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seraphanangelica · 4 years

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Can I please have scenarios or headcanons on how bnha characters (any that you like) would handle dealing with a ghost with their s/o who totally believes in the supernatural? Thank you in advance

I absolutely love this idea! As a firm believer of the supernatural myself, there was absolutely no way I could delay this response. So here you go!

How They And Their S/O Would Deal With Ghosts

💥This guy has only seen or heard about ghosts and spirits from horror movies. That’s all he cares about them. If they’re not in a movie, they have no existence. Of course, every time he says something along those lines, you roll your eyes and laugh to yourself at his blatant lack of attention to the supernatural.

💥You’ve tried, many times to prove just how real they were. And every single time it would go like this:

💥”I’m telling you, Katsuki, I’ve had experiences with them. You just don’t think they’re real becuase you haven’t.”

💥”Your experiences are just things you don’t want to give logical explanations to, dumbass.”

💥His point is proved further when nothing happens. And nothing happened for days after the last time you two had the repetitive conversation.

💥One day, as Katsuki woke up before you, he got out of bed and proceeded to go about his completely non-paranormal life. After giving you a light kiss on your forehead, he went downstairs to start preparing breakfast.

💥He stopped mid-stair though, as he heard another pair of feet pattering down the stairs behind him at a much quicker and softer pace. At first he thought it was you that had gotten up earlier than usual to spend more time with him in the mornings. He turned around to greet you with a smirk, his face falling slightly when he saw no one around.

💥Paying it no mind, he finished descending the stairs, and continued into the kitchen.

💥In the middle of sautéing vegetables, Katsuki reached out to grab the bottle of olive oil that sat on the counter to his left. He froze mid reach as he saw the barstool behind him rotate as if someone were sitting there out of the corner of his eye.

💥”Oh hell, no.” He still refused to take into account anything you’ve said about the matter.

💥Twenty minutes later, you were downstairs and eating breakfast, in the barstool next to the one that moved. You watched in curiosity as Katsuki leaned against the counter in front of you, crimson eyes darting from the empty seat then to you, then back again.

💥You were concerned, to say the least. “Katsuki, are you alright? You’re acting weird. Come sit down.”

💥He only shook his head and took a deep breath, looking you in the eyes. “Tell me about everything you know about ghosts. Now.”

💥And so you did. You told him everything you’ve been trying to tell him since you’ve known each other. The only difference was that this time, he was actually listening as if it were real and not a story.

💥When you finished he shook his head. “Look, I still don’t believe in this ‘ghost’ stuff, but-“ crash!

💥You’re heads snapped over to the source of the sound, your eyes settling on the plate that used to be next to Katsuki. It was now shattered on the floor, the pieces spreading out farther than the counter span. You knew Katsuki was freaking out but concealing it on the outside.

💥You couldn’t help but smile at your husband as his eyes still focused on the broken dish. “Don’t belive me now? We both know that dish was no where near the edge.”

💀Dabi would be disbelieving, but open to conversation. People talk about anime, right? It’s not real but makes for great small talk. He’d also be stupid. Very, very stupid.

💀The day he walked into the League of Villain’s hideout with an Ouija board under his arm, you thought he’d finally lost his mind.

💀”Are you crazy? Do you know the kind of stuff that happens when you use one of those things? You don’t know what you’re letting in!” You tried to reason with him, even coming up with ways to dispose of it without his knowledge. Unfortunately for you, he knew what you were up to and hid it.

💀”Oh come on. It’s just a little fun,” he teased you one night when he bagan setting it up in the center of your shared room. “What’s the worst that happen?”

💀”Asking ‘is anybody there’ is the stupidest thing you can do becuase thats inviting anything to come into the space. Secondly, you don’t know how to protect yourself against that kind of thing. The worst that can happen is possession, Dabi.” You scolded, leaning against the wall farthest from the board.

💀”Relax, Doll. I have someone in mind, actually. He didn’t really matter much, but I picked this from his wallet,” he reached into his pocket and tossed an ID card in your general direction. “See? Perfectly fine.”

💀It was not perfectly fine. You reluctantly joined him in the game, placing your fingers on the planchette, cringing with every subtle movement the burnt boy made. Because you didn’t want to do this in the first place, you let Dabi carry out the ‘ritual’.

💀As you would’ve guessed, the moment Dabi’s target was acquired, the planchette began moving, much to your dismay. Slowly, the letters formed a sentence. ‘You killed me.’

💀You shot a glare at your boyfriend. “What the hell did you do? Did you seriously just kill a man to contact him?”

💀He shrugged. “I caught the guy stealing from the convenience store, he had to go.”

💀”YOU STEAL FROM CONVENIENCE STORES!”

💀After you both said ‘goodbye’, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were being watched. It practically consumed you as the next hours passed, your eyes always finding themselves back to the abandoned board that still laid on the floor.

💀”WHAT THE FUCK!?” Dabi shouted from the bathroom, his voice one of surprise and confusion. You darted into the small room, expecting a prank left by Twice or blood left by Toga (it happens), and to be pretty honest, you were expecting this too. From the mirror, you could see eight distinct and parallel scratches on his back, too fresh and too deep not to be ignored.

💀Without a word, you bounded over to the closet and wrenched the doors apart with a set purpose. Pushing clothes out of the way, you pulled out an old chest you stored wherever you stayed. Opening the wooden box, you pulled out a match and a bundle of juniper and sage. Lighting the end of the dried herbs, and opening the nearest window, you let the smoke drift to all corners of the room.

💀Dabi watched in confusion and amusement as you walked towards him and started waving the herbs around him, cleansing him as well as the room.

💀”Y/N.”

💀“What, Dabi?”

💀”We should do it in a graveyard next time. This Halloween.”

💀”Fucking Samhain? Are you out of your goddamn mind?!”

💀He believes in ghosts now, so you had that going for ya.

🥦Midoriya would be skeptical about it. As someone who never rules out any possibilities, he has a wide range of knowledge towards that kind of thing. You never knew if someone had a quirk that could control the spirits of the dead.

🥦When you told Izuku that you see dead people, he honestly thought you were quoting The Sixth Sense. You were, in a way. In the same way you were being serious.

🥦You sat on the couch in the living room, remote in hand as you got ready to start a Marvel movie marathon when your fiancé got back from the store downtown. He got called in when someone was murdered just outside, appearing to have been trying to steal some food and magnets. Why someone would try to steal magnets from the convenience store was beyond you.

🥦Sighing, you settled into the cushions, and turned on the TV. Soon you began playing Netflix as you waited. You felt the couch dip next to you. No one was home but you, and you hadn’t heard Izuku get back yet. This was the time she came out.

🥦You faced the girl that sat next to you with a smile. “Looking for Izuku?” She nodded. “He’s not home right now, but you’re welcome to stay with me until he gets back if you like.” She thought for a minute, running a hand through her long hair, then nodded again.

🥦You scrolled through various shows until she pointed at one that sparked her interest. You began playing ‘Supernatural’, watching her reaction to each of the Winchester Brother’s ghostly adventures. “What, it’s not accurate? There’s got to be something that’s right.” You teased.

🥦The girl laughed, the sound never reaching your ears, and shook her head, continuing the show anyway.

🥦A couple episodes later, you heard the sound of keys turning in the lock, signaling your fiancé’s return. You turned to warn the girl, but she was already gone. She liked Izuku, but she was shy; something you learned upon meeting her. “He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, you know.” You told her in a low voice as Izuku stepped into the house.

🥦He gave you a smile. “Hey, sorry for being gone so long,” he held up a plastic bag full of sweets. “They gave this to me as a thank you for helping them, so now we have even more marathon snacks.” Setting the bag on the counter, he wrapped his arms around you, giving you a firm, loving kiss to your forehead.

🥦”It’s fine, Izu. You weren’t gone that long. I had plenty of company.” You returned the hug, your last statement directed to the girl who was now peeking in from the doorway.

🥦The movie marathon was a blast. You nerded out, quoting almost every line from every movie you watched that night. The girl warmed up to Izuku, you noticed, as she sat on the floor in front of him almost as if she were nervous to sit next to him.

