#(but i guess it is a good thing i haven'T got around to selecting more fav OSTs... there are so many good ones)

[redrosydiaz]

wip saturday 😂

i've been tagged in these wip shares a couple times the past two weeks (ty @semperama @thirdwheelravi @mythmagicetc and @fastcardotmp3 for the tags! 🫶🫶) and i haven't really had anything to share, but i fiiiinally did a little bit of writing today so!!! catch up time!!! we've got words!!!

this is from the prompt fill that i am STILL slowly slowly chipping away at. (really really REALLY want to have it finished this weekend but. who knows what this heat will do to my brain so. we'll see what happens!) for now please enjoy this lil bite of it!!

“Guess it’s a good thing we’re going shopping today,” he sighs. “Can you add it to the list?” He tips his head towards the kitchen island, and Eddie’s eyes follow the motion and land on the pad of paper and the pen strewn haphazardly across the surface. Eddie sets his coffee down behind him and pushes off the sink, crossing the short distance in one step. He reaches for the notepad, fingers curling around the silly little martian men and their flying saucers that decorate the edges, and draws it towards himself. Buck’s barely legible chicken scratch fills up most of the page, and it’s a testament to just how long they’ve been doing this — the grocery shopping, the list making — that Eddie doesn’t struggle to read it. The list is categorized by grocery store aisle, the way Buck always does it, and that warmth in Eddie’s belly flares up again. They’ve only been to the grocery store three times since they’ve become roommates. It took Eddie far more than three trips to learn the layout, to remember that the canned goods aisle came before the baking goods aisle, that the drinks and chips weren’t in the same aisle but each their own with another aisle in between them, that the bread selection was along the far wall, but closer to the deli than the bakery. Buck’s got it down pat, though, his list in perfect order. Of course he’s got the place memorized already. That shouldn’t be a surprise, though. It’s not like Buck hasn’t been tagging along on Eddie’s grocery runs for a lot longer than just three weeks. Try three years. Times two. Yeah.

tagging: @spaceshipkat @atlasblue85 @frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe @livingincolorsagain @wimbledon2008 @twobirdsonesong @towardthesuns @tanktopdiaz @usercowboy and anyone else who wants to share what they're workin on!!

[akai-anna]

to everyone who has participated (and especially reblogged with tags) in my DetCo song polls: it is so such a pleasure to come home to y'all enjoying (AKA making hard decisions) these

thank you for blessing my day after work, y'all the best💕

[ahgasegotarmy116]

One more idea cause the Bang-Able couple inspires me greatly. What about the first time she gets her period after she gets him. Maybe he's very concerned for her getting cramps and bleeding and he goes to buy her all kinds of craving foods and heating pads and medicines. You could have him go buy pads or tampons and he has no clue what to get so he buys a bunch of different things. You could even end the drabble in a kinky way and have him give her an orgasm to help relieve her cramps.

You know what fucking sucks? (tmi) I just started my period tonight 😭

So I guess this is a little selfishly written drabble to make myself feel better 😭

This is written in Jungkook's p.o.v

~~~~~

"So what exactly might she need?" I turn to Ava who's kicking back and enjoying my struggle.

"You're the robot sir I thought you would know everything. Plus you live with her? Haven't you seen her period products in the bathroom?" she asks, watching me as I pace up and down the aisle trying to figure out what she might use.

"I think she keeps them hidden or something because I've never seen them" I say and reach tentatively for a couple of products. "Do you at least know if she uses tampons or pads? Or does she use one of those diva cup things?" I ask, trying to squeeze some sort of information out of her.

"Y/n is honestly pretty private about her period. That's probably why you haven't seen anything" she says and I nod my head, everything making sense now.

"We could always call her?" Ava says but I panic and stop her. "No no no, she was sleeping when you picked me up and I know she needs a lot of rest so let's just leave her be" I say and grab three different kinds of pads and tampons and Ava scoffs at the sight.

"Aye you're not helping so I figured third times a charm no?" I say but I'm only graced with a shrug in response and when I toss the items in the basket she whips it around and goes back into the main aisle.

"So what next?" Ava asks and as I look to the left I see exactly what I was searching for next. "Ice cream" I say and walk over to the freezers, not bothering to pay attention if Ava is still following me but after dodging a few rouge carts she pulls up to me.

"Oh no that's fine Jungkook you go ahead, I'll just catch up" she mutters and I turn and look at her apologetically. "Sorry I'm jus-" "Just focused on y/n I get it, it's what you were programed to do. Do you at least know what kind of ice cream she likes?" she asks and as I look up and down the various selections I find it.

"This one! I'm sure of it!" I say and she chuckles. "You really love to please her don't you?" she says and turns the basket towards the snack aisle as our last stop.

"Well like you said, it's what I was programed for, plus you were the one who programed me so you should know better than anyone else" I argue and she sighs in defeat.

"You got me there I guess. What I don't remember though is giving you such golden retriever energy when you're eagerly getting simple items together for your master like tampons and ice cream" she teases and I roll my eyes, a habit I've developed from seeing her do it whenever y/n and I are doing anything remotely touchy feely.

"She's my girlfriend remember?" I correct her and she rolls her eyes proving my point perfectly. "Sorry, this concept is still new to all of us so it's gonna take some getting used to" she sighs but I take no offense to it.

I mean I literally can't because I'm just programed to have these reactions superficially but it's nice to see that she has manners to a certain extent.

"Are we good?" she asks, making sure I've got everything and I nod in confirmation and soon we're back at the house.

"Thank you for your help" I say while unbuckling my seatbelt and getting out to grab everything from the back. She would offer to help but I literally could carry a car if need be which is honestly a cool yet completely pointless feature if you ask me.

"Yeah no worries. I usually go on these snack runs on my own when she's like this so it's nice to have someone to come with" she says once I've come back around to the passenger side again.

"You heading home?" I ask, seeing that she's not making a move to get out. "Yeah I figured she probably wouldn't be in the mood for any company but have her call me when she's feeling better" she says with a pained expression, knowing how painful your periods are.

"I will" I say simply and wave before walking into the house to take care of my very sleepy girl.

"Baby" I whisper to her, caressing her face softly and she hums in response. "I got you the pain meds you asked for...and a lot of other stuff too" I say sheepishly, not having told her I was planning to go a little (a lot) over the original amount she had expected me to spend.

She breathes out a quiet thank you, her eyes still closed as she hasn't made any sort of effort to get up. "You want some help?" I ask, my thumb brushing up against her cheekbone and she nods slightly.

"Alright come on" I say softly, not wanting to startle her awake or anything. I brace her and sit her up against the headboard before giving her a glass of water to drink first which she downs half of.

"Good, now here can you eat a couple of these? I don't want you to be taking these pills on an empty stomach" I say, giving her an open sleeve of plain crackers so as to not upset her stomach and she does as she's told again.

It's good to see that she's obedient even in this state so this although painful situation for her can go as smoothly as possible. After she's eaten about seven to ten of these little crackers I give her to two little pills and hand her the glass of water again and she take it without a second thought.

"That's my girl" I say and caress her face which she leans into, making me smile at her clear want to be close to me. "Can you come lay with me?" she asks and I nod my head and go around to my side of the bed.

"Lay on your back" I say when she tries to cuddle in close and she looks at me suspiciously. "Don't look at me like that just trust me" I say and she sighs and does as she's told.

I settle in next to her, cuddling up close and slip my hand under her shirt and rest it against her bare stomach but before she can even ask me what I'm doing she practically moans in content.

"You mean to tell me I can use your hands as heating pads?" she asks with her eyes wide and looking down at where it's resting. "I thought you might like that" I chuckle and she places her hand on top of mine to apply some more pressure and place it exactly where she needs it.

"If I wasn't on my period I would jump your bones for doing something like this for me" she says and I laugh, "We'll I don't have bones but I can definetly help you out with that right now if you want? Studies show that orgasms can help relieve period pain" I say, trailing my hand down under her waistband but she stops me before I can get much further.

"Maybe later, I just wanna stay like this for a while" she says and I apply some more pressure since she seems to enjoy that, turning the heat up a couple of notches but not enough to hurt her.

"Get some sleep love" I whisper and kiss her temple. "I'll be right here when you wake up"

~~~~

Decided to go the fluffy route because that's exactly the kind of attention I would love to have from him right now 😭

I know I'm delulu but you are too 😭

But anyways I hope you liked it 💜

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

am i the asshole for not lending my uncle my copy of zelda tears of the kingdom?

i (17f) have two uncles which are relevant to this story, both maternal. they're the oldest and youngest (not sure exactly how old, one is around 30 and the other is in his late 40s/early 50s.)

last year, the older uncle lent me his copy of zelda breath of the wild. this was after about a year and a half of him having it. during that time he made sure i was well aware how difficult and lengthy it was, which was why he couldn't give it to me to play yet. i don't profess to be a gamer or anything- i just enjoy playing videogames, and i didn't really know what the zelda series was at the time, so i kind of just shrugged it off. when he finally did give it to me, it was after i let his kids borrow my personal copy of animal crossing, and he kind of just stuck the cartridge into my hand while i was leaving and insisted i take it.

i was and still am a student, and just didn't have the time to start casually playing until a few months later in the spring, around may. i really enjoyed it and got 75% of the way through by the time summer vacation rolled around, which was when my cousin (his son) started dropping by to ask when i would be giving zelda back. i told him every day for three consecutive days that i would give it back when i was finished, but he was really anxious to start playing because my uncle only lets them have their nintendo switch in the summer. i offered my cousin his selection of any game we had (as we have done multiple times). he said he'd already played all of our games and that a couple of the newer ones my brother had gotten for his birthday were "trashy" and left.

the fourth time he came over he basically stood in the doorway and demanded the zelda game, said it was his dad's, and that he'd give it back when he finished it. my mom scolded him because of his attitude, saying that my uncle mostly just borrows whatever games they want to play from us for up to a year and a half at a time, and we never complain. she told me to go get the game and give it to him, and he started crying and left before i could. my uncle came over ten minutes later to smooth things over and left with botw. he never gave it back and i never got to finish it.

back in around november, my younger uncle, who is unmarried and has no kids, gifted me zelda botw and totk, specifically because he'd heard about what happened with my older uncle. when my older uncle found out at thanksgiving, he asked me to give totk to him. i told him i was busy with college apps and haven't opened it yet and he said it was fine, and that he would play it and give it back in a few days. i refused, saying that i wanted to open my own game when i wasn't busy, and my mom, who was also there, agreed with me and said that i deserved the experience of opening a present and enjoying it on my own time. he tried a few more times to convince me unsuccessfully and eventually relented.

two months ago i opened botw and am making very slow progress on it because i just don't have the time to finish it as quick as i'd like. totk is still in the plastic on my dresser. a few days ago my uncle messaged me asking for totk, and i ignored it. my mom told me just to tell him i already lent it to someone, but today he turned up on my porch while i was waiting to go to school and asked me for it, and in my exasperation i said, "i haven't even opened it yet." he again told me to let HIM open it and that "he'd give it back in three days after finishing it," and just to let him have it. i told him no. and then i told him no several more times. at one point he got annoyed and said, "fine, be like that," and walked away.

some additional context: my uncle is not broke. he makes six figures and has a very good engineering job. he bought a ps5 almost as soon as it came out. he makes the conscious choice not to purchase his own games, i guess because he feels no need to when he could just borrow them from us instead? my family doesn't make a lot of money but my mom saves up so we can have games, usually as birthday or holiday gifts. i have never borrowed a game from him except botw because he doesn't have any to lend. i also feel like if he really wanted zelda totk that bad he could just buy it himself, because he can definitely afford it. my mom, maternal aunt, and cousins (not his kids) are all on my side, and my aunt says that my younger uncle doesn't like my older uncle and would be pissed if i lent them to him. on the other hand i just feel bad for holding out and being difficult because i want to open it on my own time, and i even though i don't like him as a person i still feel guilty for being rude to and pissing him off because he's my mom's oldest sibling.

so, aita for not lending it to him?

