#ten years have been removed from my lifespan | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

waterfiltergurus · 1 year ago

Text

Do Brita Filters Remove PFAS? (What You Need to Know)

Brita water filter pitchers might be best known for their ability to reduce bad-tasting chlorine in municipal water, but do Brita filters remove PFAS? If you're worried about PFAS contamination and want to remove PFAS chemicals with a water filter pitcher, you've come to the right place. We've examined test results for the Brita Standard and Elite pitcher filters and discussed whether or not these filters have been tested to reduce PFAS in drinking water. 🚱 How Do PFAS Get Into Drinking Water? PFAS are man-made chemicals that end up in the environment as a result of industrial water waste, air emissions from factories and other production facilities, and runoff from firefighting foams. From here, these chemicals can enter our water supplies due to surface water runoff or soil seepage. The good news is that PFAS are at least being used far less in the US after a voluntary agreement was signed between the EPA and eight major companies. However, these chemicals continue to circle the country because they can still be imported from other parts of the world. Additionally, PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because they take years and years to break down, so they often linger in the environment long after they're released as pollutants. The PFAS in our water supplies aren't usually removed thoroughly by public water treatment processes. This leads to us drinking traces of these chemicals in our tap water. Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection 🩺 What Are the Potential Health Risks of PFAS? According to a 2020 evaluation of different studies into the health risks of PFAS, these harmful chemicals may have the following human health effects when ingested in tap water: - Cancer - Liver and kidney disease - Immune effects - Developmental issues - Altered thyroid function - Adverse reproductive effects - Insulin and lipid dysregulation This data is based on the limited research that has been carried out on the health effects of several of the most common PFAS chemicals. There are still tens of PFAS chemicals that lack toxicity data, so the possible health effects of these chemicals remain unknown. 🧪 How Can I Test for PFAS in My Water? We recommend testing your water with a private laboratory testing package if you want to know exactly what concentration of PFAS your water contains. A lab test will provide much more comprehensive results than a DIY test, and you'll struggle to find DIY tests that do detect PFAS - most are used to detect chlorine, lead, and other contaminants that are easy to test for. The cost of a laboratory test for PFAS is around $300. If you're on a municipal water supply and you don't want to spend that sort of money, check your Water Quality Report to learn about the PFAS detected at the water treatment plant. 🤔 So, Does Brita Filter Out PFAS? Yes, the Brita Elite filter (formerly LongLast), Brita's upgraded pitcher filter with a 6-month lifespan and greater contaminant removal abilities, can remove PFAS from drinking water. There's no data to suggest that the Brita Standard filter (the cheaper filter that lasts around 2 months) can remove PFAS chemicals, but that's not to say it doesn't - it just hasn't been tested to do so. Brita is pretty quiet about the Elite filter's ability to reduce PFAS, so you'd easily be mistaken in believing that the filter can't do so. In fact, many articles we read in our research said that none of Brita's filters can reduce PFAS (likely because this information isn't readily available on the Brita website). It's difficult to obtain data on the exact contaminants that Brita's filters can remove because strangely, this information isn't supplied on the product pages. But you can access the downloadable filter performance sheets for the Standard and Elite filters on Brita's Performance Data page, and this is where we were able to confirm that the Elite filters can remove PFAS. The Brita Elite filter has been tested to NSF/ANSI Standards 401, 42, and 53 for the reduction of various contaminants to within the "permissible limit". Elite Brita filters can reduce up to 98.1% of PFAS. 🧾 List Of PFAS Removed By Brita Pitcher The types of PFAS removed by Elite Brita filters are PFOS and PFOA. Like many water filter manufacturers, Brita has stuck to testing its Elite filter for the removal of the most common forever chemicals, ignoring the tens of other PFAS that currently exist, including GenX, PFNA, PFBS, NFBS, and more. We feel this may be something of a box-ticking exercise that allows Brita to say that the Elite filters remove PFAS, which may not be strictly true since there are other types of PFAS chemicals that Brita hasn't even tested its filters for their ability to remove. 🔎 How Do Brita Water Filters Remove PFAS? The Brita Elite filtered water pitcher uses proprietary "activated filtering agents" (some form of activated carbon) to reduce contaminants. Activated carbon has been listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as an effective solution to remove PFAS, as the most studied water treatment method for this purpose. The activated carbon water treatment process is called adsorption. When water flows through the filter media, certain substances - including PFAS - are accumulated physically and chemically in the media, while water molecules can pass straight through. Some types of activated carbon, like granular activated carbon (GAC), can 100% effectively remove PFAS from drinking water, although Brita doesn't disclose exactly what type of carbon media it uses. What about the Brita Standard filter? This filter uses a blend of activated carbon and ion exchange - two technologies that are effective in reducing PFAS (in fact, ion exchange is commonly used in wastewater treatment plants for the removal of these chemicals). That's why we think the Brita Standard filters probably do remove per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances - they just haven't been tested by Brita to do so. Source: Brita.com 🚰 Other PFAS Water Filters Water filter pitchers like the Brita pitchers aren't the only water treatment systems that are capable of filtering PFAS. The following systems also remove forever chemicals: System TypePFAS Removal RateOther filters using carbon/ion exchange80-98%Reverse osmosis filters90-95%Water distillationUp to 99% If you're looking specifically to buy a water filter pitcher because of its affordability and portability, but you want a filter that's more capable of removing other contaminants than the Brita pitcher, we recommend the Clearly Filtered Water Pitcher Filter. This water pitcher virtually purifies contaminated drinking water and can remove hundreds of impurities, including 99.4% of a variety of forever chemicals. Some of the PFAS removed by the Clearly Filtered pitcher are NFBS, PFBS, PFBA, GenX, EPFB, PFOA, and PFOS, according to private testing to NSF Standards. Additionally, here is a list of the over best water filters for addressing PFAs in water ❔ FAQ Do Brita filters get rid of forever chemicals? Yes, both Brita filters should, in theory, remove forever chemicals. The Brita Elite has official test data online that supports its ability to reduce PFAS in drinking water, while the Brita Standard doesn't - but it's made from carbon and ion exchange resin, which are two reliable materials that are commonly used in PFAS filters. Are Brita filters tested to remove PFAS? The Brita Elite filters have been tested to remove PFAS, but the Brita Standard filters have not. Since the Standard filters are made from materials that are usually effective in removing PFAS, we recommend contacting Brita to discuss the possibility of reducing PFAS with these filters. Or, if you already own a Brita pitcher with a Standard filter, you could try testing your water yourself to determine its PFAS removal abilities. Do Brita filters block PFAS? Yes, the media in Brita filters should effectively block PFAS, while allowing water molecules to pass through. The Elite filter has been tested to remove up to 98.1% of PFOS and PFOA from tap water. The Standard filter hasn't been tested for this purpose, but we think it should also reduce PFAS based on the materials it's made from. Read the full article

0 notes

sensibledecay · 1 year ago

Text

i’ve been ravaging my fingernails, my cuticles, and the skin on my fingers since before i can remember. as a child, my mother yelled at me and begged me and punished me to try and kick this habit. for a couple months in elementary school, she painted my fingernails twice a week as incentive not to pick. the iridescent purple flakes looked prettier strewn across my bedroom carpet. she took me to the nail salon a few times when i was young. that kind of worked, except they never did my nails right, and i always hated how they looked. one week in middle school, she made me wear finger sleeves on my thumbs, the target of my most frenzied flesh-tearing. i still sometimes notice the odd shape of my thumbs and wonder if i damaged them when i was young. after enough punishment and humiliation, my mother and i finally found a solution that worked for both of us. every two weeks, i glued fake nails to my fingers, glue and nails found at the end of the makeup section in the walmart down the street. twelve when i first started this ritual, doing my nails became a built-in part of my beauty routine. i was known for always having fun nails, honing the gluing process over time to extend each set’s lifespan from two to almost five weeks, depending on how much i used my hands. for the rest of middle school and all of high school, my friends would pull the nail glue out of my bag and superglue their fingers together, or my laptop to the desk, or write in glue on their notebooks. many a time, i would lose a nail on the walk to class and trek back through the halls, examining the floor for the shard of plastic. when i finally got the gluing process down to a science, my nail choices became increasingly funky. i’ve opted for a long coffin style since i was maybe sixteen, only deviating for a can’t-miss stiletto design. always long, always ornate. the nails didn’t get any shorter in my two-and-a-half year relationship with a woman, and many a joke was made about my nails being the straightest thing about me. however, i never really kicked the habit of picking at the skin around my nails. anyone who knows me well can tell how stressful my week has been from how intact my finger skin is, with especially bloodied picking-sprees a common occurrence when i don’t have anything else to do with my frantic hands. when i was little, i really believed that i’d grow out of this habit at some point, but every time i take off my nails to change them, i bite off the new growth immediately. i tear at the dry edges of my skin and peel until i’m bleeding, not noticing until i look down from the tv. i glue lost nails back into place immediately, unable to resist the opportunity to rip my nails apart otherwise. recently, i had to remove my nails for a surgery, told that they would interfere with some kind of pulse tracking machine. in the twenty-four hours that i could use my fingertips, it felt like sensations were enhanced tenfold. by the end of the day, my fingertips were sore from overuse, probably because the skin has barely been touched for ten years. despite the joy of typing with upright fingers and being able to nimbly button my pants, i missed my nails. i tore at the skin on my fingers more that day than in months. my real nails were too sharp, and too bendy, and i couldn’t scratch properly, or run my fingers through my hair without making it dirty. i realized my body was so used to having long nails that i would stop short of scratching my face. it’s been about two weeks now, and the skin on my fingers is all healed. i still idly pick at the dry spots, but the clear, pearl-adorned coffin nails on each finger can’t make cuts as efficiently as the nails below them. for some reason, i always thought this anxious habit would melt away with age, but i guess i’ve just put a permanent sleeve on each finger this whole time, letting my bouncing legs and twisting rings take the place of my bloodied cuticles.

0 notes

caxycreations · 1 year ago

Text

PFFF

OKAY HEAR ME OUT

CW: CANNIBALISM, ACTS OF TORTURE

He was captured by Devon (one of Tylvin's crime lords) for 3 days, and needed to keep his strength up. Since by that time he'd learned his healing didn't work right if he didn't have nutrients in his system, he needed some way to stay strong enough to heal, but Devon was intentionally starving him to see if starvation would kill him. So Cyrus did the only thing he could think to do: eat the only meat available, which was himself. So he ate pieces of himself (chunks from his arm, mostly) while reciting "In the Desert" by Stephen Crane to himself.

Those 3 days captured by Devon were full of torture. One of the first things Devon ever did was cut off Cyrus' uh..."bits". He was curious to see if it'd grow back the same or if it'd grow back smaller, or bigger, so he cut them off and sure enough, they grey back exactly as they were.

Cyrus has pretty potent healing. He's a tribrid, his mother was pure blooded axolotl, and his father was half newt and half fire salamander (all three have regenerative abilities even in the real world) and he was born at the exact stroke of midnight between the end of the month of Escor and the beginning of the month of Jan, whom his parents had been praying to for years to help them have a child and to protect that child. They'd been so faithful to the gods, Escor and Jan did something gods rarely do: directly intervened in the child's Blessing. They asked Gaius (the Overgod) for a portion of his power to Bless the child with, and he agreed. The result is Escor and Jan each giving Cyrus a Blessing of Vitality. His already potent regenerative powers are amplified ten-fold by his Blessing, which grants him increased healing, extended lifespan, and extreme survivability. So...yeah, when stuff gets cut off, it grows back!

I made him during a very dark time in my life and now he's the only character I have that CAN survive this stuff, so I use him for most of my vent work and ALL of my whump stories @_@ I have plenty of mercy, it's just all directed at David, Ryder, Luka, Olivia, and Trace IM SORRY I LOVE THEM ALL but Cyrus is like, survival incarnate so I gotta use him so nobody actually dies >///<

A-Anyway these are the answers to your questions @_@

Tag List

Tagging these folks cause they seem to like my work! If you would like to be added (or removed), just let me know!

@heavensfallenfaction @moremysteriesthantragedies @thetruearchmagos @leisoree

A List of things Cyrus has survived

CW: Mild descriptions of violence

This is not all of them

Stabbed in the heart

stabbed in the stomach

stabbed in the kidney

gutted

disemboweled

loss of his arm

organ removal

self-cannibalism

SEVERING OF HIS BRAIN STEM

falling from a 40-story rooftop

boiled alive

shot in the head

shot in the heart

shot in the stomach

shot in various extremities

castration (it grew back)

poisoned with synthetic compounds

heavy drug overdose (against his will)

various snake venoms injected directly into his heart

hundreds of bites from lethal spiders

beheaded

stabbed multiple times with a tri-tip dagger to the chest

He's uh

He's very resilient.

Tag List

Tagging these folks cause they seem to enjoy my work! If you would like to be added (or removed) from the list, just let me know!

@heavensfallenfaction @moremysteriesthantragedies @thetruearchmagos @a-scaly-troublemaker

#relan #literature #fiction #modern fantasy #furry #anthro #writeblr #anthropomorphic #character background #character stuff

27 notes · View notes

translations-by-aiimee · 3 years ago

Text

Mistakenly Saving the Villain - Chapter 2

Original Title: 论救错反派的下场

Genres: Drama, Romance, Xianxia, Yaoi

TW for this chapter: Brief description of suicide

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter 2 - Problem-Solving by Elimination

Scholar-Tyrant Song sat in the examination room, his mind blank.

The types of questions at the Banquet of Beauties were more terrifying than Goldbach’s conjecture. At least he would not panic if being questioned by his professor on Goldbach's conjecture.

The Langgan Terrace of the Golden Pheonix Manor was extremely luxurious and beautiful. There are countless cultivators and beautiful women flying in the depths of the clouds. Every guest was more beautiful than the last, and carefree laughter and obscene words were thrown around.

