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t0kidal · 2 years ago

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Return From Origins Part 2

(I like this too much to abandon, soooo HERE WE GOOOO Part 2, probably gonna alternate between this fic and The Alef. (praying for good storyline to hit me) Hope you enjoy.)

Inspired By:

“For the Sake of a Smile” by 4ever_Rewritten on Ao3

“Pawprints” and How to be a “Good Person” both by theWunderKind on Ao3)

I do not own Mairimashita / Welcome to Demon High School Iruma-kun. All credit goes to Nishi Osamu.

Part 1 ; Part 3 )

___________________________________________________________

After being let into the overpowered demons’ house, you’re immediately sent to the bathroom because “You stink” as Opera so kindly put it.

Opera also offered to look after Iruma (it was crudely penned on his blanket) and freshen him up while you bathed. You relented as your nails had more so resembled claws by now and were unable to do so for the boy yourself.

“He smells sweet, don’t eat him.” Demon babies left unsupervised were eaten by monsters and other demons that returned to origins. Not that you ever did...

The bath was hot, perfect for a much needed scrubbing. For the time being you just grabbed whatever soap and rushed through the rest before finally clipping and filing your nails. You hair, which had grown long and wild made what was meant to be a quick endeavor to a long and arduous process. At some point you opted to leave it damp as you rushed to dress in some clothes Opera left out.

You release your wings almost jetting through the halls, tracking the sweet scent of y-

That thought itself almost made you miss your turn...

‘Your child? Could you really call him your child? I mean... you found him but are you in any position or have any qualifications to actually mother and care for this precious bundle from the blue?’

A concern for later tonight, you decide. And soon enough, you find Opera, Sullivan, and Iruma in the sitting room. You edge on the threshold of the entrance, opting to watch as Iruma stared curiously at the two doting demons.

...

He looks happy.

You mute before turning to try and sneak away. coward

But then- “Y/N.”

You stop.

You poke your head into view.

“We need to talk.” says Sullivan.

~~~

‘Do you have any idea what you’ve found?’

A human...

You found a human baby... precious cargo in every meaning of the phrase. The object of Sh- of a certain researcher’s obsession... the one thing that gives border patrol meaning...

They say that a single drop would lead to a demon’s ascendence.

You shake your head, such thoughts were unimportant... You were still present in the room with said precious cargo and a pair of very powerful demons.

You were silent for a long time...

“... Both of you are already well above the rank of most demons... You don’t have any need to feed on him...”

He was awake now, sitting comfortably in Sullivan’s lap as he bounced him gently, luring giggles and baby gurgles from his gummy smile.

“If that’s all...” You start to stand. “Thank you for your hospitality... I’ll see myself out.”

“I don’t believe I said we were finished here. Did I, Opera?”

“No, Master, you did not.”

Oooh you did not like the sound of that. You cautiously sit back down. All of you had opted to rest on the luscious carpet before the fireplace, a safer level of gravity for the baby.

Sullivan clears his throat, “First of all,”

You’re flicked really really hard in the forehead twice, once by Sullivan and once by Opera. Which, to be honest, was deserved for your century long rampage.

“Second of all,” You feel... warm... it’s Opera... “Welcome back, kouhai.”

Oh...

Oh!

They… wanted you to come back…

~~~

You profusely refuse but apparently the room was already ready for you…

You change into some jammies and take a brief look in the mirror.

Those telling eyes weren’t leaving anytime soon… but! For now, it didn’t matter. What mattered more was getting a good night’s rest so you could face whatever the other two had planned.

Which can come after checking on Iruma.

Out of habit more than necessity you find yourself on the prowl, tracking his scent. You can’t help it as returning to origins had driven you to a state without reason, just base desires and instinct. Low to the ground, and almost on all fours, you stalk through the home… walking probably would’ve been better.

Finding the room, cracking open the door, nearing the crib, towering over the unsuspecting infant…

Devi, he was so cute you could cry.

“Who would dare…” (who would dare abandon this child) you mused… but apparently that was enough to wake him… ish.

Royal blue orbs look into your savage eyes, and a little coo can be heard as he reaches up to you. You indulge him and let him hold your finger… humming as he drifts to sleep.

