#two nights ago I even DREAMED about being in a attack and I woke up with a panic attack

[disco-cola]

Just seeing the posts and reports in the captions of eye on palestine’s instagram account from just the last 24 HOURS is crazy. Fucking crazy. Over 100 deaths in not even a full day again. And then media says they are lying about it bc the numbers are so „unclear“ like dude they don’t get THE TIME to even count let alone bury their people with dignity, it’s just too many in too little time. I think the traumatization I already have from previous videos is at its final point but it keeps going (again, my lucky privileged ass watching from a safe home in a first world country while they have no choice but to see and feel all this in real life). They let 20 aid trucks in when several hundreds have been waiting for days at the closed border. Before the „“““““counterattack““““ around 100-200 aid trucks reportedly came into Gaza daily to deliver goods (reports on the definitive number differ tho, some say it’s been even more usually). Now they let 20 in after over two weeks of complete blockade. This is still inhumane conditions. People aren’t just dying from attacks but also hunger and thirst and getting sick from dirty water. I don’t understand how this can still be going on, i read more than half of the buildings in Gaza are already destructed and most victims are women and children. Keep in mind Gaza is only like 40 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide, that’s like not even half of most big cities like berlin or nyc. Way to fucking go israhell

[sweetlyskz]

Emerald Gem||Chapter Seven

Chapter one|Chapter two|Chapter three|Chapter four|Chapter five|Chapter six|Chapter seven|Chapter eight|Chapter nine|Chapter ten

Hybrid!OT7 x Fem!Reader

Overview: Living away from society has its perks. All natural food from your thoroughly cultivated farm, no nosy neighbors, and peace and security with your animals. But sometimes you did get lonely, having no one to talk to but the cows and pigs. However, when 7 extremely wanted hybrids stumble upon your deserted farm, everything changes.

Genre: Hybrid Au, Strangers to lovers, slow burn, smut, fluff

Warnings: none that I can think of rn lol

Word count: 1.4k

unedited

You woke up in a cold sweat, body trembling. You threw the heavy comforter off of you in a haste. The boys were no longer in your bed. 

A man.

A man that you not dare speak his name was now in your bed. A man from years ago, who you thought you had forgotten. Apparently you haven’t.

“Didn’t you miss me?” He whispered. You shook your head violently. It’s all a dream, you reasoned. I just need to wake up.

“I missed you. I think about you every day. Do you ever think about me?”

“No!” You yelled, now sobbing. “You left! You’re a coward! All you do is run.”

The man grabbed you by your hair gently, making you face him. He wiped the tears off your warm cheeks. “I won’t run this time.”

“I promise.”

Two words. Two words was all it took to wake you from your dream. Or was it a nightmare? It’s up to you to decide.

***

It was a cold, rainy morning. Yoongi sat by the window in the living room, watching water droplets splash off the leaves while bundled up in a fuzzy blanket. It was a drowsy morning for the boys. They were worried about their pack leader, of course. They were curious about his wellbeing.

They feared that they were next.

You did what you could to comfort them, but you knew that without Namjoon home, the boys were never going to feel true peace. It made you sick to your stomach thinking about what the researchers may be doing to him. Taehyung couldn’t sleep without being next to Jimin. Jimin was restless when sleeping without Jungkook.

And Kook had night terrors when he wasn’t cuddling with you.

Hoseok was jumpy. A knock at the door had him running. Thunderstorms woke him from his slumber. Jin was unusually caring. In the morning he already made breakfast, working on lunch. After showers, it gave Jin a sense of protection drying his pack members hair. He even made his rounds, room to room, making sure everyone was sleeping soundly. When Jin had a chance to rest his eyes, all he could picture was the people he loved be snatched one by one.

Yoongi had a caffeine problem.

A cup in the morning, cup in the afternoon, and a piping hot cup before bed. He believed it to be a stress reliever, but he was actually bouncing off the walls, having caffeine induced anxiety attacks. You even tried hiding the coffee maker, but to no avail. He found it every time. And he would never admit that he can’t relax without having the entire pack in his sight.

“Can I come in?” A knock at your office door awoke you from your thoughts. Jin, on the other side of the door with a cup of hot cocoa and a plate of bacon and eggs, awaited your response. “I don’t wanna interrupt.”

You pushed your rolling chair to the door, creaking it open for him. “No, you’re not interrupting anything. Just doing some research...This for me?” You pointed at the plate of food in Jin’s hand. He nodded, handing you the warm plate carefully.

“And don’t worry about cleaning. Tae already put everything away. Watcha researching?” His eyes roamed your desk. A map with written directions. An article titled: Dr. Kim Petitions Court for Hybrid Rights.

And a piece of torn paper with a phone number on it and a fancy name.

“Who’s Hongjoong?” Jin asked you, a little more aggressively than he thought. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re free to talk to whoever, I just-“

“It’s okay”, you giggled, showing him that you’re in no way upset. “I was actually going to talk to you guys about something, but now that you’re here I guess I’ll tell you. Come sit”. You pat the velvet ottoman across from your desk. 

“I wanna get your thoughts before I tell the others.”

“Tell the others what, exactly?” Jin sat down with ease, a lot of curiosity.

You prepared your thoughts. How do I say that I want to take the countries most wanted hybrids to the research facility where their pack leader is being kept?

“W-what?”

Shit, I said that out loud.

 “Wait! Im so sorry! Fuck, that came out wrong. I was trying to say that I found a way for us to get Namjoon back, but it requires a lot of work”. You hoped that eased Jins worries. You hoped he would ponder of over the idea, give it some thought. You hoped he would say yes and convince the others.

You hoped.

“So, you want to travel with six hybrid criminals, in hopes of breaking out another hybrid criminal, and make it back home in one piece? Im confused.”

Rightfully so. You didn’t have it all planned out. You didn’t give him all the details. You didn’t even know the details yourself! Now, you’re putting your trust in an old friend who claims that he believes in hybrid rights?

Sounds like a bunch of horse shit to Jin.

“Jin please just hear me out”, you begged. “I have this friend- well old classmate, really. He’s a researcher who is currently on strike for his beliefs on hybrid testing and abuse. If I can get to him, he might be able to help us get Joon back.”

You could see the look on Jin’s face. He was still dubious, and he had every right to be. Why do we have to go? He wondered. Can you promise me we’ll make it back?

“You want my honest opinion?” You nodded frantically. “Okay...”

He paused. “I feel like it’s a shitty idea.”

“Jin-“

“No! You wanna know what I think? I think it’s a dumb fucking idea! God knows what will happen on the way there. Not to mention, Joon may already be dead! Then you have led us into a trap where we will all face the same fate, you included!” 

You sighed. You were getting nowhere. Dead end after dead end. It seemed hopeless.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

A notification popped up on your phone. It was a text message. One that you didn’t expect…

Kim Hongjoong 8:35 AM

Hey, it’s been a while

Been thinking about you…

Im actually back home visiting my parents

Was wondering if you maybe

wanted to catch up?

***

He felt like he was floating. His body was beaten and bruised. His hearing was foggy. He couldn’t hear the whisperings going on in the lab, but he could hear the banging on the metal bars of his cell.

“Leave him!” One researcher yelled. “Dr. Kim said not to touch him until he gets back! Do you really want to upset him?”

The other guy rolled his eyes. “Why would I care what he says?”

“Maybe because he signs our checks?” The researcher continued his tasks, analyzing Namjoons blood in the glass test tube. “Can you at least try to not sound like an asshole?”

The guy smirked, banging on the bars one more time.

“Not possible.”

***

That night you curled up in bed with a good book, needing a distraction. The pack wanted to sleep together, leaving you with a bed all to yourself. You knew how they felt about you, perceiving you as part of the pack, but it didn’t feel right to impose on their personal time together. You’re human after all. You might not ever truly be apart of them…

“You think loudly. Your face shows it all”

You jumped, throwing your book to the side. Wasn’t like you were reading it anyway. “My god Yoongi! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

He shushed you. “Keep it down. It took forever for everyone to go to sleep. I almost didn’t make it here”, he laughed, making his way to the left side of the bed. You scooted over to give him room.

“I thought you guys were sleeping together tonight?” You asked. “Isn’t this like a pack violation or something?” Yoongi stuffed himself under the covers and rested his head on the pillow.

“Just lay down and shut up”, he huffed.

“Well, excuse me”, you giggled, reaching over to your nightstand and turning off the light. Yoongi held his arms out, an invitation for you to be held. He seemed to always know exactly what you needed. “Thanks Yoon.”

“Anytime my love, anytime.”

Taglist! (still open for you guys!)

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[desi2go]

A pirate and the sea

pairings: pirate!Jeongin x reader

Warnings: death, angst, fluff

summary: You were the daughter of a sailesman and after your father's death, you were held captive by pirates. Luckily, you meet a young pirate that will change your life forever.

author's note: Hey guys! I'm a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean so I thought I would try to write a fic about pirates. I hope you like it even though my knowledge comes from the films and the internet ;-)

The sea is wild. Something you can't tame. Within minutes, the peaceful waves can turn into fearsome beasts that cannot be domesticated.

Yet, the humans explore it and take every opportunity to reach further into the deepest of the sea. They search for gold, for treasures, and for freedom.

Many people try to control it, sailesmen from European colonies claim the sea.

But there are also pirates. They raid and steal from the cities. Their home is the sea, their ship.

Two days ago, a pirate ship docked at the harbour of your town. You were the daughter of a sailesman, someone with money.

In the night, they looted the shops and surprised your father and you. Quickly, your father pushed you behind a cabin so that they couldn't see you.

They picked the lock and four pirates stormed in. Your father tried to bring them to just take the money and go but they knew that this wasn't everything your family owned. They aimed their colts at him. They will shot him, you thought. In your hands was your own colt that your father gave you if you would ever be in danger.

As a sailesman, he had many enemies. Mostly pirates. So, he taught you how to defend yourself. But in this moment, where the guns pointed at your father's chest, you needed to do something. You can't just stand there and hide when your only family member was about to get shot.

You took a deep breath and with shivering fingers, you jumped out of your hideout and aimed one of the pirates. Without hesitation, you pulled the trigger and the pirate fell to the ground while his crew mates turned.

"Daughter, no!" Your father exclaimed as one of the men grabbed your arm and held his gun to your temple.

"Feisty little thing, you are" the pirate behind you whispered into your ear. Due to the smell of his breath you, you tried not to vomit.

Your father pleaded to let you go but they seemed to be fond of you.

Blind from the panic, your father tried to get to you and in that moment the other pirate shot him. The bullet went directly through his chest where blood stained his chemise red.

You tried to escape, to get to him. You needed to help him but the stern grip didn't let you go. You cried and yelled as they dragged you out of your house and to the docks.

Your naked feet burned due to the uneven ground and the cold wind dried your tear streaks.

They dragged you on their ship and threw you in a cell under the deck

...

You didn't know how long you were on that ship. You had cried until the exhaustion made you fall asleep and woke up when the pirates dumped a bucket of water over you.

They laughed and walked up the stairs. The hole to the deck was the only light source while your cell was surrounded with nothing but darkness. The only thing you heard, besides the rustling of the waves, were the footsteps above you.

You didn't know how many time has passed and the constantly rocking of the ship through the waves made you fall into a sleep again and again.

The same dream followed you everywhere. You saw your father dead, murdered by these beasts again and again.

Days passed and you wondered if someone would search for you. If someone had found your father. Maybe you should have stayed in the hideaway. Maybe then your father, your only family that was left, wouldn't be dead.