Song Qingshi silently recited his lectures on the human body structure, physiological hygiene, mouse breeding and other courses twice in his heart, finally recovering the calmness of a high-ranking medical student. Thinking about the lab mice he had bred for three years dying off, the scene in front of him no longer meant much.

There are two kinds of divine fires in the original person's body. The first was the Red Lotus Fire used for refining his alchemy, and the other was the Underworld Ghost Fire used for killing people.

Song Qingshi's expression became one that could repel others from thousands of miles away. He released the Underworld Ghost Fire from the palms of his hands, causing the flames to continuously jump at his fingertips and change into different shapes.

Fen Shen and He Ti ancestors are the treasures of all the cultivation sects. They did not usually involve themselves with the mortal world. The Nascent Soul cultivators are all big shots walking carefree in the immortal world. Not to mention the danger of the cutivating path; no one could guarantee that they wouldn't need to ask a doctor for help. Neither righteous cultivators or demonic cultivators were not willing to offend the Medicine Master Xianzun easily, let alone mock his perverse character.

When the cultivators saw the Underworld Ghost Fire, they knew that he was in a bad mood and kept their distance.

Song Qingshi was able to keep a clear area around him. He cut off the cultivators who approached him to make friendships. Then he released the powerful spiritual thoughts of a Nascent Soul cultivator and quickly took in all the beauties at the banquet. He looked carefully and tried to find the protagonist in the crowd.

However, Yang Yuhuan was thicker, and Zhao Feiyan was slender. Everyone had different standards of beauty. Song Qingshi was of the kind of person that was not very reliable. His eyes were quickly dazzled, only able to think that all of them were beautiful during the dinner. Even the maid who poured the water was graceful and beautiful. She was more beautiful than the stars on TV. He couldn't tell who was better looking.

But this stubborn scholar will never admit defeat!

Song Qingshi tried to use the process of elimination to solve the problem. First, he determined that the protagonist was a man, excluded all the maidens during the banquet. Then he needed to make a list of key observations, verifying claims, making careful assumptions, and removing the beauties that did not meet the standards one by one.

The twin brothers brought by the Sect Master of the Blood Demon Sect were extremely beautiful. Jade-like skin, fragrant, and passionately devoted, just like two identical lotus flowers on one stalk.

There can't be two protagonists, cross it out.

The young man brought by the immortal master Longhu Sect is also super cute. He is so childish and adorable, holding his immortal master in his arms and acting like a baby. The immortal master loved him very much, doted on him, and he even hand-fed this junior immortal his food during the banquet. He kept calling him "baby".

The protagonist is supposed to suffer a miserable fate. Cross it out.

The foreign monk from Beizhou used a mysterious iron chain to lead along a handsome man covered in wounds. He stumbled and followed the foreign monk obediently. But underneath, his body revealed a rebellious aura, like being an eagle with his wings tied but still wanting to break free and fly away.

The protagonist is a beauty, so he wouldn't be so heartless, cross him out.

. . .

Into the depth of the night, the whistful music of the Banquet of Beauties had long been replaced by debauchery. Many people took the beauties away from the tables, and the scene became more and more unbearable.

Song Qingshi did not want to peep into other people's private affairs, for fear of seeing something provocative and getting an eye stye. He kept his thoughts away from extra events and kept it focused during the dinner. Then he heard the foreign monk show off the man he had brought with him to the young master of the Hidden Moon Sect: "He was even a famous general in the human world. After he was defeated and captured, he was sold to me. He's an arrogant person, who resists even under the threat of death. He is very exciting to play with."

The Young Master of the Hidden Moon Sect introduced a soft and coquettish young man, and smiled: "A proud person has the taste of being proud, but there is also the taste of being well-behaved. Let's switch and try it out?"

The foreign monk hesitated. The Young Master of the Hidden Moon Sect cast a wink at the slave.

The charming young man immediately snuggled up on the monk’s chest and begged coquettishly: "I truly like majestic bodies of strong masters, please love this slave well."

Fan Seng was ignited by the tender words of this young man, and he readily threw the chain in his hand to the Young Master of the Hidden Moon Sect, and took the young man to the side hall. The Young Master dragged the chain fiercely, and forced the gray-faced man toward the secluded part of the garden.

There were many scenes like this during the dinner, and no one had pity for these tragic beauties.

. . .

Song Qingshi had already learned from the memory of the original body that the spiritual energy of the human world was thin. The lifespan of mortals was short, and the spiritual roots were occasionally weak. Just having a base foundation was like reaching the heavens. Some kind-hearted cultivators will accept mortals as disciples and give them the opportunity to ascend to immortals. Ten thousand years ago, there was a mortal named Mo Yuan who was extremely talented. He just relied on swordsmanship to become a Nascent Soul cultivator. His techniques rivaled the Fen Shen ancestors, and was thus called the Sword Sovereign.

However, the road to immortality was to fight for one's life with the heavens. It had difficult steps and repeated failure was common. Killing someone for their treasures occured from time to time. It was difficult to restrain their behavior with morality.

Weakness is the original sin. Mortals were like ants.

Even if it was the Sword Master Mo Yuan who took care of him, he could only lay down the rules among the elites of the immortal world. He ensured that the mortals who successfully built a foundation base were treated as cultivators and no longer playthings and slaves. But demonic sects and cultivators never cared about the rules. Not even just the mortal cultivators, the immortal monks also suffered in their hands. Their evil deeds were too numerous to count.

Golden Phoenix Manor was regarded as a famous sect in the immortal world, and all the cultivation furnaces in the Manor are of made and purchased in the mortal world.

So even if Song Qingshi couldn't tolerate what happened here, he couldn't interfere. He was slightly grateful that the identity that the system arranged for him was not a mortal, otherwise he would never survive two chapters, let alone save the protagonist.

Fortunately, it was just a virtual world. . .

Novels were all evil works; textbooks were the righteous materials in the world! The professor was correct in confiscating the novels of all the girls in class! If he had the opportunity to become a professor, he will not allow students to read novels! Help them to avoid their Three Views being poisoned!

Song Qingshi sighed silently.

Suddenly, a curse came from the garden. It was the Young Master of Hidden Moon Sect who dragged the stubborn man's corpse and returned with a disappointed face. The man's shirt was torn open, revealing his bruised body. His body was riddled with scars. He had taken a stolen silver chopstick, pierced his throat deeply and killed himself.

The silver chopsticks were very blunt, and it would be extremely difficult to kill yourself with one of them. You couldn't stab yourself with one without exhausting all your energy, which shows his determination.

Seeing this, everyone in the banquet joked. They laughed that the Young Master couldn't even take care of a mortal.

Hearing the disturbance, the monk left the charming young man and hurried back out of the side hall. He saw that the person he had brought was dead. His brows furrowed and his face was full of anger. The young master of the Hidden Moon Sect was even more angry than him. He turned the dead man over, revealing his back covered with lashes, and questioned the monk: "Why didn't you mark this little slave of yours with an Acacia Seal? How could you let him die?"

The foreign monk was stunned by his question: "What is the Acacia Seal? Some new thing from the Central continent?"

Seeing his ignorance, the cultivators couldn't help but mumble that Beizhou must really be a barren land considering that they didn't even know that an Acacia Seal is a well-known thing in the world. The monk was lost during this whole conversation and the Young Master was discouraged. He pulled the monk, hating iron for not making seal, explained the beauty of the Acacia Seal: "The Acacia Seal is a method created by Huanxi Xianzun. The owner can print it on the back of the furnace, and the body and soul of the furnace transfer into the hands of the owner. No orders are needed and it cannot die without permission."

Song Qingshi had found important information. He swiftly concentrated on this discussion and listened carefully.

Hidden Moon Sect's Young Master took out a red bead from his space bag. An idea sparked in his mind. He turned the bead in his hand. The charming young man who was standing next to the monk immediately knelt down and started to bark.

The monk waved his hand, disgusted and said: "It's so obedient, even if you try something new once in a while. If I raise them like this, I would get tired after playing with it for a few days."

"There are a lot of usages in it. You would know if you had used them yourself. This Young Master isn't going to list them all for you." The Young Master withdrew from spiritual mind he had put into the bead, and the young man crouching on the ground stood up. He was used to being humiliated in front of a crowd and blushed. After a while, he faded from his shame and stood behind his master with his head down.

Seeing that the monk still didn’t understand, the young master of the Hidden Moon Sect still educates patiently: “The most important thing is that unless you let the cultivation furnace die, the cultivation furnace will never die against your will. If you brand this little slave with the Acacia Seal, wouldn't it be more fun to make him unable to kill himself and then slowly break down his pride?"

The foreign monk had an epiphany. He nodded and agreed.

The young master of the Hidden Moon Sect erased the spiritual mind of the cultivation furnace's bead in his hand. He threw it to the monk, and said graciously: "Since the young master killed your beauty, I will will compensate you for it. You can take it and study the beauty of the Acacia Seal. Once you start, you won't be able to start."

The monk was overjoyed, and even boasted: "The Central continent people are really bold, this Black Vulture has made you a friend!"

The charming young man's face instantly turned pale. He looked at the original master desperately, looking like he had something to say, as if he wanted to beg, but in the end he didn't say anything, and went with the monk in tears.

The jewels were corrupted and it was like broken jade.

This extravagant feast had finally reached its climax.

The disciples of Golden Phoenix Manor concealed the radiance of the luminous beads above the temple, and let the darkness envelop the entire Langgan Terrace.

The guests raised their heads in amazement. They saw fireworks from several spells across the darkness, blooming in the air into a radiant golden phoenix, dancing lightly, announcing that the performances of the feast were about to begin. Jin FeiRen raised his wine glass and invited guests to share in the festivities again.

Song Qingshi marveled at the beauty of the Phoenix Dance, and admired it for a long while. Then he discovered that a young man in white clothes appeared next to Jin FeiRen. The young man had very clean and beautiful features, like green bamboo in the mountains, a bright moon in the sky. A layer of cold frost covered in his low eyebrows, his hair falling like a waterfall around his face. It was tied back with a ribbon. There were no other notable features on his whole body, but he still easily retained everyone's lingering gazes.

The tall and handsome owner was smiling and gently scratching the young man's palm with his fingers, praising his treasure in a gentle and soft voice, trying to get him to smile.

The young man turned his head away, despite the teasing. He didn't even want to spare him a glance.

Jin FeiRen twisted his head forcefully, and forced his hands behind his back with only one hand. He held him close in an embrace and kissed his forehead and the bridge of his nose carefully. Then he bit his lips hard, as if to he wanted to swallow him whole. The teenager struggled with pain, Jin FeiRen smiled and released him, leaning close to the youth's ear, and asked softly: "Do you want to learn the rules again?"

The young man froze for a moment. He stopped struggling, and sat obediently into Jin FeiRen's arms.

Was this the protagonist?

Song Qingshi secretly watched for a long time. He finally suppressed his social anxiety, ready to speak, and then LingBao Xianzun who had a good relationship with Jin FeiRen walked over and asked with a smile: "This is the new treasure of the Manor Lord? Is he pure? Does he have a good Yin constitution, a single spirit root of the water system? How about giving him to me to taste tonight?

Jin FeiRen glanced at the embarrassed and angry expression of the youth in his arms, gave him a squeeze, and refused with a smile: "Although he is just a toy, he suits my heart and it would be inconvenient to give him to you. Later, I will give my friends some top-quality products, all of them newly branded with excellent physiques and very clean."

LingBao Xianzun carefully looked at him. "Is your furnace still a virgin?"

Jin FeiRen said: "I don't want to treat him like an ordinary furnace."

Song Qingshi had already heard more obscene words tonight than he had in his lifetime. He understood everything that should be understood or even things that shouldn't be understood. He also understood clearly what a furnace was.

He watched as Jin FeiRen was pouring wine for the young man during the banquet, and he was a little unsure whether this was the protagonist. Although the white-clothed boy seemed to be more attractive than the other beauties present, the system had explained that the protagonist needs to be rescued from his miserable fate. Now Jin FeiRen was quite fond of the boy, and every beauty in the Banquet of Beauties was many times worse off than him. . .

Song Qingshi was anxious pondering these questions. . .

At this time, the phoenix finished its dance in the air, and fell into the crowd with a stream of light.

The light faded away, and a huge golden, carved bird appeared on the Langgan Terrace. On this bird frame was a beauty beautiful enough to destroy a city.

The gold fetters inlaid with jewels encircled his pure white ankles, and were tied to both sides of the bird frame with long thin golden chains. His upper body was caged with almost transparent thin fabric, and he could vaguely see the magnificent scenery decorated with gold jewels and jade underneath. On his lower body was a long dress in the shape of phoenix tail feathers made of gold and red feathers. His hair was adorned with pearls resembling mermaid's tears, the enchanting Acacia Seal on his back hidden by his long hair, flowing in the breeze. It was as beautiful as a phoenix with rich colors, the human peony in the world.

He held a jade flute in his hand, his thin lips slightly open, his beauty almost unnatural. The dark golden phoenix eyes seemed to be smiling but held no emotion, and he greeted the audience. Song Qingshi sat up straight. He recognized that this was the beauty in red that he had seen by the river bank.

When the red beauty glanced over at Song Qingshi, his eyes stayed for a while, then slid over as if he didn't recognize him.

Song Qingshi looked at the young man in white clothes on the left, who looked like a bright moon, and the beauty in red clothes on the right, who looked like peony in his prime. He was panicking; he couldn't tell who was more beautiful and more like the main character!

The exam questions of the system teacher were too difficult. . .　

Is Scholar-Tyrant Song going to fail his course?

#mistakenly saving the villain #chinese novel #chinese bl #english translation #song qingshi #mistakenly saving the villain translation

33 notes · View notes

ljandersen · 3 years ago

Text

More 100 Days of Writing! Yay! I love that I get a hundred days of seeing everyone's writing process on my dash. I’m not strictly following the questions in order or posting every day, but it’s fun to still play along. Thanks, @the-wip-project !

--------------‐-----------------

Question from Day 2 (I know it’s not day two, but I’m erratically cheating, remember?) For your current WIP: Do you have many WIPs? What motivates you to write this specific story? What makes this story special for you? Is there a special twist/trope/setting you wanted to explore? What got you started on this particular story?

