#the originals are eons ahead of the new ones and i will die on this hill

[licorishh]

I keep seeing things about how in the new Modern Warfare III Soap apparently has terrible writing and all I can think is that if you had played the original trilogy from 2007-2011 then you would know the original and frankly better Soap had phenomenal writing

#the originals are eons ahead of the new ones and i will die on this hill #all the magic of old games is sacrificed for better graphics in remakes #yeah the new ones are cool ig but they don't have the soul the old ones had #old games had to rely on their gameplay and ability to tell an incredible story #they couldn't cheat and get by just because the game looked pretty #cod #cod mw3 #cod 4 #cod 4 modern warfare #cod modern warfare #john soap mactavish #soap cod #soap mactavish #i gotta replay those man those games are just fire #mw2 2009 is the best one imo #the og ghost is one of the coolest fictional characters of all time #mw3 2011 is a close second though

[pygmyocto]

for me to love you

§pairing: morax | zhongli x fem!reader § summary: how is it possible for him to love you? a god and a mortal soul, one forced to relive the death of their lover for eternity, the other forced to be cursed with a shortened life. § tags/cw: angst, angst no comfort, death, funeral-planning, implied nsfw activities, reincarnation, mortality § notes: not proofread, we die like rex lapis, low-key wrote this for a class originally and had to rewrite it to turn into a fanfic, so if there’s some weird pov changes that’s why. also first fanfic i’ve published in five years woo! § word count: 2.6k

Planning your own funeral is something you should never have to think about. It’s something that should be left to your next of kin, or the ones you leave behind. But what happens when you have no one you’re leaving behind? That’s where a funeral consultant comes in. That’s why Morax is currently pouring over the letter he just received from the courier. Dear Mr. Zhongli, I deeply apologize for my behavior about the arrangements for the funeral. I did not mean to cause you undue stress. This funeral however is extremely important to me, and it’s imperative that it goes off without a hitch. You only die once, right? Apologies again, if I don’t laugh I suppose I’ll cry. But, in any case please do write back to me if you are still comfortable helping me plan the rites of passing. If I do not hear a response from you within the next week, I will go ahead with my plan to pursue another funeral consultant. Best regards, Planning your own lover’s funeral is something you should never have to think about. Which is why he stared at the signature on the line with a slowly cracking heart. That’s why Morax wasn’t able to get out of bed for the past three days. For centuries, eons even, he’d spent his time trying to keep you on this earth with him for as long as possible. Yet here you was as this new vessel at twenty-six, seeking him out to ask for his advice on planning your own funeral. Lying on his back, staring up a blank ceiling, he covered his eyes in the crook of his arm and laughed. What a cruel mistress fate was. His head chanted back the words in the letter to him. “You only die once, right?” No, Morax had witnessed the deaths of your various vessels many-a-times. “I did not mean to cause you undue stress” Darling, you’ve done that since the moment your soul was breathed into existence by Celestia and sent to torment his soul. Perhaps this was his divine punishment for all of the things he had done in the Archon War. “If I do not hear a response from you within the next week, I will go ahead with my plan to pursue another funeral consultant.” One week. That’s all he had to say goodbye. This was all his fault; he knew that it had to be. He was the reason that your soul was fading. While each time your vessel died, you would come back and be the same kind soul, ignorant of your shared lifetimes until something sparked. Then suddenly you remembered everything. This latest vessel he knew—be it godly intuition or otherwise—would be your last. One week. The door to his quaint little mortal home flew open and he took a briefcase with him. The idea that someone else would plan what very possibly could be the last funeral you would ever had rubbed him in all of the wrong ways. Nearly five millennia, give or take, of knowing your soul all for your last lifetime to amount in you not even remembering him… The thought was too much to bear. Maybe there was still time. Still time for him to try to get your memories back. To keep you awake and away from eternal slumber. ੈ✩‧₊˚  Standing in the doorway, you looked much weaker than you had been three days ago when you came into the funeral parlor a sobbing mess. Despite having the happy glow back, your general attitude felt more… tired. Like you’d run a marathon and was ready to go home and relax. Morax supposed that in a bit of an abstract way, you had. “Oh! Mr. Zhongli. I didn’t expect you to be here…” you said, the awkwardness was evident. Unavoidable. Morax had always prided himself on being able to keep a professional manner towards clients but… “Yes, I came to apologize… the way I acted was completely out of character for me. I do wish to assist you in--” “Planning my own funeral… yeah…” “Precisely.” “Well, uh… I guess we can get to work? Let me go clean myself up and you can tell me the plan?” “That sounds like a good idea to me.” You stepped to the side a bit like a deer just learning to walk. “Well, uh, come in and make yourself at home. I’ll only be a moment. Would you like a cup of tea?” “I’m alright, thank you.” “Wine?” you laughed, and Morax found himself cracking a smile. “You may want to save that for the viewing.” “Ah, of course, how could I forget,” you giggled. It sounded like a wind chime. Morax’s eyes watched your form disappear into another room. Yet it felt like your presence lingered. The old couch he found himself perched upon appeared to have been from a hand-me-down store. In fact, most of the furniture appear to be second-hand. He stared at a stain on the couch that had appeared to have been through the wringer of cleaning supplies. His finger traced it. It was an old stain. In previous lifetimes, Morax made sure to always find your vessel and ensure you lived a comfortable life. In a way, he felt like he was still able to love you, without actually having to put you through the pain of remembering all of the previous lifetimes—and with the pain of knowing you would never live to see the age of forty with those memories of your shared lives together. Yet it seemed that for the past few lifetimes, he was unable to find your vessel. There was no exact way to calculate how many reincarnations he’d missed—it could be decades before your soul found a vessel, sometimes it was mere months. Then there was the issue of vessels being mortal. Despite not being cursed to die at forty, the vessel still very much could succumb to mortal diseases, injuries, and the like. All of these variables made it near impossible to calculate exactly how many iterations of you had to live in anything less than luxury Thinking of his lover living in anything less than luxury made his heart feel heavy. How many lifetimes had it been you were forced to live without knowing the comforts of a soft bed? Of not having to worry about where the next meal came from? “I’m ready—“ Morax snapped out of his daze. “—Ah uh… sorry. I know it’s all a bit of a mess. I’ve tried so dang hard to get that thing out of that couch but nothing works.” “I see.” Now you seemed embarrassed now. “Uh—well—do you want to sit outside?” “Wherever you are most comfortable.” “Right—then um… this way,” you motioned. Just up the hill was a small tea kiosk. The old man smiled with a sense of familiarity and wordlessly served two cups of a sweet smelling tea. You tapped the table with your index and middle finger twice and the man reached across, patting you on the head. The man retreated away to a small stove away from the kiosk, where a few tables had been set up and other patrons laughed merrily. “So… there are three rites that I want to make sure happen, I guess. The Rite of Peace, the Rite of Release… and the Rite of Apology…” “Apology? I don’t think you have anything to apologize for…” “Yes… it’s just… um. I don’t know. I feel like I need to. For dying so young before I could contribute anything to Liyue.” “I see…” said Morax, but he really didn’t. Plenty of people died young. Usually they would participate in the Rite of Love, in order to inspire the others around them to live a life filled with love to compensate for the love they were not able to give. Rite of Apology usually only occurred for the criminal who had done much wrong in their life and wanted to set things right with their Archon before they passed. Morax inwardly reveled at the irony. The Rite of Apology was an apology of the dying to him, as he was the Archon of Liyue, yet in this one situation, the offending party was him. He’d make sure that he set things right. He’d reconnect your soul to your vessel and if his theory was correct, it would fortify your soul and allow it to keep living on until he could love you the way he should’ve been this whole time He’d do it right this time.

ੈ✩‧₊˚

A week had passed. A week of trying to get you to remember. And finally, here. Now. It was paying off. In the warmth of his home, his room, with you so close to his heart there was no way you wouldn’t remember your shared past. The two of you lie bare before each other, you curled into his pale chest as he held his arms protectively around you. A thin sheen of sweat remained on your forehead, and the thin sheet did little to protect the curving form of your body from Morax’s loving gaze. Trailing that curve with his fingers, Morax once more buried his face in the duvet between your neck and shoulder, whispering your name—your true name—like a prayer, “I’ve missed you so much,” he muttered, teeth grazing over the soft parts of your shoulder, the tip of his tongue experimentally darting out every now and again. As it clicked, however, you were tense. You said your true name like a question and sat frozen as a statue, pushing against his shoulders to get him off your body. “Is that… your wife?” If you listened hard enough, you could hear the sound of Morax’s heart shattering into a million pieces. Together in the moonlight, your hair, which was in a clean bun before, fell around your shoulders and protected your quickly tear-staining cheeks from Morax’s prying eyes. He couldn’t help himself. He truly thought that this would’ve fixed it. It should’ve fixed it. It should’ve been fine. You would’ve have spent this last week together and you would remember. Your soul would be strong enough to pass onto another vessel, at least once. Then he’d love you as he was duty-bound to do. Like he should’ve been for the last several centuries. “Who is she?” You didn’t remember. He was too late… “Zhongli?” “Morax.” “Morax?” “My name is Morax. The Geo Archon. God of Contracts” “That’s a new one. Not many men who get caught cheating pull the ‘I’m actually a god’ card.” “It’s the truth.” “I don’t believe you.” Morax’s eyes narrowed and he allowed himself to take on his original form. The horns of a qilin and the dragon’s tail sprouted out of his human form. Suddenly, he felt vulnerable again. He was once more neither fully Rex Lapis, the untouchable Geo Archon of Liyue, nor was he Zhongli, the oddly wise funeral consultant of Wangsheng Parlor. He was the god who fell in love with a mortal soul, who was destined to haunt his existence for eternity. The reckless young god only recently awakened and sent to Teyvat. “You are her. Your soul is at least.” “I don’t understand.” “Your soul has been in many vessels. This form… it is your most recent,” Morax explained, and his heart cracked a bit more as you pulled away from him. “So… this isn’t the first time I’ve known you?” “No… but… I fear it may very well be the last.” “What do you mean?” “You’ve been growing weaker. It’s… my own fault. For many millennia, there has been two constants in Liyue. One, is my presence here. Two, was your soul reincarnating into different vessels. Cursed to live a life cut short at the age of forty, before coming back and doing it all over again…” “So… when you said that it was you… that should’ve been doing the Rite of Apology instead of me… what you really meant was—“ “—that I was sorry… because it is my fault you’re dying.” “But there’s no way you could’ve—“ “I knew. I was purposefully avoiding falling in love with you for the last few lifetimes because I… I suppose I was scared. Like you said in your letter. I was scared of loving someone knowing that they would have to leave me.” You were quiet, and even the creaking house grew still at the shared silence. “So… you just… decided to try to stop loving me?” “In order to ensure you lived happy lifetimes? To stop having to go through the pain of losing you over and over? Yes.” He admitted and saw the glassy tears in your eyes, “But… I see now that decision might’ve not been the best course of action. Because now I’m going to lose you forever.” You were quiet again, processing. He could see the gears turning. Trying to connect wires and fill in the blank spaces. But it’s impossible to fill in the blank spaces of memories when the memories themselves are not even accessible. Finally, you spoke. “Do you love me?” “More than anything.” “Then… if this is the last time I’ll see you… I’d like to ask a favor.” “Anything.” “Could… could you just hold me? For these last few moments?” Morax didn’t say anything, but simply wrapped you up in his arms. The end was in sight. The light at the end of the metaphorical tunnel was beginning to shine through. Your body grew weaker by the minute, and in turn, so did your soul. Yet as he lie next to you in the comfort of his home, in his bed, he didn’t feel the grief he had in previous iterations of you. In nearly five millennia of existence with each other, it was this last week that ended up meaning the most. “Do you think there’s an afterlife?” “For you? Yes… your soul will be able to go on and finally rest in Finality… I however… will remain here until Celestia calls me back to rejoin their ranks. There I will lie dormant until I am needed again,” Morax said, tracing patterns on your skin. “Why is that?” “Because I am of the race of gods. And you are are the race of men.” You turned onto your side, looking into Morax’s deep amber eyes. Morax wondered what you found there. “You say that I’m… this woman, your wife, but I don’t have any memories of these past lives. You said that past vessels of me would remember, right?” “Yes, but I believe since your soul is so weak from the lifetimes of my neglect… it is too late,” Morax responded, “—it was my own fault that I let you slip through my fingers again. It’s always the same story. I love you, and then I lose you.” “But this time…” Morax nodded, “This time it will be permanent.” You shifted onto your back once more. Looking up at the ceiling blankly. Morax could only stare at the soft outline of your features, memorizing each soft curve of your cheek, the angular jut of your nose. The way one side of your lips tugged up asymmetrically when you smiled. He tried to commit each feature to memory. To engrave the scene before him on his heart. “…I’m glad you found me again.” “I am too.” “I think I’m ready to go to sleep… I’ll—” a yawn, your eyes closed slowly as your breathing stilled, “—I’ll see you… when I wake up…” “…I’ll be right here when you do.” You smiled again before eyes shutting your completely. Your chest rose once more, before collapsing gently, never to take another breath. Morax closed his eyes, and the last thing you felt was droplets of sorrow from the god’s eyes. “Sleep well, my love… I love you... and--I’m sorry…”

#zhongli x reader #morax x reader #genshin impact #genshit #no beta we die like rex lapis #angst #angst no comfort #tw death #morax #reader #zhongli

[la-luz-mala]

{Apr 2022} Bad Luck Charlie

{2022 Reading Challenge: book 19/40} {Review originally posted on Goodreads}

★★★ (3/5)

Author: Scott Baron Pages: 392 Main genre: Sci Fi, Fantasy Serial?: 1The Dragon Mage #1 Release date: 2019

🚨🚨Spoilers ahead🚨🚨

Bad Luck Charlie is a story about a space engineer forced to join the maiden voyage of his rich employer's new ship and dragged down a path of slavery, piracy, and magic due to a malfunction of his ship that lands him somewhere far, far away from home.

I liked it enough (hence the 3 stars and having finished it), but there are enough issues to drop a couple points. Among them:

Charlie is apparently an excellent engineer, head of his team (or in a similar position of authority), however as soon as he's abducted by aliens he completely forgets everything scientific. I get it, this new world runs by magic, but that doesn't mean basic math and physics stop working! The most technical thing he puts his skills towards is disassembling a toilet. That's it. He knows this galaxy has subpar tech, even acknowledging they haven’t discovered the wheel yet, but doesn’t even think about capitalizing on all that knowledge to improve his situation. He could have been replaced by just any buff military dude with zero engineering background and it would have actually made more sense.

Re. the alien civilization(s?): what a great coincidence that in a galaxy light-years away evolution has seen fit to develop intelligent species all humanoid-like! The weirder alien we see is almost human, except for having his eyes on stalks. Asides from that they’re pretty much pantone humans. Charlie talks about some of them having different physiology but there is no proof of different functioning – we actually get tidbits that point the other way: all cells have toilets (so no strange eating or evacuating habits a la Project Hail Mary), all male slaves that work for women are castrated (so they have testicles, therefore reproduce sexually in a way similar to humans). Also, Charlie is abducted but his race and origin are never questioned, which points to him looking kinda the same as all other aliens.

Lastly: there are a couple of named women in the book (4? 5? versus a ton of named men), of which: one shows up for less than one chapter and is a horny idiot (she’s porking a co-worker during work hours and her “sex-addled brain” causes faulty chips to end up in the ship), two more die pretty soon, one is a servant (last chapter), and one is actually a pretty capable and cool character but ends up being lobotomized for mysterious reasons – apparently she “couldn’t be tamed”, but Charlie couldn’t either so why doesn’t he get the same treatment? A whole new civilization eons away with dozens of strange races and we still can’t escape sexism, lol

#2022 #2022 reading challenge #scifi #fantasy #meh book #booklr #book review #read in 2022

[a-dorin]

first meeting - kylo ren

word count: 3,482

warnings: language, sexual tension, some innuendos

this is just a little something that i wrote over winter break, after seeing the rise of skywalker. it’s the potential of something that is going to be more than one part. i don’t have all of the star wars universe terminology quite yet, so sorry if i got something wrong! hope you guys like it :)) 

you crouched under a table in your home, sweat beading on your forehead. all you could hear were explosions, screaming, and the sounds of the blasters as the storm troopers fired them. the explosions made your home shudder, groaning as your ceiling fell to the ground in pieces. 

fear and adrenaline overwhelmed you, coursing through your veins. the troopers had already taken most of your neighbors. who knew if you were next. you had no idea why they were here. why they were attacking your beloved city. why they were taking your friends and neighbors, killing them so swiftly. it made no sense to you; why there were all of these casualties for a pointless war.

however, the dark side had been battling with the light for eons. ever since you could remember, you heard stories and tales of the ongoing war. much of your town was in favor of the new first order, which made you question the attack further.

however, your main focus was to get out alive. it didn’t matter the cost. you needed to survive.

suddenly, your door was flung open. you could hear the shouts of the troopers, their boots echoing in your home. you squeezed your eyes shut, preparing for a quick death.

yet, there was only the sound of one pair of thick boots on your floor. they stopped in front of you, your eyes remaining closed. who knew what was in front of you. rather, who was standing in front of you. did they have a gun? a blaster?

“i am not here to hurt you,” the voice was deep, thick with authority, “you are to come with me.”

snapping your eyes open, your breath hitched in your throat. standing in front of you was none other than supreme leader himself, kylo ren.

he towered over you, his built frame covered in dark gear and robes. his robe billowed from behind him, swaying gently as wind entered the space through the open door. his mask, once intact, was scored with red marks. you assumed it was broken, then welded together once more. you swallowed, unsure of his next move. you could see the lightsaber hanging on his hip. you shivered, realizing how many lives he’d taken with that single weapon. yours could be next.

“you’re going to t-take me?” your voice trembled with fear.

kylo did not move, “yes. you are to come with me. i am not going to harm you.”

“do you promise?” you suddenly felt very small as you crept out from underneath the table.

“you have my word,” the supreme leader responded, “come. my men will escort you.”

“w-why are you taking me?” you stuttered, the adrenaline wearing off. now, shock overwhelmed you, along with confusion.

“we will inform you later,” kylo marched ahead of you. he stopped, motioning for troopers, “escort the girl to the ship. if she is harmed, i will have you all executed. do you understand?”

“yes supreme leader,” the troopers echoed back, forming a protective barrier around you.

“s-supreme leader,” you began, your voice small.

he turned, “yes?”

“my droid is missing,” you could feel his eyes boring into you, “he went to help the others. he’s a small one. he hasn’t returned. i need him, he’s my companion.”

“find the droid,” kylo ordered to a pair of troopers, “if you do not find him, intact, both of you will die as well. i will just take the girl to the ship myself. the others, search for the droid.”

“yes supreme leader,” the troopers chorused, jogging off to search for your beloved droid.

“thank you,” you murmured.

kylo only grunted. he walked beside you, leading the way to his own small ship, which you assumed lead to the flagship of the first order. kylo got into the ship, awaiting for you to follow him. you realized very quickly that it was meant to be only one seat, and you would have to sit on the supreme leader’s lap.

heat filled your cheeks, your face burning a bright red. kylo huffed, “don’t act like a juvenile about this. it’s for a few seconds.”

“s-sorry,” you felt like such an idiot for stumbling over your words. you climbed into the ship, settling yourself onto the supreme leader’s open lap.

kylo ren started the pod, and you sat patiently on his lap as it ascended towards the ominous black ship in the atmosphere. you swallowed, feeling a cold sweat form.

to say you were terrified was an understatement. you had no idea where you going, when you would be able to go back home, if ever. there was a large possibility that the first order would wipe out the planet entirely. you bit your lip, taking in the sight of the ground beneath you. there was an odd beauty as fire engulfed your town. it was winter, so the snow glowed a bright orange. it was horrifying yet beautiful.

“calm down,” his voice was quiet, “your thoughts are loud.”

the blush on your cheeks only burned brighter, “sorry.”

“stop apologizing,” kylo rumbled, “once we get on board, i will assign two guards for you at all times. from there, they will escort you to your designated quarters. after my briefing with general hux, i will explain everything to you myself. are we clear, (y/n) (l/n)?”

“crystal,” you mumbled.

even though kylo ren had his mask on, you could feel his eyes staring into you as you gazed in awe at the massive flagship. he approached a loading dock, and landed softly. the pod opened, and kylo gently placed a gloved hand on the small of your back. you flinched, recognizing it was his way of informing you to get out.

you stood up from his lap, feeling the dozens of stares from troopers, generals, and other captains. kylo could almost feel your nervous energy, as it was static. he placed his hand on the small of your back once more, and you felt your anxiety subside slightly.

“i see the mission was a success, supreme leader,” general hux boomed.

“indeed,” kylo responded, his tone cold, “i need two troopers at her side at all times. she needs protection.”

“i don’t need protection,” you mumbled. your voice was so low you weren’t sure if the two men in front of you heard it.

“i don’t care,” kylo snarled, “you are extremely important to the first order. i don’t care if you need protection or not, you’re getting it.”

“your orders will be fulfilled,” hux nodded curtly, “i will have our finest soldiers at her side.”

“my time here is done,” kylo announced, “general hux, follow me. we have a briefing to discuss.”

kylo ren stormed off, his boots thudding against the black tile. you glanced down at your boots, unsure of what was to come next. you could almost feel your thoughts buzzing in your mind. why did the supreme leader of the first order spare your life? why did you need protection? where was your droid?

general hux motioned for two troopers to step forward. you could tell that the two were higher ranked, as they were donned in shiny, silver, armor, “these are your guards, ms. (l/n). they are trained assassins under our best leaders. i hope you never feel as if you’re in danger, as we are here to protect you.”

“such a big hooplah over a civilian,” you rolled your eyes.

general hux raised a brow, but kept his cool composure, “you sure have a pleasant attitude, don’t you? escort her to her quarters. the supreme leader will be with her shortly.”

he turned, walking away towards a gate. a trooper stepped forward, a red band on his right bicep, “i am yo-988, but i am known as phoenix.”

“and i am yw-382, also referred to as bubba,” the other chipped in, donned with a red cape.

“so ‘yo’ and you’re welcome?” you stifled a giggled.

“i knew she’d fucking say that,” phoenix sighed, “listen, i hope you realize that we’re not going to harm you, or run super painful experiments on you.”

“you’re actually really important to the supreme leader,” bubba nodded, “that’s why we have blasters on us at all times. who knows what kind of dipshit could come in and try to kill you.”

“you guys are scaring me more,” you huffed, pouting slightly.

“don’t be worried,” phoenix reassured you, his voice calm, “let’s get you to your quarters before the supreme leader throws a temper tantrum.”

“you guys can talk about him like that?” you couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

bubba chuckled, “we’re his best shooters. we can say whatever the fuck we want.”

“he’s kind of intimidating,” you mumbled, following your escorts.

a part of you felt safer as phoenix and bubba escorted you to your quarters. having two friendly soldiers as your guards eased your anxiety. they were obviously close friends, as they cracked jokes about one another to make you laugh. you could tell they were younger, just by the way they talked. another part of you wondered how old they both were, and how long they had been working under the first order. had they been originally resistance turned evil? did they truly know why there was a war?

as you continued walking, you couldn’t help but notice how oddly beautiful the first order ship was. it was so much more sleek than the ships you had seen in your life. the floor was a black marble tile, the walls a space grey. the corridors were full of white troopers. captains, admirals, medics, and engineers buzzed around, busy with tasks. everything was just so organized and neat. you couldn’t help but gaze around in awe.

