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cancerjupiter · 3 years

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moon in capricorn: observations

The Moon is said to be in its detriment in Capricorn because the sign is opposite the sign of Cancer, the Moon's natural home. This means that the emotional side of your life could be a little suppressed. Whatever you appear to be on the outside, inwardly you are sensitive, vulnerable and shy, especially where your personal feelings are concerned.

Even if you have an extroverted sign on your Ascendant, you will be shy when you are young; but later in life you will cover this up with a layer of polish. Inwardly you are rather deep and hard to get to know.

You have an inner strength that enables you to survive almost anything, plus give you the tenacity and determination which allows you to finish whatever you start.

You learn self-control early in life and feel that life is an actually serious thing. You have the feeling that you should work to build up your finances while you are young, so you can relax and enjoy the results later on (cap moons usually live a long time, so you’re right about that).

You need security. Your idea of hell would be to depend on others, because you hate to be a burden or to suffer the “embarrassment” of having to ask for help. You are resourceful and hard-working, but could be shady for the sake of a goal.

Your serious nature is lightened by a dry and witty sense of humour. You don't enjoy hurtful jokes about others, but you see the world in an off-beat way which those who enjoy your sense of humour will find hilarious.

Rules and methods come easily to you, whether they be mathematical, engineering, or the pattern made by a series of music notes or dance steps. You wouldn’t like a risky and unstable job, but it depends on the rest of your chart.

The most important aspect of your life is probably your relationship with your family. You are very caring, and you take your responsibilities towards them very seriously. You are dependable and faithful in relationships, and will try to make almost any kind of situation work. Your work may occasionally come between you and your family.

Lunar Capricorns can find it difficult to form relationships because of shyness, but the intensity of this problem would depend on the type of Ascendant and Sun sign which you have; nevertheless, you are easily hurt and embarrassed.

As a parent, you are gentle and caring, and although you probably don’t play catch with them a lot, you will do your best to teach them about the world in which we live, and to open their eyes to the possibilities which life offers. You may be a little old-fashioned in your approach when they reach their teens, but you will try to see things from their point of view. At least you’re always aware of your children's need to be treated with dignity (this is about HEALTHY cap moons. my father is one, and he’s a pos so beware).

You exert considerable control over your own inner nature, sometimes too much so in order to prevent your feelings from getting the better of you. You're somewhat formal manner protects your vulnerability. It would be impossible to imagine you getting drunk and making an ass of yourself, unless the moon is affected.

Like the other Earth signs, it takes a lot to make you lose your temper, but when you do, it is overpoweringly destructive. Making friends is a slow process with you, and you keep for years the few friends whom you do have. You adapt better to new places than to new people, and can fit in almost anywhere.

You need a strong and independent partner who can, to some extent, protect you. Your hidden sensitivity can give you nervous conditions such as skin problems, asthma or other breathing problems, and a tendency to have colds. You listen to any advice which is offered to you, but you prefer to make up your own mind.

Being reserved, you don't readily reach out to touch people, but you love to be held and touched by your partner and your children.

Where sex is concerned, you improve with age, and also with the overcoming of your shyness and inhibitions. You are careful and very particular both in your choice of partner and in your behaviour around them. One-night stands are probably not for you. The feeling of closeness while making love is as important to you as the act itself. You may choose to marry someone who is older than you; but whoever you choose, and whatever their age or appearance, you will feel protective and caring to them. You even like to work together so you can share the same problems.

Most lunar Capricorns are great holiday planners. You need to get away from work from time to time, and you really enjoy a break. You are not too experimental with foods, as you probably don’t eat a lot, but you enjoy good surroundings with well-cooked goods. Comfort is a necessity for you when travelling, and you are not likely to be found camping.

As a child you were very close to your mother and then lost your idealized picture of her. There may even be tragic circumstances involving death of a family member or trauma due to illness or divorce in the family. As you grow up, you may realize that your mother is a loving woman who did her best under the circumstances, and you likely feel responsible for her happiness.

There could have been some conflict and aggression between you and your father, which accounts for your watchfulness when around new people. This Moon position suggests difficulties during childhood through poverty, too many other children in the family or a loss. Oddly enough, this may jump back one generation and be not your experience of childhood, but your mother's experience (in my case).

Your parents loved you and were kind-hearted, but they could have been insensitive and critical of your school work. A conflict could have arisen if they wanted you to work in the field they planned you to and were disappointed when you chose not to. They, possibly because of their upbringing, taught you to be careful with money and highly realistic in your dreams. You would have learned to value (possibly over-value) material security and possessions.

Lunar Capricorns prefer to do something-useful career-wise. Being slow, thorough and efficient in all that you do, you become annoyed by petty inefficiencies in others - for instance, buses being late or paperwork which has not been done right. I have noticed that most people with the Sun, Moon or Ascendant in an Earth sign are early risers or just love mornings.

Your weak spots for health are supposed to be the bones, especially the knees. Hearing and skin problems are most likely.

The best relationship for you is one that is long-lasting, so you have ample opportunities to express your love over a long period (you can actually adapt love languages).

#astrology #moon signs #capricorn moon #moon in capricorn #could apply to cap sun and rising

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skellebonez · 3 years

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You like soulmate aus? 44 with a soulmate au where there are countdown timers for important events and if you concentrate you can see the lifespan of your romantic and platonic soulmates except immortals. MK realizes he can see Red Son's life countdown and he only has 1 year left

ANON I WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS WAS THE SADDEST PROMPT I HAVE EVER BEEN GIVEN AND I HAD TO TAKE IT OUT OF THE WAIT LIST TO FILL IT ASAP. Just. Damn. You came for my heart and crushed it. @kitkat1003 you helped make this sadder so I wanna make sure you see this.

WARNING: I mean, look at the prompt. It's gonna be a depressing read regardless. Read the tags for a major spoiler if you want to know about the end in advance.

The Lunar New Year special is mentioned in passing but NO SPOILERS.

Why are you still awake?

MK never made it a point to concentrate and look at his soulmate timers unless he really felt he had to, tempting as it may have been. Especially not their life countdown timers. The colors one saw differed from from viewer to viewer, some people even saw only one color in varying shades, and no one knew why the colors were chosen the way they were for each individual. But to MK the timers were a whole swath of colors.

It was easy with Mei, her platonic bond with his allowing him to see the bright green (green for all platonic bonds, not just Mei) countdowns to major events (some bad but usually good, like a major race being announced or taking part in a game tournament spontaneously). The familial blue bond he had with Pigsy and Tang went much the same, as well as Sandy's own platonic bond. He didn't learn that immortal beings had their own color, brilliant gold tinted in whatever the proper bond was until he met Sun Wukong, his gold-green timer slowly changing into a gold-blue bond of family found.

It wasn't until Red Son that MK realized his romantic bonds were a brilliant red (which, in retrospect, could have been seen as funny), shining brilliant and bright and almost blinding him when he caught sight of him properly from far above him (and it nearly made him fall before Wukong forced him to, the traitor). He'd mistaken it for some kind of antagonistic bond before he learned that that was also a type of platonic soulmate. So that was something he shoved deep deep deeeeeep down inside to think about later, especially since a lot of people now a days rarely went after their first romantic soulmate and instead waited for a platonic to change in time.

He never told anyone.

It also wasn't until he tested concentrating on timers with Wukong, for fun and out of sheer curiosity if he really was super immortal, that he realized that immortal's life countdown timer just looked like a mass of rapidly changing numbers screaming in confusion and he decided to never do that again.

Until... the Lunar New Year celebration.

He was curious, scared, and Red Son was there and he let his curiosity get the better of him. He wanted to see if Red was still immortal and if his timer did the same thing.

361 days, 17 hours, 8 minutes, and 42 seconds.

That couldn't have been right.

He tried again.

361 days, 17 hours, 7 minutes, and 30 seconds.

And again.

361 days, 16 hours, 56 minutes, and 45 seconds.

And one last time, after everything was over.

361 days, 12 hours, 1 minute, 29 seconds.

Red Son... had less than a year left to live. Red Son, The Boy Sage Prince, the one who almost defeated Sun Wukong on his journey and eternal thorn in his side... was going to die.

MK hadn't ever really imagined that he could die. He had believed that Red Son was immortal, and maybe he still was. There were ways to kill immortals who weren't all powerful Monkey Kings. But he'd always imagined that, maybe, eventually, they could possibly at least work things out and get to know each other eventually after what happened with WBS.

Now he was plagued with the thought 'what if I'm the one who kills him' and he couldn't handle that so he made up his mind then and there and before Red Son could leave he grabbed him by his jacket collar in front of everyone and changed that thought to 'fuck it' and kissed him and pulled away and looked DBK in the eye and announced "I've known Red is my romantic soulmate since day 1 and I am not wasting anymore time with stupid feuds".

Apparently that was just enough to startle the other man into not attacking and to send Sun Wukong into a frenzy of cackling "I KNEW IT"s.

Red Son turned as red as his jacket on his cheeks and just looked at MK in awe. They had-

361 days, 10 hours, 2 minutes, 16 seconds.

Red hadn't left his parents, not immediately, but the sudden relationship that have been revealed between the successor to the Monkey King and the son of the Demon Bull King had forced everything to a standstill. DBK wanted revenge, PIF wanted her husband to be happy, Sun Wukong wanted to be retired, and all three of them were too stubborn to not insist the two men court each other anyway because tradition dictated that when a romantic soulmate pair revealed their bond no one could force them apart.

352 days, 14 hours, 34 minutes, 18 seconds.

MK felt back constantly checking Red Son's timer, but he didn't want to waste a single second. They had less than a year. He'd seen just how smart and resourceful and, as much as he didn't want to admit it at first, protective and caring for the people he had grown close to he was.

By the end of the month they had moved into Red Son's apartment (he had an apartment?).

322 days, 2 hours, 28 minutes, 50 seconds.

MK learned that Red Son was a fantastic chef, on par with Pigsy even. His food was spicy but over time he learned that MK would suffer through food that was hurting him just to try his food and make it less so. Just for him.

315 days, 2 hours, 45 minutes, 34 seconds.

They kissed for the second time well after they had moved in together. Despite rushing into this they had both been too nervous and flustered to do more than hold hands and sleep side by side in different blankets.

They started sharing a blanket by month 2.

292 days, 8 hours, 1 minute, 12 seconds.

DBK was still pissed at Wukong. No one thought his grudge would ever fully disappear. But he and PIF had stopped attacking. For now. For their son. The best thing they had ever done for him was let him be with his soulmate without fighting.

MK never felt more guilty than when he realized he was never going to tell them. He tried once, after they moved in. After he had truly fallen in love with Red Son. He'd cried too hard to get the words out and PIF had looked torn between telling him to leave and comforting him before she put a shockingly gentle hand on his shoulder.

He could never tell them.

267 days, 18 hours, 59 minutes, 2 seconds.

Red got along amazingly well with Mei and Sandy. The three of them together were a mechanical nightmare for anyone on their bad side and the most amazing team for anyone they made anything for. Red was also the new favorite among Sandy's cats. No one was surprised.

He and Red ended up adopting a little one eyed kitten they found outside Pigsy's Noodles. They named her Bao-Bao. They loved her.

245 days, 7 hours, 29 minutes, 34 seconds.

Naturally nothing was going to be calm for the Monkie Kid. Eventually demons far and wide came to attack either him or the city. The only difference was that, now, he had Red Son by his side.

Every time Red took a hit MK felt no fear. He knew that would not be the hit that killed his soulmate. His soulmate had-

208 days, 19 hours, 78 minutes, 21 seconds.

Red and Tang were fast friends. Red and Mei and Sandy were faster. It had taken longer for Pigsy but he came around fast enough.

Sun Wukong, though. Even after 5 months he was still slightly tense and terse and short with Red. But he had been coming around, slowly. Just like with everyone else, Wukong was hard pressed to open up to anyone who wasn't MK.

They visited Flower Fruit Mountain from time to time, and it was one day when Red had wandered off to enjoy the scenery at MK and Wukong had heard the pained screech of a small monkey in the distance.

When they saw Red calming the little one down, tending to it's wound as best he could, MK saw Wukong properly smile at him for the first time. Soon they had-

157 days, 22 hours, 28 minutes, 59 seconds.

There were still fights. DBK and Sun Wukong didn't get along. But things were better.

There were family game nights. Red and Pigsy and Wukong cooked together. Bao-Bao had grown into a beautiful Tortoise Shell cat (with tortitude included). Everyone promised to try to get along and things were going well. Red Son and MK were truly in love, it seemed. At least MK was. He was certain Red was as well.

That's why MK asked him to marry him that night.

Red said yes.

140 days, 19 hours, 34 minutes, 34 seconds.

Was 7 months too fast? Yes. Did MK care? No. Did anyone object?

Only the demons that showed up to fight. They were taken care of quickly. DBK was not entirely happy about how fast things were but for his only son it seemed he would not allow anything to ruin the day.

He'd changed over the 7 months. Not entirely, not enough for MK to completely forgive him for everything since he had awoken. But seeing him punch a demon into the stratosphere for Red Son was a pretty good marker of how much he was trying.

6 days, 37 hours, 8 minutes, 12 seconds.

Everything was amazing for those few months together. They fought demons. They kissed. They spent time with their family. No longer two families but one family.

Then Macaque came back.

MK had thought he was gone for good, he had been so quiet. But apparently he was planning something the whole time.

Something to kill an immortal.

That was when MK learned he was immortal. And wasn't that ironic?

Macaque had meant to stab him. MK didn't move in time.

Red Son jumped in front of him and there was red.

Macaque wasn't seen again after what MK did to him.

They bandaged the small wound in Red Son's shoulder. They would find a way to fix this. They had to. MK knew what would kill Red Son now, it wasn't that he wasn't immortal it was whatever poison had been meant for him. He knew people had beaten death clocks before.

He had to try.

5 days, 12 hours, 29 minutes, 56 seconds.

5 days, 12 hours, 29 minutes, 55 seconds.

5 days, 12 hours,. 29 minutes, 54 seconds.

That was what MK saw when Red Son coughed up blood for the first time.

4 days, 1 hour, 12 minutes, 13 seconds.

Sun Wukong found out where Macaque had gotten the poison.

There was no cure.

Red coughed more red and MK screamed at the Monkey King to look again. Do something. Anything. Anything...

They didn't see him or DBK for over 2 days.

1 day, 17 hours, 34 minutes, 14 seconds.

1 day, 17 hours, 34 minutes, 13 seconds.

MK watched the countdown timer tick down.

"Why are you still awake?" Red Son had asked him as he held his head in his lap.

"I don't want to miss any more seconds with you," MK answered softly.

"Am I going to... die?" Red Son asked softly.

"Not if Monkey King does what I know he can do," MK answered again. "I know he'll be back soon. I know it. I-"

"MK! MK I'M BACK!" Sun Wukong yelled through the apartment, bursting into their room looking disheveled and like he hadn't stopped moving since he left. But smiling. DBK looked much the same as he came through the door behind him.

"I think we found something!"

1 day, 17 hours, 32 minutes, 2 seconds.

MK prayed that Sun Wukong was right. He was Sun Wukong. He had to be.

1 day, 17 hours, 32 minutes... 3 seconds.

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krastbannert · 3 years

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Smellershot for the Ultimate Ship Meme?

MAH BABIES! Seriously, I love these two. I will forever be upset that we haven’t gotten a Freedom Fighters centric story that gave us more content for the group, especially Longshot, Smellerbee, and Jet.

For reference, all of these will be completed using the following headcanons:

1. Longshot is a firebender from the FN Colonies (this has absolutely no basis in canon, I just literally can’t unthink it).

2. Jet lives. Because he should have.

(and I’m still sleep deprived so these might be a little insane/weird)

General:

Rate the Ship -

How long will they last? - Till death do they part, and then a tad bit longer.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - It took them a couple years. They’re children in the middle of a brutal war with an even jankier support system than the Gaang had. They’ve got a lot to deal with already. Plus, Bee has to process the fact that sweet fucking spirits he’s a flaming ashmaker what the hell when did that happen?!?

How was their first kiss? - When I wrote that scene in Ashmaker, it was very sudden and rather frustrated, and right after Bee literally slapped some sense into him (or tried to, anyways). It would definitely be either that, or it just...happens. Just a lazy thing, something that happens as they’re waking up, and neither of them realize it for a few moments. But in both cases, Bee is the one to initiate it.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Longshot. It was a simple proposal - it just slipped out one day as they were walking together in the same woods they met in, just outside Gaipan. Marry me, he says, quietly at first, then louder when she asks what he said. Bee, of course, says yes.

Who is the best man/men? - Jet. Absolutely, 100% Jet. (Bonus: if he dies like in canon, Jet is still the best man - The Duke stands in his place, carrying a picture of Jet, forever sixteen. Instead of a Best Man’s speech, they have two minutes of silence. Longshot has to leave his own reception because the loss of his best friend is still that painful.)

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - We don’t see Bee get many, if any female friends in the show. If they become friends at some point, though, it would absolutely be Toph. I have a feeling the earthbender-gremlin and the knife-gremlin would get along very well. Otherwise, it’s probably someone Bee meets in Ba Sing Se, or in Republic City post-war.

Who did the most planning? - Their wedding really didn’t have any planning. They just sorta threw it together one afternoon. Longshot let Bee make most of the decisions because it’s her day, and he just wants her to be happy.

Who stressed the most? - Honestly, neither. They just...knew they were meant for each other. In the moment they were each a little nervous, but they’ve been together so long at this point, that they know: they have nothing to worry about.

How fancy was the ceremony? -

Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - There...really wasn’t anyone they specifically didn’t invite, to be honest. After the war, after the dust has settled, after they’ve traveled and grown and matured, they’re more than ready to leave past hurts behind and start a new future.

Sex: Opting out of doing this section

Who is on top? -

Who is the one to instigate things? -

How healthy is their sex life? -

Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

How kinky are they? -

Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

How long do they normally last? -

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? -

How rough are they in bed? -

Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -

No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - If they had any at all, probably just 1.

How many children will they adopt? - They’d be the ones to start an impromptu orphanage and take in every kid they can support because no one is going to go through the hardships they did if they can help it.

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Bee, because Longshot is dead asleep by 8:00 PM and he sleeps like the dead until he wakes up with the sun.

Who is the stricter parent? - Probably Longshot. He’s pretty chill with most things - he is married to a knife-gremlin, after all - but he’s still stricter than Bee, who doesn’t particularly care if the kid(s) aren’t dead, dying, or out committing felonies.

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Both, but only if it’s too dangerous. It’s not like they have any room to talk, considering they literally lived in trees and swung around branches and used jury-rigged ziplines (made by kids) for several years.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Longshot is already up, so he does it. Bee, however, is the one to make the food (more below).

Who is the more loved parent? - Smellerbee. She gets in as much trouble as the kids do; hell, she’s the one who gives the kids half their ideas in the first place.

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? - Longshot.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Longshot.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Longshot, because Smellerbee is probably in jail with the kids (she got in another fight with someone who mistook her for a boy).

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - After one too many incidents involving burned soup, near forest-fires, and Jet lacking eyebrows for a month, Longshot was banned from cooking, and the ban is maintained by Bee and the other Freedom Fighters throughout their lives.

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Longshot grew up in the FN colonies. The boy needs spicy food. Craves it, actually.

Who does the grocery shopping? - They do it together.

