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#source: ice age 4
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Raph: I don’t fight girls.
Karai: *beats Raph up*
Karai: I can see why.
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waterfire1848 · 11 months
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Jason talking about Dick: I’ll push him off the plane. You guys say it was an accident.
Stephanie: I’m in. How about you, Cass?
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Jean to Sasha and Connie: Can I ask you guys something? How are you so happy?
Connie to Sasha: Can I tell him our secret?
Sasha: *nods seriously*
Connie: *whispering* We're very, very stupid.
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Piper: Look, I think something is bothering Maccready. Could you talk to him?
Paladin Danse: Guys don’t talk to guys about guy problems. We just punch each other on the shoulders.
Piper: What? That’s stupid.
Paladin Danse: Yeah, to a girl. But to a guy, that’s like six months of therapy.
[later]
Paladin Danse: Hey, is something bothering you?
Maccready: Yeah, actually I’m——
Paladin Danse: [punches him]
Maccready, gripping his shoulder: What the hell, dude??
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Notes on Roman demography:
It's really, really hard to estimate how many people lived in Rome or in Italy as a whole. In republican times, the census only counted free adult men.
Augustus' census recorded 4 million people in Italy, but we don't know how to interpret this number. If it's like earlier censuses (male citizens only), it implies a total population of around 10 million, and a big surge in the last 200 years.
But our literary sources almost all imply the population was stagnating or declining due to the wars and famines of the 1st century BCE, and Augustus himself thought the population was declining.
So, most historians now think the 4 million number does include all Roman citizens in Italy, male and female. If so, this is indeed a decrease from the 4.5 million we've estimated for 225 BCE, based on Polybius' account of the Second Punic War.
Losing over 11% of the population, even after adding new citizens through manumission, immigration and colony-founding, would have had massive effects on politics. (It's the equivalent of the USA losing 37 million people.) This may have made the surviving Romans more willing to accept Augustus' autocratic rule, which at least promised stability. It might have offered career opportunities to new men like Cicero and Marcus Agrippa as the ranks of the nobility were thinned. And I strongly suspect it contributed to Augustus' notorious marriage laws, which unsuccessfully tried to incentivize having more kids.
I also wonder if high mortality rates are part of the reason Rome was so open to integrating foreigners as citizens. Rome was at war nearly every year, and in the Second Punic War (for instance) lost over 25% of its adult male population in battles. (1)
However! Rome's slow recovery during and after the Augustan age, plus greater economic mobility, helped the population bounce back, reaching a high around 120 CE of 1 million in Rome and ~75 million for the empire as a whole. (2)
(The population and economy got so big we can see traces of it in polar ice cores - they raised Earth's carbon dioxide levels!) (3)
Life expectancy at birth was probably around 25-35. Half of all children probably died before the age of 10, but if you lived past that, it wasn't unusual to reach your 50s or 60s.
Slaves made up somewhere between 20-33% of the population of the late republic. (4)
Freedmen made up another big chunk. The highest estimate I've seen was 50% in Rome itself; lowest is around 20-25%. But in any case, there were a lot. (4)
Due to such high child mortality, and adult mortality due to war and disease, the average Roman woman gave birth around nine times. This partly accounts for why Roman girls were married off in their teens. The age gap between first-time brides and their husbands, and the number of pregnancies and children, were major systemic factors that kept Roman women subjugated under patriarchy. (5)
Adrian Goldsworthy, Antony and Cleopatra
Walter Scheidel, "Demography," The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World.
Mary Beard, Meet the Romans (documentary series)
Erich Gruen, The Last Generation of the Roman Republic
Mary Beard, SPQR
The rest comes from Neville Morley's "Social Structure and Demography," in A Companion to the Roman Republic, ed. Nathan Rosenstein and Robert Morstein-Marx.
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oftlunarialmoon · 4 months
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Ciao lovelies! I have written before on the topic of Age Regression many times, from explaining what Age Regression is, to Age Regression Self-Care, to Age Regression Journaling. I never explicitly said before now, but I, myself, am an age regressor to cope with stress (and some other mental health reasons). The reason why I have officially decided to come forward and say so is because I feel that I want to keep writing posts on the topic of age regression, some with personal experience perhaps, so I want to be open with you all and let you know why I continue to write on this topic. I’ve also noticed some of this blog’s audience is made up of age regressors like myself, and I want to provide you all with some content from a safe, welcoming, and open-minded source. All that being said, today I’ve decided to write down 101 activity ideas for Age Regressors/ Things to Do When Bored, Age Regression edition. Please be sure to let me know in the comments (yes, you can even comment anonymously!) if you like these ideas, please be sure to tell me your favorite!
101 ACTIVITIES FOR AGE REGRESSORS
Outside Activities for Summer
1.       Play on a swing-set!
2.       Play hopscotch!
3.       Color with chalk!
4.       Build Fairy houses with materials you find outside!
5.       Take pictures of your toys in nature! This works especially well for dinosaur toys, animal toys, et, because they look like they’re meant to be in nature!
6.       Jump rope!
7.       Go swimming!
8.       Go fishing with a net and play catch and release!
9.       Go to a beach and find cool seashells!
10.   Read a book outside in the sun!
11.   Go for an ice cream!
Outside Activities for Fall
12.   Find leaves and flowers and press them into a journal. You can also do Leaf rubbings, where you put a piece of paper over a leaf and use a crayon to rub over it to get the imprint of the leaf on the paper!
13.   Carve a pumpkin!
14.   Go to a pumpkin patch and take lots of pics among the pumpkins! You can even pick out one to take home and make into a Jack-O-Lantern (like #12)!
15.   Collect cool leaves and make a leaf arrangement/wreath!
Outside Activities for Winter
16.   Build a snowman!
17.   Build a snow-fort!
18.   Have a snowball fight!
19.   Try to catch snowflakes on your tongue!
20.   Make snow angels!
21.   Play hide and seek in the snow!
Outside Activities for Spring
22.   Collect flowers and make bouquets!
23.   Make flower crowns!
24.   Play tag with some friends!
25.   Weave grass into cool shapes!
26.   Collect cool rocks/gemstones…You can even pretend to be a dragon who’s collecting rocks for their hoard!
Indoor Activities for Any Season
27.   Redecorate your room!
28.   Clean your room! (I know, bleh, but if you clean then you’ll have a clean slate for #27!)
29.   Change your phone’s wallpaper/lockscreen (check out our Instagram Highlight for some of ours!)
30.   Play with makeup!
31.   Try out new hairstyles!
32.   Play dress up!
33.   Play with some dolls!
34.   Play pretend! You could pretend to be a teacher for your dolls/toys, or even have your stuffies go on super cool adventures with you!
