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#Emergency Ward 10
mariocki · 2 years
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Have become addicted to ebay lately, a challenge i am meeting with all the good grace and financial wisdom of a deranged hoarder, but today i was trawling along looking at tv memorabilia when i discovered this
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The Emergency Ward 10 boardgame! An item i did not know existed! Fun for all the family (as long as there are between 2 and 4 of you), and apparently with the singular goal of driving your car from your home garage to your place of work - whilst avoiding the terrors of everyday life/a job in EW10
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It's very silly and very charming, but most importantly it contains what must be the most adorable single game square in any board game ever made, ever:
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vavandeveresfan · 1 month
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"Sex is biological fact, NHS declares."
Fuckin FINALLY.
The article's behind a paywall, so I had to grab a screenshot fast. It's not the clearest picture, and I may have cut some off.
Here's the article, if you can get around the paywall.
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From BBC News via Yahoo News:
NHS England charter to stress biological sex when placing patients in wards
Transgender women should not be put on single-sex female NHS wards, the government is proposing.
The measure is part of a raft of changes to the NHS Constitution for England, the charter of rights for patients.
The proposals stress the importance of biological sex for the first time when it comes to same-sex accommodation and intimate care.
In both cases, the rights are available only where possible.
For example, same-sex accommodation rights, which have existed for years, can and are breached where there is a clinically urgent need to admit and treat a patient and do not extend to areas such as critical care or accident and emergency.
The guidance also means that trans men should not be housed on single-sex male wards.
Under the proposals:
transgender people, whose gender identity differs from their biological sex, may be provided single rooms, where appropriate
patients will have the right to request a person of the same biological sex delivers any intimate care
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said it was about making it clear that "sex matters".
"We want to make it abundantly clear that if a patient wants same-sex care, they should have access to it wherever reasonably possible," she said.
"By putting this in the NHS Constitution, we're highlighting the importance of balancing the rights and needs of all patients, to make a healthcare system that is faster, simpler and fairer to all."
'Trampled over'
Maya Forstater, of the Sex Matters campaign group, said the changes were "excellent news".
"The confusion between 'sex' and 'gender' in official policies like the NHS Constitution is what has enabled women's rights to be trampled over in the name of transgender identities," she said.
But Cleo Madeleine, of Gendered Intelligence, said robust policies were already in place and the government had its priorities wrong.
"After 14 years of austerity, medical professionals are crying out for more funding, more resources, and better conditions for staff and patients," she said.
"The government seems hell-bent on pursuing its obsession with the transgender community instead of addressing these longstanding needs."
'Martha's rule'
The changes are part of a wider review of the NHS Constitution, which the government must complete every 10 years.
They also include a plan to embed patients and their loved ones' right to access a rapid review from outside the care team if the patient is deteriorating.
This is the right behind "Martha's rule", which is being introduced in the NHS, to ensure patients know they can ask for a second opinion, with the government providing funding to hospitals for posters and leaflets informing patients and their families.
Martha Mills died aged 13, after being admitted to King's College Hospital, south London, in 2021, having injured her pancreas slipping on to the handlebars of her bike while cycling.
She later developed sepsis - but with better care, could have survived, an inquest found.
All the changes will be consulted on over the next eight weeks, before the constitution is updated later this year.
Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: "Rights on paper are worthless unless they are delivered in practice.
"The NHS constitution already pledges that no patient will have to share an overnight ward with patients of the opposite sex, but that is not the case for too many patients."
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firegirl888101 · 4 months
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Insatiable Madness (10)
|Sagau Yandere Fatui Harbingers x Reader|
You need to start planning an escape.
Reader is Gender Neutral!
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It wasn't the most flattering picture of you they decided to use. At least you could find some humour in that fact.
"...Why are you just staring at 'the television'?" Sandrone raised an eyebrow, looking distraught.
"Oh, hey, you're on there!" Childe pointed out. "You famous?"
"Something like that..." You mumbled in return, trying to hide the smug smile on your face.
This is perfect. They couldn't read the roman alphabet! Not only can you use this against them to plan an escape, but you can also insult them later for it!
Illiterate bitches You snickered to yourself.
"Yesterday afternoon, a local fast food restaurant in '_____ ___ _______' was attacked by an unknown group. Police officers found in the area of the crime were frozen solid in strong ice, scientists all across the country have come to try and understand how such a phenomenon could happen."
The screen changed to the McDonald's you were taken from yesterday, to a hospital ward with remnants of ice all over the floor. The camera panned upwards to a man laying on one of the hospital beds. His face looked awful, like he'd been revived from the dead. His nose red and lips blue, he was shivering as nurses rushed to get heatpacks for him.
"When the first officer was thawed, he had no memories after he'd been turned to ice. From what our journalist's gathered from him, the group whom attacked the restaurant kidnapped a civilian inside the facility, killing all who remained inside and allowing children to run away from the scene."
The screen then cut to a zoomed in clip of him sitting up, visibly in a better condition than before.
"Could you tell us what happened?" A cameraman from behind the screen asked him, the police officer looking directly into the lens of the device.
"It was... traumatising." He answered in a low tone. "I had ran from the station after being called to an emergency downtown. Something about an answer to a 999 call expressing worries of there being a hostage. My co-workers ran out of the police car first, and shouted from outside the building."
"And?" The cameraman pushed him, noticing the officer's hesitation.
The officer sighed, his breath shaky, then continued.
"A woman calmy walked outside, at least I think it was a woman. I remember my friends shouting for 'a lady' to stop walking towards them and put her hands in the air. Last thing I remember is seeing something blue and shiny heading right for my co-workers and the police car I was in."
"Bah!" The cameraman laughed out loud. "You're saying she was the one who almost froze you to death? Don't be ridiculous, unless you dreamt Elsa." He mocked.
"But, that's what happened!" The police officer shouted at him, the footage of the hospital suddenly going black.
"The Police Station checked all officer's body cameras. However, from the external ice interference, all footage was damaged and therefore unable to be investigated."
Another picture of you, different from the first one displayed earlier, transitioned next to the lady reading from her script. Her face showed one of concern.
"The missing person is Mx Y/N L/N, a college student who was kidnapped at the location. They were the one whom called 999 and first alerted authorities to the situation in the building. Our heart goes out to them, in hopes of them being safe." She said sympathetically. Her face soon changed to an interested one, forgetting about all the death's in the first place.
"Just who could this group and 'lady' be? Where did they get the power to turn others into ice? Perhaps the lady is their leader! Let's hope an update on the situation comes soon. To find out more, go to our websi--"
You turned the television off with a disgusted expression on your face.
Fake. Arse. Bitch.
"Her??? 'The Leader'? Fuck that shit." Childe scoffed, arms crossed with a glare sent towards the woman.
"Enough, Childe." Signora scoffed back, rolling her eyes at the child clearly fuming.
"So, everyone knows you've gone missing?" The Regrator whistled, fiddling with a mora coin and sitting on the only armchair which hadn't been torn to pieces.
Ugh, you forgot they could still understand the English language.
"Yup." You sighed.
"Even though I already know the answer," Scaramouche huffed. "Do you have friends who could have seen that and immediately thought to check up on you at your house?"
Oh yeah, if only you had friends who actually cared about you! Then, maybe someone would come looking for you. Also, was Scaramouche implying you had no friends!?
For his information, you knew plenty of people and had a lot of 'friends'! ... Unfortunately, you don't think they care enough to drop by your house.
"Pshh!" You shoved his shoulder lightly, slightly hurt. The puppet scowled and rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. They just... aren't available right now." You lied with a shrug.
Scaramouche simply stared back at you. "Uh-huh, I believe you." He shook his head, walking away.
"Hey, don't walk away from me. You need to- HEY, THAT DOESN'T MEAN EVERYONE ELSE CAN TOO! CLEAN THIS GOD DAMN MESS YOU LOT MADE OR I SWEAR TO-"
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Everyone walked off to do their own thing around the house after that... cleaning session. You spied on what the harbingers were doing, a notepad in your hands with scribbled writing full of potential ideas to get away from the house.
You'd crossed out many plans:
Use phone, call someone?
Definitely not, you'd be heard and questioned by the harbingers then lose your phone to their control. There's no doubt in your mind Pierro would let Sandrone and Dottore get their hands on it.
Run out house, when everyone is sleeping?
Wouldn't work. They said it themselves, some of them don't sleep. Plus, most of them probably have supersonic hearing.
Suggest to go out together then secretly pass someone a note?
Too dangerous. The harbingers would quickly catch on to what you were planning, and would potentially kill the person whom you asked for help.
Ugh! This is terrible. Your dumb brain has thought of every possible way to escape, and they all end up in failure! They're too risky, the phone one is the most ideal but you'd never risk your phone being taken away too early! It could be detrimental later down the line.
"Decider. If I may have your attention," The old sounding voice of Pulcinella coughed from in front of you. "I would like to ask a question."
"A question? I mean, it's not like I can stop you from asking it." You hid your notepad from his view.
You didn't want to make the harbingers suspicious. Even if they couldn't read what you were writing.
"Insolent child." Pulcinella sighed to himself, shaking his head. "What exactly do you plan to do about the food?"
"Huh? Whaddya mean 'the food'?"
"While your meal from last night was delicious, I noticed from how it tasted it isn't the... healthiest option. Feeding 12 people, including yourself, is quite a task so I understand why you prepared something like it. But, aren't you worried about eventually running out?" He scratched his mustache, sitting on the sofa next to you.
"You're right." You sighed back to him with a nod. "I'll need to go shopping soon to get more food for everyone. But if I start doing that, I'll eventually run out of money."
"The Regrator can lend you some Mora---"
"Fuck that." You scoffed. "First of all, I know just how harsh the Fatui are with debt. Second of all, Mora isn't even the currency used here."
"You mean to say The Regrator is worth nothing in this world?" The old man's face grew amused.
"I mean, he wasn't worth anything to begin with..." You grumbled, trying to be as quiet as possible. "Anyway, I'll need to go to the cornershop and grab us some food."
"You won't be going anywhere." Pierro walked into the room, a small yawn erupting from his lips.
"Welcome back from my office." You glared slightly, Pierro glaring in return.
Well, technically it's not your office. Buuuut, your father did always joke how it would be yours when he dies... so yeah, it's yours now.
"I see no reason why it must belong to you when you are so concerned of your bedroom." He put a piece of paper in front of you.
"What does this say?" He dropped the paper on your lap, you giving him an eye roll before taking a closer look.
It seemed to be a... private file addressed to your dad. Something about house bills being paid at a certain date,. Wow, that's not interesting at all.
"Don't you know privacy is the only thing I have left now?" You scoffed, pushing the paper away from you.
"Now, Now...." Pulcinella scolded you, his walking stick digging into your foot. "Treat The Jester politely."
"Fine. I don't want to read it to you since they're my father's personal affairs, got it?" You winced, sighing in relief when feeling the pressure on your foot fade.
"Understandable." Pierros sighed to himself. "It looked important, with this script being written in thicker ink."
I could have sworn Teyvat has made something equivalent to a printing press... How else would 'The Legend of the Sword' gotten so popular? You thought, scratching your cheek with a confused face.
Well, Pierro was right either way. What he didn't know, was the bold text he deemed important was just the money paid, and the next date due.
Not like the house bills mattered anymore, you were assumed missing and it's probably not going to be visited for at least a year due to the janky government.
Besides, you were missing, not dead. According to the law, you have seven years until you need to worry about the police barging down the door. You probably won't live that long, so yay for legalities sake!
"Well, it would have been important for my mother and father before you ripped their carcass' in half. Now it's meaningless, ...for the next seven years or whatever." You gave a sassy reply, handing the paper back to him.
"Could you put it back where you found it? You'll probably not let me back in the office."
"Very well." He took the paper from you, leaving the room without another word.
"You, Mx Decider, need to work on your manners." Pulcinella gave you a side-eye.
"I have manners, but I won't give them to people who killed at least 30 people because they couldn't 'find the person they were looking for'. And then proceeded to kidnap them and--"
"I am getting tired of your blathering." He cut you off, a vein very clear on his head.
"One would say you act worse than Tonia back in Snezhnaya, but that would be a compliment. The situation is over and done now, I don't think you realise how much trouble you're actually in at this moment."
"Well, old man, everyone has a different coping method for traumatic situations. It just so happens that one of mine is joking and yapping on and on and on--"
"Understood. Just, shut up for the sake of my headache." He rubbed his head with his fingers, effectively shushing you.
Ahh, being annoying truly has its perks no matter who you annoy. From a scolding mother, to a bloodthirsty harbinger.
Anyway, you have an idea. You may look like an idiot trying, but you have evidence it could work.
All the Harbingers called you 'The Decider', meaning they recognised you before you even met them. This must mean they were aware of your existence before they left the game and entered your world.
Arlecchino in particular, she commented on Aether's existence being involved with your title. This means you're tied to him in some way. Perhaps.. If you were to log in to Genshin again you could ask him what in the fuck was going on.
You're not the smartest person, but this seems like the most obvious choice right now. You wish you could say the same for it being the easiest choice.
You hadn't logged into Genshin since you were forcefully taken out of the bathroom's in the restaurant. Were you really ready to go back to Genshin? The game which started all of this?
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This is definitely not two (technically three) weeks late or anything... ahahah....
I, 100%, purposefully uploaded this on Valentine's Day.
Yup.
Anyway, I'm very unsatisfied with this. But I really wanted to post it. I'll try to make the next one as long as possible since I'd like to personally not make too many views...
One day, I'll most likely combine some shorter ones into one whole view if that makes sense :3 (I think I've mentioned this before...)
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Please don't expect too many happy, nice and generally fluffy scenes.
This is Yandere, a genre which should never, under any circumstance be considered normal. It's abusive, unhealthy and leads to a lot of victims facing awful conditions which they never should or ever have to endure no matter who they are.
This is fiction that I'm writing, meaning it's all taken light-heartedly IN A FICTIONAL SENSE.
If anyone, by chance, is currently in conditions where a loved-one or yourself has suddenly become distant and/or being hurt when away from eyes please get help. Talk to them, or if it's you, talk to someone you know you can trust.
If you can't talk to anyone, find authorities who can help you. Call 999, as it is in the U.K, or your local emergency service. They will always help you, and will never deny your rights or freedom.
Thanks for reading this, I hope all who's reading knows this information already, but I thought I'd include it since who knows when it comes to where you are in the world and whether your education programs taught critical information like this.
