#radian arms

[aestas---estas]

A conversation

Part 2 of this | MDNI 18+ | Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader | ~900 words | fem!reader, assistant!reader, protective!Simon, probable military inaccuracies, mentions of previous creep behaviour of an unnamed character | divider by @cafekitsune

Simon's in his office, it's early Monday morning and he thought it best to get an early start on his paperwork rather than toss and turn in bed. He had always been an early riser, even before the rigid schedule of military life, not to mention the insomnia and nightmares. But this time, it hadn't been bad, twisted memories or the unexplainable inability to get his body and mind to relax that had made sleep elude him — it had been you. You, in that perfect dress. You, calling him in the middle of the night for help. You, hugging yourself tight to ward off the cold. You, in his jacket.

A knock on the door startles him from his thoughts, and he just knows it's you — he recognises the pattern of the knock, and a glance at the clock on his wall tells him the timing would be right. He grunts in the affirmative, just like always, and watches as you enter his office with a steaming cup of tea and a small biscuit.

“Good morning,” you greet, the smile in your lips as ethereal as ever as you place the cup and saucer on his desk.

“Morning,” Simon says back, following your movements out of the corner of his eye, not truly giving in to the satisfaction to stare. He can see though, that despite the radians of your smile, you look… bashful almost. 

“I, uh… I wanted to apologise again for my behaviour last night.” Simon says nothing, keeping his face down as if concentrating on the files he had been working on. A sharp, singular nod was all the answer you got, which only makes you ramble even more. “He wouldn't leave me alone when I said I wasn't interested, as if my no wasn't answer enough.” 

You scoff, shuffling a little on your feet as you remember the annoyance you had felt over that.

“So I, uh… I called you. Had to lay it on thick, that's why I called you baby. I'm sorry.” Once again, Simon says nothing, but he raises his gaze to your face. “Should've probably called someone else. You don't deserve to be dragged into my bullshit.”

“Why did you?” He asks, effectively cutting your rant short, and leans back a little in his chair; thighs spread wide and hands cupped in his lap.

“Call you?” He nods, waiting for your explanation with rapt attention and a raised eyebrow you can't see due to the mask. “I don't know. Needed a guard dog, I guess.”

“A guard dog? That what I am to you?” 

“N-no, that's not what I… fuck, I'm fucking this up.” You take a deep breath, straightening your posture and finally meet his eyes. “You were the first person I thought of when I felt uncomfortable and unsafe. When you walked me home from the pub that one time… it was the first time in a long while that I didn't feel the need to look behind me. I felt safe. I don't think I ever thanked you for that by the way, so, uh, thank you.”

“Thought you wanted Johnny to walk you home.” It's not said maliciously, and it only serves to confuse you. Sure, you'd had a great time talking and laughing with both Johnny and Kyle, but if you had wanted either of them to walk you home that night you would've said so.

“I never said that,” you supply with a soft yet confused smile. “I'm a grown woman, Simon. If I didn't want you to walk me home I would've told you. If I wanted Johnny to save me this weekend, I wouldn't have called you.”

“But you did call me.”

“I called you.”

It's quiet for a few moments as you both observe the other, something that can't truly be named flowing through the air. “And the kiss?” Simon eventually asks.

“Just a thank you gesture,” you answer with a shrug, feeling your cheeks heat in embarrassment. 

“That all it was?” He prods, hands still clasped together as he leans forward with his arms on the desk. He's unconvinced, you can tell, and his penetrative gaze sends a shiver down your spine.

“No. It's something I wanted to do,” you finally confess, hoping the admission won't be shut down or make your work environment uncomfortable going forward. But with the way his eyes have never strayed once from your form, the way he brought the kiss up and keeps prodding for a truthful answer, you don't think it will.

Simon lets your confession hang in the air for a moment, but you don't back down, only meeting his gaze head on and waiting patiently. “Alright,” he eventually says at length before going back to his paperwork. You don't really know what to make of his response, or lack thereof. It's only when you're halfway out the door to his office that he speaks again and stops you in your tracks, “I didn't mind it. Neither the call nor the kiss.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” you answer, throwing him another bright smile over your shoulder. “Oh, and your jacket. I was going to wash it before returning it but my washing machine is acting up and I haven't had the time to fix it.”

“Keep it. Looks better on you anyway.”

[mimiplaysgames]

The Bed Story, ch. 1 (Light in the Dark)

For Terraqua Week 2024, Day 1

Terra/Aqua | Terra/Anti-Aqua Rating: M Word count: 1,777 @terraquaweek

AO3 Link

Summary: Terra meets Anti-Aqua, and he's sorry for all the things they did and didn't do.

A/N: Hiiiiiiii everyone ahhh???? It's so good to be back, writing for my favorite ship ever. I've missed you all. I took the opportunity with Terraqua Week to write something new, but I've been meaning to finish my open fics for them. There are still so many scenes in my head that I want to put on the page. It's just been hard to find the time to write them as I work on my first novel. But I'm here!!! and I miss!!! all of you!!!! I hope you enjoy this one. I wrote it all in a month so there is going to be quality control issues, lmao but it is ANGSTY lmao.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Terra is watching. Terra is no longer watching. Terra is asleep, Terra is—

Awake. Coming to, he inhales dust and dirt so sharply that his throat stings, and he drops hard on his knees, face slamming against cobblestone. He can’t feel his legs, and his hips won’t buck over when he commands them to.

“Aqua,” he mumbles, his tongue thick. He struggles to buoy himself up by the elbows. Where is he?

“Terra? Thank the stars.” Aqua kneels by him and guides his head to her lap. Storm clouds prey over the city of Radian Garden, snuffing out the sun overhead (Why is he here?). “Where do you hurt?” Aqua’s hair is too short to stay behind her ears, draping over while her frightened eyes inspect him for injuries. Frizzy. He could reach up and smooth it back down, but he’s dizzy. If this is the last time he will touch her… She brushes the tips of her fingers over his cheek, cleaning it of dirt and—

Smoke? Magic residue.

“Terra, stay with me.” 

Yes, he wants to. He’s slipping, he’s—

—Sleep.

Stars, he yearns to. He snatches her hand and weaves their fingers together. He can’t think like that. He can never let go again. Everything, everything, everything is going wrong but he’ll make it right. 

Xehanort. That’s the reason for the thunder ramming beyond the horizon.

No, the real reason is Terra being stupid.

“Can you stand up?”

Rainfell is left neglected on the ground next to her. They’ve been fighting each other with their Keyblades. That’s what she’s not telling him. 

“I can’t.”

Aqua blinks away her worry, but Terra sees past the armor. “That’s okay. You’re doing good. You’re beating him.”

Bile clogs his esophagus. He needs to roll over and let it all out but he swallows it back. Swallows again and swallows hard to keep it in and not let Xehanort go—

—Sleep.

“Aqua,” he says, his voice frail, “I’m sorry.” 

Aqua smiles morosely. She’s never been the type to rub it in. 

There’s a lot to be sorry for. One: The Master is dead. 

—Sleep.

Two: They fought. In front of Ven.

—Sleep.

Three: He left her behind. 

Four, just to decapitate the dead horse: He never congratulated her on achieving her Master status.

—Sleep.

And five: for that night before the Mark of Mastery. Terra had hoped there would be less stress the night after.

This can’t be the last time he touches her.

“I know,” she says. 

What was once a headache that jerked his forehead is now a quiet null, and he’s losing feeling in his fingers, the feeling of her skin.

His eyelids are heavy, and he sighs.

Aqua holds his chin and makes him stare into her eyes. “Listen to me. You’re strong. You can defeat him.”

Terra stretches the fingers in his free hand and tries to ball them into a fist.

“I can’t find Earthshaker.”

“What?”

He tries again—that small shred of Light he is supposedly connected to, the warmth of a friend who will always listen, the certainty of having someone there to help, is gone. Earthshaker won’t come. 

This is what it’s like to have regret. Tell me, how does that honor our Master’s memory, Terra?

“I know Earthshaker. It will always be there for you,” Aqua says, so confident and so wrong, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to get him to stand. 

Terra flinches—a profound image of choking her invades his senses, bleached knuckles that won’t respond to him, rigid around the same neck he’s buried his nose in before. 

He leans over on his side, too weak to push her off. “Aqua, just let me go.”

“Never,” she snaps. “How can you ask that?”

“He’s coming back.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We can fight him off together.” 

How does that honor our Master’s memory?

—Sleep.

In a page tucked away on some textbook Terra has always hated reading for its archaic nonsense, was a line: F’r our lighteth in the dark hast us by the heart, at each moment. 

Too heavy for her, Aqua brings Terra back to rest on her lap. When they’re weak, they’re supposed to be each other’s Light to guide them back home. That’s what the Master said. One star to find another lost in space. 

(And when stars flicker out, they explode in a supernova, then disintegrate into a black hole. That is something the Master refused to discuss. Their job was not to let that happen, period.)

“Terra, stay with me?”

For a moment, the lights go out. For the next, they come back on. Terra looks up at her blue eyes. She knows what’s happening to him, from the way she quiets down and rubs her thumb on his jaw. 

“You just have to find your Light again,” Aqua says. She’s talking about Earthshaker. She’s talking about Ven. She’s talking about going home together. “And this will be over. Then we can find our own little hiding place.” She soothes, stroking his cheek. “Like we promised.”

But—

But, just in case, Terra squeezes her hand one more time. He’s going to have to let go.

Terra lifts his head and points with his nose to beckon her to go lower, to get closer to him, as if he’s telling her a secret. Closer, enough for him to lean up with what’s left of his strength, to press his mouth on hers, and open his lips, and ask for more. She trembles against him, and he kisses her again, and inhales her smokey sweat and lavender shampoo with all that he wants to say but has lost the voice for.

That’s his last memory before sinking into the black hole. Someone far away says, “I’m with you,” planting one little star into his hand that he can caress to his chest while he slips into something like sleeping. Then he tears apart.

~*~

Awake. Awake? 

Terra sits up. He rolls to his hands and knees, and coughs—there’s sand crumbling under his tongue, and he spits out the remains. 

After he nearly gags from what doesn’t come up, he realizes. Sand crumpled underneath his fist, as if he was in the middle of choking someone. More sand caked into his nails. A musty odor—he needs deodorant. That numbing feeling on his wrists that means he needs to shake them off. Wake them up. Awake. He’s breathing, and it’s hot, and he’s sweaty, and he’s hungry. 

“Terra!”

It happens so quickly, the way Ven rushes to Terra’s side, and checks his eyes to see if they’re blue. Terra doesn’t register a single word out of Ven’s mouth but he registers the feeling of Ven’s chest crushed against his, muscle trapping boy in a hug. Cheek to cheek, the sound of tears and tears.

“You’re crushing me.” 

Terra lets go, but not the shoulders. It’s too early to allow the feeling of someone slipping away. 

