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thetempleofthemasaigoddess · 10 months ago

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Gentleman caller

Sanji x reader. NSFW!!

This fic was inspired by Usopp visiting Kaya at her mansion at night. One Piece of course is not that sort of story, but... what if things were allowed to get a little more spicy?

TAGGING @holymusicalmothman @b7717 @mcereal @aamon47 Thanks for asking!!

*****

"Are you sure you don't want a glass of warm milk before you go to bed, miss?"

"I am sure, Kyla." you answer politely. The truth is you haven't drunk a glass of milk to help you fall asleep since you were ten (that is, almost half your life) but your governess keeps asking, every single night, and every single night you answer no; still, you know she does it out of worry and affection for you, which you sincerely appreciate "I think I'll go now; will you tell my father good-night for me, when he returns?"

Kyla promises she will, and returns to the kitchen to clean up after dinner, while you walk out of the villa's large dining room, cross a long corridor and climb the stairs to the upper floor, finally reaching your bedroom.

Except for Kyla in the kitchen you are alone, since the cook and the gardener, who do not reside in the villa, already left, and your father is as usual busy with a business dinner. You don't feel lonely exactly, since that state of affairs has been going on since your mother died when you were still too young to remember her, but it does feel a little weird to live in such a large place, no less than twelve bedrooms on the first floor alone and at least six other rooms that have been closed for years since you literally don't know how to occupy them, when it's only the two of you... a waste of space, even though you and your father often host parties and receive many guests.

And the most important of those visitors by far is going to arrive soon, a person your father has no idea has already visited so many times before...

You take off your shoes, and spend a few minutes in the en-suite bathroom refreshing yourself before closing the bedroom's door behind you. You sigh, happy and excited, as you let yourself fall on the bed, observing the room you have slept in since you were maybe six and that you will soon leave: the desk cluttered with paper models, scarps of fabric and sewing tools; the two mannequins wearing your latest creations, a green cocktail dress and a simpler but elegant light blue men's shirt; the bookstore full of sewing manuals, fashion catalogs and the biographies of your favourite designers; the large poster on a wall, depicting a famous, elegantly dressed model... and the glass door that, only a few minutes after you have retired to your room, starts being hit by tiny pebbles, picked from the garden below.

Your guest is here. You happily stand from the bed, glance quickly to the full length mirror on the wall to make sure your hair is combed and in order, and reach the glass door to quickly step onto the balcony.

Standing in the garden under you like a suitor ready to serenade you, more handsome than a fairy-tale hero and beaming as if about to see all his dreams come true, is him. The former assistant cook of your family, your best friend in the world, your...

"Sanji!" you call out to him, voice barely rising above a whisper as you wave your hand at him, a greeting he returns in kind, clearly happy to see you, hidden among the trunks of the centuries-old trees; the night is particularly dark, heavy clouds covering the crescent moon and most of the stars, but his smile is brighter than any other source of light.

"Are you alone?" Sanji asks urgently as he glances all around him; no one has reason to visit the garden at this hour and the balcony is oriented towards the back of the villa, far from the main entrance through which your father would come in, but you both know how imperative it is to keep your rendez-vous secrets.

"I am; my dad hasn't returned yet and Kyla is in the kitchen. You can come up."

When you decided you would meet in secret at night, five years ago, you had offered to find a rope for him to climb, but Sanji never needed it. Tonight, as usual, you look on as he nimbly climbs the tree closest to the villa's wall, clinging to the huge trunk and then to the largest branches until he's jumping above the balcony and directly in your arms.

You embrace each other, your profiles standing out against the light filtering from the room, and for a full minute neither feels the need to talk. Sanji's arms hold you close by the waist, his lips pressed against your temple in a chaste kiss; you lose yourself in his scent, the costly perfume you bought for him because you knew he liked but couldn't afford it and and that never fails to make you shiver, as you enjoy the sensation of his slim but strong body pressed against yours.

"Do you have it?" you ask after a while, pulling away just enough to look at him in the eyes; you thought about nothing else for days, more nervous than if it had been your own future career at stake "The answer from the school. Did you receive it?"

"I have."

"... and?!"

Sanji, as usual neatly dressed in one of the dark suits he wears at work, smiles at you, his fingers brushing against your face; a small backpack hangs from his shoulder. "Can we go inside before we talk?" he proposes "I have something for you as well."

Knowing he brought you a treat from the restaurant he works at makes you happy, but nothing beats the simple, pure pleasure of his company. Wordlessly you take his hand to lead him inside, leaving the now empty balcony behind.

*****

Your friendship with Sanji began exactly one decade ago; you were the only daughter of a powerful politician, living alone with him at the villa and whose pathological shyness had left her virtually friendless, him a newly orphaned boy your father had decided to hire as assistant to the cook, so that he could support himself. One afternoon, you visited the kitchen to ask for a snack, since you were starving and dinner was still hours away; the cook told you that he was sorry but your father, already then worried for your weight, had strictly forbidden him from feeding you between meals. You noticed Sanji, busy scrubbing a large pot in the sink, but he seemed so focused on his job you decided not to disturb him to introduce yourself.

You left, disappointed but unwilling to insist, out of respect for both your father and the cook who was just following orders, but a few minutes later, as you studied in the library, he joined you, a nervous smile on his face and a salami sandwich in his hands.

"Please don't tell anyone, especially not your dad." he told you as he put it in your hands "I hope you liked it, I put some mayonnaise on it because I saw the cook used it to prepare your school lunch yesterday."

You did (and still do) like mayonnaise on your sandwiches, and in that moment you were doubly astonished: that he heard your request for a snack even though he had looked so engrossed in the cookware to wash, and that he had decided to risk your father's wrath to help you, less than a week after being hired.

"Thank you, I... thank you so much! That was very kind of you." you told him, for once forgetting your shyness "My name is (name). What's yours?"

"I'm Sanji. And don't worry; I'm sure your dad means well, but no one should starve, especially not at our age. Don't tell anyone, ok? I know he forbade the cook from feeding you snacks, and i'm not supposed to visit the family's wing of the villa without a valid reason."

You obviously kept his secret, and from that day on, you and Sanji quickly became inseparable, spending together all your free time from school and work; he secretly fed you every time your father's concern about your weight made the cook limit your meals, and you used your allowance to buy him cooking books he studied to pursue his dream of becoming a famous chef. Apart from your father, you had never loved anyone like him; Sanji was the other half of your soul, an acerbic but steadfast feeling that made you sure you would never feel alone, as long as he were by your side, and you would not have left him for all the treasures, and the good food, in the world.

Your father, who was happy you had finally made a friend and didn't mind you had chosen the kitchen boy and not one of your school mates, who belonged to the city's most affluent and prominent families, never had anything against it... at least until you were both fourteen, when he suddenly decided it was inappropriate for the two of you to spend so much time together; as a sign of peace, he found Sanji a more prestigious job in a famous restaurant at the other side of the city. That, in your father's opinion, would have meant the end of your friendship, but it obviously didn't: and after all, with all the sandwiches and portions of dessert he had snuck you, hadn't your friendship been based on secrecy since the very beginning?

For five years Sanji has spent with you almost every evening he is free from the restaurant; he climbs the trees next to your balcony and you let him in, and sometimes you spend the whole night talking, or leave together to visit a bar or go dancing. Is it dangerous, should your father discover what you are up to? Undoubtedly so, especially since you know he only worries about you, whether it is about the food you eat or the places you visit in a large and dangerous city; but you are an adult, more than old enough to decide how to live your life, and Sanji is always ready to protect you when someone bothers you in a club, and he would never feed you something that could seriously endanger your health. You don't know why exactly your father has suddenly decided you mustn't be friends with him anymore, but you are determined not to lose him, especially now that your relationship has started evolving beyond mere friendship... and your own dreams risk separating you forever.

*****

"So? What did the school say?" you insist as Sanji closes the glass door behind the two of you; your heart is pounding, wishing with every fiber of your being you could change the decision the commission must have taken days ago "Did you get in?"

For years Sanji has dreamed of attending the most prestigious cooking school in the country, the Baratie Culinary Arts Academy in the capital; this year he has finally reached the required age to enroll, but the entrance examination, that your friend has taken two weeks ago, is notoriously difficult, especially for who, like Sanji, also has to apply for a scholarship. Your friend was meant to receive the results of his exam today, and you had decided you would also share your own secret with him... and then, hopefully, you would both have something to celebrate.

"I'll tell you in a minute."

"Sanji, please... I haven't thought about anything else all day!" you complain, fearing your friend's reticence is due to shame for his failure; Sanji, busy emptying his backpack on your desk, smiles, before rubbing the back of his head.

"The truth is... I haven't opened the letter yet." he admits "I hoped we could do it together... mainly because I don't have the courage to do it by myself."

There is nothing wrong with wanting a friend close when one is both scared and excited for something, but in that moment your heart breaks for Sanji: he has lost his parents, had to take care of himself since he was still a child, and while he has a good job and could try again next year, being refused admission to the Baratie would break his heart.

You wait patiently as Sanji quickly sets the table for the two of you: cutlery, napkins, glasses, a bottle of water and his latest effort in the kitchen: two portions of a delicious chocolate cake, bigger than what your father would allow you to eat but still relatively small, since your friend does care about your health.

"This looks delicious, Sanji!" you exclaim, as always happy to taste your friend's latest creations "But wait..."

You walk to the small fridge next to the door, almost hidden under a pile of scraps of fabric left over from your latest creation and that you will find a use for one day, and retrieve a small but expensive bottle of champagne that you have bought in the afternoon.

"I thought we could use it to celebrate; I have also taken two flutes from the kitchen." you explain.

"I still don't know if I got in, (name)."

"I'm sure you did. And if the chefs at the Baratie can't see, and taste, how extraordinarily talented you are, it's their loss." you point out "You wanna open it?"

A minute later you are sitting face to face at your desk, cake and champagne ready to be enjoyed, the white envelope Sanji took from his backpack in your hands.

"Shall I?" you ask softly; your friend, who has never looked so pale and so young, nods.

"Please."

You both hold your breath as you open the envelope and then unfold the single sheet of paper inside. You make sure Sanji cannot see your face as you read...

"So? What... what does it say?"

"Sanji, I'm so sorry..."

"Oh, God..." your friend, heartbroken, stares at you for a moment before slumping on his chair, face hidden in his hands "I can't believe it... I was so sure..."

"I'm sorry because you have some very difficult years ahead..."

"... what?"

"Of course. Nights spent studying, sharing a room with six other people, waking up extra-early to go to class... Really, I don't envy you..."

Finally you look at him, beaming, while Sanji's eyes grow bigger as he slowly catches the meaning of your words.

"You mean...?"

"You got in! And you got the scholarship as well. Oh, Sanji, I'm so proud of you! I knew you could do it!"

You stand and embrace, laughing with shared delight. "I can't believe it." Sanji murmurs, still as he looks at the admission letter, signed by Zeff, a famous chef who is the Baratie's headmaster "There were so many people at the exam, and at one point I was so nervous I spilled a bowl of vinaigrette on my apron..."

"As I said, an important school like the Baratie, with so many experienced chefs, couldn't not recognize your talent." you point out, happier than you remember ever being "Classes start in a month, you'll have to give your notice at the restaurant."

"Yeah..."

Sanji takes your hands in his, kissing them devotedly. "I could have never done it without you." he murmurs, with the sort of gaze and inflection that, years after your first kiss, still makes you shiver "All the books you have bought me... and it was you who convinced me to apply. I owe you so much, (name)."

"You would have done the same for me; and we both know the two of us are beyond this sort of talk. I am so happy for you, truly; I know you will become a great chef."

Sanji smiles, circling your waist with his arm as he uses his free hand to pick one of the flutes from the desk. "Shall we celebrate, then?"

"Actually..."

"Actually?"

"Actually, I also have something to tell you." you admit, a new, excited smile opening on your face "You know that important fashion school in the capital, the one many of my favourite designers attended?"

Fashion has always been your greatest passion; you have designed clothes since you were a child, and thanks to a family friend who owns a large tailor shop you have learnt the basics of the trade, how to cut fabric, sew and tailor an item of clothing. Your father, who approves of your interests, has offered to introduce you to some fashion designers his friends or associates are acquainted to, but you are determined to accept no recommendations and take no shortcuts; just like Sanji, and any person who has to work hard to realize their dreams, you will pursue your education, earn an apprenticeship at a fashion house, and in time, hopefully, open your own and make a name for yourself as a designer. It will take you years and fashion is a famously difficult field to break into, but you are determined to give your all, so that whatever the future may bring you will be free from regret, and live doing what you love.

"Of course; the Nefertari Vivi Fashion Institute." Sanji promptly answers; miss Vivi is one of your idols, a ground-breaking designer who has revolutionized the fashion world and then focused on teaching, establishing one of the best-reputed educational institutions of the field "So what?"

You smile, still excited almost a week after receiving your own letter, that you asked your father to open for you.

Sanji gapes. "You are kidding."

"I am not!"

