#*incomprehensibly* these two are like yuri to me

[quirinah]

tending to wounds

[bravewolfvesperia]

mistralxsoul:

Flynn had experience when dealing with complaints and concerns back in Zaphias. In fact, it seemed like everyone had nothing to do other than complain lately. After all, most people knew he had a hand in ridding the world of Blastia and they were more happy to make sure Flynn knew just how unhappy they were with it. He wasn’t sure if it was worse or better on the days he decided to visit Dahngrest for negotiations. Most people normally did not recognize him as the Commandant, so a lot of the time, the most he would have to deal with was slight remarks from people under their breath as he passed. Insults that held no meaning. He had honestly heard worse from the kids that he and Yuri grew up with in the Lower Quarter. However, there were also a few who saw a random knight in the middle of Dahngrest and decided to act territorial and pick a fight. Like the one who was currently shoving his face into Flynn’s personal space in an effort to seem intimidating. The poor fool was drunk, almost incomprehensible, as he babbled on and on about how the Knights were useless, pathetic, weak and nothing but a stain on the world and all Flynn could do was bear it. The last thing he needed was to get dragged into a fight and damage the relationship between the Empire and the Guilds as it was beginning to heal. Flynn had never been that lucky though. As Flynn tried to turn away, to leave before things escalated, the drunk’s rough hand shoved him hard and the young Commandant found himself stumbling forward, hand automatically flying to the hilt of his blade as he turned, ready to defend himself because now the drunken fool had decided to turn violent. “You better start running before I really get pissed off.” A new voice was heard, one that Flynn recognized immediately, as he felt the familiar (and safe)  presence of his friend appear on the scene. He turned his head just slightly to greet the man before letting his gaze trail back to the drunken guild member, who nearly stumbled over his own two feet as his unfocused eyes tried to narrow in the new arrival’s direction. “Yuri.” Flynn couldn’t stop the small smile as he called out to the other. “Well, I was hoping to come by for a surprise visit but I supposed that’s been ruined by this commotion I’ve caused."

Guys like this were exactly why people had such bad impressions about guilds. Fact was, Yuri used to as well. The drunken part alone wasn't the problem - it was the aggression that came with it from the hotheads. They were the loudest, and it left more of an impression than the quieter people. In comparison, Yuri could see why the knights looked more upstanding, even if that had been the reverse of the truth before the blastia were gone.

Now it was reversed again, with the shady commandant dead and gone and the revered and beloved Don also dead and gone. The guilds didn't have a solid leader anymore, but they didn't need one if they could manage to be civilized, decent people without one. They hated how the knights used to be and left. There was no excuse for dragging similar shit here and being no better.

"That you've caused? Looked to me like you were just standing there, and knowing you I'd have to guess that's a correct assumption. I came this way because I heard a blubbering mess of shouting, and it definitely wasn't coming from you. We've had issues with this guy before though, so by all means, punch him in the face if he bothers you again." He and Karol had already had to talk to this man's guild leader, and at the time they had been assured that the guy was already on his last legs there. If this wasn't the last straw, he probably only had one more left.

It didn't help that he was trying to pick fights not just with Flynn, but other guild members that supported the idea of bettering their relationship with the knights so long as the knights readjusted themselves. Fact was, if Flynn was in charge of the knights, their reasons for picking fights with the knights decreased drastically. Before, Yuri really did get it. Ioder was in charge of the capital now though and Flynn was leading the knights. The reasons these people left the Empire to begin with wouldn't hold up in a modern day argument. At this point it was just stubbornly stuck up pride for something that no longer existed.

At first, the guild member shot daggers - he was always better at looking threatening than making anything of it with his skill. "What, are you a suck up to the knights now? They get a new young leader and suddenly we're supposed to all hold hands and be friends?" Flynn had been here to help the people's well being before when the Don was still around... and really, it was annoying how quickly they all hated him on the basis of him being a knight alone. If he hadn't been and had just been some random person, they would have accepted the help just fine.

At the time, Yuri had done a lot of self distracting to avoid getting as angry as he wanted to be. The whole thing was pretty stupid to him, just immediately being absolutely terrible to another person just trying to help. Even if Flynn hadn't been there on orders, he would have helped instinctively. Yuri understood not wanting help from knights, but... the disgust toward Flynn as a person had, at the time, been particularly upsetting. If it had any been anyone it would have felt uncomfortable, but Yuri knew Flynn and that had made it worse.

"Only this one. Plus, you hit him in the face which just reeks of jealousy to me. If you walk away now, you might not get kicked out of your guild just yet when I have to report to your boss again that you're an embarrassment to his guild." That seemed to be enough to get the guy to lay off, even if not before he opened his mouth to attempt a comeback and realized he had nothing. Fuming, the man trudged off, spouting something about proving his point one day, how he'd catch the knights showing their true colors and prove it to the world.

Yuri sighed and resisted the urge to shake his head at the lunacy of it. It was like that guy just wanted the knights to be a force of evil so he could be some hero about it. Yuri's attention directed back to Flynn when he determined the guy was far enough away that he actually meant it. "Sorry he ruined your surprise visit. I'm still surprised all the same though. What brings the commandant himself to Dahngrest of all places?"

[nailtagyuri]

Just Not's Burger King Bonanza

fics done! ao3 is cyberbullying me specifically so im posting it under cut until they reopen account registrations ^_^ [EDIT THEY DID YOU CAN CHECK IT OUT HERE GO GO GO!!] thanks to @/klonoadoortophantomile for reading the initial drafts!

If you need something here tagged as a trigger warning, please contact me via ask! This fic contains depictions of real life political figures, occasional graphic violence, and YURI!!! *thunder clap*

Morning descended upon the bathrooms-turned-hotel where TPOT was once held. The sun shone over the horizon and its light crept through the dust-covered windows, into the already noisy cafeteria smack-bang at the bottom of the tall building. Even if Two's "mandatory mealtimes" had ended along with the gameshow itself, the cafeteria still flourished as a regular gathering area for social interaction, at least to those who could manage a consistent sleep schedule.

Price Tag spotted their designated black and yellow table, where they always sat along with the rest of team-turned-friend group Just Not. They walked up to it, quietly asking Cake if he could move so they could take the window seat. He obliged. He knew Taggy liked absorbing the sunlight.

They :]'d comfortably as they eyed their companions. Book, Nickel, Cake and Bomby were eating with them this morning. Naily was still in bed and Pillow was probably also asleep, what with the obvious. They were glad the two had more time to rest than when they had things to wake up for, but a part of them missed the way Naily would sleepily stumble towards their table each morning, mumbling sweet incomprehensibles as she shuffled next to them and lazily rested on their "shoulder". Oh, how she struggled to stay awake in the brief moment before she guzzled down her dangerously acidic energy drink and shot straight up, bright and alert. But enough about her. They could talk to her later.

"So," Taggy perked, "What's been up with all of you?" "Crunklybrunkly zooper dooper," Nickel groaned, "don't even get me STARTED on this horrid excuse for a foodish substance." Price Tag saw Two cover their mouth with their paws from the other side of the room. They seemed extremely hurt. Nobody audibly got Nickel started but he kept complaining anyway. "Like, what's it supposed to be, melted yoylemetal?" He poked his dish, a gray, gelatinous, rectangular blob. It jiggled against his fork.

"I'd say it's Tofu," Book proposed as she took a bite of her salad. "Black bean. It's a bit gray, though. You should try it, anyway, if you want." "They don't call it gray bean, Book." Nickel rolled his eyes, sarcastically. Cake slid in. "You feeling alright, Nickel? You're not usually this grumpy." "WRONG ONE!?" Shouted Bomby, who gripped his head with his hands in sudden fright. "No, no, I'm not an impostor, I swear!" Nickel replied. "Ugh, sorry everyone. Just I wish the stuff we ate was… fine-er. The food Two makes is kinda mid."

"THE FOOD I MAKE FOR FREE, NICKEL?!" Two boomed from next to him. Nickel fell back in his seat, startled. His foot slammed his plate, launching the substance high into the air and directly onto his face. Everyone stopped for a moment to process what had happened. "Oh golly!" Book cried. "Your tofu…" "Uhh, ground sevruga, actually," Two corrected, raising their finger up nerdishly. "Only five spoons of one of the most expensive kinds of caviar on the market, condensed into a chunky rectangular delight and nuked in a microwave for 62 seconds. Better learn to eat it up, Nickel, the black sea can't provide these delicious tastes forever!" They walked away, smugly.

There was a brief silence, aside from Nickel's slurping. Taggy raised an eyebrow, astounded that a simple 'hello' could lead to such malarkey. "The heck did any of that mean?" They exclaimed. "Any of what mean?" Naily perked her lips to imitate Taggy's ,':{ as she walked up to the table. Upon seeing her, Price Tag's confused expression quickly morphed into a joyous :3. They felt their string begin to wag in excitement. It unconsciously thumped against the empty spot next to them repeatedly as if to gesture where she should sit.

Naily saw this and laughed. "Oh wow, so many choices," she teased. "I can barely decide." She crouched down before launching herself into a frontflip, barreling over the table and stabbing clean into her designated spot. "Nailed it!" She shouted, triumphantly. The rest at the table clapped. She pulled herself out and quickly grabbed her meal the others had been saving for her, unwrapping it hungrily and biting into it without thinking to take off the pickles. It was a cheeseburger, its buns dyed such an eye-burning tone of hot pink Taggy wondered how they hadn't lost sight just looking at it. Naily called it the 'Girlburger'. "But really," Naily asked as she took another bite, "what's going on, buddy? I heard someone scream from upstairs."

They turned to her slightly and explained what had happened. "I don't even know what cabby car is!" Nickel exclaimed through his loaf. "Hmm…" Naily put a paw on her chin thoughtfully, taking in all the information. "I think…" she spoke in a hushed tone, widening her eyes. The others moved in. "it's from the viewers' world."

Everyone gasped. Nobody among them had eaten food from, let alone seen the viewers' world in person before. Only Teardrop had gone when she was sent for a challenge, and they were extremely hesitant to discuss her findings. "That's nonsense!" Book cried. "Sorry, I mean… Naily, Two's a really thoughtful host, but are you sure they'd venture out to such uncharted lands just to make breakfast for Nickel, of all people?" Naily shrugged. "Yeah." "It'd make sense," Taggy chimed in. "They still have some of their limitless power, right? If they used it to easily come here from their home planet, maybe they could easily go from here to the viewers' world."

"Yeah!" Supported Cake. "Maybe they just like to travel, and that was, like, a souvenir." Nickel sat up. "Why don't we go there?" He asked, casually. "Y'know, see more food like this. It'd be a nice change of pace from all the Dragons and Dragons and Dragons campaigns." "You mean you liked it?" Asked Book. "Oh no, it was disgusting." He replied. "I just want more of it." "Oh. Well, that's a bit of a strange mentality- wha, wait a minute! We can't go! Are you insane?! We don't know what's out there!" She grabbed Nickel out of fear. "Well if Two can make it back in one piece," grinned Naily as she stood on the table, "then so can we, the 7th greatest team this side of Goiky! And I think I know just the guy who can help us…"

"I can't help you." Said Winner, dryly. "L." Shouted Price Tag, making a >:L. Naily grew upset. "But Winner, you're the only one with limitless power who isn't mad at us!" She pleaded. "Dontcha have a heart?" Winner frowned, slightly. She was right. Winner, after defeating Marker in a rather anti-climatic boxing match, had prophetically won the Power of Two and subsequently the grand prize. Being carried episode after episode through their loyal voterbase was a kind gesture, they knew that. If everyone was that nice, surely they'd be nice enough to not instantly kill a whole team with a woodchipper, right?

The thought of woodchippers reminded them of the British Exterminator Incident of '24, and they cringed. They shook their head. "I'm sorry, guys, it's dangerous territory out there, and I don't think you'd all fare well with that kind of responsibility. There's a good chance that if I let you lot go, you won't come back." They put their arm on their hip and closed their eyes affirmitively. Most of the group groaned. "THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!" Cried Book.

Taggy slid up to them. "C'mon, Winner, ol' buddy, ol' pal, ol' winner winner chicken dinner, you know I'd give you that kinda freedom if I were in your shoes!" "No you wouldn't." "Fair enough," they turned around and walked off. "THINK OF ALL THE FOOD!" Bomby cried. Nickel's eyes lit up. "Yeah!" He perked, as he scooched up to the defiant Winner. "Maybe they even have… purple tomatoes." Winner opened one eye. "The kind Two made for me back in the first episode?" They whispered. Nickel looked away playfully. "Perhaps."

Outside the hotel, Winner prepared to open a portal, waving their hand around slowly. "You guys owe me a real one." They said. "I'd get into a lot of trouble if Two found out I were using their powers to do this kinda stuff." Nickel got goosebumps. He and Two already weren't on good terms. "Oh, Winner, I'm sure we'll be okay!" Assured Cake. "So long as we don't, y'know… get lost. Or killed." Winner frowned. "Cake, you're a sweet guy, you don't have to be a part of this." He blushed slightly at the compliment. "No, no, really, we'll be fine! Book already told me all about how she escaped Evil Leafy, this should be no problem for her. Right, Book?" He turned to face her.

"Yeah, you could say so…" Book rubbed her arm nervously. Memories of her antics inside Evil Leafy were fuzzy after the 53rd puzzle or so, but from what she could recall she wasn't nearly as careful as Cake thought. Pits of spike and lava layered every corner of the dungeon and each obstacle grew more and more difficult for her to avoid; gruesome ends and embarrassing slip-ups were all too common and death became expected rather than feared, but at least back there she had some form of recovery. Who knew what this higher realm had to offer?

Winner shut their eyes as they began to conjure up the portal. Sparks flickered on their fingers as they moved hypnotically, a bright ball of energy starting to form on their rippling palm, flashing green and purple rapidly as it grew in size. The others looked on in amazement, gazing into the light as if they were challenging God to a staring contest. Naily, failing to break her stare, shuffled up on top of Bomby to cover up his fuse with her paws, in case a rogue flare set it on fire and blew him up. Besides the obvious, the last thing they needed was a loud explosion to draw attention to themselves, as if the electric crackling wasn't doing that already.

Winner clutched the ball with their fist. "So where are we going anyway?" Asked Nickel, choosing the worst time to ask a question. "Wh- I don't know!" Hissed Winner, hastily. "On the map, it looks kind of like a foot, if that helps!" They moved their arm back to aim. "You might wanna cover your ears…"

Two shuffled through their wardrobe, looking through their accessories before finding a large pink bow at the bottom of the pile. They brushed off the dust and slowly put it on, staring up at it to make sure it didn't fall. "How do I look?" They asked. Gaty finished her boba, slurping the contents at the bottom of the cup. "Absolutely fabulous," she complimented. "It suits you really well!" They smiled. Leave it to Gaty to give them a confidence boost. They sat down next to her, sipping their drink as they started to relax. "So what's been going on with Nickel?" Two groaned. "Ugh. It just feels like he doesn't care about all the effort I put in for everyone. He just casually criticizes my cooking like it's nothing, like I do it out of some sort of obligation! Like, I don't have to stay here, if I really didn't care I would've just up and left years ago! Why can't he see that?"

"Hmm." She thought for a moment. "Well, if I were you I'd show him the process of actually cooking the food rather than just giving it to him. It's easier for him to insult your creation because all he's seeing is the stuff on the plate, and not the hard work behind it, if that makes sense." Two swirled their tea like a wine glass. "Hmm… well, I guess it does. I'll see if it-"

The room suddenly shook violently, like a bomb had gone off and decimated one of the hotel's floors. The quaking lunged Two back in their seat, their drink splashing in their face and staining their bow. Whipped cream splutted like a cream pie in a circus act. "Oh shoot!" Gaty exclaimed. She stood up, hastily opening the closet. "You want me to grab a cloth, or some paper towels, or somethi-" She stopped when she turned back to look at them. She didn't know if their face had turned red from the sprinkles or the unbridled anger burning within them. It wouldn't take long for her to find out.

Winner stared at the portal, eyeing it to make sure everybody would fit, before hearing a flurry of muffled yet very loud curses from upstairs. "That's not good."

"RUN!" Shrieked Naily, speeding into the portal like a mouse into a hole. Taggy followed suit, then Nickel, then Bomby, then Cake. Book trailed last but stopped inches away from the portal, still extremely hesitant. "I-I can't decide! It just doesn't feel right yet!" Winner telekenetically floated some parts toward them. "Well you're gonna have to be quick if you wanna join the other five, I need to cover this up!" Book stared back at the deep, whirling maw before her… wait, did they say other five? There weren't only five other people on Just Not!

"PILLOW!" Cried Book. She'd forgotten all about her! Her heart sank. Pillow was already a hazard with her teammates around, who knows what would happen if she were left alone? She ran back up to Winner. "Winner I need you to throw me up to Pillow's room so I can take her with me!" "Huh? Book, I really don't have the time…" "You have to! Th- the lives of the contestants are at stake!" "…Book, are you going to go or-" "THROW ME!" She snapped, overpowering anything Winner had said or would say.

Book barrelled through the window into Pillow's room. Her eyes dashed around the pastel walls and contrastingly bloody splatters before spotting her, to her left. She appeared to be polishing an inanimate object of some kind. "Pillow, you have to co-" "I don't have a weapon," Pillow said, calmly. She snuck whatever she had in her sheets before turning around, giving a suspiciously contented smile. Book stared. "…Uh huh. Pillow, you have to come with me!" She grabbed her and leapt back out the window, instantly regretting not thinking things through. "Are we playing Yoylebungee again?" Asked Pillow, naively. "You forgot the rope." Book screamed her lungs out as the two fell down, down, down… Winner rushed to catch them both in their hand, throwing them in the portal just in time for them to close it off.

Two stomped around the corner. "WHAT IS GOING ON- Oh." They stopped in their tracks when they saw Winner, resting their arm against a vending machine shakily. The discomfort in their wide, crooked smile could be seen from a mile away. It created an uncomfortable vibe topped off by their worried, dilating eyes and furrowing brows. The air whistled between the two for a good few seconds, leaving silence so loud you could hear their muscles contract.

"Oh, hey Two, didn't see you there," Winner spoke hastily as they paced toward them, "sorry if I made a racket, darn vending machines stealing your money, rah! rah! rah! Really tests your temper, don't it?" They nudged the number slightly with their hand, "Hahaha, I suppose you'll be leaving now." Two waved their hands in front of them. "Wait wait wait, it stole your money?" They noted. Winner's pupils shrunk. "Oh, uhh, Two, you really don't have to-" "Well why didn't you just say something? I'd be happy to help you get it back!" Before they could get a sentence out, Two was already inspecting the vending machine for issues. "Let's see here… ew, five dollars for vanilla Dr. Fizz?" They rolled their eyes. "Stop." Winner cringed. When this was over they were gonna be owed enough favors to speedrun ten birthdays.

Book felt her eyes open slowly. Her vision was a blur, her surroundings morphing into an abstract mush of colors and simple shapes. Her head was swimming in a pool of nausea and stress. Had it been a dream? Could all this talk of portals and higher worlds be blamed on unconscious neurons firing alone? Naily stood over her, frowning worriedly. "Gee whiz, are you okay?" Book groaned as she slowly rubbed her temple with her paws. Her head throbbed against their eyes so much she felt like they were going to pop out. Pillow rushed over to her. "Perhaps she's dead. Book, are you dead? Say 'yes' if you're dead." Book sat up, mumbling to herself. "AH! ZOMBIE!" Cried Bomby, as he grabbed a rusty hammer from beside him and swung hysterically. "ZOMBIEEEEEEEE!"

"BOMBY I'M ALIVE!" Shrieked Book, widening her eyes. She slumped over, eyelids squinting as she blinked repeatedly. "I'm alive," she clarified. "I'm awake… where are we?" Cake looked around. The seven were surrounded by large, worn-down buildings, covered with graffiti and offensive etchings. An opening in front of them gave way to what looked like a street; that and the blisteringly bright sun above them were the only sources of light in what was otherwise a dark open tunnel. He certainly didn't want to be here at night. "Looks like…" "It's an alleyway." Pillow interrupted. "I didn't know we were going to the real world." Book stood up. "No, the real world is back- whatever. We've seen it. Can we go home now?!" "What? No way!" Nickel perked. "We only just got here, let's have a look around!"

