#xenon reacts

[xenonmoon]

Fisherman Khonshu is funny, just ignore the dialogue

They really swapped Marc and Jake's characterisations but not really since even if it was Marc saying Jake's dialogue they have history, he will most surely not just forget everything and exchange numbers like that

have some fucking respect for the source material

K-Man

I do prefer K-bird for him though

Oh no

ok ok I'll give him that, the rendition of someone zoning out was not that bad

#moon knight #moon knight comics #moon knight 2018 #bemis #burrows #ortego #xenon reacts #one of the few things I feel comfortable to post about this volume #q tag

[waiting-on-a-dream]

is my enthusiasm contagious, it could be a virus in disguise /j aurie's poor fingers thank you for typing that out teehee <3 i've actually had my eyes on iris and elliot for a while now 👁️ BECAUSE THEY ARE SO SIMILAR IT PAINS HIM??? elliot himself is a natural flirt and dramatist, but it is fairly obvious that iris does these better than him. and to that, he's... annoyed but also amused?? KFKEKWKDS perhaps it is the esfp and entp dynamic /lh

considering they're in the same class (3-E babies!), elliot internally prays to the sevens if they ever get paired for a project together. of course, he'd invite her out to an expensive restaurant to discuss the project but only because he wants the good credit quickly. that proves to be a terrible idea, however, because now iris is more occupied with the menu instead. let's focus at the task at hand... sigh, is she even listening?

(i'll send an interaction between estelle and wyn soon !! bundles of sunshine with fluffy hair <3 or noah and zoya because frustrated grumpy but soft pirate boy who can't climb trees + carefree and free spirited tree climber who will playfully throw branches or leaves at him HAHA)

what about you, aurie? is there any of my ocs (excluding the three without official profiles yet HDKWKR) that caught your eye? if not, that's alright too !! i just wanna know your thoughts >:D

- the one who rambled instead ehe, bree <3

Ehehe~ Iris and Elliot do make an interesting dynamic. However! He seems rather focused on work and being efficient, whereas Iris is known to be carefree and more interested in doing what's fun for her. There is also the fact that Iris would be wary of his loyalty to Idia, not because of his tendency to make people suspicious of him, but because it reminds her of Violet's loyalty to their mother. That is the only thing she doesn't like about Violet.

I think with time, they could be acquaintances. Despite their differences, they could have a nice conversation if they sat down to talk for a while. Iris would love to prank people with Elliot too!

I'm looking forward to those interactions! I'll have to read your oc profiles in order to get their dynamic with my ocs somewhat right, but it's worth it, I'm sure!

I actually read Noah's profile, and found him to be super cute!! I'm not sure how well he and Zoya would get along, but if Zoya wants to befriend someone, she will one way or another! As far as I know, their closest connection would be over their love for their mothers. They try to be good children, in their own way. Asjsjkssk this made me wonder how it would go if Zoya met Noah's mom and he met hers. Akaskamsk like two friends visiting each others' homes.

As for any oc dynamics I can think of... :D I think Violet and Faye would get along! They're both bluntly honest, responsible, and have a hidden caring side!

#aurora answers #...Now I've got the urge to give your ocs tarot nicknames #see how they react to Xenon #pshhh #that guy is a different class of his own

[queenlua]

do chemists ever, like. get extremely fixated on this One Weird Molecule That Will Go Great With EVERYTHING

& then they totter around their lab trying to figure out every possible weird way this molecule can react with other stuff

& eventually they run out of all the obvious candidates, so they start working themselves into a tizzy, b/c what the fuck do you MEAN xenon won't react with my cool molecule. fuck YOU noble gases. i'll show YOU who's boss

& then they waste SO much time and energy pioneering bizarre new techniques to make this reaction kinda sorta work, but in circumstances that ONLY exist in a lab but never ever in nature in a million years

...because i feel like this is my general approach to what is known as "shipping" in fandom circles

#me staring at a blorbo like If I Cannot Conceptualize A Way For You To Swap Spit #With Every Single Other Character In This Canon #then do i even really care

[element-tournament]

FINALS

CARBON:

Forms the basis of all life

What diamonds, coal, and pencil lead are made of

Used to make graphene, one of the strongest materials (one atom of thickness is 200x stronger than steel)

SILICON:

Not to be confused with Silicone

Could potentially be used to make life instead of carbon

Used in a lot of electronics, hence the name of silicon valley

ARGON:

Has a distinctive purple glow

used in neon signs

often mistaken as a pirate's favorite element

POTASSIUM:

Found in high quantity in bananas

burning it produces a light purple or red flame

the first metal to be discovered by electrolysis

STRONTIUM:

Used in cancer treatment

Used in toothpaste

The most accurate atomic clock (to one second in the 200 million years) uses strontium atoms

FLOURINE:

the most receptive and most electronegative of all the chemical elements

oxygen, helium, neon, and argon are the only elements fluorine can't react with

the only element that can react with noble gases, specifically xenon, krypton, and radon

BISMUTH:

the most diamagnetic metal (meaning it gets repelled by magnets instead of attracted)

Known for its unique shape and colorful style

PROMETHIUM:

the last lanthanoid to be discovered

PLUTONIUM:

Named after the dwarf planet Pluto

Was once thought to have been discovered by Enrico Fermi along with element 93, but he was actually mistaken. He named it Hesperium.

An unnaturally poor conductor of electricity

Used to make atomic bombs, even more powerful than uranium

Known by some as the "forbidden gummy"

COBALT:

Turns a vibrant blue when heated to extreme temperatures

Named after kobolds, who are "mythical, death-dealing goblins" (not the lizard kobold)

One of only three elements that are ferromagnetic at room temperature

#element #periodic table #periodic table of elements #poll #polls #tournament #elements #carbon #silicon #argon #potassium #strontium #flourine #bismuth #promethium #plutonium #cobalt

[mysticstronomy]

WHERE DID WATER COME FROM ON EARTH??

Blog#349

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

Welcome back,

The origin of Earth’s water is an open question and quite controversial. It really is part of a larger question about how Earth got its very volatile elements that include not just the hydrogen in water, but also carbon, nitrogen, and the noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon) amongst others. Ultimately, any complete explanation must be able to reproduce both the volatile element abundances and isotopic compositions.

It must also be compatible with what we know about how and on what timescales planetary systems form from the disk of gas and dust (protoplanetary disk) that surrounds a young star. In the case of the Solar System, the protoplanetary disk around the young Sun is generally referred to as the Solar Nebula.

Currently, the most favored explanation for where the Earth got its water is that it acquired it from water-rich objects (planetesimals) that made up a few percent of its building blocks. These water-rich planetesimals would have been either comets or asteroids. From what we know about comets, they are not a good match to either the volatile element abundances or isotopic compositions of the Earth. It may also have been difficult to deliver enough comets to the Earth.

At present, asteroids up to a few hundred kilometers across seem the most likely sources of most of Earth’s water, specifically the types of asteroid that dominate the outer asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. We have pieces of some of these asteroids in the form of two types of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites—the CMs and CIs. When they formed, these asteroids/meteorites contained water-ice, but radioactive heating and impacts caused the ice to melt and react with the anhydrous minerals to make clays.

The meteorites also contain quite a bit of organic matter that contains hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen —the hydrogen would have reacted to form water when the asteroids vaporized on impacting the early Earth. Noble gases even seem to be associated with the organics.

The CM chondrites, in particular, match many aspects of Earth’s highly volatile elemental and isotopic compositions, although small amounts of cometary and solar wind (or Solar Nebula) material produce an even better fit.

Nevertheless, disagreements between the meteorite-comet-solar and Earth compositions remain and there is much debate about whether these are due to some combination of (i) inaccuracies in the estimates of the Earth’s volatile contents, (ii) storage of hydrogen and other volatiles in the Earth’s core or deep mantle, and (iii) loss of volatiles to space in the giant impacts that dominated the final stage of Earth’s formation.

If CM- and/or CI-like chondrites were the main sources of Earth’s water, where did they come from? It looks like they are representatives of a swarm of planetesimals that formed in the colder regions of the Solar Nebula beyond the orbit of Jupiter where water-ice-rich dust was plentiful, and they were gravitationally scattered by a growing Jupiter into the regions where Earth and the asteroid belt formed.

Originally published on epl.carnegiescience.edu

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, November 18th, 2023)

"WHY ARE THINGS IN SPACE ROUND??"

#astronomy #outer space #alternate universe #astrophysics #universe #spacecraft #white universe #space #parallel universe #astrophotography #beautiful earth #earth science #solar energy #dark energy #earth #water #gravitational force #gravitational waves #gravity #cosmology #cosmos

[bettertwin9000]

There's Hydrogen and Helium

Then Lithium, Beryllium

Boron, Carbon everywhere

Nitrogen all through the air

With Oxygen so you can breathe

And Fluorine for your pretty teeth

Neon to light up the signs

Sodium for salty times

Silicon

(Phosphorus, then Sulfur) Chlorine and Argon

(Potassium) And Calcium so you'll grow strong

(Scandium) Titanium, Vanadium and Chromium and Manganese

This is the Periodic Table

Noble gas is stable

Halogens and Alkali react aggressively

Each period will see new outer shells

While electrons are added moving to the right

Iron is the 26th

Then Cobalt, Nickel coins you get

Copper, Zinc and Gallium

Germanium and Arsenic

Selenium and Bromine film

While Krypton helps light up your room

Rubidium and Strontium then Yttrium, Zirconium

Molybdenum, Technetium

(Ruthenium) Rhodium, Palladium

(Silver-war) Then Cadmium and Indium

(Tin-cans) Antimony then Tellurium and Iodine and Xenon

And then Caesium and

Barium is 56, and this is where the table splits

Where Lanthanides have just begun

Lanthanum, Cerium and Praseodymium

Neodymium's next to

Promethium, then 62's

Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium and Terbium

Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium

Ytterbium, Lutetium

Hafnium, Tantalum, Tungsten then we're on to

Rhenium, Osmium and Iridium

Platinum, Gold to make you rich till you grow old

Mercury to tell you when it's really cold

(Thallium) And lead then Bismuth for your tummy

(Polonium) Astatine would not be yummy

(Radon) Francium will last a little time

(Radium) then Actinides at 89

This is the Periodic Table

Noble gas is stable

Halogens and Alkali react aggressively

Each period will see new outer shells

While electrons are to the right

Actinium, Thorium, Protactinium

Uranium, Neptunium, Plutonium

Americium, Curium, Berkelium

Californium, Einsteinium, Fermium

Mendelevium, Nobelium, Lawrencium

Rutherfordium, Dubnium, Seaborgium

Bohrium, Hassium then Meitnerium

Darmstadtium, Roentgenium, Copernicium

Nihonium, Flerovium

Moscovium, Livermorium

Tennessine and Oganesson

And then we're done

Wonderful job

#rottmnt #rottmnt donnie #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise donnie #unpause rise of the tmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt leo #rise leo #disaster twins #save rise of the tmnt

[steves-strapcollection]

52. “What did you do this time?” eddie/jeff 💕💕💕

Thank you so so so much for the request!! This was fun to write.

Please enjoy this little... prequel-ish ficlet for pom!verse 😘 gonna tag @spoookysix @xenon-demon @scarcrossdlvrs and @stobinesque while i'm at it ;p

Jeff barely reacted when Eddie burst into his room and shut the door just barely soft enough to not count as a slam— he’d heard the whirlwind that was his best friend from the moment he pulled up, let alone his thundering footsteps up the stairs. He didn’t even look up from the magazine he was mostly pretending to read, even as Eddie talked a million miles per second about something.

Honestly, all he heard was something about Gareth being an asshole about something, and Jeff knew his input wasn’t needed for this particular story, so he returned his focus to the article he was reading.

Then Eddie flopped down on the bed next to him, crawling up the length of it and settling in against Jeff’s side. Something fluttered in his chest at the closeness, at the steady heat of Eddie’s body against his, but he squashed that all down.

The only way he would be able to stay sane as Eddie Munson’s best friend is if he didn’t also have a crush on him.

“Jeff, you gotta help me,” Eddie whined, pressing his face directly into the center of Jeff’s chest as he flopped over on top of him.

Rolling his eyes and hoping he didn’t feel as hot as his face felt, Jeff asked, “what did you do this time?”