“Sweet dreams, Iruma.”

~~~

Balance Shichiro wasn’t sure how to feel, hearing from Opera that you were back.

Happy, that yes, his friend from their time in Babyls returned.

Sad, that you had fallen so far from grace.

Betrayed, that you went so far astray.

He could only imagine how Kalego might feel if he finds out. But for now he was on duty, on his way to convene with Opera to discuss you and another thing…

A child. A human child!

Knocking on the door he’s let in after a brief pause.

“Thank you for coming Shichiro-kun.”

“It’s no problem at all, Senpai.” Rubbing the back of his neck he adds.. “How is she?”

“She’s.. fine… wilder… then again she always did have that habit of sneaking around.” And they both think back to that fateful day on the roof and chuckle.

But it falls silent as Opera knocks on, presumably, your door.

…

“Maybe we should let her sleep a little longer.” He suggests.

“Hmm, perhaps. She’ll regret not being there when you meet Iruma though. This way.”

Opera gently cracks open the door, eyes widening in surprise.

Because there you were curled like a wolf, right by Iruma, who had taken to pulling your long hair and cuddling with you on the floor. (But you didn’t seem to mind.)

“Oh. Good morning, Opera-senpai.”

He opens the door wider and your own eyes widen when you see Balam Shichiro… colleague, classmate, closely regarded…

And you look away as you sit upright from your place on the floor, careful about Iruma, who whines as he’s returned to the crib. But, you keep your back to them, you can’t… what were you… shameful… eyes that told so much left you with nothing to say.

“Sh- Balam-kun.”

“Y/n…”

“You uhh I’m guessing Opera invited you to take a look at Iruma…”

“Yes.”

Your mind is racing and you hug yourself still turned away from them.

“I uh.. I can leave you to it, surely I don’t need to be pre-”

You’re cut off as you’re hugged from behind… heart racing now for an entirely different reason…

“Don’t go…”

“Ba-”

“Shichiro… call me Shichiro…”

“Shichiro… it’s been a while…”

“Did you know how worried we were?”

And the rest of the conversation continued in a similar manner, ‘how could you disappear like that?’, ‘why didn’t you tell us you were under so much stress?’, ‘don’t go again, please.’

Eventually you two returned to the topic at hand. Iruma.

You recount how you found him, how at that point you were so bored of the destruction, how you have your own territory carved inside the woods, and the surprise when you first heard Iruma.

“And then he showed up… almost out of no where…”

“Hmm, strange... travel to and from the human realm is strictly forbidden... How could he have been brought here...”

...

“Iruma, why don’t you go say ‘hi’ to Shichiro.” You gently nudge him to go to the much larger demon, a stark contrast to your first year heights.

Iruma looks up a Shichiro, and normally most demons would avoid him be it for his strange mannerisms or general energy, he’s actually a very sweet demon.

You like his scent, very earthy, very nice.

But none of that seems to deter the baby as he simply stares up at the silver mountain in wonder. He giggles and coos, reaching out for ups. Shichiro, on the other hand, looks so lost.

You giggle before coming to his rescue, scooting closer and scooping up Iruma, showing the proper positions, and then placing him in his arms. Iruma, immediately starts to giggle and coo as he played with Shichiro’s hair.

“He smells so good...”

“Right?”

“He’s so cute.”

“Right?”

The energy in the room was that of bliss, the sole cause of which being your little bundle of blue.

_________________________________________________________

(I hope to get a little more serious for the next chapter with Shichiro finally examining Iruma. learning how to care for Iruma. Raising Iruma... a lot of nitty gritty on the way along with mamas being reintroduced to society, crazy tendencies...

we’ll see.

Please feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments! I was trying to make it a little longer so apologies if the timeskips didn’t really flow well together or if it was too choppy, whatever. I was honestly going to put a lot more of this into the next chapter but thought that’d make it too short. etc etc.

Thank you for reading~! Have a nice day!)

#fanfic #baby iruma #mom reader #fem reader #reader insert #mairimashita! iruma kun

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tiny-prince-alef · 3 years ago

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Alef’s Journeys: Chapter 1

(Author here! Welcome to the sequel of “Alef’s Journey Home”! Now, here are a few things to know! The chapters will be a bit shorter than in the previous story and won’t be coming out as fast as before, but I hope that you all enjoy the sequel! With that said, let’s continue the journey!)

Chapter 1: Dreams

He consumes. It’s all he does. His helmet becomes a gaping maw of razor sharp teeth, all in rows that seem to never end. I watched as he seemed to inhale the Light from some unfortunate manta rays. They cry out in agony and despair as my Papa drains every last speck of Light from them. They lose their glow, becoming transparent and ghostly, their cries turning into moans of sorrow.

I cried out for him to stop, but this only made him look at me. The blue visor on his helmet turns an ugly shade of red, and his twisted helmet opens wider. That’s when he exhaled. Except he didn’t exhale the stolen Light.

A thick black smoke with sharp red crystals spewed from his gullet. I’m consumed by the foul-smelling Darkness and I felt the red hot crystals pelting my body and it hurt so much Papa please stop-

My eyes snapped open, a cry on my lips as I quickly bolted upwards.

A dream… It was only a dream.

I felt a chill, and I realized that I’m soaked in sweat. I was trembling and when I brought a shaking hand up to my face, I found that there were tears in my eyes.

I guess it was more of a nightmare than a dream. A nightmare that happens almost every single time I sleep. I never have good dreams anymore.

“Alef? Are you up?” I heard Kohel call from downstairs. Oh right… I was spending a few nights at her place in the Village of Dreams.

“Y-yeah… Yeah, I’m up.” I said, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. I was sleeping in Kohar’s room while he’s away in the Golden Wasteland; apparently, he was investigating Treasure Reef, which had only been discovered recently. I wasn't even aware that such a place existed.

Slowly, I got dressed, making sure that my hair was fully dried; I don’t want Kohel to ask why I was sweaty. When I’m satisfied with my appearance, I make my way downstairs to the kitchen. At the table are a few Sky Children; Ubureno and Xomandi, the roommates that live with Kohel. Currently, they’re eating breakfast and drinking herbal tea from steaming mugs. I could see that there was already a plate of breakfast and tea for me.

“Good morning, Alef! I made some Light pudding for breakfast!” Kohel said, sounding a bit too cheerful. Did she already know that I had a nightmare last night? I decided to not bring it up to her; I didn’t want her fussing over me again.

When I eat a spoonful of the warm, glowing pudding, I felt a little less like an empty husk. The Light in my belly felt familiar and comforting, though it only lasted a short time.

Silently, I wondered if this is what Papa would feel if he consumed Light like he did in my nightmares… I don’t feel much like eating anymore.

* * *

The little ones are scampering around happily as they seem to honk at one another. Some of them are playing with Alef’s old toys that I had retrieved from the ruins of our home in Eden. Of course, I had asked Alef if they could play with them, and being the unselfish child he is, immediately said that of course they could, and he had long since outgrown them.

However, there was just one of his toys that I wouldn’t give to the Sky Children.

I reached into my pocket, gently feeling the worn out stuffed manta ray. I suppose it’s selfish of me that I haven’t told Alef that I still have it. But… I’m not ready to part with it. Especially since he’s gone off onto his own adventures.

Of course, I miss him terribly. It’s about the same as when he went off to the Assembly Camp for a week without me. But I have to let him spread his wings and leave the nest.

I’m feeling a sudden gnawing in the very pit of my stomach, and I have to hold back a groan. That terrible, hungry feeling…

My vision briefly shifts. It is watery and dark and I can see the small, glimmering Light exuding from a group of swimming Sky Children.

We are hungry, so very hungry… their Light looks so delicious…

I have to dig my claws into my arm to snap me out of it, and I’m panting underneath my helmet. The oblivious children don’t notice when I leave to the Prairie. I have to eat.

#sky:cotl #sky: children of the light #sky: light awaits #alef #prince alef #resh #king resh

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primroseprime2019 · 3 years ago

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Last Line Tag

Thanks for tagging me @talesofsorrowandofruin

Here’s an excerpt from my story Bloodlines:

"Paige?" I was snapped out of my thoughts and I turned to Simon who had an uneasy look on his face. He shuffled his feet and bit his bottom lip. "A-are you okay? You've been... really quiet," he said.

I was silent for a moment. Was I really okay? Even I didn't have any answer for that. "I... I'm okay Simon," I said. Two boys rushed past us and we turned to see a girl pressing her ear against the Principal's door.

"What do you think they're talking about?" One of the boys— a peachy skinned, dark red eyed and tan haired boy— asked the girl.

"I don't know Aaron," the girl said in a hushed voice, "it's all muffled." I frown at them and shake my head. Eavesdropping was just another way to get into trouble. Harry and Scarlet knew that all too well, considering the many detentions they've gotten themselves into. And for some reason, Scarlet always had a way of sneaking out without anyone noticing.