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✨Elusive✨ Taglist!:
@valeriele3 @pale-value @pix-stuff @yumi-genshin-writer @yuii-v @itz-luna @annoying-mary @etherisy @khalhaimdad @haikyuusboringassmanager @magica-ren @sweatyexpertdeputyduck @booksandteaplusart @9140 @whatamidoing89 @raesleepyhead @nasidibakar @shikanosn @purpleamethystsblog @chihawari @esthelily @stuffyfrenchflowers @conspicuous-mayonnaise @sielt @katsumikumo @greyhoundwires707 @carminerin @raidendeeznuts123 @angelofdarkness2 @shellofthewell @ginnxy-galaxy @clara-maddenlin @bk-4-trash-fire @uniqaal @tnsophiaonly @vianitry @dottoreandcolumbinaslovechild @melou008 @lsleepysimpl @steadybreadbluebird @thebigkessydisaster @eliciana @kamit-frog @twst-kumi @idk098 @kurayamioterasu @mmeatt @the-lazy-perfectionist @florelll
Quick Reminder Here! If you no longer want to be on the taglist that's completely fine; I take no offence whatsoever so please don't hesitate to tell me. ^^
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gothhabiba · 7 months
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From the Palestinian Red Crescent's twitter, 13 November 2023:
🔴 Al-Quds Hospital still under intense gunfire.
🔴 The IDF claims to be attacking a "Hamas terrorist" who is firing a rocket-propelled grenade launcher from Al-Quds.
🔴 The main power generator at Al-Amal Hospital stopped working. The hospital is currently relying on a very small generator to supply electricity only to the maternity ward and emergency lighting. Remaining fuel is expected to run out within the next 24 hours.
11:01 AM:
"🚨 The vicinity of Al-Quds Hospital 🏥 is still witnessing intense gunfire, with the presence of Israeli military vehicles. Our staff are trapped with patients and the wounded, without electricity, water, or food. We hope for their safety. 🙏"
1:10 PM, in response to this tweet from @IDF:
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[ID: Tweet by Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) at 3:22pm on November 13 reading: "What could these Hamas terrorists possibly be doing with an RPG at the Quds Hospital?" Attached is a 20-second drone video of the hospital with overlaid text reading "Enemy fire from the entrance of the 'Al-Quds' Hospital towards IDF troops: terrorist with RPG launcher."
The PRCS issued a statement reading:
🚨 The Palestine RCS strongly condemns the false claims by the occupying forces about armed individuals launching projectiles from inside Al-Quds Hospital. The PRCS sees these claims as a blatant attempt to incite further targeting and besieging of the hospital, constituting a clear violation of international humanitarian law. ❌ PRCS rejects these baseless allegations, as the published video clearly shows that the armed individuals approached from the street while the occupation tanks were stationed in front of and shielded by the hospital, endangering the lives of medical teams and patients. The PRCS confirms that there are no armed individuals inside the hospital, and no shots have been fired from within. Everyone within the hospital are patients, their families, and the medical staff. 📣 PRCS calls on the international community to intervene immediately to protect its teams besieged inside the hospital, facing imminent danger with each passing moment.
4:22 PM:
"🛑 Today's attempt to evacuate Al-Quds Hospital failed after the IOF decided to return the designated evacuation convoy to the association's branch in Khan Younis, despite receiving prior approval.
"🚨 The decision was rationalized by referring to a security incident in the vicinity, despite the convoy undergoing thorough inspection. It is noteworthy that yesterday, displaced individuals were allowed to exit through a route specified by the occupation forces, under specific and challenging conditions.
"🧑‍⚕ Our medical teams, patients,and the wounded, along with their companions, remain trapped inside the hospital without food, water, or electricity, and their is 300 person."
4:49 PM:
"🚨 ⚠️ Today, the sole power generator at Al-Amal Hospital, affiliated with the PRCS in Khan Younis, stopped working. This threatens the lives of 90 patients receiving treatment, including 25 in the medical rehabilitation section who now face the risk of death at any moment. Additionally, around 9,000 displaced individuals have sought refuge in the PRCS premises and the hospital.
" 🏥 The hospital is currently relying on a very small generator to supply electricity only to the maternity ward and emergency lighting. It's important to note that the remaining fuel is expected to run out within the next 24 hours.
"🛑 The power generator's failure is impacting the operations of both the PRCS headquarters and Al-Amal Hospital, which includes the emergency operations room for the Gaza Strip. This has resulted in a loss of communication with the operation rooms scattered across the Gaza sector and the cessation of VHF communication services."
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foamofthe-sea · 9 months
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Found some questions rummaging through the xiv tags while I wait for this social event to start so send a number and I'll answer it? Feel free to reblog and do the same.
1. Where were they during the Calamity? 
2. How did they acquire their Echo? 
3. Does their Echo function like it does in the MSQ? Or is there a twist to it? 
4. Do they have a canon mount or minion? What's its name(s)? 
5. Where are they from? What was their childhood like?
6. How did they deal with the massacre on the Waking Sands?  
7. How did they deal with Haurchefant's death? 
8. How did they feel about the liberation of Ala Mhigo? Do they feel it could have been handled differently? Where they at all bothered by how they were involved? 
9. How do they feel about Zenos? 
10. How do they feel about their relationship with Hydaelyn? Midgarsormr?
11. Were they more sympathetic to the dragons, Ishgardians, neither or both? 
12. How has their job affected whatever headcanon version is of the MSQ if any? 
13. Are they close with any of the other Scions? Who do they get along with the best? 
14. Of the Scions, who are they most worried for? 
15. Is your WoL promiscuous? Celibate? Or just waiting for the right person? 
16. What does your WoL do to relax? What sorts of distractions do they seek? Do they foster any bad habits as a result?
17. Who is their favorite Alliance leader? Who do they get along with the best out of them? 
18. Does your WoL fully embrace their role as the WoL or do they try to remain humble? 
19. What do they think of the Heaven's Ward? 
20. Of all the places they've been to, which is their favorite? Do they like to go back there? 
21. Are there any raid storylines (Ivalice, Coil of Bahamut, Werlyt, etc.) you consider to be canon for your WoL? Which ones don't you consider canon? 
22. Do you  have a unique tale for their job class or is it pretty much like what it is in the game?
23. Are there any side quest storylines that you're particularly fond of or think of as being canon to your WoL's experiences? 
24. Does your WoL have any phobias? 
25. Do they have any habits or rituals that they do to soothe themselves? I.e. Playing with their hair, chewing their lip, fidgeting, etc. 
26. Do they suffer any traumas from any of their adventures? How do you foresee this affecting them going forward? 
27. How did the events of Shadowbringers impact them? 
28. Were they suspicious or open to Emet-Selch's presence when he first appeared? 
29. Did your WoL suspect anything was amiss with Urianger or the Crystal Exarch? Did they feel betrayed? Upset? When the truth finally emerged? 
30. What was their highest point in Shadowbringers? Their lowest? What caused it? 
31. What were their first impressions of Hien? 
32. Did they trust Asahi right away? Why or why not? 
33. How did they feel about what happened with Yotsuyu? Did they feel like she was justified in her actions?
34. Would you say your WoL is fundamentally a good person? Or are they a bad person that's been persuaded to do the right things? 
35. How do they feel about the fact that they've killed a lot of people and/or things?
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You may wonder what this whole Awesome Coffee Club thing is all about. Today I was reminded what it’s all about:
In 2019, the unpaid intern who runs this tumblr account visited Sierra Leone’s Kono District. Kono is the among the most impoverished communities in the world due to a long history of enslavement, colonialism, and civil war. A decade ago, Kono’s healthcare system was in a state of collapse--clinics had no running water or electricity or paid staff, and inconsistent supplies of medications and other necessities.
As a result, Kono was the epicenter of the global maternal mortality crisis: One out of every seventeen women could expect to die in childbirth. Over 10% of children died before the age of five. 
Beginning in 2014, Partners in Health began working with Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health to bring change. This started with the basics at the region’s hospital, Koidu Government Hospital: running water, 24-hour electricity, and hiring nurses, community healthworkers, cooks, facilities management staff, and so much more. 
At the time, KGH’s maternity ward had a dirt floor. Many people were dying for want of an emergency C-section or a blood transfusion. By 2019, this was getting better--two functioning operating rooms were able to perform C-sections, and a blood bank could address postpartum hemorrhaging. But it was still inadequate, and maternal and child mortality were horrifyingly routine.
To address the crisis, PIH Sierra Leone directors Jon Lascher and Dr. Baillor Barrie wanted to build a world-class maternal and child health center that could save thousands of lives yearly while also serving as a teaching hospital to train the next generation of Sierra Leonean healthcare workers. They told us they needed $25,000,000 to break ground, and would probably eventually need another $25,000,000 to support the hospital’s operation over its first few years.
I am, as unpaid interns go, doing quite well, but not THAT well. So our family committed what we could and asked others to join us, and within two years, we passed that $25,000,000 goal. Together, we’ve now raised close to $40,000,000. 
Today, I visited the site of the Maternal Center of Excellence, the first wards of which will hopefully open next year. Nearly all of the construction team are from Kono, and 65% of them are women--they work as welders, engineers, planners, laborers, and so much more. You see three of them above. I had the privilege of talking with them about this project. The young woman to the right, Success, told me that her dream is to work for the hospital her whole life, helping to maintain and support it. One of the other women told me, “We are passionate about this work because it is the future of our country. And we know that we and our friends will someday give birth here.” I am so proud that our projects support their training and livelihood, and so grateful to have them as colleagues in this work.
The hospital--which will include over 100 maternal beds, a NICU, and enough operating suites to perform over 10 emergency C-sections per day, will also require ongoing funding for staff, stuff, systems, maintenance, and more. Our hope is that open-ended projects like the Awesome Coffee Club and Awesome Socks Club can help provide that funding, although the most efficient way to support this project is to donate directly! 
So that’s why this tumblr, and the awesome coffee club, exists. World-class maternal and infant healthcare is coming to Kono, a wonderful and  too long impoverished by colonialism and extractive capitalism. It is only a first step. There is so long to go. But what a first step.
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yaut-jaknowit · 6 months
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False Freedom
Pairing: We'ar-ow (Female Yautja) x GN!Reader
Word Count: 3659
Summary: You're let to roam around the ship at your free will. Not like you could escape easily. Only to run into trouble.
Author Note: Any errors, let me know!
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving! As a gift to you guys, I'm gonna post two things today. Stay tuned!
Masterlist
Ao3
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 |
The plain metal door slid behind you and clicked with a lock. Most of the tightness in your chest that made it hard to breath washed away. It freed you to relax and slump against the forementioned door. You still couldn’t believe that We’ar-ow had allowed you to leave her quarters… by yourself. She had said it would be good for you or something like that. Go explore, be curious.
Yeah, you’ll surely be curious as you map out an escape route from her room and towards the ships. That was your plan A for escape. It might take time to figure out how to operate one of them. Thankfully, the tablet should help you that. Give you the basics on learning on how to fly an alien spaceship. You sighed heavily through your nose and pushed off of the door.
Without We’ar-ow marching in front of you, leading you to wherever she wanted, this new found freedom was nice. The unfortunate new mark carved into the top of your back would further ensure a single Yautja wouldn’t dare hurt you. Nervously, you glanced down at the tablet and silently reminded yourself. If trouble was to rise, We’ar-ow could be called with a single button. Nothing bad should happen though… right?
You rapidly shook your held before standing tall, shoulder squared and chin level. Who cares? If you didn’t start now, you’ll be stuck here for longer. An extra day, an extra hour, minute, it did not matter. Extra time you didn’t want to be for. Then, you finally started a path towards the elevator door.
One of the things We’ar-ow has given you is a code. A code to enter most places on the ship. Most, but not all. You hadn’t encouraged yourself to ask if that meant the bay for the ships.
In all honesty, We’ar-ow expects you to try and escape, as close to impossible that is. Nothing is impossible though. Aliens were thought to not exist at all but look where you were currently, in space, so far from home, from earth.
The number pad clicked at every touch before chiming a high-pitch beep. The elevator doors finally opened at your command. You entered it swiftly and pressed the needed button to go the floor destined. Afterwards, you mess about on the table to pull up the map system that showed the entire layout of the ship.
Once it came to stop and opened to reveal a mostly empty hall, you stepped out and gaze both ways. Only a few bodies filled the area, none that paid attention to you. Thankfully. From there you used the map to start an unsteady path to your right.
The mothership was exactly the same on either side. What differentiated between them was the placements of the sparring rooms and the cafeterias by the looks of it. There were probably smaller, less noticeable changes that didn’t matter. You did your best to remember where the emergency escape pods were for one of the halls that connected with this one. The pods were on the outer edge of the ship.
As for one of the hangars, those were closer to the belly of the ship. There seemed to be a huge cargo bay down there as well for supplies and whatnot. Just the extra stuff needed to survive in case of an emergency or such. These aliens surely know what they’re doing when it comes to this kind of thing. Space, beautiful but extremely dangerous.
Through the lowly trickle of people, you stayed off to the side, out of their way, and head bowed to follow the map. Thankfully, no one gave you trouble, either warded off by We’ar-ow’s scent on you or the sight at of her mark scaring your skin. Whatever it was, worked. They stayed away as you went on your marry way down this hall and onto the next.
The hairs at the base of your neck rose sharply. Every instinct that controlled your body reverted to a prey mindset as you paused mid-step. Only a few feet into this new hallway. The sounds of your heartbeat thundered in your ears as the only thing you could do was freeze. Freeze like a deer in headlights, watching their doom approach them.
Unlike that, you didn’t know what was following you. Who or what was watching you so closely, so deadly. It caused your skin to crawl and prickle.
Every instinct screamed at you to move or even press the button. To know that there was hope that someone on this alien ship was willing to protect you. Even if it was someone you would happily slash her throat and promptly run for your life.
Your bottom lip found its way to be worried on between dull teeth. Then, your hovering foot came down to complete a hesitant step. Despite your ancient instincts trying to drive you away from this place, you ignored it and kept going. If you turned tail to run away from whoever this was, you could only be seen more of the coward the Yautjas saw your kind as. You pushed through and continued this pathing down the infinite hallway.
All you wanted to do was map out the area for an escape.
From the weight of the unknown stare, you knew it wasn’t We’ar-ow. There couldn’t be a possible way for her to reach this level moments after you and get to that hall before you. Plus, that heat… Your skin crawled, knowing whoever it was wanted you dead.
Dwainet came to mind but it’s not only him that felt threatened by your presence. Other Yautjas have shown and expressed their dislike for you since you’ve arrived so long ago. You don’t think Dwainet would show himself near you after the beat down with We’ar-ow either. Not when she played with him like a skilled warrior and a child sparring. It was all a game to her.
.
Off to the side, you stopped to study the map a little more closely. A few shoot offs of other halls connected to this main hallway. A few shops lined this side, vendors selling various things from weapons to jewelry of sorts.
As the human you were, curiosity gripped your heart and tugged on it. Timidly in the near empty hall, you approached the lonely vendor that had a few weapons and armor in his section. Despite wishing he wouldn’t take notice of your form, his eyes darted as you grew closer. You cursed mentally and turned to leave. Death wasn’t on your list of plans today.
The male Yautja chirped, the translator staying silent behind your ear. With his head, he motioned for you to come back towards him. Instead, you stayed put, unsure if fleeing was an option, if he would give chase to hunt you down.
“Come hereth. I see the interest in your alien eyes, ooman,” he commanded, voice high, airy. Well shit. You held the tablet to your chest while your eyes scanned the objects set up on the tables. “You’re the Monarch’s pet, aren’t you?” Your knuckles turned a shade of white but you nodded.