🥦”You can sit next to him, kid. He won’t mind.” You told her. Both pairs of eyes snapped up at your speech.

🥦Izuku looked around to see if there were any unknown guests, turning back to you when he saw none. “Uh, Y/N?”

🥦You ignored him and continued. “He’ll be nervous at first, but he’ll warm up to you. Go ahead. You were in this house long before we came here.”

🥦Izuku screeched like a banshee when he felt the couch sink next to him. Like he was a cartoon, he jumped into your arms, clutching you like he was afraid to lose you. The poor panicked boy didn’t know what to do.

🥦So, you began explaining all that you knew about your abilities, or extra quirk as he said. The girl never left, quite amused by the interaction. Izuku never really calmed down. Sure he’s prepared for it in his journals, but he never thought there would be a day.

🥦”I told you ‘I see dead people’.”

🥦”Y-yeah, I guess you did."

#bnha bakugo katsuki #bnha dabi #bnha midoriya #midoriya x reader #bakugo x reader #dabi x reader #bnha x gender neutral reader #bnha #midoriya izuku #bakugo katsuki #dabi #bnha scenarios #bnha headcanons #bnha au #supernatural #bakugo smut #dabi smut #midoriya smut

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brax-was-here · 3 years

Text

Scarlet Briar: The Seeds of Life Chapter 11

Written by: Braxxus

Chapter 11: You Took My Life

Sometimes the weight is too much to bear

Ceara stood stunned at the glowing expanse that lay before her. The cave’s exit gave way to a vast open area filled with pooling leyline energy feeding from every direction. The very air resonated as the energy mists swirled chaotically before them.

“This…this is…” Liathlas stammered.

“Mordremoth’s lair.” Ceara finished her sentence. Her heart started to race as a feeling of anxiety started washing over her.

“Indeed, it is.” Malyck agreed, stepping to the edge of a rocky outcropping.

“This is where the ley energy converged.” Ceara muttered as she slowly brought her hand to her chest, feeling the scar. A constant reminder of what had happened to her.

“I believe that is our destination.” Malyck pointed out towards the remains of a gigantic tree on the far side of the field of energy.

“Have strength.” Ceara whispered to herself as she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself.

“I think I can port us over to it by using those floating rocks.” Liathlas pointed at a jagged piece of land floating above the pool of energy.

“How do we know it won’t fall when we land on it?” Malyck turned to her.

“Is there any other way? I think we would have to retrace out steps back into the jungle to find another way around this area.” Liathlas noted. “We would lose time if we did.”

“Noted.” Malyck responded. “Can your portals reach that far?”

“Well, let’s find out.” Liathlas conjured a portal in front of them. They could see the exit portal on the platform. “Let’s go.”

Stepping through, they found themselves on the floating rock.

“This rock is humming with energy.” Malyck noted. “I don’t think it’s actually part of the ground.”

“It isn’t.” Ceara knelt, running her hand over the surface. “It’s ley energy. Condensed so tightly that it solidified.”

“Energy in a solid form? Is that possible?” Malyck asked.

“Yes, it is.” Ceara picked up a small rock, inspecting it closely. It glistened in the light as she slowly rotated it in her fingers. She grabbed another and put both of them in her satchel.

“What are you doing with those?” Liathlas asked.

“I’m taking them to study. It is not every day you find solidified ley energy. Who knows what secrets lay within these small rocks?” Ceara smiled at her. She drew a deep breath as she looked at the tree in the distance. “Let’s keep going.” Liathlas opened another portal that exited to the nearest platform. This one wasn’t as big as the trio looked at the curved edge of the floating mass.

“It looks like something took a bite out of it.” Liathlas remarked, looking at the jagged edge.

“It stands to reason that the dragon probably chewed on it at one time. The elder dragons feed on ley energy.” Ceara looked over the edge into the energy mists below. The field made it impossible to see to the bottom. “This was Mordremoth’s resting place.” She said solemnly.

“What do you mean?” Liathlas asked.

“This is where it slept, until I awoke it. This was all solid ground as he lay beneath the surface. His awakening caused the ground to erupt and the ley energy to pool into this pit, allowing him to feed.”

“So that tree… that tree was a marker in a way.” Malyck stepped up beside her.

“Yes.” She answered, staring at the gigantic trunk in the distance. “Let’s move on.” Liathlas opened the next portal and the trio passed through to the next platform.

“There is movement up there.” Malyck pointed at the upper portion of the tree trunk.

“It looks like a pact coptor.” Ceara replied narrowing her eyes.

“I guess the pact would be here as this is Mordremoth’s lair. The Priory is probably taking that tree apart to transport the whole thing back to Lornar’s Pass.” Liathlas joked. Ceara snorted at the thought.

“Sadly, you’re probably right.” She chuckled. She felt a little at ease knowing the Pact was here. “One more portal should put us there. Can you reach it?”

Liathlas stepped to the edge of the land mass. Taking a deep breath, she opened another portal. They watched as the exit materialized on the edge of the trunk.

“Go now!” she shouted. They leapt through quickly, exiting on the platform. Liathlas gasped as the portal faded behind her. “That’s the farthest distance I have ever portaled.” She looked at Ceara, who was frozen in place, a look of harsh terror on her face. Liathlas turned to see what had her so terrified.

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“More ruins.” Nafiona said out loud as her group reached a golden wall, tarnished and damaged by the awakening of the jungle dragon. “This matches the design of the city.”

“Built by the same beings. But if so…why so far away from the main city? Could it have been a secondary storage for whatever this supposed legacy is?” Ordhram asked.

“Perhaps we should explore inside? The seed may be there?” Caelan suggested.

“Indeed. Search for a way inside.” Nafiona commanded her followers. The courtiers dispersed around the ruins.

“M’Lady! Here!” It wasn’t long before one of the courtiers found an opening in the wall. Stepping through, they found a sizable complex similar in design to the golden city to the north, but no signs of life.

“It feels like death in here.” Caelan mentioned.

“Yes…it does.” Nafiona smiled. “Search through the ruins. Let us see what we find.”

The group spread out in various directions throughout the golden structure. Caelan wandered through a fallen archway that led to a courtyard overgrown with vegetation and thorned vines. He paused looking over the area.

“It must have been beautiful.” He thought. “And now it’s destroyed.” He stepped out into the courtyard, passing through the vegetation. He pushed one of the vines aside, snapping it off as part of it crumbled away from his touch.

“Destroyed.” He thought to himself. “Nafiona wants to destroy the Pale Tree and turn it to Nightmare. Scarlet wanted to awaken the jungle dragon to destroy Tyria. Both would allow the Sylvari to rule Tyria.” He picked up the broken vine that crumbled more in his hand. “Mordremoth would have enslaved us all.” He dropped the vine. “What would Nafiona do?” He felt a tinge of confusion wash over him, something pulling at his mind that he couldn’t grasp. He continued through the brush, reaching an open area that had been cleared of the jungle’s plants. An open archway in the far wall led out into the jungle.

“Someone or something has been here.” He thought to himself as he looked upon piles of brushed pushed aside. Unsheathing his sword, he cautiously made his way across to the archway. He paused before passing through the threshold, slowly passing the blade of his sword through. He held it out for a few moments before slowly stepping through the opening himself. He looked through the trees growing beyond the wall.

“Who is here?” He asked as he scanned around the jungle.

“Caelan.” A growling voice spoke from the trees.

Caelan’s heart jumped at the sound of the voice as he bounced backwards. “Uh…” he stammered. He could make out movement in the shadows of the vines. He turned his weapon to the approaching creature. “Mordrem…” he muttered as it entered into the view.

“Caelan.” It muttered again as it paused its advance.

“Who are you?” Caelan asked it. The mordrem looked down, pondering for a moment. Before raising its eyes to him.

“Be responsible for your own happiness, for then the dreams of your heart will truly open.” Its gruff voice spoke softly.

“Talmai?” Caelan gasped, recognizing the quote the mordrem spoke. “Talmai, what happened?”

