#sad but inspiring

[eclecticspaceorc]

This is an idea I've had for years based on "And the Heavens Wept" by 'thefalloutdiaries'. I've worked on it and grew it out but because I'm not great at writing I could never write it out.

So recently I wrote down everything I had and all the ideas and details I could and had ai write it out. I worked through it and made it as perfect to my idea as I could.

So I hope you like it and don't think too badly on me for using ai as a writing aid.

When Midnight Reigned

Humanity’s ascent to the stars was welcomed with open arms. After centuries of conflict and isolation on their homeworld, Earth’s nations united and reached for the stars, joining the Intergalactic Concord, a coalition of hundreds of species that governed peace and policy among the cosmos. Humans, though young and inexperienced by galactic standards, quickly earned a place in the Concord’s Senate due to their adaptability and ingenuity.

For years, they thrived. But peace was not to last.

A species known as the Zyrrkhal Dominion, notorious for their pride and territorial aggression, declared war on humanity over a territorial dispute in a distant star system. To the Concord, the Zyrrkhal’s grievance seemed valid. The Concord refused to intervene, citing their policy of neutrality in "bilateral conflicts." The decision left humanity to fend for itself.

The war was brutal but stagnant. Battles raged across contested systems for years, with neither side gaining ground. Humanity’s fleets matched the Zyrrkhal’s strength, but neither could deliver a decisive blow. Until, one day, everything changed.

--

The Concord Assembly

A sudden emergency meeting was called in the heart of the Concord’s capital station. Representatives from every member species filled the Senate chamber, their whispers echoing through the grand hall. None knew who had summoned them or why.

The murmurs ceased when the human ambassador, Elias Caine, strode into the chamber, flanked by General Adrienne Locke—a rarity, as military officers were typically barred from these proceedings. Gasps and indignant cries rippled through the assembly.

One voice rose above the rest: "This is a breach of protocol! Military presence is strictly prohibited in this chamber!" shouted the Zyrrkhal ambassador, his mandibles clicking in outrage.

Ambassador Caine raised a hand, his face calm but grim. "Bylaw 47-3 of the Concord Charter permits exceptions during emergencies. The station AI has confirmed our compliance. Now, sit down."

The AI’s voice boomed through the chamber. "Objection overruled. The humans are within their rights. Silence is mandatory."

The chamber fell into an uneasy quiet. Caine stepped forward, his voice measured and steady.

---

The Midnight Protocol

"At 12:37 PM Galactic Standard Time," Caine began, "Earth’s short-range sensors detected a Zyrrkhal fleet entering Sol space. The fleet warped in dangerously close to Earth, bypassing our defenses. An automatic assessment determined that our outer fleets were too far away to intercept in time. Earth was left vulnerable."

General Locke took a step forward, her voice steely. "When such a scenario occurs, humanity enacts its most extreme contingency: the Midnight Protocol."

Confused murmurs filled the room. Caine continued, his tone unyielding. "The protocol begins with a complete communications blackout—no signals to or from Earth. Then, a prerecorded message is broadcast to all citizens, explaining the situation and presenting them with a choice. They were told that their home was indefensible and that surrender was an option. But they were also given an alternative: to make our attackers regret their actions."

Locke’s gaze swept across the chamber. "The choice was unanimous. Earth chose vengeance."

A hologram of Earth appeared in the center of the chamber, showing the planet as it was just hours ago. Caine’s voice grew colder. "The final stage of the protocol was enacted: a hidden solar array, decades in the making, was activated. It drew power directly from our sun, creating a weapon of unprecedented scale—a lance of pure energy capable of annihilating everything in its path."

The hologram shifted, showing the Zyrrkhal fleet hovering over Earth. "At 12:55 PM Galactic Standard Time, the solar lance fired," Caine said. The hologram showed the beam erupting from behind Earth, slicing through the fleet and engulfing the planet. "The fleet was destroyed. Earth was… glassed."

---

The Fallout

The chamber erupted in chaos. Zyrrkhal Ambassador Jekh’traz rose, his claws slamming against his podium. "You annihilated your own planet? Billions of lives, sacrificed? You’re monsters! You deserve death for this!"

Caine’s eyes were cold as he stepped toward Jekh’traz. In one swift motion, he drew a sidearm and fired. The shot echoed through the chamber as Jekh’traz crumpled to the floor, lifeless. Silence filled the air, and security drones descended, but the AI’s voice intervened once more.

"Humanity’s actions remain within Concord law."

Caine holstered the weapon, his voice icy and resolute. "The final stage of the Midnight Protocol is a directive to all surviving humans: kill the enemy on sight—if it can be done without further human loss. Otherwise, retreat to human-controlled space."

