#and there’s always an Abundance of these guys at the shore where I take my walk

[graveyardrabbit]

listen, I know everyone in the world has already made all kinds of jokes about bird names, however

I’m at all times delighted to know that there’s a whole family of birds named stilts because like

(photo source)

(photo source)

yeah man, sure is

[christinesficrecs]

Hi Christine, I know this is a long shot but long story short - lost my saves file a while ago and cannot find many of most favourite fics, I have countless quotes saved from them. I am sharing some with you in hopes people recognise the fics they're from if you post this. I will love you forever.

Derek’s first kiss in four years tastes like fresh-squeezed orange juice and makes his stomach flip like the drop in a rollercoaster. Stiles holds him close like he’s thanking him.

About the summer he spent in Ireland because there were pictures of his mom posed in various tourist sites at Dublin and Dingle and the Giant’s Causeway--places that he wanted to experience personally since he never got to ask her first-hand.

Derek looked at him for a moment, and wow, okay, this was why people wrote songs about love and painted pictures and wrote poetry, because he was pretty sure that he was falling in love with Derek Hale if only because of the guy's beautiful eyes and earnest expressions and his everything. God.

In some ways Stiles has done a lot of growing up since then, but a part of him thinks he’ll always be that scrawny, ridiculous kid at heart, whose greatest joys in life were Froot Loops, cheesy disco tunes, and masturbation.

Stiles gets back from his year abroad in Hungary with more muscles and the first of his tattoos, a knotted rope that runs the length of his spine.

Hey, Derek, can you do me a solid? Nothing serious, just, you know, screw my brains out, that’s all.

He meets Stiles’ gaze from where he's leaning against the back wall, his eyes catching glints of light amid the shadows. Certain people are just meant to live under the open sky.

Whatever he says afterwards, whatever happens between them, there will always be this, the long late afternoon with the sun skidding red in the west, and he will always know what Stiles looked like the first time someone filled him up to the hilt. There are no acrobatics. Nothing fancy happens. Derek feels like the ocean breaking helplessly on the shore, the tide rising, spilling him over.

there’s something about the shape of him, the way he’s huge and solid and beautiful and always thirty seconds away from admitting total defeat that rubs Stiles raw and tender.

“People are so exhausting,” he murmurs, and Stiles is glad to know it: that he isn’t people, that he counts as a kind of between places, maybe even as home.

Updating with the ones that magv1 found. Thank you!!!

Hot Single Dad Derek Hale by WhoNatural | 13.3K | Explicit

Wherein Derek is a Hot Single Dad, possibly with a little case of martyrdom, and Stiles is the newest client at his publishing house who really just wants to make him happy. Preferably while they're both naked.

^^^^^ #1 & 2

But Then What... by Stoney | 24.3K | Explicit

Senior year is almost over, and all Stiles needs to do is keep his head down to survive. A teacher calls in a favor, leaving him stuck tutoring Derek Hale, one of the most popular jocks in school and a member of a group of douchecanoes who have bullied Stiles for years. He's someone Stiles totally hates. Totally. Like, doesn't like him even a little bit. DEFINITELY isn't attracted to him.

Except that is a total lie. Fuck his life, seriously.

^^^^^ #3

My Life is not a Horror Movie, Derek by DiscontentedWinter | 38.9K | Explicit

Stiles keeps dreaming of people in robes with knives. With chanting. In Latin. And he mentioned the knives, right? That can't be good.

^^^^^ #4

i need your sway by thatworldinverted | 11.1K | Explicit

Stiles always figured it would be Scott who saw him through his first heat. They pinky-swore on it, in fact, when they were eleven and newly-presented. There haven’t exactly been an abundance of offers between then and now.

What there is now, though, is the pack, and pack takes care of each other.

^^^^^ #6

Sucker Love by whiskey_in_tea | 17.9K | Explicit

Kate sits up and narrows her eyes at him. “Page 72,” she says. “Why I Plan to Wait, by Stiles Stilinski.”

The spread is hilariously cliched: a full page picture of a pale, pretty boy with a wide-eyed blonde girl walking on the beach, the two of them holding hands and staring into the waves, probably thinking wistfully of the sex they aren’t having. Derek skims the text briefly. “Speaking up about the importance of virginity!” he exclaims. “Reclaiming chastity a a masculine virtue. Our friend Stiles sure is brave.”

“See, I was thinking he might make an interesting challenge,” Kate says lazily. “And he’s surprisingly attractive, don’t you think? Such long fingers. And that mouth.”

^^^^^ #8

[cathikesny]

this account feels like a long time coming...

Hello to friends old and new!

A little introduction for those who don't know me already:

My name is Cat

I'm 30 years old

I live on Long Island in New York and have done so for most of my life (except for a few years away at college near Seattle)

I have a boyfriend named Rob who you will see as an always reluctant participant in photos to come

I work in healthcare although hopefully for not too much longer

I've been to 31 states and 4 countries outside of the US

I'm an avid movie goer (once a proud card-carrying member of Moviepass) and a massive New York Yankees and New York Rangers fan

A quick story to go along with this intro:

I'm going to take you all the way back to the year 2010 for a moment. I had just graduated high school and decided to stay home and attend my local community college for a myriad of reasons, but I was the only one. All of my friends went far away for school and I was left sad, alone, and in desperate need of a new way to fill my abundant time outside of work and school.

...Thus begins our story...

I grew up mid-Island (Mineola), meaning not directly next to a beach, but my now since passed Grandmother lived in Manhasset and I grew up with a real love for the North Shore of Long Island with it's rocky beaches, historic mansions and views of Manhattan. Late at night, I would go on drives to Sands Point, Port Washington, King's Point, Glen Cove; all just looking for a place to park my car, stick my feet in some sand and stare off at the Manhattan skyline and contemplate my next steps. Eventually, some of my friends decided to leave their schools and return home to Long Island also and I began bringing them to these now sacred spots so we could contemplate together. We began adventuring in the daytime as well and posting pictures to our old Tumblr accounts and personal Instagrams and overtime, we began to garner a bit of a reputation in the area. I became known to people I didn't even personally know as a person who had a detailed list if you wanted a recommendation on where to go for a nice walk on Long Island.

Fast forward TWELVE YEARS! and I still live here on the Island, but I've broadened my horizons a bit. I began dating a guy from Westchester four years ago (who will just be referred to as "reluctant Bigfoot model" when featured as he hates being photographed but is now my consistent adventure buddy whether he likes it or not), which means my list has expanded exponentially for Long Island but also includes Westchester and the surrounding areas as well.

I've traveled a ton over the past twelve years. Some of the pictures above are from California, Wyoming, Washington, Illinois, Montana, Utah and Alaska, and of course, good old New York! Hopefully these travel chops can lead to some good stories and some good tips for you!

I really hope you follow along, feel free to ask any questions, shoot over any recommendations, and if you ever want more info on a place, this is the place to be.

Let's search the Empire State together!

[madi2112]

Madi's Meanderings vol. 12

What do you do when you expend a lot of time, energy and money getting somewhere and when finally arrive you don't want to be there anymore?

That's the scenario I faced today after driving into Key West.

I got up early and hit the road on a route I have always wanted to take.

Highway One through the Florida Keys all the way to Key West.

How was it?

Underwhelming.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did it.

It just wasn't the way I pictured it at all.

The view wasn't much most of the time. An abundance of traffic, a steady 20+ mph wind all day, way too much development all along the route and lots of tall bushes and trees lining the road.

Still I was able to find some places that were picture worthy.

The waters along the way were so many shades of blue/turquoise/green it was amazing!

The plan was to enjoy the drive, do some shopping, visit a couple of classic sights, have a late lunch and watch the sunset. Then make the drive back to Everglade City where my hotel is.

One classic picture is to pose with the "Southernmost place in U.S." marker.

To bad there was a line that stretched 2 blocks long you had to wait in if you wanted to do that.

I didn't, so I just got as close as I could.

Not the optimum photo, but it works.

Then the wheels came off.

Because in an instant The Downward Spiral had begun.

It started when a chicken crossed the road.

All jokes aside, the last time I was in Key West was as a shore excursion during a Disney Cruise.

With my wife and son.

He was 8 years old and as we walked through the area he would laugh and play and chase the chickens around.

I miss them so much.

The tears instantly started.

I tried to shake it off and go have lunch a little earlier then I planned.

I headed for the famous "Pink Triangle" part of Key West on Duval St. It's marked by rainbow crosswalks.

There are lots of LGBTQ+ businesses in this area. So I entered into a restaurant flying the rainbow flag.

I felt it was important to support this part of the city being a member of LGBTQ+ community.

There were about 8-10 tables of people in the restaurant.

As I looked around at each table there were lots of couples sitting having lunch. Pairs of Men and pairs of Women. One table was a group of guys.

There were no tables with someone eating solo. No tables had any transpeople.

Suddenly I felt very out of place.

As much as I do when I go most anywhere.

I felt like I didn't belong here either.

So I left.

But if I don't belong in the "regular" world and now I don't belong here. Then where do I belong?

The most obvious answer?

No where.

Feeling the Downward Spiral in full force robs me of my energy, my rational thought and I feel like a completely useless person.

A waste of space.

Unwanted, unlovable and aimless.

All I can do at this point to find a quiet place and hopefully cry it out.

And pray I don't do anything irrational.

I did just that in my car with the air conditioning running and listening to the couples in my favorite podcasts living thier fictional "Happily Ever Afters"

For 2 hours until I calmed down.

Then I treated myself to a special dessert.

A chocolate covered Key Lime Pie slice on a stick.

Sounds odd, but oh so yummy!

I'm putting on a smile in this photo, but beneath it I'm still trying to convince myself there are reasons I should still be around.

So I ended up coming back after I got my will to live back and just drove all the way home to soft relaxing music (Alexa, play relaxing spa music)

Time Forever Lost?

We'll have to wait and see.

~Madison

[knight-queen]

Lunatic Parade Subaru Sakamaki– (Chapter 3)

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2]

Place: Glimmer Street, Main street/グリンマーストリート 表通り

Subaru: Haah...I wonder what that old-uncle’s planning to assign us this time.

Yui: According to what I feel... I bet we won’t be facing any ordinary things this time too…

(Hm…?)

Vampire Woman E: Haah...it’s no good…

Yui: (That grandmom seems to be troubled by something….? Why’s that?)

→ Selection

声をかける / Call her out (+Correct)

そのまま通り過ぎる/ Pass it as it is

Yui: Excuse me, grandmo一

Subaru: Oi.

Yui: Subaru kun…

Subaru: Don’t tell me that ye’re gonna call her out?

Yui: Eh...Yes, I am…

Subaru: Are you awaring of this situation? We have to go somewhere important.

Yui: I know that but...we can’t just leave someone alone who’s been troubled…

Subaru: What you mean by troubled…

……

...Haah, got it. Do as you wish.

...Kindness is existing inside you as always.

Yui: Umm...excuse me grandmom, is there anything wrong?

Vampire Woman E: Oh...a girl. You see, I have dropped off a precious handkerchief somewhere…

Yui: So that’s what it was. I’m going to lay you a hand searching for that!

Subaru: Bah dang….that’s the only option…

*After a moment*

Yui: (It’s rather difficult to search for a handkerchief without having any clue…)

Subaru: Oi, I couldn’t find it here.

Yui: Likewise...I couldn’t find it either.

(Was that flew away somewhere by wind…? 一Ah!)

The thing stuck with that bench over there, it’s the handkerchief yeah!?

Vampire Woman: Oh goodness! You’re right!

Subaru: Finally found that huh? Well then, let’s get that an一

*A bird has grabbed that*

Yui: Ah…!

(That bird has….!)

Subaru: Wai- hold on!

*Flying sound*

Yui: (The bird picked the handkerchief in it’s mouth and flew away…)

Subaru: Tch...on the roof huh…

Yui: ...I’m gonna bring a ladder right away…!

Subaru: Aah, hold it! For you using a ladder will probably be so risky that I can’t even look at that.

...I’ll go and get that so wait ‘re.

I won’t need any kinda ladder for just this...I can get that in a sec’ if I just fly.

...Here I go…

*Flies*

Yui: ...Ah, Subaru kun…

*Comes back after a moment*

Subaru: ...Here, it should be fine now.

Yui: (Ah, the thing he’s holding is…!)

Vampire Woman E: Oh my, yes! This one! Huge thanks to both of you.

This thing was really important for me...so you were a great help. Really thank you very much.

(She is being so happy. It was good to her after all!)

Yui: Ah...sorry Subaru kun for making you stop by there...but thank you.

Subaru: ...Haah. Every time I see the depth of yer’ kindness, it keeps surprising me…

...But, you know...if you prefer that then I won’t stop you.

Yui: Yes…?

(He’d usually say that doing these is just absurd but...he’s somehow different I guess)

Subaru: Anyways, we’re done with this business. Let’s move on.

Place: Rubean Canal / ルビーン運河

Gondolier A: 一Time to departure!

Yui: (...Today’s work is to find a mineral from an abandoned mine inside of the volcano.)

(...Sounds so difficult…)

Subaru: Oi, what was up with that guy from earlier?

Yui: Eh? The guy from earlier?

Subaru: When I said “let’s go”, then you were freaked out. That one.

Yui: Oh…

(The time when he said that today we’ll have to go to the volcano…)

(I thought Subaru kun is gonna deny but, he simply nodded by saying “Let’s go”...)

Ah...yeah. I want you to listen without getting angry…

I really thought that you’re gonna have an objection in going to the volcano.

However, I was surprised when you smoothly agreed with going there…

Subaru: ...Hmph.

...Even though I can’t understand other people, every single one has a precious thing.

Atleast, I understood that right.

Yui: ……?

Subaru: Such as, the head-mask that the old-uncle asked to get and,

The handkerchief that the grandma was searching.

Yui: Subaru kun…

Subaru: Above these...if I look from the perspectives of persons, then to me you are also…

So, they may have looked at those things considering like this way.

Yui: ...kh…*flushed*

(It’s unfair to say these things out of nowhere…)

(It’s embarrassing but...I feel like my love for Subaru has increased more than before.)

Place: Lake / 湖

Gondolier A: This place is Tilkes!

Yui: (Phew...looks like we’ve finally arrived.)

(Rest is to go to the volcano right ahead…)

Subaru: Finally we’ve come here huh…

Yui: I guessed you’d prefer flying instead of riding on Gondola.

Subaru: Yeah...I had thought about flying. But, I’ll have to use some stamina from here on, yeah?

Yui: (Fufu...looks like he’s having positive feedback in the missions that Mr. antique-artist has assigned.)

*After a while*

Yui: Certainly we can see the volcano if we pass by this lake-side, right?

Subaru: That old-uncle said so.

Yui: Well then if we take this direct approac一

*Crowd noises*

Yui: ……

Subaru: ……

Yui: (I’ve been thinking about it for a while though, this lake-shore is full of couples I seeee….)

(Since it looks like a tourism spot, I think we’ve no other choices…)

S- so many couples right…

Subaru: Tch...dang noisy…

Yui: (But, if we don’t cross through this side-road of couples then we can’t go to the volcano….)

Subaru: Oi, Yui.

*Hugs her*

Yui: Wah…!

(He is hugging me…!?)

Subaru: It won't be unnatural if we just walk together like this.

Yui: Maybe you got a point but still...it’s embarrassing…!

Subaru: Looking to the other side, we’re also....two of us will also be considered like that way. *blushing*

Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.

Yui: M- mhm…

Place: Front of Mine Entrance / 鉱山跡地入口前

Yui: L- looks like that’s the entrance.

Stallkeeper near Volcano: 一Please wait up there.

Subaru: Yeah?

Stallkeeper near Volcano: Are you going to enter there?

Subaru: If we do, then what?

Stallkeeper near Volcano: Oh, it’s nothing...if so, then you should take this.

Yui: This is...marshmallow…?

But... Why do we need this for getting inside this volcano…?

Stallkeeper near Volcano: To be honest...there’s a certain story behind this land-area.

Yui: Story…

Monologue 一

一一Thus, we’ve ended up hearing a sorrowful story about the Smaragd Volcano.

Long time ago...the resources of this volcano were so abundant that the mineral-mining was just being continued. 

One day...a man who was working there fell in love with Reis who lives in the underground lake. 

It was rather unusual story as Reis and Vampire to become lovers, however in order to live with Reis, 

That man has deceived a vampire woman and gave her body to his beloved.

It’s because...unless Reis isn’t possessed by some person, she cannot leave that area where she was living. 

But she was binded with the fate of getting erased away if she leaves that place.

Despite not for being used to that, those two were spending happy days together.

The only one thing that Reis appreciated in her life as a Vampire was...marshmallow.

...However, that happiness didn’t continued to last long.

One day, the main owner of the body that Reis had possessed over got awakened and 一一

Ended up killing the man.

Reis who was shivering in anger had killed the woman whose body she had taken over and relied on at that time…

As a result, she disappeared…

That man is wandering around the volcano to find his beloved Reis even now...

Reis’s comrades had also cherished her choices, so they also made themselves to like marshmallows...

End of Monologue

Yui: ……

(There’s such a painful story behind this volcano…)

Subaru: Hmph, overall you just mean that we’ll have to give this sweet stuff to Reis if she shows up, yeah?

It’s just a myth. How absurd....

*Subaru walks away*

Yui: Ah, wait up, Subaru kun…!

(As he said, maybe it’s just a myth but…)

Umm...sorry, but is it okay to take this marshmallow just for advancement?

Stallkeeper near Volcano: Ofcourse. I just pray that you two don’t have to face Reis.

Yui: Thank you very much.

(Aight, let’s catch up with Subaru kun then…!)

Place: 鉱山跡地 / Mining area

Yui: (Where did Subaru kun head out…?)

(I didn’t predict that he’d go so far away…)

Subaru: 一 I knew.

*Screen slightly shakes*

Yui: Wah, Subaru kun!?

I got... freaked out as you suddenly showed up…

Subaru: In anycase, it’s for you. Before coming here, you got that marshmallow, right?

I have been waiting ‘re when I thought so.

Yui: I- I see…

Subaru: Did you really believe that story to be true?

It was just a childful-trick to make you buy that for sure.

Yui: Maybe you’re right...but just in case...okay?

Subaru: ...Haah.

Well, it’s fine. Let’s start searching for the mineral.

Yui: He told us to get the mineral which has a blue-shining on it.

Subaru: Yeah, he said we can find that...if we search the bare rocks of this place.

Looks like there’s a... mining-tool just in the perfect place.

*Takes that tool*

Subaru: I’m gonna cut off this wall using this, so you better look for that mineral.

Yui: Yes, I’ll do my best...!

*After a while*

Subaru: Ah...haah...ha…

Yui: (Uh...We’ve been searching quite a lot but we’re not finding that…)

(I don’t think that we’ll be able to find that at all…)

(And also…)

*Wind blows*

Yui: (Perhaps it’s for the story of Reis we’d heard before...I’m ending up feeling a bit creepy.)

???: Hehe...ehehehe…

Yui: ...kh, who was she…?

*Wind blows more deeply*

Yui: (No one’s here…)

(Was it an illusion of my mind….? But I can sure say there’s someone here…)

Subaru: Oi, what’s wrong?

Yui: Ah...Subaru kun...I have been feeling creepy for some reason…

Subaru: ...Well, this place is bad.

Yui: Yes…

Subaru: ...We shall have a rest for once. You have something to eat, no?

Yui: Ah...yeah! On the way to come here, I bought some sandwiches.

...Here, this is your part!

Subaru: Oh...thank you.

*After a moment*

Yui: Fu...it was yummy.

(This place is creepy indeed but it’s a bit fun since it looks like a picnic…)

...I should have brought some desserts with me.

Subaru: Yeah? But we do have dessert.

Yui: Eh?

Subaru: You got some at the entrance...the marshmallows.

Yui: Are you gonna eat that!? We should save it for the time if we meet Reis…

Subaru: Bah, but I told ya’ that it’s just a myth, didn’t I?

Yui: I wonder…

(Well but...it’s better to eat it instead of wasting it away by throwing…)

Wait a little…

*Checks out for the marshmallows*

Yui: Huh…

Subaru: Oi, what now?

Yui: I couldn’t see any marshmallow…

Subaru: Hmm. I think you’ve dropped it somewhere on your way?

Yui: ………

(Now...could it be Reis has taken that way…)

(If she did then it was good to buy that marshmallow following the advice of that stall keeper….)

Subaru: ...What’s wrong? Did you want to eat marshmallow so bad?

Yui: Ah...nope. It’s not that…

(Let’s not talk about it to Subaru kun….)

(Since I can’t confirm that Reis has taken that away…)

(Even if that story is true, I better not drag myself into it.)

Subaru: …? What a weirdo. Let’s go back to our work right away.

*Time skip*

Subaru: ...kh, Haahh…!

Yui: Subaru kun, you see anything…?

Subaru: Not at all...instead I’ve found some kind of extraordinary thing but,

It’s not the thing that Old-Uncle asked for…

Look, this one.

Yui: Waah, it’s such a beautiful gem.

(If I look at this at an angle then the color changes to another! Incredible…!)

(But the thing we’re aiming for is not this one…)

Subaru: ………

Yui: (He’s just keeping watching this stone he’s holding…)

Fufu...if you like it then what about taking it home as a memory?

Since it’s an unusual gem!

Subaru: O- Oh...right.

Yui: And...what should we do next…

(At this rate, even if we search it aimlessly, it will basically be pointless…)

???: Hehe...ehehehe…

Yui: ...kh…!