35.   Craft! You can make accessories, décor, toys, clothes, anything! Check out our DIY tag for lots of fun crafts!
36.   Read some kid books!
37.   Stim! I like crinkles when I’m small, and I also like slime and flappy hands!
38.   Play with squishies!
39.   Walk around a store and look at all the toys and kid stuff!
40.   Go on a Dollar Store shopping spree! You can get a lot of stuff at a dollar store for under like $20!
41.   Color in some cool pictures!
42.   Design a new OC (Original Character) 
43.   Draw some comics! They can be of yourself or of your OC’s!
44.   Cosplay your OC’s/any character you like!
45.   Do a photoshoot!
46.   Make a sensory bottle!
47.   Set up a dollhouse!
48.   Make beaded bracelets!
49.   Make yourself a snack!
50.   Or a meal!
51.   Bake some cookies (just be careful with the hot oven, okay?)
52.   Have a dance party with your stuffies!
53.   Make a playlist to regress to!
54.   Find new regression YouTubers!
55.   Play some video games! I love Slime Rancher , Animal Crossing, and more!
56.   Play with some phone apps! I love Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, Pastel Girl, and Pokémon Go!
57.   Try to mix your own perfume!
58.   Design a picture using glitter!
59.   Draw some fashion designs!
60.   Start an age regression journal! 
61.   Practice some age regression self-care!
62.   Make a self-care box!
63.   Make figures from modeling clay!
64.   Paint your nails!
65.   Give your stuffies/dolls a makeover!
66.   Find cute regression music! 
67.   Make posters for your room!
68.   Make gifts for your friends!
69.   Find a new penpal!
70.   Write letters to your pen-pal!
71.   Start a sticker scrapbook!
72.   Open some blind-bags!
73.   Watch some toy youtubers. Our YouTube Channel has some toy videos, my other favorites are Cookie Swirl C and My Froggy Stuff!
74.   Make your own YouTube Channel!
75.   Create a mystery to solve with your stuffies!
76.   Solve a Crossword Puzzle!
77.   Solve a Wordsearch!
78.   Finish a puzzle!
79.   Design your own puzzle!
80.   Make an escape room for your toys!
81.   Paint something!
82.   Watch cute anime like Himouto Umaru Chan!
83.   Watch cute shows on Netflix like Twelve Forever or Hilda!
84.   Watch fun shows on Hulu like Gravity Falls!
85.   Go to the library!
86.   Play chess or checkers!
87.   Watch a movie! I like Welcome to Monster High!
88.   Go see a movie in theatres!
89.   Make temporary tattoos using food coloring!
90.   Make your own T-shirt using a blank T-shirt and fabric paints!
91.   Take a little nap!
92.   Put on a play with or for your stuffies!
93.   Make clothes and accessories for your stuffies!
94.   Make clothes and accessories for your dolls!
95.   Make furniture for your dolls!
96.   Make your own blindbags for a friend!
97.   Upcycle your old clothes and jewelry by designing them into something new!
98.   Visit a thrift store!
99.   Go to a museum!
100. Go to the mall!
101.  Visit an Arcade!
WHEW! I hope that is enough ideas for you bored little ones out there. Have a great day!
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paganimagevault · 5 months
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Tomb of Yu Hong 592-598 CE. Link to my blog at bottom with more sources and description of individual images.
This is probably a Sogdian tomb. Interestingly, the man has a haplogroup that was widespread amongst the blue-eyed Mesolithic/Neolithic Western Hunter Gatherers (WHG are probably where blue eyes originated from) and the haplogroup is found today most prominently in Sami, Finns, and Estonians. His wife has a haplogroup found prominently amongst East Asians. Based on her East Asian origins and the inclusion of some Turkic-looking people in the tomb's artwork I would assume she was probably a Turk, herself. The long-haired men without halos (e.g. panel 4) are probably Turks, that was a typical appearance for them during this time period. Men from other surrounding populations such as the Sogdians, Huns, Tocharians, etc. typically kept shorter hair that didn't go past their shoulders. More info:
"The man buried in the tomb went by Yu Hong (Chinese: 虞弘; pinyin: Yú Hóng; Wade–Giles: Yü Hung; 533–592 AD), with Mopan (莫潘) as his courtesy name, who was a Central Asian, probably of Persian or Sogdian origin, and practiced Zoroastrianism. He had settled in Early Middle Period China during the Northern Qi, Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties. This tomb is so far the only archaeological find in the Central Plains region that reflects Central Asian (Western Regions) culture. The epitaph found in the tomb records that he was a noble of the city of Yü-ho-lin / Yuhelin (尉紇驎) in the mysterious Yu country (魚國), assumably for which he is named, because the two characters 虞 and 魚 are homophones.
According to the epitaph, Yu Hong started his career in service of the nomadic tribe at the time, known as Ruru. At the age of 13, he was posted as an emissary to Persia by the Khagan of Ruru, as well as Parthia, Tuyuhun and Yuezhi. Later he went on a mission to the Northern Qi, Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties. He served as chien-chiao sa-pao fu / jianjiao sabao fu (檢校薩保府, lit. “acting director of the office of Zoroastrian affairs”, or “Sogdian affairs”) during the Northern Zhou period. The term sa-pao / sabao (薩保) comes from the Sogdian s′rtp′w, means a “caravan leader”.
He had later served as a provincial governor in the Sui dynasty government, a chieftain of the Central Asian people who had settled in China during that period. Yu Hong died at the age of 59 in 592 AD. His wife survived him by six years, and was buried in the same grave in 598 AD.
A study on ancient DNA reveals that Yu Hong belonged to the haplogroup U5, one of the oldest western Eurasian-specific haplogroups, while his wife can be classified as haplogroup G, the type prevalent in East Asia.
The age of U5 is estimated at between 25,000 and 35,000 years old, roughly corresponding to the Gravettian culture. Approximately 11% of Europeans (10% of European-Americans) have some variant of haplogroup U5.
U5 was the predominant mtDNA of mesolithic Western Hunter Gatherers (WHG) [this is where blue eyes probably originated from].
U5 has been found in human remains dating from the Mesolithic in England, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, France and Spain. Neolithic skeletons (~7,000 years old) that were excavated from the Avellaner cave in Catalonia, northeastern Spain included a specimen carrying haplogroup U5.
Haplogroup U5 and its subclades U5a and U5b today form the highest population concentrations in the far north, among Sami, Finns, and Estonians. However, it is spread widely at lower levels throughout Europe. This distribution, and the age of the haplogroup, indicate individuals belonging to this clade were part of the initial expansion tracking the retreat of ice sheets from Europe around 10,000 years ago.
U5 was the main haplogroup of mesolithic European hunter gatherers. U haplogroups were present at 83% in European hunter gatherers before influx of Middle Eastern farmer and steppe Indo-European ancestry decreased its frequency to less than 21%.
Today, haplogroup G is found at its highest frequency in indigenous populations of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk. It is an East Asian haplogroup. Haplogroup G is one of the most common mtDNA haplogroups among modern Ainu, Siberian, Mongol, Tibetan and Central and North Asian Turkic peoples people (as well as among people of the prehistoric Jōmon culture in Hokkaidō). It is also found at a lower frequency among many other populations of East Asia, Central Asia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. However, unlike other mitochondrial DNA haplogroups typical of populations of northeastern Asia, such as haplogroup A, haplogroup C, and haplogroup D, haplogroup G has not been found among indigenous peoples of the Americas."
-taken from Wikipedia
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grantmentis · 3 months
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2024 u18 Women's Worlds Information
What: The biggest junior tournament for women's hockey, featuring the top players from 8 of the best IIHF countries
When: January 6th to January 14th
Full schedule available here (it will even convert to your time!) Since this takes place in Switzerland, most of these games will be early morning for North American's, but there's a few afternoon starts.
