#a bit more about these birds from this shaman

[sergioguymanproust]

Never entertain the darkness within you ,because they are listening and remembering your face .There are those who would relish to have one or two as pets but you must remember black is beautiful to those who dance with the darkness familiars.Ask any spiritual leader about the black color and they tell you why it isn’t safe to wear it , or seek the company of crows or ravens.As a shaman I know better to keep to my path and avoid calling them tempting as it may be.Even the word to describe a flock of them is dark a murder of crows.Well,if you decide to befriend one or two of them birds, make sure your stars are in total alignment ,I say this because at least if you decide to part from them you will be safe.These birds are intelligent and are always watching humans to learn a trick or two from them.Not that I’m apart ,but with certain spiritual knowledge comes a responsibility to advice others about the kind of birds you are messing with. They are also tool users and can imitate humans specially those that frequent landfills in competition with seagulls and other critters.Well, here in the islands they are believe to be omen of the dead.I wish I could say something positive about them .The raven on the other hand are deeply connected with the myth of creation among the PacificNorthwest coast of the US .You can see them carved in the totem poles of the Tlingit tribe.Well, do your research and do share it with us.More in coming postings.Words by Sergio GuymanProust

[burningcheese-merchant]

What do you think of a burningcheese vampire au? Any head cannons to recommend?

That's certainly an interesting idea. One I admittedly never considered until now lol. Was never one for vampires (even in my cringey Twilight phase at age 11, I liked Jacob more lol), but I want and need BurningCheese in every possible timeline so let's see what I can come up with here

How about, instead of vampires that are harmed by the sun, we have vampires that are the opposite? That are empowered by the sun and weakened by the moon? With both Golden Cheese and Burning Spice already coming from hot places, I think that lends itself to that sort of arguably more fitting table-flip

With this in mind, let's look at the routes we can go down.

Vampire Burning Spice:

Cursed by a wizard/shaman/whatever as they lay dying in the ruins of a civilization BS had just destroyed

BS looks exactly the same as before, which enables him to hide what he's become quite easily

He becomes a full-on cannibal as a result of his curse/transformation. Already being violent and figuratively bloodthirsty allows him to quench his literal bloodthirst easily; he just munches on arms and legs + chugs whatever pours out of slit throats + gobbles up whatever he tears out of chest/stomach cavities to get his fix (and also the curse might have driven him slightly madder than he already was before, which is also why he's escalated from just torturing and killing people to eating them as well)

Very weak and lethargic at night. It is fire, heat, and sunlight that help keep him going; when the sun sets, he becomes tired and tends to squirrel himself away somewhere, skulking around in the shadows, waiting for day to return

Soul Jam becomes a huge crutch at night because of the aforementioned weakness to night/moonlight

Doesn't know how to turn anyone else into a vampire, or even if he can. Doesn't really care about that tbh. Or he didn't, until...

...He met and fell in love with Golden Cheese lol. His beautiful little bird. His precious Soul Jam thief. His sweet, delicious prey, with that scrumptious, intoxicating blood that he can smell from dozens of feet away, that he can almost hear pumping through those delicate veins... oh, those fights they had were hard on Burning Spice. She made him so hungry, in more ways than one. He craves her, he truly does. And he shall have her, in every way that he wants. What's she going to do about it, anyway? Kill him?

Golden Cheese, being stuck with a literal fucking vampire cannibal in love/obsessed with her and hunting her down constantly, tries to find a way to break his curse, if only to prevent any additional suffering to innocents and get him off of her ass even a little bit

Vampire Golden Cheese

In her grief and desperation to revive her subjects and restore her kingdom, GC ended up resorting to strange magic that she didn't understand, which backfired on her terribly as a result

Lives in almost complete seclusion, trying to maintain as much distance as she can between herself and... anyone, really. She would never forgive herself if she gave in to her newfound instincts and harmed someone for the sake of this disgusting, unholy appetite

She really is ashamed of herself. For her foolishness, for her cowardice... for the way she can feel her own mouth start to water when she watches the cheesebirds go about their work... She's damned herself and what few treasures she has left, by doing what she did. And now it's yet another albatross around her neck, that she'll have to carry for... who knows how long

Tries to channel her inner Dark Cacao and maintain extreme self-control and discipline at all times. Denies her bloodlust for as long as possible, until she truly cannot take it anymore (and then she just goes out and eats jelly worms, no matter how bad they taste)

Realizes she's weaker at night and does most of her work during that time, as it's when she poses less of a threat to the cheesebirds and any other life in the area

Same as V!BS, she relies on her Soul Jam to keep her strength up at night

Tries to find a cure for her predicament in any way she can without directly informing anyone of what's happened because she's too proud to admit she fucked up this badly and she fears that everyone will turn against her and persecute her

Fuck's sake, some buffalo looking bozo kidnaps her and drags her to Beast-Yeast and now she has to fight this big buff guy and... why is he looking at her like that? Why is he talking to her like that? They met five minutes ago and he already sounds smitten with her, what the fuck is this. She just wants to go home and get back to trying to fix herself-

WHY DID HE FOLLOW HER HOME? SHE LEFT HIM BURIED UNDER HIS TEMPLE, HE SHOWS UP ON HER LAND HARDLY A MONTH LATER, OH GOD WHAT DOES HE WANT-

Welp. He discovers what's wrong with her. And he coerces her into letting him stick around in exchange for his silence. At least he said he'd help...? But how he'll do so remains a profoundly irritating mystery...

That's what I have for now. I'll think of more later bc I already know people are going to flood my inbox asking for more of this lol

[the-possum-writes]

Hi! I was meaning to request if you could write how would finn and princess bubblegum react if they found out there was a human princess around. Maybe she was adopted by the Queen and King from a small kingdom and kept her hidden for safety. I hope it's okay, and thank you for everything <3

Discovering a human Princess

❥Characters: Finn Mertens, Princess Bubblegum

❥Tags: SFW, Fem!reader, princess!reader, drabble, hcs

❥Synopsis: Bubblegum and Finn attempt to help a princess who they believe is inflicted with a curse but turns out she's actually a human being.

❥A/n: No prob! This is in the early seasons when humans are almost non existent and are considered extinct. Gonna take the same approach and write a small intro before seperating it into hcs for each character.

❥Taglist: @foxpearlwilder @watchingfromthefloorboards

Finn isn't one to dwell too long about being part of an extinct species or he'll get soul searchy, but one day the topic came to mind when he was rummaging through a barrel filled with old toys, some were old and moldy while others were mostly intended for babies. "Did you use to have toys like these growing up?" Bubblegum asks him, rummaging through her own pile of things. Her investigations leaded them to the remains of a shopping mall, mainly in effort to find more information about old times.

"Not really? I always had Jake to play with, well, that and any cool stick that looked like a sword." Finn responds, with his fingertips touching an unfamiliar rubber plate which turned out to be a Frisbee, he didn't get the chance to check it out because  Bubblegum cries out when her pile starts jiggling and something starts crawling out of it, Bubblegum takes a step back while Finn jumps into action with his gold sword ready, but instead  of confronting monster he was met with a harpy pigeon. "Oh I must've fallen asleep again..." he rubs his round eyes with the tip of his gray wings. "You! You're struck with the land walker curse as well?" the pigeon directs his attention at Finn.

Finn took it like some sort of insult. "Curses shmurses!" he responds almost immediately.

"Yeah, Finn has been curse free ever since that one witch gave him a booty rash." Jake exclaims in his failed attempt to defend Finn.

The human boy lowers himself to Jake's height. "Duuude, you weren't supposed to tell anyone." he mumbles with pinkish face cheeks.

"What's the land walker curse?" Bubblegum focuses on the topic at hand, to which the pigeon harpy dwells further.

"Back at the harpy kingdom our rulers were blessed with two royal heirs many seasons ago, one prince with wings and talons and a princess who remains wingless. The king said his beloved daughter was cursed by a shaman to walk on land forever, never to soar the skies with her family nor her people. It's so tragic don't you think?" he pulls out a handkerchief to dramatically wipe his non existent tears.

Bubblegum remained skeptical with her arms crossed together as she mutters to herself. "There's gotta be a scientific reason for this, maybe a genetic mutation? Or someone cheated." her thinking gears started running inside her head, meanwhile Finn and Jake were, in their own words, sweating from their eyes.

"That's so sad! We have to help her somehow." Jake expresses sincerely, being someone that wears his emotions on his sleeve.

____

Bubblegum called her giant bird marrow so they could fly their way to the harpy kingdom with the pigeon harpy as a guide, the flight lasted a few minutes with their surroundings turning into cloudy skies and rocky mountainsides. Bubblegum hopped off Marrow without any issues but it's Finn and Jake who were feeling nauseas due to the kingdom’s necessary altitude.

"They royal family live thus way, follow me!" the pigeon says joyfully.

It took a while for the guards to allow these foreigners entry but with a bit of Jake's charismatic persuasion and Bubblegum's own royal status, they were able to get a council with the Harpy King and Queen, such royals would despise an abrupt meeting but once they saw Finn they immediately became started at the human boy, especially the king who became agitated in his mighty throne.

"Honey look, that one over there is just like our daughter!" the harpy queen tugs on her husband's sleeve.

"I can see it clear as day my dear, no need to shout." the king sighs as he calms down his wife, "How dare you remind me of my daughter's misfortune, I order the three of you to leave this instance." his booming voice echoes through the room with Finn being the first to speak up.

"What? But we came all this way to help your cursed princess."

The king ruffles up his feathers like a bird of prey attempting to scare off another predator, but it was nothing more than an act because he lowers himself to Finn's height and mutters. "No, you don't understand if my daughter see you she'll know we've been..."

"Dad? I heard a loud noise coming from outside, is everything alright?" a new voice let's itself known, the cursed princess herself. But rather than being some sort of flightless bird or lack any feathers, she's actually an ordinary human being, or at least as ordinary as one can be when you're part of a rare species. Her bare footsteps echo through the room between small gasps and low  murmurs as she makes eye contact with Finn, calmly walking past her father as she extends a hand to the young man, both intrigued but uncertain about talking to him.

"Are you're cursed as well?" she asks him to which Finn replies. "Not exactly." he looks at Jake and to the shocked King and queen, feeling like he's accidentally got himself wrapped in family drama.

❥Finn

❥It's amazing he was allowed to stay in the kingdom even after revealing the King's biggest secret. That he found and adopted a human child from the wilderness and raised her alongside his harpy son.

❥"I just wanted my citizens to accept you without judgment"

"It's okay dad, I know you meant well."

Finn is just standing there while you console your father who is crying more about the whole situation more than you are, turns out the guilt was eating him inside.

❥"How's your dad?" he asks while you walk alongside him, stepping over branches and loose feathers.

"He's kinda sensitive right now but I know he'll get through." your tone is calm and mellow. Which makes it hard for Finn to get a good read on you, even the most steady rivers have heavy currents underneath.

"And what about you? How are you taking this?" Finn asks carefully.

You exhale loudly through your nostrils, failing to hold back a laugh. "Suprisingly well? I mean, I always knew I was different to everyone in this kingdom." you stretched your arms out. "I just wished I would've meet you earlier, hang out and do... Whatever humans do." you wave a hand in the air.

❥Finn thought about it for a moment before remembering the item he found at the mall ruins, shrugging off his backpack to open it up and pull out a rubber disc. "What's that?" you raise your guard up at the unfamiliar item, but still eyeing it in curiosity.

"It's a frisbee! Just stay there and catch it when it comes to you." At the mention of this, Finn runs up a few feet away from you and throws the disc at you. Still being cautious of the item you stood rigid until it was right above your head, prompting you to jump an grab it, filling you with excitement like when you caught your first fish.

"I did it? I did it!"

"Good job!" Finn gives you the thumbs up.

"Now what do I do??"

"You throw it back!" Finn explains, doing a circular motion with his hand.

Of course you threw it with too much strength and it landed on a tree, you spew a few curses but Finn still gives you the thumbs up.

❥After an afternoon of playing with Finn, the two of you settle on a small water stream, looking at your reflection in the water as dubious thoughts invade you. "It had me thinking... If the Harpy family isn't my real family, then what happened to my human family?"

"They're still your family. Sure they might not physically be like you but they still raised you like their kid." Finn explained.

You press your lips together, still unsure how to feel about that.

"What about you Finn? Did you ever meet your human parents."

Finn looks down at the frisbee in his hands. "Nope,"

"And weren't you ever curious to find out who they are?"

"... Sometimes, but Joshua and Margaret were always there for me and never really drove me to find out."

❥You look back at the giant castle made of twigs and leafs, knowing full well your dad is probably still sniffling like he just watched a soap opera. The thought brought a smile to your face.

"I'm just happy to know I have you."

❥Bubblegum

❥It was kinda awkward for her to stand there while this family drama came undone in front of her, but Bubblegum remained still and didn't disturb while the Harpy King cried his eyes out.

❥"I just wanted my citizens to accept you without judgment"

"It's okay dad, I know you meant well."

Bubblegum heard from across the hall, it isn't until you notice her did you approach her with an apologetic sigh.

❥"My apologies Princess Bubblegum you're still our guest, please, join me for a cup of tea." you bow slightly, keeping the manners you've been taught since forever.

❥"I hope the king is alright?" Bonnibel starts making small talk while you wait for the staff to bring your teapot.

"He's always been very sensitive, but I know he'll be alright." you shrug off with an uneasy smile.

Bubblegum takes note of this and holds the top of your hand in comfort.

"But will you be alright?"

You take a moment to cherish the hold and give her a comforting squeeze. "It won't be easy, but i'll be fine." you reassure her.

❥"It takes alot of strength to deal with newfound emotions, just by looking at you I know you'll make a great ruler someday." is the most she can muster up at the moment, since she can't fully relate to the situation you're going through. But still tries to get in your shoes.

❥Bubblegum removes her hands from you when the castle staff brings in your favorite tea set, relishing in the smell of fine herbs as you serve PB her cup.

"I don't think I'm eligible to rule, even before the reveal happened I am pretty sure my brother is the next heir to the throne." you confess.

"You can never know, I have an older brother too but he's okay doing his own thing."

"Oh really?" you reconsider, looking back at your sibling and his array of trophies on the high shelf, he always had the weird dream of becoming a professional baseball player so it's a possibility. "Then maybe it's not too bad of an idea. Though I would need to learn alot of new things about kingdom management." you chuckle, shaking your head at the thought.

