#they did not come back stronger than ever

[crewman-six]

<begin id>

screenshots of social media post by Stuart Stevens @ stuartpstevens

"I've been involved in winning presidential races and races that lost. One common thread is that everyone seems to have a reason why you won or lost which usually reflects a personal perspective or agenda.

So here's mine: I think VP Harris ran a very good campaign that operated at a very high level. She had a great convention, crushed Trump in a debate, and put on a series of big event rallies that were the best I'd ever seen.

As a Republican operative, I spent years pointing out flaws in the Democratic Party and I'm not here to say it doesn't need to go through a period of questioning and self-reflection. Those are much larger questions than one election and one campaign. But the Republican party is an democratic movement, attacking the pillars of American democracy from elections to the judicial system.

I understand those who say that if there had been a "normal" Democratic primary, the results would have been better. Maybe. But think about it. In modern political history, every time a sitting VP has run for the nomination, that VP has won. Perhaps it would have been different this time and the eventual nominee would have emerged stronger for the process. But more likely there would have been a bloody primary fight that left the nominee broke and trying to patch together a fractured party to face a Republican party that has become Donald Trump's party. In all probability, Harris would have won that primary and and been in a weakened and vulnerable position when it was finally resolved in May or June.

I would say to my Democratic friends to go through this post-election process with open minds and hearts but never doubt that the Democratic party is the only pro-democracy party in America. No one will have a position in Trump's administration who is not an election denier adhering to the Big Lie. That's toxic to a country's sense of self and the damage will take a generation to repair, if it is possible to heal.

Losing an election does not mean that you were wrong and they were right. It means you lost an election. [emphasis mine] I grew up in Mississippi watching my parents back candidates opposed to segregation. When those candidates lost, and they did for a long time, my parents didn't question if they were on the right side. They didn't ask themselves if the majority who supported segregation had proven the justness of their cause by winning.

The mid-terms start after the Super Bowl. It will likely be a good election for Democrats and then the 2028 presidential election will be upon us. After a loss, the days seem long but the months will pass quickly. Reflect, rest up, but come back prepared to fight. Fight not because victory is assured but fight because not to fight is to give up. And if we do that, we no longer deserve to call ourselves Americans.

9:25 PM, Nov 11, 2024

<end id>

[littlemisssquiggles]

I think there’s something worth saying about Isha and the (rather ironically) positive influence that Jinx had on her and her life despite her reputation as a “jinx”.

Think about it.

[ARCANE SEASON 2 ACT II SPOILERS AHEAD! NUFF SAID!]

When the audience first met Isha, she was a seemingly orphaned child on her own on the streets of Zaun, forced to cower and run away from those she perceived as a threat to her well-being and sense of what she believed in (which was NOT siding with any of the feuding turf leaders. And even then; she still showed that she had some spunk and fire to her, referring to when she bit one of the goons that grabbed her during her first escape before bumping into Jinx later on)

But after she met Jinx, she became our veteren rebel heart; willing to take on someone ten times her size because they were a threat to her well-being and what she believed in ( which was Jinx).

Even if she knew she was no match, the fact that she still had the confidence to do so given the parallels to the first time we met her says wonders.

When the audience first met Isha, she was a girl willing to sacrifice herself to protect Jinx, going so far as to grab her weapon and point it directly at Vi, threatening to shoot because she was about to kill Jinx.

But despite that brief moment of bravery, it was short-lived because Isha was still too scared to pull the trigger back then.

But after her time with Jinx, Isha was still the same girl willing to do anything to protect Jinx only this time, she was much stronger. Braver. Bolder. More confident in herself than she probably ever was. Despite not having a voice of her own, that never deterred Jinx from ever trying to understand Isha.

To be an ear of understanding and encourage her own voice despite her not having one.

And this time, when Isha pulled the trigger, there was no hesitation. No regret.

In that moment, Isha probably felt nothing but pure love for Jinx. She was her family. Literally the best big sister/maternal figure she could ask for.

She owed her her life. Isha owed Jinx her life for saving hers.

So what better way to go out than saving the person who saved you.

---

That being said, if Act III comes and confirms that Isha truly is dead then what a genuine waste of a good character and potential new champion for League.

Seriously, if Ambessa could have a life beyond Arcane despite only being introduced in the show then why couldn't Isha man.

They could've EASILY made a new champion out of her, RIGHT? THE LORE PRACTICALLY WROTE ITSELF IN ARCANE!

If Batman can have Robin and Sailor Moon can have Chibi Moon then WHY THE F*** couldn't Isha have worked as a new LOL champion sidekick to Jinx?

You ALREADY set her up as a JINX COPY CAT/ BELIEVER/ YOUNG PROTEGEE.

