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crow-summoner · 3 years

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Darklina Week Day 6: Monster

Made a Monster

The Darkling promised to raise Alina above all others. Instead, he made her something less than human.

Alina was supposed to be the Darkling’s constant, but when she left him in a hell of his own creation, he reached out for the one thing he could still trust.

1: Antlers

The dress was the final straw. It was made of fine Shu silk, dyed black as everything the General touched seemed to be. The cut emphasized the small of Alina’s waist, its neckline a deep-plunging heart that bore her throat, but that was the problem.

Her throat.

The top progs of the stag’s antlers protruded from her collar bone, still sore and loose under her flesh. David had assured her skin would heal around the bone over time, but she doubted her body would ever fully accept the infestation. The stag had been beautiful. The Darkling’s horns were not. They should have been banished under collar and scarf, not forced to be on display. Even the gold embroidery around the neckline called attention to her shame. Thick, thorny lines twirled around each other like a mass of writhing worms. Like deer antlers eternally locked in a fight.

The Darkling had a sick sense of humor, she had come to learn.

Genya did her best to tailor away Alina’s sleepless night, evening out her tear-botched skin and highlighting the area under her eyes. She darkened Alina’s lashes with beetles and flushed her lips with the scales of a red koi. Alina never considered how many animals died so that she could fit what the masses expected of a hero. She thought the Darkling had made her a chimera when he fused her and the stag, but she had been merging with other creatures since she first set foot in the Little Palace.

What did that say about her, a saint that consumed all life around her?

Genya twisted up Alina’s hair, decorating it with what she called diamond flowers. Alina knew better. They were stars. The Darkling would not settle for merely branding her with his amplifier and his colors. He needed to mark her with his symbols, too.

All of Genya’s efforts were pointless, of course. No one would be looking at Alina’s face and figure. Not when the antlers were in clear view.

Alina stared at them in the mirror. She was used to feeling ugly, not because she saw anything wrong in her reflection, but because someone was always there to remind her of her rough, peasant hands. Her Shu features. Her sickly pallor. She could only hear the comments so many times before she saw it, too. Aleksander had changed that. The Darkling, she meant. Using her powers gave her skin a glow and her hair a sheen, but the way he looked at her as if she were the last sip of water in a desert made her feel like she was more than just the sum of her mediocre parts.

She felt beautiful in his eyes.

Powerful.

Alluring.

It was a lie, of course. His eyes shined for her powers, and nothing more. She mourned what could have been, but not as much as she did for her ability to look in the mirror and like what she saw. She had thought herself ugly before. She had no idea what true ugliness was.

“Are we going into the Fold today?” Alina asked, not because she cared, but because speaking was the only way she could break her staring match with herself.

Genya shook her head. “The General wishes to speak with you in private.”

Alina should have known he would insist on dolling her up for his eyes alone. Powerful men did not share their belongings, and they did not settle for anything less than perfection.

Her patron devil invited himself inside her tent about an hour later. His tongue was heavy with pretty little lies, but she hadn’t the patience to entertain them. She could forgive his secrecy and manipulations. Over time, she could even make peace with all the people he had murdered, though her parents’ loss in the Fold jabbed like a thorn in her heart. But she couldn’t stand the theft. He’d stolen the choice from her. Her heart. Her control over her body. The power she’d been separated from since birth. He took it all and had the audacity to speak as if it were inevitable that she’d forgive him.

He ruined her dreams, so she carved out his. He’ll never have her affections again.

“Fine,” he said, his nose twitching from the strain of holding back his tears. She hoped they were genuine because feelings were the last things she had left to hurt him with. “Make me your villain.”

She hadn’t needed to. He made himself a monster as easily as he made her one.

It wasn’t until the next day, when the Darkling shackled her to the deck of his skiff, that she really understood the depth of his promise. At first, she thought he’d given her a small kindness. She could wear a cloak to cover her shame even if that cloak was a twin to his own, but that didn’t last. It wasn’t enough to mark her with his taste in fashion. He wanted the world to see what he’d done.

He soaked in the crowd’s gasps when they saw the antlers, so proud of his little abomination. Alina was reminded of a poem one of the girls she’d served with had told her. “When is a monster not a monster?” Her answer had been when a person loves them, but Alina knew better. The monster was still a monster even when it was loved. Even when it loved in return. Love just made the resulting pain all the more horrifying.

The skiff pushed forward, dragging Alina into the dark with the rest of the Darkling’s creations.

2: Darkness

Alina was meant to end Aleksander’s suffering. Only she would live long enough to keep him company throughout the ages. They were supposed to be together forever, but they’d only lasted a handful of months. Fate was cruel that way.

Aleksander would have forgiven her trespasses.

Eventually.

Alina was only 22. Of course, she knew nothing of the world. She’d never left the hovel she grew up in until she’d been drafted, and even then, she’d barely left the comfort of a cartography tent. Time would fix that lack of experience, and then Alina would see Aleksander’s genius. Peaceful resolutions meant nothing to those who’d gladly burn their kind. Their peace treaty could only be writ in blood. She’d see. She’d chide herself for believing the Old Woman’s slander. For running away from her destiny and leaving her kind to rot. For denying the hold he still had over her heart. Alexander still wanted that heart even after she let another man put his filthy fingerprints all over it. Her Tracker would turn to dust, and her preoccupation with him would follow suit. She’d seek Aleksander then, and he would absolve her sins.

All she had to do was beg.

It seemed Alina was not so forgiving.

He’d taken her hand – that hand she’d have used to ruin his plans if he hadn’t collared her. The same hand that caressed that pathetic child with a gentle reverence. He would have spared her the fate of her so-called friends. The only friend she needed was him, and all he wanted was her.

She mutilated him for this kindness.

Such ingratitude.

She – the saint, the hero, the innocent ingenue – abandoned him to the gray sand. She knew he was defenseless. After all, she’d personally rendered him impotent, carving a hole in his dominant hand. He needed both to properly focus his power. That, more than anything else, he would not forgive. What good was a Darkling without his shadows?

The volcra descended upon him. He’d shivered the first time he’d seen the creatures his merzost had created. Something neither bat nor human, but some middle ground between. And the teeth. Oh, the teeth. They haunted his dreams for centuries. What he felt then paled in the face of seeing those fangs up close, saliva dripping off yellow bone.

He ducked the monster’s claw, but it’s brother came up from behind, slicing Aleksander’s cheek. He dropped to his knees, flesh burning worse than Alina’s light. The volcra surged forward, it’s mouth wide for the feast.

Not this way. He would not die as prey.

Aleksander drove his fist into the creature’s mouth, punching the back of its throat. Its teeth scraped Aleksander’s arm, shredding his coat sleeve and drawing blood. It didn’t faze him. He’s bled for lesser causes than his own survival.

The volcra gagged, staggering back. It spat Aleksander’s blood out on the sand. Poor thing. All that effort, and it couldn’t even savor the taste. Aleksander could sympathize.

Almost.

Somewhere in the distance, Aleksander’s heartrender cried for help. For a moment, Aleksander resolved to ignore him. No one could escape this hell. The best they could do is take as many of these creatures out with them as they could. But the sun summoner’s betrayal left him feeling strangely sentimental. Ivan had been a useful extra hand, and Aleksander promised to deliver the Grisha to safety. He wouldn’t be made a liar, no matter how strongly Alina insisted otherwise.

Besides, why should he die alone when there was a warm body nearby?

Deep grooves marked where the skiff made its hasty retreat. Aleksander found Ivan there. Scratches marred his face, and the volcra on top of him flapped its wings as it nibbled at his side. Thankfully, it had spared his arms, so Aleksander didn’t have to put Ivan out of his misery. No Grisha should have to suffer without their powers.

A piece of the skiff’s mast had broken off in battle. Aleksander lifted it, forcing it through the volcra’s head. It trashed blindly, giving Aleksander access to Ivan. He slipped an arm under his heartrender’s shoulders, dragging him to his feet. The fool tried to lay a hand on his own chest, but there was no time to slow his own heartbeat. They had to run while they could.

Every direction looked the same, all colorless dunes and darkness, but looks were deceiving. Each oily black patch throbbed with a life of its own if only someone would listen to it. Aleksander closed his eyes and let it speak. They weren’t far from Novokribirsk, but they were not close either. If they ran for it, the volcra would surely catch up. He stood a small chance on his own, but Ivan was like lead. Aleksander should leave him, having paid his debt by freeing him, but something else begged for his attention. Something familiar to him that he couldn’t quite place. He followed that feeling to its origin.

Aleksander dragged Ivan across the sands until they reached it. He couldn’t see it, but he was sure it was there. It called to him from deep in blackness. Aleksander let his heartrender slide to the ground. He groaned in protest, grabbing for Aleksander’s leg as he charged forward, but Aleksander needed to handle this on his own.

Aleksander reached out until his fingers hit stone. It was the briefest of touches, but it was all he needed to recognize the archway. This was once a cathedral before time had worn its walls down and more vines than parishioners called it home. If the King’s men hadn’t hunted him down, these ruins would be nothing but dust, but the Fold had preserved it, a shrine to Aleksander’s last stand. It had been centuries since Aleksander had set foot here, but he could still map every step as easily as he could the Little Palace.

The sound of wings drew him from his memories. He didn’t need to turn around to know he’s been found. The past always came back around, sooner or later. Centuries ago, he transformed the King’s army into something more, and now their descendants had come to make him something less.

Sharp talons raked across Aleksander’s back one after another, spraying his blood against Saint Ilya’s alter. The stone passively accepted the offering. Of course, it did. All religions in Ravka hungered for Grisha blood. How much would it take until Ravka was satisfied? Could it be satisfied? Aleksander supposed he wouldn’t live long enough to find out. He’d worn himself out just trying to stay upright.

The enemy surrounded him on all sides, swooping in and out. They were toying with him, he was sure. They’d already gorged themselves on his men and had all the time in the world to savor the final course. He laughed, clutching his chest. The world swam around him. Sometimes he saw the volcra in the dark. Sometimes it was the King’s men stretching and contorting as day turned to night.

Aleksander collapsed.

A hum grew in his gut the moment he touched the floor. Something deep within the cathedral answered it’s call. He recognized it, this power.

The making at the heart of the world.

It couldn’t be.

Aleksander had used up what little power was left in this holy ground when he created his living darkness. He was sure of it, and yet, the slightest speck remained, waiting for him. Aleksander reached for it. It would take a price from him, but so did everything else. Whatever it wanted was worth salvation.

The whole world was at stake.

“Give me what I asked of you,” he whispered, arm outstretched behind him. He had demanded an army and place only he could control. Instead, he received chaos. He would have his army now. “You owe me!” He shouted, and it was like a dam broke.

Pain crawled up his veins. His kefta felt too tight at his throat, but he hadn’t the strength to tug at it. He was emptying from the inside out, all that he was billowing out his mouth and from beneath his nails. He wanted to pull back before he faded into nothing, but birth was supposed to be exhausting. He had nothing to fear from the dark. In was the one thing that never failed him.

Wisps of shadows sputtered then clung to each other, forging bone from nothing. Arms stretched, claws bursting from incorporeal hands. More and more of these skeletons formed, their skin blurred like ink floating in water. They had no faces, no eyes, no ears. Nothing to distract them from their master’s command.

Save me, he ordered without words. His children heard him anyway. Wings busted from their backs as they took flight. The volcra swung at them, tearing Aleksander’s creatures. Their middles burst apart like loose graphite, but they came back together, safe and whole.

One of the creatures reared its head back, its face splitting to form a gapping hole. Rows upon rows of tiny fangs lined its throat, shredding the volcra as it forced its brother in merzost down its gullet.

