#the usual tanis bullshit | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

trillgutterbug · 3 years

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ellic 4.0?

Tbh I'm like, there is Tanis fic?!?! Which, of course there is, it just never occurred to me to look for it 😅

there BARELY is tbh, and only one good nic/ellis fic (this one), which is really too bad because i ship it ferociously!!!! and i would love it if anyone wanted to come talk to me about it 👀👀 i really hope i finish this fic someday, but unfortunately doing so will require actually listening to tanis again lmao. i just did a whole relisten and barely survived it. (to be fair, i could just totally halfass the rest of this fic and that'd be about as canon-compliant as i could get, but i can't bring myself to do that.) anyway, it's set in season..... idk, 2...? whenever nic is working at pacifica, and so far it's all just ust.

(tw: aftermath of animal death)

At the end of Nic’s first break, Ellis stopped him on his way out the door. He was wearing his jacket again, zipped to the neck. His cheeks were flushed with exertion and he smelled of bright, fresh air.

“Nic,” he said, hands tucked in his pockets. “I’d like to show you something, if you have a moment.”

Nic hesitated, already gripping the door handle. “Okay… I’m just going out for my second period, though.”

“I know. What you need to see is in the woods. A discovery an employee just made.”

Something began squirming in Nic’s chest. A fluttering dread. “What is it?”

“I would prefer to show you.” Despite its gentleness, there was no room for negotiation in Ellis’ tone. His gaze was very direct, the position of his body next to the door as clear a message as the bright red EXIT sign above it.

Nic chewed the inside of his cheek, weighing his options. Without any surprise, he found the scales entirely unequal. As usual. “Alright,” he said at last. “Sure.” Taking his hand off the handle, he gestured Ellis forward. “After you.”

~*~

It wasn’t a long walk - seven minutes by Nic’s watch. Still, that was a third of his shift. He’d never known twenty-two minutes could fly by so quickly until he started this job. Ellis said very little, leading Nic down a winding series of trails that were vaguely familiar in the way every trail in these woods was familiar. The shades of dirt and trees, the shape of the land, were as recognizable to Nic as the quality of light in a Rembrandt.

“Where are we going?” he finally asked, when the quiet and the briskness of Ellis’ pace had worn through his last nerve. He'd turned on his voice recorder as soon as they left the facility, but so far it had mostly recorded dead air and a few birdsongs.

“Just up ahead,” Ellis replied without looking back.

“But what is it?”

“You’ll see.”

That was hardly a satisfactory answer, but, as it turned out, it was an accurate one. Nic knew what was coming before he even saw the clearing. Between one step and the next, he knew. His whole body seized. His muscles clenched like the hard involuntary shudder of incipient hypothermia. His feet dragged, slowed, and stopped. The Blur rushed up on him, snatching him under its thick cotton cloud before he could even consider fighting it. Distantly, through a high-pitched haze, he watched Ellis turn around.

Ellis didn’t seem surprised he’d stopped. He regarded Nic with a calm, curious expression. “Nic? What’s wrong?”

“I don't want to,” Nic heard himself say. His voice was low, firm. “I don't want to do this.”

Ellis took a step toward him. “What don't you want to do?”

“I don't want to see.”

Ellis watched him without speaking. It was unbearable, the inescapability of his gaze. Nic’s fists clenched. His heart began to pound. He thought about turning and running with an urgency so visceral his breath caught. If he was fast, if he was smart about it, he could get back to the facility before Ellis could stop him. He could get back to the road. He could run all the way back to his car, he could -

“It's alright,” Ellis said. “There's nothing here that can harm you.”

Nic shook his head. His chest hurt like his heart was going to burst through it. “You don't know that.”

Ellis came closer. He took his hands out of his jacket pockets. “Nic, what do you think I'm about to show you? What do you think is out here?”

Tears stung the back of Nic’s eyes. His mouth filled with the taste of salt. “I don't know,” he whispered.

Another step. “Are you sure about that?”

Nic shut his eyes. “I don’t want to know.”

“I think it's important that you do.” Ellis touched Nic’s wrist. “May I?”

Nic tried to say No, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. His throat had shut tight.

Ellis drew him forward with a warm, unyielding grip. “I'm right here with you,” he said. “I won't let anything happen.”

That was bullshit, of course. Even if Ellis had been trustworthy, he didn’t understand what the Blur was capable of, what Tanis could do. He just didn’t understand. But Nic obeyed the tug of his hand anyway. He followed, blind.

It was only around the next corner. Nic nearly walked into Ellis’ back when he stopped, then stood as still as he could, holding his breath. If he didn’t move, it wouldn’t see him. It wouldn’t catch him.

“Nic?” Ellis’ voice was very quiet. “Open your eyes.”

He didn’t want to. But he did as he was told.

Ellis was standing between Nic and the clearing, but Nic could see it over his shoulder. He could see the corpses, the piles of fur and feathers, the guts and the bones. He could smell rot. And, as if that seeing and smelling was an inoculation, an exorcism, the Blur receded. It drew away like a wave sucked back down a long beach. Nic was left standing cold and sick in the woods with dead animals at his feet and Cameron Ellis next to him, alone in his own mind.

“I didn't do this,” he said, before Ellis could speak. “I didn't.”

Ellis took a moment to respond. His hand, still on Nic’s, tightened. His thumb touched the bone of Nic’s wrist. “I’m afraid evidence suggests otherwise.”

The smell roiled in the back of Nic throat, churning his stomach. He turned his head to gag, but nothing came up except some sour spit. He breathed fast and ragged until he thought he could speak again. “What evidence?” he asked. It emerged as a croak.

“The test results for the blood swabbed from you on Friday,” said Ellis. “It's all animal. Birds and small mammals, some reptiles. The scraping from under your nails contained fur and feather keratin.”

Ellis’ soft words permitted no misunderstanding, even though Nic very badly wanted to misunderstand. He chanced another glance over Ellis’ shoulder. It was no less horrific this time, but he forced himself to keep looking, to comprehend what he was seeing. The eviscerated birds dangling from branches, the heaps of sticky flesh among the roots. Flashes of white bone, piles of feathers, torn flesh and fur. The flies. The flies were buzzing so loud.

“I couldn't do this,” he said. Even to himself, it sounded more like a question, a plea for agreement. “How could anyone do this?”

Ellis didn’t reply. He was looking at Nic, not the carnage around them.

Nic swallowed, twice and then three times. He began to shiver. “You don't think I did this. You can't think that.”

“I think…” said Ellis, measuring his words, “that you were not in your right mind when you were involved in what happened here. Whatever that was.” There was nothing judgmental in his gaze, only concern. Nic wanted to shrivel beneath the weight of it, recoil like something delicate and wet withdrawing from the sun, scalded by perception. “Do you remember anything at all?”

Nic shook his head. “No. No, I -” He trailed off, distracted again, aghast. “How would someone do this?” He felt like a broken record, the needle of his mind trapped in this one deep, gouged groove. “How would someone even catch…” There were crows, sparrows, squirrels. He saw the dull stretch of something spotted and leathery, a frog or salamander skin. A rabbit’s head, attached to the stump of its spine by a thin string of flesh. Was that the bloody, disembodied leg of a wolf, or was it...

His voice cracked. “How would I even catch all these animals?”

“I don't know, Nic,” Ellis said. “That's what we were hoping you could tell us."

#my fic #tanis #ellic #enjoy reading this while scrolling your show's tag terry #don't tell me my characterization is whack i know what i'm doing #the formatting on this looks crazy on mobile but fine on desktop so 🤔#what is the truth dot gif

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eg515 · 3 years

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Yaaaay, ask game!

2, 16, 18

yes, I'm finally back! 😂 thanks for going easy on me on my triumphant return 💖

2. show you watch casually?

what do we mean by casual? If it means not watching every episode, only watching on the tv sometimes, than I'd say pretty much all the general cop shows you can find everywhere, with Hungarian dub. there are ridiculously lot of them. but by now they are mostly reruns and watching them means more criticising all the bullshit I didn't notice before. if casual means watching weekly but not interacting with the fandom, then... idk. with every show I watch, even if I'm not actively in the fandom, I check out the posts sometimes or blog about it.

I'd say most of the shows I watch are casual watches.

16. show you despise but still watch?

oh damn... okay, sometimes I talk shit about shows and still watch them. it's all (affectionate), you know? I can't really think of one, because usually if a show seriously upsets or annoys me for longer than a few episodes, I just. don't watch it anymore. yeah, I know, groundbreaking.

actually, thinking about it, I'd say Hawaii Five-O. A few years ago mom and I started binging it, and I loved it, but by season...5-6-ish, it got.... not as enjoyable. by season 7 and 8 I was watching it purely for Kono and Tani, and I mercilessly roasted every episode. I rarely talk (read: shout) as much at my tv as I did with H50. we still have s10 to watch as it wasn't out back then, so I guess technically I'm still watching it kinda??

18. show you dont understand the hype for?

Game of Thrones. just... no

at the beginning I could kinda understand why people would love it, even if it wasn't for me, but then it got ridiculously bad.

but for most shows I can understand the hype, I just don't share it.

#thank you!!#you're the best 💖💕#eg answers #ask game #tv show ask game #eg rambles

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loganscanons · 3 years

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nira’s family

This is super frickin’ long because Nira has a lot of siblings!! A lot of siblings with very Greek names.

