#ah yes the scientific method of i said it so it's true

[jontheketeld]

saying you imagined it is an old excuse. scientists often say it when there is no evidence.

such examples include:- "penacillin is not medicine. it is a dream of the uneducated" "i'm sure the planet neptune is real to the believers" "electricity only makes sense in his twisted mind"

all of these were said by scientists.

you can in fact prove that at least in some cases the person they were aware of was not in their own head as the stranger imparted knowledge that was beyond the witness'es experience.

you can't just imagine new factual information without having any possible was to attain that info yourself.

it could be just a very real person that others didn't see and did not come forward after the event.

that in fact makes a lot more sense than being imaginary as it's easy to simply not see a person in the right conditions like for example during a heavy snow storm.

less provable options include that it is in fact people but somehow they have methods for evading detection i.e. some sort of futuristic stealth gear unknown to the public.

if aliens visit our planet in secret and witness the struggle they might be compelled to help despite the risk involved.

similar logic can be applied to all kinds living in secret crooks on the run, people living in the wild, nomads, partially civilised tribal groups, hippie hunter gatherers, fantastic creatures with bad experiences of humans, the list of outlier shelterfolk just goes on and on.

[mutigold]

∞ teacher’s pet — i.n.

summary: in which the top student fails a test and gets extra help from his favorite professor.

pairing: student!jeongin x teacher!reader

genre: college!au

warning: sub!jeongin, dom!reader, pet play, noona kink, exhibitionism, handjob, ear licking, humiliation, quirofilia, seduction, he still has his braces.

word count: 1.9k

authors note: i really don’t know where this idea came from, but all i know is subby jeongin = 🤤. thank you for supporting me! watching people like my little writings really make my day.. hope y’all enjoy this <3. stream “Going Dumb”!

“would anyone like to explain what it means to be dependent on an organism?”

jeongin’s eyes concentrated on you, as he listened to your voice encompassing the leveled platform. today’s lecture was based on the living organisms in the world and you seemed to be determined for everyone to learn the curriculum.

however, jeongin could not focus on anything except your figure. you were wearing a white skin-tight turtleneck and black formal pants that emphasize your ass. all topped off with a large suit jacket and black louis vuitton heels.

it overall made his heart jump for joy just enjoying the view.

he thought about how those heels would look wrapped around his waist as he pounds into you; screaming his name. or maybe how your tiny hand would slip around his throat as he begs for your come.

“mr. yang?”

jeongin quickly snaps out of his trance to hear you calling his name. and not in the way he wanted.

you looked up at him with sad eyes, upset at him for not paying attention to your favorite lesson. “what’s going through that head yours? is it more important than organisms?”

he quickly fixed his posture, shaking his head rapidly, and responded with, “n—no, i’m sorry noona. i just was thinking too hard about something. i’ll promise to listen from now on.”

you hummed with caution, continuing the biological lecture. the student sighs gratefully for you letting him go off easily and tries to at least take some notes.

“yo, i.n. you okay?” a familiar voice whispered.

jeongin turns to see his two close friends, seungmin and felix, staring down at him in question. “yeah, you seem a little off today.”

confirming he says, “uh. y—yeah; i’m okay.”

“mhmm. okay with staring professor y/n down huh?” felix smirks.

the heat on i.n. 's cheeks becomes noticeable when hearing about his staring. he then tries to ignore the statement by writing his name and the current date in his notebook.

“leave him alone felix. he’s just probably having some problems with the lesson; you should perhaps ask noona for help.” seungmin tries to intervene.

“yeah; i mean, maybe noona can also help you with other problems. if you know what i mean.” felix grins bumping jeongin’s arm.

“f—felix!”

“boys?! care to tell us what is so interesting other than my lesson?” your voice suddenly booms throughout the room. jeongin jumps at your tone and begins to apologize again once making you soften.

“that’s alright, but please pay attention. oh, and jeongin, stay after class for a few minutes to speak with me.”

he didn’t know what to think at that moment; with felix oohing in one of his ears and seungmin trying to shush him in his other or the fact that you wanted to talk to privately.

alone, with no one around, made his mind officially shut down.

“you wanted to speak with me noona?”

you shifted around to see jeongin’s stiff form; then took note of how nervous he looked and gave him a light smile. “hey, kiddo. i just wanted to see how you were doing lately.” you wished to see some type of relief release through him.

but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

he still looked kind of anxious to speak with you, letting you know how intimidating you seemed. “hey it’s all good, you're not in trouble or anything, i promise. i’ve noticed how you’ve been acting recently in my class and how your scores dropped a little,” you reassured.

“ai! i’m so sorry noona!”

you giggle at the student’s consistent apologies. in your mind, you thought how cute he was; like a puppy aching to gain approval from its owner.

maybe you could make him as your puppy and work hard for that admiration.

immediately, you shake your head from the naughty images. ever since the semester started a few months ago, your thoughts almost ran around yang jeongin.

how his pretty smile, concealed by clear braces, shined at your speaking, how his crescent-shaped eyes followed your every move; making you feel sexy, how large and veiny his arms grew over time within the season, etc.

“that’s alright, jeongin. i just want you to feel comfortable in my lectures. how about this, you and i have a session later this evening to cover the material for the next exam. what do you think pup’?” you offering, accidentally calling him by the pet name you gave him.

after catching the tiny nickname, jeongin clumsy drops his possessions while feeling something swell in his pants. he begins to overthink the word. pup’? why did that sound so nice coming out of your mouth? and how was he gonna hide the fact that his dick got hard in the middle of their conversation?

“i–i’m sorry!”

“oh! no worries hun! here; let noona help you out.”

you instantly proceeded over, bent down, and gathered i.n.’s school objects. starting with some of his blue pens, his macbook, and then his green two-subject notebook. “n–noona! i got the notebook, it’s okay.” jeongin stuttered.

it was almost like he was trying hard to hide something in the notebook, and suddenly it all made sense as it opened to the front page.

yang y/n. it was his surname combined with your first name.

it seemed as if time swiftly froze with silence when discovering the secret. however, it didn’t bother you essentially much as jeongin thought it would have had. “aw, pup’, this is cute. yang y/n has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

the air that was in jeongin’s lungs properly stopped working when distinguishing how seductive your tone became. “i–i..”

“relax a lil’ pup’. listen, will you promise to meet me later this eveningfor some tutoring. i think you could really use it. plus if you’re good–”

you shifted closer to the student’s ear lobe and whispered, “–noona could give you a reward.”

jeongin swore he felt some pre-cum drip down from his pants. “y–yes, noona.” he swallowed trying to moist his dry throat, then jumped moaning in pleasure when your small hand gripped around his erection.

“good. see you then, pup’.”

a few hours later, jeongin ends up at the university’s public library, not knowing what to expect. though, he did make sure to be ready for any possible situation. what did you mean by rewarding him? did you feel the same way he did?

you must have since you did touch his swollen cock during your conversation. or maybe it was just his imagination?

jeongin sighs restlessly thinking of the concept while waiting for your arrival. that soon ends as he hears your alluring voice greet out, “hiya pup’! ready for our lesson?”

he peers up from the library’s table to see you wearing informal clothing. a tight crew neck that reveals your smooth arms extending down to red-painted nails and large breasts bouncing with every step you take.

“ah! i hope you weren’t waiting too long, i got held up in traffic.”

“t–that’s okay noona! i just got here.”

you smile at his nervousness, now acknowledging where it came from, and sat down in the hard chair right next to him. “good, we can get started. i hope you’re ready,” you whispered, feeling an urge to dominate.

jeongin gulps recognizing a certain excitement coming from his pants within hearing your tone and replies with, “r–ready?”

“so, what does adaptation consist of?”

jeongin couldn’t comprehend what you were saying being he focused on the way your glossed-up lips looked. the way he could imagine it wrapped around cock or it traveling up and down the side of his neck molding kisses; it worked him to the point where he was solid hard.

“pup’, what is going through that mind of yours?”

“s–sorry. it’s just, i guess this lesson isn’t grasping in my head yet.” he tries to explain not wanting to upset you.

however, instead of upsetting you, your colored eyes just darken. “oh! i have any idea; remember when i said i would reward you if do good–”

jeongin nods excitedly, making you giggle.

“–well, i know you understand the concept of this chapter. so to push you a little more, i’ll ask you a question and if you get it right, that little cock of yours will get to come.”

the student freezes up at your approach, thinking it was a dream too good to be true. “w-wait what?”

“what is the definition of homeostasis?”

“i, uh, i think it's an organism's constant adjustment to maintain stable conditions in itself?”

you reached under the table discreetly and unbuttoned the pants on jeongin grasping his swollen cock. “o-oh my god, noona!”

“shh, pup’. you gotta be quiet for me; now onto the next question. who created the biogenesis theory?”

jeongin’s breath became too much for him to handle feeling the pre-cum drip from his blood-filled tip. “n–noona, please.”

“come on puppy, tell me the answer or i stop.”

his mind starts to rush trying to find the answer before you let him go. it took him a couple of seconds, but once he got it, he hurried to speak. “henry charlton bastain!”

“good puppy.” your tiny hand moves faster, satisfied with the statement. you felt his cock throbbing with every stroke you took. like jeongin, you dreamt of this same exact moment. you wanted to control the poor student every time he walked through your room, when he made eye contact with you, or even when his plump bottom lip was bitten from his teeth.

and finally, it was happening.

“oh, who’s a good puppy for noona?”

“m-me! i am noona.”

“that’s right pup’. next question, what are the five steps to the scientific method?”

i.n.’s vein from his cock popped out sensing the rubbing moving faster than before. “i only know four noona!”

“too bad, i wanted five or i slow down.” you coldly demand.

jeongin began to try to think hard on the five steps letting the sensation run through his body. “o-okay. it’s defining the problem, making a hypothesis, testing it, analyzing the results… then..”

your hand slows at his hesitation. “give me the last one puppy.”

“oh! noona, don’t stop! i–i. is it d–drawing the conclusions?”

“good puppy!”

his cock grows bigger when your finger grips at the base. then, you painted nails lightly scratch at his tight balls. “oh! noonaaa. that feels sooo goood. pleaseee.”

“continue to answer like a good pup’ then i’ll keep going.”

soon after the next few questions, jeongin sits near his breaking point. “nooonnnaaa! please!”

“grab your textbook and hold it up.”

i.n. clutches the hard-covered biology book to cover both you and him from public eyes. suddenly, you lower yourself to his lips, deeply kissing him with tongue, and wander towards his earlobe. “one more question, pup’. what does stimulus mean?”

“uh! noona! please let me come! make your puppy come!” he moans a little too loud.

“shh. answer the question, then i’ll let you come.”

“s-stimulus? it m-means anything an organism responds to.”

you then move your head to spit down to moist his penis. “good puppy! getting your small cock rubbed in front of everyone like a little slut.” you cup the back of his neck feeling the shivers release through him.

“you can come pup’, come for noona.”

jeongin then lets go, coming hard in your hand. “o-oh! thank you, thank you noona!”

after guiding him to his high, you let go of him and licked the white, sticky substance from your hand.

“good puppy. i’m sure you’ll be ready for that next exam.”

[angel-tries-to-write]

Bloody favor

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan Rating: Explicit Pairing: Levi Ackerman x Hanji Zoë Word count: 3204 Genre: smut, fluff

When Hanji suffers from menstrual pain, there's only one person who can help them.

Sometimes Hanji joked, that if only they could do more experiments on Eren without hurting him, they would be able to get to know titans so well, they could predict the times they attack. Levi would always roll his eyes and say that it would be very convenient, yet very impossible as well, since the titans weren't much known for thinking, with the obvious exception for shifters. Unfortunately for him, the crazy scientist wasn't the type to give up on their theories, until proven wrong, besides that would be a wonderful ability, to predict the attack and being able to properly prepare for it. Hanji felt it on a personal level, knowing there is a certain pattern to their behavior would made all their lives and fight less stressful, and stress was the last thing they needed.

Their body was acting weird recently, it felt uncomfortable, heavy and tired all the time, their personality has changed as well, they always were impulsive and short tempered, but the past few days have proven that their patience was very short, to the point that when Nanaba joked that maybe they are pregnant, she barely dodged a particularly heavy book Hanji threw at her. Not that it was impossible, those hot nights with Levi might or might not had something to do with that, even if none of them would ever admit something was between them. But Hanji knew better, Nana's stupid joke didn't make them paranoid, but they actually connected the dots: it wasn't pregnancy, but upcoming period.

And obviously, obviously, this thing always comes unwanted. It seems to have this annoying ability of picking the worst timing ever, especially when you were busy. Hanji knew that very well, they lived for long enough to experience menstrual bleeding in various moments and places they neither expected it nor wanted. Super important and absorbing experiment? Check. Boring but mandatory meeting? Check. Long expedition that was supposed to gain valuable information? Check. First secret date with Levi? Of course. If Hanji only wanted and cared enough, they could make a very impressive list of all the places and moments they started bleeding out of nowhere. And they hated it with passion.

It seemed like, at this point, the only inconvenient situation when this condition hadn't started, was a battle with titans. Obviously, with Hanji's luck in this field, it was nearly undoubted that it was only a matter of time. Yet as usual, they weren't thinking about such things, when the titans attacked, they took their gear and rushed to the Wall with no hesitation. Even though they felt tired, overwhelmed, and they really didn't want to move, Hanji knew it was their duty as a soldier. So they fought, they fought with passion and rage no one ever expected from them. For the first time they didn't care about the experiments, information, any scientific knowledge, all they wanted was to defeat the titans and go to sleep.

At some point, when they slaughtered their way through another titan's neck, its steaming blood splattered onto their face, blinding them temporarily. Hanji swore under their breath, pushed the goggles up to see anything at least and headed to the wall for a quick break. Of course, titan blood evaporates eventually, but they didn't have time to wait until this happens, so they had to clean the goggles manually.

“Squad leader! Are you okay?” Moblit screamed, running in their direction, as Hanji took the goggles off their head, to properly wipe them.

“As okay as I can be in the middle of the battle, thank you” they answered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“You're bleeding, four eyes” this time Levi spoke, though his voice was perfectly calm in comparison to Moblit's.

“I don't have time to bleed. Tell me where, so I can ignore it” Hanji did their best to look at him angrily, but they couldn't even see his face, so it was a challenge.

“Your pants” he pointed out. Hanji looked down to see a pretty large crimson pool, staining their white pants. Perfect. They should have expected that. It would also explain the constant pain in their abdomen they were experiencing.

“Oh for fuck's sake, not now” they groaned. Hanji wasn't swearing often, only when they were really tired or angry. “Fuck it, I'll take care of this later.”

“Maybe you should—”

“Don't you fucking dare to tell me what I should, unless you have more experience with periods than I have, shorty!” they snapped at Levi, very efficiently making him shut up. He knew that angry Hanji was the scariest person in the world. Apparently Moblit didn't, so he opened his mouth, but Levi elbowed him in the ribs.

“Don't even try, you'll only make them angrier” he said quietly. Meanwhile Hanji finished cleaning their goggles and they could see again, so they rushed back to fight. But as they landed on a rooftop of one of the smaller buildings, they could hear another person landing behind. They knew these footsteps too well to not figure out who followed them.

“I swear, one comment and you're dead” they growled, certainly not in the mood for bickering and jokes.

“Are you in pain?” he asked, approaching his partner. Hanji could see concern in his usually cold eyes. At first they wanted to yell at him, but they knew it wasn't going to help anyone.

“Yes” they sighed, leaning against the wall of the nearby, taller building, massaging their stomach in hope of easing the cramps.

“What I was going to suggest was that maybe you should go back and take some rest. I know it's your duty to fight” he quickly added, before they could interrupt him. “But just like injured soldiers, you only cause risk for yourself and the others by not being in your best shape.”

“I'm not injured. It's nothing, I can fight” they protested. Levi stepped forward and pinned them against the wall.

“Your pain is blinding you. Don't you see? All you've been doing is flying around and slashing titans like a maniac. That's not you, Hanji” he said and they could easily tell he was scared.

“Then what do you think I'm supposed to do? Rest comfortably while my squad and friends are fighting, bleeding and dying? Guess what, I can fight and bleed and not die” they stated angrily.

“Alright, then I'm going to have to use the more drastic methods” he leaned in and kissed them. But Hanji was not having it, they pushed him away as fast as they could.

“Are you out of your mind?! Someone might see us!” they scolded him furiously.

“Let them see, I don't care. You need relief from pain. Then I'm at your service” he smirked suggestively and put his hand on their thigh. “My body is yours, all you have to do is to use it the way you desire” he offered, pointing at himself.

“Fuck you” they spat angrily, but their blush was an obvious evidence they loved this idea, just maybe not in this place and timing.

“Excellent answer, now come and do it yourself.”

“Later” they sighed defeated, knowing fully well they couldn't resist him for long. “Once we're finished here, we can discuss your generous offer” they gave him a quick kiss and used their ODM gear to get to the other side of the area. Luckily the battle was soon to be won, after that, when they took care of the wounded and dead, Hanji could finally rest. The insides of their thighs were stained with various shades of brown and red from dried and fresh blood, and their body hurt, so all they dreamed about was a bath, a massage and, oh yes, almost naked Levi waiting for them with an already prepared bath.

“Ah, finally, you decided to show up. I thought I'd have to go and drag your dirty ass here.”

“I don't deserve you” Hanji said quietly, their eyes filled with tears.

“Less talking, more undressing. There's a bucket with cold water we have to put your bloody clothes in” he approached them and started to help them get out of ODM straps, then clothes. “Why didn't you change? I imagine it must have been very uncomfortable to wear this for that long. What did I tell you about self care?” he asked while working on taking out all the straps.

“I know, I was going to, but there was so much to do and so many people to take care of, that I didn't have time to even think about myself” Hanji explained, unable to look him in the eyes, they felt like they failed him.

“You really have to learn to care about yourself, shitty glasses” Levi said, his tone was difficult to read, even though Hanji knew him so well.

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize to me. You did harm only to yourself” he said softly, kissing their neck. It tasted like sweat and dirt, which meant Hanji really needed that bath. He helped them undress completely, trying to be gentle. “Are you still in pain?”

“Yes. But I also want you so bad right now” they admitted, shamelessly staring at his chest. They were so close that they didn't even need glasses.

“Are you sure?” he asked, getting rid of his own remaining clothes. “I don't want to cause you more pain.”

“Really? That's what you care about?” Hanji raised their brow in confusion.

“What else should I?” he took a cloth, dipped it in water, kneeled for better view and started to clean all the blood on Hanji's thighs.

“Don't you think it's disgusting? And dirty?” they asked hesitantly. “Like... even more than a regular sex?”

“There's nothing that can't be cleaned later. Just like I do it now” he wiped dried blood off their skin, proving his point.

“Are you sure? I mean, cleaning is one thing, but sex?”

“Hanji... Don't make me say sappy shit” Levi sighed.

“Say it. I know you hate it, but maybe that's what I need right now” they leaned against the bathtub, to let him get a better access to their legs and crotch.

“Alright. But if you laugh, there will be consequences” he warned them. “I've heard once, that a true warrior is not afraid of a little blood on his sword, and I pretty much agree with this sentence. I don't like it, but I can handle it” he said with his eyes focused on Hanji's leg, too embarrassed to look up and meet their eyes.

“That's... disgustingly sweet.”

“Also ridiculous and pathetic.”

“Yeah. Don't do it again.”

“Don't worry, I'm not going to. But what I mean is that if you need me, I don't care about anything but your comfort” Levi stated, putting the cloth in the bucket with cold water, with Hanji's pants and underwear. He sat back on his heels and looked up, waiting for their move.

“You look really hot right now. I love to see you on your knees” they smirked, biting their bottom lip.

“Oh, I can imagine. I like to see you in this position too” he replied, there was a spark in his eyes.

“I feel almost bad I won't be able to properly use this position” Hanji lowered themself onto his lap, straddling him, then wrapped their arms around his neck. “Almost” they whispered and kissed him. Levi returned the kiss with passion, one hand entangled in their messy hair, the other caressing their buttcheek. Hanji's hand slid down his chest and perfect abs, but hesitated and only barely brushed his hardening penis. “Are you sure you want it?” they asked, looking him in the eyes.

“Yes. Now touch me, Hanji” he growled and captured their lips in another hungry kiss. The timing was perfect, just when he did it, he could feel his partner's hand on his dick, which made him moan in their mouth. He squeezed their butt in response, but that made Hanji break the kiss.

“Just be gentle, alright? My body is quite sensitive and not in the nice way. Especially my boobs, try to avoid touching them, it hurts” they asked and Levi nodded in response.

“Anything you want” he promised quietly and leaned his head on their shoulder, closing his eyes and focusing on pleasure they were giving him.

“Ass gripping is fine, besides you do it so well” Hanji purred, palming him for a while and waiting for their lover to tell them he's ready. Which he did, after a moment.

“I think that's enough. Do you want me to warm you up too?”

“Umm... no, you don't have to...”

“Hanji.”

“I...” they sighed, seeing his stare. “Yes, I do” they admitted.

“It's the first time I see you this shy and embarrassed. Even our first time wasn't this awkward” Levi noticed, his thumb found their clit almost immediately. Hanji gasped when he touched that little bundle of nerves. Period cramps made it difficult for them to actually feel the pleasure in its fullest, but their lover's magical hands were doing their job very well, making Hanji feel at least a little better.

“I wasn't bleeding during our first time. Neither I felt like shit” they explained, having difficulties with gathering their thoughts when Levi was touching them like that.

“Does it really matter that much to you? It's just some blood, no big deal” he peppered their jawline with kisses.

“We'll talk about it the next time it gets on your clothes” Hanji chuckled, but Levi pressed his hand harder, making them moan.

“Clothes are a different story. I don't happen to have any now, though” he noticed, tracing their skin with his fingers. “Besides, I don't mind getting dirty from time to time. As long as I'm with you” he confessed softly.

Hanji looked at him with these beautiful, big, brown eyes and pulled him in a passionate, breathtaking kiss, then pushed his hand away and connected their bodies by sliding themself on his cock. Both of them moaned into each other's mouth at the sensation. Levi pulled his lover closer, grabbing their thighs and ass firmly, to help them move with ease, once they were ready.

This act was quite different than their usual lovemaking, but also very familiar. Levi ignored his pleasure, focusing completely on giving all the control to Hanji. It was rare, usually the one who wanted domination had to fight for it, because both of them enjoyed being in control. Even when they felt like just leaning back and leaving most of the action to their partner, none of them liked to make it that easy. But this time he knew it was a necessity. Hanji needed relief and distraction from pain, not further discomfort, so he just had to let them do whatever they needed. It felt good for him too, so he didn't actually mind. And he obviously tried to help whenever they struggled with pace or angle. It was a quite weird, slightly uncomfortable and pretty awkward comfort sex, but no less sweet and loving than their usual intercourses. Slow pace might have felt less intense than rough and fast act, but it always allowed them to feel their bodies in a different way, to learn each other and to discover new sides of pleasure. They moved in slow, steady pace, even a little sloppy, their orgasms building up like glowing embers instead of burning flame and finally flooding them calmly like a lazy sea wave, instead of usual explosion. But they enjoyed it, that soft pleasure, so different, but still satisfying.

“You were right. I needed it” Hanji panted, hiding their face in a crook of Levi's neck.

“Do you feel better?” he asked, embracing his partner.

“Yeah. I don't feel pain for now” they answered with a small smile.

“Good. We can take a bath and go to sleep” he decided, kissing his lover's shoulder and caressing their butt and thighs. “Come on, you deserve to rest after that battle.”

“You too, captain” Hanji lazily slid off him. “That looks scary” they said, staring at his cock and lap, which were covered with their menstrual blood. Levi didn't say a word, he simply reached for the cloth he previously cleaned Hanji with and wiped himself, then his lover.

“There” he gave them a quick kiss. “Now get your pretty ass into the bathtub, or I'll throw you there myself.”

“You think I have a pretty ass?” Hanji echoed, surprised by his words.

“Of course I do, you have a lovely ass” he stood up with a little difficulty, his legs were getting numb because of this position.

“Your ass is lovely too” they smiled, standing up as well. It felt really tempting to annoy Levi further, but Hanji decided they're too tired for this and stepped into the bathtub as he told them.

After a quick bath, they both headed to Hanji's room. They tried to hide their relationship, but it was common among the veterans to seek comfort in someone else, it didn't necessarily mean they were dating. It became clear after one time, when all of them woke up in a giant pile in Erwin's room, after a particularly rough expedition. It was the day when the commander allowed to bend the rules for their all mental health. It turned out to be extremely helpful. Just when Levi and Hanji were sneaking through the hallway, they heard a scream. It was Nanaba. But before the couple could react, they heard Miche's voice and screaming stopped. She had a nightmare again and he had to calm her down, sometimes in a quite drastic way, like yelling at her first, because nothing else but shock would work, only then he could hug her, when she was aware what is real and what is not. Hanji and Levi exchanged pitying glances, on top of everything they all had been through, Nana had a terrible childhood. Levi knew exactly how she felt, he wasn't surprised she couldn't sleep well, though sharing a bed with someone else was really helpful. Usually she would come to Hanji or Moblit, but recently she started to sleep only with Miche and surprisingly, her nightmares became even less frequent and less intense. Just like Levi's insomnia eased a lot since he started to share bed with Hanji. No one questioned why or how it was working, it just was and everyone simply accepted it.

Finally they reached the room and crawled into the bed. Or at least they tried. Hanji just groaned as they collapsed ungracefully onto the mattress, too exhausted to even cover themself with a blanket. Levi had to do it for them, as he placed himself behind their back, to massage their stomach.

“You're the best, Levi” they whispered. “I don't know what would I do without you.”

“Go to sleep, Hanji” he kissed their neck and nestled himself comfortably. He didn't have to tell them twice, they dozed off a moment later. Levi looked at them for a while, before closing his own eyes. He hated to see them in pain, but he was slightly happier, knowing he could help them even a little.

[thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness]

The Freedom of Expression #4   18th March (Notes/Translation)

“The survival of the band….it may be exaggerated to say ‘the survival’.... but these will be difficult times...”

Appearance:

 Kaoru (DIR EN GREY direngrey.co.jp/)

 Joe Yokomizo (Writer / DJ)

 Tasai Reporter (Tokyo Sports)

 God ?

You can watch the program here  You can find other translation of The Freedom of Expression here

Notes before reading: This is the 4th program of The Freedom of Expression, uploaded on Wednesday 18th.  Today’s topic is Corona virus and it was recorded on 10th March. Not much context is needed as at this point, we are all familiar with it and are aware of the effects it is causing around the world.  In this program, they are going to talk about Corona virus and how it is affecting Entertainment industry in general and how it is affecting Dir en grey tour schedule itself.

Please don’t forget to subscribe to their channel and watch their actual video to support the program.

