#these things only become our inevitable future if we let them in!

[arsenicflame]

"we just have to accept that AI is a part of our lives now" no we literally dont

[slaaverin]

Concerning your answer to one ask, where you say : Regression at this point doesn't make any sense. There is no reason for it. I just want to say I fully agree with that. The only way I could see some form of regression for Jikook would be in the context of "taking one step back to prepare for the big jump". This ? yes, I could see this happening.

But full regression? When Jungkook was clearly already dying to tell the world about it before MS? Nah.

He had 18 months to convince Jimin. I believe in our golden boy. The instant Jimin gives his consent, Jungkook is basically buying every available announcement space in Seoul to say : THIS IS MY BOYFRIEND AND I LOVE HIM.

Preach 👏🏻👏🏻

Don't underestimate Jungkook, our boy is PERSISTENT. Do people believe Jimin actually stood a chance after 18 months in close quarters with him? With nowhere to retreat or escape from his constant outpouring of love or reassurance?

Jimin was doomed from the start 🤣

Making the decision was inevitable, it is just a matter of when. As soon as Jimin heals the shadows completely, it's fucking go time

Jungkook is more than ready. And Jimin wants it too, he's just been restricting himself because *fears*.

Of course JK swayed him. I don't believe Jimin is capable of resisting him, it's his baby after all.

I have no idea how it will look like. What it will mean in a concrete way.

But the time of holding back is over. We all feel it in the air.

They'll cook things and perhaps disappear at some times, but I trust them completely to deliver. Because they care. They care so much they're willing to do special things for us (Like AYS - and who knows what else in the future).

They will not let it go, the desire to share will become even stronger. It's the only direction to go now. There's no doubts in me about it.

Imagine how happy Jungkook is going to be when he'll be able to scream it on rooftops? Omg 🥲

I hope this day happens for them, whatever form it's going to take 💜

[caesarflickermans]

SUZANNE COLLINS: SOTR WEBSITE INTERVIEW

Prior to the release of Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins spoke to David Levithan, SVP, Publisher and Editorial Director at Scholastic, also one of her editors.

Not to be confused with the Barnes & Noble / Waterstones exclusive edition interview which you can find here.

transcript below

David Levithan: Instead of starting with Haymitch, I'd like to start with the eighteenth century Scottish philosopher David Hume. Can you talk about how you first encountered his writings?

Suzanne Collins: My dad introduced me to David Hume when I was a child, along with many other philosophers. He talked about them while using more kid-friendly examples. Like, in Hume's case, sunrises and billiard balls. It was a little mind-bending but always interesting.

DL: As signaled in the quotes at the start, in Sunrise on the Reaping you're examining two particular aspects of Hume's philosophy. The first involves the distinction between inductive and deductive reasoning. It's at the heart of the initial disagreement we see between Haymitch and Lenore Dove and resonates within the title of the book. Can you talk a little about why you chose to title the book Sunrise on the Reaping, and why what might seem to some to be an absurd question — Is the sun guaranteed to rise tomorrow morning? — actually leads to some of the greater themes of the book.

SC: Let's start with the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is top-down logic. It works from the general to the specific. Like, "All human beings need oxygen to survive. I am a human being. I need oxygen to survive." If your premise is true, then your conclusion is correct.

But inductive reason goes from the specific to the general. "My cat Zorro loves yogurt. Your cat Fluffy loves yogurt. Therefore, all cats love yogurt." But do they? Your conclusion might be considered probable if you witnessed a bunch of other cats loving yogurt, but it's not a certainty.

So, is the sun guaranteed to rise tomorrow morning? David Hume would say no. If you say yes, you're using faulty inductive reasoning. Just because the sun rose yesterday and it rose this morning, there's no guarantee it will rise tomorrow. You can't rely on something happening in the future just because it happened in the past. That's an assumption. You're assuming the future will act like the past. The sun could rise . . . or an infinite number of other things could happen. You can say you feel it's highly probable that it will rise tomorrow based on your observations, but that's as certain as you can get. (Of course, as Haymitch points out about using inductive reasoning, this is kind of how we plan out our lives.)

Lenore Dove applies the sunrise idea to Haymitch's certainty that the reaping will always occur on his birthday because it always has in the past. But, in fact, the reaping's only been around for fifty years. And even if it'd been around for a million years, it still wouldn't be a done deal. She wants him to recognize that and accept that the reaping isn't inevitable. Because if he believes it's inevitable, he will never think it can be ended, let alone think that he might be capable of ending it himself.

That's where the title came from. Sunrise on the Reaping. Lenore Dove's convinced it's not a certainty. She can imagine a world without it. The future can be different than the past. She makes Haymitch promise that he will fight to make sure there is never another sunrise on the reaping. It becomes his dramatic goal, his mission, and his reason for living. But it takes many years to achieve.

DL: This of course ties into a second observation of Hume's regarding implicit submission.

SC: If all people do is read this Hume quote and discuss it, this book has been a win for me.

"Nothing appears more surprising to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular."

This quote invites so many questions. Like, "Do you think Hume is right? As human beings, do we ultimately end up being governed by a few people? Not just in, say, a totalitarian state, but in a democracy?" (After thinking about it, every single person I asked about this said yes. No one seemed happy about it.) "But why have we resigned our own sentiments and passions to those rulers? Why are we implicitly submitting to this? Especially since force is on our side, as the governed." Hume answers that for us. We're allowing ourselves to be controlled by "opinion." And that's where propaganda comes in. All right, then, "What propaganda do we all consume on a daily basis that maintains this status quo? Is it harder to maintain in an autocracy or a democracy where we pride ourselves on our intellectual or political freedom? How much propaganda does it take to make you think that implicit submission is what you want? Is it inevitable? Is there a way to protect ourselves against it? What would that entail?"

DL: How does implicit submission manifest in Sunrise on the Reaping?

SC: Within the story, I'm attempting to have implicit submission play out on three levels: individual, Hunger Games, and national. First, there's Haymitch's personal dramatic arc. Will he defy his own implicit submission to the Capitol and stop that reaping? The second level plays out during the actual Hunger Games. By refusing to demonstrate implicit submission, will Ampert's alliance against the Careers upend the usual results in the arena, allowing a Newcomer to win? Finally, there's the nation of Panem, in which not just the districts but the entire country has ceded power to a dictator and his cronies.

At the end of Mockingjay, Panem's in the process of forming a republic. Will that ultimately result in the majority resigning their own sentiments and passions to a handful of rulers? I think life should be better under Paylor than it was under Snow. But I'm sure Snow would say that's the real propaganda and that his rule is more beneficial for the governed. Either way, as a species, are we satisfied with those choices, or have we just never come up with a better alternative?

DL: Switching now to Orwell and Blake and the issue of truth, lies, and propaganda. One of the overarching themes of The Hunger Games Series has been the use of propaganda to achieve and maintain power. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, we see the propaganda war at a very early stage, while in the trilogy we see it at its peak. How would you describe the use of propaganda within Sunrise?

SC: Well, as Plutarch says, the Hunger Games are the best propaganda the Capitol has. For Snow, it's the annual Hobbesian reminder of who human beings are in the state of nature and why an authoritarian government is necessary for the survival of the species. They've devised this event in which district citizens kill one another — that way, the Capitol citizens don't directly bloody their hands and the districts are at war. The participants are children, which reinforces the idea that even the most innocent of us are brutal. And it's mandatory viewing.

In Ballad, the losses and hatreds of the war were fresh and so the propaganda didn't need to be so heavy-handed. In Sunrise, forty years have passed. A lot of people weren't even alive during the war. Yet every year the entire country is forced to witness this excessively cruel punishment. By the second Quarter Quell, it's a lot more work to keep opinion on the Capitol's side. Now the strategy is to serve up a spectacular Hunger Games while exploiting people's fears with the "No Peace" campaign in order to justify the Capitol's existence.

DL: What are the propaganda techniques that most come into play? 

SC: They saturate the story, but here are a few examples: Card-stacking (Plutarch's edited District 12 reaping), Fear (the "No Peace" campaign), Transfer (that endlessly waving flag). Whatever it takes to persuade people that the Capitol should control them. As Hume said, "It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded."

DL: Another clear influence on the book is Poe. How did you land on "The Raven"?

SC: Haymitch's love needed a name. Since she's Covey, that starts with a ballad. I knew she'd died young, as Haymitch mentions this in Mockingjay. So, love of his life + her early death + his relentless grief = Edgar Allan Poe. I'm right back at the Romantic poets again. Even then, I've got several poems to choose from — "Annabel Lee", "Ulalume", "Lenore", "To One in Paradise" —but I couldn't resist "The Raven".

For one thing, that rhythm and language just pull you right in, and I believed Haymitch could commit it to memory, especially since it was set to music in the story. Then, of course, the Covey love their birds. The raven's the largest songbird. It can mimic human speech. The raven in the poem's like a jabberjay who recorded one word, "Nevermore," and plays it over and over. Most importantly, there's the tormented lover imprisoned in the chamber of grief with the bird forever casting its shadow on him. That's Haymitch. So desperate to forget, to drown himself in nepenthe. But he doesn't really want to forget his Lenore, and he never really lost her. It takes helping Katniss stop the sun from rising on the reaping to make him realize that.

DL: After writing in Coriolanus's voice for Ballad, it must have felt like quite a change to slip into Haymitch's point of view. Can you talk about what it was like to be wearing his voice and how that shaped the book as a whole?

SC: After traveling with Coriolanus, who is endlessly manipulative and controlling, it was a relief to wear both Haymitch's voice and character. He has a much greater capacity for hope and love and joy. More than Coriolanus — or Katniss, for that matter. His voice is Seam overlaid with Lenore Dove's Covey influence. There's far more color to his expression, more humor. Sadly, at the end of the book you see his concentrated effort to strip all that away, so by the time you reach the trilogy, his language has lost the musicality of his youth. A combination of his desperation to forget combined with years of Capitol TV erase it. I like to think in his remaining years after the war, he reclaims it. You can hear it coming back in the epilogue.

DL: It is a particular challenge to start a novel when you and most of its future readers already know its ending. 

SC:  It's another way to approach a story, but it has its advantages. If you look at Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, we learn in the prologue  that the lovers will die. So you're really not focused on what's going to happen, but on how or why it happens. In the same way, you know Haymitch becomes a victor and Snow kills his loved ones, but you don't know the events that lead to these ends. How? Why? Where? What? Who? You have to read the book to find out.