I put the siblings that are still alive first on the list. Everyone after Sotiria is in order of who died most recently.

Parents - Tanis and Aniketos

Nira’s father, Aniketos (he/him), was born in 596 BCE. He was the Ancient Greek equivalent of a Colonel. Indifferent but always looked like he was judging people. Good at picking his battles and keeping control over his temper. Died in 452 BCE.

He was gray with black patterning. Gray sclera and dark gray almost black irises.

Nira’s mother, Tanis (she/her), was born in 1091 BCE to a gorgon named Pyrena. She’s a strict, no-nonsense woman. Very critical. Decisive and to-the-point. Has been a warrior, general, and gladiator.

She’s red with white patterning. Red sclera and white irises.

Tanis has had four clutches in her lifetime.

She had her first clutch in 563 BCE, after hundreds of years of being a warrior. Her first clutch had 48 eggs, but only 32 survived past childhood. Only two of the children from this clutch are still alive. Many of the children killed each other in the first couple hundred years after they were born.

February 12, 471 BCE, Tanis had her second clutch, which is Nira’s clutch. The clutch had 34 eggs and 27 survived past childhood. Including Nira, 9 of them are still alive. 2 of them have been missing for hundreds of years and are presumed dead.

Kleon, Callidora, and Zosimos are all alive and living on Earth. Nikephoros is a pirate in Saventhia. Nicodemus, Eupraxia, Kylemene, and Timo live in Saventhia.

Kleon

he/him

A thorn in Nira’s side. He pisses her off, but she kind of appreciates his occasional updates on their family and where they grew up. He finds her every couple hundred years, which she thinks is too often.

Stays in touch with his siblings, including siblings from different clutches and siblings living in different realms.

Good at tracking people down.

His scales are red with mostly black and some white markings. He has red sclera and dark gray irises like Nira.

He got a human form as payment for a job he did for a warlock in the late 1800s

Likes to know other people’s business. Travels around and will gossip with just about anyone he meets

Also loves to make fun of people. It’s a wonder he’s not dead.

Callidora “Callie”

she/her

Lives on a small island by herself with her pet cat Tigger

She’s entirely white with no visible patterning. Pale orange sclera and white irises. Considered very pretty among gorgons

Not interested in relationships of any kind. She doesn’t wanna be friends, she doesn’t want to be enemies. She wants to be left alone.

Doesn’t dislike others necessarily. She just doesn’t want to deal with them. She’s happy to have Nira and Oleander visit every so often.

Usually keeps in touch with people via internet

Loves to read and learn. The only human (besides Oleander with Nira) that’s allowed to visit her is Georgi, because he delivers her book shipments to her.

Along with Nira, she’s an odd one out in the family. She chooses not fight and would rather be gentle and peaceful

Zosimos

he/him

Dark gray with white and red patterning. White irises, red sclera. Broad and large. Wears a lot of gold jewelry.

He was a very accomplished fighter in his youth, but he’s since mellowed out. He wants to be able to just live his life without anyone bothering him.

Still lives in the area where Nira and her clutch were born. He’s one of the oldest gorgons there.

Unimpressed by most things. Looks down on people who are irresponsible and/or don’t stand up for themselves and what they believe in.

Lots of people consider him wise because he’s lived so long. He thinks this is bullshit and wishes young gorgons and adventurers would stop seeking him out for advice.

Nicodemus

he/him

Like Callie, he’s unusually bookish for a gorgon. Unlike Callie, he wants to be a good fighter and isn’t.

Somehow managed to survive despite not being a very good fighter. Nobody is quite sure how.

Skilled with a bow and arrow, so he’s not a complete failure in his mother’s eyes

Smart, withdrawn, and self-deprecating. Could probably use a hug.

Married a fae woman and moved to Saventhia with her in 1906.

Timo, Eupraxia, and Klymene

The three of them moved to Saventhia together in 471 CE, at Timo’s suggestion. They run a little shop that deals in selling and trading magical items. They also do odd jobs.

Klymene “Kly” (she/her) is energetic and chatty. She can be cynical and self-deprecating, but she’s also very confident. Will bench press anyone who asks her to.

Eupraxia “Praxie” (she/her) is very quiet and shy. She’s observant and awkward and lets her sisters do all the talking. If someone talks directly to her, she gets wide-eyed and a little panicky.

Timo (she/her) is weirdly cheerful for a gorgon. She thinks people should do what makes them happy and is considerate of other people’s point of views. However, when she’s decided she’s right, she’s impossible to argue with. She’ll come with logical arguments and if that doesn’t work, she’ll derail the conversation. If that doesn’t work, she’s happy to physically fight.

Timo suggested they move to Saventhia around the time Rome was falling and Kly and Praxie didn’t have good enough arguments not to, so they all moved. They’re all pretty happy about it, though Kly misses gladiator battles sometimes.

Their shop also sells miniatures and jewelry that Praxie creates. Timo’s wife, a minotaur named Rinata, does blacksmithing through the shop.

They’ve met Anonai and the crew.

Ptolema, Nikephoros, and Pallas

Not as close as some of the other sibling duos/trios in Nira’s clutch, but the three of them were buds.

Ptolema (she/her) was a well-known general and gladiator among gorgons. She would fight for any creature that would pay her and would have a good time doing it. Was known to provoke people into fights. Aggressive and energetic.

Pallas (they/them) often fought alongside Ptolema. They were more reserved than she was, however. While Ptolema was interested in fighting for the thrill of it, Pallas liked the technical aspects. They had a very large weapon collection.

Nikephoros (they/them) is pretty good at fighting, but Ptolema and Pallas mostly kept them around for their sense of humor. (Also Nikephoros was going to tag along with them anyway, whether they liked it or not). They’re a thembo, energetic, and love a good brawl.

Pallas died in the 600s CE in battle.

Ptolema and Nikephoros continued to fight alongside each other and started to travel around together. Both got arm cuffs that allow them to take a human form. In the late 1600s, the two of them became pirates on a human ship

In 1741, they moved to Saventhia and continued to be pirates. Ptolema died in the late 1700s as a pirate.

Nikephoros is still a pirate in Saventhia. They’ve encountered many versions of Anonai and have yet to realize they’re different people.

Admeta

she/her

A Bitch™, judgmental and violent. Amused by others suffering. She liked to pick at people’s insecurities and the things that made them different. She especially liked to torment Nira, because Nira would react.

She would make fun of Nira’s tendency to fall for humans, and amped that up when Nira started dating Judas.

One day in 164 BCE, Nira snapped and killed her.

Pyrrhus, Keleos, and Rhodopis

The three of them were always together.

Pyrrhus (he/him) was practical and smart, but he had a temper.

Keleos (she/her) was the ring-leader. She was cunning but very reckless and always stressing Pyrrhus out. He loved fighting as much as the next gorgon, but Keleos’ habit of running into things head-first drove him up the wall.

Rhodopis (she/her) didn’t have a whole lot going on in her head. Just elevator music. She was shy and content to do whatever Keleos and Pyrrhus told her to do.

Keleos died in 313 CE after rushing into a fight recklessly. In his grief, Pyrrhus went off the rails and also got reckless. He died a few months later.

Rhodopis surprised everyone by managing to live a whole 4 years without Keleos and Pyrrhus. She was killed by a monster hunter in 317 CE.

Lysimachos and Sostrate

Sostrate (she/her) had all of the brain cells. She was the brain; Lysimachos (he/him) was the brawn.

They were always very close and Lysimachos was very protective of her.

Rarely interacted with others, so it took people a while to realize when they went missing in the 400s CE.

They haven’t been seen since then, and they’re presumed dead.

Sotiria

she/her

Very competent and capable. Dealt with healing and medicine.

Saw it as her duty to heal others. Gorgons who had an interest in medicine weren’t very common where she grew up, and once Sotiria realized she liked the topic and had a knack for it, she felt obligated to become a physician.

A little obsessed with learning about illnesses and biology.

Died in 2001 of a magical illness.

Theron

he/him

The only one of her siblings that Nira was genuinely afraid of.

He almost never spoke and was unpredictable. Worked as a mercenary and assassin. Had no remorse ever.

Killed more people than any of his siblings.

In 1889, he was killed in an underground monster fighting ring.

Sophos

he/him

Fascinated by other creatures and the world beyond where he grew up.

Traveled to different realms, especially Saventhia.

For a while he was a tour guide for creatures visiting or moving to Saventhia from Earth or from Earth to Saventhia.

In the 1200s, he got an enchanted tattoo that allowed him to have a human form.

He spent most of his time in his human form and assimilated into human society.

Died as a sailor on Earth in 1792.

Nikandros

Well-known among gorgons for his skill in gladiator battles.

Had three gorgon clutches with the same woman. A few years after the third clutch was born in the 900s CE, he got on her nerves and she tried to kill him, and he took that as his cue to leave the community and start traveling, which is something he’d wanted to do for a while.

Spent about a decade traveling with Sophos, but was disappointed in the lack of fighting and decided to go his own way.

Started fighting in monster fighting rings around the world.

Killed by a witch and a monster hunter in 1352.

Thana

she/her

Reclusive and closed-off. Emotionless even by gorgon standards. Always wanted to be left alone and would get violent if people tried to get close to her.

She was interested in black magic and the occult. In 1348, she died in a ritual gone wrong and came back as a ghoul.