Feel free to correct me if you spot any mistake or any confusing parts as they are talking so casually and relaxed that it’s hard to get some parts.  As 5th program is like a sequel of this one, I will  upload soon  before doing any other. --- Kaoru: Hello, this is Kaoru from Dir en grey…The Freedom of Expression is starting today too! Joe-san…. Tasai-san…. Joe: Yes, hello everyone…. Kaoru: This time too…. Tasai: Yes, hello… Kaoru:  And now… it’s really… Joe: Yeah…for real… Kaoru: It has become a terrible thing… Joe: It’s terrible….in the media it seems like that… when you meet people from the industry like us, the talks are about “how are you dealing with the effects of Corona?”, right? Kaoru: That’s true… Joe: Although the days are passing, there is no day without having this conversation…. Kaoru: What about Tokyo Sports? Tasai: Well, almost all the news are about Corona virus… Joe: Just as I thought… Kaoru: Well, it’s like that in almost every other media, right? Tasai: Now, it feels like 80-90% is about Corona…. Entertainment events are getting cancelled one after another….so it feels like places to go for coverage are gone…. Kaoru: Ah, that’s true… Joe:  Is there any way to cut the news about Corona for Tokyo Sports? Tasai: The truth is, a lot of news about Corona are coming out…. like for example these ones…. *he check some papers on the table* Fraud commercial laws, “the virus lies in the sewer”, others about taking money, young entertainers not having any performances, so they are making zero money, the problem of people reselling masks, There are lots of news like this coming out…. Joe: This is a very difficult problem…. God: Hello? Hello? Joe: Ah, someone came…. God: Hello? Hello? Joe: God came… God: Well…When you write articles about Corona, does it sell well? Tasai: Well…. when it comes to selling…. it’s difficult to say. As the economic activities seem to be stagnant, when it comes to selling, I guess it will compensate the minus. It might feel like maintaining the status quo. God: Ah… Kaoru: It’s because you want information, right? Tasai: That’s it. Kaoru: That’s it. Somehow some information…. (cut) There is a lot of information that incites anxiety… Joe: That’s true. There is a lot…...I really think that. Kaoru: Of course, taking precautions….or to encourage to do so… or it’s dangerous to go like this…I don’t know.... but, I want to know that kind of things because I think they are important….or things like the (number) of people who are getting well is raising… Tasai: For sure… Kaoru: That there is nothing like that, it’s a bit….it just make you be scared… Joe: For real… For me, in a way it’s related to work…. for example, I met with newspaper’s reporters related to science and they told me they have been interviewing experts. By the way, nowadays, the coverage is done in a such a  tabloids way  style…..how many people got infected…that there is no toilet paper….I’m just saying that those things fuels anxiety…In fact, from the point of view of a doctor…they are not reporting with composure to what extend there is a threat… *Then he proceeds to talk about Corona virus facts* Joe: Firs of all, Corona virus is a type of virus that infects all kinds of animals. From this group of viruses, there are 7 types that can infect humans, one of them it’s the current Corona Virus. There are other types such as SARS and MERS, so the Corona virus itself has always been around…this one from these 7 types is a new one whose shape  is similar to a Corona, that’s why it always has been called “Corona virus”. Certainly, the fear towards this virus is comparable to SARS or MERS, but if you calmly look down at it, the mortality rate is not that high. At this moment, it is true that around the world there are people infected and some of them are seriously ill but, there isn’t a terrible amount of deaths…For example, there was a new type of influenza epidemic in 2009 in Japan. In this one, for example, more than 10 million people got infected. So, about this new Corona virus…to that extend, when you think about a situation that not the infected people are being reported but the only thing that it’s being reported now is clearly news that make everyone panic.  This is how I see it…If you overlook this news, as there is little information from a scientific point of view, it feels like the reports tend to “dance” for agitation. Surprisingly, when I met a science reporter, they are like “Aren’t they making a fuss?” There are actually many reporters that are doing it calmly. Because you are rightfully scared isn’t it? But there are many reporters overdoing the feelings of fear. God: Well…It’s excessive…. Too much…it’s said that Corona beer is hardly selling… Joe: It’s a different Corona isn’t it? (laughs) God: It’s a different thing but it seems that it’s not selling well…. Joe: Ah, is that so? God: I think they are like “I hate drinking Corona beer”, due to the current mood. Tasai: It suits well Mexican food…. Corona beer… Joe: By the way, Does God like Corona beer? God: I don’t really know (laughs) Everyone laughs. Joe: He really doesn’t know right?

Tasai: I asked a friend who is a doctor, and the most preventive things are to wash your hands and gargling. These are the cheapest methods in terms of cost…. just to wash your hands without hesitation and gargle…

Kaoru: This year, it seems that influenza (cases) are at its lowest.…

Joe: That’s true. That’s because everyone is strictly washing their hands and gargling…. when it comes to masks, WHO already said it but, they don’t necessarily prevent infection, on the contrary, people who are sick don’t transmit the bacteria. Although it might a protection thing, just because you are wearing a mask it doesn’t mean you won’t be infected. This extraordinary buying of them…what about that?

Tasai: Then, Hirabane Monster* is like “I never have caught a cold since I was born!” *Hirobane Monster was mentioned in program #1

Joe: That’s probably because he is an idiot, right? (laughs)

Kaoru laughs

Joe: Because he is an idiot (laughs)

Tasai: He said that’s why it’s ok to not wear a mask…

Joe burst into laughs, Kaoru joins seconds later (6:50, the way he laughs) lol

Tasai: As this is something important…. this way of thinking….

Kaoru: Surely

Joe starts talking about the lives being cancelled and then asks Kaoru about it. Kaoru replies that live houses are now a bad “thing” (In venues, there are a lot of people crowded, which helps the virus to spread) Joe replies that other places are like that too and he mentions Yamanote line and the subway itself as well as parties and those places are still ok. It seems asthere were some cases reported after a concert, the measures were taken against live houses. Joe says this is “such a Japanese thing” to be done, as one thing happened, they applied it to all the rest. Kaoru: Now, at the time of recording this, we still don’t know if we should do something or not… (about Dir’s tour) Even if we do something about or not, as expected, there are some lives that will be reassigned… Tasai: I see… Kaoru: If you think a bit about this, it’s scary right? What’s the best thing to do? Joe: That’s true… something like this…. it’s not a problem that only musicians have to think about… Kaoru: it is not, right? Tasai: That’s true Joe: In the sports world…. the Japanese league (football) and baseball professionals league…Those two (tops) talked to each other, trying to find a solution. It is said that their relationship is like cats and dogs, but sometimes these two genres (of sports) cross and talk to each other. In that aspect, it’s not just music but includes all kinds of entertainment. This time, they have to think about 2 or 3 possible scenarios…. they have to think about a strategy. Tasai: I don’t know about this but, if a live is cancelled, who bears the costs of it? Kaoru: We pay for it… Joe: The organizer… Kaoru: It’s the organizer, right? Tasai: I see. Joe: Most one-man tours are organized by the artist. So that must be covered by the artist. As it is done that way, when you especially play in a big venue, the venue fee is very expensive. Of course, there are other cost besides the venue, in some cases you make stage-sets. Those make the cost go up really fast. If it is a big venue, like a dome or such, it can cost millions of yens. These costs go by the artist. When it’s a tour, as there are many places, it can end in the bankruptcy of privately-owned companies. It’s really a terrible problem. Tokyo Jihen did several lives and got a lot of criticism for it…should people be that angry at them because they did the concerts? Kaoru: Well, I understand the feelings of that people but, even if you go and decide to do a live or an event, the damage is going to be high.  I think people will hesitate about buying a ticket or not and with that happening, it feels really hard for us. Joe: That’s true… Kaoru: That’s how it looks right? Somehow, it feels like you are going in the wrong direction…. Joe: I see, even if the bans are just suddenly lifted, it’s hard to imagine people coming back to the venues the next day… Kaoru: After all, it’s going to be difficult to go again… Joe: For sure! Tasai: After  these things done for prevention, we must think about everyone… Kaoru: Yes, yes…. that’s it. God: If the tour and other things are skipped…. How many tours do you do? Kaoru: We do about two per year in Japan…. God: So, if one of those two tours is gone, the incoming money you would be getting… it would be the half of it? Kaoru: It would be the half……(sudden cut) Joe: It’s not the half of it, because you would be dealing with losses….you can’t easily say how it is going to be.... Kaoru: Or just foccuss in the  money…of course, that’s about it too… Joe: It’s a very difficult problem…. God: For example, if there is a big loss (of income), what would happen to the band? Kaoru: I think it will be hard….it would probably be hard….we are living in a time where the sales of cds or other sound sources are decreasing…doing lives… the sales of some things are related to them too and as expected those sales seem to be decreasing too….if all that is gone….the survival of the band….it may be exaggerated to say “the survival” but it is going to be hard…. Joe: I think it’s going to be a tough time but, there is no government actions against that… Kaoru: There is nothing like that right now….well, at this point, we should be moving into the next part...Today’s program came out a bit of a sudden*, so here it’s the first part....until the next part....please subscribe to the channel. Everyone: Thank you for watching.... *This program was uploaded on a wednesday instead of its regular schedule on Fridays, second part was uploaded on Friday 20th, being a continuation of this program.

[daraanna]

Broken promise part 3/3

She ran through the training fields, trying to get as far as possible from the village gates. Her behaviour was not rational, she shouldn’t react this way, and yet at the sight of her friend her emotions got out of control again. She should be happy to see him safe and sound and she was. The problem was, along with the feeling of relief, that everything was fine, anger and a sense of hurt appeared, as well as a lot of other emotions which she couldn’t  name.

"Is everything okay?" A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. She stopped running just before she collided  the black-haired man who appeared in front of her. How distracted she would have to be to not feel his chakra.

"Yes ... Uh ... I was running for training," she said, meeting her dad's incredulous eyes. It was a really poor excuse considering her office clothes. Not to mention high heels “ Just a tough day ... That's it.”

“Hn. Good to see you. You grew up ...” he answered without looking away from her. He knew something was wrong. However, he didn't want to push it. It was up to her to decide what she wanted to tell him.

“Mom should finish work in an hour.”

"Ah." There was silence again. ‘I missed you’ left never spoken by anyone. However, none of them was good at stating the obvious things. No matter how important they were.

She couldn't help but giggle. Her father raised one eyebrow in surprise.

"Let’s go home, maybe we can cook something before she returns," she said, heading in direction of their house. Sasuke followed her. Embarrassing silence became comfortable and normal again.

............................................................... The next day after his return, he spend for rest. So, when he finally decided to drag himself out of bed, his father had been at work a long time ago, and his mother was cooking dinner. Coming to the kitchen, he greeted her briefly and wandered into the fridge.

"There's some breakfast left to heat you up for you" Hinata said, looking at her son. These three years changed him a lot. He was already taller than her, he looked much more mature, from a boy he became a young adult.

"Thanks mom” he replied, preparing the pans, but when she saw how he struggled with it, she decided to help him. Maybe some things don't change at all.

“Wooo mom is so good! “ Uzumaki shouted after the first bite ”I missed your cooking...”

She couldn't help smiling.

At this moment Himawari entered the living room clearly not in a good mood. She was all wet and shivering with cold, only covered with Kawaki's .

"What was she thinking?!" They heard a fragment of conversation between newcomers.

"What happened?" asked blue-eyed boy from above breakfast.

“My sensei came up with the brilliant idea of ​​sparring in the middle of a fucking lake! Chakra control training my ass!”

"Himawari!" Her mother reprimand her. Boruto, on the other hand, was shocked to hear such words from the lips of his lovely sister.

"I still thank for your coat," younger Uzumaki sighed, looking at Kawaki who enters the room after her .

"You are welcome, the most important thing is that you don't catch a cold," the boy replied. Himawari hearing his words smiled and kissed his cheek making him blush. Then she ran to her room to change.

Boruto looking at their interactions raised an eyebrow in amazement. Their behaviour was strange ...

Kawaki still flushed sat down at the table.

"Speaking of sparring ... It would be good to check the progress after 3 years, what do you say?"

"Sounds good, but not today ... I should have time on Thursday," answered the black-haired man with a smirk. Despite the fact that Uzumaki felt offended by his answer, he decided to leave it, because on Thursday he will rip that smirk off his face.

................................................................. The fight lasted probably an hour and a half before he managed to defeat Kawaki. It  was intense, they both were exhausted and the training field was devastated. After all, he had to admit that he was impressed of the level presented by his brother at many times he doubted his victory, and when they used karma, he sometimes began to fear for his own health. Despite the fact that they both gave their best, neither of them had lose their control over the seal.

"I won!" he shouted panting, sitting next to the opponent.

“You were lucky, besides, I was getting worse ...”sighed the black-haired man, combing his hand with his mohawk ”We'll see how you will manage in the rematch!”

"Be careful about your  wishes" the blond replied, grinning, "I missed our sparings" he added after a moment.

"Without you village was unbearably calm" answered his brother. "A lot has changed too ..."

They sat in silence for a while.

"How was your conversation with Sarada?" Kawaki finally asked.

“Huh? Actually, I haven't seen her since returning to the village" he answered thoughtfully. "Is it true that they were promoted to Jounin?”

"It's been a week since you came back and you still haven't talked to her?" His sudden reaction shocked Boruto.

“What do you mean!?”

"You're just worthy each other" sighed the black-haired boy getting up from the ground and dusting off his pants.

“Oi! Answer me”

“You really didn't get the idea to talk with her after the way you two split up before your trip?”

Blue-eyed looked at his friend confused. Seeing this, Kawaki headed towards the city.

“ That’s waste of my time”

............................................................... Sarada was sitting on her favourite branch eating onigiri prepared by her mother. Of course, because her dad is back home, it was stuffed with tomato. Still, it didn't bother her. Team 3 slowly began to developed great teamwork. Although it was mainly due to aversion to her strange training methods, it was the best proof that these methods work. The problem was that since her childhood friend returned to the village, her concentration had worsened. Days passed, and she was still not able to sort out the emotions stirring in her. She felt hurt, and the fact that Boruto didn't seem to want to meet her made her doubt that their friendship meant anything to him. She was so thoughtful that she didn't sense his chakra before it was too late.

........................................

Kawaki's words did not give him peace for a long time. Before leaving the village, he invited Sarada to spar to tell her about his trip, he also gave her his necklace. Just thinking about it made him blush slightly. He did not plan this, however, spontaneously decided to leave her something. Despite this the next day, the black-haired girl had something urgent to do and did not come to say goodbye to him. The whole story. However, the next days passed and he still did not see his childhood friend. When they were members of the seventh team, he repeatedly saw her completely by accident on the streets of the village, and now even looking for her, he could not find her. It was a strange feeling, but Konoha without Sarada seemed empty. Today he decided that he would not let go until he solved this problem. After three hours of wandering the streets, he was about to give up when he felt her chakra when he was passing by training fields. The signal was barely perceptible and intermittent, but there was no mistake. He walked towards her, reaching the edge of the village to a wooded area not specially adapted for training, but it could be seen where the traces of the Kunas or ninjutsu were used. Black-haired girl was sitting on a tree branch holding a bento in her hands, her eyes focused on him.

"Hey ..." he greeted. Uchiha did not take his eyes from him, just put the food container aside.

"Hey," she answered, when he climbed onto the branch and crouched next to her. "What do you want?"

It wasn't the reaction he expected, for a moment he didn't know what to do.

"We haven't seen each other for a long time ..."

“Tch. Did you come here just to tell me that?”

"What wrong with you?!" He asked irritated, raising his voice more than he intended. He couldn’t understand his friend's behaviour.

Sarada felt rage rising in her. This is not how she imagined this meeting. The worst thing was that the boy acted as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't left her, their team for three years, without being kind to even let her know. The whole village knew it! Shikamaru and Team 5 even organized him a farewell party. After so much time she still felt betrayed, hurt ... But it was much easier to replace it with rage.

“What wrong with me? Maybe you'd better think about yourself? Suddenly you remembered about me!?”

Boruto looked at her in ever greater consternation. The girl was pissed at him, but he did not remember him doing something stupid since he returned to the village. Trying a gentler approach, he touched her shoulder. However, the girl quickly pulled his hand away.

"Leave me alone!" She shouted.

"What about spar?" He asked, since they can't easily handle it, maybe the fight will help get rid of negative emotions.

"You don't want to fight me" she snorted, turning away from him. "Just walk away!"

“Of course I want to! You owe me a rematch!” For a long time she looked him straight in the eye and he was sure that if look could kill he would be dead long ago.

"Fine!" She shouted, hopping off the tree. "But don't whine that I won again."

“Don't be so sure of yourself. I trained with the best, there is no way for me to lose!“ he smiled standing in front of her.

"Any rules?" She asked unbuttoning her red coat. So it was hard to focus on the question she was asking right now. Uchiha was wearing a black sleeveless turtleneck and leggings of the same color separated by a wide white belt with tools attached. The outfit was elastic, perfect for fighting or training. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it adhered exactly to her body curves, perfectly emphasizing her figure. Much more rounded than it three years ago. He swallowed hard. This is not something should now think and certainly not about Sarada ...

“ Boruto ?!”

"Um ... no scientific ninja tools, we're fighting till someone lose consciousness or surrender of the opponent," he answered when he heard her irritated voice.

"Okay," she agreed, pulling the belt and the device from her right hand aside. The blond man got rid of his chakra sword.

They gazed at each other for couple seconds. Uzumaki attacked first, the girl responded quickly with counterattack. They started by exchanging taijutsu blows. After three years, Uchiha became much faster, she didn't even need Sharingan to avoid his blows. However, he was faster, not allowing her to attack him. Seeing this, the black-haired woman hopped away from him, throwing kunais at him, from which he shielded himself using Kusanagi borrowed from master Sasuke. Moments later he was again on the attack, using purple-lighting jutsu on the sword, he attacked, cutting through the kunai that Sarada used to block, but to his surprise, moments later his blade stopped. Black-eyed has parried his attack creating a small scalpel with a chakra on her index and middle finger. Despite its small size, the blade was filled with chakra much more intensely than those used by medical ninja.

"A really bad choice of weapon for an opponent," she sighed as, to his surprise, her jutsu chipped his katana. Before he could react, Uchiha used the chidorii, which, passing her scalpel on his Kusanagi, struck him by throwing him five meters back. The sword he used was created to interact with the master Sasuke chakra, so the chidorii was better transmitted through the steel of the katana than his jutsu. As soon as he landed on the ground Sarada was already here, using clones he managed to distract her and hide in the crown of the nearest tree. Deprived of the weapon he had learned to use over the past two years, he needed some time to devise a new strategy. Uchiha stood in the middle of the field thinking about using katana, which was now in her hands. She knew the basics of Kenjutsu, but it did not match her fighting style, and she did not want to damage the tool that meant so much to her dad. She decided to put them aside, hoping that Boruto would come out of hiding trying to get them back. The moment she did it, three kunais flew towards her, which she easily avoided. She was about to use the fireball technique on the tree from which he attacked, when two blades flew towards her from another place. Both these and previous ones had wire attached to them. The next kunai flew towards her creating a certain pattern. Seeing this, she threw shurikens to change their track. Moments later, the boy attacked once again starting taijutsu battle.

"Is it really irritating you so much that I went on a journey with your father? You could have said something earlier" Uzumaki shouted, parrying more blows. Her fighting style has changed a lot from the one he remembered. So far, she has never used her strength against him, but what confused him most was the fact that she never once activated her sharingan.

“When? You didn’t even have time to tell me you were leaving!”

Her words beat him out of tune.

"I didn’t?" He asked, but because of his lack of concentration he didn’t avoid punch measured directly into his chest, which sent him straight into his own trap made of kunais and ropes. Lines entangled him, preventing him from moving. The impact was so strong that it broke him a few ribs, making his breathing difficult.

Sarada stopped motionless for a moment, looking up at what had happened. She was convinced that the boy had time to avoid it, in addition, provoked by his words, she used more force than she should. However, her worry turned into horror when Karma on his hand began to grow to the limit when a horn appeared on his head.

Boruto felt like he was losing consciousness, apparently the impact was stronger than he had expected. In addition, he felt a familiar tingling in his hand as Momoshiki's chakra began to flood him. His fractures healed, but his consciousness began to flow. He couldn't afford to lose control, certainly not in the middle of the village. To his surprise, a strong push pulled him out of the trance. Sarada grabbed his wrist and a moment later he felt a painful injection of a huge amount of chakra. Moving his eyes to the girl, he saw black patterns covering her body, they resembled his karma pattern, but they were more regular and covered her skin symmetrically. Instinctively, he pushed her away, trying to free himself from uncomfortable feeling, and to his surprise he noticed that the patterns on his body disappeared completely, and the diamond on his hand was secured with something like a seal. Before he could react, he heard a sound like the twittering of a bird. Uchiha stood maybe 20 meters from him with the chidori in her right hand. At this stage, both of them were already at a low chakra level, probably this will be the last attack of this duel. Despite the current pain, he performed rasengan. They ran opposite each other, but before their jutsu collided Sarada grabbed his right hand with her left by the wrist and knocked him off directing his rasengana to the ground and him to the floor. Moments later, he felt her weight on him. Again he was nailed to the ground, her chidori detained just two centimeters from his neck, so that he felt his hair stand as a result of electricity.

"I give up" he said, getting the sand out of his mouth.

The twittering stopped and the girl got up from his back. Slightly wavering because of small amount of chakra, he stood up, turning to look at her.

“I-I told you...” Black-haired girl started, but before she finished the sentence, she lost her balance turning over into Uzumaki’s chest sending them both back to the ground. She definitely overdid the consumption of chakra she was barely able to maintain consciousness. Boruto was definitely in better shape, he was still able to maintain a seated position and to hold her now leaning against his torso. She should move away from him, but she didn't have the strength to keep be mad at him. Even worse, she didn't even want it. For the first time in 3 years everything was fine. She felt safe.

"I was sure I told you ... Then during the sparring" his voice made her tremble. “I’m sorry”

She still felt hurt, but she seemed pointless to her further grudge.

"I'm sorry too ... I overreacted a bit ..." she replied sighing. Still, she couldn't look him in the eye. All this time she blamed him for everything bad that had happened in her life in his absence. It was only now that she understood that her behavior was absurd. She understood that she really missed her friend all this time. Embracing him in the neck, she snuggled into him.

"I missed you," he said, gently stroking her back. She felt her tears welling up. She said nothing but squeezed him harder.

“How did you manage to keep up with me without activating Sharingan? “ Boruto broke the silence.

“ I put you under genjutsu so you couldn’t see when I activated it.”

“What!? It's a cheating! ” He shouted, making a face that made the girl laugh.

"There was no rule about using genjutsu ..." she replied, but he heard her laugh, his heart beat faster, he was not able to be angry with her anymore.

"Okay, what have you done to me here?" The boy asked looking at his hand. He still felt a tingling sensation in it, but the seal around his karma was gone.

“This is the technique we developed, me, Kawaki and Sumire. It allows you to stop the spreading of karma for a while, but to use it you must have a byakugo seal“ she said and revealed a small diamond seal located on her breastbone.

The boy turned his gaze on her neckline.

"Nice place," he replied grinning. Uchiha immediately blushed.

"Uh ... It's not like that ... Sharnigan took too much chakra from me, I was not able to accumulate them in the frontal sinus, so close my eyes ..." She said embarrassed.

"Oh," something else caught his eye at the moment. A silver chain that he noticed on her neck. When he gently pulled him, he saw a screw-shaped pendant. The same one he wore in his childhood and same that he gave her before leaving. Sarada was silent for a moment.

"I missed you too," she admitted, looking into his eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere anymore," he replied. Their faces were separated by a small distance, which was slowly getting smaller. Black-haired girl looked at the boy's lips, then moments later again look into his blue iris. Her heart was still pounding, and there was a thought in her head to kiss him. At the same time, she felt fear. They haven't seen each other for so long, and they were friends. Friends are not kissing! However, her race of thoughts was interrupted when she felt the touch of Boruto's lips on hers. It was a gentle kiss, a bit clumsy. Despite this, as soon as he moved a little away from her, she drew him closer to her deepening their kiss. They continued it until they were out of breath.

Young Uzumaki was confused. It wasn't something he expected, but he didn't regret the kiss. Judging by her smile, Sarada too. It was a new yet undefined thing in their relationship. But now they will have a lot of time to rediscover their bond.

                             ............... Filler Bonus ..............

* Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Hinata hidden in the bushes watching the battle of Boruto and Sarada * Hinata: I can't believe it happened ... Sakura * looking at Sasuka and Naruto* I swear If they gonna amputate their arms you will feel my anger! Naruto: It's not our fault! Sakura: It's your genes that are responsible for this! Sasuke: Tch. Naruto: Hinata help ;-; Hinata: I'm sorry darling, but it's true ... Sasuke: It wouldn't happen if your son wasn't an idiot. Naruto: It's not my son's fault! You know how it is between rivals! Sakura & Hinata: Rivals ... riiiiiiiiiight ... * Boruto and Sarada Rasengan vs Chidorii scene * Naruto: I can't look at it! * Sarada turns over Boruto * Sasuke: ... Naruto: ... Sasuke: I never thought  about it... Sakura: This is my daughter Shanarooo! Hinata: They are talking now... Looks like it's the end of drama. Naruto: Yes, we can probably come back home. * Boruto and Sarada are kissing * Naruto: ... Sasuke: ... Naruto: ... Sasuke: !!! Sakura: Awwww ... Hinata it is happening! Hinata: Yes, we can go back to organizing the wedding! Sakura: We will be family! Sasuke: * dark aura * Not if I kill him ... Naruto: SASKEEEEEEE NOOOOOO!

...........................................................................................

Oh holy Kaguya... It is finally over! It took me so long to write it. And honestly the end result is completely different from my initial plan (for example at the beginning they were about to start make out in the middle of theirs fightXD) But I hope you will like it anyway :) 

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story, Chapter 3, deadly life (Part 7)

Note of the author: ... Damn this Deadly life is long. I know there were two deaths but still.

Chapter 3: What is beyond humans’ control - Deadly life

...

“Huh?” the girl blinked.

“I said...” Rantaro gripped his podium. “How do you know what a curare is?”

Shuichi was confused. What’s a ‘curare’ anyway?

“Um... I think I heard it once but don’t remember who said it...” she replied, tapping her cheek.

“... That’s a lie and you know it.” Rantaro became more and more nervous. “I never mentioned anything about curares. I never even said the word, and I don’t think anyone here knows what it even means.”

He turned to the rest of them to see if he was right.

And he was, since everyone glanced at each other to see if anyone knew.

“I mean, I do know but...” Tsumugi pondered. “I don’t remember mentioning it, but I could be wrong, since the past few days have been erased from my memory.”

“Still...” Rantaro turned back to the craftswoman. “Curare is the scientific name for what I described as ‘paralyzing product’ so that everyone would understand.”

“But you couldn’t have known that unless you read the label on the bottle.”

“I... Think I do remember now! I did see it when I checked the shelves in your lab once because I was looking for painkillers! But that was even before the disease!” she joyfully replied.

This looked incredibly suspicious anyway. And Rantaro seemed very skeptic.

“... Supposing this is true...” he turned to the rest of them. “This is the first and last time I want someone rummaging through painkillers. I want to be here if any of you want some painkillers, since I know it’s easy to take the wrong doses.”

... First time? Didn’t Kaito...

No, now wasn’t the time.

He nodded. The rest of the group agreed as well.

“I still have trouble believing you, Angie.” Tsumugi narrowed her eyes.

Ryoma sighed. “We said we would solve the murder, then accuse people. However...”

He turned to the girl. “We still have a suspect list with some of you more suspicious than others, and that includes you, Angie.”

She joyfully nodded. “I’m not the killer~ But we can continue the trial if you wish to!”

Shuichi didn’t know her that much, but that still looked strange.

Kokichi seemed to have an eye on her, but he didn’t look mad at her... For some reason.

What is he even thinking?

“There’s something that has been bothering me ever since I- no. Since we discovered it.” Kirumi glanced at the violinist.

Something they both discovered? Ah, is it...