(This voice...is the same from before…!)

(I knew that the truth’s Reis exist….? What should we do since we don’t have marshmallows with us…)

Subaru: ...Someone’s voice.

Yui: You noticed that too...?

Subaru: Yeah. It was coming from our back right?

Yui: Yes…let’s go to the direction where the voice came from.

*After a moment*

Subaru: ...was that coming from ‘re…?

Recalling that, I had read a fairy-tale of the Lower World when I was a child…

It was written that by digging the place where a pet-dog barked, one can find treasures.

You know about that?

Yui: Eh? Y- yes...It was a common story…

Subaru: There’s a chance that….it’s gonna work for this thing too…!

...Let’s try it out by digging here.

*Digs*

...GGh….!

Yui: Ah! Look Subaru kun!! It’s this stone, right…!?

Subaru: Certainly...it’s blue exactly like that Old-Uncle said…

Yui: Waah! That’s a great relief that we find it, right!

Subaru: Haah...Jeez, finally huh…

But...it was worthwhile to work damn hard searching for it…

Yui: Right.

(Hm…? Then Reis’s voice from earlier…? Could it be that she told us the clue as thanks for giving her the marshmallow…)

Subaru: We’ve managed to get the gem safely so let’s get out.

Yui: Sure一

*Bird’s buzzing sound*

Subaru: Aah…?

Yui: This…. Sound…?

*Eagle rudely whistling sound*

Yui: Eh...Eagle…!?

Subaru: HAAAH!? Where did this shit come from!? ….No way….it’s coming this way…!

*Whistling*

Subaru: ...kh! Watch out…!!

*Screen shakes*

Yui: Are you okay!?

(Now...the eagle is after the gem that Subaru kun’s holding…?)

Subaru: Oi, oi! Could it be that it's aiming at this stone?

No way we'll handle it over after getting it with so much effort!

Let’s hurry and escape!

*After*

*Eagle whistling*

Subaru: Chhe...it’s still chasing after us!

Yui: Ah, Subaru kun! There’s a minecart over there…!

Subaru: Only option is to use that for escape huh…!

*Timeskip + Gets on minecart*

Subaru: Oi, take care of this gem.

Yui: (Let’s put it inside my pocket in such a way it won’t fall…)

Subaru: kh...mo...ve!!

*Sound*

Subaru: Aight, it started to move!

Is that giant-eagle still chasing?

*Eagle whistling*

Yui: Yes...As expected, she’s wanting to get this gem…

Subaru: Tch...fuck that old-uncle! I didn’t hear him say for such a bird to exist here…!

*Eagle whistling*

Yui: Ah…! Subaru kun, it’s no good…!

Subaru: Damn it all…! Oi, you bend downward. Don’t raise yer’ face up no matter what.

Yui: Ye- yes…

Subaru: Tch...behave yer’self! Play outta somewhere else!

*Subaru picks up a tool*

Yui: Subaru kun! Don’t overdo it that much…!

Subaru: Yeah, I know…! ….Uaaah…!?

*Punch*

Yui: Ehh…!?

(The giant-eagle has….grasped Subaru kun…!?)

Subaru: ...ghh...Oi, lemme go…!!

*Eagle whistles*

Subaru: ...gh!!

Yui: Ah…!!

Subaru: Yuiii…!!

Yui: No way...Subaru kun!?

(He is going in the ravine-bottom…!! I gotta go there to help him...but how can I…)

*Screen vibrates*

Yui: Wh- what was that now…!? Rumble in the ground…?

*Screen shakes*

Yui: Eh…!

(This minecart is going to tilt...at this rate I’m gonna fall…!?)

...kh...Kyaaa…!?

*BG turns black*

Yui: (Wh-what should I do...it’s means, before getting back my heart, I am going to…)

(......)

Subaru: 一Yui!

Yui: (Eh…?)

(My body is...floating…?)

Subaru...kun…?

It’s fine now, hold me tight!

Yui: Yes…!

Place: 洞窟 / Cave

Yui: Haah...haah…

Somehow...we’re saved…?

Subaru: Aah...looks so.

Yui: (But...which place is this? As what I’m seeing, it’s a cave though…)

...kh…

(What…!? It hurts to...breath…!)

Subaru: Tch...looks like... we rather fall right into the underground…

We gotta leave...before we get choked…!

Place: 地底湖 / Underground Lake

Subaru: Haah...Oi, you...okay?

Yui: Somehow yes…!

(There’s even a lake in the underground…)

Subaru: Oi, are you having that gem with you?

Yui: Yeah, no worries. It’s safe.

Subaru: Good...let’s get outta here then.

That’s gonna be a trouble if we get dragged into something again.

From here on…

...Don’t you ever leave my side again. We don’t know what’s gonna come up next.

Yui: Yes…!

*Screen shakes*

Subaru: ...gh, hold it. Something’s...coming…

Yui: (This sound...don’t tell me it’s the same ground-rumble again…!?)

*Water sound*

Subaru: ...Water…!?

Yui: Ah...perhaps the lake got overflowed because of that rumble in the ground…

Subaru: Fuck...one after another…!

Yui: Kyaaah!?

(I am gonna be swept away…!?)

Subaru: Oi, hold me!!

*Subaru gets closer*

Subaru: Don’t let go of this hand no matter what!

*BG black + after a moment*

Yui: (I was...saved…?)

*Fades to CG*

Yui: *coughs*.... *coughs*....

Subaru: Oi...you okay?

Yui: Ah...yes. I swallowed up water a little but, I am not having even a single injury.

I’m sure I’m okay because you protected me.

Subaru: Ha- HAAAH!? What are you saying!?

Yui: Eh...what you asked, I just said that you’ve prote一

Subaru: AAH, shut up! Don’t say anymore than this!

Damn you…

Yui: (Ah...he has turned his face the other way…)

But, really thanks to you that I was able to return back here safely.

Thank you for supporting me.

Subaru: ...kh…

…...hmph.

Yui: ...We had to deal with many things but…

It’s good that we’ve come back safely.

Subaru: It was no good...we had to face terrible things.

I’ll regret it if I deal with such things again.

Yui: Fufu...right.

*CG Fades *

Subaru: For starters...let’s get back to that old-uncle at once.

Because it’s gonna piss me off he complains that we’re late of somethin’.

...kh…

Yui: Ah, Subaru kun, are you alright…!?

Subaru: My feet got staggered a bit. Never mind.

You better don’t worry about others as you're also terribly exhausted.

Yui: Ye- yeah…

(I’m worried even if he says it…)

*After a while + BG black*

Yui: (nnh…)

Place: ホテル•モーントシュタイン  客室 / Hotel • Mortstein,Guest room

Yui: (Huh...this place...where is it...it’s not the antique artist’s…? Hotel…?)

(I’ve remembered that I went to the antique art dealer with Subaru kun but…)

Subaru: Nngh...Oh shit...my body hurts…

Ah...huh, why are we in the hotel!?

Yui: (That’s good... he’s woken up too.)

Tell me, why are we right back in the hotel?

Subaru: Who knows...all I remembered is that we’ve gone to that Old-Uncle’s place…

Yui: (We’re on the same track...huh. ...Hm?)

(On the bedside table, there’s a note…)

*Yui gets that*

Subaru: What’s that? A note? Gimme that for a sec’.

『一I’ve received my required mineral safely. 』

『You’ve to be prepared for the last task on tomorrow so have a good rest today.』

『...Furthermore, I’ll throw you out in the street next time, if you fall down on my storefront.』

...He said.

Yui: Ah...that’s right...we collapsed in his store.

Shit...whom does he think we had collapsed for!?

Damn him…! That fukin’ talkative old bastard…!

Haah...I’m gonna sleep. You should sleep too. Tomorrow is the last task after all.

Yui: Yes, I will.

(Today was a really difficult day for us however...I have enjoyed it.)

一 The END of Chapter O 3

[sugar-petals]

Hav u done predictive readings for who the boys will end up with & how their career will go etc?

a 2020 career prediction i’ll publish at the end of december! their future partner we’re doing now. i added some angel oracle cards today ♡ those describe the theme of their relationship.

Jungkook: QUEEN OF CUPS

Hallelujah! Oh yeah. That’s an ideal card, picture perfect. The Queen of Cups is quite possibly one of the best partner allegories to have because a) Cups rule smoothness of relationships and emotions and b) she’s a royal card which indicates a highly developed state of mind where things finally come to fruition unlike with the aces and pages. Jungkook will mean so, so much to his partner. That’s a twin flame or soulmate connection we’re talking here. A really beautiful and dignified person, a little touchy feely, but experienced with love. They can really depend on another. Maybe they’re from Busan like him or the shore generally, the sea plays an important role for the Queen of Cups. There are tiny little cherubs on the card, I’m thinking he’ll be treated like an angel. It’s a very healthy relationship that leaves nothing left to be desired. As for looks: It might be a blonde, taller person whose favorite color is blue. There are cliffs on the card that remind me of Cornwall’s coast. The English theme is pretty consistent in his readings lmao we’re dealing with an excellent speaker. And, because it’s a court card with quite abundant imagery, it’ll be a S/O of quite some status. I am sure the person will be known to us already, or at least a big deal within his or her family. It’s queen energy, so the mom friend is right on their way into JK’s heart. Another aspect is that his partner might be rather spiritually inclined — mind you, every person is spiritual, how aware you are makes the difference — or even psychic. Water signs ahead; Pisces, Scorpio, Cancer.

— angel card: “Playfulness — To bring about romantic feelings, allow your youthfulness to shine with delight.”

Taehyung: THE EMPRESS

Yet another powerful female archetype, this reading does not mince words.  And also a very wholesome outlook, it’s very similar to the Queen of Cups vibe, or Queen of Pentacles if we’re looking at other tarot suits. I was really happy when I saw this card come out. The Empress almost always signifies kids, the theme is fertility. Taehyung will live a very lavish life with this partner. The card has so much opulence and positivity on it. Nature, food, pillows, ample garments, jewelry, good weather, and harvest time. And, of course, the Empress is fairly curvy, so expect either Taehyung gaining weight in the future or his partner being chubby. It’ll be the good life, in a good place, with the right person. There’s a settled and satiated feeling there. Stagnation could be possible after a while because this card gets too cozy. However, loyalty and a ripe sexual life are like glue to the union so I don’t see Taehyung stress anytime soon there. The card gives me plenty of clues how his home will look like as well, it’s highly decorated and comfortable. Interestingly enough, we see a huge wheat field surrounding the Empress — hence the card symbolizes fertility — so I wonder whether Taehyung’s dream of getting involved in farming will play out. I mean… coincidence? The countryside will take on an important role in any case, maybe with photography as well. Tae marrying a farmer’s girl, who knows! Beautiful card, definitely. It’s a good prospect for him. The Empress is major arcana so, this state of happiness will last him for a giant while and it’s destined. The boy will shed a tear no more. 

— angel card: “Attraction — you receive love by enjoying the moment.”

Yoongi: KNIGHT OF SWORDS

It’s the fastest card of the tarot! The power of swords paired with a knight on his speedy horse is quite a combination. Yoongi’s future partner is not going to waste time to charge right into sweet honey boy’s life. We’re dealing with a hothead, athlete, extrovert. I don’t think Yoongi has to do as much as crook a single finger to get things going. In fact, he’s the one waiting it out. He’ll just lean back and poof there is his significant other bursting into his life. Though I gotta say, the Knight of Swords has a detriment and that is: He leaves as fast as he arrives, and you have to be sure of your boudaries. Major burnout dangers there. The relationship might be short compared to say Namjoon’s or Tae’s reading. It’s Yoongi’s part to make this last if that’s what he’s going for. It’s a sword card, there have to be efforts and mental clarity involved to solve the problem. Though, someone rushing towards their love interest with so much passion has a good reason why he or she does that. Yoongi could get snatched away by someone else, with so many people interested in him you really have to be determined. With the archetype being a knight I also know it’s going to be someone younger than him, there’s a certain rebellion to the card. It has military energy. Yoongi’s partner will be one outrageous and direct person. They are 100% unafraid to face off with Yoongi, they have better comebacks than the master of sharp remarks himself. When it comes to sex, Yoongi will probably forget his own damn name after that ride. This person is wild as hell. It’s not a fellow sleepyhead as we saw in the ideal type reading, but a S/O bringing him out of his dreamy world. There’s a strong encouragement for Yoongi to achieve a lot more when he enters that relationship, it’s a power up to be expected here.

— angel card: “Worth the Wait — Divine timing predicates your relationship.”

Namjoon: TEN OF PENTACLES

Nice! Wow. The tarot says Namjoon is blessed. This is the card of wealthy, happy old age. He’s headed right for it already. In all tarot suits, the 10 indicates fulfillment. E.g. the Ten of Cups shows relationship completion because cups stand for love, the Ten of Swords shows total defeat because swords symbolize conflict, the Ten of Wands signifies complete effort/exhaustion since wands represent impetus. So the Ten of Pentacles equals coming full circle in terms of material things as pentacles are responsible for all tangible value in life. He’ll be living blissfully with his S/O. Everything is cared for. We’re talking long-term relationship here. The card shows an old man settled in his favorite coat and spot. Namjoon has a kind of master plan to gently arrive in his 80s, 90s. It’s not a surprise, we know he looks ahead, the tarot is aware of it, too. And yes: He will finally be able to answer his question “Who the hell am I?”. Ten of Pentacles means: Identity found. I had to wipe away a tear for that one man. I think it has to do with the location. The setting of the card is like a polished type of town with castles. A bit Italian, Mediterranean. Not as modern as say Seoul, bigger cities. It could be him moving to a warm country where things are slow, antique, and indulgent. I once said Namjoon has a type of European mindset going on, if he moves there it with his loved one or his partner is European it wouldn’t be shocking. There are two dogs on the card so, Joon will have pets involved in the partnership. The 10 of Coins also shows a couple immersed in a chat. His S/O is primarily someone he can talk to about the world, it’s a very conversation-heavy union. Now, the old man on the card could also show that he finds another old soul— we’ve had that topic come up in the other readings as well, the tarot is sure he’ll meet someone on par. Earth sign energy here.

— angel card: “Love Without Fear — Open your heart to give and receive the highest of energies.”

Hobi: THREE OF PENTACLES

Even more pentacles. Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn is possible. His partner is a darn good team player, their friendship bond is strong. First thing that came to my mind, they’ll build a house together or get busy working around their home in some kind of way, that’s interestingly enough the central theme I get from the card. Distribution of chores and general tasks is a big thing, and they’ll be planning a gazillion industrious things from what I got through the imagery. There’s an abbot, architect/craftsman, and monk seen on that card working on a church wall embellishment. One gives directions, the other has drawn a sketch that illustrates what kind of decor the abbot wants to have on the church wall, and the third guy does the crafting, hammer and chisel in hand. It’s not a love-related card per see so it’s important to point that out. It could hint at some pretty huge artistic collaborations coming our way instead. If you combine that, it could happen in a way like… Hoseok gets with someone he collaborated/collaborates with sometime soon, or a little later. Yup. Chicken noodle soup with Becky G on the side! Their chemistry is amazing and she is so cute, it’s very much possible. Or, in a wider sense, it’s someone from an upcoming project. That’s interesting. It seems quite sure that Hoseok won’t retire after BTS even if he’s pretty damn rich already, he’ll stay in the industry and foster (=embellish) his career with a strategy behind it much like the abbot on the card. We’ll get to know his partnership(s) along the way, but the tarot says it’s not top priority. Pentacles are earth sign energy so Mercury, Saturn and Venus are what will dictate that union, it’s the overall pragmatic energy that’s taking center spot. Also, since the church is so prominent on the card, Hoseok is working towards marriage nine times out of ten. 

— angel card: “Fresh Love — A new person has stirred your romantic feelings.”

Jimin: FIVE OF SWORDS

That one is… sigh. The odd one out in this post. How do I put it. It’s a series that just doesn’t break. Jimin constantly gets the messy cards and not so love-friendly swords when I do relationship readings on him. There is something going on and I kind of hate it already. But the tarot is being adamant so we have to decipher what’s going on and see the resolution, there’s more to it than just the cards doing him dirty. The Five of Swords pictures a battle aftermath with a mischievous winner and two defeated parties walking away sore. The winner picks up the weapons left behind to hoard then. So when it comes to his future S/O, we’re talking someone wants to play win-lose with Jimin’s insecurities and will get away with it because they’re strong, sly, and full of themselves. They don’t have his best interests in mind, especially when quarrels go down. Lack of harmony overshadows the relationship. There’s some major bullshit and that’s scary. The partner is like a leech, leaving only Jimin pissed, it’s not a lose-lose situation, things are wholly unequal. Picking on Jimin leaves their ego inflated and intensifies resentment. Working against each other over working with another is going on. Jimin has to walk away from that situation and mend his wounds, and never return. It’ll be a period of growth in his life ahead where he becomes aware just how giving too much and being defeated by that does him no good, as well as learning how to spot douchebags who don’t care about him. The Five of Swords is among the quintessential breakup card, it’ll be what defines his future relationship unless or until he has the grit to stop the fight and search for equity and affection instead of put-downs.

— angel card: “You Deserve Being Loved — You’re worthy of love.”

Jin: SIX OF PENTACLES

Pentacles, pentacles everywhere. I see that the hyungs have some financial themes going on, Jin’s card is emblematic of that. First let’s have a look what’s going on with the imagery. A wealthy man holds a scale on this card. He distributes coins to poor men kneeling before him. It’s an interesting symbol for a relationship, if not for another more important area of Jin’s life which could very well be philanthropy. He is the wealthy man on the card, sharing in just ways as the scale indicates. That could be providing for his partner a lot or simply doing charity together with them. I do have to say, and that is similar to Hoseok’s card, I don’t see too much of a romantic theme here which is surprising, but the tarot knows its ways. Some members might be doing partnerships much later in life or eschew them. With Jin here, I get a sense that business relations and deals will be an overarching theme in the near future. It could be the situation with his dad’s business in Germany the card is hinting at, and if marriage is involved, there’s a major exchange of valuable ideals and things involved between parties. A recurring theme is class difference though, the same popped up in the last reading. Jin’s status will be much, much higher but he can tip things into balance with a fairness mindset, Libra energy. A huge gap will be bridged. Last but not least, mea culpa: I think I’ve been missing the obvious interpretation there. The signs are everywhere in the cards for his readings, and oh my god: Jin is the member who’ll get together with a fan. 

— angel card: “Children — Kids will have an influence on your love life.”

[thirty-five-portland-row]

Okay, so in this post I’m going to include the short story “the talk” which is in special edititions of Flashback, and probably going to explain why I hate Alden so much. Okay, I’ll get on to it now I guess.

“Lord Alden,” Lord Cassius said, dipping his head in what could barely count as a bow before he stepped aside to let Alden enter the Shores of Solace – aka his used-to-be-secret-getaway-though-no-one-actually-wanted-to-go-there-with-him home. “I thought the Council ordered all of you Vackers to the Tribunal Hall today for the big verdict. It’s all I’ve heard about these days. People do love a good scandal – and this is the best our world has seen in ages.

“The sentencing isn’t until this afternoon,” Alden explained, ignoring the rest of Cassius’s jab as he made his way towards the mother-of-pearl walls. His teal eyes looked rather impressed as they skimmed over the fancy furniture and enormous ocean-view windows – but his gaze softened when he focused on the blond boy sprawled across one of the couches. “I was hoping I’d find you here.”

Keefe pulled himself to his feet, making sure to brush all the crumbs from the butterblast he’d snacked on for breakfast onto the otherwise pristine floor. “Is everything okay?”

Alden nodded. “But I’d love a quick word with you if you don’t mind. Perhaps somewhere a bit more private?”

“Or I can lock Lord Nosypants in a closet,” Ro offered, striding out of the shadowy corner flashing a pointy-toothed grin.

How the pink-haired, heavily armed ogre princess could make people forget she was in the room was one of life’s great mysteries.

“Let’s save that fun for later,” Keefe decided, leading Alden to the one place at his father’s house where he felt like he could breathe: a wide outdoor patio facing a glittering black sand beach. Cushioned swings swayed in the salty wind, and Alden sank into one of them, watching the turquoise waves crash against the shore long enough for Keefe’s brain to put together a pretty extensive list of scary things that might be happening.

Clearly Foster’s ever-worrying ways were rubbing off on him.

“Sooo…,” he said, dragging out the word as he plopped onto the swing next to Alden. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing bad,” Alden assured him. “I’m just hoping you’ll be willing to attend the tribunal today.”

Ro groaned. “Nooooooooo! Then I have to go, and everyone’s going to be all smug and sparkly and give boring speeches about how brilliant they are – and I’m not even allowed to stab anybody!”

Keefe ignored her. “I thought it was family only.”

“It was. But I’ve convinced the Council to make an exception, because Fitz is going to need a friend today.”

Yeah, that was kind of an understatement. Keefe was pretty sure Fitz was going to go into rage-monster mode if the Council gave Alvar anything less than a life sentence. And if Alden felt the need to bring in reinforcements…

Keefe slumped back against the cushions. “Does that mean you know –“

“What I know,” Alden interrupted, “is that I’m doing everything in my power to get my family through this.”

Which wasn’t really an answer.

“The thing is,” he added quietly. “my son is far more likely to listen to you than he is to me. Especially under the circumstances.”

“Okay, but if you’re looking for a voice of wisdom, you’d be better off asking someone who’s a bit more… shall we say, responsible?” Keefe felt the need to point out.

