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katnisspeetaprim · 4 months

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Broad Day Light

Min Yoongi/Reader

Im so sorry if this is bad. i haven't had time to properly edit this. I've been sick again recently, but I wanted to get at least something out for you guys!

Warnings: Injury, crowds, anxiety, established relationship, idol!au

Word Count: 1203 M.list

Walking down a busy street in the middle of the day shouldn’t have been an anxiety inducing task, but here you are. That’s all it’s felt like these days.

You and Yoongi went public a few years ago and paparazzi and sasaeng’s had mostly started to leave you alone after a few months, just the odd personal space invader here and there, but you learnt to live with the new found attention.

Fast forwards to 2023 and Yoongi’s solo tour was well under way. With a world tour came massive media attention, and with media attention, came paparazzi.

You weren’t famous, so having people run up to you with cameras was a surreal experience.

You tried your best to shield your face, but it was to no avail as the group of photographers bolted towards you from across the road.

‘Y/N! Over here!’

‘Are you going to any of the shows!?’

The group of men had effectively blocked your path, not allowing you to leave.

‘Please let me through. I have somewhere to be...’ You mumbled and wrapped your arms round yourself as you kept your head down and away from the cameras. You started forcing your way forwards.

‘Y/N! Yoongi and Halsey have been acting close! Did something happen between them!? Is that why you aren’t on tour with him?’ You know you shouldn’t dignify these people with a response, but the gall of implying that Yoongi would cheat on you with someone that had become a good friend to the both of you... It was enough to make you rage.

‘Of course not! They are good friends, now let me through- Ah!’ As you forcefully pushed your way through the crowd, you didn’t realise how close you were to the curb. Your ankle rolled, causing you to topple over into the road.

Your hands, arms and knees were all scratched up, along with a twisted ankle. At least no cars were coming so you wouldn’t get run over. Though that seemed like a more preferable situation than the one you were currently in.

‘AH!’ You shakily sat up and grabbed your ankle, causing you to hiss out in pain.

‘Please just leave me alone!’ You screamed out and swiped out at the paparazzi circling round you.

‘Hey that’s assault! She just tried to hit me!’ One of the men shouted out, trying to garner sympathy with his fellow low lives.

You were all but breaking down into a full blown panic attack, when all of a sudden you felt a wave of hope flow through you when you heard the shouts of police officers approaching the scene.

‘Hey! What’s going on here? Out of the way!’ They pushed through the crowd and one knelt next to you, whilst the other two pushed back the group, ultimately threatening arrests if they didn’t dispurse.

‘Miss? Are you ok? Are you hurt?’

‘My ankle- I think it’s twisted!’ You whimpered, trying to hold back your tears.

‘Don’t worry. We’ll get you to the hospital.’

Hours later and you were finally able to go home. With a lot of help from your best friend, you were now sat in your living room, feeling sorry for yourself with your poor ankle all wrapped up.

The scraped that littered your limbs weren’t too bad, just a little sore. Stories had hit the web pretty much immediately, along with plenty of videos of the incident, filmed by multiple people.

With any luck, Yoongi would be too busy to even think about going online...

-Incoming video call from Yoongles-

Ah well. There goes that idea.

After a slight hesitation, you pushed the green answer button.

Yoongi suddenly appeared on screen. He’d clearly changed out of his concert gear and was now clad in comfy sweat pants and a jumper.

And he looked pissed.

‘Hey Yoongi...’ You trailed off, trying to sound normal.

‘Seriously? You going to pretend nothing happened?’ He stared at you in disbelief.

‘You should have called me when it happened!’ He continued on, raising his voice ever slightly.

You looked away from the screen, feeling guilty that you tried to keep it from him. Of course he would see the articles, so it was pointless to even try.

‘I’m sorry...’

Yoongi took in your defeated appearance and groaned internally for adding more upset to your already stressful day.

‘No, I’m sorry for shouting. When I saw what happened, I just got so angry.’ He paused for a moment before shaking his head. ‘You got hurt because of me...’

‘Yoongi no!’ You sat up straighter, trying to reassure him. ‘This isn’t your fault. At all!’

He nodded slowly, but you could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn’t believe you.

‘I’m going to send you the number for one of our bodyguards. If you need to go somewhere, get him to drive you.

Yoongi suddenly moved the phone in his hands. He was clearly texting you.

You couldn’t help but smile at your boyfriend.

‘Yoongi! I’m sure they have better things to do than look after me!’ His message however, had already pinged on your phone.

‘You got attacked in broad daylight Y/N. Seems pretty serious to me.’ Yoongi deadpanned as he stared you right in the eyes.

The smile fell from your face. You couldn’t argue with the fact that you would feel a lot safer with someone escorting you...

‘I won’t be going anywhere for a while. My ankle is all screwed up.’ You joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

You didn’t get to see Yoongi often these days, given how in demand he was. The last thing you wanted to do with your precious time together was be miserable.

Yoongi smirked mischievously.

‘Maybe you’ll stay out of trouble then.’ You drew back in mock offense.

‘Excuse me!?’ Where has the compassion gone to?’

‘I’m sure you’ll survive.’ He said, trying to hold back his smirk.

You couldn’t hold back and began to laugh for the first time that day.

‘I wish I could be there for you’ Yoongi suddenly spoke over your laughter. You immediately went quiet, knowing that Yoongi was still upset by the days events.

‘It’s ok. This is enough, for now.’ You smiled gently and gestured towards the phone screen separating the two of you.

‘Remind me again why you couldn’t come with me?’ Yoongi groaned and slumped back in his chair.

‘You know why. I couldn’t get off work.’ You giggled as you also snuggled down into your chair.

He frowned before once again beginning to type on his phone.

‘What’s wrong?’ You enquired curiously.

‘I’m not there, but Tae will be close by tomorrow. I’m sending him to check on you.’

‘Oh my god!’ You exclaimed with a laugh. ‘I can’t convince you I’m fine can I?’

‘Definitely not.’

You and Yoongi spent a long time on call together that night, making the most of every moment.

It was only after ending the call for the night, did you notice Taehyung had sent you a message.

Hey noona! Hope you are ready for a home spa day tomorrow!

P.S, Please tell Yoongi-hyung I made you happy... He’ll kill me if I fail!

#bts #bts x reader #imagine #one shot #scenario #reaction #fluff #angst #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #kim namjoon #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #idol!au

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katiifaetarot · 1 month

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THE READING TODAY IS: Pick-A-Card | What You Need to Hear Today

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Angel #'s - 1144, 575, 1155, 44, 1211, 123, 1234, 444, 1123, 1023, 1212, 13, 1233, 4444, 1203, 1223

Subscribe to my youtube

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There are 3 piles, and you will be picking through the Curious Cat Club playing cards//oracle cards by Stasia Burrington in the picture right below this text!!!

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PILE 1- Dim Sum | 5 of Hearts

PILE 2- Yoga | 7 of Diamonds

PILE 3- Kendama | 5 of Diamonds

** sometimes ( most of the time ) i will pick up on multiple energies that need attention or want to be expressed during the reading so i ASK YOU TO UNDERSTAND THIS DURING MY READINGS:

depending on how the reader(YOU) chooses to look at the situation or however the situation resonates for the reader(YOU) and because this is a general reading;

⚠️you HAVE to be able to use your better discernment + better judgement skills to fully absorb the message and be able to do the necessary work to keep you on track for the future you WANT for yourself⚠️

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OKAY PILE 1: Shared pleasures, Fulfillment

3 of cups, 7 of cups, the hierophant(r), 6 of staffs(wands)

Pile 1, you're trying to find an answer to your problems or some type of conclusion to a chapter so you can move on to better and attract what you deserve finally AND/OR be able to find a space to be more grateful, aware, and kind to yourself and others you appreciate and want to support!! --Dont get caught up in fantasy without action behind some of those thoughts!! How can you achieve that goal you've been setting your sights on recently OR for a couple years now? What values, resources, traits, etc-- do you need to embody while working on this goal? Think before acting, plan out your moves and stay secretive about your projects! move in silence!! Be kind to yourself and focus on yourself while you go through this period of time. it will all work out. Dont conform to societal expectations of you or your community's expectation of you; follow what you believe and follow what makes sense to you. Stay open minded and adapt accordingly. Make sure your intentions are helping you grow and helping you advance in life // towards your goals!

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OKAY PILE 2: Balance, Self-Compassion/Forgiveness

Page of Pentacles, Page of Swords, 5 of Pentacles, Strength

Dont get caught up in unexpected or unnecessary delays in your life Pile2, you have the capacity + capability to keep going and walk through this period in your life with grace, inner knowing, and pride that you're doing your best! And thats enough. Concentrate on facts and what absolutely NEEDS to get done to help make sure you stay on track towards your goals but also to help you feel better! Small steps turn into huge leaps!! How can you make yourself more prepared for your future? What does your future look like at this current moment? Be discreet. Dont get held back by loss, try to alchemize your pain into progress + action towards your goals and bettering yourself. Living your life means you WILL lose things along the way, familiarize yourself with that fact of life. But no matter what, you have to keep moving and living. Keep showing up for yourself and your goals. Dont succumb to petty behavior, objective perspective(s) and temperance will guide you through the tests. Mind over matter. Stay confident in your truth, authenticity, and actions!! Cleanse your energy. Find and Have faith in your dreams. You're responsible for your own life and progress. Get started now!!

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OKAY PILE 3: Games, Play, childish pleasure

The Chariot, Queen of Swords, The Star, Seven of Staffs

You have the advantage pile 3, so act like it. You need hope, prayer(if that resonates for you), optimism, determination, will power, strength, intuition, adaptability, boundary setting skills, boundary maintaing skills, etc-- to help you through this next chapter of your life. You are a boss b**** and such a hardworker, but you might be tired and wanting to give up, which is valid but you must keep going today, tomorrow, and until you reach a goal that can allow you feel safe and comfortable reaching any and all other goals, acquiring your own space kind of goal, maybe?(take it, if it resonates) you're doing fine and dandy. Dont feel embarrassed if you've failed // do fail, its all teaching you resiliency! stay original, authentic, and honest. You can thrive anywhere and everywhere! Bratz pile, ifykyk.

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I sincerely hope you received what you needed and released what you don't !! See you again soon!! Take it easyyy and just breathe and fllooowwww!!! you got this! byyeee~🧚🏽‍♀️✨️

**please let me know how this resonated for you in any way you can! Dont forget to Subscribe to me on Youtube and follow me on here for messages, guidance, and advice! Those are the easiest ways to support me🥺 🥹 🙏🏼

___________________________________________

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

**I AM NOT A MEDICAL OR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL; PLEASE USE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT AND DISCERNMENT TO DETERMINE IF YOU NEED OR WANT TO SEEK PROPER HELP OR TREATMENTS FOR YOURSELF OUTSIDE OF TUMBLR OR SOCIAL MEDIA!!