She was a ghoul for about 60 years before Theron killed her for good in the early 1400s.

Pherenike

she/her

She was generally unexpressive, but she was good at rallying people. Very observant and good at reading others. A quick thinker.

Thought there was a time and place for fighting. It was impossible to rile her up if it wasn’t the time and place.

Known for winning battles and fights that seemed like lost causes.

Died in battle in 214 CE.

Aristomache

she/her

Obedient and good at following directions. Not very clever, so she was used as the muscle.

Always took her jobs very seriously.

A better fighter than either Theron or Nira.

Nira and Aristomache faced off in a gladiator battle in 181 BCE and Nira got lucky and won. Aristomache died from her wounds.

Praxiteles

he/him

A general in a gorgon army.

A solemn and unamused man. Likely never laughed in his life.

Skilled fighter and strategist.

He died in battle in 211 BCE.

Lalage

she/her

Was close to Kleon when she was alive. Like Kleon, she loved to gossip and know other people’s business.

Not bright, very talkative, had a short temper, and would flirt with just about anyone.

Had three clutches within the span of 150ish years.

Killed by Theron in 227 BCE because she was annoying him.

Alkaios

he/him

Died in a gladiator battle in 341 BCE

That’s all I got

#nira the gorgon #family

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elijahrosefanclub · 4 years

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Just imagine Elijah proposing to Isaiah at midnigh (at new years)

tHE LONG-AWAITED RESPONSE TO THIS PROMPT (which i love and think is super cute): it got a little long so i’m putting in a cut but here it is on ao3!

my new year’s resolution is you (2k words)

New Year’s Eve is probably Eli’s favorite day of the year, in all honesty, and there’s a very simple reason why. For at least six hours, every year, usually around midnight, he is pretty much guaranteed no bullshit. Everyone is busy partying and drinking, and while that might cause problems for the LAPD, it is so out of Eli’s jurisdiction. And that means that New Year’s Eve is the one night a year when Eli is not awake to see the clock tick over from 11:59 to 12:00. In fact, it’s the one night a year when he always gets over six hours of sleep.

It’s fucking fantastic.

There’s a yearly Vindicators party, and his routine is that he goes when it’s early, when the party is just starting and all the snacks are still well stocked, and he has precisely one glass of champagne and then leaves and is generally in bed by ten PM.

Once he and Isaiah had moved in together, she’d changed her own routine a bit— for the last couple of years, she’s always been home by midnight. At one point, he had asked why, and she’d responded that this way, she gets to start the new year with him even if they’re both sleeping. Actually, especially if they’re both sleeping, because hopefully that’ll be a sign of how the new year is going to go.

(It’s a running half-joke between them, how little they each sleep. Isaiah always gets caught up in one thing or another, and Eli finds it hard to step away from Mission Control even when he’s personally vetted the entire night shift and found them competent. Half-joke because they know it’ll catch up to them eventually, but that day hasn’t arrived yet and it might not arrive until retirement. So for now, they’re fine.)

It’s been eight minutes since Isaiah texted that she was on her way back. Normally, Eli wouldn’t have seen the text— it’s about eleven-forty, and usually he charges his phone at night in the kitchen to avoid sitting in bed watching security feeds of Mission Control on his phone. (There’s a landline in the bedroom in case someone actually needs to contact him at night and by some miracle he’s not already at work.) But tonight, he is ready and waiting. Isaiah should be back by eleven-fifty, and then he only has ten minutes to kill until midnight.

He wants it to be obvious that he’s still awake, because Isaiah’s years as a super mean that her fight-or-flight response is very well developed and tends toward ‘fight’. So surprises are bad. To that end, he’s made sure that the lights are on and there’s some music playing.

He is ready.

Unfortunately, now it’s 11:43, and he has a lot of time in which to do nothing. And he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little nervous— well, not nervous, per se. More like, he’s anticipatory. And also nervous because unknowns, no matter how probable a certain outcome is, always make him nervous.

Sometimes Eli wonders why he decided to go into managing superheroes instead of, like, accounting.

Regardless, he is here now, and he’d rather be here than in the financial department of some faceless corporation, so here he’ll stay.

But he’s going to make some hot chocolate.

There is a right way, a wrong way, and a desperate way to make hot chocolate. The right way is on the stove with actual chocolate and milk. The wrong way is with chocolate syrup. The desperate way is with cocoa powder or a hot chocolate mix. Eli doesn’t disapprove of the desperate way, not really, but he avoids it when he can. That’s why it’s called the desperate way.

That’s also why he’s melting chocolate discs in a double boiler at 11:48 PM. Eli likes hot chocolate because he doesn’t like sweetened coffee or tea, but he needs something to fill the void of 'dessert beverages’, and over the years hot chocolate has become his go-to drink when he doesn’t need caffeine and herbal tea just isn’t cutting it.

Besides, it would be presumptuous to open a bottle of champagne now. And it would go flat.

He’s just started pouring in the milk when he hears a key in the lock and the front door swings open. It’s 11:51. And it takes everything in Eli to not immediately stop what he’s doing and freeze like he’s just been caught red-handed stealing.

Okay, so he’s a little more nervous than he thought he was. Whatever. He can deal.

He keeps pouring the milk, focusing intensely on the stove, and looks up once he hears Isaiah’s footsteps stop in the doorway to the kitchen. “How was the party?”

She’s leaning on the doorframe, her green scarf still around her neck, smiling in the sort of way that makes Eli think (correctly, because he’s spent a lot of time seeing how her face changes) that she doesn’t know she’s doing it. “It was good. I was worried that Elliot might feel awkward since he hasn’t been with us for very long, but I think he’s found his niche on the team. Also, he can seriously hold his liquor.”

“There is pretty much nothing that would surprise me less,” Eli says drily. “Nothing blew up?”

Isaiah laughs and steps away from the doorframe. “No, we save that for when you’re around.” She approaches the stove and puts her chin on Eli’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist. “So what are you doing up so late? Ooh, hot chocolate."

"Well, I haven’t been awake for midnight on New Year’s Eve since before we met. I figured it would be nice to actually stay up with you. And the hot chocolate is… it’s honestly just because.”

“Hmm.” She’s silent for a few moments, and then she says, “Are you distracting yourself so you don’t obsess about whether anything’s happening in LA that might need the Vindicators?”

“That’s entirely possible?” Which it is, technically. Even if Eli has never been less focused on the Vindicators than he is at the present moment. He can let Isaiah think that’s why he’s making hot chocolate at almost midnight.

She shifts a little bit and he feels a kiss on his jaw. “I understand that. But if anything happens, Tanis will probably know before you do.”

“What? Why?”

“Her phone isn’t fifteen feet away from her and she has the same news alerts set up that you do.”

That’s fair.

The chocolate and milk look pretty evenly mixed at this point, so Eli turns off the stove. “How long until midnight?”

“It’s 11:56.”

Okay. Four minutes to kill. He can do this.

He turns around to grab mugs from the cabinet, but Isaiah’s already pulling two down from the top shelf, and some neuron fires in Eli’s brain to remind him that the ring is still tucked behind his ties in the bedroom and he has four minutes and he somehow has to get it and bring it back here without Isaiah noticing.

Hmm.

He carefully pours the hot chocolate from the pot into the mugs (no matter how careful he is about it, it’s still probably the scariest thing he does regularly, including walking into the super training facility without checking to see if anyone is practicing projectile warfare), sets the pot back down on the stove and covers it, hands one mug to Isaiah, and says, “I’ll be right back, I’m going to grab a sweater.”

Problem solved. Also, the extra layer of the sweater means that it’ll be harder for Isaiah to tell immediately if he has anything in his pockets.

On his way out of the kitchen, he checks his phone where it’s charging on the counter. 11:58. Okay. Cutting it a little close, but he can do this.

Eli tries very hard not to visibly speedwalk out of the kitchen, but once he’s safely in the hallway, he jogs as quietly as he can into the bedroom, grabs the first sweater he sees, tosses it over his arm, pulls out the ring and stuffs it in his pocket, and then heads back down the hallway to the kitchen while putting the sweater on.

When he returns, Isaiah is studiously covering her hot chocolate with marshmallows, and she says, “We’ve got like thirty seconds until midnight. Ready?”

“So ready.” In more ways than one.

He grabs his hot chocolate and sets it down next to hers, and like he thought, she’s got a clock pulled up on her phone counting down the seconds until midnight. Twenty seconds.

Wow. Fucking years, and now all he’s got is twenty seconds. The anticipation honestly might kill him. (But that would be an incredibly stupid way to die, and above all things, Eli abhors dying in stupid ways.)

Fifteen.

He has to time this right if he wants to do it at exactly midnight. This is something Eli has known all along, but now his brain is positively yelling it. Did he mention he should have gone into accounting or something boring like that?

Whatever. Still worth being here, now, even if, as he has definitely mentioned, he is fucking nervous as fuck.

Ten. Countdown time.

Nine. Okay, single digits. Getting closer.

Eight. Eli casually takes the most minute sip of his hot chocolate just for something to do with his hands.

Seven. He puts the mug back down on the counter.

Six. Shitshitshitshit.

Five. It’ll only take him about a second to kneel, but he definitely needs to get the ring out of his pocket first.