Aleksander was not one for tears, but he wept openly. So beautiful. So devoted. Finally, he had the army he deserved. His children born of nothingness. His nichevo'ya.

The nichevo'ya make short work of the volcra. The ones they hadn’t devoured fled. His creatures made to follow, but Aleksander stopped them with a whistle. A child’s place was by their father’s side.

The nichevo'ya flocked to him, nuzzling into his side or licking at his wounds. The blood, he noted, was no longer red, but a gelatinous black. It would fade back to red in a few days, just like last time. For now, the goo had stopped his wounds, and that’s all that mattered.

Aleksander tried to sit up, but he was too weak. With a single thought, the creatures faded into the darkness, leaving only one. Aleksander’s limbs still felt unnaturally heavy, but at least he had the strength to throw an arm around his nichevo’s neck. “Carry me,” he commanded, and it obliged him without argument. If only all armies were so wise.

Ivan moaned in the distance. It wouldn’t do to leave him, not when Aleksander had a whole new arsenal at his disposal. He wished another nichevo into existence. The exertion made his head spin. No more until the left the Fold, he promised himself. Not until he got some rest. Some food. Full restitution.

“Him, too.” He told his creature. It roared, flying to the heartrender’s side. Ivan’s eyes widened as it landed. He struck weakly at its chest, but the nichevo scooped him up with ease.

“Enough,” Aleksander said, his tone leaving no room for arguments. To Ivan’s credit, he immediately went still. Not as obedient as Aleksander’s brood, but loyal all the same. “Stay that way if you want to live.”

Ivan shook the entire flight to Novokribirsk, never looking away from the creature that held him, but did as he was bid.

At the mouth of the fold, Aleksander had his nichevo set him down. His legs felt numb, and he stumbled as he breached the daylight. He longed to be carried again, but he didn’t know if his creations could survive outside their birthplace. The volcra couldn’t.

His knees caved before he got more than a few steps. The sand tasted dull in his mouth. It was tempting to lay there forever, but he forced himself to rise. He had things to do before he could visit his sun summoner. He’d decided to forgive her the way the flames forgave those dumb enough to touch it. The way Ravka forgave its saints. The way she forgave him.

He had all the time in the world to figure her penance.

His two creatures stood in the borderlands, awaiting his orders. With a glance over his shoulder, Alexander bade them to follow. They each stepped into the light of day. No smoke. No screeching in agony. They were good children. His soul made carnate.

His beautiful monsters.

#shadow and bone #darklinadaily #darklinaweek2021 #alina starkov #the darkling #general kirigan #darklina

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peaamlipoetrydoctor · 2 years

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Today's prompt - write about something BIG

Unable to resist the lure of writing something glib today - an attempt to lighten the mood after yesterday's lament perhaps?

My poem for Day 11 is called

"It's All Relative"

The Nile’s very long,

(though the Amazon’s longer),*

Bush Elephants strong,

(but Dung Beetles stronger)**.

The Galaxy’s edges

are far, far away

and getting much further

with each passing day***

Pollution and oceans

and temperatures rising –

but these don’t compare to

the distance comprising

the space from the stairs

down the hall to the door

when guests are expected

and I’ve not done my chores…

*According to a scientific expedition of 2007 which ‘found’ another 176 miles, a recalculation which places it as 65 miles longer than the famous Egyptian waterway. [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/amazon-longer-than-nile-river ]

**When looking at strength relative to bodyweight, these are the pound for pound strongest animal in the world. A male dung beetle is able to lift objects a whopping 1,1,00 times its own weight – the equivalent of a human carrying 80 tons (or six double-decker buses loaded with people!). [According to this article, anyway… https://safarisafricana.com/strongest-animals-in-the-world/]

***[https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/universe-speed-of-light/ ]

Also - a note on the image... which, I'm reliably informed by the more knowledgeable Space Geek in the family (I'm the "relatively uninformed but endlessly impressed by universe stuff" one) is another "iconic" space image, along with Earthrise and Pale Blue Dot.

This one is a collaged photograph of our neighbour galaxy M31:

Assembled from a total of 7,398 exposures taken over 411 individual pointings of the telescope, this image of our nearest major galactic neighbor, M31, is the largest Hubble mosaic to date. The 1.5 billion pixels in the mosaic reveal over 100 million stars and thousands of star clusters embedded in a section of the pancake-shaped disk of M31, also known as the Andromeda galaxy. Though the galaxy is over 2 million light-years away, Hubble is powerful enough to resolve individual stars in this 61,000-light-year-long stretch of the disk. It’s like photographing a beach and resolving individual grains of sand.

Photo credits: NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton, B.F. Williams and L.C. Johnson (University of Washington), the PHAT team and R. Gendler

#napowrimo #poetry #poetic

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mcnuggyy · 4 years

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so I want to read/watch/listen to more Mexican/Latine media to force myself to get over some parts of white supremacy I'm finding difficult to let go of (not to be That™ white "ally" but I *am* white) and I don't really trust Google to give me anything deeper than like. Coco or something. And you seem like an experienced person I *can* trust here so: movie/show/music/etc recs by Mexican and/or otherwise Latine creators for someone who likes things like TAZ & gravity falls & superheroes?

Yeah I have quite a few issues w Coco that I won’t go into now (please do not ask me about it because i am a lil tired today, so that’s a convo for later ;w;) but this is some stuff I like!!

1) The Book of Life (2014) (animated movie) I know i talked a bit about it already today, but it’s fun and cool and I still like it, and todays convo’s got me thinking about it again 🥺

2) El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (cartoon series) it only got one season and it’s still something i think about, it was one of the few shows where i got to see myself as a kid and it’s still really fun and cool, love the char designs!

3) Slow Lightning by Eduardo C. Corral’s (poetry) UGH, so good, there’s so many good gems in his book, he explores themes of immigration, racism, and queerness as a Mex-Am, very very good

4) We The Animals by Justin Torres (novel) UGH, god this book HAUNTS me, it’s so fucking good, like i don’t even want to say anything else like JUST READ IT, UGHHHHAAAA, (author is mixed Puerto Rican/White)

5) Selena (1997) EVERY MEX-AM I KNOW HAS WATCHED THIS FILM AT LEATS 5 TIMES, IT IS A RIGHT OF PASSAGE, YOU MUST WATCH THIS FILM. It’s a biographical drama of the life of Selena Quintanilla, the QUEEN of Tejano music, it’s a CLASSIC

6) Victor and Valentino (animated series) is fun!! I’ve liked some of the episodes i’ve seen so far!! Not to mention they make a lot of REALLY good and funny references, like they had characters based off Juan Gabriel and Walter Mercado, so YEAH, like it’s PEAK

7) (music) Listen to Luis Miguel, Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernandez, Selena Quintanilla, and Mana coward (/j but also i think these are good ones to listen to, but that just may be my nostalgia talking but i can rec some more modern musicians too if you’re interested!)

8) BLUE BEETLE COMICS!!!!!! AAA!!!! I love Jaime Reyes SO MUCH!!! He is one of the few Mex-Am superhero's out there and also he’s just kickass, I haven’t been able to read many and I lost the copy i had :,( but I still really liked it and I hope I can find it again and maybe buy some more comics w him

9) Watch Las Leyendas (the series) on Netflix, it’s so fucking underrated UGH.

This is getting a little long and these are just a FEW options!! I haven’t even mentioned El Chavo Del Ocho, or El Chapulín Colorado, or Mucha Lucha, or any novellas, or my favorite albums (Romances by Luis Miguel, the Selena Movie Soundtrack, etc.), but YEAH, I think this is a good place to start fjhrjfhjfrm

*Most of these are very specific to my childhood, except for the books which I read in college and were recs from my cool queer Mexican professor (Rocio Carlos <-- check out their poems here!!) yeehaw!!!! ;w;

#finally something i can talk about!#MEDIA!!! LMAO #anonymous #replies #callate guero

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cazimagines · 3 years

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Random Writing prompts

Today is my last day as the co-leader of the creative writing society at my college so I thought now that it's over I would share the prompts me and the other leader came up with for our sessions in case people need some prompt ideas to try and get out of that writers block. I also included music suggestions that we played to fit the themes. Enjoy!

Week 1: Lockdown

“Things weren’t supposed to end this way but how were we to know the true dangers of what was really outside” write a story around this starter

Create a poem on how you feel about your lockdown experience

Create a short story about someone in an apocalypse who has to stay inside

Write a letter to the government on what they could have done better about lockdown

Week 2: Christmas! (Music used: Our collection of Christmas songs)

Write about what a typical Christmas is like for you

Write a poem about your favourite things about Christmas

Write about the first Christmas you remember and the emotions you experienced

Create a short story about someone reminiscing over past Christmases as they take a long walk home through lots of snow- maybe they see children playing, or see a family eating through a window?

If you don’t celebrate Christmas, substitute for a holiday you celebrate such as Hanukkah or write about Winter in general.

Week 3: Fictional characters (Minecraft soundtrack)

Write a poem based on your favourite fictional character

Write a diary/short story based on meeting your favourite fictional character

Rewrite a scene from whatever your favourite fictional character is in and do it from their POV if it isn’t already in their POV

Week 4: Flowers (Animal crossing soundtrack)

You are a flower. What is your life like and what can you observe from your spot in the garden? Does anything interesting happen?

You are a gardener and like to arrange flowers in your spare time, write a monologue about why you chose this path in life.

Write a poem about a flower bed, describing different flowers in detail, and maybe they will have some visitors like bees or dragonflies?

Week 5: Poems (Stardew valley soundtrack)

Write a poem about whatever you choose

Write a poem about your favourite love troupe

Write a story about a poet trying to find inspiration

Week 6: Underwater (Mario kart underwater themes)

You are a scuba diver, what discoveries do you find underwater?

You are a scientist investigating the ocean in a submarine, when disaster strikes!

Write a poem or description about the deep sea

Week 6: Childhood memories (Undertale soundtrack)

Write a poem about your favourite childhood memory

Write a diary entry from your child self point of view of a day in your past

Write a short story about your childhood

Week 8- Valentine’s Day (The Sims 3 Hotdate music)

Write a poem in any style based on the feelings and perspective of one partner (or maybe it has both sides?)

Write a short story of a first date or of the 50th anniversary of a couple

Write from James Bond’s perspective on why he behaves the way he does with women and his experiences with your favourite Bond girls eg Vesper or Rosie Carver

Week 9: Horror (Doki Doki Literature club soundtrack)

Write a diary entry about how you’ve been attending your schools literature club but recently you have started noticing glitches and you begin to suspect that you are actually in a game

Write a short horror story about your biggest fear

Write a detailed account about the worst nightmare you’ve had

Week 10: Crime (Lego city undercover soundtrack)

Write a short story about a cat burglar. Are they a burglar of cats or a cat whose a burglar? ( cough atticus claw cough)

A poem from a murderer’s perspective detailing their most recent murder.

You’re a detective and a young woman has died from a seizure, but no known cause for it. Police label it as a natural death but you’re unconvinced.

No week 11

Week 12- Jungle (Jungle music)

Write a poem about cool gecko facts

You’re shipwrecked and have landed on an island with a big jungle and now it’s time to explore!

Write about the different perspectives of a sky animal and a land animal (eg parrot vs dung beetle)

Week 13 - Time Travel (Doctor Who soundtrack)

Write a diary entry from your favourite historical period

Write about a moment in time you would want to visit and why

Write about meeting your favourite historical idol

Write a ship fic between two unlikely historical figures, for example Emperor Nero x Alexander the Great

Week 14- April Fools Day! (Circus music that just plays the same song over and over again till it drove us insane)

Write a poem about the most epic prank you’ve pulled

Write a short story of a prank that goes horribly wrong!