“I just told you, man,” he complained, practically wailed.

“I’m gonna be honest here, Eddie, I kinda tuned you out the second you said ‘Gareth’ and ‘being a whole dick’ in the same sentence,” Jeff sighed, and Eddie’s head whipped up to level a wounded stare at him.

“He was being a whole dick!” Eddie insisted.

“Oh no! Here I go again, tuning you out!” Jeff said dramatically, as if he was being dragged away while he lifted his magazine to start reading again.

“Jeffothy, I’m gonna call Freak my best friend if you keep being so mean,” Eddie pouted, dropping his face back onto Jeff’s chest. “Seriously, I need your help.”

“With what?” Jeff asked with another eyeroll.

There was a long pause, and for a second Jeff thought that Eddie fell asleep on top of him. Then he sighed and mumbled something unintelligible.

“Eddie, you’ve gotta speak up and enunciate,” Jeff sighed, lifting a hand to play with the ends of Eddie’s curly, long hair.

“… I need your help finding Gareth’s drumsticks—”

“Eddie, tell me you didn’t steal Gareth’s sticks and lose them,” Jeff groaned, covering his face with both hands.

“I didn’t mean to fuckin’ lose them! I swear I put them down for like two seconds, and then they were gone!” Eddie insisted, lifting his head to pout prettily up at Jeff. Already, he felt any amount of resolve against helping Eddie melting away. He never could say no to those big brown eyes, even before he had a not-crush simmering under the surface. Then Eddie’s pout got bigger, his eyes practically tearing up as he said, “Pwease hewp me?”

Barking out a laugh, Jeff shoved Eddie away and off the bed. “God, you’re so annoying,” he said lightly as he got up, ignoring the way his stomach squirmed at Eddie’s grin up at him.

“You love me, and you know it,” Eddie said smugly, hopping to his feet and brushing off the imaginary dust on his pants.

“Yeah,” Jeff agreed, smiling a bit wistfully as he followed Eddie out of his bedroom. “Yeah, I do.”

Make Me Write! Accepting more prompts until Sept. 30 @ 11:59 PM MT

#jeff/eddie #jeff x eddie #make me write

[jpitha]

Just a Little Further 9

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Standing in front of the line of us waiting for the airlock to cycle, I don't think I've ever been this nervous! Even during my graduation, waiting to find out if I was selected for FarReach's mission, nothing was as nerve wracking as this. But, I had to be strong. I was going to represent humanity and K'laxikind here. I took a deep breath, held it for two, and let it out through my nose. Here we go.

The outer lock door cycled and the first thing that I noticed was the smell of the umbilical. It wasn't bad so much as it was unfamiliar. My nose was inundated with smells I've never smelled before. Starbases have a smell about them. They're self contained units where sometimes thousands of sapients will live work and play together, of course they're going to smell. Doesn't matter how fastidious you are about cleaning, something just permeates the walls. This was list that but...different. The smells of thousands of sapients I've never seen before.

The second thing I noticed was how warm it was! It was warm and moist like a hot summer day. We don't normally keep our Starbases this warm or moist. Moisture promotes corrosion and heat is cheap to make, but expensive to dissipate. It was odd.

I walked down the short umbilical until I reached the door to the Starbase. Like ours, it was an iris type door. Maybe that's universal. "FarReach, you're sure the gases on the other side are breathable?" I asked, one last time.

"Sensors indicate that they're pretty close to Earth and K'lax, Melody." FarReach said kindly. "The specific gas mixture is a little different. A touch more xenon than what we use, maybe just a bit less carbon dioxide. Oxy levels are fine though, you can breath it no worries."

"Okay then, here goes..." and I touched the pad by the iris.

With a whoosh, it snapped open. That's way faster than home, I was startled. I looked out, surprised and I saw them.

It was a group of 6 sapients in front, with a small crowd behind them. Three of them had iridescent feathers! They looked almost like gigantic birds! They had wings even! I wonder if they could fly. The other three were more like they were a sea creature long in their past. They had tentacles they stood on, and looked like they had no bones. If you squinted, maybe they looked like Octopuses, but they didn't really look like octopuses. Just the tentacles and the lack of bones and the large, wet eyes, though they weren't dripping or anything. They were standing apart though. With a large space between them. That's odd. I would have figured that they would be all together.

One of the bird looking ones took a step forward and said "Welcome! This is Reach to the Might of Vzzx. I am Starlight on a Moonless Evening, this is The Smell Of The Ocean and there is Rapid River Roaring."

They took a step back and then, one of the octopus people took a step forward. "Welcome from us as well! I am Vivvix, this is Zemmlin and over here is Ottarn."

Then, Vivvix took a step back and waited. This must be some kind of ritual. Mentally, I shrugged and took a step forward. I took a breath and said "Thank you for your warm welcome! My name is Melody Mullen, with me is my Captain Selem Q'ari, our linguist Fer’resi Perinem and one of our engineers, Omar Adel." At each mention of their names, everyone nodded or did something to indicate which person I was talking about. Fer'resi did a little wave even!

After I finished and the ritual seemed complete, I took a step back. Only then, did I notice how they reacted.

Maybe the nano bots programed me with some extra ability to tell facial expressions, but everyone seemed shocked.

Like, if they were humans, they'd be jaws on the floor shocked.

Uh oh. This keeps happening.

One of the bird people, The Smell of the Ocean I think, spoke. "S-So, you can understand us?" They asked haltingly.

I nodded, then realizing they might not know that gesture said "Yes, I can understand you..." Was I not supposed to be able to? "Can you understand me?"

The Smell of The Ocean's feathers ruffled. Maybe they were embarrassed? They were uncomfortable about something. "A bit, yes. But you are..." They stopped. Their head rotated slightly. Their eyes are more forward on their face than Earth birds so they must have binocular vision but for the life of me it looked like they were trying to get a look at me out of both eyes. Maybe an ancient instinct that has turned into body language. They took a deep breath and started again. "I am speaking my people's standard spacefaring tongue. You can understand me?"

"Yes" I said, puzzled.

They did their version of a nod. I wonder how I knew that? They spoke again "Now, I am speaking the language of the Northern Continent of my people's home planet. It hasn't been spoken outside of legal briefings for five thousand cycles. Today, it is more a ceremonial language than anything. Only people like me can understand it, and even then only haltingly. I was a student of it, and so can speak it fluently. There are fewer than one thousand of us." They stopped and stared at me. "Do you understand me?"

My eyes went wide. "Y-Yes, I understand you." I answered quietly.

With an expression that I could only describe as their version of raised eyebrows, Zemmlin looked at them, then at me, and spoke. "I see what they are doing, let me try. I am speaking my people's home planetary language. My... colleague The Smell of the Ocean here does not understand it. Do you?"

Horror dawned. "Y-Yes, I understand it." I whispered.

It was my turn to reply. "When you speak to me, and I reply, am I replying in your language, or the same language every time?"

Starlight on a Moonless Evening replied this time. "Every time you speak, you are replying in the Holy Tongue."

I blinked. The what?

"I'm sorry, the what?"

Starlight made a gesture that I knew was a shrug. I couldn't tell you how I knew though. "The Holy Tongue. The language of the Gods. The words of the Builders."

That last one struck a chord. "Do you mean the builders of the Warp Gates?"

Rapid River Roaring laughed. "Who else would we mean, Holy One?"

Ugh, and I thought being called Lieutenant was bad.

Vivvex came forward now and said "It seems we all have something to learn from each other. We would like to learn how you came to us though the Warp Gates which we thought were long deactivated and are speaking The Holy Words and you... probably have things to ask us too. Do you take food? Come. It's meal time for us. We can eat and speak afterwards."

"L-let me talk to my companions for a moment please."

Vivvex nodded and took a step back. I turned around can faced everyone. "Okay, how much of that did you get?" I asked.

Fer'resi was the first to reply. "Um Melody, how many languages do you know? I noticed they kept taking turns talking to you in clearly different languages and you replied every time."

"I think I know... all of them" I said awkwardly. "I know, it sounds crazy, but they said I'm speaking "The Holy Tongue."

"The what?" Omar asked, incredulous.

"I know, right? I think they mean the language of the builders of the Warp Gate. Oh! They also said they thought the Gate was disabled until we came through it."

"Disabled?" Captain Q'ari said, thinking. "Given what we saw at the previous address, I hope we didn't unlock the door for something to come through here."

I didn't even think of that. "Oh shoot. I hope you're right." I clicked my radio "Hey FarReach, Gene, please keep an extra sharp eye out for anything following us through the Warp Gate. The locals say they thought it was disabled until we came through it."

"You got it Melody." Gene replied. "How's the meet and greet going?"

"I don't know Gene. I think they think I'm a living God."

"In a good way, or a bad way?" Gene asked in that joking but not really tone that humans use sometimes.

"Too soon to tell." I said honestly. "We're about to go to lunch I think,"

"Ooh, tell me if you eat anything good, tell me and I'll try it when I get to go ashore."

"Will do Gene. You take care. FarReach, I admit this is a long shot but how's the language model coming?"

FarReach chuckled. "I was just chatting with Fer'resi. It's tough to build a language model when you can understand everyone but keep replying in one language. We're getting something though. Fer'resi thinks it might be enough to be understood. We're going to be replying in your language though. If they really think it's a Holy Tongue, they might be uncomfortable at that. They must have translators though, let's see if we can buy or borrow one. That'll help."

"Good Idea. They invited us to lunch or something, so I'll ask then."

I turned to Captain Q'ari. "They want to invite us to lunch. Do you want me to say yes?"

Selem's ears twitched in a way that signaled resignation and frustration. Hah. I think I can tell K'laxi expressions better with these nano machines helping too! "We should probably accept, yes." She turns and looks at us. "Did everyone bring their portable mass spectrometers?"

We all have a small mass-spec on our wrists. It can scan food and drink and make sure there aren't any obviously poisonous things or K'laxi allergens in it. It won't tell us if things taste good, but it'll tell us if we can eat them without going into anaphylactic shock or ruining our livers.

Nods of yes all around. "Go ahead and accept the invitation Melody." Huh. She didn't call me Lieutenant Mullen. Interesting.

I turn back around. "After a little deliberation with my team, we would be grateful to accept your invitation to dine together. Please lead the way."

Again, they are taken aback at my speech. I have a hunch that they're just not used to someone speaking to them in the language I'm speaking to them in. It's like a language they have only read or studied in school and here I was talking to them in it like it was normal.

At least they mostly understood me, and I can apparently understand them in any language they speak.

Starlight bowed low and spread their wings and said "Wonderful. Please follow me."

They lead us away from the dock and as we walked I looked around.

The Starbase was different than the Joint K'laxi/Human Starbase I lived on before embarking. It was more...organic? Maybe it was a function of the fact that I think it was built out of an asteroid, but it definitely felt more grown than built in places. There were curves and smooth walls and dark grey and browns. The lighting was more organic feeling than back home too. It was warm and bright and led an airiness to the Starbase that it would be lacking otherwise. We were pretty far from this system's star and we were not in orbit around a planet, so the cheeriness was appreciated.

And the people! All kinds of people. I saw more of the bird people, more of the octopus people and so many others. There were these large bipedal beings in very complicated looking pressure suits. Maybe they're from a world that uses a different breathing mixture than here. There were ones with long legs with knees that were almost parallel with their heads! They had large segmented eyes like an insect and it always felt like they were watching us as we walked by.

Come to think of it, everyone was watching us as we walked by.

They weren't too happy about it.

My newfound ability to know everyone's body language was ringing alarm bells. Everyone hated to see us. Especially the Bird and Octopus people.

We turned a corner and came upon what I figured was the main promenade.

I nearly lost my footing I was so startled. It was gigantic! Far larger and more dense than any city I ever visited on Meíhuā. I've never been to Earth, but I bet this was more crowded than some Earth cities! It was so tall too. More than 200 meters straight up if I had to guess. There were windows and lights and signs all the way up.

While we were walking Fer'resi was trying his best to speak with The Smell of The Ocean. I could understand both of them, so it was a little odd to hear.

"Um, what about this. Hello?"

"Oh, I got that one! Hello!"

"Amazing! Try this: My name is Fer'resi, what's yours?"

Ocean shook his feathers sadly "I didn't get that, friend."

Fer'resi made notes in his pad. This time, his translator spoke "Do you understand this?

