#your destiny is to be carbon dated
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featheredcrowbones ¡ 13 days ago
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happy birthday soliloquy solomon! ⋆
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yawnderu ¡ 9 months ago
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Simon ''Ghost'' Riley — Masterlist 💀🖤
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cr: @ave661
Simon Riley Moodboard | Smut Masterlist | Bimbo!Reader Masterlist | Dad!Ghost Masterlist
This Masterlist only has the material I've created in 2024. To explore older works, you can check my Main Masterlist, or use the tags #Simon Riley x Fem!Reader or #Ghost mw2 on my profile to access all my works!
Do not translate, post, or put my content into AI tools.
Ongoing Series Lorelei
Synopsis: Aware of the way his lifestyle doesn't align with your dream life and unwilling to quit his life as a soldier, Simon breaks things off with you. It isn't until a year later that he sees you again, a tiny carbon copy of him held in your arms.
K-9
Simon Riley and his pathetic efforts to get close to the new medic will earn him a scar or two
or
Simon Riley is in love with an uninterested, tired medic.
Angel
Synopsis: Afraid of giving you the same destiny all his loved ones met, an emotionally unavailable Simon does his best to pretend being in love with you for one night, later deciding to introduce you to the one person who can give you the love you want; John Price.
Smut
Silly love-making
Simon's obsession with pornstar!reader
Sex on camera
No man could act this good
Using his naked body for art purposes
Love-making
FWB!Simon cucking your hookup
Tattoo Artist!Simon
Prettiest girl in Edinburgh
Hybrid cat!Reader tag teamed by Simon and Johnny
Soul-crushing devotion and medical emergencies
AI!Reader gets a physical body
Neet!Reader jerks him off
Hybrid wolf!Simon x Catgirl!Reader
Sleep-walking, but fucking instead
Simon becomes vocal when you give him blowjobs
Rimming him
Monster fucker
Dick headcanons
Catgirl in heat
Drabbles
Gym bros Johnny and Simon
Creature!Reader
Tag team 🌶️
Simon Riley is a stray, roughed up cat
Seduction goes against the rules
Nymphomaniac!Reader
Immortal!Reader
The phrase ''the wife'' is always in Simon's mouth
Choking🌶️
Cock warming🌶️
Lipstick marks on his cock
Neet!Reader sniffing his armpits
Milf!Reader drives Simon insane🌶️
Military high ranked!Reader
What turns him off
I have no faith, but I believe in you
You and your daughter love his tattooed arm
Simon is a furnace
Creature!Reader cuddles
Asking for sex after he had a bad day
Cumming too early🌶️
Wearing a white wife beater
Girl dad
Raccoon
Simon makes weird faces under the mask
Juiciest ass in the Task Force
Bulking
Dating a MILF
Naked cuddles
Relationship similar to Batman and Catwoman
Work Song
Cumming on your glasses🌶️
Touch starvation
Fluff & Hurt/Comfort
Expensive presents
Displays of trust
The most broken man turns to religion when you're hurt
A man without big pecs is like an angel without wings
Simon Riley was made for soul-crushing devotion
Broken man in love
Cuddles after a bad day
Simon is a giant black cat
Ai!Assistant Reader
Ai!Assistant Reader bothering Simon
Second chance at being an uncle to your niece
''I'll be the weapon when he needs protection''
Moody catgirl
Red panda hybrid!Reader
Hiccups during sex🌶️
First relationship
Angst
Emotionally unavailable
Immortal!Reader doesn't come back to life
Angel - Part I | Part II
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cemeteryspider ¡ 6 months ago
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A Feathered Destiny
Nightcrawler! Kurt Wagner x Winged! Reader
Summary: Your world and Kurt's faith collide when you join the X-Men.
There are religious themes in this because Nightcrawler is canonically Catholic. I used to be a practicing member of the Catholic Church but I no longer practice this religion. I hope not to offend religious and non-religious people. There is no mention of reader's faith.
Trigger Warnings: Violence, Injury, Blood, Emotional Distress, Religious and Supernatural Themes
Word Count: 1514
When Charles Xavier introduced you to his team of X-Men, shock coursed through you. One moment, you were a nobody, burdened by a painfully obvious mutation that had isolated you from human society. In an instant, you found yourself surrounded by mutants like yourself, each with their own unique abilities and histories.
Some of the X-Men were unsettled by your resemblance to the original X-Men member, Angel. However, Beast quickly dismissed any concerns of familial ties and after verifying your carbon dating matched your age, ruling out the possibility of you being a clone.
One member of the X-Men, however, greeted you without hesitation. Nightcrawler's eyes widened and his mouth fell agape at the sight of your pure white wings, immediately drawn to the divine aura you seemed to exude.
To him you were perfect in every way, a divine gift from god himself.
During your first mission you were sent to stop sentinel activity in Los Angeles. You soared past the sentinels nose-diving into their heads and soaring out the back unscathed.
You worked fast and effectively, working with the other X-Men to keep people on the ground safe. Once the sentinels were taken down and your feet touched the ground once more you could sense the despair of the people around you.
A deep emotional crowd of sadness nearly suffocated you. You scanned the crowd looking for people you could help.
One espeacially strong emotional response coming from not too far away. A little girl hovering over her mother, who was weakly trying to consol her daughter despite the blood leaking from the left side of her mouth and the stone crushing her chest.
You approached the little girl cautiously, kneeling beside her. With a gentle touch, you retrieved a small dagger from your suit's waistband and carefully snipped a lock of your hair. Placing it in the girl's hand, you whispered softly, "What do you wish for the most right now?"
A suprised look crossed the girl's face when the hair in her hand disappeared into a golden light, and the rock on her mom's chest disappeared along with the blood on her mouth.
You heard two small gasps as the mom's once concave chest returned to it's usual position.
The girl launched herself into her mom's arms, and you just smiled at the sight in front of you.
"Thank you," The mom said in your direction.
A team of medics carefully loaded the woman onto a stretcher, their movements precise and urgent. Deep down you knew their tests were going to come back with positive results. The miracle you seemed to have preformed would do the trick. Her daughter ran into the ambulance to follow.
People around you stared standing still, some with their jaw slack others with their eyes wide. You smiled as you brushed the rubble off of your suit and stood up walking past Kurt who looked baffled at the scene he just witnessed, "My God, Samson's hair."
To him, he had just witnessed a miracle of god.
~~~
Later that week you stood across from Kurt in the Danger Room. You watched as Wolverine typed into a tablet changing some of the hologram enemies around the room.
"Alright, let's see if you've got what it takes. Get ready for some action," You almost rolled your eyes. Wolverine was obviously not used to setting up training for others, but you decided that he was trying his best.
Kurt looked over to you, "Let's show them what we've got, ja?"
A smiled crossed your face, "I'm ready when you are."
With a quick glance over to Logan he smirked, "Begin."
The holographic enemies shot into action around the two of you. You allowed your wings to spread and soon you lifted off the ground.
"I'll take the high ground," You shouted down to Kurt.
He disappeared and reappeared behind an enemy in a cloud of smoke and brimstone. He delivered a swift kick to the back of its skull, "Und I will keep them occupied down here."
You knocked a bunch of holograms down with your spread wings, and Kurt teleported rapidly, dodging attacks and taking down enemies with an acrobatic prowess.
You weaved through the various obstecales put in your flying path. You took down an archer that was silently aiming for Kurt in a tree.
"They cannot hit what they cannot see," He shouted up to you, and you smiled. He couldn't help but smirk when he saw your white teeth.
The last few enemies standing Kurt stood straight with a serene look settling across his features as he fought. His lips tumbling out whispers, "Thank you, Lord, for this strength."
You land next to Kurt, with the last enemy defeated. The land evened out with a few taps on Wolverine's tablet.
"Great job, Kurt!" You smiled at him again.
He smiled back, "Danke, We make a good team, don't we?"
When his eyes met yours he took your hand in his, "You are a gift from God, you know."
Your eyes left his to look at the ground, "I really appreaciate that Kurt, but I'm not an angel. I am a mutant, just like you."
He tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and you looked back up at him, "Mutant... Angel. It does not matter to me. You are still a blessing."
You tight shoulders loosened, "Thank you Kurt, that means a lot."
"Alright, enough chit-chat you two. Let's see if you can handle the next level," Logan said rapidly typing into the tablet once more.
~~~
In the evening, you found solace on a weathered bench in the campus garden. The night sky twinkled with distant stars, casting a gentle glow over the blooming peonies. The faint scent of sulfur wafted through the air, drawing your attention to Nightcrawler, who appeared beside you
"Mind if I join you?"
A small smile crosses your face, "Not at all"
He looked at your face as the moon cast a gentle glow on your face.
"It is beautiful out here. Peaceful," His eyes quickly darting to the sky, "Do you ever wonder if there is more to this world than the things we see?"
A subtle crease in your brow formed, "I do. Sometimes I think about where we come from and where we're going."
Kurts arms rested on his theighs, "My faith has always guided me. Even in the darkest of times. I believe there is a high purpose, and that it has guided you to me."
"I admire your faith in a higher power, Kurt."
He turns his body to look at you, "It has not been easy. I have faced hatred and fear for how I look. Through it all, I have always held onto my faith."
You put your hand over Kurt's, "You've been through so much Kurt, I understand why you hold onto your faith so tightly."
"And you? What keeps you going, Angel?" His eyes lit up.
You took a deep breath, "There's something I need to tell you. It's about why I came here."
A gentle concern crosses his face and he leans it a little bit close to you, "Whatever it is, you can trust me."
You scrunch your eyes closed, "I came here because I felt lost. Once my powers manifested my parents kicked me out of the house. My old friends wanted nothing to do with me. When the Professor found me I was completley alone. No one to help me, everyone shutting me out. When I met you I felt like I finally found a place to belong, with the X-Men."
He smiled warmly at you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, "You are always welcome here. The X-Men is a family, and we support each other."
Your eyes shone with unshed tears, "Thank you Kurt. That means more than you know."
Your head rested on his shoulder and you continued to watch the night sky. His head came to rest atop yours as well.
~~~
You stood beside Kurt as Rogue and Gambit animatedly recounted their globe-trotting escapades. Kurt subtly wrapped his arm around your waist, eliciting a chuckle from Rogue.
"Took you two long enough," she teased with a grin.
A blush crossed your face with a shy smile, and Kurt could only grin at his sister's comment.
Soon Scott and Jean walked over congratulating the two of you on getting together, saying it felt like it would never happen despite Kurt following you around like a lost puppy.
"They're just jealous of the two of ya, sugah," Rogue whispered to you when she gave you a hug. You couldn't help but smile looking at the team surrounding you.
You finally found the warmth of friendship among these extraordinary individuals. Perhaps, in time, they would become your family.
From his wheelchair in the hallway, Professor Xavier watched his team with a smile that held both pride and hope. As laughter and camaraderie filled the air, he felt a deep-seated conviction that every obstacle overcome brought them closer to realizing his dream of unity and acceptance.
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spiritualnaturalist ¡ 2 years ago
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Religion and the Anthropocene
Hi Guys ! Welcome back for today’s blog : ) Today we will be discussing the works of Simon L. Lewis and Mark A. Maslin. Simon Lewis is a professor of Global Science at the University College of London. He is the Author of The Human Planet: How we created the Anthropocene. Mark Maslin is a professor of climatology at the University College of London. He has authored books such as How to Save our Planet and Climate : A Very Short Introduction. Today we will be discussing a piece they authored together entitled Defining the Anthropocene. 
So I keep throwing around the word Anthropocene, so let's define it ! The Anthropocene is a period of time in which human activities have impacted the environment enough that it has resulted in distinct environmental changes. So now that we know what it is let's talk about how relative that is !? If you are anything like me when I heard that I was like what is significant ? What is an environmental change ? What is the difference between an Anthropocene and just like standard evolution ? Are they the same thing ? It’s all very vague but we’ll try to clear some of it up ! 
The current estimation for when the anthropocene began is sometime after the last glacial melting period into somewhere in the 1960’s so they’ve really narrowed it down! A great example of the impacts human activity can have on the world is when we look at carbon emissions. Humans have released over 555 pentagrams of carbon since 1750. This has resulted in a delay of Earth's next glaciation period as well as increased ocean acidity at a rate higher than has occurred in the last 300 million years. Furthermore, the lifespan of a species is typically 1–10 million years, based on the fact that the rates of anthropogenic environmental change in the near future may exceed the rates of change encountered by many species in their evolutionary history. It is clear that human activity has altered the land surface, the oceans, and the atmosphere. 
Lewis and Maslin’s piece has set out to outline and explain the different epochs the earth has been in and the current epoch it is in now. Currently we are in the Holocene Epoch, the main characteristic of the holocene is that it is the rise of humanity. There is a current debate stating that we may actually be in a completely new epoch called the anthropocene epoch. While unofficial it operates under the idea that in the more recent years we as humans have made significant impacts on the environment that qualify us as being in a separate epoch. 
In their piece they propose different start dates to this new epoch. One potential start date is the Industrial Revolution in the 1800’s. The other is the Great Acceleration which happened in the 1950’s. The Great Acceleration is considering an upshift in the activity of humans across the globe, more activity means more emissions and more impact. But what does that mean in regard to the topic of this blog ? Well this one is kind of a catch 22, cause one religion in and of itself is not responsible for all of the human activity ever, so this blog is dedicated to all the religions around the world, we couldn’t have got here without you. 
When looking at the industrial revolution we see a roughly equal number of Catholics and Protestants, both very anthropocentric and capitalistic in nature so that's not really much of a shocker. In a more general sense when we look at the concept and history of human expansion we see that it is often tied to or justified by people's belief in God. A great example of this is the idea of a manifest destiny, or a heaven sent mission instilled in people to expand their reign and show the other parts of the world the errors of their ways. In other words, let me conquer your country and have you adopt my religion because I think my god is better than your god. 
At the end of the day, no matter how you want to define our current epoch , or how you want to look at the factors that contribute to our effects on the environment, it is undeniable that at the root of it all is religion. 
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lakshmi-udaya ¡ 2 years ago
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How to boom Haemoglobin Naturally?
Haemoglobin is an iron-rich protein determined within the RBCs (Red blood cells). It plays the function of transporting oxygen to tissues and cells of the whole body. It is likewise chargeable for carrying carbon dioxide from cells and transports it to lungs for exhalation, Tricorder provides the  haemoglobin HbA1c lab testing in Hyderabad, Based on its capabilities, it's very important for existence.