DL:  In some of our initial conversations about the book, we talked about whether it would be written in the voice of the older Haymitch looking back or the younger Haymitch processing it as he experienced it. What led you to decide to take the approach you ultimately did?

SC: I played around with it both ways, but I found that younger Haymitch speaks directly to the YA audience the best. An older person reflecting back on their youth or shifting into a child's perspective is harder to pull off. Good work, Harper Lee!

DL: How do you feel spending so much time in younger Haymitch's shoes has changed your understanding of the Haymitch we see in the trilogy?

SC: I don't think it changed my understanding of him — Haymitch is still Haymitch — but it gave me room to explore his earlier journey. Like his relationship to Katniss via Burdock. What it meant to take on his best friend's child and see her through the war and become her surrogate father. It was nice to have some time with that angle.

DL: Like the other Hunger Games books, there is a clear three-part structure in place here, with each part getting the same number of chapters. How does this structure help you shape the story?

SC:  I began as a playwright over forty years ago, and that dramatic structure became the template for the novels. Since I've worked with it for decades, it's almost second nature, and that allows me to spend my energy elsewhere. This is the tenth book I've used this structure for, so I know certain things I want to achieve by certain points in the story. If I haven't achieved them, something isn't working the way I hoped, and I probably need to pause and figure out why. 

[yourmoonie]

Let's talk about circumstances, perspectives, quanutm physics and Neville Goddard:

1. Circumstances are irrelevant unless we give them relevance

Nothing and nobody exists in our 3D without our imagination & permission

Circumstances become relevant when we give them a specific meaning

(The observer effect)

2. Let's say there are 2 people who have got SPs

Both of them are manifesting a relationship

But there is a difference between these 2 people and the way they view their circumstances:

(Picture 2)

Person A's sp calls them a friend:

Person B's Sp calls them a friend:

3. Now let me bring Neville and quanutmn physics here:

ery single possibility, result, and every single scenario you can imagine exist right now, whether you can see them or not, in the quantum universe in which we live.

4. There is no past, present, or future;

all that exists is the eternal NOW moment, where everything is happening at once. As a result, we are not moving through linear time; space time is only a human invention to keep track of events and memories.

5. Atoms make up everything in the universe,

& each one of them is made up of 99.9% energy (empty space) and 0.1 percent mass (actually dark energy combined with dark matter).

The probability waves are atoms that are vibrating at a frequency so high that u can't see them

6. BUT it really doesn't matter if you can or CANT see them

because you can manifest these waves of probability in your world.

And make the invisible-> VISIBLE

You achieve this by becoming aware of the possibility/result you would like to experience

7. Since the waves have always existed

and cannot be imagined or conceptualised, they do not actually transform into physical matter or form. When Neville Goddard said that creation is complete, he truly meant it because nothing in the universe is physical or solid.

8. The reason it seems like things are changing

is because when u choose to change ur state of consciousness around any specific outcome, your reality begins to inevitably match that state of consciousness where all of those events that already exist in that state happened.

9. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed;

you are simply tuning into the reality where you are actually experiencing that thing. Some people refer to this as timeline shifting/ Mandela effect/reality shifting, etc

10. The way you choose to consistently observe the waves

will determine whether or not they lead you to that reality or if they continue to be waves of probability. The waves do not have minds of their own.

You can choose ur path and your faith

You are the only person who can do it

11. The only reality that truly exists is Consciousness,

& everything resides in Consciousness, which in turn resides in everything.

As a result, everything u want to experience in your reality depends on you & the things u decide to believe, perceive, and consistently be aware of.

In conclusion, our circumstances ARE what we make them to be

So? Are you ready to take control and change the outcome in your favor?

It's time to stop letting the 3D world have an affect on you

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

So I might as well write down my thoughts on Babel, now that I have had some time to more fully digest the story while not in the throws of deep emotional pain. Going to put my thoughts in the read more below

On a very overhead view of things, I think that I am a little frustrated with how long it has taken for this information to come out of the game. It's been the game's best kept secret for five entire years, and something that the game has clearly been hinting at for huge amounts of time, but it does sting a little bit that we had to wait so long for the truth to come out. Boy, does it come out in this event, but it's a been a long, hard, confusing wait.

It has, as well, resulted in what I believe to be one of the best written events in all of Arknights. Babel is, in itself, a tragedy that acts as the opening act to the tragedy that is the Twin Kings and their rule over Kazdel. It is a demarcation of their acknowledged struggles against the rest of the world, against the Sarkaz, and against themselves. It provides a really refreshing amount of depth and context to the Londinium crisis and why things have turned out this way.

The thread of fate is a constant refrain over Arknights. It touches Patriot's tale and Amiya's prophecy, it touches Theresis and the prophecy of his death in Londinium, it colors the viewpoint of the entire Cyclops tribe, and it affects the Twin Kings and Ascalon in turn. This event gives us an answer to the lingering question that has been in the backs of our minds for a while now: is prophecy certain, and is Fate guaranteed? The answer to this, is no. Prophecy must be inferred, and in that inference can we find the way to resist it, even if only for some time. I suspect that this is here because Amiya's prophecy, something that has only been brought up again in Chapter 12, will come back in intensity in whatever Part 3 there is, as Amiya gradually begins to unlock more and more functions of the Civilight Eterna. And in turn, will Theresis even die, or will he find a way to avoid his fate?

Babel is also a story about what it means to be a Sarkaz. The question is brought up about how the Sarkaz are not really the same race at their core. The Nachzerer and the Vampires are not kin in the same way Perros are to each other. How could the Twin Kings hope to unify them? Theresis and Theresa's answers are their responses about who the Sarkaz are. Theresis is pessimistic, trapped in the past, a past that is unfortunately real and undeniable. He sees that war is the only solution, that inevitably, the Sarkaz can only come together when war either offers them an outlet for their revenge or threatens their home. It is in times of peace, Theresis would argue, that the Sarkaz are at their weakest and most disparate. For Theresa, the answer is that the Sarkaz are entirely capable of unifying with time and effort, and with further time and effort, are capable with unifying and coming to terms with their past too. She is the optimist answer, the idealist answer, she sees in the Sarkaz the strength to let go of the past and work towards a better future, a better future that the Sarkaz have long denied.

Theresis and Theresa did not want to drift apart, this much is certain, but it was completely unavoidable. The same Theresis who knew that his sister would make the better ruler, that his sister had the qualities needed to be a leader, was the same Theresis who saw those qualities push her down a path that he saw as too slow for the future of the Sarkaz. Theresa, who watched her brother struggle to become a warrior, saw his tenacity and perseverance pointed against her. Maybe, in a vanishingly small possibility, they could have compromised, and found a path forward. But that wasn't in the cards for them.

Theresis, Theresa, and ultimately, the Doctor all end up making heavy choices under their respective burdens. The Doctor's part of the story is fascinating and a fulfilling answer to the questions around the Doctor brought up in Vigilo. Who was the pre-amnesia Doctor? They were a single person, a lost remnant of their civilization, tasked with an impossible question of how to handle the future. Their identity burdens them with guilt, foreknowledge that they are the only remaining one of their kind, and the choice put in front of them is tragic.

A) Do you move forward with the last of your civilization's projects to its completion point? Do you allow all on Terra to be assimilated into Originium, to preserve it and protect it eternally as information stored in the amber mineral? Do you prolong the suffering of the people you've grown to care about? Do you make the one you care about most, Amiya, suffer more and ultimately die because of a grand ideal of what will happen to her?

or

B) Do you resist the last hope of your civilization? Do you fight back against Originium, do you work to reverse its assimilation process, do you along with Theresa work to unassimilate everything out of the Assimilated Universe, in the hopes that maybe their lives will mean something? Even though you know that the force that destroyed your much more advanced and powerful civilization could just as easily destroy theirs? That their lives will be fleeting?

The Doctor ultimately makes a choice. The Doctor does not merely betray Theresa by aiding in her assassination. They do not merely betray Kal'tsit by failing to trust her. The Doctor does not merely betray Babel by having it destroyed. They betray everyone. They turn their back on the identities that they have built, the relationships they formed with everyone, in order to say to themself quite clearly:

"I am Oracle, and I am the last of my kind"

It's why their demeanor changes. It's why their curiosity towards Terra dies out. It's why their mind, in clear understanding of what their goal was, is now suddenly able to direct the lives of the people under them with perfect precision. They become the perfect, calculating commander that Ace and Scout remembered them as, because now, in the face of everyone's inevitable end, in the face of the assimilation of Terra in the given century;

Does any of their lives truly matter?

The answer is no. On some level, I believe the Doctor still cares, but they no longer allow that sentimentality to fully interfere with what they have to do. Look no further than how they betray Amiya. They not only kill Amiya's maternal figure for the sake of the Originium Project, their first betrayal. They let their relationship deteriorate to the point where even Amiya is aware that the Doctor has become quite different. They no longer share the curiosity and joy in being with Amiya as they once did, their second betrayal. And once the Doctor makes up their mind about what they have to do, once they make their choice and meet with Theresis under the statue of the Twins, they never bring up curing Amiya's Oripathy ever again. Their third and final betrayal, the breaking of a promise.

They chose to let the person they care about most in the world suffer, and die, from Oripathy, because being assimilated into the Originium Project is the correct path.

Babel is super narratively and thematically dense and honestly I am probably not the person you should expect to uncover it all, but I just have so many thoughts that it would probably bloat this post even more.

[journeythroughtarot]

Walk Your Path - Where will you find yourself?

Choose an image that resonates and read your card below. Want a reading? Check out my links or send me a message.

Pile 1 - On the Road

Queen of Water & Faith

You are on the road, adapting to the lay of the land, but is it a hard road or an easy one? Or are you simply making it harder for yourself? Before you is a road with nothing but yourself and your own two feet. No matter the struggles that you encounter or will inevitably face, it is up to you and your faith in yourself that will see you through. We can easily get stuck when we see how hard it could be or get distracted by our emotions and what they are telling us. This pile is all about having trust in yourself as you take on the future, adapting to what comes, always being flexible and flowing with your emotions as you traverse what the path is here to show you. Having trust in what your emotions reveal to you will help you move forward, ever tackling what the next stretch of path will show you. Without this trust in yourself and what you are able to create, you may wobble and find yourself faced with the difficult sea strong waves of your emotions. Use this power wisely, as how you use your emotions to slow you or quicken your path will determine how far you must go.

.

.