❥"Hey, no need to get nervous I could help you...! If you like." Bubblegum offers.

You hum contently at the suggestion, raising your teacup to clink it with hers. "I would love that."

[inventors-fair]

Support Network

To me, building a typal deck has always felt just a bit paint-by-numbers. There's plenty of thought that goes into it, of course, but often part of it boils down to finding the best creatures of a given type and mashing them together. Get the Elf that buffs the Elves, and repeat. Some typal cards, though, present a bit more of an puzzle to solve before they can slot into a deck, and it's those sorts of cards that I want to focus on this week.

Design a creature that supports a type that it's not a part of.

Off the top of my head, Dragonspeaker Shaman is probably one of the more well-known examples of this paradigm. It's a powerful effect, tempered by the expensive nature of the type and the fact that you have to include a creature that doesn't see returns from your typal effects. That's generally the ballpark you're aiming for, although I'm fine working off of a relatively generous definition of "support" as long as it fits the criteria.

As an additional note, supporting multiple types is fine, as long as the creature itself has zero of those types. For example, Innistradi werewolves sometimes call out wolves in their effects, but that wouldn't be eligible because it's phrased as "Wolves and Werewolves." On the flipside, Tawnos, the Toymaker being a Human who supports Beasts and Birds is completely fine. Similarly, I would also ask that the creature doesn't have any sort of built-in ability to somehow become the type either.

That's about the gist of it. Go out and make some unusual friends! —@spooky-bard

>> Desktop Submissions >> Mobile Submissions/Asks >> IF Discord Server

[bisexual-thoughtss]

Heyyyyyyyy! Can I request howince and reader up to some shenanigans in the call of the yeti episode (any part of it I just love it as an episode) and Vince and the reader have some kind of *non Platonic* connection. Thank youuuuu

I tried my best to sort of write the reader into the episode, I hope you like it!!

Vince Noir x Reader

“A roaring fire, a cup of tea, what more do you need, eh?” Howard asks as you stare down at your cup of tea that you could’ve been drinking at Euro Disney instead of this funky little cabin. Vince and Howard argue back and forth as you sip from your mug, hiding your laugh behind it at Vince’s comments.

“You’ve gone wrong,” you groan as Howard passes out his itineraries for his lecture.

As soon as the papers hit the table Naboo and Bollo bog off to the shaman shop, leaving you and Vince to endure Howard’s lecture by yourselves. You gape as Howard gives you a notepad to “take notes” and Vince slumps into his chair in defeat. You both know how happy it’ll make Howard, despite how bored you’ll be. You scoot your uncomfortable little chair as close as you can to lean against Vince, his arm resting around your shoulders and tucking you into his side. You take turns doodling and writing notes and giggling to each other, exchanging kisses whenever you think Howard isn’t looking. Several times Howard tells you off for “disrupting his lecture” as he puts it. Feels just like being in school again until an ominous clap of thunder booms and a huge mountain man is barging into the cabin.

Vince jumps behind Howard and you follow suit, slotting yourself behind the both of them. Once Howard realizes it’s the man he rented the cabin from, he proceeds to immediately put his foot in it, as per usual. They start arguing about who knows more about the wilderness and who has better scars, which has you rolling your eyes behind Vince until he ends the argument with his own scar. Jack, he said his name was, apologizes and you watch on in horror as he licks Vince’s hand before finally leaving. Just as you start to sigh in relief, Jack crashes back into the door to ask Howard outside.

Once they’re finally gone, Vince starts to unpack, setting his straightener on the counter to heat up.

“Oh god, wash your hands,” you shudder, unable to forget Kodiak Jack. Vince cringes as he dives for the sink, quick to listen to you.

“Reminded me though, we need to put your medicine on that,” you tell him, gesturing to his middle.

“S’alright,” he tells you, but you’re shaking your head immediately.

“You don’t wanna get infected do you? You’ll go all septic and die on me, and I’ll be left with these idiots. You can’t leave me alone to deal with them,” you whine and Vince laughs, shuffling through his things to find the ointment from the doctor. He lets you pull him onto the bed, laying still for you as you push his shirt up and out of the way. Gently, you smooth the medicine over his newly forming scar and he shivers at the soft contact and cold medicine. You press a soft kiss right under his belly button, giggling when he gasps. His eyes had been closed, but they’d shot open at the contact from your lips. You rest your cheek against his warm skin, careful to avoid the medicine as you gaze up at him.

“What?” You ask as he glares playfully.

“You’re a cheeky little tart,” he laughs, pulling you up to kiss you. The kiss gets a little heated before you pull away from him.

“They’re right outside!” You scold playfully. “Sorry, got carried away,” He doesn’t look the littlest bit sorry as he smirks, giving your bum a squeeze.

“Now you really need to fix your hair,” you laugh, the strands extra mussed from your fingers running through it. He gasps dramatically to make you giggle before getting up to look at it in the mirror.

“Aw what’ve you done?” He laughs at the birds nest, picking up a comb and his precious Nicky Clarke. You watch him fiddle with his hair, enjoying getting to see it return to perfect in real time. Eventually you get bored of just looking and hop off the bed to go touch.

“Think we’ll get any real alone time this weekend?” You hum, slipping your arms around his waist to look at him through the mirror’s reflection. He sets the straightener down, tangling his fingers with yours.

“With how Howard’s acting, I dunno if-” he starts, getting cut off by the door slamming open. You both startle at the loud noise, your hearts racing as you jump around to face the door. Vince nudges you back behind him when he realizes it’s Kodiak Jack again. Vince is asking him questions that you can’t hear over the adrenaline pumping the blood in your ears. You’re trying to think of some way out of this when Jack mentions owl beaks and you blanch. Vince has been slowly pressing both of you away from Jack and towards the wall until your back hits the little sink in the corner. You know what owl beaks mean and his next words make you feel sick.

“Pretty little things like you and a big old mountain man like me..” he leers. As you jostle for room to stand in the corner, your elbow hits Vince’s straightener and you flinch away from the heat.

“You’re weird, get off!” Vince shouts and you’re pressing the handle of the straightener into his hand without thinking. Vince glances down at it before raising it suddenly, his other hand holding you firmly behind him. The next few moments are a blur and you can’t see anything behind Vince’s hair. Jack is screaming and you hear sizzling before you hear Naboo and Bollo burst into the cabin.

“There you go, Nicky Clarke, hottest you can get!” Vince yells after the mountain man as he runs out and you feel all the fight leave you as you slump into Vince.

“What’s going on?” Naboo asks apprehensively.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on! I’ve just narrowly avoided a bumming from Grizzly Adams!” Vince shouts, still seething.

“Where’s Howard?” Naboo asks and Vince rolls his eyes.

“Went for a walk or something out on Piney Ridge,” he tells them, and they stare in horror.

“What? Have I got shit on my face?” Vince asks.

“We’re gonna have to go rescue Howard,” you groan into his back.

[river-in-the-woods]

Hey Rivers! Any advice for people experiencing supernatural stuff but don't know how to deal with it? At a magick shop I overheard a lady talk about not wanting to go their house due to feeling a presence that scared them. The clerk was limited in how they could help because they weren't a practitioner themselves and in my case I'm not capable enough (yet). The person seemed like they weren't in any religions but if they were, I would've suggested hitting up the deity they venerated about the problem. I recall they said they blessed their house too but I assume whoever did it doesn't have strong enough senses if the presence is still there or there's a peculiar reason why it might be lingering.

Hello!

Well, there are an overwhelming number of methods for protection and banishing. The majority of deities out there can act as protectors, too, if you have rapport with them. So I'm not really sure what to recommend given that this question is so broad.

The most basic thing is just to give a simple offering of incense, candlelight and water, and ask the spirit to leave you alone.

Then there's stuff like, cleaning the house physically, visualising a purifying light, burning protective herbs like rosemary, sage, juniper etc, sprinkling salt water over the area, placing/wearing apotropaic charms, taking purification baths, picking a relevant sacred scripture from your religion of choice, invoking protective spirits from that pantheon...

"I feel a presence and it's freaking me out" is pretty hard to diagnose by itself. If it were that easy to just give out advice on spiritual matters and have that be effective... professional witches, magicians and shamans would be out of a job 😅

There is a fair bit of paranoia within occult circles about coming into contact with spirits, especially from beginners. Unless the spirit is actively causing trouble, then I wouldn't worry about it anymore than I'd worry about the birds in the garden or random people walking down the street. There are spirits everywhere, all the time, minding their own business, and it just so happens that you noticed.

If sensing spirits is unusual for you and happening out of the blue, I would recommend addressing any possible sources of health issues (mould, CO poisoning, stress). You'd be surprised how often this sort of thing is actually from mundane causes...

I mean, people who have a natural propensity for sensing spirits will have done the work of figuring out how to cope with it since they were young. And people who don't have a natural propensity for it – well we normally have to work really hard to develop those senses! So try to tackle it as a physical or psychological phenomena until proven otherwise.

Sorry I can't be of more help 💚

[honney-pies]

Ma Cherie ❤︎

What Once Was

Pairing: Inuokku/f!oc

Length: 9.3k

Summary: Sometimes reminiscing the past can hurt, but sometimes it’s for the better.

A/n: omg hey guys, sorry for taking so long. I had a lot to deal with these past two week, so I’m a little behind. This chapter focuses heavily on kanae and the relationships she has with those around her. This isn’t totally proofread and my desk top has been glitching a lot lately, so please let me know and I will fix it!

Ma Cherie master list

─── ⋆⋅ December 2017 ⋅⋆ ── 

Kanae’s standing outside the classrooms, watching as her breath fills the air. She hadn't noticed that everyone had already started to leave until Inumaki tapped her on the shoulder. She snaps out of it and sees that Yuuta was also waiting for her. Kanae smiled at the two, noticing how their hands brushed against each other. The three of them had been toeing the line between friends and lovers for some time now, so it was quite adorable watching Yuuta start to figure out that the couple liked him quite a bit. As all the first years were walking away from class, goofing around and acting like kids, Yuuta stops and looks at the sky. Everyone else stops and looks at him, asking him what's wrong.

“Uh, well… I just had a bad premonition,” he responded.

“You’re imagining things.”

“Yep, imagining things.”

“Okaka.”  Kanae laughs softly at everyone’s comment. She looks at Yuuta and grabs his wrist before hurrying up to catch the others. 

“Huh? Guys wait!” She feels a nudge from Inumaki and she looks over at her boyfriend who tilts his head  and smiles at her, she smiles back.

“Well, your ability to sense curse energy sucks, you know,” Panda starts. 

“Figures it be dulled, with a curse like Rika constantly around you,” Maki finishes. As they all continued to joke around and make their way off campus Kanae could see a little white blob in the sky. A bird, she realizes. A really big bird. Kanae felt her phone buzz and pulled it out.

‘Incoming call from weezer🧿🧿’ 

“That's unusual.” Kanae looks up from her phone to see what Panda was talking about to see that the bird has landed in front of them. 

“Yuuta’s intuition was correct.” Kanae quickly answers the phone call to alert her brother that there was a bird heading for them, even though she knew chances are he already sensed it. As the bird landed, another figure fell to the side. Kanae could make out formal clothing, a Gojo-kesa, and a lot of black hair, but that’s not what made her freeze. That bloodflow, she thought, I know it. 

“You’re… not staff,” Maki observed as she pulled out her spear. She sees a person she hasn’t seen in a very long time, her beloved brother. 

“Sugu-nii,” she whispers into her phone, already forgotten in her hand. Suguru looks around for a second before staring right at her and smiling.

“Yo, Kanae-chan! It’s been a long time.” Tears started to form in her eyes, she didn’t know what to do. Her chest began to tighten as a wave of emotions came over her, she feels overwhelmed and she just wants to go to sleep.

“Sugu-nii, what are you doing here,” she asks. Although she didn’t know if she wanted to know the reason why. 

“You’ve grown a lot, well I guess that’s to be expected. How are your studies going?” He eyes the phone in her hand and frowns slightly. She felt the blood rushing to her ears and couldn’t move. Suguru appears in front of Yuuta in an instant and she can’t help but feel slightly jealous of how quickly he moved his attention to someone that wasn’t her. Someone with more power, she thinks.

“Nice to meet you, Okkotsu-kun. I’m Geto Suguru.”

“O-oh hi, nice to meet you,” Yuuta replied.

“You possess a truly wonderful power, I see. I believe that great power ought to be used towards great ends.” Kanae felt her frustration bubble beneath her skin, like a wildfire with no one around to stop it. The Suguru she knew believed that the strong must protect the weak, that shamans exist to protect non-shaman. 

“Have you ever questioned the current state of the world? This world where jujutsu shamans act in secret in order to protect the order of commonplace society. You see, there’s this established paradox,” he started as he let go of Yuuta’s hands and began to move more freely, “saying that the strong must protect the weak,” he continued.

Kanae could feel her blood begin to flood through her ears, slowly drowning out the utter bullshit he was spewing. She saw Suguru wrap his arm around Yuuta, but at this point she didn’t care to listen. She was so unbelievably tired. Tired of listening to his tangent that is so different to the lectures he used to give her growing up.

“-we would like you to help us kill all non-shamans and create a world with only jujutsu shamans.” And in a split second, the pedestal she held her dear brother crumbled underneath his very feet. The others saw how upset she was getting and were also starting to get riled up. You see, Kanae has known that Suguru was not the same, but it’s different seeing and hearing it. She has heard for years about how he was a traitor, murderer, cult leader, but she could always deny it in her mind. How could someone who taught her right and wrong end up being so very… wrong? She poured hours of her life into reading the files the school has made of him. Spent hours outside his temple hoping to get the courage to see him, to ask why. She’s spent years trying to prove to herself that her brother never changed, but she’s finally seeing what everyone has been saying. She’s seeing all the things she’s ignored and she has this revelation that maybe, maybe she didn’t know her brother as well as she thought she had.

Above all else, she’s infuriated at how someone who hurt not only hundreds of innocent people, but her family, herself, her dad, waltz back into her home as if he never left it in the first place. As if he never left her. 

“Could you stop preaching your crazy beliefs to my students?” With the voice of her brother, the one that stayed in her life, she felt her anger bury itself further under the surface, where she could manage it better. Suguru’s mouth pressed into a thin line before turning itself into a smile, but not the one he used to give Satoru, a fake up filled with nothing. 

