#It'll be hard. and weird. when it does eventually end. No doubt about it

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Man, who am I even going to be/what am I even going to do without Kingdom Hearts (when it does eventually end)? I barely even remember a time without it now. And so much of my life has been spent doing things pertaining to it (that might actually be a sad statement).

And as cheesy as it sounds, so much of who I am is because of KH. I found YouTube because of KH, which led me to discovering amvs (and thinking they were the coolest things ever), and learning how to make them myself. I really became a writer through starting out with KH fanfiction, etc.

[modernwritercraft]

Weight loss

As you lose weight, one thing they don't talk about is how your tastebuds change. The food you love starts tasting weird. Sure, it still tastes good in the front, but now the aftertaste tastes off. You start to understand why some people say they don't like the taste of certain food. Another thing that changes is your appetite, of course, but more than you expect it to. You can't eat as much as you used to, but your mind still thinks it can. You end up with more food than you know what to do with. Suddenly, that bowl of cereal or soup is too much for you to finish even though you only ate half of it. That little bit of meat and cheese is surprisingly enough for you.

As you drop the weight, you will feel like you're absolutely STARVING at first because your body isn't getting what it has grown accustomed to. Stick it out, and you'll stop feeling like you're starving to death. If you start having nausea during weight loss, it means you're dropping weight too fast. Be very cautious as it could potentially be dangerous depending on your personal situation. When in doubt, just eat something. Food is not your enemy.

There may be times you don't have an appetite, and nothing is appealing to you. You could easily go all day only eating once if even. But regardless, you gotta eat something anyway. You'll be surprised by how hungry you really are once you start eating.

Don't be afraid of calories or carbs. You burn a lot more calories and carbs in a day than you think. You have to consume a surprising amount of calories and carbs to fuel your body for weight loss. Without it, it's like trying to drive a car with no gas.

Weight loss isn't without tears. Nine times out of ten, you WILL break down and cry at some point. I've been there repeatedly myself. It's ok. Release the frustration and tension but keep going afterward. You're doing great even if you're not seeing it yet. It's a weight loss JOURNEY, after all. You may not physically see much happening in the first month or two, but you'll feel it first. You'll notice that you're not as out of breath climbing the stairs. That walk isn't tiring anymore, or you can run farther before you have to catch your breath. Next thing you know, you feel great afterward instead of feeling exhausted and like your body is jello. More energy to do things again.

Your weight will fluctuate up and down anywhere between 5 pounds. Everyone's does, but that doesn't mean that's the exact amount of fat you have. There's a lot of factors in your weight. Water, clothes, or stress, even if you've gone to the bathroom, makes it fluctuate. So don't be afraid to see a slightly higher number or the same number. Keep in mind that as you lose weight, you build muscle at the same time. Muscle weighs 2 pounds for every pound of fat. That doesn't mean you're not still burning the fat.

Rest rest rest. Working hard to lose weight is great and all, but you need to let your body rest and recover. Physically, you'll push your body hard. You'll be exhausted and drained every day, even in pain, because your muscles haven't had a chance to repair itself. You'll eventually hurt, pull, or damage something. Possibly to the point of irreversible damage. Mentally, you'll grow to hate exercising and grow short with everyone around you. You'll despise having to work out every day or every two days, etc. Don't. Let your body rest that day. Your body will tell you what it needs, whether it's the easy or hard way. It's ok to have an easy or lazy day every once in a while. Rest is just as important as the work you put in.

Be kind to yourself. Losing weight isn't going to magically make you love yourself. It'll help you feel more confident and even like yourself, just a little more. Which is by no means something to underestimate, but in the end, you won't truly LOVE yourself just because you lost weight. It takes a lot more than that. Fixing the outside won't fix the insecurities inside. Unfortunately, you learn to accept yourself for who you are and grow to love yourself mentally over time. After all, it's your personality, your kindness, your goofiness, and passions unique to you that matter to the people that truly love you. Not some number on a scale.

Having an inspiration to motivate you is never a bad thing, but the reality is you will never look 100% like them. Something will always look a little different, and that's ok! You don't have to look exactly like them to look absolutely amazing. Two people could be the same weight, even the same height, and one will be smaller or more curvy than the other because their body carries it differently. There's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't mean one looks better than the other, just different.

[dxncingwithastrxnger]

hc // after everything that has happened, mike and el are having a hard time falling asleep. now it's much worse than ever. they sneak out at night to be with each other. in each other's arms they can sleep better and it reduces the number of nightmares a bit.

