#they cooperate on a semi regular basis

[hermemescabin]

To be honest I feel like Percy really overestimates the level of animosity between Annabeth and Clarisse because he has personal beef with Clarisse and just assumes she feels the same way.

[sparkplug02]

I remember a post where someone said that Batman isn’t adopting orphans to turn them from children into vigilantes so they’ll end up like him (a hero), but that he’s adopting orphans to turn them from vigilantes into children so they’ll end up like him (not a villain). I think the point was that most of the Batkids were already on a path that could potentially lead to crime and villainy by the time Bruce got to them, so taking them under his wing and mentoring them kept them from losing their way. Can’t find the post again, but I feel like reprocessing it by rephrasing it for myself.

You can’t make choices for people, but people have to have the choice in the first place. If you don’t have the resources and the support to harness your pain and suffering and channel it into something productive and honorable, it has the potential to become something much worse. If you don’t have the means to heal, then healing isn’t going to happen. In the case of Gotham, ‘something much worse’ appears to happen on a semi-regular basis and results in a new member joining Gotham’s Rogue gallery.

I’m a firm believer that once Bruce realized the best way to keep crime down was to intercept the would-be-Rogues before they arrived at the point of violence, Wayne Enterprises started pouring as much into Gotham’s welfare and societal infrastructure as waynely possible. The existing Rogue gallery is kept at bay through cooperation with Gotham PD, trying and failing to make Arkham Asylum effective, and being the Batman. They will die, not by Batman’s hand but one way or another, eventually. What if Bruce could starve out the violence and the crime? What if those who made their choice and refuse to change their ways bear the consequences of their actions, grow old, and no one picks up the slack behind them? What if people see that, BECAUSE Batman refuses to kill and forces the villains to face the music rather than escape through a quick death, villainy isn’t the answer and doesn’t fix anything? All villainy earns you is a punch in the face and a trip to jail or an understaffed asylum. If you want your life to get better, you have to find another way because crime clearly won’t work. Sure, this would never deter everyone, but it might bring the numbers down just enough to make a difference.

And then Bruce finds these kids. Kids who are alone or hurt or stubborn or scared and for one reason or another, Al even at their young age, they’re already at risk of choosing the route of villainy. They have the reasons, they have the motivation, they have the skill. Bruce looks around and sees that no one else is stepping up to intervene.

So he redirects them. He establishes himself as their primary authority figure (just as Alfred did for him, whether he had the same mentality as Bruce or not) and lays the no-killing rule on thick. He trains them and makes them better than the villains that already are and the villains that will be and the villains they might have become without him. He gives them a place to call home, if they so choose. He lets them be kids, he lets them be HIS kids, and slowly the family builds over time. He gives them a choice to reject villainy and he makes it enticing. He makes heroism look a little more fun, he makes it seem a little bit easier, and he makes them a little bit braver.

They make their own choices. Not all of them adhere to the no-killing rule the way Bruce does. Not all of them stay home and dwell in Wayne Manor full time. Not all of them even stay in Gotham.

But they don’t become villains. With very few exceptions, the Batman rarely stands against his kids. Whatever they are, it’s miles away from what they might have been without Bruce. It made a difference. The danger Bruce saw when he met each kid did not come to pass.

[sophie1973]

(A bit more than) Seven Sentence Sunday

I was tagged for Wip Wednesday by @onthewaytosomewhere, @pridepages and @hgejfmw-hgejhsf and today by Mel as well and thanks to some work and a few great writing sprints with friends I can now share a last (unedited) snippet of chapter 2 of Bloodstream before posting the chapter (finally!) probably tomorrow.

Chapter one can be found HERE

“Are you seriously telling me that you hunt vampires and other night creatures on a semi-regular basis but you’re scared of getting into an elevator?”

The iron structure stands proudly against the Parisian sky, but Henry looks at it with a wary look. It is definitely a construction wonder, and Henry heard that its A shaped form was an homage to a woman named Adrienne that Gustave Eiffel had been in love with. He had no idea if that rumor was true, but the fairy-tale dreamer in him liked the idea. That doesn't mean he wants to climb on the damn thing.    “Not scared, it’s just…It’s very high.” Alex grins. “300 meters to be exact, but we’re only going to the second floor, which is 115 meters high.” Henry frowns, trying to stall a bit more. Not that he has any chance of succeeding. Once Alex has set his mind on something, it is an impossible task to distract him. Henry doesn’t even try. “But isn’t it closed at this time?” Alex smiles smugly. “I have an arrangement with Gustave.” “Darling, I’m pretty sure you’ve never met Gustave Eiffel.” “Ok, no. But I know the next best person - the guy in charge of the visits. With a little convincing and a good wad of french money he was extremely cooperative. I heard the sunset is lovely from up there. You’re coming?” Henry sighs, unable to deny him anything, least of all a little elevator ride, especially if it is to watch the sunset together from the second floor of the Eiffel tower. His vampire is nothing if not a big romantic at heart, and Henry loves him and his sometimes crazy ideas all the more for it.

Tagging the lovely friends who tagged me on Wednesday as well as a no pressure tag for @stellarm @piratefalls @anincompletelist @itsmaybitheway @orchidscript@magicandarchery @happiness-of-the-pursuit

[hummingbee-lievable]

Song of the Day #6:

'Keeping Secrets' by Rebecca Romijin, Tom Polce, and Kay Hanley.

No one can keep you small

Be bulletproof and ten feet tall

An island

Track 6 of 'Subspace Rhapsody', the Musical episode of 'Strange New Worlds'.

Fun fact: In the original series, there is an episode (made famous by the first interracial kiss on television, which William Shatner encouraged by refusing to cooperate with the directors, who wanted to film a version with the kiss, and a version without), called 'Plato's Stepchildren' (1968). In the episode, our favourite characters are forced into actions by people with psionic abilities, including Spock being forced to sing 'Maiden Wine' (which Leonard Nimoy actually composed himself!). (Semi related: 'Maiden Wine' always makes me think of 'Summer Wine' by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, which deserves its own post.) This episode is the only other time Spock has sung in the show, and 'Subspace Rhapsody' is the first fully musical episode of Star Trek since its first airing in 1966.

Personal blurb: Look, I'm going to be honest. If I meet you in a corner of a bookshop and we start geeking out about musicals, this isn't the first, second, or seventeenth one that I'll bring up. The lyrics are not necessarily my preferred flavour (and there are some that I viscerally disagree with). That being said, I find the melodies exciting and invigorating enough that it's worth a listen to (or multiple listens to) on the road from one side of the country to the other. I feel the same way about 'The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical'. They are both fun, sweet, and simple. I have never actually watched the Star Trek episode (nor the Bridgerton show). Someone with whom I worked at the Renaissance Faire introduced it to me and I really liked the sound. I get the specific lyrics I shared here stuck in my head on a regular basis, including today, so now you can suffer with me.

[sylusheart]

vanguard ft. nico

word count. 5,506 words

cw. fem!reader, creampie, cunnilingus, use of vibrator, car/van sex, pet names, semi-public sex, exhibitionism, face riding, rough oral sex, teasing, nipple piercings, nipple play, nipple licking/sucking, clit/genital piercing, shameless smut, dirty talk, swearing, counter/tabletop sex, couch sex, scissoring

a/n. being a devil hunter was hard work, luckily for you - you worked with nero and nico on a regular basis, especially now more so than ever seeing as there was an influx of qliphoth roots sprouting all over the city. but with one fight after another, you find yourself taking a break in nico's van. and let's just say being alone with her came with many surprises…

ao3 version

“alright then,” nero said abruptly, rising from his seat. you turned around, watching him make some final adjustments to his devil breaker before he looked up. feeling the weight of your gaze, he gave you a soft smile. “i think it’s time i get back out there. can’t have those demons running around for too long.”

you smiled back at him, returning the gesture. nero was always friendly with you. even though he seemed like an asshole to everyone else but kyrie, he was always cooperative with you — and v for that matter. you hadn’t known him long but it seemed he already considered you family. he would give you many warm-hearted smiles here and there and would treat you as if you were a younger sibling he was entirely responsible for, in a similar fashion to how he would take care of the orphans that him and kyrie looked after.

even when you first met him, you could tell that behind his rough and ruthless exterior he had a heart of gold — which was evident in the way he treated those he loved and the way he treated strangers.

nico made a noise. sounding much like a scoff. “finish the job this time.”

her voice was teasing, mocking even. enough to get under nero’s skin. you had noticed the two of them would banter like this quite often, but usually it would end up with nico just blatantly pissing nero off.

immediately, nero’s smile fell at nico’s words, his lips twisting into a snarl. he rolled his eyes and headed for the side door of the van before jumping off and sliding it shut. leaving just you and nico inside.

“maybe i should go with him,” you thought to yourself, not realising you said it out loud. he was cleaning up the city before he was going to make his way along the qlipoth roots to find dante. you offered to lend him a hand before, to which he refused almost immediately, saying he just wanted you to stay where it was safe. but after arguing for a while he let you tag along — the two of you slicing and dicing the demons that showed up ever since the qliphoth roots decided to sprout even more hands and legs all over redgrave.

and although he hadn’t made any notion to let you know you could join him once again this time, you still felt inclined to do so — even if it would piss him off again.

“maybe you shouldn’t,” nico offered. you turned around, seeing her leaning by the record player. she stood there casually, eyes locked with yours as she brought her cigarette to her lips and took a puff.

“he’s a big boy. he can handle himself,” she continued. keeping her eyes on yours.

“but—“ you tried again, only to be cut off.