Ocean rippled surprise. "I do understand it. But your accent is very thick. How did you do that?"

Fer'resi smiled. "Our Ship, FarReach helped. We're working together to build a language model. If you have a translator we can purchase or borrow, we can refine it further."

Ocean made an expression that I knew was a nod. "We do have them. I'll make sure you get one, yes. You can even keep it to help refine your language model, provided you provide us with an update so we can update our translators as well."

Fer'resi frowned and made more notes. "I got the majority of that, but I missed part of it. Oh well. We'll get more accurate with time."

I had a thought. "Hey Fer'resi. Speak to me in English."

"Um okay." He thought a moment. "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party."

"Coming to the aid of what party?" I asked, confused.

He chuckled. "It's apparently old filler text that people used to use on mechanical type writing machines. It's nonsense. But, you did understand it?"

"I did. It was easy."

"I have a feeling Melody, that you now can understand every language. I have no idea what those nano machines did, but they clearly edited the language processing part of your brain. I wonder what the limitations of it are. We should experiment later."

"Sure Fer'resi, we can do that."

Vivvix turned back to me "Holy One, why are you armed?" We notice the weapons on your back."

ughhh, I hate that. "Please don't call me Holy One, my name is Melody. I'm armed because we weren't sure what to expect and we wanted to come prepared. I'm the only one armed because I'm the best shot here, and we didn't want to come across as warlike with us all being armed. It was a compromise."

Vivvix's skin subtly changed color, a nod. Neat! "I see, thank you... Melody. Will you be armed in future visits?"

I shrugged. "I don't know yet." I said carefully. If everyone is... not a threat then... I don't see a reason to come armed next time."

Vivvix gave their version of a smile, but I was able to tell it was fake. "That's very nice to hear. Thank you"

Now that sounded menacing. I think I'm going to continue coming to this Starbase armed.

Rapid River Roaring led us towards a large stone looking building near the center of the promenade. It was either very old or meant to look very old. In front were a fountain and a statue of a being in a pressure suit looking out onto the promenade making a grand gesture. The fountain and the statue were carved in the same stone of the Starbase. "Here we are. It's the administration offices for Reach of the Might of Vzzx. There is a cantina here that offers many different kinds of food. I'm sure we can find something pleasing for you to consume here."

As they approached the building Captain Q'ari stopped dead. She was staring at the statue and was clearly frightened, almost shaking. Fer'resi, noticing her, followed her gaze and also immediately was frightened. "M-Melody." Fer'resi said, his voice catching. "Look at the statue."

I turned at looked at it and gasped. Omar noticed us, followed our gaze and softly said "holy shit."

It was a human woman.

Part 10

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #humans go on adventure #humans are space oddities #sci fi writing #writing #humans and ai #humans and aliens #the k'laxiverse #jpitha #just a little further

[steelcladbutterfly]

Yandere Fairy: Xenon

So, this is totally separate from the halloween story for fairy. I enjoyed doing this one even if it seems a bit odd at points. There is something of a warning for this one. The yandere was involved with reader’s mother before she died, and sees them in the same light. They aren’t related or anything, but I figured I’d mention this just in case it grosses anyone out.

Character Sheet

In European folklore, it’s a legendary creature or mythical being, that is often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. Basically every culture has their own version, but the similarities are usually magic and some sort of extended lifespan. The seelie and unseelie courts are found specifically in the Scottish mythos and the Dullahan specifically in Irish mythology for example. The fairies were often fickle as well, with their own sets of personal rules.

Personal head canon in the story about fairies, not sure if it’s a thing, so I’m calling it a head cannon: The bigger a fairy is, the more power they have. So, if they’re closer to an average adult’s size, they have a lot more power than one the size of your hand. 

Fairy’s name is Xenon. 

Life had always had its ups and many downs for you. Being cursed with exceedingly bad luck didn’t exactly tip the scales in your favor after all. Whether it be forgetting the task you had to do, tripping multiple times a day, getting lost in the forest, slammed into by runaway livestock, or any other number of things that could go wrong, you had to put up with it. Of course, over the near constant times you tripped and fell and got lost and generally made a fool out of yourself in the forest, many of the magical creatures living there had come out and started interacting with you.

Of course, the idea that your curse could somehow spread, like it was contagious, is part of what prompted you to stay in the forest. Only so many dirty looks someone could take from neighbors and townspeople.

In fact, you considered many of the beings in the forest to be closer friends than anyone you knew in town. They cheered you up after an awful break up, they helped you find your way out of the forest after you fell down a small cliff and broke a leg, and even helped you with gathering herbs, spices, and vegetables during your treks into the woods for the semi-easily found supplies.

You suspected they had started out wanting to keep you from harm to weaken your guard, and assumed you were a bit daft and would eventually fall for their trick. It was somewhat hurtful, but over time they proved you wrong, showing they did care for you, even if it was in their own unique way. There were plenty of nymphs of course, water and nature spirits alike, several satyrs, there was the grumpy old dragon in one of the caves with multicolored crystals embedded in the walls, floors, and ceilings, and even the occasional will o’ the wisp. Fairies were occasional, they liked messing around in and with your hair and loved the way you would react to the problems that had plagued you so often. However, they were also the ones guiding you, sometimes frantically out of the forest. 

You assumed there was something in there they knew of that didn’t like you or maybe just humans in general. That was fine, as long as it didn’t try to attack you. Of course, with your luck, it seemed all but inevitable that everything would hurt you at some point.

~~~~~ 

Laughter resonated through the trees, as the multicolored leaves crunched underfoot as the forms of human and fae leapt by. You had been collecting wild vegetables and herbs for your father before Selena had appeared before you. You remained as resolute as you could but eventually her hovering form and teasing comments cajoled you into joining her for a trek that devolved into a race. 

“Oh come now,” Selena called teasingly over her shoulder, “Isn’t this just a pleasant stroll? How are you falling so far behind?” 

You grumbled, but smirked and leapt lithely to reach the front. “I don’t know, why are you falling behind? I mean this pace is slow enough for me to catch up, so why can’t you?” 

You laughed as Selena gasped in mock affront, but looking over your shoulder to talk to her was of course a bad idea as your gaze went from her face, to the trees towering above, to the ground, and back to her face again as your foot caught on a tree root and you tumbled end over end until you came to a rest face down on the forest floor. 

Selena hurried over, her footsteps light as she called out to you, turning you over with a strength that was belied by her small build. She only reached your waist, but she was the tallest fairy you had come across during your time exploring the forest, so you knew she was stronger than she appeared to be to humans. It also helped that she had taken a liking to you after hearing of your plight, helping you out whenever possible, but it was disappointing and terrifying when she had proclaimed the curse came from a being much stronger than her. 

You groaned softly as she suddenly jostled you, bringing startling attention to the throbbing of your nose. Trying to move it brought a dull pain and sniffing was painful but not overly so, bringing you to the conclusion that it was just heavily bruised, not broken. An odd twist of luck for you, as there wasn’t even a twisted ankle from catching on that tree root. A sudden tightening on your shoulders brought your attention back to Selena, who was staring intently into the forest with an odd look on her face, one you had never seen on her before. Fear. 

You furrowed your brows, about to ask her about it, but this brought your attention to a rapidly developing headache and you groaned, bringing her attention mostly back onto you. She continued to be wary as she helped you up. 

“Are you all right? You should probably head home to get that checked, don’t worry about your bag, I can bring it to you later, just please head home.” 

You grunted, barely able to get a word in edgewise as she hurriedly guided you in the right direction before heading off at a rapid pace in nearly the exact opposite direction. You shrugged, assuming something was up, but doubting there was much you could do so you started the trek back home. 

~~~~~ 

Meanwhile, Selena came to a stop, clutching the bag she had made a brief detour for, just shy of entering a sun drenched glen, hesitating just at the cusp of leaving the shadows provided by the trees. 

“So, how have things been? I’m sure there’s a reason behind the human and the lack of acknowledgement from her?” 

Selena shrieked and fell into the glen before meeting the bright green eyes of the fairy towering over her at nearly three times her size. A pleasant smile was firmly affixed on his face, but the curiosity and anger were readily apparent in the bright eyes pinning her to the spot. 

“Ah, Xenon. Please forgive the human, she was never told of your presence.” 

A warning pulse of his magic encircled her, causing her to flinch and freeze as his eyes narrowed and grew brighter. 

“And what reason could you possibly have for that? You all rely on me to keep the woods safe and a refusal to allow that acknowledgment to spread to the humans is starting to get on my nerves!” Xenon’s voice grew louder and his eyes brighter before he was visibly holding back from harming the cowering fairy before him as he finally asked once more through gritted teeth, “What. Possible. Reason?” 

Selena slowly stopped shaking as it became apparent he wasn’t going to hurt her, and gave him the answer. 

“Well, we all remember what happened last time. And you still seem to be affected by it. And I personally felt the human may remind you of her.”

She drew breath to continue, but his hand raised and so silence remained. Conflicting emotions ran through him, grief present heavily, before being closely followed by anger and hatred, before falling into a weary sort of sorrow. Xenon sighed heavily his eyes having dimmed slightly, before his gaze snapped back to Selena and his eyes narrowed and resumed their glow. 

“One moment. Tell me, what could possibly make you think she would remind me of that wretch?” 

He leaned closer and the proximity made a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck. “She seems to have a similar curse! I’m sorry but I should go now, have to return this bag after all!” 

She attempted to fly away, to get away from the pressure of the bright gaze, but was stopped abruptly by a tug on her leg. A shriek escaped her lips as she hung upside down, the fabric of her pants being rubbed against her leg unpleasantly where Xenon held her up effortlessly with a single hand, the other having snatched the bag by its strap and dangled it close by so he could study it further, reading the name carefully stitched into the flap. He let out a hum, barely acknowledging the desperation in Selena’s struggles to get away before a smirk broke out on his face and he grinned down at her wolfishly. 

“Well, this (Y/n) has definitely caught my attention. I do believe I shall pay her a visit, after all the poor thing needs this back does she not?” 

Selena was dropped abruptly and as Xenon began to lift off the ground, she called after him, desperate to keep the human away from the dangerous fae she had inadvertently caught the attentions of. 

“How do you expect to find her! You have no idea where she even lives! And why dredge up old memories, she’ll likely have no answers for what happened to Mar——!” 

The name, once so familiar and revered, now only full of anger and bitterness to the large fairy stopped him from flying further away as he leveled a glare directly at Selena, stopping her breath for a moment as she was seized with a primal fear.

“Never say that name again. You don’t deserve to say it. If I want to know what happened to her, I will. But whether or not this (Y/n) can provide me with such answers, what does it matter to you? Besides, this is her bag. It’s easy to make a tracking spell. Now I’d suggest you stay out of my sight for a long time Selena. Lest I decide you have no more use.” 