Have your favourite good character create the most horrifically evil prank you can think of, or have your favourite villain do something anticlimactically mundane (bonus points for epic buildup)

Week 15 - Fantasy (Narnia Soundtrack)

Write about your favorite mythical creature, like a dragon or a elf

Write about an unexpected journey in a mythical land, like Narnia or The Hobbit

Write what your ideal world would be

Week 16 - Friendship (Harry Potter soundtrack)

Write your favorite memory spent with friends

Write a poem about your friends/what friendship means to you

Write a short story about saying goodbye to some life long friends

Week 17- Food (French Cafe music, please don’t use the one that just repeats the same two tracks)

A princess has asked you to create a ridiculously incomprehensible dish, and you must venture out to find the ingredients (or you’ll die or something)

You’re a chef and your worst enemy orders fugu, what do you do?

A last minute change means you’re now competing on hell’s kitchen, what happens?

#story prompt #creative writing #prompts #writing

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miracul0us-multishipper · 5 years

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Welcome to the back (Part 5)

First Chapter Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Thank you so much for all your sweet feedback!

This chapter deals a little more with Lila’s manipulations and their first effects, and both Chat Noir And Felix make a move. With varying degrees of success.

Also, Felix would literally die for Maman Cheng’s Quiche.

- - -

Lila was fuming when she arrived at home.

“Who does he think he is?!”, she spit out between clenched teeth. “He had zero proof!”

And not only had her attempt to win Felix over failed, Hawkmoth hadn’t even sent an Akuma for her! That, or this goddamn beetle had caught it before it had reached her.

“What a dutiful little bug, aren’t you, Ladybug?”, she seethed on. “Always looking out for butterflies. Well, newsflash: you aren’t perfect! And as soon as you let one of them slip through, Volpina is going to kick your ass!”

That brought her thoughts to another pain in her butt and she threw her phone away in frustration. If it weren’t for that pigtailed goody two shoes, Felix would be writing poems of admiration for Lila by now. All these beautiful words, lost because that stupid Marinette couldn’t leave Felix alone. He was unreachable for her now!

Taking a deep breath, Lila tried to calm down.

Don’t do anything rash. We’ve come so far.

She still had Adrien wrapped around her finger. That boy was so eager to believe her, he threw all reason away for some pretty fairy tale. And as long as his father was with her, she had Adrien handled.

Still. Loosing her chance with Felix had... hurt her. She hadn’t realized she’d looked forward to their relationship that much.

Sighing she fell on her bed and grabbed her phone, going through his poems. She’d pictured how everything would go from the moment she’d looked through his bag. He would’ve been smitten with her writing, her poetry resonating with his. Once they were on their date at the Eiffel Tower, he wouldn’t have been able to deny how pretty she looked with the sunset illuminating her face, the wind in her hair... He would’ve intertwined his soft, slender fingers with hers and confessed how connected he felt to her. She would’ve blushed and told him to stop, but he would’ve written her a poem about his feelings for her and kissed her hand. Then they would’ve kissed, just as the sun disappeared and the lights at the tower went on. The rest of the evening, they would have talked about their shared affinity for words and tales, how they both could spin their audiences in webs of emotion and wonder - even though they used different mediums to accomplish that. He would’ve realized that they were the only ones that understood each other, that they were made for each other, that they were soulmates. How they were better than these silly children in their class.

She groaned and turned her phone off, not bearing to see his pretty poems now.

It was all Marinette’s fault! She’d stolen that future from her and Felix!

Lila froze.

Wait a second.

Since when did she give up that easily?! This was Marinette she was talking about! That girl didn’t have enough brain cells to walk properly! She was no opponent for her, Lila Rossi, the cunning Volpina! She was the Queen of Lies, the Master of Manipulation, Gaslighting and Illusions! If she wanted Felix, she’d get Felix!

With renewed determination, she got in front of her computer. She had some research to do!

“There you are, Chaton!” Ladybug greeted her partner. She was still smiling from her encounter with Felix, and determined that this patrol would go smoothly. Chat Noir replied with his usual smirk.

“If you don’t look energized today, My Lady! Happy to see me?”

She chuckled and landed next to him, on the rooftops next to the Seine.

“Come on, Kitty! This city doesn’t patrol itself, you know?”

“Actually, can we wait a few more minutes?” her partner asked with surprising seriousness. “I wanted to talk to you.”

She wanted to refuse - she still had to catch up on her missed history lesson, time was precious - but the pleading look in his big green eyes made her weak.

“Alright” she sighed. “But only shortly! What is it, Kitty?”

He hummed.

“You always call me these pet names. It’s so cute!”

“Chat. Focus.”

“Right! Uh, my dad is... the owner of a business, you know? Famous and renowned across France. He always has to look super professional, or his investors run over to his rivals.”

“Okay?” Ladybug tried to follow, unsure where this was supposed to go.

“You kind of remind me of him, sometimes! You’re both smart, and very serious about your work, and usually too busy.”

She didn’t know if he wanted to compliment or insult her.

“Anyway, my mom and I are very similar, he always says. She used to work for him, as a model. And when they fell in love, my dad was a bit worried a relationship with one of his coworkers might look unprofessional. ‘What would everyone say?’, and so on.”

“And then?”

He shrugged.

“Nothing. They got married and it worked out fine. No problems whatsoever.”

“Huh.”

Chat looked at her, obviously expecting something, so she added: “That’s... a very sweet story. Your parents sound very lucky.”

He beamed.

“Yeah! And luck is just our thing, right?”

“Uh, yes” she agreed carefully. What did they have to do with his parents. “But why are you telling me this?”

“I just wanted to let you know... I understand how important it is for you to look professional. And that I support you, always. You don’t have to worry.”

“Thanks?” She was positively confused now. “I don’t think anybody doubts our professionalism, but... that’s reassuring.”

“You’re welcome.”

He probably meant well, even though she didn’t understand what he was playing at. So when he closed his eyes and leaned in, her mind had yet to catch up. Only when he was actually pressing his lips on hers, it clicked.

She slapped him. Hard.

“Ow! What the-“

“Oh no, that’s my line, Chat! What the fuck?!”, she hissed out, wiping her mouth with her wrist. Chat looked up, his face shifting from shock to betrayal.

“I-I thought-“

“You thought what?! You can just kiss me out of the blue after I repeatedly told you I’m not in love with you?! What don’t you get about that?”

If he looked hurt, she didn’t care. She was tired of this, tired of his advances. For once in her life, she wanted him to listen and understand her!

“I- someone told me you were worried that-“

“Why are you so quick to listen to some bystander, but refuse to hear my very! Clear! Answer!”

“Your answer isn’t clear at all!”, Chat Noir yelled back, getting to his feet. “You say you don’t love me, but you’re acting like you do! You call me pet names, you flirt with me, you kiss me all the time! So either you enjoy leading me on, or you’re lying to both of us about your true feelings!”

“Aaaargh!”, she groaned in frustration, clasping her hands above her head, “You’re impossible!”

“No, I’m simply making my feelings very clear for you! We are partners, and we’re supposed to be honest with each other!”

She tore her hair. He was so stubborn, so obstinate that that he could do no wrong. She wanted to scream.

“Chat, I honestly don’t want you to kiss me.” she tried to keep it simple, lowering her voice to prevent herself from lashing out. But Chat certainly didn’t help at that.

“That’s okay! We can just hold hands, if you want to. Or go for Ice cream.”

“No! I don’t want any of that! Kwamis above!”

“Then what do you want?!

If she didn’t get out of here, she’d do something stupid. Slap him again, probably.

“Leave me alone, Chat.”, she pressed out, her voice breaking.

“What? We’re partners! You- We need each other!”

“I’ll handle patrol from now on.”, she ordered, leaving no room for discussion. “Until you can accept that I don’t reciprocate your feelings, we should only work together when necessary.”

She swallowed, throwing her yo-yo.

“Please, Chat.”

Then she was off, disappearing behind the buildings of Paris. Leaving a stunned, upset Cat behind. It took him a while before he could move, and even longer before he reached his home. Detransforming had never felt so draining to him.

“What the everloving Fluff were you thinking?” Plagg raged as soon as the ring set him free. Adrien groaned.

“Not now, Plagg. I really don’t feel up to this now.”

“You don’t feel up to this?” Plagg snarled incredulously. “I don’t feel up to this! I don’t feel up to anything! Ever! And even I can’t let you do something like this!”

“How should I have known she’d react like this?” the boy defended himself. “Lila said-“

“Volpina-Girl! You know she doesn’t like Ladybug! But somehow you thought her love advice is more credible than the answer Ladybug has been giving you for months!”

“But she’s Ladybug! And I’m her Black Cat! We’re completing each other.”

Plagg shook his head.

“Right now, you overgrown airhead, you are about to loose even the most platonic part of her feelings for you. It’s simple: that or nothing, Kiddo.”

Where Ladybug was lonelier than ever, Marinette was soaring high. After Alya apologized for not believing in her innocence regarding the poems, the others soon followed - much to Lila’s dismay. And the compulsive liar got even angrier after seeing how much closer Marinette and Felix were becoming. Marinette found that she didn’t care.

Felix was... odd. He spoke clear and directly, not caring if he sounded rude. He didn’t like warm temperatures, preferring to hide on the shady yard. He listened to classical music, but had beaten Marinette more than once at Freestyle Clash 2.

(“Rap is poetry as well!”, he had defended himself when she teased him about it.)

He also didn’t like crowds, or people in general. But whenever Marinette was chatting with her classmates, she found him listening attentively, even if his eyes were glued to his book. While he didn’t want to be actively involved, he wasn’t antisocial either.

And to be honest, she appreciated his silent company more than ever when her other friends became... overwhelming. Being around Felix was easy. His mere presence was calming, as if everything was in control.

“Girl, are you there? ‘Cause if I’m not losing my senses you’re staring at Mister Icecold instead of Sunshine Boy.”

Marinette blinked, pulled back into the real world. Alya was looking at her expectantly, eyebrows raised so high they almost vanished beneath her hair.

“I didn’t!”, Marinette insisted, but Alya rolled her eyes.

“Come on, you’ve been hanging out with him and him alone for the past week! What’s up with that?”

“Nothing! I just really like Felix, that’s all. You know I have a crush on Adrien.”

Alya’s eyes were scrutinizing but playful.

“Hm... If you say so?” She chuckled. “I should be glad. Frosty is kind of scaring me, actually. He’s so rude!”

Marinette huffed with arms akimbo.

“He’s just... honest! And hasn’t been around people much. He doesn’t mean to be rude, he just doesn’t want to lie for politeness’ sake either.”

“I don’t mean that. At least, not only that. He’s been glaring at Lila whenever she tries to speak with him.”

Marinette sighed. They’d talked this over at least a dozen times already, and while Marinette didn’t call Lila a Liar openly anymore, she did like to give hints. Which Alya successfully ignored.

“Just... let’s get to class. I don’t want to be late again.”

While Felix hated nothing more than talking during the lessons (“It’s disrespectful!”) he did communicate from time to time. Over the course of the week, they had developed an intricate language of stolen glances and discreet expressions that was comprehensible to them alone.

When Marinette fell into her seat next to him and replied “present” upon hearing her name from Mme Bustier, he gave her a concerned look from her to Alya.

Everything okay with you two?

Marinette shrugged and rolled her eyes.

Just the usual disagreement.

He huffed, concentrating on the lesson, but not without nudging her leg with his knee. His gesture for showing support.