Your friend laughs. "And you didn't tell me anything!" he exclaims, and you apologize, telling him you didn't want to disappoint both of them in the not unlikely event you were not admitted.

"But you were?"

You still can't believe it yourself. "I was! There was no exam; I only had to send miss Vivi some of my creations, and a few days ago I received the acceptance letter."

"(name), that's amazing!"

"I know! I can't wait to begin. I also apply for a scholarship, but unfortunately I didn't get it."

Sanji asks whether you plan on asking your father to pay for your classes, but you shake your head: you need to learn to take care of yourself, living alone once you'll move to the capital and earning money to support yourself. To this end, you have contacted a friend who lives in the capital and owns a bookstore: she has accepted to hire you, and you have sold your jewels to pay your tuition fees.

"(name), you didn't!" Sanji exclaims, flabbergasted "Those were your mom's things..."

"I know." you sigh, still feeling saddened and a bit guilty even though you know you did the right thing "But this is my future we are talking about, the opportunity to build a career, and a life for myself, without my father taking care of me or using my family's money to buy whatever I need or want. I want to earn my keep, Sanji; I want to prove I can take care of myself, and that I am more than a spoiled little girl."

Sanji softly points out that no one who knows you could ever think that; he smiles, his handsome face expressing a joy too great and deep for words, as he takes you in his arms once more. "So we are both moving to the capital to study." he mentions "And pursue our dreams. Which means we'll both be very busy..."

"... but we won't have to hide our relationship anymore." you happily finish for him, having already reflected on the matter; you plan on living in a student residence, since their rooms are cheaper than other types of accommodation, and guests are usually not admitted, but at least you will be able to meet in the open, having dates like any other couple instead of having to hide like a married man with his mistress, lest your father learns about your relationship "I can't wait! In a month we'll both be living in the capital, studying with the best in our fields, and nothing will stop us from being together. I... I don't think I've ever been so happy!"

"Me neither." Sanji agrees, one of the flutes in his hand once more "Shall we drink to our future? And then enjoy the cake?"

You agree, but you barely have had the time to clink your glasses together when a sudden noise reaches your ears: an unexpected, but otherwise innocuous noise, at least for who, unlike the two of you, has nothing to hide...

A soft but firm knocking on the door.

Sanji looks at you, suddenly tense; you turn your eyes to the door, wishing to be able to see beyond it. "Yes?"

"(name), it's dad. May I come in?"

The flute almost slips from Sanji's fingers; terrified as if a whole army were standing at the other side of the door, ready to barge in and tear both to pieces, you both nonetheless act quickly, having prepared for such an occurrence since your first nocturnal meeting. Your friend quickly retrieves the flutes and the champagne bottle, while you do the same with the cake plates and the other things placed on your desk; a moment later, Sanji has slipped under your bed, a dusty and uncomfortable hiding spot where nonetheless he'll be safe from your father.

I hope.

"(name)? Is everything all right?"

"Just a moment, dad! I'm coming!" you answer, hoping you sound less nervous, almost terrified, than you feel; you quickly glance all around you, making sure no trace of Sanji's presence is visible, and finally go open the door.

"Hello, dad. How was dinner?" you ask, approaching to kiss him on the cheek; even though he interrupted you and Sanji, you're happy he came to say good-night to you before retiring to his own bedroom.

"Pretty good, even though the lemon cake was not up the restaurant's usual standard. Are you ok?"

"Yes, of course; I was... preparing to go to bed." you answer vaguely, before something in your peripheral vision makes you tense; it is Sanji's backpack, placed where your friend had left it less than half an hour ago: on the bed, perfectly visible.

Shit. SHIT. Shitshitshitshit...

You move a step to the right, so as to prevent your father from noticing the backpack; it is not as compromising as if he had found Sanji's tie, or his shoes, but he could notice the backpack is a men's model, and inside he could find your friend's personal documents, five years after he had forbidden you from having further contact with him. Don't look at it. Don't see it. Please please please...!

Thank God your father, a clever and perceptive man, seems unconcerned with out-of-place objects in your room. "I was thinking tomorrow we could go buy a new suitcase for you; you need a large one, since you'll have to bring most of your things when you'll move to the capital. I hope you'll allow me to pay for that at least."

You smile, grateful for the offer and even more for the intention. "Of course, dad. Thank you."

He smiles, taking your hands in his. "I am so proud of you." he murmurs "I have always known you had a great talent for fashion, but being admitted to such a prestigious school... You'll become the greatest designer of your generation, I'm sure."

"Dad..."

"Please, let me be happy for you. You know I'm always there if you need something, right? I know you have found a job, and you are smart and mature enough to take care of yourself, but if you ever need money, or you want to come home, you can do it; no judgement. Oh, I wish your mom could see you..."

You bite your lip, suddenly unable to talk; a lump of emotion blocks your throat. You are happy, and grateful, that your father supports your desire to move to the capital and attend the Nefertari Institute, especially since he's so protective and you know he wished you would one day follow his footsteps and go into politics, and while you can't wait to start your classes and enjoy life in a big city, the thought of leaving him, and the house where you were born, fills you with sadness... and guilt.

"I... I will never thank you enough for everything you have done for me." you murmur, stepping closer to him to hug your father "And I'm sorry if... if I ever made it hard for you, especially after mom died. I love you very much, dad. I'll be back often to visit, I promise; and I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too, my darling girl." your father answers; he's moved as well, but better than you at hiding it "But I'm so proud you're beginning your life in the world. And I hope you'll let me visit you as well."

"Of course! Every time you can."

"Good. Now, we should both go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

He kisses you on the forehead, and soon after he's closing the room's door behind him. You are still staring at it when, a minute later, Sanji joins you, resting his hands on your shoulders.

"Are you all right?" he asks softly; he has known you long enough to perceive what you are feeling, the love for your father and the guilt for the relationship you are carrying out behind his back, the efforts you are making to build a life for yourself away from his protective but constrictive influence and the way you'll miss him terribly and feel guilty for leaving as soon as you could.

"Yeah, just... I was just thinking."

You sigh, turning to face Sanji, desperately trying to return to the carefree joy of five minutes ago, and drive away the melancholia filling your heart. After all, it is normal for children to find their way in life away from their family, and your father is still young, dedicated to his job and career, and has many friends and a new partner he is very close to; he'll be all right, and whatever loneliness and melancholy he will feel, you know he will accept it.

"Your father is a good man." Sanji points out as you both retrieve your drinks and plates from the wardrobe you had hidden them in "He didn't even know me, but he gave me a job when I was alone in the world, and then he found me an even more prestigious one at the restaurant; every berry I ever earned I owe it to him. I'll never forget all the help he gave me."

You smile, happy to hear your friend talk well about your father. "You still have a good opinion of him even if he forbade us from being friends?"

"Well, I shouldn't resent him for that, since we never stopped seeing each other. And he only wanted to protect you, which I can understand."

You blink. "... sorry? What are you talking about?"

"Right, I... I never told you, did I?"

Sanji rubs the back of his neck, suddenly bashful. "You never wondered why your dad was suddenly against us being friends?"

You had. "Well... I thought it was because we weren't children anymore... and you a boy and I a girl..."

"Exactly, but... there was something else. When I was fourteen, I... I wrote you a letter; there was something important I needed to tell you, but I couldn't find the courage to do it in person. I left it on your pillow one day while you were in school, but your father found it... and read it."

You wait for Sanji to elaborate, but he seems focused on staring at the floor, avoiding your gaze. "It was... something inappropriate for a father to read...?"

"Nothing vulgar, if that is what you are wondering; but... it did say I wanted us to be more than friends, and this is what your father opposed, not that I was an orphan without money and prospectives, but because he thought you were too young for that sort of relationship. So... so he asked me to leave things between us as they were, and when I refused, he decided it was better to separate us, and he found me a job at the other side of town, forbidding me from contacting you again, at least until you were of age."

He looks at you, tense since he has no idea how you could react, but the truth is you don't know either. "He sent you away because he didn't want us to date?" you recapitulate in the end, flabbergasted "What would have been so wrong about that? Lots of girls get a boyfriend at fourteen, and he knew you, he knew you would treat me well..."

"Well, he's always been protective of you. Sorry, maybe I should have told you before..."

"It's ok." you reassure him, even though you are not completely sure of it yourself; you understand your father's reasons, and appreciate he didn't simply kick Sanji out in the street, but at the same time you can't believe all of it was to stop your best friend, a boy he knew posed no danger, from confessing his feelings "I... I'm so sorry, Sanji..."

"Well, it wasn't so bad; and as I said, I really don't have a reason to complain, since we did end up becoming more than friends. I felt guilty lying to your dad... but I couldn't give up on you."

He smiles, as he picks one of the flutes up from your desk again. "Now, can we please have a toast to our future?"

You do, happily enjoying your late-night snack; you delicately clink your glasses together before taking a sip, and then feed each other cake, your knees touching under the desk.

Silence has fallen on the room, and on the two of you, as usual when you are with Sanji a comfortable, peaceful silence that you don't feel the need to fill with small talk; you smile at each other, both happy and excited at the future opening in front of you... a future that you will face together as you have always done, finding strength and support in each other.

"Does chef Zeff teaches any class at the Baratie?" you ask after a while; you know the extent of Sanji's admiration for the principal of the cooking school, and it would be amazing for him to learn personally from his idol.

"Not for first-year students; but I heard that he sometimes gives one-on-one classes, if he finds a particularly talented pupil."

"... which means he'll leave all his other classes to tutor you exclusively, as soon as he tastes your True Bluefin sauté... or your salami sandwich."

Sanji smiles; he knows how much faith you have in his cooking abilities, and he never stops being grateful for it. "You're exagerrating."

"I'm not." you very seriously protest, as you clean your dish from any crumble of cake; you know watching your diet means taking care of your health, but you would happily eat three more! "A month and he'll let you skip a year or two, I promise."

"Well, if you are so sure..."

A few minutes later Sanji is putting the dirty plates and cutlery away in his backpack, while you observe the sky out of the glass door, leaning with one shoulder against the wall.

"Once we both live in the capital we won't have to hide anymore, but we'll be so busy with school..." you consider "I'm afraid we won't have a lot of time to spend together."

"Still, it will be an improvement from what we have now. And all the city's school dormitories are in the same campus, which means we can visit each other every time we want."

You nod, still pensive, and a moment later Sanji's arms are circling your waist, his chest pressed against your back.

"It's going to be all right." he murmurs, his lips brushing against the shell of your ear in a way that makes you shiver in such a pleasant way "We are going to be all right, I promise, no matter how busy we are."

"Oh, I know; believe me, I'm not doubting my feelings, or yours. We have waited for so long to be able to live our relationship in the open, and I can't wait to be able to see you every day, even for five minutes between classes or to cram together at night. It's just..."

You turn in his embrace, almost apologetic as you smile at him. "I feel so happy, as if all my dreams were coming true: attending a great school, not having to hide what we share. It is almost too good to be true; and I'm almost afraid to wake up and find out it really was just a dream."

Sanji is too kind to make fun of your fears; he considers them as he holds you close, equally aware that no matter how steadfast your feelings for each other are and even though both of you have rightfully earned admission in the schools of your dreams, you are both beginning a new chapter in life, and neither knows what future may have in store for you.

Still, it is pointless to worry about tomorrow, and Sanji decides that more than reassure you, he wants to make you forget your fears, even if just for a minute. "You know what I'm thinking about?" he asks after a minute, his tone pensive "That I've been here for at least thirty minutes, and I haven't kissed, or been kissed by, you, even once."

"Ah, that won't do."

"It really won't. So..."

He grins, happy to see you smile as well, and when he lifts your chin with his fingers you obediently close your eyes and offer him your mouth to kiss.

Almost three years have passed since your first time, in this very room, and kissing Sanji still makes your heart tremble; he is sweet but passionate, not aggressive but intense enough to leave no doubt about his feelings, and his intentions. You enjoy the feeling of his mouth on yours for a moment before kissing him back, Sanji's lips hot against yours; you feel him smile, his hands now holding you by the waist while yours gently caress his hair and neck.

"Gods, you taste so good..."

"It's the cake, Sanji."

"No, it's not. You are delicious, (name); absolutely... mesmerizing..."

You keep kissing for a while, as your hands start moving on each other's body; Sanji whispers your name, suddenly breathless, as your mouth descends towards his neck, at first gently pecking at the delicate skin of his throat, and then sucking hard enough to make him moan.

"(name)..." he murmurs again, and you smile, circling his hips with your arms; you nuzzle at his chest, the soft fabric of his shirt so familiar and comforting against your skin, and wish you could stay like this forever.

You feel Sanji's hands move on your hips and back, his fingers brushing against the hem of your skirt.

"I like this one." he murmurs in your ear; he is aware of the effect he has on you and exploits it mercilessly "Is it new?"

"Made it myself." you answer proudly; you had seen the skirt on a fashion magazine, and rather than buying it you had decided to see whether you could recreate it "Does it look good on me?"

"You look absolutely ravishing, my darling..."

And ravish is exactly what Sanji seems intent on doing; a minute later your back is pressed against the wall, with a very handsome, very amorous young chef intent on making you forget your very name.