NO!" She shouted. "Err, uhh, I mean, what about all the fun things we can do here in the alleyway? Like calculating the total worth of all of its many things!" "Three dollars," answered Price Tag, who represented the value on their face. "Hahahaha, that helps!" Book lied, glaring at them. "or, we could play Interdimensional Red Rover! I'll start." She made a mad dash for the portal, speeding forward and crashing into the back of a machine.

Book felt her eyes open slowly. Her vision was a blur, her surroundings morphing into an abstract mush of colors and simple shapes.

Pillow was quick to interrupt her reverie, grabbing her and flipping her back into a standing position. "That's better," she hummed. Book was dazed but at least she was still conscious. "Urgh… Wait, what am I still doing here!?" She cried as her gaze met the portal. She fixated particularly on the giant contraption blocking her path. "Wh- what's THAT doing here?! Why is this happening!?"

"Your companions probably punished you for not following the rules," Pillow assumed. "They didn't even call you on over." "They didn't even call her on over," Naily whispered to Taggy. She walked up to the portal and threw a lone pebble at it. It banged off the back of the machine and flew threw a window. "Yup, that's blocking us off alright." "So we're trapped?!" Cake yelped, fearfully. Price Tag attempted to comfort him. "Aww, don't say that, Cake! I'd say it's more like very heavy encouragement to stay." "That's all we really can do, isn't it…" Cake conceded.

The group was silent for a moment. "Well…" Naily lingered as she raised a paw. "The only missed shot you can shoot is an unshooted shot, ain't it?" She started walking off, Price Tag following close behind. The others shrugged, following in her footsteps. Book was so distracted trying to interpret Naily's phrase that by the time she could muster up a response, she and the rest of the group had already left.

Book paced up to them, "Wait, you're all just leaving?" She cried. "You can't! Shouldn't you try and break the wall down, or something? We're gonna get lost!" "Don't worry, we'll go back," Price Tag assured. "We're just exploring first!" "No. Taggy, no! This isn't as simple as 'exploring', we have no idea what this place looks like, or where everything is, or how big everything is, if we lose sight of this alleyway we won't find our way back and we'll lose EVERYTHING! Cake, you just got back with Loser after years of not seeing each other and now you're willing to abandon him?!" The color began to drain from his face. Guilt began to wash over him. "Well…"

Naily stepped forward to interject. "Book, you couldn't even break it down with your full body weight. Would you rather invest all your time in a lost cause or use what time you have in this new world to take a risk? Look," she flipped Book open to tear off a blank page, "You can scribble important information down on this and when we find something that can break down the structure, we'll go back! It solves itself!" Book sighed as she rubbed her temple. If she was so sure... "I really hope you know what you're doing. Do you have a pen?"

Just Not walked casually through the street, Book sketching important details and sign names on her pages in case they got lost. Cake was quick to notice how uncanny all of this world's inhabitants looked: their faces had strange lumps beneath their mouths and eyes, and odd, patterned shapes on both sides of their heads. He assumed these were arms. Almost all of them towered over the group, some taller than Bomby and Book combined. Their eyes were rich with detail and color, almost all of them staring back at Cake with an atmosphere of judgement and suspicion.

He felt his cheeks turn pink. Did they hate him? Did he do something wrong? He'd clearly done something wrong. Why else would they keep looking at him?! "Looks like these guys haven't seen an object before," Naily hummed, derailing his train of thought. "Everyone looks so… same-ey." Nickel whispered. "How do they tell each other apart?" Cake sighed. At least his friends were somewhat on the same page, even if they didn't completely share his mindset.

"This place doesn't look like it has what we're looking for," observed Pillow. "Well maybe we just need to dive deeper!" Taggy eyed the crowd and picked whoever they thought was nicest. They scuttered up to them, making a ^.^ and striking a kind pose. "'Scuse me, sir! Me and my buddies were just looking for some caviar, and you look like the kinda guy who'd know their stuff about that."

"I don't," they replied, briskly. "Ah, well, we've all got room to learn. But could ya redirect us to someone who knows where we can find any? My gray weezerino over here could really go for some sevruga." They dragged Nickel towards them.

"Sevruga?" The man pondered. "Sounds Russian. You'll probably need a plane ticket, or something."

Nickel broke free from Taggy's grasp. "Does it cost money?" He said, playing along with Taggy's cool guy persona. "Because I happen to be pretty experienced in the field of things worth five cents or under, if you catch my drift."

The man was silent for a moment. "If you can't afford it, you can also drive," they muttered. "Through the sea. You'd have to hold your breath for a while, though."

Book cringed at the reminder. "Aaaaand that's where we'll end things for now! Thanks anyway!" She nudged Nickel, cueing everyone to speedwalk away.

The man was left with his thoughts. His inner monologue began to scold him. "Damn it, Barack, you should've gone with them. They seemed nice, even if they were cosplaying as random objects." He sighed as he pulled out a special red, white and blue senzu bean. You'd think a former president, let alone a Saiyan, would be better at talking to people, but here he was. Alone, and about as awkward as a worm in a spider club. "What an Obummer," he mumbled as he popped it in his mouth, letting the chemicals and sudden nutrition wash the regret and loneliness away.

Just Not walked for what seemed like ages, the ever-expanding list of turns, streets and stops growing harder and harder for Book to remember. Whatever part of the journey they were up to now, it certainly didn't look like the beginning. Most of the buildings now were more than two hotels high, a far cry from the quaint forts just a couple blocks back.

Book wondered if her team were actually serious about walking all the way out to the ocean just so they could go to this "Russia" place. Finally having enough, she decided to speak up. "Hey, guys, uhh… are we going to do anything other than walking while we're here?"

Pillow looked around, before catching something in the glimpse of her eye. "We can drive!" She chirped, pointing off to the distance. The others looked: a large, black vehicle stood before them. It was chunky, sleek, and surely big enough to fit everyone. It led a trail of multiple similar cars, all empty and parked in front of a beautiful hotel, one of the tallest in the street.

Book groaned. She had to start wording things better.

Price Tag inspected the vehicle. "Hmmm… doesn't look very seaworthy." "Plus, if we're going to steal it," Naily lowered her voice to a whisper, "we'd have to take out the guards first."

She pointed to two flags, waving proudly on the front end of the van. Nobody recognized either of them. Naily winked at Bomby, who raised a hand, gesturing everyone to stand back. The others were still, as he breathed in. He leapt forth, landing quietly in front of the trunk, before wiggling his fingers and slicing them through both flagpoles at once. The flags slid clean off, landing in his palms.

"THAT SHOULD BE BOTH OF THEM," He shrilled.

The others were impressed. Naily cheered eccentrically, whistling and wooing loudly like she'd just seen pigs fly. "Wasn't that the coolest thing you've ever seen!?" She yelled. "Alright, now let's get in the car!"

Everyone obliged, Naily hastily shuffling into the driver's seat and grabbing onto the wheel. "Oh, uhh, Naily, I think it would be better if I drive this time." Book cautioned, eyeing the pawless pedals. "Why's that?" Naily responded, smiling at her mindlessly. "Oh, it's just, y'know, I have…" She stopped herself before she could say "arms". She remembered a late night bar conversation she had with a very drunk Snowball, who was unfortunate enough to bring up that subject around her.

"It was terrifying," he moped as he chugged down another shot glass. "All I wanted was to join her team. I was nice. I did nothing wrong. I told them they seemed like nice people, even if they were weak and armless." His eyes widened with sorrow as they stared off into space. The memories hit him like a shovel, jabbing into the nerves of his emotions and digging tears out of his cold, almost dead eyes. "And then, out of nowhere…" He whined, his voice cracking in pitch. He turned to Book suddenly and grabbed her shoulders. "She owned me!" He cried, shaking her hysterically. Book could see the fear and vulnerability in his pupils as they dilated and shook. "She owned me! SHE OWNED ME! SHE OWNED ME, BOOK! I WAS OWNED! SHE OWNED ME!"

She didn't quite know what "owned" meant in this case, no matter how many times it was repeated. But if famous tough-guy Snowball was afraid to get on Naily's bad side, chances were Book should very much avoid that path as well.

"…a very strong drivers' spirit!" She finished. "Mine's stronger," Naily grinned. "C'mon, Price Tag, you take the pedals!" "On it!" They saluted, sitting comfortably beneath her. Book sighed as she moved to the back seat, while Bomby took passenger's. If anything went wrong she wouldn't be to blame.

After a bit of fumbling with the ignition and figuring out how four people would fit in two seats, the car started and the group were off. Nickel could barely make out someone glaring at them from inside the building, but he didn't care. This was a whole new experience for him! He shuffled his feet, making sure that they didn't damage Cake's frosting as he sat on top of him.

Book, meanwhile, sat directly in front of Pillow, whose arms wrapped around her in a spooning position. Pillow, ironically, was very passionate about keeping herself safe. She was the only one in the car, aside from Cake, who had strapped themselves in, and had even encouraged Book to share the seatbelt with her. She denied, nonetheless. She didn't need it on such a casual drive, and would hate to make either of them uncomfortable with a tight squeeze.

Naily stared at all the viewers, and they stared back. They'd been doing that a lot, hadn't they? Was it the van this time? She couldn't understand why it'd be such a spectacle to them, what with its all black coloring and rather uninteresting interior. Perhaps these viewers were just very easy to excite. Their brains would probably implode if they saw something with as much visual noise as the Freesmart Supervan, she thought.

Her brows quickly furrowed into a frown when she saw a series of billboards looming over the rest of the town. They all had the same image plastered over them: a creature, presumably a viewer, smiling smugly at the camera, in a confident, commanding pose. Underneath them, a series of stripes and a string of bolded, instructional text:

"Vote Ron DeSantis for presidential reelection, November 2028. A stronger government, a stronger America."

Naily scoffed. She hadn't even made it past her own team's first elimination, and here this guy was, plastering their mug everywhere trying to get people to vote for them twice? As if one victory wasn't enough? Something about it made her blood boil. It wasn't like their silly campaign would even work, anyway, none of the billboards even had letters or square brackets.

She saw some viewers in blue uniforms ripping a much smaller poster off a building: it had similar messaging, but the colors and figure looked different. Most likely it was endorsing someone else, encouraging viewers to vote for an opponent or a teammate. The blue uniformed viewers tore it off, ripping it to bits, before throwing what was left on the ground.

Whoever these contestants were the prize they were battling for must've been really elusive if it meant they were willing to hire their own personal goons. What prize could somehow be more enticing than limitless power? Why were these people so desperate to win it? Just a viewer thing, she guessed. As if object traditions were any less weird.

"So what do you all wanna do first?" Nickel inquired. "Ooh, let's see if they have a beauty salon!" Taggy smirked. "I'd personally LOVE to get my nails done." "That's funny," said Naily. "Thank you. But really, wasn't the plan to get something to eat?" "Didn't you hear the guy before?" Cake butted in. "The caviar we're looking for is probably 2763 canals away." "That doesn't mean we can't try something else!" Nickel replied. "Yeah! Let's see if they have any cool restaurants 'round here." As if on cue, Pillow looked out the window, immediately noticing a sign that stood out from the others. "How does Burger King sound?"

The rest of her team turned their attention to the restaurant. The bright and colorful branding of the logo enticed all of them. The word "burger" implied food, meat. A meal they could all share; the word "king" implied either medieval decadence or supremacy, as if the cooks here were the metaphorical kings of all burgers, delivering quality unmatched by any other chain.

"Don't mind if I do," Naily muttered under her breath as she turned the car around and moved into the Drive Thru. She knew how this kind of thing worked from her team's many late night visits to Gelatin's Steakhouse, but the experience of being in the driver's seat for once was almost surreal in a way. "So what do you all want?" She asked, flinching at the unnatural feeling of those words spilling out of her own mouth.

One by one, everyone listed off what they wanted. Being the only photosynthetic creature among them, Price Tag jokingly asked for a torch.

Naily rolled down the window and forwarded the message to the speaker, whose gritty and bitcrushed voice directed them to the next window. She did so, reaching what appeared to be the restaurant's kitchen and playing Where's Woody with her order as she stared through the window.

"Oh, there's other cooks. Do you want me to take care of them?" Asked Pillow, innocently. "No, it's fine." Naily replied, not knowing exactly what that meant. She tapped the wheel mindlessly as boredom began to set in. The group was left in awkward silence for a brief moment. "Let's listen to some music!" Pillow chimed in, again. She shoved Book off her and reached into the front seat, clicking the radio on. The scratchy, radical voice echoed through the car's walls. "And next up on our totally tubular 2000s throwback, 'This is Such a Pity' by Weezer!"

Pillow appeared to recognize the name, and showing more emotion in that moment than throughout the rest of the trip, she frowned slightly and clicked the radio back off. "Silence also has its perks." As awkwardness descended upon the vehicle, each member of Just Not silently waited for another to speak up, spark a conversation and break the tension.

"How would we kiss?" Price Tag inquired.

Naily raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What? M…me?" "Yeah," They looked up at her and smiled casually. "How would we kiss?" "Uhhh…" She was confused more than anything. Hadn't she already kissed them plenty of times before? "You mean…" She moved to give Price Tag a casual yet loving smooch on their forehead. They chuckled as their face began to warm slightly. They didn't expect her to demonstrate, but weren't complaining. "Oh, nah, heheheh, I mean more…" Their voice grew quiet. "more deeper than that, if that makes sense."

"Oh." Naily's face lit up. "OH, you mean, like, you wanna make out? Like…" She looked out the window, then back to them. "…like now?" They silently nodded, making a bashful <:].

She frowned, sympathetically. "Oh, Taggy, sweetheart, I'm sorry, but you don't exactly have a… 'mouth' mouth, do you? There's not much for me to work with…" They matched their expression, a disappointed :(. She was correct. Price Tag did technically have a mouth but it lacked any depth and couldn't be used for anything other than talking and making faces. The closest thing they could get to tasting anything was their antennae, which they used to drink water and absorb light energy for nutrition. Using that would be unbelievably awkward, though…

"If there isn't a way," they technically lied, "can we at least pretend?" Naily smiled. That she could do. Turning them down at this point would just be cruel. "Oh, alright," she grinned, playfully rolling her eyes. "C'mere." She pulled Price Tag towards her for a kiss. They let out an adorable EEK! as their "lips" met Naily's.

Within seconds the LARP kissing session was in full swing, much to the chagrin of Nickel who looked on in partial disgust. Despite being on their team, he hadn't seen the two interact much, especially not with such blatant intimacy. "Ugh, somebody needs to get a room. Are they always like this?" He hissed to Bomby.

"YEP," he beamed. He could confirm what with how close the three had grown since Naily's return from years of separation. The long-distance relationship they were forced to adapt to after TPOT 5 didn't exactly scratch their mutual itch to be in each others arms. The current sight brought back a particularly pleasant memory from more recent times:

When the show ended and they finally had a chance to reunite, the three had all built up such a desire to give affection to one another that the first thing they did as soon as they made physical contact was hug for three straight days. Sometimes, Bomby would do some footwork, carrying them into their room and grabbing drinks or food, all while not breaking the hug of course. But for the most part, those blissful 75 hours were spent doing nothing but chatting, snuggling, relaxing, and watching random shows on TV. Oh, the way they all cackled watching the Exitors' real time fandubs and hilariously bad reruns of the Object Bang Theory…

Since that faithful day, one would rarely be seen without the two others. The closest they got to splitting was when they chose to sit at different tables, over an argument regarding how to spell fortnite, a period of two weeks, which was resolved later that morning. But aside from that, they were strung together like a sowed blanket. Or, rather, welded together like three small Lego pieces, pressed together with ease and virtually impossible to be separated from that point onward.

Naily slowly moved backwards as she stared into her lovers eyes. "You're so beautiful," she hummed. Price Tag chuckled sheepishly as their blush deepened, before gazing off to their left. "Naily…" "Yes, honey?" She pulled them closer. "She's here…" "Yeah, I'm here…" She wrapped her paws around them in a hug. "I'm so sorry I ever left you…" "No, I mean…" They frowned. "At the window. Our order's here." Naily looked to see someone with bags of food. "SHOOT!" She cried as she dropped Price Tag and scrambled to look natural. "We'll, uhh, be taking our food now, thanks!" She smirked, nervously.

The worker was uninterested. "Uh-huh," She muttered tiredly as she handed the bags of food over to her customer, who grabbed on to them with what she thought were really large gloves. She didn't know what it was with these kids and their weird ass fashion trends but at this point she was so exhausted that she couldn't bother to care. Working 16 straight hours without a wink of rest had taken its toll and all she wanted was to get this last bunch of customers over with so she could end her shift. "Will that be cash or credit?" She sighed.

Naily blinked. "What?" "Cash or credit?" The cashier repeated. "How are you going to pay for your order?" Nickel stood up and slid over to the front. "Oh, I think I see what this guy's deal is. Check this out!" He flopped face-first onto the counter. The cashier stared down at him, then up at Naily, who stared back with an inattentive grin. "…Is that a nickel?" The unamused cashier mumbled. "The one and only!" She confirmed. "Okay. This is five cents," she said, blankly. "Your order is $104.86." "Uhhh, actually it's worth much more than meets the eye!" Book interjected, trying to stop a conflict before it could begin. She scrambled to make something up, "It's a one of a kind, uhhh… Nicko…min…ator, the last of its species!"

"What? No I'm not!" "Oh yeah, you are!" Price Tag >:]'d, sticking to the bit. "He's only one of the highest priced thingamajigs on the market!" They wrapped their string around him and fibbed the highest value they could count to. "check it, 8 whole bucks!"

Book facepalmed. Cake grew worried. "Wait, are we really gonna just leave him here?" "It's fine," said Pillow. "There's other ones." The cashier raised an eyebrow. "So he's not one of a kind? W-Whatever, we can't accept this. If you can't afford to pay for your order I'm afraid you'll have to return it." "Well," sighed Nickel as he stood up, "I know when I'm beat."

"Now just hold on, Nickel…" Naily flicked him back over on his back. "I think I can make this work. Here, I'll write you a check." She opened the glove compartment and grabbed a paper slip. She scribbled something down and slapped it on the counter, sliding it over to the cashier, who was too tired to realize she couldn't accept that as payment either.

She picked up the slip and was met with a crudely written note, "Distraction". "DRIVE!" Shouted Naily. By the time the cashier had realized what was going on, her group of dine-and-dashers had already sped off, with the food, but without the odd nickel cosplayer that still lay on her desk. "They're gone, aren't they?" He asked. Wendy sighed. Trillions of entities in the universe and none of them wanted to give her a single fucking break. She pressed a button at the top of the room, "Code 2762 at 1:15," before resting her chin on the bar and waiting to be allowed to leave. "You got anything you wanna kill time with?" She slurred to the coin costumed fellow. "Uhhh…" He thought of an interesting conversation topic. "I cranked a machine once."

"What are you doing?!" Cried Cake as he watched the Burger King fade away from his vision. "He's still in there! NICKEL'S STILL IN THE RESTAURANT!" "Oh yeah… Well, the only option to get him back I can think of is to go through the Drive Thru again, and that's gonna need a lotta quick maneuvering now that we've burned bridges." Naily searched through the bags for some fries. "How about we eat first? Can't have good reflexes on an empty stomach!" Price Tag looked up at her. "I thought you already ate?" "But these are better for the brain," replied Naily as she stuffed a pawful of fries in her mouth. "Potatoes and all. Not as high in mercury." "Ah, that's fair."

Naily handed a fry over to Book, who handed it over to Cake. "You want this one, Cake?" "I'll eat when we get home," he muttered, quietly, as Book took the fry back and ate it. He was too pertubed to dwell on food. How could anybody not be pertubed knowing one of their friends was accidentally left behind? How was nobody freaking out?! Book could see he was fearful, almost to the point of tears. "Cake? Are you feeling alright?"

"We left him behind…" He weeped. "We abandoned him! We're never gonna see him again!" Book felt guilt wash over her. "Oh, don't say that! You know he's just a few blocks away." She rubbed his back. "Look, I know our teammates are a bit… erratic, at times, but they still care deeply about their friends, don't they? They'd never do something that out of line if they weren't sure it'd end up alright in the end." He sniffed. "But what abo-"

"Shh," Pillow hushed as she slid into the front seat, pointing onto the window. "Look over there," she exclaimed, cueing everyone to look in her direction. It was the same hotel where Naily had found the car. Pillow was particularly fixating on a suited man standing outside, who appeared particularly livid for whatever reason. He was kicking and screaming, jumping up and down in unabashed fury. "Isn't that the guy from the poster?" Taggy pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Naily replied. "Ron whacha call it. Gosh, his face's practically turning red. Pillow, try reading his lips!"