What are these acronyms?

[nabaath-areng]

People I want to get to know better

Got tagged forever ago by @tivaphoenix and @wanderersofeorzea , sorry for taking so long cries!!

Last song: Yurikago - 9GOATS BLACK OUT, thinking about how heartbroken i STILL am about their disbandment. no shade but I have never clicked as much with the members following projects. tbh put D'espairsRay in that same category as well. its been 14 years now and i still cant move on send help

Favourite colour: Pink, pastel first and foremost but also hot pink my beloved.... i love other colors too and if you looked at my wardrobe you'd be forgiven for thinking black is number one, but nope <3

Last book: Still haven't regained my reading brain unfortunately for any fiction, but I did read through my bee books recently to refresh memory on some stuff so I guess that counts.

Last movie: I still cannot remember cause since last time I got tagged in this meme I still haven't watched any more movies. same with tv shows. why is my adhd prejudiced against movies and shows I just wanna talk. the last one i can remember watching parts of was Jennifer's body but only cause I was in the same room as sibling and bonus sister when THEY watched it months ago

Last tv show: ... I can't remember the title. It's an anime I watched with gf when I visited them last summer. fuck why cant i remember. it seemed good though although i wont be able to watch more until we visit each other again—

Sweet/spicy/savory: all of the above!! gimme!!!

Last thing I searched for online: the history of the name to the neighbouring municipality since it has an interesting story and i wanted to share it with my dad since he didn't know but i'd forgotten some of the details around it

Current obsession: its an overwhelming flurry of hello kitty island adventure, zenless zone zero and the local history of my area my brain is fixating on the most atm. whichever takes over the most depends on the day lmao

Looking forward to: Family gathering in May (will be fewer than last times 300 attendants, but it will be closer for us to drive this time just the province above to where I haven't been in YEARS so i look forward to it. the family association selects different locations every 3 years that have both historical and contemporary family ties, and this time we won't have to drive super duper far).... and also potential specialist help for chronic illnesses starting in April!!!!! cautiously optimistic about it but still!

I have no idea who's already done this or not help. Tagging @amberwound , @vaynglories , @amis-amai and anyone else who wants just in case <333

[siamesefightingpiano]

You have been warned, this thing is 1k+ words long this was supposed to be a drabble why

Khaenri'ah, pre-Cataclysm, a military barracks near the main city

A familiar name catches Thrain's attention as he's walking through the mess hall and he looks to see his old friends sequestered around a table. There is no hesitation before he changes trajectory and approaches.

The two soldiers look up as he nears and his old roommate raises a hand in greeting. "Thrain! Good to see you. Are you free? Come join us!"

After a brief shuffling by everyone involved, Thrain sits down in the space provided for him.

His old roommate, Erik, claps him on the shoulder. "Look at you, man! Congratulations on making Commander. We knew you could do it."

Thrain smiles faintly. "Thank you. But please, don't let me interrupt your conversation. What was it you were talking about?"

Astrid exchanges a look with Erik. "Oh right, you know that guy too."

Erik leaned in conspirationally. "So. We were talking about how he's up for review now that he completed his residency. I heard that he's really talented, but rubs everyone the wrong way."

Astrid holds out a hand. "So really, no change from when he was in med school."

Erik nods. "Right. Now here's the thing. Apparently he really pissed off his last commander. He called him out on some bad orders, was proven right, then criticized him in front of the entire unit. Embarrassed his superior and the commander. It was a huge mess."

Thrain smothers a smile with a cough. "That is... quite something."

Astrid rolls her eyes. "Guy just can't keep his mouth shut. I'm surprised they haven't booted him out yet."

Erik shrugs. "I guess he's too valuable. But here's the thing. I also heard they're going to transfer him to Gunnar's unit."

Thrain jolts in his seat. "What."

Astrid covers her mouth. "Gunnar's unit? That's a dead end posting right there! I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

Erik nods. "That sort of personality in a place like that? That's punishment. I guess his commander must've made a big enough fuss about it to the higher ups."

Astrid shakes her head. "You would think that he'd learn to keep his opinions to himself after all these years but I guess not."

Thrain checks his timepiece before making to stand. "I'm afraid I must get going. I have an appointment to get to."

Astrid holds up a hand in farewell. "See you around, Thrain."

Erik toasts him with his glass. "Good luck to you, Commander!"

---

"Now that's out of the way, there is some housekeeping that we must do." His superior hands Thrain a thin stack of papers. "Since your original doctor has retired, you need to select a new one. These are the available candidates. They're all up for review and are available for transfer. You're free to choose."

Thrain sorts through the pile of paper, skimming through each candidate's profile.

The Colonel leans back into his chair. "Some of these doctors have just completed residency, but there are also those with more seniority if you prefer."

"This one." The words fly out of Thrain's mouth before he's even aware of it.

Henrik stops mid-sentence in surprise. "Excuse me?"

Thrain pushes a piece of paper forward. "Apologies, sir. But I want this one."

Henrik looks down at the paper and its contents. "Are... are you sure, Commander? This one's got a reputation. Apparently he has a habit of talking back and arguing with his superiors, he's lacking in bedside manners, is difficult to work with-"

"I apologize if I'm overstepping," Thrain cuts in quietly, "but I'm told that he's getting transferred to Gunnar's unit soon?"

His superior thinks for a moment before nodding. "Yes, that's right. I believe the paperwork is still getting sorted, but that is the decision."

Thrain looks down at the profile with its familiar photo. "If he's getting transferred to Gunnar, why is he still available?"

The Colonel clears his throat. "Let's just say that Gunnar's in no hurry to acquire new personnel."

Thrain stares at the face in the photo. "You're saying the paperwork is not finalized."

Henrik sighs and looks at the ceiling. "No. It's not."

"Then," Thrain looks up, deadly serious. "I would like to fill out the paperwork for transfer immediately and submit it for processing."

The Colonel presses a hand to his eyes. "So you're telling me that the first thing you're going to do as a commander is to poach another guy's field doctor?"

Thrain threads his fingers together. "Sir, I can tell you right now that this doctor is not going to do well under Gunnar. I don't doubt Gunnar's abilities as a leader, but this particular doctor... I know how to handle him. Also, is it really poaching if the other party doesn't even want the transfer?"

Henrik gives him a look before taking the paper. After a while, he side-eyes Thrain. "You know this man personally, don't you?"

"To an extent." Thrain allows. "We were briefly acquainted before he went on to do his residency. But I believe he will fit in well in my platoon. And Gunnar will have one less headache to deal with."

Henrik looks at him with raised eyebrows before sighing. "Well, if you're sure, Commander. Good thing you have your family name backing you. Doing things like this... I didn't think you had it in you."

Thrain smiles faintly. "I know what I want, Colonel. Thank you for your understanding."

The Colonel exhales roughly and shakes his head. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

---

"So."

It's after hours and he's standing in Medical. He watches his new doctor watch him.

"So." He parrots back, holding back the smile threatening to break out.

Guthred looks at him with those sharp eyes. "I heard you specifically requested my presence in your platoon, Commander. What an honour."

Thrain lets the corners of his lips twitch up. "There was a vacancy. I heard you're a very talented doctor. I believe you will do well here."

Guthred's eyes scan his face like a hawk hunting prey. "I also heard some very surprising things about how you went about securing my transfer."

Thrain takes a step forward almost unconsciously. "I was only doing my due diligence by completing the required paperwork on time."

The doctor watches his advancement with a flicker of the eyes. "Is that what we're calling it now? Hmph, I didn't think I'd live to see the day."

The commander slows to a stop directly in front of the shorter man. "I had a good teacher."

Guthred looks him up and down, thoroughly unmoved. "Is that right? Somehow I have a feeling the instruction won't stick for long." He pauses, and when Thrain does not follow with a reply, continues. "Well, Commander? Is there anything else you needed of me?"

"...No." Thrain sweeps his eyes across Guthred's face. "I look forward to working with you, Doctor. Have a good night." He turns to leave and from behind comes a disbelieving snort. Yes, he'll definitely look forward to it.

[wrongcaitlyn]

do you have any jegulus fic recs??

YES ABSOLUTELY

it's been a bit since i've read jegulus fics bc the solangelo hyperfixation has been so strong but i still have plenty bookmarked!! i'm just going to share my favs of my favs, but i have even more (21 total) bookmarked on my ao3 :)

(also, just gonna put this right here, that i 100% would rec crimson rivers, best friend's brother, and just lovers by bizarrestars, and art heist baby! by otrtbs but i feel like everyone in the jegulus fandom has already read those bc they're pretty much classics, so just know!! i love those fics!! but i'm gonna try and rec some other possibly less known fics here :))

ALSO ALSO - all of these authors have incredible other fics and i highly recommend you check out their entire dashboard!!! for literally every single author on this list. i'm subscribed to all of themjkdf

You Signed Up For This by Solmussa

James and Regulus have a summer fling that they promised their friends they wouldn’t have. Remus and Sirius discover their mutual hatred is just pent-up sexual tension. Dorcas and Marlene are always winning, even when they’re not. It’s a cruel summer for all. first of all i'm extremely attached to this fic bc it introduced me to maisie peters, which led to one of the best concert experiences of my life!! but other than that, this is just so beautifully written, so detailed, and an all-around incredible fic. everything by this author is incredible too!! it's got the perfect balance of angst vs fluff and just summer vibes, which is prob the perfect thing to read right now - anyway, DEF read if you haven't already!!