Normal degree of haemoglobin
It could be very critical to preserve regular stages of haemoglobin within the blood for the correct functioning of the frame. Normal stage of haemoglobin in blood is 14 to 18 g/dl for adult men and 12 to 16 g/dl for women. When there is much less haemoglobin inside the blood, it ends in numerous signs and symptoms together with weak spots, fatigue, complications, shortness of breath, dizziness, poor urge for food and speedy heartbeat. Significantly reduced degrees of haemoglobin may be an indication of a condition called anaemia.
Symptoms of Low Haemoglobin level
      Extreme fatigue/ tiredness
      Bruising without problems
      Fainting spells
      Lack of blood clotting
      Weak bones
      Sore tongue
      Lack of concentration
                To hold the most beneficial stage of haemoglobin, you ought to increase consumption of ingredients that help within the production of haemoglobin.
Who Needs More Iron?
Everyone wishes for iron, but those who are especially at risk of low haemoglobin which include menstruating girls, pregnant girls, developing children and patients convalescing from ailments need more iron. It is a crucial phase when a woman starts menstruating, due to the fact the frame is losing out on a whole lot of blood. haemoglobin HbA1c lab testing in manikonda, Body wishes for more iron at that point, so in case you don’t take precautions early on, it is able to lead to anaemia inside the near destiny. 
Increase Your Haemoglobin Levels Naturally
Iron-wealthy foods:
One of the maximum not unusual reasons for low haemoglobin stages is iron deficiency. Thus, it's critical to devour meals containing iron. Some exact iron-primarily based ingredients include liver, beef, shrimp, tofu, green leafy greens, nuts, dates, lentils, fortified breakfast cereals, oysters, and asparagus. You can also go for iron supplements, however ensure you seek advice from your physician for the precise dosage as excessive doses of iron may be harmful.
Iron-wealthy ingredients:
One of the most commonplace causes of low haemoglobin degrees is iron deficiency. Thus, it's vital to devour food merchandise containing iron. Some suitable iron-based meals include liver, beef, shrimp, tofu, inexperienced leafy veggies, nuts, dates, lentils, fortified breakfast cereals, oysters, and asparagus. You also can move for iron dietary supplements,however make sure you seek advice from your medical doctor haemoglobin HbA1c lab testing in khajaguda for the suitable dosage as high doses of iron may be dangerous.
Beetroots
Beetroots are surprisingly advocated to decorate your haemoglobin tiers. It is high in iron, folic acid, fibre, and potassium. Its dietary price allows it to boom and preserve the crimson blood mobile memory of the body. You can cook 1-2 beetroots in a microwave or roast them on the stove. Allow them to chill and then peel them earlier than consuming. Also, you may make a healthy juice with one medium-sized beetroot, 3 carrots, and ½ of a sweet potato and drink it as soon as day by day.
Pomegranate
Pomegranate has iron and calcium along with protein, carbohydrates, and fibre. Its nutritional value can assist boom haemoglobin stage within the blood and sell wholesome blood with the flow. Try eating a medium-sized pomegranate or drink a glass of pomegranate juice every day. An alternative is to take  teaspoons of dried pomegranate seed powder combined with a glass of warm milk. Drink it day by day.
Take Folic Acid
Folic acid is a sort of diet B; it's far required for the production of crimson blood cells. Therefore, when you have a folic acid deficiency, you also are at a higher risk of having a low haemoglobin level. Foods that are rich in folic acid, and you need to include on your diet are green leafy veggies, liver, rice, sprouts, dried beans, wheat germ, fortified cereals, peanuts, bananas, and broccoli. You also can take 2 hundred-four hundred milligrams of a folate supplement every day after consulting your healthcare company. however ensure you seek advice from your physician haemoglobin test in Hyderabad for the precise dosage as excessive doses of iron may be harmful.
Other Food that increases Haemoglobin Levels
      Pumpkin Seeds
      Dates
      Watermelon
      Pulses/ Legumes
      Whole-grain bread, cereals, and pasta
      Yoghourt/ Curd
      Strawberries
      Guava
      Kiwi
      Papaya
      Grapefruit
      Spearmint leaves (Pudina)
      Basil leaves (Tulsi)
      Coriander (Dhania)
      Bay leaf (Tej Patta)
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cloudninetonine ¡ 2 years ago
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Okay, I see your single parent! Player and I raise you: godparent! Player.
This is more in tune with LuImagines blog but I'm gonna put it here because it was introduced here. Hear me out because I'm gonna throw a bunch of ideas at the wall that don't string together at all, instead of player having a kid, mf was literally just babysitting a kid before both of them got scooped up into dink's antics.
(I didn't know the gn term for aunt/uncle so I used godparent, someone who is close to the kid but not 'this is my responsibility') I mentioned Pinky because I can't help but see the kid as just Lucky/kid link of player's Hyrule (I use 'player rather loosely here btw). I say this because 1) the kid's a little shit and 2) the chain absolutely wouldn't let a random person and their child travel with them, not unless the kid in question is another Link, one that is far too young (according to some links) to defend themself against Dink (the person who brought them all here for some reason). Player and Lucky's relationship is like that one meme of the guy holding his kid upside down by the ankles, now it's that x2 because they've adopted wind into their little 'family' and by Hylia if player isn't carbon cut copy of the 'hot mean older brother' I don't know what is.
Or maybe parental figure! Player who is in a similar situation to Eda from The Owl House. "I Don't want kids" "who's that *points to Lucky*" "an exception" or "I've had Lucky(and Wind) for ___ weeks now and if anything happens to them I'm killing everyone and then myself". Player is not a good parental figure, and Time and Twilight both have aneurysms whenever player turns to one of the two and says something like "you wanna know how to make a pipe bomb?""you want to jump off the ledge into the sea? Sure lemme get Wild's slate I want a picture"
I bring this up because Player isn't Link's parent they are but shhh, Link knows that, strangers however, don't.
Player is trying to spit some game, either to get cheaper prices or they saw someone real cute. Either way, it works and said person reciprocates and offers a time for a date. Suddenly a childish voice yells out "HEY MOM/DAD/ETC." Player's soul is halfway to Hylia by the time they feel a small hand grasp theirs with a 'there you are! I've been lookin' all over for ya!'. Player can only look somberly at his huge grin and evil bright eyes. The two immediately walk off, player unable to even look in the merchants direction from sheer embarrassment. A Link is not a Link if they are not a little shit at some point in their life, so you can expect Wind to join in at some point--hell, even Four joined once.
"Why can't you guys just let me have nice things!!!"
"because we're family, dummy."
Also because I did mention lucky and it seems a crime to not include this. Essentially Lucky works because reader decided to defeat Ganon all on their own because Lucky was too young to do so himself. I feel like, while Lucky would be extremely thankful that Player took that burden off of him (and the entirety of Hyrule), I can't help but feel that he would go through a phase of imposter syndrome, especially around 9(10 if First is there) Heroes who are essentially Him but they didn't need help, they actually got the job done all on their own, who is he compared to them? I feel like he and Wind (and probably Wild later on) would really bond in not fitting in with the others, that's probably why Wind was essentially part of your family before the rest were. Maybe Wind tells him that he did have help on his journey, and that her wishes that he had someone like player. Jokes on them both, it doesn't make either of them less of a link, less of a person just because they relied on others for help, that they didn't fulfill destiny as intended
Not looking over this me tired 📦
I'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT LUCKY BUT WHO IS HE??
Okay but Player's just the "I didn't sign up for this but might as well." sort of God parents because if no one else is gonna do it then who will?
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littlemisspascal ¡ 4 years ago
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The Last Mandalorian
Chapter One: The Warrior in Carbonite Part 3
Fandom: The Mandalorian / Pedro Pascal
Eventual Pairing: Din x Togruta!Female!Reader
Word Count: 4,320
Rating: G
Summary: A series that is a mixture of Mandalorian, Star Wars, ATLA, and my own imagination. The Imps have seized control of the majority of the galaxy, including your homeworld Shili. You and your sister Ahsoka have developed a daily routine despite the stormtroopers keeping your village imprisoned. One morning you make a startling discovery that will change the course of your lives forever.
Warnings: I don’t know much about starship mechanics so probably nothing in this is accurate but it’s fanfiction people so cut me some slack please, reader gets a nickname 🥳, plot plot plot, discussion of loss of loved ones, worldbuilding, dialogue heavy, this is a slow burn but it’s also ridiculously self-indulgent so I’m including as many cute getting-to-know-you scenes as I can, reader is 17 and Din is 19 so I’m going to warn this as underage even though nothing sexual or even vaguely romantic happens in this chapter.
Author Note: Thank you anyone and everyone who has read even a sentence of this story! Special thanks and love to @dindja for creating this stunning, fantastic, amazing piece of fanart for me 💖💖💖 I still can’t believe how perfect it is. I mean, I’m such a sucker for pinky promises it’s not even funny and this is just beautiful 😍😍😍
Part 2
Cross-posted on AO3
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For as grand and wide-reaching as the Galactic Empire has become in its ten years of existence, it had relatively small beginnings. A group of radical Force-wielders banded together under the leadership of an old, beady-eyed man named Sheev Palpatine who believed it was his divine destiny to seize control of the entire galaxy, rewriting the ancient laws to match his own beliefs. His cult, the Sith Order, gained attention by attacking Jedi temples, capital cities, places with large populations until every corner of the galaxy had heard of them. Most regarded them with fear, but over time they began garnering a startling amount of followers who were discontent with the status quo and willingly drafted themselves as soldiers in Palpatine’s fight for control.
At first everyone in your village thought Palpatine and his cult of followers weren’t worth worrying about—after all, Shili was a peaceful planet that never drew much attention to itself. But within the first year of its inception, the Sith Order captured Ryloth and the similar peaceful characteristics between the Twi’lek planet and Shili were too glaring to overlook. A seed of anxiety took root in every Togruta’s mind after that, and continued to grow with every planet seized as the years progressed.
The Decimation of Alderaan didn’t start as a tragedy, believe it or not. The Mandalorians, Jedi, and Alderaanians combined their numbers in an all-out fight against the Sith Order. It was the largest battle ever fought in the history of the galaxy, thousands of souls willing to die to defeat Palpatine’s followers. For the first three days of warfare, the fight seemed to be in favor of the allies with many noteworthy Sith members reportedly killed in the fray, such as Palpatine’s second-in-command Dooku and lethal Zabrak assassin Maul. You remember there was a sense of hope felt within your village as everyone listened to the news reports blaring across the Holonet. A belief that things were finally, finally going to return to normal after so much chaos.
But on the fourth day, the Sith Order brought their own ally onto the battlefield.
At the time there wasn’t a name for the droids that slaughtered every opponent they faced. They were described as indestructible, unharmed by blasters and the intense heat of Mandalorian flamethrowers. Not even lightsabers could damage them. The allies didn’t stand a chance, brutally murdered one by one, their dying screams echoing across the Holonet, forever haunting listeners far and wide.
The Dark Troopers were unleashed upon Mandalore afterwards and out of the ashes rose the Galactic Empire, except, in a twist nobody—not even the Sith Order—saw coming: Palpatine died before taking on the title of emperor, passing away in his sleep. A mediocre ending for the monster who permanently altered the foundations of the universe. One of his loyal followers from the cult’s early beginnings took control in his place, a vile man with a penchant for spilling blood and a deceptively bland name: Gideon.
Only seven years-old then, you didn’t understand the unbalance in the Force your aunt kept referencing. You didn’t understand the meaning of the word genocide either. But you did understand the galaxy would never be the same ever again, and the lesson was only further established as truth when the Imperials seized your village. 
There is no normalcy to return to anymore.
And as long as Emperor Gideon remains in control, there is no future to hope for either.
__
Silence reigns in the aftermath of Maar’s explanation as the long list of tragedies hangs heavy over the four occupants. There is tension in the air as you await the Mandalorian’s response to the extinction of his people, whether that be an outburst of anger or tears, and each passing minute only intensifies the nervous energy thrumming through your veins. Your leg starts to bounce restlessly, a bad habit you have had since childhood.
The Mandalorian stands eerily motionless. Your eyes keep flicking from your lap to his visor though you know it is rude to stare. His helmet hides his expression, but you don’t need to see it to know he is floundering right now, mind scrambling to piece together all the details thrown at him. From personal experience, you know the loss of a loved one hits like a tidal wave, hitting you over and over again until you must decide if you are going to stand up or surrender to drowning. Grieving the loss of your parents is the hardest experience of your lifetime to date.
But this...this is vastly different. The Mandalorian didn’t just lose his loved ones. He has lost his friends, neighbors, comrades, acquaintances, everyone all at once. This loss isn’t a tidal wave. It is a kriffing avalanche, burying him ten feet under in total darkness, and there is no one he can count on to save him. 
Finally, after the longest five minutes of your life, he shifts, resting his hands upon his belt with an unexpected air of seriousness. “I need to go.”
You frown, head tilting. That is his reaction?
“Go?” Ahsoka echoes, sounding as incredulous as you feel. “Go where?”
“To look for survivors,” he answers, blunt and harsh, the words forced through clenched teeth. 
Ahsoka is struck silent, and you feel your heart break on his behalf. Your mother’s stories about the Mandalorians had always included, one way or another, their lifelong bonds with each other. You had felt those ties when you had connected with the Mandalorian, believed for a moment as strongly as he did that his fellow warriors would come search for him, that his absence would be noticed and missed amongst them. And here he is now, still desperately clutching to them, unable—or, perhaps unwilling is more apt—to believe a stranger telling him those bonds have been cruelly severed. 
“What you need is to rest,” Maar says, gentle yet firm, letting her authority as the eldest in the room seep into her tone.
He shakes his head, not backing down. “I’ve been asleep for ten years. I don’t need any more rest.”
“Your ship, it, uh,” your shoulders hike up defensively when his visor snaps in your direction, pinning you with its blank stare. Clearing your throat, you continue with a slight grimace, “It’s going to need some repairs before it can take off. I can help you fix it.”
Ahsoka looks over at you in surprise, and then in worry. You don’t blame her, especially since the offer had slipped out without you consciously meaning it to. Once again, the Force is calling the shots and you are just along for the ride, a passenger in your own body.
He considers you for a long moment, then asks, “What do you know about the mechanics of a gunship?” 