“Satoru! Long time no see!” 

“First of all, get away from those kids, Suguru.” She looked at Satoru and saw how tense his face was. She could only imagine the amount of heartbreak he must be feeling. The man still had a hard time eating fried chicken after all this time, let alone even speaking of KFC. 

‘Guess we’re going to eat a bunch of sweets tonight’.

“I had heard this year’s first-years were all outstanding students. Now I understand. It was all your doing. A special-grade cursed human, a cursed corpse mutation, the descendant of the cursed speech users, our beloved sister, and the zen’in clan failure.” Kanae clenched her jaw and moved herself to be more in Suguru’s eyesight blocking Maki, her best friend. She could feel Maki pull her behind her as she juts her spear forward towards Suguru. The look on his face makes her want to vomit, he looks absolutely appalled by Maki.

“Watch what you do, because I don’t need any monkey like you in my world,” his eyes slid over to Kanae, “how unfortunate that you’ve chosen their side, Kanae-chan.”

“Monkey,” he called her, he called Maki a monkey. Tears that had been welling up in her eyes were finally threatening to fall, not from sadness, but from the unabated anger making its way to her heart. Yuuta made eye contact with her before pushing Suguru’s arm off.

“I’m sorry. I don’t really understand what you’re talking about, but… I can’t help anyone who insults my friends!” Suguru lets out a sigh before he begins to speak once more.

“My apologies. It wasn’t my intention to upset you.” She felt a hand on her shoulder shortly before she appeared in between Yuuta and Suguru. ‘Toru-nii’.

“Then what exactly did you come for?” Even with the bandages covering Satoru’s eyes, she knew that the soulmates were making perfect eye contact. 

“To declare war,” he responded. Kanae felt her jaw tense and she gently nudged Satoru after feeling his hand tighten against her. Suguru turned away from Satoru and looked at the others.

“Everyone gathered here, open your ears and listen closely! On the coming December 24th, when the sun sets, we shall conduct the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. It will take place in the crucible of curses, Shinjuku, Tokyo, and the holy land of jujutsu, Kyoto,” He announces. 

“We will unleash a thousand curses upon each place, and of course their command will be to ‘massacre’. If you wish to avoid a scene straight out of hell, come and stop it with all your might. Let us freely curse each other!”

The smile on Suguru’s face unnerves Kanae slightly and she has the sudden realization that maybe, just maybe, she genuinely doesn’t know him anymore. The blonde girl behind Suguru lets out a screech that quickly wipes his malice laced smile into a softer one.

“Geto-sama! The store’s gonna close!” Her whining was giving Kanae a huge headache. 

“It’s already that late? I’m sorry, Satoru, Kanae-chan. My girls just insist on going to get crepes from Takeshita street,” he began, “so I’ll be taking my leave.”

My girls, so he really did replace me. 

When she looked up, Suguru set a hand on her head, though there was a slight delay. Satoru had activated his Infinity on her when he had grabbed her, only releasing it when knowing Suguru wouldn’t hurt her.  

“See you soon, imōto.” He removes his hand and all she can think is how much she’s missed him. The two of them watch for a second time as he leaves and this time it stings just that little bit more. She looks at the group and then at Satoru, and takes a deep breath. 

“Maki,” she says, “can we make some cookies?” Maki, who knew the other girl like the back of her hand, simply nodded, knowing she needed the distraction while their teacher and the rest of her family would undoubtedly be busy with meetings. 

“Gojo-san, we need to go.” Satoru looked down at the girl, his little girl, and gave her shoulder one more reassuring squeeze before letting go. 

“I’ll swing by later tonight, okay,” he whispers before taking his leave and giving the others a nod and going back to campus. 

As they walked back she could feel everyone's eyes on her, it made her skin crawl. It was as if it was on fire and it made her so incredibly uncomfortable, but she told them that she would talk about her feelings when she was ready. And they respected her wishes just like she’s done to them many times before.

─── ⋆⋅ August 2017 ⋅⋆ ── 

It was the first time in a while since Kanae had been sent to live at the Technical College. After Satoru graduated, he officially adopted Kanae. It was a day filled with happy tears, hugs, and an obscene amount of sweets. They had moved into an apartment and her family quickly grew from there.

Nine years later she’s back at the school and moving into a dorm with the promise of learning and finally earning money. It was about two weeks before classes were supposed to start, but she wanted to get back into the swing of things, help Inumaki move into his dorm and maybe make another friend. There was one person she had yet to meet and she wanted to at least be acquaintances with the other girl before classes started. One perk of your ‘bro-dad’ being your teacher, you find out about stuff before you’re meant to. 

Kanae had already met and was friends with two of her classmates, Panda and Inumaki. Although the latter is her boyfriend and future spouse, so she supposed it didn’t really count. She had heard that the other girl was from the Zen’in clan and was unable to see curses. She hoped the two would be friends since they came from similar filial situations. 

As she was moving that last of her things into her new room, or rather Satoru’s old room, she spotted someone moving into a room not too far down. She finished setting her things down and made her way over to the room before noticing the door was ajar. She knocked and smiled when the girl turned around. 

“Hi, I’m Kanae! I’m your classmate, I believe.” The other girl did a once over before walking a little closer. 

“Maki, you are.” Kanae looked up at Maki and smiled another bright smile. 

“I like your hair! Do you need any help setting things up? I’m nearly finished, so I can lend a hand if you would like.” Maki looked down at the girl and noticed a couple scars on her body, a deep, jagged one on her collarbone. 

“I can manage,” she replied. Kanae nodded her head before saying her goodbye’s before heading back to her room.

“Oh, I almost forgot! Let me know if you would like to explore the campus later.” Maki turned back around and nodded.

“You’ve already taken a look around?” She smiled and nodded.

“Something like that.”

————————————————————————————————————

Maki did in fact take her up on that offer and the two spent the next couple of weeks getting to know one another and becoming friends. They made a couple references to their families and although Kanae already knew of her ties, she would never want to pressure someone into opening up before they were ready. 

The four first years quickly became friends and it felt as if they had known each other for years. Well for three of them that was the case. Maki would later learn that Kanae and Inumaki were in an arranged marriage, and were quite happy about it, along with Panda and Kanae knowing each other from their childhood. They were the only children around each other on campus and a friendship blossomed from there. 

Maki and Kanae would later become best friends and share about their pasts. The day Maki found out about Kanae’s last name, she knew she could trust her with her’s. The pair became two peas in a pod and spent quite a large amount of time together, forming a sister-like bond. After one job together the two got matching beads to make bracelets with.

“They’re kind of like my favorite thing ever. Although if you don’t wear jewelry we can find a different way to match!” 

A little over a month after meeting, Kanae had confessed that she wasn’t that skilled when it came to using weapons to fight without using her cursed technique. She was taught hand-to-hand, but had refused to learn how to handle a blade herself after some instances in her early childhood. Maki had been the one to teach her, and quite frankly who else would you want? 

In the late nights beneath the blanket of stars, it was difficult for Kanae to ignore her trauma and all the emotions that consumed her mind. She kept up her more carefree, level headed  demeanor during the day with ease, but when there was nothing else to occupy her it became overwhelming. Due to this the four would spend many nights together under the gentle glow of the moon, just talking and messing around. Just acting their age. 

Later in the year Yuuta would show up and Kanae would be forced to see her brother take his last breath, but that’s for later. This is now. 

─── ⋆⋅ December 2017 ⋅⋆ ── 

When they finally made it back to the dorm everyone agreed that they needed to take a five minute break before they started moving again. 

Kanae went to the showers alone since Maki was going to set her spear back in its case. As she walked she imagined all the time Suguru had walked these halls, had placed his feet in the same places as hers. After he defected she had spent a lot of nights with Shoko due to Satoru being a complete wreck, he would cry and he never liked crying infront of her. 

“I’m supposed to be the one comforting you when you cry, not the other way around.”

He had been so depressed after, albeit he still is, but when the memories were still at the front of his mind, when the wounds hadn’t yet faded to scars, he would lay in Suguru’s bed and let his body be wracked with sobs. It was a heartbreaking thing to hear and most nights, or early mornings rather, she would sneak into Suguru’s room and curl against her brother. He would squeeze her tight and not let her leave until the last second. As if he was scared she would leave too. 

While her mind was distracted, her feet had carried her back to Suguru’s room. She hesitated to open the door, but when she did it was covered in a thick layer of dust. No one has been here for years. Well, maybe Satoru since he could use his infinity, but she couldn't be sure

“Only for a minute, Kanae, you still have things you need to do, a shower to take, and acne to scrub away.” Unfortunately it was not a minute, not even five, when she looked at her phone she noticed it had been closer to two hours. When she rose from his bed her body hurt and there was an outline of her body on the sheets. Her head ached from the tears she shed, yet her eyes still burn with the anticipation for those to come. 

She eventually made her way to the showers and could see how red her eyes were and how swollen her face was. She thought she looked similar to a weird looking squirrel. 

________

After her shower she set her things down back in her room and made her way to the kitchen where her friends were there waiting. They made no comments about her eyes and no comments about her face. Set on top of the counter were all the ingredients for baking cookies.

─── ⋆⋅ October 2017 ⋅⋆ ── 

It was the day of the exchange event and Yuuta was looking a little nervous. More like queasy if anything. 

“ ‘Kkotsu, you feeling okay?”

“Kamo-san! How are we supposed to fight other students?” 

“Kanae, ‘kkotsu!”

“Sorry, sorry! Kanae-san, a-are you not nervous?” Kanae patted him on the back and smiled. 

“You’ll do great, ‘kkotsu! I mean you have a target on your back, but it’s nothing to worry about. Maki and I ‘ll make sure you don’t die! Right, Maki?”

“Don’t drag me into this, Kanae.”

“I’m going to die!” She sighed and shook her head.

“Ah, sorry, wrong choice of words. You’re not going to die, however you might get a little injured. Although everyone does.” 

“I’ve accepted death.” 

“My god, you’re dramatic.” She quickly glanced down at Yuuta to see if he heard her, he had and looked… well pathetic. 

But like a good pathetic. No, Kanae, don’t think that. That’s gross.

Kanae looked over at Maki and motioned for her to come over. Maki saw this and turned around, so she didn’t see them. Kanae’s eye began to twitch ever so slightly.

“Maki!” The girl groaned, but turned around and made her way over and looked at him.

“You’re not going to die, stop exaggerating. You’ll be fine. Now get up and don’t embarrass us.” Yuuta looked up at the girl and shrunk back.

“I’d get up and listen, Maki doesn’t like repeating things,” Kanae whispered before grabbing his arm and hauling him up before Maki got too frustrated. The two girls were wearing their matching bracelets today, although they weren’t the most neatly made things, it showed that they were a pair. Maki had hers underneath the sleeves of her uniform while Kanae had 

hers, and the many others she’s made/collected, where everyone can see. 

Maki didn’t like wearing jewelry since it made a lot of noise and could get in the way while she fought, but for Kanae she’d wear one. Kanae looked over and saw the Kyoto school began to show up, so she brushed off any dirt on Yuuta and smiled at him.

“You’re going to be just fine. Toge, tell him he’ll be fine.” Inumaki rested his hand on Yuuta’s shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. Panda watched this interaction and had a slight blush on his cheeks. He made his way over to Kanae and bent down to talk to her.

“Kanae, are you seeing this?”

“Seeing what?”

“Are you okay?”

“Panda, is everything alright?”

“Inumaki is flirting!”

“Huh?”

“He’s flirting with Yuuta!” She looked at the two and shook her head.

“He’s not flirting, but it’s fine Panda!” Panda looked down at the girl before feeling her head to see if she was being delusional due to being sick. Kanae let him be, but not before sending him a questioning glance.

“Panda… you know I wouldn’t mind if he was flirting, right?” Panda placed another hand (paw?) on Kanae’s head. She sighed and gently moved his hands away.

“Panda, I don’t mind if Toge likes ‘kkotsu. I think he’s kind of cute actually.” Panda looked at the girl, confusion written all over his face. After a couple seconds she could practically see the gears turning in his head.

“Oh… so you both like him?” She shook her head.

“I don’t like like him right now. If anything it’s a small crush, but I think Toge does. Though who could blame him, he’s really adorable.” Panda watched as the couple both looked at Yuuta and noticed how they both had a light blush on their faces. 

‘Humans are… weird.’

“It’s not weird, Panda.” The said corpse looks at her in astonishment.

“You can read minds?” She laughed and shook her head.

“No, I can’t, just a guess.” Panda hummed and nodded his head rapidly. 

“Kanae, Panda let’s go!” The two made eye contact and giggled. 

“I’ll tell you about it later,” she whispered before making their way over.

“Coming my lovelies!” Maki raised a brow and had a small smile on her face.

“You’re hyper today,” she noted. Kanae smiled at her.

“I’m always hyper.” Inumaki looked at her and bumped shoulders with her and grabbed her hand. When they finally reached the meeting place, she saw Noritoshi and some of her happiness began to subside. In its place came many variations of emotions. When it comes to siblings there’s typically a sense of  attachment, however she hasn’t spent time with her brother in quite a while. Yet there’s still that underlying feeling where she knows that he may not be able to think for himself just yet, he’d still protect her if need be.

“Akane-san, nice to see you.” Kanae’s hand clenched around Inumaki’s as she plastered on a smile. And there he went, bringing up a past and its memories along with it. A past that had no business being brought up. However she couldn’t blame him the same way she might her father.

“Kanae, Nori. I guess in our time apart you’ve forgotten.” His mouth set into a thin line before trying to speak once again, but Maki beat him to the punch.

“Play nice for now and remind him up close and personal later.” The girl let out a small laugh into her free hand and looked over at her brother.

“Only if you have my back.”

“I always do.” The girls made eye contact and smiled. Kanae’s big and bright while Maki’s was more subtle. Platonic soulmates are always the best kind of friendships to have. 

As she looked at her older brother she remembered meeting one day in the middle of the brutal summer heat and smiled to herself. 

‘He’s so different, yet so similar all the same.’

─── ⋆⋅ June 2005 ⋅⋆ ── 

The sun was burning her skin, but she didn’t mind. As long as she didn’t have to see her family. Satoru and Akane were at a meeting for all the shaman clans and he had told her that she should come too. 