With that, Xenon flew away, leaving a shaking and petrified Selena in his wake. 

~~~~~ 

When you arrived home, covered in dirt with a bruised nose and no bag, your father, rightfully, freaked out. After losing your mother a few years after you were born, and finding out about the curse affecting you, he became exceedingly protective. In fact, the only reason he let you traverse the woods was for the sole reason if you got hurt there it was just the curse you had to face. Entering town was always hard as there was the added vitriol of the townspeople who despised that which you couldn’t control. 

You pouted, having been relegated to scrubbing the cups and plates, as your father would say, “Wooden AND not sharp, it’s the perfect chore for you, (Y/n)!” 

It didn’t mean you had to like it though, so, pouting, you continued your chore. Every time you came home injured, he would freak out and send you to do some careful, mostly non-injurious job so he could assure himself you wouldn’t end up like your mother, fondly remembered by your father as Ash, because she had the ability to quickly quell any argument, smothering it like one would a fire, leaving only cool ash in it’s wake. Having died before you could remember anything important, you were left with faint memories of warm eyes and a lullaby when she would put you down to sleep. 

You blinked, having been pulled from your thoughts as you noticed the water having cleared of soap suds, which was strange as you had started only five minutes prior. You tilted your head, reaching for the soap, but flailed and ended up slipping on a mixture of water and soap below your feet as your father's angered shout resounded through the house. 

You ignored the way the fall knocked your breath out of your lungs as you got up as fast as possible and attempted to race to the door, slamming into doorways and cabinets as you went. Huffing upon arrival, you took in the scene just beyond the doorstep of the house; your father, angry and heaving and the tallest fairy you had ever seen, looking mildly confused and irritated at the angered form of your father. 

His green eyes slid carelessly from the angered man facing him down to your form as you emerged cautiously. The eyes appeared to light up as he took you in before sauntering up to you, still ignoring your father, who was stopped from approaching with a wave of the fairy’s hand. Your brows furrowed as the aura the fairy exuded seemed familiar, but he began speaking before you could finish chasing down that familiarity. 

“You know, living in a house so close to the woods and so far from the rest of the humans seems foolish. What if some monster from the forest decided to take notice, hm?” his question seemed ironic, but he continued before you could answer, “Anyways, you left your bag in the woods. Also, what’s with the anger from that guy? I don't believe I’ve ever met him, but then again, I came for you, not him.” 

He bowed slightly, seeming intent on something more when his hand lingered on yours when he foisted the bag off to you. A cautious silence filled the air as he leaned ever closer, eyes brightening and dimming as he appeared to be deep in thought as he took in your visage. However, before anything more could progress, the silence was broken as the fairy was abruptly pushed away as your father, having finally broken through whatever the fae had put up, stood protectively in front of you, leaving you to look curiously over and around his muscled bulk at the interaction that took place. 

“Leave, Xenon. You stay away from my daughter and never come back here or else you’ll have to face me this time.” 

A brow was raised as the newly dubbed Xenon smirked and fluttered slightly off the ground. 

“And why should I? How do you even know who I am? And if you do, surely you know your threat is nothing to me. Ah yes, (Y/n), you intrigue me. I’ll come visit you sometime.” 

With that, he flew off laughing, leaving behind the outrage your father threw after him. Leaving you slightly curious and wary, clutching the bag you had expected Selena to drop off. You didn’t have long to dwell on your thoughts as you would quickly herded inside the house. 

“What was that about? Who was that? And how do you know him, dad?” 

Your questions were answered vaguely as he guided you further up the stairs and closer to your room. 

“Someone you don’t want to get to know. And I only know of him, I’ve never actually met him before now. But I know exactly what sort of things he can do. Now, stay in here, if he comes back, you are not to let him in or interact with him. Of course this had to happen during the busiest time of the year. That festival always needs a new stage and new booths every single year and they foist the management position off on me every time,” he casually blocked your attempts at more questions by walking away, “I’m serious (Y/n)! Stay here!” 

You pouted and crossed your arms, unsatisfied with his answers, but already complying as he gathered his tools and set out for town. Despite your curse and his protective instincts, you knew he would only order you explicitly if it was truly something dangerous. So, you settled down, content to wait for him to come home so you could needle him for more specifics. 

However, Xenon was not as content to simply wait it out, as you would soon learn, brashness and little, if any, foresight guided many of his actions and led to him developing such a fearsome reputation when paired with his overwhelming powers. 

~~~~~ 

You grew bored quickly of just waiting in your room, so you went to get a snack. After somehow giving yourself a cut from grabbing a bowl to put an assortment of berries in and then banging your knee going up the stairs, you opened your door to reveal Xenon lounging on your bed, examining the journal you put under your mattress, with the window wide open. 

Unsure how to react, you stood there for several moments, wondering if you should just close the door and go back downstairs when he finally deigned to take notice of you. 

“You’ve been exploring these woods for a long time. I have so many punishments to dole out for hiding you while you were in there. I mean, you documented every creature you met and when! It doesn’t get much easier than that.” 

He sat up, snapping the journal closed and tucking it away. Standing up, he sauntered over to you, glancing over you curiously as you continued to stand there, still unsure on what to do next. 

“You still haven’t said a word. What, is there some secret to unlocking your voice box or something?” 

The teasing was certainly not what you were expecting from someone who could get such out of the place reactions from both Selena and your father, so your defenses lowered slightly, allowing you to finally speak. 

“Well, if there is I guess you found it?” you chuckled slightly, still nervous and shifting in place as he began to circle you, “What are you even doing in here?” 

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to see you! I thought I told you I’d visit sometime.” 

“Yeah, you did, but sometime usually implies more than a few minutes after that promise.” 

“Really? You humans are fascinating with your time constructs and how long they are. I honestly have no idea how you function like that.” 

“Well, I suppose you’d have to grow up with it. Otherwise I guess it would seem rather strange and bizarre.” 

He tilted his head when you agreed, continuing to stare as you laughed, but as the silence continued on his side, it petered off to an awkward hum. Finally, he blinked, shaking his head and smiling. 

“You are intriguing. I honestly would have expected you to be bitter about magic and creatures with customs and styles different from your own. After all, most other humans are the same. I would have thought you’d have been doubly so considering the curse Selena told me you have. But you’re not. Strange. I want to know more the farther I look into you.” 

He was in front of you, nearly chest to chest as he proclaimed this, eyes unwavering in their hold on your own orbs. This left you to break it, backing up a few steps and rubbing the back of your head sheepishly as you replied. 

“Well, the curse tends to cause collateral damage from time to time. So, no one in town really likes me because of it. No one in the woods really cares though, so I like being there. And I don’t even know who gave me the curse, as far as I can tell, I’ve had it since I was born. Apparently it was part of what killed my mother, which didn’t really help public opinion either,” you hummed, looking out the window before your eyes slid back to the face of Xenon, “To be honest, I try not to let it affect me, even if my personal experiences have shaped how I interact with the world. Everyone has different experiences and feelings and families. I’m sure there’s tons of beings out there like me.” 

You trailed off as an odd look crossed his face, but before you could decipher it, a smirk replaced it as his eyes shone a little brighter. 

“You are definitely worth knowing. How about I show you the forest the others haven’t shown you?” 

He leapt up to the windowsill and held out his hand, beckoning you to take it, but you hesitated, not wanting to ignore the warnings your father gave you. Xenon noticed the hesitation, his eyebrow raising with a silent question. One you could answer. 

“I’m not so sure. My father warned me of you. Said you aren’t someone to get to know.” 

He scoffed at that, stepping down to you. 

“Oh come on! What have I done to possibly make you think I’m bad?” 

“Well... You did break into my room and read my journal.” 

His shoulders slumped slightly, bringing an involuntary giggle to your lips at the slight pout he displayed. 

“I meant more along the lines of I haven’t hurt you or anything. ‘Sides, you didn’t even lock the window. Now that’s just asking for someone to break in. Just be glad it was me and not some ordinary robber.” 

You smiled slightly, teasingly adding on, “Oh, so are you a special robber then?” 

“Yes!” Xenon exclaimed confidently before he realized what you actually said, “Wait a minute.” 

That actually got a full laugh out of you as he floundered over his words. Your defenses had been suitably lowered, being friends with the creatures of the forest most of your life giving you the confidence to place your trust in him. 

“Alright, fine. Show me the woods I haven’t explored yet. But I have to be back before nightfall. I’m giving you my trust for now, so try not to lose it.” 

He bowed, making a grandiose display as he did so, bringing to your lips a few more chuckles. 

“Of course. I would hate to leave the lady wanted at home. You shall be back before nightfall.” 

He stood up, once more leaping onto the windowsill and holding out his hand. This time, you took it, allowing him to lift you up, wrapping an arm firmly around your waist as he took to the air, off to the depths of the wood. 

~~~~~ 

The sea of trees below you was unlike anything you had seen before. It looked more mysterious from above, with all the wonders hidden away beneath the covering of branches and leaves, giving only brief glimpses of clearings as you raced over the forest. You laughed, wind whipping your hair around your face as you took it all in with wide eyes. Xenon seemed amused by your reactions, teasing you even as he flew steadily deeper and deeper into the forest. 

“You’ll probably hurt yourself if your eyes open any wider. I mean it’s just trees, not really anything new.” 

“Ah, you’re no fun!” you exclaimed, “You have wings, so you can see this any time you like! I don’t, so of course this is fun for me.” 

He let out a laugh at your reply, jostling you as his grip slipped slightly in his mirth. However, he was swift to adjust his hold on you when you began to slip. 

“With this reaction to the tops of trees, I look forward to what you’ll do when we actually reach something new.” 

He continued to fly for several more minutes, continuing to banter even as he slowly slipped under the tree line, floating closer and closer to the forest floor. You were so distracted with trying to find a comeback to his latest jab that he managed to land and guide you to your destination without you noticing. At least, you didn’t notice until he finally pulled aside a curtain of vines with a flourish, revealing a cave with high swooping ceilings, plenty of natural light, and an elaborate mess of quilts and jewelry covering a statue worn down to a vague outline from years of wear and tear. 

It was unlike anything you had ever seen before and you were spellbound, taking in all the details you could make out as the light behind you cut off abruptly as Xenon swept in behind you. You were left with beams of light filtering in from the cracks in the sides of the rock face, giving the space an even more mystical vibe as dust and dirt swirled around, lighting up like motes of sun in the beams of light. 

“Pretty cool right? Certainly not anything you’ve seen before?” 

The sudden question startled you from your reverie, bringing you back to the present. You yelped as Xenon suddenly leaned in close, cocking his head to the side with a smirk present from your amusing reaction. But as you still hadn’t answered, he saw fit to ask once more.

“Well? What do you think?” 

“It’s pretty cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this before. What even is it?” 

You hefted yourself up to the statue’s base, ignoring the sharp rocks that dug into your skin in favor of straining to glimpse at the few faint carvings that managed to survive the years. 

“Eh, pretty sure it’s some sort of artifact to a god or something, maybe even the previous ruler of this forest. Might have been part of a temple,” Xenon flew to the top, landing on one of the massive horns protruding from the sides of the head, “But its been long abandoned. I mostly use it as a place to rest and to store all my trinkets. Not much use otherwise.” 

He shrugged, leaning against the head, and watching as you continued to circle the statue, his eyes narrowing imperceptibly as you stumbled over mostly smooth ground. You took little notice, too wrapped up in your thoughts to pay attention to your companion’s actions at the moment. Eventually, your attention trailed off to the walls, noticing strange etchings not in line with the carvings present on the statue. Xenon took notice, tilting his head to continue to keep an eye on you without moving from his perch as you trailed in a slow and shaky circle around the circumference of the cave. Soon, your attention was drawn to another opening, large enough to walk through unimpeded, but leading further into the shadows behind the statue. You weren’t sure what to do next, so you glanced at Xenon for instructions. 

He let out a huff, a smile growing on his lips at the lost look on your face before he leaped down gracefully, landing close to your form. 

“Such curiosity. And yet you’re cautious enough to not go charging in head first. Interesting.” 

Xenon led the way, wings taking on a faint light as the sunlight faded behind you the further into the cave you went. Of course, this in turn meant almost zero visibility for you, leaving you completely at the nonexistent mercy of your curse. After the third time you fell, Xenon finally let out a huff, taking your hand to guide you. 

“You really are helpless on rocky terrain like this. Who even cursed you anyways? And, for that matter, why were you cursed?” 

Unfortunately, the answers you could provide failed to satisfy him. 

“I already told you. I have no idea. I mean I’m pretty sure I was a baby when it happened. Because I can’t remember ever being cursed. You’d have to ask my father for specifics, but I doubt he’d give them to you.” 

He grumbled, pulling you a little faster, causing you to stumble to try to keep up. It seemed to be getting a little brighter, and you soon noticed clumps of luminescent moss appearing in greater bunches along the walls, casting a soft, yet eerie glow the further down the path sloped. Your musings were once again interrupted when Xenon spoke once more, his voice echoing strangely off the walls. 

“And your mother’s dead.” 

“Yes, from my curse.” 

“...What was her name?” 

“Well, my father always called her Ash.” 

“Hmm.” 

He seemed disappointed by the answer. But before you could dwell on it too long, the walls suddenly opened up, leading into a cavern many times larger than the one above. Moss covered nearly every inch of the place, leaving only a pool of water, still and inky black despite the bright moss, to stand out in the carpet of surprisingly soft bioluminescent plants. You could glimpse more intricate carvings similar to both the statue and the walls from the cave above present through the moss. On the floor, the walls, even the roof of the cave. You walked farther in, nearing the center as you turned around and around. 

Once again, the spell was broken by Xenon, this time with a shout and a harsh tug of your arm just before your foot could brush the black waters of the pool. You huffed, about to shout back, but stopped when you noticed numerous ripples subsiding in the water, and something resembling sharp and jagged teeth flashed in the light of the moss for a moment. You shivered. 

“I tried to tell you not to get near there, but you didn’t seem to hear me. You really don’t want to know what’s down there. Trust me.” 

Xenon pulled you up and away from the pool, guiding you back to the tunnel. 

“Maybe that’s enough for here. We still have a few hours before sundown, so how’s about I walk you back?” 

Slowly pulling your eyes away from the pool, you allowed him to tug you along, nodding in agreement when he looked back at you, words failing to come out.