Ven is the same as he's always been. All bones. “You’re still chubby in the cheeks,” Terra says, smushing them between his giant hands.

“Fuck you.”

“What is that language?” But Terra is crying, messing with Ven’s well-kept hair.

“Ugh, why.” The disturbed styling cream flattens the cowlick Ven likes so much and his attempt to make it right dwindles. But he’s smiling. Crying, too. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me, too.” More tears.

Ven stops his fussing and lowers his hands. His voice breaks. “I thought I’d never see you again.” 

To make up for it, Terra tries fixing Ven’s hair for him. Thankfully, considering the result, there’s no mirror nearby to upset Ven. “Hey. It’s over. We’re safe. We’re back together and—”

Terra looks around. They’re in the Keyblade Graveyard, somewhere within starched erected stone walls that are falling apart. But Terra doesn’t understand why they’re here. He tastes smoke. Magic residue. 

They fought Xehanort-as-Terra here, and Terra doesn’t remember much except reaching for a night sky. She was here, he was certain. A star gauzed behind clouds and he reached, and reached and caught Xehanort by the throat. 

“Where’s Aqua?”

Ven doesn’t respond. 

Terra’s heart pounds, assuming the worst. Did he hurt—

“Um.” Ven wipes his hands on his pants and stands. “She’s different.”

Terra gets off his knees. He’s unbalanced, swaying with his heavy legs, and Ven holds him up by the arm. “What does that mean?”

Ven grunts his disappointment. He points behind Terra, to a wall that bends open to the rest of the labyrinth. “She’s behind there. She fought with me” —against Terra— “then left.”

Terra trips on his feet as he limps. How different? Hurt-different? Tired-different? Furious-different? Furious with him? Won’t want to ever talk to him again-different, and there’s no turning back-different? 

He catches himself at the side of the wall. “Aqua?”

Rustling and steps respond, in the slice of shadow around the corner. Terra looks over.

Two little orbs, lights in the shadow that remind him of monsters, stare back at him, waiting before the onslaught. Terra’s instinct is to call Earthshaker, but it still won’t come. Left defenseless, how fast will the monster get to him if Terra yells? How fast will Ven come to the rescue?

But a second passes by before he realizes what he’s looking at. Golden eyes in fury, white hair, pulling her ripped sleeves, inked in black, to hide her red claws. 

She looks like a creature. 

When Terra was six, the Master would tell him stories of valiant heroes defeating monsters with eyes like lanterns, which seduced victims into thinking they’re safe, and made them follow false lights until they were isolated in the dark. 

Aqua shivers. “You,” she says. Her voice is steady and solid, but he hears all its cadences. Rage, sadness, something like relief but too numb to feel it.

Terra steps toward his monster but he lowers his gaze from her glare. If he doesn’t see, then it’s not as bad as he thinks.

This is what it’s like to have regret. Tell me, how does this honor our Master’s memory, Terra?

He coaxes her into his arms, and rests his mouth onto her forehead, letting her heave dry sobs into his shoulder while his hot tears trickle down to her hair. She smells like ash. She’s freezing.

He doesn’t have the courage this time to apologize. He almost asks if she’s okay. Stupid question. “Let’s go home.” 

Aqua says nothing. She doesn’t hug him back. All she does is bore her wild eyes into him, long enough for Terra to break his avoidance. He sees not his reflection in that golden color but a silhouette of the moon.

[icarianed]

who: jacaerys velaryon & rhaenyra targaryen @signcfthetiimes where: radian hills

while jace had made a comfortable enough life for himself here in ivy cove, there had always been an emptiness in his heart he couldn't fill. he couldn't explain it for the longest time. his life here had been, in every sense, perfect, the kind that shouldn't leave anyone in want of anything. it wasn't until his memories returned that he could explain away every uncertainty he had before. the emptiness had been a longing for his true home — for his family who now occupy his every thought in fear of what might become of their fate. he's meant to be their sworn protector, but now in their absence, he feels as if he's abandoned his duty as heir, as a son and a brother.

and so, jace's troubled mind leads him to the town library. he's unsure what exactly he's searching for. a means of getting off this island, perhaps, an explanation to it all, or maybe something that might point him to his family and what's become of their fate. he knows his efforts are likely done in vain but his restless thoughts won't leave him to do nothing either. 

just as he's leaving the library, a small stack of books in his arms, jace hardly notices the passerby until he runs straight into them and sends his books flying to the ground.   “forgive me, i was-”   lost in thought, he means to say but the sight of who he bumped into leaves him momentarily speechless.

“mother?”

[whirligig-girl]

Actually how big would my two moons appear on Tlaloc (The name of the planet) appear in the sky? I would use SE or US but I don't think my new laptop could handle SE and I can't buy US due to me not having online money currently. I know both of Mars moons can hypothetically be seen in the sky so I was wondering what much bigger objects would look like. I really wish I had a reference photo or something.

i dont think you sent information about their distances in your last ask.

remember, use the small-angle cosine approximation which is:

angular diameter in radians = diameter of object / distance to object (in the same units)

the answer will be a really small fraction of a radian. Convert that to a slightly larger fraction of a degree by multiplying by 180°/π.

The Moon is half a degree, so you can compare your answers with the Moon to get a rough idea of what they'd look like.

For example, Phobos is 26km wide and 5979km away from Mars' surface.

26km/5979km = 0.00434855327 radians 0.00434855327 * (180°/π) = 0.249153749°

so about 0.25°, or half the apparent diameter of the Moon as seen from the Earth.

Here's Deimos and Phobos as seen from Mars (not hypothetically--this is an actual photo taken by Curiosity iirc) versus the Moon as seen from Earth, to scale. Except that you'd never see the Moon that big in the sky, without a telescope.

Hold your head back from the screen and hold your pinkie out at arm's length so that your pinkie nail can cover the moon entirely. That's how small the Moon really is in the sky. Note that Phobos is still visible as a disk, but Deimos is reduced to a dot. In reality it would still be a very bright dot, like, probably much brighter than Venus. But not resolvable as a disk without incredible eyesight or binoculars/small telescopes.

You can make a similar size comparison on a piece of graph paper (or on the computer). Maybe set one grid unit equal to 1/10th of a degree, then draw a 5-unit diameter circle for the Moon, then use your answer to the angular size calculation to figure out the diameters of the other planets.

Also, consider using Celestia if you can't use Universe Sandbox^2 or Space Engine. Celestia won't procedurally generate any surfaces for you, but it can still show you what your system should look like in 3D if you learn to make configuration text file mods for it.

There are probably open source gravitational simulators that are free, but they'll surely be harder to pick up and use.

[ninjadeathblade]

Everything Moves (A Hat In Time fanfic)

Summary: Empress decides to put an end to things, once and for all, in a battle that will shake the foundations of the Metro.

Beginning | Previous | Next

Word count: 6,878

Warnings: Swearing, death, murder, gun violence, gang violence, gore, brief medical stuff, trauma, grief, near death experience, a couple characters take advantage of Empress' blindness

Author's notes: Well this is the chapter I've been waiting to do since the beginning of this AU. It's been rewritten at least three times now but I finally settled on something and hey it isn't half bad. You've read the warnings, you know this chapter isn't going to be pretty. Title is "Everything Moves" by Bronze Radio Return. Good luck with this chapter.

Empress tried to ignore the flash of pain down the side of her face as Radiance threw her onto the ground outside the Demon base.

“Give your leader my verdict,” Radiance hissed.

Realistically, there weren't meant to be any Angels this side of the metro.

But things had only grown more tense in the recent months, so keeping up appearances was probably for the best.

Empress slowly dragged herself up off the floor, dozens of injuries over the past year making her body ache and protest at such meagre movement.

The grey and white cat slowly walked back to her own gang's base, dreading what she would find.

She'd been missing for two days now, along with Phantom, Cookie and Cody.

The main door opened as she approached, a pair of concerned yellow eyes trailing after her as she stepped inside.

“I'm fine, Shield, just make sure you don't let anyone else in,” she growled, tail lashing behind her.

Practically everyone here had to listen to her; if they didn't, they'd face Majesty's wrath.

Although she suspected that many already had the past couple of days.

Empress trudged along the hallways, her remaining eye skimming over her surroundings.

The blood marks on those walls were new. The claw marks that scraped across the floor. The acrid stench of something that hung in the air.

She didn't bother with knocking when she reached Majesty's office, letting herself in.

She turned her head for a full view of the office, gaze eventually landing on her boss.

“Where… have you been?” The tabby hissed, voice low, shoving his chair back as he stood and stalking over to her.

Empress tried to ignore the shaking in her arms, the unsteadiness of her stand, the way that she could only see half of him while directly facing him.

“The kits wanted to go out so I thought I would take them for a small walk. But there was a patrol of Fallen Demons. They took us hostage. I've only been let go to deliver a message,” Empress lied, paws clenching into white knuckled grip at her sides.

The corner of Majesty's mouth twitched in annoyance, or perhaps rage.

Either way, Empress had been on the receiving end of his fury before and wasn't looking forwards to the inevitable fallout.

“What's the message?”

“That if you don't back down and give Radiance your territory then she'll kill your kittens.”

A low growl rumbled in the back of the gang leader's throat before he let out a stream of curses.

Once he was finished he turned back to her.

“One of the Demons did this?” Majesty asked, almost as an afterthought.

Empress nodded, seizing up slightly as he traced his claws down the side of her face.

Majesty's amber gaze was cold as it met her singular eye. “I knew that Radiance was cold-hearted but this is taking it too far. Threatening what's mine and taking my kits.”

The tabby dropped her face, spinning around and picking up a chair, throwing it at the wall.

The metal wall dented at the impact, crumpling harshly.

He stalked over to his desk, hitting the button on his announcement system.

“Angels. I'm afraid that we've had a little mishap. You see, one of our own has been deformed by a Demon.”

Empress shivered, still uncomfortable with her loss of sight.

“On top of that, my heirs have been taken. Prepare for war. The cat who brings me Radiance’s head gets as much food as they want and four times the highest bounty.”

Empress shifted her stance, muscles tense.

“And don't forget - all Demons must be purged from our streets. Kill on sight.”

She shivered as Majesty walked back over to her.

“That includes you. No favouritism for your little friend. All Demons must be purged.”

Empress nodded, praying that by the end of this she wouldn't be following orders from Majesty anymore.

“Good. Now get out there and help start the extermination.”

Empress moved against the waves of armed Fallen Angels, pushing further back into the facility, away from the exits.

If the Chosen Demons were going to have any chance of winning, then they would need a diversion.

She was so close to what she would need, just a few more halls-

“Where do you think you're going?”

Empress froze at the paw that had clamped down over her left shoulder, breath quickening.

Her mind scatter-gunned names at her, trying to match it to whoever's voice it was instead of turning her head.