Where: Zug, Switzerland
Where to watch: The following will host at least some of the games. Sadly a lot are only showing games in their country and medal games (for example, in the round robin, TSN and NHL Network are only showing USA, Canada, and Slovakia.) There are also some alternate sources to watch if you do not have access to these channels, and I'm happy to connect if you're an active account on here if you DM me
TSN
RDS
NHL Network
SVT Sweden
Discovery Finland
Swiss digital / ringier sports
Format: There is an initial round robin round among each of the two groups, group A and Group B.
Group A contains Finland, Canada, Czechia, Germany
Group B contains Sweden, United States, Slovakia, Switzerland
After that, the teams will play a cross-over Quarter-final game in the following format (via wikipedia)
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Who: Below the cut is the rosters for each team, a few notable players, and what the main goals for each team will be
Switzerland
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(Text version available here and here)
2023 Finish: 7th place
What to expect: Switzerland has had a rough few years in the tournament, having had to play to avoid relegation the last two years. If they can stay out of the relegation game
Players to watch: Ivana Wey had 4 assists last world juniors, and is currently playing on a beyond stacked SWHL B team where she's seen a lot of ice time and scored a lot of goals. 15 year old Norina Müller is one of the youngest forwards on the roster, and has seen some time in a SWHL A team this year, which is impressive experience especially at her age.
USA
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Text version of roster available here and here
2023 finish: 3rd place/Bronze
What to expect: USA was upset by Sweden in last years semifinals, and is hoping to make it back to the medal game and upset the favorites and their rivals in Canada
Players to watch: Captain Maggie Scannell is in this tournament for a third time and was one of the best players last year, with 8 points in 5 games. 17 year old Boston College commit Ava Thomas is one of the many excited prospects coming out of the Philadelphia Jr Flyers program in recent year. She has dominated in many national tournaments before with speed that she utilizes well, and is a must watch as she makes her intentional debut.
Sweden
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2023 Finish: silver
What to expect: Last year, Sweden had a huge victory over the USA to make the finals only to experience a disappointing 10-0 finish. This year, they will want revenge and a gold medal, maintaining a lot of the same group.
Players to watch: Hilda Svensson was the top scorer on the team and she has only gotten better, as one of the top scorers on SDHL team HV71. Isabelle Leijonhielm is playing in this tournament for the third time, and has taken a pretty big step at the SDHL level this year despite being on a struggling team and has a knack for getting shots through traffic
Slovakia:
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Text version available here
Last year: 6th place finish
What to expect: Hope to continue to build on last year, but unlikely to move much in the standings, and show more depth
Players to watch: If you don't already know about Nela Lopusanova, you should look her up and instantly see what a sensation she is. Won best player of the tournament last year after scoring 9 goals and 3 assists in 5 games including a michigan goal, and has spent the past year at one of the best prep schools in north america. Her teammate, Ema Tothova, has also spend the past year getting better, and is one of the top scorers in the EWHL. The two will almost certainly be linemates and a must watch for this tournament
Canada
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Text version can be found here and here
Last year: First/Gold
What to expect: Last year, Canada steamrolled everyone to victory, and much of the same roster is back and expecting to do it again. People have named this as one of the best u18 rosters we have seen.
Players to watch: Caitlin Kraemer had 10 goals last tournament, so eyes will be on her to repeat that great performance. Defender Chloe Primerano will be making her exciting u18 worlds debut after dominating the CSSHL U22 by having one of the best season ever recorded and becoming the highest scoring defender of all time in the league in just 45 games
Germany
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Text version available here and here
Last year: Was in u18 Division I group A and was promoted!
What to expect: Germany will mainly be trying to avoid relegation and stay in the top division, a lot of the key player that helped with promotion have aged out sadly
Players to watch: Anastasia Gruß was one of the top scorers last tourament with 5 points in 5 games. Emilija Birka and Mathilda Heine will be two of the youngest playres at this tournament at only 14 year old, so it will be interesting to see how they impact the roster
Finland
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Text version available here and here
Last year: Fourth Place
What to expect; This is a team that wants to medal, and has more depth than teams like Switzerland or Slovakia, but may not have the star power to fully compete for a medal. Sanni Vanhanen aging out is a huge loss, and don't have some of the elite goaltender prospects to make up for that like they have in the past. That said, it's still Finland, and there are many players poised to break out. Such as the following!
Players to watch: Emma Ekoluoma has been great both in the Finnish top League (naisten liiga) as well as in international competition this year. Nelly Anderson is a 16 year old defender who made major steps this year and was impactful as she played more games in Naisten Liiga, and I'd expect her to get some big minutes
Czechia
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Text version here and here
Last Year: Fifth Place
Expectations: Medal! There's a lot of reason to believe this group can take a big step this year as Czechia has reaped the rewards of investing in their women's program the past few seasons
Players to watch: Adéla Šapovalivová was the top scorer for Czechia last year, and this year she enters as one of the top scorers in the SDHL where she plays against many senior level players. Same for Tereza Plosová, a university of minnesota commit who has already been a consistent producer in the SDHL and played on the Czech senior team. Goaltender Daniela Nováková looked good in an extremely small sample size at last years tournament, so we will see if she can build on that
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overtaken-stream · 4 months
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Drunk Deeds
Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk x F!Reader
Notes 1: I wanted (Y/N) to have met Zoro at some point in the pre-time skip as a foe (She lost) and since Zoro is an exceptional swordsman in her eyes, she (forcefully) choose him as her teacher after their brawl, unfortunately for Zoro, Kuma repelled you to the same place as our fav moss head. Note 2: I completely forgot about ages, but reader is older than Zoro, bc I find it funny for a grown woman to beg 19 y/o boy to teach her his swordsman ways. Note 3: It isn't specified if she is a straw hat, I left that open. Note 4: All this does not matter because I never mention it anyway.
Warnings: Oral(female receiving), wine involvement in a sexual activity.
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The taste of grapes remains on your tongue, the calm, an almost invisible buzz of alcohol was underlining your headache that's been long forgotten now that the causes are thrown outside, out of your domain of expertise.
Your eyes wander over to the World Economy Newspaper, the major source of information covered in sweet propaganda and untruthful words regarding the newest attraction, the aftermath of the Summit War of Marineford. The monochrome pictures are scattered on the page and long paragraphs cry out for attention. Truly a tragedy to have greed decor and cover the crimes against humanity committed by the Marines.
Whether it's the gruesome pictures or the liquor you drank to rid of your thirst, the dry feeling on your tongue stays unnerved, it returns every few minutes you take in the wine.
It should be a familiar feeling, you think as you, yet again, grab the wine glass by the base of the stem, the clear rim is tinged with the soft color of your lipstick and there is a small amount of fluid remaining in the bowl, which you gulp down quickly, putting the empty glass back on the red tablecloth, you take a moment to swallow the last of the rich liquid. Then spinning the glass stem in between your fingers, you can feel your ears clog as the drunkenness heats your cheeks, though the wine does little to quench your thirst, the pleasant aftertaste left in your throat spreads throughout your consciousness, warm cozy fondness soon turns you drowsy and gasping for air.