“It took control of us, Caelan. We couldn’t resist. It made us attack anyone that wasn’t one of us.” It growled, grimacing as it held its forehead. “It’s so difficult to think.”

Caelan lowered his sword and cautiously approached the creature. It looked up at him. “Why did you leave us?” It asked. “You left us for nightmare.”

Caelan paused. “It called to me.” He answered, looking at the ground.

“Just as Mordremoth called to us.” It stepped forward towards Caelan, who in turn looked up at the mordrem, stepping back away from it. It paused again, holding its head.

“There’s mordrem here!” Caelan heard a voice shout in the distance as the sounds of battle could be heard.

“Talmai! Hang on. I can…I can get you through this. Back to the gr…” Caelan paused, realizing what he was about to say.

“RAAAAH!” the modrem growled as it charged him.

“Talmai! No!” Caelan dodged out of the way. “Stop!”

“You belong with us, Caelan. We all belong here.” It growled as it swiped at the sylvari, its long claws scratching his armor.

“Talmai, stop this!” He pleaded with the creature as it attacked him relentlessly.

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“Destroy them all!” Nafiona shouted as she blasted a mordrem in its face with dark energy. The creature screamed in pain as it grasped at its eyes. She clasped her hand in the air in front of her, summoning dark tendrils from the ground that ensnared the creature. Ordhram proceeded to decapitate it, its body slumping to the ground as the shadowy tendrils dissipated. Nafiona waved her sceptor over the corpse, causing it to erupt in a fountain of blood and flesh, bring forth a nightmarish creature.

“Time to eat, my fleshling.” She quipped playfully. The creature quickly ran towards the nearest mordrem and attacked, jumping on its back and sinking its jagged teeth into the shoulder of its target.

“Ordhram, we must be close.” She smiled as she conjured a cloud of locusts that swarmed another of the attacking mordrem. It wildly flailed as it tried to fend off the black swarm that engulfed it. A pair of Nafiona’s coutiers unleashed their clones on the creature as it was distracted, quickly dispatching it. Nafiona again quickly waved her sceptor over the body, bringing forth another horror from within.

“Feed.” She commanded it. It leapt off to the nearest mordrem.

“M’lady. The sword is ready.” Ordhram paused a moment, a far off stare upon his face.

“Oh! Excellent!” she quipped. “We should make haste then finishing off these creatures. Our destiny awaits!”

“Of course, m’lady.” He responded.

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“Talmai! Stop this nonsense!” Caelan cried as the mordrem grabbed him, tossing him to the ground.

“You belong with us, Caelan. This is what we are meant to be.” It grabbed the sylvari by his throat.

“No.” he coughed. “It’s not!” He swung his sword between them, slicing off the mordrem’s arm. The creature howled in pain, grasping its stump. It roared as it leapt at him. Caelan forced his sword forward with all his strength, running it through the mordrem’s midsection. The creature crashed into him, its momentum carrying them both to the ground. Caelan heard his blade snap as they fell. He felt the broken end of the sword pierce into his own armor as the mordrem laid on top of him. He slowly pushed the creature off to the side and looked down at his wound.

“I’m…sorry…” he heard the mordrem speak slowly. He looked to see the glow from its eyes fade away as it exhaled its last breath. Caelan covered his wound with his hand as he slowly got to his feet. A tear slowly ran down his cheek as he stared at the fallen mordrem.

“We were going to be scholars together.” He whispered. “Learning everything we could. Then nightmare called.” He paused looking at the blood on his hand. “Maybe it’s not too late.”

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“I am your creator.”

“But I was born of the pale tree…”

“And the pale tree was born of me. Come, young one. Let me show you.”

“My name isn’t Ceara…It is…Scarlet Briar…”

“A giant spore plant…”

“I’m in your mind.”

“A marionette housing a fantastic weapon…”

“You're so cute when you're on the offensive.”

“It’s go time.”

“You think my death saves you? Too late.”

“I am forever!”

“Return to me…”

“You were my champion. My chosen one. Now you betray me as your mother betrayed me.”

“You will perish.”

“Mother…I’m broken!”

Ceara could feel her world cracking as she struggled with what lay before her. She gazed upon the visage of her tormentor, the elder jungle dragon Mordremoth, whose snake-like body lay entangled in the giant spires of the ancient tree.

“No…” she was gasping for air as her chest tightened like Mordremoth’s maw was closing around her heart. “No…make it stop…MAKE IT STOP!” She screamed as she slowly backpeddled away from the elder dragon.

“Ceara!” Lialthlas grabbed her before she stepped off the edge of the platform into the abyss.

“No…NO! LET ME GO!” Ceara screamed. She shoved Liathlas to the ground.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Ceara shrieked as loudly as she could. Unslinging her rifle, she fired every round she had into the silent unmoving dragon until she was out of ammunition. She screamed again as she slung the rifle at the beast, stumbling to the ground.

“YOU TOOK MY LIFE!” she screamed. Liathlas and Malyck both knelt beside her.

“What’s going on over there?” a pact member nearby inquired about the three sylvari that arrived moments before.

“The tormented...brought forth in front of that which tormented her.” A sylvari spoke softly nearby.

“You mean thats…?”

“Scarlet Briar.”

“But isn’t she dead?”

“No.”

“Shouldn’t we be doing something about her?”

“I think she has suffered long enough under the sway of Mordremoth.”

“But she’s a criminal. A terrorist. We need to report this!”

The sylvari turned to him. “Were we terrorists as well when we fell under the dragon’s call?”

The pact member fell silent for a moment pondering the sylvari’s words. He slowly looked up at the trio.

Liathlas gently put her arms around Ceara, who was crying hysterically. Malyck stood and retrieved her rifle.

“It made me do those things…hurt those people…” Ceara cried. “I just wanted to learn.”

“I know.” Liathlas whispered.

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Orla sat across from Amaranda at her low table. “Nightmare calls…” Orla muttered as she closed her eyes, her brow knitting together. “Ordhram…” she whispered.

“What happened?” Amaranda asked quietly.

“He fell…he fell to the dragon.” A tear slowly rolled down Orla’s cheek. “My brother…he started to change.” She gasped.

“Change? How?” Amaranda rubbed her chin thoughtfully as Orla spoke.

“He started becoming…one of them…the mordrem. He grew in size and strength…his skin became like…almost like armor.” Orla shook her head. “It’s so hard to focus.”

“She is struggling to fight off Nightmare’s influence.” Amaranda thought to herself. Orla’s slowly opened her eyes.

“I felt…anger…anger towards the pale tree for keeping the secret from us.” She looked at Amaranda. “I can never forgive her for what she allowed to happen to Ordhram. He is just a shadow of his former self now.”

“You sought revenge.” Amaranda stated softly.

“I did.” Orla replied sternly. “Maybe Nafiona’s way is not the correct way, but I cannot follow the Pale Tree.”

“I understand. You have every right to make your own choices in your life.” Amaranda spoke softly. “It will not be easy. What lies ahead…” Amaranda’s voice trailed off as she quickly turned her gaze away from Orla, focusing on the wilderness outside.

Orla looked at her inquisitively, her brow furrowing slightly. “What is it?”

“Ceara…” Amaranda stood at walked to the door, looking to the southwest.

“Ceara?”

“She’s in great pain.” Amaranda turned to Orla.

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Ceara felt a hand gently touch her forehead. Her eyes stung from the tears as she slowly opened them. She looked up to see the vision of the young pale tree before her. It smiled warmly.

“You carry so much pain within you.” It spoke softly.

Ceara closed her eyes, lowering her head. “It hurts so much.” Her voice raspy through the tears. “I’m so…so sorry.”

“The vision knelt before her, placing her glowing hands on Ceara’s shoulders. Ceara looked up at its smiling face. She felt a small warmth envelope her.

“Have strength.” It spoke. “You are destined for greater things.”

Ceara looked at it. “Who are you?” she asked, trying to choke back the tears.

The vision smiled warmly at her. “To the south.” It spoke softly before fading away.

