#they haven’t even shared a bed yet which is like one of the core elements of the story

[diazheartsbuckley]

The insomnia fic has officially reached 10k words 🥺

Idk what happened but the writing gods just sent me a whole load of beans 💘

[moonlightreal]

Fate episode 5

Welcome back to Elemental Academy!  When we left, the three adults had fallen prey to inescapable Plot of being adults in a YA franchise and decided “we must hide the truth and manipulate our students, for their own good.” Words cannot convey how sad this makes me.  The three of them having their moments as competent, experienced residents of a magical world was the neatest thing in this show.  

But first, we just got a backstory bomb courtesy of Beatrix!  Let’s give it a closer look before we dive into episode 5.

So Beatrix’s story is that a peaceful town called Aster Dell was surrounded by Burned Ones and the powers that be decided to nuke the place, sacrificing the humans to take out the Burned Ones.  And that decision was made by our three adults, Miss Dowling, Silva and Harvey, and Rosalind, and Queen Luna.  But Rosalind had an attack of conscience and turned against the others, and managed to save two babies from the town, Bloom and Beatrix.  She left Beatrix with a friend and dumped Bloom in the human world.  The three Alfea adults captured Rosalind and stuck her under the school, and Queen Luna cast an illusion over the ruins of Aster Dell to… erase the event from history in a world where Instagram exists?  How does THAT work?  That was apparently the last stand of the Burned Ones because they all vanished until just now.

It certainly paints our adults in a bad light!  But is it true?  I mean we did hear it from Beatrix!  She not only… is Beatrix… she wasn’t there at the time.  Maybe the Burned Ones had already killed everyone before the town was nuked.  Maybe the adults thought the townsfolk were already dead and nuked the place on bad intel.  Maybe Queen Luna nuked the town and the three teachers were just helping clean up after.  Maybe Luna ordered them to do it, she is QUEEN after all.  Maybe the adults knew that nuking this one town would end the Burned One threat forever and were willing to sacrifice hundreds to save millions.  I mean, there’s not really a GOOD excuse to nuke a town, but there’s better and worse reasons.

Gee, it’d help if we knew what Burned Ones actually were and where they come from!  

...Hang on, how sure are we that Sky’s father is actually dead?  Because he hung out with all these adults and he’s a “he.”  And he’s in a photo therefor there’s an actor to play him.  If he’s the friend who raised Beatrix then B would have grown up knowing only his and Rosalind’s side of the story, not any circumstances that might make the Alfea adults look non-awful.  Then Beatrix wouldn’t even have to be lying.  Of course that raises the question of why Andreas would be raising Beatrix instead of his actual son, a weird parenting choice.  Maybe he just would’ve rather have a daughter!  Sky seems to have turned out all right with Silva as foster-dad.  

So, anybody wanna lay bets?  Is reappearing dead dad more or less likely than a master Burned One hiding in a cave?  (and yes I know most of you have already seen the last episode and are laughing at me trying to guess, and that makes me happy.)

Ok, let’s hit episode 5!

We open at night, some guards stand stoically outside while we torture Beatrix!  She’s shrieking and rolling around with the antimagic cuffs biting into her wrists while Dowling tries to read her mind. Silva expresses worry that they’re hurting the girl and Dowling says, ‘I’m pushing through her mental defenses, it’s painless. This is an act.”  

And it probably is, because Beatrix sits up and starts on, “Nobody will believe you, I have the better story.  Everyone will whisper that you’re torturing poor fragile me.”

Dowling asks questions about where she went with Bloom, why kill Callan, is Bloom in on it with you, do you have anything to do with the Burned Ones… Dowling, you look a little pathetic not knowing all those things!

Beatrix is being creepy as blazes, 10/10 for her actress narrating the rumors that will spread about her own torture.  ‘Her screams echoed through the school… then one day, they stopped.  No one knows what happened to the poor girl, but everyone knows who did it.”  this is marvelously delivered.  I wonder if Beatrix is planning her own death to make it look like Dowling killed her.  How obsessed with her idea of revenge is she?

And Beatrix wins!  Her description drives Dowling from the room and Silva after an uncomfortable look back and forth, follows her out.  The two specialists standing guard continue stoic.  they’re outside the big doors from the last episode, inside is a big cage with a bed and stuff for keeping prisoners in semi-comfort. But the walls are paper thin and apparently this has been going on for a week!  I think B just screamed a lot all week and only now spilled her plans.

Alfea has stone dungeons with thick walls, why aren’t we using one of those?  Or why haven’t the police come take her away to charge her with murder?  Are the Alfea teachers the entire justice system of Solaria?  I think the teachers are going under the table and Beatrix played them.

With a week of torture added, we’re now 3-4 weeks into the school year.

Bloom is outside, hiding behind a car, watching the adults leave the cell. She starts texting when Dane comes up behind her.  He says he knows what she’s doing and Bloom does the most badly-acted little grin when she says she’s not doing anything.  But Dane says he’s on guard duty tomorrow night and he’ll help her get in to talk to Beatrix.

Interesting that it’s Dane and Bloom, not Dane and Riven, or just Riven.  

Opening!

We jump to Bloom and Sky fighting a Burned One in a hedge maze!  But it’s only an illusion training dummy, it turns into one of those big glass gemstones.  

Sky has a little cut on his face and Bloom closes it with magic.  Just cauterizes it I assume, unless she has healing magic and we weren’t told.  Healing is usually under the water or earth element in these sorts of systems.

Bloom: “I just wish they’d tell us how to fight these things.”

Yes, fighting teachers should do that.  Kind of the point of having teachers.  

Everybody else is fighting too!  The fairies seem to have joined the specialists on their mats.  Another girl throws fire, so Bloom’s not the only fire fairy here.  Riven shows off his stick-fighting skill.  Dowling and Silva watch, with Aisha taking notes on a clipboard as Dowling’s new assistant.  Terra shows off her vines grabbing… is that a new adult?  We don’t get a good look but it looks like a man in specialist gear.  Bloom and Sky’s voiceover says, “It’s like they’ve gone full wargames.” and “Well they were soldiers before they were teachers so it’s on-brand for Alfea faculty.”

Harvey arrives in the hedge maze and Sky asks for a hint.  This is the only exercise he and Bloom can’t pass.  

Subtitles (thanks for the suggest, january-summers!) say Harvey’s first name is Ben.  And he’s gonna lay some info on us!  ‘Inside each burned One is a magical core called a cinder, and with time and finesse you can use your magic to destroy it.”  That… seems like a factoid that should’ve been shared in the “all about Burned Ones” lecture that should have happened at the beginning of this martial push?  Just sayin?

He also explains how fairy-and-specialist fighting works.  The fairy must trust her specialist to protect her so that she can “channel controlled magic” without freaking out and lighting the woods on fire when a monster comes at her.  And he must trust her to destroy the thing.  Ok, that makes sense.  That works.  So is it normal for fairies and specialists to team up in pairs?  Is that what they do in the army too?  Were Dowling and Silva one such pair?  Maybe Harvey and his unseen wife were and she’s unseen because she died in the war.  Now I’m imagining Mrs. Harvey was a badass specialist.

Bloom flirtatiously asks if she can trust Sky and he more sensibly asks if he can trust her.  He thinks Bloom was being awfully teachers-pet to Harvey.  Bloom says since the outing with Beatrix everyone’s been watching her like a hawk, wondering if she’s Beatrix’s evil henchwoman.  They joke about Bond villains and Sky has seen several James Bonds.  Then they go back for another try against the illusory Burned One.

But they are being watched!  In fact Bloom is being watched by Sky, who gets a very meaningful look from Silva as he goes past.  Dowling eyeballs Bloom, who smiles innocently back.  The teachers are walking with Aisha and Musa, And Musa is reading Bloom and Sky to see if they’re tired yet.  She does say “I know they know I’m doing it, but it still feels invasive.”  Musa would rather use magic on a real enemy!  But Dowling says mind reading is support magic and that’s just as important.  ‘Your magic can help us assess fragile states of mind or uncover hidden enemies.’

Aisha asks, ‘like Beatrix?” and Musa asks how B is doing and if they found out why she killed Callan.  But Dowling just says, ‘let’s keep focused.” which, I can see why she’s not telling them everything but she is playing right into Beatrix’s hands.

Terra’s getting a drink of water on break between sparring.  A girl specialist with a great hairdo, buns up the back of her head, compliments Terra on her vine restraint move.  Terra says, ‘thanks, it’s all bout the tensile strength of the cellulose.”

Riven comes and sits down by Terra and says, “Tensile strength.  Hot.” Terra, not sure what to make of that either but knowing Riven, pointedly ignores him.  But Riven is having one of his likeable moments and says, ‘She’s right you know.  you’re a force out there.”

Wanna comment on two things.  First, Freddy Thorpe who plays Riven is great.  He keeps making me want to like his objectively awful character.  And he’s a fine lookin’ dude, the grin, the scruffy stubble… I hope he goes far as an actor.  And second, the leather sword vests the specialists wear are really neat.  Swords attach to the back somehow, Riven’s got a couple of potion bottles in pockets—which I hope they’re plastic and empty, glass bottles and fighting do not mix!  And I’m not sure if it’s a vest or a vest and shoulder scabbard and separate belt.  But all the specialists have them, and we know this show doesn’t spend much on props… I wonder if I can find the source?  

Not immediately, it turns out.  Anybody better with renfaire gear know where to get these things?  Or what they’re called?

Polite Terra says, “You too.”  but Riven wasn’t.  He was garbage at fighting.  Terra kindly says, ‘It’s been a weird week.” and “I know you and Beatrix were… close, so it must be really hard.” Terra is sweet.  You can see her kinds thinking it would be kind to say those things even though she’s not keen on Riven.

Dane walks by and says, “Sweet moves Riv, I’ve never seen anybody die so many ways so quickly.  You should go for Alfea’s Got Talent.” heh.

Riven says that was a burn from ‘the first-year monster I created.  Or Beatrix created.”  he says Dane still has a thing for Beatrix… ok HE says “A hard-on for her.  A weird, gay hard-on.  Is he even gay? I don’t know anything anymore.”  and I chuckled because Riven is so delightful when he’s not being a terrible person.  Terra just sits there with that Terra expression like she doesn’t know what to say to that, and now she’s probably worried that by dumping Dane last episode she drove him to the dark side.

Indoors, Sky catches Silva and calls him out on pairing them together so he can spy on Bloom.  Silva says since they’re both strong in their roles nobody questioned it.  But Sky is not feeling great about the whole situation.  The more he talks to Bloom the more convinced he is of her basic innocence, and-- “Stella’s gone, Riven’s a mess, and the person I’m spending the most time with I’m spying on.”

Silva gives him a pep talk, that this matters and it may be lonely but it’s to keep the Otherworld safe.  And this is honor.  Sky hesitates, sighs, then nods and keeps walking.

Silva is drawn back into his memories!  First of being grievously injured and falling down, then I think to another earlier memory recovering after a fight in the forest side by side with Sky’s father.  Who has a serious beard!  Andreas gently mocks his friend for not being tough enough and says Sky might be more useful.  Sky who’s presumable a little kid at the time.  Younger Silva calls him on it, asking when he last even saw his son.  Andreas turns away.

The gang’s all here in flashback, Younger Dowling looks on while Harvey’s dissecting the dead Burned One saying ‘we still have a lot to learn about them.”  Andreas spits on it and Harvey says, ‘Or we could contaminate it.  Ok!”  Heh.  And here comes Rosalind congratulating the four of them on taking it down in under three minutes but saying next time they should shoot for under two.

Back in the present the adults are watching video of the students sparring on a tablet in Dowling’s office.  Dowling is unhappy none of them took down an illusion Burned One, most of them just gave up!  Silva says that’s why they’re in training, they’re not ready yet.

Do these three know about the Burned One Aisha pinned to a tree?  The girls plus Sky have taken out two so far, which isn’t a lot but is more than zero.

Badass Marco comes in and he’s in trouble!  He and his partner whose name turns out to be Noura took out a Burned One near the school—but it wasn’t alone!  Now Marco has been poisoned!  Harvey rushes for the medicine.  Marco says “we were taught that Burned Ones are solitary hunters, but two of them traveling together..?”

Dowling says, ‘It’s rare but it happens.” and I don’t know if that’s true or she’s just saying it to look like she’s on top of the situation.

Silva says they should warn “the Solarians” and Marco says he tried, they’re not answering!  And they pulled their troops from the battalion. Dowling says Queen Luna has been “distant” since she pulled Stella out of school.  Marco says they’re low on manpower and “if the Solarians abandon us we’re in serious trouble.”

But isn’t Alfea IN Solaria?  It was on the globe.  They have separate armies?  Maybe the Solarian army is their actual army and the specialist/fairy pairs trained at Alfea are a separate thing?  Maybe Alfea trains elite magical troubleshooters and the Solarian army is made up of trained mundanes?  But wouldn’t the government of the country want to be in control of all armies in that country so there’s no extra armies rattling around getting into trouble?  And Dowling is Luna’s subject so... How does this WORK, show?

Be nice to know what the ratio of magic users to mundanes in the Otherworld is, too.

Over in the girls’ suite, Aisha pensively braids her hair and Terra happily moves her plants around.  The lights are on and there’s sunlight coming through the curtains but the room is still dark, reminding us we’re supposed to be in a grimdark show.  9_9  Batman could’ve just paid his electric bill, then he wouldn’t have to be the DARK knight… sorry, sorry, I actually like grimdark I just have no patience for literally dark when it makes no sense.

Musa gets texts from  Sam.  Musa and Terra have a cute chat about how Musa’s dating Sam.  terra’s happy about it.  Terra is also moving her hundred plants into Stella’s empty room so it “won’t feel so ghostly in there.”

Terra: “and it’s been a week.  We have to accept she’s not coming back.  No matter how much we wonder how she’s doing, call or text...” and she lists every EARTH social media platform she’s checked Stella on.  Musa asks if she misses Stella and Terra immediately says, “No! She was mean and insulting and left without saying goodbye, which was actually the meanest thing...”  Musa asks if her insults would be a good substitute.  Heh.

Terra made her outfit!  She fishes for a Stellaish insult from Musa by mentioning that.  Wow, Terra, you get cooler every time!  Sewing is hard!  I have trouble with just doll clothes!

A pot falls and breaks in Stella’s empty room.  An omen!

Bloom is watching her phone like a hawk as she pretends to study.  Aisha comes in to offer the, “I know you feel like you can’t trust Dowling, but you can talk to me.  I wouldn’t tell.” but Bloom gets a text that Dane is starting his shift and hops up to go do her own investigation.  On the way out Bloom gets a call from her folks. She doesn’t answer.

Aisha goes to the others, “We need to talk about Bloom.  She’s been single-minded about her birth parents and Rosalind for weeks.  And now it seems like she doesn’t care at all.  Are we meant to believe she’s just over it?  I know she’s keeping something from us.” And the girls put the pieces together!  She was texting Dane, Terra heard that “Dane is still team Beatruix”  

And Dane has knocked out his fellow guard with a sedative!  Boy is that a bad idea!  Bloom gapes.  Dane says, “She’s waiting.” in the most doomful way.

And there’s B sitting on her bed in her dark room, fiddling with the magic cuffs.  they’re like barbed wire and are messing up her wrists.  She greets Bloom with, “Took your sweet time!”  Bloom immediately wants to know if the murder thing is true, and B cops to it.  Callan was also there to break Rosalind out, which we knew and now Bloom does.  B says, ‘bit more complicated than evil beatrix kills hapless assistant.”

Bloom: “Dowling, Silva and Harvey haven’t told me the truth about a lot of things but that doesn’t mean you have.”  Yay Bloom! Skepticism!  But Bloom is determined to find out what really happened and Beatrix knows where Rosalind is.  But only if Bloom gets her out of the cage.  Beatrix says Bloom shouldn’t trust her, the faculty, her friends, anybody but Rosalind.

That’s interestingly hero-worshipy of B.  She’s never MET Rosalind, how does she know Rosalind is a good guy?  Or, y’know, whatever Beatrix thinks of as a good guy.

And Bloom’s along for the ride.  Dane gives her a magic thingamabo she can charge up that’ll get the cuffs off Beatrix and then they can go to town.  On the way out Bloom asks Dane why he’s helping her. Even if they were friends, hello, murder!  Dane says, “She’s the only person here who ever made me feel like being different was a good thing.”  And Bloom says she’s helping because “Beatrix is the only one who’s giving me answers.”

Because the adults are caught in Plot!  And we can see where this Plot is going.  Bloom releases Rosalind, who turns out to be master of the Burned Ones and they attack Alfea.  Great job, teachers, what a dumb Plot you are caught in!

What Dane gave Bloom was another big leatherbound book called Ancient Geometry.  Not usually an evil art, but she hides the book in her bag the next morning.  It looks like she’s awake before Aisha but when she leaves Aisha’s eyes immediately open.  She was pretending to be asleep to spy on Bloom!

More outdoor specialist training.  they’ve got some gear, Riven’s doing that arm exercise where you wave two hoses up and down.  Musa picks up a staff and twirls it expertly.  Riven comes over to flirt. Musa says she used to be a dancer, that’s where she got the moves. And she misses being physical.  Riven I think is venting about something else when he says, “Well too bad.  You’re a fairy, they don’t care what you wanna be in this place only what they want you to be.”  Musa reads his mind and gets all of Riven’s hate for Alfea.  Which, yeah, they locked his girl in a cage.

Also is it even true?  Are fairies not allowed to study martial arts? Martial arts is great for emotional control and confidence which would be great for magical control.  I mean it certainly could be that Alfea forces people into roles, but I haven’t seen evidence.

Then Sam comes by and he and Musa head back to the suite where she jumps on him for a makeout session!  Sam puts the brakes on asking if Musa’s upset about something and yeah, she’s angry that mind fairies are support type, they’re “powerless when things actually go wrong.’

Which… true, since Musa can only receive.  She might be able to know the location of every enemy and ally making her super valuable in battle, but if she could project emotion just for a second, jolt an opponent mid attack… but she can’t.  I see her point.

But we get a character building hint!  “A long time ago, family stuff...”  And that’s all.  She says it’s nothing, that she’s just frustrated, and suggests Sam take advantage of that frustration. Which he is happy to do!  Musa shoves him down on the bed, hops on top and takes her shirt off!  Behind this increasingly steamy scene we see one of Terra’s potted plants revolve… then it crashes to the ground, breaking the pot and the mood.  Sam yelps in surprise.

Sam: “Please don’t judge me on my completely legitimate and masculine fear of ghosts which are legitimately creepy...”  Hah!  I like you, Sam.

So… do ghosts actually exist in the Otherworld or are they just seen a lot but not proven same as in ours?

But the moment is gone and Musa says she should find the girls.  She puts her shirt back on and Sam leaves, both of them happily looking forward to their next chance at sexytimes.

Alone and with her shirt back on, Musa scans the room and detects another person!  

Stella appears!  

Stella’s here!  She snuck back a few days ago, and has been hiding invisibly in her room!  

But before we can hear the details we go to Bloom at the stone circle. She’s got the geometry book and a round metal doohicky that she has to charge up to free Beatrix.  She puts it down and channels magic into it, lighting up some jewels on it.  I can’t immediately identify this thing, it’s too big to be jewelry, palm-sized.  

Sky turns up and Bloom tries to hide the book.  Sky can tell she’s doing it, and he’s tired of all the sneaking.  So he comes out and says that Silva has him spying on Bloom—and that he knows Bloom’s not up to anything.  But it was an order.  Bloom is naturally pretty pissed off!  She says quite sensibly, ‘He used you, used our friendship—but I’m the bad guy right?”

I wonder how much of this is because Bloom’s from Earth.  If she’d grown up in the Otherworld would she be less surprised at specialists following orders?  Would she have heard of the adults’ great deeds in the war and been more inclined to trust them?

Anyway Bloom goes to hide the book again and Sky grabs it.  He asks what the magic thingamabob is and Bloom looks away super-guilty.  Sky: “I’m trying to be on your side here but you’re making it really difficult.”

Which is just how I feel about this show quite often!

Sky says Bloom can trust him, Bloom says she’s not sure she can and starts to tell him about Aster Dell.  

Back in Stella’s room poor Stella is telling Musa about her mother.

And her mother, in hologram form, is in Dowling’s office while Dowling asks why she withdrew her troops, when two Burned Ones have been seen together which hasn’t happened in a long time.  The show cuts back and forth between the two scenes.

...Stella says the army’s all out looking for HER!  That’s why.  But Luna won’t look at Alfea, ‘To do that she’ll have to admit she lost control of something, and that’ll never happen.”

Luna: But you’re training the students to fight.  isn’t that supposed to be what you’re teaching my daughter?”

Stella: ‘Project strength and power.  that’s all she cares about.  And I’m an extension of her strength”

Dowling: ‘Is this some sort of punishment?  For not rehabilitating Stella in the way you wanted?”

Stella: “My magic has to be powerful at any cost.  that’s what she taught me”

Luna pooh-poohs the idea that it’s punishment, “but you might consider updating your methods.  Given the threats we face.”

...Evil queen wants to turn Alfea to the ways of the Sith?  THAT’S the plot we’re going for here?  Ok, solid plot, I guess.  Could be worse. But Luna is a bargain basement evil queen if ever I saw one, she wears suits! And too much foundation!  Where’s the spiky crown and overabundance of eyeshadow?  Maybe they were going for an Umbridge kinda character.

Stella: ‘My mum treated me growing up… when positive emotions didn’t work she went right to the negative.  Hard.”

Dowling: “My methods are effective.  And they don’t cause students to lose control and blind their friends!”

Stella: ‘My magic is erratic because of her.”  And Luna disappears and we get to hear the rest of Stella’s story.  Blinding Ricki was an accident, as we could guess, but Stella would rather be seen as a “raging bitch” than weak.  It was safer with her mom.  Stella does know how messed up this is, and when she got home her mom immediately started abusing her again.  No mention of stella having a dad, but Queen Luna’s clearly the ruling party.

Musa says Stella doesn’t have to hide, all the girls will help her. Stella says, ”Are you kidding?  Do you know how judgmental; they are?”

I think the mind reader would know better than you, Stella!  So there’s Stella’s sad story.  And we don’t have to go to the palace of Solaria to rescue her like I was hoping we would.

From that heavy scene we jump to the cafeteria, where bad-boy music plays as Dane gets his lunch.  he’s smoking a cigarette!  And Terra is literally hiding behind a pillar in her homemade dress waiting for him.  He lights up and Terra pounces!