“m’lady,” phoenix cleared his throat, we have arrived at your quarters. now, if you need anything, feel free to holler. bubba and i will be outside, guarding the door. once kylo ren arrives from his briefing however, we will be dismissed for dinner.”

bubba opened the door for you, and you let out a gasp. the room designated as your quarters was absolutely beautiful. the walls were a black, matching the marble floor. your bed was large, almost too big. there was a fully operable kitchenette, complete with a small, cozy nook. the nook was inside a wall, as shelves surrounded it. however, the aspect that took your breath away was the view. your room possessed viewports, with a full view of the galaxy and planets surrounding the ship.

“this is mine?” you breathed, stepping several feet into the room.

“it is,” bubba confirmed, “the supreme leader requested this room for you specifically.”

“is he in love with me or something?” you turned, raising a brow.

“everyone falls in love with you at first sight darlin’,” phoenix flirted, “you’re just a beautiful woman, and that personality of yours is very charm-.”

“i see you’ve found your quarters due to your guards’ help,” kylo’s voice rang through the room. he stood at the door, his aura full of irritation.

“we fulfilled the assignment sir,” bubba’s tone was courteous.

“good,” kylo was cold, “yo-988, and yw-382, both of you are dismissed.”

“yes, supreme leader,” bubba and phoenix saluted kylo, then marched out of the room. once they were gone, kylo waved his hand at the doors, closing them. you shivered, feeling the room grow colder.

“you can sit on your bed, (y/n),” kylo’s tone was softer, “or do i frighten you?”

“you don’t,” you responded.

then why are you so tense? kylo’s voice rang through your thoughts, making you freeze.

“how can you do that?” you demanded.

“i have been trained,” he responded, “please, sit.”

“take off that mask,” you snorted, “then maybe i will.”

kylo sighed, and placed his hands under his mask. he pulled it off, setting it on a desk beside him. once you got a good look at him, your breathing hitched in your throat.

kylo ren was extremely handsome, with a pale complexion, thick black hair, and rich brown eyes. his skin had red undertones, and they were apparent as he looked at you. his jawline was prominent, and a thick scar ran down a side of his face. he looked no older than twenty-five.

“were you expecting someone older?” his voice was deep, but slightly higher without the mask.

“honestly,” you murmured, “a little bit. maybe a man in his later thirties, early forties.”

you couldn’t help but feel drawn towards him as you both stood there, gazing at one another. you took a few steps closer to him, reaching to touch his cheek. he complied, allowing you to cup your right hand on his face. your thumb traced his cheekbone, and his eyes searched yours.

“supreme leader,” you began.

“kylo,” he cut you off, “you’re allowed to call me kylo.”

“am i the only one?” biting your lip, you couldn’t help but ask the question. this special treatment was making you wonder his true intentions. along with the fact that you had so many other questions. you wanted to ask questions but you knew you needed answers.

“yes,” he answered, “you’re the only one who can call me kylo. the others, it’s kylo ren, supreme leader, or supreme leader kylo ren.”  

“why am i here?” the question tumbled out of your mouth.

“many reasons,” kylo replied, taking your hand off his cheek. he walked towards the viewport, facing the outside.

“can you at least tell me one?” your voice was soft.

“i had a vision,” kylo admitted, his reflection gazing at you, “it was an extremely vivid vision.”

“so you kidnapped me because you had a vision?” you couldn’t help but pry. you were finally gaining some answers.

“we are destined to rule together,” kylo stated, his tone cool, “(y/n), you may not realize it, but you are very important. you have some abilities that enable you to utilize the force. there is another girl, a plain scavenger. however, she is not tied to the first order like you. i feel such a stronger connection with you. i knew once i had my vision, that it was imperative that i find you.”

you swallowed, “is that why i dreamt of you the other night?”

that was in fact true. a few nights ago, before the attack on your town, you had a dream about the supreme leader. you didn’t know his face, but it was a dream foretelling your encounter. you suddenly realized that you dreamt about it the other night.

“i may have crept into your thoughts that night,” kylo admitted. you could tell he was slightly embarrassed, “i wanted you to have an idea of me in your mind.”

“that’s a sure fire way to get with a lady,” you joked, rolling your eyes playfully.

in the viewport, you could see kylo’s lips curve into a smile, “it worked.”

“i am shocked,” you teased, “the supreme leader, the man who is feared by all, has a sense of humor.”

“i am human,” kylo scoffed, “however, this temperament is only around you. i have an image to uphold. i need the others to fear me.”

“they do,” you nodded, “they really do.”

“if general hux, yo-988, or yw-382 ever get out of line,” kylo began, “i need to know. immediately.”

“oh come on,” you groaned, “phoenix was just flirting, kylo. it was innocent.”

“i don’t want every man flirting with you. in fact, i don’t want any man on this ship, or woman, flirting with you,” kylo was solemn, “they are aware of what will happen if they do not obey my orders.”

“i will be fine,” you sat on your bed, “besides, it’s not like i’m some princess or anything.”

he started to walk towards your doors, “you don’t understand. if anything happens to you, i don’t know what i would do.”

“we just met.” you couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by all of the information that was just thrown at you. all you wanted was to just be by yourself for a moment.

“and we have a connection,” kylo retorted, his eyes ablaze, “and it’s stronger than i thought.”

“oh come on, spare me that bullshit-“

“no, you feel it too,” he retaliated, “when i came across you, i couldn’t help but know that we have a bond that nothing in this universe can break. if you really didn’t want this, you would have resisted.”

“kylo,” you began, feeling tears brim your eyes, “i just don’t know what to do or how to feel with all of this new information. this isn’t my home. you destroyed my home. how am i really supposed to feel right now? i don’t even have the one thing that’s closest to me right now.”

kylo sensed the shift in your emotion, his facial features softening. he ran a hand through his hair, feeling sympathy for you. he understood your anger, your hurt. you had your home ripped away from you, and you had no idea how to cope.

“i am going to check on the status of your droid,” kylo murmured, “alert yo-988 or yw-382 if you need anything. i will report back promptly.”

he picked up his mask, sliding it over his face. you felt a slight flash of sadness, as you didn’t get a chance to memorize his face before it was gone. the only sound made was the thud of his boots against the floor as he exited the room. some words were exchanged between him and your guards, as you sat on your bed, tears spilling down your cheeks.

“(y/n)?” phoenix coughed, knocking on the doors, “we just got word. we found your droid.”

immediately, you sat up on your bed, “bring him to me, please!”

“i will have a captain bring him to you,” phoenix responded, radioing who you assumed to be a captain.

as you waited for your droid, you could feel hope wash over you. you didn’t care about your home, as long as you had your droid, jet. he was a small one, with one wheel and a cone shaped head, paired with a large attitude. you were sure he was just as frightened as you were.

getting out of the bed, you waiting patiently beside bubba and phoenix, awaiting the arrival of jet. boots thudded in the hallway, and you recognized them immediately. kylo ren emerged from the corridor, jet trailing after him.

“jet!” you cried, opening your arms. once jet realized you were there, he sped past kylo, embracing you with his body.

“she can speak droid?” bubba chuckled.

jet whistled at bubba angrily. you laughed, “they’re my body guards. we get special treatment on this ship. did any of those troopers handle you roughly?”

jet shook his head no, “no.”

“did that bad, mean, man over there give you any trouble?” you cooed, fixing jet’s antennae.

don’t make me punish you. kylo’s voice rang through your head. you swallowed, blushing slightly.

and no, i am not joking. you could almost see kylo smirking underneath his mask. he knew you were starting to become flustered.

“it’s getting late,” phoenix stated, “and you’ve have a long day, ms. (l/n). tomorrow, the supreme leader wishes to have a meal with you, at first sunlight.”

“at first sunlight?” you glanced up at kylo, who was watching over you and jet.

“sunrise,” bubba repeated, “that is when we are going to be relieved for our duties until noon. we have to sleep too ya know.”

“do not speak to her-“ kylo began, his voice menacingly quiet.

“they have a right to joke with me,” you retorted, “they are stationed with me practically twenty-four seven, because of your orders. now, i am going to go into my quarters, where i am going to catch up with my droid. goodnight,

phoenix, and goodnight bubba.”

“goodnight, (y/n),” bubba and phoenix chorused back, happy to be called by their nicknames.

without saying a goodnight to kylo, you whisked jet into your arms, slamming the doors shut behind you. it was about midnight, approximately four hours since you had been kidnapped. well, not kidnapped. more like taken against your will, but it’s not like you had a choice.

kylo was right. you two had a bond that was extremely strong. even though you were mad at him for being so rude to bubba, you wanted nothing more to see his face again.

with jet on the edge of your bed, you stared at the ceiling, thinking about kylo. who knew the secrets you’d find out tomorrow. maybe if you were lucky, the two of you would spend time alone, where you’d see his more vulnerable side.

i forgot to tell you, you heard kylo in your thoughts, his deep voice soothing. you’re extremely beautiful, (y/n). sleep well.

you fell asleep, with a small smile on your face.

#kylo ren #the rise of skywalker #kylo ren x y/n #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren fanfiction #star wars #star wars x reader #star wars uni #kylo ren fluff #kylo ren smut #kylo

[saltarstream]

Silver Platter

hi another one! this time grimm gets pissy about infanticide <333 this is an actual story and not merged with a poem. anyway this posted with no paragraph breaks originally i love my job

The troupe master narrowed his eyes down at the king, looming over him. That piercing scarlet gaze saw straight through the royal's visage, through that mask of his, that facade.

"You expect me to train an ambrosia to fight against my own kin?"

"Did she not cast you out?"

"You want to train a living thing to kill and eternally suffer at the hands of a god? You want me to train that thing? Your own child?"

"You are no saint, Grimm. You make your child suffer as well."

"Death is an endless song. They are perfectly aware they will die, all living things should be. At least I nurture my kin and give my life to fuel theirs - you cast aside your other children, deeming them failed experiments for daring to *think*."

"They are not children, Nightmare King, let alone mine! They don't have wills to suffer anyhow."

"And how would you know that? You stripped them of a voice."

"And they could not find another way to tell me?"

"They're babies, wyrm. You are murdering babies who have not yet felt a mother's love."

"My Lady agrees with me."

Grimm laughs at that - snorts, even. "Oh really? What if I pulled her into here now, put her on the spot? I'm sure she'd love you even more for spreading rumours about her."

"Do not dare bring my wife into this, dreameater."

Grimm froze at that. "Ah, and what you know I consider a slur too, fantastic. You always were perfect with words."

There's a new tone to the nightmare's voice, and the wyrm stiffens, studying that newfound flame in his eyes carefully. He could feel the heat coming off of Grimm from as far as he stood, adjusting his robes so as not to seem improper when he was really afraid they might catch on fire from how heated the nightmare was becoming.

There's a laugh. It's somewhat disembodied - half there, half not. And the voice belonged to the Nightmare King himself, the Heart's own direct representation. He was absolutely, undoubtedly livid.

"You are pathetic, wyrm. Killing children for petty revenge against that which you stole from first. Planning to use your own kin to imprison mine for eternity."

He began to circle the Pale King, like a vulture studying newfound carrion; "Once your spawn is weak enough She will be freed. And for what? There must be a point where you draw the line."

"It is my duty as a king to serve my people," The Pale King finally said, yet his tone was thin and his words empty. "There is no cost too great when it comes to what I am willing to sacrifice."

"What if it meant your Lady? Yourself?"

"And what if it meant your child?" Snapped the king, yet he realized what he had said all too late.

"It all comes back to this, doesn't it? My child, your child... the spawn of a nightmarish beast and a shriveled, broken king..."

The troupe master smooths out his collar, his cloak seeming to get rather ruffed up with how heated he'd become.

"I will train your spawn. If only to prepare them for the task ahead. But please, allow me to warn you one final time..."

The troupe master leaned down, and he leaned in close, snarling. A staff appeared beside him in a whirl of flame, and he was quick to clutch it. The lantern kindled at the edge, he pointed it at the king (standing up straight as he did so), the scarlet embers singing the wyrm's cloak.

"When they are weak and frail, I will free them. When my sister is gone, the dream realm will be entirely mine, your spawn freed and resenting you every waking moment. Every sleep, I will haunt you. Every sleep, you will see yourself die a thousand times over, each death for one child - one vessel, as you dumb them down to."

The Pale King opened his mouth to speak, but his words fell on deaf ears, if they had fallen at all. Perhaps the world itself had shunned and shushed him in this moment.

"Your mind will shatter. Your will shall break. Your voice will be left raspy and charred for eons to come. I am preparing a silver platter for you, my wyrm, a meal to satisfy the Heart for eternity. Your downfall will taste divine."

#hollow knight #the pale king #the grimm troupe #troupe master grimm #nightmare king grimm #fanfiction #i am suffering #anxiety go brr bc i never intended to share this #all of these may be self indulgent </3 #but you know what i like my writing so brr

[alleiradayne]

Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story…

THE MIDNIGHT RIDE

Long is our list of ghost stories laid to rest. But when the dark rider returns thirty years after his exorcism at the hands of the Winchesters, Sam, Dean, and I are faced with the possibility that we’ve been wrong about one thing.

Some urban legends never die.

Part IV - The Midnight Ride

Summary: The end of an era. Warnings/Tags: Some fluff, general elements of horror and fear, graveyards, brushes with death again... Characters/Pairings: First Person Female!Reader/Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester Word Count: 5,104

"You alright?"

Lost in thought, I had hardly heard Sam. But the warmth of his presence roused me from my stupor. I shook my head and rubbed the burn from my eyes as I spoke. "Yeah, I… I'm just exhausted. And this research isn't exactly entertaining."

Sam took a seat beside me at the small motel table and pulled his chair so close I might as well have sat in his lap. The warmth of one massive hand enveloped mine, and he set the other on my bouncing knee. That quake subsided beneath his touch, something no other person in my life had managed. But then a sudden awareness sent a shiver down my spine, and I scanned the motel room, searching. Sam, perceptive as ever, answered my unasked question. "Dean's in the shower. He'll be a while. We've got some time. To talk. Only if you—"

I didn't want to talk. At all. What I wanted betrayed every common sense I had. At that moment, I’d do whatever I could, use whatever magic at Sam’s disposal, make a deal with Rowena, anything to cleanse last night's stain of indelible memories from my mind. And yet, I knew those options were anything but. Between Sam’s apparent affection for me and Dean’s overprotective brotherly nature, neither would allow me to harm myself willingly just to get rid of a few nightmares.

But as I stared into Sam’s prismatic gaze, the desire to replace those memories, to shadow them with newer, happier moments, overpowered me.

No. I didn’t want to talk. So, instead, I kissed him.

Myriad descriptions, all vastly varied from one to the next, could never capture the feeling of Sam's lips on mine. I could regale you with comparison after comparison. But none of them would do him justice. Though the moment lasted but a breath, eons passed in that explosive connection where I knew and felt and lived a thousand lifetimes with him. I wanted to do nothing more in that breath than melt into him forever.

My tablet chirped, and the case loomed at the edge of my subconscious. All those imaginary lifetimes vanished as I parted from him, replaced by a cruel reality. Not that I'd squander a reality that consisted of Sam Winchester's love. Or his crooked grin and half-lidded gaze.

"Good talk."

Despite my sour mood, I laughed. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding."

His fingers slipped between mine as he spoke. "Thing is, I forgot… what I said about us last night. When I asked if you wanted to talk now, I meant about what happened to you."

"Oh." Well, shit.

I have never known a person wiser, more emotionally aware than Sam. And Dean often gave him a run for his money. But after all the years hunting together, Sam and I operated on an uncannily similar wavelength. The guy read me like an open book. And when I balked at recounting my harrowing journey beyond the veil, he understood without another word.

"Only if you want," he repeated with a reassuring squeeze of my thigh. "Otherwise, I wouldn't mind a little more of your…" he paused with a coy smirk as his eyes darted to my lips and back. "... preferred method of communication."

"I…" My tablet chirped once more, obliterating the one desire I'd felt in months. "Sam, I promise, we make it out of this case alive, I won't leave your bedroom for a week."

His smile widened as he said, "Only if we spend the following week in yours."

I kissed him again, a little harder, more insistent. Parted, I agreed. "Done."

My tablet chimed for the third time, and I turned to it at last. Sam pointed at the screen and said, "What's cockblocking me?"

Though I laughed, a furious sting prickled my cheeks at the thought of Sam's… I forced the imagery from my mind and decidedly focused on the tablet instead of his face. "I was emailing the curator at the museum. She just sent me some documents about Sleepy Hollow's history."

"Oh?" Sam mused. "Anything worthwhile?" He reached for his laptop, pulled it across the table, and flipped up the lid.

When I opened the attached documents, my heart sank. They merely verified much of what I'd already learned. "Sleepy Hollow was a part of the Tarrytown settlement, originally called North Tarrytown. Most of this information is just facts and history about the town. While the Ichabod Crane story is all rooted in it, the urban legends and folklore are only related so far as this jackass on a horse with no head."

"Not surprising," Sam stated.

"No,” I whined, “but it is a little disheartening that he has next to nothing to do with the town he haunts.”

Sam nodded, then said, “There might be more, though. Earlier this morning, I read that Washington Irving was born in Manhattan. He traveled for many years, but he eventually returned to New York and lived out the rest of his life in Sleepy Hollow. He's buried in that cemetery."

"I suppose," I replied, "but I was looking for something a little more concrete than the author lived and died here. Like actual people that Irving modeled his characters after. Or other legends. He traveled in Europe for quite some time. There's even a Scandanavian story, The Wild Hunt, that has the same throughline. A headless rider that lobs his head at people."

Sam piqued at that, eyes narrowed and head tilted. "But Ichabod Crane is the original telling of the story here. Right?"

I nodded. "Forgetting that it's a hodgepodge of cultural ghost stories, yes."

He laughed at that. "I haven’t read it since I was a kid.”

“Me neither,” I replied. “I only know bits and pieces.”

Dean burst from the bathroom at that, a towel wrapped around his head and one about his waist. “Ichabod Crane was a new school teacher in Sleepy Hollow. And he was hellbent on marrying a woman, Katrina, who was set to inherit her father's very wealthy farm estate.”

"Oh," I mused with a mocking smirk at Sam. "Sounds like we have an expert in our midst."

Dean waved me off as he dug through his bag at the end of the bed. "Sam knows it, too. Right?"

“Yeah," Sam started, "there was another suitor, though. Arthur Van Brunt. He went by Brom Bones Van Brunt.” He paused as he stood. “It’s kind of funny, really, this story reads like a high school drama. The lanky geeky nerd and the oafish jock fight over a girl. Except they never get into the physical altercation Brom wanted. He goaded Ichabod constantly, pulling pranks on him. But Ichabod never took the bait.”

I looked at my tablet, where a black and white photograph of a man stared back at me, then returned to them both. Dean withdrew a change of clothes from his bag, then headed back to the bathroom. Through the open door, he said, “So the story goes, Ichabod went to a party at the Van Tassel farm where he intended to woo and win over Katrina. Brom, instead, scares the living piss out of him with a bunch of ghost stories, one of which was the Headless Horseman.”

“Yeah, I remember that much,” I said. “And then he tried to propose to Katrina, but she shot him down.”

“Exactly,” Sam chimed. “I love how ambiguous the ending is here. Ichabod leaves the party all upset about Katrina. He gets on his horse, Gunpowder, who is very skittish, and heads home. But the Hessian shows up and chases him. Ichabod had just learned the legend, so he heads for the bridge near the Old Dutch Burying Ground. He knows the spirit can’t cross the bridge. Ichabod would have made a decent hunter.”

Dean’s laughter echoed from the bathroom, and he emerged dressed and hair coiffed. “I forgot how innocent this story is. He gets to the bridge and crosses it, but the Hessian hurls his freakin’ head at him before disappearing. The head domes Ichabod and knocks him off his horse. Nobody ever finds his body. Only his hat, Gunpowder’s wrecked saddle, and a randomly smashed pumpkin were found near the bridge.”

A thought bubbled up in the back of my mind and raced to my lips. “So that’s where the jack-o-lantern head comes from. What if… holy shit, what if it was just a prank gone wrong? What if Brom was playing another trick on him and accidentally killed Ichabod?”

Hesitation stalled them both as Sam and Dean regarded one another. Then Dean turned to me and asked, “That does not explain what the hell happened last night. No fucking way that was a prank.”

I hated it, but I knew he was right. “But then what the hell! I’m almost beginning to think it is a tulp—”

“It’s notta tulpa!” Sam shouted. Dean clamped a hand over his mouth, and his shoulders shook with uncontrollable laughter. Sam rounded on him and barked, “Shut up!”

“I can’t help it,” Dean managed through peeling laughter. “Your Arnold impression is improving.”

“C’mon, guys, we need to figure this out,” I groaned.

Dean settled through a deep breath, although his face remained far too red. Sam slumped into his seat again, his stare glazing over, unseeing. When he remained silent, Dean said, “Alright, let’s say they’re spirits. And it’s still this mess of combined ancient myths, ghost stories, and cultural legends. We’re still on the same page there, right?”

Sam and I nodded slowly. “After what happened last night, there’s no way they’re anything else.”

“If they’re spirits that haven’t moved on, we have to burn the bodies,” I stated.

“Or destroy an object that might be keeping them topside,” Dean added.

Scrambled thoughts rattled through my mind as I ran down a list of objects. I soon found myself lost in a warren of possibilities, and as I stared ahead at my tablet, equally dazed as Sam. An answer picked at the edge of my subconscious, like a half-remembered dream. No matter how hard I tried to grasp it, the thought slipped through my hand like water.

“None of it is real.”

From the corner of my eye, I glared at Sam. He remained still, his glassy far-off stare yet unfocused as he spoke. "It's all stories. They're all stories that are too much of a mess for a tulpa. So none of it is real. Whatever these spirits have latched onto, it's nothing from those stories." 

With his words, the image on my tablet clarified as my mind focused. Understanding crept along my skin, raising gooseflesh in its wake. I stood then, spurred to my feet, and spoke. “The unmarked grave never mattered. It’s fake.”

Sam nodded. “There aren’t any bodies to burn because those bodies never existed to begin with.”

“It’s all fairy tales and make-believe bullshit,” Dean declared.

I looked first to Sam, then Dean, then back to my tablet, where an image of Washington Irving filled the screen. I turned the tablet to face them, and all at once, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Together, we spoke.

“Death of the author.”

Never in my entire life had I wished to be anywhere else more than at that very moment.

Three stark-white flashlights illuminated a grand headstone, memorialized by the town of Sleepy Hollow, for one Washington Irving. After so many years without care, overgrowth covered much of the base, and the stone desperately needed a washing. Beyond that, none of us made a single move to start the arduous process of digging five feet into the earth. We simply stood there, silent as the dead beneath our boots.

"Either of you uncomfortable with this?" Dean asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Sam and I replied.

Dean started towards the headstone and said, "Good. Glad it's not just me. Something about this feels wrong."

"It's because we've never seen someone's spirit manifest as anything other than itself," Sam stated. "We're literally digging up a guy because his spirit might have transfigured into characters from his own story."