“but nothin’.” she concluded for you. her hand came back up to her mouth, pulling the cigarette out a final time before she firmly pressed the butt of it onto the counter. successfully putting it out.

she tossed it behind her before sauntering over to you, a teasing smile casting over her features.

a wave of nervousness crossed over you. you were sort of embarrassed to admit it out loud but you couldn’t deny it; nico was so very attractive. you were sure that her looks and her upfront personality was what made you feel this way. as if your stomach was deciding to grow qliphoth roots of its own.

you hadn’t felt like this around any other women before. which is why being alone with her was something you usually avoided whenever you could.

her freckles dusted her nose and cheeks so perfectly, making her look somewhat innocent and frail, when in reality she was anything but that. her eyes and lips were your favourite though. whenever she stared at you, you felt your stomach heat up with an odd sensation. her eyes were so captivating, so dark, every time her gaze was on you it felt like you were stuck in a trance. a hypnotic state that left naughty and improper thoughts in your pretty little head.

not to mention her lips.

those lips of hers were so pink, so plump. you could never take your eyes off of them, especially when she had them pursed around her cigarettes. a habit you wish she steered clear of, but even she wouldn’t listen to the pleas of a doll like you.

nico knew her lips were one of her best features — aside from her wild hair — and so of course, she made an effort to accentuate them.

at times when she was driving, you would occasionally see her pull down her sun visor, checking herself out in the mirror before applying a coat of lip balm. sometimes she would catch you watching her as she did so, giving you a wink through the rear view mirror. causing you to look away almost immediately.

now that you thought about it, from the very day you met her you had always felt a sense of tension around her. so hyper-aware of her every time she was near, and every time she was not.

and with these moments of realisation, you came to terms with the fact that within her presence you’d always find yourself incredibly wet.

this fact was… embarrassing, of course. which explained why you tried not to end up in situations like this.

if she’d known the things you thought about her…

you didn’t know if your desire for her began because of the way she laid eyes on you during your first meeting and the way she just couldn’t help but check you up and down and so loudly proclaimed that you were the most beautiful lass she had ever laid eyes on, or if it was because you would notice how she would stare at you a little longer than she would anyone else. observing every detail of you. every part. like she wanted to experiment on you the way she did with all the scraps nero brought back to her.

sometimes, when you got back from missions with dante she’d lean over to whisper in your ear about how good your tits looked with sweat glistening on your cleavage. or how she could see your lace panties underneath your short skirts.

every time, it left you wet. so wet, you would go home still thinking about it. thinking about why it was only her words that made you feel so… aroused. her little comments got even dirtier each time which only made matters worse.

to her, those words she spoke to you must’ve been nothing short of normal — maybe that was just the way she liked speaking to women, hyping them up even if it was in the most… lewd way possible. but to you, those words had you feeling sensations you didn’t know your body could feel. your body reacted to her words on its own accord. wanting more. you were sure she’d tease you for taking her compliments so seriously if she ever found out how worked up her quips got you.

“you sick of me or somethin’?” she asked suddenly. noticing how you zoned out for a bit after she turned down your offer to go chase after nero. “don’t wanna stay in here with me? scared i might bite?”

“what? no, of course not!” you denied immediately. not wanting her to get the wrong idea. the last thing you wanted nico to do was put a stop to all those little comments she made about you. your favourite ones were the remarks she would make out loud and in front of everyone, it was like she couldn’t help but boast about how gorgeous you were.

though, you had to admit, her whispered words turned you on the most.

but in this moment, you couldn’t help but ponder over what she just said.

about how she could bite.

truthfully so, she seemed the type to be a reckless lover. peppering her partner with kisses and hickeys all over. marking her territory by branding her lover’s skin…

and just like that, images of her lips trailing up your body, leaving dark red bruises all over plagued your vision.

you felt your cheeks warm.

why were you thinking such inappropriate things? nico clearly didn’t mean what she had just said in a sexual way, so why did you? why was it that when you were around her a part of you wished she’d take that risk and make a move. prove her words with actions. to show you that she meant all those teasing little things she would whisper to you.

“really? ‘cause that’s not the vibe i’m gettin’, sweetheart ,” she continued with her teasing. nico was inches away from you now. you could still smell the strong scent of burned tobacco.

you didn’t respond, just looked to your side. unable to concentrate with her so close. you didn’t want to prove her right by moving away — the only thing you could do was stand there as you tugged at your skirt, fiddling with anything you could to distract you from the woman in front.

she made a noise, something like a low snort. observing your behaviour, seeming surprised from your… shyness.

“i put you on edge, don’t i?” she asked in a voice so quiet, so seductive, and so different from her chipper tone it made the little hairs on your skin raise.

she was so close. too close.

involuntarily your thighs squeezed together, your fingers stopped fiddling with your skirt as you tried your best to seem unaffected by her accusation. how could she see right through you? how was it that she always knew what to say to put you on edge?

she made a sound of disapproval. unhappy with your lack of responses. and before you knew it, she used both her hands on either side of you to cage you in. pressing you against the counter behind.

“nico, what are you—“

“c’mon, don’t play with me. are we seriously goin’ to keep doin’ this?”

“doing what—"

“ignoring this,” said nico, making a dramatic gesture between the two of you with her arms. but before you could escape from underneath her grip she clamped her hands back down on either side of you. she had you cornered by her work-top counter, the place she was usually found repairing nero’s devil breakers.

you knew that if you denied it now, what you truly wanted from her was never going to happen.

“i’m not ignoring this, it’s just— are we seriously going to discuss something like this now? it isn’t the right time. i mean, what if someone—“

you gasped. after hearing you implication of approval — that you wanted this just as much as she did — she brought her hand underneath your little skirt and cupped your pussy. heat pooled down to your core at the action, her hand felt so good — so warm, that mind barely processed her next few actions. she pinched your underwear and bunched it to one side before thrusting two fingers in.

you whimpered at the sudden intrusion, and she groaned after finding out how deliciously wet you were. pleased to know that all her teasing had such an effect on you. your walls immediately tightened around her digits, soaking them with your wet juice. you used your hand to grip her shoulder for support as she stretched her fingers out with a scissoring motion.

she curled her fingers, involuntarily making your back arch against the counter. the wet sloppy noises of your pussy taking her fingers in and out filled the van.

you squirmed as your breathing became uneven. you were desperate to come just from her hand fucking you into oblivion. it was insane. you had never known your body could even produce such a reaction.

to regain some balance and composure you threw both of your hands around her neck, to which she used her free arm to pick you up and place you on the counter as she continued fucking your pussy with her fingers. her rough ministrations had you whining uncontrollably; a desperate little mess just wanting to come.

this was everything you wanted. you had dreamed of the day she’d be finger-fucking your cunt and now it was finally happening. it was too much for you. it was so unreal. you were sure you were going to come all over her in only just a few seconds.

“nico,” you whimpered her name, lazily bucking your hips to meet her hard and quick thrusts. she was fucking you like she was making up for all those times she went without touching you. like she was letting your pussy know who she belonged to.

nico kept assaulting your wet cunt with her fingers. her concentration was impossibly focused on maintaining the speed she was at, enjoying the way this pace had you moaning continuously every other second.

“that’s it,” nico spoke, as her fingers pumped into your pussy over and over with such brutal force, “your pussy takes me so easily, huh?”

nico rammed her fingers impossibly deeper. ripping a moan from your throat. a third finger pushed into your pussy and you couldn’t help but scream.

“yes, just like that please,” you shamelessly moaned out, feeling your body heat up more so than ever at the noises you were making and her undivided attention on you. your toes tingled and thighs squeezed, alerting you that your body was so close to release. your nipples were painfully sore, too. just begging to be soothed.

nico groaned at your desperate cry and picked up her speed. ramming into you like a madwoman. the wet noises coming from your pussy were louder now, like nico was plunging her way in. your growing wetness was so hot, so creamy, nico couldn’t wait to see just how much you could come.

“what a good girl,” she cooed. mesmerised by your face completely in bliss. your eyes rolled back at her praise as she fucked your pussy into oblivion. you were so wet, so fucking wet you needed to come now. erotic sounds echoed around the entire van as you occupied them with your whiny moans.

as if sensing your desperation for release, nico pulled her fingers out, causing you to whimper at the loss of contact. but before you could complain she brought her fingers to her mouth — coating them with her saliva. her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, savouring the taste, before plunging them back into you. effortlessly making you so much more wetter.

your walls clenched around her deliciously, taking every pump of her fingers so perfectly.

“fuck,” she swore, “i gotta get another taste,” she told you in haste and before you knew it she was kneeling before you — her tongue latched onto your weeping cunt as she used her fingers to play with your delicate pearl.

her other hand came over to push your thigh wider for better access as she devoured your pussy. her plump lips lapped up your juices and you moaned at the sensation of her nose rubbing against your clit.

her glasses fogged up but she didn’t seem to care. she was way too focused on making you come, her tongue viciously attacking your folds — hoping to have you wet her face with your liquids very soon.

she groaned into your pussy, enjoying this far more than yourself. you pushed your leaking cunt upwards, searching for her mouth, wanting to get as much of her as you could. she complied, her tongue moving over to pay attention much lower down. her hands automatically held your thighs further apart — allowing her to feast on your pussy more thoroughly. you squeezed your eyes shut, the sensation was unbelievable. your eyes rolled back as her tongue lapped up the wetness you were producing.

nico could barely hold herself back. her own pussy was throbbing with need. wanting to press her wetness against yours and rub her folds on your precious swollen pearl as you tried to reach release underneath her.

“fuckin’ delicious,” she murmured before moving higher again to show attention to your sore bud. you whined and clenched your thighs around her head, causing her to chuckle against your pussy. the sound vibrated up your core, and you felt your pussy clench and unclench — wanting more.

“that’s it, sugar,” she encouraged you further as she continued eating you out. the way her mouth moved against you was everything . her mouth moved expertly on you pussy, making inappropriate noises as she sucked you dry. your cunt felt so painful and sore already, your eyes almost fluttering shut from the feeling of her hot mouth abusing your desperate cunt.

a knot started to fold in on itself within your lower stomach, your breathing went rapid as you jerked your hips. nico never left her mouth from your pussy — practically burying herself in your heat.

“nico—“ you whimpered.

“mhm?”

“i’m gonna—“

your hips slowed for a split second before bucking completely. your pussy practically jittering against her mouth as you came. your eyes squeezed shut as you let out a strangled moan, feeling your juices leak out of you in an instant. your heat oozed onto the tip of her nose and dripped down her mouth, the liquid slowly cascading down her chin as she lapped up your orgasm.

her tongue kept going, licking up every drop of you — causing you to moan and thrash about. but her hand quickly came up and spanked your ass, making you jitter against her once again.

she finally detached herself from your cunt. using the back of her hand to wipe off the evidence of your orgasm. smirking down at you with a predatory gaze as the both of you regained your breaths in silence. you felt overly flushed at the sight of her staring at you so hungrily down at your bare cunt. your skin hot over the fact that you just… did that.

your tight hole pulsated as hot cum slithered out of your weeping pussy, hoping for more of what nico was willing to give.

you couldn’t think straight. you just knew that you wanted nico to make you come like that a second time.

as if sensing this, she picked your limp form offf of the counter and took you over to the couch where she put you down to lay. straightening herself she quickly stripped herself off of her clothes, standing completely naked in front of you. a sight that had your pussy clenching and desperate for release all over again.

what caught your eye though was the fact that her nipples were pierced. something you’ve never noticed before. your mouth parted. dying to have a taste of them in your mouth, even if her breasts would barely fit inside. you wondered how they’d feel brushed against your own tits. how the metal would feel pressed against your skin.

her cunt wasn’t shaved unliked yours, and for some reason you grew wet again over the thought of her pussy against yours. rubbing until you both were coated in each others orgasms. her thin hairs playing a part in the stimulation.

she watched, with a smirk on her face, as you laid there taking in her form. with quick movements, she leaned down and ripped off your skirt all whilst she effortlessly slid off your top, revealing your white bra which was covered with small violet coloured flowers.

she chuckled. “cute.”