You felt weak. Although you were used to being on a ship, the absence of food and water made you nauseous. The last time you ate something was in the night, when the pirates attacked your home.

Suddenly, you heard the rapid footsteps above you. Were they in panic? Was a storm about to hit the ship and they were just jumping around to prepare it therefore?

Then, you heard shouting and the noise was louder. What was going on?

It seemed that it were fights due to the sound of swords crashing together and the painful shoutings.

And suddenly, the noisiness stopped and it was nearly completely quiet.

A foot clothed in a brown boot stepped on the first stair down, then the other. The footsteps were heavy and calm as the person went down to where the cells were. Each step revealed more of the person and soon, another person followed. Judging by the footwear, that weren't your father's friends.

You panicked.

It didn't sound like any of the bastards that kidnapped you. With all your strength, you fled to the end of your cell and pushed yourself to the wooden wall behind you. You hoped that the person's, the foreigner wouldn't see you.

If they just took over the complete ship without any hesitation, they would be worse than the murderer.

The two guy, observed the dark room, still alerted with swords and colts in hand if there were other pirates down here.

All you could do was sitting there and hope that they didn't notice you.

But when one of them turned and saw you. He nudged his mates to make him draw attention to you.

They spoke quietly to each other and one went upstairs. Maybe they wouldn't pay you attention at all. Maybe they'll just let you be in that cell.

But another person made his way downstairs. Due to the lack of light, you couldn't see his face and only pressed yourself further into the wall.

"Who do we have here? A little bird" he said and you could nearly hear his smile.

"No need to be afraid little bird." He stated while he pulled out a colt and at first, you thought that this would be the end. Your death but he aimed the lock that kept you in the cell. With a targeted shot, he opened the door to the cell and walked in.

"See? No danger. Come"

You nodded and stood up slowly. Your stance was weak and shaky due to the absence of food and water over the last days. You figured that obeying his commands was the best way to stay alive.

You followed him upstairs into the light. At first, the bright sun made you blind. It was like you could finally breath again after days in that rat hole.

Now, you could observe your rescuer. He was tall and had black hair. You must admit that he was attractive.

"Cap, we've got everything" another one said. He was slightly shorter, approximately your hight and bulkier than the rest of the crew.

Your rescuer seemed to be the captain.

"Alright guys. Thanks for the good trade." The captain exclaimed to the pirates that stood in a corner, circled by three people. He walked over a beam to his ship. His hand held your arm in a firm grip to make sure you follow him. Yet, the grip wasn't hurting.

His crew followed both of you to the bigger ship. Compared to this one, the ship you were captured on was like a small boat. There were wooden boxes stacked, they must have looted them from the pirates.

Some crewmates lifted the beams up and the captain was already behind the ship's steering wheel and stirred the ship away from the other one. While the crew began to bring the boxes under deck, you just stood there. Why did he bring you here?

Where held captive again? Or was that your chance to go home?

When the course was set, the captain let his second-in-command take over. He came to you and shot you a small smile.

"Alright little bird. Welcome on our ship. I'm the Captain and my name is Jeongin. Will you tell me yours?"

You swallowed and tried to wet your lips befor answering. "Y/n"

"A beautiful name. Come, I'll show ya the ship"

Confused you followed him. What did that guy, Jeongin, want from you?

You stepped in a room, it was big and in the middle, there stood a bulky table with some maps scattered on it. Some shelfs stood in front of a wall and a bed was placed in one corner. What would you give to sleep in one now.

"That's my room. And because we don't have any other rooms free, you'll be staying here"

Due to your facial expression, he laughed.

"Little bird, you didn't thought you'll be staying in one of those cells or did you?"

You felt your blood rushing into your cheeks and lowered your view.

He walked to a cabin and digged through it. Then, he pulled out a light brown shirt and a trousers.

"They propabaly wil be too big but try it on, little bird" He held the clothes out to you and you took them hesitantly.

Jeongin left the room to give you some space and quickly, before he could come back, you jumped out of the white dress, well it was once white. You threw over the clothings and he was right, they definitely were too big for you. But you didn't mind because now you wouldn't be nearly naked in front of these men.

You entered the deck and searched for Jeongin. He stood behind the steering wheel and guided the ship. You decided that you shouldn't interrupt him now and walked around the deck. You sat down at the front so that you could see into the ocean. Sighning, you leaned forward on the railing. The sun slowly went down and nearly kissed the ocean while the sky was painted into a beautiful orange-red.

You always loved to be on the sea. Often, you accompanied your father on his trips. He taught you much about ships and sometimes you steered it.

"Hey! I'm Felix!" a deep voice behind you exclaimed. You flinched and turned your head to see a brown haired boy with a friendly smile.

"Hey. I'm Y/n" you replied.

"First time on the sea?" He asked and sat himself down beside you. The friendly smile never left his lips.

"No, my father was a sailesman. He used to take me with him" you explained.

"That's awesome. I'm sure he is on his way to you"

A sad smile danced over your face. You would never see him again. Not in this lifetime.

"Yeah, maybe" you answered with a low voice. You didn't want to tell him that you were the only one left. And you still didn't know why they saved you.

"Come, Felix! You wanted to help me prepare dinner!" A voice exclaimed and Felix shot up.

He bowed to you and quickly left.

...

Only one hour later, Jeongin broke you out of your daydreaming and led you to something that looked like a cooking hob. And honestly, you didn't know what to expect. Your father told you that most of the pirates eat mostly rusk on long journeys and that sometimes worms are in that rusk.

Jeongin saw your sceptical face and nudged you forward.

"Come. I won't poison you"

He took a bowl from Felix and gave it to you. It was filled with some bread and dried meat but no worms in sight at all. You gave him a thankful smile and ate your meal. After eating nothing for so long, you would probably eat everything that they would present you. You sat on a barrel next to Jeongin and shoveled the food into your mouth.

And again you asked yourself why they rescued you. Now they have another hungry person on the ship that isn't even in the crew.

With a full stomach, you leaned back and gave the bowl back to Felix. For a short time, you closed your eyes.

But you shot up when you felt a hand on you lower back. You relaxed when you saw that it was just the captain.

"Come, let's go to bed" he whispered and you followed him to the captain's room. He opened the door for you and let you in. Clueless, you stand in the middle of the room. There was only one bed and just because he seemed okay you couldn't be sure. You knew him for only less than a day.

"Little bird, relax. I'm gonna sleep outside with my crew." He chuckled and was already turning away when you catched the sleeve of his jacket.

You felt bad that you chased him out of his own bed. And if you were honest, you could just hold some distance.

"You can stay. You don't need to sleep outside"

A toothy smile lightened his face and his eyes crinkled. "If you say so, little bird"

He took off his jacket and boots and got into the bed. You took a deep breath, layed next to him with your back facing him. He placed the blanket over your small frame and whispered a good night.

...

Days passed and you still didn't know why they rescued you. But everyone on this ship seemed kind. Some of them hid their friendly nature behind a wall of coldness but if you look closer, you can see the bubbly version of them shining through. Felix turned to a friend within just a few days due to his sunny and helpful personality.

And Jeongin. Still, the captain and you shared one bed at night. And you slept with your back facing him every night even though you usually woke up with your face buried into his chest or his hands circled around your waist. It was awkward to say at least. But luckily he hadn't said anything.

Now, it was already night and most of the crew were already asleep or played a card game under the deck.

You had accompanied them for a while but now, you searched for the captain. You found him on the control deck. Slowly you approached him.

"What are you doing here, little bird?" He asked. You leaned on the railing. "I could ask you the same"

He chuckled and ran his hands over the wood of the railing.

"Jeongin, why did you save me? You could've left me there. You didn't know me at all"

"Because you reminded me of someone. My mom. My father rescued her when she was held captive by sailesmen."

"Thank you. Thank you for saving me" you whispered and layed your hand on his arm.

"I would do it all over again, little bird." He said and his eyes travelled around your face. The moon turned his hair into a silver shade and his dark eyes sparkled.

Sleepy, you leaned your head on his shoulder and you felt his fingers dance over your hand, drawing circles and figures.

That was the last thing you remembered before sleep took over. In the morning, you woke up in bed with the sun on your face. You must've been really tired to sleep so long. The place next to you was cold. Jeongin must be gone a while now.

You entered the deck and you already knew where you would find the captain. He stood behind the ship's steering wheel. On the horizon, you could spot the first houses.

"Are we going on land?" You asked Jeongin and stood beside him.

He just nodded and grabbed the wheel tighter. You pinched your eyes together to get a better image of the approaching town. You definitely knew that town. It was your hometown.

"Wait, what are we doing here?"

"I'm bringing you home and we need some errands" he said and turned his face away from you. He was definitely not up to a conversation now, so you just let it slide. Was he getting rid of you? The thought never crossed your mind that he doesn't want you on the ship. Stupid.

Why should he want you here? It's not that you are a big help either. During the past days, you helped Felix with preparing meals for the crew. But after yesterday night you thought that something had changed.

You couldn't force him to let you stay.

...

Two hours later, you walked down the beam to the mainland followed by Jeongin.

"That's it, then" he said, his hands in the pockets of his jacket and the big hat covered most of his face.

"Yeah, thank you Jeongin" you whispered.

He bid you goodbye and you turned around. You didn't want to see him standing there.

You followed the well-known path to your house. The door wasn't locked so you entered. The house was nearly empty. The most things were stolen and just the significant blood stain on the floor reminded that your father was murdered here only days ago. Luckily, his body wasn't here anymore. That would be cruel and you wouldn't know if you would forget that picture ever again.

Then, you made your way to the cemetery. You walked through the aisles and searched for his name.

Pretty fast you found the grey gravestone with his name chiseled into. You kneeled beside it and let your hand slide over the uneven stone. You never thought that your life would take such a drastic twist.

After your father died, nothing held you here anymore. The thought of staying here, living here in happiness made you sick. The short journey on Jeongin's ship made you forget. You were your true self there and not only that.

You liked Jeongin. As a captain and person. He saved you even though he didn't know you. And within that short time, you developed feelings for him. Sadly, you won't get to tell him that.

But maybe it wasn't too late. He said that they needed some errands before going back to the sea. You placed a kiss on the gravestone and ran through the city. You bumped into so many people but you didn't mind. You prayed that they were still there. It felt like your father's spirit led you.

At the harbour, you searched for the big ship and you were relieved. They seemed to bring the errands on the ship right now. Jeongin stood in front of it and looked through the boxes.

When he heard your footsteps, he looked up and he was surprised.

"Y/n. What are you doing here?" He asked and walked towards you. You needed a second to catch your breath.

"I want to go with you"

"What?"

"Jeongin, being on your ship made me realise that I don't want to live a boring life. I want to stay. On the ship. With you." You brushed your hair back and took another step to him.

His eyes travelled to your lips and he leaned in.

With both hands, he grabbed your face and pressed his lips on yours. The kiss was hard, full of emotions and desire. But it was all you ever wanted. You wanted to be with him. Your pirate and the sea. That's all you ever needed.

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

Title: The Mage Stone was once an ordinary object until it was enchanted with powerful magic.

Bonus: Merlin has now been killed twice by the magic of a Sidhe staff (proving immortality).

Episode: To Kill the King

Questions by @tansyuduri

Tagging: @miyriu

Question: The Mage Stone woke Merlin because of its powerful magic. Why do some magic artifacts do it and not others?

It implies it was not just whenever it was in, and as we saw before it was not when magic was activly running through it.