"Can spirits even do that?" I asked as I scanned the treeline of the graveyard. Though dense fog had choked the grounds last night, literal clouds suffocated the entire cemetery where we stood. "That seems like a lot of power for a single spirit."

Dean posted at the head of the grave. "Only one way to find out." He pocketed his flashlight and hefted his shovel. When he saw us still standing at the foot of the plot, he said, "I'm not digging this grave on my own."

Despite the need to end such a vengeful spirit, I had little motivation to help. Slower than necessary, I picked up my shovel and shuffled to the center of the plot. Sam stepped in behind me, shovel at the ready.

Dean raised his shovel to his waist. Before he moved further, a distant, indiscernible sound echoed through the woods. What was once visible of the nearby treeline no longer was. That thick fog filled the darkness, and I saw neither trees nor sky nor stars. I heard the sound again, too far to tell what it was, but not far enough to miss. My flashlight shook violently as I spun about, but I found nothing besides the Impala behind us.

I turned back to Dean just in time to watch as he plunged his shovel's blade into the dirt. Agonizingly slow, it descended each inch slower than the last. That distant sound echoed once more, ever so slightly closer. As though he conducted an orchestra, that sound crescendoed into an unbearable scream as Dean’ shovel descended until metal returned to the earth.

Earsplitting thunder exploded overhead, and instinct forced all three of us to our knees. That booming drum rolled, mutated until it rumbled through the ground. I knew that sound, too familiar with the feel reverberating through my feet. A fresh wave of icy dread coursed through my veins as those thundering hooves pounded the dirt.

Over the headstone, I pointed my flashlight as I stood. Terror incarnate barreled through the graveyard astride his deathly steed. Above his head, a readied missile sprouted flames as he raced towards us. Every instinct screamed to run. Fuck everything about the legend, the haunting, just get the hell out of there.

But I couldn't move. Frozen solid, I merely gripped my flashlight and shivered.

"Run!"

Dean's shove launched me into Sam's arms, kickstarting my senses. I sprinted for the Impala, desperate for her salvation. I reached it a beat behind Sam and Dean and dove into the backseat. The engine roared to life with a sharp snarl as Dean twisted the ignition. He wrenched down on the shifter, slammed on the gas, and I launched into the backrest as the car sped off in reverse.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed.

"What I should have done last night!" he barked.

I opened my mouth to demand a better answer but only managed to scream and gesticulate wildly. The Headless Horseman vaulted Washington Irving's headstone and, in one smooth motion, launched his flaming cannonball directly at the car.

The sickening crunch of iron on steel paled in comparison to Dean's wail of rage. He threw the wheel to the left, and I grasped onto the backrest as the car lurched, spinning about-face. The transmission groaned in protest as Dean threw the shifter into drive and slammed on the gas once more. With all her horses leaping down the road, the Impala raced into the night, and I flattened against the backseat.

"Mother fucking piece of shit ghost!" Dean bellowed. "Fucking hit my car with a god damned cannonball! I’ll kill you! Do you hear me?!"

“Dean, just watch where you’re going!” Sam shouted as he braced against the backrest and the frame of the car.

The speedometer slid past eighty, and I gripped the leather backrest, nails scoring the supple hide. Sweat coated my palms, and my heart railed against my chest. "Dean, what the hell are you doing! You're going to get us killed!"

The fork in the road appeared around the sharp corner, and Dean roared, "Just trust me!" as he took the paved road to the left.

One hundred. The blinding flash of a memory overpowered my senses. Nearly forgotten, the dull vision replayed in my mind, muted, as though it belonged to someone else. A car sped along a country road. A dog. Spinning, careening, crashing. I screamed as my seatbelt failed. Blood pooled in the cornstalks beneath a sky so blue.

"Try to follow me now, you son of a bitch!"

Dean's voice snapped me back to reality. Behind us, the Headless Horseman gained, and his whip gathered with a flick of his wrist. The vicious bones uncoiled, and another memory threatened to take me under once more. It seemed that death had its own wish for me and would not rest until it came true. Another flash of a fresh memory consumed my senses, dragged me down to my own personal hell. But then a light emerged amidst the darkness, warm and enveloping. I opened my eyes to find Sam holding my hand.

"Focus, Y/N. Stay with me, we're gonna get through this, I promise."

"There's the bridge!" Dean shouted as he pointed. The engine whined, straining under his insistent foot. He glared in his rearview mirror as he growled, "Let's race, motherfucker."

The Impala raced over the transition from asphalt to old stone and wood, rattling the car from nose to rear end. Sam’s fingers turned ghastly white in my grip, but he paid that no mind. His focus remained steady, wide eyes staring into mine. Though he tried to reassure me, the roar of the Impala swallowed his words, and they fell on deaf ears. Like a moth to the flame, I turned back to the Headless Horseman one last time.

The coiled whip unfurled laboriously, each bone rolling over the next and slower than the last. That crawl, that agonizingly painful creep blurred the liminal space between truth and myth’s fabrication until nothing but a swathe of gray smeared reality. My mind filled in that blank void, and I knew then that death had arrived to collect his escaped prisoner.

But the end never came. That infinite second ticked by, lost to the endless depths of space and time as the car breached the end of the bridge. I braced myself against Sam as he reached over the backrest for me. Dean stood both feet on the brake, and the car lurched forward as the tires seized, shredding on the asphalt. When the deafening roar of the Impala faded to its soothing idle, I eased my grip on Sam's arms, and he returned to his seat. Dean checked both of us before scrambling from the car, and we followed not a beat behind.

In the center of the bridge, the Headless Horseman and his nightmare steed hung in the air, suspended mid-gallop. A deep purple glow seeped through the grouted stone surrounding the horse, and beneath his hooves, the bricks quaked. Violent flashes of an eerie green mist lanced from the cracks in the centuries-old rock and lashed the rider’s raised arms to drag him from his horse. Wrenched free of the saddle, he crashed to the stone, his metal armor clattering with a sickening crunch. I winced, unsure of what I was witnessing, an unwitting and unwilling voyeur.

But I forced myself to keep looking. I had to. I had to see it through to the end, to know without a shadow of a doubt that we had indeed laid such a vengeful spirit to rest.

The Hessian launched into the air with a vicious twist of the mysterious green lashes. Gale winds swept over the bridge, filling my nose with burning brimstone, and then the horse burst into flames. He screamed his unholy cry, and I startled into Sam's arms. Though I continued to watch, I cowered into him, and he held me close without a word. The vile inferno consumed the horse in seconds, reducing him to a pile of ash.

The rider convulsed as though in pain, writhing and contorting so awkwardly to be free of his bonds. Metal twisted, grinding and scraping against itself in his bid for escape. I realized then that, in his death throes, the Headless Horseman would emit no other sound. He could not beg for forgiveness nor absolution. He could not plead for his continued existence nor one last moment on earth. No last words with a loved one. And for a minuscule second, I pitied him.

Lightning fractured the sky as the purple glow between the bricks focused in a circle encompassing the rider. As the edges brightened, the bricks inside slipped away into an endless darkness. I had seen nothing like it in all my years hunting. And as the green bonds lowered him towards the void, he thrashed, deeply aware of the end that approached.

A scream rent from my mouth as an arm of sinew and bone and rotted flesh burst from the black depths and grasped the rider's leg. Metal collapsed like tissue paper beneath the fierce grip, and bone crumpled to dust. Another arm lunged for his chest and cleaved his breastplate in two, embedding in his ribs. A third nearly ripped his arm from its socket, his forearm crushed, and a fourth pierced his thigh. Those horrifying limbs dragged the Headless Horseman to his doom, jailors imprisoning their captive.

Feet, legs, and torso succumbed to the darkness, and a defeated stillness settled his ruined body. At last, his arms and headless shoulders sank beneath the zenith, and The Headless Horseman was no more. Like so many grains of sand through an hourglass, the ashes of his steed followed him into the void. 

A final flare of purple and green light surged as lightning illuminated the sky once more. Wind settled, and clouds parted to reveal a full, brilliant moon and a night sky full of glittering stars. At last, the void receded, and the bridge stood whole once more. The sounds of night creatures returned, and the clearing surrounding the bridge expanded as though it took a full, deep breath to hold, its first in thirty years.

Maybe, it knew. Just as I felt it in my bones, the trees, the stone, the tall grass, and the creek beneath the bridge all felt it down to their tiniest molecules. It was over. At long last, the Headless Horseman was no more.

For now.

A clattering of bones cut through the peaceful calm, and I flung my arms out ahead of Sam and Dean. Not that I would protect them from much of anything, what with nothing but my bare fists at the ready. Tension crept across my shoulders when I spotted the source of the sound, and the three of us scrambled backwards towards the car.

The bone whip rattled to a stop a few feet from us, perfectly coiled with its handle extended towards my boots. I regarded Sam first, then Dean, only to then turn back for the Impala's trunk with a scoff. A readied can of salt lay on top of the stockpile, and I grabbed it as I grumbled to myself.

"Unless something's keeping it topside.” I slammed the trunk shut. “Gimme a break. Of course, something was keeping it here," I continued to myself as I stomped back to Sam and Dean. I prodded the latter in the shoulder and asked, "How? How the hell did you know?"

Dean shook his head as he held his lighter in one hand and withdrew a motel matchbook from his pocket. "I didn't. I didn't know the bridge would work. And I didn't know the whip had anything to do with it. I just had a—"

"Remember the last time I had a hunch and convinced you to drive the Impala over a hundred?" Sam interjected.

Before Dean could respond, I spoke. "Speaking of which…" I paused as I finished pouring a generous amount of salt on the neat pile of bones and snapped the can shut. "Don't ever drive that fast again."

Dean’s brow shot to his hairline as his jaw dropped. He gestured to the bridge, looked to it, then turned to the pile of bones and gesticulated wildly at them. After he stuttered the beginning of a few statements, he blurted, "What was I supposed to do?!"

"Not one-oh-five, that's for damn sure!" I stated. "We could have died!"

"We would have if I hadn't—"

"Alright, that's enough!" Sam interjected. "I'm sorry I brought it up. Let's just put this son of a bitch away for good this time."

"Yes, sir," Dean agreed. "One salt and burn, coming right up."

The book of matches took the flame of Dean's lighter with a sharp hiss. A flick of his wrist sent the little ball of fire cascading to the ground, and in a single beat of my heart, red consumed the world in a crimson concussion.

The ring in my ears faded, and the blinding light dimmed, darkness settling around us once more. Flat on my back, I stared up at the shimmering night sky, beyond dazed. When I sat up, Sam’s hollow voice called from afar. But the moment his touch soothed my shoulders, a shock of clarity rushed through me, and I saw he knelt over me.

“Talk to me, Y/N,” he repeated. “You okay?”

I thought for a moment, taking inventory once again. No broken bones, no blood. Not even a hint of pain despite the lingering soreness from the previous night. “I… I think so. What happened?”

Dean strode into view, an ornately gilded box cradled in his hands. He set it on the ground at his feet, and then I spotted it. The whip lay intact where it had rolled to a stop earlier. Salt scorched black cowered beneath the pale white bones as though frightened of its failure to purify the whip. I pointed at it and repeated myself. “What the fuck just happened?!”

Sam spoke when Dean hesitated. “It looks like the whip is protected. Somehow. Whether the Headless Horseman did it or it’s part of his curse, I’m not sure. And it’s irrelevant anyway. We’ll have to find some other way to destroy it.”

“But then… What happened last time? With your dad?” I asked as I stood. Sam hopped to my side once more, his gentle strength lifting me to my feet.

Metal rasped on metal, and my attention snapped to Dean. His hand rested atop the box, the metal gears working with fine clicks and clanks. When he removed his hand, the lid lifted half an inch and hissed a violent release of pressure. Of its own accord, the lid then continued to rise, revealing rich black velvet. Darker than night, the fabric lined the entire box, and it absorbed the moonlight, much like the void that had taken the Headless Horseman. When Dean withdrew a similar thick velvet cloth from the box, he spoke. “John did put the Headless Horseman away thirty years ago.” He paused as he grasped the whip with the velvet. Gingerly, he eased it into the box, then spread the cloth over it. The heavy lid shut with a hollow thunk and the metal gears worked once more, sealing shut on its own. “But, he came back.”

“Because of the whip?” I asked.

Dean nodded as hefted the box and turned for the Impala. Sam and I followed, eager to be on our way. Given our cargo, I doubted Dean would want to stay another night in Sleepy Hollow. Resolved, I figured I’d at least steal a pillow for the ride back.

We followed as Sam said, “We’ll take it back to the Bunker and find another way to destroy it.”

“Otherwise…” My question drifted, lingering like an unwanted guest that had overstayed their welcome.

With a grunt, Dean shoved the box into the trunk. “Otherwise, the next unlucky bastard that touches this thing will become the Headless Horseman.”

The terrifying implication settled in the pit of my stomach. An indestructible weapon possessing unwitting people. And yet, I knew that dichotomy well. Old as time, that one. The immovable object, an inanimate manifestation of immortality, meets the unstoppable force, the perpetual stupidity of human curiosity.

“We need to get on the road,” Dean stated as he shut the trunk, then strode for the driver’s door. There, he cried a soft, short sob and spoke to the car. “Oh, Baby, look at you. We’ll get you home and cleaned up.” Then he ripped the cannonball free, wrenched the door open, and slid into the driver’s seat. The awkward crunch of ill-fitting metal joints damn near broke my heart. And not just for Dean, but for the Impala as well, for she had seen us through a most harrowing night yet again.

Sam leaned in beside me then and asked, “Mind if I sit with you?”

“I’d… I’d like that. Very much,” I replied as a sudden chill crept beneath my skin. “I don’t think I could handle the whole ride back by myself.”

He opened the door and gestured ahead. “I make a pretty good pillow.”

As he slid in beside me, I said, “I look forward to finding out.” The warmth of his entire body, so close to mine, pulled me in, a moon to her earth. His long arm draped over my shoulder, and I curled into him. For a brief moment, the case ceased to exist. Only my exhaustion reminded me that I had gone toe to toe with the Headless Horseman and, for the most part, won.

But then a familiar thought occurred to me, and my weary eyes snapped wide open. “It’s true, then.”

“What is?” Dean asked as he turned over the backrest.

My breath caught in my throat, unwilling to put into the universe my worst nightmare. But between Dean’s confident stare and Sam’s soft gaze, I’d never felt safer. Even in my darkest moments, the Winchesters would be there for me. I put my faith and confidence not only in them but in myself as well. No matter what happened next, I believed in us.

“What’s true, Y/N,” Sam asked.

I gave him my best smile and spoke.

“Some urban legends never die.”

Dean shook his head as he turned back to the wheel and twisted the key in the ignition. The Impala rattled as she started, exhausted as each of us. When she settled to idle, Dean looked at me in the rearview mirror and spoke.

“No. They live just long enough to meet us.”

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#alleiradayne writes #spn fanfic #spn fanfiction #dean winchester #dean winchester fanfic #dean winchester fanfiction #sam winchester #sam winchester fanfic #sam winchester fanfiction #supernatural fanfic #supernatural fanfiction

[tigerlilyhasablog]

Life During the Apocalypse

Hello darlings! Hope everyone is doing well… Hope you all are safe, healthy and not going too crazy if you are in self isolation. Since I’m stuck in the house with quite a bit of extra time, I’d like to try to blog a bit more than usual. I thought it would be kind of fun to share with you what I have been up to at home, so enjoy: The Day in the Life of a Quarantined Teen.🙃

Remote school

First for the dull stuff. My university moved to remote learning the week of March 6th, and while they originally said it would be “until further notice”, they have since announced that it will be like this for the rest of the semester. It’s definitely more boring than going to class, and I miss going to school and seeing people, but I don’t mind it that much. It’s kinda funny, ’cause I was homeschooled for most of my life, up until college, so doing this is like going back to the old days of being homeschooled. 🙂 Right now I’m actually on Spring Break, so this week I’m mainly just chillin’.

What I’ve been watching

I’ve been meaning to get Disney+ for eons now, but never got around to it. My sister and I decided that hey, what better time than now? The very first thing that we watched was High School Musical… Don’t judge me.😂 Somehow I had gone through life never having watched this iconic piece of pop culture, but I decided it was time to amend that. What can I say: it is equal amounts completely terrible and utterly amazing.

Finally watched The Mandalorian as well, which is really, genuinely good. I feel so-so about most Star Wars stuff – I don’t dislike it, but I don’t love it – but damn, I got into this show immediately. The way that they’ve made it like a Western? So good. The characters, the visuals, the storyline… 👌🏻 And yes, I would die for Baby Yoda.

Once we finished that season, we began on Agent Carter, and we just finished the first season last night. I felt so-so about it for like, the first two episodes, but after that I got really into it and like, damn, it’s really good! Two thumbs up from me.

Other than Disney, the only other thing that I’ve watched recently is The Miseducation of Cameron Post. It’s been on my want-to-watch list for a while now, and the other day my school gave me access to a site with a bunch of free films on it, one of which was this movie, which I was really excited about. Fuck, it was good. Really hit hard, Chloe Grace Moretz was incredible, as was the rest of the cast, just a really powerful story of course. I liked the indie feel of the whole thing… Sometimes you can just tell, you know? The 90s aesthetic was also great.

What I’ve been listening to

Being stuck in the house has giving me lots of opportunity to listen to music basically all of the time, so let me share some of the stuff I have been loving right now:

Conan Gray’s Kid Krow – I am really loving this album. It is packed with bops, as well as some fantastic sad-boi songs. I’ve liked Conan’s stuff for a bit now, but in a rather passive way… Now I would say that my fan-ness (not a word, I know) has been solidified.

Ed Sheeran – let me introduce you to the little underground indie artist I’ve recently discovered. Haha. It’s kinda funny that I’ve gotten so into Ed lately, cuz I mean, of course I’ve listened to his stuff for a while now. But like, I guess I’ve never delved very deep into his discography? But lately I’ve been listening to the entirety of each of his albums, and I’m a little obsessed. Guess I should have believed the hype sooner, huh?

Alec Benjamin – someone else who I’ve been into for quite a while, but who I’ve been listening to even more lately. His songs have made their way onto “Music of the Month” a couple times already, and I’ll tell you right now that he’s on there this month, too. 🙂 I don’t think he has a single bad song. I have tickets to see him in May, provided corona doesn’t fuck that up, and I’m really excited!

Lauv’s Modern Loneliness – bops. bops. bops. What else can I say? Bops.

Foster the People – ok, this band has such nostalgia for me. Torches was like, all that I listened to in like 2012/13. I hadn’t really listened to them lately, and hadn’t really explored their more recent stuff. But the other day I put on their Spotify playlist and had a dance party to them all afternoon and it made me so fucking happy.

What else I’ve been up to

Spending way too much time on the internet – gotta go ahead and get this one out of the way. I’d love to say that I’ve been super productive and learned a ton of new things and been really creative, but if I’m entirely honest, what I’ve really done is wasted a ton of time on YouTube/Tumblr/TikTok.😬

Drawing – I have gotten some stuff done though! I haven’t used this time for art as much as I’d like, but I’ve been sketching some, and also been playing around with a drawing app… I’ve always been a pencil-and-paper person, but doing it digitally is kinda fun!

My latest project? A vine compilation, of course.😂 Here is the beginnings of it:

Making music – again, not as much as I should be, but I’ve been playing the guitar and singing quite a bit. I’ve been doing it in a very relaxed, just-singing-what-i-want-to kind of way, which is nice. I guess I’ll use this opportunity to plug my Soundcloud (which I rarely post on, oops.)

Working out – I always exercise pretty regularly, but I’ve decided that this is the perfect opportunity to ramp it up a bit. My family and I have been going on walks every day, since that’s the only way we can get out, and I’ve been doing the Chloe Ting 2 Week Shred Challenge. It’s fucking tough, but I’m very excited about getting in shape.

Texting for the Bernie Sanders team – this has been fun! It’s a super-easy way to get involved in a campaign… I’d love to say I could make calls, and I hope to eventually, but it makes me really nervous. But texting is something anyone can do! Basically all campaigns have moved online, so if you have some extra time on your hands, get involved from home, either in a political campaign or something on the activism side of things! You can text, call, do stuff with social media… do it!

Catching up with friends – this one is smaller in terms of how much I’ve been doing it, but I’d just like to remind you that this is a great time to text or call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. I know I often feel weird about just contacting someone out of the blue, but in a strange time such as this I think it is the perfect opportunity to check in with someone and see how they are holding up. Even though we can’t see each other in person, we’ve got to stick together in this tough time and keep up our relationships in a long-distance fashion.

Final thoughts

Okay, that’s all for now! It’s looking like this whole situation is gonna last for a while, so maybe I’ll make another one of these in a few weeks and let you know what else I’ve been up to! I’d just like to end with a little thought:  if you are stuck at home and bored and going a little stir-crazy, please remember that we are privileged to be in this situation. There are some people for whom this means that they are out of work, desperate, scared. There are others who are older or immunocompromised who know that getting the virus could be a matter of life or death. Others are not able to work from home and have no choice but to go out every day and risk getting infected. And others have been forced to go home and be quarantined with abusive family members. Even though this is tough for everyone, if your main problem is that you are bored, make sure you put it into perspective and be grateful that that is your biggest worry.

I hope that didn’t sound preachy, but I just think we have to remember that it could be a lot worse. Now, stay safe, stay healthy, and for fuck sake, don’t go out unless you have to. ❤️

#personal #blogging #self isolation #coronavirus #quarantine #my life #disney #the mandalorian #agent carter #high school musical #conan gray #ed sheeran #alec benjamin #lauv #foster the people #bernie #bernie2020 #bernie sanders

[glorifiedsnickersbar]

Prized Possession

A short story; featuring Countryhumans Egypt

Word count: 1474

         “Down here!” 

The excited patter of feet on stone echoed through the forgotten tunnels. Archeologists, originally scattered throughout the maze of catacombs, now conglomerated in one spot as a group of muscled men pushed against a well fitted stone. 

         “Wait!” a little shrimp of a man ordered, trudging over with his two sizes too big boots and oval glasses sliding down his pointed nose, “Wait, wait wait- there are writings along this wall. If you remove the stone from its place you will destroy them!” 

         “They look like every other glyph on that wall,” A stocky man with a bright red beard huffed, “Just take a picture, you can decipher it later.”

The group started to push the boulder again, but the little man pushed at them, albeit a vain attempt if it wasn’t for the intelligence of the second man trying to move the heavy weight.

         “Professor,” the group halted again, “Our orders aren’t to scrutinize everything. It’s to get as low as we can through the palace catacombs. By the slant in this floor it’s clear this boulder was rolled to conceal a passage. We’re just doing our job.”

         “Well let me do mine!” the shrimpy, pointy nosed man huffed, a rather high pitched sound, “Egypt himself sent me ahead, and I plan to give him a full report of what’s found, down to the most minute detail,” He smashed his thumb and forefinger for emphasis, “Now either you let me do my job, or I get you all fired!”

         “Ever the grumpy one, aren’t you Jayden.”

     All turned to find the country’s embodiment leaning against a darkly lit wall, yawning as he pushed himself up. He brushed off his well tailored suit, slipping a loose hair back into its place with the gelled mass that always wanted to escape back into its natural curl. He nodded to the men before him.