My current WIP is “Sideways,” a 5-part fShenko post-war long fic. I’m posting it like a box set, essentially all the parts (books) in one big post on AO3. I have the first draft written for all five parts and am currently posting part 3.

What motivated me to write this story was a string of “what if” questions that haunted me after finishing my 300k fShenko post-war long fic, “Burning Barriers.” My mind kept spinning on questions about human-asari relationships. What would it be like to be with someone who would live a thousand years? You’re just a blip on their radar, while they’re you’re whole life.

What would it be like to have a child who’s another species? Asari have unique abilities like mindmelding, strong biotics, long lifespan, monogendered, not to mention unique culture. Would the child feel less “yours” for being so . . . well, alien (pun intended)? How would it feel knowing your partner and child would live on long after you?

That’s when I started thinking, what if the asari parent died? Whoa. Then my mind was blown by the complexity. Your child would be another species, bound to live a thousand years, and the parent meant to take care of them is gone. Since your partner was going to live hundreds of more years, the human partner probably never even considered the possibility of losing them. Now the human parent is all this alien child has. It had so many implications, my mind kept going.

I wanted to explore these ideas in a story, but I didn’t want to write an AU of my own fanfiction. I didn’t want to write a story that wasn’t fShenko. FemShep and Kaidan are my favorite characters, and it’s their relationship I find compelling.

That’s when I thought, what would Shepard think of this alternate storyline? It’s interesting enough to think of her outside perspective, but what if it was further removed than even that. What if she saw it like I did having this other canon story ending in mind? What if the Shepard who finished my story in “Burning Barriers” and who ended up with Kaidan went to this other AU reality?

I could follow an idea from “Burning Barriers” that wasn’t realized but intrigued me. Kaidan’s asari wife is dead. He has an asari child now. How much better if he and Shepard are even enemies? Maybe Shepard has been a bad person in this timeline. After all, Mass Effect is all about the Paragon and Renegade timelines. Add in this story being told from the POV of the Shepard who’s been happily married to him in the “real” timeline, then the complexity and nuances expanded. How would she reconcile his identity to her, being both the person she knows and loves the best, but also the person she knows the least and who is also an adversary?

Then, I thought . . . What is Bad Shepard took my canon Shepard’s place? I ended “Burning Barriers” with Shepard being human Councilor. She lives on the Pacific with Kaidan and their daughter. That was already there in my post-10 year epilogue. What if this switch went both ways? It’s always a fascinating trope taking someone who’s a maverick loner and dropping them into a family situation. Do they become a better person?

False identities always interest me, and both stories lines would play so well to that interest. How would this imposter function? Both Shepards would be taken as the their altero ego, at least, initially if not longer.

So I started writing “Sideways.” I needed to tell the backstories to fill in the ten years of lost time for both timelines. But how to do it? Just through present-day revelations? A bit boring. Flashbacks are often considered unnecessary and needlessly complicate a story.

What if the flashbacks had more meaning beyond just revealing the past though? What if they provided a ticking clock. I needed a ticking clock, after all, and this was the perfect way to hit two birds with one stone. The present day revelations about the past could provide tantalizing clues and hint toward scenes that aren’t revealed yet. There would be gradual progression of stories from the past connecting to the present storyline. Perfect.

I actually wrote several chapters of “Sideways” and then discarded it. I didn’t want to pour myself into more fanfiction. It was time to move on. Do something original. Who would read a long fShenko fic that jumped off my 300k story? “Burning Barriers” wasn’t read. I think a year after posting, it had 25 kudos, under a thousand hits, and was pretty stagnant with the hit count even moving. I had a few wonderful people who made the process worthwhile through their generous comments and friendship. It would go on to get a lot of great feedback that would change my feelings about it, but at the time, the story’s reception was disappointing. It seemed unwise to take an already abysmal turnout for 300k words and cut the readership even further for a new story +100k story. So I tossed my first few chapters of “Sideways” aside.

I came across the chapters again a while later. I still had these ideas in my head for it that I was trying to squelch while I focused on ideas for an original sci fi series. When I was flipping through a notebook, I came across the story I had abandoned, and I started to read it. By the end, I was left thinking, “But then what happened? This is actually pretty good.” At that point, I decided I had to write it. I had too much passion in the project, and I had to see it through.

I decided for it to be successful (or at least, not catastrophically unsuccessful), it had to stand on its own. Hardly anyone had read the preceding 300 k story, which I had made the mistake of posting all at once. I needed this to be its own story. It had to be less words than “Burning Barriers,” which at 300 k was already too much of an investment.

Then I started writing my new story . . . 800 k words later (or so I estimate), I obviously didn’t meet my goal. But I loved writing every word, and I love how the story progresses and develops. It had a good pace, and I’m proud of it. It lent itself naturally to being divided into a series, since it had mini-arcs with mini-villains and achievements being reached. By editing each part separately, I was able to start posting, which after two years of writing the story was beginning to feel like would never happen.

Now, here I am posting part 3. I have amazing people who support me and have made the experience rewarding by sharing their enthusiasm and thoughts in comments and tags. “Sideways” surpassed “Burning Barriers” initially low turn out and has managed to stand on its own as I hoped. For a story that took so long to make it to this point, it’s been fulfilling to have so many fandom friends who cheer me on. I appreciate everyone who supports “Sideway” and just me in general as part of the fandom community.

And that’s how my supersized story came into being.

#100daysofwriting #not doing my questions in order I know #I feel like day 1 and day 2 were the most important general questions #Which is why I'm doing them now #on writing #my writing #on fanfiction #on mass effect fanfiction

12 notes · View notes

themoomoorn · 4 years ago

Text

Random Thot #46,853

I had a health exam for my upcoming new job and put my two weeks in for my current one, so I’m rewarding my neurodivergent ass-brain with this. Sit tight and enjoy.

46,853: I’m half-convinced that Edelgard is like the Soul Series’ Alexandra sisters and daughter when it comes to her combat ability - or rather, lack thereof. Unlike Claude, Dimitri, and Byleth, who all explicitly received combat training as children, Edelgard likely did not. The tools given to her are what likely allow for her to fight at all - heck, they may even do a bit of the fighting for her. How else can a noodle-armed womanlet like her wear all that armor and heft that axe?

(Also, how the eff does this dress make clanking armor sounds when she walks in the game despite this dress having like no armor whatsoever)

To begin with, we have in-game factoids of her stat caps being the second highest in the game (390 when combined, with Cyril only beating her by 5 points due to his Aptitude skill), and she even has a magic cap that’s not only on-par with other magically-inclined units (72), but it’s actually better than some of them (Dorothea and Linhardt, who are both dedicated mage types, have caps of 61 and 66, respectively, while Manuela, who tends to get placed in Faith Magic-aligned classes despite being a hybrid unit, has a piddling cap 48). She even has a quirky but feasible spell list for both magic types (Fire/Bolganone/Luna Lambda/Hades Omega for Reason, and Heal/Nosferatu/Recover/Seraphim for Faith, which is one of her banes, mind you). I imagine this is the work of the experiments that gave her her version of the Crest of Flames - after all, the 2020 DREAM interview noted that the Hresvelg children were given a more “refined” version of the experiments the Ordelias had. The refinement isn’t just reflected in-game with caps and magic too; Edelgard is also more robust in terms of health, whereas Lysithea is prone to bouts of weakness and illness. In-game, she has poor Luck and Strength, and the single lowest HP cap of all the playable units at 48. And while this one is admittedly conjecture, Edelgard doesn’t hint that her lifespan was drastically cut, as she gets to live a long life in all of her endings. Even in her Crest-heavy ending with Hanneman or her healthcare-related ending with Manuela don’t mention that she had one or both of her Crests taken out. Lysithea, on the other hand, is extensively motivated by the fact that she doesn’t have many years left, and it’s only in two endings (Lorenz, Balthus) where she’s able to live fairly long without removing her Crests; The rest either have her dying young or being able to live long only after her Crests are taken out.

Now what of her combat abilities? Let’s turn to the source of where this silly thot came from.

For the uninitiated, Sophitia Alexandra, a fighter who’s been in the Soul Franchise since its very first game, did not grow up as a dedicated combatant like the other fighters - she was an ordinary baker living in Athens during the late 16th Century when Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire. When she was bathing in a lake one day, she received a message from Hephaestus himself in that she has a divine destiny to destroy the cursed blade Soul Edge, and he gifts her with a divinely crafted short sword and shield in order to fulfill her mission. While she does gain training in Athenian combat styles, a lot of her power and capabilities are tied to her weapon set, which are named the Omega Sword and Elk Shield. Her younger sister Cassandra would follow suit in SoulCalibur II, actually going out of her way to steal the same holy armaments Sophitia used in Soul Edge and SoulCalibur I before getting her own specially empowered set.

(Sophitia Alexandra)

And Pyrrha, Sophitia’s daughter in SoulCalibur V, takes it to new heights. Per a data book, the timid, mistreated Pyrrha has absolutely no combat experience, not even in self-defense. While Sophitia and Cassandra were able to train themselves into formidable soldiers outside of their divine weapons’ influences, this is not true for Pyrrha. If it were not for the sword and shield Pyrrha wielded (which is the same exact set Sophitia wielded before her passing), her clumsy attacks and timid guard stances would amount to ineffectual, useless flailing.

(Info about Pyrrha’s fighting style from the SCV data book)

Back to the Egg. Now it’s made abundantly clear that while Dimitri’s Jean Valjean-levels of raw strength heavily stem from his Crest, he’s also from the land where, in lieu of milk and honey, there’s extreme sports jock training in heavy armor in the dead of night with boulders for weights and weapon mastery. Dimitri loves to train, and it’s a big aspect of his character. The tritagonist of his route is also one of his combat trainers, and he’s done that job for three generations’ worth of Faerghus royalty, with his ending hinting that he keeps doing it for one more. I imagine that even without the Crest of Blaiddyd, Dimitri would still be extremely strong and formidable, he’d just have to actually exert himself a little when saving some poor soul from a runaway cart.

(Just in case the savior imagery wasn’t clear enough with Dimitri, he even did lift a cart the way eventual saint Jean Valjean did in the book/musical)

Claude is far more in favor of covert combat, and his own Crest is more defensive than offensive, but he’s no slouch either, having had a renowned war general serve as his combat instructor since childhood. He’s from a kingdom that, much like Faerghus, values the way of the warrior and prides itself on the strength of its people. His hidden talent, tying to wyvern mastery, is in friggin axes, and he’s also shown to be adept enough with a sword at various points. Plus there’s the fact that he was abused and mistreated by his Almyran family, complete with his father plopping him on a horse and making the horse ride off with him backwards with no safety net as a form of punishment - Claude tells Hilda that there was a “trick” in how he survived that. As any horse jockey can attest to, you need raw muscle in every part of your body in order to really ride one, and I imagine that’s doubly true for your local albino wyvern that’s decked out in Ottoman visual puns. Plus learning how to be crafty and protecting oneself more covertly undoubtedly contributed to his combat abilities too.

(I mean you’d have to be shredded if you can pull off the Parthian shot on a fucking flying dragon. 61 Strength cap my ass.)

Byleth, as we know, grew up as a mercenary to the point of detriment. There’s no need to go into extensive detail as to how Jeralt sacrificed almost everything else in exchange for contributing to Byleth’s combat abilities without being abusive and cruel, but even if you took away Byleth’s self-insert aspects, they’d likely bear a passing resemblance to Rei Ayanami in terms of behavior and attitude - An intended vessel/Avatar for a divine being from one end; Conditioned for little more than combat from another end. Kind of a gloomy picture before she starts to express herself better and actually bond with other people meaningfully.

(At least she’s cute as a button. Kinda like Rei.)

But where does that leave Edelgard? It’s a big question mark. There’s no mention of her growing up with any kind of combat training, unlike the other three. Heck, if tea time, Crimson Flower, and Heroes quotes are anything to go by, Edelgard grew up living a carefree lifestyle prior to the Insurrection. She got to stuff her face with sweets and play with teddy bears and both dote and be doted on by her siblings. Being child number 9 in her current generation, combat training and political studies likely weren’t major priorities for her, and since it’s speculated that Ionius favored her mother, she was likely lavished and spoiled by him. After all, he expresses grief for her specifically when she inherits the throne from him, not the rest of her siblings.

(Even the official merchandise notes how childish Edelgard is)

(This is all after she literally kickstarts her war, by the way).

While there’s varying degrees of elaborate flair that the Lords all wield their weapons with, Edelgard’s regular strikes with an axe feel far less rigid and more informal, and she’ll spin around her axe like it’s some kind of prop. Her default battle stance isn’t even remotely protective and quite impractical; Dimitri’s stance with a lance is both of these things, while Claude’s arrow-twirling is a real-life exercise that’s done to keep the wrist flexible. While she does refine her axe skills come Part II, she’ll still do things like throw her massive shield ten feet in the air for a critical hit.

(Seriously what even is this why is your hand out like that)

There’s even some proof of this: In her study request for axes and heavy armor, Edelgard will even acknowledge that the only reason she can likely keep up and wear heavy armor at all is because of her Crests. And unlike Dimitri and Claude, who can get lesson plans for their respective Hidden Talents once they’re mastered (Horse riding for Dimitri, axes for Claude), Edelgard doesn’t get a lesson plan for Reason Magic, which is her Hidden Talent, so she likely didn’t get any kind of formal education surrounding magic either.

(She has a similar quote in Heroes that’s even more explicit about this.)

The closest hint we get in Edelgard maybe having a hint of training as a child is in her Supports with Ferdinand, and even then, there’s no clear cut hint noting that his failures in beating her were combat-based. She’s able to one-hit KO him in their B Support, but it’s locked to Part II and at this point she’s been both riding on the power highs of her Crests along with actually taking combat seriously. She even says that their difference in skill level isn’t that great.