“... You mean the missing plants in the shrine?” he perked up.

“The what now?” Miu was confused.

“Some bushes were missing in the shrine.” Kirumi explained. “We left it for a few minutes with Rantaro because Monokuma asked us to at the end of the investigation, and when we came back I’m positive they were replaced.”

Kiyo and Ryoma nodded to each other. “That’s what we noticed as well.”

“But what’s that supposed to mean?” Kaito frowned.

“Did any of you find the missing plants anyway?” Tsumugi asked the autopsy trio.

They glanced at each other to confirm that no, they didn’t.

“Does any of you have an idea on what they could have been used for?” Kiyo questioned.

Something they could have used the plants for...

The bushes, and not the flowers.

Perhaps for something that was worth taking off the bushes, yet not the flowers...

And for some reason the bushes disappeared without a trace.

It hit him.

“Did the killer... Burn them? That’s the only explanation I can find...” he suggested.

“Wouldn’t they have taken the flowers with it?” Kaito asked.

Tsumugi shook her head. “No. Flowers are not as flammable as bushes, so I can see where Shuichi comes from, and that’s the most plausible theory.”

“But to burn bushes? What’s the point?” Miu argued.

“My guess would be that they had something else to burn.” Kirumi said.

Something else to burn...

“What about the labels on the bottles? We didn’t find a single one of them in the shrine, but...” he trailed off. “Why would they burn the labels? We know which bottles are missing...”

“I think this has to do with which bottles we would find liquid around.” Rantaro answered. “So we couldn’t identify which ones were used then thrown, and which ones were thrown without being used.”

So this had to do with an already solved mystery.

“Perhaps there is something else we can add to the things they burned.” Kiyo declared. He turned to the medic. “Rantaro, you did the autopsy in its entirety, right?”

He hummed. “Yes, and I’ve given every information I found.”

“Was there a trace of a letter Himiko may have received inviting her to the shrine?”

Rantaro’s eyes widened in realization. “Now that I think about it, no. I didn’t find anything on her.”

“Then we can say that the letter burned with the labels and the bushes.” the therapist concluded.

“So the killer just used the bushes as a way to make fire?” Miu scratched her neck.

“Not just to make fire.” Tsumugi corrected. “To make a fire strong enough to burn both the letter and every single piece of label on the bottles.”

“Let’s not forget the fabric used as a bag.” Kirumi added.

“However there’s a huge contradiction with this entire theory.” Ryoma countered. “You see, I think I know enough by now considering how much time I spent in the warehouse and...”

“There isn’t a single lighter in this academy.”

Shuichi blinked. If there wasn’t any lighter, then there couldn’t have been any fire.

But that theory felt so right...

“You mean like, no way to burn stuff?” Kaito turned to him.

“Nope. Even the monomono machine doesn’t give anything like that, from what I’ve tested.”

Angie pondered. “That’s weird, I swear I have seen fire somewhere...”

She thought for a moment. “There were candles in the rooms of the fourth floor, right?”

That was... Right, actually. When they visited the rooms after they opened, and when they installed furniture for the ill ones.

“Yes, but we blew on them each night so the others could sleep.” Rantaro defended himself, knowing the accusations would be against him.

“Each night? What is that supposed to mean?” Tsumugi raised an eyebrow.

Shuichi forgot for a moment she didn’t remember the last few days.

“Monokuma relighted them each time, for some reason.” the medic replied.

“I remember waking up in a dark room this morning. They were extinguished.” Ryoma testified.

Tsumugi nodded. “I can confirm this.”

Shuichi barely heard Kokichi humming as he nodded, too.

"I went one last time in the rooms before actually eating my meal. You three asked me to turn off the lights, and so I did.” the medic explained.

He frowned. “I didn’t think much of it since you asked me the same the day before, but I should have guessed something was wrong.”

Shuichi could see Tsumugi glancing at Kokichi- the only one in the ill students group who remembered the last few days, to see if he reacted to a potential lie.

From his expression that wasn’t the case.

“But then how are you supposed to burn things without any sort of lighter?” Kaito questioned.

Either the theory was wrong, or they were missing something.

Think.

"Perhaps there wasn’t any fire in the first place?” Kiyo pondered.

Wait, what if...

“Rantaro, didn’t you show us a burned wooden stake?”

Kirumi nodded. “I remember now. There was a partially burned wooden stake on the crime scene.”

“Which means there was a fire after all.” Rantaro confirmed.

“But where does that get us? The thing was partially burned, right? There were no trace of burning anywhere else!” Miu exclaimed.

“But there has to be a way this burn mark was made.” Tsumugi declared.

A way to make fire with a wooden stake...

It hit him.

There was only one person who could have been able to do so.

“Angie...” Shuichi hesitantly turned to her. “You know how to make fire with wood, right?��

The girl innocently tilted her head to the side. “Hm?”

“Yes. You told me about your experiences on your island and told me that was one of the basic things to learn as an artisan.” Kiyo agreed.

“Oh... Did I say that?” she put a finger on her cheek.

Kiyo looked nervous, yet confident in his voice. “Yes Angie. You did.”

All eyes were on her now. her podium emitted a red light and went forward.

“Angie... You’re the culprit aren’t you?” Shuichi narrowed his eyes at her.

Upon a quick glance, Kokichi was still unreadable. It was like he wasn’t even caring about the situation and paying close attention at the same time.

"...”

The girl was silent.

Everyone was waiting an answer.

“... I was in my lab yesterday until 8:00 PM. I never moved from there, actually~”

“Angie.” Rantaro stared at her. “We need an answer. You’re the only one who could have done this.”

“Answer my question then!~” she span around to turn to the medic. “Did any of you see me leaving my lab and temper with the meals?”

The others glanced at each other, hoping to find an answer.

But nobody said anything.

“See? If I did so, one of you would have noticed me. However, since we’re talking about ‘fire’...”

She turned back to Kirumi.

“You’re a mercenary, right? You should have plenty of firearms to help you in your lab~”

“I never use firearms." she countered. “I only use knives and poisons. Nothing in my lab could have done anything of the sort.”

“Can we be sure?” Kaito hesitantly asked.

“I’ve looked at your profiles, several times actually.” Tsumugi argued. “And I remember seeing on Kirumi’s profile that she dislikes firearms. I doubt Monokuma would come up with a lie to defend one of us.”

“Besides...” Ryoma added. “Firearms is only the name. Unless you had gasoline you couldn’t have created fire. And it would have been way too loud to be an effective method.”

Shuichi stared at the craftswoman, hands strongly gripping the podium. “You’re the only one, Angie.”

“I still don’t have the answer to my previous question~” she wasn’t phased at all.

“None of you saw me put soporifics in the meals. And everyone can make fire if they try, it just takes some time~”

“No one saw you, it’s true.” Tsumugi glared at her, one hand placed on her podium. “But you are the only one who could have committed the murder, and that’s all that matters.”

Shuichi thought about the day Angie’s lab opened. Angie had specifically said that she could use all the tools with great skill.

That included the axe.

He felt a chill down his spine. Even though some of them were strong physically, it was an expert who used such a powerful tool on Himiko.

“It’s not like it matters anymore.” the prodigy continued. “Let’s just get to voting time already. The blackened is decided.”

“No they’re not!!!”

Kokichi slammed his hands on the table, startling Shuichi.

“I told you all! There is one blackened here and it’s me!” he put a hand on his chest, as if it would strengthen his argument.

“Kokichi-”

“Even if- Even if any of you really killed Himiko there is one person here who deserves to die, it’s me!” he yelled.

Convincing Kokichi was going to be a hard task.

“Besides, there’s not enough proof to tell it’s Angie! She never left her lab yesterday, you guys must have seen it on your monopads!”

Shuichi blinked. This was how he knew she was in her lab.

But what if...

“I’m the only blackened here! Just vote for me already!”

The violinist took a deep breath.

He has to convince him.

That he isn’t the blackened and Angie is.

It’s almost over. He has to.

Argument armament start!

“She isn’t the blackened, I am!”

                               “There’s one person

                                                              who deserves punishment,

                                                                                   it’s me!”

                                        “I am the blackened!”

                                                       “You don’t have enough proof

                 she is the blackened!”

                                                 “She doesn’t deserve to be punished!”

                                    “Just vote for me already!”

“It’s still my karma

                                      that is responsible

                                                                         for Himiko’s death!”

                 “The killer is just a small part!”

                                         “I am the culprit here!”

                                                        “I’m responsible for her death!”

             “I am the one you

                                                     have to execute!”

                                “You made so many theories incriminating her...”

“But Angie never left her lab, you should have seen it on your monopads!”

                       Mono     pads     tracking     function

“The monopads...” Shuichi muttered.

“The monopads don’t track people, they track the other monopads!” he exclaimed. 

Tsumugi bit her nail. “ Angie just left it in her lab so she could form an alibi...”

Kiyo looked at his monopad. “It’s never stated in the rules that you have to keep the monopad on you at all times, so she must have done this.”

“Satisfied now?” Rantaro stared at Angie.

“...”

There was a long silence.

"I think we should go through this one more time...” Shuichi glanced at everyone.

-Closing argument-

The plan started the night the motive was introduced. The ill students were placed in the rooms on the fourth floor, with Rantaro keeping an eye on them.

The culprit already had their plan prepared. So the first night, when Rantaro was sleeping on the fourth floor...

They went to his lab to look for soporifics. That was a major part of their plan.

Rantaro didn’t notice them missing since he never had the time to check because of his role as the medic for the ill ones.

The next day, the culprit waited until Kirumi started preparing dinner for the hospital team. And when she was out to ask the others their preference...

They went in and drugged the meals.

-A part of him knew the reverse karma was probably the reason why Angie managed to get to do this without being caught, but refrained from mentioning it.-

Of course, neither Miu, Kirumi nor I noticed anything, so we gave the plates without questioning anything.

Rantaro had asked us not to go visit too often because there was a risk we would get the disease, so no one noticed he fell unconscious in the stairs because of the soporifics in his meal.

After nighttime started, the culprit slipped a letter to Himiko inviting her to the shrine of judgement at a certain time, probably between 12 AM and 1 AM.

They began preparing the weapons for their crime.

The culprit cut off some fabric from Maki’s lab to make a bag and transport the weapons.

That included tools from their lab, darts from Kokichi’s lab, scissors from Maki’s lab, and finally, knives and poison from Kirumi’s lab.

Actually, the poisons were not necessary, since their plan was not to poison Himiko. They only made us think it was used to confuse us about their method.

And so, they completely destroyed Kirumi’s lab to make us think they desperately wanted poison.

There was one last thing they needed to retrieve from a lab.

Paralyzing products to use on Himiko so she wouldn’t fight back. They stole syringes as well so they could use it.

Before taking the weapons to the shrine, there was one last thing to do.

The culprit dragged Rantaro’s unconscious body to his lab, and retrieved a chair from Kirumi’s lab to make us think Rantaro was never drugged in the first place.

And so, they could finally make their way to the shrine.

Once Himiko arrived, the killer took her by surprise and drugged her with the paralyzing product so she wouldn’t fight back.

She was already not very strong, but that was important to our culprit.

I do not know how exactly things went from there... The killer... Used all the weapons they had taken on Himiko. They also drew angel wings behind the victim’s back, as shock value, I suppose.

The culprit now needed to dispose of the evidence. That included the labels on the bottles, the letter they sent to the victim, and the fabric they used as a bag.

Since there was no way to create fire in the academy, the killer had to use their own skills.

They snatched the bushes from the shrine, and used them as a base for the fire.

Since our culprit is the ultimate craftswoman, creating a fire was no big deal. They simply used wooden stakes.

Once the culprit was done with burning the evidence, they planted one of the stakes in Himiko’s chest, which was ironically the final evidence to guess the identity of our culprit.

After that they left the horrifying scene for us to see the next day.

And the culprit...

... Is you, Angie Yonaga, the ultimate craftswoman!

“...”

The girl stayed silent for a minute... Then smiled.

“Yep! You are correct!”

Her eyes looked devoid of regret.

“I am Himiko’s killer!”

The joy in her voice... It was terrifying. How could she be so happy about this?

Did she have the disease like Rantaro suspected?

Kokichi was speechless, staring at Angie, with pure horror in his eyes.

Himiko was finally getting her justice but...

This whole situation was atrocious.

“Let’s just end this already.” Rantaro spat, disgust written all over his face.

“Allllllrgihty then! It’s... Voting time!” Monokuma cheered.

Shuichi’s heart skipped a beat when he glanced at Kokichi. Was he going to-

Fortunately, he saw the boy looking down, but still pressing an icon on his tablet.

The violinist turned back to his podium, and pressed Angie’s icon.

“Now then, it seems the voting has finished. Let’s see the result.” Monokuma declared.

The giant screen turned on and everyone’s icons appeared.

9 votes for Angie Yonaga, and 1 vote for Kokichi Ouma.

Shuichi could barely hear Angie mutter “Hm? Weird, I voted for myself...”

Upon a quick glance, it was easy to guess who voted for Kokichi.

“Who’ll be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one!?” Monokuma continued his usual speech.

VERDICT

The wheel turned for a few seconds before slowing down… And landing on Angie.

The coin machine on the screen made its distinct jingle, and coins rolled out of it.

Angie was unreadable.

“Wow! Seriously!? You’re correct again! A-Amazing! This is the third correct verdict in a row!”

“The blackened who killed Himiko Yumeno is Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate craftswoman!”

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Rhythm of War Liveblog - Interludes 1-3 and Chapters 20-25

Sylterlude

More evidence supporting my view that Windrunners can protect people in ways other than being warriors! Syl’s old knight went to little villages and used her as a Shardblade to make wells and aqueducts. I do think Kaladin working as a healer will be good for him in the medium term.

But both this chapter and Chapter 12 earlier suggest that Roshar also needs some equivalent to meds; both Adolin and Syl seem to recognize it. Maybe fabrial-related, maybe related to the Listerner rhythms, though I think the latter is more likely.

What’s a peakspren? A new type of intelligent spren! Maybe the Stoneward spren, as it sounds stone-related.

*blink* uh, is the Stormfather, like ... a black hole? My lack of understanding of physics is seeming like it could become a problem in this book. (I’d also never have connected logicspren-fabrials with computers if people on tor.com hadn’t pointed it out.)

Sja-anat

Oh, wow, an Unmade interlude! Now I get to find out what she’s really up to! My starting point: I don’t trust her. Raboniel’s line about “corrupting” the pillar at the heart of Urithiru feels too much like Sja-anat’s kind of thing.

Ah, interesting! Sounds like the midless Unmade like the Thrill and Ashertmarn don’t just create emotions (battle-lust, indulgence), they’re drawn into the physical realm by them. Which explains why the Thrill spent so much time in Alethkar.

The Sibling is the child of Honor and Cultivation! Well, that makes sense. One great spren connected to Honor, one to Cultuvation, and one to both.

So Rayse does not like being questioned, but the Shard of Odium does. Maybe it really is the Shard of Passion, and Rayse - a hateful person, from Wit’s description - has corrupted it in a way that emphasizes hatred?

So Sja-anat is not fully on Odium’s side, but that doesn’t mean she’s on the humans’ - or Singers’ - side either. She’s on her own side, and I still don’t fully trust her.

Taravangian (1)

Ugh.

Ugh, rationalizations.

Ugh, self-righteous self-aggrandizement.

Hmm, the Diagram thinks there are Unmade in Shinovar. Interesting, if true. I’m still hoping Dai-Gonarthis will show up in this book - the very little we know of it feels connected to the things Moash said to Kaladin in Part 1.

Chapter 20

Oh, that’s what the people on tor.com found edgy/cheesy. The “Unseen Court” of Lightweavers.

Still not a huge fan of Gaz bonding a spren, the little rat.

Oh, crap. This isn’t good, not good at all.

Chapter 21

Mmm, I can see why Pattern would like Wit. Such tasty lies... Alternatively, maybe he’s friends with Wit’s Cryptic.

Hahahahaha! Kal, you can be adorably clueless. Ha, Adolin thinks so too!

Aww!

Still very not good, I don’t trust any of Shallan’s people. Including the other people that she is.

Oh, good, this is finally being addressed in the narrative! Dalinar does not have anything remotely resembling the moral high ground in this conversation, and the first step towards a better relationship with Adolin is acknowledging it.

Ow, this is complicated. I’m so glad we’re tackling the complexity of Adolin’s feelings about Dalinar.

And Adolin is a good person. Perhaps the best person of all the main characters. He genuinely, instinctively cares about people, as people. Not just their survival; he’s kind, considerate, caring, empathetic.

Ow! Dalinar, stop!

Chapter 22

Ooh, that must be a peakspren! They do bond stonewards! And they look like volcanos!

And Truthwatchers bond mistspren!

Pattern, they’re married now! They can mate! Stopit! He’s very, very funny, though. Feet are befittingly perambulatory!

The geographical closeness of the Honorspren realm in Shadesmar to Tukar (ruled by Ishar) in the Physical Realm seems significant.

Maya! This is so cute! Adolin is lovely.

Chapter 23

Oh no! Covid made it to Roshar! (It’s probably that plague from the Purelake, but the commonality with real life is uncanny.)

Teft, your loyalty is heartwarming.

Chapter 24

New Shard: Invention! I’m guessing the person writing this letter is Harmony, i.e. wossface from Mistborn?

Oh no, what did Radiant do?

Veil is basically Shallan’s id, isn’t she?

In fairness, it was a stupid plan, all the more so from the POV of someone who knows Jasnah well.

Adolin, could you be more cheesy?

Chapter 25

More Shards! Whimsy, Mercy, and Valor.

I’ve never really thought of whimsy as being one of the characteristics of God. Sass, maybe, given some parts of the Bible, but not really whimsy. On the other hand, platypi and pangolins exist.

Oh, Noril is the poor man who lost his wife, back in Chapter 1! I hope he’s okay.

Oh, dear. Roshar does not treat the mentally ill well, from what we’ve seen. I hope Noril is all right and this doesn’t set Kal spiralling.

Yep, it’s bad, like I thought. Maybe this is the new calling Kal finds? Helping the mentally ill, properly, not like these ardents?

Kaladin’s lecturing then on the scientific method! Go Kaladin!

YES YES YES!

Death glare!

(Huh, I wonder if Kal can help Taln.)

Physically, I’m lying in bed, but mentally and emotionally, I’m doing a little dance!

Speaking of so-cute-I-could-die, have you seen the photo of Brandon’s puppy on his Twitter from a couple years back? It rendered me incoherent for a solid five minutes. It’s like concentrated essence of cute. It’s a cutespren!

Kaladin recommends group therapy!

Oh, I love this whole chapter so much. This is exactly what I wanted for Kaladin.

This is amazing. He’s not even yelling at them, he’s showing them a better way!

[hermannsthumb]

sorry to add to your mountain of asks but pls listen to this concept: newt feeling like he is most intellectually ~inspired~ when he's getting fucked so he drafts all his letters to hermann while riding a dildo and then has to edit them afterwards bc they always turn out ridiculously amorous.

OK THIS LIKE. SENT ME ON A LITTLE BIT OF A SPIRAL AND GAVE ME A FIC IDEA. its like. tangentially related to ur ask. youll see what i mean. anyway 18+ below cut

------------------------------------------

Hermann’s in pajamas when he answers the door, full on, blue-and-white striped pajamas with a dressing gown thrown over, not the boxers and holey t-shirts Newt usually goes for on the rare occasions he decides to not just pass out nude. They’re pretty cute. Newt always imagined Hermann as a nightshirt and nightcap guy, like something from illustrated Dickens, so it’s a nice surprise. A nice, cute surprise. (The dressing gown is not a surprise.) Maybe he should tell Hermann he looks cute. Might butter him up a little bit. He’s scowling and glaring at Newt in a way that screams I’m going to beat you to death with my cane if you don’t leave right now, so he could definitely use a little buttering up.

“It’s two in the morning,” Hermann says.

“You look cute,” Newt says. “New haircut? 

“Newton,” Hermann says.

“Here’s the thing,” Newt says. His face grows warm, instinctively, for what he’s about to ask. “Okay. Hermann. Dude. Dr. Gottlieb. Herr Doktor. I need a favor.”

“At two in the morning?” Hermann says.

“You know me,” Newt says. “Can’t sleep ‘til I’ve worked out every last problem. And I’m stumped, buddy. This one’s really got me. And usually I--well--usually I have a method, but it’s just not working tonight.”

“I don’t have any drugs,” Hermann says, “if that’s what you’re referring to. Goodnight, Newton.”

He makes to close the door. “No!” Newt shouts, flinging his hand out and stopping him. Hermann narrows his eyes. “That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean?” Hermann says. “You’re being awfully cryptic.”

“Can I ride your dick?” Newt says.

The door slams right in Newt’s face.

Newt knocks eleven more times. “Hermann. Hermann. Come onnnnnn.”

Hermann is red-faced and twice as furious as before when the door swings open this time. “I don’t appreciate being mocked, Newton, so if you’d kindly just--”

“Hermann,” Newt says. “Honestly. I’m serious. Not mocking you. I usually use dildos, but tonight, it’s just--” He sighs in frustration. And in mild embarrassment. This is Hermann, after all, that he’s spilling his most intimate secrets to. Technically Hermann counts as his best friend, which should make it less weird, but that’s only because he’s Newt’s only friend, so Newt’s pretty sure that goes right back to making it weird, and that’s not even considering the fact that Newt wants to do disgusting romantic things with the guy. But Newt’s stumped. He really is. He’s never been this stumped. Usually he’s good to go after working a dildo into himself (suction cup base, works great on the shitty plastic desk chairs they have in the lab, PPDC won’t even relent and get them adjustable ones) and riding it for a bit, maybe one of the bigger or more--well--out there ones for tougher problems, and it’s always worked, tried and true for over a decade, but he’s tried everything from the tentacle to his favorite vibe tonight and he’s still got a hunk of kaiju stomach on his workbench and half a fucking report to fill out and no inspiration.

Who else was he supposed to go to, really? 

Besides. Win-win. Newt gets inspired, Hermann gets laid. And he knows Hermann doesn’t get laid enough to turn down the offer. Even now, Hermann’s eyes are widening, his angry flush receding, his posture shifting ever-so-slightly to lean towards Newt. He’s interested. Newt knows he is. (No guy who spends that much time staring at Newt’s ass in a work environment wouldn’t be.)

"It’ll be fast,” Newt promises. “You’d really be helping me out.”

Hermann’s tongue darts out across his lower lip. “Helping you out,” he echoes faintly. For a moment, Newt’s worried he might keel over in shock. He parts the door wider instead. "I suppose,” he says, “ah, I suppose--all in the name of, er, scientific progress. Research partners. It’d be remiss of me--to--”

“Not fuck me,” Newt offers, helpfully.

“Jolly good,” Hermann says, as faintly as before. “Right-o. In you come, then, Newton.”

Newt flashes him a broad smile, already shucking off his button-up. 

“Is there any particular reason you’re recording this?” Hermann says.

“I can’t really write it down, can I?” Newt says. “Be kinda fucking hard. Nn. Ah. Ah! That’s good. Tissue isn’t decaying at all. Not like it should.”

“Pardon?”

“Hermann, please,” Newt says, “I’m working.”

He lifts his leg up just a bit higher, propping it up on Hermann’s headboard, and sinks down just a bit lower. Hermann’s got a nice dick, it turns out, and it’s working spectacularly, even if he’s not doing much besides knead at Newt’s pecs and occasionally grunt. He looks a little overwhelmed, actually. “This is nice,” Newt says. As an afterthought, he clenches around Hermann.

Hermann lets out a funny-sounding moan. 

“You know,” Newt gasps, “this is how I used to write letters to you. Dildo up my ass, I mean. More inspiration. God, I wanted to impress you so fucking bad.” He wanted flat-out wanted Hermann so fucking bad, in all honestly, and a lot of that would spill over into his drafts. You’re so smart, Hermann, you’re so good at math, look at this thing I did, Hermann, tell me I’m good, I want you to screw my brains out, Hermann, I want you to shove your tongue down my throat and your fingers up my ass while you recite lines of jaeger code, yours truly, your pal Newt. Made for some embarrassing proofreading.

Hermann’s eyes widen. He likes that idea, Newt guesses. Of course he does. “Ah. By Jove--”

“By Jove,” Newt echoes in a wheeze of laughter, forgetting all about the stupid kaiju stomach. (How can he be expected to care about that when he’s got Hermann Gottlieb naked and blushing and saying things like by Jove! beneath him?) “Goddamn, Hermann, you’re cute.” In a fit of cloudy, horny affection, he reaches out and boops the end of Hermann’s nose. Hermann wrinkles it. “Splendid work, old sport. Absolutely spiffing.”

“Don’t,” Hermann pants, thrusting his hips up sharply, “ah, don’t call me that.”

“Old sport?” Newt says. “Would you prefer good sir?”

“Aren’t you meant to be working?” Hermann says.

Newt hums in thought. “I am,” he says. “Huh.” Maybe he needs a little more. Another tiny little boost. Hermann’s (thankfully) not a dildo, after all, and he can do things that dildos can’t do, like squeeze Newt and kiss Newt. Newt’s not taking full advantage. “Can you kneel?”

Hermann can kneel. They switch positions: Newt on all fours, ass up high, face smashed into Hermann’s pillow, Hermann draped over his back and plowing him from behind. He’s really into it. “Oh, Newton,” Hermann breathes in his ear, tweaking his nipples, taking handfuls of the chub at his sides and pulling and squeezing, “you feel lovely, you feel--” The rest of the sentence is swallowed up in a deep, guttural moan.

“Mmph?” Newt says. He manages to lift his head a little and spit the pillow out of his mouth. “Can you spank me?”

Hermann’s hips stutter to a halt; his fingers fall from Newt’s nipple. “Can I what?”

Newt clears his throat so he can properly mock Hermann’s accent. “Would you be so inclined to spank me, my good sir?” He thinks it might be the little boost he needs--Hermann’s big hands coming down, hard, on his ass, turning the cheeks red, until it’s stinging and Newt’s eyes are watering and he can hardly handle it. “Punish me for not washing my mug yesterday or something, I don’t know, man, I’m not--”

Hermann’s hand lands, hard and cold, on Newt’s left asscheek, and Newt startles. “Okay! Wow!” Another on his right. Hermann resumes fucking him.

“You masturbate in our laboratory when I’ve gone to bed?” Hermann says. He hitches Newt’s ass up a little higher and smacks it again. Newt yelps. Hermann’s hand retreats. “Oh, Newton, this doesn’t--did I hurt you?”

“Yes,” Newt says, “and no.”

“It does hurt?”

“It doesn’t,” Newt says. His recorder is lying, uselessly, next to his head, where his glasses are also resting after having slipped off some time ago. The most he’s managed to get out is gibberish. Honestly, Newt doesn’t give a shit at this point. “Hermann, I’m fine, okay?”

“But you do masturbate in--?”

“It’s kinda hot,” Newt admits, “knowing that you could just, I don’t know, walk in at any second. ‘N like I said. It’s. Uh.” Hermann’s grabbed a handful of his ass, this time, and is kneading at it as enthusiastically as he had Newt’s love handles. “It’s inspirational. Guh.”

Hermann’s chest pressing against the length of his back, his mouth at Newt’s ear. Newt shivers. For a guy as dorky and dweeby as Hermann, he sure does know how to be unfathomably sexy--Newt might be falling a little bit more in love with him. “If this is the sort of thing you’d need a lot,” Hermann says, “you know, Newton--we are, er, research partners. I wouldn’t be adverse to--to helping. So to speak.”