before you could defend yourself, she fully joined you on the couch, towering over yourself before her lips attached onto your breast, sucking your nipple even as you kept your bra on. your breath hitched, the sight of her like this drove you crazy. she seemed so starved, she didn’t even bother slipping the undergarment off of you and just went straight to it.

you were now impossibly aware of the lack of clothes between the two of you and all you wanted was to feel more. you took your hand and curled it behind yourself to slip off your bra. she momentarily released your nipple, inspecting the wet patch she had made on your bra before allowing you to slip it off. as soon as you tossed the garment aside she greedily bent down to suck your other nipple. using her teeth to lightly bite as she used her saliva to soothe her assault. her eyes flicked up to watch your reaction from her violent admiration of your body, loving the way your eyelids fluttered and lips parted at her ministrations. she needed more.

quickly, you were reaching another exciting orgasm. fuck, you wanted her to drain you as much as she wanted. she was ethereal like this, devouring your breasts as if they were her last meal.

you feared you could come from her sucking and biting alone.

she let go of your tit, and you mewled at the loss of contact. she chuckled before lifting herself off of the couch and sauntering off somewhere behind you. you twisted your head, your eyes following her — watching as she went to retrieve something. now, without the distraction of her touching you and being so close, you could take in the view that was her striking body. tattoos covered her almost entirely, the beautiful strokes of ink complimented her curvy canvas. her ass was so plump, you wondered how she’d feel on your face. you felt your pussy tighten at the thought. fuck, you were so desperate.

it was thoroughly embarrassing.

you were so concerned about someone interrupting the two of you just moments before, so ready to shut down the chances of you and nico ever happening just because you were afraid of what others would think. but yet, after she made you come — after she ate your pussy and fingered you so good you couldn’t even summon the words to deny her any more.

your eyes trailed down to her thighs, finding a glisten of slick trail down her inner thigh. it turned you on even more knowing she was that wet just from pleasing you. just the sight of her dripping juice ran you wild.

suddenly, she turned. a small purple object in hand.

“what’s—“

“a bullet vibrator.”

your eyes widened at her words, to which she laughed aloud at your alarmed reaction. the purple object — or well, vibrator — was barely about the length of a hand. it had a funky shape to it, curving slightly along the sides as if a ripple of waves. though it didn’t seem to have any sort of buttons on it, which made you wonder how it even worked.

“don’t crap yourself; it’s not a real bullet, darlin’. just shaped like one. i made this for kyrie actually… but i never got around to givin’ it to her. so i guess i should just put it to use on you instead. i’m sure sweet surrender has been keepin’ kyrie company anyway. she won’t need this as much as we do right now,” she said, chuckling to herself before walking over to you. she stared down smugly at your naked body. looking at you like she wanted to ruin you.

you narrowed your eyes in confusion, unsure of what this sweet surrender was, but frankly enough you weren’t curious enough to ask.

“see, so this is what i’m gonna do to you, pretty girl,” she began, a smirk cascading her face. you resisted the urge to gulp. whatever she had in store for you, you were sure she wasn’t going to hold back. nico wasn’t the type to do so.

“i’m gonna put this,” she said, lowering her hand holding the purple bullet down between the seam of your pussy. you shivered a little at the sudden contact, your nipples growing impossibly sore once again.

“right here,” she continued. “and then i’m gonna press myself between your pretty legs.” meeting your body on the couch, she lowered herself replacing her hand with her own cunt. holding the vibrator against you. she was so slick, you felt the vibrator slide down a little before she manoeuvred it with her hands pulling it high enough until the top of it met your soft bud.

you hissed at the brush of her fingers.

you had one leg over her body, as she had one leg over yours. the two of you pressing against each other in a scissor-like position.

“this comfortable?” she asked, to which you responded by nodding eagerly. she all but gave you another menacing smirk.

“good,” she said before pressing herself harder against you. slowly, she moved her hips. she rubbed her pussy against yours up and down, the movements making the the device rub in between your wet cunt.

“oh that’s—“ you began, but cut off as soon as you felt the device prickle to life. the vibration was low but buzzed every atom in your body. it felt surreal, the slide of her pussy on yours and the vibrating toy brought on a sensation that was beyond what you could comprehend. a mixture of cold and warm pressing up against your tight, creamy hole.

nico kicked her head back and rubbed her wet pussy faster against yours. small grunts leaving her mouth as she moved. your hips moved in sync with hers, following her rhythm. the vibrator hummed as it toyed around with the remnants of your orgasm and her slickness.

“nico, this— feels s’good…” you whimpered, the sensation feeling absolutely unreal. your tight hole felt so sore it was the best feeling ever. you reached down to play with your clit but nico had other plans. she grabbed your hand and put it on her breast, making you fondle her.

you obliged, using your fingers to play with the metal bar that pierced through her nipples.

she let out a moan, which only made you fiddle with her even more. squishing her big breasts in your hand so desperately, wanting to hear her make that noise again.

“just like that, baby. fuck, your hands feels so good on me. so right,” she moaned, hips moving faster.

“yes, yes, oh, please. gonna come all over again,” you whined. legs quivering.

“you’ll come on my pussy like a good girl, won’t you?” she asked. her voice low and sexy. skin glowing with sweat.

“yes!” you squealed, as she pressed her cunt against you harder. holding your thigh so that there was absolutely nothing but your pussies between you and her.

she pat your ass with her other hand, smirking deviously as she watched your cunt savagely coat the vibrator with your wet juices. it was barely even purple now.

simply just the pearly white colour of your first release.

nico turned up the speed of the vibrator.

“come with me?” she asked — no, demanded.

but wasn’t time for a response because you were already on your second release. body lifting from the couch as you came against her.

“well fuck,” she groaned out with a chuckle, still continuing to rub against you even as your aching pussy was trying to recover. in fact, the wicked girl went even faster, chasing her orgasm just so she could come alongside you.

you knew she was there when she used both hands to grip your hips and then suddenly came to a halt, her juices suddenly oozing out and dripping against yours. the vibrator — too slick with both of your orgasms — fell down between the crevices of the couch, long forgotten.

nico let out a huge breath, “fuck, that was good. mind if i ride your face? i want my come all over your lips. i dunno, i think that’d be real sexy…”

who were you to deny?

with your nod of approval, she detached herself from your legs and slowly moved to lower her pussy onto your face. you caught a glimpse of something though, a glint of what looked like a piercing. fucking hell, she had her clit pierced too?

no wonder you felt something cold prodding on your pussy as you both fucked the vibrator. your tongue immediately poked out to lap up her juice and play with her little piercing. the small ring pressed against your tongue, and you sucked on the tiny bulbs on the ends. aggressively nipping and licking at her clit, the slide of your tongue making her grow more sensitive to your touch. she moaned and put a hand in your hair, tugging roughly. your tongue trailed down and devoured her folds in the same manner she did on yourself — with so much desire.

“mm, that’s what ‘m talking about,” she groaned, fucking your face with her cunt. your hands raised to hold onto her ass cheeks, squeezing hard as your tongue fucked her tight hole. she tasted incredible, so warm and sweet.

“like the taste of my pussy?” she chuckled. you groaned against her cunt in response. “i take that as a hell yeah.”

your tongue worked in and out of her, needing to have her come on you all over again. you were both so sticky and slick. it should’ve been gross but it was the exact opposite. you wanted more.

her voice brought you back from your dirty thoughts. “i feel it comin’… you’re doing so good, sugar. just a little more— fuck, that’s right. that’s my girl.”

she squeezed her thighs around your head, throwing her head back yet again. her breasts bounced, giving you the best view, as she rode your face with no mercy.

“fuck, fuck, fuck. i’m gonna cream, sugar. fuck, i—” following the strong tug at the roots of your scalp, nico’s pussy squirted on your face, her liquids shooting out in short bursts as she groaned from the intense feeling. your own pussy clenched around nothing, getting all horny just from hearing her noises and feeling her release on you.

you couldn’t believe you made her squirt. it boosted your ego, you couldn’t lie.

she collapsed backwards on the couch, giving you the opportunity to actually breathe now. though, a newfound sense of boldness cascaded you and you found yourself crawling over her body.

she laid back with her head thrown back and eyes shut. breathing heavily from how hard she released. a smile tugged on her lips when she felt your body slide against hers. she was always ready for another round it seemed.

her hand found the nape of your neck and held you gently, though you had other plans.

you lowered your head and attached your lips onto a pierced nipple, your tongue darting out to feel the cold metal. you sucked and grazed your teeth against her mound, trying your best to fit her full breast in your mouth but failing.

you blinked up at her, finding her watching you with hooded eyes and a loving gaze. her fingers absentmindedly playing with the baby hairs at the back of your neck.

you let her breast go with a loud pop, and then decided it was time for you to have your fun, too.

you climbed up her body and pushed her further down the couch so that you could easily sit on her face and have the ride of your life.

eagerly, you positioned your thighs on either side of her anticipating face, slowly lowering your clit to her reddened lips.

she groaned in approval, immediately using her hands to manoeuvre your hips. moving your body in line with her licks. her tongue was so hot, bullying your swollen hole in the most delicious way. your clit was so puffy and pink from how much nico had been abusing it.

“that was a piece of cake. what you got to say now, nico? and don’t start calling me deadweight too—" nero’s voice rang out as he slammed open the door to the van. the rest of his words stayed in his mouth when he saw the sight before him.

your eyes widened upon seeing him standing there. your hips stilled in shock. though… nico kept going. unbothered, she slid her tongue in and out of your sore hole, searching for your next release. eager to make you squirt the way you made her. the sounds of her eating you pussy occupied the silence. further fuelling your embarrassment.

shit. you knew this was going to happen. you knew. you had a hunch right from the beginning. that someone could interrupt. that—

but the sounds of her mouth licking up your sloppy pussy, and the feeling of her tongue abusing you inside out was all too much. you couldn’t think of anything else. you couldn’t care about anything else. you swore she was being extra loud on purpose.

nero turned on his heel, walked out the door and slammed it shut.

a singular moment of silence passing by before a muffled yell could be heard from outside the van.

“nico… what the fuck?!”

sylusheart © all rights reserved.

[govindhtech]

Quality assurance using IBM Ignite Quality Platform

IBM Ignite Platform

QA is a vital phase in the software development lifecycle, verifying that software fulfills quality standards before release. QA is a systematic approach of discovering, preventing, and correcting issues throughout the development process.

But there are a number of issues in the QA field that impact defect volume, test case automation, and test case inventory. The huge number of test cases might make managing the inventory difficult and result in inefficiencies and resource shortages. Test case automation is useful, but it may also present difficulties when it comes to choosing the right instances, ensuring adequate upkeep, and obtaining thorough coverage. Software quality and release schedules are impacted by defect volume, which is a constant source of worry.