“Before we continue with Napoleon, let me make an announcement.”, Mme Bustier caught her class’s attention. “Since you’ve all been so eager and hardworking during Monsieur Agreste’s bowler hat contest, I’ve been looking for another opportunity to let your creativity run free.”

She smiled at the front row.

“Since Lila has so generously helped me out, You now have the chance to participate in a competition called “Journalism Junior”, hosted by Alec Cataldi and Nadja Chamack.”

The class cheered and Alya high fived Lila, who smiled as Adrien patted her on the shoulder. A sharp pang in Marinette’s chest made her look away.

“If you want to enter the competition, you’ll have to create a report on something that greatly impacted you, until next Friday,” Mme Bustier continued. “It can be about your greatest inspirations or fears, a problem you want to draw attention to or something you want to support. Copying is as always,” a sharp glance at Chloé and Sabrina, “strictly forbidden! This is about an honest and genuine insight into Paris’ youth, so be true to yourselves!”

As soon as Mme Bustier finished, the class was alive with the buzz of excited students.

“Journalism! Not really my specialty, but sounds interesting.”, Marinette beamed at her gloomy neighbor. “I think I’ll do something about fashion! Or baking? Or media design?”

Felix only huffed and Marinette stilled.

“Is... everything okay?”

He blinked and straightened himself.

“Yes, of course. Journalism just isn’t my cup of tea.”

He leaned his head sideways.

“You should do something about fashion. You’re talking about it constantly, and I’ve seen your room. If something has an impact on you, it’s designing.”

“You’re right!”, she agreed, already thinking about what sketches she should work with. “Oh, will you do the report on your poems? No, wait, they’re personal. Your music then? I’ve heard you play the violin in the art room, it’s magical!”

Felix’ cheeks appeared a bit more saturated for a moment, almost as if he were blushing, but it disappeared when he shook his head.

“I won’t participate at all.”, he clarified sternly. “I’ve had enough people trying to peak into my life. But I’ll help you with yours. You’re horrible with deadlines.”

“True”, she grimaced. “But I don’t get why the behavior of other journalists should keep you from trying something out yourself!”

His fingers twitched, betraying that this was about something entirely else. A bit gentler she added: “Are you sure you don’t want to do something of your own? It’s different if other people try to drag your personal life into the limelight, or if you willingly share something on your own terms.”

“Hm...”, he murmured, before giving her one of his rare smiles. “You are exceptionally smart, Marinette. I appreciate your advice.”

She rolled her eyes. He could’ve as well written her a thank you letter, as formal as he was.

“Thanks. But don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re deflecting!”

She backed down anyway. Felix obviously didn’t want to share his thought process with her, but hopefully, he just needed some time.

Or maybe she was just misinterpreting his behavior and blowing things out of proportion. Wouldn’t be the first time for her.

Felix might not look the part, but he did think about what Marinette had said. She was right, of course. There was a difference between someone stealing his secrets, and himself sharing them. But to him it had always been technical at best, a mere incongruence in terminology.

Insisting on being involved in Mum’s company from an early age on had put him in the spotlight far more than he’d anticipated, then. When he took up modeling – the only way to help he was given, his mother didn’t want him to “waste his childhood with adults work” – he’d become a minor celebrity basically overnight. It hadn’t gotten better when he grew up.

He’d always felt like some sort of public property, a puppet for others to project onto, or a fancy building people went sightseeing for on weekends. More than once his mother had to hire security people to ensure he had some semblance of peace outside, without being bothered by fans or paparazzi. His father’s position and... attitude certainly hadn’t helped to give him some personal space. So, at one point... he’d simply stopped going amongst people. And he didn’t mind that!

But the week he’d spent with Marinette, or even Aurore and Marc, had made him realize that while he could be on his own... he didn’t want to, anymore. Not always at least. They were so... generous with everything, sharing help or stories or simply their company with him. Especially Marinette, without ever expecting anything in return.

He wanted to return something, though. Anything to let her know he appreciated her. To make her smile the way she drew out his own.

So when school was over, he waited for her to pack up her things and get ready to go.

“You wouldn’t happen to be free this afternoon?”, he asked quietly. There where a few other students left in the room, Rossi and Agreste among them, and while he’d never concern himself enough with them to whisper, he wouldn’t push his luck either. This afternoon should go as smoothly as possible.

Marinette smiled and nodded.

“Sure! Want to come over for lunch again? Maman made Quiche.”

He saw Adrien perk up four rows further, and Felix himself found his determination waver. The Dupain-Cheng Quiche was a work of high culinary art, as he’d learned the last time he’d visited Marinette. But no! He had to stay strong! This was for Marinette!

“Actually, I’d hoped you came back home with me for lunch.”

He fidgeted a little, which was odd for him since it usually annoyed him on other people.

“It’s as you said, I should try to share things willingly, on my own terms, and you... make me feel like it can’t be that hard.”

Her smile was replaced by a look of surprise and he mentally kicked himself.

“You don’t have to! It was just an idea, but it doesn’t have to be today. Or ever.”

Why would she want to have lunch with him if her parents were already culinary deities? His mere invitation after tasting their creations was an affront to their craft.

To his relief, however, Marinette didn’t seem to mind his proposal.

“I’d love to come over! I’ll just have to call my parents before.”

She gave him one of her playful smirks that usually came before reading him.

“You actually listened to me? I’m impressed!”

His slight pang of disappointment that he wouldn’t get his beloved Quiche today was drowned out by his happiness to enjoy her company a bit longer. When she turned away to call her parents, he realized he should probably give his mother a heads up as well. He sighed. Mum would be over the moon once she heard he was bringing a friend over.

What had he done?

Lila was prepared. She was cool. She was completely fine with Felix asking the walking mess named Marinette out for lunch. And the pen she’d snapped would’ve broken anyway, she was sure.

Not that it mattered. Pigtails could revel in his attention all day, for all she cared. It wouldn’t last.

“Madame Bustier?”, she called the teacher as soon as the other students were gone.

“Lila! Is something the matter?”, the woman asked her new official favorite student. “I hope you didn’t mind that I thanked you in front of the class. I didn’t want to put you in the spotlights so unprompted, but you were a great help and that should be acknowledged.”

Lila smiled modestly.

“Oh, I don’t mind. I just like to help out.”

Herself, first and foremost. The contest was merely a puzzle piece in her scheme.

“Speaking of that,” she continued, “I wanted to ask for a small favor, if it’s no problem.”

“Of course, Lila. What is it?”

“It’s Marinette.” she began, putting on a sheepish face. “We didn’t have the best start, and her behavior last week when I proposed to change the seating again... I think she still holds some sort of grudge against me.”

She paused for a moment, to let the hint settle before she continued.

“I wanted to help her out a bit, so we can become friends! She’s always so busy as class rep, and I fear that the contest might add some weight to her load.”

��That’s so sweet of you! What were you thinking about?”

She had Bustier wrapped around her finger, now.

“Well, I obviously can’t help her with her report.” she mused out loud. “I don’t want to influence her in any way, so she doesn’t get disqualified for copying something by accident. So I hoped I could help her with her class rep duties! Usually, Alya does that, but she’s so passionate about her report and I don’t want to distract her.”

“Very considerate!”, she praised. “What duties would you like to take over for now?”

Now came the important part.

“Oh, Kim has been sick for a while now.” she reminded her. “I wanted to bring him some of the work we did, and inform him about the contest. And the swimming team asked Marinette to bring him the bag he forgot last time. Would it be alright if you gave me his address?”

She seemed to think for a moment before searching for a list in her bag.

“Usually, I’m not allowed to give out personal information.”, the teacher confessed. “But I think in this case, we can call it an exception, don’t we?”

“Of course”, Lila agreed dutifully as she skimmed the list Bustier held out to her. LeChien, Kim... there. And directly above: Leanne, Felix. Smiling, she typed the address into her phone. Felix’ address, of course. Max was already bringing Kim his homework, and the forgotten bag was a lie.

“Thank you so much, Madame!”, Lila said genuinely when she put her phone away and walked towards the door. “Oh, one last thing! Would you maybe... not tell Marinette I asked for this? I want to surprise her.”

“Don’t worry!”, Bustier said cluelessly. “I‘ll forget you asked me for anything.”

“You are the best, Madame! Good bye!”

She didn’t her her teacher’s reply, she was already out of the door. Her phone was on and she pulled up the pictures she’d taken of Felix’ calendar.

He was meticulous when it came to organizing his day, and she was more than grateful for it. He would be home by now, and lunch with his mother would last until 15 o’clock. He’d made a note not to disturb her from 15 to 16 o’clock, since Madame Leanne was in a meeting. From 16 to 18 o’clock, he’d be busy with his violin lessons.

Perfect.

But before her plan could be set in motion, she had another little tale to spin.

“Nino!”, she called when Adrien’s best friend came into her sight. “Wait for me!”

He was alone when she reached him. This was almost too easy.

“Wow, everything alright, dudette?” Nino asked, concerned that she’d hurried so much to catch up to him. “You look kinda rushed.”

She smiled and waved it off.

“I’ll be meeting Jagged Stone soon, and I don’t want to be late. I showed him your latest tape by the way, and he was really impressed.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah! But I really have to hurry now. Could you maybe tell Adrien from me that he doesn’t need to worry. You know, because of the Marinette thing.”

Nino frowned.

“Wait a sec. Marinette thing? Is she or Adrien in trouble?”

Surprised Lila put her hand over her mouth.

“Oh no, he didn’t tell you? Oh, I messed up! I’m so sorry!”

“What did you mess up? C’mon, I’m not telling anyone.”

She looked from side to side, as if worried others might overhear.

“I’m sure he meant to tell you.” she started secretively. “It’s just that... he’s been worried about Marinette. He thought she acted so weirdly over my proposal that Felix should sit with us in the front, that maybe she doesn’t like him. He thinks Marinette is ignoring, or outright bullying Felix.”

“What? I mean, that dude is giving me the creeps, but Marinette is super close with him.”

She forced a smile.

“You’re right, I noticed that too! But, you know, Adrien has been isolated so long... he just doesn’t know how to read the atmosphere, you know?”

“Yeah, he’s kinda oblivious.”

“I just wanted him to stop worrying so much. He was really concerned when he thought Felix and Marinette might not get along.”

Nino gave her a thumbs up.

“Don’t worry about him, I’ll soothe his nerves. You go meet Jagged Stone!”

“Thank you so much!”, she said, and meant every word. He was really useful, even though he made her cringe. “Oh, but maybe don’t tell him you heard this from me. He didn’t tell anyone else, and I don’t want him to think he can’t trust me.”

“Sure thing, dudette!”

“Bye-bye, then! And thank you!”

Lila smiled as she ran off. Everything was fitting perfectly together. The best tool to keep Marinette away from Felix was her crush on Adrien. The best way to use her crush was his dislike of Felix, and his assumption he knew what was best for his friends. The closer he thought them to be, the more he’d try to spread his animosity towards Felix onto Marinette, who’d do everything to please him.

Now Lila only had to wait.

- - -

I’m happy over every reblog, Part 5 is on its way. Here’s the tag list:

@crazycookie13o @a-6-yearold-inside @sinfulfoxbeast @kuroko26 @sternsneeze @zeyheartstaylor @elliecake5 @kristycocopop @yamadochie @sofmimis @enigmaticagitator @offically-over-it @earth-demon @juhavs @omgelisahagemanuniverse @owllover132 @kaydenth3gayden @janaikam @mewwitch

#miramu writes #wttb #welcome to the back #felinette fanfic #ml felix #miraculous ladybug #mlb #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ml salt #ml spite #felix month

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jadescribbles · 4 years

Text

Masterlist

Hi! You can call me Jade. My main is @jadenightthewriter

Welcome to my Look I Made A Thing™ sideblog :D

WRITING

All writing is on my ao3 account, and will be tagged with “my writing” until I think of a tag. (Suggestions accepted!)