This new Yautja placed a hand on the table and leaned over the weapons. The inside of your cheek started to bleed from how hard you were biting it to distract yourself, some. His warm breath fanned over your face, spilt tongue darting out to taste the air. “Pick something,” he stated and stood straight once more.
It took some willpower not to let shock morph over your features. Was this a trick of sorts to lie and say you stole something? No one would believe you, a pet, would have currency to buy things. You turned your head to look at him from the corner of your eye with suspicion.
He chuckled and put his hands on his hips, thumbs slipping into the waistband of his pants. “Ah, you are smarter than the average ooman. I give credit where it is due.” His alien smirk fell though as he peered straight at you. “Seriously though, pick something. Anything of the sort.”
His words are what caught your attention and the way he spoke carefully. This Yautja was offering for you to pick something but hadn’t said you could have it. Play this smart, don’t cause trouble.
On the table between the two of you, your eyes swiftly darted from item to item before landing on a small dagger. The smallest of them all and closest to fit more comfortably in your own hand.
Carefully, you pointed out the dagger. “That one.” You didn’t touch it or anything on the table, not playing into his hands. You hoped.
A grin spread across his face, upper mandibles both flaring. An action you could almost was a challenge or threat of sorts. Yet, you stayed where you stood without moving, a white-knuckle grip still held onto the tablet in your hands.
He once more rested a palm against the table and leaned in closer then before. “Ahhh, you are harder to trick than the average ooman. Glad to see it.” Then, strangely enough, he held out his hand towards you, a human gesture. “I am called Wourk. You may take the weapon as a prize. I give you the blade, free of charge.”
Once more, you looked at the newly named Wourk closely. His hand still hovered in the air, you decided to play it safe and not take it. “Why?” you questioned in all honesty. It would a loss to him. Why give up product for nothing in return? You did not trust this Yautja, not one bit.
Wourk snorted and leaned away from you. “Some secrets are meant to stay hidden. Take the blade. It is yours to weld,” he answered. You narrowed your eyes on him once more before finally forcefully uncurling one of your hands. Your knuckles painfully ached at how hard you had been squeezing the tablet, creaking from the movement.
Your eyes darted between your limb and himself, to ensure he wasn’t going to double cross you. The lukewarm metal touched against your fingertips. Wourk hadn’t moved and just watched with amusement.
Swiftly, you snatched back your hand with the dagger. Now further from him, you respectfully bowed your head. “Thank you,” you said politely before inspecting the craftmanship of it. With the limited knowledge, the metal reflected light off of it. “It’s beautiful.” The Yautja hummed, an upper mandible jerking upwards.
This entire time, he was just entertaining himself during the slow periods. You gazed back up at him with just a hint of a smile. Oh, you poor ooman.
“Run along, ooman.” Wourk leaned back on another tablet behind him and used a hand in a shooing motion. Your face turned sour but you did stalk away without giving him another word. Despite rarely being around other Yautjas besides Dwainet and now We’ar-ow, there was no kindness in their biology. Just straight to the point.
When you reentered the barely filled hallway, a shiver ran its course through your body. Goosebumps raised the hairs along your arms. Watchful, observant eyes pinned you down where you stood. You did your best to shake it off and slip the blade into your pocket, hoping it wouldn’t cut the fabric or yourself somehow.
With the tablet once more leading you through the halls, you meander your way. Just a helpless ooman, figuring their way on a ship alien to you.
A ooman that’s so weak, pathetic, just one flex of his muscles could snap their fragile neck. A ooman he stalked, watched, carefully in the halls of the mothership. The ooman could not sense him in any way, that he knew of. He was safe, using his cloak to keep from their sight. One day, he’ll extinguish the damned creature’s heart. Like the way it deserved to be as the weak link.
His prowess aided him as he stalked after it. Every step calculated to ensure there wasn’t a chance he could be seen. He watched as a vendor gave you a small, useless blade and sent you on your way. If he were to attack, like that could do anything damaging to him. No, he’ll have your head pulled from your body before the thought to use it could cross your mind.
There was nothing and no one that could stop him. A Yautja on the hunt with his prey before him… only he had to play this smart. He couldn’t have the murder coming back to him. The Monarch would deprive him of life he guessed from the way she defended it. A game this Yautja was willing to play. The hunt, always, always fun.
Taking turns to more populated areas of the ship, you fast-walked without drawing attention to yourself away from here. Anywhere safer than those eyes. The eyes that had yet to leave no matter what you did. No matter what turn, where you headed, they stalked your every move.
In all honestly, you had hit every section on this level just to escape. But it followed. Your heart pounded violently in your ears at each twist and turn. Without realizing it, you had begun running and now heading towards the elevator. The area wasn’t heavily populated, probably desolate at this point but you needed to get to the safety of We’ar-ow’s room. At least, hopefully, no one could reach you there. That you knew off, possibly.
Your hand slammed against the number pad to open the door in frantic feeling. Whatever was chasing kept pace, easily and calmly. The device screeched at the incorrect code, snapping you for a moment out of your thoughts. The code was shakily inputted. After the three time, it finally took it and opened up.
All it took was three seconds to react, get in, and smash a fist against the button to close. Your back was to the furthest wall as you waited for the doors to seal shut. The only thing you could do was watch and pray it doesn’t get in here before they shut.
Either it was toying with you or wasn’t as quick as you believed it to be, the doors were able to close fully. The tightness in your chest fell away as you  took a shaky step forward and pressed the needed button to We’ar-ow’s room.
With the eyes off of you, relief briefly flooded your system and allowed a moment to think and truly breathe. Air filled your lung completely for the first time within the hour. You settled against the wall next to the buttons for a moment. Long enough for the elevator to stop on the desired floor and open up to reveal the short, blank walkway to her door.
Hesitancy kept you stuck in the elevator as you just stared at the door. From one monster to another…
Something small, minute, in the belly of your stomach didn’t sit well with that thought. We’ar-ow hasn’t been outright cruel or abusive… besides the branding marring your skin. Everything else, it was all gifts or kind gestures. The tablet, the cushion, the clothing. Yeah, everything someone would do for their pet, but she hasn’t been cruel to you.
The doors in front of you started to close. In a panic, you rushed forward and slipped through before they shut. So close to the entrance of the lion’s den. You swallowed thickly, unsure how much more stress in one day you could handle.
Behind you, the elevator made a thud noise, terrifying you out of your mind. In an instant, you sprinted forward, abandoning the tablet on the ground. Your shoulder roughly met the door as you tried to run it over but it held steady. Frantic and terrified, you banged on the door, voice caught in your throat.
You fell forward but caught yourself barely for a massive hand to push you further into the room. Everything was a blur until your mind could finally catch up to see the scene before you.
We’ar-ow, in all of her mighty, snarling glory, stood defensively before you. Her long, lethal claws glinting in her quarter’s light as her fingers flexed, ready to tear into flesh and bone. A threatening, dangerous snarl ripped through her throat, daring, challenging anyone to take step forward. Nothing, no one did.
Her door closed, sealing the two of you safely in her place. From the overwhelming, mind breaking terror running through your veins, you fell to your knees and wrapped your arms around yourself. That didn’t help an ounce to calm yourself down.
Your breaths were ragged, tearing at your throat. Hot tears poured down your face as you stayed kneeled on the ground and stared blankly. In your mind, you were far too caught in the whirlwind to notice anything in the real world. Had you just escaped death from whatever stalked you? A broken whine came from your dry throat.
Something warm, rough engulfed your jaw and forced your head to tilt up. A few second passed. Your eyes finally focused on We’ar-ow kneeling down, completely on her knees and checking over you. Clicks sounded from her mandibles and throat but the buzzing in your head drowned out the translator. You had no clue what was being spoken, nor did you care. The droning noise consumed everything. Nothing made sense right now.
One second you were on the floor. The next, you were being carried swiftly somewhere. We’ar-ow set you down on a cool ledge in what looked to be the bathroom. All you did was make the smallest noise of confusion while staring blankly at the light floors of the bathroom.
Freezing water splashed against your face, tearing you from your thoughts. You gasped harshly and squirmed to get off of the counter, but strong, sturdy arms held you in place. They were pinned on either side of you and kept you trapped.
“Look at me.”
Harsh words were snapped with trickles of what could believed as worry. Your head jerked up, eyes darting to find orange blazing orbs staring into your soul. There was something about that just almost soothed your soul instantly. Instead, you just stopped moving.
“Good, good pet,” she cooed and raised a hand to pet the top your head only to grab the strands. Her hand pulled slightly back to expose the column of your throat to her. “What happened?” Her voice was still softer, even gentler than before as she questioned you.
At the moment, all you could do was give a pathetic, broken cry that barely passed the lump in your throat. We’ar-ow leaned in closer to rest her close mandibles against where your neck and shoulder meet. At first, you tensed up and relaxed, her hand the only thing keeping you sitting up. “Who hurt you?” she tried again, staying soft and inviting. “Tell me who hurt you, my pet.”
A purr began to rumble deep in her chest. It was a sound you hadn’t heard before from the pink Yautja. Dwainet… he’s done it before, so many times before for you. This was different, somehow, someway.
You cleared your throat the best to get rid of the majority of the lump to speak. “I-I-“ your voice cracked, dry from all the running. “Don’t kn-ow.” We’ar-ow continued her purring as she pulled back enough to fill a hand with water. She brought it up to your lips. Too desperate to wash away the scratches in your throat, you gulped it down. The Yautja did this two more times for you.
“What happened?” Now, We’ar-ow was look straight into your eyes, no longer purring. Nervous from the eye contact, your gaze darts around the bathroom. She wasn’t going to let that go. Instead, she grasped your chin once more and forced you to look at me. In her eyes, she wanted to know the truth of how you ended up as a terrified, trembling mess at her door.
Both of your hands played mindlessly with the helm of the shirt she gave you. Then, you explained from the moment you stepped out into the hall and all the way back to her room. The entire time, she didn’t let her or your eyes leave as much as that made you anxious.
Once the last word left your lips, We’ar-ow stood in silence. The cog wheels in her head spun.
Out of nowhere, We’ar-ow scooped you from the counter and held you bridal style. The strength of her body easily taking you from the bathroom to… her bed? The low, half above ground mattress of sorts was neatly put together with furs and blankets. Four pillows lined the head of the bed. The Yautja knelt down to pull at the covers before slipping you underneath them.
The terror and complete puzzlement that controlled your body at that moment held you in place. What was she doing?! We’ar-ow pulled the covers over you, up to your chest and stood back up. “Stay. I will investigate,” she said before turning to take her leave.
Deep down, from the pits of your mind, you wanted nothing more to reach out and stop her. The words ‘wait’ on your tongue. But she was out the door before you could gather the courage to do so.
Her bedroom door closed and made a clicking noise. A lock? But… why? Why did she not take you to your room? Why her room? You gulped and ran a hand through the strands of your messed up hair. All of that running and freaking out did nothing for your hair.
A shaky breath filled the air as you look over the room. Back on her wall of trophies, those human skulls stared at you with their empty eye sockets. One day, will she turn you into that?
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 |
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wintersoldiersoul · 8 months
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Hi.
Saw you are taking requests.
I got shingles the weekend close to my birthday, i confuse it with allergy because i am allergic to basically anything and then on my 24th birthday i got that it was actually shingles, doctor told me that my immune system went down and that is why i got it. Before that i was under so much stress because of work that i developed burn out and had to quit my job (literally spent months, weeks of my life visiting the emergency ward because i kept getting sick due to stress and burn out) probably that Triggered the shingles.
Could you write something with Bucky in which the reader suffers similar sh**? I just need comfort from my fave character 😭
If you dont feel comfortable is fine, i understand 😁
KUDOS!
I'm so sorry you went through that! I hope you are much better now. I tried to make this as medically accurate as possible (I texted my friend in med school LOL) but I am definitely not a doctor so if some stuff isn't accurate, just pretend it is.
You threw your hair up into a ponytail to get it out of your face. Hours slumped over at your desk weren't doing any favors. You grabbed the energy drink and chugged it to prevent your eyes from closing. You were almost done with this assignment. Just a little bit longer, you told yourself. 
Working full time and being a grad student was taking a toll on you. You spent every day from 9-5 in your office and every night from 6-10 in classes. You crammed homework in anywhere you could, which often meant staying up most of the night. It was approaching 4am, now. 
The office door creaked open and Bucky strolled in, sleep still filling his eyes. “Baby,” he sighed. “Come to bed.” He had woken up and the bed was cold without you beside him. He walked over to you, kissing your forehead.
“Can’t,” you mumbled without looking up from your computer.
“You gotta get some sleep, darlin’.”
You sneezed, still typing away. “I’m fi-” your words were interrupted by another sneeze.
Bucky stood, looking at you with a stern expression. “Well look at that. You’re getting sick.” 
You waved your hand. “No, I’m not. It’s just allergies,” you said, sniffling. “You know this time of year is bad.” The past few months, you had been sick on and off multiple times. A cold, a small fever, you were sick more than you weren’t. 
“Honey, please just get some sleep. You haven’t slept in days.” He was practically begging. He knew how much stress you were under and getting no sleep wasn’t going to help. He was extremely worried about you.
“Just give me 10 more minutes, okay?” You compromised.
“Fine. But I’m sitting right here and setting a timer. The second it goes off, I’m carrying you to bed.”
He did exactly that, throwing you over his shoulder when you didn’t get up immediately at the ring of his phone. Despite the intense amounts of caffeine you had consumed, you fell asleep the second your head hit the pillow.
Bucky woke up before you the next morning, smiling at your sleeping form. Your hair was sprawled over your face and he gently pushed it away to kiss your cheek. But as soon as he moved the strands, he noticed that your cheeks were flushed. He put the back of his flesh hand on your skin. Heat radiated off of your face before he even touched you. You were definitely sick.
He got up, being careful not to wake you. He left the bedroom returning a few minutes later with water, Advil, and a thermometer. You groaned as your alarm rang, sending shooting pains into your skull. You groaned, opening your eyes. You felt like absolute shit. Your whole body ached, your throat was on fire, and even your skin hurt.
“You’re sick.” Bucky stated, as if he was informing you.
“Yeah, I can tell,” you retorted, wincing at the pain in every cell of your body. He smiled softly, brushing your hair behind your ears. 
“I got you some water and Advil. Can I take your temperature, doll?”
You nodded and he put the thermometer under your tongue. He looked it, eyes widening. “Shit baby, that’s not good. Your temp is 102.8. How do you feel?”
“Horrible,” you pouted.
He sighed. “I’m not surprised. That’s a really high fever, baby. I think we should go to the doctor.”
You groaned, not wanting to move. You felt so horrible that the thought of having to get up and out of bed was a nightmare. You felt like you couldn’t stay awake, eyes closing no matter how hard you tried to keep them open. “Can’t move,” you whispered, coughing slightly. “My whole body hurts so much. Just wanna sleep.”