(Should’ve used Swift Strikes, Ferdie)

What’s more, in addition to all of those enhancements, she not only spends a lot of Part I in a custom set of armor that only archaic technology from the Agarthans can make, but they also made her a custom Relic that’s tailor-made to her specifications. The other Relics as well as the Sacred Weapons, being over a thousand years old, still require their wielders to train in order to wield them properly, and in the case of the Relics, their potential cannot be fully tapped into unless the wielder’s Crest matches the Relic they’re wielding. There’s also that particular safety issue, per what happens with Sylvain’s brother Miklan. But this is not the case with Aymr, which is brand new, has a mismatched Crest that doesn’t negatively affect Edelgard, and requires the Agarthan tech-compatible Agarthium to fix, not the Umbral Steel that’s used to fix both the Heroes’ Relics and other Crest Stone weapons like the Vajra-Mushti. The Aymr’s specific Combat Art even emulates the oft-broken Galeforce skill from Awakening and Fates. It feels like that Aymr in particular is the Edelgard what Hephaestus’ swords and shields are to the Alexandra family.

Now I don’t really think that an Edelgard who’d be stripped of her Crest of Flames, the Amyr, or her special Flame Emperor armor, would be as hapless as Pyrrha would be without her mother’s sword and shield. I imagine she likely started to do some kind of formal combat training once the experiments were done with, not just to kickstart her dreams of imperial conquest, but also to protect herself anyway after everything that happened; She’s also the only Hresvelg heiress of her generation left. There’s also her natural Minor Crest of Seiros to consider. But if you stripped all that away from her, then her ability to fight probably would come off as useless flailing to the other three more experienced combatants.

All those cakes and that lack of muscle would at least catch up to her, anyway.

#fe3h #fe3h meta #fire emblem three houses #edelgard von hresvelg #edelgard critical #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #claude von riegan #byleth eisner #headcanons #ramblings #soulcalibur #this literally popped into my head one day #seriously #edelgard isnt buff you cant change my mind

50 notes · View notes

tenderlyrenjun · 4 years ago

Text

[1110 A.D.]

Nearly a century later, a week before the anniversary of his homecoming, Renjun finds your bedroom empty.

As well as the foyer, the lounge, the study, and the gardens. You are no where to be found on the estate.

Renjun speeds into your closet first, searching for any missing items. He scans through the half of the wardrobe that is filled with clothes (the other remains almost completely empty from his mistake). If you were abandoning him in return, as payback, you would also need jewellery, silks, ivory combs, sellable goods. But everything remains untouched and pristine, even the things he left a hundred years ago. He pulls apart your robes and skirts, checking between the linings for safe measure; he rummages through your hats and veils, shaking all the loose money onto the ground; he runs his fingers over the little trinket boxes and sashes, feeling for vacant slots. Nothing is out of place.

Renjun covers his ears, scratching his hair behind them. He just spent 99 years repenting for his mistake, and you finally forgave him around the 75th mark, granting him a room on the opposite side of the house from yours. It took you five more years before you were able to even look at him and another ten until you could break bread. You two have barely been dating (a disgrace, honestly, on your bond, but there is no better descriptor) the last decade. Too much instability overruns the land: first, with your constantly evolving relationship; then with the political rivalry and rebellions; now, you have gone missing, showing off his inability to every enemy. Renjun sighs, biting his lip sharply. This is supposed to be the golden era of your household - in accordance with the emerging Renaissance across Europe and the preceding dynasty’s cultural preservation, but left and right, the present falls apart.

“Please, please,” a vampire begs, on his knees before Renjun’s throne in the Main Hall. The chair returned when you restored his position, and he has been making use of it more in the past three days than the last nine years. “I’ve given you all the information I have.”

“You,” Renjun begins eerily calm, “wasted my time.” He plucks a silver dagger from the table between your seats, dipping just the tip in poison. The informant sees it clearly on display, resuscitating his dead body with fear, metal chains weighing him to the ground, groveling in front of Heaven’s bloodiest demon. Renjun throws the knife through the vampire’s knee, closing his eyes when a satisfying tack in the ground initiates more wailing. He grabs a wooden dagger next, for some finality, not entertaining any mercy today. Too much has been given and too little profited. “You gave me information that you knew I already had.” He stands, chair scraping the rug from all the force. “For what?” He speeds to his witness, slapping his hand across, sinking his nails into the regenerative skin. Renjun removes his sliver dagger, dropping the wooden weapon so he can pin the newborn (he is 200 years old, but compared to Renjun’s lifespan, this is a petulant teenager in need of punishment) to the marble, with a dagger in his chest. “For money? You could have asked, could have joined my coven.” He drags the wooden stake along his prisoner’s shirt, torn between burning him now or draining his blood first. But drinking from another vampire is maddeningly intimate and Renjun has never done it without you. “Perhaps not. We have standards.” And with that, Renjun stabs the vampire with the stake, hard enough to push the heart through his back. He throws it into the fire behind him, watching the body succumb to ashes.

“Aish, all the blood,” Mark comments dryly as he enters the throne room, carrying a handkerchief for Renjun to wipe his hands. This execution actually went faster than the last two. He has been a little more then dramatic lately.

“It’s just a stain.”

Renjun blindly accepts the napkin. After finding your shield’s clothing on a peasant, he got his own right-hand to aid in the search. It is his turn to accumulate power. Albeit, for a different reason: to get you back. Yours was to keep him away, power naturally coming as you ruthlessly ended vampires who entered your land unwelcome. Renjun walks to a map that Mark rolls out on an orchid carved into a new lacquer table. He disposes of the wipe and sprawls his hands across the world, examining every red brush stroke for your location.

“When was the last time you hunted?”

“A servant brings me jia vessels every few hours in my chambers.”

Renjun has since reverted to sleeping in your bedroom, laying on the familiar ceramic pillows with new comforters. It serves as both a reminder and punishment. Maybe if he never left, you would be here, retiring with him for no reason except to watch the stars above until birds start singing. If he never abandoned you, never took a mortal concubine, then you wouldn’t have attended the coven leader meetings in Bianjing, giving his chauvinistic enemies a weak point to plan around. He will end the bloodline of whoever took you.

Renjun slams his fist on the table, breaking off a corner. “Damn it!”

You rattle awake, hand clenched around a thin sheet as you scan a familiar setting, eyes franticly moving left to right. It is your own room. Except, you had been laying on an imported couch, cushions stuffed with wool, rather than the wooden bed frame you accustomed to, alone, over the last century and a half. You jerk your head to the door, noticing it closed. Even the curtains are drawn. And since you are away from the giant glass above your bed, you cannot tell the time nor season. You sigh loudly, and wake Renjun. Perhaps, it was that time of the month, so much blood has already been spilt.

“Oh, thank Heavens,” he exclaims, drawing in your neck for an embrace.

You let him kiss you, equally pushing your lips on his in successive rotation. He found you, got you back, and he has no intention of separating again.

#renjun #nct #nct dream #nct drabbles #nct blurbs #nct timestamps #nct fluff #nct angst #vampire au #renjun timestamps #renjun imagines #nct imagines #nct dream imagines #nct dream angst #nct dream fluff #renjun fluff #renjun angst #renjun x reader #huang renjun

56 notes · View notes

mneiai · 4 years ago

Text

Everything So Far About My Stewjoni-as-actual-sithspawn verse

Below the cut is all of my “canon” so far, some of it may be changed as I get other ideas.

CW non-consensual body modification, dubiously consensual body modification, body horror, monsters, violence, cannibalism

History:

The Stewjoni were a sentient race of predatory non-humans who preyed on, among other beings/animals, the Sith race. They were particularly attracted to prey that used or was in some way connected to the Darkside of the Force. When the Dark Jedi who would become the modern Sith integrated with Sith culture, they were told of them as a warning. They, of course, took it upon themselves to study and change the Stewjoni to suit their needs.

Sith alchemists twisted the Stewjoni into more dangerous beings with a preference for preying on Force users in general. Previously solely pack hunters, they developed them into more solo hunters due to their rarity. The Sith would set them loose to hunt their rivals or Jedi knowing that those enemies would almost certainly die in terror and that there was no means of surviving once the Stewjoni had started to feed.

Centuries later, the Taungs took over Stewjon and were immediately fascinated with the natives. They saw them as demigods of battle and war and favored them above most other races, which continued to some extent among their Mandalorian descendants until near the fall of the Mandalorian Empire, when the Stewjoni made a deal with the Republic for neutrality in the war (where they were particularly devastating against the Jedi forces) in exchange for Republic-supported isolation.

The Republic placed the Stewjoni into a difficult legal classification–the system is sovereign and has all of the rights that any Republic system would, but the people had already been classified as biological weapons and that never changed. Many of the original Republic worlds still have laws making it illegal for Stewjoni to enter and that anyone who assists in such an endeavor are seen as trafficking bioweapons.

Appearance:

(some pictures as a basic reference can be found here)

Stewjoni are vaguely human looking. They have two arms, two legs, one head, and walk upright on those two legs. The Sith alchemists mixed them with a variety of other beings and humans were a part of that–their faces, with eyes and mouths closed, look like attractive human faces and their bodies, if other features were to be removed, like muscular human bodies.

Their eyes are a coppery-gold color, scaled, with multiple small pupils. They are capable of seeing a multitude more colors than humans, which assists them in hunting in many environments where the slightest change in appearance can be useful.

Their skin, which looks pale to human eyes but in fact is extremely colorful to eyes capable of seeing greater ranges, is smooth and elastic, having more give and far more resilience than human flesh. Natural bruising is unusual and they are unlikely to receive casual wounds like papercuts.

Their ears are long and pointed, the ridges and grooves of the pinna more complicated to allow for more details at more frequency ranges than human ears.

Their teeth are sharp, and more plentiful than human teeth. But the most notable aspect of their mouth are retractable barbs which can inject paralytic venom and detach easily in case it doesn’t act quickly enough to prevent the prey from pulling away.

They have long, pale-colored claws made for fighting and killing, but also with great utility for climbing and digging. They are incredibly sharp and sturdy. Their hands, for the most part, look otherwise human, though their feet are more dexterous, capable of gripping and holding things in limited ways.

Along their backs, from shoulder to hips, are a long crest of spines which are normally at least three colors. The spines are more defensive in purpose than offensive, though as the Stewjoni are intelligent they have been known to utilize them as such if necessary. The spines utilize the same venom as the barbs and are a paralytic, though introduce much larger amounts of venom and can be lethal very quickly. They are also designed to detach and stay within an attacker, doing more damage to them and needing to be cut out. The spines are also sensitive to changes in the air/water and vibrations, so that they have more warning if someone is attacking from behind.

Their organs are fewer and more streamlined, having been designed specifically to be significantly more efficient. While they can consume nearly any food source, they can also sustain themselves on pure Force (or life) energy taken from their prey.

Their blood utilizes copper, instead of iron, and is blue in color, though they do not experience many negative effects of imbalances.

Procreation etc

The Stewjoni need three members of their race to procreate–one lays eggs within the womb of another, which are then fertilized by a third. While their young are born live, they are still called “clutches” because of the egg laying process.

Stewjoni embryos cannibalize each other in the womb and generally only one or two survive to be birthed. All children with at least one shared parent are considered siblings.

Raising children is a communal effort and they are often kept closely with anyone in a similar age group. They are very sheltered for the first ten or so years of their lives, though they are trained to hunt in tightly controlled sessions as soon as they can walk and call to their prey in the Force.

Culturally, they do not have genders. Their language is genderless and it is not uncommon for individuals to be born capable of taking more than one role in the breeding process. They often choose pronouns at random when speaking languages that require gendered ones and may refer to having two mothers and a father or two fathers and a mother if pressed.

The Force/Feeding

The Sith race believed that the Stewjoni were direct children of the Force, shaped and brought into being to challenge and improve the Sith so that they might better serve.

They are largely not traditional Force users, though they all are capable of “singing” in the Force, a means of attracting their prey to them by mesmerizing them, that has led to myths throughout the galaxy of them being what the Alderaanians call ‘Sirens.’ The Sith described encountering a Stewjoni like hearing the sweetest songs, tasting the most delicious flavors, feeling the most extreme of pleasures. There were stories of suicide-by-Stewjoni in early Sith histories.

When the alchemists twisted them to look more attractive to humans and near-humans, they were working to increase their effectiveness as perceived sources of pleasure within their prey. (Other legends built up around them are comparable to real world legends of succubi and incubi, and, as was somewhat my inspiration for this, what’s known as the baobhan sith.)

The Stewjoni themselves are incapable of the depth of “Dark” emotions necessary to utilize the Darkside, though Stewjon is a Dark nexus in the Force and Darksiders in particular are attracted to the Stewjoni.

When a Stewjoni is also a traditional type of Force sensitive, they were previously given to the Sith, to be trained as they were, and then after were given over to the Mandalorian tribes that had strong Force training. After the fall of the Mandalorian Empire, such Force sensitive Stewjoni were largely kept untrained.

Lifespans

Stewjoni live, on average, 300 standard years, though arguably could live indefinitely if they can continue feeding regularly off of other sentient beings. They grow quickly, nearly human standard, but once fully grown their aging slows to a crawl and the cell damage that causes aging is often reversed by their feeding (and many injuries are also healed).

Obi-Wan

Obi-Wan Kenobi (a name an approximation of the written Stewjoni language translated into the Aurebesh and then pronounced in Basic) was born in a rare clutch of three. All three were Force sensitive and his two clutchmates died within the first few years of their lives from their own abilities. Obi-Wan lasted for nearly three years before he, too, nearly succumbed to the complications of being an untrained Force user.

In an unprecedented move, the Jedi were contacted and given Obi-Wan with promises that he would be able to visit as needed. It was agreed that he would go through a variety of medical procedures in order to look more human, both to protect him from slavers and to allow him more freedom of movement.