Swift slamming of a cup in front of you makes you snap open your eyes (when did you close them?), and before the panic sets in an unknown voice interrupts the alarms going on in your head.
``You should know your limits.`` As soon as it came, the dread you felt quickly disappeared, and familiarity settled.
``S-Sir Mihawk!`` your flustered self is met with piercing Hawk eyes, thanking away whatever excuse that was quickly dancing on your tongue. ``Y-you have an extravagant taste in... Uh, wine Sir!``
The thought of when he had returned, or how you didn't notice his footsteps get lost in your clouded mind as his judgemental eyes wash over you, they settle under your skin, and for a moment you think pouring ice-filled water over yourself in snow would be better than the predatory gaze he sets upon you.
It isn't like he forbade drinking the wine he has hidden in every corner of the castle. Still, a drop of nervous sweat travels down your neck.
You swiftly turn away from his stare, eyes landing on the cold water-filled cup that he rudely slammed against the table, apparently for you to drink. Without words, you pour the water down your gutter, cool liquid satisfies the overheated core within, to the point that your worn-out teeth hurt from the cold sensation. By the time you set the partly empty cup down, Mihawk had already sat at the head of the table, away from you.
``Thanks for the water...``
For an unknown reason, his choice of seat made your heartache.
``Hm.``
Looking at the man, without his signature coat and the hat, felt surprisingly intimate, despite knowing each other for two weeks, all four residents, including yourself fell into a fresh routine quite easily. A routine that Mihawk adapted quickly and religiously maintained.
The hawk's eyes look up from the morning newspaper that he grabbed without your permission, and if it was anybody else, you might have said a snarky remark.
``Hand me the wine bottle.`` You have no issue being bossed around, you are more confident when following the orders of others, as annoying and humiliating as it is for somebody else, it doesn't bother you, especially when it comes to the warlord in the room, his orders are minimal, rare, and you don't feel any control from him, unlike Zoro who seems to get annoyed on your behalf whenever the older man 'dictates' your actions, leading to pointless remarks sent in your way.
Don't you feel lesser?
You stretch out your arm, sluggishly grabbing the exquisite bottle, and gently placing it in the rough hands of the swordsman.
You watch with heavy-lidded eyes as he pours himself the said wine, grabbing the glass and before he drinks, the man tilts his head down in a thankful gesture toward you.
No, I don't feel any lesser. Why? Because Mihawk does not mean demean.
It isn't until he puts his lips onto the rim that you finally recognize the stained glass. Your eyes widened.
``Wha-Hey! Don't drink it!`` you flung up your arms in the air, however, no amount of blushing could stop him in time.
``That's my glass!`` You watch as his eyes open, the wine and glass still resting on his mouth, his incorrigible face is misplaced as you mumble embarrassed whispers his way while hiding behind your hands.
A second passes, ten seconds pass. The silence suffocates your flustered face hidden behind your arms away from the prying eyes of no man.
``Huh.`` The sound escapes his (probably) lipstick-stained lips, it shatters the awkward pause between you two. ``I... apologize.`` A faint blush on his heated cheeks is swept under the rug.
It takes you a bit to let your hands down, even longer to look at him in his static eyes.
Only after he grabs himself a clean wine glass, do you stop hiding your flaming cheeks away from him, sneaking glances at the open ruffled neck his white button-up shirt includes. The residue from earlier sits beautifully on his chapped lips, giving a faint shine from the lack of proper appliance. The color stains the transparent rim, laughing and teasing you, spreading countless unknown emotions that make you shy away and maintain eye contact with a tablecloth.
``Is there something on my face, (Y/N)?`` His double-ringed eyes land on your form, which you realize is too open for sneaky glimpses you've been giving him. Unaffected by your embarrassment.
You don't know if it's a drunken haze that gave you the confidence out of thin air, but you're sure at some point you've lost yourself in the slow hum of alcohol.
``Mm. Yeah actually.`` He raised an eyebrow at your response.
The feeling spreads like a lit steel wool, the fire following your lines of sanity as it leaves only boldness exposed to a hawk. You bet everything, and by everything you mean your life, the only thing you seem to carry that has any meaning in this meaningless world, on this action.
A chair falls onto the ground. Next, you're bending ninety degrees in angle, right arm rests on your knees as you're standing in the face of a gentleman, left hand travels to the man's lips, pale in comparison to the ghostly skin, rough and torn by the sea, the frown adorns his complexion as your pointer finger pad gently smoothes the color that pops off of him. It sticks to your skin, lipstick revealing your fingerprints.
It sticks like the smell of sake clinging onto the man. The scent that only now you've picked up, due to the proximity. He must have had a great time with Zoro outside.
His eyes watch, stern and unrecognizable as you pull your digit away from his mouth, in slow-mo you let him realize what the subtle, teasing smile on your face was about. He tries to gather what decency remains within, tries to not look down as your shirt reveals soft flesh underneath, concealed in the shadows.
By now you must have caught onto the distant smell of sake clinging to his button up, however, it does not seem relevant to either of you.
Sweat dribbles down from his temple, yet his hand moves up to grab your hip, and his body follows after it. Standing upright.
In your slowly widening eyes, he sees your confidence crumble like the boulders he used for training back in his youth, so effortless to demolish under his eye.
He looked down at the roses that bloomed under your eyes, wide and shaken for an unknown reason.
``Are you flustered?`` There are no words that meet him, his question causes your hands, resting on his chest, to tighten. He already knows the answer.
He drags your body closer, feeling your heat under his skin. His thigh drags your nether region unintentionally rubbing the cloth between your bodies. A hiss escapes your lips, his eyes narrow. ``Y-you're so...!`` You say between your clenched teeth, face heated.
Mihawk's arm tightens around your torso, shoving his knee further until he makes your buttocks meet the edge of the table. The wine bottle rocks back and forth.
``So?``
You are trapped.
``...So... Frustrating...`` Your eyes shut tightly as his lips meet yours. The strong aftertaste of Sake hits your wet muscle since the wine was not enough to cover it. His tongue eagerly entangles with yours, leaving you breathless. Through the clothes, you can feel his hand on your waist trail up your ribs and rest across your chest. It grabs at buttons and frees your body to his eyes.
Your heart thunders in your ear. Embarrassed you grab at his shoulders as he grabs at your thighs, kneading it before dragging you up and on top of the table. With great vigor, his hand removes whatever restriction was between your private parts, dragging and tossing it away. His lips never leave you, even when you struggle for breath, he leans over you, caging your body beneath. The lust drowns everything else, the sight, smell, and sense, for a blissful moment.
It ends unwillingly. The golden eyes watch, and yours stare back, both breathe heavily. The connection is broken when he goes down, leaving you leaning on your elbows to watch as he gazes at your folds with dark desire swirling in his ringed iris.
It's too much. Too blush-making for you. Lying flat on the table as your wrists desperately shelter your eyes. The moment goes on for what feels like forever.
And then the sensation hits you like a truck. 
The cold, wet, bright red liquor drips onto your opening, blazing your face in complete blush as the loud sound of wine meeting ground fills the air.
Your hand flies down to hold yourself stable, letting the uncomfortable feeling overwhelm you.