Bucky didn’t know what to do. In his mind, sickness meant calling a doctor. He had spent so many years worrying about Steve back in the 40s, sitting with him while he got looked at. He still wasn’t used to how things were today. The google search he did on his phone told him that if your fever went above 103, to take you to the hospital. In his opinion, you were close enough that he wanted to rush you there right now, but he could see how exhausted you were.
“Alright, rest for now. But if it gets worse we’re going to the hospital.” You didn’t even hear him as you had already fallen back to sleep.
You woke up in a daze, cold sweat clinging to your body. You were shivering aggressively, shaking the entire bed. “Babe?” Bucky said, noticing you were awake. “You cold?”
You nodded, teeth chattering. He quickly grabbed you another blanket, wrapping you up like a burrito. He wrapped his arms around you, hoping that his body heat would help, too. One of the major perks of dating a super soldier was that the chances of getting him sick were very slim. He held you as close as possible, trying to keep you warm. “Oh, honey,” he whispered, voice dripping with sympathy.
 “Can you take your temperature again for me?” He asked after your shivering had subsided a little bit. You put the thermometer back in your mouth, waiting for the beep. Bucky took it from you, heart stopping as he looked. “I know you don’t wanna move, but we gotta go to the ER. You’re at 103.6. That’s really really bad.”
You groaned. You felt so horrible, his words barely even registered in your mind. He picked you up and carried you to the car, whispering words of encouragement along the way. You closed your eyes again, finding it physically impossible to stay awake. Bucky held your hand the entire car ride before picking you up and carrying you into the ER. He let you sleep as you waited, positioning your head on his shoulder. He constantly watched you to make sure you were still breathing. He didn’t wanna wake you until he absolutely had to.
When you were finally called in, he shook you gently. “Can you walk?” He asked. You weakly nodded and he helped you to your feet letting you lean on his body as you went to the exam room.
The doctor hooked you up to an IV immediately to hydrate your sick body as they examined you.
“How have you been sleeping?” She asked you.
“Um, not great,” you answered, voice sounding raspy. “I’ve been under a lot of stress.”
“She hasn’t slept in a week,” Bucky interjected. “She’s been getting sick a lot these past few months since she started grad school.”
The doctor nodded. “Okay that’s very good to know.” She proceeded to ask you a few more questions and then said, “Did you have chicken-pox as a kid?”
You nodded. “Yeah. When I was 5.”
She carefully rolled up your shirt, revealing a rash on your side. “It looks like you have shingles. The stress you’ve been under seems to have weakened your immune system which is why you’ve been getting sick so much. It makes sense that with all of that the virus would come back now.”
Bucky held your hand. He was relieved that you had a diagnosis but of course he was terrified. Back in his time, that would have been a death sentence. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“I’ll be fine, Buck,” you answered. 
“Yes,” the doctor agreed. “We’re gonna keep her here for at least tonight because your fever is so high. But you will be okay.”
Bucky exhaled. “Oh, thank god.”
“Can I go to sleep now?” You asked the doctor. You were so exhausted.
“Yes. I’ll let you rest,” she smiled before leaving the room.
“I’m so sorry you feel so shitty,” Bucky said, holding your hand. “Will this make you take it easy?”
“I don’t know what I can do to change anything,” you said with tear filled eyes. “Literally the only time I have to get things done is in the middle of the night.”
He looked into your eyes. He wanted to help you so badly that his heart ached. He wanted you to be happy and healthy. “What if you quit your job?” He suggested. “You only took this as a temporary thing anyway. I know you don’t wanna stay there when you’re done with school.”
“I can’t not have a job, Bucky,” you argued.
“Baby,” he looked in your eyes. “Do you have any clue how much the Avengers pay me?” He smirked. “Trust me, you don’t need a job.” You opened your mouth to argue, ready to tell him that you didn’t need his money. “I know you’re your own person and you can make your own money. And one day, with that brain, you will make so much all on your own. But baby, you’re drowning. You’ve been sick more days than not the past few months. Please, let me take care of you. Just for a bit. I’d never tell you what to do and if you really wanna stay, you can. But you’re killing yourself, darling. And I can’t just sit back and watch as it happens. Just think about it. Please.”
You lazily smiled. “Okay. I’ll think about it. But not right now. Right now, I need to sleep.”
He stroked your hair and kissed your forehead. “Go to sleep, my love. I’ll be right here when you wake up.” 
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workersolidarity · 2 months
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🇺🇳⚔️🇮🇱 🚨
WHO REPORT CALLS AL-SHIFA HOSPITAL AN "EMPTY SHELL" AND DESCRIBES A GRAVE YARD
A newly published World Health Organization (WHO) report on the Israeli occupation raid on Al-Shifa Medical Complex, located in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, calls the hospital an "empty shell" and describes a ruined courtyard with "numerous shallow graves" filled with the bodies of murdered Palestinians.
According to the WHO, the organization tried on six different occasions to organize a mission to visit the hospital in order to evacuate patients, staff and displaced civilian sheltering inside, but were "denied, delayed or impeded" six times between March 25th and April 1st, 2024.
The WHO said the hospital, which had been Gaza's "largest and most important" referral hospital in the Gaza Strip and said it is now "nothing more than an empty shell," with no patients, no doctors and a majority of the hospital's equipment and facilities completely or partially destroyed, including the hospital's emergency department and its maternity ward, both of which were destroyed by "explosives and fire."
The Israeli occupation army also destroyed the hospital's oxygen plant, which the WHO says leaves only Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, which was also damaged during a previous weeks-long Israeli siege and eventual raid back in December, 2023.
However, the horrific part of the WHO report comes when WHO personnel describe what they witnessed outside on the hospital grounds, writing in the report how, "numerous shallow graves have been dug just outside the emergency department, and the administrative and surgical buildings."
"In the same area, many dead bodies were partially buried with their limbs visable. During the visit, WHO staff witnessed at least five bodies lying partially exposed to the heat. The team reported a pungent smell of decomposing bodies engulfing the compound. Safeguarding dignity, even in death, is an indespensible act of humanity."
Further, survivors of the raid described to the WHO teams horrific treatment at the hands of the Zionist army, telling the WHO they'd endured "severe lack of food, water, healthcare, hygiene, and sanitation, and were forced to relocate between buildings at gunpoint."
"At least 20 patients have reportedly died due to the lack of access to care and limited movement authorized for healthcare personnel," the WHO added.
Despite the horrendous scenes the WHO teams were met with, they'd endured several delays, and even the illegal detention of a driver, before gaining access to the site and they also said more than half of all their missions to Gaza have been met with delays, impediments and postponements.
Worse still, the WHO says the loss of the Al-Shifa medical complex has "broken the backbone of the already ailing health system" in Gaza. This after the WHO worked to restore basic services at Al-Shifa after a previous Israeli raid inflicted damage to the hospital's functionality, saying in the report that all those efforts are "now lost."
Out of 36 hospitals functioning in Gaza on October 7th, 2023, only 10 remain at this time to serve over 2 million Palestinians, most of them displaced, and nearly 5% of Gazans dead, wounded or missing.
Meanwhile, with a looming Israeli invasion of Rafah, the WHO fears Gaza could be facing "unimaginable health consequences" from Israel's war and its "systematic dismantling of health care" in the Gaza Strip.
The report finishes by warning that, "as famine looms, disease outbreaks spread, and traumatic injuries increase, WHO calls for unimpeded access of humanitarian aid into and across the Gaza Strip, and a lasting ceasefire."
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@WorkerSolidarityNews
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mariocki · 1 year
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A very brief turn by Frazer Hines, as stable hand Jem, in Peter Diamond's pilot for a proposed adventure series Lochinvar (1968). There was little interest in the pilot or any subsequent series, and ultimately the sole filmed episode was never transmitted - it survived in the hands of director/producer Diamond until his family donated the film stock to Kaleidoscope a few years ago.
#fave spotting#frazer hines#lochinvar#tv pilot#jamie mccrimmon#doctor who#classic doctor who#1968#peter diamond#an unusually small role for Frazer; he may not have been lead material‚ but he's barely onscreen 30 seconds here and was a well known tv#presence thanks to stints on Emergency Ward 10 and of course DW (which he was still starring in). possibly he did this as a favour to#Diamond; a ubiquitous stunt arranger and fight choreographer‚ this was Diamond's attempt at breaking out into production and direction but#he would have known Frazer from various jobs he'd done on DW (including Frazer's intro story The Highlanders‚ where Diamond had been fight#arranger as well as having a credited acting role as a sailor). this was shot around July '68 so presumably between Frazer's work on The#Mind Robber and The Invasion; apologies for the slightly weird stretcg effect on the pics but that's true of the materials themselves#strangely Lochinvar is not in 4:3 aspect‚ despite being quite definitely a tv pilot‚ but in a strangely unnatural widescreen as if the#masters were altered at some point in post production (perhaps for a potential cinema release as a support feature?). i can only conjecture#tho. unsurprisingly there's almost no info out there about this obscure tv film that sat in a rusty can for 50 years unseen.#also my immediate thought on reading about it was that the shooting dates Very Nearly coincide with The Mind Robber shooting#(nearly but not quite) and i excitedly wondered if maybe Frazer's infamous bout of chickenpox that saw him replaced for ep2 of that serial#had secretly been a little mischievous excuse to go away and have some fun playing with horses in Buckinghamshire... alas no#Diamond would reunite with Frazer (and Lochinvar co star Noel Coleman) for the following years The War Games where he'd again#be pulling double duty as fight arranger and (uncredited) actor. later in life he would end up doing a little more directing work for tv#but afaik the Peter Diamond Productions company that made this film never worked again
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lokisprettygirl · 1 year
Text
Under his influence (Post Avengers! Loki x female reader)
Read chapter 3 here // Series Masterlist
Chapter 4
Summary : Disastrous Dinner with your parents leads to a small quarrel between you two.
Warning: Smoking, mention of recreational drug use, insecurities, a bit of angst, not so great parenting , 4.5 k words
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After your mom left you immediately took a shower to cool down a little bit, it was 10 am and you had plenty of time to prepare for the evening.
He went to the bathroom after you and when he came out you could feel him staring at you but he wasn't saying anything.
"What?" You looked at him so he averted his gaze and pretended to read his book. "Gotta call my boss, i don't think I can go to work today"
You mumbled as you dialed the manager's number and put it on speaker phone because you wanted to paint your toenails.
"Hiii Mark it's y/n" you said cheerfully and you heard him grumbling in response. Just great
"I just ..uhh wanted to tell you that I won't be able to make it today, sooo"
"Whyyyyy?"
"Uhhh it's a family emergency"
"You can't just take a leave out of nowhere, you have to inform way beforehand, " he said, clearly sounding upset. Did he understand the meaning of emergency? Doofus
"Yeah I would have but it's umm I don't think you heard me right. I said that my family's car was hit by a bulldozer and some of them were still in it. And now they're in an emergency ward so I have to go see them..see you tomorrow byee" you tapped on your head in frustration as you hung up "Argggghh I hate this day already"
Also, why did you have to keep the phone on the speaker?
"So your mother seem ..a bit ahhh –" you found him to struggling to form a complete sentence which wasn't like him at all.
"Overbearing?"
"That. Yes. That"
"She is like that, but she means well"
His brows furrowed as you said that. He was finding it a tad harder to believe.
"Okay, we need to make a man, asap" you said to him as you tightly closed the bottle of the nail paint after you were done using it. He laughed in response because he thought you were joking.
"Darling, I promise it can not be Asap. I mean it would take months for him to grow in your womb before he's birthed and–" he stopped talking as you gave him the look that he had learned to understand as a sign for Stop right now. You sighed as you stood up and went down on your knees in front of him, you placed your hands on his thighs and the position made him gulp.
"I want you to be my boyfriend" his eyes flickered as you said that.
"Ohhhhh?"
"Just for the evening" you clarified it immediately. God you hoped he didn't think of you as some midgardian desperate creep.
"Oh"
"Will you do it for me please?"
"I uhhh–"
"Pleaseee please do it .. please I'm begging you Loki please I'll do anything you'd ask please " you joined your palms together and begged him to just help you out. You didn't really have to beg he thought, you saved his arse, he would walk right into the sun if you'd ask him to.
"I just..never have been a boyfriend before "
"You said you had relationships "
"What is the correlation here?"
"Huh?" He sighed as you failed to understand him.
"I just don't want to ruin this evening which I am sensing- is already a very stressful affair for you" he mumbled as he placed his elbows down on his thighs to rest his chin in the palms of his hand.
"You won't ruin it, oh no please. I'd love to have a friend while we eat dinner..a friend who actually likes me..you know" your eyes teared up so he cupped your cheeks and leaned forward to press a soft kiss on your forehead. That gesture made you feel so warm but you wished you had more time to relish in this feeling.
"I am very fond of you my darling" he mumbled softly. The words made the butterflies go crazy in your stomach. Okay so you were attracted to him which you had already figured by the intense feeling you kept having where you wanted to fuck him all the time, there was the bubbling scorching heat between you two and you also wanted to cuddle him all the time now, all of these things combined together looked bad when you considered how he was literally unattainable. A fucking prince, he was a god that you couldn't even dream of having. He probably wouldn't even look twice at you if you were in a crowded room full of all the beautiful women in the world, women that he probably deserved to have.
Everyone kept telling you that you had higher standards for yourself but then he must have them too right? You weren't it unfortunately.
"Is that a yes?"
"Yess" you stood up and jumped around a little in excitement.
"Oh wait butt oh no.. they can't see you..my mom will recognise you, she's obsessed with you..but in a very bad way"
"She is?"
"Yeah she hates you "
"I figured that..umm do not worry about that. I'll take care of this" he pointed towards his face so you went down on your knees again. You had to stop doing this in front of him because one of these times he'd forget to enchant his cock to not get hard in a jiffy.
"But .. I don't want anyone else there, I want you, I mean. I like this face..it's such a loki looking face that I like" he chuckled as you said that. Sometimes your words hardly made any sense and that's exactly why he adored them so much.
"How about I change my hair and the color of my eyes, maybe get a bit of facial hair, the face stays" you tilted your head as he said that.
"That could work besides there's no way she'd think that you're him with all those modifications you know..oh that's a great idea. Well I'm going to cook now..by the way can I paint your toenails afterwards? You have such pretty toes" you got up from the floor again so he looked down at his feet.
"Noooo" he yelled, making you giggle but now another thing was starting to bother you.
"Wait a second!! You don't have clothes, I need to get you earth people clothes"
"Yes I was troubled by that thought" He did have a suit he had stolen from a midgardian shop when he visited Thor a few years prior after he was banished but for some reason the idea of putting it on again disgusted him. And he couldn't have worn his famous Terrorist from Asgard terrorising Stuttgart overcoat either for obvious reasons.
"Oh no I have to go get it for you then ..it's 11 already and I have to make dinner, and dessert also and oh my god it's so dirty around here, what I'm gonna doooo??" he walked towards as you started to freak out again.