Four. Which he does, carefully holding it to his side out of Isaiah’s sight. He can’t quite work out how to open the box one-handed, but that’s okay, he’ll figure it out—

Three. No more time to think about it.

Two. He turns a bit so his knee won’t slam into the cabinet underneath the counter.

One. He kneels.

It’s such a simple motion— just kneeling. When it comes down to it, there’s not a lot to be stressed about. He does this to tie his shoes. But the thing that makes it different, that makes it something that’s important, is the ring box in his hand that opened so easily that he can hardly remember doing it, can hardly remember anything about the past few minutes except that they all seemed to go by so fast compared to the eternity of thoughts passing through his brain in what must only be a second, because then the clock ticks down to Zero and Isaiah turns and sees empty space where he was standing next to her, and then looks down, and—

He can see the moment of comprehension on her face, the instant her mouth drops open the tiniest bit and her eyes begin to shine and he hasn’t even said anything before she’s dropped to the floor too and she’s saying “Yes, yes,” over and over and is it really the new year? Because it feels like time has stopped right now, like his heart is waiting in breathless anticipation for the next chance it has to beat, and it still feels like a daze, not like a dream because he is too viscerally here. The little details are popping out at him like they never have before— Isaiah still hasn’t taken her scarf off and the end trails on the floor, but she doesn’t care, because that’s an old scarf that has been through the years with her, and he can feel every single point where the velvet of the ring box makes contact with his hand, and when he takes the ring— gold, slim, beautiful without being ostentatious— out of the box and hands it to her so she can put it on, he feels the cold relief of the metal, how it warms up almost instantly when he touches it, and he can hardly believe this is happening but at the same time it feels like it was fated to happen, like it couldn’t not happen.

But instead of saying all that, because he’s not sure he could make it make sense out loud even if he wanted it to, he says, “I love you so much,” and then he says, “Happy New Year.”

#sharp zero #eli/isaiah #my inbox #birl writes #ficlet

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flowerfan2 · 5 years

Text

Bound To Be Together - Ch. 22

McDanno, M, A03 A continuous story of Season 9 codas exploring the bond between Steve and Danny as they grow even closer.

Chapter 22: 9.22

Steve is still sitting with his arm around Noelani when he hears a familiar step coming down the hallway.

“Noelani, I heard. I’m so sorry.”

Noelani is up off the bench and wrapped in Danny’s arms before Steve can even say hi. Danny has that effect on people. His hugs are fantastic.

Danny holds her for a long moment, eyes closed as he puts his whole attention on his task. Steve doesn’t miss the way Noelani’s shoulders hitch. Danny rubs her back and whispers something in her ear.

As Noelani begins to relax, Danny’s eyes open and he focuses on Steve. Steve must still be thinking too hard about Joe, because Danny clearly sees something in his expression that he’d rather he didn’t.

“You’re next,” Danny mouths at him, eyes full of concern, and Steve feels a wave of warmth. He can’t lie, a good cuddle from Danny sounds perfect. But not quite yet.

They walk Noelani out to her car. “Let us drive you home,” Danny suggests. “Or come back to ours for a while. Steve will even let you have the good scotch.”

Steve appreciates that Danny’s trying to lighten the mood, but it doesn’t work. In any case, Noelani declines their offer with a sad smile.

Danny offers Steve the keys to the Camaro but he just shakes his head and gets into the passenger seat. Danny gets them out onto the road and then gives Steve’s shoulder a squeeze. They drive back to Steve’s house in comfortable silence. Steve knows Danny’s giving him time to process, to regain his equilibrium. Danny can always tell what Steve needs.

When they get to Steve’s house, Steve pauses in the entryway, but Danny’s hand presses against the small of his back and guides him inside.

“Crappy day?”

“A lot worse for Noelani. Just brought back some memories.”

“That scotch sounding good?”

Steve snorts. “Yeah.”

Danny pours them each a generous shot and they clink glasses, then down the contents in a long swallow. The burn helps. Danny refills their glasses and they walk out to the lanai.

It’s a beautiful night, like so many other nights, but Steve is having trouble appreciating it.

“What happened to Noelani today… that shouldn’t have happened,” Danny says, giving Steve an opening.

“No. It shouldn’t happen to anyone. And if I had-” he breaks off, unable to say the words. If Steve had been a little faster to pick up that Noelani was missing, the situation could have worked out a whole lot differently.

“Stop kicking yourself, babe. I wasn’t even on the job today. Think how useless I feel.”

“It wasn’t your responsibility. Not today.”

“You figured it out fast enough to save her, Steve. From what Tani told me, they were minutes away from killing Noelani when you got there.”

“But I wasn’t in time to save Dr. Cho. Noelani thinks it’s her own fault, that she didn’t save her mentor, and now she’s going to have to live with that for the rest of her life.” Live with the memory of someone she cared about dying in her arms.

Steve presses his eyes closed, and feels Danny’s arms come around him, pulling his face to his shoulder. “This is about Joe, isn’t it,” Danny says gently. Danny always knows.

Steve nods, one hand gripping Danny’s shirt, the other still hanging on to his glass.

“Doesn’t make it any better that losing people is part of what we do, does it?” Danny murmurs. “Goes with the territory, someone told me after Grace died.”

Steve knows the death of Danny’s former partner still haunts him. How could it not? “Some kind of bullshit territory,” Steve says, his voice cracking a little.

“Yeah, god, it is,” Danny replies. He sucks in a long breath and pulls back. “What do you say we go to bed?”

Steve nods. “Good idea.” They down the rest of their drinks and leave the glasses on the sink. Steve is thinking about taking a quick shower to try to clear his mind, but Danny takes his hand and won’t let go until they’re in the bedroom.

“Come on, clothes off,” Danny says, pushing at the hem of Steve’s shirt.

“You got something particular in mind?” Steve says, tugging his shirt off and starting on his belt.

“You, me, bed.” Danny sheds his own clothes deliberately, taking a few seconds to lay his dress shirt and pants on a chair. He tilts his head and looks up at Steve. “We need anything else?”

“Nope.” Steve lets Danny pull him down for a kiss, which quickly turns heated, Danny’s hands roaming over Steve’s naked back and down to his boxers.

“You forgot something,” Danny says, sliding his fingers into the waistline of his shorts and pulling them down.

“I know how much you like to have the last word,” Steve says.

Danny laughs into their kiss. “I’m not sure that makes any sense, but okay.”

Steve wriggles a little and steps out of his clothes, then presses his hips towards Danny.

“Nah, big guy, come here.” Danny flops onto the bed, dragging Steve with him. They’re no denying that their height difference (and the way Danny’s knee usually bothers him by the end of the day) makes it much easier for them to mess around lying down, whether it be the bed or the couch – or that one time on the rug in Steve’s office.

Steve straddles Danny, enjoying the flush spreading down Danny’s chest. He takes a moment to just look at him, to admire his broad shoulders, his gorgeous chest and amazing abs, all covered in a soft fuzz of hair.

“What?” Danny asks, his voice low.

“You’re beautiful.”

Danny’s flush darkens, and he squirms a little under Steve’s gaze. “Knock it off.”

“No, you are.”

“You’re a goof.”

Steve leans down for a kiss, and Danny wraps a hand around his head, holding him in position. They kiss almost lazily for a while, then Steve nips down along Danny’s chin, kissing down his neck, until Danny lets out a low moan.

“Like that?” Steve asks, pausing with his lips still tickling a spot under Danny’s ear.

“Fuck, you know I do,” Danny groans. He runs a hand along Steve’s side, then over Steve’s ass. “Come on,” Danny encourages, trying to pull Steve down on top of him, but Steve resists.

“What’s the rush?” He kisses down Danny’s chest, lingering over the scar where Danny was shot last year. One of these days he’s going to catalogue every scar and scratch on his partner’s body, but from the way Danny is twitching underneath him that’s not going to be tonight.

Suddenly Danny twists and flips them over, smiling triumphantly as he sits back on Steve’s thighs.

“Impatient much?” Steve asks, but he loves it, loves seeing Danny happy and flushed and grinning at him. It’s the best view on the island, by far.

He pulls Danny down and then they’re finally pressed together, hands everywhere, bodies damp with sweat and hips grinding restlessly, searching for just the right angle. Steve gets a hand down between them and starts to stroke Danny, and Danny’s doing the same to him, panting into Steve’s neck. It doesn’t take long before they’re both coming, messy and wet, tangled together like two high school kids going at it in the back of their parents’ car.

“Fuck, I love you, Steve,” Danny says. He’s collapsed on top of Steve, but he reaches up to run his clean hand through Steve’s hair. “You know that, right? I love you.”

Danny’s always generous with his words, including in bed. Steve wonders if he knows how much it means to him. “I do know it,” he says, putting a hand on Danny’s cheek and pulling him closer for a soft kiss. “I love you too, Danno.”

Danny retrieves the sheet from where it’s gotten shoved down at the bottom of the bed and covers them with it. Steve can tell Danny’s about to settle in to his regular spot, head on Steve’s chest, when something flashes across his face.

“I owe you a hug,” Danny says, and lies back, arms open and inviting. Steve feels a rush of affection so strong it would knock him over if he wasn’t already lying down. He slides over to Danny, letting Danny wraps his arms around him and hold him close.

Danny rubs his back, soothing and quiet, and Steve places his hand over Danny’s heart. Losing people may go with the territory, but he won’t let himself imagine losing Danny. Right now, Steve has everything he needs.