Mastermind by pieceofchocolate

Regulus Black is the mastermind behind the Liberal party. Unfortunately, he’s never been very good at the more outgoing parts of politics – on a more fortunate note, he has his brother to act as a front figure. Sirius Black has always been the sweetheart of British politics, charming the voters with his wit and charisma. That was until James Potter came around, becoming party leader of his own party, the Leftists. Sirius would probably hate him, if they weren't such good friends. Regulus does not share this problem. Remus Lupin literally just needed a job, and got thrown into the mess of secrets, games and an upcoming parliamentary crisis. With an election around the corner, things are bound to go awry. MCD WARNING but so worth it. like genuinely. it's a painful fic but there's also a good dose of fluff and i enjoyed every single second of reading despite it being politics and.. well, i'm from america so you can probably guess that it was very strange to actually be attached to these characters while they were politicians😭 this one's also so well written and - there are fics where you can just tell that the person cares so deeply about the topic they're writing about, and this is one of them!!! i love finding fanfics where authors are just incredibly passionate about the subject/au OH and it has a taylor swift title. so like. yk it's already gonna be good. (this is also actually one of my favorite songs ever so i was soo excited to read)

blue and yellow skies by alarainai

Quidditch Rivals turned Quidditch Lovers. That's what the world sees them as, at least. Too bad Regulus hates James Potter's guts, and James? Well, it doesn't matter what he feels about their definitely fake, definitely emotionless relationship. c'mon. there had to be one fame au on this list. and i KNOW that this one's sports, but it's so so so fucking good - and i'm gonna be honest, i've read so many of the band au's (there are quite a lot in this fandom, even i've written one) but for some reason i didn't have any of them bookmarked - which tbf, i'm very selective with what i bookmark lmfao but!!! this one is just SO good the plot, the social media aspect, the background wolfstar, just 10/10 fic!!

these violent delights (have violent ends) by damagecontrol

titanic au prepare for pain. MCD warning. but like, the pain is written so well, and it's so heartbreaking, and i literally remember staring at the ceiling after reading this (finishing at like 2 in the morning) and just not being able to think of anything but that ending, and like, you KNOW that you're going to be in pain bc it's a titanic au, but like, GOD it's so good. i genuinely don't even have the words i'm still depressed bc of it (but in a good way)

The Mystery of the Pears by sonwar

In the cave, Regulus doesn’t beg for it to stop. He begs not be left behind, alone. Perhaps this is why, when Kreacher gives one last look over his shoulder and sees terrible, pale hands reaching for his master, he appears in a flash at Regulus’ side, clutches him by the elbow, and Apparates them both out of the cave, directly disobeying his master’s last order. canonverse fic!! and such a lovely au. the romance between them is just so natural, and yet there's still the war going on - but really, it's just so well written, despite all the angst of the war, imo it's just such a feel-good fic. love this one so much.

Only the Brave by Solmussa

A fic about two idiots falling in love (x2 because there's wolfstar, too) during a war, and the sacrifices they'll have to make to survive it. andddd this one's the big one. this one's the one i choose to accept as canon. like. GUYS. THIS ONE'S SO FUCKING GOOD if you haven't already and you're a jegulus fan, you just HAVE to read it like genuinely. the plot is so well-thought out, all of the interludes give these other characters their own stories too, and the angst!!! but also the badassery!!! i can't even explain it but if you want a canonverse war au where jegulus survives and they all win, then, like, this is the one. it's so perfect. prob my fav jegulus fic of all time.

and those r my recs!! hope that you enjoy them, and i have several others in my bookmarks!! i've also written some if you haven't checked those out, but!! happy reading :) thank you for the ask!

[lisutarid-a]

[Gakuen K] Fushimi Saruhiko Route Translation

End of summer festival

LIST OF CHAPTERS

[Translation under the cut]

Kukuri: Fuaa…Sleepy.

Saya: Good morning, Kukuri-chan. Long time no see.

Kukuri: Long time no see. Are you well?

Saya: Uhm. You look really sleepy. Did you stay up late?

Kukuri: Uhm, I was reading a novel and couldn't sleep because I was curious about the rest of it. I read quite a variety of books this summer.

Saya: Eh…! I'd like to know more about it next time.

Kukuri: Uhm! Of course! I'll be very selective in my recommendations.

Kukuri: How's your summer vacation going? Are you having fun?

Saya: Uhm! I guess my best memory is going to the Blue club's training camp.

Kukuri: I've heard rumors that the Blub club's training camp is very strict, was it okay…?

Saya: I think it was fun to have an experience that I don't get to do very often.

Kukuri: I see! I'm glad you had fun. By the way, are you going to the festival today?

Saya: Festival? Is there such a thing?

Kukuri: Ah, right. You don't know because you transferred in this year.

Kukuri: There's a festival today. There will be lots of stalls and stuff, and it's going to be a lot of fun.

Saya: I'd like to go. Ah…But I have club activities today, so I might not be able to.

Claudia: Everyone, take your seats. We're on summer break, but don't let up. Let's begin homeroom.

Kukuri: Oh, the teacher. See later!

Saya: Uhm.

Saya: (All right, the work is done)

Fushimi: Oi, did you finish?

Saya: Uhm. A moment ago.

Fushimi: The rest of the club members have already left, you are the last.

Saya: Huh, really! I didn't notice that at all.

Fushimi: I'll lock the door so you can go out when you're ready.

Saya: Uhm, got it. Do you happen to be on key duty? Sorry to keep you waiting.

Fushimi: It's nothing. I also stayed behind because I had some work to do. Come on, get out of here.

Saya: Uhm, understood.

Saya: Oh, by the way, Kukuri-chan told me there is a festival today.

Fushimi: Ahh…Right, Misaki was making a fuss about it.

Saya: …I think I'll go there now.

Fushimi: Do you know the place?

Saya: Um, I don't know, but I thought after I search for it in PDA, I might be able to get there…

Fushimi: Tsk…

Saya: I-It's okay! With PDA it's easy to find directions these days.

Fushimi: It can't be helped, I'll take you there.

Saya: Eh? Is it okay?

Fushimi: In return, you'll have to buy something for me.

Saya: What should I buy? …Fushimi-kun! You're walking too fast, wait!

Saya: (I'm glad Kukuri-chan helped me change into yukata)

Saya: (But I didn't expect Fushimi-kun to wear yukata too. It really suits him…)

Saya: So many stalls! But since it's the end of the festival, many stores are closed…

Fushimi: That's why it's best to come at this time because there are fewer people.

Saya: Fushimi-kun, you don't seem to like crowds.

Fushimi: Nobody likes them.

Saya: Well, that's true. Ah, it's a mask shop.

Saya: …What is this stand out glasses mask…?

Fushimi: It looks like the President.

Saya: You thought so too, Fushimi-kun? They look alike somehow…

Saya: Woah, this is anzu-ame (candied apricot) store over here.

I haven't had it in a while.

Fushimi: Oi, don't hang around too much.

Saya: Oji-san, can I have one candied apricot, please?

The old man at the apricot candy store: Yes, one for 100 yen. If you win at rock-paper-scissors, I'll give you two.

Saya: Ah, I will try!

The old man at the apricot candy store: Rock, paper, scissors!

The old man at the apricot candy store: Oya, I lost.

Saya: I-I won…!

The old man at the apricot candy shop: Take two.

Saya: Thank you! I will give one to Fushimi-kun.

Fushimi: I don't want that kind of sticky stuff.

Saya: (I wonder if he doesn't like apricot candies)

Saya: Fushimi-kun, if there is a store you are interested in, please let me know anytime.

Saya: (Huh? Fushimi-kun seems to be staring at something…?)

Saya: (There is a chocolate banana store right in front of his sight line)

Saya: (Oh, by the way, he said earlier that I should buy something for him in return…)

Saya: (Could it be that he is embarrassed to buy it? …All right!)

Saya: Fushimi-kun, please wait here a bit!

Fushimi: Where are you going?

Saya: I'll be right back!

Saya: Sorry, one chocolate banana, please.

Chocolate banana seller: Thank you for your visit. Choose the one you like.

Saya: Okay.

Saya: Thanks for waiting. Do you want this, if it's okay?

Fushimi: Eh…Is that what you went to buy?

Saya: (He's a little surprised. Fufu, I guess I was right)

Saya: Uhm. I thought maybe you wanted to eat it. Was that unnecessary?

Fushimi: No. I'll take it. How much did it cost?

Saya: Fushimi-kun always takes care of me, so don't worry about it.

Saya: I meant to give something to you before, but you ended up paying for the juice I gave you.

Fushimi: I don't want to owe you anything.

Saya: I don't think you owe me anything. It's a token of my appreciation, and I hope you'll accept it.

Fushimi: …

Fushimi: If Konohana says so, I'll take it.

Saya: Fufu, I'm glad you took it. …Huh, did you just call me Konohana?

Fushimi: So what? It's your name.

Saya: It's the first time you did it, right? Because it was usually "you".

Fushimi: …Was it?

Saya: It was!

Saya: (It's a small progress. I feel like I'm getting a little closer to Fushimi-kun)

Saya: (I'm glad I came to the festival…!)

[Prev chapter][Next chapter]

[ballsballsbowls]

2024 Reads in Review # 3-10

@wordcubed wanted me to answer all of the questions for this ask game. Because it's all of the questions, and I am still working on it, this section is going to be questions 3-10 (I wanted to save overall best/worst for last).

I guess it's worth a reminder that my ebook TBR has only been cleared to about September, so a lot of the true gems I have been getting from events haven't come up yet.

3. DNF With Prejudice: Book(s) you didn't finish on purpose

I DNF a LOT of books (print books, probably hovering right around 50% and with ebooks probably more like 75-80%). I’ll stop basically the second I realize I’m bored. Most of them are wholly unmemorable, but I keep brief-but-detailed notes on why I DNFd if I get past the 25% mark in a book (mostly so I know if I should try something else by the author or not). These were my favorite DNF notes this year, lightly cleaned up for other humans to read.