"Now let us pause for a moment here. Take a deep breath for me, can you?" He told you as he grabbed your shoulders to calm you down.
"Okayy..okay..i'm just freaking out" you took a deep breath in order to not pass out right this moment.
"You go purchase the attire for me and I will tidy up the space until then. That is alright?" He asked you so you hugged him tightly, his arms instantly wrapped around your waist as if it was the most natural state in the world, breathing in the scent of your hair he sighed deeply.
He really needed to get a grip. A woman like you deserved a man so noble and not a hideous looking frost giant like him whose moral compass has broken a long time ago. You have waited so long for the man of your dreams and he could never be it for you.
"I'll be back soon"
It took you two hours to find something decent for him to wear, you even had to buy a pair of shoes for him, you saw a bunch of cute t-shirts so you bought that as well. You heard the shower running when you came back from the mall, you couldn't even recognise your apartment. It looked beautiful. First of all it was clean, ofcourse. But he had done something with the lighting as well, it seemed fancier, like a classy restaurant, and it smelled really good too. He had also filled the space with a much needed furniture you didn't have.
There was an elegant looking table right in front of the kitchenette. Bonus point? It also had chairs, you had chairs in your apartment.
The bed was covered in a beautiful satin sheet. Asgardian sheet. He also had that sofa all cleaned up, it looked brand new.
You put the shopping bags down on the sofa as your eyes circled around again. When he entered the room you immediately ran towards him to hug him, momentarily forgetting that he was naked from the waist up and dripping wet.
"This is.. gorgeous..you're like a sorcerer" you mumbled as you pulled away from him and took a few steps back, he was freezing cold. He smiled as he walked closer and wiped the droplets of water from your cheeks, the ones you had gotten by hugging onto his naked wet chest so tightly.
"I'm a sorcerer " he giggled and it made your heart grow ten times larger.
"Thank you Loki, you have no idea what you have done for me" your eyes teared up and so did his, but then again you didn't have time to enjoy this moment, they would be here in like three hours, you also had to get ready.
He tried to help you in the kitchen as much as he could but he wasn't really helping plus the heat bothered him a lot so you made him sit down on the sofa, he had done enough already and you were very grateful for that.
After cooking and assembling the cutleries on the table which again was the courtesy of your alien friend, you put on a dress and finished your makeup. You looked good for a change, the black dress complimented your dark soul. It always did.
You looked at him as he got himself dressed too, you didn't want to go overboard with his attire, there was a dark green jacket because you remembered that to be his favorite color, a plain black t shirt underneath with a tight fitted trouser. For some reason you knew he wasn't the denim jeans type of alien god.
His tush looked extremely good in those pants but that's not what shocked you, it was the change in his appearance. He kept his face but his hair was no longer raven, it was light brown and shorter, you could finally see the back of his neck and it was as smooth as the rest of his skin, his eyes were hazel brown, light freckles adorned his nose and cheeks. The finishing touch was the golden tan on his skin and that I haven't shaved in a week stubble. Even though he had the same face he didn't look like himself. He actually reminded you of that guy from that one King Kong movie you couldn't remember the name of.
"This okay? Or do I resemble my oaf brother a little too much" He asked you so you smiled.
"You look very handsome mister" And hot, and sexy, delicious.
A nervous laughter escaped his throat at the compliment.
"And you my lady, you look–-" before he could finish his words you heard the buzzer going off so you hurriedly stepped towards the door and got them in. You felt anxious and awkward like always, having dinner with four people where you didn't really like the three of them was not your idea of fun. As you opened the door you saw your mom and her husband David first so you hugged her and your step father gave you a side hug.
"Welcome to my humble abode" you chuckled as they stepped in, then you met his daughters from hell, his perfect little princesses, the elder one was named Chelsea, she was a year younger than you and married. Ofcourse because she was just perfect like that. You weren't expecting her to bring her husband Shawn though.
"Wow i didn't know husbands were coming" you mumbled as you hugged her and your mom glared at you.
The younger sister Courtney gave you cheek kisses. Pretentious bitch. She was just 25 but obviously more accomplished and much more successful in her career according to your mother.
As they all stepped inside you noticed them looking around, they had never been here before.
"Wow, this is so tiny and adorable, you know when daddy said you were renting a studio apartment i thought it'd be bigger" Courtney said and you resisted the urge to poke her eyes out.
"It's actually bigger than most studio apartments, I'm actually not supposed to have that whole window area, default in their infrastructure, goodie goodie for me" you felt everyone's eyes on you so you stopped talking immediately, turned around and walked towards Loki, you grabbed his arm and decided to introduce him to everyone, most of them looked shocked but atleast your mother was smiling from ear to ear.
"This is uhh.." oh god you didn't think of a name. Ofcourse you didn't. You see Perfect Chelsea over there would have thought of a name.
"Mark, this is Mark Johnson..he's an auditor for the ..uhhh Marks and Spencers" they smiled at him as you introduced him. No, that name didn't sound fake at all. Nope.
"Hello Mrs. Umm –" he looked at your mother. Wow you two really should have discussed this part a little more. Like for real.
"Used to be something else now she's Mrs Jackson" you told him so he gave your mom a hug. She looked at you as she hugged him and mumbled a wow behind his back which made you want to die from embarrassment.
You didn't want to waste much time so you all sat down for dinner. The problem was he only made six chairs, and there were 7 of you. Gee, No thanks husband Shawn.
"You sit down okay?" You made Loki sit down so he grabbed your arm and scooted a little to the side, one of his buttocks was hanging in the air but he didn't care, he didn't want you to feel left out at your own family dinner.
As you sat down next to him, well almost onto him, everyone cooed. It's not as if you weren't getting used to being squished against him.
"So i noticed the accent, are you a London boy Mr. Mark" you wanted to hurl at the way Courtney was looking at him.
"Uhh yes, England" You took a sip of the wine you had in front of you, for the god of lies, he wasn't really good at living up to that status.
"So you're here on business? How did you two meet?" Your mom asked you so this time you answered instead.
"Ohh he's a member at the gym I work for" you smiled.
"Why do I feel like I have seen you somewhere?" Your mom squinted her eyes and it made you nervous.
"Ohh he looks like that guy from that movie.. I don't remember..the one with the big burly ape" you agreed as Shawn said that. Well thanks Shawn
"Ohhhh yeah..yeah you're right"
"So auditing? You like that job, son?" David asked him. Oh!! he's not your son David. No no considering his age, David was the son, his father was the son, his grandfather was the son. Why couldn't you just stop having thoughts for once?
"No. I don't know what that is actually" he chuckled and then you heard them all laughing in unison. You did too before you glared at him,
"Wow, good looking and funny. By the way, raise your glasses everyone.. I have an announcement" Courtney grabbed her glass of wine and took a deep breath before she proceeded to speak.
"I got the job in London..ahhhh" she squealed as she celebrated herself and everyone then squealed for her, she worked for an embassy or something, you never cared to find out. Your mother did remind you now and again as how it could have been you if you'd have been a little sincere about your life.
"Ohh honey congratulations, that's amazing, I'm sooo proud of you" your mom said to her so you smiled in disbelief.
"Okay okay..i have a news too. We have a news" Chelsea said as she smiled from ear to ear and looked at her husband "So I'm not drinking wine because I'm abstaining, I lied sorry.. hint hint" She pointed towards her belly and the whole world gasped for her.
"Call Odin and ask him if he heard the gasps" you mumbled in his ear and he bit on his cheek to stop himself from smiling. She was pregnant ofcourse. They all hugged her and congratulated the lovely couple, so did you, you had no other choice.
"Both of our daughters make me so happy sweetie" David's eyes teared up as he held your mother's hand.
"I am so proud of them"
After the happiness died down a little, Courtney looked at you.
"So y/n you're a trainer at the gym right..don't they like pay very less?"
"It actually depends on my competence and how many clients I can get in a month," you said to her. No you didn't miss the snark, you just wanted to ignore it.
"Oh.. so less huh"
God you hated her.
"Shoot i am out" David said as he opened the box of his cigarettes.
"Oh honey" your mom comforted him and then she glared at you as Courtney made another comment.
"Y/n smokes, just ask her for one dad"
"It was just that one time.."
You tried to defend yourself but your mom cut you off as she shook her head in disappointment.
"Look if you have it, just be a good hostess and give one to him" she said to you so you were about to get up but Loki stopped you.
"I'll get it darling. I found it while cleaning" he said to you so you smiled, as he walked towards the closet you wondered what he meant, what did he find? As he returned he passed the lighter to David along with that fucking joint you couldn't find yesterday.
"Uhhh this is not..is this weed?"
You stood up and snatched it from his hand. Loki felt mortified now, maybe he should have asked first if your stepfather wanted to smoke weed or something else. He really should have thought a little harder about it.
"It's not mine, it's a friend's" you mumbled so your mom looked at you.
"Oh sweetie, are you in the wrong company again?" She questioned and you immediately denied. You felt overwhelmed now, you just wanted to go cry in your bathroom.
"I apologise darling, i had no clue what he wanted" he whispered in your ear so you sighed. He just wanted to help.
"It's fine..it's okay " you told him, you didn't want him to feel bad about this even though you felt completely mortified now.
"So what are your plans for marriage?" The wine came out of your nose as your mom questioned Loki.
"Mommm" you glared at her and gestured to cut it out but ofcourse she ignored the cue.
"I'm just asking, you two make a cute couple..what do you guys think?" She looked around the table for approval.
"Ohhh yess hook him in y/n before you lose this one too" Courtney cackled like a witch. Loki felt awful, these people reminded him of those bilgesnipes, all ready to pounce and attack you for no reason. He felt something grazing over his shin so he looked under the table and saw a bunch of toes rubbing against him. It belonged to one of your sisters.
"She's touching me" he whispered in your ear so you looked under the table and she stopped immediately.
"Marriage is such a beautiful thing, it just makes me sad that y/n is going to be in her thirties now and she's still..so lonely" Chelsea gave you a sad look making you scoff in response.
"But I'm happy.. and I don't really care alright?"
"Well you should care honey, when you're sixty and alone with no-one to take care of you you'll regret this attitude" your eyes teared up as your mother chimed in. You saw your step sisters smiling and passing glances to each other.
"Didn't you marry twice?" Loki asked your mother so you glared at him and asked him to cut it out.
"Excuse me?" Your mom had the typical look of disapproval now. You could just tell she didn't really like him any longer.
"You married her father and it must not have worked very well since you are married to this gentleman here now?" He asked her again so you facepalmed.
"But that's life, that happens, sometimes things don't work out between two people, there are several different reasons why people get divorced" she raised her voice a little and you could feel everything getting out of your hand now.
"Well pardon my interference but perhaps she doesn't want that to happen to her as well, maybe she wants to spend her life with someone who would be there for every reason and not only for a season" your mom gave him a death glare as he said that and so did you. The tension in the room kept on piling up.
He could tell you were upset with him for opening his big mouth today.
After the dinner and dessert ended, you were hoping for them to just leave, you had no energy to take more insults.
"Sooo we are going to be here for two days, let's go somewhere tomorrow" your mom hugged you as she spoke so you hummed in agreement "And lose this one, he's not the type of man who is going to marry you" she said to you as she pulled away.
"Yeah? Why do you think that?" You chuckled but it was because of the frustration you were feeling in the moment.
"Look at him honey. Don't be such a fool, men like him don't settle for women like us, he's just having his fun I can tell" you nodded as she said that. Once they all left you shut the main door with a force and then you turned around to glare at him.
"Y/n i –"
"You could have just kept your mouth shut you know"
"I didn't intend to disrespect her, she just--"
"What were you trying to do then huh? Do you know how hard that divorce was on her? On me?" Your eyes welled up as you questioned him. That comment your mom made was the last nail in the coffin and unfortunately she wasn't here to bear the brunt of it so you took it out on him.
"I am sorry, please don't be upset darling" he mumbled softly but you were too angry to care right now.
"I'm not your darling, giving him the roll of weed wasn't enough for you huh? God I wish you weren't here today, it's all my fault" his eyes filled with tears as you said that. A part of you knew you were misdirecting your anger and frustration on him but you still couldn't stop, you wished you would have though because the look on his face bothered you a lot, you never wanted to see him look so sad and that too because of you.
You scurried towards the bathroom and then the tears couldn't stop coming, your step sisters were younger and better than you and they were living their best lives while nothing turned your life around no matter how much you worked for it, they were accomplishing everything they had dreamt of while several of your dreams had already been shattered, you had successfully wasted half of your life so far and accomplished nothing. Your mother probably wished for a daughter like them and that's why she found love in David again.
When you came out, he looked at you with a worried look on his face, he still had the same clothes on but he was back to looking like himself. Did you really just tell him that you wished he wasn't here after everything he had done for you today? God, you felt like a selfish asshole. No wonder you didn't have anyone in life that you could actually count on.
"Do you want me to disappear?" He asked you and you suddenly felt so anxious.
"No. I'm sorry..I'm so sorry Loki" as you started to sob he walked towards you and hugged you as tightly as he could, that was it for you in that moment, you broke down and cried until you couldn't cry any more.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean it, please don't go, i ..you're the only true friend I have..the best one i have ever had, and you were so good to me today, so sweet and I'm so sorry lo" you pulled away to look at him so he cupped your cheeks and kissed your forehead.
"I'm sorry I ruined the feast with my callousness" you smiled as he said that. He wasn't being callous, he just wanted to defend you. What a sweet sweet man.
"Well it's not as if it was going any better before..so I'm not really sorry about it" he kissed your forehead again and you just wanted to kiss him, it took everything to not clash your lips against his in that moment.
"You don't deserve to be treated in such a manner, you went through such pain today to make this enjoyable for them and you don't deserve anyone hurting you like that, none of the things they said hold true whatsoever" he said to you softly.
"You don't either Loki, I'm sorry it was me who hurt you today but I never want to be such a jerk to you again" he smiled at the statement.
"I understand, I have had my fair share of outbursts to comprehend that it didn't come from a place of malice but mere frustration and it wasn't intended for me" he mumbled and it made you smile. God he really was a dreamboat.
"Thank you Loki for everything you did today. You have no idea how much I appreciate you being here for me right now, i really do"
You hugged him again and took a deep breath, his hugs and sweet words really made you feel better than before. He was your friend, you loved having him as your friend. You looked up at him and the look in his eyes made you aware of the close proximity so you stepped away a little, he placed his hands inside the pocket of his pants to avoid the awkwardness but he had something in there so he took it out.
"What is it?"
"Something one of your sisters shoved into the pocket when we greeted each other" he said as he passed the slip to you. It was her phone number. What a bitch.
"Burn it down"
"Yes madam" you smiled as he said that.
"Umm..I'll go sleep, I'm tired" you mumbled as turned around and stepped towards the closet to take your pyjamas out.
"Uhh..What can I do to make you feel better?" he asked you, so you sighed.
"Nothing i– " Well actually "There's something you can do" you gave him a mischievous smile and he sighed as he understood what you wanted from him.