They talk, Dane says rather sensibly, ‘I do one bad thing and you cut me off” and “Beatrix never made me feel this bad.’ and Terra says also sensibly, ‘but murder.” and Dane tries to flee and Terra vine-grabs his ankle and Dane takes a pull on his cigarette and Aisha water-guns it out and the two of them interrogate him on what he’s up to with Bloom.  Dane has no chance.

Over to Bloom and Sky.  Bloom must’ve finished her story since Sky is telling his while Bloom charges the thingy.  He’s lived at Alfea his entire life, with Silva as his foster father.  Bloom brings up some of the things I thought of, that Silva might be part of a massacre if he believed it was for the greater good.  Bloom doesn’t think the adults are evil but she thinks they’re hiding the truth to protect themselves, too.  Bloom says at least Sky grew up hearing stories of his parents from people who knew them.

It looks cold and Sky offers Bloom his jacket.  And Sky is wearing a bright blue shirt and darker blue jacket, almost like a Red Fountain uniform.  I wonder if that’s a holdover from a stage when this was going to be a Winx show.  But Bloom just summons fire in all the braziers to keep warm.

Sky says, ‘Don’t need anyone do you?” and bloom says he’s “a fixer” and she doesn’t need to be fixed.  Sky talks about his father the “great Andreas” the war hero who he’s heard so many stories about, “It’s almost like he’s still alive.  But he’s not.  he’s an ideal.  Do you have any idea how hard that is to live up to?  Even Silva, it’s like he’s playing some role out of a sense of duty.  When all I really want..” poor Sky.  He says he’s a fixer because he’s broken and everyone is.

Anyway it ends with them kissing.

Then the magic thingy is charged.  Bloom says she does trust Sky, but if she told him he’d stop her.

Then Sky faints!

Bloom doped him with the sedative!  It was in her water bottle that she shared with Sky.  Wow, Bloom, dosing your own water bottle just in case you meet someone?  That is impressively scary thinking ahead!

Bloom is clearly really guilty, but she still leaves Sky facedown on the ground in the circle!  Hope no Burned Ones come along while he’s all passed out!

We go to the greenhouse where Harvey is doctoring Badass Marco who took a hit from a Burned One.  Silva is hanging around and Marco, between grunts of pain, asks if he’s handling the pain better than Silva did.  Harvey says the first Burned One poisoning is always the worst, it’s almost a rite of passage-- which suggests lots of people survive such injuries which is not the vibe we were getting a few episodes ago!

Marco asks about Andreas’ son helping take down the Burned One and if he inherited any of Andreas’ “less ideal qualities?  His bloodlust?”

Ok, I’m callin’ it, dead surprisingly evil dad it is!

Silva just says Sky is his own man.

Marco is hurt but he’s not worried.  He’ll survive weeks or months with the medicine, plenty of time for Noura and the battalion to get the Burned One.  There’s Noura on the phone now!  But… oh no!  Noura is grievously injured and everyone else is dead!  She’s out in the woods hurt and surrounded by lots of Burned Ones!  We see on video call as poor Noura tries to run, goes down, and is taken out.  Her phone lies on the ground sending a video of the trees—and fully half a dozen Burned Ones run past it!

Too bad.  I expected Noura and Marco were for the chop, just because in these sorts of stories the trained adults have to be gotten out of the way so the teenage heroines can shine.  But they were the interesting characters!  They were professionals in a magical world.  I wanted to learn more about them.

Bloom, like an amateur, heads to break Beatrix out but Dane isn’t there. Terra and Aisha are.  Bloom sounds positively paranoid as she says, ‘Everyone here is lying to me!  You don’t know what I know!” but they do, Dane spilled all the beans. Terra sounds about to cry as she says her dad would never do something like that.  Bloom sounds super paranoid as she says to herself, ‘You’re his daughter and you’re Dowling’s little helper, I’m not gonna convince either of you, just like Sky.”

Aisha pushes back; she’s been spying on Dowling!  For Bloom!  And all she’s seen is how hard Dowling’s been trying to keep everyone safe.

Bloom says they lied about Rosalind being alive, lied about a war crime, “i get that you guys want to believe in them but they’re destructive maybe dangerous!”

Terra: “Bloom, listen to yourself, you literally sound like a crazy person.”

Aisha says they haven’t told the adults yet, but if Bloom tries to bust Beatrix out they will.

Bloom faces them like a cornered animal.  Her eyes flame up.  Terra and Aisha back away and Terra almost sobs, ‘We’re your friends, Bloom!”

Bloom stops and thinks.  Friendship music plays.  She gets the magic thingy out of her bag and gives it to Aisha.  But when Aisha starts, ‘I know how hard...” Bloom says, “You don’t.  None of you do.”

...why am I thinking about Higurashi right now?  Maybe because everyone’s spying, nobody’s reaching out to their friends for help… y’all gonna get the bad ending!  Hmmf.  I prefer Oyashiro-sama’s curse over the YA Plot curse we’re laboring under.  Characters I liked already died and as a father figure type Silva is likely next to meet a sticky end.  I’m ANNOYED with this show right now.

And back in the suite Stella is saying she “can’t believe everyone’s listening to Aisha like she knows anything” and that the suite has gone to shit without her.  And Stella’s been pushing plants over whenever she gets annoyed since she doesn’t want to appear.  “I have opinions.  If I can’t express them verbally, I’m not above poltergeisting.”  just like Riven, Stella makes me absolutely hate her one second and then says a line that makes me smile.  I dunno what to do with these two.  Marvelous actors both of them, for playing such two-ways-at-once characters and making it work!

Then Stella gets invisible again and Aisha and Terra come in.  They stopped Bloom but they think she’s losing her marbles.  Which, yep, seems so.  Aisha thinks they kinda need to tell Dowling, even though they said they wouldn’t.  A pot wobbles.  Musa decides to shut that down real quick and just tells the others Stella’s here, so as not to have to clean up any more broken pots!  Heh!

Stella appears.

Stella’s opinion: “Everyone in this suite is so damn black and white.  Bloom is a pain in the ass but she deserves to know who she is, not the stories the faculty is telling her.  We can worry about being right or we can help our friend.  Which is it?”

Friend since when, Stella?  Also, maybe protect your friend from being instrumental in the downfall of the school?

Dowling in her dark office.  She gets a text from Silva: five or six Burned Ones.  “Suit up, we’re going hunting.”

Sad music plays.  Dowling opens up a chest and reveals, I think, the olive colored costume her younger self wore in the flashback.

And in my head an alternate Dowling smiles as her heart picks up speed at the thought of getting back in the saddle.  The opposite of what we see on screen.

Then Bloom storms in, breaking this tragic headmistress moment.  Having lost the magic thingy, bloom goes for the direct approach and demands to see Rosalind.  Poor Dowling doesn’t have time for this, she’s got a Burned One hunt!  But Bloom busts out, “I’m from Aster Dell!  that’s where I was born, that’s where my birth parents lived, until you all destroyed it.”

Good direct approach, Bloom!  Except you only know that from #1 untrustworthy source Beatrix, remember!

Dowling, shocked and horrified, turns away.  It’s true.  But, “You think we did it on purpose?”

Bloom: ‘That’s what Beatrix said.  That Rosalind had a crisis of conscience and you did it anyways.”

Dowling: “Rosalind!  Still manipulating people after all these years.”  

Flashback to the five of them!  Rosalind was the most powerful fairy at Alfea, and Dowling’s mentor.  Feared but respected, never questioned.

We’re up on the high plains, I think the same place we saw Silva being grievously wounded in a flashback before.  Dowling, rosalind and Harvey are up on a high knoll above Aster Dell, too far away to get a good look at what’s happening in the town.

Rosalind taught them to combine their magic, something nobody had known was possible.  They call down lightning and yeah, basically nuke the town.  But!  Rosalind said she made sure the humans were evacuated and only Burned Ones were in there!  They didn’t question their commanding officer, and they didn’t know until they walked into town and saw the bodies.  Past dowling puts her hand to her mouth in horror.

Present Dowling has tears in her eyes.  ‘if Aster Dell is where you’re from… there are no words I can say to make right the damage I’ve caused you.”

But Bloom shakes her head slightly.  “Why would she do that?”

Dowling thinks it’s because Rosalind was a zealot who “Wanted every Burned One dead no matter the cost” and who lied because she knew her team wouldn’t have gone along with it if they knew there were civilians in the town.

Bloom demands, ‘What about me?  Why did she put me in the human world?” But Dowling doesn’t know.  Bloom again demands to see Rosalind, getting up in Dowling’s face.  I feel like Bloom is somewhat enjoying this revenge, being able to back Dowling into a corner and shut her up.

Dowling grabs Bloom’s shoulders and says, “Whatever she has to give you is not worth unleashing her into the world again.” and the thing I wish she’d said a few episodes ago, “I’ll help you get the answers you need.  You have my word.”

...and Bloom believed her and they all worked together and got the good ending!

But bad-ending music plays and Silva comes to get Dowling to come take down the Burned Ones and the look on Bloom’s face is definitely a gonna-get-the-bad-ending look.

In her cage Beatrix whimpers and cries out in pain as she tries to get the cuffs off her wrists.

In the stone circle Sky wakes up from his drugged slumber.

In gorgeous Ireland Bloom sits on a bench pondering her next choices. Musa and Terra come up and give her the magic key.  They don’t want to be more people who are hiding things from Bloom.  Aisha can’t quite get on board with breaking a murderer out, but Musa and Terra are up for it!  And so is Stella, who appears beside the bench. Smiles all round.  I love the bonding, but wish they could maybe be teaming up for something that’s not so obviously a bad idea.  Just because y’all the main characters who won’t die doesn’t mean OTHER characters can’t die!

The real Stella never learned invisibility because why should she want to hide her awesome clothes?  But for this Stella, it’s a pretty handy trick!

The adults are packing their gear for war into the black SUVs and heading out.  The sun is low so it must be evening.  It occurs to me though—I’ve been in England in May, many Mays ago, and it stays light until like nine at night because the UK is super-North.  Maybe the difference in day length is why I keep getting tripped up about what time it is.  

Sky has staggered back into the school where Riven finds him.  Sky is relieved to learn that Beatrix is still locked up, but they have bigger fish to fry.  Looks like the specialists are joining the hunt!

Bloom brings Beatrix the magic key and Beatrix frees herself!

It is definitely-night and definitely cold at the barrier where the three adults with half a dozen other soldiers stand just inside the barrier.  Dowling uses her magic to amplify the sounds of the forest—that’d be air fairy stuff, so Dowling is mind and air at least.  I wonder how usual it is for fairies to learn more than one element.

Sky and the specialists arrive, late, to the sound of snarling Burned Ones.  Aisha’s here too.  Silva says this is no time for extra credit, but Aisha isn’t looking for extra credit, ‘I’m here because you need to know what’s happening.”

In Dowling’s office Beatrix is planning to toss Dane through the trap just like she did with Callan!  

Then Stella appears behind her and shoves HER through!  Ha ha ha!  Beatrix goes down, lips blue, breathing out frost.  It must just be a freezing trap, nonlethal.  Not that I would mind terribly if Beatrix weren’t in season 2; she has some charming moments and Sadie is a top class evil actress, but let’s ditch the slutty villainess trope maybe?

Stella: “Break out the villain to get what Bloom wants, then trap her again.  Simple.  My ideas rock.”

The girls go down the tunnel.  Stella holds a ball of rainbow light above her hand.  

Terra’s feeling troubled about what they’re doing.  she’s always trusted her dad to lead her right, but ‘I don’t know if he’d lead me down here.”

Stella: “Even the best parents are doing what they think is best for us. At some point we have to take over for ourselves.”  Truth, Stella. I’m just questioning if this is the right point or not.  Then Stella plucks a bit of light from her light and sends it to float by Terra.  ‘By the way, that outfit...’   She smiles and Terra smiles back.

Then we jump to Bloom, having a destiny-ridden moment.  “Everything I’ve been looking for is right through that door.”

No Bloom, Rosalind is through that door and how do you know she’s going to tell you any more truth than anybody else?  But through the door she goes.

And there’s the glowy barrier with Rosalind inside.  She opens her eyes and uses mind magic to say, “Hello, Bloom.”

...y’all gonna get the bad ending.

[hexusproductions]

I have no idea what No Straight Roads is but I want to know //everything// about it and your oc!! (Only if you want tho, obviously)

I very much want to!! Thank you for giving me an opportunity to gush about my most recent obsession

You can find my basic rundown on No Straight Roads here as well as one on my OC here, along with this post about his relationship with some of the canon characters.

As a refresher, my No Straight Roads OC is named Q-pid, the bread-and-butter for Prometheus Records. Q-pid is actually a lovecore-themed fictional persona, his real name is Pitt. Even though he loves being the character and being a musician, his ideas are usually struck down by his superiors, and he’s limited in what he’s allowed to do and write.

The in-universe ‘lore’ behind Q-pid is that he is a living embodiment of love sent to spread his message world-wide, essentially Cupid reborn. As such, the brand the record label sticks to is that of pure, family-friendly (but also commercialised) love in all of its possible forms. Q-pid has remained popular since his debut and has sparked a large fanbase. Similar to certain real-life persona bands, a variety of usual fandom creativity has popped up, including fanart and headcanons about the fictional character.

The essence of Q-pid’s personality is ‘Sweet as sugar, heart on the sleeve’, which has in fact become the mantra of those playing the character. Pitt, however, has an ego and pride in his musical abilities and appearance (he flaunts the fact that he spends hundreds of dollars into a single outfit alone). These two personalities don’t clash, however that ego occasionally shows in Q-pid.

Here’s some more information that isn’t included in his OG posts that I want to share (since you said everything about the character):

I do think of Q-pid as an optional boss in the game, who you’ll most likely find inside of the main building of Prometheus Records (the label is technically owned by NSR). You won’t get a district from defeating him, but you’ll still get all of the other boss rewards (special abilities, collectibles, etc.).

Pitt is bound by his contract to not let anyone know who he is, so he takes a lot of measures to make sure he’s not seen when out in public as himself. There’s a lot of layers involved clothing-wise, which can be a pain in the summer.

Q-pid has his own official social media account, while Pitt has his own personal one. Q-pid’s account is roughly 50/50 posts made by Pitt (in-character) and promotional posts made by his producers. Pitt’s account is full of things that he likes, but nothing personal.

Some common things you’ll find on Pitt’s personal account include; Numerous phone-recorded videos from the crowds of concerts by musical artists DJ Subatomic Supernova, Rott, and Bunk Bed Junction. Aesthetic photography of clouds, hearts, and fighter jets. Numerous retweets of cat pictures and videos.

Pitt does love the lovecore aesthetic, but he also enjoys the pilot aesthetic (this is most obvious in his go-to clothing item out of character being a bomber jacket). His back-up plan if he fails in the music business is to finally get his pilot’s license.

His favourite colours are mint green and pink

Pitt really wants at least one song where the themes/lyrics take Q-pid in a slightly darker direction. A lot of fanart commonly explores that idea, which both pleases and infuriates Pitt, because clearly it’s something at least some fans want. He even brought up the idea of a ‘bad boy’ costume for just one video, but that was also struck down.

He loves candy hearts and will pick through them for just the right message when giving them to someone, for no reason other than he feels joy from doing it. -- His costume designer implements a bracelet made out of candy hearts (painted wooden beads), which is where the ‘heart on the sleeve’ part of the Q-pid mantra originates, and it’s one of Pitt’s favourite parts of the costume.

I’m really tempted to drop all of Q-pid’s visual references here (the ones that I haven’t shown yet), but I might put all of those into a seperate post.

There are certain things I’m thinking about eventually implementing into Q-pid’s story, but at this point I’m unsure whether I should, since they impact the core element of him being controlled by his managers. Chronologically these events won’t happen for a while.

I really love this character and fully encourage any more questions about him, I plan on making more content in the future.

[what-big-teeth]

Spark (Male Fire Elemental, pt. 4)

Ignis and Simone share themselves with each other yet face one last obstacle. But it’s nothing compared to their shared strength. Not when happiness is so close.

Female Human (POV) x Male Monster [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

Lemon ; NSFW

Ignis has never mentioned any positives to being a trapped observer to the human word. But it shows now. It’s in the way he caresses my cheeks and gently guides me to lie back on the bed.

His lips pepper nearly every inch of my face. He pays special attention to the tip of my nose, my cheeks, and my ears. But he purposely misses the one spot where I want him most. Ignis pulls back to bare his torso’s weight on his bent forearms.

“Something wrong?” he asks.

I try to speak, but end up moaning instead. The slow way he’s grinding his clothed hips against mine creates a delicious friction that has me biting my lip.

“Just dealing with a tease,” I hiss out.

Ignis hums thoughtfully, steadily going. He leans down but doesn’t close the small distance between us.

“Is there something I can do to help?”

His warm breath brushes against my skin and I almost moan.

“Yeah,” I say, lifting my hips up against his.

His breath catches and he growls in my ear. I grin.

“Stop fucking around.”

His large, clawed hands dive under my sweater before I can breathe. They follow the shape of my waist, squeezing a bit, then pause under my bra.

“I suppose burning this isn’t an option?”

A rush of excitement floods my veins and I shiver.

“Next time,” I sigh, “when it’s mine.”

His hands slip underneath and cup my breasts. God, the heat of his palms... It takes everything to not melt into his touch. At my urging, Ignis pulls back to give me some space. My sweater and bra fall to the floor, leaving me topless.

His eyes widen, drinking me in as if I’ll vanish with a blink. But I take one of his hands and guide it back to my breast.

“Still with me?” I ask.

Molten fissures start breaking through his deep russet skin, which slowly blackens. My pulse spikes and my mind imagines the contrast of us pressed together.

But the cracks and darker shade begin to recede and his human form is all that’s left. He pulls away, panting.

“Is something wrong?” I ask. “We can stop if you—“

“No. I just need a moment to regain control.”

His eyes avoid mine as my brows knit together.

“Control? Over what?”

He grabs his left wrist with his right hand. Some of the cracks are still present, refusing to vanish.

“This form,” he growls. “You prefer this appearance, and I’m more than—“

My hands cup his cheeks and he finally looks at me. His expression is fearful, almost ashamed. It makes my mouth twist into a frown.

“When did I say that?”

“...Earlier today, but not through speech. If this is the way you wish to see me, I can accept that.”

“But I can’t.”

I shift closer then balance on my bent knees so I can look him in the eye.

“Yes,” I say, “your human form is nice to look at. But it’s a tiny part of the larger whole.”

I take his left arm and kiss the fissures on his wrist. They begin to spread up his forearm.

“I’m sorry I didn’t make myself clear before. I don’t want just a part of you, Ignis. I want you completely, fire and all.”

The fissures pulse with a molten light, continuing to overtake his human form. Ignis pulls me closer by my waist and kisses me, his tongue slipping past my lips as I gasp. He tastes of smoky warmth, deep, rich, and biting.

“You have a way with words, my darling light,” he says against my mouth.

When I try to reply, he silences me by licking at my bottom lip and gliding his claws down my back, making me shiver. Much of his skin has darkened and the fissures of his true form have almost taken over. But the changes end just underneath his jaw and his human face remains. His eyes, now fully ruby red, briefly flash white.

“But I want to see to you speechless.”

His clawed fingers catch the top of my jeans and yank, forcing my back to hit the bedding. My bare legs bounce against the mattress then settle. It’s then I realize I’m completely naked.

I try to sit up, but Ignis’ large hands gently squeeze my ankles and pull my body to the foot of the bed. He stops once the bottom of my ass is touching the edge. Then his hands trail up to my thighs, lifting and spreading them. Hot air fans over my wet core and my fingers grip the sheets.

“I-Ignis...”

“Tell me what you want,” he says. “Tell me how to bring you pleasure.”

“Your mouth...Use your mouth on me.”

I look down the length of my body and see him smirk.

“It seems,” he breathes so close to me, “this form can be of great use.”

His lips form a seal around my clit then suck. I scream. The perfect heat from his mouth nearly sends me over the edge.

But then he pulls away to lap at my folds lazily, like he’s savoring the taste. He keeps at it, until my fingers are twisting the sheets and my legs shake. Then his tongue dips inside, his nose pressing against my clit. Heat tightly coils in my belly and I’m so close.

“I-Ignis, I’m almost—”

His lips find my clit again and the heat springs free. I wail, rocking my body into his mouth to draw out the feeling. Soon enough, I’m too tired to move. But Ignis, wonderful lovely Ignis, lifts me in his arms and cradles me against his bare chest.

My hands skim across his black skin.

“When did you...”

He moves and chuckles, nuzzling against my messy curls. Once I’m lying on the bed, he stands to his full height in his true form, completely naked. His cock, fissured with molten lines and leaking, taps against his muscular stomach.

I reach out a hand to him and he intertwines our fingers, being careful of his claws. His broad form makes the bed dip then settles over me, his white hot eyes meeting my stare. I reach up towards his face just as he leans down. Our foreheads press together as I breathe in the heat flowing from him.

“My beautiful, darling light,” he says. “How should I...?”

I smile. “Just follow my lead.”

It takes a few minutes of adjusting, but Ignis is ready and lined up with the tip of his cock brushing against me. As the warmth of his body washes over me, he waits, splayed hands on both sides of my head.

“Go slow,” I tell him.

He does, carefully pressing against my folds until he slips past them. I moan from the weight and heat of him as he stretches me. His ridges brush against my walls, making me shiver. Once he’s fully seated, I’m completely filled.

“You feel...exquisite.”

His head lowers onto the bedspread as his body trembles. Pulses of heat wash over me in a steady rhythm. Like a heartbeat.

“You too.”

He slowly rolls his hips, creating sparks of pleasure inside me. I gasp as he growls against my ear.

“J-Just like that,” I moan. “Keep going...”

Soon enough, his grinding turns into thrusting and I’m left gripping his broad shoulders. The molten fissures of his body start to glow brighter as his heat engulfs me, inside and out. His cock slides against that one spot and my legs lock around his waist.

“Right there! I’m almost...”

Ignis angles his last few thrusts as I reach down and rub my clit. Liquid heat pools in my lower belly as I cry out his name. He tenses above, hips stuttering, my name falling from his lips as he pulses inside me.

Ignis only lasts a few more seconds on his shaky arms. Then, he falls to my side, panting.

I welcome the slight soreness between my legs as I shift closer to him. His fissures slowly return to their normal glow and he groans. I place a hand against his cheek.

“You alright?”

He copies my gesture then rubs one of my curls between his fingers.

“More than,” he says.

I kiss the area where his mouth would be and he shudders.

“Good.”