Turning red, you could only gaze into his eyes that stared at your entrance, hungry for something. After a pregnant pause, he put the wine bottle on the floor, leaving your bottom half shining with red tints.
``Are... Are you insane?!`` your eyebrows turned up, voice shook. ``What are you doing?!`` flailing around you try to move away from his grip, inner thighs soiled in alcohol.
``I apologize for startling you.`` a sly glint lights up in his pupil, proving his apology otherwise. His hot breath disappears as he puts his mouth on your labia and quickly presses his tongue inside you without waiting for your response.
His grasp does not falter, instead strengthens and brings your bottom half closer until his nose finally meets your clit, lips gently travel over your folds, pressing sweet kisses on them that sprinkle over to your inner thighs. Tasting the alcohol with no shame in his actions. Tiny whimpers slip by as butterflies flutter in your stomach, pleasure makes your knees weak as he flicks at your opening. His tongue sneaking around your clit, sucking, circling, discovering with determinded precision what would shatter you to pieces the quickest. The wet sounds escape from his pressings, no doubt tasting and smelling the liquor as his tongue gets closer and closer to that one spot.
He sends shivers up your spine and uses his thumb to harshly rub against your clit, but once Mihawk finally found his desired destination inside of you, there was nothing that would get him to look at something but your pleasure-filled face finally unleash and listen to your cry that he compares to a siren's call, designed to enchant a lone pirate such as himself. He nestles and nuzzles his way through your meager whimpers, enthusiasticlly licking your addicting taste.
It's a shame your time together does not last forever.
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companion-showdown · 7 months
Text
Hottest Companion Nominations are Now Open!
You can nominate any character in the Whoniverse, human, alien, robot, it does not matter, the only rule is that they should pass the Harkness test (human intelligence or greater, able to communicate using language, sexually mature for their species)
Current Nominations:
Masters:
Missy
Delgado!Master
Simm!Master
Dhawan!Master
Crispy!Master
Shalka!Master
Jacobi!Master
Ainley!Master
Roberts!Master from MASTER!
Roberts!Master
Classic Who Characters:
Erato (The Creature from the Pit)
Duggan
Meglos!4
Allison Williams (Remembrance of the Daleks)
Rachel Jensen (Remembrance of the Daleks)
Sara Kingdom
Alternate Universe!Liz
Ramón Salamander
Osgood (no this isn't the new who one)
The Rani
Queen Thalira (The Curse of Pleadon)
Andred
Carol (the Sensorites)
Penley (the Ice Warriors)
Isobel (the Invasion)
Kelly (Seeds of Death)
New Who Characters:
Dalek Sec
Tasha Lem
Idris!TARDIS
2000s Sarah-Jane (70s Sarah-Jane will be the automatically qualifying Sarah)
Kate Stewart
Jenny Flint
Vastra
Jabe
Chantho
Shakespeare (this is the most recognisable place he appears in Doctor Who)
Ruth!Doctor
Osgood
Handles
Danny Pink
Bel
Vinder
Jake (Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel)
Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter)
Jethro (Midnight)
Lady Christina de Souza (Planet of the Dead)
Gwen Cooper
Tallulah (Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks)
Lynda (Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways)
Liz 10 (The Beast Below)
Frank (Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks)
Heather (The Pilot)
Sally Sparrow (Blink)
Madam de Pompadour
Miss Evangelista (Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead)
Ada Lovelace
Billy Shipton (Blink)
Lorna Bucket
Tosh
Stacy Campbell (Partners in Crime)
Anita (Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead)
Girl who was the sex gas
Frobisher (Torchwood)
EU Characters:
Fey Truscott-Sade
Hebe Harrison
Tom Campbell (Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150AD)
Valarie Lockwood
Compassion
Zagreus!TARDIS
Irving Braxiatel
Trey!Romana
War Queen!Romana
Narvin
Sibling Different
Chris Cwej (first incarnation)
Father Kreiner
Chris Cwej (second incarnation)
Chris Cwej (third incarnation)
Chris Cwej (V Cwej)
Dalek Prime Strategist (Time Lord Victorious)
The Graak (Destiny of the Doctors)
Sheila (Señor 105's companion)
Carmen Yeh (Companion of the Sixth Doctor in a charity anthology and latter companion of Compassion in Book of the War. Also implied to be a companion of the Eighth Doctor as well)
Scarlette (eight doctors wife)
Nivet (Compassions first companion)
Cousin Eliza (Cousin Justine's companion aka the Grandfather Paradox (who has a slim chance of being the Doctor so that backs it up)
Sally Armstrong (the Master’s companion (the master might also part of the Doctor depending on the source, or at the very least a reincarnation of the same person)
Patience (the Others wife or the first doctors wife or the infinity doctors wife, depends on source)
Daisy Weston the companion of the Robert Banks Stewart Doctor
Alison Cheney
The City of the Saved
Laura Tobin
The War King
Marie
Ulysses
Penelope Gate
Homunculette
Lolita
Marnal
Captain Scarlet
Doctor Fawn
The Mysterons
Colonel White
Steve Zodiac
Venus (Fireball XL5)
Captain Black
Jane Fonda!Iris Wildthyme
Claudia Marwood
Lauren Anderson
Other polls about the running of this tournament:
splitting up men and women for as long as numbers allow
including or excluding companions it is very difficult or impossible to read as adults (all their actors are adults)
Nominations will be open for 24 hours, closing around 13:30 BST (UTC + 1), 03/09
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super-ion · 1 month
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Such Lovely Fur
[Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3]
Chapter 4
I go on alone.
The passage through the mountain winds and branches, confirming my suspicions of a labyrinth. The light from the entrance persists for a time, longer than it would before my eyes were changed, but soon I am enveloped in pitch darkness. I am guided only by the faint sounds of the space, the subtle smells and whispers of breeze.
I make my way ever forward and ever higher until I discover the faintest light once more. The walls become carved in sharper lines and I begin to pass sconces bearing torches with a strange blue fire that gives off no heat. Eventually the stone walls give way to ice. As I proceed, the temperature drops. The chill of this place penetrates even my thick fur coat and my breath comes out in great clouds.
The further I go, the smoother and more ornate the walls become until I find myself wandering a grand palatial space. It is unnervingly empty, the study paws of my feet barely make a sound, but my footsteps still echo ominously.
That is until I hear the music. The music is somehow worse. It means someone is here. This horrible frozen palace is someone's home.
It is true that I have spent the past few days cavorting with a demon, but Rook was a physical presence, something I could relate to. This place is saturated in some primal elemental power that I cannot fathom.
The music grows ever louder as I make my way higher, drawing me ever closer to my goal. I know that when I find the source of the music, I will find my betrothed.
I finally reach a grand hall, grander than any I have passed yet. Every surface of the ice is carved in exquisitely fine details. The music emanates from a pair of mighty doors at the end of the hall.
As I walk, I suddenly spy a figure out of the corner of my eye. I am so on edge that I leap back in animal fright, laying my ears back and fluffing the fur on my tail. My reflection responded in kind.
What I mistook for another parallel hallway is actually a mirror… or at least a sheet of ice polished mirror smooth.
I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I have been frightened by my own reflection, but in my defense, I have not seen myself since my transformation.
