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literaphobe · 4 years

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season 2 of she-ra rated by catradora content

the frozen forest: “aw, cute, you can turn your sword into stuff.” very interesting how adora has to literally train not by fighting any real soldiers in the horde just... catra. light hope scanned her brain and knew she wouldn’t bother to run after anyone else :/ which. is true. call her out!! she fights bots too but she has more or less no issues with them even though she’s no expert with turning her sword into stuff yet, but then catra comes out, and suddenly adora can’t even block a single punch because catra laughed at her :( AND suddenly her sword can’t turn into anything but a cup. why adora? are you thirsty? it’s even funnier because none of this is real, and adora KNOWS that none of this is real, but she’s still Affected when fake catra says her seductive “hey adora” and she decides oh i know! i’ll turn my sword into a d*ldo with holes! oh wait never mind, is that a flute? damn it now she wants to Serenade catra. that’s even gayer than wanting to have sex with her. “did you mean to do that? because if you did it’s a terrible weapon.” “is not! >:(“ adora’s comebacks are like. kindergarten quality shit. i would make fun of catra’s insult too but in her defense that’s not actually catra. so adora tries to hit fake catra with her musical instrument and it doesn’t really work so she tackles fake catra and pins her to the ground. and looks,,, low key aroused as she does it okay adora.... she’s not real please remember that.... ur already a furry please don’t also be a bot fucker “what are you waiting for? you gonna play me a song on that thing?” yes she WAS catra! that’s what i’ve been SAYING don’t be mean to your girlfriend when she’s trying to serenade you :( adora gets angry after this latest act of oppression so she raises her hand, about to hit fake catra, but she stops right before the weapon can make contact, and her face softens. “i knew you couldn’t do it.” fake catra fades and the audience finds out something adora already knew. none of this was real, and even if she had hit fake catra and killed her, real catra would be fine. And Yet,,,,, big fucking sigh bros. haha y’all ever so hung up on a chick that you can’t even kill a fake simulation of her? even though she’s your enemy? lmaoooooo anyway the training simulation ends and adora is so depressed she transforms out of her she-ra form and asks “did you have to make her so mean? :(“ even tho light hope is about to come out and yell gay slurs at her. light hope shows up and is very confused. is catra... not mean? was my catra ooc miss adora? :/ did this catra hit different? too hostile? not like what ur used to? :/ go to hell adora if you made catra into a sim and picked her defining trait it WOULD be MEAN god everyone’s a critic. and then adora is like ok ur right :( catra is mean.... but have you considered making your simulation’s fake catra one that will hold me gently in her arms? have you considered that maybe i don’t want to fight her and that i want to kiss her instead? god damn it light hope you bitch. you fucking homophobe.

light hope is like okay cool. this latest performance was ur worst one btw and adora is like why do you THINK and is like i wanna be the very best :( like no one ever was :( and protecc etheria :( “but catra, she’s just in my head” ;) oh yeah i bet she is adora JFJSJDJSJD “when you grow up with someone, they know how to push your buttons :(” that’s very true adora. but you also grew up with many people such as lonnie, rogelio, and kyle. and you don’t seem to give a shit about them :/ so i guess “grow up with someone” really means “be in love” huh. i love you but do NOT lie to me ever again. after this, we see the real catra :’) she’s back at the horde training kyle, lonnie, and rogelio. “she-ra is too strong to defeat with force alone. but she’s slow and easily manipulated.” yeah maybe for you! maybe she slows down when she fights you because ur pretty and ur voice is sexy! way to flex ur privilege :( not everyone can manipulate she-ra because she’s not in love with all of them ok :( just u :( later on, we’re back at the war meeting in bright moon. bow says “we’re defeating the bots, but more keep coming. while we’re using our resources to hold our borders, the horde hasn’t had to deploy a single soldier.” hey! that’s a perfectly normal statement right! one that does not mention any specific person. there should be no reason for anyone to respond to this by bringing up any individual. guess what adora says. guess what she fucking says. i’m so fucking done oh my god. “typical catra >:(“ did... did bow MENTION catfkakdjsjdjsjs????? i’m fucking WHEEZING. adora. baby. could u. like. chill out? :/ re catra? for like one second? no? okay guess i’ll have to live with it. adora is so hung up over the “hey adora ;)” she heard from fake catra during training that she has to repay the favor when she fights entrapta’s upgraded bots. adora looks into the camera of one of the bots and just. she just KNOWS catra is watching and she’s correct. and she’s like “hey catra ;)” before punching the camera and cutting the live stream. catra’s response isn’t to immediately ditch the horde and go kiss adora (booooooo) but to. try and explode she-ra using one of the other bots. okay. i guess we all cope with arousal in different ways :/ when the bot explodes and adora realizes her attempt at seduction did not work out the way she intended (press f to pay respects), she gets all “>:( catra” which is very cute and iconic of her. and it’s apparently her way of coping with the situation so i’ll just let her be! 9/10