Yes!!! This!!! Most definitely!!! One of the more consistent forms of nightmares that they both end up having definitely involves losing each other in some way or another, which is one of the main reasons being with each other helps. Either Mike will sneak into El's room in the cabin, or El will sneak into Mike's room at the Wheeler's place (She's getting really great at making herself float 😂). Sometimes they'll end up meeting halfway and instead of sleeping, they'll just walk around and spend time together for hours, sometimes neither of them even speaking for the most part. Eventually, Hop starts to notice something's a little off, especially when he goes to wake up El one morning and she's not in bed, but then pops up behind him suddenly and that's weird, because El is almost always still in bed by this point, what is she doing? And why is she so awake? And of course when he asks her about it, she just says that she ended up waking up a bit early and couldn't get back to sleep. So Hopper then talks to Joyce about it, of course, and she can tell right away what's going on because "Seriously, Hop? Mike was late one morning? Since when has he ever been late coming to see El? And El said that he told her he was busy that morning? How did he even tell her that? The phone in that cabin doesn't even work right now. C'mon, you're smarter than this." and Hop's just like, "Uhhhmmm...???" and Joyce is just like, "Hopper. Mike and El have been spending a lot more time together at night, not just during the day." And then Hopper takes a moment to realize what she's saying and once he does, he of course is pissed but then Joyce reassures him and tells him that she highly doubts they're doing anything inappropriate and that they should just talk to them and find out what's going on (Both of them because after the last time he was supposed to talk to them properly, she doesn't trust it 😂). So they sit Mike and El down and ask them why they've been sneaking out at night to see each other and Mike gets nervous and is just like, "Oh, well, um, you see. It's just that- Well- Um-" And then El just speaks up and says, "Nightmares." quietly and Hop and El ask what she said so she speaks louder and says, "Nightmares." and Mike nods his head, agreeing, and says, "Yeah, uh. When the nightmares come, being together, it, it helps." and then Hop and Joyce just take a moment to process and then there's kind of a dawn of realization for both of them and basically, they all decided on planned nights spent together but with people actually knowing about it, which includes Joyce talking to Karen and convincing her that it'll be fine. Hop is reluctant at first, but he allows it after making both El and Mike promise that there won't be anything inappropriate going on during there sleepovers, which he believes because he knows how important promises are to those two, especially to El.

So yeah, guess I had a lot to say for that one, lol. But seriously, I absolutely love it!!! Thank you for sharing your little headcanon with me!!! It's very much appreciated!!! Hope you're having a great day/night 💜💜💜

[concubuck]

Wait, if you can have a womb or not, but the womb is never gone it's just...somewhere else, does that mean you can just carry the baby while it's somewhere else? You mentioned you've been wearing the womb more often recently though, so could that be pregnacy hormones messing with your head a bit?

((I'm switching to answering this one OOC since it's saying "you" like it's talking to Alastor, even though Alastor hasn't told anybody yet that he's knocked up. Wanna make it clear that the IC-ish answers to the prior questions aren't Alastor talking TO anons—it's just me showing his own thought processes. That's why they're phrased in third-person "Alastor is" instead of first-person "I am"—Alastor's not talking. Alastor doesn't speak in third person. At this moment, nobody in-universe should know he's knocked up.

He hasn't quite thought that far ahead yet—but very soon one of his most pressing concerns is going to be figuring out how to conceal his pregnancy until he decides to tell the public about it, IF he decides to tell the public.

When Alastor is shapeshifted, the change isn't permanent. It's like stretching a rubber band into a weird shape; when you let go, it snaps back into its default shape. Or—maybe a more fitting metaphor—his shapeshifting is like sucking in your gut to make yourself temporarily look thinner. It wears him out and uses up his magic to have a sustained shapeshift—he can't wear a fake form indefinitely, he has to take a break and return to default.

Usually, Alastor's "default shape" is, like, 60% of the time the body he started out with—your standard dick-and-balls setup—and 40% of the time the setup with vag-and-womb(-and-dentata, the dentata are present on his "default" shape), although he doesn't otherwise have "feminized" anatomy in this shape (i.e., no tiddies). Meaning that if he allows himself to un-shapeshift without thinking too hard about it, he can end up with dick or vag, with dick being slightly more likely, and if he's in either state he can "rest" there indefinitely. Either anatomy counts as an "unstretched rubber band."

The farther he gets into pregnancy, the more the womb anatomy configuration takes precedence as his "default" state, creeping up from 40% to 50% to 60%. If he remains pregnant it'll eventually hit 100% and remain that way until he's not-pregnant. Any time his body needs to take a break and settle back into his "default" shape, it's gonna be the shape with a womb (and baby), not the womb-free shape with a dick.

You could call that "hormones" if you want, he's definitely having Hormones, they're no doubt involved in some way; but whatever the case, his "default" state switching to the anatomy with a womb is indeed a consequence of his pregnancy. His body is trying to grow a whole-ass infant. That's harder to do if the baby-growing cauldron is in a different universe from his body; maintaining that separation is becoming something that requires sustained effort instead of something automatic.