***AND REMEMBER: your own free will is always present within you; which has nothing to do with me or ANYBODY else. I am NOT responsible for YOUR choices after YOU consume my content on ANY of my platforms.

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

#tarot reading #tarotcommunity #tarotonline #tarot journal #pac #pick a card #pick a pile #tarot blog #witch aesthetic #spirituality #playingcards #oracle messages

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infernalodie · 2 years

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𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 || 𝐄𝐮𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚

“𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐'𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦“

Inspo: ODIE - North Face

Pairing: Black!Male!reader x Maddy Perez x Lexi Howard x Cassie Howard

Summary: You were a boy with too much love to give and too little amount for commitment. Perhaps, the adventure of desire is all that you are allowed to have nowadays.

Warnings: Angsty as hell for reader, smut, oral (Cassie receiving), masochism kink, and even a splash of passionate sex.

Words 1203

DNI IF YOU’RE YOUNGER THAN 18!

You were undeniably a romantic guy.

When you were younger, your mother always said you would be a lady killer. But if you’d known that it left you often not knowing what true love was, then maybe you would’ve tried to do better. Not just for yourself, but for the girls that came into your life expecting you to be a better guy.

Breaking their hearts wasn’t intentional, but just part of your process of looking for the right one. And it seemed after any night you spend with a girl in her bed, the distaste for them grew in a matter of minutes. Leaving you lost all over again, still searching for her.

She didn’t have a name yet. Neither did she have a face. All you knew is that you were destined to find her, sooner or later. But with your tirade of going through women like coupons at your favourite store, the hope of finding the one was fading each day that passed by you.

At first glance, you thought it to be Maddy Perez. Her nature was carefree and unbothered by a lot of the shit that happened around her. Willing to speak her mind without much care for what others might think of her. And out of school, she had a side most weren’t exactly accustomed to. Which only made her that more abstract to most.

“Y/n- Oh, God!” Her small frame was bent over, her hands resting against the dressing room wall. Eyes focused on the mirror in front of her as you pounded into her from behind. Hands holding her hips tightly as you propelled your hips forward, slamming into hers.

A hand slithered up to her neck and forced her to stand up. Her sweaty back pressed against your hot chocolate skin. She whined, moaned, and whimpered as you pounded her relentlessly. Watching the reflection of you two and enjoying the sight of her eyes rolling back.

Appraisals of your name fell from her lips as she pleaded and begged you to not stop. But after that night, she went running back to Nate Jacobs. So, she wasn’t going to ever see you as something more than a quick fuck or a friend. In no way did you blame her for not staying, it made your honest feelings more justifiable.

Then there was Cassie Howard. The girl with the golden hair, as you liked to say. She was sweet and kind to you anytime she saw you. In comparison to Lexi, Cassie wasn’t the greatest of people though.

But you didn’t like holding that type of stuff against people like her. With the cards she was dealt in life, she had to find a way to continue to live. And it didn’t surprise you that there could be some part of her that was broken. Some part of her she tried to fill with sex and drugs.

“Y/n!” Her thighs shook with each lap of your tongue over her slit. Watching her face contort in pleasure as you continued to suck and lick eagerly at her clit. Fingers continued to pump into her tight entrance as her walls fluttered around your digits.

Her skin was so soft as you squeezed at it and rubbed sensually. Showing some sign of comfort as your tongue and fingers showed the opposite. It was enough to send the girl’s mind into a flurry as her hands rested on the sides of your head. She began to rock her hips against your lips and tongue, desperate to reach the precipice that she deserved.

“Holy fuck!” She cried, tits bouncing as her hips jolted up to grind against you.

You worked her up to it until she let out a cry. Body shaking and twitching as you pulled your face from her heat. Allowing your fingers to continue to pump slowly in and out of her pussy. Softly curling your fingers and smiling when her legs twitched with a whimper.

But just like Maddy, she left you feeling unfulfilled. Still continuing to search for this girl that you knew must be real or else what was the point of love in the first place, right? Wouldn’t it just be a false construct shown and shoved in your face since you were just a toddler? That’s something you would like to believe, but when you went to school and saw all the couples and happy, you knew there was something out there for you. Perhaps it wasn’t something as beautiful as others, but at least it would be something, right?

Well, that was what you had hoped when Lexi came your way. That soft smile of hers on her lips as she showed her passions through and through. The way she talked about her certain hobbies or dreams and spoke with such confidence or enthusiasm showed enough of how good of a person she was.

Her whimpers bounced off the walls of the small change room. They sounded in your ear where her mouth resided. Her arms wrapped around your neck as she slowly rocked her hips. Trying her absolute best to take your entire cock. Every time she came down to the base, her mind became hazy and she shot back up.

Your hands softly rested on her waist and helped her ride your cock. Eyes shut in bliss as you soaked in the feeling of her walls convulsively squeezing around your length. Her soft whimpers in your ear as she bounced quicker on your cock. Whimpers transform into moans as she clung onto you for tear life.

What you hadn’t expected were her teeth to latch onto your shoulder. The pain sent a shock through your system, but it numbed when you found it to be somewhere between pleasurable and relaxing. So, with that in mind, you wrapped an around Lexi’s waist and another grabbed onto her shoulder before you suddenly began to pound upwards into her.

It was enough to have her teeth extracting from your flesh with a moan. But was silenced when you grabbed her face and slammed your lips together. You swallowed her moans she tried to communicate that she was about to cum. And when she did, her entire body shook.

A breathy moan fell from her lips as her hips twitched forwards, rocking unsteadly. You sent abrupt thrust upwards, ripping cries from her lips as she continued to kiss you sensually. Her hands running up and down your chest with a smile.

All three of those girls were ones that you expected to possibly her. The girl that you would be able to call your soulmate. But they all just came out to be hookups. Nothing more and nothing less.

And it hurt knowing that for however long, you would be working at this North Face. Folding clothes and talking to parents who just want a cheap deal for their kids. It was a sad and miserable life you would continue to live until life sought you fit for something more.

Until then, for every girl that walked through the doors, you would fall in love with each one and hope there might be something in store for the two of you.

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writethrough · 1 year

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Hi ;) I don't know if you're currently accepting requests, but if you do, may I request a Malcolm Bright x Reader fic please ? TW : Self-h*rm, anxiety, depression, ED, mental illness.

Reader and Malcolm are very close friends so they both lovingly care about each other. Reader hasn't been answering any of his calls and messages for a few days, which is unlike her 'cause she always picks up the phone when he calls her. He starts to grow more and more worried, especially because he knows about her mental health struggles. So naturally he decides to go check on her. When he arrives he finds her in a very bad state : depression, anxiety, ED and Self h*rm have been hitting her harder that usual. He stays in at her house for a few days to take care of her, which includes reassuring her when she gets panic attacks, telling her that he strongly cares about her and that nothing will make him leave her, laying beside her to help her sleep, hugging her etc. Eventually she starts to feel a bit better.

I know it's very emotionally charged, both with dark stuff and comfort/care stuff, so if you feel like you can't do it, it's totally okay, I understand. Do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable.

Please take care 🤍 Sending you hugs.

To Make It Through

(Malcolm Bright x Gender-Neutral Reader)

Warnings: Insinuations of self-harm, ED, depression, anxiety, and mental illness.

Word Count: 1203

A/N: I wasn’t sure how to begin writing this. The most important goal for me was writing this with respect to those who suffer from self-harm, depression, mental illness, ED, and anxiety. I have never experienced the first four, but I’ve dealt with mild to moderate anxiety, I believe since I was young (I’d like to add, I’ve never been diagnosed by a doctor for anxiety). I have no idea what someone who lives with these struggles goes through. I wanted this to be a comforting story, one that hopefully brings a little light to everyone who reads it.

I didn't want to include too many details that could be triggering or potentially disrespectful to those who deal with the topics above.

And to anyone who is suffering and in need of help, below are different hotlines and resources.

National Eating Disorders Association

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

The Trevor Project

National Institute of Mental Health

Malcolm unlocked your front door with the extra key you gave him.

It’d been three days since he last heard from you—no responses to his texts. No calls or video chats, not even a dumbass meme. And he was worried.

You were religious in your response time to him. Honestly, he had no idea how you could send a text off so quickly.

First, he noticed the dishes on your counter. A few days' worth. Then, the blanket was on the floor instead of folded neatly over the couch. Your curtains were drawn tight, and the couple of plants you had were a little less lively than when he was here last week.

He slowly pushed your bedroom door open so as not to startle you.

It was difficult to see through the darkness, but from what he could tell, clothes were thrown around the room. And he could make out a thin layer of dust on your bookshelf.

He took in your curled state under your comforter. Only the top of your head peeked out.

He didn’t need to ask you what was wrong. You’d known each other long enough for him to recognize the signs.

After slipping his shoes and coat off, he gently lowered himself beside you. He didn’t move the covers or speak, only placed a hand close enough to your back so you could feel him while not being touched.

He didn’t know if you were awake, but that didn’t matter. He’d wait however long it took until you were ready to acknowledge him.

He wondered when you last ate—those dishes were probably older than he thought. He tried to recall if there were any warning signs he should’ve picked up on when he was here last time. But you seemed fine.

You were also very good at hiding it.

About an hour later, you shifted to face him, still beneath the blankets.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

He whispered your name. You didn’t move.

He tried again. “Can I do anything for you?”

You sniffled, and his heart nearly broke.

“Can I move the blanket, honey?” he asked.

The top of your head moved slowly in a nod.

He hooked a finger and pulled down carefully, revealing water-lined eyes with bags under them.

He thought as much. When things worsened, you never slept well.

“What do you need?” he whispered as gently as he could.

You didn’t look at him as your hand emerged to clutch your pillowcase.

“I don’t know,” you mumbled.

He nodded. He couldn’t let you stay like this.

“Then, could you do something for me? I know you won’t want to, but you can come right back. I promise.”

You glanced at him, then looked away. As much of an acknowledgment as he would get.

“Go take a shower. Take as long as you need,” he said.

You didn’t fight him, didn’t argue, and he took that as more of a bad sign than anything.

Once your bathroom door closed, he stripped the bed and threw everything in the washer. After replacing the sheets, he put the discarded clothes in your hamper and tossed any trash he spotted. He kept the blinds closed. Baby steps.

He was finishing putting the dishes away when you walked out in a towel and back into your room to change.

You didn’t ask what he was doing or tell him he didn’t have to do it. You almost ignored him.

You had already returned to bed when he entered. This time, you were against the headboard, staring off into space.

He sat beside you.

Your hands rested above the covers, wrists on display, and his shoulders relaxed.

It hadn’t gotten that bad.

He let you have your silence. Sometimes it was what you needed.

“Why are you friends with me?”

Sometimes it wasn’t.

“Because I need you,” he said.

It was all he thought to say. Superficial compliments wouldn’t stop your mind from spiraling. Hopefully, you’d believe him.

You shook your head. “You deserve better.”