That's how he ended up on the sofa with you sitting on the floor with his feet resting on your thighs while you painted his toenails the same colour as yours.
"So pretty" you giggled as you finished the one leg and it warmed his heart. It was unbearable for him to see that hurt look on your face throughout the evening, knowing that there were people in the world who hurt you like that made his heart clench, he just wanted you to not feel that way like ever. He wanted to keep you protected.
"Maybe tomorrow we can do your makeup" you said nonchalantly making him tilt his head in response.
"How about no?" He responded and you feigned a look of disappointment.
At night he slept in that bed of yours, his sad brows were faster than your resistance today. You couldn't sleep though. You kept wondering if he'd come cuddle you but it has been an hour and he seemed asleep now. Wow this really bothered you, him not cuddling you by force like he had done in the last two days really really bothered you.
You sat up and got off from his princely bed then you took a few steps towards yours, you thought about what you were going to do for a moment. When he cuddled you, it was circumstancial, he had a nightmare the first night and then his body ached the other, you had no choice in that matter, you could have always pretended that you didn't love his cuddles but getting in the bed now would affirm that you indeed enjoyed sleeping with him like that and wanted it as much as he did.
Fuck it your cursed in your head before crawling into the bed. He was asleep but he did feel your body next to him, maybe he'd think that he was dreaming. Goddss he smelled divine.
He was lying on his side facing towards you so you sneaked your hand in the space between his neck and the pillow, he felt the invasion and instead of opening his eyes and calling you out for it he scooted closer to you instead and pressed his head down on your chest like he had done before. One of his arms went under your waist to pull you even closer while the other wrapped around you.
He embraced you as intimately as he could without it turning too sexual, this was the most intimate you had ever been with a man. Sure you had sex but even then you had several inches of distance between your bodies somehow. You hooked your legs around his waist in the usual position.
"Thank you" you mumbled softly in his ears and he hummed in response. You were thankful for him, you had known him for mere few weeks but you had never felt so strongly understood by someone.
"I'm overjoyed that you came. I just figured you needed your personal space tonight, perhaps I was mistaken " you smiled as he mumbled against your chest.
"Perhaps"
You knew it won't take you long enough to fall asleep now, you wondered if this was appropriate or not but you no longer cared for it. You also knew that you were only digging a deeper hole for yourself. Getting addicted to the feeling of cuddling him like this will only hurt you later when he won't be here with you. Your mother wasn't wrong, men like him didn't choose women like you for life but then you knew that already, didn't you?
Nothing so good could ever last forever, nothing so sweet and gentle could ever be wholly yours. Maybe you can press the stop button on this tomorrow but tonight you just wanted to indulge a little. Tonight you just wanted to live a little. Something that you haven't done for as long as you could remember.
🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶
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skajador · 2 years
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dude kamen rider ex aid is insane. imagine you start feeling sick one day and you go to the doctor and they're like.
Oh dude. You got Gamer Disease
And you're like What? And they're like it's ok we're gonna put you in the Gamer Ward, our docs got this.
and this sweet fluffy boy doctor is like "hi we're gonna run some tests" and he presses buttons next to your hospital bed on a fucking 10 button fightpad
he's all big smiles like DON'T WORRY I WILL CURE YOUR GAMER DISEASE
and you're like. cool i'm gonna fuckin die
and then Bowser, From Mario, emerges from your chest and suddenly this dude and 1-3 other dudes put game cartridges into their belts and the belts start yelling 30 different gamer phrases including "BANG BANG SHOOTING!"
and they change the map to like. i dunno. a fucking dry dock for boats so they can beat the shit out of bowser. but then Dr. fluffy boy is back by your side and he's like, "please try to relax. Bowser gets more powerful the more you get stressed."
and you're like "oh, okay, so what is Bowser doing anyway?"
and he goes "well bowser wants to cause you the most amount of stress possible. got any ideas?" and you're like "dude how am i supposed to relax" and then he goes "I'M GONNA CLEAR THIS WITH NO CONTINUES"
but actually realistically, it's probably not Bowser. It's some monster you've never seen before and Dr. Fluffy boy goes "OH! It's Donko Shitney from Fantasy Moon Raiders IV for the PS VIta!"
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leoniestarlee · 4 months
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Illyrian Assassin (13)
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Pairing: Azriel x OC
Word Count: 1.5k
Warning: past trauma, slow burn
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12)
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“Amren’s right,” Rhys drawled, leaning against the threshold of the townhouse sitting room. “You are like dogs, waiting for me to come home. Maybe I should buy treats.”
“You want me to start barking too?” I sarcastically asked.
“You already yap like a dog,” Rhys shot back, and I glared at him.
“And you follow me around like a dog.”
Azriel lingered by the window, comfortably ensconced in shadows, with amusement on his face as he watched me and Rhys. A light flurry of snow dusting the lawn and street behind him. And Amren ... Nowhere to be seen.
Cassian gave him a vulgar gesture from where he lounged on the couch before the hearth, an arm slung over the back behind Mor and me. Though everything about his powerful, muscled body suggested someone at ease, there was a tightness in his jaw, a coiled-up energy that told Rhys and Feyre that we’d been waiting here for a while. 
Feyre strode for the armchair across from the couch and she stretched her limbs toward the fire.
"How'd it go?" Mor said, straightening beside Cassian. 
"The Bone Carver," Rhys said, "is a busybody gossip who likes to pry into other people's business far too much." 
"But?" Cassian demanded, bracing his arms on his knees, wings tucked in tight. 
"But," Rhys said, "he can also be helpful, when he chooses. And it seems we need to start doing what we do best." 
Rhys told us of the Cauldron, and the reason behind the temple pillaging’s, to no shortage of swearing and questions. Azriel emerged from his wreathing shadows to ask the most questions; his face and voice remained unreadable. Me and Cassian, surprisingly, kept quiet—as if the general understood that the shadowsinger would know what information was necessary, and was busy assessing it for his own forces.
When Rhys was done, his spymaster said, "I'll contact my sources in the Summer Court about where the half of the Book of Breathings is hidden. I can fly into the human world myself to figure out where they're keeping their part of the Book before we ask them for it." 
"No need," Rhys said. "And I don't trust this information, even with your sources, with anyone outside of this room. Save for Amren." 
"They can be trusted," Azriel said with quiet steel, his scarred hands clenching at his leather-clad sides. 
"We're not taking risks where this is concerned," Rhys merely said. He held Azriel's stare, the silent words Rhys added, It is no judgment or reflection on you, Az. Not at all. 
But Azriel yielded no tinge of emotion as he nodded, his hands unfurling. 
"So what do you have planned?" I cut in—perhaps for Azriel’s sake.
Rhys picked an invisible piece of dirt off his fighting leathers. When he lifted his head, those violet eyes were glacial. "The King of Hybern sacked one of our temples to get a missing piece of the Cauldron. As far as I'm concerned, it's an act of war—an indication that His Majesty has no interest in wooing me." 
"He likely remembers our allegiance to the humans in the War, anyway," Cassian said. "He wouldn't jeopardize revealing his plans while trying to sway you, and I bet some of Amarantha's cronies reported to him about Under the Mountain. About how it all ended, I mean." Cassian's throat bobbed. 
Rhys said, "Indeed. But this means Hybern's forces have already successfully infiltrated our lands—without detection. I plan to return the favor." 
Cassian, Mor, and I just grinned with feral delight. "How?" I asked. 
Rhys crossed his arms. "It will require careful planning. But if the Cauldron is in Hybern, then to Hybern we must go. Either to take it back ... or use the Book to nullify it."
"Hybern likely has as many wards and shields around it as we have here," Azriel countered. "We'd need to find a way to get through them undetected first." 
A slight nod. "Which is why we start now. While we hunt for the Book. So when we get both halves, we can move swiftly—before word can spread that we even possess it." 
Cassian nodded, but asked, "How are you going to retrieve the Book, then?" 
Rhys said, "Since these objects are spelled to the individual High Lords, and can only be found by them—through their power ... Then, in addition to her uses regarding the handling of the Book of Breathings itself, it seems we possibly have our own detector." 
Now we all looked at Feyre. 
Feyre cringed. "Perhaps was what the Bone Carver said in regard to me being able to track things. You don't know ... " Her words faded as Rhys smirked.
"You have a kernel of all our power—like having seven thumbprints. If we've hidden something, if we've made or protected it with our power, no matter where it has been concealed, you will be able to track it through that very magic." 
"You can't know that for sure," Feyre tried again.
"No—but there is a way to test it." Rhys was still smiling.
"Here we go," Cassian grumbled. 
"Don't even think about it." I gave Azriel a warning glare, knowing he would volunteer. The spymaster just gave me an incredulous look in return. 
"With your abilities, Feyre, you might be able to find the half of the Book at the Summer Court—and break the wards around it. But I'm not going to take the carver's word for it, or bring you there without testing you first. To make sure that when it counts, when we need to get that book, you—we do not fail. So we're going on another little trip. To see if you can find a valuable object of mine that I've been missing for a considerably long time," Rhysand said.
"Shit," Mor said, plunging her hands into the thick folds of her sweater. 
"Where?" Feyre managed to say.
It was Azriel who answered. "To the Weaver."
Rhys held up a hand as I opened my mouth to object. "The test," he said, "will be to see if Feyre can identify the object of mine in the Weaver's trove. When we get to the Summer Court, Tarquin might have spelled his half of the Book to look different, feel different." 
"By the Cauldron, Rhys," Mor snapped, setting both feet on the carpet. "Are you out of your—" 
"Who is the Weaver?" Feyre pushed. 
"An ancient, wicked creature," Azriel said. "Who should remain unbothered," he added in Rhys's direction. "Find another way to test her abilities." 
"The Bone Carver, the Weaver ... Can't you ever just call someone by a given name?" Feyre mumbled.
Cassian chuckled, and Mor settled back in the sofa cushions.
Rhys said to Feyre, "What about adding one more name to that list?"
"You're going to scare her off with all this information," I said as I rested my head on Cassian's shoulder.
"Emissary," Rhysand said, ignoring me. "Emissary to the Night Court—for the human realm."
Azriel said, "There hasn't been one for five hundred years, Rhys."
"There also hasn't been a human-turned-immortal since then, either." Rhys met Feyre's gaze. "The human world must be as prepared as we are—especially if the King of Hybern plans to shatter the wall and unleash his forces upon them. We need the other half of the Book from those mortal queens—and if we can't use magic to influence them, then they're going to have to bring it to us." 
More silence. On the street beyond the bay of windows, wisps of snow brushed past, dusting the cobblestones.
Rhys jerked his chin at Feyre. "You are an immortal faerie—with a human heart. Even as such, you might very well set foot on the continent and be ... hunted for it. So we set up a base in neutral territory. In a place where humans trust us—trust you, Feyre. And where other humans might risk going to meet with you. To hear the voice of Prythian after five centuries." 
"My family's estate," Feyre said. 
"Mother's tits, Rhys," Cassian cut in, wings flaring wide enough to nearly knock over the ceramic vase on the side table next to him and knocking me onto the hard floor as my bones groaned. "You think we can just take over her family's house, demand that of them?" 
Azriel helped me up as I punched Cassian in the arm. "Dickhead."
"The land," Mor said, reaching over to return the vase to its place as I stood near the window by Azriel, "will run red with blood, Cassian, regardless of what we do with her family. It is now a matter of where that blood will flow—and how much will spill. How much human blood we can save." 
Feyre said, "The Spring Court borders the wall—"
"The wall stretches across the sea. We'll fly in offshore," Rhys said without so much as a blink. "I won't risk discovery from any court, though word might spread quickly enough once we're there. I know it won't be easy, Feyre, but if there's any way you could convince those queens—" 
"I'll do it,” she said. "They might not be happy about it, but I'll make Elain and Nesta do it." 
"Then it's settled," Rhys said. None of us looked particularly happy. "Once Feyre darling returns from the Weaver, we'll bring Hybern to its knees."
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elliebyrrdwrites · 2 months
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The Heist pt. 5
You can Read the series from the start here.
The Museum
“So, you’re kind of like my cousin.” The young, blue haired wizard said to Draco as they both gazed up at the building across the street.
The corner of Draco’s mouth pulled tight as he jiggled the box of malted chocolate balls he had picked up from the corner store on his way over. He estimated he had about 10 left in the box.
“It would appear so.” He lifted the box to his mouth.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” Teddy Lupin asked and Draco merely slid a glance sidelong to the kid before refocusing his gaze on the museum entrance. He was waiting for Granger to arrive next. Theo and Potter arrived first, followed by Seamus. Teddy was set to enter with Draco, so that he was specifically instructed on what to look for. What to swipe.
Teddy continued, “My grandmother told me about the anonymous person who sends her a monthly check. It’s quite generous, of course, but the donor had written to her with the first check that it was meant to be spent on me and my school supplies, clothes...things like that.”
Draco shifted uncomfortably as the young man continued to look at him. “Your hair is blue.” He threw a chocolate ball into his mouth and said around his bite, “You’re going to draw attention.”
From Draco’s peripheral, he briefly caught the shift of bright, cobalt blue morph into an inconspicuous mousy brown.
“So, why didn’t you ever just come and visit me and grams?”
“Grams?” Draco frowned and shook his head just as a disguised Granger emerged, from a crowd of college students. She was dressed in a posh little black dress with the same big round sunglasses but instead of her usual glossy brown waves floating behind her, she had transfigured her hair to a sleek, straight black. While she drew attention from the male students she passed, Draco found he much preferred the brilliant brown that was almost golden in the light of the sun.
“Time to go.” Draco pushed off the wall, tossed the remainder of the chocolates into his mouth before crushing the box and tossing it into the trash bin nearby.
Teddy followed behind, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat. While summer had finally approached the city, it had not yet reached the peek of heat, or else Draco was certain the young man would have looked utterly out of place.
Draco pushed the openings of his black coat back as he slid his hands casually into his pants pockets. Having refused to transfigure his hair for casing, he opted to throw a baseball cap over his blond hair and shadow his very distinct grey eyes.
They slipped, seamlessly into a crowd of people entering the museum, as part of a tour.
“Count the guards and find the most vulnerable one.”
Teddy nodded Draco had to admit, he was impressed by the relaxed nature of the young man as he browsed the museum. While Teddy kept tabs on security, Draco spent his time murmuring a spell as the tip of his wand poked from the arm of his coat.
This bit of magic was one he had developed after going to great lengths to find the blueprints of every place he robbed. It gave him the ability to scan the room and later display it in a three dimensional image that could then be burned onto parchment, giving them the most detailed and accurate blueprint to work off of.
Theo and Potter were posing as a couple that enjoyed day trips to the museum and Seamus was looking for the main security room, in order to better access the camera’s footage.
Granger’s job was to work out the kind of wards the museum had in place and how many before figuring out the wards individually placed around the exhibit with The Wand, itself.
Which is where he found her when he finally made it into the room with the Tuniit exhibit.
When they found themselves standing beside one another in front of the ivory Wand, Granger took a break from her murmuring to toss a look at him.
