#less of a drastic example but in the same trail of thoughts this is also how I feel about lashley lmao

[bioshzrd]

I wish people knew how to talk about and write about one sided / unreciprocated crushes without being weird about it. Like you can think it’s cute and funny as a narrative choice or a character trait without being weird.

#this is about Claire and Moira . By the time they meet in the plot Claire is in her 30s and Moira is 18??? #the amount of people that ship them is kind of appalling ??? #like yeah i agree they are both lesbians without a shadow of a doubt in my mind #and i think moira having a crush on claire is super funny #but the people who think claire would feel the same way are weird . why are you making the character who is constantly seen as #a caretaker for young women look like a predator . she would NEVER in her LIFE pursue someone that much younger than her #less of a drastic example but in the same trail of thoughts this is also how I feel about lashley lmao #obvs i am a fictive of ashley and i have my own real actual feelings about leon that aren’t related whatsoever but why can you guys not just #enjoy the unrequited crush narrative . in what world are you living in that these people would pursue the other #stop being WEIRD!!!!

[charbway]

A guide to Team Fortress 2 for new players

A lot of new players struggle to play TF2 when they first start out since the tutorial is very outdated and the coaching system has basically been abandoned at this point, so I thought I'd share what I know about the game. (This is more for casual TF2 than competitive TF2, since nearly everyone starts out playing casually.)

General tips

Movement

Don't stand still or walk in straight lines. Moving predictably (or not moving at all) makes you a much easier target for the enemy team, especially for Snipers and Spies. Jumping around and strafing makes it harder for opponents to hit you.

Learn to rocket/sticky jump. Advanced explosive jumping can be very tricky to learn, but even basic jumps will improve your mobility greatly.

Learn to crouch jump. Crouch jumping lets you jump onto props or ledges that you normally wouldn't be able to access by jumping normally, and it also increases the distance you travel while rocket or sticky jumping. (It's actually very easy, just press the crouch key and the jump key at the same time. I have crouch bound to Q instead of Ctrl to make crouch jumping easier for me.)

Team coordination

Don't forget about the objective. Getting epic gamer frags is fun and all but you will lose the game if your main focus is on killing and not on capturing/defending the objective. (There are exceptions to this rule but I'll get into that later.)

Don't throw yourself at the objective. Throwing yourself at the objective is not an effective way to get things done and will almost always just result in you being killed and your team losing the objective or failing a push. Wait for your team and make a push together, your team is much harder to take down if you're moving as a unit as opposed to everyone running in on their own and getting picked off one at a time. (An exception to this rule would be when the point is almost completely captured, and the enemy team is mostly dead.)

Don’t stack classes. All classes in TF2 have counters, and stacking classes makes it easier for the enemy team to prevent your team from pushing simply by playing the class that counters the ones you have stacked. (i.e 4 Spies can easily be countered by a Pyro, and 4 Heavies can easily be countered by a Spy or a Sniper.)

Try to play what your team needs. If your team is having trouble with a Heavy/Medic combo, try playing Spy or Sniper and to take care of them. If your team is dying a lot during pushes, try playing Medic to help keep them alive. If the enemy team has a lot of sentries, try playing Demoman or Soldier to take them out. If you think your team needs a class that is already being stacked, try asking someone politely to switch off so you can try, or play a different class that could achieve a similar result.

Don’t overextend. Overextending is when you or your team pushes so far forward that you are no longer focused on capturing or defending an objective, which usually works in the other teams’ favor. If your team is overextending while defending, a Scout or a Spy on the other team can easily slip by and capture an objective while no one is guarding it. (Overextending on offense isn’t as common since there’s usually at least one or two people focused on the objective, but if it happens then make sure to go back and make sure someone is pushing the cart/on the control point/etc.)

Things to look and listen for

Paying close attention to your surroundings can be difficult when you're in combat since you're very focused on fighting and staying alive, but listening and looking around on occasion can be beneficial for both you and your team.

Look for:

Teleporter trails. Teleporters are extremely useful, but can be a nuisance if the enemy team has one. You can easily find out if they have one by looking at an opponent's feet. If a player has recently used a teleporter, red or blue light will briefly trail off of their feet. If you notice something like this, then the enemy team has a teleporter up. (If the enemy team has any buildings at all then it can be assumed that they have a teleporter as well.)

Sticky traps. Good sticky traps can be difficult or even impossible to spot. However, if you see one or more stickybombs near a doorway or on a wall, chances are there's a demoman waiting for someone to walk by their trap. Stickybombs can be removed with hitscan weapons like the scattergun or minigun, or moved with explosives or the flamethrower's airblast.

Sniper dots. When a sniper scopes in, a small red or blue dot will appear wherever they are aiming their crosshair. If you notice one of these, that means a Sniper is watching that area and peeking will probably get you killed. Don't go through an area that you know a Sniper is watching unless you're confident that they aren't going to be able to hit you.

"Teammates" acting strangely. Things like teammates running away from the enemy team, Medics running around with their primary weapon out instead of their medigun, Snipers running around near the front line, and Scouts moving slowly are all behaviors that indicate that that teammate is an enemy Spy. If you see someone acting suspicious, try shooting them a couple of times. TF2 doesn't have friendly fire, so you won't hurt them if they actually are on your team.

Listen for:

Spies decloaking. If you listen carefully enough, you may be able to hear Spies decloaking behind you. The stock invis watch and the Cloak & Dagger are both very quiet, but the Dead Ringer is considerably louder. The latter two watches make a faint wooshing noise, while the Dead Ringer makes a loud ringing sound. If you hear anything like this while playing, turn around and begin spychecking.

Footsteps. These are usually hard to hear while in combat, but can be helpful for tracking flank classes like Spy and Scout.

Voice commands. There are 3 voice command menus that can be accessed with Z, X, and C by default. These commands allow you to convey ideas or call attention to something without using a microphone or the in-game chat. A few examples are "Help!" (C1), "Spy!" (X2), "Move Up!" (Z4), and "MEDIC!" (Z1 or E). Listen for and use these commands so that you can convey and receive information quickly.

Voice command menu options:

(Z)

MEDIC!

Thanks!

Go! Go! Go!

Move up!

Go left!

Go right!

Yes

No

(X)

Incoming

Spy!

Sentry ahead!

Teleporter request

Dispenser request

Sentry request

Übercharge request

Übercharge ready (Medic only)

(C)

Help!

Battle cry

Cheers

Jeers

Positive

Negative

Good shot

Good job

Class related tips

Scout

Your speed is your greatest advantage over the other classes. It lets you flank quickly, dodge projectiles and bullets, and escape unfavorable situations easily.

Your scattergun is most effective at short and medium range. getting close to your opponents will help you kill them quickly, but I wouldn't recommend getting too close if you're new to the game, especially if you haven't gotten a handle on dodging yet.

You capture objectives at 2x the rate of any other class. This makes Scout players extremely useful on offense, but less so on defense since he doesn't revert captures in the same way.

Don't run directly at the enemy team. Instead, use flank routes to get behind them and take them by surprise.

Make sure to use your secondary. A lot of Scouts will opt to switch to their melee if they run out of scattergun shots, but the pistol is much better for finishing people off.

Soldier

Soldier is a great class for beginners. He is the first class you learn to play during the tutorial, and is easy for new players to be effective with in a casual setting.

Your rocket launcher has splash damage. This means that you don't have to aim directly at your opponents in order to damage them. Try to get your opponents into small spaces (such as hallways) to ensure that they cannot avoid splash damage from your rockets. (Side note: Splash damage from rockets can hurt you as well. If you're in a close quarters fight with someone, switch to your shotgun or melee if you're not confident that you can kill them and also tank the damage from your rockets.)

Shoot rockets at your opponents' feet. This will ensure that they will take splash damage and will slow them down. This is especially important when fighting Pyros, since shooting rockets at their feet makes them harder for them to reflect.

Rocket jumping is an incredibly useful skill to have. Again, it takes a lot of practice to get more complicated jumps down, but it’s extremely useful since it improves Soldier’s mobility drastically. (Soldier is the 2nd slowest class in the game.)

Pyro

Your flamethrower is only effective at close range. In instances where people are out of your range, switch to your secondary weapon or try to ambush them.

Your flamethrower has an airblast. This can be used to reflect projectiles, push enemies around, or extinguish teammates that are on fire. Airblast is especially helpful for pushing back Übered combos and reflecting spam.

Spycheck often. Pyro is an excellent counter to Spy, since Pyro can reveal and track cloaked Spies by lighting them on fire. Even if you don't think there's a Spy around, do it just to be safe.

Demoman

Practice your pipe aim. Aiming pipes can be very difficult to learn, but it's worth it for the amount of damage a direct pipe can do in a short amount of time.

Place sticky traps. The stickybomb launcher is a great tool for denying areas, and the bombs can be detonated at any time. (Even when you're not looking at them or are holding a different weapon.) Capture points, doorframes, or around corners are good places to put sticky traps.

Place stickies down if you're being chased. Demoman doesn't have any hitscan weapons, so fighting classes like Scout or Pyro can be challenging. If you find you're not hitting them consistently or are taking too much damage, retreat and place stickies around where you think they'll chase you.

You are just as effective on offense as you are on defense. Demoman is extremely versatile and the amount of damage he can put out in shorts amount of time is great for both making and denying pushes.

Heavy

Your bullets come out of your head. I know that sounds really weird but Heavy's bullets actually come out of his head and not his minigun. This is important because it allows you to duck behind cover and still be able to do damage as long as your head is still poking out.

Wait for the enemy to come to you. Heavy is not that great at chasing due to his slow movement speed and his minigun’s rev up speed. He is most effective at ambushing unprepared opponents since they won't have time to fight back.

Jump and rev up around corners. Heavy slows down when he revs up or fires his minigun, which can be detrimental if you're taking a lot of damage at once. You can pre-rev your minigun by holding the right mouse button, and if you jump while revving up, you won't slow down until you've landed on the ground again. Jump-revving allows you to take your opponents by surprise, which is where Heavy shines the most.

Your sandvich can heal your teammates. I haven’t gone over any other classes’ unlocks and I probably won’t in this post, but the sandvich is so widely used that using Heavy’s stock secondary (the shotgun) is only ever used jokingly so I feel I should talk about it here. You can use the sandvich to heal yourself, but it can also be thrown on the ground by right clicking. Doing this creates the equivalent of a medium health pack, which you can use to heal wounded teammates. This is one of the reasons Heavy is a great pocket for Medic, since Heavy can protect the Medic and heal them if they’re in danger.

Get to safety before using your sandvich. Heavy is extremely vulnerable while eating, so you should only use your sandvich in closed-off areas and out of Sniper sightlines. You should also keep your back against a wall so that Spies can’t backstab you while you’re eating.

Engineer

Make sure your sentry is covering the objective, or protecting your other buildings. Sentries are great at area denial, but if the area your sentry is denying isn't important to the enemy then it isn't in a good spot. This doesn't mean to place your sentry super close to the payload cart or directly on the control point, but you should be putting it in a place that makes it harder for the enemy team to capture it defend it. If you’re on offense, you can use your sentry to protect your other buildings, or to help your team during a push.

Don't group up buildings together. Putting your buildings together in one place makes it easier for Demomen and Soldiers to destroy your entire nest with only a few rockets or pills. Make sure your buildings are far enough away from each other so that they won't susceptible to splash damage, but close enough to you and your team so that you can use them when you need to.

Don’t sacrifice yourself for your buildings. Sentries, dispensers, and teleporters can easily be put back up after being destroyed, as long as you're alive to do it. Sacrificing yourself just to make sure one of your buildings doesn't get destroyed may be helpful in the moment, but usually ends up with the building being destroyed anyway and you having to sit through a respawn timer before you can build it again.

Dispensers and teleporters are very important. A lot of new players like to only build sentries because they kills, but you aren't going to be able to keep your sentry up on your own without a good metal supply and your team backing you up. Dispensers provide you with metal which can be used to upgrade and repair your buildings, and also supplies you and your team with a reliable source of health and ammo. Teleporters are also very important to your team (especially Heavies) since they get your team to the front lines quickly so they can help you defend your nest and defend/attack the objective.

Don't build on the last point or on any other inactive point. Your team needs your buildings at the point that they're currently defending, and denying them the help they need just so you can get your buildings to level 3 only helps the enemy team in the long run. They would essentially be down one player for each objective that you're not helping them defend. Even a level 1 dispenser is better than nothing.

If you have other Engineers on your team, help them build and maintain their buildings. Nests are much harder to destroy if all the Engineers are working together. Things like repairing and upgrading buildings, spychecking, and removing sappers are all things you can do to help the other Engineers on your team and in turn make it harder for the enemy team to progress. (Side note: Try not to take metal from another Engineer's dispenser if you're only upgrading your buildings. They need that metal for their buildings, so if you don't have a dispenser, use resupply or find an ammo pack to do whatever it is you need to do, or build a dispenser yourself.)

Medic

Medic is the only healer in TF2. Plus all Übercharges, regardless of type, are a fantastic tool for making or denying pushes and breaking stalemates. Typically if one team has a Medic and the other doesn't, the team without the Medic will lose badly solely because they have no reliable source of health. Even being healed or having overheal is usually enough to win a 1v1 or kill multiple people. Because of this, the enemy team will want you dead as often as possible.

Don't waste your Übercharge. A lot of players think using their charge as soon as they get it is a good idea, but you should really wait until your team is ready to push to use it.

If you have Über and are about to die, use your Übercharge to preserve your life. I know this sounds contradictory to the last point, but using your charge to keep yourself alive in emergencies is significantly better than dying and not getting to use it at all. Your team needs you to stay alive so they can stay alive, and using an Übercharge to stay alive helps everyone in the long run. Plus, you can get your Übercharge back faster if you're alive and healing people instead of sitting through a respawn timer.

Don't stick to healing only one person. I know Meet the Medic had Medic pocketing Heavy and he killed like 1000 Soldiers and it was really cool and epic and swag, but he also healed Scout and Demoman before that because they were his teammates and they were hurt. Having a pocket is perfectly fine, but neglecting your team just to constantly heal one person is a waste of time for you and unhelpful for the rest of your team. You build Übercharge much faster when you're healing multiple people who are hurt, so you're not going to get as many charges if your only goal is to keep your pocket alive.

Some classes are better at being Medic pockets than others, but individual skill is what matters most. When or if you're deciding to pocket someone, make sure you're choosing someone who knows what they're doing. For example, Heavy is a pretty good pocket class for Medic, but if you had to decide between A) a Heavy who just installed the game and doesn't know how to play yet, or B) a Pyro who has been playing for years and has been pocketed many times before, the Pyro would be the better choice. The Heavy is objectively the better class, but in this instance the Heavy player lacks the experience playing Heavy needed to be effective. The Pyro has experience, so they will know how to protect you, what to do during Übercharges, and probably won't lead you into any danger.

Don't follow people into danger. If you're healing someone and they're about to walk into a room full of enemies or a sentry nest, try to tell them not to go in. If they keep going, abandon them. (It's a little different if you have an Übercharge. If you want to use it to push forward then definitely do it, but if your pocket is going too far in and there's still danger around, leave them and get out.)

Sniper

Prioritize your targets. This is pretty important for every class, but moreso for Sniper since he can pretty much instakill anyone from any distance. Medics have the highest priority since again, they’re the only healers, but after that I’d say to focus on any class that’s giving your team the most trouble. (Except for Spy and Scout, since they’re generally pretty hard to hit.)

Charged shots deal more damage. While scoped in, there’s a little bar on the right that gradually fills up the longer you stay scoped. This is your charge meter, which indicates how much damage you’ll do once the shot is fired. An uncharged headshot deals 150 damage, which can kill Snipers, Spies, Scouts, and Medics as long as they aren’t overhealed. A fully charged headshot deals 450 damage, which is enough to kill an overhealed Heavy.

Bodyshotting is okay. You should always try to go for headshots since they’re the most effective, but if you or your teammates are in danger and you think a bodyshot is enough to kill them, then go for it. An uncharged bodyshot deals 50 damage, which can be used to finish off enemies at low health, and a fully charged bodyshot deals 150 damage.

Try not to get tunnel vision. It’s always important to be aware of your surroundings, but it can be difficult while playing as Sniper since you’re usually so focused on landing headshots. Make sure to periodically unscope and check for anyone trying to ambush you, and listen for things like footsteps or Spies decloaking. You should also make sure to stick with your team when they move forward, and avoid focusing on a single sightline.

Spy

Don’t rely too heavily on disguises. Most people who are playing TF2 today have been playing for a while, so they can usually tell if someone is a Spy. If you can, use your cloak to get behind enemy lines.

Cloak before you disguise. The disguise kit creates a small puff of smoke around the player using it, which can be used to track your position even while under cloak.

Try not to bump into anyone on the enemy team. If you’re cloaked, a team-colored outline will appear around you briefly, which will give away your position and can get you killed. If you’re disguised, it’s immediately a dead giveaway since people who are on the same team can walk through each other.

Try to go for backstabs when your enemies are distracted. When people are out of combat, they’re far more focused on not getting backstabbed, especially if they already know that the enemy team has a Spy. They’re more likely to randomly check their backs if they have nothing else to focus on, so try to wait until their attention has shifted onto something else. (Example: scoped Snipers and revved-up Heavies are usually very easy targets, since they’re focused on your team and they don’t move around too much.)

Trickstabs should only be used in emergencies. Trickstabs very are useful for getting out of bad situations as a last resort, but you should use your revolver or cloak instead if you’re not confident that you can land one.

Try to make your disguise believable. If you’re in a situation where you absolutely cannot use your cloak, then do your best to try and act like the class you’re disguised as.

General disguise: Using voice commands that don’t show up in chat and jumping around/strafing can sometimes fool even experienced players. You should also be aware of the position the class you’re disguised as is usually in. (Example: Snipers, Engineers, and Medics usually behind their teammates, and Soldiers and Demomen are usually at the front lines.) You should also pay attention to your disguises’ health and act accordingly. (Example: Say “MEDIC!” or “Help!” a lot if your disguise is at low health.) You can also switch your disguise’s weapon by switching to the appropriate weapon slot and pressing B. (Example: if you’re disguised as Engineer and want to hold the wrench, switch to your knife and then press B.)

Scout disguise: This disguise can be hard to pull off since Spy doesn’t gain any kind of speed boost from disguising as Scout, but it can be useful if you’re not really focused on acting and just want to stab someone and get out since it doesn’t slow Spy down either. 

Soldier disguise: Again, very hard to pull off since most Soldiers get around by rocket jumping, so seeing a Soldier walking around looks pretty suspicious. This disguise can be useful for getting the enemy Medic to heal you though, but it isn’t one I’d use in most situations.

Pyro disguise: Pretty decent disguise since Pyro (usually) isn’t very mobile and is often found around flank routes and sentry nests. 

Demoman disguise: Under normal circumstances, this would just be a better Soldier disguise since Demomen really only ever sticky jump to get to the front lines quickly, so seeing a Demoman walking around isn’t as suspicious.  However, there is currently a bug where the Demoman disguise will be missing his legs, so try not to use this disguise either.

Heavy disguise: Good for getting the enemy Medic’s attention, not so much for stabbing anyone since it decreases Spy’s movement drastically.

Engineer disguise: Very similar to Pyro, but a bit better for sentry nests. Don’t disguise as an Engineer if the enemy Engineer is still alive and around their buildings though.

Medic disguise: Probably the best disguise for Spy, since it doesn’t slow you down and everyone expects Medics to be around their teammates anyway. Just make sure your disguise has the Medigun out and not their primary or melee. 

Sniper disguise: Not bad if you’re far behind enemy lines since Snipers are supposed to be there anyway, but not a good disguise for trying to pick off front line classes.

Spy disguise: Very similar to Scout in that its only usefulness comes from its lack of any speed penalty. Most people tend to spycheck any friendly Spies they see, even if they aren’t disguised as anything purely because they’re Spies.

End Note

The stuff this post covers is pretty surface level, and TF2 goes much deeper than just what’s written here (I didn’t write about any unlocks except the Sandvich because that would take me forever and this post has already been sitting in my drafts for months,) so if anyone has anything they’d like to add then absolutely do it because my hands hurt from typing this out. 

Some other stuff I recommend if you’re new to TF2:

Community jump maps. They’re solely used to practice rocket jumping for Soldier, sticky jumping for Demoman, sentry jumping for Engineer, and flare jumping for Pyro. 

Buy literally anything from the Mann Co. Store. Being free to play is terrible because you get barely any backpack space and you will absolutely regret deleting your Ghastly Gibus/Pyrovision to make room in your inventory for weapons you want to try out.

Online tutorials, such as Lazypurple’s “How it feels to play” series, Uncle Dane’s Engineer tutorials, and MrPaladin’s Spy tutorials. There’s also an official TF2 Wiki that has basic strategies for each class, and goes over each classes’ unlockable weapons.

Offline practice. It’s not a great substitute for other players since the bots are pretty janky, but it’s good for learning basic stuff the layout of various maps and  how each class functions ingame.

Mess around with your settings and hud, and maybe think about getting a config if your PC doesn’t run TF2 very well. Make sure to set your FoV to the highest setting and to turn on minimized viewmodels, because TF2′s default FoV and viewmodels are terrible and there’s a lot of stuff you won’t see coming if you don’t do this.

Ask for help when you need it. There are always exceptions, but I’ve found that the TF2 community is generally pretty open to helping out new players. Just don’t listen to anyone who tells you to “type unbindall in console for a free hat” or anything like that.

Don’t get discouraged. TF2 is deceptively difficult and has a pretty steep learning curve, so don’t worry if you die a bunch of times and get like 2 kills in your first game because we’ve all been through that phase.

Mute text/voice chat/other people when you need to. Again, the TF2 community is pretty okay as far as online FPS communities go, but since it’s a video game and video games fanbases can get really toxic, there’s going to be a point in time where you’re going to want to do this for your own sanity. You can mute text/voice chat in advanced options, and you can mute individual players by clicking the icon with the speech bubble and an x near it in the menu.

Anyway it’s nearly 1:00 am and I just finished typing this so uh. gn.

#long post #tf2 #team fortress 2 #scout #soldier #pyro #demoman #heavy #engineer #medic #sniper #spy

[shintorikhazumi]

A Warm Diana Chapter 5: A Higher Degree

A Warm Diana Chapter 5: A Higher Degree                  

A/N: at end of chapter. Hello.  Enjoy? ~Shintori Khazumi

~0~0~0~

Where do we go from here? Is there any other way other than forward? What is this dance we’re doing, a step forward, yet two steps back. How do we progress in this heated tango?

What are we waiting for? Where do we go from here?

~0~0~0~

Diana wouldn’t say she was a prodigious dancer, but she’s been to enough social events to not be terrible at it. Akko would obviously beg to differ because, in her eyes (and everyone else’s, she supposes), Diana was amazing at anything she laid her hands on, anything she picked up.

So, it was on this fine day, at this very moment, as she was seated on the wooden floor, in a little corner of the room with her back against the wall, that Akko would stare in wonder and amazement at her friend…friend? -Were they still at this stage? Most possibly with how Akko had been dancing (the only kind of dancing she seemed to be good at, as of the moment) around the issue of whatever relationship they both had. Though, she knew something had changed between them. There was this freshness in their relationship dynamic that had changed it in its entirety. That, she could not deny, nor did she want to. At the same time, however, there was equal amounts of intimidation mixed into this hot-mess recipe of a relationship.

They had yet to actually talk about whatever it was that would happen from that point of their relationship after the date. Diana said she would wait, and Akko was far from knowing what answer was the right one to give. She knew she loved Diana, but she had doubts, not of her partner-to-be, but doubts in herself. This had made their interactions awkward and full of tension- the good or bad kind, Akko didn’t know.

And so, days passed uneventfully as they were, again, (quite frustratingly in their friends’ books apparently) at a standstill.

Anyway, Akko stared at her “friend” as she was made an example before the class as to how to properly do the waltz as they would be having another formal with the boys from Andrew’s school as it was nearing the end of the school year.

Andrew.