#H50 #Hawaii Five-0 #9.22 #Episode coda #Steve McGarrett #Danny Williams #my fic

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the-skooma-den · 5 years

Photo

threw together a couple headshots of Syke cause i wanted to do a proper profile of her, so anyone curious about the character i spend so much time ranting about and drawing thats gonna be under the read more

Part 2 here

directory to all posts about her and her siblings are here

Real Name: Ava Aurelia Cassia Camoran Tharn Latona. she has an untold amount fake names and identities for a wide variety of purposes, Nowadays she mainly goes by Syke Ivywood, and thats what most of the Dominion knows her as (and is also her in game name)

Age: turned 28 right around when the main plot started. I assume years pass through the DLC’s, including one year where she does the mages and fighters guild quest as well as a bunch of quests.

Race: Imperial. Her father was a bosmer and she takes heavily after him. Her grandpas a Khajiit, which is only relevant here because her dad took heavily after his dad. Hence syke’s weirdly golden eyes and slightly to sharp teeth.

Class: Nightblade, focus on siphoning magic

Personality: One might look at her usual scowl and her serious demeanor and assume she's the typical lone wolf edgy assassin, and they’re only really half wrong. She’s not a loner by choice,she doesn’t hate people really, shes just not great at interacting with people. Anyone who knows who she actually is tend to be scared of her (even other members of the brotherhood) and that's not great for ones self confidence. In a few words, she’s just awkward and extremely introverted. That being said she is kinda grumpy, but if an evil god stole your soul you would be to.

As for the series Demeanor, that really just her face. She’s just not a smiley person ya know? She just as an incredibly flat affect and it either takes really strong emotions or a lot of effort on her part to break it. She’s actually pretty damn nice, even if she doesn’t really “get” a lot of social norms.Being raised in a assassin cult worshiping the void can do that to a girl.

What also does not help the usual perception of her, is her Bad temper and very very low bullshit tolerance. She’s not hard to piss off and it can be explosive. Usually not the yelling and screaming explosive but the getting right up in your face out of nowhere and quietly informing you that if you say one more word she’ll individually break every bone in your hand type way.

She’s what her mother would kindly call “strong willed” and what everyone else would call debilitatingly stubborn . Keeping in mind this is a woman who was wronged by what is essentially the demon god king of domination and then decided “I’m going to kick his ass” and then did. For good or ill she rarely if ever gives up.

Due to the fact she is technically a noblewoman, she tends to be extremely private as well. The other Cyrodilic nobles know of her and her family, but just know them as the family that for the most part gave up their titles and have no intention of trying to get them back, they have no idea that theyre a whole family of assassin in the Dark brotherhood. That does not mean that they ignore her or her family as even if her family doesn’t want the titles the fact they exist can mess up others claims to the throne.Especially Ava who suffice to say has a pretty decent claim to several very important titles. This has lead her to take on a variety of different fake names and wearing different masks to avoid being recognized both in her daily life and in jobs for the brotherhood...at least at first.

As it turned out she's a natural actor with one hell of a flair for the dramatic. She may have issues interacting with people as herself, but she finds it easier when pretending to be someone else. She got so into it that she has whole characters that she pretends to be for all kinds of purposes, like say if she needs access to mages or fighters guild resources or if a particular job for the brotherhood calls to act as a maid for a little bit.

as for how the Dominion crew know her, well they actually come closer to knowing her then most. When Raz dragged her out of the ocean at Khenarthis roost she was so out of it she was barely able to come up with a fake name let alone a whole character, so they all end up genuinely knowing her as she truly is. Turns out she doesn’t mind that as much as she thought she would.

Backstory (before the main plot): She’s a third generation member of the Dark brotherhood, and most of her direct family (siblings, parents, aunt and one set of grandparents) are apart of it. Her grandmother, A Bosmer noble named Cassa, married an Imperial nobleman when she was pretty young. Cassa wanted to get out of Valenwood and her husband was looking for a way to rebel against his family and found it in a hot bosmer lady. They ended up having one kid together, Lara

A few years later Cassa ends up falling in with and getting pregnant by a khajiiti baker her husband hired, and her husband is not to happy about that to say the least. He fires and sends the Khajiit away and Cassa is less then happy about that as well. She kills her husband and so convincingly makes it look like an accident that if the brotherhood hadn't already had a contract out on him no one would have ever known it was murder.

So Cassa ends up joining the brotherhood after her second kid by the khajiit man was born. She never really connected with the bosmeri pantheon or the Green pact, and she ends up taking to Sithis real well. She also as soon as she was able went to find her love and they were married as soon as possible. They all lived in Valenwood for a number of years and both her kids grew up in the brotherhood as well.

Eventually the younger one son, Tanis, marries an Imperial woman,Livillia. Also a runaway noblewoman,her mother was friends with Cassa and she was seeking sanctuary with her. Livillia is specifically one of Abnur Tharns kids, who no longer wanted to deal with the Tharn family drama.

They have a kid together (That is of course Ava). Tanis’s older sister and Cassa’s first child, Lara, has a one night stand with an Altmer and has her own kid who she names Ceryneian (or Nia for short). And they all live pretty happily for a while, as far as anyone knew the family was just a bunch of nobodies, rich nobodies who kept all hours but still just nobodies. They had for the most part completely abandoned all noble titles, even if the nobles weren’t done with them.

When Ava was about 10 years old her great aunt Cilvia tharn found out that Livillia was still alive. She was well aware that if she tried to do anything to Elsweyr Livillia would likely act against her. Livillia may be a member of the brotherhood, but she wasnt completely evil. Cilcvia sent assassins after Ava’s parents, they missed her but her parents were taken by surprise and sadly killed. None of her family felt right staying in valenwood anymore, So Lara took Ava in and moved to the Gold coast where she had spent her early childhood and had inherited some estate. Her grandparents Moved to Elsweyr and both Ava and Nia would spend summers there as kids.

So Ava ends up “officially” a member of the brotherhood ,after toddling around the sanctuaries her whole life, at about 15 years old, and was never prouder. Normally they wouldn’t have let someone so young in but once again, she had literally been toddling in sanctuaries, they figured it was fine.

On one of her first genuinely dangerous missions, to kill a necromancer in Northern Elsweyr (chaperoned by her grandma of course), she came across one of said necromancers future sacrifices. This sacrifice happened to be a 13 year old khajiit boy named Thera (later going by Jo’Thera) with some odd fur patterns, and fuck man he was just a kid (granted shes only a couple years older then him) and Ava couldn’t just leave him there alone. Ava saved him and took her back to Anvil with her after she killed the necromancer as according to the kid, he didn’t have a family or anywhere to go. Lara hears the kids story and is just like…. Welp… guess i got a 3rd kid now. (as Thera grows up if there's one thing he gets from his adopted family its a love for drama and dramatic irony. He takes to necromancy pretty quickly)

That peace continued for a few years until she was about 19. At 19 years old she got the offer to join the Psijic order, Not because she was particularly powerful or even all that good at magic (at the time of course, she gets much better later), but due to her lack of formal teaching she had her own odd way of casting and working with it that caught their attention. Basically imagine that she did a really complicated math problem wrong, but ended up with the right answer and somehow accidentally discovered a new much easier formula to that particular problem, she did the magic version of that and showed a lot of potential even outside of that.

Then she said no, she was happy in the brotherhood and her current life and she saw no reason to leave

When Ava was about 20 years old, Nia ran away because, well she wasn't as fond of the brotherhood as her mother or cousin, and its not exactly something you can just quit and walk away from. It broke the whole families heart of course but Ava took it particularly hard. She had considered her and had been referring to her as her sister even before her parents death

What really set it all off though was when Nia popped up again alive and well in Valenwood using the last name of their grandmothers family. She didn’t send them a message or anything, it just got to them by word of mouth because Nia had disowned them and been talking shit about them. After she ran away she went back down to Valenwood to claim the title that was rightfully hers, it turns out that she had found proof of her birthright and between that and her uncanny resemblance to her grandmother she barely had to be questioned.

So Nia is in Valenwood with her relatives and had completely disowned the entire rest of her family. Her grandmother, Her mother and her (now deceased) Aunt and Uncle, and Ava and their brother as well. she never made any concrete statement as to why per say outside of “Not wanting to go down the same path as the rest of her family” which most people assumed meant completely abandoning their noble heritage and titles, not to mention their bosmeri heritage as well (which was partially true, but it was mostly about the whole murder cult thing). So yeah, Lara was heartbroken and Ava was pissed off to oblivion and back and Jo’thera....he was just hurt, but all decided that if that was where Nia wanted to be they weren’t going to drag her back.

At about 23 Ava met her first real significant other, A Dunmeri noble. It didnt go well for either of them really, lots of drugs, lots of unhealthy coping mechanisms, lots of secrets. not a good time. 2 years later, The Dunmer actually proposes to Ava, and Ava not only says yes but Ava tells her everything about the brotherhood, her own noble status, all of it. The Dunmer seems okay with it at first, and admits she kinda suspected who Ava’s family was based on the little she spoke about it, The brotherhood was the real surprising part there. The knife in Ava’s stomach later that night Makes it clear what she thought about that. So it was a messier breakup then most.