She could've been the Rebel Heart to her Jinx.

BLOWING SHIT UP AND TEARING THE PLACE APART WHEREVER THEY GO!

SERIOUSLY RIOT, you gave her a BANGER OF A CHARACTER THEME AND THEN KILL HER!

I'm so mad!!!!

But I guess ... Riot and Fortiche did DO ONE good thing.

They created yet another UNFORGETTABLE Arcane-exclusive character for everyone to love with a catchy ass theme song.

So I'll give them that at least.

That being said, REBEL HEART/ Isha was a GREAT character and I'm sure, even if she doesn't have a life beyond Arcane, she certainly will live on in plenty of Arcane fanarts.

The fandom ain't gonna forget about her for sure. (Certainly not with "Rebel Heart by Djerv" as her theme song. Seriously that theme is FIRE!)

~LMS (2024)

[ivys-garden]

Life Series Session Recap and Alliance Report: Session 5.

I can't believe they added mettaton to the life series.

Another week means more chaos in the block. This session has the wild card of… morally dubious trivia robots falling for the sky? OK?

It did mean we got more Life Series Oli and we got to find out how little our idiots actually know about their own series. So that's something

But hey lots of stuff that will affect the future of the season happens here, so let's stop dilly dallying and get to it.

The Final Girls (Cleo, Scott, Pearl, Impulse… Bigb!?)

Apparently Scott's desire to keep the team together is stronger than we thought, as despite having no good reason to, he allows Bigb to come back into the crew. Bigb does later try and fail to abandon them for Renwood, but it's the thought that counts.

Also established in the opening to this session, Scott is fully enabling whatever Pearl wants to do… provided what she wants to do is not hide a death pit from him.

No, what Pearl wants to do is murder people, and she has plenty of options since everyone wants to antagonise the girls this session. First Mumbo shows up to mace Cleo in the face, then Gem lures Cleo into a death trap & then Martyn explodes everyone but Pearl.

Naturally Cleo wants to get even with these pesky killers, and when Cleo wants to get even the flames are soon to come. Gem's Barn and Martyn's home are burnt by Cleo & Scott, and yet somehow everyone ends up chilling in the end, with everyone actually agreeing that they're even and that they should stop trying to kill each other. So yeah, no harm, no foul….

Except Ren, he got his house burnt down for no reason.

On the topic of revenge on martyn, Pearl tries to avenge her team by putting Martyns crystal trap back on him… only to blow herself up in the process. What follows might be Pearl's most pathetic showing in the life series as she repeatedly fails to trap Gem or kill Lizzie, still ending the session in red. Scott and his martyr complex come through in the end though and Scott gives one of his life's back to Pearl in a way that mirrors the powdered snow torture or yesteryear, only much wetter.

Oh yeah Impulse was here too. He was trap building’, he was bot nappin’, he was beepin’ N’ boopin’, and he gave up a Trident to acquire a new member… we'll talk about that washout later

Also congrats on Bigb finally getting diamonds, took you long enough.

Also also congrats on Cleo for getting the most difficult question in Trivia correct!... it was 50% a guess and they had help but shhh

The Family. (Gem & Joel)

Yeah I'm calling them the family now. Not because that's a good name, but because while Joel continues to be fast, Gem is no longer furious.

Yes, in this episode the Gals-Fam drama begins to sorta maybe kinda possibly come to a close. It starts with Gem admitting the drama was made up for the sake of having drama and being funny, something most of us guessed since if you think about the drama for more than five seconds you realise how silly and ultimately inconsequential it actually is.

The real amend making starts where all amends are made, in the smouldering remains of your home after the prison you lured into a trap burns it to the ground. Yes if they had not been interrupted by exploding, Gem and the Gals would have called each other even right here. Luckily Gem gets another chance to do this later as Pearl failing a task and having her mouth removed stops her from trying to eat Gem alive for long enough for the two of them to have a chat. In this chat that Pearl has literally no say in, it is agreed that once the two of them go red, they'll “have some fun”. Sp yeah, in the future we are looking at meminiun at a temporary alliance between Pearl & Gem.

(Also Gem and Joel try to get Pearl to betray Scott, which marks the second time this has happen this season)

In other stuff Gem builds possibly the worst tower I've ever seen. So I'm happy Cleo burnt that down. Of more consequence she also builds their very own Creeper spawner. Very dangerous in the hands of Joel.

Speaking of Joel he has a rollercoaster this session. He has many notable successes such as creating two hidden cow spawners, a chicken farm and braving the never to get Potion ingredients. But he also got his ugly car exploded by Skizz and got smashed and banged by Tango.

He did manage a three block jump over Etho's head though so I'd say this was his best session of the entire life series.