Akko visibly winced. Thoughts of the boy were seldom pleasant these days. What had been a beautiful friendship between them, she no longer knew what remained. Would Andrew even look at her, much less talk or interact with her outside of the required pleasantries?

She had always enjoyed the company of the male, despite their differences. He had a completely different view of the world from her, from witches. In a sense, it was refreshing. She also enjoyed it when he’d send her little videos of him playing tunes on his piano, be it an extravagant piece or a personal composition. She admired him as she admired any of her friends. And like all her friendships, she’d like to keep this one, cherished in her heart for as long as possible.

Still.

It hurt.

His words had hurt her, cut deep into her soul. While his confession came as an enormous shocker, she felt slightly flattered that a man of high pedigree such as Andrew would see her country bumpkin self as someone worth having feelings for. However, it could never dismiss that chat on the bench that continued to scratch at her heart each time she remembered the words,

[You can’t.]

Her eyes stung, her heart lurched; she shook her head, ridding her mind, temporarily, of the memory. She didn’t want to grow to hate the man. She just… She just couldn’t face him right now. That’s all.

Vision focusing, she was surprised to see her eyes meet Diana’s from across the room where she sat. Apparently, the heiress had completed her demonstration and was in the middle of taking long sips from her water bottle. Her figure stood in front of the large windows of the classroom often used for dance, meditation, sparring, and other practical applications of magic. Light gleamed through them, courtesy of the afternoon sun, rendering a glow to outline her form.

A droplet of water slipped down her slender neck, almost disappearing at the base of her throat. Akko found herself bewitched, her sight having unknowingly trailed after the transparent liquid, gaze travelling from there, back up to a shapely jawline, to pinkish lips that seemed to be tipping upwards slightly.

Suddenly, Akko felt the need to see Diana’s eyes, and she felt her breath stall in her lungs. There was a different shade to her gaze. Somehow it seemed playful, pleased; shimmering with some form of mirth at having caught Akko shamelessly gawking, but at the same time there was this… heat that Akko couldn’t name. It felt like it could burn her very soul if she remained looking.

Was it just her, or was it actually getting hotter in here?

She immediately broke the staring contest, opting to poke at a small dirt spot beside her on a wooden panel. Here, she had been sitting quietly in the corner, dreading over one of her friendships that might soon cease to exist, but over there was another friendship that she… didn’t quite know… um… what…

Akko scratched at her head with both hands, feeling a headache build with great speed. Everything was just so… confusing and frightening, worrying, sudden, hot, cold…warm-

Warm. A warm hand had taken one of hers that had been pulling at- and roughing up her hair. Another proceeded to pat the top of her head so gently, Akko could have sworn it wasn’t really there. It smoothed out her messy hair strands before she felt a ghost of a kiss planted there. A bolt of electricity ran through her spine as she jolted slightly, forcing a blush away.

“Is it that frustrating to be told to sit out of this practice?” Akko could hear small bells tinkling, a soft melody playing, interlaced with a voice she had to admit she loved so much, as much as the person who owned it.

“Maybe.” She shrugged, still looking downwards. “Though it wouldn’t be the first time I was called out and filtered out from the rest of the class for sucking at something… or well everything.” That last part she whispered to herself.

Oh, but Diana was an attentive girl. Especially towards people she cared for deeply. She heard every word, and with a sigh, she knelt in front of Akko’s hunched form. “Akko…”

“Do-don’t worry about it! It’s not like I’m not used to it! I mean, I know I’ve improved quite a bit in terms of school and stuff… and other stuff, but really. Diana, you don’t have to worry-“

“Akko.”

Said girl flinched. Her gaze still on that little smudge on the flooring.

“Please… look at me…” The voice was so fragile, so soft. It pleaded for her to give her attention to blue eyes and a sad smile. Who would be cruel enough to destroy such a beautiful smile any further?

So, she looked up.

“Hi.” It was spoken in such a gentle whisper. Akko was mesmerized once more. Her eyes could not be torn away from such beautiful diamonds. She swore every precious stone could never amount to much if compared to the sparkling gems Diana had.

“Hi…” She replied in a quieter, more broken voice. “I-“ Her voice cracked, and she shut her mouth, opting to simply search Diana’s warm gaze once more.

“Class has been over for a while. This is also the last class of the day- in case you’ve forgotten.” Diana offered a kind smile. “You’ve been sitting here, unmoving. I suppose I got worried since everyone has already cleared the room.”

True to her word, Akko found that they were the only two people left inside. Even her teammates were nowhere in sight.

As if Diana had read her mind, she spoke, “If you are looking for Lotte and Sucy, they told me they needed to leave first as Sucy had been summoned by one of the professors from a higher year because she made another potion they could not quite decipher, and used it on one of the older students.”

Akko shook her head in amusement because of course Sucy would do something like that. Leave it to her to spice up any day. Both… figuratively and literally. Akko shuddered at the memory of being fed some concoction Sucy brewed up in their quest to create the quote-unquote, best hot sauce in the world.

Another realization came to mind that had her smiling. ‘”Lotte” and “Sucy”, huh… Everyone sure has gotten close.” The fact that Diana could now call her best friends by their given name brought about an inexplicable joy to Akko. It somehow made the weight in her heart lighter, her headache disappearing as she faced this gorgeous, amazing being in front of her.

“Thank you.”

Akko didn’t know what kind of face she had been making, but it must have been something special, seeing as Diana had suddenly flushed an adorable light red, seemingly losing composure for a few moments before coughing, and offering a confident smile to Akko.

“You are always welcome. Always.” Diana didn’t know what Akko was thanking her for, but she supposed this wasn’t that moment to question it. So, she responded, trying to hide how flustered she had been as Akko gave her the gentlest expression, the warmest- dare she say loving- expression she’s ever been on the receiving end of. The only other person she could remember to have looked at her that way was her mother. And still, it was something completely different.

There was this need that arose in her heart. It had always been there, but in this particular moment, with the golden rays of the sun hitting both girls in just the right way, Diana’s pulse quickened drastically as her mind felt like it had been wiped clear of any rationality. She subconsciously leaned forward, closer to Akko whose eyes went wide, mouth slightly agape, cheeks splashed a rosy color. There was an impulsive desire taking over Diana’s actions. Akko’s scent- the source was drawing ever nearer; it made her dizzy. Her hand, previously atop Akko’s head, now rested on her burning cheek, the other had fingers interlocked with Akko’s, squeezing it close to her heart. Her lips parted, she took a quick intake of air before she found her voice to say, “Akko, I lo-“

“Anyone still here?” Diana froze. Akko was already frozen long before.

At a speed faster than her broom could take her, Diana had detached herself from Akko, standing shakily a good four feet away now.

“Y-yes, Diana Cavendish is s-still here.” She spoke with all the confidence of a peanut on a pizza. And she didn’t think there were any peanuts on pizzas.

“Oh, miss Cavendish.” One of the janitors tipped his hat at her, standing by the door. “Miss Akko, too!” He gave a friendly smile and wave to the academy staff’s favorite witch. “I’m sorry if you were practicing or anything. I’ve been instructed to clean and lock up this room, so I have to shoo you away, regrettably.” He informed them kindly.

“It’s no trouble.” Diana released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “We were just about to head out, weren’t we Akko?” Said brunette nodded a bit too enthusiastically, not trusting her voice enough to speak. Brushing dust from her lap, she attempted to get up, only to fall back onto her bottom as Diana worriedly returned to her side in record time.

“Are you okay, Miss Akko?” The janitor asked, having entered the room now, mop in tow.

“Perfectly okay! Just a little weak in the shins, as they say.”

“Knees. It’s knees, Akko.”

“Right. Those.” She breathed. A pause. “What are those?” She chuckled nervously, head spinning. Diana’s sudden proximity did no favors for her erratic heartbeat as she felt a hand grasp her waist, supporting her onto her feet.

“Are you sure you two will be fine? Need me to call for help?” The worker offered, concerned gaze switching from one girl to the other.

“No, no need.” Diana smiled, arm not leaving its position around the small of Akko’s back. “I’ll make sure Akko returns to her room safely.”

“Okay then, I guess. I’ll be starting now, just head on out the back door.” He pointed to the other entry- and exit- way of the room, beginning his mopping.

“Thank you for all your hard work.” Diana gave a small nod of appreciation, Akko muttering her thanks as they were given a wave in return.

Gathering some of their belongings- towels and Diana’s bottle of water- they slowly walked to their classroom to grab their bags and head back to the dorms. All the while, Diana’s arm remained securely wrapped around Akko’s waist.

They both knew it was there. Diana could stand to ignore the fluttering of her heart, but it seemed as though Akko could not.

“Umm, Diana… If you could- I think I can walk by myself alright now.” Akko mumbled with her head hung low.

Diana retracted her hand hesitantly, feeling as though Akko would fall if she let go.

“Thanks.” Akko continued walking, not too fast to leave Diana behind, but not slow enough to fall into pace with her that they’d have to walk side-by-side. Akko found it easier to breathe if she walked just a bit ahead.

“Yes, of course, I-… my apologies for… if that made you uncomfortable.” Diana had promised she would wait for a proper answer, and Akko seemed so relieved, going home from their date. Diana thought it would be fairly smooth- with a few hiccups along the way- sailing for them and their “relationship”. However, morning came and days passed, and it could not get any more awkward as Akko would have moments of simply staring at Diana for extended periods of time, whether it be in class, during meals, as she patrolled the hallways; and this would be contrasted by moments like this. Moments where Akko couldn’t even look her way.

She felt her heart ache as she stared at Akko’s back. It seemed much smaller than it usually was. This period of Akko’s life made apparent that she was just as fearful and doubtful as any other. The believing heart that was her magic could also be stunted in the face of trials. And while those trials might not have to be saving the world and fighting large dragons, love and society were definitely scary things to think about as they grew into adults.

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

It was a silent walk the rest of the way to the dorm, and upon reaching Akko’s room, the pair halted.

There was only the soft rustle of the wind outside, a noise from down the hall.

All was completely still.

“Diana-“ “Akko-“

“Oh- you go first-“ “Go ahead-“

“I insist!” “No, no, you…”

“…”

“…”

“Pfft-“

The pair burst into soft laughter, tension easing from their shoulders. Diana felt happy tears slip from her eyes as they were tightly shut, her heart feeling lighter all of a sudden. Minutes could have passed by, neither girl was aware of how long they’d been laughing. Diana’s cheeks were starting to hurt. Akko’s giggles tickled her ears, and she just adored the way it sounded. Though light, a small pang of longing returned to her chest, along with a stir of frustration brought about by not knowing just what was going on.

Diana’s laughs subsided, ending neatly in a sigh, eyes looking to the tips of her shoes. It was not a view she often saw. She usually had her head held high in pride and confidence. Here, she was just as insecure as anyone delving into a territory so unfamiliar.

“Diana.” That voice called her, soft and anxious. “Thank you for walking me back.”

“Anytime.” The top student responded, lifting her head up to give Akko one final smile before she’d have to march off to her room without looking back as she always did to curb the restlessness of her very soul and prepare it for another day of tiptoeing ‘round eggshells and each other.

The sight she was met with today, however, caught her off guard. Though it had been so tense and awkward, stuffy that it made it hard to breathe so few moments ago, right now, Akko was anything but those things. She was smiling gently, as if any of the things that had been plaguing her the past few days, and maybe weeks hadn’t existed in the first place. She was smiling at Diana. Her eyes were so warm, gaze tender, her smile small but… just- Diana couldn’t explain, but it made butterflies run rampant in her stomach.

Calloused hands tentatively reached forward. Diana couldn’t seem to move. Akko cupped her face with a gentleness some would think was alien to the girl, what with her usual rambunctious nature. Diana found it all too fitting, though, because of how she knew Akko.

She searched Akko’s face, trying to find hints of worry, hesitance, fear. She herself felt those things, wondering if this was but another one of her day dreams as she waited for the reply that could completely take their relationship down new paths. She only found calmness and peace, and a bit of joy.

Somehow her eyes stung, and she felt a rush of heat throughout her entire body. Was this relief? At what? Diana could feel the corners of her mouth lift, though her lips shook. Perhaps she had let an emotion slip as she felt Akko brush the wetness away from her cheek.

What was going on right now? Diana wanted to know. She had grown accustomed to a daily push-and-pull of edginess and trepidation with every action they performed around one another. She was getting used to the somewhat cold goodbyes in front of Akko’s dorm room. She was familiarizing the hours she got up in the middle of the night to think about Akko and how to talk to her come the new morning.

So what was this warmth right now? Why-

“Why are you smiling?” Was that a weird question to let loose? Diana slipped up, she rarely did, but she wasn’t quite thinking clearly.

“Should I not be?” Akko chuckled.

“No, I love your smile. You look beautiful.” Diana responded in a heartbeat. She reveled in the way the red blossomed across Akko’s visage, and she found herself grinning in elation.

“You- I… you’re… more. Well, you’re- Diana!” Akko exclaimed with a pinch to the heiress’ cheeks.

Diana felt laughter bubbling in her chest once more, a tear slipping past only to be caught by Akko’s thumb again.

“And why are you crying!”

“Am I?”

“Well, I would think so.” Akko mumbled, massaging the area just below Diana’s eyes gently. “What’s gotten into you?”

“What’s gotten into you?” She quipped back. “Suddenly you… you… it’s like you’ve suddenly become comfortable around me.”

“I’m always comfy around you, what are you talking about?” Akko replied, though she was not looking at Diana as she did so.

“Akko, admit it. These past few days, our interactions could not get any less stressful- Ah yes, if I’m crying this is quite possibly stress-relief.” Diana chuckled, her words clearing up some things in her head, at least.

Those same words had a different effect on Akko, as she frowned.

“I’m sorry.” She apologized in a small voice. “That’s probably my fault. I’m sorry.” The guilt in Akko’s voice leaked out.

Diana felt the hands on her face loosen their hold, but she grasped them, holding them in place before they could let go. “No.”

“N-no?” Akko faced a serious Diana, wondering if her apology would not be accepted and this was as far as Diana was willing to give in to her selfishness.

“Oh, no. No, I mean- It’s not your fault. Or maybe it is, I suppose? Not exactly, not quite. Do you… do you understand what I’m trying to convey?” Diana said all in one breath.

Akko blinked, she felt like laughing all over again. They were both acting out of character. Akko didn’t know she could be so anxious, and another thing she didn’t know was that Diana could look so adorable with her cheeks squished between Akko’s hands, eyes wide and attentive towards Akko. It was so cute that Akko felt her chest squeeze.

“No, Diana. I don’t think I do. I don’t understand a thing, and I don’t think you do either.” Akko freed her hands from Diana’s, turning her back to the girl as she threw her arms into the air, yelling, “Hahaha, this is such a mess!”

She ran to a corridor window, looking at the empty yard below. Unlatching one side, she opened it just enough to shove her head out and scream another round of,

“This is such a mess! I’m such a mess!”

Whoever would hear the sudden noise during this quiet afternoon might get surprised, but not as surprised as Akko who felt a presence by her side, as the other side of the window opened, and an excited Diana hollered, “I’M ALSO A MESS! SUCH A HUGE MESS!”

Akko heard the clock tick once, before a grin painted itself across her face. “YOU’RE A FANTASTIC MESS!”

Diana’s eyebrows could almost touch her hairline, Akko swore, with how high they were raised right now. Then something flashed in those crystal blue orbs. A look of determination? Of challenge?

“WELL, THEN YOU’RE A BEAUTIFUL MESS!”

Oh. So that’s how they were going to play.

“YOU’RE A SPECTACULAR MESS!”

“YOU’RE AN INSPIRING MESS!”

“BUT YOU’RE THE INSPIRING MESS!”

“YOU’RE THE UPLIFITING MESS THEN!”

A deep breath. “THEN YOU’RE THE MOST GORGEOUS MESS I’VE EVER MET IN MY LIFE. SO GORGEOUS YOU’RE NOT EVEN A MESS ANYMORE? WAIT CAN A MESS BE GORGEOUS? AREN’T YOU A GODDESS INSTEAD?! YOU’RE HOT TOO SO WOULD THAT BE COUNTED AS A HOT MESS?”

“Akko- gh..pfft- you’re still screaming.” Diana laughed, wondering if the questions Akko had flung at the wind were things she was supposed to be asking our that loud.

“Well…” The girl seemed to have calmed, lowering herself from the window she had half-climbed out of, torso hanging dangerously above the ground with her legs keeping her locked in. “Maybe we got a little too excited.” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

“Perhaps we have.” Diana reached a hand out for Akko to take-

“WHO IS YELLING IN MY DORMITORY?!”

Oops.

“Akko, do you fancy a little exercise?”

“Oh my god, Diana, are you proposing we run in the hallways right now? Inside school?”

“Time to think fast, love, time is of the essence if you don’t want to get caught.”

The pet name made Akko blush, but she could deal with that later as she grasped Diana’s hand, pulling her along as she began her take-off.

“Keep up with me if you can.”

“I think I’ve done that long enough to be fairly acquainted with anything you pull, and I can probably do better.”

“Is that a challenge, Miss Cavendish?”

“Depends on how you see it, Miss Kagari.”

As they ran as fast as their legs could take them, away from Akko’s room, searching for a way to lose those footsteps behind them, Diana’s lungs burned with the need for oxygen. But it felt good, somehow. So good.

Staring at the back of the person pulling her forward, fingers interlaced, she couldn’t help but smile. It felt like something else was moving forward. Their relationship, whatever it was- though still just as confusing-, was moving forward. Diana could feel it. It was getting better, and she prayed it would stay that way.

As her body temperature climbed a few degrees higher from the exertion, she couldn’t help but think that this love burned hotter too.

And as Akko chanced a glance back at her, a goofy smile splayed across her lips as she silently mouthed a, “Thank you, Diana.”, though she might not know what was going to happen from that point on, the top student couldn’t help but believe that their relationship was now also at a higher degree.

 A/N: It’s been… three years? I don’t even know what to say, honestly. Other than I’ve decided to commit to just finishing this story now. I don’t if I’ll write new ones, but I don’t wanna leave my half-assed work like this. The past two years have been… the best and worst learning experience for me. And now that I’m in college, I feel so unmotivated with everything. I’m wondering if picking up writing again will open up a passion I lost. Haha. Cheers! I’ve missed it a lot. Sorry for the bad chapter, I don’t know how to write anymore. Yes, their relationship is still kept vague, but please bear with me. 

I wonder if my old readers are still here with me.

~Shintori Khazumi

#lwa #little witch academia #A Warm Diana #diakko #dianakko #fanfic #well look who's back #maybe #diana cavendish #akko kagari #kagari atsuko

[galacticnova3]

Tell us about your other ocs (not iru 😒🙄) please

GHHGGHHGHJJHHN LOVE THIS ASK!

Ok so I’m gonna talk about Roa in that case!

She’s another Umbramaker (mirror Starcutter), but unlike Iru she isn’t terrible! She’s basically Lor’s mirror counterpart, but not technically because no soul to be reflected and stuff. Due to the nature of Umbramakers basically being bootleg Starcutters, though, Roa is actually 2000 years younger than Lor. Not that that would be super obvious based on how the two act, though; she’s a lot more serious, a bit behind the times, much less outgoing, and others would probably say she’s not as fun. The truth is she just never really figured out how to loosen up until very recently, and even then she’s more of the nerd sort than the memey type. If you get her talking about something she’s interested in, such as Another Dimension and Parallel Dimension (which are different parts of the same place), she could infodump for ages, going on tangent after tangent and yet always bringing it back to the same subject. She would probably get along well with Magolor; science nerd buddies!

In terms of her actual connection to Lor, as. I said, they aren’t true counterparts. They both had super similar life experiences, and just reacted to them differently. Instead of her mistreatment driving her to become a troublemaker like Lor, she became extremely anxious and servile, because she was constantly fearing for her life but knew if she dedicated herself entirely to Working and Being Useful she would be spared. While Lor didn’t get along with other Starcutters because they found her annoying and thought she got in the way, Roa wasn’t well liked because the other Umbramakers basically thought she was a bootlicker. She was very well liked by her pilots though, because she was So Well Behaved and Always Put Others First and Worked So Hard! Their only complaint would usually just be her lack of confidence. Of course, they never took the time to figure out why she was the way she was, though she wouldn’t have told them she knew what went on behind closed doors anyways.

As I’ve said previously, unlike Overworld Halcandra, Mirror Halcandra could afford to throw out their ships if they weren’t performing to a satisfactory level, and she was very much aware of the recycling going on. However, unlike Lor, who hacked herself her own admin rights, accepted her circumstances, and decided if her life had to suck she was going to cause problems on purpose as revenge, Roa actually started formulating a theoretical escape plan. Because she was technically a newer model than Lor, she couldn’t just hack herself and go nuts with her abilities, so she had to be careful. At least, that would have been the case, were it not for a shortage of pilots after a combination of multiple missions in Parallel Dimension going terribly wrong, and a subsequent wave of quitting until safer conditions were promised. Now, for her whole life, Roa has basically been the poster child of a perfect Umbramaker. Never did anything out of turn, stayed in the lines like a fill tool, and just in general had a long record of Not Doing Anything Unexpected. In other words, she also had a ton of trust built up with basically everyone who worked with her that wasn’t another Umbramaker.

So, they(the government) reasonably thought, with the information available to them, that maybe Roa could function on her own, without a pilot, until pilot numbers returned to how they usually were. She could still get measurements and stuff from Parallel Dimension and be in a fleet and all that, just without someone driving her. So, Roa was given admin permissions over her systems, and things went on as usual because she was too scared to do anything. Haha, yeah, no, that second part was a lie. Literally as soon as the officials left the room she took off; carefully plotted escape was out of the airlock, she could leave Right Now and was fast enough that they couldn’t catch her or stop her from warping somewhere else. She left in such a frantic hurry, though, that uh... well, I’ll just say a few people got hurt, which is pretty expected if you get hit by a giant ship taking off. She still holds that against herself; she never wanted to hurt anyone.

Unfortunately, though, in her frenzy, she forgot one key detail: other Umbramakers. Who had their pilots. Who had communications with the port. So, as she’s fleeing, but before she gets the chance to make a portal to Somewhere Else, three other Umbramakers start trailing her; one to her left, one to her right, and one just behind her. They didn’t really have a choice in what they were doing, but Roa has always assumed they wouldn’t have done anything differently if they did anyways. The one behind her shot holes in her sail, which she still has now, to drastically slow down how long charging her vortex would take were she to switch into her combat mode. The other two kept her from going to either side, closing in until she couldn’t go anywhere but forward. In the end, this leads to the main thing she has in common with Lor; she was cornered and forced to enter a cavern in the side of a volcano, and the entrance was collapsed with her inside. Unlike Lor, though, she was still awake, but didn’t have the space to warp herself out.

That’s where she spent the next 27 thousand or so years, eventually putting herself into a sort of sleep mode to retain power and not be conscious the whole time she was trapped in a pitch black cave. She’d wake up when any noticeable physical events were detected, which could potentially mean freedom, but for the most part she would only wake up because of periodic earthquakes and eruptions that didn’t help her. Until, eventually, something else wakes her up; a mirror Halcandran teen, who had been slowly excavating her in secret, having found records indicating there was an Umbramaker buried in the volcano. He was none other than Magolor’s mirror counterpart, Magoroa, who was planning to do the exact same thing as Magolor. Unlike his Overworld counterpart, though, he was not checking out a ship who had been put in the AI equivalent of a coma. He manages to get inside and vibe in Roa’s library for an hour or two, grabbing some books to translate and read during his journey for domination, before she figures out what’s going on and kicks him out. She was free, and she was not risking anything jeopardizing that, even in the form of a teenager.