Pile 2 - Help and Guidance

Queen of Earth & The Father

You are the ruler of your own world. Your own creator, your own visionary, building the space that you wish to see with the people you love. Like a gardener, you organise the garden that you wish to see, with the flowers, plants, and trees that you want to adorn your life. Where your focus is and what you pour into your world is what inhabits this garden. It can be difficult then to give into change, into something new or unknown. We create familiar worlds that tilter and when we lose balance, we feel lost and uncertain. This pile is all about listening to your helper, your guide. Some outside source with an outside perspective, something new or different or altering, is trying to show you a different way to guide you forward. Listen to what the world is showing you. You will always have the power to make the next move, to go where you wish to go. It is all up to you whether you invite the change in and learn from the garden you have created. Your own dominion, flourishing as it is, needs a guide and protector. This is and always will be you, standing in yourself and the role you possess. Guidance is needed so don't be afraid to explore more of yourself or ask for help. Give yourself the reassurance and inner stability you need to change the world that you know.

.

.

Pile 3 - In the Waters

The Mother & Water 2

We create our own rules and then expect ourselves to play by them. When we falter, or the world around us dares to become different to what we know, it can make us feel out of control. We are the creators of our own burdens and when we tie ourselves to things, we hold onto them. Letting them go can be difficult and take a hold of where our path takes us. This pile is about being satisfied with ourselves and our lives, being happy with who we are and appreciating what we have created. When we are not, we find ourselves looking for harmony and for our desires to be met. This could be in the form of something that will save us or love us, something that will give our lives meaning or change it for the better. Everything you are looking for however is within you. You are capable beyond what you know. Embrace everything that you are, everything that you wish to be, everything that is you. We can only lead ourselves when we accept and love who we are, so that we can be knowing of where we stand. Come back to you and find unity within.

[makingfanfictionstosleep]

defying fate

a/n : love and deepspace au | reverse-harem | mature and explicit | MDNI — not for kids | lads boys x femreader | read at your own risk | story masterlist : love and deepspace

previous ... next

CHAPTER 4 : POSSIBILITIES

The world had become a whirlpool of threats, each day bringing a new wave of fear. It was a well-thought-out plan: you wouldn't be left alone. For safety reasons, one of them was always by your side. It was a good thing they all agreed, because days later, incident after incident kept coming.

EVER was relentless, their shadowy organization still hunting your unique abilities for their twisted experiments. Smaller, lesser-known groups also emerged, all vying for the same prize.

UNICORN, your current organization, were barely keeping up.

Onychinus, through Sylus, had extended their offer of sanctuary, an offer you’d declined, leading Sylus to dispatch the watchful Mephisto to trail your every move.

Resurfacing Memories

The external threats were only part of the storm.

Inside, memory fragments, like shattered glass, kept resurfacing, each shard cutting deeper into your already tangled emotions. Your feelings for each of the men deepened with every passing moment, leaving you in a constant state of confusion and guilt.

Every time you were with one, you couldn't help but think of the others, a gnawing worry about how they’d react if they ever discovered the true depths of your entangled affections.

And the memories… they were the most disorienting of all.

Xavier's Fading Time

The truth about Xavier’s own timeline unfurled in your dreams, vivid and heartbreaking. You had been together before, trained, and fought side-by-side. He was the prince of your planet — Philos, in another lifetime, and he had searched for you relentlessly after you were swallowed by the Deepspace tunnel. The confrontation was inevitable.

You found him by the panoramic window in his apartment, the city lights a distant blur against the suffocating night. "Xavier," you began, your voice a fragile whisper, trembling with a volatile mixture of anger and a desperate, clawing ache that twisted your gut. "Tell me the truth. About… before. Everything."

He tensed, his broad shoulders subtly stiffening, his jaw clenching. You could feel it, the frantic flicker of a lie forming, the desperate urge to shield you from the crushing weight of a painful past.

But the ancient wisdom in his eyes, the deep, undeniable resonance between your souls, told him it would shatter everything.

He turned, his gaze meeting yours, and the silence that followed was his confession, a heavy, suffocating admission that hung in the air, thick with unspoken sorrows. His eyes, usually so fiercely protective, now held a raw vulnerability, a profound sadness that mirrored your own, tearing at you.

"Why didn't you tell me?" you finally choked out, tears stinging your eyes, a searing, bitter burn against your skin. "We were… everything. Our world, our future… it was ours. How could you let me forget?"

His hand reached out, trembling, hovering an inch from your face as if he feared his touch might break you, might crumble you into dust. Then, with a choked sound, it dropped, uselessly to his side.

"I couldn't," he rasped, his voice raw, laced with agony, a desperate plea for understanding. "Not when your memories were fragmented. Not when… not when my time is so… limited." His voice cracked on the last word, a sound that ripped through your heart.

You fumed, a tempest of anger and betrayal raging within, but beneath it, a chilling, gut terror gnawed at you, colder than any deepspace vacuum.

You knew.

You knew his time was up. He was fading, a slow, agonizing erosion of light and life, like sand slipping through your desperate fingers, impossible to hold onto.

"No," you whispered, stepping forward, your hands instinctively reaching, grasping his arm with desperate, bone-crushing strength, as if you could anchor him to this reality, to your reality.

"No, Xavier. I won't let you. Fate be damned, I will save you. I will defy fate itself, even if it tears me apart piece by agonizing piece."

Rafayel's Ancient Bonds

It was Rafayel’s saving grace, his shimmering, almost translucent Lemurian form, that shattered the barriers of your forgotten past.

The memories surged back, overwhelming and profound.

You had saved him once before, a sacrifice lost to the cruel mists of time. And then, further back, further still, you were his bride, offering your very life for his, a forgotten oath whispered on the winds of an ancient sea, a vow etched into your very soul.

Clarity and confusion intertwined, a dizzying, painful dance of truths that both illuminated and tormented you.

Rafayel was bound to you, and you to him, by threads of destiny older than time itself. He, the Sea God, and you, forever tethered to his ancient power, his very existence, his sorrow, his joy.

You cornered him after days of his deliberate, agonizing avoidance, his usual playful charm replaced by a skittishness that clawed at your heart, a haunted, distant look in his eyes that spoke of unbearable secrets. You found him by the ocean, the waves a cruel, mocking symphony of what you remembered, what you should have remembered, what you felt you remembered.

"Rafayel!" you cried out, your voice raw with desperation, a ragged sound torn from your chest, echoing over the crashing surf. He flinched, as if your voice was a physical blow, a harsh lash against his soul, his shoulders tensing.

"Why are you avoiding me? Why… why do I remember being your bride? Why do I feel like I died for you? What did I sacrifice?"

He spun around, his eyes wide with an ancient, unbearable sorrow, like the deepest, most shadowed depths of the ocean. "You —," he choked out, his voice hoarse, raw with suppressed pain, his hands clenching at his sides. "It was too much. Too much suffering for you to bear again."

But the memories kept coming, a terrifying, relentless flood, drowning you in forgotten grief, in echoes of a past love too profound to be forgotten.

A vision, hazy with time – was it past or future? – of the sea drying up, cracked earth stretching to an endless, desolate horizon, ancient bones bleached beneath a dying sun.

The desolation clicked into place, a horrifying puzzle piece slotting into your fragmented mind. You understood his disdain for humanity, the targeted deaths, all linked to Lemuria’s plight, to the dying echoes of his people, his very soul shriveling with their demise.

"The sea… it dried up," you whispered, the words catching in your throat, a desperate gasp for air, your own heart aching with a grief that wasn't entirely your own. "Is that why? Is that why you hate them so much? Why you’re so… broken? So alone?"

He closed his eyes, a single, shimmering tear tracing a path down his cheek, a clear drop of ocean sorrow, a perfect reflection of the pain in his soul. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, trembling with suppressed rage and grief, his body shaking almost imperceptibly.

"They took everything," he hissed, pain lacing every syllable, every strained muscle. "They always take. But you… you were different. You were my light. My very reason. My sacrifice. My bride."

Regardless of the pain, you knew how vital Lemuria was to Rafayel, how deeply it was etched into his being, into every fiber of his ancient soul. You reached for him, tears blurring your vision, your fingers brushing his arm, then gripping, desperate to convey your unwavering resolve.

"I'll help you, Rafayel," you vowed, your voice breaking, raw with emotion. "I'll do everything in my power to save what remains. We’ll save your home. We’ll save you. I won’t lose you again."

Zayne's Hidden Struggles

Zayne's true nature was revealed not by a grand revelation, but by a journal, stumbled upon by accident in his neat, organized office. The words within spoke of a losing battle against his own power, an internal struggle that shattered the perfect façade of his unwavering control.

When you confronted him, he couldn’t find the words, only a weary acceptance and an explanation that felt like a quiet surrender, a final, painful admission. There was no point in hiding it any longer.

"Zayne," you said, your voice barely a whisper, holding up the worn leather journal, its pages almost brittle with age, trembling in your hand. "What is this? What does it mean, ‘losing control of your Evol’? Are you… are you dying?"

He looked up from his microscope, his eyes, usually so sharp and analytical, now clouded with a deep, aching vulnerability that made your stomach clench, a knot of dread. He sighed, a sound of profound exhaustion, of burdens carried too long, too silently.

"There's no easy way to explain it," he murmured, pushing his glasses up his nose, running a weary hand through his hair, as if trying to physically smooth away the truth. "I… I'm not sure if it's in the past or the future, but it's starting to happen. The power… it's becoming too much. It’s tearing me apart from the inside. Slowly. Irreversibly."

"I didn't want to worry you," he confessed, his voice barely audible, his gaze dropping to the journal in your hand, avoiding your accusing eyes. "I was trying to find a solution myself. To spare you. To bear it alone."

Your heart ached, a sharp, piercing pain that felt like a physical blow, a wound opening in your chest. This man, who always seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, was crumbling from within, silently enduring an unimaginable torment, for your sake.

You walked over, gently taking the journal from his hand, and placed it on the desk. You reached for his hand, your fingers intertwining with his, a silent plea for honesty, for shared burden, for connection. His skin felt cold, despite the warmth of your touch.

"We’ll figure it out," you said, your voice firm, resolute, despite the tremor in your own soul, despite the tears pricking at your eyes. "Together. You are not alone in this, Zayne. You never were. And please… please, never hide anything from me again. Not like this. Not anything. Let me help you carry this."

He squeezed your hand, a desperate, silent promise hanging in the air, his fingers clutching yours as if you were his only anchor, his only lifeline in a swirling abyss. You felt the raw despair radiating from him, and you held on tighter.