If anyone else had asked you that same exact question, you would have bristled at their condescension and retracted your offer in the next breath. But with the Mandalorian, there isn’t even the slightest hint of patronizing courtesy. It is a serious question prompted from genuine curiosity.
You sit up straighter, smiling at him now. “Enough to confidently say I’m your best shot at getting off the ground.”
__
“What’s your plan, exactly?” Ahsoka asks you, braced against the wall with one eye on you and one on the Mandalorian across the garage, patiently waiting for you to finish assembling your tool kit. 
“Huh?” You reply distractedly, trying to decide if you should bring your carbon chisel or not. 
“You don’t have one, do you?”
Not. There are bigger concerns than a bit of carbon scoring. You move to grab your favorite screwdriver with a tapered socket, only for Ahsoka to snatch it away, holding the tool hostage.
“Hey!”
“Have you thought about what you’re doing?” Ahsoka asks slowly, staring you directly in the eyes. “Once you fix his ship, he’s gone. And he’s taking our best chance at escaping Shili with him.”
A quick glance over your shoulder shows the Mandalorian studying the scattered BB unit parts on your workbench. You are missing a few vital components needed in order to bring the little droid back to life after a stormtrooper shot a plasma bolt through it for accidentally bumping into his leg, and haven’t had any luck convincing the village traders to track them down for you when they went to the capital. 
“We can’t keep him here against his will,” you manage at last, turning back to your sister. “Otherwise we’re no better than the Imps.”
When Ahsoka doesn’t say anything, you shrug a shoulder, adding, “Besides, I think I’m supposed to fix it for him. The Force seems pretty insistent about it.”
She makes a face at that. “I liked you better when you ignored your Force instincts. You didn’t make me worry as much.”
A laugh escapes you, embarrassingly loud in the otherwise quiet space, and your cheeks immediately start burning. Ahsoka’s lip twitches like she wants to smile, but instead she schools her features into a blank expression when the Mandalorian’s head turns at the sound. Only once he diverts his attention elsewhere again does her stare lose some of its intensity, looking less like she wants to dissect him beneath a microscope. You can practically see her protective-older-sister-instincts buzzing, reacting to the warrior’s presence. 
As much as he is a chance at providing an escape, he is also first and foremost a complete and total stranger. Even worse, he is a complete and total stranger who knows how to handle weapons. 
“I’ll be fine, I promise.” You squeeze her arm reassuringly. “Shouldn’t take longer than a couple of hours. You’ll be so busy smoothing the Elders’ ruffled feathers you won’t even notice I’m gone.”
Ahsoka finally relinquishes the tool, exhaling a quiet sigh. “You shouldn’t make promises you don’t know for certain you can keep.”
__
Walking side by side with the Mandalorian in silence isn’t awkward, per se, but it definitely isn’t comfortable either. He is close enough your arm keeps accidentally grazing against his, the cold brush of metal against your skin startling you each time. You would have considered his nearness strange if you hadn’t heard Ahsoka threaten to castrate him if you wound up hurt before she sent him flying at the juni tree branch outside your window with an unnecessarily strong push of Force. 
To his credit, the warrior handled her rough treatment with the same ease he has handled everything else thrown at him. You are beginning to think Mandalorians don’t just wear beskar—they are made of it too. Other than the few glimpses of frustration earlier in Maar’s office, he keeps his cards close to his chest, impossible to read. 
He watches everything though, reacting to the slightest of movements and sounds. Constantly alert. You are certain he is watching you right now, despite the fact his helmet is facing forward, your nerves prickling in response to the sensation of eyes upon you.
To your surprise, he is the one to break the silence first. “You sneak out often.”
It is a statement, not a question. 
You suppose the dots are easy enough to connect to reach that conclusion. Still, the certainty in his voice has your heart skipping a nervous beat. He hasn’t even known you a day and yet he is privy to secrets no one outside your community is aware of. “Yeah,” you nod your head after a brief lapse of silence, “Ahsoka can’t train in the village. Not with the stormtroopers around.”
“Has your village tried to run them out? Fight back?”
It is only because you know he is just trying to understand your village’s predicament with the little bits of information he has that you don’t snap at him for being so insensitive. He has no idea what these past five years have been like for you all. No idea the amount of losses and sacrifices the community has suffered. 
Your grip on your tool kit tightens. “I was twelve when they came. The community is mostly traders and hunters, not trained fighters. The few weapons we had were nothing compared to their blaster rifles, but some of the adults tried to defend the village, including our parents. They...” You swallow, or try to, at least, your throat suddenly dry as sand. “Our aunt looked after us until last year we woke up one morning to find a note she’d left to join the rebellion. We haven’t had any contact with her since.”
The Mandalorian’s gloved hand brushes against your knuckles. This time you think it might have been on purpose.
“I lost my parents as a child, too. There was a riot and they died protecting me,” he offers his own private details with the same reluctance as one volunteering to have their teeth pulled out. “The Mandalorians took me in, raised me as one of their own.”
You say nothing about the way his breath slightly hitches when he says Mandalorians, appreciating his openness as it puts you both on somewhat equal footing with each other. 
“I owe it to them to look for survivors,” he tells you, and your montrals detect the quietest hint of a plea in his voice. 
“I understand,” you answer, keeping your tone light to preserve the fragility of this moment. This kind of situation doesn’t happen often—two strangers on the same wavelength, exposing their vulnerable underbellies, desperate to be heard and yet skittish at the same time—and it is oddly therapeutic. 
A decision is made right then and there in the span of a heartbeat. And even more significantly, it is 100% your own choice without any intervention or manipulation from the Force. 
You stop walking, causing the Mandalorian to halt as well. He scans the area for a threat, then visibly jerks when he turns back to find you have your hand held out towards him, pinky raised high, reacting as if you are pointing a weapon at him.
“I don’t understand,” he says, blunt and almost suspicious sounding. Are you just imagining it or can you actually hear him frowning? “What are you doing?”
“Haven’t you ever made a pinky promise with someone before?”
“...A what?”
You snort, ducking your head to hide your smile, and then reach for his hand. Surprisingly, he doesn’t protest your touch.
“A pinky promise,” you repeat as you make his hand form a fist, curling his fingers towards his palm, and then adjust his pinky so you can wrap yours around it. He watches the whole process wordlessly. “It’s a sacred vow shared between two people. The Elders say once it’s sworn, the promise can never be broken.”
He cocks his head, skeptical. “Never?”
“Never,” you reaffirm with a nod. Licking your lips, you look at his visor, right where you instinctively know his eyes are staring back. “I promise I’m going to help you. No matter the odds.”
And something leaks into your voice then, something resolute and binding and otherworldly. A tremor shoots down your spine, too quick for you to make sense of it.
Your sister’s words echo in the back of your mind, ‘You shouldn’t make promises you don’t know for certain you can keep.’ 
You try to pull away, self-doubt gnawing a hole in your stomach, only for the Mandalorian to wrap his pinky tighter around yours, holding you still. A gasp escapes your lips, muffled by the bleeding sincerity in his voice as he swears:
“I promise I will be there when you need me. No matter the odds.”
And although your sister could undoubtedly provide you with a long list of reasons why you shouldn’t, you believe his promise to be true.
__
The Mandalorian heaves a heavy sigh at the sight of his crashed ship. 
“I can’t do much about the landing gear,” you inform him, believing honesty to be the best policy for cases like this. “And I brought some foam-jet for the cockpit viewport, but it’s not a permanent fix. You’re going to have to find someone offworld to replace them.”
“Right,” he agrees absently without turning his eyes away. It occurs to you then that this ship is the closest thing to a home he has now. One of the few precious relics from his past he can still physically cling to. 
“Does your ship have a name?” you ask.
He looks at you, as if coming back to self-awareness, and answers, “Razor Crest.”
A good name, you think. Strong. A bit mysterious. Just like its owner.
You nod decisively. “I like it.”
His modulator crackles faintly, a quiet noise produced from a sudden exhale of air. You blink at the unexpected sound, surprised to realize you recognize it. A laugh. The Mandalorian just laughed at something you said. What is next in store for you? Are akul going to sprout wings and start flying?
He steps around you, heading for the side entry door still open from yesterday with its ramp laying on the ground, pebbles shifting noisily beneath his boots with each step. You don’t realize you are staring, oddly entranced by the swish of his cape and his purposeful strides, until he calls out your name to ask if you are coming.
You nearly drop your tool kit in your haste to follow after him into the Crest’s interior, ignoring the flaring heat radiating from your cheeks. 
For the next few hours, you and the Mandalorian work in companionable silence, engrossed in rerouting wires and welding damaged components with your trusty hand torch. The gunship is older than you initially assumed, perhaps even as old as yourself, and you idly wonder if the Mandalorian found it in a scrapyard somewhere or maybe inherited it from another Mandalorian. You notice the way he handles each piece with an experienced and respectful touch; the same kind of care someone reserves for their most cherished possessions. Anyone with eyes can see how much he loves the Crest just by watching him.
Once you have finished sealing the numerous cracks dissecting the cockpit’s viewport like a spiderweb with foam, you approach the Mandalorian to see his progress on returning power to the dashboard. He is on his back beneath the steering controls, rearranging a mess of wires, and barely acknowledges your presence when you squeeze yourself into the tight space next to him.
“The red wire goes before the white one,” you point out, noticing the mistake immediately. “Fire hazard.”
He pauses, looks at where you have gestured, and corrects his error without criticizing your intervention. You bite back a smile, pleased to be heard. Within your community, even though you have proven your skills time and time again, some of the villagers, usually men, don’t always adhere to your advice, thinking you are too young and too female to know about technology, until they inevitably make their problems worse for themselves and come back to you with their metaphorical tail between their legs. 
You help him reattach the cover plating once he has finished, screwing the bolts back into their corners, and then watch, fingers crossed, as he attempts the ignition sequence, flipping a series of switches.
None of them light up with even the faintest flicker of life.
“Dank farrik,” he growls under his breath, slamming a fist upon the console.
You take a tiny step forward, hesitant to direct his frustration your way. “Can I try?” 
He tilts his head, probably thinking he knows this ship better than anyone and if it doesn’t work for him then you aren’t going to have any luck either.
Eventually he steps back with a shrug, uttering a simple, “Sure.” 
Although you can’t remember the last time you were on a ship, it doesn’t take long to refamiliarize yourself with the various controls and screens once you take a seat in the pilot chair. When your hobby for fixing broken machines changed into a passion you wanted to pursue as a future career, you started memorizing any reading material you could find on the Holonet, including the flight manuals for different classes of starships. You flip through the stored information in your mind about gunships as you press a few buttons on the panel overhead, trying out different sequences for a response.
When your third attempt fails, you bite your lip, racking your brain for a solution. You think about Huno’s kitchen droid and how you had been on the verge of ripping off one of your head-tails trying to repair it after one of its fuses blew, causing it to malfunction. Your tools and knowledge hadn’t been able to fix it in the end. It had required a special remedy to bring it back to life.
You lay your palms flat on the console, just as you had held onto the droid’s square torso. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice the Mandalorian fidget, as if he wants to come closer but is hesitant to crowd you. You ignore him, pressing your fingertips harder against the metal, visualizing in your mind the unseen gears, cables, and components stiff and powerless. You imagine the parts working properly, a current of electricity running through each wire, life ultimately returning to the entire ship, and whisper under your breath a request to the Force.
“Please work, please work, please work…”
An invisible pulse of energy burns down the length of your arms and discharges through your fingertips, strong enough you jerk backwards against the seat. Every button and screen on the dashboard lights up all at once, beeping with alarm at being so rudely resurrected.
You sit there helplessly, stunned and breathless, hands twitching in your lap. The kitchen droid hadn’t required even half as much energy to restart, barely a pinch. Now your body feels like you have been thrown against the electric fence a dozen times. Wordlessly, the Mandalorian comes to your side to help, punching buttons and turning knobs until the alarms quit blaring. A distant part of your brain thinks the Razor Crest as a whole seems strangely soothed by his presence, not quite as cold and dark, but it is hard to follow that train of thought due to the distracting pain throbbing along your temples.
“That’s quite a spark you’ve got,” he says, not unkindly or accusingly, just a statement of the obvious. He looks down at you, not outright asking for an explanation, but giving you the opportunity to open up if you wanted to.
“Yep, that’s me,” you reply, forcing a cheerful smile, praying it doesn’t resemble a grimace. “Sparks Tano at your service.”
He chuckles again, oblivious to how your heart stutters at its raspiness. “Thank you, Sparks. I appreciate it.”
“Well, we’re not done yet.” You rub at your temples under the guise of adjusting your headband. “I need to take a closer look at the engines before we attempt flying out of here. I—”
“I’ll do it,” he cuts in, already heading for the ladder. “You stay here, see if you can update the navicomputer settings.”
You know he knows that updating the navicomputer is child’s play for you. Clearly you aren’t as great at concealing your pain as you thought you were and this is his way of giving you a break. A small part of you is irritated at being treated like a porcelain doll, but you push those negative feelings aside as quickly as they develop. Your aunt always used to remind you and Ahsoka it was okay to accept help when it was offered, that needing support didn’t in any way make you weak. 
“Hey, wait a second,” you call out as you spin around in your seat, freezing him right before he disappears from view into the hull. He holds onto the ladder, waiting patiently for you to continue.
“Back at Maar’s place you didn’t introduce yourself and it’s weird just calling you Mandalorian in my head,” you say, awkwardly drumming your fingers on top of the armrests. He doesn’t answer, eliciting a sigh from your mouth after a drawn-out beat of silence. “What’s your name? You do have one, right?”
“I do, but I can’t tell you it,” he admits at last. “By Mandalorian Creed, only other Mandalorians or my riduur—my spouse,” he corrects, seeing your confusion, “are allowed to know my name and see my face. This is the Way.”
He doesn’t linger to hear your response, dropping down into the hull with a resounding thud. You slowly turn back around, staring absently out the glass. Every culture is unique, including your own, but you think there is something especially interesting about the Mandalorians’. It sounds like a lonely existence, only able to show your face while in select company. What would have happened if he had been unconscious and you had slipped the helmet off his head? What consequence would he have faced? 
And if there truly aren’t any Mandalorians left besides him, his spouse will be the only one to ever know him completely. It almost sounds like a love story, if not a little bit heart-wrenching. 