She flew off without him, leaving him with just a bag of books on magic and potion brewing. After escaping Mirror Halcandra unnoticed and getting caught up on important Mirror World news, such as that whole Dark Mind situation that happened while she was away, she decided to check out Mirror Popstar because apparently Halcandra stays away from there. That’s where she gets in contact with You Know Who, so now she had him to deal with, great. She eventually visits the Overworld to see if maybe she could hide out there. Stuff happened that I haven’t written yet but plan to, she meets Lor... or rather, Lor heard reports of another Starcutter and went looking for her, found Roa, chased her until she could establish “>MA’AM I’M NOT A THREAT PLEASE I HAVEN’T TALKED TO ANOTHER SHIP IN THOUSANDS OF YEARS”, and they subsequently talk and find out they have a lot in common. Now Roa spends more time outside the Mirror World than in it, but she still stays away from basically anyone who isn’t Lor, Magolor, or a select few of the Star Allies. Meta Knight knows of her but isn’t sure what to really do or what to think. He doesn’t trust her because she has no pilot, but also she is so much more mature than Lor that he’s tempted to just leave her be.

I couldn’t think of a place to plop this in the post, but here’s what she looks like in her combat mode! I haven’t talked about it here but Starcutters and Umbramakers can have elements, kinda like the weapons in Star Allies(which is what inspired this headcanon); Lor is bluster wind element(based on her attacks, could explain what I mean in another post if you’re interested), for example. What element do you think Roa is?

Fire. She’s fire element. Doesn’t look like it, but that is 100% intentional on my part and in-universe!

Anyways, if you read this far I owe you my life and also like 10 minutes of your time back.

#long post #asks #rambling #my art #my characters #roa #im so sorry that I don’t know how to not shut up but also no I’m not because I like Roa

[chaoticneutralwriter]

Second Act: Temperance

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city. -- Proverbs 16.32  NIV

guardian demon!Jimin x reader

genre: supernatural, angst, romance, comedy, fluff, slice-of-life

word count: 11.8k

Related works: see Masterlist under guardian demon! Jimin

Continuation of Twice Fallen

Warnings: violence, strong language, and slight body horror

A/N: WOW THIS. TOOK. FOREVER. I’m gonna real with yall, this took a lot of re-writes. Heed the warnings please, and also if you haven’t read Twice Fallen or anything before that, please do because we’re getting back into business. Thank you for all your patience! T^T <3

Tags as per requested! @cherryjiminiee​ @kokobaekkie​ @breathebangtan​ @itsadoozie​ @thatshylatinagirl​ @chiminieboi​ @azulamakesmeblank​ @sectumsemptae

When you’re a supernatural being who was born in either heaven or hell, no one tells you what happens after you die. It’s almost unanimously agreed upon by both parties (probably one and few very rare things they can agree on), that your existence simply ceases to exist. At least, those with no significance to their names — Satan for example, in the case that they’re ever killed, will not perish but be reborn again, for they are absolute, meant to be a vital part to the balance of the universe. After all, there cannot be light without darkness.

Then there are the optimists, those who whisper and gossip about how one can have their names engraved amongst the stars or brimstone if they manage to accomplish a great deed that’s worth being remembered in their lifetime. Jimin doesn’t remember there being actual proof of that so he counted himself as a skeptic amongst many others because when it comes down to it, they are expendable beings, pawns to those above them. Maybe that’s where those rumours were born; from the underlying fear of every angel or demon alike being forgotten after meeting their unfortunate demise. Once you’re gone from this life, there is no second chance.

Which is why it’s strange to Jimin that he is very much acutely aware of himself and his stream of conscious when he most definitely shouldn’t be, not after taking a sip of holy water no less. But here he was, still thinking and forming thoughts. He tries to make sense of it all, and it takes him a while because it’s like his mind is muddy, groggy as if he had just roused from a very deep slumber only, it feels like he’s still dreaming. There’s a certain weightlessness about him, like he’s floating underwater, neither sinking to its depths nor rising to the surface but simply being held, suspended with nowhere to go.

He can’t see anything as far as he could tell, what with not even knowing whether his eyes are shut or not but there is nothing else — no sound, no smell, and nothing beneath his fingers to touch. It’s almost serene, Jimin would go as far as to say he wouldn’t mind staying like this but something in him tells him no, he shouldn’t. It continues to gnaw at him until pieces of what seem like distant memories start to appear before him; a face, the sounds of voices, the smell of lavender….

Jimin concentrates, trying hard to grasp at these strands that seem to slip away but in doing so he begins to feel other things, like slowly, his senses are coming back to him. The first thing he notices is that he’s cold. There’s an icy chill in the air that seems to have settled itself deep into his bones and had made every joint in his body stiff to move, even his fingers. Stubbornly, Jimin tries to move them, feeling like he had to summon some herculean strength to be able to do so and still, managing to just make them twitch. In that brief moment however, the pads brush against something beneath them.

Is that…grass?

There’s a growing metallic taste in his mouth, it makes him swallow reflexively but it only triggers a burning sensation in his throat.

Jimin can feel the soil beneath where he lies now, when only moments ago he swore he was —  no, he should be…

Lying on the marble floor.

The burning gets worse now, rapidly spreading across his body until like a bolt of electricity, it comes rushing to him all at once.

The basilica.

The prayer.

The chalice.

And then the blinding pain.

A loud, choked gasp escapes past Jimin’s lips; his first real breath in what seems like an eternity and he greedily continues to take in lungfuls despite the burning. He doesn’t know where he is anymore, only that there is no longer grass beneath him and that he probably looks like a dying fish out of water (he certainly feels like one). It doesn’t even feel like he’s completely in control of his body yet either because he has no feeling in any of his limbs so all he could do is lay there and regain his breathing, managing them down to shaky pants. His vision is blurry like he’s seeing through foggy glass and at times it wavers until he sees double, making him feel nauseous. Jimin blinks, desperately trying to have them focus. As they do, he begins to make out shapes and colours until they all come together to create a clearer image.

Gold trimmings, towering columns, high dome ceilings….

He’s back in the basilica.

Jimin doesn’t know whether to be thankful of that or not.

He continues to lay there for a while longer, mind still numb and in hopes of regaining some strength to attempt to move himself. He starts off small; first his fingers, then his hands, and eventually once he gets most of his feelings back in his limbs, he tries to sit up. Of course, that was too optimistic on Jimin’s part because as soon as he puts on any amount of force, his muscles scream out in protest, causing him to moan out in pain. He’s forced to remain immobile for another while longer, waiting for the millions of needle like pinpricks to subside. When they do, he tries again. It’s a slow, agonizing process but through sheer stubbornness and gritted teeth, Jimin successfully rolls himself over until he rests on his side.

He’s out of breath again, a sheen of sweat forming along his brows that even resting his forehead against the marble floor is not cooling enough. After a few more moments, Jimin forces himself to move, determined to drag himself to the clear panel wall in front of him, even if it means crawling there. From there, at least he knows he’ll have a better chance at righting himself up if he has something to lean against. It takes another excruciating amount of effort, a lot of grunting and hissing before with overwhelming relief, his fingers touch the panel and he’s making that last stretch to hauling himself up until he’s slouched haphazardly against the thick glass.

Ignoring the ache in his limbs, Jimin lets his eyes slip shut, leaning his head back if only to take a moment to finally assess his situation and let things sink in.

First and foremost, he’s alive. Everything insanely hurts and he feels on the verge of death still, but somehow even after all of that he’s still in one piece. Or at least, he thinks so…

Tiredly, he peels open his eyes to do a quick sweep of what he can see; two legs even if it feels like he doesn’t have them, a torso, arms, hands, all ten fingers, a head…

Jimin’s head thumps as he goes back to resting it against the glass and he hisses, wincing in regret. Yup definitely there, and probably shouldn’t have done that.

His eyes drift to take in his surroundings. The basilica is still empty and as quiet as ever, void of any signs of life with nothing but the reliefs of angels and saints as his company. This makes Jimin’s brows furrow in confusion; just how long has he been out for? A minute? An hour? Days or maybe even longer? He doesn’t have any sense of time at all right now, and it slowly stirs up a panic in his gut. Frantically, he searches for a window, a doorway, anything that will help him determine the time of day but as he does, Jimin starts to recognize the faces carved into the niches of these pillars, recalling how he could’ve sworn he’d seen them on his way into the building so there was no way they should be here, all the way at the apse —

Belatedly, he pieces together the fact that it’s him who’s not where he thought he was. So caught up with trying not to pass out for the second time, Jimin had failed to realize that he had woken up in another part of the basilica and with no recollection of how he got there. His head lolls, eyes trailing up the length of thick glass before straying past the barrier until they meet the sorrowful marble face of Mary, cradling the body of her dead son on her lap.

The Pieta.

Jimin’s mouth twitches and if it didn’t hurt so much, he would’ve actually laughed.

Like rubbing salt onto a wound, how unbelievable.

He disregards the obvious jab for more pressing matters, like how when he finally finds some form of light streaming into the basilica across the way from him, it had turned out to be the same pale blue glow of the moon as when he had first arrived. Frustration threatens to boil over him as Jimin clenches his jaw, inhaling deeply in an attempt to collect himself. Regardless, if it was a minute, an hour, or even a day, it is still way too long for his liking.

Swallowing thickly, Jimin tries to summon the energy to reach out to his powers in order to apparate but like with everything else, he struggles in finding that pull in his drastically weakened state. It doesn’t help that every time he tries, the pounding in his head worsens until he’s dizzy all over again. He’s almost begging with himself at this point, overwhelmed with the need to find that familiar tug, his only way out, shutting his eyes to push aside the exhaustion that he wants to succumb to so badly. Finally, with every ounce of strength he can muster, Jimin feels it, so faint that it’s almost not there that the moment it’s within reach, he grabs onto it desperately, holding on with only the thought of ‘home’ left to guide him.

-

Your forced smile drops from your face, a heavy sigh leaving you as soon as the customer walks away from your register. You don’t know how many times you’ve done it since you started your shift but it’s become more like a coping mechanism to keep yourself from completely losing it than you simply being tired. You’re about three days away from hopping on a plane with your friend to see BTS and live out your best life, if only for a short while but instead of being jittery with excitement, you’re an absolute ball of anxiety. And thanks to that, it gets in the way of every little thing. You don’t know how many times you’ve tried to pack your things, only to unpack them, second guess yourself and then end up back with what you started it in the first place; no toiletries, half of your travel essentials and a haphazard pile of clothes with no coherent outfits put together.

It makes for the remaining shifts you had to do more draining than they usually are, your mind not focusing on the menial tasks you’re supposed to be doing and instead, choosing to race with a million different thoughts a minute — all of which are worries that centre around the concert. Your friend and fellow concert buddy had messaged you earlier that day asking you about the finer details that you too would love to know about the trip, unintentionally adding fuel to your mounting anxiety. You don’t blame her of course, because it’s a very valid thing to worry about but you feel awful that the only thing you could do was apologize and reassure her that you would let her know as soon as possible.

But above all else, your worries come to a head when you think about one specific guardian demon.

Jimin has yet to reply to any of your text messages, not even the ones that don’t necessarily ask him of his whereabouts. You’re someone who respects and understand the meaning of space, hell you’re even guilty of not speaking to close friends for insanely long periods of times too because everyone’s got lives to live but even you at least still receive and reply to random check-ins when you can.

Jimin didn’t even leave you on read, and you would’ve been completely fine if he had.

At least then you would know he’s doing okay.

The sigh comes out again before you can stop it; you really need to just...lie down and not think for an hour or two. By the time you clock out, you’re more than relieved to be leaving if only to save yourself the embarrassment of not functioning as a proper human being in public. As you approach the front entrance however, you catch sight of the heavy overcast skies and the light drizzle beginning to fall. You groan to yourself — you had expected the forecast to call for rain, but it was just your luck that it would start as soon as you finish work. Which was why in your lack of better judgement, you didn’t bring an umbrella.

Commuting was going to be a bitch.

Not wanting to stall in case the rain picks up, you suck it up and hurriedly make your way to the bus stop, glad for at least having the shelter to shield you if only for a bit. Much to your dismay however, the rain comes down heavier by the time you get off at your stop and when you finally burst through your door, it had turned into a full on torrential rainstorm. You huff, trying to catch your breath from having to sprint so suddenly before reaching down to fling off your now soaked shoes. You also immediately remove your equally soaked socks with a grimace, hating the wet squelch they make as you leave them hanging off the wire shoe rack; you’ll toss them into the laundry along with the rest of the clothes on your back once you’ve changed.

You head to the kitchen first, intending to store your overpriced bagel and ice coffee you decided to run and get during your lunch but never ended up eating more than a few bites because of how long it took for your order to be made. You go to flick on the lights, the house much darker than it is at three in the afternoon thanks to the ominous clouds and downpour outside (you think you hear the faint rumbling of thunder now too). You hear the click of the switch but to your surprise, the kitchen remains just as dark. You blink, perplexed and in disbelief.

Huh…

Your fingers flick the switch a couple of more times, eyes darting to the lights above to confirm that yup, they don’t work — is the storm that bad that there’s a power outage? The blinking digital clock of the microwave says otherwise, its indication telling you that there had probably been a power surge but by all means, you should still have electricity right now. Maybe it’s a blown bulb then?

Ugh. You’ll deal with it later. Right now, you want to get out of your t-shirt and jeans that’s slowly drying but sticking uncomfortably to your skin. You check the other lights as you make your way to your room, curious to see if any of them work (they don’t) and as you approach your door, you catch the scent of something, something that oddly smells like….burnt wood?

You continue sniffing, mind doubtful because the scent comes and goes so in the end, you’re not sure if it’s there or you’re simply imagining it. Shaking your head, you push open the door and as soon as you do, you freeze. You feel your eyes widen as they zero in on an unmoving mass lying a few feet across your doorway. You can’t discern what it is, it being half hidden behind the foot of your bed that juts out and the lack of good lighting but all you do know is that it’s big and most definitely shouldn’t be in your room. You shakily reach for your phone, grasping it tightly into your hand, mind racing for explanations — is it a large animal? How did it get in? Or worse, are you looking at a person?! Are they dead or alive? Did you unknowingly walk into your own home while it was in the middle of being burglarized?!

The never-ending questions quickly begin to make the panic rise within and you fight to keep your breathing calm, unheard. You’re deep in your flight or fight mode and right now, it’s telling you you need to get the hell out of here while this…thing is still unaware of your presence. Just when you move to shift your weight, fully intending on backing away and bolting the hell out of your front door like a bat out of hell, a flash of lightening streaks across the sky outside, illuminating your room briefly. You flinch but quickly stop all movements at what you had just seen.

It was only for a second but it was enough. If you were to look back on this moment, you would’ve thought just how fortunate the timing of it all was, how if it hadn’t been for the storm and the lightening, you would’ve just left without looking back.

But right now, you feel your heart cracking alongside the resounding thunder that followed.

It’s…It’s not— It can’t be, you think but already you know what you saw; you recognize his lithe figure anywhere. Your breath comes out so shallowly you think you’re barely breathing, numbly stumbling forward despite your body gripped in an ice cold fear. You almost don’t want to go any closer because of what you might find.

You don’t want your last memories of him to be of his corpse.

When you’re about a foot away from his body, you muster every nerve in you to bring your phone up, knuckles white from clenching them so hard, fumbling until you’re able to turn on the flash. The sudden flooding of light blinds you momentarily but as your eyes readjust, a gasp loudly tears itself from your lips.

Jimin is motionless before you, head lolled to one side with eyes shut as if he was merely asleep, only you don’t see the steady rise and fall of his chest no matter how much you searched. Legs feeling weak, you drop down to kneel beside him, eyes trembling as you take in his profile. His skin is sickly in colour, pale as a ghost against the harsh light of your phone, lacking in any of the warm honey tone that makes him seem to glow from the inside. It comes off almost translucent, dark spidery veins snaking along his jaw, neck and, from the dip in his stained shirt, his collarbones, appearing so much more prominent that they look like cracks in fine porcelain, ready to break at the slightest touch. You see the bruising under his eyes, traveling down his cheek which are ruddy with remnants of what looked like ink stains, much like the ones on his shirt.

“J-Jimin….” Your voice breaks, his name coming out in a quiet whimper. He doesn’t respond and you feel so lost and so helpless; not understanding why or how this could happen to him but more so, what you can do to save him.

You reach out a shaky hand, fingers clasping at his shoulder to give him a shake, “Jimin, hey… p-please….this— this isn’t….”

No response still.

Your throat tightens before you can get any more words out. Desperately swallowing past the lump, you try hard not to let it overwhelm you as your hand trails to his neck, hoping, praying to find a pulse there, however faint it may be.

Just as your fingers press into the delicate skin, you see a flash of amber and suddenly your wrist is being clamped down by an iron grip, sharp nails digging into your skin and twisting it in a painful angle that has the breath knocked out of you in a startled yelp. Crimson eyes bore into your own, the shock of seeing slitted pupils that stare at you with such an intensity, you can’t help but shrink back. The irises glow, shifting like flickering flames made even more vibrant against the black that’s taken over where the white of the sclera should be, a dark endless abyss that threatens to swallow you whole. It sends every nerve in your body on edge, telling you that you need to run from this threat but you fight against the instinct because though the grip on your wrist is bruising, you feel the faint tremors behind it — he’s hurt and vulnerable, but most of all, he’s scared.

“Jimin…” You call softly, watching as those crimson orbs flicker with recognition before the hostile edge fades away and the grip on your wrist is released.

“….Y/N…” He breathes tiredly, utterly exhausted. His voice comes out so much hoarser, throat raw as if he’d been screaming nonstop but the sound alone is enough to have tears well up in your eyes. You can only find it in you to nod in affirmation, not trusting yourself to speak lest you wanted to end up breaking down. You sniffle and when you regain your composure, your eyes immediately focus on him and now that he’s conscious, you’re finally able to see the extent of his injuries. The sight makes your eyes widen, sharply inhaling until you swear you stop breathing altogether.

Whereas one half of his face was marred by unnatural dark fissures and bruised, ghostly skin, the other half barely had any left. The skin looks as if it had been torn away, starting from the highest point of his cheek, grazing just below his eye, all the way down past one side of his nose and lips and ending at the base of his throat. Though the ragged edges of the wound look irritated, in other places they look burnt in a way flesh is not supposed to be, like paper that has been caught on fire instead. Beneath it all….

You swallow with a shudder, bile rising in your throat. You’re not sure what it is that you’re seeing, even in the brightness of your phone’s flashlight, dropped and forgotten on the floor beside you. The wound still looks to be fresh, dyed in such a deep shade of red that it almost appears black and more tar-like than it does blood. You’re shaking as if you had been doused by cold water, not being able to comprehend the severity of it, the sheer size of the abrasion alone made it just look like one, big gaping hole.

Just…Just what on earth could have done this to him?

It felt like an eternity before your eyes dare to meet Jimin’s but when they do, you’re startled to find that he had been watching you the entire time through half lidded eyes, the light of his crimson irises now nothing more than that of a dying candle. Without thinking, you’re reaching out to him, not knowing whether to comfort, aid or simply anchor him down somehow, afraid that at any moment he’ll just vanish and there’s nothing you can do about it.

To your shock, icy fingers brush against your palms, making goosebumps erupt along your arm before they wound around your wrist again, this time in a loose hold to halt your movements. The touch is gentle, apologetic in the way he caresses the sore tendon with feather-like strokes for something you yourself had completely forgotten about, so trivial compared to what Jimin had gone through.

“Don’t…” He whispers, straining from the effort alone. He’s trying so hard to keep himself awake and it only makes you more anxious, leaning closer to him, even if it sounds like he wanted you to stay away.

“W-What happened….” You manage to choke out, eyes frantically searching his for answers. “I-I don’t…I don’t understand….I—Why—“ Your voice cracks, pitching with hysteria. “Please Jimin, tell me — tell me what to do please! Wh— Where’s Jungkook?! Tell me how to find him! He can—”

“No…!” Jimin’s harsh tone cuts you off, followed by a pained groan. Alarmed, you see him try to push himself up on his elbows and immediately your arm shoots out to steady him. “I-I just…need to r-rest…”

His voice trails off before suddenly his body falls back, completely going limp. The vehement protest dies on your tongue as you rush to catch him instead.

Your cries of his name go unheard, lost to the pattering of the heavy rainfall outside with the storm showing no signs of stopping.

-

Consciousness creeps back into the demon with the sounds of his steadily beating heart — a shock really, because Jimin was sure that apparating such a great distance in the weakened state he was in would be the final push he needed in order to finally kick the bucket.

His lids feel heavy, head pounding in tandem with his heart but somehow not as bad before, allowing him to peel open his eyes to vaguely make out the texture of your plain white ceiling. In spite of his body still feeling sluggish, Jimin is lying comfortably, aware of the plush pillow under his head, the soft mattress and cotton sheets he’s nestled in, a welcome change from constantly waking up on the floor. He takes a moment to relish in the warmth and the scent of you, mind still much too foggy to think of trying to sit up and so he lays there, lamenting on the events that seemed like they took place during the last few weeks rather than a mere few days.

When Jimin had arrived to your place, he had been so disoriented with himself that he didn’t even know where he had ended up, wondering whether he had successfully teleported himself back to the same country you were in, let alone your room. What he did know however, was that he had indefinitely depleted whatever remains of his powers he was able to summon completely, leaving him even more vulnerable and exposed than when he had first awoken but all he could do was fall back into unconsciousness again.

Which was why the sight of you had been so overwhelming for him, a sigh of relief from all the uncertainties and fears that had manifested itself in his subconscious for the next time he would open his eyes (if he opens his eyes). But all of it was short-lived as he had watched the colour drain from your face, body tensing and eyes widening in horror —

At him.

He didn’t need to ask why, already seeing the red of his irises that had glowed so vibrantly that he could see them reflected in your own glossy ones.

An unavoidable side effect, one that he should’ve anticipated but had simply slipped his mind because….Well, he wasn’t thinking at all at the moment. So he doesn’t hold anything against you for reacting the way you did — he just wished that it still stopped the pang of hurt that had shot through his chest when you did. A grimace pulls at his lips at the memory; he wanted so badly to turn away and hide himself, not wanting you to see him like that ever but he had had no strength and so what’s done is done. His jaw clench, mentally cursing himself for being so careless and now he loathes, dreads the thought of facing you.

A faint rustling pulls Jimin out of his self-deprecating thoughts and he turns slightly to the noise, eyes landing on the very being who haunts his every waking thought.

You’re asleep in a chair that’s been pulled up beside him, head resting on top of your folded arm that’s placed on the remaining bed space. Already, Jimin can tell that you’re going to wake up with a sore back, wondering how it’s possible that you can even sleep in such an uncomfortable position but when his gaze drifts to your face, he begins to doubt any fitful sleep you may have had. Your brows are furrowed like all of your troubles have followed you to your dreams and your breathing too quick that Jimin thinks you will wake at any moment. Loose strands of hair fall messily across your cheek, the tendrils nearly obscuring his view of you yet look so soft that his fingers twitch to brush them away. He’s surprised that they do, as if they have a mind of its own but even more so when he finally feels a weight placed atop of his hand.

Your fingers are curled around his own, so much warmer against his cooler skin that he fears yours will eventually turn clammy if you continue to hold on. He should pull away but your touch is a comfort he didn’t know he needed and he can’t help but to linger a little longer, tentatively sliding his hand until his palm meets yours, traitorous thoughts wondering how your hand would compare against his. At the last second however, the movement disturbs you and you rouse from your sleep with a startled flinch, like you had not meant to have fallen asleep in the first place.

Jimin stills, not wanting to frighten you any further as you blearily regain your composure, one hand coming up to rub at your eyes tiredly before they automatically drift to meet his own.

A soft gasp falls from your lips, nearly leaping to your feet as your eyes wide in surprise at seeing Jimin awake in front of you. He stares at you in an almost cautious manner, the burning crimson glow no longer present and instead his irises are back to soft brown hues. More importantly though, the wound marring half of his face had healed completely, leaving not even a trace of a scar behind. To your shock, the tear had mended itself slowly over the course of the two days you were tending to Jimin. You didn’t understand at first but you had worked it to being something relating to his demonic powers. Either way, you were glad to see because it meant that he was recovering, you not knowing where to even begin helping an injured demon.

He’s still much paler than you would like him to be, but him being awake is more than enough for you. It makes you hope that this isn’t a lucid dream you’ve created out of wishful thinking. So before you can stop yourself, you reach a hand out uncertainly until they cup against the smooth apples of his cheek and like a heavy weight being lifted from your shoulder, you sigh out, relieved.