I stare at the thing that I have become.
I had at least some idea of the fur and the paws and the tail, but Rook's final gift comes as a shock. My face is still generally my own, but the leopard features are unmistakable. My eyes are the color of polished gold, with the irises covering most of the visible surface. My nose has flattened and the tip has darkened. Feline ears poke out from snarled hair that has become the same silver grey color as the rest of my. I bare my teeth and find that my canines are larger than I initially thought.
I have become a beast, more animal than human.
Resolute, I walk to the doors and through the translucent ice, I can make out dim figures moving in time with it.
I take a breath and push them open to reveal a grand ballroom. The space is impossibly cavernous, larger and more extravagant than any room in the manors of any of the merchant princes in my home country. The space is filled with hundreds of dancers garbed in finery from every conceivable culture, from far distant lands and ages long forgotten. Each one of them is more beautiful than the last. The court of the Lady of Winter. Her collection.
All of them have a strange bluish cast to their skin and frost rims the edges of their clothes. Upon my entrance, the nearest dancers fall impossibly still to stare unblinking at me with impassive expressions. The stillness spreads out from me like a ripple in water and the music fades away.
The room is absolutely silent, I am distressed to discover that the only sound is my own heartbeat. Terror siezes me as some mysterious animal instinct tells me that these people do not smell alive. Nor do they smell quite dead. They are frozen, kept animated and eternally beautiful by the everpresent unfathomable power of this place.
I hear another sound, a slow heartbeat at the far end of the chamber.
I take a step forward and the crowd parts. They all stare at me. They stare at my torn and filthy clothes. They stare at my fur and my tail and my ears and my eyes.
I want to run. I want to flee this horrible place.
I take another step forward and another and another until I finally reach a raised dais.
A woman sits on a grand throne of ice that gleams iridescently behind her. Her skin is impossibly pale and perfectly smooth as if she were carved of ice herself. Her hair is white as snow and her eyes are the color of the pale blue ice around us. A crown sits atop her head, gleaming silver and studded with diamonds. Her dress is some sort of silvery silk, shining impossibly like a mirror made into fabric.
I have heard tales of her. All children have. Be good or the Lady of Winter will come for you in the night. In some versions of the tales she is a witch who gained the secret of immorality. In others she is a spirit made flesh, a physical manifestation of winter itself. She is a collector of souls, stealing people away from their homes and bringing them here.
I am so terrified by her presence that I only belatedly notice the figure seated at her side.
My betrothed is clothed in the very same regalia he wore on the celebration on the eve of what was meant to be our wedding. His heart beats so slowly in his chest and his eyes are glazed over, surely in the process of being frozen like the rest of the people here.
He blinks and some of the fog lifts from his eyes. He stares at me for a long while before recognition finally sets in.
“Astra?” he gasps. “What happened to you?”
I should be relieved that he recognizes me, but terror and doubt and uncertainty eat away at me.
“I came to rescue you,” I confess. “Along the way I met a demon. In exchange for her freedom she granted me gifts to not only help me survive but to reach you.”
His eyes widen in horror.
“You did this to yourself?” he asks. “You made yourself into a monster?”
A monster?
My doubts and fears crystalize in my belly. A wave of despair floods through me, but to my surprise it is followed by a wave of hot anger. Rook has given me incredible gifts, they are unorthodox certainly, but they are beautiful.
“Is that how you see me?” I snarl. “A monster? I did this to save you!”
He recoils at the heat in my voice. He opens his mouth, but the Lady of Winter silences him with a raised finger.
“It seems you have a choice, my pet,” she says, her voice resonating unnaturally from the very walls. “Remain here, unchanged and beautiful for eternity, or return home with your fiancee and the knowledge of what she has done to herself.”
He casts her a wild desperate look.
“You would simply let me go?” he asks.
“There are powers in this world great enough to challenge mine,” she replies. “This one has shown great devotion in making the treacherous journey here. If it is indeed true love that drives her, I dare not go against it.”
He looks back to me.
“Astra,” he pleads. “Tell me there is a way to break your curse. We can return home, we can have the life we were meant to have.”
A curse?
“This… this is not a curse,” I gasp. “It is a gift.”
“Astra,” he pleads. “A demon has addled your mind. You have dabbled in magic. If we return and you stay as you are, there will be no place for you in civilized society.”
His words hit me like a hammer
He truly cannot see the gift that has been given to me, can he?
He asks me to change for him?
What is it that your heart desires?
Rook's gifts, the changes I have wrought upon myself, they were not for him. They were never for him.
They were for me. Rook has granted me freedom. She saw through to the heart of me. She saw the truth in me that I could never acknowledge.
I have been a fool.
“No,” I say.
“No?” he replies, aghast.
“No,” I repeat. “I will not change myself for you. Not any more. I do not care if you leave this place or not, but I will not marry you. I have seen too much, experienced too much. I will not go back. I cannot go back.”
I turn to the Lady of Winter and bob a quick curtsey. I do not know how far her hospitality and tolerance for my presence in her court will last. I turn and walk away from them. It takes all my willpower to not break into a run until I am well and truly away from the ballroom.
But once I do start running, I cannot stop. I run and I sprint and I fall to all fours and lope easily down the twisting paths. I need to be out of here. I need to be away. I need… I need…
I retrace my steps through the maze of frozen stone until finally I step into the sunlight and breathe in the cold mountain air.
The world is alive. I am alive.
I survey the landscape beyond the cliff. Somewhere out in that rough craggy terrain is Rook. I need to find her. I cannot rest until-
“Forget something?”
The voice behind me makes me jump, which in turn produces a familiar snicker. There, lounging on an outcropping above the passage is Rook.
“I can't help but notice that you're alone, little cat,” she says.
“He didn't want me, not like this.”
“His loss,” she scoffs.
I do not fully know why, but the words make my heart flutter.
“It is probably for the best,” I admit. “I cannot go back to my old life… and there is something else.”
She sits upright and cocks her head at me curiously.
“A demon stole my heart,” I confess.
She stiffens and very real jealousy plays across her face. Her reaction is enough to summon forth a mirthful giggle from within me. She hisses and hurls a clod of snow at me before hopping off her perch and standing before me.
“It's me, right?” she demands. “Because if I need to go murder somebody-”
“It is you,” I laugh.
Before she can respond, I grab her shoulders and pull her to my level. The kiss is wild and frantic and not at all proper for a lady of my station.
But I am no longer a lady, am I? I have become something else entirely. I do not know what I am yet, but I intend to find out.
She makes a soft self satisfied moan against my lips and her sharp teeth nip at me. She pulls me close and spins us around, pressing my back into the stone of the cliff. I gasp in surprise, which only goads her more. I melt into her attentions and forget myself
I only pull away reluctantly. Her eyes open and she gazes hungrily at my lips. She wants more. She wants so much more.
I want so much more.
“Please,” I gasp. “I want this… just not… here.”
She glances upwards towards the peak of the mountain.
“That's fair,” she admits. “Where would you like to go, little cat?”
“Anywhere,” I respond. “Everywhere.”
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Mikey: You know, my father used to say that bad news is just good news in disguise!
Casey: Was this before he died?