ties that bind: fuck you swift wind. what the FUCK. i can’t believe adora had to go on some stupid quest with the horse all because she would be fiFTy sEVeN pERcenT mOrE eFFeCtivE with him. who gives a shit. catra getting kidnapped and tied up is clearly the superior plot here and adora wasn’t there for it?? which, i know is the whole point, but also, why did they have to put her with the horse. would’ve rather seen adora with literally any of the princesses instead. haha jk. but also, am i? it is important that adora gets over her hatred of swift wind and bonds with him. but also, is it? sigh, let’s get on with the show. bow and glimmer set out to go bring back entrapta. “let’s go get adora!” bow baby. u r so woke. i love that attitude. yes y’all should’ve absolutely brought adora along. no she was not doing anything important. “adora’s training!!!!” glimmer baby i love u but why :( why would u do this :( anyway, bow and glimmer get tricked into thinking the horde is torturing entrapta so they (accidentally) kidnap catra. bow is an absolute sweetheart who just. is sweet to everyone so he tries bonding w catra and is like “come on, i bet even the horde has friends. what about adora? :3 you two grew up together. what was she like as a kid? :3” because adora is bow’s best friend and he wants to know more about her <3 best boy <3 and catra just hisses at him because if she spoke she would probably say. adora was everything to me. adora made me laugh, she played with me, she took care of me, she protected me even when everyone else looked the other way. just seeing her would put a smile on my face. she held my hand. she hugged me. she was my shoulder to cry on. adora was the only good thing in my life at the horde. i have been in love with her my entire life. and now she’s she-ra. anyway. catra decides to annoy glimmer into letting her go, and glimmer gets so frustrated that she says “how did adora take years of this? she didn’t run away from the horde. she ran away from YOU” which. is about the most horrifying thing you could say to catra since she like. really believes that. and adora’s not even there to defend herself :( and say shit like. Well It Helped That I Was In Love With Catra And That Every Moment We Spent Together Was Filled With Laughter And Joy Because No One Else Has Ever Made Me This Happy Even When We Were Stuck Together In The Worst Place On Etheria—stuff like that u know? :/ anyway catra is like :’( —> >:’( “adora’s gonna dump u one day too glimmer!!” + “you and adora are perfect for each other, i’ll give you that. earnest, naive, ridiculously easy to manipulate. it’s adorable!” wow catra. u think…… adora…. is…. adorable? wow…. :’) djdjdjdjdjdj but yeah. she really said my gf is cute! my gf is earnest! and that’s pretty much it on the catradora front. notice how i didn’t say a word about the horse plot. yeah. :) i mean i physically couldn’t because this is a catradora based evaluation post. but ya. u get the point. 7/10

signals: huh! nothing! except when glimmer says “catra was right!” and adora’s face is like... u kno. u know how she gets when catra is suddenly brought up. 2/10 but the whole ghosts thing is cute. adora believing and wholeheartedly being scared of ghosts makes me think... catradora buzzfeed unsolved AU