Sanji's back and shoulder muscles are taut under your hands as they run all over his body, like a beautiful clay statue molded by your touch; you can feel his heart pounding against your chest, the tenseness in his body as he tries to restrain himself in order not to unsettle you, not to take more than what you would be ready to offer. Dear Sanji, you think fondly as you arch your back to press your chest against his and finally, finally feel his hands grab at your buttocks, don't you know at this point you don't even have to ask?

Sanji's jacket is the first item of clothing to go, falling on the closest chair after you helped him take it off; he returns the courtesy freeing you from the heavy sweater you wear, leaving you with a tight camisole, the different colour of your bra visible under it. He smiles, clearly appreciating the view, but a moment later his expression turns serious, almost reverent, as he gazes at you, almost as if he couldn't believe he's really holding you in his arms.

"I love you so much, you know that?" he murmurs, and no matter how many times he has already uttered those words, you know how deeply he means them, how utterly and hopelessly devoted he is to you and to what you hope to build together. To be the object of such an intense ardor is... humbling, since you're not quite sure you deserve it, and you could even feel guilty for it, if your feelings for Sanji were not equally deep and strong. You don't remember a day in which you didn't love him, ever since he risked your father's ire (and, consequently, the job he had just gotten) to feed you, there has always been a special place for him in your heart, a place no one else could ever occupy; Sanji is the other half of you, someone who you don't need in order to live but who you want to share your life with. Without him you could go on; but you know you'll never feel complete ever again.

And to express everything you feel -all the love, the joy that fills your heart when he's by your side and the hopes you cherish for your future together- you are unable to say more than...

"I love you too, Sanji."

... and that is more than a little frustrating.

You know what you share goes beyond physical attraction, but you can't deny it is flattering, and exciting, to know you can have that sort of effect on Sanji, a man attractive and charming enough he would have no troubles attracting a date; you sometimes think about the girls he meets at work, or the clients he could easily flirt with when he has to cover for a waiter at the restaurant, but you know he is being sincere when he swears you're the only one he cares about, and that he has never betrayed your trust. On the other hand, you are not good with words and Sanji doesn't care for expensive gifts, which makes you fear, sometimes, you could do more to prove how much you care for him, and how committed you are to your relationship; the truth is, you love him so much, a feeling deeper and more encompassing than anything you thought you would be able to feel, that you lack the words to express it, and any declaration, no matter how grandiose or romantic, would fall short of your actual feelings.

Then, you suddenly realize, maybe you shouldn't tell him; after all, like your father always says, actions do speak louder than words...

Sanji's stares, eyes wide open, as he sees you take off your camisole. A moment later, he hurries to unbutton your shirt, and you move to help him, and somehow, maybe because you're in a hurry or because your hands are shaking, you tear off a button.

"Oh, Gods..." you stutter, embarrassment filling you "I'm so sorry, I... I'll sew it back on, I promise..."

Sanji shakes his head, as if to say you needn't worry; he is a sight to behold, short of breath, his usually pale complexion turned pink with excitement - with lust. He looks at you, he looks at your hands still holding the two panels of his shirt, and orders:

"Tear it off."

"... what?"

"Rip it off me. (name), please, I want you to undress me."

"Are... are you sure?" you ask again; the idea is more than a little exciting, but the experienced seamstress and future fashion designer in you hesitates at the thought of ruining a perfectly serviceable item of clothing.

Sanji grins, desire and affection filling his brown eyes. "Yeah, sure; it's an old one. Please, darling..."

"As you wish..."

A sound of tearing and ripping fills the room, and a moment later Sanji's shirt, now missing every single of its buttons and irreparably damaged, lies on the floor, while he's naked from the waist up - and Gods, just looking at him is enough to make you forget any hesitancy you may have... including the ones regarding the presence of your father, in his bedroom at the other hand of the corridor.

He smiles, more than aware of the effect he's having on you, as he shamelessly stares back at your body. "Come here, my beauty." he invites you, and a moment later he has taken you in his arms once again, your hands moving on each other's newly exposed skin.

"Let's move to the bed." you propose in a whisper between kisses, and laugh softly as Sanji hurriedly picks you up, bridal style, to carry you and delicately lay you down on the light blue sheets of your bed. A minute to take off your shoes, and he has joined you; you are kissing again as he makes quick work of your bra's clasp, but Sanji stops to admire you, lying under him, and for a moment he seems unable to speak.

"You are so beautiful." he murmurs; he looks you in the eyes, to gauge your reaction and make sure he's not overstepping, before letting his hand brush against and then close around your breast "My (name)... I've waited for this moment since I was maybe twelve, you know?"

"You could have told me before."

"A gentleman never asks, he waits for the lady to offer."

You smile, shamelessly enjoying the sensuality of his touch, the delicious sensation of Sanji's warm hands caressing and stimulating and gently squeezing the warm flesh of your chest; he sees you jolt when the pad of his thumb finds your nipple, and smiles, and you smile with him.

"Well, this lady is offering." you point out a moment later; you want there to be no doubt or ambiguity about what you want "I want you, Sanji. Will you make love to me?"

Unexpectedly, and while you can see the desire in his eyes as he looks at you, he hesitates. "You know we don't have to do it." he softly points out "You don't... owe me anything; I don't want you to think this is something we need to do in order to make our relationship last, or since we have been together for a while..."

"I know. I... I just want to live this with you; I want you to be my first, as well the last. I want you, and I'm tired of hiding it."

"(name), I..."

"Sanji, please."

That last word, as well as the tone you utter it in, being begged to take you in his arms and make you scream, would make even the most dispassionate man forget himself, and Sanji is far from that. In a whisper, he asks you to lift your hips, and takes both your skirt and panties off; he licks his lips as he looks at you, as if anticipating what he is going to do to you, and delicately lifts your foot in his hands. His first kiss is placed on your ankle, and then the second at the bottom at your calf, and the third a bit above it, and then on your knee and on your thigh until Sanji is lying on the bed between your open legs, and the sensation of his tongue and hips doing magic on the most hidden part of you is so delicious, so lurid and at the same time heavenly, you have to press your hand to your mouth to keep yourself from screaming. You can feel the wave mounting inside you, and you couldn't stop it even if you wanted to, and a minute later your first real orgasm hits you, and you are shaking in Sanji's grasp as he licks you like a man starved, proud and excited by the pleasure he was able to give you.

Your eyes meet above your heaving chest; you are both smiling, breathless. "That was... amazing." you whisper, and Sanji grins as he reaches to kiss you once more, neither bothering about the taste.

"We have just started." he assures you "Will you help me with my clothes, darling?"

He stands from the bed to let you take his trousers off, smiling softly as he sees how your hands shake; a moment later he's finally naked, and you can't help gulping as you gently take his erection in your hand, heavy and hard. You swallow, and instinctively lower your face to it to lick the tip.

Sanji jumps. "Shit..."

"I'm sorry, I thought... that was ok..." you stammer, suddenly alarmed "Did I hurt you?"

"Hurt?" he repeats, completely breathless, as if he had never heard that word before "Quite... quite the opposite. I... (name), I..."

He can't find the words to describe what he wants, but thank God you know it already, and this is miles beyond what you had already experience in, but you must be naturally talented, or perhaps this is one of those things you simply know how to do. You keep Sanji's eyes in yours as you take his erection in your mouth, swallowing it almost to the base and using your lips, your tongue and even (cautiously) your teeth to give him pleasure; he moans, bucking his hips, his hands caressing your hair.

"God... you're so good, baby... you take me so well..."

Emboldened, you wish you could make him climax with your mouth, but Sanji asks you to stop after a while, smiling as he sees you pout. "As much as I love the feeling of your mouth, there is somewhere else I'd rather come." he tell you as he cleans your lips with his fingers "Let me take care of you."

A silent nod is the only answer you feel able to give, and the only one Sanji needed; your hand guides him back on the bed where, a slight and natural awkwardness covered by your kisses, Sanji lies above you, gently caressing your hair as he lifts your leg above his hips.

"I love you." you murmur; you feel barely able to breathe, but those words easily leave your lips, as natural as a breath "Sanji, let me be with you forever."

He smiles, pressing his forehead to yours; he isn't inside you yet, but the intimacy of that moment goes beyond what you could describe in words, the marvelous feeling of being one, a closeness born from love and passion and trust and empathy. You doubt you will ever feel anyone as close as Sanji is in that moment, and that makes you happy.

"Nothing and no one will ever come between us." he murmurs "I promise."

*****

You spend what feels like hours locked in an embrace, exchanging lazy but hot kisses as your hands explore each other's body. Your fondling makes Sanji grow turgid once more, and he has to use your pillow to suffocate his screaming (yes, screaming) as you do get to make him come in your mouth; he gets even a minute later when you both find out that you really enjoy your chest being sucked, which Sanji does until you are a moaning mess, begging for mercy, and he has to gift you your third orgasm, this time using his fingers, to make you calm down.

This night is perfect; this night feels as if it would never end. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and an hour before dawn, after he risked for the second time to fall asleep with his cheek pressed against your chest and your fingers in his hair, Sanji reluctantly abandons the warmth of your bed, and of your body, to get dressed. You both know it can't be helped; if your father discovered him in your bed, even now that you are an adult and about to go live on your own, the consequences would be catastrophic.

"Things will be different once we have moved to the capital." you reassure him as you pick up what is left of his shirt to throw it away "I want my dad to visit, but we can tell him we met again on campus and decided to date; he does like you, and he'll accept I am old enough to have a boyfriend."

"I hope he will." Sanji considers, as he ties his shoes; he hesitates for a moment, and then: "What if I wanted to tell him the truth?"

"You mean...?"

"About us, yes. I could have never given up on you, (name), but I didn't like lying to your father; I owe him so much, and I'd like give his blessing to our relationship. Don't you?"

Nothing would make you happier, even though, you must admit, the prospect of having to confess you have deliberately disobeyed him for five years is not pleasant; you love your father, and the last thing you have ever wanted was to disappoint him, even though there is no price you wouldn't have paid if it meant being with Sanji. You admire the fact your boyfriend wants to be honest with his benefactor, and you need - no, you want to be as brave as he is.

"Then we will tell him."

"Are you sure?"

"I am. It's not going to be pretty, and I know he'll be very angry, but he deserves the truth. We all do." you point out with a sigh; then, seeing Sanji is almost done getting dressed: "Wait..."

You stand as well, and walk to the mannequin wearing the men's shirt, an elegant light blue model with white collar and cuffs. You return to Sanji to offer him the shirt. "Here, wear this."

"... are you sure?"

"Of course, I had planned to give it to you to celebrate your admission to the Baratie. Try it on, let me see how it looks on you."

It looks great, even though it is perhaps more because of Sanji's good looks and physique than anything else; he carefully buttons it, and happily looks at himself in the full-length mirror. "My favourite tie will go perfectly with this."

"I know, why do you think I chose this colour?"

Naked as you are, you don't feel cold, especially as you feel Sanji's gaze lingering on your body as his brown eyes admire the flesh he has lost himself in just two hours ago, but that he's not yet sated by.

Soon, your smile tells him as you return the gaze, committing the beauty of his lithe but strong body to memory, as soon as we have moved to our dormitories, or as soon as my father has to leave for one of his work trips. I want you again too; I think I'll never stop wanting you.

As usual Sanji seems to understand you without the need for words, because he smiles once more and, as soon as he is done admiring himself in the mirror (which you cannot blame him for; the shirt does look amazing on him!) he takes your face in his hands to kiss you once more. "I am so happy." he murmurs "Happy we got to share this moment. I... I do want to be with you forever, but..."

"... but you are happy I was your first, and you mine. I know, Sanji; I feel the same."

You spend a precious minute like this, your foreheads touching, your fingers intertwined, as you breathe in each other's air and savour that new form of intimacy. In this moment, you are not afraid Sanji can doubt your feelings anymore; but in any case, you promise yourself, you'll still make sure he knows how much you love him, every day from now to eternity.

In the end, it's time for your boyfriend to go. He takes his backpack and insists you put your nightgown on, in case one of the neighbours looks out of their windows, before you accompany him on the balcony, where a last kiss sees him climb over the parapet and cautiously reach the tree's closest branches.

"Thanks for the cake! It was really delicious."

Sanji winks at you, mischievousness dancing in his eyes. "I think you thanked me enough already."

"Oh, you are so vulgar..."

Your laugh follows him as Sanji quickly climbs down the tree, finally reaching the ground safe and sound; he looks up at you and waves, and you wave back, and "I'll be back soon; I promise." he says, and you nod as he starts walking away, and remain where you are until Sanji has disappeared, hidden in the murmuring darkness surrounding the villa.