         “Those hieroglyphs aren’t the only things that would have been destroyed if you’d have continued,” reaching up, he scratched a fingernail against the ceiling above, rock streaming down as if it were sand, “That boulder is the support for this entire ceiling, like a wall in a house. My father was a genius in building structures such as this. Remove that, and you’d have been crushed.”

The group of heavy lifters moved away from the boulder, looking at each other in a silent agreement that they had better be more careful. 

         “Truly amazing,” Professor Jayden marveled, running a finger under the hieroglyphs, “Egypt, this may be the tunnel system your father told you about!” He jumped on the balls of his feet as he looked across the walls, identifying markings and structures that could potentially lead them through the maze, “I’m reading the hieroglyphics, and-and they all explain an aspect of a goddess. Just, over and over - goddess of treasures, goddess of light, there’s one by the twenty-second column that says ‘goddess by-”

         “My side…” Egypt nodded, looking around, “Yes, I saw it. But it could mean anything.”

         “You act like you’ve given up finding your father’s most prized possession,” the professor huffed, “So much was lost of your father through the years. We can’t lose hope on anything if we’re coming so close now!”

Egypt sighed before nodded, helping in the search for more clues, something that could direct them further into the maze of corridors and treacherous traps. They had already lost three men to hidden dangers set eons ago.

     It was several long and grueling hours later when the archeological crew decided to leave things be for the day. The humans believed they were getting nowhere, aside from the Professor, who insisted they go on as he looked over another set of hieroglyphs. The heavy lifters, tired and frankly agitated at the rat-like man, threw him only profanities as they stomped off, knowing the way by now after bathroom breaks and having to constantly find new supplies above ground. Professor Jayden huffed as he continued to read and decipher, mumbling a few profanities of his own. Meanwhile Egypt inspected something of his own. 

     A portrait, carved deeply into the stone, was far too peculiar, even for Ancient Egypt’s standards of gods with animal heads. No, this was a woman, shrouded in light linen that hid all of her skin from anyone’s eye. She stood before Ancient Egypt, who seemed to scrutinize her. Egypt thought he knew what the carving was, but the manner of the woman was far from what he remembered.

         “Professor…” he started, his attention remaining on the delicate details of the woman, “What do you make of this?”

The pocket professor looked over briefly before waving a hand in dismissal.

         “Either a slave inspection, an offering to one of his gods or a concubine.”

         “But she is completely covered,” the Country noted, “not an inch of skin shows. That was not exactly commonplace, even amongst the Jews in that day.”

         “Oh I doubt that,” the other huffed, forgetting his place for a moment as the student, being a teacher for so long now after graduating under Egypt’s tutorage, “Her face can’t be- well hello…” he inspected the carving, Egypt having to quickly step back before his toes were mauled, “You’re right- most peculiar… If it was a slave there wouldn’t be much covered… an offering would be much younger. And a-”

         “A concubine would flaunt her beauty to earn his attention,” Egypt gently touched the carving, frowning as the lightly painted white began to rub off on his fingers. He scratched at again as curiosity took hold, knowing any carving meant to last wouldn’t just rub off so easily. “Jayden get me a small brush-”

     The tool was soon in his hand, and Egypt took to brushing away what he realized was more of a chalk then a solid ore. The red, white and black colored man smiled widely as he began to dig with his fingernail where an impression was filled in. 

         “My name- Jayden it’s my name!” he exclaimed, and continued to dust until a thin piece of rock fell away. 

     The two stared at it a moment before looking at each other. Nodding in unison both began to tear away the thin wall, light encroaching on the room hidden from them as the hole turned into an archway. Taking a lantern, Egypt stepped in, paying no mind to the warnings that played through his mind, ever so carefully taught by his father. His curious eyes softened at the sight before him.

     Taking another lantern to place on the opposite wall, a woman laid on a stone slab, carefully etched into with watery designs of the Nile. She glittered gold, every detail of her body having been painted over by the heavy and valuable substance. The clothes she wore, untouched for years, still held their white color, perhaps mildly tanned by the dust and dirt. Egypt ran a hand down her smooth, cold arm, his attention crossing her face. So intricately painted was she, that each eyelash could be counted, and the creases in her lips felt. In her golden fingers lay woven a beaded white Lotus flower, never to wilt or fade. Her hair, braided to lay over her chest and reaching down to her stomach, not only was beautifully painted gold, but held beads, blue and green, neatly woven like a fine silk. Her feet were bare, aside from a single ring that rested on a toe. 

     Behind her on the above wall rested a qoute. Egypt read it, his eyes blinded with tears. Professor Jayden smiled up at him as he examined the body, only to frown.

         “What is it Egypt?”

         “Do you know what happens to a human female if she gives birth to a countryhuman?” He asked cryptically.

         “Uh-well no… very few have.”

         “This carving reads as this woman’s death date. My birth.” Egypt held in a sob as he turned to look at the human woman that carried him, who never was able to meet him, watch him grow, “My father’s prize possession was my mother.” he gave a choked laugh, “When a human woman gives birth to a countryhuman, they die, because it takes an entire people to fuel a Country. I had none.” 

He fell to his knees, placing his head against her cold one as he apologized for killing her. For taking her away from his father. He was told that his birth was something to celebrate, but he always knew that it was a day of mourning too.

         “Greif is what killed my father,” he hiccuped, “not the changing times.”

     The two left well after nightfall, having activated one of the hidden dangers that sealed off the passages forever. Egypt wasn’t going to disturb his father’s peace, by disturbing his mother’s. He wasn’t going to flaunt her beauty, just as his father instructed.

(Just thought it was cute and kinda crushing)

#countryhumans #countryhumansegypt #shortstory #archeology #egypt #countryhumansancientegypt ancientegypt

[nyangibun]

Day 1 - Cursed Figures

Valentine’s Week - Love Songs

@jonxsansafanfiction

Song - A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

Ao3 Link

...

When people think of sirens, they think of bloodthirsty hags, luring poor sailors to their deaths, and although there is truth to the legends, it is not always true.

Sirens weren’t originally so evil. They were once beautiful winged creatures, companions to the most noble of women; their lives revolved around feasts and songs and their voices were renowned throughout the land. People would seek them out to simply hear them sing.

They lived among gods and mortals alike, but when Persephone was abducted, they were blamed. They were cursed out, exiled, thrown into the sea and left to rot and die. The pain of it drove most mad; their anger filled every part of their soul and they took their revenge on anyone who dared to pass by their island. Where once their song brought joy, it now brought death and misery as payment for their banishment.

But not every siren allowed the darkness to take them. There were a few, a small handful, who left the sea and turned inland. They walked for days, weeks, months. They walked until their feet bled; until their wings broke and tore apart. These sirens mourned the loss of their sisters, the loss of the lives they once had. It was that grief that eventually dulled all the edges of their grace, losing the magic that had once made them so brilliant, even amongst the gods, but they could never be mortal and have the pleasure of death. They were still creatures of a time long past, their immortality forcing them to live on and watch as the world forgot about sirens altogether.

Sansa Stark is a siren, though she is young and was merely a child during the pilgrimage. She could not remember it any more than she could remember the exile itself. But she could still feel it. Thousands of years, those memories long hidden, and yet Sansa could still feel the pain and anguish of loss all these years later. It’s the curse of sirens; they are prisoners to their emotions.

Though the glamour of their beauty and allure has faded with time, all sirens intrigue mortals if one were to glance long enough. There is something special about them, something impossible for mortals to even comprehend but they simply know there’s something not quite human about a siren’s beauty. It is simultaneously awe-inspiring and frightening.

For this reason, Sansa has always been wary of mortals. Many of her sisters have their fun and move on, but she retained a part of that youthful innocence that made her more romantic than the others.

It was 1825 when she first met him. He was young, beautiful at first sight with full lips, a mess of dark curls and deep grey eyes. Sansa had met many handsome men in her lifetime but something about him drew her in without warning. She wanted to speak to him, to get to know him and touch him. The desire was so strong it terrified her. She stepped backwards, knowing if she moved any closer she would give in, but as she did so, Sansa had inadvertently stepped back onto the road. A horse-drawn carriage came careening towards her. She knew it would not kill her but it would hurt and Sansa braced herself for the collision. Only it never came. Instead she found a pair of strong arms circled around her waist, pulling her back to the pavement. Blue eyes met grey, and Sansa gasped audibly at his proximity.

“Miss, are you hurt?” His voice was a low timbre, thrumming through her skin.

Sansa inhaled slowly. He smelled of petrol and smoke and yet it did not repulse her as it should have.

“Miss?”

“I am fine,” she told him after recollecting her senses. Sansa placed a hand on his forearm and the man immediately drew back, a bashful smile appearing on his face.

“I - I apologise. I didn’t mean to --”

“You are quite alright, sir,” Sansa said. He was still close, much too close but she couldn’t step back any more than she could bid him farewell. “Thank you.”

He blushed. “It was no trouble, miss. I only did what any man should.”

“My name is Sansa,” she said. “Sansa Stark.”

He took off his cap and bowed his head. “Jon Snow, Miss Stark.”

“No,” she said, placing her hand over his forearm again. “Just Sansa, please.”

His eyes widened but he nodded. “Okay… Sansa.”

Jon worked in the coal mine, as most did during this time, and they would go long periods without seeing one another, but when they did, it was as if no time at all had passed. He would take her on walks, show her parts of the city she would never have ventured on her own, and in turn, Sansa would teach him to read and write so that he could send her letters when he was away.

It was Spring when he finally kissed her under one of the newly installed gas street lights, the glow basking them in yellow hues. His lips were soft, warm, a little chapped from the dry weather, but every part of her lit on fire as he pressed into her, his hand on the small of her waist. Sansa yearned for more, urging him with her insistence, but Jon Snow was a gentleman. He walked her home instead and bid her good night. The next morning, Jon left for the mines once more. This time, he would be gone for three whole months, but Sansa would wait and she would write him every day till he returned.

It was mid-June when news of the mining collapse reached London. Without having to ask, Sansa knew. She knew it in her core, knew it in the way her soul screamed and cried out -- Jon was gone.

When a Siren fell in love, she was committed for life. She would always remember the emotions, feel them every day as if it was the first time, and it was her curse that Sansa would continue to live on loving Jon forever.

In 1992, Sansa moved to Scotland. She had had enough of London and she was tired of the city. As she was hauling her suitcase up to her one-bedroom flat, Sansa called out for the man ahead to hold the door.

“Thank you.”

“Are you just moving in?” he asked but the words felt far away, distorted, as if they were speaking underwater. Sansa continued to stare, her chest aching from the memories she had tried to bury, and her fingers itched at her sides.

“Are you okay?”

“What?” Sansa needed to control herself. This was a dream; this had to be a dream. There was no way he could be here right now, no way that he was here in this lifetime.

“Are you okay?” he asked again. “You seem a little dazed.”

“I - I’m sorry,” she said. “I guess I’m a little tired.” Her hand shook as she offered it to him. “My name’s Sansa. I’m moving in upstairs.”

“Ah,” he nodded, smiling. “Jon Snow. It’s nice to meet you. Are you new to the neighbourhood?”

She wasn’t, but he showed her around anyways. Jon took her to the castle, to the museums, to Arthur’s Seat, and it was like falling in love all over again. In a way, it was because this Jon Snow was different. He was a carpenter but he also played guitar in a local band on the weekends with his friends. He had a younger sister named Rhaenys, while her other Jon had been an orphan. This Jon was more daring too; he’d kiss her in dimly lit corners of the streets, pushing her up against walls and dipping his fingers under her dress. He’d wake up beside her, his hand curled protectively around her waist and kiss her shoulder three times before telling her good morning.

But this Jon was also kind, caring, and strong. He loved her as fiercely as the other had done so many years before and he looked at her as if she was the only thing that ever mattered.

Sansa knew he was going to propose to her. She had found the ring by accident one day when she was cleaning and had smiled to herself, thinking about how he’d be fretting over how to do it. For the first time, Sansa allowed herself to think about the future, and for the first time, it didn’t fill her with dread.

However, the Fates were cruel sisters and it was an Autumn morning when the police came knocking at her door. Jon had been in a car accident on the M8 motorway. They were deeply sorry for her loss; they wanted to know if she wouldn’t mind coming down to confirm the body with the coroner. They said she didn’t have to come right now. They told her a lot of things and none of it made sense.

How could life take him away from her again? How could they do this to her? Hadn’t she suffered enough? Was it her curse as a woman or was it the Siren’s curse as creatures that should have died eons ago?

Sansa had sworn herself from love then. After his funeral, she decided she would no longer live in cities at all. She moved herself to Kirkcudbright, a small Scottish village with a population of just over 3,000 people, so that if Jon were to reincarnate again, there would be very little chance of the two meeting. She could not lose him again. The pain was too unbearable.

It is 2019 now and her life here is simple. It’s quiet. On occasion, during cold windy nights, Sansa longs for the city lights and a familiar face but she had resigned herself to this fate and she would live out the rest of her immortality here. Some of her sisters visit from time to time; they would ask why she is confining herself to this boring little town but Sansa had never told them about Jon and she refuses to start now, so she merely says she likes the silence. She does like her little cottage with the blue roof and the vegetable garden in the back. It reminds her of life after the exile with her sisters. They would roll their eyes, stay one or two nights, and then return to the cities.

Most of the villagers don’t bother her either and she likes it that way. She suspects they gossip about her from time to time. A young-looking woman moving to live on the outskirts of town by herself is certainly cause for talk but Sansa is friendly and polite when she visits town, and after a few months, they don’t question her anymore. It’s good in the end; no one bothers her on her hillside and Sansa is left in peace to read to her heart’s content.

By month three, she even adopts a dog from the local shelter. She hadn’t meant to but as she walked past that fateful day, the sorrowful howling drew her to the shelter despite her best judgement. The dog was a pitiful, skinny white husky with red eyes. The shelter had told her they found it abandoned on the side of the road and that it was likely an albino considering its eyes. When Sansa had walked up to the fence, it came bounding over her and stared up into her eyes as if it just knew her. She took him home that very night and named him, Ghost.

Ghost, as it turns out, is also a good deterrent. People seem to be quite scared of him and believe he’s more wolf than husky. After a few weeks of solid meals, Ghost turned out to be much bigger than she had originally thought too, so Sansa thinks there’s some truth to that rumour at least. Still, he is far from dangerous. He cuddles her late at night and sits beside her as she works on the garden out back. He is her best friend and she would believe him more loyal to her than anything else in this world.

That is until one night, Sansa wakes up to Ghost howling into the night. It’s the same sorrowful howl she first heard when she found him at the shelter. Walking barefoot on the cold wooden floor, Sansa finds Ghost staring at the backdoor to her cottage. Wondering if he merely needs to go to the bathroom, Sansa unlatches the bolt and pushes the door open. Immediately, Ghost bounds out into the night and her heart jumps to her throat, quickly running after him before he can disappear.

“Ghost!” she shouts, the wind biting at her throat. “Ghost, come back here!”

The white dog continues to sprint towards the enclosure of woods and Sansa sighs. If she was mortal, she would be frightened of following, but Sansa simply continues onwards. It’s cold tonight. Winter is fast approaching now and the air is frigid with its imminent arrival. At least tonight the moon is full and high in the sky, casting silver light all across the ground.

As she enters the woods, however, Sansa no longer sees her dog. It’s quiet, eerily so, and thousands of years of life has taught her that a quiet forest is a dangerous forest. She steps with caution, eyes darting from one patch of shadows to the next. She is beginning to lose hope when there is another howl further ahead. It’s deeper, more menacing and Sansa feels fear prick at her consciousness. Irrational yet very much present. “Ghost,” she whispers, following the sound regardless of the feeling to run. “Ghost, is that you?” She knows it’s not; she doesn’t know why she’s asking. Frankly, she doesn’t know what she’s doing here at all. “Ghost, you get your furry butt back here!”

A twig snaps to her left and Sansa’s body goes cold. It is then that she realises the truth of her situation. Sirens do not fear mortals but they do fear the supernatural, creatures like themselves but bigger, stronger and oftentimes more cruel than they are. Her fingers twitch and she can feel the protective claws elongating. Pathetic in reality, as even when they had their full grace, Sirens had never been creatures of war. They have sharp nails to protect themselves, a seductive voice to create illusions as they escape, but now, a lifetime later, Sansa has nothing to truly protect herself except for some slightly sharp nails.

The growling comes first, and then through the shadows comes the figure of a large, menacing wolf, eyes blood-red in a way that brings fear to her heart. It is not Ghost, she can see that, and she wonders if this is how she dies after all this time, by a Werewolf in the forest in Kirkcudbrightshire.

Even in the days of gods, Werewolves were rare. They were abominations. A cross between mortals and Apollo’s wolves but they were afforded something Sirens weren’t. They were allowed to live; simply put, Apollo would wage revenge on any who would harm his precious wolves, even the cross-breeds. Sansa had been jealous of them, wishing she had the protection of gods too, but looking at it now, she feels more pity than she would have imagined.

It stalks towards her. Sansa stays her ground. If she dies, she dies. She had learnt long ago not to fight the Fates. But instead of sinking its impressive fangs into her neck, it drops down to all fours and walks towards her, eyes unwavering from her face.

For minutes, it does not do more than that. Sansa begins to feel apprehensive and she doesn’t know how long they stand there, until Ghost comes bounding back from the darkness. He sniffs the Werewolf and nuzzles his neck against it. Sansa is baffled. How is the Werewolf not attacking her dog? Is its human form someone Ghost knows?

Sansa doesn’t have to wait long for her answer. Soon, the moon begins to dip back behind the horizon and the first rays of sunlight filter in through the woods. The Werewolf howls, screeching as if it is in excruciating pain, and Sansa looks away, unable to watch an animal, no matter how supernatural, writhe like that. Ghost, however, stays beside it, occasionally licking its paws, hind legs, anywhere he can reach to comfort the Werewolf.

When she turns back to look, a flash of sunlight catches her eyes and Sansa has to blink away the assault before she can focus. Lying there on the forest ground, covered in twigs and dirt, is a man. His skin is pale, painted with silver lines from long-faded wounds, and his hair falls just past his shoulders, dark and curly. His face is pressed down against the floor and Sansa can’t see him.

“Are - are you hurt?” she calls out, her voice sounding odd and jarring in the quiet of the woods.

A groan answers her and Sansa stills. She waits for him to gain his bearings. It takes a few minutes but soon, the man begins to stir and then he is pushing himself up onto his feet. It does not escape her notice that he is stark naked but nudity is nothing to creatures such as herself. He arches his back, displaying the rippling of muscles and the broadness of his shoulders. When he turns to look at her, Sansa’s breath catches in her throat and she stumbles backwards, a different kind of fear clutching at her lungs.

He steps forward, a hand outstretched for her. “You,” his voice cracks. He clears his throats and tries again. “You’re here.”

Sansa blinks. “What?”

“You’re here,” he repeats, tears springing to his grey eyes. He takes another step towards her. “I didn’t think -- I had no idea it would take me this long to find you. I’m sorry, Sansa. I’m so sorry.”

She backs away more quickly. “How do you know name? What are you talking about!”

“It’s me,” he says gently. “It’s me, Sans. You know me.”

“I - I don’t understand.” It isn’t until now that she realises she’s crying.

He reaches for her hand and tugs her towards him. “I know,” he says, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I know. I’m sorry.” He kisses the top of her head and holds her tightly.

The confusion and terror is too great for her to appreciate what this is and Sansa shoves him back. If this is all a trick - if this is the gods’ way of cursing the Sirens then so help her, she would ride to Mount Olympus herself and hunt them down.

“The first time,” he speaks slowly, hands raised as if she’s some frightened doe. “I was simply another soul swimming in the river but somehow, I was plucked back out and I was born again. Except I couldn’t remember you or remember anything about my past. Finding you then was a miracle but the Fates discovered that I didn’t belong and shouldn’t have been there in the first place so they took me away again.”

He reaches for her hand and Sansa allows it, reveling in the coarse feel.

“Back in the Underworld, I had my memories restored and it made me realise that someone intentionally brought me to you a second time, so I tried to found out who could do that. It took awhile. Not many people are willing to talk to souls down there but --” Jon smiles ruefully. “I found her in the end. She wanted to make amends for what happened to the Sirens but those that are still alive were already too tainted by the darkness for her to intervene. Except you, Sansa. She said you were still pure of heart and if she could do right by you, she could atone for what happened.”

“I don’t understand. Do you mean -- are you talking about Persephone?”

“Yes!” Jon exclaims happily. “She wanted to help you, wanted to help us, but the Fates were smart and thwarted us every time. We realised then that the Fates only had power over mortal lives. If I weren’t mortal, they could do nothing to stop me from coming back to you.”

“But how? Jon, a Werewolf isn’t something you can just be. You have to be blessed by --”

“Apollo, yes.” Jon looks shifty and he sighs. “In exchange, I have pledged my loyalty to him for all eternity.”

“So if there was another war between the gods, you would have to fight?”

“Yes,” he says but then his grip on her tightens. “It’s worth it though because now I can be with you. That’s what you want too, right?” He sounds so unsure all of a sudden that it makes her heart ache.

“Jon,” she laughs softly, stepping closer into his space. “I have loved you for hundreds of years and I will love you for a thousand more to come, but I never wanted you to sacrifice your freedom for me. To become a Werewolf, it’s a cursed life, Jon.”

“As is a Siren’s,” he answers just as fervently. He kisses the edges of her lips. “Sansa, it doesn’t matter. Every breath, every hour of my life, all of my lives, has led me to here. I won’t let anything take you away from me again. Cursed or not, I chose you. I chose this.”

Tears slip down her cheeks as she shakes her head. “I love you, Jon Snow.”

“I know,” he smiles, tilting her chin so he could kiss her, long and deep and full of promise. “I love you too, Sansa Stark. Always.”

#jonxsansaff #jonsa #jon x sansa #actuallyjonsa #jon snow x sansa stark #jonsaff #my fics #long post

[goodnightkisseu]

Bae Jinyoung - Eternity

Requested By: Anon~ (“ Can i request for a fantasy AU of Baejin? An angst/fluff scenario would be great ”)

Genre: Angst/Fluff

Note: Another week, another new fic for all of you! This time is a fantasy au fic for Baejinnie! ^^ I actually grew quite fond of this one as I was working on it ;; It was a hard one to do because of all the research I had to do on imugi and also the limited amount of information that was available about them. But I do hope that everyone enjoys this one! Please, as always, feel free to let me know what you think!

Enjoy~

Also, because of the situation with tumblr and links, please check my bio for links to my masterlist~

- goodnightkisseu’s admin / ashley <3

Imugi. They are mythical creatures in Korean mythology, which have many origin stories. Some say they are the equivalent to water dragons that grant the wishes of humans who seek them out. One states that imugi are young girls, ones that, on their seventeenth birthday find a dragon tattoo on their body, hinting at their true form. Others speak of imugi as lowly dragons that have to work their way up. They grant the wishes of humans, but remain stuck in a one thousand year waiting period. In their thousandth year they can finally become a full dragon, a full yong. However, if spotted by a human in this thousandth year, or spotted by another imugi, they can no longer fulfill this prophecy and remain an imugi forever. This is the story of Jinyoung, an imugi in his thousandth year. He had planned to bide his time, stay hidden, but when a young girl falls into his waters... what is he to do?  