He'll still always be able to shapeshift that anatomy away—just like right now he can always shapeshift away from his "default" shape(s)—but just like right now, he won't be able to sustain that shapeshift indefinitely. Right now, I think the longest I've had him sustain a shapeshift is ~12 hours, including sleeping in it overnight without it slipping; but the next morning he shifts back. It would take more magical energy than he can produce alone to just banish his womb to another dimension until the baby's full term. He can hide his pregnancy in public as long as he relaxes in private; but he can't simply avoid dealing with it until it's over.

... he himself doesn't know all this yet—like I said in an earlier ask, the fact that he figured out how to shove a uterus into himself doesn't mean he fully understands what it's doing in there—but this is stuff he'll be figuring out via trial & error as his pregnancy progresses.))

[karenwilson]

Buck and his romantic relationships

Honestly there is so much to dig into when it comes to Buck and his romantic relationships. There are some constants that can be found in nearly all of his relationships and some things that are constantly changing and evolving.

One think that strikes me about the women he has dated were strong and independent or arrived there at the end. Abby, Ali, Taylor, even Veronica they all stood their ground and were their own champions. They put their needs and mental & physical well-being first, something that society always expects women not to do. It's something I actually really appreciate about their storylines even if it comes with Buck being unhappy. None of the women set out to hurt him, they just didn't want to put themselves second. And that is perfectly okay.

But let's dive deeper into each of his relationships. Bear with me, it's a long one.

Abby Clark

Abby was his first serious relationship and now we know why. Due to his upbringing and his parents' abusive behaviour he never really forged any important relationships apart from Maddie. I think it got even worse when he got the jeep as he skipped from place to place, never staying for long anywhere. He didn't have ties anywhere and that made him restless and only seek out sex to forge some intimacy because that was all he thought he could get and something that would hurt him the least.

Anyway with Abby he was able to connect with a woman (one he wasn't working with anyway) on a deeper level. It only worked because it didn't start out as something physical. He didn't know what she looked, only knew her voice and good heart. I doubt they even would've met had it not been for the 911 calls, because they have so little in common.

Buck is actually pretty self-aware when it comes to his behaviour around women but hasn't really faced it before. That's why he tells her that he thinks it isn't a good idea if they meet, because he's worried he'll revert back to his usual coping strategies and it'll end up with him losing their connection.

But we also see that he's inexperienced and that although he knows how to seduce women he's lacking self-confidence in other aspects. He doesn't know unconditional love apart from Maddie and even that trust was broken when she didn't leave with him, when she left him behind. So he often worries he'll do something wrong and put her off; he goes over the top to get her attention - which he has done before in his life. Remember, he could only ever get his parents' attention when he did something big and reckless.

Abby has her own shit to deal with and Buck doesn't really know what to do with that in the beginning. It's not the light-hearted, sweet relationship he might have been hoping for but instead serious and heavy. But helped by Bobby's advice he works through his doubts and puts himself out there, puts Abby first. He always puts other people first, because that's who he is (and lbr, it's not healthy). Sadly to his own detriment because he is more invested than she is; Abby has her sick mother to take care of and is drawn in several directions at once. That's a heavy burden for anyone, especially someone working fulltime. She doesn't want to put her mother in a home as it wouldn't feel right but I also think it comes from a place of societal pressure for women to take care of other people. When her mother dies I actually thought it was a very real and important step for Abby to take put herself first, to take care of her own needs and do something that's vital to her claiming herself again.

I think Buck understands why she has to go but it still leaves him with the impression that he's never good enough, that people always leave. Because that's the experience he's made in life and nothing has changed that for him yet. And I totally get where he is coming from, that he believes it's his fault that she leaves, that he isn't good enough, that she doesn't love him enough. I do believe Abby never felt as deeply for Buck as he did for her but even if she did, sometimes love doesn't fix people. Abby was broken and exhausted and that's something Buck couldn't help with but that doesn't mean he wasn't enough.

She definitely did him dirty by leaving him in the dark and not giving him a clean break when she knew she was ready to move on.

Thanks to Maddie and the 118 he was able to partly work through those issues and put himself out there again.

Ali Martin

To be honest, Buck dating Ali came out of nowhere for me. Yes, they did connect a bit at the beginning of season two but I honestly didn't see her coming back as a love interest for Buck.

(And is it just me or do I just not remember it but Bobby stopped giving Buck relationship advice after Abby???)

But I thought they were really cute when they were together; the show just didn't make a very good job of establishing their relationship. They had to few scenes on the show but that was by design. I think the show never intended to keep Ali around, she was (sadly) just a plot device for the show to propel Buck's development. It established Buck's behaviours and the patterns in his romantic relationships. He years for deeper connections and a serious romantic relationship that he gets in too deep too fast. Buck doesn't do shit halfway, he gives it his all.

With Ali he was able to go the next steps of moving on from Abby, he had someone who made him happy for a while but of course the show had to reassert that people leave Buck, further damaging his self-esteem. I think it's perfectly understandable for her wanting to end their relationship at this point, when remaining in it would cause her too much pain and grief by always being worried about Buck and whether he would come home that night, would still be alive. That's a lot for anyone to deal with. So it was better for her to get out at that point instead of dragging it out and therefore making it more painful for both of them when it eventually ended.