The Bride of Lycaster by Perci Jay – DNF notes: ~75% No fucking?

Suck It Up by Emm Darcy and May Sage – DNF Notes: ~70% Everyone here sucks so bad

Knot My Type by Evie Mitchell – DNF Notes: ~30% insipid and unrealistic even for a romcom

ETA: Mercy by Ian Haramaki - DNF Notes: ~30% "What's with the boob window?"

4. DNF With Regrets: Book(s) you didn't finish but want to get back to

I can’t think of a single one. Even the books I DNF’d in November/December, I don’t think I cared enough to go back and try again. I did set a few aside to try again later but I don’t count stuff like that as a DNF.

5. Crowd Pleaser: Book you would recommend to almost anyone

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean (Historical Romance MF). I recommend Sarah MacLean to anyone who thinks they’re “just not into” Historicals/Regencies. The fact that most of her series exist in an interconnected world makes it that much more fun. She was inspired to write this series based on historical accounts of a girl gang. Bombshell would be a fantastic entry point into her books and into Historical Romance/Regencies in general.

Dragon Blood Series by Lindsay Buroker (Fantasy Romance MF). I’ve read the first three books and bought the next three. It’s got WWI-style airplane dogfights; it’s got someone using magic to give a guy jock itch; it’s got a steampunk society; it’s got romance subplots; it’s got a sword infused with the spirit of a horny woman. If you’d rather not read sex scenes it’s got shockingly few of those, too.

Playing the Game by M.Q. Barber (Contemporary Erotica MMF). This came highly recommended to me, and I can see why. It’s really sweet and well-written.   

6. Dead Dove Do Not Eat: Book you would recommend to a select audience with a mountain of caveats

This one’s only really the caveat that it’s, you know, Phantom of the Opera, but Angel’s Mask by Jessica Mason (Historical Romance MF) was quite good. It’s just also, you know, Phantom of the Opera but hornier. If that’s a problem.

I also have been having a lot of fun so far with the Seven Omegas for Seven Alphas series by Vivian Murdoch (Historical Omegaverse Erotica MF), which starts with A Duke’s Christmas Rejection. But Vivian Murdoch is not playing around when she says a series is dark.

7. Wasted Potential: Great premise and/or characters but fell down on execution

House Isador series by Joely Sue Burkhart. The worldbuilding is fascinating and fun and there’s MMMMMF and it still manages to be shockingly unpleasant to read. I read the first 6 books in a sort of fugue state and remember saying “I am still reading this and I’m not even sure why” a few times.

8. Blorbo Of The Year: Perhaps not your favorite of the year, but contains The Character

This series could easily have been slotted into almost any other “not perfect but fun” category on this list, but The Wayward Sons series by L Eveland (Contemporary Serial Killer MM) has THE blorbos of 2024. Mind the trigger warnings, mind the continuity and timeline, mind fifty other things, but definitely my favorite of the suspiciously prolific “gay serial killer adopted brothers and the first one is a psychopath and the second one has OCD and the…” genre. I had a FANTASTIC time with them and read all 4 existing books this year and have been sending my loved ones screenshots of pages where my Blorbos are Blorbo-ing. I am not even much a person who ends up with Blorbos or Book Boyfriends and I’m deeply invested a few of these idiots. It’s a shame that they are such fun and interesting characters and that their boyfriends are all thoroughly mediocre by comparison.

9. Compels Me Though: Okay, maybe not all of it made sense, but you had a great time anyway

I’m not sure it’s quite as bad as the ask implies, but Merry Farmer’s MF historical romances that I’ve read are definitely proof that there’s value in books that aren’t an A+ read, too. Her stuff is fun and an easy read and a solid B+. She’s a prolific writer as well and has started getting into MM historicals and MM contemporary now as well.  

I think On Thin Ice by Calliope Stewart (Contemporary Omegaverse Romance MMF) fits in this category as well. There’s a TON of stuff in the book that simply doesn’t work, but what does work really, really works.

10. Sleeper Hit: Not a book that you have to force into people's hands, but well-executed

Lord Holt Takes a Bride by Vivienne Lorret (Historical MF). It was silly, it was touching, and even people whose opinions I respect are completely unimpressed with her work for some reason I currently cannot fathom.  

Come Undone by Madelynne Ellis (Contemporary Rocker Erotica MF). I’ve been a fan of hers for years and rarely hear anyone else talking about her, and the Black Halo universe is surprisingly complex for being marketed as an erotica. She’s currently doing a lot of promos for Reflex/Replay/Refrain/etc., since she just finished that series but Come Undone is the first in the overarching series and has a couple major plot points that come up later.  

[the-golden-ghost]

Naturally I have to ask you about Fingolfin in turn, and also Curufin!

Fingolfin:

Obsessed with their character arc

What's wrong with them (affectionate)

This is the best character in the work

Not enough screen time

Brilliant showstopping incredible. He's the High King with the noble veneer and the hell of a lot of brother issues and daddy issues beneath the surface. I want to know more about his interpersonal relationships. He's a character that's got a lot of presence but is somewhat enigmatic and rarely takes the spotlight but when he DOES take the spotlight OH BOY does he ever take it. And then you have to wonder what was going on behind the scenes, what led to that, you know?

Also, and the reason I listed him as the best character in the work and not Feanor even though Feanor has more... character, I guess, is because I actually was aware of only one Silmarillion character (not counting Elrond) before picking up the book and that's him. His influence and legacy <3

I will say I agree with what you said about the fandom tending to not focus on his flaws, but I think that's part of who he is as a character - it's hard to separate Fingolfin, the person, from Fingolfin, the king. He's the wisest of Finwe's sons, he's the noble and steady and forthright leader who takes command in the worst of situations, the moon rises at his arrival, he's the picturesque image of the Good and Venerable Warrior-Monarch.

He's also a petty bastard who openly voiced his plans to usurp his brother. But that's kind of easy to forget in the grand scheme of things because of Fingolfin, the symbol. Because even if he wasn't a wholly flawless ruler with no personal foibles, when he dies... you kind of feel like he was. Truly, who could ever replace him.

Curufin:

Everyone but me is wrong about them <3

They got done dirty by the creator (?)

Rotating them in my brain like a fork in a microwave

What's wrong with them (affectionate)

What's wrong with them (derogatory)

Curufin's tricky (pun intended). There's a lot there and there's also not much, and what we DO have is hard to pin down and conceptualize in a single character, if that makes sense? What I find fequently with him in the fandom (although I confess I haven't delved super deep either) is that he only gets focused on when another character is being explored through him. Celebrimbor, Feanor, sometimes Maedhros. That or it's his dynamic with Celegorm, which is fun but I wish he was more fleshed out in his own right, not just what he can be to other people.

On the other hand though I get why this happens, because in canon he's largely a minor antagonist and we have so little of his internal thoughts (if any?). The few times he speaks he's starting shit and someone else is finishing it. He had a son (and maybe a daughter, hard to tell what's deep lore and what's fanon/someone's headcanon). He's in like every battle. He's got so many hobbies and he's not legendary at any of them. He's mostly just following Celegorm around. And yet.

I sort of get the feeling even Tolkien didn't really see him as much more than a vehicle for the Themes. He has to have son, because the rings need to be made by a descendant of Feanor. He needs to be proud and arrogant and a skilled craftsman, good with languages, because he's Feanor's son and image, but he can't be exceptional at it in any way, because Feanor can't be lessened. He needs to be Celegorm's right hand man and the one to put darkness into his heart, because Celegorm could not have turned dark on his own, or else the gods may have been wrong in selecting him as a favorite. He was married offscreen so that he could have a child, and then his wife vanished equally offscreen because Curufin is too wicked to be happily married, and we'll never know what happened to her, not even her name, or how that may have affected her husband, her child(ren?), her family. He has no motives of his own because he is not meant to be an active agent in the story, he's reactive. He's the little shit so Maedhros doesn't have to be. He's the conniver and the woman-stealer so Celegorm doesn't have to be. He doesn't even get the cool narrative fall into darkness that Maedhros gets - he was always dark. Someone had to be.

I guess my thought on him is that even if he was largely a character that seems to have been cobbled together to make the Narrative Flow with no thought for who that would turn him into, I want to know about that. There's plenty of Doyalist explanations for who he is and why he's like that - but the Watsonian ones I think there could be some interesting stuff there. What is wrong with him, indeed.

[biscuits-of-bagend]

DnDoc, Space Band #3 - Childhood Favourites

Kind of want to make a playlist of Rogue's music library now... any suggestions? I'll explain the whole 'Space Band' thing and what that is in the real world at the bottom of the chapter.

Part 1 Part 2

Previous story: DnDoc, Coming Home

---

Rogue's music selection was displayed on a large touch-screen set into one of the walls and Ruby's face passed through various expressions as she scrolled through it.

   "Taylor Swift, nice, Queen, of course, Linkin Park…" Ruby looked around the room then back at Rogue. "Sounds about right."

   "Hey, they're great," said Rogue. "You don't realise how lucky you are for music in twenty-first century Earth."

   "Ooh, you have music from other centuries?" said Ruby.

  "And other planets," said Rogue. "Hang on. Listen to this."

   He tapped the screen on a song called Rock the Socks off the World. A short sharp riff blared out of the speakers then a young-sounding male voice starting singing about rocking the socks off of planets. Rogue bobbed from side to side and nodded his head up and down.

   "Space Band?!" the Doctor cried.

   Rogue looked round and saw the Doctor standing near the entrance where they'd left him. He had looked up from his sonic screwdriver and was staring at Rogue, mouth held open.

   "They were my favourite band when I was little!" said Rogue. He laughed and said, "Will you two leave me and my music taste alone?"

   "No no, I love Space Band," said the Doctor.

   "Also they're actually called The Earthlings. People just get confused because of their song 'Space Band.' They were from Earth, originally," Rogue explained to Ruby, "But they've played all over the galaxy."

   "They're fantastic," the Doctor said. "But I haven't listened to them since I was like, a hundred."

   Rogue closed his eyes and breathed out nervously. "Forgot about that. The age thing."

   "Ah," said the Doctor. "You… okay with that?"

   Rogue nodded. "You just look way too good for it so I keep forgetting."

   The next Earthlings song had started, a two minute fifty-nine second track commenting on its own length from beginning to end.

   Ruby thought for a moment, then said, "I can see how this would be awesome if you were a kid."

   "Ten-year-old me thought this was the greatest band in the universe," said Rogue.

   "You ever been to see them?" asked the Doctor.