Ceara’s vision cleared to see the face of Mordremoth laying in the spires before her, a giant spike through its head. “You’re dead.” She muttered as she stared at it. “You can’t hurt me anymore.” She whispered.

“No, it can’t” Liathlas spoke softly before slowly releasing her embrace. She looked at Ceara in the eyes. “Are you ok?”

Ceara slightly nodded her head. “I will be. I have to be.” She snifled slightly. “I’m sorry. That was…that was very unbecoming of me.” Malyck held out his hand and helped her to her feet before returning her rifle.

“I wasted all my ammunition.” She said looking at the weapon.

“You still have your pistol.” He spoke.

“Yeah. But it only has a couple shots left in it.”

“Will these work?” Malyck produced a few bullets from a small pouch.

“No, my pistol has been modified. It takes special ammunition.” She replied.

“Are we…are we continuing?” Liathlas asked.

Ceara turned to her. “Yes. What we look for what lies to the south.”

“To the south?” Malyck asked. He looked around the area, focusing back across the expanse of ley energy. “We’re going to have to backtrack a bit to find a path.”

“There is another.” Two pact members approached them. “There is a cave system under this area. Some of our members have explored down there. It will lead you to the jungle south of here. But be warned. That land has not been explored, that we know of anyway.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Ceara said, slinging her rifle over her shoulder. “How do we get there?”

“Um…well.” The human started before taking a deep breath. “You have to climb…” He turned his gaze to the remains of the dragon.

“We climb him?” Ceara asked, somewhat perturbed.

“Well, not on him. We have scaffolding set up over him to reach the inside of the tree. You have to travel down the inside into the roots.”

“Huh.” Ceara pondered a moment.

“If it saves us time.” Malyck stated. “We should get started.”

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Nafiona could smell the sea as they neared the end of the jungle path. She looked up the makeshift archway forged of twisted vines producing a nightmarish gateway to the beach ahead.

“Seems rather ominous, don’t you think?” she asked her subordinate.

“It’s as if someone is welcoming us.” Ordhram replied to her.

“Perhaps the dragon was anticipating our little journey to find the prize.” She laughed. “But still, we cannot let our guard down. We are deep in the dragon’s domain here.”

“I’m surprised we haven’t run into more of the mordrem here after our episode in the ruins.”

“I’m sure our dear Pact has been busy exterminating them. They do seem to like to kill dragons and their minions, don’t they?”

“Indeed, m’lady.”

“They even killed their own Marshal. Poor Trahearne. Fallen to the dragon.” She mused.

The path emptied out to a beach at the edge of the sea. Nafiona looked out over the water. Small waves crashed against the shore, provoking a feeling of calmness, a stark contradiction to the vine covered chaos of the jungle. Nafiona breathed the salty air.

“Strange is it not? Such peacefulness here in the jungle dragon’s world. Listen to the silence.” She spoke to her courtiers. “But let’s not waste time. We need to find out where the seed is. Oonagh, Sila. Port up to those ridges and see if you can find our path from here.

“Yes, m’lady.” The mesmers said in unison, bowing to Nafiona. They both teleported away, each to a ridge above the beach. It was only moments before they both returned.

“Back already?” Nafiona asking, somewhat shocked.

“M’lady. We believe we have found where our quarry lies.”

“Oh!?” Nafiona’s eyes widened. “Where is it?”

One of the mesmers opened a portal and stepped through. Nafiona followed. She appeared on a ridge. “There, m’lady.”

Nafiona stood in silence as she gazed into the distance, staring at the cloud of energy that swirled around the remains of the gigantic tree in the distance. She smiled widely. “Our prize is there!” she laughed. “Come! We must be off!” The mesmer ported them back to the beach.

“Our prize is near!” Nafiona announced to the group, pointing to the east, motioning for them to start travelling. “Soon, the world will be within our grasp.” She snarled to herself.

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

The trio followed the pact member as they climbed the scaffolding around the fallen dragon. At the top was a bridge that allowed them to cross over into the inside of the enormous tree. They peered over the edge, viewing the hollow trunk that housed a spire twisted into the shape of a thorned helix. On the far side they could see a small pact camp set up on a ledge.

“What’s over there?” Liathlas asked inquisitively.

“There? Just a small priory set up. That’s where that leader of the Nightmare Court was killed.”

“Faolain?” Liathlas inquired.

“Yep. She apparently had turned into some kind of monster and attacked the Commander.” They reached the top of the helix. “Well, to reach the roots-“

“We travel down this spire.” Ceara finished the sentence as she looked into the murky depths below.

“Indeed. Good journey and be careful.” The member said to them.

“This…this is unsettling.” Liathlas said.

“No kidding.” Ceara replied. “I don’t like being here.”

“Oh, well…yes, but I was talking at how this thing is swaying. I feel as if it could collapse at any moment.” The proceeding to make their way down the slowly rotating spiral.

“This is almost dizzying.” Malyck fretted as they descended. Nearing the bottom, they came across another small pact camp that was sparcely populated. As they reached the roots of the great tree, the ambient light dimmed, and the air cooled considerably. Ceara instinctively reached for her small lamp in her satchel, only to remember she didn’t have it.

“Thorns.” She muttered.

“Is everything ok?” Liathlas asked.

“It’s a pain not having any of my gear. If I ever find out who took it, they’re dead. No questions asked.” They entered the caves beneath the roots. Torches were lit along the walls as opened crates were stacked in the corridors.

“Seems the priory is busy down here as well.” Ceara mentioned.

“Do they research everything they find?” Malyck asked.

“The inquisitive mind is a great asset…but sometimes, it could be very detrimental to oneself.” Ceara said solemnly.

“What’s over there?” Liathlas asked, pointing down another corridor that led to a well-lit area. “It seems open to the sky.”

“Let’s check it.” Ceara nodded. The group entered into the opening. Looking to the sky, they could see the swirling cloud of ley energy far above. A few priory crates lay stacked along the wall. The pathway was short as they reached a deadend. Ceara noted large burn marks along the walls and ground, centering on a focal point in front of them. A wave of sadness passed over her for she knew what happened here.

“Something exploded here.” Malyck said as he ran his fingers over a section of burned vine.

“Not something…” Ceara looked at the epicenter of the blast. She swallowed as she breathed deep. “Someone.”

“What do you mean?” Liathlas asked. Ceara knelt, slowly placing her hand on the remains of a vine.

“Trahearne.”

“You mean…this is…” Liathlas gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand, her heart in her throat. A tear formed in her eye and slowly ran down her face.

“My friend.” Malyck whispered as he knelt to the ground.

“I’m so sorry.” Ceara whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. “It shouldn’t have been this way.” Ceara thought back to the scholar she had met in her days as a sapling. While she thought his study of Orr was ridiculous, she admired his dedication to learning, to the art of studying. She remembered receiving a letter from him congratulating her for being admitted to the colleges of Rata Sum. “You cared. Even though I did not, yet you still showed compassion.” She spoke softly.

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

“It seems our only path forward is through that cave in the ridge.” Nafiona told her courtiers. She turned and looked at the rock wall in front of them.

“What about the dolyaks, m’lady. I don’t think they will be able to travel through there.” One of the courtiers asked.

“Pull what supplies you need from them.” The courtiers grabbed supplies from the pack creatures. Nafiona drew her dagger and moved it in front of her. The dolyaks let out a cry as they both dropped lifelessly to the ground.

“Problem solved” she spoke.

“You’ve been awfully quiet, Caelan.” One of the mesmers asked him. “Something troubling you?”

“Sila, when we were at the ruins. One of the mordrem. I knew who it was.”

“Oh?”

“It was Talmai. We met each other in the dream. After we were born, we agreed to become scholars together.”

“That sounds quite boring.” She refuted. “I think you chose the better path, Caelan.”

He glanced over at her for a moment before looking back towards the cave. “Maybe.”

“Are you questioning Nightmare?” She looked at him with a piercing gaze.

“No…no I’m not.” He stammered.

Sila looked at him, her eyes narrowed. “Caelan, did you truly choose nightmare over the dreamers?”