He wanted to shield you from your own words.

“(Y/N), I need you to look at me,” he said. And when you didn’t, he repeated himself. “Please?”

You glanced at him, rubbing the hem of your shirt between your fingers.

“Have I ever lied to you?” he asked gently.

You shook your head slowly, hunching your shoulders.

“I will always always tell you the truth,” he said. “You’re my best friend. That’s never going to change, okay?” He carefully pulled your hand between his. “I care about you so much, (Y/N). You’re never going to get rid of me.”

You sniffled, glancing at him through your lashes.

Tears lined his own eyes, threatening to spill forth.

You were his best friend. He’d be lost without you, and he needed you to know that he’d never go anywhere, that he belonged by your side. You made him feel seen. You made him feel sane.

Whatever you needed from him, he would give.

“Can you…Can you hold me?” you whispered, trying to keep your voice from breaking.

He answered by laying on his back, waiting for you to settle on his chest, hands still connected.

“Get some rest,” he whispered. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

—

Malcolm stayed with you for the next few days. He even called Gil and said he had to take a personal day, much to Gil’s surprise and pleasure. Thankfully, Gil didn’t ask any questions. Malcolm never would’ve broken your trust like that.

Today was the first day you had gotten dressed. Malcolm considered that a massive sign you were starting to feel more like yourself.

“How’re you feeling?” He took in every feature of your face, searching for the most minute twitch.

“I’m…I’m better.” You nodded slowly. “I’m not okay. I know that, but I’m better than I was. Not everything’s as…dark.”

The corner of his mouth tilted up in a sympathetic smile. His fingers found yours, holding them lightly.

“All healing takes time. And I’ll be right here whenever you need me.” His eyes stayed locked with yours, nothing but sincerity in them.

You swallowed. “Thank you.”

He shook his head slightly. “You never need to thank me for doing something I want to do.”

It brought tears to your eyes—how kind he was. Malcolm was the only person you could trust with everything. He knew what it was like to be trapped in your own mind, to hate so many parts of yourself that you want to rip out.

And each time you were on the verge of relapsing, he’d pull you away from the edge. As you’d done for him.

“Why don’t we take a walk? See how many squirrels we can feed,” he said, offering you his arm.

Your face lifted, not a smile, but not so melancholy as it had been.

“Okay.”

Grasping the crook of his elbow, you interlocked your fingers there and let him lead you outside.

The sun's warmth sunk into your skin as Malcolm launched into what his mother was trying to rope him into. And when the first chuckle in a week passed your lips, the darkness didn’t feel so encompassing anymore.

Taglist: @phenomenal-bird

If anyone would like to be added to my taglist, please comment or message me and tell me which character you'd like to receive updates on.

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akashigadabi · 1 year

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Messes Happen

Pairing: Yandere All For One x Consenting Reader

Summary: Sometimes messes happen, even with someone as meticulous as All For One involved.

Word Count: 1203

Genre: Humor, Romance, Fluff, Crime, ???

Rating: M for mentioned Blood & Gore, Explicit Language, Suggestive Language

Warnings: Yandere, Blood & Gore (implied/referenced, not Reader’s), Consensual Relationship, Explicit Language, Suggestive Language, Psychic Bond, Morbid Humor, Murder (not Reader’s)

Other: Reader has a quirk. Reader is written so reader is gender neutral as far as gender/gender identity and romantic or sexual orientation.

Ao3.

“That could have gone better,” you mutter, disgusted with the recent turn of events. You hold still as All For One uses his handkerchief to wipe a few specks of blood off of your face. Truly you hadn’t expected such a mess, let alone for it to get everywhere, yet here you stood in one of your better suits coming to terms with the fact that you’d likely have to scrap the entire thing. Such a shame when you’d only purchased it last month, especially since it makes your ass look incredible.

All For One, who seems nonchalant despite the amount of fresh crimson fluid and viscera painting his own crisp suit, only hums. He’s altogether too calm for someone who just used one of his newer Quirks to eliminate a threat during a business deal gone bad. It speaks to how often he’s done this, because he isn’t an unfeeling killing machine. For crying out loud, the man donates monthly contributions toward charities which concern themselves with animal and child welfare, among others. He also just so happens to not possess a single compunction toward killing someone, though to be fair, the dead man—or what’s left of him, anyway—did try to stab you before All For One tore him apart.

“Are these sort of dealings usually this messy?”

You sincerely fucking hope not if you’re to attend more of them together in the future. You can’t keep buying expensive suits each month to replace the previous one just because some asshole decided not to exercise his sense of self-preservation. Fuck that noise. You’ll revive the next one to kill him yourself all over again if he gets his unmentionables sprayed all over your next outfit. You’d rather spend your money on new books or tea blends.

“They’re messier sometimes, though I prefer cleaner methods,” All For One replies, sounding as if he deeply regrets his latest life choices. Probably not for any reason some hero type or the authorities would accept. His lips twist into a grimace as he finishes removing all traces of gore from your face only to move onto your throat. Thank fuck you don’t have to go through this alone. You feel like you’d miss a spot.

“I second that motion.”

Amusement twists All For One’s lips into a smirk.

“Believe me, dear one, next time I won’t choose this Quirk for this particular purpose.”

Fucking good. It would suck to be splattered in the carnage of such a Quirk every time All For One needed to deal with a problematic individual. Arterial spray mixed with guts by far constitutes the worst thing to ever splash onto your face. You could live without this happening again. All For One would undoubtedly kill again, but it didn’t need to result in both of you tossing out a million yen* ensemble each.

“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

His smirk transitions into something softer that makes something flutter low in your belly. All For One really makes such a gorgeous sight to behold. Smiling only intensifies his attractiveness. This man’s honest to gods too beautiful to exist. It’s not fair for anyone who has to lay eyes on him.

“I suppose you will. Your turn.”

He offers the handkerchief to you with the bloodiest parts folded inward so you have some clean fabric to use. You waste no time in starting on the worst offenders, though you feel self-conscious right off the bat since it gives him nothing to focus on but you as you work. You try to ignore his gaze as you wipe both as quickly and gently as possible. Like you only a few minutes previous, large swatches of vermillion stain his face and throat. The pale expanse of sensitive flesh stretching from his jaw to his collarbone somehow appears extra fetching as the handkerchief glides over it. You swallow away the lump in your throat, aware of him tracking every movement.

“What do we do now?”

Most of all you want to divert his attention to something other than your current proximity. Standing this close to him, his natural scent tickles your nose. You want to lick the unblemished skin around his pulse point, which does not seem appropriate given the circumstances. He just does things to you with his presence alone, and the last thing you need is him sensing the trajectory of your thoughts. How embarrassing would that be? So of course you have a tight leash on those emotions, the bond smothered to embers. Of course, he already has your number, judging by that fucking glint in his too-pretty eyes.

“Well, once you finish cleaning up the rest of this mess on me, we’ll need to change our outfits. Then I thought we could eat at that little Korean place you enjoy so much.”

Though the offer startles you, you don’t see a reason to decline. After the shit beginning to your evening, Korean sounds amazing. Every time he invites you out to dinner, All For One tends to pay since he’s loaded. You’re not penniless, but you can’t deny that with all the pies he’s poked his fingers into over these past few years versus your single stream of revenue, he has more money squirreled away in various places. He’s been active in the Underground longer than you have anyway.

“That sounds lovely,” you agree, swiping the last of the gunk away with a flourish. “Then maybe after dinner we can take a walk in the park.”

“Wonderful,” the tall villain in front of you drawls before reaching out to tuck a few stray wisps of hair behind your ear.

Heat suffuses your cheeks as you blush from the contact. He’s been doing that a lot lately. Little touches that fill you with a sort of longing you never expected to feel. He has to be aware of what he’s doing.

“Now, uh…how do we get back home like this? We can’t just walk outside covered in blood.”

“Of course not. What do you take me for, some rank ameteur? I always bring along a second set of clothing with me, just in case.”

That being said, he snapped his fingers, revealing two neat piles of clothes laid out on a low table. You can only stare at them for several beats of your heart. Your brain needs the time to reboot anyway. Does this mean what you think it means? Because what the actual fuck, All For One!? How often does this happen to him?! Instead of voicing those thoughts, however, you inhale as deeply as possible to center yourself, then ask a more neutral question instead.

“Don’t tell me. You have some sort of pocket dimension Quirk so you can carry around whatever you want in fucking hammerspace?”

All For One’s expression shifts into an all too familiar sight. One eyebrow arches in question, crinkles appear around his eyes, and an amused yet smug half-smile curls his soft lips. That says it all. Because of course he does. Why wouldn’t he? His backup plans have backup plans.

“I’m touched. You really do know me oh so well, don’t you, my sweet little heretic?”

…

*if you’re curious, each of their suits is worth 1,329,950 yen exactly—that’s 10k USD based on the yen to USD ratio today. :)

#afo x reader #afo x you #yandere x reader #all for one x reader #all for one x you #yandere all for one x reader #yandere afo #yandere all for one #yandere x willing reader #yandere bnha x reader #yandere bnha #reader insert fanfiction #reader insert #gender neutral reader #gender neutral language

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aeor-is-for-reccing · 1 year

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This week’s theme is one of our recurring themes, Hidden Gems (Fics with less than 100 Kudos that deserve more love and attention).

For the future, specifically for our recurring themes, we will only be reccing two fics from the same author, with overflow recs going towards the next time the theme comes around. This rule does not apply to themes that will only be featured once.

Bleeding Out For You by Xhorhasian_Beacon (3853, Teen)

Warnings: None

Adeen kidnaps Caleb in an attempt to find out where Essek is. Meanwhile, Essek, Astrid, and Eadwulf are looking for Caleb and whoever took him.

Reccer says: Nice whump with a satisfying rescue

Cold Be Hand and Heart and Bone by LuckyOwlsFoot (5723, Teen)

Warnings: None

A follow up to the very delicious whump "Hang the Hourglass". Essek is having trouble adjusting after his resurrection.

Reccer says: Very soft comfort while acknowledging the traumas that occurred in the previous story.

Shapes in the Smoke by Luckyowlsfoot (2817, General)

Warnings: None

Essek dances aerial silk. Caleb is highly affected.

Reccer says: It is able to skim a little of a story in the background

Don't Save Me (I Think I'm In Hell) by Luckyowlsfoot (5882, Mature)

Warnings: implied/referenced torture

Essek is suspected for treason and questioned. it is not a good time.

Reccer says: It shows some vulnerability and the intimacy of trying to heal

Time: Every Wizard's True Enemy, Every Wizard's True Desire by Ms_Fahrenheit (2466, Teen)

Warnings: None

Caleb considers the hubris and temptations of past wizards and battles his own.

Reccer says: It shows how when so many wizards failed because they were alone, but Caleb and Essek help make each other better.