Caleb's Painful Truth

The sight of Caleb in his room, hunched over, carefully fixing his bionic arm, sent a tremor of pure, unadulterated fury through you, a searing, hot anger that threatened to consume you.

The harsh glow of his desk lamp illuminated the sheen of sweat on his brow, the grimace of pain twisting his features into a mask of silent, agonizing suffering. He groaned, a raw sound of agony ripped from his throat, and it felt like a knife twisting in your own heart, a gut-wrenching pain that stole your breath.

You couldn't bear to see him like that, broken and in pain, at the mercy of something so cruel, so dehumanizing.

You slammed the door shut, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the small, sterile room, making him flinch violently. He snapped his head up, his eyes wide with surprise, then a flicker of apprehension, of knowing, as he saw the storm in your eyes.

"What happened?" you demanded, your voice laced with unbridled rage, a dangerous, barely contained edge you rarely allowed to surface. "Why are you always in pain? What did EVER do to you? What have they done to you, Caleb? Tell me!"

He had no choice but to explain everything, the experiments, the constant adjustments, the phantom pains that clawed at his very nerves, the insidious corruption of his own body, the way they had taken him apart and rebuilt him, leaving a part of him forever scarred.

He spoke in a low, even tone, his face a carefully constructed mask of stoicism, but his eyes, dark and haunted, betrayed the unbearable agony beneath, the quiet despair.

When he finished, a chilling, vengeful fury coursed through you, potent and undeniable, a primal urge to destroy. Your hands clenched into fists, your nails digging into your palms, drawing blood, the sharp sting a mere flicker compared to the burning inferno in your soul.

A raw, guttural scream built in your throat, demanding release. You turned on your heels, ready to walk out, to unleash a storm of vengeance that would leave nothing but ash in its wake, to burn EVER to the ground.

"Don't," Caleb's voice was sharp, cutting through your rage, a command laced with a desperate, heartbreaking plea. He was already out of his chair, faster than you thought possible, blocking your path.

His good arm shot out, his hand grasping your wrist, his fingers a strong, unyielding band, pulling you back. "It won't solve anything. It will only put you in more danger. And I can't… I won't let that happen. Not after everything." His grip tightened, a silent promise to protect you at all costs.

You stared at him, tears blurring your vision, streaming down your face, the searing fury warring with a devastating, crippling helplessness.

You knew he was right, the cold, brutal logic of his words piercing through the red haze. But the injustice of it all burned hotter than ever, a consuming fire in your soul that demanded retribution.

Sylus's Unbreakable Cycle

You didn't have to ask Sylus. It was one of those quiet nights, both of you lost in thought, the city lights a distant hum, the world outside a muted echo, when he began to tell you a lore about dragons. His voice, usually so composed, so detached, now held a profound, aching sorrow that resonated deep within your bones, stirring ancient, forgotten pains.

"There are tales," he began, his gaze fixed on some unseen horizon, his profile etched against the dim light, almost ethereal, "of dragons cursed to repeat cycles, forever bound to a specific fate, to a soul they are destined to meet… and to lose. Again and again. For eternity."

Your heart knew instantly he was speaking of himself, of you. A cold dread settled in your chest. You swallowed hard, the bitter taste of truth coating your tongue, a premonition of grief already settling in, cold and heavy.

"I've had dreams," you confessed, your voice barely a whisper, thick with unbidden emotions, with the echoes of nightmares. "Memories, I think. Of killing you. And… of you killing me. Over and over. A dance of death."

He turned then, his eyes, usually so sharp and calculating, now filled with an ancient, unbearable grief, like staring into the heart of a dying sun, a cosmos of sorrow. He pulled you into a tight embrace, a desperate, crushing hug that spoke of a thousand lost lifetimes, of endless partings, of promises broken by fate.

His arms wrapped around you, possessive and despairing. "Our fate," he murmured into your hair, his voice raw, broken, a ragged sigh. "Is a cruel one. A relentless torment. A cosmic joke."

But you were determined to defy it. You would not be a pawn in some cosmic game, strung along by an unseen hand. You would break free, even if it meant breaking everything else.

Then, his voice, gentle but firm, cut through your thoughts, a surgeon’s precision dissecting your emotions, yet laced with a palpable, profound pain. He pulled back slightly, his hands cupping your face, his thumbs gently stroking your cheekbones, forcing your gaze to meet his.

"Is this," he asked, his voice filled with a desperate assurance, a raw vulnerability, "the same promise you have given to others? The same hope you offer them?"

You stared at him, confused at first, then slow, dawning realization bloomed, a sick, churning sensation in your gut, the crushing weight of your tangled affections.

He was talking about the other four.

Your gaze darted away, guilt searing your cheeks, burning like a brand, a tangible weight on your soul. You had indeed entangled your fates with theirs, a complex, agonizing knot of longing and devotion, promises whispered to each, unknowingly.

Every single one of them.

Sylus’s fingers tightened on your jaw, gently, but insistently, tilting your head back, forcing your eyes back to his, pulling you back from the brink of despair.

"Look at me," he commanded, his voice filled with a desperate certainty. "It's not your fault. No one is at fault for what fate has orchestrated. Not you. Not us. We are merely caught in its web."

"No," you whispered, your voice thick with emotion, tears finally spilling over, hot and heavy against his thumbs, tracing paths down your skin. "It’s fate's fault. This sick, twisted design. And it is time to stop this loop, this disgusting cycle of us being played by fate. I won't be broken again. Not for them, not for me, not for us."

Sylus then suggested a meeting with the rest. His eyes held a flicker of something ancient and knowing, a dangerous resolve.

"We need to break this, together," he urged, his voice resonating with a quiet, undeniable power. You were adamant at first, the thought of them all in one room, knowing your shared secrets, your entangled hearts, the unspoken desires, was terrifying, a precipice you feared to cross. But deep down, a cold, hard truth settled in your soul: you knew it was bound to happen.

So, with a heavy heart, you agreed.

A Fated Gathering

The meeting was, as expected, chaotic and tense, a volatile cocktail of unaddressed emotions, of desires barely contained.

The air crackled with unspoken words, with the weight of shared secrets and individual burdens, each man a force of nature barely contained, their gazes like tangible things.

Yet, amidst the tension, a strange, profound sense of déjà vu washed over you. You felt, inexplicably, that this wasn’t the first time these five formidable men had gathered in your presence, their fates converging around you, their eyes all on you.

Caleb was the one who confirmed it, his voice a steady, grounding anchor in the storm of your emotions. His gaze swept over each of them, a silent challenge passing between them, then settled on you, unwavering, accepting. "We've been here before," he stated, his jaw tight, a flicker of pain, of weariness, in his eyes. "All of us. Many times."

You were a whirlwind of shock, fury, and a strange, profound touch that pierced through the confusion, a sudden understanding that shattered your composure. "You knew?" you demanded, your voice laced with incredulity, with betrayal, directed at all of them, a desperate plea for answers, for honesty. "All of you knew? And you kept it from me? All this time?"

Zayne then explained, his usual calm demeanor strained, a rare tremble in his hands as he adjusted his glasses. "We didn't know how to bring it up. Your memories… they had to resurface naturally. We decided to unpack it one at a time, to spare you the immediate shock, the inevitable heartbreak." He ran a weary hand through his hair, his eyes filled with a deep regret, a silent apology. "It was the only way we knew how to protect you. To protect us all."

Xavier, who had been largely silent, his gaze distant, lost in unseen timelines, his very essence shimmering, finally spoke. His voice, when it came, carried the ethereal weight of a dying star, ancient and resigned, yet laced with an undeniable tenderness. "We decided to be patient. To give you time. To let you find your way back to us. To let you remember on your own terms."

You scoffed, a bitter, broken laugh escaping your lips, tears welling up again. "Time? You don't have a lot of time, Xavier! You’re fading! What good is time if you’re gone?" The words ripped from your throat, raw and desperate, a plea to the heavens.

He merely shrugged, a subtle, painful acknowledgment of his grim reality, a quiet acceptance that made your heart clench, a silent goodbye already etched in his eyes, a sacrifice he was ready to make.

Rafayel, ever the dramatic, but with a raw edge of grief, scoffed, a sardonic twist to his lips, his hand rising to run through his silver hair, pulling at the strands. "It's absurd. This whole situation is an affront to sanity. Fate has a twisted, sadistic way of tying us all together in a sick, painful cycle of endless agony. A cosmic joke at our expense."

It was Sylus who finally cut through the tension, his voice resonating with an unexpected depth, his eyes, like twin pools of ancient wisdom, fixed solely on you, burning with an intense, unwavering focus that promised both devotion and danger.

He stepped forward, drawing your full attention, reaching out to gently cup your face again. "How do you want it?" he asked, his voice filled with a desperate assurance, a raw vulnerability that surprised you. "You don't have to choose between them. You can have all of them, however you want it to be. This time, you decide. Break the cycle with us."

You stared at him, shock blossoming into a scandalous, dizzying realization, a revolutionary thought. The very idea, so forbidden, so impossible… yet, so profoundly, terrifyingly right.

It was a path you hadn't even dared to dream, a whispered hope you hadn't let solidify. But then, a new possibility unfurled before you, breathtaking in its audacity, its impossible hope.

Having all of them… fighting fate together… maybe this was the only way.

Maybe, just maybe, you could help each other, heal each other, break the cycle together, as one.

"All that matters is your safety and happiness," Caleb reiterated, his voice a solid, unwavering anchor in the storm, cutting through the swirling confusion, his hand reaching out, a silent offer of unwavering support, his touch a comforting weight on your arm.

"How… how would that even work?" you asked, your voice barely a whisper, a strange tremor running through you, a chaotic mix of fear and burgeoning hope. Your mind reeled, trying to grasp the enormity of it, the sheer, audacious scale of their offer.

Sylus’s lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile, a dangerous glint in his eyes that promised untold depths. He answered with a nonchalant shrug, as if discussing the weather, as if this grand, impossible plan was merely a logistical detail.

"We've got it all figured out. Bought a mansion for all of us. Maybe set up a schedule or something. Depends on how you want it. We adapt. We always adapt. Whatever keeps you safe. Whatever keeps you with us."

And in your mind, a fleeting, forbidden image flashed, vivid and potent, almost overwhelmingly real: you, wrapped up between all of them, their bodies a warm, protective cocoon, their intertwined fates a shield against the cruel whims of destiny, their breaths mingling, their heartbeats synchronized with yours.

You instantly pushed the "dirty" images away, a hot flush spreading through your body, a deep blush staining your cheeks, clenching your thighs, a silent acknowledgment of the raw, undeniable desire that flickered within you, undeniable and potent.