We bask in each other’s presence, slowly regaining our energy. Sleep almost overtakes me. But Ignis recovers, and he pulls me against his chest, nuzzling my temple.

“I love you.”

Pure giddiness keeps me alert enough to nod against him.

“I love you, too.”

And then, because the moment is calm and I’m happy and warm,

“Stay with me? The house needs more work, but with time...”

“...It can be a home,” he finishes.

Angling my body, I press my forehead against his.

“Exactly. So will you?”

Ignis hums and skims his claws down my back.

“Yes.”

I give him one last smile and let sleep pull me under.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It takes finding a full-time job and three years. But with help from Mason, Mica, and Dad, we succeed and make Nana’s house our home. One that Dad is happy to visit in the future.

The repairs have been completed, new furniture has been moved in, and the den has been repurposed into a workspace for Ignis.

His glassblowing technique has improved by leaps and bounds since he first started. He now runs a modest shop in town and customers across the state pay top dollar for his handmade creations.

We haven’t touched much of the money. Not even to replace Nana’s old fireplace. Ignis wanted it to stay, to serve as a “humbling reminder”. And then there’s also the future to consider.

As I stand in the living room facing the fireplace, Ignis hugs me from behind and nuzzles my neck.

“My darling light,” he says.

I turn my head to kiss him and he rubs the slight swell of my stomach.

“Welcome home, Ignis. Welcome home.”

[here4theheartbreak]

Vacation Heat (OT7 abo)

AO3 Link Here!

Relationships: Hoseok x Jimin x Jin x Jungkook x Namjoon x Taehyung x Yoongi (ot7) Genre(s): smut

Written for @btspolyshipbingo Square Filled: Hair Pulling

Tags: smut, pwp, ABO verse, omegaverse, heats, knotting, ruts, slick, dirty talk, established relationship, group sex, coming untouched, multiple orgasms, rough sex, hair pulling, oral sex, bareback, omega!Jin, omega!Jimin, omega!Jungkook, omega!Taehyung, Alpha!Namjoon, Alpha!Yoongi, Alpha!Hoseok, bottom!Jin, bottom!Taehyung, top!Jimin, top!Hoseok, top!Yoongi, switch!Namjoon, switch!Jungkook

Summary: Jin is in heat and needs a little help. Unfortunately his heat triggers those of his lovers, requiring a little more help than planned. Word Count: ~3.3k

A/N: Fulfills 2 requests I got (forever ago – thanks for being patient). One was ABO with omega!Jin going into heat and some of the others help him out. The second was omega!vocal line, one in heat and the other three helping to have their own heats triggered, and needing help from the Alphas of the group.

A/N2: This is a somewhat subverted and altered omegaverse than what a lot of you might be used to for mxm fiction. Though some traditional bits remained – heats, knots, etc. I have twisted or removed some of the other ‘traditional’ bits (mpreg, sex crazed, submissive omegas, etc). Because some of these elements have always made me itch (even though I did spend a good year or so writing this trope for another fandom), I took this as an opportunity to try to alter some of those things while still staying true to what ABO was at its core. I hope it’s still enjoyable to those of you that read it! And if you’re curious about the rules in this newish ‘verse I put together, feel free to ask! I’ve got a whole mess of rules and traits written up just in case I ever decide to or get asked to write ABO again.

Jin groaned, burrowing his head further under the blanket when the door opened.

“Hyung?” Jungkook’s voice was gentle. Jin groaned again.

“It hit you hard, huh? I knew it was a bad idea to take you off the pills.”

Jungkook crawled into the bed. He placed a cool pack against Jin’s flushed neck, and a warm one on his side.

“I hate this. I’d forgotten what a bitch this was.”

“How can I help?”

“You know you can’t.” Jin huffed.

“Well... I could order some food. Jimin-hyung and Taehyungie-hyung are almost home too... We could try to help.”

Jin smiled against his arm. “Help me? Or are you just a horny too?” He teased. Jungkook laughed, nuzzling Jin’s shoulder.

“Both. Could help though.” Jungkook began to massage Jin’s tense back muscles.

Jin groaned softly, rolling more into his stomach to let Jungkook work. Jungkook slid his hands over Jin’s lower back. Jin whined in response.

Though heats weren’t too intense for an omega not on medication, omega idols were required to take hormone restricting medications most of their careers. Once every three years they were removed from the medication to allow their heats. A month off every three years was far preferred in the life to a week off every three months. And with the medications it could be controlled to align with time off already scheduled. Idols in the past had had entire comebacks ruined because of uncontrolled heats.

It was vacation for Bangtan, which meant their four omegas were taken off their medication and nature allowed to run its course.

Unfortunately, Jin had opted to remain on his medication both times the others had gone off theirs, wanting to use the vacation time to practice, and to be sure he was in the right mindset if they needed him. Which only meant this heat was nearly triple the intensity.

So there he was, curled up in bed with body aches from hell and a desperate need for an orgasm that he just couldn’t manage to get to himself.

Jungkook’s hands were firm and steady working his muscles loose and warming his body. His fingers brushed over the waistband of Jin’s boxers. When Jin said nothing, Jungkook pushed them down, exposing the swell of his ass. He squeezed Jin’s ass gently before spreading him open. “You’ve been trying, huh?” He asked, brushing his thumb over Jin’s swollen, wet rim. Jin whimpered, nodding.

“Why are you so stubborn? You know we’d help.”

“Your heats haven’t started yet.”

“So? We don’t have to be on it to make love to you. Lemme try to help.”

Jin nodded, too sore to resist, not that he wanted to. It wasn’t that heats with no sex were particularly dangerous. Sex just helped relax some of the muscles that were constantly cramping, and soothe some of the aches that came up. And at this point Jin would be desperate enough to try anything, even if he and Jungkook weren’t already dating.

Jungkook pushed two fingers in easily, scissoring them and rubbing gently over Jin’s swollen prostate. Jin whined again, shuddering. “Don’t tease, I’m loose enough.”

“I’m not. Relax. I just had to be sure.” Jungkook leaned over, kissing along Jin’s back and shoulders. He undid his pants and kicked them off, stroking himself to full hardness.

“Ready?”

Jin nodded, hugging the pillow under his head and chest. He pushed his ass back, another shiver racing through him when Jungkook’s thick cock bumped against his hole.

“Please,” he whispered.

“Shh... I got you, hyung.” Jungkook pressed in, sighing contentedly at the warm, wet tightness of Jin’s ass. Jin moaned happily, twisting his hips back immediately to begin getting stimulation. Jungkook laughed.

“You’re so eager.”

“Jerking off didn’t help,” Jin admitted. “Using toys didn’t help. I’m desperate.”

“I know. Just take it easy. I’ll take care of you, hyung.”

Jin’s toes curled against the bed when Jungkook picked up a quick pace. His teeth grazed Jin’s shoulder.

“Taking my cock so well, hyung... Loosening up. You gonna let me fill up your ass, hm?”

Jin shouted his name, working his hips back desperately. He begged Jungkook to go faster and harder. He reached back, grabbing for Jungkook. He found the back of his neck, burying his fingers in his shaggy hair and tugging softly. Jungkook shouted, increasing the speed of his thrusts with every tug.

Jin could feel his cock twitching and throbbing, his orgasm washing over him like a warm wave.

Jungkook laughed shakily against his shoulder. “Already coming on my cock? Let’s wring a few more out of you, hm?”

Jin nodded. He spread his legs wider, hoping Jungkook could get deeper inside him.

The room was filled with the dirty sounds of their fucking. The whimpers and cries from Jin, desperate grunts and moans from Jungkook. The bed’s squeaks and groans and the wet squelch of Jin’s ass every time Jungkook drove in added to the pornographic cacophony.

Jin lost count of the number of times he came on Jungkook’s cock, spilling onto the bed underneath him. The only benefit of heat, he supposed, was unlimited orgasms for omegas. Refractory periods were a thing for off season sex, as was any reasonable amount of come.

Jungkook began to lose pace, his thrusts becoming more erratic. His teeth found purchase on Jin’s shoulder and he shouted as he bit down, his cock throbbing inside Jin.

Jin moaned contentedly, but scowled. There weren’t nearly as many throbs as expected... And Jungkook was showing no signs of softening. He shifted as well as he could pinned under his lover, and sniffed the air.

“Oh, JK,” he whispered. Jungkook unclamped his teeth and whimpered, beginning to thrust again.

“I think I just... I think it started. I’m not supposed to be in heat,” he whined. “I didn’t— It wasn’t supposed to be for a few days.”

“I know baby. Just keep going, come on,” Jin urged. Two omegas in heat certainly wouldn’t actually solve either of their aches and needs, but every little bit helped.

Jin shifted, holding onto Jungkook as well as he could manage. He heard the door to their dorm open and called for Jimin and Taehyung. They hurried in, immediately stopping when they saw the state of their boyfriends.

“He went into heat early,” Jin panted.

Taehyung and Jimin shared a glance before jumping into action. Taehyung stripped out of his jeans and crawled onto the bed next to Jin, immediately working to loosen himself up. Jimin stripped and went to the other side and kissed Jin and Jungkook gently.

“Pull out. I’ve got him,” he said, petting Jungkook’s sweat soaked hair.

“Use me instead,” Taehyung offered, spreading his legs.

Jungkook kisses Jin gently before pulling out and moving over between Taehyung’s legs. He nuzzled against his neck, groaning low in his throat.

“That’s it, put it in,” Taehyung soothed, spreading his legs wider.

Jungkook shook his head. He moved down, spreading Taehyung open before driving his tongue into him.

Next to them, Jimin helped Jin roll onto his back. He stroked his cock gently, sharing soft kisses and letting Jin muzzle his neck. He pressed his cock home just as lazily, letting Jin feel each push.

Jin and Taehyung both moaned, holding tight to their respective partners. Jin’s nails scraped at Jimin’s back while Taehyung tugged at Jungkook’s hair, grinding down on his tongue. Jungkook pulled back, his chin and mouth wet and cheeks flushed.

“You taste like Jimin-ssi.”

Taehyung smirked, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

“Probably ‘cause I fucked him stupid half an hour ago,” Jimin panted, snapping his hips against Jin on each thrust.

Jungkook growled, moving up and leaning over to kiss Jin. Their tongues tangled, allowing Jin to taste the salty sweet remnants of Jimin. He moved back and lined up his cock at Taehyung’s opening.

Taehyung nodded once and Jungkook slid home, baring his teeth at the tight, slick clench.

He picked up speed immediately, and Taehyung could do little more than hold on.

Next to them, Jin was writhing against Jimin, their mouths pressed together as they moaned and whined.

Jimin yanked back, hissing. He held his side in pain, but showed no signs of slowing or softening.

“Jimin?” Jin worried.

“I’m okay.”

“You’re going into heat,” Jungkook panted, looking over at them. His eyes were dark with lust as he pounded into Taehyung, but focused on Jimin.

“It’s not supposed to for another two weeks—“

Jimin whined, his thrusts becoming erratic.

“It’s okay,” Jin whispered. He sat up, wrapping his legs around Jimin. He began to bounce on his lap, working to help Jimin come even as he whined and moaned. “But you—" Jimin tried to argue.

“Shh. Just let go. It won’t help much, but maybe...”

Jimin nodded. He straightened his legs, allowing Jin to fully settle into his lap. Jin slid down his cock as Jimin pumped his hips up, their fingers digging into one another’s skin as they chased orgasm.

Jungkook shuddered. He watched the two for a moment before turning his focus back to Taehyung.

“Gonna come for me?” Taehyung teased. Jungkook nodded, lowering his head. He nuzzled over Taehyung’s neck, breathing deeply as he fucked into him. His hips stuttered and he pulled back. Taehyung’s cheeks and chest were flushed, his mouth drawn back into a grimace. “Not you too...” Jungkook panted.

Taehyung moaned, turning to a half broken sob. “Fuck me, please—“

Jungkook obliged, catching Taehyung’s mouth in a desperate kiss.

The four continued to grind and chase weak orgasms, whimpers and sobs punctuating their desperation.

Jimin gave up first, pushing Jin off him and curling up next to him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Don’t be, you tried.” Jin kissed his forehead, holding him tight. Jungkook pulled out and slumped next to Taehyung, shuddering through an orgasm.

“Fuck.”

“What do we do?” Taehyung asked. He lazily stroked himself as he spoke. Of them all, he was the most sex inclined during his heats. They joked it was because he was the least interested when he was on his pill, so his body made up for it.

As if in answer to Taehyung’s question, the bedroom door opened.

“I thought we’d come early and surpr—“ Namjoon stopped speaking as soon as he saw the state of the omegas in the bed. He set down the bag of candy he’d had, his cock immediately tenting the front of his jeans. “All of you?” He asked, trying to keep his voice stable.

Jin nodded. “All of us. They were trying to help me, I didn’t realize...”

“Hoseok! Yoongi-hyung,” Namjoon called. He circled around to Jin and Jimin, kissing them gently and setting hands on their head. “You’re burning up, guys. How can I help?”

“You know how you can help,” Jin said, rolling his eyes.

“But you’re so warm... Are you up for it?” They both nodded.

“Oh, guys...” Yoongi whispered when he and Hoseok entered. Though worry was etched on their faces, their physical responses were identical, cocks stiffening in their jeans, nostrils flaring at the obvious scent of omegas in heat.

Taehyung sat up. He went to Hoseok and kissed him softly. “Will you?”

“If you’re sure.”

In response, Taehyung bent over the bed, smirking back at Hoseok. Yoongi chuckled when Hoseok scrambled to undo his pants. He went over to Jungkook, stripping out of his clothes before curling up next to him. Jungkook whined and nuzzled his throat.

“Will you make love to me?”

“How do you feel first?” Yoongi asked, petting his sweat soaked back.

“Hot. Cramps. Horny.” He hesitated. “Mad my hyung won’t shove his cock into me and fuck me into next week.” A smile tweaked the corners of his mouth upward as he spoke. Yoongi laughed.

“Alright, Alright.” He sat up and patted his legs. “Come on, Jungkook.”

Jungkook scrambled up and settled onto his cock with a content moan.

Behind them, Taehyung groaned against the mattress, twisting his hips back as Hoseok began to fuck into him.

Namjoon was straddling Jimin and Jin’s thighs, stroking their cocks.

“Who wants it first?” He asked.

“You can’t fuck us both,” Jin protested.

“Why not?”

“Can’t you sense it? As soon as you walked in, your body started rut... As soon as you start fucking one of us... You’re gonna knot.”

Namjoon scowled. He nodded after a moment. “Jimin-ah. Fuck me.”

“What?” Jimin’s eyes widened. “You never bottom.”

“No, but Jin-hyung is right. There’s three of us and we’re all gonna end up knotting you guys. There’s four of you. I’m not letting one of my boys suffer. So fuck me, it’ll work just as well.”

“I know... But...”

“I trust you, Jimin. Just be gentle until I get used to it.”

Jimin nodded. Namjoon shifted, opening Jin’s legs wider. He lined his cock up and pressed home, gasping.

Jimin settled behind him, spitting against his hole to slick it enough for his fingers. It only took him a second to find Namjoon’s slick gland; smaller than Jin’s or any other omegas, but just as useful for bottom Alphas. He began to rub it and Namjoon’s prostate, helping to slick and loosen him. Namjoon chuckled breathlessly.

“Forgot how good that feels.” He thrust gently into Jin, twisting back on Jimin’s fingers.

Taehyung cried out, earning a chuckle from the others.

“Such a sex hound,” Yoongi teased even as Jungkook bounced on his cock.

“Maybe you should help him,” Yoongi said then. He shifted, pushing Jungkook off him and onto his back. With a little pushing and maneuvering, he managed to get Jungkook under where Taehyung was bent over. Taehyung got the picture immediately, sliding his cock into Jungkook’s open mouth. He grabbed a fistful of Jungkook’s hair and began to fuck his mouth as Hoseok used his ass. Yoongi slid back into Jungkook, slamming hard into him.

Meanwhile, Jimin was lining his cock up, teasing Namjoon’s wet hole. Namjoon groaned. “Please—“

“Oh, our strong Alpha leader begging for a cock,” Jin teased. Namjoon glared. He pulled himself out of Jin, earning an annoyed cry.

“Jimin, please— I need it,” Namjoon pleaded. Jimin smirked. He drove home, gasping even as Namjoon shouted in surprised pleasure.

“Oh god, don’t go slow,” Namjoon begged. Jimin chuckled, wrapping his arms around Namjoon’s middle.

“No problem.”

“Ready for it, hyung?” Namjoon asked, his voice wavering.

“Hold on.”

Jin shifted and rolled into his belly, angling his body across the bed to reach Jungkook. He lifted Jungkook’s cock and wrapped his lips around it, bobbing his head gently. Jungkook shouted, gagging around Taehyung’s cock.

Namjoon and Jimin shifted, and Namjoon slid home, letting Jimin’s hard thrusts guide his pace.

The sounds in the room were positively pornographic. Seven bodies writhed against one another, the bed creaking dangerously with their combined weight. Jin, Jungkook, and Taehyung lost track of their orgasms, coaxed out of them by their Alpha’s cocks, coming into the mouths of their lovers or onto the sweat dampened bed.

Jimin chased his own orgasm for longer, his body responding to the flood of hormones

Namjoon’s rut gave off. He finally reached it, falling over the edge and spilling deep inside his lover. His body relaxed, muscles losing their cramping tension. He slid out and crumpled, watching the remaining six with a tired gaze.

It was Yoongi that came next. He grunted softly, his nails digging into Jungkook’s sides. Jungkook pulled his mouth free of Taehyung’s cock to scream Yoongi’s name as his knot swelled, locking them in place while Yoongi came. Jin moved and Jungkook sat up, curling up around Yoongi. He shuddered through orgasm after orgasm, whining softly.

Hoseok was next. He fisted Taehyung’s hair, yanking Jin upright as he pounded into him. Taehyung moaned. He slammed back, begging for Hoseok’s knot, to fuck him, to come in him. Hoseok shuddered, his orgasm deafeningly silent. Taehyung gasped when his knot slipped in, expanding and locking them together. Hoseok barely shifted to get them onto the bed before their legs gave out.

Jin looked back. “Just us... Let me roll over,” he panted desperately. Namjoon pulled out so Jin could roll onto his back. He glanced down, swallowing hard. The base of Namjoon’s cock was already swelling, the promise of a hard, thick knot in the near future. Jin nodded, letting Namjoon push back in. He wrapped his arms around Namjoon’s shoulders.

“I— I have a confession,” he whispered.

“What?”

“I—“ Jin swallowed hard, shuddering his way through another orgasm. “I’ve never taken a knot before.”

Namjoon’s eyes widened. “Do you—“

“Be my first. Knot me, please.”

A tight arousal formed in Namjoon’s stomach at Jin’s words. He grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked back, nosing his way along Jin’s neck. Jin whined, begging softly for it, for Namjoon to take him, fuck him, knot him.

Namjoon snarled, a streak of possessiveness rushing through him. He kissed Jin hard enough that he split his own lip, the coppery tang of blood mixing with their saliva. He drove in hard twice more before his knot expanded and his orgasm hit, tying them together.

Jin threw his head back and screamed, eyes rolling back as his cock twitched and spilled on his belly, orgasms rushing over him in waves almost too overwhelming to bear. His vision greyed and then went white, and Jin worried for a moment he was going to pass out. He opened his eyes though, and Namjoon was looking down at him, still shuddering as his cock spilled rope after rope of warm come into Jin.

“How long does yours last?” Jin rasped.

“About thirty. Talk later. Rest now,” he whispered. “All the others are.” Jin glanced around, smiling tiredly at the dozing or half asleep members. Jimin had wiggled his way into Jungkook and Yoongi’s arms, while Taehyung and Hoseok were cuddled tight together.

Jin nodded, satisfied that everyone was content. They wiggled onto their sides, legs tangled. He nuzzled against Namjoon’s chest.

“I love you,” he mumbled.

“I love you too.”

Jin reached down, running his finger over the spot where Namjoon’s body connected with his. He smiled a little, feeling pleasantly full.

“You’ve really never taken a knot before?” Namjoon asked. Jin nodded.

“To confess I’ve only had a few heats intense enough to actually need sex to feel better. Most of the time jerking off or even sometimes just a hot bath worked. And most of my heats I didn’t have a partner, so I just used knotting toys or dealt with it. My only experience with actual sex during heat was a beta girlfriend I’d had in school... And I went on the medicine soon after because I wanted to focus on my schooling and acting.”

“Then you came here... And you haven’t let yourself go into heat with us.”

“Exactly. And whenever you guys have been in rut and able to knot... The others were in heat.”

Namjoon smiled. “I’m proud to be your first... Do you like it?” Jin beamed, his cheeks mottling red.

“I feel so full. And I can feel you throbbing... It’s amazing... I kinda don’t want it to go down yet.”

Namjoon kissed him instead of answering. Gently at first, then deeper, more passionate. Jin whined when Namjoon’s fingers tangled in his hair again, tugging softly.

They parted only when they had to breathe. “I’ll do it again, as soon as you want it.”

Jin smiled, his eyes a little glazed with sleep and happiness.

“Maybe when I wake up.”

“Go to sleep, hyung. We’ve got you.”

Jin felt the light touch of another’s hand and looked back, meeting Yoongi’s sleepy gaze. Jungkook and Jimin were fast asleep on his chest. He winked.

Jin giggled a little. He reached back, twining his fingers with Yoongi’s. He heaved a content sigh, letting sleep finally take over.

[m0etenchandon]

Revenge (Reader x Ben Hardy)

Summary: After Y/N tied her boyfriend Ben to the bed last week, he gets his revenge. Part two of “I think you need to be punished, Ben”

Pairing: Reader x Ben Hardy

Authors note: I deleted this because it literally got no notes (because I hate myself and my thoughts got the better of me) and I worked really hard on it, but I decided I was being dumb so here it is again. Quite a few of you requested this, so hope you guys enjoy it xx

Warnings: SMUT (18+!), dom!Ben, spanking, language, oral, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, unprotected sex

Word count: 3.8 K

Masterlist

Ben walked through the door of your shared apartment. He had just finished at the gym, and you could smell his scent as he came to stand in the doorway of the kitchen. You were dancing around trying to finish a cake for Joes birthday.

“Hi baby, how was your workout?”

His arms came to sneak around your waist, giving you a quick kiss on the lips followed by a shit-eating grin. “It was good, beat my bench-press goal and all”, he said. He leant down trying to kiss you again, but you turned your head avoiding his lips.

“Uhm-no, not until you shower. You stink”. In reply, his arms tightened around you as you were pressed to his sweaty chest.