Now you see, Kanae is a well respected shaman-in-training when she’s older, loved by many, but when Akane was not. Akane was a nuisance and forgotten by most.

A burden

A useless child.

A waste of male, Kamo blood and inherited cursed technique. 

Shortly before Satoru began school, the young girl had begun to show signs of a cursed technique, over time it became aware that it was an inherited one. In the Kamo clan women used to be worshiped. Women were seen as gods, as holy entities that were meant to lead rather than be leashed. Unfortunately foreign ideology slowly began to seep its way into the everyday lives of the people and enforced their ideals upon them. 

For many in the shaman world, or any world for that matter, women are treated as second class citizens if they’re lucky enough to be seen as human at all.  In the shaman world women are meant to breed more shaman children, and then their children will breed more, and the cycle continues. Kanae was blessed with a powerful cursed technique, blood manipulation. It garnered a lot of attention. Many believed that it should have gone to a male member of the family, someone who would become an heir. Though she didn’t know why anyone was complaining, Noritoshi was born powerful and most ‘importantly’ a male. 

Akane didn’t like attending these meetings, but Satoru told her that she had more than earned her place to be here and she was willing to follow him anywhere.

“You’re Akane, correct?” The small girl turned and saw another young boy, a little older than herself. Her eyes widened at him, he’s gotta be the heir for Father.

“Hi. You’re Noshitori,” she asked. His borrows furrowed and a slight frown tugged at his lips.

“Noritoshi.” 

“Oh, sorry.” He huffed and moved his head to face her more.The young girl thought his eyes were closed.

“How old are you?”

“ ‘m four!” She showed him a bright smile and he didn’t need to open his eyes any more than they already are to know that there might be a few teeth missing from it.

“Why are you here? Father couldn’t have asked you to come.” She shook her head before remembering he couldn’t see her.

“Oh no, he didn’t. ‘Ru asked me to come.” His brows furrowed again and tilted his head to the side.

“Who,” he asked.

“‘Ru!” The boy looked even more confused.

“Gojo Sa‘ru!” His eyebrows raised and Akane thought they might fly off his forehead. 

“Gojo Satoru?” He clearly didn’t believe her, but with the way she kept on nodding her head it was difficult not to. The two stood next to each other and had a one sided conversation because even though she was four and it was sometimes difficult to understand her, she never stopped talking. She went on about some kids in her class and how she was learning her letters and numbers, but she couldn’t read quite yet. She made it a point to describe everything was seeing, so Noritoshi could ‘see’ it too. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he can actually see and that his eyes just look closed. While he was looking at her as she talked, he noticed the similarities in their features such as their eyes and nose, along with their hair. Her eyes were gray, albeit a darker shade, and her hair was black like his. 

Once the meeting was over and everyone began walking out, Satoru quickly made his way to the children and ruffled the girls hair.

“Akane! You’re so lucky you don’t have to go to these things, they’re so boring. Maybe if you went inside with me next time it would be more fun!”

“‘ ‘Ru! My hair!” He laughed in return and turned his head to look at the boy.

“Who’re you?” 

“Kamo No-”

“He’s m’ brother Nori,” Akane interrupted. She stood up from where she sat on the ground and said her goodbyes to the boy, wanting to leave before the rest of her family showed up.

“See you later, Nori! It was nice meeting you!” He nodded and a small smile threatened to make an appearance, but before it could his father spoke and called him away, back to the estate where his mother no longer was. 

─── ⋆⋅ October 2017 ⋅⋆ ─── 

When the exchange event came to its conclusion, Kanae hadn’t been as amazing as she had hoped. She didn’t make it to the final round of the one-on-one fights, and she made many mistakes in the group battle. She wished she could have done more, fought more. 

She got too ahead of herself and nearly passed out from blood loss. Yuuta had to carry her around for that last part of the group battle, which she was still incredibly embarrassed about. However he assured her many times he didn’t mind it. She had gotten an earful from Yaga and Satoru, Maki had smacked her in the back of the head, Shoko had looked at her endlessly, but kept her thoughts to herself (not before staring at her in a way that made her feel even more embarrassed than she already was), and somehow Nanami even found out and sent her a wall of text telling her not to act that recklessly again. Inumaki had signed so fast she could barely keep up, and she felt awful for making him worry that much. He had sat next to her until Shoko allowed her to leave.

“Try not to pull a stunt like that again, Kanae. Too much paperwork.” Kanae smiled softly, knowing that she was trying to show her concern without outrightly stating it. 

“I’ll try not to, Sho-nee.” Shoko nodded and shooed her away the second she got a text from Utahime. 

When they went outside, Kanae felt her phone buzz in her pocket

‘Incoming call from shadow wannabe’

“Oh, ‘gumi wh-”

“What did you do?” Kanae paused for a moment. What did I do?

“... huh?” she heard a long sigh on the other end

“Gojo sent me a text saying you wouldn’t be able to get me from school and you’ve never been late, let alone not there.”

“Aw, are you worried about me?” She smiled.

“Nee-san.” She laughed at the huff he let out.

“Ah, well I needed to see Shoko. During the event, I pushed myself pretty hard and so I had to stay in the office for a while. But I’m better now!” She looked at Inumaki and tapped her wrist. He then showed her the time. 

‘Thanks,’ she mouthed. 

“It’s pretty late, please tell me you didn’t just get home?”

“...No.” Kanae let out a sigh.

“Were you bullying kids again?”

“It’s not bullying if they start it, plus you’re the one who told me that bullying works.” She rolled her eyes.

“I said that ‘cause you’d pour ranch, ranch, all over your fries and then wipe your fingers on your shirt. It was gross, and now you don’t use your shirt as a napkin. Bullying is effective in some cases, like when it comes to siblings. I don’t think you need to get nearly expelled from another school. ” Inumaki was laughing quietly next to her as the two continued walking to their respective dorms. Megumi mumbled something under his breath that Kanae didn’t catch, though she could take a wild guess at what it was.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine, ‘gumi. Nothing I haven’t done before. You had a test today right? How was it?”

“It was fine, I guess. Boring, Nakamura-san tried to cheat off me again. If she wasn’t obnoxious I would’ve let her be, but she’s never returned my mechanical pencil and she even uses it right in front of me! So of course I tell the teacher after the test. She tried to get her little brother to beat me up. Her little brother.” Kanae laughed softly, voicing her frustrations and agreeing that maybe harassing children was okay in the instance. She had been watching Inumaki fiddle with her fingers as they waited outside the dorms for the call to be done. After a while, she looked around and noticed that Noritoshi was waiting for her on a bench just outside the dorms. 

“Hey, ‘gumi, I gotta go, but I’ll call you back later okay?” He stopped his tangent about how he couldn’t wait to be done with middle school.

“Can you facetime me later so I can see the ‘hottie’ you’ve been talking about lately?”

“Which one?” 

“Black hair guy.”

“Oh, Okkotsu. No, he’s asleep in the infirmary right now, but we’ll call you back okay? We’ll introduce you to him soon.” 

“Hi, Inumaki-san. Bye, Inumaki-san.” Kanae chuckled before hanging up. 

“Toge, you head back first. I’ll be there in a sec.” He nodded, but not before giving her hand a squeeze. Kanae made her way over to her brother and sat down next to him.

“What you did today was reckless.” She groaned.

“Not you too, I literally just sat down!” He looked over at her, the tiniest traces of a smile on his lips. 

“Yes, me too.” Kanae sighed and leaned against the back of the bench.

“It’s nothing either of us haven’t done before. I don’t know why everyone is acting as if there won’t be days where I’ll be put in a worse situation.” He sighed and looked at her.

“We all know that being a shaman comes with its occupational hazards, but that doesn’t change how -how idiotic you were acting. You were actively drawing blood out of your body and trying to control it with no medium to ease that burden. That’s dangerous! I know that we all will have to put our lives on the line a million times over for this job, but that doesn’t mean one should seek out death. There is a difference between risking death to win and being willing to die.” She peeked over at him and saw the furrowed brows, his worry lines creased.

“You sound like my dad.” 

“Well Gojo-san is right.” She looks at him with wide eyes before bursting at the seams, letting out a loud laugh. 

“I wasn’t talking about Toru-nii, to be specific, I meant in general.” He glanced towards her and frowned.

“He adopted you, did he not?”

“He did.” He nodded his head before looking back over.

“Is he- is he nice?” Kanae looked at him before smiling.

“He’s the best dad I could’ve asked for.” Noritoshi looked down at the ground, a smile fully formed on his lips.

“That’s good.” She glanced at him a couple times before she began to fidget, picking at her nail beds.

“I… I’m sorry for making you worry. I’ll be more careful in the future.” She moved her body to face his. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him. He froze for a second before wrapping his arms around her.

“I’m sorry for not being there for you, for not being a better older brother, Kanae.” She felt her emotions bubble their way to the surface.

“I forgive you, it’s not like I was the best sister either. Thank you for being here for me now.” They sat like that for a while, not moving. 

That night they opened their hearts for the other. After years of competing against each other, it was weird, but it was for the better. The two would still get into arguments about their… family, but now they were no longer alone in the Kamo clan. In the future they would slowly grow a bond and finally become the siblings they have longed to be for one another. But that’s the future. Tonight was the first step into becoming a family, towards healing.

─── ⋆⋅ December 2017 ⋅⋆ ─── 

The sound of laughter filled the air as everyone was somewhere in the kitchen baking. It was a mess, but they would deal with it when the time came. Satoru was watching in the doorway, watching as children got to be children. He had planned on consoling Kanae throughout the night, but can see that she’s distracted for now, so he went home to bother Megumi. He’ll cancel classes tomorrow and spoil everyone, like an amazing teacher would. 

“Kanae-san, where did you learn how to make cookies?” She was sitting on the counter as Inumaki was putting the cookies into the oven for a couple minutes longer. Maki and Panda were trying to stealthy eat the leftover batter even though she said not to since there were raw eggs in it, and Yuuta was standing to the side of her, very close.

“Su-” she took a deep breath before continuing, “ My brothers taught me how to make them. Any time I had a bad day, we would spend hours in here making cookies, brownies, cake. Anything sweet really, Toru loves sweets.” He kept on twisting the ring on his finger, his connection with Rika. He then looked at her and moved closer so that his stomach was touching her knee.

“Do you mean Geto?” She hums and nods. He was watching every little twitch she made, making sure she was okay and that he wasn't overstepping. The two continued to talk about everything, anything, and nothing as they waited for the cookies to be done. Inumaki eventually made his way over and stood shoulder to shoulder, well more like shoulder to arm, with Yuuta, effectively corralling Kanae. She has a soft blush on her cheeks the more and more they move closer. She went to look around the room to see if the other two could save her from embarrassing herself, but they weren’t there.

How convenient.

“You know… since I call you by your first name, you should start calling me by mine.” There was a light blush on his cheeks as he said this.

“Yuuta… are you flirting with me?” That blush traveled to his ears. A slight nod of his head. Kanae leans in just a touch closer, though the blush she sported alo grew. She felt her blood rush to her head as Inumaki draw shapes on her thighs. 

“We’ll always be here for you. We will try our hardest to make sure Geto doesn’t hurt you.” She looks him dead in the eye and her face goes slack.

“Yuuta, Sugu-nii hurt me a long time ago. I- I appreciate the thought I really do, but I’d rather he hurt me than hurt anyone else. Actually, I’ve never told you about him, have I?” Yuuta shook his head. They all sank against the wall and onto the floor.

“Well, I first met him when I was four.”

─── ⋆⋅ September 2005 ⋅⋆ ─── 

It was a couple weeks since school started and the three first years had yet to actually become the friends they will be to one another in the future. Suguru and Satoru weren’t best friends quite yet, and Shoko hadn’t scammed her way to a medical degree either. They had yet to go through the horrific tragedy that was Riko Amanai’s and Haibara Yu’s death, Suguru had yet to adapt the ideology of wiping out all non-shamans. The future has yet to happen, but unfortunately it is inevitable.  

Satoru had been extra hyper that day, ready to get school over with faster than normal. He was getting on everyone’s nerves and Yaga had given up correcting him earlier within the day. When classes finally finished Yaga had pulled Satoru to the side and told him he needed to talk to him before Satoru could leave. 

Suguru had been on his way to his dorm room to finish his homework when he saw a small girl walking up the steps with a small bag wearing a formal, and quite beautiful, kimono. Suguru walked over to the girl and squatted down in front of her.

“Hi, I’m Geto. What’s your name?”

“Hi, I’m Akane.” The young girl did a deep bow and nearly fell over. She quickly raised herself, blushing from embarrassment. 

“Are you a firs’ year?” He raised a brow, wondering who this girl was, but nodded his head regardless.

“Do you need help? Did you get lost?” She shook her head, but Suguru still took her bag, holding it for her. She thanked him before asking if he knew where ‘Ru’ was. He was confused, seeing as he didn’t know a ‘Ru’, but told her he’d help her find him. It wasn’t long before it became apparent the girl knew more about the campus than he did. As they were turning the corner she heard a frantic ‘Akane’.

“ ‘Ru!” Akane smiled widely before taking off in the opposite direction. Suguru followed after her, however only needing to walk to keep up with her. When he saw Satoru making his way over to the girl, it finally clicked who ‘ru’ was. Satoru. He felt a little foolish for not catching on sooner, but watched as Akane launched herself into his arms, gripping for dear life. 

“Akane, I've told you not to wander off like that when I’m s’posed to meet you somewhere.” She tilted her head down and mumbled a small sorry. Satoru sighed before saying he’s sorry for taking so long. 

“Ah, sorry Gojo, it's my fault she wasn’t at the front. I was helping her look for you.” Satoru finally looked up from the girl, directing his eyes to his fellow classmate. 

“How annoying,” was all he said before getting up, while still holding the girl, and walking off. Suguru quickly followed when he remembered he still had the child’s bag. As he followed he saw Akane making silly faces at him and giggling. Suguru found it quite amusing, even more so when Satoru saw the exchanges the two were having. Satoru scoffed when he saw the young girl smile at his classmate.

“Are you jealous that she’s giving me attention, Gojo?” Satoru turned around with a disgusted look on his face. 

“Who would ever be jealous of you? You have weird bangs and an awful hairline.” Suguru pulled a face as if he’s sucked on a lemon and kicked his shin. 