He turned to face the assembly, his gaze sweeping over the stunned representatives. "We respected your laws. We respected your traditions. No more. The Zyrrkhal attacked our home. They forfeited their lives the moment they crossed into Sol."

Locke followed Caine as he exited, leaving the chamber in stunned silence.

--

Epilogue

The annihilation of Earth and the Zyrrkhal fleet marked a turning point in the war. No longer constrained by the rules of the Intergalactic Concord, humanity’s fleets moved with unbridled aggression. Every battle became a decisive victory, every system retaken with ruthless efficiency. The war was no longer about survival—it was about vengeance.

Humanity’s tactics were unprecedented in their ferocity. Entire Zyrrkhal supply lines were obliterated, their colonies razed to the ground. Human forces, hardened by centuries of conflict on their homeworld, adapted faster than the Zyrrkhal could react. They weaponized their grief, their anger, and their ingenuity, creating weapons and strategies that even the most advanced Concord species struggled to comprehend.

One by one, Zyrrkhal strongholds fell. The once-proud Dominion was reduced to scattered remnants, their once-mighty fleets decimated. Desperation gripped the Zyrrkhal as they retreated further into their own territory, but humanity pursued them relentlessly, offering no quarter and demanding no surrender.

The Concord watched in silent horror as humanity turned the tide of war into a campaign of extermination. Appeals for mercy fell on deaf ears. "They attacked our home," was the only justification humanity gave. For the first time in its history, the Concord was powerless to intervene, paralyzed by its own laws and the fear that humanity might turn its wrath toward them next.

After years of relentless warfare, the Zyrrkhal were pushed back to their home system. Humanity launched a final assault—a multi-pronged strike that obliterated the Zyrrkhal’s last remaining fleet and laid siege to their homeworld. The once-thriving planet was reduced to ash, its cities flattened, its technological advancements destroyed.

But humanity stopped short of total annihilation. Instead, they left the Zyrrkhal with a single habitable planet in their system—a barren, resource-starved world. Stripped of their technology, the survivors were forced back into a primitive existence, their civilization effectively erased. This act was not one of mercy, but a calculated message: the Zyrrkhal would live, but only as a reminder to the galaxy of what happens to those who threaten humanity.

The Intergalactic Concord held an emergency session in the aftermath, debating whether humanity should face consequences for its actions. But fear of reprisal silenced most voices. Humanity, now a dominant force in the galaxy, made their stance clear: "We will honor the Concord’s laws only so long as they serve our survival. But cross us again, and we will not hesitate to act."

The Zyrrkhal, now relegated to myths and cautionary tales, became a symbol of humanity’s capacity for both destruction and justice. Over time, the galaxy adapted to this new reality. Humanity was no longer the young, hopeful species welcomed into the stars. They were survivors, warriors, and enforcers of their own code.

---

Legacy

In the centuries that followed, the remnants of Earth became a sacred place. The glassed planet stood as a monument to humanity’s resilience and the price of survival. Colonies spread across the galaxy, and humanity thrived, rebuilding their society while always keeping their military prepared for the next great threat.

The story of when Midnight Reigned became legend—a tale of loss, vengeance, and triumph that shaped humanity’s identity. To their allies, humanity became a force to be respected and feared. To their enemies, they were a warning: those who challenge humanity do so at their own peril.

And as the stars continued to shine over the scarred galaxy, humanity’s legacy endured, a testament to a species that rose from the ashes of their homeworld to claim their place among the stars—unyielding, unforgiving, and unstoppable

[futuristic-koala]

[tofixtheshadows]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how Kabru deprives himself.

Kabru as a character is intertwined with the idea that sometimes we have to sacrifice the needs of the few for the good of the many. He ultimately subverts this first by sabotaging the Canaries and then by letting Laios go, but in practice he's already been living a life of self-sacrifice.

Saving people, and learning the secrets of the dungeons to seal them, are what's important. Not his own comforts. Not his own desires. He forces them down until he doesn't know they're there, until one of them has to come spilling out during the confession in chapter 76.

Specifically, I think it's very significant, in a story about food and all that it entails, that Kabru is rarely shown eating. He's the deuteragonist of Dungeon Meshi, the cooking manga, but while meals are the anchoring points of Laios's journey, given loving focus, for Kabru, they're ... not.

I'm sure he eats during dungeon expeditions, in the routine way that adventurers must when they sit down to camp. But on the surface, you get the idea that Kabru spends most of his time doing his self-assigned dungeon-related tasks: meeting with people, studying them, putting together that evidence board, researching the dungeon, god knows what else. Feeding himself is secondary.

He's introduced during a meal, eating at a restaurant, just to set up the contrast between his party and Laios's. And it's the last normal meal we see him eating until the communal ending feast (if you consider Falin's dragon parts normal).