“Ew, get off of me, Ben”, you giggled.

“As you wish princess”. His arms loosened the grip around your waist before he leant against the kitchen counter, admiring you. He loved the way you moved around the kitchen, completely in your element. You looked beautiful he thought, hair in a messy bun and no makeup. Your body only covered by one of his t-shirts, which was way too big on you.

“What are you looking at there, Jones?”

“Oh nothing, just my beautiful girlfriend that’s all”. He pulled you in for another kiss, which you had to concentrate on not completely melting into. His lips were so soft, and you loved how they fit perfectly against you own.

“Why don’t you make yourself useful and taste this frosting”, you said. Ben dipped his fingers into the smooth mix before putting them between his lips. Damn those lips. He sucked at them while keeping eye contact, and you had to grab onto the counter to steady yourself at the sight before you. You hoped he didn’t notice, but the smirk on his face told otherwise.

You coughed. “Well, how is it? Does it need more sugar?”

“Taste for yourself”, he said before gathering some more frosting with his fingers, bringing them to your lips. You opened your mouth and let his index and middle finger into the warmth. As he did moments ago, you kept eye contact while lightly sucking on them. His eyes had gone a darker shade of green, clearly enjoying the sensation. You took turn sucking each of his fingers before licking them from base to tip, tongue swirling around the very tip of them, making sure they were completely clean. Ben muttered a “fuck” under his breath.

His fingers left your mouth with a pop. “I think it’s perfect, don’t you”, you said placing your hand on his chest. He immediately pulled you flush against your body and crashed his lips against yours. The kiss was desperate, needy. His tongue slipped into your mouth as you moaned, hands traveling to your ass. He turned you around and pressed his hips against yours, effectively trapping you against the counter, a slight bulge detectable against your lower stomach.

“I need you, Ben”, you whined against his lips, hands pulling at his shirt.

“Hmm, you still haven’t got your punishment for tying me to the bed you know”. His lips left your mouth and moved to the spot just below your ear making you whimper. It had been a week since you had tied him up and had your way with him. Things had gone back to normal, and he hadn’t even mentioned it. Not until now. The thought made your panties dampen. You knew he loved making you whimper underneath him, and he thrived on the sounds you made as you came completely undone in front of him.

His hand slowly inched its way down your body, dropping to one of your nipples. You hadn’t bothered with a bra, and he hummed approvingly as he circled one of your nipples over your (his) shirt with his fingers. As his mouth sucked marks onto your neck, you rutted your hips against his desperately trying to get some much-needed friction on your aching core. Your hands pulling on his hair.

“Patience, princess, need you to be a good girl for me”. His fingers dragged down your stomach, circling your hips before ghosting over your clit. You moaned, fingers clawing at his back. He pulled back, looking at you like at predator would look at his prey, leaving you heaving for air against the counter.

“Did I say you could touch me? It’s my time to be in control you know. After what you put me through last week, who knows what I have planned for you, princess. If I were you, I would obey, or you might have to be punished”, he growled, his voice impossibly deep. You nodded, unable to form coherent sentences at this point. The wet patch on your panties growing with his every word.

“Use your words, princess”

“Y-yes, Be-en, I´ll b-behave”

“Good. I’m going to go have a smoke, and when I get back I expect to find you in bed for me. Naked. No touching” he whispered the last part into your ear. You whimpered in response, nodding your head.

“Oh and Y/N, leave these on”. He played with the waistline of your panties before turning on his heel and leaving you alone in your kitchen, a panting mess. You took a few seconds to compose yourself before heading for the bedroom. Your legs were jelly, and when you finally reached the bed you were completely out of breath. The effect he had on you was ridiculous, and he hadn’t even touched you properly yet.

You hastily pulled off your shirt, goosebumps forming on your arms as the cold air hit your hardened nipples. It took all your will power not to touch your aching clit as you laid back on the bed. Ben certainly took his time, normally he would use just a minute or two on a cigarette, but now he was clearly teasing you. He knew how desperate you were at this point.

Taking the risk, your hand slowly inching its way down to your clit, thinking you could rub one out before he came back. You slid two fingers underneath your damp panties, quickly finding the aching nub. Applying a light pressure, you started rubbing small circles onto your clit. A moan left your mouth, which Ben heard as he walked through the door. You pulled your hand out, looking at him innocently. Shit. His eyes bored into yours, as he strode over to the bed. He had a devilish smirk on his face.

“I said no touching, princess”

“I know, but it was just a few seconds I..”. He cut you off, having none of it.

“I don’t care. I said no touching, you slut. Kneel at the end of the bed. Now”. He growled the last part. Your eyes went wide, having never seen this side of him before. As you did like he said, he sat down on the bed next to you before pulling you onto his lap. Your stomach was over his strong thighs, and he put a leg over your knees, effectively keeping you in place. His cock was hard against your stomach, warm and pulsating.

“I said you were going to be punished if you didn’t listen, princess. I´m going to spank you, show you what happens when you don’t behave”, he said. His voice was impossibly deep, sending electric bolts straight to your curve. His hand was caressing your but.

“I think 10 will do for now, don’t you?”

You nodded in response, earning a hard smack on your left cheek. A yelp left your mouth at the unexpected action.

“Use your words princess”

“Y-yes”

He hummed before his hand met your cheek again. Fire spread over your entire body, feeling a slight sting on your bare bottom. Before you could say anything, another smack hit you. You moaned, becoming wetter with each spank. Smack. Smack. Smack. Three quick ones in a row. He took turns hitting each of your cheeks.

“You´re enjoying this, aren’t you, princess? Such a filthy slut for me”

“Y-yes, fuck, Ben”

A moan left his lips at the sight of your red cheeks as four quick smacks hit your body. His own hand stung at this point, rubbing over your cheeks as he let you have a little break.

“Can you do one more for me, princess?”

“Yes”. You didn’t dare not answering. Your cheeks were burning at this point, tears almost leaving your eyes. His hand left your cheek and you screwed your eyes shut, waiting for the last smack. He took his time, wanting to spank you when you least expected it. You had finally started to relax against his thighs when his hand finally hit your cheek again. You yelped, a tear falling down your cheek.

His lifted you off his lap, a thumb coming to your face, collecting the tear you had let slip. He placed a kiss on your lips, before tugging a piece of hair behind your ear. Your bottom stung, but at the same time you felt a delicious warmth spreading all over your body.

“Did so good for me, princess”, he cooed before sitting you next to him.

“Lay down on the bed for me, I´m not done with you yet”. You gulped but did as he said.

He immediately removed his shirt and gym-shorts, leaving just his boxers to cover his very hard cock. Not a word was said before collecting the very same box you had pulled out just a week before. Just like you had, he pulled out the handcuffs along with the vibrator. He decided against the robes.

“I´m not going to tie your feet, but like I said, you need to be a good girl and follow my instructions”

You nodded, keeping eye contact with him as he strode over to the bed. He secured your wrists against the headpost of the bed, just like you had to him. Your but was sore against the bed sheets. He smelled like cigarettes, the scent alone turning you on. His lips left small, wet, kisses all the way down from your wrists, your elbow, armpit, before stopping at your neck. He sucked harshly on the spot just below your ear, earning a loud moan. Ben smirked against your skin, loving the effect he had on you.

“Ben, we are seeing the boys later today, I c-can’t have hickeys, omg.. all over my neck”, you whined, back arching off the bed, desperate for his touch.

“I don’t care, let´s show them who you belong to, princess”. He started moving down your body, stopping at your exposed breasts. Taking one of your nipples into your mouth without warning, you yelped and tugged at the cuffs. You wanted nothing more than to run your hands through his hair. He looked up at you with a grin.

“What’s the matter, princess, having trouble getting to me?”

“Fu-uck you Ben, just p-please touch me”, you moaned. He laughed against your nipple.

���So desperate for my touch, aren’t you? Use your words, princess. What do you need?”

“I-I need you, fuck, p-please, anything! Your finger, oh god, your mo-outh, please, baby”

Ben continued his journey down your stomach, leaving sloppy kisses just above your belly button before moving on to your hips. His kisses were dangerously close to where you wanted him the most, just never quite going there. He left one final kiss just over your clit, earning a whimper.

“Well the thing is, you made me cum in my fucking pants like a horny teenager with no self-control. That was embarrassing you know, so why shouldn’t you be treated the same?”. He reached for the vibrator on the nightstand. You gulped, gaze focused on the purple device which had brought on hours of pleasure.

“Look at me”, Ben said before grabbing your chin, forcing you to do so. His pupils were dilated, hair wet against his forehead from his workout. He turned the vibrator on, letting it fall against your nipples first. He circled them both, making them even harder, before going the same road his kisses had just gone down towards your center. You were a moaning mess underneath him, hips thrusting into the air, desperate for friction. One of his hands came down on your hip, effectively stilling you in the process.

“Ple-ease baby, I need it” you whined. You were so wet for him; your clit was pulsating even though he hadn’t properly touched it yet. He smirked, before moving the vibrator to the very apex of your inner thigh, so close to where you desperately needed him. You pulled at the restraints, still keeping eye contact with him. Without warning, he pressed it directly against your clit, making you scream out his name.

“You like that, princess? Like when the vibrator is, fuck, pressed hard against your little cunt? Gonna cum for me, aren’t you? Gonna cum like the slut you are?”. Afraid of what might actually come out of your mouth at this point, you desperately nodded, moans filling the air. He pressed the vibrator harder against your clit, driving you towards the edge. You were so turned on from his teasing that you found yourself moaning his name in no time. Ben continued to press the vibrator against your clit, letting you ride out your orgasm, a smug grin painted on his face. He didn’t stop though. You were so sensitive from your high that he had to press down hard on your hip to keep you from moving around too much. He started moving the vibrator, drawing little circles onto your clit. You were close again. The pressure was too much, yet so good. Your eyes rolled back into your bead as a second wave of pleasure hit you like a brick wall. You were literally screaming his name at this point, not even caring if the people next door heard. He threw the device onto the bed next to you before ripping your underwear off of you.

“That was so fucking hot Y/N. Taking that vibrator so well, but I´m not done with you yet, princess”

“Oh my god, Ben! I need you, please I need to cum a-again”

“What do you need, use your words, princess”. He caressed your cheek, leaning down to place a soft kiss onto your lips. You desperately wanted more, but he pulled away way too quickly.

“Shit, give me your mouth, please, baby”, you whined. Ben smirked in return, before settling himself between your thighs, spreading them in the process. He wasted no time, tongue immediately lapping at the juices from your last orgasm. He licked from your entrance all the way up to your clit a few times, making you whimper. Bringing his fingers to your entrance, he circled them around a few times before driving them into you. You clenched around him, loving the way his fingers filled you. Pumping them at a fast pace. His lips moved towards your neglected clit, taking it into his mouth. You were at a loss for words as he simultaneously curled his fingers to hit your g-spot as his lips sucked at your clit. He was driving you mad, and he knew it very well. Lips every so often leaving your clit to press kisses to the apex of your thighs, before going back to where you needed him the most. You stared down at him, lips between your teeth as you tried to keep yourself from moaning. You were so close, the knot in your stomach growing tighter and tighter. His eyes met yours which drove you over the edge. Your walls clenched around his fingers, thighs pressing together. A clear liquid shot from your cunt, but you didn’t even notice, too preoccupied trying not to pass out. He continued sucking on your clit, prolonging the duration of the orgasm. It was the hardest you’ve ever cum, feeling the pleasure all the way to your fingertips. Ben hummed against your clit, before moving up towards your face. His entire upper body was soaked. You looked at him with wide eyes.

“Did- did I just?”

“Yeah, princess, you just squirted all over my fingers”

“Oh my god I´m so so-“ he cut you off mid-sentence by pressing a kiss to your lips. You could feel your taste on his tongue as it moved against yours.

“No need to apologize, love. That was so hot”, he whispered into the kiss. He leant up to open your handcuffs, your hands falling down to grab at the hair at the nape of his neck. You were exhausted.

“You did so good, princess. Think you can do one more for me? Watching you cum all over me has gotten me so hard for you”. He pressed his clothed erection against your still sensitive heat, earning a whimper. You didn’t even know how much you needed him inside you until now.

“Yes, please, Ben. I need you to fill me up”. He didn’t need to be asked twice as he removed his boxers. His cock was red and swollen from being neglected when Ben worked on pleasuring you. Pre-cum was dripping from his impossibly hard tip. He dragged his cock through your folds, earning a whimper when it touched your sensitive clit. Looking into your eyes, he slowly pushed in, letting you adjust to his size. He dropped down to kiss you, lips dancing together. There was still lust in the air, but it was less desperate, pure need lingering between the two of you.

You pressed the heels of your feet into his bum, silently begging him to start moving. He did just that. Pulling out slowly, before pushing in all the way. Hard. His cock hit your g-spot with every precise thrust, moans filling the room. You clawed at his back, leaving red stripes. Neither he nor you cared, too caught up in pleasure. His lips left yours, starting to kiss your neck instead. He was probably marking you further, but you didn’t care.

“Ple-ease baby, faster”, you whined into his ear. He picked up his pace, still going hard. His pubic bone has dragging against your clit, creating a delicious friction against the still sensitive bundle of nerves. You were close, and by the way his breathing was becoming ragged, you could tell he was too. He pulled away from your neck, locking his eyes with yours, mouth gaping.

“Fuck, I’m not going to last, princess”

“Me neither, b-baby”, you moaned. You started moving your hips to meet his thrusts, edging him towards the edge. With one particularly hard thrust right against that sweet spot, you clenched around him. It was like the world stood still, the only thing in your mind was him and you. You came hard, your nail drawing blood on his back. Ben followed quickly, your walls clenching around him sending him over the edge, grunting your name in the process. You could feel the hot spurts of cum deep within as you came down from your high. A few sloppy thrusts later, and he pulled out of you. You were left with a sudden feeling of emptiness, making you whine.

He got a tissue from the box beside the bed and gently cleaned you up, making sure to be careful against your sensitive clit. Satisfied with his job, he went to throw it in the bin. You laid in bed completely spent, just watching your boyfriend fondly.

“What?”, he laughed.

“Oh nothing, just admiring my handsome boyfriend, that’s all”, you teased back, using his own words against him.

“Very funny, love”. He laid next to you and pulled you onto his chest before giving your head a kiss.

“That wasn’t that bad, was it? Did I push you too far?”

“No, I enjoyed it. I mean I don’t think I can walk properly later and my bum stings, but all things considered, I deserved that”

“Hmm, so you’re happy you didn’t abstain from sex to avoid this then”, he asked smugly.

“Geez, Ben. Yes, I am. Is that what you want to hear?”

“I have to have my daily dose of ego boost, love”

“For fucks sake” you laughed, leaning up to kiss him, which he gladly returned.

“Mmm, as much as I’m enjoying this, we have to get ready. The gang will be over in an hour, and I have to finish that cake that someone so rudely interrupted me doing”, you said. You pushed off of Ben and went to stand next to the bed. You winced at the soreness in your nether regions as you moved.

“Ugh, fine, but let’s shower together”

“You´re so needy today, Benny. But yes, we can do that, but absolutely no touching”.

He grinned and held his hands up in defense. Walking over to the bathroom, you stopped dead in your tracks when you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. Deep purple hickies were all over the side of your neck. That was going to be a bitch to cover up.

Later that day

You had just placed Joes cake on the table, grinning from ear to ear. He bent down to blow out the candles, and you, deciding to mess with him, pretended to do the same. As you bent down however, you had pushed your hair over your shoulder to keep it from catching fire. He blew out the candles and everyone yelled “Happy birthday” to Joe, but you could hear a loud gasp coming from Lucy.

“Y/N, what happened to your neck!?”.

Shit. You blushed a bright pink color as everyone put two and two together, and looked between you and Ben. He looked proud though, the little prick. Well, at least until Gwil went to pat his back in a ´well done mate´ kind of way, and a hiss left his mouth. Gwils eyes went wide as he lifted Bens shirt to reveal deep red scratch marks down his entire back. You wanted to melt into the couch and disappear.

“Oh come on guys, on my birthday! That’s gross!”, Joe yelled, forgetting all about his cake.

“Get it girl”, Lucy said. She gave you a look, before going to high-five you, which you reluctantly reciprocated.

After the fuss had died down, and the boys had had their turn making fun of you and Ben, he went to pull you into his side. You lent your head on his shoulder, mortified.

“You´re never going to do that again, Benny”. He flinched at the nickname you normally only used in bed, but a smirk fell upon his lips quickly.

“You didn’t seem to mind it a couple of hours ago, love. I seem to remember you moaning my name at the top of your lungs, begging me to fuck you”, he whispered into your ear.

“I swear to god I’m going to chop your balls off, Jones”. You tried to act strict, but you quickly started giggling at the whole situation, hiding the blush on your cheeks as you leant into him further.

Masterlist

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Beneath an Aurora Sky (Ch. 8)

Summary: The South Pole Station is equipped for research and Edge has always made sure things run smoothly for the inhabitants. His charges are meant to follow his rules and regulations, and in turn, he makes sure they survive in the arctic temperatures. It takes plenty of hard work and determination and Edge, along with his crew, can handle both.

He wasn’t counting on one of the newest researchers. He wasn’t expecting Rus.

Tags: Spicyhoney, First Time, Arctic AU, Hurt/Comfort

Notes: So, bourbon came up with an amazing AU and did some lovely art for it: please look at it and love it.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Read Chapter 8 on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Leaving Rus sleeping alone in his bed was one of the more difficult things Edge had done in recent memory. He only slept briefly himself, persuaded by Rus’s warmth and the unfamiliar comfort of holding someone in his arms, but in the end, it was early in the day and Edge was too restless to stay in bed as long as Rus should.

Instead, he carefully eased away from his bed companion. Rus made a soft sound of complaint and Edge froze, waiting until he settled again. He looked small buried within the blankets, the shadows beneath his sockets still dark and obvious. He was covered from his chin to his toes, as chaste as a fresh apple, and yet somehow, simply watching him sleep was a temptation. Edge shook away the urge and took a moment to tuck the covers warmly around him before escaping the room. Hopefully Rus would sleep for a few hours yet.

Outside the door, he straightened his clothes so they looked a little less slept in. If Undyne saw him looking like he’d just rolled out of someone’s bed, she wasn’t going to keep her opinion to herself and Edge didn’t need a dose of her crowing glee today.

Today was one designated for necessary maintenance and when he went out to the building that housed the Core generator, Red and Undyne were already there, working together in companionable silence. They both looked up at him as he walked up and whatever greeting Red was about to give died as his sockets narrowed.

“you smell weird,” Red said in lieu of a good morning. He pushed up the protective goggles that replaced his normal sunglasses, his entire face scrunched in distaste. “doesn’t he smell weird?”

“You see a nose on this face?” Undyne grumbled. She shut the maintenance door before pushing up her own goggles; the Core was damagingly bright and Undyne didn’t have an extra eye to lose. “Weird, how?”

“I do not smell weird,” Edge snapped. Predictably, they ignored him, looking him up and down suspiciously. Honestly, it was becoming obvious that he needed to add more duties to their schedules if they had this much free time for speculation on their hands.

Red only shrugged, scratching at the stocking cap covering his skull. “i dunno, just weird, sort of sweet. like sugar, maybe, or honey? where’ve you been today?”

“He took the fashion victim breakfast earlier—" Undyne trailed off, her eye widening. “No. You didn’t.”

Edge sighed at the dawning awareness on both their faces. “Nothing happened.”

“Nothing happened in a way that left you smelling like snack cake?” Red asked with gleeful scorn.

“All I did was convince him to get some sleep.”

“and offered yourself as a mattress?” Red prodded him in the knee with a sharp elbow, easily dodging the kick Edge aimed at him. “gotta say, boss, that’s right neighborly of ya. anything else you felt like giving him? or maybe you need to borrow a cup of something sweet, bet he’s got a few things he could offer.”

“I didn’t come out here to discuss my proclivities, Red, I came out because Alphys told me you haven’t been in to use the machine. You need to—” Edge stopped and sighed. The space where his brother had been standing was already empty.

“Gettin’ soft, Boss,” Undyne said dryly. She sank back to sit on the floor, her hands dangling between her knees. “Usually you would’ve had that bad puppy by the scruff of the neck before you said a word. Maybe you needed a longer nap.”

“I didn’t need a nap at all,” Edge said, irritated. But she wasn’t wrong; his distraction with Rus was throwing him off un unexpected and very unappreciated ways.

“Maybe you need somethin’ else.” She ducked but Edge’s swipe at her was only halfhearted.

“We may as well finish this; he’s not going to come back as long as I’m here.”

“I could nab him for you, boss.” Undyne smiled widely at him, her needle-sharp teeth gleaming in the harsh fluorescent lighting.

“No,” Edge shook his head. “All that would get us is a tendency for him to run from you as well. I’ll corner him eventually. I wish I understood why he hated the machine so much; it’s helping him and using it is painless.”

“Dunno, boss.” Undyne dug through the toolbox, hefting up a heavy wrench. “He’s never been too fond of the lab, though. Weird, ain’t it, he was the one who helped us get this gig.”

“I know,” Edge murmured. When they’d been cast out of the Monster community, they’d been allowed into the Human world as neutrals, for whatever the worth that ‘allowed’ offered. After a few months of what could loosely be called surviving, Red was the one who told them about the Institute’s offer. Edge couldn’t have said how he even came across it; after his injuries, Red had been confined to the squalor of their cramped, shared apartment while the rest of them struggled to earn any coin they could in a world that often despised them for existing.

At first, it all seemed entirely too good to be true. His brother somehow contacting the Institute and all of them being offered employment? Despite his reservations, Edge had cautiously agreed, with Undyne and Alphys following at his heels. They’d been given funding and resources to come to the station on a strict six-month contract.

It hadn't taken them long to prove themselves, handling the workload and temperatures far better than the Humans before them, and between Alphys’s energy experiments and Edge’s strict policies, they’d come to be known as a safe place for scientists to work without fear, either of the elements or anything else. The Institute handled the roster and funds, they handled the rest.

That six-month contract quickly become a year, then two, and they were coming up on a third with no end in sight. His contacts at the Institute offered respites for them frequently, even suggesting to temporarily shut down the station for them to take a vacation to warmer climes.

Thus far, each offer had been refused. Even Alphys, whose appreciation of heat was well known to them all, made no bones about the fact that leaving what had become their home held little interest for her.

They might not own the station, but there was no questioning that it was theirs.

And right now, they had a Core to maintain.

“Let’s get this finished,” Edge picked up a set of goggles, readying to open the maintenance door again.