How often do they bake desserts? - All the time. After so long living on hunted, stolen, and scavenged food, they both have a sweet tooth that will not be denied.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Meat, mainly because that’s what they’re used to. Salad is just weird.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Longshot always remembers things like that, but he doesn’t cook, so when he does get together a full dinner spread, it’s a big day.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - They only go out when they don’t have a lot of food in the house, or when a friend wants to meet them someplace.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - Longshot. Absolutely Longshot (see above). Smellerbee might not be the best cook but she can manage to make food without getting rid of eyebrows or forests.

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Both.

Who is really against chores? - Neither, really. They’re just so used to doing them that it’s automatic.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Whoever is their at the time.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Considering how long it took him to admit to being a firebender and that he had a crush, it would probably be Longshot.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - They really don’t have guests. Just their really close friends, and they’re pretty much the Freedom Fighters and sometimes the Gaang, who went through the same shit they did.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Longshot did, but he gave it to Bee.

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Bee. She hates being cold, so she stays in the warmth as long as she possibly can.

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - They let the dog roam free most of the time. He walks himself.

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - They’re not big on decorating. They only do the big ones - Lunar New Year and Winter Solstice.

What are their goals for the relationship? - Honestly? They don’t really have any. They spent so much of their lives just trying to survive, one day to the next, and all they really want is time to relax.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Smellerbee.

Who plays the most pranks? - Smellerbee.

#krast answers asks #@ljf613 #i'll be honest i don't think i've thought this hard about a ship in a long time #but it was a lot fun so thank you #smellerbee #longshot #smellershot

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transcendentalpisces · 3 years

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The Feminine Rhythm Log: Cancer ♋

The Feminine Rhythm Log: Cancer

Despite the countless studies debunking the moon cycles relation to the bleeding cycle, I beg to differ, and my study specifically honors the reality of the relationship between my womb cycle and the lunar cycle.

The archetype of the moon in nature shows the reflection of the sun exposing the dark. In astrology, the moon is symbolic of the mother, the home (cooking, gardening, atmosphere), ancestral land/culture, reactions, and feelings respectively. In astrological houses, the 4th house which governs that of the moon, as well as the womb, is before the house of Leo representing children, joy, entertainment, pleasure, and performance respectively. Before the female can produce a child, her egg must plant itself inside of her and be re-absorbed by the body as the lining of the uterus sheds through the vagina, also known as menstruation. The menstruation cycle is repeated every month for an average of 28 days. The lunar cycle, similarly, is repeated every month for an average of 29.5 days.

Menstruation takes place for about 7 days while the moon changes phases every 7.4 days. The correlation between both synchronistic durations have been studied for centuries and even holds meaning in ancient civilizations, although we must keep in mind that contraceptives and other means to stop periods long-term exist and thus will alter this study case by case.

The moon sign and phase that falls on the first day of the cycle holds importance in by which vital information is being shown to the woman (relating to her inner life). For example the signs element and modality may explore the current feelings of the woman or what she desires. In my case when my period followed through on waxing gibbous Libra moons, this led me to follow my own symbology as it stands with them both. Each woman has the ability to trust her own intuition as it pertains to her cycle and her own personal meanings behind what words and energy mean in her own life. It is important to note the ebbs and flows of the energy being experienced throughout time and focused themes and feelings in ones life when taking into account what moon phase and sign is repeating; if at all.

The waxing gibbous is the moon phase that is presented anywhere from 3-5 days before the full moon. It is a time for preparation and harvesting what we have gathered from the previous moon days as well as checking and perfecting. Sounds a lot to me like the archetype of Virgo LOL. The waxing gibbous urges us to take one last check around our surroundings before the party truly begins; a party where we can either sit and relax/ be confronted with the shadow energy of that which we have been ignoring.

The astrological sign of libra is associated with relationships, partners, contracts, justice, truth, and (outer) beauty respectively. It is represented by the scales and is the only astrological symbol represented by an inanimate object, pointing toward its detachment and sense of order to achieve balance. In medical astrology it rules over the kidneys and some of its functions include:

maintaining overall fluid balance

regulating and filtering minerals from blood

filtering waste materials from food, medications, and toxic substances

creating hormones that help produce red blood cells, promote bone health, and regulate blood pressure[1]

Libra is a cardinal (initiator) air (mind, thoughts, communication) sign, ruled by the planet Venus (love, resources, grace) and characteristics of Libras tend to include charming, flirtatious, vain, ditsy, and clingy. So what did it mean when my periods began on Friday (ruling day of Venus), moon in Libras? Well around these times I was focused heavily on my relationship to femininity and how expressing it, authentically and naturally, looked to me. Throughout my childhood and adolescence I longed for tenderness, and lacked that from most female figures but especially my mother. When I reflected over my own symbology of femininity, a new softer, aware version of what I needed and how I was going to give it to myself exploded. My relationship to solar and lunar Libras around me followed suit as well, being introduced to many new Libras in my life and the overwhelming amount of conversation around me whether publicly or personally surrounded the notion of balance. Even my solar return ascendant for the year was in Libra.

My feelings about the lack of nurturance received as a child and growing up was pushed to the background because it was too difficult to innerstand and thus I chose to ignore it. I believe that Libra was presenting just how imbalanced my inner life was, being that I barely received or gave physical affection to anyone. In my natal astrological chart, Libra sits on the cusp of the 8th house. The 8th house in the astrological houses governs intimacy, shared resources, exchanges (whether through sex, the mind, or monetary), death, and transformation respectively. I also natally work with Venus in Capricorn opposite moon in Cancer, which is the push and pull between what you need and how you receive it. Oftentimes oppositions can show struggle, in my case between how I wish to give and receive affection and my feelings inside. Also with moon square Saturn being one of the two tightest aspects in my chart, my moon was stuck between a rock and hard place.

In Human Affection Exchange: XV. Metabolic and Cardiovascular Correlates of Trait Expressed Affection by Kory Floyd, Colin Hesse, & Mark T. Haynes relay their study on the correlation between physical affection and blood pressure.

Introduction of study: Recent research on the communication of affection has begun to illuminate its implications for mental and physical health. Specifically, when compared to non-affectionate people, self report studies have indicated that highly affectionate people are less suscep-tible to depression and stress, and endocrine studies have shown that highly affectionate people have more differentiated 24-hour cortisol rhythms (a pattern indicative of adapt-ive physiological stress management). The present studies extend this knowledge by focus-ing on the associations that trait affection has with cardiologic (resting heart rate),vascular (resting blood pressure), and metabolic (glycosylated hemoglobin) properties of physical health. Participants in both studies provided self-assessments of their trait levels of expressed affection and received affection (the latter for use as a covariate). Resting heart rate and blood pressure were assessed in the first study, and glycosylated hemoglobin was assessed in the second study. Results indicate that when the influence of received affection is controlled for, trait expressed affection was inversely related to resting blood pressure and glycosylated hemoglobin (but not heart rate), suggesting that the expression of affection is associated with a healthy vascular and metabolic profile.[2]

[1] Jewell, Tim. Kidney: Function and Anatomy, Diagram, Condition, and Health Tips. (2018).

[2] Floyd, Kory , Hesse, Colin and Haynes, Mark T.(2007) 'Human Affection Exchange: XV. Metabolic and Cardiovascular Correlates of Trait Expressed Affection', Communication Quarterly, 55: 1, 79 — 94

#femininity #nature #mooncycle #astrology #personal research #mywriting #affection #cancer #libra #medical astrology #kidneys #womb

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ziracona · 4 years

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Dwight/Jake wedding headcanons maybe? They deserve it.

For sure!

It’s a couple years down the road. They’ve been living in the Indiana house with Adam, while the others orbit in and out from Springwood and Lockport and Haddonfield and Indianapolis and Bloomington and New Jersey and Missouri and New York and such every few days. It’s peaceful and fun there for them. Woods, big house, familiar smells and people and memorobelia and Ron’s grave and markers added nearby for Vigo and Alex and Lisa and Sujan and the person from the lab with no name and the survivors who came before them and never got to be buried. It’s home. They’re just chilling, Dwight and Jake talking with intent but also very relaxed about something while Adam edits a sequel in his easy chair, deep in edit mode, when Jake calls over, “Hey Adam, do you want to be a best man, or do you want to marry us?”

Which Adam hears the wrong homophone for for a second and almost takes him out before he realizes they meant the other version of ‘marry’ and remembers how to breathe again.

He stutters out a, “Well, I, uh—I mean, I can do whichever you’d prefer, but I’m not ordained. In. Anything. I know I did Min and Nea’s, but—”

“—Yeah, we know, but we just need it to be legal,” Jake shrugs, “and we don’t want a stranger at the wedding period, so someone’s getting ordained.”

“I think you can get ordained online in like an hour,” adds Dwight helpfully, “and we’re not religious either, but—and now that I’m saying this it was Meg so that means I should make sure becuase sometimes her memory for numbers is uhhh bad, but she told me like a week ago you only need ten people to officially get your new religion recognized. And we could be ‘the survivors’ or something. I don’t know I believe in much, but I believe in that.”

Jake nods. “Whatever is true, this group of people can rip a hole in the fabric of the universe for each other. I’d ascribe to that.”

“I kind of like that,” says Adam, “I would too. But if we have a spiritual ‘leader’, wouldn’t Ace be a better choice than me? Or Jane?”

This is considered a good point and they debate between Adam, Jeff, Tapp, Jane, and Ace for a bit, [Philip is also briefly considered, but they realize just as fast he’d be overwhelmed and stressed by having to do it & mercifully swap him to another role], then decide on Ace, who’s always been the kind of...not exactly dad, not exactly uncle, but not not those things, and certainly some kind of an early spiritual or morale core for them, parentish figure, and a comfort and hope leader for them all. Also, they know he’ll get a fkn kick out of being ordained for this.

Dwight takes Quentin as his Best Man, Claudette his Maid of Honor, and Jake takes Nea as Matron of Honor, Andrew as Best Man, and Meg as Maid of Honor. They decide fuck it, and it’s kinda Parks & Rec (an argument used by and against Jake many times the next few weeks) anyway, and also both take Adam and Philip as Best Men because fuck it, it’s too hard and also wedding rules are arbitrary and made to be broken, and so then Jake adds Kate as a bridesmaid, Dwight adds Laurie, they realize the number of survivors is dwindling dangerously and decide fuck it, our wedding is for us might as well be fkn weird and cool, and add David, Min, Tapp, Jane, Jeff, and Laurie as groomsmen and bridesmaids too. This still leaves Michael, Anna, Sally, Benedict, Susie, Jeff’s three Legion kids, and everyone’s families which is like fkn a lot of people, to be audience party (sans Nancy, who is pleaded with to be wedding party and run the music pre-reception because the number of people that they want involved /and/ who won’t give in to or be tricked by Meg into some kind of terrible flash mob stunt is very small, and in fact, basically is just Nancy. She is happy to do it and thinks their desperate reasoning is hilarious).

They break the news to Meg and Claudette and Ace first (after Adam), ask Ace to marry them, and tell Meg she can run post-weddding/reception music however she wants, except the songs for a couples dance & parent dances. She is /thrilled/. Claudette is very happy and cries. They call up Quentin & Nea to add to the conversation and Jake says Nea and Meg and Susie are in charge of setting up the wedding because he knows they’re gonna fight him for the role anyway, but they have to throw whatever they can together with only the stuff they own already and $50, they want only family & the other survivors/their families at the wedding, the service short and sweet, and to have it at the cabin, by the river. Meg loses her mind with indignance and joy together, and goes buckwild. They hit thrift shops for fairy lights and streamers and more.

Everyone is thrilled to be asked, Jane says “about time,” and Philip can’t think of anything to say and gets overwhelmed emotionally and taken off guard to be asked to be a groomsman. It’s sweet. Everyone with fashion sense takes everyone else shopping or through their wardrobes for fun wedding clothes and to at least have accent pieces that match a color theme. (Complimentary blues, yellow/gold, and pinks to the grooms’. More on that). It’s super fun & they make a fashion show of it. There’s no matching in form, just color, which is just the best version anyway there’s really no goddamn reason to spend thousands of bucks on a wedding when you could just have a funky cute good time with the people who love you & no stress.

Jake picks a deep blue hanbok (bc the hottest Jake I’ve ever seen is the one @eggchef did for lunar new year & the note in the tags about an actual hanbok has been banging around in my head ever since), and when they’re going through stuff for Dwight, he comments a pink one is surprisingly nice because it’s not the color he’d expected to think about, and Jake remarks offhand that if they do deep blue and pink they’ll be stealing their girls’ looks, and the second he says that, they both know there’s no other choice now. Dwight gets a light pink suit and a tie that matches Jake’s blue. They’re adorable and both look exceedingly handsome.

The wedding is short and perfect. Ace does a great job, it’s a nice day, and Meg works wonders with her $50 budget and (notably obscenely large) preexisting store of party supplies, + help from her mom who is passing down the legacy of being the best tiny budget party planner on earth. It’s very open, but with near arches and dangling glass and prisims that cast rainbows everywhere, lots of meaningfully chosen for their blessings and symbolism flowers and flower chains from Claudette. It’s a little reminiscent of the birthday decorations Min and Nea did plus the prisims, and that accidentally makes all the survivors super emotional like 1 minute in.

Only the moms get to speak in the wedding (besides Ace and the grooms), and Andrew and Meg and Nea and Quentin and such all gotta save their roasts for the reception. It’s sweet. Ace knows them super well and it shows in the best way. The grooms write their own vows, and both echo their statements in the hatch tunnel without knowing the other was going to do so too. Jake starts with an “I am deeply, unendingly, ridiculously in love with you,” and Dwight brings in a, “I wouldn’t be who I am without you.” They end it with Dwight saying, “Will you still stay with me, now that it’s all over? Through whatever we’re thrown to next?” And Jake replying, “Wherever you go, I’ll always follow.”

I cry.

The reception is a party by the house. It’s just a huge prepared buffet made by the family who can cook, so no one has to sit and wait. Meg starts the music with Cascada’s Evacuate the Dance Floor because she doesn’t “want to see people dragging their feet like a bunch of fuckin weenies, I want asses on that dance floor!” There’s a lot of 90s and early 2000s pop, but also many many classic dance songs. Lots of ABBA. Lots of it. Everyone has great fun. Min, Nea, Susie, and Meg made the playlist, except for a few of the specific dances. Muriel Fairfield’s mother-son dance with Dwight is to Song For Ten by Neil Hannon because he knows she’s a sweet big emotional nerd and it’s the song she wants, and he’s willing to do it, and she sobs and is a mess but also the happiest she’s been since the day she got the call he was alive.

They have literally zero idea where they’re going when they drive off for a honeymoon. They’re like “Uhh so I’ve been looking at our complete and utter lack of wedding structure and planning as a good thing? But we might have overstepped that a little here....”

Dwight drives while Jake searches the web for LGBT safe honeymoon locations because there’s nothing that would ruin a trip more than that not working out, and reads off a list and Dwight is like, “Wait wait holy fuck, I though you meant what US cities or maybe Canada. Switzerland? Do we even have cash for the plane fare somewhere like that?” And Jake just looks at the page silently for a few seconds, shuts the laptop, and without expression says, “...I really hate this, but I’m gonna let myself be a rich boy, just once.”

They take Andrew’s jet to New Zealand (Jake calls him and listens for 2 minutes then just monotone goes “Okay but you owe me for being a dipshit for fifteen years,” and they get the ride). Jake picks a relaxed pace and some scuba diving, some hikes, but no overnight camping. Lots of just seeing the world and holding hands and grinning at how absolutely breathless and shocked Dwight is at every chunk of nature like nothing he’s seen before. They are disgustingly, blissfully happy.

#ask #anonymous #dead by daylight #in living memory (fic)#in living memory #ILM spoilers #long post #parkfield #dwake #Jake park #Dwight Fairfield

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fantroll-purgatory · 4 years

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@theshieldswordandcrown

I’d like it if you guys could look over my tea man for me! (Art by my friend lythaeriahomestucks. I haven’t made him a sprite yet.

Oofadoofa it’s been a while. Hi I hope your roleplay group is fun!

World: Alternia, but the draft is a lot further off than in canon, because none of my group is interested in roleplaying interstellar space battles or politics, especially considering the amount of setup that would have to go into making deep space believable. Though I think Friendsim’s stated they’re dragged off planet at 9 sweeps, so he’d still have a little time before getting dragged underground anyway.

Name: Oolong Matcha. Yes, they’re both types of tea. It started off as a quick joke, but I’ve grown to love it. Not only is matcha green, like his blood, but he’s a gardener, and really enjoys tea.

Mmmmm I mean joke trolls are famously canon in Homestuck. See: SWIFER EGGMOP or the salt and pepper shaker troll BUTTT mmmm. I feel like naming a character based at least partially on Japanese monks Oolong would deserve some side-eye. But I like the matcha bit! So let’s see…I like him being a gardener since monastic gardens were very much A Thing, and one of the famous still-extant ones is at Rievaulx abbey, so maybe we give him RIVULX, which sounds sufficiently trollish and is obvious enough for someone to get the reference.

Age: 9.69 Sweeps, or 21 Earth years.

Theme/Story: He’s partially themed after monks, specifically Irish and Japanese, which was originally an excuse for his bald head, but ended up influencing his clothing, calm demeanor, and lusus. I was also, oddly, thinking of 4chan – not maniacs like /pol/, but just average people who don’t get out enough, like to chatter about anime or cooking, and generally act like a bit of a dipshit. Fatherhood is definitely a theme with him as well – he’s already a father figure to two other trolls.

Hmmm. I like the broad concept, but I think we can tighten up a little on the “monk” theme by expanding it. Review Goals: General overview, classpecting advice, filling in missing details like fetch modus or lunar sway, etc.

Strife Specibus: He greatly prefers to snipe threats before they reach him, but if he’s forced into melee, he’ll grab a pipe and go berserker nuts. He takes satisfaction in neutralizing threats, especially if he’s protecting someone or something. He’s not averse to talking things out, but dislikes putting others on the line.

Hmm. None of that is a strife specibus, though I suppose you’re going for riflekind and pipekind. Generally void players use fistkind since it’s the absence of a weapon, but if you want to give him another option besides hand-to-hand melee may I suggest poisonkind? He could use something from his garden, like monkshood :3c. Or if you want to give him a melee weapon he could use the sansetsukon per the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which would double as a symbol reminder since he could arrange the segments in a backwards s. Fetch Modus: ;;3;; I have absolutely no idea.

What about a clue modus where the items are obscured but contain details describing them? With the caveat that some of them will have similar color/taste/textures listed. I think this might be fun because there are actually *two* famous detectives with the last name Monk, Adrian Monk and William Monk.

Blood Color: Jade.

That works great, especially with Friendsim’s reveal that many jades are indeed monastic/cloistered.

Lunar Sway: Not sure.

Given that he’s a monk and you have painted him as someone unlikely to cause conflict or rebel against the system, I think he’d be a Prospit dreamer.

Title: Knight of Void, someone who exploits what little secrecy and irrelevance he has for all it’s worth. He was first conceived as a Bard, to fit into a fansession, but I eventually decided it didn’t fit what the character had developed to be.

Symbol and Meaning: I made it up, and it doesn’t have a name. It’s an infinity symbol, broken in the center - like this, but flipped 90 degrees clockwise. I guess it could tie into his aspect by…destroying infinity, I guess, but I really haven’t put that much thought into it.

If we’re going by the EZ, he would be Virittanius, the Deliberate. Which I think fits him quite well! It also looks like a further corruption of the sign you gave him, so I may toy with that a little in the redesign. Handle: I feel like I might have given him a serious handle at one point, but if I did, I forgot it, so for now, it’s oolongMatcha. Just his name. Considering his classpect and desire for secrecy, this makes about as much sense as a rain barrel made out of crackers, but I’m not sure what to give him.