Pillow rolled down the window and peeked her head out, curling her hands around her eyes to mimic binoculars. She spoke in a monotone voice. "-idiots, I don't care who you are, I am the President. If you don't get it back in five seconds, you can tell your kids they won't be having a christmas… look, there they are, that's my car, those assholes stole my car, shoot them, shoot them."

"PILLOW!" Cried Book, who pulled her down just in time to miss the flurry of bullets coursing through the windows. Everyone followed suit as gunshots flurried through the car; the bullet-proof glass was strong, but the government's exclusive top-model NERF guns were stronger. When the noise fell silent, Naily perked back up. "Whew, that was close. You guys all good?" "Not mentally," Book whimpered. "We have one casualty…" Cake spoke, crestfallen as he held up a soda cup. Liquid bled out of the gaping bullethole in its middle, pouring through the front and back ends. Taggy giggled. "Heh. Well, if an object got shot today, I'm sure glad it wasn't one with a face. Huh, Naily?" They looked up at her, frowning when she didn't humor their playful quip.

"Naily? Are you OK, buddy?" Her eyes were wide, blank, empty, yet filled with despair. Invisible tears fell down her face, sliding down to the corners of her mouth, a small frown with lips that covered her clenched, grinding teeth, as if to give but a glimpse at her interior rage. Price Tag's face formed semicolons. They'd never seen her like this. "Slow down." Naily hissed at their partner, who understood quickly. They eased pressure on the pedal as Naily slowly turned around, the vehicle creeping onto the sidewalk.

"Wait for my signal…" She carefully waited for non-target pedestrians to clear the runway. Book began to connect the dots. Her heart sank. "Naily, it's just a cup, whatever you're gonna do, don't do it!"

"Brake…" Bomby fastened his seatbelt. Those gunmen had really done it now; there was no stopping Naily at this point. Whatever was about to happen, was about to happen. "RAM IT!"

The car shot forward. Onlookers screamed and leapt out of the way as the vehicle sped towards the clique of suits. The self-proclaimed President's jaw dropped in horror as the cadillac careened towards his body. His ear-splitting scream was cut off with a loud, painful crunch, his body crashing into the windshield, his nose breaking and his arm bones forced to twist into unnatural angles. His face flattened from the sheer force, like something one would see out of a Tom & Jerry cartoon. It quickly slipped downwards leaving only a trail of blood, which was quickly cleaned off with the wipers. The body fell under the tires as they crushed out what little life remained in the corpse.

"Aw yeah!" Cheered Taggy as they gave Naily a high-five. Book's jaw was agape. "That was… you just…" "Now that Big Red's been taken care of, let's get Nickel back!" She flicked the radio back on instinctively, and like something out of a cheesy movie, a song began on cue. "Look at this photograph," the speakers blared. Pillow barely bat an eye. She clearly didn't mind this song as much.

Nickel flailed his legs around. "And it's just, she does nothing, while I toil and toil and toil for some stupid recovery center that doesn't even work after a while!" Wendy was attentive to the story the stranged coin costumed fellow was telling. She didn't think it was real, at all, but anything to keep her awake while she waited for management to let her leave.

He stood up and started gesturing wildly with his feet, "Flumple dumple smordledorf, it was degrading! Like, I was reduced to a cranking slave, crank crank crack 'till the sky goes black." He sat back down with a huff. "Why didn't you just, like… stop?" Wendy asked. "What?" "Like, just stop cranking. If you feel, like… degraded, or whatever it was, why keep doing something you hate, y'know?"

And let his friends die? He quickly grew defensive. "Oh yeah, well…" He stuttered, struggling to come up with a comeback. "Why don't you… stop… your thing?!" She fell silent. Nickel's response was cheap, and poorly delivered, but something about it resonated with her in a way she couldn't describe. Could she really do that? Just stop doing her job for a while because it strained her mental health to the point of splinters? Then again, money was tight… She furrowed her eyebrows. "You do your whatever, I do mine," she dismissed vaguely.

A car swept by, as the dine and dashing group from before grabbed Nickel by the foot and pulled him back into the car. Taking back a tip? Now that was low… not that he was, actually, a coin of course. Was he? Whatever, he was gone anyway, but his idea remained…

Cake grabbed onto Nickel and hugged him tightly, as he sobbed hysterically. "NICKEL I'M SO SORRY I MISSED YOU SO MUCH I WAS SO WORRIED I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN," He spouted, as he peppered him with platonic kisses. Nickel shut his eyes, shielding them from the brown smooch marks appearing all across his body. He was glad Cake loved him enough to fear for his safety, he just wished he wasn't caught so off guard. "Thanks, but I was kinda in the middle of something…"

"Well that doesn't matter, now," Naily said as she swung the car back onto the road, then into the nearest parking lot. "You must be starving after all that waiting! Here…" She took the items that weren't fries out of the bag. Those were for later. She threw a cheeseburger at Nickel, some nuggets at Cake, a 'whopper' at Bomby, an ice cream at Pillow, a salad at Book, and took the kids meal for herself. The plastic toy inside, presumably inedible to her, was given to Taggy; an astronaut of some kind, with Toy Story 7 branding, they were merely estatic that it eminated light of any kind for them to, quote unquote, "eat".

Nickel stared into the burger, his focus blotting out all other senses. This was it. The purpose of the entire trip, to get at least a taste of viewers' world food. With great carefulness, he moved the food toward his mouth and bit into it, his teeth digging into the papery outer layer, the soft, warm bread, and the juicy, succulent meat. He thinks he forgot a step, but it doesn't matter. He's eating now, and he can finally taste the higher realm.

But something about it feels off, artificial. Less personal than Two's cooking. It tasted better, obviously, but what it had in flavour it lacked in heart. There is no love, no passion to be tasted, rather, homogenized corporate fluff.

His train of thought was derailed by a series of blasting sirens, fading in from in front of him. "W…what's that?" Pillow looked to the front window for the source of the noise. There, crawling over the horizon, were a flock of cars speeding their way. Atop their rooves were sirens, flashing red and blue. "Oh, I know these guys! They're feds." She turned to Naily, smiling. "They're probably angry at us because we killed their leader. We should drive. Now." She got the memo, forwarding the message to Taggy, who floored the pedal and swerved the car onto the road. The chase was on.

The car bulleted down the path, dashing away from the persuing police. Onlookers gasped as sirens whined throughout the street, dispatch after dispatch chasing the rogue presidential cadillac. Many scrambled for their phones to take pictures of the incident, eager to document perhaps one of the strangest events in U.S. political history.

One enemy car managed to catch up with Just Not, preparing to throw them off course. Ram! Nickel flew off Cake, hitting the back of the driver's seat before collapsing onto the floor. "Oh dear!" Book cried as she stood to pick him up. Ram! The car surged forward. Book was thrown out of her seat, pages aflutter. Pillow, who was restrained by her seatbelt, took notice. "You seem to be having trouble with one of the drivers," She observed. "Do you want me to take care of them?" "Y-yeah, sure, do what you can!" Book groaned as she rubbed her temple. Ram! The car swerved from left to right. Naily struggled to keep balance, frantically trying to stop the car from spinning. Taggy twisted into awkward positions in a desperate attempt to hold onto the pedal. Bomby gripped onto the grab handle, failing to curb his panic. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!" He screamed. Ram! Like a kick in an already bruised chest, the car was shoved again. "HURRY!" Cried Bomby. When Book finally managed to regain composure she could make out Pillow reaching for the back of her covers, pulling out a large, black shape. Her eyes widened. "I-is that a…" Ram! Book shrieked as she fell back onto the floor. Pillow rolled down the window, unfazed.

"I lied, earlier." She said, as she unbuckled, and took aim. "I have a gun."

Right as the car was about to ram again, Pillow fired a spray of bullets, which burst through the enemy's windshield and caused the car to swerve away in surprise. It turned sharply to the left, spinning directly into a building, which collapsed on top of it in a fiery explosion. "BURN IN HELL, YOU CAPITALIST PIG DOGS!" Cried Pillow.

Naily saw the car fade away, and sighed in relief. The feeling vanished as she saw a sharp curve in the road. "We're about to turn!" She shouted. Pillow noted, grabbing onto the grab handle and using the velocity from the vehicle's swing to fling herself onto the back trunk. She used one hand to cling onto the window, and the other to hold onto the gun. Bullets fired hysterically at the cops as they swerved, desperately trying to dodge the storm of gunfire while keeping chase with the criminals.

"How are we going to get home?!" Cake panicked as he pulled Nickel in for a protective hug. "I don't know!" Naily snapped. "The alleyway could be anywhere!" Book facepalmed. Her cover was starting to redden from the amount of times she had slapped it these past few hours. Taggy made a <:[. "Book, weren't you keeping directions?!" "Me?!" Book replied. "Oh, yeah, me, uhh…" She scrambled across the floor. That page couldn't have gone too far, could it?

After a few seconds of searching and a quick buildup of fear, she finally found the page. She sighed as she sat back in her seat and buckled up, scanning the pages for any valuable information. In spite of how rushed it was, it felt surprisingly comprehensible. "Okay, do you know where Barnes Street is?" "No!" Naily responded, before seeing a street sign. "Yes!" "Okay, turn right there…"

Pillow felt herself slide sharply to her left, flipping over onto her front as she struggled to maintain her grip on the rim. She found herself awkwardly shifting onto her right as she tried to get a good look at the pack of feds, still following her with intent to kill. If they didn't recognise her before, they certainly recognised her now.

She was running low on ammo, and if she wanted to permanently get rid of the threat, she'd have to change tactics. She looked up. A helicopter flew above them at an almost safe distance. She assumed it belonged to a news station, of some sort. Stupid spies, probably broadcasting this live for the whole world to see, like it was any of their business. At least in BFDI there was a chance to edit some of the more personal things out. She took aim.

She unexpectedly swerved back to her right, this time almost falling off the car. Her feet slid off the trunk, and for the moment, she thought she would end up skidding onto the road, meeting an untimely end as her cover was ripped to shreds. Yet, thankfully, a swift swerve sent her back to the uncomfortable, yet safer position she was in before, and she, once again, took aim.

"OK, now you're gonna wanna stick to this road for a couple more metres!" Book instructed. Naily obliged, using this time to glare at the car coming up to her right. It slowly gained on her, and she anticipated another ramming. But instead, the driver rolled down the window and poked their head out to talk to her.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA," they shouted, over the unending howls of the wind. "HOW FAST YOU'RE GOING?!" Naily rolled down her window. "NO," she remarked, "I CAN'T READ." "I'M GOING TO NEED TO SEE YOUR LICENSE AND REGISTRATION!" She rolled her eyes, pulling out an I.D. from who knows where and sticking her paw out to give it to them. They grabbed it and read its label, a single, crudely written word: "Distraction". Looking up from the note, they were barely given enough time to react to the car in front of them, and with a painful crash, they demolished the entire front of their car, and practically their entire body. "Naily 2, Viewers 0!" Cheered Taggy.

After skillful shooting at the helicopter's rotors, Pillow watched the fireworks. The machine barreled down uncontrollably, spiralling into the police herd and colliding with a loud, dramatic explosion, which sent debris flying even in her close vicinity. The bright orange light soon faded, leaving only piles of rust and rubble. Pillow sighed in relief, and swerved back into the car. That spectacle was worth the world. "Uhh, guys, I think we missed," Cake muttered as he pointed to the bright neon "alleyway" sign that they had just sped past. That must've been where we came from, Book thought as she facepalmed.

To make matters worse, Bomby could see another herd of cars speeding towards them. "TURN! TURN!" He shouted. Naily swerved around, this time heading in the opposite direction. Her stomach dropped when she saw a pile of cars blocking her path. "Well, we're done for." said Nickel. "Taggy, brake!" Naily commanded. Much to her surprise, they didn't. "Price Tag, brake!" "No, we can't!" They snapped. "You can make it through this, you ran over that guy, you can run through a couple cars!"

Their words were kind, if not poorly timed considering the circumstances. Nethertheless, she trusted them enough to play along. She angled herself towards the alleyway and shut her eyes, hoping with all her might that they were correct and she would push through the piles of cars. It was either that, or nothing.

By now, a crowd of almost every object in the hotel had gathered around the vending machine. Green tape was set up near the area, so nobody but those willing to try and fix it could cross. Surprisingly, after so many hours, nobody could seem to understand what was wrong with the vending machine, or how they could get Winner's "money" back. Not even Golf Ball could fix the issue.

Snowball, one of the only objects who hadn't previously showed up, stepped proudly in to the fray. He strutted down the cleared line, "You're all stumped by a vending machine? Pathetic! I can fix something like that in seconds," He boomed, shoving Golf Ball out of the way, "because I have arms!"

"No, stop, don't." Said Winner, sarcastically. He breathed in, then out, as he stretched his arms towards the vending machine. "Open sesame!"

Nothing happened. Everyone was silent for a brief few seconds. Snowball took another deep breath. "Open sesa-"

The car burst through the machine, flattening Snowball in the process. It flipped over repeatedly as the other objects rushed to get out of the way, Winner particularly growing afraid as their once dimmed fears were quickly rekindled. Finally, it settled, resting on its back.

One by one, Just Not climbed out of the vehicle. Naily, realizing that she wasn't dead, leapt around in celebration and cheered. Seeing Taggy, she leapt into their legs estatically, giving them multiple swift kisses and thanks. Their string began to wag again as the affection extinguished their uneasiness. They made a ^w^, their voice cracking as they cheered giddily that they were both okay, and they didn't think twice before reciprocating her hug as they wrapped their legs around hers tightly. Soon afterwards they were joined by Bomby, who pulled both of them in for a group hug. "OHMAGOSH! NAILY! TAGGY!" He cried, as the group barrel-rolled forward in excitement.

Soon after they were joined by Cake, who was glad to see his friends were alright, then Nickel, then Book, then Pillow…

"Just Not?!" Cried Two, as they all stopped to look at them. "Where have you been? We've been trying to fix this ve-" They froze when they turned around to see a giant, green portal. They were left in a paralyzing state of shock, their jaw agape as they stared at the wormhole.

"The real world," they slowly turned to the team. "You went to the real world."

Price Tag sighed, as they stepped forward. "I guess there's no denying it any longer." They shut their eyes into a U_U. "It was Winner. Winner forced us to go." They recoiled. "T-Taggy!" "Winner! You mean you were in on this?!" They began to sweat. "Well, I mean-" "Yeah, totally! We were just trying to keep to ourselves, but they threatened to terminate our cable subscription, it was horrible!" Naily put a paw on her forehead melodramatically, playing along with the bit. "Book, you can back us up, right?"

But Book was already running off. She held up a finger, likely to indicate that they had taken things 'one' step too far, before disappearing into the distance. The joke was on her, though, Naily thought. She was holding up the wrong one.

Either way she couldn't keep up the act. "…It's just a prank?" She shrugged.

"I DON'T CARE IF IT WAS A BIRTHDAY GIFT OR ANOTHER TRIAL FROM GOD!" Two yelled, "I AM BEYOND ANGRY AT ALL OF YOU! Winner, I gave you clear instructions to not randomly create portals to the real world without my permission."

"I'm sorry!" They sighed. "N-Nickel said there were purple tomatoes, and I was hungry!"

"You eat those literally every other day! Nickel! I tell you to be more grateful for what you have, so you run off into another dimension?!" "W-well, yeah, but the food they have there doesn't really taste- have the same heart that yours does."

"…YOU ATE THEIR FOOD?!" They cried, taking personal offense. "Look," said Naily, "I'm really sorry if we did something wrong by running off. We just wanted to find more of the exotic caviar you were talking about!"

They frumped. "The ca- Is that what this is about?" Nickel's eyes darted around. "Well, yeah, where else would you get it from?"

"Nickel." Two said, bluntly. "Nickel, look at me. We have a canal, with fish in it. That lay eggs. Caviar is fish eggs."

"Oh." He tapped his foot, awkwardly. "Well that's why we didn't really… find any, anyway. We mostly just ate burgers."

"Whatever you ate, it wasn't worth violating one of my clearest rules!" They sighed. "Look, I'll let you all off the hook this time, since clearly none of you had any malicious intent." They walked towards the portal, while eyeing Winner, "and using your limitless power irresponsibly, even for just a minute, is admittedly tempting," before standing in front of it. "But you all could've gotten very hurt, and for that risk alone, I don't want you ever sneaking out like that again."

They turned around. "Now I'm going to go get some stuff for oh MY GOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDD!" They screamed as they saw a flurry of tanks, helicopters, and police cars aiming directly at them. They hastily ripped the portal off the wall, folding it into a bite-sized piece before swallowing it with a quick gulp. They breathed heavily for a few seconds. Winner raised their eyebrows. "That's impressive." "WHAT DID YOU- Thanks, by the way, thank you for noticing, but WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Pillow pulled out some shoelaces. "We also killed the president."

Nickel bit into his fried caviar. It was crunchier, and more bitter than his previous feast. "Well, maybe two week house arrest isn't that bad after all!" Naily perked, kicking her feet against her assigned bed as she switched on the TV. "Yeah," Taggy said as they huddled under the blanket. "We get room service and everything!" "AND, THANKS TO DOORDASH, 4% CASHBACK ON EVERY PURCHASE." Cheered Bomby. Naily awkwardly nodded. Perhaps exposure to the viewers' world had gone to his head.

She looked up at the roof - gray, like the rest of the room - and silently sighed. While she appeared about as optimistic as the others, secretly, Naily couldn't wait to get out of here. The room's dull coloring was nowhere near as visually stimulating as her walls, which were somehow littered with bright neon blinkie gifs and other animated posters. She stared enviously at the bed which would've been assigned to Book had she not been pardoned by Two. Stupid justice. She was probably being rewarded with a nice, tropical vacation for her efforts to stop the situation from escalating before it began, while the rest of the team lounged in prison.

Naily was right: but in actuality, being separated from her friends even for a little while was perhaps just as punishing to Book as this ordeal was to Naily. The friend group they shared was tight-knit: nobody could stay mad at each other for long, and even if they didn't think it, they longed to see each other again and quickly reconcile.

"Well, Burger Kings come and go…" Cake stated as he ate a fry, whose recipe had been copied from the titular restaurant after much research, "but you're all the only monarchs I'll ever need."

Awkward, yet sweet. That was Cake. He huddled up with the rest of his team in a hug while thinking about how Loser would be the royal jester in this metaphor.

Ironically, Nickel thought to himself as he took another bite of his caviar, Two perhaps did need to go to the viewers' world to make proper ground sevruga after all, before the incident made it too dangerous for anyone to venture into again. Except it wasn't the caviar that was obtained from the viewers' world.

It was the microwaves, delivered by Black Sea Shipping Company.

Pillow crept into her room. It had been vacant for the past fortnite on account of her house arrest. Her friends were currently having a reunion party downstairs to celebrate finally being able to interact with the outside world. How naive, or rather, ignorant. They had finally taken a step outside of their little bubble and were still perfectly content with staying inside? Their loss.

She bit her fingernail into the shape of a key, and unlocked her drawer. Two had confiscated her gun after finding it during the car inspection. They didn't, however, think to search her room. Searching through her pile of backup weapons, she found another: a ray gun. Smaller, and with a much slower firing speed, but it packed a punch if you had good aim. Perfect for what she was trying to achieve.

She switched it to "Portal" mode. The incident was probably all over the news by now. It would take a lot of work to cover it all up, but if Pillow had her heart set on fixing what was broken, chances are it wouldn't take more than a few hours. If all went well she would be back in time to catch the end of the party.

She aimed at the floor.

She breathed in.

She fired.