Still Sands by Luckyowlsfoot (1038, Teen)

Warnings: None

sequel to hang the hourglass. covers esseks return and fills in some gaps

Reccer says: Emotional with a hopeful ending

Thinner Than A Razor by Cers (4066, Teen)

Warnings: None

It goes through the major points of Essek and Caleb’s lives showing how similar they are.

Reccer says: I like the poetic writing style.

I fell in love with the dirty promise that you made me keep by Anonymous (5086, Teen)

Warnings: Infidelity, Illusions to stillbirth and infanticide, postpartum depression

Jester struggles after a mistaken affair and Essek helps her out.

Reccer says: While the premise was originally a turn off and most of the fic is spent with Essek and Jester, the side of Shadowgast seen in this fics is both interesting and different. Also Babygast obtained in a very different way than usual.

Chickening Out by biscuityskies (2181, Teen)

Warnings: None

Caleb accidentally polymorphs into a chicken. That's it.

Reccer says: This is a fic I smiled all the way through reading. Definitely a Crack fic but very enjoyable. Does need an Ao3 account to read.

A Moment by PenchantForPoison (1004, Teen)

Warnings: None

Essek and Caleb make out and get interrupted.

Reccer says: The dialogue is chef's kiss

Compass Point Me Anywhere Closer to You by LunaSakamoto (1203, Teen)

Warnings: None

Caleb breaks down after destroying the T-Dock. Essek is there for him.

Reccer says: Essek is trying his best in this fic and it's very sweet.

We received two recs for this fic!

Amber and Amethyst by find_me_in_the_ivy (8816, Explicit)

Warnings: No warnings

Modern with magic wizard grad school AU where Two wizards catch each other's eye across a lecture hall and wind up having sex about it

First Reccer says: I love how immediately into each other Caleb and Essek are. Soft dom Essek and Caleb being a good boy are top notch. Second Reccer says: Nothing

stolen from the night sky by royalgreen (allyoop) (1629, General)

Warnings: No archive warnings apply

Canon divergence AU with a smattering of Stardust vibes, spun into original worldbuilding that I freaking love. Essek needs living stardust to complete the most ambitious spell he has ever cast.

Reccer says: The worldbuilding, the vibes, the potentiality. Perfect little vignette that leaves you wanting more.

[Name], The Wonder Cat by Professor_Rye (10020, General)

Warnings: none

Essek gets Caleb a Moorbounder kitten. Hijinks ensue!

Reccer says: It's extremely cute and fun, a little bit of domestic shadowgast.

Three weekends in Rexxentrum by Technojuicebox (1157, Mature)

Warnings: None

fluffy shadowgast keep getting interrupted via sending my various members of the mighty nein

Reccer says: Nothing

Hold Me Steady by Luckyowlsfoot (5000, Explicit)

Warnings: pre-established kink of begging to the point of cnc and orgasm denial

Creative use of shibari! Dom!Caleb and Bratt!Essek

Reccer says: Nothing

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast.

Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week's theme is Professor Widogast, so stay tuned!

#critical role #fan fiction rec list #aeor is for lovers #shadowgast #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #hidden gems

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vivelarevolution13 · 16 days

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WIP Tag Game

Tysm for the tag <3 @vostok3-ka and I'm so sorry for what's about to happen

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Oh, Jesus. Here we go - various problematic standalone chapters-to-be-cannibalized/full WIPs from various subfolders in no particular order, titled like a train wreck because I think I'm sooo clever and funny right up until I forget which is which:

the defiance of all living things

de l'autre côté de l'eau comme un echo

not all of god's creatures are creatures of god down here man

ГЛАВНОЕ РЕБЯТА СЕРДЦЕМ НЕ СТАРЕТЬ (REWORK)

bella ciao origano version

bayou hurricane blues 2009

across the ocean, the sound of home

random roadtrip chonk ft gabe

calmly I walk down a crooked road 0903

take me to the water's edge (blue lips)

19:53 south of siberia (a fost sau n-a fost?) v2.1

what's a nice nutcase like you doing in a place like astoria 1203

211223 sleep ghosts

orph preludes (we used to protest/gamble)

ORPHEUS MAIN CURR 010424

ORPH.3 SAINTS GO MARCHING IN ALT V.2 080424

orph interludes (je te laisserai des mots)

part ii (end of the american empire)

how i learned to stop worrying and love the humor tag (86d)

НИКТО НЕ ЗАБЫТ И НИЧТО НЕ ЗАБЫТО (REWORK)

НОЧНОЙ РАЗГОВОР (FIGURE OUT)

yesterday's news

future starts slow

we kick each other into gear (and off buildings)

honey it will come back (86 maybe)

after orpheus question mark

ain't no betting joint big enough (for both of us to walk away winners)

DJELEM DJELEM (REWORK)

I think... that's it? There might be some scattered around my laptop that I've forgotten about, which. Good.

No pressure tagging @buckrogers, @dharmasharks, @dontcallmebree, @theairshiphangs, @between-a-ship-and-a-hard-place and absolutely anyone else who might want to join in, bc my brain is blanking. Anyway, let me be nosy and discover your fics!

#tag game #wip tag game #ty aisha this was fun and also gave me a migraine<3 i need to clean house asap

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a-witch-in-endor · 1 year

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Three Jewish Commonwealths: Reflections on Religion

Today has been Yom Ha’atzma’ut, or Israel’s Independence Day. I’ve been thinking about what it means to live within a historical period while able to reflect on past time periods, and my “thinking out loud” (or: via tumblr post) on that has turned into this slightly unhinged text on the history of religious development in the three Jewish Commonwealths. I have no excuse. Just lots of thoughts. Feel free to join me on a meandering path through religious history...

Please note: my expertise is religious studies, not in modern politics. If you have a unique perspective or expertise in politics, I’m generally happy to chat (recently met a previous head of the Shin Bet; it was intense; I was interested and frightened), but at this point I have learned Too Much and it is all falling out of my ears, so I won’t be engaging much with political discussions.

The First Jewish Commonwealth: ???? BCE - 586 BCE

When and how did the First Jewish Commonwealth come about? The truth is: we don’t really know.

The earliest potential reference to Israel is the Merneptah Stele (1213 BCE - 1203 BCE). It’s absolutely gorgeous! Behold!

https://www.worldhistory.org/image/9384/stele-of-merenptah/

Does it refer to Israel? Maybe. I’d err on the side of “probably”. The hieroglyphs do lend to being read as “Israel”, and the context would make sense. But there are alternative readings, and it’s an unusually early reference. For comparison, David (second king of United Israel, after what the Bible reports to be a long period of “Judges” [read: tribal chieftans]) looks to be around at 1000 BCE.

And here is the recent discovery at Mount Ebal in Hebrew, which parallels almost absurdly well with a Torah story, which is dated to around 1200 BCE.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/inscriptions/mt_ebal_inscription/

So let’s assume that we’re unsure about the stele but happy with the tablets. The tablets tell us a few things: worship of the God of Israel was already in place (note: it does not tell us the extent, just the existence); Hebrew literacy had begun; the Torah story of the curses of Mt Ebal have some kind of historical basis.

The Jewish cultural narrative is that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, escaped with Divine aid, spent 40 years in the wilderness, and ended up in the Holy Land (where some of their ancestors had previously been but had left due to famine). It’s a great story. In terms of its historicity, it’s unclear. Until recently, archaeologists were tending toward being minimalists and stating that basically nothing was historically accurate up to, really, the reign of King David. It turns out, some hats do need to be eaten (due to things like the stele and tablets above), but they can keep some of their hats.

In terms of historical evidence outside archaeology, there are some fun linguistic and historical-social reasons to assume that at least some of the people who would come to call themselves Israelites had an experience of slavery in Egypt. For more on this, I recommend Richard Elliot Freidman’s “The Exodus” (biblical scholar; thesis: a small group went through slavery and came to Israel, introduced their monotheism/monolatry, and the story became part of the cultural narrative) and Jan Assman’s “Moses the Egyptian: the Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism” (egyptologist; thesis: the short-lived monotheistic/monolatric cult of Pharaoh Akhenaten influenced Jewish, and therefore monotheistic, history).

(Also, by-the-by, they’re both wonderful guys as well as fascinating scholars.)

What we do know is: there was a monotheistic cult (or perhaps a monolatric cult) who worshipped what we now recognise as “God” with a capital G. There was a certain amount of theological messiness with Canaanite polytheism (inasmuch as polytheism really exists, which is a rant for another day). The lines between the two are very blurry indeed, which indicates that much of what we now think of as “Israelite” religion was really a development within “Canaanite” religion. Genetically speaking, we know that “Israelites” and “Canaanites” were really the same people. So it’s a safe assumption, when one adds the archaeology and the genetics and the linguistics all together, to see the development of the Israelite religion as internal to the Land of Canaan/Israel, as well as pondering how/when/to whom an exodus from Egypt really occurred.

That’s a short note on the origins of Israel. By the time we get to King David, we’re more comfortably in Israelite history, though how united his reign really was remains unclear. But we do know that, however united it might have been under his son King Solomon, it was not destined to remain that way.

The Time of Two Kingdoms: The Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah

The good news is that we’re in more solid territory, archaeologically speaking.

The bad news is that the kingdom split asunder. The Southern Kingdom had, in Jerusalem, the Holy Temple (known herein as the First Temple, which is spoiler-y, I suppose). The First Temple was the central place of worship for the monotheistic cult, but it was in constant battle with bamot, or “high places”, where Israelites would worship God (with a capital G) in ways that were, um, a little idolatrous according to the Temple cult.

In the Northern Kingdom, more bamot were built. According to the biblical narrative (which, at this point in biblical literature, is mostly dry history with a good helping of Polemic Against the North), King Jeroboam I (first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel) built two particular sanctuaries at Beth El and Dan, in which he placed two golden calves for worship. Cows were certainly an important religious symbol, and golden calves have an, um, historical... thread... in Israelite religion, so it’s entirely possible it played out this way. I’ve been to the ruins of Dan and the sanctuary there, which fit pretty well with what the biblical narrative describes. Beth El is a lot trickier to identify, and if it has been found (which is arguable), it doesn’t really seem to align as well.

The Southern Kingdom fluctuates in terms of religious practice, but seems to stick more clearly to what we would recognise from biblical literature. However, to be clear, this is because the Southern Kingdom of Judah is where most of the biblical literature gets written, and even when it doesn’t get written there, it usually gets edited there. So take its aspersion on the North with a grain of kosher salt.

The North Falls: 722 BCE

The Northern Kingdom eventually falls to the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The entire land was divided into tribal settlements even when it was “United”. The North consists of Ten Tribes. The South is mostly just Judah, which is where it got its name. Therefore, when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was dispersed, we mostly lost ten whole tribes. It’s a huge upset to Israelite history, and certainly to the history of religious development in the area. The Southern relationship with the Temple tightens. Whatever was going on in the North, religiously, is understood by the Southern Kingdom to have been their downfall.