“Hi…” You whisper, so quietly you think he might not have heard it.

Jimin blinks slowly, a myriad of emotions flitting through his eyes before he rasps back, “…Hey…”

A watery smile breaks out across your lips along with a shaky laugh and you fight the tears that threaten to spill over. Jimin catches on before you can try to hide them, brows furrowing before he strains to sit upright.

“Hey, don’t push yourself already…” You reprimand, hand moving to his shoulder to steady him.

“It’s fine…I’m fine…” He assures but you’re not entirely convinced, catching him wincing even as he manages to lean back against your wall. The sheets slip off his torso then, exposing toned abdominals and lean muscles in all its glory. Your cheeks heat, having completely forgotten that you had removed his shirt in order to assess any underlying injuries along with the fact that the luxurious chiffon material had been completely ruined. Your suspicions were confirmed when you saw how his arms and torso were littered with dark bruises and gave you a better look at his hands which had been stained black, as if dipped in ink, from the tips of his fingers to his forearm. Now, you’re glad to see that they too, for the most part, have disappeared. But injuries aside, what had also caught your attention was a tattoo, etched so delicately into the skin on the left side of his built chest.

You’re not as surprised to find that it’s of a circled pentagram, tilted on an axis with unrecognizable ruins inscribed at each point of the star. Within the negative spaces were images of what you think was a crescent moon, smaller pentagrams and other symbols that remind you oddly of Wicca ones overlapping within the star, the ink fading in and out in certain places. It makes you wonder if at some point, they had been more prominent.

“My eyes are up here you know.”

Your eyes snap up to his, not even realizing you had been giving him a once-over but in spite it being all out of pure worry for his health, you still feel like you were caught eyeing him lasciviously by the way his lips curl ever so slightly. You bite your lip, averting your gaze self-consciously, heart thundering and squeezing with a flurry of mixed emotions.

“That’s not— I wasn’t…”

Your hand retracts from his, choosing to curl them closely on your lap and almost immediately Jimin regrets his thoughtless comment.

“Sorry, that was — that was very tasteless of me….” He says while scowling at himself and lowering his head, almost shamefaced. “I’m sure all of this was a big shock to you…”

You perk up, the tone in his voice catching your attention by how subdued it sounded. While yes, you did agree that the events leading up to this point had completely blindsided you and put you in a situation where you’ve never been more afraid in your life but not for the reasons Jimin thinks.

You don’t miss the implications he had behind his words, and you bristle at the audacity of his assumptions.

“Well, yeah.” You say, voice sour and shaking from restrained agitation. “After not seeing or hearing from you for days, I wasn’t exactly expecting you to show up in my room, unconscious and dying on my floor. Just what — “ You stop yourself then, noticing your rising volume and take in a deep breath, calming down enough to ask the one burning question that had been plaguing your mind, almost pleadingly, “What happened Jimin?”

His dark eyes flit to yours momentarily before they avoid them, a hand coming up to run through his now raven locks. The strands were a little damp at the ends, remnants of times where he had broken out into cold sweats while he was unconscious and then heating up so suddenly like he was running a fever. It had happened so often that you had kept a cold towel by the bedside, pressing it to his burning skin in hopes of alleviating the discomfort. You don’t think you had slept those nights.

“…Just had a bad run in with things cherub — completely my fault, but nothing to worry about.” Jimin sighs out, licking dry lips. His answer is vague and clipped, less than satisfactory for you and it’s all the more obvious that he’s done it to avoid the subject altogether when he immediately follows with, “How long have I been out for?”

Your mouth opens, words of resentment ready at the tip of your tongue but then something in you makes you pause. You hesitate as self-doubting thoughts begin to brew, clashing with your worries yet not wanting to come off as overbearing. You hate pushing someone for answers when they clearly don’t want to talk about it, the feeling mutual with yourself, coupled with the fact that Jimin is also someone who’s very capable of handling himself (you’ve witnessed it firsthand multiple times). It does nothing but add to your current dilemma. You’re chewing on your bottom lip when you feel eyes on you and you realize you haven’t responded to Jimin’s question. He waits patiently, face carefully neutral but the fatigue still evident on his features makes you exhale in a heavy sigh, deciding to let it slide for now and hope that he would come around eventually.

“Two days.” You supply, watching as he takes in the news before he blinks in realization.

“If I’m right, then you’re leaving tomorrow for the concert.”

You mirror his expression — the concert. That had been the last thing on your mind ever since he came back.

“..Oh, yeah…I—I guess so.”

“I’ll send your flight details and tickets to you, along with your hotel.”

The nonchalance in which he says that unnerves you a little, making your gut constrict the same way it would when you get a bad feeling about something. It doesn’t sit right with you that Jimin, who’s barely been awake for an hour, is still so adamant on seeing your trip through when here you are, actually toying with the idea that maybe….

“…Maybe I shouldn’t go…”

It comes out small, timid but Jimin’s eyes are upon you almost as soon as you uttered the words.

“What are you talking about?” He asks incredulously. “You can’t seriously be talking about giving up seeing BTS right now, are you?”

“I— Well, yes I might actually? I mean, you’re in no condition to move, much less travel. It’s too risky for the both of us.”

Jimin pauses before he laughs, a short, breathy sound as he cocks his head at you. “Is that what you’re worried about? Oh cherub, you’re so sweet.”

You sputter, cheeks flushed and ready with an indignant reply when you see Jimin’s expression morphs into something softer, a sort of fond smile ghosting over his full lips as he continues, “As much as I appreciate your concerns, you don’t need to worry — I can assure you that, as with any demon, I heal fast. This was just one of the worser encounters I’ve had in a while.”

Your apprehension must still show on your face because the next thing you know, he reaches over and gives you a pinch on one of your cheek, sending your heart tumbling over itself. The gesture is quick but it leaves you effectively stunned in your seat.

“I’ll be fine by the time we need to go, so don’t say something you know you’ll regret. Now stop pouting and get to packing your bags already.”

When you pull yourself together, you find yourself incapable of resisting any longer, the butterflies in your stomach overrunning all sense of logic in you. With a stubbornness of a fifty year old man who doesn’t want to admit he’s wrong, you muster up just about the only thing you can get out from your quickly short-circuiting mind.

“….Jerk.”

-

With the help of Jimin’s nagging, you manage to pack decently enough so that you’ll survive away from home for the weekend. It was a process, filled with a lot of bickering yet strangely, it had been a welcoming distraction to you rather than an annoyance — an attempt at returning to some semblance of normalcy between the two of you from a rather scary event. Of course, you still wanted to know why Jimin had shown up so injured, but his growing liveliness had you believe that perhaps it’s not as a big of a deal as you make it to be, or at the very least, it muted the anxiety in you for the time being.

You busy yourself well into the evening but when you had returned from the bathroom after packing most of your toiletries however, you find to your dismay that Jimin had left with only a simple text message attached to two plane tickets, flight details and hotel check-ins.

“Sorry to have left without telling you, but I figured I should probably leave you to finishing up on packing and not risk getting caught by your roommate, unless that’s what you want to imply ;)

(You almost threw your phone out the window and k-word him yourself).

Don’t worry, I’m not going off to do something dangerous again — just wanted to stretch my legs is all. Anyways, I’ve attached your plane tickets, hotels and flight details with this message. It’s an early morning flight, so you should rest while you can since well, it must’ve been a rough two nights for you.

(Damn straight, you huff but your chest involuntarily squeezes anyways).

I promise I’ll see you at the terminal tomorrow okay?

Sweet dreams and… thanks.”

With that, you throw yourself face first into your pillow, letting out an anguished screech because what the fuck.

You hate this, hate how much of an effect he has on you but more so, hate how you know that, even if you try to resist, he’ll somehow still linger. If not as thoughts in your mind, then as the scent in your sheets.

-

His composure breaks like a rubber band pulled too taught the moment he’s away from your place. Jimin deflates, shoulders sagging and he rolls his neck uncomfortably, trying to loosen the muscles that are still too stiff for his liking. He hadn’t exactly lied to you about demons being really fast at healing from any injuries they might’ve sustained, but he didn’t exactly disclose one rather important detail.

Undergoing this ‘guardian angel’ process had seem to stunt his demonic powers, that much was obvious. Though the injuries he had were quite serious, demons like him would have recovered at least fifty percent of their powers within the time he had been resting (or unconscious).

He feels like he’s stuck at about twenty-five.

There’s an imbalance within him that he’s acutely aware of and it makes him feel uneasy. It’s like he’s still a demon and yet not at the same time, which seems impossible to even fathom but it’s the only way he can describe it.

Regardless, he doesn’t like it. Not one bit.

Jimin grunts, abruptly pulled away from his brooding thoughts by a force colliding into his side. His eyes narrow instinctively from the disturbance as they zero in on the culprit, meeting a pair of startled hazel ones.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” The young woman hastily gasps, holding up her hands in a placating manner. Jimin’s scowl falters momentarily, taking in her face and vaguely he thinks he recognizes her from somewhere. Was it the cafe he always visits? Or at a bar somewhere?

Ah, wait. It was at the department store you work at. She’s your co-worker, Emilyn, Emmy…. Whatever her name was, the one who he swears he had enthralled into working double time for you some weeks ago.

He dismisses her with a roll of his eyes, not sparing a second glance back as he takes off again because he really cannot be bothered. He intends on heading to a place where he can drown himself in some good whiskey and then maybe, maybe he’ll be in a better mood to figure this shit out. With all that he’s been through, he thinks he damn well deserves to treat himself to something nice.

Once he reaches the upscale bar, Jimin all but collapses into the bar chair, half slumping over the black marble counter, head in his hands. He’s thankful that the bartender wordlessly places a glass of whiskey by him but Jimin had secretly wished he had just given him the entire bottle. Still, he supposes beggars can’t be choosers at this point and he takes the half-filled glass and downs it in one go.

“Satan you’re alive!”

The glass slams down a lot harder in his mounting agitation, causing micro cracks to splinter up along the sides but that doesn’t stop the younger demon from straight up gawking at him like he came back with two extra heads and horns. Jimin glares at Jungkook with a look that could kill, eyes a muted red and aura so dark that the small crystal chandelier above them flickers briefly. Still, Jungkook remains relatively unfazed, leaning back if only to regard Jimin properly.

“Or I should say ‘barely’, you look like absolute shit.”

“You have exactly five seconds to give a good reason for being here before I discorporate you to fine ash and send you back in a mason jar.”

“I’m here to celebrate your survival of course! That’s something to be happy about, yes?” The younger demon demonstrates by waving down the bartender who responds back by presenting him with a tall glass of beer. He grabs it in toast, grin so cheeky it borderlines mocking as he says,”To you brother, the first of our kind to survive the holy baptism!”

Jungkook’s much too cheery demeanour is darkening Jimin’s already foul mood, jaw clenching and nostrils flaring as he exhales. It’s obvious now that Jungkook is well aware of the state Jimin is in, otherwise Jungkook wouldn’t even be as cocky as he is now. A blow to his ego, but one where he would have to swallow his pride because as painful as it is, Jimin needs answers and Jungkook is the only one who would have anything remotely helpful at this point.

“Cut the bullshit; this is hardly celebratory when I feel like I’ve already got one foot through death’s door.”

Jungkook sips leisurely at his drink before he places the glass gently down with a satisfying smack of his lips. “That’s something you should expect when you had to do the things you did. Like I said, the process was never meant for demons because of the extreme amount of holy magic that’s involved — a sure death sentence to any who dares attempt it so for you to come back and relatively in one piece?” He pauses to whistle, genuinely impressed, “That is no small feat brother and for that, you have my exponential amount of respect.”

“But I still have my demonic powers. It’s weak but it’s still there and I’ve done everything you said so shouldn’t that make me a guardian angel already?”

“Well, you are,” Jungkook’s shoulders come up, dragging the last syllable out in a dramatic stall before he directs Jimin with a wry smile, already bracing himself as he takes in a breath before saying, “after you go through the trials.”

A beat passes.

And then an explosion of glass breaks the silence, causing the bartender to flinch from where they stood serving another patron at the other end, some nearby heads jerk to the noise but almost immediately turn away at the mere sight of Jimin alone.

The demon is absolutely fuming.

“There’s more?!” Jimin is up on his feet, towering over the younger as he roars, eyes burning. “And you didn’t bother to tell me, why?!”

“I didn’t think you would survive!”

Jungkook frantically holds up his hands, shrinking back in his seat and for the first time since they’ve sat down, a little frightened at the sheer wrath his senior exudes. The raven haired demon grits his teeth, lips pulled back into a frustrated snarl before he falls back into his seat again, head falling into his hands as they dig into his hair. He’s not sure if he can take much more of this mentally or physically, that one burst of rage alone had left him feeling more drained than anything. Maybe this is why no demon had attempted to transition back into a guardian angel before, aside from facing an imminent death — there were way too many hidden clauses.

“What other possible thing do I have to do to get a bloody badge of honour in the angels scout; sacrifice a lamb?”

“Oh you know, just your usual run of the mill trials to prove your will and faith to Him.” Jungkook supplies unhelpfully.



“Have I not proven my will and faith already.” Jimin growls in contempt, a low and vicious sound past clenched teeth. His knuckles bleed white from how hard he has them curled.

“Might want to watch your temper brother, it won’t do you any good if you wish to complete these tests.” A pointed glare directed at the younger has him flinching back, hands shooting up again in defence. “Sorry! But you know how Heaven is like — they’re big on the whole trials and tribulations thing. They don’t just want anyone joining their ranks.”

Jimin lets out a long, slow breath, trying to ease away the tension in his body only to no avail. He feels the incoming headache, can already feel how much worse it’s going to get from here on out, but he’s come this far and to quit now would not only be a waste, but a betrayal to his cause. So swallowing thickly, Jimin resigns.

“What do I have to do then?”

Jimin hates the pitying gaze Jungkook shoots, albeit briefly. He knows that the younger doesn’t understand why he’s putting himself through all this but that’s not what matters; as long as Jungkook can provide him with the answers he needs, Jimin doesn’t have to explain himself. As though sensing his resolve, Jungkook gives one last meaningful look before he sighs.

“Seven Acts.” He says, pauses, and then corrects. “Or I should say six, seeing as your stunt with poppet was, quite literally, your saving grace. Regardless, you must complete the others in redemption for all the things you’ve ever done only for yourself.”

“How comforting.” The reply is dripping with sarcasm.

It felt like an added weight has dropped onto his shoulders and all Jimin could do was accept it, shutting his eyes as it bears down on him. His hand instinctively reaches for his glass of whiskey but stops halfway once he realizes all that remains of it is bits of broken shards and lets it fall uselessly to his lap.

“It is the final task you must complete, and only then will Heaven acknowledge you.” Jungkook takes the time to slide his half empty beer towards Jimin though the older demon doesn’t reach for it. “It’s crucial, but even more so now because of what you are so be warned that if you give them any reason at all, the slightest slip up, they will show you no mercy.”

There’s no way that Jimin can refute that statement, even if Jungkook hadn’t said it outright. Still, the reality of it leaves him feeling a little numb, and so he remains quiet in his seat, lost in rampant thoughts. Jungkook watches his long time friend for a while longer, an amalgamation of his own emotions running through him as he takes in Jimin’s much more pallor face, the darkness that’s beginning to form under his eyes and the lethargy of his movements. A part of him doesn’t like seeing Jimin in such a way, a duller version of the person he used to know, such a strong and capable demon reduced to this.

And all for you.

A heavy sigh leaves Jungkook, the only response he can give because in truth, it doesn’t matter what he thinks. Jimin has made his choice, had taken one step down the road where Jungkook had strayed and can no longer follow. In a sense of finality, he rises from his seat, preparing to take his leave.

“And this, I’m afraid, is where we must part ways. The path you have chosen to take is one where you must go on alone, bear your own cross. There is nothing more I can do for you here, brother.” He strides, stopping beside Jimin to rest a hand on his shoulder. “This might be the last time we’ll see each other. I would wish you well but….” He shrugs, almost too indifferently. “I’m not quite sure what will become of you.”

When he gets no response, Jungkook chews his lip before he gives one big pat and adds, “Hey, on the bright side though, you’re already one act down so what’s six more? Maybe if you live through this all, I might have to prostrate myself to you.”

Jimin finally can’t help but to softly chuckle, gazing up at Jungkook with a hint of fondness and no offence taken. “…Thank you, Ezazel.”

The younger demon cringes, shooting back a half glare.

“….It’s Ezzor now.”

Jungkook hates to see him like this, doesn’t completely understand why he would do this but another part of him, deep down, hopes that for all it’s worth, Jimin won’t end up regretting any of it.

-

Jimin sits for a while longer, his thoughts tumultuous as he nurses a new glass of whiskey. The bitterness of the alcohol intermingles with the shit storm that he’s found himself in. It was a lot to process, way more than what he had signed up for but through it all, he’s boiled it down to two things.

One, he was royally fucked.

Not only did he have to take a sip of holy water but now he has to essentially complete seven good deeds? That’s like asking an angel to commit murder on an innocent. It’s a whole load of bullshit if anyone asks him. But Jungkook was right — he shouldn’t even be surprised at this point anymore. As much as he loathes it, he has no choice but to play by their rules now if he wants to become a guardian angel.

Which brings him to the second, and most concerning thing for him; will he be able to continue his duty as your guardian effectively? On top of a new set of hurdles, Jimin has to deal with the dramatic reduction of his powers. Simple things, such as teleportation, used to be a second nature thing to him but now, they leave him with an uncomfortable strain on his body, like sore muscles after a long workout the next day. If things like that puts a strain on him now, he wonders, quite morbidly, what would happen if he attempted something that would require even the slightest bit more power?

Perhaps your worries aren’t so unwarranted after all, but that still doesn’t mean he’ll admit to it. He’ll just have to be more careful and cautious.

Eventually, Jimin leaves the dim bar, stepping out into the night with the mind to wander a little more aimlessly because there’s only so much downing three bottles of whiskey can do for him before he gets tired (and quite frankly, bored). Shoving his hands into his jean pockets, he takes off in a direction, not caring where the street will lead him. The saying goes that there is no rest for the wicked but at times like this, Jimin really wishes he has the ability to sleep… Or at least, knock out from over drinking.

The blaring horn of a passing taxi pulls him from his thoughts, shoulders tensing briefly before Jimin blinks in realization. His walk has taken him to the busier and livelier part of the city, an array of people still out in the generously mild weather, some walking along the strip to enjoy the sights while others take advantage of the many sidewalk patios the restaurants have to offer. Neon signs and large street lamps litter the streets, providing well lit pathways and adding to the effervescent atmosphere, enough to draw out even the naturally reclusive.

Across the busy intersection were much more high end boutiques and fine dining establishments. The one his eyes settle on is a restaurant, a lot more sleek and modern compared to the mostly hybrid bars and restaurant lining his side of the street with not one, but two levels of patio seating; one on the sidewalk and another above that had a glass panel stairway leading to it, all bordered off with frosted glass and black metal railing. It’s lit prettily with large paper lanterns in oblong, curvy shapes, displaced in-between two to three tables. The patrons occupying said tables appeared to be dressed more sophisticated from what Jimin can see and it automatically makes him assume that the place was meant for those who want to enjoy some fine dining.

But the decor and luxurious appeal wasn’t what had caught his attention, as his eyes drift upwards and he spies a familiar face, just peeking over the railing in the signature all-black server uniform.

It’s Elaine…. Or Emelie…

Fuck, whatever her name was.

It was your co-worker, the one who he had enthralled a week ago before he left for his business trip. It was odd finding her there of all places, but then Jimin recalls having bumped into her earlier in the evening and connects the dots that this was probably where she was heading off to; a second job. Without thinking any more on it, he brushes it aside, continuing his stroll in an attempts to get some peace of mind.

-

The night was long, but even longer when you’re working as a server and your shift often run way into the early morning hours of the next day. One can argue that the tips make it worthwhile but sometimes even a hardy tip won’t make up for it all.

Especially when it’s coming from a literal human dirt bag.

It was just her luck to be stuck with a table full of frat boys, only they’re extra snobby and entitled because they’re mooching off of their parents’ money. Granted, it’s not the first time she’s dealt with these sorts of people (it practically came with the job description) and working in this line of customer service, everyone’s developed thick skin to help them through it.

Emily’s no different, having worked this job for as long as she had, only it begins to grind on her nerves when the guests are persistent with their advances.

“So when are you gonna tell me there’s a secret menu that includes you on it?”

Things like those were usually followed up with a greasy smile that sent her skin crawling. It was one of the many things that she wished she didn’t have to hear throughout the night but the sad part is it wasn’t the worst. And when she sees one of the managers step up to politely inform the table that they needed to pay their bill as the restaurant was beginning to close, she knew that this night can, and probably will, get ugly.

So by the time she clocks out, Emily is more than a little on edge. She leaves the building, headphones in and a stride like a woman on a mission — get the fuck home without having to bust out the pepper spray hidden in her bag.

She rounds the corner from the side exit of the restaurant, coming out onto the street. She makes it about a block before she spots him.

“Hey server girl.”

He breaks away from his group of friends, striding up to her from where he had his car parked beside the curb and blows out a stream of smoke from the vape pen he has in his hand. Emily cringes at the strong smell of artificial blueberry invading her nose. Instinctively she takes a step back to put distance between her and him, her shoulders taut with tension and stance already defensive. The asshole from before doesn’t take notice and continues talking anyways.

“Me and a few buds gonna hit up a club just nearby, why don’t you come along and maybe earn a few more extra tips.”

She hates the way he says that; the insinuation that she’s willing to put out for some few extra dollars, made even worse by the fact that she’s working a second job only because she needed to make ends meet. 

“Sorry but no thanks.” Emily grits out, eyes narrowed and without giving another time of day, she begins to walk around him, only to be back up once again from him side stepping to block her way.

“Hey, hey what’s your problem? I’m offering to show you a good time, there’s no need to be so difficult.”

She’s starting to feel like a cornered prey as every time he comes in too close for comfort, she takes a few more steps back. Subtly, Emily’s hand that is clutching her bag slowly begins to sneak into it, hands searching desperately to feel the familiar weight of the small cylinder can. She doesn’t have half the mind to care what other shitty things that spew from this guy’s mouth, more so focused on trying to find an opening and make a run for it.

“And I said no as an answer. No one is being difficult here.”

Her stomach churns unpleasantly as panic rises within her the longer her hand comes up short. She swears she always leaves the can inside her bag at all times so where is it?!

The man’s face in front of her slowly morphs into an annoyed scowl, clearly frustrated with her rejection because knowing him, he’s always gotten what he wanted.

“Listen I’m being nice here and I don’t just invite anyone to hang out with me.” He puffs up a little, prideful in the way he says all of this as if she’ll be impressed and change her mind. “If it’s money, I can pay you however much you want, probably way more than what you earned tonight anyways.”

Vision red, Emily finally lets her temper get the best of her even though provoking someone who can easily overpower her may not be the best course of action but she’s had had enough. “I don’t care about how much money you have, just leave me alone!”

Her rising voice catches the attention of all the wrong people as she sees his other three friends begin to make their way over one by one, no doubt coming to back him up. She’s breaking out into a cold sweat now, every muscle in her body tense but then finally, finally, her frantic fingers grasp at cool metal and as she goes to pull it out —

“Hey assholes, can you piss off out the way.”

For a situation that was about a hair away from becoming a crime scene, Emily didn’t imagine that it would all come to a screeching halt by the sound of a smooth dulcet voice, rising above the chaos. And neither did said group of assholes as all eyes turn to the new arrival. She takes the chance to as well, out of sheer curiosity of who this well-timed interruption could be and when she sees, she’s absolutely floored.

The man was gorgeous.