Detective Conan/Magic Kaito ✯ Stamped and Sent (Sagukai, penpals, incomplete) [1] [2] [3] [to be continued...] ✯ Facets of a Red Child (Akako character study, complete) ✯ Not Here (Kaito angst poem, complete) ✯ Bloodmoon (Coai/Shinshi-ish horror fic, complete) ✯ Coai Week 2020 (I somehow can’t get the post links but all 7 one shots are here) ✯ The cat that chose us (shared cat fic, kaishin, for @nagiru, complete) ✯ A Winter Day (platonic-ish sagukaishin, for @thrushsong-kvaris, one shot, complete) ✯ Tranquility (CoAi drabble collection, fluff, for @rux363)

Keeper of the Lost Cities ✯ Rusted Roses (Dex angst fic, incomplete) ✯ Warmth in the Cold (Kam, human AU, fluff, complete) ✯ Burning (dark Linh angst, complete) ✯ A Little Blooming Water Lily (Delivvy fic for @we-have-no-bananas-today, WIP) [preview] ✯ “Destroy you.” (Keefitz angst for @vibing-in-the-void, complete) ✯ Blooming Together (Marellinh Week 2020, Day 5: Flowers/Fireworks, fluff, complete) ✯ Countdown (Sokeefe drabbles, incomplete) [1] [to be continued...] ✯ Don’t think (of him) (Kam, angst drabble, missing scene, complete) ✯ Two Stars (Kam angst, Soulmates AU, complete) ✯ Stolen Away (Kam/Marellinh Pirate AU, complete) [1] [2] ✯ Just a second of your time (Kam fluff, drabble, complete) ✯ Don’t cry (Keefe & Tam centric, angst drabble, complete) ✯ As the rain drowns my thoughts (Kam fluff(ish), drabble, complete) ✯ Glimmer character analysis (as of book 8.5 Unlocked) ✯ I wished for you (Solinh, coffee shop magic AU for @isapizzas, fluff, one shot, complete)

Septimus Heap ✯ Extraordinary (Marcia angst fic, incomplete) [1] [2] [3] [4] [to be continued...] ✯ Rosemary -Day 2: Rosemary (Beetle drabble, complete) ✯ Put Back Together and Torn Apart (Septimus angst fic, complete) ✯ Forest Whispers -Day 4: Regal (Ariel’s POV, SandRider scene, complete) ✯ It’s Midnight -Day 5: Midnight (Dragon Boat poem, complete) ✯ Chameleon = Chaos (Modern AU, crack, complete) ✯ Tails of Castle Cats (Marcia, Septimus, Tod, and a whole ton of cats, incomplete) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] to be continued...] ✯ Wings and Flyte (Septimus Heap Wings AU, collab, series, incomplete) ✯ Some of @septimus-heap’s absolutely amazing fics that I’ve linked on tumblr for him. Here, here, and here. ✯ Unbroken Wings (Wings AU angst, Marcellus and Syrah POV, one shot, complete)

Wings of Fire ✯ like the jade dragons (Jade Winglet-centric, band au, human au, multi-chapter, incomplete) [1] [chapters 2-9 on ao3] [to be continued...] ✯ In the Shadows of the Leaves (Sunlow fluff oneshot, human royal AU, complete) ✯ A Storm on the Horizon (Qinter oneshot, human royal AU, complete) ✯ Two previous entries are now part of a series. Can be found here.

Naruto ✯ Window to Your Soul (KakaObi soulmate AU, oneshot, angst, complete) ✯ And If the Wind Changes (Sand Siblings & Naruto & Kakashi, fluff, part of a series)

ART

Please do not repost my art, whether here or on other sites. All art is tagged with “my art” until I come up with an art tag (again, suggestions accepted!)

No Fandom ✯ My former blog icon ✯ Fanart for an amazing friend’s WIP comic :) ✯ Lime Racoon ✯ Blueberry Panther ✯ Succulent Fox ✯ Bisexual Visibility Day! ✯ Sketch(es) [1] ✯ Header for my main blog

Wuthering Waves ✯ Yinlin sketch! Keeper of the Lost Cities ✯ Sokeefe digital art ✯ Linh and Wing!Tam ✯ Studio Ghibli AU (Song Twins ft. Fitz, Sophie, Tiergan, Prentice, + Wylie) ✯ Fedex fae!AU mini comic

Septimus Heap ✯ Sarah -Day 1: Flourishing ✯ Akhu Amulet ✯ Modern AU Marcia ✯ Coral Color Pallet Jenna ✯ Heaptober 2023 (Days 1-6) ✯ Art for Sep’s epic time travel AU

Detective Conan/Magic Kaito ✯ Chasing Clouds moodboard ✯ Shiho and Akemi

Yuri!!! on Ice ✯ “Room aesthetic moodboards”: Victor & Yuuri

REMEMBER!!! REBLOGS >>> LIKES

Love you all~♥

#jadenightthewriter #jadescribbles #masterlist

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lyinglyon-blog · 5 years

Photo

Images: (1) Chakrasamvara Heruka (Father) in YabYum union with Vajrayogini (Mother) symbolizes the union of compassion and wisdom.

(2) Tomb of King Ramses the Great

'Also, when we try to cultivate divine pride or the sense of identity as a divine being in the practice of deity yoga, we try to overcome the feeling and perception of an ordinariness. I think this helps us to make the potential of buddhahood within ourselves more manifest.

To attain a firm pride of being a deity requires a stable visualization of the form and appearance of the deity. Normally, because of our natural tendency and consequent notion of self we have an innate feeling of 'I' and 'self' based upon our body and mind. If we similarly cultivate a strong perception of our own appearance as a deity, we will also be able to cultivate divine pride, the sense of identity as a deity, by focusing on the divine body.'

"Because the object of meditation in the practice of Highest Yoga Tantra is yourself in the form of a deity, and also because of the practice of single-pointedly focusing your attention on certain points within your body, you are able to bring about movement of the elements in the body. Some meditators have related their experiences of this to me. When you are able to hold a clear image of the deity single-pointedly for a long period of time, this obstructs your normal sense of ordinariness and so leads to a feeling of divine pride. However, during all these stages of meditation, it is very important constantly to reaffirm your awareness of emptiness."

Dalai Lama - A Survey of the Paths of Tibetan Buddhism

"I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”"

Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley

"A slow tumbling against a mountain crest,

Breath, slow and heaving, controlled and unbridled.

A memory well settles near the peak

And dips it's basket through a silted past. /

A road has been trenched out along its belly. At the peak

of each breath a rumble beneath the surface.

We are a crew on our journey.

Passed halfway, the fog rolls in. /

Passed halfway we cannot tell:

Is this ascension or do we

Plumet across an impossible canyon

Between the body and anything but? /

There are time when the mountain feels upside down,

Or, more accurately, inside-out, that sediment

Has flipped and we shuffle along

The innards of a funnel to a point unknown. /

A black hole that rises out of a trajectory,

Eternally confuddled by fog-drifts and shifting

Cloud layers that paint a kaleidoscopic mosaic

Half-seen through the fog and ever out of reach. /

Yet at points the clouds accumulate around a central axis,

Whirling ever-slowly against an invisible pillar.

Ascending or descending from the haughty peak.

While, far below and above we fall backwards into peat /

Bogs, whose nature is ever-evolving, a multivalent

Clamor of creature, texture, flora and facsimile,

A patchwork of ever-rolling life-like mosses

And ancient metal, stone, fabrication, and beetle dung. /

And the face of the mountain is a bright angel,

Curls fountaining endless against their cheeks,

And the other, this fermentation and reproduction

Of the endless potential of a single wave /

Born of some long-ago explosion, born from

A bomb, atomic or otherwise, birthed into the bog

By a mother whose face held an expressionless ecstasy,

And whose baby ripples as an afterimage /

Of his molten-made body. And us, our bodies

Extending, stretching fingers into the bog

And legs striding towards the funnel snout

To an unresolved heaven, undecidedly

Skywards or otherwise, yet always urging us,

Begging for our feet to touch her heights

And ferry her into the moist bog-land below. "

Trenches - Personal Piece

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XIR74qry3IM

The main theme in this collage is that of arrogance versus pride. To the Tibetans, there are two forms of pride. The first is that of 'mana,' or an inflated sense of self, an arrogance. The second is that of pride of being a deity, represented in the first quotes from the Dalai Lama. To the Egyptians there was a clear salesmen that the pharaoh was a divine ruler, one with the gods, and thus would have a certain god-like pride.

Is there a way to have pride, even arrogance, in a healthy way, which can lead others forward in a manner which brings higher states of happiness? Could this be what the pharohs of the past did? If they were authentically ferrying down a higher source and generating prosperity for a large number of people, are they not god-like? Another question would be if they understood the Buddhist concept of emptiness of the material world. This might be so, considering their ritualistic culture and belief in the after life, and their ability to control reality at higher degrees than we believe possible today (were the pyramids built with levers, a bunch of pushing slaves, or using vibration to lower the surface friction of the sand?)

My own poem explores the potential we have, and the spiritual urge towards reaching higher states of consciousness while also plumbing the depths of our own history, and maybe that of the plan and before.

Finally, we can contrast these ideas of pride with a more-modern interpretation of hip-hop artists. Though they doubtfully have a divine sense of being, the shameless presentation of their position in regards to sexually might be considered some kind of divine awareness designed to ruffle the feathers of conservative society. Or, maybe they are just assailed. But, if one looks at their lives, and considers their other music, they may have more to say than first meets the ear with this song.

--A

#run the jewels #ozymandias #percy bysshe shelley #poetry #art #philosophy #buddhism #diety #pharoah #ramses the great #pride #arrogance #chakrasamvara #vajrayogini #yoga #meditation

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lovemesomesurveys · 5 years

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5,000 question survey series--part thirty-four

3201. What if this is as good as it gets? Well, shit... I sure hope not. This isn’t good. 3202. Have you ever dated someone mostly or completely because of their looks? Absolutely not. It was their personality that made fall them more than anything. Looks played a small role. 3203. What does the word 'of' mean? It’s used to express the relationship between something. 3204. What should you never forget? Important things? 3205. How many of the 7 Dwarves can you name for us? Dopey, Sleepy, Bashful, Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, and Happy. You’re welcome.