“My hairline is not awful and my bangs are fine. You shouldn’t even be saying anything about my hair when your hair looks the way it does!” Satoru and Suguru were invading each other's personal space, faces an inch or two apart. 

“What about my hair, Geto?” Akane watched from her place in Satoru’s arms and laughed loudly. Both of them backed up and looked at the girl.

“You like each other!”

“... Huh?”

“Sensei says that if a boy picks on you it means he likes you. You pick on each other, so you like each other.” Oh how observant and blunt children can be. Both boys complained and made comments about how ‘wrong’ she was, but we as the readers (and those with common sense) know they’re just stupid. 

“Wait… Gojo, how do you know Akane? Is she from your clan?” Satoru looked him dead in the eye and with no hesitation responded.

“She’s my sister, you idiot. Ya know for someone who claims to be as smart as you are, you’re pretty stupid. How’d you think I knew her? Did you think I had a kid at eleven, that I kidnapped her and she has Stockholm syndrome?” Suguru looked to the side, letting out a nervous laugh.

“Oh my god you did, didn’t you?” Satoru shoved him before walking off with the girl, failing to remember her bag again.However, that may have been on purpose so a certain boy would be in his dorm later that night.

 When they finally got far enough Akane reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“You called me your sister! Does this make you m’ brother?” Satoru looked at the girl, a laugh falling through his lips.

“I’ve always been your brother, since the day I met you.”

That day Kanae gained a brother and discovered she had one all along. That day Kanae opened her heart to another person without meaning to. In the future he will walk off with a part of not only hers, but her brother’s as well. When that day arrives, her brother will be there to comfort her, to remind her that he’ll always be there. When that day arrives, Kanae will learn that sometimes ‘soulmates’ doesn’t mean forever. 

─── ⋆⋅ December 2017 ⋅⋆ ─── 

Kanae felt the tears make their way down her cheeks, she felt Yuuta hold her in his arms as Inumaki got up to take the cookies out of the oven. She felt safe, loved, and appreciated. When Inumaki came back, he brought a plate of cookies with him.

‘Do you want to go to your room, or one of ours?’

“ Mine, please.” Her voice was soft, almost like she was whispering. The three of them picked up their things and made their way to Kanae’s room. Yuuta had only seen her room in passing, never actually stepping inside. It felt taboo in a way, he’d never been in a girls room before. Though the way the couple held his hands, guiding him in, there is no way in hell he would walk away. 

Stepping into the room, he saw that her room was cluttered, not messy, but covered with items. He saw that there was barely any actual room to be seen. There was something covering nearly every inch. What caught his eye were the polaroids taking up a good chunk of her wall. Some were faded, discolored at the edges, while others were more recent. There were so many different people in the photos, but some were consistent. In an older one, he saw two boys holding Kanae at the beach. The boys held hands and one of them was giving the older one a kiss. He could see how bright everyone's smiles were. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the boys looked familiar. Yuuta’s eyes widened as he turned around.

“Kanae, is that sensei?” She looked over and nodded her head. 

“The boy next to him is Sugu-nii. They used to take me on trips with them all the time.” He saw the dates on the bottom of the pictures span across years. Small sticky notes to the side stuck close to the photos. Unlike the photos, he could tell that these weren’t old, they were relatively new. 

‘7/9/07 - last family trip to the beach’

‘4/12/07 - yu and ken-nii took me to the movies’

‘6/21/05 - first playdate with Nori’

‘5/17/05 - first playdate with Toge’

‘10/6/05 - last day with mother’

Yuuta watched silently as Kanae stood next to him, a vacant expression on her face, while she stared at them.

“What do you see when you look at these, Yuuta?” He looked confused at first before taking a closer look. What caught his eye was the way Geto seemed to go from a smiling, happy person to a cold, husk of a human. He also saw Gojo go from a carefree person to someone who bore a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He saw Shoko’s eyebags grow darker, he saw Nanami grow more distant, he saw Kanae having a harder time smiling. He could see how much it pains her to stare at the people that are no longer in her life. 

“You… you’re hurting all the time, aren’t you?” She looks at him, her eyes dulled just slightly. 

“I’ve seen the more brilliant shamans come in and out of these dorms. I’ve seen them pursue successful careers, I’ve seen them die while attending here. I’ve seen so many people who feel the same as Suguru, I’ve felt the same as him. After he left I still held hope that he wouldn’t stay gone. That he would come back. I would leave voicemail after voicemail, asking him when he’d be home, that we’d welcome him with open arms. I think Toru-nii still would, to be honest. He could never move on after he left. I keep these photos as a reminder, to remember the people I have lost, to remember those who didn't get a chance to grow old like I have.” He sees Inumaki reach out and hold her. He holds her against his chest, trying to offer any comfort he can. Yuuta looks at Inumaki, silently asking him if it truly was okay for him to be seeing this, for him to comfort her. 

Inumaki reaches his hand out, an invitation for him, Yuuta hesitantly grabs his hand. Inumaki pulls him towards them and this time Yuuta doesn’t hesitate. He wraps his arms around the people he cares deeply about. He holds them for the rest of the night, taking his place in their hearts and solidifying his place in their lives. 

─── ⋆⋅ September 2007 ⋅⋆ ── 

The day started fairly bland if anything. The sun was slightly hidden by the clouds, it wasn’t too hot or too cold, Kanae hadn’t slept in and she made sure to carefully make her way from her brothers tangled limbs and tiptoed out of Suguru’s room before leaving. 

She went to school and no one said anything mean, she got a good score on her spelling test and she wasn’t late home. Suguru had told her before Kanae left for school that he would take her out for ice cream if she had done a good job. He had said that he would be there waiting for Kanae at the school gates. 

He wasn’t.

The six year old had thought that maybe he was busy, or that he lost track of time, although three missed calls later she decided to go home. Satoru had gotten her a phone after what happened the year before with the older kids bullying her so she could get help if she needed it. 

Throughout the walk back to the school, she had hoped that he would be there to greet her.

He wasn’t. 

She had sat in the kitchen, waiting for him to pop up and fulfill his promise of ice cream.

He hadn’t. 

She had sat on his bed doing her homework, hoping he was busy with a mission or out with Satoru.

He wasn’t. 

She had been wandering the halls, looking for him, when she heard her older brother yelling. It was then she thought that maybe he had died. That he wouldn’t be coming back. 

He hadn’t died. 

She watched as Satoru screamed and screamed, hoping for an explanation. 

She wouldn't get one for a long time.

She saw her brother a couple days later sitting on the steps of the school, eyes red, face swollen, as he explained to her simply. 

“Sugu-nii won’t be coming home, Kanae.”

“Did he die?”

“...no, not physically.” 

She had waited for Suguru anyway, waiting for him to come back and make Satoru feel better. 

He never came.

One day after school she walked and walked to see if she could find Suguru herself. 

She did.

“Sugu-nii? Is that you?”  she watched as he turned around, surprised to see her there. He had been talking to an older man with a faint mustache on his upper lip and spiky hair. 

“Kanae, what are you doing all the way over here? It’s not safe. Where’s Satoru?” She looked at him. She saw that his eye bags were gone, that the slump in his shoulders was no longer there, that he was gaining weight again. She also noticed that his hair was no longer in the tight bun he usually wore. 

“ ‘re you feeling better?” His eyes widened a small fraction and smiled.

“ I am. Where is Satoru?”  She looked to the side quickly for looking back at him.

“He’s not here. I don’t think he’d notice right now.” He frowned slightly before kneeling down in front of the girl. 

“I’m sure he will, Kanae. He’s just moping about. Satoru will be back to normal soon.” She shook her head.

“ It’s like you died, Sugu-nii. I don’t like it at all. Are you coming home soon?” He looked at the girl, thinking of what to say next. 

“Kanae, I’m not coming back.” Kanae’s brows furrowed before looking back at Suguru.

“What d'ya mean you’re not coming back? You have to, so we can be a family again!” He let out a heavy sigh. How do you tell the person who you view as a little sister, who you know if you stayed with you’d view her as your daughter, that you’re leaving and have no intentions of coming back? Suguru didn’t want to hurt her anymore than he already has or will, but he knew he couldn’t let her continue to hope that one day things will go back to normal. Even if he did, he would be executed for his actions. He reached for his wrist, taking off his bracelet, and handed it to the girl.

“Here, Kanae, so you can remember me. Satoru has a matching one, you’ll be his only family now, so you need to take care of him. Okay?” She looked at him confused.

“But you’re family too.” He opened his mouth then quickly closed it again. Suguru looked at the sky before looking back at her.

“I hope you’ll forgive me one day, or at least try to, but I’ve found a new family. One who understands me, who won’t judge me.” The small girl looked confused. All this time she had thought that they were a family, a happy family. Kanae thought that the love they had for one another would be invincible. Tears welled up in her eyes that she tried to fight back. 

“But I love you, isn’t that enough?” Suguru was at a loss for words. He had been the one to preach to the girl that love can save people, that respect can save people. How could he face her after everything he’s said?  

“I will always love you, you and Satoru, but I can’t stay in that place anymore. I was in pain and now I’m not,” he rose from where he was and pulled the girl into one more hug, “when you’re older, you can come find me, but for now you need to stay with your family.” 

Kanae hadn’t understood it at the time, but she did get older. As she grew up, she poured over the files of her brother, trying to understand why he did what he did. She sat at the steps of the cult for hours at a time, trying to get a glimpse of him. She even tried to go in, but Kanae could never open the door. 

As she grew older, she began to understand where Suguru was coming from, but that didn’t mean she agreed with it. She continued to deny her brother's actions, still clinging onto the hope he would be there when she woke up. 

He wasn’t. 

_______

-omg guys I’m so funny!!1! I was not originally planning on making this have so much angst, but i changed my mind later lol. The next chapter, ‘bona fide’ will be the final fight in jjk0 and bringing us to season one of jjk, which should be released 9/23. The next chapter after that, ‘purple lilac blooms’ will be a 5+1 fic which should be released 9/30. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you liked it!

[milfnecromancer]

Also I am curious on your thoughts on the designs for Stronghold in VI and VII. Obviously different designs because one is the Pao Islands Orcs and one are the Ranaar orcs, but you can still compare the two.

VI is probably the first Heroes game that made me actually enjoy Stronghold. They felt far too dry in the other games, especially due to them leaning into the “no magic” thing. VI having them have Prime magic as a barred school is much more interesting, letting their casters sacrifice power for diversity.

I actually really like the concept of VI being tropical island orcs and VII being desert ones, and them having adapted differently to these environments! It makes it possible to keep iconic creatures like the harpy and the centaur but still making them distinct.

My personal favourite is the harpy/fury, both versions look nice and make sense for their environment, but this applies to the centaurs and the brute/mauler as well, although the VII units are in general a bit plainer, but that is an overall theme in VII. (also a harpy based on a tropical bird is such a cool thing to me so the VI harpy will always be very special to me)

The goblins are also an iconic feature of stronghold and I'm glad they kept them in the form of the basilisk riders.

As for new creatures, the gnoll is a pretty good replacement for the jaguar warriors, which were never my favourite, they are a bit boring and not distinguished enough from the maulers imo, I like the concept of the hyena beastman a lot more, although the actual design could be a bit more interesting (like making the clothes a more vibrant colour or something).

On the other side the sand wyvern and the behemoth made no impact for me whatsoever, they look way too generic, I wish they at least had some cool armour. also there is already a big desert lizard in the form of the basilisk, making the wyvern even less distinct.

They really didn't change much with the cyclops and the dreamwalker, so I don't really have anything to say lmao.

(on an unrelated note am I insane or does this concept art look weird somehow, as if his chest was too smooth)

On the heroes, I am still salty that there are no longer 9 unique designs I really like the different masks (and the warmonger's mask looking somewhat demonic) as well as the difference in colour palettes between tears/blood/balanced (as opposed to for example inferno, where tears and balance look very similar, tears is just a bit more orange)

Despite that I like the design for the VII shaman very much, especially the female version's top, something feels off about the barbarian though, it would have looked better with less mail armour.

This is also a good point to talk about something that I will probably expand on in another post, namely that I don't like how VII made the female forms notably different from the male ones, mostly by giving them smaller/less bulkier armour and accessories as well as excessive cleavage (very obvious with the barbarian). Now this is not a new or unexpected in video games and VI definitely had instances of weird boob armour, but i feel it did an overall better job at equality.

Overall I like Stronghold in VI very much as well, yeah it would have been a shame if they didn't have magic at all :)

[grisha-southerncolonies]

East of the Southern Colonies

Excerpt from a journal, belonging to a member of the Black Spear Gang

“Ma definitely dropped this dumbass on his head when he was a babe, cuz ain’t no man in his right mind would’ve thought dragging us through this hellscape was a bright idea, no matter how much money on the line. We should slit these know-nothing tourists throats back at Red Hill. Screw the other half of the payment. We need our damned lives more than this money. Creator’s sake, pa must be rolling over in his grave right now. I shoulda smothered Chevy in his sleep when we was kids for this shit.…”

An excerpt from a field report drafted by a former Ranger

“We have taken Tracker Nxili’s advice and have begun to barter goods to gain more information on the local geography. It has since far been our most wisest course of action, as we’ve reached the farthest estimates on the reaches of the Crags and braving into any new territory would guarantee us more losses among our expedition. However, Colonel Aalders, I implore you to understand that I do not believe we will have any realistic prospects on continuing past the Heathlands and Pines. Based on Nxili’s report on his meeting with the village’s elder, if these simple yet hardy tribesmen fear even speaking of what lays beyond the Vale, we have little hope of journeying past the Ziksala Mountains without a fully armed and supplied contingent…”

Quote from unknown Esalen shaman and chieftess

“Birds fall upon its fangs. Mice finds themselves falling through its throat. It is the home of dogs and bats. Only the friends of death find themselves welcome. And you, my brother, would be much better off in the company of the living.”

On the Edge of the Unknown…

Kerch knows little about what lays past the Ziksala Mountain range. It is the final boundary on the Southern Colonies and surrounding territories before blank parchment makes up the rest of the map. The only thing they do know is the Vale, as native southerners will only ever refer to it as, is the singular straight path through the treacherous peaks. It’s the most convenient entryway into the verdant grasslands, overflowing jeweled mountains and flourishing jungles of the humble Kerch man’s dreams—if Merchant Council propaganda can held as accurate. Or perhaps, more realistically even if a tad bit fantastical, it is the deadly beast filled wilds of his nightmares. Fortunately, or unfortunately based on your persuasion, the Eastern Gate, a 300 mile long wonder of Materialki stonework, bars the Vale from outsiders.