“I agree. Which is why I’ve arranged clearance for Sophie to attend as well.”

“Perfect!” Ro jumped in. “Then you don’t need us!”

“Actually, that’s why I do.” Alden’s eyes dropped to his hands, his fingers twisting the edge of his embroidered cape. “You and I both know, Keefe, that my son doesn’t necessarily excel at controlling his temper. And… I don’t think either of us wants to see him channel any of that anger at Sophie. So if you’re there –“

“Hang on.” Ro made a time-out gesture. “Are you seriously asking Keefe to be the punching bag during your pretty boy’s little temper tantrums?”

“Of course not! I’m asking an empath to watch for moments when his best friend is getting close to losing control of his emotions, and to keep him from saying or doing anything he’ll later regret.

“Or you could just leave our pretty little blond girl out of this one,” Ro reminded him.

“No, I can’t. Fitz… needs her.” His eyes shifted to Keefe, and there was something tentative about his expression.

Something nervous.

“He needs her,” he repeated gently, taking a long breath before he added, “I think you know that. And… I suspect you know how Sophie feels too.”

Unfortunately, Keefe did – and he was always trying hard not to think about it, because it made him want to punch things.

“Hate to break it to you guys,” Ro informed them, “but Blondie doesn’t know what she feels.”

“Perhaps not,” Alden conceded. “But that mostly has to do with the fact that my son has yet to make things clear. Once he does…”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but he didn’t need to. Keefe was well aware of all the miserable mushiness he had ahead.

The hand-holding.

And cuddling.

And…

Ugh, if he had to watch them kiss, he was going to vomit all over his boots.

Alden placed his hand softly over Keefe’s, waiting for Keefe to meet his eyes before he told him, “I realize that all of this is… complicated for you, given how you feel about –”

“I’m just gonna stop you right there,” Keefe cut in, pulling his hand away and jumping off the swing. He paced to the far end of the patio, relieved that his legs pulled it off with some swagger. “Leave the feelings-reading to us Empaths, okay? Cause you’re wrong. Like, super, super wrong.”

“No, I’m not.”

Keefe was dying to ask him how he could be so sure – and if that meant Fitz had figured it out too. But that would mean admitting it, and the only way he was going to get through this conversation was to deny, deny, deny.

Alden sighed. “Sorry, I know this conversation is difficult – and I’m not trying to meddle –”

“Um, I’m pretty sure this is the definition of meddling,” Ro argued.

“No, it’s the definition of caring.” Alden stood and made his way closer, wrapping an arm around Keefe’s shoulders. “You may not be my genetic son,” he said quietly, “but I’ve long considered you part of my family.”

Keefe had to remind himself to breathe.

Part of him wanted to pull away and run. The other part wanted to lean back and see what it felt like to not have to stand on his own. But he was pretty sure that either way, he’d end up getting hurt.

So he just stood there, stiff and silent, watching the frothy water smooth the dark sand into a shiny, black canvas.

It wasn’t fair that the beach got so many do-overs.

“I’ve never told anyone this,” Alden murmured, “but long ago before I met Della, there was… another. Someone I was convinced was my perfect match – and the matchmakers agreed. But, as it turned out, she… preferred a close friend of mine.” He let the words hang there for a beat before he added, “So I’m no stranger to your situation, Keefe.”

“There’s no situation,” Keefe insisted.

“Maybe there isn’t. But I’m going to pass on some wisdom to you anyway. I’m a father. It’s what I do. And don’t worry, I’m not about to give you a long speech on how someday you’ll find your true match like I did – though you will.” He pulled Keefe slightly closer, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “The wisdom I want to give you is simply this: If you really care about them, let them be happy.”

Let them be happy.

Those words made Keefe want to vomit even more than the idea of Fitzphie smoochfests.

“I know,” Alden said gently. “Believe me, I undersand exactly how heartbreaking that is to hear. But take it from someone who ended up losing two valuable friendships. There’s only one way this ends –”

“Uh, no there isn’t!” Ro snapped. “We’re talking about teenagers! Stop acting like any of this is a done deal.” She waited for Keefe to meet her eyes before she added, “It isn’t.”

Alden sighed. “I suppose only time will tell. But that doesn’t change where we are today. Today, Sophie and Fitz are both going to need your help. So the question is, are you willing to be their friend?”

Keefe opened his mouth to answer, but Alden shook his head, drawing Keefe into a hug before he stepped away.

“That’s all I came here to say,” he said, pulling his pathfinder out of his cape’s inner pocket. “I hope I’ll see you at Tribunal Hall in a few hours. But I’ll leave that up to you. Think about what I’ve said, okay?”

Keefe managed a shaky not as Alden held the crystal up to the sunlight and glittered away.

“That guy’s got a lot of nerve,” Ro grumbled. “You know what that was, right? He’s trying to get you to back off so he can keep his spoiled son happy – and he’s totally using your daddy issues to make you play along!” She held out her arm, pretending she was wrapping it around an imaginary person’s shoulders. “I’ve long considered you part of my family – what a stinking load of garbage! He’s just trying to get rid of the competition. So what you need to do now is –”

“I’m going to the Tribunal,” Keefe interrupted.

Ro rolled her eyes. “Of course you are. That’s what you do – sabotage yourself over and over because it’s easier than putting yourself out there!

“I’m not sabotaging anything! Sophie’s not some prize that Fitz and I get to fight over. She’s a person. And she has her own feelings – and no one knows those feelings better than I do!”

Ro blinked, and he realized he’d shouted that super loud.

Loud enough that he was pretty sure his father had heard every word.

But it didn’t matter.

Lord Cassius wasn’t the type of person to go for a heart-to-heart.

Keefe’s hands curled into fists and he sucked in a deep, slow breath before he said, “I’m going to the tribunal. Because two of my friends are going to be there. And they’re going to need me. You can whine about it all you want. Or you can stay here…”

“Oh, I’m going,” Ro warned. “And there will be an abundance of whining.”

“Bring it on,” Keefe muttered, heading for his room to get changed. He tried to slam the door in Ro’s face, but the ogre princess had annoyingly fast reflexes and managed to block it with her elbow.

She sighed. “Fine. I’ll leave you to your sulking. But just… promise me something, okay? Don’t give up.”

“I’m not,” Keefe said.

And he meant it.

He wasn’t giving up.

He was just… waiting.

Being the best friend he could be.

Trying not to wreck anything.

And hoping, hoping, hoping that someday things would change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just really hate how manipulatactive alden was and how he also told Keefe to give up the love of his live for his entitled jerk of a son. ive ranted about this before on another post but this was just mainly to put the story out there for people who haven’t read it.

[anxiousmoodlet]

𝕎𝕪𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟 𝔹𝕦𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕤 for @eeriesims‘ The Many Suitors of One Clary Wiggins

The world isn’t kind to demons. Wyvern grew up being called all sorts of names: Devil-spawn, son of Hell, Infernal fiend, the fruit of Lilith’s rotten womb... you know, the usual stuff. Only his mother possessed horns and leathery wings however, his father was perfectly human. A Daughter of Torment wandered free from the bowels of Hell, so that little Wyvern might be born upon the shores of Glimmerbrook. Though his mother now frequents Eternal Damnation more than she does the Living Realm, and his father is nowhere to be seen, Wyvern has done all he can to build and maintain a life in the only place he’s ever known.

Read more for Wyvern’s full biography!

ℕ𝕒𝕞𝕖: Wyvern Burroughs 𝔹𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕕𝕒𝕪/𝔸𝕘𝕖: 18/10/1991 — 28 years old 𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕤: Demonspawn (he’s essentially a tiefling ok) ℍ𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥: 6′1  𝕊𝕖𝕩𝕦𝕒𝕝 𝕆𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: Pansexual 𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣/ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕤: Male — He/him 𝕆𝕔𝕔𝕦𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝔾𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕜: GBPD Detective

ℕ𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕟𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕤:

𝕎𝕪𝕝𝕚𝕖 — A shortened version of Wyvern he adopted very early on, introduces himself as this.

𝕃𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕎𝕪𝕣𝕞 — His mother’s pet name for him.

𝔻𝕠𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝔻. — Stands for “Devil Detective”, his GBPD partner calls him this.

𝔽𝕦𝕟 𝕃𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕕𝕓𝕚𝕥𝕤:

1. “No one can ever know I play the violin, all right?” — Wyvern plays the violin. In fact, he plays the violin quite well. His mother always had a fondness for human music, it was one of the only aspects of their culture she could appreciate. After trialling piano, guitar, and a brief stint with the harp, Wyvern stuck with the violin and took lessons at his mother’s behest well in to his late teens. He still plays sometimes, it’s very melancholy when he does.

2. “I promise, I’m not as scary as I look.” — Wyvern starts almost every conversation with the “Demon Disclaimer,” a spiel about how he isn’t going to devour your soul or curse you for eternity. Even in Glimmerbrook, where supernatural creatures are abundant, he likes to make sure. It’s also one of the reasons he decided to join the police force, so that he could be seen to be doing good. It took a long time to earn that trust and the badge that came with it though, he had the longest officer internship of anyone in GBPD’s history.

3. “There’s no way I’m missing the midnight viewing.” — Wyvern is a bit of a huge movie nerd. He’ll watch any genre so long as it’s well-written and creatively shot, but his favourites lie with 80′s horror classics and cheesy 90′s car chase scenes. He’s also been known to enjoy the odd romantic-comedy when the mood strikes him, but will boast that he can predict them scene-for-scene. That being said, the ending of La La Land made him cry like a little bitch. Didn’t see that one coming, huh Wylie?   

4. “There’s a line where the sea meets the sky, it calls me— I’m joking.” — Cheesy Moana reference aside, Wyvern has a bad case of wanderlust. He’s been in Glimmerbrook all his life, and he’s always wanted to see more of the world... but why leave the place you’ve worked so hard to make your home? He's terrified of being met with rejection if he were to so much as dip his toes in adventure. A demonspawn can’t just stroll down any old street, or so he believes. His self-doubt is quiet, but boy oh boy, it’s real.

5. “Just five more minutes, okay?” — Wyvern loves nothing more than his bed. He has to set at least five alarms to get up in the morning, just so he can snooze them all and then leap out of bed with ten minutes to spare. He’s been known to doze at his desk in the precinct on quiet days, and sleep well in to the late afternoon on his days off. Attempts to instil healthier habits with morning jogs, fridge planners and social outings have all done little to help him.  

6. “No, no. It’s not me that you want.”— Wyvern has had very limited romantic interactions throughout his life. Well, he’s had very limited meaningful romantic interactions. Though the man’s not shy of the old Netflix and chill by any stretch of the imagination, he more-often-than-not never lets anything progress past that point. That fear of rejection kicks in every single time: who could love a demonspawn? He’s had one serious relationship in the past, and it ended with him breaking it off when things were getting too real.

7. “Hey, I got us a round of tequila!”— Maybe it’s the demonic genes, but Wyvern can drink. As much as he enjoys a cold pint with his partner after work, he also enjoys slamming back Sambuca shots and ending the night asleep on the beach. He’s an incredibly volatile drunk. Fiercely protective of his social group, but also quick to misunderstand the conversation and take offence. Any issues are usually remedied with hugs and drawling “I love you guys.” 

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕀𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤

➊ ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕖𝕖𝕥 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕪? “Oh, it was really lame. We were in the general store, and she did that thing, you know. She was in front of me in the queue, but I only had a coffee to pay for, and she had a whole bunch of stuff... so, she let me go first. Real sweet of her. We talked about the weather a little, she said my coffee smelt good. I remember, she said it was a little too late in the day for her to be having coffee, but she really fancied one now. I've never wanted to give up my coffee to someone more than I did then.”

➋ 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕪? “She was like a breeze, you know? I forgot I had horns and yellow eyes for a second. Her hair was kind of messy like she’d had a busy afternoon, and there were loads of fresh fruit in her shopping cart, she was like this slice of wholesome. Normally new people in Glimmerbrook terrify me, but not her.”  

➌ 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖? “I like doing something a little silly, because I think if you can’t be silly with someone, then you’re doomed. Karaoke is my favourite first date — we don’t even have to go up and sing! But just in that easy-going environment, having a laugh, shouting over the tone-deaf performers because we'd rather fight the music than not have a conversation, you know?”

➍ 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡? “Effortlessness. I know that sounds daft, because all good things need to be worked for, and all that jazz... but I think my ideal relationship would be something so natural and easy, that we forget we have to work at it even when times get tough. Just having someone to reach— equilibrium with, you know? I know it takes time to get to that point, but I just want to know that it’s possible. It would be so worth waiting for.”

“Bonus points for someone who doesn’t mind kicking my ass out of bed in the morning.”

➎ 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖? “Oh boy, all right. I have some serious trust issues, but not for lack of trying to resolve them. I can’t help but view everybody around me with a sort of air of uncertainty, and I suppose that makes me come off a little standoffish. It’s just that I so badly want people to have a positive opinion of me, that I spend the majority of my time being terrified that they don’t. I swear, I’m going to drive myself mad with it one day.”

“I’ve been told I use humour as a defence mechanism. Whenever the conversation is stilted, or I sense any kind of awkwardness: I’ll crack a joke. If someone asks me a serious question, or how I am: I’ll crack a joke. It’s second-nature at this point, and I swear it’s stemmed from wanting to make people smile. It also helps with the whole detective shtick, but that’s besides the point.”

“I loosen up around friends though, it’s not all so dreary! I still like to think I’m the sharp-witted, funny one, but it becomes less deflective. I’m also really protective of the people I love, foaming-at-the-mouth-crazy sort of protective. I know, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea... but there aren’t very many people who are willing to let me be that close to them, and there’s no way I’m going to let anything hurt those people.”

[myhockeyworld87]

Nervous Regrets - Tyler Seguin  Part 2

Requested: No

Word Count: 1753

Warning: Cursing

POV: Reader

Note: Glad you guys enjoyed the first one,decided to do one from the reader’s perspective. I may continue it. Haven’t decided yet.

You shouldn’t be here. Yet here you were in the same spot you’d been only one year ago. God, how times had changed. That night you had been so carefree, so light of heart. Now, all you felt was an emptiness that permeated deep down into your soul. An emptiness that even the man standing next to you couldn’t bring you back from. You’d only crawled out of its hollowness recently, when friends insisted it was time to move on. Which is why you found yourself here with Robert; this place that evoked so many memories, so many emotions. You wanted to run, dismiss yourself from these people milling around chatting about inconsequential things. Instead you plastered on a smile, masking the pain that was tearing your heart apart.

 A year ago, you’d been standing at the bar when he’d come up to you. While you couldn’t recall the exact conversation; you could still remember the look in his eyes, the timber in his voice and way he carried himself. Tyler had always been a cocky son of a bitch, but that night there was a vulnerability to him; a softness that warmed your heart. The two of you had laughed, danced and chatted the whole night, not noticing anyone around you. It was only when the wait staff were fumbling around clearing the room, that you’d both recognized the event had ended. Not wanting the night with you to end, Tyler had offered you drinks at his place. It had turned into so much more; bodies entwined with each other, moans filling the air, stolen kisses that never ended. Your relationship had just sort of fell into place. Everything with Ty was so easy; loving him had been so easy.

 You’d never realized that the arrogant hockey player he portrayed on the ice, was secretly so insecure. He’d spent a lifetime creating a reputation as one of hockey’s bad boys; only it was all a facade to mask the loneliness he carried around. Hell, even the dogs he cared and loved for so much were a coping mechanism for him. So, when he opened up to you showing this sweet, vulnerable side of himself, the true Tyler Seguin; you fell, knee deep into him. You gave him your whole heart; only asking for his in return. For a time, you had it; you’d been the only woman in his life. Until that day, or maybe it was before then you really didn’t know; hadn’t stayed around to find out the answer.

 You’d been away in Los Angeles for work. Speaking to Tyler frequently during the day; always ending each night with him on the phone. It was towards the end of your trip. You’d woke up that morning, scrolled through social media to find pictures of him and some blonde. He was laughing at her in the first picture, grinding up on her ass in the second; and the third, well it was the one that tore you in two. His lips locked on hers, the kiss intimate; as if he’d kissed her a thousand times before then. Your stomach lurched, rolling around making you sick as you stared back at the photo. It was then that you read one of the captions, ‘Me and my boyfriend,’ it stated simply. The next thing you knew you were dry heaving in the toilet. You couldn’t breathe, it was if the weight of the world was crushing down on you. The phone rang, the ringtone one you recognized; thankfully it wasn’t Tyler. Even though it was your best friend you didn’t answer it; you weren’t ready to face the reality of the last few minutes. All the fears you’d ever had about your relationship finally coming to fruition.

 You hauled yourself up off the bathroom floor, splashing cold water on your face. You needed to get a grip, you had to be in a meeting in an hour. Numbly you walked yourself through your morning rituals. Sitting in the meeting your mind trying to focus on what the speaker was saying; all while images of that kiss popped up in your brain. As the day drew to a close you packed your bags and headed back to Dallas; back to a life you no longer had. Sitting in the airport you finally glanced at your phone; nineteen voicemail messages. Some from Tyler, most from friends. You couldn’t talk to anyone right now or you’d just ball your eyes out, so you text your best friend asking if you could stay with her for a while. The reply came back immediately, you knew the answer before it was sent. Now all you had to do was grab your things and get the hell out of dodge.

 The drive back to your home with Tyler was blur, maybe it was from all the tears falling down your face; or maybe you finally resigned yourself to your fate, a life without Tyler in it; you weren’t sure which. You left your suitcase in the car, knowing you still had luggage in the house that you could pack. The moment you opened the door he was there; tears stained his face. It only hardened your resolve to get out of there quickly. You didn’t speak just walked to the bedroom and started grabbing things. His apology echoing in your ears as you moved blindly through the room. You didn’t want to hear it, couldn’t hear it. Taking only what you needed you closed the bag; kneeling down finally to kiss the pups goodbye. Tears flowing freely now. Your heart was shattered; this had been your life and Tyler your world and it was all gone now. You stood up, never looking at him; pausing momentarily at the door only to say two final words, “Goodbye Ty.” With that you’d closed the door, ending your relationship.

 Someone asked you a question, drawing you back to present day. You smiled politely, making idle chit chat. Robert moved his hand to the small of you bare back. Bare only because of the dress he’d bought you. He wanted you to play Ana to his Christian Grey; sending you the dress you had on with the matching shoes. Why you’d put it on you didn’t know; how he knew your damn size was something you’d visit later. You laughed, the fake one, you reserved for occasions such as these. You were good at it; it was why you currently held the lofty position you did at your company. Hell, it was probably the reason Robert thought you should be draped on his arm. They didn’t know the real you though, only Tyler did. Right now, you weren’t sure anyone else was ever going to get to know the real you.

 This place, it brought up so many memories of Tyler. You swear you could feel him watching you; that you had seen him from the corner of your eye. It was all tricks though; not that he couldn’t be here. You just didn’t think he’d have the balls to show up. Not after what he did, cheating on you was one thing; but when the pictures surfaced of him in some godforsaken alleyway with the blonde’s mouth around his cock; well that was the last straw. You knew management would be upset with him. Hell, even some of his teammates couldn’t stand the sight of him. He’d not only shamed you, but them in the process. Jamie, had begged you to talk to Tyler, hoping to repair some of the damage that had been done. He told you Tyler was a mess without you. At the time you were glad he was; you were a wreck yourself. It was only right that he was living in his own hell. Maybe there would be a day that you could see him, but right now, talking to Jamie it wasn’t going to happen.

 The hand on your back shifted lower to your ass; rubbing up and down. You knew what Robert wanted, vaguely you thought that maybe it would numb some of the pain you were experiencing. You tried to forget about all the pleasure you’d received under Tyler ministrations. At night when you would pleasure yourself, you’d think of anyone, anyone but him. But in the peak of your climax it was always Tyler’s face that popped into you mind; his name on your lips. You had a feeling things with Robert wouldn’t be any different. Fuck, you needed air.

 You excused yourself from the conversation; claiming you need to use the ladies restroom. When all you really wanted to do was head out the front door, call an Uber and head back home. You made your way to the foyer where the crowd was less abundant. You sensed him before you saw him; all night you thought your mind had been playing tricks on you only to come to the realization that yes indeed Tyler was here. You stopped, watched each step as he made his way to stand before you. Hands shaking, from frustration, possibly; more likely it was to keep from touching him. Tonight, had elicited all kinds of memories both good and bad; at the moment seeing him, all you could think about was the good. You looked at him; the dark circles under his eyes showing he hadn’t slept much. His thin frame, that usually happened at the end of the season more predominate now and the season was only under way. Every instinct in your body wanted to reach out and take him in your arms; bring back the man you once loved. Still loved you corrected yourself. You tampered down the urge; instead simply saying “Tyler.”

 His eyes borrowed into yours, reaching deep down into your soul. Regrets and nerves playing across his face as he slowly whispered your name. You thought your knees were going to give out, when he spoke. A tidal wave of emotions washed over you; as you stood in the sand, sinking deeper into the ocean that was Tyler, not knowing if you could swim back to shore after this encounter.  A tear rolled down your cheek; his thumb coming up to brush it away. The small contact shattering your resolve. It was finally time; time to hear, time to listen and hopefully time to understand. The fracture he had left in your heart shifted; but whether it was cracking more or being fussed back together was too early to tell. 