They all noticed, of course, their gazes lingering, hungry, a knowing, predatory glint in their eyes, but said nothing. It was a silent confirmation: you were in. And they could have you, shared – yes – but it was the only way to have you, truly and completely, in this lifetime.

The only way to save them all.

The only way to break the curse.

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

Ok regarding that “can i make Yves do my homework if I give him my childhood pictures” ask, exactly how much access does Yves have to our lives? Does he have images or videos from when we were still a baby or would they be new information to him?

A bunch of my baby pictures and videos are lost because my dad lost the computer that had them but we recently found my aunt’s old camera filled with our childhood pictures, it was a pleasant surprise for us but would it be for Yves too?

It absolutely is. If Yves was there with you while your aunt showed you the photo gallery of her old camera, Yves would momentarily lose a bit of inhibition and let his pupils dilate to a maddening degree before instantly constricting it back to appear normal. It's a rare, super deluxe edition photos of you, there isn't anything else like it out there as they're most likely not uploaded to the internet or a cloud based service, where he could easily hack.

Him coming across media from your childhood or at least during those early days where people still go to and get their photos developed, is like winning the lottery for him. Because, although he tries to collect everything relating to your existence, there is only so much he can do in a day. He rather prioritizes the present and the future, as the past is the past; neither you nor him can change it, he can only understand or connect it to your current behaviours or thought patterns.

He does have some information about you as a baby or a child, but that is if they're "readily available" to him. (I.e., it can be found in predictable places like in your childhood home.), that is why, Yves would try to build a good relationship with people you grew up with, to extract information.

Despite being reclusive as he is, Yves would never fail to attend every and any family gathering he is invited to or expected to come. Encouraging that drunk uncle to drink more if he knew he has something to say about you, bribing your relatives with gifts and career opportunities, perhaps even drugging that really difficult and combative cousin to make them more bearable to interrogate.

As soon as he knew your aunt could be another goldmine of your data, he would get to work. Wasting no time building a rapport with her, it's a piece of cake given how obsessive and manipulative his nature is.

Inevitably, your aunt will come to love him and see Yves as family. By extension, her relationship with you will skyrocket too, she will invite you to her place much more often even though she might not be the most sociable person in the first place. Yves will find a way to make her bend to his whims.

The majority of their conversations would be about you, only sometimes Yves would talk about something else if it meant he could keep the drive to spill more about your lore going. His sharp ears and mind will pick up on clues as to where he might find more pictures or writings about you. He would then break into your aunt's home to give it a thorough shakedown and leave without a trace. Yves would repeat this process until he's positive that she has nothing left to offer. That camera is getting fucking stolen and replaced with a duplicate.

It didn't matter if your aunt was a minimalist or a severe hoarder, he would go through all her things just to try and find pieces of your puzzle. He would wade through cobwebs, dust piles, rat droppings and mould if he had to, Yves isn't scared to get dirty to obtain what he wants, "squeamish" isn't in his vocabulary.

When she is robbed of all your essence, Yves would become distant. Not hostile towards her, just cold and indifferent. He would still maintain some sort of relationship with her though, in case she becomes useful again later. As of now, he either puts his entire focus on your current peripheral and direct life, or start to hunt other members down- from his snooping, he had learned of other people who may have valuable input about your childhood.

All of this is happening in the background. You wouldn't suspect a thing, there wasn't a dip in his attention for you. In fact, he may have gotten a lot more smothering, as Yves would be shaking at the thought of testing out his new theories and hypothesis that were birthed from his new knowledge.

He just loves you so much that he couldn't help himself but to get greedy. Yves wants all of you; past, present and future. And any version of you that could have been.

[agirlandherquill]

writecamp - day 14, june 14th

rise and shine for day 14 campers! can you believe we're two weeks in already?

apologies for the late post today, i meant to type this up last night but after four hours of travelling home from my Yorkshire trip i was worn out (and the heat. the dreaded, but lovely heat.) but anywho, i'm home now which means i've got access to my laptop and everything should carry on as normal - although things certainly went smoother while i was away than i expected them to!

the rules are as follows: choose a prompt (or as many of them as you like) from the list, write something and share your creation with the rest of writeblr, and share the game with others, because as we all know writing is a gift and it deserves to be shared! and of course, tag me in your responses because i cannot wait to see them!

as usual, the prompt list will be under the cut!

The Prompt List

Dialogue Prompts:

"You could have told me. I could have helped. I could have saved you!"

"This was once a place of honour. Since you passed through its doors it's been nothing but.""

"We made our choices. We aren't allowed regrets, it wouldn't be fair."

"I've never known someone to smile with so much hatred before. Makes you rather pretty, doesn't it?"

"I wanted more for you. I did. But you disappointed yourself, never me. Remember that."

Setting Prompts:

A whistling ruin

A winding staircase

A rotting hollow

A rushing waterfall

A creaking attic

Narration Prompts:

She let her tears become the ink that stained the page, she let her fury dictate her hand as she wrote her own confession.

He begged for the deed to be undone, he begged to have the blood taken from his hands, he begged to be good again.

The sole survivor was a world sealed off from all the rest - a world forgotten, but never gone.

There was once a soldier who held the power to alter the world - save it, or save themself.

A haunting silence echoed through the ancient hall, to utter a sound was to commit a crime against history, to stay silent was the only way to ensure safety.

Feeling Prompts:

The sweetness of summer

The power of nature

The toll of tiredness

The fear of forgetting

The grandeur of ruin

all the best for day 14, i can't wait to see what you write!

~ A Girl and Her Quill

~ ~ ~

now for the tags! for writecamp, because i have a feeling there's going to be so many of you, i'm going to do tags a little bit differently and instead tag all you lovely campers in the comments! (to hopefully get around any tag limits/difficulties because we all know there's going to be problems, it's inevitable and i'm going to do my best to avoid any issues in that area) (the tag list will also be completed a short while after this post comes out seeing as i unfortunately cannot queue comments, but i'll get there in the end :) )

but of course, if you would like to be tagged in future daily challenges for writecamp, all you've got to do is interact with this post - it'll be monitored throughout the entirety of the challenge to ensure nobody who wants to be tagged misses out!

[leighlew3]

So...

I know a lot of people out there are feeling lost, helpless, hopeless, and especially perhaps the younger crowd wonders: what now? As someone who has taken hit after hit after hit of trauma, abuse, homelessness, suffering, struggle, loss, illness, etc in my life that at times seems never ending... dealing with perpetual trauma and finding hope in the face of devastation is uhhh sorta my specialty.

*dorky wink and finger guns*

So, first of all on my end let me explain my plans, and then get into the 'why' and what else I plan to do and how I think we all need to tackle these coming days, weeks, months and sadly -- years.

For mental health reasons on the heels of still struggling with my grief and what sadly has become chronic health issues, I'm probably going to spend the foreseeable future hyper-focused on writing, fictional ships, planning my next tattoo, the WNBA free agency, the end of the current NFL season, and doing everything humanly possible to boost my immune system for what will inevitably be the next pandemic/plague that this administration will laugh at as Americans drop dead again because "sCiEncE iSnT rEaL".

And I advise others to find what will help them survive as well.

Here's the thing though: "give up" is not in my DNA. Nor is burying my head and hiding out away from "anything negative", because that's a hella privileged position to take, and I'm not about that life.

So, I will be signing all the petitions possible, making calls to reps who actually have proven they care, protesting when possible, sharing important info on social media, volunteering, etc as well.

Which brings me to the point here: don't give up. Do what you can. But also... recognize your humanity and limitations whether they be financial, physical, psychological or otherwise. Because sacrificing your own sanity and health isn't going to help anybody. And then we're down one less soldier in this battle for the greater good.

IF there's another election in four years (never in my lifetime did I think that would even be a question), we will have a lot of rebuilding to do regarding lost progress. We need to be ready.

In the meantime, dive into something productive and/or comforting for your own life that keeps you fulfilled but also be ready and willing to do what you can help those around you, at key moments. It's that whole "put on your oxygen mask first when the plane is going down" thing. You can't help a damn soul if you can't even breathe.

Be kind to the people you love. Tell them you love them daily. Connect with like-minded individuals. Protect and defend our most vulnerable wherever possible (the disabled, marginalized communities, fellow women/girls, etc). Hug your pets and if you don't have any, consider adopting a rescue.

Vote in the 2026 midterms. Volunteer at or donate to your local women's shelters, homeless shelters, racial justice organizations, LGBTQ+ organizations, animal rescues, environmental organizations, nursing homes for the elderly, etc.

We have to find the balance between self-care for ourselves and making our own lives tolerable amidst this bs, especially any of us who belong to one or more of the above groups -- while also plugging in to help others and the community as a whole, as needed.

And trust me, it will be needed. More than ever.

You're not alone. Even if IRL you feel like you're the only person in your family or circle who hasn't 'drank the Kool Aid' and lost all sense of reason or basic human empathy.

If you're reading this right now -- please take a second to take some deep breaths, step away, and start setting both short-term and long-term goals for yourself and your life that will help you moving forward so you can continue to fight for yourself, and for us all.

Please remember, we're in this together.

I'm with you. 💜

[aventurineswife]

Crown of Weeds

Summary: In the cold, sterile environment of ANAKT GARDEN, where every moment is dictated by training and survival, Luka sees no value in small, meaningless things. But when you teach him how to make a flower crown—something fragile and fleeting—he finds himself hesitating. Even in a place that strips them of choice, this small act of defiance becomes something that belongs only to the two of you.

Tags: Luka x Reader, Childhood Friends, ANAKT GARDEN Era, Soft Moments, Luka Being Luka, Light Angst, Found Family Themes, Symbolism, Bittersweet.

Warnings: Mentions of ANAKT GARDEN’s strict training environment, Subtle references to Luka’s conditioning and survival mindset, Slight emotional detachment from Luka, Bittersweet tone.

The walls of ANAKT GARDEN stretched endlessly, pristine and suffocating in their artificial perfection. There was no sky here, only the soft hum of hidden lights and the ever-watchful eyes of the facility's caretakers. Luka had learned long ago that this place had no room for softness. No place for weakness.

And yet—

“Sit still,” you huffed, gently pressing his shoulders down. Luka glared at you, but there was no real fire in his eyes. More like tired embers, burning slow and quiet. He was wary, always calculating, always poised as if the world might snap its jaws around him at any second.

You ignored it.