“This is full of advanced wards.”
Draco hummed in ascent. “What are we looking at?”
“Most of it, I can do in under five minutes.”
“But?”
“But there’s this one in particular,” She sighed and crossed her arms, her wand sliding into the arm of her coat. “It’s blood magic.” She hissed as Draco continued to murmur his spell and his wand continued to subtly flick around the room.
Draco’s wand nearly loosened in his grip.
“Are you sure?” He asked through tight lips.
“Yes.” She whispered back, pressing closer as she leaned over the plaque, pretending to read the script. “We need to find out whose blood set this ward.”
Draco smelled tangerine and honey as she pulled away, casting a small gust of air into his nostrils. Temporarily thankful that transfiguration had no power of scents, Draco frowned down at The Wand.
“We can figure it out.” He assured her, though despite the conviction in his voice, his mind raced with who all of the possible wizards might have been involved with the placement of this piece within the museum.
She chanced a glance up into his shadowed eyes and swallowed. “I hope so.” She whispered as she passed him.
Draco angled his body so that he could watch her go. The sway of her hips as she moved at a leisurely pace, the way the coat hugged against her body, tied and buttoned in the front. Draco found himself enthralled in the way she moved, the lingering scent of her hair causing his mouth to water.
He’d decided that he was in the mood for a fruit salad as he moved into the next room, where Teddy Lupin had just left with a simple nod of his head as they passed. Confirmation that his job was done or was indeed going smoothly.
Just as Draco finished the blueprinting of the next and final room of the museum, a soft voice carried over the exhibits and dug into his ears.
It was a voice he knew well. Ducking behind a large totem pole on display in the middle of the museum, Draco peeked around to find Astoria Greengrass was walking through the museum, dressed in feminine, muggle business attire. Her raven hair was pinned into a bun atop, and her pale face was pinched in thought as she discussed something with the museum curator. The curator, Draco had researched, was an gentlemen by the name of Warren Locksley. His salt and pepper hair was wiry and thin, a contrast to the heavy beard around his mouth.
Astoria passed the Totem Pole and Draco quickly sank back against the exhibit as he listened to their murmured talk fade away.
“Who are you hiding from?” Harry Potter startled Draco, causing him to frown deeply at the man before pushing away from the exhibit.
“Who did you see?” Harry’s eyebrow lifted when Draco shook his head and glanced around the museum, careful not to run into any other possible member of the Greengrass family.
It was during this moment, however, that Draco recalled something about The Greengrass’. His frown drifted into a smirk as he tilted his head to take in the Famous Harry Potter.
“What do you know of the Greengrass family, Potter?”
Harry’s hands stuffed themselves into his pockets as he shrugged. “Not much. They made a rather generous donation towards the rebuilding of Hogwarts after the war. I also remember the youngest one sending me a letter once, thanking me for my bravery and...wait a minute.” He stopped and eyed Draco, suddenly recalling some vital information. “Weren’t you engaged to one of them after the war?”
Draco’s smirk fell. “That’s not the point,” He nodded his head towards the exit and started walking.
Harry fell into stop just behind Draco, careful to keep enough distance.
“Astoria Greengrass took over the family image and convinced her family to bridge the gap between Muggles and Wizards. She may be the sole purpose of things evolving the way they have been. But her father found that the bridge between our world and theirs was really quite lucrative.”
“Okay.”
The men stepped into a courtyard and Harry immediately pulled out a mobile phone and began to swipe his thumb over the screen.
“What does that have to do with any of this?” He paused and looked up at Draco, squinting through the glare of the sun. “Wait, is that who you were hiding from? Astoria Greengrass?”
Draco nodded and glanced around the courtyard. “When we were together, she pushed me to get in touch with you over and over.”
Harry chuckled.
“Point is,” Draco narrowed his eyes on a group of people passing by. “I think it’s time you and she arranged a meeting.”
“Okay...”
“I’m thinking you should set up a couple of meetings. We’ll have to get in there fast. And we’ll have to ensure you’ve set one up for, lets say...” Draco eyed a bench that had just been emptied of its occupants. “Four days from now?”
“But that’s the day of —” Harry paused, catching on, as he looked up from his mobile. “Oh.” The device in his hand buzzed and Harry grimaced as he looked down at the screen. “I have to stop by the house. Ginny won’t stop texting me. Meet you back at your place.” Harry slipped the mobile into his pocket as the men parted ways.
Draco settled himself on to the bench, and absorbed the warmth of the sun. He tilted his head back and inhaled slowly as he basked.
“Where’s Potter?” Theo’s voice whispered.
Draco’s eyes adjusted to the light unshielded against his closed lids and found Theo sitting on the opposite end of the bench.
“Had to go see the misses. What do you think?”
Theo scoffed and crossed his ankles as he leaned back to enjoy some of the summer sun on his skin. “Piece of cake. Where’s Granger?”
Draco shrugged, despite the fact that Theo’s eyes were closed as he sunbathed. “I last saw her checking the wards on The Wand.”
“Hmm.” Theo hummed in response. “Didn’t I tell you she was a whizz?”
Draco stared at his best friend. “You did. She’s quite lovely.”
Theo turned his head and peered through his squinting eyes. “Easy there, Draco.”
Trying his best to look affronted, Draco shrugged. “Is she not lovely? What’s the matter with calling her lovely? I’d call you lovely if asked to describe you.”
Theo grunted and closed his eyes.
Frowning, Draco leaned into the bench and closed his eyes. The warmth of the sun tended to lull him into a state of stasis if left out too long. The allure of sleep was quickly hurtling toward him when he caught the scent of sweet citrus.
“Boys,” She crooned and Draco felt her hips brush against his.
He opened his eyes and found Theo smiling down at her.
“Reminds me of Amsterdam,” Theo said and Draco grinned at the sudden rush of blood that filled her cheeks.
“Why do you keep brining up Amsterdam. This is nothing like Amsterdam.” She hissed and adjusted her ass against the bench, apparently nestled in between the two men.
“We’re at a museum, are we not?”
“You can’t keep bringing it up. We agreed to never bring up Amsterdam again and you brought it up twice in one day.”
She was staring at the open brochure, pretending to read the material, when in fact she was hiding the scowl on her face as he hissed at Theo.
Theo grinned broadly behind a hand that rubbed at his jaw.
Draco was chuckling and that was enough for her to direct her ire at him. Her head whipped to look at him, her sleep black strands whipping Theo in the face.
“What are you laughing at? You don’t even know what happened in Amsterdam.” She paused then narrowed her eyes. An act he could just barely make out behind the large, bug-like lenses on her face. “Do you?”
“He doesn’t.” Theo answered for her.
Draco just tilted his head and grinned at Granger, welcoming an explanation.
“Well, why don’t we tell him.” Granger shrugged. “Why not? Let’s tell Malfoy how you ended up in a pair of knickers and—”
A hand came around her shoulder and clamped itself over her mouth. “You’re right.” Theo chuckled nervously. “Let’s not speak on it again. Amsterdam never happened. As a matter of fact, let’s obliviate it from our minds now. And this. Let’s obliviate this entire conversation. That includes you, Draco.”
Draco was openly chuckling but Granger pouted when she removed Theo’s hand from her mouth. “I’d never! How could I obliviate the thing that led us here?” She slid her hand into the inside of Draco’s elbow and Theo rested his hand on her shoulder.
“You’re right, Granger.” Theo patted the rounded curve of the witches shoulder. “Right here is good. I like here.”
She pushed her left hip into Theo and rested her head on Draco’s shoulder. “Me, too.”
Draco shook his head in amusement but couldn’t shake the pulse of energy between his arm and the feel of her little hand holding on. It was the same arm that was left branded at a young age.
She touched him without fear, without an ounce of hesitation. And he realized then that being near Hermione Granger was easy. Befriending her was natural, as she seemed to have accepted him into her life with open arms as well.
“Here is good.” Draco murmured and patted her hand affectionately.
A sudden explosion jolted the three of them out of their moment of peace. It wasn’t the kind of explosion that led with a bang! but the kind that elicited cries of fear and alarm.
Granger pulled away from the wizards at her side and stood.
Theo sat up straight and let out an exasperated sigh.
For what had caused such an alarm, was the sudden eruption of flames at a corner of the courtyard.
And in the corner, Draco realized with a frown, was a camera aimed directly at the spot they sat in.
Seamus approached them with a lifted brow but stood a distance far enough away to disallow anyone to believe they were together. “You’re causing a scene. I had to take proactive measures.”
Draco grinned as Granger sighed obscenely.
Theo lifted an impressed brow at Seamus as they all watched her march away from them and out of the courtyard.
Teddy passed her on his way into the courtyard and grinned broadly at the three men.
Draco took that as a job well done and mentally began to prepare himself for what was surely be the most difficult task of this particular job.
Which was, unfortunately and impossibly, to obtain a bit of blood from Astoria Greengrass.
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c3e63
Within the chamber, there are remnants of rituals and spells that have been "abandoned."
"You are intruders within my domain." The air instantly gets colder. "Hevestro is not available... I am Evothorir, and you are in my home uninvited." The air grows colder and the lights dim slightly as shadows cascade from the ceiling. "Hevestro is mine. Omadua is mine. This valley belongs to me." A pale gray, pointed face emerges from the cascading shadow, the eyes a faint blue with a smile of crooked, cracked, elongated teeth. With an arcana check, Prism identifies that there is a fey energy to this thing.
Prism says they have nothing invested in Hevestro, that they can get the power they want then leave.
"You smell of... potential." Orym sees some little whips of red light in the shadow.
"Whatever happened, it freed me. I have no interest, for now, in leaving. I am home, and you are intruding... I know how you can help me. You can join Hevestro. You have potential — I want it."
Initiative!
This thing has legendary actions and resistances, and is able to cast at least 6th level spells. As a bonus action, it manifests one of the two glowing red orbs Orym saw, which turns everything in a radius grayscale.
As Orym strikes it, he sees that there's some kind of corporeal form inside the shadow, and assumes that it's Hevestro. When Prism hits it with force damage, the shadow dissipates for a moment and she sees a shriveled elven figure within that also takes the damage.
Ashton rage build update: When Ashton's gravity rage build is active and a creature within the gravity well tries to move away, that creature loses 10 feet of movement and has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures that aren't Ashton.
With Seedling, Orym dissipates the shadow and uses the grappling vine, which wraps around the shoulder of the humanoid within. With a successful strength check, the body is pulled onto the ground next to Orym, and the shadow shrieks. Then Prism sends Dynios to cast dimension door on the body and teleports it next to Ashton. Now that's what I call teamwork!
Bor'dor does have sorcery points, and uses them to regain a spell slot.
Deni$e gives the elf a healing potion, and he wakes up. He's a middle-aged elf with matted black hair, tanned skin covered in tattoos, and lavender eyes. He's wearing metal bracelets, leather vestments over green robes.
With a quickened eldritch blast, Laudna gets the HDYWTDT! The shadow reduces into a tiny slug-like thing that pulls itself forward before Laudna squishes it. The red orbs fall to the ground and shatter.
(Have I mentioned? Socerer/warlock is one of my favorite multiclass combos because of the quickened spell eldritch blast.)
Bor'dor uses mass cure wounds and heals everyone up, including the elf. The spell looks like little puffs of blue cotton candy. (How/why does he have this spell?)
Hevestro sits up and says that he's responsible for protecting "her," gesturing to the obelisk. "Any solstice is a strange time, and in preparation, we were hoping to reinforce the protective wards here. I don't know how, but Evithirir, the Taker, seems to have escaped and come back." An ancient Gau Drashari named Omadua rooted here long ago, but Evithirir was drawn to the immense power of Omadua and they fought, which diminished him; he was sealed for centuries, broke free during the solstice, and slaughtered the rest of the people in the shrine. However, the battle left Omadua mortally wounded, and she spent her final years implanting her power and spirit as a fane of protection for the region, which has since become the Emerald Tree.
Even Evithirir didn't know why or how they were freed.
Hevestro doesn't know who Ludinus is, and doesn't know what happened to the bodies of his fellows.
"Gau Drashari... not Hishari. Definitely not Hishari." "What do you know of the Hishari?" "Not a terrible amount, just what the locals are aware of... there was a humble village of farmers and crafters called Tumilo — nice folk. But 50 years ago, a charismatic figure arose named Efterin. He was traveling from town to town displaying abilities and giving sermons about the need to reinstall the primordial powers within our world — a task that is foolish, as the gods scattered them long ago. Even so, he drew many to follow him, eventually settling in Tumilo and taking control of the town. Last I heard, the source of Efterin's power was likely his downfall, leading to the destruction of the village. The survivors scattered." The town was far west of where they are now, not terribly far from the base of the Udeespire Mountains.
Ahhh. Abadena was a survivor of the Hishari village, and has "seen the error of their ways," allegedly. Hevestro hopes that she isn't being "re-radicalized" by Ludinus, but she clearly has been, with her talk about a new rise of the Primordials. It explains so much that her beliefs were sourced from the Hishari cult and from her failure to learn from its destruction.
The Hishari were attempting to channel an extremely powerful source of elemental magic, an artifact or something that became a centerpiece to their cult. In not knowing what it was they toyed with, they couldn't control it, and it left a curse upon the land. Hevestro doesn't know for sure, but imagines that the power they were trying to access was sourced from the Primordial Titans themselves. But if this took place 50 years ago, then Ashton definitely experienced some kind of temporal displacement — so my money is on this artifact being a Luxon beacon.
"In the conflict between the gods and the primordials, it was proven that perhaps, such power should not be focused in only a handful of individuals. With their destruction and eventual dispersal in the presence of the gods, the lands were left to largely live for themselves, outside of the influence of the temples and the local governments. That's where eidolons thrive — that's where we thrive, and that's why this valley is sacred, why we keep such strong mind to keeping it as it always has been."
Hevestro is happy to teleport the Bells Hells (and the group seems ready to split up at the drop of a hat), but he needs to recover his spells first.
Prism asks what he knows of the githzerai — he's heard of them, but doesn't know much, only that they are from the Astral Sea (which he describes as an ocean connecting the disparate shores of the planes).
Off in a corner, Deni$e grabs Bor'dor, twists his arm behind his back, and says, "I feel like you're not telling us everything."
Yessssss Laudna brings up the mass healing word. That isn't on the divine soul sorcerer list, and it's too high level to get from a feat. It seems like that question gets Bor'dor to tell the truth.
He grew up in "Menagerie, not far from Demali." His mother, Demandra, was blessed by the Wildmother, and taught him her ways in secret. They moved to the city, and under the guise of being leatherworkers, stayed away from the eyes of the people of the city and the church. Once, when he went into town to get some tools, some rich kids started a fight with him and he hurt them with a spell, nearly killing one. It was an accident, but his mother knew they wouldn't let Bor'dor live, so she took responsibility. She believed in the gods, and accepted her fate because of that; but Bor'dor's brother and father fought against an entire army for her freedom. Demandra's faith, on seeing them fall, shattered, believing that the gods had let her down. So she handed Bor'dor her dagger and told him to run, as the last thing he saw was Demandra engulfing both herself and the guards in a vitriolic sphere. This was years ago. He fled to the Cyrios Mountains, used his magic to make money, stole and tricked, developed a reputation. Soon, he caught attention, and was asked to join a community, and was asked a question. "Do you believe in the gods, and what they do is good?" He said no.