So does it have a sort of conciousness? Does it decide? Am I overthinking this?

My answer: The Complete Guide, states that the Mage Stone was once an ordinary item that was enchanted and given great power. So that would make it similar in design to the Cup of Life (which Merlin can also sense).

The book makes of saying that magical individuals can be drawn to magical beings or objects. Only to then point out separately… “ And then there is Merlin ...”

So Merlin falls under that category in some ways, and yet we all know he’s also not mortal, since he’s the incarnation of magic. 🪄 Therefore he might react differently to magic items than normal sorcerers.

Book description:

Magical powers: Very rarely, humans are born with magical abilities. These magical individuals may be drawn to other magical beings or objects. And then there is Merlin ...

Question: I find it intersting that the stone is strong enough to absorb a sidhe blast and then just reflect it! WHO MADE THIS THING IN THE MERLIN WORLD?

My answer: The only thing we know for sure is that the Mage Stone was once an ordinary object before being enchanted with great magic. And that it was created by “the Ancients” over a thousand years ago.

Magical Objects: An ordinary item may be enchanted and given great powers. Legends tell of fantastic objects, such as the Mage Stone, which gives its bearer the power of transformation, and swords that can slay the dead.

Book description: The Mage Stone is a wonder of the Ancients; a powerful magical item. It can be used to deflect spells but it is most prized for its gift of transformation: the bearer of the Mage Stone can turn lead into gold. Its power can be detected by those sensitive to magic, such as Merlin. The stone was lost for over a thousand years, but eventually came into Tauren's possession.

Question/thought: Merlin was killed when the Mage Stone reflected his staff blast back at him?

My answer: Correct. The blue crystal on a Sidhe’s staff shoots deadly energy bolts that kill instantly.

Merlin was not only struck by one in “The Gates of Avalon” episode, but the Mage Stone deflected the full power of that deadly bolt back at him in this one and yet he was able to survive. So that’s two times now that Merlin absorbed a lethal attack and woke up with no injuries.

Book description: Merlin attacked Tauren with Sophia Tirmawr's Sidhe staff, but Tauren repelled its deadly blast with the Mage Stone.

Both Aulfric and Sophia bear powerful magical staffs each topped with a blue crystal.

An energy bolt from this crystal can kill.

On Aulfric's staff the words ‘To hold life and death in your hands' is carved in the ancient script Ogham.

Question: Its intersting to me what wakes Merlin and what doesn't. Also Magical artifacts, but not all magical artifacts. (Hell Sigan's heart doesnt even do it)

My answer: The book, “The Sorcerers Curse”, mentioned that Merlin hadn’t been able to sleep the night of Sigan’s tomb being discovered, because of the racket being made to unearth the castles vault.

So unlike Morgana, who had fallen asleep, he didn’t exactly have the opportunity to wake up from a prophetic dream.

However, once the tomb was open (and the excavation crew were no longer working), Merlin awoke with a start to the sound of a raven cawing in his nightmares.

So Merlin did have a slight prophetic dream about Sigan’s arrival. He just needed the opportunity to fall asleep without a racket or Arthur barking orders at him in order to experience it.

Book description: “The Sorcerers Curse”

This night, though, Merlin hadn't been able to sleep anyway. The crashing and banging from the castle vaults hadn't stopped even for a minute.

The gem fell to the floor, colourless and empty.

Many storeys above, in his room, Merlin woke with a start. He thought he'd heard the caw of a raven ....

Merlin was convinced something terrible had happened. He could feel it. Normally he'd have thought twice about sharing such feelings, but he knew Camelot was in danger and so he had to act.

[midwestmade29]

Trust 🩷

Thanks @judgementdaysunshine for sending in your request! Your prompts were helpful and I loved your idea. I hope you like it 🖤

Word count: 2,365 Divider by: @saradika-graphics GIF credit: @r-truth Original Request:

Can I have young Adam Copeland x Fem reader where he stays and takes care of her after being jumped and it leads to fluffy smut with friends to lovers? along with the prompts

"Can I trust you?" + "You mean the world to me" + "I want you"

Disclaimers: Cursing, black eye, concussion, cuts/abrasions, bruised ribs, unprotected sex. Read at your own discretion.

I wrote this story about a younger Adam Copeland, but he's in AEW instead. I don't know much about his time in WWE, so I wrote what I'm familiar with. Sorry if it's confusing 😅

Your relationship with Adam goes through some changes after you get attacked...

The House of Black had it out for you, especially the TBS champion Julia Hart. Every week on Dynamite she made her intentions and feelings known to you and the rest of the world that she does not like you and would love nothing more than to take you down. She thinks you are weak and hates the things you stand for such as kindness and goodness. Your light shined brighter than her darkness and she was bound and determined to put it out. Something inside of you kept you calm and unafraid of Julia and the rest of the House of Black members. There was no way their empty threats and harsh words were going to get the better of you!

One of your coworkers you just started being friendly with reached out to you after Dynamite was off the air. He appeared genuinely concerned about you. “I heard what Julia said about you tonight and I just wanted to check on you. Are you okay?” Adam’s kindness was refreshing, especially after the things Julia said to you earlier. He was incredibly handsome, which made your stomach do a flip when your eyes met his. His long blonde hair, 6’5 body frame, and his bright smile made you forget how to speak momentarily. “Oh! Yes, I-I’m fine, Adam! I appreciate you checking on me, but It’s going to take a lot more than Julia to scare me. I stopped being afraid of the dark a long time ago,” you joked. The sound of Adam’s laughter made you smile, and from that moment on you made it a goal to hear it as often as possible.

Time marched on, only bringing you and Adam closer. There was hardly a time where the two of you weren’t together. Your personalities complimented each other well, but there was something stronger that made both of you gravitate towards one another. The way he looked at you, cared for you, and his protectiveness over you was something that you weren’t accustomed to in your past relationships. Something about him made you want to trust him and believe everything he had to say and that scared you. You were afraid that you were getting in too deep with him, so you tried your best to keep him at arm’s length even when your heart begged you not to. The dreams you were having about Adam lately were anything but friendly. They were downright dirty! A couple nights you woke up panting with dewy skin from the sexy things he did to you, only leaving you longing for your dreams to be reality. Was it possible that you were falling for your closest friend?

Late one night, you were leaning up against Adam’s rental car while you waited on him to finish up inside the arena. He needed to gather his things and change into street clothes before he could join you and drive the both of you back to the hotel. He was hesitant to let you go outside on your own, but you insisted that you would be fine. While you were lost in scrolling through your phone, someone walked up behind you and attacked you! You didn’t have any time to fight back as their blows to your body just kept coming. There was no way you could scream or cry out for help since the wind had been knocked out of you when your attacker kicked you in the stomach and ribcage.  Any of your exposed skin continuously brushed up against the rough pavement, giving you scrapes and abrasions all over. You could already tell your eye was starting to swell just moments after being struck by a fist. The attacker never spoke or made a sound, so there was no way you could identify their figure that was covered in all black clothing. With one final punch, you felt yourself falling in and out of consciousness. Your body was limp as you laid on the ground silently wishing the pain radiating through you would go away. You were unaware of how much time had passed when you heard muffled footsteps and curses getting closer and closer to where you were. “Shit, Y/N! Open your eyes for me baby, come on! Please be okay! You have to be okay!” a familiar voice cried out. “My beautiful Y/N, stay with me,”

When you finally came to, you found yourself back inside the arena in what appeared to be the medical room. You heard Adam speaking softly to someone else nearby, explaining where and how he found you. “I walked up to the car, and she was lying on the ground next to it. There wasn’t anyone else around by the time I got to her, so who knows for sure who did this! In my panic I scooped her up and carried her to you. Y/N is going to be okay, right Doc?” Your voice was nearly inaudible when you called out for Adam, but he still heard it and rushed to your side. “Y/N! Oh, thank God! I was so worried about you sweetheart. You’re safe now, I’m not going to let anything else happen to you! I’ve got Doc Sampson here with us and he’s going to take a look at you,” he explained on the brink of tears. The grip he had on your hand was firm, but it brought you great comfort knowing he was there with you.

Two weeks had gone by since you were jumped, that night still replays in your mind frequently. Doc Sampson had diagnosed you with bruised ribs and a concussion, along with several cuts and a black eye. Adam insisted that you come stay with him while you recovered since the doctor didn’t want you being alone until you were medically cleared. Tony Kahn granted you as much time off as you needed to recover, and he even launched an internal investigation to find your attacker! Considering how Julia was always vocal about her hatred towards you, her previous words and actions put her in the hot seat. Even if she wasn’t the one who laid hands on you, she had to play some kind of role in your attack.

Early one morning, you woke up abruptly after having a nightmare. You tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall back asleep afterwards. You threw in the towel on getting anymore sleep so you made your way to the couch in the living room. You sat in the early morning silence, going over the recent events trying to piece the puzzle of your attack together. Your mind started to drift into darker places, and you began questioning everything and everyone you’ve ever known. Why would someone do this to you? What could you have done that was so bad to deserve this kind of pain? How could you trust anyone after all this?

You were rounding the corner of the hallway on your way to the bathroom when Adam suddenly appeared in front of you, causing you to jump in surprise! “Whoa, hey! It’s me! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought I heard a noise, so I wanted to investigate. What are you doing up so early?” he said softly. When he saw the tears welling up in your eyes, he took you in his arms and embraced you tightly. “What’s wrong? Why the tears sweetheart?” Adam murmured against your hair. Your head rested on his chest, his scent floating around your nose giving you a momentary gift of peace that allowed you to speak, “I-I don’t even know anymore Adam! I thought I was brave, that goodness always wins, but now I’m not so sure. My attack has me questioning everything! I don’t know what to believe anymore,”

While running his hand up and down your back trying to soothe you, Adam asked you to elaborate, “What exactly are you questioning, Y/N?” “The choices I’ve made in life. If I’m strong or if I’m weak. Who I can trust! Can I trust you, Adam?” your words came out rushed and fragile. When you pulled your face away, the pained look Adam had on his face made you feel worse. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. You’ve done so much for me with my recovery, and you’ve always been there for me long before I was attacked. I’m such a mess,” “Look, Y/N. You mean the world to me, you always have. Of course, you can trust me, I will always protect you and do my best to help ease your worries. As long as you’re breathing, standing here with me, nothing else matters,” Adam’s hands were cradling your face, his thumbs wiping away the stray tears that fell from his sweet words. The vulnerability in his eyes made you melt into his touch, and it reminded you that Adam is one of the good ones. When he felt your body relax, he suggested you lay down with him in his bed and you agreed. He took you by your hand and led you into his room and helped you get situated.

He propped himself up on his elbow, his head resting in his hand while the other ran gently up and down your arm. You reached over with your hand and brushed Adam’s cheek with the backs of your fingers, his stubble scratchy underneath them. You moved your fingers down his jawline to his neck, the feeling of his beating heart seemed to quicken as you traced along his collarbone. You ran your fingers through his chest hair which caused goosebumps to form on his skin and you couldn’t help but notice how well his body was responding to your touch. Your worry and anxiety seemed to suddenly dissipate, your body now consumed with want and need. You were craving Adam now more than ever before. It was as if he was reading your mind when he grabbed hold of your wrist, bringing it to his lips and planting soft kisses there. He kissed each pad of your fingertips, the tenderness of his simple act caused heat to spread through your entire body and rest in between your legs. “Adam…” you whispered. “I want you. Kiss me. Make me forget about everything, please,” There was a sudden hesitancy in Adam’s movements and expressions as he moved closer to you, making you wonder if your desire got the better of you in your recent plea. “Did I say something wrong?” you asked sheepishly.