Instead, you crouched beside him, the cold floor biting against your knees. Between your hands, a tangled mess of small, wiry flowers and stray leaves took shape—a crude attempt at a crown. You had stolen these from the garden courtyard, plucking what little color you could find in this sterile world.

“What’s the point of this?” Luka muttered, though he made no move to stop you as you placed the half-finished crown against his lap.

“It’s pretty,” you answered simply, weaving another stem into the ring. “And it’s not like we have anything better to do.”

Luka scoffed. “We should be training.”

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s true.” His voice was sharp, like he wanted to cut down the moment before it could settle. “If we waste time, we fall behind. If we fall behind, we get replaced.”

You frowned. Luka always talked like this. Like he was reciting some inevitable truth drilled into him by Heperu and the others. It was exhausting.

Still, you didn’t argue. Instead, you placed the finished crown atop his head, ignoring how he stiffened at the touch. His messy blond hair caught the fragile stems, holding the uneven circle in place. It didn’t sit perfectly—nothing ever did in ANAKT GARDEN—but for a brief moment, Luka wasn’t the facility’s prodigy or the future "greatest performer."

He was just a boy, sitting cross-legged with wildflowers tangled in his hair.

You grinned. “See? You look—”

“Ridiculous,” he interrupted, but there was something hesitant in his tone. His fingers hovered near the crown, as if debating whether to rip it off or let it be. He didn’t move.

You tilted your head. “You look nice.”

Luka turned away sharply, muttering something under his breath. You caught the faintest tint of pink against his ears before he smothered it beneath a scowl.

“Tch. It’s just weeds,” he said, voice quieter this time.

“Maybe.” You plucked another flower, twirling it between your fingers before tucking it behind your own ear. “But it’s ours.”

For a long moment, Luka said nothing. Then, finally—

“…Fine.” He shifted, adjusting the crown slightly. Not taking it off. Not rejecting it. Just… accepting.

You smiled.

Even in ANAKT GARDEN, even in a place where everything was chosen for you, this was something small, something unshaped by the hands of those who sought to control you.

A crown of weeds, perhaps. But it was still a crown.

[apas-95]

When Marxists say that certain groups, are adventurist, they have in mind the very definite and specific social and historical features of a phenomenon, one that every class-conscious worker should be familiar with. The history of Russian Social-Democracy teems with tiny groups, which sprang up for an hour, for several months, with no roots whatever among the masses (and politics without the masses are adventurist politics), and with no serious and stable principles. In a petty-bourgeois country, which is passing through a historical period of bourgeois reconstruction, it is inevitable that a motley assortment of intellectuals should join the workers, and that these intellectuals should attempt to form all kinds of groups, adventurist in character in the sense referred to above.

— V.I. Lenin, Adventurism, 1914

Let us go over to the second point, the question of terrorism. In their defence of terrorism, which the experience of the Russian revolutionary movement has so clearly proved to be ineffective, the Socialist-Revolutionaries are talking themselves blue in the face in asseverating that they recognise terrorism only in conjunction with work among the masses, and that therefore the arguments used by the Russian Social-Democrats to refute the efficacy of this method of struggle (and which have indeed been refuted for a long time to come) do not apply to them. [...] We are not repeating the terrorists’ mistakes and are not diverting attention from work among the masses, the Socialist-Revolutionaries assure us, and at the same time enthusiastically recommend to the Party acts such as Balmashov’s assassination of Sipyagin, although everyone knows and sees perfectly well that this act was in no way connected with the masses and, moreover, could not have been by reason of the very way in which it was carried out—that the persons who committed this terrorist act neither counted on nor hoped for any definite action or support on the part of the masses. In their naïveté, the Socialist-Revolutionaries do not realise that their predilection for terrorism is causally most intimately linked with the fact that, from the very outset, they have always kept, and still keep, aloof from the working-class movement, without even attempting to become a party of the revolutionary class which is waging its class struggle. [...] The first thing that strikes the eye is the words: “we advocate terrorism, not in place of work among the masses, but precisely for and simultaneously with that work.” [...] The day “when the working people will emerge from the shadows” and “the mighty popular wave will shatter the iron gates to smithereens”—“alas!” (literally, “alas!”) “is still a long way off, and it is frightful   to think of the future toll of victims!” Do not these words “alas, still a long way off” reflect an utter failure to under stand the mass movement and a lack of faith in it? Is not this argument meant as a deliberate sneer at the fact that the working people are already beginning to rise? And, finally, even if this trite argument were just as well-founded as it is actually stuff and nonsense, what would emerge from it in particularly bold relief would be the inefficacy of terrorism, for without the working people all bombs are power less, patently powerless. [...]

This fabulous argument, which we are convinced is destined to become notorious, is by no means simply a curiosity. No, it is instructive because, through a sweeping reduction to an absurdity, it reveals the principal mistake of the terrorists, which they share with the “economists” (perhaps one might already say, with the former representatives of deceased “economism”?). This mistake, as we have already pointed out on numerous occasions, consists in the failure to understand the basic defect of our movement. Because of the extremely rapid growth of the movement, the leaders lagged behind the masses, the revolutionary organisations did not come up to the level of the revolutionary activity of the proletariat, were incapable of marching on in front and leading the masses. That a discrepancy of this sort exists cannot be doubted by any conscientious person who has even the slightest acquaintance with the movement. And if that is so, it is evident that the present-day terrorists are really “economists” turned inside out, going to the equally foolish but opposite extreme. At a time when the revolutionaries are short of the forces and means to lead the masses,   who are already rising, an appeal to resort to such terrorist acts as the organisation of attempts on the lives of ministers by individuals and groups that are not known to one another means, not only thereby breaking off work among the masses, but also introducing downright disorganisation into that work. [...]

Nor does the leaflet eschew the theory of excitative terrorism. “Each time a hero engages in single combat, this arouses in us all a spirit of struggle and courage,” we are told. But we know from the past and see in the present that only new forms of the mass movement or the awakening of new sections of the masses to independent struggle really rouses a spirit of struggle and courage in all. Single combat however, inasmuch as it remains single combat waged by the Balmashovs, has the immediate effect of simply creating a short-lived sensation, while indirectly it even leads to apathy and passive waiting for the next bout. [...] This very point is explained in No. 8 of Revolutsionnaya Rossiya, which declares that “it is easy to write and speak” of armed demonstrations “as a matter of the vague and distant future,” “but up till now all this talk has been merely of a theoretical nature.” How well we know this Language of people who are free of the constraint of firm socialist convictions, of the burdensome experience of each and every kind of popular movement! They confuse immediately tangible and sensational results with practicalness. To them the demand to adhere steadfastly to the class standpoint and to maintain the mass nature of the movement is “vague” “theorising.” [...] Demonstrations begin— and blood thirsty words, talk about the beginning of the end, flow from the lips of such people. The demonstrations halt— their hands drop helplessly, and before they have had time to wear out a pair of boots they are already shouting: “The people, alas, are still a long way off....” Some new outrage is perpetrated by the tsar’s henchmen—and they demand to be shown a “definite” measure that would serve as an exhaustive reply to that particular outrage, a measure that would bring about an immediate “transference of strength,” and they proudly promise this transference! These people do not understand that this very promise to “transfer” strength constitutes political adventurism, and that their adventurism stems from their lack of principle. [...] Anyone who really carries on his revolutionary work in conjunction with the class struggle of the proletariat very well knows, sees and feels what vast numbers of immediate and direct demands of the proletariat (and of the sections of the people capable of supporting the latter) remain unsatisfied. He knows that in very many places, throughout vast areas, the working people are literally   straining to go into action, and that their ardour runs to waste because of the scarcity of literature and leadership, the lack of forces and means in the revolutionary organisations. And we find ourselves—we see that we find our selves—in the same old vicious circle that has so long hemmed in the Russian revolution like an omen of evil. On the one hand, the revolutionary ardour of the insufficiently enlightened and unorganised crowd runs to waste. On the other hand, shots fired by the “elusive individuals” who are losing faith in the possibility of marching in formation and working hand in hand with the masses also end in smoke.

— V.I. Lenin, Revolutionary Adventurism, 1902

[solkatt-arts]

We got more from what I'm calling the Intertwine-verse!

Quick facts about this verse of G4(/G5) that is unlike the canon:

- Alicorns cannot be made in this universe, therefore Celestial, Luna, Cadence, Twilight, Flurry and Luster never become full alicorns. However, by being crowned a royal by Sterling and Gold (alicorn's blessing), the pony in question will gain potent magic that amongst other things gives the pony a longer lifespan (up to 300 years extra). The magic is likely to manifest like how Sunny Starscout’s alicorn powers do.

- The lifespans of royals goes back to normal once the magic is taken away between G4 and G5. When the magic returns later on only Sunny gain the alicorn's blessing since she is the one to bring Luster's crystals back together. She is likely to be the last pony to gain the alicorn's blessing for a long time.

—————

Here's some Intertwineverse history

Gold Lily and Sterling were alicorns born long before Equestria’s beginnings. Similar in age but never acquainted in childhood, both were chosen to save the pony tribes from freezing to death.

Gold Lily chosen for her calm empathic and kind nature. She knew the unease of new unknowns, about being forced to face the dread but come out on top. The young alicorn had a way of easing the anxiety of change for others. How to welcome progress in a way that could only compared to the hope of a new dawn.

Sterling chosen for her reassuring but stern nature. She always put emphasis on the inevitability of a setting sun, nothing could ever last forever. That did not mean the past was no longer epochal in how it teaches us our most valuable lessons. Sterling had a way with closure and letting the past go that could only compare to the sun’s last light fading behind the horizon.

The two young alicorn first met only days before their departure to what would later become Equestria. Without yet knowing each other, they both knew their destinies were intertwined. They both felt it the moment their eyes met.

Gold and Sterling earned their god-like powers after restoring balance to the world by defeating Discord with the Elements of Harmony early in Equestria’s history. The god of chaos had made a rift so prominent that the two princesses had to learn how to manually raise the moon and sun. No longer could the day nor night make it through its natural cycle without them moving the celestial bodies.

After about 700 years of royal duties, Gold and Sterling began looking for apprentices. Someponies to take over the hardships of ruling Equestria, all this in hopes that the two of them could focus on finding a way to restore or undo what Discord’s magic had caused. Two young and promising unicorns named Celestia and Luna are chosen to train under the princesses until they are ready to take on the princesses' roles.

The unicorn sisters rule over Equestria for almost 300 years before taking on their own apprentices, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle. Sunset Shimmer mysteriously disappears and leaves Twilight to train under Celestial and Luna on her own.