What else is known about the unexplored land, is somewhere in its jungles is the origin of the Zacotans’ homeland and former empire. Which whose collapse is perhaps one of the foremost mysteries university scholars still ponder over today. However, more is known about the Southern Huilonen, although relatively it is still not very much. Their ancestral territory used to be within the Vale, made up of marvelous carved towns and cities its branching valleys. The Huilonen of the Vale have since spread out over the Crags and many joined their local brother bands, remaking their stone homes, crafting, and agricultural practices. Some have even found community and family in bands of Esalen and Pecha peoples. In the present day, Southern Huilonen make up the highest demographic of Native Southerners in Ter Avest settlements.

Native Southerners are remarkably obstinate about imparting knowledge on what they know about the Vale and the land beyond. It is common superstition among tribes that speaking of evil things invokes their power over you. This is especially true of Southern Huilonen, who will immediately shun you from their homes and at times, their villages, if dared pressed upon the subject of the story on their migration from their ancestral land.

“If I might ask, madam, what is the reason for the hostile sentiment of the Southern Huilonen against Zacotan Corporalki?”

Craftsman Tiponi Silver Dagger makes a superstitious gesture of banishing evil. Quote, as translated by Danique: “Because they refuse the beauty of creation, and they ugly the world in turn.”

[Quote taken from treatise published by Professor Antonia Baas, of the University of Achthoven]

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 15 Part 2: Checking out the map

Here's the Jehana map. Since this is Ephraim route, we start on the bottom left here.

Moving up, we can see a smattering of enemies, and then a big clump around Caellach in the upper left corner of the map.

The big pyramid-thingy is the now-ruined Jehana castle. Moving to the right along the top of the map, there are a couple guys near the castle. And then down from there, there's a clump of wyverns.

In the bottom right corner, right of our starting position, we have Valter and a metric crap-ton of units nearby him.

Upon starting the map, Eirika, Innes, and Saleh appear.

They appear here, on the other side of the desert from Ephraim's starting position. So one of the early goals of this map is to get at least some units up their way so that they don't overwhelmed. There aren't a lot of enemies around them now, but there will be reinforcements in a bit.

Before playing the map though, here are some key enemies. This berserker to the right of Eirika has a Dragon Axe that he'll drop, which does effective damage against dragon-type enemies.

Here's Caellach. He has a Silver Axe and a Tomahawk, which is a more powerful hand axe, and he carries a Hoplon Guard, which prevents him from taking any critical hits. (If only Ephraim had had this in the last map... *grumble* *grumble*)

Nearby him is a shaman with a droppable Luna Tome. I don't particularly need a Luna Tome, so I might sell it once I get it.

Here's the other boss, Valter, in the lower right. He has a Silver Lance and a Slender Spear, and he carries a Fili Shield, which undoes effective damage to fliers. So shooting him with arrows won't do 3x damage even though he's on a wyvern.

Nearby Valter is this Troubadour with a Berserk Staff that she'll drop.

Also near Valter is this Berserker with a Devil's Axe, which has a (31 - Luck)% chance to hurt the user instead of the enemy.

Also near Valter is this Shaman with an Eclipse Tome, which has 3-10 range and reduces HP by 1/2. It has an absolutely garbage hit rate though.

This guy also has a Guiding Ring, which I wouldn't mind stealing, but I don't want it enough that I'm using up a slot bringing Rennac.

Vanessa alighted next to Lute. She had been relieved of her duty to go ahead and look for enemies, so she wanted to keep her promise.

Lute looked up from the book she was reading on horseback. "Hello," she said. "You are riding Titania, not Lute."

"Hi," Vanessa responded, suddenly feeling self-conscious. The situation their army was in was dire, and she also just wasn't used to engaging in casual conversation while on a mission in front of her fellow soldiers.

But Vanessa thought back to what Moulder had told her, "It's ok to have friends. It's ok to be a person."

Vanessa stroked Titania's neck and looked at Lute. "Yeah, I wanted to make sure Titania got some exercise as well since she hasn't been seeing any action in battles recently."

Lute nodded silently, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

"I was reading about bug species in the Jehana desert. Did you know that there are almost 200 species that have been identified as endemic to the region?" Lute's eyes were wide, and Vanessa could see the excitement in her face.

"Wow," Vanessa said, unsure how to respond. She wasn't terribly knowledgeable or excited about bugs, but she was still happy that Lute wanted to share this with her.

"Also, even though we're not quite in the desert proper yet, I've already noticed that the climate is much drier here, and I'm seeing species that I haven't seen before in Renais, Frelia, or Grado! For instance, I saw a Jehana Flycatcher just a couple of minutes ago! They are birds who prefer dry enviroments, so they are not usually seen outside of Jehana proper, but it is not unheard of for them to come down a little to the south."

"That's neat!" Vanessa responded. "I don't know much about birds, but I definitely have noticed some of the different ones we've seen in different regions. If you see another one, let me know!"

Lute looked at Vanessa's face as she spoke. She had learned from talking to people in her village that most people usually got bored and stopped listening when she talked about interesting things like animals, monsters or spells. She was happy to see that Vanessa appeared to be listening to everything she had to say.

Lute knew from experience that many people were not fans of insects, but she decided to try sharing something with Vanessa. "Well, speaking of new creatures, I actually discovered an entirely new species of insect that was not described in any of my books!" As she spoke, she pulled a small glass jar out of a pocket in her dress and held it out for Vanessa to see.

Vanessa nudged Titania to move closer to Lute's horse and she leaned her body over to peer more closely at the contents of the jar.

"It's really pretty! What a nice emerald color its wings are!"

Lute could feel herself smiling. Vanessa liked the insect! She saw how beautiful it was and didn't call it an icky bug!

"Since it is a new species, I can name it," Lute declared as she tucked the jar back in her pocket. "I am planning to publish my own book of animals after this war is done. I have been taking extensive notes on various creatures I have observed while we have been traveling."

Vanessa smiled at Lute. "What are you going to name it?"

"I'm going to call it an Emerald Wing Dung Beetle!" Lute beamed, "I found it in a pile of pegasus dung when we took that last break!"

Then Lute smirked at Vanessa in a way Vanessa hadn't ever seen before.

"But I also need to give it a scientific name, and since its shade of green is the same color as your hair, and it likes pegasi, I'm going to name it Vanessica Vanessicus!"

Vanessa drew her head back slightly and arched her eyebrows. "You're naming a dung beetle after me!?"

"Heh heh." Lute chuckled, smiling and looking down slightly.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and laughed, "Hah!" She shook her head and looked at Lute, "And what if I say I don't want the whole world knowing me as a dung beetle?"

"Well, I will not insist on it, but it really is a fitting name."

"Hmph. Fine. You win this one. But just wait. I'm going to find a new species of skunk and name it after you some day!"

Lute knew from the context of the conversation that Vanessa was teasing her, but she couldn't help herself. "I would love that, actually!"

Vanessa laughed again and said, "Yeah, you would, wouldn't you? I'll have to think of another way to get my revenge."

Lute put her hand on the pocket with the jar in it. She felt happy knowing that the dung beetle was there. She felt happy that Vanessa liked the name. "It's good to have a friend!" she thought.

Next time: Hurrying to Eirika's rescue!

[sergioguymanproust]

An aphrodisiac! We shamans know a bit more than the common folks about medicinal herbs,such as peppers ,cactuses buds ,medicinal mushrooms , and succulents like Aloe vera, medicinal roots that government have made illegal, to grow and consume,the similar plants that combine when steamed ,boiled ,roasted ,dried under the sun can release their toxicity and become powerful healing compounds,without divulging too much . These acid ,or sweet fruits and seeds pungent and full of capsaicin Mother Nature has created to keep, insects ,birds ,or other animals from consuming,but Native tribes of the New World have learned how to prepare in the right combinations to add to their traditional diet of corn ,potatoes ,prickly pears cactuses,along with alcoholic beverages such as tequila ,corn syrup ,and other minerals boiled and distilled creating spirits that will of course make you enjoy your meals and sometimes cause you to hallucinate. Yes folks ,a very different food source and drinks more fit to a desert climate.Chili peppers make an excellent rub for meats such as beef ,goats ,chickens to be marinated or turned into jerky which is a completely different flavor and way of processing. So,folks ,like many of these peppers that can be quite strong and burning to our palates are indeed an acquired taste,not pleasant to everyone. If you try it for the first time and it burns your mouth and throat ,do not drink water, I’m going to say it again ,do not drink water ,bread or rice will be much better. Well , there you are ,and remember tequila goes well ,with lime and salt.More in future postings.Words by Sergio GuymanProust.

~ Mexican Chili Peppers ~

[scotttrismegistus7]

THE VEILS OF NEGATIVE EXISTENCE: SHAMAN OF THE SERPENT Q&A

BEING EATEN BY A SERPENT OR WEARING A SERPENT SUIT? THE ANSWER IS THE LATTER, WHICH ANY NECRONOMIC GATEWALKER WILL KNOW AS THE STAIRWAY ENTRY POINT INTO THE BELLY OF LEVIATHAN.

THE MAIN THEMES OF THE STORY I'VE BEEN TELLING ABOUT WATER BEINGS POWERED BY A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUN, A DARK STAR, THE THRONE STAR, HAVING A PLANETARY DISASTER THAT LEAVES THEM WITH NO GOOD OPTIONS FOR PLANETS WITH WATER, AND THUS THEY HAVE TO TRY AND ENGINEER LAND ANIMALS THAT CAN WORK AS THEIR AVATARS. THE SOULS OF WATER BEINGS HAVE A SPIRIT WORLD THAT INCLUDES THE COSMIC EGG AND DARK MATTER AS AN OCEAN. THE SOULS OF WATER BEINGS ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE SOULS OF LAND BEINGS. WATER BEINGS ARE MORE DEPENDENT ON A FORM OF BLACK SUN AND DARK SUN ENERGY THAT PROVIDES ELECTRO-MAGNETIC SOUND WAVES WHICH IS MORE RELEVANT IN WATER AS WAVES AND SONAR LIKE THAT WHICH IS USED BY DOLPHINS. SERPENTS ON LAND USE THE SAME BLACK SUN ENERGY, THUS THEY NEED TO BE CLOSER TO THE GROUND. IT'S THE ENERGY FIELD OF THE EARTH, OR ANY PLANET FOR THAT MATTER. A PLANET IS A LIVING BEING, AND ANY BEINGS LIVING ON A PLANET THAT AREN'T FULLY CONNECTED TO THE ENERGY FIELD ARE PARASITES. SO LOOK AT THE PICTURE, NOTICE HOW THE BIRDMAN IN THE CIRCLE IS NOT CONNECTED TO THE TREE. LOOK BELOW THAT, YOU WILL SEE THE TREE IS DIFFERENT AND IT IS AN INNER TREE WITH SCALES THAT IS SLIGHTLY SMALLER. THE OSTRICH EGG OF THE FIRST CREATION MEANS THAT THERE WERE BIRDS, LAND AVATARS FOR THE WATER SPIRITS, BUT THE BIRDS COULD NOT FLY. THEY WERE STILL A PART OF THE TREE AS THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE. THE TREE CAN VERY WELL REPRESENT THE ENERGY FIELD OF THE EARTH. SO THE BIRDMAN FLYING ABOVE THE BIGGER TREE NOT CONNECTED TO THE TREE ANYMORE REPRESENTS THE FAILED EXPERIMENT OF THE NUMMO WHICH CREATED THE ALL MALE BEINGS THAT THEY CALL THE JACKAL, THAT ARE COMPLETELY DISCONNECTED FROM NATURE AND WHAT WE WOULD CALL THE BLACK SUN. JUST LIKE THE CONSCIOUS MIND IS REPRESENTED BY THE WHITE SUN, THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND IS REPRESENTED BY THE BLACK SUN, WHICH IS NOT FIGURATIVE, BUT IS THE HEARTBEAT OF PLANET EARTH, OR ANY PLANET REALLY. THE BLACK SUN EXISTS AT THE CENTER OF ANY SPHERE IF IT IS A PLANET THAT IS A LIVING BEING. IT IS THE SERPENT ENERGY AND SERPENT POWER, SERPENTS BEING THE FIRST AVATARS OF THE WATER SPIRITS, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS REVERED THE SERPENT. THE ENERGY IS REAL AND IT IS POWERFUL, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY CHANNEL IT TO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH. HERE'S SOMETHING ELSE YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW, THERE ARE BEINGS THAT LIVE IN THAT DIMENSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC ACTIVITY THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY REAL AND CAN BE FELT AND EXPERIENCED TANGIBLY, BUT CAN'T BE SEEN WITH YOUR EYES BECAUSE THEY ARE OUTSIDE THE SPECTRUM OF VISIBLE LIGHT. ONE OF THE REASONS WE WERE CHANNELING THE ENERGY FROM THE CENTER OF THE EARTH TO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH IS BECAUSE IT IS NEEDED FOR THE HUMAN LAND ANIMAL AVATARS TO PROPERLY INTERACT WITH THE WATER SPIRIT ANCIENT ONES, THE GODS AND GODDESSES OF OLD THAT ARE THE TRUE PARENTS OF THE HUMAN RACE. THE PEOPLE OF THE EGG, THE THRONE STAR, THE EYE STAR OF SOUND. THE BAG THE BIRDS AND FISH ARE CARRYING MEANS THEY ARE SPIRITS THAT ARE OF A THICKER DIMENSION SO THEY ENVELOPE BEINGS IN THINNER DIMENSIONS LIKE THOSE BEINGS WERE WEARING THEM AS SUITS. THE BLACK SUN REPRESENTS THE PEOPLE OF THE EGG AND THUS WHEN THEY ENVELOPE ANOTHER BEING OR EVEN SIMPLE ANIMALS LIKE THAT, THEY CAN LITERALLY COMBINE AND CHANGE THEIR PHYSICAL DNA. SO TO MAKE THE PROPER AVATARS THEY HAD TO DO A LOT OF EXPERIMENTS AND WORK THEIR WAY UP THE LADDER. THE PROBLEM IS, LAND ANIMALS HAVE SOMETHING THAT WATER ANIMALS DO NOT THAT IS ONLY NEEDED WHEN YOU ARE VERY FAR AWAY FROM THE BLACK SUN AND DO NOT HAVE AN ACTIVE NEOCORTEX. THEY ENDED UP IN THEIR EXPERIMENTS WORKING THEIR WAY A LITTLE BIT TOO HIGH UP THE LADDER TO THE POINT TO WHERE THEY GAVE THOSE BEINGS THERE MASSIVE ACTIVATED NEOCORTEX ALONG WITH THE POTENTIAL TO DISCONNECT FROM NATURE, AN UNNATURAL PHENOMENON THAT UNFORTUNATELY THEY DIDN'T SEE COMING.