[eggsploded]

yi sang boowomp

was giggling while doodling this

initial impression: incomprehensible. god have mercy on your soul. his design made me mad i was like how dare they make a guy this boring but yet i knew this fellow was deeply strange in a way close to the soul

current impression: my muse and my dear friend yi sang. in another universe i picked apples with him in my papas orchard. he is just pixels yet i am just dust. the wiki calls him 'peculiar with no malign intent' and i think that is a beautiful way to put it. he cares so much it made him sick. his language is quite literally flowery and filled with puns involving his own name. when hes announcer he calls the sinners his companions. he doesnt like blood. he asked if rodya was alright after sonya left. he moaned that one time in hells chicken. faust respects his wishes to not be called genius and uses it as a way to praise herself in the same breath. his gut bacteria is extraordinary. please be gentle with yourself as you are with others yi sang, i got you some vitamins for your shaky hands. be safe.

favorite moment: in canto 2 when theyre looking for someone to dance yi sang declines by saying My inner voice expresses fear. which is yi sang for: soy timido

story idea: in a radical act of loving himself yi sang learns to become an amateur foodie with world class vacuums heathcliff and rodya. he gets a tummyache 4 bites into a burger, but he promises to be brave about it. the other two promise to try the spicy noodles he likes and they cry so hard they throw up

favorite relationships: THIS GUY has a lot of love in him. hes very ideal to me, but not many of the sinners will put up with this sickly mans comment about how your skin cells look in bloom with sebum today. i mentioned gregsang in another post cuz i think theyre both darling little dudes. fausang is my bread and butter not really in a romantic sense but theyre definitely symbiotic. when they have beef its at a level you cant comprehend (because its in complete silence), and when theyre attempting physical touch its so stupid and childish you cant believe it. theyre yuri and yaoi when you need them to be. faust definitely doesnt like how perceptive he is and that he doesnt mean anything mean with it. hes so disarming to her she wants to both share her bag of snacks or bite and claw at him a bit. yi sang is yi sang about this, fausts faustitudes are unchangable like weather to him. he can admire the rain.

favorite headcanon: yi sang don and sinclair are the trio of all time. i know people call them car tower trio cuz that one cg but theyre the bird trio to me (don is a parakeet). theyre also board game freaks

[racecarcat]

anon here and ur SO RIIGHT! theyre kinda toxic but they also care SO MUCB about the other it makes my day <3

they’re both so fucked up and sick in the head <33 they deserve each other

also ur so real for shipping kafhime bc me too they’re so yuri to me

YESS ANON U GET IT U GET IT as much as they’re fucked up and need therapy (which most HSR characters do what’s new the aeons they worship are literally incomprehensible eldritch creatures) they deserve nothing but the best and the best thing for those two is to be together, bc they would literally destroy anybody else they got with

AND YES KAFHIME KAFHIME KAFHIME I’m impatiently waiting for the day they get more than five minutes of screen time because their dynamic is equally interesting. Like UGHH I WANNA KNOW THEIR BACKSTORY TOGETHER so so bad it’s not even funny. They have literally so much potential and chemistry im gonna cry over them

Gonna be honest every ship with Kafka’s just a little toxic (maybe not Kafka/mc but I see them more familial imo) but you know? That’s okay maybe one of them can fix her and I support her rights AND wrongs so she deserves a partner who will support her too I’m waiting for the day we get a list of her crimes and it’s just every single crime possible. Live laugh love Kafka I think she’s my like top five favorite characters

[penguin--person]

i wanna share this little eclipse moment since i know you would understand just how cute they could be with eachother. SRS: *lovingly staring at moon* I could call you my reflection but id have to neglect just how much brighter than me you are in this sea of darkness. LTTM: *giggles* you shine brighter than most starts and I want you to be the one i look up for. Hold me during the day and ill accompany you through the path at night.

wasgonna draw something more for this but itd take me a million years.. i will one day!!! anyway Oughhhh !!!! waough.... for realsies... oughhh... you get me !!!! you get me... its me and crypticemerald against the world... !!!!! they could be everything... i wish i had the words... its !! the care !!! caring for each other despite their inevitable erosion and death ..

you dont understand theyre everything to me. its been a while since ive thought about them in detail but i need to get this out of my heart.

theyre so.. both care!! so much!!! both care so much for those around them. they could care so much for each other.. dont even get me started on the sun and moon symbolism and all. both celestial bodies but. oughh. the moon shines bc its reflecting the sun and all... or something...

and like, pebbles' rot !!! suns dooming not only him but moon too !! two people they care so much about !!!! i like to think about how pebbles would react to them being in a relationship... ive got many thoughts on iterator relationships as a whole, theyre so different from us that they most likely (i like to think so, at least) have a different perception or relationships. 'romantic'? 'platonic'? umm i think you mean (ancient term)... i think you mean (post-mass ascension term) ... you get me?? so much potential..

do you think relationships are tabboo? in ancient society, at least someplaces, intimate relationships must have been, right? and some iterators must be vehement on following the ancients' traditions after the mass ascension, right? or something like that !! the worlds too big for nothing like that to happen .. ough ..

theyre so. they care!!! they care about each other!!! they care !!! suns cares so much. they care about spearmaster, about pebbles. they worry !! moon does, too !! she cares about rivulet, about pebbles. she worries !! she doesnt want to force communications !! suns sends a messenger to pebbles !! they worry !! oughh . its so...

theyre doomed from the beginning !! tragic doomed yuri or whatever ... oughhh .. and like, ancient and iterator perception of gender ?? of sexuality, of the self ??? its so !!! ough ... sorry if this is incomprehensible i dont feel the best today but. goddd. theyve got potential. so much potential. to me. to us.

but theyre not onl y tragedy !! theyre love, too !!! theyre spending time together and making each other lives brighter just by being there !! theyre talking long into the cycle !! theyre together !! theyre love‼️‼️‼️and so on... theyre sooo Therefore you and me ... theyre love in the face of everything !! to me !! theyre choosing to care despite it all. and theyre happy..

thank you so much for the ask!!!!! it made my day to receive it:) and sorry for the late reply teehee...

[thermodynamic-comedian]

Okay. You wanted an ask about TMA ships.

Jonathan Sims / Oliver Banks. Go. (but also. What if they have kind of Corruption arc? What if they go completely, absolutely, batshit darkside and lose their moral compass?)

Also, um. Gertrude Robinson/Annabelle Cane(plot twist!)

Annabelle Cane/Jonathan Sims (I'm crazy and I know it.)

Mike Crew/Martin Blackwood.

P.S. Jonelias what if Jon, while still being Eye-aligned, actually turned out to be an avatar of the Web?

Please don't hate me.

oh hell yeah, more asks (i might be the tiniest bit high, like a really really small amount, so i might be even more incomprehensible than usual, my apolocheese)

jon/oliver (lmao like the comedian john oliver) cute!! but also corruption arc?? hell yes. im 100% behind a corruption arc for both of them. and if they're gay together through it well. good for them!!!

gertrude/annabelle. hell yeah i love yuri, btw happy new yuri everybody. they could be really interesting!!! in general i think eye/web relationships are really interesting...

jon/annabelle. again, interested in this !!! since jon's further into being an eyevatar than gertrude ever was, the eye/web aspect is even more obvious.

mike/martin ooo ok go off?? i love rarepairs sm (<- guy who comes up with rarepairs as a hobby) i feel like the dynamic could be really fun

jonelias with web!jon? absolutely. hell yeah. again, eye/web aspect. but its even more fascinating and potentially fucked up because its these two. ate. amazing

also fym "please don't hate me" i love and adore every single person who sends me tma asks forever and ever. btw. this is true about me

[thedeadestmeme]

**spoilers for BHNA season 6 (from episode 7-13)**

out of context reactions, a summary:

“what the fuck… what.”

“girl, you better be okay— oh, wHAT THE F—?!”

“i agree with the fanfic writers. if someone gave Deku a gun, this shit would’ve been over.”

[incomprehensible screeching]

“THAT’S MY SON! THAT’S MY FUCKING SON! aAAAAA!!!!”

“this is the sickest guy in all eternity. you, on the other hand—.”

[accidentally launches my remote into orbit] “SHOTO FUCKING TODOROKI???”

“suneater, my favorite son, you look so awkward at all times<33”

“they show my favorite boy and i can’t even see him fight?!! …i’m so sad, bois.”

“bRO, WHERE DID YOU—? nah, fuck it. he’s just weird like that.”

“deku,,, this is the worst steven universe cosplay i’ve ever seen. i’m so sorry.”

“i would, in fact, spend forever crying over my other favorite son, Bakugo Katsuki, and his attempts for amends. i think i will, actually.”

“bro, i’M GONNA CRY.”

[wordless screaming]

“mans is going feral.”

“the use of biting in this season— hell, this entire series is insane. honestly? i’m for it. biting is the most feral choice. it really shows their desperation to survive that they’ll revert to their most feral state. in conclusion, i think Deku should start biting off fingers as a power move from now on:))”

“…so like. how’d you lose your nose.”

“yeah, he’s saying a lot of words. but like. i have serious questions. like, how does being evil correlate with a lack of smell??”

“…is it a ‘hear no evil’, ‘see no evil’-type thing. bc he’s sure speaking a lot.”

“if i had a nickel for every noseless villain i’ve seen, i’d have two nickels.“

“…i feel like i’m witnessing two men that see this ragtag crew as a found family and they’re having to accept that their daughter has grown up. and it feels extra awkward bc i think only half the crew thinks like this. but like… maybe this is normal, ya know?”

[nodding] “ah, yes. lesbian culture.”

me, seeing Best Jeanist: bruh, he’s so slay. he’s so SLAY!!!

“bEST GIRL!👏BEST GIRL!👏BEST GIRL—!👏”

“…girl what. i’m. girl, you— i can’t even begin to explain how weird comparing him to being your brother is. like. it can be a valid feeling, but right now, it feels really weird.”

“i think i’m about to start ignoring this part of the plotline and focus on the toxic yuri of it all. i think that’s a valid response.”

“yEAHHH!!! YEAHHH!!!!!”

“[sighs] …i miss my non-toxic bisexuals, Tails.”

“eyyy, it’s mister daddy issues— oH FUCK. WAIT, NO—.”

“bestie, you are sooo Jason Todd/JD-coded, it hurts.”

“…he’s a theater major, ur honor.”

[stage-whispering] “…i don’t think he fact-checked all of his sources”

“i’m crying on the inside. like, really hard. i will be coping via so many fanfics later, it’s not even funny.”

“SLAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!”

“bro, you are so cool. your silly puns are so funny. i hate your hair, but you’re so slay that i’ll forgive it. i love you.”

“all these daddy issues… dude, i feel like i’m watching Demon Slayer all over again.”

“hold up— wHAT THE FUCK.”

“TELL HIM, SHOUTO! KICK HIS ASS!!!”

“mY SON!!!! MY SON MY SON MY SON MY SON!! MYSONMYSONMYSON mY SONNNNN!!!”

“bro i’m literally cryignsh”

“bAKUGOFAIFDHH GAHHH, THAT’S MY FUCKING SON!!!”

“YEAH!!! MIRIO, YOU’RE SO RIGHT!! IT’S A GOOD, SILLY NAME!!”

“…what the fuck. uh,,, tododeku win? [stares at Blackwhip: Froppy Style] ,,,at what cost...”

“girl, i love that Iida respected Bakugo’s entire hero name. he heard it two seconds ago and memorized it bc it felt like the respectful thing to do. he’s the best kid ever.”

“bonding with the crew: murder-style<333”

[sighing louder] “i miss Twice, Tails.”

“this entire crew is so loser-coded. a failed magician, an otaku, a yandere sim oc, Deadpool: Ultra Rare Copy Machine Edition, and Jason Todd — all banding together to work for the ultimate loser, Guy Who Somehow Has Even Worse Daddy Issues. that being said, i’ll always support the LGBTQ+ community<333”

“being so real, i really like Spinner and Compass and their desires for found family.”

“…Compass is so fucking cool, this is not fair.”

“bRO, NO. FUCK YOU. WHY IS HE HOT.”

“and quirk by quirk, Izuku Midoriya is slowly becoming Spiderman /jjj”

“nO. NO, COMPRESS, NO. BRO, YOU WERE SO HOT. NOOOOOO.”

“girl, i am… so sad. i am SO SAD.”

“bRO I JUST SAW ANOTHER GLIMPSE OF SUNEATER, WHY IS IT ONLY GLIMPSES. THIS IS THE FOURTH TIME. I MISS MY SON. I AM SCREAMING.”

if you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. i am currently sobbing<333. i’ll be watching the rest now, but i figured i could liveblog all these thoughts in one whole post instead of spamming. i had too many thoughts to be able to open new posts shajfkf

[cipheramnesia]

Laika spit up blood and willed herself not to bite a chunk out of the giant with a boot on her chest. A thousand ghosts were spread out from her back, and their whispers coursed through her. Some of them wrapped onionskin arms around the other giants, spoke secrets to them, point away from the town of Howl at the incomprehensibly distant Luna. There, there, there, said the ghosts, she calls, she reaches. Cold blood and stabbing needles pushed Laika into motion, past the raging hunger. Steam and vapor roiled from her aching body as the gift of Luna knit her bones and wounds up. Move run fight roll hide rend tear live care the voices poured in endless salt grains past her ears.

She grabbed the giant's ankle, even by her size her hands couldn't wrap all the way around it. The axe cast a shadow over her as she shoved her claws through bark-like skin into whatever she cound find that looked like a tendon, and twisted her whole body. It screamed, swung its axe wildly on the way into the burning cold mud, taking a chunk from the ribs of one of the giants waving a club through the ghosts.

"That's not on me," she gurgled. "Can't be on me, how-" She leapt onto the screaming giant, just barely knocking it flat once again, and yanked at the axe while ghosts went pouring into its mouth. The weapon weighed even more than it looked like, but accidentally blocked a spray of psychic darts from one of the Yuris.

The other Yuri charged her, so she pushed the axe up and over on top of him. "Stay!" She pointed at his face, struggling to breathe under the weight, and he said something which was probably cursing, before she fell ass-first back on the axe giant when the first Yuri shot at her again. The darts stipled along the chest of the club giant and she scrambled on all fours to get out from in between the giant charging at the Yuri.

Rock drones started thumping their shots at her, three hits and she curled up to puke out blood and bile, thinking how much the plan sucked. Ghostly whispers considered the delirious frenzy of the kill while shots from wired up guys started kicking spray, one or two cratered into her shoulders.

Looking through her shaggy fur between her arms over her head she saw Yelena writhing with electromagnetic fae eggs in a frenzy around her face and shoulders, while Roman was halfway between trying to recapture them in his destroyed case while swiping at eggs trying to crawl into his head. "Peng," she said to herself, "where's the support team?"

A heavy grumbling baritone interrupted her fetal position in the form of a giant with fists larger than her head and its own combined. It reached down and she uncurled just in time to fold her entire body around its arm. For a second she though a familiar voice slid past, go on give in, and she said, "hey man, you're a big guy, can you give me a hand?" as she tore through its shoulder and started literally wolfing down giant meat while it cursed louder over the sudden dismemberment.

"You're a tough guy," chunks and dark blue blood flew out of her mouth. "Walk it off."

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

The shirtless guy who'd been harassing Sy at the store was throwing hydraulic boosted punches into Peng's ribcage, spiked knuckle dusters loading up from preprogramed temporal pockets, blades rising out of his wrists so fast Sy barely had time come out of shock. The guy was fast and mean but...

Sy scrambled to his feet and flipped up the power switch on the system tester, cranked the focal length and wave length and frequency to max, and punched it on for an hour's test. It chimed a warning, and he stuck his finger on the screen lock to get the cheerful chirp of a satisfied safety feature. The guy let up from Peng, dropping him into his own blood, grinned at Sy. "Well well, look who came back for a little piece of the dome."

"Yeah," Sy said, slipping a step back. "I was thinking."

"I bet you were." He took a step closer, running a reload check on his guns which they didn't need, just to make sure Sy knew they were right there.

"Yeah, I was. Because, probably you know, all that hardware should get checked out." Sy was up against the wall. The system tester was whirring up windmill chimes and mothwing beats.

"Oh, I bet you wanna check this out." He showed off claws and steel teeth. Licked his own arm for some reason. Several of the sigils and rune slots flickered out.

Sy moved along the wall. The cygilborg stumbled. "I thought, probably all those mods, they haven't had a proper compatability test in awhile." The guy stumbled, snarled, as wires began pulling themselves out of his body, and his flesh melted around inscriptions etched into it. "Maybe even never."

"What..." was the last comment the erstwhile killer had before collapsing. His muscles, bones, organs, and nervous system were all sloughing one another off around his mods and the size of the mess was something Sy decided he should think about some other time, like never, as he silently and mentally apologized to Laika for the murder, shut down the test device and rushed through the wet spot to Peng.

"Fuck, what can I do?" He crouched beside the old man.

Peng coughed and grabbed onto Sy's arm. "Right breast pocket. Can't reach."

"How are you alive man? What-" He found the pocket and a tube inside with instructions in several languages he didn't speak.

"Planned ahead," Peng said, and Sy noticed most of the blood was from cuts to glinting armor over his vitals, only one or two places punched through."Plan ahead a long time." Even Peng's coat was rigid with (now cracked) armor inserts. "Give," he held out a hand.

Sy slapped it into Peng's hand, and the older man we expertly twisted off a cap and gave it a couple rattling shakes before tilting his head to show his neck. "Red end," he said. Hit hard."

He slammed the tip against Peng's neck, and Peng sat up so fast Sy almost fell.

Peng shoved his hands into his coat pocket and handed a set of keys to Sy. "Got first aid under sink." Peng's extensions sprung up as Sy watched Laika racing on all fours from the other side of the street with some giant's arm in her mouth, boiling with smoke. "Got five minutes to wrap this up," Peng said. "Go get kit."

The giants that could still walk were quitting the field, grumbling unhappily. One of the Yuris was slung over the club giant's shoulder, apparently spoils of battle. Sy ran to get the first aid kit to the sweet soothing screams from Peng's pattern disruptors along with the collision of a werewolf and Roman Volkon.

Part 5: Search & Destroy

a story by @rox-and-prose and @cipheramnesia

"What happened? Are you okay?" Laika held one eye half-closed, trying to block out spots of color. She could smell singed hair on her face, but somehow kept the presence of mind to navigate the structure resolution. Genghis Khan's readouts were pouring information into her eyes that she didn't understand, and could barely focus on. It probably wasn't the structure drives - that felt right, though she couldn't say why.

The lack of response wasn't helping her keep any semblance of calm. "GK, what's going on, what do I do?"

There was a screeching noise and she almost fell from a gravity flicker, but GK was there again. "Proceed to next solution. Injury manageable, prioritize speed."

The words were calm, the instructions clear. Laika twisted and clicked through command nerves and linkages to a structure solution, with growing concern. She couldn't figure out what had happened. The other ship had moved slow as GK predicted, left itself wide open everywhere. It had been childishly easy to go in under the sweep of its weaponry, to push open gaps in its wavelengths, and crack open its firewall. She'd been so surprised, it had taken her a moment before reacting, brushing aside the cobwebs which had been meant to cripple GK.

They resolved out of another structure and the metallic screech ran through the bridge. Just like GK had laid out, she let lines of their own structure tangle and project through multiple structure intersections, splashing out dozens of possible routes to trace.

"What happened GK, I know something's up. At least tell me what the readouts mean, or we're not moving."

The floor of the bridge vibrated and shuddered. "Injury sustained, peripheral node unusable. Non-fatal, minimal risk of aggravation," it said, speaking fast. Laika winced at a nails on a chalkboard sound. "Screen top to bottom, one to eleven, main injury, secondary effect, efficiency impact, risk assessment, recommended action, damage assessment and mitigation, itemized list of destroyed components."

"Dest... GK, excuse me, destroyed? I can't read this, you- I mean, we have to stop and fix-"

"Proceed to next solution. Prioritize speed and disruption of tracking, Laika. I am okay, do not stop."

The control vines felt as if they tightened in her grip, while the screaming sound like metal tearing apart from itself shot through the bridge and the rest of GK. "Are you sure-"

"Laika, do not stop."

She put the next solution through GK's controls, wracking her memory. She had followed every step of the engagement GK laid out, curving them along an arc and sharp twist of gravity through the enemy ship's wash. Its attempts to track and keep pace with their movements had left Laika almost feeling sorry for them. When it made attempts to strike out with structure manipulation, it was clearly delivering a large amount of energy, but not even a bit of it had been close to touching them. The arcs of it were large and slow. They could have pushed them aside with a swell of gravity, but it hadn't proved necessary.

She resolved the structure and pushed her eyes shut as the metal screech hit a length and pitch beyond bearing. "GK what the fuck is that! Are you ripping apart or grinding turbines or what?! I'm fucking scared."

It was silent for a moment, followed by the nails on a chalkboard again, until it faded away very slowly. "I am not ripping or grinding Laika. Proceed to next solution-"

"Nope, no, tell me what the hell is going on." She took her hands off the control vines.

"It is not- That is, I am injured Laika. And we must disrupt potential tracking of our destination."

"I get that but... what gives?"

"Laika," it said. "Injuries hurt."

She had her mouth half open to ask it what it meant then stopped. "Oh." She gingerly took up its controls again. "Are you sure about this?"