“You got it, boss.”

~~*~~

Red managed to avoid him for most of the day, sly bastard that he was. He’d always had a sort of preternatural skill at avoidance, for work, for confrontation. If it was something his brother didn’t want to deal with, then he simply wouldn’t.

Except for while Edge might lack his brother’s skills in wiliness, he made up for it with an excess of stubbornness. A plan was slowly forming to capture his brother and he only needed an extra pair of hands to do it.

His phone chimed and Edge paused, retrieving it from his pocket with surprise. They weren’t able to use the actual phone function on the devices but so long as they were in range of the WiFi, it could be used for messages. Not that they gave their personal information to any of the scientists, it was strictly for in-house communication and emergencies, or in his brother’s case, the terrible puns and memes that caught his attention. So who…?

It was a further shock to see the message was from Alphys. He had no doubt that Undyne and Alphys sent each other horrifically sappy messages all day, but he couldn’t think of any occasion of Alphys messaging him in the past.

The message was brief: Rus is outside, on the back side of the station.

Alphys hadn’t included so much as an emoticon, so the sly insinuation Edge was feeling was probably only in his own mind. He still mentally set aside the plan he was working on and went to pull on his outdoor gear.

True twilight had passed an hour before and outside the velvet black sky was strewn with stars. The aurora wasn’t visible tonight, but the sight was no less stunning, so long as one paused to look up. Hundreds of stars caught in the pale web of the Milky Way, chasing away the darkness.

Edge walked to the southern side of the station, his boots crunching on the hardpacked snow. The lights of the station set a glaring halo around the buildings and it made the dark surrounding it all the starker. Outside the circle of lights, he could see unfamiliar shapes not far away, one of which was likely his target.

The facility was never completely locked down. Rus wasn’t the only one whose research could be time sensitive, but scientists were supposed to use a special sign out alert if they were working outside alone. Edge hadn’t checked if Rus used it, though he probably had. Not that it mattered; Alphys had plenty of ways to get information, more even than Red.

His footsteps were ample warning of his approach. Rus didn’t look at him, his attention was on the device in front of him, a telescope, although unlike any one Edge ever saw before. Strange dials and extra lenses dotted it and Rus was adjusting them briskly with gloved fingers.

His laptop was sitting on a small camp table, the screen dark. Next to it was a pad of paper and a pencil. Edge barely glanced at it; it was impossible to say if the notes were in an unknown language or if Rus’s penmanship was simply that terrible.

Edge was the one who broke the silence, “How long have you been out here?”

With a final twist of one of the dials, Rus looked up at him. His pale eye lights were amused but there was no mistaking the dark circles lingering beneath his sockets. “well, hey, good afternoon to you, too. not too long, boss, i’m fine. besides, bonnie gave me a thermos to take out with me. keeps me toasty from the inside out.”

Hearing that their cook was giving special privileges to her obvious favorite was no surprise. To hear Rus calling him boss did give him a prickle of discomfort; after hearing his real name in that sleep-husky voice, he’d distantly hoped to hear it again in sly cheer of his waking hours. Perhaps he didn’t remember; Rus had been nearly asleep. It didn’t seem right to bring it up again, not right now.

Rus poured out a steaming cupful into the cap of the thermos and held it out teasingly. Edge took it and sipped, grimacing almost immediately. It was sweet enough to send a cramp through his tongue and he handed it back with haste, ignoring Rus’s grin.

“Don’t stay out here too long,” Edge warned. Though he might check on him again; Rus seemed the type to lose track of time, absorbed in whatever data he was getting from the star-strewn sky.

“i won’t,” Rus made a little ‘x’ over his chest with one finger and when Edge started to turn away, he added lazily, “what, no goodbye kiss, edge? you already shorted me one earlier. sneaking out while i was sleeping,” Rus shook his head sadly. “i missed your whole walk of shame.”

Edge stopped. His breath fogged in the arctic air and here in the darkness with the heavens staring down at them seemed like a moment for honesty.

“What do you want from me?” Edge asked bluntly. They’d shared words, kisses, and even a bed at this point but answers were few and far between. Rus, his conundrum, his puzzle who offered kisses and yet was shocked when Edge offered to nap with him.

A look at Rus found his easy flirtation faltering. He looked up at the glimmering stars, his own breath clouding around him as he said, with unusual sincerity. “right now? a kiss. we can see about tomorrow later.”

He’d be gone in a few short weeks and Edge wouldn’t see him again, unless he came back for another rotation and even then, that could take a year, longer. He was, in no particular order; a distraction, an astronomer, a fashion victim. A student. A temptation.

Edge leaned down and took his kiss.

It was nothing like the short, sweet touches they’d shared. He swallowed Rus’s startled moan, pulled him suddenly to his feet to better ravage the sweetness of his mouth. The feel of Rus in his arms only filled Edge with the urge to pull him closer, to learn how to tease more of those breathy, startled cries free.

Until his tongue curled against Edge’s with stunning intent, forcing him to stifle a moan of his own. Rus tasted of sickly-sweet coffee, of his own softer, delicate sweetness and they stood there in the icy blackness of night, sharing it between them with a desperate press of teeth and tongue.

It was far too cold for any more than this, dangerously so, and with great reluctance, Edge drew away. Only to catch Rus as he wobbled on his feet.

“oh,” he mumbled, panting in foggy gusts. Color was burning high in his cheek bones and his soft eye lights were temptingly hazy, but this time Edge resisted.

“Don’t stay out too long,” Edge repeated. He straightened Rus’s scarf, carefully rewrapping it.

“hah, actually, i’ll head in now, i've got my data.” Rus gave him crooked smile, but his eye lights were back on the stars. The flush in his cheekbones was lingering. “bet you’re busy all day, anyway. playing chaperone for anyone?”

An idea occurred to Edge then, so beautifully simple it was bound to work. “No, but actually, I could use your help with something.”

“really? me?” Rus seemed stunned, almost absurdly so.

“It won’t take long, but I don’t want to keep you if—“

“no, no! i can help!” Edge watched in bemusement as Rus hastily began packing his gear, only stepping in to help when he was sure it was safely stowed. He slung the carry strap for the telescope over his shoulder, wincing at the weight. Rus didn’t even protest, only gathered the rest of his equipment.

He was entirely too excited for a simple favor and Edge only hoped he didn’t regret offering. Red was not the easiest to deal with in the best of moods and if his plan worked, he was going to be very angry at them both.

Hopefully, it would be worth it.

~~*~~

tbc

[thecloserkin]

book review: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (1985)

Genre: Sci-Fi, YA

Is it the main pairing: Yes

Is it canon: No

Is it explicit: No

Is it endgame: Kind of

Is it shippable: Emphatically yes

Bottom line: must-read, watch the movie if you can

When I say it’s “kind of” endgame I mean there are nine thousand sequels I haven’t read but as of the end of this novel, yes, they’re together. Not canonically together, not romantically together, yet they are far and away the most important relationship in each other’s lives. They’re on their way to board a generation ship & colonize another planet, so that’s “together” enough for me thanks. I think you can love someone romantically without loving them sexually. One of the reasons children’s books are so ripe for those of us wearing incest-shipping goggles is because all the principals are kids and very young kids have not yet had time to grow apart from their siblings — to put down deep roots with college roommates or colleagues or whatever. I think the oldest major character in this book is like twelve.

John Paul and Teresa Wiggin have three extremely precocious children. Peter, the eldest, washed out of the government’s child-soldier-in-training program because he’s a sociopath who likes to hurt and manipulate people and has zero empathy. Valentine, the middle child, washed out because she has too much empathy. John Paul and Teresa got a special dispensation to have a third child and that child is Ender. For the first six years of his life, the most salient fact about Ender Wiggin is that he is a “Third,” a term of abuse and derision we frequently see hurled at him. There are bullies, Peter foremost among them. And the only one who who loves him unconditionally, who tries (usually in vain) to protect him from Peter, is Valentine.

It gave him something to do while the teacher droned on about arithmetic. Arithmetic! Valentine had taught him arithmetic when he was three.

Awwww just two gifted kids doing coursework way too advanced for their grade level. Only there are three kids, not two. Ender’s primal fear is that he will turn out to be “just like Peter” ie. that he too will enjoy hurting people; the person most able to soothe that fear and instill self-love in him is, of course, Valentine. It’s obviously unfortunate for his psychological development then that Ender passes all the tests and is recruited into the officer training program known as Battle School. There’s an impending alien invasion, you see; it’s a national emergency. So six-year-old Ender is separated from the only person he trusts and thrust into an environment designed to mold him into a killer. The military brass aren’t stupid, either. They see it right away:

“The sister is our weak link. He really loves her.” “I know. She can undo it all, right from the start. He won’t want to leave her.”

And this:

”Your brother hates you because you are living proof that he wasn’t good enough. Your parents resent you because of all the past they are trying to evade.”

”Valentine loves me.”

”With all her heart. Completely, unstintingly, she’s devoted to you, and you adore her.”

Once Ender heads off to Battle School—and that place is the emotional core of this story, just like Hogwarts is the center of the HP universe—the grownups make a conscious decision to isolate him from his peers and prevent him forming any intimate friendships: “He can never believe that anyone can help him out, ever.” Guys I get that Ender is a once-in-a-generation child prodigy but doing that to a six-year-old is tantamount to solitary confinement or sensory deprivation. He’s violently homesick — something I didn’t pick up on when I first read the book as a kid because I was so eager to get to the war games in the battleroom — but home is not a place, home is Valentine. The first night “he could hear several boys whimpering for their mothers or fathers or dogs. Then he could not help himself: His lips formed Valentine’s name.” Oh, dear heart.

He forms bonds with other kids, sure — they wouldn’t be grooming him for leadership if he wasn’t likable — but you know how you can be friends with people selectively, and share only very specific areas of your life with them? Yeah, Ender has superiors and later, subordinates; he has mentors and competitors and nemeses and allies but he doesn’t have anyone who understands him through-and-through the way Val does. Which makes his memory of her assume all the more prominence. He worries that by the time they let him see her again (there is a communications blackout so no letters) she will have changed and their relationship won’t be the same. A not unfounded fear, I think, but look at this:

”Hi,” he said.

”Hi,” Ender said.

”I’m Mick.”

”Ender.”

”That’s a name?”

”Since I was little. It’s what my sister called me.”

He prefers to go by the childhood nickname his sister gave him rather than his “real” name Andrew. When Ender finally makes his first friend at Battle School here is how it goes down:

On impulse Ender hugged him, tight, almost as if he were Valentine. He even though of Valentine then and wanted to go home.

It’s just so clear that Val represents all that is good and pure in the world. When he turns seven, all alone in his bunk and no one to celebrate with, he remembers his last birthday at home:

Valentine baked him a cake on his sixth birthday. It fell and it was terrible. Nobody knew how to cook anymore, it was the kind of crazy thing Valentine would do. Everyone teased Valentine about it, but Ender saved a little bit of it in his cupboard.

The only reason I’m here is so that a bugger won’t shoot out Valentine’s eye, won’t … split her head with a beam so hot that her brains burst the skull and spill out like rising bread dough, the way it happens in my worst nightmares.

There’s a scene where another kid rails against the unspoken Battle School norm that prohibits the kids talking about home and Ender starts crying:

”No, it’s all right,” Ender said. “I was just thinking about Valentine. My sister.”

”I wasn’t trying to make you upset.”

”It’s okay. I don’t think of her very much, because I always get—like this.”

He’s learned to suppress his own feelings because it’s too painful to dwell on how much he misses her. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Valentine celebrates Ender’s eighth birthday alone. The family has moved since Ender left for Battle School, and Valentine wonders:

How would Ender find them here, among these trees, under this changeable and heavy sky?

You have to remember that this whole time she’s been stuck with Peter, who’s convinced all the adults with an iota of authority that he’s turned over a new leaf, that he’s no longer the sadistic little boy he used to be. But Valentine knows better. Peter skins squirrels alive in the woods and stakes them down for her to find.

She couldn’t think of anything so terrible that she didn’t believe Peter might do it. She also knew, though, that Peter was not insane, not in the sense that he wasn’t in control of himself … Peter could delay any desire as long as he needed to; he could conceal any emotion. And so Valentine knew that he would never hurt her in a fit of rage. He would only do so if the advantages outweighed the risks … In a way, she actually preferred Peter to other people because of this. He always, always acted out of intelligent self-interest.

This is such a chillingly perceptive paragraph. The main takeaway is that the separation from Ender has been hard on Valentine too, and the hardest part is that she begins to grow ever closer to Peter, the brother she hates and fears, as the memory of her favorite brother fades. Peter hits her up her with a proposition. He wants to take over the world …. by disseminating political essays on the internet, writing under pseudonyms. And he needs Valentine’s help. Valentine agrees, because if she’s working with him she can curb his worst tendencies right? Haha. One day Valentine is summoned from class to meet with a stranger in uniform. “I’ve come to talk to you in confidence about your brother,” he says, and Val immediately assumes she and Peter have been found out, their aliases penetrated. It takes her a minute to realize it’s her other brother he’s come about. Ender’s performance has taken a nosedive, and they won’t let Valentine see him but they want to pick her brain about what might be troubling him. The audacity! She hasn’t been allowed to see him for three years and they want her to diagnose what’s wrong and tell it to them? Please. Moreover, she’s wracked with guilt over her first impulse, which was to protect Peter’s secrets, not to demand to know what was wrong with Ender:

She felt a deep stab of pain, of regret, of shame that now it was Peter she was close to, Peter who was the center of her life. For you, Ender, I light fires on your birthday. For Peter I help fulfill all his dreams.

to think of her little brother, who was so good, whom she had protected for so long, and then remember that now she was Peter’s ally, Peter’s helper, Peter’s slave in a scheme that was completely out of her control.

Valentine’s disloyalty to Ender is tearing the poor girl apart. If there was any sexual attraction involved this would be a super juicy incestuous love triangle but like I said at the beginning of this review, all these kids are prepubescent and introducing the element of sex would not fundamentally alter the interpersonal dynamics. We don’t get a Peter POV in this book but he’s perfectly aware Val’s always loved Ender best, and Peter may be a monster and incapable of love but surely he’s capable of jealousy?

A letter arrives for Ender at Battle School:

He read four lines into it, then skipped to the end and read the signature. Then he went back to the beginning, and curled up on his bed to read the words over and over again.

This is relatable behavior for anyone who has ever received a long-awaited missive from a loved one and just wants to savor it over and over again. Especially if it’s from the person he loves most in the world whom he hasn’t heard a peep from for three years. Ender being Ender, he parses the letter for signs it’s not the genuine article. He concludes:

It isn’t the real thing anyway. Even if she wrote it in her own blood, it isn’t the real thing because they made her write it.

Ain’t that the truth.

He had no control over his own life. They ran everything … The one real thing, the one precious real thing was his memory of Valentine, the person who loved him before he ever played a game … and they had taken her and put her on their side.

”I sold my brother,” Valentine said, “and they paid me for it.”

When Ender suffers another bout of burnout upon graduating, the grownups are smart enough to ship him back to Earth for an unscheduled leave of absence and to bring him Valentine, who is literally the only reason he wakes up in the morning. They spend a beautiful afternoon on a lake. Valentine intuits the purpose of the visit right away:

”Oh. So I’m therapy again.”

”This time we can’t censor your letter. We’re taking our chances. We need your brother badly. Humanity is on the cusp.”

Can we stop to reflect on how fucked up it is that these jackals are STILL taking Ender and Valentine’s bond — the only true and good thing in these kids’ lives — and bending it to their own purposes?

But she knew that he was glad to see her, knew it because of the way his eyes never left her face.

”You’re bigger than I remembered,” she said stupidly.

”You too,” he said. “I also remembered that you were beautiful.”

Recall that we don’t love people because they are beautiful, people are beautiful because we love them. Though the narrative spends exactly zero words dwelling on Valentine’s appearance, as far as Ender is concerned she is obviously the most beautiful, perfect human being to ever draw breath. She goes to squeeze his knee right where he’s always been ticklish—and finds that he’s seized her wrist in a vice grip. He took self-defense classes in Battle School. Ender says, “I didn’t want to see you … I was afraid that I’d still love you.” If this isn’t a line straight out of a romance novel. I’m not here to ding romance novels, of which I read plenty; I’m just stating the facts: Ender and Valentine are framed as the romantic leads of this story. They spend pages upon pages pining for each other, their decisions are driven by the suite of potential consequences for the other, and their long-awaited reunion is staged with all the trappings of big-R Romance:

And he touched her cheek so gently that she wanted to cry. Like the touch of his soft baby hand when he was still an infant.

Also, everyone and their mom ships it. Even Ender’s commanding officer ships it:

”I may have used Valentine,” said Graff, “and you may hate me for it, Ender, but keep this in mind—it only works because what’s between you, that’s real, that’s what matters.”

Ajdkfjddkjkdf give the people what they want. Okay so Ender defeats the aliens (by accidentally-on-purpose committing genocide but that’s beyond the scope of this review) and the war is over. Valentine comes to him and asks him to LEAVE BEHIND EVERYONE THEY KNOW and GO WITH HER AMONG THE STARS:

”I came because I’ve spent my whole life in the company of the brother that I hated. Now I want a chance to know the brother that I love.”

”While you’re governing the colony and I’m writing political philosophy, they’ll never guess that in the darkness of night we sneak into each other’s room and play checkers and have pillow fights.

Let me repeat: Ender and Valentine’s idea of a good time is sneaking into each other’s rooms and having pillow fights. Which is both innocent and potentially—not. It’s a scenario fair to bursting with incest potential, and when he agrees to go with her this is her reaction:

She squealed and hugged him, for all the world like a typical teenage girl who just got the present that she wanted from her little brother.

In my experience teenage girls are notoriously bored by/annoyed by/reluctant to be seen in the company of their little brothers. Not Valentine though, her little brother has always been her favorite person. Their bond is intense enough that I felt obliged to review this book even though it’s def not canon, and even though Orson Scott Card is garbage and a raging homophobe.

[hermitologist]

My 17 Favorite Records of 2017

Hello, Internet. Yet another year has passed, and because I’ve made a habit of making year-end lists, this old man has gone and done it again.

I listened to a veritable buttload of music this year on my morning runs, which I decided to post about on Instagram most days in a concerted effort to keep myself accountable bore every last one of my followers to death. I think it’s working.

What follows, is my list of favorites. Not “best”. “Favorite”. *My* favorite. So, spare me the “Your list sucks. WTF. I can’t believe “A Vest For Jerome” by Turd Circus isn’t on there!” comments. I’m sorry we don’t have the exact same taste in music. :)

As usual, I feel like the top 5 or 6 here are pretty carved in stone, but the last 12 and some of the honorable mentions could totally be flip-flopped depending on which side of the bed I woke up on. I actually fiddled with a few spots five minutes before posting this, which is either a testament to that or Exhibit 4,923 in my undiagnosed OCD case.

Anyways ... TL;DR. Here’s what I was into this year. I hope you find something you enjoy.

IMPORTANT: Please let me know what I might missed out on (as I’m sure there’s a ton of it), and share some of your favorites in the comments below. Thanks!

17) Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life

This didn’t quite grab me the way Celebration Rock did, but it’s got a good number of super infectious earworms that got stuck in my brain at the top of the year. 

Listen here.

16) Sorority Noise - You’re Not As ____ You Think

Excellent “emo”with that feels like it could very easily fit into Brand New’s discography (and I mean that in a very complimentary way). Highly recommended if you’re looking for something to fill that void. 

Listen here. 

15) Queens of the Stone Age - Villains

This took a little while for this record to sink its teeth into me, but once it did, it didn’t let go. The arrangements are so nuanced that I’ve found little bits of ear candy each time I’ve listened to it, and while the mix is not my favorite, the songs are so brilliantly catchy and drumming so monstrous, I’m hooked. And Jon Theodore is the best drummer on Earth. That’s not debatable either. It’s fact.

Listen here.

14) David Bazan - Care

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for anything and everything Bazan. His lyrics and the timbre of his voice cut to my core, and the songs on Care are no exception -- even when they’re delivered over minimalist electronica (which is not my favorite vehicle by any stretch). Another Bazan masterpiece.

Listen here.

13) Glassjaw - Material Control

This record is perfect in that it is exactly what it needs to be. It’s Glassjaw doing what they do best -- intense, vibey, groovy, heavy post-hardcore that is a logical follow-up to Worship & Tribute, while flexing and pushing enough to make it feel fresh. A tremendous return to form, and a record that was well worth the wait.

Listen here.

12) Julien Baker - Turn Out The Lights 

Sprained Ankle blew me away and knocked me on my ass, and somehow, some way, Baker has leveled up and topped that. The stripped-down “artist + guitar” intimacy is still there, but the heavy moments hit even harder because of the additional orchestration on this record. Such a promising future for her.

Listen here.

11) The Life & Times - S/T

Another excellent record from some of one of Kansas City’s best bands. There are few who do airy, melancholic, spacey, dynamic rock better than these guys. And Chris Metcalf is one of the best drummers on the planet right now -- so pockety, tasteful, and effortless. Highly recommended if you dig Failure, Shiner, Hum, Antenna-era Cave In, et al. 

Listen here.

10) METZ - Strange Peace

This beast is 36 minutes of noisy, nasty, heavy post-punk with stellar guitar and bass tones, and badass drumming that sounds like the best parts of Nirvana and Young Widows had a perfect lovechild. I dare you to listen to this record and not have an overwhelming urge to play it as loud as you possibly can and headbang until your eyes fall out of your skull.

Listen here.

9) CHON - Homey

I really enjoyed this when it came out, but it wasn’t until we spent five weeks on tour with them and got to see them shred a handful of these songs on a nightly basis that it really grabbed ahold of me. This record is stellar. Sure there are a ton of notes, but they’re all tasteful, never bogged down in painfully long prog opuses, and there’s so much feel here ... which is so rare in the new world of insanely chopped, gridded and sampled prog. The splashes of hip-hop and glitchy Prefuse 73 style electronica are a killer addition to the mix as well. This is the feel good record of the year for me.

Listen here.

8) Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

There really isn’t another rapper who holds a candle to Kendrick at the moment, and this might be the best work of his career. I haven’t had a hip-hop record hit me like this in at least a decade. I was hooked from the second the beat dropped in DNA., got roped in even more by the slow jam LOVE., and HUMBLE. sealed the deal. What a beast.

Listen here.

7) Cloud Nothings - Life Without Sound

This record rules, but I’m not sure I can put my finger on exactly why I like it so much. It’s got tiny elements of so many bands I love or used to love without being overly referential. It’s got a melancholic vibe but never lacks energy. And it is packed with really, really well written and catchy songs without full-blown pop circus. You know you’re listening to a great record when you’re playing a deep cut and uncontrollably blurt, “Fuck, this song is good.” 