Caelan returned her look. “I made my choice. “

She slowly smiled. “Oh, you’re so serious, Caelan!” She laughed. He was taken aback by her sudden outburst.

“Well…yeah…” he forced a laugh.

“Just think, Caelan!” she put her hand on his shoulder. “All this! This will be ours! And over there!? That’s where I’m going to build a home! Overlooking the sea!”

“That…that sounds nice, Sila. But why here in the jungle?”

“Because this is a source of magic. Right there!” she pointed to the swirling cloud above them.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” He questioned.

“Not at all. I’ll be able to harness part of that and use it to better my skills.” She clenched her fist in front of her and looked at him with a playfully sinister smile.

He smiled and laughed a little bit at her silliness.

#Guild Wars 2 #GW2 #Scarlet Briar #AU Ceara #HoT #Heart of Thorns #Mordremoth #sylvari #tyrias-library

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ansgar-martinsson · 4 years

Text

The Best Intentions - Part 6

Ansgar clicked the button on the car-shaped keyfob, and his cherry red car chirped and the boot schussed open in response.

“Ooh, a Tesla,” Joline intoned. “Nice car.”

“I know,” Ansgar quipped. “Ever been in one?”

She shook her head. “Nuh uh. Heard a lot about them, though.”

He strode to the rear of the car, and bent over the boot. He took out his helmet, a matte-carbon and mirrored AGV, and laid that on the tarmac beside him. “Well,” he said, smiling to himself, “maybe after we take your ride for a spin, we can take mine.” He straightened up, and dangled the fob in front of her, just as she did him. “You can even drive it.”

Her eyes blew wide and she clasped her hands together close to her heart, like a child waiting for a bag of candy from her grandmama. She fist pumped, her face squinching with unabashed glee. “Yes!”

The sight of her, earnest as she was, lifted Ansgar’s spirit, just that little bit.

He laughed and turned his attention back to the boot of his car. He retrieved and shook out a black leather motorcycle jacket - a Switchback jacket, emblazoned with “Harley Davidson” in shades of grey across the back. Various patches decorated the sleeves and the breast – a Swedish flag, an American flag, a massive roaring lion’s head, a Sturgis patch with crossed pistols, an ascending eagle, and a straight razor that read simply, “Revenge”.

“Where’d you get that?” Jo stepped forward and reached her hand toward the jacket. “May I? Is this yours?”

“Of course it’s mine.” He chucked it to her, and she caught it deftly. “I bought it in Sturgis, South Dakota. In America.”

“I know where Sturgis is. What were you doing there?”

He chuckled as he continued to rummage through the trunk. “I went there for the rally, of course.”

“You… you ride?” she blinked and clutched the jacket to her breast.

“Why do you think I keep my gear in my car? I didn’t just pack this up this morning, you know.” He winked.

“I… I can’t believe you ride.”

“What’s so hard to believe?” He laughed as he toed off his loafers and stepped into a low slung pair of black Ariat boots, talking as he set his shoes in the trunk, as he took his jacket back from her and shimmied into it, as he fitted a pair of black leather gloves over his hands. “I have a Triumph of my own. A 1972 TR6. Not to mention I spent quite a bit of time on the back of a 2015 Harley Softail in the US a while ago.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to Sturgis,” she whispered.

“Perhaps some day you can.” He bent and picked up his helmet, tucking it under his arm. “It’s that dream thing again, Joline. You can do whatever you set your mind to.” He smiled and held up his hand. “And don’t worry. I’m not going to go lecturing you or flapping my gums again.”

She cringed. “Er…maybe I shouldn’t have said –”

“No! I’m glad you did,” he smiled, gesturing for her to walk before him. “Few people would dare speak to me like that. I don’t believe I’ve had anyone tell me that I’m flapping my gums, with the distinct exceptions of my twin brother and my wi–” He stopped and swallowed hard. He looked away, feigning a check of the crossing traffic as he brought his facial features back under control. “Well, just know that I appreciate your candor, and I expect more of it from you from here on out.”

He shifted his helmet from one arm to the other as they approached the bike. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the piece of machinery before him from top to tail. He rest his gloved hand on the gas tank and glided it back over the seat. He whistled appreciatively. “She’s a beauty, Joline,” he said. “Great condition. Absolutely cherry. You must take meticulous care of her.” He crouched down and set his hand on the rear tire. “She has Marchesini wheels as well. Impressive.” Looking up at her, he asked, “Did you put those on yourself?”

“Joline?”

The portrait of a man in leather beside her bike was nearly her undoing. When she offered Ansgar her ride, she assumed a quick spin around the city center. But the man, as he proved from the first moment they met, didn’t do anything by half. Go big, go strong or fuck right off. The smell of leather, male pheromone and wheat rolled off him in a steady current making her lightheaded and woozy with attraction.

Ansgar tried again when she didn’t respond, “Joline?”

“Hmm…” she hummed, her head in a cloud of lust.

“The Marchesini wheels? Did you put those on?”

Joline snapped to, rejoining the conversation, “Oh, I-I-I did,” she bragged over her most prized possession. Looking chuffed to bits that he noticed, she pressed on, “My… uh, my, my dad was a J&P man- all the way, but those were rough as fuck. The handling felt as smooth as rocks in a blender. Riding from Stockholm to Vaxholm was an exercise in masochism. I swiped ‘em out, replaced the spring forks,” she pointed to the part near the front wheel, “and the rear shock absorber. Now Nightingale, she flies.”

He didn’t fully commit to a grin, but admired her work. He picked up on the nickname for her ride. “Nightingale?”

Jo beamed, affectionately patting the leather seat with a flat slap. “Nightingale. Dad named her, and it stuck.”

“Matches your art,” he nodded at the inside of her arm where he spotted her tattoo.

She dropped her gaze to the sidewalk, a lump of sadness forming in her throat. She swallowed it, pushed it aside for the sake of conversation. She took a breath and shed her leather jacket off her left shoulder. “I got it on the one year anniversary of dad’s death.”

A small blue outline of a nightingale bird sat on the inside of her arm, under the bend of her elbow, wings in flight, no more than three inches long. Underneath a Florence Nightingale quote graced her flesh: Live life when you have it.

“Dad used to tell me that all the time.” She nodded at the text. “I honored him that way, I missed his reminders.” Tears filled her eyes, but she managed to blink them away. A weak smile broke the moment and she recovered smoothly with a shrug. “Still raw from it, I guess.”

Ansgar softened his gaze and gave a sympathetic apology, “A touching tribute. I’m sure he’d be proud.”

“Thank you. Now… uh…” she threw her jacket back on her shoulder, “let’s ride!” She replied with a bit more gusto than completely genuine.

He seated his helmet it place upon his head, adjusting the visor in place and nodded for her to do the same. One long leg swung over the top of her bike, and his hips settled into the seat, hand poised on the clutch.

Jo’s eyes went a little wonky witnessing his mount, but she reeled in the hormone show before he noticed. She watched in further appreciation as he righted the bike and started it like the expert rider he claimed to be.

“Get on! Hold onto me!” he ordered through the helmet.

She jumped perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, her waist in line with his, her legs outlining his, her hands gripping the leather of his belt. He was solid and firm and so warm, she felt another rush of blood to her head.

Ansgar eased into traffic fully in control of the bike beneath him, and possibly the woman clutching at his waist. Her grip tightened at intervals depending on the speed they traveled or how close other vehicles got to them. But there was underlying trust in the hold on him, she didn’t fear for her safety, it was more a show of confidence in his skill.

He drove out onto Strombron, past the ships on the water on Skeppsbron, passing by Fotografiska, another Martinsson Construction account. He navigated his way through traffic, the odometer pushing the legal limit just enough for the thrill of riding, but under the traffic camera radar. He signaled where appropriate, but also maintained this air of wild freedom, a flirt of recklessness, but never too much.