[jabbers-written-world]

Jabber’s Writings

Blossoms of the Heart

All right, ladies and gents and nonbinary friends! As it stands, I am currently beginning work on a novel series called Blossoms of the Heart. I don’t know how many books will be in the series. I don’t know how many of you will be interested. I don’t even know how this series will end! But guess what. That’s where you guys come in.

Blossoms of the Heart is planned to be a series of novels surrounding the female lead. Princess Alyria of Belanor. She is nineteen years old, and her father King Aldric has sent her to live at the secluded family estate, far away from the castle. Now, you may be wondering why he would send his daughter away. Is there a threat? Did she anger him in some way? Perhaps he’s ashamed of her behavior? None of these, my friends. The plot here is something far more interesting and exciting.

King Aldric has sent Princess Alyria to live in the family estate, alongside fifty young men all vying for her hand in marriage. Yes, that’s right. King Aldric has sent his daughter to live with her suitors, for as long as it takes for her to finally choose a husband. Now, this may seem like unfair treatment, to leave his daughter alone with fifty young men all competing for her. It even seems like it could be dangerous. So many possibilities for what may happen if these gentlemen are left unchecked, with only the princess.

Well, that’s just it. Alyria has insisted to her father that she would rather marry for love, than just for politics or because she’s told to do so. So, he is letting her make her own choices, and get to know these young men on her own, so that she may possibly fall in love with one of them, and finally take a husband. To protect their family line, and so that he no longer has to worry about what will happen to their kingdom when he is no longer there.

Oh, and don’t worry. She isn’t left alone with just her suitors. She has all of her most trusted attendants and staff right alongside her as well. All of these individuals are present for her protection, her support, and to ensure she is well taken care of while she is away from the castle. All of them as well, are people her father trusts most with his daughter’s well-being. And they are as follows:

Harrison, her direct attendant and confidant, as of the last seven years. He is elusive, and hardly shows his true feelings, but he is the most capable individual of all the staff present. In a test years ago to earn a place attending to royalty, as is Belanorian custom, there was no one who could compete with this man.

Devon, her favorite cook who has a mysterious way of knowing all that goes on around him, despite rarely leaving the kitchens. He’s a riddle, inside a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery and bound in an enigma. He tends to keep to himself and not cause much trouble, but there are others who seem to want to cause trouble with him.

Elias, the groundskeeper she adores dearly and who manages the horses, though for some unknown reason he doesn’t dare enter the estate unless absolutely necessary, and it could be due to what seems like a secret feud between him and Harrison.

Haru, the secondary captain of her father’s guard who she has known since they both were children, and who so often is like an older brother to her, especially in the way he teases her and even perhaps bullies her a little.

Crosjando, the weaponsmaster who has taught her self-defense and genuinely cares for her safety, and who also manages the excess energy of the suitors by keeping them busy in the training yard.

Gintoki, the king’s advisor who has been lent to Alyria in case she may need his input on these matters (don’t worry, he has another he can rely on back at the castle), and while he may be a bit of grump, he is calmed by his cat and does genuinely care about the princess despite his gruff attitude. Though, he too may have a bit of a feud, and his is less than secret.

Rowain, the king’s most loyal soldier who has also been lent to Alyria for her time at the estate. He is bound by an oath of honor and a life debt to serve King Aldric in whatever his wishes may be, and he is genuinely loyal to the man, and to Alyria. He is her greatest asset alongside Harrison and Gintoki.

Vasha, the djinn that was once given to King Aldric as a gift but instead bonded to Alyria and so now follows her everywhere. He’s mischievous and clever, and more than a little prideful, but truth be told, what djinn isn’t? He doesn’t always obey Alyria, and instead prefers to tease her, but she trusts him with everything. More so than anyone else.

And of course, Alyria has a few maids and housekeeping staff around the estate as well. Which is of course beneficial, since her male attendant Harrison cannot accompany her for certain tasks regarding her privacy. It would be far too indecent to have a man assisting the young lady in bathing or changing her clothes. And that is why the female staff are present for such things. Still, they all report to Harrison, as he is head of staff.

Now, that brings us to the suitors. Fifty young men of all sizes and species, and varying ages, and they are all vying for Alyria’s attention. Some are more polite than others, some are crude, some are lords in their own right, others are of the more common people. The king left it all up to Alyria to decide, and so did not discriminate based on class or species, especially considering that Alyria herself is half-fae. That being said, let us discuss these young men. They are as follows:

Adam, the quiet and loner-ish half-Minotaur from Kalein. He is 21 years of age, and due to his Minotaurian heritage, he has been largely discriminated against. Even King Aldric was hesitant to allow him as a suitor, but gave in with only one condition. If Adam could defeat the strongest castle guards in fair combat, then he would be requested to protect Alyria and stay by her side even if he doesn’t win her affections. Adam agreed, and defeated the guards with barely any harm done. Only minor scrapes, and nothing at all that painful. He treated the men with kindness in battle, and intentionally did not hurt them. He only subdued them, and so has been allowed as one of Alyria’s suitors.

Aden, the charitable half-elf from Kalein. 19 years of age, he is genuinely kind-hearted if perhaps just a little reckless at times. But what he lacks in impulse control, he makes up for in generosity and.. perhaps a little too much honesty. It may be a benefit that he’s as straightforward and direct as he is, even when admitting to his feelings, or it may be off-putting and drag him down instead. Aside from that though, Aden is always willing to lend a hand, to anyone who needs it.

Aladi, the enthusiastic Ha’adani tailor with stories to tell. Also 19 years of age, Aladi has an abundance of energy and good cheer, even if there is a hidden darkness behind it. He has his secrets that he’s hiding behind that smile, and it isn’t just that he used to be a thief. Still, he’s kind and always there to help cheer someone up. The problem is that he has fast hands and a fast tongue. So, by the time Alyria or anyone else may have caught up with the conversation, he’s already taken measurements and mentally chosen fabrics.

Alekai, the younger of a pair of half-demon brothers from Tesak. 19 years of age, Alekai can be considered the more mild-mannered and sweet-natured of the two brothers. He’s often the one apologizing for his brother Eivan’s temper, and is more adaptable and not quite so stubborn. Still, he blames himself for the injuries his older brother sustained on his behalf, and if he could turn back time and fix it all, he would. He loves his brother, but he worries that the elder of the two hates him and blames him for all that happened.

Archer, the gluttonous demon monkey from Belanor. Like quite a few of Alyria’s suitors, he is 19 years of age and full of life. He’s stubborn and a bit of a hot-head, and honestly, he thinks more with his stomach than with his head. He’s an honest sort, even if he is a little slow on the uptake from time to time. He loves to eat, and will happily do so all day, but don’t think he can’t defend himself. Oh, and don’t ask why he’s a monkey without a tail, he doesn’t like to talk about that particular incident.

Arten, the chivalrous knight of the Belanorian guard. 23 years of age, and one of the older suitors at the estate, Arten has actually known Alyria, or Lia as he calls her, for a good portion of her life. Orphaned at a young age when his parents were killed by undead, Arten trained to become stronger and specifically, to fight the undead. When he was sixteen, he offered his services to King Aldric, who.. at first didn’t take him seriously. But when a roaming skeleton attacked the king while out on a hunt, and the creature was quickly dispatched by Arten, King Aldric gave the young man a high honor, and of course made him a member of the guard.

Avis, the ever-praised phoenix of Ha’adan. 21 years of age, and raised as a god. Avis knows he isn’t truly a god, but all he has ever known was growing up in a shrine in Ha’adan, and told he was their god. He has no knowledge of where he really came from, but he knows he isn’t of Ha’adani heritage. Recently, he left the shrine to venture out on a sort of pilgrimage to hopefully find answers, though he is a bit shy when meeting new people. However, while roaming Belanor, he took one look at Aurelia and was infatuated.

Balthazar, the gentleman dragon of Belanor’s seaside. 19 years of age, Balthazar comes from a long line of dragon chieftains, but he was separated at a young age from his clan and instead found himself washed up on the shore of an abandoned shipyard. He has tried over the years to find his clan again, only to learn in recent years that they had all been slaughtered. So he is the last in his line, and it is up to him to carry on their heritage. Upon discovering he was the only one left, Balthazar at first attempted to throw himself into the sea in a fit of despair, but he was rescued by an avian Beast named Marius. The two have been friends ever since, though Marius may deny it. Still, Balthazar knows. They are definitely friends.

Bartleby, the feral but friendly Beast of Belanor. 21 years of age, Bartleby used to be a pirate plundering ships on the high seas. It was a good life for him, but it wasn’t meant to last. A wild storm, coupled by an attack from a serpentine sea beast, and Bartleby washed up near-dead on the shores near the shipyard that had by then become a permanent home to Balthazar and Marius. And with Balthazar’s soft spot for broken things and people, the bear-like Beast was nursed back to health. But no sooner had he recovered and gotten back on his feet, when he was abruptly arrested and thrown in prison for his crimes against the Belanor Empire. He was set for the gallows, soon to be hanged until dead, when Balthazar once again came to his rescue. To this day, he still doesn’t know how the dragon pulled it off, but now he is utterly devoted and loyal, and where Balthazar goes, Bartleby goes.

Blaine, the not-so-angelic angel from Oslana. 18 years of age, and with a bad attitude for the record books. Blaine is far from being the most angelic of angels, and his black wings have nothing to do with it. For one thing, he actually can’t fly. His wings were badly broken when he was a child, and never quite healed the same. But the fisherman who raised him has always done his best. However, now that there’s a dire shortage in Oslana, Blaine has reluctantly come to Belanor to ask for aid. Though, he has yet to actually ask for it. Instead, he set himself as one of Alyria’s suitors, perhaps to gain her assistance first before discussing the problem with her father.

Caine, the blinded serpentine blacksmith of Ha’adani heritage. 20 years of age, Caine has only live in Belanor for the last five years. Before that, he spent much of his life in slavery in the deserts of Ha’adan. He was born to a slave mother, and so has never known freedom until he escaped while in transit to a new master. Surviving on his own has always been difficult, after he was blinded at the age of two, but for a naga at the size he is now, it’s gotten even harder. Still, he made his way to Belanor, and found work for himself as a blacksmith. But when he heard of the call for suitors, well.. he figured why not give it a try.

Cale, the young lord from Oslana. 19 years of age, Cale does his best to be a kind and forgiving person, but he does have a bit of a stubborn streak. So while he is always willing to help out, he may have his own opinions about how things should be done. And he will stick to them. Now, of course his father sent him to court the princess of Belanor, simply for the money and political power that could be gained from the union. Cale, however, has his own reasons for courting Princess Alyria, and his are genuine and honest, and only for the sake of love.

Dantalion, a demonic prince of Belanor with a darkened past. 22 years of age, Dantalion is polite and charismatic, but his life hasn’t really been quite as charmed as a prince’s should be. But of course, demonic politics are those of a separate realm, and so may not always be acknowledged by those living across the veil. Summoned by a warlock and bound to the man, forced to call him ‘master’, Dantalion has been wretchedly abused for years. Only recently was he finally able to escape, and he ran straight to the king, setting himself as a suitor to the princess, citing his own nobility as the prince he truly is, and if all goes well, the warlock who he is still bound to will be dealt with, and he can truly be free again.

Dezimir, a flirtatious Pennari from Roveska. 19 years of age, and very confident in himself. Not many know what a Pennari is, as they are only found in Roveska and some small islands off the coast of Kalein. They are unusual to say the least, and could even be mistaken for elves. Except.. for the tail. And the fact that they tend to be a little broader and even more lanky than elves. The species runs to tallness, and has one very particular trait that is genetic to the breed. Addiction. But not quite in the way anyone might think. Pennari are often more likely to be addicted to an activity, rather than substance. And Dezimir is no exception. His addiction is somewhat more lewd than he probably should ever admit in front of the king, but at least it boosts his confidence. And his flirtatious charisma. But everyone should be careful if he is forced to go too long without tending to that addiction.. Because he can, and will, turn dangerously feral and could cause serious harm, only by pure instinct and a genetic code in his very existence.

Eivan, the elder brother of the pair from Tesak. 21 years of age, Eivan is stubborn and has a very short temper. Also, it probably doesn’t help that he’s actually shorter than his younger brother. And the fact they’re both half-demons certainly doesn’t do him any favors either. Still, he would do everything in his power to protect his brother from any harm that may come to him. And the proof is in the prosthetic arm and leg he has, from an incident in which he defended his brother from being attacked by a monstrous beast. And now, in recent years, he and Alekai have been forced to flee their home, and they settled in Belanor, trying to start their lives over again. And now, hearing the call for suitors, they’ve realized there may be something they can do, for all those like them.

Elliot, the Doomwood mage of Belanor. Everyone knows Doomwood Forest is a place of nightmares, but the people who live there either had no choice, or they settled there to protect the rest of the kingdom. To keep the monsters at bay in the forest and prevent them from spreading across the rest of the kingdom. Elliot is one of those people. Training as a mage, he does what he can to keep the spectres and ghasts and undead, and all manner of monsters from leaving Doomwood. But he’s still training, only 18 years of age, and all he could do for now was to cast a barrier spell over his hometown, hoping that it’ll defend them, and keeping the monsters interested long enough that he can get help, and better training in the capital city. However, his plan was somewhat derailed as he developed a crush on the princess, and so now is among her suitors trying to win her affections.

Ferrin, the half-fae swordsman of Oslana. 19 years of age, Ferrin is not quite all he seems to be. At the surface, he is stubborn, blunt, and confident, even occasionally a bit too confident. But he does know when to back down and when to shut his mouth. He’s not the idiot he occasionally pretends to be, and he is loyal to those who earn it. He appears as a wandering swordsman, roaming the land with no ties to anyone. But that is far from his real story. Truth be told, Ferrin is actually a prince among Fae, but being that he was only half-blood, he was deemed unfit to ever inherit the throne, and was cast out, his memory of his heritage erased. He feels drawn to Princess Alyria, though, like she might have the answers to fill in the blanks he can’t remember.

Ferris, the boisterous Kaleini pirate of the high seas. 20 years of age, and already captain. Ferris started out as a cabin boy, and worked his way up the ranks faster than anyone had ever seen. And when the previous captain was lost to a sea monster attack, the crew was left without a leader. And they chose Ferris. Even men older than him who may have deserved the position in their own right, chose the wild and adventurous young man to lead them to glory. Which worked out for the better, seeing as he lost a leg in that same attack, now living with a prosthetic in its place. He’s been captain for four years now, and now he’s suitor to the princess, alongside two other members of his crew.

Garrick, the second-sighted scaredy-cat from Doomwood Forest. 20 years of age, Garrick has a gentle and kind heart and he’s even perhaps protective of those who need him to be, but he’s also so easily frightened that he may even burst into tears if he’s scared badly enough. Like Elliot and Arten, Garrick comes from Doomwood Forest, born in one of the two known towns in the woods. But he wasn’t born like the others. They can see the physical monsters, and perhaps they know of the rest. But Garrick can see it all. Spectres, ghasts, spirits and all other creatures otherwise unseen. As a young child, he watched his family get carried off by spectres and dragged deep into the woods, never to be heard from again, except for the occasional lingering screams. He has recently come to King Aldric for help, but was distracted as he found himself infatuated with the princess, and just seeing her made him forget his fear, if only for a while.

Geilver, the second son of a Belanorian lord. He was not the one who was intended to be suitor to the princess. His elder brother was the one their father would rather have sent, but as the elder of the two happened to be away on an overseas journey, Geilver was instead the one sent to court Princess Alyria. He is 21 years of age, and is actually rather overconfident, even perhaps to the point of mild narcissism. And he likes to talk, especially about himself. Still, underneath all of that bravado, is an uncertain young man who is deeply loyal to his brother and would like to see him home safely. His father sent him as a suitor for the politics of the affair, but Geilver just isn’t interested in that side of it.

Ifari, the mysterious fae of Ha’adan. His age is a mystery, and really all that is known is his species and his gender. Very few have even seen more than his eyes, his face usually covered by a cloth mask. He is actually the advisor to Prince Rukh, and followed him to this whole affair if only to keep the poor-tempered prince in check. But.. now he too has made his own decision to court the princess. And no one knows what reason he may have for it.

Karval, the foul-mouthed troll from Teris. 16 years of age and the youngest of all the suitors, Karval fled his home country and didn’t stop running until he collapsed in Belanor. His breed of troll is unique only to Teris, and they are hunted for sport, like they are no more than animals. Karval lost his parents to hunters at a young age, and was forced to survive on his own, dodging all manner of dangerous people and animals. He has had a few close calls though, and even he feels it’s a miracle he’s even alive today. Nursed back to health by a kind Belanorian duchess, she has more or less adopted him as her unofficial son, so to speak, and it was she who sent him to court the princess, telling him that if he can gain influence with the royal family, he may be able to use it to change the way things are for his people.

Kin, the devilishly clever kitsune mercenary from Koshima. 21 years of age, Kin is a mercenary who was hired by a lord in Belanor to guard his home and possessions. However, the lord thought little of him, and refused to pay Kin what the job was truly worth, instead only offering the barest of bare minimums. Offended by the man’s rudeness, a state no one should ever want a kitsune to be, Kin simply left the man to fend for himself, instead roaming the kingdom looking for work that would actually pay. When he heard of the call for suitors to the princess, he joined among them. For even if he isn’t chosen, he may still offer his services to protect the royal family.

Lowell, Belanor’s free-spirited bookkeeper. 19 years of age, and.. only technically a bookkeeper. Truthfully, he’s the old man’s apprentice, and he’s easily distracted from his real work. It’s that that led him to become a suitor to the princess, believing in his own charms to help win her over. However, his teacher almost didn’t allow him to do so, reminding him that their work was far more important. But, after some persuasion, they came to an agreement. If Lowell does not succeed in this endeavor, then he will return to his duties with renewed diligence and will never stray again.

Lyric, the patient and watchful nymph from Umai. 18 years of age, Lyric is a lotus nymph who grew up in the lotus ponds and the shade of their trees, in a monks’ temple in Umai. While he isn’t actually a monk, he enjoys their companionship and finds comfort in following their teachings, and joining them in meditation and prayer. They are his family, and he is their beloved lotus child. It was they who sent him on his worldly journey when he was of age, as all monks must do, and that was how he discovered the princess and her father’s call for suitors. But he has to be careful. As a nymph, he can’t venture too far from his source without risking his life, and so to travel, he carries a piece of home with him. A lotus seed, tucked carefully in his pocket. But he may die if that seed gets lost, so he needs to watch his possessions wisely.

Marius, the wild and aggressive avian Beast of Belanor’s shores. 21 years of age, Marius has a foul temper and an even fouler attitude. He’s not fond of most people, and usually minds his own business, acting as lookout around the shipyard and guarding Balthazar from harm. Together, the two of them fixed up the yard and made it livable, even perhaps functional as a proper cargo dock too. Except Marius’ attitude does tend to scare away potential customers. However, he has his reasons for being aggressive, though he won’t speak about it to anyone.

He was once a brawler in the arenas, enslaved in the underbelly of Belanor’s darker districts. He was forced to fight for his life, and was the reigning champion for quite a while before he was finally defeated, and tossed to the streets, left to die from his wounds. However, he was found by an old man called Magnus, who returned him back to proper health, and taught him how to work in the shipyard. But when Magnus was killed in an attack from raiders, the loss shattered Marius. He became foul-tempered and bitter, and he returned to the arenas with a renewed vengeance. But he wasn’t a slave this time. He was free to come and go. And he did leave after a while, only to return to the shipyard on a whim, and that is when he saw Balthazar, and made his own private oath to always protect him no matter what. So now he’s followed him all the way to become a suitor to the princess. Go figure.

Mikhael, Oslana’s feline farm boy. 22 years of age, Mikhael is generally friendly, though he can occasionally come across as rather forceful and aggressive, being rather loud on occasion and bearing a pretty bad temper. Sometimes that temper causes him to storm off in a fit of rage, especially if he has repeatedly failed at a task. He can be kind, however, and also has a great sense of humor. Which, actually helps considering his start in the world. Abandoned as an infant one stormy night, he spent the entire night in the rain, shivering and hungry, only to be found the next morning by a farmer and his wife. They quickly adopted the young feline Beast, and raised him as if he were their own. Now he’s a grown adult, and he does well in keeping pests out of the barn, and works hard to help his father tending the fields. But.. Well, he isn’t entirely sure how he ended up as a suitor to the princess of Belanor, but that isn’t to say he entirely minds.

Montague, the cursed son of a Belanorian lord. 17 years of age, Montague was probably not his father’s first choice to send as suitor to the princess. But, similar to Geilver’s situation, his older brother was not available as an option. So, the lord sent his unfortunately cursed son. Montague was cursed as a young child, after he managed to offend a witch living in the woods. Now, when he gets too excited or angry, or is incapacited and weak, Montague transforms into a river otter, and he has no control over doing so. Only time will tell how this will work out. But at least he’s a friendly sort.

Nathan, the feline member of Kalein’s pirate crew. 20 years of age, clever and quick on his feet, Nathan is never short of something to say, and he certainly puts on a show of confidence. Of course.. That confidence is mostly fake. He has been on the pirate ship he calls home since he was two years old, and has actually never set foot on land. This is uncharted territory now, and he has no idea what he’s doing. He just followed his captain, and may or may not have taken interest in the princess himself as well. But.. hopefully at least Ferris knows what he’s doing.