I was brought out of my thoughts when the kids scurried away from the door as it opened, revealing the principal and the vice principal walking out of the office. Everyone turned to them and stared nervously. The principal stopped and looked down at me. I stared up at him blankly. He blinked at me before he followed the vice principal. The bell rang and everyone started to leave.

"Paige?" I looked over at Gregory as he stood next to the bike rack, holding his bike by the handlebars.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked. I frowned as my thoughts swirled around. Why did everyone keep asking me that?

"I'll get back to you on that," I said simply before I started walking away. He frowned as he watched me.

I walked into the forest, making a beeline for a clearing. The forest wasn't far from the school so I pretty much had a way to go there to have some time to myself. I walked into the clearing and I sighed shakily before I dropped my backpack onto the ground and I fell to my knees, throwing my head back, a heavy sigh escaping me.

I ran my fingers through my hair. I knew Gregory wouldn't let me live that down, neither would Mom. I let out another sigh and laid back on the ground. I stared up at the blue and white sky.

It was pretty to look at. It made me feel okay even on the bad days. Whenever I had a breakdown, I always went on walks and mostly because Dad wanted me to. It helped calm me down and Mom always welcomed me with suggestions on snacks and cuddles.

I was 19 years old now. My birthday had passed. And I was more than excited. And nervous.

God, I was scared of graduating and now that I had, I was in college. Every vampire teenager was. I placed my hands over my eyes, letting out a frustrated yell.

"Bloody hell!" I shouted before I got up, grabbed my bag and went to a dirt road. It led to a barn. I knew who owned the barn. Picking up a carrot from the basket on the table, I walked over to the horse's stable and walked up to a grey horse.

Tagging: @movieexpert1978 @wingsy-keeper-of-songs @ritasrandomblogofrandoms @tiny-prince-alef @kannra-orhara @emeraldflower25 @curetapwater @evilwriter37

#tag game #last line tag #decided to give it a try #vampires #fanfiction

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ask-jumblr · 4 years ago

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Mod intros: Mod Alef/א

Shalom, y’all! I’m Mod א, the original mod of this blog. You know, the reason the queue is backed up and we’re behind on asks... (: I’ll be sharing modding with a few other jumblrs now. I use she/her pronouns, but am also comfortable with they/them.

I don’t identify strongly with a specific Jewish denomination, but my ideology and observance are closest to Conservative Judaism or more observant and traditional forms of Reconstructionist Judaism. I was raised in Reform/humanistic and semi-egalitarian Conservative Judaism, which was quite a combination! I am NOT a Jewish professional, I’m “just a Jew” who takes an active role in my own Judaism and in my Jewish communities. You’ll sometimes see me self-identify as a BT (”baal teshuva”), a word more often used by people within Orthodox Judaism; you can sometimes find me blogging about that experience from my inconsistently named side-blog (currently: @egal-aboosta).

In moderating this blog, I’m passionate about creating an overall pluralistic space where askers are able to learn from within the frameworks they’re seeking. Online and “irl” I am passionate about building welcoming and inclusive Jewish communities, and providing both accessible and intensive opportunities for Jewish learning.

#mods #mod alef #mod intros

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vivi-the-sky-kid · 4 years ago

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Sowing the Seeds (of Love), Chapter 2

Aka the Resh/OC Fix-It Fic Nobody Asked for but I'm Inflicting on All of You Anyways as Punishment for Kai's Your Hubris

The King has always been a mysterious figure in the annals of the Sky Kingdom's history, generating both awe and fear within the hearts of the sky spirits. Few can claim to have met them in person; certainly not Tav, a researcher of light creatures for the Vault of Knowledge. But when they discover their research may be used to harm the very creatures they know and love, Tav knows they cannot allow this to happen.

Somehow, they must change the King's mind. If that means throwing butterflies at their royal face, then so be it.

-<◇>-

Warnings: Will be added to each chapter when necessary, but there's not gonna be anything graphic in this (do send me an ask if you think there's something I should warn about tho)

Rating: T (just to be on the safe side)

Pairing(s): Resh/OC

Tag(s): Enemies to Lovers, Fake Dating, Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies

Additional Tag(s): Resh and Alef are twins, Resh and Tav are both nonbinary, Resh uses he/they, Tav uses she/they, Resh is demiromantic and pansexual, Tav is biromantic and demisexual, no beta we die like moths in eden

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

-<◇>-

Chapter 2

Word Count: 3,464

Warning(s): Some swearing

-<◇>-

How had this happened again? Tav's mind was still reeling the next day, even as she sat amongst a flock of birds near one of the rookeries of the Bird's Nest. Normally, their chirps would soothe them, even as they reminded them of a different life. Unfortunately, the events of yesterday kept playing through their mind like a broken memory cube.

Now the King's Will—they refused to use his name—was coming to Daylight Prairie, and all Tav's courage had run out. In the time it had taken to travel to Prairie, her false bravado had melted away like snow in the bright sun. Panicked thoughts now ran through their mind, and not even the cheerful chirps of birds, or the soft squeaks of butterflies, or the whimsical whoops of mantas, could help. Most of them were because of the Will, if she was honest with herself.

Their gray gaze had been so cold. So... empty. Like any warmth and life had faded away long ago. Like they could no longer care about anything.

And now they had to convince him to care about light creatures?

It was impossible. There was a better chance of becoming King herself and killing the project that way.

A chirp from the bird perched on their knee caught their attention. She reached up and tugged on one of the flat locks sticking out of her hair, mouth tightening.

Yes, it was impossible. But they had to try.

-<◇>-

Kumibir hummed as ey left the solar altar, the morning's prayer putting a spring in eir step. With the Megabird's blessing, the Prairie was sure to flourish with light and life. Now ey just needed to get to work tending to the prairie lilies...

“...from Eden, you say? How fascinating!”

A conversation nearby caught eir attention, and ey slowed.

“Isn't it? From what Omifiti told me, the spirit that arrived went into Elder Ayin's temple right away! I wonder what business they could have.”

A spirit from Eden? Could it be...?

Kumibir smiled to emself, taking hold of eir chin. Then ey turned away from the boat that would take em to the Butterfly Fields, and instead made for the next boat bearing a shipment to the temple for processing. The lilies could wait a little longer. Ey had a spirit to catch.

-<◇>-

Feeding time at the Bird's Nest was a sight to behold. As the caretakers spread seed across the grass and stone, flurries of white would descend from the sky to feast. A cacophony of chirps filled the air as the countless birds flocked to their meal. It was a welcome distraction from the thoughts racing through Tav's head.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

“Are you Tav, from the Vault?”

They turned to look at the speaker. A messenger fresh off their boat, by the looks of it. She nodded. “That's me. Do you need something?”

“A spirit from Eden is asking after you at the temple. If you would please come with me...”

From Eden?

Tav swallowed the lump in their throat. With the help of the messenger's proffered hand, she got to her feet. Together, they went to the nearby empty boat, and set off for the temple. The ride was quiet. They would have preferred the agony of small talk with a stranger. At least it would have distracted her from the feeling of going to her own execution.

Tav disembarked a short distance from the pond outside the temple, and the messenger got off to load nearby pots. They took a deep breath and moved toward a very tall spirit standing on the bridge arching over the pond. With the warrior's garb and spear slung across their back—two things nearly unheard of in the peaceful realm of Daylight Prairie—it was clear they were the spirit from Eden.

The King's Will had arrived.

As if sensing their eyes upon him, the Will turned. She gaped at them, thankful her mask hid her look of surprise. An elegantly patterned cape draped from beneath the stone pizaine resting on their shoulders. Long, silky hair drifted in the wind from beneath the diamond-shaped crest of his mask. She had to admit, it was all rather striking, except for one thing...

Tav shuddered slightly when they saw the Will's stony gray skin—as chilling as his gaze.

Then they froze as another spirit peeked out from behind him. An impish grin broke out across eir face when ey caught sight of her.

“Oh, and look who it is!”

Kumibir walked up to Tav, wrapping them in a tight hug. She hugged em back, a little numbly, and tried to ignore the piercing look the Will was shooting her. Thankfully, Kumibir soon released them, though ey kept an arm slung about Tav as they walked back to the Will.

“We were just talking about you!”

“Y-You were?” she said, beads of sweat forming on her back.

“You know, when you said you were expecting someone from Eden, I didn't think you meant your partner! You should have told me. I would have gone to stay with one of my own so you two could have some space.” Kumibir grinned and added, in a conspiratorial whisper, “I can see why you like them. So polite! And so tall! They're just your type!”

Tav blinked. Then blinked again. And then a third time for good measure.

“My wha—?”