Jo didn’t know where he was headed, but she couldn’t find it in her to care.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Did you… did you say twin brother?” Joline wasn’t sure she’d heard right. Her blood soared and her ears rang on the riding high. It had also been the better part of an hour ago. Ansgar pulled off and parked in one of the famed observatory parks that he’d had his hand in at the beginning. He sat in a bench along the edge watching with little interest as joggers, parents and tourists go about their way. But he lorded over the place as if he owned it. His legs sprawled to the width of his elbows hiked upon the wooden slats of the bench back. Joline restrained herself from hopping in the middle of those impressively muscled legs by forcing herself to sit on her own hands. She hadn’t the first inkling how she’d held onto to him while they rode without embarrassing herself. She’d the opportunity to take advantage and yet, somehow, maintained her dignity. Ansgar only seemed to be testing the boundaries of her restraint. You can’t have him, Jo. Pull yourself together! Ansgar laughed at her very delayed question, turning an eye to her. “Yes. Twin. I have a twin.” There are two of you sexy motherfuckers walking around?! “Congrats!” She said outloud. “For what?” She suddenly blurted a tiny snippet of some of the cleaner ideas running about her head at the speed of light. “The genes… impressive fucking genes in your family.” And that was the clean version. “Your family’s been blessed, with not one, but two sexy men.” He delighted in the freedom of her tongue and the way she said it, without a trace of embarrassment or terror; she owned it. “Do you find me sexy, Joline?” She propped her elbow on the park bench’s back, rotated in his direction and stared at him. “You don’t need me to stroke your ego. You know that everyone finds you sexy. Even that guy,” she jutted her chin at the runner that gave Ansgar a full model survey… three times on his way past.

#the best intentions

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auburnfamilynews · 4 years

Link

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

The Tigers return their top 4 linebackers from 2019 and signed a loaded class this past recruiting cycle. Could this be the best unit in the SEC?

“Doesn’t matter we aren’t having a season!!!”

Yo, we get it. Things are pretty shaky right now with all these out of conference games being cancelled. Confidence is quickly dwindling that there will even be a college football season this year and that sucks.

But until that decision is actually made, we are going to soldier on as if a season of some sort still happens this fall.

And if a season does happen, one unit Auburn fans are going to have a lot of fun watching is the linebackers. Travis Williams took over as Auburn’s linebackers coach in 2016 and immediately turned a unit that had been a consistent weakness in Auburn’s defense to a consistent strength. 2020 might be the best bunch to date.

KJ Britt, Chandler Wooten, Zakoby McClain and Owen Pappoe are all back. Auburn signed three blue chip prospects in the 2020 class. This unit is going to be VERY good. But will it be the best?

The Auburn football sages here at the Temple of College & Magnolia are here to dispense their wisdom once again on why Auburn will or won’t have the best linebacker corps in all of the SEC this season.

AUNerd

This one is legitimately tough for me. There are 3 strong contenders for this honor in my opinion: Alabama, Auburn and Georgia. The Crimson Tide’s backers struggled at times last fall but that’s because by the of the season they were starting two true freshman. They are a year older and now they return Dylan Moses who missed all of last season with an injury. He’s been consistently mocked by experts to be a 1st round draft pick next spring.

But I would rank them 3rd at the moment. Auburn returns their outstanding foursome this fall. KJ Britt is unquestionably the best run stopping backer in the country and with some improvements in coverage could challenge Moses for that top spot in the 2021 NFL Draft class. Owen Pappoe started every game despite being a true freshman and is poised for a monster sophomore season. At times, I thought Zakoby McClain was the best linebacker on the field last fall while Chandler Wooten is a leader who can play all three positions in Auburn’s scheme.

The homer in me wants to go Auburn but if I am being honest, I think heading into the fall I would give Georgia the nod. Monty Rice is a beast and is back to lead this nasty UGA defense once again. Tae Crowder is gone but will be replaced by Nakobe Dean who graded out the highest of all freshman linebackers per PFF. Former blue chips Quay Walker, Trezman Marshall and Channing Tindall serve as backups while Azeez Ojulari has a chance to be a breakout pass rusher off the edge.

I love Auburn’s group but I am going to give just the ever so slightest of nods to the Dawgs and then take a very long shower.

Verdict: No

Jack Condon

I can’t believe Nerd chose not to #BarnHard above, but it’s alright. I’ll get us rolling in the right direction. While you may be looking at the raw talent and recruiting rankings of some other linebacker groups in the SEC, there are some intangibles that only come with time that fall in Auburn’s favor.

Nerd went through some of the superlatives with Britt, Pappoe, McClain, and Wooten, and while they’re not as highly-regarded as some of the studs in Athens or Tuscaloosa, the group itself will be better. With K.J. Britt as an undoubted leader in the middle, Auburn’s group won’t be in the wrong mindset or positioning at all. We’ve now seen the fireworks from a player like Zakoby “Mac Jones is my favorite player” McClain, and Owen Pappoe learned a ton from being in the rotation as a freshman.

I think one of the most important benefits for Auburn this season will be the “minister of culture” attitude that it seems like Chandler Wooten has taken on. With all of the recent events around the country, he appeared to shoulder the outward vocal responsibility for the team, and he did so in a mature and eloquent manner. Having someone like that in the room will only make the other linebackers strive for greatness.

Plus, you’ve got the added positive that they’ve all played together for an entire year now. Yeah, Alabama’s got Dylan Moses, but they lost Anfernee Jennings and Terrell Lewis. Georgia’s got some fantastic young guys as well, but both teams are going to be going through the growing pains of meshing as a unit. This season especially, that’s going to be even more difficult to do than ever. No spring practice, and possibly less fall practice. That’s why Auburn has the edge this season.

Verdict: Yes

Will McLaughlin

Nerd and Jack have already hit on basically every point I would have made here. K.J. Britt did a tremendous job filling the role left by Deshaun Davis the prior before. I’m excited to see what Britt does for an encore and the continued emergence of Owen Pappoe. With no spring practice and an experienced group coming back across the board, I will choose to Barn Hard to answer this question!

Verdict: Yes

Josh Black

They will but they won’t get the credit for it. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better collection of linebackers based on talent and experience than K.J. Britt, Owen Pappoe, Chandler Wooten, and Zakoby McClain. What Travis Williams has done in restoring the pride of the Auburn linebackers is inspiring. K.J. Britt is one of the most sound tacklers Auburn has had in a decade and matches it with a toughness and ability to lay the wood that we weren’t used to seeing 4 years ago.

But you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere outside of this here website that will agree with Auburn’s linebackers being the best in 2020, and the reason is because of the lack of experience in front of and behind them. I could easily see Georgia’s group getting the nod this year with all that they return defensively. Shoot of Alabama’s group ever stays healthy they’ll be a sexier pick.

Bottom line, go ahead and get ready to be called a homer this fall for believing in the Auburn linebacking corp. But also be prepared to be right.

Verdict: Yes

James Jones

Short answer: Yes, because they had it last year and didn’t lose anyone.

Long answer: The only question here is whether or not Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson made that much of a difference for Britt and company. We know they were great, but were they so great that they made the men behind him look like all conference players? I don’t think that gives this group enough credit. KJ Britt is a potential first round draft pick. Owen Pappoe is the perfect linebacker for the way football is played today. Chandler Wooten made the most of his chances, and he would be a star on other teams. Zackoby McClain only made the kind of play that kids dream about in their backyards*. This is the most talent Auburn has had at linebacker since 2003, which included one of the greatest linebackers in Auburn history in Karlos Dansby, an incredibly smart and agile Dontarrious Thomas in the middle, and the one man in common with both groups: Travis Williams.

Verdict: Yes

*-I was a kid during the Pat Dye era. To heck with offense, I wanted to be a linebacker

DrewMac

I am really happy I am right after my good buddy James Jones, especially with that line of being an Dye-hard Auburn man. Everyone above me has made some solid points and pretty much everything I had thought up to say. The only thing missing is that ZacKoby McClain is from Valdosta, GA and if you want football players, you get real ones in South Georgia. Auburn is EXTREMELY solid at the linebacker position which they have got to be since we lose two men on the front along with Nick Coe. Are they the best in the conference though? Maybe? Here’s the thing though, get me in the conversation of being the best and that’s all I can really ask for, because being in the conversation, leads to this...