Renwood (Martyn & Ren)

Rambert last session when I said Scott probably regrets being teamed with 3 little chaos goblins? Yeah translate that to Ren this session. Martyn is an absolute menace and there is no way Ren will achieve his goal of “extinguishing the evil within this man”. Martyn is tricking folks into messing up Trivia, he's killing Gem with creepers despite being allied, he's killing The Gals right after seeing Cleo burn down Gems entire base, he might be the most chaotic one here.

That isn't to say Martyn doesn't get his narrative comeuppance, he gets ravaged off his own base and exploded by Pearl, but Ren still gets a lot of bad vibes his way due to Martyns actions. At least he can still rely on Jimmy to be his friend and not burn his house down on accident.

Speaking of burning, good luck doing that now. The mound has officially been flattened, no longer teh Ren Mound it is now In-The-Little-Lake and has been flooded with water in a rare showcase of a Ren plan working and being a big brain move overall.

However, while creating the lake, the most important discovery was made

THEY FOUND THAT STUPID HORSE! WOOOOOOOOO

anyway.

The Tuff Guys (Tango, Bdubs & …Etho?)

Bdubs starts the episode being objectively wrong about a game he's played for decades.

Due to his bad leadership last session, Etho takes over and immediately starts try harding, requiring everyone to get stacks of food, iron, the souls of the damned and probably other stiff to tbh I wasn't listening. Luckily neither were Bdubs or Tango so we're good

Speaking of Tango, despite getting of to a rock start of sucking and being pathetic, he does manage to get two pretty impressive kills on Joel, once with a mace and another with creepers. He also manages to stick a snail on Skizz by botnapping him while he was distracted by his, Impy and Pearls robot voice. He failed every other single trap he tried but it's something.

Now, more important horse news, Bdubs got his!... Etho immediately killed it since it was better than his. But bdubs got a new one! He needed 3 people to help him on it since he acquired the big curse at the time but he got the horse!

While he wasn't being a try hard, horse killer, or stunt ramp, Etho was off performing a very important task, Betrayal! But is it betrayal if they openly admit they won't help you or share their stuff? Yep Etho has made moves to leave the Tuff Guys, being the second member to do so, only with more success than bdubs. So, did he go off to his family? Nope. He went off to become one of the Final Girls. Etho officially joins that team and all it cost them was a Trident. How will this go over with the Family and the Tuff Guys? Who knows. That's the growth thing about the life series: everything is stupid and nothing is predictable, so don't worry!

The Bamboozelers (Jimmy, Scar, Lizzie)

Everyone says these 3 are doomed… including me I said that. But we all are wrong, these 3 are being extremely big brained and brave.

Let's start with Lizzie, she helps the team come up with a safety code word to bring people back up the mountain. She braves the Nether. She builds an ender porter to bring people to Bam Mountain safely & she survives several attempts on her life, including one from Pearl. She only falls into two traps, being killed by Skizz and having her Bot hidden resulting in the return of her snail. She also had one failed plan, a Drowned spawner plan to get Trident Drowned to kill people for Jimmy, but not a bad showing.

It's a toss up between Gem, Joel and Impulse for who will win, but I'm gonna go all in and sat Lizzie wins, just because I want her too.

Then there's Scar who makes some great diplomacy plays. Despite a rocky start to their relationship that might have actually caused the desertduo side of tumblr to explode, Scar and Grian are able to work out a peace deal between them, Scar gets a mace and in exchange they don't kill each other. Scar gets a lot more than just a mace though, he gets what he's always wanted: Friendship.

He also manages to get the Enchanter back and finds a great hiding spot for it. On top of this Scar also strengthens pre existing alliances with Gem, Martyn and Skizz, even helping Skizz in a Fast Na Furious style boat race to reclaim his out bot.

OK, Jimmy… yeah tbh Jimmy kinda underperformed compared to last session. He got toured by trivia bot, died to the ravager instead of checking his hotbar for his pearls, failed repeatedly to kill Scott and also killed himself in Impulse's lava trap. He got no kills this session and all his traps failed. He did blow a massive hole in the side of the Final Girl's tower for no reason tho.

Gem, seeing this utter failure tried to help Jimmy kill Scott, only for him to sacrifice himself to Pearl. Now Jimmy is in the hard possession of killing his family or his teammate. But hey, as long as he isn't first out, he's won

And on that note…

The Spanners (Grian & Skizz.)

…Let's start with skizz. He was really good! He got a good kill on Lizzie and one on Bigb too. Bigb wasn't Dark green but he's certainly got the spirit. He should also be kept away from the Bam Lands from now on, he gets spotted there way too easily. Scar isn't even that observant, it's kinda embarrassing.