“How selfless of you.” Newt grins into the mattress. 

[chronicfangirling]

At that place (2 of 2)

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader (feat. Yoongi x OC, one-sided Jin x OC) Genre: Fluff/Angst, long-distance relationships, pining exes, idol problems, double/triple dates, GIRLFRIENDS (please appreciate female friendships more) Words: 9119 Requested by: Anon

Can i request a jungkookie scenario based on their song i like it pt. 2? A fluffy ending pleaseeeee or whatever you decide. Thank you. ❤

A/N: Writer’s block defeated! Better late than never?

pt1. |  pt.2

You woke up to Saren putting the final touches to a complete breakfast spread. After weeks of having to make do with toast and jam and whatever you can scrounge in the pantry, you blinked, almost certain that it was a mirage. Stacks of fluffy buttermilk pancakes,  strawberries in sweet cream, sunny side-up eggs, seared sausages, fragrant steamed rice… you've been dreaming of eating all those things again. Saren took a platter of perfectly crisped, thick-cut bacon from the counter and waved it in invitation. You pounced, grabbing a strip of bacon in each hand, and biting them alternately.

Mayu returned from her jog, the morning paper in hand. With purposeful strides, she sat down on the table across you and said proudly: "You're back, my dear."

"Yes." Saren nodded, tugging at a lock of hair framing her face, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry for being pathetic."

"You were pretty pathetic," Mayu agreed. "But it happens to everyone. Though this loser stint of yours has made Y/N has swear off toast for the rest of her life, it seems."

The older women looked at you and you shook your head in a panic. "No, no--I'm fine!" You were well aware that the way you clutched at fistfuls of bacon undermined those words, but you didn't want her to think that you were obliging her to make breakfast. "I like toast with jam and butter... and also, I'm glad you're feeling better." The last part sounded like an afterthought, but it was true that her uncharacteristic behavior had been concerning.

"Well, don't worry, because those loser days are over," Saren declared. "I'm giving up on Kim Seokjin."

You scrunched your nose thinking, that it wasn't as if they had a relationship anyway, but you caught those less-than-kind thoughts. Just because there wasn't a relationship, doesn't mean her feelings weren't real. They were simply unrequited.

"Good!" Mayu raised her mug of chai latte and clinked it with Saren's coffee. "I didn't like seeing you exert so much effort for that stuck-up pretty boy anyway!"

Saren shook her head. "For once, I tried my best, and I have no regrets. I used to never take chances when it came to love because I was too scared of being rejected. Rejection does hurt... but it's bearable, you know? It was a lot worse, not knowing what it would be like and being terrified to make any moves."

"I guess an old dog can learn new tricks after all, if our sempai could learn this in her ripe old age," Mayu teased, dodging when Saren threw a bit of pancake at her. You laughed, but didn't join in the ribbing--you had only known them for a few months, and weren't comfortable enough yet to do so. Still, this house had been a good place to take refuge in after your heartbreak and you hoped you would soon reach that level of camaraderie with them.

"Seriously though, I feel a lot braver now." Saren said. "And when another chance, another possible love comes along, I won't even hesitate--I'll try again."

"What?" You dropped a sunny side-up egg on your lap and winced; thankfully not breaking it. Gingerly poking at it, you muttered: "You'd still try again?"

Saren slipped a spatula under the egg and transferred it to a saucer with the yolk intact. "Of course, Y/N. What's there to life but to keep trying?"

Mayu made a face as you retrieved the formerly fallen egg and started digging into it. "But..." You frowned at Saren. "You got your heart broken! What if that happens again?"

"Then it happens," she said, taking an egg for herself and putting it on top of a bowl of rice, then sitting beside Mayu. "It's worth the possibility of finally finding love, isn't it?"

You watched her sprinkle soy sauce on her egg before mashing it into the rice. "Wasn't it Einstein who said 'insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?'"

Saren shifted to lecturer mode, her voice deepening from its usual tone. "First of all, nobody's sure if this quote was actually misattributed to Einstein, although he does have a stronger claim to it than the other candidates. Secondly, this quote should be taken within the context of the scientific method, wherein controlled variables will naturally result in the same set of results. And lastly..." she reached across the table to pat your head, though she was shorter than you and had to strain. "Love isn't exactly rational, our dear baby."

"Sempai!" Mayu cried with exaggerated fervor. "You've truly had an enlightenment." She laughed while Saren whined about her cool moment being ruined.

"'Baby...'" you murmured, patting where she had patted your head. It was strange, but not entirely unpleasant, for you to be showered with this kind of affection, when most of your life, you hadn't gotten so much. Just like your ex-boyfriend Jeon Jungkook, Kim Seokjin was probably too accustomed to receiving so much love that he didn't appreciate it anymore, but for you...

You smiled at your roommates--Mayu was trying to feed Saren strawberries in apology, but Saren continued pouting. You didn't think it would be easy to do, this trying again thing, but you would at least have to think about it.

***

"Jungkook..." You stared at your ex-boyfriend, flanked by his older group members, as they stood at your porch. Yoongi wasn't a surprise, but even Seokjin had come with them again. Before you could stop yourself, you had already smoothed your hands over your hair, which was thrown in a messy bun--you didn't expect to be seeing him today--or on any day--after all.

"Hi... we have a lot of schedules in Tokyo so we're staying for a while." He gave you a small wave but made no move to step forward.

Yoongi side-stepped him and asked: "Is Mayu at home?"

"Yeah... umm, come in." You belatedly waved them into the living room. Mayu peered over her books and color-coded notes covering the coffee table and gasped in surprised delight at the sight of her boyfriend, gathering all her review materials and dumping them on the beanbag in the corner, which was already littered with Saren's novels. She tucked herself under his waiting arm as she led him to the loveseat. "I didn't know you're coming over."

"Surprise?" he shrugged, a pleased grin plastered on his face.

At that moment, Saren skipped in the living room, her long lace skirt whirling around her, her prized silver tea caddy engraved with cherry blossoms nestled in her hands. "Our baby, do you want chocolate chip cookies or peanut butter cookies with tea..?" She froze when she saw the guys, nearly dropping the tea caddy.

"Ah... you look nice," Seokjin mumbled, looking a little taken aback. After all, Saren had been taking extra care of her appearance, saying that pretty dresses and makeup can be like armor for women, especially after having been hurt. As you tugged self-consciously at the large black hoodie you had thrown over your worn yet comfy gray leggings while your visiting ex was in designer clothing, you had to consider that her idea had some merits.

"T-Thanks," Saren stammered in response, looking a lot more taken aback herself. "Umm, we were about to have tea, would you like some too... you guys?"

"Both," you said. "For the cookies."

"Yes, please." Seokjin replied. Yoongi nodded.

"If it's not too much trouble," Jungkook added.

"I'll help you," Mayu offered. "Y/N, you stay here with the guests."

"Me..?" You looked round at the 'guests': Yoongi who was pouting that his girlfriend had disentangled herself from his arms, Seokjin who was smiling shamelessly as if he weren't responsible for the current awkwardness... and Jungkook, who gazed at you with wide, innocent eyes. "I'm helping too!" You dashed after your roommates into the kitchen.

"Ah, but it's rude to leave your guests unattended," Saren remarked, as she measured delicate leaves into the teapot and arranged the cups on the tray while waiting for the water to boil.

"They're not my 'guests,' they're Mayu's guest and his companions," you retorted, leaning against the counter and not being very helpful.

"One of my guest's so-called companions is your ex-boyfriend, who doesn't seem to be happy about being an ex at all." Mayu pointed out. She was preparing a separate pot with dark, roasted leaves.

"Yah..." you pouted at your roommates. "It's not like that!"

"Look at our baby acting cute," Saren giggled.

"I wasn't!" you denied. But you caught yourself pouting again, so you set your lips in a straight line. For all the good that did--Saren still giggled as if she thought you were a precocious child. "And I thought we're giving up on trying to chase after relationships that don't mean anything."

"That's just me and Seokjin." Saren shrugged and moved on to pulling out sheets of freshly-baked cookies from the oven, plating some and setting the rest on the cooling rack. "That was just me, one-sidedly hoping... but there was nothing there."

"You and Jungkook on the other hand..." Mayu cocked her head at you. "There's still something there."

You silently watched your roommates brew the tea, and you could've let that thread of conversation die... but something compelled you to talk about it. "I just... don't want to misunderstand... that I mean something when I'm nothing." When their heads turned toward you, you dropped your gaze on your white-knuckled hands grasping the kitchen counter.

"You're not like me." Saren said. "You mean something."

"Hey! Just because you didn't mean anything to Kim Seokjin doesn't mean you can't mean something to someone else." Mayu turned from Saren to you. "And if you don't want to be with Jungkook, then that might be for the best. But don't use what happened to Saren and Seokjin as an excuse to deny your real feelings... nor the possibility of Jungkook's."

"I... I..." Stuttering, you tried--and failed--to make a coherent protest.

Mayu and Saren exchanged looks, the former shook her head with a chuckle and the latter smiled at you and squeezed your hand. "Well... think about what you want, alright?" Saren took the tray with the two tea pots, leaving you with the plates of cookies, but she waited for Mayu to lead the way back to the living room. For all her apparent calm, your roommate still wasn't completely confident to face the man who had thoroughly rejected her after all. Yet she took the seat before Seokjin, looking like the picture of poise as she poured tea into the cups, despite the slight tremor of her hands. "Here you go," she presented the first cup to Seokjin, as the oldest one among the guests. "This is a very special tea variety."

Emulating her, you took the seat before Jungkook and handed him a cup as well. "Y/N... thanks," he took the cup from you, starting as your fingers accidentally brushed against his, as if the simple contact had affected him as much as it always affected you.

"You should try it too, Yoongs, though I got you hojicha as well, you don't exactly have a subtle palate," Mayu teased, offering a cup of the dark tea to her boyfriend and settling in the loveseat with him.

He smirked, but his sharp eyes had softened as he gazed at her over the cup. "You know my tastes well."

"What a pretty, vivid color," Seokjin observed, swirling the cup. His eyes widened as he brought the cup closer to his lips. "And so fragrant!"

"It is so." Saren nodded, taking her own cup of tea.

Seokjin took a sip and sighed in wonder. "This is different from all green tea that I've had before."

"It's gyokuro," Saren explained. "It develops its special flavor and aroma by growing covered in the shade."

"I see. It blooms in the shade unobserved and then surprises you with its loveliness, how dangerous." He smiled at her, a little too charmingly, and you couldn't help but think, *how dangerous.*

Saren dropped her gaze to her cup and Mayu sneered at him. "I'm sure you didn't come here to talk about tea."

Saren gaped at her best friend's thinly-veiled hostility, but quickly recovered. "Obviously, Seokjin came here to accompany Yoongi who wanted to visit you."

At her words, Yoongi choked on his tea. "That's kinda cute," Mayu chuckled.

Turning red, he cried: "This wasn't my idea!"

"A grown man shouldn't play hard to get," Saren tutted.

You snickered, but Jungkook blinked at you with those clear, round eyes. "It really wasn't Yoongi's idea."

"Ah, I was the one who said we should come over." Seokjin set down his empty cup and raised a hand.

"Why?!" Mayu blurted out.

"What man wouldn't want to be in the company of such lovely ladies..?" Seokjin declared in his typical flirty manner, but he caught himself and looked round; at Mayu, who glared at him; at Saren, who blinked at him in disbelief; and at you, who winced. *Acting like this was what made Saren misunderstand... it wasn't just her fault.* Yoongi sighed under his breath and Jungkook reflected your own wince.

But then Saren laughed, with a feigned shudder. "How greasy! How can you guys live with this guy?" she asked Yoongi and Jungkook, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Doesn't it get embarrassing?"

The tension dissipated with Yoongi smirking and Jungkook nodding emphatically. "He's seriously so embarrassing!" Jungkook stressed.

"Yah!" Seokjin protested. "What do you mean by 'greasy,' and 'embarrassing?' I'm totally charming and a point of pride for our group!"

"There he goes again, ugh!" Jungkook shuddered.

"Have some shame for the younger ones," Saren teased.

"Well, if she's going to be like that..." Mayu shook her head, smiling wryly. "Seokjin, don't embarrass my boyfriend, he has a way cooler image than you," she chided, but her tone was jesting, her animosity calmed when she saw how her best friend had responded in such a lighthearted manner.

"So aside from being embarrassed by this shameless one, what have you guys been doing?" Saren asked.

"I want to know too," Mayu said. "Yoongi never talks about work."

"I do tell you about work, but I don't want to talk too much about it." He wrinkled his nose.

"Since I'm your girlfriend, you should talk to me about it more."

"Since you're my girlfriend, I'd rather talk to you about other things." His arm draped around her shoulder and pulled her closer. "Like how you're doing or your own work. I find you very interesting after all." Mayu elbowed him lightly, her cheeks flushed.

"Well, isn't he greasy too sometimes?" Seokjin griped.

"Oh hush, it's cute." Saren said.

Seokjin and Yoongi talked about their current schedules in Tokyo at your roommates' request, while you listened idly and drank tea. It took a while for you to realize that Jungkook was watching you in silence.

"What?" you whispered, not wanting to interrupt your friends' conversation.

"Nothing..." He smiled tentatively. "It's just... I thought you didn't like tea."

You gaped at him, surprised that he had even noticed. To hide your shock, you refilled your cup and blew away the steam. "I didn't before. But Saren and Mayu drink it all the time, so I got used to it."

"Even on cold days, you wouldn't drink it, you'd rather drink cola or even iced water," he mused.

"Well, I guess I've changed." You were nearing panic with how your heart started thudding in your ears, so you grabbed a peanut butter cookie and pushed the whole thing in your mouth so you wouldn't have to talk.

"But... you still like peanut butter cookies as much as chocolate chip cookies, and you still stuff your mouth with food when you're nervous." He chuckled as your purposeful chewing slowed. "Even if some things changed, I still want to believe that you're the Y/N that I know... from the happiest times of my life."

"That's..." You nearly choked on your cookie, searching for a retort, but this wasn't the cocky, international Kpop star Jungkook who couldn't seem to care less about your break-up. In fact, this was more like that shy golden boy who seemed unaware of his own sparkle. The same one you fell in love with...

The Super Mario theme pierced through the heavy air and Seokjin answered his phone. Mayu and Yoongi rolled their eyes at the childish ringtone and Saren merely smiled. "Hey, Dongwook. I thought we wouldn't be needed for two hours? Ah, okay..."

"I guess that's our cue..." Yoongi mumbled.

Mayu gave him a smile that looked rather tight, but she also gave him a tender kiss. "Call soon."

"We'll meet again soon." he promised, squeezing her hand.

"Good luck with today's schedule," Saren said to all of them, with no particular attention to Seokjin. She cleared the tea set and plates into the tray and started to head to the kitchen.

"Oh--thanks for the the tea and the cookies!" Seokjin called after her.

She looked back over her shoulder and started to say something, but instead pressed her lips together and nodded politely. At another time, she would be overzealous about asking Seokjin's opinion and pressing homemade food as affection, but it looked like she was serious about keeping her distance.

"Umm, hey, Saren--!" Jungkook's cry stopped her in her tracks again. "Umm, well... is it okay..." he smiled sheepishly. "To have some of the cookies?"

"Yes!" Seokjin chimed in. "They were good."

She laughed lightly and winked at you. "You're going to have to ask Y/N about that, since I made them for her." Handily foisting the guys on you, she carried the dishes back to the kitchen.

Jungkook shook his head at you, "Y/N, you don't have to--"

You shook your head in turn. "Just wait here...  for the cookies." You went into the kitchen, all but pushing Saren from the sink to do the washing.

"Are you sure this is okay?" you asked Saren as you washed the tea set and she set aside the cooled cookies into separate jars and into a box for the guys. "Aren't you even a little angry at Seokjin for rejecting you?"

"I am angry," she confessed. "Even though I realize that the same way I couldn't help like him, he couldn't help not like me, it still makes me angry."

"So why would you welcome him into our home again?"

"Because to welcome him into our home means to welcome Yoongi and Jungkook into our home... means to support Mayu and you."

You finished the washing and faced her. "Mayu maybe, but me...?"

Saren smiled knowingly at you. "In any case, it's better for everyone that I don't hold a grudge against Kim Seokjin. Who knows, we may even become friends one day."

"Friends..." you mumbled. After Jungkook had broken your heart, being friends was the last thing you had wanted to do. You had only wanted to make him regret everything.

You returned to the living room and handed the box of cookies to Jungkook, who said: "Y/N... thanks. I... I'll see you...?"

"I... yeah, I guess." You shrugged, turning away. But when you heard his retreating footsteps, you looked over your shoulder to watch him get in the car driven by Dongwook and ride away with his colleagues.

The next day, you saw Mayu sneer then chuckle as she checked her SNS. You saw a selfie of Seokjin holding a paper cup of green tea latte and wearing a smile for his fans, and Yoongi's obscure post with a tumbler of konacha and cup ramen, and knew which post drew those respective reactions. Jungkook didn't make a post, but he did text you.

JJK: "I understand now why you like peanut butter cookies. The subtly sweet, slightly salty, crunchy cookies are good too, in a different way. I guess things don't always have to be soft and saccharine to be nice." Y/N: ":)"

You had agonized over how to respond, but ended up with a blandly smiling emoji. You found yourself disappointed when he had no follow-up messages--you understood that your response wasn't very inviting, but you hadn't wanted to come across as desperate and over-eager... much like before...

Back when you were a couple, you were the one who had tried, maybe not your best, but at least you had tried. Why was it that you were still the one with so many regrets?

***

(One week before the breakup)

Your calls went unanswered once, twice--maybe five times--that by the time that Jungkook picked up the phone, you screamed: "Who's that girl in that picture?"

You heard him hiss "hush!" and hurried footsteps--the background sounds of their upcoming song, his groupmates' chatter, and staffers calling them to lunch died down after a door slammed. "What picture?" he mumbled, his voice reverberating in a way that made you think he had shut himself in a closet.

"The one on your SNS!"

"I didn't upload any pictures."

"Are you really going to pretend not to know about it?" you demanded.

"Y/N..." he sighed. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That girl--" you spat, "--tagged you in a pic looking all cozy! I'm not allowed to post pictures with you or to tag you, but it's fine when she does it, is that it?"

You heard him sigh deeply. "You know what, I'm tired. I was working--"

"So hanging out with girls in parties is working now?"

"You know going to those things is also part of our job!" He actually raised his voice at you, and you were taken aback. Perhaps he realized it, because his tone returned to normal. "She's the daughter of one of the company directors... it doesn't mean anything."

"She keeps showing you off to everybody! She obviously wants it to mean something!"

"It's not like that--"

"I don't know if you're stupidly innocent or you're so sly that you can act like you are!" You knew that you were starting to sound like the unhinged jealous girlfriend, so you bit your lip to prevent more accusations from spilling and took a noisy breath. "That girl's after you. So many girls are... and I... I can't even do anything to stop them!"

Instead of comforting you, Jungkook protested: "You're not supposed to do anything to stop them! You're supposed to trust me."

"Trust you? When you go around hanging out with other girls when they're daughters of directors?"

"... And what do you mean by that?" His tone was stiff, as if his jaw was clenched.

"I don't mean anything. Did you really do something suspicious for that to mean something?" you sneered, with grating disingenuousness.

"Y/N... I'm tired and you're angry. I'm going to hang up now before we both say something we regret."

"Jungkook!" you screamed. "Jeon Jungkook, don't you dare hang up. Or else--"

His voice was barely above a whisper, but cutting just the same. "Or else, what?"

"... Or else I'm going to break up with you!"

"Do whatever you want," he muttered. "That's all you keep doing anyway."

"What? That's not true... Jungkook! Jungkook!"

You never wanted to breakup, but you didn't really have a choice... At that point, Jungkook just seemed to be waiting for you to do it anyway. You had pettily thought that breaking up through text would cause him the most pain of all. But you found out that the only thing more painful than a "Let's break up" text message was to get a mere "Ok" in response.

***

You looked round at the three idols standing on your porch again. "You're all here. Again."

"It's like you don't want to see us, Y/N." Seokjin pouted, clutching his chest in mock hurt.

"It's not that, it's just..." It's just that I'm wondering why I'm seeing Jungkook a lot more now than when he was actually my boyfriend... "Come in," you said, suppressing a sigh as you stepped aside and let them through the door.

Mayu had been waiting for her boyfriend in the living room this time. She stood up and walked over to him, but kept herself at arm's length, a teasing grin playing on her lips. "Yoongi."

He raised an eyebrow at her and didn't reach for her either. "Mayu."

For a few seconds, they stared each other down in their weird tsun-tsun face-off game. He cracked first, looping an arm around her waist to draw her into a slow, passionate kiss. Your face burned and you glanced away, only to meet an equally flushed Jungkook's eyes. Both of you coughed and turned away from each other, and you could've sworn you saw Jungkook swallow hard.

To dissipate the tension, you called out: "Saren, Saren--umm, could you help me make tea?"

"But Y/N, we just had lunch--" Saren paused when she saw the guys taking seats in the living room, nodding at each of them. Her glance didn't even linger too long upon Seokjin. "Of course. I'll be right back." She waved you off when you made a move to follow her.

"We shouldn't let her do all the work," you murmured.

Mayu, who had disentangled herself from Yoongi to glance at Saren, shook her head and whispered to you: "Easier for her than to stay here. in awkwardness."

Saren returned with tea, several slices of Camembert cheesecake for the guys and buttery shortbread cookies. "I feel bad that you had to go through the trouble," Seokjin said, even as he ooh-ed over the cheesecake.

"I guess he's not so shameless after all," Mayu murmured.

"It wasn't much," Saren said. She handed him a box from the tray. "By the way, you said you wanted some of that gyokuro, so I got a box for you when I went to the tea shop to restock."

"Thank you! You're so thoughtful, I'm indebted to you." His eyes crinkled as he smiled, and her smile was melancholic as she dropped her gaze away, her cheeks pink.

"I take it back." Mayu muttered, leaning back on the loveseat that she shared with Yoongi as usual.

Yoongi rubbed her arm soothingly. "So there's a reason why we're here..."

"Oh, it wasn't because you missed me?" she gasped in mock outrage.

"It's related to that, babe." His hand caressed her arm lazily now, with more sensuous movements. "We've been nominated in this event... what's it called?"

"Gold Disc awards," Jungkook supplied helpfully.

Both Mayu and Saren gape at that. "You've heard of it?" Seokjin asked. Saren nodded.

"You impress me more and more, you know?" Mayu patted Yoongi's cheek and he smiled a giggly gummy smile, practically nuzzling against her hand.

"We're having an after-party at the Sky Lounge. You're coming." His declaration was followed by a far less confident question: "Umm... right?" You nearly snorted over how whipped he was.

"Of course," she agreed. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Jungkook took a deep breath and his next words tumbled out in a rush: "You too--Y/Nyoucangoright?"

"Umm, what?" you asked, though you had heard him. You had... but you weren't sure that you heard him right.

"Could you... come too?" he bit his lip, his endearing bunny teeth peeking through.

"Me?" You blinked at him. It was unprecedented, for you to come along to one of his fancy work events--you hardly got to go to any events with him, period. But he was looking at you with such wide eyes, that it almost seemed that he sincerely wanted you to come. "I, umm--are you going?" You turned to Saren in desperation.

Her grip tightened around her tea cup, and you realized she wasn't sure if she was part of that invitation and then you weren't sure either. You felt like kicking yourself. "Y/N... I... I don't think I'm supposed--"

"Oh, but it will be fun!" Seokjin interjected. "We hired a sushi chef and a tempura chef, and an open bar with wine from five different countries."

"I see... I may have to work then though, so... I'll have to check. Excuse me." She smiled politely and collected the empty dishes on the tray and took them to the kitchen before heading upstairs. By the time she returned, Dongwook had come back for Seokjin.

"Well, I'm off now, I just dropped by to say hi and give the invitation," Seokjin said.

"Before going on prowl for the girls of Tokyo, huh?" Mayu snorted, her words having a little more bite than mere teasing. It seemed to you that she could never fully forgive the man for rejecting her best friend, even as she deigned to have him around as one of her boyfriend's colleagues and friends.

Seokjin chuckled wordlessly and didn't deny the accusation. He looked at Saren and noticed that she was carrying her purse and had a light coat over her dress. "Oh, are you going somewhere?"

She nodded. "Yes... I need to go to work for a while."

"Teacher, it's not even your work day!" Dongwook cried. "You should take a rest, go on some dates--you look pretty enough to go on a date right now!"

She giggled uneasily. "Maybe some other time."

"I'll introduce you to some guys," Dongwook offered eagerly. Mayu raised an intrigued eyebrow at you and you dropped your mouth open in exaggerated shock.

"Thank you for the consideration," Saren said, without agreeing, and walked ahead.

"Yah, which guys do you know besides us... and other idols..." Seokjin frowned.

"Well, she seems to like idols." Dongwook grinned and cupped his mouth to whisper to Seokjin, but all of you could hear him. "If it all goes well, you don't have to be burdened anymore, right Seokjin?"

"Huh?!" Seokjin's brows furrowed even more.

But the junior manager had run after Saren then: "Teacher, wait up! We'll drop you off at work!" Seokjin followed them, shaking his head uncertainly.

"Well, A for effort, Dongwook." Mayu smirked. "Idols make such terrible romantic prospects though," Mayu remarked, drawing an offended grumble from her own idol boyfriend. She slung her arms around his neck and winked at him. "Of course, there are exceptions..."

It didn't go unnoticed to you, Jungkook's silent, stricken gasp at Mayu's words. But you didn't have much time to dwell on it, as Mayu and Yoongi started playing a movie and invited both of you to join them.

After an afternoon of hanging out with Jungkook and your mutual friends--which was remarkable in that it felt unremarkable, as if you were getting used to it--you spent the evening revising a paper for school, and then you were getting ready for bed. You had already switched off the main light and switched on your night light when your phone rang. It was Jungkook. You composed yourself, sat on the edge of your bed, and answered: "Hello?"

"I'm sorry," he said.

"... Eh?" You wrinkled your nose. "For what?"

"For having been a terrible boyfriend back then."

You hesitated. "You weren't.... terrible, per se..."

"If I wasn't, then why did we break up?"

You had no answer to that question.

"I didn't mean to make you miserable."

"But I wasn't."

"Huh?"

"I wasn't..." You had only said that out of an instinct to be polite, but repeating the words, you realize now that they were true. You had become increasingly frustrated towards the end of the relationship, and that frustration was still fresh in your mind when your paths crossed again, and you couldn't help but treat him with hostility. But your relationship wasn't what made you miserable, it was how it ended. The fact that it ended. Now that your anger over the breakup had dissipated, but you could be honest... you had never regretted having been with Jeon Jungkook.

"Really? But..."

"Even when I couldn't hold your hand, it was nice to walk beside you. Even when I couldn't post pictures with you, I liked taking pictures with you."

"I--I liked those things too!"

"I'm so glad to hear that. Because for me, even when it wasn't always good, there were still moments to be happy about. It seemed like a miracle, that the person I like had agreed to be with me, you know?" you chuckled, more to yourself. "That's why sometimes, just knowing in my heart that I was the one who was with you, even though the world would never know... it made me happy. That Jeon Jungkook was with me... more often than not, it was enough."