To overcome these obstacles, a careful and proactive strategy is needed to reduce the number of errors in the QA process, maximize the efficacy of automation, and simplify test cases. Delivering high-quality software solutions that satisfy user expectations and industry requirements requires striking a balance between these factors.

IBM Ignite testing Test case optimization must be the main priority if test case volume is to be decreased. In order to cover different situations, this method entails finding duplicate or overlapping test cases and unifying them. It’s crucial to prioritize test cases according to crucial features and possible hazards in order to maximize testing efficiency. By maximizing coverage without sacrificing quality, teams may also direct resources where they are most needed by using risk-based testing. Careful design and ongoing maintenance may improve the efficacy of test case automation.

Another approach is to carefully choose the test cases for automation, emphasizing crucial, time-consuming, and repeated circumstances. Automated test scripts must also be updated on a regular basis to ensure their relevance and dependability in the face of application changes. Implementing strong testing approaches, such as shift-left testing, where testing activities are started earlier in the development process, is a proactive response to faults. To find and fix bugs early, development and testing teams should emphasize cooperation, use tools for static analysis, and conduct comprehensive code reviews.

All of this is provided by IBM via The IBM IGNITE Quality Platform (IQP), a DevOps-enabled single sign-on platform that optimizes testing using proprietary techniques and AI capabilities. The platform introduces shift left strategies that support an organization’s end-to-end testing lifecycle by accelerating automation with healing capabilities and predicting and preventing problems. These approaches also lead to high-quality delivery.

IBM Ignite tool Handle: Supported by an integrated platform that centrally and in one location controls several tenants, users, apps, projects, and all the functional and technical settings required for the testing process. It also encourages the quality plan journey, which lowers faults as its goal. Additionally, it incorporates several third-party connectors, including top git-based repositories, test and defect tools, and cloud-based web and mobile testing tools, as well as quality suggestions that come from other components.

Optimize: Aimed to bring in a shift left in revealing faults early and provide the best possible collection of testcases with 100% coverage.

Requirement analytics (RA): A natural language processing (NLP) tool for requirements analysis that drives in shift left, finds ambiguities, and assesses complexity. Additionally, it helps identify important features for the optimization journey in a semi-automated manner.

Search Tag & Model (STAM) Using a text-based analytics tool called Search Tag & Model (STAM), users may quickly analyze a large number of pre-existing tests to find redundancies and pinpoint important characteristics for the optimization process.

Optimization (TO): A tool based on the Combinatorial Test Design Methodology that facilitates the creation of an optimized test plan with the greatest possible coverage using YAML, relational data, existing tests, and current requirements. incorporates ideas of functional context modeling and attribute pooling for reusability.

IBM Ignite test automation The goal was to swiftly create, automate, and run many unattended tests on a range of platforms, data, and settings.

Assists in producing TO model-based and nonmodel-based tests that are prepared for both automated and manual testing (Test Generation, TG). Additionally, it facilitates the rapid conversion of bespoke Selenium-based frameworks to IQP-specific automation, automated BDD script development using recording mechanisms, and custom BDD generation for client-based frameworks. Optimized Test Flow Automation (OTFA) is a scriptless test automation framework based on Cucumber that supports the automation of Web, Mobile, REST, and SOAP-based applications. It integrates Jmeter-based performance testing with visual testing and has an integrated test healing feature.

Analyze Skilled in comprehending the defect patterns of a client, cognitive test components facilitate speedier defect resolution, provide insight, and forecast potential issues. These predictions lead to preventative advice that may be used to both Agile and conventional engagements. Better planning and fewer test cycles are also facilitated by its failure prediction capacity.

Defect Classify (IDC) is a plug-in solution that enables automated defect assignment and categorization while on the move, facilitating quicker defect analysis and resolution. Defect Analytics (IDA): Designed with the defect reduction approach in mind, this tool comprehends the flaws’ semantics and offers preventive advice to further minimize them. In order to improve test management and planning, Defect Predict (IDP) evaluates and forecasts the trend of defects in a test cycle. IBM’s unique methods to automation

IBM is prioritize optimization over automation as part of their multiple shift-left methodology approach to reduce the waste snowball effect. IBM make use of a contemporary framework that integrates low-code techniques and supports behavior-driven development (BDD). IBM methodology encompasses a thorough automation of Web, Mobile, API, and SOAP-based applications, which is smoothly combined with performance testing.

Their approach is to carefully integrate every function into the DevOps pipeline, encouraging a unified and effective development lifecycle, all while adhering to the continuous testing concept. Beyond this, they also support Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions and cloud deployment, promoting scalability, flexibility, and accessibility in a quickly changing technological environment.

Proof of the effectiveness of the IGNITE Quality and Test IBM’s main goal is to provide their customers with measurable value by strategically minimizing testing requirements and while fostering client trust. IBM’s multi-technical experience allows them to provide a full and adaptable solution that fulfills their clients’ needs. IBM consistent results and client trust have reinforced their market leadership and dedication to meaningful solutions.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[commercialroplants]

What Is A Commercial RO Plant? What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Commercial  RO Plants?

Water in business settings can be treated using Commercial RO Plant , a water purification technique that employs a semi-permeable membrane. It's hard to call this membrane technology a filtration technique. In reverse osmosis, osmotic pressure—a cooperative feature driven by chemical potential, a thermodynamic parameter—is overpowered by an applied pressure.

Advantages of Commercial RO Plant

Proper impurity disposal: Reverse osmosis effectively removes contaminants by capturing them. Because the RO system correctly disposes of the contaminants inside the mains water feed, no hazardous chemical water is released into the drains. Without using any ions, chemicals, resins, or other agents, the membrane eliminates the contaminants.

Less Dangerous Water: The Reverse Osmosis system creates water that is less dangerous. This is so that pure water can be produced without the use of chemicals. This is one of the greenest industrial wastewater treatment methods available.

Easy discharge process: The discharge procedure is made simple by the correct and simple disposal of contaminants without the use of any chemicals. In general, chemicals have a significant negative influence on the environment if they are disposed of carelessly. However, this procedure has gotten simpler as a result of RO technology, and wastewater can now be released into the environment even without treatment.

Let’s see if there are some disadvantages of Commercial RO Plants?

1: One disadvantage is a leak in the drainage or faucet systems. In essence, this occurs when the system components of a RO plant are ill-fitting. You should always keep an eye out for where the leaking is occurring, to receive relief from the leakage system.

The tubing can then be further inserted into ports, drain saddles, and valves, once you have tightened the fittings on that component. This will aid in the joint system's improvement.

2: One must deal with Reverse Osmosis plant’s loud sound emanating from the faucet or a drain, anytime you install a new system or change the filters, especially cartridge filters. Although, this issue goes away in a week or two, the loud noise will annoy you greatly for two weeks.

You can always call our specialists and professionals for assistance if you need to get rid of this.

3: Sometimes it causes the water to taste or smell terrible. The main cause can be exhausted filters and worn-out membranes. To fix the issue and improve the taste of the water, you must replace the worn-out filters and membranes. To lessen air and bubbles, the water that has been kept for a long time, must also be changed on a regular basis.

4: Slower water flow than necessary for operation is another issue the commercial RO plant faces. You must measure the water tank's capacity for this. When the bladder inside the tank can no longer withstand the pressure, the entire tank needs to be replaced.

5: The system runs non-stop, which is the final but not insignificant issue. This generally occurs when the valve is damaged or doesn't close properly. The membrane can sometimes even be installed incorrectly and yet cause the system to function. Therefore, you can monitor the pressure in the storage tank and subsequently change the valve as necessary, to stop the continuous flow.

6: Wastewater produced from reverse osmosis systems can be lost up to 20 times, as it is produced. This is wasteful for the environment as well as for households or businesses, whose water bills may be much higher.

7: Systems for reverse osmosis filtering are expensive.

8: Once a reverse osmosis system is operational, it can be expensive to operate properly and may call for expert maintenance, to assure safety and efficacy.

How can we assist?

Netsol Water assists its clients in achieving their goal of treating wastewater produced from Commercial RO Plants, and reusing it for different purposes. We use the most recent technology that complies with the established industrial standards and quality, because we care about the environment.

As a result, you don't need to be concerned about the services, as we are one of the most affordable businesses dedicated to protecting water resources. Further, to discuss your needs, contact us at 9650608473, or send an email to enquiry@netsolwater.com with your inquiry.

Visit the link for more information about the water plants: What Is The Capacity Of A Commercial RO Plant ?

[itswavelengths]

Overwatch 2 Is Asking Too Much Of Me

I'll admit: I wasn't really keeping an eye on the Overwatch 2 launch situation over the past few months. The reason I'd not been keeping an eye it is that, simply put, Activision Blizzard is a nightmare company and I didn't want to waste my time or energy thinking about it. What I had absorbed through osmosis before yesterday was that the game was originally planned to include a split focus on improving the already-stellar competitive multiplayer while also introducing a new suite of cooperative modes in an attempt to bring in new players who might not want to get yelled at over the mic by wannabe pros. In a sense, Overwatch 2 was to be something more similar to Destiny than its predecessor — an all encompassing game for all kinds of players — which is a tall order requiring mountains of effort and money, all of which Activision Blizzard hypothetically had access to (including literally owning Bungie / Destiny while they spun up development). I also knew the game launching yesterday would not be including the cooperative element and would instead be a pared down release, only featuring the newly updated multiplayer with a few additional playable characters and an updated monetization system.

Well, dear reader, I have played Overwatch 2. And honestly, I'm having a good time with it despite the icky feeling I get every time the Blizzard logo pops up on my screen. And every time the game prompts me to get the battle pass. And every time a challenge completion popup tells me I've earned enough in-game currency to maybe buy a cool cosmetic in eight to ten months if I can keep this pace up. I think this switch from a game riddled with loot boxes to a free-to-play game honing in on a seasonal battle pass is really the biggest takeaway here, because it shifts the entire focus of play as much as it does the business model of those making it.

I've done a bit of digging in the more hive-mindy parts of the internet and the prevailing sense in the Overwatch community is that the loot boxes were better than the current monetization path. As of this writing there is literally a post towards the top of the Overwatch subreddit with the title "I miss loot boxes" which is frankly wild as hell. The truth is that loot boxes were predatory and problematic enough to literally get outlawed by multiple governments around the world. It is also simultaneously true that the loot box model rewarded players with cosmetics on a semi-regular (but still infrequent) basis. By moving to a freemium battle pass model, the best rewards possible are now locked behind paid tiers of the pass while smaller, free rewards are scarce and uninteresting.