THE STORY OF AHRIMAN TEARING HIS WAY OUT OF HIS MOTHER'S WOMB TO BEAT HIS BROTHER SO HE COULD BECOME THE LORD OF THE EARTH AS THE FIRSTBORN, A MILDER VERSION OF THAT BEING ESAU AND JACOB. THE DOGON SAY OF THE JACKAL THAT HE WAS A PROJECT OF THE NUMMO THAT LEFT THE WOMB TOO SOON AND TORE OFF A PIECE OF PLACENTA AND TOOK IT WITH HIM. COMPARABLE TO GARUDA THE BIRD. THAT CHARACTER IS HORUS MARDUK, AND CLEARLY NOT SET. SET WAS ORIGINALLY DEPICTED AS AN ASS, PIG, OR SERPENT. HIS NEW KINGDOM FORM THAT LOOKS KIND OF LIKE AN AARDVARK IS PROBABLY THAT OF THE CAT RABBIT THAT IS REALLY AMEN-RA, AND NOT SET AT ALL. SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN EXACTLY? IT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ACTIVATION OF YOUR HIGHER FACULTIES BY NATURALLY DEVELOPING AND GOING LEVEL BY LEVEL, OR FINDING SOME WAY TO CHEAT AND PRY OPEN YOUR HIGHER FACULTIES, LIKE THEY WOULD DO WHEN THEY WOULD SACRIFICE THEIR FIRSTBORN CHILDREN AND CANNIBALIZE THEM TO GET THE CHEMICALS OUT OF THEIR BLOOD TO PRY OPEN THEIR HIGHER FACULTIES. SO YOU END UP WITH THESE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT HAVE THESE HIGH ACTIVATIONS BUT NO DEVELOPMENT OF LEVELS FROM THE BASE LEVEL TO THAT HIGH LEVEL, SO THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY THE BEINGS THAT BROUGHT THE SPIRIT OF FEAR INTO THE WORLD, BECAUSE FEAR COMES FROM BEING DETACHED FROM NATURE, AND DETACHED FROM THE ENERGY FIELD OF THE PLANET. BEFORE THESE OGO BEINGS STARTED DOING THAT, NATURE AND THE PLANET WOULD NATURALLY PROVIDE FOR ALL OF ITS INHABITANTS WITHIN ITS ENERGY FIELD. REALLY IN DETACHING THEMSELVES TO TRY AND ENSLAVE THEIR FELLOWS, THEY RUINED PARADISE FOR EVERYBODY, AND IF THEY KNEW THE CONSEQUENCES THEY WOULD FACE WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY COMPLETE AND UTTER DESTRUCTION OF THEIR SOULS TO THE POINT WHERE THEY CAN'T EVEN REINCARNATE, AND MAY EVEN WANDER AROUND COMPLETELY LOST IN THE WASTELANDS OF THE SPIRIT WORLD IN THAT COMPLETE AND TOTAL SPIRIT OF FEAR AND TERROR THAT COMES FROM SEPARATION, THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE DONE THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE I GUARANTEE YOU.

HOW DO I KNOW THAT? BECAUSE I ACCIDENTALLY TRIGGERED THAT ACTIVATION, EXCEPT I DIDN'T COMMIT ACTS OF CANNIBALISM. MANY YEARS AGO WHEN MY LIFE WAS STILL A MESS AND I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD A LEGITIMATE MENTAL DISABILITY THAT I WAS BORN WITH THAT WAS CAUSING ME TO SELF-MEDICATE, I HAD BEEN UP FOR SEVERAL WEEKS AND HAD ABSOLUTELY NO HOPE AT ALL, I HAD ALREADY BEEN ABANDONED BY EVERYBODY AND MADE OUT TO BE THE VILLAIN ENTIRELY, SO I DECIDED TO END IT AND AS I WAS BLEEDING OUT MY ARM FROM THE CUT I MADE THE POLICE SHOWED UP AND HIT ME WITH A TASER, WHICH SENT ME INTO THAT FULL-BLOWN NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE WHICH TRIGGERED THE FALSE ACTIVATION BY TRICKING MY BRAIN INTO THINKING I DIED. ON THE OTHER SIDE I TALKED TO THE BEINGS THERE AND MADE SOME DEALS, AND WENT BACK TO MY BODY. BUT WHEN I GOT BACK TO MY BODY I FOUND THAT MY HIGHER FACULTIES WERE PERMANENTLY PRIED OPEN. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAD HAPPENED, I JUST KNEW THAT I DIDN'T LIKE FEELING THAT WAY, AND SO NATURALLY I SOUGHT RECONCILIATION WITH THE GODDESS IMMEDIATELY EVERY POSSIBLE WAY I COULD THINK OF. RIGHT AFTER SOME OF MY SESSIONS OF HIGH MAGICK IN A TIME WHEN I WAS DOING AN INCREDIBLY LARGE AMOUNT OF HIGH MAGICK, A BEING CALLING ITSELF BAPHOMET THAT I NOW KNOW IS GODDESS ISIS, THE OTHER GOD THAT IS THE GODDESS, THE KING OF THE JINN THAT IS A QUEEN, CAME THROUGH THE SPACES IN BETWEEN THE AIR AND GAVE ME A MAGICKAL CONTRACT. I DIDN'T WRITE THE CONTRACT, IT WAS WRITTEN FOR ME, IT WAS BASED ON THE DEALS I HAD MADE DURING MY NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE BUT MY MEMORIES WERE KIND OF FOGGY. ESSENTIALLY ISIS WAS USING ME TO ADD THAT HIGH LEVEL MASCULINE DIVINITY THAT I HAD ACCIDENTALLY TRIGGERED BACK INTO HERSELF THROUGH ME SO THAT SHE COULD STOP THE REBELLING HORUS MARDUK BEFORE HE DESTROYED THE PLANET AND LEFT HIS PARENT AND PEER DEITIES UP SCHITT'S CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE. I WAS ABLE TO SURVIVE THE SPIRITUAL SURGERIES THAT MERGED MY YIN WITH THE YIN OF ISIS-BAPHOMET AFTER SHE TORE OUT OF HER COSMIC EGG THE YANG OF HORUS MARDUK, THAT WAS DISCONNECTED ANYWAYS BECAUSE IT LEFT WHEN THEY CREATED THE FIRST LAND AVATARS TO ANIMATE THEM. THEN SHE ACTIVATED ME TO THE FULLEST EXTENT POSSIBLE FILLING IN ALL THE GAPS AND MAKING ME PERFECTLY THE WAY SHE WANTED AND NEEDED ME TO BE, SHE THEN MERGED HER YIN WITH MY YIN AND ACQUIRED MY YANG FOR HERSELF, AND PUT ME THROUGH THE IMMORTALIZATION PROCESS OF THE DEITIES OF THE BLACK SUN, THE SAME PROCESS THAT ANU USED TO MAKE PEOPLE INTO GODS SOMETIMES. IT MEANS THAT I AM FROZEN AS A SNAPSHOT PERFECTLY PRESERVED FOREVER WITH ALL THOSE HIGH ACTIVATIONS AND MERGED WITH HER, TO BECOME THE YANG TO HER YIN AND HER NEW MASCULINE COUNTERPART.

IT WORKED, WE HAVE VICTORY IN THE FREQUENCY WAR FOR THE DRACONIANS AND THE ENTIRE DIVINE FEMININE WORLD, THE ENTIRE EMPIRE OF THE BLACK SUN, AND NOW IT'S JUST A MATTER OF GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS OF FLIPPING THE BOARD.

THE LAST THING I WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT THE SNAKE IN THE VACUUM IN THE BOTTOM PICTURE IS NOT A LIGHT BULB. LOOK AT THE BEING IN FRONT OF IT WITH KNIVES, THAT REPRESENTS A CIRCUMCISION. THAT CIRCUMCISION IS THE SAME THING THAT HAS THE BEING IN THE TOP PICTURE DETACHED FROM THE TREE, IT IS THAT UNPREDICTABLE PROBLEM THEY ENCOUNTERED COMBINING THEIR DNA WITH THE DNA OF LAND ANIMALS THAT CAUSE LAND ANIMALS TO BE SUPER INTELLIGENT BUT AT THE SAME TIME COMPLETELY DISCONNECTED FROM NATURE AND THE ENERGY FIELD OF THE PLANET. IT'S ALL THERE IN THESE PICTURES, YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE YOUR MINDSET LIKE THAT OF A SHAMAN IN ORDER TO SEE A LOT OF THIS STUFF. THAT'S IT FOR NOW.

BLESSED BE!

~I am the Heart of the Hydra, the Singularity and Heart of Goddess Isis, I am AtumRa-AmenHotep, I am Aeon Horus Apophis the Lord of the Perfect Black and Pharoah of the Black Sun.

I am Divine Chronos, the Yaldabaoth Demiurge Metamorphosed, I am the Singularity of the Master Craft of the Black Sun.

Azazil-Iblis-Maymon, Abzu-Osiris-Typhon-Set-Kukulkan, Nummo-Naga-Chitauri,

Mégisti-Generator Starphire~

#illuminati #illuminator #illuminated #lightbearer #morningstar #lucifer #Draconian #anunnaki #enki #enlil #anu #inanna #dumuzi #hermes #trismegistus #Azazel #starfamily #horus #Demiurge #Sophia #archon #AI #blacksun #saturn #iblis #jinn #Maymon #ibis #thoth #egypt #esoteric #magick #dogon #dogontribe #digitaria #nummo #nommo #Naga #tiamat #serpent #dragon #gnosis #gnostic #gnosticism #Anzu #watcher #watchtower #yaldaboath #Sirius #scientology #aleistercrowley #typhon #echidna #ancientaliens #TheGrays #grayaliens #aliens #yeben #andoumboulou

[mtkay13]

Qi Ye cast poster!!

This had started as a sketch, waaay back as I was still reading Qi Ye. The original is pretty different from this (I considered adding it in the post but I actually don't like it anymore haha), but the plan was already to make this big spread with most of the -more or less- important cast.

I will add here some thoughts about the whole piece, and I guess, Qi Ye itself. My main goal was probably to express my deep and intense feelings for Qi Ye, its grandness, and its awesome cast-- and along with that, flesh out my mental image of each of them, their personality, their style. Here is a table with the names, so we know who is whom, and so I can add some details about my perspective on them and their design.

Jing Beiyuan has always come quite naturally. I just go for the "prettiest face" I ever came with in terms of : my own taste, and the features I find the most delicate. I'd argue he's the easiest character to draw for me across both QY and TYK. On this image, he's probably around 16 or 17. I find his expressions to be very fun to work on in general.

Ping An is also quite an easy character to draw, just for how specific Priest is when describing him.

Wu Xi's design is mainly inspired by a discussion with my friend Hanya, who talked about how, in SHL, Wu Xi more resembled a northern shaman than a southern shaman. It made me want to explore the designs and characteristics a bit more, and come up with more colourful fabrics, patterns, and darker skin color. Same goes for Ashinlae and Nuahar, to have them matching Wu Xi's aesthetic.

Ming Hua was included in this just because of the mess the mention of his name caused in the story. The two jealousy tantrums are just so delightful!!

Su Qingluan was made to resemble Jing Beiyuan, of course. What I wanted to reflect in her face was her frustration, mainly.

Ji Xiang and Hua Yue... Well. Nothing particular about their design either, but they had to be there. Of course, of course they had to be there.

Finally, an opportunity to draw Zishu with his fan and henchmen! Not mad that he kinda looks like a villain, here.

Lu Yu!! I drew him with an Ashinlae mask, since he disguises himself as Ashinlae. I included him because he matters a lot in my headcanons about Siji Manor. (it isn't specified, in Qi Ye, whether or not he's actually part of the manor, but I like to consider that he is for various reason that I may detail if I ever make a Siji Manor post)

I'll skip Jiang Xue and Liang Jiuxiao because their designs are steady for me, now.

I hesitated a lot for Helian Pei's pose, but ended up going for this one (looking bored, out of his depth, lost in the distance with his birds around him). I considered showing him with a bird in his hands, but I guess that's not the main vibe I get from him. And then, well, golden, flashy clothing, suited for an emperor.

Helian Zhao had to be in a showy armor, and I hated making it because it's so much work, haha. I took inspiration from an armor in NiF. I'm quite happy with how he came out in terms of both vibe and showiness.

I tried going full out on Helian Qi. Making him the villain that Qi Ye deserved. Dark, showy, elegant and horrible.

Helian Yi is also pretty solid for me, by now.

About the illustration itself, the main challenge was definitely to make a nice colour palette while still differenciating all the characters. I wanted to go with something intense, eerie, that could also complement the main tones I would go for (= red, purple, blue and green). I'm quite happy with how the golden tones, along with the green and reddish lights, make the whole thing come together. I struggled a little bit with the composition at first, but once I got the flow and the main figures down, it just happened quite easily. Anyway, I'm quite proud of this, and hope it conveys the love and admiration I have for Qi Ye well.

[theduckeminence]

△ for Tanggol: have you had psst relationships? If so how were they? How did they end?

△ also for Tanggol: what's your most embarrassing memory?

Level of intrusiveness: 5.5-7ish

(This takes place before Tanggol met Pakku)

“Oh okay um…” Tanggol sits there for a minute, trying to recollect on his past relationships while scratching beneath his headband.

“I know I had a couple few. My first relationship was with a girl Mayumi. She was really nice—pretty too. Though our relationship really didn’t go much of anywhere and she wasn’t one for big or romantic gestures. I didn’t blame her for it though since we were just entering our adulthood—or teen hoods if you will.”