Niklaus, Roveska’s best kept secret. His age is a mystery at this point, even to him. But he is more than certainly a gentleman, polite and mostly keeping to himself, except to restlessly roam the halls at night. However, to those he does encounter in the night, and in the moments around dawn and dusk, he is charming and dignified. He became Princess Alyria’s choice of his own accord, and perhaps simply out of curiosity, but truth be told.. He hasn’t done this sort of thing in 200 years. Niklaus is a vampire, and one of the oldest still existing in Roveska. After a storm of raids on vampire castles, the slaughter of many by overconfident vampire hunters, Niklaus and a few others are now kept secret under the protection of the Roveski government. But.. Niklaus apparently no longer wants to stay in hiding.

Nora, the dragon bookworm from Teris. 18 years of age, and with quite a story to tell, Nora is one of only a few on the outside now that is privy to one of Teris’ darker secrets. While things may seem rather pleasant on the surface, at least if you aren’t a Terisian troll, underneath all that charm and political majesty, there are prison camps in Teris, where the Crowned Prince or.. someone who may simply look eerily like him, has been throwing all those who he disagrees with or simply dislikes. Until a few months ago, Nora was trapped in one of those camps, until he and three others managed to escape. The rest have gone into hiding, but Nora is looking for help. Setting himself as suitor to Belanor’s princess, this may be the most strategic opportunity to gain aid from Belanor.

Orson, the wild and untamed bear warrior of Belanor’s forests. 22 years of age, and barely more than a feral animal, Orson comes across unfortunately rather aggressive, pushing and generally being a rather physical individual, he is actually rather sweet and loving, but.. Well, he comes by it honestly. He was abandoned in the woods as an infant and expected to be eaten. However, instead of devouring the human child, a mother bear who had recently had her own cubs simply adopted him and raised him like her own. So Orson was raised in the woods by a bear, and as such is the case, he’s unfortunately rather disconnected with civilized society and is easily confused. No one is sure how he got the approval of the king, but having recently ventured into town, Orson has become suitor to the princess, largely due to an interest in learning human courtship, and curiosity about her as well.

Pallum, the winged loudmouth of Kalein’s plundering pirates. 18 years of age, Pallum generally comes across as a very angry bird. He has a quick temper, and he’s very loud and aggressive when he’s upset, but he can be calmed as easily as he’s angered. This little harpy has a lot to compensate for though, considering he’s a runt. As such is the case, many adult harpies in his clan tried to simply kill him, seeing him as useless because he was so small. However, Pallum survived every attempt on his life, until he was simply exiled instead. And that was how he made himself at home in the crow’s nest of a pirate ship, and quickly earned his place as the barrelman. And now that his captain and another member of the crew decided to court the princess of Belanor, that’s what he’s going to do too.

Pteryn, the littlest angel in Belanor. 17 years of age, and largely considered a runt among angels, he’s determined to prove all those who doubt him wrong. He’s stubborn, and a little bit naive, but he has a kind heart and is always willing to help. He is just as trained in combat as any other angel his age, even if they might have tried to stop him from training at all. And now he has pledged his life to King Aldric, in addition to becoming a suitor to the princess. All to prove himself just as strong as any other.

Rai, Oslana’s wandering warrior of the demon sword. He is 19 years of age, and he was human once.. But he has since become a demon of rage and hate. He comes across as cold and unfeeling at first, but he is actually surprisingly agreeable, and even friendly. Perhaps a little forceful with his friendliness, but it is only because most of his emotions have been suppressed by his sword. He gets easily frustrated, or angered. Most of what he can feel is anger in some form or another. Still, he is usually understanding if what aggravated him was an accident. But beware if he is intentionally crossed, for he will be on a very dangerous warpath.

He has been an orphan as long as he can remember, alongside his younger sister, and together the two of them struggled to survive on the streets. At least, until they were called before the Prime Minister. They hoped that perhaps they would be saved, and something would be done for the starving children in the streets. But they should not have hoped at all. His sister died only a few weeks later, and Rai barely made it out with his life, only to find his way to an old and long-forgotten battlefield.. Where he found the Azel Sword. He took hold of the weapon, and his life was forever changed as he was twisted and warped into something no longer human. He is out for blood now, vengeance for all wrongs that had been done to him. And yet.. Maybe Princess Alyria can soften this tormented soul.

Reiss, Kalein’s most stubborn half-fae. If anyone of these suitors could really be considered a wild child, it’s this 17-year-old. He comes across as rude and even inconsiderate, but truth be told, he doesn’t actually know much of human culture, as much as his family may have tried to teach him. He was orphaned at a young age, and was instead raised by the mountain trolls near Roswater. They tried their best to teach how humans live, and even about fae. But there wasn’t much they really knew either, so it was difficult for him to learn. Instead, he lives as the trolls do, hunting and foraging alongside them, even joining in the occasional playful wrestling match.

Recently though, he has set out from home to venture into the world and learn what he can. Or.. rather what he has interest in, which unfortunately isn’t much that would actually help him in the societies outside his home. But, due to a growing interest in Princess Alyria, perhaps there is some hope for him yet.

Rukh, the winged prince of Ha’adan. While his age is unknown, he has lived much of his life praised and practically worshipped. He is a very rare being himself, named for exactly what he is. A rukh. It is due to his existence being seen as a blessing, that he has known nothing but praise, and so he has turned out rather spoiled, and rude. No one has ever told him ‘no’, and so he has a bit of a foul temper whenever someone tries. Only one person has ever been able to get away with it, and that is his advisor, Ifari. And now, at the suggestion of Ifari, Rukh has left his home in order to learn more of the world, and in doing so, he has insistently set himself as one of Princess Alyria’s suitors.

Sadir, the silent warrior of the Ha’adani deserts. There isn’t much known about Sadir, not even his age. All that is known is that he is a half-demon, and he is a rather reclusive and elusive individual, even with all his curiosity. He typically keeps to himself and very rarely speaks, even when spoken to. He often comes across as somewhat gloomy or melancholy, but if asked, he won’t say much more than that those who come near him will only get hurt. Still, for whatever reason that is known only to him, he has come to play suitor to the princess.

Sindar, the charming Ha’adani sailor of the high seas. 23 years of age, and practically swimming in his own charisma, Sindar is the type of individual many young men dream they could be. He is a man of courage, of charm, and of independence. A free spirit living his life upon the seas, a new adventure has been brought to his attention, by a very particular tailor in the bazaars of Ha’adan. Now, he is a suitor to the princess and ready to sail those uncharted waters.

Sun, Umai’s most mischievous monkey. 19 years of age and ready to face the world, Sun is an energetic young monkey Beast with what he considers a great sense of humor, even if others may disagree. However, beneath his carefree attitude and his penchant for mischief is an anxious and stressed young monkey who would do anything to keep those he cares about safe. Though.. that may be on the more difficult side.

Sun was one of eight children and his life started out happy. Until their town was raided and he and his family were sold into slavery. He put up with years of abuse before he was given a chance to escape. He broke loose, but turned back to save his family too. However, his mother shooed him away, telling him to just run and not to worry about them. If one of them was free, that was all that mattered. So he ran. He ran as far as he could, only stopping to rest when he couldn’t bring himself to go any further. He became a brawler in a few underground arenas to train himself so that he may one day save his family. Now, he’s become a suitor to Princess Alyria, with the hope that she and her father may give him the help he needs.

Taeval, the last of Kalein’s oldest breed of dragons. 20 years of age, and the last of his kind, no one is quite sure where Taeval came from. He is a gentle soul, however, calm and respectful. He is always there to support those who need him, traveling only to learn what he needs to and to help where he is needed, before disappearing again to return somewhere else. However, now something has drawn him to become a suitor to Belanor’s princess, and no one is exactly sure what that might be.

Takhal, the prideful and spoiled Oracle from Ha’adan. 18 years of age, and somewhat of a spoiled brat, Takhal has been praised from his early years and onward, which has led him to be rather arrogant and even childish. He boasts about his accomplishments, and how powerful of an Oracle he is. But.. little does he know, he was kidnapped in infancy as part of a far greater plot. And underneath his bravado as well, is a scared and lonely child. But he saw Princess Alyria in a vision, and now has come to understand why.

Titian, a fierce Norland warrior with a dangerous curse. 21 years of age, and he is already as foul-tempered and bitter as an old man with too many bad memories. But there is a reason for the aggressive way he behaves. Titian is under a curse, and so is possessed by a spirit of anger, turning him into a Berseker. The only emotion he is allowed to feel much of is anger, and so he comes across fairly aggressive and rude.

But the truth is that he’s looking for someone. The man who raised him in place of the parents who bore him. After an attack on their hometown, by soldiers who claimed to be from Belanor, the only father Titian has ever known has disappeared. So now he has come to Belanor, both to seek out his father, and to get vengeance for the attack on his home.

Toris, the sweetheart of Oslana with a dark secret. 21 years of age, and generally rather shy and gentle, Toris seems utterly harmless, and for the most part he is. Except for one tiny detail. He has in fact killed a man. But of course, as with all good murder mysteries, there is more to the story. Toris was a slave for many years, shuffled from one lord to another and to another, and he had even just simply grown used to it. Or at least.. he thought he had. As his last master was dealing out punishment yet again, something inside Toris snapped, and he murdered the man in a fit of rage. Now he has fled to Belanor, and perhaps the princess can find a way to help him.

Vince, Princess Alyria’s oldest friend. 19 years of age, and another one who comes across somewhat aggressive, the truth is that Vince is lonely, and he has a lot of trouble expressing it. But it’s no wonder he is the way he is. His birth was an accident, and his aristocrat mother immediately decided she wanted nothing to do with the half-troll monstrosity she had given birth to. She ordered her servants to get rid of the infant, and they would have.. if they hadn’t fallen in love with him themselves. Still, they knew they couldn’t keep him, and so took him into the forest, giving him to a troll woman who was out foraging for berries.

She gladly took him and raised him as her own in the troll village that was her home. But, despite all the love she offered him, Vince knew he didn’t fit in there. He remained lonely and misplaced, even venturing to the edge of the forest to look upon the estate that belonged to the woman who had given birth to him. Several times when doing so, however, the woman caught sight of him and sent her hounds to chase him off, not even knowing that he was her son.

At some point while he was young, Vince happened to encounter Princess Alyria and her father, and the two have been friends ever since, ultimately growing up with each other. And now that he’s heard King Aldric calling for suitors for Alyria, Vince is determined to win the heart of the only one who ever made him feel like he truly belonged.

Warren, the changeling child that replaced a Belanorian lord’s son. 19 years of age, and a bit pushy and snappish, Warren is a tough nut to crack on occasion. He comes across as rude and self-centered, and is generally fairly difficult to get along with most of the time. But the truth is that he is deeply insecure and very sensitive to insults. While he was raised as the son of a Belanorian lord, the truth is that the real son of the lord was stolen as an infant, and replaced with the changeling child that is Warren.

However, Warren genuinely believes he is the lord’s son. He knows nothing about changelings, and the lord as well is unaware of what Warren is. As such is the case, when Warren’s form shifts even a little, it makes him panic and he believes it’s some strange disease that flares up from time to time. So, he mostly tries to ignore it, and now, of course, he has been sent to court the princess for the sake of politics.

Yukito, the lone warrior from Koshima. He is 21 years of age, and he generally comes across fairly moody and lonerish, even perhaps a little cold and unfriendly. But underneath it, he does actually genuinely care about others and would give his life to protect everyone around him. He is diligent and hard-working, and very loyal despite his grumpy attitude. Whatever drew him to court the princess of Belanor, though, is something only he knows.

Yuri, the Belanorian noble that grew up on the streets. 18 years of age, and fairly confident in himself and even a bit flirtatious, but.. could that be just a front he puts up? Nah, couldn’t be. Or.. could it? Yes, it is. The youngest in a family of ten kids, Yuri was mostly ignored as a child, and so developed a bit of a habit of showing off just for the attention. However, when he was about ten years old, his home was raided and his family scattered. He has no idea where any of them are now, and since then, he grew up mostly on the streets, learning to cheat, gamble, and steal to survive.

He’s been arrested several times for his thefts, somehow managing to talk his way out of most of his possible punishments. Still, he’s stolen a few too many things by now, and was set for execution. Except.. he was recently pardoned by the king, who saw that the young man still had some good in him, and had hope he could be rehabilitated. Now, Yuri has set himself as a suitor to the princess, hoping maybe she’s that rehabilitation the king wants from him.

Zoroaster, the mercenary from Teris. 20 years of age and highly trained with a sword, Zoroaster spent most of his life at sea. He hardly knew his own parents, and was instead raised by a crew of naval warriors from Norland. However, his ship was recently sunk by pirates, killing most of the men on board, and so he has lived ashore in Oslana for the past year. Training himself further in swordsmanship, he is now nearly unrivaled with a blade, and he has come to Belanor now, as suitor to the princess, and to offer his services in her protection.

Zuri, the naive Beast of Ha’adan. 21 years of age, and a member of a rare clan of Beasts known as Bengalit, Zuri is.. Well, he isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, to put it lightly. He’s easily trusting of most people, despite what his best friend Sindar may tell him. He can of course defend himself if things turn out wrong, but he likes to look for the good in everyone, really. He trusts Sindar with his life as well, and will follow him to the ends of the earth, which.. is of course how he became a suitor to Princess Alyria as well.

[isolavirtuosa]

Starting Over (For Real?) 21-22

[fanfiction] NaruSasu

Read the previous parts here.

- 21 -

  Land was visible in the distance.

I knew this because I could hear Naruto shrieking about it above deck, clomping around in some kind of celebratory dance.  Sai the Robot decided to join in, and the creaking that proceeded made me worry about the integrity of our vessel.

Kakashi cracked an eye open.  “That’s not very conducive to sleeping.”

“It is not,” I agreed.

He smiled at me, a crinkling of his eyes.

I sniffed and looked away.

He sat up, stretching his arms over his head and yawning loudly.  “I guess we can sleep when we’re dead.”

I appreciated his cynicism, but I didn’t want to agree with him again so I stayed silent.

“How are your legs?” he asked.

“Fine.”

“Oh, so that’s why you ride on Naruto’s back like a monkey?”

I breathed out heavily through my nose.

His grin widened.

“Can you take off the fucking mask already?” I complained.

“Aw, do you want to see my beautiful face so badly?” he cooed.

“I take it back, keep it on.”

He pulled down the mask.

His face was so normal I didn’t know how to react.

He grinned, and it was exactly the shit-eating expression that it appeared to be when you could only see his eyes.  He pulled the mask back up.

I was frozen in place.

“Our little secret,” he said cheerfully.

“I want my innocence back,” I hissed.

Kakashi cracked up.

“Why did you do that?” I asked, my voice sounding a lot more vulnerable than I intended.

“A show of good faith,” he said, sitting up.  “Let me work on your legs.”

“Hell, no!” I snapped, shifting away from him.

“I have some healing techniques,” he said, tapping his scar.

I looked at him.  “You don’t have a sharingan anymore.  So what was that energy I felt when you were fighting Morino?”

“Oh, you noticed that?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck in a very Naruto-like ‘aw, shucks’ kind of gesture.  “You really are amazing in a crisis, Sasuke.  We wouldn’t have walked away from that attack if it wasn’t for you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“One arm, no legs, one eye devoted to making sure your… partner was safe… and you still had an eye to spare on me, all while fighting a Hyuuga!” he declared.

“A weak, disposable Hyuuga,” I said, trying not to glory in how amazing I was and focus on Kakashi’s constant avoidance of any and all topics I brought up.

“You’ve become a good leader,” he said softly.

“I’m not a leader,” I muttered.  I wondered where my team was.

“I’m proud of you.”

“Oh my god, shut up.”

He was suddenly very close.  “So as I was saying,” he said, digging his chakra into my legs.

I held in a scream.  Just barely.

Kakashi just calmly continued to work.

I leaned my head back, trying to take in deep breaths, but it sounded more like I was panting.

Then something popped and I did scream because the pain was excruciating.

“There you go,” Kakashi said cheerfully, giving my legs a final pat.

Naruto was already down the stairs and throwing his arm around me.  “What happened?!”

I melted into Naruto’s hold, my body limp.

“What the hell did you do to him?!” he shrieked at Kakashi.

“I fixed him,” Kakashi said.  “You’re welcome.”

“He doesn’t look fixed!”

“Aren’t you supposed to be operating the boat?”

“Oh, uh…”

“Well, I guess you’re entitled to a five minute break,” Kakashi said, throwing his arms behind his head and sauntering up the stairs.

Naruto grumbled angrily until he was out of sight, then kissed my forehead and started fussing over me.  “Are you okay, love?  What did he do?  Hey, Sas’, come on, talk to me.”

“I think I can walk,” I said, flexing my legs experimentally.  I was still too exhausted to even sit up on my own, though.

Naruto stroked my hair and kept mumbling reassuring nonsense at me until my senses started to come back.

I pushed him away and sat up properly.  The pain had receded, and when I tried to stand, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t fall on my face.  I teetered a little, but I stood.

“Holy crap, he really did fix you,” Naruto marveled.

“The muscles are still shit,” I muttered, sitting back down.

“But you didn’t even use chakra to stand!” he said, happily smothering me in a hug.

I pushed him away again.  “Aren’t your five minutes up?”

He gave me an annoyed look before securing a hand in my hair and pulling me in for a quick kiss.  “I love you, I’m so happy that you can stand, you are gorgeous, and I’m going to finish getting us to Water now.”

I watched him go up the stairs and I got up slowly to follow him.  It took longer than I would have liked, and I’m sure I looked like an idiot, but no stupider than I’d looked riding on Naruto’s back the last few months.

The Land of Water was doing well.  They’d had minimum damage from the God Tree, and they were probably overfishing their waters, but for now food was abundant.

Also the Mizukage had retired.

“Did she find herself a decent man?” Kakashi asked, turning the smile way up on his eye.

“That’s what I’ve heard,” the fisherman told him cheerfully.

“That’s so great,” Kakashi said, giving the man a friendly wave before returning to the helm.

“I wonder how she met anyone bein’ trapped in the God Tree,” Naruto mused.

“Do you really think the Mizukage just retired?” I asked.

He shrugged.  “We all changed in our dream worlds, and the Fifth is always talking about finding a man… like always.”

“Baby, seriously?” I growled.

Everyone looked at me.

I could feel myself going red.

“I’m your baby?!” Naruto asked delightedly.

“Yes, my diaper-wearing, non-stop-crying infant,” I said, staring intensely at the deck.  “There’s no fucking way that Terumi Mei just quit being the mizukage.”

“Loverboy has a point,” Kakashi agreed.

Naruto reached over, thumbing along the back of my hand.

I smacked him away.

“I don’t think it’s safe here,” Kakashi said.  “We should head north.”

“Where is safe?” I asked, rolling my eyes.  “Not that it matters, because we can take care of ourselves.”

“Don’t get too cocky,” Kakashi said, patting me on the head.

I scowled and tried to swat him away, but he was already on the move, clamping Naruto on the shoulder.

���Just keep being your charming self and luring in as many powerful allies as we can get,” he said.

“It’d be easier to do if we got off this boat and were actually… among the people,” Naruto said.

“When we get to Lightning,” Kakashi said, taking the wheel and steering us away from the shore.

“That’s going to take forever,” I muttered, already tired of living on a boat.

But of course Kakashi was right.

The attack came at night, during Naruto’s watch.  I’d lent him my fingers to make some clones when we changed shifts, so he wasn’t completely useless like that last time we were attacked while he was on watch.

It almost felt like overkill when the other three of us joined the fight.

“Why do people even bother attacking us?” Sai asked, doodling boredly on a scroll before unleashing a half-hearted lion.

“I’ll show you to take us seriously!” one of the fodder roared, charging at him.

“We need to attract a higher caliber of enemy,” Kakashi murmured, perched on the railing of the boat with his book out.

I took down one of the attackers with a katon from where I was sitting next to Kakashi.  “I thought you didn’t want us to get cocky?”

“Yeah, but we still gotta be realistic,” he said.  “This is like stomping on ants.”

There weren’t any conscious enemies left to protest.

Naruto bounded over to me, tail wagging.  “See, I wasn’t useless.”

“You weren’t useless,” I agreed, pinching his cheeks together.

He grinned.

I let my hand slide into a caress.

We’d really become the kind of couple that carried on in public.  I hated myself for it as I continued to bask in Naruto’s smile and lack of injuries.

“They’re wearing the mark of the Water Daimyou,” Kakashi commented, eyes still glued to his book.

“What’d we ever do to that guy?” Naruto complained.

“A power vacuum means a power grab,” Kakashi hummed.

“Why don’t you say something else vague that seems like it’s insightful but isn’t?” I muttered, sliding off of the railing onto my feet.

“Lookit you,” Naruto marveled.

“Shut up.”

“But standing is so sexy!”

“Sai’s standing; do you think he’s sexy?” I asked irritably.

“You know what I mean!” he protested.

“So you do think that Sai is sexy?”

“Oh, my,” Sai said.  “Am I sexy?”

“No, god!” Naruto said, flailing his arms around.

“Does anyone want to figure out why these daimyou lackeys attacked us?” Kakashi asked.  “Or did Naruto want to rank all his travelling companions by who can stand the sexiest?  Because if so…” he trailed off, popping a hip.

“What the hell is wrong with all of you?!” Naruto cried.  He grabbed my arm and started tugging me towards the stairs.  “Sasuke is the only person I sex up!”

“What?” I said.  “Don’t drag me into this,” I protested, even as I let him physically drag me down the stairs.