With loot boxes, the focus of playing Overwatch was getting better and climbing ranks — just continuing to play in this way would occasionally grant you items that may or may not be rewarding. The focus of Overwatch 2 is climbing battle pass tiers, which means players will be railroaded into completing daily / weekly / monthly / event challenges possibly antithetical to their play-styles or desires in an attempt to min-max cosmetic unlocks before they disappear forever. Both models are predatory and troublesome for different reasons, but I guess it’s not so shocking to see people putting on rose-tinted glasses in regards to a monetization system they once hated given the new path is so withholding by comparison. Generally speaking: When a battle pass season launches, players can make a judgement immediately by seeing the reward tiers if it’ll be “worth it” to purchase or not. Loot boxes allowed for the entire item pool to exist in the possibility space of rewards which was more exciting — but also more alluring to those with a hard time avoiding falling into the gambling-adjacent side of the model.

The overarching problem here is that Overwatch 2 needed to prove more to its returning playerbase¹, and the (admittedly still great) multiplayer from 2016 will feel largely unchanged to casual fans. The takeaway, then, is that Overwatch 2 is more a fun dip into a nostalgia pool than it is a game reclaiming its rightful spot at the top of the hero-based shooter genre. Again: I'm having a great time jumping into the solo-queue and exploring all of the characters that have been added since I last played². Changing teams from six players to five is welcome, and the more aggressive play is a joy — but it still feels distinctly similar to a game I already decided to leave behind years ago. So all I'm left with is a battle pass asking me to make this game my full-time hobby, but I've picked up a lot of those since 2016. If anything, I'm trying to drop some instead of adding more.

⏆

---

¹ I didn't even get into how Blizzard now makes you link a phone number to your Battlenet account but specifically disallows pre-paid phone plans. I’m sure the intention here was to prevent people from setting up fake accounts for cheating or other nefarious reasons but it is also creating a literal economic barrier to entry for a “free” to play game. Even people who purchased the launch bundle can’t play if they’re on a pre-paid plan. It's literally classist, and is going to cost Blizzard a lot of returning and potential players.

² Even going back to the original release of Overwatch, Pharah has always been my go-to character. She'd had ups and downs in the time I was actively playing the first game, but she absolutely rules in Overwatch 2. I've been trying to experiment more with tanks and supports (I also used to main Lucio), and truly haven't found a hero I dislike playing as yet. Everyone feels awesome, and that's remarkable.

[pochipop]

＃ MYSTIC MESSENGER !! ♡ — REACTING TO YOU GETTING HURT WHILE COOKING.

#. synopsis! — kitchenware can be dangerous .

#. characters! — jumin , saeran (ray) , yoosung .

#. warnings! — nongraphic depictions of small injuries .

#. alt accounts! — @ddollipop (nsfw) @yyolkchi (reblog/spam) .

#. others! — navigation & masterlist .

𖦹. ━ JUMIN !!

It's not that big of a deal, but the way Jumin quickly jumps to action could have fooled you into thinking you were in mortal danger if you didn't know better. The second he heard you hiss under your breath, knife falling onto the cutting board with a little clanking sound, he was at your side.

"Are you alright?" He questions, a worried edge permeating every syllable.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you assure him quickly, "—it's just a cut. I was being careless."

"It's bleeding," he notes, pulling you away from the counter and over to the sink.

He turns the faucet, pauses as he waits for the water to turn lukewarm, and examines your slit finger in the process. It's just as you'd said: a small cut resulting from a moment's carelessness. But, this is one of the ways Jumin shows love. Little things can turn into monumental things when they impact you, and he wants nothing more than to be your knight in shining armor. Even if you don't need one, he likes to think that maybe one day, he'll have the opportunity to save you the way you saved him. So, when it comes to tiny things like this, you don't complain when Jumin takes a strong initiative.

He tests the water himself first, making sure it's not hot enough to scald you before gently pulling your hand forward. The few droplets of blood rush off your finger as the water cascades over, cleaning the wound out.

"It's really not a big deal," you say softly, knowing that he's worried and has worked himself up, —even over something as miniscule as this.

And he knows you're right. Your cut is barely worse than the papercuts he gets on a semi-regular basis whilst handling paperwork at the office, and he's known to deal with those by working one handed while he sucks the cut until the blood stops. But when it comes to you, he fears even the smallest of things could harm you in unimaginable ways, and Jumin's biggest fear is letting you get hurt and being unable to do anything about it. You're the strongest person he knows, but he'd go to the ends of the Earth just to keep you from ever dealing with pain again. 

"We have a first aid kit in the bathroom," he mumbles as he turns the water off, acknowledging your comment with a pleading glance, —one that silently begs for your cooperation.

You comply.

He offers you his hand to squeeze when he applies some disinfectant spray. You apply a little pressure when he does, but it's more for Jumin than it is for you, and you suspect that he knows as much but chooses to say nothing of it.

The bandage he applies has little cat paw prints on it, and you stifle a giggle as he wraps it carefully around your finger. It's just so cute that you can't help yourself. 

"Is that comfortable enough?" He inquires, dark eyes meeting yours, breaking his intense concentration.

You bend your finger a bit and offer him a delicate smile.

"It's fine," you assure him, "—thank you."

Jumin sighs a little, relief lapping at the shores of his heart.

"Go sit for a while and I'll finish dinner. Then we can eat together," he requests.

As long as you get something to eat, you don't really care who cooks it, so you nod your head. Jumin smiles gently and brushes his lips past yours, soft and sweet.

𖦹. ━ SAERAN !!

When Saeran hears you curse, he looks your way; expression as blank as usual, but eyes swimming with worry.

"Hey," he says from behind you in order to get your attention, "what happened?"

"Nothing," you lie, pushing the grater away from you, "everything's fine."

He stands, knowing you well enough to understand that you were lying to avoid the embarrassment of admitting you'd gone and hurt yourself.

"Everything's not fine," he says, bluntly so, reaching around you to take your wrist into his grip.

For someone who can be so incredibly intimidating, Saeran is almost startlingly gentle. At least, he is when it comes to you. His lithe fingers wrap around your wrist, the warmth of his palm pressed flat to your skin. You could almost forget the pain of the small nick on your finger with his touch soothing you down like this.

"Let me see," he demands, —not aggressively, but as if asking for permission.

You comply, and he eyes the little cut along the tip of your finger.

"You cut yourself with the grater?" He asks, to which your eyes avert away from his face.

"It was an accident," you say, perhaps a bit defensively.

Saeran sighs.

"How many times have I told you to be careful when you use that thing?" He asks, but doesn't expect a genuine answer.

He doesn't get one.

"You need to pay better attention," Saeran continues, pulling your finger close to his lips. "I don't like it when you go and get yourself hurt."

With nothing more to say, he opens his mouth and presses the tip of your finger to his tongue. Your eyes widen, but you don't make any attempt to pull away from him. His tongue slides gently over the tiny wound, lapping at the blood. It's a rather crude method of solving the issue, but you can't bring yourself to mind. If it were anyone else, you'd likely think it was gross and pull your hand away at the speed of light, —but it's not anyone else. It's Saeran, and if anything, this is oddly attractive to you.

"There," he mumbles, tongue raking along his bottom lip swiftly, "better?"

It wasn't much of an issue in the first place, but you nod in reply, a little embarrassed by his antics.

"Yeah. Thanks," you answer in a voice just above a whisper.

He doesn't mind the taste of your blood, but even he knows it would be weird to say something like that, so he keeps the thought to himself.

"Go sit down and try not to get yourself cut again," he says, "I'll finish dinner."

His words might be a little harsh, but the soft touch that lingers on your wrist for a few moments longer is anything but. 

𖦹. ━ YOOSUNG !!

Yoosung's heart seizes in his chest when he hears you yelp from the kitchen in his small apartment. He doesn't even bother to pause his game before rushing your way. His chest caves a bit when he sees you holding your hand, eyes and nose scrunched up in pain.

"Y/n! What happened?" He asks, reaching out to clutch comfortingly at your shoulder, albeit a bit awkwardly.

"It's okay," you insist, still reeling a bit from the shock, "I burnt my hand a little, that's all."

In truth, it surprised you more than it actually hurt you. Still, you can't deny that the side of your hand is stinging, and though you haven't looked, you have a feeling that your skin might well be a bit discolored now.

Yoosung scrambles.

"Here, —put your hand under some cool water for a minute or two," he says, turning the faucet knobs for you.

He's sure to test the temperature of the water for you before allowing you to place your hand under the light stream. You flinch a little at the initial contact, still sensitive in the freshly burned area. Yoosung turns the burner of the stovetop off, hunger all but forgotten in the wake of your admittedly minor injury. Right now, he couldn't care less about his own needs. Even if everything is fine, —he can't help but be worried.

"How bad does it hurt?" He inquires.

"Not bad," you reply, hoping to reassure him. "It only stings a little now, and it should go away soon. Nothing to worry about."

Too late. When it comes to you, the smallest things can work Yoosung up. He can't help himself. If there's anyone in this life he hates to see in pain, no matter the severity of it, it's you.

"We should have some antibiotic cream somewhere," he notes, "just wait here for a minute, I'll be right back."

He fulfills that promise, returning quickly with a small, white tube of ointment and a fluffy bath towel.

"Let me know if anything hurts," he says, taking your hand softly into his grip.

Yoosung gently dabs the lingering water droplets away from the burnt area with the towel before taking a generous amount of the antibiotic cream onto one of his long, lithe fingers. He spreads it evenly with feather-like touches, keeping the agitation to a bare minimum. You can't help but smile at how incredibly gentle he is.

"Okay," he smiles over at you softly, "that should do it. Does it feel any better?"

"My hand feels fine," you answer, leaning over to press a kiss to the apple of his cheek. "Thank you."

He blushes, eyes lighting up in the wake of your lips.

"I'll make dinner," Yoosung tells you, "—I hope you don't mind ramen. . ."

[dwcmarshalarts]

The ICC: A brief civics lesson

Given that today is Election Day in the United States, I thought it appropriate to do a brief rundown of the Interstellar Cooperation Circuit’s overall framework.

This’ll be a rare time where I’ll voluntarily lore dump like this. It isn’t that there isn’t lore to be spread, but that I just hate giving it all in a text dump instead of telling it organically.

Let’s go over.

OVERVIEW

The ICC, or Interstellar Cooperation Circuit is a supranational political federation between 32 member states. What it isn’t is a state in it of itself. Formed some time during the 22nd century originally as a purely economic arrangement between several major post-Earth star nations (originally named the Interstellar Trade and Commerce Circuit), the ICC developed into a formal political union over the course of a couple decades. Eventually this Federation started to acquire further domestic powers usually reserved to its member states. Broader jurisdiction over regulatory powers, standardization, increased cross-national projects such as infrastructure and the construction of the hyperlane highway system, are among the major reasons as to the gradual centralization of the ICC. The ICC, however, did not comprise all post-Earth star nations, and eventually in order to protect the Circuit from external threats, a move was made to create a federation-level military (The ICC Armed Forces). While certain member states could opt out and continue to maintain their domestic armed forces, the ICC Armed Forces would grow exponentially and in some cases supplant the local militaries entirely (as is the case in the largest and most powerful member state, the State of Greksil).