Eventually she gave in and moved her face to whoever had interrupted her.

Rex glared at her, blue eyes a stark contrast against his dark fur.

“Armoury,” she mumbled, hoping he'd believe the excuse and let her go.

“The armoury is five intersects back,” Rex snarled, shoving her up against a wall. “What are you plotting? Treason against our leader?!”

His free paw came up to turn her face so her right cheek was held against the wall, limiting her sight even further.

A scared whimper escaped her, paws scrabbling blindly at Rex's arm, trying to dislodge his hold.

“I always knew you were rotten, ever since you arrived! You and that pathetic little shit who barely ever shows their face down here!”

Empress kicked a leg out, revelling in the brief relief in pressure against her face as Rex staggered slightly from the blow to his stomach.

But soon enough it was back again, teeth clacking together painfully as her head was roughly shoved back into the metal wall.

“I'd be doing everyone a favour by getting rid of you. You never even contributed anything to this gang. You're just a weak, pathetic, two-faced, lying-”

Empress dropped to the ground as Rex was suddenly flung sideways, seemingly pushed by a beam of blue light.

Empress gently reached up to massage the left side of her face before jerking her paw away.

No, her pain didn't matter right now.

It could be dealt with later.

Radiance's members needed that diversion.

She craned her neck to look down the hallway at where the beam had come from.

“Good thing I came back, huh?” Badge quipped, twirling a bat in their grip before resting it over one shoulder.

Empress dragged herself upright, looking in the direction that Rex had been sent careening. “You shouldn't be here. You should be with the kids.”

Badge shrugged, very suddenly beside her - having snuck up in her blind spot - and Empress had to hold back another scared whimper from escaping her.

Badge hesitantly rested a paw on her shoulder, both of them wincing as the appendage glitched with the movement. “I wasn't going to leave you when you needed me most.”

Empress blinked away a wave of tears, instead beginning to quickly continue her journey to her destination. “If you want to help then you can go outside and help Radiance's forces.”

Badge skipped to catch up with her, mock saluting before seemingly dissolving into shadows.

Empress tried not to look at the charred corpse she had to step over when she reached where Rex had landed.

One paw flicked on the overhead lights, staring around.

She had never had any reason to visit the enclosures before - they were only used for the lab experiments that Majesty forced to fight against each other.

Empress slowly stepped forward, one paw tentatively brushing against a bar and peering into the shadows at the back.

Soon a large ginger cat lunged forward, a paw the size of her body sweeping out to try and clock her.

Empress stumbled backwards, staring up at a pair of yellow eyes. “Hi there. Remember me? From when I was little?”

A curious chirp as the pair of eyes blinked slowly.

“Maybe it wasn't you, maybe one of the others.” She looked down the hall, a shiver going down her spine as dozens more eyes stared out of the darkness.

Empress moved to the closest end of the large building, opening up the door there, watching as it cranked upwards with flaky pain dropping to the floor, leading to the outside.

Gunfire and screams drifted to her ears and Empress sighed.

“I sure hope this works.”

She crossed back over to the doorway, letting out a grunt of effort as she moved the rusted switch.

Red lights flashed and horns blared as every cage’s door opened.

Tremors went through the ground and a couple dozen heavy pawsteps moved out before beginning to race out of the building and towards the battle.

Empress stood in the wake of it, coughing slightly at the dust that had been kicked up.

It had better work as a diversion. For all their sakes.

After quickly swinging by the armoury and picking up a couple of pistols, Empress ran back to the main area of the metro as fast as possible.

Chaos was everyone, both from the fighting and her decision to try and help Radiance's forces.

The lab experiments thundered around the larger streets and open spaces, making the ground shake with their very pawsteps.

On the plus side, more gunfire was being focused on the large ginger cats now, distracting Demons and Angels alike from fighting one another.

The grey and white cat stuck to the left side of paths and spaces, keeping as much in sight as possible.

“Hey! It's the traitor!”

Empress winced as dozens of Fallen Angels turned their heads to look at her, swinging guns to face her.

Before any of them could even fire though, a bright beam of red light blasted through the lot of them, reducing them to ashes.

Her jaw dropped open as pawsteps skidded up on her left.

“C'mon Em, where are we headed? I've got your back.”

Empress floundered for a reply, still trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. “The- the Chosen Demon base.”

She had to rescue the crèchelings that probably hadn't had time to be evacuated.

“Okay,” Badge affirmed, tugging at her arm. “Em, we've got to move.”

Badge killed them.

Badge.

Badge who never hurt a fly.

“What did you do?” Empress choked out the question as she let herself be dragged along.

“Stopped them from killing my sister,” Badge growled, neck glitching so their face was turned a hundred and eighty degrees to face her before setting back on in the correct direction.

As they got closer to the base, more Angels swarmed them, backing them towards the building.

Badge was firing smaller beams off their baseball bat, lucky to even hit one or two with each blast.

Empress did the best she could with her couple of pistols but her aim was off - it seemed like every shot went wide.

She backed further towards the wall as she tried to desperately reload the guns, breaths coming in short and panicked puffs.

“Emily! Where are you?”

The words were mere static in the background of her hearing.

“Empress!”

That name.

She detested that name but it was her's.

Majesty wouldn't let her respond to anything else.

It was her name whether she liked it or not.

And she had to respond every time it was called.

She ditched the pistols, grabbing a bat off of a fallen for and dashing back into the fray, swinging it towards one of the oncoming enemies. “We have to get inside!”

“And I'm meant to be a miracle worker?” Came Badge's short and sharp reply, cutting into her.

Empress gritted her teeth, yanking Badge backwards by their hoodie when someone nearly hit them. “No but I expected better of you when you decided to come and help me!”

Badge hissed up at her. “Fuck you, I may have suffered on my travels but that doesn't mean I can do everything, Emily!”

“Don't call me that,” Empress growled, hating the way her birth name sounded.

The only person she might ever let call her that again was Scarlett.

She ripped a badge off of the younger cat, haphazardly pinning it to her own jacket, before spinning around and charging a beam.

Red light hit the doorway and sent it splintering, the sound of cracking glass and brick above them.

A bullet zoomed past her, cutting into her arm.

She barely noticed it, her working eye widening as rubble began to fall down on top of them.

She pushed Badge out the way, unable to get herself to move as concrete smashed into her spine.

With a pained cry she was flattened against the ground, unable to move as more rocks and plaster dropped down on top of her body.

Everything seemed so dark.

Her paw loosely held onto the bat still as dust swirled in the air in front of her.

A wail came from somewhere in front of her. “Emily!”

Empress managed a weak cough before forcing words out of her throat, trying to not focus on how much blood was in her mouth. “Not… my name…”

Badge rushed forward, shifting a bit of the debris around her with a relieved sob. “Just- just hold on! I'm getting you outta there!”

She shot him a wry smile, pain lancing through her body as she did so. “Yeah, I don't think it'll be that easy. I can shift around a little here but I can't feel my arm.”

She wasn't going to mention the fact she couldn't feel any of her body below her ribs, everything just fading into pain without any proper feeling.

“Your arm is broken?!” Badge shrieked, working harder to get her out.

“No, don't worry, it's probably just dislocated. Nothing that hasn't happened before. Besides, I'm not the priority right now,” Empress said with a slight grit of her teeth.

Badge dug her limp arm out. “What do you mean you're not the priority right now, you're going to die if I don't get you out of there!”

She reached out with her working arm, gently swiping at him with almost all of the energy she had left before dropping her paw back to her bat.

Bit down around the scream that wanted to escape her.

“I mean that there are more pressing matters,” Empress amended, extending one finger to feebly point at where she'd opened a chasm in the doorway. “There are crèchelings in that building. I need you to get them to safety, no matter the cost. Help them, not me.”

“I'm not letting you be the cost! No!”

“Badge-”

Badge glared at her, tail lashing behind them. “No! I don't care about some crèchelings I've never met! I'm not losing my sister!”

Empress softened her expression, unsure as to whether it was from the kind words or her exhaustion. “Badge…”

Badge paused in their motions to try and dig her out, crouching down in front of her and pressing their head against her's, eyes drifting shut.

Pain lanced down her spine and she stifled a groan of pain.

“I'm not leaving you. I'm not losing you again.”

Empress picked up the bat, aiming it towards the remains of the building above her.

“I know. And you won't. I just hope you can forgive me.”

Badge's eyes sprung open and they looked over at where she was holding the bat.

Badge scrambled back to safety as she let it fire.

In the few fleeting moments she had left, Empress wondered if there was a god out there.

Matilda had believed in one.

She'd prayed often for the three of them when they were little, that they would grow up to do something important.

That they would all go to the good place somewhere up there, not the bad place.

I'm going to that bad place.

I'm sorry Matilda.

I hope you're enjoying that good place.

Maybe it was praying.

She doubted it.

Please let Scarlett live out her life.

Let the kittens grow up happy and healthy.

I know I've done wrong.

I understand that.

I'm sorry.

I'm ready to go now.

I'm fine with dying.

I've made my peace.

I just hope this place gets better.

Empress drew in a deep breath, blinking her eye open, looking around.

The rubble pile was behind her.

And she-

She could move her legs.

Her arm was relocated.

Her body was in infinitely less pain.

Her eye was still damaged.

Was she dead?

The cat tried to press her paw through a nearby brick, eye widening when it didn't phase through.

“I should be dead.”

Had her sort of praying worked?

No, it couldn't have.

There were powerful beings in the world, but none could bring anyone back from the dead.

The grey and white cat got to her feet on slightly shaky legs before entering the building, trotting through it quickly.

Swung by the crèche.

Was relieved to find no one there, nor any blood.

Empress walked towards where Radiance's office was, navigating her way through the different complexes without much issue.

Had to stifle a gasp once she reached her destination, lurking in the doorway at the top of the stairs that led up to the tower.

Majesty stood over Radiance, blood slowly pooling around the grey cat.

The tabby flicked his gaze over to her, beckoning with a paw for her to enter. “This is what happens to those who cross me.”

Empress swallowed thickly, willing away tears that forced themselves into her eye.

Majesty would kill her too if he knew she was deeply affected by the leader of a supposedly opposing gang.

A vice-like grip clamped down around her throat, forcing her back against a wall.

Empress let out a whimper as another paw roughly forced her head against the wall, a claw roughly prodding at her eye.

A scream tore itself from her lungs.

“And I guess you'll get to experience firsthand what happens to those who cross me.”

Empress sniffed, good eye streaming with tears as he continued.

“You thought I couldn't tell?” Majesty laughed cruelly, claw sinking into her eye more.

Wrenching another guttural scream out of her hoarse vocal chords, sounding far too loud for anything human to make.

Too loud inside her skull, rattled with pain.

“You didn't think I would check the camera feed?”