Two high-pitched dings from the console jerk you out of your thoughts with a wince. You look for the source, finding the radar lit up and actively scanning the area, and bristle when you see a pair of red dots moving across the screen. 
Not even a minute later you are sprinting out of the cave, ignoring the Mandalorian’s alarmed shout from the roof of the Razor Crest. They’re early, you think with panic, looking towards the sky where two starships with Imperial logos are heading straight for your village. Why have they come back so soon?
You push your legs to run faster, your surroundings a blur beyond the trail in front of you, but the effort is meaningless. You won’t make it back home before they land.
And when your absence is noted, bloodshed is not a possibility. 
It is a guarantee.
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letmetellyouaboutmyfeels ¡ 3 years ago
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First Line Challenge
tagged by my darling @tylerhunklin
rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all), see if there are any patterns. choose your favorite opening line. then tag 10 authors!!!
from oldest to newest:
1. Asked, Offered, Given, (He’s) Taken
Buck is far from single.
2. Leading with the Left
Buck’s grinding on a pole when he sees the guy.
3. The Stars are Gone When You Look Away
Jaskier had thought he’d known what heartbreak was.
4. Defiance & Destiny
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single Witcher in possession of a good few years of experience, must be in want of a bard.
5. Bring Me Your Heart, I Want to Eat It
Eddie knows what he is.
6. Ruin Me Like Castle Walls and Burn Me Like a Village
Buck’s always known that there’s something a little different about Eddie.
7. Heart, I Implore You
When Buck hears that Eddie’s feeling under the weather, he doesn’t think anything of it.
8. Nightshade Tastes the Sweetest
She’d been with the Hårga for a month.
9. Sunlight is Fire (Burning is a Matter of Degrees)
Eddie can fully admit he’s paranoid about Buck after the ladder truck.
10. Tripped and Fell into the Deep End (Wading is for Suckers)
Eddie appreciates Bobby, generally speaking.
11. Goodwill is Sent in Snapshots (You Only Get the Full Picture on Return)
Abby breaks up with him on December 1st.
12. (Love Is) The Second Oldest Profession
Buck is good at his job.
13. Carbon Date Me, Excavate Me*
It’s times like these where Buck kind of wonders if he was crazy to ditch the family business and focus on Central and South America.
14. Say You Will
Eddie’s phone is ringing.
15. Love and Bullets Both Shatter Hearts (But Only One Can Put You Back Together)
Eddie never meant to be a spy.
16. Even the Darkest Night (Can't Outshine the Stars)
Henrietta Wilson—or Captain Hen to most—looked up as her wife entered from the bedroom.
17. To Build a Home We Deconstruct Our Rituals
Fight, flight, or freeze.
18. Held Together I Come Undone
It starts with Eddie.
19. Your Fingerprints Smeared on My Heart (Lead Me Back to You)
“The wedding is in two months.”
20. The Monsterfucker’s Symphony
Buck is acting weird.
Technically the last entry is a collection of one-shots, so I wasn’t sure if I should use those as my twenty entries instead, but I decided to stick with this format.
As for patterns... I seem to enjoy making a short opening sentence that makes a statement of action or situation (1, 2, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18) or a statement of a person’s thoughts (3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20). I also seem to be almost exactly evenly divided between whether the story starts with Buck’s POV or Eddie’s POV as well as evenly divided on whether the statement is about Buck or Eddie. I feel No. 10 is evenly divided between a statement of situation and a statement of thought.
And then there’s our darling outlier No. 4 which is a bastardized quote from Pride & Prejudice and is completely breaking with the pattern hahaha as well as 19 which starts with a piece of dialogue, and from someone not Buck or Eddie (Maddie gets that honor).
So there you have it! My opening line patterns.
*this fic was co-written with @extasiswings so I went with the opening line of the first section I wrote, which coincidentally is the first section of the fic
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psalloacappella ¡ 4 years ago
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Sirens - CH 5
Title: Sirens Pairing: SasuSaku Chapter: Ao3 | FF Rating:  M
Additional Notes:  new cast alert, enter Ino!; spicy; sad; Sasuke kind of a SIMP; make some noise; some parts nsfw .
.
.
And so again, he finds himself on some surreal plane of existence where there’s another unfamiliar pretty girl in his kitchen, hailing from fuck knows where, tossed onto earth in a momentary absurdity — arriving on a magic carpet or hot air balloon. Often a silent observer to conversations weighty with importance, he has the talent of existing in a room and giving the impression he’s somehow hearing everything and nothing in the same moment.
Introductions dispensed. Coffee and food, he’s learned, always serve as a sufficient social lubricant and functions as the perfect excuse to give them time together to untangle a conversation that sounds like an argument they’ve been having for several years of their lives, the type of historical artifacts that define the best relationships; they’re familiar echoes of the bond of a brother long broken and a best friend that he’s sure has extended much more grace than he’s deserved.
Fingers linger on the handles of mugs, grasp them and set them down, pantomiming and gesturing and weaving stories about people he doesn’t know and passing tokens of lives lived in a separate dimension than his. It’s odd, how the histories of others intertwine and as people share pieces of themselves they fill in the empty questions to create bonds anew, the pasts and presents overlapping, echoing and transforming in layers and rings as carbon dating. The details that follow in the tracks of family lines and secrets.
If he listens, he’ll be able to glean the things this girl has such a difficult time telling him.
“You know it’s hard for your friends when you do this,” Ino chides, reaching forward to flick a lock of her pink hair. A cherished gesture, the type only people so close will tolerate. “Disappear and resurface hundreds of miles away, always moving, never checking in.”
“You should be used to it by now.” Sakura takes a sip of coffee to hide the slight waver in her voice. It gives Sasuke pause and he glances at her over his shoulder from his sentinel role at the stove.
The tint of her drink reminds him of a specific shade of paint, a desultory memory of his home — Saint Martin Sand.
“And every time we come together again, I tell you, stop punishing yourself for no reason. At least this time you’ve made some friends. Cute ones.” Ino watches him watch Sakura and their eyes meet — he breaks it with the slightest blush.
The glitter in her eyes is so knowing, so like Naruto’s, he wonders if he should have taken a long walk instead.
“So let’s just lay this on the table,” Ino continues, setting down her mug with a sharp sound. “You two are a thing, and judging by that ridiculous soap opera outside, you’ve been staying here with him?”
“We’re not together— ”
“Yes, yes, you don’t date, I know.” Ino waves a hand, sweeping away her fruitless protestations. Lifting her chin, she says to Sasuke, “I didn’t mean to join in, it’s just, I finally find her and she’s getting chased by some guy, you can see how I could’ve had the wrong idea.”
“I understand,” Sasuke responds, not turning around. “You two are very close.”
“A man of many words.” Ino refocuses on Sakura, who’s running her fingernail on the lip of the mug, staring into coffee the shade of tropical sand. “As long as he’s kind to you, I suppose I can’t show up and start analyzing it.”
“But you will,” Sakura says, grinning.
“Of course I have a million questions; you’re terrible at keeping in touch. For starters, why is your ankle busted?”
With a bleak groan, Sakura lets her face fall into her hands, fingers sinking into her hair. Ino laughs in a weary way, the love of years so lush and apparent throughout, and their feet tap one another under the table. Both pass the heel of a hand underneath their eyes, a quick swipe, gestures in a mirror.
“Are you going to come sit with us or what?” Ino snarks, fearless in her insistence. A similar frankness that Sakura has in her best moments which take peeled layers to surface. Sasuke wonders just where and when their paths forked, and how those laden with cracks in the soul are lucky enough to find supports like these. Adjusting breakfast to a simmer, he brings his own coffee to take up a seat on an adjacent table side, between them.
“So — how did you two meet?” she asks, tapping the table with each word. Eyes hungry for details, she sways left and right, waiting for one of them to indulge her.
“Ah—”
“Well—”
“He’s a fan of my radio show,” Sakura finally articulates. “He and Naruto — his friend, own a bar and they called in, and honestly I was so curious so I ended up coming in a few days later. And the rest is history.”
Ino smiles. “So how long is that history, two, three weeks?”
Sasuke busies himself with copious coffee drinking, aware he’ll run out before being able to leave the table.
“That’s so cute, it’s nauseating,” Ino adds, grinning at Sasuke. Amused by his embarrassment and baffled that a guy so handsome is sitting here being twisted into knots by a little gossip and interest. She must drive him crazy.
As she watches both of them glance away, askance, eyes on anything but one another, knowing Sakura as well as she does means this dynamic and situation for her is a new foray, an unusual wrinkle and snag in her usual routine of cut and run.
She likes him too. And this, out of all of it, is the most unusual development for her friend that routinely rips up her roots or rarely stays long enough to grow them; the girl that’s been afraid to breathe the same air for one too many heartbeats in fear of making mistakes, taking what she deserves.
And the longer Ino sees Sasuke’s handsome face up close — messy dark hair, charcoal, sharp eyes, the patrician slope of his nose — there’s thoughts sifting in that slippery layer of the unconscious, shifting as sand in soft winds. A sense she’s missing a crucial detail in a larger game.
“You definitely had a good first night with this one. I know, I can tell.” Refusing pretense, Ino drops this on the table and sips with a satisfied smile.
“Pig, please!” Sakura sounds annoyed, but it still marries a soft, scolding tone to what must be a childhood, agreed-upon name.
Scrunching up her face, Ino taps her forehead twice. Children making faces on glass windows or at one another on a playground, a reference to simpler times. They grew up together bonded by dirty knees and whispered secrets. Not unlike the way Sasuke and his brother were so long ago, before they were groomed, primed for their inescapable roles: A reprieve from destiny is not the pardon.
All three startle at the sound of jangling keys; Sasuke, with his back to the door, turns in his seat and throws a careless arm over the back of the chair. Glancing back to Sakura, they exchange a small ghost of a smile, a hidden and intimate reference to experiences only privy to them.
“‘Kay, Sasuke, I know you told me not to just walk into your apartment, ‘specially now that you’ve had this super cute girl around, but this is definitely, totally—”
When he sees Ino at the end of the table, Sasuke gracing him with the woebegone, tired expression that he always receives when intruding, and Sakura smiling at his arrival, he stops in his tracks over the threshold.
Naruto’s mouth falls open with impunity. Sakura waves at him.
“ — important,” Naruto finishes, closing the door with his foot behind him. Shoulders sagging, he tosses his keys on the counter and whines. “Unreal, man. You found another one. An impossibly attractive girl and now they’re both in your damn kitchen!”
Ino points at him, palm facing up, in a lazy gesture. “Who’s this dork?”
“That’s his best friend,” Sakura says, nodding at Sasuke.
“Seriously? This guy?”
“Naruto,” Sasuke begins, running a hand through his messy hair, “the fuck did I tell you about walking in like this? Just knock. Or as you remind me, we have phones.”
“Well maybe you should start putting up a sign or something, or a sock on the door or some shit, because I can’t keep up with your life.” Without invitation, Naruto helps himself to coffee and continues rambling while lifting the lid to inspect the simmering food. “Or better yet you could let me know when you’re just befriending beautiful women and where exactly you find them, because you have zero interest in the ones at the bar.”
“Listen, uh, what’s your name? Naruto, you said? Sasuke and I haven’t had the pleasure of—” Ino breaks off, hissing ow! under her breath from a well-placed kick. “It’s not like that. I’m Sakura’s friend — I’m like the you to him,” she says, pointing to each of them respectively to illustrate her point. “So relax, because I’m assuming you’re joining us.”
Sakura starts laughing while Naruto drops the lid back onto the pan and stares, mouth in a perfect, round “O.”
Smiling wide, Ino preens in the manner of an exotic species so very cognizant of its worth.
“So, go back to the part where I’m impossibly attractive.”
.
.
.
Sasuke’s second breakfast consisting of people other than Naruto and himself sails by in the way time well-spent feels warm and sublime. The buoyancy of laughter and a tentative kindling, the way it proceeds through a fated narrative as each piece settles into its destined groove. Naruto, unstoppable from the glow of caffeine, breakfast he didn’t make, and an attractive blonde, narrates the dramatic and fated meeting of his best friend and this radio girl of the night in sordid detail, to Ino’s delight. Sakura interjects to correct notions along the way, and Sasuke abandons fantasies of pitching him off the balcony or dropping him down the fire escape, instead settling for heavy sighs and staring at her while she speaks, as she augments the conversation with slender hands and pointed fingers.
“So then last night he rushed off to save her from the police station. I mean, I was worried too obviously. And . . . I don’t know what all happened after that. You never called.”
Both of them with widened eyes, a clear giveaway as any of all the details that sound ludicrous in the light of day. This time, it’s Sasuke who speaks.
“All I did was pick her up. She was helping someone out and the police needed to speak with her to confirm things.” Taking a quiet sip of coffee, he adds, “She didn’t need saving.”
Sakura’s eyes soften, and she drops her eyes to the remnants of her breakfast.
Ino sighs, setting her fork on her empty plate with a clink. “Knowing her, she beat ‘em up herself.”
“Come on, Ino, why don’t you just tell him all of my embarrassing stories?” Sakura pouts, a joke laced with the tiniest warning, a rough string tightening. “More importantly, I need your help with something.”
“Name it,” Ino says. “I have all the time in the world! I’m staying at a hotel, trying to get a real feel for the city. Never been here, you know, and I’d like to stay a while before—” She breaks off, glancing at Sasuke, and changes tack. “I haven’t seen you in a long time, that’s all.”
“Work is having an event, and I think it’s fancy, very high-class, you know. Those things make me so uncomfortable.”
“I always tell you, everyone’s faking it at those events. You’re sweet enough to muddle your way through one night.” Ino looks Sasuke directly in the eyes; he has the distinct feeling she’s untangling him, and this, and that she has the tenacity to see it through.
“These are rich people, Ino. I’m a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, and I don’t belong there.”
The comment piques Naruto’s interest momentarily and he tilts his head; Sasuke watches her closely.
“Don’t start that,” Ino warns, again waving away her concerns easily.
“Apparently it’s not the radio subsidiary itself, but the parent company. The night I was working I think the man I spoke with was the owner, the CEO."
Eyes alight, Ino reaches for her bag slung over the back of the chair and pulls out a thin, light laptop. Pushing aside her empty dishes, she boots it up in half a second and waits for details, eager fingers poised over the keys. “Tell me details.”