“Sasukeeeeee,” he whined, helping me sit when we reached the bottom.  My legs ached.

“Naruto,” I said, perfectly calmly.

“Hm, yeah, love?” he asked.

“When did we decide that you can just talk about our very private sex life whenever you want in front of whoever you want?”

“Well, we didn’t exactly decide that,” Naruto hedged.  “But everyone knows we’re a couple, so…”

“I’m sorry, we’re a what?”

He immediately turned into Middle-Aged-I’m-Disappointed-in-You Naruto.  “We’re a couple,” he said with a frown.

“Where was I when this was decided?”

He opened his mouth and immediately closed it.

“Spit it out.”

“I think you’re rubbing off on me,” he muttered.

“Oh, were you going to hit me with an obvious but cutting truth?”

“Yeah, actually,” he said, putting his hand on my knee and rubbing absently.

“Oh, please do enlighten me.”

“No, love, I don’t think that’s the kind of person I want to be,” he said, his touch turning into a massage.

“An honest one?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

His eyes met mine slowly, probing into me.  “The kind of person who lashes out at the person he loves the most in the world just to make himself feel better.”

I did not like the way he was looking at me and I dropped my gaze.

“You looked like you were in pain before,” he said quietly.  “I just wanted to come down here and make sure you’re okay.  But then… my brain stopped thinking good.”  He paused in his massage.

I let myself look at him again and he was blushing.

“Shit, is this what puberty is?  It’s gross.  I’m gross.  I’m sorry,” he apologized quickly.

I let my eyes drift down to his loose orange track pants.  If I looked right at it, it was obvious.

“Was it Kakashi’s sexy standing?” I asked.

“Sasukeeee!”

I could actually see his erection wilt slightly and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is this the answer to all my problems?” he asked hopefully.  “Think of Kakashi, think of Kakashi…”

“You don’t think Kakashi is attractive at all?” I asked.

“Kakashi is the only person grosser than me,” Naruto said confidently.  He beamed at his penis, which was now only at half-mast.  “I mean he’s… wait… wait… do you think he’s attractive?”

I shrugged noncommittally.

“You’re not serious.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You think Kakashi is attractive!” he cried.

“Really?!” Kakashi asked, peeking down the stairs.

“No,” we both answered.

He pouted, and now that I’d seen his face I could imagine it.  “Well, anyway, we took care of the guys that attacked us, in case you cared about that.”

“Took care of how?” Naruto asked.

Sai peered around Kakashi’s shoulder.  “Tied them up and put them adrift on one of the lifeboats.  Naruto, did you already finish your intercourse?  That was quick, as usual.”

“We weren’t having sex!” Naruto said, flailing around anxiously.

“Yes, of course,” Sai said with a nod.  “So it seems like the daimyou is trying to exterminate all ninjas.”

“But he sent ninjas to fight us,” I said.

“Yeah, things are about the get interesting,” Kakashi hummed.

The smart thing to do would have been to head out to sea and go straight to Lightning.

 - 22 -

  We kept our boat near the shoreline, moving leisurely through the many islands of the Land of Water.  The citizens we met along the way went from being friendly to increasingly hostile, not even willing to speak to us when we docked.

“Meaaaat,” Naruto whined, staring longingly at the shop that had just pulled its shutter down as soon as we’d set foot in the town.

“Not ramen?” Sai teased cheerfully.

“Ohmigod, rameeeeeeen,” he groaned.

“We could try our luck at hunting,” Kakashi suggested, gesturing towards the forest.

“Or, as highly trained ninjas, we could just take what we wanted,” I alternatively suggested.

“Sasuke!” Naruto cried, shocked and appalled.

I shrugged.

He sighed, his shoulders sagging.  “Maybe you’re right,” he muttered.

I punched him in the arm and moved towards the woods.  Kakashi and I were a good hunting team, and we brought back a rabbit for each of us.

Sai and Naruto were parked on the beach, keeping an eye on the boat and an eye out for hostiles, but they seemed to be having a fairly serious conversation.  Naruto still spared me a glance as we approached, his smile reaching his eyes before he turned back to Sai.

“I wonder if goodness can survive in this new world order,” Kakashi hummed.

I ignored him and sat down by the fire, using a kunai to skin the rabbits.

Naruto sidled over next to me, his arm curling around my waist.

“Do you not see this pointy object in my hand?” I asked, elbowing him away.

“I’m a highly-trained ninja,” Naruto protested, staying stubbornly close, and then proceeding to up the ridiculousness by resting his chin on my shoulder.

“I’m trying to work,” I grumbled.

“You’re such a good provider,” he hummed, lips brushing my neck.

Goosebumps ran up my arms and I almost dropped the kunai.  “Fuck off,” I muttered.

Naruto was staring up at me in keen interest.  “Don’t be mean,” he hummed, lips moving against my skin.

I elbowed him away sharply.  “There is a time and place for things.”

“Okay, but they’re always around,” he said with a quick glance towards Sai and Kakashi, “and I just need to… something,” he complained.

“Don’t mind us,” Sai commented as he spitted one of Kakashi’s skinned rabbits and placed it over the fire.

I felt my blood pressure rising, and Naruto was sticking out his bottom lip like a kicked puppy.

He made me stupider.

I leaned in and gave him the most chaste kiss possible.

He took over, and then there we were, sucking face while I had a dead rabbit in my hand.

For a moment, I didn’t care.  I felt at peace when we were like this.  I just wanted the world to be me and Naruto-

I pulled away, embarrassed.  “Go away,” I muttered, returning to my skinning and doing a shitty job of it.

He kept looking at me like I was supposed to look back at him.

I got some sticks and put the rabbits over the fire.

Sai and Kakashi really weren’t paying attention to us.  Sai was drawing something in his notebook, and Kakashi might have actually been reading the book in his hands.

The world didn’t revolve around us.  It shouldn’t revolve around us.

I needed to stop embarrassing myself in public.

I needed to stop embarrassing myself everywhere.  What did being close to Naruto do to my brain cells?

“Where are you going?” Naruto asked, already following me.

“To the lake,” I said, holding up my bloody hand.

As soon as my hand was washed, we were lip locking again on a boulder next to the lake.

“Sorry, love,” he sighed against my mouth.

“Why?” I growled.

“I can’t really control myself anymore,” he said.  His grip was digging into the rock we were sitting on in a way that was threatening to actually split it apart.

“I’m not doing much better,” I muttered.

“At least you don’t walk around with a permanent erection,” Naruto bemoaned.

“I kissed you in front of Kakashi,” I said with a shudder.  “What are you doing to me?”

“I’m not doing anything,” he protested.  “Just being your adorable, sexy boyfriend.”

“I don’t agree to any of that.”

“Sasuke.”

I looked at him.

We were kissing again.  And again and again and…

Naruto pulled away, panting.  “Sasukeeee,” he whined.

He looked young and cute, but also ridiculously horny.

There was no chakra anywhere near us.  We’d probably be late for dinner, but oh well.

I pulled his pants down to his thighs before he really knew what I was doing.

“Sasuke!” he gasped, looking around frantically.

“Shut up,” I said, sliding to the ground and kneeling between his dangling legs.

He swallowed.  “Sas’, you don’t have to-”

“I want to.”

That shut him up momentarily, his eyes blown with lust.

I reached for him.

He stopped me again.  “Have you ever…?”

“Yes,” I snapped, taking him in my hand and leaning in.

He gasped.

My gag reflex wasn’t as finely tuned as the dream world had led me to believe, but whatever.  I was a quick learner.

Naruto didn’t have any complaints.

It was bitter on my tongue, and I ended up spitting it into the lake.

“What if some girl is swimming in there and she gets pregnant?” Naruto murmured, trying to sound worried but mostly sounding blissed-out and content.

“Sperm can’t live in water,” I said, pinching his thigh.

“Mm.”

I could feel myself smiling and tried to stop, but Naruto just looked so stupid and happy.

“C’mere,” he said.  The tilt of his head suggested it was an order disguised as a request.

“I’m washing my hand” I said, rinsing it in the lake for the second time in so many minutes.

He waited, and I came back.  He wrapped me in a hug, pressing his face into my chest.  “I’m kinda embarrassed,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay, Naruto, lots of men prematurely ejaculate.”

“You are such an asshole sometimes, you know.”

“Mm.”

He sighed.  “I was talking about… I dunno.  I feel like a sex-depraved maniac and like you’re just humoring me.”

“Do I seem like someone who humors you?”

“No, you really don’t,” he agreed.  “But… Sas’…”

“But what?”

“I just… worry,” he said.

“About?”

He took a deep breath.  Then he didn’t say anything.

“We need to get back,” I said, shaking out of his hold.  I felt my legs starting to give out.

Naruto caught me and shifted me to his back.  “Don’t push yourself so hard.”

“I’m fine,” I muttered, hooking my arm around him.

“Someone’s following us,” he murmured as we moved back towards the beach.

“About one kilometer northeast,” I said.

Naruto picked up speed, and the chakra signature picked up speed.

We emerged from the forest back onto the beach.

Kakashi and Sai were eating their rabbits, looking perfectly relaxed.

“Let’s go,” I said, nodding my head towards the boat.

“Have you picked up a friend?” Kakashi asked, taking a leisurely bite of his food while he doused the fire.

“Not sure,” Naruto said, grabbing our dinner to go and moving towards the boat.

“Should I check it out?” Sai asked, glancing in the direction that we all sensed the chakra signature approaching from.

“Let it play out,” Naruto said, and just like that we were all on the boat and moving out.

“They stopped,” I said, leaning against the railing and watching the island retreat into the distance.

“Hmmmm,” Kakashi said unhelpfully.

“Crisis averted,” Naruto declared, turning to his food and devouring it.

“When did you become the leader?” I asked, squinting at him.

“Huh?” he said with a mouth full of food.

I looked away in disgust.

“Can there really be a leader of such a band of charming misfit rogues?” Kakashi asked.

“Tell me when it’s my watch,” I said, limping down into the bottom of the ship.

I had privacy for about five minutes before Sai came down.

“Your legs are hurting,” he observed.

“It’s not a big deal,” I said.

“It is if this boat is about to be attacked,” he said with a shrug and a smile.

“They turned back.”

“Something is going on.”

“We’ll deal with it when something actually happens.”

“You are very self-sabotaging.”

I sighed, loud and annoyed.

“Does that mean I can help you with your legs?” he asked, kneeling in front of me.

“No.”

He studied my face.  “Are you ever going to trust me?”

I looked back at him.  “I don’t trust Kakashi and I’ve known him for years.  Why would I trust you?”

“That’s not true,” Sai said.  “You trust him very much.”

I rolled my eyes and pretended he wasn’t there.

“Your pride is what’s going to get you killed,” he said.  It wasn’t a threat, it was just a statement of fact, and that irritated me more than anything.

“It’s what’s kept me alive until now,” I ground out.

“Oh, I thought it was your magic eyes and your metaphysical bond with the most powerful ninja alive.”

“Myself?”

Sai burst out laughing.  It was a real, genuine sound that I’d never heard come out of his mouth before.

I looked at him.

He smiled at me, and there was something so natural about it that it felt unnatural on his face.  “Let me work on your legs.”

“I’d rather not,” I said, rolling up the loose pants I was wearing.  “But since you’re so thirsty for it…”

“I’ve had sufficient liquid intake today,” he said, shaking his head.

“You are dumber than Naruto sometimes,” I muttered.

“And you’re a jackass who can’t just say ‘thank you’ like a normal person.”

Maybe Sai was earning my begrudging respect.

It felt similar to what the medic Shigeo had done, and also as horribly painful as what Kakashi had done.

“We learn a lot of medical jutsu in the ANBU,” Sai explained.  “If your medic nin is the one who’s injured, the other members of the cell have to be able to step up and take care of injuries.”

“How interesting,” I muttered, trying to keep the pain off of my face.

“You need to be doing this every day,” he said.  “The damage to your chakra pathways was severe, and you’ve been making it worse by forcing the chakra through them to call up Susanoo and other frivolous things.”

I held in all of the childish things I wanted to lash out at him.  Because he was right.  They were all right.  I was sabotaging myself.

Sai’s eyes were fixed on my legs as he seared fire through them.  “It wasn’t someone from Konoha.  Following us.”

“Someone from Kiri,” I said.

“You think so, too?”

“The Konoha ANBU wouldn’t be stupid enough to follow us into this unknown situation,” I reasoned.  “It’s obvious that the mizukage hasn’t retired of her own free will and that the daimyou has started some kind of anti-ninja revolt.”

“But if it’s one of the daimyou’s men, then how did he get ninja to work for him?” Sai mused.

“Offers of money?  Power?  The usual ways that one hires a ninja.”

Sai hummed his agreement.

I endured the pain, and when he finished he patted my leg, standing up and stretching.

“No one can know about Naruto,” he said out of the blue.

“I thought he was the most powerful ninja alive.”

“With two arms, yes,” he said.  “With you by his side to complete his seals, yes.  But if he gets caught out somewhere by himself…”

I didn’t want to dwell on my worst nightmare.  “So you can concede that based on Naruto’s current state, I am the strongest ninja alive.”

Sai shook his head, smiling exasperatedly.  “Uchiha.”

I went to call him by his last name and realized I didn’t know it.

“Sai is just a codename, you know,” he said quietly.  “I don’t have a real name.”

“Everyone has a real name.”

“Not when you’re in Root.”

Fucking Danzo.  I was glad I killed him.  “We can find your name.”

Sai looked puzzled for a moment.  “Uchiha, are we… becoming friends?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I said, standing up slowly.  It hurt and my legs were tired from walking around all day and then being ripped apart by Sai’s chakra.

“I should try emulating you and your ‘I don’t give a shit about you’ attitude,” Sai said.  “The way you lie makes you very popular.”

I breathed out heavily and resumed pretending that he wasn’t there.

“Sasukeeee!” Naruto called, bounding down the short staircase.

I looked at him.

“I missed you,” he said, making a kissy face at me.

I thought about saying ‘the feeling wasn’t mutual’, but decided not to give Sai the satisfaction of watching me lie.

Instead, I let him pull me into a kiss.

This was exactly what I’d done in the first dream world, let Naruto turn me into an idiot.  So why was I doing it again?

Because I’d been happy there?

It was stupid.

Fuck, this moron made me happy with a look, and I was going to fuck it all up.

“Ahem,” Sai said.

Naruto ignored him and continued to love on me.

“A-hem-hem,” Sai repeated.

Our eyes met over Naruto’s head.

“I think our visitor is back on track, and he’s brought some friends,” he said, pulling out a scroll.

I could feel it as soon as he said it.  They weren’t anywhere near us, but they were coming.

“So we trounce them and continue on our course?” Naruto said, mouth still moving against my neck.

“Hope so,” Sai said cheerfully.

We moved back up to the deck.

[tenyatrash]

Foundations: EraserEdge

EraserEdge (Aizawa “Eraserhead” + Kamihara “Edgeshot) has been one of my favorite "what if" pairings since the Hideout Raid arc. 

They're age appropriate for one another, they have similar values and a focus on not letting their emotions rule their actions, and they've got a beautiful aesthetic together. The more I thought about them, the better I thought they'd be as a couple. Since no one else has had the same idea (at least, in the tags I checked) I figured I should just be the change I want to see in the world and fill the tag myself.

Foundations is the baseline headcanon I have for their relationship with one another. I've already got all seven chapters outlined and I'm hoping that once I get this one fully fleshed-out, I'll have a good jumping off point for a more in-depth set of stories about my two ropey boys. Maybe someday other people will even join in and write about them.

Read it here or on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18536584/chapters/43934878

Chp 1: Advice

There’s incense in the air, and all at once he’s fifteen again, choking on ambition and bitterness as he claws his way into the famed Hero Course, body and mind thrumming with potential and pain. He’s made it, he’s done enough to get through.

It’s nothing like what he hoped.

He’s not sure if it’s the cynicism of age or if he felt this way, even then, but in his memories, his classmates are the biggest disappointment of all...immature children playing pretend. There’s potential, and friendship, and good times, he knows. But underneath it all is a persistent anxiousness that roils in his gut and warns him that he’s not doing enough.

That they’re not prepared.

The feeling follows him. It colors everything he sees, and keeps him awake at night, fitfully turning in bed or pummeling into himself at the gym. As he gets closer to his classmates, the feelings only intensify, the dread only grows. His emotions are consuming him in a silent paralysis that he can’t seem to escape.

Until he meets Kamihara-senpai.

Shinya’s older than him by two years, just about ready to take on the world as a bonafide Pro, and he’s everything Shouta hoped for when he first came to UA. He’s talented, he’s calm, and he’s never unprepared.

They meet in the gym one night, by chance, and it changes his life.

Shouta is wrapping his hands to stave off bleeding blisters, aching muscles protesting against another, unnecessary round of capture practice. It would work better with a partner or two, but he makes do with practice dummies and punching bags. Sensei already warned him against this kind of over-indulgence and it seemed his friends agree, so he’s left to train alone.

He’s not technically breaking the rules. He’s just...engaging in supplemental training, as befits a transfer from General Studies.

---

Shinya’s been at the traditional archery range, finding his center and striking his targets true long after the other students had called it a night. Shouta will later learn all about these little rituals, these pieces of history that Shinya clings to like a man out of time. But for now, they’re strangers. Two young men haunted by a drive that their classmates can’t seem to match, by a hunger that pursues them late into the night.

They’re the same, not that they know it, yet. Where Shouta is hungry-eyed and frenetic, Shinya is calm and deadly sure. Yet they’re both storms made flesh, two boys that know they have to strive or die-- one the swirling energy of a hurricane’s outer edge, the other the deceptive calm in the eye of a typhoon.

In the gym that night, they make landfall on one another’s shores.

---

Shouta’s hands flex against too-tight binding wraps, willing calluses to form. Shinya catches his eye from the shadows, looking like a ghost from another time. Shouta waits for the interloper to say something, but he doesn’t. Just watches like he’s making some kinda choice.

Shouta keeps going.

Naturally, that’s when Shinya starts to speak.

“Hand-to-hand isn’t your strong suit, huh?”

Shouta bristles at the comment.

“What?”

Shinya steps out of the shadows, letting his gym bag fall to the floor as he advances into the training circle.

“You’re unsuccessful because you’re too big.”

Shouta rolls his eyes. Clearly whoever this guy is, he’s here to take the piss, not help.

“What, exactly, about me is too big?”

He lazily waves a hand down his body, which is just short of average, both in height and weight. Given his family history, he doubts he’s ever going to be “too big” for anything.

Shinya waves off the erroneous inference.

“Not your body. Your movements. You still act like fighting is hard work. It’s only hard because you’re making it hard, over-exerting yourself with telegraphed moves and too-wide punches.”

“My fighting got me into the hero course.”

“Yeah, I saw. It was beautiful. But it’s enough to get you in, not to get you out and graduated and, you know...good.”

“Then show me.”

Shouta’s got plenty of bad qualities, he’s sure. But an over-abundance of pride has never been one of them. If the older kid has something worth learning, Shouta’s happy to listen. Shinya steps up to the bag and cocks his head, as if to make sure the underclassman is paying attention.

Shouta’s waiting for him to start already, and suddenly, he is. There’s no wind-up, hardly any sound.

One second, the grey-haired kid is staring at him, the next the bag is moving, jabs and punches and uppercuts building beating a rhythm across the surface while grey eyes stay impassive, breathing stays controlled.

The boy starts moving, feet seeming to glide across the sticky mat as he orbits the bag, adding in crosses and roundhouses with the same unbroken fluidity of those more basic punching patterns. It’s almost like he’s dancing, but the hits are landing strong. Shouta watches it all. He doesn’t understand where the power is coming from, how so much force is being created with so little movement, but he’s ready to learn.

There’s nothing quite like seeing a master at work, and before the end of the first minute, Shouta knows he wants to know everything this ghost is willing to teach him.

Eventually, the bag stills.

“Teach me.”

“Suit yourself. I’m Shinya Kamihara, by the way.”

“Shouta Aizawa...Yes, you’ll teach me? Just like that?”

“Just like that. After all, it’s the duty of older students to help younger ones, right?”

Shouta’s not so sure, based on what he’s seen so far. Sure, there are helpful people here, but there are just as many that jealously guard secrets and techniques, already planning how to climb over their classmates. How to become top heroes, as if selfishness should really be part of that at all.

Still, it’s nice that Kamihara-senpai seems willing to share. Shouta wants to be able to move like that. He wants to learn.

It’s elegant and efficient. Almost surgical in its fluidity, which is what he’s always wanted. He’s got no interest in being a blunt instrument, smashing walls and lighting up apartment blocks as cameras flash and blood pours. It sounds exhausting. He wants to be in and out and done before the first hunk of concrete falls, before the first reporter comes sniffing.

“Then, please teach me.”

Shouta climbs into a nearby sparring ring and listens to a soft chuckle as the older boy follows along, evidently not planning on the lessons starting so soon, but being a good sport about it anyway.

“Alright, then. Put your hands behind your back and grab your elbows.”

Shinya demonstrates the slightly-odd positioning and Shouta follows.

“Good. Stay that way. There’s no point in doing anything else until you master footwork and balance. I can tie your forearms if you need it, but it’s better if you can control yourself.”

Shouta is determined to control himself. Shinya shows him a run of three fighting patterns and Shouta wants to be offended at the simplicity. These are three-steps that he recognizes. Even General Studies kids get this. But when Shinya goes through them, it’s like he’s walking on water, and Shouta starts to realize that knowledge isn’t the same as mastery.