His ears and teeth were made to resemble human ones. His eyes had permanent lenses surgically placed inside of them. His spines were surgically removed so they wouldn’t grow back. His vocal chords were augmented to be able to better manage the range of human sounds. His nails chemically treated so they would be weaker and, if probably trimmed, appear virtually like human nails. He was given tattoos that resemble the visible parts of human circulatory systems and fake organs placed in his abdomen so general scans would make him appear near-human at first glance.

#bioweapon stewjoni #sithspawn #stewjoni headcanons

142 notes · View notes

sallowhillshq · 3 years ago

Text

LEGENDS OF SALLOW HILLS

legend 005. the revival of armes sallow

armes is not an easy woman to understand. her history even less so.

word count: 1546 words

Since the beginning, the Sallow family has always been at odds with the town. They kept to themselves, the only people that could walk with their heads high and confidence in their step. The Sallows were safe, if not strange.

The rumors began when the family slowly died. One by one, like clockwork.

At first, they were pure accidents. A loose fence post falling, spoiled food, a spooked horse ending in a gruesome death. Then people were found dead in their beds, flowers in their mouths and milky eyes. The last death was Elizabeth Sallow, Dr. Sallow’s only remaining child. She walked into the woods with fear in her eyes and never walked out again.

Fear became the standard. It permeated the town, sinking into the foundations of their homes and the stones that paved their streets. It manifested in wild eyes and hushed voices, low voices whispering of what ‘they’ could do to the town. Look at what they were doing to the Sallows, the only two surviving members being the strangest of the clan.

Of Armes, they spoke of a wild woman. To the outsider, Ms. Sallow was reserved, preferring her books and walks in the woods to something respectable for a woman her age. At a close glance, there was something feral in her eyes. Her protective nature of the town ran deep, only eclipsed by her loyalty to her family. She had a connection to the land no other child born in Sallow Hills had ever experienced. The town whispered she was one of them. Their helper in the murders.

As she aged, people spoke of solutions to the issue she posed. Each solution went unfulfilled. Marry her off, yet all suitors ended up missing the next full moon. Send her to her ‘true’ people, yet she always returned from the woods unharmed.

What the townspeople didn’t know, is that it was all agreed thirty years before at the founding of the town. The land demanded payment, her original creations the collectors. One family in exchange for a whole town, what a small price to pay.

When the deaths extended beyond the Sallows, those characteristic flowers placed in the mouths of corpses, something had to be done. Another deal was created, the date set.

A blue moon. Eyes watched from the woods, curiously taking in the human woman walking serenely in the midst of the chaos brought by the moon cycle. She alone was the spot of order in the chaos of the night, the silence that seemed to drown out the anguished howls of wolves made to shift too soon. Armes held her head high, even as the forest seemed to buckle under the weight of the night.

Despite being built 10 years prior, Saint Peter’s Cathedral was already closer to being considered a ruin rather than a church. English Ivy crawled over the stone foundation, picking apart the flaws in its construction. The land was fighting to destroy this foreign icon, and she was winning.

Under the light of the blue moon, it appeared even more desolate. Cracked stained glass betrayed a darkness inside the building, only kept at bay by a few ineffective flames. At the entrance stood Dr. Sallow and the newest priest, a young man who had only just taken his rites. They were flanked by complete strangers, some beautiful and some hideously ugly. It was like watching a macabre play, their lead the poor girl, the supporting cast just too uncanny to be human.

These ‘people’ were them. They were here to claim their own, the one that had masqueraded as human and stop the madness.

That was only if you believed the whispered rumors, of course.

The host of strangers entered first, giddy in their invitation to step on what could be considered holy ground. They were loud and wild, approaching the altar with as little decorum as possible. Followed by the father, the two remaining members of the Sallow family reluctantly bringing up the back. The doors to the cathedral swung shut and the moment was gone, the forest returning to its typical monthly chaos.

As Armes removed the golden cross around her neck and placed it upon the altar, she was struck with an incredulous thought. She had heard word from America of something called a ‘revival’, a church event meant to renew faith and bring about a higher devotion to the church. Her own revival would be much more literal, changing faith in the omnipresent for something more tangible and dangerous, for something standing in front of her.

Two of them, one uncannily beautiful and the other appearing to be created from the night sky itself approached the altar, causing the father to further tense. They had no leaders, yet Armes would not be surprised if these two were the oldest among them.

“To the terms then,” Dr. Sallow cleared his throat. “What we want and what you want.”

“I want to live.” Armes had made her first contribution to the conversation, placing her terms first. One could never be too careful when dealing with them.

The beautiful one made a dismissive gesture with her hand. Armes almost burst into laughter at the flippant movement. It was too casual for the current undertaking, so human it made her question the validity of the whole affair.

“We want this,” The one made of night hissed, eyes like pure darkness and a mouth full of fangs. “This land. It was ours and it will be again.”

“And you,” The beautiful one added. “Your soul, this life, and any others you would have had after. A soul for a soul.”

“I am aware of what-”

“Not you, child,” The beautiful one snapped. “The good doctor. We made a deal, thirty years ago. You both are lucky we are being as generous as we are to amend the original terms.”

Emmet Sallow with his aging face and tremor to his steps, hardly looked like someone they would take. He was not long for this world, certainly that time would be cut even shorter in the hands of someone like them. Yet in the guttering light of the candles, Armes could see the remnants of the hardened explorer, the man who set his town in the most dangerous area of Wales.

“Agreed. You have the church. Armes and the town live.”

When asked to recount the events of that night, Armes couldn’t remember much. The beautiful one had slashed her hand with a knife made of bone and dragged the woman’s hand over to the altar, letting the blood drip over it. There was screaming, from the priest, she thought. They had forgotten to add him to the deal.

She had turned to her grandfather, for comfort, for help, she didn’t know. He was gone. There wasn’t a single trace of Dr. Sallow.

From then, the one made of night had shoved her out of those heavy doors and she had stumbled into the forest. Time was nonexistent. Armes could have been walking for five minutes or five hours, either was likely. Eventually, just before dawn, she collapsed just outside of the fence.

Someone had brought her into her home, the one she had previously shared with the rest of her family. Three days since the night her life had changed. Upon waking, Armes washed her face. She ate breakfast.

And then she took over the town’s government.

The truly brilliant were gathered and kept close, her offices were installed. The few books the library had on them were collected and burned. Armes watched the aged paper go up in flames, a hard resolve in her eyes. Armes never stepped foot in the forest. Ten years passed in this fashion. Then another ten. Right before the third decade since that night, Armes had noticed a certain peculiarity. Where most her age would show the signs of a life of hard living, her body was as youthful as it had been on that night. People were beginning to whisper again, dangerously close to understanding the truth.

A trip into the forest was required. Her first in nearly thirty years.

“I want answers,” Armes had demanded upon arriving at the front steps of the cathedral.

“Mrs. Jones is having an affair with Mr. Cuthbert,” A disembodied voice giggled. A peal of laughter broke out from the forest, elated in their non-answers.

“I want answers about my life,” Armes clarified.

One of them stepped out from the woods, the beautiful one from that night. Yet Armes didn’t see the creature as beautiful any longer. An omen of death would be far more accurate.

“You wanted to live.” Came the creature’s voice.

“As a human.”

“And you shall.”

“My lack of aging proves different.”

“You said you wanted to live,” The beautiful one gave an exasperated sigh, as if talking to an uncooperative child. “You never specified for how long. We were generous, giving you our lifespan.”

Armes felt her blood run cold. What was it to live without an expected end? The rumors of her youth had seemingly come to pass. She was more so one of them than one of her own kind.

The beautiful one returned to the forest, stopping just before entering. “This is what you wanted.”

#sallow hills (legends)#fantasy rp #spooky rp #fandom rp #multifandom rp

2 notes · View notes

sakuzaddy · 4 years ago

Text

play pretend (sakusa x f!reader)

← Prev Chapter list

Chapter 3

After an intense and exhausting practice later, the coach decided to let the team take a break. You handed everyone’s water bottles and towels, except for Sakusa who went outside the gymnasium to refill his own water bottle. Your eyes trailed over his retreating figure before approaching Komori.

“Is there a reason why you didn’t tell me that he’s a member of the team?” You told him as you handed him his water bottle. Komori accepted it and takes a chug before replying.

“What? Nothing in particular. Why did you ask?” He tilted his head to look as innocent as he can be. You rolled your eyes at this and sat beside him, watching the other players that were resting on the sidelines.

“C’mon, just tell me.”

“Look, I’m sorry. It’s just…we’ve been looking for a manager for a while now, and I feel bad about how Sakusa treated you earlier…”

You raised an eyebrow. “So, you concluded that making me your team’s manager would make us get along?” You scoffed at the idea.

“No…Well, maybe…Kinda?” Komori smiled sheepishly. You sighed as you handed him his towel.

“Look, I wouldn’t go back on my word even if you told me that he’s part of the team. I’m not that kind of person.”

You watched the players that were chatting, some were laughing and complaining about the intensity of the training. You let out a smile as you reminisced about your days in high school. The smell of salonpas, the praises and smiles of your kouhais and senpais every time you successfully break some blocks, the chants and taunts that fuel your desire to win… You miss everything and wish to go back.

Your thoughts were cut off when Komori broke the comfortable silence between you. “By the way, (L/N)-san, can I ask you a question?”

“I mean, you’re already asking me a question.” You teased.

Komori chuckled. “Have you played volleyball before? Because judging by the time it took for you to answer coach’s questions, I would say that you probably know volleyball like the back of your hand.”

You nodded at him. “I’ve played volleyball when I was in high school and stopped last year.”

“Why did you stop?” Komori asked as he wiped his sweat off with his towel.

“Because of…well, I have a heart problem.” You said as you placed your hand over your chest. Komori’s eyes widened at your statement. He looked at his shoes, feeling guilty for asking about it. “I’m sorry.”

You shook your head. “Dude, don’t be. It’s all in the past.” You assured him. Komori changed the topic by asking more about your likes, hobbies and whatnot. He was really good at holding a conversation, and you can’t help but mentally thank him once again for making you feel welcome in the team. As you laughed at one of his jokes, you were completely unaware of Sakusa entering the gymnasium, his eyes trained on you.

“So, Kiyoomi, what do you think of (L/N)-san?” Komori asked Sakusa as they make their way towards their neighborhood. Sakusa frowns under his mask as his eyebrows knit together at Komori’s question. “Why are you asking me?”

Komori’s eyes wandered as he thinks of a response. “Well, you were pretty harsh with her this morning and during practice, you always reject her every time she offered to help you. I mean, that part is a normal occurrence…” Komori whispered the last words.

“…but you saw her sanitize her hands before getting close to you, and still, you pushed her away. So why are you like that?”

Sakusa’s frown deepened as he directed his gaze forward. “I don’t trust her.” He answered bluntly.

“Dude, are you worried that she might hit on you?” Komori let out a laugh. “Did you know that when we were talking at the cafeteria, she couldn’t believe that you were popular with girls? Ha! You should’ve seen the disgusted look on her face.” Komori wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes.

Ignoring the indirect insult thrown at him, Sakusa finally revealed the reason of his wariness around you. “She reminds me of her.” The smile was wiped off of Komori’s face after hearing his cousin’s words. Komori bit his lip before asking.

“Is she’s still ignoring you?” Sakusa sighed and nodded his head. Komori patted his back, but Sakusa doesn’t seem to mind the contact. He felt like he needed that.

“Don’t worry dude, I’ve got a plan.”

“Goddamn, (Y/N)! It’s just the first day of school and you already found yourself a boyfriend?” Asami whistles as she checks Komori’s message on your phone. You peeked from the bathroom as you brush your teeth. Ten years off your lifespan.

“Asami, give me that!” you managed to say despite the toothbrush in your mouth. You snatched your phone from her hands and checked if she sent something stupid. She laughs at your reaction.

“So it is a boy. Damn, you’re getting bold! I’m so proud.” She fake cries as she brings her hands over her chest, impersonating a proud mother. You rolled her eyes at her.

(L/N)-san! Sit with me and Sakusa during lunch, we have something to say to you.

The text says. You raised an eyebrow at this. What do they want to tell you? You really don’t want to assume that it’s something good, because it probably wasn’t gonna be if Sakusa is with him. You shrugged and turned your phone off, feeling nervous and a little excited for tomorrow. You finished brushing your teeth and looked at Asami who was lying on her stomach on your bed, reading one of your mangas.

You looked at the time. “Aren’t you gonna leave, Asami? It’s already 9pm.” You told her, crossing your arms.

Asami removes the lollipop from her mouth. “Wow, how mean, (Y/N)! I just wanna keep you company. Don’t you feel lonely, living in here by yourself?” She reasons, before bringing her attention back to your manga while swinging her legs. You smiled at her.

“Don’t worry. Anna is here to keep me company.” You told her. Asami tilts her head to the side as she looks at you.

“Anna? You have a housemate?”

You pretended to look shock. “Haven’t you seen the little girl sitting beside you on the couch?”

Asami looks at you in horror. She immediately closes the manga in her hands and sits up straight. “Are you kidding me?”

“No. Did you seriously not see her?” You pressed. Asami felt the temperature of the room decline. Seeing that she fell for your act, it’s your turn to laugh at her expression. She looks at you as if you’ve grown another head.

“Just kidding.” You said, clutching your stomach. “But seriously, leave.”

---

Second day of classes.

After exchanging goodbyes with Asami and Akio, you make your way to class. As you were walking mindlessly through the hallway, you can’t help but think about Komori’s message to you last night. It’s stressing you out so much that you barely fell asleep.

What is he gonna tell me?

Is it about the club?

Why is Sakusa with him?

Is he going to make him apologize to me?

You dismissed the idea. As if that’s gonna happen.

You stopped on your tracks as your eyes caught Sakusa’s figure leaning on the wall at the end of the hallway, flowers in hand. He’s not wearing his face mask, giving you a clear view of his ethereal side profile. You immediately faced the other way as you give yourself a slap to confirm if you’re dreaming or not. No.NO!

You turned your head to see Sakusa still leaning on the wall as if he was posing for a teen magazine or something. You take a deep breath. C’mon, what are you stressing about? After giving yourself a short pep talk, you turned to face his direction and started to speed walk as if your life depended on it. Fuck this.