Since his new initials are RM, maybe revenantMyiopsitta. Revenant, of course, to hint at the fact that he’s part of the blood caste most commonly associated with rebirth after death, and Myiopsitta being the genus for two types of parakeet: the cliff parakeet and the monk parakeet. So we have his true identity as well as the unusual nature of his hive, both concealed in plain sight. Quirk: he types in all lower case and likes putting his horns in his emoticons! ’:) Maybe doing it like (:; would make more sense, as it’s his right (our left) horn that’s busted.

I like it! Depending on his redesign you may also want him to uƨe backwardƨ ƨ’ƨ to mimic hiƨ ƨymbol.

Special Abilities: Supreme Dadliness. Jokes aside, he’s a crack shot, even with his impeded vision, and has been successfully flying under the radar his whole life.

If you still want him to be a crack shot even with the changes I suggested above, maybe he uses blowdarts to poison his enemies from afar?

Lusus: His father is a MASSIVE white snake; I was thinking some kind of constrictor. Personality-wise, he’s close to a prototypical 50s dad. He’s a safe haven for his son and those his baby cares about, and is exceedingly patient, to the point of letting a small child fingerpaint on him. He’s also willing to carry Oolong in emergencies, though I’m not really certain that would work in real life, movement-wise.

I feel like the snake can be a little overplayed as a lusus. If we want to give him something similar to a mother grub as a jadeblood, why not a massive butterfly based on the monk/dusky friar? It also gives you the mechanics for how his dadderfly would carry him around in emergencies.

Interests: He used to spend a lot of time alone on the internet - I originally conceptualized him as a very lonely NEET, to the point he had to find his wallet to remember his own name - but has become more adventurous and friendly, spending more time with his girlfriend and friends (and he has friends now!) He’s very proud of his garden and fruit trees, some of which are rare, difficult to grow properly, and/or dangerous (offering more security).

Huh! You don’t explain *how* he goes from isolated to friendly, but I’d hope that gardening is a way for him to reach out to others since it’s a hobby you can commit to on your own but bond with other hobbyists.

Hive: He lives out in the woods by himself, though not so far from other trolls that he can’t take the day to go shopping or see his mate. His hive is surrounded by his garden on all sides, and has a very visible path down the center (making it easy for him to see anyone approaching, and shoot if they’re a threat). Trees surround it, and dangerous plants are strategically placed to make going through his garden unpleasant at best (it also makes weeding a pain, but he thinks it’s worth it). His hive is especially unusual in that the porch is raised up to the second floor with large poles, and you have to use a ladder to get up to it (unless you’re snakedad, in which case you go up the poles). He has a remote so he can let it down from the ground, as well as access to it on the platform, so he can let people up himself. I don’t think the ground level has a door. I’d be happy to submit pictures, if you want.

Feel free to show us pictures, but I like the concept a lot!

Appearance: Tall and rail-thin, excepting his oddly curvy hips. (I figured due to jades being majority female, developing jade males might be exposed to more than the usual amount of estrogen and androgens. Also I’m way more used to drawing women than men and his initial outline was a gal for like ten minutes.) He shaves his head bald. (This is because A) I didn’t want to bother trying to figure out men’s hair - I almost never draw dudes - and B) he’s partially themed after monks, who often shave their heads. I don’t remember why he says he does it.)

…man, I’m gonna take issue with the way you phrased this description. There’s a lot of gender essentialism going on in your explanation there, and given that a number of us mods are trans and nonbinary I feel obligated to point out a few things:

1) Trolls are bugs. They’re not even mammals. They aren’t exposed to androgen or estrogen or any hormone to give them a certain body shape. It is quite heavily implied that when the mother grub gives birth it is to a bunch of larvae.

2) I know that Homestuck lore has given us largely jade girls and one jade trans guy but that’s no reason to assume that jade men are broadly more “feminine” by default in *any* dimension

3) Even if trolls *did* work like humans, it rubs me the wrong way to see someone talking about a man’s “oddly” curvy hips like I’ve got guy friends both trans and cis with wide hips and the only reason to remark on it at all is because We Live In A Society that forcibly genders people in relation to physical characteristics.

…So I am otherwise taking your description at face value. ______ Matcha is tall, rail thin, with curvy hips and a bald head. I will probably add some little fangs, per the Alternian fashion guide.

He wears leggings (unless it’s very hot) and long tunics or robes, usually tan, with his symbol emblazoned on the breast. He goes barefoot if he can. His right (our left) horn is broken, due to an accident in his youth (I think he fell onto something?), amusingly improving his vision, since his unbroken left horn points in front of his left eye, obscuring it somewhat. His face could almost be described as delicate, and his default expression is calm.

I don’t knooooow that tan is a color trolls wear all that often in Alternia, so I will see how I can rework that in the redesign. I get him being barefoot, but I may give it a shot spriting him monk shoes for if he wants to go on an outing. :3c For his broken horn…hm. When we see trolls with physical damage, it is almost always something more significant than just “childhood accident” (see: every troll in Homestuck except Equius who somehow had like 3 simultaneous accidents?). I have an idea for his horns that I will get to in the redesign, and I will probably add a hook to his front horn, both because it’s a jadeblood trait and because it seems suitably horrifying to constantly have a sharp implement millimeters from your eye.

Personality: Oolong is a nice, fatherly young man, well regarded by most he meets. He really really likes tea. He has a beautiful, dangerous mafiosa matesprite in a rustblood named Andora Ingenu, and they adore each other. He’s also taken on the substitute dad role for an adorable young fuschia who lives in the swamp near his forest, Lillie Waters, teaching her how to cook (and keep her tools clean) and rescuing her from other fuschias. He’s very protective of his and his loved ones’ privacy and safety, and spends a LOT of his time in the massive gardens around his hive, of which he’s deservedly proud. He is very good at being sneaky, and sometimes takes the time to run around seeing what he can get away with, especially in the realm of snatching seeds up for his garden. He sells whatever plants he can grow for money, especially fruits and vegetables, but he doesn’t really enjoy sales. He doesn’t put a lot of stock in blood superiority, but doesn’t make a big deal out of it. He’s oddly well adjusted for someone who spent most of his life alone.

I like this description! Also looking at his close compatriots, it looks like I can swap the tan in his design for rust or fuchsia. We already see jadebloods wearing a fair amount in the red/burgundy/purple spectrum, so it should fit right in with the others.

Land: I don’t remember if I’ve come up with one. If I did, I feel like it may have heavily wooded areas, dark and tangled and difficult to navigate.

Hmmm. What about Land of Rough and Reflection (LORAR)? Covered in rough terrain, with pools to contemplate oneself. Unbeknownst to your troll, there are switches at the bottom of each lake (deeper than he could ever hope to dive and hold his breath) that must be flipped to drain the lakes and free the consorts from the underwater caves in which they’ve been trapped for generations. His land would initially seem completely empty and without guidance, and it neatly parallels his own situation before he began to socialize.

I hope you like him! :) I’d love to see what you guys think of him.

He’s certainly an interesting troll, and I hope I’ve helped by way of sharpening up on his theme! Let’s move on to the redesign.

Top to bottom as usual!

Hair - I gave him some stubble courtesy of fan-troll (I have never managed a post without plugging fan-troll/tajazzled’s sprite sheet and I’m not gonna stop now)

Horns - I wanted to make his other horn sort of…curve away from his head so it looks like his symbol from above?

Eyes and brows - they didn’t change but big ups to fan-troll for giving me bases to modify!

Mouth - this is a modification of Sollux’s mouth but I gave him lil fangs and a little lower lip definition

Robes - I just modified some of Kanaya’s robes, appropriately enough! I decided to go for a red/pink shade that was between rust and fuchsia so he could fit in while subtly broadcasting his allegiance

Shoes - they’re John’s but with buckles! :B monk shoes

Aaaand that’s about it for my critique! I hope this helped!

-TR

#jadeblood #submission #oolong matcha #oolong #matcha #theshieldswordandcrown #rivulx #rivulx matcha #review #redesign #tr review

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kaheyama · 5 years

Text

sweet wishes and promised kisses (1,932)

For the Spring Festival holiday, Li Huan goes back home to celebrate with his dad, while Yu Yang stays on campus. He doesn’t think it’ll be very eventful, but on the fourth day, there’s knock at his door which surprises him.

PAIRING: Li Huan/Yu Yang

RATING: teen and up audiences

TAGS: canon compliant, near future, established relationship, fluff, chinese new year, drinking, (just for one section; it's not described in any real detail either)

read on AO3 or under the cut

Yu Yang’s phone vibrates in his pocket. It’s kind of packed on the subway, but he manages to fish it out without incident. When he sees his new message, he smiles.

‘I miss you.’

It hasn’t even been hours since Li Huan left the city to visit his father for Chinese New Year. In fact, Yu Yang is currently on his way back to his dorm after sending Li Huan off. He’ll be spending the Spring Festival alone this year.

The decision to not go home wasn’t an easy one to make, but Yu Yang knows he wasn’t going to be accepted there, and he wouldn’t be able to get into the spirit of celebrating, so there was no point. When he told his boyfriend he’d just be staying on campus, he wanted to stay back with him. It was super endearing, he kissed Li Huan all over with gratitude, but then held his face gently and told him that he had to go see his dad, and spend the holiday with him. Li Huan’s face became knitted up like it always does when he’s debating something in his head, and Yu Yang waited patiently while smiling at his cuteness. When he was done, he invited Yu Yang to go back with him.

It shocked Yu Yang, to be honest. He never considered this possibility because it’s such a big deal, but that’s just the way Li Huan does things, he supposed. He said no though, after giving it a moment of thought. He couldn’t just intrude like that, and besides, he wasn’t sure they should spring the fact they’re dating on Li Huan’s dad. They could try to hide it, but knowing the two of them, they wouldn’t be very efficient at it. From what Yu Yang’s heard about Li Huan’s dad, he’ll probably be accepting, but still, you never know, and it’s not a risk he wants to take.

So, after spending a lazy morning in bed, in which Yu Yang believes Li Huan was holding onto him tighter than usual, they got up and got ready to leave. They stalled at the door, because Li Huan kept wanting goodbye kisses, and Yu Yang was more than happy to provide them. He was glad all of Li Huan’s roommates already left, otherwise they wouldn’t have had this luxury.

“I don’t want to leave you,” Li Huan whispered against Yu Yang’s lips.

“Hey, it’s just for what, a week? Besides, you’ll be having so much fun and eating so much food, you won’t even think of me!” As the words left Yu Yang’s mouth, he realised how much he didn’t want Li Huan to go either. A week is going to pass by slower than usual since he won’t be doing much, and maybe he clutched onto Li Huan’s sleeves after this thought, just to keep him close for a moment longer.

Li Huan, in the meantime, was looking at Yu Yang with an incredulous expression. “You know there isn’t a single moment where I’m not thinking of you.” He says these things so frankly, bares his heart to Yu Yang all the time, and it never fails to make Yu Yang blush. He kisses his boyfriend again.

“You’re such a sweetheart.”

And then he dragged Li Huan out the door, because he’d miss his train if he didn’t leave now. Although, maybe he was trying to do just that. At the station, they’d shared a chaste hug before Li Huan had to run to board his train.

‘I miss you too~ Eat lots of food for me!’

Li Huan doesn’t send another message for rest of the ride back, and Yu Yang starts to think about what he’s going to be eating. He isn’t sure the cafeteria will have a lot of food, and most, if not all, of the restaurants are going to be closed for a few days. He decides to stop by a grocery store to buy some things, and maybe some decorations too. He’ll liven up the place for himself.

As expected, Yu Yang doesn’t hear from Li Huan much. He got a message telling him he’s arrived, but that’s about it.

On New Year’s Eve, he does a bit of drinking. It’s a festival; he’s watching the celebration on TV alone; his boyfriend is elsewhere—this is how he copes. Naturally, in his somewhat-drunken state, he texts Li Huan when the clock hits twelve.

‘Happy Chinese New Year, my love! Ah, I really miss you. Remember how our first few kisses were when either one of us were intoxicated? I’m drunk now, but you’re not by my side.’

He also sends a selfie with a pouty expression for emphasis.

To his surprise, he gets a reply not even a minute later.

‘Happy Lunar New Year. I really miss you too.’

Yu Yang’s a bit disappointed that’s all he got, but it’s better than nothing. He rereads the message over and over again, and it takes away some of his loneliness. When he hears fireworks being set off outside, he sits on the balcony to watch. He’s so mesmerised by the colours and patterns, and the cool air against his skin, that he doesn’t realise he’s gotten another message. He only sees it after he goes to send a picture of his view to his boyfriend.

It’s an audio message, and Yu Yang holds his phone against his ear after pressing play.

“I really want to kiss you too. Don’t drink too much, take care of yourself. I wish you were here.”

Yu Yang is being warmed from the core, and he knows it’s not from the alcohol. He closes his eyes and replays the message, imagining Li Huan whispering it into his ear. He can hear fireworks in the background, and there are still fireworks in front of him right now.

In this moment, Yu Yang is with Li Huan; they’re sitting here together, Li Huan’s arm wrapped around his waist, Yu Yang resting his head on his shoulder. If he opens his eyes, he’ll make eye contact with his boyfriend, and see the light show being reflected. Then, they’ll close the distance between them, and as their lips make contact, sparks will fly.

By the fourth day of the holiday, the bustle has mostly settled down. The big celebrations are over, most people are just visiting family and other relatives. Since Yu Yang’s not in his hometown, there’s no one for him to see, so he just stays inside. Tomorrow, if the weather’s nice, he decides he’ll go for a walk.

Sometime in the afternoon, there’s a knock at his door. Yu Yang finds it suspicious, since there aren’t many people on campus, and anyone else would’ve texted him to ask if he was home before coming over. He cautiously goes to open his door, but throws it open once he gets a glimpse of who it is.

Li Huan stands before him, panting slightly. He has on a white cap, a white jacket with black details, black track pants, and, slung over his shoulder, his duffle bag. Yu Yang’s frozen for a moment, unable to believe that he’s really here, and then recovers to pull Li Huan in by the hand, slamming the door behind him, cutting off the taller man’s greeting.

Yu Yang makes Li Huan drop his bag and then all but jumps on him. Li Huan catches him easily, of course, holding him steady as he folds his legs around his torso. Yu Yang throws his head back and laughs, before wrapping his arms around Li Huan’s neck, clinging onto him. When he pulls back, he kisses him once, and then again, before asking, “What are you doing here?”

A simple shrug is all he gets in reply, and then he frowns, because did something happen? Li Huan notices his expression, and then elaborates. “I just wanted to come home early so I could be with you.”

“How’d you get out of it?” Yu Yang is genuinely curious.

“My dad and I only celebrated New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. There isn’t really any family for us to visit, so…” Li Huan trails off, and Yu Yang places a hand against his cheek with a tender expression. He smiles as he adds, “Plus, I wanted to spend time with my boyfriend, and nothing’s going to stop me.”

Yu Yang beams back at him.

As it turns out, Li Huan brought back some of the food he had with his dad—dumplings, fish, rice cakes, noodles. There’s a lot, and Yu Yang has no doubt they’ll be eating this for the rest of the week. And he’s perfectly fine with it, because he’ll be eating it with Li Huan, who has temporarily moved into his dorm.

It’s great, having this space all to themselves. Sometimes Yu Yang gets caught off guard by the domesticity of it all, and it has him thinking about the future, of what a shared apartment between them would be like. He can picture Li Huan cooking for them at a stove, wearing an apron, while he watches on the side, trying to steal some food. He can picture the two of them sitting on their couch, watching a movie together, and then falling asleep in each other’s arms. Most of all though, he can picture their bed, and that’s as far as he goes, because his face starts to heat up.

One night they’re strolling the athletics field, when Li Huan suddenly stops in his tracks. Yu Yang turns around, confused, and finds his boyfriend holding out a red envelope. He shakes it when Yu Yang doesn’t take it, so he does, albeit suspiciously.

“You didn’t really give me money, did you?” Yu Yang tilts his head, lost. Li Huan already does so much for him; he’s adamant about paying for their dates, and does other sweet little things.

Li Huan doesn’t say anything, instead gesturing for Yu Yang to open it. When he peers into the envelope, he finds a piece of paper. He breathes a silent sigh of relief, but he’s still confused. And then, once he pulls it out, he recognises Li Huan’s neat handwriting on it. The note says:

‘I hereby declare that I, Li Huan, will make up for all the kisses we’ve missed.’

And then in smaller print, underneath:

‘(There’s an unlimited amount.)’

Yu Yang gapes up at his boyfriend, who’s just openly watching him, and holds the piece of paper close to his heart. There’s a fluttering in his stomach from the butterflies—even after all this time Li Huan still has the ability to make this feel so new, so exciting. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve him.

He steps up onto his tippy toes, places a hand behind Li Huan’s neck, and pulls him down to kiss him. It’s gentle, it’s sweet, and Yu Yang savours the feeling of Li Huan’s lips against his own. They stand in the middle of the field, with the lights of nearby buildings acting like the stars in the sky. The air is cold, but they don’t feel it. They’re like the core of the Earth, the heat burns from the centre of their bodies and spreads outwards. Emptiness surrounds them. They’re the only ones that matter.

“There’s one,” Yu Yang says after, breathy, “of the infinite number of kisses to come.”

Li Huan covers his mouth with his own again, but pulls back before Yu Yang can really respond. “And that’s two,” he replies. “Happy New Year.”

#here u are #huanyang #li huan #yu yang #wowclunawrites #i've been loving them since december 2017 it was about time i wrote something for them!!!#there will be another coming some time #but yeah 新年快乐、恭喜发财！ happy lunar new year :)#okos

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sterekchub · 6 years

Text

Part 1.

A/N: I’m really sorry. This got SO far away from me and....yeah.

OCTOBER:

Legend has it that that the Being created the Gods and Goddesses to bring balance to the newly created Earth. Heaven was split into two groups – the Virtues and Sins. The God of Giving and the Goddess of Greed. The Goddess of Moderation and the God of Gluttony. Chastity and Lust. Forgiveness and Wrath. Truth and Heresy. Peace and Violence. One day, Greed decided she wanted total dominion over the Earth. Joined by the other Sins, they tried to overthrow the Virtues.

As punishment, the Being cast the Sins out of Heaven. Unable to destroy immortal beings, they were sentenced to their own domain in the Circles of Hell. The Sins would be cursed for all eternity, unable to partake in their own sins, only able to watch over other sinning souls.

Once every hundred years, on All Hallows Eve, the Sins can cross from the Circles of Hell into limbo into the mortal world. Only by possessing a kindred soul can the Sins stay in the mortal world for twelve lunar cycles, before returning to - .

The last word got smeared out by a large blob of ketchup.

“Shit!” Stiles hurriedly grabbed a napkin to clean off the offending strain. He only succeeded in turning the majority of the page a dull red. Shrugging, he stuffed another handful of fries in his mouth, marking the page down as he did so with a blue sticky note, indicating a true myth, rather than a “myth likely to be factual.”

“How’s it going?” Scott stopped and sniffed the air. “Your room reeks like a drive-thru. Have you been eating fast food all week?”

Stiles waved a fry at him. “Hey, this is all brain food. Deaton gave me all these books and I think half of them are all nonsense. Werewolves and banshees and wendigoes are one thing, Gods and circles of Hell are just made up stories.”

“Have time to take a break and catch a movie? It’s the Halloween double-feature: Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street.”

“Hell yes, Dude!”