“No, not at all. I’ve wanted you in this way for a long time Y/N. I don’t want you to force yourself, I know you’re still in pain. Are you sure you want to do this? What if we take our relationship to this next level and it messes everything up between us? What if-” You silenced Adam’s concerns when you pressed your finger against his lips, reassuring him with one last sentiment, “Don’t think, just feel. I need this, I need you,”

In one fluid motion, Adam was hovering above you, making quick work of removing your clothes. You winced when you sat up to help him take off your shirt, but smiled to let him know you were okay. “If any of this becomes too much for you, please tell me Y/N. I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered against your lips. Your bare chest brushed up against his when he closed the gap between your lips, your nipples quickly puckering at the soft friction. You began to tug and pull at Adam’s shorts and underwear, trying to remove them simultaneously. He shimmied out of them and tossed them to the floor, your panties joining them moments later.

Adam positioned himself in between your legs, the tip of his hard length lightly pressing up against your entrance. The anticipation was killing you, so you tried wrapping your legs around him and push him into you, but he resisted. “Easy there beautiful,” he chuckled. “I want to savor this moment; I want to savor you. After you were attacked, I blamed myself for it since I let you go outside by yourself that night. You’re everything to me Y/N and I never want to lose you,”

You ran your thumb over Adam’s bottom lip, taking a moment to soak it all in before you kissed him sweetly. “That night was not your fault Adam. I’m so thankful you found me and got me the help I needed. You’re never going to lose me. I hate to tell you, but you’re stuck with me now,” you smiled before kissing him once again.

With a gentle push, Adam eased himself inside of you, making sure to take his time so your walls could stretch around him. The sudden fullness you felt made you gasp. With each push, pull and rock of his hips, it brought you closer and closer to your release. The two of you were completely love drunk off each other, consumed by the feeling of your mind, body and souls connecting. Every sound Adam made excited you that much more, the sight of him completely losing himself in you was one you won’t forget. No one had ever been this gentle with you before, taking their time to please and satisfy your needs. 

“You’re so beautiful, Y/N,” Adam murmured against the shell of your ear. “My beautiful girl,”

Your breathy pants and moans filled the bedroom, intertwining with Adam’s as both of you tumbled over the edge. “Yes! A-Adam! Oh Adam!” you cried out as the waves of your pleasure threatened to drown you. Your body quivered beneath him as the pressure deep inside of you finally released. Adam came inside of you after his last few thrusts, his length pulsating against your walls while he filled you with everything he had. His breathing was unsteady as he came back down to earth.

 When you untangled yourselves from each other, sleep threatened to overtake you. Your mind and body were at ease now and you’d never felt more sated. Adam is your safe place, your best friend. You can’t imagine anyone else by your side.

[skatingbi]

When I say sanji falls hard i mean he falls HARD homies!!

My fighter pilot au is also a modern au, so during the 2 years sanji and zoro are apart they constantly talk on the phone. Zoro hates texting so sanji will go out of his way to call zoro when they both have a break.

Their conversations last hours. Theyre not always talking but sanji is content with the comfortable silence that also makes up their calls as well. He just likes being with zoro in any way he can be until theyre able to meet again.

When its not silence zoro is talking about his family mihawk and perona, or the lessons he's taking (which zoro refuses to tell sanji what they are), or the unclassified information on the assignments he's been doing. Sanji talks about his mandatory leave where he goes back home and helps zeff with the baratie. He complains about his old man while also talking about how much he missed cooking. They talk about things other than work for probably the first time since that night sanji woke up with a panic attack a few years ago.

During these two years, sanji learns so much about zoro and he feels loved at the same time in zoro's own unusual way. In return, zoro learns more about sanji and basks in getting to be with sanji even if theyre on opposite sides of the world.

Unfortunately, their comrades are suffering by watching them be hopelessly in love to the point where it feels like experiencing second hand embaressment. Sanji SUCKS at flirting and zoro wouldnt even know someone was flirting with him even if it hit him square in the face with a 50 pound brick.

Nami and Usopp are betting on who confesses first. Luffy couldnt care less about the betting but still likes to be a supportive friend and participates anyways. Robin and Franky dont bet money but talk about it as well. Regardless, the majority vote that Sanji will confess first, even if it'll probably be the worst confession anyone's ever heard in their life.

Like you think these two idiots know anything about romance? Absolutely Not. They're in their early 20's and spent most of their life growing up too fast and having to survive more than live.

So when during those two years, the second year is maybe one assignment and mostly being sitting ducks at their respective bases they stay at, sanji and zoro talk more and more about their other dreams. They start to learn how to live, slowly but surely through each other, despite being oceans apart.

Flirting between them is useless, but opening up and baring their souls to each other isn't. When you put two guarded men together with walls up, it can either end in tragedy like betrayal or in them tearing down each others walls.

When Sanji bears his soul to Zoro, he understands for the second time how much he cant live without him. How much he truely wishes he could at least look at zoro face to face and trace all the scars on his skin with reverence and adoration.

Sanji's heart aches more and more as the two years pass by. The next time they call, though, his heart nearly stops when he hears zoro's voice still raspy from waking up so late in the morning for the Nth time that week to hear him say in fucking french by the way, dear god sanji isnt gonna be able to survive this any longer now.

"Good morning, Sanji"

[seaskate]

Chapter one of Bandages and Salt

A storm raged over Camp Half-Blood the night that Tyson left for the Cyclops Forges at Poseidon's court. Due to the Golden Fleece having healed Thalia's pine tree sufficiently, the storm passed over camp like normal. However, this knowledge did nothing to help the foreboding feeling that had placed itself in my chest. My predictions always had a knack for coming true, and as if I was one of the Three Fates myself, they were almost never pleasant. My predictions were never wrong, no matter how much I might want them to be.

Lightning danced in the sky above camp as I feel asleep, as if the sky was sharing my feelings as well. My dreams were just as restless as they have been for weeks now. Demigods' dreams were almost never just dreams, but visions not meant to be easily brushed off as some nightmares dream scape.

When I opened my eyes in the dream, I saw the same cliff that I saw a year ago when Annabeth, Grove, and I had snuck into the Underworld. It was the cliff that Luke's shoes tried to drag Grover down into. Tarturus waited down there, with monsters and creatures older than some of the gods themselves. I could hear a voice calling from down below, taunting me. Polybitues sits alone in his cave, fooling himself into believing that he has won a great battle, Kronos' sickening voice calling up to me, what stops you from being the same as him. And there it was, a source for my uneasiness. Something had felt off since we sent Clarrise back to camp with the Fleece, it seemed as if Luke let us go too easily. Now I know that's because he had.

My dream changed as I heard Kronos' acidic laugh. This time I was following my brother, Tyson down to Poseidon's court. On a deep blue throne, with coral decorating it, sat a man that somehow looked regal in a fisherman's clothing. As if noticing my presence, he looked me in the eyes and spoke the same two words that had been mailed to me days ago, "Brace yourself."

I woke up with a start.

There was a loud banging at my door. Though annoying, it could not yet be called persistent since the perpetrator of the noise let themselves into my cabin before I could even call out to them. Grover. The half goat was stuttering something about Annabeth and the hill. "She's lying there... just lying there..." was the most coherent sentence that the boy could manage to form. The look in his eyes wasn't that of grief or wordiness like I would have expected if Annabeth had been attacked while on guard duty last night, or if she had been killed. Instead there was an intense look of panic, wrongness, and above all, fear.

Something was off.

I ran outside, across the central yard with Grover following close behind me. Dawn was just breaking on what would have been another pleasant day at camp. The horn for breakfast had not yet rung, but still the whole camp was alive due to the event happening at Half-Blood Hill. The campers were stirring and coming out of their cabins, whispers following us as we ran to the hill. I couldn't help but to recall my dreams as we ran, some of the other campers joining us in some bizarre fashion of armor and pajamas. Kronos' strange proclamation and my sense of foreboding. I think I'm starting to understand where this is going, and I wasn't sure I liked it all that much.

A familiar clop of horse hooves rang in my eyes, and out of the side of my eye I saw Chiron galloping up beside us. His face was grim. The centaur grabbed me by my arm, hurriedly swung me up onto his back, his actions telling just how dire the situation was since this was something the man would normally never do.

We thundred to Half-Blood Hill. Chiron was mumbling something to himself, like a scientist just figuring out why the experiment had not quite gone the way that he had wanted. "Cure the titan lord," he whispered. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."

I didn't have to ask him what he meant.

We came upon the top of the hill, everyone lifelessly moving out of our way, their faces all similarly struck like they had seen a ghost. We stopped at the base of the tree, where a strange girl was lying. Annabeth, still clad in her Greek armor, was kneeling next to the girl.

Chiron was speaking to himself again, "The fleece healed the poison from the tree," he whispered just loud enough for me to hear, "but it seems that the position was not the only thing that the tree had purged"

I lept off of Chiron's back and went to the girl. Chiron was screaming at me to wait, but I ignored the centaur. Kneeling by the girl's side, I studied her as I put my hand to her cool forehead. She was freezing, but alive. The girl was dressed somewhere between the styles of punk and goth: a black shirt made ineffective by the holes in it from some monster's claws, the tattered black jeans of a street kid, and a well kept leather jacket with buttons on it of bands that I had never heard of before.

"She needs nectar and ambrosia," I called out. I had none on me, but I figured that at least one of the campers that had taken the time to throw on armor would have at least thought to bring something to help any wounded. The girl below me had just been removed from the tree and the fleece's care, and if no one did anything fast, her father would have to turn her into a tree once more.

"Come on! What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big House." I screamed at them. I knew what was wrong with them, the demigods were too caught up in their own shock to be able to function efficiently. The campers that had all fought, and won, against monsters, were now standing uselessly around us.

Still, someone moved, just not a camper. The girl in question took a shaky breath below me. Her movement reminded me of someone who had just woken up from a nightmare that they had been unable to escape. She coughed as her eyelids fluttered open to reveal startling electric blue eyes. She stared at me, those same eyes holding a question in them.

"Who-" she started.

I cut her off, not wanting her to waste her energy on something so pointless. "I'm Percy," I told her, "you're safe now."

The girl commented on having a strange dream of dying. I didn't tell her that this had happened, nor how long ago it happened. This girl was the very same girl from my vision not too long ago. The one that had traveled with Grover, Luke and Annabeth. The person that I had been told would either be my best friend, or my worst enemy.

Though I already knew her name before she said it, I asked anyway.

"I'm Thaila," the girl said, "Daughter of Zues"

‐‐‐

Thalia passed out not much longer after that. She must have exhausted her limited energy while speaking. I glanced around and couldn't help but feel disappointed at the still shocked faces of the campers. My cousin was light in my arms as I picked her up and carried her down Half-Blood Hill. I would have to talk to Chiron about getting her on a proper diet now that she's no longer a street kid or a tree.

My movement must have woken some of the campers up from their stupor, because the next second I felt the wind of bodies rushing past me. Some of the older Apollo cabin members were running down the hill, golden hair blazing in the morning sun, to the Big House to prepare a spot for Thalia in the infirmary. I arrived a minute or so later, the place was bustling with movement. One of the campers directed me to a bed and helped me place Thalia down on it.

"Need a hand?" I asked the older boy. The camper was reluctant, but after glancing at the chaos surrounding us, he sighed in resignation.