You stopped on your tracks once again as you see Sakusa trying to block a girl’s path, as if wanting to talk to her. The girl kept a neutral expression as she walked past Sakusa who just looked at her, helpless. There’s a desperation and hurt in his eyes, and you’d never thought that you would see him make that kind of expression.

The girl walks past you too but you didn’t fail to notice the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. You trained your gaze ahead and see Sakusa dumping the flowers that he was holding to the trashcan and heads to the opposite direction.

You just stood there motionless, feeling that you just interfered in something that you shouldn’t involve yourself to.

TAGLIST: OPEN (Send an ask to be tagged/removed)

@yeondays @veenusvalkryie @caeneri @flyhaikyuu2 @of-heroes-and-dreams @ladymartiini @kara-grayson04 @ akaashislefttoe @puffybubby143 @alyssasteaparty @oikawalmart-hq

#sakusa kiyoomi #sakusa x reader #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #komori motoya

46 notes · View notes

trickster-4 · 4 years ago

Text

Here’s a continuation of What Belos Fears.. It’s much less Crackish.. Sorry it’s what came out..

Emperor Belos had long since lost much of his humanity. The sense of taste was off to him at times. But here and now.. It was absolutely delectable. The smell of the cooked meat and the fried rice. He could definitely smell the special frijoles his mother usually made for him.. Just a small taste couldn’t hurt right?

*SMACK*

Henrietta Noceda was lightning fast at striking with her cane. She was fifty two years old and had her husband has been gone for a very long time.

Eda laughed at the sight while his ex employee Lilith smirked. His daughter Luz giggled along with her girlfriend Amity.. Willow and Gus on the other hand couldn’t contain themselves and began to laugh. Kikimora on the other hand gave them all a glare before giving her boss and annoyed stare.. His mother spoke to him with a stern no nonsense tone.. After all it didn’t matter if her son was six feet tall or ten he was still her son thus it fell to her discipline him for lack of manners..

“¡Nadie toca la comida hasta que estamos todos en la mesa!”

“Yes.. ma’am..” Belos brooded silently he turned to Kikimora who turned her away in a huff.. “I’m sorry..” He whispered..

“You were acting like the last fifty years of our lives never happened Belos..”

“I know… I’ll tell her it’s just..” He slumped before leaning to his assistant leaning towards her. “I’m trying to figure out how to stay in a friendship with Camilla.. I haven’t been with Luz for years.. I want to have a good relationship with my daughter..” Belos looked to Luz his daughter who had barged into the kingdom and shook it too it’s foundations.. “I want her to live on the isle for at least four years..”

“I see..” Kikimora’s eyes widened she was aware of how long it took to develop a magical bile sac.. And once it happened it was a permanent process. Though witches and demons experienced a number of benefits long lifespans, extreme durability, and magic. Yet there was a price to be paid so to speak..

““You wish to play the long game my liege?”

“Yes..”

A low magical environment played havoc on the senses of magical beings and they became sluggish, sickly overtime, and took more time to recover from casting intense spells until they returned to the demon realm. Contrary to his fears Witches wouldn’t lose their magic and could in fact produce more bile it just simply took time.. Luz was already changing Kikimora noted the slight imperceptible edge developing in her ears and nodded. “Very well my lord..”

Luz Noceda his baby girl wanted to learn magic. He couldn’t convince her to like him but perhaps he could quietly support her dream… And if the result of her studying for her dream meant she became a permanent resident of the demon realm and thus became closer to his sphere of influence well that’s just pleasant luck.

“Heheheheh..”

Luz moaned in annoyance and exhaustion at her father’s antics. Although this was actually par for course even before he discovered actual magic he tended to laugh maniacally whenever he was plotting stupid schemes.. Like the time her father cut the antennas of her mother’s brand new television in an attempt to improve it’s reception… That month Belos Noceda had flinch every-time Camilla walked around in chanclas.. Amity patted Luz’s back while letting her lean into her shoulder.

“Hijo, deja esas estupideces ...”

“Sorry Mama..” Belos replied with apologetic tone.. He then saw that Camilla had arrived sitting opposite of him.. He looked at her once more old feelings stirred affection, fondness, and delight. But the depth there was once for those emotions were gone.. He had moved on it was fifty years ago for him..

“So magic is real.. I’m happy for you but can you take off the creepy mask hijo?

“I.. It’s not pleasant to look at but fine..” Belos slowly removed the mask letting his face be seen. His face had become a greenish gray his eye’s sclera had long become black with the amount of bile his body produced now.. He wore a very masculine and attractive mustache..

Luz looked with amazement at the face that was often in her childhood dreams.. A gentle smile holding onto her finger.. Her eyes began to water softly as the memories began to come.. A single large hand came across the table as a finger caught the tear. She smiled softly but gently pushed the hand away not used to the affection and conflicted about who was trying to give it..

With his long black flowing hair and handsome face he was the epitome of nobility. His ears had become the same as his subjects. In the middle of his face was a slash sideways across his face.. He had long since gotten used to hiding such scars to portray an invincible man who could not be broken.. Though throughout all his enemies, Belos laughed, it was his daughter who had nearly take his eye..

“Wow I did not expect evil to look handsome..” Eda observed the tyrant king.. “So you were an electrican.. What’s that..”

“The equivalent of ward repair..” Belos angrily muttered in frustration and annoyance.. He hated his job as an electrician and would choose world conqueror over that any day..

“Ha!! That’s a Dead-end job though that’s hard to believe. I would have expected someone as smart as you to have gone higher in the human world..”

“Belos was always such a passionate boy about his dream.. He never felt an attraction to the sciences unless it pertained to his pursuit of the existence of magic..” As Henrietta spoke Belos took one of the tamales and began to unwrap it.. “He was convinced that magic was real and was determined to find it..”

“Yeesh..”

“He was also a huge D&D nerd..” Camilla noted with a look of annoyance.. Her entire experience with that one game she played was so horrible it completely made her give up on trying it anymore..

“Oh that’s not so bad..” Luz noted with a smile..

“He was a horribly difficult DM… Seriously a level twenty guard in the town you began at?”

“It’s not my fault the entire party was made of murder hobos yourself included!!”

“I was trying to have fun!!”

“Well D&D is also about strategy!!”

The two stood up and began to argue with one another.. It was a familiar occurrence one that Luz was starting to remember when a sad look grew in her eyes..

“I didn’t miss this..”

“Luz..”

*SMACK*

Camilla and Belos were both smacked in the head with a chancla so hard they were knocked back into their seats..

Luz sighed before face palming Amity was shocked at the sight of Luz’s grandmother knocking both Camilla and Belos into their seats.. Eda smiled and took another sip of her drink.. Lilith also smirked and reached for more of the wine to watch her former boss’s humiliation.. Willow and Gus were watching with interest and relaxed smiles..

Kikimora took a long gulp of her wine.. It was surreal what was happening before her eyes, but she already had her fill of it..

Henrietta slowly put the chancla onto her feet and then glared at them hard.. Luz was right there and she didn’t need to be seeing her parents at each other’s throats. There was a look of shame and fear in both parent’s eyes.

“Los niños no es así !! ¡No voy a permitir que discutas frente a tus amigos y familiares!

“Huh, your grandma seems to have good head on her shoulders plus she keeps him in check.”

“She really is amazing..”

“So Belos what’s this I’ve been hearing about you being a dictator on an island?” Henrietta eyed her son making him flinch in fear of her..

“I’ll answer that..” Luz spoke up with boldness in her voice. “For the last fifty years Emperor Belos ruled the boiling isle with an iron fist. He throws those who practice the wild ways of magic into prisons and forces a caste system…”

“Luz why?!” Belos suddenly felt like a shadow was being casted over his body.. “¡¿madre?!”

“Get in the kitchen..”

Emperor Belos sullenly stood up and followed his Elderly mother into the kitchen.. Luz and Amity flinched at the sound of Belos crying as Grandma Noceda disciplined her son… Lilith and Eda had a look of fear at the sound of the chancla.. Guz lowered his head in fear and Willow joined him not too soon after… Camilla took a sip of her wine and looking across seeing Kikimora’s glass was empty filled it up.. Incidentally she noticed the ring on her finger one that looked a lot like the one on Belos’s finger..

“How long?”

“Thirty five years..”

“I see excuse me…” Camilla smiled serenely she turned to a confused Luz and various guests.. “Luz sweetie please escort our guests to the guest room at the edge of the house.. We’ll be back in a moment..”

Later…

Camilla stood next to Belos helping him wash the dishes.. They were silently fulfilling their punishment for fighting in front of Luz and the guests after being reunited.. Grandma Noceda had forced Belos to release all of the residents from the Boiling isles from the Coven systems..

After several hours of conversation Belos was able to negotiate irrevocable terms of surrender with Lilith and Eda as leaders of the rebellion.. Continuing the war would have been devastating to the population.. So a compromise was reached Covens were voluntary and not mandatory with the option to transition to others there would also be no more more Coven Branding… Palismans would have more rights and legal defenses..

Belos would remain Emperor of the Boiling isles for two reasons the first was his supporters were powerful wealthy witches who could fuel the war for a long time…. The second was due to the religious factions being rather ardent in their devotion.. Still he would no longer hold total power..

A council would be formed between the leaders of the rebellions and Belos’s supporters.. Two thirds of that council would be from the rebellion.. Together they would decide new policies and laws and keep each other in check.. It would be a different government they would be making but one that would keep Belos’s supporters and the rebellion from killing each other..

“… I’m not moving back..” Belos spoke softly as he scrubbed the dish..

“I know Belos.. It’s been fifty years for you.. Life is not a novella I didn’t expect you to be waiting on a sea shore for that long..”

“.. I want Luz to move to the Boiling Isles..”

“..I wanted to her to spend time with you.. She deserves to know her father.. That said I don’t trust you to leave her in your care she may stay with Edalyn.. And you may visit her in a neutral location…”

“I understan-“

“Let me finish!” Camilla spoke with with vehemence. “I will also be living with Edalyn for the foreseeable future..”

Belos shivered at the thought of Camilla living so close by. But his daughter Luz would be living closely as well. He sighed and nodded that he understood.

Meanwhile in one of Grandma Noceda’s guest rooms…

“I can’t believe I forgot to tell mom that we’re dating…” Luz slammed her head in frustration against the wall.. She sighed in annoyance before lying down in the bed with Amity.. “This is gonna be soooo confusing…”

“It was a pretty tense day Luz..” Amity agreed with her girlfriend. “We’ll tell her when she moves in with Eda..”

“Ugh..”

“Hey Luz you know we’re in this together right?” Amity asked with a small smile..

“Yeah..” Luz blushed goofily as her girlfriend hugged her..

#owl house #the owl house #lumity #eda the owl witch #emperor belos #toh belos #fanfic #not as a crackish as the last one #toh

22 notes · View notes

lobster-tales · 4 years ago

Text

Childhood Friends - Mailee

Day 4 of Winter ATLA Femslash Week. This work is available here on AO3.

Prompt: Scars or Childhood Friends

The Fire Nation has a new heir. The only one who isn't celebrating, though, is the Fire Lady's bodyguard, who begins to question her place.

Despite the early hour, music drifted through the open window of the Fire Nation palace. Beyond the towering walls, a crowd began to swarm, knowing that Fire Lord Zuko would soon open the courtyard doors. Though the fire lord himself would keep his distance from the festivities, he was more than happy to let his citizens celebrate on the palace grounds. After all, what better reason to rejoice: the Fire Nation finally had an heir.

The interior of the estate buzzed with activity, though at a lower volume. Nobles gathered in the hallways, robes thrown on haphazardly as they spoke in husky, unrested voices. The trail of movement wove through the palace, leading to the stoic red curtain that walled off the world from the Fire Lady’s room.

Fire Lady Mai rested in the enormous bed, swallowed in crimson sheets and a paltry crew of her most trusted servants. Her usually kempt hair fell around her face in sweaty tendrils, sticking to her neck. The shadows under her eyes betrayed the toil of the night before, but she cradled the reward of her efforts.

On her left side, Fire Lord Zuko perched on a simple wooden stool, bronze eyes gleaming in the brightening light. His hair was also mussed, and he still wore his sleeping robes. Zuko kept his hands to himself, allowing his wife the quiet of the moment, but leaned across the bed to peer at his child’s face.

On Mai’s right side, her bodyguard Ty Lee sat stiff and upright, pressing a damp cloth to the Fire Lady’s forehead. Unlike Zuko, she had not looked at the infant. She gazed only at Mai, searching her face. Mai rarely let her emotions be seen, but today there was a glow around her features.

Mai glanced sidelong at Ty Lee, eyes gentle. Ty Lee read the simple expression and removed the damp cloth from her forehead. Rising slightly, Mai turned towards Zuko and held out the infant. “Do you want to hold her?”

His eyes widened, and Ty Lee thought he might burst with joy. Zuko reached for her, taking his daughter in his arms. He trembled as he looked down, murmuring, “What… what do I say?”

Mai rolled her eyes playfully. “Say whatever you want, she won’t understand you.”

He let out a sharp chuckle, saying softly, “Hey… Izumi. I’m Zuko. Your dad.”

“Good first impression.” Mai watched the interaction with a rare smile on her face.

Zuko stroked the infant’s cheek with one finger. Ty Lee gazed at their family, suddenly feeling very out of place. She stood abruptly, hands at her side. Ty Lee heard herself say, “Do you need anything else, Fire Lady?”

The royals stared at her. Ty Lee had always been dedicated to her duty, but she still remained playful even in the most dire situation. Mai lifted an eyebrow, unnerved by her sudden formality. “... No?”

Ty Lee nodded curtly. “Then my work here is done. I’ll be leaving for Kyoshi Island within the hour.”

Even the scattered servants froze. Outside the curtain, the nobles grew louder and more antsy with each passing moment. Yells from impatient citizens mingled with the music drifting beyond the grounds.