***

NOVEMBER:

Two weeks after Halloween, Stiles finally caved and went to see Deaton. It took a while to explain his problem. He wasn’t being possessed like he had been before. There were no periods of time he couldn’t remember, no second voice in his head influencing his decisions. He wasn’t watching helplessly as someone else controlled his body. There was, however, something in his head constantly suggesting foods, regardless if he had just eaten or not. Stiles would eat his usual Chinese take-out order and suddenly find himself desperately craving pizza, his mind buzzing and unable to focus on anything else.

Deaton, as his usual expressive self, didn’t say a word until Stiles was finished his explanation. Then he pulled out the book Stiles had been pouring over weeks ago and opened to the ketchup-stained, blue tagged page.

“Are you kidding me? I thought it was a myth.”

“Most of the supernatural world is a myth.”

“So I’m possessed by an immortal being. Again.”

Deaton nodded. “Gluttony is not malicious in nature. The Sins only possess humans to ah – live vicariously through them. It cannot control you. Likely it will seek to share and intensify any of you experiences, not try to manipulate you into new ones.”

Stiles’ stomach grumbled. “Really?’

‘It can offer suggestions and perhaps forceful persuasions but aside from the cravings, it holds no actual power.”

“Great. So I’m a demon’s personal eating machine.”

“You could try fighting it. It will only last a year. It may be beneficial. Typically Demon possession does offer the host with extra strength and stamina to ensure their health.”

“Wonderful.”

***

DECEMBER

Stiles had never been happier to have a job that allowed him to work from home. It turned out the trick to keep the cravings down was to either eat a lot at once, or be constantly snacking. So long as Stiles kept munching on things every few minutes, he could actually focus on his work, rather than focusing on his next meal. It had taken him a few weeks of trying to fight against the constant grumbling of his stomach and fleeing images of food running across his head, but finally Stiles had gotten into the swing of living with a Gluttony Demon residing in his head.

It started with Oreos. Stiles had pulled open his desk drawer to finish off the last row of Oreos, needing something sweet after his afternoon of munching on chips. Apparently, finishing those off wasn’t enough and Stiles found himself compelled to run to the store for more. Stiles felt a thrill of excitement that definitely did not belong to him when he saw just how many varieties the stored offered. Stiles supposed that, not having tasted food in a hundred years, the choices of the 21st century were overwhelming.

One of everything went into his basket, Oreos thins, mini, double-stuffed, golden, birthday cake, mega stuffed, mint, red velvet, cinnamon bun, lemon, mystery flavored, peanut butter, chocolate, chocolate hazelnut, chocolate peanut-butter, brownie batter, apple pie, fudge covered, and completely unnecessarily, regular. Stiles gave the Demon credit – he wasn’t picky and wanted to be very thorough in his attempts to try everything possible.

The boxes were finished by the end of the week. It really wasn’t a hardship. Stiles always had a big sweet tooth. Plus, who didn’t love Oreos? He tried not to think about how it took a few seconds longer to force his button his pants on Sunday. Or about how his normal junk-food cravings were becoming alarming frequent and a staple of his daily diet. Stiles’ always had a fast metabolism. For the amount of pizza and cafeteria food Stiles ate during college, he only had put on the freshman fifteen. So he could handle a few hundred Oreos. No problem.

“It’s really not that bad,” he told his father one night on the phone. “It’s an excuse to eat anything I want.”

“You have always been a model of restraint,” John replied sarcastically.

“Someone had to keep the unhealthy stuff away from you.”

‘Just take care of yourself, kid. And don’t call me when you get stuck in a doorway.”

“Haha. It’s under control, Dad. Don’t worry.”

***

JANUARY

Things were becoming less “under control” when the Demon had gone through all the possible snacks Stiles could think of and progressed to wanting full meals. Multiple meals. Several times a day. It was becoming increasingly frustrating to try and work on his novel. He was either focused on what he was going to eat or was sleepily watching dumb videos online as he fell into a food coma. Optimistically, he told himself it was just a phase. Last month it had been snacks, this month it was meals, next month maybe it would be fruit or salads or something.

Currently, he was laying on his couch, polishing off the last of his Chinese takeout order, with reruns of some HGTV show playing in the background. He really did feel like a glutton when he ate like this. He should have stopped a container of sweet and sour pork and five egg rolls ago, but he had kept going. It was hard to tell if the cravings were the Demon in his head or the subconscious need to finish everything. Just to see if he could. Just to feel the weight of having his gut filled, swollen and protruding over his waistband, forcing him to take a few more bites of food, pushing the final egg roll into his mouth before leaning back against the couch with a soft moan of relief. He closed his eyes, listening to woman on television debating what house she wanted. He nodded off before finding out what house she picked, an arm resting over his belly.

Stiles dreamed of pizza. He was in the pizza parlor, sitting at a lone table in the center of the restaurant. Servers stood around him, each offering him different slices, acting like he was some grand judge on a food competition, insisting he had to try them all before he made his decision. Stiles was reaching for piece after piece, stuffing them into his mouth impossibly fast while his belly started to push out in front of him. Another couples of pizza slices, or maybe entire pizza’s later, his stomach knocked over the table in front of him as it kept growing in size…

He woke up with a start and reached for his phone. He already had the pizza place on speed dial.

“Thank you for calling Charlie’s Pizza. What can I get for you?”

“A medium meat lover’s pizza and an order of wings.”

“Is that it?”

“Ye – ” Another craving hit him. Stiles rubbed his still full belly and added resignedly. “ – and an order of breadsticks. And garlic bread.”

‘Your total will $21.27. See you in a half-hour.”

***

FEBRUARY

“Look, I get it. I’m getting fat and turning into a pig. You don’t need to bring me my – my daily feed or whatever!”

Derek stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

“You! I know you’ve been having the pack cook for me! Even Jackson dropped food off. From his personal chef!”

Derek set the bag of carefully packaged food he was holding on the counter. “We figured you were getting sick of takeout.”

“I can cook for myself.”

“You haven’t been cooking.”

“And how do you know that?” Stiles asked angrily. “Busy stalking me but couldn’t be bothered to actually say ‘Hi, Stiles, want to do something?’ Or do you just get a laugh watching me do nothing all day but eat alone?”

“I can tell by the trashcan overflowing with take-out containers, Stiles. Don’t blame me for this. I’ve been texting you. Scott has been texting you. You’ve ignored everyone.”

Stiles shoulders sagged in defeat. “I know. I’m sorry. I thought I could handle this.”

Derek pulled the younger man against him, burying his face in the Stiles’ neck. “I’ve missed you.”

“Missed you too, Big Guy.” He wrapped his arms tighter around Derek. “I do appreciate the food.”

“Good. You shouldn’t be eating only junk-food.”

“Yes, Dad,” Stiles said playfully. “I make sure I’m eating vegetables.”

“Fried vegetables don’t count.”

“They sort of count.”

Derek growled. Stiles stayed still for a few more minutes, content to just be in Derek’s reassuring embrace for a while longer.

“Hey, Der. What if – what it I don’t really mind this?”

There was no answer for a few seconds. Derek merely stiffened, then pulled pack enough to press a gentle kiss to Stiles’ lips. “It’s okay.”

“And I don’t mind getting to eat so much.”

“Okay.”

“And maybe I like being this heavy.”

“Okay.”

Stiles swatted him on the arm. “Forget how to use words again?”

“Ever think I don’t mind either?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Thank god.” Stiles squirmed out of Derek’s grip and started pulling Tupperware containers out of the bag. “Because I’m starving.”

“Wasting away.” Derek agreed.

Stiles response was lost behind the food he had already started shoveling in his mouth. “This is amazing. Have I ever said that you’re my favorite person?”

“Hmm. Nope. Never came up. Good thing we aren’t dating, or anything.”

“Ass. But I forgive you for making this amazing food.”

“They’re my mother’s recipes. I don’t know if I got them quite right, but I thought you might want something new.”

“Any free food is good food. My entire paycheck has been going to food and new jeans.”

“You know I can pay – ”

“ I am not being the sugar baby in this relationship.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“But you love me,” Stiles grinned. He tossed the empty container into the sink and grabbed a second one. “Sorry, I’d offer you some but –” Stiles gestured to his protruding middle. There was a clear few inches of pale skin sticking out from under his shirt. Time to size up. Again. “Unless you want to hear this complaining all night, I need all the food I can get.”

The food Derek had brought was sufficient enough to keep Stiles’ stomach from growling through the night. In the early hours of the morning, before Stiles was even awake, his stomach started rumbling. Derek left him a stack of pancakes and bacon. Next to the plate was a credit card with a scribbled note: Use it. Please.

***

MARCH (Sorry for Derek and Stiles both being a little bad about respecting each other’s privacy in this section. Not that either of them mind…)

Derek never had a very interesting browser history. He had left it open on his computer, which was just unfairly asking for someone to take a quick peek. Stiles felt mildly guilty about it, comforted only by telling himself Derek eavesdropped on most his conversations and always pointed out when he was lying. Granted, Derek couldn’t exactly lose his werewolf abilities, but still, boundaries. Stiles considered it even.

The browser history had, unsurprisingly, nothing interesting. A few recipes, a couple of monster lore searches, a least once a week a visit to his credit card statement… That seemed unusual. Derek didn’t even have that card on him; it was the one he had left for Stiles (which he had reluctantly agreed to use after a few arguments. Stiles wasn’t a starving artist per say, but nor was he independently wealthy).

Now it seemed like an even trade off. His boyfriend pays for his food and then – Stiles grinned. Really, it was a miracle Derek hadn’t gotten possessed by the Lust demon. There must be a level of hell reserved for getting off this many times to their boyfriend, without telling them….

Stiles was still sitting in front of the computer when Derek came back to the loft. “So, worried I’m spending too much money, or just very interested in how much I’ve been eating?”

Derek turned so red Stiles was concerned he had forgot how to breath for a few moments. “I can explain.”

“That you’ve been getting off to how much food I’ve ordered? That’s pretty kinky, Derek.” He lifted up the hem of his shirt, letting his belly wobble out. It took up a considerable amount of space in his lap now. “I’d say you like thinking about how fat I’m getting.”

“Jesus, Stiles, I can’t pay my bills without being turned on. Do you know how many times you’ve ordered food in the past month?

Stiles grinned wider. “Just think that isn’t all I’ve eaten. I’ve been putting groceries on my card, and Lydia dropped off some pies and Mrs. McCall made the best mac&cheese casseroles for me….”

“I know,” Derek groaned. “Look at this, Stiles.” He knelt in front of Stiles, lifting his belly up, struggling to undo the button of his jeans, before letting it thud back into his lap jiggling. “You haven’t – stopped – eating.”

“Can’t help it. A glutton has to eat. ‘M getting so fat, Derek.” “Can’t believe how much food you order in a day. How much does it take to fill this belly now, Stiles?

“Why don’t - ah” Stiles moaned, leaning further back in his chair as Derek started mouthing at Stiles’ sensitive underbelly. “Why don’t you order some food and I’ll show you.”

#I have no excuse for this.#fat!Stiles #day6 #chubtober #sorry this is barely edited...

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shirewalker · 5 years

Text

a handful of tag games!

tagging @theleiaskywalker @frodobaggins @ohmystarsy @snicketfiles @newrcmantlcs @jediknightrey @spellcleavers (do whichever games you want or haven’t done yet, no pressure either so you can just skip them xD)

1. 10 books i want to read in 2019 (tagged by @starkovalina and @lilabard) (in no particular order)

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Champion by Marie Lu

A Strange Hymn by Laura Thalassa

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

Air Awakens by Elise Kova

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

2. rules: bold what you prefer and tag ten people! tagged by @lilabard and @kestrel-of-herran <3 (and also @poisonwhiterose !)

coffee or tea

early bird or night owl

chocolate or vanilla

spring or fall autumn you mean

silver or gold

pop or alternative classic & instrumental

freckles or dimples

snakes or sharks (I’m pretty neutral on both?)

mountains or fields

thunderstorm or lightning

egyptian or greek mythology

ivory or scarlet

flute or lyre

opal or diamond

butterflies or honeybees

macaroons or eclairs (only had macaroons and didn’t like so yeah)

typewritten or handwritten

secret garden or secret library

rooftop or balcony

spicy or mild (well, it has to be seasoned...)

opera or ballet

london or paris

vincent van gogh or claude monet

denim or leather

potions or spells

ocean or desert

mermaids or sirens

masquerade ball or cocktail party

3. rules: list 10 of your favorite female characters from 10 different fandoms and tag 10 people. (tagged by @theleiaskywalker )

Alina Starkov (the grisha trilogy)

Isobel (an enchantment of ravens)

Virginia Lewis (10th kingdom)

Jo Lupo (eureka)

Callypso Lillis (the bargainer)

Lucy Hutton (the hating game)

Lara Jean Song Covey (to all the boys I’ve loved before)

Cinder (the lunar chronicles)

Shazi (the wrath and the dawn)

Lizzie Bennet (pride and prejudice)

4. Rules: Bold the statements which are true and tag 15 people to do the same (tagged by @bonneibennett )

APPEARANCE

I am over 5′5″ / I wear glasses/contacts / I have blond hair / I wear sweatshirts a lot / I prefer loose clothing to tight clothing / I have one or more piercings/ I have at least one tattoo / I have blue eyes (listen, they’re... a milkshake, but there’s blue in there!) / I have dyed (I was a kid and didn’t know better) or highlighted my hair / I have gotten plastic surgery / I have or had braces / I sunburn easily / I have freckles / I paint my nails / I typically wear makeup / I don’t often smile / I am pleased with how I look / I prefer Nike to Adidas / I wear baseball hats backwards

HOBBIES AND TALENTS

I play a sport / I can play an instrument / I am artistic / I know more than one language / I have won a trophy in some sort of competition (not really a trophy but shh) / I can cook or bake without a recipe / I know how to swim / I enjoy writing / I can do origami / I prefer movies to TV shows / I can execute a perfect somersault / I enjoy singing (not that I’m good xD) / I could survive in the wild on my own / I have read a new book series this year / I enjoy spending time with friends / I travel during school or work breaks / I can do a handstand

EXPERIENCES

I have had my first kiss / I have gotten drunk / I have told a crush I like them (and wish I hadn’t! (: ) / I have travelled outside of the country / I have flown on an airplane / I have stayed awake for more than 48 hours / I have had a near-death experience / I have caught something on fire / I have performed in a talent show / I have shot a gun / I have been on TV / I have gone scuba diving / I have broken a bone (does cracked count?) / I have slow-danced / I have gone on a shopping spree

RELATIONSHIPS

I am in a relationship / I have been single for over a year / I have a crush / I have a best friend / I have known a friend for over ten years / I have a brother / I have dated my best friend / I am adopted / My crush has confessed to me / I have had a long-distance relationship / I am an only child / I give advice to my friends / I have made an online friend / I met up with someone I have met online

AESTHETICS

I have heard the ocean in a conch shell / I have watched the sun rise (forcibly, not because I planned to askjdha) / I enjoy rainy days (I LIVE FOR RAINY DAYS) / I have slept under the stars / I meditate outside / The sound of chirping calms me / I enjoy the smell of the beach / I know what snow tastes like / I listen to music to fall asleep / I enjoy thunderstorms / I enjoy cloud watching / I have attended a bonfire/ I pay close attention to colours / I find mystery in the ocean / I enjoy hiking on nature paths / Autumn is my favorite season

MISCELLANEOUS

I can fall asleep in a moving vehicle / I am the mom friend / I live by a certain quote / I like the smell of Sharpies / I am involved in extracurricular activities/ I enjoy Mexican food / I can drive stick-shift (I’m only missing the passed exam...) / I have memorized an entire song in a day / I believe in true love / I dream up scenarios to fall asleep / I sing in the shower / I wish I lived in a video game / I have a canopy above my bed / I am multi-racial / I am a redhead / I own at least three dogs / I am LGBT

4. rules - mention all those songs currently stuck in your head and tag people (tagged by @alinastavkov)

I don’t really have any song stuck in my head, but adding it here too to tag others alskdajks (I’m going through old CDs to see what I keep, hence the lack of songs stuck in my head. but last week there was Cinema Bizarre stuff. Like Heaven is Wrapped in Chains :D)

#alinastavkov #had to tag you like this because it wouldn't @ you #tag games #the relationships and experiences bit in the last one made me depressed (:

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skellebonez · 3 years

Note

Did someone ask for fluff?!?!

How about some brothers bonding (Sandy, Pigsy and Wukong) with 1 and 9?

YEAH brother bonding time! This also has a follow up fill here because I like adding a dash of angst with my fluff (and then finishing it up with even more fluff) and I had two ideas that were similar enough I wanted to keep the flow going. They both ended up rather long as well.

Do not give me that look./ How long have you been standing there?

It was odd to have company on Mount Huaguo again. Not “Xiaotian over for training” company but “oh actual guests and more than one oh boy hope I can handle this many people” company. A “three day bonding trip” Xiaotian had called it, time for them to get reacquainted with each other. The fact it was two people who he had initially believed to have moved on with their lives to the point of reincarnating... made it even more odd.

But Sun Wukong would admit, though he had not recognized them at first due to how much they had changed, it was nice to see Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing again. Or, rather, Pigsy and Sandy. That’s what they went by now. New names to go with their new lives.

The first day he kept staring at them, afraid they would disappear now that everything was out on the table. Their anger at his disappearance, his assumption they had left him behind when he heard they had left their positions, his reasoning for leaving so long in the first place. Everything had come out when Pigsy had cornered him the day he chanced coming by the shop when Xiaotian hadn’t shown up for training (turned out he was sick and had forgotten to inform him) via email. He was pissed that Wukong hadn’t said a word to either of his younger brothers at the Lunar New Year festival and had just run off again.

He’d only stopped yelling when he realized that the monkey’s face had starting streaks of angry tears from holding himself back and the way his face fell when Wukong responded “I like pranks but pretending to be my dead brother isn’t funny” was more than telling enough. Telling enough that Wukong realized it wasn’t a cruel prank. His “you thought I was dead Wukong?” pushed him over the edge and those angry tears became “soul crushing disappointment and relief” tears because his brother, no both of his brothers were alive and he had wasted so much time mourning them when they were right here the whole time.

It was very awkward. Especially when Wukong couldn't stop himself from grabbing Pigsy and holding onto him.

But that was then. And again when he saw Sandy. But that was then! This was now. Now was bonding time. Now was the last night of this trip and it was such a far cry from the first day.

The first day, again, was awkward and tense before the few immortal monkeys he had managed to scratch out the names of in his one trip to... well, he didn’t want to think about that, had recognized Pigsy and flocked to him. The first night had him showing them how he had been living and them telling him of their exploits in becoming normal modern day citizens. He listened intently, asking questions when his curiosity couldn’t wait but otherwise holding himself back with great self control and focus. The second day they talked and talked and played games with the monkeys and Wukong showed them how he cared for them (and if he was right he saw soft glimpses from both of them in his direction and a thwap and laugh from Sandy after Pigsy heard him say “you’re both dads now that’s something you have in common”) and Sandy showed him how his boats work and introduced them to all of his cats on his houseboat (there were many and Wukong immediately loved all of them)

While that first night they had just eaten basic food Sandy and Pigsy had brought, that second night he had decided to show him his own cooking. He’d only been cooking for a years, since he had started his search for a successor and tempted a taste of some food at a festival that he happened upon, and he was nervous. Pigsy had always been very eager to eat anything before but even then he would judge the food with a shockingly insightful pallet. Wukong worried that his attempts at adding extra seasoning on their dishes had gone overboard since they overwhelmed him too much to try them.