3206. What animal does your mom resemble? She doesn’t resemble an animal... 3207. Have you ever had a palm reading? No. I don’t believe in it. 3208. What's acrazy thing you did that you got in troubl for as a kid? I lied about taking my medicine. I was hiding them behind my bed. :X 3209. What do you battle against? Depression. Although, if we’re being real it’s not much of a battle. It won. 3210. Do pircings really make the pierced area dramatically more sensative? I wouldn’t know. My ears were pierced when I was about a year old, so I have no memory of it and those are the only piercings I have. 3211. If you had put aside some money for a trip and the travel agent said he had 2 trips available in your price range during the week you want to go, which would you choose: a> a week in hawaii in a luxory beach resort b> a week in africa helping the red cross distribute food and medicine 3212. Have you ever played with a dreidal? I believe so. I remember in elementary school we’d have days where we learned about different cultures and religions and this girl in my class was Jewish and brought some Jewish food and dreidels. 3213. Did you know that Kraft is owned by a ciggerette company? I don’t know if that’s true. Does that bother you? 3214. With all the information constantly rushing at you, how do you know what's important? I don’t know. It’s just something you have to decide for yourself. 3215. How is your life unlike a movie? Everything isn’t all figured out in 2 hours. 3216. Where is the most beautiful place you have visited? Various beaches and mountainous areas. 3217. What is never going in your mouth? Shit. 3218. Are there realaly 5,000 different facts about you? I can’t think of nearly that many. I have a hard time coming up with like 5, ha. 3219. Do you like banana bread? Yesss. Banana bread or muffins without the nut are the best. 3220. Who are you the most gentle and tender around? My doggo. 3221. If electrodes were inserted into your brain and a button was put into your arm so that you could push the button and stimulate an immeadiate orgasm would you forget about life and sit at home pushing the button until you died? lol no. 3222. Is there a differance between being scared and afraid? I think so. I think of afraid as being more severe. 3223. Are you scared and/or afarid of death? Afraid. If yes, what is it about death? The pain? The seperation? the unknown? the fear of nothing? 3224. What is exsitentialism? The idea that a person is a free agent, basically. 3225. SUCCESS is counted sweetest By those who ne’er succeed. To comprehend a nectar Requires sorest need. Not one of all the purple host Who took the flag to-day Can tell the definition, So clear, of victory, As he, defeated, dying, On whose forbidden ear The distant strains of triumph Break, agonized and clear. by, Emily Dickinson What is Emily Dickenson trying to say here? 3226. A college girl (maybe you?) blows a tire and pulls off the road in an unfamilliar residential neighborhood. She is having trouble changing the tire when a man in his late thirties-ish comes over and asks if she needs some help. He changes her tire and offers to let her go into his house to wash her hands. She is dirty from trying to change the tire. Should she accept? Absolutely not. I don’t trust people, man. I’m not going back to some stranger’s house. I’d kindly thank them and be on my way. I have hand sanitizer, I’m fine. She does accept and he gives her a tour of the house inclding the upstairs. The staircase in the livingroom leads directly into the master bedroom. The view out the window is beautiful. What are you thinking about this situation? This gives me anxiety, honestly. I’m imagining something bad is going to happen. 3227. Are you too trusting of others? No. 3228. What's the difference between a den and a living room? *shrug* 3229.Write a stream of consiousness sentance: 3230. Who is the hero of all kids? There isn’t one hero for everyone. 3231. Who do you tend to show more of your best side to, your family or strangers? My family sees the good sides, but they really bad sides, too, unfortunately. 3232. How do you think the harry potter series will end? I know how it ends, it’s been out for years. 3233. Name three things that would make really bad ice cream flavors: Mustard, ketchup, and mayo. lol. 3234. Would you try a jelly bean if it's flavor was: toasted marshmellow? I’ve tried ones like that they were disgusting. fried chicken? black pepper? vomit? grass? dirt? boogers? ear wax? sardines? Did you know that you can get these flavors of jellybeans at harrypotter.com? Yeah. 3235. What's at the center of the earth? Lava. 3236. have you ever wondered where holidays come from? I’ve wondered about the origin of some, yeah. 3237. Do you think there should be more movies shown in 3D? I don’t like watching movies in 3D. 3238. Are you just another brick in the wall? Yep. 3239. Write a haiku (a poem with 3 lines, 1st line is 5 syllables, second line is 7 sylabels, 3rd line is five syllabals): Nah. 3240. Are you cautious and tame? Usually. 3241. Do you like to eat at Subway? I used to. I haven’t been there for awhile. 3242. Is 42 the meaning of life? No. 3243. Would you agree that a blade of grass is nothing less than the journeywork of stars? What. 3244. Do you want to die? No. 3245. If someone was studying 'the humanities' what the hell are they studying? People and culture. 3246. Is this question REALLY is this question 3246? ??? 3247. Do you want to dieT? No. I’m supposed to be on a protein diet, though. 3248. What is colder, your feet, or the floor? Neither at the moment. 3249. What is older, your mouth, or the door? The door. 3250. Are you more beauty or more beast? Beast. 3251. Are we there yet? No. 3252. Scantron or handwritten tests? Scantron. 3253. What's that sound? The TV. 3254. True/false: To the maggots on the cheese, the cheese is the universe. True. 3255. What's the best treat to bring with you to elementary school for your birthday? Cupcakes. That was always so exciting as a kid. 3256. What would you expect to learn from self interrogation? I don’t knowww. 3257. When you feel cold does eating warm food help you feel warm? Eating Ramen does. 3258. Does being true to yourself mean saying 'screw everybody else, my shit is more important'? No. 3259. Have you reckoned a thousand acres much? No. 3260. Have you reckoned the earth much? I don’t know what you’re going on about. 3261. Have you ever had a vision? I’ve kind of thought so sometimes. 3262. If you have a vision or belief and someone else has a conflicting vision or belief, how do you tell which one is valid? It’s what you believe. Are they both valid? To each individual it is to them. 3263. Why is everything based around proof and facts instead of intuition? Not everything is. 3264. What is the grass? It’s a plant. 3265. Have you ever supposed it is lucky to be born? I don’t believe in luck.

Is it just as lucky to die? 3266. What is it that you express in your eyes? Sadness. 3267. What is man anyhow? What am I? and what are you?

You’re getting too philosophical for me. 3268. You understand enough. Why don't you let it out? I don’t know how to express myself a lot of the times. 3269. What is less or more than a touch? What. 3270. Why should anyone wish to see god more than they wish to see this day? Because then we’d be with Him, and that is better than anything else. However, that time won’t come until you die.

3271. Have you guessed that after death you yourself would not continue? I used think there was nothing after death, but that was before I believed in God. 3272. Have you dreaded the earth beetles? 3273. Have you feared the future would be nothing to you? The future terrifies me. 3274. Is today nothing? It feels like it. 3275. Is the beginingless past nothing? I don’t know what you’re asking. 3276. Do you believe in a collective unconsiouss? 3277. Jung or Freud? 3278. What is a 'fate worse than death'? Hell. 3279. What are the 5 main things you think about?/ Health, life, my loved ones, coffee, and food. 3280. Name someone you know. My mom. What is the biggest thing you have in common with them? We enjoy a lot of the same TV shows and we both love to read. 3281. Do you think that laws sshould be passed to regulate human breeding? Noooo. 3282. Do you think they already exist in a subtle way? 3283. Why is it that so many people are demanding the death penalty as punishment for a wider and wider range of crimes? I don’t know. 3284. Is it partially to weed the nonconformists out of the gene pool? 3285. What does it mean to be free? To have nothing tying your down. 3286. What does it mean to be tamed or domesticated? To be disciplined. 3287. Is the human animal becoming more and more tame and domestic? Uhh.

If yes, what is causing this? are we becoming more or less free? Probably less. 3288. Are you embaressed about your naked body? Extremely. I’m very self-conscious.

If yes, is that freedom? I guess not cause I care too much about the opinions and thoughts of others. 3289. Are you the result of all of evolution up to this point? We have evolved over time of course. 3290. The murderous person...how does he sleep? I wonder how they just live with themselves doing what they do. 3291. Your mother...is she living? Yes. Have you been much with her? We live together, we spend a lot of time together.

and has she been much with you? Yes? 3292. Are these questions disturbing you? They just make my head hurt. If yes, why? 3293. What are you focused on? What I’m going to eat when I’m done with this. 3294. Have you ever admired wickedness? No. 3295. Is the acomplishment of one person the accomplishment of all humanity? I mean... some things are done for the benefit of others and not just one person, so I guess in that way, yes?

Why or why not? 3296. Is the imprisonment of one person the imprisonment of all humanity? No?

Why or why not? 3297. We're just following anchient history. If I strip for you, will you strip for me? No, and I’ll pass on your offer as well. Sorry. 3298. Have you ever wished you had not so many clothes? Sometimes cause I just have no room for it all, but I can’t seem to get rid of anything and I keep adding to it. 3299. What is the balance between conformity and individual freedom? Uhhhh. 3300. What do these things have in common: nakedness, sex, killing, fighting, shitting, death? You’re most likely naked during sex. Killing is death. Fighting could sometimes lead to death in extreme cases. I don’t know how shitting relates to any of it.

#it's so hard to get through these cause these questions are just like what in the actual....#personal #text #survey #surveys #5000 question survey

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aldridge · 3 years

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Rory Stewart's hedgehog speech

youtube

Multa novit vulpes, verum echinus unum magnum. The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

I am extremely pleased to have the opportunity to respond to my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport. I believe that this is the first time that Parliament has discussed hedgehogs since 1566, when hedgehogs were famously raised in relation to the attribution of a bounty of tuppence for the collection of the hedgehog throughout the United Kingdom.

The hedgehog has undergone an extraordinary evolution. 1566 seems very recent, but the hedgehog was around before 1566. It was around before this Parliament. The hedgehog, and its ancestor, narrowly missed being crushed under the foot of Tyrannosaurus rex. The hedgehog was around long before the human species: it existed 56 million years ago.

It tells us a great deal about British civilisation that my hon. Friend has raised the hedgehog. Because the hedgehog is a magical creature. The hedgehog is a creature that appears on cylinder seals in Sumeria, bent backwards on the prows of Egyptian ships. The hedgehog has of course a famous medicinal quality taken by the Romany people for baldness. And it represents a symbol of the resurrection found throughout Christian Europe. This strange animal was known, of course, in Scotland, Wales and Ireland originally in Gaelic as “that demonic creature, that horrid creature”, and is the hedgehog celebrated by Shakespeare:

“Thorny hedgehog, be not seen… Come not near our faerie queen”,

and famously of course in Richard III there is that great moment when Gloucester is referred to as a “hedgehog”. It represents a strange decline in British civilisation from a notion of this magical, mystical, terrifying creature to where it is today – and I refer of course to my own constituent, the famous cleanliness representative of Penrith and The Border, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle.

I want to be serious for a moment. The hedgehog is of course an important environmental indicator: the hedgehog’s habitat, its ability to occupy 30 hectares of land, and its particular relationship to the hibernaculum – by which I mean the hedgehog’s ability, almost uniquely among animals in the United Kingdom, to go into a state of genuine hibernation. Its heartbeat goes from 240 a minute to only two a minute for six months a year. It has a particular diet: a focus on grubs and beetles. The street hedgehog initiative, which my hon. Friend has brought forward, reminds us that, by cutting holes in the bottom of our hedges, we can create again an opportunity for hedgehogs to move.

But the hedgehog is a bigger lesson for us in our environment. Firstly, a lesson in scientific humility. The hedgehog has of course been studied for over 2,000 years. The first scientific reference to the hedgehog is in Aristotle; he is picked up again by Isidore of Seville in the 8th century, and again by Buffon in the 18th century – and these are reminders of the ways in which we get hedgehogs wrong. Aristotle points out that the hedgehog carries apples on his spine into his nest. Isidore of Seville argues that the hedgehog travels with grapes embedded on his spine. Buffon believes these things might have been food for the winter – but as we know today the hedgehog, hibernating as he does, is not a creature that requires to take food into his nest for the winter. Our belief in Britain that the five teeth of the hedgehog represent the reaction of the sinful man to God – the five excuses that the sinful man makes to God – is subverted by our understanding that the hedgehog does not have five teeth.

Finally, the legislation introduced in this House – to my great despair – in 1566, which led to the bounty of a tuppence on a hedgehog was based on a misunderstanding: the idea that the hedgehog fed on the teats of a recumbent cow in order to feed itself on milk. This led to the death of between of half a million and 2 million hedgehogs between 1566 and 1800; a subject John Clare takes forward in a poem of 1805, and which led my own Department, the Ministry of Agriculture, in 1908 to issue a formal notice to farmers encouraging them not to believe that hedgehogs take milk from the teats of a recumbent cow, because of course the hedgehog’s mouth is too small to be able to perform this function.