But Buck doesn't view it as her leaving because of the dangers of his job but because of him. So yet another person leaves him because he's not enough, not right. Being a firefighter is important to Buck, he sees it as his calling, something he is good at and feels right. He defines himself by his job and that ends up doing damage, especially after the bombing and his subsequent leg injury. Buck feels lost when he can't do his job anymore because he feels like he IS his job. That's why Maddie telling him he's good enough and is worth everything even without his job was so important. His job is an important part of who he is but he isn't his job.

Taylor Kelly

I think with Taylor we saw the mere-exposure effect. Buck has a bit of a thing for voices as we first saw with Abby. With Taylor he knew her voice, heard her whenever he drove to work and obviously liked what he was hearing. And when he met her during that accident he was attracted to her not just by voice but by her looks as well.

Because of his dating experience with Abby and Ali and generally just trying to be a good person, he doesn't want Taylor to get the wrong idea. He likes her, possibly wants to get to know her more and doesn't want to leave her with the wrong impression. Taylor isn't having any of it, because she knows what she wants and what she wants isn't a relationship with him when they first meet. She's young, confident, successful and takes what she needs.

For Buck he has to cut the cord before he gets in too deep. He knows what he wants now and he doesn't want to fall back into his old habits of having sex and not having a meaningful connection. And if he doesn't get out he might fall too fast too hard already knowing it won't go anywere. Plus Taylor tries to expose secrets about his work family and quasi-dad and that would never work. Even if Buck wants romantic love he's not going to step on his 118 family to get it.

When they meet again more than a year later there are no hard feelings (whether that's amnesia on the writers' part or Buck has come to terms with her behaviour we don't know [yet]). Due to their previous actions Buck seems to think Taylor isn't a human being with feelings and hasn't been changed by the pandemic as well. I love Buck but it's ironic that he didn't want to hurt her in season two but inadvertently does so by using her as a shield in season four without her consent. I don't like what he did at all and Taylor was absolutely right on hanging him out to dry on that "double date" and calling him out on him using her like this, by not telling her what she was about to walk into. From her reaction we know he presented the situation differently because he (rightly) figured she might not come otherwise.

It'll be interesting for me to see where their relationship is going. I'd love for them to become friends and see where it takes them from there.

Veronica

I'm only including her for two reasons: She was Buck's first step to dipping his toe back into the dating pool again and acted as a catalyst to rekindle/change Buck and Taylor's relationship. Plus she also fits the strong woman type Buck goes for (although she additionally has a no-fucks-given attitude and isn't here to coddle anyone and their feelings).

To be honest, looking back on it Buck felt a bit OOC to me during their date. I mean yeah, he's just starting to date again and isn't used to doing it anymore and people change but... He didn't have a problem talking to Ali, Abby, Taylor or any of the women he chatted up with at bars and other places before. Why would he suddenly get so flustered? Even if they started on the wrong foot and he put his foot in his mouth... it just like it was put by the writers there for the laughs and not because it's how Buck would (re)act?? It just feels weird to me now. What did feel real to me was his need to impress her and makes sure she likes him, because Buck needs to be liked and he's really uncomfortable with somone not liking him and not knowing where he stands. He needs to clear the air now, to know what's going on so he can move on. After Abby and being left to doubt himself and being left in the dark about where they stand has left a mark on him (see also him making sure to talk it out with the 118 and especially Eddie after the lawsuit).

Well, that's it for now.

[theworldofyaltra-blog]

The World of Yaltra Parts 1-10

Yaltra, a world filled with magic gods and special abilities, a world of kingdoms and Queendoms. Light fills the world, but where light resides darkness is sure to appear.