(Note: some groups claim to be part of the Ten Northern Tribes. Most famously, Ethiopian Jews have an oral history of descent from the Tribe of Dan. While we don’t know the historicity of that claim, the Ethiopian Jewish community is old af, with whispers of their existence reaching the mainstream Jewish community as early as the 9th Century CE, so it’s certainly plausible. Most Ethiopian Jews now live in the Modern State of Israel, having arrived under the Law of Return after fleeing persecution. Their experience is a mixed bag; better than Ethiopia, and with much love of the Holy Land, but Israel retains a racism problem that is having a significant impact on their ability to thrive.)

The First Exile: 586ish BCE - 538ish BCE

We’re in safer hands now, historically speaking. Israel is enough of an entity that not only are they popping up everywhere archaeologically, but the story of the exile itself is recorded (above is a pretty cuneiform tablet referencing the exile, from 580ish BCE, in the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin).

The Babylonian Exile began and ended in stages, which means that while we do know when things occurred, it’s harder to define when the exile actually began and ended. For the Israelites, this meant life without access to a) the Holy Land, which the entire religion was built on, and b) the Holy Temple, where worship occurred. In this time, we see the first seedlings of religious practice being community-based in a way that wasn’t, um, arguably idolatrous according to the Temple cult. We might call this the beginning of the era of synagogues.

The seeds of messianic redemption are born in a pre-exile world, and probably sustain the Jews through the First Exile. The idea is messy and contradictory, but it boils down to: God will bring us home. Jeremiah tells the exiles to pray for the country in which they reside (which is the basis of the Prayer for the Country that Jews still do in synagogues today).

Why did this exile happen (historically) and why did the exiles think it happened? Largely, the First Exile was due to a game of politics. The kingdoms were small and needed to make allies, and variously become vassals of other states, and sometimes made decisions that were obviously poor in the grand scheme of history but weren’t so obviously poor at the time. The story retained in the South would be mixed explanations about turning against God: idolatry, lack of trust, trying to play games with empires instead of just trusting that God would protect, etc.

But what really bothers me about it is: if the North and South had managed to be consistent allies with one another, or perhaps not split in the first place, they probably would have been in a much stronger position. But it seems they were constantly squabbling with one another, including (but not limited to) royal assassinations. And in a sea filled with bigger, more dangerous fish, it probably doomed them more than a little.

Return From Exile (Thanks to Cyrus the Messiah): 538ish BCE

Big picture history: the Neo-Assyrian Empire went caput, giving a brief period of terrifying political vacuum (at which point the Southern Kingdom of Judah kept changing its mind on allies and betting on the wrong horses), leading to the rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The Assyrians had scattered the Northern Kingdom of Israel (722 BCE). The Babylonians then exiled the Southern Kingdom of Judah (destruction of the First Temple was 586 BCE). Then the Babylonians fell to the Persians, and we came to the reign of the only non-Jewish king referred to as a moshiach (messiah) in biblical literature: Cyrus the Great.

We love him. Why? Because Cyrus had some weirdly forward-thinking views about religion, and he sent the Jews home and supported the rebuilding of the Holy Temple.

The Cyrus Cylinder details how Cyrus was in the practice of sending peoples home and restored shrines. We stan one (1) Achaemenidian Emperor.

The Second Jewish Commonwealth: 586ish BCE - 70 CE

Second Temple Judaism was a slightly different creature. The Israelites had now survived being uprooted from the sacred land and had to deal with what it meant to, well, replant themselves on it. This is the period in which the prophets of old drew their last breaths and a more textual Judaism came to be.

Some scholars argue that this is when the religion developed from monolatry (the worship of one god, but the belief that many exist) to monotheism (the belief that there is only one God). Honestly, I am decreasingly convinced that any of these labels reflect religious reality anyway, so take what you want from that. However, the idea that the experience of being away from the land belonging to the local god could develop into the concept that there truly is only One God is, in itself, fascinating as a development.

Our expectations, when an indigenous religion is uprooted from the land, might be that the development is a) defensive (a scramble to keep the culture and practices alive, sometimes to the point of adapting in opposition to the surrounding culture), b) inwardly assimilative (not always deliberately, the beliefs/culture/practices of the surroundings become part of the indigenous religion), and c) outwardly assimilative (not always deliberately, the beliefs/culture/practices of the indigenous group become part of the surroundings). If we agree with the scholars who claim that monotheism was a development of exile, we have quite a bizarre example of religious development which fits under none of those categories.

(Super interested in examples of other indigenous cultures developing in exile in a way that doesn’t fit a, b, or c. Do reach out if you know of any.)

But the newly-returned exiles aren’t safe. Yehud/Judea is still a teeny thing without much political power. It goes through phases of vassalhood, independence, and occupation (famously by the Greeks, who then got booted out in a rebellion, which you might know as the Story of Chanukah).

The Second Temple Mark I was a bit plain compared to the First Temple, but became absolutely glorious when restructured under the reign of Herod. However, it never quite gains complete centrality. The reason now is less to do with alternative worship (such as the bamot of old), but rather to do with groups like the Pharisees (a group devoted to the working classes, interested in literacy and learning, and... you know, law and stuff, we stan) and the Essenes (who say “fuck it, everything’s corrupt, let’s go to the wilderness and not have babies for some reason”).

Messianism/redemption theology continues to develop, now utilising the previous exile-and-return as a model for what will happen in the future, too. Various messianic figures pop up, famously including Bar Kokhba (a military leader who led a rebellion aimed at Jewish independence from Roman occupation). He turns out to be one of the most influential messianic figures, because the failure of his great revolt led to...

The Second Exile: 70 CE - 1948 CE?

The Romans eventually got tired of the people they were occupying fighting back and decided to squash all future rebellion through... well, murder, destruction, and exile. The Second Temple was destroyed. Due to the seeds planted by the Pharisees (regarding Jewish practice of individuals and communities being able to exist outside of the Temple-based system), Rabbinic Judaism is able to grow from the ashes of the Temple. It was not a guarantee that Judaism could survive at all, but thanks to the rabbinic movement and the fact that the Jews had survived one exile, Judaism struggled forward.

Why did this exile happen and how was it understood? Historically, we can point to the constant occupations and empires. But the rabbis have woven different narratives alongside the politics: it happened because of sinat chinam, they said; “baseless hatred” between Jews. Or it happened because leaders were so interested in harsh justice and forgot that mercy has always been a part of the law. Either way, the surviving story is less interested in the evil of the Roman Empire and more interested in how our values and actions on an individual level spin out of control and affect the whole world. It’s a slightly less theological explanation. While the First Exile was due to “God is punishing us”, the Second Exile is understood more along the lines of “we caused this with our actions and values”.

The Second Exile stretches long and far. Empires fall, as they are wont to, and other empires colonise and capture and conflict with one another. Jews spread out farther than ever before, but whenever they set down roots anywhere, expulsion is a constant threat.

Christianity develops out of a mixture of Judaism and Hellenism, based on the cult following of a messianic figure, and crawls to a position of power and then starts running in the way it spreads. Islam is birthed by a single central leader with inspiration from both Christianity and Judaism and is immediately on the move and spreading. Christian and Islamic political entities conflict with one another. Things are generally worse for Jews in Christendom and pogroms are a semi-constant threat. Ashkenazi Jews, as a result, become more religiously defensive (see point a above) and develop a firmer view of the law. Rule under Islamic empires is usually better, but maintains a level of hostility, such as special taxes being levied and not being allowed to be physically “above Muslims”.

The messianic dream continues to develop; the idea that “God will take us home” remains a deep and important thread in Jewish religion and liturgy. Jewish languages develop out of Hebrew and relationship with the outside world, such as Judeo-Arabic and Yiddish. Jews suspicious of the outside world tend to be more entrenched in messianic ideals.

The Enlightenment seems like a positive thing for Jewish life in exile; many Jews get increasingly comfortable with life in exile. Some are more suspicious, due to events such as the Dreyfus Affair, and start to deliberately move the messianic dream into a potential political reality, now referred to as Zionism. The messianic dream becomes a political goal to end exile.

Big picture history: The land is captured and colonised and recaptured time and time again. For a very brief version, it goes (deep breath): Roman Empire into Byzantine Empire, conquered by the Arab Caliphate (7th Century), conquered by the Fatimid Caliphate (10th Century), some skirmishes with the Byzantines wanting things back, into the Crusades where it went back and forth for centuries (no fun at all, do not recommend, zero stars), then the Mongols turned up and were ultimately defeated by the Egyptian Mamluks (13th Century), who were then conquered by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire (16th Century), who were then defeated by the British (20th Century). Phew.

In this time, the holy site of the Temple (”Temple Mount”, or Mount Moriah) has been the site of the First Temple (destroyed by the Babylonians), the site of the Second Temple (destroyed by the Romans), the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque / the Dome of the Rock (still there), and, briefly, an Augustinian Church (I admittedly do not know how they did this, but I imagine they just turned up and said “this is a church now”).

Back to the exile itself: one third of all Jews were murdered in the 20th Century in the Sho’ah. (We’ve just about recovered those raw numbers at this point, but the world population has gone from 2 billion to 8 billion in that time - so in reality, we’re a quarter of what we should be.) The British were occupying a land with some significant violence occurring and no living empire to give it back to, and they overpromised to get allies. A mess was made. The UN made a half-hearted suggestion about trying to fulfill two promises at once, and we get to...

The Third Jewish Commonwealth (1948 CE - present)

I’m going to make an assumption here that you know some of this story already, and we’re treading into “modern politics” land, which is neither my forte nor my interest. In short: Everything was a mess when the British left. Israel declared independence. The Nakba. The war, then another war, then another war. There have been small glimmers of hope and then everything has crashed back to being terrible again.

Religiously, the establishment of the Third Jewish Commonwealth has had a really interesting impact on self-definition. Did exile end with 1948? Some say yes; we’re now in diaspora rather than exile. Some say no; there might be a Law of Return, but with the state of the State, it’s hardly true that all Jews feel safe returning, and there’s no reason to think of diaspora as meaningfully different to exile. This brings up questions of Jewish identity worldwide. Are we a people exiled or a people redeemed? Is it possible to be neither of those things? Do we understand the establishment of the State in the kind of theological terms we understood the return from Babylonian Exile, or does the fact that we ultimately drew our understanding of the Second Exile from naturalistic/value-based/human causes mean that we see the “end of the exile” in the same ways?

There are no good answers to the above questions. Communities and individuals are split. On the one hand, it’s miraculous. On the other hand, it’s really, really not.

In general, something that I think is religiously fascinating about Take Three is that the Jewish population is split between the very religious and the very secular. The middle path, what I might call Mainstream Judaism (from mainstream Orthodoxy through to Reform Judaism) barely exists at all. But what divides the Chareidim (ultra-religious) from the Chilonim (secular) is not a matter of Jewish identity or relationship with the land; it’s just a difference in whether or not religion matters. The answers appear to be “absolutely yes” and “absolutely no”, without much room for anything between. There is a kind of symbiotic relationship between the two sides, but they are very much two sides.