"Sure. The nectar and ambrosia are over there," he pointed to a tall cabinet, "grab some of both." I looked at the condition of Thaila's body for a second and asked, "child size amount? She doesn't like she could handle much more than that." Even though Thalia looked to be about fifteen, having still aged while she was a tree, she was still weak from the poison.

The camper's face became puzzled for a moment and then seemed to wash over with a pleasant surprise. "That's right," he nodded at me while smiling.

Over the next two days, I spent most of my time in the infirmary helping the Apollo Cabin with the minor day-to-day demigod injuries, so someone could always keep an eye on Thalia and her condition. I learned how dress wounds, preform stiches, and do other menial medical task that were too small to really justify the use of ambrosia.

"You sure your not a child of Apollo," the same camper from before jocked at one point. I only gave him a playful smile while messing with the water from a nearby pitcher as if to prove my point. The camper sighed jokingly and watched as I maneuvered the water and refilled all the patients' cups. Spending time here has helped with my control.

Despite all the positive effects of my being here, my motive wasn't to help, but to observe. I listened to the way the campers talked and gossiped about Thalia's sudden re-emergence. The campers were scared of what was to come. Now that there was a new child of a broken oath, there was a new chance for Kronos to control the prophecy.

Though no one out right said it, I could tell that most camper were wary of the girl for this very reason. Anytime someone came into the infirmary, they made sure to give Thalia a wide berth. In her frist life, the sleeping girl had been very close to Luke, they were like family. The campers were worried that this closeness. To them, she was a loose canon waiting to explode.

However, something told me this wasn't the case. Eventhough I know that their fears are plausible, I couldn't seem to make myself care about them. If Annabeth, a girl that was desperately and disgustingly, in love with Luke could stand against him, so could Thalia. During the time that Thalia was asleep, Grover and Annabeth barely left her side. This was the other reason that I offered to help; it was easier to study people when they didn't know that was what you're doing.

For his part, Grover seemed stuck somewhere between sadness and relief. Thalia was the girl whose reaponsiblity for her death he had been carrying on his shoulders for years now. The thought of her being back was like drinking nectar after the hardest battle of your life. Annabeth couldn't stop staring at Thalia. Every few minutes she would touche the sleeping girl in some way. It was like Annabeth was checking to make sure this wasn't all a dream. That her friend was really back.

Chiron stopped by on the second day, the look he gave Thalia was almost... fatherly. If I were to guess he and Annabeth had talked since Thalia came back. They both seemed determined to keep her on the path of Olympus and its perseverance rather than ruin. 

---

On the night of the second day since Thalia's emergence, I was cleaning the storage while the three were sitting with Thalia. "It's like she's auditioning for Sleeping Beauty," I commented while walking over to them, "you know, minus the old timey clothing" Annabeth shot me an acidic look. "Okay. Not funny" Just then, the Sleeping Beauty in question concluded her audition. The girl's eyes fluttered open. "Where-" she didn't get to finish her question as Annabeth threw herself at Thalia. "Welcome back to the land of the living Mrs. Grace," Chiron said. He smiled warmly at the girl. "Maybe once your better I could teach you some tricks like controlling the mist" Oh. "Hey! Once your better let's go on a quest together, like old times" Annabeth exclaimed. She looked like a little kid again. Oh. "Yeah, I'll come too" Grover added. "Yeah-" Thalia said. She seemed to be coming out of being startled. "I'd like that." Watching the three of them. It felt like losing something that was never rightfully mine in the first place. Like I was the interloper instead of her. They were all too consumed with each other to notice that I was gone...

[batz-surveys]

12.

When was the last time you saw the person you like? This afternoon, before he left for work.

What are you listening to? The a/c and my dog licking her pillow.

Would you take back your last boyfriend/girlfriend? No times infinity!

Did you babysit for money when you were in middle school? I babysat, but I sure as hell didn't get paid. I was forced to look after my niece and nephew from the time I was thirteen, until I could get a real job at seventeen or eighteen.

Who is your favorite band? How long have they been? The Used. I've loved them from the first time I listened to their first album, which was a burned CD. That was when I was a freshman in high school, so either 2003 or 2004.

What do the last two texts you received from different people say? Hubs: "Damn, baby I'm sorry. I'll clean the tub tomorrow after I take you to work." I hurt my back last week, and couldn't clean it to take an epsom salt bath today. Mother In Law: "[heart emoji]"

Are you good at wrapping presents? I’m great at wrapping presents, but I prefer to put gifts in bags so that people can reuse them.

Who are you more like? Your mom or your dad? I would say I'm a pretty good mix of both, both personality wise and physical traits.

How do you respond to being nervous? Oh, not well at all.

Who were the last two boys to text you? You mean men. And it was my husband and my dad.

If you could have one thing right this second, what would it be? A winning lottery ticket so that I don't have to work tomorrow, and I can go see a doctor without fear of spending over $200 just for them to tell me I pulled a muscle.

How did you get your last bruise? Either a kid hitting me or me knocking into something.

Name something you disliked about today? My back hurt so bad when I woke up this morning, that I could barely get out of bed on my own.

Who is your favorite author? It's a toss-up between Clive Barker and Stephen King. Stephen King writes more, but Clive Barker's way with words and description is just wonderful. And then there's Edgar Allan Poe...fuck, I can't pick!

Do you like to have long hair or short hair? I like the way long hair looks on me, because my face is chubby, but I love that short hair is so much easier to manage.

Do you think doing drugs is cool? Haha, no? I think it's just something for people to do. That's like asking if I think doing the dishes is cool. It's not awesome, but people do it.

If you could go to Africa, would you? If I had time to research all the areas I would be going to, yes. And I'd have to take my dad. It's his dream to go to Africa.

What were you doing at 9:00 a.m. this morning? I was lying in bed watching Tik Toks.

How often do you see your most recent ex? Never, thank goodness.

Have you ever driven without a license? Haha, yes. But I don't drive. It was just some practice at our old storage unit place, and then I had a panic attack so...

Do you think you have made a difference in anyone’s life? I know I have. That sounds cocky, but it's true because people have literally told me.

Who were you last in a car with? A Lyft driver on Friday. Haha, it just set in that I haven't left my apartment other than to walk my dog since Friday.

What is bothering you right now? The weekend is over, my back still hurts, and I don't want to work because of it.

What are you planning to do on your 19th birthday? Ha! My 19th birthday was forever ago. I can't even remember what I did for it.

Do you like cheesecake? I have to be in the mood for it, but sure.

Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night? My husband.

Is there a high chance of you going out to the movies soon? Yes, I want to see Joker: Folie à Deux so bad! I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to. I'll probably have to play hooky on one of my husband's days off.

How old will the last person you kissed be on his/her next birthday? Thirty-six.

How did you meet the last person you kissed? Through Facebook. We had mutual friends, we talked for a couple weeks before meeting in person, he invited me to a band practice, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What does your hair look like? It’s in eight braids.

Do you like your hair? I like when it cooperates with me, sure.

Do you wake up cranky? Most days, yes.

Are there certain things that can’t be joked about with you? Sure, and they're obvious things that nobody should joke about in the first place.

Do you care who wins the Super Bowl? Not really.

Where did you get the shirt you’re wearing? I got it for Xmas a couple years ago. But more than likely, The Used's online shop.

Have you ever met your favorite band // singer? I have. Not the original line-up, but still.

Have you ever been in a life threatening situation? Yes.

Have you ever read the Hunger Games series? No.

Do you watch a lot of movies? A lot of horror movies, yes.

Have you ever had highlights in your hair? Well, I had streaks at one point. But they were teal.

Do you like to keep a routine? Not only do I like to, but I have to.

Who knows your biggest secrets? My journals.

Do you have any hickeys on you? No.

Have you ever made out with someone you weren’t dating? Yes.

Can you recall the last time you sincerely liked someone? Now. I love my husband.

Do you have any interesting tattoos/piercings? I wouldn't call my tattoos interesting, really. But I have had some wild piercings back in the day, haha. I've been pierced over like, twenty times.

Do you have a good relationship with your parent(s)? I do now, yes. Distance from my mom healed my relationship with her. And my dad getting sober healed my dad's relationships with all of us.

How many siblings do you have? I have two brothers, although I don't talk to one of them, and a sister.

What do you hear right now? The restaurant down the fucking street. Same three fucking beats, in rotation, almost every night.

What friend haven’t you seen in a while that you’d like to see? Oh man, I don't even want to pull at this string. Next!

Are your lips soft? Right now, not really actually. I just pressed my lips together and they feel a little chapped.

Who did you last shoot a dirty look at? Honestly, probably a parent of a kid at work.

Last time you were sick? I had a little sinus issue last week. I think it was from cleaning the bathroom without proper ventilation, though, and not actually catching it from somewhere.

Who came over last? My husband's friend. He had just got out of the hospital, and he didn't want to be alone, so he came over Friday night to chill.

Where is your next date? God, I hope it's soon. I'm dying for romance. We've just not had the time.

Whose car were you in last, besides your own? I don't have a car. It's always my husband's car. But I guess other than his, then it was my Lyft driver on Friday.

What letter does your boyfriend/girlfriend’s last name start with? L.

Has the last person you kissed ever been to your house? Yes, he lives here.

What would you do if Jesse McCartney rang you up and asked you on a date?  I forgot about this guy - I'm pretty sure I thought him and Aaron Carter (RIP) was the same person.

Would you ever date someone who was absolutely gorgeous but thought they were better than everyone else? I'm married. But for the question's sake, probably not. I've done that before in the past and honestly, he wasn't even that cute and his attitude made him very unattractive.

Do you dislike anyone? No.

Why? I let go of the reasons I dislike a person when I let that person go. Like, the former question made me think of my brother that I don't talk to. I don't hate him, really. I just got fed up with all the things he's done to my family, and cut him loose. I want nothing but the best for him, and his family, because their my family, too. But, I also want nothing to do with that side of my family. I've had enough. It's not a grudge, like my mom likes to say, it's just the end of our relationship. Just because the same blood runs through our veins, doesn't mean we have to be family.

How would you feel if you got the person you liked? I got him.

Do you remember who you liked on New Year’s? My husband, haha.

Have you ever felt like you weren’t good enough? Sure. It's something I'm working on to this day.

Do you understand football? Kind of. Not where I could explain it, but I can watch and follow along.

Explain your relationship status: Married to my best friend in the whole world.

Ever been called a jerk/bitch? Yes, both jokingly and seriously.

What do you think your mom does when she goes out? She's either running errands for my grandma or Ms. Betty, or shopping.

Do chickens have feelings? I think so. It's why I don't eat them. Tomorrow's seven years as a vegetarian for me!

Where is your sister right now? Probably at home.

What kind of phone do you have? Samsung Galaxy S8. Shut up, it still works fine.

What do you smell like? My leave-in conditioner, so kind of coconutty.

Are you allergic to anything? Yes, several things.

Have you ever been to a spa? No.

Do you miss someone? I do miss my husband. I'm still not used to his long, late hours yet.

Do you think they miss you too? I'm sure he would rather be here with me, yes.

Do you know how to do a cart-wheel? I've never done a cartwheel before in my life. I've always been afraid of breaking my neck, haha. Which is stupid, because I skateboarded in high school with no regard for breaks and bruises because I never wore pads or a helmet.

In one word, how would you define yourself? Tired.

How did you feel when you woke up? Tired and achy.

When was the last time you saw your father? Wednesday evening.