"Y/N..." His breath sounded ragged over the phone and you were glad that he couldn't see you cover your nose as it started to get runny while your eyes started to get wet. "There's something I should--" A firm voice in the background cut him off, calling for him and the other members of his group.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye..."

"But Y/N--"

"You've worked hard, Jungkookie," you sighed. "You've always worked hard..."

***

Saren may not have been active on SNS any longer, however she still had friends who were. As soon as you opened your feed, out popped a picture uploaded by the guys' junior manager, Dongwook, wherein he tagged Saren. It was from their academy's cultural exchange festival; Saren had pulled out the big guns--a furisode kimono patterned with cherry blossoms--and Dongwook had captured her in blooming glory. You would've suspected that they were getting suspiciously close, but you knew that Dongwook was now dating another one of Saren's students, thanks to her earnest matchmaking. Dongwook had been completely unsubtle about returning the favor and seemed intent to sell your roommate to any eligible men of his acquaintance. Judging from the reactions to the picture, he was doing well on that front. "Liked by Jaehyung, Mark, Myungsoo.... who are these guys?"

"This is quality." You grinned and liked the picture. It was then that you noticed the tag that said: "You and JJK liked this." You frowned as you clicked it, starting to overthink why your ex-boyfriend was going around liking your very single roommate's picture, only to be distracted when you saw that among the reactions was a '<3' from Seokjinnie.

You made a beeline for Saren, who was curled in the bean bag in the living room, nestled in her books littering the cushion. "Guess who--not just liked, but hearted--your picture?"

Saren looked up at you questioningly, and you could clearly see that she had no clue what you were talking about--she was too transparent to hide her emotions. Far be it from you to pick at a wound that seemed to be healing slowly, but surely, you said: "It's me, I did, your picture was amazing, and the way you looked in that kimono was just... wow, amazing!"

Saren's hand hovered over her phone--and to your relief--she stopped and gave you a wry smile. "Alright, what do you want? Is there something in particular you want for dinner?"

"Nothing, can't I give my sempai a compliment?" You shrugged. "But... doesn't mentaiko pasta sound super good right now?"

"Doesn't it?" she enthused. "You know I'm glad you like it, since Mayu hates it but there are days when I crave it. She'll have to make do with the leftover gyudon from last night." Saren skipped to the kitchen without checking her SNS.

Your sigh of relief turned into a yelp, when your phone vibrated in your hand. You checked the screen and your heartbeat started accelerating when you saw Jungkook's name. "Umm..."

"Hey, Y/N."

"Hi."

"How are you doing?"

"Good..." You tucked your hair behind your ear, as if he could see you.

"I see. That's... good." You could almost see him messing up his hair in the way that he did whenever he was nervous.

As if... I'm just projecting...  "Yeah... um, how about you?"

"Good. Busy, but good. We had a lot to do in Korea, that's why we haven't been to Tokyo in a while."

"Okay... I mean, that's expected. You guys being busy."

"Yeah..." The other end of the line fell into total silence, as if he had stopped pacing.

"So... why did you call?" Lest he think you were telling him not to call, you quickly added: "I mean, is there any particular reason...?"

"Yeah, actually I'm calling about that event. You know... the after-party?"

"What about it?"

"Just wanted to ask if you were coming..."

"Yeah... you guys invited all three of us, right?" You bit your lip. "Unless you don't want me to come--"

"I want you to come!" He yelled. He seemed to realize this, because his next words came out in a whisper. "It's just that you never did say if you could come, you know..."

"Oh... sorry." You untucked and retucked your hair behind your ear and sat primly on the couch. "That's bad form isn't it? Not confirming promptly."

"That's fine, that's fine," he said. "As long as you're coming."

"I am."

"Well... we don't have free time before the event, so I'll see you there."

"See you."

When the call ended, you sighed. How nice it would've been if you could've been this way while you were a couple--Jungkook bringing you to places and having him act like he actually wanted you there. But now all you were is an awkward failed couple tangled by your friends' relationships.

***

(Twelve months before the breakup)

It all started during a trip to Tokyo with your camera club. It was through the club that you met him, and you were certain that you could do nothing more but nurse a crush on him from afar, but it was the shining Jeon Jungkook himself who came to you. He was sweet and talented and humble, and despite his shyness, he was always friendly towards you, asking about your photography projects and drawing you out of your own shy shell. It was impossible--it would be a miracle that one such as Jeon Jungkook would return your feelings--but the way he acted made you feel that it was a possibility.

"W-Would you like to come with me?" you asked him as he slung his camera bag on his shoulder. "I know a nice place to take photos..."

"I was planning to go to Akihabara--"

"Believe me, this is better!" you insisted. You almost grabbed his hand, but managed to stop yourself and snatch at the strap of his camera bag instead.

"W-Wait, Y/N!" He nearly tumbled as you pulled him to the sidewalk, but he allowed himself to be pushed into the taxi you flagged down and went with you.

When the taxi stopped, you flung open the door and tugged him to alight after you. He nearly tripped, but he froze in a half crouch when he took in the sight before the two of you. "Wha... is--is that Tokyo Tower?"

You nodded.

"But... I've never seen it look like this before!" he marveled.

"They call this the Diamond Veil...it's a special style of illumination," you explained.

"It's like a nighttime rainbow..." his whisper trailed off into an awed sigh.

"We could get closer but I thought you might find this point more interesting." You tucked your hair behind your ear and lowered your gaze, too shy to risk meeting his eyes. "You... wanted to do long exposure for this project, didn't you? You can see the trails of the cars and the images of the people passing by..."

"You're right, this is a great spot for what I want." From the corner of your eye, you could see him unpack his tripod and set up his camera. "This view... it's so perfect to share with someone special."

"That's why I brought you here..." you mumbled, half to yourself.

"Huh?" Jungkook looked up from his viewfinder and turned to you.

You started--you never expected him to hear you!  But Jungkook was looking at you now... And he was here with you now, sharing this special view. So you confessed: "That's why I brought you here! Jeon Jungkook, I--I like you!"

"Huuuh?!--" he gasped, but his breath of disbelief caught as you pulled at his hoodie to kiss him. Your heartbeat thundered in your ears, and your held breath burned in your lungs, but his soft, sweet lips calmed you, and when you pulled away, it was slow and deliberate, gazing into his eyes for an answer.

"Y/N..." He stared down at you, his lips still parted in surprise.

You realize then that he hasn't said anything in encouragement, nor even agreement, and you started to step away. "Sorry--!"

He didn't say anything then, no confessions nor declarations, but his arms wrapped around your waist as he pulled you closer and kissed you. And that was how you found yourself with the shining Jeon Jungkook as your boyfriend. A boyfriend who often seemed more trouble than his weight in gold.

***

"I'm glad you talked me into coming along," Saren told Mayu. "It was worth it just to see this..." She gave you a sidelong glance, her eyes wide and bright.

"What?" You patted your hair, feigning unawareness at how good you looked with your braided updo and black halter-neck mini-dress.

The three of you were seated on the plush leather seats of a sleek black car sent by the guys. It was probably just Yoongi sending the car to take his girlfriend to the event, but the suited chaffeur had also looked for you and Saren, and Mayu had linked her arms with both of you... And now the three of you were on the way to the event.

"Our baby cleans up well, doesn't she?" Mayu winked at you.

"Hey!" you cried. "That's implying that I'm normally a mess!"

"What she means is that you're exceptionally pretty tonight." Saren clutched your arm and smiled up at you.

"Thank you..." you murmured. "Umm... you're really pretty too..." With a dainty floral headband in her wavy hair and blush-pink, chiffon gown, your roommate reminded you of a fairy.

"How about me?" Mayu grinned.

"You already know you look sexy," you grumbled. Mayu's wine-hued gown had a plunging V-neck and clung to her slim figure, and more importantly, she oozed confidence in it. "Yoongi's going to drool all over the club."

"Not as much as Jungkook," she snickered. You frowned, but before you could protest, the car stopped in front of the club and the chauffeur opened the door to allow the three of you alight. Mayu walked to the front desk, and said: "We're going to the party."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "May I see your invitations?"

"We don't have them," Mayu explained. "But we should be on the guest list."

"Sure." She rolled her eyes and nodded at the bouncer.

You had cowered back and Saren squeezed your arm tightly, but Mayu merely held up a finger at the imposing man. "Hold that thought, mister." She placed a call on her cellphone. "Well, hello to you too, sweetheart. I'm actually outside right now, and you wouldn't have been kept waiting if we had an actual physical invitation--I told you it would be troublesome."

In less than a minute, Yoongi had rushed out of the club, shouting: "Let her in!" Regaining his composure, he sauntered up towards her. "And... the others too," he added belatedly.

"So thoughtful," Saren quipped and you laughed.

"Y/N, is something wrong?" Jungkook stood at the doorway, looking out of breath. "I heard Yoongi..."

You shook your head and smiled in what you hoped was an assuring manner. When he gawked at you, you didn't know if you had failed at being assuring, or your look was having the intended effect on him.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..." The woman at the front desk bowed repeatedly, face twisted in contrition. Mayu gave her a small smile and nodded at Yoongi.

"You're not angry?" he asked.

Mayu shrugged. "She was just doing her job."

"You're so... reasonable, you know that?" he gushed, looking positively besotted. His smile turned cat-like as he looked her over admiringly, in *that* clingy gown.

"You guys should've told me they were here!" Seokjin took one long look at Saren and a short breath. "You're beautiful." Somehow you could tell that this wasn't one of his meaningless compliments--he gazed at her with wonder, as if seeing her for the first time.

"Thank you." She smiled, her cheeks pink and graced by that elusive dimple.

"You... you have a dimple." He still sounded breathless. "I-I never noticed. How..?"

"Yeah... it doesn't appear often."

"That's so cute." His eyes turned into crescent moons and his voice cracked as he giggled.

You frowned. Seokjin is acting... weird...

"Save some of your compliments for the rest of the ladies here," Saren teased. She walked past, waving at Dongwook the manager, and completely failing to notice the arm that Seokjin offered. He appeared startled, but followed after her.

"You know that you're so hot, right?" Yoongi smirked at Mayu as he offered his arm.

"I do... but you should always tell me, anyway." She took his arm, and to your surprise, he kissed her with no regard for the fact that they were in public, before leading her to your table at the VIP area.

You were about to follow, but Jungkook all but blocked your path. "You--!" He took a deep breath. "You look... really good."

"Umm, thanks," you muttered. "You too." There was never a time that Jeon Jungkook didn't look good, but with him wearing a classic black suit, it was definitely worth mentioning.

He mumbled what sounded like thanks and presented his arm almost at your face. Awkwardly, you took it, and you saw him gulp as he adjusted it to a more natural angle.

When the two of you reached the table, Dongwook was standing between a familiar man and Saren, making them shake hands. Standing behind her, Seokjin crossed his arms over his broad chest, a rare frown on his face. "Nice to meet you," she said, her voice getting softer, something she did when faced by someone attractive, you know by now.

"It's good to finally meet you," the familiar-looking man said. You were quite sure he was an idol, or at least some kind of celebrity. "Dongwook has talked a lot about you."

"Oh no..." Saren bit her lip when she realized that she had muttered that out loud. "I mean--what kind of things?"

Laughing, he winked in response, and Saren flushed--either in embarrassment or something else.

"Ladies, this is Park Jaehyung. His band has promotions in Japan right now." Dongwook gestured at the man who nodded at you and Mayu politely, then turned back to Saren. "And these are Mayu and Y/N, but you don't have to shake hands with them because they're not available for dating, unlike my teacher--"

"Dongwook!" Saren cried.

Dongwook clapped a hand over his mouth. "Oops--I mean..."

"Dongwook?" Mayu prompted.

"Yes?"

"Shush." At Mayu's command, he nodded obediently. She nudged Saren forward, and your eldest roommate glared at her.

Jaehyung looked round at the rest of you, his eyes catching ever-so-slightly on Seokjin, and said: "Well... I hope you all enjoy the rest of your evening."

Saren looked ever-so-slightly disappointed, but inclined her head. Seokjin sent him off with a cheerful wave and invited her to sit; she took the seat beside Seokjin, but you saw her eyes linger upon Jaehyung's retreating back--and him looking over his shoulder in turn.

Jungkook all but deposited you into the seat next to Saren and sat beside you, squaring his shoulders as he set his elbows on his knees--you couldn't help but feel that he was boxing you in the table. The gesture annoyed you less than it should've. Jungkook popped open a bottle of champagne and poured it into flutes--and in a breach of protocol, offered the first one to you. His older groupmates didn't call him out on it, however; Seokjin led a toast and Yoongi ignored the champagne in favor of beer.

"I love this song," Saren commented, swaying slightly to the music.

"It's very romantic to dance to," Seokjin pointed out. She glanced towards Jaehyung; who was also swaying to the song.

Seokjin held out his hand, about to continue what he had meant to say, but Saren had turned to you and Mayu questioningly. "Hey, do you think...?"

Mayu winked at her. "A wise woman once said: 'What's there to life but to keep trying?'"

Despite Seokjin raising a puzzled eyebrow at both of you, you encouraged Saren with a single word. "Go."

Saren beamed at both of you. "May I take some of this?" Saren seized one of the chilled champagne bottles by the neck. When no one protested, she poured two flutes, excused herself and walked towards the bar. Seokjin's eyes widened, and he squared his broad shoulders as if every muscle in his body had tensed.

Despite her straight-backed posture and purposeful steps, you had seen her hands shaking and uncertainty in her wide eyes. You could all see her offer a flute to Jaehyung and when he shook his head, she nodded and turned to leave. Seokjin relaxed in his seat. But Jaehyung picked the flutes out of her hands, set them on the counter, and took her by the hand, leading her to the dance floor.

"They look good together," Mayu commented.

Both you and Yoongi nodded in agreement, but Jungkook shrugged. "They're alright..." He gave Seokjin a sidelong glance.

"Was she always this lovely?" Seokjin mumbled.

"Of course," Mayu huffed, startling him as if he hadn't meant to pose that question aloud.

"Of course she was, huh..." Seokjin gazed at the dancing couple and you saw him swallow hard. The song wound down to the last few lines, and he stood up and adjusted his suit before starting to walk towards her.

"Seokjin-oppa!" A simpering girl clung to his arm--she could've been any one of the many girls that hung around Seokjin, you couldn't tell them apart. "Are you busy?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say a word, Mayu cut in: "He isn't."

"Yay! Let's dance!" She dragged him with her, ignoring his stammered protests. His neck craned as he tried to glimpse Saren, but she was too preoccupied with Jaehyung, who raised a finger and smiled shyly, obviously asking her to another dance.

Yoongi's brows were drawn in concern. "Seokjin is..."

"Well, he's busy dancing. We should dance too." Mayu grabbed both his hands and Yoongi allowed himself to be led to the dance floor, even as he protested that he didn't slow dance.

To cover the awkwardness of being left alone with Jungkook, you reached for the wine bottle to pour yourself another drink. But he snatched both bottle and glass from you, before he stood up and bowed. "May I have this dance?"

"Yes... " you replied.

In the one year that you were Jeon Jungkook's girlfriend, you had never been his official date to any events, you had certainly never worn a fancy dress and danced with him in a trendy club... you couldn't even hold his hand in public. And yet right now, you were doing all those things, and Jeon Jungkook was looking at you in a way that, if he had only looked at you that way before, would've prevented any sort of breakup from happening in the first place.

"You really are beautiful, you know?" he said.

"T-Thanks..." You caught yourself before you could stutter more and tried to continue the conversation: "Mayu helped me pick this dress. And she also did my make-up, you know I'm hopeless with that--"

"You look really good today, but I meant... you're beautiful all the time," he clarified.

"Jungkook..."

"You know, Seokjin found it to be such a turnoff, the way Saren earnestly pursued him. Whether it's because he's tired of that reaction from women, or because he has some old-fashioned ideas about relationships--it repelled him." He shook his head. "And I thought it was so pitiful, to be rejected even as you put your whole heart on the line as she did."

You dropped your gaze, feeling those words hit a little too close to home.

"But I was wrong."

You looked up.

"What's truly pitiful is to not value that sincerity, isn't it? To throw away that sincerity gifted to you, or to never be sincere in turn." His voice gained strength... and certainty. "I played it safe all this time, never letting you know how much I felt for you, nor how much power those feelings gave you over me. I didn't want to be that pitiful person who'll only get dumped after being so sincere."

"Jungkook--"

"Even if you should reject me, I want you to know, sincerely, that I love you. I never stopped loving you. And that was my biggest mistake--not showing how much I loved you." He cupped your cheeks and planted a soft kiss upon your forehead. Your eyes fluttered shut as you relished the warmth of his lips. All too suddenly, that warmth was gone, his arms had released you, and when you opened your eyes, Jungkook was bowing to you and leaving the dance floor.

You gawked after him, frozen within the turmoil of emotions he left in his wake. Anger was the easiest to process--how dare he do this? How dare he make you responsible for what happens to your relationship again? Whether it was becoming a couple or breaking up, why did it always have to fall upon you to make the move?

So what? A tiny voice whispered in your heart. Is that so important? More important than being honest about your own feelings?

You looked around as you walked to your table: Saren was sitting at the bar with Jaehyung, both of them all smiles and laughter as they posed for selfies; Mayu was wrapped in Yoongi's arms, still swaying to another romantic song, and Seokjin was sitting at the table and sipping wine in silence, seemingly oblivious to the usual admirers thronged around him. "Hi... do you know where Jungkook went?" you asked.

"No..." he stared at you for a few moments, looking like he wanted to tell you something. Before you could ask him what it was, your phone vibrated, alerting you to SNS posts that you might be interested in. Yoongi's and Mayu's separate posts were pictures of their own hands, each wearing one of a couple ring set. Saren didn't post anything, but was tagged in a cute selfie with one Park Jaehyung. And Jeon Jungkook...

JJK: "If we could meet at that place and begin again..."

You gazed out the wide windows, at the illuminated tower, as colorful as a nighttime rainbow.

Seokjin started to speak. "Y/N, do you think--"

You pocketed your phone. "Sorry Seokjin, there's somewhere I have to be. If you'll excuse me..."

Rather than his usual bright and charming smile, the curve of his lips was subtle and wistful. "Of course. You should go while you still can." His gaze darted from the SNS app on his own phone, to the bar.

"Sorry," you repeated, returning his faint smile.

Aggressively flagging down a taxi as soon as you exited the club, you plead with the driver: "Shiba Park--please hurry!"

You didn't want to be like Seokjin, throwing away that chance for love only to second-guess it too late.

While I still can... as long as I can... I'll go to you, Jeon Jungkook.

***

You found him at the tree-lined avenue with the clear, perfect view of Tokyo Tower. You were sure your footsteps were loud in the stilettos that you were unused to walking in, but Jungkook didn't realize your presence as you approached him from behind until you had taken his hand. "Y/N...?" he murmured, before he had even glanced down at you.

"Let's do it."

"Huh...?"

"Us. Let's begin again."

He beamed at you with shining eyes and nodded. You both turned to the tower, and moments later, the lights switched off.

"I'm glad," he said. "Doesn't that mean that we'll finally be together forever?"

"No." Jungkook's head snapped back to stare at you and you smiled at the worried look on his face. "That's mere superstition. We won't be together forever after watching Tokyo Tower's lights shut down. But we'll be together forever because we love each other and we'll make it work this time... won't we?"

"We will." he promised, squeezing your hand.

***

(Four weeks after the new beginning)

Sprawled on top of the covers of your made bed, you scrolled through your phone.

Sarensaku is in a relationship.

"Omo... aren't you going a little fast, sempai?" you chuckled as you clicked *'Like.'* "But I'm glad... that Jaehyung's a good guy." Then you continued scrolling.

IshiiMayu checked in Hanazono Onsen.  YoonGi posted a status: "Hot springs are the best for relaxing."

"A hot springs trip together, that's going even faster!" You clicked 'Like' for both posts.

Seokjinnie posted a photo: "#hanakotoba"

It was a photo of a pond, covered with pink lotus blooms. You tilted your head, surprised that he didn't post a selfie and searched for the meaning of lotus blooms in your browser.

"'Being far away from the one you love,' huh... Why did you stay in Korea for your break then, stupid old man?" you sighed, clicking 'Like' for sympathy. "But even in Tokyo… it will be too far."

You were about to put away your phone when it buzzed with a message.

JJK: "Guess where I am?" Y/N: "Aren't you supposed to be boarding?" JJK: "Nope... I managed to snag an earlier flight." Y/N: "Do you mean... " JJK: "I can see it now. I'll wait for you there. At that place. ;)"

"No way, what a stressful surprise!" you cried. But you hopped off your bed in excitement and quickly pulled on your prepared outfit of a cute knitted sweater and a pair of skinny jeans that fitted you just right and fluffed out your hair as you flagged down a cab to take you to Shiba Park.

As he promised, Jungkook was already waiting for you there, standing in the central walkway. Even in his oversized hoodie and facemask, you could recognize him.

Jumping up and down, he waved at you with both hands. "Y/N!" he called.

You giggled at the sight of him--he looked like a big kid. "Hey!" you couldn't call out his name in public, but you waved back, matching his enthusiasm.

He met you halfway and shamelessly ducked to peck you on the lips. You pouted up at him, teasing: "What, you can't even steal a proper kiss?"

Pulling you into his arms,  he kissed you deeply, making you tingle all over. When he released you, you blinked at him, speechless. He smirked with pride, and before you could slap his arm in retaliation, he grabbed your hand and started walking.

With his free hand, he snatched off his mask and flicked his hood down, exposing his face.

"Ah.. " you started to point that out, but he pulled you closer. The other people in the park started whispering and pointing, trying to be subtle, but they were obviously noticing him walking with you. "Kookie, I know you don't get mobbed here unlike in other places, but they--they're going to know... about us--"

"Let them," he declared, grinning.  "I want them to."

"But... is it really okay?" you asked.

"Sure--just take responsibility." He waved his phone at you.

You reached for your own phone and found the notification of a relationship--with JJK's profile that had just been made public.

You pressed 'Confirm.'

Y/N is in a relationship with JJK. 

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Stop Blaming Tuskegee, Critics Say. It’s Not an ‘Excuse’ for Current Medical Racism.

For months, journalists, politicians and health officials — including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Dr. Anthony Fauci — have invoked the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study to explain why Black Americans are more hesitant than white Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine.

This story is from a partnership that includes NPR, KQED and KHN. It can be republished for free.

“It’s ‘Oh, Tuskegee, Tuskegee, Tuskegee,’ and it’s mentioned every single time,” said Karen Lincoln, a professor of social work at the University of Southern California and founder of Advocates for African American Elders. “We make these assumptions that it’s Tuskegee. We don’t ask people.”

When she asks Black seniors in Los Angeles about the vaccine, Tuskegee rarely comes up. People in the community talk about contemporary racism and barriers to health care, she said, while it seems to be mainly academics and officials who are preoccupied with the history of Tuskegee.

“It’s a scapegoat,” Lincoln said. “It’s an excuse. If you continue to use it as a way of explaining why many African Americans are hesitant, it almost absolves you of having to learn more, do more, involve other people — admit that racism is actually a thing today.”

It’s the health inequities of today that Maxine Toler, 72, hears about when she asks her friends and neighbors in Los Angeles what they think about the vaccine. As president of her city’s senior advocacy council and her neighborhood block club, Toler said she and most of the other Black seniors she talks with want the vaccine but are having trouble getting it. And that alone sows mistrust, she said.

Toler said the Black people she knows who don’t want the vaccine have very modern reasons for not wanting it. They talk about religious beliefs, safety concerns or a distrust of former U.S. President Donald Trump and his contentious relationship with science. Only a handful mention Tuskegee, she said, and when they do, they’re fuzzy on the details of what happened during the 40-year study.

“If you ask them ‘What was it about?’ and ‘Why do you feel like it would impact your receiving the vaccine?’ they can’t even tell you,” she said.

Toler knows the details, but she said that history is a distraction from today’s effort to get people vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“It’s almost the opposite of Tuskegee,” she said. “Because they were being denied treatment. And this is like, we’re pushing people forward: Go and get this vaccine. We want everybody to be protected from covid.”

Questioning the Modern Uses of the Tuskegee Legacy

The “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” was a government-sponsored, taxpayer-funded study that began in 1932. Some people believe that researchers injected the men with syphilis, but that’s not true. Rather, the scientists recruited 399 Black men from Alabama who already had the disease.

Researchers told the men they had come to Tuskegee to cure “bad blood,” but never told them they had syphilis. And, the government doctors never intended to cure the men. Even when an effective treatment for syphilis — penicillin — became widely available in the 1940s, the researchers withheld it from the infected men and continued the study for decades, determined to track the disease to its endpoint: autopsy.

By the time the study was exposed and shut down in 1972, 128 of the men involved had died from syphilis or related complications, and 40 of their wives and 19 children had become infected.

Given this horrific history, many scientists assumed Black people would want nothing to do with the medical establishment again, particularly clinical research. Over the next three decades, various books, articles and films repeated this assumption until it became gospel.

“That was a false assumption,” said Dr. Rueben Warren, director of the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University in Alabama, and former associate director of minority health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1988 to 1997.

A few researchers began to question this assumption at a 1994 bioethics conference, where almost all the speakers seemed to accept it as a given. The doubters asked, what kind of scientific evidence is there to support the notion that Black people would refuse to participate in research because of Tuskegee?

When those researchers did a comprehensive search of the existing literature, they found nothing.

“It was apparently a ‘fact’ known more in the gut than in the head,” wrote lead doubter Dr. Ralph Katz, an epidemiologist at the New York University College of Dentistry.

So Katz formed a research team to look for this evidence. They completed a series of studies over the next 14 years, focused mainly on surveying thousands of people across seven cities, from Baltimore to San Antonio to Tuskegee.

The conclusions were definitive: While Black people were twice as “wary” of participating in research, compared with white people, they were equally willing to participate when asked. And there was no association between knowledge of Tuskegee and willingness to participate.

“The hesitancy is there, but the refusal is not. And that’s an important difference,” said Warren, who later joined Katz in editing a book about the research. “Hesitant, yes. But not refusal.”

Tuskegee was not the deal breaker everyone thought it was.

These results did not go over well within academic and government research circles, Warren said, as they “indicted and contradicted” the common belief that low minority enrollment in research was the result of Tuskegee.

“That was the excuse that they used,” Warren said. “If I don’t want to go to the extra energy, resources to include the population, I can simply say they were not interested. They refused.”

If you say Tuskegee, then you don’t have to acknowledge things like pharmacy deserts, things like poverty and unemployment,

Karen Lincoln

Now researchers had to confront the shortcomings of their own recruitment methods. Many of them never invited Black people to participate in their studies in the first place. When they did, they often did not try very hard. For example, two studies of cardiovascular disease offered enrollment to more than 2,000 white people, compared with no more than 30 people from minority groups.

“We have a tendency to use Tuskegee as a scapegoat, for us, as researchers, not doing what we need to do to ensure that people are well educated about the benefits of participating in a clinical trial,” said B. Lee Green, vice president of diversity at Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida, who worked on the early research debunking the assumptions about Tuskegee’s legacy.

“There may be individuals in the community who absolutely remember Tuskegee, and we should not discount that,” he said. But hesitancy “is more related to individuals’ lived experiences, what people live each and every day.”

‘It’s What Happened to Me Yesterday’

Some of the same presumptions that were made about clinical research are resurfacing today around the coronavirus vaccine. A lot of hesitancy is being confused for refusal, Warren said. And so many of the entrenched structural barriers that limit access to the vaccine in Black communities are not sufficiently addressed.