Skizz does also do some alliance work, vowing never to kill Lizzie again due to how much he hates doing it. Lizzie repays him by literally babying him and dumping him on Ren.

Then there's Grian, he and Mumbo were able to collaborate revenge on Scar, even though he was too big and Mumbo couldn't speak. They buried Scars Bot Super low and neither he now Ren could find it.

And than, somehow, eSCARgot returned.

Feeling bad for an incredibly cheap kill, Grian did work with Scar to set aside there differences and create an alliance. Now with revenge off the agenda, all that was left was getting Mumbo a life.

Grian built a great tower, and within it built two super speedy tnt launchers. These were incredible basketballs for destroying the tower bdubs spent all session building, but in terms of netting kills for Mumbo… not very good.

Mumbo fell off that tower trying to get a kill.

Mumbo, desperate for a kill, begged Gem to die.

And when Gem was walking down the stairs with Jimmy, Mumbo got too desperate.

Mumbo died in a machine made to save him. Mumbo died in front of grian. Mumbo died and everybody just watched. Hell, Jimmy celebrated. He laughed. Because now there was no denying the curse was broken.

Skizz will mourn all of the next session. Grian will not. He will be consumed by the Dark rage within him. Jimmy should watch his back…

Kinda like Mumbo should have watched his back for that minecart, Amiright?

[emmawithtwoms]

Board Games

@moonwater-microfic day 17 -543 words

c.w. sexual reference at the end

The air was electric in the room. People were scared, the two boys were staring into each other's eyes so intensely that Sirius swore he could see lighting pass from hazel to grey. Remus was hunched over the coffee table, elbows on his knees, hands intertwined over his mouth to conceal it, brows furrowed. Regulus was reciprocating the look, but his back was straight, poker face unmovable, while he moved his piece on the board. Remus glanced down, just for a second, but his expression did not slip, his competitiveness had a hold on him, he could not let Regulus read him, he could not lose. 

“What, Lupin, are you taken aback by my move?” 

Regulus was cold as ice, Remus could not read his expression, could not break into his mind. It was driving him crazy. He could not give him the satisfaction, he had to keep fighting. 

“I’m just surprised by how obvious it is. You’re becoming predictable, Black,”

Remus made his move, this game was gonna end soon, everybody knew it. 

It was Board Games night, and, as usual, it was ending with a chess tournament, and the Black-Lupin match was always the most anticipate.Those two were phenomenal at chess, their competitiveness, not a bit mulled by their relationship (rather increased, actually), always made the game extremely interesting to watch, and the new entries, who were not used to this kind of interest over a game of chess, were always taken aback by the dynamic of the match. 

It was the case for Dorcas: even though she was a very close friend of Regulus’, she never came to board game night. Not until she got together with Marlene, at least, and she was now totally enraptured (read, weirded out) by this particular event. 

“You might wanna think about this move, Lupin” 

Regulus was saying from the table

“Don’t wanna get too reckless.”

“Oh, don’t act like you don’t like reckless, Black” 

Remus was responding to every provocation given by his boyfriend, without ever letting the fire in him die down. 

“Ok, what exactly am I watching?”

Asked Dorcas, confused by the scene in front of her. 

“Shhh, this is their foreplaying, let them do their thing” 

Sirius answered, never letting the game out of his sight

“Huh, you seem pretty okay with your brother's sexual life, then, didn’t expect that.”

Sirius dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

“I’m not interested in his sexual life, I just wanna know if I'll be able to sleep in my bed tonight” 

“What does that have to do with…” 

But as Dorcas was finishing his sentenced, Remus smirked and exclaimed 

“Checkmate, Black” 

“Fuck off, Lupin” 

Regulus grumbled 

“Oh Fuck off! Come on Prongs, Wormy, get ready to sleep in the common room tonight” 

Dorcas was more confused than before

“What? Why would they sleep down here?” 

Marlene laughed at Sirius’ despair

“You see, those games are not only a fun way to end the night and rile each other up, for those two, it also settles in wich bed they’re gonna shag for the night” 

Dorcas hummed in understanding, as she saw Remus taking a grumbling Regulus by hand and dragging him up the stairs, while waving goodnight at their friends.

a.n: the moonwater brainrot is getting stronger everyday, soldiers

[alieinthemorning]

Deepest, Darkest, Purest Love [Sylus] 

Content: World Underneath: Sealed in Dust Spoilers, Sylus Story Speculation, Angst, Soft Sylus, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert

Pronouns: None

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

Sylus…was an enigma to you. After the Nest, the forced resonating, and being told that he wanted to achieve his goal, he needed you to like him in some capacity. Now, you’ve ended up here in one of his many safe houses, wrapped in his arms on the couch while some movie played. Domestic bliss as its finest, but how did you end up here? You knew that it wasn’t just him playing with your feelings while you hopelessly fell for it. No…you knew that his feelings for you were real. His actions and words, although not always obvious, were always clear in the intentions. 