“You really are so generous, Kumibir,” the Will cut in smoothly, wrapping an arm around Tav's shoulders and pulling them against his side. His other hand curled by the side of their face, gloved fingers brushing against their mask.

What.

With a squeeze of her shoulders, they continued, “We've been wanting to spend more time together, but sadly, Tav's work has kept them so busy I could rarely see their darling face.”

What.

“Oh, I know how that is. Sometimes the others' work keeps them away for almost the entire day,” Kumibir said, nodding solemnly. Then ey glanced at the sky and squeaked in surprise. “Speaking of work, I have some prairie lilies to tend to. Have fun, you two!”

Ey waved and ran off to the boat Tav came in on. Tav themself remained frozen, trying very, very hard to wrap their head around what just happened. It wasn't until the Will was pulling her around the walls of the temple and out of sight of the boat that she regained her senses. They wriggled out of his grasp and folded their arms in front of them.

“What was that?”

The King's Will scoffed. “You tell me, little researcher. You're the one who told that spirit we were partners.”

“I never did that! I just told Kumibir that you were coming so ey wouldn't be surprised. It's not my fault ey jumped to conclusions.” They turned away, eyes squinting in confusion. “Also what did ey mean, my type...?”

“And why would you not tell them my purpose for being here? I doubt one of your position would be very familiar with a soldier.”

Tav glanced back to him balefully, but they could not deny it. Although the midnight blue and electrum threads of the Will's cape would fit right in amongst the Vault's denizens, soldiers were a less likely story. The Golden Land's lack of light creatures near its dunes meant she was even less likely to go near it. The odds of them and the Will chancing to meet were slim enough to be unbelievable.

But they couldn't tell Kumibir the truth. It would break eir heart.

Ey couldn't know about the Dark Matter Bioweapon project.

Taking a deep breath, Tav said, “The people here love light creatures. If they found out you were here because of a plan to turn them into weapons, it would ruin any chance of cooperation to get you to not want to do that. So I told them you were just here to confirm my research. That's all.”

The King's Will studied them, arms crossed in front of him. Then their demeanor changed, and a shiver ran down Tav's spine.

That wasn't good.

“Very well. In the spirit of cooperation, I will not speak of my reason for being here. But” —and he held up one finger— “you have to pretend I am your partner for the duration of my stay.”

“What?!” Tav said, clapping a hand over their mouth at their volume. She scowled and lowered both her hand and her voice to add, “Why?!”

“Despite what you may think, I too would prefer my identity remain a secret. They don't need to know of my connection to the King. As far as these spirits are concerned, I am Resh, a high-ranking member of the Sky Kingdom's army, and nothing more.”

“Why do you care if these spirits know about your connection to the King?”

They turned away. “I have my reasons.”

“And those are...?”

“None of your concern. Now, do we have a deal?”

She stared at them incredulously, then threw her hands in the air and marched off, much to their surprise.

“Where are you going?”

“To the butterfly fields. It's time for your first lesson on light creatures, darling,” Tav replied, jerking their thumb towards a nearby boat.

-<◇>-

The boat to the edge of Prairie had arrived before any further stilted conversation could occur, and the two had spent the ride in relative silence. That had been a mercy. Now, however, she wanted to scream in frustration. The butterflies were acting strange and uncooperative today. They were fine with Tav themself; it was the King's Will they had a problem with. They flew away squeaking as soon as he approached. Even those she could coax to her hand fled as soon as she beckoned the Will forward.

So things were going just fine.

In the end, as the sun began to set and the butterflies flew off to the nearby sphere they slept within, they had decided to call it a day.

Of course, that didn't mean their bickering had ended. Even when they passed other spirits, the two kept it quiet, making it seem more like two partners sharing private thoughts than opponents exchanging barbed words.

“For a creature claimed to be 'loving' and 'kind,' these butterflies were rather standoffish today.”

“Maybe they sense you're a terrible person who wants to use them as weapons. They're perceptive like that.”

“And yet they cannot perceive the bitter heart inside you, my dear.”

“They can't perceive what isn't there, darling.”

“Ah, of course. How could I have been so blind? You don't have a heart.”

So caught up in their verbal battle was Tav that they didn't realize they had boarded the same boat as the Will until the two were standing outside the elder's temple.

“Good night, my dear. I look forward to tomorrow's efforts,” the King's Will said, pressing a masked kiss to the back of her hand.

Tav narrowed their eyes, but nodded and managed to hold back a shudder as their hand was released. “Until tomorrow, darling.”

The Will nodded back and entered the temple, leaving them to sigh heavily and wait for another boat.

-<◇>-

“So... how did it go?” Ayin asked, a hint of nervousness in their voice.

“Oh, horribly. The butterflies refused to go near me. But that Tav... I must admit, they're a stubborn one. Either they're planning to assassinate me, or they really believe they'll be able to change my mind over this matter. This may be the most entertaining thing I've done in... I can't remember how long. I'll have to thank Alef when I return. After punishing him for enabling this nonsense in the first place, of course,” Resh responded casually, lifting the stone pizaine from their shoulders to lounge more comfortably across the bed provided. For a moment, they thought his skin seemed a little less gray, but it was likely just a trick of the light, nothing more.

“I see.” Ayin turned to leave, but lingered in the doorway long enough to say, “Rest well, Resh. You have a busy day tomorrow.”

Resh grunted in acknowledgment, and the room fell dark.

-<◇>-

The smell of fresh bread greeted Tav's nose the next morning, as well as Kumibir singing a cheerful song praising the sun. It was a welcome start to a day that would doubtless be a strain on her patience. They'd try again with the butterflies, and hope that somehow Resh would be... more cooperative.

Perhaps a vain hope, but she'd hold fast to it.

Tav managed to answer Kumibir's excited questions (“Where did the two of you meet?” “They're so tall! Is that why you like them?” “Do they have a sibling?”) with vague replies that technically weren't lies (“Oh, we met because of my work.” “What? Why would that be a factor?” “Oh, they might. We haven't talked about our families yet.”). Eventually, Kumibir left to attend the morning's prayer to the sun, and Tav was free... for now. As they sat there, idly munching on a slice of bread and listening to the soft whoops of mantas in the distance, irritation rose once more. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner they could escape this miniature hell.

With that thought, she stuffed the rest of the slice into her mouth and left, slinging a light staff across her back. At the very least, it might help in coaxing a butterfly within reach of Resh.

-<◇>-

Resh waited at the dock for Tav, arms folded before him. Ayin had suggested being a bit more agreeable when they awoke, and despite their better judgment, they had agreed. Unfortunately, it was hard to be agreeable when the person in question was late.

...All right, maybe not late, but later than he liked. Too many locals had gawked at them while they waited, muffling their voices with their hands. Too many had giggled in his direction, and all had avoided eye contact when he turned to glare at the offenders. The same nonsense had happened many years ago, when they had first grown into an adult under the watchful care of the Elders. He could still remember some of those that commented on how handsome they had become.

They were all dead by now.

“Good, you're here.”

Thankfully, a familiar voice drew him from that unfortunate reverie. Tav was now approaching... with some kind of staff across her back for some reason. Resh huffed and placed their hands on their hips.

“You're late.”

She shrugged. “I was eating breakfast. You know, since it's morning? What, too good to eat breakfast like the rest of us? Or are you too used to the fancier fare of Eden?”

Ah, yes, such fancy fare as standing near a blazing fire long enough to push back the ache deep within. Too long, and a different pain began. But they didn't need to know that. They were just some too-bold researcher.

“Something like that,” he said curtly.

They continued to stare at him, eyes narrowed, before shrugging again and gesturing to the boat. “Well, whatever. Come on. The butterflies should be waking up now.”

-<◇>-

Just as they had said, the butterflies were starting to pour out of the sphere and head towards their typical spots for the day as the two of them stepped off the boat. It was a beautiful sight, although she doubted Resh appreciated it. Still, it meant they could start for the day.

Like before, the butterflies came willingly to them, as long as they stayed away from the King's Will. At one point, six were perched on her hands, which she then promptly, and smugly, showed them. Their response was to turn away with a grunt. Tav snickered and lifted their hands, releasing the butterflies to return to fluttering about the flowers of the field.

“Here. Let's try this,” they said, drawing the light staff from their back. She held it out, and soon enough, a butterfly perched delicately at the diamond-shaped tip. Then they slowly moved their end towards him, holding it out for Resh to take.

Instead of grabbing it, however, they stared at it. Tav's arm began to ache as the seconds dragged on. When Resh showed no sign of accepting it, they snapped and said, “Would you take the staff already?”