~~~~~

You remained uneasy and silent for several minutes more, lingering on the unnatural shape present in those waters. But, the farther you got, the more Xenon aided you in distractions with new sights and sounds on a trailing path home. Slowly, you felt more at ease, smiling and laughing at the stories he told you of the unique areas you went by. 

A dead silent glen filled with rainbow flowers were from a dare he was given when drunk. It was to make the most beautiful flower out of an item suggested by the rest of the drunk and rowdy crowd. So, he took the dare and made a rainbow flower out of a strong sleep potion.

“Yeah, that thing knocks you out cold the minute you take a whiff. That party was knocked dead silent after I caused this whole field of them to bloom. Honestly, they’d have been gone by now, but every time someone tries to, they end up being found unconscious, taking a literal dirt nap!”

You had leaned down to smell one when he stated the facts. He didn’t stop laughing at your loud yelp and desperate scramble backwards for five minutes. Then, he finally satiated your curiosity on the next unique sight that came across your line of sight. Floating around a giant tree, the roots dangling in the air in a bubble of water several meters above your head, was a school of fish. They looked like any river fish with the sole exception they were swimming through air, rather than water. Xenon was more than happy to answer. 

“That used to be in the ground. But, it just so happened the time a raging storm came through, it left a small pond in the roots of the tree. Not lying! That freak storm several years ago, I’m sure you know it?” You did of course. It destroyed several properties in town and even though you wren’t anywhere near it, you were pretty sure it was still blamed on you. “Well, that sucks. People really have to stop playing scapegoat. It’s never fun. Anyways, over here, it managed to gouge out a perfect center, leaving the roots in tact. So, when I checked it out, I found it filled with these fish, just swimming around like nothing else. It was crazy! Eventually, this thing started floating higher and higher, until a bunch of satyrs freaked out the day the fish started flying. Pretty sure it’s something about the water. But, hell, maybe it is the fish!” 

Continuing on, you lost track of time as you continued to stroll through the forest, taking in both familiar and strange new sights along the way. You mentioned a few of your own experiences; such as a large hunk of crystal, held aloft by strings of multicolored thread. Xenon admitted he had no idea on that one, so you finally had the chance to give your own story. 

“The old dragon,” close by was the cave, filled with crystals, that housed the dragon, “he felt the woods around his dwelling could be spruced up a bit. So, rather than just ask a few nymphs for help or something, he decided he’d rip the largest chunk of crystal he could out of the wall and string it up outside. So, when that inevitably failed, he got some help. I’ll be honest, it was an interesting idea, so I bought a ton of thread and knitted together several hundred yards of a multicolored string, mostly so I could see where he was going with this. Next thing I knew, he had gotten a few fairies to strengthen it and then just looped the string around that crystal and strung it up. Like some crazy demented ornament!” 

It seemed to amuse Xenon, enough so that by the time he calmed down, you had already reached the edge of the woods around your house. 

“Oh man, you really are interesting. I was not expecting that was how that got up there, but I was not disappointed!”

You laughed, trotting away from him towards your house, pausing at the porch steps to wave goodbye. 

“I had fun! I wouldn’t mind doing this again sometime!” 

With that, you bounded up the stairs, pausing only when you tripped to pick yourself up again. Xenon watched you go, the faint smile on his face fading to a scowl when the door closed. He turned, giving a harsh glare to the foliage until the cautious forms of several fairies crept out. Firmly entrenched now in his position of leadership, he allowed himself the pleasure of finally cracking down on the gang of creatures that had been following him and his companion around since they had taken to exploring outside the cave’s boundaries. 

“I don’t take kindly to the fact you all felt you could do this without any recompense. Now unless you really want me to do something, I’d suggest you don’t ever try to get involved in my affairs again. I have no cares for your own personal feelings in the matter. You stay away from the human or I’ll make sure of it.” 

He growled, narrowing his eyes as they shrank in to themselves, gave their word, and fluttered off. Xenon only continued when all but one had left. 

“At least you know what’s coming, huh, Selena?” 

Selena swallowed, nodding as she readied herself for whatever was to come next. 

~~~~~

The woods were quiet as Selena followed Xenon, many having retreated farther into the woods, back to their dwellings for the night, leaving few, if any, to witness what happened next. Stopping just shy of entering a familiar, if now moonlit, glen, Xenon stood still, quiet and solid for several long moments. When Selena finally grew restless, shuffling in place, and uneasy, he finally spoke, with a self-satisfied smirk firmly in place.

“You should really be glad I’m in a good mood. I don’t feel like doling out any punishment tonight.” 

“Ah, well, thank you for that?” 

Selena grew wary, unsure how to deal with a calm Xenon. She was used to anger being readily apparent whenever someone crossed Xenon, so the very fact he was able to conceal his emotions this time was worrisome. She prepared to lift off and fly home, ready to forget this ever happened, but a hand slammed into the tree beside her, stopping her dead in her tracks as she hovered in place, making eye contact with the surprisingly dark green orbs of Xenon. 

“I may be letting you off this time, but,” he leaned closer, “I will not be as willing to forgive you next time. And trust me, you don’t want to know what’ll happen if you forget that.” 

With that, he was gone, leaving her to slowly drift back down to earth, unable to move for several minutes more. 

~~~~~ 

You hummed, drifting into the house with a cheerful expression. Even when you tripped going up the stairs and banged your head on the side of the door, you remained happy. Xenon was fun. He took you to places you had never been before, telling you fun stories, and entertaining you with only the expectation of a similarly entertaining story. 

You shook yourself out of your daze when the door opened and closed, signaling your father’s return. You trotted back downstairs carefully, peeking into the front hall to see him shucking off his boots with a heavy sigh. He noticed you and waved you over, enveloping you in a firm hug. You reciprocated happily, but teasingly commented that he needed a bath. He laughed and ruffled your hair, stepping past you and further into the house. 

“I suppose I do. Hard work and hot sun tends to lead to that.” 

You smiled and headed back up the stairs when he called to you one last time. 

“By the way (Y/n). I suppose I did overreact earlier. You can go out to the woods if you want to.” 

You paused, unsure what lead to him changing his mind, but thanked him happily. So, the next morning, after your father had headed off for work, you grabbed your bag and headed out, taking note of what herbs and spices still needed to be restocked. A few could be bought at the market, but others were found more easily in the woods. 

There was still a sizable number you needed to find, so you started off as soon as you were ready. The morning passed quietly and your bag began to fill up quickly. By the time you stopped for lunch, it was already more than halfway filled.

A sudden gust behind you messed up your hair and interrupted your lunch. Tilting your head back, you met the gaze of Xenon, who looked bemused. You finished chewing swiftly, nearly choking in your rush to greet him. You coughed, reaching blindly for the container of water you brought with you. A firm hand met your back, steadying you before you could fall over and the container was thrust into your hand. 

“Do you always choke on your food? Or am I just special?” 

You snorted, finally getting your breath back. 

“Hello to you too, Xenon. And it happens more than I care to admit. And you did agree to being special. If only a special robber.” 

You laughed, taking note of the pout on his face and the brief worry that flashed in his eyes. 

“Don’t worry too much. I’m used to it! Anyway, is there anything you need? I’m in the middle of restocking our supply of herbs and spices, so I’m afraid I can’t go on any strolls or adventures today.” 

“Ah, actually, I was wondering if you were planning on going to that festival the town is holding in a few weeks? I went once a while back, but I have been meaning to go again.” 

You hummed, unsure if you should take him up on the offer. 

“I suppose I could... but I haven’t gone in awhile because the tensions always eat at my nerves. I don’t like the way the townspeople look at me. There is a reason I hang out in the woods more than I do in town.” 

Xenon looked crestfallen, his wings drooping slightly and his eyes dimming. 

“I see. That’s too bad. I won’t force you if you don’t want to go.” 

He sighed, looking ready to wander off, but you answered with a slight smile on your face. 

“I didn’t say no,” you giggled as his wings perked back up and he whirled back towards you, “I do like the pie they sell specifically for the festival and if you’re going I won’t be alone in the crowd. So, why not.” 

You yelped as he scooped you into a hug and twirled you around. 

“Alright! Thank you! Ah, I need to come up with the perfect disguise! I’ll see you later, (Y/n)!” 

You laughed, waving him off as he left as quickly and as suddenly as he had arrived. You shook your head slightly, before turning back to your forgotten meal with a faint smile still gracing your lips. 

~~~~~ 

The weeks passed quickly, your father leaving early and coming home late as he continued work on the festival. You hung out with Xenon more often, as he seemed to find you easily every time you headed into the woods. He showed you the disguise he would wear; a tall, dark haired young man with brown eyes. You did notice that the green slipped through whenever his emotions grew, but otherwise it was a flawless disguise. His wings were safely hidden, hiding the last vestiges of his otherworldly appearance with ease. 

You had oohed and aahed over his appearance, giggling silently when he showboated, his ego sufficiently stroked for him to do so. You clapped a few times when he was finished, at which point he seemed to realize what he was doing and blushed slightly, sputtering out excuses, sending you into peals of laughter that caused you to tumble off the log you had been perched on. 

You had a few bruises by the time you were back on the log, this time with Xenon hovering over you. You smiled lightly, prepared to head home for the festival’s start the next day. Xenon helped guide you home, only stopping when going further would lead into the house. You smiled, waving him off and promising to be out the next morning to head into town, seeing him fly off reluctantly before you stepped inside. 

~~~~~ 

Bright and early you headed off, bidding your father goodbye, he only let out a tired grumble, finally able to sleep in since the start of construction. He still had to take down the booths and stage, but that was in a few weeks, when the festival actually ended. So, you left him to his slumber, having already told him where you were going and assuring him you would be careful. 

You grabbed your bag, planning on filling it with containers of pie and prizes, before finally stepping out into the day. You took note of the darkened horizon, judging that a storm would be coming in during the afternoon. You were then met with the disguised form of Xenon, who perked up and bounded over upon seeing you exit. You laughed, taking his hand gladly and stepping out and onto the winding path into town. 

“So, what do you want to do first?” 

Xenon thought carefully on the question, but eventually settled on; “Whatever you want to do first!” 

You smiled, swinging your clasped hands back and forth, before you decided on a few games you enjoyed that were always at the festival. 

“And then, pie!” 

He laughed, taking no note of the stares he received as the two of you arrived in town, intent on taking in your smiling visage. As the day progressed, the more crowded the festival became, until soon it was as loud and uproarious as you remembered. But the longer you spent there, the more dreary your mood became, with Xenon being the only thing keeping you going. 

For the more people there were, the more the murmurs began. Xenon seemed concerned, pulling you closer and glaring out at the crowd, growing more aggressive as time passed. But, the whispers were all encompassing and where one murmur fell silent at his gaze, another began. 

“Yeah, and can you believe that Mar—— actually married the brute and had that awful spawn?” 

One of the older ladies mentioned your mother’s name, causing you to flinch and attempt to grasp onto Xenon a little more, already affected by everything leading up to this. However, his head had snapped in that direction as recognition lit up his eyes with a greenish glow even through the brown that hid their true nature. Your own brows furrowed, but you thought little of it until you had reached a lull in the crowd, close by to a darkened alley. You let out a yelp as you were suddenly pushed into it, caged against the grimy wall by Xenon, whose eyes were wild as he spoke in a hiss, not wanting to draw any attention. 

“Why did they say that name? How do they know that name? I thought your mother’s name was Ash?” 

You shivered, trying and failing to flinch away from his grasp and the unstable flicker in his eyes. 

“Th-that’s what my father calls her. Marsheena is her actual name! Why does it matter? All I really know is that she died from my curse and that’s partly why they hated her!” 

Xenon went deathly still, eyes widening with a sudden realization and the words he carelessly spoke next brought a dawning horror to you. 