   "No, I always wanted to, but we were quite a mobile family and our paths just never crossed. I've seen the livestreams, but never in person," said Rogue.

   The Doctor cocked his head to the side and listened to the sonic cloud for a moment. "Oh boy, careful everyone. Step the wrong way and I reckon you'd fall into the Space Band audience right now, unless the sonic's just got really into drum solos in the last ten seconds."

   "The portal…" Rogue screwed up his eyes and tried to work it out. "It took me to music, to my Kylie-obsessed ship, so it could get fed? And now it wants to go see The Earthlings for dinner? …That sounded more sinister than I meant it to."

   "I think you're right," said the Doctor. "And most people who made it that far into the forest had no music left to offer it."

   "Did you ever work out why you were immune?" Ruby asked, looking up from scrolling through the rest of Rogue's music library.

   "Honestly, no idea," said Rogue. "I guess just different biology. I'm from a whole different dimension, so the bacteria just didn't know what to do with me."

   "Maybe, could also be the TARDIS protecting you. You were in there for a little while," said the Doctor. "And nothing's as magical as the TARDIS."

   Rogue smiled across the room at the Doctor. "True."

   The Doctor moved the sonic screwdriver slowly back and forward through the air. "Excellent, the cloud's latched on. If I put the sonic screwdriver in its console slot back on the TARDIS I should be able to take us wherever the cloud feels like showing us. Right now, I reckon that would be a Space Band concert. So, what do you say, Rogue, would you like to make your ten-year-old self's dreams come true?"

---

Part 4

SO, Space Band. It's a children's novel written by Tom Fletcher, one of the guitarists and singers from McFly. He and the rest of McFly made an album to soundtrack the children's novel and it is genuinely really fun. I ended up reading the book as like, research for this last week? And frankly, it's excellent. If I was 10 years old it would probably be my favourite book in the world... or should I say universe...

@off-traveling-in-the-stars @casavanse @monster-donut @letsargueacrossthestars (let me know at any point if you no longer wish to be tagged in each post)

[blindrapture]

and here it is.

arranged on Website as neatly as I could manage-- and, believe me, I got it looking neat.

this composition is unfinished just like the rest, but this time it's not on purpose. this one will be finished one day. it is an ongoing narrative, a good old-fashioned fictional Blog.

the writing style was selected in order to challenge myself, to push myself to be even clearer and even more lucid than ever before. this is inspired by Samuel Beckett's Molloy, a book that was a headache to read but felt inexplicably rewarding. you don't have to know Molloy to read composition no. 8, though. just, I suppose this is the closest I can really come to writing from a genuine "folksy" place. this is my folk. this is DJay Folk. immensely personal, local. this is the logical conclusion of the trajectory of the composition no. series.

the actual content was also selected in order to challenge myself. I want to mythologize the Weed Years, much as I would use Jordan Eats and Rapture to mythologize my early teenage years. the challenge here isn't necessarily in being honest and open about things, nor in dramatizing real events, but rather in putting words to processes that paralyzed me.

there's a much easier way to look at this, as this complicated set of requirements basically comes right around to describe a far more recognizable process:

this is poetry. old-fashioned, Symbolic-Surrealist, Metaphysical, every damn book I've taken interest in as an adult, poetry. I'm digging into my memories of the Weed Years and breaking it down into fundamental symbols and ideas. then I'm processing the interactions and crystallizing a genuine poetic point out of it.

the story itself openly acknowledges how and why this is so difficult.

I started writing this in 2021. I wrote a whole section of the story in 2023, then I only wrote one chapter of section 2 in 2024. in the past few days I have opened some notebooks and done some more rigorous preparation for what's to come.

hell, in all this time, we haven't even fucking made it to the Dolls yet. they keep getting brought up, it's obvious they will be a focus of the narrative. we kinda are coming close to them, though. I'm a little intimidated by the prospect, as I want the Dolls to capture a very specific undefined emotion. so I've gotta define that emotion first, then use the Dolls to make the reader feel it.

after the Dolls, there are some other upcoming structural elements I'm planning out at the moment. and eventually, the end of the story will involve the plot of my game Empty City, as I'd been meaning to fictionalize that one for a while. (it won't be a retelling of it, as Empty City is not about Jordan. but Jordan is a character in the game! and I want to explain what the fuck he's doing there.)

I do not know exactly how long this story will be. I would like it to be the length of a short novel, but I don't need to force that if the story doesn't call for it.

right, I guess I'll say some of the other kinds of things I say for all the other compositions.

so visually this blog feels more like an actual modern website. that's got to do with my decision to make the original blog using one of Blogger's newer dynamic styles, as Blogger will obviously try to use newer styles to capture a modern aesthetic. with this aesthetic, there is no image in the background, only a pleasant non-white color scheme.

I took the basic aesthetic of the original blog and simplified it further, removing the needless javascript and that confusing table of contents. the text is arranged neatly, as the priority here is the narrative experience, like a book. and even in the story so far, the text has drifted into "experimental" modes which offer a far more visual experience. I have been able to preserve those in the Website release.

there is also, rather front and center, a more obvious visual element. composition no. 8 will feature my art. I am actually drawing things for this story. so far we just have the "splash" image, foreshadowing the Dolls.

even just from this image alone, you can draw some conclusions and expectations for what the Dolls may end up being. the design of this Doll is based on the Rag Doll from composition no. 2. I knew I wanted to bring that dress back, I wanted to explore that Rag Doll idea.

I'll lay a couple more cards on the table here: I want composition no. 8 to be a scary story. I want the experience of reading it to be bizarre, considered, cerebral, and for it to feel like the reader has just kinda stumbled into horrors they haven't got the language for. maybe I just really want the composition no. blogs to have led to something substantial, something self-evidently worthy of being someone's favorite Internet Fiction. the same kinda thing I always want with my projects, but that's how I know this series is one of my projects: I'm getting optimistic about it!

and, like. what this story is so far is very dense prose getting at some very dense concepts through a short list of Symbols I find very aesthetically addictive.

the Dolls are one of those Symbols.

my self-insert is another.

EAT is another, and EAT does have a presence in this narrative, but it's indirect. EAT is the second-person this time. this story is being told to EAT.

and then there's the Eternal Mansions. they are related in some way to the Empty City. they may just be a geographical "feature" in the Empty City, I think that's a reasonable deduction. but if they are, they're the same Empty City that I made a game about, it's the Empty City as I myself see it. it's a land that doesn't really exist, and is just an allegory. but we must treat it as if it does, and feel around until we can identify some features this non-existent place actually has. it's a perfect place. it's not meant for humans.

composition no. 8 will continue. you can be sure of that. this is where it's currently at. I will update it on the Website and not the original blog. I mean, probably.

so this also means all eight installments of the series have been brought to the Website.

next up I need to make a unifying landing page for the series. that'll be much easier and will probably make use of these very rambles I've been putting on tumblr.

I'll see you when I see you. thanks for reading.

[ironwoman18]

Guns & Blue Roses - Part 7

Chapter 7: The two Bastard München

The following days were busy for all the teams as they had to train and cooperate with the Blue Lock kids that were part of their teams. 

Bastard were using their training to select the optimal candidates for them, with the use of cold numbers. 

Reo, during his tour around the other teams, learned a lot of things and one of the most important things he got from them was the “Super Special Training” of Chris Prince.

It wasn't personalized but with it he could train working all the muscles of his body in short periods of time with maximum value. That way his ability to copy would increase as he can copy Sae’s passes with more precision and power.

Isagi watched him training and asked him “Hey Reo, where did you get that routine?”

“I got it from Chris Prince, it's pretty basic but works for me”

“Can I do it too? I'm not that much strong and if I will face some pretty good defenders, I will need more power, I know it needs time but I guess it's better than nothing”

“Sure man... I can share and I can assure you that Prince’s routines will work magics on you in a short period of time”

And they started to workout together, they shared stories as they do and built a good friendship. 

Meanwhile on the field, Isagi was getting closer to the Japanese kids. Working with them and having a nice time together.

Kaiser was the most affected by this, he missed hanging out with Yoichi as they used to so the night before the first day of the matches, when everyone was out of their dorm, he laid next to him.

“Yoichi...” The dark blue boy looked at him “are you enjoying your time with your new friends?”

Yoichi, who was reading one of his mangas, looked at him and raised an eyebrow “jealous?” He asked, half teasing half seriously, and Kaiser huffed softly but didn't look at Isagi, confirming the question “really? I can't believe it... Kaiser, I have been around European guys since I was seven, when I met Sae, it was the first time that I didn't feel like a foreign person and now I have to deal with this?”

“I just...” He blushed, realizing his stupidity “I just miss hanging out with you...” He looked down and Isagi sighed, putting down the book and turned to look at him.

Everyone was finishing their shower or going to have dinner so they were alone in their dorm.

“Micha... Look at me” he did and his light blue eyes looked with a mix of guilt and shame “I understand that you felt like I was hanging out with them more than with you or Ness but... I like to have my Japanese friends too”

“I'm sorry... I was selfish and an idiot and if you tell Alexis I said it I will kill you” he said, looking at Yoichi and he made a zipping sign, letting him know he won't talk “it's just that it's the first time I have a boyfriend and I...” they both realized what he said and blushed deeply, specially Kaiser who hid his face from Isagi.

The Japanese striker smiled and laid on his right side, looking at Kaiser and started to play softly with his hair “Michael...” he said after a while of being in silence “Michael Kaiser...” He said again softly, no answer from the German. Isagi sighed and said “Micha...” This time he looked at him, his face was as red as his uniform “I never expected a confession like this” he teased but with a genuine smile, helping Kaiser to relax “it's been months since our first kiss but we haven't given this relationship a name yet... We just had dates mostly at our houses but never a name so... Umm... Will you be my boyfriend?” Asked Yoichi, nervous and playing with his hair more, Kaiser, who doesn't have the courage to speak, nodded and both boys shared a sweet kiss.

Then Kaiser laid his head on Yoichi's chest while he finished the chapter of his manga. Their silence was comfortable and relaxing until Kaiser got the courage to say “I wanted to tell you something” Isagi put down his book again and looked down at Kaiser “Noa is planning something... As you know our coach sent the starting 11 and a few guys from the U-17 so they can train right?”

“Yeah like Alessandro or Harry” 

“Well Noa wants to test two teams and apparently you and I won't be playing together” Isagi raised an eyebrow.

“Why though? We are the stars of the team and we complement each other...”