The tip of his claw brushed over he edge of her tear duct, coaxing her screech to a brief halt - filled with heavy breaths - before digging it in a line down where she'd first cut across her eye, tearing another roar of pain from her.

“I knew it was you. Who took my children, my kits, my heirs.”

Empress let out a strangled sob, praying to any powerful entity out there that she would somehow survive this agonising experience.

“And you're going to pay for it. I don't even care if you get them back for me - I gave you a chance to fall in line. And yet you've repeatedly defied me. So now I'm going to let you experience true suffering.”

She can feel her blood. Coating her fur, sticking to it. Staining the white with every second it ran down her body.

The claw moved back up, trailing circles around the outside of her eye.

Just shy of damaging her further.

She'd prefer having stayed dead.

The air around her felt too thick to be a gas, clogging her lungs like a liquid.

She was drowning, she was drowning, she was-

The sound of bullets ringing out across the room, pressure removed from Empress as she crumpled to the floor.

Her bones felt like paper, so close to breaking.

“Motherfucker,” Majesty hissed out from somewhere in her blind spot before more rounds of bullets pummelled into something.

Hopefully Majesty.

Maybe her.

It was hard to tell where the pain started and ended at this point.

The sound of pawsteps dragging across the room before someone dropped down beside her.

“H-hey kid.”

Empress strained to move her head, turning to look at her saviour. “Radiance?”

The leader of the Chosen Demons smiled weakly, slumped over while sitting up, a tommy gun hanging limply from one paw. “I'm sorry I was out cold for so long.”

Empress coughed weakly. “You've lost too much blood, you shouldn't be moving.”

Radiance shrugged with one arm, the other hanging limp at her side. “This? This is nothing.”

Majesty's body twitched from where it was splayed about a metre away.

The older cat swung the gun around, releasing another volley of bullets into their enemy before dropping it and wiping blood away from where it splattered against her face.

“Besides, every day I keep on living is a day my siblings never got,” Radiance sighed.

“I thought you had Splendour. Back when Matilda had first died, you told me she was a double for you when you had to leave.”

Radiance snorted. “Splendour’s real name is Jane. She's an acting double I hired a couple decades ago.” She smiled gently. “Probably around the time you first cropped up on my radar. When Claw first arrived I never thought he'd shut up about his best friend, called Emily.”

Empress started to roll her eyes before letting out a pained whimper.

Radiance's tail flicked out to entwine with her own.

“That sounds just like Claw,” Empress managed when the pain died down a little.

“When I found out that Majesty had shown special interest in one of his members, I started trying to keep tabs. And then I met you a little while after and,” Radiance paused and smiled gently. “And I guess that you reminded me of myself in some way. Always wanting to do the best you could and prove yourself, while also being able to tell how fucked up the situation you were in was.”

Radiance shook her head. “But that's a conversation for another time. Right now, we need to get the metro under control.”

Empress somehow found the strength to drag herself upright and follow Radiance, offering herself as a support for the gang leader.

Radiance smiled weakly and Empress shot a glance at where blood was steadily ebbing from her middle.

“Your-”

“It doesn't matter, kid,” Radiance gritted out as they reached the stairs. “What matters is securing power.” A small smirk graced her features. “That's why we did this whole thing to begin with, wasn't it?”

Empress foot slipped as she tried to descend the stairs, both of them tumbling down the concrete together before slamming into the wall.

Pain blossomed in the back of Empress' head, even more darkness swelling and threatening to overtake her vision.

Radiance let out a string of colourful curses before trying to coax Empress to stand. “Come on kiddo, only a little further.”

Empress couldn't move even if she wanted to.

Her brain screamed yes at her limbs, trying to force them into movement but they wouldn't comply.

She tried to speak but her mouth wouldn't move, tongue feeling heavy in a mouth full of iron tasting liquid.

She was drowning again.

Drowning, drowning, drowning.

Darkness seeping into the edges of her vision, threatening to pull her under and make her drown quicker.

Empress was upright suddenly, jaw hanging open and the blood inside her mouth poured out and down her face.

“It's okay, I've got you, just try and stay awake,” Radiance said, but it sounded so far away.

Everything felt limp.

Nothing was working.

She couldn't move.

She didn't think it could get any worse than the sacrifice of her vision.

What a fool she was.

Empress tried to scream, to twitch a finger, to roll her tongue in her mouth but nothing seemed to register in her body.

It was as if she'd been entirely disconnected, a puppet with its strings cut, nothing to do except be a broken toy that no one wanted.

Her lungs still worked, taking in rattling shudders and letting out short raps.

“Just stay awake,” Radiance repeated beside her.

If she was still breathing it meant her heart was still pumping.

For now at least.

More dark haze cloaked over her vision until everything went dark, mere murmurs and the sounds of battles supplying her with detail of what was happening.

Pawsteps thundering towards them, a scream of both their names.

“Holy shit, Radiance, what happened? You're bleeding- Emily's eye!” A voice that sounded distinctly like Claw's shouted.

It had to be him if he'd called her Emily.

“It isn't safe here anymore. I've estimated that at least fifty percent of the population across both gangs and the metro as a whole has been killed,” Badge supplied from somewhere in front of her.

Blood didn't plaster against her side quite so much, passed between arms and held against someone else.

Small round shapes pressed into the side of her face, cool against the warmth of her body.

Probably Badge.

“Claw, I need you to get me to the plaza. Then Badge, I need you and Claw to take Empress to the surface.”

“That's not her-”

“That is her name!” Radiance snarled.

Empress smiled, or at least she thought she did. It was hard to tell if anything she tried worked at this point.

“It is her name, Claw! Stop trying to cling to a past version of her and just move on! The Emily you knew is buried six feet under so just fucking stop!” Radiance continued before retching.

After the sound of heaving stopped, heavy breathing picked up, before eventually getting back to speech.

“You are going to take my daughter to the surface and you are going to get her straight to a hospital while I take over down here,” Radiance instructed. “Claw, fetch the medkit from Empress' room; I don't think that section of the building has been raided. Nothing there to steal anyway.”

“On it,” Claw replied, followed by the sound of receding footsteps.

“Badge?”

“Yes?”

“Look after you sister while I deal with things down here. Once she's better, I need her back.”

Empress tried to move her mouth, form words.

I'm scared.

I'm sorry.

I miss you.

Don't leave.

I can't lose you too.

I'll be fine, you should worry about yourself.

It's dark here.

I can't see.

I'm tired.

Radiance, I'm going to take a little nap.

When I wake up, I'll help out with sorting out our home, okay?

Okay?

Radiance?

…

Mum?

“I've never seen any injuries like this before.”

“Me neither.”

“What d'you think happened?”

“If the person who brought her here was being honest, she got into a fight with a local gang.”

“What the fuck?”

“Yeah. Apparently she was just trying to protect her family.”

“Poor thing.”

…

“We need to remove her left eye or that thing is an infection waiting to happen. Clean and stitch up all of these wounds, maybe restitch a couple of the others. They're all going to scar. The one at the back of her head is particularly nasty.”

“It's better than her bleeding to death. I'm not even sure how she got this far.”

“What about the other cat that was brought in at the same time as her?”

“The black one? Their heart had stopped before we even got them to the surgery room.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, they couldn't even save them. I think they're disposing of the body at the moment.”

“Well, best get to work on this one then.”

“I can't even tell what colour her fur is meant to be, there's so much blood.”

…

“Just hand me the equipment already. If we can stitch that head injury, there's less of a chance of brain damage. The quicker we finish this, the more likely it is that she'll survive.”

Empress slowly cracked open her eye, gaze roving around the blurry room.

“The patient is awake.”

“Good, that means she's stabilising more.”

A light shining into her good eye, blanking out her vision before disappearing almost as quickly as it turned on.

“She's been slow to come around.”

“She lost a lot of blood, what were you expecting?”

Empress' vision cleared, looking a bit less blurry.

A couple of doctors were standing either side of her bed, a penguin to her left and an owl on her right.

“It's okay, you're safe here.”

“Don't worry kid, you're safe now. Majesty can't touch you here.”

“Radiance,” Empress croaked out. “Where is she? I'm meant to help her.”

The two doctors looked between each other.

“Radiance?”

“Do you think that was the other cat brought in at the same time as her?”

“You mean the one who…?”

“Yeah.”

“Where is she?” Empress tried again, attempting to push herself up before letting out a cry of pain as everything in her seemed to scream with protest.

“Don't move, you'll reopen your stitches!”

“Fucking hells, stay still!”

Empress dropped back the couple centimetres she had moved onto the pillow behind her head, a wave of overwhelming exhaustion overtaking her.

“Radiance…”

“Do you have any family?” One of the doctors questioned.

“Scarlett,” Empress murmured, trying to force herself to stay awake.

“Does she have a last name?” The other asked.

“She's a famous actress, married to Conductor.”

Her eye closed.

“The Scarlett?”

“The owl who won last year's acting award?”

“She's married to Conductor, right?”

“Yes but she's on maternity leave.”

…

“The Scarlett though?”

“Hey, it's the only thing we've got at the moment.”

“That's true. Try to get on the phone with her, I'm going to stay here with the patient.”

Empress stared up at the ceiling.

She hated it here.

Ever since being able to properly formulate thoughts again, she'd decided she hated it.

The food was crap.

It was boring.

She wasn't allowed to leave her room unless one of the doctors went with her.

Michael, the penguin doctor from when she first arrived, was the one checking on her most.

The owl, named Patience, was anything but what their name claimed and seemed to be unable to accept how long it was taking her to heal.

Empress didn't blame the owl, she was frustrated with how slow things were moving too.

But today had some vague bright side to it.

Scarlett was visiting and bringing the kids.

Her kittens and her sister's own chick.

Her children and her niece.

Empress looked up as the door to her room opened, Michael offering her a smile as he stepped inside.

“Morning Empress.”

“Hello again doctor,” she replied.

The penguin moved to her side, gently moving her to sit forward before stacking pillows behind her back. “You have visitors.”

“Here already, huh?” Empress murmured, mostly to herself.

She couldn't do this.

Her kids were going to be repulsed by her appearance and Scarlett was going to shout at her and she couldn't properly move as it was and she needed to be back at the metro and she needed to be out of here and-

A flipper rested over one of her shaking paws. “Empress.”

The cat dragged her tired gaze to Michael.

“It'll be fine,” he soothed. “They're your family.”

Empress nodded weakly, not really believing his words but too tired to care.

She wanted to go home.

But Michael wouldn't discharge her until she could walk across her room without help of some sort - whether that was another person or crutches.

The door shutting vaguely registered in some distant parts of her mind.

Empress moved to pick up the notepad and pen on the desk beside her, letting out a small frustrated growl when the tube feeding into the back of one paw snagged as it reached as far as it could.

With her other paw she picked up the items, placing them in her lap.