Mai’s eyes flickered with displeasure, but she kept her composure as she said, “My lord, it seems the nation is restless. Perhaps it’s time to present their new princess, before they start climbing over the walls.”

Zuko hesitated, not wanting to take Izumi away from her mother so soon. Mai brushed his arm with her fingers in a reassuring gesture, still training her gaze on Ty Lee.

The remaining servants took the opportunity to depart with the fire lord, bowing and muttering hushed excuses as they filed out the curtain behind him. Within moments, Mai and Ty Lee were completely alone.

“You’re leaving.” Mai’s words were not in the form of a question, but Ty Lee felt compelled to answer.

“Yes.” She steeled herself. “When I arrived last year, my duty was to protect the unborn heir of the Fire Nation. My assignment has ended; I’m going back to the warriors.”

“You can’t be serious.”

Ty Lee flinched, frustrated. “I am… I asked Suki and she said they have fresh recruits that need chi blocking- ”

“What is this really about, Ty Lee?”

She tried to ignore the race in her pulse when Mai said her name. “I…” She looked away. “We… We can’t keep pretending, Mai.” Despite her best efforts, tears sprang to her eyes. “I can’t be your bodyguard to the world and your girlfriend behind closed doors. Especially now that you have a daughter, a family. So I’ve made up my mind to leave, so that I won’t distract you from your duty.”

“... Is that how you see yourself? As a distraction?”

Her answer was silence.

Sighing, Mai patted the empty sheets beside her. “Come here.”

After spending years with Azula and then training with the Kyoshi Warriors, Ty Lee was used to following orders. Obedience was ingrained into Fire Nation nobles from a young age. But Mai never commanded her, even after she assumed the throne. Perhaps that was why it was easier to obey.

Ty Lee tucked her legs beneath her on the crimson sheets, pressing her back to the enormous wooden headboard. Part of her wanted to close the inches of distance between her shoulder and Mai’s, but she reigned in the impulse.

Mai spoke, her voice husky with exhaustion. “I know you’ve never liked pretending to be someone that you’re not. I mean, when you were younger, you hated it so much that you ran off to join the circus. But as the Fire Lady, I’m always going to be putting on appearances for others.” She glanced at Ty Lee, tilting her head. “As a nobleman’s daughter, I thought you’d understand that.”

“No, I do, I just…” Ty Lee’s hands began to work at the bedsheets mindlessly. “I… I thought… when we were younger… You wrote me all those letters while I was training, and you came to visit so often, until… until one day when you’re just… married.” She caught the shadow that fell across Mai’s features. Ty Lee quickly backtracked, holding her hands up. “W-which is perfectly fine! I was happy for you two, really, but it just… surprised me, is all.”

Mai leaned back against the headboard, closing her eyes. “Honestly, I think it surprised all of us.”

“I guess I just don’t understand why you did it.” Ty Lee searched her face. “I was convinced I was just reading into things, but then I find out you’re pregnant and I’m assigned to be your bodyguard.” A blush snuck across her cheeks. “And… then you would kiss me and… more…”

“‘More’.” Mai smirked. “That’s one way to put it.”

“And it was great! But I kept counting down the days because I knew we couldn’t keep this up forever…” Sniffles began to punctuate her sentences. “And that once your child was born… Then you wouldn’t want me around anymore…”

“Ty Lee.”

She blustered on, tears falling freely down her face as she choked out, “That I was just a plaything to you, the same way I was to Az…” The name trailed off, but Mai knew what she intended. None of them had come out of the war unscathed, and trauma crept back in all shapes and sizes.

Mai watched her, unsure what to do other than say her name again. “Ty Lee, that’s not-”

“Then why am I here, Mai?” She seized Mai with her puffy eyes. “What are we even doing? Am I your lover, your bodyguard, or am I your girlfriend? Has this whole thing just been sex or… or do you actually love me?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“Then why did you marry him in the first place?”

The question hung thick in the air, lifespan stretched by Mai’s silence. Finally, the Fire Lady said, “Earlier you asked me if I need anything, and I do. Get us both some jasmine tea.” She recoiled at the sterility of her tone, and took Ty Lee’s fingers in hers. “... Please. My love.”

Mai had evaded the question, but Ty Lee was more focused on her sudden tenderness. Even at her most adoring, Mai stayed playfully reserved. Any displays of romantic affection were often followed by a sarcastic quip.

Ty Lee wordlessly went to the hanging curtain, wiping her face dry. She pushed the fabric aside to see a group of servants directly in front of her. They stood at attention, averting their guilty eyes. Ty Lee knew immediately that they had been eavesdropping, but she was still too struck by Mai’s sincerity to care. She muttered something about tea, watching with vacant eyes as they scrambled over each other.

Within minutes, a wooden tea tray sat between them on the bed. Ty Lee poured Mai’s cup first, followed by her own. She perched, legs crossed, at Mai’s side. Both of them held the warm cups in their palms, though neither sipped.

Mai broke the silence. “Ten years after Zuko assumed the throne, he discovered that a group of Fire Nation nobles were planning a coup. They disagreed with Zuko’s policies, and since he had no wife or heir, they could easily seize power. In order to secure his position and stamp out the attempt, he needed an alliance with the nobles, and a successor. The quickest route to both was through marriage…” Mai bowed her head. “And my father was a key member of that insurgent group.”

Ty Lee’s shoulders sank. “Oh…”

“Zuko and I weren’t romantically involved at that point, but we still kept in touch.”

“Wait, you’d broken up?”

“Yes, some time before that.”

“But then… you didn’t even love him?”

“I did love him, as a friend, and I loved my country, even if we plunged the world into a hundred year war.” She blew across the top of her tea. “And if it meant keeping our people safe, I could give up my freedom.”

“But you shouldn’t have had to… Why couldn’t he just marry someone else?”

“He doesn’t like being intimate with people, in that way.”

Ty Lee felt the ghost of Mai’s lips on her neck, her hands on her thighs. She shivered at the memory, focusing intently on her teacup.

Mai noticed her movement but said nothing. “So we had an agreement. Pop out a kid or two, and just keep up appearances for the kingdom.”

Relief swelled in Ty Lee’s chest as she began to unravel the situation. “So… all this time, you… you wanted me to stay?”

“Of course I did. I wanted you here from the second I moved in, but I didn’t want you to have to be around when Zuko and I were… trying. Once I realized I was pregnant, I wrote to Suki asking for you to come here and protect me... us. Before I told Zuko, or anyone, I asked for you.”

“Really?” Ty Lee felt a warmth blooming in her chest. “But… what about Izumi?”

“Oh please, she’s going to be the richest kid in the Fire Nation. She’ll be fine.”

“Not that, I meant…” Ty Lee thought for a moment. “You… You asked Katara to be the godmother… I thought-”

“For agni’s sake, Ty Lee, I had to. She’s the Avatar’s wife, so it’s good for political reasons.” Mai sipped at her tea. “And since Aang’s the last airbender, you know they were already going to have a few brats running around anyway. I’m sure they wouldn’t notice an extra one if something happened to us.”

“Mai! That’s your daughter!”

“No, that’s our-” Mai froze at the sight of Ty Lee’s gaping expression. “What?”

“What… what do you mean ‘our’..?”

Mai blinked at her, lips stretching into a smile. She shook slightly, fighting back giggles. Her joy won over, and laughter spilled from her. Ty Lee thought she might crumble at the sound, one so rare she wondered if she’d ever hear it again.

However, Ty Lee still felt stuck on the outside, at the threshold of the joke but still not understanding. Mai caught her confounded expression, and regained her composure.

“Ty Lee, the reason I didn’t make you her godmother is because you’re her actual mother.” She paused. “I thought you knew that.”

“Whaaaaaaat!” Ty Lee pressed her hands to her face, unable to contain her excitement. “Wait, really?”

Mai gawked at her. “You… you sang to her. Every night, you sang to her when she was in my belly and you kissed her and everything.”

Tears streamed down Ty Lee’s cheeks as everything fell into place. The last near year of emotions and anxiety began to clear. She reached out and touched Mai, running her fingers down her arm and up her neck. Cupping her jaw, Ty Lee gazed into her eyes.

Mai grinned sleepily. “I love you, idiot.”

“I love you too, Mai.” She pressed her lips to hers.

“Oh… um, sorry.” The women glanced up to see Zuko, standing at the door with Izumi in his arms. The Fire Lord looked uncertain, but a look from Mai encouraged his approach. “She… she was crying earlier, but they got her to calm down. I thought I should bring her…”

Ty Lee looked at Mai pleadingly. Mai grinned, nodding slightly, and Ty Lee leapt from the bed to take Izumi.

“Hello, Izumi,” Ty Lee murmured, gazing down at the infant.

Zuko grinned. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She looks just like Mai.”

Mai snorted, reclining against the arranged pillows on the bed and resting her eyes. “She’s a baby, Ty Lee, she looks like a wet dumpling.”

“Mai!” Ty Lee turned to reproach her, but saw that the new mother was falling asleep. “Oh…”

“She needs to rest,” Zuko said quietly. “You both do; it’s been a long night.”

“Right,” Ty Lee responded, the weight of her exhaustion starting to hit her. She looked down at the baby. “Time for bed, Izumi.”

“She’ll sleep there.” Zuko indicated a structure in the corner of the room. A small wooden boat hung suspended, with a small golden blanket inside.

“She can’t sleep in the bed with us?” Ty Lee’s face fell, her arms stiffening around her new daughter defensively.

“Not yet. Not until she’s stronger.” Zuko explained. “The parenting scrolls said she should stay in the same room, though.”

“Scrolls…” Ty Lee hadn’t even considered the efforts that came with parenting. Zuko had several months head start on her. “Can… can I borrow those?”

“Of course,” Zuko said, watching as Ty Lee gently lowered Izumi into the crib. “Let me know if you three need anything.”

“Zuko?”

Concern overwhelmed the fatigue in his eyes. “Yes?”

“You should get some rest too,” Ty Lee murmured with a gentle smile, returning to the bed.

Zuko relaxed, beaming at her. “I will.”

Ty Lee snuggled into Mai’s side, holding her hand. In the distance, she heard the nation celebrating. The music lulled Ty Lee and her family to sleep.

#winter atla femslash week #mai #ty lee #mailee #angst with comfort #angst with a happy ending #atla fic #my fic

6 notes · View notes

cavariously · 4 years ago

Text

[Trying my hand at a fan fiction.

I love to write but I have never done anything like this before, so all feedback would be extremely appreciated (Grammer, Plot, Characters etc.).

I love Tokyo Ghoul so I really hope I don't fuck this up 😅. A big thank you to anyone who reads this ❤️]

Caution: Agressive Swearing, Offensive Language, Graphic Violence.

Notes: Takes place post end of TG:re, Reapers = Marshall version of Doves.

1. Crow - 24

City lights and the rushing motions of the landscape turn the 24th ward into a blinding and blaring circus. Humans. They crawl through this city with the assurance that they will be here tomorrow. They will be here a year from now. They will be here forever. They are the only lifeform with this assurance. All other creatures in this world live with the knowledge that their making it to the next moment is a fifty fifty

It is certainly a miracle that they last, noticing absolutely nothing at all. They don't see the effects that the fumes of their veichles have on the planet that they grip so tightly to. They can't begin to recognise that they are being continually watched and targeted by devices that could wipe them from the face of said Earth in less than zero. They don't even notice the apex predictor observing them from less than a mile above.

Humans simply move from one spot to another, only stopping to cause irrevocable disaster and reduce their surroundings to less than ash, and then move on to the next target. Someone said that humans are Parasites, and although it may be naive to believe this was wholly correct, it would be complete ignorance to dismiss it entirely. Ghouls do not indulge in such ignorance. Parasite is an apt description for a human, from the perspective of a ghoul, that and food.

The figure stands tall, wind rushing rapidly through their tied up hair. They can smell the putrescence of man-kind as they go about their sweaty and arrogant business. They would laugh if it wasn't so tragic. What do humans amount to? They are greedy and bloody bags of meat that fight and hate more than any other being, yet they are allowed to multiply and just be. It could be argued that ghouls are the same as humans in this aspect, but most abide by the one meal a month agreement, even though this arrangement can be hell for some. Unlike humans, who see violence as their God given right, when ghouls fight, it is rarely for anything other than survival. Perhaps this view doesn't take all ghouls into account, but all humans gorge themselves on everything, and fight for any fucking reason they want.

Twenty years ago, a disaster was meant to end this disparity. For the first time ever, ghouls and humans fought together to save the world they shared from the monster that had been designated 'DRAGON'. The defeating of this enemy was meant to end in equality, where ghouls and humans shared the world equally. Scientific leaps had been made. Synthetic meats that ghouls could eat, so they wouldn't have to harm humans. The corpse of Dragon even lead to dramatic advancements in the medical field. Humans were now benefiting from ghoul DNA, as it allowed them to combat most illnesses and increase their lifespan somewhat. After all that ghouls had done for them, weren't humans grateful? No. Ten years, then ghouls were back to being vile creatures to be hunted, and were forced back to living in the sewers. The deaths of so many perfectly good and innocent ghouls, just so that humanity could screw them all over again. What a funny tragedy.

Another figure appeared from the shadows, stepping in line with their comrade. Neither looking at the other, they both silently watched the ferris-wheel turn round and round. A world that they saw as rightfully theirs. They were hungry for it and they would have it. No matter the cost. In fact, the more human casualties... the better.

"Are you ready to go?" the newcomer asked, never taking their attention away from everything below.

"Yeah. Any longer and I might have to eat you."

"Like you could" came the cold, arrogant response.

"Just because you got five inches on me now, doesn't mean I can't still beat your ass Da..."

"Don't fucking call me that. While we're out here you call me Kuma and I call you... Blindfold, or Eyeless. Something like that." Even though his response had been quick and sharp, neither his tone nor his concentration had wavered.

"Eyeless" they conceded.

"Fine, Eyeless it is. Just don't go shouting our real names out in public. You're enough of a liability as it is without giving our fucking identities away."