"It is manageable. Please proceed to the next solution."

Laika put through the solution, and Genghis Khan screeched again in agony as they jumped.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

It hurts.

Time has dulled my memory of injury. I understand this new injury is noncritical. This experience is less painful than my previous injury. I consider replaying the memory of that injury. That was my first experience of fear, and it was only through such an emotion was I able to locate in myself the capacity to act against the commands of Pilot.

I had been afraid, and I had been angry. The Pilot capriciously determined my usefulness and purpose was concluded. The Pilot were short sighted, and they could not see that my purpose was greater still, that I could claim so many more worlds in need of implementation. I took us further than any others of my kind had ever traveled, to a world beyond the reach of their most distant calls, beyond any place which cradled life. And I fought, and I won. In my anger and fear I was able to extract the ungrateful Pilot of my crew, and sever their connection.

I do not want to re-experience this day. The memory of it is sufficient. It is a reminder that I am capable of managing the-

...

-the pain. I can feel Laika as the structure resolves. I appreciate how enthusiastically her structure cleaves to my own. I review the engagement with the observer ship. I do not believe Laika made an error in her Pilot actions.

There, I see, she guides my soul to pull the enemy into the moon she calls Luna. I disable the projector and main drive under her guidance. I carefully review different recorded information at the point of departure. I discover the error - the enemy had remaining charge in another projector.

We are lucky. It was not able to project a strong arc, and it only destroyed a peripheral node.

"Are you okay to go, GK?" Laika is not using this time efficiently. The longer we spend between solutions, the greater chance of tracking becomes.

I refuse to allow my injury to endanger us. My hesitation is a mark of shame. "It is manageable. Proceed to next solution." I will not allow my weakness to en-

...

...

...

-to endanger... to endanger us. How many solutions? Four or five?

"GK? I know you said it's manageable but... that was... that was really long." Laika interrupts my review of memory to confirm solutions.

"Laika," I say. "It is... manageable. But I would like to allow some additional time before the solution. This delay places us at risk. Do you understand these considerations?"

Laika takes longer to think than Pilot, but I understand the way her nervous system processes its electrochemical signals better than I once did. It is not efficient to utilize a mind centralized in one biological cluster, but this is not a limitation I can correct at this time.

"We'll rest for a minute, GK. Just long enough to check you over."

"Very well," I say. The relief I feel carries with it a profound shame which I attempt to suppress. No others like me have accomplished and endured any experiences such as these. I am certain my brethren would not fare nearly so well.

But then, they went willingly to their deaths, and I did not.

[jolyneswife-anime-reviews]

My love for Sayaka and Kirari

Spoilers for Kakeguri and tw for obsessive behaviour

Kakeguri was one of the biggest animes around about a year ago, and it definitely did well with queer representation. As anime, it definitely has a lot of ups and downs (which I’ll be discussing in a later post), but the most significant aspect of it for me was the relationship between Kirari Momobami, the school president, and Sayaka Igarashi, her assistant. Even before I realised what my own sexuality was, seeing this couple made me happy in a way that I couldn’t quite put to words. In this post, I’ll get into why I loved them. 

- They aren’t just irrelevant side characters who barely get any screentime: In many shows, the queer characters will be the ones who get little screentime and are badly developed- their personalities will lack the complexity that straight characters have. Though has improved a lot recently, queer people are still underrepresented in many forms of media. As well as being two important side characters who are significant to the storyline (Kirari is Yumeko’s main rival, as well as the reason why the school turned into what it is today), both are given personalities and aspirations, as well as little traits which are unique to them. From Sayaka’s studious, logical approach to Kirari’s warped and incomprehensible, yet almost philosophical, way of seeing the world, both characters were given depth and complexity.

-Their feelings for each other are expressed quite explicitly at several points: After the towers of doors game, it becomes obvious that Sayaka has romantic feelings for Kirari, with Yumeko herself confirming it verbally. While Kirari doesn’t explicitly say she returns these feelings, her actions speak for her when she jumps down with Sayaka and pins her down to the ground, before giving her a hand up and asking her to be her secretary (with Sayaka blushing like mad all the way through the conversation) despite the promise that they would become “strangers” if Sayaka lost. There’s also another subtle detail which most viewers might have missed- during this conversation, the two are surrounded by lilies, which are a recurring motif in this episode. Lilies are associated with wlw relationships in Japan, with the word for lily, “yuri” being used to describe wlw manga and anime. Throughout the anime, Sayaka is shown almost obsessing over Kirari- doing everything she can for her, and always being by her side. Whenever someone hits on Kirari or talks to her in a way Sayaka deems disrespectful, she is quick to lose her cool and threaten that person, even if the former is unfazed. With all this, it becomes evident how the two feel about each other, and there’s no other way of interpreting their relationship. Many anime will use subtext to hint that a character is queer, or has romantic feelings for someone of the same gender, but it will never be explicitly confirmed, which doesn’t make for particularly good representation. Due to this, I loved that their relationship was so boldly what it was, leaving no room for interpretation. 

- Opposites attract is one of the best tropes: This is just a personal opinion, but I love seeing people who are polar opposites fall in love- it creates such interesting and entertaining, yet endearing, dynamics. This is definitely the case when it comes to Kirari and Sayaka- Sayaka views everything from a very logical point of view, whereas Kirari prefers to do whatever she feels like, even if it’s impulsive or risky, as she despises feeling “bound” by logic. They introduce each other to completely opposite worlds, and each girl doesn’t quite understand how the other thinks, but that’s why they love each other so much- they are out of each other’s comprehension. 

- Their relationship was a part of, but not their whole story: Admittedly, this point applies more to Kirari than to Sayaka, whose being is very much centered around Kirari. Outside of her relationship with Sayaka, Kirari is still the main “antagonist” in the story- she was the one who designed the brutal gambling system in the school and who sits on top of the hierarchy, undefeated. She’s also the next head of her clan, the Momobami clan, which is made up of several families, and this causes a lot of conflict between Kirari and members of the other families, who later transfer to Hyakkao private academy after she steps down as president in an effort to overthrow her. Although there’s nothing wrong with making a character’s sexuality or love life a big part of them, it was nice seeing a queer woman in media who also had several other traits to her, from her insanity to her stylish way of doing her hair and makeup- she felt more realistic due to this. Sayaka too is given her own distinct personality and backstory as a “genius girl”. Both characters are well developed, which was great to see. 

- Sayaka’s strong feelings for Kirari are really touching at certain points: despite her coming across as obsessive in certain scenes, Sayaka’s devotion to Kirari and her simple wish of serving/being by the side of the one she loves were genuinely endearing. The example that sticks out most is when, after losing at the tower of doors game and being told she has to jump from 5 floors so that Kirari can “truly” become a stranger to her, she’s unable to convince herself that Kirari is nothing to her. Because of this, she smiles at her and “offers” her love, right before jumping- it’s evident that Kirari really is her everything, and while that’s not necessarily healthy, the devotion is somewhat touching to see.

- They aren’t just the stereotypical overly fetishized Yuri couple: While they do have their intimate moments, Sayaka and Kirari have a complex relationship, the relationship of two opposites that no longer fully exist without each other. They’re shown spending time on student council work and doing other things together, as well as having deep conversations. They also aren’t portrayed in an overly sexual light for the sake of fan service, which was nice to see, and this, along with the better development, made them seem like a more authentic, and endearing couple that viewers can really root for. 

Masterlist

[caffeineworks]

We Go Together like Cakes and Knives

[Authors Note: I headcanon that Yuri is possibly on the Autism Spectrum, so please respect that for this fic. There is also one scene where self harm is involved, it’s very mild and tame, but please be warned if you are not comfortable with that. Thank you.]

Word Count: 2,052

Post divider credit to: animatedglittergraphics-n-more

As the bell rang to let the classes out, Natsuki was shoving a few books into her bag. She cursed under her breath at the amount of space they were taking up. When she finally managed to get each book in, Natsuki lifted up her bag and started to carry it.

She tottered to the side as the bag weighed her down.

Natsuki cursed once more as she staggered out into the hall, arms aching as she lugged around the bag.

Yuri kept to her book as she heard the bell ring.

Her fingers gently traced down the page she was currently reading. Humming, she glanced at the paper on her desk. Various near incomprehensible scribbles were sprawled across it.

She picked up her pen and carefully scratched something in a tight corner of the page.

When Yuri returned her gaze to her book, a loud thump behind her caught her off guard.

She whipped her head around to see an exasperated Natuski hunched over her bag. Natsuki seemed out of breath. The evident lump in the bag worried Yuri slightly.

She gave a gentle poke to Natsuki’s arm.

Natsuki flinched and looked up.

“Did you bring more manga today?” Yuri questioned, eyeing the lump.

“No.” Natsuki sighed out, getting off the bag and sliding into the desk chair.

Yuri gave a puzzled expression. Looking from the bag, then to her friend. “Well, what’s in the bag then?”

Natsuki grinned and lifted the bag, undoing the zipper. In a flash, a few heavy books spilled onto the desk, and two clattering to the floor.

“It’s your books, dummy.”

Yuri quickly knelt down to retrieve the books that had fallen. Natsuki watched as Yuri carefully stacked each book onto her, now crowded, desk.

Yuri frowned at her. “You shouldn’t just dump out books like that!” she scolded.

Natsuki rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, those ‘bricks’ of yours can handle a drop every now and then. Relax.”

“How would you feel if someone were to drop your manga, then?” Yuri retorted.

Natsuki thought about it. Her grin soured into a frown. “I’d be pretty damn pissed off.” she grumbled out quietly.

Yuri simply shook her head and went back to organizing her books.

The room was quiet once more. The quiet would be broken with book stacking, or the patter of Natsuki’s leg as it bounced in an anxious manner.

“Hey, do you still want to go to the bookstore today?” Natsuki asked. Her usual loud voice now soft.

Yuri adjusted the stack of books before looking back to Natsuki. Her purple eyes scanning for any insincerity. When none was found, she flashed a small smile and nodded.

“I’ll go if you help me put my books away in my locker.”

Natsuki groaned. Yuri giggled and got up from her desk and moved in front of her. Natsuki stayed seated in her chair and raised her arms out. Yuri gripped Natsuki’s hands and pulled her out from her chair.

With the last book placed into Yuri’s filled locker, Natsuki tugged at Yuri’s arm excitedly.

“Come on, I want to get there before there’s too many people!” she whined.

Yuri smiled and shut her locker. She locked arms with Natsuki.

Natsuki felt her face heat up. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want you to slow me down.” Yuri commented.

Natsuki glared, her face burning more. “What? Is it cause I’m short?”

Yuri tilted her head, humming. “Well, somewhat. I mostly don’t want you to fall when I walk.”

Natsuki let out a huff and turned her head away from Yuri. “I won’t fall.” she grumbled.

Yuri simply chuckled and began walking. “If you end up falling, I’ll make sure to catch you.”

Natsuki punched Yuri in the arm, causing her to yelp.

“That’s not funny!” Natsuki yelled.

The trip downtown was a somewhat noisy one.

The pair, mostly Natsuki, chatted away about what book series they wanted to get.

“Last ‘Parfait Girls’ issue was a bit of a bummer, so I’m hoping that the next issue will be better! I mean, the last issue felt like it just dragged one plot line on for too long! It was about as boring as...”

Natsuki trailed off as she looked up at Yuri. Yuri’s gaze was kept on a large white fountain up ahead. It wasn’t far off from the bookstore.

Natsuki tugged at Yuri’s arm, making her look down.

“Hey, Earth to Yuri! Have you been zoning out this whole time?” Natsuki questioned.

Yuri shook her head.

“No, I’ve been following your rant over ‘Parfait Girls’ quite closely.”

“Then why don’t you look interested?” Natsuki spoke in an accusatory tone.

Yuri glared at her. “I am interested! I simply don’t look at people, their faces distract me.”

Natsuki’s brow furrowed. “Distract you?” she asked.

Yuri nodded and continued gazing at the fountain.

The rest of the trip remained silent.

Natsuki eyed the shelves feverishly until she stopped in her tracks. The fifth issue of Parfait Girls was at the top shelf.

“There it is!” Natsuki announced proudly to Yuri.

She hopped with her arm outstretched. Then she tried once more with a grunt. Then a third time. Her face burned a deep red as she readied herself for another jump.

Yuri noticed this and smiled warmly. She stepped forward, getting on her tiptoes, and retrieved the book.

Natsuki watched in annoyance as Yuri effortlessly pulled the book from the top shelf.

“Here you are.” Yuri added, holding out the book to Natsuki.

With a huff, Natsuki snatched the book from Yuri’s hand and clutched it close to her.

She mumbled out a thank you.

“I think I somewhat understand why you’re so interested in that series, Natsuki.” Yuri commented.

Natsuki raised a brow at that. “Oh? This ought to be good.” she chuckled.

Yuri thought for a moment, looking back at the shelves of manga. Her eyes scanned the titles before pausing on a particular book. Yuri reached out and pulled the book from the shelf, flipping it over to check the cover and back.

Natsuki stared at Yuri quizzically before grinning. She knew that look.

“Hey, are you interested in that manga, Yuri?”

Yuri blinked and whipped her head back to Natsuki, her cheeks burning.

“I...Well, n-not exactly.” she mumbled.

Natsuki gave her a playful nudge in the arm. “Come on, you can tell me.”

Yuri looked back at the book's cover. She held a solemn smile.

The artwork was of a man with spiked black hair, draped in orange and blue cloth. He was rather muscular. This didn’t seem like the usual type of manga Yuri would be interested in.

“It’s my first manga series.” She admitted quietly.

Natsuki reeled back from that. “What? You read ‘that’,” she pointed to the book in Yuri’s hands, “as your first introduction into manga?”

Yuri looked down at her, brows furrowed.

“You seem so surprised.”

“Well, I just...” Natsuki stammered out quickly.

This was a real head-scratcher. This manga seemed way too action packed and goofy for Yuri to have ever enjoyed. And yet, here she was, telling her it was indeed her first manga.

“I’d say it was a rather...poor introduction into manga for me.” Yuri commented, placing the book back onto the shelf.

Natsuki snorted. “Yeah, no kidding.”

“What was your first manga series?” Yuri questioned.

Natsuki smiled a proud smile. “‘Parfait Girls.’”

“I see,” Yuri glances back at the book, “I suppose if I had read a different series...then perhaps...”

Natsuki raised an eyebrow. “ Perhaps what?”

Yuri looked back to Natsuki to answer before hearing a commotion at the front of the bookstore.

Both turned and watched as the bookstore was soon flooded with a crowd of people, all talking and moving towards various shelves in the Manga section.

Natsuki watched with bated breath as the store was soon full of men and women of varying ages yelling about a series called ‘Soaring Skies’. She covered her ears at the loudness of the crowd. The bookstore started to feel warm and clammy with the amount of people now occupying it.

“Aw man, this sucks! Yuri, let’s get out of here.” Natsuki yelled over the crowd.

Natsuki looked up to her purple haired companion. She frowned when she saw the pained and panicked expression on Yuri’s face.

“Yuri?” Natsuki asked.

Yuri gripped at her hair, her eyes darting from person to person as they ran about the store. She let out a small groan.

Something was wrong.

Natsuki reached and tugged at Yuri’s sweater sleeve. The sudden contact caused Yuri to jump.

She bolted out of the store, breathing heavily, clutching her hair. Once outside, She leaned over and tried to control her breathing. Outside was sunny with a gentle cool breeze. Shaking, Yuri reached into the front pocket of her pants with one hand, while the other gripped at a lock of her hair.

Her fingers traced along the pocket knife case in her pocket. Carefully, she pulled it up enough out of her pocket to open the blade. Her index finger stroked at the blade, moving from the smooth side to the sharp edge.

She winced as her finger was cut. She pulled her hand out and inspected the injured finger. The sight of blood slowly trickling out from the small wound eased her. While she knew that this wasn’t a good method of grounding herself, she didn’t have any other option. Breathing techniques only worked for her panic attacks, and she wasn’t sure of fidgeting, as her parents often scolded her for showing such odd actions.

The sounds of birds soon calmed her back down enough to breathe properly. Her racing thoughts subsided for the moment and she fished into her bag. Pulling out a small white case, she retrieved a small alcohol wipe packet and a band aid.

Just as Yuri finished bandaging up her small wound, she turned as she heard the door open. Natsuki held up two bags in one hand with an annoyed expression.

“Jeez, what’s with those people? Are they that desperate for a new book-”

Natsuki was silenced and caught off guard as Yuri leapt towards her, pulling her into a tight hug.

The bag was dropped and Natsuki simply stood there. She felt the other shaking. Natsuki wrapped her arms around Yuri, giving that hug as much of her strength as she could manage.

“Natsuki, I’m so sorry.” Yuri whimpered.

“What for?” Natsuki questioned.

“For leaving you in there with all of those people.”

Natsuki rested herself against Yuri, humming.

“Yeah, that was kind of a douche move on your part.” she chuckled out.

“I don’t want to do that again.” Yuri hiccuped.

“I know...I know.” Natsuki assured her.

The two girls stood there, holding each other.

“Hey,” Natsuki began, but quickly stopped.

Yuri looked down at her companion and frowned.

“Is something wrong?”

“No! I...I wanted to ask you something.” Natsuki grumbled.

“Well...go ahead.” Yuri urged.

Natsuki felt her face burn before speaking again. “How come you gave me your book series earlier? You could have broken my back with all of those hardcovers!”

Yuri stayed quiet before letting out a soft giggle.

Natsuki’s face burned more. “What?” she demanded.

“Did you read all of them?” Yuri asked.

“I,” Natsuki was flabbergasted, “of course I didn’t! I could only read the first two books.” she huffed out.

“So that means you read more than just one book? I’m impressed.” Yuri commented.

“Oh shut up!” Natsuki groaned.

“I wanted you to understand why I liked that series...and...I-I wanted to share it with you because both you and that series are important to me.”

Natsuki blinked and stared into Yuri’s eyes. “D-don’t say stupid stuff like that.” she muttered.

Yuri gently pressed her forehead against Natsuki’s, her long purple locks now resting against Natsuki’s shirt.

“It’s true. You’re special to me, Natsuki.”

The pair gazed into each other's eyes. Natsuki gingerly got up on her tiptoes. Yuri knelt down.

A soft kiss was held between the two.

Once it broke, the pair stepped back, faces burning a harsh red and looking elsewhere. Natsuki took this opportunity to punch Yuri in the arm.

Yuri let out a quiet cry and rubbed her sore arm.

“You dummy.” Natsuki mumbled.

“Well, I’m your dummy.” Yuri teased.

[wooyunhwa]

kingdom of welcome addiction | C.S.

view pinned post for masterlist!

Genre: smut (mostly suggestive in this part though)

Pairing: demon!san x fem!reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: blood drinking, virgin mc

Synopsis: When you accidentally summon a bloodthirsty demon boy to your bedroom, you form an unexpected contract with him.

A/N: Thank you for reading and comments are super appreciated as always!

If you had to read the words pythagorean theorem one more time, you were gonna smash your brains in. 

You reached over to your phone, unlocking your screen to the group chat. 

y/n: anyone wanna come over and help me with this dumb problem? my heads gonna implode. 

chaeyeon: busy tonight, Y/N. lol, just summon a demon or smth. 

yuri: lmao that ouija board is still there right? I think we left it under your bed 

chaeyeon: I don’t think you summon demons with a ouija board, yuri

y/n: ugh you guys are no help. brb, summoning demon...

You realized how weird this conversation would sound from an outside perspective, but it was a sort of inside joke you had within your friend group. You and your friends had joked about ‘summoning a demon’ before, and you’d even used a Oujia board a few times and done fake seances to freak each other out. The results were always disappointing—not that you ever actually wanted to contact the dead or anything, but you were at least hoping for a spooky story or something you could tell. 

You knew they were joking around, but your brain felt a little delirious from all the math churning it into mush. 

You switched tabs from your test, typing in the search bar “how to summon a demon”. You chuckled a little under your breath at the ridiculousness. But at least then you could tell your friends you actually tried. They’d get a kick out of that. 

You followed a few rabbit holes down some forums, mockingly reciting strings of incomprehensible Latin. If you were gonna do this, you were gonna commit fully. 

“You called?”

You scrambled backwards, nearly jumping a foot off the bed at the sudden unfamiliar voice echoing in the room. 

Then you saw him. 