“And just why should I do that? For all I know, you're planning to attack me as soon as I try.”

“It's a light staff. The only thing it can do is bruise that thick skull of yours. Now take it.”

He glared at them, but begrudgingly took hold just below their hand. With her hand on the staff, the butterfly remained even as they grasped it. When they removed their hand, however, and left only his, it squeaked, quivered, and flew off. Tav watched in bewilderment as it returned to its flock.

“...Well, then. I can't say I've seen that happen before.”

“And here I thought you were the expert on light creatures, my dear.”

“And I thought you were someone who could be reasoned with, darling. Looks like we were both wrong, hm?”

She turned away to study the butterflies, wondering just what exactly was driving them away. They were normally such friendly creatures, often taking a break from basking in the sun's rays and pollinating the prairie lilies to loop around nearby spirits. To have them avoid a person like this...

Something must be very, very wrong.

That niggling discomfort over the coldness of Resh's skin and eyes rose up once more, and Tav avoided his gaze as they called for a lunch break.

-<◇>-

As she chewed on a piece of crab meat, Tav considered the issue with the butterflies. Like any other light creature, they were drawn to flame and light. It was their bread and butter, so to speak. As spirits had an inner flame granted by Megabird when they were born, a light creature could simply be near them and feed on the warmth given off. It wasn't much compared to the innate light of another creature, but it was enough that spirits were often accepted as members of the flock, so to speak.

Was something wrong with Resh's inner flame?

It would explain the unusual color of their skin, and the butterflies' behavior. Then again, was such a thing even possible?

Their inner researcher burned to figure out more, but Tav beat it back down. There wasn't time to travel to the Vault, let alone search its archives, and Resh was too irritating and evasive to hope for an actual answer. It was bad enough they had to put up with his dour attitude. Trying to pry information from them would be a nightmare.

Tav swallowed and stood up, stretching with a soft groan. The hill they had chosen to take lunch on was near the butterfly sphere, with a small cave underneath that where Resh was currently skulking. And... talking to someone?

Someone actually wanted to talk to them?

They knelt and leaned closer to the edge of the hill, straining their ears to catch a snippet or two of the conversation.

“...so lucky to have a partner like you. With someone like you around, I'm sure they'll have much less trouble getting things off high shelves.”

The spirit chuckled, and Tav had the sudden urge to throw something. Or scream. Either worked.

“I shall, of course, do my best to assist them with any high shelves they may encounter,” Resh replied. She could practically feel the smirk on their face.

Bastard.

The spirit laughed again, and Tav crouched a bit lower as they left the cave, the puff of the two buns atop their head bouncing slightly with each step. More footsteps sounded, and soon Resh was also leaving the cave. Unlike the spirit, however, they stopped and turned to look up at her.

“Do you need help getting down from there? I've heard you have difficulty with heights,” he said, eyes crinkled in amusement.

Tav glared back. She stood up and walked down the side of the hill, then past Resh, making sure to whack their shoulder with the light staff as they went.

“Come on. The butterflies don't have all day.”

-<◇>-

Butterflies are curious light creatures. While birds and jellyfish are content to keep to themselves when it comes to spirits, butterflies (and mantas) possess a kind of empathic sensitivity that, more often than not, draws them towards spirits. Whether it was a sad spirit in need of comfort or a spirit blazing bright with joy, they would soon find themselves with a squeaking companion looping about their body before flying off into the distance. The only spirits they tended to avoid were those with a great deal of aggression.

They avoided both Tav and Resh this time.

-<◇>-

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

#sky children of the light #sky #sky king #resh #resh my beloved /j #here's hoping it doesn't get shadowbanned like the first chapter did #although i think i might have fixed what caused it #btw if any of y'all have questions regarding this cursed cursed fic #feel free to send in an ask #i'll answer as long as it isn't spoilers #i call it cursed but i am actually putting quite a bit of effort into this #this isn't like those quick and lazy meme edits i sometimes do #i am Making An Effort™ here

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brotherbo · 3 years ago

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Blog Post 7/24:

It’s Sunday night, the first day of the week here in Israel and I’m sitting outside my dorm in northern Tel Aviv under a half cloudy grey and blue sky. The temperature is warm enough that when a breeze hits I’m is confronted by the refreshing feelings and memories of romantic summer nights. I seem to already be feeling nostalgic, for my time here is about to come to an end and I’ll continue with my travels and adventures elsewhere.

This past week was full of emotion and adventure. Because both of my professors were sick with Covid (thankfully they’ve both recovered and are negative) we had class on Zoom. One the one hand this gave me the opportunity to spend a bit more time with Kayla in Jerusalem and spend time at our favorite places. On the other hand, it was a total bummer to not have classes in person for a week when you’re supposed to be in Yiddishland!

On Wednesday morning I said goodbye to Kayla as she’s going back to NYC. In the evening I went to a yorzeit memorial for my friend and hevruta (learning partner) Yonim Schweig Z’L. It’s been two years since his tragic passing, entirely unfathomable when I think about how much has happened in my life since then, and how much would have happened in his as well. The Schweig family was visiting Israel so they put together a gathering of sorts for Yonim’s friends. I met friends of Yonim that I hadn’t known before and saw the familiar faces of friends who till then, were frozen in memories from four-ish years ago when I was still in Yeshiva. On this blog it doesn’t look like so much time since then but in reality it’s been some time.

At the gathering another hevruta of mine, an Israeli fellow named Yonatan (but known to me by his strong last name “Tzubery,”) invited me and another friend, Zev Mishell over for shabbat by him in Tekoa. I had stayed by Tzubery’s previously for a shabbat when I was in my second year at yeshiva, and made it back there for (at least what I can remember of it) what was a wildly spirited and joyous purim (with Yonim too!) Tekoa is in the West Bank, about 20-30 minutes south east of Jerusalem. It’s mammish a hilltop settlement. There are four established neighborhoods (Tekoa Alef, Bet, Gimmel, and Dalet) and a farm/mini settlement in Tekoa “hay,” which was only erected in the past couple of years. Though it was founded by Rabbi Menachem Fruhman with a sort of bridge-building approach: forging relationships with the surrounding Palestinian villages and “radically” integrating both secular and religious Jews into the same community, it has turned into a more established settlement and stands blatantly as another example of the inequity between Israeli citizens and Palestinians. (If you’re wondering why click here) Nevertheless, I couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity and comfort of being hosted by a friend in their home – the cotton candy pink of the Jordanian foothills and the sweet sounds of a kavonodik (intentional) welcoming of the Sabbath Bride reverberating through the space of conjoined caravans. Chatting with Tzubery was pure delight. And getting to spend the weekend with Zev was more than I bargained for.

Jumping back a bit, Zev joined me in the shuk (Mahane Yehuda) on Friday during peak market hours to help hawk some of my ShtarkShirts. With T-shirts on hangers we walked down the street amidst hundreds of Jews and called out:

“Love Torah? Love Mishnah? Have I got a shirt for you! T-shirts with illustrations of mishnahs on them! Ever seen something like that before? No, you haven’t! Why? Because I made it! Nothing else like it exists friends! Get it here! Get it now!”

I’d say it was a smashing success of a couple hours. A bunch of people turned their heads, gave us thumbs up, told us it was a cool idea, were asking for stickers, and were even interested in buying them. Ultimately I made one sale to a mizrahi mother excited at the prospect of gifting her 10 year old son a shirt that no-one else in community will have. One or two people who I approached said they’d seen the T-shirts before – online. Another one said their friend actually has one of the shirts and dropped the name of a mutual friend. Hawking in the market is a right of passage, and occupies not a small amount of space in the stories recounting the Jewish market places of yore.

Back to classes in person for my last week of this program and then I’m off. This evening we had an open mic at which people performed songs, declaimed and recited poems, and told stories, all in Yiddish. A majority of the group got up to perform something and I myself did a couple recitations. I began by showing my mishnah Bava Metzia shirt and then reciting the beginning of that mishnah in Hebrew and in Yiddish. Then I recited an excerpt from an S. Ansky epic poem named after the arch-demon “Ashmodai.” I ended with a small poem written by Celia Dropkin.

I remain curious about the insights I can glean from this last week in classes, and look forward to everything that is to come.

But more on that later,

Bloaz

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vivi-the-sky-kid · 3 years ago