Ava doesnt like to speak much of the relationship, but it hurt her more then she lets on and makes her more nervous then ever to be in a real romantic relationship

Well after that mess Ava threw herself back into the brotherhood hardcore and also into hardcore drugs and alcohol.for about 5 years. Over those 5 years between the Dunmer incident, a lot of self reflection, and all sorts of anxieties she’s an unstable mess. Like verge of a mental breakdown type of mess.

When she was kidnapped and later sacrificed by the wormcult many who knew her assumed that she had offed herself for good. She was gone for long enough that even her own family started to assume the worst

#my art #syke #eso #somehow she's ended up one of my favorite characters ive ever made #tes or no #i honestly just like her #playing through the game thinking about how'd she react to events and characters #its just a blast #is she a mary sue?#dont know and couldnt care less #i just love her

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handstitchedcircuitboards · 7 years

Note

Okay, I am totally digging your idea of the shimada dragons being eldritch horrors. How do they work besides being total agents of destruction? Can they converse with their hosts? Do they feel affection for them? Pls tell me ur headcanons. And hanzo having two dragons, oh boy. Is this still sticking with canon or is it veering off to au territory where the clan uses hanzo as a weapon? If we stick w/ the original timeline, obvs hanzo is still alive and kicking. But hes already nearing forty...

HELLO MY NEW FAVORITE PERSON PULL UPA CHAIR. YOU’RE LOOKING LOVELY, WOULD YOU LIKE A DRINK?

So, I tried to explain some of thisin a fic about Genji getting his dragon, but it’s not done because it’s beingsuper uncooperative. Imagine that, Genji being uncooperative. Anyway.

The whole exercise was essentiallyme and my friend trying to figure out how the fuck blizzard gets off havingliteral magic dragons in their (admittedly al-dente) sci-fi universe, and yeah,I’m trying to make it not directly conflict with canon or the current timeline.Luckily canon is pretty vague about a lot, so I have a big sandbox to play in.If it becomes explicit lore that they’re literally magic, I invite Chu orKaplan to fight me behind the nearest Denny’s. I’m pretty sure I can take them, what I lack in height I make up for in sheer rage.

So, I looked at the dragons, andbeing a terrible person who loves sad things, my first thought was “Those definitelygive you cancer. That’s some high energy bullshit. These Shimada guys are turbofucked.” Next question, what the fuck do weird glowing cancer snakes care abouta random subset of the Japanese population? Well there’s something, probablygenetic because it’s only just them, about them that’s of interest, there hasto be.

Enter, two of my favorite things,multiverse and aliens! This shows up a little bit in the Hellboy comics, Tanis, and The City at the End of Time(which should have been so much better than it was). Also, uh, cough, a fandomthat I spent waaay to much time in despite the many, many problems. Anyway, ifthe dragons aren’t from this universe and need some kind of conduit to comehere for Dragon Reasons, then the Shimada clan could be that conduit. Eitherit’s something about their genetics or something about the place they’re allliving, but something about these people made them more attuned to whateverwavelength the dragons are on. So I think the Shimadas themselves representthin spots between their universe and ours, with the Well being the crossoverpoint where it’s easier for the dragon and the host to entangle, and the entanglementlasts until the host dies. (Sidebar: That all grew out of the antenna model forontological dualism) (Sidebar: I think they’re only dragons because the ancientShimadas expected dragons so that’s what they got. They could be anything, and theyinhabit more than just 3-space. This is kind of the vibe I’m thinking of. If they’d shown up in medieval europe, they’d probably look like angels or saints.) It seemed weird to me that they’re just hereto kill. They could be eating people, or some facet of people (heat, electricalimpulses in the nervous system, etc.) but that seems super inefficient. There’senergy everywhere here, once the meat people let you in, why would you let thembe your gatekeepers? But that got me thinking, what if they’re here to getsomething and the Shimadas are acting as an antenna or foothold for them? Is theirkilling for the Shimadas more of a side effect? If they do need the Shimadas tobe alive, then it makes sense they would protect them.

Circling back to multiverse for amoment, what if their universe is dying, undergoing its heat death? They seem to be beings made of energy, atleast partially, (pulling from CatEoT, there were beings there whose minds transcendedmaterial form and were fucked whenthe heat death began.) Point of interest, there are supervoids in our universethat just seems weird. Fun fact, Earthis in the largest supervoid known to science, the KBC Void. What if the dragonsare actually here to strip mine energy and entropy and take it back to theiruniverse to keep it alive longer? A heat death is just the end of alldifference in energy levels, so if they’re stealing more energy from here tomaintain differentials to keep going, that would be a reason for them to behere that isn’t a weird crush on the Shimada clan.

Okay, but, uh, they’re killing thehosts. They give them cell-degrading radiation exposure when they manifest, becausethe Shimada doing the summoning is at ground zero for a second, roasting alive.Well, I don’t think the dragons actually grok that point! They’re beings madeof energy, and I think they mostly view the Shimadas as a web of heat and electricalimpulse and chemical activity, but I think very few of them understand them asconscious creatures because the way they think is so divergent. It’s like wonderingif your car has feelings. It’s real damn complicated, but is it thatcomplicated? Maybe, but probably not. So, like when your car squeals and you dosomething to fix it, that’s kind of like what the dragons are doing when themantra is repeated. But in using your car, you are damaging it through wear andtear, and that’s what the dragons are doing through repeated summoning. TheShimadas understand this as a kind of tit-for-tat, obviously the spirits wouldwant something so their lives must be it. And if this all started in prehistory youcan’t really blame them, when the conceptual framework for talking about the multiverse scientifically is so recent.

I don’t think they communicatelike humans do, through body language, touch, and vibrating the air withspecialized organs. I think they communicate feeling and intent more directly, probablywith energetic impulses. So, the mantras that the Shimadas recite (which varyfrom person to person) act as a sort of trigger or alert. Thinking about specific thingsexcites parts of the brain in a specific way, and there is some low levelelectric current involved. If the dragons learn to recognize that, kind of inthe way we recognize our phones have low battery because the meter changes,then they manifest and attack to protect their host. If the host dies theylose their foothold in this universe, so they do what they can to keep them alive.I don’t think the Shimadas grok that this is a side effect, I think theygenuinely believe them to be spirits. (My understanding is that a thought likethat wouldn’t be out of line with Shinto. A very devout Christian would believein angelic interference, for instance.) I do think the dragons recognize otherhosts, and try not to attack them generally if they’re in the line of fire, andthat the dragons, after a while, learn to pick out what their host thinks of asfoes. So, Genji’s dragon wouldn’t attack a friend (let’s say McCree is standingbeside him, providing covering fire) because it’s learned that the kind ofattention Genji is paying McCree is good attention, but will attack the guyjust as close trying to stab Genji, because that’s bad attention. It does takea while for that to set in, and some dragons are less discerning than others.

They can, however, learn to ‘talk’.They mostly just don’t bother. It’s a pain exciting the aural nerves in theright way, learning what the right way is, and they usually misinterpretfeelings when shared directly and dump a bunch of cortisol and freak out. Imaginetrying to learn to talk to your cat. (Spoilers for a fic I may never finish, Ithink Genji’s does talk to him. I think Genji has a very close relationshipwith his dragon, and that is basically unheard of. He’s a natural adorcist andlearned more from his dragon that the clan had in hundreds of years. Genji’sdragon is enamored with him, and Genji with her. It’s part of why he’s stillalive, she shielded him from a lot of the damage Hanzo’s dragons would havedone and shunted a lot energy away from his vitals because she learned from himwhat to protect. Genji would probably have just been burnt to a crisp if she’donly been on the offensive. She also helps soothe some of the phantom pain bypulling strings in his nervous system.)

(Okay, this section is pretty dark.)

Hanzo’s dragons think there’ssomething wrong with him. He keeps hunting down other hosts, making it harderto do their work, and keeps getting damaged. I don’t think Hanzo thinks hedeserves to do the honorable thing and kill himself directly, but I do thinkonce or twice he’s thrown down his weapons to let someone kill him, right afterGenji. His dragons won’t let it happen, they come on their own and attackeverything around him. They do not trust his judgement, and they’re harder forhim to summon and sometimes come when he doesn’t want. They don’t understandthe family politics that when into attacking Genji and then attacking the others,they think he’s just a malfunctioning machine they have to put up with.

(Uh, that’s over)

So, with two dragons, I do think theclan wanted him to be their weapon. I think, in the lull after the Crisis,there had been a kind of status quo with the various yakuza clans and Sojirowas content to maintain it. Others, now that they had a WMD in their pockets, wantedto expand territory and influence. Sojiro was like “HARD FUCKING PASS” and as long as he wasalive, he prevented Hanzo from going on more assassinations than necessary, and kepthim to more administrative things, even if that meant doing more work withdragons himself and dying faster. (Sidebar, I think the assassination thing iskind of a secret. Only people in the know would ask, and they don’t take money,they take favors. Money can be tracked. Favors can’t. Only the family is involved at any stage of planning orexecution. The client families and client organizations and random mooks haveno idea, because the rest of the clan’s business is grey market brokering or smuggling.) That’s also part of the reason the elders were so adamant Genji getin line, because if Hanzo died young they needed him to take charge. Sojirokind of let Genji be a useless fuckboy because it would keep Hanzo safer if hewas the only viable heir. It broke his heart to do it, because it ruined hisrelationship with Hanzo and the brothers’ relationship with each other, but hewasn’t going to bury Hanzo. Hanzo never puts it together, he thinks his dadjust liked Genji better and he wasn’t a good enough leader to bring him in line. Genji didn’t fuckingcare, because he was a spoiled brat, but kind of kens the truth in Nepal afterhaving to sit down and actually sort through his life and his choices.