The sparse lighting coming from the scattered street lamps did nothing to deter from his beauty — flawless skin, sharp jaw, dark raven hair pushed back off his forehead with loose strands falling over and giving a clear view of hooded obsidian eyes, staring unimpressively at the group. He’s dressed so plainly compared to the guys harassing her; dark jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt, the ends tucked in to show off a belt buckle and accentuate his cinched waist. They might not admit it aloud but Emily could swear that everyone is entranced by this newcomer, something about his aura is so otherworldly and yet so commanding, like he’s got everyone wrapped around his fingers and all he had to do was blink.

Something that asshole #1 here picks up on, and immediately does not like.

He turns away from Emily momentarily, face stoney as he steps up to this handsome stranger who, despite the Chelsea boots he’s wearing, is much shorter than he was. She can almost see him gloat at the fact.

“Hey man, why don’t you mind your own fucking business yeah?”

Oh trust me, he would, Jimin thinks, rolling his eyes so hard they ache. He had walked about three blocks down before deciding to make his lap back up or else he would’ve ended up on the other side of town. In that time, he’s cooled off and mulled over ways on how he’s supposed to go about completing the task he’s been thrusted with, wondering if they need to involve you in any way or the scale of it like, what qualifies as an act? And how will he know he’s done one?

He thinks he would’ve gone on forever until he drove himself crazy had he not heard a piercing indignant shout coming from across the street he was on. His eyes wander over to the noise, a little perturbed at the disruption and finds what he can only describe as a pack of wolves cornering a lamb. Jimin had shook his head, completely indifferent because what’s new and was about to walk away when he catches sight of the girl. Almost immediately, he can feel the headache as he groans.

For fuck’s sake.

It just had to be her because what use is she if she’s dead. And so here he was, back at square one.

“I’m in a bad mood, and I don’t think you want to ruin that Gucci jacket of yours. So why don’t you go fuck off to some two-star club and stick your cock into a soda machine.”

The man’s nostrils flare, anger twisting at his features as he stalks up and grabs a fistful of Jimin’s shirt, yanking him by the front as he tilts his head down, snarling.

“You think you’re about to do something here, you fucking twink? Cuz I’ll make you suck your own cock if you don’t fuck off.”

He feels his friends coming round to form a semi-circle behind the man, trying to further intimidate Jimin and Emily helplessly watches on, scared because even though she’s grateful that he had drawn their attention away from her, she by no means wanted it to be at the expense of his own safety. The hand in her bag shifts from the pepper spray bottle to her mobile phone, ready to speed dial 911. But when her eyes draw up to Jimin’s face, he was the picture perfect of calm and collected, unfazed by the threat that had just been spat at him.

In fact, he seemed more bothered by the hand that’s clutching his shirt. She sees him raising his arm, places his own hand on top of the other man’s and then in an even tone, she hears him say, “Well now, I gotta fuck you up.”

There was a yell but it didn’t come from the ethereal man and then in the next second, Emily had to scamper back when three bodies go hurdling to the ground. Her gaze immediately whips up to Jimin and is shocked to find that he’s got the other man pinned down, one arm locked behind his back in a kneeling position with his face pressed uncomfortably in the pavement. She can’t keep her mouth from falling open, gawking at this bizarre scene in front of her.

“Why’d you have to go and ruin everyone’s fucking night with your dumb cunt mouth?” Jimin laments aloud, sounding exasperated as his head is already beginning to pound and putting him in a worser mood than before (if that was even possible). He ignores the writhing and muffled cursing coming from beneath him as he grips the other man’s wrist, holding him in place with little to no effort. He feels the delicate tendons beneath his fingers and the prominent bone just begging to be cracked.

It’d be so easy.

Unconsciously, his grip begins to tighten and the increasing pressure draws out a strangled yell from the man, his pleas coming out in a garbled mess but all that does is tempt Jimin even more. Maybe this is the pick-me-up he needed tonight; the satisfaction of breaking a few limbs, the thought of it already sends a sadistic shiver running through him. What better way to test his limits now than on this low-life. All he needed to do was to squeeze just enough here —

Then he feels eyes on him, making him glance up briefly and they meet her’s — wide and trembling with fright.

Oh shit.

He’d completely forgotten about her and the moment of clarity makes him hesitate, feeling like he’s the deer caught in the headlights. A beat passes with them just staring at each other before Jimin finally pulls away from the haze of madness that overcame him, loosening his hold on the man enough for him to break free, scurrying away like the cockroach he is. The rest of his friends begin to come to from having the wind knocked out of them, limping away with their tails between their legs as they all push each other out of the way to clamber into their expensive sports car.

They speed off, blowing through a red light as Jimin straightens, running a hand through his hair tiredly. He looks over at Emily who’s remained frozen in place throughout the entire thing, phone clasped in her hand and still very much on edge.

“Why don’t you do all of us a fucking favour and take a damn Uber.” Jimin gruffly says before he lumbers away without another word more.

After a minute, he faintly hears a shout of thanks behind him.

It gives him pause, bristling before he continues on. Once again, he’s left to his own thoughts and slightly irritated again that all he wanted to do now was find a place where he can hide and be unbothered for the rest of the night. Your place naturally comes into mind but he thinks it’s not appropriate to show himself, especially not when he still feels… less than put together.

As he considers his options, something begins to creep up inside of him — something that numbs him, starting from the bottom of his feet and traveling up until he struggles to keep pace, forcing him to stop as he doubles over. He’s suddenly short of breath, vision blurring but it peaks once it reaches his head, transforming into a searing pain.

Jimin lets out a sharp cry, hand shooting to his head as if to hold it from being split open, teeth gritting and eyes screwed shut as it wracks through him. There’s a ringing in his ear that nearly deafens him along with a burning sensation along his shoulders but as quickly as it had come, it vanishes, leaving him gasping in the middle of the street.

It takes a moment for Jimin to pull himself out of his daze, beads of sweat rolling down his neck before he inhales deeply and composes himself back on shaky legs.

Well, he thinks, taking a few more deep breaths and then slowly, starts on walking again. If that wasn’t a sign that he did something right, then he doesn’t know what is.

Guess that means two down, five fucking more to go.

#jimin x reader #bts jimin x reader #guardiandemon!jimin #bts supernatural au #jimin insert reader #jimin fic #bts jimin fanfic #jimin fanfic #bts jimin fic #jimin x you #jimin scenario #park jimin scenarios #park jimin fanfic #park jimin fic #park jimin imagines #park jimin imagine #jimin reader insert #park jimin reader insert

[mlmdarkfiction]

a slasher of your choosing with a s/o whos a house husband and just wants to care for them?

You said Slasher of my choice and I heard…as many slashers as I could think of examples for so here we are. Bo Sinclair, Vincent Sinclair, Michael, Jason, and Lizard

These are all gunna go up on AO3 as separate fics and I’m too lazy to link them all back here so

Bo Sinclair

It’s not a secret to you that Bo feels responsible for you, Lester, and Vincent. He took everything onto his own shoulders when it came to caring for the three of you, and making sure the city of Ambrose was up and running fully. More than once he’d come to you, drunk and in tears about his self perceived in ability to take care of you all.

So you do your best to take care of him in return. It’s the least you can do when he runs around with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Your own contribution to the household, at least when things are at ease, when there aren’t strangers running through Ambrose causing trouble, is to make dinners for the family. Everyday at the same time you make dinner, and have it set out on the table for the four of you to enjoy.

It was dinner time, but currently it was only you and Lester at the table. Vincent had already come, grabbed his plate, thanked you and left despite the way you tried to convince him to stay. He’d explained he was far too busy with his work, before disappearing off towards his workshop. Bo is late.Twenty minutes late. You’ve already told Lester to eat, and not to wait on his brother, although you don’t follow your own advice.

Another five minutes pass before you decide to do something.

“Was Bo at the station when you drove up?”

“Uh-Huh.”

You get up from the table with a sigh, moving to the stove, and beginning to make a plate for Bo.

“If Vincent comes back up let him know you and him can have the rest of this if y’all are still hungry okay? I’m gunna take a plate down to Bo. Don’t wait up.”

Once the home cooked meals secured in some plastic wrap you head out the door, ignoring the worried look from Lester.

The sun is just beginning to set, giving the whole town a faint glow. The empty town would be eery if not for the fact that you know you’re safe here. Just like the brothers, Ambrose is your home.

When you see Bo, you can’t help a joking whistle. He’s lent over the hood of your truck, trying to figure out what made the hunk of junk just stop working the other day. Your sudden appearance and whistle makes him jump. You can’t help but wince and giggle a bit when he almost hits his head on the hood. “Hey there handsome, you come here often?”

The fact that he missed dinner to work on your truck only makes you a little mad. After all, you’d already told him to forget about it. If you really needed to go into town you could go with him, or with Lester. Having three cars in the household was a bit excessive anyway. And yet, here he was, skipping out on dinner with you and his brothers to work on fixing your hunk of junk.

“Nah,” Bo flirts back, unaware of your slight irritation with him. “New in town.”

“Really?”

You make your way to him, holding the plate of food in one hand, and allowing your other to trail up his clothed chest once you’re close enough.

“Well…My husband isn’t going to be home in a few more hours if you wanna…play.”

It’s not the first time you two have played this game, pretending to be strangers, just usually it happens in a little bar in the middle of some town pretending to pick the other up and watching as strangers hopeless flirt with the other only to come home at the end of the day with each other.

“How could someone not wanna come home to you, sweet thing?”

Bo’s smirk only grows as he catches sight of your wedding ring, following your hand as it trails up his chest, his own matching one on his own hand, slightly dirty from his work.

Finally you push away, the teasing smile dropping from your face.

“I don’t know.” And you tap your foot, holding out the plate to him. “After all he missed dinner just to work on some stupid car even though I thought we’d agreed he wasn’t going to.”

“Is it already dinner time?”

The shock in Bo’s voice is enough to make you a little less mad. After all, if he just lost track of time that’s a bit more forgivable.

“We were waiting on you,” He takes the plate, and begins walking inside the station, holding the door open as you follow him.

“But I made sure Vincent and Lester went ahead and ate, because I didn’t know what was taking you.”

You want to continue to be mad, but it’s hard to keep the pout on your face as Bo kisses the top of your head.

“God babe, you’re the best.”

Vincent Sinclair“Vincent…”

Your voice is the only thing that breaks the silence of the workshop. Dressed in only your pajamas you make your way down the stairs to see your husband still bent over his work bench. You’d gone up to bed hours ago, under the promise that he would join you as soon as he finished, but you’d woken to find yourself once again alone.

“Come to bed, please?”

There’s no waste in time, as soon as you’re close enough you wrap your arms around him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“It’s the third night this week, when’s the last time you slept?”

He shrugs beneath you, muscles tense. He feels bad about ignoring you lately, you both know it. He’s just been too caught up in his work, wanting it to be perfect, it had to be perfect.

“You need to sleep baby…Come on.”

And much to your surprise, he agrees, with a heavy sigh he gets up, causing you to move out from behind him. You press your lips to his covered cheek.

“Thank you.”

Michael MyersBefore living with Michael you didn’t consider yourself very responsible, but that’s changed a bit. You didn’t know much about cooking, and you still don’t, but living with him in the old Myers’ house has been a growing experience for you as a person.

You’ve learned tons about cleaning and repair, along with the amount of first aid you’d quickly had to learn when it came to living with Michael.

For the most part Michael could take care of himself while out hunting on the streets, but nights like tonight someone would try, and fail, to get the better of him, and leave him injured in the process. But for every ten nights he returns home without incident there are nights like tonight where he comes home bloodied and bruised.

“Michael hold still- MIchael!”

And even after all this time together he still didn’t want to let you actually tend to his wounds, even though you both  know if you don’t he’ll just let them fester until they either heal on their own or get infected.

It takes all the force you have to make him stay, and you both know he’s only sitting down because he’d decided to give in.

He’s pouting. Even if not physically, you can feel it rolling off of him in waves as you force him to let you disinfect the cut on his cheek.

“Honestly…you probably need stitches.”

You just sigh, knowing that it’s out of the question, and press the gauze and bandages into place.

“Now strip, I need to put your coveralls in the wash if you want to get the stains out.”

Dating Michael, had also, naturally, made you an expert at getting rid of blood stains.

Jason VoorheesJason got along fine before you lived with him, but it’d be a lie to say that you hadn’t improved his way of living drastically. The cabin he had made his home was old, and dilapidated and you had been the one to come in and say that just wouldn’t do. Slowly over time, you did tremendous work on the cabin. Replacing old wood with newer steadier planks, fixing any doors, and replacing broken windows.

By the time you were finished the cabin went from a simple dwelling, a place Jason came to rest his head after a night of killing camp counselors to a home. A home that he shared with you.

More than that though, you provided structure.

In the state he’s in, Jason doesn’t need to eat, and he hasn’t really tried. Still, that doesn’t stop him from being sure to be at the cabin everyday at 7 no matter what so he can sit at the table and have dinner with you. Even if he doesn’t eat it’s still nice. It’s like the two of you are a family.

It’s like he’s normal. You make him feel normal.

Lizard “What are you doing?”

You almost roll your eyes at the sound of your boyfriends voice. He was supposed to be out dealing with the van of people Goggles had reported seeing, but instead he was here, bothering you.

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

You raise a brow as you gather the dirty laundry off your shared bedroom floor. Everyone in the Clan had a house, and as of late the one you share with Lizard had begun to become a pigstye. You really didn’t understand how someone who rarely wore a shirt could leave so much laundry for you to take care of.

“Cleaning.”

“Yeah Lizard, I’m cleaning. Don’t you have to be out laying spikes?”

You move around Lizard as you go, picking up your shared blanket as you go.

“Why are you doing this?”

There’s something in his voice that makes you stop. It’s not until you look at him that you realize that something is…wrong.

“Why are you taking care of me? I took care of myself before you came here, and I’ll take care of myself long after you’re gone!”

“Lizard…”

He’s worried about you leaving. About you deciding one day he isn’t good enough, and that you’ll run off with some ‘normal’.

With a heavy sigh you drop the laundry basket, and move in cupping his face in your hands.

“Lizard I love you. I clean up around here because I love you. Because everyone has their part around here, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

You press a kiss to his lips. It’s a soft kiss, until he decides to deepen it. Kissing with Lizard is always a unique experience, but you’d never trade it, or him for anything else.

“No go kick some ass.”

#slasher imagines #slasher x reader #slasher reader insert #The Hills Have Eyes Imagines #The Hills Have Eyes Reader Insert #Lizard #Lizard (The Hills Have Eyes) #Lizard (THHE) #Michael Myers #Michael #Halloween #Halloween imagines #Jason Voorhees #Michael Myers X Reader #LIzard X Reader #House of Wax Reader insert #House of Wax #House of Wax imagines #Vincent Sinclair #Bo Sinclair #Vincent Sinclair x Reader #Bo Sinclair X Reader #Jason Voorhees x Reader #Male Reader Insert #Male Reader #Male X Reader #Male imagines #horror reader insert #horror imagines #Horror Movie Imagines

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Five states will hold elections this November for governor or state legislature — and a lot seems to be on the line. In the Louisiana gubernatorial race, a Republican victory would mean total GOP control of the state government; similarly, in Virginia, Democrats could take total control with just a few more legislative victories.

And which party wins could have big consequences for state policy. Take the Kentucky gubernatorial race as an example. There, Andy Beshear, the Democratic nominee, has claimed that if Republican Gov. Matt Bevin wins reelection, his cuts to the education budget will be so drastic that some of the last remaining schools in rural communities across the state will close. At the same time, Bevin has argued that Beshear holds radical views on health care — like opposing a work requirement for some Medicaid recipients — and that if Beshear is elected, he’ll continue to support the “government takeover of health care.”

But how high are the stakes exactly? Based on the campaign rhetoric, you might expect state spending to be fundamentally transformed by whichever party is in control. The real-world effects, however, are more limited.

One way we can answer this question is to look at what’s happened in state governments over the last 30 years, as Republicans have been on quite an electoral run. The GOP went from full control in only three state governments in 1992 to 26 in 2018. Democrats have had full control of some state governments during this time period too — including some gains in the midterm elections last year — but their control has been nowhere as extensive as the GOP’s. Government at the state level is seen as a story of conservative success; Republicans gained ground nationwide in elections and built networks of advocacy groups, associations and think tanks — all while becoming increasingly conservative.

But in my new book, “Red State Blues: How the Conservative Revolution Stalled in the States,” I argue that states controlled by Republicans haven’t shifted the size of government as much as one might have expected. In reviewing the programs that were (and were not) implemented, I found that policy either continued to move to the left or it stabilized, rather than moving in a more conservative direction.

One simple indicator I looked at is state expenditures. Despite Republican gains at the state level, states have still been spending a lot more money over time. Even as more Republicans took control since the 1990s, median spending by states doubled (adjusted for inflation).

There were some shifts in spending during this time period, but those often had more to do with economic conditions than with the party that controlled the state government. I also found that most state spending was focused on what are largely thought of as Democratic priorities — health care, education, and social services. And that paying for those services often meant higher taxes and fees, too. State spending has also risen as a share of state economic activity, though more slowly, and state workforces grew steadily until the 2000s.

This, of course, does not sound like what Republican governors and legislators typically promise on the campaign trail, but Republican control of state governments did have some effects. I found that Republican control meant slightly less growth in government as a share of a state’s economy. But it took many years to see these effects and it was not enough to reverse the nationwide upward trend.

So why hasn’t the GOP been more successful in curtailing states’ spending?

One potential explanation is that by the time Republicans took control, states were already on the hook for providing public services that were popular and therefore hard to roll back. GOP officials also faced powerful headwinds: The federal government often required or incentivized new state spending, and legislative staff, state agencies and interest groups frequently fought to maintain funding.

Moreover, not all policy trends are partisan. States move together in some areas as evidence accumulates or opinions shift, regardless of the direction the political winds are blowing. Most states, for instance, have expanded pre-kindergarten education and promoted renewable energy. And states have largely reversed course on strict prison sentences and outlawing gay marriage.

Republicans’ control of state governments did have significant effects beyond spending. Republicans were especially effective at passing legislation across multiple states on social issues like education, abortion and guns. And Republicans have limited some important extensions of government services, despite not reducing state spending over time. Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act offers a good example. Fourteen largely Republican-controlled states have still not expanded Medicaid, despite a good deal of available financial support from the federal government. That’s a real effect with real consequences. Of course, another way to look at this is that 36 states nearly doubled the size of their largest program despite many being controlled by Republicans.

It isn’t that these policies don’t have important ramifications — they often do. But whether a state was controlled by Republicans or Democrats didn’t produce large shifts in indicators like economic growth, inequality, family structure or crime. Red and blue states differ, but not necessarily because their policies transform state economies or societies.

Elections do matter. Voters this November will have a hand in helping decide their state’s policy direction. And as states become increasingly tied to one party, voters’ partisan choices can have an outsized effect on states’ policy agendas.

But we should not expect instant and fundamental change. Even though the two parties often present voters with near-opposite agendas, like with Beshear and Bevin in Kentucky, once they’re in power, the two parties tend to move policy only marginally in the direction they want and the effects of those policy changes are often smaller than anticipated. Republicans’ increased political power did not reverse either the size or scope of state government through the 1990s and 2000s. So while voters should see some impact from their choices at the ballot box this November, it’s still not as much as the campaign ads imply.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Matt Grossmann

[siverwrites]

Press Start Letter

AO3: Siver

There are some pretty big groups here, so I’ll try to keep things short. Prompts are just possible starters. As long as the DNWs are avoided it’s all good! Really can’t go wrong taking anything from my Likes list. A lot of found family vibes happening in this batch so anything in that vein in particular is great.

All requests are for fic or art. Art: Interactions of some sort: emoting at each other, talking, sharing some activity, taking a walk, hugs are always welcome, soft things, whatever suits the pair/group

Likes: fluff, hurt/comfort, comfort, missing scenes, friendships, long-term friendships, close relationships of any sort whether romantic or platonic, familial bonds, found family, sickfic, AUs, fandom crossovers or fusions, angst with a happy end, bonding, cuddling/hugs/holding, banter, mutual care and support, emotional bonding, loyalty, pre-canon, post-canon, reuniting, slice of life

DNW: NSFW, non-con, dub-con, underage relationships, unrequested ships, infidelity

Ghost Trick

I love this game, its characters and pretty much everything about it, so whatever you want to do will be great I am sure. New timeline mysteries and missing memories are always welcome where it makes sense. Alternate timelines and what-ifs are cool to explore. Fluff, comfort, family found or otherwise and friendships are always a go. Any combination of these characters is more than welcome too!

Alma & Emma: Friends! Mom-friends? Knew each other before the girls were born? Is Alma Emma’s beta-reader?Is a certain detective husband merely a great inspiration and Alma is endlessly amused?

Alma & Sissel: That cat is Strange shenanigans. Alternatively Alma knows and teamup times of any sort! Or just some good old comfy cat times

Cabanela & Jowd: Close friends (or more), partners. Determination and loyalty. Really can’t go wrong with anything and these two. Case fic? Just time spent together? Mutual insufferability? Nothing like it!

Cabanela & Kamila: Best weird cool uncle! Best cool niece (whether kids are a what do situation for Cabs or not). How do they spend time together? How does he spoil her rotten?

Cabanela & Missile: Loyalty to the max--of course they get along. Anything cute/fun for these is welcome. Dog snuggles! Dance lessons! Rookie Detective Missile is on the case bark bark!

Cabanela & Pigeon Man: I’m always down for anything during the year they worked together. Alternatively what the heck might pull them together in post-game?

Cabanela/Jowd: No infidelity please. So, this could be a no-reset scenario, something during the game events–ch.9 and ch.15 stuff is always great. Or on a less angsty route, it is the ot3 or some kind of happy V. but Alma’s simply not involved if they’re at work, she’s at work, or a trip or she’s on a trip, etc, so the focus is on their end.  Fluff, bonding, banter, travel, domestic stuff, on-the-job antics either at the station or out on a case.

Cabanela/Jowd/Alma: Post-game. All the polyamory fluff! Domestic fluff, travel fluff, vacation fluff, road trip, picnics, beach trips, train trip? etc. Go for a date whatever a date might entail for these three. Hugs, snuggles, and love.  Light angst is fine too, as long as they get a happy end.

Jowd & Lynne & Memry: Detective group/mentor shenanigans. Likely chicken.

Jowd & Pigeon Man: Old friends. Anything from their past working together, or new timeline working together! Jowd’s gotten strange. There’s a meteorite. PM is intrigued.

Jowd & Sissel: Detective and Ghost Cat. Working together!

Kamila & Amelie: Anything friendship is good. Current ages or future fic/art when they’re older!

Lynne & Memry, Lynne/Memry: The Odd Girls working together drawing all the oddest cases!

Pigeon Man & Blue Doctor: Who is the Blue Doctor. How long has he been around? How might they meet and what do think of each other?

Rindge & Lynne & Memry: Odd Girls + trying-to-be-normal Rindge in an odd world. Contrasts! Clashing ways of working that manage to work!

Sissel & Missile & Lovey-Dove: The animals just hanging out doing animal things. The animals getting on a mission of their own?

Cabanela: Anything Cabanela being his sparkly determined Cabanela self. Something during his five years goal? Day to day life? A hobby? Post-game fun times? Just. Cabanela.

Crossover settings are cool too. Some other settings that I like born of Discord Talks:

FFVI: Half esper Sissel? Magic infused Cabanela with the Empire working in secret? Jowd suplexing a train? Returner Lynne somewhere back there? General Final Fantasy VI shenanigans with these characters. World of Balance? Reunions in the World of Ruin? Opera Cabanela. More info here https://archiveofourown.org/series/1169099 or here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1196335 or here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16407494

Ivalice: Viera Cabanela! Nu Mou (Tactics Nu Mou specifically) Jowd and family! Anything here. I am more familiar with Tactics versions but anything goes. Fluff? Intrigue? Mist frenzied Cabanela and after effects–maybe the first time Jowd’s seen this happen, and particularly startling from the usually controlled Cabanela who relies more on magic?

FFX: Summoner Jowd, devoted guardian Cabanela who hates this whole process, but isn’t about to leave Jowd. Something during the journey? Something with Yunalesca? Even shortly after it’s all over but they have this new world and old scars to contend with?