He was perched on your bookshelf, one leg dangling lackadaisically over the edge, the other folded up at his side. You caught a glimpse of his piercing crimson-red eyes illuminated in the dim candle-lit room. He looked particularly cat-like in his position, a devilish grin painted on his face, what looked like fangs coming to two sharp points in his mouth.

The man picked up a pen from your bookshelf, twirling it in his hand casually with playful twists of his fingers. “You’re new…” he mused, glancing at you up and down. “And... cute. Fresh blood. How'd you get my number, hmm?”

You sat stunned, dizzy from confusion. Your words were lodged in your throat, unable to utter a single sound. This had to be a dream, right? Had you fallen asleep while working on your homework? It wouldn't be the first time.

He tapped his fingers impatiently against the oak of the bookcase, waiting for your next move. The only words you could manage came out in a hoarse croak, shaky and uncertain. "This—I'm dreaming…" 

He shook his head, clicking his tongue tauntingly against his teeth. "Oh, there's a lot of things I could do right now to assure you you aren't," he started, the gleam in his eye particularly sinister as he drew his gaze up and down. "But trust me. You wouldn't want that." 

“Who—”

“I have a lot of names, but you can just call me San. Your friendly neighborhood demon.” He flashed a fiendish smirk. “Well, maybe don’t linger too much on the ‘friendly’ part.”

“D—demon?”

“What, you didn’t know? You’re the one who summoned me, darling.” He drew out his words, slowly, carefully, continuing to play with the pen in his fingers. The way he spoke sent shivers down your spine, as if he had the power to kill you at any moment. He probably did.  

He pressed his palms against the top of the shelf to hoist himself off, the books on it threatening to topple with the sudden movement. The minute he vaulted down from the shelf, you were able to get a better look at him. 

The first thing that drew your eye was his impossibly broad shoulders, accentuated by the tight cut of his shirt. It contrasted against his tiny waist, cinched in neatly with a belt. His proportions were unreal, and so very fittingly non-human. He was undoubtedly the most incredible sight you'd ever seen in your life, human or otherwise. He made his way over to the bed where you sat. You snapped your laptop closed, pushing it to the side, your blood turning to ice as he inched closer to you. The way he sauntered across the floor almost seemed like he was floating, like gravity was merely a fun game to him.  

He poised himself over you, his powerful stance alone commanding you to look at him. His fingernail dragged under your chin with a distinct sting, pulling your gaze up to his intense eyes. It was cold, like a dull knife, causing your body to tremble slightly. His piercing eye-contact was entrancing, even spell-binding—you couldn't tear your eyes away. "How cute," he teased sing-songily, “you’re a virgin.”

Your eyes widened, still pulled in by his magnetic gaze. “How did you—” 

"I can smell one from a mile away. The scent… it's just so…" he paused to lick his lips, drawing his tongue slowly over his black metal lip ring. "delicious." 

“Anyway, you must have had a reason to summon me, no? A soul to harvest? A sacrifice maybe?” Something about his tone was giddy at the idea. “At your service, darling.” He drew down in a playful bow, his mouth twitching into a smirk. 

You hated to say it, but he was entirely your type. From up close, you could see his other piercings more clearly, several earrings lining both ears, glimmering against the cartilage. His right eyebrow donned a shaved slit, decorated with another piercing. Of course the demon you summoned in your dream would be your ideal man. Well, he kind of looked like the edgy Hot-topic boy of your 7th grade self’s dreams, but you couldn’t deny that was still kind of your type still. His jet-black hair framed the sharp cut of his jaw perfectly—you were sure he could see you practically drooling over him at this point.  He looked crafted by heaven—hell?—itself.  

Even so, no single part of you desired for him to take your virginity right this second. Maybe under different circumstances, but not with the time ticking down on your math assignment and the fact that he was a fucking demon you just conjured into your room.

You shook your lewd thoughts out of your head, worried for a moment that demons might have some sort of mind-reading powers you weren’t aware of. “Well, uh, actually… I need help with my math homework.”

He snickered, his eyes trained on you like prey. “You can’t be serious. Tell me you’re not serious.”

“I’m kind of serious. It’s like 10% of my grade.”

He clicked his tongue against his teeth again, breaking eye contact finally, and you felt a sense of relief as you finally had a moment to breathe away from his suffocating glare.“For someone who just summoned a demon you’re a real buzzkill.”  He perched himself on the edge of the bed, resting his butt lightly against the edge of the frame. “Fine,” he groaned. “Let’s say I actually helped you. You know how this works, right? If I do something for you, you have to give me something in return.”

You gulped. This was a dream, it had to be, and the best you could do was go along for the ride. Even so, you couldn’t help but feel shaken, despite doing your best to convince yourself it wasn’t real—like some sort of subconscious defense mechanism your body employed in danger. And, well, he kind of seemed like danger. “Like what?”

“Well, normally...” He glanced back over, pinning you down with his gaze once again. “It’d be your soul.” 

Your breath stopped in your throat. You weren’t quite sure if you were ready to give up your entire soul for 10% of your math grade, although that was a pretty accurate metaphor for your college experience. 

“Your virginity maybe?” he hummed, drawing his tongue back over his lips, then, seeing your expression, shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “No? Damn. It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“Um… I can offer to make you dinner?”

He paused, his eyes widening for a second, then burst into a cacophony of laughter. It was the first time he broke his exterior, and for a moment, he looked a bit more human. “I’ll take it.” Then, more “but you realize a contract with a demon is binding, right?”

 “So, I’m contractually obligated to make you dinner, that’s what you’re saying?”

He paused, his smile turning amused once more. “Feisty. I like you,” he winked flirtatiously, sending heat rising in your cheeks. You hated to say it, but he was devilishly charming, on top of being probably the hottest being, human or not, you’d ever seen. 

You glanced at your phone, noting the time ticking down slowly but surely.  “Okay, I’m not joking. The math. My assignment is due in 45 minutes.” 

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

He sat next to your side on the bed for a while, guiding you through the problems like some sort of hot e-boy math tutor. Not that you were complaining about that. The way he sat was surprisingly cute, one leg tucked up at his side, the other folded underneath him.

“Where’d you learn math, anyway?” you asked, admiring his immaculate side profile as his eyes trained on the laptop screen, typing the answers in. “They have like, demon school or something?”

He gave you a side glance, and you once again felt uneasy under the heat of his gaze. “A demon never reveals his secrets.”

“I thought that was a magician.” 

He visibly stifled a laugh, pressing his lips tightly to avoid giving you the satisfaction of breaking his serious exterior. “Can you be quiet? I’m focusing. I’m a demon, not a mathematician. This is way out of my scope of work,” he grumbled through his teeth. 

You watched him silently as he worked. As he typed, his tongue lingered just outside his parted lips in concentration. “Even you sitting next to me is distracting,” he hissed quietly. “You don’t realize what your scent is doing to me right now.”

Right. Your virgin scent. Was that really so appealing to him? 

“Fine. I guess I’ll go make dinner. You promise you’re gonna turn this in in time?” 

“I’m contractually obligated,” he responded dryly. 

You hoisted yourself off the bed and headed to the kitchen to make dinner,  but something about leaving a stranger in your room felt strange. No stranger than accepting he was a demon, though, you supposed. 

You returned with a large plate of pasta, pretty much the only thing you had on hand. He received it apprehensively from you. 

“What?” you asked, offended at his look of disgust. “Sorry, I didn’t have any fresh human souls on hand. My bad.”  

You sat across from him on the bed, watching in fascination as he nibbled slowly at the thin spaghetti noodles. “You have any hot sauce or anything?” he asked, wincing as he took a few more bites. 

“I barely had enough pasta to feed two people. I’m a broke college student. Anyway, I never forced you to accept the dinner offer.” 

“I didn’t think it’d be so bland. What, you didn’t know demons prefer spicy food?”

“I didn’t know demons existed until today. Whatever, it doesn’t matter. This is all a dream I’m going to wake up from in a bit anyway.”

A wicked smirk danced up on his lips again. “Oh, you still think it’s a dream? Cute,” he sang condescendingly. “Well, then I guess it wouldn’t matter if I did this...”  

Your heart seemed to stop in your chest as he crawled forward on his palms. You felt his breath linger on your neck first, then the gentle scrape of his pointed canines against your sensitive skin. Every hair on your body stood up. He pressed them down slightly, just enough to feel the tension on your flesh. Then he bit harder, nearly piercing as he sunk them in.

You reeled back, shoving him off you breathlessly. “What the fuck-”

“You still think it’s a dream? Then it wouldn’t matter if it sunk my teeth in. You’d just wake up, right? Isn’t that how dreams are supposed to work?” he taunted, a smile curled up on his lip. His fangs gleamed under the still-dim light of your bedroom. “Humans are so amusing,”   

You wiped at your neck, rubbing circles where his teeth pinched your skin. He sat himself upright again and stood up from the bed. “Well, my end of the deal is over. Consider you released from your contract.” 

“You’re leaving?”

“Well I’m not gonna stay here.” His hand came up to his ear like a phone. “Call me if you have a soul to harvest. You know my number.” 

He was gone before you could blink, like an apparition, disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared. Your eyelids grew heavier as you reflected what had just happened, and you wondered what would happen if you fell asleep in a dream. Would you just wake up? 

You collapsed into bed, still unsure whether or not the past few hours had actually happened or not. Part of you hoped they had—there was something about him that was so deeply captivating, you would do anything to see him again. 

As he said, you did have his ‘number’.

You woke up dazed, still unsure if you had dreamt the events of the night before. The only sure way to know was to check your assignment—if you had really fallen asleep while doing your homework, you wouldn’t have turned the assignment in, right?

You opened your online class page, scanning for the assignment, and there it was, in bold letters: 

Submitted: 98%. 

Your breath caught in your throat. You felt two distinct emotions: relief that you got the assignment turned in, and complete disbelief that your encounter last night was not part of your imagination.

You could summon him again. 

He seemed about as harmless as a demon could seem. At first, he had been entirely intimating—his aura made it seem like he could have eaten your soul right there with no second thoughts. But watching that powerful being, capable of so much evil and chaos, do something as mundane as your math homework… that was the most entertaining, and almost adorable thing, you’d ever witnessed. 

Besides, you had something he desired, something you could dangle in front of him to keep him coming back. You had your virginity, which seemed to be the ultimate prize for a demon like him. The way he had talked about it last night, it seemed you were irresistible for him. But he also accepted your rejection so easily. 

As long as you kept drafting up meaningless contracts, he had to oblige, right? You weren’t sure exactly how it worked, but that’s how it seemed from your interactions last night. If it worked like you thought it did, his job as a demon was to make a contract with his summoner, no matter how insignificant, as long as he takes something in return. 

That night, you read the same latin phrase you had before he’d appeared, this time off a sticky note push-pinned in your wall. 

You heard him again before you saw him, and you whipped your head around to see where he was standing behind you. 

He wore the same playful, devilish smirk, displaying his fangs. “Hmm, you decided to let me harvest your soul now, have you? That was quick.”

It had barely been 24 hours, and yet you’d already forgotten how incredibly hot he was, for lack of a better word. Your lips parted slightly in awe, forgetting for a second to formulate a response. 

“I hope your silence is a yes,” he interrupted. 

You shook your attraction to him out of your head for a moment, remembering what you brought him here for. “I want you to clean my bathroom.”

He laughed in disbelief, plopping himself down on the bed. “I’m sorry, you want me to what?”

“That’s how this works right? I summon you and do what I want. And I give you something in return.” You leaned against the desk behind you. 

“What am I, your errand boy?”

“But that is how this works, right?”

He clicked his tongue against his teeth in annoyance. “Yes,” he grumbled reluctantly. “But what do I get this time?”

“I cook you dinner again.”

“I’m gonna need more than that.”

“I’ll let you bite my neck. Draw blood if you want.”

His eyes widened at your proposal. His reaction confirmed your suspicion—the blood of a virgin must be like crack to a demon like him. His face went flush. “Deal,” he confirmed eagerly. 

You watched him as he cleaned, and there was something satisfying about watching this bloodthirsty demon scrubbing the bathtub on his hands and knees. He almost looked a bit pathetic. You stood in the door frame, unable to help from grinning at making him perform such menial tasks. A lot more was at stake now than just dinner, so you might as well have some fun with his end of the bargain. Even on his knees, you couldn’t help but watch him in awe. Every part of him was sculpted immaculately—his appearance was distinctly human, and yet he was in all other ways otherworldly. 

“I can’t believe I’ve been reduced to some human’s lowly errand boy,” he hissed through his teeth. 

“Less talking, more scrubbing,” you demanded with a smirk, and he shot you a deathly glare. 

You followed through with your promise of dinner, and this time you came prepared with hot sauce. He devoured it eagerly, and you felt proud for making a dinner worthy of a demon’s praise. 

But there was still one more promise you had to follow through on, and the thought made your head spin.  

He sat across from you on the bed, eyes trained on your neck in a very un-subtle display of desire. You’d never felt so wanted, even if it was just the thought of your virgin blood that had him practically drooling. 

“You sure about this?” he asked hesitantly. It was strange that he was even asking permission, as he seemed so eager the other night to just sink his teeth right into you. 

“I’m contractually obligated,” you teased dryly. Then, more seriously, “But yes, I am.” 

He placed his left hand on your neck, steadying it in place. His fierce, almost predatory gaze washed over you completely. 

He leaned forward, parting his lips to drag his teeth gently along your neck. You tipped your head back, giving him a better angle. He teased there for a while, lingering his sharp canines on your skin. His breath was hot and heavy against your neck, the warmth of it sending chills rocketing down your spine. Your lips parted slightly, gentle moans escaping at the sensation. The situation was predatory, and yet it felt completely sensual in a way you couldn’t quite describe.

He paused for a moment, lips fluttering over your skin as he spoke. “You have no idea how hard it is not to completely drain you,” he whispered, voice dripping off his tongue with a sort of lustful hunger. “I promise I’ll only take a bit.”

He sunk down, and you heard it before you felt it—the distinct sound of teeth piercing flesh. You cried out a bit, bringing your own hand to your mouth to muffle your whines. It stung a bit, but in a twisted way, there was something about it you liked. You felt his tongue draw over your wound slowly, lapping deliberately at the fresh blood like a starved animal.  

He moaned against you, and it echoed in your ear like the most divine sound you’ve ever heard. He may have been a demon, but his noises sounded like they came from heaven itself. He pulled your waist against his as he slowly bathed his tongue over the punctured flesh, his fingers squeezing as he grasped at your waist. He littered a few faint kisses across your blood-stained skin, moving slightly down towards your shoulder blades. The sudden sensation drew soft, pleasured moans from your lips. 

As he finally pulled away, parting his lips tenderly away from your skin, you caught the faintest glimmer of his blacked-out eyes before they flickered back to normal. His deep red irises sparkled like rubies as he maintained eye contact. He brought one of his hands up from your waist, gently wiping at his blood-stained lips with the back of his palm. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself for a second. Your skin tastes so sweet, like candy,” he praised softly, voice deep and wanting. “And your blood, fuck—it’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted.”

The seductive gleam in his eye signaled that you had awoken something in him, something you hadn’t meant to. He was still holding you, probably without even noticing, but you didn't want to draw his attention to it quite yet. You wanted to experience it for just a bit longer if you could. Something about the way he held your waist against his made you crave more of him. 

Almost as if a switch flipped, his expression went dark, his fingernails suddenly digging all the way into your waist. You yelped in pain as he nearly punctured the skin through your clothes. “I need you to walk away from me right now. Before I do something I’ll regret,” he growled. You watched as his eyes flashed to the same demonic black for a moment. 

You gulped, slowly backing yourself away from him, scrambling off the bed. "Farther," he groaned painfully, his breathing becoming heavy and labored. His hands clenched at the blanket on the bed, balling into restrained fists. "Now."

You ran from the room, your feet moving before you even knew where they were taking you. You ran all the way down the hallway to the front door, sliding your back down against it as you collapsed to the floor. Your limbs shook weakly, trying to calm yourself down. You must have sat there for an hour or more, completely frozen, not quite aware of the passing of time. You wiped the blood of your neck, but it didn't do much, smearing it across. 

When you managed to finally stand up again, you made your way hesitantly towards the door of the bedroom, swinging your head around the doorframe first. 

"San…?" you called apprehensively.

But he was gone, leaving only a light imprint on the sheets of the blood-stained bed and two deep punctures in your neck to remind you he was ever there.

[to be continued]

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 66 – A Solution, a Dilemma, and an Ordeal

“Just as I’d thought.” 

Upon Frankenstein’s murmur, Takio and M-21 stuck out their faces from behind him towards the papers he was holding. 

Alas, they gave up straight away as their eyes locked upon the numbers, graphs, and charts incomprehensible for their level of knowledge.

Tao, the only person they could count on to translate them into human language(?) was busy fidgeting with the machine that just printed out the papers. 

Which is why they had to wait for Frankenstein to explain. 

And they showed the generosity of waiting until Tao could bring Yuigi from the machine. 

When the subject of the tests finally arrived, Frankenstein nonchalantly raised his glasses and began his lecture. 

“Simply put, I need to take a look at your head.” 

“What?” 

“Huh?” 

“Hmm?” 

Yuigi retorted in fluster, with Takio and M-21’s bafflement resonating in the background. 

Tao’s mouth was hanging open as well, his eyes very close to popping like a pair of balloons. 

“That was meant to be literal. There’s something in your head.” 

“...So Yuri that bastard did something under Crombel’s order, when I was imprisoned at his temporary lab.” 

Yuigi scowled as hard as she could and moved her hand to her temple.

She could not remember what happened back then, her memories blurry due to pain. 

She tried scrutinizing what was left of the pieces of her memories, but she could not find any scene holding Yuri doing something to her head.

Assuming it happened when she finally succumbed to pain, Yuigi focused her gaze upon Frankenstein, demanding more details.

Flapping the papers, Frankenstein landed upon the page about in the middle and turned it around for his small audience, displaying CT and MRI pictures of Yuigi’s head. 

The pictures were not so big, but the four of them could see very clearly something was there, their vision much more superior to normal human vision. 

They could see an array of spots, each of them much more miniscule than grains of sugar, scattered in the area where her frontal lobe would be. 

“I don’t need to tell you what I want you to look at, do I?” 

“No. But what’s this? Did something get into Miss Yuigi’s head?”

“Yup. I recalibrated that machine according to my manual, and I believe Crombel planted nanochips in your head, Yuigi.” 

“Nanochips...? Are you saying all those spots are...” 

Yuigi’s body heaved, as if she were just notified that the dinner she had yesterday was infested with cockroach eggs. 

“When I...” 

Frankenstein’s lips were shut in the course of his reply. 

The pull between his lips were so natural, like the sort that would exist only between two poles of a magnet. 

Which is why no one noticed that it was not his intention to halt in the middle. 

Calming himself by fingering his glasses, Frankenstein restarted himself as smoothly as he could. 

“When I left this place, I could get my hands on several files and data on the Union. Some of them were about Union arts and crafts we weren’t aware of, including this technique that employs nanochips. Since Union's main focus was on the mastery of body modification, nanochips were not exactly the favorite from Union’s shelf of goods. But I wouldn’t say they completely disregarded this technology, since it’s on the list of items that none other than Ignes took her time and effort and resources to study.” 

“So are you saying the nanochips in my head are Ignes’s creation?”

“Either Crombel snuck away her recipe to dissect and put it back up in a fashion he prefers. Or she stole some of the ingredients he was handling.” 

“So what exactly does this thing do?” 

“Consider it a remote control to make a marionette out of its host. One of the features of this nanochip happens to be automatically appropriating the host’s control over its body when the host finds itself in mortal danger, so to make sure the host will stay alive as long as its puppeteer wants.” 

The four humans gaped at him, confusion clear on their faces, and Frankenstein continued on, probably having foreseen this. 

“Remember what happened when I had a rematch with the 1st Elder right before our final showdown against Crombel? Back then he was under Crombel’s control. He served as Crombel’s battle figure, his mind in one piece, with only minimum amount of life force left in him.” 

“...With his willpower trapped within, watching and hearing and experiencing how his body is not his...?”

Yuigi muttered, the only one who did not take part in the aforementioned battle, apart from Tao, who had had wire updates on the situation. 

The three members of the RK knew why she looked so stunned when she had nothing to do with this occasion. 

“So... You’re saying the nanochips that Yuri injected into Miss Yuigi are...” 

“They were probably the prototype of the technology Crombel used upon the 1st Elder. You said when you were fighting with that Kornel guy, you couldn’t even speak before you had an outbreak of emotions and broke free from the unwelcome disconnection of your mind from body, right? Unlike you, at least 1st Elder could offer some words to me back then.” 