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*cracks knuckles*

Okay so

The short answer:

It’s primarily based off the concept art and some of Sky: Light Awaits, the very first version of Sky, which are both... secondary canon, in my opinion. Like the rest of Sky’s lore, you’re free to come up with your own interpretation, and many people (myself included) like to draw upon aspects of these sources for their own view on the lore. In both of these, the King was an antagonistic force, and in the concept art specifically, was the one (indirectly) responsible for the Sky Kingdom’s destruction. I personally don’t put much stock in the concept art lorewise, as much of the current game’s lore doesn’t mesh properly with it/outright contradicts some of the concept lore, but y’all do you

After getting corrupted by Dark Stone and its power, the King (and all of the Elders but Daleth/Isle, mind you) would become enemies with the light creatures and royally screw everything up by using too much Flame, which they primarily obtained by extracting it from the light creatures themselves. Them trying to escape the consequences of their own actions is what leads to the Storm and the destruction of the kingdom, as well as the creation of our sky kids

The long answer:

In the concept art, Alef/Resh, also known as the Prince/King respectively, was unique in that he was the only entity besides the light creatures to be granted Flame (the precursor to Light in the current game). Unlike them, he couldn’t fly, but an Elder creature gives him the ability to do so in a time of need. At some point, he would discover Dark Stone alongside Teth/Forest and its ability to absorb Flame and act as a power source. The King would then give each Elder (who were originally some of the Ancestor spirits in the concept art, not Fallen Stars) Dark Stone, except Daleth/Isle. The Dark Stone gave the Elders godlike powers, but at the same time, it corrupted them greatly, much as it would eventually corrupt the King themself, as his crown was also made of Dark Stone. The light creatures would attack the kingdom after their use of Dark Stone used up too much Flame, but they would be defeated and driven back.

Alef/Resh was crowned King for his part in driving back the light creatures in a battle (this would have been revealed in the Valley section, as the concept art shows). Because of their corruption, the Elders and the King would turn away from the cycle of reincarnation facilitated by the Megabird. Light creatures would be forbidden from entering the Holy Land (Eden) to die and be reborn, and as their Light was also being extracted, a lot of Flame was prevented from returning to Megabird and being reborn. This was... not good, to put it mildly. As the Sky Kingdom was itself a sort of afterlife (hence why early concept art of Isle has you start off in a modern city—you are heavily implied to be a dead person moving on), without new souls being born, the kingdom was kinda doomed. This end to the cycle would also put Daleth/Isle out of a job, as they were the one welcoming new souls to the Sky Kingdom and now there aren’t any

At one point, the King ordered a massive Ark of Dark Stone to be created in Wasteland, presumably because they feared another attack from the light creatures. Near as I can tell, this is not the same Ark as the Forgotten Ark. This Ark would eventually be destroyed in a battle with the Elder light creatures and their armies above Eden, and the resulting explosion corrupted these Elder creatures and created the Storm, as well as corrupting the entire kingdom. The King themself was trapped in the center by the Elders cursing him with their Dark Stones, locked in eternal battle with the corrupted Elder creatures. All the other light creatures that got corrupted now roam the land (the conceptual predecessors to krill/dark dragons and crabs)

Megabird is pretty upset by all this, and creates the Descendants, who would eventually become our sky children in the current game. Her reason? To have them reconnect the souls of the Kingdom and restore the cycle

The original concept art plan was to have the various player characters choose one person to take all their light into the eye of the Storm and face the King, avoiding his attacks and other dangers as they proceed. The end result was to purify him and release his Flame, trapped by the corruption. Their light would connect to the remnants of good/Flame still inside him, and the inner child/Prince of the King would help them and all the other sky children leave the storm and return to Megabird

Actually how did the entire fandom come to assume the king was evil? I am in fact asking for a detailed breakdown on all implications of who Resh was, because this is causing me pain.

@vivi-the-sky-kid @justsomeectoplasm if you're fine with it.

#sky children of the light #sky #sky lore #sky meta #sky theories #long post

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currylangs · 8 years ago

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Persian Lesson 1: Alphabet

Welcome to the first Farsi/Persian lesson! We’re gonna be kicking it off with the script and spending a good bit of time on that. Throughout there’ll be a lot of example words to demonstrate the script: don’t feel obligated to memorize any of these yet, but you can pick some of the important ones and try to learn them as you go. Also, note any pronunciation approximations I give will be according to American English, not British English. Anyways, onto the actual lesson.

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

While we tend to use the term “alphabet” to refer to any system of writing, it also has a more specific meaning, which is a system in which both consonant and vowel sounds are written with separate individual letters. Persian, however, is an abjad, a writing system vowels are either not written at all or optionally indicated. That would be a pure abjad, one where all vowels truly could be left out. However, all abjads in use today are impure abjads, meaning that there are some vowels that must be indicated. There are 2 more things to know about the Persian script: it is written right to left rather than left to right, and letters connect with each other much like English cursive.

To start off, we’re going to learn the first 5 letters. Here are those letters in alphabetical order:

ا ب پ ت ث

We’re going to begin with the second letter of the alphabet, ب, called “beh” /be/. It makes the same sound as the English letter “b”. And now, the first letter of the alphabet: ا, called “alef” /ælef/. This generally makes the sound â /ɒ/, much like the “a” in “father”. Since we have our first consonant and our first vowel, we can combine them together and make a syllable. So, ب + ا gives you this:

با

Remember how I said Persian works like English cursive? The form that I just taught you for those 2 letters is called isolated form, referring to the letter standing alone. There are 3 more forms, however: the initial form (coming at the beginning of a word), the medial form (coming in the middle), and the final form (coming at the end). In the word above, we only see the initial and final forms on display: ب has the initial form بـ, and ا has the final form ـا. Combine them together, you get با bâ, which means “with”.

Now it’s time for your third letter of the alphabet, پ “peh” /pe/. This is pronounced just like the English “p”, and is very similar to the previous letter except that it has 3 dots at the bottom instead of one. This goes for all its forms, too; the only difference between the various forms is that پ has 3 dots. So, this means that combining پ and ا gives you پا pâ “foot”. Then there’s the third letter, ت teh /te/, which makes the sound “t”. By now you’ve probably noticed a pattern, and have assumed that this letter has the exact same forms as the previous two besides the number and location of the dots. That’s actually correct by the way, I wasn’t trying to lead up to some sarcastic surprise reveal. So yeah, your example word is تا tâ “until”. Then you have ث “seh” /se/, making the “s” sound.* You get the drill by now, and the word ثا doesn’t exist.

Now, what if I told you I could teach you 3 more vowels without showing you another letter? You may think I’m crazy, but let’s go back to what I said about vowels being optional: some vowels, such as alef which I showed you above, are mandatory. You can’t just write ت and hope people read it as tâ “until”. The vowels that are optional are indicated by diacritics rather than by separate letters, and I’m going to teach you the 3 main ones.

First, there’s the diacritic representing the “a” in the word “bat” (/æ/). It’s written like so, as a horizontal line slanted to the top-right above the letter:

بَ

This is read as “ba” /æ/, which isn’t a word. But we can actually make a word if we put this together with what we just learned! Now that you know this vowel marker, you can read the word for “fever”:

تَب

There are 2 more of these vowel diacritics I want to teach, representing the sounds “e” in “bed” and something similar to the sound “o” in “toe” respectively (with the “something similar” part: if you say the word “toe” to yourself, you’ll notice that there are actually 2 vowel sounds. In Persian, however, this “o” sound doesn’t glide into another vowel at all).

بِ بُ

(In case it isn’t clear: the one below the ب is “e”, the weird squiggly one above is “o”) Now that you know these all, there’s one more rule to cover: you know how I said alef generally corresponds to the sound â? Well you see, at the beginning of the word it’s actually silent and essentially a placeholder for these vowel markers. This is because in Arabic, it’s not a pure vowel marker and in fact stands for the glottal stop /ʔ/. Anyways, if you want to represent the vowel sounds “a”, “e”, and “o” at the beginning of a word, you write them as

اَ اِ اُ

respectively. If you want to actually represent the sound â at the beginning of a word, you add a little doo-dad to the top of alef and get آ, this special new alef being called “alef madd”.