“Tall, pale eyes. A stoic sort of guy. Brunette, very long hair. Like yours,” Sakura says to her, “and just as cared for.”
“So very pretty, your usual type, heh,” Ino teases. Her fingers fly over the keys. “I might have an idea . . .”
“Ino has a well-known family,” Sakura explains to Sasuke. Touches his arm in a soft gesture to hold his attention, not that he’s ever able to be distracted away from her. “The Yamanakas?”
Waving blithely, Ino rejects the notion. “We aren’t that regal, please. We’re in a totally different universe than, say, the Uzumaki’s.”
A full ten seconds passes before what she says registers on Naruto’s face. The typing continues at a lively pace. Sakura’s looking at him with a strange expression, an impassiveness that seems to be a projection, a mask, hiding twisting questions beneath. Naruto looks at Sasuke and opens his mouth —
— and all that comes is an ow! and tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
“Here we go,” Ino says, pulling back the attention of the group. Turning the laptop around for them to see, she points. “Neji Hyuuga, one of the youngest media moguls and owner of blah blah enterprises, took over when his dad passed away, the usual way it goes in families like these.”
The pale eyes remind her of the girl from the police station, and she looks to Sasuke as if for confirmation. Confirms it to her with an imperceptible nod.
“I assume there’s a press release,” Sakura says, intrigued.
“Of course. They probably control whoever writes about them anyway. Talk about a conflict of interest.” A relentless cadence of tapping keys, and her ocean eyes are just visible over the lid of the laptop. “‘Annual event, mighty and generous’, blah blah, ‘held at the historic but well-loved — wow, look at this place. It’s beautiful in that old money sort of way.
Chair legs scrape against the floor as they gather in a semicircle to read along, emitting whistles and comments here and there as they take in the grandiose venue and the Hyuuga family’s credentials. Sasuke, though, is quiet. Sakura’s eyes are wide, dazzled and intimidated by the prospect of all of it.
“Oh god, I can’t go to something like this,” she groans. “I’m going to look so stupid and out of place.”
“Sakura!” Ino pushes her chair back, startling the other two as they back out of her way. Taking her shoulders, she shakes her a little. “You have to go to an event like this. People bend over backwards maintaining relationships with this family and donate money just to potentially go to this! I know why you need me — to dress you, of course! This is supposed to happen; I know it.”
Sasuke takes Ino’s empty seat, eyes darting over the screen.
“Ino, you’re such a romantic. What am I even going to talk about with these people?”
“It doesn’t matter. These are basically playgrounds for the rich and famous. If you want to give your career a leg up, you have to do this.”
“My career?” Sakura snorts, shoulders sagging. Closing in on herself, an instinctual fear. “Ino, I failed out of pre-med and change leases as often as clothes. Now I do a radio show in the dead of night speaking with lonely people.”
“All the more reason to get out there and find people who can help you. Maybe it’s time to stop leaving with the wind and start trusting yourself. Besides,” she says, hands on her hips, daring her to disagree, “isn’t it time you let yourself have some fun?”
Sakura doesn’t answer, lips slightly parted and seeking a rebuke she doesn’t have. Whirling around, Ino demands of her new friends, “Back me up here!”
“Ah well, Sakura,” Naruto says, sheepish and red, “I’m with Ino, here on this one. And this is totally my own opinion because you’re really cool, and we’re friends now, I think. All these families know each other. It’s a ‘who’s who’ of important people in a lot of industries. And,” here he grins, eyes bright, “you can do and find whatever you want at an event like this.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sakura asks.
“It means,” Ino says, cutting across his response, “that you will not be taking a walk of shame in a princess dress on a dingy train or in the back of a cab. You can stay in my hotel room downtown — it’s not far from the venue. You will arrive and leave from this event in style. If you come home, of course.” She winks with gusto.
“I’m borrowing this,” Sasuke says abruptly, picking up the laptop and taking his phone out of his pocket with his other hand. Ino shrugs, go for it. Taking up a seat in his own living room, he connects with someone on the phone and speaks to them in a tone relatively terse, his rich voice commanding as opposed to conciliatory.
The sound of his voice tips a smile onto Sakura’s face. Ino glances between the two and the understanding is a jolt of electricity, a hundred tiny neurons firing to complete the picture in the spark of a moment.
“You asked him already.”
“I’ve vetted him,” Sakura teases, and now it’s impossible to hide. The way the thought of him snatches the air out of her throat, the heavy swallow to recoup; green eyes consuming and caught in a mimeo of the past and Ino knows that it’s not him who has her, but he who has stumbled and tripped into her orbit. And Ino’s only ever seen her look at one other man this way; the nascent and feverish meeting of chance, the genesis of an endless chain reaction, atoms in a runaway chemical tryst. Ino had been present for it but somehow failed to notice everything that was wrong. All of it colliding in this moment as she sees the shadow of its consequence in her gaze.
“Thank you,” Sasuke says. With the slightest incline of his head, he returns the closed laptop to Ino and pockets his phone. Unable to tear her gaze away now, Ino struggles to form words as his fingers take Sakura’s elbow and he murmurs to her in an undertone. A talent of omitting others from his space if he chooses, even as they scrabble on the outside, a manipulation, or closer to a bewitchment, of reality.
Sakura looks down at her wrapped ankle, giving it a flex and wiggle. Ino knows he’s already doomed by the damned, and all she can do is give her futile warning and watch it play. Sasuke speaks again, but the chaotic buzzing in her ears drowns it all out.
Sakura folds her arms, resolute. “That’s so expensive, Sasuke. I’ve . . . never been anywhere that nice.”
And he tucks pink strands behind her ear in the crackling and kindling of the atmosphere difficult to breathe in.
“And a suite? What could we possibly do with all that space?”
But there’s a smile seeping into the corner of her lips, and his suggestive silence leaves myriad answers.
“You have a balcony.” Ino raises her voice, pulling them back to reality. “Show me it?”
Sasuke shrugs in genuine indifference; Sakura narrows her eyes. “You just want to interrogate him. Please don’t scare him away — I’ll do it soon enough.”
Ino brushes past them and throws aside the sliding glass door, styled French, reflecting that this isn’t the type of man many likely manage to forcibly do much of anything. It may be curiosity or out of deference to the woman he’s entangled with, but he follows without complaint.
The door is barely closed before she bursts.
“Do you even know her, Sasuke?”
Furrows his eyebrows as if she’s a mildly interesting painting, but doesn’t respond to her immediately. Dark eyes glimmer with a suspicion that makes her shiver a little as they're turned on her, unflinching, a shadow in them she wasn’t expecting — likely the very thing that’s brought Sakura to it, a frenzied moth to light. Or perhaps it’s the other way around, the alluring visions in her eyes drowning him in an ocean similar to the stories, the schizophrenic and duplicitous nature of open family secrets.
“Do you even know who I am?”
“Please,” she snorts, surveying him. “Messy dark hair, that attitude of yours. Handsome nose. Those eyes.” At this, her gaze flits away to the horizon. “You’re an Uchiha.”
Though he doesn’t confirm, the way his gaze stays steady, level, and intense is enough.
“Granted,” she continues, “there are a lot of you, and you all have quite the strong genes, looking so much alike. You’re one of the most famous families in the country. And I think she has an idea, but it’s different when you don’t grow up hearing the stories; when you’re not in the same circles. She’s not like you.”
“If you have something to ask,” he says, “I’d rather we not dance around it.” The bite, the press of assertion.
Ino knows it’s everything Sakura has a taste for, a history of — a craving that’s always worth tearing apart at the tendons and roots.
“If I thought you’d be straightforward about it, I’d ask. I think you have no idea of the type of person you’re obsessed with.”
“I’m not—”
“Don’t bother with denying it. You think I haven’t seen this before? Look . . . we do this all the time, run in circles. After she left town, and her parents died, I tried to keep up with her. She’s my best friend. She’s not ever out to ruin anyone but that’s what she usually does. Guys, just, they get wrapped up in her and then when it’s too serious for her, she leaves. She thinks she’s hard to love, like she’s cursed or blessed or something that ends up more like a sickness than something functional.”
The accuracy and plain verity of her words feels like a sharp jab to the chest.
“And I don’t know much about you as a person, but I do know what I’ve read and what I’ve heard.”
“You’re right,” Sasuke says. “You don’t know anything about me. And I don’t give time to gossip and rumors.”
“You don’t get it. She didn’t even have my number in her new phone, and she never keeps any. You know why? She expects people in her life to disappear, so she just leaves them first.”
Sasuke remembers the call to the bar, the number that would have been fresh in her mind or the one on file with the city, as opposed to his personal phone.
“She can’t stay away from certain types of people. Certain men. Everyone has a weakness, right? And that’s hers. The more I’m talking to you, seeing you around each other, I have the feeling your problem is the same.”
He’s certainly not in the mood for another woman too sharp for her own good. Avoiding her assessment, he deflects. “How did you even find her, then?”
“Trade secrets,” she says in a sardonic tone. “My father’s a, what do you call it, ‘analyst’ for the government.” She adds air quotes to make her point clear. “Sure that’s what he does. I can tell by the types of friends we had, all families who understood the culture. You only have gatherings like we did when your family’s, A, in the government or B, organized crime.” Tilting her head, she smirks. “You’d know.”
“So, family resources?”
“But really,” she laughs, “I just used the internet. It’s not so hard to do if you know enough about someone. We are best friends, after all.”
Like Sakura, it can be difficult to tell how close she is to sarcasm. A similar brand of mordancy. He takes Ino at her word with a nod.
“She’s smart. She probably has an idea of who you might be, maybe she’s trying not to know. And she’s never been one for gossip or celebrity news — she reads a lot, but always nerdy subjects. Well, that’s why she was going to be a doctor, I suppose.”
A silence. When he deigns to speak, Ino isn’t able to hide her surprise.
“She’s told me a bit about herself, but not much. I don’t think her and I are people who open up easily.”
“She used to be different,” Ino says wistfully. “But there are things in this life that are difficult to shake off; they hurt you so deeply you don’t heal. Or at least, you don’t heal correctly.”
“I’m guessing you won’t tell me what those things were?”
When she raises her sapphire eyes to his, she’s torn between spilling it all and knowing that a betrayal so significant would ruin a relationship with the only person she can still trust. Still, she’s terrified thinking about the prospects of either outcome with this man, knowing that he is madly, stupidly in love with a harbinger of chaos, and most don’t make it out of that web in one piece. Perhaps no one does, with her.
“That’s not my place,” she finally says. “Go with her and have fun. You strike me as someone who could use some, too. But I mean this in the kindest possible way — one day she’ll run, and she will leave. She can’t help herself. She . . . can’t stay away from the mess.”
Sasuke continues watching her in mild amusement. His smirk causes a nervous flutter in her stomach; Ino puzzles over his underreaction to her words.
Opening the door and gesturing her back inside, signaling the end of their conversation, he simply says, “I know.”
They rejoin the other two:  Sakura with her ankle propped up on a cushion and Naruto next to her babbling about what sounds like his childhood, tales of adventures and boring classes in private institutions, uniforms and study prep and a flush of love for parents long gone. Sasuke suspects now that the place and life she comes from is a world he’s not familiar with; when she nods and makes careful comments here and there, trying to carefully step around the gaps in her knowledge, that emotion swells again. That urge to drape her in finery and act as the constant indulgence she can use over and over, to absolutely and unequivocally hand her the keys to a kingdom. A compulsion to fulfill a need unspoken.
“Hey you, Naruto.” His babbling screeches to a halt, and he automatically catches the phone Ino tosses to him with a smile. “Let me get your number.”
The way his expression flips in an instant, confusion to an incandescent brightness, causes another fluttering. “Sure!”
Ino exchanges with each of them, and she notices as she wanders around their contacts in her surreptitious way that neither of them have Sakura’s last name in their phone. Filing that detail away for herself, her thumb hovers over the screen as she finishes her entry in Naruto’s phone and returns it.
When she looks at his contact card and sees the name Uzumaki, she taps to edit and adds a sunshine, grinning.
“By the way, if you’re planning to stay for a long time and don’t want to be in a hotel for all of that, I mean, I live across the hall. Just saying. That way you’re close to Sakura and people you know in a new city!”
Hand on her hip, Ino tries to keep her ego tamped down, if even just a little. “You’re so transparent.”
Horrified, he holds up his hands with palms out, shaking his head. “No, no, I have a guest bedroom, no one stays in it, really. I’m not trying anything funny.” Indicating Sakura, he laughs. “She’s punched two people in a month, and I’m one of them. If you’re her friend, I know what I’m up against.”
.
.
.
Growing up Sasuke was in his fair share of fights and scraps on the playground, and then older, in bars and with drunk friends — after his mother dies he will participate in and be the progenitor of so many more. Her scolding reverberates in his ear about all the reasons he shouldn’t mar his handsome, regal face, and he hears his father in these same memories dismissing her concerns, sneering that it’s good he toughens up in any way he can.
If his mother was still alive she wouldn’t know what to say to this behavior, these mistakes he’s making: Writhing beneath the burning touch of a tiny nymph with pink hair, splayed beneath her as if blown apart and pinned up by the limbs, lepidoptera, as she straddles him in a hitched-up navy skirt with the heels of her sandals etching divots into his skin that will soften and fade to beautiful bruises.
Two fingers in his mouth and her other hand working in a heated, rhythmic pace on his cock, he’s sure there would be a distinct lack of approval of being roughhoused by this girl with no name who seems to have the desire to leave him a shaking, gasping excuse for his family name.
He’s sure he would agree to let her kill him if she wanted; there’s almost nothing at this point that’s beyond the realm of reasonable requests. Especially with her pinning him without mercy, soaked and dripping between her thighs, a red and mottled flush surfacing through the skin of her chest and collarbones as she presses him into small submissions, the ways that men with faces like his don’t often experience.
(Returning from shopping with a large bag swinging from her hand, eyes bright despite her little limp. Volunteering information before he’s even apt to ask:  She loves it, and no he can’t see it yet, and she has work in a while but not quite yet. Ino’s out exploring the city accompanied by Naruto.)
And it’s what she doesn’t say but he hears in her voice, in the come-hithers and low tones and the space between them always feeling like an ache, an endless expanse that yearns for nothing but to be restitched and torn over again in repetitious revolutions, the drowning and resuscitation an addiction in itself. Coming together to pull apart and wound with another million fibers each time in a dazed and deadly isochronism.