#One Piece #One Piece Live Action #OPLA #Sanji #Vinsmoke Sanji #Black Leg Sanji x reader l #Black Leg Sanji #Sanji x reader #Vinsmoke Sanji x reader #Black Leg Sanji x reader #Taz Skylar #Bellona's stuff #100 notes #200 notes

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tanadrin · 2 months ago

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Pr and the Mniw

Pr is a minor planet orbiting the millisecond magnetar MMR CHA J1712-2901 ("Ast"), about a thousand light years from Earth, in the constellation Sagittarius. Ast has four major planets: Wsjrhp, Hrw, Mnw, and Bstt. Hrw has one moon, Jmstj. There are five large minor planet in eccentric orbits within 3 AU, Jrb, Bjr, Rrj, Zr, and Pr.

Planetoid

Pr is a large asteroid with a rotation period of about two hours; its average density is less than 4 g/cm^3, but its internal composition is highly variable. About 40% of its solid material is composed of massive diamond fragments fused together at seams formed of carbon glass, and the interior of the planet contains a large irregular cavern roughly 250 kilometers in radius. This cavern is sufficiently enclosed to retain an envelope of water and air with minimal outgassing. Due to the very high rotation speed of the planetoid, the surface of the cavern, at its lower levels, experiences a centrifugal force about 1-2% of Earth's gravity. The axis of Pr's rotation is nearly perpendicular to its orbit.

No complete model of the formation of the Ast system has yet been offered, but several hypotheses have been suggested to account for some of its more unusual features. The formation of a protoplanetary disk may be due to the disruption of a stellar companion, or fallback from the supernova that formed Ast in the first place; the diamond fragments which make up Pr may have originated in a disrupted carbon-rich planet or planetoid, or gas giant. The interior atmosphere of Pr is perhaps due primarily to biological processes releasing volatiles into the cavern.

Deliberate planetary engineering has been mooted as a possibility, but the crew of the DSE Scholiast, the only vessel to survey the system so far, has not yet found evidence of such engineering by other civilizations, and the indigenous inhabitants of Pr are likely incapable of such undertakings at this time.

[Map of Pr, with some regions and bodies of water labelled, plus many major settlements. The relief of the cavern interior is very great; the large plateaus have scarps tens or hundreds of kilometers high. Note that the equilibrium potential at the interior surface of a rotating body is cylindrical, not spherical, and this projection is adjusted accordingly, and so shows true shapes near the poles. The nature of the geological processes that have shaped Pr's interior are not fully understood at this time. The total land area visible here is roughly equivalent to Texas or the Iberian Peninsula.]

Biology and Ecology

Pr's internal heat is maintained by the radiation from Ast, which is converted to thermal energy in Pr's crust. Thinner regions of the crust, particularly near the equator, have higher heat flow from the exterior; the high axial tilt of Pr also means that the northern and southern hemispheres can experience somewhat different heat flows throughout the year. Much more important to Pr's seasons, however, is the variability of Ast's magnetic field created by the eccentricity of Pr's orbit. When Pr is closest to Ast, organisms can extract energy from the magnetic field, as Pr's rotation allows them to create selective ion gradients whose diffusion provides energy, or to directly extract mechanical energy from electrically charged cilia. (Induced current is much too weak to be a useful source of biological energy).

As on Earth, the native lifeforms can be broadly classified into producers and consumers, but even the consumers on Ast obtain a significant portion of their energy budget from autotrophy, using heterotrophy only to supplement this budget. A minority of producers are also radiotrophs, who extract energy from the radioactive elements in Pr's crust.

Pr biology does not use DNA and is highly resistant to radiation. It also does not seem to experience Darwinian genetic drift. Instead, cells seem able to adapt their own internal machinery in response to certain kinds of stress, and to disseminate these changes throughout the organism, or even to conspecifics. The nature of this process and how it could have evolved is still a mystery, nor can they apparently account for all of the different forms observed among the native life.

The interior of Pr is dim, but not dark. Some plant species have evolved to emit light as a form of signaling, incentivizing some animal species to evolve eyes in response.

Because of the energy inefficiency of pure heterotrophy, to say nothing of pure heterotrophy that involves predating on other heterotrophs, no carnivorous animals are known on Pr.

[Above, the Mniw. The upper Mni has a fully-grown set of skin-plates; the lower Mni has either shed or removed hers, possibly as a cosmetic choice. The dark patches of skin shown are the rough beds from which the skin-plates grow.]

The Mniw

The Mniw (singular Mni) are the indigenous inhabitants of Pr. They are 12-18 centimeters long, with tough gray skin, and usually found with a mineralized defensive covering that grows out from the skin. They have a single sex, and reproduce via parthenogenesis. However, they still engage in a form of sexual intercourse, which is divorced from reproduction: instead, sex among the Mniw exists as a means of facilitating horizontal gene transfer, which then alters the nature of the offspring they bear. It can also allow a limited sharing of experiential memory. In addition to sight, hearing, and the other usual senses, the Mniw have the ability to sense the weak induced electrical currents in Pr's crust, which helps them perceive their environment better.

Mniw hatch from eggs and are generally raised in family units; they do not make sex-based distinctions, but do make social distinctions based on relationships. A mwt is the Mni who laid the egg; all other adults in the same household involved in childrearing are jtw; the sntw are siblings who share a mother, while other children raised in the same house are snw. Children from one's own eggs are srtw, while children from one's partner(s) are mnw.

As in humans, Mni adolesence is marked by gradual sexual maturity; reproductive fertility comes later in life, however, around the age of 30. Past 50, fertility declines slowly, as does the capacity to engage in horizontal gene transfer, though the capacity for sexual intercourse remains. Past 65 or so, Mniw enter their equivalent of "old age," but Mni do not experience a sudden collapse in their physiological health late in life, and can in principle life forever so long as they are not felled by accident, violence, or disease. In practice, lifespans are around 130-200 years, with a great deal of variability.

Mniw have many social elements, like hierarchy and emotions and social roles, that would not be entirely alien to humans, but they have no direct analogue to human sex roles or orientations. Instead the major cleavage in Mni society historically is between Mniw who tend to be primarily exogamous, preferring to mate and rear children with Mniw from distant communities, vs Mniw who tend to be primarily endogamous, with about 85% of Mniw being primarily endogamous; these traits perhaps evolved in the context of horizontal gene transfer to take advantage of different patterns of dissemination of useful traits.

Mniw can survive outside of Pr, but without a strong, moving magnetic field must consume a large amount of food; and the food they are normally adapted for will not grow at all absent such a field. An Earth-standard gravitational field would render them totally immobile, and would be extremely unpleasant, though probably not fatal, and it's possible given their unique physiology that they could eventually adapt to such an environment.

Mniw generally inhabit large, almost hive-like cities that are built out in three dimensions; historically, these could be strongly fortified against attack in a way that made wars of conquest nearly impossible until the invention of gunpowder. Mniw have had writing for about 5,000 years, and the first confederate states emerged around 3-4,000 years ago. The dissemination of gunpowder weapons 1,500 years ago radically altered politics and society on Pr, but the absence of easy paths to industrialization has caused a certain degree of stagnation since.

Modern Pr is divided into about a dozen large states, in an area of roughly 750,000 kilometers square, with a fair amount of diversity in languages, cultures, and social systems, given the small size of Pr. A very loose framework of international diplomacy is carried out through a series of councils called the Jaw Mwad, and on the occasion of the Scholiast's arrival, the Mniw convened a great council, a Wr Jaw Mwad, for the first time in over a century to open formal channels of communication.

#tanadrin's fiction #speculative evolution #speculative biology #tanadrin's art #pr and the mniw #conworlding #life on a pulsar planet

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o-craven-canto · 8 months ago

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Evolution Langdon Smith (1858-1908)

When you were a tadpole and I was a fish In the Paleozoic time, And side by side on the ebbing tide We sprawled through the ooze and slime, Or skittered with many a caudal flip Through the depths of the Cambrian fen, My heart was rife with the joy of life, For I loved you even then. Mindless we lived and mindless we loved And mindless at last we died; And deep in the rift of the Caradoc drift We slumbered side by side. The world turned on in the lathe of time, The hot lands heaved amain, Till we caught our breath from the womb of death And crept into life again. We were amphibians, scaled and tailed, And drab as a dead man's hand; We coiled at ease 'neath the dripping trees Or trailed through the mud and sand. Croaking and blind, with our three-clawed feet Writing a language dumb, With never a spark in the empty dark To hint at a life to come. Yet happy we lived and happy we loved, And happy we died once more; Our forms were rolled in the clinging mold Of a Neocomian shore. The eons came and the eons fled And the sleep that wrapped us fast Was riven away in a newer day And the night of death was passed. Then light and swift through the jungle trees We swung in our airy flights, Or breathed in the balms of the fronded palms In the hush of the moonless nights; And oh! what beautiful years were there When our hearts clung each to each; When life was filled and our senses thrilled In the first faint dawn of speech. Thus life by life and love by love We passed through the cycles strange, And breath by breath and death by death We followed the chain of change. Till there came a time in the law of life When over the nursing sod The shadows broke and the soul awoke In a strange, dim dream of God. I was thewed like an Auroch bull And tusked like the great cave bear; And you, my sweet, from head to feet Were gowned in your glorious hair. Deep in the gloom of a fireless cave, When the night fell o'er the plain And the moon hung red o'er the river bed We mumbled the bones of the slain. I flaked a flint to a cutting edge And shaped it with brutish craft; I broke a shank from the woodland lank And fitted it, head and haft; Than I hid me close to the reedy tarn, Where the mammoth came to drink; Through the brawn and bone I drove the stone And slew him upon the brink. Loud I howled through the moonlit wastes, Loud answered our kith and kin; From west to east to the crimson feast The clan came tramping in. O'er joint and gristle and padded hoof We fought and clawed and tore, And cheek by jowl with many a growl We talked the marvel o'er. I carved that fight on a reindeer bone With rude and hairy hand; I pictured his fall on the cavern wall That men might understand. For we lived by blood and the right of might Ere human laws were drawn, And the age of sin did not begin Til our brutal tusks were gone. And that was a million years ago In a time that no man knows; Yet here tonight in the mellow light We sit at Delmonico's. Your eyes are deep as the Devon springs, Your hair is dark as jet, Your years are few, your life is new, Your soul untried, and yet -- Our trail is on the Kimmeridge clay And the scarp of the Purbeck flags; We have left our bones in the Bagshot stones And deep in the Coralline crags; Our love is old, our lives are old, And death shall come amain; Should it come today, what man may say We shall not live again? God wrought our souls from the Tremadoc beds And furnish’d them wings to fly; He sowed our spawn in the world's dim dawn, And I know that it shall not die, Though cities have sprung above the graves Where the crook-bone men made war And the ox-wain creaks o'er the buried caves Where the mummied mammoths are. Then as we linger at luncheon here O'er many a dainty dish, Let us drink anew to the time when you Were a tadpole and I was a fish.

#poetry #quotes #evolution #prehistory #stuff I like

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raointean · 2 months ago

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Sindar Week Day 2: Folklore

I learned about alliterative verse poetry last semester and fell in LOVE with it, and it turned out Tolkien did to, as a small chunk of his poetry is in that style. He mostly used it for the Rohirrim, but I decided "screw it, this is fanfiction. The Sindar can do it too." I also like thinking about what the Sindar thought of the first sunrise, since they didn't have the context of the Darkening of Valinor, Morgoth's rampage, and the making of the sun and moon.

This is the folk story I think they would have come up with, complete with a drawing!

Dŷlfôf ignited you outside Dear Doriath.

Made for Warmth While he Worshiped,

Singing to Sparks in the Sky,

You Waited, Withering, Wordless.

Never turning, Dŷlfôf Neglected you.

Fury Fanned your Flickering embers

And a Vow of Vengeance was Voiced.

“Splendid Stars above Sparkle indeed,

But they do not Blaze with the same Brio.

Great, shall I Grow. Gargantuan, to kill

Those Little Lights so Lofty.

Then, you will Venerate my Vivid Visage.”

With your Violent Vow now Voiced,

You Bound Beyond the Borders of kindling

Onto the Open plains Afore you.

You Burned the many-Bladed Brush,

Consumed every Corner of that Country

Until your Aurora Extinguished the Eyes Above.

Only then did Dŷlfôf Divert his gaze

From the Hallowed Heavens’ Heights

To your Wroth, Radiating, Resplendence.

Instead of the Adoration you Expected,

Fear Filled Dŷlfôf’s Face

And he Fled your Fierce Flames.

He Called to the Constellations, the Coward,

For Protection from his own Progeny’s Power.

Furious, you Flooded the Flat plains,

Set your Sights on the Stars,

And Howled your Hurts to the Heavens.

“My Maker has Mistreated Me!

For Your sake, he Used me Wretchedly!

Now, I Come to Kill you Constellations,

Drown you in your Dark Domain.”

But, the Breadth of air was too far to Bound

So you Set out, Searching for a Summit

Leaving Wounds of Woe in your Wake.

By the Sea, you reached Such a Spire

And Hurled yourself into the Hateful Heights.

Elbereth’s Eyes Extinguished.

The Sky Spread, Cerulean, before you.

Far you Flew to vanquish your Foes,

Whooping as you Whirled across the Wilds.

Below the Blue you Brought

Kingdoms Cowered in Confusion

And Grief for their Goddess’ lost Gaze.