So, because Hanzo has fuckeddirectly off, he’s done less damage to himself with the dragons than he wouldhave otherwise, but he’s still getting sick. (For a long time, it was a realworry of Genji’s that Hanzo would die before he could kill him. And then, whenGenji forgave him, that’d it’d be too late.) Nobody in the clan actually doesanything to fucking TREAT the cancer, because they think it’s part of somemagic bargain. The dragons do not fucking care if you get chemo, Genji knows asmuch. So, Hanzo’s bought himself some time by running away (and killing otherShimadas by being sneaky rather than dragon fights when he can, since hisdragons are flaky, per the dark paragraph.) If Genji can bring Hanzo to Dr.Ziegler, she can absolutely get it under control. (He’s probably got someconcerning nodules, but not full blown malignant tumors in all of his him.) Hermethodologies could absolutely target and destroy cancerous cells and repair thedamage, if Hanzo will accept the treatment. So he’s not doomed, if he doesn’twant to be. (He’s trying to race liver failure and cancer on his own though, soGenji needs to get the lead out if he’s gonna put out this tire fire.)

I think I answered most of yourquestions? I love talking about this, so if you weren’t clear I’m happy toelaborate! Please forgive any spelling/grammar fuck ups, I wrote this all downkind of stream of consciousness.

#genji shimada #hanzo shimada #shimada dragons #overwatch meta #shimada meta #headcanon dump #dear anon ilu #i swear i didn't ask myself this question so i could squee #pinky swear even #ask answers

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matchamixx · 4 years

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The Food Businesses That Define Us

We are entering a new world order. A new era. I am very sad to say that many family businesses and staples of San Francisco and the larger Bay Area’s culture will cease to exist - especially since there has been virtually no help from the government. Many of these businesses that will suffer are run by Asian-Americans and help promote our identities and backgrounds by speaking the common language of food. Therefore, I will use this blog post to celebrate and reminisce on some of my favorite restaurants that I believe formed San Francisco into what it is today.

The first up is Kevin’s Noodle House. This is one of the best pho restaurants in the city. They are actually rather good at executing take-out (before the pandemic started), so I truly hope they will survive. However, I do not necessarily view pho as a take-out food. Furthermore, I think what gives Kevin’s Noodle House some of its charm is how quick they are - especially the Daly City location. I honestly believe that I can sit down, finish a bowl of pho, and pay my bill before I can even take my pho home. They are fast. They are an extremely well-oiled machine that can crank out bowls of pho to feed the masses. Their broth is rich and complex, but they have no shortage of sauces to help enhance any flavors. ( rhetorical - do you prefer to put your sauces on a mini plate and dip your food into it? Or do you put your sauce straight into the bowl. I prefer the former. I don’t want to mess up the complex flavor of their broth. And I’m usually the type of person who always wants to add extra seasoning and flavor ) One piece of advice I can give in life is to always have an answer to every simple question. If someone asks you where to eat, don’t say “I don’t know” or “I don’t care”. You should have a default answer prepared to make yourself a less annoying person. My default answer is Kevin’s Noodle House. It’s fast, filling, and has a dish that everyone can enjoy.

This brings me to my next restaurant - “Dan Sung Sa”. If I’m ever in Oakland, this is the place I’m trying to go. It’s often referred to as “Porno Bar” by locals. This is because it’s open late and there’s no shortage of promiscuous-seeming movie posters that decorate the walls. I think this restaurant is a great introduction to Korean food. It has some more American-influenced specialities that everyone can enjoy such as fried chicken plus beer (chimaek), jalapeno poppers, and loaded fries. However, it does not shy away from offering some more uniquely Korean dishes such as Tteokboki, golbaengi-muchim, or haemul jeongol. I think the atmosphere, late hours, and available drinks (the yakult soju is hella tasty) encourage drinking. So it’s an ideal spot to get some of your friends and/or peers to try foods that are considered “strange” by American standards - such as golbaengi-muchim - the sea snail noodle salad, one of my favorites! I would be devastated if this place closed.

I cannot bring up Korean food without mentioning Dae Jang Geum Tofu House. It’s located in Daly City, conveniently up the street from Kevin’s Noodle House. Their banchan, Korean side dishes, are so good and fresh that sometimes I come here just because I crave that. Although I’ve never gotten a chance to have a real conversation with any of them, they have some of the sweetest and friendliest staff. It also happens to be one of the few places in the city that serves one of my favorite Korean dishes - naengmyeon. Their version is bibim naengmyeon, which is a spicy and refreshing dish. The smart move here is to get the meat plates with the tofu stew combo. Both are delicious and with the banchan and rice it’s usually enough for 2-3 people, maybe even 4. The idea of this place closing is heartbreaking to me.

By proximity, Tani’s Kitchen is up next. It is located right near Dae Jang Geum Tofu House and Kevin’s Noodle house. It’s the spot that I took my group to when we were assigned to explore Japanese food. This spot is legit. I have a weird relationship with Japanese curry, but I cannot escape the temptation of Tani’s curry. I grew up eating curry almost everyday, so I grew to despise it. But once I finally had a break from it, I need to eat it at least once every two weeks in order to maintain my sanity. Tani’s is the best place to get curry in the bay area and I’m willing to place money on it. Although their speciality is curry, this is a great place to explore some other truly Japanese dishes such as Takoyaki, omusoba, and tendon donburi. There’s nothing you can order that’s wrong here - everything is delicious. I really hope that they survive the pandemic - they completed a lot of take out orders beforehand and I hope that this model can hold them over.

My last place to mention is called Yamo. This place is awesome. They are dirt cheap (especially in San Francisco), and they shamelessly have a hotel pan of MSG right on the table for seasoning (I’m not going to explain why MSG isn’t bad for you). They are right near dolores park, so you can grab an order and eat it in the park. This place held me down when I was a broke, hungry teenager that didn’t want to eat at McDonalds. I must admit that I am not super familiar with Burmese food, but this place sure gives it a good reputation. Their tea leaf salad is tasty and full of rich albeit refreshing flavors. Their noodle dishes are simple albeit comforting and filling. This restaurant is an OG spot that’s right in the heart of gentrification. When gentrification comes, so do expensive, pretentious, and gimmicky restaurants. Yamo is the opposite of that. They serve you delicious and filling food for a fair price. There’s many other restaurants like Yamo in SF that still give you a bullshit free meal for a cheap price. When places like these start to all but disappear, we know its a sign that San Francisco has changed for the worse.

#AAS218RYANS

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drabblers · 7 years

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A new start

Prompt: Start of summer Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin Setting: Modern AU, Office Drama 4 (Continues “Distractions”) Characters: Kenshin Himura, Kaoru Kamiya Word count: 996

It had been just a few weeks since Kenshin had started his internship and sadly… old habits died hard. Even now, he noticed details, picked up things that were not for him to act upon.

Usually, he could just feign ignorance. After all, he was supposed to be just a run-of-the-mill assistant, nothing more. However, watching Director Kamiya’s driver taking a discreet sip from a flask in his pocket… it was a bit too much.

Kenshin headed outside.

“Morning,” the driver grunted. “Is she coming down soon?”

“Yes,” Kenshin said. “You should go before that. But leave the keys, please.”

“What? But I’ll need to drive Kamiya to a meeting!”

“Not while inebriated, that you won’t,” Kenshin said.

The driver started. “You little–“

“...Or would you prefer this one to report your state to Director Kamiya?” Kenshin looked up at him, not bothered in the least that the man was over a head taller than him.

The big man bristled, before slamming the car keys into his hand and walking off.

Kenshin watched him go.

“Uh, Kenshin… where is my driver?” A familiar voice called from behind his back

“Unfortunately Hiruma-san is not available this morning.” Kenshin turned around, a soft smile on his lips. “This one will drive you instead, that he will.”

She frowned, “But…”

“Please,” Kenshin motioned to the car. “We are in a hurry, are we not?”

She eyed him but then nodded. “Fine.”

Despite the unspoken question hanging between them, the drive went fine. Sadly, the same couldn’t be said of the meeting. After three hours of negotiations, the meeting was cut to a close without resolution in sight. Miss Kamiya’s frustration was tangible on the drive home – enough that she had to rant on the phone to her friend.

“–increasing the payment period from 60 days to 90, to meet the international standard. It’s bullshit from start to finish. Tani is just yanking my chain. He is a big customer to us and he knows it.”

Miss Kamiya leaned back in her seat and groaned – Kenshin glanced at the rear-view mirror, noting how tired she looked, almost defeated.

“Misao, you don’t understand – if I agree to Tani’s demands, it will be a hassle for us financially. Their account is worth 100mil annual revenue and having those payments come in a month later would seriously affect our cash flow. But if I don’t agree… we could lose them.”

Miss Kamiya covered her face.