Remember that these vowel diacritics are optional: they are mainly used in children’s books and materials for learners, and in actual native text you have to know from context which vowel sound is meant. It’s a pain in the ass, but you get used to it.

But anyways, now that we have our 3 vowel diacritics, alef, and a couple of consonants, I can talk about the medial forms that I forgot to explain. For this, we only really need to look at ب:

ببب

You can see the ب has the medial form ـبـ. Seeing as we know the other letters are formed simply by substituting the dots, I trust you to figure out the medial forms of them yourself. And with that, the first lesson is over! Don’t relax though, make sure to quiz yourself on all this.

READING PRACTICE: transliterate these gibberish words

بُث، تات، تِب، بات، ثَت، آثِت پُت، پُبَت، بِاپَتِب

*This is just one letter of multiple that represents the sound “s” and is not in fact that one that’s used when adapting foreign words to Persian; you’ll learn 2 more later. The reason that there are 3 letters for the “s” sound is that 2 of them actually represented different sounds in Arabic that Persians just pronounced as an “s” to make life easier. ث happens to be one of those letters with a different sound in Arabic (that being the “th” in “thick”).

#mod: luke #currylangs #currylangsfarsi #farsi #farsi alphabet

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businessweekme · 7 years ago

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Lebanon Wants a Greek-Style Rescue Plan

Step inside the Greek Orthodox cathedral in Beirut’s central Nejmeh Square and you could be in Athens: priests with long black robes and beards lead prayers and worshipers cross themselves in front of icons.

The problem for Lebanon, the world’s third most-indebted country, is that it’s starting to look more like Greece financially. And if Greece’s survival as part of the euro was crucial to the European project, Lebanon is key to keeping what’s left of peace in the Middle East.

“I don’t think the gravity of the situation is understood by everyone,” deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani said in his office in Beirut. The time has come for an international aid package that will force Lebanon to reform, “the same way that Greece was salvaged, but before it’s too late,” he said.

There’s nothing new about a nation held together by a delicate sectarian power balance being on the brink. But what is new is that Lebanon has never had to face such a daunting set of challenges at the same time, and all while it can count less on traditional sources of money from abroad, whether the diaspora or erstwhile Saudi benefactors.

The country is a political battleground between regional foes Saudi Arabia and Iran, which back opposite sides in the seven-year war next door in Syria.

That conflict has sent 1.5 million Syrians over the border, the most refugees per capita, blocked land exports and caused fights between Lebanese factions that stymied efforts to ease the strain on the country’s finances. There’s also a U.S.-led effort to curb the power of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Lebanese bonds have tumbled and bank deposits are growing at their slowest pace since the end of the civil war almost 30 years ago. Government revenue can’t keep up with spending as the economy splutters and politicians squabble before May elections. The budget deficit ballooned to more than 10 percent of gross domestic product.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund sounded the alarm bell. It said the economy is on an unsustainable path and required urgent action.

The central bank needs to mitigate a slowdown in bank deposits, whose growth has helped support soaring public debt, the IMF said. It currently amounts to $79 billion, or 150 percent of gross domestic product, though the IMF said Lebanon will likely see it reach 180 percent in five years.

That would put it where Greece stands now after the country underwent the world’s biggest debt restructuring in 2012. Japan is the only country with a bigger debt ratio, but it’s not at the mercy of external forces because its currency trades freely unlike dollar-pegged Lebanon or euro-member Greece.

Lebanon will seek to raise funds for a $16 billion infrastructure program at a donor conference scheduled next month in Paris. In the markets, investors are selling, and the rise in bond yields will make servicing costs more burdensome and the level of debt even more unsustainable, Ziad Daoud, an economist at Bloomberg Economics, wrote last week.

The yield on Lebanon’s dollar-denominated bonds due 2037 jumped 59 basis points last month, the most since the debt was issued last year. The debt used to be a haven in times of market turbulence because of the backing of local banks, but the gain was almost triple the average increase for emerging-market bonds in February, according a Bloomberg Barclays index.

“The reason why it’s no longer a safe trade is due to liquidity because banks no longer provide liquidity,” said Marwan Doumith, who manages about $250 million invested in Lebanese Eurobonds at Blominvest Bank Sal in Beirut.

Foreign investors hold about $8 billion, or 30 percent, of outstanding Eurobonds, he estimated. That’s more than twice the proportion of a few years ago, Doumith said, “which is now a risky situation.” As for the donor conference, “we’re not sure how much the government will be able to bring in,” he said.

The precarious financial position reflects the increasingly dire state of the economy and deteriorating governance, with Lebanon slipping down Transparency International’s corruption ranking to 143rd of 180 countries.

Parliament only managed to pass a budget in 2017 for the first time in 12 years. There’s been a garbage collection crisis and efforts to open up the electricity and telecommunications industries to bring in vital foreign investment have floundered.

More than 70 percent of expenditure goes on government salaries and debt servicing while up to 10 percent goes to subsidizing electricity, leaving the government very little room to cut spending.

While Hasbani said Lebanon needs international help, there are questions where it might come from.

Some Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, have balked at helping Lebanon financially like they did in the past because of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group that wields so much influence in Lebanon.

Relations with the Saudis appear to be thawing. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri received a statesman’s welcome in Riyadh last week. It came after an episode in November when he flew to the Saudi capital and was pressured to announce his resignation only to return to Beirut and be reinstated.

The Al Hayat newspaper reported Saudi Arabia will attend the three donor conferences that will be held in Europe this year to raise money for Lebanese infrastructure, the military and help with Syrian refugees.The Saudi-owned publication cited unnamed officials in Beirut.

But Hariri’s recent trip was more politically symbolic than about securing financial aid, according to Hani Sabra, founder of New York-based Alef Advisory.

“I don’t believe Saudi Arabia is planning to provide Lebanon with a large assistance package,” Sabra said. “The trend in Lebanon has been the empowerment of forces, like Hezbollah, that are in opposition to Saudi interests. An injection of money from Riyadh won’t really reverse the trend or deliver on advancing Saudi interests in Lebanon or the broader region.”

Lebanon relies on private-sector bank deposits, mainly from millions of Lebanese living abroad sending money back, to keep the banks stable and defend the dollar peg. As long as the money kept flowing, banks were happy to gobble up government debt.

While deposit growth slowed to 3.8 percent last year because of the Hariri incident in November, central bank Governor Riad Salameh said the financial system has demonstrated its resilience.

Lebanon saw outflows of $2 billion after Hariri announced his surprise resignation. Some banks sent offers by text message and cold-called Lebanese living abroad with offers of higher interest rates. One bank is offering as much as 6 percent on deposits of $1 million or above. The rate rises to 10.50 percent for high local-currency deposits.

The $2 billion has gradually returned, with inflows exceeding outflows since Dec. 10, Salameh said in an interview.

“Fear was created and despite that we held,” he said. Outflows in November were proportionally lower than during two other big crises — the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and the 2006 Israeli war with Lebanon.

Some agree that Lebanon has what it takes to hold up. Its bonds still offer a good yield and foreign reserves remain sizable compared to its external deficit, said Giuliano Palumbo, a senior portfolio manager at Euromobiliare who helps manage 20 billion euros ($21 billion) of assets including Lebanese government bonds.

A stroll through downtown Beirut, where the St. George Orthodox Cathedral sits among the mosques, gives a taste of decline.

The streets that buzzed with Gulf tourists through the first couple of years of the Syrian war — they made up 30 percent of consumption in Lebanon in the peak June-to-October period — only see a bit of life on the weekend. Vacant stores line the streets, their fronts collecting dust.

Lawmaker Ibrahim Kanaan, head of the finance and budget parliamentary committee, said the government is studying measures to reduce debt servicing and end wasteful spending, such as on music festivals.

“There is an awareness among the main parliamentary blocs that we can no longer continue like that,” Kanaan said. “Yes, we’re late, but it’s better late than never.”

The post Lebanon Wants a Greek-Style Rescue Plan appeared first on Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

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#Economy #Lebanon

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thaiamulets-co · 3 years ago