“No. Your curse isn’t what killed her. It was supposed to just be her’s. She refused me. Why didn’t she tell me? Why! The only way that curse could be on you was if she was pregnant with you at the time. And if she was then she was likely already married. Why didn’t she tell me!? All this time she wasn’t even mine to begin with!?” 

He gripped his hair, anger and confusion on his face, his disguise flickering, showing glimpses of his true form as his emotions grew unstable, huffing for breath as you slowly inched away. Confused, but slowly, understanding dawned upon you. Your quiet whisper snapped his attention back to you. 

“All this time. All this time it was your fault? Her death? My curse?” 

You huffed, feeling hot tears prick at the corner of your eyes. You turned before he could see it, willing them back, not wanting to breakdown here, not with him, not in the middle of the festival.

“I-I need time to sort this out.” 

You hurried out of the alley before Xenon could pull you back. You were sure you couldn’t fully blame him. His outburst showed how emotionally unstable he was, even now, about the rejection and about your mother, and about everything leading up to the events that had happened before you were born. But, you needed time and space before you could sort this out with him. You had to sort it out yourself, consult with your father for more details before you could truly come to an understanding with Xenon.

Escaping from the darkened alley, you left Xenon to try to push his way through the crowd, shouting after your swiftly retreating form for you to come back or wait for him, but for once the hatred worked in your favor. The townspeople refused to get near you, allowing you swift passage through them, while simultaneously pushing back in on Xenon, forcing him to try to shove past the general townspeople and the dozens of ladies looking for a date or a dance with the handsome stranger that his magic showed to them, especially now that he was no longer with you.

~~~~~ 

You ran, getting closer and closer to home, relying on the fading sunlight that struggled to pierce the dark and heavy cloud cover, the storm rolling in swiftly as night approached, hoping against hope that Xenon would understand your need for space. But, as you drew closer to home, the louder the shouts behind you grew until you were stopped just shy of leaping onto the porch and into the house by a strong hand on your arm. 

“Let me go, Xenon! I need space!” 

You pulled desperately, trying to get away before the dam broke and you started to cry. But he tugged back, just as desperate, but with twice the strength, pulling you to him and cradling your cheeks as tears began to trickle down your face. Even as you attempted to shove him off, growing more desperate, he remained steadfast in his grip on you, disguise fully abandoned by now, allowing his wings to wrap around you, preventing you from pulling away. He huffed, seemingly unable to say anything at the moment, but the look in his eyes from earlier still hadn’t fully faded, leaving you wary even as you began to break into sobs. 

He seemed ready to carry you off, still riding this unstable train of emotions when light flooded over your forms as the door swung open violently and your father stormed out. 

“(Y/n)!” 

He pulled you away from the fairy’s grip, and ushered you swiftly into the house as Xenon attempted to follow to pull you back into his grasp. But your father slammed the door shut, and quickly painted something on the wood. It glowed briefly before fading, just as Xenon slammed into it, causing it to rattle tremendously. But, it held up, even when the tell tale flash of his magic shone through the cracks in the door, even as he clawed desperately at the walls and banged farther and farther around the house, looking for any way in. And when one refused to present itself, an unholy howl of rage shook the foundations. 

Afterwards, you found it was a one time concoction that your father had received from a fairy a few weeks earlier. It prevented all magic of any degree and severity, allowing no entry no matter the desperation. 

But all you could focus on, throughout the thunderous booms and bangs and howls, was the warmth your father exuded as he clutched you close, rocking you slightly as you finally started to sob.

~~~~~ 

Xenon heaved, finally slowing down from his assault on the house. But even as he finally gave up, slinking back into the woods, rage burned deep within. Magic crackled from him, hissing loudly as rain began to fall, evaporating in the literal heat of the anger he could not contain, causing all the right minded denizens of the forest to flee. Only a fool would have disturbed the powerful fairy during his frenzy. And such a fool, there unfortunately was. 

“You know, this probably ruined everything for you. You should have just given her the space she told you she needed.”

Growling, Xenon’s eyes cut to the small form of Selena. For a moment they simply stared at each other, the only sounds being faint crackles and huffs from Xenon. Selena soon shifted, flying slightly higher to be on eye level with the taller fairy. 

“It’s not right to try to force your will on others. You tried it with Marsheena —“ 

A sudden pulse of energy and Selena found herself pinned by the throat to a nearby tree, the dangerously bright eyes of Xenon highlighting her features in an electric green glow.

”Who said you had the right to say that name!” Xenon roared, finally addressing her directly even as his grip grew tighter. 

She gasped for air, clawing fruitlessly at his hand, regretting her foolish actions now. But her traitorous mouth continued to speak and she watched in muted horror from the back of her mind as the rage grew wilder and wilder and his eyes grew even brighter the longer she rambled without thought. 

“You tried it with Marsheena and that failed! You need to let (Y/n) go before the same thing happens! I’m glad I gave Richard that mixture, at least it kept you out. You’ll likely be nothing but a monster in her eyes now! In fact, you’ll probably be seen as the monster you show to the rest of us!” 

A wordless howl escaped Xenon’s throat, clamping his fist even tighter, he lifted into the air like a rocket, flying forward with the only purpose that stayed with him even as the rage pumped through his veins and clouded his mind. He ignored all her desperate efforts to get free, only loosening his hold when her struggles started to slow and his destination drew closer. 

He wasted no time in landing softly, slamming down and storming through the curtain of vines and into the cave he had first shown (Y/n). The screams of pain from Selena brought a vicious smile to his face, the seals carved in the rock lighting up a familiar shade of green as they brought agony to the fairy he now clutched by the back of her shirt.

When a high keen was left resounding in the air, he finally waved his hand, bringing the current pain to an end. Selena moaned, twitching slightly as the aftershocks of the sudden painful experience slipped away at an agonizingly slow pace. She had little time to adjust, only barely able to keep her wings from being ripped to shreds on the rocky ground, as he began dragging her towards the terrifying darkness that the beams of moonlight falling into the cave failed to pierce. 

She began her struggles anew as Xenon showed no signs of slowing down, still fueled by the rage she had stoked, only one goal in his mind getting steadily closer. A distant splash resounded in Selena’s ears. She began to sob, begging for him to stop, to slow down, to think this through. All she received was a snarl and a quickened pace. 

It grew brighter now, bioluminescent moss appearing to swallow the walls and floor at a ferocious pace. Her wings became coated as they brushed the walls, bringing them drooping with the weight to finally make contact with the ground, bringing her new agony as something caught and tore painfully through the thin membrane, soon piercing the veins and coating her wings in the dull silver of her lifeblood. It gave an ivory shine to the moss causing the problems. She would have almost thought it pretty if it hadn’t been causing her such pain. Only now she noticed she had broken off into a scream as the holes grew larger and the blood left a silver trail in her body’s wake. 

Tears began to trickle down her face as the path widened and the distant splashing became louder and louder before they suddenly stopped. All to soon, she found herself hefted up, held above a dark pool filled with ripples. She dangled, huffing as she made desperate eye contact with Xenon, begging him silently to let her live. But he paid her little mind, intently focused on a bead of blood slowly, painfully slowly, streaking down one of her ruined wings. She hiccuped, her own eyes drawn with terrified fascination to watch it as best as she could. 

For a moment, it wavered, seeming to decide between falling or clinging to the very edge of her wing. Then, it fell.

She inhaled. The blood made a quiet plop as it swirled in the blackness, giving the dark and silent depths a momentary silver hue as it dissipated.

She exhaled. Silence as the last of the color faded away. The dark waters swallowing it whole. 

A sudden flurry of activity as a horrifying face lifted from the depths, huge sharp teeth on prominent display, slamming down where her feet had been dangling had she not pulled them up at the last second. She screamed, both from fright and pain as it instead ripped a jagged hole into her wings, leaving a now constant flow of blood to pour into the frothing waters. The black became overshadowed by the silver tinge and the shine of flashing teeth. 

She squeezed her eyes shut, clinging to the arm keeping her above the churning water. She flinched when warm breath brushed her ear. 

“This is what happens to those that step out of line. You can call me a monster all you want, but it won’t save you from this. And really, you kept me from comforting the cute little mouse. You made me scare her. Don’t you think that makes you a monster too?”

A dark laugh resounded as his grip loosened. 

“So, from one monster to another, goodbye, Selena.” 

She inhaled sharply. His grip vanished, leaving her to slowly fall towards the black water and the sharp teeth that lurked below. 

She exhaled shakily. Her final glimpse of Xenon was the bright green aura he gave off, lighting up the space brighter than even the moss could handle. 

Then, she slipped under the water, vision going dark, panic ripping through her as one single flash of light filled her vision. A huge yellow eye with a red slitted pupil drew closer and closer, filling her vision before teeth clamped down on her skull. An agonizing scream attempted escape, water filled her mouth, and her head separated from the rest of her body. 

~~~~~ 

Xenon smiled, his eye twitching lightly as the waters slowly calmed, leaving the world once more unaware of what lurked below. One nuisance down, several more to go. Selena’s death would soon be followed by several more before Xenon could have the little mouse all to himself. The horrible townspeople would be satisfying, but the father, Richard, would be the true final obstacle. He prevented Xenon from obtaining Marsheena, but he would not stop him from taking (Y/n) all to himself. 

Xenon began to laugh, trailing out of the cavern, mind already whirling on plans to right the wrongs forced upon him. First, sweet revenge on all who had harmed her or kept her from him, then to bring the mouse back to him, safe and sound in his arms, before finally locking her away so no one could ever take her away again. His laughter grew louder, eyes flickering as his emotions turned down an unstable path, maniacal plans growing and forming as a peal of thunder shook the heavens and the huge storm finally began in a frenzy of lightning and pounding rain. 

~~~~~ 

You sniffled, clutching the steaming cup close to your body as the storm raged on outside. Your father pulled you closer, rubbing up and down your arm in a comforting gesture. You finally felt calm enough to talk, the last vestiges of your breakdown present only in red rimmed eyes. Leaning your head on your father’s broad shoulder, you finally spoke for the first time since he had pulled you in. 

“You knew the whole time didn’t you? About me hanging out with Xenon?” 

He chuckled, ruffling your hair slightly. 

“Yeah. That fairy you always hung out with. Selena. She told me about it. Gave me a warning and that mixture first time she came by. But, you seemed happy, so I just let it be, even with all the problems he’s caused in the past.” 

You sighed, despondent from the events that occurred earlier. 

“I suppose bringing him along to the festival was a bad idea. They started talking and mentioned mother. He... had a breakdown or something. How does he know about her? What happened before?” 

You looked up at him, pleading for a full answer to your question. Your father sighed, looking away slightly. 

“I suppose I was going to have to tell you eventually. I just never expected it to come around like this. Your mother used to be like you. Always hanging out in the forest, forging bonds with the creatures there. Only difference was she was close to Xenon from the start. I knew about it, but never met him. I only know that sometime during our courtship, or even before that, Xenon fell in love with Marsheena. But he told her too late. We had already been married for several months and she was displaying signs of a pregnancy. So, she knew she had little time left before she would have to limit or even outright stop such excursions. So, she took the chance to give her goodbyes. Xenon was last. And he took the chance to confess to her before she could tell him. She rejected him and he grew angry. He lashed out, cursing her. He never showed up to her again, but the damage had already been done. She came home and immediately collapsed. The next day, she tripped and fell on a rusty nail. A string of bad luck began to follow her and she stayed home to avoid hurting you accidentally. This unfortunately meant the town formed their own ideas of what happened.”

He chuckled at this point, rubbing the back of his head.

“I suppose it was my own fault for not saying anything, but Ash didn’t want them to start a man hunt for Xenon, even if he had been the source of the problem. Eventually, you were born. But the bad luck that plagued Ash had affected you as well. She dealt with her own bad luck for months, but now she had a baby plagued with that curse as well. She died saving you from being crushed by a runaway cart. She was trampled by the spooked horses, leaving you crying in the middle of the road. The townspeople began to hate you as well. I tried my best to protect you, but the town wasn’t safe and I didn’t want to make you feel cooped up at home. So, I guided you through the woods until the creatures took notice. They began to keep you safe and provide you with the companionship you needed. I suppose they recognized the little bit of Ash I think you. But now Xenon is here and in your life. What am I supposed to do?” 