"What community?"
He drops his guise. Eyes full of sadness. A pain that only Orym recognizes -- indescribable grief. He's 6'4, the gold of his skin is cracked and gray.
Bor'dor fires a vitriolic sphere at a little crystal he had left on the ground.
"I saw you, you killed my friends in Marquet, you were there!"
HE'S PART OF THE RUBY VANGUARD. y'all fucking called it.
"You cast inflict wounds on an angel!" "It felt good."
Two initiatives in one episode!
Ashton rage build update: While the gravity build is active, when Ashton hits with an attack, he can use "gravity well" to force the target to make a STR save. On a fail, the target falls prone.
"Just get it over with, just end it -- end it, Laudna." Bor'dor is a bloody mess, crying, and Laudna is in a "bad spot." She goes into her form of dread, branches erupt, her eyes go dark -- and a faint purplish hue emanates from her pupils, a hue that hasn't been seen in a long time. Shaking. "I'm really sorry, Bor'dor. I just can't stand having anyone else betray me." She takes him by the throat and uses hunger of the shadow.
It's an ability (Marisha has never said "cast" in regards to this, she's always said "use") with an attack roll that seems to deal necrotic damage proportional to Laudna's level (in d6s or d8s, I think).
Bor'dor feels his blood turn to ice as he fades to unconsciousness, and Laudna feels good. She almost revels in the delicious revenge, and just hears a heartbeat in the back of her head as she dissociates.
Prism takes more damage from the acid, and she gets angry. She had been given so much hope and fun from the idea that they were learning together, and it was all a lie. She clocks him across the jaw, intending to deal damage in the stupor, and Bor'dor takes 2 death saves from the fist of a wizard with -2 STR.
As Bor'dor's life essence feeds into Laudna's mouth, a mourning veil begins to form over her face. Orym stands, watching, saying and doing nothing. Ashton takes Prism by the shoulders and turns her away. Deni$e doesn't often feel bad, but she does, and unbinds him.
"Laudna. At the threshold of death, Bor'dor is in your grasp, broken and at your mercy. What do you do?" 15 feet away, she sees Orym in her periphery, and he gives a tiny nod. Laudna is barely present, the only thing that's going through her head is Bor'dor's words about the look of someone who knows true pain. It's as if her life is flashing before her eyes, but it's trauma -- "losing Imogen, the solstice, losing her friends, watching so many die, being hung on the tree, death upon death upon death, so helpless, so out of control. In this moment, she has control, and nothing is going to stand in her way." She uses wither and bloom to take whatever lifeforce remains in Bor'dor, and it's not Laudna standing there anymore -- it's everything she hoped she wouldn't be, hoped wouldn't resurface, but the world has broken her. She gives in to the darkness. She can't control it anymore. "A familiar purple flame runs down her arm, not seen since the journey to retrieve her soul. From the ground, the roots and fried brush that has been gathered begins to sprout vibrant green and flowers of white petals, blue roses, a beautiful circle of life surrounds the two of them as Bor'dor's skin pales and cracks. His body thins. In that moment, the apex of natural beauty rising with life, alongside the balance of death, you watch the troubled life of Bor'dor Dog'son reduce to ash and memory."
Ashton walks over, and Laudna instincually lashes out. "It's okay." "Ashton?" "It's okay. It's gonna be okay. Come on, let's go sit down." They gently lead her away.
Orym lingers by the body, reaches into his belt, and pulls out the locket he took from the dead guard by the Malleus Key. He took it as a reminder because he felt bad for them, and leaves it now with Bor'dor. "We're at war." He goes, sits in the dark, and stares at the remains of a Gau Drashari.
"Ashton -- what have I done?" "Nothing that I haven't. Nothing that... I think we're all gonna have some nightmares before this is over." "I'm weak." "No, you're just hurt. It's okay." Laudna just cries into Ashton's shoulder, and he holds her close with no hesitation.
On the body, Deni$e finds a crossbow, an envenomed dagger ("I didn't get to use it, I would have, I would've stabbed each and every one of you"), leatherworkers' tools, a ring and cloak of protection, an immovable rod, and a hat of disguise. Deni$e takes the dagger with every intent of burying it with him. There is nothing tied to the Ruby Vanguard, and everything that would've tied him to the cult was likely discarded intentionally -- implying that he knew who the Bells Hells were from the get-go.
Bor'dor's body turned to ash in the wither and bloom spell. Deni$e scoops up the ashes, digs a hole, puts them in, fills it up with dirt, and puts a rock on top.
This is the first betrayal of Prism's life. She feels bad for punching him, but she's also seeing Laudna and what she did. To Prism, when Laudna did that, it wasn't something to be ashamed of. She's angry at being hoodwinked, she wonders if the feeling of learning and growth alongside Bor'dor was fake, she feels the literal and figurative acid that Bor'dor through. She's standing in the corner with a broken fist, afraid to start a conversation, but Deni$e comes over and puts a hand on her shoulder.
Deni$e has all of Bor'dor's stuff and offers the first pick to Prism. She opts for last pick instead, and she goes to shout at his grave. "We were supposed to be friends! This was supposed to work out differently!"
Eventually, Hevestro returns, after his own walk of grief. He immediately notices the change. "It seems that these days bring quite a bit of loss in so short a time. I am sorry for what has brought you here, and what has happened since. But do not let this weigh you down -- not entirely. Carry these memories with you; they hurt, but they are a strength as well. At least, I have to believe that. You are capable, or you wouldn't have been able to save me from a fate that even my focus prevented me from seeing approach. And I have a sense... just in the trust the eidolons of this land have already placed in you, that you walk a fateful path. But you do not know me from your families, and I do not wish to pry. Let us all take a night of rest. In the morning, I will usher you to your destinations, out of gratitude for the kindness you've done me."
I don't know about you, but my favorite kind of DM monologue is when the DM is so clearly communicating their own feelings toward the party through an NPC.
Laudna is afraid -- terrified that killing Bor'dor has hurt more than just him. She fears that, as hard as the Bells Hells have tried to cut her off from Delilah, she has opened that door again. But Prism comforts her. "If you closed that door once, you can close it again... I just don't want you to feel bad because it made sense, what you were doing. At least emotionally, I understand it." "I feel like control is a fallacy. We've talked so much about it here lately. We've tried to control our concurrent destinies... I'm just confused." "Well, confusion is just knowing you don't have control... so maybe surrendering to the confusion will be some medicine for that." "You're very smart, Prism -- very capable." "Thank you. You're an incredible magic user, and I think that someday you'll be strong enough to beat this bitch (Delilah) back to where she came from."
"Anger and pity don't have to be mutually exclusive." Y'know, I am absolutely living for the way the entire cast has become so good at these one-liners.
Orym can hear most of these conversations echoing, and he's meditating on how complex and broken the centuries of history are between his being held here and all of them being there, and how complicated this conflict is, how so many people have different reasons for their choices. In the end, all he can think about is what was taken from him: the people that he holds most dear, in the name of philosophy or ideology or whatever you wanna call it. "In the last few days, I've lost my footing, and I'm struggling with it. Sitting here on the stone, I know that we're going to try to kill the people who took from me, who didn't care who died to get what they wanted. And I'll just fucking die trying if I have to."
A little ways off, there's a sketch of Bor'dor's family. Deni$e finds it, then she digs another hole next to the first one. In it, she puts the dagger and the photo, before burying it and putting another rock on top.
In the morning, Hevestro offers to take them where they need to go. Before they leave, Ashton asks to take a bit of the crystal, and Hevestro gives them -- and Prism -- permission. When they're alone, Prism tells Ashton and Dynios how she doesn't want to go back, and suggests that she and Dynios could just disappear without anyone ever knowing. "Sometimes, books don't get returned to the repository what a shame." Dynios approves, and Prism acknowledges that she's asking the wrong person -- Ashton -- on purpose. But Ashton notes that "the thing you felt last night, you will feel again, and it will not feel better. Most adventures will end that way, not the other way. You're pretty fucking good at this, and I think, maybe, if you try not as hard to be someone else... just be a criminal nerd. You are clearly good at being a criminal, and you're a nerd. You're asking me? I'd do it. I've done worse. And, yeah, I think you'd be pretty good at it." Dynios pipes up and asks where she wants to go, and Prism would go anywhere there are scripts that need decoding, knowledge that's being hoarded. "Actually, we just got back from Whitestone -- they have a massive library, and the lord of Whitestone is a dick, so if a couple books go missing..." talisien jaffe you fucking genius--
Also, there's certainly something to be said about the character development of Dynios specifically.
"You said don't run from yourself -- but right now, I think I'm running toward myself." Changing Exandria for the better, one hubristic wizard apprentice at a time.
Meanwhile, Deni$e is going to go back to Emon to find Dariax. Prism offers to scry on him. (I can't believe there was a whole-ass exchange about "messing up your slots" without a single fucking giggle--)
Orym takes out his sending stone to Dorian. "Dorian -- still alive, by the skin of our teeth. Want to talk more. You know where Dariax is?" Another d100, another failed sending.
Deni$e and Prism give their goodbyes, and both are thankful for the rest of them not lying to or betraying them.
They distribute Bor'dor's items. (Ashton wholeheartedly agrees with Deni$e leaving the dagger in the grave, which is, IIRC, a huge change from the start of C3.) Laudna takes his slingshot; Ashton takes the immovable rod; Orym takes the cloak of protection; and Prism takes the hat of disguise (which looks more like a bandana).
Hevestro goes up to a tree and teleports the group away. Deni$e goes to Westruun to find Dariax; then, Prism and the Bells Hells (after having Prism scry on the other half of Bells Hells' current location, narrowly missing the werewolf threesome) return to Jrusar. (Ashton remarks, "come on, family. Let's get the rest of the kids.")
In his final words, echoing across Issylra, Bor'dor "is at peace. I'm with my family again." He's put to his rest, here, in the mountain, away from the gods. Under the watch of the guardian spirits who first crafted this world."
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miniscrew-anon · 8 months
Text
HSH Pumpkin Carving Headcanons
It’s spooky time y’all
Twilight - The traditional pumpkin carver. Can make absolutely perfect pumpkin faces that look straight off of pinterest. Happy, sad, scary, funny - doesn't matter, Twi can carve it. He can pump them out en masse, too. When it comes to pumpkins, Twi is in his element. 9/10 Only because he’s limited to faces. But damn if they’re not impressive.
Sky - Does not carve a pumpkin. He starts to but then loses interest as soon as the guts come out. He stalls when it comes to creating a face; he wants to do something more creative than just a generic face but he doesn't know what else to do. So he ends up as Twilight's helping hand instead. He’s very useful because he can magically carry twenty pumpkins at once. It's his Halloween party trick. 2/10 he’s got no pumpkin but he’s got spirit
Legend - He doesn’t make a face but a sigil. A very elaborate, carefully crafted sigil to ward off malicious spirits. Stuffs it with herbs and charms too. Also he uses a very large turnip instead of a pumpkin to keep tradition. But he also fucks up cutting the lid and it keeps falling inwards and ruining his candles, which he bitches about even though it was his fault. 7/10 very atmospheric and aromatic
Hyrule - If he can get some time off, Hyrule does enjoy a good pumpkin carving. He's not great at it so his faces are a little wonky. But he has fun and that's what's important. His little happy pumpkin is an adorable addition to the front porch and Time is sure to put it front and center. 8/10 the littlest pumpkin on the porch with the biggest smile
Warriors - Draws an ahegao face on the pumpkin with a sharpie. His pumpkin is the first to magically disappear from the front porch. Banned from touching all future pumpkins forever. 0/10 and someone stuffs pumpkin guts into his pillowcase in retaliation
Wild - Starts carving, gets distracted halfway through. He scoops the guts out and then comes up with a great recipe idea and disappears into the kitchen to roast some pumpkin seeds. Twilight happily finishes carving his pumpkin for him and enjoys whatever amazing pumpkin flavored treat Wild cooks up. Wild never realizes he forgot to actually carve his pumpkin. 3/10 another without a pumpkin but he gets more points because his comes with pumpkin spice cookies
Champion - Carves his pumpkin very professionally. Looks up "pumpkin carving ideas " and then literally just copies whatever he finds. He does it very, very well too. It comes out looking amazing, if a bit generic. He cannot be convinced to personalize it in the slightest, though. No, it's by the book or not at all. Does not hesitate to defend his gourd by force when Warriors comes by with that damned sharpie. 8/10 very professional looking
Wind - Doesn't care about carving pumpkins. He hates the icky feeling of touching the raw guts and he doesn't give a shit about carving a face. At best he'll draw a generic face on with a marker and at worst he won't even touch a pumpkin. He's the boring guy who just puts a plain pumpkin on his porch. -10/10 he doesn’t even have the spirit
Four - Uses this as an excuse to use all his favorite power tools. His pumpkin comes out looking like a fucked up little freak. A true frankenstein creature that's half flesh, half metal. A serious safety hazard with all the loose screws that have been drilled into it. It's a monstrosity. The blood in it is not decorative: it’s from all the ankles of everyone who didn’t watch out. God help any unsavory characters who show up to cause trouble because Time will use it as a projectile in case of an emergency and it will be a critical hit. 7/10 very cool but actually a safety hazard.
Time - This man has zero artistic ability. He can kill a man with a knife three hundred different ways but can't carve a fucking straight line in this goddess damned pumpkin. What the fuck is this? A cosmic joke? Why does his triangle come out looking like a square? Why does his smiley face look like a straight line? Why did the damn pumpkin split in half? He barely even touched it??? The dude goes through several attempts before finally coming to something that looks vaguely okay. Only to then realize that he forgot to coat the pumpkins insides with vaseline so the local squirrels eat it immediately. 1/10 all that’s left is an eaten carcass. Malon laughs at him.
Malon - Another master pumpkin carver. She's a little more artistic than Twilight and makes more than just faces. Entire scenes and landscapes. Skeleton animals, a headless rider on a motorcycle. She's got major talent. Plus, she's won the regional pumpkin growing competition ten years in a row. 10/10 This woman is Queen of the Pumpkin Patch.
Dark - Enjoys pumpkin carving in a more freeform way. Draws cartoon "x" eyes and punches a hole through the pumpkin to make the mouth and exit hole. He stuffs a fake gun into the "mouth", guts spilled out onto the sidewalk out of the hole in the back of the gourd. Thinks it's hilarious. 4/10 His pumpkin is really ugly but he literally punched a hole through it so yeah that’s worth some points right there
Shadow - Doesn't carve but does steal. Menace to all gourds, taker of jack-o-lanterns. 0/10 Picks tricks over treats every time
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