She picked up the pen, trying to write her name down on the paper.

The pitiful scrawl that she managed didn't look anything like her name.

The cat took a deep breath, willing the tears in her eye to go away.

She moved the objects back to the table just as the door reopened.

Three small figures dashed up to her right side, all crying with relief.

“Ma!”

“You're okay!”

“We missed you!”

Empress gently stroked their heads one by one before looking up at the other person standing behind them. “Thank you for looking after them.”

“It's fine,” Scarlett said, a ball of yellow feathers cradled in her wings.

“Is that-”

Scarlett smiled, moving the little chuck in her arms. “This is Roxie. Roxie, say hi to your auntie.”

A small chirp emitted from the baby and Empress couldn't help but notice how similar her physique was to Conductor's.

“She's beautiful, Scarlett,” Empress commented before looking back down at where Cookie was tugging gently against her arm.

“Ma?” Cookie whispered. “Can I have a hug?”

Empress shifted in her seat, trying to make herself more comfortable. “Okay sweetheart, come on up.”

The ginger kitten clambered up the side of the bed and snuggled against her, pressing her face into the crook of Empress' neck.

“Your eye patch looks super cool! Like a pirate in that movie that Auntie Scarlett showed us!” Cody butted in, waving their paws animatedly as they spoke.

The cold plastic covering her empty left socket seemed too obvious all of a sudden and Empress squirmed slightly in her bed.

“Um, what movie did you watch?”

“Muppet Treasure Island,” Scarlett supplied.

Empress nodded. “That's a good movie.”

Phantom signing repeatedly caught the corner of her vision, the white kitten trembling as he repeatedly signed.

-after them. I looked after them. I looked after them. I looked after them. I looked after them. I looked after-

Empress purred gently, reaching out with her right paw for him.

Phantom moved quickly, smaller paws clinging to her wrist as he nuzzled his face into her palm.

Empress strengthened her purring, praying that her son could feel her purring despite the pain it caused in her chest.

Small purrs emanated from Phantom as he nuzzled more against her.

Cody clung onto a higher bit of her arm.

“We missed you,” Cody explained quietly around tears. “You said you'd see us again soon. And we were scared that you weren't coming back and that Majesty had done something to you.”

Majesty.

Empress shook at the mere mention of that dreaded name.

It didn't matter that two months had passed, she could still feel that claw digging into her eye, claws around her throat, drowning in her own blood.

Cookie was scooped off her lap with a hiss of protest and she felt two pairs of paws let go of her arm.

“No! Ma!”

“You can come back and be with your ma in just a minute.”

Michael.

Michael was here.

The door opening and closing.

“Empress, can you look at me?”

The grey and white cat slowly looked up at the penguin, hating the short puffs of air that filled up the sound of the room.

“In and out slowly, like this,” Michael instructed, demonstrating the pace of breaths she should be taking.

Slowly she adjusted back to normal before pointing at the needle in her hand.

“I want it out. I want to walk.”

Michael nodded, taking out the needle from the back of her paw.

Empress stood, gesturing for the doctor to move away when he tried to stand beside her.

The grey medical clothes she’d worn for two months felt heavy on her body but she walked across the room, stopping halfway for a breather before continuing across the room.

Once she reached the opposite wall she paused and took a shuddering breath before speaking over her shoulder.

“So? Can I get discharged now?”

Michael still kept her in for three more days to prove her walk across the room wasn't a one time fluke before letting her go.

And so, slowly, she walked with her three kittens back to the tunnels she used to use to get in and out of the metro back when she still worked for the Fallen Angels.

How long ago that seemed now.

After stopping for however many times, Cody finally spoke up. “Ma? Are you sure you should be moving?”

“I'm fine,” Empress growled, the words coming out harsher than intended.

She sure didn't miss the way that the kitten flinched away from her.

“I- I'm sorry Cody, I just want to get home.”

“It's fine,” Cody mumbled.

The rest of the journey took place in tense silence.

Hours later when they finally reached the metro - after a journey that should have only taken half an hour at most - Empress let out a gasp.

Neon lights, friendly chatter and food stalls filled her surroundings, overloading her senses as she tried to get used to it.

Multiple nearby cats turned to look at her before murmuring to one another.

“They're talking about us,” Phantom stated.

Empress motioned for him to translate.

“Some of them are referring to you as- um- something I'd rather not repeat. Others are using simple slurs and curses. One of them is saying- oh, they've turned away,” Phantom relayed.

Empress looked around, letting out a sigh at the grey cat approaching them. “It's okay, Radiance is here.”

Upon closer inspection, Empress' blood ran cold.

Radiance was missing half of her right arm, the appendage ending in a lump around where her elbow should be.

Radiance beamed a smile at her. “Em! You're doing better I see!” The older cat looked down at the kittens. “And how are you three?”

“Good.”, “Tired.” and “Hungry.” echoed back.

Radiance let out a chuckle before looking back at Empress. “Come on, I've been looking after a place for you and the kids. And your new gang awaits your lead too.”

Empress' mind was sluggish on the uptake and it took a few moments for her to properly register the words.

“New gang…?”

When the three kittens passed out from exhaustion, Radiance and Empress talked.

About the serious matters they didn't dare mention in front of any of the children, hoping to spare them from the types of upbringings they'd both had.

“You said earlier about my new gang,” Empress whispered, trembling slightly on the sofa that they were sitting on. “Radiance, I can't-”

“You can,” Radiance interrupted. “You know how to handle a gang in a way that won’t be toxic like the Fallen Angels were but still be stronger than the Chosen Demons were. You know how to create the perfect gang.”

Empress swallowed and looked away.

Silence hung between them.

“How's your eye?”

Empress rubbed her arm with the opposite paw. “I'm meant to be getting a glass one next week. Doctor Michael thought I'd be in the hospital until it happened but I wanted to leave. So I have to go back up next Tuesday to get it put in. And I don't want to leave the kids but I don't want them to come with me.”

Radiance's paw gently rested over her own. “I can look after them. And you don't have to take over the gang for a while, I can manage it until you're ready.”

Empress nodded. “Yeah, thanks.” Offering a weak smile she continued. “So… your arm.”

Radiance shook her head. “It doesn't matter too much. Got shot pretty good in the arm and we couldn't properly clean the wound. So, we have amputated it.”

“When I take over, I'm making sure you go to the surface and get a prosthetic.”

Radiance sighed. “Alright.”

“And it'll be a super cool one, like the one Edward has in Fullmetal Alchemist,” Empress explained.

“Fullmetal Alchemist?”

“It's a great show, I'll introduce you to it next time the kits are asleep. Not too appropriate for the age they're currently at,” Empress responded.

“Alright. We should get some sleep too though.”

Empress relaxed back against the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah.”

Radiance settled down as well.

After the grey and white cat thought the older one was settled, she spoke.

“I think I died.”

Radiance's tail flicked and she gave a questioning hum.

“I was crushed by a pile of rubble. I couldn't move anything except my arm. And then I woke up and I was mostly fine and-”

A white knuckled grip held onto the sofa.

“And I'm scared. Why am I alive? It's not like I deserve to be. Radiance, I should be dead. My spine was broken and I couldn't sense anything below my ribs. My arm was dislocated. I don't even know how I survived long enough to get to the hospital, I should've bled out from that wound on my head. I was in a coma for a week.”

Radiance listened in near silence up until then before speaking.

“Maybe some angel saved you.”

Ah, so Radiance was religious.

“Not a religious one or something.”

Okay, not religious then.

“But a family member who's looking after you. Watching you and protecting you even though they aren't here anymore.”

Matilda.

It couldn't be anyone else if that was true.

Empress began to cry, hot tears sliding down her right cheek.

Radiance sat up and pulled her into a hug, one paw skimming gently up and down her spine.

She couldn't be with some of her family anymore - Badge was missing, Matilda was dead and Scarlett had her own life.

But Radiance and her children were still here.

And maybe that was enough.

(Hi guys, it's the author again. If you want to find out what happened to Empress after she was crushed with the rubble then I wrote what happened a while back - the link is here for anyone who is curious)

[chaoticcandies1]

The door clicks shut behind me, and I'm alone again. 

Without anyone around me, I loosen the guise. I can barely recall where I got this outfit in the first place - it must be from… that game. Right, I had lodged myself within its internal folders. For what purpose I don’t quite remember, and maybe it doesn’t matter at all. Still, why did I keep this outfit? It feels rather flashy, to be honest. Was there a reason?

(My memory's been so hazy lately.)

I forget things eventually. It's inevitable. But I wish it was that easy to forget how to find my way back there. I could always run again, and I've tried. But where did that get me? Back here again, drawing circles and radians intersecting each other's bodies, the only way they'll find meaning in the eyes of others.

(But I can’t find, draw, derive my own meanings.)

My arm aches after I finish scrawling the last letter around the borders, I’m almost done and I wish I wasn’t. But I can’t stop. My body moves on its own (an automaton), fetching candles and incense sticks, holding a knife to my arm, then smearing brilliant cyan on chalk and plywood.

(Everything hurts.)

Why am I even doing this? For the child? (You know they’re lying, right? No one can be sincere with you.)

I don’t know. (You do.)

I don’t want to know.

But- Well, we’ve gone this far. We might as well take the plunge, right?

I take a deep breath, and step into the circle-

And down, down, down I go-

Back ‘home’, in Hell.

[msniceon]

[thorki]Willingly

The car is on, let's get start!

Summary: After the Avengers beat Thanos with the help of Loki, our Agent of Asgard and his unrelated brother Thor decided to understand each other deeper. 

Loki swears, once he told Thor if they could improve their relationship by having a sex like humans did as they walked through the neighborhood, he was just kidding as the trickster god used to do. He saw Thor stiffened, yet as the tease words swirling on the tip of his silver tongue, Thor said “Yeah”.

“...Pardon?” Loki was shocked with wide-opened dark eyes. It’s extremely rare to see this kind of emotion on his face.

“Let’s go back to the Shield, brother.” Thor suggested in a calm voice, Loki observed him from top to the bottom, starting to suspect if he misunderstood his opinion. After all, he was kind of silly to some extent. “You are right…We definitely should do that.”

“Thor, tell me you are just making fun of me, so I will consider giving you a chance to escape from my magic.” Loki now sits at the edge of Thor’s bed, with his arms folded and an unbelievable look on his pale face. His brother is busy pulling on the curtain behind the clean window from outside, though it’s dark at night.

After dealing with all of the Anti-peeping measures, Thor steps near Loki and pets on his shoulder. “There’s nothing to worry about, bro. If I say this is also my first experience, can it make you feel better?” 

Oh damn, he is serious. Loki looks into his only eye which has the same attractive color as the sky on sunny days, and sighs to show his hardly-expressed acquiescence. “Don’t you dare to let me be embarrassed, I have one hundred ways to get revenge.”