In the queendom of Ceark, a warrior legend resides, a man named Dae Vol he was 14 and a tall boy standing at 6'3" with light brown hair and steel gray eyes, he prefers to wear red and gray robes. Dae had moved to Ceark when he was young. He went straight to the castle that day and demanded to be Chief of the Order of Knights. He was put through a test to see his power, they made a wager that if he was able to beat the top ten of the Order of Knights he would be given the title he wished. Dae was skilled, being born of a warrior and trained since he was a young boy. Dae got through nine of the ten, but when he reached the leader of the knights he was defeated. The leader of the Order of Knights recognized the boys potential and took him under his wing. Dae trained with the leader for 3 years when one day he was instructed by his mentor that to become physically stronger he had to become mentally strong. Dae was sent to Vertul School of Magic. At first Dae hated school, he disliked most people at the school, being an orphan back in his birth town only knowing his father was a warrior, and growing up in the slums. He disliked their aristocratic aura, he could tell that most looked down upon him. But one day after class he was approached by two people. He was approached by Phay Meloa a girl around 16 years old and her best friend Zould Akia a 17 year old half elf boy. Other than the staff of the school these were the first people to be nice to him at this school, they looked at him like a peer, like a friend. For a long time they were inseparable, and eventually they graduated the school. Zould left to his homeland, Phay was headed home too, but coincidentally Phay's home country is Ceark. Dae and Phay decided to travel home together. Phay asked what Dae was going to do. He tells her of his mentor and discovers that Phay is the daughter of his mentor.So Dae keeps training with Phay's father. Dae and Phay spend much more time together, growing closer and closer. Speed forward a bit and Dae confesses his love for Phay she feels the same. Dae and Phay get married 5 years later. A year after Dae is successful in fighting his now father in law becoming the leader of the Order of Knights. Zould then moves to Ceark and works as the High Wizard in place of his late uncle. Phay gets pregnant and gives birth to a boy, he is named Ty. A year later a war breaks out between Ceark and the kingdom of Anot. This war lasts for 4 years, and Phay's father passes on the battlefield. During the 3rd year of the war Phay gets pregnant again but dies in child birth. The child is a girl which Dae names Saia. Now it is 12 years after the war, this is where the story will truly begin.

"Hey you! Stop right there!" The guard commanded.

"Make me!" I replied confidently. But my confidence quickly faded as more guards appeared from the ally ways.

"You won't get away from us again Bo Asden!" This is not the first time I was in this type of pickle, especially with that particular guard. I never learned his name though, all I know is that he's getting faster.

Finally I found my favorite mode of escape, one of the many ally ways in this dump of a country. Ever since the last queen died and her bitch of a sister took the throne things have been hard on us poor folk. But enough history we have a problem at hand, that being-

"It's a dead end."

"And the end of the line for you thief!" Exclaimed the guard."You'll finally get your comeuppance."

"Hey there pal. Can't we work something out here?" I doubt this will work but I gotta try.

"No."

"Damn." Well I guess prison won't be that bad, I could work on my people skills. Plus free housing and food, but then again they would be alone.

"Seize him!" Exclaimed another guard. I guess I'll go out in a blaze of glory. As the first one came at me I swept gracefully past him and punched him in the back of the head, he was out cold.

"Gary!" So that's his name, good to know. They stopped playing fairly at this point and rushed me. I got overwhelmed and was thrown to the ground, it seemed they wanted to repay me for Gary.

"Stand down soldiers!" Boomed a large man behind the pile of people on top of me. He was a large man around 6'3" with graying brown hair and steel gray eyes. But it seems he is something to the guards because they got off me with fear in their eyes.

"I will take care of the thief, take Heads to the infirmary." This made me loose any feeling of safety. After the guards left with Gary he came closer and began to speak. "So tell me boy, why are you stealing from people, what is your motive?"

"I doubt YOU would understand"

"Try me kid, you'd be surprised"

"Believe it or not, some kids don't have parents to take care of them. All those kids have is me, so I get them food this way."

"How old are you son?"

"Sixteen, why?"

"Well, since you're sixteen you can work for their food, plus even if you're too old the orphanage will take the children your looking after."

"But I can't just-"

"You can, it's safer for them."

I'm sick of this asshole preaching about something he doesn't understand. I'm going to teach this old guy a lesson then he'll think twice about ordering people around. I ran towards him fists ready, then I was on they ground.

"What just happened?"

"Your predictable, but I plan on fixing that."

"What?"

"Get up and follow me, I'm gonna make you stronger."

"Yes sir." As we left I saw something. It was a man in red and gold robes, just silently watching me, as if he were waiting for something.

"Something wrong boy?"

"No and I have a name, I'm Bo."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Dae."

After the whole 'come with me' thing, Dae lead me past the slums to the more suburban part of the kingdom. It was sorta weird though because he didn't talk the whole way, just odd silence between us. Finally he stopped at a medium sized Dutch style house. He walked in the house prompting me to follow him. I had guessed at this point that it was his house. When I walked in I was greeted by a warm, loving atmosphere, just like I thought a home would feel, maybe it was just my imagination though.

"Father who is this boy?" Said a boy that seemed to be around 17, and looked like a slim young version on Dae. Not so far behind him a girl lingered, unsure if she should trust me.

"Tsun this is Bo, he will be trained here from today on." Dae said with his seemingly endless confidence. There was one thing wrong with this though, not once was I told that I would be staying here and being trained, I guess that's what he meant by 'make me stronger' but I had things to do, people to feed.

"What!? Why?" Said Tsun with rage. Never mind, I need to find someone to take care of the kids, because now my sole purpose in life is to antagonize this boy.

"I did not say it was a matter of discussion. He will be here so deal with it." I think it's time for me to step in.

"Well I'm lookin-"

"Be quiet boy, you need to prove yourself if I am to accept this!"

"Someone's cranky."

"Well if you're so apposed just fight him, he took on Gary." Hmm Gary's more popular than I previously thought. But also fight him? Why not? It'll be fun, he can't be too good if Gary is their frame of reference.