HOW DID THIS JUST HAPPEN!???!?!?! pic.twitter.com/lyJ2tkj465

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 30, 2019

Verdict: Uh-huh

Ryan Sterritt

I’ll be honest, I haven’t done my homework this offseason. I haven’t bought my Athlon and Lindy’s, and I haven’t been looking at other team’s depth charts, unless that team is Arizona State in my NCAA 14 dynasty. But you see, I’ve painted myself into a bit of a corner.

Instead, I’m going to lean on Auburn’s returning sack leader to have an even bigger year and put himself in position to be Auburn’s first 1st round draft pick at linebacker since Takeo Spikes.

Yeah, that quote was me in last week’s roundtable, predicting KJ Britt to lead Auburn in sacks and become a first round draft pick. I’m going to double down on my love for KJ Britt, especially when he’s being paired with @TheFreak.

Verdict: Yes

You’ve heard our sage advice, now it’s your turn. Will Auburn have the best linebacker corps in the SEC this season?

War Eagle

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/7/13/21320690/c-m-roundtable-will-auburn-have-the-best-linebacker-corps-in-the-sec

#IFTTT #Blogger #auburn #auburn fast #wareagle #AuburnFamilyNews #war eagle #sec #football news #aubu

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zacekova · 7 years

Text

Of Bees and First Impressions

Summary: Tochiro was standing in the doorway, his hands pressed together as if in prayer and expression appropriately grave, eyes closed in a display of sorrow. “And so lies the great Captain Harlock, brought down long before his time by a lowly bee. May he rest in peace.” Harlock threw a pillow at him.

Pairing: Harlock/Yama|Logan Characters: Harlock, Tochiro, Yama|Logan

@ruledeargremlinchild, since you were wondering what fic that line came from, even though I’m pretty sure you’re not in this fandom even if you’ve seen the movie...

(His feet are stuck to the sidewalk, frozen in place with the force of the universe pressing down on him. Fate has brought him here - some fortune beyond his wildest dreams has aligned the stars to make this moment happen, to create the magnificent creature he sees through the glass. Eyes like the ichor of the gods, rich and gold and flecked with sprigs of summer green, and a smile as dazzling as the sun on the sea. He is ruined before he remembers to breathe again.)

Harlock looked up when he heard the door open.

Tochiro was standing in the doorway, his hands pressed together as if in prayer and expression appropriately grave, eyes closed in a display of sorrow. “And so lies the great Captain Harlock, brought down long before his time by a lowly bee. May he rest in peace.”

Harlock threw a pillow at him.

Tochiro managed to catch it and clutched it to his chest like a string of pearls, scoffing with all the prideful airs of a refined lady of pedigree. “Rude! And after I’ve come all this way to you in your time of need. I thought we were friends.”

Harlock shook his head, hoping the hair falling over his face was hiding his smile. “Yeah, yeah. Did you get my text?”

Tochiro reached into his jacket and pulled out a Brown’s bag with flourish. “As requested, only the finest of gas station food for you.” He tossed it over, brow furrowing when Harlock caught it and started opening the packaging with glee. “I still don’t get how someone who grew up like you did can like those things. Even I think they’re disgusting.”

Harlock bit back a grin and turned his nose up, chewing through a mouth full of deep fried, greasy, delicious mushrooms and swallowed with as much dignity as he could muster. “I’ll have you know I have highly refined taste.”

Tochiro’s expression went flat. “Right. Okay. Say I believe you, how do you explain that?” he said, gesturing at the stained bag in Harlock’s oily fingers.

He grinned. “Palate cleanser.”

Tochiro laughed, shaking his head and sitting down on the mattress by Harlock’s knees. “Alright, whatever. Weirdo.”

Harlock smiled, the remaining tension in his nerves finally settling under the familiar cadence of teasing banter and Tochiro’s comforting presence; he always made Harlock feel better.

Tochiro smiled back and rotated to lean his spine against the foot of the bedframe. “So you wanna tell me how you ended up in here?”

Tochiro also made him hate his life. “Uhh.”

(There’s dirt on the young man’s hands, caked under his fingernails; it should be gross but he can’t find it in himself to care when those same fingers are also so slender and graceful, dexterous and delicate as they sort through the stacks of papers on the desk and hand him a colorful pamphlet. “Hi! Welcome to Gaia Botanical Gardens! Would you like to join our next tour group or would you rather explore the grounds on your own?”

He glances at the schedule up on the wall, then at the analog clock beneath it - the twelve-thirty tour is to be lead by “Logan.” He turns back to the employee with eyes like melted caramel and scans for his name tag. A smug smile graces his lips when he finds it. “A tour would be lovely.”)

The door opened before Harlock could make up an excuse explain anything, revealing a tall, young man with shaggy hair carrying a tray, various snacks and drinks scattered across it. “The cafeteria didn’t have any ice cream left but there was some pudding,” the guy was saying. “I don’t know what kind you like so I just grabbed one of- Oh. Hi.” He had finally caught sight of Tochiro sitting on the bed with his leg wedged in next to Harlock’s and eyebrows raised in curiosity; his eyes flicked between the two of them, expression neutral.

Harlock jumped at the chance to change the topic. “Logan, this is my friend Tochiro. Tochiro, this is Logan. He was kind enough to drive me to the hospital.”

(Oh god, you’re swelling. You’re really swelling. You need to go to the hospital. Shit. Shit, where’s my keys?”

Harlock gestures vaguely toward the kid’s back pocket. He’d seen the outline of what was probably a ring full of keys (and, yes, he had been staring, could anyone really blame him? Those jeans were tight ).

His larynx is going to start constricting any second now. He’s going to start dying and the last thing he’s going to see through his rapidly-swelling eyes is Logan’s flushed cheeks and frantic pocket-patting.

Totally worth it.)

Tochiro smiled nice and easy because he’d always been the better of the two of them at socializing and thrusted his hand out. “Hey, nice to meet you. Thanks for taking care of this guy for me,” he said, nodding in Harlock’s direction.

Logan smiled politely and shook Tochiro’s hand. “It was no trouble. My shift was over anyway and he didn’t have anyone to go with him.”

(You came here alone, right?”

Harlock nods, his cheeking knocking against Logan’s head where it’s wedged under Harlock’s shoulder, supporting his woozy self as they trudge as quickly as his wobbly legs can take them out the side door and through the parking lot.

“Anyone I should call for you?”

He’s panting, lungs working in overtime to get oxygen through his narrowed bronchials, but he manages to squeeze out, “It can wait till we get there,” his voice rasping and labored.

Logan nods and calls out to a pretty girl watering some flowers by the wall. “Nami! Clock me out, will you?”

She looks up, eyes widening. “Uh sure. What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you later!”)

Tochiro’s eyes pinched in curiosity. “Your shift?”

Uh oh.

Logan’s brow furrowed and he glanced over at Harlock where he was subtly trying to gesture for him to stop, abort, change the subject. Something. Anything . But Logan didn’t seem to notice and barreled on. “Uh, yeah, at the botanical garden? That’s where he got stung.”

Shit.

Tochiro’s head began to turn - Harlock could hear the creaking of his spine as it rotated, slowly, painfully; creepy and terrifying like a body possessed by demons - and his eyes blazed with murderous, unholy fury. The monster had been unleashed. “You went to a botanical garden?” he asked, low and quiet. Dangerous.

Harlock resisted the powerful urge to flinch, but only just. “Umm… there were extenuating circumstances-”

(“A friend gave me a cactus once because he said, and I quote, ‘even you can’t kill this.’ It was dead in a month.”

Logan laughs, light and free like birds in the springtime, like the tinkling of a rocky stream, like angels singing from within the heavenly gates. Harlock must have been a saint in another life to be able to see this.)

“You dumbass!” Tochiro shouted. “What were you thinking?”

Nothing appropriate, but he wasn’t about to say anything.