“Obey, your Majesty.”Thor laughs with somewhat ulterior motives, only then does Loki discover that his brother is quite different from the god of thunder he knew well in the past.

“Hey wait, I haven’t—” Before he can say anything to prevent Thor’s next act, he is already caught by his elder brother’s arms. He evaluates opportunely, “Looks like someone is in a hurry, are you falling in love with your younger brother, Thor? That sounds very baaad—”

“Just shut up, you little bastard.” Thor gives Loki a sudden kiss on his lips lightly, even keen as the god of mischief doesn’t react to what happened for a while. Once he is aware of the weird behavior from his brother, his face blushes rapidly. “You, you…What did you do to me?”

Thor holds his slender waist tight with a hug, then winks like he is actually the prankster. “I’m paying for you the missing kiss we should share on the day I got my god poison. Remember what you said to me by using your breath?”

“Stop talking about this, you are breaking the rules!” Loki tries his best to control his speaking volume, but it still seems like he is raging out of humiliation to be ashamed into anger.

Thor eventually lets out his brother, and begins to undress himself from the midgard style men shirt. “Playtime is over, we are not expecting to taunt or even fight with each other all night. Since you are asking for a kinda sex…”

Hearing this, Loki gasps with fear, retreats again and again, until his back hits the wall a little bit fiercely. “Uh, fine, I surrender! Brother, I was exactly playing a trick on you at that time, it’s certainly unnecessary to do so…”

Thor, who only wears his black trousers now pauses further development briefly to show his reassuring smile. “Don’t be nervous, Loki, if you feel uncomfortable we can stop at any time, I won’t allow anyone to hurt you, I promise.”

“Can I trust you?”Loki grips his clothes under pressure, even trembles slightly, unnoticed this sentence out of the trickster of god’s mouth is full of a sense of dissonance. As he sees Thor’s tantalize slight and the small action of lick lips, he takes a deep breath to determine his mind, and walks slowly but decisively to his side with a malicious radian he showed most as a liar. “Ha, just kidding! There is no need to wait any more, except you are hesitant. Let’s move on.”

“...Thor, I warn you to turn away for the last time.''Loki rolls his eyes speechlessly, insisting to stare at each other with Thor instead of taking off the final clothes to cover the most private part of his body.

“Come on, dude, when did you become so shy? Didn’t you remember we even took showers together when we were young?” Since Thor is naked and stands in a very confident posture, Loki closes his eyes to avoid seeing something horrible. That item…even if he is a god, it’s abnormal to be that large. Loki can’t help to think over again, why he agreed to his request that easily just ten minutes ago.

If he doesn’t face Thor, the one still alive who knows him most of the whole universe, this will probably be a clever method to hide his crazy thoughts. But his brother can notices all of his nervous, fear and lust only through a frown.

Thus, he walks closer to Loki, surprised that he didn’t trigger the defense mechanism for several seconds, then gently pushes down his younger brother to his bed, kissing him lingering and deeply. Loki freezes inside his embrace, then starts to struggle by shaking his body and moaning in continuously vague onomatopoeias. Thor spreads his fingers to touch his brother’s hair and goes down with the flow to comfort him. If he could speak he would say “There there”, but it doesn’t really matter now, Loki isn’t that breakable though he promises to try his best to protect him after he knew his dear brother escaped from death again, for love.

Loki irefully glaring at Thor, but he soon comes up with an idea, starts to taste his lips carefully with his teeth rubbing back and forth. Thor’s eye tells of his bewilderment, he indulges his naughty brother to play for a period of time, then begins to attack back. He immediately acts to pry open his mouth, and block his tongue to forward this kiss.

This causes Loki to suddenly lose his initiative, the only thing he has to adjust is Thor’s entangle that happens inside his mouth. He can’t control his breath and turns to moan quickly. 

As Asgardians all know, Loki, the second prince is famous for his silver tongue, Thor now approves this opinion in another view—he deserves that since he still tries to resist his every move, though this just provides his sound with more sexual attractive.

After this exhausting war leasts minutes, they choose to leave each other at almost the same time, gasping for oxygen. 

“You are crazy…”Loki speaks in a weak voice, hiding his buzz in his mind and shame by using his own clothes to cover his head.

Seeing this, Thor finally stops being nervous and takes away his hand that suppresses his erect sexual organs. “So as you, brother.” God believes, he just has sexual excitement due to Loki, now he feels sooo immoral and guilty! But this is all Loki’s fault, he asked for an experience at first!! Thor glances at his shy brother, telling himself over and over that he is a monster, quietly walks in front of him and pretends he just wants to make him feel better.

Loki hasn’t discovered the serious situation for even ten percent, as Thor already lets his thing to greet his, he lately has the strange feeling. “What on earth are you doing?!”

“I’m trying my best not to insert you directly before saying something…!”Thor breathes deeply, bites his bottom lip to decrease his sexual desire. God please save me! He cries out fiercely in his mind.

“You what?”Loki removes his clothes as soon as he can, then sees his brother opposite just less than 5 inches, with his chaotic blue eyes and looming flash around him. His face burns on fire before he remembers to take off his sight.

“I…Ugh…Why are you—”Thor endures his willings very difficult to let his brother be well prepared, until he feels a warm touch on his item. 

Loki keeps looking at the corner of the room while he is caressing his brother, and it seems blood will drop from his face. “Silence and relax, you stupid.” He warns in a trembling sentence.

Now it’s the turn for Thor to lose the right to speak independently. He makes accusations to his fingers but still has Shortness of breath. To tell the truth, Loki has a bit of joy about his behavior.

“Bro, stop doing that plz, I…” Thor makes an effort to speak in a well-controlled voice, but now it sounds like he is murdered by his brother.

Loki sighs heavily and andante turns to look down at that…stick. “Fine, I, I would do it for you.” He swallows his worry and timidity into stomach, closes his eyes to find it with his lips—then kisses on Thor’s abdominal muscles because he can’t certainly see the location.

“Puff…” Thor can’t help himself to laugh, and receives a complaint phone call from Loki with his eyes. To find some dignity back, when Loki sucks the strip he develops the area to make sure where the point of Thor is on purpose. As soon as he glides across the top of the mushroom, he feels an obvious tremor from Thor. That’s it! The god of trickster looks up to meet his brother who is trapped in great awkward, smiles mischievously. “Enjoy, sir.”

“What do you mean by…wait—!” The huge pleasure almost floods him, Thor covers his mouth as tight as he can, meanwhile Loki still can experience his non-stop shake of the whole body and a few uncomfortable croons.

“Don’t…ah…”Thor even  has difficulty on expressing his thoughts now, the only one of his beautiful blue eye now filled with shallow fog.

“Don’t stop? Okay, it’s my duty.” Loki leisurely mistakes his issue, he could see the nearly despair emotion on Thor’s face, then does it quicker. As Thor covers his eye and shouts out with a normal speaking volume, the white liquid that is similar to cream ejaculates from the spout inside Loki’s mouth, and inevitably splatters on his face.

“......” Loki mums and goes upstairs to observe Thor’s act as he is aware of what happened. His brother uses his arm to hide his eye behind, looks like has no emotion to talk.

“Well, brother, I think I crossed the line a little bit.” Loki tentatively asked Thor and got no reply. Now he is truly worried about his future, because Thor already known that silence is the best weapon to deal with this little devil. In the past he would keep quiet until Loki apologized or even admitted his success.

But just for now, Loki has no reason to do that. He watches his brother all around carefully, then makes up his mind to touch him in a flash to make sure he doesn’t fall asleep. At the same time, a short but ardent lime light pricks his fingertip, the huge amount of current breaks into his body through the little skin area at an unnoticed speed, completely putting him down without even a sound. Loki’s eyes keep into a frightened size, his mouth opens but could say nothing.

Thor stands with a confusing smile on his corner of mouth, just tells everyone he didn’t do this on purpose. “It’s lucky for me to disturb the god of trickster’s eyes, brother, since you played much more far out of my expectation, it’s time for me to act.”

NO, PLEASE! I will say sorry to you about one thousand times, just give me a chance to redeem the situation! Loki shakes his head hard, catches his lips with teeth to create some physiological tears. Even though beside this kind of danger, he has no pity mask to wear.

Thor brings their clothes and the sheet which was suppressed by his back to bundle his brother, or he would have enough space to run away, like several times in the past. Loki feels better from being struck by lightning now, this causes him to struggle substantially as he shouts to accuse his actions.

“Be quiet, little one, you won’t hope to attract the attention of Shield Agents, some of them even worked with you sometimes.” Thor pets his head, suggests Loki with a soft voice—and makes his two arms trapped together backwards at the same time. He is too immersed in the dirty job, until he adds the final part to his brother, he finds that he accidentally makes Loki look like a nice present for Christmas.

“Wow, such an artist, dude.”Loki already changed his attitude from scary to cold-shoulder while Thor continues to pack him up on his own.

Thor says nothing but starts to uncover all the fabric on Loki, and the worst thing is after a few minutes’ work, he discovers that Loki left his pants before he could remind Thor. He never thinks he is such a fool in any environment as now. Of course, except the time he blamed Loki because he saved his brother’s life by handing over the Cosmic Cube.

“Opps, are you in trouble with my insurance? Beg me, I will make it disappear.” Loki claims condescending as the second prince of Asgard often did. But he underestimates Thor’s violent dismantling method, only some part of his strength can tear the material readily. Our small prince shows unforeseen thoughts from the black eyes for a moment, then sighs to mean “yeah that’s how my brother works, he is absolutely an idiot with muscles”.

“Close your eyes then, brother, or it may be a bit strange for you to see the course.” Thor empathetically advises Loki as he is opening a bottle of lubricating oil. Loki, who has no sexual experience ever, is confused by his warning and rebelliously keeps his sight wide. He hasn’t been a good boy since the day he knew his true identity.

Thor rashly shakes his head, and lowers his head near the storage room, with one finger smeared the cold liquid circling around the surrounding area. Loki opens his mouth, wants to question the rationality of this behavior, but all the words come out are syllables like hmm and ahh. He conditioned starts to break free, though the move space for him is smaller than he had in the Asgard prison.

“There there, I’m protecting you from pain by lubricating the hole.” Thor softly appeases his brother, and sticks in a finger. Loki bites on his bottom lip to stop the voice he may possibly make, throws his attention away to refrain from the irritating scene. Damn, Thor is right.

As Thor can put three fingers into and out easily, he holds Loki’s shoulder with a reassuring strength, takes a deep breath, then sends his buddy with a condom to contact the teller. “Brother, we are begin now, please prepare for yourself, if you like, I have a mouth shackle that you used to…”

“What?!! How dare you tell this in front of me, instigator? Shut up right now!” Loki redden his face through anger and shame.