“Yeah but since you are planning so well with the Blue Lock guys and I will jump to the main team next season and you will stay in the U-20 team for two more years then he wants to test new things for you and the whole team”

“And how do you know this?”

“I was heading to the cafeteria and I heard Noa and Kingly talking about it” 

Isagi signed and looked at Kaiser “he's a logical man... If he's doing this, maybe he's right about it. We had been working together for three years and I need to play with others in order to get better” this time it was Isagi’s turn to lay on Kaiser’s chest “I know it’s hard but we know it’s true”

They heard some voices coming from outside so they pushed away slightly and Isagi returned to read and Kaiser to sneak glances to it.

“Hey Michael, reading without glasses? You are going to have a headache” said Grim with a teasing smile.

“You aren’t my mom Ben” he rolled his eyes jokingly and Grim laughed.

The rest of the team just gathered around and chatted far from them, so Kaiser took the opportunity and held Isagi’s free hand while checking the manga he was reading, and Isagi explained the premise to him and what they said since it was in Japanese.

The following day Noa said the exact thing Kaiser told him and added “…and since this is a long tournament, I want to rotate teams. For example tomorrow I want Kaiser’s team but the next day I want Isagi’s team. Let’s do a little match, whoever scores win” they nodded.

Isagi’s team had Gagamaru; Hiori, Alessandro, Reo, Yukimiya; Karasu, Harry and Marcelo; Isagi, Kyle and Terry. It was a 4-3-3 while Kaiser’s team was their classic 4-5-2.

Isagi’s team uses Karasu as a second central defender while Reo ran up to pass balls with his ability to copy and even though he wasn’t the central forward, Isagi moved like one.

Noa noticed the good chemistry between him and Reo and Hiori, it was even better than Kaiser with Ness and Grim.

The match finished with a goal scored by Isagi with an assist from Reo.

“I liked this team and they proved me this is a good team, Gagamaru, practice with the strikers to get better on how to read the ball’s movement, Kingly will help” he nodded “tonight there will be the first two matches so I’m going to need you guys to pick the match you want to see and take notes. I will be watching Berserk’s match while Kingly will be watching Manshine’s” he looks at them.

“I want to watch the Manshine City match” said Isagi and Reo, Hiori, Karasu, Gagamaru and Yukimiya joined him, Alessandro and Harry joined too as well as Marcelo.

“Perfect then the rest will join me to watch the Berserk team” Kaiser felt like an invincible fist punched him, like when his father hit him, Ness noticed the discomfort of his teammate and friend.

They left the field and headed to the showers. Isagi and his new group chatted on their way to the locker rooms.

“Marcelo, where are you from?” Asked Hiori.

“I’m from Brazil but my father is from Argentina and I was raised in Spain because my father was the doctor of Atlético.” The boy had brown skin with gray eyes and short light brown hair.

“Oh really? That’s awesome!” Said Isagi, smiling “I lived in Madrid for six years then moved to Germany, do you speak Portuguese?”

“Yes, my mom prohibited Spanish between us and my brothers and sister”

“Awesome, I met some Brazilians in Real de Madrid and train with them”

“That’s awesome!” He smiled then looked at the other guys, Alessandro had olive skin with green eyes, his hair was really short and black and Harry had white skin with blonde hair “and I met them at the Bastard München U-17 and we loved the U-19, by the way Yoichi. Why were you in the U-20 if we are 17?”

“Because I came from the U-20 team at Real and they accepted me there”

“Wow!!! So you played with Sae?” He nodded and they were in awe at the fact that they have a celebrity as their friend. Isagi rolled his eyes but laughed, they got in the locker room and they went to take a shower.

After they were done, they put on sweatpants and sweaters then went to have lunch and some guys were to take a nap others just wanted to relax. That day was free from training to rest their bodies.

Isagi was in his bed and Kaiser took this opportunity to lay next to him and take his afternoon nap. Yoichi smiled and covered him with his blanket while reading his stats. 

His numbers got better from training with Reo all week. He was feeling more energetic and like he could play for a longer time.

Isagi looked at Kaiser peacefully sleeping, which made him smile softly, then Ness walked in and looked at both of them and waved softly at Isagi.

“Hey Yoichi” whispered Ness “can we speak?” He nodded and stood up carefully to not wake up Kaiser.

They headed to Ness’ bed and he said as they sat down “I noticed Michael weird recently, I think he misses how things were before this”

“Me too, but first of all I want to feel at home having some Japanese friends and practice my own language, also I think I have the right to have other friends right?” He said calmly but firmly and Ness nodded “but it doesn't mean I don't miss you all. You had been my team for three years and I love all of you”

“Thank you for this, Yoi... I think I got worried because I don't want Mich and you to fight or feel alone” he said with a big smile.

“I know and I appreciate it and if you feel like it's happening, you let me know, ok?” He nodded more energetically which made him laugh “oh by the way... You seem stronger.”

“I'm doing a special training with Reo, it's helping me to have more resistance” he said, avoiding to tell him that he is doing a Chris Prince training, sometimes he feels like not trusting Alexis, he has his own agenda and he didn't want any troubles, he already told Reo, as well as all the Blue Lockers, to be careful with the information they shared.

“Oh that's awesome, Yoichi,” he said with a big smile. “Well if you excuse me, I have to get back there or Micha will be all lost after he wakes up” Ness nodded and Yoichi returned to the bed and carefully lay back down.

Ness left and Yoichi looked at him leaving “since when do you keep secrets from Alexis?” asked Kaiser, raising an eyebrow.

Yoichi looked at him “since when were you awake?”

“The moment you left my side. You know I have a light sleep” said Kaiser with a little smirk, Yoichi rolled his eyes “so...?”

“Since I noticed him acting weird, I know he's normally weird but he had been extra weird since I got here”

“Really?” he said, running his hand into his hair.

“You are so clueless...” Yoichi laid on his right side looking into his eyes “sometimes it's cute and sometimes is exasperated” he said putting his hand on his cheek.

“That's my charm, Yoichi” he said, smirking, then he leaned in and kissed him softly “relax, ok? Lex is just a weird guy but harmless”

Yoichi just kissed him again, rubbing his cheek with his thumb. “I would rather keep some information hidden for now. If I decide to share it with him, I will let you know” he nodded.

They kissed some more until the internal announcer said “Attention, today's matches are about to start” 

“Let's go Micha, we have a match to see” Kaiser nodded and both of them stood up, before they left Kaiser gave him another kiss.

“See you afterwards” they smiled and left for their watching room.

Isagi headed to his group and they were already on their way there too.

“Oh hey Isagi, did you sleep well?” Asked Reo.

“No I usually don't take a nap, but Kaiser does and he and I were chatting until he falls asleep, meanwhile I was checking my stats and apparently, I got better results in my stamina”

“That's awesome! I also got better results with it, so we can't stop with the work out sessions” he smiled big “you know, it's the first time I have someone that shares this passion to get better and improve. I mean, Nagi is amazing and I love being with him but he needs so much so get fired up and play perfectly”

“I understand... I had a friend like that back in Real... He wasn't amazing but he lacked fire to fight to get the best. He left football after I left. I don't know where he is now...”

“What was his name?” 

“Josep Ramirez, he was from Barcelona but his parents moved to Madrid and he had to practice football with us”

“Maybe his fire was in Barcelona” said Hiori, who was listening to the story “or he wasn't playing for himself but for his parents” said him with a bittersweet taste in his tongue.

Both Reo and Yoichi patted his back “maybe but if he isn't here today it's because he wasn't interested in football” said Yoichi with a smile.

They walked in where their assistant master was already there with popcorn, sodas and notepads “ready kiddos?” They nodded and sat down.

“Good evening everyone!!! BLTV is now live!!! Today we will have two amazing matches, we will be presenting Manshine City from England and Ubers from Italy”

“That's right! They are currently at the top of their leagues and their masters are two amazing players. From Manshine they have Chris Prince and Ubers have Marc Snuffy. And if we are lucky we will see them play”

“It we will be amazing Mr. Miyamoto, we can’t wait to see them. But let me explain the Star Exchange. Each master and their assistants can play for 3 minutes each. And talking about the assistants… Manshine has João Jesus, the Brazilian striker and Ubers has the Argentinian striker Pablo Cavasoz. Both of them can also play but they can’t be at the same time as the Masters.”

“It’s a shame we can’t see Chris and João or Marc and Pablo playing together but I guess it’s necessary to also meet the Blue Lock kids, the future of our country”

Then on the screen they saw the starting eleven

Manshine City: Rook; Damon, Busby, Young; Tokimitsu, Driver, Kiyora; Chigiri, Aki, Haiji.

“Aki is here…” said Yoichi, clearly scared and the other Bastard players were also scared “he’s creepy AF…” the other players nodded, even Kingly nodded.

Ubers: Canali; Aiku, Lorenzo, Aryu; Niko, Drago, Peron, Abdi, Rico; Sendou, Barou.

“The destroyer of aces” said Yoichi and all of them looked at him “that fucking zombie is one the best young defenders. He can stop Kaiser. When we played against him, I got lucky and was able to score because he was distracted by Michael and I used my movements without the ball to surpass his defense. We won 1-0”

“He’s tall and his movement is unpredictable… not surprised he’s a new gen, like you, Sae and Kaiser” said Kingly.

“And Carlos, the goalkeeper of Barcha”

The players were in position and started to play. They were taking notes as they played. Chigiri scored a goal and Reo was amazed because the red panther seemed stronger than before, that’s the Prince’s effect.

Then Barou scored and it was an amazing goal, then Sendou scored the second goal. And Chris sent João to play and Marc sent Pablo.

João replaced Haiji and Pablo replaced Abdi.

João moved the ball with ball with Aki and they moved the ball, João dribbled defenders amazingly fast and sent a perfect pass to Chigiri “there’s your right spot, red panther” said the Brazilian player as Chigiri runs to the right spot and shoot to score the 2-2.

“This is a really close match” said Yoichi as Pablo moved the ball with Barou “Ubers have a great defense but Chigiri is winning with his speed”

“Yes, none of Ubers defenders can predict that guy's movements or stop him when he's at max speed,” said  notes.

Pablo, Sendou and Barou started to move the ball from the middle of the field with short and precise passes, Barou dribbled one while Pablo did the same when he received the ball, Sendou was the less flashy of them but still did a pretty good job moving without the ball.

They reached the goal and Pablo sent a pass to Barou, who was about to shoot when Tokimitsu used his body to move him.