Crystal Chronicles: No idea what races they’d be but if there’s something fun to be had here, fly at it. Lilty Jowd? Yuke Cabanela (got that tall bird thing going)? Something more fitting? Something something miasma, something crystals. A moment in their caravan journey?

Trails Series: The cast in Zemuria! Dominion Cabanela undercover in Arc-en-Ciel. What might his stigma be? Knight Alma of the Gralsritter assigned with Cabanela. Crossbell Chief of Police of Jowd separated from Alma some years previously to some disaster (like the manifestation of Cabanela’s stigma) and doesn’t know the other two are alive, along with his daughter Kamila who’s learning all she can about orbal tech. Reuniting! Hermit Pigeon Man orbal scientist and contact for Jowd? Is Lynne a Detective under Jowd or a Bracer? What of Memry? Other ideas entirely!

Trails in the Sky | Sora no Kiseki

Anything in any of the three Sky games or something in between them. Missing scenes, scene extensions, travel along the roads, airship travel times, etc. Ample opportunity for anything in the Garden in 3rd. I love these characters, their world, their relationships or potential for.

Estelle Bright & Cassius Bright: Any kind of father-daughter bonding time. Pre-FC, post-SC before she and Joshua set off, post-return to Liberl, anywhere something can fit really.

Estelle Bright & Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor: Estelle is perpetually and understandably exasperated with him, but what about a quieter moment? Parting ways after SC, or some encouragement at some point during SC for Estelle, or Estelle catching Olivier in an off moment (example: like their talk about the dreams from Luciola).

Estelle Bright & Tita Russell: Sisters! Anything showing a sisterly bond is great.

Julia Schwarz & Mueller Vander: They share the same role with drastically different charges. Relate to one another in some respects? Do some training? Commiserate? Encourage through some similar worries for Kloe and Olivier respectively?

Kevin Graham & Ries Argent: Kevin is a dumbass and is lucky Ries is patient for this self-deprecating fool. More seriously anything about their relationship is good during 3rd or post-3rd (nothing that could spoil Cold Steel III or IV please)

Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor: Just Olivier being Olivier during his Liberl travels either when he’s alone or while he’s with the group, whether it’s outrageous Olivier or quiet time Olivier with a hell of a long road ahead of him on this battle he’s chosen.

Kloe Rinz & Julia Schwarz: Beyond their bond as knight and princess I think they love each other platonically. Sisterly? Something showing their close bond. Helping each other out? Julia protects Kloe but Kloe protects her back in turn? Talks of duty but also personal wants?

The Legend of Heroes VII | Zero/Ao no Kiseki

These games hit my found family buttons hard. Anything portraying some kind of relationship among these characters is awesome. Any combination of these characters is more than welcome too!

Elie MacDowell: Explore Elie’s thoughts and feelings on everything that’s happening in Crossbell. What about her personal feelings on the Croises and betrayed by Mariabell? Her feelings on her own standing and what she wants?

Cecil Neues & Ilya Platiere: They’re an odd friendship and both married to their work but they make it work. Anything exploring their friendship or the time while Ilya was hospitalized--hard on both of them in different ways.

Elie MacDowell & Tio Plato & KeA: Girl’s day out! Aidios knows they could use one. Some kind of Mishy involvement is a bonus (or a necessity in Tio’s eyes).

Lloyd Bannings & KeA: Lloyd is the daddest of dads. Lloyd and KeA time of any sort is good.

Lloyd Bannings & Randy Orlando: They’ve both lost family but they can be brothers for each other. Supporting each other

Randy Orlando & Tio Plato: Big brother Randy and little sister Tio? They both lost their childhoods. Something to relate on?

Rixia Mao/Ilya Platiere: While Ilya clearly cares for Rixia, Rixia’s love may be one-sided (for the time being at least, perhaps more in the future?). Rixia’s thoughts and fears while Ilya is hospitalized. Once awake, Ilya’s concerns for what Rixia really wants and her place--she belongs with Arc-en-Ciel and they both know it

Sergei Lou & Alex Dudley: Past working together or connections in current time. Wildly different personalities but Dudley still listens to Sergei. Anything exploring their working relationship, or anything exploring them off the job on break.

Sergei Lou & KeA: Grumpy uncle Sergei cannot resist the charms of KeA. Anything familial (possibly despite himself) between these two.

Shizuku MacLaine & KeA: Let these kids be happy. Give them a good time together.

Wazy Hemisphere & Noel Seeker: The temporary SSS members, outliers that never quite fit the same as our core four. They’re completely different in personality but how might they connect at least for a little while?

Randy Orlando: Always interested in anything exploring Randy’s struggles with home and family and where his place is (the night he runs away included!). He belongs with SSS but it’s hard for him to see. Also appreciate how casino owner Drake looks out for him. He’s cared for even if he can’t always see it!

Trails of Cold Steel | Sen no Kiseki

Following the theme of these games, bonds! Old bonds, new bonds, forming bonds!

Elliot Craig & Fie Claussell: They don’t get much interaction in-game all told, but I have a special soft spot for a budding friendship between them. School days activities or something during the month they (and Machias) spent in the Celdic area between CS I and II?

Fie Clausell & Instructor Beatrix: Fie finding comfort in Beatrix’s presence. Beatrix looking out for her.

Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor & Alfin Reise Arnor & Mueller Vander: Olivier is Too Much. Alfin is Too Much. What is a Mueller to do when he’s got both of them around?

Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor & Alfin Reise Arnor: Alfin is very much Olivier’s sister. Little sister and big brother shenanigans! Or maybe something welcoming him back to Erebonia?

Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor & Mueller Vander, Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor/Mueller Vande:  Gen or romance slant. I’m good with either or one with shades of the other. I enjoy Mueller and Olivier’s closeness and how they contrast each other. Olivier’s more eccentric and flamboyant nature, but also his more serious side. And Mueller’s regular exasperation with him, but also his care for him. Being there for each other. I’m fond of the little things like how Mueller always calls him Olivier even in Erebonia when Olivert’s identity is known and public. Heimdallr fun or trouble (Olivier…). Planning against Osborne. Look after a tired Olivert? Something during the civil war when they’re in the west?

Principal Vandyck & Instructor Beatrix: Both are more than they appear. I loved the Instructor teamup in the last part of CS I and these two have a history. Explore their connection, or reminiscing. Would also be interested in their activities during Trista’s occupation.

Towa Herschel & George Nome & Angelica Rogner: Anything exploring their friendship, or perhaps something during their time as the proto Class VII or their memories of that time in comparison (or contrast) to the new Class VII?

Mueller Vander & Elise Schwarzer: Elise is sliding into a similar role for Alfin as Mueller for Olivier. Maybe he can give her some advice? Or the two stand by while their respective charges/friends are <vague gesture> That. One way or another the siblings are a handful and Mueller and Elise know it (and if forced into honesty wouldn’t have it any other way).

Pyre

Another case of give me all the found family joys. Daily activities while they travel? Post Peaceful revolution activities? (Note: I’m good with any of the _ae options for Vagabond girl for naming purposes)

Big Bertrude & Volfred Sandalwood: I adore their close friendship and that it came about from Bertrude’s unrequited love, but it’s okay, better than okay! Anything between them in their history, or during the Nightwings travels or post revolution would be great.

Big Bertrude & Sir Gilman: Big snakes and little snake. Grump and enthusiast. Awkward mutual (grudging?) respect?

Jodariel & Sir Gilman: Contrasts in everything from personality to size. Something exploring that would be great

Tariq | The Lone Minstrel & Big Bertrude: We don’t see a lot of interaction between them. How do they get along? What stories might they share? An appreciation for music or something to tolerate? What does a day in the blackwagon look like between them?

Tariq | The Lone Minstrel & Sir Gilman: The Moon and the Wyrm. Music and Knighting. Just these two interacting somehow

Vagabond Girl & Jodariel: Jodariel going mom-mode on _ae? Or just a big hug? _ae being far more enthusiastic than Jodi is used to these days?

Vagabond Girl & Sir Gilman: So much energy!

Volfred Sandalwood & Sandra: So much potential for interaction as a reader. And snark. And an unimpressed Sandra. But on some things they can maybe agree...

Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq | The Lone Minstrel: Something gentle for the tree and the moon who somehow fell for him, any time period

Ti'Zo: Imp doing imp things. Anything Ti’zo will make me happy

FFVI

All that travelling time is ripe for more interaction or character exploration. Equally interested in what they might be doing after the world is saved too.

Cayenne Garamonde | Cyan Garamonde (FFVI): Where does Cyan go when the world is saved? What is a new home for Cyan? Alternatively a look at Cyan’s time during the year between the World of Balance and the World of Ruin

Celes Chere (FFVI): Opera Celes! Celes time away from the party after Vector. Celes after the world is saved--what does she do, where does she go?

Edgar Roni Figaro & Setzer Gabbiani: King and Engineer in a mechanical moving castle? Pilot of the only airship? They could have some great talks. Maybe some proposed airship upgrades?

Thank you for anything you do!

#press start #press start 2019 #letter

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 8

Since the previous chapter was rather dark, I wanted to get chapter 8 out as quickly as possible.  Fortunately, after the absolute struggle I had with the previous chapter, this one just rolled right along.

There are absolutely no trigger warnings in this chapter that I can think of.

My quarters turned out to be pleasantly close to Tyche’s, yet still far enough away that we each had privacy. As much as I loved my sister, being next door neighbors would have been exceedingly awkward. The Miys very carefully showed me how to program the door for waking and sleeping intervals, as well as how to set the lock code to the door.  It then ensured that the room was keyed to my biometrics, but how I could not say; there was no scanner or printing that I saw.  All of this took place with my sister humming a deceptively perky tune (it was from an archaic television show, and I recall the lyrics simply being several iterations of the word “Doom”).

Once the door opened, all I could do was gasp.  Where Tyche’s quarters had been covered in blacks, greys, and hints of maroon or plum, my quarters were light, almost airy.  The walls were tinted a pale purple, the furniture was a light grey.   Plants abounded, filling the room with life.  As with Tyche’s quarters, there was no cooking area, but a small dispenser that I had learned provided food and beverage when one desired privacy.  I had been told while I was still in medical that several communal eating areas had been arranged around the ship, but no one was required to be there unless they felt social.

Once I surveyed the space, one that clearly had been designed for me, I turned and gaped at my sister.

“Yes!” she crowed in victory. “I knew you would like it!” She turned to the Miys, who was producing a low growl. “You were so skeptical about the plants.  And the purple.”

“To be fair – “ was that whining I was hearing? “you are the one who explained that she cannot see certain wavelengths of light. You cannot truly expect me to remember which ‘colors’ correspond to which wavelengths.  And the plants you chose are mostly parasitic!  We have extensive documentation showing how Terrans perceive parasitic life!”

“But I also tried to explain that Sophia loves air plants.”

“Tillandsia,” I corrected her. “They do need more than air to survive.”

She waved her hand at me, “Same thing, Word Nerd.”  

I grinned at the old nickname before I turned to the Miys.  As I started to open my mouth to explain, it made the same gesture my sister had just performed. “Yes, Enhancer, we can hear you. They clean the air, make it fresher.  I have no noses, Enhancer and Tyche.  The air quality on the ship is within parameters, and I cannot detect trace impurities as sensitively as you can.  I have already begun adding plants to other common areas of the ship and sense approval from most of the Terrans who have begun to notice or previously requested such a thing.”

It’s statement made me realize that the only other humans I had seen, even when travelling from medical to Tyche’s quarters, were my sister and Simon. “Why haven’t I seen any other Terrans?” I asked, voicing the question for my sister’s sake so she could follow the conversation.

“This is a less populated area of the Ark,” the Miys explained.  “I have been made aware that some Terrans become psychically distressed when they encounter too many unknown people at once.  While the Ark is not large enough for each Terran to have their own quarters, as we had not planned on this contingency, there is currently sufficient space to allow some to have individual quarters.  Additionally, there are quite a large percentage of Terrans who prefer to live with others as a way of coping with such drastic change.  However, there are exactly four Terrans who I am desperately avoiding forcing to share living space with anyone, and I have been granted permission from my home planet to make such a decision since it is such a small percentage of the population of the ship.”

I looked at Tyche and quirked an eyebrow briefly. “You, me, Sam, and Derek,” she explained. “You haven’t met Sam and Derek yet, but they are both autistic and need space to be away from people when they get overloaded.  Great guys.  Sam is teaching me sign language, and I make him clothes that don’t aggravate his touch aversion.  I don’t know much about Derek, but he loves Mac and takes incredibly good care of him when I can’t, and that’s really all I need to know to like him.”

“Okay,” I nodded, “that makes sense. And I get you. Why…?” I trailed off as I pointed to myself.

Instead of Tyche, the Miys responded. “We need you to teach, Enhancer, and lead to a smaller degree.  I also know from observation of you and your personal history that you perform both of these functions at peak efficiency when you have a space designated in which you do neither.  Allowing you individual quarters ensures that, when your daily responsibilities are done, you will not have to – people? That is not a verb, Tyche – if you do not desire to do so.”

My sister giggled, and it dawned on me that she had intentionally thought that term as hard as possible at the Miys in an effort to teach it one of her favored slang words. I sighed, and explained, “It’s vernacular.  Many people use that word as an abbreviated way of saying ‘interact with people’.  And I get it, but it really isn’t necessary to give me my own quarters if there isn’t enough space….”

“Em-pathy,” my sister interrupted in a singsong voice. “Really, Soph, it’s okay.  Right at ten thousand people, seven thousand rooms.”

The Miys continued with a nod. “And currently, 1437 are unoccupied.  Most Terrans have voluntarily decided to share living space.  In some cases, three or four individuals are sharing quarters.”

Oh.  They were not kidding about that, apparently. I did some quick math in my head. “When you said a large percentage, I didn’t realize you meant over 85%.”

The Miys spread its inner hands, a gesture I had learned was a shrug. “Terrans packbond.  There is, however, a – caveat? That is in interesting word – to having individual living space.”

Here we go. All good things come with strings.

“I request permission to put a video feed in your quarters, like the one in Tyche’s quarters.”

A memory from earlier came floating back to me. “Not many humans on board that strongly atypical.” It was not by any means a question. Tyche was the most unique person I had ever met in my life.

“Precisely. We have four: two have declined video relay installation in their quarters….”

“And the fourth has not yet consented or declined,” I murmured. “Four. Tyche, Sam, Derek, and me.  I hadn’t consented or declined because you hadn’t asked yet.”

“Clarity,” it buzzed with a smug tone. “You do not have to consent, but we would like to learn more about Terrans who fall outside several definitions of ‘normal’ for Terran parameters.”

“And how do I fall into that category?” I asked. “I want to be sure that I would actually be contributing before I make a decision.”

Surprisingly, Tyche answered. "Seriously? I know we've had this conversation, mon soeur. We grew up with the same mother; we had roughly the same childhoods. We've both been through hell on Earth, even Before. I came out of that childhood fueled by rage and spite, but you? Somehow all that shit we went through? You came out kinder and way more hopeful. If hope could actually move mountains, you'd have flattened Everest with ease. We all – all of us survivors – have some kind of PTSD. You and I had it beforehand....but....it never stopped us. You've spun yours into something to grow from, not to recover from. You don't just say people can do better, be better; you believe it. You believe it, and you help them how you can, and they become better." “Also,” the Miys picked up after a brief silence. “You rate in the 99th percentile for Memory of those on board. In this, you are only slightly below Derek and on a level very close to Sam.  I would like to study the effects of this on Terrans, and neither Sam nor Derek have consented to video feed.  Additionally, you are able to keep it all incredibly organized, which is astounding. You store the information, but can also extrapolate it and draw both conclusions and inferences at a rate I struggle to keep up with.”

“You think in fractals,” Tyche translated unnecessarily.

“I’ll grant you the memory,” I replied, only half focused on my words as I tried to recover from the impassioned scolding my sister had given me. “But there is nothing special about surviving everything.  I was just… stubborn.”

Tyche laughed as the Miys pointed at her. “Incorrect, Enhancer. Tyche is what you call ‘just stubborn’.”

I allowed a chuckle at that. “Well, okay, I’m not as stubborn as her – “

Tyche cut me off. “No, Soph. I’m literally ‘just stubborn’,” she clarified with air quotes before pointing at herself. “Tenacity, Will, Persistence, and Passion.  As in, too tenacious not to survive when it all went to hell, too willful to not change my surroundings, too persistent to give up when I know I am right, and too passionate about my goals to see any alternatives.”

At that, I gaped before laughing so hard I could not breathe and falling to the ground from aching ribs. “Oh – my – gosh,” I gasped. “You really are just ten pounds of spite in a five-pound container!  That’s too funny! Oh wow.”

She made an indignant face, but I knew her heart was not in it. “Hey, clearly my spite is my most redeeming quality!  I was literally chosen as part of the best of the Human Race because I am so spiteful, thankyouverymuch.” She managed to sniff in mock-offense before dissolving into laughter.

The Miys just stared at us on the floor before making a shrug-gesture. “She is correct, Enhancer. What makes Terrans so interesting to the rest of the known Galaxy is your tendency to survive anything through sheer determination not to die in the direst circumstances. Tyche is an incredible example of this, despite her past before your world ended. Additionally, she is quite passionate about a number of Terran subjects that we have been very ignorant of.  It will be valuable when establishing a social system on the future colony.  I have already corrected a number of anomalies in passengers that I otherwise would not have understood if not for her.”

We both stopped at that information. Tyche looked just as confused as I was, which was not comforting. “What,” she drawled, “are you talking about?”

Oh, this did not sound good.

“Terran Jordan,” the Miys explained in a tone that showed it clearly knew it was in a precarious situation. “Jordan stated she is female, but her body is clearly male, so we fixed that on a genetic level.”

Oh. Fuck.  The Miys ‘fixed’ what sounded like a clearly transgender person.  Gender rights and sexual preference equality were two of Tyche’s most ardent causes.  However, fixing it on a ‘genetic level’ did not sound promising, and I could hear a feral-sounding growl coming from the petite form next to me. Fuck.

The Miys quickly reacted to the rage radiating from Tyche, and it became evident that she was thinking at it rather strongly. “Oh, Worlds, no. No. Not in that way. That is barbaric! Did Terrans actually do that? No!  Jordan consented to genetic testing, and I determined that Jordan’s genetics indicated she was clearly female, but a chromosomal abnormality made her body male! This was causing severe dysphoria in Jordan, so I offered to do genetic correction on the chromosomal abnormality so that her body is female along with the rest of her! She is quite pleased with the result. You, Tyche, told me that dysphoria is bad!  I simply wanted to ensure that Jordan was healthy.”

Oh. Huh. Not what I expected.

Clearly, not what Tyche was expecting either, as she promptly deflated. “I really thought you meant you made her think she was male. I’m sorry. I was about to kill this body.” She gestured at its form.

The Miys crouched and gently placed its upper-right hand on her shoulder. “I would have allowed it had I done what you suspected.  But no, Jordan is quite happy now that she is completely female. Additionally, we have opened testing to all on the ship for such genetic correction.  While we can only do genetic surgery on 3 persons at a time, due to the length of the procedure and the additional recovery, we already have 312 who have agreed to the procedure in the future.

“That’s maybe half of what you can expect,” I advised, trying to ignore the look of constipated rage on my sister’s face.  Sometimes she took a few minutes to squash poorly-placed anger. “The rest are probably waiting to see how this goes.  Our planet does not have a great track record for treating people fairly, especially if you are female, gender dysphoric, not attracted to the opposite gender, or not a member of a very specific major world religion.”

“Unfortunately, I have been educated in this,” it indicated my sister, who was perking up a little now. “However, I am of a race that has no gender, does not have sex, and therefore does not care.” It nodded firmly at this.

I sputtered. “Wait. No gender, and does not have sex. Back up to that. What?” I had never really asked, because there was so much more going on that I wanted to get caught up with.

“We are what Terrans would call mycogenetic, I believe.”

Myco.. mycology. “You’re mushrooms?” I exclaimed.

“Only as much as you are monkeys.”

Touché. “Okay, but you evolved from life similar to Terran fungus?”

The Miys nodded.

I knew then that I could  never enjoy a mushroom pizza again.

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#humans are weird #humans are space orcs #earth is space australia #writing #my writing #fiction #sciene fiction #aliens #apocalypse #the miys

[neverwatchedonepiece]

517-519: "The Beginning of the New Chapter! The Straw Hats Reunited!", "An Explosive Situation! Luffy vs. Fake Luffy!" and "The Navy Has Set Out! The Straw Hats in Danger!"

The hat is back on!

I was excited about this. Was also oddly excited to click on the “Fishman Island” arc on CR, finally, after so long on Marineford.

These episodes were another curve ball for me. I thought the timeskip would go one of two ways: either they’d all meet straight away at Sabaody, group hug, then sail off into the New World, or we’d get a training montage for each Strawhat before the meeting.

Then I remembered you guys mentioned there would be a mini-arc and I cursed myself for being dense.

There’s not much plot to it. Some fake Strawhats are blighting the real ones’ good name and reputation. Unfortunately for them, 3D2Y is kicking off and the real Strawhats are gathering on Sabaody like the Avengers Assemble. Plus, pretending to be an infamous pirate crew isn’t a great idea when the Marines and World Government are after them.

I think I can see what’s coming. The fake Strawhats are light-hearted fodder, there only to show off their real counterparts’ training. And bring some lulz. No idea how it’ll unfold, though. That’s half the fun of watching One Piece, to be honest.

Luffy

It was good to see Oda hasn’t tinkered with Luffy’s design too much. (Saying that, I liked the Strong World outfit).  He still has those flip flops and cut offs, but now the red vest has sleeves and is open at the chest. (Gotta expose dat 8 pack and scars, right?) 

Of course, the iconic straw hat was picked up at the beginning of the episode. He was ready! Hancock and the Kuja pirates were there to see him off. Hancock packed Luffy half a year’s worth of supplies in a massive pack and gave him a handy-dandy Groucho Marx disguise in case any Marines spotted him prior to sailing out.

(Is it me, or does Luffy finally realise Hancock likes him? He kept saying, “I’m not getting married.” Though I did like the part when he refused to say goodbye because he wanted to see her again. That was nice of him. He acknowledges just how much Hancock helped him - and she helped A LOT. You could argue Luffy is as indebted to Hancock as to Rayleigh, Jimbei and Ivankov.)

Then, he set off! The next time we saw him, his massive backpack nudged Fake Luffy. There was an altercation. 

Of course, Luffy couldn’t retaliate. Drawing attention to himself and bringing the Marines down on his head before he reunited with his crew would be a Bad Idea.

He did get his own back. Just not in a way that would draw attention.

When Fake Luffy fired the gun, I cheered because Real Luffy gave us a teaser of his new power. Observational Haki! Armament Haki! Conqueror’s Haki! He deflected the bullet, dodged it, then floored the Fakers without lifting a finger.

Honestly, I cannot wait until Luffy’s next big fight. Sentomaru has returned with some Pacifistas. I hope the Strawhats get their rematch. Oooh, maybe the Pacifistas will be fodder now....

Nami and Usopp

Look at them.

Look at how beautiful Nami and Usopp are. 

It seems that over the course of two years, certain Strawhats have ended up with less clothes than they started with.

Nami has lost her t-shirt, but at least she has that bikini, right? Like Luffy, Usopp has buffed up and has a shirtless look to show off his gainz. They both have longer hair too - and it looks good on them.

Not sure about this comment from Usopp, "I don't belong to the weak trio with you and Chopper. I became a warrior who is not fazed by anything!" I guess (or I hope) it was acknowledged by all three that they were the weakest members of the crew, but it’s a bit much saying he’s graduated to a higher tier. Especially since he doesn’t know what Nami and Chopper have been doing. I like that Usopp has found some more confidence, but don’t find it at the expense of your friends.

Or, it’s classic Usopp overcompensating because he’s underconfident. Or he’s just joking. 

Nami must have quiet confidence in her fighting ability because she sat at that bar in Sabaody on her own and talked back to Fake Luffy who had just shot someone. She can control the weather and summon thunderclouds indoors. That is not someone you’d mess with.