Listen here.

6) Converge - The Dusk In Us

Nobody does it better than these dudes, and it’s been that way for the better part of two decades. The Dusk In Us is yet another record a discography full of bar-setting hardcore/metal/noise records that elevate the ceiling of the genre and make everyone else sound/look bland in comparison. This one slides right into the #3 or #4 spot in that storied discography. So great.

Listen here.

5) Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile To The Surface

This is one of those rare records that blows you away on first listen, and gets better with each subsequent listen. The former happens when the songs --stripped to their bones -- are stellar, and the latter happens when the arrangements and mix are somehow even more stellar. ABMTTS checks the shit outta both of those boxes and then some. Aaaand it was made with multiple producers, but doesn’t sound disjointed in the slightest, which seems damn near impossible. It’s the perfect Manchester Orchestra record ... “The Gold” was stuck pleasantly in my head for a majority of the year.  

Listen here.

4) Pile - A Hairshirt Of Purpose

Disclaimer: I am a late adopter of the majesty of Pile, but I am happy to announce that I am hopelessly hooked on their soulful, noisy, schizophrenic, (occasionally) dreamy, fusion of post-punk, blues, and all sorts of other good things. My entry point was Dripping, but A Hairshirt ... cemented my love for this band. It’s weird, it’s beautiful, it’s energetic, it’s heavy, it’s ethereal, and the musicianship is frustratingly good. If you know, you know ... if you don’t, just trust me. Spin it with an open mind and meet one of your new favorite bands.

Listen here.

3) Propagandhi - Victory Lap

I grew up on Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords punk rock in the 90s, and these guys (and gal) are legitimately the only band of that era that continue to excite and inspire me. I look forward to every release, and they manage to deliver every. single. time. It’s not a nostalgia thing with Propagandhi. Chris Hannah’s lyrics, melodies, and guitar playing continue to push the boundaries of what can be done in that genre. You might expect a group of 40-year-old punks to decline or at least plateau, but they’re still on an upward trajectory and it’s  inspiring as hell. Bonus points if you’re a parent and can listen to “Adventures In Zoochosis” without tearing up. Victory Lap is outstanding -- one of their three best records without question. 

Listen here.

2) Cloakroom - Time Well

If you’ve been following me here, on Twitter, or Instagram, it’s no secret that I’ve got a massive soft spot in my heart for bummer jams -- especially bummer jams of the heavy variety. Time Well is a damn near perfect in those regards. It’s shoegazey without being tired or overly jangly, mildly doomy without being mind-numbingly boring, and fuzzy without sounding like it was recorded inside a sleeping bag. I’m pretty sure I listened to this record more than anything else this year, and after probably a hundred spins, it hasn’t lost any of its luster. It’s outstanding (and it’s got some damn tasty drumming on it too).

Listen here.  

1) Elder - Reflections Of A Floating World

My buddy Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City vocalist/guitarist, Antisleep recording engineer/producer, multi-talented human, generally outstanding dude, recommender of many amazing bands) turned me on to these guys earlier this year by sharing 2015′s Lore with me. That record f-ing floored me. Riffs for days. Heaviness. Prog vibes. Stoner rock goodness. Dynamics. Space. Sabbath-y vocals. It checked all of the boxes. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to hear Reflections Of A Floating World. 

ROAFW dropped in June, and it’s even better than I could have imagined. I’d wager that there are more sick riffs on this record than your favorite band has in their entire discography. I dare you to listen to this and not get a twitch to start a play air guitar. Also: How the shit do you write 15-minute songs that don’t bore people into catatonia? This is how. Just like this. Parts never drag, parts never feel like they’re just filler, and there isn’t a wasted moment in 64 minutes of music. That’s a remarkable feat in and of itself. This is a goddamn timeless record, and there’s no doubt I’ll have it in heavy rotation for the rest of my life.

Listen here.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Effects - Eyes To The Light

Brutus - Burst

Nate Smith - KINFOLK: Postcards From The Edge

Employed To Serve - Warmth of A Dying Sun

God Mother - Vilseledd

Slowdive - Sugar For The Pill

Hundredth - RARE

Mutoid Man - War Moans

Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins

Quicksand - Interiors

Death From Above - Outrage! Is Now

Power Trip - Nightmare Logic

Health - DISCO3

Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory

All Them Witches - Sleeping Through The War

Code Orange - Forever

Blis - No One Likes You

Bjork - Utopia

Less Art - Strangled Light ;)

MY FAVORITE RECORD OF 2015 THAT I DIDN’T HEAR UNTIL 2017

Town Portal - The Occident

MY FAVORITE RECORD OF 2004 THAT I DIDN’T HEAR UNTIL 2017

The Stella Link - Mystic Jaguar... Attack!!!

CURRENT PODCAST QUEUE

Chapo Trap House (Grey Wolf Feed)

The Trap Set

Song Exploder

Slate’s The Gist

Slate’s Hang Up & Listen

INTERCEPTED

The FilmDrunk Frotcast

Deadcast

How I Built This

Freakonomics Radio

Radiolab

This American Life

[exilesofembermark]

Game Dev Update | 3.12.18

“THIS is what I see on my screen.�� - Your Opponent

So proud of the Victory image from the UI work we’ve been doing, figured we’d better show the other side of the coin this month. Hopefully, you won’t see this screen too much (unless you’re playing me, in which case enjoy this screen-- remind me I said that on launch day).

Last update, we gave a follow-up to our publishing announcement, detailed the Exiles end-of-battle sequences, and introduced concepts for Archmage Edyrin Zaan, who played a key role in Embermark’s Collapse many, many years ago. This time around, we’ve got gameplay and crafting updates, a look at Edyrin’s cohort and warcaster friend Elle Manigold, info on our coming First-Time-User-Experience (your intro to the game) and a look at how we’re going to try and quickly tell you story elements as you pass through this fantasy world we’re working on.

CRAFTING EVOLVED

The crew here at Gunslinger is working at a fever pitch right now, implementing all of the learnings we’ve had over the course of the last several months about everything from combat (which has been detailed in dev updates here and here) to systems to the way players build characters over time. We’re aiming at a result that brings build strategies to the forefront, communicates what happens during battle in a much more straightforward way and increases the tastiness of loot.

And that’s what we’ll cover this time around-- loot and how crafting has evolved. The loot system is pretty straightforward-- A Common item-- say, a sword, has specific stats on it (how much damage it does, any affects to the player’s core stats like Strength). A Rare Item has a prefix-- say, Mighty. Making a Mighty Sword. That prefix has up to 2 stat effects as well (like a plus to STR and CON). An Epic item has a prefix and a suffix-- say, of Shenanigans and that suffix comes with stats or special effects of its own. Making a Mighty Sword of Shenanigans. Legendary items are bespoke designs and very special and delicious.

Before the current design pass, you could Craft random items for a specified slot (like your Chest or Head) as well as Salvage stuff you didn’t want and create items from specific recipes. You could also Upgrade items, which wasn’t super interesting-- it was just the equivalent of leveling an item.

To make the Forge more user-friendly and increase the fun part of loot management, we’re making the following changes:

Salvage is moving over into your main inventory in the Character screen, since that’s where you usually want to get rid of stuff

Everything you can make is now a Recipe, even the random stuff (so there will be a “Forge Random Sword” recipe as well as a “Forge Mighty Sword” recipe)

Upgrade is replaced with Transmute. So instead of simply leveling a sword from low to high, now you can change its attributes with a reroll, like changing the item’s STR buff into another stat like SPD or CON, depending on how you roll. This will be a feature with limits-- you won’t be able to turn anything into anything else. You can change one attribute, but that will lock the others. 

EDYRIN ZAAN - NOW IN COLOR

Last Update, we shared the sketch concepts for one of the pivotal characters of our fantasy drama -- the Archmage Edyrin Zaan, who started the wheels turning toward the collapse of the continent and the otherworldly shenanigans that made Embermark a forbidding, chaotic place. 

Now we’ve fleshed him out a bit, and he will be making appearances throughout your journey across the land (see the glimpse at the Narrative System below). Is he friend or foe? You may have a hand in deciding...

(btw, if you’ve been paying attention to the Dev Updates, that staff may trigger your imagination)

ELLE MANIGOLD: THE CATALYST

Edyrin didn’t come upon the dangerous practice of summoning-- or of manipulating Mystic power-- alone. He had help.

Enter the deadly warcaster, Elle Manigold, whose story will be revealed over time. Her upbringing, her power and her relationship to Edyrin all had massive ramifications on the continent that’s come to be called Embermark. Have a look at the visual development of this battlemage, who you may or may not fight (but you will definitely want her weapon).

THE TPWER HAS A BEACH BALL

Our friends at Industrial Toys (the studio Gunslinger was born out of) sent us a housewarming gift for the new space we moved into a little over a month ago. It’s a ridiculously large beach ball that caught some infamy momentum on Reddit, given its potential to inflict terror and bodily injury. We’re currently trying to figure out what to do with it. Suggestions welcome in the Exiles forums.

THE NOT-A-BAT

“There are no rats, bats, wolves or skeletons in Exiles.” - TheWizard on multiple occasions

Fine, I lied about the wolf thing (but see-- ours are cool). Well, this is most certainly not a bat. But it is a horrible flying face-eater, and you don’t want it eating your face when you encounter it in its various ecosystems (out in the jungle, deep in the caves, etc).

This nasty is well on his way toward giving us a base for flying enemies, so stay tuned for his color, model and flaps next Update.

THE FIRST TIME USER EXPERIENCE (OH, AND THE NARRATIVE SYSTEM)

We’ve been threatening testing for a while now, and while I’m not reporting a date for that yet (*sideyes the Exiles in the Discord channel), I am reporting a plan. With the gameplay evolutions and the PVE system coming online, it’s time for us to get the game ready for a new player to experience it. Thus, our next big milestone is a working First-Time-User-Experience (FTUE) that teaches the basics of the game and levels a character to about Level 10. With that comes a couple of new systems-- the Tutorials System and the Narrative System. 

The Tutorial System isn’t super exciting (I mean, I’m excited about it, but sharing the part of a game that many players go “can I skip” isn’t what I’m all about right now, so suffice it to say, there will be one, it will show you what to do to get started and then it will get out of the way for your climb to heroism).

The Narrative System is more exciting -- to share, anyway. One of the ambitions of Exiles is to tell a sweeping fantasy story in many ways directed by players’ actions. The system we’re building to tell that story lets us do just that. There are three parts to it:

1) Trackable Items

Just about anything players do in the game is tracked-- the fights, the wins/losses, the enemies killed, the foes bested, the factions helped or hindered, the narrative choices one makes, the aggregate leveling done, the events outcomes, you name it. This provides the Exiles designers a bed of history from which to trigger events and tell stories about what’s gone on in Embermark. 

2) Talking Heads

Seen below, this is your paged spoken-word info. Characters will appear on-screen, point you toward important stuff (Quests, new map locations, events) and disappear. You’ve seen this a million times in games, but we’ll make it easy to digest quickly.

3) (Human) Written Episodes

After every Season (which is currently a month of real-world time), Episodes of Tales of Embermark will be published, outlining the ongoing narrative and player actions that went down during the preceding Season, creating a historic log from the beginning of the game and hinting at things to come. 

FROM BANDIT TO BOSS

Along with the FTUE comes a string of baddies for players to smash (or be smashed by). Wildewoods, the Zone that you see above and the training grounds for new players, has all sorts of nastiness to encounter, including wolves, ogres, elves (who aren’t really nasty, but they will shoot you with poison arrows) and a scheming band of bandits known as the Darkeye Syndicate. 

We’ve shared in the past our method of creating endless variation for NPCs (particularly humanoid NPCs), and this is the first in-game implementation of that system. The Quests we’re designing to onboard a new player will involve these thuggy outlaws, a semi-organized rabble preying on new Exiles and the folks in Wildewoods alike, all built off of the same model, using gear that’s reusable for player characters. 

And I couldn't resist a quick shot of the bandits’ Cutlass ^... cuz it’s got a skull on it.

And I didn’t claim there wouldn’t be spiders, did I? Cuz there are-- and they’re also going to chomp your face:

We just rigged it up yesterday (see video), so we should be incorporating our 8-legged enemies into quests and battles very soon.

DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER…

We’ll keep sharing details as we head toward testing (remember to PM TheWizard on the Exiles forums with your device type if you want in on closed testing & beta later), and you can count on early impressions from the testers throughout our various channels.

If you haven’t already, follow along with Exiles development on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. And if you haven’t, I’ll find you. And SMITE you.

CONNECT WITH OTHER EXILES

If you want to hear about the game, ask questions or connect with others who are helping the development team think about features, design and narrative, hop into the Discord Channel for live chat and say hi– it’s a friendly crew with plenty of daily/weekly/sometimes-planned shenanigans.

BONUS: A BASHER

Because it’s not an RPG without a ridiculously large, painful-looking 2-handed basher:

BONUS BONUS: ETHEREAL VARIANTS, ANYONE?

Ethereals in Embermark aren’t from here. They’re from... over there. Thus, the Ethereal NPC we’ve shown in the past isn’t necessarily always going to be one of fire-- or of heat-- or of an elemental variety. Sometimes, they’ll be from/of/based on other makeups. Take a look at this video from our VFX crew (of one!) showing how many setups we might explore...

(and for those of you in a clicking mood, here’s that Ethereal dying-- he seems almost... surprised)

[booksbroadwaybbc]

Self Love Matters via /r/selfimprovement

Self Love Matters

I was watching an episode of Friends today where Joey says there is no selfless good deed. I got to thinking about it and I think he's on to something. Friends Episode - A Selfless Good Deed I enjoy helping others. It makes me happy when I'm the cause of someone smiling, or laughing or if I'm able to ease someone's hurt or sadness. YES, it makes me feel good. I want people to feel better, have better, know they're better because I didn't always feel that way in my life, and I didn't think I could find it through people.  I work for a company and my title is Client Services. My role is to make our clients feel good about our company, our staff, our quality and honesty in handling their projects. I feel good when I accomplish these goals. I don't feel at all guilty about doing a good job as an employee. I help people for a living. For me, it's not enough. I want to help on a more personal level. While helping our clients is worthy, it's business.My question is why is it so terrible to feel good about helping others? While Joey is saying there is no selfless good deed, I don't think he thinks it's a bad thing. Phoebe seems focused on finding a selfless good deed, but struggles with how to accomplish that goal. She finally comes to the conclusion that if you don't like the thing you're giving, then it's selfless because you don't benefit. But, you do. No matter what good deed you do, you benefit emotionally, physically and mentally. It's obvious why you benefit emotionally. Feeling good emotionally lends to feeling good physically, and feeling good emotionally and physically helps our mental well-being. You can say helping others bring us hope, and energizes us individually and as a whole, and we want to repeat that feeling. No one has to know what I did or what I'm doing. The feeling is good no matter who knows. But, it's still no selfless. I know I did it. There are times you have to tell others, which isn't bad, is it? What if you're organizing a group to give to an organization. Isn't this website a way of me helping others? I hope so, although, I don't really know. I know it makes me feel good to be able to share my experiences and how I dealt with them and how I still deal with them. Life is messy. That's my favorite saying.[gallery ids="381,380" type="columns"]What kind of society have we turned into where it's NOT OK to feel good about ourselves when going out of our way for others? Are we supposed to feel guilty when we do nice things for others? If we brag about our good deeds or are arrogant about them, then I understand. Paying it forward is so important to me because I think we can change the world one person at a time or one good deed at a time. That doesn't require praise from others. In the mornings, I have to drive in pretty heavy traffic, and there are opportunities for me to let other morning drivers in the long line of cars all trying to get to work or school. I let people in because I know that at most people's core, people are good, and will pay it forward, even if it's not conscious. They will let other weary drivers in the long, stressful line and so on. That means less stress while dealing with a lot of cars on the way to work and going home from work. Try it if you haven't. No one is getting anywhere any faster than you or me. If you think that, then you're probably going to be upset every single morning, and why start your day off that way? Take a deep breath and see what happens. But, wait. You may not ever know what your kindness does for other drivers, but I promise it happens. I know when someone lets me in, I always let someone else in because I hope that person will pay it forward. Being a good person isn't something to be ashamed of, right? No, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I strive to be a good person. I don't look for someone to tell me I'm a good person or that I'm doing good things. If you look to others for validation that you're a good person, you'll be disappointed more than you'll be validated. Of course, you'll have supporters. But, don't seek praise or expect praise for doing something good. That is the point of being a good person. Arrogance and self-entitlement tend to get judged, while those who are humble and quiet are celebrated or appreciated.I've been very lucky these last 4 years, because my boyfriend, Jamie, will do anything for me. He has endured hardships because of my physical limitations, and there were so many times I thought he would leave because it's painful to be physical often with him. I know this is personal, but part of my blog is addressing the hard stuff. I know there are so many of you out there who feel ugly or useless or less valuable because of the activities you can't do often, yet long to do. Intimacy is a core element of a relationship. He seems to support and love me anyway, and it's appreciated and makes me love him more. He doesn't ask for praise or cheering because he accepts me. He is just that kind of guy. In the years before surgery, and since, he has done whatever he could to make my life easier. He gets my coffee. He puts my stuff in the car. He makes my food at night. He doesn't feel he has to... he wants to. When we hug, he squats so we're the same height so it doesn't hurt my neck.  Same with kissing. We hold hands when we're in public, and at night in bed. All those things are so important. If you feel you're not giving enough, sit down with your partner and make sure they know how you're feeling and to find out how they're feeling about things. Communication is key in a relationship where someone isn't fully capable physically.I saw this on Facebook the other day and it spoke to me. For couples so eager to call it quits and throw in the towel on your relationships because everything isn’t “perfect”... here is some food for thought. Lifelong commitment is not what most people think it is. It's not waking up every morning to make breakfast and eat together. It's not cuddling in bed until both of you fall asleep, peacefully, at night. It's not a clean home filled with laughter and lovemaking, everyday. It's someone who steals all the covers . It's slammed doors and a few harsh words, at times. It’s stubbornly disagreeing and giving each other the silent treatment until your hearts heal...and, then...FORGIVENESS! It’s coming home to the same person, everyday, that you know LOVES and CARES about you in spite of (and because of) who you are. It's laughing about the one time you accidentally did something stupid. It's about dirty laundry and unmade beds WITHOUT finger pointing. It's about helping each other with the hard work of life! It's about swallowing the nagging words instead of saying them out loud. It's about eating the cheapest and easiest meal you can make and sitting down together at a late hour to eat because you both had a crazy day. It's when you have an emotional breakdown and your Love lays with you and holds you and tells you everything is going to be okay...and you BELIEVE them. It's about still loving someone even though, sometimes, they make you absolutely insane. Loving someone is not easy....sometimes it's extremely hard; but it's amazing and comforting and one of the BEST things you'll ever experience!I am getting better every day. Yesterday I was able to go to a movie, and dinner and Friday, Jamie and I resumed our Friday night date night by going to dinner at our favorite restaurant. It felt good. I overdid it last night, but it was well worth it. Today, on Father's Day, I wasn't able to participate in the activities, BUT, I didn't feel too badly because it's about Jamie and Bella (his daughter). There is nothing more important to me than  him getting to spend time with his daughter as much as possible before she's off the college. She'll be a Junior this year, so time is running out. It still hurts to put shirts on. They have to be specific kinds, and swallowing is still tough, but better. I am still struggling to shave parts of my body. Today marks 60 days since surgery. I keep thinking I'm good to go, but I'm still healing, and will be for another 10 months. It's hard for me to take it easy, which is evidenced by my pace during the work week. I busted my butt all last week and by Thursday, I HIT A WALL. But, the difference is that I came home Thursday and rested. I was exhausted on Friday, but it was better. Jamie reminded me that I'm not healed all the way and that I needed to be gentle on myself. Last week was a success, and being able to go to dinner and a movie was a definite success. Getting out of the house is vitally important to your well-being and physicality. If you can, do a little. But, also be patient with your recovery. It is possible to overdo it. I know. I do it way more than I should.Recovery is not a race. It's journey and a story. It's your personal story, and if you feel you can, share it because there is probably someone who will appreciate it. I know I appreciate it when I can read a story about someone's struggles and triumphs in their journey to health. Thank you to those who have shared their story.Today, Jamie got to spend much needed time with Bella, and they are so close, and it's beautiful to watch.

Submitted June 18, 2018 at 09:55AM by mentallyunique via reddit https://ift.tt/2yk0hbH

[mrgreatfitness]

Ask the average guy to tell you how to get rock-hard abs and he will boast about the newest and fanciest, super-duper "abdominal burning" exercise he just learned that you should definitely try. Or... more likely, he will tell you to do 50 repetitions of abdominal crunches, sit-ups or leg raises... you know, the usual stuff that everybody believes will give them six-pack abs. Oh yeah, let's not forget the tiny detail that the "average guy" doesn't have rock-hard abs, let alone six-pack abs.

So, stop doing what everybody else is telling you to do, in order to get those hard abs, and start doing what really works. Here are the 5 easy, but crucial rules to getting hard...abs, that is...

Lose It to Gain It

If you can't see your ab muscles, it's not because you haven't found that "magic bullet" ab-sculpting exercise. In fact, it may not even be because you don't have any ab muscles. (If you have been working out even a little bit over the years, you may already have some ab development.) But, you'll never be able to see your abs - even if they are the most developed and sculpted abs in the world...if they are hiding under and nice, comfy layer of belly fat.

So, the very first rule of getting hard abs is to lose the soft flab that's covering your ab muscles. There is no magic formula for losing belly fat. The only way to do it is with consistent, regular exercise and a healthy diet. The easy solution is, hike, bike, or jump around for at least 30 minutes every other day. As for dieting, just try to minimize your intake of sugar and simple/processed carbohydrates. Cutting down on sugar alone can help you lose some pounds quickly. That includes sugary foods, desserts, and drinks.Losing just 5-to-10 pounds of fat can make you look harder and leaner, instantly...even if you don't do any abdominal exercises. Besides, losing that belly flab will benefit you and many other ways, as well as dramatically lower your chances of developing several diseases and health risks.