The life of an imugi wasn't particularly interesting. Waiting. That was what an imugi did the most. Occasionally, they would rise to grant the wish of a human, a wish so desperate it could not go unheard. Whether it was a wish for more rain so that the crops could thrive, or something more specific, like a yearning for another human being, imugi could, within their power, try to aid in whatever way they chose. There was also some time dedicated to honing their skills. Yet truly... most of what an imugi did was wait, biding their time. They would lay dormant in their chosen body of water, just waiting for the time when they could rise. 

The wait was one thousand years…

That was exactly how long Jinyoung had waited. As many of his kind, he also dreamt of finally becoming a full-fledged dragon. He wanted the powers that came with it. He wanted the prestige they held. In this thousandth year if he could avoid his fellow imugi, if he could avoid the eyes of a mortal, he would become a dragon. This was always the hardest year for imugi, but from what he knew, he was the only one that lived in this lake, so he should have been safe from others of his own kind. He had claimed it eons ago. If he could just lay dormant, keep to himself, he could do it. 

That was Jinyoung's hope… but it never happened.

On that fateful day, while he was resting on the lake bed, a loud crash broke the surface of the water. At first, he didn't think much of it. This lake was rather large and during the summer it was a popular spot for humans to gather. Thing was, it wasn't summer; it wasn't even spring or fall. It was the dead of winter. There was no way it could have been a human. Yet it was too big to be any of the small mammals which inhabited the nearby areas. He also heard no yelling or cries for help. It was strange. He wanted to ignore it, but his curiosity got the better of him. If his senses were right, whatever that was, was a living being, and he needed to make sure.

Jinyoung's dark and sleek form, with scales as dark as the night sky, slowly unraveled itself, the creature stretching out its limbs before making his way closer to the surface of the lake. He was hyperaware of his surroundings as he approached the figure, weaving back and forth around the other life forms which inhabited the small lake. As he drew closer, he saw her. Her body was lifeless, sinking further and further into the water. He effortlessly moved around her, his ears perked, trying to find any sign of life. He could hear her heart, but it was faint. At that moment he had two options. Let the young girl drown, or bring her back to the surface. He wasn't sure how she got there, how her unconscious form ended up in his waters, but this proposed a dilemma for the imugi. If he helped her, he risked being exposed to whoever was above. But if he left her like this, she would die. As his golden eyes took her in, she was young, someone far too young to lose her life like this. She had a lot ahead of her. So, would he fulfill his prophecy… or save a life?

Against his better judgment, Jinyoung chose the second option. He knew nothing about this girl, but he felt for her, felt she deserved better than this untimely end. Gingerly, Jinyoung wrapped his long tail around her and pulled her back towards the surface. The closer he got to the surface the more aware he became of the lack of noises above. No one was trying to save her. Whatever had happened, if anyone was there before, they were long gone. Knowing he had no other option than to bring her to shore himself, his form changed. His dark-colored scales formed into skin, his limbs stretching out to be more human, and his reptilian head becoming that of a young male. As his feet met the ground, she was now in his arms, no one none the wiser that the young man with wet hair and clothes was the same imugi that slept at the bottom of those waters.

Gently, Jinyoung set her down on the shore and placed his hands to her temple. With the little magic he knew, he worked to remove the water from her lungs and repair the damage done to her body from her near-demise. He knew he had to work fast though. As soon as she healed, she would wake, and he couldn't risk being seen. He worked his magic as quickly as he could. Just as he was about to make sure that everything was okay, her eyes shot open. The incantations he used must have been too strong, waking her up quicker than he had expected. 

As she regained consciousness, before he could jump back into the water, their eyes locked. What Jinyoung should have done was disappear into the lake as quickly as he could, but instead he froze. His eyes stared at her gentle orbs, both individuals trying to figure out their current situation. Jinyoung was the quickest to regain his footing again, his mind finally working through what this meant for him.

A mortal had seen him, and he could no longer fulfill his prophecy. 

His body finally moved and Jinyoung quickly ran off. He didn't even try to hide his true form as his body changed back into that of a serpent. He didn't care if she saw him. It didn't matter. He no longer had a purpose... and it was all because he wanted to help out a mortal. His life suddenly held no meaning.

========

Jinyoung felt a slew of emotions after saving the girl. First, he felt upset, particularly with the girl. She had to fall into his lake. He had put his own goals at risk and ultimately lost any possibility of achieving them because he couldn't stop his own compassion. Second, he felt lost. An imugi that couldn't become a dragon didn't have a purpose. They could, in theory, do what they always had. He could continue to lie in his lake, helping humans, but there was no way he would feel the same sense of fulfillment. He was no longer working towards a goal. He didn't know what to do with himself and often got mad all over again. 

It also didn't help that the girl, that you, would come back to the lake as if you were searching for something you had lost. Every time he saw you he could feel that anger boiling up again until one day he let it get the better of him. He emerged from the water in his true form, startling you as the large dark imugi transformed into the human boy that had saved you. He could see the fear in your eyes, he knew it scared you to be face to face with him. Yet, you didn't run off. You stayed, and that surprised him even more.

"Why are you here?" His voice was cold, and he did everything he could to not lash out at you.

"I… I just wanted to thank you…" you breathed, not knowing your words would make him angrier.

"You, you want to thank me? Do you know how much I abhor you, human?" he questioned, closing the distance between the two of you. "Because of you, because of a stupid mortal girl, I can no longer fulfill my prophecy, my one life's goal. You've trapped me in this inferior form, and now you want to thank me? I will live the rest of my life as a lowly imugi and it's all because I saved you! I saved a mortal girl that someone threw away because they thought she wasn't worth keeping around!"

Though it felt good to get his feelings out in the open, it was the first time he truly looked at you. Your eyes had been fearful before, but now, now they filled with sadness. It was as if you knew, knew that saving you would cause more trouble than it was worth. For the first time, Jinyoung felt guilt, guilt for letting his emotions get the better of him. 

"I-I'm sorry," he heard your small voice mumble. "I'm sorry that saving me has caused you so much trouble. I didn't mean for it to. I doubt that there's anything I could do for someone like you, but if there is, let me know and I'll fix it…"

Like that, saying those words, you turned and left. It left Jinyoung in a weird spot. He felt like he had overstepped. He was definitely angry, but his words had hit a chord with you he hadn't expected. Day in and day out he would wait for you to come back, to do the one thing that a creature like him wasn't normally capable of. He wanted to apologize. Not wanted… needed to apologize. It wasn't like him, but there was something in your eyes, the way you looked at him, it told him that this was what he needed to do. But, you didn't come back right away. Now and then he would see you sneak over to his lake, but the moment you got close enough to the water's edge you would run off. You would leave things from time to time, probably thinking they would appease him. Usually the birds or other animals would eat them. Honestly, he didn't care much for those things. He needed you to stay long enough so he could apologize. 

That day eventually came. You came back though it seemed like you were having a hard time. At least from what he could tell from where he lay. That day it seemed like you were contemplating something different, different from what a young girl should have. This was when he decided to make himself known. He rose to the surface, in that human form that he realized you were far more comfortable with. 

And he did it, he apologized for lashing out at you. 

He apologized for yelling and for being insensitive, letting you know that no matter how much someone didn't like you, it didn't mean that they could do what they did. You were worth saving. He knew you were tongue tied that you didn't know what to say to him. 

And this was the beginning of it all. This was the beginning of an unexpected friendship… and Jinyoung's new purpose. 

Often you would stop by to talk to him. You would tell him about your day, and the imugi would listen intently. You spoke of school, of college classes, and how hard it was to work and go to school at the same time. This new world intrigued him. Every time you stopped by you would tell him about something he hadn't heard of and he was eager to learn more. Whether it was over random things that Jinyoung inquired about, or something more personal, a bond formed between the two of you at that lake. The more you spoke, the more he learned about you, and the more he grew protective of you. 

He learned a lot about you from listening to you speak. You kept a lot to yourself, hoping to not bother others with your problems. You were quiet, but there were things you were passionate about. He learned of the reason you were at the lake that day, the day he saved you. You were hesitant to talk about it at first, but Jinyoung had coaxed it out of you. A boy, one you had been seeing, had invited you there for a picnic, but his intentions weren't kind. The two of you fought, and you ended up in the water, the boy not knowing that you didn't know how to swim. He ran off and left you to fend for yourself. When Jinyoung heard this story, his blood boiled. There was a reason why he didn't like humans and this was one of them. Some were just... beyond help.

Yet, hearing you tell this story and his reaction to it made him realize something about himself. He definitely felt something far deeper for you than just friendship. Being with you made him yearn to be in his human form for longer, and that was not something an imugi usually dreamed of. He also had a hard time bringing it up. Though the two of you had been meeting for these little talks for over three months, he was afraid that his sudden realization would scare you away. What if you were only doing this to be nice to him? Out of fear? Though it scared him, he did one day make it known that he would like to be with you more often... and your response was as gentle as it always was. You welcomed him into your life because, truth be told, he had become the only one that you trusted.

It wasn't necessarily easy for Jinyoung to adjust to living as a human at first. He was so used to being on his own for so many years that the thought of being among others, among these noisy humans, was not something he wanted. Yet, he would try it for you, and oh boy did he have to try. He had to learn about their way of living, which was far different from the last time he had seen humanity. Before people would work the fields and wish to the lake for their sick horse to get better. Now all he heard was chatter about what the newest drama was or something called an 'iPhone.' It was not the simpler human life that he was used to, but he was lucky as you were there to guide him.

Adjusting was definitely a difficult thing to do, but he learned fast. He didn't like the human at the coffee shop that he now worked. He was always telling him what to do, but Jinyoung kept his temper under wraps so that neither you nor him got in trouble. Honestly, he could tell that you didn't like that human much either. Still the two of you made your living this way. You would go to work together in the mornings. Jinyoung could continue working while you went to your classes in the afternoon. In the evenings you would spend it together, either at home, or you would take Jinyoung out to experience what humans did nowadays. He wasn't a fan of all the hustle and bustle, but he had to admit that he found the culture and the lives of humans interesting. Some of their priorities were in the wrong place, but often they seemed to mean well.

The more he learned the easier it was for him to understand you. You both grew closer because of it, and though he knew there would come a day when time would take you away from him, for now, you were there. He would stay by your side, provide you with the protection and… and love, that he knew you deserved. You were now his world.

"Hey Jinyoung…" you whispered, your fingers running through his hair. The two of you were out on a picnic, near the lake where he had been dormant for so many years. Though you thought it would be painful for him to keep coming here, that he might feel the need to leave your side, he told you it wasn't the case. This place was like his home, and it had become a special hideaway for the two of you.

He hummed gently in response, shifting on the blanket you had set up underneath one of the nearby trees. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up at you from where his head rested on your lap. Your actions had been comforting, and though he didn't use to be a fan of this human form of him, being with you encouraged him to adapt to it quickly. "What is it?" he asked gently, reaching up and gently grasping your hand in his.

You gave a small smile, your eyes locking with his. "I know I've said this to you a lot, but really, thank you for saving me that day. I know you didn't know me. I know you didn't want to. I know that I stopped you from fulfilling your prophecy, but I really wouldn't be here without you, Jinyoung…"

Slowly, Jinyoung sat up, situating himself next to you. His hand still held onto yours, his fingers interlacing with yours as he rubbed the side of your finger with his thumb. He knew this action was comforting to you. "I know I got angry with you. But looking back on it now, I know that it was the right thing to do. Even if I had to do it again, I want you to know I would save you again. I may not have become an ethereal dragon as I wanted to, but I got to meet you. It was well worth the sacrifice…" he confessed, placing a gentle kiss on your lips…

#wanna one #bae jinyoung #wanna one imagines #wanna one scenarios #kpop scenarios #wanna one fiction #bae jinyoung scenarios #bae jinyoung imagines

[yeshua2019sblog]

YESHUA 2015-2019

NEW MESSAGES FROM YESHUA

Please try to understand the true words of Yeshua and, for this, your hearts must be pure, and your minds are calm. If your hearts and minds are full of lusts there will be no understanding of this words. You will only be misusing the divinity to find excuses to legalize your wrong behaviors.

God created human beings biologically as blacks, whites and yellows. God is very close to us. God is everywhere. In our hearts and in the breath also in nature and in every good deed. If we put God to a place far from us, then He will be far from us. On the contrary God is with us all the time.

Do not put God somewhere unreachable. Yeshua is the guide of the straightest and most illuminated Broadway to God. To the very core of God. Once we are there, at the core of the God, we shall live eternally. That is the second birth. We will have born again spiritually to live eternally in God. God is love and the keyholder of the gate of love is Yeshua.

Give your body to the service of God who is love by becoming love yourselves. Give love to all around you. Vibrate positive energy and don't look back as to who has absorbed this positive energy and who has not. Those who are ready, who has reached to high frequencies of love will take it. Others with lower energies will reject it and be angry with you, thus will also try to pull you down to their level. So, never insist or argue with anybody.

God doesn't like doubt. Grow closer to God and your faith in God must be rock solid. Leave dogmas and manmade religions. Don't take them as a corner stone for your faith. Incorporate silence and solicitude into your life regularly and ask God to help you, praise Him and ask Him to forgive your mistakes.

Do not long for power and personal success. Power is necessary to protect yourselves and for malicious works. Personal success is selfishness. You do all your best and leave to others to evaluate you. Don't run after personal success. Do your best and stay in peace. Stay calm. To reflect the energy coming from God one must stay calm. One must be in peace. Otherwise the more passionate and concerned about earthly matters the less Divine Energy you can reflect.

Love is God's way. Love is not Yeshua's own personal way. Yes, God gave the order to Yeshua to teach love to all of us. To teach World how one can obtain the eternal life. Yeshua came on Earth to teach us love simply by living among us.

Yeshua did not establish a religion but simply showed the way to love and thus, to eternity. He said; ''With love in your hearts you can reach me and God. All you need is love. Only love in your hearts like little children you can reach me and God. If you can reach me, you can reach to God. You can directly reach me by love. You don't need any mediator.' ' Before Yeshua had come to World people were trying to reach 'love' but, could not. Even after that Yeshua had gone, even the closest people around Him could not understand what 'love' is. Very few people could rise to that consciousness.

God wants all His creatures be happy. That's why He has created the miracles called nature to please us. God is miracle and everything He has created are miracles. For this reason, unhappiness is accepted as a rebel against God. Live in joy and give thanks to the God, the Almighty.

People think that when a person dies, that's the end. The dead are just gone forever. But, they are wrong. Yeshua made it clear that death is not the end. He told a story about what happened after a rich man and a beggar died. Yeshua said; people remain conscious after their bodies die, and they have body, and people can feel pleasure or pain after they die.

Souls come to earth alone. But, some souls don't return alone. They are welcomed by light bearers. Those souls are the ones who have spent their lifetimes in kindness and love. By doing so they have become lights themselves and obtained the right to live eternally in light bodies. They do not incarnate again rather they also become the light bearers themselves. Majority of the humans go alone but if they not lived a harmful life to others on earth they are to be taken for training before they are given another chance by God for re-incarnation on earth in flesh.

The wicked humans who have committed crimes such as blasphemy, fornication, rape, murder, false witnessing, sorcery and theft will not be awaken at all. They will not realize even they are death and continue living in their miserable feelings under the ground for eons. They shall receive of the same sufferings of what they have done to others. 'This is Divine Justice.'

Those who have killed intentionally are not forgiven. If they kill without knowing what they have done will be annihilated by God without any suffering but, those who have killed knowingly shall first suffer all their wickedness same as they caused to others and then annihilated. Annihilation process is such; the murderer's memories will eventually diminish and will be erased totally from life. Their life energies will have mixed with nature or taken back by God. That is the second death. 'The real death.'

At the last seven minutes prior to passing to afterlife one becomes, after a short unconscious sleep, completely free to travel to the places and times with his/her conscious. This includes the ancient times. At this last minutes I advise you to focus only on God and His light. Accept death and do not pay any more attention to earthly affairs or remains. In the last minute you will be shown the place, you are going after death. This is in exception of those who have committed big crimes such as the murderers.

Human beings re-incarnate only as humans. The theory of re-incarnating as plants and animals before or after is completely wrong. There is no meaning in this. Plants and animals don't re-incarnate. Once they die their life energies get merged with natural forces. They have no awareness as the humans.

Man is not a body. Man is a soul, a consciousness. And the body is just a temporary container, in which man must go through the next stage of studying in the school in the material world.

Incarnate states of people are usually much shorter parts of their lives as compare to non-incarnate states. However, the development of man can only take place in the incarnate state. It is for this reason that the incarnations are necessary, it is for this reason that God creates material worlds.

There are fictions on earth whereas here are truths only.

According to the potency of the person difficult tasks are given.

Knowledge is given but understanding belongs to the people themselves.

You must always think the beauty beyond when it rains. You must get out of the prison you have caged yourselves. You have made a wall around yourselves. There must be a door to get out otherwise you will bump into the wall.

Thoughts are parasites and they suck the energy of your being. Without thoughts you maintain your energy in yourselves and it becomes a fullness.

Be open to learn otherwise you will become neurotics.

The point is that the body is the ''factory'' for transformation of energy. Physical movements create energy and thus with this energy loaded to soul our consciousness growth process take place both qualitatively and quantitively.

God is the living force for all. If a living creature with their own free will shall brake their ties with God while on earth, then they will disappear from the world of livings in the graves.

Yeshua said, "You shall learn the truth and the truth shall let you be free". Liberation from suffering comes with truth. Be aware of dogmas because of them people have started denying God and His truth. God is love and once this truth is forgotten there left nothing to hold on for kindness.

The word 'truth' has been translated from the Greek word 'Alethia' which originally means unforgettable. So, we understand from that we remember the truth inherited in us already. Truth is something we must remember. It has its own inherent and irresistible 'witness' to reality. People may lie to themselves but ultimately the truth has final word. ''The Light shine in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.''

Yeshua said, if your spiritual leaders say to you, ''Look, the Divine Realm is in the sky, then the birds of the sky will get there ahead of you. If they say to you, 'it is in the sea', then the fishes will precede you. No, the Divine Reality is existing inside and all around you. Only when you come to know your true self will you be fully known and, you will understand that you are a child of the Living God. If, however, you do not come to know who you truly are, realizing your true self then you are poverty-stricken being, and it is your 'self' which lies impoverished.

Before Yeshua, ' love’ was not known on earth. Before,' eternal life’ was not known. The real Creator was not known. Before Yeshua we were all under a strict law of retaliation. An eye to an eye. With Yeshua came unity of beings, love and light, forgiveness and brotherhood. With Yeshua came the freedom.

Yeshua never said he was a personality equal to God. On the contrary he said, 'the Father is greater than I'. He said, 'I will rise to my Father, to your Father, to my God and to your God'. He prayed at His last minutes to the Father 'Father forgive them because they don't know what they are doing'. He said, 'I deliver my soul to you Hands'.

''Without the trust in Yeshua, there is no stability.'' Yeshua was the faithful and true witness and he also called 'amen'. God sent Yeshua to expand his energy down to the earth to a biological body who is to be born from Virgin Mary. Yeshua, having been born from a woman was called 'son of man' where as he was called 'son of God' before the birth. He was already an important part of the Holy Spirit, a Holy Spirit that was the first time born as son of man on Earth.

The Holy Spirit is a part of God's Spirit and the active force of God. God sends His force to anywhere He pleases to get the duties done. The Holy Spirit is a name given by us and represents the pure souls. We human beings came on earth to be able to gain the right to become a Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit in general is a part of God's spirit and the active force in universe. So Yeshua called us all to become the children of God, sparkles of God's love by being brother with him. To be like Him. As we are to become the children of God we must become the brothers and sisters of Yeshua first because Yeshua is the son of God. Originally 'the son' means the sparkles of God's love. The atomy particles of God's light.

Holy Spirits live in the Kingdom of God. This is the second birth, eternal life in the core of God as light beings. Consciousness, living in light bodies instead of the flesh bodies. There is no gender, no nationality but ‘us'. Every conscious unit will have consciousness with their own integrity but acting as one.

The truth requires a much deeper understanding. Spirituality requires that you ask questions of yourself, whilst religions requires you to rely on books to move forward. And, by doing so millions of soul's minds have been locked down. Religions has become the slave owner’s mental back doors. Organized religions all over the world has become politics.

Soul needs to be constantly stimulated with new concepts to challenge and to feel invigorated. As the apparently only living gods (Pagan gods prophets) are not speaking anymore, but the so-called living gods from among the various religious clergy, people need more stimulus. They gravitate the ways calling them from within their soul. Religion is memory based as people can only exchange holy books scriptures as opposed to their own original thinking. The person with the ability to recite more scriptures is regarded as the more gifted, not due to originate but to ability to recite script. This can also be good for some time but this has always been detrimental for people who believes them. They have been taken away from their real mission. That's why the battle now commences with soul arguing with the programmed religious mind.

Discipline your life. Do the things that are hard to do: discipline is a necessary part of a successful life. The easy way out is for losers. Life will not coddle you out of your troubles, so don't waste yourself in complaining and whining. Want some examples of discipline? Master your thoughts and have spiritual practice! These take discipline at first, but they become something you love to do because they work. Serve others as well as yourselves. Do something nice for everybody. Reach out for good. Give of yourself.

While living on earth, don't disturb anybody, but make the world better with your caring. Love beauty and be curious. The world is incredible even if we've messed it up. Listen to upbringing music and read uplifting books. Create something. Learn something new. Take care of your body. Don't eat junk. Drink pure water without chlorine and fluoride. Get adequate sleep. Have a stress elimination routine and get exercise.

The one who has entered the spiritual path has to separate in oneself the true, eternal and valuable for life in the highest eons-from the false, which belongs only to this world. Then one has to cultivate in oneself the first and get rid of the second. Those who have accomplished this become eternal in the Divine eons. That is, make sure that you see heavenly treasure as infinitely more precious than earthly material treasure. When your eye sees things this way, you are full of light. And if you don't see things this way, even the light you think you see (the glitz and flash and skin and muscle of this world) is all temporary. You are sleepwalking through life. You are serving money as a slave without even knowing it, because it has lulled you to sleep. Far better is to be swayed by the truth- the infinite value of God.

God and the spirits hear not only the words which we say but also our thoughts, even the most ''secret'' ones. They also see everything existing in the world of matter, in all detail. Not only clothes, under which we hide our bodies, but even the intestines of our bodies are absolutely to the sight of Them. We are visible to all. They examine us, admiring or compassionating, respecting or making fun, loving or disliking, despising, foretasting our future suffering.

You shall know the truth and what you have learned will set you free from all mortal passions and fears. Without the truth, there can be no real morality, justice, equality, unity, success, freedom, love, joy, peace, spirituality or even survival. Only the truth can stop the wars and make the world the paradise it can be.

Keep calm and be pure hearted, then you will have direct connection with God, the Almighty. You will start getting your energy directly from God once you have reached and internalized the truth of life. You will be self-radiant like the stars in the universe. Once you become pure in heart you will be called as Holy Spirit. That you have gained the right again to live eternally in the core of God, just as it was in the beginning of the creation. You will start to sparkle your own light and you won't be a reflection anymore.

Average human beings curse those who worship material things but, the same human beings curse those who worship God twice as much. Even if you are not wanted, continue with reflecting the love as the world needs this. You, yourself become light and sparkle your own light.