For Awhile, your Anger was Appeased;

The Stars were Sequestered behind the Sky

And you Subjugated the Ceaseless Space

Until, in the Outlying East,

You Started to Sink.

Eventually, you Alighted on an Eminent peak:

Sapped, Spent, Subdued.

Weary, but not Willing to Withdraw,

You Gathered your Grit to Go

And Flung yourself up to Fly Forth again.

For Awhile, your Anger was Appeased;

The Stars were Sequestered behind the Sky

And you Subjugated the Ceaseless Space.

You Soared over the Summit you had Seen,

Whisked West across the Waves,

Glid across Glens in the Gods’ lands,

And, at last, to the Edge of Evening.

Startled at the Sudden Scarp

The Treacherous sea failed to Check your Charge

And you Fell to the Foundations Forgotten.

Again, Arda’s skies Alight with stars.

Again, Fire Forgone in their Favor.

Again, Fury, Flight, but this time Furtive.

Under Arda, you crept East

Your Scraped Soffit Stained the Sky

From Indigo to Amaranth with Ichor,

But you Rose again, Robust and Ready.

And, for Awhile, your Anger was Appeased;

The Stars were Sequestered behind the Sky

And you Subjugated the Ceaseless Space.

You Soared over the Summit you had Seen,

Whisked West across the Waves,

Glid across Glens in the Gods’ lands,

And, at last, to the Edge of Evening…

I kinda tried to base this drawing on petroglyphs, to get that ancient feel. Also, I think "the eyes of Elbereth" is one of the coolest things I've ever come up with!

@sindarweek

#silmarillion #book of lost tales #history of middle earth #first rising of the sun #sindar #folklore #poetry #alliterative verse #my art #colored pencil #petroglyphs #fanfiction #kind of?

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 13 days ago

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Uranus' moon Miranda may have an ocean beneath its surface, study finds

A new study suggests Uranus' moon Miranda may harbor a water ocean beneath its surface, a finding that would challenge many assumptions about the moon's history and composition and could put it in the company of the few select worlds in our solar system with potentially life-sustaining environments.

"To find evidence of an ocean inside a small object like Miranda is incredibly surprising," said Tom Nordheim, a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, and co-author of the study published in The Planetary Science Journal.

"It helps build on the story that some of these moons at Uranus may be really interesting—that there may be several ocean worlds around one of the most distant planets in our solar system, which is both exciting and bizarre."

Among the moons in the solar system, Miranda stands out. The few images Voyager 2 captured in 1986 show Miranda's southern hemisphere (the only part we've seen) is a Frankenstein-like hodgepodge of grooved terrain quartered off by rough scarps and cratered areas, like squares on a quilt. Most researchers suspect these bizarre structures are the result of tidal forces and heating within the moon.

Caleb Strom, a graduate student at the University of North Dakota who worked with Nordheim and Alex Patthoff of the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona, revisited the Voyager 2 images. The team set out to explain Miranda's enigmatic geology by reverse engineering the surface features, working backward to uncover what the moon's interior structure must have been to shape the moon's geology in response to tidal forcing.

After first mapping the various surface features like cracks, ridges and Miranda's unique trapezoidal coronae, the team developed a computer model to test several possible structures of the moon's interior, matching the predicted stress patterns to the actual surface geology.

The setup that produced the best match between predicted stress patterns and observed surface features required the existence of vast ocean beneath Miranda's icy surface some 100–500 million years ago. This subsurface ocean was at least 62 miles (100 kilometers) deep, according to the study, and hidden beneath an icy crust no more than 19 miles (30 kilometers) thick.

Given Miranda has a radius of just 146 miles (235 kilometers), the ocean would have filled almost half of the moon's body. "That result was a big surprise to the team," Strom said.

Key to creating that ocean, the researchers believe, were tidal forces between Miranda and nearby moons. These regular gravitational tugs can be amplified by orbital resonances—a configuration where each moon's period around a planet is an exact integer of the others' periods.

Jupiter's moons Io and Europa, for example, have a 2:1 resonance: For every two orbits Io makes around Jupiter, Europa makes exactly one, leading to tidal forces that are known to sustain an ocean beneath Europa's surface.

These orbital configurations and the resulting tidal forces deform the moons like rubber balls, leading to friction and heat that keeps interiors warm. This also creates stresses that crack the surface, creating a rich tapestry of geologic features. Numerical simulations have suggested that Miranda and its neighboring moons likely had such a resonance in the past, offering a potential mechanism that could have warmed Miranda's interior to produce and maintain a subsurface ocean.

At some point, the moons' orbital ballet desynchronized, slowing the heating process so that the moon's insides started to cool and solidify. But the team doesn't think Miranda's interior has fully frozen yet. If the ocean had completely frozen, Nordheim explained, it would have expanded and caused certain telltale cracks on the surface, which aren't there.

This suggests that Miranda is still cooling—and may have an ocean beneath its surface even now. Miranda's modern-day ocean is probably relatively thin, Strom noted. "But the suggestion of an ocean inside one of the most distant moons in the solar system is remarkable," he said.

Miranda wasn't predicted to have an ocean. With its small size and old age, scientists thought it would likely be a frozen ball of ice. Any leftover heat from its formation was assumed to have dissipated long ago. But as Patthoff pointed out, predictions about ice moons can be wrong, as evidenced by Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Before the Cassini spacecraft arrived in 2004, many scientists thought Enceladus was a frozen ball of ice and rock. But it was actually harboring a global ocean and active geological processes. "Few scientists expected Enceladus to be geologically active," Patthoff said. "However, it's shooting water vapor and ice out of its southern hemisphere as we speak." Enceladus is now a prime target in the search for life beyond Earth.

Miranda might be a similar case. It's comparable in size and composition to Enceladus, and according to a 2023 study led by APL's Ian Cohen, it may be actively releasing material into space. If it has (or even had) an ocean, it could be a future target for studying habitability and life. However, Nordheim cautions that there's still too much we don't know about Miranda and the Uranian moons to speculate about the existence of life.

"We won't know for sure that it even has an ocean until we go back and collect more data," he said. "We're squeezing the last bit of science we can from Voyager 2's images. For now, we're excited by the possibilities and eager to return to study Uranus and its potential ocean moons in depth."

Revealing the secrets of Uranus' icy moons

Uranus' icy moons have fascinated scientists ever since Voyager 2 captured stunning images of them, and valuable data about them, during its brief flyby in 1986. This latest study, led by Caleb Strom and APL's Tom Nordheim, is part of a broader effort at APL to uncover the secrets of these mysterious moons and the unusual planet they orbit:

2023: A team led by APL's Ian Cohen reanalyzed particle and magnetic data from Voyager 2's flyby and found Uranus' moons Ariel and Miranda may both be releasing material into the space environment around Uranus, possibly through plumes.

2024: APL's Richard Cartwright used observations of Uranus' moon Ariel by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to conclude the moon may have a subsurface ocean that's replenishing its surface deposits of carbon dioxide ice—a topic he presented at the recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

IMAGE: Uranus’ icy moon Miranda, captured by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft on Jan. 24, 1986. Credit: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #nasa #astrophysics #esa

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angevon · 2 months ago

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Stardew Mods

Here are my thoughts on the Stardew Valley mods I tried in my most recent game. To be fair, the game I used them in only got to Fall 20th or so of year 1 before I got bored and decided I want to maybe restart with a different loadout, haha.

The good:

All professions - I wanted to use Skill Prestige mod (which lets you "reset" your skill exp to go back and get all skills, sounds great for a long term game) but at the time of starting the game, it wasn't quite ready for 1.6, so I went with this instead and have no regrets. Less grindy than Prestige would've been anyway! I don't think I have it in me to keep to the same game for such a long term anyway.

Animal Observer - speech bubble above the animals so you know if they've been petted and/or are readying up a resource.

Auto Catch, AutoFillPetBowl, AutoGate, Crop Watering Bubbles, passable crops - self explanatory

Better Shipping Bin - the shipping bin acts as a chest and you can pull things out of it.

Canon-friendly Dialogue Expansion - adds more npc interactions with each other, pretty cute from what I saw.

Chests Anywhere - it's going to be hard to play on console without this. Lets you access all your chests whenever, wherever. Sure it's cheaty but this game is LONG and I don't have as much free time irl as I used to.

Community Center Helper - when you hover over a community center bundle item, it gives a note on where/when to find the item. I found this most useful for the fishing ones so I don't have to wiki when a fish is around.

Cornucopia - adds more crops. My favorite part of the game is farming so this is a no-brainer hehe. Will be great when they add recipes using them, but not necessary since tbh I was never into cooking.

Difficulty Socializing - mod to gain fewer or more social points from social aspects. I set everything to 50% since in the Switch game I maxed everyone out super fast and was kinda disappointed haha.

Gunther Tells You - has Gunther tell you the description of donations.

Forage of Ferngill - has a bunch of different modules and I love the new flowers! but, the flower press is a little broken and I got rich way quick on them 😂 but it's true flowers DID need a boost over crops...

Fourteen Heart Events for All - No Marriage Required - self explanatory. Works with Platonic Friendships too!

Happy Fish Jump - makes fish jump out of the water sometimes.

Harvest With Scythe - also has a Harvest With Sword option. love swinging my sword and having crops fly out of the field.

Lasting Conversation Topics - helps you not miss any topical dialogue just because you missed talking to someone on the event day.

Platonic Partners and Friendships - if I don't decide to get married in the game, there is always this

Pokémon Wonder Mail - it's a newsletter you get in the mail about Pokémon. supposed to be used alongside the other Pokémon mods.

Quest Time Limits - lets you change the quest time limits

ReportMobCounts - notifies you how many of each enemy is on a map. Great for monster farming.

Ridgeside Village - this one adds a whole new village to visit, with a whole bunch of new NPCs to befriend. Does a pretty good job of being canon-compliant. Downside: there's some rich snobby NPCs that feel out of place.

RobinIsSingle - look, I wanted to marry her on the Switch. Well, now on PC I can! sorry not sorry Demetrius.

Self-Serve - use a store regardless of NPC being there

TimeSpeed - I'm using it to stop time indoors like in Harvest Moon games.

Traveling Skill - the more you walk, the faster you go. Who needs a horse?

Visible Artifact Spots - the dig spots now have a bubble

Visible Fish - this one shows fish in the water. However, it's just their static icon image in the water so they look very... immobile... still cute anyway.

Wild Animals - adds more wild animals in the background, very cute.

Wild Flowers Reimagined - flowers grow in the grass sometimes

The going away:

East Scarp - kinda like Ridgeside Village, adds a new village zone, but it's not quite polished yet. It's more modular where you can pick and choose which NPC modules you'd like to add, but if you don't get most of them, the village feels empty. In my game there was an entire empty map I had to walk through to get there, so I kinda didn't bother half the time 😪I did like Sen at least!

Fireworks Festival - it's cute but uses a lot of assets from the winter night festival, but comes before the winter festival, just felt weird.

Fish of Stardew - more fish is a great idea but I found they got in the way when I was trying to fish for bundle fish. Also, I think it adds an algae rock item that, when combined with the happy fish jump mod, causes algae to jump out of the water. Hilarious but immersion breaking!

NPC Jasper - just not feeling it!

Pokemania - adds Pokémon to the game. Mostly sprite replacers but cute. I'll be removing Pokemania because the dog/cat evolution is buggy which breaks immersion (it unevolves the next day...?). Also adds Pokémon cries that are way too loud.

Resource Chickens - This adds chickens that lay eggs you can convert into resources like Coal, Fiber, etc. Conceptually cool! I thought they'd be useful but I found I didn't end up needing them at all.

Stardew Valley Expanded - I gave this an honest try since it's highly recommended, but it just changed too much in Pelican Town. Maybe in a future playthrough I'll come back to this. Also, it ALSO added a rich family, what is with these modders and adding rich npcs?

Carry Your Pet - nothing wrong with it, I just wasn't using it at all.

Mods I'll keep but didn't really use or notice:

Adventurer's Guild Expanded - I'm not a deep dungeon kinda person tbh but was hoping this might make it feel more worth it to go into the mines, etc. Honestly didn't notice anything it added.

Billboard Anywhere - I found by habit I checked the board manually anyway. In my defense, I play on controller and the menu-ing on controller is a pain. I couldn't find how to reach the billboard from the menu without resorting to using the mouse.

Dwarf Expansion - never got all the dwarf scrolls 😂

Event Lookup - you can use this to see what cutscenes you have available to see. I didn't use it, but I figure it'll be useful more towards later in the game when friendship is maxed for most npcs.

Gift Decline - makes it so spamming the same gift isn't effective. I didn't actually gift much in this playthrough so this didn't have any effect.

Horse Overhaul - supposed to make the horse able to fit through areas it can't in vanilla, but I never got the horse.

Junimatic - gives Junimos more things to help with. I just didn't get far enough to use it.

Let Me Shop - lets you use Clint's shop still when he's upgrading a tool

Log Menu - adds a menu to access that shows most latest dialogue, including cutscene dialogue. Useful if you skip through something on accident like I do.