Mikey: Yes it was.
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waterfire1848 · 1 year
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Sokka: I don’t fight girls.
[ Suki beats him up. ]
Suki: I can see why.
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drops-of-moonlights · 9 months
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Long time no redesigns! As I continue to plan AUS8 I decided to get these done since these three will play some role in it. BEHOLD, THE YOUNGER SISTER SQUAD! Miele, Chimera and Sapphira (Sapphire).
Miele Robledos: we know her, canon cannot settle on her goddamn age, Miele! As you probably know from the summaries, she's the Witch of Soil, around 4-5 years younger than Flora, and has to deal with Flora's constant overprotectiveness, clashing with her reckless, adventurous, rebellious teen behavior. Her Source is Earth, which she has lightly mixed with Metal and even Water, letting her use the entire ground in whichever way she pleases.
Carmilla "Chimera" Mirthos: once more, roughly 3-4 years younger than Stella, and while they got on better terms in AUS5 they're still not super close. She's still dealing with some toxic competitive issues but she's getting better! As Fairy of the Lunar Winds, her Source is obviously Wind, with she has mixed with Water and a bit of Fauna recently as she has started helping Radius with his aviary. Her nickname of Chimera came from her childhood, where she would mix and match clothing that did not go together in the slightest, and after her transition to goth/alt styles she kept the nickname, as it sounded edgier than her actual name to her.
Sapphira Anemone Hiver: Icy's lil sis! Canon to the AU, She's around Miele's age and roughly 6-7 years younger than Icy. She still loves her sister despite her constant, constant war crimes, but she's stuck in a rebellious phase of her own and chose the path of Fairy, against her family legacy of Witches and Hexers. Outside of that she's a fairly sweet girl, though the family resemblance comes out when sufficiently angry. She's the Fairy of Auroras, with a Light Source aided by Wind and Ice.
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Paladin Danse: So you think Sole is the person for me?
Scribe Haylen: Oh yeah. They’re a ton of fun. And you’re no fun at all.
Scribe Haylen: They complete you <3
253 notes · View notes
polarisbibliotheque · 11 months
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Nemesis (Vergil x Reader) - Chapter 4
Nemesis
Pairing: Vergil x Reader
Summary: The Abyss opening is a rare occurrence. In his youth, Vergil wanted to harness its power, but never thought he would meet his greatest adversary along the way. Years later, the Abyss is once again open and that might call for some rather unlikely alliances.
Chapter 1 (Prologue) | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 (you are here!)
Age restriction: 18+ - there’s a lot of blood, violence, cursing and all those things people want to forbid younger audiences of seeing. Also, cosmic horror is a thing here. Procceed with caution.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: You beat each other's asses. There'll be blood and injuries :)
Author's Notes: Quite a small chapter but hey! It's been less than a week (I think) from chapter 3, so hooray! I am afraid, though, this will be the last time Vergil will appear on his blue coat glory - next appearances will be during black coat era.
What I will say, is that our beloved demon in red will probably appear on chapter 7 ;)
And I love kicking Verge's demon ass
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Chapter 4
You had changed. Vergil could see it in your face – you looked sturdier, with those eyes burning like fire and resolve still in your soul. That tired protector you once were, doing all you could to save those weaker than you, had now become a skilled fighter.
Your hands gripped the silver sword with grace and technique, your chin slightly high in the air. The arrogance he met in you many moons ago was still there, but you looked more experienced – not just a warrior anymore, but a hunter.
“You have something of the Abyss within you.” Vergil’s words were slow and calculated; that serious smirk never leaving his lips. “I will let you go without the humiliation of defeat once more if you give it to me willingly.”
Your expression didn’t show how confused you were with that statement of his – after all, you went to another realm, but you would be able to feel if it was the Abyss. The book, perhaps, could be that piece of ancient energy he was talking about and, suddenly, the feather weighted heavier in your pocket.
But of course. You now had access to the best source of knowledge on the Abyss, something that blue demon also searched for. With a convinced smile spreading across your lips, you couldn’t help but to raise your head in superiority: you had the upper hand in that department.
And, for all you cared, he could writhe with the pain of never being able to access it. In a matter of fact, you would make sure he would.
“Well, well, demon…” Your voice carried all the condescendence that made Vergil’s blood boil – even if his expression remained as unreadable as ice. The demon inside him, though, wanted to make sure you, a simple human, knew your place in the natural order of things. “Whatever it is that you want from me, you will have to take it. I will never give something to you, let alone willingly.”
“Hmpf. You could save yourself the shame of being subdued one more time.” Vergil scoffed, seemingly dismissing your comment. His eyes pierced through the darkness, meeting yours with a kind of savagery that didn’t match his icy demeanor.
“Last time, I was already injured and close to death.” This time, even if you continued smiling to maintain your upper hand, you already felt your blood running hot inside your veins. Soon, you would have to remind him why humans were far superior than his pitiful kind. “I wouldn’t be so sure of your victory in a fair fight with the same conditions.”
“We will never be on the same conditions.” He almost growled back at you, still maintaining his calculating look even if his voice showed the rage under still waters. “I would have to hold back so you could even have a chance.”
“Hmpf.” It was your turn to scoff, seemingly dismissing his point. Only your heart knew how much his words and hubris affected your pride – as much as yours affected his. “It sounds like you are scared of losing to a human.”
“Enough.”
Now your words had cut through his pride like the sharp blade of the Yamato – already glistening in the dark as Vergil quickly unsheathed his sword and plunged into a swift attack.
You responded at the same speed, gracefully holding your silver sword with both hands and blocking his attack. Meeting his eyes above the blade of your swords, Vergil’s silver gaze maintained yours before both of you repelled each other and jumped into the fight once more.
You didn’t protect your knowledge of the Abyss more than Vergil attacked you to take it for himself – your swords clashed so both of you could defend your pride.
Your years of hunting showed up in your fighting. You were smarter, quicker, with enough dexterity to make Vergil focus even more on the movement of your feet and the grip on your sword. Now you had a sort of streetwise experience to match your technique – making you more difficult to read and harder to beat.
Vergil, in the other hand, had grown more aggressive. Years ago, you observed how he stalked and attacked, sometimes even seeming to think too much before an attack. Now, he had given more room for his rage, showing it through his fighting style. Still technical, still skilled beyond everyone else you had fought in your life – but with a hate that threatened to make even the sturdiest of demons bleed.
You blocked one of Yamato’s piercing attacks, making you break your stance and stumble towards one of the mahogany bookshelves. As you hit your back on it, dust filled the air and some books fell on the floor, while you kept your eyes glued on the blue devil’s form as he sheathed his sword once more.
“There’s a lack of balance on your feet.” As always, he was full of himself, lowering his stance and holding the hilt of his sword, ready for a swift killer blow. “I should’ve never been able to break your stance with such an easy attack.”
With those words, Vergil released the Yamato, unleashing a thousand of cuts in the void to your direction in the blink of an eye. If your reflexes hadn’t been quick and you hadn’t rolled to the side, you would’ve ended up in pieces – just like the mahogany bookcase, now slowly falling apart amidst a rain of cut paper and dismembered books.