“Shit...” Said Barou “Did you get stronger, shitty wall?” So he had to pass to Pablo but he was blocked by Damon and Busby but Pablo smirked, sending a pass with his heel back to Sendou who shot freely but the goalkeeper stopped it.

The three minutes ended after that play and the assistant manager left the field and the original player returned to the field.

“Sorry master…” said Pablo to Marc.

“It’s ok, Rook proved to be a good goalkeeper.” 

Cooldown for the star exchange: 3 minutes.

“I can’t get in yet… I have to wait three more minutes” thought Snuffy, watching the match play out.

“They are amazing…” said Isagi, watching the match “Snuffy trained them well to move in sync and cover the other’s blind spot”

“Exactly… they are playing Snuffy’s play style to perfection but they didn’t count that Chris could build a nice team to face them”

Agi was covered by Lorenzo while Aiku was covering Chigiri’s spot and Aryu was covering Haiji.

So Kiyora moved with the ball doing his breakdance dribbling and passed the ball, Haiji desmarked quickly enough to receive the ball and passed the ball to Aki who shot the ball but hit the pole because Lorenzo touched it with the tip of his foot.

The battle for the ball and to score continued until the cooldown was over and Chris and Snuffy entered the field.

Chris changed Driver for Taiga and sent Haiji to the midfield, also moved Aki to the left wing.

Snuffy also made some changes moving Niko to be a creative midfielder while he and Lorenzo were in the defensive midfielder.

The match continued as they played and passed the ball back and forth until Snuffy sent a pass to an empty space, when a defender from Manshine was about to reach it, Barou appeared from nowhere and shot using his predator eye and scored the 3-2.

“That’s the end!!! Ubers wins with an amazing goal from Barou!!!” Said the narrator.

“I was expecting Barou to score but that pass was sick AF” Said Isagi, standing up.

“Totally agree. Snuffy is really good” said Reo and continued saying “he’s a good strategist and I’m pretty sure, he might be able to defeat Real”

“That’s pretty bold, he will have to defeat Sae and Leo” says Isagi “I don’t know who else is part of the Real de Madrid B” 

“In two days we will know,” said Hiori as they walked out.

Then Isagi feels an arm on his shoulders “hello blue lockers, I’ll need Yoichi for a meeting with Noa. See you later” he said then winked at them and left with Yoichi to the meeting room.

They walked in silence and Kaiser looked at him “how was the match?”

“Amazing, it was pretty interesting, what about your match?”

“Intense but I will tell you later” he kisses his cheek “but I can tell you… I felt bad for Monarchs”

This intrigued Isagi. They arrived and Noa asked Isagi for a summary of the match. He explained the important things that happened in the match.

Noa looked impressed and took notes “sounds like a difficult match for Marc and Chris. However I say the same thing about my match… Kaiser, can you tell him and Kingly?”

“It was a massacre…” said Kaiser “hat trick of Sloterberg for Berserk, one of those goals was assisted by Christopher Polish, their assistant master. Kitan Dent, Monarchs assistant, could do anything to stop it and they lost before the masters could get in”

“It’s clear that the Monarchs are the weakest team in this league. It’s a shame because they had a good team but Berserk was better” said Noa, then he looked at the teens “Tomorrow we are going to play and the most logical thing to do is to sent a special team because all the teams knows your starting lineup by heart so we have to surprise them with our second Bastard München team”

Yoichi nodded “I will get my team ready” then stood up “good night master, Michael” then left the room closing his fist and fired up. Noel Noa was trusting him their first match of their team so he will do his best to defeat his opponents.

OOooOOooOO

It took me more than usual to finish this one because I have to look for some information first and last week was tough for me.

Oh by the way, since I added two new masters figures I decided to add a cool down timer, so they don't spam the star exchange.

Next chapter will be Bastard (Yoichi Team) vs PXG.

I added some new players in order to build two teams, the blue lockers in each team were 9, in this universe, we have 5 so in compensation I added 4 new players to fill in their spots.

I hope you liked it.

[hot-take-tournament]

by the way, i've been wondering

if we do go back to the preliminary polls after the mini-bracket

what do we, like, call them...?

i mean, realistically, we should stop calling them preliminaries now, right?

because, at least for the forseeable future, we'll never do the bracket - so calling them preliminaries will just be confusing for anyone who finds this blog in the future and doesn't know the context behind it

so, we should obviously stop calling them preliminaries, and call them something else - that just makes sense

...

but

the take you guys validated wasn't 'we should cancel the bracket', it was 'the bracket should never start'

and according to the rules of the tournament that were laid out from the beginning, if that take is generally considered to be true, it means the actual bracket, the one in the master post, hasn't actually started yet, and also isn't actually cancelled

it's just that we're stuck in an endless hot take time loop of preliminaries and we'll never actually do it, which is different - we haven't officially decided not to do it, it's more like... we'll just never quite get around to it

and after all, i didn't actually decide to do the mini bracket until after i posted the miku vs chicken smoothie matchup, which was unironically randomly selected out of hundreds of possible takes - that's why it doesn't have '#1' in the title, it was intended more as a sneak peek of the actual bracket, and also because it's insanely cursed. i only decided to add the other 6 takes after that one was posted

so the bracket we're doing now is still a preliminary bracket, just one with (mostly) unselected takes - it might be a bracket, but it's not the bracket, which was never technically cancelled

so really, we are still doing preliminaries - it's just that we'll be doing them forever, for a bracket that will forever be just out of reach

like sisyphus endlessly pushing his boulder up the hill, but never quite getting to the top

and despite it clearly being the worst option, honestly the idea of still calling them preliminaries forever but just never reaching the actual intended bracket is weirdly hilarious to me

tl;dr: basically, it's either do the sensible and helpful thing by changing the poll titles so the blog is more accessible to everyone - or choose the infinitely worse and more cursed and confusing option of vehemently following the rules and keep calling them preliminaries forever

because it's got the same cursed energy i've come to expect from this blog

i know the first choice is clearly the better option from pretty much every angle, but the second one is weirdly tempting

so i'll just go with whatever you guys decide

lawful good or chaotic evil

i think i know you guys well enough by now to know which one you'll pick so i'm going to write down my guess and if i get it wrong i'll drink orange joe lol

[mistresswriter19]

His Prize Possession

Striker X Oc ( Requested By @scarlattobrightstar )

Author's Note: This is a very long delayed request I am so sorry about this one taking forever but I hope you enjoy. I'll definitely try not to keep others waiting like this. Really appreciate the support ^^

Mistresswriter19 X

Ellie eyes flutter with a blur using her claw to rub so she can see clearly she looks up

Ellie: Uhh I need a boyfriend…

Getting out of bed, Ellie went skip breakfast, taking a shower, putting her lovely dress on and tira with her dark green fluffy coat around her elegant Cinderella color blue dress top along with her white skirt that sparkles as she twirls with glee then opens the door heading out of the royal area because she was in a mood for a hotdog but of course if she says it in her area they would laugh and mock. Ellie had to go a different route: the area where the best hot dogs were was in " Not Mafia Town". She knew it was the worst idea to go alone so she called Blitzo to help her out.

Blitzo: Hey girl! How's it going didn't get any cock yet?

Ellie: Uhhh no…. I just wanted a hot dog and I knew going by myself would be dangerous.

Blitzo: Well you came to the right bodyguard girl I can grant ya full protection like this rifle, pistol, handgun, arrow, chainsaw, needles, and silencer really does work smoothly.

Ellie: I think I'll be happy whatever doesn't get me shot.

Blitzo: I got ya back babe~

The two imps enter "Not Mafia Town" one of the most dangerous places to enter in the ring of wrath. Everywhere you would go someone would be either shot, building would be burn into flames, deadly car chases, and torture. It made Ellie's skin crawl as Blitzo would cuss out a storm or shoot anyone that got near him or Ellie. For that Ellie kind of questioned Blitzo and his weird ways but she was grateful to trust him as a friend. Finally a nearby hotdog stand.

Blitzo: You think you can add cheese and hot sauce on that dog Senior ~

Hot Dog Imp: Sure I guess gonna cost ya more

Blitzo: Fuck it lay it on me

Ellie: One hotdog with extra mustard please

( BANG, BANG, BANG)

Blitzo: Are you fucking kidding me!?

Ellie look back to see a gang of sharks shooting there guns as one of them grabbed Ellie by the waist taking her in the car using rope and ducktape. Blitzo was fighting and shooting more of the Mafia sharks as he turns back to see Ellie kidnapped

Blitzo: ELLIE!!!!!! ( CLANK)

Crimson: That's for fucking shooting most of my men prick!

The head boss of the Mafia known as Moxie's father used a loaded gun to knock Blitzo out as he was dragged but in a sack being taken away like Ellie. In the car a good looking around as she sees a very attractive imp that wasn't like any others in the car who was looking the other side but Ellie kept her gaze on him he then look back as she turned away fast with her face turning into pink which made this rattlesnake imp chuckle. Ellie was already drawn to him but it seems strange how a cowboy like him can be involved with the Mafia gang.

Crimson: Alright cowboy show me what you got!

Striker: First of all I'm kinda rusty haven't kidnapped anyone for a while so this bastsrd I had to fucking deal with from the harvest moon festival and my lair of the ring of wrath!

Blitzo: OH YOU'RE THE SEXY ASS COWBOY!

Striker: And this pretty little thing is a royal which I despise but I think I wanna keep her for a while. She sparks my interest ( Place his claw caressed her neck)

Crimson: Good start cowboy, need more fuckers like you around come with me to the officer we have some discussing to do

Striker: Right boss, I'll be back with you later princess ~

Ellie: Uhhh…

In the office Crimson discuss the situation between why he wanted a royal because most of the royals are powerful compared to the mafia industry so what Crimson wants vengeance and goes out selecting a royal to experimented with no mercy this is when he calls on Striker and cowboy rattlesnake who would kill a royal in a heartbeat. However the Mafia crew is going to have a get together party once the party is finished at midnight Striker must exterminate the royal.

Striker: Some of your ways when it comes to dealing with royals makes me sick to my stomach

Crimson: I get my profit those bitches and fuckers stole millions from my industry and I want all of them to pay even for ones who don't know who the fuck I am

Striker: I always hated royals from all my years. I see some cry, some beg and some fight which makes me lose my temper to do the bidding and get paid .

Crimson: And this is why you're one of my most valuable clients who's a cowboy~

Striker: I'll kill the royal at midnight

Crimson: Good choice you can do whatever you want with her but when midnight comes it's off with her head.