“You know very well that I adore you. There is no love purer than mine.”

Despite how you acted toward him, or tried to deceive yourself. You knew you loved him. You loved this man something fierce. And honestly? 

It scared you—terrified you.

You understood that you and Sylus shared a past. One of your many pasts, over your many deaths. Unfortunately, you couldn’t remember much (not that you think you ever could). Since EVER had gotten their hands on you and the Aether Core, memories come up spotty and painful. You want to remember, you really do, but it doesn’t seem like you have an actual say in the matter. But from what you can remember…you’ve both died…many, many times. Pitted against each other for some reason or other, then forced to become close—fall in love, just to do it all over again—Oh.

Oh.

“You know very well that I adore you. There is no love purer than mine.”

You were pitted against each other for the Aether core. That’s what wants to devour him—this damned Aether Core. 

“Sweetie?” His thumb brushed against your under eye, catching the wetness there. “Why are you crying?” 

“I’m sorry!” You wail into his chest. “I’m so sorry for hurting you!”

“I’ve told you before that it was my fault for pushing you—” He grunted as you shoved away from him, shaking your head violently. 

“I’m talking about before! Way back when—I still don’t remember it all, but I know that I hurt you, so—” You looked up at him, tears caressing your waterline. “How can you love me so deeply?” 

“I’ve told you this once, and I’ll tell you as many times as you need.” He smiled, and you break. 

“You know very well that I adore you. There is no love purer than mine.”

You know, and you hate yourself for selfishly enveloping yourself in that love. 

A love you do not deserve. 

I was trying to do Soft Sylus, which! for the two lines that he speaks, he is in fact soft, so I'm counting it! But it ended up as angst regardless lol.

Now, let's get into what might be his Myth or one of his many pasts with you. I think that the two of you were pitted against each other for the Aether Core. Whoever the hell had y'all fighting wanted to make one of you stronger, and having one kill the other for the core seemed a lot more fun than just choosing one. But! I don't think it worked, y'all got tired of fighting and choose not to take arms when it was time, which not the best idea because you'd be punished, but hey, it did eventually get the message through to them. However, they took another approach, which was getting the two of you closer, so when they did pit you two against each other again, one of you would have to throw your life down for the other, and in this case…it was Sylus.

At least! That's what I'm thinking lol. Just a little theory!

I'm on Bluesky btw~

Ko-Fi | Masterlist

[alliesdelimma]

Haze

November DWC

Day 1

Why are you doing this?

To get stronger.  To be better.  To make it so she never lost anyone or anything again.  She wouldn’t.  She couldn’t.  She refused.  Never again.  Everything she did was to guarantee that she would never be alone again.  She couldn’t be ‘Useless’ again.

“You’re pushing yourself too hard girl.  I think we’re done today.”  The man’s voice was stern even if his eyes held a measure of concern.

Picking herself up off the ground Allie swiped the sweat out of her eyes and settled back into her stance.  A stance repeated over and over and over again by the master training his students.  Bandage wrapped hands stained and dyed in a mixture of crimson and rust colored hues, curled into fists.  “Again.”  She demanded, earning a weary sigh from the man.  But he too settled into his own stance, wooden sword at the ready.

You’re too weak for this.

If she was weak, what was the point of any of it?  Of finding a place?  Of training?  Of being born at all?  The weak and the useless didn’t survive.  She was a survivor.  What other point was there to life than to survive it and its endless bullshit.

Ragged breathing filled her ears.  Her body stung all over as she forced herself once more to her feet from her knees.  “Again…”. This one was less harsh, coming between panting breaths but no less demanding.

You don’t deserve them.

Of course she didn’t. They took in one branded as useless.  An orphan, a thief, a liar.  What was she but a burden?  A tiny girl who should have passed away in a crate.  Far from the sight of the world.  Far from��everything…but they had found her.  She who had been lost was found.  Did she not owe it to them to repay that debt?  To prove she was more than the brand.

“Enough Allisana.  This is over.”  The man's voice was harsher.  It annoyed the Little Sparrow.  It didn’t matter, she could barely stand.  It didn’t matter that her fingers weren’t quite responding to her anymore.  It didn’t matter that the room and her nightmares were filled with haze.

She wasn’t done.  A sharp shake of her head sent sweat spraying.  “Again!”

“No.  I’m done figh-shit!”  If he wouldn’t start it.  She would.  What did it matter what happened if she couldn’t even do this much?

They would be better off without you.