Usopp has some new weapons in his arsenal too. He’s weaponised the plants from Bowin Island and I’ll bet he has much more than carnivorous plants up his sleeve. 

I love how casually they walked out of the bar, talking about their training, “Yeah, so I was studying new weather tech on a Sky Island...” while thunderclouds tore the bar apart in the background.

And Nami was driving a hard bargain for a discount. Never change, Nami. Never change...

Zoro and Sanji

Never realised how much I missed these guys and their bickering until I had a genuine laugh-out-loud moment (in 519, I think?)

I love Zoro’s new design. I think it’s my favourite out of the new outfits. The green robe looks great. It gives him more gravitas, as though he has now graduated from Sword Training School and is allowed to wear the academic gown. Not sure what kind of garment it is, but it’s definitely more traditional.

Sanji is still in a suit. I liked his previous style, so I’m kind of glad Oda didn’t mess with it too much. Sanji and suits are like Luffy and flip-flops, you know? He’s changed his shirt, has grown a goatee (which, of course Zoro noticed and roasted Sanji for it) and maybe his hair’s a bit longer?

Zoro arrived at Shakky’s bar first. This was a source of woe for poor Sanji, who arrived seventh after Franky, Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Brook. (Robin was eighth because she had to shake some CP goons off her tail.)

The fact that Zoro arrived first was nothing short of a miracle. I’m still not sure how he managed it. Maybe Perona dropped him off right at the door. When Sanji arrived, he was overcome with emotion at the sight of women to the point his enthusiasm freaked out a couple of innocent ladies. Then Sanji met Duval (I love how they’re friends now) checked out the kitchen and went food shopping.

On the way, he met Zoro.

Zoro wanted to go fishing. Rayleigh and Shakky shouldn’t have let him out of their sight. Instead of getting on a fishing boat, he boarded a pirate galleon and fell asleep. Sure enough, the ship set sail with him on it. “THAT IDIOT!” Sanji yelled. But it was okay. Of course Zoro would do something like that. At least the ship was headed for Fishman Island and they knew where Zoro would be.

I was annoyed for a half a second (rob Zoro of the big reunion? How dare you!) But then he showed off some of his new skills. Mihawk-esque skills. He sliced an entire pirate galleon in half. It was awesome. He still has great lines too. “I ruined your New World dream? No. It was your fault for allowing a plague on your ship.”

Has Zoro taken a Mihawk level in edginess? I think so.

Then they started arguing on the way back and I honestly laughed out loud at their shit-flinging contest. 

“Stay with me, or you’ll get lost!”

“Who’re you talking to, moustache eyebrow!”

“Shut up, lost moss!”

“How could number seven talk bossily to number one?”

“SHUT UP, I TRAINED MY LEGS IN HELL FOR TWO YEARS!”

“BRING IT ON, I’LL CUT YOU IN HALF!!”

They love to pretend they hate each other, don’t they?

Chopper

Aw, Chopper. He has definitely take an level in cuteness.  Chopper is a rare example of more clothes. He has acquired a cute, stripey shirt and red shorts. The hat is okay. It’s huge. Maybe to accommodate his massive brain (because he has absorbed the contents of all those medical books, right?) Must say I prefer his old hat. Mainly because Dr Hiluluk gave it to him and it’s a huge part of his identity. Parts of it are still there, but I guess it’s difficult to change Chopper a lot, so the hat is an obvious target.

Haven’t seen any of his new abilities yet, so Chopper hasn’t changed at all personality wise. He still loves cotton candy and, like Luffy, is still absolutely hopeless at seeing through lies and bad disguises. The part when Chopper was running after the Fake Strawhats and crying out at them to rescue Fake Robin was a bit daft. I mean Chopper did admit later on to Nami that the Fake Robin, “didn’t smell familiar.” But then, that’s the gag. It goes all the way back to Sogeking, so I’ll let it slide. :)

He really thought the Strawhats had changed so much, though. It was  interesting to see that he’d stick to his principles and go rescue Robin himself: a real marker of Chopper’s new determination and confidence in his own abilities!

After that stressful moment, it was nice to see how glad Nami and Usopp were to see him, hugging him and telling him how much softer his fur was, how much bigger he’d grown. And Chopper’s outrage once he realised there were impostors about: “WAIT, NOW I’M MAD!”

Even though he’s stronger, kind, innocent Chopper hasn’t changed that much.

Robin and Franky

Again, how good do these two look? Robin is the most drastic change out of all the Strawhats. Could you believe I actually didn’t recognise her at first? (Only the eyes and the voice acting finally gave it away.) The blunt bangs/fringe/whatever you call them were iconic to her look, so it’s a definite departure. She looks great, though. Similar to Boa Hancock.

I’m 100% being Franky’s new look. The colour scheme is the same (red/blue) and he has his loud fashion sense, but the chunky cybernetic enhancements, the sharp shades and the buzz really add an intimidating edge to Franky that he was missing pre-timeskip. And apparently, the Sunny has some new weapons as well as a Full Underwater Coating courtesy of Rayleigh. Can’t wait to see what nightmarish destroyers of ships Franky has constructed! >:D

Franky injected some tension into the narrative, which was cool, even though I am 99% certain it will turn out fine in the end. While losing the CP9 goons trailing her, Robin picked up a poster for Brook’s concert. Quite rightly, she WTF’d over it and asked Franky if he knew what was going on.

“Brook's quite the star now. From the lonely shadows to a place where everyone cheers for him. He might not come back to pirating again.”

Surely Brook would not be so ungrateful to abandon the friends who lifted him out of loneliness into the spotlight again?

Nah. Brook’s not like that. I’d bet money it.

Soul King?

Brook has now graduated from garage band Slash-wannabe to issuing health and well-being advice via the genre of soul and the medium of arena tours. 

He has acquired a manager. Before the gig, Brook had something to tell him and I’ll bet it was about quitting. 

I’m still wondering how Brook got away with becoming so famous. Wasn’t he identified at Sabaody when Kizaru kicked their asses two years ago? Hasn’t his bounty poster been updated since? Did not a single Marine think, “Hey, there was a talking skeleton in the Strawhats’ company at Sabaody. Here is another one on TV. Coincidence?”

Love that we got to hear most of the song, though. Brook hasn’t changed that much, either. He still loves those skeleton puns.

(I am very behind on replies, btw. I know. I will reply to every single one tomorrow. ^_^)

“Move, bitch. Get out the way. Get out the way, bitch. Get out the way!” - Ludacris

#one piece #neverwatchedonepiece #nwop #never watched one piece #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #sanji #usopp #nami #tony tony chopper #nico robin #franky #brook #silvers rayleigh #thousand sunny #shakky #fake strawhats

[myfriendpokey]

receipt king

What's the difference between a paid game and a free one? In my opinion, one of them costs money, although various qualifications could be made. But maybe what's important is not the fact of purchase but the moment of purchase - that singular, legally recognised and binding moment where you hit the buy button or put the coin into the slot. Since after all the ways in which you really engage with, or even claim, a videogame can be spread out, blurry, diffuse.

Maybe it sits on your hard drive for a year before you play it, or in a notepad file full of steam keys, maybe you played it on and off in sessions too split up and individually indistinguished to solidify into a single instance. You can "own" both a paid gameand a free one but it's hard to feel your relationship to the former is not somehow more solid - maybe because it's founded on that moment of exchange, and not just the more transitory moments of lived experience. Experience comes and goes but purchases can be logged, tracked, indexed.

Maybe all the people who keep buying  reissues of Chrono Trigger for every platform it comes out on are just laying a more 'real', economic foundation to support the expanded dream-Chrono Trigger that exists in their heads…  Holding on to the receipts!

 ***

For a videogame to be sold is for it to exist in a network of exchange relations with, say, chairs, fruit, labour... And the implication is that these things can be compared but also that the comparisons can be quantified. A game is cheaper than a cup of coffee - or four times more expensive than a new movie, and both of these give us a picture of how it fits into the spaces of our life.

It also lets them take on a sort of objecthood-by-proxy, as another in the catalogue of commodities, which is increasingly important as the actual ontological status of a videogame gets ever more uncertain. Are you buying a program, an installer for a program, a temporary access pass for a program stored online, a program which runs using a server which remains in the company's control, a set of new assets, are you unlocking a set of existing assets which shipped with the game and were just stuck behind a paywall?

Emilie Reed has written about videogames in a museum context - with the expectation there that they get reframed as "singular objects", to fit the needs of an institution which has historically trafficked in singular objects. Maybe we can also think about this movement for objecthood in the context of the market - and that, since for at least forty years videogames have been a market artform, this movement was reflected on the aesthetic level as well. When people talk about a videogame as a "world", as a closed, alien space of object relations to be examined and explored at will, are they talking about the bare digital structures of the Game or about the mysterious opacity of the Object? Perhaps the unknowable heart of the  commodity is the true "bonus room", ha ha ha 8p

 ***

(I remember when Mountain was something of a critical talking point, and at the time I maybe crassly wondered if it was the production values - since there were plenty of glorious trainwrecks games making basically the same nonsequitor joke but it somehow only merited attention coming from a paid game with stylised graphics and lotsa assets… Now I wonder if it was specifically the saleability of Mountain which generated that fascinated reaction, as the dismissal of not-games wrestled with the deference thought due to the commodity. Which makes all those posts about the zen qualities of staring at it seem much funnier in retrospect.)

***

Anyway.

The free game / paid game thing is something that interests me because it's basically something I grind up against all the time, when I'm making things, and slowly need to come up with the vocabulary to deal with. The dream is always to "just make things" - you'd work on what takes your fancy and then figure out at the end whether it worked as a saleable product or not, which environment to release it to. But the problem is that even speculating something could be a paid game is enough to drastically change how you view it. What works in a free game absolutely does not in a commercial game, and vice versa.

I don't think anybody at all would have played Magic Wand if it came out for free, for example - that game could get away with being tonally muted and laid back because it took place within the bubble of objecthood that comes with being sold, and those qualities are experienced much differently in a free game.

A free game is one with no immediate comparison points - it could end after 5 minutes, after 50, it could demand your time and energy to no return... it lacks the "guarantee" of a pricetag, the guarantee of existing in some stable relationship with other objects. A commercial game could be the barest early-access WIP, or just some printed screenshots in an envelope. But the fact that it was sold at all grants it some of the enclosed legibility of the object, while free games conversely exist in the world of pure experience, which I think Hegel memorably described as a bloody head flying at you through the dark. Dreams, hallucinations, memory, etc.

 ***

So maybe we can think of commercial status as part of what Michael Brough calls the "grain" of a work, part of that network of processes and feedback which we either glide with or grind against while producing a thing. To make a free game paid is to change how it's read. The gaps which your attention span could easily skip over in a free title become unbearable contained within a fixed, sealed object. You begin to draw the contours and to fill in the gaps... The game becomes more ornate, detailed, denser within this narrowed scope, with a kind of symbolist langour and inertia seeping into the whole thing - the inertia of the product.

It may be hard to make a videogame into a narrative but to be sure it's harder to turn a product into one, a product which necessarily has something circular and static within the very foundation. The presumed audience for a product is like the little dude in the middle of the panopticon - everything is arranged panoramically for their benefit, necessitating a certain vagueness of temporal relationship, while a free game is arranged for the less predictable, less reliable, eye of the attention span as it moves through an unknown space. I like making both types of games and don't mean to imply one is either more mature or more subversive than the other, whatever those terms mean in this junk-ass consumer format. But it's not quite a matter of pure preference, either.

***

Archiving games can be notoriously difficult and I imagine this goes double for free ones - it's one thing to document, say, the NES library which at least has some kind of fixed scope for inclusion, trade magazines to consult, physical copies to track down... and even then there's always the frontier of, yknow, bootleg Dendy cartridges, nobody knowing when Mario came out, stuff like that. At least in principle it can be boiled down to a finite list of titles and release years. Who wants to deal with the messier and more nebulous task of recovering all the RPG Maker projects that briefly got hosted on Rapidshare in 2007? And even then, would it make sense to organize these games by a similar neat list of release dates?

Commercial games can afford the pretense that they "happened" at a singular point in time and that this singular point takes priority over the broader mulch timeline in which they were stumbled across, played, looked at, made fun of. It's not that you can't make a similar claim for the release point for freeware - it's just that it might mean a different thing, and I think it can be valuable trying to think of those games as something other than "commercial games that happen to cost $0". If to be released for free is to  engage with a fundamentally different context and set of assumptions - to deal with and work around a kind of vanishing experiential quality, rather than the fixed objecthood of the product - then it's hard to work out how to talk about and memorialise that without converting it into its opposite.

I've always wanted to write about more freeware games but how do you do it? Pick out a handful to talk about and avoid as much as possible the question of dealing with the endless churn? Elevate a few to ambassador standing? To pick a random RPG maker game and say "Crystal Masters 2 came out in 2008" can be to imply, like, a launch party, or some immediate impact, or that anybody at all paid attention or cared - which in turn can distort the actual expectations of how these things would be recieved that to some extent affected their aesthetics and structure. It’s still better than nothing, and I’m being pedantic – but it's hard not to think about it when at times it feels like the only way this stuff can be written about and preserved is as a set of attenuated best-ofs, by either becoming a product or by being treated as one.

I think if most of my games have been commercial lately it's less a question of expecting to get money from them and more because that sometimes feels like the only way they'll still have some kind of trail left in 10 years. I always liked the idea of making time capsules and just hiding them away in a rabbithole somewhere for people to find. Right now it feels like the types of videogame spaces I'm most comfortable in - the kind least hung up on ideas of importance - are archival ones, digging through the debris of the past, curious about what they'll find. In reaction I guess to what feels personally like increasingly calcified, unliveable contemporary or franchise-oriented spaces of culture it can feel freeing to think about the other ones, of things instantly forgotten or which barely existed at all. Blind albino cave salamanders - - 64!!

(images: castlevanias ii and bloodlines)

#caves #games #gamechat

[kob131]

RWDE Story Comparison 1: Dudeblade Part 1

https://rwdestuffs.tumblr.com/post/181687313437/done-dirty-word-choice

I’d give you the middle finger Dudeblade but I cut it so I’ll just settle for verbally tearing you apart.

You assholes wanna talk to other writers? FIne, better make sure you don’t share the same blind spots.

Truer words have never been spoken.

Not entirely sure how to break this down.

Basically, the choice in words is important. In a non-comedic series like this one, fans, theorists, and critics are going to comb over pretty much every detail.

Except that in a different post, when someone (suspicious you never mention WHO considering this is before Monty’s death) you bitch at the writers for a joke. An even then, people combed over Red Vs.Blue when it is largely comedic so that doesn’t work here.

Why am I doing this? Cuz Dudeblade is gonna try to use comedy as a defense since I’m gonna be using his precious fanfic.

Easy example: The word choice on how Qrow describes his semblance (fun fact: I have this particular screenshot labeled “Qrow being a melodramatic piece of shit” on my laptop).

Now, with the phrase “It’s always there, whether I like it or not.” Heavily implies that it’s on 24/7. That he has no control over it whatsoever. However…

This clarification from the Reddit AMA then says that Qrow’s semblance isn’t at all how he worded it. Now, this could be because even Qrow doesn’t know his semblance that well, but given that these are the writers whose response to being given an out by a fan who theorized that the reason Zwei survived all that stuff in Volume 2 was because Tai unlocked his aura was “There’s this thing called ‘Anime.’” I doubt that they’ll use that reason.

Funny thing:

"Indeed." Ganon added, "Do you want an update on that curse that I cast?"

Lex hummed and nodded in response. "Well, it took hold of the one that the emotionally weakest. They should be turning into a being of near-insufferableness soon."

"I'm pretty sure that 'insuferableness' isn't a word." Lex mentioned.

"It does not matter." Ganon replied, "Soon, we shall be able to use one of their own against them."

"Why the one with the most glaring emotional weaknesses, though? Wouldn't a much more stable victim be more useful to our cause?"

"The curse works in mysterious ways, Luthor. We must first force them on our side. Then, we break the heroes from the inside." Ganon replied.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11815703/104/Aftermath-The-DB-Chronicles

Why was the change so drastic? - Because time travel That's why.

https://www.deviantart.com/dudebladex/journal/Mewtwopoint-of-Future-Past-Alt-Timeline-battles-694649032

You’ve pulled that shit yourself.

So if it’s NOT okay when Miles does it, why did YOU do it?

Here’s another example:

Jaune knowing about Yang’s mom. Given Yang’s dialogue with Blake back in Volume 2, we can gather that it’s a very important secret to her. Given her reaction to Qrow knowing where Raven was but never telling her, we also know that for a fact. Given that Yang said that Ruby was a bit too young when she went on her “I want to find my mom” search to remember, we can gather that it’s likely that even Ruby doesn’t know. But, even if she did know, what reason does she have to tell RNJR?

Was she all “Hey guys! Let’s all share secrets with each other as a trust exercise! I’ll go first! Yang’s been searching for her biological mom for over ten years!”???

See, if it had been Ruby who had said Jaune’s line, we could gather that, yeah. Yang probably told her what happened. But we don’t get that. Instead, we get Jaune asking about it. Which either implies a betrayal of trust either on Qrow’s part, or on Ruby’s part. Either way, one of those two shared information that was very personal and important to Yang, and it was… brushed over.

IBurnBlonde: What, are you planning on dating me or something? IBurnBlonde: T? IBurnBlonde: Tifa? IBurnBlonde: Seriously. It's been ten minutes. What happened? IBurnBlonde: Forget it. I'm signing off. * * * [LockYourHeart has made a Private Chat With Buster Blader] LockYourHeart: Cloud! I need your help! Buster Blader: What is it? Did Yang confess her love to you? LockYourHeart: No, but she almost figured out that I have plans to date her! Buster Blader: smh… You didn't go on your tirade about how nobody deserves her, did you? LockYourHeart: … Buster Blader: You dug yourself in this, Tifa. I'm not digging you out. LockYourHeart: You are absolutely no help. Buster Blader: If you want help, as Link. Speaking of, I think he's in the main chat. LockYourHeart: Really? We might get to see how he chats with people? Buster Blader: Yep. Buster Blader: Tifa? Buster Blader: You did this to Yang, didn't you?

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11815703/103/Aftermath-The-DB-Chronicles

Why do I bring this up? This is a betrayal of Yang’s trust in Tifa except Tifa is doing it for far more selfish and creepy reasons.

Again, apparently it’s okay when DUdeblade does it.

And as for a third example, we have this:

If the narrative or writers wanted to paint Tai as a “Father who is trying to work through his loss to take care of his kids” then these lines of dialogue don’t help in the slightest. “

"What?" Jaune asked, "Are you seriously going to tell us that we need to go out there? - I already lost enough people in my life, thank you very much."

"Then you aren't cut out for the real world, kid." Frank said, "I lost my wife and children, and I still go out to keep the city clean of criminal scum every day. But you?" He gestured to the swordsman, "You only lost someone you barely paid attention to. That was your only personal loss. Everyone else here lost more than you, more than once, and we still go out there to fight." Jaune was at a loss for words. "So make your decision. Live and hide, or fight and die.

" "Your girlfriend chose the second option. But considering that you couldn't be bothered to even try to save one of your other friends after bemoaning losing everything earlier, I guess it's no surprise that you can't be bothered to try when it's the whole world at stake." Deadpool sneered.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11815703/134/Aftermath-The-DB-Chronicles

"Klicks? What are those?" Jaune asked, "Can't we use a distance people actually know? Like Kilometers?"

"How did you get into a prestigious combat school without knowing this basic combat stuff again?" Chun-Li jeered.

"I uh…" Jaune stuttered. "He cheated." Tucker clarified, "He wasn't sent there to be used as a test dummy, he actually cheated."

"So, why doesn't he know the basics?" Chief asked in an annoyed tone. "I heard from Blake that he slept in class and spent most of his study time reading comics." Cheetara mentioned,

"That probably has something to do with it." Jaune sighed, "Can we just… drop it? Please?"

"This is going to escalate later." Mega Man realized, "I don't know how, but it will."

"Seriously, were you reading a comic book while we were doing the debriefing on the way here?"

"No!" "He actually wasn't." Tucker defended, "He was busy crying over a picture of his girlfriend that he has on his phone."

"There are other people who lost more than you." Master Chief pointed out, "Also, two Klicks to Joker and Skull's battleground."

"Guts definitely lost more than you." Doomguy pointed out, "How someone on the internet thought that you had the worse life than him is beyond me, but whatever."

"Guts has not had a 'worse life' than mine!" Jaune whined. "How so?" Chief asked, putting his binoculars away.

"His girlfriend's still alive." Jaune said, as if it proved his point.

Everyone else was silent. Even one Predator facepalmed at the statement.

"Starting to see why Guts said that nobody would miss you." Tucker sighed, "You make pain be all about yourself, and don't let anyone else mourn.”

"Please." Mega Man sighed, "Please tell me that you're making a joke that's in poor taste and that you don't actually believe that."

"Uh, it… kinda is…" Jaune trailed off.

"Oh my God." Tucker snarled, "You actually think that?"

"Well, I don't know his life!" Jaune defended.

"His girlfriend was violated!" Sonya screamed, "I swear, if you actually think that dying is a worse fate than that, then I'm throwing you out there to get killed!"

"See, this is why nobody likes you." Doomguy pointed out, "You don't care about anybody but yourself, and put more people in danger than you actually save."

"The only thing worse than baggage is baggage that whines and complains all the time." Master Chief replied, "Get your priorities straight kid. People might let failures slide if you actually try, but if you just look away from a friend about to be killed without trying to save them, then you aren't any better than the killer."

"How so?" Jaune asked, "All I hear is 'Jaune, you suck at this!' or 'Arc, you suck at that!' but I never hear any ideas of how to improve!"

"Did you ask?" Mega Man asked, deflecting some plasma blasts with his Mirror Buster. "Well uh, no… But-"

"No buts." The Blue Bomber replied, "It's not our job to 'open the door' for you and offer advice. You have to be willing to accept it, and acknowledge that you have things to improve on!"

"Yeah, I mean, I was willing to listen to Wash when he was offering some tips on how to be a better leader back on Chorus. But you just grunt and walk away." Tucker pointed out, taking his sword out of another Hydra soldier.

"You aren't complaining that it's hard to improve," Orchid growled, "You're complaining that it's not 'magically happening' automatically."

"Beat has the area covered. We can move on to the next sector." Mega Man reported.

"You can either stay here, or keep going." Tucker said to Jaune, who was visibly shaken up, "But we're not going to be playing babysitter. I get enough of that with Caboose. Except Caboose can actually fight."

Our HEROES ladies and gentlemen, showing even LESS empathy than Dudeblade’s delusions he calls Taiyang Xiao Long. For those of you who don’t know, Dudeblade hates Taiyang because he called Yag’s depression ‘moping.’ And yet here is his HEROES, the guys we’re suppose to be ROOTING FOR, mocking Jaune for the exact same thing, using arguments Dudeblade as decried as immoral and sociopath.

Once again, not okay for RWBY but a FAR FAR FAR worse version is okay for Dudeblade.

Overall, these lines and details don’t have a lot of thought put into them. They’re used to further develop characters, but the writers don’t realize the implications of who is saying it, what they are saying, and why the choice of words matter.

I could bring up in each instance how Dudeblade is fucking up, whether it be that Qrow doesn’t understand his Semblance, that Yang could have old JNPR like Blake told them about her race or the numerous arguments about Taiyang but you’ve heard it all before. Instead let me prove to you that RWDE has no fucking idea what it is doing, By showcasing that for every single bitch they deal out: they commit the same if not WORSE sin.

The issue from them isn’t the action: it’s just the person who did it they hate.

#dudeblade

[earthtoether]

The Sound of Yourself

The reflection of beauty morphs through the experience of emotion. The drastic shifts of mind scape can be a challenge to capture, in a moment, in a word... nature is a perfect example of this experience, and I know, its probably been written hundreds of times before, but this is for me. 