Give 'Em a Chance to Develop

The next major rule of getting hard abs is to stop over-working your abdominal muscles. Most guys who want to get hard abs tend to do crunches, leg raises, or whatever... every single day. But, they work every other major muscle group every other day. Look, your abdominal muscles are no different than any other muscle group. You can't continuously work it without giving it a chance to rest, recuperate and develop! So, the new rule of hard abs is... work your abdominal muscles three to four days per week, and no more. You can either work them every other day (with a day of rest in between)... or... just work them on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If you don't already know, your muscles only grow, develop, and get stronger when they get enough rest in between workouts. So, do with your abs what you do with every other muscle group in your body: let them rest at least 24 hours before you work them again. RELATED : Five Pillars Of Weight Loss Easily

One Move, to Rule Them All

There are lots of exercises that can work your abs from every conceivable angle. That doesn't mean that you should do them all. In fact, you only need two or three core moves that you can cycle out every few weeks. However, if you only had to do one exercise, to see some quick results, it would be the Balancing V. Here's how it's done... Lie down on the floor - on your back, and your face towards the ceiling...with your legs straight and your arms also straight, stretched out over your head, without any bend in the elbows.

Slowly start to lift your upper body by bending at your waist as if you were sitting up, while bringing your arms forward slightly faster than the rest of your body. As your upper body starts to lift up and forward, simultaneously lift your legs up towards the ceiling. When executed correctly, your entire body should be off the floor except for your butt, which will be resting on the floor and balancing the "V" formation of your body. At this point, the tips of your fingers should be able to touch the tips of your toes. Hold this position for a couple of seconds and then start to slowly descend your upper body as well as your legs back to the floor. You should end up back on the floor, laying down, with your body straight and your arms stretched out above your head. Repeat this move up to 6 times. Hint: Doing this exercise will require a bit of balancing, especially when your butt is the only part of your body still in contact with the floor. To start - and for practice, you should first do this exercise on your bed. The give in the mattress will help you to balance much easier, until you get the hang of the exercise. At that point, you can move to the floor. RELATED : Five Pillars Of Weight Loss Easily

Work the Core

Working your abdominal muscles is not the only way to get that lean, hard look. You should work your entire core, not just your ab muscles, if you'd like to get that leaner, stronger, sexier look around your midsection, much quicker and easier. Everything that you do requires and engages your core. So, you might as well strengthen the entire thing to keep everything balanced and working properly. For example, if you just work your abdominal muscles, your lower back muscles won't be able to keep up. And, will tend to make your posture sloppy by pushing your tummy outward. That's not going to help you to look lean and hard around your midsection.

So, you must work the entire core, which will help you stand taller, and will give your waistline a leaner, trimmer look. Plus, strengthening the core will also tighten up the deep abdominal muscles to give you an even more lean and trim look...even if you haven't lost any belly fat yet. Here's an easy way to work the core...

Dumbbell Twist Over

Stand up straight and hold a light dumbbell (or kettle bell) in front of you. (A hand-over-hand grip is preferred.) While keeping your arms stretched out, with a very slight bend in the elbows, start to lift the dumbbell up towards your right shoulder as you rotate your torso slightly to assist with the movement of your arms. When you finish, your arms will be stretched out above your right shoulder with a slight rotation in your torso. Hold this position for a second and then start to lower the dumbbell back to the starting position, while maintaining just a slight bend in your elbows. Next, start to lift the dumbbell up towards your left shoulder as you rotate your torso slightly, to assist with the movement of your arms.

When you finish, your arms will be stretched out above your left shoulder with a slight rotation in your torso. Hold this position for a second and then start to lower the dumbbell back to the starting position, while maintaining just a slight bend in your elbows. Repeat this process 3 to 6 times, for each side... for a total of 6 to 12 repetitions combined. Remember, don't do this move every day. Instead, skip a day in between so that your core gets to rest for at least 24 hours in between workouts. RELATED : Five Pillars Of Weight Loss Easily

Sleep

The final rule to getting hard abs is to get enough sleep! Most of us don't realize that we are sleep deprived. Getting enough sleep means clocking in at least 7 hours each night. But, that's not all. The quality of your sleep also makes a huge difference. That means, if you're uncomfortable, tend to toss and turn, or wake up often in the middle of the night, then you're not getting enough sleep...even if you're able to clock in 7 to 9 hours. And... if you're getting a few nights of low-quality sleep, in a row, your muscle gains will suffer. Additionally, you may tend to store more fat around your belly, which will only make your goal of getting "hard abs" even more difficult. So... do whatever you can - including having a chat with your physician, if needed - to get the right quantity and quality of sleep each night.

As you can see from the advice and tips shared in this report, getting rock-hard abs is not just about doing endless crunches, leg raises, or any other exercise. Yes, you need a few of those core exercises to sculpt your abdominal muscles. But, that’s just the first step. The rest of it has to do with your consistent and vigilant strengthing, recuperating, and fat-losing efforts. Because without those other elements, it wouldn’t matter how amazingly strong and shaped your abdominal muscles are. No one will ever be able to see them. So, forget what everybody else is doing – or telling you to do… and start putting the tips in this report to use right away. And, soon enough, you’ll be sporting those hard, sexy abs that everybody else will envy you for. For More Workout Articles CLICK HERE

[craigedwardgiven]

Write Myself Empty

Writing Gnats

As I struggled to regain traction on my novel, my head was abuzz with distracting gnat clouds of ideas and issues. Prewriting seemed the accepted and logical solution, so I broke my manuscript into individual scenes in Scrivener as a precursor to outlining the entire plot. This, unfortunately, served only to stir up additional clouds of writing gnats. So my next attempt to silence them was a technique I use at my day job: write myself empty. It is as if I literally pluck the distractions from my mind and stick them to the paper. The effort of articulating an item is an acknowledgment and respect of its importance. Then that gnat is content to remain in storage, quietly awaiting its turn to be at center stage and to find resolution. Let’s seek inspiration from the work tool (which I’ll call the “fly paper”) that I use to snare and subdue distractions.

Fly Paper for Day-Job Gnats

Project Name

About

The “About” section rarely appears for most projects

It can be used to keep milestone or milestone dates top-of-mind

It can be used to capture names, addresses, or numbers of particular consequence

In Progress

A concise statement of one task to be accomplished

All items are dated since a superior may ask when an issue was reported, resolved, delegated, due, etc.

ISSUE: Issues are prefixed with an uppercase label to make them easy to identify because they also tend to be urgent

Items that are awaiting a response or action from another party can be prefixed with “AWAITING:” or colored (I use fuchsia)

Bold text, red lettering, and/or yellow highlighting identify important or urgent items

Next Steps

Like the “In Progress” section, except for items yet to be undertaken

On the Horizon

Like “Next Steps,” but for items much farther into the future

This section won’t exist for most projects

Completed

The reason for keeping a completed section is not so much for a sense of accomplishment, but a quick reference when a superior wants a status update 

All items in the completed section use a gray font to deemphasize them

Issues that have been dealt with receive a prefix of “Resolved,” “Work-Around,” “NAPWAD” (not a problem, working as designed), etc.

This section is also a place to document major decisions made, who made them, and when they were made

Although, the title on this document is “Status Report,” it’s not actually something seen by my superiors. I’m the primary beneficiary and I use this document to juggle multiple projects—some of which can be complex, lengthy, and large in scope. Every workday morning I open this document to set my course, and it stays open to capture the inevitable additions that pop up throughout the day. It helps me silence distractions, focus on the top-tier tasks, and ensure next-tier items don’t fall through the cracks.

Oh, wait! That sounds a lot like writing a novel! The structure of the fly-paper for writing gnats will be different than day-job gnats. But it shares the same act of capturing and the same benefit of silencing. If you’d like to apply my “Status Report” template to a project at home or work, I’ve shared the file below, in Microsoft Word format, for download. For those without MS Word access, I’ve also uploaded and converted it to Google Docs and hopefully that will provide beneficial.

Which Fly Paper for Writing Gnats?

Mind Maps versus Flow Direction

Finding the right technique is not the same as finding the right tool to perform that technique. Instead of assuming the same tool can be applied to the technique, I wanted to carefully consider which “fly paper” would be best at capturing my writing gnats. The first idea that came to mind was the popular and obvious solution of mind mapping. There are plenty of mind mapping tools available, including Scrivener’s sibling Scapple. However, despite its integration advantage, Scapple is only available on Mac and Windows, so it doesn’t work on mobile devices nor is it cloud based. And even though I’ve tried some mind mapping solutions that are cloud based and available as mobile apps, I haven’t been satisfied with the results. Mind mapping is great on a giant whiteboard or even on a big sheet of paper. But most screens can only show a portion of a map legibly. And no matter the device, onscreen mapping doesn’t flow like handwritten mind maps. Instead it stutters and drags since I cannot dedicate my focus to mapping—some attention must be diverted to operating the technology. I’ve persevered when such mind maps were part of a group event, or a presentation, or when I needed to capture or publish the results. So I know that, with enough dedication and practice, mind mapping software could fit your need. If you’re already at that point, be sure to share your software recommendations (in the comments below) for your fellow readers.

For me, however, when it comes to writing gnats, the goal is to eliminate distractions, not accommodate or outperform them. My energy and focus needs to go to actual writing, and that as quickly and easily as possible. But more importantly, mind mapping flows in a direction very different from writing. Writing in English flows from left to right and down the page. In contrast, mind-mapping expands from the center of the page in all kinds of directions. So I need a tool that works with the natural flow of writing. The relationships that were previously captured in the bubbles and lines of a mind map can be transformed into headings, indents, and other rubrics that are compatible with the directional flow of writing. Those methods have already proven both their ability to capture and organize thoughts in my day-job tool and will work equally well on writing gnats. And since my mind is already practiced in those features, I want a tool that not only offers them, but also allows me to invoke them without interrupting my flow (i.e., intuitive and easy controls).

Before listing my test bed, I feel the need to address the tangent of “distraction-free” writing apps. Unfortunately, that term is often code for “dumb” and the creators are trying to sell a lack of features as if it were a benefit. I’ve tried a few of these apps and haven’t found any benefit to them. Perhaps you are the type who is truly distracted by menus and toolbars, but I have found these “distraction-free” apps a waste of money and time. I do, however, have to give Scrivener credit for its offering, because it hides rather than eliminates features. Also, Scrivener gives you control over that “distraction free” experience such as selecting a pleasing backdrop, scaling the font, setting the editor width, etc. But for me “distraction-free” is not about what is on the screen, but rather what is buzzing in my head, and the features that will quell those distractions are:

Rubrics

Size, color, highlighting, bold, italic, underline: to draw the eye and triage importance

Strikethrough: to indicate a consideration was made but rejected

Headings: to organize and navigate the document

Layout

Indents: to show dependencies and relationships

Bulleted lists: the core element of the tool, and when sequence is not relevant

Numbered lists: when sequence and hierarchy are both important

Platform

Desktop: To leverage a full sized keyboard, mouse, and dual monitor setup (Microsoft Windows in my scenario)

Mobile: The ability to work on a project while away from a desk by using a phone or tablet (iPhone and iPad for my scenario)

Cloud: Allows work in a browser and ease of switching platforms because the files are stored in or synchronized through the internet.

Copy & Paste: I should be able to transfer what I’ve captured to a finished document. That's typically via Copy & Paste, and the platform should not mangle the style or destroy proper typographical elements such as:

urved double quotes, single quotes, and apostrophes: “, ”, ‘, ’ versus " and ' 

Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes: -, –, and —

Ellipsis: … versus . . .

The Contenders

Scrivener

How is Scrivener a contender when it’s not even a cloud product? First, it is vigorously targeted at writers, so I want to know if it can stand up to the rigors of my demands. Second, its Dropbox support makes it somewhat cloud friendly. Dropbox sync is nearly automatic on desktops and on mobile the manual sync is so simple it’s hard to consider obtrusive. And, lastly, the iOS Scrivener app qualifies it for the mobile requirement.

Although it delivered on nearly every requirement, I found the interface quirky. Adjusting to its nuances had a slightly steeper learning curve than other products with which I’ve experimented. I also found its support for headings and numbered lists weak and indents can only be used with lists unless you elect to manually wrestle them into place. The most glaring issue was Copy & Paste, and a search of their forums found other Scrivener customers of the same mind. In the screenshots below you can see where I’ve pasted text into Scrivener. In the first example, the lines overlap each other and in the second they pasted as hyperlinks (although without any actual destination).

Google Docs

Google Docs passed with flying colors and offered all the features needed. It even made the sweet spot in the headings department, offering four pre-built levels (the need for levels deeper than four quickly diminishes as the hierarchy grows). The editor is responsive and fairly intuitive, and being browser-based not only qualifies it as cloud-based but multi-platform as well. But its crowning achievement is the price of “free.”

iOS Notes

I didn’t expect the Notes app to be a serious contender. But recent improvements under iOS 11 and iCloud support made it worthy of at least a passing mention and experimentation. Unsurprisingly I found font manipulation and list features minimal, so it’d only serve those with equally undemanding requirements. But, for those with an iPhone always within reach the convenience is hard to deny for short and simple captures.

Office365

Microsoft Word is the dominant platform when it comes to word processors. And this admission comes from a WordPerfect expert who remained loyal to the very end. But the end did come, and in the long years following, Word retained its throne legitimately with a powerful feature set. Its iOS versions are incredibly close to their desktop counterparts, but the browser version had two issues.  The most significant issue is the lack of smart quote support.  Instead of getting curly quotes and apostrophes (like “this” and ‘this’ it gives you "this" and 'this'), which is important if you’re writing dialog or using contractions. Of lesser impact is that Word Online lacks decent tab key support, which customers have decried since 2012. Tables can be used as a work-around for the lack of tab key support. But I thought I’d mention these two shortcoming and Microsoft’s extended attitude towards these issues. And it’s worth noting that Google Docs handles both these features without issue.

Then there is the price. And that’s exacerbated by being bundled in a hard-to-resist office suite. For less than a hundred dollars a household of five not only gets Word, but Excel (spreadsheet), PowerPoint (presentations), Access (database), OneNote (like Evernote on steroids), Publisher (desktop publishing), Outlook (email), and a terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage and synchronization. While you’re certainly getting value for your money, it also cannot be called cheap, especially when it must be paid annually. 

As a power user familiar with all the products in the bundle, with nearly 20 years of experience, and having multiple computers that can leverage the device licenses, it was easy to justify the subscription. But even into my second year of a subscription, I didn’t find myself using it fully due to a mental block. Despite my investment in Office365, I would catch myself in Google Docs to creating articles, idea lists, or project notes.

I couldn’t blame habit and familiarity because it only happened for personal documents—I dive into Word and Excel without hesitation every day at work. I can’t blame accessibility because even multi-factor access is both quick and flows smoothly. Nor can I blame capability because I hadn’t spent enough time using it to know if the features fell short or not. I was puzzled by my irrational reluctance until I realized that the annual subscription was haunting me, and that I was subconsciously treating its cost as a risk. Perhaps that was due to Microsoft’s troubled OneDrive history (I was an early adopter of the now defunct SkyDrive and Window Live Folders). But Google isn’t blameless either when it comes to abandoned customers (e.g., Reader, Picasa, Wave, etc.). So, I’ve begun to be intentional in my usage of Office365 to stamp out my irrational reticence and to surface and solidify any real concerns should they exist. 

Conclusion

Productivity is the goal, so if you’re already proficient and content with a tool then stick with it. However, if you’re without a tool then pick one compatible with your financial assets, your mindset, and your skill set. Google is free, quite powerful, and a great place to start your journey. Scrivener is an affordable solution targeted at authors who want an integrated writing environment and only need a basic text editor. And finally, Office365 is for users who relish a rich feature set instead of being daunted by its power or its price. 

[tarry-beatrice-blog]

Dear Chocolatier Letter

Hi, hello author, thank you for checking this out and suffering through what is surely long-winded rambling about my tastes. 

DNW: D/s, daddy kink, cheating/infidelity, dubcon/noncon, mpreg (and/or pregnancy in detail), coffee shop AUs, high school AUs, underage, unbalanced power dynamics, teacher/student relationships or AU, watersports, A/B/O (unless subverted) and first person POV

LIKES: road trips, time loops/fix-it fics, magic AUs, female friendships, soulmate/soulbond AUs, height difference, threesomes/moresomes, polyamory, found families, requited unrequited love/mutual pining, epistolary exposition, fake dating, woke up married, reincarnation, enemies to friends (to lovers), subversions of regular tropes especially with soulmates, dry humor, bed sharing, casual affection like holding hands, hugging, etc, five things fic, eventual happy endings, and awesome worldbuilding.

SMUT: enthusiastic/explicit consent, praise, biting/marking, breathplay, women on top, pegging, overstimulation, light bondage

Bend It Like Beckham (2002) Jess Bhamra/Jules Paxton

It’s been MONTHS of intense nostalgia for this ship and I missed out on yuletide so here I am requesting it for Chocolate Box. Bend It Like Beckham was honestly a game-changer for me as a film and I identified so much with Jess and her drive to do something she loved in the face of familial disapproval. 

The Ship: I love love love their friendship even with the pitfalls of you don’t understand how my culture effects my life but try your best to support and sometime put your foot in it BUT man, was I disappointed in later years that they left it hanging with a weird love triangle and the great beyond of American College. I’d like to see how their relationship develops after the movie, how Jules deals with Jess being better at the thing that ties them together and possibly blinds her to wow-i have-not-so-straight feelings. OR what if Jess is the one who realizes it first and panics because this is exactly what she had been swearing up and down wouldn’t happen to her less than support relatives (a new situation does not lead to new feelings, so much as understanding herself away from what is familiar) Really, I just want to see them in a happy relationship together because I was denied by the movie.

Some prompts: 

Jess gets hit on a distressingly high amount of times in front of Jules. Good thing she’s mostly oblivious to it. 

Future!fic retiring from the England Women’s National Team together or separate and the impact it has on the world around them. Jess imparting some words of wisdom to her younger teammates 

Codependency in college special edition: Everyone thinks they’re dating (and their team is their number one fans or they have a BOATLOAD of evidence to justify their misconception)

Just a good old-fashioned introspective OHMYGOD i have feelings for her now what do I do?? Bonus points for a sweet slowburn realization.

How does their: First Kiss? Coming out to family? WEDDING?? Go. In what situation would Jess defend Jules instead of vice versa? getting drafted for different teams and having a long distance relationship/reunion/eye opening? Being rivals instead of friends? getting called up to their National Team for the first time? A different first meeting?

The Good Place Tahani Al-Jamil/Eleanor Shellstrop

I haven’t regularly watched a TV show since the 90s so TGP was a complete surprise but here I am, delighted at the innovative take on dead people in the afterlife. The humor is really my favorite thing and Eleanor’s not quite quest to be better than she was when she was living. 

The Ship: The sexy skyscraper and the short troublemaker. There’s so many complementary aspects to Tahani and Eleanor and I just need everyone to get on board the Bi-train for the good of the people. I like that they’re both self-serving at their core, except Eleanor does it to prove she doesn’t care about anybody else, and Tahani does it because she cares immensely about what everybody else thinks. The height difference is also a fun dynamic. 

Some prompts: 

Get as wacky and wild as you want with it if you want to do an AU, just keep the dynamic of animosity to friendship to something more between them. Superheroes with unconventional powers? Star Trek-esque AU? Spy vs Spy?

A game show type-esque match making with surprising results for Tahani

Eleanor and the five times she denied caring about Tahani’s feelings

Tahani’s over the top love confession and Eleanor’s aversion to feelings come to a head

Eleanor being Tahani’s booty-call and being unable/oblivious on how to turn that into a relationship

Sense8 Felix Berner/Wolfgang Bogdanow

This show was just the right kind of weird and I’m sad they didn’t manage to continue it because the concept was really cool. Now I just have a bunch of unanswered questions to hang onto like what happened with Wolfgang after the Whispers capture.

The Ship: Pardon my language, but I fucking adore these two. Their loyalty to each other is my absolute jam. They would literally die for one another and it chokes me up because it’s completely the antithesis of the view the world has of them, which is like....vaguely criminals and amounting to nothing beyond the shady world they grew up in. I also have a TON of feelings about Wolfgang and Felix being east berliners, growing up in the aftermath of the unification and being completely aware that not everything was as rosy as Germany wanted to portray to the world. Also, their Conan the Barbarian thing? Precious. 

NOTE: I totally ship Kala/Wolfgang as well so you don’t have to write her off by any means. I just focused of felix/wolfgang for this. 

Some prompts:

PLEASE give me Wolfgang coming clean to Felix about the sensates and how crazy his world has become on top of the general mayhem that comes from being a Bogdanow. CANON tells us Wolfgang doesn’t lie so why does it take him so damn long to tell Felix the truth? 

The weird experiments Felix comes up with to see Wolfgang not be Wolfgang or times when Felix notices someone else “in” Wolfgang and how he takes that.

Pre-sensate, Wolfgang always felt Felix like a second limb. Felix called it his “wolfy-sense”

Anything pre-sensate dealing with the misadventures of Felix and Wolfgang, growing up together, falling into sleeping together, and in love?

Wolfgang’s first lie to his uncle is that Felix is just his sidekick and not much more. Steiner knows better than to take his word for it. 

AU of a different meet up: Wolfgang is reluctantly forced into being a king of Berlin, Bohn sends one Felix Brenner as a liason for a favor owed (or Felix finds his own way to meet this King of Berlin)

Felix finally meeting the other sensates especially Kala: the two most important people in Wolfgang’s life in the same room.

Westworld Maeve Millay/Hector Escaton/Teddy Flood

Westworld tickled my fancy for all things sci-fi and robots learning what is to be human and humans being gods with terrible consequences. Maeve tickled my fancy as a WoC on the show and naturally became my favorite because I’m predictable.  I’m a complete sucker for the philosophy behind what the TV show is setting up, what it means to be human, what is the next step, how we in creating the hosts have possibly made our own destruction and somehow advanced ourselves. The Maze pointing to the need to suffer to be human or suffering because of your humanity is gr9.

The Ship: I think Maeve is the new force of good (in her quest to find her daughter and possibly exploring the other worlds/the outside world) to foil Dolores’ possible descent into a “rogue” element in Westworld. And Hector and Teddy will be in crosshairs of that tug of war.  Hector, is the character who Maeve chooses to bring with her as an asset or something more, I think the choice behind the action is important as her whole arc is discovering what is fake and what is true behind who she is. Teddy, is part of the hero’s storyline, he’s a do-gooder but we get so many throaways on his proficiency to kill and his death is well, popular. Maeve and Teddy circle each other a lot in Westworld and I wonder what side he’ll choose, Dolores in the Host Rebellion or will he choose a different ally in Maeve? 

Some prompts:

Did their repurposed lives every cross? How does that shade into their interactions now? How does Teddy view Hector and vice versa?