"Fine, if I win he shall leave, and if he wins he can stay." Dae didn't respond. "Follow me boy." He led me to a door in the back of the house with Dae and the girl trailing behind. Then the door led out to a grassy field.

"Might I ask how?" I said.

"To simply put it, magic." Dae replied. What a convenient excuse for an otherwise impossible situation.

"Come at be boy."

"It's Bo son."

"You know it's Tsun."

"And you know it's Bo." I wonder how stupid he'll look when he looses. Dae and the girl were whispering, catching my curiosity I tried listening to them and caught 'He isn't too bright though, huh' from the girl. What made her think that? That is what I found out. I turned back and we officially 'started' the fight. At first we just walked in circles, but then in a second he was in front of me, trying to connect his fist to my face. Lucky I dodged the attack and backed up.

"You're fast." I prepared a punch.

"Thanks." With that once again he jumped right to me, just as planned. He might be fast, but he seems to think with his head, not his mind. Wait, that doesn't make sense. Or does it? Fuck it, I'll go with it. What I was trying to say though was, i had expected another jump so I had prepared that punch and that plus his speed.

"HMF"

"That's a strange noise, I didn't expect that." I replied snidely.

"I take that back." Whispered the girl to Dae.

"Damn right!"

"Language!" Responded Dae. Also it seemed the girl was embarrassed to have been heard.

"Alright he can stay." Tsun groaned from the ground.

After the short battle with Tsun, I returned inside to explore a bit. I came across a shelf filled with pictures of times long ago. One depicted a younger Dae along with an elf and some girl that resembled the whisper girl, but this seemed too old for that to be her.

"Hey Dae!"

"What?"

"Who are these people with you in this picture?"

"The girl was my wife before we married, and the elf is my friend Zould."

"Where is your wife anyways?"

"Sadly she passed years ago, and Zould vanished during the Few year war."

"I've always hated the name of that war."

"Yes, it isn't very imaginative, like it was thought of on the spot. Anyway, we have to find a place to put the children you care for, and tomorrow morning we start your training!"

"Alright." I said. Something still felt off though, like a storm was coming.

"M'lord, the time has come. We may never have a chance such as great as this to invade Ceark."

"Prepare the fleet, we leave next week."

"Yes lord Ziao Tae."

I'm in a scorched field, one day the grass will grow but for now it's burnt dirt, burnt by battle mage fires. Dad is on the ground, but not the same dad i know. He was younger with full brown hair lacking the bits of gray without his short beard. In front of him stood an elf, one I've seen only in pictures. Dad once told me his name was Zould and his best friend, someone he trusted with his life and secrets. Zould was speaking, that's when I noticed the dark smoke cloud in front of him, i could feel the dark magic in the cloud. This cloud could only hurt.

"If I do this you will let him live, is that right?" Zould said looking to my father.

"Yes young elf, if you do this I will spare this boy and he will not fall like the rest." Uttered the evil thing. I realized the bodies scattered everywhere, some parts were removed from the bodies, it was sickening. "Just wound yourself and don't resist me." With that Zould cut his palm and the cloud seeped into it. He screamed from the painful experience.

"Take care Dae." He said. Then he started to change. He looked different now but his back was turned to me and as he started to turn I was surrounded in darkness. I was fearful at first, but then a calming voice told me.

"Find the book, save the elf, save the world." Then I awoke. I was in my room again. I was still just Victoria Vol, the 16 year old daughter of the "Great" Dae Vol.I've been having this dream for a month, but the calming voice was new. I was filled with questions from his words. What book was I to find? How do I save the elf? Is the cloud a danger to the world? But I couldn't find these answers on my own, but maybe dad could help me. It was around seven thirty so dad should be worshipping the "Forgotten God", the first god but also least know to the point that he is majorly unknown to most. Usually people will pray to more popular gods like Nekatio the god of cats, personally I like to worship the goddess of light Samantha. Dad likes to say that Samantha and the goddess of darkness Wendy are in a romantic relationship, but that's just ridiculous. Why would a girl go out with another girl? Dad also tells me it's not a big deal, I'm sure I just don't understand. I entered my fathers room but he wasn't there, something important must have come up. I decided to go down stairs to make some breakfast. Down in the kitchen I saw the boy dad brought back home a week ago as a student. He had hair that was a sandy yellow color and dark blue eyes, he was around 5'8 which I liked seeing as though I'm 5'4 and live with two giants standing at 6'3 and 6'2. He's kinda cute. "Do you know where my father is?" I asked Bo hopeful that he knew.

"Not specifically but he said it was important." Drat I wanted to ask him about the dream. But a voice cut through my thoughts. "Why is Gary your standard for strength?"

"Well Gary is a werewolf, plus he is considerably strong as just a human too."

"Did you say werewolf?"