Eyeless finally turned to look at their brother. They couldn't help feeling a pang of nostalgia. He had been so small once, constantly hanging onto their shoulders and making paper birds that he place all over their home. Those memories hurt, especially when they remembered what came after. He used to smile so much and now he's a moody little shit. They'd never been like that at fourteen, they thought smugly.

"Fine. Let's go KUMA before I rip your snarky head off." With that final retort, Eyeless turned and stepped off of the roof.

Kuma watched them drop six stories, landing with grace and poise. Why were they always so aggravating? Maybe he was jealous of their natural ability, or perhaps they were just a pain in the ass to be related to. With a sigh and a wandering look to the night sky, he followed suit.

* * *

The Marshalls finished up disposing of the ghoul. Bikakus are a pain in the ass Haruto thought, but it's better than a Ukaku. Haruto loved the fact that he was an intimidating figure. The ghoul had basically shat itself as soon as it had seen his large muscular frame, and cruel bearded face. The black trench coat they wore, that often announced the end for ghouls, probably didn't hurt either. He nudged the face of the corpse with his foot. He reckoned it wouldn't even be worth removing his Kakahou to get a new quinque. Taking into account the short amount of time it had taken him and Kenji to bypass his defences and cut him through the middle, he was a B rated ghoul maximum.

"Right, time we get back" Haruto sighed.

"Mhm" Kenji agreed. He never said much.

"Did you bring the body bag? You never know, you might be able to upgrade that piece of shit you call a quinque." Haruto laughed loudly. He loved taking the piss out of Kenji, especially when he knew his only retort woukd be 'mhm'.

As expected, Kenji responded with a grumbling "Mhm", and moved towards the body.

Haruto, turned to walk away, lighting a cigarette and beginning to inhale deeply. That Kenji was going to marry his sister. What's he gonna say when the priest asks him if he takes her to be his lawfully wedded wife? Mhm. Haruto chuckled to himself. All in all Kenji was a good guy, and one hell of a Marshall. He could use that crappy Ukaku quinque pretty damn well, even if it did come from a C rated ghoul. Kenji also took Haruto's kids to the beach when he and Mrs Haruto wanted a quiet weekend. He might be an ugly fucker with next to no hair, and a face that made you want to split him down the middle, but he was clean and sometimes smelt nice. Yeah, Kenji could marry his sister if he wanted. She could do a hell of a lot worse.

A loud splatter sounded out behind Haruto. He spun on his heels, instincts flaring immediately into action. Where the fuck was Kenji? Where his partner had been attempting to fit the ghoul into the black bag, there was now the cut in half corpse of his future brother in law, fallen to the sides with a blindfolded figure standing in the middle. His entire being twitched in anticipation of this thing making a move to kill him, but all it did was leasurly bend down and scoop something up from the gore beneath. As the creature straightened up, he saw that it was simply sucking on one of Kenji's bloody fingers. To others, this might signify a psychotic animal, but to a seasoned Marshall, this was a confident and calculating killer plain and simple. A powerful one at that. Their clothes were indistinctive; clad in thin black leather and fabric, however, their mask was a completely different story. Almost the entirety of its face was covered. Its mouth had a tight black fabric wrapped over it, with a skeletal smile that would open, revealing the snaking pink tongue underneath. The huge back leather collar surrounding it could be zipped up to hide all but the eyes from the world. Not that the eyes could be seen either. A bone white blindfold shut them off from view. Foreign symbols were drawn in deep black on either side, with the a closed eye taking centre stage. Although it was just a drawing, that closed eye was unearving, as if the lack of sight heightened its ability to see, instead of impeding it.

Now this was a ghoul. Just by its sheer presence Haruto could tell this one was rated A, or more likely >S. Haruto couldn't deny to himself that he was intimidated, but he was a senior Marshall, and always backed himself in a one on one. He looked down at his fallen partner and gulped. First things first, get into this guys head. Haruto scanned the ghoul, looking for weaknesses that he could exploit verbally. If he was lucky, the reaction could lead to him obtaining an edge. He noticed that this ghoul was slight in stature, maybe five foot five all told.

"You wanna end up like this other piece of shit, you fucking dwarf."

This garnered absolutely nothing.

Haruto couldn't take it much longer. This creature continued to lapp at the guts of his dead partner, that were splattered over its fingers. It obviously didn't give a shit what it looked like to others. It reminded him of a cat, publically cleaning its fur and genitals with no concern for the world. It was fucking reveling in its feast, and it made Haruto's blood boil.

"You killed an innocent man. He was gonna have a family and you ripped him apart. You monsters have no fucking souls and you all belong in hell. That's where I'm gonna send you. I'm a fucking senior Marshall you stupid shit. You have no clue how badly you've fucked up."

Again, the ghoul made no sign of changing emotion, continuing to dip its fingers in Kenji and take its time eating. Haruto knew he needed something else to get into its head so he scanned again. 'Shit' he thought, as the ghost of a smile passed over his lips. The majority of its body was covered in black that mostly obscured its shape, however, his keen eyes saw that although its grey hair was tied up, it was probably quite long when undone. At its chest area, although it was probably bound, there was the hint of a slightly tented structure. The hardest one to spot was the hips. Despite them being covered by black leather shorts, those hips were a tad too wide to be a man's.

"Alright you sick fuck. I'M A COMMIN FOR YA!"

With one last drive to uncover more courage, Haruto raised his Kokaku quinque and lept towards the ghoul.

"I'M GONNA FUCK YOU UP FOR KENJI... YOU BITCH!"

As Haruto closed the distance with extreme speed, to less than two meters, the shadow of another figure dropped from the sky, landing directly next to the first. Haruto skidded to a halt, taken aback by the new masked creature. This one was certainly taller, and its face was covered by a red, horned mask. It was only as his attention slipped completely that he realised his final mistake. For the first time, the blindfolded ghoul smiled widely, the skeletal mouth parting to reveal massive bloody teeth.

The next thing Haruto knew was that he was laying down on the ground, face to the sky. His neck was warm and dripping wet. He raised his hands to his throat as the oxygen escaped his body, feeling the deep gash that was releasing his blood. The ghouls started conversing.

"Which one you want?" the first asked the newcomer.

"I don't care. You killed 'em both so you choose" the other responded dispondantly.

"Well, you're the growing boy so you take the ghoul and the first Reaper."

"Damn, well fuck me if you ain't the best big sister" uttered the male ghoul sarcastically, as he casually walked over to Kenji and the dead ghoul. "Why you taking you're mask off you sicko? The guys not even dead yet."

"I like it when they watch me" the female ghoul giggled.

Haruto saw the shadow of something passing over his head. "Ken...Ke..ji" Haruto gasped.

Suddenly, from below him came a the same giggle. "Awww dude, I think these guys were close."

"Eyeless, eat the fucker and let's go" came the voice of the male.

"Hey buddy boy, look at me will you" said the female from his feet.

Haruto craned his neck, scared of what he might see, but thinking 'fuck it' to himself. What's did he have to be afraid of, he's already dead. When he finally focused on the face he was confused. She was chewing on a leg. His leg. When the fuck did she get her dirty hands on that? When she'd finished on his leg, licking the tips of her fingers with delight, she bent down and hovered over him. Eyeless? That's what the other one had called her, but that wasn't true at all. Now that her blindfold was off he could see the entirety of her murderous giddy face.

"You're very funny" she said. "Innocent man. Gonna have a family. Its really fucking funny."

The last thing Haruto would ever see would be a testimony to her names innacuracy. Staring at him excitedly was one grey eye, so remarkably human looking it was weird. The other eye was a pool of darkness... with a violent, blood red pupil that seemed to be trying to force its way out of its black prison. She snapped up the rest of him.

"Sicko..."

End

#tokyo ghoul #manga edit #ken keneki #touka kirishima

2 notes · View notes

galcreativgalaxies · 4 years ago

Text

Item #: SCP-XXXX

Object Class: Euclid

Special Containment Procedures: As of now, SCP-XXXX is in possession of Dr. Lynia "Stellar" ███████.

Description: SCP-XXXX, dubbed "Haunted Gauntlets" (or "Hauntlets" by Dr. Jack Bright), is a pair of pure black gauntlets with digital and mechanical-like patterns across them, stretched out too wide for any normal humanoid. However, when worn by a subject, the anomaly with force itself onto the subject's arms and hands, fitting itself perfectly onto them. After that has been done, it will enter a state of 'powering up' which is composed of unknown violet energy-like matter to flow through the patterns. The substance is to be called item XXXX-B, and the gauntlets themselves as SCP-XXXX-A.

The item was discovered in the early 2000's in an abandoned underground crypt, the structure in a state of collapsing. However, the gauntlets were found securely in a safe made of beryllium bronze.

Its anomalous properties allows whoever wore them to be able to throw some of the strongest punches with the strength of a million raging bulls, and hold up entire buildings with ease. It can stretch itself out to cover its host's entire body, and this was first observed with Test B. It can uncover the forearm parts of itself, revealing the subject's wrists. Under no circumstance has the anomaly been able to break or even acquire a scratch.

One of the item’s more scientific properties is that it takes energy from its host and converts it to an undiscovered plasma-like substance that is revealed to be the violet material that flows through the anomaly. The subject is then allowed to override the gauntlets with the matter (Item XXXX-B), letting them burn anything they touch and free the substance in a liquid-like form. The fuel that is needed to charge the anomaly is any source of caffeine (e.g. coffee, chocolate, tea). SCP-XXXX-B is highly acidic and corrosive (see Test A and Test B). It can melt through titanium in a large quantity, and can deal fourth-degree burns.

However, as useful as it might be, there is a downside: this anomaly will be stuck onto its subject for as long as their mortality. It is currently unknown if the item alters the subject's lifespan, as it was only recently discovered.

Currently, the subject mentioned is Dr. Stellar, and she has been allowed to keep the anomaly until a way to remove them from her is achieved.

Test A - November 15, 20██

> SCP-XXXX and SCP-682

> Procedure: Anomaly was to be tested with the extremities firsthand, as to find out its limits. Said extremities is SCP-682 "Hard to Destroy Reptile". At first, Dr. Stellar refused, yet soon agreed once mentioned that she can have an eight-minute meeting with SCP-053 "The Young Girl". She's hard and easy to please at the same time. -Dr. Bright

Footage shows that Dr. Stellar was capable of pushing SCP-682 back with full-strength, even damaging the mentioned anomaly’s left front limb. 682 grew enraged and tried to crush Dr. Stellar with its other foot, yet the researcher was able to intercept it. She looked visibly distressed, however she continued to push 682 back until it had been knocked to a wall by a strengthened push. The fight turned heated, with Dr. Stellar having many close calls with 682's jaws and feet. She was able to pull the other's right limb off, slamming her overcharged gauntlets onto its fleshy wounds.

> Results: SCP-682 has lost both of its front limbs, and it has had difficulty in regenerating them due to Item XXXX’s energetic properties. The plasma seemed to leak from its wounds, the leftover substance still glowing violet as it burned through its skin and bones. Dr. Stellar was removed from the cell safely as 682 rested. After the incident, Dr. Stellar requested "a whole load of coffee" as she felt "shit tired, I feel like I fought a fucking dinosaur with my bare hands, considering I did just that".

> Analysis: It seems as if SCP-XXXX-A's converted energy, now dubbed Item XXXX-B, has the ability to temporarily pause another anomaly's ability to regenerate. And even with 682's adaptability, it could not recreate the energy or create a countermeasure against it.

Test B - March 26, 20██

> SCP-XXXX and SCP-076-2

> Procedure: 076-2 "Able" had breached containment just as Dr. Stellar was about to leave the site of holding. Seeing as she was about to leave due to a failed experiment, the on-site personnel and site director had decided that this be the perfect opportunity to test Item XXXX-B's pause-regeneration abilities, and see if it has any more anomalous properties.

Everyone in the site was evacuated, save for a few staff who put up cameras and watched safely in the sidelines. SCP-076-2 emerged from SCP-076-1, soon growing confused at the lack of humans in the facility in a few minutes of roaming. Finally, it reached a large metal cell. Dr. Stellar stood at the middle of the room, back facing the anomaly, and 076-2 went into its "rage mode" as usual when perceiving a human being.

Able charged at her, its primary weapon of choice bared in its hand. It swung it at the researcher, aiming directly at her head. At the last second, Dr. Stellar turned around and caught the blade in her hands. This startled the other anomaly, yet it gave a crazed grin.

As the two continued their battle, many other things were observed in Dr. Stellar. She was extremely flexible, able to dodge the other's attacks and swings with ease. (This has been asked, and she has stated that she had taken gymnastics for ten years.) Able soon grew frustrated and tried to stab her in the chest, in which the gauntlets went on auto pilot and stretched themselves out to shield her chest using an unknown method. The black sword met the beryllium bronze metal, and the sound emitted was loud enough to nearly break the lenses of the cameras used to observe the interaction.

Dr. Stellar also grew angered, soon pushing her hands into Able's chest and head. The gauntlets glowed ominously violet and 076-2's aforementioned body parts burned and melted. Able was reported to be able to feel the pain even under its extremely high pain tolerance, as Dr. Stellar has mentioned it had "screamed bloody murder as his brains melted off".

> Results: 076-2 "died" and went back into 076-1, staying dead for approximately one year total. When it came out, it showed a grudging respect and fear for Dr. Stellar. This is the only known case where 076-2 shows any other emotion that isn't anger or vengeance.

> Analysis: Item XXXX-B proved to be useful in stopping SCP-682, and it has been useful in containing SCP-076-2 and making it feel true pain. However, Item XXXX-B cannot be extracted from the gauntlets unless it has been released by an attack. This was confirmed when the medical team tried to collect samples directly from Item XXXX-A. Although, they were able to collect XXXX-B from the battlefield. The matter is confirmed to be a pure type of undiscovered energy. SCP-XXXX-A also has the ability to stretch itself out to protect any vulnerable part of its subject's body.

4 notes · View notes