“You broke it with strength, not skill.” Your voice grabbed his attention, making Vergil quickly spin to his left. You, in the other hand, had already prepared yourself: raising from the floor, you took the opportunity to kick his torso with all your strength, making Vergil roll to the other side of the hall. “You lack attention on your enemy. First lesson: never lose sight of your opponent – as you gloat how good you are, they can kick you down in no time.”
That smile. Vergil wanted to take that smile out of your face with the slap of a hundred summoned swords as he got up from the floor. What you had just done to him wasn’t just a fair move on a fight – it was humiliation.
Once again, you rolled on the floor to escape his bright blue summoned swords, thrown at you at lightning speed. Up to that moment, you had only fought with swords and none of you thought of using anything else. Vergil’s rage, in the other hand, made him slowly give in to all he had available in a fight – and soon, he would forget you were human and wouldn’t hold back anymore.
Kneeling on the floor, it was time to take your guns out and have that demon taste some of the silver bullets you carried for hunting. You shot expertly, aiming with dexterity and firing quickly – but Vergil deflected all those bullets in a move you had never seen before: spinning Yamato in front of him, everything you shot was cut in half, hitting books, papers and shelves, but never him. Vergil remained in place, barely fazed by your fire power.
You had to bring him down with your sword then.
Plunging back into battle, you yielded your silver sword as Vergil readied for deflecting your attack. He tried a counterattack, but you blocked with expertise, almost too quick for a human. Indeed, the more he fought you, the more he realized you had excellent reflexes, timing and precision – if Vergil couldn’t feel you were entirely a human, he would doubt it.
But the blood that ran through your veins smelled exactly like his mother’s – vulnerable, sweet, completely human. When he was a child, Vergil quickly learned to distinguish between his mother’s and his father’s scent – and later, he learned it was all in their blood. Eva could be compared to flowers next to the scent of a demon; Sparda was like a strong bottle of whisky, a mix of smoke and burnt wood. The worse demons, though, reeked of rotting flesh and vinegar, something quite unbearable to his nose.
You, in the other hand, had no other scent aside the sweet notes of human blood. That same flowery fragrance of Eva, whether she wore perfumes or not. You didn’t need that for Vergil to know you were nearby – and for him to know there was nothing demonic or supernatural running through your veins.
Which only made him more furious inside when your silver sword managed to wound his right cheekbone.
You froze in your place as Vergil’s hand slowly raised to his face; the crimson blood staining the tips of his long fingers. You remained in silence as his head gradually turned to you, hand still raised, blood running down his hand. Vergil’s silver stare pierced yours with rage and shock – while you had a mix of fear and pride in your chest.
After all, you managed to draw his blood. Even if his eyes promised to unleash hell on you, your heart gloated with the pride of finally hurting your archenemy. He had no reason to talk you down anymore: it was more than obvious that you were on the same level as him and that made Vergil’s blood ready to explode.
“I hope you are ready to face the consequences of your actions, foolish human.”
His eyes glowed in the dark, his teeth now sharp with fangs. You knew he was a demon, but you had only seen him as a human – for the first time, he was about to show you his real form, how he looked when he was ready to kill. His nails sharpened and you tightened the grip on your sword. However he looked, however powerful he was… Now it was time to fight him in his true form.
At least, that was what both of you had expected before the floor trembled and the walls shook with a rumble that crossed the entire city. It was like you were brought back into reality – the Abyss would soon close, and you both had been so caught up in your fight, you had forgotten everything else.
Vergil’s eyes were back to silver, his nails and teeth suddenly human, as your eyes turned to the aisle that took you back to the outside. With another rumble, a shriek echoed through the city, piercing your ears.
You had never heard a sound like that before – and, as you stared back at Vergil, you saw in his eyes the same was true for him as well.
As you stepped on the old library’s roof, you and Vergil observed the city now under the bright light of the blue moonlight. You tried to find the source of such a shriek – and it didn’t take long to locate it: near the crack of the Abyss, in the distance, a ghostly figure crawled out. It resembled a woman, with black holes for eyes and a mouth glowing in red. Its legs were useless, but its body was massive, dragging itself out of the Abyss while commanding a swarm of humanoid demons – mere dolls to its own desire.
“It cannot be…” Vergil muttered under his breath, standing side by side with you for the first time. “That creature is a Hell Puppeteer…”
“They were extinct centuries ago. The Codex Daemonica says the last apparition of a Hell Puppeteer was in ancient times; that’s impossible.” And you couldn’t believe your eyes – even if the Puppeteer dragged itself right in front of you, controlling its many demons to its will, it wasn’t supposed to be there. You had only seen it in illustrations and descriptions.
Vergil slowly turned his head towards you, eyebrows furrowed. He too had only seen those kinds of demons in books, drawings of old describing how those vile and ancient creatures had been extinct even before his father decided to escape Hell for good. As you met his smart eyes, you raised one eyebrow.
“What? I’m a Devil Hunter now, I have to know the Codex by heart.” You stared back at the horror show right in front of you. “I find it baffling there’s nothing on the Abyss in the Codex, especially if its harboring that sort of thing.”
“Indeed. The entry on the Abyss is unsatisfying to say the least.” Vergil turned his attention back to the problem you had in hand. It was the first time he heard a human mention the Codex – when he was a child, Sparda made him and Dante study it thoroughly and he was proud to say he knew it by heart. Just like you, apparently. “Although, it also doesn’t have much on extinct species like the Puppeteer.”
“Well… It’s time to figure out how to kill that thing, then.” You took a deep breath, sheathing your sword and reading yourself to run towards that creature in the distance. Vergil just stared back at you once more; you just sighed in response. “I don’t expect a demon like you to do the right thing, you guys have no honor. I was hired to save the people in the city and at least try to keep it in one piece and not allow it to go to hell like mine was. You can do whatever you want, I’m fighting that thing and I’m killing it. When I write it on the Codex Abyssae later, you can have a read and learn something then.”
Taking the emergency stairs, you started climbing down the building while Vergil closed his eyes and took a deep breath. You had to be the most unbearable human he had ever met in his whole life.
Because the most unbearable being was his stupid little brother.
As your feet touched the streets, Vergil simply landed by your side with a swift jump from the building, ready to walk with you.
“Bold of you to assume I am going to allow someone like you to write a Codex Abyssae.” He scoffed as you started making your way towards the Puppeteer.
“Huh. I do carry something of the Abyss with me, remember?” You teased with a cocky laugh, making him stare back at you with eyes so sharp they could rival the Yamato. “Don’t go thinking you’re the only one interested in the Abyss. Whenever you think about entering it, I’ll be there to stop you and close it for good.”
“And you dare say humans have some kind of honor.” He rolled his eyes, keeping his own pace and forcing you to catch up – you seemed to be able to stand by his side without effort, though. “With such hasty judgment, I doubt your research will have a good result.”
“You assume too much too quickly. I wonder what kind of judgement you have.”
Vergil scoffed back but made no comment. You were both researching the Abyss for two opposite reasons – while he wanted to harness its power, you wanted to close it. You would only join forces for one time to defeat that Hell Puppeteer; after it was over, you would go back to being archenemies.
There was nothing that would stand between Vergil and his search for power. Not even the scent of flowers.
**
To be continued...
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