Nations repeating themselves without love and wise are bound to lose at the end. Racism, gender, color, nationality and social statues must not carry any importance and superiority feelings over other people. We must never drive away those who approaches us openheartedly with love. We must find a way to live in peace together. We must be kind to others. Individuals must be able to stand for good even if the rest of the world goes to opposite direction. The only way to reach God's Kingdom which is eternal life in the core of Him, is love because God is Love.

God do not take revenge, but we separate ourselves from Him by thinking we can have separate life on ourselves without the God, the Creator. God is the Source of life. God is in and around us. We have been created to live in the core of Him eternally as His Spirit's holy sparkles at the highest eons. This is what we call the Kingdom of God, the core.

In the coming times, along with the new generations coming, the old will be replaced and, with this replacement, will come the new perceptions. As the new generations replace the old generations, believes will also be replaced. In fact, new generations will be clever, more energetic and more perceptive, but more mechanical and more egoistic as well. Religions will be left, and people will believe in sort of Source. They shall live more isolated life and get lonely.

Keep calm. Always keep your mind calm. Can you see yourselves on boiling water? No, you can’t, but if the water is calm like a mirror then you can see yourselves as if you are looking to a mirror. That's important. If your mind is not calm enough, you cannot receive the life energies flowing to every direction from the Source. That's why keeping calm is vital. Without having received the continuous flowing of the life energies one cannot stay healthy. Both physically and mentally.

. So, keep away anxiety.

. Keep calm.

. Never lose your temper.

. Praying is a great help to keep calm.

. Also, daily grounding with soil and water are very essential.

Could God not create the human beings as human beings of today? Has God not powerful enough for that? Certainly, God can, and He did. God doesn't need evolution. God creates by Word. Liner time as we perceive is our physical cognition whereas, in spiritual eons there is no time, only the present.

The first human beings were created almost 80 thousand years ago as todays human beings. Human beings became servants of their own bodies, whereas these bodies are only covers. Nothing else, and if you pollute them by bad feedings and bad thoughts your souls shall also be polluted. In addition to that wrong doings, human beings have started to use their bodies as a weapon against each other.

God creates the most perfect and beautiful because He is perfect and beautiful. We, human beings are the ones who destroy the beauty because we are jealous. We destroy the perfectness because we are greedy and unkind.

Also, evil doings of the tyrants which are in power of the big organizations like governments, financial foundations and religious sects got out of control. This will lead to a mass extinction of the species including human beings. Water will cover almost all over the world. There will be no life left on planet which had happened also before. When the planet renews itself a new race, both the bodies and the souls will be pure, will be created by God. The closing is a must unfortunately. They have speed up the procedure. The duration is probably like what scientists expect. However, God knows only. It is up to Him. The human-like creatures like Cro-Magnon, Neanderthal were not human. They did not have the consciousness and awareness you have.

I had said: "God forgive them. They don't know what they are doing". Now they know what they are doing. They know that they are at the point of no return from their wickedness. They know that they will taste the second death. That's why they carry on fiercely with their evil doings. That's why I do not pray for them. I do not say: "God forgive them" any longer.

Pray to God only for goodness. God is the spring of goodness and cleanness. From this clean spring is it possible to drink dirty water? But, if the mouths are dirty than the water also will get dirty in the mouths. So, never pray anything which is not for the goodness of yourselves and others. Cursing or imprecation cannot be prayed from God. Remember: ''Pray for your enemies also''. Those who curse or damn will be punished by God.

The Kingdom of God is not where God reigns, but where His Source of Divine Power is.

''The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God come near; repent, and believe in the good news. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you''.

Our physical identities are for examinations to reach to higher eons. The physical bodies we use are not us, but instruments for our souls to be developed. When we are finished with them they shall be left behind to soil where they came from originally. Our soul identities are what matters. What we load to our souls, here on Earth, we will become in after life. And, that some of you will wake up to light and some to darkness.

If you shut the truth and the Life out, then you miss the mark. If you give priority to other things by giving more emphasis to desires rather than truth, it is the only way you can commit a sin. The unseen enemies of mankind are those who are preventing humans from learning and changing. Open minded, rational humans are needed. The rest, by means of morality, will come as they start to realize that they have to have respect for themselves and, above all, for life. Up till now the word of God has been destroyed by the traditions that has been handed down.

Information is not wisdom, those who are full of information shall miss the truth longest.

The truth is simple. Not only educated, but the children can also understand it.

. Love God with all your heart, wise and soul. This is spiritual love, love without seeing and hearing.

. Love everybody as yourself. The love here is the Divine Love which means a general affection.

. Cease doing malignant actions.

. Experience genuine remorse for the wrong committed.

. Make restitution to repair the damage done to others.

. Act to protect life, preserve life, make life more functional and/or improve the quality of life.

. Respect the human lives and beasts. Do not kill.

...but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Slavishly believing in dogmas, insulting the consciousness of all men, and has been pulled down by the darkness. With dogmas souls will be conquered by negative feelings such as rage, hatred, fear and jealousy. But with intuition men will be filled with unconditional Divine Love for everybody and everything meaning that you have reached the consciousness of unity. And your souls shall be full of love, peace and understanding.

Many human beings say 'I love you' one day and reject you the next day. This is not love. One whose heart is filled with love of God cannot willfully hurt anyone. When you love God without reservation, your heart gets filled with His unconditional love flowing freely always for all who are ready to take. The ordinary love is self-centered in the consciousness of 'I, Me, Mine', he has not discovered the omnipresent God who resides in him and everything.

Yeshua said; 'I am a drop of light from God.' 'I wish you to be all the same.' I am the path, illuminated path. If you stray from this path wickedness will catch you just like wild animals catch their prey. Follow me, the straightest and illuminated path, and this will take you to eternal life again. Yeshua represents the love God wants us to be able to live on earth.

Yeshua's main mission is healing. He is the key holder of the gate to the Kingdom. The gate of love, and nobody may pass through this gate without becoming pure in their hearts. God is love so, how can they enter the Kingdom of God before reaching full love in their hearts. That's why Yeshua said, ''I am the path'' because he represented the love of God. He said: '' I am the light'' because he is illuminating this path. And that path leads to the Kingdom (eternal life in the core of God). That's why Yeshua said, ''I am life''.

The sizes of every bodies' cups are different. Human beings can understand His messages according to the sizes of their cups. Even, 2000 years ago, His disciples couldn't understand Him. Those who reads this message will understand according to their consciousness level so, never insist but give the message and go to your way. Do not struggle to conceive as the ones with lower consciousness will not understand and, on the contrary will pull you down.

Eternal life is available only after physical death and the second birth which is spiritual. That is an awareness only a few souls have while living on earth. Notify this truth. Do not look back as to who have understood and who have not. Do not lose time with that. As some babies are being born dead, the same, some souls are also born dead. Just notify.

Our hearts must be pure. Our hearts are the source of our feelings, and if they are dirty nothing good will come out of it. Notice that all the religious are made for the sole purpose of possessions. Worship of ego most of the time and, they put their egos in the center and became fake idols.

You are all here to prove yourselves. There are still some souls waiting for incarnation on earth for the first time. This is due to their own wrong doings while at the spiritual realms. They didn't take serious enough the duties and trainings given to them. You are all here to gain the eternal life. To be born again spiritually. God sent Yeshua to teach us love so that we can eternal life.

World is the place of selection. So, try to be the ones who shall be selected. Look above to Godly things and act accordingly. Overcome the lust and temptation. God is limitless at every aspect. God warns directly and when He convicts it is irrevocable.

As the rulers of the world cannot compete with the rising birth rate, they are using terrorism to make them kill each other. Ego pushes nations into the lust as to be superior to others as well as the individuals to other individuals. Those individuals who are the real rulers who wants to work for humanity are being killed.

If you inflict terrible sufferings on others, surely, you've got to be punished. There are no exceptions. You will go through a life review, rather like a documentary with prodigious value. You will experience your life from the point of view of everyone who has involved: Everyone's feelings, attitudes, motives and believes laid bare, including yours. You won't just observe through their eyes and ears, you will experience what they have experienced. Did you steal from someone? You will experience his hurt and outrage. Did you give food to someone who was hungry? Then you will experience her relief and joy. Of course, your earth personality could not cope with this review, because the ship of your mind would founder in the emotional typhoon. Do you see the significance of this?

Through the afterlife there are multitude of different journeys. In the past, many didn't know that one cannot take anything with himself, and they took it all. Weapons, trappings of wealth, and slaves thoughtfully slaughtered for their post-earth convenience. Eventually time comes for real things.

Keep away from all type of perversion. Do not even look at the perverted humans with sympathy. Do not make friendships with them. They have strayed from the righteousness and left the humanity. They all shall taste the second death together with those who have made friendships with them or even look at them with sympathy and approval.

If you helped somebody or do a favor for them don't talk about it. Don't keep repeating of your kindness. If you talk about the good deeds you have done for others than your good behaviors will be of no value. Because, repeatedly mentioning the kindness done is like digging the newly planted tree's roots.

Man and woman are equal as an equal half of an apple. Whatever is right for one side is also right for the other side as well. There is no discrimination. The sides have different characteristics, but this is to complete each other. The main features are the same. Marriages must be pure as it is a remarkable opportunity for self-development of people longing for Truth. A pure marriage is vital in striving for attainment of Mergence with the Holy Spirit. As for its impure form, it exists as an outer appearance. By this, they will burden significantly their destinies. So, cognize the pure marriage, for it has great power.

Yeshua said, ''Blessed are those who verily existed before they were born. The one who verily exists now was like this and will be.'' Psychogenetically young people can live only an instinctive-reflexive life like the life of primitive animals. Those who represent a qualitatively and quantitively developed consciousness are capable of truly conscious, rightly directed, disciplined existence on the Path to the spiritual perfection, on the Path to the Father. But the maturing of the consciousness is a quite slow, and it lasts many incarnations. The statement of Yeshua is about this: first, it is easy to live with such mature people. Second, such people were prepared to such spiritual levels of existence before the beginning of the present incarnation.

Switch your attention to the Highest Goal-God the Father.

. Do not fear the flesh, nor love it.

. If you fear it, it will become your master.

. If you love it, it devours and subjugate you.

Rise in the highest eons. If you cannot succeed in this world you will be found outside of God's love eventually where the real badness is. It is perdition there. That's why it is good to live that world having not committing sins. We must acquire the resurrection while we live in this world. So that when we strip off the flesh, we may be found in calm, but not walk outside of love. Yet many go astray from the Path.

The Bridal Chamber is neither for animals, nor for men-slaves of passions, nor for women driven by passion. It is for pure women and men who gained spiritual freedom. Then one must learn to enter this Highest Eon by one's own efforts and stay in it. It is called the birth in it as a Holy Spirit. And one comes to Mergence with the Consciousness dwelling in God. Once you are there, once you feel the peace and calm in there you will never miss anything else again. You become the Son.

The purified souls becomes the user of the Divine Energies. The user can absorb divine energy and power directly into their body and use it in various ways.

The true purified soul's mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. Their souls always yields to purifying light.

One passion includes all others. Purification requires the soul to be pure and clean from our own passions and lusts. The more we purify ourselves, the more we allow for Divine grace to function. When a soul is completely clean from its passion and is totally humbled, then it can experience the grace of God and the fulfillment of all His promises.

If a man thinks only of his own profit, and tries to benefit himself at the expense of others, he will incur the hatred of Heaven.

Communism was a gigantic facade, and the reality concealed behind it was the sheer drive for power, for total power as an end in itself. The rest was merely instrumental -- a matter of tactics and some necessary self-restrictions to achieve the desired end. Thus rationalism was transformed under communism into the idea of slavery.

There's an increasing sense in our political life that in both parties politicians call themselves public servants but act like bosses who think that voters work for them. Politicians who jerk around doctors, nurses and health systems call themselves servants, when of course they look more like little kings and queens instructing the grudging peasants in how to arrange their affairs. But in Governments, where the Legislative is in one lasting Assembly always in being, or in one Man, as in Absolute Monarchies, there is danger still, that they will think themselves to have a distinct interest, from the rest of the Community; and so will be apt to increase their own Riches and Power, by taking, what they think fit, from the People. Our rulers are theoretically "our" representatives, but they are busy turning us into the instruments of the projects they keep dreaming up.

Mankind soon learn to make interested uses of every right and power which they possess, or may assume. The public money and public liberty...will soon be discovered to be sources of wealth and dominion to those who hold them; distinguished, too, by this tempting circumstance, that they are the instrument, as well as the object of acquisition. With money we will get men, said Caesar, and with men we will get money.

It is not enough that honest men are appointed Judges. All know the influence of interest on the mind of man, and how unconsciously his judgment is warped by that influence.

Life is a better teacher of virtue than politicians, and most sensible governments in the past left moral faults alone. Instead, democratic citizenship in the twenty-first century means receiving a steam of improving "messages" from authority. Some may forgive these intrusions because they are so well intentioned. Who would defend prejudice, debt, or excessive drinking? The point, however, is that our rulers have no business telling us how to live. They are tiresome enough in their exercise of authority. They are intolerable when they mount the pulpit. We should never doubt that nationalizing the moral life is the first step toward totalitarianism.

In fact, it appears that those who have the most unquestioning belief in their own virtue, from the Capitalists to Commununists, are often those who feel entitled to commit, and do commit, the most abhorant acts against those who oppose them or who have different values.

Yeshua was not a rabbi. Yeshua took Maria Magdelena under His marriage certificate for the sole purpose of protecting her life. They never had sexual intercourse nor stay under the same roof.

Yeshua had no intention of making his name know worldwide as the one who came after him did. He didnot want to establish a new religion or a new flow. He was a Juden and wanted to correct the mıstakes his peoples were makıng under the name of religion.

Spiritual truth is eternal and universal: no particular religion or sect can have a monopoly on it. So, never get bigotted on one religion or other. Yeshua did not bring a new religion. He remind you the universal truth which is unity and the way to achiving it which is love.

Yeshua told me that: I shouldn't had taken her under my name through marrige. I admit I must have sort of weakness for her. But we had never been together as husband and wife. God wouldn't had allowed that. But, because we had been officially married I had to pay for her penalties here as well. This is valid for every marrige. Men take the responsibly of their wives.

Yeshua said that he had never been to France or to Tibet. He was a Divine Soul among us to show us the straighest and the most illimunated way to Divineness.

He said that His body was not left on Earth.

Yeshua said, ''The shroud of turin is fake. The real cotton that had been used faded away and dissolved in time. It is now nowhere.''

There will be no second coming. I have come and gone many times and I still come and go when & where it is necessary. But as Yeshua Messiah I will not come again.

There is no end time as you think. There is no devil. There is no armagedon. That will be against the act of free will.

There will be huge natural disasters and the World will change. There will be famine, plaques and floods worldwide. The world population will decrease voliminously. Life styles will change completely.

Do not loose faith. Keep calm till end. You, humans have acceletated this situation by your greeds. Do not be afraid of dying. Your feelings are very important at your last hours. This affects your passing procedure to afterlife. Whether you can realize you have died or not soon. Do not loose your faith at the last minutes. That is very important. I am always with the faithful.

You don’t need a religion to reach me.

All you need is love.

Only with Love in your hearts like little children you can reach me and God.

These are the steps of stairs.

Love, Me and God.

With Love in your hearts you can reach me.

If you reach me you can reach to God.

I couldn’t teach that to human beings.

You can directly reach me by love.

Declare that to all people.

They don't need any mediator.

Love God with all you soul, heart and mind and love people as yourself.

All you need is a pure heart full of love.

The germs of true religion originate in the domain of man’s moral consciousness, and they are revealed in the growth of man’s spiritual insight.

Yeshua says: "Do not be a warrior."

But religions say:"Fight till the end untill the law is fulfilled."

Follow Yeshua not the religions.

WAKE UP

I am holding the key of love, my brother. You know that God is love. So, how can they enter the Kingdom of God before reaching to full love in their hearts. That's why I have said that I was the path. I represent the love God created. I am illuminating that path that's why I have said that I was the light. And that path leads all to the Kingdom. To The Eternal Life. So, that's why I have said I was the life. That's why I have said that I came to World so that you could have life in abundance.

I hope most of you will awake before death and be taken.

Do not be a warrior. Drop your shields. Leave your passion. Leave all your addictions, fear, nervousness. Let love be your path and light be your comrade on this path. Fill your heart with love for God and do not allow anything to violate this love. Do not put anything before your love for God. Keep calm. Do not allow nerviousness control your mind and do not let fear and infidelity fill in your heart.

Turn your face to light and let the light illimunate your face. You are neither your emotions nor your mind. You are a being above them. Be aware of your reactions. Watch them as a third person and criticize. Put them down when they are short tempered. When your mind become like a clear water reflecting all who looks at you and your emotions positive, full of love then you are eligible for becoming a part of the Holy Spirit.

The souls who are awakened while still living on Earth and has reached the state of emiting God's pure energy also pulls the negative energies of unawakends and turns it into pure energy and send it back to God. Had they not been doing this energy healing, the World would have turned upside down long ago. That is what Yeshua did on a global measure once.

All of the life energy which has intellect derivates from God. God gave us everything but, alas, fewer of us believes in Him in Spirit. Most of us believes in a mighty merchant king. If pleased, gives every sort of lust fullfilling toys othervise burns forever.

Most of us believes in a false gods in allignment with their egos for richness, virgins, wealth of no boundries, flesh and gold. All sort of wordly lusts. They are unable to perceive Spirit and the peace when filled up with that Spirit.

Eternal life and Holy Spirit does not mean anything to them. They worship gold, flesh and the power giver but, not the Spirit.

If your children had loved you just for the money you gave them, how would you feel? Aren't we the children of God? How God feels? Let's think.

For the past 2,000 years he has maintained a line of communication through those who have been willing to serve as messengers for His Living Word and who have pursued an understanding of His true message instead of settling for fake official religious doctrines which disturb Him continiously.

Once you admit that mainstream religious traditions have not answered your questions about life, you are very close in getting contact with the divine truth.

If you use a perverted version of Yesua's teachings as a justification for closing your mind to His real teachings, you are not one of His modern-day disciples.

God's judgement regarding gender condition is final. Those who are perverted such as transgender; gays, lesbiens, bisexual, intersex, and like perversions, even those who accept this incidents as normal, those who make friendships with them, marries to them, perform their marriage ceromony, who confirms and legalize this perversion, and who blesses them, anyone who feels affinity with them are going to be annihilated by God and they shall not see the eternal life.

So called gays and lesbians are mentally ill and morally pervert people.

Same as fornication these should not be accepted as normal in communities. This kind of sickness will in tima rot natural relationships. They should enter under a remedy treatment.

Those perversions are a rebellion against the God.

THE ONE BEING

There is only One Being at the Universe. And, there are beings in that One Being. Human beings first know themselves. Learn their essence first and then they can connect to God. When you connect to God you are like a hawk. You start living multidimensional and multifaceted.

Those who are in agony are actually suffering from a side product of their ego. Not seeing the miracles around and see the misery only is egoism.

Do not become a voice among other voices. Be still, keep calm and be silent then you can become a witness of your surrounding.

Yeshua 27th, August 2017

THE WAYS WE ARE FREE TO CHOSE

There are two ways for the souls.

One goes to life and the other goes to death. Faith is very important. Whatever you believe while you live in a physical body is what you are going to face after death. The soul does not die with body and whatever you have loaded to him/her will go with the soul.

So, don't load weakness and wrong beliefs to your soul. In addition to that your conscience knows everything and by every wrong doing of yourselves realizes that he/she shall have to face the consequences.

As for the crimes the divine justice will be working.

The unseen enemies of mankind are those who are preventing humans from learning and changing. Open minded, rational humans are needed. The rest, by means of morality, will come as they start to realize that they have to have respect for themselves and, above all, for life.

If you shut the truth and the Life(God) out then you miss the mark. If you give prioity to other things by giving more emphasis to desires rather than truth, it is the only way you can commit a sin.

God is the spring of kindness, goodness and cleanness. From this clean spring, is it possible to drink dirty water? One can drink only clean water. But, if the mouths of the drinkers are dirty than the water gets dirty as well in their mouths. As such only goodness can be prayed from God. Badness cannot be prayed from Him. Badness for somebody else or curse cannot be wished from that pure Spring. Those who do this vile wishes are punished by God.

Think of God and His light. Do not put any other loves in between your love for God and yourselves. Love God first and before everything and everybody. Do not be a warrior. Drop your shields. Leave your passion. Leave all your addictions, fear, nerviousness. Let love be your path and light be your comrade on this path. Fill your heart with love for God and do not allow anything to violate this love. Keep calm. Do not allow nerviousness control your mind and do not let fear and infidelity fill in your heart

Never deny God, Almighty. Do not even argue about His oneness and divineness. He is the Source of light. He is Love. He is in and out of everything seen and unseen. Our bodies are to be the temple of The Holy Spirit. Our souls are to be the part of His Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is the active force of God so, our souls must be the home for God. All the praises and all the glory are belong to Him, to our God, to our Love. His will be done forever.

The truth requires a much deeper understanding. Spirituality requires that you ask questions of yourself, whilst religions requires you to rely on books to move forward. And, by doing so millions of soul's minds have been locked down.

The physical realm is the world of beginnings and endings, creation and destruction. Matter and energy change forms as ceaselessly as the ocean’s surface rises and falls from frothy wave to wave. Trees, mountains, buildings, and human bodies are all temporary. They're just the scenery, and when a drama is finished, the scenery is torn down to make room for another set that can contain another play. Only we, the players, are real and eternal—our consciouses are spiritual, and our consciouses are entirely separate from the brain and physical realm.

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible”.

Never forget, spirituality Is what you are, it is not what you do. The total of what you have loaded to yourselves while living on earth.

Spiritual adultery includes any form of idolatry and is a major theme throughout the Old Testament. Yeshua reminds us just how deadly this form of adultery can be. Yeshua said, “Nobody can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other”. It’s important as believers that we leave the worldly attachements and lusts behind us, put the God before us first. There is no turning back.

Knowing God is the purpose of human existence. When you get this, you’re at peace. The search is over. Ego-driven expectations disappear. Life begins to be genuinely celebrated.

We show up for one reason and one reason only: to walk with God, or union with Divine.

“The word ‘enlightenment’ conjures up the idea of some superhuman accomplishment. It is really just your natural state of felt oneness with Being.”

SPIRITUAL ADULTARY

“God sent His son as a ransom to be sacrified so that with his blood our sins are washed.”

They claim this sadistic knowledge from the Bible and really believe in it. I reject to believe in such a cruel and sadistic god… What would you say to that my brother?

Yeshua said: “There are a lot of false words in bible. You are right. This is wrong. God is love. God is the God of all universe, not only the World’s. I didn’t come to World as ransom. I had come as the love of the Father but I was not welcomed and was tried to be killed. Even now 2/3 of the people on Earth are still wicked. They are enemies of God Who is Love and Light. The Source of every goodness and beauty. Uptill now I used to pray: My God they don’t know what they are doing. Forgive them…but now I don’t say ‘forgive them’ anymore. "

I asked to Yeshua in my lucid dream, Christian belief is as such that those who believe in You and get babtised, the Holy Spirit will be cast down upon them. Is it so?