He looked desperate. Defeated. So unlike the strong figure you had seen your father as all your life. 

“How can I possibly keep you safe? I’ve failed as a father.” 

He buried his face in his hands, choked sobs escaping him. You tried your best to comfort him, but knew there was much more to do before anything could truly be resolved. 

“I need to talk to him.” 

Your definitive statement had him looking up at you in worry. 

“Xenon seems to be ruled by his emotions. I’m sure he didn’t even realize he was scaring me. I’ll wait for him to calm down and then attempt to get to the bottom of this.” 

You took his hands in yours, squeezing them lightly in assurance, giving him a peck on the cheek before turning in for the night, the last thing you heard was his mutter of “just like her mother” before you started up the stairs. 

~~~~~ 

The storm continued raging for a week. Every time you attempted to go out, the door was slammed shut violently by the screaming winds. Your father barely managed to get it open, telling you to stay inside while he went to check on things. He came back several hours later, shivering and soaked from the rain. His face was pale as you guided him to a chair, grabbing as many towels as you could carry. He took them, remaining silent for several minutes before starting a fire to heat up the now cold house before collapsing back into the chair. 

“The entire town was destroyed,” he finally said, “It could be partly the fault of the storm, but there were vines, huge and thorny. I didn’t venture far, but there were so many impaled on those thorns.” 

He shivered, breath shaky as you in turn shivered, imagining the gory sight and glad you hadn’t witnessed such a thing yourself. But, concern grew for your father as he began to board up the house, in spite of the rain lashing at his back as he hammered planks of wood over the windows. Whenever he saw you come near any opening, he quickly ushered you back, as if he was afraid something would reach out and take you.

And one night, something finally happened. You had been fast asleep in your room when a loud crack sounded from below. You stayed frozen for several minutes, unsure on what to do, but leaped into action when a strangled cry and several ominous crashes rang out in quick succession. Grabbing your bag out of habit, and then taking a moment to fill it with anything heavy to use as a makeshift weapon, you rushed for the stairs. Stumbling slightly, your sleep bedraggled form tottered down the stairs until you finally missed a step and tumbled the rest of the way down. You wheezed, certain you had a bruised rib now, but the rest of your breath escaped like you had been punched in the gut as you took in the sight before you. 

Rain lashed into the house through the hole where the door used to be. But the water was joined by a slick trail of red, leading outside. Looking further, you noticed huge signs of struggles, furniture overturned, scratches lining the walls and floor like something tried desperately to get away. And upon hearing a scream of pain that resounded even over the rumbles of thunder and pounding rain, you stumbled outside, wincing at your tender ribs. 

But the sight you came upon stopped you dead in your tracks. Your father was bleeding out, several large gashes in his sides and one through his head. He was trying desperately to tear the hands from around his neck even as several vines bit deep into his arms, pulling them down to the earth to pin them in place, much like his mangled legs were already nailed into place, vines tightening cruelly, crushing them beyond recognition. 

And Xenon was hovering over him, determinedly trying to choke the life out of your father. You screamed, drawing both men’s attention. Xenon’s eyes lit up with horrifying glee even as he steadily crushed the windpipe of the man pinned below him. Your father looked at you in desperation, barely managing to choke out a desperate plea. 

“Run! (Y/n), get away from here!” 

Your eyes wavered, even as horrible choking sounds emanated from your father. You swayed to and fro as the wind battered into you and the rain lashed at your skin, quickly soaking through your clothes and deep into your skin. Xenon now called out to your horrified, frozen form. 

“Just wait right there my little mouse! I’ll take you home where it’s nice and dry as soon as I finish dealing with this filth.” 

You flinched at the vitriol dripping from his tone, finally bolting as your father, unable to speak, begged you with his eyes to flee. So you did. You ran as fast as you could past the sight, not stopping even when Xenon called after you, not even when thunder boomed and seemed to shake the very ground beneath you.

Breathing heavy and ribs pulsing with a muted pain, you ran further and further into the woods, desperate to get away, not daring to look behind you for fear of falling over or finding him right behind you. Your bag smacked the backs of your knees as you ran, but you tried not to slow down even when the weight nearly knocked you over as it slammed your knees forward. Rain nearly blinded you, falling directly in your eyes, but you blinked rapidly, continuing to hurtle through the trees with reckless abandon. 

You realized you were crying when a sob ripped from your mouth, but the tears quickly mixed with the rain and you could feel no heat from them as they slipped from your face. You hurtled onward, still afraid that you would soon hear your name being called behind you by Xenon.

Your only pause was to try to straighten your bag, only a second, and yet when you went to resume, you smacked straight into the solid chest of Xenon, who was glaring worriedly down at you, eyes lighting up his face in the shadowy underbrush and stormy sky, streaks of red present in his clothes and on his face, even as the rain was swiftly washing it away into a light pink color.

“How did you find me!” you shrieked, trying to swiftly scramble away, slipping on the wet ground, even as his arms quickly encircled your waist and tugged you closer to him. 

Before you knew it, he had clasped you tightly to him, lifted off the ground, and was soaring at a dizzying height, far above the tops of even the tallest trees, leaving you acutely aware that Xenon was the only thing preventing you from becoming splattered on the ground. You clung to him, shaking lightly as you dug your face into his neck, almost plastering your form to his, fear of falling overriding your fear of Xenon for the moment. This was horrifyingly different from the first time you had been over the forest.

Xenon chuckled at your reaction, holding you more firmly to him, as the rain continued to fall to the earth below, before he finally answered your question. 

“The first time I saw you, you were racing Selena. Of course, even then you had intrigued me and I felt the need to learn more. So, I figured bringing you your bag was as good a place as any to start. Not knowing where you lived, I simply cast a tracking spell onto the bag, guiding me to the owner and giving me the location at all times. I just never got around to removing it, so when I saw you heading off with that bag in tow, I decided to put that spell to use. And will you look at that. It brought me right to you.” 

He continued to fly, finally nearing the ground as he mused, more to himself than to you. 

“I suppose I should add some more seals to the cave and probably to you. Make sure you can’t go wandering out and into the nearest ditch to injure yourself.” 

Upon landing, he rushed into the cave, ignoring your renewed struggles to escape with ease. He only set you down after he had sealed off the exits with more of the vines. Huge and smooth this time, they blocked off your attempts to escape, leaving you to fruitlessly claw at them. You could finally feel the tears dripping down your face, hot streaks that landed on the floor of the cave soundlessly. 

Your shoulders shook, too caught up in your grief to notice the arms turning you around and pushing you firmly into the vines. You did notice when his lips crashed into yours, teeth clicking together in his eagerness. His hands traveled from your shoulders down your sides to caress at your hips. Any attempt to tilt your head away and break the lip lock was met with a nip at your jaw and a deeper kiss than before. You cried out when he finally trailed down to your neck and sunk his teeth in. His grip was finally loose enough that you could shove him away, stumbling further into the cave and away from Xenon. But this time, you tripped, feeling your ankle twist unpleasantly. 

He took this opportunity to scoop you up and push you against the statue. He grinned triumphantly, your blood still staining his teeth red. He nuzzled at your neck even as he laughed at your attempts to back further away from him. He clutched your arms, pushing you more firmly into the stone statue, leaning in and covering your escape with his wings, encircling your form as his grip grew tighter around your biceps. 

“Marsheena may not have been mine, but you are,” his eyes grew brighter and brighter in his twisted excitement, nearly blinding you as you twisted and turned, trying fruitlessly to get away from him, “I can keep you safe, protect you, love you! Don’t you get it! I gave you that curse, it’s only right I break it. I gave you the life you’re currently living, but I can fix it! I can make it better! You just have to... stay here... where it’s safe.” 

He was panting by the end, barely able to contain his raging emotions, eyes now flickering swiftly between blindingly bright and a green so dark it was nearly black even as he leaned in to bite at your neck a few more times, nuzzling into you and eclipsing your view of the cave with his wings, leaving him the only thing you could see. He was terrifying and you had nowhere to run, caught between a rock and a maniacal fairy, with a storm that continued outside, abating ever so slowly as he leaned further and further into you.

I think of Selena’s wings as similar to a dragonfly’s wings, which are made mainly of membrane and veins. Butterfly wings are also formed of membrane, but are covered in scales and hair, hence why they have color and aren’t see through like dragonfly wings are. 

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere fairy #yandere fairy x reader #yandere fae #yandere mythology #yandere monsters

[dorizardthewizard]

Galactik Football season 3 rewatch, eps 19 - 21

Episode 19:

Hush Sharky: I should've picked Mark, nothing exciting will ever happen following Thran!

Is that meta

Well this romance between Mark and Nina-8 is progressing quickly huh

Nina-8 says it's hard for her to trust others hmmmm

And there we have it, an explanation for Ahito's sleepiness – he stores the Breath within himself, which can wear him out. Pretty cool, although it does bring up some questions. Does his dad do that too, since he has the same problem? How did that excess get released before he started playing Galactik Football? Why is he just doing better now I don't think we ever actually covered that in season 2

OK imagine you're chilling having a normal conversation and your friend just does a backflip out of nowhere. I would definitely be reacting like D'jok hahah

Thran: I'm coming with you Clamp! Clamp: No, it's too dangerous!

Thran: But the writers said it's MY turn to have a fun adventure with the pirates!

Thran really said, if the writers aren't gonna give me any interesting sideplots, I'll do it myself! RESPECT.

Artegor (completely deadpan): I am excited. It doesn't show?

HE'S JUST LIKE ME FR FR

Ahito covering for Thran is so cute, of course Thran would let his brother know

Why ARE the Paradisia girls referred to by their numbers?

Huh, this data link thing that the Paradisia players do is pretty cool

This hack for the space port entry code is pretty dumb but it's fine I'll just insert some star trek technobabble here in my mind. Aaaaand done, GO THRAN! And yaaaay Thran the Pirates fan gets approval from the man himself

A rare corner kick!

I don't know anything about football but this goalkeeper goal seems kind of bullshit to me. Like was that necessary?

NOOOOO WARREN :( Barry calling it an end of an era, I guess it's not just the Snow Kids who get that press treatment after losing a match. But the Lightnings haven't been to the finals in three seasons and Warren is probably getting older :(

Team Paradisia slayed though

Awww poor Nina-8 :( Hmm what plan is Nikki-4 talking about, I don't remember much after the Paradisia tournament. I do like the conflict between the two, they may be twins but Nina-8 has a much softer personality than Nikki-4. And with her not being on the team until D'jok left, I wonder if she was already trying to distance herself from them a bit and try to live her own life. Which is pretty symbolic for an identical twin.

Well Mark's love drama has more potential than the love triangles they were doing until now, if only they'd given it more screentime and development

Hush Sharky is kind of underreacting for a journalist who just found out a galaxy-class footballer and his coach are in cahoots with the leader of the pirates

Again, the budget of this show might be low, but they actually have quite a lot of locations and the background art is always really good.

Sonny taking his mask off on Paradisia because he saw some plants sfjkdfssf that was unnecessary, he's so extra! And they're lucky the weather conditions are still perfectly fine for humans.

Episode 20:

I guess Mice Delight is delicious to robots only haha

D'jok Mei and Micro-Ice being besties ahhhh I love it

Mice is playing a delicate game? Since he lied to Zo-leen so he could hide he's going to meet Yuki, what are they implying there?

Oooo 3-2 to the Xenons! The Rykers really gave them a run for their money!

STEVENS INTERVIEW! STEVENS IS GONNA TALK EVERYONE SHUT UP!!

OH THEY FUCKED UP HIS DUB VOICE. NEVER MIND.