Have you ever passed out on the bathroom floor? Ugh, yes, thanks for reminding me of that fucked up time in my life where I was either always high or drunk to numb the pain of my life outside of the drugs and alcohol.

Do you like surprises? I like to say I like "item surprises." Like, gifts and things like that. But don't surprise me with a party, or a trip, or anything like that. I need two to five business days to plan and prep mentally.

Who was the last person you held hands with? My husband.

When was the last time you laughed really hard? It was either yesterday morning or this morning, I can't remember. My husband said some funny shit, as usual, and had me cackling before coffee even.

Is it hard leaving people behind? Certain people. But mostly, no.

[autiezo]

I saw some cute pokemon art. I wanted to share it with my ex best friend, because she loves Pokemon. Then I remembered why I broke off the friendship with her.

The reason wasn't because we were bad people. We just grew apart, and/or because I couldn't stand her long stretches of absence in my life anymore. When i texted her, weeks or months would go by before i got any reply. She had her personal reasons, so i couldn't blame her, even though the small, immature part of me did.

So apparently, my brilliant solution was to make her absence permanent. So that I'd stop getting false hope and getting hurt that she's not the same person I knew 7 or 8 years ago, over and over. I wanted to give us both closure.

I didn't wish her happy birthday last year, until a week after the date. I also broke off the friendship right before i hurriedly wished her happy birthday, and apologised. Our birthdays are only a few weeks apart. She remembered mine, I remembered hers. I wanted to wish her a good one, but I didn't know how. I didn't want to lie but I didn't want to hurt her, either. By being a coward, I ended up doing both anyway. I knew I needed to break off the friendship before she wished me happy birthday. I wish I broke it off a month or two sooner. Stupid, stupid Zo.

I still feel pain from losing her. It's considerably less than the pain I felt from being very insecure in the friendship, where I didn't know if she'd tell me the truth about whether she actually still liked me, or if she thought I was a good friend to her. I did try my best to be a good friend, until some months ago, where I foresaw it ending. After I unintentionally disregarded her stories when we last met, in my excitement to know as many as her personal stories as I could. She had a tendency to go on very long tangents, so I mistakenly thought that I should rush her and "help" her get to the point of her stories. I was wrong, I won't do that again. However, the thing is, she told me everything was fine, so i was left unaware, and then it turned out to be not fine. That broke my trust, since she was dishonest. I need friends who'd tell me instantly if i was being a jackass, so that i can correct myself in time. She'd also had a habit of cancelling our meetings without enough warning, or showing up late to them.

I didn't get enough opportunities to fix my mistake, because we barely got to socialise with each other at all, after that. I felt neglected and neglectful at the same fucking time.

I see her in my nightmares sometimes. Last night, I dreamed that she attacked me in the classroom where I teach. Her attacks were non-lethal, I was angry and warned Dream her that we shouldn't fight there because it's at my workspace. I wanted to fight back, but refrained since I didn't want my students to see me hurt someone else or something like that. I called for help, my mentor came, stood there and looked at us. Then I woke up.

I still have my other childhood best friend, we'll call her Kiki. She's amazing and we are like sisters, we are very close. The loss of my other friend has made me clutch onto the rest of my friendships very tightly in my heart. What if I lose them too, and there's nothing I can do to save us?

8 years. We were friends for 8 years. Yet, life had caused us both to replace each other with new people. We lived nearby to each other, you know? We could have visited each other easily, but that didn't happen enough. It's her fault. It's my fault.

I know that logically, I should stop caring. But I still do care. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. I loved her, and against my will, I still love her. Fucking hell.

Edit: And no, I do not regret it. The friendship became an open wound.

[ohmdrglsblog]

Aengels are weapons, part 1.

Sike! I guess I actually will post my Eldarya fanfictions or whatever.

-  Huang Hua! We can’t find them anywhere; I sent all my guardians and they’re not at the HQ, not even nearby!

- Keep looking for them, Chrome! We won’t rest until we find them.

- Huang Hua there 's no time! If we don’t take action we’re going to be attacked first.

It’s been 3 days since the entire HQ is looking for Erika, Leiftan and Lance after the members of The Light Guard were taken as prisoners and Huang Hua decided to monopolize and start a monarchy here, with her being the Supreme Leader. Maybe that’s why we’re being attacked, probably we had a mole amongst us and they noticed her evil plan before ourselves did. Chrome said that Huang Hua had been planning something big a while ago, but that he never expected this situation. Guess who’s by her side? It’s not even her lover but that freaking traitor Mathieu.

We’re in a risky situation; Chrome and I helped Erika and the other two hide after what she told us before running away. A week ago she came to our room in the middle of the night, all shaky, full of cold sweat and with panic in her eyes. She said she overheard Huang Hua talking to Mathieu in the most arrogant way and heard their whole plan. The whole story she told us was so made up that it was impossible not to believe her; she couldn’t have thought of that the very next day she told us she was excited because Huang Hua mentioned to her she was going to be vital for her next great plan. 

-She lied to me. She said her greatest plan would involve a happy HQ no one had ever seen, not even in dreams. She said pain would completely go away and we would only see light, but all I heard today in her words was misery and sorrow. There will be an extermination, she plans on getting rid of everyone, in her words: unuseful, weak or too young. That’s the way she thinks we’ll be living in the best era Eldarya has ever known. It seems Mathieu found a strange way of controlling Leiftan and I, I'm not sure what he meant; and after winning Lance’s trust, they both think they’ll be able to manipulate the three of us into their malevolent plan.

I think Erika truly wished for all this to be a nightmare, I saw her pinching her own hand several times, even leaving marks of how strongly she was pinching herself. And I can totally empathize with her, she went through a war she never expected nor wanted, she saw several loved ones passing away in completely cruel ways and even lost one of her best friends right in front of her. Not to mention her life itself, if we could say so. I see where her fear comes from.

You can see why we had troubles in knowing what to do? Dealing with Erika’s traumas wasn’t easy and it actually took her some time to process and heal after she woke up from the Crystal; but she can’t deal with a war, neither do we. And having Huang Hua as the main enemy was one of the worst things that could happen, everything we could say or even think that was a lie would be noticed by Huang Hua easily, after all she can read our auras.

Sooooo... hello :D do I still have at least one follower? Anyways, I'll have to think I have 0 audience or else I'll get shy and nervous of your opinions. If you follow me and you are thinking: "Why?" That's an easy answer! A while ago I posted a One Shot? Tbh I do not remember which one of all my unseen unrevealed stories it was, but it also involved a Eldarya situation that I like to think it's better than the actual one (that is not bad but could've been handled in a MUCH better way, such a disaster of history and horrendous timings, but BEEMOV <3).

However, last time I said I was going to keep posting my stories... HA! I felt cringe about my own story :( and you can even read in my very last post before this that the pain was real, because I even erased the post. BUT, I'll make a promise here and right now: " I Madrigal, citizen of the Planet Earth promise to keep posting even if I feel like I wrote pure trash after a few months". Let's hope this makes me feel guilty of breaking my own promise to myself so I can keep writing and posting muahahahaaa!

And some quick notes:

I'm sorry if there's a mistake! I'm not an english speaker but I think I have quite a long vocabulary :) *I like to think so*.

The entire story I plan to keep in the white colour (or black idk depending on your tumblr page and colours), but I'd like to make the characters dialogues more noticeable by using colours; so the sudden pops of colour are the things the character said. Not thoughts, not narrative, but SAID.

The orange colour I'll use it for my thoughts, opinions or things I'd like to say. SO, after my longa*s explanation and excuse, my afterwords are coming: I hope you enjoyed this at least a little and I hope you did not think it is boring. Having said that, thanks and see ya.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Confusing Lack of Feelings (short story)

Fallenkit tried not to make her discomfort obvious, but her whole body was tense, ready to spring at a moment’s notice despite the fact that she knew–she knew–that she was safe in her dad’s embrace. She wasn’t discreet enough. 

Myrtlewing paused his grooming. “What’s wrong?” he asked, because he always has to ask when he notices someone of the Eye-Out Thorns is unhappy. Why does someone like him care? 

Pipitfeather died just over two moons ago. Myrtlewing hadn’t so much as shed a tear.

“Nothing,” she mumbled back.

“You lie as well as your father,” Myrtlewing told her gently. Too gently. “Would you mind not making me pry like he does before he admits that something is bothering him?”

Fallenkit sighed. Sitting up, she turned to face him, his paws still stretched out on either side of her. Her voice was scratchy as she spoke. “Was he really your son?” They had looked similar enough.

Myrtlewing’s eyes remained blank. “In the blood sense, yes, he was. I didn’t know he even existed until he arrived here as an adult, however.”

“Does that make a difference?”

Myrtlewing shrugged. “It does for me.”

“Would you not care if you met me as an adult?”

Myrtlewing’s eyes widened only a fraction as he realized his mistake. “I don’t know,” he answered. “But I would like to get to know you. And I love you the way you are now, adult you would be the same, only with more great traits for me to love.”

Fallenkit wished that what he was saying was helpful. She knew that it was kind, endearing, but she also knew her dad was a wonderful liar, and that everything he was saying could be utter dung. “Do you not love blood?” She still didn’t understand why she was so different, why Myrtlewing was so furious about seeing her hurt at the same time he stared at Pipitfeather’s decaying, dying form without a twitching whisker.

“I don’t think blood is everything,” Myrtlewing answered. “I didn’t love Pipitfeather, he never bothered talking to me. I did respect him, because if he is my kin then he is good, until he attacked you. There was nothing for me to love or respect then.”

Fallenkit wished that she could shake her head and have all the jumbled thoughts she had spill out of her ears, so that her dad’s words could fill the space and make sense. She knew it should, she knew it sounded reasonable, and she knew that her mind was so overfilled with confusion that more words only added to the collection instead of dispersing it.

She wasn’t even sure if her dad’s lack of emotion was what bothered her the most. It was her own.

She had been comforting by many healers–Myrtlewing, Fleathistle, Shiverrose, even Pumpkinpatch who also hates her father, every one of her kin from great ancestors to siblings, and her aunt Ferndoe. They had all said the same thing, that they understood she was hurt and confused, that it was okay to cry.

The problem was that Fallenkit only felt the confusion in addition to anger. She was angry at Pipitfeather and all those cats, most dead again now, for tricking her, for earning her trust and shattering it so that she looked like a fool. She was angry because they had hurt her and Waspkit for revenge they had nothing to do with. She was confused because that is the only thing she felt, and she was confused because Myrtlewing seemed to feel nothing, besides his concern for her.

Waspkit was still having nightmares. He still didn’t like talking about what had happened.

Fallenkit only had bad dreams for a few nights before they went away, and her reaction when she woke up was no where near as intense as Waspkit’s wailing. He cried about being attacked and witnessing Pipitfeather’s horrible death. 

Fallenkit didn’t think seeing it had been a huge deal until others started to say that it was.

What was wrong with her?

Her dad was the same. She knew that much, they were open about it, how he had trouble feeling things unless it was for those he already cared deeply for–that itself also confused her. How could you care deeply for someone and care nothing for another? How do you begin to care deeply for someone if you feel nothing for them to begin with?

Was it really a blood issue? Did she get it from him, or because he raised her?

If she talked to someone else in her blood, someone not on his side and who felt things, who was normal, perhaps she could be normal then, too.

She had been silent for a while in her thoughts, so Myrtlewing had resumed his grooming. After a while longer, he began to doze off. His chin rested on her back. Carefully, she slipped out and began moving through the thorns to the outside. She was almost there when behind her, someone spoke.