“I just can’t believe Tani is going this far. Even on the best day, he is a self-absorbed sleazebag, but he really is not that smart. I can’t believe I’m letting him play me like this…”

Hearing Miss Kamiya speak like this twisted something in Kenshin’s gut. Despite their difficult working relationship, he could see how honorable, hardworking and a genuinely kind woman she was – even under all the pressure and stress she needed to handle on daily basis.

Honestly, if there was one thing he wanted to achieve in the time he had left by her side; it was to ensure she could come to work with a smile on her face.

So perhaps… he could nudge her a little bit, despite the potential breach of the contract he had with Katsura-san.

A flicker to a right, and Kenshin pulled over to a roadside diner.

“…Kenshin, what are you doing?”

“It’s the start of summer.” He glanced over his shoulder and said in lieu of explanation, “Surely, even Director Kamiya can take a lunch break out of office?

She looked at him like he had grown a second head, but then raised her phone to her ear and said. “Misao, I gotta go. I’ll see you at the office.”

And so, Kenshin ended up having his first lunch with his superior in an ordinary roadside diner. Not the best choice, the food was nothing special, but it sufficed for the need.

Kenshin waited until they were finishing their meals, before he started, “the negotiation today… um, this one’s former employer did regular business with them, that he did.”

“Oh,” Director Kamiya said. “So that’s why Tani kept glancing you?”

“Yes. If he didn’t recognize this one, this one must have seemed familiar.”

“Okay. So, your employer–“

Kenshin looked aside. “This one can’t tell you.”

“Can’t – or won’t?”

“Can’t.”

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. “You are under a NDA?”

“Something of the sort,” Kenshin looked at his twisted and badly healed fingers. “This one can’t mention any facts, names, or even confirm your conclusions. However, impressions of the person that this one has drawn himself… those shouldn’t be too much of a breach.”

“You know, you don’t have to–“

“Please, Director Kamiya.”

She inhaled sharply, but didn’t protest more.

“The man you are dealing with… he is a coward and holds a high opinion of himself, as you know. But he also fancies himself a patriot. If you look him up, you notice that he is often visible in media – in particular, for his high society gatherings and nationalistic views in politics.”

“…I’ve heard something of the sort, actually. But what’s that got to do with a payment term negotiation?”

“This one can’t say.” Kenshin considered his words. “One merely observes that a person who courts the attention of those steering the nation doesn’t care too much about international standards or business performance.”

“So instead of arguing against his shoddy logic… I should emphasize the benefits on a national level?”

“To convince an egoist, you just need to make it seem like he came up with the idea himself. And for a person not known for his smarts, what’s more valuable than a logical decision that emphasizes his audience's’ interest?”

“I see.” The seconds passed, one, two, three… and then, she inclined her head, acknowledging his help. “That does make sense. Thank you, Kenshin.”

“You’re welcome,” Kenshin smiled.

It was just a small gesture, but after their difficulties… it felt like a new start.

#Rurouni Kenshin #Kenshin Himura #Kaoru Kamiya #ruroken #OFFICE DRAMA verse #Rahmakapala's drabbles

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dreadpiratedash · 7 years

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Further Adventures in DMing

So my group and I have been on hiatus for ages, but last week we finally got to play again and here's what went down. Sadly, we were down Eife ( @disastrouscastrous), their boyfriend Josh (who usually sits in), and Malos. So we only had one and a half tieflings this week (I'll explain in a bit). For context, they were all at the castle of a witch (Athame Nelra) who had helped bust them out of prison. She lives on an island surrounded by a creepy fog that makes people hear screaming. Anyway, last session our dwarf (Mica, @crossbonesandcutlery) couldn't make it, so this session Athame dimension-doored her into the castle. However, Mica popped in mid-swing cause she'd been in the middle of a bar fight. Moving right along to the fun stuff...here's the bullets of our highlights... • Tansy the halfling bard ( @ravenclawpotionsqueen) finally got to sleep with Tanis the alchemist after rolling a nat20 to seduce her and her boyfriend (to ostensibly have a threesome) a few sessions ago. Briar, said boyfriend and the party's useless human rogue NPC, was too drunk to partake. The threesome will happen eventually, but the poly characters got to have their fun. • The party met a tiefling named Creon Amaurri, a master of traps who works for the local thieves guild, and he let it slip that our tieflings rogue Leilani is in debt to his boss. A lot of arguing ensued over the fact that Leilani bullshits a lot and has seemingly no common sense. Mica won over Creon with her reasonability/calling Leilani out. In summary, I ship the dwarf and the sulky tiefling boy. • Mica also got a tattoo on her back to store her wolf companion, Rollo. Leilani has similar tattoos on her thighs to hold her lizards, Marcus and Firi. These tats are basically poke balls. • Our party (plus Tanis) went to the House of a Thousand Faces, a dilapidated temple being squatted by a cult whose members like to wear masks. They have been since been dubbed "creepy thespians" by Rachel/Tansy. Tansy took a potion to disguise herself as a tiefling child, since the cult members milling around seemed to be watching passing children closely. She was adorable. • Lei and Tansy went into the temple and the cultists kept trying to separate them. Eventually, a cultist snatched Tansy into another room and locked the door. Lei knocked out a cultist cold and is trying to go after Tansy. • Meanwhile, while this all going on, Eira ( @penguinsandpanthers), Tanis, and Mica are trying to find another way into the temple to steal a tome that Athame needs for plot reasons. As a result of the DM Nat 1-ing a stealth roll, the alchemist dropped two potions that made a massive boom so they had to flee. They managed to sneak back to the temple through a sewage tunnel. • Eira and Mica went into the temple after Tansy, but theirs a barrier around it so you can go inside the temple but you can't get out. Tanis stayed behind to get help. Will Tansy be rescued during tonight's session? Stay tuned to find out! Memorable Quotes: "Darling, for your own sake, the last time she met a stranger she bit him and he was in the hospital for two weeks." —Leilani (about child Tansy) "Some bitch stole our Tansy!" Me: "So what do wanna do?" Lyndsey: "Probably get out of the sewer." "Bit of trouble here, you guys are on your own and we'll be back when the smoke clears...literally." —Eira "Open you son of a bitch!" —Me Tattoo Artist: "Do you need anything else? Body parts floating in jars, perhaps?" Eira: "No thank you, we prefer free range." "Roll fortitude to see how much this is gonna hurt." —Me Creon: I'm guessing you found him in prison? Eira: I cannot confirm or deny that. Creon: So you found him at the bottom of a hole? Eira: Not unless you want to end up at the bottom of a hole. Tansy: I'm gonna kick you in the shins. Tanis: Calm down, no one is going in holes or being kicked in shins! We're on the same side here!

#adventures in dming #pathfinder

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elijahrosefanclub · 6 years

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Hi, if you're still taking prompts how about Galaxy and Stardust sitting on a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g?? (but really anything with the space moms would be amazing since there's not much content about them /yet/)

here’s some anything! also wow this is long enough for me to justify making it its own fic on ao3 instead of just adding it to my ficlets. by which i mean it’s not actually that long but it’s got a lot of line breaks so who cares.

read it on ao3 here :)

5+1 things; or, five times Natia knew things and one time Tanis did

“I love you,” Tanis says one day. The pasta burned last time she tried making it, but this time she manages to turn the stove off and get the pasta on plates before any smoke appears.

When she turns around, she sees Natia with two forks. Natia’s eyes crinkle up at the corners and she says, “I know.”

Tanis laughs and trades a plate of pasta for a fork. This is the third day in a row they’ve had dinner at the kitchen island instead of at the table, but neither of them minds standing, so it just keeps happening.

“Something’s not right with my helmet,” Stardust says into her comms, landing on the top of a building so she doesn’t crash into the marshmallow monster. Not that it wouldn’t be a relatively good thing to crash into, compared with all the steel-framed buildings around her. “Vision’s messed up.”

There’s a crackle, then Grasshopper’s voice says, “Yeah, Galaxy sent me to cover your position. I’m almost there.”

“Thanks, Grassy. And Galaxy.”

“No problem,” Galaxy says. “Kevin and a tech are waiting in the usual place to fix your helmet.”

“Awesome.”

They’ve got pretty much everything on the list, but Tanis still hesitates by the cereal aisle, because she’s pretty sure they’re running low on—

“We have an extra box at home,” Natia says as she puts a box of strawberries in the cart. “They were on sale last time we were here, so we got two, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” Tanis scans the list. “Okay, we’re done!”

“What’s the name of that one movie, you know, with the guy?”

“Pulp Fiction.”

“It fits.”

When Tanis and Zipper gets back from the latest intergalactic meeting, Natia is waiting for them in Zipper’s usual chair.

“Hi,” Zipper says.

“Hi,” Natia replies, and then she hands Tanis a bag. “Here’s your ‘bad meeting’ takeout.”

“Oh, my God, it was the worst,” Tanis says. “I can’t even believe—”

“I know,” Natia says when Tanis gives up on finding the right words for what a pile of bullshit those six hours of her life were. “I got you a smoothie too.”

“Wow. I love you.”

They’re not really supposed to be talking while the officiant says whatever it is they’re saying— Tanis lost track about three minutes ago, but they’ll alert her when she has to do something, so it doesn’t really matter.

Natia doesn’t really look like she’s paying a lot of attention, either, and that’s confirmed when she looks over at Tanis and mouths, love you.

I know, Tanis mouths back, and she squeezes Natia’s hand. Natia squeezes back.

#tanis/natia #sharp zero #birl writes

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