They would.  So what?  She was here now.  She would earn her place among them celestials damn it!  Among the world.  Among her friends.  Among her family.  She was a survivor. Even if they were better off, there had to be something she could do.  A place she could call her own that she could carve out with her own hands.

It didn’t matter that his hand was bare.  He was an expert even with nothing to protect himself.  A parry, a counter, and a sharp pain loosened her left hand's grip enough to jam her fingers into stone rather than impact flesh against flesh.  Her fingers refused to do more than hang limply from her hand.

They danced.  Punch.  Twirl.  Knee.  Parry.  Dodge.  Kick.

Then his elbow rapped across her knuckles, forcing her right to do the same.  Though she dived for him anyway.  A foot slid behind her own, his shoulder ramming into the center of her chest.

Her breath exploded free of her lungs and she was sent stumbling backwards with the force of it, barely catching herself from falling backwards but instead falling forward on her hands and knees as she nearly retched across the training room grounds.

“We’re done here.”  He was disappointed.  Angry.  Fine.  She deserved that and more.

Stop fighting fate, just give in and let go.

She still dreamed about the multitude of reaching hands that pulled her from the brink of darkness and despair.  If one hand could save even an unworthy wretch like her, she’d claw her way back from any pit.  She would never stop, not until they could see how much their kindness meant to her.  They had become her light and she couldn’t ever tell them how much it had meant to her.  She could only show them, no matter how long it took.

Her vision swam, blurred, teeth bared in a snarl.  A drop of crimson stained the wooden floors drawing her attention.  Blood.  Her blood.  Right.  What was a drop of blood?  She’d give every drop if she could get better.

She slowly raised her head, the trainer wasn’t even looking at her now.  Fine.  That was fine.  They didn’t need to look.  No one did.  But she’d show them.  She’d show everyone.  The little redhead didn’t even realize she was moving at all until she had to catch herself, a tingling so very different starting in her hands.

Crystalline blue hues stared at her hands before her.  Sparks.  A ripple of energy coalescing across her fingers and knuckles  Sharp and gleaming in the torchlight.  Lightning.  They made her hands curl involuntarily into fists.  These wouldn’t go limp so easily…

It was one of the other trainees who alerted the man.  A warning as she stood and settled into her stance.  “Again…”

He whirled, face going cold and hard.  Unfeeling stone.  A champion who knew this was no longer a game.  Good.  That’s what she wanted.  “Edyva.  Get the healer.  Quickly.  Gaethan, you go get another Master.  The rest of you stay back.”

He settled into his own stance.  Slowly they circled, gazes never breaking.

“I don’t want this young one.  But I will do what I must to stop your madness.  Prepare yourself, I won’t be holding back.”

A feral grin twisted her lips.  Perhaps she was mad.  But what did it matter?  If she couldn’t even put a scratch on a man like this, an adventurer.  A hero.  Then she would never be good enough.  She would always be…

Know your place.  Know what you are.

She knew.  She didn’t need that damned voice in her head.  She knew her place.  She knew what she was.  She always knew…every day she could feel and remember the sizzle of flesh across her back.

It wasn’t a long fight.  Real ones never lasted long.  She knew that.  She’d seen plenty on the streets.  When it came down to it fights were quick once they really began.  And he wasn’t entirely true.  A liar like so many others.

Unworthy.

She’d been able to get back up at least once during it.  Her second try had earned her a harsh blow that drove her flat and darkened her vision.  The third was stopped by a heavy boot to her back and a single blow to the back of her head.

Unwanted.

His efforts to unclench her hands was not easy.  Practiced eyes took in hands, burned and bleeding. What little remained of her wrappings now all but fused to the skin.  “You need to let go of whatever darkness holds you young one…”  The man sounded tired, weary.  He knew that darkness all too well.  “You fought well, but you need to rest.  I know not what drives you but everyone has a limit.  This is yours.”

Useless.

She curled up as trembles wracked her form.  Bolts and tendrils of crawling across her body, no longer limited to just her hands. The physical pain?  The mental one?  The haunting memory down her back? She didn’t know.  But her breath shuddered with every breath regardless.

Unworthy sinner.

What was the point of fighting it?

Unwanted child.

She was meant to be alone.

Useless wretch.

Someone like her was never meant

To have people like them.

“...”

The man stood, holding his blackened shoulder.

Her breath hitched, limbs twitched.

It hurt.  It was agony.  But she couldn’t, she wouldn’t, she refused to stop until she proved it. Proved she wasn't useless...

“...Again…”

(( @daily-writing-challenge This was so fun to write!))