“Where are you going?” Wolfpool asked. He and his siblings, as well as their parents–everyone in the family, in fact–had temporarily moved back to the main den after the kits had been attacked. Fallenkit should be grateful for it. Yet she felt nothing.

Of course she should have known that they would be extra ditiligent. There were multiple guards keeping watch on each side. Fallenkit wasn’t allowed to leave without an adult. 

Wolfpool was an adult.

Debating on a lie, she decided to tell the truth. Wolfpool looked at her, then looked around them. “Okay,” he said more hushed, “duck under my belly so they won’t see you.”

Fallenkit did was told. It was difficult to manuver around the remaining branches that blocked their path, and to move as fast as her nephew while mud sucked all along her legs. She stayed hidden while Wolfpool asked anyone who passed them for directions, until at last they stopped at a large rock. It was tilted, leaning heavily against another, with vines draping down the entrance.

“Hello?” Wolfpool called.

A young, black tom with orange and bright flecks stepped out. He raised a brow. “Uh, yes?”

“Is Tanglestar here?” Fallenkit asked, stepping out.

The tom blinked at her. He turned to face the entrance. “Tanglestar! You have–uhm–visitors?”

There was shuffling, and a mumbling response, then a sleepy black tom with bigger orange and white splotches stepped out into the red light. When his eyes met Fallenkit’s, they stretched wide.

Fallenkit held his gaze firmly. “Are you my other dad?”

=============================

--Fallen calls Alder “father,” Myrtle “dad,” and Grouse “papa.”

--The Pipitfeather thing happened 2+1/2 moons ago. Fallen and Wasp are about 3+1/3 moons old, roughly.

Fallen is a ‘wise beyond her years’ kit while Wasp is a sweet baby.

--Remember how I said that Fallen feel nothing like Myrtle does, but questions it? Here we are!

--Taglist: @ambitiousauthor @wills-woodland-warriors @umbranoxs @starfalcon555 @liberhoe @elementaldeityoffood (if you weren’t tagged it’s most likely because Tumblr doesn’t tag some usernames for some reason, not because I forgot or don’t care!)

[mekatrio]

compiling all of tidus' narrations in text form bc im fucking insane... im craaAAazy

Listen to my story. This may be our last chance.

I thought about a lot of things… like where I was, what I’d got myself into. I started to feel light-headed… and then, sleepy. I think I had a dream. A dream of being alone. I wanted someone– anyone, beside me… so I didn’t have to feel alone anymore.

I had made it out of the frying pan…and into the freezer. I thought I was going to die in this place.

So I told her [her = Rikku] everything there was to tell about Zanarkand… About life there, blitzball, and Sin’s attack…and about how Auron and I were engulfed in this light. I just said things as they came to mind. But then I started to wonder.

My Zanarkand, some kind of holy place? Yeah right, I thought. Since when?

Yevon? Sin? Luca? I thought Sin just took me to a faraway place, that I could go back in a day or two. But a thousand years into the future?

Finally, things were starting to look up. [Referring to meeting the Aurochs in Besaid]

I felt like I could trust this Wakka, so I just had to ask. [About Zanarkand being destroyed a thousand years ago]

It was just as Rikku said. Wakka and Rikku couldn’t both be lying. Why would they?

I appreciated the fact that Wakka was trying to cheer me up. But at that time, all I could think about was… everything that happened to me–all this–started with Sin. Maybe if I could find Sin one more time, I could go home! For now, I’d just live life until that time came. No more worrying about where, or when, I was. Sure, it was hard not to think of home. But I started to feel better already. A little better…maybe.

I thought then that blitzball and Sin were the only two things that Spira and Zanarkand had in common. I wasn’t too far off, either.

I didn’t know it in the first place, to tell the truth. [If you say "I don’t remember" to Wakka asking if you remember Yevon's prayer]

Of course I’d never prayed before in my life. Not that he would know that… [If you tell Wakka "I don’t know any prayers" instead]

Any blitzball player would know that prayer. It was the blitzball sign for victory.

It was then, standing in that place [Besaid Temple], I began to realize how different this world was from my own.

It was funny hearing myself make the same excuse over and over. Funny, and a little sad.

So what he meant…was that we should respect some kinda great men or something like that… I figured.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. [After barging into Besaid's Cloister of Trials]

Man, was I surprised. And here I was thinking summoners were all old geezers.

I had never seen anything like it [it = Valefor] in my life. Sure, it was a little scary, but still… I could feel a strange kind of gentleness coming from it.

I remember… That night, we [Tidus and Yuna] talked for the first time. I didn’t know it then, but after that night, everything changed. For everyone… For me…

Miracles and oddities were starting to become daily routine on this trip.

When Sin attacked Zanarkand that day, I woke up in Spira. I kept hoping it would work in reverse, too.

I was just fooling myself. Maybe it was that day… on the sea, under the burning sun, I started to give up hope. I was in a foreign world. I wasn’t going home. This was my new reality, and I was stuck in it for good.

I wished there would never be a next time. No more people being killed by Sin. No more sendings for Yuna. Everyone stood there watching her. It was strange, and somehow…horrifying. I never wanted to see it again.

That moment when Wakka told me I had talent in battle… I think that was when I started seriously considering becoming a guardian.

Wakka, Lulu, and Wakka’s brother Chappu. Something had happened between them a long time ago, I was sure of it. Well, whatever it was, it was none of my business, that’s for sure. Best not to go there.

Even ten years after he left… just thinking about my old man got me angry. But maybe that was just my way of keeping him… Nah.

A guardian is someone a summoner can rely on. Someone she can trust with her life. I wondered, did Yuna feel that way about me? What’s she smiling about?

There was something I didn’t tell anyone else that day. That song we heard there, in the temple… I knew it from my childhood. It was proof that Spira and Zanarkand were connected somehow. At least to me it was.

Maybe that’s why, suddenly, I felt like… I just wanted to go home. I tried to say something, to tell them. But the words wouldn’t come.

I thought I had put my feelings for Zanarkand behind me. But they were there, and they grew inside me, bigger and bigger, till I was just about ready to burst.

So, Yuna, wanna come over to my place? Right, sure… As if I had a place to show her.

I didn’t think my old man would come to Luca. He never did like watching other people play. But I couldn’t help feeling something bad was gonna happen. And these feelings of mine are usually right. Sure, I had told Wakka I’d help him win the tournament. But I wasn’t sure I had it in me to play at all anymore.

It didn’t even occur to me to think that the Auron Yuna was talking about… and the one that I knew from Zanarkand could be two different people. I don’t know why, but I knew it was the same guy. I knew it was the same Auron.

To be honest, I did kind of feel left out, but… It really was the Aurochs’ and Wakka’s show, after all.

Even for a little while…people can sleep in their beds without being afraid. That kind of time is worth anything. Don’t say it isn’t worth it. Your words that day, Yuna– I remember them well.

That sunset was different from the one I saw in Kilika. It was quiet–almost gentle.

I knew it couldn’t be my Zanarkand. But I had to make sure.

From the first time I laid eyes on him, I never did like Seymour… But you know, some of the things he said that day… They made a lot of sense to me.

It would be a long time… before I ever really understood the reason why Yuna let Luzzu pass that day.

I remembered Auron telling me. Sin is my old man. Sin is Jecht.

I have no idea what I was thinking when I ran after Sin that day. But before I knew what I was doing, there I was chasing him down like a thief at market. Maybe I was angry, maybe I wanted to go home. I kept thinking of Zanarkand, and my old man.

I thought I sensed my old man there. Somewhere…Or maybe it was just Sin’s toxin playing tricks on my mind.

How many died today? People die, and Yuna dances. When will she stop dancing? When will it stop? Yuna won’t stop dancing– not until Sin is gone. Those were my thoughts then…I think.

Sin had come and gone, but I remained here.

[In response to Auron saying he was told that Tidus was a crybaby] Yeah, maybe when I was a kid. Maybe a little now. Just a little.

I hadn’t really laughed like that in a long time. It was only later that I realized… The only one really laughing then…was me. Laughing must have been the only thing keeping them going.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Those words stayed with me. I wonder how Captain Lucil is doing.

It was strange. Even though Wakka had always hated the Al Bhed… He never realized Rikku was one of them.

I had to stop myself from shouting: What’s there to think about?

I wondered why none of the others ever asked Yuna. Do you love Seymour? Do you even like him?

The Farplane was cool, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Yuna. Her parents–they looked so happy together. But it got me worried that maybe seeing them would make Yuna really consider Seymour’s proposal.

Trying not to think about my old man made me think about him, of course. He isn’t here because he’s not dead. He’s Sin. What if my old man really is Sin? What would I say to Yuna…heck, to everybody in Spira? Wait, why should I have to apologize for him, anyway?

Whenever my old man was around, my mother wouldn’t even look at me. Maybe that’s when I started to resent him, even hate him. When he left us…Mom just lost her energy.

The old lady next door told me…when a lovebird dies, the one left behind…It just gives up living so it can join its mate. It was just like that. I hated my old man even more. But really, my old man…

Somehow, my bad feelings always come true.

It’s funny how calm I was. Maybe it was because I realized that Yuna wasn’t marrying Seymour for love. Not really. It was just her duty–something she had to do before returning to her pilgrimage. That’s what I kept telling myself, anyway. And well, maybe… I realized that Yuna and I’d never… You know…

I guess I understood. My old man… He knew there was no way home, back to Zanarkand. He wanted to go home, but he knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t go on until he accepted it. Besides…even if he had found a way back…I don’t think he would have left his friends behind before their journey was complete. Maybe I had to start accepting my own fate.

“Praise be to Yevon.” That’s what I would have said, if I was a follower of Yevon. We were all there, and in one piece. Even if I had a headache from wondering what was in store from us next.

It was then I knew…that Sin really was my old man. For the first time, I was finally able to believe it.

We escaped with our skins intact, but Yuna lost something. I could already tell, her faith was shaken. Yevon had betrayed her. I felt like I should do or say something–anything… But nothing came. I was just as lost as she was. And then…

I told Yuna I would find a way. I guess I wanted to believe that words could make it come true.

Sometimes Yuna would just stare off into the distance. I finally understood why. She was saying goodbye to the places she’d never see again.

I wanted to see Yuna’s statue, too. But I wanted to see it… with Yuna by my side.

A city dead for a thousand years. A city I had to see with my own eyes. The end of Yuna’s journey. The last chapter in my story.

My thoughts, they kept floating up, and then slipping through my fingers. Slipping away before I could pin them down with words.

Listen to my story. This may be our last chance.

[dwarf-vader-of-middle-earth]

The best thing in the world is that, last night, I dreamt me and my son (kitty Patron) saved the world together with the help of our fictional dad who took us in, and his good friend and ally, Astarion from BG3.

And the dream itself was epic as hell. Basically, Patron and I wandered upon an ancient castle one night, and it was clearly still lived in and being used. Guards stood at the doorway, others marched along the paths of the courtyard, and the doors opened to reveal a king. He was a Vampire, and the castle had an equal amount of Humans and Vampires inside, coexisting. The king welcomed me and my kitty, and so we stayed a while.

At some point, I became a Vampire myself (don't remember when, but the king himself turned me and accepted me as his son, and my cat as his grandson), and I eventually learned of an ancient prophecy that told the castle about a long lost god of the hunt, and that they were planning to lay siege on the castle and eradicate the Vampires and the Humans who'd been helping them. This ancient god was wicked, with powerful, unfathomable magic and prowess, and they wanted to dominate the world as we knew it, taking over both Humans and Vampires to make them their underlings.