(His work polo stretches taut over his arms as he lifts the massive flower pot and carries it out of the middle of the aisle. He has a tan line around his biceps, rich brown meeting soft pearl, and Harlock is weak.)

Logan’s eyes were wide, darting back and forth between them.

Harlock sighed. He had accepted this inevitability when he had knowingly walked through Gaia’s gate, trailing after his own personal Achilles. But no way was he admitting that to Tochiro. “I suppose I wasn’t,” he said.

Tochiro deflated a bit, as Harlock had planned, shoulders slumping. “Yeah, no shit.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. So you knew you were allergic to bees?”

Damnit. Harlock sent a silent prayer to the heavens for mercy; no one here had any in their hearts for him. But he couldn’t lie, not to Logan. “I… was aware, yes.”

Logan’s eyes widened in panic. “You idiot, you could have died!”

Harlock grinned, raking his gaze up and down Logan’s frame. “Well. The view was to die for.”

Logan flushed up to the tips of his ears, mouth gaping. “I- You-”

Tochiro’s nose wrinkled. “You’re not talking about the flowers anymore, are you?”

He wasn’t talking about the flowers.

“Yep, I’m out,” Tochiro said, raising his hands in the air and heading toward the door. “You two lovebirds are on your own.” He paused in the doorway and turned to give Harlock a thumbs up behind Logan’s back before disappearing.

Logan’s jaw was still unhinged, looking at Harlock in blatant surprise, and Harlock smiled.

(“Well it looks like you’re going to get your own private tour!” he says, still smiling with all the brilliance of a newborn star. “If you don’t like crowds, you definitely picked a good time to come in.”

He cannot think, can hardly breathe, but somehow words come out of his mouth in coherent form. “I’m just on my lunch break.” His heart is racing, beating against the cage of his ribs so hard he’s surprised Logan hasn’t commented on it.

“Must be a long lunch break,” he says.

Harlock hums and doesn’t say that he’s definitely going to be late clocking back in. “And what better way to spend it?” he does say, eyeing Logan appreciatively.

But Logan’s gaze is on a bed of gerber daisies and he doesn’t seem to hear the suggestion in Harlock’s tone, already moving to explain how the aqueducts carry water to the whole garden.)

“I suppose I was a little too subtle with my… interest in you?” Harlock asked, hoping he wasn’t going to have to spend the night comforting himself from a rejection on top of recovering from a severe allergic reaction. He might need more mushrooms.

Logan’s jaw slammed shut and his eyes darted away. “I- Yes. You were.”

Harlock nodded and leaned forward, getting himself in Logan’s line of sight again. “Is that a problem? My being interested in you?” he asked, heart hammering in his chest. “Because I am. Very interested.”

Logan’s gaze roved over his face, expression going soft, relieved. “No,” he breathed. “No it’s not.”

Harlock’s heart skipped in his chest, the rhythm picking back up twice as fast as before. “Can I take you out for dinner?”

Logan nodded. “Yes. Yes, please .”

Harlock smiled. “Let’s get out of here.”

#space pirate captain harlock #fic tag #harlock and yama #captain harlock #Logan|Yama #tochiro oyama

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whorewolf · 3 years

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music

fav genre; uh. pop? i guess it's pop. i am pretty bad about knowing genres, and like, sometimes i'll dip my toe into emo, but anything remotely hardcore i tend not to be able to listen to for very long. fav artist; HONESTLY. like. i will go to bat for carly rae jepson and hozier. those are like, the two that are the only 2 moods i experience. oh fuck, and left at london (she just put out a new album, highly rec all her shit) fav band; ummm well it was patd for a little bit. *pulls up spotify* uhhh. mcr. THE CLICK FIVE. i can't explain to you why, you either get it or you don't. fav song; god i don't know if i have one, uhhh. as the world caves in by matt maltese makes me cry every time i listen to it? so there's that. love will find a way from the lion king 2? me from the beauty and the beast broadway show, and brutus by the buttress most listened song recently; probably either stalker's tango by audioheart, 70s porno music by cute whore, or an unhealthy obsession by the blake robinson synthetic orchestra song currently stuck in your head; my head is a cyclical mess of every song i've ever heard. literally every time i hear anything that could be remotely close to a lyric, that song is playing in my head for hours, or god forbid a tiktok has a song in it. fav lyrics

And hey, you, don't you think it's kinda cute That I (I) died (died) right inside your arms tonight That I'm fine even after I have died Because it was in your arms I died

My name is Brutus and my name means heavy So with a heavy heart I'll guide this dagger Into the heart of my enemy My whole life you were a teacher and friend to me Please know my actions are not motivated only by envy I too have a destiny This death will be art The people will speak of this day from near and afar This event will be history And I'll be great too I don't want what you have! I wanna be you!

books

fav book genre; romance!!! tropey, tired romance. especially time-displaced partners and fake dating, and a desperate longing to like fantasy as much as i used to. fav writer; i don't have super set writers i return to, but i had a long love of christopher pike (at least, his non-scifi stuff for me) and r.l. stine. fav book; you know it's the great gatsby. we all know. we wish it was something else, but we know. also ouran high school host club by bisco hatori. good shit. or is that a book series? i'll put another in series. fav book series; THE FIREKEEPER SAGA BY JANE LINDSKOLD. i was OBSESSED with this series when i was younger! a princess raised by super-intelligent wolves??? INCREDIBLE. WISH THAT WAS ME. also beastars AND beast complex by paru itagaki. and the wize wize beasts of the wizarding wizdoms by nagabe. people shouldn't skip this one in favor of beastars necessarily! comfort book; you know it. you love it. it's the great gatsby again, baybee. or, in my younger and more vulnerable years, the greek's chosen wife by lynne graham. e.e;; look, it was the one harlequin novel i'd found at the time w/ a fat protag. especially one who wasn't shamed for it. FUCK IT. MANGA TOO. beauty pop by kiyoko arai. god it's so charming. the closest i come to dealing with that tsundere boy shit. perfect book to read on a rainy day; damn, any good gay romance novel. can't go wrong. i wish i had a better rec for you. fav characters; haruhi fujioka (ohshc), firekeeper/tamara (firekeeper saga), nick carraway (the great gatsby), i have such a frustratingly bad memory lmao 5 quotes from your fav book that you know by heart;

i'mma be real, i dont know full quotes by heart, but i know parts of quotes so you'll get the full versions. also not 5

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

He smiled understandingly — much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced — or seemed to face — the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.

Do you ever wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always wait for the longest day of the year and then miss it!

tv + movies

fav tv/movie genre; r o m a n c e. mostly movies, since show romances tend to be utterly drawn out and largely forced. for shows, probably procedural crime shows, since no one knows how to make a mindless crime show quite like the us fav movie; god dammit it's the great gatsby again, the 1974 version. but also the 1946 version of beauty and the beast. and cry-baby directed by john waters. and sleepaway camp (1-3), and behind the mask: the rise of leslie vernon, and pontypool. comfort movie; i kinda have a rotation? for a while it was johnny dangerously, and george of the jungle, and the road to eldorado (the animated dreamworks one), and even the quiet man. the lion king 2 movie you watch every year; i try to watch a couple holiday movies (particularly valentine's, halloween, and christmas) every year, but i been slackin'. i think i watch creepshow pretty regularly, though, along with sleepaway camp 1. fav tv show; columbo. the owl house. the 1990s beauty and the beast show as a concept. comfort tv show; columbo. the owl house. leverage. lie to me*. most rewatched tv show; COLUMBO. ultimate otp? god i dont know anymore. mormor? harringrove? 5 fav characters; lieutenant columbo, eda the owl lady, nuka (tlk2), jason voorhees, cry-baby walker

and gleefully tagging @candycoatedcarnage <3 <3 <3

#im so sure i forgot SO MUCH SHIT #i feel like i should keep a doc somewhere #every time i ifndsomething i like #just throw it on the doc for memories #usually that's all i need too #just remembering smth exists #like the firekeeper saga #holy shit that was a revelation #i remember searching for her books EVERYWHERE when i was little #i didn't get past like the third or 4th book bc i was missing one so i couldn't read ahead

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