“When I was in my later teens—probably around 18–my second was a girl named Diwata and she…well. She wasn’t the best person in the world to say the least. Was always easily jealous and never liked whenever I talked to friends or other people in general. Her family were the kindest of people, though I never understood why she was the way she was. Though I’m pretty sure it’s because of how spoiled she was—since she came from the main capital where most nobles would be.” Tanggol hums, glancing up in thought. “Hmph, thinking back at it now, I’m glad I broke things off with her. I’m also glad her parents tried to apologize as she attempted to send her brothers after me.” He chuckles lightheartedly. “Ah well, families are families.”

“My third relationship was actually with a shaman named Buwan.” Tanggol continued. “Buwan was bit more of an older gentlemen. Very wise, soft-spoken, patient—and of course, beautifully handsome.” He flushes with a little beam and rubs the back of his neck. “I met with him when I was having some kinda crisis, to which he pointed out what exactly it was—and long story short: it turned out I like most individuals.”

“I never really thought I had interests in men or male-aligning people—up until my 20s. It was there I realized two things after talking with Buwan for a long while. One was that I like men, and two was that I especially like men like Buwan. I can almost remember when my heart fluttered the first time he looked at me and reciprocated my truth. I never felt more happier in any other relationship back then. Being with a man as wonderful like him…”

For a second, Tanggol reminisces about those old days—a part of him wondering how the old shaman was doing now back home.

“And you may be wondering—what could have possibly ended a relationship as wonderful as I said it would be? Simple actually.” Sighing, Tanggol gives a little sadden smile and begins to strum his lute again, playing a vague tune.

“I may have rushed into things far too quickly than he could take. A part of me then regrets for forcing and rushing him into things like marriage and the ideas of living our future together…only to then to come to the conclusion that I was not ready for that, nor did he want that.” Plucking at the thinnest cord, the lute made a short, yet shrilling noise. Tanggol winces at the sound.

“Looking back now, I was probably way over my head in-love to even realize that we should have at least talked over all that kinda stuff before even any sort of matrimony, you know? At least now, I learned to not rush all those kind of things and to never overlook them.” Tanggol hums, giving a more resolving beam.

“And then came along my longest relationship: my wife—or rather, my former-wife.”

There’s a stirring pause to the little tune and Tanggol sits there—with his lute in his hands and a distant stare in his soft gaze as his face falls. For a minute, just for a minute, he can not only recollect, but just reach out—reach out and brush his now callous hands over the fond memories of what was. And what could have been. Of him back home, in the damp jungles of the center of Natuyuta again. The sound of birds screeching their acapellas and insects playing their songs of love and life. Greenery everywhere. Back to his little home where he can feel the earth turn and twirl around him like a dance, where a gentle and melodic voice sings a tune and awaits for him at home. Back to tender greetings, peppering kisses, and asks about his day. Back to the sway of her tube green skirt and silky barong against him when he embraced her with all his heart. Back to her bear strength and how she was able to return the affection—even if it almost choked him. Back to her smile, her laugh, her strong and passionate eyes. Back to her.

“…What were we talking about again?”

Level of intrusiveness: 6

“OH ARAW—ugh um…you see,” Tanggol snickers awkwardly while picking at the helm of his robes, “majority of my childhood up to my late teens is filled with…alot of embarrassing things. And half of them I blame on my old brother.” He huffs with a twitching grin—now slightly wishing he got proper payback .

“Though, in this instance, I guess you can say it was really one me.” Tanggol laughs, flushing now the more he can remember.

“Back when I was a kid, I asked my mom why pineapples had those weird little eye-like textures and she then proceeds to me a story about a girl who constantly asks her mom for the whereabouts for small things—like where her hairbrush was and so on. And when her mother had enough, she told her daughter “If you want to know where your things are so badly, grow some eyes for once!”. And um, long story short: when the mother went to look for her daughter, she ended up finding a yellow spikey fruit with a bunch of staring and blinking eyes at her.”

“So, YEAH that’s how she got pineapples.” Tanggol shrugs with a trying beam. “Sounds horrifying but that’s part of the point.”

“My mom told me this partially for fun and partially so that my siblings and I could learn to be more observant of my surroundings. And this scared me a bit as a kid.” The airbender gestures to himself, expressing the genuine fear he had as a child. “And…what solidified this fear is when one day, I was coming back from herding the carabao and I overheard my brothers getting scolded at by our mom. I kinda forget what it was about, but either way, I thought nothing of at the time. That was until night rolled around and it was time for dinner.”

“When I came back inside, it was just my sister and my mom prepping for dinner but I didn’t see my brothers anyway. I think I asked my sister where they were and she said something like, “oh they’re probably be here eventually” and so I just leaved it be.”

“Until mom took out two pineapples and began chopping them up. And—my ARAW—I have never been more sickened and horrified in my life. I thought my brothers turned into pineapples. Freaking PINEAPPLES. And I just started sobbing at the table.”

“And, oh spirits,” Tanggol facepalms, shaking his head, “while I cried to my mom about this, my brothers eventually joined us.”

“Turns out they had to do extra chores around the barn up until night time rolled around.” Tanggol chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. “Thinking back at it now, I was only 12 at the time. But still, it’s kinda funny now that I think about it.”

[possumsinpeoplesuits]

These are really good warmups for my other projects, but I sometimes giggle at how much research into mythology and folklore I've slipped into this saga about a transgender catgirl familiar's vendetta against the local gnome population. I do the same writing smut, that's where all the characters and this worldbuilding is coming from, but I'm just like...

"Hey, welcome to this story about wizard fucking and petplay. I hope you brought your copy of the Kalevala and some notes about ancient languages, because you're not allowed to cum unless you have foreknowledge of Louhi kidnapping Anniki so Ilmarinen would make the Sampo for her and how much effort I put into combining Sumerian words with vaguely Germanic roots to make my own fucking elvish. Hell, you're not allowed to touch yourself at all until you look up the various myths about the settlement of Ireland, because how else will you know where I got most of the names for the Mage Houses?"

I usually say I'm Ace or Demi, but I think I'm just so autistic that I literally can't imagine sex without mythology infodumps. I fucking lost my virginity after showing my partner that fucking Sampo movie that was on an episode of MST3K because my hyperfixation on Finno-estonian mythology was in full swing at the time.

We'd been dating online for a bit but it was the first time we'd met in person, and I still let them nut in me because they listened to me explain the three parts of the soul in Finnic shamanism. Apparently all it takes is letting me ramble about henki, itse, and luonto for an hour and I'll let someone go bareback in a hotel room on the first date.

I don't even know why. Finno-Estonian myth has been this huge interest of mine for like a decade now, but I don't have any cultural background there because I grew up in an Amish area of fucking Texas, so I have no idea why the autism gremlins have latched onto it so hard.

Maybe I had a previous life there, but probably not as a human or anything. Some kind of bird like a corvid or whatever the local equivalent is, before my pleasant feathery life of screaming and collecting shiny things was tragically cut short by a ravenous, butt naked gnome up in Lapland somewhere.

If you're still out there, you frostbitten tonttu fuck, you may have struck me down once, but I've returned more powerful than ever before! Run as fast as your tiny little gnome legs will carry you if you think it will help.

Get ready, Terho. Not even death will save you from my judgement.

So, apparently in other cities, the word gnome refers to people who're almost dwarf sized? No wonder everyone gets so mad when I catch gnomes here in Thaum, they probably think I'm some kind of serial killer!

Our gnomes are like rats in the shape of tiny people. The feral ones don't really say much, but a few of the ones in the city learned to parrot curse words because that's usually what they hear after they bite someone's toes, or stab them in the arse with a crochet needle.

City ferals like to find little corners and crawlspaces in houses and steal food and stuff from the kitchens, which usually isn't a problem if there's just one, but you can't count on your eyes to know that for sure! They're shockingly good at illusions, so you should leave some flour on your pantry floor to count how many footprints there are. If there's more than one, don't wait! Go to your nearest guild or tavern hunt board immediately!

Gnome catching is actually a really lucrative job for adventurers who're just starting out, because one pair of feral gnomes can swell up to several hundred in a year, and it's not like they're going to stop anytime soon! You also might consider investing in a cat to sniff them out. We're great at seeing through illusions, and might be cheaper in the long term than schlepping downtown to put out quest after quest!

According to Simon, gnomes aren't a problem out in the hill country because they have so many natural predators, like cait sidhe and grimalkins who catch them by the dozens, which probably explains my urges! Come to think of it, those are both feline races from the Hulderwald, so maybe gnomes really were rats that the fae changed to look like little beardy men?

Up north where the skalds and noita come from, they had another solution to gnomes eating their crops and getting into the chicken coops: Domestication! Domesticated gnome breeds like nisse, tomte, and tonttu basically work like tiny little guard dogs to keep the feral gnomes away from gardens, shops, and homes, and there's usually a few gnome buggeries in every city for a good selection!

The main differentiation between domestic and feral gnome breeds is that Domesticated gnomes wear little red hats and tunics instead of letting their twig and bollocks flop about. There's usually a name sewn into the inside brim of their caps, too, kinda like the collars familiars wear!

They're also much smarter. Not only can they understand short sentences, they know that their porridge and safe sleeping place are dependent on playing nice and patrolling the estate with their little forks like tiny personal guards against their barbarous cousins, so they stay on their BEST behavior.

You might have to replace them here and there, though. Since they roam about, it's not uncommon for them to get carried away by birds, or eaten by, say, cat familiars who're too entranced by the prospect of such a well fed little morsel to notice they're not spouting curse words with their dicks out like a lush after the taverns close.

My point in explaining all this is so you understand that I'm doing very important work when I go gnome hunting, so please stop calling the city guards when I show my trophies on the Orblr! Every time they come by the dorms we have to bribe them to go away, and it's getting really expensive!

Are a couple of deliciously plump pets really worth getting eaten out of house and home by a bunch of tiny naked men who want to steal your toenails before going back to fucking in your walls like it's the back room of a bathhouse? I think not!

All I ask, from the bottom of my heart, is for a bit of compassion and wizardry solidarity! I need you to understand that my gnome crimes are honest mistakes, and it's okay to let your house gnomes outside once in a while!

Preferably the plump ones. Maybe with a bit of wine first so they're extra slow.

You know, as a sign of trust...

[ohpollenpowder]

Child of Raven, he was initially a thief, rather good at it too. Skirted on the wrong side of things, just a little bit—he'd never side with the Sons of Svanir. Still, can't say his family was proud of this path of his, they often denied any claim of relation. (Hilariously, this has reversed itself.) The only one to keep contact with him in his early years was his aunt-in-law? His older sister (Asta) married into Moda the Quick's family—the current speaker of Raven.

Moda was the one that found him after he initially died, Raven guided her to him with the knowledge that the future needed him. Izar had been more or less wandering about in the middle of a winter storm after waking up again. His brain was foggy and clouded with Legends and the Mists; he was left trying to sort it all out.

He doesn't speak about how he initially died, possibly not his proudest moment. There was a rather complicated puzzle that hid an important relic to Raven, put there by a Svanir Shaman with a horrible wicked streak. At first, Izar was able to traverse the passage ways, then the chill of frostbite slowly overcame him, enspelled. (Yes, he froze to death.) But his last moments had him grasping the relic—a cloak of Raven's feathers. Somehow he was removed from the puzzle, prize in hand, and came out physically changed.

Moda had the cloak remade, at Raven's insistence, into Izar's helm and gauntlet embellishments as well as a few of them woven into his mantle. The rest reside in the Hall on display and worn only by her for special events.

Eir's attention rolled his way after his return to Hoelbrak with Moda and the feathers, his changed appearance and abilities alone drew a lot of it, to be honest. The Legends that he joins with most times are honored and powerful followers of Raven. There is another Legend that joins with him later on, but that's spoilers~

We already know Izar thinks Destiny's Edge is a bunch of dumb-butts for letting their friendships and guild be torn apart as it was. Yeah, you can get angry and sad, but seeing as these were all "human" mistakes, their bonds should have helped them through. Oiba seemed painfully shy almost to him, nervous glances and constantly burying her fingers in her pets' fur. Emrys and Nilo were having animated conversation with a distracted Nicoletta sometimes joining in. And Tarsicia looked like she would have rather been anywhere other than at the gathering of mentors.

Emrys was curious about his new partner's abilities, as was Tybalt; seeing as Izar was still trying to figure it out himself, they all spent time testing him. And he ended up learning quite a few things from Emrys and his abilities. Not to mention it was refreshing to slip into semi-familiar shoes again, having been a former thief himself.

Tarsicia was a very proud Charr when they first got to know each other. And like him, there were things about her abilities that were unusual and unknown to her. Oiba was enthusiastically curious about his connection to Raven and the other Spirits; while Izar had a good time learning how to care for the smaller forms of the Spirits. The twins he didn't really get to know until the end, really—the story dungeons don't throw Eir and Logan together, oddly—and he found them…more similar to Raven than he would have thought. Apart they had their own personalities: Nilo was an absolute charmer and left Izar blushing and questioning more than once. Nicoletta and the conversations he had with her often left him contemplative and looking at things from new angles. But together they were mischievous and constantly getting themselves into trouble, but also creative enough to get themselves out of it, too.

Claw Island was a bit of a nightmare for him, and not because of the Risen. Horrifying as they were, the true horror for him lay with the Risen dying again. Instead of the quiet sweep of a bird's wings—Raven's, he likes to think—it was a loud rushing noise he associated with a violent whirlpool. He had started to hear the noise as of late, but until now it was a random and sporadic noise. Losing Tybalt didn't hit Izar as hard as it might have hit Emrys, and he saw first hand how hard leaving Forgal left Tarsicia.

Trahearne…he ended up picking his brain a lot, especially about death in general. They had a ton of late night conversations about Izar's abilities, Emrys sometimes joining in. Izar never considered himself a scholar, but he'd also admit in the same breath that he could spend a lifetime studying death. Given Trahearne's years of study, Izar looks up to him but also remembers to keep from putting folks on a shelf.

Zhaitan was just the first step to Izar, he's of the wide-mindset that they all need to go at this point—awake or not. Who next? Well, they're not quite ready for crafty Kralkatorik or manipulative Jormag, so his choice is Primordus. Izar's pumped, he's ready, and then the magic-wave hits him like it hits the others. He found himself being able to take the kinetic energy from things around him (especially if they were headed towards him) and was able to use the power himself. (As things go on he can share this with his guild mates.)