Striker: Yes boss…

In the distance Ellie can hear Blitzo cursing once again a storm using anything to break but he keeps getting zapped causing him to knock out. Ellie was shaken and felt like a caged animal looking around seeing powerful shark gangsters with their guns, cigarettes, playing pool and drinking and talking as Ellie couldn't help but cry as she remembered she never liked being alone. She tried to calm herself down as she healed and exhaled while curled up in a ball. Suddenly Ellie hears the cage open and she looks up to see the cowboy that held her captive earlier in the car.

Striker: I brought you something to eat and some water. You're going to need it

Ellie didn't know what to do either if she should trust this rattlesnake imp or not but she had no choice maybe she can gain his trust. Ellie grabbed the water bottle off his claw and had the food he brought for her. She finished her white gloved hands tugged on her dress.

Striker: Please stop crying it makes my job harder…

Ellie: Why are you doing this?

Striker: Princess you do not want to interfere with someone like me.

Ellie: I can see in your eyes that you hate it… I just know

Striker: We had to make sacrifices and for me I made a ton didn't get me anymore but it get me some drinks or something to eat once in a wild I just can't think just do the thing.

Ellie: What if you don't want to

Striker: Have to suck it out like I always done

Ellie: You were flirty with me earlier but seems like you hate me to guts

Striker: It's just for show but truth be told you are a beautiful princess I laid my eyes on. I can't get attached to you

Ellie: What if you change, leave here and have a better life without the Mafia? They play really dirty and they're going after the royals like me.

Striker: There's nothing you can change princess about me

Ellie: I understand you just let me

Striker: NO!

Ellie try not to show fear when Striker tugged on her white glove hand. Ellie just stood still with the tears down her eyes Striker kept yelling at her to stop that because he will lose it. Ellie turned away but she felt her lips place into Striker's who gracefully kissed her full of passion. He laid her down as Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck. The bodied were close to each other Striker knows what he's doing is wrong especially to the royals. Ellie then also hugged him in between there passionate kiss. Striker let's her go but Ellie didn't want him to leave her.

Striker: I'll be back for you Ellie

Ellie: H…H…how did you know my name?

Striker: I know alot of royals but you the good ones.

Placing his finger around her face to hold Ellie's tear he gives her another kiss and he closes the cage and hops down to join Crimson. Ellie placed her gloved hand on her cheek still feeling warmth from Striker's touch.

Ellie: Striker…

In the party, the Mafia gang was using Blitzo as a pintia. Making Crimson laugh off a storm as Blitzo pretends to enjoys himself since he always gets into situations like this. However for some reason he's suppose to be torture but the Mafia gang seem to like him especially how he made drinks and this made Crimson piss more since he knows Blitzo is his son's boss he can be crazy but he's there for his crew. Something that Crimson never did for Moxxie as a father figure. Striker comes in drinking bottles of whiskey when he see Blitzo his blood boiled .

Blitzo: So came to talk dirty sex me

Striker: What the fuck are you saying?

Blitzo: ( Hiccups) I meant to say "saaaaaay you came to talk dirty about my suit.

Striker: I'm not gonna either bother

Blitzo: Alright fuck you then but listen cowboy your on my one night stand list!

Striker rolled his eyes he dropped his glass when he say the clock struck midnight with Crimson lighting a cigar and he went up to Striker.

Crimson: It's time cowboy go get the princess.

Striker sighs as he goes back to the wearhouse where he stares at the captive Princess for a long time she was singing and Striker thought it was beautiful. He felt like she was a true Cinderella or Belle. Striker opens the cage as Ellie looks back frighten which crushed Striker's heart.

Ellie: NO….NOOO NOOO AAHHH!!!! ( Covers mouth )

Striker: Just follow my lead darling. Your not going to die.

Ellie look back at him as she nods her head Striker then ties her with rope around her arms carrying her like a princess going up to Crimson and the Mafia Gang as they watched Striker carrying Ellie in his arms.

Striker: She wouldn't stop squirming so I held her to calm her down but doesn't know that she'll die.

Crimson: What a devious way of making her think. I love it!

Striker gives Ellie to Crimson as she's placed on a old beat up mattress. He takes the rope out of her arms and replaced it with rusty chains that go on bed post. Crimson lifted up Ellie's dress and threw her green fluffy coat aside she knew what was going to happen and wanted to scream but can she trust Striker.

Crimson: Since you been good with capturing many royals I decide this you can fuck her then kill her

Striker: My pleasure Crimson.

Crimson: If the bitch gives you any problems just shoot her.

Striker attends to walks to Ellie as she tugged on the rusty chains which lead to nothing her legs attend to shake. Striker's body went up against hers as she gasps he then kisses her with passion as she does the same with him behind his back Striker pulls out his pistol to shoot a Mafia shark down.

Crimson: THE FUCK GET HIM!

The Mafia sharks drawn there weapons and start to shoot. Striker shoot in between while protecting Ellie in his arms. Then out of nowhere Blitzo breaks free as he starts to fight and shoot up a rampage while chugging down leftover booze at the same time. Striker then breaks the rusty chains with his kicks and grabs Ellie managing to escape.

Ellie: What about Blitzo

Striker: Ehh I was going to kill him but maybe another time.

Ellie: Blitzo is my friend

Striker: Princess your making it really hard for me but I can't stand you being sad and not wanted.

Ellie: I'm no longer sad Striker, because I have you.

Blitzo had explosive as he plans to burn the place as he jumped out of the window as Striker dives down running from the flame as Ellie holds onto him, never letting go. They made it as they both panted as he then goes to bombproof pulling out his poncho wrapping it around Ellie to keep her warm and showing a way of comfort.

Striker: It will keep you warm

Ellie: Thank you

Striker: Your my prize possession Ellie

Ellie looked back and couldn't help but cry but this time she smiled and embraced her body close to Striker to two of them once again kissing showing their love and connection together. The two ride on Striker's horse as Ellie fell asleep into Striker's arm he rubbed her soft smooth magenta purple shade hair as they made it to the royal where Striker holds Ellie in place carrying her upstairs and putting her back to bed. He looks back at the sky where the colors purple and green form reminded of himself and Ellie. He attends to get up but Ellie tugged on his coat

Ellie: Please stay…

Striker: I'll stay for you my princess.

The two laid in bed together cuddling under the sheets slowly falling asleep together what a day it was almost being killed and shot but Striker knows for him he has to face it however someone like Ellie he didn't want her to face that danger side of anywhere she would go.

Striker: Blitzo made it because I like you so much your lucky I spared him .

Ellie turns to see a photo Blitzo posted on his Sinstagram he in the hospital with his crew and daughter with get well flowers and cheese and hot sauce on the table

Blitzo: I LIVED BITCH XO

Ellie giggle and was glad that her friend Blitzo was alive she then heard her stomach growl she forgot to eat anything.

Striker got out of bed to step out as Ellie lay there exhausted to do anything. She was happy to have someone like Striker she'll definitely help him change and be more loving and understanding Ellie has a good sense of that because compare to anyone in the royals she was always a devoted and kind princess. Striker return as be gives the bag to Ellie her eyes sparkle when she saw it was a hot dog with extra mustard that's all she ever wanted but maybe it was good because sure she got kidnapped but she finally went home with a cowboy who doesn't seen not so bad after all.

Ellie: Thank you Striker for everything

Striker: Don't need to thank me Ellie your life means more anything to me

Ellie: Your life matters too

Striker: I'll be by your side

~End~

[rowenabean]

Tagged by @gailyinthedark to post 9 books I plan to read in 2025!

I don't usually plan out my reading - but I do have a to read list of a sort (plus a second, secret, mental to-read list, consisting of the things I think I won't forget I want to read. I am not often correct and I should probably work on externalising that one). So: a selection from both the lists, so far as I remember:

The Edible Backyard: I'm over halfway through this already, but it's amazing and I wanted to talk about it. This is an incredibly practical guide to small-scale permaculture - for instance, in your own garden. It gets bonus points for being written by someone not only in NZ but in a part of NZ with a very similar climate to me, but honestly I'd recommend it to anyone vaguely temperate in climate getting bogged down in the ideas stage of organic garden planning if you're up for localising it a little!

The Road to Roswell: Connie Willis is one of my favourite authors! I can't believe I didn't get around to this in 2024. I'm tracking it down!

Animal Vegetable Miracle: started reading this over new years because one of the friends who I was camping with had a copy; one of the things that I think has got me so excited for gardening this year. Also I just really enjoy her prose!

Wind and Truth: I... admit I'm getting less excited about Sanderson than I was a few years ago - some of his more recent books don't quite do it for me. I will, though, finish out the first half of the Stormlight Archive, and that might be it for me for a while. (I have thoughts about why it is that I'm feeling this, but they are thoughts for another day). I've borrowed three of the precursors from a friend for the necessary re-read prior - although I warned the friend that it might be a few months before I get around to it!

The Warrior's Apprentice: I've been convinced for a long time that I would love the Vorkosigan books, if I could read them at the right time. I've actually read the Cordelia books! (A long time ago - my parents have a copy, which I read in my read the whole bookshelf phase in my teens) I know I can't do these on audiobook - I've tried more than once (and tbh it's not surprising for my audiobook tolerances) so I need to track down a physical copy. (I'm currently reading another book I tried on audiobook and gave up, but left on my tbr, and enjoying it much more this time around.)

Dealing with Dragons: Look by this point we've got past "plan" and into "on my book recs list so I guess I might" but I hear good things about Patricia Wrede

Raven Strategem: actually scratch that this isn't on my written list but Ninefox Gambit was, and I read that last week and it was very good. So we're back to actual plans again. I'm sure my library must have access to a copy. Feels like it might be cheating to also put Revenant Gun separately here.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Today: actually requested this from my library today, I'm doing a paper on second temple to early rabbinic Judaism this semester and felt like, oh, I've always heard about the Dead Sea Scrolls and don't know much about it; this is one of the books recommended by my lecturer (for summer reading, for fun, because I am the kind of person who reads about this for fun. It's relevant to my course but by no means required)

The Spanner in the Works: no cover release yet, but there's supposed to be a new Connie Willis time travel book out this year, and I couldn't be more excited. Involving the Inklings and Lewis Carroll, no less!

I had fun with this, although I don't intend to hold myself to it; thanks for the tag!

Passing it on to @brown-little-robin @allisonreader @siena-sevenwits @scarvenartist @ontologicalmoki @thebirdandhersong @madamescarlette @cygnascrimbles @coldwind-shiningstars if you're interested (and haven't done it before, I haven't been keeping track!)