He keeps his mouth shut and wills his weight out of his heels and into the toes and balls of his feet. Practices over and over until he feels like he and Shinya are dancing in some strange ritual, until he can hear a non-existent beat in his mind and see the ripples of sound that slowly fade from his steps until he’s just a whisper covered by the rustling fabric of his gym clothes.

Shinya watches with a smile, mimicking every step in time as he watches the other learn to float.

Kid’s not half-bad.

Shinya calls an end to the lesson before Shouta’s ready to leave. It’ll become a feature of their relationship, Aizawa always looking to rush ahead, Kamihara always urging him to find a more sustainable pace.

They meet most nights, and even when they aren’t together, Aizawa is practicing forms and patterns in his room, on the stairs, in the streets on his way home late at night after everyone has already gone home. Up hills and through supermarket aisles, the shaggy-haired boy steps lightly to a beat that only he hears. He lets the fluidity enter his every movement, wills himself to float above the ground, only ever planting his feet when it’s time to land a hit. He separates his body and his mind from the weight of the world.

The other students notice. Shouta stops falling in practice, stops being easy to sweep when you catch him unawares. Teachers start to notice. Acrobatics start to weave themselves into his escape tactics. His capture weapon morphs from a lasso to a cloud of ribbon that only he can track and pull. No good hero can be a one trick pony, and Eraser’s not relying on his quirk and sheer will so much anymore. He’s smarter and smoother and harder to hit. He loses less. He gets hurt less. He starts to climb the ranks.

Shinya watches and smiles.

[themurphyzone]

Absolutely Disastrous Ch 3

Listen, is that a reader’s tears I hear? Sounds to me, loud and clear! On the web, through text, in your ear! Breaking hearts at breakneck pace! Dashing happiness, putting angst in its place! A rose by any other name still has its thorns! When everything’s worse you’ll have no time to mourn! Jessie! James! Meowth’s the name! Putting readers in their place! We’re Team Rocket, and we’re in your face!

Ch 3: Strength in Numbers! Rescue Professor Underwood!

The boulder apparently had a homing system, because it wouldn’t stop chasing them even though they’d tried backtracking, circling, and making zigzags to lose it.

“Does this happen often?” Zack yelled. A shoelace from the sneakers Diogee carried came loose and wrapped itself around Milo and Zack’s ankles.

“Someone getting attached to me by shoelace? Not really,” Milo replied. “I use slip-ons. Less hassle that way. Did you know the plastic tip at the end is called an aglet? I learned it from Aglet Awareness Day!”

Zack’s eyes only grew wider, and Milo worried they’d just pop out of his head if he kept it up. “How are you people so calm about this? We’re gonna get pancaked here!”

Melissa shrugged. “You act like this is your first time being chased by a runaway boulder.”

“That’s because it IS my first time!”

“To be fair, this area’s a forest,” Milo said. “When you live at the base of a volcano, you learn to dodge falling Geodude and Graveler pretty early on.”

“You live around a volcano?” Zack asked.

“Don’t worry. Mt. Chimney’s last eruption took a sizable chunk out of it. It really just spews ash nowadays.”

“Yeah, because that’s reassuring.”

“Alright, boys! Act like you just won a three-legged race!” Melissa aimed her phone at Milo and Zack. While Milo pumped his fist in the air, Zack kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure the boulder wasn’t looming over them. The shutter went off several times.

Melissa flicked through her pictures, clicking her tongue in disapproval. “This looks more like you’re paranoid over something trying to kill you.”

Zack glared at her. “Do you really want me to point out the obvious?”

Running with his leg tied to someone else’s was getting exhausting. Zack had never been in this type of situation before, and Milo was feeling somewhat guilty for dragging him along. The boulder was about twenty feet behind them, gaining speed as it rolled down a steep incline.

Thinking fast, Milo noticed a lone sneaker in Diogee’s mouth. The laces were still intact.

“Diogee, sneaker now!” Milo ordered.

Diogee dropped the shoe into his hand. Milo freed the laces from the holes, adding a rope from his backpack for extra length. Once the makeshift lasso was complete, he twirled it above his head.

“Hold on, everyone!” Milo shouted, taking aim at a thick branch just ahead of them. Melissa and Zack latched onto Milo’s sides, while Diogee sprang onto his back. The sneaker wrapped itself around the branch, the momentum carrying the group upward.

The boulder passed underneath them. It plowed into a cliff’s side, becoming nothing more than rubble.

Now that the danger had passed, Milo became aware of a high-pitched shriek in his ears.

Melissa punched Zack in the arm. “Boulder’s gone. Stop screaming.”

“You don’t wanna blow out your larynx,” Milo added.

Zack inhaled, though he kept his eyes squeezed shut. “Just get us down from here. We need to help Dad.”

Zack knew the forest better than Milo and Melissa. Now that they weren’t being pursued by Crazy Shoe Lady or a killer boulder, they had a better appreciation of the verdant scenery around them. Bug and Flying types soared overhead, while Zigzagoon enjoyed the abundant berry bushes below.

“My mom and I moved from Olivine City in Johto so we could be closer to Dad’s work,” Zack explained. “Mom prefers to work in the city, and Dad prefers the natural habitats. She’s a Pokémon Doctor, so she travels around the region as needed.”

“So you’re a city boy out in Hoenn country. No wonder you freaked at a tiny boulder,” Melissa smirked.

Zack folded his arms. “First, that boulder was not tiny. Second, I can handle both city and country just fine. And Littleroot isn’t that far from other cities.”

“You should see Murphy Ranch sometime,” Milo suggested. “That’s where I’m from. My family raises Absol.”

“So your family gave you Diogee?” Zack asked. “Dad told me Absol were rare.”

Milo shook his head. “They didn’t give him to me. A Murphy and Absol bond at a young age and we take the one we're closest to on our Pokémon journey. But you’re right about Absol being rare. Wild Absol were nearly hunted to extinction in Sheriff Murphy’s time, and the surviving ones retreated into mountainous regions where humans aren’t likely to go.”

“Milo’s practically an Absol connoisseur,” Melissa said. “Just ask him if you want to know anything.”

“Alright. I’ll test it out,” Zack grinned, turning to Milo. “How big can Absol grow and what’s the largest on record?”

“Absol’s average height is 3’11, give or take a few inches. Diogee is on the smaller end of the scale,” Milo said. “The largest Absol on record was 5’2, owned by a man named Jeremiah Black. An old Kalosian king is rumored to have one bigger than that, but the debate on that claim is still ongoing.”

“Told ya,” Melissa said, punching Zack’s arm again.  

Zack rubbed his shoulder, moving to Milo’s left so he wasn’t next to Melissa. “Does she always do that?”

“It’s how she shows her affection,” Milo replied. “That was her friendship punch.”

“I got plenty of ‘em,” Melissa bragged, blowing on her knuckles for good measure.

Magikarp were everywhere. Some arched high above the lake’s surface in not-so-graceful Splash attacks, while others were content to remain submerged. Zack pointed to a small rowboat in the middle of the lake.

“My dad took his rowboat out. I, uh, kinda have a fear of Magikarp and some other Water Pokémon so I stayed over there,” Zack said, gesturing to a nearby picnic table. “I was writing songs, Dad was fishing. Then the Magikarp started acting up. I didn’t have a way of getting to Dad, so I ran back to the lab for help. Guess things haven’t calmed down yet.”

Diogee paced around the shore, occasionally stopping and pawing at the water. A Magikarp sprang up and smacked him in the face with a tail. Diogee growled and made a grab for it.

“This isn’t natural. There has to be a cause somewhere,” Melissa said.  

“Like over there?” Milo asked. He pointed to a man who maniacally laughed as a group of Magikarp splashed around him. His blue and white striped shirt reminded Milo of cheap pirate outfits in the costume store, though he didn’t recognize the strange logo on the man’s black bandana.

“SWIM! SWIM, ME HEARTIES! SHOW THEM LANDLUBBERS WHO THE REAL SCOURGES OF THE HIGH SEAS BE!”

“Well, that was easy,” Melissa shrugged.

The man obviously suffered from a lack of spatial awareness. Somehow he hadn’t noticed a group of teens standing fifteen feet away.

Milo was prepared to challenge the wannabe pirate to a Pokémon battle. But Zack shook his head, motioning for the group to follow him behind a thick oak tree. He picked up a thick, leafy branch and tossed it aside, revealing a large duffel bag.

“Is Diogee the only Pokémon you two have?” Zack asked.

“Afraid so,” Melissa admitted. “My dad never let me own one. Believed I wasn’t responsible enough.”

Zack unzipped the bag. Three Poké Balls laid inside. “These balls contain the starters of Hoenn. Dad was going to let them out for exercise once he was done fishing, but now there’s a Magikarp debacle and he can’t get to shore. There’s too many Magikarp for Diogee to handle alone. I know they’re supposed to be reserved for new trainers, but in this situation, we don't have much of a choice."

He grabbed the ball marked with a leaf sticker.

“I’m putting myself at a disadvantage here, so I’m counting on you guys,” Melissa said. She took the ball with a flame sticker.

The remaining ball was covered in raindrop stickers. Before Milo could touch it, the ball opened on its own. Seconds later, Milo felt something chewing on his hair.

“Right, Mudkip kinda does that,” Zack laughed. “Forgot to mention it.”

Milo carefully tugged his cowlick out of Mudkip’s mouth. “Sorry, we’re kinda in a hurry right now.”

Mudkip whimpered, pawing at Milo’s face as it tried to get to his hair. Diogee growled sternly, and Mudkip settled down.

“Alright, I’ve got a plan,” Melissa declared. “Milo, you confront the pirate guy. Zack and I will knock out the Magikarp and clear a path so Professor Underwood can come to shore. Capiche?”

“Capiche!” Milo and Zack agreed. Mudkip cheered, jumping from excitement. Diogee nudged him away with his back leg.

The group split up. Melissa and Zack headed for the docks, figuring it would put them out of range from Murphy’s Law.

“We’re gonna have to work together to defeat this costumed clown,” Milo said, pacing back and forth in front of Diogee and Mudkip. Diogee sat up straight, taking in every word. But Mudkip seemed more interested in Diogee’s claws than Milo. Diogee huffed and removed his paw from Mudkip’s mouth. “Mudkip, we’ve only known each other for ten minutes, but I need you to listen in battle. You know Water Gun, right?”

Mudkip opened his mouth, firing a Water Gun at Diogee. Milo quickly jumped in front of him, opening an umbrella to shield them from the sudden torrent.

“Okay, that’s a yes,” Milo said. He tossed the umbrella aside. “But next time, say it. Don’t spray it.”

The light scolding didn’t deter Mudkip in the slightest. Diogee growled again.

“And Diogee, you’re working with Mudkip for the time being. Be nice,” Milo added.

Diogee stuck a front leg out, holding it towards Mudkip. Mudkip licked his claws, and Diogee quickly pulled back.

“Good enough,” Milo said. “Let’s get on with the confronting!”

“Argh, if anyone be callin’ ye weak again, they be walkin’ the plank!” the pirate exclaimed, cackling as he waded in the shallow water. Several Magikarp followed him around, occasionally pausing to nibble at the Pokémon food he tossed at them.

“Excuse me!” Milo called, stepping out from behind the large tree. “Did you have something to do with these Magikarp acting up? Cause there’s a guy trapped in the middle of the lake and he’s my friend’s dad and we kinda need to get him to shore-“

“I only be releasin’ Magikarp into their natural habitat,” the pirate sneered. “So get, ye knave.”

Suspecting that he wouldn’t be getting anywhere with his current approach, Milo decided to switch tactics. “My name’s Milo Murphy. This is my partner Diogee. And Mudkip is…Mudkip, stop chewing on that Magikarp’s whiskers and get over here!”

Mudkip sauntered back to Milo, trying to chew on his shoes. Milo was just glad he didn’t have laces.

“Yer scurvy Mudkip has soiled me treasure. Ye shall pay for this insolence. Ye, nay, the world shall know the wrath of Patchy! Into battle, me hearties!”

“Diogee! Mudkip! Let’s go!” Milo shouted. Diogee lowered his horn, ready for action. But Mudkip continued to gnaw on the front of Milo’s shoes. Milo picked him up, turning him so he faced Patchy and the Magikarp.

“Argh, how can ye be a trainer if yer gilly friend there don’t listen to ye?” Patchy laughed. “Magikarp, keelhaul ‘em!”

A horde of Magikarp swarmed Diogee and Mudkip, splashing them with their fins and tackling every part of their body. They swept Diogee’s paws out from under him, and for every Magikarp taken out with a Cut attack, three more took their place. Mudkip fired Water Gun at oncoming Magikarp, twisting and tackling anything that came near him. Even Diogee wasn’t spared from Mudkip’s pummeling.

“Mudkip! Focus your attacks!” Milo called. But Mudkip was half-submerged and couldn’t hear his directions. “Diogee, there’s too many for you to handle with close range moves! Try a Razor Wind!”

Diogee’s horn glowed as he reared back, pressure building in the air behind his head. Then he released several sharp blades of energy. The blades connected with five Magikarp, and they sunk beneath the water in defeat. But their brethren replaced them just as quickly.

“See ye, knave!” Patchy crowed. “I be takin’ me leave!”

Patchy fled, a school of Magikarp trailing behind him in search of more handouts.

“Hey!” Milo shouted. “I’m not done battling you! Get back here!”

A flailing Magikarp slammed into Milo, knocking him onto his back. Diogee growled, placing himself in front of Milo as he caught his breath.

“We need to go after Patchy,” Milo said, using Diogee’s back to steady himself. “He’s heading for the docks. Hope Melissa and Zack are doing okay.”

“We’re not doing okay!” Melissa shouted. Milo winced at the sound of splintering wood. “Zack won’t come anywhere near the docks and Treecko and Torchic aren’t used to working together!”

“Melissa, the guy we saw earlier is heading towards you! Don’t let him get away!” Milo said. “Sorry, we couldn’t stop him in time. His name is Patchy and-“

“Stick to Ember so you don’t fall in!” Melissa ordered. “Sorry, you said his name is Patchy?”

“That’s right,” Milo confirmed.

He could practically hear Melissa’s smirk. “How convenient. There just so happens to be a boat with Patchy’s name on it here. Treecko, I want you to cover Torchic. Torchic, use Ember on the boat next to us.”

“Is Professor Underwood closer to the shore?” Milo asked.

“He’s closer, but there’s an entire wall of Magikarp out there and I don’t think he’s gonna be able to break through,” Melissa said. “Okay, boat’s destroyed. Won’t be as easy for Patchy to escape via water.”

“I’ll be there in a bit,” Milo promised. He slipped his phone halfway into his backpack before it fell out of his hand and dropped into the water. Sparks flew out from the casing, and Milo knew it couldn’t be salvaged. “Aw, man. That was the third one this week!”

Mudkip panted as he tried to keep up with Milo and Diogee, but he keeled over just as the docks were in sight. Milo scooped him up. “You were great out there, Mudkip,” he said. “You earned a rest.”

Mudkip smiled tiredly as he returned to his Poké Ball.

“Can you keep going, Diogee?” Milo asked.

Diogee nodded, brushing up against Milo’s side. His fur dripped water onto Milo’s sweater vest.

“Easy boy, you’re all wet,” Milo laughed. “Come on, we’d better go help Melissa and Zack.”

Up ahead, a thin trail of smoke rose into the air. Milo and Diogee followed it until they reached the docks, where Patchy was trying and failing to hitch a rope to a team of Magikarp.

“Aye, work with me!” Patchy grumbled.

He didn’t seem to consider fleeing into the forest at all.

Milo high-fived Melissa, and together they watched the remains of a small rowboat burn away. Torchic ruffled her feathers proudly, while Treecko fingered the twig in his mouth.

“Pirate down. Now we need to break up those Magikarp,” Melissa said, pointing to the wall of fish Pokémon that surrounded Professor Underwood’s boat. “And coax Zack out of hiding too. Apparently, he had some traumatic childhood incident with Magikarp. AND TREECKO HAS TO BE ABLE TO HEAR YOU WHEN YOU’RE COMMANDING HIM!”

She raised her voice, glaring at a berry bush that Zack wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding in.

Zack popped out of the bush, nervously glancing at the Magikarp. “They’re not natural. The gills, the mouth flaps, the vacant stare that lulls people into a false sense of security….”

“Ignore him,” Patchy spoke up, surprising everyone. “Magikarp be hurtin’ nobody, right me hearties?”

A Magikarp smacked him in the face with its tail, and Patchy toppled over. The rope he was using wrapped around his ankles and wrists, binding them tightly. Milo and Diogee dragged a stunned Patchy onto the bank.

“I rest my case,” Zack said.

A waterspout shot out from underneath the lake, dislodging the Magikarp that prevented Professor Underwood from reaching the docks. Then something large and blue shot out of the lake, stretching far above the treetops. Everyone covered their ears as it let out a deafening roar, the sound wave alone threatening to knock them off their feet.

The Magikarp settled down, quietly sinking beneath the surface. Their orange scales shimmered, and within minutes there was no trace of them.

The Pokémon turned, its violet eyes scrutinizing them closely. Zack waved at it. “Hey, Gyarados! Thanks for the help!” he exclaimed.

Milo and Melissa could only stare as Zack stroked the Gyarados’ whiskers. Gyarados rested its head on the docks, growling in contentment.

A few seconds passed before Melissa found her voice. “Wait, so you freak at Magikarp, but you aren’t intimidated by Gyarados?” she asked.

Zack shrugged. “Only when they’re rampaging. Gyarados is pretty cool most of the time though. Why? Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

He smirked in triumph.

Melissa folded her arms. “I’m not scared! I was just concerned! Don’t read too much into this, Zachary Scaredy-Skitty Underwood.”

Her proximity to the forest said otherwise.

“Gyarados, would you mind pushing my dad back to shore? He kinda got stuck out there,” Zack said.

Gyarados nodded, giving Zack one last nuzzle before swimming to Professor Underwood’s boat. It flicked its tail several times, creating small waves that gently pushed him to the docks.

“Dad, are you okay?” Zack asked as Professor Underwood tied his boat to a post. The boat had a few scratches from the Magikarp smacking into it, but it still functioned perfectly.

“Don’t worry, son. I’m fine. You and your friends really saved the day,” Professor Underwood chuckled. “And I take it this is the guy who caused all the trouble.”

“I only be providin’ homes for water-dwellin’ Pokémon. Tis not a crime,” Patchy retorted.

Professor Underwood glared at him. “Yet you disrupted the balance of the forest. The lake can’t sustain this many Magikarp. Too much competition. We’ll have our hands full relocating them to other habitats. And there’s the question of how you got all those Magikarp here in the first place. But I think that would be best reserved for police work. I'll give Officer Elliot a call when we get back to the lab.”

Melissa rolled her eyes. “Cherry on the cake. We get to deal with Elliot.”

“He was our crossing guard in school,” Milo offered. “He always lets us know when the ice cream shop was having a special!”

“Yeah, but not before shoving his stop sign in your face,” Melissa muttered.

Professor Underwood cleared his throat. “Right. As much as I’d love to stay, I gotta get back to the lab. The starter Pokémon need to be prepared for tomorrow. I’m expecting new trainers.”

“Uh, Dad? These are the trainers you were expecting,” Zack gestured to Milo and Melissa. “You were supposed to register them today.”

“Oops, forgot about that. My bad,” Professor Underwood said. “And I guess you used the starters and your Absol to deal with the Magikarp?”

“That’s right!” Milo exclaimed. “And they were all pretty awesome too. I had to put Mudkip in his Poké Ball cause he got tired, but they all did really well even though they were outnumbered.”

He tussled the fur on Diogee’s neck. Diogee stood up straighter at the praise.  

Professor Underwood smiled. “You three have just made my job a lot easier.”

AN: This chapter took a while to write, I admit.

Poor Zack. Get used to it kid, you’re a main character in this story.

Melissa and Zack banter is fun.

Zack has the opposite problem to Misty in the original series.  Misty was afraid of Gyarados because she crawled into one’s mouth as a baby. She didn’t overcome her fear until after she returned to her post as gym leader, and then in Sun and Moon turns out she can Mega Evolve it. You go girl. 

[miminomadic]

Mi Despedida de Galápagos. A Party of Two

I spent the last three days from my Galapagos adventure on the island of San Cristóbal and a total of nine blissful days on this magical archipelago at the end of the world. Coming to San Cristóbal was not even part of my original plan but I decided to give it a go just based on conversations with other travellers and the fact that I discovered there was an airport with connecting flights to the mainland in here too. It was the best decision ever as it turned out to be one of my favourite islands for various reasons. I had saved the best for last without even realising it!

If you are planning to visit the Galapagos, do not miss this island! Flying off to Santa Cruz from Quito or Guayaquil and then coming back to the mainland from San Cristóbal, or vice versa, is a great way to discover more rather than flying from the same airport.

I had arrived to the Galapagos with a one-way ticket to the Island of Santa Cruz as I was not sure how long I wanted to stay and how expensive everything was. This is the most common exploration starting point. Talking with other backpackers, everyone was surprised that they let me in without having a return as it was apparently a strict requirement. In my case, the airport officials in Quito just put a random date in my Galapagos entry visa when I told them how much more or less I was planning to stay and luckily I did not have any issues. This is where being fluent in Spanish pays off. It makes travelling without a plan and organising things on the spot much easier.