"Yes and if anyone ever killed him it would mean big trouble."

"Who did this." I said to Dr.Sandra Bouls.

"Who ever did this used black magic to kill him, its potent even now though Mr. Gary Heads was killed around 48 hours ago."

"This is a problem, only one person could kill Gary with such powerful dark magic."

"Do you mean-"

"Zaio Tae."

It was a quarter past eight now and Victoria was leaving once again, she left at this time every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Where was she going though? I don't know much of Victoria except basic knowledge like age and gender.

"Where do you go on these days?" I decided to ask.

"Nothing to worry yourself about." Oh wow that really helps me. I guess it was supposed to be like that. So since she won't tell me I'll have to find out for myself. And by that I mean while I have free time let's follow Victoria. After a few seconds after her departure I left the house and followed the small black haired girl from a safe distance of two or three yards. We went a mile or two when she stopped and went to enter a small house on the outskirts of the city, I had closed the distance and decided now was a good time to reveal myself.

"Who lives here?" I said, startling Victoria. She saw it was me and calmed just long enough for her surprise to become anger. She slapped me.

"Why did you follow me, douche!"

"Language Vic. Also, ow."

"One, you deserved it. Two, I don't want you here. And three, who said you could call me 'Vic'."

"Well I'm not leaving now Vic, I want to know who this person is."

"I don't care! Just go back ho-"

"Oh, Victoria you brought your boyfriend to lessons today!" Said a friendly looking old lady cutting off Vic's sentence.

"He is not my boyfriend, he is a boneheaded fool."

"Such harsh words Vic." I feel that I'm starting to bother her, I'm glad I came.

"Well come on in, both of you." Said the old lady gesturing us to come inside.

"I'm looking forward to this."

"I hate you."

"Ha."

Inside the house was a room with a table to the left, a sitting area to the right and two doors. The old lady had us sit down and Vic explained my current situation.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Matilda, a witch and Victoria's grandmother."

"Nice to meet you Matilda, why does Vic come here so often?"

"I can't just visit my grandmother?" Vic said with a cold tone.

"She comes to learn, just like my daughter learned."

"Learn what? Witchcraft?"

"No carpentry, of course it's witchcraft." Then a knock came from the door. "Well aren't I popular today." With that Matilda went and answered the door, and at the door was Dae.

"Matilda we have a big problem." Dae said sounding genuinely concerned.

"Nice to see you too, come in son."

"Oh I guess Bo joined you today, but you may stay it concerns all of us." What is going on that has him so worried? Nothing much ever really happens in Ceark, the only thing we really ever have to worry about is the magic haters of Takacia.

"Matilda, Victoria you've been having a certain dream lately right?"

"Yes I was hoping I was just going senile but he has returned hasn't he."

"What? Who's back? What does this have to do with my dreams?" Victoria looked scared, what in the fire realms is going on?

"I will tell you in due time but for now head home, and Matilda its time for you to abandon ship. I have to do something now, Victoria and Bo, go home for now."

"But what is all thi-" but before I could finish that sentence he was gone.

"Queen Aldraea, I have come as asked."

"Ah yes Knight Dae Vol, I have been informed of the dangers that loom and I have a task of utmost importance for you." Man she sucks, I'm just waiting for an assassin to come along. "I need you too look after my daughter, I'm having her go undercover as one of you plebeians so she may stay out of deaths grasp. And what's worse is she takes after her late father, such a weak man." This is music to my ears, her daughter takes after Borjor the kind. This is the best possible outcome, Borjor died a martyr. He was said to save any person, he would go to battlefields and save both friend and foe. Sadly he was 'mysteriously' poisoned. "Cassidy! Come here girl." A young teen girl then entered the room, she had long golden locks and jade green eyes although I could barely see them since she stared at the floor in submission.

"Y-yes mother."

"This is Knight Vol you shall live with his family while danger is high. I expect no problems with this."

"Yes mother."

"Now leave me, both of you."

"Yes my queen." With that I left with the shy princess.

It was eight in the evening when Dae opened the door and behind him was a girl around 19 and timid looking.

"Hey Tsun, I know I'm new myself but is this something he just does? Bring people home?"

"No actually, you two are the firsts. Also may I ask your name?" Tsun asked. A good question too but I doubt she will answer herself, she looks too uncomfortable for questions.

"This is Cassidy and she will be staying with us for a while." He told us nothing more of girl and lead her to the fifth and last bedroom of the house. He then went to Vic and lead her to the room, she entered, he left.

"Well that sure was 'enlightening', I really learn a lot about her." I said sarcastically.

Father had come to my room and filled me in on the princess and her situation, then lead me to her hopeful that I could calm the nervous girl. She sat on her bed and stroked her long golden hair, which is kinda weird because neither her mother or father have/had black hair.

"The queen isn't your real mother is she." I said bluntly, and now that I think about it that was rude of me.