A jealous Opaline Arcana has watched Gold Lily and Sterling be the most powerful beings in Equestria for almost a thousand years. She decides she is more worthy of all that power and goes to take it all for herself. On the day Twilight Sparkle is about to meet her future friends Opaline makes her way to Ponyville where not only Celestia and Luna are, but Gold Lily and Sterling too.

With the help from the Elements of Harmony, Twilight and her friends defeat Opaline and banish her to the sun. Before being blasted away Opaline swears revenge on Twilight and her friends.

Gold Lily and Sterling leaves Equestria to search for the cure to Discord's chaos magic once again, feeling that Equestria will be safe in Twilight and her friends' hooves.

Twilight rules for a little more than 300 years before passing the throne onto Luster Dawn. (Cadence passes the throne onto Flurry Heart)

Gold Lily and Sterling manages to find an ancient draconequus artifact that restores balance to nature to the point that ponies no longer need to change the seasons, weather or day to night. Unfortunately they have to pay their immortality for the artifact. They retire to live out their last days back in their homeland.

When Opaline returns a thousand years after her banishment, she finds out that not only is Twilight long dead, but magic has disappeared too. Luster Dawn had had a moment of weakness not long before passing away in which she feared that once Opaline returns, she’ll have no one to stop her from taking everyone’s magic (and taking over Equestria). So if no one has any magic, there’s none to take. Luster separates the magic into one crystal for each of the three pony tribes. She orders her apprentices (one from each tribe) to hide the crystals away where they won’t be connected nor found.

Generations of misinformation and mistrust later, Sunny Starscout brings magic back together with her friends and Opaline is free to finally collect it. She is later defeated by Sunny and her friends.

[razzberrydazz]

Six Song Soundtrack OC Tag Game

Thanks so much to @optiwashere for tagging me in this! 💜

I'll tag (no stress, of course) @larissel @cellphishthekaiju @royals-sasha and anyone else that wants to do this!

It was hard picking just one song for each thing, I like so much music. I went through my playlists I have for Rana and tried to narrow down to just six songs for this.

Event that defines the character's past

MK Ultra - Periphery

Innocent babe, shall we corrupt at such a young age Conjure a laugh, conjure the tears amongst love Glass brain, it will project all of the spectrum Heart still but his infant hands are shaking now Start leaking all the thoughts on your mind What's yours is ours for the taking Take this bruise as a sign That we own you now and forevermore

Rana was raised on the surface in a circus, and the day their Dark Urge first manifested was utterly harrowing. A child, not even a full teen yet, who got blinded in the haze of red as anger and hatred bubbled over.

Rana unable to stop themselves from slaughtering the entire troupe, hands shaking, aghast in horror at the blood on their hands, trapped in their own mind as the Bhaalists closed in to take them into the cult against their will. Sceleritas Fel cheerily announcing their father's approval of their slaughter. The oppressive weight of realizing their life is not their own, they are Bhaal's puppet.

Rana had a Bad Time growing up, and the future instance of brain damage and amnesia is almost a blessing to free them from the haze in their mind.

How your character sees themselves

Until You're Reformed - Chevelle

You should ask for more Tired of being your no one Fame can hurt the soul You martyr, you child Leave This is not for real Forever pleasing someone The first at last begins You martyr, you child You martyr, you child

Rana doesn't exactly have good self esteem or a high opinion of themself, they're self-sacrificial to a fault, a martyr complex eager to self-flagellate in meager attempt to atone for the carnage they've caused. Masochistic and full of guilt.

A chronic people-pleaser, wanting to help everyone around them, putting other's needs before their own, as if that will make up for the blood on their hands. Rana wants to reform themselves, be a better person, put the needless bloodshed behind them.

Rana would gladly martyr themself if it meant saving others. A childish self-sacrificial bent that does not solve the core of their problems. Will they ever learn to care for their own well-being, let alone make their own goals outside of helping everyone else reach their goals in turn?

How others view them

Red - Mothica

Scared to go to sleep, hiding underneath There's a darker side of me I don't wanna meet Hanging by a thread, trapped in my head I'm spiraling out until all the poison fills my chest Helps me forget, 'cause I'll never learn 'til I see red No, I'll never learn 'til I see red Until I see the damage, there's no damage done Need a reason for me not to self-destruct You said it gets better, what if it never does? What kind of monster will I become?

Rana is frequently intimidating, especially when the red glow of their Dark Urge swirls in their vision. Their avoidance of themself and self-destructive habits don't go unnoticed. Their fear of going to sleep, using alcohol to numb the pain, their recklessness as they charge into battle alone in a veritable suicide mission.

Their closest companions worry for their well-being, and fear for the times when the Urge inevitably takes over. Those who knew Rana during their life in the Bhaalist cult only see them for the Red, for their Dark Urge and capacity for violence. The ones in the cult venerate their carnage, and those outside the cult may see them as a blood-thirsty monster. It's a long road ahead for Rana to dispel those prior views of themself for something capable of doing good. Rana wants to be a good person at their core.

Their closest relationship

Dangerous - Sleep Token

I wish I could have known that Look in your eyes would echo in mine and go back Out of my mind, across the line When was the last time I felt like this? Dark desire and tainted bliss It's like you're dangerous to me I notice every time we meet I feel the ground beneath my feet Giving way You've got me talking in my sleep As if you're conquering my dreams You have awakened what's beneath Again Well, I thought I could resist you But something in me just can't help but insist To blur the lines just one last time so When's the last time you tasted blood? And what will it take to stem the flood?

Rana is closest with Shadowheart, even though they have so much love to give and are happy to entertain relationships with nearly everyone in the party, it is Shadowheart that remains closest to their heart. Rana sees how the cult of Shar has hurt Shadowheart, and feels a kinship in their shared traumas and amnesia and overlapping experiences.

Shadowheart learns how to deal with Rana, Dark Urge and all, learns how to embrace the good and the bad. Shadowheart at first is avoidant, recognizes Rana is dangerous, but soon clings onto Rana to stay, while Rana is conflicted and wants to leave in order to protect Shadowheart. They both want to love each other even if that meant being at arms length. Though they don't want to be at arm's length, they want to be closer than they've been with anyone else.

Even with the danger of the Dark Urge, even with the danger of Shar refusing to let Shadowheart go, Rana and Shadowheart choose to stick with each other.

A major fight scene

Suffocate - Knocked Loose (ft. Poppy)

Eclipsing weight Strangled by every mistake Branded by all of your failures A feeling that you can't shake Eclipsing weight Shut your lying mouth Are you conscious behind the knife? It all comes crashing down Burdened by our connection I long for separation in the waning glow Every breath tries hard to escape Your reign is over now Have you found your grave? Suffocate I will dig until I find the fucking root I suffered because of you

The fight scene between Orin and Rana, within the Temple of Bhaal itself. It was a long time coming, even before Rana's amnesia and Orin's betrayal, they were at odds. They resented each other. Orin resented Rana's position of power and stole it for herself. Orin resented Rana finding companionship and tainted their ability to have future relationships by assaulting them and taunting them with her shapeshifting.

Even though Rana wanted an opportunity to forgive Orin, they never got that chance. Bhaal made sure of that. They fought against their Dark Urge while Orin was forced into the Slayer form. If anything, Rana pitied Orin, because she never got the chance to think for herself. Always a puppet, like Rana used to be. And Rana put her out of her misery, wondering if Orin was even the one fighting at this point, or just a meat suit controlled by Bhaal. Are you conscious behind the knife?

And if Rana ever has their way again, they will kill Bhaal himself and destroy his throne. I will dig until I find the fucking root, I suffered because of you.

End credits song

Son of a Serpent - Thank You Scientist

Tried to free my soul And an echo's all you heard All you heard Tried to free my soul Watch it fall to the wayside But I'm sure there's a place To bury the old me and start anew Tired of the things I put me through How much can I lose? Crash and burn Be prepared for consequence Tables turn Just make it up Make it up as you go As you go Don't care if it burns You just go

Rana decides they are done being Bhaal's puppet, done doing other people's dirty work, damn the consequences. They're no longer an assassin, no longer a cold-blooded murderer. For the first time in their life, Rana wants to live for themself, do things they want to do, that doesn't involve them needlessly taking another's life. Live with the knowledge of their past, deal with the memories coming back, but finally learn to not let them burden them down forever.

The world is open to them, a world of possibilities. Could they settle down with Shadowheart, or pursue a career with the Circus of the Last Days? Whatever lies ahead, being Bhaal's puppet will not be part of it anymore. It's time to start anew.

[dropintomanga]

Given - There's No Going Back and It's Going to be Okay

I finished the last arc of Natsuki Kizu's given and it's a testament on trying to move forward despite the anxieties you may face.

With Given potentially becoming a professional band, Ritsuka Uenoyama decides to help out a rival band called syh, led by Hiragi Kashima, as the latter wanted to perform a song that Mafuyu Sato's ex-boyfriend, Yuki Yoshida, wanted to do. Tension arises between Mafuyu and Uenoyama as both appear to be going in totally different directions, music-wise. Mafuyu appears to lose his voice, but Uenoyama invites him to a concert that syh is peforming at. Uenoyama is determined to channel what Yuki wanted to play before he died. Mafuyu is hesitant in attending the concert because he feels that things will change so much and relationships could be shattered.

He tells a now-rejuvenated Ugetsu Murata, who has become a better person after finally breaking up with Akihiko Kaji,

"I'm afraid we'll never be able to go back. When he talked to me about actually debuting, I was actually really, really happy. But if I choose music, I know I won't be able to turn my back on it again. Even if that means sacrificing love. And if I don't choose music, I know, no matter what, that I won't be able to face him exposed without it. I can see us breaking up either way. If I go to the concert now and listen to the music, I'll decide to either abandon music or our relationship. I know it'll drive me to a permanent decision.

Just like you had to choose between music and Kaji."

Ugetsu replies.

"If that's the issue, then you can't go back either way. Regardless of what you choose or don't choose, everything is going to change. Even this moment right now. There's no going back the way you came. Besides, choosing to stand in the same place is draining too.

So anyway, what I recommend is to go as far as you can!"

While Mafuyu continues to hesitate, Ugetsu goes on to say.

"Also Mafuyu, haven't you forgotten about his feelings? Before you go deciding everything on our own, maybe you should hear what he has to say.

But...you've given this a lot of thought on your own, Mafuyu. And that's pretty damn amazing."