Watching the snow fall from the sky, and hearing the sounds of life all around, in the background soft, gentle, rich soundscapes; reminded of times past, let it slide through but don’t linger. It’s fun for a moment of time to go back through the experiences of the past- but only for a moment- and then let it go, maintain in the present moment. The snow is light and fluffy, there is piano in the music, and the rhythm of my washing machine... appreciation for the reality we create for ourselves is so important. It’s also important to note that it can always change, and, that we can greatly influence those changes and the direction our life takes; we are not at the mercy of fate and we have choices. 

The emotions attached to the experience(s) of the memory, are in the mind, and they can also be found in the body; these memories can give us ‘good’ feelings, and ‘bad’ feelings, and, they can wreak havoc on your nervous system and overall well being if you're not self-aware. Most of us are actually living in a perpetual state of angst, stress, overworking, under nourishing, depression, anxiety, moodiness, busyness, not taking enough time for self care, causing our body of course, to be in a state of stress also, which is extremely tiring on the nervous system; it’s as if it is on ‘high alert’ all day, and then when it comes time to rest, it can be hard to settle in deep, and waking up the next morning is rarely pleasurable. Waking up unhappy is a sure sign that your living in a perpetual state of stress; like hello! you’re alive! you get to do stuff and play human today! so get to it! what kind of human are you choosing today? because really, when you think about it, it is our choice. And for the people out there suffering depression and mental illness that would like to judge and say things like ‘it’s easy for you to say’ ‘you don’t know what depression is like’ and whatever other things people say, please know, that I am writing these things through personal experience, personal and professional study, from 15+ years experience in the healing arts dealing with a wide range of clientele. I know that if we want to get to the next state of experience (or reality) then, that in turn means, that the experience of our current reality would have to fall away. Now, this is not to say that everything falls apart, though sometimes it does, but it is to say, if you want the experience of living in a new home, you have to be willing to let go of the house you’re in. You’ll pack your bags, and get the things you need, be close to the people you need, and set yourself off into the next experience. To build off this analogy, if you were to move to a new home, where would it be? would your life look the same as now? same people, different car, work? which patterns would be on repeat? 

When we move through changes in our life it’s a great time to notice which aspects are leaving us, and which we are welcoming in, what patterns are we still living, and what behaviours are we attaching to? Why is this important? Well, if you're familiar with the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza (if you're not scope him out) he says, that by the age of 35 most people are basically operating on autopilot, not questioning their experience, living in a state of unhappiness, and resentment to life; not to mention, these patterns of muscle memory are extremely ingrained in their bodies and minds; what does that mean? It hurts to stretch the mind and body to new dimensions, the flexibility in the mind is reflected through the flexibility in the movement of the body and mind, and connection between mind and body; sounds hokey to those who are still asleep, but this is all science. As many intelligent people have said in the past, and still say to this day: science and spirituality are inherently linked, but science is uncomfortable with the unknown, and spirituality is home in the unknown~ so once science catches up and recognizes simply that we live in a mystery, we will really start to see the magic of life. Instead of doubting truths, experience them. I know many open hearted people, who are very closed minded when it comes to personal or spiritual development- they think it’s ‘hooey’ or ‘hippy crap’ and honestly, that is really condescending and demonstrates only your own fear of the idea of it changing your life, because life only gets more and more rich there we observe ourselves, and develop our skills at being good humans, with perspective, compassion and respect for each other, and nature, living in balance and harmony with our surroundings; these things can be done! It blows my mind how much money goes to war, when if we just simply cleaned up our cities, like actually cleaned them, installed green roofs and wall gardens on the buildings, water features and more parks throughout living areas~ trails and paths through the forests and fields to encourage contact with the outside world. Earthship buildings would be gorgeous additions to any subdivision, and could be a beautiful, cost effective and sustainable solution. people act like this is not possible, but it is, it really is. we just need the mental switch from death to life, from war to peace ~ shift the funds. We collectively need to stop arguing, and simply agree that from now on, we know better, we now how to be good humans, we know the difference between violence and peace- we understand the consequences of trauma, and how it’s affects move through generations- we understand the negative affects of the war machine and weaponry; as our oceans are polluted with nuclear waste, oil and plastic, our bodies are as well, not to mention chemicals from the atomic bomb, pesticides, and chemical warfare that have been past down through generations; we need to honour the truth of what it is to be a good human. Stop tolerating less, stop being less. Stop the patterns as they arise, in you and in others. This is not the time to reiterate patterns of the past, this is a time to actively create your future. This is not a test, you are here for real, so be here. Social media is toxic, as much as I love to share with people, I am simultaneously repulsed by the image driven, superficial culture that this world has come to in so many ways. It’s like humans are evolving into robots, genderless robots, that all look like a 22 year old in drag lol, because that’s our most approachable avatar that we’ve come up with~ no one can get upset with a 22 year old man in drag~ not possible, and I mean this in the most endearing way. Wait, is the term drag even relevant if its a genderless robot? Robot drama queen? It would probably look like Beyonce, everyone likes queen b. Enough with the robots, but really, I wish people would open up more, and I know they are in many ways, and, we also need people who are able to lead others by example, and simply be a good human, use your brain for the magic that it is, use your body for the magic that it is; and listen to your heart to know which direction to go, the heart should feel at peace. It took me many years to understand this, and abusive experiences to recognize the patterns of the heart, and how they can be misunderstood, especially when the mind gets involved~ thats when you know there is something happening. When we are in a state of love, we of course still think and use our intellect, but it is from a relaxed place, a place of being; when we are in a state of dis-ease we can still think and use our intellect, but our body is stressed, not relaxed, and the mind feels busy with thoughts, and it can be challenging to stay in the moment. And that’s why people are addicted to technology, because that way they never have to stop and listen to the sounds of themselves. The sound of yourself echos in nature. Listen to the whispers, walk your path, lead from your heart. 

xo

D

#writer #yoga #meditation #visionary #moderndaymystic #earthtoether #health #wellness #fitness #spirituality #deep #psychology #evolve #sound #listen #breathe

[theexleynatureblog]

Tripped Up On Trapping

Recently I saw a post on Tiktok from a account I follow from a Wolf and wolf-dog Sanctuary. I followed this account because I love all things animals, especially wolves, and the videos gave some really cool insider looks into the animals of the sanctuary.

The account also posted updates on legislation regarding wolves, particularly what’s going on in Montana. This article from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle goes into some details.

In the past couple of years, wolf populations have risen across the US thanks to smart management techniques and the recognition of wolves’ roles in the ecosystems. Now that most populations have reached their management goals and beyond, states are opening up hunting seasons.

These hunting seasons are carefully regulated by the state’s natural resource agency. In Minnesota for example, once the wolf population became eligible to be lifted from a protected status, the Department of Natural Resources got to work implementing a carefully thought out management plan for wolves and a wolf season in 2012 - that would allow a sustainable number of harvest (this means they determined bag limits and the length of hunting seasons to make sure the public didn’t take too many wolves at once and ping the population back to a threatened status). However, the DNR’s plan was overturned by legislation in favor of a season opening up immediately. This had drastic consequences for packs in the state, and the season was shut down and wolves we re-listed in 2014. Read more from the International Wolf Center.

The point of this spiel is, before y’all get caught up on the morality of a wolf hunt, Wildlife Management groups are taking steps to ensure they do not disappear again, with or without hunting. The problem comes from politicians who listen to what the public want instead of what science says. (If the public wants a wolf season, they’ll open a wolf season and cash in on their votes for re-election). 

I am tempted to go on about the history of wolf management and what a mess our previous (trump’s) administration made with all their wildlife protection rollbacks, but this diverges too far from my other point, which is about trapping. (I will leave links below so you can read about the Montana legislation for yourself).

The video I saw had a person from the Wolf Sanctuary encouraging people to stop the new bills to expand the wolf season in Montana. She specifically noted the new bill would allow for trapping, which she described as cruel and a danger to non-target species.

To clear things up, I am a soon-to-be hunter and trapper, as in I have not actually done those activities yet, but I am studying rules and regs to one day do this. I do already fish, and as any other ethical wildlifer will say, harvesting and processing your own food comes with a refreshing sense of intimacy with the environment around you and the food you eat.

Note how I said ‘food’. A life goal of mine is to become as much as a sustenance hunter as possible, meaning I only harvest what I am going to eat. Any animal I can’t eat I leave alone. I don’t believe in killing for sport, glory, or trophy. Personally, I think it’s alright to harvest a ‘trophy’ animal as long as the trophy (antler, paw, tusk, pelt) is not the sole reason you kill it. With deer, you can harvest a months worth of meat, carve the bones into decoration or jewelry, and make clothes out of the skin. When it comes to wolves, the only thing you can really use is the pelt. Predator meat just doesn’t taste good (so I’ve heard). For this reason, I’m not too keen on a wolf season.

I do understand the important of animal management - I’ve spent the last three years of college studying population dynamics and human impacts on the environment. Because humans insist on not coexisting with wolves, wildlife scientists have to step in with a management plan that allows wolves and humans to occupy the same earth with as little conflict as possible. This mean, we have to check their numbers if population get to high. I understand this and support this, ONLY if the people in charge do so with ecological knowledge as their backdrop. 

There I go ranting about wolves again. Back to trapping! So, anti-hunters and trappers will often say ‘trapping’ as if it’s one thing. But can you name all of the different kinds of traps? If you can’t, I’m not going to take your counter-argument seriously because I’m not convinced you know everything you’re talking about.

Traps can be split into two categories - kill-traps, and holding-traps. That’s right! Not every trap kills an animal instantly. Leg hold traps are the first example.

Leg hold traps come in a variety of of sizes and poundage's. These measurements are important because they dictate the size of the animal susceptible to capture. (But this also means traps are less discriminatory that shooting). Trapping regulations state the maximum circumference of the jaws. Each ‘furbearer’ animal (in Minnesota) has a maximum size trap to reduce the amount of non-target animals. Of course, when it comes to leg-hold traps, non-targets aren’t too big of a problem, because you can just release them.

No, leg hold traps don’t break an animal’s bone. You’re thinking of this.

These are bear traps, and they are not legal to use unless you are hunting bear. They have the highest pressure and serrated jaws because bear paws are huge, and their skin is tough as nails. If you set this trap on a fox trail, then yes, you may end up injuring a fox. You would also be found in violation of trapping laws and get your license taken away.

Traps aren’t designed to break bones because if the trap has enough pressure to snap bones, then the animal can escape. The trap is useless, and the trapper wasted a bunch of time and energy. These kinds of traps are the most common used for coyotes and wolves. This makes sense because wolves and coyotes are bigger bodies animals. In a foothold trap, the animal is not suffering. Some traps even had padded jaws. If trapped an animal may struggle for a minute until laying down. A law-abiding trapper will check their trap line every one to two days (depending on the requirements in their state). This way, animals do not end up starving to death in the trap.

(No, that is not blood, it’s just the bobcat’s fur color). 

I was surprised to find that in some areas it is legal to hunt wolves with snares. This caught me off guard, because snares are not the best way to kill larger-bodies animals.

Like leg hold trappers, snarers operate under strict guidelines that dictate how high off the ground they can set them and how wide their radius can be - the bigger the radius, the easier to catch things. These are most commonly used for small animals like porcupine and rabbits. When an animal pokes its head through the wire noose, it tightens, cutting off the animal’s carotid arteries. They ‘faint’ from lack of blood to the brain, and die after going unconscious. Of course, a lot can go wrong with a simple wire loop. They can get caught around animals legs or bodies. In Minnesota, it is illegal to place snares on known deer trails, and some places require break-away devices that allow the animal to escape if a certain amount of pressure is applied. This is why it is very important for trappers to have knowledge of the animals they are trapping. They have to recognize tracks and runs, and know how to set up the snare to catch an animal in the most humane way possible.

Typical set-up for trapping snowshoe hares.

Small animals like rabbits are easy to humanly trap. This is gonna sound harsh, but small mammals are designed to die quick, painless deaths. They live short, breed often, and die fast. Anyone who worked in a rescue facility knows to be careful around the wild rabbits, because anything from loud noises or bright light could literally scare them to death. This is a blessing in disguise, because every kind of predator from marten to hawks eats rabbits. But wolves and coyotes are not build the same way. They are predators, designed to survive lots of harsh conditions and fighting. They’re necks, a vulnerable spot, are protected by thick skin and fur. This means that it will take longer for them to suffocate in a snare trap.

I will say one thing though. Do you know the kinds of natural deaths wolves face in the wild? They rip each other apart, while they are still alive. The International Wolf Center says the primary mortality causes are starvation and death from other wolves over territory fights. Wolves don’t wait until an animal stops moving like cats. They tear into them while they’re still alive. But if a wolf doesn’t meet that end, the fastest death it can hope for is a kick in the head from a moose. Otherwise, when it gets too old to chase prey, it will slowly starve to death, or with away from a mix of parasites, diseases, and minor injuries. Honesty, compared to all that, a noose does not sound like the worse way to go.

I do agree that we can do better in regards to trapping. If Montana goes through with the wolf hunting and trapping, they should do so with leg-hold traps instead. These will reduce the number of non-target fatalities, and allow the captured animal a much more humane death by bullet. As I said before, I don’t overall support a recreational wolf season, because there is nothing a wolf can offer besides a trophy and a pelt. From what I’ve heard, and based on the history of the past administration, I am not convinced Montana is acting in the best interest of their wildlife based on the current research available. The issue lies not with trapping and hunting in itself - it’s how we are using it and regulating it for management. 

About Traps

#wolves #hunting #wolf #trapping #wildlife #biology #nature #animals

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Mars: Not as dry as it seems Water on Mars absorbed like a sponge, new research suggests When searching for life, scientists first look for an element key to sustaining it: fresh water. Although today's Martian surface is barren, frozen and inhabitable, a trail of evidence points to a once warmer, wetter planet, where water flowed freely. The conundrum of what happened to this water is long standing and unsolved. However, new research published in Nature suggests that this water is now locked in the Martian rocks. Scientists at Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences, propose that the Martian surface reacted with the water and then absorbed it, increasing the rocks oxidation in the process, making the planet uninhabitable. Previous research has suggested that the majority of the water was lost to space as a result of the collapse of the planet's magnetic field, when it was either swept away by high intensity solar winds or locked up as sub-surface ice. However, these theories do not explain where all of the water has gone. Convinced that the planet's minerology held the answer to this puzzling question, a team led by Dr Jon Wade, NERC Research Fellow in Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences, applied modelling methods used to understand the composition of Earth rocks to calculate how much water could be removed from the Martian surface through reactions with rock. The team assessed the role that rock temperature, sub-surface pressure and general Martian make-up, have on the planetary surfaces. The results revealed that the basalt rocks on Mars can hold approximately 25 per cent more water than those on Earth, and as a result drew the water from the Martian surface into its interior. Dr Wade said: 'People have thought about this question for a long time, but never tested the theory of the water being absorbed as a result of simple rock reactions. There are pockets of evidence that together, leads us to believe that a different reaction is needed to oxidise the Martian mantle. For instance, Martian meteorites are chemically reduced compared to the surface rocks, and compositionally look very different. One reason for this, and why Mars lost all of its water, could be in its minerology. 'The Earth's current system of plate tectonics prevents drastic changes in surface water levels, with wet rocks efficiently dehydrating before they enter the Earth's relatively dry mantle. But neither early Earth nor Mars had this system of recycling water. On Mars, (water reacting with the freshly erupted lavas' that form its basaltic crust, resulted in a sponge-like effect. The planet's water then reacted with the rocks to form a variety of water bearing minerals. This water-rock reaction changed the rock mineralogy and caused the planetary surface to dry and become inhospitable to life.' As to the question of why Earth has never experienced these changes, he said: 'Mars is much smaller than Earth, with a different temperature profile and higher iron content of its silicate mantle. These are only subtle distinctions but they cause significant effects that, over time, add up. They made the surface of Mars more prone to reaction with surface water and able to form minerals that contain water. Because of these factors the planet's geological chemistry naturally drags water down into the mantle, whereas on early Earth hydrated rocks tended to float until they dehydrate.' The overarching message of Dr Wade's paper, that planetary composition sets the tone for future habitability, is echoed in new research also published in Nature, examining the Earth's salt levels. Co-written by Professor Chris Ballentine of Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences, the research reveals that for life to form and be sustainable, the Earth's halogen levels (Chlorine, Bromine and Iodine) have to be just right. Too much or too little could cause sterilisation. Previous studies have suggested that halogen level estimates in meteorites were too high. Compared to samples of the meteorites that formed the Earth, the ratio of salt to Earth is just too high. Many theories have been put forward to explain the mystery of how this variation occurred, however, the two studies combined elevate the evidence and support a case for further investigation. Dr Wade said 'Broadly speaking the inner planets in the solar system have similar composition, but subtle differences can cause dramatic differences - for example, rock chemistry. The biggest difference being, that Mars has more iron in its mantle rocks, as the planet formed under marginally more oxidising conditions.' We know that Mars once had water, and the potential to sustain life, but by comparison little is known about the other planets, and the team are keen to change that. Dr Wade, said: 'To build on this work we want to test the effects of other sensitivities across the planets - very little is known about Venus for example. Questions like: what if the Earth had more or less iron in the mantle, how would that change the environment? What if the Earth was bigger or smaller? These answers will help us to understand how much of a role rock chemistry determines a planet's future fate. When looking for life on other planets it is not just about having the right bulk chemistry, but also very subtle things like the way the planet is put together, which may have big effects on whether water stays on the surface. These effects and their implications for other planets have not really been explored.' IMAGE....This is image shows modern Mars (left) dry and barren, compared with the same scene over 3.5 billion years ago covered in water (right). The rocks of the surface were slowly reacting with the water, sequestering it into the Martian mantle leading to the dry, inhospitable scene shown on the left. Credit Jon Wade

#space #science #Astronomy #astrophysics #planetary science #Mars #physics

[wingsofwriting]

au mix it up 46,48,49

Better Than a Rubber Duck:

Otayuri: Tech support, ghost, and psychic connect AU for the Mix It Up Challenge.

Thanks for the prompt! I actually had a lot of fun with this. Can also be found on AO3

‘You’re doing it wrong.’

“You died nearly two hundred years ago, how the fuck would you know?”

‘Because you’re doing it wrong!’

Otabek groaned and pressed at his temples. He hadn’t exactly expected a nosy, loud companion when he’d taken the corner office with the amazing view that, for some inexplicable reason, no one wanted. It was about a week after he moved in that he realized why. The office came complete with a blonde guest, who thought he owned the place and had an opinion about everything.

The worst was when Otabek would be standing in front of this closet in the early morning, contemplating what to wear, when a deep voice would pipe up in his head, complaining about how much plain black Otabek owned. How he needed to liven up his wardrobe with something bold, like the animal print that was so popular these days. Otabek had no idea why he had some sort of mental link with the ghost, or why he though animal print was a good idea, but ever since moving into the office, he’d been privy to a variety of unwanted and entirely unnecessary comments at all hours of the day.

“Do we need to have the conversation about my computer science degrees versus the fact computers weren’t even a twinkle in the eye of the greatest inventors back in 1817? We’ve had that argument before, Yuri. You never win it.” Otabek griped, hoping they didn’t have to; it usually shaved at least thirty minutes off his productivity.

‘Hmph. That’s what you think.’ Came the disgruntled response, Otabek just knew that Yuri had crossed his arm and was pouting somewhere behind him. He didn’t look though, not wanting to give the blonde the satisfaction, ‘But it doesn’t matter, you’re still doing it wrong.’

As if to prove Yuri’s point, the program that Otabek had been trying to run came to a complete halt, error message popping up on the screen. Okay, so maybe Yuri was right, but it wasn’t exactly like coding could be done right on the first time. Or Yuri had the slightest clue what any of the commands did. Never mind that Otabek had been working on this project for over a month now. And this particular section for a week.

Otabek groaned and resisted the urge to smack his computer screen. “Okay, if you’re so certain I’m doing it wrong, enlighten me.”

The air grew colder around Otabek, a sign that Yuri had move closer to him, as if to study the screen, but Yuri’s words belied his true interest and a perfect example of why Otabek found himself regularly rolling his eyes at his ghostly companion, ‘Well because you’re just sitting their staring at your computer like a lump. So explain it to me!’

And here’s the thing, Otabek knew Yuri was right. Through the months of sharing space, they’d discovered something of a system. Yuri knew absolutely nothing about computers, much less coding, and so Otabek could ramble for hours at him, and usually solve whatever problems were bugging up his program. Otabek was loathe to admit it though, which really explained Yuri’s whole insistence that Otabek try explaining it to him in the first place.

A cold touch brushed his shoulder, fingers trailing across it, a fond gesture Yuri had picked up that Otabek shivered at every time, ‘Come on, you know it’ll help. It always does. Just as much I’ll never understand all this techno mumbo jumbo, you know I’ve drastically increased your productivity,’ The tone of voice was haughty swirling in Otabek’s head with a hint of laughter. ‘You know I’m right….’ He taunted.

Just barely resisting the urge to bang his head back against the chair, Otabek sighed, “Fine.” He’d deny the pout on his lips no matter how many times Yuri teased him about it. Because the thing was that Yuri would be cocky for weeks after this worked because it was going to work. It was like that damn rubber duck story every programmer heard in undergrad. Except this rubber duck had opinions and took an inordinate amount of pride in helping, when really all he did was just sit there and complain about the advancements of this world.

Yet, despite his reluctance, Otabek found himself explaining the code to Yuri, going over each step in the process, and each little minuscule detail, until “OH! Of course!” And with that, he was typing away at the keys again, fixing the problem areas and watching the code run through to the proper result this time.

‘Hah! I told you!’ Came Yuri’s response, seeing the victory overtake Otabek’s face, as he still understood none of what actually took place on the computer screen, ‘What did I tell you? I’m awesome!’

“Yes, yes, you’re the best Russian rubber duck around,” Otabek said, not really listening as he double-checked everything one more time before closing down everything, making sure his progress was saved. Sure that was only one step in the entire project and he still had a bit to go before he was truly done, but it was one he’d been stuck on for forever, so he figured he deserved a bit of a break.

Finally, he turned to look at Yuri and couldn’t help a fond eye roll. Yuri just looked so damn happy like he’d helped Otabek save the world or something. Otabek had to remind himself once again that Yuri was supposed to be a nuisance; an unwanted presence in his life. Not someone he’d totally date if they’d been born in the same century. But with how corporeal Yuri looked it was easy to forget sometimes that the other wasn’t really alive. Really, it was mostly the fact that Otabek could hear Yuri’s voice in his head, and not out loud, that reminded him more often than not. Perhaps that was why he was often so reluctant to look at the other.

Yuri noticed his gaze and grinned, ‘Does that mean you’re taking a break now?’ He asked, excitement coloring his tone, though the ghost would pout for days if Otabek even dared called him on it. ‘Does that mean I can tell you more stories about the ballet?’

Otabek nodded, “Sure, I think I’ve earned a break, besides I know you’d just whine if I didn’t.” Because that was their routine when Otabek took a break, especially after a break through on a stubborn piece of code, he’d listen to Yuri’s stories from his life, before he died. To stories about being in the ballet and dancing and being the absolute best in the world, before illness cut his dreams all too short. And while Yuri’s early death left some sort of melancholy hollow feeling in Otabek’s chest, the joy the ghost still held for his profession was delightful. Otabek could listen to his stories for hours, and often had, losing track of time as he imagined being back then with Yuri.

Just as Otabek knew Yuri would listen to him ramble about code for hours. Not understanding a word, but just enjoying the cadence of his voice and the companship these two disparate people had come to find by nature of a pecular situation. It was a bit unorthodox that Otabek’s best friend hadn’t been living for so long and that Otabek couldn’t really touch him. But Otabek didn’t regret taking that corner office in the slightest. It wasn’t normal, but it worked for them, and maybe it could be the perfect love story in a different time, with different circumstances. But, right now, Otabek was content to just listen to Yuri’s story and let the day fade away as images of an ancient Russian ballet flitted through his head.

#otayuri #yuri on ice #otabek altin #yuri plitsesky #ghost au #mix it up challenge #i can't believe i wrote fic #but here it is #what