That there is such secularism is of course partly due to living in the modern world. But it also tells of a whole new relationship to the land. Chilonim still identify with the ancestral homeland, still see it as sacred in a sense, but don’t tie this sanctity to God.

Why is the middle missing? Why has mainstream Judaism failed to get a foothold in the Third Jewish Commonwealth? It’s not for lack of trying. I’m at a bit of a loss as to why this would be the case. Looking back to Take One and Take Two, I can see how the development in the area led to the religious/political groups, but I’m at a loss for this one. Perhaps it’s about the impact of politics requiring people to take more extreme stances. Perhaps the trend is toward secularism, but the Chareidim just have so many babies that it bucks the trend. Perhaps middle-of-the-road Judaism is only appealing in exile/diaspora.

And that brings me to the end of my musings. This has been on my mind because Israel’s democracy is currently under internal threat, which I find interesting in comparison to the First and Second Jewish Commonwealths. As Kohelet would say: there’s nothing new under the sun.

#witchofendor finally makes a post about israel and it's very on brand #spoiler alert it's actually about cuneiform script and messianic hope

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note-boom · 8 months

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(abt ur tags on that fic rec list post) I'd love to know more gen bsd fics!!! if u don't mind pls make a list of them

OP, I hope you understand that you have unleashed a monster considering how many BSD fics I consumed. But that said, I'll try to keep it short and strictly gen for this ask, then just reblog with the rest (some do have implied ships, though). Most of them are just fluff and one-shots. And I haven't really read much fanfic recently, so most of these are my bookmarks from before I even really got into this blog and my memory on them might be shaky; generally, I either liked them because good writing, good characterization, good analysis, and/or it was just too funny/too interesting to not bookmark. Some might have Americanisms/Westernisms of things that probably don't really happen in Japan (probably?) and some might have slight character assassinations, but I don't think anything should be too gratuitously unforgivable. Also, all opinions are my own and do not reflect on either the writing or the author's original intent.

So under the cut are my absolute favourite of favourites.

Morning Light (18021 words) by FallenBrie (time loop, Atsushi character exploration, ADA!found family)

O expectations, stale and dismal airs, leave this body of mine! (20976 words) by aptlydapper (3 chapters, still my all-time favourite bsd fanfic for the writing and the concept and its execution, Chuuya joins the ADA basically but so much more than that to me)

Conundrum (23921 words) by AdmiralTDeVanto (hi, I love this AU so much, role-reversal where aku and atsu are the older figures and dazai and chuuya are the younger ones, some other au roleswaps happen but that's a surprise)

circle of praise (1898 words) by Oxalisalis (have a few by this author (love their works so much, they have some great BEAST things), basically compliment assault, ADA family, sweet and funny)

The Scent of Milk Tea (1343 words) by Sternstunde (Atsushi and Chuuya are housemates, neither is aware of the other's job, please let them meet in canon, 2 chapters and unfinished)

Reason To Live (1746 words) by Allwalkfree (time travel fic with a take on akutagawa's future character arc that left me DEAD, just...him being better than the people he was taught by okay? and him having a clearer picture of the stuff he went through etc)

hell is empty (all the devils are here) (1065 words) by Origamidragons (legit one of my FAVOURITE Gin character explorations, shoutout to the use of her character's irl short story)

in the end, you write your verse (6858 words) by Origamidragons (ADA and PM role swap and it's honestly SO GOOD that I desperately wish there was more of this (in a this fic is INCREDIBLE way, that is))

In The Choice, There's Peace (2561 words) by treetrunkdaddy (chill vibes, fic that explores Atsushi's character so nicely to me through how he copes with anger)

Mark of a Teacher (527 words) by Seito (Kunikida has been framed as a terrorist apparently and his students see the news headlines, it's hilarious and just fun)

A Study From Stripes (teach me to be loved again) (29684 words) by MidnighttWriter (beloved fic with beloved writing, Atsushi trauma exploration, might feel a little dark or emotional for bsd (in a different way, since BSD doesnt exactly shy away from being emotional or dark) but honestly beloved and SUCH a fascinating Atsushi character study to me)

would you believe me if i said i was blinded by the light? (1203 words) by elijay (half-blind Dazai real to me, but no its a really neat headcanon and that's all the fic is, which is all i wanted)

good bones (838 words) by Quintessence (I LOVE THIS SO MUCH, another Atsushi has a lot of trauma and the agency is flabbergasted)

5 Times Dazai Didn’t Understand Math And The 1 Time Kunikida Tried To Do Something About It (3746 words) by zededs (math is difficult, so is Dazai, Kunikida is stressed out, just a funny story)

how to get away with murder (10000 words) by magdalenes (11 chapters and unfinished, but it's SO SO good, the author is setting up the mystery so well, and it's basically just....detectives doing detective work but possibly also avoiding other detectives, more plotty than charactery)

what is a name (640 words) by Seito (guys, seriously, read this, im serious it has SUCH a good theory and the IMPLICATIONS of this to the larger bsd story????)

a secret for a secret (2302 words) by Oxalisalis (another of my FAVOURITE Gin fics, this author DELIVERED so well on their characterisation, slight canon divergence but perhaps not?)

But yeah. Because I somehow ended up opening over 130 tabs (that was after narrowing things down. i am so normal about BSD) for this ask, I'll just....reblog with more for those who are interested in gen fics. (It's why it took me a while, apologies.)

#despite what the reblogs of this will look like #i really do have to take a step back because busy life so im not sure how the queue will look (its already looking pretty low though)#but uh.....yeah #have fun seeing me being utterly unhinged about bsd guys #bsd fanfic #bsd #note's nonsense #me: i am absolutely normal about bsd #also me: makes a list of 130 bsd gen fics just cause i can

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junedakid · 3 months

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Stilljune Unveils His Latest Masterpiece: "Live No Matter What"

Stilljune, a name that has been resonating through the corridors of the hip-hop world, has just released his latest album, “Live No Matter What.” This 13-track powerhouse of an album is a testament to the artist’s unwavering spirit and exceptional talent. Featuring hits like “Badly” and the Dizzy Wright-assisted “Rockin Wit,” the album is a sonic journey that echoes perseverance and…

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#1203 Music Group #Album #Anno Domini Beats #Hip Hop #Legion Beats #Live No Matter What #R&B #Rap #Stilljune

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kylaschuyler · 6 months

Text

Those Who Lived That Kept Them Alive

WORDS: 1203

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51354691

Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoë

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Post-War, Post-Canon, Grieving Ackermans, General grieving tho heavy implications of ships, They/Them Pronouns for Hange Zoë, I spelled Yeager as Jeager, Fluff and Angst

Language: English

BASED ON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gnypiKNaJE

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE ERRORS SINCE ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE.

Joining the Survey Corps is like digging your grave, yet many tried to achieve glory. Losing a limb in the name of humanity is honorable; to die is a legacy. No one is safe; no one can control who lives, who dies, and who will tell their stories.

Admit it or not, Eren temporarily stops the impending war between Marley and Paradis, but that doesn't mean that his actions are justifiable. Genocide is wrong; civilians and children are mostly the victims, barely the rich and the powerful. Commander Erwin Smith's story is a myth covered in gold, and Floch's legacy as a mighty hero echoes throughout the island despite being the coward he is. The remaining soldiers get to live a long life; it is a blessing to see another day, but not when grieving, not when the beloved dear bid their goodbye for the last time.

Mikasa lived another 50 years, married Jean, had a family with him, and was contented with the love she was giving and receiving. Mikasa loved Jean for who he was, yet at the same time, she is a hypocrite if she says that she never saw Eren in Jean at least once and never wished to have a family and grow old with Eren instead.

Levi, on the other hand, lived with Onyankopon and was visited by his comrades, who were once teenagers that he looked after.

Other than blood and surname, Levi and Mikasa have another in common, and that is losing the person they love the most on the same day for the exact cause that is hated, depending on which perspective. Hange and Eren both sacrificed their lives to save people. The people of Paradis hate Hange because they lead the Alliance, aiming to stop the rumbling; meanwhile, Eren is hated by those who survived.

Mikasa visits Levi alone when she has time; she knows the only person who can understand her is him, who is also in the same situation. The older Ackerman was on the vast garden porch, calmly sitting in his wheelchair. "Someone fucked with Jaeger's grave again?" Levi asked concernedly, yet his voice remained monotonous, as usual. He saw burns in her fingers, most likely from the bleach she used to clean the vandals in Eren's grave. "How many times do I have to tell you to use gloves?" without another spoken word, Mikasa knelt and cried on his knees like a child. "Hange remains to live up to her dirty reputation even after death." it somehow made her chuckle, "How can you forgive those who did it?" she asked while sobbing, "I never, I cursed 50 generations of their descendants to suffer." Levi seriously answered. It took years before Mikasa understood Levi's humor; it is dry and unhinged. "I am trying a new product that can remove inks and paint easily. I'll give you a bottle later." cleaning is his love language, one of the ways to let someone know they care, "Jaegerist cult trashed Hange's grave for the third time this month." he continued, At first, Levi thought that twice a month was enough to visit Hange's empty grave, not until he saw how people tried to erase their existence by destroying their remaining physical memory after the incident it became a routine for him to visit every week. "I am actually planning to build a fence full of barbed wire and broken glass to prevent people from disturbing their peace. You can do that with Jaeger, but it's unnecessary since one word from you, the government will send guards to look after it."

"For what? To keep the royalists from thinking that Historia and Eren had a secret relationship, that he was the father of her daughter? I am tired of it. I am tired of people calling me 'EREN'S SISTER' just to keep their delusion alive." Mikasa sobbed."We're building a fence then."

"Can we work on a rose garden around it too?" She suggested last.

Levi accepted that Jaegerist managed to burn everything Hange owned; the mere fact made his blood boil, but what could he do? It happened already.

"How did you know?" On his birthday, Levi received tons of gifts from friends. All of it is the things he loved, the little pleasures that made him feel alive. It is also the first birthday after the war, his first birthday without Hange, the only person who knows about it. "Don't you like it?" Gabi asked. "He liked it so much that he stopped functioning." Connie joked, easing the child's worry. "Captain, do you remember when... when those assholes tried to burn the whole Survey Corps headquarter?" Jean carefully constructed his words so that his question wouldn't make Levi uncomfortable. "I do." Armin took it as a signal to tell him what they did. "Months ago, we managed to save a few things by collecting what we could and by bribing some of the arsonists." Connie and Jean, along with Onyakopon, carried boxes in front of Levi, "Huh?" Confusion consumed him, "Open one."

Inside the box, Hange's clothes and uniforms are neatly folded, "I thought..." Levi opened another box, and it contained piles of their old research. "Everything that we gave to you today, captain, is from the commander's last to-buy list. They were supposed to give it to you after you came back from looking after Zeke." Jean handed him a paper with Hange's handwriting on it.

