie brought.

Iwaizumi looks up from his work to give you a small smile. “You look too cute in my jacket.”

“And?” You blush slightly, but you don’t let him fully change the topic.

“It’s distracting, and I have this final project to finish.” Iwaizumi turns to look back at the paper.

“Project? Didn’t we finish them all last week?” You raise a brow, trying to take a look at the paper before Iwaizumi hastily pulls it away from your view. “Hey, Hajime… What is that?”

“It’s nothing.” Iwaizumi’s body is tense, avoiding your gaze as he fiddles with the pen.

“Okay.” You can feel your heart beating quicker. Worry filled your veins, but you try to tell yourself that you’re probably just overreacting. “I trust you.”

Iwaizumi sighs before he stands up and goes to your side. He plops behind you, pulling you in between his legs before he wraps his arms around your waist and rests his chin on your shoulder. “I’m gonna miss this.”

You smile at his touch, closing your eyes to bask in the warmth that he emits before his words sink. “You’re talking as if I’m gonna be leaving.”

You giggle lightly before you turn around and wrap your arms around Iwaizumi’s neck, pressing your forehead onto his. “I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.”

Iwaizumi looks conflicted as he stares into your eyes, his grip on your waist getting tighter with each passing second. You can see his eyes swirl with a million different things, and it scares you. What was it that had him acting like this?

“Hajime—“

Iwaizumi cuts you off with a kiss.

It’s desperate. The way his lips move against yours, searching for something, longing for something. His lips were soft against yours, but the emotions you could feel swirling inside him made his movements hasty and thoughtless. It was like he was trying to forget something, erasing whatever it was that ate him up on the inside as he deepened the kiss.

He pulls away, giving you a chance to breathe before he’s hoisting you up and dropping you on his bed, hovering on top of you as he gazes into your eyes.

His eyes were teary, and this prompts you to speak. “Hajime what’s wrong?”

Iwaizumi drops to your side on the bed before he pulls you on top of him as he wraps his arms around you. “Promise me.”

“Promise you what?” The serious tone laced in Iwaizumi’s words makes your heart beat quicker, the fear of something—you didn’t know what exactly made you feel afraid at that moment—settling itself deep into your chest. “Hajime, what’s going on?”

“Promise me you’ll stay with me.” Iwaizumi whispers, his arms wrapping tighter around you as if he was afraid that you were going to disappear. “Please.”

“I promise.” You grab Iwaizumi’s cheeks with your hand before you press a quick peck on his lips. “Now tell me what’s going on. You seem so stressed lately, and it’s kind of making me worried.”

“I’m…” Iwaizumi’s voice is strained as if the words stuck in his throat were laced with thorns that wound him as he struggles to let it out. “I’m gonna study Sports Sciences.”

You giggle lightly. “Why are you worried? You’re gonna do great—“

“In California.” Iwaizumi whispers, but you hear it nonetheless.

It doesn’t sink in. You don’t want it to. As the anchors of that statement plunge deeper into the ocean of your system, the currents that try to keep you alive raise themselves to fight against the weight of the anchors. It’s futile, the waves of emotions, thoughts rage until they’re slowly drowning you in the uncertainty of your future. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“What?” Iwaizumi sits up, which in turn makes you sit up as well. “No. I’m just… I don’t want to lose you just because I’m leaving.”

“Then why are you so stressed?” You could feel your eyes well up with relief, but no matter how much you look on the bright side, there’s still that gnawing feeling in your stomach. “You’re not losing me unless you break up with me, idiot.”

“Hey, don’t cry.” Iwaizumi pouts lightly at you, making you laugh at the way he looked. He smiles, his heart swelling as he sees you laugh. “Are you sure you’re okay with it? I’m gonna be all the way in California. The timezones won’t match. I’ll be busy on some days. I won’t be here to hug you or kiss you. Which is pretty damn unfortunate cause I really like kissing you—“

“Iwaizumi Hajime.” Iwaizumi stops when he hears you call his name while grabbing his cheeks.

“Yes, love?” Iwaizumi responds immediately. It was as if months of being with you had trained him to do so when you called out his full name.

“I love you, and kilometers of land and sea isn’t gonna change that.” You smile before pressing a kiss on his lips. “Stop worrying.”

“Do that again.” Iwaizumi says as he eyes your lips.

“Do what?” You decide to tease him, acting as if you didn’t know that he wanted another kiss.

“Y/N.” He groans as he glares at you playfully. “You know what I mean.”

“But I don’t.” You have a shit-eating grin on your face.

“Fine, be like that.” Iwaizumi huffs before he pulls you for another kiss.

You can feel him smile against your lips as you wrap your arms around his neck.

That was 10 months ago. Iwaizumi left in July, making it a total of six months that you haven’t seen him in person. The first month went off without a hitch. Video chats every day, messages shared regardless of the other’s time zone, and other methods of communication were used just so you guys felt like you were still there with each other in person. Unfortunately, it didn’t go that well.

If you were to describe what happened, you would say that you could compare it to a candle. It burns brightly at first before it slowly melts the way and the candle comes crashing down, snuffing out its flame with its own wax. Each month that passed was a step closer to the end that you both desperately tried to ignore.

You laid in your bed, snuggled into your blankets as you tried to seek warmth. The jacket that Iwaizumi gave you that you wore provided no warmth. It may have eased the cold that the rain brought, but it did nothing to ease the winter that stormed within your chest. Despite the bitter cold, you held on. After all, every winter has to end, right?

You frowned as you looked at one of the pictures that Iwaizumi was tagged in. A blonde girl with her arm around his shoulder, and Iwaizumi with a bright smile. The kind of smile he used to wear in pictures with you.