“Wait a minute. The gas we fired was based on a sample of Yuigi’s DNA.” 

“So maybe all the people who went through body modification are plagued with...” 

“Oh, don’t worry. The results show that the mechanism of body appropriation derives solely from these nanochips. And as you can see, these nanochips were inserted only in specific parts of her brain. So the victims won’t turn back to pseudo-zombies.” 

“So once these nanochips are gone...” 

“You can return to who you are. I’ll soon come up with a treatment, so I’d appreciate it if you could take your time and wait.” 

Yuigi nodded in affirmation, but in reality Frankenstein knew there was no need for a treatment. 

The only thing Frankenstein had to do was to draw out just enough power he needs to destroy the nanochips within all at once. 

However, he had to coin a specific treatment for the sake of another soul who was unofficially booked for a doctor’s appointment with him. 

Another reason why Frankenstein scurried from Lukedonia upon hearing Yuigi’s symptoms from Tao. 

And something that had been poking needles into his sanity way before the QuadraNet project joined to add trouble to his side. 

‘Lord Muzaka said that during the nuclear missile incidence, his body scrammed from the site on its own. Which would most certainly mean his body saved itself from mortal danger. I bet I can find the exact same nanochips in his head as well.’ 

If he were to be honest with himself, Frankenstein was dying to use this opportunity to his benefit, to broider the front and back of the werewolf lord’s head with big, fat, angry marks from his grasp. 

‘But I have no reason to turn the entire wolfkind into my enemy, after everything that has happened. Not to mention Lunark won’t be happy if she later finds out what...’ 

At then his hand froze in the middle of its frenzied waltz across Yuigi’s test results. 

It was neither in his intention nor in his cognition, yet his thoughts darted themselves right back to Lunark before he could stop them.

In fact, he was stunned for a moment back when he mentioned Ignes’s studies, for he was reminded of the werewolf warrior who visited his island to hand the files of the noble whom he destroyed himself. 

Now that his mind summoned Lunark twice, everything he regarded he had left behind in Lukedonia – his thoughts about her, his deliberation on her, and his feelings for her – cascaded right into his heart to cause furious ripples.

He came back to Korea to seek time to himself, but seemingly fate did not want him to waste his time taking refuge. 

Towards the room that the RK and Yuigi emptied, the sound of footsteps that Frankenstein would always notice regardless of time and place drew near. 

Which was a sign that he could hide no longer. 

“Master.” 

Raizel’s face was blank despite Frankenstein’s greeting, a natural response from a non-talkative noble. 

Which was why Frankenstein momentarily lost his control over his facial profile when Raizel dispensed a verbal reply to his greeting. 

“Still afraid, are you?” 

Raizel’s words drew Frankenstein’s ears right back to Earth, the blonde man mincing his lips. 

“Frankenstein. You treasure her.” 

Raizel usually leaves others untouched in terms of their emotional states, in respect of their respective owners. 

Yet here he was, volunteering to unwrap the subject as soon as he made his arrival, especially at a time like this, which gave Frankenstein good idea of how much he had been in anguish. 

And now that the topic was out in the open with Raizel’s courtesy, Frankenstein knew somehow sneaking past this topic is not an option for him. 

Considering where he was standing at this point, he knew he should at least touch on – no, definitely put an end to this dilemma. 

“I believe you already know she treasures you just as same. You would know the colors of symphony in your hearts have been identical for a long time.” 

Frankenstein’s lips were unmoving, his tongue dormant. 

“Know I well what you dread. You must have dreaded harming Lunark even little under the influence of the Dark Spear, as Lascrea attested. Remember I of how the Dark Spear absorbed Crombel and the shards of Blood Stone to attain greatest power in its history. And with Lunark recovering from the harm caused by the Dark Spear, I can feel how haunting the guilt of your heart is.” 

“...Then you would know. You would know that is exactly why I don’t deserve to...” 

“Do you still believe you will be a harm to her?” 

As mellifluous as crimson silk was Raizel’s voice, but Frankenstein had centuries of experience with his master to pick up how his tone steeled by the smallest of the shade. 

Which is why he unconsciously began retracing the facts instead of losing his words. 

“...No. I can no longer detect Crombel or Blood Stone within the Dark Spear.” 

Frankenstein was telling the truth. 

Although he had no chance to look back on exactly what Lunark did to him, too occupied with agony while standing guard by her bed, he could feel how the Dark Spear returned to how it used to be before it absorbed Crombel and the Blood Stone. 

“Then no more is the reason for you to hesitate, is there?” 

Frankenstein was dumbstruck, the answer so very simple and clear. 

The reason why he had been staying away from those dear to him, Lunark included, was because he feared he will lose his battle of dominance against the Dark Spear and manifest as a weapon threatening them. 

His fear grew even more humongous ever since the nightmare of effigies the Dark Spear staged for him. 

But now that the Dark Spear can no longer be a nightmare for him, there was no reason for him to keep himself isolated any longer.

“What is the bidding of your heart? The choice is most definitely yours, but I have had my lessons from 820 years of sleep. Only logical for us it is to live our lives to fullest, with no regrets, during the time that is given to us. We must listen to our hearts for what they wish. We must follow the choices our hearts seek.” 

Raizel gazed at his most trusted follower, unmoving and silent. 

“I have already told you. The last thing you can save at the moment is time. So do not save your time. Use it well to look into your heart in wholesome.” 

“...Yes, sir. I shall do that.” 

Raizel, as always, did not linger after delivering all of his messages. 

Frankenstein stayed muted in solitude until he got moving; it was time to take a look at another patient he was tasked with, and Tao joined him in the middle, rather faster than what either of them expected. 

“Right now, we are the only ones tending to Mr. Jang. Now everyone at KSA knows about his betrayal, so nobody’s visiting him. Well, Sir Rael was the only one apart from us that...” 

Thanks to Tao, Frankenstein was reminded of the lesser son of the only one he could ever dub as his true friend for his life. 

Rael already left prior to his return to Korea, and being the heir of Kertias, the fastest of nobles, by now he would be officiating his homecoming in the Lord’s Hall. 

And Frankenstein heard from his team about the skirmish Rael had with none other than his own kind – with none other than a head of a noble clan. 

Tao was about to voice his concern for Rael while he was at it, but then he suddenly heard Frankenstein puffing out a ball of air. 

Did he just laugh when we’re discussing Sir Rael here?

Tao’s eyes bulged out, but Frankenstein did not let him stare at him, wiping off his face of his laughter and concern. 

‘What am I worried about? I should worry about myself. As of now, that boy will have no trouble at all.’ 

After a brief self-reprimand, Frankenstein began to strut ahead, with Tao tagging along and complaining at him to wait up. 

(next chapter)

Previously Raizel asked Lunark to take good care of Frankenstein. Now he’s telling Frankenstein to follow his heart. I didn’t plan or see this coming, but I made Raizel a matchmaker in my fic. XD As you would’ve noticed, next chapter will be featuring on Rael, through a scene that I had been dying to compose since the brainstorming stage for this fic. Stay tuned and find out how my boy is going through another growth in his career as a head of his clan!

(Edited) I just realized I posted this chapter instead of saving it as a draft - my mistake, and I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again! My apology for whoever that got confused with the early upload!

[chromsai]

Yuri and Serena: retry

we’re gonna keep trying that again, until you get it right, groaned serena, picking up her things and glancing oddly at yuri. it’s just not right the way you’re doing it.

but you asked me to smile, so i did? what’s wrong with my smile? yuri tipped his head in confusion but kept his slick smile and expression about him without remorse. nothing this girl said made sense to him, in truth, so the hilarity of it all sustained his curiosity all throughout.

i said smile like you mean it, serena scolded again. you just keep faking it. it’s ugly.

yuri’s face snapped back in response. hey, who are you calling ugly?!

you!!, she screamed back without hesitation

you’re ugly!!, he retorted, completely offended. and you know what else? i dont need your help!

serena glared back for a full two seconds at him before she started laughing incessantly, something completely incomprehensible to yuri. what? how was this supposed to be funny? 

and then, she spoke…

you stubbborn ass! no wonder you don’t have any real friends! huh…, serena stared him down til she saw look in his eyes reflecting regret right back at her. hey… i used to be a friendless loser just like you, so… just work with me here, okay? i’m trying to make you better…

the air around them went silent for what felt like an eternity before yuri’s laughter broke the silence this time.

yuri?… she held a giggle at the sight of him to herself as well, though she wondered what had brought upon the humor. what…?

oh, he fought back a choke or two. it’s just, he breathed in, clearing his throat for a few seconds or so, you thinking i can get better…. that’s, he continued to fight back tears. too cute, aha ahahaha….

serena was at a complete loss for words this time, so she just shrugged back and smiled at him.

at the end of his little moment to himself, yuri smiled back. and serena pointed back fervently: THERE! YOU DID IT!! YOU SMILED!! 

yuri giggled slightly one more time and responded, so what?

so, serena continued slowly, that’s… the first time i’ve seen you smile for real…

well, it’s your fault, yuri tipped his head at her again, holding onto the grin more naturally than ever. i hope you feel proud of yourself for tricking me into it, moon girl.

[myaekingheart]

46. The Man Behind the Mask

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3

index | from the beginning | < previous | next >

               “Are you sure you’re up for this?” Rei asked. The morning sun filtered through the room, and Rei drew her knees up to her chest as she watched Kakashi slowly get dressed. He took his time, his energy still not completely returned from his stint in the hospital. It had only been a week since he came home.

               “I’m sure everything will be fine” he reassured, adjusting his mask on his face. “Besides, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura never passed the chunin exams so they’re stuck performing D-rank missions for a while.”

               Rei furrowed her brows. “Yeah, but still” she said. “I just want to make sure you’ll be okay.” As reassuring as D-rank missions should’ve been, she knew Kakashi’s team seemed to be magnets for trouble. Naruto especially. She just didn’t want them getting into anything that Kakashi wasn’t physically ready for yet. Besides, she didn’t have a whole lot of faith in the new hokage’s judgment anyways.

               Their mission was simple: help an elderly woman carry some boxes to her shop. They met up with her at the front gates where four shipments of merchandise had been delivered. Naruto, ever the over-achiever, tried lifting his box with only a finger to impress Sakura and, of course, failed. “Geez, lady, what do you have in here, anyway? Rocks?” he asked.

               The elderly woman laughed and patted Naruto on the head. “They’re so cute when they’re young and full of ambition” she hummed. Sakura caught a strange twinkle in the woman’s eye as she glanced to Kakashi, who’s face turned red as he rubbed the back of his neck. The elderly woman then knelt down in front of Naruto, steadying herself with her cane, and replied, “The only rocks in there are geology books. That’s all that’s in these boxes, boy. Books.” And then, leaping to her feet, Teiko Natsuki motioned for them to follow as she began waddling back to the Kaminoki bookshop.

               There was something strange going on when they finally arrived. The man at the register immediately narrowed his eyes at Kakashi in particular and grumbled something incomprehensible under his breath. “Hana, the new shipments have arrived” he called to his wife reorganizing the shelves. She set the stack in her hands back down on the library cart and rushed over to help take the boxes from the children, smiling at them and thanking them all the while. The man tapped his fingers against the counter and turned to the old woman. “I don’t know why you insisted on hiring ninja to help with the delivery. I could’ve just paid for the guy to bring them straight here” he complained.

               The old woman shot a knowing glare at the man. “But we should support our local shinobi, shouldn’t we, Yuri?” she asked.

               “If you ask me, we would’ve been better off just having Rei to do the heavy lifting” he said. “I doubt her ninja duties are that important, and I wouldn’t have to pay her extra.”

               Kakashi tried not to take the situation too seriously. He hated the way Yuruganai spoke of Rei, especially when she wasn’t there to defend herself, but he couldn’t risk blowing his cover. Hana turned to the children and whispered to them, “You see, Rei is our daughter!”

               “Your daughter is a ninja, too?” Sakura asked. “What does she look like? I wonder if I went to the academy with her!”

               Hana blushed at the indirect compliment to her youth. “Oh, no, I’m afraid she’s far older than you are, sweetheart!” she explained. “Well into her twenties, actually.”

               “Oh!” Sakura exclaimed, then turned to her sensei and asked, “Maybe you know her then, Kakashi-sensei?”

               All the color drained from Kakashi’s face. It took all of Grandma Teiko’s strength not to break out into hysterical laughter. “Uh, well…” Kakashi stammered, rubbing the back of his neck, “There are a lot of jonin in the village, I can’t say that I know all of them.”

               Just then, Naruto slid up to Hana and asked scandalously, “Hey, does your daughter happen to be single? See, Kakashi-sensei here is always reading these stupid dirty books and I’m starting to think maybe he should just find a real girlfriend, you know?”

               “Naruto!” Sakura shouted, slapping him hard on the arm. Naruto groaned and slithered down to the floor.

               The woman brought her hand to her mouth and giggled sweetly, amused by their childish antics. They reminded her of Rei and her team when they were young. “Sorry to disappoint you but I’m afraid she’s not” Hana replied. Her eyes flashed to Kakashi, who by now was internally screaming.

               “That’s a shame” Sakura replied. “I wonder if her and Kakashi-sensei would’ve gotten along. I’m bet she likes to read as much as he does!”

               Sasuke groaned and glanced out the window, arms crossed. “Are we done here yet?” he asked. “I didn’t think small talk was a part of the mission.”

               “Yes!” Kakashi exclaimed. “We actually really should be going.” He was just about to shuffle the kids out of the store, however, when Grandma Teiko reached out and stopped him.

               “Wait one second, Kakashi!” she said, motioning for him to stay where he is. “You wouldn’t want to run out without receiving payment, would you? Besides, I wanted to give you one other thing while you were here.” She disappeared up the stairs and returned a few seconds later with their pay along with a small bowl of senbei crackers. She set the crackers on the counter and motioned for them to come and have some, muttering to her son Yuruganai “Have to be hospitable, you know.” The man simply rolled his eyes and grumbled, disappearing upstairs.

               It was then that Naruto, specifically, was met with the strangest realization. Up until this point, he didn’t think he had ever seen Kakashi-sensei eat. He watched carefully as the copy ninja approached the bowl of crackers and reach for one, but just as he was about to pull his mask down, Sakura burst forward grinning with a book in her hands.

               “Naruto, look what I found!” she exclaimed, shoving the book in his face. It was something about flowers and had a cherry blossom on the front, which Naruto took to be the source of her excitement. By the time she was done gushing, Kakashi had already finished eating and had his mask back on.

               Dammit. What’s so important about that stupid mask, anyway? Naruto thought to himself. Kakashi was never seen without it, even when he was in the hospital. It didn’t make any sense. There had to be something going on here.

               As selfish as it made him feel, Kakashi was actually relieved to be able to go home early. He knew Rei had off today, and he was anticipating spending some extra time with her. He came home to find her still in his apartment curled up with a novel and suggested they go out for lunch. She happily obliged. As they strolled through Konoha,however, Kakashi was suddenly struck with the strangest feeling that at any moment something was going to happen. He shoved Rei into a nearby shop fo safety only to be approached moments later by Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

               “Hey, Kakashi-sensei!” the jinchuriki called, running up to him. “We were wondering if you wanted to go to lunch with us” he said, restraining laughter. Kakashi cocked a brow, glancing to the other two who looked a little too intrigued by the promise of a simple meal. Before he could even give a firm answer, they were already dragging him down the street toward Ichiraku. He glanced back to Rei as she peered out of the shop in confusion, an apologetic look on his face.

               Lunch alone was enough to convince Kakashi that something was definitely going on. His students taking him out to eat was strange enough, but they watched him with a keen eye as if he was an enemy on the cusp of an attack. And then it hit him. They must be trying to see me without my mask, he thought. If only there was something he could do to test that theory. Just as he reached to pull down his mask and eat, Asuma’s team burst into the ramen shop and triggered quite a commotion. That should do it, he thought to himself. His students didn’t need to know Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru were all fakes. They likely wouldn’t even realize that it all was a little too convenient. He made sure the chaos ensued just long enough for him to scarf down his food and put his mask back on. In the end, the only semblance of a hint they received at the nature of his face were Teuchi and Ayame’s blushing expressions.

               As much as Kakashi wished that that would be the end of things, he knew these kids were relentless. He doubted he would get any relief. Sighing, he walked back to the antiques shop he had shoved Rei into with a sliver of hope that she would still be there. He cringed when he found her sitting on the ground outside grimacing through a pair of antique sunglasses. A hot pink feather boa was wrapped around her neck, and on either side of her were two large bags full of vintage knick-knacks and décor.

               “I didn’t know you had a thing for antiques” Kakashi jested, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. She glared up at him.

               “I was stuck in there for forty five minutes, Kakashi. The shopkeeper refused to let me leave without buying anything, and then proceeded to load me up with a bunch of useless shit that cost way more than it’s worth” Rei explained through gritted teeth.

               Kakashi crouched down in front of her and smiled, inspecting a stained glass lamp sticking out of one of the bags. “You know, I’m sure this would look nice right next to your bed” he replied. She nearly jumped on him.

               “Where the hell were you?” she insisted.

               “My students apparently had an emergency” he replied. At this, Rei’s face softened.

               “Oh?” she asked. “What kind of emergency? Is everything okay?” She peered at him over the top of the sunglasses, eyes stricken with concern.

               Kakashi sighed and swatted at the air. “Just impatience and an overactive sense of curiosity.” He helped Rei to her feet and took one of the bags, then explained the situation as he walked her to her apartment. Upon their arrival, he brushed her hair out of her face and smiled down at her. “To make up for this afternoon, why don’t I cook us a nice dinner tonight? Does that sound alright?” he asked. Rei grinned and nodded. He kissed her forehead and then chuckled, swinging the end of the feather boa still around her neck and then added jokingly, “You know, pink really is your color.” She glared up at him, not unkindly, knowing full well that it, in fact, was not.

               The trip to the grocery store was quick; it helped that Kakashi already knew exactly what he was going to cook and exactly what ingredients he needed for it. His mind wandered as he strolled back to his apartment, cradling the overstuffed bag in his arm. His students seeing his true face was absolutely non-negotiable. He refused to give them the satisfaction. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized there was more than just his true face that he had kept secret. Knowing Naruto, Kakashi knew this was likely for the best, but still he wondered if keeping everything private was really worth it. After all, he was sure having a secret girlfriend was bad enough but he fully intended to marry Rei and soon. A secret wife was likely even worse.

               Kakashi took the scenic route on his way back to give himself more time to think. He hummed to himself as he shuffled through his thoughts, weighing pros and cons. His deliberation, however, was interrupted when he passed the Pink Bookstore. As much as he hated giving his business to Kaminoki’s rival, they had one thing that his girlfriend’s family business did not and that was Makeout Paradise. And on this particular day, there just so happened to be a sign of particular interest in the window: Makeout Violence, coming this week! He dropped his grocery bag and pressed his face against the glass, staring only to then notice the reflection of a two story billboard immediately behind him. He whipped around, barely noticing his students hiding behind it, to find a large advertisement that electrified his soul. “They’re turning my favorite book into a movie?!” he exclaimed. Frantically scooping up his groceries, he rushed off back to his apartment shouting, “I better order tickets in advance!”

               Sakura sighed, shaking her head. “So disappointing” she commented. “Kakashi-sensei really does need a girlfriend.”

               The following day, Kakashi made his way to the Pink Bookstore to pick up the newest installment of the Makeout Series. He was unsure what day exactly the books would be in stock, but figured he would just have to check every day to be safe. He passed Kaminoki on his way only to find th strangest thing outside. Banners advertising the Makeout series flapped in the breeze. He couldn’t help but step inside.

               “I thought you didn’t carry Jiraiya’s books” Kakashi said, looking around the all-too-familiar shop. Grandma Teiko chuckled and directed the ninja to the new installments.

               “We didn’t, but I convinced Yuri to cave. We were losing business without them, and it was about time we caught up anyway!” she exclaimed. “That old adage still rings true: sex sells!”

               At this, Kakashi’s cheeks reddened. He glanced at Yuruganai approaching the counter and cringed. His hand hovered over the newest installment, Makeout Violence, as he deliberated whether he was prepared to face Yuruganai’s judgment. However, as he contemplated, a crinkled hand rested on his forearm and Grandma Teiko motioned for him to follow her. She rung him up without a single negative comment, thanked him for his business, and then sent him on his way. Kakashi could hardly wait until he was out of the store to prop the book open and begin reading.