“Okay, I apologize, I never meant to hurt your feelings, Loki!” Thor shouts as he gets into half of the way. He thrusts several times at a slow speed, then starts to speed up until Loki asks to decrease that with urgent gasping. Thor feels a fire is running over his face as he listens to Loki’s breath, so he requests, “Would you please say more in the following part?”

“Uhh…Nope, exact, ah, ly.” Loki just chooses the most appropriate degree for him that both can let him be comfortable and excited, so he even can’t stop to create sounds. Thor winks as he is aware of this issue. “You know what, Loki, I really love you as my brother, it began when I was just eight, even though you stabbed me with your magic tricks.”

“...I have loved you since you first came into my eyes.” Loki speaks in a tiny voice, and then feels the thing goes in deep enough to reach his point as Thor comes to kiss him again and again. As their lips and teeth fit together in the end, they both get the high waves.

Thor spends a little time finishing this kiss, then leaves his brother’s inside, puts off the condom that prevents the illness for both of them. “How do you feel, Loki?”

“Great, Thor.” Loki smiles as he uses a small magic to release the control of the clothes, “Can’t wait to take a bath and get rid of all the lust.”

“Oh, don’t see your common willings as a problem, you can find me any time you like.”Thor laughs and explains to his brother patiently.

“So, next time is my turn to lead you?” Loki stops at the entrance of the restroom. “You already are.”Thor helps him to close the door.

[promocaocode]

Sun-Kissed Simplicity: Discovering Glow with D-Bronzi Drops

Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops

by Marcio "MZA"

We put the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops to the test after receiving a complimentary sample from the brand. Keep reading for our full product review.

Most of the time, when I try to create the look of an effortless, sun-kissed glow, it definitely takes significant effort: plenty of skin prep, a luminous primer, radiant foundation, and a good mix of bronzer and highlighter. When I learned about the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops—a liquid luminizer that creates a bronzed look while promoting overall skin health—I wanted to know if it could work for me. After testing the drops out for a couple of weeks, I was pretty impressed with how they enhanced my complexion, but are they my new favorite? Read on for my full review of the D-Bronzi drops to decide if it's something you want to check out for yourself.

FAST FACTS

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DRUNK ELEPHANT D-BRONZI ANTI-POLLUTION SUNSHINE DROPS

BEST FOR: Anyone who prefers their skin to have a subtle, sun-kissed glow.

USES: A liquid luminizer that creates a bronzed, radiant finish in tandem with other skincare and makeup products while also protecting skin from environmental factors and supporting barrier health.

HERO INGREDIENTS: Marula oil, blackcurrant seed oil, vitamin F, cocoa extract, peptides 

POTENTIAL ALLERGENS: Ceteareth-20, chlorphenesin, phenoxyethanol

By on AMAZON $39 

SHADE RANGE: One shade

ABOUT THE BRAND: After identifying six ingredients that irritated her skin, Drunk Elephant founder Tiffany Masterson decided to make her skincare herself. With products formulated with effective natural and synthetic ingredients, Drunk Elephant focuses on supporting the skin’s natural pH levels and uses ingredients that benefit overall skin health.

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About My Skin: Sensitive and combination

With combination skin on the sensitive side, I gravitate towards products that are lightweight, non-comedogenic, and give my skin a radiant look. I'm currently going through a major minimalist makeup phase, so I don’t wear much of it day-to-day. When I go out, I like wearing foundations with sheer to medium coverage or a liquid product that gives my skin a natural glow. I often reach for the e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow Liquid Filter and the Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Foundation—though they’re at opposite ends of the spectrum price-wise, they give my skin a fresh, radiant look that I love without accentuating the oilier parts of my face.

How to Apply: Shake before use and add to your product of choice

The Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Drops have a fairly unique application method—instead of applying them on their own, the brand suggests mixing them in with your item of choice. Shake the product and apply a drop or more to your go-to oil, serum, or cream before applying it to your face, arms, chest, legs, or anywhere else you’d like to add a touch of sun-kissed depth. After washing my face, I decided to mix the drops in with my La-Roche Posay Toleriane Sensitive Fluide Moisturizer and see how the product wore on my skin.

The Results: Fresh skin with a sunny glow

Considering that I can never get enough of a sun-kissed glow, I really liked Drunk Elephant's D-Bronzi Drops. More than a liquid bronzing product, the drops are intentionally formulated to enhance and protect the skin. Blackcurrant seed oil, vitamin F, and marula oil (the brand’s star ingredient, included in a number of its products) provide the skin’s barrier with additional support, and a curated mix of antioxidants gives the skin extra protection against pollution and environmental stressors. 

Each day I tested it, I mixed two to three drops of the D-Bronzi drops with my moisturizer. Once my skin absorbed the product, I had a healthy, radiant glow with a subtle tint. The product was very lightweight and comfortable, so I tried adding a few more drops to my moisturizer to see if my skin would look more bronzed, but it didn't change the finish much. I think a few more flexible shades could make a huge difference in how it wears on complexions like mine and richer.

For fuller coverage looks, I prefer to look more bronzed and luminous, but D-Bronzi came in clutch a few times when I was rushing to get ready. Mixing it with my moisturizer and adding a few finishing touches with brows, concealer, and blush was all I needed to have a put-together beauty look that could last all day.

The Value: Expensive, but potentially worth it

For $38 per 1-oz. bottle, the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Drops are a bit pricey, but I don’t think they're priced any differently than similar products from other prestige brands. Depending on how much you use per application, you may run through the bottle quickly, or it could last you a decent amount of time. If you find that you like the subtle sun-kissed finish this product creates and a little goes a long way when mixed with your products of choice, it could be well worth the investment.

Similar Products: You've got options

Kosas Glow I.V. Vitamin-Infused Skin Enhancer: Available in 10 flexible shades, the Kosas Glow I.V. Vitamin-Infused Skin Enhancer ($38) instantly gives skin a reflective, luminous glow. Hydrating, brightening, and nourishing, Glow I.V. is great for anyone looking for a glow that’s more intense than D-Bronzi.  

e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow Liquid Filter Complexion Booster: Affordable and impactful, the e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow Liquid Filter Complexion Booster ($14) gives skin a soft, radiant glow. Coming in eight shades, this option is ideal for someone who prefers more coverage than D-Bronzi.

CONCLUSION

Drunk Elephant’s D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops save the day when I’m doing my makeup and I’m pressed for time. While an increased shade range would allow it to fit a wider audience, this product gives my skin a subtle, healthy glow and is ideal for creating a simple, minimalist makeup look.

[seccndchances]

( boo ) woah! was that CYPHER (CC-5043) walking down main street? i heard they’re not actually from ivy cove but come from STAR WARS (OC). they’re 31 and live in RADIAN HILLS but watch out because they can be SELF SACRIFICING + PARANOID but are actually LOYAL + CHARASMATIC. despite them HAVING memories, you’ll always think of DINGED UP CLONE COMMANDER ARMOR, SPIRAILING TATTOOS DOWN BOTH HIS ARMS, SCARS ON HIS CHEST FROM BATTLES FOUGHT AND WON, DYING FOR HIS JEDI GENERAL ON THE SIDE OF WHATS RIGHT when imagining them. / Alex Tarrant, he/him

Born on Kamino along side his brothers. CC-5043 was raised to die for a cause he did not choose and for people he had never met before. He took to his mantel with great pride. CC-5043 like the rest of the Clone Commanders experienced his first battle during the First War on Geonosis. He witnessed the true horrors of war, but also saw the light the Jedi could bring into the world. Following commands of the Jedi that survived the initial conflict before their arrival. Cypher made a name for himself by cracking into CIS coms and disrupting communications to buy his men more time to get in position. Following the first conflict, he was assigned to operate under Jedi General Nova Solaris Fellowes. Under her Command he began to wonder what life could have been post the war. A dangerous thought for many clones. He like many of his brothers grew too close and too comfortable with the Jedi in charge. After all, they were meant to die for the cause but serving Commander Nova. It made him have hope that perhaps him and his brother had a chance at something more. He stayed by her side and took many a stray blaster bolts to protect her backside. One blast in particular left him in medical for two weeks before he finally bargained his way out. Nova helped Cypher take steps to make himself his own individual. Including helping him decide on his own name, Cypher for his own natural affinity for cracking codes and cyphers. Something he was not trained for. A passion that was his own. He took it a step forward and chose to get his own tattoos alongside his battalion. His tattoos are not random, but actually start at his chest and spiral down both arms to his hands. The two sleeves contain images he'd never want to forget. When Order 66 went through. His chip never activated. The same could not be said for the rest of his Battalion. While still processing the Order, he had mere moments to react as his brothers opened fire on Nova. He barely had enough time to swap his weapons to stun before returning fire. He had moments to think and had no choice but to shut himself off to try to save his Jedi and his brothers. The Venator Class Star Destroyer was the biggest threat to their evacuation. Realizing he had to disable the ship and leave it dead with his brothers aboard. He also knew, to take the bridge. He'd have to kill some of his brothers, but at the very least. He'd save the only innocent one he could. To save Nova. He had to do the one thing he had sworn he'd never do. He lied to her. He lied with so much belief, that he knew she wouldn't even question it. He knew she'd catch on when it was too late to save him. In his final moments, all he could do was assure her that he'd gladly do it all over again. 'it's been an honor to serve you.' and it was. An honor to die for something, no someone he believed in beyond measure. The only regret he had, was he had no idea if it actually paid off. In Ivy Cove .... Cypher lived a calm life, he works a normal job, had normal friends. The echoes of war were all but lost to him until one week ago. When the Mayor died. He woke up with one thought, Find his crew.. Find his Light. He's neglected his personal life in search for those who once knew him. He has been seen hanging around outside the Jedi Temple, anxious. He didn't know how far Order 66 had spread. He wouldn't blame the Jedi for slamming the door in his face, but without a way to find his brothers. To find his friends. He feels lost. Wanted Connections: Fake Life Family : Siblings who he loves as much as his clone brothers. Fake Life Friends: People who he cares for but wonders if they'd stick by his side knowing the blood on his hands. Coworkers: They would know he's close to losing his job due to him just being on the hunt for his past life.