Yeshua answered, ‘’Holy Spirit is neither cast down nor descend but humans must rise up cognitively to become a Holy Spirit.’’

All people – Christians or not – receive this help through the spiritual love that Yeshua hold. "Ask and you will be answered".

PROPHECY

Any kind of prophecy, prediction or clairvoyance regarding future events are not wellcomed by the God. God detastes interference with His doings. God gets disturbed about the foretellings of any kind regarding what He is going to do.

Those in the past, your socalled prophets, had said many things. If one says so many a thing regarding future events some of them might be used to sitimulate people according to the policies of the rulers. That doesn't mean that they know the future. Nobody can and may know the future. To know the future one must be superior to the One who makes the future every moment anew, The Almighty God. That is, to think that you are superior to Him even unknowingly, a very disgraceful mistake one can do.

Nobody can know what God will do. Nobody can talk about future. That is to poke your nose in God's bussiness which is an impertinent action. God is superior and can not be forecasted. Also this impertinent action, trying to forecast God's affairs disturbs God.

Stay with righteouness. Never bring evil thoughts into action. Do not give them life.

Yeshua.

FINAL WARNING

Time is closing. Sideways were all closed. There is no sideways any more. Either one reaches to God or to the second death after the physical death. "All or nothing." That is the word and the deed now to reach God. You have to focus on God only in order to achive this goal. Those who shall not succeed this goal will lose everything. Tell this to everyone.

Yeshua, 1st of March, 2018.

IN GOD WE TRUST…

[jungnoir]

loud and clear;

jung hoseok | haven’t you ever been curious about the god you pray to? noragami!au. | 2k words. | humor, fluff, angst.

a/n: pretty spoiler free so if you haven’t seen the show/read the manga and want to, don’t worry! I’ve had the idea for a noragami style au for hoseok for like,,, a year. here. take it

Names mean something.

Whether a name is good or a name is bad, it means something. Sometimes, a name can mean happiness or despair. A name can mean love or hate. A name can be hope, or utter destruction. Sometimes our names define us, and sometimes we define our names. Is it crime to run from a name that never fit you in the first place?

He was called the god of calamity because that’s what he was good at, it was all he’d known for the hundreds of years he’d been alive on this unforgiving earth. His birth was from the ashes of war and greed, and that’s presumably where he would die one day if the time came. It was never his desire to be what people hated yet needed, never his desire to feel so used after his sword would tear open flesh and sever life at his own will.

Heh, he laughs to himself, I have no will.

Whoever commanded him was the one whose will Hoseok met. From the beginning of life, his very job was etched into the stars in blood: he would fulfill anyone’s wish to kill, destroy, and ruin. If only it meant he was believed in for one more day.

The life of gods weren’t easy, and the life of a minor god who’d abandoned his original craft was even less so, but he guessed life could have been worse.

Hanging upside down from a tree by only his legs, Hoseok’s eyes flit around the nearly empty graveyard, searching everywhere for anything to keep his interest but finding that only you could, and currently you were occupied with another matter altogether, “Must we do this every weekend?”

You stare at the gravestone aimlessly, feelings of upset swimming in your stomach as the hours stretch on, “Yes. I can’t miss them.”

Hoseok blinks at the back of your head, sighing when you don’t make any attempt to look at him or show that you even acknowledge his presence in the first place. He lets himself fall and twist mid-air, landing on his toes and letting his heels fall to the dirt softly. There’s only so much time he can waste here waiting for people who he knew wouldn’t come before he has to be back out there, making sure he’s not forgotten. You seem to care none about being the regalia to a dying god.

“Do you know how many phantoms we could have slayed in the time we’ve spent here today alone? I bet you’ll feel much better ripping open a phantom’s guts right now!” Hoseok makes his tone light and tries to move in front of your line of vision, bright smile momentarily distracting you from the situation at hand, but you quickly shove his head out of the way as if he wasn’t your master and a god. In your eyes, he was just another nuisance who had decided to give your untainted soul a chance before it could be turned into the very things you both sought to kill. The colorful, slimy phantoms that lurked around the city whispering evil things in the ears of unsuspecting humans had all started out as unguided spirits of the dead at one point or another.

It could have become you too, but Hoseok had saved you. Yet, how good was it being “alive” again if you had no recollection of your past before you died and no idea of your future?

“I’d feel much better if I could stuff your head in a toilet...” You murmur quietly, watching Hoseok scowl and plop down next to the gravestone, leaning his head on it like a pillow. His copper red hair shines in the sunset light and catches your eyes long enough to glance over, and then you quickly turn away again much to his displeasure.

“You know, other regalia treat their gods with the utmost respect! Don’t you know the god of education has hundreds of regalia waiting on him hands and feet?” “Namjoon is eons more likable so I’m not surprised his regalia care to do that.” You snap back, watching the god’s scowl deepen.

You two had a strange relationship from the moment he’d captured your wandering soul and bound it to him. He had pronounced you his regalia, his weapon (literally) in the face of danger that this world held. You retained your human form from when you were once alive, but at his hand, you became something more.

A shinki, he called it. A tool for a god to use however they pleased, and you were a sword of mass destruction. At first try, you had been a bit chipped and dull as it had been only moments since you’d been saved by Hoseok that he needed you to fight off a gaggle of phantoms. However, after quite a while of training, you had become shiny and brand new. You were quite a beauty in either form, if Hoseok did say so himself. Yet, no matter how much he tried to get along with you, you couldn’t help wanting to counteract each attempt.

It wasn’t that you hated him, because seriously, you didn’t (and no, you couldn’t really prove it right now but...!). Deep down, you were very grateful he’d taken you as his regalia even if it wasn’t like he didn’t benefit from it himself, his previous regalia having run off to serve Namjoon the minute he let her because apparently Hoseok was “a train wreck waiting to happen... again”. Truthfully, had you been able to choose your own god to serve, Hoseok would have been your very last choice. But he wasn’t terrible, just carried more baggage than your wandering soul was prepared to take on.

While he tried to cover up the pain of his past with a smile and sometimes really terrible jokes, at some point, you’d grown uncomfortable with the god’s insistence that he was okay, that he was just tired when his shiny eyes would dull along with the activities of the day. A god of calamity is what they called him, warning you to break away before you ended up being hurt by that calamity he constantly carried with him. No matter what he tried to do to fix the past, whether it was spray-painting his number across the city so he could do odd jobs for lazy humans or slaying the phantoms that caused depression and wrath, to everyone else he would always be the god of calamity. A god of misfortune. A god of disaster.

Though, sometimes, you wondered how someone so full of selflessness could ever truly be a god of calamity.

Hoseok procured an orange from seemingly nowhere, carefully peeling away the skin and halving it before giving you one, “Hungry? We have quite the night ahead of us.”

You look up from your gravestone in confusion, taking the half into your hand and looking it over. It didn’t seem rotten or dried out in the slightest, “Where’d you get this?” “Swiped it off an old lady a few hours ago. You didn’t see?”

Your eyes narrow as you think about possibly squeezing the orange in his eyes and watching him wriggle in agony, but decide you won’t be as mean as usual... this time. Instead, you peel off a piece and put into your mouth, “We’re stealing from old ladies now? You don’t do much good for your reputation.”

“Well, I have to feed my regalia somehow! Nobody’s gonna do it for me,” He nudges you with his elbow and grins when you cast him a glance, “I don’t care what they say.”

You should, you think quietly to yourself. What kind of god didn’t care about what people thought? Gods were supposed to serve the people. They were supposed to uphold comforting presences and honesty and whatever else the humans were so obsessed with worshiping, they weren’t supposed to meander around the city at all hours of the night in cheap tracksuits and spend whatever money they had on tacky souvenirs because they looked “cool” and “shiny”. Hoseok applied to all of that and then some.

“You forget we share a mind and body,” Hoseok hums, startling you from your reverie, “...I’m not... it’s not lost on me how you feel when other gods see me, or when other shinki question you about the god you serve.” Surprisingly, his voice takes a more ashamed tone. He quietly eats with his legs crossed under him beside you, the setting sun behind you making his copper hair stand out all the more. Wind blows through his hair and covers the expanse of his forehead but he doesn’t move to fix it like he usually does.

Swallowing, you take a piece of orange and play with it, “So why don’t you do something about it?”

Hoseok shrugs, “I don’t want to be a god of calamity, even if I can never change it. I don’t want my name to carry the weight of all the harm I’ve caused because of it.”

You stare at the grass that had started to die in the middle of autumn, blades of green barely tall enough to cover the bottoms of your shoes. It would be getting colder soon, and Hoseok still didn’t have a shrine, so most likely you both would either be crashing at Namjoon’s shrine (if he didn’t kick you both out again) or finding some small, dark corner to curl up into to keep warm. You both were immortal, but it didn’t make being cold any less torturous. 

In the middle of your thoughts, worrying over how the both of you would manage to stay warm tonight, you feel something drape over your shoulders. Blinking, Hoseok’s scent fills your senses and you look back over at the god. He’s now in just a thin white tee shirt tucked into the band of his sweatpants, but he looks pretty fine to you. He doesn’t even shiver when a particularly cool breeze swipes past you both and reminds you that the sun is all but set now.

Instead of saying “thank you” or even a more characteristic “this thing reeks of alcohol, take it back”, you just push your arms through the sleeves and marvel at the fact that your hands don’t fully pass the hems, “You’ve always been a god of calamity though, even cleaning people’s bathrooms and finding lost cats like you do now,” you say softly, feeling the link between the two of you grow strained a bit. He’s nervous for what you’ll say when he’s already baring his hear to you in the most Hoseok way you know, “but you don’t win wars with your calamity. You... wreak havoc on the phantoms that plague humans. You didn’t stop being the god of calamity, you just turned it into something good.”

Hoseok says nothing for a while after that, and neither do you, letting the last few moments of the twilight welcome your incoming night. As the wind picks up, Hoseok suddenly reaches over and zips up his jacket on you until it reaches your neck, briefly locking eyes with you when you turn to look at him incredulously. He has finished off his orange and you find that you have too, in the midst of your thinking. He stands up and holds out a hand, smiling at you with the last rays of baby blue sky highlighting it. Carefully, you place your hand in his and he yanks you up and into his side, shocking you into a small sputtering fit.

He takes a deep breath and scans the city from the graveyard’s hilltop, eyes falling on a swarm of phantoms a few miles away that were particularly interested in a university nearby. “Well, looks like we have a bit of work to do, don’t you think?” Hoseok grins and looks down in your direction, where you meet his gaze halfway.

Somewhere in the sparkle of his usually sad eyes is a hope; you can feel something between your bond, unsure if he was willingly projecting it to you or not. What you had said had comforted him, had elated him in fact, and despite your inner qualms about entertaining the goofy god with friendship... you couldn’t resist giving him a small smile in return.

Names mean something, but it’s up to you to figure out what that something is.

#bts writing squad #ok nobody asked for this but! i really wanted to do it #jung hoseok scenarios #jung hoseok imagines #jung hoseok au #jung hoseok fluff #jung hoseok angst #god!hoseok #jung hoseok #bts scenarios #bts imagines #bts au #bts fluff #bts angst #god!bts #noragami au #jhope #majwrites

[screenandcinema]

Coming Attractions October 2021

As usual, we present monthly previews of new movies being released. These are the movies that will be hitting your local cinemas (and streaming services) this month:

October 1st

Venom: Let There Be Carnage - Eddie Brock and Venom return in this sequel to the 2018′s Venom. Andy Serkis (seriously) directs Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Woody Harrelson in the film that finally brings Carnage to the big screen.

The Many Saints of Newark - The relationship between young Tony Soprano (played by James Gandolfini’s son Michael) and the often mentioned but never seen Uncle Dickie is explored in the prequel to the HBO series The Sopranos. The film hits theaters and HBO Max simultaneously this month.

The Addams Family 2 - The iconic Addams Family is going on a road trip in this sequel to the 2019 film and features the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, and Chloe Grace Moretz. In addition to hitting theaters, The Addams Family 2 will be available to rent digitally this month.

October 8th

No Time to Die - At long last, the twenty-fifth Bond film and Craig’s fifth and finale as 007 is finally here. Originally scheduled for release in April 2020, No Time to Die was one of the first films to move due to the pandemic and now the time has come for it to be released worldwide. On average, there has been a new James Bond film every two-and-a-half years over the last 60 years. The six-year stretch between 2015′s Spectre and No Time to Die ties the record of the longest period between two films (1989′s License to Kill and 1995′s GoldenEye) and is the longest gap without replacing a Bond. No Time to Die comes out 15 years after Craig’s first outing as Bond in 2006′s Casino Royale, the longest span of an actor playing the character (technically Connery’s appearance as Bond in 1983′s Never Say Never Again doesn’t count since it wasn’t Eon production).

October 15th

Halloween Kills - Follow closely. Halloween Kills is a sequel to 2018′s Halloween, itself a direct sequel to 1978′s Halloween. And while Halloween Kills is the twelfth film in the Halloween franchise, it ignores all films except the two previously mentioned: Halloween (1978) and Halloween (2018) - but not Halloween (2007). Still with me? Great. Enjoy Halloween Kills, it will be in theaters and on Peacock this month.

The Last Duel - Ridley Scott directs Matt Damon, Joie Comer, Adam Driver, and Ben Affleck in this historical drama about the last legally sanctioned duel in France (hence the title).

October 22nd

Dune - Frank Herbert’s science-fiction epic returns to the big screen (and HBO Max) this month with Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. The film is an adaptation of the first half of Herbert’s 1965 novel and there is no promise that Warner Bros. will make the second half, so go see Dune in theaters if you can. Please.

The French Dispatch - Wes Anderson’s newest film, The French Dispatch, hits limited theaters this month with plans to expand in November. What else do you need to know? Wes Anderson has a new movie, that should be enough.

October 29th

Passing (October 27th) - Rebecca Hall makes her directorial debut with this adaptation of a novel of the same name about two mixed-race young women in 1920s New York City who lead very different lives. Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga star in this film coming to Netflix this month.

Last Night in Soho - Edgar Wright directs this original psychological horror film starring Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy. Last Night in Soho looks amazing and I couldn’t be more excited to see it.

Army of Thieves - Did you watch Army of the Dead and hope for a zombie-less prequel about the safecracker? Well, Netflix has some special for you this month.

Now for a quick look ahead to October, my top picks for next month are Eternals, Red Notice, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

-MB-

[shiobookmark]

Rereading Tsubasa...

Let’s see if I can hold this all in my head. It’s actually not too convoluted when read all at once, Clamp just loves being confusing and then trying to backtrack and explain.

Fei Wang Reed wants to bring Yuuko back to life and is accumulating power in order to do that and break apart the rules that forbid the return of the dead. In order to do that he needs a body that has seen multiple dimensions.That’s what his plan is, it’s why he does all this stuff. A lot of other stuff he does seems to be to create timeline confusion, such as manipulating Syaoran into saving Sakura from the point of death. Because if one person can do it, so can he.

If you bear that in mind and work forward chronologically, things make more sense. Clow unintentionally froze Yuuko’s time upon her death, because he wished for her to open her eyes just one last time, and his magic made it happen. Fei Wang wants to complete the wish and bring her back for real in order to surpass Clow. It’s very petty. Fei Wang eventually creates Ultimate Sakura by combining reverted time little girl Sakura with Clone Sakura’s body and a feather that’s built up power over eons. This is to shatter dimensions and bring Yuuko back. First, original timeline stuff:

Syaoran’s parents sent him to Clow dimension to try and save Sakura. We’re lead to believe that his parents are CCS Sakura and Syaoran but they’re not. CCS Sakura gave his mother her sealing wand to pay Yuuko for Syaoran’s trip to Clow. It’s a red herring. Everyone knew ahead of time that Syaoran’s choice on Sakura’s seventh birthday would set things in motion. Yuuko made the Mokonas for that purpose.

Sakura hears a call to the ruins much as she did in the first chapter. Syaoran is with her in the ruins in the morning and Fei Wang Reed tries to attack her, she’s protected by the water spirit in the temple.  He reaches for her, she tries to tell him her true name. He hesitates a moment and is unable to rescue her so Fei Wang gives her a death curse. Syaoran runs out of time in Clow and is transported back to Yuuko’s shop. He chooses to never see his parents or world again in order to go back to Clow and try and save Sakura from the curse. But he fails and the curse begins to kill Sakura on her coming of age birthday, so her mother stops time.

Syaoran wishes to turn back time so that he would not hesitate and save Sakura from the mark. But doing that makes a distortion in time which most greatly affects the people who know about the mark, Sakura’s parents, and Syaoran himself. He’s made a child again, leaving a void in relationships and time that’s filled by Watanuki, who is now the child of Syaoran’s parents, taking his place as their son. The distorted time means his parents suffer and Watanuki himself suffers and may disappear at any moment because it’s all unstable. Watanuki is the same person as Syaoran, created to fill the hole in the timeline. The reason he attracts spirits is because he subconsciously senses he shouldn’t exist and is suicidal without being entirely aware of it. Given revelations about who Watanuki/Syaoran’s parents are and that they have no memory of Watanuki... we can assume it’s because his timeline is broken. He shouldn’t exist.  Yuuko says ‘fuck that’ and takes Watanuki under her wing, trying to ensure he becomes a person in his own right so he won’t disappear. This is why in XXXholic she encourages his adventures and relationships with Doumeki and Himawari.

As further payment for turning back time, Syaoran is imprisoned by Fei Wang Reed for years, losing his freedom.  Fei Wang hints that because Watanuki looks like Clow, this was part of Clow’s plan. This doesn’t come up later. I think Clamp dropped another Red Herring. Syaoran has split the timeline, which helps further Fei Wang’s plans. (Because he’s trying to break reality and bring Yuuko back to life, so I think this helps shatter ‘reason’ more.) Syaoran is pretty sure this distortion in time is why Yui and Fai were born as twins and why Kurogane’s parents died. I think this is meant to be ‘general chaos and calamity’ rather than anything specific. Fai and Kurogane rightly point out that trying to take responsibility for literally everything bad ever happening is kind of arrogant so don’t do that shit. They’re really on the same page now and I love to see it. Power couple!

Fei Wang made a clone of Syaoran and the original Syaoran gave him part of his soul so he wouldn’t be a killing machine. Reed couldn’t remove it and it wouldn’t affect his compulsion to seek feathers, so he sent him to a new timeline to grow up with Sakura. (Remember original timeline Sakura is frozen waiting for Syaoran to save her.) Sakura was drawn to the ruins and her memories scattered, at which point Reed made a clone of her body and soul and destroyed her original body, leaving only her original soul. Or so he thinks. His goal was to have a body that’s experienced a bunch of different dimensions, which is why he scattered the feathers. The purpose behind the clone was so that he’d have a backup file, basically. He made a clone of Syaoran because he couldn’t control real Syaoran.

He manipulated Fai/Yui so he’d have a mole acting in his best interests but I honestly can’t recall a time that Fai actually did anything? Kurogane and Mokona were the only free agents. I think he killed Kurogane’s parents as an attempt to manipulate him, but Tomoyo took care of him and so that never happened. Clone Sakura remembered that she was a clone in the Tokyo arc, and regained her ability to see the future. She foresaw that Fai would kill Original Syaoran and gave up her good luck and a bunch of other stuff to both ensure that Fai would stab her instead, and that she’d survive the process by being split from her body and sent into the world of dreams. Which lead to Syaoran vs Clone Syaoran and Clone Sakura’s soul dying when they both stabbed her.

So now we have an original soul and a clone body of Sakura. Two Syaoran’s, the original intact with his soul and the clone. So far so good. By the way this is why the Syaoran we first knew had no memories. He was a clone. He was blind in his right eye because that’s where the soul given to him by the original Syaoran was kept, and how original Syaoran saw through his eyes.

So we’re going down into Clow’s ruins where original timeline Sakura is frozen at the moment before being given the curse mark, she’s been there this whole time just frozen and waiting for Original Syaoran to come save her. Clone Syaoran and Fei Wang show up. Kurogane and Fai are a battle couple against Fei Wang, really do love to see their understanding. They’ve very close and operating as a unit. Great to see Fai happy and content as well.  Syaoran and Clone Syaoran work together to land a blow on Fei Wang, but Clone Syaoran is killed in the process.  The poor boy dies asking Syaoran to return Sakura’s feathers, thanking Kurogane, Fai, Mokona and Syaoran for his life. When you consider this is the Syaoran we knew for so long, it hurts. Honestly a weakness of this plot is that real Syaoran is identical in personality and experience, it’s easy to forget. Clone Syaoran returns Fai’s magic, having tended to it and used it so much that Fai is now essentially back at full strength. They confront Fei Wang, but it turns out he just used Kyle Rondart as a body double and Kyle was simply another created being. Why he was after the feathers...? Who knows. Time starts to move again, the Clone Sakura’s body is floating and Syaoran dives to save little kid Sakura before she can be cursed again. Mokona senses feathers. But there were no feathers in the Kingdom of Clow? Except now there are because Sakura left one in Tokyo, and Tokyo is Clow’s past. The water protected original timeline Sakura because her feather was in it. Timey wimey, don’t worry about it.

The feather has accumulated power over the long time in the ruins and Clone Sakura’s body is etched with memories of different dimensions, then there’s time reverted little girl Sakura who is a ‘pure existence’ and they combine into one Sakura.  Because Syaoran saved Sakura from the moment of death, it calls Yuuko out of her suspended time.  She then reveals that Original Syaoran’s parents trapped themselves in the tube thing, waiting for years without aging, without being able to touch the person they love most. This is so they can confront Fei Wang and restore the dimensions he is shattering. Turns out what happened to Clone Syaoran was that he went to the world of dreams and Clone Sakura’s soul combined with Original Sakura’s supposedly destroyed body. Because they’re created beings they don’t die and can be reborn, circumventing the ‘not coming back from death’ rule. It’s very handwavy, go with it. Clow played the part of Sakura’s father in the new timeline because the distortion displaced Fujitaka and killed Nadeshiko. He gave his power and his life so she could be reborn. Yuuko pays the price for Clone Syaoran to be reborn by restarting her time and dying. The Clones are reborn with their memories intact. Sakura is on a school trip to Hong Kong with Umi, Hikaru and Fuu. There she meets Syaoran and it’s a lovely moment.  Years later they have a baby through a difficult birth. It’s Original Syaoran. Yup. The timeline is really messed up. But when you consider that even in the ‘original timeline’ Syaoran’s father was still Syaoran, it becomes clearly an ouroboros, inevitability thing. It’s a closed loop of time.

Clone Sakura has dreamed that at the end of all this the real Sakura and Syaoran will be separated forever. The Clones don’t want that, so they pay the price of being separated for gods knows how long so they can break out of the time loop.

There’s a lovely scene with Kurogane scolding the clones, Fai relieved they’re alive and Mokona tearing up. The kids were happy and had good lives.  The Clones realise that they’re loved by their surrogate family despite it all. But Yuuko is now dead, because her time restarted the moment she fulfilled the trade with the clones. So Fei Wang can’t surpass Clow. Fei Wang tries to turn back time and search the dimensions for a place where Yuuko exists and separate one pair of Sakura and Syaoran as the price. The other pair (the originals I think) try to save them and they all get sucked into the tube. They affirm that they love each other as parents/kids and other halves of themselves and through the power of determination choose a future where they can all be together. The Sakuras together have the power to traverse dimensions and use it to escape the tube, risking destroying every dimension. Even Fei Wang is freaked out.