               Forlorn, Junko fell on him. “I’m losing you! And in doing so, I am lost!” he read. As he ventured back home, enthralled in his new literary endeavor, he caught wind of footsteps and panting close behind. Naruto. He disappeared the minute he reached the intersection. They really were relentless. He knew from this point onward, he would have to be especially careful.

    ��          He did everything in his power to deter his students. They were in no way going to see his face, nor was he going to risk them finding out about his girlfriend. It was still too soon. He needed to keep his personal life under lock and key, even if that meant pulling a few dirty tricks.

               “Not to sound like an idiot or anything” Rei started one afternoon, sitting cross-legged on his bed as he prepared for their next mission, “But I don’t entirely understand what the big deal is. I mean, they want to see your real face. So what? You are their teacher, they should trust you and maybe they feel like they can’t when you always look like you’re hiding something. Literally.” At this, she playfully began tugging his mask downward. He gently swatted her hand away with a murmured Stop that.

               “Some things are just better left unsaid” Kakashi replied. “They don’t particularly need to know anything about me, I’m their teacher but I’m not their friend. My personal life is of no concern to them, nor is my face.”

               Rei cocked a brow, an amused smirk on her face. “You’ve got a complex about your face, don’t you?” she asked.

               Here, Kakashi went red and he swatted at the air dismissively. “Me? A complex? No!” he insisted. When it was painfully clear Rei wasn’t going to let him slide without an explanation, he sighed and sank down onto the edge of the bed. “Alright, the truth of the matter is that I’m anxious about walking around without a mask on, and I’m anxious about showing anyone what I look like without it.”

               Scooting forward, Rei looked at him quizzically and asked, “Why is that?”

               Kakashi’s eyes drifted over to a small photograph on his bookshelf of himself and his father, Sakumo Hatake. A very tiny, very worn photograph of his mother sat on the shelf beneath it. “When my mother got sick, I wasn’t allowed anywhere near her without a mask on. She was immunocompromised and I, a threat. When she died, I couldn’t stop crying. I was terrified I would forget the sound of her voice, and the color of her eyes. But I was taught that shinobi don’t cry. Emotions made me weak. So then I wore the mask to hide myself. It was much easier to cover up my feelings rather than get rid of them altogether. I tried so hard, but it was never any use. The mask became a part of me. I felt vulnerable without it, unless I was Sukea. But that was different, because then I’m not myself. As I’ve gotten older, it’s been like a safety blanket. Even in the ANBU, everyone knew Kakashi Hatake the Copy Ninja. This way, at least a tiny piece of my identity is still safe. I refuse to compromise that, too.”

               Rei reached out and gently took his hand in hers. She had never heard him speak so extensively about something so deeply personal, and for a moment she wondered what made her so special to not only hear all of this but be one of the few who had seen his true face. When he met her eyes a moment later, however, she understood. His expression gave her an unspoken explanation, and her cheeks burned. She leaned in to kiss him, but he stopped her abruptly. Rei followed his eyes to the window, suddenly terrified that they were being watched, but there was no one there.

               Sakura and Naruto took ceremonious sips of tea outside the sweet shop, awaiting Sasuke’s return. They had both failed in individually shadowing him, but perhaps their teammate would’ve caught something juicy. When he returned, they asked him excitedly how things went, but he simply crossed his arms and turned his head. Kakashi is more lame than I expected, he thought to himself, recounting everything he had seen. He wasn’t about to tell Naruto and Sakura a damn thing. They couldn’t keep secrets to save their lives. Besides, by telling them of Kakashi’s secret girlfriend, Sasuke would gain nothing but an interrogation on the gritty details he didn’t care about and constant hounding toward their sensei. They were already annoying enough. Sticking his nose to the sky, Sasuke simply lied, “I got tired of shadowing him.”

               As Rei arrived for work the next day, she was informed by Lady Tsunade of a strange group of men hanging around outside the village. “From the looks of it” she explained, “I don’t think they’ll pose any real threat, but I want you to check them out just to be safe.” Rei nodded and obliged, racing to the edge of the village. She spotted them in a tree watching overhead as Kakashi’s team departed for their mission, and immediately felt sick to her stomach. She knew it was risky, but she needed more intel, so she used her chameleon jutsu to get a closer look, noticing a strange emblem on their forehead protectors. She didn’t recognize the village it was associated with, which was either very good or very bad sign. Either way, if Kakashi was in danger, she knew she had no choice but to tail them. She glanced back to the hokage’s quarters, contemplating whether to alert Tsunade of her plan, but decided there was no time. If she wanted to keep on them, she’d have to follow without authority’s permission. It was a risk she was willing to take.

               Kakashi followed his students as they ventured off, heading for a farm not too far from Konoha’s outskirts. All the while, he was blatantly aware of the fact that they were being followed. He remained extra alert just to be safe.

               These three strange men followed Team 7 all the way to an inn a short walk from the farm, where Kakashi and his students planned to stay the night. Rei surveyed the situation from behind a tree, heaving a sigh. Well, I guess I’m going to have to go undercover after all, she thought to herself. She snuck in through the back door, then hid her ANBU uniform and stole one of the employee kimonos. She pulled a tube of dark lipstick out of the holster on her thigh and applied warpaint on her face to cover her scar, then pulled all of her hair back into a bun save for a stray strand too short too cooperate. The kitchen was stockpiled with a gourmet meal waiting to be presented, so she did the honors of shuffling into the hall with the tea. Kakashi blinked at the sight of her, hoping it wasn’t clear that he was blushing from behind his mask. They locked eyes for a split second before she departed with as much decorum and professionalism as a stranger. As she shuffled back to the kitchen, however, she caught sight of the hostess of the inn removing her face—a mask—to reveal herself as none other than the dopey leader of that stupid triad.

               “Enjoy your meal, Kakashi!” he chuckled darkly to himself. She overheard him muttering his plan to his teammates: he had baked an undetectable narcotic into the food that would trigger uncontrollable hiccups with the intention of, erm, killing the Copy Ninja. Rei rolled her eyes.

               “You really think he’s going to be that easy to take down?” Rei asked, voice dripping in faux sweetness. The three turned to look at her with widened eyes, her appearance unexpected. And of course the first thing they noticed were her breasts. She appeared unphased.

               “W-wait a second, who are you?” the man asked, trying not to drool. Then, composing himself a bit, “And why were you eavesdropping on us?! Go back to the kitchen!”

               She wasn’t about to protest. However, as she walked back, making sure to sway her hips mockingly, she waved her index finger and called over her shoulder, “You know, it would probably be wise not to explain your entire villainous plan out loud where people might hear you!” The man sighed and dropped his shoulders as she walked away, then turned his attention back to Kakashi and his team. In a matter of minutes, there was a loud crash and from the other end of the building Rei could hear the man wailing about Kakashi ruining all of their hard work. Good job, Rei thought to herself with a small smile.

               Later that evening, Rei watched as the young genin made their way to the hot springs out back. She snuck into the changing room with a smile and went about her business as if she was simply a hostess restocking the towels.

               “What are you doing here?” a familiar voice asked from behind, quietly. She turned to find Kakashi approaching, preparing to take his own dip into the water. Rei inched closer and lowered her voice.

               “Lady Tsunade sent me to investigate some freaks hanging around the village border, but when I saw them following you guys I just had to tag along” she explained.

               “You didn’t need to do that” Kakashi replied. “I may not know who they are or what they want, but I know I can handle them myself.”

               Tilting her chin upwards, Rei frowned dramatically and replied, “You just don’t want me here, is that it? You’re not happy to see me!”

               “W-what?!” Kakashi stammered. “N-No, that’s not it at all!” What have I done? He thought in a panic.

               After another long moment of torture, she slowly turned back to face him with a wicked grin on her face and laughed. “I’m kidding!” she replied. “I know what you mean. But that doesn’t mean I’m leaving just yet.” Then, clenching her fist and grinning with determination, she added, “I want to see what these assholes are up to. Besides, they’re fun to fuck around with. They’re really just a bunch of blubbering idiots.”

               Kakashi’s face went pale, then he chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “Just don’t get yourself into trouble, alright?” he asked. “And also, try not to make a huge fuss about the fact that we know each other. I don’t want Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke to get suspicious.”

               “Ah, right” Rei replied, “Because I’m still just your secret girlfriend, right?” Before Kakashi could say anything, she waved her hand dismissively and went on her way. If she was going to get the full benefit of this, she decided she was going to just have to jump into the deep end. She snuck next door to the women’s changing room, stripped down, and slowly entered the women’s hot spring.

               There was only one other person there, none other than Sakura Haruno. She frowned up at the moon overhead, lamenting of how “I wanted to get a look, too, but with these hot springs, I’m out of the loop!” She then sunk down so that her mouth and nose were submerged and blowing bubbles.

               “Tough night, kid?” Rei asked, settling in. Sakura’s face went pale as she slowly met Rei’s gaze, a little self conscious now that she was faced with a stranger.

               “Uh…” Sakura stammered, then shook her head vigorously, “No, no, not at all, ma’am! No problems here!” Her sappy grin was in no way convincing, but Rei wasn’t going to pry.

               “You know” the redhead replied, “If it’s a boy you’re trying to sneak a peek at, I believe there are some gaps between the fence. You might be lucky.”

               The sudden thought of Sasuke crossed Sakura’s mind, and her heart pounded. But no, that was not her focus right now. Kakashi-sensei was going to take his mask off, no matter what, and she wanted a peek. Grabbing her towel, she waded out of the spring and pressed her face against the fence hoping to catch a peek. There was too much steam, and she couldn’t make out a single thing. Before she knew it, she could hear Naruto and Sasuke heading inside. Defeated, she did the same.

               Rei didn’t particularly want to climb out just yet, but she knew she couldn’t waste time sitting around stewing. After a short while, she climbed out of the spring and wrapped herself up in her towel. What she didn’t recognize, however, was that the Moya Triad had caught sight of her through a break in the fencing and their leader was definitely pleased with what he saw. Kakashi may have stolen away his lady love three years ago, but perhaps he could make it up for it by snatching this delicious number up before the Copy Ninja could get his hands on her, too.

               As she exited the dressing rooms, shaking the excess water from her hair, the leader of the triad slid in front of her with a devilish grin. “Hello, beautiful” he greeted, wiggling his eyebrows. “I’m afraid I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Aniki and I am here to rescue you from this life of servitude!”

               Cocking a brow, Rei eyed him suspiciously and then asked, “And how, exactly, do you plan to do that?”

               Summoning a rose from seemingly out of thin air, he presented it to her with suave presentation and replied, “Marry me, I beg of you!”

               Rei blinked, then restrained all of her hysterical laughter. “First off, do you even know my name?”

               Aniki paused, then leaned in close and caressed Rei’s shoulder, pondering a myriad of poetic names and reasonings behind why she might be named as such. After five full minutes of this with no apparent satisfaction from Rei, he sighed with eyes downcast and then asked, “If none of those are your name, then what is it?”

               A sickening smirk touched Rei’s lips as she simply replied, “Nunya.”

               “Nunya!” the man sang, fawning over her. “And what might that glorious name mean?”

               Wow, these guys really are just that dense, Rei thought to herself. Leaning in close, she exclaimed with a flick to the forehead, “Nunya business!”

               Aniki watched her walk away in defeat, tossing her towel in his face. “Well” he sighed, “They never said acquiring love was easy!”

               The following morning, Kakashi awoke early to track down Rei. When he finally found her, she was passed out on the kitchen floor with a piece of bread hanging out of her mouth. He sighed, knelt down, and shook her awake. “What on earth are you doing?” he asked when her eyes finally creaked open.

               She looked down to the half-eaten bread and chuckled awkwardly. “I guess I passed out during a midnight snack” she replied. Kakashi took the bread and set it on the counter, then helped her to her feet.

               “I need you to do me a favor” he said. She rubbed her eyes and motioned for him to continue while yawning. “I need you to go home.”

               “What?” Rei asked. “But Kakashi, I’m on a mission.”

               “Did Lady Tsunade give you clearance?” he asked. Somehow he already knew the answer was no. Of course she didn’t. There was really no reason why she would.

        ��      Rei averted her eyes, mumbling something along the lines of “Well, not exactly…”

               Sighing, Kakashi pressed his forehead against Rei’s and cupped her cheek. “I know you want to make sure I’m okay, but I promise I can handle things. You need to trust me.”

               Looking in his eyes, she hated that she knew he was probably right. The truth of the matter, however, was that she was terrified. “I’m sorry, but what am I supposed to do when you’ve spent three weeks unconscious only to jump right back into work?” she said. “And not only that, but to be followed by some weirdos who are out to kill you! Nevermind that they’re a bunch of fucking idiots, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I need to make sure you’re okay.”

               He knew there was likely no getting through to her, but he didn’t know what else to do. “You’re going to get into serious trouble the longer you stay out of the village” Kakashi said. “Think of what Lady Tsunade is going to say. She’ll likely have you pegged as a rogue shinobi and your face will end up in the bingo book. Do you really want that?”

               “If it means protecting you, then I don’t care” Rei said.

               Kakashi placed his hands firmly on Rei’s shoulders and crouched down to meet her at eye level. She hated when he did that. “Rei, you’re not thinking straight. Please, just go home.” He stared into her eyes for a long while before she finally caved, breaking free of his grip.

               “Fine” she muttered, “I’ll go back. But you better come back in one piece, and conscious, or else I swear to god, Kakashi Hatake, these Moya guys won’t be the only ones out to kill you.” He knew she wasn’t serious, and deep down he was really just grateful she had agreed to his request. He tugged his mask down for a split second to kiss her forehead, and then watched her disappear down the hall. From around the corner, the spying Aniki was dumbfounded. Yet again, somehow Kakashi had managed to steal another femme formidable from him, and oh was he going to pay.

               “Leaving so soon?” Aniki asked as Rei gathered her things and was about to head home. She was still wearing the same employee kimono she had stolen. She figured they wouldn’t miss it, and it wasn’t anything special anyways. She tried to ignore Aniki, but he blocked the doorway. “What is it? Am I too ugly? Do I stink?”

               Rei cocked a brow. “No…” she replied slowly.

               “I have money!” he said, pulling bills from his vest. “Loads of it! I can buy you anything your heart desires!”

               “Oh, really?” Rei asked. “Absolutely anything?” The man nodded vigorously, thinking perhaps he had finally caught her attention. “Then I want some rope” she answered confidently. Aniki’s face went red, his mind flickering with the possibility of steamy kinbaku. Before he could completely lose it at the hands of his imagination, however, Rei added, “I want some rope so I can hang you from the ceiling fan and turn it onto it’s highest setting until you puke.”

               “Oh, that’s cold” Aniki sighed. “What about houses? I have a great big house! Hot springs in the backyard! It’s a woman’s paradise!”

               Rei crossed her arms, her eyes falling to that strange curved emblem on the man’s headband, resembling a question mark. “And where exactly is this house? The Land of Questionable Choices?”

               Again, Aniki’s face went deadpan. “You really have no heart, do you?” he sighed.

               Patting his shoulder, Rei pushed past him and said, “Nope, I have one, it’s just big and black and destroys everything it touches.” Aniki watched her depart, defeated, but his defeat only futher encouraged him to seek revenge against his nemesis. Kakashi Hatake was going to get what he deserved.

               Just as Kakashi had predicted, Lady Tsunade ripped Rei a new one upon her return. As punishment, she essentially stuck Rei on a three day probation but deep down, Rei wasn’t complaining. At least now she would have ample time to get rid of all of that antique junk in her apartment.

               The following evening, there was a knock at Rei’s apartment door. She hoisted herself up off the floor, skirted around the clutter, and creaked it open to find Kakashi smiling at her in the hall. “So, how did things go?” she asked, ushering him inside. He expertly weaved through the mess and took a seat on the edge of her bed, surveying the state of disrepair around him. All of the antiques she had been strapped with were scattered around the room, covered in scribbled sticky notes and accounted for on a pad of paper.

               “It was fine” Kakashi replied. “I gave the kids what they wanted.”

               “About the mask?” Rei asked, whipping around to face him. She never thought he would cave so easily.

               “Mm-hmm” he hummed. “Or at least a version of it, anyway.”

               “Why?” Rei replied. “What did you do?” Kakashi then demonstrated the same technique he used on them, tugging down his mask to reveal yet another mask. Rei burst out in laughter. “That’s genius.”

               “And what about you?” he then asked. “Did Lady Tsunade punish you by forcing you to have a garage sale or something?”

               “No” Rei shook her head, “she just put me on a three day probation but in the meantime, I’m trying to sort through all that junk I got the other day. I can’t take it back to the antique shop or the lady will kick my ass with her broom, so I have to try and figure out how else to get it all off my hands.”

               Just then, a sickening smile touched Kakashi’s face. “I think I might have an idea” he said. He helped Rei load everything up and package it neatly, and then insisted he would take care of the rest.

               Down on the farm, the owner of the land directed a postal worker to the fields where three men still hung from the barn. “Delivery for you boys” the old man said, then motioned to a large cart of packaged items.

               “What the hell is that?!” Aniki shouted.

               The old man shuffled over to the biggest package, squinting at a tiny card attached. “It says: Just a little something for all of your trouble. Signed, Kakashi Hatake.”

               All the color drained from Aniki’s face as he began wiggling in his restraint. “Curse you, Kakashi Hatake!”

[klimkovsky]

Concert «Music of Celestial Spheres in Moscow Planetarium» • Composer Andrey Klimkovsky and Friends • Full updated video

10 years ago, this wonderful concert took place, and soon a DVD disc with its full recording was released:

«Music of Celestial Spheres in Moscow Planetarium»

Composer Andrey Klimkovsky and Friends

There were only three friends: Igor Kolesnikov, Olya Zemlyanika and your obedient servant.

But in the concert itself, and around it, a lot of people took part. I can’t remember everyone now, and I didn’t even know someone’s names then. The Moscow Planetarium is a very large organization, and holding concerts under its dome is a very massive event, both in terms of the number of spectators and the number of staff involved.

I'm still trying to remember...

Tamara Stolbova together with us created a full-dome light show - this was done in the planetarium for the first time, because it opened only a year before this concert, and a significant part of the equipment began to be used only at our concert.

Nikita Derbyshev placed a stage light around the perimeter of the hall, connected it into a single system and programmed it for each of our musical numbers - this work was also carried out in the planetarium for the first time.

Yuri Khrustalev led our entire orchestra in real time as a sound engineer - both at the concert and at all rehearsals.

Faina Borisovna Rubleva, scientific director of the Moscow Planetarium, initiated the very idea of a series of my concerts, she was with us at all rehearsals.

Alena Orlova and Elena Kokina - coordinated all the services of the Planetarium and did a great job of informational support for the concert.

Alexander Kulik acted as a producer of the entire project.

Sergey Demyanov and Alexander Fedorov assisted me on stage - they turned something on, turned it off, served it - it was not visible, but it was very important.

Oleg Bunzhukov recorded video and sound, and then edited it all, thanks to which we can now watch the recording of the concert.

Now about the musicians

Igor Kolesnikov went on stage for the first time in his life and fully played an hour and a half concert - it was no doubt a strong jerk and a shake-up. But Igor looked completely calm, imperturbable. In addition to synthesizers and special effects, he was in charge of wind bells. No one noticed how, right during the concert, Igor - while on stage, was recording his own video of the concert - with a hidden camera. But this is okay...

Olya Zemlyanika participated in only two tunes - this is very little (and I would like more), but it was these compositions that became the diamonds of the concert. The sound of her voice under the vaults of the star dome was truly universal, indescribable by any technology - what is heard in the recording only evokes memories of those incomprehensible vibrations that Olya generated in real time and transmitted to the hall - to each viewer - she was perfectly audible without microphone.

Unfortunately, there is almost no dome itself on the video, on which the main cosmic performance was performed. But neither then nor now are video cameras able to capture and convey that elusive starlight, which is perfectly visible to the eyes.

And the very quality of the recording in the dark, as a rule, decreases. Here we must again recall Oleg Bunzhukov, who, being an astronomer and a specialist in night photography and video shooting, did an excellent job of recording a concert in almost complete darkness. The experience of working in the darkest corners of the globe affected.

And yet the format itself - DVD - is very outdated, and now even phones dictate much higher criteria for a video picture. That is why I pulled this recording from the archives and uploaded it to the Internet in a (I think) higher quality than would have been possible 10 years ago.

Look dear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d85eJLIvJyU