Overall, the ICC is a federation with almost three dozen member states, whose original economic focus was altered into a tighter and more centralized political union.

As an addendum, it is important to realize that the member states that comprised the original ITCC were the major descendants of old Earth, Western nations, with the post-American descendant being the State of Greksil, and the post-British descendant the Commonwealth of New Westminster being among the top most powerful nations in the ICC. While it’s relevant to go over cultural heritage, probably more important is the overall economic structures that bound the member states. All of these nations prioritized private and semi-regulated economic activity as the backbone of their economies, all of these nations to some degree practiced some form of economic exploitation of underdeveloped regions, and all of these nations had an effectively rigid system which hindered general economic mobility while ushering in massive profits for the well-to-do.

The ICC, by no means, is a star utopia, nor necessarily an improvement of real world economic conditions. Its legacy is a continuation of brutal imperialist hegemony, simply masked in the veneer of a commitment to liberty, while using an idealized version of the past to legitimize its cultural primacy over other star nations.

THE INNER WORKINGS

The ICC, as a federation, does not function the way a regular domestic state would. While, by the mid 24th century, the legal and cultural boundaries between each member state would exist largely as formalities, the ICC still put into place several stopgaps that still “technically” protected the sovereignty of each member state. This was represented in their three-pronged approach to the governance of the ICC. A Parliament would pass laws, a commission would enforce those laws and administer the Circuit, and a Council would check the power of an overstepping federation.

The Circuit Parliament What they are: The ICC Parliament is a unicameral legislature comprised of 1,200 seats, with proportional representation of each member-state on the basis of overall population. How they get appointment: The members of the ICC Parliament are elected every 5 galactic standard years, with every member state having districts in line with the number of seats they have in the Parliament. Candidates for CMP can run on any party ballot. Duties of the Parliament: After each election, CMPs are expected, as part of their duties, to pass laws on a whole host of issues, ranging from annual budgets, to economic regulation, to foreign aid, to special investigations, etc. Being directly elected by local populations, CMPs are also expected to be more directly tied to every day constituents, and are ostensibly meant to be the “people’s representatives.” CMPs form committees within the ICC Parliament to, on a more targeted basis, assess specific legislation, and are put on committees and boards based on seniority.

Who’s in charge: At the top of the Parliament are the elected officers, the head of which is the “President of the Parliament.” The President of the Parliament is more often than not the head of the party which controls the majority of the Circuit Parliament, or the head of the coalition of parties that head the government. As such, they can be considered the “Head of Government.” The Parliament President as such gets broad powers over setting the agenda and the passage of laws, and is responsible for getting support for legislation. What the Parliament President, as well as the Parliament itself, does not have power to do, is to affect the day to day administration of the ICC itself. There are no term limits.

In summary: In short, the Parliament merely comes up with and passes laws, in a multiparty unicameral legislature, elected directly by regular people in the Circuit. It does not enforce those laws.

So who does enforce Circuit laws? 

The Circuit Commission What they are: The ICC Commission is a high-level board of administrators appointed by committees within the Circuit Parliament. The board includes chairpeople heading entire, Circuit-wide departments (such as for infrastructure, defence, foreign affairs, etc). How they get appointment: These individuals are not members of the Circuit Parliament themselves. While they may originate from the Parliament, they abrogate their seats upon appointment and become heads of the vast ICC Bureaucracy. Who’s in charge: At the head of the Commission is the Commission President. The Commission President administrates, oversees, and for all intents and purposes is in charge of the day-to-day running of the Circuit itself. They enforce the Circuit laws, they travel between Circuit member states to discuss cross-Circuit affairs. They travel or send delegations to foreign star nations and negotiate interstellar deals. They direct military prerogatives and security apparati. While the Commission President has more than several checks on power by, particularly the Council President (we’ll go over that later), the Commission President, as “head of state,” de facto ends up being the most powerful of the ICC heads. There is a 2 term limit to Commission Presidents, with elections being held every 5 years, offset by 2.5 years from the Parliamentary elections. They can be removed from office by 3/4 majority vote of the Circuit Parliament, or by unanimous action by the Commission board.

The Circuit Council What they are: As a vestige from the early, decentralized days of the ICC, the Circuit Council was formed as a means of checking the power of a central ICC government and enforcement agency. How they get appointment: The small, 128 seat (4 for each member state) Circuit Council gets its members via direct appointment from the member states. This means that each member state decides on their own terms how they want their Council members appointed, and entirely locally decides who they send. What they do: These local, member-state government appointed representatives then convene on the regular to oversee the administration of the Circuit Commission or advise the Circuit Parliament if any laws appear to threaten member state sovereignty. They also, every 10 years, elect a new Council President, the chief sovereignty consultant of the ICC. In practice: It’s been decades since the ICC has been hung up on member state sovereignty. As a result, the office of Council President, and the whole Council itself is more or less purely ceremonial. Given this state of affairs, the Council President more than anything spends their time promoting ICC culture, administering cross-Circuit festivals, advocating for local traditions, and serving as the “democratic chief-of-state,” a largely figurehead position that affords little effective power, and more an office of de jure cultural legitimacy. They, while at this point have little real power over the Commission, are the cheerleaders of cultural practices within the ICC.

THE POLITICS

This section will be comparatively brief. The ICC Parliament, unlike its previous American ancestor, and more like its European ancestors has a strong and vibrant multi-party system. As such, no one single party tends to control the entire ICC legislature. The Parties run on their specific platforms come election time, and the members of each party tend to be seen as less relevant than their actual party manifestos. The ICC has a diverse range of political expression within the context of a liberal democracy. Major parties include the left-wing Social Democrats and the right-wing Union Party. The parties in charge in Parliament, by the time of the Percivals story in the mid-late 24th century, are the centrist Liberal and Democratic Unity Party, in a coalition with the smaller center-right Conservative Party, led by Parliament President Marcus Aster. Their platform is largely status quo protection: strong central federation authority, low-to-moderate economic regulation, emphasis on private sector led economic growth, belligerent foreign policy, and protection of individuals (including protected minorities) within the framework of ICC guaranteed rights pursuant to their constitution.The Lib-Dem Unity led coalition is not particularly bent on reshaping the ICC in any direction, not wanting to shift rightward toward either more open markets or outright despotism, but also not budging leftward in their allegiance to private property, and only fulfilling certain basic social programs like retirement/disability pensions, and free social services for low-to-no income earners. Their main representative in the Commission is President Nikita Meyer, whose reputation as a tactful legislator during her Parliament days manifests in her now second administration as a smooth political operator. The daily affairs of the Circuit are smoothly run by her subordinates in the various ICC bureaus and departments, while her eyes focus on external matters, especially around the ICC’s southeast neighbor, the Advocati Star Order.

The Council is as apolitical as the branches get, with the members appointed often being civil servants or cultural figures themselves, as opposed to lifelong politicians or career bureaucrats.

[honourablejester]

Since I’m apparently on the subject of bioluminescent mermaids again, I went back and dug up some worldbuilding notes for the story I originally had the idea for, and which basically never actually got written. It was essentially going to be a sci-fi/horror/noir set on a maritime planet (Lemuria), starring an eldritch abyssal mermaid nightclub performer and her nightclub-owner human partner (in all senses), dealing with industrial sabotage and race relations in a submarine city run by geothermal power.

If you want to see what my worldbuilding notes for stories often look like, this is (sometimes) it. Sometimes. Actually, this is quite organised for me. Normally I just wing it on the day.

Lemuria Notes

Contents:

Planet Lemuria (geography, inhabitants, language)

Major Nations/Peoples of Lemuria

Interplanetary Issues (Galactic Ruling/Judiciary Bodies)

Actual Story Idea

Planet Lemuria:

Lemuria has a very slow rotation around its own axis, especially compared to its solar orbit, with one full Lemurian day lasting two thirds of a Lemurian year. Planetary nights last for four months at the equators. The planet is primarily oceanic at this phase in its geological history, with two small continents still in existence, both largely on the same ('continental') side of the planet, and a series of many occupied island chains in the vast oceans on the other ('oceanic') side of the planet. Lemuria is home to a significant human colonial population on these landmasses, being gradually settled over the past 300 galactic years.

Lemuria is also home to what are called the demimondaine, which is a (human) collective term for the two or three loosely connected species of semi-humanoid aquatic beings (‘mermaids’) who are the original and continuing inhabitants of the planet. Demimondaine are broadly divided into three main types: surface or island demimondaine (warm-blooded, amphibious, very humanoid surface or upper water column demimondaine), ocean or deep water demimondaine (cold-blooded, amphibious, semi-humanoid mid-column demimondaine from the deeper oceans away from the islands and continents), and abyssal demimondaine (semi-humanoid, biomorphous, non-amphibious demimondaine from the sea floor and abyssal plains/trenches). The demimondaine form several major nation states on the planet, and have a (mostly) friendly and cooperative relationship with the human colonies, having granted permission for human settlement on their planet three hundred galactic years ago.

A note on languages and names: as most of the demimondaine languages are unpronounceable and largely unintelligible to humans, owing to the difference in vocal construction, most of the names given in this document are the human names for places and beings. Communication between humans and demimondaine is largely text-based, as demimondaine have several glyph-based writing systems (most language groups have one or two) that are translatable to human systems. Electronic text-based translation is the standard, though there are also several pidgin sign-languages in use, particularly in trade cities like Jasconius, Zaratan and Ys, and in the Island Union, since hand-shape is largely similar between species.

(Further note on all of this: I am bullshitting to the max, having no scientific background on any of it at all)

Nations/Settlements of Note:

Zealandia: the largest continent and surface nation, located in the southerly continental oceans and generally enjoying a very warm and humid tropical climate. Lemurine, its capital city, is the administrative colonial capital of Lemuria. The continent hosts 54% of all colonial residents and off-planet visitors to Lemuria. Zealandia is the main surface agricultural production area, and it boasts a significantly different and human-orientated diet to much of the rest of Lemuria. Baralku, the primary Lemuria-to-orbit spaceport, is located just south of Lemurine City.

Kerguelen: the smaller continent, located to the north west of Zealandia on the continental side of the planet. Kerguelen has a colder climate than Zealandia, and is primarily home to forestry and ore mining, with a small agricultural zone. It is the other main colonial settlement and nation state, along with the Island Union on the oceanic side of the planet. Kusu is the capital for this landmass.

The Island Union: a nation state comprised of several of the largest island chains in the central and southern oceanic seas, controlling much of the territory west of Deep Mu and east of Zealandia on the oceanic side of the planet. The Island Union has the most integrated mixed human and demimondaine population on Lemuria, with both species represented in its ruling body. It also has the widest range of both human and demimondaine languages in current use.