But before we mock our ancestors, we must understand this is a lesson for us. The scientific mistakes we made in the past about the hedgehog are mistakes that we too may be mocked for in the future. We barely understand this extraordinary creature. We barely understand for example its habit of “self-anointing”: you will see a hedgehog produce an enormous amount of saliva and throw it over its back; we do not understand why it does it. We do not really understand its habit of aestivation – which is to say the Pushto version of the hedgehog hibernates in the summer as well as the winter; we do not understand that concept of aestivation.

The hedgehog also represents, for those of us interested in environmental management, the important subject of conflict in habitats. The habitat that suits the hedgehog is liminal land; it’s edge land, it’s hedgerows, it’s dry land. The hedgehog is not an animal that flourishes in many of our nature reserves; it doesn’t do well in peatland, it doesn’t do well in dense, heavy native woodland. The things that prey on the hedgehog are sometimes things that we treasure – my hon. Friend mentioned the issue of the badger. There is also the question of the hedgehog in the Western Isles, which relates to the hedgehog’s potential predation on the eggs of the Arctic tern.

Finally – and, I think, more positively – what the hedgehog really represents for us is an incredible symbol of citizen science. The energy that my hon. Friend has brought to the debate is a great example of British – or perhaps English – eccentricity, and it is on the basis of English eccentricity that our habitat has been preserved. Gilbert White, the great 18th century naturalist, was himself an immense eccentric. It has been preserved thanks to eccentrics such as my hon. Friend and, perhaps most famously of all, Hugh Warwick, the great inspiration behind the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. He has written no fewer than three books on the hedgehog, and he talks very movingly about staring into the eyes of a hedgehog, getting a sense of its wildness from its gaze. These enthusiasts connect the public to nature, sustain our 25-year environment programme, and contribute enormously to our scientific understanding of these animals. This is true in relation to bees, it’s true in relation to beavers, and it’s true in particular in relation to Hugh Warwick’s work on the hedgehog.

Ultimately, we need to understand that the hedgehog is a very prickly issue. The reason for that is that my hon. Friend has raised the question of adopting the hedgehog as our national symbol. Some hon. Members will remember that the hedgehog was used by Saatchi & Saatchi in an advertising campaign for the Conservative party in 1992 general election, and therefore we should therefore pay tribute to the hedgehog’s direct contribution to our election victory in that year. But I would like to challenge my hon. Friend’s assertion that the hedgehog should become our national symbol. I ask you, Madam Deputy Speaker, as I ask those on both sides of this House, because this question concerns not only one party, but all of us: Do we want to have as our national symbol an animal which when confronted with danger rolls over into a little ball and puts its spikes up? Do we want to have as our national symbol an animal that sleeps for six months of the year? Or would we rather return to the animal that is already our national symbol? I refer, of course, to the lion: majestic, courageous, proud.

If I may finish with a little testimony to my hon. Friend and to those innocent creatures which are hedgehogs, perhaps I can reach back to them not as a symbol for our nation but as a symbol of innocence to Thomas Hardy. He says:

“When the hedgehog travels furtively over the lawn, One may say, ‘He strove that such innocent creatures should come to no harm, But he could do little for them; and now he is gone.’ If, when hearing that I have been stilled at last, they stand at the door, Watching the full-starred heavens that winter sees, Will this thought rise on those who will meet my face no more, ‘He was one who had an eye for such mysteries’?

(10 November 2015. Transcript via Hansard, edited a bit. The video misses the Latin bit at the beginning, which is a shame.)

#Youtube

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surveysonfleek · 7 years

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564.

5000 Question Survey Pt. 34

3201. What if this is as good as it gets? i don’t believe that. 3202. Have you ever dated someone mostly or completely because of their looks? nope. 3203. What does the word 'of' mean? originating from. that’s the simplest way can describe it i guess. 3204. What should you never forget? all the great memories and experiences i’ve had throughout my life. 3205. How many of the 7 Dwarves can you name for us? all of them. happy, doc, bashful, grumpy, sneezy, dopey... omg maybe i can’t lol. i had to google it, i missed sleepy :(

3206. What animal does your mom resemble? haha none tbh. 3207. Have you ever had a palm reading? no i haven’t. 3208. What's a crazy thing you did that you got in trouble for as a kid? jumping on furniture at a furniture store. i didn’t think it was that bad lmao, i got told off and my mum was so confused. 3209. What do you battle against? nothing? 3210. Do piercings really make the pierced area dramatically more sensitive? once it’s healed, no. 3211. If you had put aside some money for a trip and the travel agent said he had 2 trips available in your price range during the week you want to go, which would you choose: a> a week in hawaii in a luxury beach resort b> a week in africa helping the red cross distribute food and medicine first option, ONLY coz i haven’t experienced straight up luxury before. 3212. Have you ever played with a dreidal? no. 3213. Did you know that Kraft is owned by a cigarette company? Does that bother you? i didn’t know and tbh it doesn’t bother me. i hardly buy kraft products to begin with. 3214. With all the information constantly rushing at you, how do you know what's important? i decide for myself. 3215. How is your life unlike a movie? it’s incredibly boring. 3216. Where is the most beautiful place you have visited? el nido, philippines. 3217. What is never going in your mouth? bugs. 3218. Are there really 5,000 different facts about you? probably! 3219. Do you like banana bread? love it. 3220. Who are you the most gentle and tender around? my boyfriend. 3221. If electrodes were inserted into your brain and a button was put into your arm so that you could push the button and stimulate an immeadiate orgasm would you forget about life and sit at home pushing the button until you died? no. i’d prefer getting an orgasm the natural way lol. 3222. Is there a difference between being scared and afraid? yes. 3223. Are you scared and/or afraid of death? to an extent. If yes, what is it about death? just not doing everything i’ve wanted to do in my life. The pain? not really. The separation? yes. the unknown? yes. the fear of nothing? eh, idk. 3224. What is existentialism? cbf. 3225. SUCCESS is counted sweetest By those who ne’er succeed. To comprehend a nectar Requires sorest need. Not one of all the purple host Who took the flag to-day Can tell the definition, So clear, of victory, As he, defeated, dying, On whose forbidden ear The distant strains of triumph Break, agonized and clear. by, Emily Dickinson What is Emily Dickenson trying to say here? idk. 3226. A college girl (maybe you?) blows a tire and pulls off the road in an unfamiliar residential neighbourhood. She is having trouble changing the tire when a man in his late thirties-ish comes over and asks if she needs some help. He changes her tire and offers to let her go into his house to wash her hands. She is dirty from trying to change the tire. Should she accept? no. i carry around hand sanitiser all the damn time.

She does accept and he gives her a tour of the house including the upstairs. The staircase in the living room leads directly into the master bedroom. The view out the window is beautiful. What are you thinking about this situation? honestly, it seems innocent, but i just find it weird someone would want to take a random person on a tour of their house. 3227. Are you too trusting of others? nope. 3228. What's the difference between a den and a living room? i have no ideas. they’re just lounges and living rooms to me. 3229. Write a stream of consciousness sentence: no. 3230. Who is the hero of all kids? their parents and/or guardian. 3231. Who do you tend to show more of your best side to, your family or strangers? my family. but they also know my worst sides. 3232. How do you think the harry potter series will end? haha it’s done. 3233. Name three things that would make really bad ice cream flavors: spaghetti, sushi and bbq ribs. 3234. Would you try a jelly bean if it's flavor was: toasted marshmallow? fried chicken? black pepper? vomit? grass? dirt? boogers? ear wax? sardines? Did you know that you can get these flavors of jellybeans at harrypotter.com? pretty sure i’ve tried these. 3235. What's at the center of the earth? who knows. 3236. have you ever wondered where holidays come from? history. 3237. Do you think there should be more movies shown in 3D? no, there’s already a lot of 3d movies. 3238. Are you just another brick in the wall? sometimes. 3239. Write a haiku (a poem with 3 lines, 1st line is 5 syllables, second line is 7 sylabels, 3rd line is five syllabals): no. it’s incredibly annoying to see this person has spelt syllables in three different ways though. 3240. Are you cautious and tame? yes. 3241. Do you like to eat at Subway? no. i haven’t eaten subway in forever. whenever i do, it’s really unfulfilling. 3242. Is 42 the meaning of life? huh? 3243. Would you agree that a blade of grass is nothing less than the journeywork of stars? idk. 3244. Do you want to die? not yet. 3245. If someone was studying 'the humanities' what the hell are they studying? it’s a really broad topic lol. 3246. Is this question REALLY is this question 3246? idk. 3247. Do you want to dieT? yeah, i need to lol. 3248. What is colder, your feet, or the floor? floor. 3249. What is older, your mouth, or the door? my mouth. 3250. Are you more beauty or more beast? beauty but i’m not talking physically. 3251. Are we there yet? nope. 3252. Scantron or handwritten tests? whaat? 3253. What's that sound? the fan. 3254. True/false: To the maggots on the cheese, the cheese is the universe. wtf lol. 3255. What's the best treat to bring with you to elementary school for your birthday? Cupcakes? probably cupcakes so it’s easily distributed. 3256. What would you expect to learn from self interrogation? idk. 3257. When you feel cold does eating warm food help you feel warm? sometimes. 3258. Does being true to yourself mean saying 'screw everybody else, my shit is more important'? not really. 3259. Have you reckoned a thousand acres much? no. 3260. Have you reckoned the earth much? no. 3261. Have you ever had a vision? nope. 3262. If you have a vision or belief and someone else has a conflicting vision or belief, how do you tell which one is valid? Are they both valid? they’re both valid. 3263. Why is everything based around proof and facts instead of intuition? not everything is based on proof, let’s be real. 3264. What is the grass? azz. 3265. Have you ever supposed it is lucky to be born? Is it just as lucky to die? no... 3266. What is it that you express in your eyes? boredom. 3267. What is man anyhow? What am I? and what are you? *yawn* 3268. You understand enough. Why don't you let it out? this is lame. 3269. What is less or more than a touch? - 3270. Why should anyone wish to see god more than they wish to see this day? they don’t. 3271. Have you guessed that after death you yourself would not continue? sure. 3272. Have you dreaded the earth beetles? no. 3273. Have you feared the future would be nothing to you? no. 3274. Is today nothing? no. 3275. Is the beginingless past nothing? no. 3276. Do you believe in a collective unconsiouss? no. 3277. Jung or Freud? no. 3278. What is a 'fate worse than death'? being tortured for years on end. 3279. What are the 5 main things you think about?/ work, life, what’s for breakfast/lunch/dinner, friends, weekends. 3280. Name someone you know. my boyfriend. What is the biggest thing you have in common with them? sense of humour. 3281. Do you think that laws should be passed to regulate human breeding? i think it’s problematic. 3282. Do you think they already exist in a subtle way? idk. 3283. Why is it that so many people are demanding the death penalty as punishment for a wider and wider range of crimes? probably so they don’t waste taxpayer’s money on housing criminals until they die of old age. 3284. Is it partially to weed the nonconformists out of the gene pool? idk. 3285. What does it mean to be free? do whatever you want without being judged. 3286. What does it mean to be tamed or domesticated? conforming into something that you’re really not. 3287. Is the human animal becoming more and more tame and domestic? If yes, what is causing this? are we becoming more or less free? ugh, idk. 3288. Are you embarrassed about your naked body? If yes, is that freedom? yes and no. 3289. Are you the result of all of evolution up to this point? somewhat. 3290. The murderous person...how does he sleep? some can just deal with it. 3291. Your mother...is she living? Have you been much with her? and has she been much with you? lol wtf. 3292. Are these questions disturbing you? If yes, why? they’re not, they’re just boring. 3293. What are you focused on? myself. 3294. Have you ever admired wickedness? um, no. 3295. Is the accomplishment of one person the accomplishment of all humanity? Why or why not? somewhat. 3296. Is the imprisonment of one person the imprisonment of all humanity? Why or why not? idk. 3297. We're just following ancient history. If I strip for you, will you strip for me? no lol. 3298. Have you ever wished you had not so many clothes? no. 3299. What is the balance between conformity and individual freedom? just doing you but abiding by society’s standards. 3300. What do these things have in common: nakedness, sex, killing, fighting, shitting, death? idk.