Luck Skill - one of those, does it work, or doesn't it? I can't tell!

PolyCarts - adds a bunch of minecarts but they still gotta be unlocked by community center bundle.

SkullCavernElevator - didn't get that far either!

Yet Another Cooking Skill - I'm not into cooking but I'm trying to change that.

#angevon's posts #text #text post #adding a bunch more tags so it wont end up in the game's tag #i have 25 hours on this file #but i want to start over #i dont' have time to keep restarting!#why am i like this haha.#stardew valley

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whirligig-girl · 11 months ago

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moon drawing from an unfinished piece. The shadows and the albedo features don't quite match; note how Altai Scarp and the three craters in Mare Nectaris aren't quite centered on Mare Nectaris as they should be.

#Moon #Space Art

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sidequestq · 1 year ago

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My Stardew Valley Mod List

*Also download the requirements for each mod

Stardew Valley Expanded

Fashion Sense

Npc Map Locations

Ridgeside Village

Show Birthdays

Alwaays Rainging in the Valley

Lookup Anything

East Scarp

Destroyable bushes

Coii’s All Hats Pack

Hats Wont mess up hair

Rural Outfitters

Yellog’s Dark Wood and Cream Furniture

Lucikiel- New custom NPC

Gothic Buildings

Wind effects

Seasonal outfits for SVE

Seasonal outfits

Casual Furniture Set

Cuter Chests

Hot Spring Farm Cave

Get Started Sprinklers in the mail

Toshinori Yagi

Sailor Moon Hair and Clothing

Kyuya’s hairstyles

#stardew valley #sdv #mods

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taxi-cab-to-slowtown · 9 months ago

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Unpopalar Opinion:

Fanon is itself it's own form of canon.

I know a lot of people dislike fanon, especially when it gets characters just plain wrong, and when people who only know fanon target people for their canon interpretations of the character. Does Dick have elder daughter syndrome in canon? No. He does have it in fanon though. Fanon is itself a version of canon. Fanon is just as valid as canon... and both can be misused in fandom community.

To divest myself from DC even though this is clearly focused on fanon vs canon discourse which is so prevelent in a fandom that has so many different forms of canon and so many disagreements about character and their interpretations based on fanon and canon, let me start first with an example from a story that hold no baring to anyone here but me.

I'm a writer, I have a published book and am working on the sequel. I've spent years planning this book even before it hit the writing process and during that time I eagerly shared things about the story with friends of mine. Things as simple as character names as as complex as deep lore that will probably never end up on the page. There is a deep canon to this story written on scarps of paper and in notebooks and typed into hundreds of pages of google docs. The only people who know this story really are me, my three closest friends, and my ex.

That's now a lot of people, that's not a big fandom, and yet fanon exists for it.

One major fanon in the series is that one of the main characters has a house on the moon. This is incompatible with canon which has her owning a castle that was passed down through her family and living instead with her husband. The existence of this house on the moon does not line up with anything in the series and could never occur in canon and make sense. Yet, frequently my friends will reference this character's house on the moon in jokes and when talking about her character. This is purely fanon created by my friends, and it's just as valid a part of this character and our view of her as the canon elements of her character.

Fanon is itself a form of canon and it can be wonderful. Some people need to see Dick as having elder daughter syndrome, even though he doesn't, because it helps them find a character they connect to. Sometimes it's easier to understand the fanon version of a character than the complex intricacies of the canon character that are ever shifting as the writers change and make mistakes. Comics especially have too much canon for any one person to know everything about every character, and fanon was formed out of fans connecting with and developing their own collective ideas and headcanons of a character.

It's actually beautiful.

The problem is when someone comes into a fan creation and says "this is wrong becuase xyz doesn't line up with qpr about this character." It does not matter if the "qpr" is canon of fanon, that fan is entitled to their own creation, their own formation of their story or art, their own development of the character.

A friend of mine pointed out that there is no such thing as an OOC character as long as the character does what is established for them to do in that art. If you want to ship Dick and Kory because they're together in canon or Dick and Wally because you think they have chemistry, you're valid. Any artform is valid whether it's based on canon or fanon, or anything in between.

I think we need to stop seeing fanspace as a commercial market and see it as a conversation. FTL has pointed this out more and more. We don't need to agree, we don't need to have everything allign to our thoughts about the characters because inevitably our interpretations are going to be different, we just need to respect those difference, and respect each other an our creations as what they are-- creative human expression.

#dc comics #dick grayson #canon vs fanon #fanon #my thoughts on fanon #proshipping #pro creation #pro expression #art is art

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honey-minded-hivemind · 1 year ago

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⛰🐉Jade Mountain Academy⏳📜 AU Names, Winglets, and Job/Position List...

(Note: So, here's the thing. I realized, oh, wow, there aren't enough kids/teens in one X-Men series media that will cover the amount needed for the winglets... So, I did the best I could, and found enough to cover three winglets full of ten members, one from each tribe. This series combines parts from the Animated Series and Evolution. This is its own new thing, not quiet one or the other. For some characters, like Jubilee, Gambit, and Sabretooth, I prefer to imagine their Animated Series look and dynamics. For others like Wolverine, Magneto, and the majority of the students, I'm imagining Evolution. And a few are combined. Just imagine your preferred form of the character, okay? Enjoy!)

Teachers:

• Charles Xavier/Professor Xavier: NightWing

• Name: Charitable

• Description: night black scales with hints of gray; the silver scales of his wings curl inward, like a shell; sharp gray-blue eyes; partially paralyzed tail, which makes flying difficult; cares for the students; is the headmaster, but also runs the library, and teaches literature

• Ororo Munroe/Storm: SeaWing

• Name: Monsoon

• Description: sea foam green scales; pearl green webbing; mist blue eyes; aunt of Ebb; motherly; teaches music and culture

• Logan Howlett/Wolverine: HiveWing

• Name: Leafcutter

• Description: warm amber orange scales zig-zagged with thick lines of iridescent black; black scales around eyes; deep brown eyes; father of Lacewing; possibly related to Velvet; secretly cares for the students; teaches history and art

• Hank McCoy/Beast: SilkWing

• Name: Burgundy

• Description: twilight blue, maple brown, and cloud gray scales; has large wings spotted with lemon yellow, deep indigo, and warm sepia; soft blue-brown eyes; large; big talons; warm; polite; teaches science

• Raven Darkholme/Mystique: RainWing

• Name: Ravishing

• Description: vivid blue and blood red scales dappled with cream and gold; goldfish-gold eyes; master of disguise; a bit scary; Karner's mother, and Roguethought's adopted mother; teaches anatomy and health

• Victor Creed/Sabretooth: HiveWing

• Name: Velvet

• Description: amber orange, pale yellow, and caramel scales striped with fuzzy swathes of black; amber yellow eyes; giant; intense; age is unknown; possibly related to Leafcutter; teaches hunting and self-defense

• Erik Lehnsherr/Magnus/Magneto: LeafWing

• Name: Machineel

• Description: gray-green scales dappled with faded gold; lichen green-tinged membranes; pale green eyes; old friend of Charitable, possibly used to date; older; father of Scarab and Pieris; teaches math, and is a substitute for history, often helps Charitable in the library

Winglets:

Jade:

• HiveWing: Reader

• Name: ... (Bumblebee, Firefly, Dauber, Jewel?)

• Description: ink black scales dappled with honey yellow and warm orange scales; honey golden eyes; has a tail stinger; cautious; compassionate; intelligent; shares a sleeping cave with Jackal

• IceWing: Bobby Drake/Iceman

• Name: Blizzard

• Description: ice blue scales tinged with frost white; sky blue eyes; funny; shares a sleeping cave with Ebb and Karner

• LeafWing: Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix

• Name: Jessamine

• Description: emerald green scales; pinkish-red membranes; soft green eyes; kind; acts as an older sister towards the Jade Winglet, except for Scarp, whom she is dating; shares a sleeping cave with Roguethought and Kumquat

• MudWing: Remy LeBeau/Gambit:

• Name: Reed

• Description: ruddy brown scales; tall; reddish-brown eyes; has a Southern accent; charming; is dating Roguethought; shares a sleeping cave with Scarp

• NightWing: Anne-Marie/Rogue

• Name: Roguethought

• Description: ebony black scales with stray silver scales; the silver scales on her wings spiral outward; dark brown eyes; was born under one full moon; is a mind-reader, who is averse to touch due to it enhancing her power; wears jade green gloves; has a Southern accent; dating Reed; shares a sleeping cave with Jessamine and Kumquat;

• RainWing: Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat

• Name: Kumquat

• Description: lilac purple and blush pink scales; pale pink eyes; sunny; is a vegetarian; shares a sleeping cave with Jessamine and Roguethought

• SandWing: Jubilation Lee/Jubilee

• Name: Jackal

• Description: golden scales with darker triangle patterns across her wings; warm brown eyes; bubbly; wears a pink scarf; shares a sleeping cave with ... (Reader)

• SeaWing: Evan Daniels/Spyke

• Name: Ebb

• Description: ocean green scales; lake foam green webbing; light green eyes; lithe; nephew of Monsoon; shares a sleeping cave with Blizzard and Karner

• SilkWing: Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

• Name: Karner

• Description: dusk blue scales with freckles of wine red and pale gold; golden-yellow eyes; wears a silver cuff; son of Ravishing; part RainWing; shares a sleeping cave with Blizzard and Ebb

• SkyWing: Scott Summers/Cyclops

• Name: Scarp

• Description: ruby red scales; pale russet eyes; has to wear red quartz glasses due to an eye condition; acts as an older brother to most of the Jade Winglet, except for Jessamine, whom he is dating; Alp's older brother; shares a sleeping cave with Reed

Gold:

• HiveWing: Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch

• Name: Scarab

• Description: carmine red and jet black scales, dappled like ink-blots; part LeafWing; stand-offish; Machineel's daughter; Pieris' twin sister; has a painful, venomous bite; cares about Pieris; older twin; shares a sleeping cave with Bromeliad

• IceWing: Piotr Rasputin/Colossus

• Name: Caribou

• Description: bright silver scales; warm blue eyes; friendly; large; has a Russian accent; older brother of Crystal; protective of everyone; shares a sleeping cave with Warwinner

• LeafWing: Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver

• Name: Pieris

• Description: pale gray-green scales, akin to lichen and moss; arrogant; part HiveWing; Machineel's son; Scarab's twin brother; cares about Scarab; younger twin; shares a sleeping cave with Armadillo

• MudWing: Fred "Freddy" Dukes/Blob

• Name: Fern

• Description: clay yellow-brown scales; big; acts as an older brother to Tide; slight accent; shares a sleeping cave with Tide

• NightWing: Warren Worthington the 3rd/Angel

• Name: Warwinner

• Description: blueish-black and gray scales; wings have silver scales splashed out like speckles on a dove; is a strong flier; shares a sleeping cave with Caribou

• RainWing: Tabitha "Tabby" Smith/Boom-Boom

• Name: Bromeliad

• Description: strawberry red and pink scales with sunny yellow accents; loud; tangerine orange eyes; shares a sleeping cave with Scarab

• SandWing: Lance Alvers/Avalanche

• Name: Armadillo

• Description: dusty khaki scales with diamond patterns down his spine akin to a viper; chocolate brown sail; shiny black eyes; shares a sleeping cave with Pieris

• SeaWing: Todd Tolanksy/Toad

• Name: Tide

• Description: eel-green scales; yellow-green eyes; tiny; is like a younger brother to Fern; shares a sleeping cave with Fern

• SilkWing: St. John Allerdyce/Pyro

• Name: Polyphemus

• Description: sunset orange, bright yellow, and deep red scales; is a flamesilk; has gone through Metamorphosis; has an Australian accent; likes to char the food he eats; shares a sleeping cave with Alp

• SkyWing: Alex Summers/Havok

• Name: Alp

• Description: pale orange and gold scales like a sunrise; goldfish-orange eyes; Scarp's younger brother; has a slight accent; shares a sleeping cave with Polyphemus

Quartz:

• HiveWing: Laura Kinney/X-23/Wolverine 2.0

• Name: Lacewing

• Description: honey orange scales with thin zig-zags of iridescent black scales; black scales band her eyes; brown-green eyes; daughter of Leafcutter; small; fierce; shares a sleeping cave with Crystal

• IceWing: Illyana Rasputin/Magik

• Name: Crystal

• Description: moon white scales with hints of sky blue; cool blue eyes; has a Russian accent; Caribou's younger sister; is the oldest of the Silver Winglet; protective of them; shares a sleeping cave with Lacewing

• LeafWing: James "Jamie" Maddox/Multiple

• Name: Jumbie

• Description: bright leaf green scales with hints of bronze; wood brown eyes; youngest student; shares a sleeping cave with Ferocious and Fruit Bat

• MudWing: Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane

• Name: Woodduck

• Description: hazelnut brown scales; sees the Quartz Winglet as her sibs; hazel eyes; shares a sleeping cave with Desert and Maroon

• NightWing: Forge

• Name: Ferocious

• Description: dark charcoal black scales; the silver scales on his wings are in starburst patterns; gray eyes; tinkers with metal; shares a sleeping cave with Jumbie and Fruit Bat

• RainWing: Ray Crisp/Berserker

• Name: Fruit Bat

• Description: lightning yellow and ginger scales with acidic green stripes; lime green eyes; caring; shares a sleeping cave with Jumbie and Ferocious

• SandWing: Danielle "Dani" Moonstar/Mirage

• Name: Desert

• Description: tawny scales covered in brown flecks; deep brown eyes; wears a pendant necklace; shares a sleeping cave with Wooduck and Maroon

• SeaWing: Samuel "Sam" Guthrie/Cannonball

• Name: Snail

• Description: navy blue-gray scales; pale blue webbing; stormcloud-blue eyes; has a slight accent; thin; polite; shares a sleeping cave with Swift

• SilkWing: Roberto da Costa/Sunspot

• Name: Swift

• Description: dark chestnut brown and flame orange scales; candelight-yellow eyes; has not gone through Metamotphosis yet; shares a sleeping cave with Snail

• SkyWing: Amara Juliana Olivia Aquilla/Magma

• Name: Maroon

• Description: fiery red and ember orange scales; burning yellow eyes; is a firescales; shares a sleeping cave with Woodduck and Desert

#honeycomb thoughts #platonic yandere marvel #yandere platonic marvel #platonic yandere marvel x reader #platonic yandere xmen #yandere x-men #platonic yandere #platonic yandere x reader #🐉Wings of Fire AU #⛰🐉Jade Mountain Academy⏳📜 AU

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caelwynn · 6 months ago

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Ridin' on a Greyhound Bus

I've mentioned before my love of conversation topics, and right now, everyone is jabbering about the bus coming back to life.