[clubsmarties]

"Then consider it planned. We'll plan for another soon as she comes out and you're cleared to go." The thought of their baby girl not suffering a fate like them was appealing. Instead of finding a best friend out there she'd already have one. "You say that now but you don't know pain could be way worse than you originally thought and you want to break me in half." It was a joke, though he did think about how much pain she'd actually be in and felt a pang of pain over it. Laurel was about to do the hardest part of the job with no help from him even if he wanted to. A smug little small took over as he noticed her staring and he knew what was going on in her head. She hadn't lost her obvious touch in the years they've known each other and that made a warmth course him. Just to mess with her he licked his lips and made a whole show before he took a sip of the small water bottle. Feeling her finger on his chest made him chuckle and nearly spit out the water. "Careful babe, we may be charged with public indecency."

"Baby, stop. I love you okay?" Eli kissed her hand and smiled. "We came out stronger because of that. Dumb as it was, I feel like it was necessary. Otherwise we wouldn't know how to navigate literally everything that comes our way." He nodded knowing how much love he had. "I know. I love him too. That doesn't stop because we fuck up." The more they talked about baby names the less inspired he felt about finding the one. "She's babygirl but also because you're named after a flower, she's a Rosebud." It dawned on him then, Rose. "Rose. Rosie, Roro. What about R names?" His surprised face greeted her at the fact that the Contreras found a name. "Before us? World record. Do you know what it is or is it a surprise?"

"I'd share my sweet stash with my favorite girls." He sat down next to her and wrapped his free arm around her shoulders while she ate her churro. A part of him looked around and knew their lives would change when they welcomed their daughter into their world. They would no longer be a family of two but of three. That made a silly little smile spread across his features. The talk of Emma brought out a laugh from him as he looked over at the curly hair bouncing across from them. "I don't think she will ever shed that energy off and I love that about her. God, it feels like a lifetime ago that you first met her. She was right, you were going to be her sister in law. She loved you from that first moment. Though I think she liked you because I did so she attached." Letting out a sigh he nodded. "It's been good to have them both here. Feels like our old cabin trip back in college. Except Isa didn't come along but it feels nice to have family around. You know, they want us to move to Chicago so they won't be too far away when baby girl comes. I can see us moving but not to Chicago. I did suggest them move closer to us. I would love for them to be closer and I'm sure Isa would love to have his sisters closer. I think we should do a do over of dinner for them. The last time it got clouded by the argument so I want to give them a fun no drama night. Any thoughts? We could take that to that restaurant you love. They have outside sitting and that comfy bench."

He turned to look at her and chuckled when she had crumbs of cinnamon on her chin. Taking a napkin he wiped it and smiled thinking she was adorable. "I'll get the order to go once we are ready to leave so you can have some more at home. But you gotta promise me you will have actual food first before the treats. If not, no treats for you." He tried his stern voice and laughed. "I got water too."

His words had a way to make her smile, and soothe her all at once. It hadn't crossed her mind, that they were they more prepared than the average person. At least, on the sleepless nights front. He had been a trooper all these months, answering every outrageous question and soothing every insane scenario her mind whipped up. "Me, doubt? Nope, no, not at all. You are right, we're pros and we work together as a team. We did, and I think we should still do that. They could grow up together." One thing she did know was that she didn't want their girl to be an only child. "I'll be wiped out, but don't think it'll deter us for long. Babe, please. I could never hate you." Her gaze darted down to his lips, then back up at his eyes. His smirk was just so unfair, she could feel her knees going weak. Even now, just like they had the first time they met. "Hm," she tapped her head lightly before her index finger trailed up his chest. "How could I forget I have full access?"

She closed her eyes at the feeling, the kisses to her head made her sigh once more. The way he loved her was something she could never repay. The only thing about someone loving her the way he did was that he also just knew her so well. She hadn't uttered a word of the thoughts swirling in her mind, and yet, he was addressing it all. It was weird, but she felt some relief when he said he had been upset with her in that moment. "I did wonder if it was bias, or you were going easy on me." Her shrug was full of defeat, admitting that felt so whack. "And, I appreciate you not shutting me out. It would've been easy, I wouldn't have blamed you if you decided to." It was not the right time to be smiling, but thinking back to their awkward phase of being together but not together pulled a small smile from her. "That was pretty dumb of us. Fun, but very dumb." Laurel did feel some comfort hearing that, that he would've done the same. "I see what you mean, I'm glad that you understand...me. I never wanted to hurt you." She nodded sadly, understanding what he was explaining. It's all she had been thinking about since the awkward conversation with Emma in the kitchen. "Yeah, fair enough. He could've told you then. It might take time, but I’m sure he'll come around soon. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s the love he has for you. Trust me.” She had experienced that love and defensiveness firsthand. Whatever was said during that time though, well that could just stay in the past quite frankly. Laurel had seen more occurrences of Isa's direct words, and it just wasn't something she wanted to think of coming back to them. After a minute or two of silence from her, she breathed out a thank you. His smile brought a warmth to her chest, she could see it all in his eyes. “No more apologies from me, promise. But, if you need to talk about it, you know I’m here. I’m in your corner, always.”