Once at the concert, Mafuyu becomes scared, but once he sees that Uenoyama perform the song that Yuki helped wrote, he finally admits that he wants to sing and still be in love. Mafuyu didn't care anymore. With music, Mafuyu can always find a way to ease his grief and anxiety.

I know people talk about the point of no return when it comes to starting a relationship, but relationships often change drastically. I love the display of anxiety portrayed by Mafuyu. The person dealing with it often believes they're the only one who has to deal with it themselves. They don't try to talk to a supportive partner/friend about it because they're afraid of being criticized. They're not sure that they understand their concerns.

You never know until you ask. But the asking is always the hardest part. And the future is always scary.

But recently, I wonder how scary will the future actually be. Sometimes, people do say some outlandish things about how bad things can get. Yeah, it will be bad. And I believe that people are more resilient with the help of those around them. Just like Uenoyama being there for Mafuyu. Reading the final arc of given makes me realize how much people can be inspired to take on anything when people come together to do activities like create music.

We need those types of communal activities in a world that wants to devalue art and portray people as entirely cruel. Communal activities heal so much pain. Let the love for music remain, right?

What should be given is how loosely tied together we are all. We're all living with fears and anxieties. And we deserve to be given chances to hear compassionate words that recognize our innermost vulnerability and propel us to move forward with joy and no regret.

Change is inevitable, but suffering shouldn't be a given.

Also, what an incredible manga. given is such a wonderful series. I highly recommend reading all 9 volumes.

[markantonys]

Speculation on any Randlayne and RandAvi interactions for s3?

my favorite topic of speculation!! everything i'm about to say i've probably said already because i love to just yap on about the same things i've said a thousand times jdkfgj and also because we still have so little s3 info that my speculation hasn't changed much in the year since s2 ended. but onwards!

so, given that they teed up a connection between rand & elayne at the end of 2x08 but that we know these two will be in different locations for most of s3, i'm certain they'll get some good interactions in during 3x01 before parting ways. nothing serious yet, just some friendship bonding and unconscious flirty vibes i.e. the audience is picking up that they're attracted to each other but neither of them is flirting on purpose or is aware that they're developing a crush. they'll likely only have one episode together before parting, plus rand is still reeling from the whole lanfear situationship, plus elayne's bestie is his ex-almost-fiancee (i'm sure the final randgwene breakup will happen pretty promptly in 3x01, but still, the audience would probably feel egwene's toes are being stepped on if her bestie starts kissing rand later in the very same episode), so those are all reasons against anything concrete happening this soon for randlayne.

the egwene complication is interesting to ponder! i COULD imagine a scenario where elayne genuinely does not know about rand & egwene's whole Thing for quite some time because everybody's too traumatized to bother giving her the in-depth gossip, and thus she develops a fast crush on rand while having no clue he's her bestie's ex (and then feels guilty when she inevitably finds out). on the other hand, i could imagine a book-esque version where egwene clocks that elayne is feeling some type of way about rand and is all like "hey if you're into rand that's cool with me, he and i are over" right upfront in 3x01, so that even if elayne doesn't act on it yet (which i doubt she would) she and the audience could rest easy in the knowledge that egwene would be okay with it. back to the first hand, i could imagine elayne and egwene not having this convo until a reunion sometime in a future season at which point elayne's like "i have a confession, i have a crush on your ex" and egwene's like "weeeeeeeeeeell i have a crush on your brother so let's call it even" djkjfgh

now for aviendha, i'm also fairly confident in predicting avilayne interaction(s) in 3x01 too, though how many and what nature, who knows! but it would be good to establish that elayne gets on well with both rand and aviendha to lay the groundwork for our polycule before she gets separated from both of them for the rest of the season, so i think the show will try to give her time with both of them in 3x01. again, i think it'd be friendship bonding vibes with at most little hints of a budding crush (which will probably go over straight viewers' heads lmao). book events make it very easy to give elayne and aviendha significant time together later in the story, so we can afford to take their relationship the slowest of the three. but rand's schedule is packed, so he's got to get romancing!

thus my prediction is: light randlayne & avilayne setup in 3x01, but avirand happens first, followed by randlayne, followed by avilayne (and min/rand). i do not think we'll fuck about with rand being in constant It's Complicated facebook relationship statuses with everyone and repeatedly getting together with someone but then kind of breaking up but then still sort of being together etc. instead, i think that nothing will have actually happened between randlayne yet when he heads off to the waste, and that avirand will become a permanent couple by late s3 or early s4, and that elayne will get added into their established relationship in s4ish, so we'll just go straight from couple to V (to throuple) without any stops in It's Complicated Land. we do not have time to mess around!

on this point, i think the show will let them be more intentional about forming their relationship. in the books, it's a combination of "rand has zero clue what's going on and winds up in a polycule by accident thanks to the power of miscommunication" and "fate said we had to do this, so let's do it" (followed by organic hey-i-now-genuinely-want-this-polycule development for elayne and avi, thankfully, but not for min). i'd expect the fate element to still be at play for min/rand because that's a unique aspect of their specific romance, given min's powers, but it doesn't need to be involved in avirandlayne and i'd prefer if it wasn't, so as not to overuse Prophecy Romance (which will also need to be an element of mat/tuon; 2 Prophecy Romances are plenty imo). if the three of them all meet and spark with each other, and if the first randmance to happen is the one with the partner from a poly-normalized culture who teaches him all about it, then we're perfectly set up for avirand to see elayne across the bar and dig her vibes and ask her to join. no narrative need for any of the three of them to be aware that their relationships are Fated! i'd like it very much if the show reserved that just to be the unique angle for min/rand, and treated avirandlayne just the same as any monogamous romance like lanaeve that develops naturally because they like each other.

moving on. i think avirand's romance arc will be fairly similar to the book version. enemies to lovers, forced to share a tent because the wise ones want her to teach him aiel ways and spy on him, push-and-pull tension as they both fight their attraction to each other, etc etc, it's all good stuff that just needs a little refinement for the show. i'd predict the biggest changes might be a) TSR-TFOH avirand development is condensed into one season so that their romance arc is complete by the end of s3, b) rand having had a serious relationship with lanfear might affect things (one of his reasons for fighting his attraction to aviendha, perhaps, to protect her from lanfear's jealousy and/or because he's feeling too shaken to let romance into his life again after such a betrayal), and c) aviendha's angst over Betraying Elayne won't be present since elayne isn't involved with him yet, and thus we get to steer well clear of any polyamory & cheating associations that the books flirt with way too much for my taste. or maybe it would be replaced by angst over Betraying Egwene, who is also aviendha's friend who's been involved with rand, but unlike with elayne in the books, egwene is fully done with rand AND is physically present with aviendha to be able to give her her blessing and absolve her of any guilt over liking rand. so either way, we'll avoid having betrayal as the foundation of avirand/avirandlayne, which will be a big improvement for me.

and aviendha and elayne can still have their relationship arc without the whole thing about aviendha wanting to meet her toh to elayne for sleeping with her boyfriend! instead, aviendha is solidly with rand but can see that there are some vibes going on between him and elayne, so she decides to become closer to elayne in hopes of taking her for a sister-wife. and then ends up taking her for a wife-wife <3 though i'd still predict a timeline where they're both dating rand first, and aviendha's like "since we're both dating rand, we need to get to know each other better to become first-sisters" and then their arc gets going.

now let's circle back to the timing. a potential new piece of speculation that i remember doing in a big tag ramble but maybe not in an actual post: jorin the sea folk windfinder's actress has the block 3 director listed on her CV. if this is accurate, that means the sea folk will be showing up in episode 5 and/or 6 - aka NOT showing up to transport elayne & nynaeve from falme to tanchico, because unless they spend the first half the season on a different plotline or a huge detour (which we have no reason to suspect as of now), they would be there already. so why would jorin be appearing that late in the season? do the girls meet her in the tanchico harbor and not travel with her? but them actually traveling on a sea folk ship is fairly significant since it's what lets them figure out that windfinders can channel. so, could the girls perhaps be taking a sea voyage in the second half of the season? say, chasing moghedien from tanchico over to the east coast whereupon they reunite with the waste crew? perhaps in tear for the stone battle, and sammael is introduced in tear at the end of the season and teed up to be one of the big antagonists of s4?

i know that with the finale title speculated to be "he who comes with the dawn" everyone's assuming alcair dal will be the s3 finale, just like it's the TSR finale. and i won't be surprised if that's the case. buuuuuuuut i also won't be surprised if "he who comes with the dawn" is used a little more loosely, as episode titles often are, and the finale is instead rand taking callandor at the stone - still a big Rand Proclaiming Himself moment in which aiel are involved, even if it isn't his literal he who comes with the dawn car'a'carn proclamation. on the other hand, we can feel pretty certain that moiraine v. lanfear mutual doorway yeeting will occur in the season finale, so it might make more sense to have them still be in the waste and fold that into rand's rhuidean showdown, rather than following the book route of carting the doorway back to the wetlands with them. but then, if it's true that mat isn't in the waste plotline, then would there even BE a redstone doorway in rhuidean?? could they just plonk one down in whatever location they want the moiraine v. lanfear showdown to be? i don't know, there's just way too many variables for me to be able to make any solid predictions for how the end of the season might shape up, and i'm getting way off topic anyway haha

SO tldr, jorin in block 3 makes me wonder if elayne could potentially get ferried over to reunite with rand and aviendha towards the end of s3, rather than not until s4. but regardless, i do think she will reunite with them after her tanchico stuff is complete. imo elayne and nynaeve don't need to go to salidar (all that happens there is nynaeve encounters siuan & logain and heals gentling/stilling, which could happen anywhere, and that egwene raises them to full sisters which could happen in absentia or later in the story), and i'm sorry to the circus fans but it's complete filler so that's definitely not happening, and if mat does indeed go with the girls to tanchico then i strongly suspect it would be an amalgamation with the ebou dar trip and thus that would be removed from the girls' future schedules, and THUS elayne and nynaeve could join up with the waste crew in s4 and spend some quality time with all those characters, join rand for the "retaking caemlyn from a forsaken" outing, and then launch straight into their caemlyn storylines (and/or nynaeve launch straight into the cleansing storyline with rand). and this would fit with comments rafe/josha/ceara (i forget exactly who) have made about rand and elayne having a big story together; if you're not trying to arbitrarily keep elayne away from rand so that he can remain Single On A Miscommunication-Induced Technicality long enough to hook up with min, then it's an absolute no-brainer for them to share the Retaking Caemlyn storyline. so i feel optimistic in predicting that for s4!