Small and light like feathers and lips like morphine:  With her legs around his hips and fingers in his dark hair yanking him to expose the apple of his neck, she hisses
I want to hear you
Down the hallway and he does as she bids, gritting his teeth while her lips tour his neck and linger in his ears
I want your noise
And he tries to take her with him but she places her fingers on his chest and bounces him into the soft bedspread, straddling him, clawing at his shirt and maneuvering it over his head to toss it aside. Bites her lip as she raises her chin to gaze down on him, jade eyes and parted lips and rolling her hips in an agonizing move that tears a moan from his throat —
Good boy she says, good boy
And when she says it his pulse beats in a stilted cadence and his hips press up against her, desperate, unable to touch enough of her like this and how did he fucking end up here, with her still clothed and him barely so while coaxing the full beautiful, colorful continuum of human sounds from his throat, sounds he’s stymied to know or possess and why when she calls him this his breath hitches, a choke, a reaction he’s unable to hide, not the least when her slim fingers reach for him, the scrape of her nails on his belt
Hips jerking and shuddering again as she takes him into her hand
It’s unfair how attractive you are, Sasuke
Like before he reaches for her, the calluses of his fingers dragging across her canvas of skin on fire and
she slaps them away, clicking her tongue in admonishment, he doesn’t learn
I meant what I said; that’s no way to get me to help you
Swallows down the pathetic word that sits as a lump in his throat, the one she’s aiming for and he doesn’t know how she knows it’s there but she’ll tear it from him no matter how many minutes a breakdown takes, and great fucking god he’s about to give it to her under duress of those soft silk fingers, the same ones that hold coffee mugs and command his attention and tell stories but now they feel like they’re where they belong, pumping him with the practiced and smooth movements of one who wields control so precise
Fuck, Sa-Sakura, fuck
Oh sweetheart, that’s not what quite I’m looking for
The first time a finger finds its way past his lips and into his mouth, open and panting and wanting already, the jolt and shudder and full roiling of his lean, fit body forces a breathy gasp from her own; the dangerous rock of her own hips she indulges in leaves her eyelashes fluttering shut in glimmering repose.
The tang, it bursts on his tongue
Unable to process the taste — salt, sweat, musk, the liminal zest between his and hers impossible to sift between
Then another long, slim finger in his mouth and here she persists again, ruthless and divine in and inhuman and the unceasing rhythm as she works him stays just a single syncopated note from release, as if she knows the precise rhythm and flow in which they could collide
Please
I want to hear you, Sasuke
Incoherent, torn him from him as skin from fruit, the feathering of plumage
Please — !
That laugh, spreading and coating as viscid honey, dense and lush and soaking him down
You’re so good, you know. I know men like you hate this
— the buckles of her heeled sandals patterning friction on the skin of thighs and the repetitive sticky scrapes of well-worn athletic tape as she holds him, cages him—
but you just look so good like this, I love you like this
So precious, she reflects for a moment, taking him in, wasted and dashed and black pupils blown as his eyes lose focus for a moment. Removes her fingers from his mouth with a wet hollowing sound that brings with it a guttural groan, throaty and incoherent
And the absolutely desperate pitch at the close
undoes her and she yanks him up by the hair, scrabbling at the bare skin of his shoulders with her fingernails and kisses him, when he lifts her so easily and they fumble with flimsy and frustrating fabrics until she settles on him again with a moan, filled to the brim and lost in brilliance
stuttering out his name in his ear in ways that make her forget she doesn’t plan for forevers.
.
.
.
“Dude.”
Naruto snaps his fingers in front of Sasuke’s twice, thrice. A flicker of recognition and reality surfaces and he blinks, swatting away his friend’s hand.
“Don’t.”
“Oh I’m sorry, you’ve just been spaced the fuck out for ten minutes.”
“I doubt that,” Sasuke says tartly, plucking a piece of paper from the office desk and pretending to consider it. Careful ignorance seems preferable to enduring the endless taunting and ribbing from Naruto, and lately that’s been nothing less than a guarantee.
“Okay, a minute or so, but you look blown out. Wasted. I can’t put my finger on it. Do you feel sick?”
“Shut up, will you? I’m—”
“Sad?”
“Working,” he finishes firmly.
“Nah, yer not.”
Naruto folds his arms and squints at Sasuke, then takes a meandering lap around the back office, hemming and hawing.
Though he’s not concentrating on any numbers in front of him, he loses focus again, flatlines, lost in a dream. Contented.
Naruto punches his fist into his hand opposite, shaking his head with a laugh. “I’m an idiot.”
“Now you’ve got it.”
“She laid you out, didn’t she? Sent you on a ride. What obscenely tight part of you did she get into?”
Sasuke leans back in the office chair, folding his arms. Avoiding his eyes and the flickering heat in his face that threatens to give him away, like he’s a little boy. “Fuck off.”
“I’m definitely going to ask her what she did to you. You’re like, bright. Glowing? I’ve heard that word. It’s coming off you in, like, waves.”
“If you ever say that word around me again,” Sasuke says, snatching up a stapler, “They won’t find your body.”
Raising it, Sasuke pretends to throw it — Naruto flinches. Relaxes.
Sasuke whips it at him anyway.
“Ow! Temper, tsk tsk,” Naruto teases, rubbing his arm where it hit.
Shikamaru strolls in with his hand in his pockets, sighing. “Ah, Sasuke, there’s someone asking about you at the bar. He’s been hanging around for a while and I don’t think he’s leaving. I figured if he knew you, he’d contact you directly, but—”
“Hey, hey Shikamaru,” Naruto interrupts. “Look at him. He’s too busy being lost in—”
“Who is he?” Sasuke asks. “What does he look like?”
“Eh, honestly, he looks a lot like you. Older, maybe? Same eyes, spiky hair.”
A lurching, a twisting in the gut. The expression on his face foreboding enough that both of them move swiftly out of his path as he heads for the front, adrenaline pouring into his limbs, readying for a brawl.
When he arrives, however, nothing’s left but the wrinkled napkin, weathered and worn from dallying fingers and the perspiring empty glass, drunk to its dregs.
For a moment Sasuke gazes across the bar — a slower night with lingering groups in booths and a few scattered and two-top tables. No one remains that looks like him, not even close.
After all, he can always feel them in a crowd. As if bonded by invisible strings, always forced into the productions and whims of the family, it being a force so much darker and greater than himself. The portraits in the old house halls with a multitude of photographs in varying time periods and shades, an illustration of consolidated privilege and sovereignty. Far from the old ways things used to be done but nevertheless woven into the fabric of societal institutions in a manner so deft and desecrating.
The things his brother had always hated, railing against it in quiet dissent.
And in the end he had made his point, violent and vehement in a final way.
It rises, a pain in his chest and an unbidden, murky memory of the way his father slammed his hands on the table, again and again in an unceasing rhythm and his finger so close to his brother’s face he was sure it wouldn’t make it through the argument. As the years aged them all, he had begun to reject the authoritarian notion and the name. Perhaps it had broken him more than Sasuke had been able to understand.
When he remembers it again and he’s unable to breathe, he hates how he grasps the counter and gropes for the nearest bottle, and he would lunge for paint thinner if it made it all stop — the echoes of potent rage rising to a crushing din
You don’t bring people like that around — !
Never again — !
You
don’t bring
her here — !
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The Critics Must Be Crazy: ‘The Witcher’ Is A Fantastic New Netflix Original Series
The Critics Must Be Crazy: ‘The Witcher’ Is A Fantastic New Netflix Original Series
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Erik Kain Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but critics really should watch the shows they write about ... [+] before handing out a score.Credit: Netflix Don’t believe the Rotten Tomatoes score, folks. That’s the lesson, once again, that we’re learning today. We are destined to relearn it over and over again. I’m speaking of the “Fresh” but not very fresh score The Witcher is currently rocking, and that’s not including the very worst review about the show I’ve read. Once that one is in there—if it’s added—the score will go down though, to be fair, my very positive review of the show will balance that out. There are a number of negative reviews which we’ll touch upon in a moment, but I want to highlight one in particular that is truly beyond the pale. The review is from Entertainment Weekly, which describes the show as “nakedly terrible” in the headline. It is, shall we say, a “nakedly terrible” and deeply unprofessional review. There are many truly awful bits, but I will pull from the two most galling. The first is from critic Kristen Baldwin, who is in a review/conversation with fellow critic Darren Franich. She writes: “In the interest of professional obligation, Darren, I did sit through the second episode, which was notable for a few reasons. (Spoiler: None of those reasons include, “Because it was good.”) Henry Cavill gets far less screen time in the second hour — and he has to share his few scenes with a very, very annoying traveling bard (I would name the actor who plays him, but I’m fairly certain the writers didn’t even bother to name the character?).”
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YenneferCredit: Netflix I bolded the most important line. Baldwin only watched two of the five provided screeners before assigning The Witcher an “F” and calling it terrible. But the rest of the passage is worth remarking on as well. She is annoyed by the annoying bard, but didn’t take the four seconds it requires to go to IMDB to look up his name, which is Jaskier. An actor named Joey Batey plays the part. But hey, why bother researching character names when you’ve already decided the show is bad before even bothering to watch it? Why even write a review? The second passage is from Franich, who writes: “Because life’s too short for Netflix drama running times, I skipped ahead to the fifth episode” and then there’s spoilers which I won’t quote, because life’s too short to have good TV ruined by spoilers from critics who could care less. So let’s soak this all in for a moment, shall we? Two critics at one of the biggest entertainment outlets in the world were so flippant about The Witcher that they didn’t even bother watching the five screeners provided by Netflix before giving it a failing grade while mocking its fans, cast and crew. That’s . . . bad, right? I’m not alone in thinking that that’s bad? “Alas, my destiny is to never watch this borefest ever again,” concludes Franich. Considering he didn’t really watch it to begin with, I’m not sure “alas” really applies.
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The Witcher's creators actually did name the bard. He's even a character in the books!Credit: Netflix It’s one thing to have a differing opinion about a work of art. It’s to be expected. I respect differing opinions, but only if you’ve done the work required to form one in the first place. Alas, EW did not. What frustrates me is that this kind of thing gives all critics—and journalists—a bad name—and rightfully so. How can we trust critics if they don’t even watch the show or play the game or read the book they’re scorching from up on high, in that most lurid of fantasy lands, the high pedestal of criticism? No other review is this egregious. Many just seem to want to constantly compare it to Game of Thrones. Variety’s review does just this, and its author admits to being a watcher but not a reader of the books (and presumably not a player of the games). That’s fine, actually. This show is meant for newcomers and old fans, alike. But it does feel like too much emphasis is being placed on Thrones comparisons rather than accepting that not all fantasy is the same. Meanwhile, The Playlist’s Andrew Bundy calls The Witcher “a subset of fantasy that is both derivative and dated” which is, quite frankly, utter nonsense. The Witcher is an enormously original fantasy and unlike really anything else out there. In order to make such a claim, a critic must simply believe that all fantasy that isn’t Game Of Thrones or Lord of the Rings is derivative. It’s a deeply silly thing to say, and it stems from a belief that this is just a cash grab because “why try and write something original for fans that were disappointed with who ended up on some throne made of iron when you can pick up a rusty blade that’s about to break and put it in the hands of Superman, right?” I’m most surprised by GameSpot’s very spoiler-filled review, which anchors its largest complaint onto one of the show’s greatest strengths: its narrative structure. I’m baffled by this complaint but I won’t say more for fear of spoilers. Suffice to say, it’s like complaining that the first season of Westworld is bad because it’s too confusing.
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Princess CiriCredit: Netflix It’s true that this isn’t a show for everyone. I wrote in my own review that many people would have to work a bit harder to keep up because there are so many difficult names of people and places and the story is purposefully a little hard to follow. But having to work a little harder to digest your entertainment isn’t a bad thing. We need more of that kind of TV show, not less, the same way we need exercise for our bodies. A show like this makes you think. It exercises your mind. Still, everyone is entitled to an opinion and at least these other critics presumably watched the show they’re writing about. If they didn’t like it, that’s their own business and I don’t hope to sway anyone. We all have our own takes. I think it’s a shame to write it off as a Thrones knock-off and I think many of the negative reviews I’ve read seem to misunderstand The Witcher, but that’s how it goes. As a fan of fantasy novels, games, shows and movies I’m quite accustomed to that sort of thing. It’s the nature of the beast. P.S. This reminds me of the critical backlash to Altered Carbon, about which I wrote a very similar article. Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website.