Pigsy’s “You’ve only been cookin for a year? This is really good!” put all his worries aside. Ironically he had still under-seasoned his dishes, but the fresh vegetables he had used were such high quality that Pigsy assured him they more than made up for it.

Now was when he watched Pigsy show him how to prepare fresh homemade noodles in his own kitchen as Sandy regaled them with stories of the stuff the cats got into as he prepared fresh tea.

It was better than he ever hoped for.

"So Pigsy was stuck there for 3 hours?” Wukong laughed, grabbing the baby monkey that was about to leap off his shoulder before they could careen into Pigsy. “No, no jumping on guests!” He laughed, gently running his fingers through their fur before letting them leap out of the kitchen and back into the living room where the others watched TV (a livestream of kittens Sandy had put on, they absolutely adored it). He looked over at the chef with a smirk. “And here I thought you had a temper.”

“Do not give me that look,” Pigsy said with a warning tone, but Wukong could not tell it was almost all bark and playful to boot. “I’m the one making you a separate pot of soup so your tongue doesn’t hate you for trying to eat too much pepper.”

“And I thank you for that, younger brother,” Wukong said with a smile that Pigsy returned after a moment. It was odd, still, saying that again. But it felt good.

“Elder brothers,” Sandy chimed in, and that was odd and good as well, placing the dinner ware and fresh pot of tea on the table. “Everything is ready!” Mo meowed on his shoulder, a content purr sounding from the cat who looked a lot like his owner.

“Perfect timing! The soup’s just done too,” Pigsy announced as he grabbed Wukong’s smaller pot and carried it to the table. “Lemme ju-”

“I’ve got it,” Wukong said as he grabbed the larger pot effortlessly and placed it beside his own, closer to his brothers. “I can’t make you both do all the work now can I?”

“Not what you would have said 1 month into our journey together,” Pigsy playfully ribbed, earning a mock offended gasp from the monkey.

“I have you know I was a very different person back then, why I would have almost offered to do it 8 years in I bet!” Wukong joked, earning good natured laughs from his brothers as they all helped themselves to the amazing meal. Even as under seasoned as Pigsy had to make his own helping Wukong could only describe the taste as “nearly divine”.

This was... amazing. Nearly perfect, even.

“Sound like you’re all having fun!” Xiaotian’s voice suddenly rang out, scaring the three into jumping in their seats. Wukong had become so content and comfortable in his brother’s presence that he hadn’t even realized they now had two more guests. Tang stood beside his student, holding back laughter as he looked at Pigsy specifically.

“Geeze, kid, you nearly scared me to death!” Wukong said as he took exaggerated breaths. “And I’m immortal!”

“How long have you been standing there?” Pigsy questioned as he relaxed, sending a slight glare over his shoulder to a now laughing Wukong.

“Long enough to hear you having fun,” Tang answered with a laugh, sitting down next to Pigsy and picking up one of the extra bowls to ladle himself a portion of soup once Pigsy nodded his ok.

Xiaotian took a seat next to Wukong, smiling as he grabbed his own bowl. “We just wanted to see how things were going and since I have training tomorrow we thought maybe we could stay the night?"

"Tang too?" Wukong asked with a raised brow.

"I didn't want him to feel left out with Xiaojiao training for her next race," Xiaotian explained with a chuckle and a shrug. It was sweet, the way he wanted everyone to feel included now... but Wukong had a sneaking suspicion he brought Tang so he would also have some time with the Monkey King since he was, you know, Tang’s hero apparently.

“The more the merrier, then!" Wukong said as he leaned back and sipped the broth left in his bowl, eyes closed as he savored the rich flavor. “You were right, by the way, this was a great idea. Everything’s been perfect so far.”

He was so engrossed in his meal that he missed how Xiaotian tensed beside him.

#gen fic #family bonding #monkie kid #lego monkie kid #monkey king #sun wukong #pigsy #zhu bajie #sandy #sha wujing #monkey king's army #kinda #mk #Qi Xiaotian #tang #HMN WHAT COULD THAT LAST LINE MEAN

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revshoggoth · 6 years

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The Chickens of Mars/The Girl in the Moon: Chapter 1

Moon City was a gorgeous place at night. A lot of enigneering and money had gone into making it that way, and it showed. Hiding under every perfectly striking vista was excessive planning, design, and illusion. In a way, the whole city was a facade to project the image of timeless wealth and neon beauty of the most uncannily unnatural kind. The majority of the loveliness extended only to the downtown and some of the wealthier, more respectable areas. It was a massive city, the biggest in the whole human spread, and it was made so as to draw your attention to the parts it wanted you to see. Sometimes the staggering amount of craft that went into the deception still managed to cause Midori Salo to pause and shiver a little, and she’d seen it all nearly every day of her life. Despite its uninspiring name, was home to many of the most widely respected (and well paid) artists, designers and general rich “visionaries” and their visions had demanded jutting arrogant skyscrapers offset by many rounder, more soothing, complementary structures, and even those were super-massive undertakings, which lead to a city of sparkling bright light stacking on top of itself ever upwards that still managed to serve and reveal the infinite Earth-lit sky, and that was beautiful. It was also the last thing the Earth was really good for, and all Midori had ever seen of it.

She shrugged to readjust the too-many wine bottles she was trying to carry in her arms, bitterly deriding herself in her head for not bringing a bag or a cart or anything useful at all to the store. She arms were much stronger than they looked, but it was an awkward jumble she was having difficulty maintaining as she walked a little more than briskly, and she wasn’t about to slow down. She was already running late, and it was a big night for The Boss. More realistically he was her, and many many people’s master, but he preferred to go by just Boss. Not just to her, his little matchstick clone girl, but by basically everyone on The Moon. And his party needed more wine, even though he had more wine in storage than a bored army could drink in a year. He didn’t need more, her single armload wouldn’t make any difference, but she had been told to go get it, so she did. That’s what Midori was good for. Midori was a special girl.

Midori walked in a special way. She was afraid every second of her life. She held herself in a special way and inside she felt like...knew...that she didn’t belong to herself, so she didn’t really know how to stand. Her eyes were special because they were made in a lab, like she was, but had installed separately when she was 14 Old-Earth years old. They were beautiful eyes, better than real ones. The only memory she had of her old ones was them sitting on the surgical table next to her when she opened her new ones. She’d never seen any pictures of herself with them, so she was fairly certain she didn’t miss them. She was very fond of her current eyes. They were beautiful, though sometimes she was worried they said too much, which caused people to see what they wanted to in them. People frequently burdened her with what they thought they saw in her eyes and it made her uncomfortable. They were normally a bluish tinted slightly luminescent green, but when she was scared they would become less blue. When she was asleep they were dull gray, but nobody ever saw them like that

. The Boss has lots of clones on staff. That was common practice, but Midori wasn’t a regular worker clone, despite the tasks she was frequently given. She had a much higher purpose than that, and it kept her from having to deal with many of the occupational hazards that lead to a life expectancy among labor clones rivaled only by some of the Asteroid colonies for brevity. Clones were cheap, cheaper than robots for many applications. Most smaller machines, including the computer that acted as the gatekeeper to The Boss’s grounds, used bio-computers running off the augmented cloned brains of various animals, often chicken or dogs.

“Good evening...MIDORI SALO. Arrival time: 11:46 PM. Expected arrival time 11:30. DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS: not recommended.” The gate computer had always been kind to her. It rarely suggested any consequences for her frequent tardiness.

“Thank you,” she said in her pitch-modulated tones as she walked through the gap in the energy field separating her home from the less opulent world outside. It was meant to always sound pleasant and accommodating, but she’d had it long enough to know how to express how she really felt to anyone who paid attention enough to see. She knew a range of things: awkwardness, embarrassment, ashamed over nearly everything.

She was always sweet, if a little awkward, to robots and other machines. They had to be polite, it was in their programming, but they didn’t have to like anyone either, because nobody cared how their obedient machines felt. Most people couldn’t even recognize the limited range of emotions the AIs had because they didn’t know or care they were there. Midori knew better because she was the same as them. She was made up, like the city. Like the air on the Moon.

She thought about a lot of things but she didn’t usually speak very much except to seem pleasant or say things she had to say. Because of this she was well liked and was praised. She didn’t like it, but it didn’t seem to be in her nature to retreat. She always felt obligated to stay places she didn’t want to be, but that had to be fine. That was what she’d always known and she wasn’t the type to ever get what she wanted when she even knew what that was.

The Boss was rich enough to understand the value of flaunting a conspicuously nihilist aesthetic. The walkway to the dome was flanked only by one certain type of tree, one of the extremely few that could eke out subsistence in the dead lunar soil. They were each spaced just-so, perfectly distant from each other that anyone passing by them would be forced to wonder just how much some landscaper had been paid for being so ostentatiously tasteful. Apart from that there was only plain grayness surrounding the gently self-illuminated, perfectly straight path. The Dome was in the center of the perfectly round estate and was suitably massive. The surface was able to show any color or image the owner desired, and the Boss kept it pearly and white at all times.

The seamless door opened and she hurried inside. Her name flashed all around her on the walls in a stylized typographical ballet then turned to arrows as she scampered down the dimly lit hallway, directing her to the kitchen. “Silence enhancing” frequency tones played to accompany her every footstep and breath. The walls reacted with faintly pulsing dots of lights that seemed far away. The entire place was crafted to be a classy reactive experience, based on the trendy theory that if the environment is animated by the people in it, the people in it will be animated by the environment. Reciprocal Reactivity was the name of the concept. It was at least half malarkey, but it was very hip and very expensive so, of course, the Boss had it.

The kitchen exhibited no such frills. The Chef would have probably brained anyone who would try to put them in with a skillet. He had no time for such hoity-toity foppery. He demanded a clean, efficient kitchen with lots of equipment, lots of food and absolutely no gimmicks. Despite a quick temper, he was in no way a ‘mean’ man, and Midori had always liked him. He tried to look out for her in his way. He at least wanted the best for her. He was very serious and very passionate about his cooking, but he was sweet.

He was loud, though, “Salo, there you are! Jesus, put that wine down. Why didn’t you take a cart or even a bag? Fuck it, never mind. Listen, Goki has been looking for you. I think you’re supposed to be around for that whole...event thing.” He got less loud at the end and seemed careful about how he said it.

Goki was a new robot with an old brain, one that knew how to do everything The Boss wanted the exact way he liked it done, so he kept it around. It’s state of the art body, sleek and cutting-edge though it was, exhibited the same minimalism as the rest of the place, though there was an element of old-fashioned, functional ugliness to it. It was tall, red (An uncommon allowance of adornment, reserved only for Goki among the rest of the countless house robots), angular, covered in many useful appendages and with one big round blue eye-like sensor array on each side of its head.

“SALO! You are required in the BALLROOM for the CONTACT EXPERIMENT in 23 MINUTES.” Goki informed her in his static and authoritative way as soon as she found it, roaming the w\hallway with purposeful automated seriousness.”Take THIS. HRMMMMMN.” it buzz-hummed while it waited. While it made Midori wait. Eventually, a small white orb came zipping down the hallway and dropped a longish box into her arms. It contained a stylish, slightly modest and slightly distracting state of the art dress. It wasn’t the kind of thing she felt comfortable wearing, but it would probably look fine. She just wished it was up to her.

She took it to her room and changed. She checked herself in the screen in the wall and was pleasantly surprised at how much she liked it. It made her feel a small but more confident until she remembered what she was wearing it for. All of her ‘sisters’ would be there with her for the Contact Experiment. They would all share their horror, fear, and happiness that it wasn’t happening to them.

Moving lights all over the dress twitched all around over her as she made her way to the primary ballroom. They started as cute but the closer she got the more they became distracting, almost maddening. Every unpredictable blink caught her eye and even though she lived where it was always night and she was always surrounded by countless blinking lights in the sky and on every wall in the dome, the lights on her dress felt like a countdown.

As she got closer to the ballroom there were fewer robots and more Bozos, and they all stared as she passed. They all knew better than to try to touch her, though several had tried before. They were no longer around, but she could see in their twisted mutant grinning leers that many still wanted to.

The Bozos could usually do more or less whatever they wanted, and almost nobody would be able to do anything about it if they even cared enough to try. Like Midori, they were protected. They oversaw the whole of the remnants of human society. Part police part ghoulish morale officers. They were strikingly grotesque and exuded an engineered aura that caused the average person to pay little mind to them unless the Bozos wanted their attention, which was almost never good. Whatever trick: radiation, chemical or otherwise they used to maintain their shadowy non-presence didn’t affect her brain, so Midori found herself constantly cognizant of them. They didn’t bother her, but they were always looking at her, like the one who stood by the tall round door to the ballroom, permanent red smile arching over half up his tiny, blue spotted head, her yellow cruel eyes leering over his bulbous nose. He knew what waited for her inside, and seemed to be enjoying the feelings she was dreading.

The Primary ballroom was obviously huge and extravagantly simple in decor, apart from the hundreds of people standing around it, blandly garish in their finery, out to see themselves seen on such a momentous night, more important than the other parties. They were important people who she recognized, and her friends that she didn’t but knew who they were. Very few of them held any interest for her, she was meant to gather alongside her ‘Sisters’. The other clones like her. They were gathered on a gracefully curving balcony several stories up, with a good view of the Core- a massive glowing red orb of particle-wave matter, which sometimes seemed like dull Martian stone and at others seemed like an ethereal vision of red roundness. Alive yet stone.

Midori joined her ‘Sisters’ on the balcony, and no matter how she tried to mingle- make simple talk with the 2 dozen girls that looked identically special, just like her, her eyes kept being drawn upwards towards the Core. The only one of her sisters she didn’t see there was her favorite, Justine. The only one she felt like she was really friends with. It made her fear the worst. She didn’t know very many of the sisters, she hadn’t had many chances to meet them outside of infrequent gatherings, largely for study and medical purposes. A lot could go wrong in the life of even a regular clone, let alone very important, very experimental and very expensive models like her line, and considering their importance to the operation of the ZIPP-0 bio-computer, a lot of data had to be collected. She and her sisters weren’t the first generations of their line, but they were the first line where more than 10% had lived past puberty without dying from pituitary and pineal malformations, or being harvested for system components. Midori had never met any of the prior generations of her line, but she’d never heard anyone say they were all dead.

Bic was the only other one of herself that she really knew at all. They’d met 3 years back. They were at least good acquaintances, and she wasn’t talking to anyone so Midori went and stood by her. She had different eyes, purple and a little bigger than Midori’s and had her hair up, whereas Midori kept hers down.

“Have you seen Justine?”

Bic shook her head. Midori could see she was biting her lip. This was a hugely important night, for everyone alive in the remaining human spread, but maybe most of all for the Sisters. This night was the culmination of everything they had been created for. All the ones that were still alive were there. The only explanations for Justine’s absence were either she was already dead, or she’d been selected. Midori probably would have heard something if she were dead, which made her incredibly anxious.

“You live here?” Bic asked. Midori nodded. “How can something so big be so boring?”

Midori laughed a little before catching herself. She lowered her voice, which never got very loud in the first place, “The Boss thinks boring is classy. Interesting things make him feel less interesting.”

“That probably makes sense to him.”

“I promise it does. I hope that matters.” Midori said, smiling. She’d forgotten how fatalistic and funny Bic was. She was surprised she hadn’t been culled yet for her attitude. It wasn’t far off from Midori’s, but Bic always tended to be more vocal about it. The Sisters very rarely spoke up or tried to make their individual personalities known. It never worked out for anybody except the people who controlled them and made them.

“What’s it even like to live with that guy?” Bic asked, meaning The Boss.

Midori took a big breath and thought. She had to. Nobody ever asked her about that, and she had a lot to say but was cautious about the parts she was willing to let out, “I’ve heard a lot worse about others. He’s...not always bad. For the most part, he barely notices me. He likes to talk. He’s very excited about the fact that he exists.”

“They all are. Mine is. At least yours has done something with his life. Mine just wants to die comfortably with as much of his mommy’s money left as he could. I don’t get it. I wish I could leave him. I hate him, but... there are worse things than hating someone. I just wish he wasn’t so useless. It wouldn't make me stop hating him, but he’d have something to...justify it? I’m sorry. At least “The Boss”” Bic chuckled bleakly as she said his name, “Has built something. At least he did something with his dad’s money, right?”

She was right, but it didn’t make Midori feel any better about him. Bic’s “caretaker”

was Bilfer Attims, whose mother had been made a fortune off a settlement from her mother’s death in an asteroid mining accident and had built an empire purchasing and mining the same asteroids. Bilfr was notoriously stupid, even amongst the people forced by economic classes into being his peer.

Midori looked up at the core and the hastily assembled rig of supports and catwalks effortlessly kept in place by hover-spheres. Purple coated, green visor-ed scientists and sciencey-student types hovered about, adjusting the impressively clunky and ungraceful machines that looked so out of place in the Dome’s simple clean arrangement. The area directly above the Core was blocked off by blue velvet curtains, and Midori knew that meant a surprise. One she was already fairly certain of and dreading.

Midori nervously swallowed and asked, “Do you think they picked Justine for the experiment?”

“Of course they did. She’s from the University. She knows that shit more than anybody. It had to be her, we never had a chance. We’re just spare parts.” Bic had never been comforting. Midori admired that about her.

The lights gently lowered and the murmuring of the crowd died out. It was time for the Contact Experiment, but this was The Boss’ house, and he had dumped an incredible amount of money into the project, so he got to give a speech first. He extricated himself from the crush of sycophants he’d been speaking to and took his place, drink in hand, at the center of the room. He was older than he looked, through his many surgeries and genetic rejuvenation procedures had left him in the strange state that so many privileged older people Midori had seen, with an older face, older eyes made to look artificially younger, leaving them dangling in a perpetual unnatural look. He pulled it off better than most, partly because he had excellent taste in doctors, partly because, despite all the things Midori despised about him as essentially her jailer, he had more self-confidence and a sense of personal flair than most of the soulless hangers-on and pleasers around him. Even a semblance of personality was enough to set him apart in the circles he moved in. Midori didn’t think he was even that interesting but compared to the aggressively fawning rich people who wanted a better rich person to latch onto he was a tall glass of water. His hair was as perfect as his suit was not, garish, burgundy paisley that absolutely defied the sense of tasteful understatement that defined the things he surrounded himself with.

He was smiling, and let his smile hang over the assembly for a while, taking in the moment and forcing it back on everyone else before starting his speech, “Tonight, friends, is a monumental night, and not just for us. For all humanity.” applause, “Now I don’t need to tell you that we’re standing on the edge of history. Our planet is dead, rendered nearly unlivable by an unknown event that came right out of the sky and wiped out most of our species, but you know what? We survived! Here we are, living on the Moon, something our ancestors saw every night but never dared to dream we could live on, in the biggest, most beautiful humanity has ever created. But we do. A lot of suffering and sacrifice was required, and there were a lot of people who said it couldn’t be done, who tried to stand in the way of development, advancement, progress, but where are they now? And where are we?”