#survey #surveys #quiz #bored #questions

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theonyxpath · 7 years

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Hi, everyone. Today, I’d like to preview some Merits from Changeling: The Lost.

When we started the second edition process with Vampire (which, wow, was five years ago), one of the things I was keen on was making sure that every monster had access to cool Merits related to their supernatural nature. Splat-specific Merits have been a big part of second edition, and Changeling is no different. Indeed, it’s even more of a natural fit for the Lost, given the range of innate qualities and unexpected advantages changelings sometimes acquire.

With that in mind, here are some Merits from Changeling. These aren’t all of the changeling-specific Merits in the book (I’d say they’re about a quarter of them), but I think they show off some of the fun directions we’ve gone in.

One of the things I’ve chosen to highlight is changeling fighting styles, because the Chronicles of Darkness can be a rough place. You’ll also notice that some forms of fae magic fit more naturally as Merits than as Contracts, something to keep in mind when customizing powers for your own game.

Diviner (• to •••••)

Prerequisites: Composure •••, Wits •••

Effect: Your character can dig within his dreams for prophetic answers to primordial truths, as all humanity is and has always been connected through their dreams via the Dreaming Roads. He must enter a dream state, through either the Gate of Ivory or Horn, into his own Bastion. Then, ask the Storyteller a yes or no question about something he wishes to divine from his dreams. She must answer accurately, but can use “maybe” if the answer is truly neither yes nor no. Depending on the answer, you may ask additional questions, up to your Merit dots. You can ask that many total questions per chapter.

Dream Warrior (•)

Prerequisites: Wyrd 2+, one Social Attribute •••, a specialty in Weaponry or Brawl

Effect: Choose a Specialty in Weaponry or Brawl when you purchase this Merit. Your character’s extensive training in oneiromancy allows her to benefit from the flexibility of the dream. By blending dreamscaping and martial techniques, strikes land faster as the dream bends to aid her blows. You may use the chosen Specialty for its bonus even in dream form (p. XX).

You may purchase this Merit multiple times to gain its benefit with multiple Specialties.

Dreamweaver (•••)

Prerequisite: Wyrd 3+

Effect: As his connection to the Wyrd grows stronger, so does the changeling’s control over the dream. Once per scene, you may spend a Willpower point to make three successes count as an exceptional success on a dreamweaving roll (p. XX).

Elemental Warrior (• to •••••; Style)

Prerequisites: Dexterity or Wits •••; Brawl, Firearms, or Weaponry ••; Elemental Weapon or Primal Glory (Contracts) or Elemental seeming

Effect: Choose one physical element when you purchase this Merit, such as wind, flame, or wood. Your character commands it in battle; all of the following effects apply only to the chosen element.

Wind Cuts to the Bone (•): The changeling achieves exceptional success on any roll to deal purely elemental damage with three successes instead of five, except when Hedgespinning or dreamweaving. If a weapon is made from only the chosen element, such as a wooden club, it counts.

Defensive Flurry (••): The character adds half his Wyrd (rounded down) in dice to his Dodge pool after doubling his Defense. This swirling elemental shield allows the character to Dodge Firearms attacks as well, but not apply Defense against them.

Hungry Leaping Flames (•••): By spending a Glamour, the changeling may make melee attacks from 10 yards away from his target and add 10 yards to the short/medium/long ranges of a ranged attack for the scene. In addition, the appropriate elemental effects may disturb the scenery: flammable objects can ignite, cutting winds might knock over unsecured objects, and so forth.

Antaean Endurance (••••): While the character remains in significant contact with the chosen element (standing on bare earth, knee-deep in water, facing powerful wind gusts, etc.), he gains extra Health boxes equal to half his Wyrd, rounded down. Add the same as bonus dice to all rolls to resist fatigue or toxins, or to stay conscious.

Wrath of Titans (•••••): The changeling can spend a Glamour to make his successful melee attacks cause one of the following Tilts for the scene, chosen when activated: Blinded (one eye, or two with multiple attacks on the same target), Deafened (one ear, or two with multiple attacks on the same target), or Knocked Down.

Enchanting Performance (• to •••; Style)

Prerequisites: Presence •••, Expression •••

Effect: A character with Enchanting Performance can touch upon whatever font makes all things fae so captivating. She brings a little of that magical obsession from beyond the Hedge and puts it to use. Whether she does so for cruelty or kindness depends on the changeling.

Limerick (•): Your character knows how to aim insults at an audience for maximum humiliation. She can use Expression to force Doors in Social maneuvering, as her scathing words count as Hard Leverage, and adds half her Wyrd rating as dice to the roll to do so, rounded down.

Poem (••): When your character has successfully opened a Door using Expression for performance, she may spend a Glamour to open another Door immediately.

Sonnet (•••): Your character encourages a fearsome self-confidence with a performance unlike anything her audience has ever seen. She may spend a Glamour to give the rote quality to her next mundane performance-related Expression roll. If successful, a target in the audience gains the Inspired Condition (p. XX). On an exceptional success, everyone viewing the performance gains the Inspired Condition.

Fae Mount (• to •••••)

Effect: Your character has befriended a creature of the Hedge to serve as his steed. Through a special song or gesture, the mount comes to its master anywhere in the Hedge, except to the Hollow of a changeling who prohibits it.

Additionally, each dot of this Merit allows the creature one of the following special abilities:

Manyleague: With a body of screaming wind or quicksilver, the steed is faster than any other, doubling its Speed. It gains the Merit’s rating as a bonus to Initiative if it acts on its own; if not, you gain the Initiative bonus while mounted instead.

Chatterbox: Many creatures in the Hedge are more intelligent than their appearance would let on. The steed can speak to and understand its owner clearly, and can relay simple messages in its master’s tongue to other changelings, though complex words and metaphor are beyond this special ability.

Actormask: Like your changeling, the mount has a Mask. This allows it to leave the Hedge, albeit for a limited time, and in a shape a great deal more mundane. An armored spider mount might become a Volkswagen Beetle, while a horse of steaming blood might become a sporty red motorcycle. Any abilities it receives from this Merit still apply and whatever form the Mask takes should bear that in mind. It may remain outside the Hedge for one scene, fading into nothing shortly thereafter. A Fae Mount that disappears will reappear in the Hedge after a day and a night.

Armorshell: Plates of thick chitin or stone cover the beast. It gains 3/2 armor and provides partial concealment to anyone currently riding.

Burdenback: The mount is massive, with broad shoulders or a pearlescent coach that grows from its haunches. It can carry a number of individuals equal to dots in this Merit. It receives an additional two dots of Stamina.

Dreamspun: Some creatures in the Hedge exist only as long as they’re acknowledged. When the mount dies, it returns to life the next time the character gets a full night’s rest, with no knowledge of perishing. It gains dots in Stealth equal to your dots in Fae Mount.

Thornbeast: Many fanged monsters hunt in the Hedge, and your character’s mount is one of these faerie predators. Add two dice to all attacks the mount makes, and increase their weapon modifier by 2. This can represent anything from natural claws to grotesque metal sawblades.

Hedgefoot: Many faerie creatures aren’t earthbound. They swing from trees, claw their way up walls, and even fly. Your character’s mount is no different. It can either run across water as fast it moves on land, move up buildings at three times its normal Speed, or fly once per scene at twice its Speed for a number of turns equal to your dots in this Merit.

[Stat block redacted]

Faerie Favor (•••)

Effect: The Gentry’s promises bind them to a greater degree than those of the Lost do, and your character possesses such a promise. She is entitled to a favor from one of the True Fae. She may have gained this favor through anything from knowing a clever riddle to a dark deed done at the cost of another changeling’s freedom. However she earned it, she has a bauble, song, or phrase that represents the favor, and when she breaks, sings, or utters it, the True Fae will appear.

The favor can be many things: the capture of a rival the changeling has tracked to his Hollow, a week of freedom from a Huntsman on the changeling’s heels, safe passage to somewhere in the Hedge or mortal world, etc. After the character calls in the favor, she gains dots in any combination of Merits appropriate to the power of the Gentry, per the Sanctity of Merits (p. XX).

Drawback: Nothing about summoning the Gentry for aid can be easily explained to another changeling. The character gains the Notoriety Condition when she calls in the favor.

Hedge Duelist (• to •••; Style)

Prerequisites: Presence or Manipulation ••; Brawl or Weaponry ••; any Social Skill ••

Effect: Your character is a skilled fae duelist, capable of turning the Hedge into a weapon. Each Duelist adopts a different style. A capricious sword-dancer might taunt and tease the Hedge into action, while a king of beasts calls Glamour-phantoms and Hedge-fiends to aid him, and a druidic sorcerer communes with the Hedge, its voice guiding his movements. This Merit’s effects only work in the Hedge proper.

Thousand Falling Leaves (•): The character’s attacks flutter about his enemy like a cascade of falling leaves. You may inflict a ?1 Defense penalty on his opponent in exchange for only dealing half the damage he would normally deal if you succeed.

Emerald Shield (••): The Hedge lifts up the strongest and shields him from harm. Leaves, roots, branches, even flocks of birds surge to turn aside his foe’s attacks. He gains an armor rating of 2/0, which stacks with worn armor but not with armor gained from Hedgespinning.

Bite Like Thorns (•••): Your character’s attacks wound deeply and the Hedge greedily soaks up the blood he spills. Fat vines snake around his opponent’s limbs, fastening like leeches onto their wounds. Razor-edged leaves open their cuts. Add a dice bonus to attacks equal to the wound penalty his foe suffers.

Manymask (•••)

Prerequisites: Wyrd 2+, Manipulation •••

Effect: A changeling is usually stuck with the same Mask he left the Hedge with, an immutable combination of remembered human traits. Some changelings develop control over the appearance of their Masks, either through intense mental gymnastics or some quirk of seeming, kith, pledge, or Contract.

The character may spend a point of Glamour to change his Mask permanently. He may make one change per chapter per dot of Wyrd he possesses to any of the following: eye color, hair color, facial structure, or skin tone; or he may remove any notable scars or other features such as birthmarks, freckles, etc. At Wyrd 5+ he may create an entirely new Mask once per chapter by spending one Glamour, mostly unbeholden to his existing features.

Parallel Lives (•••)

Effects: The changeling is deeply connected to his fetch. Each experiences occasional flashes of the other’s emotional state when something affects one of them strongly, and gains two bonus dice to use Empathy or magic to read the other’s intentions, or to enter his Bastion. By spending a point of Willpower, either can ride along with the other’s senses for a number of minutes equal to his Wyrd rating, losing his Defense and the ability to perceive the world around him as he does.

Either of them can also spend a Willpower point to send a vague message via thought to the other; it comes across not in words, but fleeting impressions and snippets of images, and can only encompass fairly simple ideas. A fetch could warn his changeling of a Huntsman’s impending arrival, but without any detail about when or how. Likewise, the changeling could threaten his fetch’s life, but couldn’t make any specific demands. Whenever the fetch uses this connection to make the changeling’s life more dangerous or inconvenient, take a Beat.

#Onyx Path Publishing

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