Eventually, the god escaped and started attacking. The entire castle went to war, but me and Patron took on the god ourselves. I mustered powers I didn't know I had, and sealed the castle off and cast it into a separate dimension for a time to seal the god off from the outside world to cause more destruction. Trapping them, Patron and I fought together, and so did the people of the castle, but he and I landed the final blow.

The castle returned to its usual place in the world and proper dimension. My dad, the king, walked out and said that his ages old enemy was finally slain, and by a power stronger than his own, stronger than that of a god. He bowed to me and Patron, thanking us, because we had the fury and strength greater than himself. He was the second god of the world, defending and uniting its people from his enemy, the god of the hunt, who wanted to enslave everyone, whereas my dad wanted to keep everyone free.

To thank us, he made me and Patron into gods, and we ascended with him to the throne now won.

The castle hailed me and Patron, the cat who somehow had lightning powers and shot bolts from his eyes.

We, as a castle, lay all the fallen in tombs in an ancient crypt once reserved only for Vampires long ago, but had now become the sacred resting grounds for any warrior of the castle who fell defending it.

A while later, I decided to go with Patron into that crypt, after the land had been at peace for months or possibly even years. That fucking place was MEGA haunted, and I FELT the fear as the fallen wandered the place aimlessly, lost and confused. The two of us escaped and went to my dad to warn him of the haunting in there.

He just shrugged it off literally, and said Astarion could show us how to navigate the place easier.

Yeah idk how or why, but Astarion showed up, and took me and Patron back into the crypt, then he flicked a light switch and immediately the wandering spirits just went back to their tombs, and Astarion literally said, "You just need to flip the switch, darling." Then we went on to do some kind of cleansing ritual? And that finally put everyone to rest in the crypt.

Everything was peaceful after that, until a neighboring group moved in down to the caves nearby, and they were a company that advertised clean energy, but I quickly found out they were a pyramid scheme that was causing horrible emissions and ruining the world by going place to place to sell their products. It was implied that Patron and I took them down somehow, but idk how because I woke up at that point.

What a fucking wild ride.

[vesper-roux]

I keep forgetting to tell the story of a dream I had a couple nights ago.

DnD setting. It's somewhere ornate, maybe a castle, maybe a monastery. Lots of golds on the high walls with a beautiful chandelier; the room is empty save of a few tables along the edges, like it might have been cleared out or it's a dance hall.

There are two paladins doing something, I don't remember, probably talking about their adventures they just came back from because they still have all their gear.

Then boom! In charges their nemesis, whose wearing even more ornate, spiky, and glowing gold armor--barely any weaknesses, and their face surely isn't showing. They try to fight, but the nemesis is winning by a landslide, even when they stop using their sword. They're mostly using darts covered in a potent poison that can debilitate a grown person with a single drop.

Reinforcements are called.

For some reason, that reinforcement is Will, one of my characters, and in the DnD context I played as Will, is a Vampire Way of Mercy Monk, has an AC of 23, can get a movement speed of 130ft with Boots of Speed, can use Physician's Touch as an action using a Ki point, has Slow Fall, and has the vampiric ability to walk up walls and ceilings. And all the stats of a DnD vampire, except the DEX and WIS are raised to 20s as ability score improvements. So really good stats.

And I'm surprised that I remember this in a dream because... We'll get there.

The rest in under the cut because this got a little long for my liking.

Badass, unbeatable paladin is so confident in their ability to win that they drop the sword and the darts, and picks feathers from the display peacock to use as darts. They start throwing these feathers at the team of three, taking one of them out, and the remaining good paladin and Will can't get a hit because the baddy is too well defended and fast. But not as fast as Will.

DnD!Will's tactic for fighting: running at the speed of light on the walls so when baddy shoots the feathers, it's either too fast to hit, or when they do hit, Deflect Missiles negates some of the poison damage, but Will wants to save up the Ki points, so they allow the feathers to hit.

Why?

Because Monks are immune to poison damage. Not the poisoned condition, but who cares about having disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks when you have semi-better stats than a vampire (really good stats)? If you fail at that point, you were never going to pass.

So as baddy takes shots at Will, remaining paladin attacks baddy, which in turns distracts baddy so Will can attack. Will steals the poison vial and just

fucking. Downs it. "Drinks" the whole thing. No poison damage, just the poisoned condition, but...

During the next "turn," they use Physician's Touch on themselves, ending the poisoned condition, and then they spit the poison on a dagger.

Again with the running on the walls. Repeat.

Next time Will attacks, it's with the poisoned dagger, and a land hits, debilitating the baddy.

As they stand over the beaten evil paladin who's making a speech, the effects of Will PUTTING POTENT POISON IN THEIR MOUTH is that thing that happens to Frodo when Shelob stings him. The foaming in the mouth. But it's bloody because their gums are bleeding. Essentially I'm thinking it was like getting stung by those seas creatures who often cause fatalities from being touched. Looks awful and badass at the same time.

That's when I woke up.

I don't know why I was using DnD logic in a dream, but it worked really well.

[fractured-clockface]

long post, vent about a nightmare i had last night. trigger warning dream children in mortal danger and general disturbing content. i just really wanted to talk about it and get it off my chest

after being awake for 24 hours and working two shifts nearly back to back, i finally laid down to sleep. i only slept two hours and had the worst nightmare i can remember ever having. it was several hours ago now, so the details were fuzzy.

i was a mother, expecting, with two children with me already. i and several friends who id known for years were trapped in a room, and outside the room parasites were taking over adults and using them to kill off other humans. we adults were trapped but my children could escape, though they needed a pouch of materials to return. they couldn't come back without it.

i gave my children one pouch each, and urged them to be careful doing whatever dream logic said they needed to do. i was so so terrified for their safety. i tried to make them understand they couldnt lose their pouches. they left, and one returned - i scolded them for wasting the pouch and gave them two more so they both could come back.

i vividly remember holding the pouch in their hands, purely scared out of my mind for them, urging them to be careful and come back

they did. they brought an adult man with them, and his eyes were a glowing bright blue that meant he was possessed by a parasite. he immediately began murdering the friends id known for years, while another friend pulled me back and tried to protect me.

i was frozen in sheer terror and shock. my friends were dying horrible gruesome deaths around me. my children were in mortal danger - including my unborn child. and i was completely useless, paralyzed by fear, while everything was happening around me.

the man who tried to pull me back directed my children, my poor innocent babies, to attack and kill the man with a special weapon. i screamed out "no" because my children would be traumatized enough without a murder on their hands, but they followed through and killed the possessed man.

then the surviving friend turned out to be possessed as well. i woke up just as i discovered this, and broke down sobbing and hyperventilating and pulling my hair because my kids, my kids, my kids. that's all i could think of. my kids, my kids, my kids.

thats why it was the worst nightmare ive ever had. because my kids were in danger and i couldnt save them. i woke up and abandoned them in the dream alone to die. i felt such grief and loss and guilt and fear over these children - and they weren't even real.

i dont understand how all parents don't feel even more intense love for their children. its unreal, inhuman, impossible. i can't understand it.

[spacecadetspe]

A year ago today…

Jan. 16, 2023

Having read some of the top listings on Lj today, I realize wholeheartedly that the account of my daily life may seem fantastical... or perhaps just unhinged. The primary reason I keep this alternate reality confined to this journal is so that I can live a normal life on Earth. I have responsibilities to which I must regularly attend, and I can't afford to let it interfere with my daily life.

I suppose I should institute some "rules" or something, to keep things clear, since it's plausible that whoever is reading this will be justifiably confused.

Nearly anything is possible. If it can happen, it probably will at some point. How I react to the goings on is how I measure my personal growth.

I say "nearly anything" because logically there are just some things that wouldn't be necessary, appropriate, or may even be detrimental to the beings that exist in that space, including myself. (Could there be a castle made of candy, guarded by marshmallow unicorns? Certainly. But... why? Who does that benefit?)

As Virtue of Hope and Chief Lady of Dreams, I can do a lot of things that my peers cannot. I can regrow limbs and heal scars (mine or anyone else's). I can split myself into projections or excise different aspects of myself. I have 300 wings, where most Virtues start out with ten.

None of this applies to my life in the Mortal coil. My mortal life is really rather mundane. I'm a divorced mom living in a comfy apartment, have equal custody of my son, and hold a raging grudge against my ex-husband (which I try not to project onto my child).

My therapy affects both sides of my existence. Because therapy does that. It changes who you are at a basic level, and so my actions and reactions reflect that on both sides.

Many of the entities I encounter in the Dream World exist on the mortal coil, as well. I have attempted to make distinctions between their roles in this life and the one on the other side of the Veil.

Now that that's cleared up, maybe I'll sound less like a crazy person when I talk about my walks on the other side.

And speaking of, by last few such walks haven't been pleasant. My evening routine in the Mortal realm has consisted of drawing a sacred circle on my chest every night to keep X away, much like the uses of Solomon's demonic sigils. And, two nights ago, I forgot to apply it. I really should know by now that those little spells aren't permanent. I got too complacent. I'm not sure why, since I'm well aware that X will try to subdue me by any psychic means necessary. Perhaps I'm just tired. I yearn for a sense of "normalcy," whatever that means. I suppose I shouldn't be so disillusioned.

As far as I'm concerned, I think placing wards like this every night serves to beautifully illustrate the idea that I am, in fact, unhinged. Drawing sigils and swearing up and down that some entity somewhere, nay, my ex-husband, is out to get me? It just screams paranoid delusion.

Which is one more reason that X might continue such attacks, I suppose; just to undermine me further in a society that doesn't tend to believe in the stuff I see.

Don't get me wrong, dear reader; I'm exhausted with this. I would love nothing more than to let down my guard and just... be. No more sigils, no more spells... no more journals where I write myself in as the victim. But waking up in the manner that I do... it's more than enough to make me a believer.

I dreamed that he cut off my left arm above the elbow. I could probably play it off like I fell asleep on my arm and cut off my circulation, but it wouldn't do justice to the pain. I woke up, of course, and tried to shake it off, but the ache shot down all the way to the joints of my fingers. It was so severe that the following day, I couldn't play the piano. This is in the mortal world, mind you. So the fact that it was affecting my physical body is a serious matter.

He cut off my arm... butchered every joint... so that when I stitched it back together, I can feel the seams holding my flesh in place. Even now, I'm having some difficulty typing.

Nothing on earth could describe how much I want to just... stop. But until X is finally broken, I'll have to settle for looking a little crazy.

Jan. 16, 2024

I’ve tried to get back into doing the rounds again. Morpheus and other oneiroi have approached me to try to keep me calm, but after my come-to-Jesus with Fortitude, I’m feeling a little fragile.

Two nights in a row now, any attempt to ease my frustrations has been thwarted. Night before last, Morpheus was called away just as he was about to crawl into bed with me. And last night I came away from one of my rounds shaking and anxious, feeling my chakras broken, and one of them came up behind me and held me for awhile. I turned around and he kissed me (keep in mind I’m not sure who this is) and I felt myself relax. But it didn’t go further than that. He escorted me to a bedroom somewhere, but I was awoken by a phone call.

The timing always seems to be just slightly off. I’m not to the point where I can be angry about it, but I feel it approaching.

Today is a rare snow day for my state, so Fortitude and I are staying in, for now. I’ll go get W later today, if the roads are clear.

Métis wants to have a “girls’ day” at her apartment in the dream world, which sounds pleasant. I might join her later.