Tuskegee is once again being used as a scapegoat, said Lincoln, the USC sociologist.

“If you say ‘Tuskegee,’ then you don’t have to acknowledge things like pharmacy deserts, things like poverty and unemployment,” she said. “You can just say, ‘That happened then … and there’s nothing we can do about it.'”

She said the contemporary failures of the health care system are more pressing and causing more mistrust than the events of the past.

“It’s what happened to me yesterday,” she said. “Not what happened in the ’50s or ’60s, when Tuskegee was actually active.”

The seniors she works with complain to her all the time about doctors dismissing their concerns or talking down to them, and nurses answering the hospital call buttons for their white roommates more often than for them.

As a prime example of the unequal treatment Black people receive, they point to the recent Facebook Live video of Dr. Susan Moore. When Moore, a geriatrician and family medicine physician from Indiana, got covid-19, she filmed herself from her hospital bed, an oxygen tube in her nose. She told the camera that she had to beg her physician to continue her course of remdesivir, the drug that speeds recovery from the disease.

“He said, ‘Ah, you don’t need it. You’re not even short of breath.’ I said ‘Yes, I am,'” Moore said into the camera. “I put forward and I maintain, if I was white, I wouldn’t have to go through that.”

Moore died two weeks later.

“She knew what kind of treatment she should be getting and she wasn’t getting it,” said Toler of L.A., contrasting Moore’s treatment with the care Trump received.

“We saw it up close and personal with the president, that he got the best of everything. They cured him in a couple of days, and our people are dying like flies.”

Toler and her neighbors said that the same inequity is playing out with the vaccine. Three months into the vaccine rollout, Black people made up about 3% of Californians who had received the vaccination, even though they account for 6.2% of the state’s covid deaths.

The first mass-vaccination sites set up in the Los Angeles area — at Dodger Stadium and at Disneyland — are difficult to get to from Black neighborhoods without a car. And you practically needed a computer science degree to get an early dose, as snagging an online appointment required navigating a confusing interface or constantly refreshing the portal.

White, affluent people have been snatching up appointments, even at clinics intended for hard-hit Black and Latino communities, while people of color have had trouble getting through.

It’s stories like these, of unequal treatment and barriers to care, that stoke mistrust, Lincoln said. “And the word travels fast when people have negative experiences. They share it.”

To address this mistrust will require a paradigm shift, said Warren of Tuskegee University. If you want Black people to trust doctors and trust the vaccine, don’t blame them for their distrust, he said. The obligation is on health institutions to first show they are trustworthy: to listen, take responsibility, show accountability and stop making excuses. That, he added, means providing information about the vaccine without being paternalistic and making the vaccine easy to access in Black communities.

“Prove yourself trustworthy and trust will follow,” he said.

This story is from a partnership that includes NPR, KQED and KHN.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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This story can be republished for free (details).

Stop Blaming Tuskegee, Critics Say. It’s Not an ‘Excuse’ for Current Medical Racism. published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[brophyblam]

BLAM Oct. Writing Contest Runner-up

Congratulations to Charlie Judd ‘24 on winning second place in this month’s literary contest with his piece, titled “The Lethe Protocol”!

“Where am I?”

“This is a secure containment facility. For security reasons, I can’t tell you exactly where, but rest assured that nobody will accidentally stumble upon it.”

“Why am I here?”

“Test results show that you have been infected with a pathogen that, if released, could bring an end to Western civilization. You are to be under quarantine until the pathogen has been eliminated.”

“Why don’t I remember anything?”

“That may be a side effect of the treatment. Some slight damage to long-term memory is to be expected. You will likely gain back your memory within the week.”

“And I assume you’ll mark the days somehow? I think I read something about how keeping the lights always on messes up sleep cycles, and-”

“Unfortunately, the lights will not be turned off throughout the quarantine period. Preliminary tests suggest that the effects of the pathogen are heavily linked with circadian rhythms, so the procedure will call for a disruption in that way.”

“How long will it take?”

“That is unclear at this time.”

“Do you know what this thing is? A virus? Bacteria?”

“That is unclear at this time.”

____________________________________________________________________________

The man went to sleep at about 18:00, five hours after he woke up. 

“He seems to be adjusting well.”

“That’s just the first few hours. Give it time, he’ll begin to show signs of mental degradation.”

The first scientist smirked. “I never thought I would get the chance to observe such a fascinating case. How long until you think he... breaks?”

“Now, Emily, this is science. We’re going to find out in due time. No sort of gambling or personal interest should be in play here,” the second researcher carefully enunciated. His colleague couldn’t say those sorts of things, not when they were being recorded. He leaned in closer to her and whispered, “I’ve got twenty bucks that say it’s a week.”

“Deal.”

“I’m actually quite hungry. Could you get us some food from the cafeteria?”

“I did it last night!”

“Really? Oh, that’s right. My mistake.” He made his way over to the door.

“Wilson? Remember to get the-”

“Yeah, the paleo option, I remember, I remember.”

“Just making sure.”

____________________________________________________________________________

The man woke up in the bed. It was completely white, as was everything else in the room. That was the most unremarkable night’s sleep he had ever had.

His eyes scanned the room, taking note of everything that was in there. A sink, a toilet, a closet full of white medical robes and nutrient-rich liquid.

He chose to have breakfast. The liquid wasn’t tasteless, but it was entirely unremarkable. Slightly sweet, with an aftertaste of… mango? No, that wasn’t it. His sense of taste was thrown off. It was some sort of fruit, he decided. 

He spent the next few hours trying to remember anything. His job, his name, even just a face. Absolutely nothing came to the surface. The time slipped by with no meaning, rhyme, or reason to it, and still nothing. The only thing he could look at were the four blank white walls, which seemed to be a reflection of his own state of mind.

“Are you going to take a blood sample now? Or a mouth swab or something? I’m just curious how you’re going to study the illness.”

“We’ve already obtained samples. It’s just taking a while to determine what they are.”

“I would imagine that the type of the pathogen would be identifiable pretty easily. This is a particularly special case, I take it?”

“Yes, it certainly is… special. The Foundation has the best epidemiological and pathological resources in the civilized world available, and all of those are being put towards this cause.”

“The Foundation?”

“I’m sorry, what foundation?”

“You just mentioned a-”

“You must be experiencing slight auditory hallucinations. That seems to be the first stage of the disease.”

“Oh.”

____________________________________________________________________________

“Emily, what was that?”

“What was what?”

“The foundation thing. You can’t try to flex your false-narrative creation skills here. If you contradict yourself, he’ll get wise and there goes the entire experiment. We’d have to wipe his memory again, and you know it’d be a heck of a time getting the grant money for that.”

“Come on. You really think the higher-ups would risk him getting out there? It would be such bad news for this whole operation if even one person escaped with the truth. Frankly,” she sighed, “I don’t think they’d care about the expense of the mind-wipe if the future of the organization were at risk.”

Wilson sighed. “I just feel like it’s reckless nonetheless. You’d still be blamed for it and you’d probably never get a promotion again.”

“I like my current position.”

“Why’d you do it, though?”

“It’s kind of embarrassing…”

“This isn’t something to be shy about.”

“Well, I’ve always just been a fan of the idea of top-secret science experiments and stuff, you know…? There’s this horror creative writing website that centers around that idea called SCP and… I guess I accidentally channeled my inner nerd for a second.”

“Well, I don’t want your insatiable love for SCP roleplay to get in the way of your growth.”

Emily smiled. “Well, if I weren’t into that sort of thing, I probably never would have come here in the first place. Or stayed.”

“You’re here because they asked you to be.”

“I’m here because I said yes.”

The man chuckled. “Well, I’m going home for the night. Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“Scout’s honor.”

____________________________________________________________________________

“What’s going to happen to me? You said this disease could end the world. I take it that it’ll also end me?”

“We’re not sure. As you know, this is still an incipient situation, so we don’t have much information about the effects of the pathogen upon individuals. The information we do have access to, however, indicates that it is highly contagious and possibly dangerous for the world at large.”

The man ruminated on this for a while.

“May I ask your name? I don’t remember anything about anything right now, so it would be nice to know something about this situation.”

“Doctor Angela Johnson.”

“Pleased to meet you, Doctor.”

The man stared at the wall for another few hours and went to sleep again.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Good morning, Emily.”

“Wilson, so great to see you! Last night, I had some rather riveting conversation with our… patient, here.”

“You didn’t let anything slip, did you?”

“Only my amazing fake name. Angela Johnson, M.D. at your service.”

“You use that for every experiment! Would it kill you to be a little more creative sometimes?”

Emily laughed. “You know how Einstein wore the same outfit every day? If I wore myself out creating a new name for every case, that would detract from the energy I can spend on actually helping with the experiment.” She lowered her voice even though only Wilson was around. “Besides, it’s not like this guy could ever report Angela for malpractice.”

“They also couldn’t report, say, Eve O’Deorian.”

“I can’t do an Irish accent! It always just sounds like Crocodile Dundee in an immense amount of pain.”

“Well, it’s time for you to get some rest, guv’na. I’ll take it over from here.” Emily stared at the man through the one-way glass window. “Alright,” she said, “but just so you know…”

She walked over to the silver lab door. “That was Cockney.”

“Ah. Right.”

____________________________________________________________________________

Wilson watched the man sleep. This was the first time he had been given such a large role in this kind of experiment. His official title was “Data Collector and Containment Overseer,” so his job was to monitor the subject, record data, and head the post-experiment data analysis.

Before this, he had been working with Emily as an aide to an analyst who was studying rodent behavioral patterns. Their work in this capacity had been praised as exemplary, so they were accelerated through the ranks more quickly than any other researchers had ever been. This was their first day as “DCCO”s.

The man stayed entirely quiet, without even moving a muscle. He must be in denial about his situation, Wilson decided. This was different from stimulating pain receptors in mouse brains or studying the behavior of infant gerbils separated from their mothers. This is a person, he thought, who can feel true psychological agony beyond simple pain response. Is this really right? He remembered the ethics training from when he joined the organization.

They were given a booklet to go along with the oral presentation. When skimming it, he found a paragraph under the “Ethics of Human Experimentation” section that read:

Many of our researchers grapple with the idea of subjecting human beings to unpleasant experiences for the purpose of scientific advancement. However, within this organization, we choose to go beyond the values of society at large in some cases so that we can gain scientific knowledge unobtainable through conventional methods. This scientific knowledge, in turn, is covertly released back into society. Fear of the law is also a factor in many researchers’ problems with these experiments. However, we assure all our scientists that every action taken within this building is completely exempt from federal and international law. The studies of this institution have been fully and totally approved by the United Nations, so long as the knowledge gained is shared with the world in some way. 

This was just words on a page to him when he read it at orientation. He was never one for the philosophy of ethics. As a general rule, he never thought much about whether his actions were acceptable to some unseen force that supposedly ruled the universe. However, now that he was looking at a real human being subjected to total isolation, he felt… dirty. Sinful, almost. 

This subject was going to be in this chamber for… how long? The higher-ups never informed him or Emily about when this man would be mind-wiped and released back to his old life. He decided to ask when his shift ended and Emily took over. 

____________________________________________________________________________

“Is anyone there?”

A long pause filled the air until a man’s voice responded.

“Hello, sir.”

“Oh. I just wanted to talk to Doctor Johnson a little bit.”

“Oh, well, I guess you are.”

“I mean Angela Johnson.”

“Ah. Well, we share both a last name and an assignment.”

“Okay. That makes sense. Are there any updates on the whole… pathogen... thing?”

“Unfortunately, no. This thing is quite hard to pin down. Top scientists are working on it, though.”

“Good to know.”

“For some… data… would you mind responding to a few questions about your overall health, mentally and physically?”

“Sure.”

“How would you describe your current state of mind?”

“I think I’m just in shock right now. My life, if it goes on from this point, probably won’t ever be the same. It’s just a lot, you know?”

“Yes, yes. I understand. Any physical pain?”

“Not pain exactly, but a lot of… discomfort and grogginess. I feel like I’m at least twenty pounds heavier than I really am.”

“Okay, thank you.”

____________________________________________________________________________

“Wilson, you didn’t fall asleep while checking his vitals, right?”

The scientist found himself with his head resting on a reflective steel desk, being woken up by his partner’s voice.

“Maybe…”

“You’ve got to try to stay awake, man! This is potentially groundbreaking stuff. Nothing to snore at, you know what I mean?”

Wilson groaned. “Emily, we talked about the puns. Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop with the puns.”

“I can’t help it.”

It took a while for the scientist to stand up. When he did, he walked over to Emily.

“Um, can I ask you a question?”

“Fire away.”

“Do you ever think about what we’re putting this guy through? I mean, he’s all alone in there except for our voices now and again. I wouldn’t say that’s exactly a humane thing.”

Emily smirked. “Oh, you tease, you!” She noticed her colleague’s stern, serious face. “Oh, you’re not joking. Well, I wouldn’t have expected you to get all touchy-feely, but I guess I don’t really think about that. Even if he doesn’t particularly enjoy this, the whole world will benefit from this much more than he suffers.”

“We’re destroying his life here! I know this is groundbreaking research and all, but you can’t ignore all the data! Look at Harlow’s Pit of Despair! Look at what that did to people! Don’t pretend like that’s just not particularly enjoying something!”

“Woah, I didn’t expect you to go all Boy Scout on me. Look. You’re not you right now. You’re not acting like yourself. I think the night shift got you all up in your head. Go home, get some rest, and we can continue this conversation when you’re thinking straight.”

Wilson marched out without saying goodbye.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Hello, ma’am?”

“Ah, Doctor Gregory. Sit down, sit down. Have some peppermint.” She handed him a hard candy from the jar on her desk. “How can I help you today?”

“Well, I just wanted to ask for some more information about the isolation experiment I’m performing with Doctor Bueller.”

“Of course. You know, of course, that I can’t provide you with any information above your position.”

“Of course.”

“Good. I just wanted to make sure. What’s your question?”

“What’s the projected timeline for how long this experiment will last? A week or two?”

“Well, if everything goes smoothly, there should be enough resources to keep the subject in the chamber indefinitely.”

“So he could spend the rest of his life in there?”

“Yes, I suppose so. This truly is an amazing opportunity for scientific advancement, no?”

Wilson’s face went pale. “Yes. Truly… truly amazing.”

“Doctor? You seem sick. I think the night shift might have been a shock to your system. Go home, rest up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

____________________________________________________________________________

The man woke up for what seemed like no more than five minutes and then went right back to sleep. The next thing he knew, he was being shaken awake by a strange man in a white lab coat.

“Come on, we don’t have much time.”

“Okay.”

The man wearing the lab coat pulled him by the arm out a door that seemed to have materialized in the wall. 

“Is the pathogen spreading? What’s happeni-”

“There was never a pathogen. This is all a cruel experiment designed to keep you in isolation for the rest of your life. I’m busting you out.”

The man recognized his voice. “Wait, Doctor Johnson?”

“Not really my name. Come on, we need to go.”

The strange man led him down a pristine white hallway lined with the same lights that adorned his isolation room. After a few seconds, another person in a lab coat came out a door.

The first man in the lab coat jerked him to the side, quickly opened a door, and closed it again. They found themselves in a storage cabinet, with ample amounts of medical masks, thermometers, test tubes, and the like. 

“I’m keeping the door cracked so I can see. I’ll give the all clear, and then we go that way.” He pointed to the left. “We’ll have to run like all get out, okay? Be ready.”

“Uh, okay.”

Time stood still until the man whispered, in the same hushed tone, “Go.”

They busted open the door and ran as fast as they could. Finally, they reached an elevator at the end of the hallway. The man in the lab coat frantically pressed the up arrow again and again. They were greeted by an elevator, just as white and spotless as the rest of the building. 

An old woman wearing that same lab coat was waiting in the elevator, and she cheerily greeted them. “Hello, dears. What floor?”

“Ground level, if you please,” the strange man said. The words were interspersed with heavy breathing and they had a surprising tension to them.

“Excellent choice, dears.” The woman paid no mind to the man’s attire, and acted as though she dealt with things like this every day. She punched in the button with a G on it. The door closed.

Suddenly, she grabbed a pearl-colored walkie-talkie from around her waist and spoke into it.

“Escaped test subject on level B-5, coming to ground floor right now. He seems to have been aided by one of our own.”

The two men looked at each other, all hope dashed within the span of two sentences.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Well, well. How ironic that our best and brightest would betray the organization like this. You knew what you were getting into when you accepted the offer, correct? Why, after all that time and hard work, would you throw it away for… morality?”

“What you’re doing here is wrong! Any decent human person can see that.”

“Only foolish people would think that. In any case, I trust you’ve inferred what the procedure from here would be.”

“You’ll erase my memory, I imagine.”

“That’s just the first part. You see, the Institute has been presented with a problem in recent years. With the omnipresence of the internet in human lives, it’s become increasingly difficult to find people whose absence nobody would notice. As per your agreement from when you started here, you have cut all ties with friends, family, and social media, correct?”

He didn’t respond.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Where am I?”

[melodielgrace]

MAZ Section 2, Chapter 1; Awake in a Strange Place

Ugh. That was an epic, albeit disturbing, dream. It felt so real. I nearly feel dizzy, can almost sense abrasions on my skin. Actually, there are. I shoot up out of bed, not my bed, this isn’t my bed. Why isn’t this my bed? Rolling up my black pyjama pants, which I don’t remember putting on, or even buying, I see scratches and gashes up my right leg. Shit, that was real? It wasn’t a dream? Oh, damn, so I must be in hospital. I’m in hospital, of course. Somewhere between Rivertown and Halls Gap. I could be anywhere, that’s a long way. This doesn’t quite look like a hospital. Or not what I expected, at least. Never having been inside an actual hospital, this is strange. As if waking up somewhere I didn’t go to sleep isn’t strange enough. White walls, gold floor, trim and door. Aren’t hospitals supposed to white? Or, like, light blue? The harsh white light blinds me. My clothes have been changed. Do I feel violated? I don’t know because isn’t that part of the nursing/doctoring job? I suppose it would be hard to save someone’s life with torn up clothing in the way. It could very well still be Tuesday 7th, the day we were on our way to Halls Gap for the school camp. Or it could be Wednesday, or Thursday, or Friday. There’s no way of telling for sure how long I’ve been out. My head’s confused. Should I be freaking out? Or should I feel safe, gratified, that someone came along and took us to hospital? Oh I hope Ruby’s alright. She must be somewhere close by. My feet make no noise on the cold and polished floor. There is no lock or handle on the door, so I push against it gently. It doesn’t want to open so easily, so use a bit more force. Nope, nothing. I shove my whole body into it, and still, it doesn’t budge. Maybe it’s a pull door, not push? I try that, but I can’t understand how one is supposed to open this damn door. Perhaps we aren’t. Not from the inside. Could it possibly be that only the doctors can open them? Maybe they have a key card or some sort of fancy techy lock on the outside. Is it voice activated? “Open.” I command of it. “Unlock.” Still won’t move. “Open sesame? Alohomora?” Okay, I’m really getting nervous now. Scared, even. “Hello? Is someone there? I’m awake now and I can’t open the door? Could I please get some help? Anyone?” I’m stuck. I look around for another exit, or something else that could help me get out. I don’t know what to look for, but even if I did, even if I had any idea, I wouldn’t succeed. There’s nothing here, apart from the bed. The bed that isn’t mine. Where am I? Where could I be? It’s spacious enough in here, I suppose, but I’m trapped. I’m not claustrophobic, but I’m scared out of my mind. How long have I been here? How long will I be here? Will someone come get me? My breathing turns rough, my chest tightens. It’s so quiet and that scares me further. I guess there’s nothing to do but sit down in a corner and endure through this approaching anxiety attack. I can’t organise my thoughts; ‘I don’t want to be here’, ‘Why am I here?’, ‘Where are the others are they okay?’, ‘What’s going to happen to us?’, ‘What’s going to happen to me?’ My mind is turning too fast for me to follow, so I try to concentrate on doing breathing exercises. Meditating, 5 seconds inhaling through the nose, 5 seconds exhaling through the mouth. In, out. In, out. Out through the nose, in through the mouth. Wait. No, that’s not right. Damn, who knew breathing was so hard? I finally calm down enough to be reasonable with myself. I reinforce the idea that I’m safe, and that I’ll be home soon. A hear sudden noises, and instead of my heart leaping out of my chest, it feels like it just went back into my spine. A deep voice talking outside, a few pairs of feet stomping, growing fainter as they walk away. The wall starts to whirr and hiss, and makes all sorts of sounds. A door-sized whole dissolves in front of my eyes. A short man in an oversized speckled gold coat appears in the way. He enters, trailed by a taller, more threatening-seeming man who brings with him a cart full of miscellaneous objects. The short man keeps walking towards me while the tall one takes his place against the wall. The short man is smiling warmly, inciting hope in me. Up close I can see an embellishment on his jacket, a bizarre pattern with the lets M, A, Z over the top of it. I wonder what MAZ is. Maybe it’s his initials? “Good morning, my dear Emoni McLaris.” He knows my name! Ok how does he know my name? Oh, duh, he’s a doctor, hospitals know this stuff. He sees me stiffen and he chuckles softly. “Oh, darling, don’t worry. I’m a doctor, of sorts. Of course I know your name.” Just as I thought. Nothing to fear. “My name is Doctor Haycinth.” So, not his initials, then. “And I’m sorry to say that, yesterday you and your classmates suffered a car crash. Well, a car crashed into your bus.” “I’d hoped it was a dream.” I admit. Haycinth shakes his head. “Sorry, no. it was the real deal. I’m the head of this here sanatorium you find yourself in. When my team found you and your class, they contacted me and I immediately came to the rescue.” His face falls further. “This may be upsetting, but I must inform you that, unfortunately, some of your classmates have died.” Ruby? Oh my gosh no not Ruby, I couldn’t live without her. “Some had passed before I even arrived on the scene. Two actually departed along the journey here. Terrible stuff. My condolences.” “Ruby?” I utter. “Ruby? Ruby Newell? Is she okay? Is she alive? Is she alright?” Nodding his head, he says ‘yes’. Maybe I can try to breathe again. “May I explain some further things to you?” “Go ahead.” He sits down with me on the floor. “I’m not your typical suburban doctor, you see. I founded a great society many years ago, it has since blossomed to reach its full potential, in the form of this establishment we stand in. The Medical Alteration Zone, or ‘MAZ’, specialises in experimental methods that the government deems unsuitable for mainstream use.” MAZ. That sounds ambiguously familiar. “But, please don’t be threatened by what we do. We also function as any other normal hospital would. Take yourself, for example. A bus crash. We aren’t solely focused on silly little science experiments.” He laughs, encouraging me to laugh with him, so I don’t feel endangered. I do laugh, but I do still feel scared. “Can I see my friends?” I venture. “Certainly, although not yet. Most are still recovering, you see. It was a traumatic experience.” He sounds quite upset. “Oh, yeah, of course,” I understand. “I assumed you’ve called my parents?” He juts his head on an angle and says “Yes. It was an upsetting phone call, but their glad you’re ok and they’re on their way to come collect you and take you home. I’m sorry about your school trip.” So everything’s great! I’ll be reunited with my family soon enough, and when Ruby’s better we can go shopping like we used to, everything will be back to normal. “It’s okay, I didn’t really wanna come anyway. So was anything wrong with me? I mean I saw the scrapes on my legs, but did you have to operate?” Haycinth perks up. “Fortunately not, Miss McLaris. But we did run a few standard tests etcetera, and you’re mostly fine and healthy. Other than the shock.” “I must tell you something that you won’t believe, but I swear it’s true. You’ll probably think I’m lying because of how,” he laughs shortly, “outlandish this will sound to you.” Is he gonna tell me that I’m pregnant? “You have a brother. Lowen Stanis” Aha, good one. “He’d be 23 now. 15 years ago, in 2022, your happy little family of four took the scenic route to your grandparent’s farm, I believe. But your car collided with another.” No, that’s just a sullen scene I invented in my head… “Luckily, you all survived. However, 8-year-old Lowen moseyed away from the scene. Three days later, this precious child chanced upon our property, and we took him in. Adopted him. Of course, we told your parents he had been kidnapped. Convinced them to change their name and move. They did just that, McLaris.” This is bullshit. “This is bullshit.” I say. “We began testing him when he turned 10. We’re ruthless scientific investigators, but we’re not horrible people; we would never hurt a child.” I still don’t believe him. “Sure, it’s still bullshit, though. I’m an only child. I think I would know if I had a brother.” “Ah, but you don’t. Do you what repressed memories are, Miss McLaris?” Haycinth asks condescendingly. He doesn’t let me answer. “They are memories that have been unconsciously locked due to the memory being associated with a high level of stress or trauma. Can you tell me of a traumatic incident you’ve been through?” “Stepping in gum.” I spit venomously. “When you were in the baby booster seat in the back of the car when you crashed and your brother went missing, I would expect. You blocked all previous memories at that moment.” …that makes sense. I learned about memories in Psychology class, and what he says does ring true to it. But, my parents would’ve said something, surely…? Haycinth presses some buttons on a remote and the wall in front of me, the same wall that materialised a doorway, turns into a screen. A photo of a laughing baby. “This-“ “Ooh! Ooh! Let me guess! Is it my fake brother?” “Indeed, Miss McLaris. Lowen Stanis, 4 months old.” Like a slideshow, it switches to another image. An older boy, about 5. A few more pictures of the same age, then “This photo was taken the morning of your car crash. Isn’t he handsome? Oh, and there’s you.” Unexplainably, it is me. And the car we’re standing in front of with…my mother. That’s my mother. And it truly looks authentic. But no way, I don’t have a brother, never did. How did they get this photo? I’ve never seen anything like it. “Photos can easily be edited.” The snapshot morphs into another, the same boy. “We took these when we found him.” This picture blends into one of a dashing teen. “16 years old, here.” Haycinth narrates, as if I can’t see for myself. “This next one,” the screen changes, “is my personal favourite. How he was at 18, just around the time he built up a certain…immunity. His body resisted our sturdiest chemicals.” “Lowen developed…abilities. Ones we had never seen before. None of our other subjects had ever shocked us like this. We were stumped. Still are, a bit. Since he ran away when he was about your age, we have made advancements in finding a cure. He is sick, Emoni. And we need you to help us help him.” The screen changes once more; “This is what we believe him to look like now, at 23 years old his features should be mostly the same. We cannot find out boy, Emoni. Will you assist in returning him to us? To his home?” “Even if he did exist I wouldn’t help you.” I spit venomously. “Would you like some food? I’m sure you starving by now.” His noiseless companion takes a gold platter out of the cart, brings it over to me and reveals a meal like I’ve never before seen. Two big chunks of steaming meat that I struggle to identify, atop potato slices and an eccentric salad. Something drizzling down the meat; sauce. He hands me a black knife and fork wrapped in a black serviette. What a peculiar colour scheme they have going on here. I am famished. Ravenously I snatch up the cutlery and take the plate, sitting it down in front of my crossed legs on the floor. Just before I dig in, I hesitate. What if they’ve put some sort of experimental drug in it? Are they experimenting on me? Doctor Haycinth bends down, takes the fork from my hand, and peels of a portion of meat, exposing the soft and tender sinews. He takes the mouthful and returns the fork to me. “It’s safe. We don’t want to hurt you.” Awesome, I can eat it. Who cares for table manners when there isn’t a table? “Will you help us to help him?” Haycinth begs. I get back to my meal, making a start on the potato. It tastes…artificial. This has taken an unexpected turn. And so have I. They did drug me. The potatoes have left me paralysed from the neck down. Unable to move, I fall sideways onto the cold hard ground that I was admiring only a few moments ago. “What’s happening? What are you doing to me?” I manage to vocalise. “I can’t move.” “Hmm yes.” He nods to his mate, who picks me up and lays me down on the bed. Haycinth holds his palm to a panel in the wall next to the bed, which opens up and closes around his wrist. It must be an ID scanner or something of the like. More whirring and stirring and a section of the floor moves out of the way of a rising containment. The Silent Man lifts me again and roughly walks me to it. Laying me down in it, Haycinth removes his hand from the wall to come and restrain me, which seems excessive considering I CAN’T MOVE TO DEFEND MYSELF. He and the Silent Man continue to buckle me down. “We were trying to make super-soldiers. But, that obviously didn’t turn out how we expected. And neither did Lowen. We consider him to be an anomaly. Actually, a few of the staff have taken to the nickname; ‘The Anomaly’.” Haycinth laughs. Hahaha, so funny. “Will you tell us the whereabouts of his location?” (I think that ‘whereabouts’ and ‘location’ mean the same thing?) I stare blankly ahead, trying not to try. “Hmm? No? Well that’s alright, I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe you’ll have changed your mind by then. In the meantime, my friend will stay here to comfort you.” Haycinth makes his leave. The Silent Man picks up shiny metal piece that worries me. He laughs sadistically as he brings it to my face to show my source of torture to me. He makes his first cut, slow and excruciating on my shoulder. He then slides it down, slicing open the skin of my arm. I try my best not to scream.