Way back, they agreed that if one of them died, no one was allowed to cry. Levi could feel his tears from the side of his eyes, and he did his best to keep it from falling.

"Thank you for watching over us," he mumbled. It won't bring them back to life, but it is enough to give him hope to live another day.

Archived research of Survey Corps that was led by Hange Zoe and their team was published; from the day he received it up to his last breath, he tried to make sense of their thousands of pages of writings. Hange really does write like they are running out of time.

He grieved, but he never cried, dedicated to keeping his promises to them. Levi proved to the world that he was the strongest man alive, with or without his physical strength.

Levi was buried beside Hange. Finally, they fulfill their wishes to live together in peace.

Mikasa, on the other hand, helped Kaya to run Sasha's family orphanage. She raised funds and spoke out about the importance of peace, and diplomacy. She told the untold story of Eren's humanity, that he was left with no choice, and just like everyone, he feels regrets and remorse. Mikasa also reminded them Eren is no God.

In the children's eyes, she sees Eren, she sees herself, and their friends; glad that they are able to live in a world without walls.

She might have chosen not to take part in what the others are doing, but Mikasa is proud of her work as much as she is proud of them.

The time came; on the bed of roses, she was laid beside Eren.

They lived, dedicated their hearts, and they successfully kept them alive.

#levihan #levi ackerman #hange zoe #levi x hange #attack on titan #aot levi #hange aot #hanji zoe #levi x hanji #eremika #eren jaeger #eren yeager #mikasa #mikasa ackerman #eren x mikasa #shingeki no kyojin

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death-before-ilion · 1 month

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Dates for Achilles

As part of my first objective of establishing a precise framework of the events leading to, during and following the Second Trojan War (1193-1184), I concentrated first on establishing dates of birth and death for Achilles.

As I have established that the fall of Troy occured in 1184 BC, and Achilles died just before the fall of Troy, we can infer that he died that same year.

The Greeks count years inclusively. If you moved into a city in 2021 and moved out in 2023, they'd say you stayed three years. When they say the Second Trojan War lasted ten years, they mean nine in the way we reckon years. Therefore, the siege of Troy and the Second Trojan war began in 1193 BC.

Apollodorus' Library indicates that eight years passed between the first and second gatherings of the fleets at Aulis. As the second occured the same year the Second Trojan War started, and counting inclusively, we can date the first gathering to 1200 BC.

The same source indicates that Achilles was 15 years old at the first gathering of the fleets at Aulis, which places his birth, still counting inclusively, in 1214 BC.

So there we have it : Achilles, admiral of the Greek fleet, leader of the Myrmidons of Phthia (1214-1184 BC), which means he died at age 29/30, as we reckon years.

Now, this gives me my first chronological issue to resolve. Let's admit his parents, Peleus & Thetis, married in 1215 BC, at which time Eris threw the apple. Helen says she had been twenty years in Troy when it was about to fall, which places her arrival there in 1203 BC. Paris and Helen didn't sail straight from Greece to Troy: they detoured in Cyprus and Phoenicia, which places the actual abduction of Helen in 1204 BC. This gives us eleven years between the throwing of the apple and the abduction of Helen, its direct consequence. We can allow some years for Paris to build a fleet, but we'll have to admit that the Judgment of Paris occured years after the marriage of Peleus and Thetis.

The simplest explanation I can give about this is that Zeus was quite embarrassed to have to judge between the three goddesses, took years to make up his mind and finally decided to leave it to Paris to decide (for reasons that will be detailed in a later post). But when you take the point of view of immortal gods: what's a few years to them? It'll just be a few years of drama on Olympus during which Hera, Athena and Hera sulk at each other and give Zeus a hard time. In the long run of their long lives, just an incident among many.

#ancient greece #classical mythology #greek gods #greek heroes #greek mythology #mythology #trojan war #aphrodite #athena #hera #zeus #achilles #chronology #eris #golden apple

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shinranweek · 11 months

Text

Prompt: Proposal

Rating: Gen

Word count: 1203

Link: AO3

He asks her to marry him on their way to the firefly festival. He could have waited until the festival is over, until they’ve laughed, feasted and watched the hundreds of fireflies sifting through the forest darkness, but he is worried that the gathering crowd of nearly one thousand people may breed chaos and murder, and most importantly, he doesn’t want to wait anymore.

Ran feels the request before he asks; there’s a determination in his eyes but a slight tremor in his hands. He turns to face her when they’re just fifty steps to the matsuri, clamor and laughter closing in around them. The sky is not yet dark, a fading, pale shade of tephra. Shinichi breaths, kneels in front of her and says it simply. In his palm the small box looks strange and discordant, the ring inside dull and lightless.

She pauses, and says no.

They stray from their usual way home two days ago. Black-crowned night-herons breed through spring and summer; they glide across the rivers all year round but Ran has never seen them roost. Shinichi takes her into the deep of Beika Park, first following the desire paths then no path and all, until human cacophony grows thin and the callings of birds drown the silence.

The woods are snowcapped with birds. Egrets call on treetops; blue-blacked herons hunches between twigs, over their brown-colored chicks. In awe, Ran steps forward. The birds explode out of the trees and into a restless cloud.

They feel guilty, but laugh more. Ran moves toward again but Shinichi grabs her arm, stopping her: in front of them a small clump of brown is retreating back into the shadows.

The chick bears stars of white spots all over it and copper eyes. It does not call but stares blankly at them, one wing held closely to its side, the other trailing on the ground. Ran gasps, instinctively reaching out, but Shinichi doesn’t loosen his grip.

“Leave it,” Shinichi says.

“But...”

“Leave it, Ran.”

But he goes to it himself and wraps it in his school jacket. He holds it as tenderly as a cat, a child. A year ago, Conan once gathered an unconscious tit into his tiny palms, smiling in relief as it came to and fluttered away. Longer, longer ago, Shinichi unclamped his hands and revealed to her a confused squirrel.

Shinichi walks away, and this time she waits. He's gone for under five minutes. When he returns empty-handed, she does not ask.

The day he goes home and promises her, Kogoro and Hakase that he would not go away again, Ran buys a cake. He leaves the front door open; still she rings the doorbell as he’s standing in the middle of the living room, staring up at the ceiling as if it is a miracle he cannot comprehend. She was going to bake, Ran explains, unloading the giant butter cake onto the kitchen table. But she doesn’t want to spend three hours camping by the oven. He looks at her strangely, so she decides to be brave: she wants to be here with him.

The yellow-tinted light bakes the room; Ran feels her cheeks glowing a soft pink. Shinichi only remembers to help when she spills plastic forks and paper plates all over the table. The blue icing spells “To Shinichi”. He dips a finger into it and licks.

“Stop it!” Ran swats at his hand. “Even Conan-kun has better table manners than you.”

Her tone is light, expression hopefully delightful, and he does grin. Still a dread gnaws at her heart: it’s more like a decision than a reaction. Summer heat sends throbs to her head: for days she has not slept well, has worried too much, has missed him. Now that he is standing in front of her, solid and intact, she decides to ask nothing.

She counts seventeen candles. She expects Shinichi to complain with impatience, but he simply stares. His brows are drawn together, his gaze back and forth, visibly trying to restrain himself from spurting out trains of analysis and theories. Silly detective, she thinks. Always making the simple things complicated.

“For the birthday you missed,” she tells him. “Welcome back.”

Three days later she finds out that he is Conan.

“I’m sorry,” Ran says, blinking from coming tears. The world moves again, somehow has turned cerulean in eye blinks. Several steps away, a bunch of balloons blooms in the evening breeze. A child cries and badgers his mother for cotton candy. “I didn’t mean—”

He replies too quickly. “I know.”

“I’m not ready,” she doesn’t say “we”. A tremor leaks out of her throat and she has to clamp her eyes shut; still shadows of faces press and shake behind closed eyelids. Tears do not isolate her eyes from pain.

“I know,” Shinichi says. She fails to read his voice; it feels distant, weightless. People pass by; some gawk, leaving inches on her skin. A teenager whistles. Ran opens her eyes and sees Shinichi remaining on his knee. Quietly, she asks him to stand up; he obeys. Uncurls his fingers and slides the tiny box back into his pocket.

Every June in Beika, they host art markets, matsuri and then release three thousand fireflies into the forest. They come here yearly since fourteen. They compete for higher scores in dart-throwing, eat roasted corns and exchange gifts. This year, Ran buys Shinichi a pen and he buys her a wooden duck (“It’s a merganser.” “Shinichi!” “Okay, okay!”).

Fifteen minutes to seven, they slide out of the crowd and into the riverside shortcut; it takes three minutes in the unlit woods but brings them straight to the front row of the release. In soft darkness she gives him her hand; he teases at her night sight but his breath stutters himself. Three minutes, two, one.

They find the crowd just in time. Count down, cheers. Numerous fluorescent dots, into curtains of darkness like pollens of one invisible flower. Shinichi doesn’t let go of her hands.

“Can they stay alive out there?” she wonders aloud. Eighty percent of them die during transfer and after release, fourteen-year-old Shinichi has said, and looked annoyed when Ran cried. And the rest of them would not live past two months as adults.

Do you know there’s a firefly cave in New Zealand? It’s really pretty, you would never want to cry if you see them. They’re not flying fireflies, but slimy worms. But they glow blue and dot the inside of the cave, making it look like a starry sky.

Have you seen it?

No, but I’ll ask Tou-san and Kaa-san if you want to go.

Seventeen-year-old Shinichi says nothing. He says nothing as the crowd breaks, as the fireflies go, dispersed by wind and instinct. She lets him hold her hand until they part ways under the big oak tree. “See you tomorrow,” she says, as gently as she can.

“See you tomorrow,” Shinichi smiles.

He hands her the duck, turns away first. Ran glances at the lanterns twined between the leaves and thinks: This is the tree; it has watched them grow up. It has seen birds, snow, rain, fireworks, them. She doesn’t feel like crying now.

#submission #shinranweek2023 #day 6 #prompt: proposal

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nicksbestie · 2 years

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Could I request one where the reader has to go the hospital and Ashton is there to comfort her?

THE ACCIDENT

Pairing: ashton irwin xreader

Warnings: mention of a car wreck(?) and hospital stay

Word Count: 1203

Well, this hands down might be one of the worst days of your life. Sitting in a bed with thin blue sheets, an IV in the crook of your arm, and an oxygen mask covering your nose and mouth, you couldn’t really think of much to feel about this except annoyance. You had heard the doctors talking when they thought you were still asleep. You had no major injuries, just a minor concussion. You could hear your phone buzzing over and over again on the table next to you. It was probably Ashton, and possibly the rest of the guys. You had been on the way there when an absolute idiot ran a red light and hit the back of your car. Luckily, he’d hit the side you weren’t on, causing more damage to the car than you. Your car had spun a bit, and you had hit your head on the driver’s side interior. Apparently that was what had caused the concussion, even though you were still mostly conscious in the ambulance. You hadn’t passed out until halfway to the hospital.