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tiny-prince-alef · 3 years ago

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Alef’s Journey Home: Chapter 17

(Author here! Here it is! Chapter 17! This chapter contains VERY HEAVY SPOILERS for the Eye of Eden and there is mention of the beta version of the Eye of Eden! You have been warned! And with that, my Christmas vacation STARTS!)

Chapter 17: Reunited

Rocks and red Darkstone shards rained all around us. The sky was the same hellish red it was the night that I died in this very area. The Darkstone was more fractured since the last time I laid eyes upon it.

The countless statues of children were the latest additions, and I feel my heart sink. Were they as scared and sad as I had been when I met my end here?

Before I could say anything, Kohel marched forward, a determined look on her face. I watched as she seemed to reach inside of herself and… and yank out what I could only describe as a tiny ball of Light with a pair of wings. She had made a small noise of pain, and that had scared me more than the Krill had.

“Kohel! What are you doing?!” I shouted at her. But she refused to look at me. “Go on, Alef! You have to go! Only you can finish your journey! I’ll see you again!” She said as she bestowed the winged light onto a statue. “But Kohel! I need you!” I said, but she again refused to look at me. She simply moved further into the storm. I knew then that she was right; I was the only one who could finish this.

This was my journey.

I could sense where I had to go; I was being called home. Somewhere beyond the rubble…

I took one last glance at Kohel, and I silently wished her luck as I headed out towards the massive walls of rubble.

Like before, the rocks moved away from me. Something urges me onwards; a voice? I’m not sure… Several times, I slipped on rocks or I lost my balance and fell.

But I continued onwards. I couldn’t stop now. Not when I’m almost there.

Suddenly, I’m surrounded by massive pillars, countless statues, some of them light, some of them more massive than the others… There are so many of them, it almost feels like a maze.

But ahead of me is the door to home. There is a brilliant light inside, almost as if I’m being welcomed to go inside.

The storm continues to rage not just out here, but in my chest.

The moment of truth.

I mustered up both strength and courage and continued onwards. I’m scared. I’m nervous. I’m feeling so many emotions that I can barely stand up.

But I have to know. I must know.

I trudged ahead through the thick darkwater, knowing that the Elders were with me, protecting me, urging me on. Before I knew it, I’m standing at the threshold.

Why am I hesitating now? Is it my fear that is making me stall? It’s like my feet were locked onto the ground. I was too scared to move on. I started to back away from the doorway slowly.

Something blue catches my eye, and it floats in front of me. What is it? It seems to want me to follow it. But, it feels so familiar…

That’s when I feel how warm it is.

“Kohel?” I whispered. It swirled around my hand and lingered in the doorway. She… She really was with me.

“Kohel, I… I’m so scared. I’m scared that he’s not here. Or if he is, he still hates me? W-what do I do?” I whispered to her, my voice wavering. She didn't answer, but she hovered near my head. But I could have sworn that I heard a whisper in my ear.

“It’ll be okay…”

It takes several moments before I take a deep breath and step inside.

* * *

I sensed the stranger stepping into my home, and I mentally prepared myself. What would they be like? Would they be hostile? Cruel? Friendly?

I focused on opening a path for them so that they wouldn’t get lost while looking for me.

Oh stranger, you’ve come so far. You have faced many challenges and dangers just to seek an audience with me. I will give you as much of my time as you desire.

I just hope that you will grant my wish.

* * *

It’s so cold and silent, a stark contrast to how warm and bright our home used to be before the Darkness took over and claimed it. I remembered these halls. I remembered the rooms. My own room was actually in this very hallway, but that wasn’t my goal.

My goal was at the end of the hall, past the massive doors.

My Papa’s living quarters.

I continued forward, focused solely on the doors, telling myself that it’ll be okay. That I’ve made it this far and cannot turn back now. I have to know.

Before I knew it, I was standing right in front of the doors, my hand pressed against the surface. It doesn’t take much effort to push the doors open. My heart is hammering in my chest, my body trembling from nerves.

When the doors fully open, I step inside quietly. What I see stops me dead in my tracks.

It’s a massive figure. His back is to me. His cloak is tattered and stained a deep black color. I remembered that it used to be gold and white, much like mine was. He has many sharp parts on his clothing, and his helmet obscures his head so that I can’t make out any features.

“You’ve done well to make it to me, stranger. I commend you on a job well done. You risked life and limb to see this fool of a King…”

When I hear him speak, tears instantly fill my eyes. His voice isn’t cold, nor is it strong like it was in the past. It’s sad and tired, full of regret, sounding as if he’s never slept or rested in ages. He doesn’t stand up straight and proud.

For several moments, I’m unable to say a single word. My brain is numb, I can’t form words. What should I say?

Again, something whispers into my ear.

“You’ll be alright…”

I take a deep breath, and when I speak, my voice is soft.

“Papa?”

* * *

When the stranger speaks, I’m certain that I’m once again hallucinating; it’s not uncommon for me to imagine Alef’s voice during my many many years of loneliness. But he was never really there. He was gone.

“Papa?” The voice… It was so clear. Not hazy or muffled like my hallucinations. Slowly, I turned around to face the stranger who sounded like my precious son.

My breath catches in my throat when I see him. No… It can’t be. Is it… Is it really him? This has to be a cruel trick by the Megabird. A punishment for my crimes against Sky.

“Papa…?” He comes closer to me. His voice is soft and small, yet so sweet and soothing.

I move forward, wanting to meet him in the middle. He stopped directly in front of me, and I in front of him.

“...Alef?” I say, my voice wavering as I reached up, grasping at my helmet. Slowly, I removed it, dropping it to the floor with a loud thud. He jolts a bit when it lands on the floor. I haven’t removed my helmet in ages, unless it is to look at myself with utter disgust and anger.

I slowly bent down and rested my hands down, my palms opened for him to step onto. But I’m scared to touch him with my icy cold claws; what if the cold hurts him?

But he doesn’t hesitate, stepping onto my palms. He doesn’t freeze, doesn’t turn to stone or show any indication that my touch hurts him.

Gently, I lifted him to my face, close to my nose. The second he is close enough, I could smell him.

Sweet, whipped cream…

The scent of my precious son. My beloved treasure.

I gasped out several times, fat hot tears rolling down my cheek.

“Ah-Alef!” I gasped out, my voice wavering and cracking like broken glass.

It’s him.

It’s really him.

* * *

I instantly recognize my Papa, even though he looks drastically different from when I last saw him. The left side of his face is entirely gone, nothing but scars cover that side; even his eye is gone. His remaining eye is no longer a beautiful pale yellow. Instead, it glows an eerie white, mimicking my own left eye. While he still has his white hair tied up, he has cut it significantly shorter.

When he holds out his hands to lift me up, I see that his hands have become monstrous and black, covered in cracks.

But I’m not scared.

I stepped onto his palms, and braced myself as he lifted me up into the air gently. I can feel his hands trembling beneath my feet, and I hear him gently inhale through his nose.

For the longest time, neither of us said anything. But when I heard him sob out my name, I lost all composure. Tears fill my eyes and steadily stream down my cheeks, and my chest tightens.

“P-Papa! Papa!” I sobbed back, pressing myself against his scarred cheek; it’s rough, but I don’t care. Not a single second did I care.

“Oh, my Alef! My son! My precious treasure! Oh, my poor child, how I’ve missed you! You’ve come back to me!” Papa sobs, nuzzling me against his cheek, his entire body trembling as he cries. My nose runs as I sob uncontrollably. It’s all we can both do for the longest time. We sobbed out our grief, our sorrow, our regrets.

“My precious child, back from the void! How…?” Papa mumbles through his tears, looking at me in wonderment and sadness.

But I needed to know something.

“Papa? Do you… Do you h-hate me for what I said to you?” I whispered fearfully. What if he still hated me?

Slowly, he pulled me away from his cheek, and he looked at me, tears still streaming down his face.

“My poor Alef… I could never ever hate you… Alef?” Papa brought up a claw, gently bringing it underneath my chin and tipping my head so that I could look at him. His face is blurry, a watercolor portrait because of all the tears in my eyes.

“Do you remember what I said? What I said to always be sure about?” He asked me, his voice gentle. I closed my eyes as I remembered his words from so long ago. From when we both had the warmth of Light.

“That… That no matter what may happen, that you’ll always love me, even after the last star dies out.” My voice is a squeak. He brought me back to his cheek, gently pressing me against it.

“Tell me, my precious one… Do you think what I told you was a lie?” He asked me quietly.

I know it wasn’t a lie.

Papa had never stopped loving me.

I shook my head, tears flowing freely down my face.

“I love you so very much, my Little Manta Ray…” He didn’t let me go as I sobbed against him again.

#sky: children of the light #sky: cotl #sky: light awaits #resh #alef #prince alef #king resh #sorrowful king; resh #eye of eden

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