I love Latin America and always feel extremely happy being around this part of the world but the Galapagos felt really unique. The fact that the islands are not easily accessible plus the extraordinary amount of endemic animals and plants make you feel really far away from everything and everyone. I was in Neverland, living the absolute dream.

So what do you do on the Galapagos?

Swim, snorkel, dive, explore, eat, burn, repeat! So simple as that!

Every day is long and filled with new mind-blowing experiences and sights. And just when I think I have seen the best marine life on mother Earth, swam with sharks, marine iguanas, sea lions and the biggest marine turtles ever, there comes something new and extraordinary. It gets better all the time! This is true on the Galapagos like no place else. Indeed, the best was yet to come!

Just for the record, a sunblock of factor 100 and a hat are indispensable if you ever decide to go. The islands are dotted across the Equator and I never burned so much in my life despite the fact that I was covering myself as much as possible and using a wetsuit too. The sun is really very strong.

So I arrived to San Cristóbal by speedboat after having visited four other islands at about 9am on a Monday morning. Soon I discovered that I did not have accommodation. I had booked an Airbnb the previous night from the hostel where I was staying on Santa Cruz but could not verify whether it was confirmed when I left early in the morning as the WiFi was not working. Internet connection is terrible on the islands, which I did not mind at all. I am mostly offline when I travel anyway. I would just connect occasionally mainly to decide and book where to go next and post some pictures. The rest of the time I want to be fully present in the place and connect to people around, otherwise what’s the point!

I entered a café directly next to the packed by sea lions peer. After much waiting to get some signal, I found out that my Airbnb booking was rejected due to repair works. This was not a big deal as Puerto Baquerizo - where you disembark, is a small friendly village with plenty of options. I finished my coffee and started walking around with my backpack to check the availability in some of the hotels around. I stopped a random guy to enquire which was the main street. Seeing me with my backpack, he asked if I was looking for accommodation. As it turns out, he owned a hostal. A hostal in South America is something in between a hotel and a hostel. It is very basic and usually cheap and you have mainly private rooms. I requested to have a look. Always have a look first before you say yes! It was a room with two separate single beds, super basic and about $15 a night so I went for it. I was not in the mood to waste any time. The island was waiting for me. I changed quickly and went to rent a bicycle to start exploring.

I went straight to La Lobería which is a beach on the South-east part of the island. Needless to say, it became one of my favourite beaches ever. I was having a new favourite every day. Quite normal in Neverland.

La Lobería is basically a beach/nursery for sea lions - from lobo marino (Spanish for sea lion). There is a shallow area of sand and lava stones where the babies can swim freely and relax while the adults are out hunting. There was one adult female (I think) on the watch taking care of cute baby sea lions while couple of giant sea turtles were almost out on the shore. You hardly have to swim to see the marine life on this beach as it comes ashore to you instead.

Wildlife is so abundant everywhere on San Cristóbal due its super relaxed vibe and I think that’s why I loved it so much. Sea Lions are practically everywhere blocking everything and squeaking all the time. I miss them so much now together with the tranquility that nature brings. The following day I did another full day of snorkelling and exploration - the famous 360° tour around the island which is a must if you are there. It includes a stop at Kicker Rock where you can spot hammerheads but I was not that lucky. It was the only species I did not manage to see. It will have to be another time, another adventure 🧜🏻‍♀️

And so my days flew and suddenly it was my last night on the islands. I was bound to fly to Quito and then to the Amazon the next day. The night before I had dinner with a traveller I met on another island but she had already left and now I was out on my own without any plan.

There was this really cool hostel next to the place where I was staying with an outdoor cafe and I saw D having dinner at one of the tables by himself. He was this Argentinian guy working in the hostel that I had briefly met the night before while I was hanging out there stealing their WiFi. It was literally the only place on the island with a properly working WiFi! He stopped me to ask what I was up to and suggested to have some beers later. I was not particularly attracted at first but I did not mind, I did not have a more fun plan after all.

Twenty minutes later D was already sitting with me in the restaurant where I was having dinner. I learned that he was a professional snowboard instructor and dive master who had been working here and there travelling the world for the last three or four years. He took avid interest in everything I told him about myself and was overall a refreshing free soul, real and full of life that is so lacking in most people. He had been on the island for a month now and knew his way around. After dinner he took me to a hip local bar to play some pool and at some point we went for a smoke and kissed. I was starting to really enjoy my last night! It was not only because D was a good kisser and kind of cute but because he was hundred percent present then and there with me in this very moment making it feel unique, which it was. A kissy while later, D asked what I wanted to do next. Since it was my Galapagos farewell party apparently, I was the Boss and he would do everything I wanted.

Turns out he was a present from the Universe sent to satisfy my desires. D truly surprised me with his almost superhuman stamina, amazing body shape and some other very important assets too😉His main goal was indeed to please me this night and he did not stop till this was the case, many many times. He was there to give - to give me satisfaction! HA! And it all made perfect sense somehow as his actual name was Dario, or else the Giver. It comes from the Spanish verb dar meaning to give. Certainly a night I will remember, I felt resurrected.

Needless to say, I left the Galapagos the following afternoon with a big smile on my face. I was ready for my next stop - the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Viva La Vida!

[travelbookonboardblog-blog]

ustling cities, quaint mountain towns, lush forests, breathtaking mountains. All of these can be found in North Carolina, USA. Accordingly, NC has some of the best places to visit in the United States. However, it is most famous for its picturesque beaches. Let’s see what are the best North Carolina Beaches.

North Carolina is located at the southeastern border of the USA. Also, it is right beside the Atlantic ocean. Consequently, the State of North Carolina has some of the most famous beaches for vacations. Planning which of these beach destinations is most suitable for your holiday can be a complicated task. No worries, though. Here, at BookOnBoard, we have prepared a comprehensive guide. So that you can easily decide which is the best North Carolina beach to enjoy with your family and pets.

Five best North Carolina Beaches

The coastline of North Carolina is full of picturesque beaches. For this reason, enjoying summer vacation in North Carolina is definitely a great option. The beaches here vary greatly depending upon how they are accessible or what amenities they offer.

List of top 5 beaches in North Carolina

Outer Banks

Carolina Beach

Nag’s Head

Wilmington

Emerald Isle

Outer Banks

The Outer Banks is not a single beach, but a collection of beaches on multiple islands off the coast of North Carolina. Some of these beaches are pet-friendly. What makes these beaches most interesting is the variety of attractions you can find here. For example, you can find open-sea beaches, white sand beaches, state parks adjacent to beaches, shipwreck diving sites, to name just a few.

The islands are famous for sailing, boating, surfing, windsurfing, onshore and offshore fishing, jet skiing, jet boating, etc. Not only these, but you can also go for hang gliding in the Jockey’s Ridge State Park. Seabirds and turtles are abundant here, as well as crabs and other such species. In the Graveyard of the Atlantic, you can dive down to see wrecks of ships and U-boats.

Carolina Beach

Carolina Beach is a town, park, and beach combination. As such, it offers tons of activities for tourists and vacationers. For example, you can go camping and drive on many of the beach spots like Freeman Park. The Carolina Beach State Park offers great fishing spots. Flytrap Trail is so named for the abundance of carnivorous plants on the hiking path.

The main beach here is one of the many North Carolina beaches with boardwalk. Here you can enjoy many rides, restaurants, shops, and amusements. The nearby Pleasure Island is famous for its Blues and Jazz. You can also go surf fishing and watch many sea turtles there. The Lake Park offers serene and secluded campsite around the lake.

Nag’s Head

Arguably, this is the most famous beach in NC. It can be easily identified by the towering sand dunes here. There are plenty of beach activities here on the beach or on the boardwalks. The beach is pet-friendly, so you can bring dogs or go horse-riding here. The kids will love go-carting, ice cream shops, grassy fields, and unique playgrounds.

Loads of vacation spots dot this popular North Carolina beach. There are other activities for your family here, too. You can go mini-golfing, go hiking in the many beautiful trails in the preserve, go for an aerial obstacle course in First Flight Adventure Park, enjoy the museum for Wright Brothers, etc. As a mainly pleasure and tourism city, Nags Head offers many beach houses, hotels, and beach condos for your vacation stay. Some of these beach hotels are also pet-friendly.

Wilmington

This is another tourism-oriented city on a North Carolina shoreline. Not only that, but it is also a port city. Wilmington is known as the gateway to many Cape Fear coastal beaches. Some of the beaches here have strong surf. That can awesome to watch and surf in! The numerous beaches and boardwalks here offer tons of beach activities for the whole family.

Furthermore, the city itself contains a lot of tourist attractions. It is a historic city, with many antebellum buildings dotted throughout. The famous Riverwalk is lined with galleries, restaurants, and shops. The battleship USS North Carolina is moored at the port where it serves as a naval combat museum. In addition, many fearsome marine creatures beckon at the Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Couples must go for a romantic walk among the beautiful azaleas in the Airlie Gardens.

Emerald Isle

With particularly scenic beaches, Emerald Isle is a part of North Carolina’s Crystal Coast. The famous Bough Innet Pier here is great for fishing and outdoor activities as well. The Emerald Island Woods has plenty of golfing and sailing opportunities. You can enjoy multiple trails and campsites here as well. The EmeraldFest is an unmissable outdoor reggae and country music concert string in June.

The Emerald Isle has 12 miles of spectacular coastline. Accordingly, you have a good chance to find a secluded spot on the beach. There is only one resort here – the Islander. However, many private hotels and beachfront condos are available along the coast. Pet-friendly and mostly drivable, the beaches offer unspoiled white sand. And if you are lucky, you might even spot a dolphin or two!

FAQs about North Carolina Beaches

When is the best time to visit the beaches in North Carolina?

April to August is the warmest here. Also, some of the attractions are open between March to November only. Which means, this will attract the most tourists as well. However, if you don’t mind a bit of cold and need cheap options, winter is not bad here as well.

Can I stay on the beaches in North Carolina?

There are plenty of beach hotels and resorts available in the region. The beach cities and towns host tourists in numerous beachfront houses and condos. Many of which are pet-friendly as well. Some of them offer parking, boat rentals, and other options as well.

Can I drive on the North Carolina Beaches?

Unless specifically prohibited, you can drive on most beaches on the beaches here. You should only use 4×4 offroading vehicles, though. Keep in mind that there are rules about this even though you are not on the road. For example, you cannot drive on or between the dunes. Also, driving or parking on vegetation is strictly prohibited. On most beaches, the speed limit is 15 miles per hour unless you got a special permit. Offroading vehicles are also subjected to standard North Carolina driving laws. These include alcohol rules as well.

Vehicle Parking

About parking your vehicle, there are some rules as well. Most beach towns and cities offer paid parking spots. These can be free at night. You can park your vehicle for up to 24 hours only. Many of the less-crowded beaches have free parking. Further, most of the beaches deep in nature have no parking restrictions.

Can I take my dog to the beaches in North Carolina?

Dogs love beaches! The sand, the water, – and those horrible nose-pinching crabs! Most beaches in North Carolina are pet-friendly. However, some places only allow them at certain times. For example, the Carolina Beach town enforces pet visits on the beach only during October through March. Also, most places allow pets only during daylight hours. Many boardwalks do not allow dogs as well.

Pet rules on NC beaches

Furthermore, keep in mind that your pet wastes must be collected by you. If you are planning to take your dog to the beaches, be sure to keep plastic or paper containers used to clean up doggie wastes. You can be fined for not having your dog on a leash, or leaving the poor guy in a vehicle. The length of the leash matters too. On the most crowded vacation days, the leash must bot be more than 6 feet, while in lighter crowds you can use double that. If your dog is very well-trained you can then get a permit to unleash him on some beaches, Even then, you must remain within 30 feet of your four-legged friend.

Are there tour packages for North Carolina beaches?

Sure there are! There are many tours, trips, and adventures available on and around the beaches in NC. According to TripAdvisor, here are the top 10 tours in North Carolina beaches:

Paddle NC

Mahanaim Kayaking Day Adventures

Tony Silvagni Surf School

Sea Legs Pedal Club

Tasting History

Pleasure Island Rentals

Carolina Beach Pontoon Rental

Wilmington Jet Ski

Caught Up Fishing Charters

Odysea Surf & Kiteboard School

Will my kids love the North Carolina Beaches?

No doubt kids will love the NC beaches. In good weather, children always love the water and shores. The beach itself offers tons of children and family activities. For example, you can build a sandcastle with your little loved ones (be sure to pack figurines!). You can play some beach sports, bring a boogie board, play tic-tac-toe on the sand – the only limit is your imagination (and safety, of course). If nothing else, just running through the water can be a lot of fun!

Teens and pre-teens will love activities like learning to surf or to fish. The aquariums here offer tons of learning and marine life watching opportunities. The boardwalks have lots of fun amusement rides and ice cream shops for your child to relish. Older kids will thank you if you take them in adventurous activities like scuba diving, offroading, or jet boating.

Furthermore, for kids who love nature, many trails and campgrounds in the many national parks around here will be a delight. Besides, if you can handle a kayak, taking your kid on one will always ensure great bonding and fun times. The beach cities often have many quaint, historic shops that little girls will just love. The war museums will instill awe in many kids and adults alike, as well.

Children safety in beaches

Please make sure you keep it safe with kids at the beach, though. Always check with local swimming advisor if the water id okay for kids to swim in. Do not go in the water 3 days after a heavy weather event. In hot weather, avoid sunburn with shirts and sunscreens. Stay hydrated as well. And don’t use floating toys in the ocean – they are only good at pools or other calm waters. Above all – of course – never leave your children alone on the beach.

[pandabearlikes]

Twelve Pillars of the Universe

Characters: EXO12 x You Genre: Fantasy, Therapy/Healing/Mediation, Word Vomit Music: `*•.♩ ♪ ♫ ♬♥ .¸.•*

Today is one of those days, where I find myself wandering and wandering, replacing my inner wounds with the comfort of a nature, not as far beyond my grasps as I had once thought. Bare toes, cradled against the intricacy of earthly soils, grass tickle the soles of my feet. It’s the first of twelve “hellos” as I stroll deeper and deeper into the forest, with my shoes dangling from my hands.

“She’s here,” I can almost hear the God of the Wind announce to his brethren, in a whistle that twirls my lengthy hair into the air.

“Hey, Sunshine,” the Light God greets, beaming a ray passed the untangled trees to light the path beneath me.

I push through vines, the sound of crinkling leaves against my feet echo through the boundless lands…its a clause that awakens all the nature’s spirits. One by one, poofs of smoke materializes heavenly images of my protectors.

Already set in a bicker with the Sun God, the Fire Spirit glides forth, stopping right in front of me with a toothy grin almost too wide for his handsome face. “What’s with the emptiness on your face? Fire up!” he encourages before whisking away while singing, “This Girl is on Fireeee~” in several octaves too high for his lovely baritone voice.

A small smile breaks along my chapped lips, a firery blush heats my cheeks. I lift both hands to habitually fan myself from the Fire God’s overzealous welcome. But not a second passes, before the calm and collect Ice Lord spins his way toward me. He puts a beautifully sculpted block of ice into my opened palms. The art piece details an angelic female mediating in peace. A puddle forms into my hand, smoke vaporizes back into the air. I peer up to the artist with bittersweet sadness evident in my eyes, for I believe it to be a pity that a masterpiece that took ages to perfect, vanishes in the blink of an eye. He shakes his head though, gifts me a breathtaking smile, and squeezes my hand. “It has met its purpose,” he reasons before disappearing back to the cooler climates of Mother Earth.

My journey continues as the Protector of Earth works together with the kindhearted Healer to mend a wounded flower. They say when a flower dies, it leaves behind seeds for rebirth…Isn’t that already enough? Quietly, I ponder to myself, questioning the purpose of their actions. The Medic glances up to me, stands up, and acknowledges my presence with a respectful 90 degree bow. I mimic his modesty and smile to his charm when he brisks over with a bouquet of withered flowers. With one stroke, he revives them; the sweet smell of lavender calms my soul.

I leave them be, to stare, mesmerized at the sparking branches afar. The Lightning God is hard at work, reviving a world different from the wonders of nature. With the snap of his fingers, he lights cities from the darkness, sparking interest and new ideas. Innocently, I reach a hand up, wondering how it’d feel like for these ethereal strikes to penetrate through my fingertips. Would I, then, be free of worry, free of sins, and rejuvenated with a new purpose of life?

And suddenly, I feel my feet lifted off earthly grounds. I twirl my head around to face the Master of Flight. His large white wings flap, wrapping around me like a barrier of protection. I close my eyes and dream for once as he lifts my palm, allowing me to feel the limitless sky, the endless possibilities in life.

“Long time no see,” his mischievous friend beams at my presence. Lashes part, my glassy eyes meet sharp and alluring ones that brushes with an under-color of purplish black. “What? You don’t remember us?” the young Spirit pouts. Before I manage to part my lips, he grumbles, “Fine, Let me remind you.” With that, he reveals an hourglass and flips it upside-down. The action, so minuscule, is as impactful as the astounding flap of a butterfly’s wings.

I suck in my breath as images flash before my very eyes. My body floats amidst invisibility, drifting like in a lucid dream, but frozen like in a sleep paralysis. And then abruptly, gravity punctures a hole into my impenetrable barrier, tossing me into a free fall into the boundless ocean. I sink and sink, squeezing my bloodshot orbs with all my might. Water seeps into my lungs as I gasp for air. All the torment, the agony, the pressure stabs me in the heart and breaks my bones. I heave, paddling my sore limbs that no longer felt like mine in this losing battle…I sink and sink into this bottomless pit.

Until, suddenly, a powerful wave tosses my rag-doll body through the deep altitudes of the ocean, and back onto shore. “Don’t give up. Don’t hurt yourself,” the softness of the Water Guardian’s voice susurrates into my ears. My eyes rid of salted liquid that blends back into sea as I physically hack out all the pains plaguing my body. I recall this rebirth, this day I met the Pillars of the Universes…the day I stripped down from my outer skin and dove into the water because I thought with this, all the misery would cease. But the Water reminded me of the world beyond this world I knew, a galaxy and reawakening in the embrace of nature’s wonders.

He guides me up, alerting his supposed arch-rival, the Fire to dry me up. The two Gods of the most powerful earthly elements mesh their powers, brewing a pot of steaming stew in front of me. “That Time Twerp again?” the wielder of water chuckles and shakes his head. “I have to give him a beating,” he jokes, his laughter is so whimsical, it alleviates the scars of a once wounded heart.

I shake my head in denial. Dainty fingers wind around the warm cup. I allow the contents to restore energy back to my physical body...though, the mind still yearns for a place far, far away. My escapists mentality calls for the Controller of Teleportation. His translucent image is pure and almost ghostly as he appears before me with hands outstretch. Nodding, I grab onto them. He pulls me into the comfort of his broad chest, easing a spell from his lips that transports us to a lost paradise. With a kiss along the back of my hand, he gently nudges me to go on ahead, before vanishing to complete another human’s longing request. I muse at the friendliness of all the Gods of this forest.

Yet, it is the company of the twelfth and final pillar that finally brings me down on my knees. The moment my toes graced upon his island of thoughts, my eyes rain of emotions, my body quivers in its broken shell. I trail forth, on this long path, through dark tunnels, and sharp roads, pass broken bridges, and up steep mountains to finally break down beneath his feet.

“I know,” is all the Magician of Telekinesis states.

Finally, my bottled up inner turmoil releases out into the universe, clashing elements against elements, freeing my exhausted soul with their sympathy. At last, it is the love of this silent and stagnant mind reader who lays the final spell of healing…for he understands. And in that, I realize I was never alone.

The Pillars of the Universe join together, all twelve of them bidding sweet salutations in their own way. I wave and bow in gratitude for the therapeutic experience.

“We don’t want to see you back here for a while,” the Light Spirit jokes, “For in the morning, I am your sun, in the night, I am your moon.”

“I’ll strike anyone bullying you,” his friend, the Lightning Prankster, adds.

“We’re forever by your side,” the whistling, cool breeze reminds as he circles around me. I let out a sneeze, in which the Fire Spirit sparks balls of flame into the air, one to warm me up, one to chase the Wind Master away.

“Thank you,” I bow again as the floor beneath me dresses in fertile soil and an abundance of flowers that lead the way.

“No matter what path you take, we will support you,” the Earth God and Healer reveals.

“If anything, I can always turn back time,” the Time Controller nonchalantly reassures.

A splash of ice water hits his face.

“The sky’s not the limit,” the Winged Lord points up and reminds, “There’s a galaxy out there. Don’t fear; just spread your wings and fly.”

With trembling lips, I nod.

“Ready?” the Master of Teleportation inquires and upon my agreement, he wraps his arms around me, humming a soothing spell into my ears as a final gift.

My eyes reopen and I’m back in the blanket cocoon of my room. Though my body is dormant and at peace, my mind spins in endless thoughts and heart drums with fear.

“I’m scared,” I hear myself whisper.

“I know,” a Heavenly voice answers. “I know.”

Life flashes back into my watery orbs. I let go of my clenched fists and, like a butterfly, emerge from the barriers I had built to protect myself. For the first time in a while, I stand up straight with my chest broad and chin tilted upright….because I know I am not alone; I’m fine.

A/N: No lie, I kinda really like this piece ^-^ I hope you guys like it too.  Share you thoughts with me :)

Recent stories: Busy Nights ft. Sehun, Priceless ft. Baekhyun, Double Trouble ft. Sehun & Vivi

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^^haha I did not make these gifs, but that one is so cute I had to include in post ;p