Sen likens it to a large beast:

Mayor Lewis, meanwhile, tries to claim ignorance as to how it got repairs, but Callie sincerely doubts that's the case:

Especially considering how Mateo knows right off the bat who repaired it:

Jodi remains a big ol' gossip:

While the lady in question is over the moon:

All my 1.6 playthrough posts can be found here, and my mod loadout here. If you're curious about Callie and my attempt to interweave SVE, Ridgeside, and East Scarp, look here for an ongoing series about her first year.

#stardew valley #sdv #stardew 1.6 #modded stardew valley #stardew valley screenshots #east scarp #stardew sen #stardew lewis #stardew mateo #stardew jodi #stardew pam #caelwynn's 1.6 play-through

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clacclo · 9 months ago

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youtube

LOU REED

NO MONEY DOWN

I know you’re disappointed

in the way I handled things

You’re thinking I misread the times

and acted cowardly

And since what I do affects us both

and you feel that I let you down

You’re paying a price when there’s no price to pay

lovers trust, no money down

You’re paying a price when there’s no price to pay

it’s a lover’s trust, no money down

(Hey, lovers)

They say there’s someone for everyone

and for everyone a someone

And some tattoo roses across their chests

with a heart that says Rollo

And some work without a public relations man

and do their best work, babe, out of sight

You’re paying a price when there’s no price to pay

it’s a lover’s trust, no money down

You’re paying a price when there’s no price to pay

lovers trust, no money down

(Hey, lovers)

Now I have known a hero or two

and they all learn to swim through mud

And they all got boots caked with dirty soles

that they get from squashing bugs

So when push comes to shove get the Harley revved up

the moon can eclipse even the sun

You’re paying a price when there’s no price to pay

lovers trust, no money down

You’re paying a price when there’s no price to pay

it’s a lover’s trust, no money down

youtube

NESSUN ANTICIPO

So che sei delusa

da come gestisco le cose

pensi che io non abbia saputo leggere bene i tempi

e che abbia agito da codardo

e siccome quello che faccio si ripercuote su entrambi

e pensi che io ti abbia tradita

Stai pagando un prezzo quando non c’è alcun prezzo da pagare

chi si ama crede nell’altro, nessun anticipo

stai pagando un prezzo quando non c’è alcun prezzo da pagare

è un accordo tra amanti, nessun anticipo

(Ehi, amanti)

Dicono che c’è qualcuno per ognuno

e per ognuno c’è qualcuno

e alcuni si fanno tatuare rose sul petto

con un cuore e la scritta “Rollo”

e alcuni lavorano senza un tizio che gli faccia da PR

e fanno del loro meglio, tesoro, dietro le quinte

Stai pagando un prezzo quando non c’è alcun prezzo da pagare

chi si ama crede nell’altro, nessun anticipo

stai pagando un prezzo quando non c’è alcun prezzo da pagare

è un accordo tra amanti, nessun anticipo

(Ehi, amanti)

Ora, io ho conosciuto uno o due eroi,

e tutti quanti hanno imparato a nuotare nella melma

e tutti si erano sporcati le scarpe

a forza di schiacciare scarafaggi

così quando la situazione si fa calda fai correre la Harley

la luna può eclissare perfino il sole.

Stai pagando un prezzo quando non c’è alcun prezzo da pagare

chi si ama crede nell’altro, nessun anticipo

stai pagando un prezzo quando non c’è alcun prezzo da pagare

è un accordo tra amanti, nessun anticipo

#lou reed #no money down #musica #blues music #blues #Youtube

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junepingu · 9 months ago

Text

Bob velseb x reader

!A stranger encounter...!

Plot: You were relaxing on your bed, after a while you Feel Watched, you look up at your window and you notice that was slightly open...

_________________________________

After a long day of really stressing work you finally got home and have time only for yourself.

You put on the table the phone and your bag and walk in your bedroom to change in comfy clothes.

You put on a f/c pijamas that was really large and really Soft, you returned in the kitchen to make some tea/ camomille to warm you up a bit, you were really tired today, when you were out it was like it would never end the day, hopefully for you it did.

The tea/camomille is ready, you took the cup with you, turn off the light of the kitchen and return in your bedroom, you Exhale and jump on the bed and took a sip of your cup, you were feeling your tired eyes that were fighting for life to stay open, but they have more power on you, you just took a little sip of the drink and then you collapsed on your bed.

The time passed and at some point you open straight your eyes for no reason, it was really dark in your room and you could only notice the light of the moon coming from the window, An icy breeze hits your face...The window..."did i open the window?" you asked in your mind, but you shrug it off because maybe you were to tired to understand what was going on, so you got up, because now you Lost the sleep, and went to close the window.

You tried again to re catch your sleep but nothing was worthy so you just started for a while at the ceiling.... At some point you heard a whisper, but it was like near your left ear, you jump on the bed immediatly trying to punch and kick whatever was near you, obviously there was nothing but you were sure you hear something "okey maybe is just the room, maybe there are people outside talking and the room echo the voices.." or "its impossible, maybe i immaginate that!" you were keep telling you what it was, like rethorically because you didn't know for sure, you were now just scared to hell.

Time had pass and you were now, with big Black circles under your eyes, on the sofa, trying to Watch tv. You couldn't even think about what happened in the bedroom, now you Lost your sleep and anything couldn't bring it back, it looks ironic how you were so tired and now you were awake trying to not fall asleep again.

You were a little to scared, you were an easy person to scarpe, if you saw a damn big Black spider on your wall you would just scream and Run away, those things are disgusting for real jesus!.... Anyway...

On the tv the TV news was already talking about a disaster that happened in the city a few hours ago, maybe when you were still sleeping in your warm bed, you realize that they were talking about a murder, the victim has not yet been identified and the killer is still at large, the most disturbing thing was that the area of the killing was near yours, a few blocks from your street.

At that moment your blood freezes, you don't even want to know the rest that you run to check if all the doors and windows were sealed even with bricks if it was necessary.

You calm down knowing that everything was ok, but what you had blissfully forgotten was your personal window lying in front of your bed. When you got up you noticed it was open, but it just so happens that you forget it so randomly.

So strange and creepy at the same time.

You didn't check on your bed's window... That cause a little incoventient, after you sit down on the sofà for trying to catch your heart from pounding in your chest for the heart attack you had 5 sec ago, you heard a "POUM!" you fucking screamed with all your throat, after 10 full minutes waiting for some other noise you took a knife and went to check if the noise was coming from a stranger....

It wasn't... You opened the door slowly.... And for your sight you saw.... A bird?...

"the fuck?.." you said looking at the little creature to disperetfully trying to Fly out the window...

"ehy boy uhm.. You shouldn't sneak in to someone house at this time you know?" you said calmy trying to catch the little "you gave me an heart attack down there you know? Ok.." the bird strangely stood calm in your hand as you were to put it on the window, after 2 second he freely Fly away, made you shift on your feet.

"God! Thank you so much you little...." you sigh, you then closed the window and sigh again, you were really tired...

So that was the noise, a bird? Jesus... A fucking bird gave me an heart attack for all day? My god, well you thought that, but this slip off you immediately trying to bring back your sleep, you just wanted to get back to bed, it was as if you had reassured yourself that today's noise was all because of the bird, stupid right?...

"okey if there is no more creature or news that wants to keep me up i would gladly go to bed thank you" you said as there was somoene in the room with you.

You jump on your bed and like 3,2...1...your eyes close immediatly cause you were tired.

After quite a while you start to hear noises near the door of your room, when you open your eyes you notice a black figure disappear, from there you start to tremble and jump out of bed For fear (has someone entered my house?) you asked inside yourself, at some point the door slams and closes suddenly, you start to panic and your breathing becomes more and more heavier as time goes on.

You see that the window re opened and you decide to close it again, but unfortunately you turn your back to the door and it starts to open slowly, but you didn't notice it, you turn and pull a shrill scream and jump almost 10 meters for fright, in front of you there was a figure, It looked like he had a costume cut for Halloween on, he had a red sweater and red devil mask, the mask was made of fabric and the holes in his eyes and of the mouth were large, so you could see his creepy smile and his big and wide eyes as he was staring down at you, he was a tall and big Man, with a fucking knife on his hand probably waiting to chop you in pecies, you started to walk back words slowly as he was just there watching you and drooling like a dog.... He was just super scary, his smile made you chills down your spine.

"the hell you are doing in my house! Go away!!" you weren't the head of your mouth, the words came out with instint, you step back again as you hit the wall with your back, he was just still there smiling at you, jesus christ thats why you have to fucking close your window and all the Doors you have in your room, jesus your heart was racing like hell and your stomach was burning for the fear.

He looked at you and his smile was growing bigger as he spoke "did you know that if you'll eat a human brain you'll get a desease as like mad cow?" his voice had a southern accent and was really deep and scary, it could haunt you for the rest of your life... As he looked at you with a huge grin he step closer to you, you shout at him "DONT MOVE! I'll call the police you fucking Psycho!" you said as you were now trying to figure out what you could use to defende yourself.

He didn't listen as he step closer to you, you were trying to stay focused but you couldn't think of anything else as much as his big knife, bloddy knife, looks like he used it not so long ago.

But as it rush in your brain like an arrow you remember that you have your window so you could just jump out even because it wouldn't have take much you lived On the ground floor, as you looked back at the man you noticed that now was in front of you, he was towering you like Skyscraper "oh don' worry litt' lamb, it'll be super quick i swear" he said in a very deep tone, youre heart beat was now trying to cut open your chest from the pain but this didn't stop you from trying, you reached a near lamp in a very qick way and throw it on his face, he grunts and step back from the pain, you hit his eye it was becoming all red from the Hit, you started to Run to the window open it and jump off, you didn't turn back as you were hearing big and heavy steps that were going to become faster and faster, you were running with naked feet so it hurt a little when you touch some objects on the floor.

You ran and ran and ran and ran as you finally arrived near the police station and scream with the hair, all the hair in your chest to bring attention.

"so you were attacked by this man that was wearing this devil costume right?" the police officer repeated what you said just one second ago, "exactly, i then run off the house and now im here" you said always with a sense of fear and your hands were trembling really bad so the other officer bought you a cup of water, you thank him and started again to reassure yourself with deep breath.

After a while that you had to wait in the station the two cops went near you to Warn you about the situation.

"so we found out that the Man that was trying to attack you is the same that we were trying to find all this time so now that we know that he is in This part of town you Will have us at your service for protection, we can't have more victims in mind, its our job to protection people, even because you had a front with him so that means that he will try to catch on you again in any time" What the policeman said seemed a bit strange to you, as if you were going to be the reward for the killer, your face showed a bit of discomfort, one of the policemen notices it "ehy Im sorry this will sound a little bit strange but we are trying our best to be more carefull as we can, so even if you dont want to help us anymore we are going to be at your service the same" he handed you a paper with his number on, (mh okey) you thought to yourself "okey i think... I Will warn you for everything strange" the two of them nod at the same time as you smile a bit, "perfect now we Will geet you home is that okey?" you nod and they walk you to theyre car.

You finally returned home and at this point you locked everything and you blocked your bedroom door just to be sure that no one Will enter it.

You fell asleep immediatly.

The next day you woke up immediatly as you were now feeling relaxed, you then started to get dressed, clean yourself and went outside to go eat something, yesterday you haven't had the time, for plausible reasons, to go shopping so you look for a place to go to get something to nibble on.