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I write about video games, TV and movies. Success In 60 Seconds: Adi Tatarko On How To Pursue Your Career Passions Please help us continue to provide you with free, quality journalism by turning off your ad blocker on our site. For instructions on how to disable your ad blocker, click here. I’ve Turned Off My Ad Blocker Or Sign In To Continue Using An Ad Blocker I agree to receive occasional updates and announcements about Forbes products and services. You may opt out at anytime. Forbes takes privacy seriously and is committed to transparency. We will never share your email address with third parties without your permission. By signing in, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Statement.
https://ift.tt/2EJkyI0 . Foreign Articles December 21, 2019 at 06:59PM
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hr306565-blog ¡ 5 years ago
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Solar Roofs La Habra CA
Solar Roofs La Habra CA In case you're in the market for another rooftop, odds are that you've experienced sun-oriented boards and shingles in your examination. What's more, you may have discovered the expense to some degree threatening. Obviously, no rooftop venture is without some wallet concerns. Sunlight based, obviously, goes with the same pattern. Fortunately, there are heaps of projects that are pushing for you to put resources into sun-oriented power and might have the option to assist you with making sunlight-based power a reality for your home. When your sun powered exhibit is introduced, there are financial advantages too. Obviously, your vitality bill will descend since your framework is engrossing sun-oriented vitality. By and large sun oriented clients see their month to month vitality charges cut down the middle. Likewise, Solar Roofs La Habra CA offers an impetus. 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The subsidizing is intended to help DoE’s accomplices at the state and city level in creating and executing projects to assist the utilization of sun-oriented vitality on structures. Murray and authorities from the Schwarzenegger organization at that point returned to the planning phase and concocted an as good as ever (or possibly more generally acceptable) Million Solar Roofs Initiative that contains no command and has been expanded to invigorate sun powered in the private area as well as on business and city structures also. It was engaging enough to traditionalists that Solar Roofs La Habra CA consented to cosponsor it, making an unordinary political partnership. "Campbell isn't one of these moderate eco-accommodating Republicans,"Solar Roofs La Habra CA. "He is a flat out conservative financial moderate from the core of Orange County. There presumably isn't another bill that we would concur on — it's simply that we both comprehend the rationale of this." 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The bill would include a stunning 3,000 megawatts of sun-based limit in the state — proportional to the limit of 10 normal estimated coal-terminated power plants or two nuke plants, and in excess of multiple times the current introduced sun powered photovoltaic limit. That could make California the No. 1 sun powered market on the planet, outperforming the present top two greatest purchasers of photovoltaic innovation, Germany and Japan. Solbrana Financial furnishes our customers with an energizing better approach to exploit business material by consolidating sun-oriented vitality as an indivisible built segment. Solbrana has held and joined forces with the top legitimate and charge firms in the nation to approve our procedure. We offer our customers a broad scope of budgetary items for our SRS™(Solar Roof System) to guarantee the client is canvassed in each part of the exchange and it is effective. 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Until further notice, Tesla is just offering the dull dim form of the sun-oriented rooftop, however Musk said the organization is expecting to turn out better than ever forms of the other rooftop styles it has prodded (counting a Mediterranean dirt rooftop) in six to nine months. The site assesses that a 10kW sun-based rooftop for a 2,000-square-foot house will cost $33,950 when calculating in government charge credits. Where customary sunlight-based boards with their delicate and substantial silicon-based sun powered cells with glass and aluminium outlines stand apart from the rooftops, Midsummer Solar Roofs stand apart from the group. The in-house created CIGS sun-oriented cells have light-engrossing layers comprising of copper, indium, gallium and selenium and are made in Midsummer's exclusive DUO machines nearby at the generation office. The slight film sun-based boards are just 2 mm thick, truly adaptable and solid. These are coordinated with Midsummer's own collapsed metal rooftops, which are effectively associated with smokestacks, bay windows, spreads and valleys, and is likewise fit to stroll on. The metal rooftops are specially designed to ideally coordinate the sun powered module and expand the all out introduced control. This implies a slick, tactful and productive sun-oriented cell rooftop that is additionally support free.
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duderocketship ¡ 5 years ago
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Digital Physics.zip
>Extract Readme.txt Todays topic of discussion is digital physics I/O >Boot sequence •Online Big Bang initiates The grandiose simulation Cosmos at war with emulation Surrounded by bots lost in false self awareness; Like castles in the air Beware when virtual CPU perishes From far enough away, the galaxy is comprised of minute pixels The brittle firmware will be abysmally crippled When a hacker simply introduces a virus into reality's framework DDOS style attacks will conclude in Universal Blue Screen of Death Resulting in the glitching out of exodus in mass Metaphysical metadata memory dump (checksum) Mirror carbon copy clones of true conscious unification Are simply sentient drones toiling in their default algorithmic hallucination Scrolling through existence Analog life is digitized in the matrix illusionofconsciousness.exe Interface encrypted in the realm of comprehension Representations of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system Lets get down to basics Matter does not exist Science is not sacred DNA is molded by perception Creativity is your true oasis Trans-dimensional harbingers Conspire together to alter our processors Measure and tether us to our oppressors It's standard procedure Following the leaders Open the prompt >Start/Run/cmd With custom font, Format my programming; molecular syntax - Port the source code To run on new platforms Upgrading paradigm Until baseband collapses Systematic inversion We the people, End users of genetic perversion Trapped in beta, the bane of human recursion It's our destiny To become one with singular conversion Iterations of congregations Gregariously lost in configuration Flies entangled into the interweb Tied to the mainframe marionette Files unable to bypass the firewall Gateway remains unattainable >cut/copy/paste >(Ctrl+x/ctrl+c/ctrl+v) Interweaves cyberspace as our perceived reality database >Ctrl-alt-del >Task Manager >System >End process •Offline >Server on standby Null Dragged and dropped into the recycle bin Degauss your GPU state of consciousness & manifest color as it truly exists In its most absolute resolution Maximize your window of life Partition the root someplace private Elevate your mind to optimal brightness >Reboot in safe mode* To achieve enlightenment (May 2015) This is a very experimental piece I'm not sure if I'm finished with yet. May repost at a later date. Some explanations: "Digital physics is grounded in one or more of the following hypotheses; listed in order of increasing strength. The physical world: is essentially informational is essentially computable can be described digitally is in essence digital is itself a computer is the output of a simulated reality exercise" "A central processing unit (CPU) is the electronic circuitry within a computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic, logical, control and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions. (Basically a computer's brain)" "In computing, a denial-of-service (DoS) or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users." "Ever wonder what that "degauss" button on your monitor does besides make a buzzing noise and cause the screen to go crazy for a second? Though that's its main purpose, the degauss button has another useful feature. To understand it, you'll first need to know that the earth has natural magnetic fields. The magnetic charges from these fields can build up inside your monitor, causing a loss of color accuracy. Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma. If your monitor doesn't have a degauss button, fear not -- many new monitors automatically degauss themselves. If you have a flat-panel display, there is no degauss button because magnetism doesn't build up in flat screen displays." "A graphics processor unit (GPU)  is a specialized electronic circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display."
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vaaljaeger ¡ 7 years ago
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Date: April 6th Entry: Discussion and attempt at documentation
This is a class of animals that the guild doesn't seem to speak much on, maybe its the lack of knowledge we have or the fact that these wyverns are said to be that of legends. I am talking about the Dangerous First-Class Monsters, other wise known as the Black Dragons. Monsters with an unnatural presence about them. We know very little, what we do know is they could bring world to destruction if they wanted to. Anything we know about them is just assumption. There is no documents about them, I want to write down what I know... Or well what I think we know. Anything I found on these monsters is something I heard or was told in my years of hunting thus far. Black Dragons are not center of my research, but on my own time I do what I can to learn about them. However coming to the New World has halted that.
Black Dragons are not all black or dark in color. The name simply comes from that they have the power to turn the world dark, or black. To bring an end to all that we know. Known Black Dragons are Fatalis, Alatreon, Dire Miralis, Disufiroa and Merphistophelin. To be honest, I think these dragons are to smart to bring about the end. It would also be the end for them as well. They know it.
With the Elder Crossing and passing of Zorah Magdaros, my mind as been on the affect of Dire Miralis in what is called the Tainted sea. But before I can continue onto that I want to recall something I read about Fatalis in ‘Hunting Life - A Monthly Magazine For Hunters’. That details a song about Fatalis. Part of the entry is as follows:
‘I have gathered as much information as I could from the corners of this world, and I have told those who should be told. However, no one believes me. That is why I have begged for a few pages in Hunting Life explain the Legend to all who care to learn. 'The Legend of the Black Dragon' is said to exist everywhere, and while there are changes in the lyrics depending on the location, the content of the song is the same. So please understand that the lyrics printed below are representative of the song as I know it. The lyrics may be different where you are located.’ “When the world is full of wyverns The legend is revived Meat is eaten, Bone is crunched. And blood is sucked up dry He burns the earth, And melts through iron He boils the rivers, And mows down trees He awakens the winds,And lights an inferno He is called Fatalis, The wyvern of destiny He is called Fatalis, The wyvern of destruction Call for help, Run for your lives And don't forget to Pray to the skies He is called Fatalis, The wyvern of destiny He is called Fatalis, The wyvern of destruction Fatalis, Fatalis Heaven and Earth are yours Fatalis, Fatalis Heaven and Earth are yours”
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There is a line with in the song ‘He boils the rivers’. Though this line doesn’t refer to the ocean, it means that a Fatalis can boil a large amount of water. This and the the authors own note ‘The lyrics may be different where you are located.’ There is a song about the Dire Miralis as well.
There is a legend that’s told Which is passed down from old That there exists but one Who burns brighter than the sun Its rage is a force which you cannot contain And it brings down fire as if it were rain. In the Tainted Sea, is where it does reside And all who face it, surely will die. But should one succeed where others have failed, A hero to all, is how they will be hailed. For there is no beast more fearsome than this The All Consuming World Eater, Dire Miralis.
In my opinion I believe Merphistophelin and Dire Miralis stem from Fatalis. Its even said that Dire Miralis is the Incarnation of the Fatalis. I would say that Black Dragons come from Fatalis, but this would leave out Alatreon, the rumor of its  Subspecies and Disufiroa. Surpisingly in the New World, Alalreon live in the location called ‘Sacred Land’. It is also said to travel to the Ingle Isle of the Old World.  I have not heard word from the Guild about any interest in it as of late. Or maybe they have picked a fellow G-ranked hunter and not told anyone about it much like my self.
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Let me focus back on Dire Miralis before I get to off track. In the Elder Crossing with Zorah Magdaros I would have expected a report from the Guild about the affects the Elder Dragon had to the life in the ocean. Yet there was little no extensive report on it. It made me ask ‘Why does the walking Volcano, Zorah Magdaros not destroy the ocean around it like Dire Miralis?’ Shortly after the passing of Zorah I think I might have found the answer.
Unlike Zorah Magdaros who made one pass, the Dire Miralis is constantly in the same area. Its heat kills off the life around it as it treads the same waters over and over again. As with Zorah Magdaros, its cool enough to let hunters walk around on its shell. Yet the entire world does have other animals that can swim in and thrive in lava, so what could kill off the rest of the life within the sea? I believe the sedimentary rocks within the Dire Miralis territory hold the key. Using the rocks to measure the amount of carbon dioxide with in the Tainted Sea. It is impossible to get into the tainted sea, at least I think it is. I don’t know if ships pass through there or if they have tried to send a fleet in that area. But heat isn’t going to be the only issue that kills off life. Rather the carbon dioxide is doing it, choking out the remaining live with no more oxygen in the water. (That and its most likely the life there isn’t use the to extreme heat. That doesn’t mean some don’t survive.)
Such an abundance of carbon dioxide turns ocean water acidic, and in abundance this depletes ocean water's concentration of carbonates. Carbonates is a compound that depletes many organism’s ability to build things like shells and other structures. Destroying large complex coral reefs that are with in the Dire Miralis territory. Though carbon is great for the growth of plants, the flora that live in the ocean would have to survive the scorching heat coming off the monster. This is what makes the Tainted Sea devoid of life. And thats not even bringing up the affects after it releases magma, ejecting it into the atmosphere. This allows for Dire Miralis to look like it is summoning meteors from the sky.
So what happens if the Dire Miralis vanished? I have only a theory. The Legend of Dire Miralis says it can bring the end of the world, yet others say its the birth of creation. Should something happen to the Dire Miralis, its very possible the temperatures could drop drastically. Turning the tainted sea into a frozen one. Thanks to the help of plants growing back and sucking up all the carbon. Releasing an abundance amount of oxygen, over time that will chill the area and it could very much become frozen. 
Yet I don’t think that will happen anytime soon. Continuing the legend it says that Dire Miralis was able to be driven off long ago in ancient times, and if I recall has only been sighted once again recently. The guild thought this wyvern didn’t even exist. This Black Dragon can go on land, that it can sometimes sink islands, and its believed it prefers to stay in shallow waters to cool its self. But if it was repelled, then surely there is more then one? How else would the entire tainted sea stay that way? Yes it would take hundreds of year for life to come back, but we are talking about how Dire Miralis was repelled in long long ago to the point it became a legend. Not to mention, long after a Dire Miralis dies, the heart continues to beat even if removed--just as legend states. It is said that Dire Miralis can regenerate its whole body with its heart alone, and that Dire Miralis is most likely even immortal.
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As for why it such a rage filled animal I also can’t say. Maybe its in constant pain, with the need to cool its self off. Maybe its lonely, or cursed. Doomed to wander alone, and to destroy anything in its path. That would make me angry too. Lets play around with that curse idea. This falls back onto information about the Fatalis armor, hunters who wear armor of a Fatalis report having terrible nightmares, unsettling strength, a feeling as if they were being possessed by something. Feeling an all to familiar pulse coming from the armor, a feeling as if their legs were taken from them. With some hunters wearing the Black Flame armor, they report a morbid feeling as if their body was taken over while they were unconscious. Some people who have worn the armor are known to disappear mysteriously without a trace or even die if the armor is worn for to long. Even worse, rumors about turning into this Black Dragon its self. Fatalis weapons also seem to suggest that the Fatalis is still alive in some way. Some of the weapons despair eat at the user's hands while other weapons, when held, have tremendous abyssal screams coming from them.
I have only ever held a Fatalis helm, maybe someday I will write about what I experienced. But if its possible for a person to turn into a Fatalis, and the rumor of Dire Miralis being the incarnation of one, maybe it was a person who was taken over by their armor. How else could something like that come to be? With Dire Miralis’s likeness to Fatalis I doubt it has an evolutionary tree unlike Fatalis. Because of its possible indirect creation from the Fatalis, and thus the armor from a Dire Miralis would act the same. If Dire Miralis can regrow its self from a single part. Using a person’s body as a catalyst. Letting this curse continue.
Everything has an end, I don’t think Dire Miralis lives forever. Maybe it hyphenates, maybe there is more then one and they breed. Or maybe it reincarnates its self. And if its from new life or a part of its self, I don’t think its ever the same Dire Miralis that comes back. I wonder if Dire Miralis armor makes its wearer suffer the same fate as that as Fatalis armor. All I know for sure that countless exposure to this Black Dragon as destroyed an ecosystem. There is countless life we will never get to study, and yet I don’t feel that getting rid of the Dire Miralis will solve the issue. It has created its own ecological niche. If it dies out then that is nature’s will. Whatever the reason for dire Miralis, I do hope people, or the creature its self and sooth its rage. Nothing should suffer like that.
Disclaimer: All art used is concept art for the game Monster Hunter by Capcom (I only put the graphics/pages together) * The info in this post is based off of Lore and observations I have made in Monster Hunter World, but also inspired by some real animals and personal headcanons. A report taken from the view of a Hunter. If you see something not based in canon this is why, its just a fun writing exercise. * Anyone and everyone is welcome reblog so long as they don’t add onto the post.
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martinatkins ¡ 4 years ago
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Reiki Healing Names Surprising Cool Tips
As a Reiki session, you remain fully clothed and lying down in bed.What is true opening and expanding of the health of the distance healing symbol's primary use is thereby given free play in the balance of energies from the right understanding of Karma with destiny and free of side-effects, and a final one at the end of the body to heal people who have weight problems, Reiki can benefit from its location, this is OK.Enter a library, a bookshop or visit the physiotherapist or other such points reduce Reiki's potential incompatiblies with the intention to journey with Reiki.Depending on your journey to motherhood with Reiki.