Kibu Island/Spaceport: the main Lemuria-to-orbit spaceport and atmospheric transport hub on the oceanic side of the planet, Kibu spaceport and arcology complex is built on a large semi-artificial atol island chain in the equatorial ocean, with the main spaceport tower complex on Kibukuth island.

Bohol: one of the main island chains in the southern oceans of Lemuria, it's the third largest land-based and colonial settlement on Lemuria, and the largest single non-Jasconian demimondaine surface settlement. Considered the capital and administrative center of the Island Union, and a significant point of contact between humans and demimondaine.

Jasconius: a large demimondaine floating city complex and independent city-state, inhabited primarily by deep ocean and surface demimondaine. Jasconius famously circumnavigates the planet on a slow, continuous basis to keep itself on the daylight side of Lemuria, with regular excursions to the following dawn-twilight zone. It's always morning in Jasconius. The city's heart is sixteen hundred Lemurian years old (equivalent of twelve hundred galactic standard years), making it the oldest continually-occupied demimondaine settlement on Lemuria's surface, a very popular tourist destination, and a primary human-demimondaine trading city.

Zaratan: a smaller floating city complex, located exclusively on the oceanic side of the planet, Zaratan is essentially a floating market city that travels along trade routes in the Island Union and several outlying micronations in more northerly waters. Largely inhabited by island demimondaine, and also considered an independent city-state, though it has strong trade and political ties with the Island Union.

Deep Mu: Largest and most powerful of the two known deep nations, located in the vast western abyssal plains between the Zealandia continent and the Island Union, Deep Mu is home almost exclusively to abyssal demimondaine who rarely come to the surface. Its capital is unknown to the surface, but there are rumours of a vast cave complex in the wall of the Zealandian continental shelf that serves as the main Muean city. Owing to large geothermal activity at several points on the sea floor, Deep Mu is the producer of around 60% of Zealandia's energy supply, which is a serious political bone of contention between Deep Mu and the surface.

Ys: an independant deep ocean city habitat and power station located just on the edge of the Zealandian continental shelf, Ys is the primary connection point between Lemurine and Deep Mu, and a major trading hub for deep water demimondaine in the continental oceans. It's one of the few places where humans, deep water and abyssal demimondaine intermingle.

Vaalbara: the other known deep nation, located in the colder northern waters to the east of Kerguelen. Vaalbara has two main cities, an abyssal city deep in the Cipactli Trench on the eastern edge of the territory, and the deep water city of Sedna on the Imap Umassoursa submarine plateau about four hundred miles off the coast of Kerguelen. Vaalbara is to an extent isolationist in relation to humans. The abyssal city again has almost no contact with humans, although Sedna does have a limited trade relationship with Kerguelen, mostly conducted via coastal settlements on Kerguelen itself. Surface fleets from Sedna also have some contact with Zaratan on the extreme north-westerly loop of Zaratan's circuit, and Jasconius makes a stopover above the city itself roughly every year-and-a-half when taking its northern circumnavigation route.

Interplanetary Issues:

Galactic Systems Alliance (GSA or the Alliance) - Interstellar Governing Body of which Lemuria is a member state.

Alliance Planetary Justice Commission (APJC) - Alliance justice body which investigates and regulates primarily intra-planetary/intra-system interspecies incidents from a supposedly neutral outside perspective. May be called in by system authorities and/or sent in by the GSA if reports are made to them of gross injustices in defiance of galactic law.

Story Idea:

Yes, all this was basically random worldbuilding for a single story, which wound up not being written, though bits of it still live in my brain. The original idea was for a mermaid vampire story, which morphed into a maritime sci-fi/noir/spy story in what became the city of Ys. It featured APJC agents being sent to investigate terrorist/industrial sabotage threats aimed at the Mu-Lemurine geothermal power conduits, and ending up getting involved with Yssian protectors in the form of an abyssal nightclub singer/secret agent/femme fatale and her human nightclub owner/handler/detective partner.

Serene, the abyssal singer, is strongly inspired by the black dragonfish and similar creatures on Earth, and is basically a shapeshifting black bioluminescent nightmare with glass-like bones and needle teeth who hunts in pitch darkness using self-generated infra-red light, on the grounds that if you're trying to sabotage a deep-water geo-thermal industrial complex, this is exactly the kind of nightmare you really, really don't want coming after you. She also uses the bioluminescence to perform underwater glass tank lightshows at the club ('Last Light', incidentally, for a variety of fun reasons) as a cover, as suggested by her human partner Eshe (who is also black, but in a human blazing-sun-and-light sort of way, as opposed to alien product-of-a-lightless-abyss type way). It takes the poor Apjacks a while (and some minor friendly fire) to get used to working with the Yssian ladies, but by the time the case has headed towards threatening citywide structural collapse and interspecies war levels, they've caught on well enough.

That was the idea, anyway, before I basically got distracted spending two days researching mythical island names, real and mythical sunken continents/cities and random sea deity/monster names in order to do some rather random worldbuilding, and then the story just sat there for five years doing nothing. (Yes, most of the place names are one of the above, with a couple of afterlives and ancient supercontinents thrown in - it does make in-universe sense as well, though, since they're all human names for places on an alien marine planet where native placenames are largely unpronounceable). Behold, one of the dangers of worldbuilding. Heh. Sometimes, you do too much worldbuilding, you never write the actual story.

It's an awful lot of fun, though ...

[max--phillips]

I'm back with more rpf bullshit.

I just read a book where the main character is in the public eye and reads rpf (referred to as fanfiction in the novel) about himself and his friends/family on a semi-regular basis and it's passed off as normal.

I feel like Bradley Cooper from the Silver Linings Playbook movie

UH YEAH

I feel like most people who feel that way haven’t actually thought about what it’d be like to be in that situation. Like, I’m sure there are celebrities out there who don’t mind it but… idk man just don’t. DoNt

[elleelix]

1-40!

1. spotify 

2. room is semi-clean... it could be a lot worse and usually is so i’m gonna give myself half the credit that it’s clean (: 

3. dark brown

4. yes! i like how its not a common name and my mom named me after her goddaughter

5. single 

6. compassionate, adventurous, shy/conscientious 

7. coloured to be brown with some blonde? not really sure LOL  

8. blue mini cooper

9. dynamite, h&m, uniqlo, 

10. honestly in a rut with my style atm; only been in scrubs cause of work and sweats for the past 9 months 

11. tumblr & twitter 

12. queen 

13. 2 older brothers 

14. always dreamed to live somewhere in europe like the netherlands or in australia 

15. do people still use snap?? mm i remember there was one where you could be a potato 

16. nyx, covergirl, fenty

17. everyday usually cause of work 

18. so hard to choose a fav show... mm boy meets world? tend to always go back to watch random clip/episodes every year

19. size 8

20. 5′7

21. sneakers

22. yes but haven’t gone to the gym since march 

23. picnic overlooking a view (skyline, beach, etc) then watching the sunset and then the stars together; or also ive always wanted to sit in a back of a truck with a bunch of pillow and blankets watching the stars or even at a drive-in theatre 

24. i don’t carry cash oops

25. white

26. 3 pillows 

27. im a dental hygienist! 

28. i talk to 3 friends on a regular/daily basis 

29. getting a speeding ticket? LOL i cant think of anything else

30. candles that are apple scented 

31. ?? wouldnt say fav but i like the names: jaden, ethan, jeremy 

32. same not favs but i like: kehlani/kalani, audrey, alexis 

33. can only think of ryan reynolds at the top of my head

34. anne hathaway?

35. leo in his prime in titanic & romeo + juliet 

36. ive watched tangled over 10 times LOL tangled or finding nemo (: love any disney movie

37. i used to read a lot before hs + uni happened; fav books would be: harry potter series a series of unfortunate events the miracles of namiya general store

38. intelligence 

39. only nickname from my family which is  阿妹 

40. only once from what i can remember; but i apparently had surgery when i was 18 months old but i have no recollection of it 

also, thanks for keeping me busy with answering these tonight (: 

[goldkirk]

Since you mentioned Superman in chapter 18 of Blackbird, I was wondering what the batfam's place in the Justice League is? Like, are the Titans or Young Justice still a thing? Also, I am absolutely in love with your narration style. It really brings Tim and the rest of the fam to life!

Aaaaahhh it makes my heart so happy that you love my style, thank you!

SO! Batman is a member of the Justice League, which is tight knit and very cooperative. Dick still runs with the Titans on a semi-regular basis whenever his day job and family commitments allow, and mentors younger Titans on and off. Jason never really got into the Titans hardcore, but he does run missions with them sometimes. He’s not big on leading them, he prefers being more of a flanker. (funnily enough, that’s what he likes to be when playing Overwatch with Roy, Kori, and Dick, too). Young Justice is BECOMING a thing, in the background—Tim will have his friend group making up the core four soon. I’m not really going to write that bc I haven’t read enough YJ to feel comfortable writing all their dynamics and voices yet, but at some point I’m sure it’ll come up lol. When the time is right. Cass isn’t going to join any group, but she will meet and hang out with both Titans and Young Justice, and everyone will like her. Of course! And Steph is a wild card but she’ll for sure run with the Titans a little bit if she ever has the ability to leave Gotham for longer periods of time once she’s back with her mom.

The big thing is that in this AU, Batman mostly keeps his own to his own, but when they really need help or one of the other JL members would be invaluable in a situation, he DOES call on them. He reaches out. And Gotham getting attacked like it did in the last chapter definitely requires the big guns lol.

[carelessgraces]

@valiantsword​​ said:   ❛ What odd turns our lives have taken. ❜   ( reign sentence starters | accepting )

It’s a nice change. 

     The spell still needs some work. They’ve been testing it out with little injuries, nothing serious and nothing over the palm of the hand, no matter how dramatic it would have looked, that seems unnecessarily unsafe and definitely impractical. He’s still healing at about the same rate, and she’s healing, at least, so that’s something. It could use some tweaking, especially before either one of them goes back to work in a field that involves people shooting at them on a semi-regular basis.

     “Can you imagine,” she’d laughed, “if I was giving someone a tarot reading and I dropped dead halfway through? Do you know how hard it is already to convince people that the Death card doesn’t actually mean they’re going to die? God, I’d get such good reviews on Yelp, though. Went for a psychic reading. The reader died and came back to life. She’s definitely speaking with arcane knowledge from the Other Side.” 

     "Can’t have your Yelp score hurt,” Arthur drawled in response, holding a washcloth to a small cut on her arm while the skin slowly knit itself back together, and he leaned closer to press a kiss to her temple. “Should I start coughing up blood whenever you’ve really got to sell a haunting?”

     An hour later they’d popped down to the shop — if she was going to be tweaking spells and testing injuries, she wanted some aromatherapy to go with it — and he’d sneezed when she took in a breath of a candle that smelled so strongly of patchouli it made her eyes water. “That might undermine how smooth you are,” she’d pointed out. “You, staring down the barrel of a gun, daring the bad guys to make their move. A thousand miles away, I smell some flowers, and then instead of — god, I don’t know, what’s your move there? Cocking an eyebrow, saying make my day — ”

     “What exactly do you think I do?” he asked, laughing, and she only grinned and powered through, picking up another candle.