You were in This little town from time to time but never tried this restaurant "boys & grills" , so you started to walk in front of the door and decide to enter it.

There was a "drin" from the Doorbell, the sound turned the man who was behind the counter, he was wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt with a red coat with the restaurant writing on it, the hat had the same color and writing, he was a big and massive handsome man, black hair with a goatee and a nice big smile almost touched his ears, and two beautiful big black eyes that began to peer at you from afar until you approached his counter.

"welcome to boy's and grills wha' can i get ya?" he said with big smile on his round face, you then smile back at him as you were now a little embarassed for his stare as your cheeks became a little pink, "ehy ehm.. Yeah i would like a big boy Burger with big grilled chips and a chocolate milkshake please" you smile again and looked down, he then answered with a nod and "perfect i'll be back in a minute darlin'" you blushed for the nickname".

As you were waiting for him to bring youre order you were looking around the restaurant, you were really in love with all the style that he has in, it was a vintage style almost the 50' or 60' style, you were loving it really.

As you waited on your Phone you heard the door swing open and the Man finally brought your order, "enjoy!" he said with a little smirk on his face.

You thank him with a big smile, you then looked for a moment the Burger and it looked really delicious, the big meat inside of it was Nice cooked and also juicy, the fries were fried and sautéed on special spices and the milkshake was a nice real color, not like the ones you buy at the supermarket, you then give the first bite like a shark that didn't eat for months, after Tasting the part you hum in Ecstasy, "oh my god it's amazing i never tried something like this, jesus, you should be famous around all the globe man" you were excited as a little baby, he just smirk in amusment at you and chuckle a bit from your comment "oh thank you ther' darlin'.." he said just staring at you eating with all your life the Burger.

Suddenly you hear him start talking and ask you a question that left you a little weird "did we ever met before?" you looked him straight in the eyes as he was still staring at you with his big smile, you looked away thinking and then back at him "uhh.. I don't think so, even if Im in This place from a long time but i never had the time to came here" he listened and just hum and looked away for a moment "how Rude that I am, my name y/n nice to meet you, you and your Burgers" you laugh a bit, he chuckle too and answer "Im Bob my pleasure".

________________________

🍓EHY this is the little story that i made, tell me if you want the continue or maybe something more you know.. ❤️‍🔥Spicy..

Anyway have a great day!

#bob velseb #bobs burgers #bob vesleb #spooky season #spooky month #spooky aesthetic #spooky month ship #spooky month sr pelo #sr pelo #fanfiction #self ship

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theladyorlando · 11 months ago

Text

The Moon Also Rises

La voce di Johnny Flynn non è più quella di prima: non è la voce spessa dei suoi esordi, quella che ad ascoltarla mi veniva in mente un olio denso, scuro, ben pigmentato, che un pennello stende con caparbietà avanti e indietro. Quella lì era una voce consistente, un timbro caldo e distribuito in maniera uniforme sulla tela. Adesso invece al posto del pennello si sente chiaramente che c'è una mano nuda a dipingere, e che a volte lo fa con le stesse unghie: la voce densa si è spezzata in un urlo, si è graffiata sopra alla tela, ed è bellissima, è sensuale ed è, se possibile, ancora più precisa di prima.

L'autunno me l'ha portata dentro al frutto della sua fatica, la fatica di Johnny Flynn. Lui però mi ha avvisata per tempo, e io così ho avuto modo di vivermi l'attesa, di assaporarla. Insieme al suo amico e scrittore Robert MacFarlane e a un'allegra compagnia di nomadi inglesi -quelli che se ne vanno in giro per boschi e campagne senza scarpe e sotto la pioggia, per capirci- Johnny Flynn ha piantato dei semi che in questi mesi hanno germogliato, e io li ho guardati venire su come ho fatto con tutti gli alberi dietro cui mi sono andata perdendo nell'anno. Un calendario.

Il primo seme è stato "The Wild Hunt": lo ha piantato in terra a dicembre dello scorso anno, e a me è sembrato come di vederlo, Johnny Flynn, mentre infilava le dita nella terra fredda e mi diceva, guardandomi bene dentro agli occhi, che quella era una caccia folle: è una caccia folle la caccia al nome del male, la caccia alla tana, la tana del Primitivo. E così improvvisamente diventa una caccia folle anche quella alle cose scontate, le cose banali che tutto a un tratto ti accorgi di non avere più tra le mani: la competenza dei medici, il giusto ricovero, il pronto soccorso, la cura che ti spetta: il Natale il compleanno la pizza del sabato sera. Quella caccia, vedrai, farà tremare i tuoi amori più certi, farà precipitare l'impalcatura del tuo cielo. Io l'ho ascoltato cantarmela lo scorso anno a dicembre come se dicembre non dovesse mai finire, quando la camelia era l'unica spaventosamente fiorita in giardino come una cosa fuori dalla natura, e il suo, allora, mi è sembrato piuttosto l'urlo di un animale, il grido di una creatura selvatica che non sa dove trovare riparo dalla caccia, non sa più dov'è la sua tana. Oh the wild hunt, the wild hunt: qualcosa di incomprensibile o qualcosa che devo aver frainteso, mi sono detta. E invece il calendario, ormai chiaramente liturgico, è andato avanti con il seme di Pasqua: "Coins for the Eyes". Adesso l'urlo, il graffio sulla tela, si era trasformato in una piccola ballata in tre quarti, dolce, quasi acustica, e la caccia, che in fin dei conti era la mia -inutile continuare a negarlo, non avevo frainteso- aveva trovato la sua proporzione più conveniente, la sua direzione più chiara: guardata da dentro a questa canzone la caccia è una ricerca, e il suo movimento cadenzato insegna la pazienza con cui bisogna condurla. Ora che conosciamo bene il nome urlare non serve a niente, basta praticare l'esercizio, un esercizio di pazienza, di concentrazione, un esercizio di ricerca. Come quando mio padre si stampava le mappe dell'impero romano o della Grecia antica per capire meglio come tradurre una versione contorta, come quando studiava epigrafia e nessuno glielo aveva mai chiesto. Come gli alberi che escono dall'inverno, con pazienza, e mettono i fiori, alcuni addirittura senza foglie. E così in tre quarti abbiamo visto sbocciare i fiori, tutti i fiori, e in tre quarti ci siamo addentrati in quanto ci avanzava dell'anno: a un certo punto inevitabilmente abbiamo riconosciuto i primi sentori dell' impietosa, della temibile estate, finché proprio non la abbiamo vista bene in faccia e le siamo così andati incontro senza opporle resistenza, senza nuove canzoni, senza nuovi semi, con pazienza e in tre quarti. Questa è stata la nostra vera quaresima, il nostro deserto: l'estate. Abbiamo guardato l'estate seccarli, i semi, inaridire la terra, fare scempio dei fiori, spaccare i marciapiedi. Alla fine, giunti nel cuore di quella, la abbiamo vista portarsi via mio padre, e così, in tre quarti, piegati nel nostro esercizio di pazienza, lo abbiamo salutato, con dignità credo.

Ma il calendario non era finito: e a settembre infatti è ricominciato quello scolastico. Allora siamo tornati tutti a scuola, come se niente fosse, e lì dentro abbiamo continuato a fare esercizio, a testa bassa. Ad interromperlo è arrivato improvviso l'annuncio: in questi mesi, diceva, anche se da molto lontano e senza scarpe ai piedi, noi abbiamo lavorato, abbiamo fatto un lungo esercizio qui su, un esercizio intorno all'oscurità e alla luce, all' inverno e alla primavera, alla sepoltura e alla rivelazione, a storie tempo stagioni fantasmi e sentieri, amore e fiumi, e tra poco ne consegneremo i frutti a chiunque avrà voglia di ascoltare. Insomma, neanche il calendario di Johnny Flynn si era esaurito, e il primo frutto raccolto ad ottobre, il primo singolo, è stato "Uncanny Valley": quest'estate ci siamo persi tutti in una vallata inquietante, dice, nessuno ha una mappa per uscirne, e c'è un'enorme confusione qui dentro. Forse mi sbaglio, ma mi sembra che Johnny Flynn ora stia ridendo; che urli ancora invece lo sento benissimo: ride e urla che il lutto non è solo una croce, è anche una delizia, è il nostro privilegio e noi dobbiamo penetrarlo, dobbiamo attraversarlo come fosse una vallata dopo aver scalato la più alta delle montagne.

Quello che viene dopo è semplicemente il raccolto: e io che l'ho aspettato come si aspetta una vita che viene al mondo, con un po' di apprensione e insieme con il timido desiderio di riconoscere nei tratti del viso la somiglianza, alla fine l'ho rincosciuta: quando ho ascoltato l'album per la prima volta di notte, nel mio letto, sotto a coperte pesanti, era di nuovo inverno e ho capito subito che in tutti quei mesi Johnny Flynn non aveva mai smesso di guardarmi negli occhi. Lui ha continuato a tirarmi per la manica, a strattonarmi, mi ha richiamata, mi ha scritto, mi ha raccontato: alla fine lui mi ha raccontata, nel suo calendario. Ha raccontato di tutti gli alberi dietro ai quali io ho guidato la mia macchina quest'anno (the beech is lifting me, ash is reaching me), del saluto che mio padre continua a darmi giorno dopo giorno (be not afraid, sing and pray, cry and sway as I enter the shade); di quel dicembre che pareva non volesse mai finire ("A Year-Long Winter"); e poi mi ha raccontato, ancora una volta, "Coins for the Eyes". Vedo però che la semplice ballata in tre quarti è maturata in questi mesi, e da fiore che era in primavera adesso è diventata un bellissimo frutto rotondo, forse un melograno? È diventata un inno, cantato a piena voce, a più voci. Io l'ho ascoltata, nella sua prima e piu dimessa versione, sulla strada che portava al cimitero, il giorno in cui ci hanno consegnato le ceneri e noi le abbiamo riposte nella tomba ancora senza nome. E poi un altro giorno mi è arrivata questa foto, la foto della lapide che era pronta, finalmente. E io a quel punto mi sono chiesta come ci si comporta davanti alla foto della lapide di tuo padre che ti arriva su WhatsApp: è bella, carina, mi piace, grazie mille? In quel momento mi sono costretta all'esercizio del pianto perché quello mi sembrava opportuno, ma non mi è salita nessuna lacrima sinceramente, se non quelle solite, le lacrime della stanchezza. Niente di ciò che ha a che vedere con la morte appartiene a mio padre, mi sono detta come mi ero già detta guardando la bara ad agosto. Questo però gli inglesi lo chiamano denial, e anche se io davvero continuo ostinatamente a credere che lui sia più vivo di me sopra quelle mappe dell'impero romano che vedo con la coda dell'occhio spuntare dalla sua libreria, so bene che negare non è una cosa sana.

E così la scorsa settimana, tornando al cimitero per vederla, questa famosa lapide montata, ho ascoltato la nuova versione di "Coins for the Eyes", l'inno: il melograno. Pare che almeno una canzone di quest' album la abbiano registrata dentro a una tomba antica, che il coro che sento in questi ritornelli pieni di vita, pieni di voce, di tante voci veramente, venga proprio da una sepoltura. Quando l'ho raccontato a mia madre lei mi ha detto, prendendomi in giro, che ci vuole pure un po' di leggerezza nella vita, dai, e questi non ce l'hanno per niente. Ma lei non sa che se veramente è questa la canzone, e voglio pensare che sia proprio questa, io sulle sue note sono arrivata alla tomba e l'ho trovata piena, piena di gente scalza, gente che si sgola, che canta a squarciagola, canta la vita stupenda di mio padre tra i tanti padri che se ne sono andati. Quest'inno è così lontano dalla pesantezza che mi sembra proprio il suo esatto contrario: al punto che questa canzone mi ha riconciliata con quel paese dove mio padre ora è tornato e dove io da piccola ho passato le più noiose e pesanti domeniche di bambina. Un paese dove tutti sembrano avere due sole cose a cui pensare: sposarsi o morire. Un paese che è come costruito intorno al suo cimitero, pare proprio invitare al cimitero, così mi è sempre sembrato. Che lo abbia sempre invitato al cimitero, a mio padre. Beh oggi sento di andarci quasi leggera, al cimitero da lui, mi sento invitata, e quelle canzoni che vengono da così lontano, da un altro luogo, un altro anno, da un'altra fatica, risuonano perfettamente per le strade del paese dove mio padre riposa in questo momento. Io amo tutto di lui e non voglio vivere nella negazione: non mi nego niente, le mappe e la bara, la vita e la morte: è un mio diritto, la mia delizia, il mio privilegio. E me lo ha raccontato Johnny Flynn, urlandolo a volte, a volte ridendo e cantandolo con leggerezza, a volte facendone un inno gioiso e a più voci: il calendario di un anno che abbiamo trascorso insieme, e io non lo sapevo.

#literature #jonnyflynn #robert mcfarlane #poetry #the moon also rises #the wild hunt #uncanny valley #folk music

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