But it’s better than a closed loop of time. Because a closed loop is the same as death.

The Sakuras use their feather memories to restore the dimensions but the Syaorans get trapped in limbo with Watanuki. Because Syaoran’s existence has to pay the price for his crime of shattering time, and they are all Syaoran.

But Clone Syaoran vanishes since the ‘original’ has ceased to exist and this creates the fissure they need for Watanuki and Syaoran to return. Clamp loves their circular logic. Watanuki and Syaoran have to pay a price for returning.  Watanuki can never leave the shop, which means he never dies, waiting for Yuko to come back even though she never will. She might reincarnate but she won’t be the same. And Syaoran can’t stay in one dimension. The memories of the Clones remain with the originals in the form of memory feathers, but otherwise they no longer exist. This leaves Syaoran and Watanuki as fragments of a destroyed timeline, so they needed to pay a price for continued existence. That’s the staying in one place and never staying in one dimension. That way they don’t disturb the timeline too much, apparently because they don’t linger long.

Sakura’s original parents have been restored so she’s fine.

Syaoran’s goal is to find bodies for the clones so they can all exist together. Mokona has an item that’s stored memories of other dimensions, so they can return to Clow and places they’ve already visited more often. Sakura and Syaoran affirm their love for each other and reveal that they have the same true name: Tsubasa, meaning ‘wings.’ Whew! Got it all down. I blame most of the stupid convoluted nonsense on the fact Clamp loves to tell things out of order, rely on wordy exposition, and the shorter chapters toward the end.  Not enough Kurogane and Fai. I want a spin off with just those two. Also, is Fai still a vampire?

#Tsubasa #good now I can rest #FUCK #Tsubasa explanation #it's so late it's 2am I hope I made sense

[calistademente]

INTO THE FOREST

2021.07.01 at 6:28a.m. Calista’s POV

Breath in, breath out. Breath in, breath out. I am not going to lie; I am nervously excited right now like a thrilling shiver is running down my spine. I am a few feet off the ground, following a tiny pixie down the forest. I swear, I would recommend flying to anyone who wants to visit the Wanderlust Forest. Everything is majestic in this point of view compared to hiking an hour ago.

He told me to walk ahead. He said he will be right with me as soon as he parks the car safely. I was expecting a six-footer big burly man to approach me, what I get was his six-inch tiny pixie form. His wings shimmering like dew drops on a spider web in the early dawn. It was nearing daybreak; I can see the first rays of sunlight peeking through the dense forest. I have been walking for a good 20 minutes before my pixie father caught up with me. You might think that I am a pixie myself but unfortunately (or fortunately, looking at it on the bright side) I am a human being. Let me break my origin story down for you.

My father here is a muse pixie. A muse pixie is a sub-species of pixies that is talented in all fields of art. In short, my dad loves to assist other people with their creative abilities. He worked for a solid two decades with the Brooklyn Museum as a curator, has a good eye on artistic individuals, and most of the time, he helps them overcome their creative block.

My late mother (bless her star) was the previous bloom pixie princess. Yes, my mother was part of the royal family of the pixies before she gave it all up to live with my father. But before she did, she developed her own kind through her strength and passion so basically, there are bloom pixies still around to do her work until a new royal is crowned. As a bloom pixie, my mother's touch alone can bring a wilting flower back to life. She was a renowned wedding florist all-over NYC. She was also the reason why baking cakes and pastries became my own personal passion.

My pixie parents met here in New Orleans upon my father's visit with The Queen, Her Majesty the Queen of the Pixies. That was when he met my mother and they fell in love. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as my father would like to insist) pixies are born from a true love’s first kiss but they cannot be conceived. So, when my pixie parents mated, they begot me, a human child. Thus, despite my pixie origins, your girl is just as human as everybody else. The only thing that is a little different with me is my amount of luck (which my parents call a blessing). Not that I am bragging but I must admit I always have beginner's luck in everything I do. I have a green thumb and an artistic eye; my parents can certify on that.

This was not my first flight with fairy dust. I had that an eon ago when I was six years old. My parents had sprinkled few handfuls of fairy dust on the top of my head, and I found myself lightly lifted off the ground in a featherlike pull. This was after my parents told me about them being pixies and the Wanderlust Forest and I insisted that I should fly too. What they did not tell me, until recently, is the dangers one is subjected to by simply being a pixie. It was the very reason why we lost my mother. The NYPD could not locate her whereabouts and she left no traces of herself. It broke my father to pieces to a point of becoming a shell of his past self. We would drove to Brooklyn Bridge Park, and he would just stare at the stars like a dazed madman. This went on for two years and it almost drove me insane too until one day dad had a eureka moment and screamed bloody murder in the middle of the park on the night of my graduation day (coincidentally, my birthday). At first, I felt so embarrassed the grass could eat me as their fertilizer but as I look up the night sky, a solitary tear came down my cheek as I remembered my mother's words, "When we die, we become stars. That way we'll always be with you." She told me this one night after I woke up from a nightmare when I was a child. I was so guilty that I had forgotten she told me that.

What felt like an eternity of a roller coaster ride finally came to an end as we approached an old oak tree that at first gave me the impression that it was dying. It turned out to be the most beautiful and largest tree I have ever seen. As I was flying to it, it felt like it was welcoming me with open arms. The restlessness inside me dissipated, I could only feel a sense of inner peace. It was the most indescribable feeling I have ever felt in my three and two decades of living. It felt like home. It felt like mom.

#introductory post

[aion-rsa]

2020: The Year That Changed How We Watch Movies

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Under normal circumstances, it’s easy to get lost in the grind of daily living, missing the forest for the trees. Under normal circumstances, one can be too busy to notice that history is occurring all around them. 2020 was not a normal year.

After nearly 12 months of pandemic and shutdown, social unrest and political upheaval, we are only beginning to understand the ramifications from the year that was. There hasn’t been one facet of our culture that wasn’t dramatically altered by the effects of COVID-19 and the world it wrought. And yes, that includes movies.

When the year began, moviegoers were still going to the last Star Wars movie in theaters to the tune of a billion dollars and looking forward to summer spectacle like Wonder Woman 1984. As 2020 ends, many of those same people are resigned to watch Wonder Woman on HBO Max. What occurred between marks a significant sea change for movies and the audiences who adore them. One that perhaps has changed this relationship forever. Here is a reminder of how.

When Movie Theaters Went Dark

March 17. That was the day movie theaters across the U.S., like European markets before them, began shutting their doors. Regal Cinemas, the second largest movie theater chain in the U.S., and which is owned by the world’s biggest, Cineworld, was the first to announce it would close all North American locations until further notice. Within 24 hours, AMC Theatres and most competitors joined them, with AMC having a particularly rosy outlook when it announced it would only be a 12-week “pause.”

With these events occurring nine months and a lifetime ago, it’s easy to forget how different the motion picture landscape was at the time. The New Year’s moviegoing season had only begun in earnest a few months earlier, with the surprise haul of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s Bad Boys for Life in January exceeding all expectations. It grossed $206 million in the U.S. alone.

Indeed, early months saw several blockbusters, as well as excellent smaller films, that are now ending up on end of year lists at an unusually high volume. Jason Blum’s horror factory of Blumhouse Productions released a Universal Monsters reboot that was better than likely anyone could anticipate in The Invisible Man, with Elisabeth Moss delivering a brutal performance that felt rooted in our post-#MeToo world.

Margot Robbie launched her passion project, Birds of Prey (and the rest of its title). And even with its R rating, the Harley Quinn film will ironically remain the highest grossing superhero movie of the year. And first-time director Autumn de Wilde and her star Anya Taylor-Joy found new, pastel-colored life in Jane Austen’s final novel, Emma, by pinpointing the humor and subversive brilliance of the author’s desire to “take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” It’s the best period adaptation of that tale to date. Meanwhile in the indie world, Kelly Reichardt delivered another critical darling with the A24 released First Cow.

Those are a few of the early critical successes at the cinemas in 2020—and they remain so, as they were also among the only line-up of movies to be in theaters before the full extent of the pandemic was realized. But even before the stampede to video on demand, there had been a steady drip of movies being delayed as the full danger of the coronavirus pandemic became apparent. First Eon Productions moved the next James Bond picture, No Time to Die, from its nearby April release date to November. Then Universal Pictures followed, delaying F9 a full year.

The drip, drip, drip of delays soon became a flood, with the real tipping point being Paramount Pictures delaying A Quiet Place Part II, indefinitely at first. This was one week from its premiere. In fact, the studio had already done press for the movie, with the film being the last I saw in theaters, as well as the last film I did in-person interviews for (and the first where it was made clear no one would shake hands and there was a bottle of Purell available on every surface). The film was supposed to open on March 18. Instead most movie theaters were closed en masse during that weekend.

VOD Experimentation… and Revolution?

The films already in theaters in mid-March, such as Pixar’s Onward or Warner Brothers’ The Way Back, became the earliest to break the theatrical window and immediately go to VOD. Universal Pictures cracked that glass first with The Invisible Man, Emma., and The Hunt, but that was nothing compared to what they announced next: Trolls World Tour would have an alleged day-and-date release in theaters and on Premium Video on Demand (PVOD). But as theaters were essentially closed, this meant Trolls was the first movie to dismiss its obligations to theatrical exhibitors.

It was not received well within the exhibition industry then, and was treated worse still after NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell boasted about the success of pushing the Trolls sequel essentially straight to VOD—where studios keep about 80 percent of grosses, as opposed to somewhere between 40 to 60 percent from a theatrical release. Shell told The Wall Street Journal, “As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies in both formats.”

The news was treated as a threat by AMC Theatres head Adam Aron, who said the largest theater chain in North America was effectively banning Universal Pictures releases in light of Shell’s comments, plus the still sour feelings about Universal putting Trolls 2 on PVOD without consultation with exhibition partners. This was the first public conflict between movie theater owners in dire need of new theatrical content as the pandemic wore on, and the theaters who were wary to provide it. It would not be the last.

Universal and AMC eventually patched things up, agreeing to create a historic model where Universal would keep new releases in AMC Theatres for 17 days (so about three weekend cycles), and then decide afterward whether it made better sense to leave new releases in theaters or to move them straight to PVOD, where AMC would earn an undisclosed portion of the revenue. Where this left AMC Theatres’ competitors is still an open question, but the compromise would look quaint with what was to come.

For while the Universal-AMC drama unfurled, more and more films, both studio efforts and independent releases, were jumping to PVOD or alternative forms of streaming. Universal tested the waters again with the Pete Davidson-led The King of Staten Island while Warner Bros. also gave PVOD a try with a major release via Scoob!

Read more

Movies

Hamilton: The Real History of the Burr-Hamilton Duel

By David Crow

Movies

What Hamilton Doesn’t Say About His Real History with Slavery

By David Crow

Perhaps most presciently though was Disney releasing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton movie straight to Disney+ for the Fourth of July. Technically an edited together version of several 2016 performances of the original Hamilton cast on Broadway, the “movie” was intended to be a special theatrical event released in theaters by Disney in October 2021. And the Mouse House paid a staggering $75 million for the distribution rights to the film.

With its early streaming release, Disney was now effectively using Hamilton as a loss leader for its fledgling streaming service in need of new content. It was a massive success for the Mouse, and Hamilton became one of the most talked about cultural cinematic events of the year, even if it was technically a piece of theater released to streaming. According to Variety and ScreenEngine/ASI, Hamilton was the most watched movie streaming event of the year.

As a harbinger of things to come, Disney continued to build its streaming service’s reputation, and the loyalty of its hastily growing subscriber base by releasing one of the most anticipated theatrical projects for next year.

As such, Disney (plus Miranda’s genius) dominated the cultural landscape in July with a reawakened interest in the legacy of a musical written in the Obama era about the Founding Fathers, but cast with diverse, multicultural talent. Premiering last summer when statues of Founding Fathers (among more deserving historic figures) were being torn down, Hamilton put Disney in the center of the “discourse” occurring in the zeitgeist. The company wouldn’t soon leave.

Tenet and Mulan: A Tale of Two Release Models

As a shutdown spring dragged into a grim summer, and U.S. Congressional leadership balked at the urgent need for a second round of stimulus in a desperate economy, questions began to arise about just how long movie theaters would be closed. In April alone, S&P downgraded AMC Theatres’ credit rating and suggested the theater chain was unlikely to survive if its doors remained shuttered past June.

While AMC and others did, in fact, struggle on, survival was not easy. As infection rates slowly descended in the summer, and more folks began dining inside and outside of restaurants, many in the exhibition industry took it as a sign moviegoers could also return to theaters with proper safety precautions. And at least one major filmmaker and studio agreed with them: Christopher Nolan at WB. The singular filmmaker behind The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception had a new sci-fi action movie epic slated for July 17, 2020, and while all of its competitors abandoned the summer, Tenet would not.

Viewing cinemas as “a vital part of our social life,” Nolan wagered audiences would return in smaller but steady numbers if studios would just give movie theaters content to release again. And after reluctantly agreeing with WB to delay Tenet several times, first a few weeks in July and then more weeks in August, he convinced WB to experiment with bringing movie theaters back: Tenet would open in European and Asian markets on Aug. 26, and then open in “select” U.S. cities on Sept. 3, ahead of the U.S. Labor Day weekend.

It was a monumental gamble intended to give refuge to movie theater owners, and the rest of the industry looked on. Even several other films kept adjusting their release dates around Tenet’s moves, from the B-thriller Unhinged with Russell Crowe, to Disney dumping The New Mutants into theaters a week before Tenet’s U.S. debut. Those movies floundered, but Tenet would be different, right?

Well one competitor who moved in unison with Tenet didn’t think so… Disney’s own controversial blockbuster, Mulan, was scheduled to open in theaters one week after Tenet in July—having moved off its original March 2020 release date due to the pandemic—and then was taken off the release calendar again following Tenet’s delay to August. Then Disney offered an alternative: they would release Mulan as a PVOD on Disney+ one day after Tenet’s U.S. opening.

That’s right, Disney was asking people already paying to subscribe to Disney+ to pay an added premium of $30 to access Mulan—about $10 more than all the other PVOD experiments by competitors earlier in the summer and spring. They also were offering a dueling vision for how to handle the pandemic on the same holiday weekend as Tenet.

It turned out to be a disappointing holiday, indeed. After the weekend was over, WB curtly announced the movie grossed $20 million during its opening weekend. However, that number turned out to include up to $10 million worth of preview screenings throughout the country from the previous weekend, as well as its earlier release in Canada.

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Movies

Tenet Ending Explained

By Chris Farnell

Movies

The Many Obstacles of Mulan

By Gene Ching

It was a meager debut for a movie that would go on to do okay business in Europe and Asia, but gross only an anemic $57.8 million in the U.S. Its failure was due in part to the United States’ biggest markets, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and more, remaining closed for its entire run. It also was a result of theaters’ health precautions only allowing most auditoriums to run at a third capacity or less.

More importantly, it was a result of audiences still by and large balking at going back to movie theaters in the midst of a pandemic. Shocking, eh? Even before Tenet’s second weekend, the rest of Hollywood was flinching, delaying its fall schedule into 2021. Black Widow moved again, as did Candyman, and No Time to Die… and WB delayed Wonder Woman 1984 for the second time, from October to Christmas Day.

Meanwhile as a benefit of relying on their own streaming service, Disney has not disclosed its grosses from Mulan’s “Premier Access” experiment. The movie seemed to have a muted reception, perhaps because of the film’s exclusionary price tag for many consumers, and perhaps because of the many problems dogging that production. But Disney was clearly happy enough with the result, as they’ve announced they’re trying Premier Access again next year with the rare thing: an original movie titled Raya and the Last Dragon.

The Awards Season Push

As 2020 concludes, it’s left what once was the height of awards season in a strange, muted place. As early as June, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences began facing the new reality by delaying next year’s ceremony from February to April 25, 2021. Additionally, instead of needing to open in 2020, films released as late as Feb. 28, 2021 are eligible for consideration in all categories.

Perhaps more significantly though, the Academy’s Board of Governors ruled films initially intended for theatrical release but released on VOD, streaming, or other means, including drive-ins, will now be eligible for consideration. Tellingly, this rule is intended to only pertain to 2020 (and early 2021), but it’ll be interesting to see if the Academy can put that genie back in its bottle. Firstly, because with a few notable exceptions, like Searchlight Pictures and Chloé Zhao’s beautiful Nomadland, many of the “big” studio awards contenders, like Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, have abandoned 2020. As a consequence, what’s left of 2020’s movie calendar was dominated, both in the public and critics’ imagination, by streaming services.

Indeed, Netflix has developed a murderer’s row of awards friendly contenders, including Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, David Fincher’s Mank, Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the latter of which features the final performance of Chadwick Boseman, which unto itself has generated awards chatter.

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Movies

Mank and Amanda Seyfried’s Quest to Save Marion Davies from Citizen Kane

By David Crow

Movies

Toronto International Film Festival 2020 Movie Round-Up

By David Crow

Amazon, meanwhile, is releasing Regina King’s stirring directorial debut, One Night in Miami, and previously dropped the underrated little character study, Uncle Frank. And even Amazon’s Borat 2 is an award contender for the supporting performance of Maria Bakalova. To put that into perspective for a moment, a sequel to one of the raunchiest comedies of the 2000s had its premiere on streaming… and is now an Oscar contender.

The times they are a-changin’.

The Next Wave of Movies

But even as the future of 2021’s film slate—much of it composed of movies originally intended for 2020—remains ambiguous, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel as the industry resumes production on films big and small.

Not surprisingly, it was a major studio tentpole, the type that underwrites the rest of a studio’s fiscal year, which was the first to go back to work. Universal Pictures led the way again with Jurassic World: Dominion, the third film in the Jurassic World trilogy, and sixth Jurassic Park movie. Universal is bringing back major cast members from the recent movies and the original, and as director Colin Trevorrow started filming again, the company released detailed safety guidelines for how to keep the cast and crew safe. They’ve since opened the production up to the gaze of the New York Times. “We are the guinea pigs,” star Bryce Dallas Howard told the paper of record.

They would not be the last. Ridley Scott resumed production on his medieval epic The Last Duel, with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Adam Driver; Guillermo del Toro finally got to finish his Nightmare Alley with Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett; and Robert Eggers traded in lighthouses for Vikings with The Northman. But it hasn’t been perfect.

Infamously, WB’s The Batman had to shut down production again (for the second time after a spring pause) when star Robert Pattinson tested positive for COVID-19. And Anthony Mackie got candid about filming during a pandemic with Entertainment Tonight.

Talking about the safety measures on the resumed production of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Mackie said, “Everybody’s very afraid of each other. The food is bad because they have to pack it up somewhere else and bring it to us in Ziploc bags. Yeah, it’s awful. You’re literally living in quarantine.”

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Movies

Jurassic World 3 Story Being Adapted to Reflect Post-2020 Landscape

By Kirsten Howard

Movies

The Batman: Robert Pattinson Returns to Set in New Images

By Kirsten Howard

But it’s keeping folks employed and the industry rearing up for a post-pandemic life. It’s maybe for that reason Tom Cruise made headlines when audio leaked of him chastising crew members on the currently filming Mission: Impossible 7.

“I’m on the phone with every fucking studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies.” The show must go on, even if it hardly sounds like an opening night gala….

Did HBO Max Change the Game or Forfeit It?

When Warner Bros. announced in November that Wonder Woman 1984 was going to premiere day-and-date in theaters and on HBO Max, everyone in the industry took a deep breath. Obviously, this wasn’t a unique development. Disney tested these waters with Hamilton and Mulan, and this month’s Soul on Disney+. The more the merrier, right?

… And yet, it was the first time a studio placed its biggest tentpole of the year on streaming. Universal might’ve been the first to break the theatrical window, but that studio likewise made sure to move F9 a full year to hopefully keep its theatrical window safe. Still, director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot accepted the Wonder Woman arrangement (as well as a rumored $10 million each, a consolation prize for losing gains from profit participation backend deals), and exhibitors were notified about WarnerMedia’s decision.

They were not on the next one. WarnerMedia’s bold choice to release WB’s entire film slate of 17 movies on HBO Max went off in the industry like an atom bomb. More troubling still, no one who worked on those movies, from talent to producing partners, were notified about a decision that could have unforeseen and extensive economic ramifications.

Nolan, the filmmaker who convinced WB to release Tenet in theaters, was shockingly blunt and uncharitable to the studio that was loyal to him for nearly 20 years. He called HBO Max “the worst streaming service,” which is flatly untrue to any cinephile who’s ever used it. However, the auteur made a better point about the hidden economic problems in the move.

In a more recent interview with NPR, Nolan better articulated, “The economics of it are unsound unless you’re purely looking at movements in share price, number of eyeballs on the new streaming service. Theatrical is really only one part of what we’re talking about here. You’re talking about home video window, your secondary, tertiary windows. These are things very important to the economics of the business and the people who work in the business.”

This is in line with what director Judd Apatow said separately to Variety, highlighting how the decision hurts people below the line, and just not stars and filmmakers with profit participation deals.

“It creates a financial nightmare, because most people are paid residuals – they’re paid back-end points,” Apatow said. “What they get out of it for years and years of hard work is usually based on the success of their films. And so now what does it mean to have a movie go straight to streaming? How do they decide what to pay you? Do you even have a contract that allows you to negotiate, or is it really just up to them at this point? It raises thousands of questions, which I’m sure are very complicated.”

It’s also why Denis Villeneuve, director of one of WB’s most anticipated new movies, Dune, penned a passionate essay in Variety, saying AT&T “hijacked” WB, and has no love for cinema or audiences. He outright states AT&T CEO John Stankey has led the horse (Dune) to “the slaughterhouse.”

Is that sound and fury against the inevitable changing realities of the industry, or justified anger at a panicked reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic—and more acutely HBO Max’s poor streaming launch?

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Movies

What Alejandro Jodorowsky Thinks of the New Dune Trailer

By Mike Cecchini and 1 other

Movies

How Patty Jenkins Steered the Wonder Woman 1984 Ship

By Delia Harrington and 1 other

It’s hard to say at the moment, but it’s clear that WB’s fire sale approach of all or nothing to subsidize HBO Max’s poor performance is burning bridges in the industry, with Wonder Woman director Jenkins moving to Disney for the next Star Wars movie, Rogue Squadron, while entertaining the idea in the press of starting a United Artists-like studio with other filmmakers who still believe in the theatrical experience. And most persuasively, Disney, the Big Five studio best positioned to go all-in on streaming, is leaving its biggest 2021 blockbuster, Black Widow, slated for theaters even as it moves smaller efforts to Disney+.

The future isn’t written, and while the theatrical window apparently has been shattered, it may not be beyond some state of repair, even if it never quite resembles what it once was. These will also be lingering questions that will hang over cinema as 2020’s cold grip is finally shaken off.

Will 2021 be that different, for motion pictures and the world at large, from the chaotic upheaval of 2020? Only time will tell, but it’s worth remembering that if 2020 changed the future of moviemaking, at least 2021 promises a chance to embrace that future by turning the page on all the anxiety and uncertainty that defined this year’s biggest changes to the cinema.

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