First, we get this:

Kabru's response here is such a non-answer, it strongly implies to me that he wasn't thinking about it until Rin brought it up. That he might not even be feeling the hunger signals that he logically knew he should.

They sit down to eat, but Kabru is never drawn reaching for food or eating it like the rest of his party. He only drinks.

It's possible this means nothing, that we can just assume he's putting food in his mouth off-panel, but again, this entire manga is about food. Cooking it, eating it, appreciating it, taking pleasure in it, grounding yourself in the necessary routine of it and affirming your right to live by consuming it. It's given such a huge focus.

We don't see him eat again until the harpy egg.

What a significant question for the protagonist to ask his foil in this story about eating! Aren't you hungry? Aren't you, Kabru?

He was revived only minutes ago after a violent encounter. And then he chokes down food that causes him further harm by triggering him, all because he's so determined to stay in Laios's good graces.

In his flashback, we see Milsiril trying to spoon-feed young Kabru cake that we know he doesn't like. He doesn't want to eat: he wants to be training.

Then with Mithrun, we see him eating the least-monstery monster food he can get his hands on, for the sake of survival- walking mushroom, barometz, an egg. The barometz is his first chance to make something like an a real meal, and he actually seems excited about it because he wants to replicate a lamb dish his mother used to make him!

...but he doesn't get to enjoy it like he wanted to.

Then, when all the Canaries are eating field rations ... Kabru still isn't shown eating. He's only shown giving food to Mithrun.

And of course the next time he eats is the bavarois, which for his sake is at least plant based ... but he still has to use a coping mechanism to get through it.

I don't think Kabru does this all on purpose. I think Kui does this all on purpose. Kabru's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be understood as informing his character just as much as Laios's autism informs his. It's another way that Kabru and Laios act as foils: where Laios takes pleasure in meals and approaches food with the excitement of discovery, Kabru's experiences with eating are tainted by his trauma. Laios indulges; Kabru denies himself. Laios is shown enjoying food, Kabru is shown struggling with it.

And I can very easily imagine a reason why Kabru might have a subconscious aversion towards eating.

Meals are the privilege of the living.

[novaneondream]

it’s our turn to make you smile

[poetrybyserhatdogan]

[craftbadger]

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you’re at a low point:

If you were a fictional man right now, there would be *at least* ten people if not a large portion of the fanbase that would call you their wet beast poor little meow meow

[twistedlybroken]

[demaparbat-hp]

She will (and he'll let her)

[urfriendlywriter]

20 angsty romance prompts part 2

(feel free to use <33 tag me when yall writeeee)

crying in your lover's arms

^ face buried in their chest, while their heart breaks at your every sob :(

"i wish i loved you less." but it is spat at the other person angrily, immediately being regretted after the words leave their mouth.

watching them cry and not knowing what to do (ouch-)

"why do you love me when you know i can't- shouldn't love you back?"

"you messed me up, you fcked me over and what- how dare i? how dare fckn you!"

"i am sorry. i am so so.. so.. sorry. please.. let me go."

"don't you dare do this to me- No! No, no, no, no- nono, hey, please!!"

"... why can't.. anybody see--that... I'm tired?... " (if written write, this wud traumatize me)

"I'm done waiting for you, [name]."

them literally on their knees, "please, please--just please trust me! Why is it so hard for you to believe me once?"

^ "how many times do i have to get hurt by trusting you!!?"

"i am not sorry that i don't love you. I'm sorry that you don't love yourself."

"i loved you, believe me. i did. then you turned into someone else, someone... scary."

"WHY DO YOU HAVE TO KEEP HURTING ME? why--why am i the one.. always losing everything..?"

"listen to me-" "No, no!" "my dear, i swear, that isn't what i meant." "oh yeah? i don't think so. you were pretty loud and clear back there."

"so.. you're just going to.. give up on me." "that is NOT what i meant-" "you're not willing to fight for me either. i think it's pretty clear, [name]."

hands trembling while holding their pale, bloodied face, "k-keep your eyes open, for fucks sake! PLEASE-please please, talk to me."

"promise me you'll be okay, and that you'll keep living. moving on, even without me." "only if you do the same." (this happened irl yall)

"you saved me then killed me all over again."

[slavhew]

hm

[astearisms]

fionna and cake drawings before and after watching the episodes so far. it’s nostalgic and somehow cathartic and poignant and relatable and—it just started

[nocek]

Wade doesn't realize how very, very, VERY task oriented Miguel is (and absolutely not jealous about Logan's claws size) ;P

[star-lighttss]

The broken will always be able to love harder than most. Once you've been in the dark, you learn to appreciate everything that shines.

[miniculecrossing]

Old fall photos of Daisy🍂

[poetrybyserhatdogan]

[loriyou]

I don't sleep to rest, I sleep to escape.

- Unknown

🦋💖💌