Applause. The Boss gave a big smile and let them clap until, with a wave of his hand, they didn’t. He continued. “We’ve come a long way, but we can’t stop here! Our options are limitless, but only if we chase them to the ends of the universe! Of course, I’m talking about The Pig. “ there were a few chuckles in the audience. What a character they must have thought, using the vulgar slang word for The Hogsong, “we see it every day, of course. It hangs over us, always there, slowly becoming more complete. I happen to be old enough to remember when it was nothing but a bare skeletal sketch of what is now. Something you'd have to blink to see. Now, well you can see it through the roof even now.” Which was true. He'd probably even pulled a few strings to ensure it would be so close and so directly over his dome. “The largest most complex structure ever assembled by humans, last hope of an endangered species, a triumph of our ingenuity, you’ve heard it all before. Something that big and impressive, something made to contain a whole new society, needs a big impressive computer built to manage a world, to create an experience for the people in that world, and to manage the life functions of, eventually, up to 10 million people one day! Until it finds world's suitable for human habitation. Not just one, mind you. We used to have just one world. Look how that worked out. We need to spread out as far as humanly possible, and in doing so we will prove just how much is humanly possible!”

Massive applause for that. Midori looked over at Bic, who positively vibrated sardonic bemusement. It was inspirational. Midori kept faking a smile, but Bic made her feel like she at least didn’t have to put any effort into it. Less need to shave off another little sliver of her soul to animate the pretense of pleasantness.

“I am endlessly proud of what the brave researchers at Utopia University have done, as we all should be. The ZIPP-0 Bioplex solved the fundamental problems facing the creation of more than artificial intelligence, but something far above and beyond. Tonight…” He winked, “we get to find out if it works. I'd hope so. I've invested a lot of money into it.” They crowd laughed dutifully. “I’m told all the preparations are complete, it’s been a pleasure grandstanding at you for a while. But...before we go on let me speak sincerely for a moment. Tonight is the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of incredibly gifted, very well funded people. Their work is not only exemplary but extraordinary…”

While the Boss kept going on in self-aggrandizing platitudes, Bic turned to Midori and whispered, “We’re allowed to drink, right?” Midori nodded. “Do you mind?” Midori didn’t mind. She snuck down the stairs, trying to be as unassuming as possible, feeling nervous at being the only one who wasn’t paying attention. Then she realized that nobody cared. She slipped a bottle from one of the several catering stations. The robot didn't care. She slipped back up and handed it to Bic who took a drink. “Thanks.”

“I didn't realize how much I was going to want a drink until you mentioned it,” Midori said and took a sip, then a much larger one. The speech came to a close about 11 minutes later by her internal clock. The lights refocused onto the core and the catwalks surrounding it. The curtains vanished in a holographic glitter. Justine hung in the air with her hands across her chest. She wore a white plastic suit, probably Imploplex-7, with massive cables streaming out the back and terminating in two plumes out her back to massive clunky computing vats that scientists on the catwalks carefully monitored. Midori recognized the one standing closest to the ledge as Dr. Doug Smith from Utopia University. He was head of the Core Component department, and if Midori thought she had a father she'd probably think it was him, but she didn't. She zoomed her artificial eyes in on Justine. Her face was blank in the way Justine’s always was when she was trying to ignore something. Midori had seen it plenty of times. Her lips were pursed tightly. She was breathing slowly and mindfully. She was as calm as she could force herself into being.

Dr. Smith’s voice came amplified for everyone to enjoy, “Core status: 96% inert. Submerge the control medium.” A steel orb came down above the core and extended a long arm with a black orb on the end. It sparkles and vanished, it's matter sucked like pixels in a vacuum into the orb not didn't look natural. It looked like a display glitch in reality. There was no sound. The Core began to pulsate a deep, organic looking Crimson in its center.

“Control medium inserted. Interface activated. Core is stable. 89% inert.” some faceless voice described.

“Decrease field locks. Subject status?” Smith said, watching very seriously.

“Psychological dampers are at full. No contamination. Vitals optimal..”

“She’s ready. Release psychological buffers and begin the descent.”

The anti-gravity suspension rings that circled Justine began to slowly lower her down towards the core. She remained placed, but Midori could see her chest tighten in fear. She looked over to Bic, who was biting her lip, also fixed on Justine, as were the rest of the Sisters.

When she was halfway down to the Core, Dr. Smith waved his hands, slowing the descent, “Status?”

“Psychological contamination has begun. 13% at this point. Absolute borderline in 5 meters. She’ll be unsalvageable beyond that point.” another anonymous voice responded. A girl’s.

“Core status?”

“Nominal. Field restrictions at last level. Exo-Ego Field interfaces online. All meta-psychological systems ready for data flash.”

“Proceed 3.5 meters,” Smith said. The rings lowered her further until Justine’s bare toes were just over the core. Midori saw her struggling to keep her eyes closed, trying to contain whatever she was experiencing.

“Absolute borderline passed. Psychological contamination at 60%. Subject’s ego deterioration is 7% below optimal but within parameters.”

“Apply buffers at quarter power. Release Exo-Ego Field containment.” Smith directed. There was a loud snapping sound, and purple plumes that looked like solid electricity snaked up from the core and wove around Justine’s toes.

“Field released. It’s locked onto the subject.”

“Charge to control medium and initiate Exo-Ego submerge.”

“Engaged.”

The purple tendrils stopped writing and phased through her feet, becoming a purple orb of viscous energy between Justine and the core. Her face showed none of the plain defiant serenity it had before. Her eyes were still shut tightly but her mouth was monstrously wide. Whatever sounds she was making were not amplified for the audience, and even Midori’s enhanced hearing couldn’t discern it over the almost musical crackling squeal of the brightening core. More purple tendrils danced up around it and slowed, hovering around the orb.

“Subject has begun integration with the Core.” Subject. They never called her by name.

Justine clutched her chest tight enough to tear skin. She was screaming, words or shrieks Midori couldn’t tell. Large screens floating around the ballroom displayed various close-ups on the core, the scientists, readouts no one could understand, but none showed any sort of detail of Justine. That wasn’t what the audience was supposed to be looking at or caring about.

“Increase submersion speed by the second factor. She’s doing just fine.” Smith said. He and the girl’s voice were the only ones who even called her “she”. That didn’t make Midori feel any better about them.

The rings moved her down faster, but she never went past the orb. Instead, she seemed to be almost disintegrating, feeding the pulsing ball of energy. More snaking electrical tentacles came up and less phased through than they seemed to hungrily begin to absorb portions of her legs, but not biologically, almost like it was transmuting her into its digital self, but it still made the skin around the points of contact bubble up. More. Midori zoomed her eyes in. The resolution was much grainier, but it seemed like tiny arms, complete with fully fingered hands were growing out of the Imoplex suit, stretching longingly towards the places of her dissolution. Midori wanted to stop watching, so she took another drink instead. Not watching was not an option. Not yet. Horror had her too transfixed. Sadness had her paralyzed. She held the bottle out to Bic, who didn't even notice it there until Midori nudged her arm with it. She apologized and took a hefty swig. Midori could see it was getting hard for her to watch.

It was getting even harder for Justine. Midori looked back and saw she was down to her hips but still alive and still in agony, even more than before. It kept going until it was up to her neck, and then she opened her eyes. They had always been unique. They didn’t affect a natural look. They were dot-matrix LCD, with a slow refresh rate, a throwback stylistic choice in the style of an old Earth LCD display. There was something so unnaturally beautiful about them. Midori had always loved them. She saw them one last time, showing the truest and unnatural digital display of brokenness and hopelessness. Midori couldn’t bear to see them like that, but they didn’t last long. Soon she was completely absorbed into the orb along with the suit. The wires which had been streaming from the back snapped and swung aside like dead weight.

“Subject dissolution complete. Control medium reads 100% retention.”

Dr. Smith took a big breath. He wasn’t smiling yet. “Close the Exo-Ego Field.”

There was a snap like tinkling, windchime thunder and a flash. The glowing orb shattered into countless sparks and sunk into the core, which began to hum and change shades to a deep, multilayered mostly opaque crimson.”

“Field closed. Control medium dived into the core. Exo-Ego integration commencing. Complete. Exo-Ego integrated at 95%.”

Dr. Smith nodded. “Operation is a success. ZIPP-0 is online.”

They applauded so much, the sound filled the whole ballroom and made Midori want to vomit. She looked to Bic, who looked back. All the composure and bemusement was gone from her face, replaced by ghastly, horrified blankness. Neither had anything to say. Midori took her hand and lead her down the stairs to the catering kiosk closest to the furthest of the ballroom's six balconies. They each grabbed a bottle of Martian wine and escaped outside while the people began to mingle and discuss the historic moment they’d both seen.

#scifi #novel #new novel #sad scifi #serial #fiction #Mars #the moon #chickens

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joeys-piano · 6 years

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33 asks

tagged by @undadasea

1. If you could make anything that currently exist appear in front of you, what would it be? Sims 4 Game

2. What are you craving right now? water and hugs

3. Did you believe in Santa Clause when you were younger? Yes! I didn’t know how to spell “Santa” when I was little, so I wrote him as “Mr. Man”. My dad used to tease me about it a lot XD

4. How often do you use emojis? Not often.

5. How many blankets do you sleep under? 2 every night

6. What is a tradition in your family that you do on every of any holiday? We don’t have any traditions since we’re not that American or really have anything in regards to the big holidays here. But near Lunar New Year’s, that’s when we do Spring Cleaning to start off fresh.

7. Are you a dog person, a cat person, or something else? Chicken

8. Do you watch popular TV shows? What’s your favorite? If YouTube counts.

9. Disregarding current world leaders and laws, do you love the country you live in currently? I’m fortunate enough to live in one of the most diverse cities in the world, and it’s influenced how I see and treat others because I’m used to interacting with people from different backgrounds.

10. How long is almost too long for a road trip? Never long enough.

11. Do you know how to cook? A little bit, here and there.

tagged by @d2diamond

Which do you prefer best? Dark, Milk or White Chocolate? I don’t like chocolate...

How many pillows on your bed? (or Nest) 2

Have you been keeping up with @lucycamui and @crimson-chains Siren AU? Not really. When it shows up on my dash, I glance at it every now and then. On average, I see it on my dash about 3 times a day.

On a scale of 0 to FUCK ME NOW, how sexy do you think Otabek Altin would look like as a pirate? He’ll look epic, that’s a given. But I imagine he’s a dorky pirate who’s trying to embody the swashbuckling vibe like everyone else, but he’s more mellow about it

KISS, Fuck, or Marry - Guang Hong, Leo & Seung-gil. Kiss Guanghong, friends with Leo, and marry Seung-Gil

Can I add you to my story as an extra? (If so, please send me your characters physical description in my ask box!) Nah, I’m good

What is your Patronus? A dormouse

If you are an animagus, what is your animal? A chicken

What musical instrument can you play? If not, which one would you like to learn? Oh dear...piano, violin, viola, cello, guitar, drums, and I’m learning the harmonica!

What’s your all-time favorite movie? *shrugs*

How many licks DOES it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? 476

tagged by @possibleplatypus

1. Favorite genre to read? The one genre that I don’t read enough of is comedy. I need a good laugh.

2. What is your Hogwarts House? Slythern

3. Which fictional universe would you want to live in? The pokemon world so I can have my Torchic and cuddle it in my arms

4. Is there anything about writing that you find difficult? Beginning a story and adding tension.

5. What would your autobiography be titled? There would be no title, because I’m not writing it by Joey

6. Favorite part about writing? The weird dialogue

7. Is there anything you just can’t stand? When people misspell my name.

8. Are there any superstitions you observe? If one idea has failed, never do it again.

9. What’s the most imaginative insult you can come up with? I can’t say it [or write it] because not only is it hurtful, it’s mean.

10. What would your first act as Supreme Ruler of the Earth be? Yes, bring your Ruler a chicken for the throne. I must have a chicken in order to enact smart laws

11. Which organ best represents you? The kidney. Mother Nature gave you two so that if one dies, you got another for backup

#joey post

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real-life-pine-tree · 7 years

Text

Rehabilitation: Shay’s First Date (Jitters) (4/?)

Side effects may include a loss of self-identity and individuality, frequent nightmares, questioning your own existence, severe mental trauma, constant panic attacks, spontaneous crying at random moments, and a strong desire to stay with loved ones at all cost. Co-written with @violetganache42. Takes place between Chapters 6 and 7 of Arc-V Aftermath.

Later that night, back at the Obsidian household, Shay was in the tailor room, trying to figure out what to wear for his date with Declan. He had to look nice for their dinner this evening, but he wasn't sure whether he should wear a suit or a different set of formal attire.

"DO YOU NEED HELP, MASTER SHAY?" a robot maid asked.

"Sort of," Shay answered. "Declan Akaba invited me out to dinner this evening and he said I should wear something formal."

"IS THIS A DATE?" the robot maid asked.

"Kind of..." Shay admitted. "But I see it as spending time with a fellow Duelist and a good friend."

"MY GOODNESS, IT IS A DATE," the robot maid said. "I HAVE JUST THE THING FOR YOU TO WEAR."

She dashed off to the tailor room's closet where all of the Obsidians' premade outfits were nicely stored and organized in preparation for any surprise special occasions. She skimmed through Shay's collection before spotting what she was looking for and took it out of the closet. His first date outfit consisted of a long-sleeved, button-up, white shirt underneath a black vest and a black suit jacket, black pants with a black belt, and a pair of black shoes.

"Not bad," Shay remarked. "This looks pretty snazzy."

"I MADE THIS IN CASE OF A DATING EMERGENCY," the robot maid informed. "YOU DID SEEM NERVOUS."

"I'm not nervous," Shay lied.

"BUT IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, DECLAN AKABA IS NOT A WOMAN," the robot maid said. "YET YOU ARE STILL FOND OF WOMEN."

That was the problem. Shay was straight yet he didn't want to turn down the offer. He was given the advice to think of this date as spending some time with a friend and that's exactly what Declan is to him: a friend. Even if he does feel nervous and uncomfortable about it, there was no way he was going to say "no" to hanging out with someone platonically close to him.

"DO NOT FEEL NERVOUS," the robot maid advised, giving the outfit to Shay. "THE AKABAS ARE JUST AS WEALTHY AS THE OBSIDIANS. I AM CERTAIN THE DINNER DATE IS ABSOLUTELY LOVELY."

Shay stared at his given outfit as he thought about how well the dinner will turn out. He wasn't sure what restaurant he'll be going to, but maybe as long as he takes Lulu's advice, he might have a good time. Trying his hardest to not let his nerves get the best of him, he walked over to the fitting room to get changed into his suit.

Some time later, Lulu entered the tailor room holding a light blue sundress. "Can you make some adjustments to this?" she asked the robot maid. "It feels a bit tight around my chest."

"CERTAINLY, MISTRESS LULU," the robot maid replied.

Lulu handed her sundress to the robot maid to help fix the chest area. Right as she was about to head over to the sewing section, Shay came out of the dressing room, wearing the suit that was saved for tonight.

The heiress let out a whistle. "You look pretty sharp," she remarked.

"It's for tonight," Shay explained. He still looked a bit nervous.

"Don't worry about it," Lulu reassured. "As long as you treat this date like a friendly get-together with Declan, you should be fine."

"I hope so," Shay said.

Several minutes later, Kameron drove on the streets connecting the Heartland and Paradise sections of the Original Dimension's city. He was taking his son to the restaurant where the dinner date was going to be, as seen by the GPS function from the Duel Disk's maps app currently giving out direction on how to get there. Declan had informed Shay on what restaurant they were going to shortly before they left, so knowing where they'll be eating at was pretty helpful.

Kameron noticed his son was rather quiet. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you and mother about this," Shay said. "I knew you were looking forward to me marrying Dextra Papillion. I really want to marry her, but-"

"It's alright, son," Kameron said. "I heard about how Declan Akaba helped you out when Lulu was kidnapped. He's a kind man and I know you see him as a good friend."

"So you don't mind this...date?" Shay asked.

"Of course not," Kameron answered. "I know you're only attracted to women, so this date isn't a concern."

Shay smiled at his father's response, knowing how he was looking forward to marrying Dextra and his worry about different sexualities. "Thank you for understanding, father," the heir said.

"You're welcome," Kameron replied. "Just remember to maintain your perfect image throughout the evening."

"Of course," Shay said.

With his father's opinion on tonight, Shay felt his nervousness start to ease a little. Maybe Kameron and Lulu were right; maybe he should try to view this as a friendly get-together since his arranged marriage won't be affected by it at all. There was a slight issue with this, however: he has never been on a date before and he doesn't have any experiences with them to be able to pull this off. Whenever he thinks he has an issue tackled, another one happens to pop up. Man, he felt like this was generally not his day.

After going through the roads, streets, and intersections, they made it at the restaurant and Shay was dropped off in front of the doorways.

"Hello Shay," Declan said, waiting for the Obsidian heir near the doorways. "You look rather handsome this evening."

Shay noticed his "date" had also dressed up nicely for the night by the simple navy blue suit he was wearing. "So you finally ditched that scarf of yours," he remarked.

"I'm flattered by your humor," Declan replied, a slight smile appearing on his face. "Now shall we enjoy this evening?"

"Sure," Shay answered.

The two walked into the restaurant to have them be seated at a table. It appeared it was starting to get busy yet there wasn't that much of a wait, so they were able to get themselves situated at a table that was in between the entrance and the doorway leading to the outdoor tables.

"A moonlit dinner?" Shay asked. "Isn't this a bit of a cliché?"

"I certainly don't think so," Declan answered. "It is a rather clear night and the moon is bright enough to provide natural lighting."

He was right; there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The lunar luminescence casted its rays down on the city as the stars twinkled and sparkled in the midnight blue sky. If anything, it was one of the most beautiful clear nights they have ever seen.

"So why me?" Shay asked.

"Hmm?" Declan questioned.

"There are a lot of other guys in the city," Shay elaborated. "Why did you invite me to have dinner with you?"

"Because there was something about you that captivated me," Declan explained. "Maybe it was your deck, or your dueling strategies, or maybe it was your perfectly-coiffed hair. Regardless of why, you simply fascinated me as an individual."

Remembering the advice his father and sister gave him, Shay thanked Declan for the compliment. He does have a strong archetype, a powerful strategy, and even a nicely-combed hairstyle.

Declan picked up the provided menu. "So what would you like to have?" he asked.

Shay looked at his menu. "The lobster salad looks delicious," he remarked, knowing he hasn't ate lobster in a long time.

"Lobster?" Declan asked. “Why that?”

"I remember having it for dinner with my family before the Invasion," Shay recalled. "The robot maids always cooked it just right."

"So you really do have robot maids," Declan said.

"Of course," Shay replied. "Because of mother and father's successful business, we have robot maids taking care of the cooking, cleaning, and helping us maintain our perfect images."

"My parents never purchased any robotic servants," Declan said. "They hired actual people to help us at Leo Corporation."

"You're not worried about someone getting ill or quitting due to personal reasons?" Shay asked.

Declan responded on how that was the least of his concerns, especially regarding how he and the staff were preparing to go up against Duel Academy by studying and conjuring up Pendulum cards, hosting the Arc League Championship, and forming the Lancers. He could tell his date was more used to not having to deal with those risks at all.

"Besides, what if a robotic servant malfunctions?" Declan asked.

"Mother and father taught Lulu and I about basic mechanics in case of those emergencies," Shay answered. "Sometimes we even use that same knowledge to program new protocols into their databanks, whether it's a reminder to not mention an upcoming wedding or get away with unnecessary grooming."

Declan was confused by that last statement. "Unnecessary grooming?" he repeated.

Shay blushed slightly. "When I was younger, I hated being born into an elite environment," he explained. "I wanted to hang out with commoner kids and not worry about how I looked."

"You aren't like that now," Declan pointed out.

"Only because I grew out of that childish behavior when I got older," Shay continued. "Nowadays I appreciate my wealthy background."

If Declan was going to be honest, Shay had it easy. When he was younger, Leo left to become the head of Duel Academy to pursue his mission to fuse all four dimensions back and bring back Ray. This forced his son to become the new CEO at around 13 years old and seek assistance from Yusho, leading to his disappearance when he was scheduled to duel against the Sledgehammer.