"No, my real mother was a maid. She died in child birth." She replied unexpectedly. "My father didn't like 'mother' though and she didn't like him, which is why he had the affair. We would bond over our hatred of her, but then she." Cassidy stopped at that point realizing that she was saying very personal things to a stranger. "I-I'm sorry, I'd like to sleep now if that's ok."

"Of course, you can come to me if you need to talk again." Then I left. She seemed sad now, but she seemed a lot more comfortable. Maybe one day she will finish her talk with me.

It's been two months since Dae took me in. My days have been mostly routine; wake up, pray, eat breakfast, train, eat lunch, study, eat dinner, pray, sleep. The only diversions from said routine are my off days. For training we mostly just workout, sometimes Dae will teach me things like sword techniques. He's brought up magic infusion before, a skill in which something can be infused with magic, it's usually just for swords and armor though. I can't infuse anything because of my weak magic though, that's what studying is for. I've been practicing out of a thick spell book for beginners and have some basic magic down like 'Ignis Creare' a simple spell for making fire. Then there's 'Pruinae Creare' which is just the opposite of Ignis Creare. But enough of that, I'm currently at dinner and Dae has bequeathed some information upon us.

"I'm sending you all to Virtul Magic Academy." Dae stated.

"Excuse me? Why might I ask are we being sent to a school." I asked.

"Reasons."

"Do you have to be so vague?"

"Nope."

"I don't want to go. I'd rather stay here." Vic and Tsun agreed.

"It's not up for debate, I'm not answering any questions either. You four are going and that's it, you might want to pack your luggage because you leave in the morning."

"This is bullshit." Tsun claimed. Huh usually he's not one to argue, maybe I'm rubbing off on him, I felt happy from this thought.

"Just accept it, it's not like he's going to change his mind." Vic cut in. Tsun seemed rather peeved because his next course of action was to head to his room, drama queen. I was about to complain again but Dae sent me a glare, and the next thing I new I was headed to my room to pack. I'm not sure entirely what made me back off but I know it wasn't magic, that made it all the more terrifying.

It was evening when we arrived at the school, but it looked more like a fortress than a school. The whole campus was enclosed by a 12' stone wall in the shape of an octagon. At each point of the octagon was a tower, 4 were class buildings and the other 4 were dormitories, 2 for boys and 2 for girls. In the center was a larger tower which held the cafeteria, a ballroom, teacher housing, and at the top was the headmasters office. When we arrived we were shown to our respective rooms and someone was to pick us up and show us the around campus. A portly guy a year or two older than I showed me around, he seemed nice I should have listened to him. I didn't see the others till morning classes the next day. First class was Magic History with Ms.Uerosa she looked around in her mid to late twenties and... tried. She is too nice for her own good, the other students walked all over her, the ones who didn't and listened were few and seemed respectable, like they earned their right to learn here. The ones who couldn't be bothered to listen to poor Ms.Uerosa were, obviously, the children of 'important' nobles. Sadly a lot of the people here were those types. I did meet some good people, like Bruce, he has copper hair and glasses and schemes, which is always a plus in my book. I found him the most likable of the people here, luckily he's also my roommate. In my next class I finally got back together with Vic and Tsun, the other girl was in a different class. This class was Magical Practice with Mr.Dawnbreak, first task was summoning a familiar.

"Ok class, a familiar is the most important part of a magician, they can symbolize your magical strength and will be your companions till the end of your days." Mr.Dawnbreak boomed. He then mumbled some chant and a dwarf troll appeared next to him. "You can summon familiars at will with a simple chant, you can have multiple familiars depending on your magical strength. Now who's ready!" He's a very interesting teacher, very eager. Vic had summoned a black cat she named Simon, which was a sign of her strong affinity to potion magic. Tsun summoned a dog, to show his physical strength. Bruce summoned a Phoenix and everybody was too awed to ask what that meant. Now it was my turn. "Alright Bo, give it a try!"

"hoc est maximus ut custodiant lectione nunc." I chanted. And a figure started to appear. Now I'm not sure exactly what was going on, or why but when the summoning smoke cleared all that was there was, a girl. She was, different though, that meaning she had wings hand sharp teeth. She opened her mouth and spoke.

"Hilsener mester." She said. We looked upon her in both confusion and awe. "Min heter er Drakaina, har jeg kommet til å tjene deg." She spoke this time, but still we just gazed upon her. "Du kan ikke forstå meg he. Is this better, master?" Holy crap she spoke something comprehensive. "I am Drakaina." Drakaina said.

"Hey Mr.Dawnbreak, has this happened before?"

"No Bo, I can say it has not."

"Drakaina? What are you?"

"I am a drage, dragon, my master."

"I'd perfer if you called me Bo."

"Yes mas-, Bo."

"I'm going to fetch the headmaster, you students stay here, bond with your familiars." And with that Mr.Dawnbreak was gone. What would happen now? Only the gods know. This is going to be interesting though, that I knew for sure.