Ashton was this close to losing his fucking mind. He’d been calling you nonstop for hours. You were supposed to be here by now. You were supposed to be here hours ago. He was a nervous wreck, and had all the other boys texting and calling your phone as well. If you were anybody except his girlfriend, they would’ve laughed and told him to relax, but they did it without complaint because they were starting to worry and they wanted to keep Ash somewhat sane in case they got bad news. Ashton finally put his phone down after calling you 75 times. As soon as he put it down, it rang. He launched to pick it up.

“Yes, hello?”

“Is this Ashton Irwin?”

“It is.”

“Okay. We’re calling you from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center because you were listed as an emergency contact-”

“Is this- this is a hospital!”

“Yes, it is. Mr. Irwin if you would just let me speak-”

‘What the hell is going on?!”

“You were listed as an emergency contact for who I assume to be your girlfriend?”

“Yes. She’s the only one I’m listed for.”

“She was in a car accident.”

“Is she okay?!”

“She’s stable. No major injuries. A minor concussion, but treatable, and she’ll be fine. However, she’s awake, and she’s asking for you. She’s also asking for a few other people. A Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, and Calum Hood. Do any of those ring a bell?”

“Yes. They do. We’ll be there in 15.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

He hung up the phone and ran to the living room.

“We gotta go.”

Calum looked up.

“Where?”

“The hospital. She was in a car accident. She’s asking for all of us. Let’s go.”

Less than three minutes later, Ashton was behind the wheel speeding down the interstate, Luke trying to calm him down.

“Ash-”

“No. Do not “Ash” me. My girlfriend is in the fucking HOSPITAL. Do not tell me to calm down.”

Luke sighed.

“I understand that. Believe me, I’m worried too. However, the nurse who called you told you that her condition was stable. She’s not a critical patient, she’s not in immediate danger. Unlike us, who WILL be in immediate danger if you keep swinging around these turns like this and going 20 over. You’re no help to her if you get into a car accident yourself. Or arrested because that’s a fucking cop in front of us. Slow. Down.”

Michael spoke up from the backseat.

“I second this. I think Cal’s about to hurl if you keep acting like this is a roller coaster cart.”

A solid 15 minutes later, without any vomit, any arrests or accidents, Ashton did his best to calmly pull into a parking spot. Regardless, he still sprinted into the front doors of the hospital, the other three close on his heels.

He practically threw himself at the front desk, slightly scaring the receptionist.

“Where is she??”

The receptionist gave him a blank stare.

“Let me guess. You’re Mr. Irwin.”

The other three ran in behind him.

“He is, yes. Do you mind telling us which room she’s in?”

“And you are?”

“Hood, Calum Hood.”

The receptionist nodded.

“She’s in B240. Upstairs, second door on the left. Stairs and elevator are down this hallway on the right.”

Michael smiled at her.

“Thank you so much. Come on guys.”

You looked up to see four men walking into the room. Even in your slightly out-of-it state, you recognized them all, and a strong smile covered your face. Your doctor had cleared you to remove the oxygen mask the last time she’d visited the room, so you sat up to see them. You were happy Ash didn’t have to see that. He was clearly already panicked, so there was no way the sight would’ve done anything but freak him out, even if it was just for precautionary measure.

“Oh my god. Oh my god. What the hell. I can’t believe this happened! Are you okay?!”

You smiled. Same old Ash.

“I’m fine. Perfect now that you’re here. Just a minor concussion.”

Ashton spent the rest of the night and morning until you were discharged holding your hand or some part of your arm. The nurses knew there was no way in hell that they were getting him out of there, and they just gave up. He slept in the chair in the room, refusing to leave even when the rest of the guys did. They had attempted to get him to leave, but just like the nurses, they gave up after an hour. They did come back right before visiting hours ended and brought him a lot of food and water.

“Guys. I’m fine.”

“You will be no help to her in a hospital bed yourself. Drink. Eat.”

“Or I’ll shove it down your throat.”

Michael received 2 separate hits to the arms.

“Okay! I don’t want to be in a hospital bed either. Stop hitting me!”

Ashton did end up eating, and you made sure he drank the entire bottle of water.

The doctor came in around 11 AM, and met Ashton officially for the first time, when he wasn’t panicking and worrying over every little thing. He was still nervous of course, but not as panicked as he was when he first got here, but he was calming down every hour.

The doctor came in with quite a bit of paperwork, but also a solid amount of good news.

“We’re gonna run a few more tests, all for basic precautionary measures, and when they come back clean and healthy, as I’m sure they will, you’ll be good to go.”

Ashton smiled.

“Awesome.”

You smiled back at him.

“See? I told you I’ll be fine.”

“I believed you.”

The doctor returned.

“The tests are clear.. Stick with each other. The young love you guys have will last.”

Ashton glanced at him.

“I’m good to kiss her right?”

“She’s discharged. Go home, and do whatever you want, just be careful of her head.”

“Will do.”

He looked at you.

“Don’t ever get in another car wreck again.”

You laughed.

“I won’t.”

#5sos #5sos x reader #5sos fic #5sos angst #5sos fluff #5sosfam #ashton irwin x reader #calum hood x reader #luke hemmings x reader #michael clifford x reader #michael clifford fluff #michael clifford angst #boyfriend ashton irwin #calum hood angst #calum hood fluff #ashton irwin angst #ashton irwin fluff #luke hemmings angst #luke hemmings fluff

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dearlymrme · 1 year

Text

Going Nowhere (Ghost/Silent Hill Crossover) Part 1

Summary: Something very wrong has happened since your last visit home. You may be the key to righting what wrong has been done.

Papa Emeritus x Reader || Violence || Graphic Imagery || Blood || WC: 1203

It’s Halloween day. You are driving down the road and going through a tunnel, the radio playing your favorite beat and the roads a little foggy from the rain that had just let up. You headed to this town to visit some family, having made plans months ago in advance. You’re almost there, just over the mountain and down a tunnel. So, you call up your family to say you're almost there only to hear that the line has been disconnected. Confused, you try again coming up to the tunnel and going through. At that point, static cackles from your phone and a loud scream blares out from both your radio and the phone. The sudden sound causes you to swerve and wreck just outside the tunnel.

You wake up having been knocked out with your head against the wheel, but other than what feels like a concussion, you are mostly unharmed, and it is quiet. Having no explanation for the sudden noise and now your car won’t start, even though damage is at minimum. But there is a sign just ahead of you telling you the town is two miles from where you are. You try your phone again, but this time, it has no signal whatsoever, so you take your chances with hoofing it and hoping to get some help when you get there.

You make it to town to see it eerily quiet. The fog is thick, and everywhere you look, you can see the Halloween decorations, but you're surprised to see no children running about pregaming festivities to do daytime trick or treating. No parents in tow to keep track of rambunctious kids. The last time you visited the town this time of year, it was booming with activity. Plenty of passers by and mom and pop shops opened with candy bowels sitting on the counters. It’s a stark contrast to what it is now. Most, if not all, the shops are boarded up with posters and graffiti on the windows and walls. ‘The End Is Nigh.’

Your family lives on the other side of town, but you know the tourist center is close by and go to find help or at least use a phone. You arrive and immediately use the payphone to call your family. Only to get a static roar of a dial tone and whispers, but you can’t make out any words over the garble of static and tone. So you enter the center to see if anybody is manning the desk and are immediately put off by the appearance that a hurricane went through. Snack machine glass cracked and chair cushions ripped. The TV mounted to the wall is broken, and the floor looks like it hasn’t been mopped in years.

There’s a bell on the desk and you ring it. Immediately, there is a sound clattering from the room behind the desk, and you freeze at the low groaning that follows it.

“Hello?” You ask nervously, and there is a loud thud from the door before you shriek as the barrier is gnarly knocked off its hinges and slams back into the wall.

From the darkness of the room behind emerges a gray figure, body convulsing like being electrocuted and hairless features grotesque with black and red veins crawling along and throbbing under its skin, its mouth and eyes are black pits that leek black sludge, coming in contact with the ground, hisses and sizzles with acidic smoke. You're paralyzed with fear, unable to move before it lays a hand made out of long nails, like talons on the table and racks them down, easily tearing through the marble countertop like paper.

It moves to hop over the counter, and you turn and run, screaming in terror. You don’t know if it’s chasing you, you don’t give it the chance to catch up. You run and run until you come across the familiar sight of a drug store you used to frequent as a kid. The doors are locked, won't open no matter how much you slam on them, and ask for help. Down the road behind you, you hear a siren call that echoes like a crow gargling glass and quickly dive into the left alley beside the store.

Where you hear sickening tearing and chewing. You look down at the end of the alley to see two dog-like creatures with pits for eyes, eating what remains of a human body. The head is covered in, skull on display, and cheeks chewed through enough to see teeth. Guts hang out of its stomach being eaten up by the monster like animals that, for the moment can’t see you. Until the body jerks it’s hand out towards you and gargles for help.

You back up against the wall in fear and feel something slick and wicked cling to your clothes. Nearly gluing you to the wall, and you pull away in pain as it digs in like nails. You turn to see your own silhouette shadows by black branching and oozing bloody vines of thorns. They reach for you, and you step away just in time for them to jerk forward, sharpening like knives that would have most certainly skewered you.

The ‘dogs’ lift their head from their meal to see you, and their mouth opens to show serrated teeth that move like chainsaw blades. You don’t give them the chance to move first and run. This is when the siren starts to ring. This is when the sky blackens but flicks hot and red as it starts to rain hot cinders as they make contact with you, singe your clothes, and burn your skin. They’re not big pieces of fire, merely the size of a dime, but they burn like hot coals, and the place begins to smell of burning hair and human flesh. It’s enough to gag you but the noises…the cacophony of loud moans of pain, damned screaming and monstrous gurgles and hisses that all pop and follow behind you.

You run and scream and plead for help, knowing you are being chased by the damned and you run to the only sanctuary you know of.

The Abbey.

You reach the gates and sob as you see them open and inviting. Quickly running past them and into the Cathedral. You sob hysterically as you shut the wooden door behind you and press your back to it. You're praying and willing it to stay closed, but whatever is behind it starts to bang and push.

“Please. Please, God. Help me.” You pray, and then the monsters give up. You can practically hear a sigh from behind the door, and whatever pressure was pushing on it is gone.

"This is a Godless land, child…” You shriek at the unannounced presence of the woman in front of you. A woman in a habit with a strange smile on her face. “And yet you have stumbled upon it. Nothing happens here without purpose, you know.”

She smiles, and the veins on her face look as though she had been poisoned with black ink. Her kind eyes turn into pearlescent white film, and her mouth opens to reveal the teeth of a lion.

“How unfortunate for you."

#ghost the band #the band ghost #ghost band #silent hill #dee writes

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