"You are rather fortunate, Shay Obsidian," Declan said. "You spent your whole life living a luxurious life with your parents and sister."

"I know," Shay said. "But it wasn't always easy. I grew up with the constant knowledge that I would eventually take over the family company. I do love mother and father, but they pressured me to always looking my absolute best."

"That would explain your rather aggressive behavior during the Interdimensional War," Declan noted.

Shay looked a bit tensed. "I lost everything when Duel Academy attacked," he said, sounding more sad and less angry. "Mother and father were carded, our home was reduced to rubble, and ObsidianCorp was destroyed." He was unaware of a stray tear coming from his eye. "It was a miracle everything was fully restored today."

Unbeknownst to Shay, Declan spotted the tear taking shape on his eye. He reached over to the heir and gently wiped the tear away.

Shay was surprised by the sudden contact. "What was that for?" he asked.

"You seem upset about the Invasion," Declan commented. "I am terribly sorry it happened to you." His hand shifted to Shay's cheek. "I'm aware that recovering won't be easy, but you cannot let it interfere with your bright future."

Shay simply stared into Declan's purple eyes as he heard the remark being made. For someone who rarely shows emotion, his face was illustrating noticeable hints of sympathy.

"Thank you," Shay said.

"You are quite welcome," Declan replied, releasing his gentle touch on Shay. "Now we should order our meals for the evening."

Shortly after their discussion ended, their waitress came out to take down their orders. "What would you both like to have this evening?" she asked.

"I'll have a lobster salad," Shay said.

Declan checked the menu for a few seconds. "The ramen soup looks delicious," he decided.

"Alright," the waitress said. "Your food will be out shortly."

The waitress headed to the kitchen to place their orders and have the chefs cook their meals. As she did so, Shay and Declan waited for their dinners and ended up talking about another topic, one that was far different than the Invasion and the Interdimensional War.

"Have you ever looked at someone and get a sudden feeling as if you met that person before?" Declan asked.

"It depends on the person," Shay answered.

"Yuya Sakaki," Declan clarified. "From the moment I laid my eyes on him, I felt...drawn to him. Kind of like he was a missing piece in my life."

"How could that be possible?" Shay asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Declan admitted. "But there was a cheerful spark in his eyes. I could have sworn I saw someone with a similar spark long ago."

He wasn't sure where he's seen him before, but it was probably back before Action Duels were announced. He remembered heading somewhere for something important when his eyes caught a glimpse on someone. This particular person seem more…introverted than usual, almost like an incident should have occurred and changed his life for the better, but this spark still remained. Within the shy and timid nature lied the energy of a happy, caring, selfless, friendly individual, as heard by the tone of his voice; one—or many people—may say that he usually comes off as adorable.

Years have passed since the dimensional split and his encounter with Yuya made him realize he had that similar spark, one that was energetic, theatrical, fun-loving, entertaining, and loves to make people smile. It often left him in deep thought when he was alone—whenever he wasn't focused on the War—about how someone like him could possess such comparable qualities. It wasn't until earlier today when he went to Duel Academy to see if he could help out with the blood separation right as ARC-V was beginning to overload. He recalled about seeing a Slifer Red girl following him to where Leo, Zarc, and Ray were, who was revealed to be Tea from a voice which sounded remotely somewhat familiar. A slight shift of his purple eyes left them locked on the same person he had spotted years ago. The spiky, tri-colored hair, the fair skin, the grown but still short body figure, but most importantly, his glazed, amethyst purple eyes. He had changed so much, and from the looks of things, it was due to Zarc's onslaught. Despite what he went through, the spark was still there. The same spark that he felt from a single glance during when he felt like he wasn't Declan Akaba.

Wait, wasn't Declan Akaba?

The grey-haired teen tensed up a bit. "Are you alright?" Shay asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm afraid not," Declan said. "Sometimes I have these memories that must have belonged to someone who is very similar to me, but isn't me at all."

"What do you mean by that?" Shay asked.

"Even I cannot answer that question," Declan admitted. "But-" His eyes widened in realization.

"Who am I?"

"You are...uh... Deck...lan. Yes, Declan. You are Declan Akaba, my beloved son."

Declan always felt like Leo wasn't the best at coming up with creative names, but he didn't mind the name that he was given. In fact, it was his earliest memory. Now that he thought about it, he did remember seeing his father looking at a deck of Duel Monsters cards and use that to give him his name, but why? Why was he really given the name "Declan" in the first place?

"Here are your meals," the waitress said. "Enjoy."

Declan snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed his ramen soup and Shay's lobster salad have been served to them. As soon as Shay ate a forkful of his salad, he let out a happy moan.

"Enjoying you dinner?" Declan asked.

Shay swallowed the food in his mouth. "I forgot how delicious lobster is," he said. "I miss the comforts of luxury."

"I can tell," Declan said. "You even look much cleaner than when I saw you this morning."

"My family and I spent the day restoring our perfect images," Shay explained. "I had my hair trimmed and I got a back massage."

"Really," Declan said. "I didn't even notice." Even though Shay was a lot cleaner, he still pretty much looks the same as he did on the night of the Invasion.

"I know I still look the same, but I really have cleaned up," Shay said. "I even received a deep tissue back mass-"

He noticed Declan was reaching up to feel his hair to see if it was cleaner, prompting him to grab his wrist. It was a natural instinct of him to do whatever it takes to preserve his perfect image; it was most likely the reason why he was sent to solitary confinement at the Facility back in the Synchro Dimension because there was no way Sector Security was going to give him a criminal mark on his face.

"My goodness," Declan said. "Are all Obsidians that obsessed with their perfect images?"

Shay sheepishly let go of Declan's wrist. "I don't like it when other people touch me," he admitted. "Mother and father raised Lulu and I with the mindset of making sure no one would muss up how we look."

Declan sipped on a spoonful of his ramen soup before speaking. "How peculiar," he remarked. "Even your sister?"

"She has a good reason why," Shay explained. "When she was younger, she wanted to have long hair similar to the ones movie actresses have. With mother's permission, she learned how to properly maintain long hair." He ate a forkful of his lobster salad after speaking.

"That would explain why she would still have long hair after Duel Academy's attack," Declan said. "With any other girl, all that hair would have been long gone after such an event."

"That's Lulu for you," Shay said. "She's probably the most stubborn girl on the planet."

He wasn't wrong; her stubbornness was one of her most defining traits and they have Ray to thank for that. Lulu was stubborn about a lot of things: wanting to have long hair, willing to help out the Resistance despite a serious spinal injury, tackling Yuri head-on in a duel, actively fighting back a brainwashing insect to save her brother, and even her boyfriend preferences. Maybe Ray herself was just as stubborn prior to the dimensional split.

Several minutes later, the two had finished their dinner. Shay's plate was clear without any traces of lobster or salad remaining while Declan ate all of the noodles and deciding if he should have the rest of the broth; it did taste scrumptious.

"Thank you for inviting me out," Shay said, reaching into his jacket pocket for his wallet. "How much was the lobster salad?"

"No need," Declan said. "I will pay for both of our meals."

Declan took out his own wallet just as the waitress came out with the bill and handed it to him. After checking what the total price was, he pulled out his debit card and brought them to her to pay for dinner. This was a dating tip Shay learned; people who set up dates are the ones who pay for all their meals. Deep down, he had almost forgot this was a date, much to his dismay.

Declan noticed Shay's slightly uncomfortable expression. "Are you feeling alright?" the grey-haired teen asked.

"Is this really a date?" Shay asked in response.

"Of course," Declan answered without a second thought. "Like I said, you're quite handsome and I have had my eyes on you for a while. Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to make sure," Shay lied, not wanting to hurt his friend's feelings.

He knew it. He knew this was a date and it is becoming clearer that Declan is gay. He had a feeling about it ever since the phone call and the latter's compliments on his handsome appearance and his well-kept hair were a dead giveaway. Despite being uncomfortable about it, Shay still kept Kameron and Lulu's advice about this being a friendly get-together instead of an actual date.

"Tell me, Shay," Declan said. "Have you ever attended a fireworks show?"

"A lot," Shay answered. "I attended numerous Heartland festivals with my family, so fireworks were always involved."

"But have you seen a Paradise City fireworks show?" Declan asked. "Because there is going to be one tonight to celebrate the restored Original Dimension."

Shay raised his eyebrows in surprised intrigue, indicating that he has never seen a fireworks show in Paradise City even though he has been there multiple times. How did Declan even found out about this?

"How do you know about that?" Shay asked.

"Because I was hoping we could attend the fireworks show after dinner," Declan explained. Was he...blushing? Why was he blushing? Does he wish to have someone accompany him when the fireworks go off?

The waitress returned with Declan's debit card. "Here you go," she said. "Thank you for visiting us. We hope to see you again."

As Declan thanked her for returning the debit card, he analyzed the receipt to see how much he paid and calculated what her tip was. He wrote down the amount he was tipping her and the sum of that and the subtotal on the receipt with a pen she had provided.

"Shall we continue with our date?" Declan asked.

"Sure..." Shay replied, still feeling uncomfortable about this being a date.

They got up from their table and headed to the front doors to leave the restaurant. Once they were outside, Declan led the way to where the fireworks were going to be held since Shay wasn't sure the place where Paradise City's fireworks shows usually take place.

"Come," Declan said, gently holding Shay's hand. "The fireworks show will take place at Heartland Park."

Shay glanced at their intertwined hands. "Why there?" he asked.

"For scenic purposes," Declan answered.

That was an odd place to watch the fireworks because that was where all of Heartland's festivities occur, so wouldn't that limit their chances of seeing the celebration? Regardless of where they were viewing it, Shay still doesn't feel anything with his hand being held by Declan's.

"But I thought it was a Paradise City fireworks show," Shay pointed out.

"True," Declan said. "But this is to celebrate the restoration of the Original Dimension. The fireworks from Paradise City are simply a lot more entertaining than the ones from Heartland."

How does he know that? He has never seen Heartland's fireworks in the entirety of his life; fortunately, Shay has seen them multiple times, so he will be the judge of that. "I'll take your word for it," he said.

They spent the next half hour taking a walk from the Paradise section to the Heartland section of the Original Dimension city, where they headed over to the park with Shay leading the way this time. Upon arriving at Heartland Park, the two noticed a lot of other people were already there. It seems the dimensions fusing back into one was a cause for celebration among everyone throughout the four dimensions.

Whether they were in the revived city or in other parts in the world, it was truly a time for rejoicing back into one after spending approximately fourteen years split apart. In Declan's case, this was a nice way to continue his date whereas Shay was more focused on checking out what makes this fireworks show more entertaining than Heartland's. The two were able to find a comfortable spot that was in between the crowd and a few scattered trees.

"What makes Paradise City fireworks better than the ones in Heartland?" Shay asked.

"Simple," Declan answered. "Yusho was in charge of the fireworks show."

Yusho? The same Yusho that founded and used to teach at Heartland Duel School? This just got interesting for Shay because that means his former teacher was the one putting together tonight's festive bash; it was definitely going to be his first one in three years.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and people not native to the former Pendulum Dimension, get ready for a spectacular fireworks show you have never seen before!"

Everyone directed their attention towards the speaker, leaving Shay and Declan a bit stunned at who was the one giving out the announcement. It was none other than Yuya Sakaki himself. Since when did he start helping out with hosting and putting together his hometown's fireworks show?

"Now before we begin, I have an important announcement to make," Yuya continued. "Ya see, me and my dad had to make some...modifications to the fireworks show." He rubbed the back of his head. "Let's just say I kinda developed a fear of loud explosions."

He quickly looked at Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri, who all knew exactly what he was referring to. After merging back into Zarc, they were all traumatized by the incident and have recently discovered prior to their separation that they are easily triggered by loud explosives because they reminded them of Supreme King Dragon Zarc and the destruction the demon-beast caused.

"I also asked my dad to remove all of the green fireworks for the sake of the girls," Yuya sheepishly added.

The Bracelet Girls, standing next to Yuya's counterparts, knew exactly why Yusho would remove those specific fireworks. Any light emitting a bright neon green tint was a trigger for them because they couldn't stop thinking about ARC-V powering up and how they were all forcefully transferred into it to help revive Ray.

"So without further ado, let the annual Sakaki Fireworks Show begin!" Yuya announced.

The audience applauded as he went back to where his family was. As the clapping subsided, fireworks started to blast off into the sky and quietly explode in a variety of images that were each colored differently and can actually move, coming off as more of a light show than a fireworks show. The show included Yuya's Performapals as Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra playing in the background, the images moving in time with the music.

The imagery of the fireworks was categorized into two groups: the Performapals that Yuya used over the years appearing and disappearing to the rhythm of the song while the monsters he recently acquired (like Tuning Magician) performing by feeling the flow of the lyrics. Everyone was blown away by what they saw, especially the Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ residence. They have never seen a performance this stunning before, so they were all thinking that this was the best one they have seen. Everything from the choreographed images to the cheery atmosphere of the selected song, which makes sense because this was a special kind of day where the people of all four dimensions can begin living with one another. Even Shay couldn't help but have his jaw drop at what he was watching, leaving Declan with a smirk on his face.

"This is incredible!" Shay exclaimed. "How...?"

"The fireworks in Paradise City are infused with Solid Vision," Declan explained. "Because of this, the enhanced technology can create various imagery that actually move."

Shay continued to stare in awe as the Performapal fireworks quietly exploded to Mr. Blue Sky. If that was the case, then why didn't Yusho introduce that during his time at Heartland? From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Lulu cuddling with Yuto and sharing a few kisses although it felt rather different to them, mostly due to them finally being back in their own bodies. The Obsidian heir then found himself thinking about how much his sister has grown; it was actually quite unbelievably fascinating to see her mature prior to the Invasion. Originally a toddler with a strong desire to have long hair like the actresses in movies and to pursue her dream of being an actress herself, she was now but a beautiful, polite, and feminine young teen who has plans to marry a noble, chivalrous gentleman whom she met months ago. He was completely okay with their arranged marriages yet he still couldn't stop thinking about how much she has grown. …It was a bit heartbreaking for him.

"Are you alright?" Declan asked.

"It feels as if it was only yesterday Lulu was a bright-eyed little girl," Shay said. "I remember when I brought her to the Heartland Spring Festival for the first time."

Lulu was only as young as a preschool student when she attended her first Heartland Spring Festival. She had always wanted to go there when she was a toddler and that moment was her big chance.

"Come on, Shay!" Lulu had exclaimed, dragging him over to one of the festival booths. "I want a plush Rainbow Kuriboh!"

Shay let out a laugh. "Alright," he said. "I'll win one for you."

The booth she took him to with the Rainbow Kuriboh plush had a classic game set up: knocking down all six bottles that were stacked on top of each other. "Step right up and win a prize!" the booth owner announced.

"I'll take that challenge," Shay said, giving the man a few coins.

"Splendid!" the booth owner said. He gave Shay a small ball. "You only have one shot, so make it count!"

Using the ball he was given, Shay aimed at the stacked bottles to see where would be a good point to knock them down. He has been given private lessons to enhance his smarts and athleticism, so this was a perfect opportunity to put them in use. He chucked the ball towards the lower leftish-center section, knocking the bottom two down, which caused the upper three to fall and topple over the last standing one.

The booth owner was amazed. "Incredible!" he exclaimed. "I have never seen such precision from a boy that young! How-" He looked closely at Shay and Lulu. "Wait a minute... You're the Obsidian kids, aren't you?"

"We are," Shay answered. "And I promised my sister a Rainbow Kuriboh plush."

"Of course," the booth owner said. He gave a Rainbow Kuriboh plush to Lulu. "Here you go."

"Thank you!" Lulu happily said, hugging the plush.

She has had it ever since because she never forgot the day her brother won it for her. She always took care of it and made sure it was in good condition just in case the time comes to pass it down to her potential offspring. Shay cherished that memory for years now and still found it hard to believe that the long-haired girl cuddling with Yuto and watching the fireworks show with him was the same bright-eyed young child he took with to the Heartland Spring Festival.

"She grew up so fast," Shay said, sounding a bit sad. Here she was now, reunited with her boyfriend and family, and she can now look forward to continuing her acting lessons without any sudden interruptions. And in a few more years, she will marry Yuto and they will have kids of their own. She was growing up right before his eyes.

"At least you actually get to grow up with your younger sibling," Declan said.

"What about Riley?" Shay asked.

"Recently I discovered she had all of her previous memories retained," Declan explained. "Her not smiling wasn't because of Zarc. It was because she remembers how mother treated her. Yuya's Dueltainment only distracted her. I decided it would be better for Moon Shadow to raise her."

It was going to be weird not having Riley around Leo Corporation because Declan had developed a caring sibling bond with him/her, especially after learning Henrietta took advantage of her adopted child's trauma. He knew what his life was like, and thanks to Declan’s tutelage, Riley became a strong Duelist who helped put a stop to Zarc's madness, even if it reverted him into a baby girl. He figured having Moon Shadow raise her would be perfect since she has looked up to him and he has protected her on certain occasions. Surely, the two will come up with a plan for her new life.

"I did give Riley's deck to Moon Shadow for when she's older," Declan continued. "If all of her memories really are left intact, she'll have no trouble relearning her C/C strategies."

Despite initial hesitation, Shay gave Declan's hand a gentle squeeze. "You made the right decision," the Raidraptor user said. "Moon Shadow will make a perfect parental figure for Riley."

"Thank you for the reassurance," Declan said. Then suddenly, he pulled his hand away from Shay's. "But you can drop the act. I figured you weren't gay."

Wait, he knew all along?! How? When? Shay was more confused than relieved by this sudden revelation. If that was the case, then why did Declan even ask him out in the first place?

"If you knew, why did you ask me out?" Shay asked.

"I didn't know at first," Declan admitted. "I wasn't sure if you were that kind of person, but I did notice how handsome you are. Yey I realized you seemed uncomfortable at the restaurant, which made me come to the conclusion that my suspicions are correct."

"What suspicions?" Shay asked.

"That every handsome man is either fictional, taken, or straight," Declan answered.

Those were his suspicions? Well, he isn't entirely wrong about people having fictional crushes or learning their crushes are taken or have different sexualities. It is a thing that constantly happens.

"But at least I now know Dextra won't be disappointed," Declan said. "You're a perfect fit for her."

Shay was surprised to hear that. "How do you know Dextra?" he asked.

"Mother always invited the Papillions to family parties," Declan explained. "As a result, Dextra ended up becoming one of my closest friends."

Shay never knew Declan and Dextra were close friends with each other; it did seem interesting about how a family from the XYZ Dimension was invited to parties in the Standard/Pendulum Dimension. That must have been happening when he discovered there were four dimensions. At least he was glad to know his friend accepted him being straight and his upcoming marriage.

During the fireworks show finale, an image of Xiansheng Magician appeared and shot an arrow, causing the image to quietly explode into light purple hearts with white angel wings. Then the words 'Congratulations on your arranged marriage, Yuto!' appeared in the sky, causing the eggplant-haired teen to blush heavily.

"Yuya!" Yuto called out. "People don't celebrate arranged marriages!"

"Aw, don't be such a bummer," Lulu said. She kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. "It's probably his way of celebrating."

Yuto couldn't stop blushing at how embarrassed he was about everyone learning of him getting married to Lulu, but a smooch from her did ease him down. As for Shay, he got a slight chuckle at the finale because Yuya must have found out earlier today or prior to the blood separation. Even after the initial struggle against Duel Academy, it looked like the Obsidian siblings have bright futures ahead of them.