You could feel anger in your veins, jealousy mingling with it as it brought your blood to a light simmer. You were being unreasonable, you knew that, but six months without Iwaizumi was getting to you, and seeing some other girl doing what you desperately wanted to, but not being able to, made an envious feeling grow in your chest. It didn’t help that she wore the jacket you knew all too well: A jacket you gave Iwaizumi before he left for California. Your eyes teared up at the fact.

You shut your phone and your eyes, ready to turn in for the night before the familiar ringtone fills your ears. You wait. You don’t answer immediately. You let the phone ring a bit more. Your irrational side coming out to play as you hoped that maybe Iwaizumi would feel just as cold as you if you answered him later than you usually did.

You pick up.

“Good morning, love.” Iwaizumi’s face pops up on your skin, a bright smile on his face as the beginnings of the morning sun kiss his skin. The background was moving, and the camera was unstable, which meant that Iwaizumi was probably walking to his class somewhere, “I’m sorry for calling at this time. It’s probably late there but I missed— Wait, are you okay? You look like you just cried.”

You saw that Iwaizumi had stopped walking, the background behind him as stagnant as the words stuck in your throat.

“Hey, baby, what’s wrong?” Iwaizumi furrows his brows. “Talk to me.”

You begin to speak. “I don’t think—“

The lightning strikes outside, and a bright flash fills your room. You laughed bitterly in your head, perhaps it was a warning from the universe.

You change your approach. “In the hundred different futures you imagined… In the Dateko game…”

You struggle to find your words.

Iwaizumi smiles, but it looks quite forced to you. “The hundred different futures I imagined with you when you cheered for me in the Dateko game?”

“Yeah.” You almost feel guilty as you finalize the words you’re about to say in your head.

“What about those?” Iwaizumi asks, ever the patient and understanding boyfriend he was, but you could see it. The glint in his eyes that he had whenever he wanted to finish something. The look he had in his eyes whenever he just wanted to get things over with like they were some sort of… Inconvenience.

“Did you...” You shift in your bed, second-guessing your words as you sit up and fiddle with the hem of Iwaizumi’s jacket. “Was there a future that went like this?”

“Like this?” Iwaizumi looks confused. “Where I call you in the middle of a street? Not really? That’s too specific, honestly.” He chuckles and your heart sinks.

“No, not that.” You say solemnly. “A future where we don’t work.”

“What?” Iwaizumi looks stunned, and for a second, your heart races at the sight of him looking as he did before… Before he went to California. “What do you mean? Y/N?”

“I just—“

“HAJIME!” You could hear a woman’s voice on the other side. Years of learning English made sure that you understood what she said without a problem “Ready to go?”

Iwaizumi looks away from you as he turns to the source, a smile painting his face. “Of course, just give me a second.”

Your heart sinks in realization.

That’s how he smiled at you in the past.

“I’m gonna go.” You choke out as tears flow down your cheeks. “Have a good day, Iwaizumi-san.”

You shut the phone.

You cry. You didn’t need to hear it fall from Iwaizumi’s lips. You didn’t need to have it confirmed. You knew him like the back of your hand, and you knew that he had feelings for that girl, whoever the hell she was. You knew that he probably only kept you because he didn’t want to hurt you. It wasn’t like he didn’t love you anymore. He probably did, it’s just that he found someone who was… There. Someone who wasn’t in a different place. Someone he could hug anytime he wanted to. It’s unfortunate that it wasn’t you, but maybe you should’ve seen it coming.

So you let go, and it was timely. What started underneath the rain, ended under it. The warmth of the first confession was washed away by the droplets, leaving nothing but the cold to soak deep into your system as you sobbed into your bed, hastily pulling the jacket off of your frame.

You make sure that Iwaizumi never gets to contact you. You had left him a message: a cruel “I’m breaking up with you, I’m sorry,” and nothing more. Maybe that would hurt him enough to make him feel less guilty about making moves on the other girl. You knew it was stupid to just leave him like that, but you just wanted it to stop. You hated the feeling of uncertainty. You hated the feeling of not being able to do anything. If you had to hurt yourself in the process of finding your peace of mind, then so be it.

Years pass and you’ve graduated. You’ve moved on. It wasn’t an easy process, but you pulled through. There were moments you just so wanted to desperately call Iwaizumi and crawl back into his arms, apologizing and all, but you stop yourself each time. You cut off all contact with him, you weren’t going to waste that. However, you knew that no matter how moved on you are, some part of you will always love him… And that’s okay. You’re okay. That’s the only thing that mattered.

Currently, you were in a convenience store, grabbing a quick snack before you went to the stadium to watch the volleyball match with Oikawa, who arrived from Argentina a few days back and wanted to meet up. The setter was probably looking for milkbread in one of the aisles, so you took your sweet time in picking a drink and snack because the setter would probably be shocked by the new variety of milkbread choices that popped up while he was still in Argentina.

Your phone buzzes.

Flatass: I’m at the table near the back, slowpoke. Get your ass here.

You roll your eyes with a grin before you text back.

You: You’re just jealous I have more ass than you.

You don’t get a reply. You shrug and pay for your items before you walk to the back of the store to eat with Oikawa.

“Oikawa—“ You stop at the sight.

Instead of Oikawa on the chair, it was Iwaizumi, still as handsome as he was years ago.

“Hey.” Iwaizumi smiles. “Do you mind if I watch with you guys? Oikawa had an extra ticket and who was I to decline—“

“I don’t mind.” You smile, nothing but happiness filling your chest as you reunite with an old friend.

A/N: I like to pretend that this part of the storyline doesn’t exist 💖. Also, this was written before Iwaizumi Hajime (27) Athletic Trainer was a thing so please excuse the ending.