The twinkle in his eyes made her heart skip a beat, shaking her head in complete amusement. "Eh, no worries. My ego can handle it. Besides, I'm more intrigued by how you can make it up to me. I could hear these ideas now, and be patient until they're put into effect." Laurel's wide grin couldn't conceal the mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Oh man, we are. Well, not completely nameless. Babygirl has been holding down the fort for us. Though, yep...babygirl isn't really a name. Juju texted me yesterday, they picked out her name!" Her brows furrowed in light confusion, unsure if he was kidding. After all, they really were beginning to cut it close with her approaching due date. Though, they had been adamant to find the name all on their own. "You're sure? I can ask them for their list, maybe something inspires us." Unlikely though, her and Juju had once spent an afternoon looking at names, and she had been given brief access to their list. All were beautiful, yet nothing stuck out.

"She absolutely gets that from you," she was quick to agree as she nudged him gently. "Where do you think I've been getting my sweets stash from? Already has something in common with her daddy." The pantry usually had all sorts of sweets that Laurel didn't think twice about, but lately, they've been replenishing that stash much more often. "Ooh, I did consider doing that, but figured you would cut me off entirely if I swapped out the good food for sweets." Taking the churros, she looked in the direction he asked, and nodded. “I could make it over there, because sitting there looks like torture.” Reaching the cushioned seats they had seen earlier, relief washed over her as she took a seat, patting the empty area for him to sit. Biting into the warm treat was heavenly, a hum escaping her. “This is, hands down, the best churro ever. Worth the walk. Oh, wait, I could buy more and take them home with us.” Unlikely, but worth a shot. “How are you feeling, having Emma and Inez here? Emma is still such a big ball of energy, just like when I met her.”

[inamagicalhallucination]

im really into couples drifting apart but then coming back stronger than ever personally i blame my parents

[monarchamos]

every day i think about how chuuya's character is such good-guy/hero vibes yet hes been so fucked up by life and hes such a loyal person and thats why hes a villain but he makes sure all the bad shit he does is the bare minimum whats necessary he doesnt believe in needless violence and killing despite being one of the strongest people in the world

he helps old people cross the street and gets emotional over a children's movie about dogs. he has a kill count in the hundreds. he loves puppies. he's a port mafia executive. he still cares about the people who have betrayed him and literally stab him in the back just because they used to care for him.

he was just a kid but he's a vessel of a god of destruction. he was only fifteen but he was betrayed by his friends and made to join the port mafia. he was only sixteen but the few people who made him comfortable with the mafia were killed by an assassin who wanted to abduct him and made him question his humanity.

He wasn't exactly led astray but he is a light who has made a home in the darkness. he's happy where he is, but it is tragic that he will never know if he will be happier elsewhere.

[popponn]

mysme is doing wonders for my mental health i miss you so much my defender of justice 707 my love my star my planet the light of my life the bfest bf to ever bf the earth

[dutybcrne]

Me BSing hcs like: The fact that Kae is not only able to create a shield when he is dangerously low HP but also the fact that he is able to regenerate HP when he hits opponents with Frostgnaw is definitely due to him receiving his Vision when Diluc had tried to kill him in their Confrontation...but could it be possible that his familial ties to the Abyss Order could have influenced that HP drain of his-

[thats-sir-dyke-to-you]

.

[moodymelanist]

okay okay okay listen hear me out. I’m not super excited about Captain Carter but her getting another episode so we can see little!steve in the hydra stomper… the possibilities are endless

[mielgf]

wishing you all comfort, love, and contentment in 2023, whatever that may look like for you ✨❤️ happy new year!!

[datastate]

[ end-game ykza 0 spoilers ]

i hope jun rots in hell. truly. i wish tachibana were given the chance to reunite with his sister after everything the two of them had done and sacrificed to get here... i wish tachibana was at least given the chance to cast jun out and let him die. not in this conflict, not by his own hand, but as soon as it's over they're to cut ties. the foundation of their friendship was deceit, only emphasized by the actions jun took to bury himself on this hill. tachibana will not openly mourn him; he will only mourn his naivete and the years he was enraptured by power over his own family. maybe the part of him which still cares hopes jun realizes that - but only that he comes to reality far, far away from those he's hurt.

[niicevibe]

ah, i wrote a lot, whoops.

My husband and I developed a theory so please play along and tell me where you are in birth order (oldest, middle, youngest, only) and if you think having siblings is overall a positive or negative thing.