[silencedlittlebirdy]

Conquering a World: Part 3

Traaiillooonn clicked his mandible fangs with his claw, “So you plan to test these plants by licking them?” “No, well, eventually, yes. But right now I’m testing the plant samples against chemicals. That’s why I was telling you you shouldn’t be in here if you don’t have a mask. I don’t know what will happen when I test these plants against these chemicals. They could have extremely toxic reactions.” I took a dropper of hydrogen peroxide, ready to put it on a fruit I had found. “What?! You’re going to test it without knowing the reactions?!” I rolled my eyes, “How else am I supposed to figure it out?” “But…it could be deadly!” “I’m aware,” I responded through gritted teeth, just barely biting back an insult. “But being on an unfamiliar planet is just as deadly, so is starvation, dehydration, and hypothermia.” “You’re going to risk your life to test a plant?” I didn’t bother responding, just let the peroxide drop onto the plant. It just bubbled the way it normally did. I shrugged, and made note of the initial reaction. Then I lowered the mask and smelled. Just smelled like peroxide. I started another sample, to test with a small sample of iodine that was given me for experiments, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Meaning, if you’re too afraid to stay here, get out. I don’t need you shadowing me, I don’t need you distracting me. I have to be precise, and able to focus so that I don’t miss anything.” “But I must record all discoveries and advancements made by you and the other humans as you conquer and settle this planet, including the scientific methods used to accustom yourselves with the workings of the planet. Also, I am told to take stock orders.” I froze before I could squeeze the dropper. “Stock orders? What does that mean?” “Well, the Pqncallaxis Dominion is aware of the needs of humans, and that all supplies for your survival may not be present at the current moment in time, and that it takes time to learn what is consumable. Just because we want you to settle the world does not mean that you must suffer while doing so.” “Looonny-boy, you should have started with that bit of information.” I put the dropper back in the bottle of iodine. “Do you realize how panicked humans get when they’re ripped away from everything they’ve known? You’re lucky we didn’t kill you the moment you landed. I still wasn’t sure whether I wanted to try and poison you or not. Come on, we have to tell the others. I need real equipment, we need actual medical supplies, and we need ammunition. If something attacks us we need to be able to defend ourselves.” Traaiillooonn’s whiskers twitched, “You would poison another species?” “Humanity does all sorts of weird things when under pressure.” “Humans are a violent race.” “But you’ve got to admit, we’re excellent at keeping out of the intergalactic wars.” “This is a truth.” “So, is your name just Traaiillooonn?” “My name was judged to be too difficult for humans to pronounce.” “I’d still like to hear it.” “Ecxatraaiillooonnonkrisskavafliskvan.” I frowned as I thought it over. “Ecxa-traaiillooonn-kriss-kava-flisk-van. I can see why you’d go by a nickname.” “What is this nickname?” “A shortening of your full name, or some other name that you are called by friends and family. My mom calls me Cocoa Butt. Nobody else. It’s her nickname for me.” “Ah, so you consider Traaiillooonn a nickname for me.” “Exactly.” “Interesting. I shall have to make note of this practice in my observations. There is not much information on humans in the Pqncallaxis Dominion’s records. Is it true that humans have three forms of mating rituals? Kara-oke, Dance, and consumption of alcohol? Sometimes mixed together.” I started laughing. “I wouldn’t exactly call them mating rituals. Humans have many different practices that lead to…mating.” “Such as?” “Um…you know, it would take another lifetime to describe all of the different rituals. Let’s just suffice to say the things you named are activities that potential mates would do together for fun, or to get to know each other a little more.” I didn’t want to delve into that well of awkward. “Ava, get everyone together. Traaiillooonn just told me something important.” She shot a glare my way, probably for being to loud. “Important enough that you made me lose count?” “More important. Traaiillooonn just told me that we can order supplies.” She set the can of soup on a pile. “You couldn’t have told me this before I started going through the pantry?” “I just found out about five minutes ago. Maybe ten. Don’t be grumpy. Ecxatraaiillooonnonkrisskavafliskvan didn’t realize that it would be a point of interest for us.” She rolled her eyes, still glaring. I sighed. I guess there was no point talking to her. When she got into one of her moods, there was no getting her out of it and it was just horrible to be around her. “Okay, well, I’m going to go tell the others. You should still look through the pantry. We’ll still need to know what we have so that we can order more efficiently. And Ava? Might want to drink some tea, sweet-chicks your RBF is active,” I remarked as I left the room. She didn’t respond, unless it was an inaudible grumble. Traaiillooonn followed. “What is RBF?” “Resting Bitch face. Honestly, she just has chronic bitch face as well. She’s working on it. I have a higher tolerance for her. Anyway, we should get out. She does have a gun.” “Ah, so you are a typical protective household and your lover—as the humans say—wears the pants?” “Whoa! No. No, no. No no no. No, that’s not…oh gosh…no. Just no.” “You wear the pants?” “Ugh! No! We’re not lovers. She’s a friend. That’s it. That’s all. Jeez oh Pete, you’re worse than the old ladies at my church. Trying to throw me in with someone. We’re a defensive household. Only reason I don’t have a pistol is because of the noise. I’ve always been a little sound sensitive. That’s not to say that I won’t shoot one. I’m a good shot. But I’m still more likely to poison someone than shoot them. There’s Chad.” I waved him down. He said something to his father, then jogged over. “What’s up?” “Traaiillooonn just told me that one of his jobs is to place orders for stock.” Chad stared blankly for a moment, then started laughing. “I’m so ready for bed.”

@riptidethepen

[cksmart-world]

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

by Christopher Smart

June 11, 2019

U of U LAUDS ITSELF IN DEATH OF TRACK STAR

Well, heck, why not put your best foot forward — if you have one. The adept administration of the University of Utah headed up by President Ruth Watkins decided to hand out awards to folks for their wonderful efforts while a prison parolee and registered sex offender stalked and killed 21-year-old senior Lauren McClusky. Well, yes, the track star, who was looking forward to the rest of her life, had begged University Police for intervention for days and days as her killer harassed her and “borrowed” money and her car. And yes, a scathing independent report blasted the university police response, including the fact that they didn't bother to run his name through their computer and had no idea he was a sex offender on parole. But now that seven months has passed since her slaying, why not give out some awards so people will remember exactly how well the University of Utah responded to Lauren's plight. Well, as they say, all's well that ends well. As for Lauren's heartbroken parents, well, university officials said something like this: Hey, we hope you're not offended or anything by the awards because, you know, we always like to acknowledge excellence.

Evolution Is Only A Theory

If evolution were true, every other baby would be born a chimpanzee. Some members of the State School Board know this. And according to board member Lisa Cummins, the Earth could not possibly be 4.6 billion years old. We know that because Wilma and Fred Flintstone had dinosaur pets. Yes, it's time once again to set science teaching standards in Utah schools and a couple of board members fear students will come away with an education. The Salt Lake Tribune's ubiquitous scribe Courtney Tanner reports they are worried that kids will be taught that “humans are like pigs” and “only crazy people believe God created Earth.” And just because you don't believe in evolution doesn't mean “you're unintelligent or uninformed or belong in a garbage can,” said board member Alisa Ellis. Well, of  course not. Well-informed people believe Eve was made from Adam's rib not long before the Three Wise Men found Baby Jesus. Sadly, dinosaurs fell off Noah's Ark and drowned. So anyway, its only fair that we teach creationism alongside evolution, so that 8th graders can choose for themselves what to believe. But really, why teach the scientific method when it can't  explain how Moses parted the Red Sea?

Lock Him Up! Lock Him Up!

How dare Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, say she would like to see President Donald Trump in prison (rather than impeached). That's like treason or something and Sean Hannity is just incredulous. Wishing that a political opponent would be put behind bars is what they do in banana republics, he declared. Lock Him Up! Lock Him Up! Who would say such a thing? Who would stoop so low? The president made the rounds on Fox News, declaring that Pelosi is a nasty, vindictive disaster (take that, you old biddy!) and that he is completely innocent — just read the report by Pelosi's friend Bobby Mueller and the 16 other angry Democrats who were out to get the president. “They couldn't find a thing on me,” Trump insisted. You can't say that about Hillary Clinton, who colluded with the Russians and then hid emails on her personal server after she killed everyone at the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi. Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up! Yeah, that's more like it.

Bad News / Good News

And speaking of Benghazi, we have some heartbreaking news: Jason Chaffetz, the one-time BYU place kicker and former House inquisitor, will not be running for governor of Utah. Bummer. Jason's political career was cruising along quite nicely as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight, where he conducted non-stop investigations of Hillary for all her evil doings. But alas, Donald Trump was elected and that meant Jason would be in charge of oversight of the new president and bon vivant of New York City real estate. Fortunately, it was time for Jason to start spending more time with his family. Such a loss. Ah, but there is good news, too. Greg Hughes, the former Speaker of the Utah House and Donald Trump devotee, has raised zillions for his run for governor. What a guy. He single-handedly made homeless people disappear downtown, so real estate developers could make Salt Lake City Great Again. Hughes knows how to get things done. If his opaque wheeling and dealing when he was on the UTA board of directors with his best bud and developer extraordinaire, Terry Diehl, are any example, he'll make a helluva governor. And we haven't even mentioned the Inland Port. Yep, the future is so bright, Hughes will be wearing shades. What the rest of us will be covered in has yet to determined.

Post Script: Cedars of Lebanon closed it's doors last week and a little bit of Salt Lake City died with it. Some of the first restaurateurs to offer Middle Eastern cuisine, Raffi and Marlen Daghlian are hanging up their aprons after 38 years. The staff here at Smart Bomb will never forget the Morrocan pastilla and belly dancing at our favorite spot on 2nd South. Sweet memories. Even Wilson and the band loved it.

Well, that's it for another fun-filled week here at Smart Bomb, where the staff has been taking Rollerblade lessons in order to meet all those wonderfully tattooed young women at Liberty Park. Wilson and the band, as per usual, have opted out, complaining that they can't play music with broken wrists. But the guys do like to ride those electric scooters. Wilson says they're big fun, especially after you get a good buzz on. Well, what can we say? Watch out! OK, Wilson, plug in the amps and take us out with a little something for summer fun: Well, I got a brand new pair of roller skates / You got a brand new key / I think that we should get together / And try them out, you see / I been looking around awhile / You got something for me / Oh, I got a brand new pair of roller skates / You got a brand new key...

[nsschaintale]

Link 5: Kindness Is Not Here

CHAINTALE Extra

Chain Link: The Fallen Royal Scientist

Link 5: Kindness Is Not Here

Several years went by and things were starting to look up somewhat. Progress on the Core has increased, and Project Barrier Break is one step closer to its completion. There was even news of a rising star among the Royal Guard ranks in the form of a young fish woman named Ketju. Despite the advances of civilization in the Underground, things weren't exactly going well within the Gadwyn family with Gadwyn himself slightly diverging from his initial path. Ever since retrieving the Soul of Perseverance from Percy, his relationship with Tether has become severely strained. They would argue about the methods used to collect the human Souls, the doubts about the experiment for the barrier, and the loss and cruel death of Tether's first friend he made, despite it being a human. Catena was visiting from Royal Guard training at the time, and tried to diffuse the situation with some success.

Gadwyn: I don't have time to discuss this, Tether! There are more important matters to be taken cared of.

Tether: Dis is just as important! I still 'aven't fergotten what ya did years ago!

Gadwyn: I thought you would have by now!

Catena: D-DAD, TETHER, CAN'T WE DISCUSS THIS LATER!? YOU TWO WILL BE LATE FOR WORK!!

Tether: Tch, all right, Catena...

Gadwyn: Fine... I swear you remind me of your mother...

Tether: Mother?

Gadwyn: ….Shit...

Tether: What about our mother?

Catena: WE HAVE A MOTHER?

Gadwyn (sighs heavily): ...Had a mother.

Catena: WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?

Gadwyn: ...Let's discuss this later on today, all right? We'll be late... (gathers his things and leaves for the door)

Catena: “HAD” A MOTHER?

Tether: I dunno. If it's true, I must've fergotten...

Catena: ….

The day went on as normal, besides the occasional bickering between Gadwyn and Tether. For the majority of the project, Tether has vehemently refused to help the other scientists with studying Percy's body and Soul. He was willing to help with the chosen human body PA02, but anything having to do with Percy was out of the question. Since the project involves the boy, Tether was stuck doing menial tasks, deliveries, and checking on the Core's progress. Meanwhile, some of the scientists had noticed Gadwyn was acting strangely, but chalked it up to stress from overseeing PBB, the Core, and the rocky relationship with his elder son. He had been pouring most of his hours into studying and combining the essences by himself while occasionally glaring at the young human's body. He was even wanting to cut every piece of the boy's body and make it disappear, but he knew the king wouldn't allow such a thing since it would be outside of his scientific tasks, so he had to hold in that desire and not incur the wrath of both King Kette and Tether. Other than that, it was another stress-filled successful day at work. Once the day was over, though, things started to get tense again when the Gadwyn family returned home.

Gadwyn (takes off his coat): So tired...

Tether: ...So...

Gadwyn: What is it now..?

Tether: About our mother...

Catena: OH YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT! YOU SAID YOU WOULD TELL US ABOUT OUR MOTHER!

Gadwyn (rubs his temples irritably): ….All right, but let me rest first. We had a long day.

Tether: Yeah..... (watches Gadwyn trudge his way to his room)

Catena (sits down with Tether): I WONDER WHAT OUR MOTHER WAS LIKE.

Tether: Dunno. Hmm...I think I have some vague idea of what she's like, but it's not really coming up.

Catena: WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER?

Tether: Um... I'm thinking flowers....and...a smile...

Catena: UMM...THAT'S..NOT REALLY MUCH TO GO ON...

Tether: Yeah, it must've been years since then. (shrugs) Who knows. Papa'll explain it. Hopefully.

Catena (twiddles his thumbs anxiously): HMN...YOU AND DAD HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN ON GOOD TERMS SINCE THE HUMAN DIED. WAS IT THAT SPECIAL?

Tether: Yeah... There was something about him....I can't really place it... I just wanted to be his friend somehow. Percy, he promised that he'd leave here and take our story to the surface. He wanted to show me what it was like up there. He never got to, because you know. (frowns) The project.

Catena: OH...

Tether: Yeah... (stretches) I guess since he's taking a nap, I should, too. (lays fully on the couch) Wake me when he does.

Catena: REALLY? RIGHT HERE ON THE- (sees Tether fall asleep; sighs heavily) OF COURSE HE DOES...

The few hours Tether and Gadwyn had slept, Catena spent cleaning up the house. He was getting pretty excited to finally know about what his mother was like. He's never had any prior knowledge of his early childhood since he's only known his father and brother. If he did know something about her, he may have forgotten like Tether had. Speaking of his father, Gadwyn made his way back downstairs, finding Catena dusting the TV and Tether asleep on the couch. Once Tether was awakened and the family ate together, Gadwyn reluctantly began his story.

Gadwyn: You boys wanted to know about your mother, hm?

Catena: ABSOLUTELY!

Tether: Of course we do.

Gadwyn: Haaa.... All right. This was long before you two were born....long before we monsters were sealed underground...long before the war...

Tether: Long before...sealed... Wait...are you saying that..

Gadwyn: Yes.. We once lived on the surface. You two were born on the surface...

Tether (shocked): Wha... Are you kidding me!?

Catena: AND IT'S WHERE YOU MET OUR MOTHER?!

Gadwyn: Yes. It was close to Autumn up there and there was a festival going on....

-FLASHBACK: LIFE ON THE SURFACE-

The color of Autumn was slowly creeping up across the land as the air was cooling down. Despite that, the atmosphere in a certain village is much more warm and festive. The annual Autumn Equinox Festival is in full swing as humans and monsters alike were enjoying the festivities. This was during a time where both races coexisted and festivals like this were great ways for them to come together. For one young monster, it would be where his life would soon change. That monster is Aden Beth Gadwyn. He works at a church and was in the process of coming up with a design of a temple the clergy wanted to build nearby. That was before he was dragged to the festival by his equine friend Keldin.

Keldin: Come on, it'll be fun!

Aden: I don't know, Keldin, this looks like too much.

Keldin: Well, yeah, it's a festival! It's supposed to be like this!

Aden: Keldin, I'm supposed to be helping the church wit-

Keldin: It can wait! Come on! (rushes off)

Aden: Keldin, wai- (sees him disappear in the crowd) Aah... Geez... (glances around) Well, now what...?

Left behind by the quick-footed Keldin, Aden started to wander around. Wandering past the food stands, meandering by the random magic shows some of the monsters performed, and browsing the trinket stands, Aden didn't really show much interest in such things. He was never really an outside person unless it was for the church and even then, most of his activities were indoors. He only went outside to gather information about the future temple site and maybe the occasional nature studies before getting pulled away by Keldin. Aden was ready to give up trying to find him when he caught a scent of something peculiar. It didn't match the foods that are present, so it was unique. He wanted to ignore it, but curiosity got the best of him so he followed it. The more he did so, the stronger the smell became, becoming more entranced by it. It seemed to be like some kind of flower. A rose? A sunflower? He wasn't sure, but his vision also started to cloud in a strange way as if a green fog was setting in.

Aden (rubs his eye sockets): Ah? What's going on? My eyes... Everything's turning...green? (looks around at the people) Is...no one else seeing this? So weird....

Aden aimlessly wandered around as he tried to figure out why he was seeing green, not realizing he was heading towards the festival square area. A small group of a lute player, a pipe player, a drummer, and a violinist were playing various songs to keep the cheerful mood up during the festival and a few monsters and humans were dancing along. Lots of people and monsters were loitering around a large wooden square stage as if they were waiting for something while the music is playing. Once the band finished, a man stepped forward, announcing that a performance is about to begin. As the performers took their places, the crowd gets closer to the stage to get a closer look as Aden nearly gets squished by the excited attendants.

Aden (gets bumped): Gah! Watch it! Hmph! (straightens his glasses) What's so special about this-

Aden's mind screeched to a halt when he locked eyes with one of them. The one he assumed was the lead performer. She was a skeleton like him, dressed in white, yellow, brown, and green. She wore a green head wrap with a white stripe and yellow chain print on it, a large gold loop that has a small chain link, a twine necklace with an emerald pendant, a white tunic with a yellow bow under her chest and green stripes and dashes on the hemlines of her top, the left sleeve missing and the right sleeve split from her elbow, a pair of a thin green bracelet and a thick yellow bracelet on her left wrist, a brown leather hoop belt with a long chain link dangling on the right side, brown capri-length pants with twine tied at the bottom, and brown sandals. The grin that graced her face widened as she saw him before she waved at the crowd before the music begin and she shook the tambourine she has in her hand. The moment the skeleton girl started to move, Aden became entranced. Her dance was graceful, entrancing, powerful. Aden has never seen anything like it. Every movement of her body, every tap of her feet, every shake of the tambourine, every part of her dance made Aden think of a thunderstorm. From her hands controlling the rolling clouds to the thunderous stomps of her feet to the jangling rain from her instrument, it was a sight to behold. He never even noticed the other dancers joining her halfway into the dance, he was too drawn to the skeleton girl. So much so, Aden didn't realize the performance ended and the girl was standing in front of him.

Aden (startled): AAH!!

Skeleton Girl (medium-high Irish voice): Oops, sorry! Didn't mean ta scare ya!

Aden (calming down): No, no, I was..j-just was not paying attention, is all! I, uh....I, uh.... (blushing dark blue) I...I liked your d-dancing, it was...it was great. I've never seen anything like it before!

SG: Why, dank yee! I was kinda nervous at how people here would respond, but I'm glad ya like it!

Aden (scratches the back of his neck shyly): Eh heh.. The way she talks...

SG: Yee know, I didn't know dere were other skeleton monsters 'round dese parts. I was surprised ta see ya 'mong the crowd! (whispers to Aden) M'haps, it may be fate...?

Aden: ...Fate?

SG: O' course! At first, I figured a storm was rollin' in 'cause everythin' was turnin' dark and blue, but when I caught eyes wit' yee, it was like a light had broken de dark. Had m'soul aflutterin'!

Aden: R-Really?

SG: Really!

BlondeDancerGirl: Alysída! Come on, we're gonna explore a bit!

SG: Comin'! Well, looks like I'm headin' off. It was nice meetin' ya! (turns away)

Aden: W-Wait! She mentioned your name, what was it?

SG (faces Aden): Ah, forgive me! I'm Alysída! Yours?

Aden: A...Aden Beth Gadwyn.

Alysída: Aden Beth Gadwyn! What a lovely name! Beth, is it short fer 'lizabeth?

Aden: Lizabeth..? Oh..you mean Elizabeth, no, no, it's just Beth. (frowns) Although, I do get teased for that..

Alysída: Dat's no good! Ruinin' a good name as yours!

Aden (rubs the back of his neck sheepishly): Th-Thanks.

Alysída: Gotta go now! See ya next time! (skips away towards her friends)

Aden (waves at her then sighs, having a slight blush): Alysída...

Keldin: Eeeeh? Do I spy someone in looove?

Aden (startled): GAH!!

Keldin: Ha! You lucky guy! You don't see other skeleton monsters around these parts every day!

Aden (glares at Keldin): Keldin....

Keldin: Yeah?

Aden: You left me behind!

Keldin: Whoops!

Aden spent the rest of the festival trying a few foods and chasing his equine friend with attempts to smacking him with his notebook for ditching him. But at the same time, he often had thoughts of Alysída. He does keep her out of his mind while concentrating on the church, but it was slowly becoming clear that he was attracted to her over time, especially when he's found by her in unexpected places sometimes. Aden was looking over the temple blueprints out in a large meadow when he heard a familiar Irish voice from behind him.

Aden (turns to see Alysída): A-Alysída?! What are you doing out here?!

Alysída: I'm here ta relax. I'm after finishing a performance so I'm completely knackered. (notices Aden's confused face) Err...I finished one so I'm tired, I mean, so I just lay about out 'ere. (falls backward carefully)

Aden: Aah! (catches Alysída in a dip stance before she hits the ground) Be caref- !

(they stare at each other before sitting on the ground, blushing hard and silent; Alysída is blushing green, she notices a large rock nearby where she would've landed)

Alysída: How..um...How kind of yee... Didn't spot dat rock dere...

Aden: I, uh...Welcome... Um, yeah, be...uh...be careful...doing that...

Alysída: S-Sure. (feels the breeze blow through) Ya know, I sometimes envy humans.

Aden: Eh? How so?

Alysída: I can barely feel de wind and sun, but not in de way humans do. Does it bother ya while out here, also?

Aden: Hmm...not really. I never really notice things like that, so it doesn't really come to mind.

Alysída: Ah. (notices Aden's open notebook) What's on dere?

Aden: Oh. (picks up the notebook, showing the pyramid designs of the temple) This is the temple the clergy wanted to build out here. I've been making sure nothing diverts the plans for the construction.

Alysída: …. (stands up and looks out at the landscape) ...To turn dis beautiful place into temple grounds.... (puts her hands on her hips) Dis place is already sacred enough.

Aden: To who?

Alysída (glances down at Aden): To nature! Dere's no need fer silly temples when yer blessin's come from all dat surrounds us!

Aden: That sounds.... Hmn...I don't want to say she sounds crazy, but... It sounds...

Alysída (turns away with her arms back and tapping the rock with her foot): Blasphemous, I know.

Aden (surprised): I..That wasn't what I-

Alysída: Ya don't 'ave ta say it, I've been told it whenever I speak of it. Mostly by humans who probably 'aven't got a nature-lovin' bone under all dat skin. Can ya believe it? I can't!

Aden: You love nature, do you?

Alysída: Love it? (does a twirl) I do! It's my muse! Dere's so much harmony and unity dat comes naturally like us monsters and humans. If it gets ruined, it'll be years before it can be restored. (lowers her gaze) Or worse...never return...

Aden: (stands up) W-Will it actually get that bad...?

Alysída: ….It's what I fear...

Aden: …...

Alysída (glances back): Surely, dere's another place...?

Aden: ….I thought of another, but I felt it would be dangerous.... (turns to the direction of a nearby mountain)

Alysída: A mountain?

Aden: Ebbot Mountain. I thought it would be a good place to put the temple before it, but then I felt something would go wrong, so we went with this place. But listening to you speaking so highly of this land, I'm starting to have doubts. Thinking about it, maybe it's better to be closer to the village...

Alysída: …..

-END FLASHBACK-

Catena: SHE REALLY LOVED NATURE THAT MUCH, HUH?

Gadwyn: She did. I didn't think she'd convince me to change locations like that. I guess at the time, I didn't want to upset her. I did upset the clergy, but it was better than nothing.

Tether: No wonder I had thought of flowers and smiles. Sooo, where do Catena and I come in?

Catena: THAT'S RIGHT! YOU SAID WE WERE BORN ON THE SURFACE! WE DON'T REMEMBER THAT HAPPENING!

Gadwyn: It's because you two were very young at the time, Tether being born first then a few hundred years later, Catena was born when Tether was four, according to the humans anyway. To be honest, I hadn't expect us to have two children, but here you two are. She loved you both dearly, to the point of spoiling you. Showed you everything life had to offer, I even had less time at the church because I wanted to be there for you all. (glances at Tether) You even picked up on her odd language which apparently she was from a part of...hmm...someplace... She told me, but it's been far too long for me to remember.

Catena (glances at Tether curiously): IT DID SEEM LIKE HE SPOKE A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE WHENEVER HE SPOKE OR WAS UPSET.

Tether: Really? I never noticed. But um, how come we've haven't seen her since we've been down here?

Catena: YEAH, AND HOW COME I BARELY EVEN REMEMBER HER?

Gadwyn (leans forward with his elbows on his knees, resting his forehead on his clenched hands): …...

Tether: ...Papa..?

Gadwyn: She's.....no longer in this world.....Your mother had...turned to dust....