#Arc V Aftermath #yugioh arc v #Shay Obsidian #Shun Kurosaki #Declan Akaba #Reiji Akaba #Rehabilitation

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travelinglight10-blog · 7 years

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Thai Adventures With Bubba

Bubba had been telling me for months that he was coming to visit me in Thailand, even before I left last year we talked about it. He had to work to make it happen, starting with getting a passport. After that he just needed to save up enough money for a plane ticket and a little extra to spend while here. After a while it seemed like he wasn’t going to make it, but I kept my hopes up and prepared for him to visit by saving up my allotted vacation days. Bubba does things in his own way and in his own time and I was trusting that he would figure out a way to come visit me. At the end of June, he sent me a picture of a receipt for an expedited passport and finally, in July he bought a ticket to Bangkok. I was so excited.

The trip started off with his flight being delayed, which meant he would be landing in Bangkok sometime in the wee hours of the morning. I live about an hour from Bangkok International Airport, so originally, I was going to pick him up and take a cab home that night. Which meant, I would be able to make it to work the next morning. However, as Thailand has graciously taught me, plans often go awry. Instead, I booked a last-minute hotel near the airport and called in sick to work the next day. Because his flight was delayed, he missed his connecting flight, so I had no idea when he would be arriving. I fell asleep, not knowing when he would be landing, but figured he would be able to call me when he arrived. Turns out, the international plan he signed up for was for texting and calling only, and the plan I have here, is for data only, so our phones both worked, but they didn’t speak the same language. Around 5 am I received a call on Whatsapp, from my mom, telling me that Bubba had landed, so I told her to convey to him the instructions to get a cab to the hotel I was staying at. Shortly thereafter, there was a knock on my door and my brother was there! It was so good to see a familiar face. After such a long journey, he was eager to shower off the grime of travel. Showers are a bit different in Thailand, but I assumed he would figure it out. I was wrong. To my amusement, he told me how he has used the little hose that hung near the toilet to shower. What he thought was the shower, was actually the bidet or what some refer to it as, the bum gun. I wonder if anyone else has ever made that mistake before…

We started our adventure together in Krabi Province, in the South of Thailand, where we stayed on an island, spending most of our time lounging on the beach and meeting fellow travelers and Thai’s, alike. Because August is considered low season, especially for the islands, I scored a cheap room in a nice hotel on the island. Normally, I stay in hostels or share cheap bungalows with friends, so it was quite the treat. Our first night on the island we decided to grab dinner at an Indian restaurant. In order to get to the restaurant, we had to go to the other side of the island. There are three ways to do this: 1) a 45-minute trek through the jungle, 2) a 15-minute hike through the mountains/jungle that is sometimes blocked off when the tide is high, 3) walking along the shore when the tide is low, around the mountains/jungle. To go to dinner, we took the second route. We ate dinner and ended up going to a bar on that side of the island, where we played a few games of Jenga and filled each other in on what we’ve been doing over the last 10 months. Soon after, were both ready to crawl into those cozy hotel beds and pass out for the night, but mother nature had a different idea. When we went back to the shore, we realized the tide had risen so high that we couldn’t get to the entrance of the path to get back to the other side of the island. We were essentially stranded, at least until the tide went back out. We asked a local when the tide would be low enough for us to get to the path and he said around 1 or 2 a.m. So, we headed back to the bars. On our way back, we passed a couple playing music together on the beach. Bubba said we should join them, but I told him I didn’t want to intrude. We ended up at a reggae bar and 5 minutes later, the couple from the beach came and sat down right next to us. We ended up talking and we all decided we should go back to the beach to jam, but after 5 minutes, it began to pour. We sprinted to the nearest shelter, which was a little restaurant that was closing up for the night. We stayed there for about an hour, adding our voices to the sound of the rain pounding on the roof above us, until we were kicked out. At that point, the rain was still coming down in buckets and the tide was still too high to cross over to our side of the island. The lovely German couple we were with, took pity on our predicament and offered to let us sleep on the balcony of their hotel room. They even pulled the cushions off the couch in their room, so we could sleep on them. If it wasn’t for their kindness, we would’ve been stranded on the beach in the rain all night. After a few hours of sleep and 50 bug bites later, we quietly left their room to attempt to get back to our beds. It was around 4 am by the time we left and the tide was finally low enough for us to cross over. We grudgingly trekked our way along the shore, up into the jungle and back to our hotel. We slept in late that day and when we woke up we went to a cute little teahouse, where a kind elderly woman made us fresh ginger tea with lime. We spent the majority of our time in a bar on the island, where we chatted with the owner and other backpackers, played ping-pong, and listened to music. The rest of the time we spent on the beach, taking in the scenic views. We were fortunate to be on the islands during the full moon and lunar eclipse. That night, I stood staring up at the sky, basking in the glory of the moon and the beauty of nature.

After a few lazy days on Tonsai, we flew up north, to Chiang Mai. After checking into our hostel that night, we went to the night Bazaar, a huge night market. Bubba got some dinner, we did some window shopping, and then found a bar with live music, where we ordered some hot tea.

At our hostel, we met a guy from Turkey and ended up spending a lot of time with him. We rented a motorbike for a few days and drove into the mountains to explore with our new friend. The first day with the bikes, the three of us went to Doi Suthep, a temple with a beautiful view of the city. Then we drove further into the mountains and found a little coffee shop, where we for stopped a pot of tea (Bubba and I both have an affinity for tea) and watched storm clouds roll through the mountains in the distance.

We continued our journey and found a village higher up in the mountains. There we found a beautiful flower garden and a waterfall.

The next morning, we woke up early for a cooking class on a little organic farm. We were picked up and brought to a local market, where we sampled a few different Thai fruits and bought a few ingredients we would need for our dishes. When we got to the farm, we picked the rest of the ingredients ourselves and then made 5 traditional Thai dishes. Needless to say, we were very full by the end of the class!

That night, we went to North Gate Jazz Club with a few other people we met at our hostel. The following day, we drove into the mountains again with another friend, a girl from Austria. As we were driving, it started to rain, so we decided to pull our bikes over. Luckily, we happen to stop at a waterfall, where there was a gazebo and benches to stay dry. While we waited for the rain to stop, we ended up doing some spontaneous yoga poses, meditation, and even “omed” together. As always, Chiang Mai treated me well. I’m so happy I was able to share the charm of such a wonderful city with my brother.

A few days in Chiang Mai and then we were off the Pai, a hippy, mountain town, about 3 hours from Chiang Mai. This time, I was prepared and took motion sickness pills before getting into the van. In Pai, we shared a cute little bungalow surrounded by rice fields.

We went on a hike and found a few temples and a huge white Buddha.

There was an amazing vegan restaurant down the street from where we were staying. They had buy 2 get 1 free kombucha, vegan waffles and ice cream, an array of vegan desserts, and some of the most delicious food ever. We were happy campers (:

I don’t know what it is about Pai, but it has a powerful energy. There’s magic in the air there. Those few days there were transformative.

After a truly wonderful two weeks, it was time to fly back to Bangkok to send Bubba back to the states. I was sad to see him go, but knew I would see him again soon, along with the rest of my beautiful family!

If you’re reading this familia, I LOVE YOU!

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newmayhem · 5 years

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Characters: Vampires

Disclaimer: None of this is mine, everything was collected from Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’ old websites, the wiki, and the old message boards. Anything written in the first person is a direct quote from Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. For all the entries in the The Den of Shadows Reference series, check the tag or this page.

Katama’s Line

Jeshickah

Before Silver ruled, Jeshickah did, through Midnight. Yes, she is a lunar vampire, and hence a Nyeusi. She is also tightly bound to a k'jait named Leshan. Jeshickah named Leshan when she was still human, several years before her death. She bound herself more tightly to him throughout Midnight's reign, gaining power for herself and for those descended from her. Though they are not consciously aware of it, and it is not their primary form of sustenance, all of Jeshickah's descendants feed through touch. Their k'jait power is also responsible for Jeshickah's line's ability to dreamwalk, which is not normally a vampiric ability.

More information can be found in the Katama’s Line entry.

Nathaniel Stevens

Nathaniel Stevens (Christian name, he doesn’t know his birth name) is one of Midnight’s few inhabitants who was actually brought to the Americas by the human triangle trade. This happened when he was very young, so he grew up a slave… by human standards, anyway. His Master was a man called Elliot Stevens (hence the last name).

Nathaniel fell in love with a girl named Ellen, Elliot’s only daughter. Obviously, this didn’t go over well once her father found out.

Jeshickah, with recently-changed Taro in tow, discovered Nathaniel tied to a post after Elliot had beaten him. For reasons Nathaniel doesn’t really know or understand (and certainly didn’t care about), she demanded Elliot sell him to her.

I haven’t finished writing this book, but I do know that Jeshickah intended Nathaniel to be a trainer, and he was the only one of the five men she chose over her career who outright refused her, in every way. Among the many tricks she pulled was giving him Ellen as a gift, after Jeshickah had broken her… one of the many reasons Nathaniel hates Jeshickah.

Long story short, he angered her so much she broke several of his ribs, crushed his windpipe, etc, without intending to. When Katama pointed out that a human man had bested her (gotten her to kill him before he broke, which had been his intent at that point), Jeshickah changed him instead. Unfortunately for her, fortunate for Nathaniel, he managed to claim freeblood status after his change (he’s a quick study, picked up on that law swiftly) since she had never broken him, and Katama backed him. He needed to stay connected with Midnight, since there was no other power for his kind (until, obviously, Mayhem’s rise), but he became a mercenary instead of a trainer… putting him into a good position to get the best information, etc.

As for personality—and again, if this doesn’t work with your story, don’t feel forced to stick to it, I’m just offering it in case you want something to play with— Old-Midnight Nathaniel considers himself a green-blooded mercenary with no loyalty to anyone, but at the same time is proud of the fact that he has more “rules” (too green-blooded to admit they’re morals) than the rest of Jeshickah’s brood. He won’t extend money or energy to save someone who’s worthless… he says… and usually it’s true… but he also doesn’t abuse people by nature the way the trainers will. He doesn’t lose sleep over Jeshickah’s slaves, mainly because when she says “slave” it’s a mindless creature and far too late for it to be saved. He picks his battles by those he can win.

Xeke Catene

Xeke Catene (not his real surname, Catene is just what he goes by) is technically a member of Katama's line, but he is powerful enough that many people will refer to him as if he led his own line. The third member of the Wild Cards, he focuses his attention on beauty, and the senses. His studio is currently in the pre-production stages of Apocrypha, which is based on the myths of the Dasi, and the story of the Obsidian Guild.

According to a Q&A with Amelia Atwater Rhodes:

Q: How does Xeke not remember his creator? Didn't someone have to feed him blood when he awoke or tell him of how Nyeusigrube worked?

A: Yeeeeh, you'd think he would remember it, wouldn?t he? He claims he was really, really drunk. I?m not sure I trust him. Q: Why doesn't anyone want to claim him? A: Xeke is a rabble-rouser. He breaks the rules by following them. He irritated powerful people but has enough powerful allies that no one can get rid of him. Who would want to claim responsibility? Oh, and there's the fact that Jeshickah absolutely forbid her fledglings from creating their own. And there's the fact (this goes back to a previous question) that technically, as Jeshickah owns most of her fledglings and Xeke is descended from one of them, she owns him, everything he has worked for, and everyone he protects. When Jeshickah came to town, Xeke got out of the way. If he is lying and does remember his creator, Xeke doesn't want to claim that progenitor any more than that vampire wants to claim Xeke.

Kendra’s Line

Lord Daryl di'Birgetta & Lady Brina di’Birgetta

Birth Name: Lord Daryl di'Birgetta Birthplace: England DOB/DOD: b. 1630s CE d. 2002 Changed: After 1650 CE Sire: Brina di'Birgetta Fledgling(s): Jerome

Birth Name: Lady Brina di'Birgetta Birthplace: England DOB/DOD: b. 1630s CE d. 2002 Changed: After 1650 CE Sire: Kaleo Sonyar Fledgling(s): Daryl di’Birgetta

Affiliations: Allied with New Midnight and formerly allied with Midnight. Appearances: Midnight Predator

Lady Brina and Lord Daryl were born to a wealthy household in England in the early 1650s, with Daryl the older by three years. After their mother died in childbirth to Brina, their father pampered them- especially his youngest daughter. The siblings were provided with everything and anything they could possibly want, which was quite a lot.

More than anything, Brina loved rich colors and warmth. She adored painting, and her father brought in the best teachers he could find. Though the actual supposed instruction went to Daryl- as most of the best teachers refused to teach a woman- Brina was always there, on the other side of the room, listening and remembering to every word and every brush stroke, which she would promptly replicate after the lessons were done. Despite his only moderate interest in the arts, her brother indulged her absolutely, as he always had and always would.

In 1665, the plague broke out in London. The illness was brought into the household by a servant, after which the di’Birgetta home was quarantined. Brina contracted the plague, but recovered; her brother was never afflicted by the illness, but spent most of the family finances in bribes to the nurses who would bring food for a price, and finally for forged letters of health so he and Brina could escape and flee the country.

Impoverished and suffering badly in the aftermath of her family’s death, Brina did what she believed to be the logical thing, and promptly decided to dedicate herself to a church, preferring martyrdom to marriage. As you might imagine, the religious devotion did not last long, as Brina discovered that God wasn't quite on the top of the list of things she loved; painting and her brother came first, followed by naphual red and cobalt blue and a great many other hues and shades, with God somewhere near the middle to bottom of the list, just above cooking, cleaning, embroidery, strangers, and the plague.

After being caught in the arms of a man (some rumors say said man was her brother), Brina was expelled from the convent, and returned to a destitute home. With her reputation now in tatters, it was highly unlikely that she would ever make an honest and wealthy marriage, so she again did what by her standards seemed personally reasonable: she tried to become mistress to one of the famous painters in the area, so she could afford oils and pigment.

The affair might have ended when his wife objected to Brina posing the proposition in the drawing room during tea time, but it most certainly ended when Daryl (who had accompanied Brina on her insistence as a chaperone) killed the man in question.

At that point, Daryl swept his sister off to Italy, where for about a year they posed as man and wife in a small home about a mile outside of Rome. Brina began to sell her paintings, which quickly caught the attention of Kaleo Sonyar- noted painter, sculptor, and musician. He tried to get her to run away with him, and she in return invited him into a ménage e trios, which is just about the only time that Daryl or Kaleo have a) been in agreement and b) denied Brina anything at all.

For several months, Brina refused Kaleo's offers to change her, until he pointed out that she would be able to afford more and better paints if she didn't need to buy things like food... and until he told her about Midnight, a new empire, where she would be a noble eternally, surrounded by as many slaves as she wished.

In 1669, Brina was changed, and she, Daryl and Kaleo made their way to Midnight, where Brina was absolutely charmed by Jeshickah's recent creations- Varick, Taro, Gabriel and Jaguar. Over the next two years, Jeshickah repeatedly tried to buy Daryl from Brina, without much success. However, it wasn't until Daryl tried to murder all the trainers by hiring a Triste to spike their slaves' blood that Jeshickah put her foot down.

In response, Brina changed her brother, who soon became one of Kendra's unrequited favorites. Such grace ascended him into the vampiric aristocracy, and his rapidly-growing wealth (returning to him now, based on several good investments, and Brina's success as an artist) bought a great deal of lenience from Jeshickah's kin so long as he agreed to stop trying to kill them. Which he did, as soon as they agreed to stop trying to seduce Brina.

By 1804, Lady Brina and Lord Daryl were well established as incredibly wealthy supporters of Midnight. Their private estate was filled with slaves in various stages of training and health.

Brina had just finished a very successful series of paintings of lovers, the best of which was an intense homoerotic piece focusing on a dark-haired Italian and his ash-blond English lover. The piece, one of Jeshickah's personal favorites, hung on the Mistress of Midnight's wall for several years, and inexplicably made Varick go pale every single time he saw it.

Daryl meanwhile had discovered that, though he would never develop his sister's passion for painting, there were art forms he loved. He began to study sculpture, with a fixation on stone and glass; he would in a few more years, once it became more readily available, discover the benefits of ice sculpture. At the same time, he formed a fascination with the trainers' art, at which most of them agreed he was unaccountably bad, but which he refused to give up until his death at the hands of a badly-broken slave in 2002.

Kristopher

Birth Name: Christopher Ravena Birthplace: Southern United States Birth year/original time period: About 30 years before the American Civil War. Changed: 1850 Sire: Nikolas Ravena Fledgling(s): Sara Vida Affiliations: Member of Xeke's Circuit and of SingleEarth Appearances: Shattered Mirror, All Just Glass Other Information: Kristopher has blue-cone monochromatism, a type of colorblindness which only affects males.

Lila Light

On December 8, 2009, a little over ten years after In the Forests of the Night was published, Atwater-Rhodes revealed background information about the characters and their world on her official site. She revealed that Risika, as well as Aubrey and Ather, is part of a line called the Silver Line and that her and Alexander's mother was known as Lila Light who originally resided in an unknown place that was taken over by the vampires who ran the empire of Midnight but before it was taken over she had fled to a town called Vieton where she met and married Rachel and Alexander's father. Before their birth, a vampire by the name of Kaleo had taken an interest in Lila and courted her for three years. After they were born Lila feared for her children's lives as Kaleo grew impatient waiting on her and feared he would kill them. To protect her children, she allowed him to transform her into a vampire and she changed her name to Charcoal. Because of his wife's unexplained disappearance, Rachel and Alexander's father left Vieton and took them to be raised in the town in which they had grown up before Rachel was transformed into a vampire, as well as protect them from Midnight. To explain their mother's disappearance their father told them she had died giving birth to them. When Risika had visited Mayhem after her transformation her mother saw her and knew what she had become and using her Light Line magic out of anger, she set Mayhem a-blaze, as fire is the specialty of those in the Light Line. Lila Light, although unknown to Risika that Charcoal is her mother, currently resides in New Mayhem.

Tizoc Theron

Theron was Aztec (genuine, not Azteka) poet; he is of Kendra's line, actually one of Kendra's direct fledglings. He and Kaleo are very close friends, such that where one goes, the other and pretty much the rest of Kendra's line tends to follow.

Theron does not like to lead, but neither does he follow. He works primarily as a mercenary and assassin, but also deals extensively in information of all types. He is very politically powerful, because (as previously stated) the side he chooses to support tends to get most of Kendra's line. He is one of the best-known vampiric assassins/mercenaries in the world and is among the few individuals powerful enough to manipulate SingleEarth.

Tizoc Theron owns the line of establishments by the same name.

Tizoc Theron is referenced in Demon in My View, Midnight Predator and Persistence of Memory. He has yet to make any physical appearances in the published works.

Silver’s Line

Ather

Birth Name: Lameta Frektane Birthplace: Wolf shapeshifter -> Lunar Vampire Changed: 2720 years ago; shortly after Kiesha'ra’s end Sire: Silver

Fledglings:

Aubrey (432 BCE, Athens, Greece)

Aubrey was changed after he slit Ather's throat in a fight.

Kala (1334 CE, Mesoamerica)

Risika (1701 CE, American colonies)

"Rachel" first came to Ather's attention after her Triste student-in-training brother, Alexander, attacked Ather. Aubrey convinced Ather to change Rachel into Risika instead of killing her in order to cause Alexander more pain.

Aiden (1791 CE)

Affiliations: Mayhem Appearances: In the Forests of the Night, Wolfcry (cameo as Lameta Frektane)

#reference

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