Maeve has to sway Teddy and Hector to her side after they get reprogrammed again, trying to spark some sort of recognition of what they already had

Gunslinging 101 for Maeve by Teddy and Hector, or how they become an Outlaw Trio in the midst of a Host rebellion 

The Defenders Claire Temple/Colleen Wing

This is pure self-indulgence because they have minimal interaction in the show but I absolutely loved how they played off each other. #colleendeservesbetter and Claire is totally it. 

The Ship: I like how they’re always sidelined and yet aren’t defined by that, like they know perfectly well how useful they are and aren’t afraid to get creative. As a team-up, it’s the whole healer/fighter thing that they’ve tried like multiple times with Claire (no offense to Luke and Daredevil) and that bit where they reassure each other about being the stable rocks of the Defenders??? That was the moment I really thought these two could work. 

Some prompts:

Gimme all the fluff and comfort and trying to be normal in a world where superheroes show up at your door to pull you into stupid adventures every week. Bonus points for including other supporting cast members such as Foggy, Trish, and Misty

Five times The Defenders cockblocked Colleen and Claire with their unnecessary drama

A kidnapping attempt by the clueless idiot of the week underestimating both of them. 

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) Illya Kurakin/Gaby Teller/Napoleon Solo

I’m still waiting for the sequel that will never happen for this movie. It was a great spy movie and I loved all the details from the villainess to undercover fiances to daring escapes and drinking on rooftops.

The Ship:My perfectly tailored spy ot3. i absolutely came out of the movie saying they needed to simmer in some UST before finding inappropriate situations to tease each other. Illya actually getting to choose for himself instead of holding on to this ideal KGB agent. Gaby being fiercely protective of both men and wanting them both without a doubt. Napoleon having something steady and real for once in his life without strings attached

Some Prompts: 

Casefics that are frustrating exercises in why won’t you just bang each other already from all parties involved, bonus if they have to keep a cover from getting compromised

Using their talents to show affection in non-ordinary ways and someone being oblivious, while the other is slowly catching on to the game

Just a good old casefic because at least one of them has to have a competency kink

A different meeting: they’re all crooked as they come and have no problems with it

Where they go in their down time between assignments and how they manage their relationship (or hiding it) 

Gaby’s not the damsel in distress, Napoleon is. 

DC Cinematic Universe Diana Prince/Lois Lane

Two ladies who know what it is to lose a hero who is consequently the man they love. Also, Diana’s bisexuality is into the whole I’ll eat your balls for breakfast thing because hello, her mother raised her on an island full of Amazons.

The Ship:Height difference! Ladies who can handle themselves in diametrically different ways and yet still know the importance of being vulnerable and affectionate and the power of love. I do like the dynamic of Lois being this extraordinary human to all the supes because she never gives up and is bravely stubborn about her goals and morals and not afraid to call anyone out on their bullshit.

Note: I ship the entirety of the DC Trio together and with Lois so you can also play with that if it strikes your fancy. 

Some prompts:

Lois interviews Diana in the months after Superman’s death. Diana tries her best to console her

Lois learns some sort of self-defense from Diana and gets to surprise the Amazon as well.

“So if you’re a god, could you be prayed to or is it like Clark’s super-hearing?” or Lois’ never-ending curiousity on how the whole Themyscira thing works

Somewhere along the way, Lois is the one Diana comes home to.

[theauthorfiles-blog]

Beth Rhodes - Author Interview

I'm so very excited to have the lovely Beth Rhodes here with us as my first official author interview!  (In the interest of full disclosure, she is one of my nearest and dearest friends in the writing world and since she's been along the ride with me through so many firsts in this industry, it didn't seem right to kick off my pet project without her being my first interview.)

She is the author of eight currently published books, including one of my favorite series…The Hawk Elite series. Please join me as we get to know a little more about this fun author!

TAF: Let’s break the ice shall we? I happen to know that you are also a fan of The Goonies. So…if you were stuck trying to outrun a criminal family while seeking out pirate treasure in a last ditch attempt to save your hometown, and you had three people to help you, who would they be?

BR: I love Goonies! <3 Only three, huh? Okay, so I have this friend I just met when I moved to Georgia. And I would have to take her, because we work really well together…and she keeps me on this straight and narrow, reminding me of what’s at my core. Not only that, we always have a good time together. My husband—as unimaginative as that is!!—because he would fix anything for us or make things or be oh-so- clever like Data. [And as handsome as Josh Brolin!! With big muscles yet totally willing to ride a little bike] Finally, [excuse the brown-nosing] I would take you!! I need another creative mind on board. It would have to be an author who can plot her way out of a good old-fashioned Fae World on the brink of destruction…don’t you think? We have known each other over ten years! There. A few of my closest friends. There are so many to choose from: sisters, childhood friends, college friends, ministry friends,… oh shoot. I just realized these can be ANYONE. In that case: Jason Mamoa, I.mom.so.hard (for levity), and Indiana Jones (duh).

TAF: Brown-nose away....and Jason Mamoa? Yes please! I think that man could be a combination of each of the Goonies. Okay now that we know how you intend to make it through, capture the pirate’s gold, and save the homes of all your friends and family....tell us a little more about you for my readers that haven’t yet had the privileged to curl up in bed with you – I totally meant your books (head out of the gutter)!

BR: Speaking of my bed, though. I just bought this new mattress (Tuft and Needle, a memory foam-type) because the one I’ve been sleeping on was 11 years old, and OMG—no support!! The new mattress is absolutely amazing. Ha!

Okay, me. I’m a woman who is always looking for a better way to live her life. I’ve got a man, writing, family, ministry and church, and I work to balance all of it, a lot of times, failing miserably. And then, inside each of those elements, I question myself, doubt myself, read something to improve myself…and maybe, I think so…get a little better as the years pass. That’s me. In a nutshell.

TAF: First of all, you mattress sounds amazing. Second of all, your aren't failing miserably. I think we all have those moments where we feel like juggling is not our forte. Name one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you.

BR: I’m Catholic. I know. I haven’t decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But my stories aren’t tempered or toned down too much. My mom reads my books, and she reminds me—gently—that what happens in the bedroom is sacred. And I agree, but I also think it’s too important to leave out! My characters aren’t always Catholic…and maybe that will change in the future. I don’t know. There are elements of my stories where my Faith comes out… in some books more than others.

TAF: I admire you for your faith. It's one of many things I think I love about you. I also love that while your characters may have faith as well, it isn't the foundation of the story per se. It enhances the characters. Gives them depth. So now that we've brought up your characters, out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite?

BR: So, referring back to the previous question, if you read Strike Force…that one, not so much of the faith elements. That book has lots of stuff not meant for the feint of heart. It’s gritty, dark[ish, nothing I write is ever truly dark], and bold. It’s my favorite book because I waited so long to write it. That’s external, though. And when it comes down to it, I just loved Malcolm and Marie. They really stole the page and my heart as they came alive and fell in love. And that, Kinsey, is the best kind of favorite book, don’t you think? <3

TAF: I agree. The ones where your characters really just come to life for you...that make you fall in love all over again with what you write are definitely favorite worthy. Time for some random questions...If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you spend the money on?

BR: Easy. I’d buy a car. Yesterday my van broke down—again. Today I had to rent a vehicle. It’s a big, fat truck—six seats, so not big enough for my family, but it’s soooo much fun to drive! Unfortunately, my husband told me not to get used to it. I don’t know, but I think it sounded more like a threat than a warning. Haha. :D

TAF: Well...I guess I can see where the hubby is coming from, but a truck....my dream come true! Random question number two...which household chore do you abhor and why?

BR: Dusting. It’s sooo tedious! I can’t stand it. Second would be folding laundry, for the same reason. Tedious as hell. I can get through laundry though, by playing a movie or a couple shows.

TAF: I hate dusting...and dishes. But I agree, laundry is easily accomplished with television. If I were to buy you a book for your birthday or just because I am such total awesomeness, what genre would I need to scour?

BR: I’m sooo predictable. Romantic Suspense. Period. It needs to have the romance, the external conflict, danger. My daughter scoffs and is often disappointed. But I know what I like. Remember Catherine Boyd [Meg Ryan] in I.Q. when she’s having breakfast with James? And she sits and thinks about what she wants to eat…and then ends up ordering the same thing she always does. That’s me. I try!! Really I do. And I have more how-to type books in my library now in my life than I every have before, but when I get really serious about reading for entertainment, I go to my favorite.

TAF: When reading for your entertainment, why shouldn't you reach for your favorite genre? Not that you can't be entertained by another, but usually we want what we know we love. Are you a morning person or night owl?

BR: Night Owl, who does her best work in the morning. I’ve yet to start calling myself a morning person, though. It’s just…my brain does seem to work better at that time.

TAF: I like to think I'm a Night Owl, but I get up way too early on my days off to be anything but a morning person. I envy Night Owls. Is there anything else you'd like to share to your followers and readers?

BR: The stuff that keeps you reading is what keeps me writing. Hope. Love. Second Chances. Sometimes, we get down and need a pick-me- up. That’s okay. Just don’t lose hope. Find it! It’s in the books and in the people around us.

TAF: I love that, Beth! So tell us...where can your fans find you?

BR: I show my age, answering this question. Eeek! Mostly on Facebook, sometimes on Twitter. ALWAYS in an email. Please! Shoot me an email. Haha. Or, my newsletter, too.

TAF: This has been such a fun interview and I can’t believe our time has drawn to a close. Before we say goodbye, would you tell us a bit about your latest release (and share an excerpt for those who aren’t yet familiar with your work)

BR: This book is one of my best…feels weird to say that, feels braggy, yet I think we just need to admit, that in a subjective industry like publishing, it’s okay to like our own books. :D Released in November, Strike Force is book four of the Hawk Elite Security Series. But it’s a standalone! Like I said earlier, this book is gritty compared to my others. My hero has a relationship with the word f*ck and my heroine is a born thief—sort of. Neither of them want to admit they might be perfect for each other but eventually…through circumstances and work, they come to an impasse. They are forced to share and get to know one another and that little spark becomes a flame.

I’ll share a little excerpt and then you should go! Read it! It’s #KindleUnlimited or only $3.99, so still cheaper than that paperback at the checkout line. [Don’t be surprised. They do have a Happily-Ever- After, and this isn’t even it! But they’re getting there…]

Strike Force Excerpt

Chapter Twenty

Through the two-way mirror, Marie looked like crap.

Stringy hair that probably hadn’t been washed in two days.

Dark circles under glazed eyes.

A flush to her cheeks, which put Malcolm on edge. “What did you do to her?”

The officer standing next to him sent him a slow sidelong glance of wariness. “Nothing. She’s been processed and has been sitting in there for the past hour.” He cleared his throat and lifted his brow. “We don’t mistreat the criminals—”

“There’s something wrong with her,” Malcolm interrupted, turning to Hawk. “Get her out of there, right now. She has a bullet wound in her arm and needs a doctor.”

Hawk looked to the officer. “Has she been checked by a doctor?”

Officer James frowned. “No,” he answered slowly. “She refused anything—food, a lawyer, a phone call. She’s been sitting there.” He tilted his head to look more closely at her. “I guess she does look a little worse for wear.”

“A little!” Malcolm’s head about exploded, but Hawk waved him down, and Malcolm turned back to the mirror to watch.

“We had nothing to do but wait after the bureau called. Red tape. Paperwork. And an investigator who’s pretty pissed that his case got blown up.”

“May we see her?” Hawk said.

James hesitated.

“Please,” Hawk added.

Malcolm scowled. They could arrest him. He didn’t give a flying fuck right now.

James sighed and looked at his watch.

Fuck this. She wasn’t a flight risk in her condition—she could hardly sit up straight. Malcolm left the dark room, walked the three long strides to the interrogation room, and yanked the door open.

Marie jumped in the seat, but the movement seemed uncoordinated. Too slow for his quick-witted lady who had quick reflexes. Her brow furrowed. “Mal?”

The door shut behind him when he moved toward her, a slight flutter of panic originating at the point under his heart.

She stood, forgetting she was cuffed to the table, and jerked back into her seat. “Whoops.” She laughed nervously, grimacing in pain.

He pounded on the mirror. “Get these restraints off her and get me a doctor—no. Get John in here, Hawk.”

When he turned back, her head was on the table, as if she was taking a nap. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow.

The door opened, and a uniformed man released her from the restraints and then left the room.

Malcolm finally touched her with his hand on her forehead. “Jesus,” he whispered. She turned her face to his palm and cupped her cheek. She was burning up. “Malcolm?” she murmured, blinking. “They got me, but it’s okay. I’d already decided I couldn’t leave you with loose ends. I was going to talk to Hawk and call the cops. Then they came. Did they find you? I cooperated. Did everything they said.

“I gave up the armband, Malcolm, so they wouldn’t find you. Hawk Elite is clear of any wrongdoing. I know it. You know it…”

“Shh,” he whispered, lifting her up off the chair. “I’m proud of you, babe.”  

[jennypark-phases]

Week 5 - Future Worlds Contextual Research

Millennials - the anxious generation

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=millennial+generation+anxiety&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiryLul0I3WAhVHObwKHRKoC8IQ1QIIaygB&biw=1311&bih=739

Millennials are considered an anxious generation, and people are generally all too ready to give reasons why.

Simple explanations tend to revolve around the modern day obsession with technology. A lack of sleep is caused by watching one too many episodes of the latest binge worthy Netflix series; stress comes from an obsession with social media, which either paints the picture that everyone is out having fun but us, or has us checking how many likes our latest selfie has in the same anxious way we check how many pounds we have in the bank.

There’s no doubt both these things have caused a disenchantment with politics, which in the current climate of elections is a fair cause for anxiety. However, just like the impact of technology, this is not an issue exclusive to Millennials, and doesn’t tell the full story of Millennial anxiety.

Instead, the answer lies in the fact that anxiety comes from uncertainty, and Millennials, as an age group and a generation, have plenty to be uncertain about.

Millennials spend longer in education, in differing jobs and in gap years, than any generation before them. They also marry later. As a result they spend longer at a stage in life where employment isn’t a guarantee, lifestyles aren’t built around rigid routine, and they can’t look ahead to the future with complete certainty.

There are milestones for the typical life which we are all aware of. Getting GCSEs and A-Levels, passing the driving test, moving away from home, entering full time employment, owning a house, etc. But there’s no doubt that attitude and access towards the things that society considers to ‘settle’ us, is changing.

In reality, the abundance of opportunities available today means that doing something different to what was once the norm is nothing millennials deserve to be made feel anxious about.

https://www.unilad.co.uk/featured/millennials-are-an-anxious-generation-and-this-is-why/

https://generationanxiety.com

Generation Y is the most anxious generation in history. With so many of us feeling constantly stressed, we believe that anxiety isn’t just a medical problem to be treated like a bacterial infection, but as a sign that something is deeply wrong with our society.

Young people today have a lot to be anxious about: we face high unemployment, insecure housing, a looming climate crisis, mounting debts, growing inequality and increasingly less support from government.

Part news, part analysis and part group counselling session to help our generation get out of bed in the morning. Generation Anxiety explores the social conditions that are making us stressed, and asks how can we work together to solve them.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2017/feb/25/anxiety-is-a-way-of-life-for-gen-y-in-an-insecure-world-is-it-any-surprise

Increasing job insecurity, housing stress, economic and income instability, and a future of climate change, environmental destruction and conflict, have turned stress – and in turn anxiety – into a way of life.

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=the+anxious+generation&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiryLul0I3WAhVHObwKHRKoC8IQ1QIIbCgC&biw=1311&bih=739

Anxiety disorders are not just medical problems. They are inherently social illnesses

Just as significant stressful events are shown to cause anxiety disorders, research suggests that this long-term stress has a similar impact. For example, research from the University of Michigan found in 2009 that stress from job insecurity is worse for your mental health than unemployment. Similar data has been found regarding housing, with research from the Swinburne-Monash Research Centre finding a strong correlation between different forms of housing insecurity and mental health problems such as anxiety. Many researchers also believe that when it comes to climate change we are undergoing “a collective anxiety that is insidious, even if we haven’t managed to connect all the dots”.

These material conditions are met with what Richard Eckersley calls a “western cultural crisis” – a breakdown of communal structures that are important for our mental wellbeing. Whether it is the commercialisation of public space or increasing working hours that reduce time for social activity, we live in a society in which we are all increasingly socially isolated and lonely, destroying one of the key mechanisms available to protect against mental anguish.

Anxiety disorders are not just medical problems. They are inherently social illnesses, ones that are becoming more of an issue as economic insecurity increases and social connections are destroyed.

“Anxiety-as-disease is treated much like an infection, as if the symptoms were a bacterium that should be eradicated.” NGO campaigns are very similar, with awareness programs, which dominate the sector, working primarily in an after-the-fact approach.

But if we really want to solve our anxiety epidemic we have to think of solutions that look at the causes of the problem, and not just the symptoms. Otherwise we face a whole generation or more plagued by this illness.

Music Festival Culture

http://liveforlivemusic.com/features/inside-the-rapidly-rising-bubble-bursting-culture-of-music-festivals/

While each festival had its own unique aesthetic, at the core, they were all the same. They provided a rare opportunity to separate from society and submerge in another world, where you could explore the simplest pleasures in life without judgment or consequence.

A decade ago, there were no smart phones or selfie sticks in the air — just hands and gravity-friendly fans seeking a better view. Social media hadn’t been invented yet. Silent disco was the only way you could describe the 3 a.m., music-less dance party at your neighbor’s campsite.

Advancements in mobile technology and the rise of social media have also played a massive role in filling out these events . Following artists and the entire music scene has never been easier, thanks to blogs (like this one) and social media platforms.

Listening to music and expanding one’s palate has become an instantaneous exercise with a few swipes and thumb punches on a smart phone standing in the way. As the artist impressions stack up, so does our desire to see them beyond the screen.

This is basically the mass commercialization of an underground culture that was already alive and well,” Browning said. “There’s no doubt (the EDM) scene has been responsible for a ton of the growth, because you’re talking about a captive audience that has a relatively large disposable amount of income and they like to come together and do drugs and that was apparent to (many successful promoters out there).”

https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/around-the-world-in-60-music-festivals/

https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/four-questions-changing-nature-music-and-festivals

The technology that amplifies sound has allowed for better experiences for huge outdoor venues. You can steadily see festival sizes growing. In terms of technology, I also suspect that there are links between the ways people relate through social media, which creates bonds between fans as they document their festival experiences.

Q: How has technology impacted and influenced musicians?

A:  We're still finding out what technology is doing to the industry. In the past five years, the number of times you visit a band's Wikipedia page can tell if a band is going to break in the next year or so. For instance, about eight months before The Weeknd began to play across radio stations throughout the country, there was a huge spike of views on their Wikipedia page. And there are now firms that create analytics of data of the number of YouTube clips that are played.

Another way record labels or representatives of an artist are able to tell if an artist is going to break is through the use of Shazam (an app that identifies the media playing around you). Shazam is able to show the most "Shazamed" song in your particular area. For instance, in Tucson right now, "Guys My Age" by Hey Violet has been Shazamed more than any other song in Tucson. With this data, a record label or artist representative is able to promote the artist or their music by showing this data in the hopes of getting it released nationally.

This is very different from pre-social media and the pre-internet era, because technology creates data that the industry can use which reflects actual taste and not instinct. In the past, record executives would instinctively know this song or artist was going to be a hit. But that led to repetitive-sounding music that often was the same thing time and time again. Now we have songs and artists that sound really distinct, and that diversity is in part because it's possible for the data and technology to draw attention to people's taste.

https://thebubble.com.mt

“I am impressed by the strong focus on sustainability of The Bubble Festival; the event is a very positive occurrence which allows people to celebrate sustainable living.”

https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/07/28/festivals-more-popular/

https://www.umbel.com/blog/entertainment/6-factors-driving-massive-growth-of-music-festivals/

Technology’s impact on music festivals

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-wilson/the-future-of-music-festi_b_6806904.html

t’s an amazing moment and a symbol of the new elements that technology is constantly bringing to the festival experience. Top EDM DJ Hardwell shares his thoughts on it’s role: “Technology has grown to play one of the most important roles in the festival experience. From lighting to visuals to live streams, it has added an entirely new dimension to live performances.”

TommorrowWorld is a completely cashless festival, these same wristbands lighting up the dance floor are being used for all transactions and can even sync with those around you and connect you on Facebook.

“Millennials are an experience generation, they want you to take them somewhere totally unique.” - Joe Silberzweig, SFX Entertainment

TomorrowWorld came from the massively successful TomorrowLand festival in Belgium. SFX is constantly working to extend the festival experience to those that can’t physically be there, or to those who were and want to remember it. They are famous for their festival videos, typically racking up over 100 million views on YouTube.

The result is a virtual festival experience that allows you to explore the entire festival, from the campgrounds to heart of the dancefloor. Watch stunning sunsets or see what the world looks like from the perspective of a headlining DJ. In the YouVisit office in New York, Morreale and his colleague Endri Tolka, YouVisit’s COO/CFO, shared how they wanted to take users places where no one gets to go, giving people the chance to experience something they may have never have had the chance to go to.

“It’s not just recreating the experience, it’s taking them places where no one gets to go.” - P.J. Morreale, YouVisit

When the virtual tour was released on the web, fans from all 50 states and over 100 countries engaged with it: Fans reliving the festival, others around the world seeing it for the first time. Viewable within a browser, even optimized for smartphones, the average engagement with the tour was ten minutes, which is huge. It helped build excitement for the release of 2015 tickets, of which 360,000 were sold in under an hour.

This type of digital engagement is essential as festival brands seek to remain connected with their audience throughout the entire year.

The Natural Extension

Technology is playing a huge role in creating original experiences for audiences, from Hologram performances from TuPac to 3D projections that place the performer in some kind of action movie. Millennials want to experience something unique that they can be a part of and share with the world.

https://www.umbel.com/blog/entertainment/6-factors-driving-massive-growth-of-music-festivals/

http://www.futurity.org/music-festivals-technology-1322452-2/

https://www.eventbrite.com/blog/xlive-2016-event-tech-festival-experience-ds00/

http://mashable.com/2012/04/22/smartphones-concerts/#z.H09H410qqa

http://edm.com/articles/2016/3/28/virtual-reality

Scholarly Article on the future of music festivals

http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/23073/7/eventmanagement_publishedversion.pdf

Projecting onto a custom-shape

http://vsquaredlabs.com/project/

http://id-labs.org/in-our-minds-holographic-installation/

http://projection-mapping.org/3d-360o-projection-mapped-skull-burning-man-2014/