(the brothers are horrified)

Tether: What do ya mean “turned to dust”?! When? H-How?!

Catena: WHY?!

Gadwyn (straightens up): I mentioned the war, remember...?

Tether: The Monster-Human War..?

Gadwyn: Yes... It was a few months before then. You two were still children in monster terms, but everyone we once knew who were humans, especially Alysída's human friends, were dead and gone. This was getting into a time when there were superstitions cropping up towards monsters and humans alike...and then..that incident occurred...

Catena: WHAT INCIDENT..?

Gadwyn: ….The one that shattered the human-monster coexistence forever....

-FLASHBACK: THE DOMINO EFFECT-

A few centuries have passed and there had been tension creeping across the land. Stories of humans killing other humans due to witchcraft had been spreading and it has everyone on edge. The people and monsters of Ebbot Village felt safe from such things ever since the temple had been built nearby years prior, so it served as a welcoming comfort for them. But as the days went on, some of those stories came close to home in a much different way. It was almost Winter, but snow was already falling. One night, Alysída was returning home from her work at a produce stand when she overheard some people talking. She thought nothing of it at first until she heard something like a screech suddenly getting silenced. Curious, she snuck over to the sound and found something horrifying.

Two men had just finished stabbing a child.

Man1 (laughing): That was easy. It won't be long now.

Man2: We just need a monster to come by and take the blame.

Alysída (hides): Gods above, what did I just see?! I....I gotta leg it and tell someone... de Elder!!

Before the men noticed her, she had rushed off to go tell the village elder in the temple about what she saw. Along the way, she noticed the people and monsters are acting strange towards each other, either with disdain or avoidance. Once there, she found the elder kneeling before the altar, likely to be in prayer. She waited until he was finished, but realized by the time he would be done, the men would try and kill another person.

Alysída (approaches the elder cautiously): Sorry, Elder, but I need to speak-

Elder: I know why you're here....

Alysída: You do...?

Elder: It's about the incidents, yes?

Alysída: Yes, I just saw-

Elder: Don't bother... I knew this day would come.... (stands up and faces Alysída) ...the day you monsters would betray us by harming our own...

Alysída: Betray?! What?! No! I saw two humans killin' a child in an alley a while ago!

Elder: Impossible. No one would dare harm a child...and besides...humans had been disappearing from the village and people had been finding monsters in their blood...

Alysída: No... It... You're lyin'....We would never...

Elder: I have already sent for help... Begone from my sight....

Alysída: …... (turns to leave then stops at the doors) I'll pray to de Gods to have mercy on yer soul.

Elder: Monsters have no Gods.

Alysída: Nor do yee, if He doesn't stop dis madness... (leaves)

Frustrated, Alysída made her way home but was seeing signs of discord cropping up. She had told Aden what had happened, and the pair grew worried about the future. And they had every right to be worried. The few months that went by, the incidents reached a fever point and by the end of the third month, the humans declared war on the monsters. This eventually led to the arrival of the ones whom the Elder had called upon a few months prior. Seven chosen humans with unique powers showed up as the Monster King Kette Diefessel and his armies faced them and theirs. A magic swordsman in red, a dancer, a holy knight, a cloaked man, a scruffy-looking thief, an archer woman, and a Buddhist monk, all of them helped the humans decimate the monsters to the point when it's seen as a massacre. The battles raged on as monsters who can fight held the humans back as their families rush away from the village for safety. After a while, the monsters were slowly being driven towards Ebbot Mountain. Those who tried to escape were either driven towards there or slaughtered on sight, no matter if they were old or young. For centuries, the mountain was already inhabited by monsters, but as a place for those who liked being underground. Many other monsters who lived on the outside mingled among the humans all over the country until now. Any monsters who didn't make a mass exodus towards this mountain were hunted down and executed by the chosen humans along the way. For those living in Ebbot Village, it was easy to send them there. At some point, Alysída served as a healer for monsters who were injured during the battle, but it was becoming too much as more and more monsters were being injured beyond repair to where they become Fallen and turn to dust. Understandably, she was released by Kette due to her fears for her own family's safety, seeing as more monsters were dying than the healers can handle even in an emergency situation. As a result, the Gadwyn family didn't have a choice but to go to the mountain as well. Aden was holding Tether's hand and Alysída has baby Catena in her arms when she suddenly had a thought as she saw some of the monsters rush by to go and aid their fellow monsters on the battlefield.

Aden (stops as he sees her facing the entrance): Alice..?

Alysída: Oh....nothing...

Aden: Then let's hurry. The further we go in, the safer we'll be.

Alysída (looks at Catena as he's crying): ….My sweet Autumn child.... (kisses his forehead)

Aden: Alysída, what are you- (is given Catena in his arms) Wha...

Alysída: My darling Addy.... (kisses Aden)

Aden (watches her lean down to kiss the top of Tether's head, calling him her wonderful Summer child): Alysída...

Alysída (faces Aden): Let's keep goin'. We better crack on before it's get too crowded, ya?

Aden: Y-Yeah...

Aden took Tether's hand again as the family continued further in the caverns into the underground city. When Aden felt Tether stop and turned to see what was wrong, Alysída was gone. Aden went into a slight panic as Tether asked where she went. He wanted to find his wife, but he couldn't leave his children alone. Before he could decide, he felt something painful like a cut shoot through him, nearing making him collapse. He forced himself to sit against the wall so he wouldn't fall forward and hurt Catena. He sat there watching the monsters run by, hoping to see Alysída come by and find them, but instead only spotted Keldin directing a large group of monsters and catching his attention.

Keldin (runs up to Aden): Aden! Why are you just sitting here?! We gotta go!

Aden: Have you seen Alysída?

Keldin: Alysída? No, I haven't. Wasn't she with you three?

Aden: She was, but-

Tether (holding something in Aden's face): Papa!

Aden: Wha-What is it, Tether? Papa's talking.

Tether: Dingie! Papper!

Aden (notices a folded a piece of paper in Tether's hands): Paper? Hmn, I have Catena in my arms, can you get that, Keldin? (rocks Catena gently to calm him)

Keldin (takes the paper from Tether): Sure. (unfolds and reads it)…...............................I....

Aden: What does it say?

Keldin: I can kinda make out what it says, but um…..”Aden, if you're reading this....I'm sorry....I tried my best to tell the humans they were wrong about us....but it...didn't work. There were people who told everyone that we're evil...and need to be destroyed....If a war breaks out...I want to make sure you all survive....If you fell..” I think she meant “feel”...”If you feel....something....in your Soul....I have to break our bond, for our children's sake, so if something happened to one of us, at least we both won't die and leave our children behind. I want it to be you.......Watch over them.....Aden...The years I've been with you have been truly....” (squints at the scratched out word before the word “brilliant”) “Sav....brilliant....and I enjoyed every moment of it. Please stay safe....I do pray that this war ends before I become dust. If it does, I'll return to you and our boys....and we'll be happy again.....” (looks confused) What's this sentence? Grá..go..Deo...? And this symbol- (hears sniffing) Eh? (sees Aden in tears) Aden?

Aden: It's...It's pronounced “graw gu djo”.....Alysída said it means “Love forever”....Damn it...(stands up) I have to go find her!

Keldin: But what ab- (is given Catena gently)

Aden: Tether, stay with Mr. Keldin, okay? Papa's gonna find Mama.

Tether: Kay...

Keldin: Wait! (looks at the brothers worriedly and tries to calm Catena down in a singsong voice to the tune of “Rockabye Baby”) Hushy-bye baby, in my own arms, your Papa better come back ASAP....

Aden rushed past the monsters that were being sent in and when he reached the entrance, he caught a glimpse of a large bird skull unleashing a powerful attack that sent shock waves outward, sending him back inside the cave. The few monsters that lingered behind caught him before he landed on the ground. He scrambled away from them to his feet and rushed back outside.

Aden: Alysída! What is she doing...! ALYSÍDA!!

Alysída (turns to face Aden): Aden?! (feels something pierce through her back out her chest, severing her Life Chain) GuhAAAAA!!... (staggers away)

Aden: NOO!! (sees one of the humans approaching Alysída as she trips to the ground; teleports to her, catching her mid-fall; glares at the humans) STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY WIFE!! VESTER!!!

A large long-snouted animal skull with two wavy horns that reach under its eyes and a long string of chains dangling from the horns appeared and roared at the humans. Aden gave the signal to fire at them and Vester drew in the chains into its mouth, releasing a powerful blast. Once the smoke cleared and the chain shrapnel and Vester vanished, the skeleton duo had retreated inside the mouth of the cave. Aden and the four monsters who fought with Alysída stayed with her as she struggles to stay awake.

Aden: Alice! Stay with me, you'll be okay!

Cat monster (healing Alysída's wounds): The most I can do is heal her wounds-

Aden: It's better than nothing, just keep at it!

Alysída: A...den...Our..boys...

Aden: They're with Keldin. They're safe!

Alysída: Aah....Good....I'm...glad....I hope...

Aden: Alice, you need to save your strength...

Alysída: I...

Bird Monster: Hey....What are those humans doing?

(the group looks out of the entrance and sees the seven humans glowing; Alysída reached out towards the entrance like she wanted to go back outside; the entrance glowed white then seven thick chains of different colors crossed each other in layers and connected from one side of the hole to the other before becoming translucent)

Alysída (almost in tears): Oooh....

CM: What is that...?

BM: I think...it's a barrier.....

Little Monster: They're trapping us here!?

Alysída: …..Our...home...

Aden: Alysída..?

Alysída (crying): De wind.....De sun...De...flowers...We'll...never...

Aden (grabs Alysída's hand): We will!

Alysída: !

Aden: We will all leave this place! You, me, our sons, everyone! I...I'll make sure of it!

Alysída: …..You..will...?

Aden: Yes, then we'll have the life we had before! ...Right?

Alysída: Right....I'm sleepy....

Aden: Rest...We'll meet up with the others soon....

Alysída (drifts to sleep; her Soul dimming and cracking): …...

-FLASHBACK END-

Gadwyn: …..Unfortunately....she didn't wake up from her sleep. She had fallen down and eventually....

Silence fell over the family before both brothers began to weep. They never realized how close they were to seeing their mother die, but were spared of having it dwell within them throughout their lives. It still disturbed them that they only found out about her fate so late, but it was better than not knowing at all. The fact that Alysída had sacrificed herself to save them by severing her bond with Gadwyn in order to prevent him from dying with her when they were young was still shocking to them. But this also made another thing clear: Gadwyn's hatred for humans.

Gawdyn: So you understand now...Tether...?

Tether (rubs tears from his eyes): What..?

Gadwyn: Why I couldn't allow that human to be near you? When you think you can trust them, you'll get shot in the back.

Tether: ….

Gadwyn (hears the wall phone ring; goes to it and answers): Hello, this is Dr. Gadwyn. ….Yes? …..I see....Very well. I'll be there soon. Good bye. (hangs up then turns to his sons)I'm afraid I must head off to the lab right now. (heads to the door and gathers his things)Tether, Catena, I'll let you two stay home to collect yourselves while I work.

Tether: Something....going on at the lab..?

Gadwyn: The alarm was sounded. It appears that another human was caught. It's time for me to go to work.

Tether: …..

As Gadwyn left the brothers to mull over the story, he made his way to the lab. He found out that the latest human named Kindel had tried to go through the surface portion of the lab, but found it was locked. He ended up scaring a lot of the monsters there. He managed to make his way past the lab by inching his way against the building's wall, and ran. The human was later caught in the second level of Hotland after he succumbed to his injuries and the heat. Like the others before him, Kindel's body and Soul were subjected to experiments. Again, Gadwyn's colleagues were noticing odd things about him, but brushed it off.

Or tried to.

(Gadwyn is seen in the Mirror Room, just having finished checking over the report of a broken-down mechanism in the room beyond the Mirror Room)

Gadwyn: Now that we’ve obtained our fifth human Soul, we can now- (notices a black wall) Hmm? (approaches it) …Strange. (touches it) I don’t recall having a single black wall in- (several strings of black ‘paint’ sticks to his fingers) It’s not dry? (the black paint starts to move on his fingers) What in the Un- Aah!

The mysterious black paint crawled its way over his hand, staining the sleeve of his lab coat as he tried to scrape it off. The more Gadwyn tried, the faster it crawled. He soon realized the lower half of his body was already engulfed in the black sludge, and he vainly struggled to escape.

Gadwyn: WHAT IN KETTE’S NAME IS THIS SUBSTANCE?! (his shoulders are covered) I…can’t move…!

Stop.

Gadwyn (freezes): ….Who…?

Resisting.

Gadwyn: My voice..? No.. (looks up) Who-

Gadwyn looked up to see a white face. The left eye is empty and the right is closed. The chain markings, left to the mouth, right up the eye, were black, and the face looked…sad.

At first.

Gadwyn (trying to stay calm): What matter of….creature are you…?

The face just stared for a moment before contorting into something out of a nightmare, and his own voice came from behind him.

YOU. DR. GADWYN.

Gadwyn was dropped to the floor as his name was repeated over and over. When he opened his eyes, one of Gadwyn’s other assistants was tugging at his left arm.

Assistant: Dr. Gadwyn!

Gadwyn: What is it?!

A (flinches): Ah!! Err, I’m sorry, but you’ve been staring at your reflection for the last few minutes. Is everything all right, sir?

Gadwyn: My reflection? But the wall’s- (sees his reflection in a mirror; looks around to realize that none of the mirrors are black) Ah. (clears his non-existent throat) Well.. (straightens himself up) Perhaps there is something in the air. (removes his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nasal cavity) We may need to go and seek out any leakages here.

A: Yes, doctor.

As the duo walked off, his facial reflection kept watching them before disappearing into the mirror. To clear his mind of that terrifying experience, he thought about the story he told Tether and Catena. Thinking about it, Gadwyn could never forget about what the humans had done, and seeing Tether getting close to Percy awoke a deep-seated hatred for the ones who took away the love of his life. That sense of betrayal was turned into revenge when he figured out how to break the barrier. Coupled with Kette's declaration of the hunting of fallen humans, Gadwyn had the freedom to use the Souls to break the barrier and alleviate his vengeful thirst. Tether and Catena were unsure of what to feel after hearing the story of their mother, besides confusion and mostly sorrow. But something did become much clearer to them: the day Alysída perished was the day Gadwyn's kindness was beginning to drain away.

TO BE CONTINUED

[waterbasedmedia]

En plein air: (French pronunciation: ​[ɑ̃ plɛn ɛːʁ], French for outdoors, or plein air painting) is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look.

History:

Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century, working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school, Hudson River School, and Impressionists. The Newlyn School in England is considered another major proponent of the technique in the latter 19th century. The popularity of painting en plein air increased in the 1840s with the introduction of paints in tubes (like those for toothpaste). Previously, painters made their own paints by grinding and mixing dry pigment powders with [binders].

The act of outdoor painting from observation has been continually popular well into the 21st century.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_plein_air

On the History and Tradition of En plein air painting:

From handprint.com - Technique: Painting Outdoors -

Painting nature or en plein air is fun and not at all impractical. The fact that it is incredibly more difficult than it seems may come as a rude shock to your self confidence. But it is a wonderful way to get in touch with your vision, and grapple with the complexities of light and color, even if landscape is not really your thing.

 Many books on the subject explain the basics of what should be common sense — mosquito repellant, closing country gates, respecting property rights, avoiding dogs, taking a lunch. I'm only going to mention the specific issues that I've found are unexpected and most important to the act of painting.

 The emotional experience of landscape painting is challenging, and you should prepare yourself for that. Yes, it's fun to be in the fresh air and have nature all around, but the work is something different. The work is hard.

 All the usual props familiar in the studio — the music system, the mug of coffee, the perfectly adjusted lighting, the comfy chair, the cozy slippers, the familiar table and shelves, the adjustable stretcher board, the magnajector for tracing photos, the convenient water and store of paints — all that is gone. You can't trace your drawing. You can't take your time with tediously accumulated washes. And you're largely unprotected to wind, glare, cold, dirt, traffic and pests. You're naked.

Your eye is naked too. Rather than focusing on a limited subject — a photograph, a vase of flowers, your cat — you're immersed in the subject. You're floundering in light. And the subject is changing rapidly with the angle of the light and the reflections or cover of clouds, which changes all the value relationships in your motif. You're consumed by the air and the movement.

Mother nature, as if recognizing your predicament, steps in to makes things worse. A little wind to fret and water your eyes. A soft haze that shifts all the colors to a glowing gray you can't quite capture by mixing muddy paints. Let's move that sun around and change the colors and shadows entirely. A biting bug there in your ear. Ah, and here comes a survivalist couple with their pit bull off the leash ...

Most of the painters I talk to sum it up this way: I tried painting out of doors, but went back to the studio because I didn't have any control. That sums it up for me ... naked and out of control.

Source: https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/tech32.html

From Watercolor: History and Technique, Walter Koschatzky -

The Art of Watercolour:

Watercolour is the painterly medium par excellence, and a preliminary definition of its essential nature is implied by the contrast between the linear approach -- intellectual in origin and thus imposing a barrier between the spectator and nature -- and the painterly approach, rooted in visual perception and ranging in effect from the realistic to the visionary. If we pursue these polarities, it is not hard to relate them to the alternating rhythm of deduction and induction which beats throughout the entire history of western thought: drawing and line seek to define truth, the goal of all deduction; reality, the source of all induction, yields itself more readily to painterly methods. The contrast between the ideal outline drawings of Flaxman, the embodiment of Winckelmann’s theories, or the delicate linearism of the Nazarenes on one hand, and the colourful works of the plein air school, naturalists and realists on the other is enough to illustrate this: as a broad generalization it may be said that the former embody an intellectual approach, concerned to define and illustrate the working of the divine order and the platonic ‘idea’ behind the objects portrayed, while the latter are informed by a spontaneous love for the beauty of the visible world which finds expression through more painterly techniques. It is noteworthy that watercolour, more than any other artistic medium, has, at least until the twentieth century, been chiefly and continuously concerned with the visible world: with nature, landscape, and atmosphere.

Watercolour in England:

*this passage requoted from “History of Watercolour” handout:

Eighteenth-century England saw an extraordinary flowering of watercolour painting. Developing out of the long-standing native tradition, the medium steadily rose in popularity and technical achievement during the course of the century, teaching dramatic heights in the final decade and finally spread English influence to the continent. Yet all this ultimately derives from a single factor -- the particular suitability of watercolour for expressing a new attitude towards landscape, a new concept of nature.

A concept of such breadth was not to be limited to trees and shrubs; nature is something much more in Shaftesbury's scheme of things -- it is the universal working of forces which proceed from God and which all flow back towards a divine summation. Nature becomes the embodiment of unsullied creation, of all that is genuine and true; 'natural' things are things that develop without constraint, and this includes human thoughts and acts.

*the same passage, continued where the “History of Watercolour” handout left off. . . :

There can be no clearer ‘natural’ manifestation of this philosophy than the English style of landscape gardening of William Kent (1684-1748). Parks were designed by Kent as pieces of nature itself, in complete contrast to the formal French park. In France parks and gardens expressed man’s ability to compel nature to take on the forms of art; beauty was created at the dictates of human reason, triumphing over physical chaos. The English park, on the other hand, exemplified, not triumph, but surrender; emotion, not reason, prevailed. Walking through a landscaped garden aroused moods, and these in turn stimulated the depiction of landscape in art.

. . .

Several circumstances allowed watercolour painting to flourish at that time in this one particular country: the cult of nature, with its strong emphasis on feeling and sentiment, an irrational religiousity, and the freedom in which personalities could develop. On these foundations, other factors were super-imposed: a kind of nationalist ethos, looking for beauty in its own land; a yearning for the south, for the idealized beauty of the Campagna, as it appears in the work of Salvator Rosa. Finally, the silent contemplation of ruins aroused a historical instinct, an awed nostalgia for the past. Watercolour was the medium most capable of expressing these multiple stimuli and the confusing totality of inner tensions.

English landscapes of this period can be divided by their subjects into six groups. The aim of the ‘ideal’ landscape was not to reproduce a segment of reality, but to create instead an unreal perfection by imaginatively combining carefully selected elements, each beautiful in its own right. The scope of the ‘romantic’ landscape stretched from natural cataclysms to the sentimental view of history. The ‘realistic’ landscape was a relatively minor group, although realism was cogently represented in genre painting, which went far beyond its Dutch origins in the depiction and satirizing of manners. The nationalist ethos also gave rise to the ‘indigenous’ landscape as practised by the so-called ‘Domestic Group’ while the ‘topographical’ landscape was inspired by a more sober ambition: the faithful recording of festivals, events, towns and country houses, from palaces designed by Vanbrugh to more modest manors, with the owner and his household as accessory figures. The sixth group consists of all the scenes of travel, landscape, customs and adventures in foreign countries, ranging from personal reminiscences to scientific records; the desire to set down impressions of the world from Venice to South America presented watercolourists with some of their most rewarding subjects.

The great period of English watercolour painting, too little known outside England, divides chronologically into four generations of artists. The first, those born between 1700 and 1725 spanned the progression from monochromatic wash in bistre, indian and other inks, through the bichromaticism of brown foregrounds and pale blue backgrounds, already practised in Holland in the seventeenth century, to the use of a more subtly graded scale of tints; Alexander Cozens was one member of this generation. Differentiation of colour evolved in the work of the second generation, those born between 1725 and 1760, such as Gainsborough and J.R. Cozens. The third phase is dominated by Thomas Girtin and Turner, both born in 1775, who finally liberated watercolour painting from the linear drawing. What may aptly be called a golden age was completed by the fourth generation, from the slightly younger contemporaries of Turner and Girtin down to Bonington.

. . .

The first really practical treatise on the materials and techniques of watercolour painting, the Art of Drawing and Painting in Watercolour appeared in 1770, and soon afterwards William Gilpin’s poem On landscape painting was published, a work that ran into several editions, including foreign ones. Gilpin lays down six fundamental rules: (1) Enthusiasm for nature must be substantiated by careful study of its individual parts; (2) The parts should be judiciously selected to harmonize with the character of the whole; (3) Three planes, foreground, middle and background, are almost always more effective than more complicated arrangements and constructions will be further improved if the scene centers on ‘some principal commanding theme’; (4) Contrasts are essential but should be unforced; (5) All colours and densities can be achieved by thinning and mixing the three primary colours and the harmony of the whole stems from the light and shade so produced; (6) All figures should be appropriate to the landscape (‘Say, does Abraham there / Ought that some idle peasant might not do?’). Gilpin closes with the recommendation that the finished work should be put on public exhibition, so that it may be judged impartially by men of taste.

Interesting light is thrown of the evolution of watercolour painting in England by a y a brief philological excursion into the origin of the word ‘landscape’. It did not exist in 1606, the year in which Henry Peacham observed in his Art of Drawing: ‘Landtskip is a dutch word.’ A few years later Edward Norgate wrote in his Miniatura: ‘Landscape, an art sir new in England, and so lately come ashore, as all the language within our fower seas cannot find it a name, but a borrowed one -- the Dutch’. The term and form alike came from the Dutch. The German word, Landschaft, also appears for the first time in a Dutch context, in Durer’s diary of his journey to the Netherlands in 1521. Two centuries later, it was the privilege of England to create, out of multifarious sources and circumstances, one of the loveliest phases in the whole history of art.

From Wikipedia.com, English Landscape Garden:

 The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (French: Jardin à l'anglaise, Italian: Giardino all'inglese, German: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, Portuguese: Jardim inglês, Spanish: Jardín inglés), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical jardin à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe.[1] The English garden presented an idealized view of nature. It drew inspiration from paintings of landscapes by Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, and, in the Anglo-Chinese garden, from the classic Chinese gardens of the East,[2] which had recently been described by European travellers.[2] The English garden usually included a lake, sweeps of gently rolling lawns set against groves of trees, and recreations of classical temples, Gothic ruins, bridges, and other picturesque architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape. The work of Lancelot "Capability" Brown was particularly influential. By the end of the 18th century the English garden was being imitated by the French landscape garden, and as far away as St. Petersburg, Russia, in Pavlovsk, the gardens of the future Emperor Paul. It also had a major influence on the form of the public parks and gardens which appeared around the world in the 19th century.

William Kent and Charles Bridgeman

The new style that became known as the English garden was invented by landscape designers William Kent and Charles Bridgeman, working for wealthy patrons, including Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, and banker Henry Hoare; men who had large country estates, were members of the anti-royalist Whig Party, had classical educations, were patrons of the arts, and had taken the Grand Tour to Italy, where they had seen the Roman ruins and Italian landscapes they reproduced in their gardens.

William Kent (1685–1748) was an architect, painter and furniture designer who introduced Palladian style architecture to England. Kent's inspiration came from Palladio's buildings in the Veneto and the landscapes and ruins around Rome—he lived in Italy from 1709 to 1719, and brought back many drawings of antique architecture and landscapes. His gardens were designed to complement the Palladian architecture of the houses he built.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_landscape_garden

From Wikipedia.com, Ha-ha:

A ha-ha is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier while preserving an uninterrupted view of the landscape beyond.

The design includes a turfed incline which slopes downward to a sharply vertical face, typically a masonry retaining wall. Ha-has are used in landscape design to prevent access to a garden, for example by grazing livestock, without obstructing views. In security design, the element is used to deter vehicular access to a site while minimizing visual obstruction.

The name "ha-ha" may derive from the unexpected (i.e., amusing) moment of discovery when, on approach, the vertical drop suddenly becomes visible.

. . .

In Britain, the ha-ha is a feature of the landscape gardens laid out by Charles Bridgeman and William Kent and was an essential component of the "swept" views of Capability Brown.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha-ha

Subtlety:

noun

The quality or state of being subtle.

sub·tle:

adjective

adjective: subtle; comparative adjective: subtler; superlative adjective: subtlest

(especially of a change or distinction) so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe.

(of a mixture or effect) delicately complex and understated.

making use of clever and indirect methods to achieve something.

capable of making fine distinctions.

arranged in an ingenious and elaborate way.

crafty; cunning.

origin: Middle English (also in the sense ‘not easily understood’): from Old French sotil, from Latin subtilis ‘fine, delicate.’

Source: Merriam Webster Dictionary

From Word Watch: The Delicate History of ‘Subtle’, Rob Kyff:

The ancient Romans used the adjective subtilis to describe fabric that was finely woven and gossamer-like, the kind of delicate material that might be used for a veil. Subtilis was a contraction of subtexilis, from sub (under) and texare (to weave), so it literally meant underwoven.

The Latin subtilis migrated into Old French as soutil, meaning "thin, fine, delicate." Somewhere on this journey north, subtilis lost its b, but not its meaning.

Then, during the Norman invasion of the 11th century, soutil jumped the Channel to Britain, where it landed in English as sotil. Soon the meaning of sotil expanded from "physical delicacy" to the modern abstract meanings "difficult to detect, elusive."

Source: http://articles.courant.com/2012-01-21/features/hc-word-watch-0122-20120121_1_sotil-dubitare-debitum

From The Elements of Drawing: Three Letters to Beginners, John Ruskin:

“Now, I believe that (irrespective of the differences in individual temper and character) the excellence of an artist, as such, depends wholly on refinement of perception, and that it is this, mainly, which a master or a school can teach; so that while powers of invention distinguish man from man, powers of perception distinguish school from school. All great schools enforce delicacy of drawing and subtlety of sight: and the only rule which I have, as yet, found to be without exception respecting art, is that all great art is delicate.”