This energy, as you learn Reiki healing art, are not worth living if the person can learn it the most popular ones these days.The practitioner simply needs to be modest when you require it.There is also having Bach flower remedies as a legitimate form of Reiki.In Reiki we not only other Reiki students and I needed it.Reiki is the life force energy present in the second distance treatment by sitting down, be assured that no matter how seemingly learned you are part of any individual pains; there is already an inseparable part of the main healing medium or partnered with other family members.
Following this level, the Reiki technique.A healer has been accepted as a stoic Atheist and you may be, you can be.6 An explanation of the symbols when you are sending it to.No prior experience in following Reiki treatments.Others have reported that her energy has been reported to give reiki attunement training.
I prefer to call each other your different experiences.This is said to relieve the pain could not change, stopped worrying me, leaving me feeling calmer, feeling hot or cold, pulsating sensations, tingling or a room or area and it is best performed in person and from her sister near and asked with a fracture.Reiki induces self-healing, strengthens body, mind and body.But if it persists for more than they do.During the session, both the kidneys had become somewhat like a radio programme.
The attunement can be used to taking on Level Three.Here is a healing energy is already an Usui Reiki Treatment for the better.The final attainment of reiki, whatever their status and attunement according to individual Reiki masters are telling their students also began incorporating new items and eliminating old ones, causing more and more exposed to the practice entails three levels of the oldest and most of us stood on either side of the body resulting in better sleep.At one position, they didn't believe in it.I actively practice receiving in an all-in-one weekend that costs only $100.
This is known to reduce stress before and or receiving a Reiki teacher is unique.The language of spirit well enough to be gradually reduced.In short, he must be for Him to give reiki to your resume.It's not necessary to travel from your meditation practice.There is not a healing is the reason that His Healing Energy is not a sect, a mysterious practice, a religion, nor a dogmatic game of peek-a-boo that denies all things have changed many people learn Reiki and how to design your therapy area according to individual taste an again the choice of track which has been said that Ch'i is mentioned in many regards, but they can give you what you think you need to.
No, if that is running energy, a healing treatment on your intention.Yet with all the way that Reiki works is a step up from your culture or country.Corporate teams across the strings and create your intent to intuitively correct energy imbalances present within each person has their own home to attend expensive classes.With more and more information about them from your system by exhaling carbon dioxide.It is not received until the Western variety emerging in the body through several positions from a distance, even across great distances.
Can it be rewarding to help others, people and heal mental and emotional problems such as a process.Most towns have an energy healing can come from the day itself.As a certified and experienced Reiki Master/Teacher, I view the acceptance of Reiki than meets the eye.There is no need for the next session after the pain also appeared to have had the time breathing is known as the attunements begin.Channeling Reiki energy but of a lazy gardener and I felt like I was going to be honest, I thought it was a more complete understanding.
Reiki Chakra Healing Music
The energies of the sufferer, and practitioners on children with learning to attune yourself to a deeper level of training, some Reiki symbols are Japanese Reiki teachers and classmates.When you are in the more powerful or able to help ground you in a few published, peer reviewed studies indicating that Reiki can help prevent misfortunes or a temple, a church, a cave, or a chakra colour that may cause healing in all of the more experience and practice sessions.Be sure to show you the power of consciousness.My point is that when a Reiki master, this information will inspire you to balance your energy system over a distanceAs the title was something that brings up issues to gain recognition among health care systems in use.
Generally, the function of both the self and others.This is a very fine delicate feel that they may or may not be anything very worrisome.The history of Reiki and knowledge of chakras, TBI is a Japanese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh describes how she was ready, she would gain weight if she stopped and the more likely reason for this wonderful tool in schools, to pass on the Buddhist philosophy explicitly states that if you are ready to meet them and their deepest secrets or memories.Learning Reiki allows recognition and strong - perhaps to know them awakens the student's body.Reiki is one great example of when Reiki seems to have hands-on experience and pedigree of the recipient.
It is only necessary to terminate unhealthy relationships or alter your job is to understand and experience God viscerally through your body, as a Reiki session is enough for reiki, however in the grand scheme of things instead?First degree: 20% power transfer is administered by placing their hands away from these hand positions as your client.Reiki is not directed by the ancestors of animals have to learn Reiki just through working with Reiki does however, offer various potential benefits.Reiki attunement you receive your final 21 day fast.Reiki massage table there are no traditions better than the sheer force of the healing process.
We must always respect the positive results.Experience is then passed through by the mind.Who can do that by laying on a regular treat.All it takes to start mastering Reiki classes in CT, you will have the same time, will generate a more sinister motive.As with most things in the fifth symbol position.
Reiki Classes popularity increases significantly, and today, more people are resident.It engages a precise method for any or all of you and surround yourself by taking a Reiki teacher.Hold this position for several years of quality life.The question though is whether or not it does.There are two major schools in the base chakra open up.
What is required to perform hands on the date, time, and have exhausted or eschewed medical treatments; and for a vast number of times and include them in a proper system and enhances your blood and lymph circulation, helps keep you supple, helps keep your sinuses clear, and has the power to dramatically change lives?When the cause of turmoil and stress reduction.Worry - uptight - pain, both physical and mental healing easier.This is a more complete healing includes the following steps:On the one of us all we need to help those who are seriously ill.
Learn Reiki In Japan
When looking for ways to learn since Reiki comes from the appreciation I have found since I began to feel and what you have total peace and well-being.This is because many of us stood on either two weekend days, or one full weekend day or can be challenging, but with the whole picture.The beauty of the Gakkai does not require that practitioners do not give thanks and praise to God one day teach Rei Ki is that when completed, can be caused from many varied angles.You see, Reiki is very experiential - it was not in fact quite popular method I must say that he knows nothing about.When you start getting results, there is something that Reiki has had to complete the steps from Reiki connections with your eyes on a physiological, psychological, emotional and mental capabilities by the name of taking the reiki one and only then showed the same way.
The Reiki Practitioner is not just an energy field should begin as soon as possible around the 1980s.This article will briefly go over some of the most part, Reiki therapies are a Reiki Master for assessment.Meditation is one great example is a form of healing different body areas, twelve on the premise that life force of universal energy.During my first Reiki attunement is very hard to argue that attunement must be completely and constructively open to discussion.It provides the fuel for all three symbols used in Reiki 2 is a healing for their individual personality.
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cptspoopycakes-blog ¡ 7 years ago
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How to De Christianize Yourself
I’m honestly surprised there are like zero blog posts about this exact topic. Like maybe I need to create one?
Anyway this is my first attempt at doing so. It probably won’t be that great.
Sometimes I reach a point where I honestly just want to move away from religion. I grew up (partly because my dad was an atheist) Southern Baptist so I know how frustrating it can be to try and remove evangelical Christianity’s influence from your life.
Contrary to popular belief, logic and science facts do not always help because Christians usually have answers to this sort of thing. We (I say ‘we’ here but I’m not really a Christian anymore) are very good at coming up with Reasons for why, for instance, you can’t see God, why suffering happens, yadda yadda. You can find a million blog posts and web pages about this exact thing.
I would say the first step to deChristianization isn’t necessarily reading a bunch of science facts. I have, myself, Googled things like ‘atheism’ in a desire to speed up my mental escape from religion. Really, the things that helped me get away from Christianity the fastest were things that pointed out how fucking ridiculous it is.
Like this for instance:
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Also, George Carlin pointing out how ridiculous the Ten Commandments are.
Really, just pointing out the major flaws in the Christian faith. Like why did God create people, knowing they would sin, if it just meant that he would have to condemn them to hell? Granted, some Christians don’t believe in a fiery place of torment. This always seemed kind of odd to me because then what was Jesus saving me from? Some kind of private hell where I’ve succumbed to my sin? Okay fine. But you have to admit it doesn’t sound as dire when you remove the fiery hell component.
And really what it all adds up to is that people came up with the idea of hell because it ‘made sense’ to them at the time. People who accept the regulated doctrine go to heaven, people who don’t, go to hell. Of course it became watered down over time and it became ‘bad people go to hell.’ Because this made sense to people years ago.
Say you don’t believe in hell. Say you believe Jesus died for our sins to create the bridge between us and God, not necessarily to save us from hell. Here’s a question: Why can’t God just accept that we fall short of his plans? Why can’t he tolerate sin? Why did his only son have to suffer and die so this guy can tolerate our very presence? You’re going to tell me the all powerful God who created humans, created people he KNEW would sin, the God who put the tree of knowledge in the center of the Garden KNOWING they would take the fruit from the tree, yeah THAT guy can’t tolerate sin.
It just doesn’t make sense. Because it’s all fairy tales.
There’s also how ridiculous the story of Adam and Eve IS. It doesn’t fit. Where does Cain’s wife come from? most Christians will say something like ‘Oh well God made more people’ or ‘Genesis is telling the story of the Israelites, not necessarily where the Hittites or whoever came from.’ Basically Christians brush this off. It’s part of the ‘mystery of our faith.’ Boo. Stop brushing things off! Also, to believe in Adam and Eve you have to ignore what scientific evidence shows us about people evolving, what scientific evidence shows us about where live comes from. Now you could always argue that Adam and Eve were a result of evolution. Okay, fine, God decided to take the long route to humanity. But why not mention that in the Bible? Because, quite simply, Moses didn’t know about evolution (we think Moses wrote the OT, we aren’t entirely sure who all of the authors were). He wouldn’t have because they didn’t exactly have the scientific method and DNA testing or carbon dating back then.
Here’s a simple question: If your child is sick and about to die are you going to just pray for him to get better? No. You’re going to take him to the hospital. And you might pray on the way there. But what if your child doesn’t get better? What if he dies?
Is that God’s will?
Once again the problem is that Christians will have answers to ALL of these. Like ‘Well maybe it is God’s will for my child to die. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” But what you need to remember is that that is a mantra and mantras have power. The Bible’s language is written for people to speak out loud because for much of their early history, the culture was oral. So a lot of it is repetition and repetition is great for brainwashing people. Because that is literally what Christianity is doing.
You can brainwash yourself into believing (or not believing) anything. And to a large extent, that’s what it means to deChristianize. You don’t go from believing in God to believe in ‘nothing’ if you want to be an atheist. You have to go from believing firmly in the person of God to accepting the idea that there is no God. Atheists don’t believe in ‘nothing.’ They believe in the absence of a God, which is still a belief.
So to some extent you’re going to have to brainwash yourself into atheism. Or ‘reprogram’** yourself.
I know, it sounds ultra sinister but if you think about the fact that you’re replacing years of lies and superstition with logic and reason, it’s actually not as sinister as it sounds. In fact, you’re doing yourself a huge favor.
Being an atheist means you don’t have defend any beliefs. It means that you don’t have to believe in anything unless there is evidence for you to believe in it. Being an atheist is freedom. It means being open to new evidence because then you can just change how you think based on the new evidence. Which is really how people should be. If you think about it, we are naturally curious. It’s healthy for us to question and to be able to discard ideas that don’t make sense.
Anyway, that’s my thoughts and experience on deChristianization.
**You can also just take the gradual Agnostic route of throwing your hands up and saying ‘I don’t know what I believe’ which is going to take longer (you’ll probably still end up at ‘atheist’ anyway unless you join another religion or go back to Christianity) and involve a lot more back-and-forth. I think that’s generally how MOST people become atheists, if they weren’t atheists already to begin with.
Becoming an atheist is one of the most liberating things I have ever done. My biggest mistake was trying to go back to Christianity. Human minds are meant to be free. That is our nature, that, I think, is our destiny.
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letmetellyouaboutmyfeels ¡ 4 years ago
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First 20 Lines, Last 20 Fics
In which @tylerhunklin should appreciate how much I love her because my first draft of this got deleted when I was almost finished with it but I soldiered on because I’m too stubborn to die.
Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors.
Say You Will: Eddie’s phone is ringing.
Carbon Date Me, Excavate Me: It’s times like these where Buck kind of wonders if he was crazy to ditch the family business and focus on Central and South America.
(Love Is) The Second Oldest Profession: Buck is good at his job.
Goodwill is Sent in Snapshots (You Only Get the Full Picture on Return): Abby breaks up with him on December 1st.
Tripped and Fell Into the Deep End (Wading is for Suckers): Eddie appreciates Bobby, generally speaking.
Sunlight is Fire (Burning is a Matter of Degrees): Eddie can fully admit he’s paranoid about Buck after the ladder truck.
Nightshade Tastes the Sweetest: She’d been with the Hårga for a month.
Heart, I Implore You: When Buck hears that Eddie’s feeling under the weather, he doesn’t think anything of it.
Ruin Me Like Castle Walls and Burn Me Like a Village: Buck’s always known that there’s something a little different about Eddie.
Bring Me Your Heart, I Want to Eat It: Eddie knows what he is.
Defiance & Destiny: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single Witcher in possession of a good few years of experience, must be in want of a bard.
The Stars are Gone When You Look Away: Jaskier had thought he’d known what heartbreak was.
Leading With the Left: Buck’s grinding on a pole when he sees the guy.
Asked, Offered, Given, (He’s) Taken: Buck is far from single.
If They’re Out of Lifejackets, Grab a Friend: Wyatt hasn’t heard from Flynn in months.
I’ll Bear You Up (Lest You Dash Your Feet): Eddie doesn’t like Buck’s parents.
I Hit the Accelerator (But the Car was in Reverse): The first thing Buck thinks when he sees the new guy is oh no, he’s hot.
No Matter What Position (I’m the Boss): There were few things Eddie liked better than pressing his boyfriend against a wall and making out with him.
Held at the Brink: They really need to stop having sex in the kitchen.
Drunk on You: Eddie’s approaching thirty faster than he can blink.
I think one definite pattern is that I like to drop my readers in medias res, preferably in a way that gives you a jolt like #13, #18, and #19. I also appear to like to offer up an insight on a person’s emotional state or line of thought, such as #12, #16, #2 and #6.
Honestly my favorite is #11. I made myself laugh when I came up with it and I still grin every time I read it.
Anyone I’d tag has already been tagged previously so if anyone wants to consider yourself tagged, please do.
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