[ivycovehq]

welcome to ivy cove, boo! we can’t wait to meet cypher. please make sure you read through the checklist and send in your account within 24 hours

( boo ) woah! was that CYPHER (CC-5043) walking down main street? i heard they’re not actually from ivy cove but come from STAR WARS (OC). they’re 31 and live in RADIAN HILLS but watch out because they can be SELF SACRIFICING + PARANOID but are actually LOYAL + CHARASMATIC. despite them HAVING memories, you’ll always think of DINGED UP CLONE COMMANDER ARMOR, SPIRAILING TATTOOS DOWN BOTH HIS ARMS, SCARS ON HIS CHEST FROM BATTLES FOUGHT AND WON, DYING FOR HIS JEDI GENERAL ON THE SIDE OF WHATS RIGHT when imagining them. / Alex Tarrant, he/him

[nishilgupta]

Personal Protective Equipment Market worth $69.4 billion by 2028

Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to specialized clothes or equipment meant to protect individuals from various health and safety threats in the workplace or other places. Personal protective equipment is chosen based on the specific hazards in each environment and should be fitted and maintained appropriately. Employers are normally responsible for providing suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) and training employees on how to make best use of it. Workers are responsible for wearing the specified PPE as directed to maintain their safety and well-being. The proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is a vital component of occupational safety and risk reduction. The personal protective equipment market is experiencing significant growth driven by many key factors. Hand & arm protection has attracted attention as a prospective type in the personal protective equipment market for several reasons. Hand and arm protection is necessary in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, construction, healthcare, oil & gas, food, transportation, firefighting, and others. Due to the variety of uses, protective gloves and sleeves are in high demand. Many industries entail actions that put the hands and arms at risk. Contact with chemicals, sharp objects, severe temperatures, and mechanical injuries are examples of potential dangers. As these industries grow, so does the demand for safety equipment. The personal protective equipment market has been gradually expanding, with increased manufacturing and infrastructural development. Most of the countries have witnessed industrial and manufacturing growth, resulting in an increased demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect the rising workforce. This expansion has been particularly evident in emerging economies. These developments frequently require the use of specialized personal protective equipment. Manufacturing frequently employs many workers, all of them require appropriate personal protective equipment. The sheer size of the manufacturing workforce contributes to an increase in the demand for protective equipment in the manufacturing industry. The personal protective equipment market is evolving, with major players playing a vital role in developing new and advanced products. Honeywell International Inc. (US), DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (US), 3M Company (US), Ansell Limited (Australia), Kimberly-Clark Corporation (US), Lakeland Industries, Inc. (US), Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (Canada), Sioen Industries NV (Belgium), Radians Inc. (US), and MSA Safety Inc. (US) are key players in the personal protective equipment market. These players have adopted various growth strategies to strengthen their position in the market. These include new product launches, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, partnerships, and product development activities to further expand their presence in the personal protective equipment market.

[howellmedical]

Operating Room ceiling-mounted LED 700/500 shadowless surgical light Flower Operation Lamp

features:

1.Ideal cold light effects. Using the new LED cold light source, energy saving and environmental protection and long service life up to 80,000hours or more. Temperature increase over surgeon’s head<1℃.LED do not engender infrared ray and ultraviolet radiation, it doesn’t have the temperature rise and tissue damage caused by halogen shadowless light, can accelerate the wound healing after surgery, and has no Radiation pollution.LED color temperature constant, soft, very close to the natural sun light.

2.Excellent shadowless effect Lamp with the most scientific radian,Multi point light source design, so that more fullness of the light spot,When the lamps are partially occluded, also can achieve perfect shadowless effect.Lamp panel radius of gyration: ≥182cm, the lamp can be pulled to vertical floor, convenient to any angle illumination.

3.Excellent deep lighting

4.Advanced control system The use of liquid crystal display button control, to meet the needs of the medical staff of different patients with the brightness of the operation.It offers illuminance memory function.

5.Universal suspension system Rotating arm, a new type of alloy material is made of eight edge type.Balanced system using imported arm module, more than 5 group universal joints, every cantilever must has more than 3 joints which can be rotated in 360°, The structure is light, easy to manipulate, accurate positioning, can provide the maximum range of regulation.The equipped with fatigue correcting unit and fix position hand handle device, easy to fix position after long time use.

6.Modern laminar lamp The thickest part of lamp-chimney is not more than 10cm.The lamp-chimney is made of ABS, The handle on the central of lamp can be detachable, can take high temperature (≤ 134°C) sterilization treatment, easily adjust, flexible fixed.

Whatsapp+8615146602893

email：howellmed@outlook.com

Whatsapp+8615146602893

email：howellmed@outlook.com

https://howellmedical.ru/

[holy-ghost-fire]

My KE Arms KP-15 build. I wanted to do my own lightweight, WWSD-inspired build but on a budget. The parts are:

KE Arms Blem OD Green Lower with Mil-Spec FCG and Ambi Selector

PSA 16" Mid-Length Pencil Barrel Upper

Radian Raptor-LT Ambi Changing Handle

Aero Precision Nitride BCG

Some other parts that I put on:

Diamondhead Iron Sights (I've really liked these for years and had a set on hand)

Magpul B.A.D. Lever (inb4 "bad lever is bad")

Magpul MS-1 Sling, QD Sling Mount, and QD Sling Swivel

[dionisiagreco]

Rebirth of Korea's Peerless Beauty

"Brother, did something happen to you?" There was another sigh, but there were many contradictions little love, don't you remember what I told you: I'm destined to marry a woman I don't love? It was not until I experienced a lot of things that I realized the pain in my eldest brother's heart at that time,Porcelain Marble Slabs, such as an avalanche, which hit my heart heavily but could not make a sound. The quartz clock pointed to one in the morning. There are two tired people hiding in this room. Brother Chengjun, I miss you again. I miss you so quietly. I want to know what you're doing. I want to know if you think of me occasionally. I want to know if you will suddenly accidentally remember that there is a girl who loved you so foolishly. Miss you On this night Because I like thinking about you. Let your heart have a soft pain and happiness. Sometimes I think. So quietly think of a person. In fact, it is also a kind of happiness and hope. I'm sorry, Brother Seung-jun, I miss you. Guo Ao said: There is always a person hidden in everyone's heart in his life, maybe this person will never know. Nevertheless,Agate Slabs For Sale, this person can never be replaced by anyone. And that person is like a scar that will never heal. No matter when, as long as it is lifted, or lightly touched, it will be dull pain. & shy；；； Chapter eighty-three Cold face, cold language, cold Chengjun brother, such a scene deeply hurt my eyes, heart in this moment suddenly hurt the ice. Golden sunshine, so hot temperature, but I am in this harsh sunshine, shivering with cold. Holding my trembling body in my hands, I squatted down feebly, tears falling at my feet drop by drop, broken. "I found her, white marble mosaic ,Carrara Marble Slab, she has been waiting for me," he smiled at me shallowly, "I'm really sorry." I looked up at the two people standing in front of me, and Chengjun happily looked at the girl beside him with a very warm smile, and even the radian of the corners of her mouth was so perfect, full of tender'loving eyes, that people could not move away. The smile of the pure girl like the sky was also so touching, two thin lips were smiling, long eyes were smiling, and two dimples on her cheeks were smiling. The sun shines on them, eye-catching and beautiful. Isn't she dead? How did you find it? My heart hurts, but my heart is more confused, waiting for so long, the final outcome is so bleak. Speaking of this, brother Cheng Jun lovingly touched the girl's black hait to be close to you, you will still leave me, I love you, I love you. Chapter 84 "Brother Chengjun." Brother Chengjun.. Don't go,Pietra Gray Marble, please don't go. "Little Love.." Little love. Someone was pushing my body and whispering my name. "Wake up, little love, what's wrong?" He opened his eyes in tears and looked at the people above him in a daze. Little love. "Brother." "What's the matter?"? Did you have a nightmare? Cry so sadly. Big cousin gently wiped away the tears from my eyes and held me in his arms with heartache. forustone.com

[husbandomail-archive]

got this up before midnight my time so I’m still on track lmaooo

my own Christmas prompts; arguing over yard decorations

The Christmas lights wrapped around the porch posts blinked on a set rhythm; the ones that were hung from the eaves were spaced exactly an inch apart, the original bulbs long replaced by newer ones with stronger filament, a better glow. Their pattern had been planned too— chromatic arrangement. Red first, followed by blue and then green—

He’d been meticulous with his calculations. He’d factored in every possible variable. His perfect formula would not be tarnished.

And yet, when Sho Minamimoto glanced toward the neighbor’s house, it became increasingly obvious that your lack of aesthetic sense was a powerful threat to his manufactured beauty.

Your own strings of lights were still half-tangled, and curved in on each other even where they were fastened— haphazardly— to your home with tacks, of all things. They blinked at random, too, with no rhyme or reason to their colorful dance. And god, you had some of those garish inflatables in your front yard— that one cartoon reindeer, and then some pine trees with faces plastered across their plastic. Worst of all, those trees played music whenever anyone wandered too close— and it just so happened that their sensor was near enough Sho’s front door, he was serenaded every time he returned home.

Something had to be done.

You were seated in the living room, curled up in your favorite spot on the couch and sipping a warm drink after a long day. The television was tuned to some stereotypical holiday movie, but you’d long since turned the volume to low; the trees out front had been singing for several minutes by now. The neighbor was definitely standing out there again, sulking, in the exact same way you’d seen him do all week.

Finally there was a harsh knock from the entryway. A smile curled across your face as you gently set your drink down; when you opened the front door, Sho Minamimoto towered over you, his golden eyes glinting under all the colorful lights. With every huffy sigh, his breath frosted in the air between you both.

“Your decorations are ugly,” he snarled, and you couldn’t help but wonder if his little fangs had always been that sharp.

Your grin brightened. Arms crossed against the chill, you leaned against the door frame and eyed your neighbor up and down; Sho grit his teeth, frustration clear on his face as he waited for some, any, kind of response. You just shrugged. “I think they’re nice, actually. That’s why I put them up.”

He shook his head and some of the snow off his hat. Taking a step closer, he pointed towards his own yard. “That’s what you call nice,” he said. “They’re arranged and formulaic, unlike the clear miscalculation covering your damned yard. Fix it.”

False bewilderment crossed your face as you looked from his lights to yours. “If we’re being so brutally honest here, I think mine have a bit more personality. They make movies about yards like this.”

When Sho growled, it reminded you of a lion. You hadn’t even realized a sound like that could come from a man— and over Christmas decorations, of all things. Instead of responding, your neighbor whirled on his heel and trudged through your snow-covered yard, his footsteps crunching in a way that negated his threatening aura. He came to a stop in front of the inflatable trees and, predictably, they started singing.

“These things need to die, radian,” he shouted, more so you could hear him than anything else. Then he spun and pointed to a particular string of lights. “And those are uneven— there is a formula for hanging them in a way that their glow doesn’t blur together. It’s simple enough, anyone could do it—”

“Are you volunteering, then?”

Your voice stopped Sho in his tracks. It was rare for anyone to catch him off-guard, but you’d done it; the gears were clearly turning behind his eyes. You stepped out of the doorway and onto the porch. Hands planted firmly on your hips in triumph, your smile grew as large as the Grinch’s new heart. Gottim.

A few days later and your neighbor was in your yard yet again, only this time he was untangling your lights and grumbling about the placement of Rudolph while you stood to the side with a reward for his help. Who knew the grim heaper would work for hot chocolate?