But seriously Callie should get a raise for finding them LOL, nice little animation touch of him looking around the whole time he's talking to her. Sir you would be harder to spot if you weren't wearing your football kit. It's ok, yeah I know the animators don't have the budget. Hang in there, buddy

Stevens top scorer in the cup!! It might seem strange with him not having a flux, but it seems reasonable to me considering the Pirate's style of play. They always score at least one goal in their games, and he's pretty much always the one who does it. For other teams, the goal scoring is a bit more shared between different players. Plus it's still early in the cup.

KING. I LOVE THIS INTERACTION. Stevens keeping it real even before the Technoids showed up, I'll say we've had some good Pirates moments this season

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm are they suggesting Micro-Ice is two-timing between Zo-Leen and Yuki? Uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh.................

And since when was Zo-Leen all over Micro-Ice again anyway? She seemed just friendly during the Paradisia tournament

Why is this friendship between Harvey and Lord Phoenix actually kind of cute?

Awwww the Snow Kids are the best Yuki fanclub

These seats at Genesis stadium aren't actually seats, it's more like an amphitheater and they're not very comfortable. No back rest!

I love Stevens's goals, obviously he can't just use the flux to smash it so his style is more technical

ASHDFJSDF in this season you can hear the Pirates celebrating (and also grunting while running?) and it's so silly, they just gave them stereotypical gruff pirate voices

Games between other teams are funny because there will be like. Exactly one new animation in the whole game. Literally everything else is stock footage

This soundtrack slaps by the way

The Pirates goalkeeper's signature head shake lol

Sorry guys I love Yuki I really do but you know who I'm rooting for

The Elektra's flux confuses me, it looks solid enough for them to ride on it?

This season is really just dunking on Barry whenever they can huh, Artegor's laugh and trying to pass it off as nerves SDJFKDFS I LOVE HIM THANK YOU VOICE ACTOR FOR NOT LEAVING

Oooo that water skating trick does look really cool! I like that since season 1, we've seen more creative fluxes

Well as much as I love the Pirates I'm happy for the Elektras, and Yuki! She's come so far from her nervous self in season 2 and I'm so proud of her

TIA SECOND TOP SCORER YESSS!!! I would go back to check if the number of goals is actually correct but I cba

If I had a nickel for every time a romantic breakup has happened this season at the taxi stop with one of the parties telling the other to forget about them, I would have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

AND NOW MICE IS HAPPY JUST BECAUSE ZO-LEEN KISSED HIM?? YUKI ALREADY KISSED YOU IN SEASON 2! YOU JUST FORGOT ABOUT HER NOW? YOU DIDN'T EVEN CARE FOR ZO-LEEN This love plot with Mice is so stupid I can't even be bothered to comment on it anymore.

Episode 21:

D'jok seems to be perfectly back to normal and on friendly terms with the others as if nothing happened. Compare to season 2 where Rocket's Netherball stint had consequences and his return was not so smooth!

Ahito you couldn't think of a better excuse for Thran leaving? 😂 I do feel like we could have had a better reason in the story for Thran ending up with the Pirates, it IS a bit weird that he says he has to go on a mission with them but he doesn't actually have a reason to, and this is before the SEMI-FINAL. That's a bit too important to be sneaking off because... you just want to?

I need this screenshot in good quality

I love that Bennett being the hacker guy is a thing that's consistent throughout the season

Lord Phoenix somehow grabbed literally all of them at once sijfsdkdk except Harvey. Fuck robot rights I guess

Warren coaching time! I love how he's always willing to lend a helping hand for these things, whether it's giving D'jok a talk about what's important in season 1, trying to get Rocket out of Netherball in season 2 or helping with training here. What a guy, truly Mr. Galactik Football

Huh, that's an interesting little way to use the Lightning's flux. It's like static electricity keeping them together

sfdkjdsf I would do this too. Actually I do do this to my short friends. I'm also short but they're shorter so I gotta take my wins when I can

Micro-Ice and Tia duo! I love them I wish we saw more of them as a fun pair, they would get up to such hijinks together. Sibling vibes!

Emo Mark hours

Well, you tried Mice. Maybe try to get him to open up about his problem instead of just trying to cheer him up?

Clamp: No, that's not it, it's- Sonny: What is it, Clamp? Say something!

Clamp: BITCH I WAS ABOUT TO BEFORE YOU INTERRUPTED ME

Nice one Brim Simbra, I like that we got to see him actually doing something lol

This dilemma about Adim and Aarch's relationship due to her being league president was never mentioned before, why did they never consider this? Should've built that up earlier instead of that random Artegor plot

Lord Phoenix: Paradisia was such a beautiful planet

Idk man it doesn't look THAT bad right now, the UK looks like that every day

I can't show the video because I used my 1 video per post limit for Stevens talking but there's this super fucking weird segment where Nork says the Elektras-Paradisia match will be the first all female semi-final ever, and Barry dreamily says this is a "fantasy" GFC? And Nork is like "you said it! Team Paradisia...." in this dreamy way again and Callie has to cough and change the subject? Hey what the fuck was that???? This season tried to be more blatant with the girl power messaging but then puts in moments like this?????

YAAAAAAY XENONS TIME

Wait Thran is in this teamup shot? Did he already get back?

Oh I really love this interaction between D'jok and Luur before kickoff – no intimidation dance from the Xenons, just a meaningful handshake between a guy who almost plummeted to his death last season, and the player that saved him. Idk if the writers were intentional with this but if so, it's a really nice example of subtle writing and events of the previous season carrying over.

Wait yeah the Pirates aren't back yet! In which case, Aarch is pretty chill for a coach who is missing a player for A SEMI-FINAL MATCH. Eh I guess at this point he's just given up with these kids

Oh damn Brim Simbra actually died, I like that they went through with that so the explosion on Paradisia had consequences. Could have also opened up some interesting avenues with the new flux society leader in season 4 – maybe he'd want to do things differently?

But it's also kind of hilarious that Brim Simbra's very last action as flux society leader... was to delegate the galaxy saving to Sonny Blackbones yet again LOL

#galactik football #dori watches galactik football #my posts

[periodictabletournament]

Worst Element Bracket - Round 1 - Matchup 3

Xenon vs Bromine

What you said:

Xenon:

Okay so noble gasses don't react with stuff, right? They don't form compounds they just drift. And other chemicals do. Well XENON over here apparently wants to be a noble gas WHILE being implicated in some compounds like a GODDAMNED HYPOCRITE. It doesn't DO anything interesting except for lighting up with an electric current, and the colour isn't even photographable/printable. But NOOO it's going to go around and get into compounds. I'd whinge about Radon but at least IT does its job releasing radiation from people's countertops. XENON just sits around and is bad at being a noble gas. It sucks. I rest my case.

Bromine:

mercury is a better "liquid at room temperature" element. bromine trying to copy mercury and failing spectacularly. mercury is cool and shiny

It's the only element besides mercury to be liquid at room temperature and no one cares about it. Mercury has the entire spotlight and Bromine just sits there smelling bad.

#periodic polls #tournament polls #worst element bracket #xenon #bromine

[xenonmoon]

This run sure has some badass one-liners

#moon knight #moon knight comics #moon knight 2014 #warren ellis #xenon reacts #q tag

[hydrate-or-diedrate]

day 16 of reading homestuck we're starting act 6 act 4

XBOX

land of mounds and xenon and fake ass stonehenge

oo centipede skeleton monsters

I won't lie I had to restart the animation twice because I kept trying to live react in another window on my laptop and it just didn't work so we're back to the phone lol

Eeheehee light squiggles

Xbox pyramidsss

Pyramids and neon

Tombs and krypton

I really hope we're not skipping over the part I care about (Dirk confessing to Jake already smh)

No and I don't believe you actually

WELL FUCK ME, ACT 6 INTERMISSION 4 I GUESS

Caliborn(derogatory)

He's ruining her art book 😭

Damn Caliborn, it's almost like a session of 1 person doesn't fucking work

"A stupid note is produced. It's the one assholes play to make their audience start punching themselves in the crotch repeatedly."

BLINKY RED DOT

Roxy you're making very few spelling mistakes, it's scaring me

GAMZEE YOU SON OF A FUCK

Sir this is not a Wendy's please leave

I hate the codpiece still

Well shit okay fuckin bye

The 4th wall is disintegrating yet again. Which 4th wall are we on now? Number 3 or so? Would it still be the 4th wall or can we call it the 7th wall?

To be fair to Caliborn, he is correct that Gamzee was dreadful and purple

But also the computer guy is right Caliborn you're a shitty little prepubescent dumbass

Gamzee how the actual hell are you still alive

Oh gosh bass boosted elevator music

OH GOD THE WEBSITE

Yaldabaoth

I can't wait to find out what The Choice is

HoOoRnK.

Caliborn stop fetishizing lesbians

Aaaaand end of act 6 intermission 4

#breadstuck

[alias-mike]

how cytus 2 characters would react to being asked their pronouns

paff: [blank staring] (she forgor most of her english classes 💀)

neko: she/her!! but they/them is also okay occasionally :3c

robo_head: this unit, is commonly referred to with he, him and his, and sometimes it and its.

xenon: he/him.

conner: hm~ all the relevant ones, i hope.

cherry: she/her. thank you :D

joe: yknow, ive never really thought about this whole pronouns thing... he/him, probably.

sagar: what? uh. uhm. uhhh. [falls down]

rin: oh! um, she/her!

nora: [unreadable stare] (she never learned the names of grammar things)

ivy: she/he... wait- how did you find me?

vanessa: what? [you get disconnected] (shes very busy planning her next move which doesnt involve her telling you her pronouns)

#cytus #cytus ii #cytus 2 #dont take this seriously lol #but at the same time i can elaborate on any of these #ask me abt my silly goofy headcanons!!!!!!

[nilotheberryboy]

This whole week has been you going

“I’m gonna drop lore soon!!! Some of you guys know what’s next though so don’t spill!!!”

And then proceeds not to drop lore!!!!

This is driving me insane!!!!

(This is all in a joking manner your driving me insane in the best way possible!)

I've been using Xenon as a beta reader of some sort, to see how the typical person will react to what I'm going to do

as far as I noticed, it was a very normal reaction, normal as in "I expected you to go nuts xD"

Also, I'm having my pre-grades this week so I had to keep up with all the work I haven't done until literally today, I was pretty tired sorry

At least I'm learning how to do the new designs for the next arc lol

[bagel-is-yum]

[Intro] And now, ASAP Science presents: The elements of the Periodic Table!

[Verse 1] There's Hydrogen and Helium Then Lithium, Beryllium Boron, Carbon everywhere Nitrogen all through the air With Oxygen so you can breathe And Fluorine for your pretty teeth Neon to light up the signs Sodium for salty times

[Chorus] Magnesium, Aluminium, Silicon Phosphorus, then Sulfur, Chlorine and Argon Potassium, and Calcium so you'll grow strong Scandium, Titanium, Vanadium and Chromium and Manganese

[Post-Chorus] This is the Periodic Table Noble gas is stable Halogens and Alkali react aggressively Each period will see new outer shells While electrons are added moving to the right

[Verse 2] Iron is the 26th Then Cobalt, Nickel coins you get Copper, Zinc and Gallium Germanium and Arsenic Selenium and Bromine film While Krypton helps light up your room Rubidium and Strontium then Yttrium, Zirconium

[Chorus] Niobium, Molybdenum, Technetium Ruthenium, Rhodium, Palladium Silver-ware then Cadmium and Indium Tin-cans, Antimony then Tellurium and Iodine and Xenon and then Caesium and

[Bridge] Barium is 56 and this is where the table splits Where Lanthanides have just begun Lanthanum, Cerium and Praseodymium Neodymium's next to Promethium, then 62's Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium and Terbium Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium Ytterbium, Lutetium

[Chorus] Hafnium, Tantalum, Tungsten then we're on to Rhenium, Osmium and Iridium Platinum, Gold to make you rich 'til you grow old Mercury to tell you when it's really cold Thallium and Lead then Bismuth for your tummy Polonium, Astatine would not be yummy Radon, Francium will last a little time Radium then Actinides at 89

[Post-Chorus] This is the Periodic Table Noble gas is stable Halogens and Alkali react aggressively Each period will see new outer shells While electrons are to the right

[Verse 3] Actinium, Thorium, Protactinium Uranium, Neptunium, Plutonium Americium, Curium, Berkelium Californium, Einsteinium, Fermium Mendelevium, Nobelium, Lawrencium Rutherfordium, Dubnium, Seaborgium Bohrium, Hassium then Meitnerium Darmstadtium, Roentgenium, Copernicium Nihonium, Flerovium Moscovium, Livermorium Tennessine, and Oganesson

[Outro] And then we're done!

You motherfucker

#how dare you share priceless art on this hellsite #you’re disrupting a balance #carefully set my our tumblr ancestors #for the only science to happen on this sight #is when someone call upon the mighty gods #THE SCIENCE SIDE OF TUMBLR