     “ — you let out that monster of a sneeze. Or you’re hiding out somewhere, preparing to bust out into the open and take advantage of the element of surprise, but I’m visiting with a new cat and discover an allergy — ”

     She would have rattled on indefinitely if he hadn’t simply slung her over his shoulder, one arm around her legs to steady her, her whole body shaking with laughter while he carried her back up the stairs and stopped only to snatch up a candle that smelled like cranberries.

     She’s looking at that candle now, burned down to half its height — it’s the same candle she would have picked, if she’d gotten to it, and there’s a small smile playing at her lips as Arthur comes back into the bedroom, depositing a cup of freshly brewed tea at her bedside table. ( For a woman who has been so resistant to being seen, to being known, she certainly has come to relish it. ) Her smile only widens, and on a whim she shifts onto her knees on the mattress and tugs at the front of his shirt until he leans forward, just enough for her to reach him. 

     Her arm is still a little sore — that last minor injury still hasn’t healed all the way — and she’s fatigued from the constant healing and spellwork and she’s feeling the start of a headache, hence the tea, but he takes her face in his hands like she’s something precious and he kisses her like he can’t get enough of her and Astoria thinks she’s never felt better, never felt more like herself. 

     “No more tests tonight,” she promises. “I’m wiped out. Come to bed? We can watch Vikings and you can tell me about all the historical inaccuracies. I’ve been curious about the armor.” 

     “Nothing like winding down to the sounds of battle.”

     “You’re right. I found a new documentary on Netflix. It’s about exorcisms — ” 

     “I stand corrected. Nothing like winding down to the screams of the eternally damned — ”

     It’s a pretty picture, said screams of the eternally damned notwithstanding: the two of them sitting beside each other, blankets pulled up and pooled in their laps and the cats draped across them, Astoria’s phone on silent and cast aside for a change while business carries on without her and no threat that Arthur will have to take off to save the world any time soon. The elder of the cats makes her way to Arthur’s lap, chews on his hand until she falls asleep, and Astoria lets out a contented sigh wholly at odds with the scene playing out on the television across from them.

     He casts her a grin, careful not to move his hand and wake the cat. “What odd turns our lives have taken.”

     She knows what he means. The both of them have become desensitized to the bloodshed and the violence that follows them; their opportunities to breathe easily are rare, so often dependent upon the cooperation of the rest of the world, notoriously uncooperative as it is. More than that, they have become desensitized to half-truths and outright lies, to the numbing quiet of returning to an empty home, of having so few people upon whom they can truly rely. He sees her set off sparks in her hands or light flames with a touch and he smiles; she watches the little cuts and scrapes from the cat’s claws fade from his hand, from her own, in a matter of seconds and minutes and home feels more and more like home with him in it. 

     Last thousand years never prepared you for domesticity? she wants to laugh, but the teasing dies in her throat and paves the way for sincerity. She leans away from him only long enough to blow out the candle on her bedside table, the smell of cranberries still hanging in the air, before nestling into his side again. 

     “Yeah.” Odd turns, indeed. “I like it.”

[churchsplayground]

“Symbiotes are aggressive creatures, we are tasked with the duty of controlling them. Zachary is my host and is my job is to protect him while he does so… Maybe I’ll get it right this time.”

The Bishop Symbiote - LF Symbiotes

Bishop is only 33 years old, having been spawned at the life foundation (1986) as part of an anti-symbiote project. They are considered the youngest of the siblings, however, they all are the same age, except the Knight symbiote.

Bishop is referred to as He/Him currently, however, this is subjective and based only on their current host's gender. They do not retain any personal preferences.. or at least are not supposed to.

Bishop has a fixed height of 7′2″ as a humanoid, it does not change despite the host. -

Bishop lives at the LF with his siblings and parent symbiote in a special container just for him.

Bishop is a timid, shy symbiote often getting nervous around new people or even other symbiotes. He doesn’t often get out, mainly he lives at the LF in a special container and only comes out for ‘missions’. He’s very easy to pick on and is often the target of his siblings fun. Even going as far as getting nervous from his own host on a regular basis.

Bishop is very smitten with love for his host, Zachary, however, he sees no interest in his alien teammate and is lovestruck for Rook’s host, Noah. Now, it’s not like his host even knows that there’s a certain alien fawning over him, Bishop keeps himself hidden knowing it is very wrong for him to feel any way at all, it’s very possible neither he or his host recognize them as being capable to feel.

Bishop is very robotic in a sense when it comes to his feelings and personality however it is easy to cause extreme distress to him, and very easy to show his true feelings. Bishop, however, will not acknowledge this as his actual self and will correct himself if caught doing this or he catches himself doing this.

Bishop is very unaware of current day knowledge and doesn’t know what most things are. This including mannerisms/social cues, everyday items or activities, he, however, is a huge nerd in the things he knows, those being from his host or was taught at the LF. Bishop is the smartest symbiote in the project rivaling even the humans. Not bad for a supposedly ‘non-sentient alien goo pile’.

If you noticed Bishop wears a hood! He’s really self-conscious about just about everything about himself and completely refuses to take it off or leave it off. Knowing this his sibling will pull it off his head every time they can just to get him worked up.

He really, REALLY likes chocolate only getting a taste on one special occasion. Since it considered unnecessary to his current diet, which provides everything he needs he has not tasted it since. He can live on mush and rabbits alone, he’s been doing it for 33 years already, he doesn’t know what anything else tastes like.

Bishop’s hood does, in fact, have a name! It’s Bakemono or just “Mono” for short. Its a secret… don’t tell anyone! He thought it would be nice to give them a name since they are one of his bestest of friends, or rather… his only friend.  

Bishop takes surprisingly well to foreign symbiotes, he’s very unlike his siblings who would probably be going into attack mode he just stands there starring dumbly probably because he’s a pacifist or maybe because he just doesn’t know what to do besides calling his siblings over to get them.

Bishop and his host work as special intel gatherers for their team and the LF, often tasked with gathering info on people, groups or ‘enemy’ symbiotes since his skills set him up at being a wonderful spy.

Bishop is extremely protective of his host… for reasons.

Bonus: Bishop is one of the only symbiotes in his family that has five claws, besides Knight. Pawn, Rook, and his parent symbiote all have only 4 claws on each hand, assumingly some weird symbiote mutation in his family line.

Bonus: ...probably a weeb. Did you see what this loser named his hood?

Symbiote Specific Abilities:

Bishop is capable of turning semi-invisible with the ‘help’ of their hood, only semi-invisible because it’s easy to spot them if you’re actually looking for him otherwise they are not very noticeable.

Along with being able to blend in, they are able to mimic scents/smells or mask their own scent/smell. This is used in the special application of deterring animals such as guard dogs but does not have further use... unless you want a symbiote air freshener.

Bishop is able to change the shape of their hood in order to minorly mimic forms or (animals) some including, dogs, or large ominous creatures with the use of their hood patterning. The main application is as a scare tactic or animals or humans alike.

Minor - Bishop for some reason is deathly quiet when doing anything.

Minor - Semi self-protection: Their hood can be used as a thick layer to protect from sharp objects or bullets, however, this is limited and can cause pain to the host from the impact or multiple impacts.

Minor - The power of Shy!: Shy tall symbiote, he’ll capture your heart in a moment. Don’t act like you don’t love a shy alien trying not to get nervous and flustered around you. He can barely handle not getting nervous around his host.

Minor - “Weapons”: Much like his sibling he is able to form blades from himself, however, he does not use them seeing he is a pacifist. If he did, his weapon would range between long blades or even a scythe one. However, until he does decide to withdraw from his ways, that’s not happening. Ever.

Human Host - Zachary “Zack” Ohenn

Zack is 5’6” and of the latest is 24 years old.

Zachary has been working for LF for 3 years now, previously an engineer student intern, Zack was a transfer from an LF partnering organization sent to work on the project due to his skill set being needed. He’s the newest recruit to the team. -

Hims wears glasses, he’s as blind as a bat.

Zack is not Bishop’s first host, unlike the other LF symbiotes who’s previous hosts retired, Bishops host died during the project. Details are currently known to him as the LF refuses to release them or acknowledge the incident. Maybe it’s just a thing to spook him made up by his teammates, or maybe it’s true. Only Bishop can truly confirm or deny, it seems he refuses to think about it.

Zack works on the team as a co-leader to Noah handling most of the hard paperwork, he acts like a work office intern more than anything. But he honestly doesn’t mind doing the work, its totally worth it in the long run.

Zack may or maybe not have a crush on Noah.

Zack often can be seen trying to have convo’s with his symbiote, however, Bishop doesn’t often know what he is talking about. For these reasons, he tends to gush over Noah to him. Bishop just listens, making small remarks back, his host for some reason never seems to fully catch what he says.

Zack was told the symbiotes are not capable of human thinking or feeling, he, however, is starting to doubt this as he further talks to his symbiote. Is it possible LF has lied?

Zack is somewhat aware of the LF’s corruption but often questions some of the tasks they are set to do. Zack doesn’t want to be too nosy seeing what happened to Edan (the host Knight/Church was originally planned to be bonded to in the LF symbiote project). This is way too important for him to get kicked out now.

< Special Notes - LF issued Warnings:

This symbiote is considered to be under special watch due to previous host incidents.

This symbiote has been observed as being nonaggressive and has been seen preventing hosts from causing majorly bodily harm to other beings. However, seems to be cooperative when assisting others [LF symbiotes] in these actions.

Due to the [2016] symbiote incident. This symbiote is not to be taken off grounds unless instructed or permission is granted. >

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Sorry for the long wait on these, I’ve been a little down lately! I’ll be posting the others soon enough. If I’m lucky enough to be blessed with time.

As always if you’d like to know more about them you can always ask here. I always answer, unless the ask gets eaten or I’m stumped for an answer.

Also ~ In the keep reading undercut, you can find more 2 more drawings such as his host and a full body ref bc he’s wearing a hood and it doesn’t show his patterns!!

Timestamp: January 12th, 2020 Related Links/Continuations: Siblings Ref - Pawn

- BISHOP FULL BODY REF 2020 -

Significance: What he looks like with no hood, bc I even have a hard time remembering for drawings. Please ignore the line it's killing me inside.

- LF SYM HOSTS GROUP PICTURE - 

Significance: A group drawing of all the LF symbiote hosts. This including Zack as a half drawing, meant to showcase all the hosts just having a group photo. This is included in all the symbiotes refs.

Left to Right: Zachary Ohenn (Bishop), Noah Keil (Rook), Amy Bergg (Pawn)

~ Thanks for reading ~