roll with it: the absolute RIGHTS of this episode. adora planning obsessively because “you’re not taking the biggest variable into account :( catra </3 she’s been behind every horde plan, she led the attack on bright moon, she’s devious, she’s very cute—“ and everyone is like omg adora calm down,,,, okay fine we’ll fantasize about ur gf. so everyone is all: this is my catra headcanon <3 glimmer is like. catra is a sexy femme fatale. bow is like. catra and i would make so many sick fucking puns. and adora is like :( y’all are all headcanoning catra WRONG :( she’s sexy and funny and cute the Way She Is :( why mess with the original recipe? :( except she’s wrong because season 4 and 5 will exist one day. but she is not wrong because season 1-3 catra is also very good. adora u do u. have fun laughing at everyone’s interpretations of ur gf. go ahead and brag about how uve been in love w her ur entire life. adora is like. all ur plans suck. obviously catra would block or duck or jump up really high or look really cute or smile and dazzle u with her charms. how DARE you underestimate my enemy gf. and then everyone devolves into their cool plans again and adora is like CATRA CATRA CATRA >:( so everyone is like ok fine we are going 2 bully her. and we get this epic scene where they do impressions of catra, but it is visualized like: different versions of catra keep flanking adora, and she in that scene is clearly very seriously considering having a fourway with femme fatale catra, prom catra, and punny og catra. but in like uh.... a cool platonic way. anyway, everyone is like. hey adora. we know ur paranoid and obsessed with ur gf. but can we just attack the horde now? could you chill the fuck out? and adora is like. u wanna know the worst that could happen? fine. “i’m the heaviest hitter, so catra will separate me right away. trap me, take my sword, do Something so i’m helpless when she turns on you. she knows Everything about me, EXACTLY what i’ll do, EXACTLY how to take me out. they’ll overwhelm frosta and mermista with bots, they’ll fire on perfuma, and use her to draw bow out into the open, pinning him between the bots and the horde soldiers. glimmer will teleport in to save him, but she won’t have enough magic left to get out, trapping them both. catra will make me watch all of it before she Finishes Me Off.” which..... weirdly kinky, but okay, and also weirdly sweet if u think about it? like catra grew up thinking she was never as good as adora but adora even with her new she-ra powers now is convinced that catra is so good that she can predict and counter and overpower anything adora throws at her, even with her super-powered friends and allies <3 and she...... lets it paralyze her with fear and blames herself for anything that could possibly go wrong which is really sad and not good :( but stuff can be two things! and. we’re kind of trying to be gay here so let’s continue on the gay train <3 the princess alliance realizes that adora has major issues and give her love and support so adora is like oh nice!!! time to run in without a plan and stay true to my brute strength colors <3 and she’s so excited to see her gf..... only to find out, her gf isn’t there?????? the fuck???? she spent hours planning their fight date only to get stood the fuck up??????? she’s so distraught over it as she fights scorpia she goes through the five stages of grief. she’s like... catra’s really not here?? and she left you in charge???? and babe i get that ur jealous and upset that ur gf didn’t show up but hey :( don’t hate crime scorpia like that :( 8/10

white out: adora is upset that she hasn’t seen her enemy gf in a while so when the squad finds out that the horde is doing stuff in the north(?) adora decides that they must immediately go there in case the horde (catra) is doing stuff that she must stop the horde (catra) from doing immediately. and it works! they bump into the super pal trio! but before that, we see entrapta show catra the red disk that makes she-ra go RAGE and adora go floop. it’s basically a Make Adora Delirious/Drunk Crystal <3 catra gets an evil hate boner when she hears that the disk “takes away she-ra’s powers” and is like damn entrapta ;) why didn’t you tell me about that sooner ;) later on, the best friend squad bumps into the super pal trio! adora sees catra and is like. hey remember last episode? what the fuck was that babe. step the FUCK up. run away with me? <3 but here’s a more literal break down of what really happened: catra is threatening entrapta as she... tends to do when she’s interrupted by adora who says “catra! >:(“ completely ignoring that there are other people there who she should also greet. i mean it’s just manners u know? “it’s been a while.” is not an excuse. u haven’t seen entrapta either for an even longer time. and u had nothing to say to her? i get that ur gay and in love but have some respect okay :( catra is happy and decides it’s time to seduce her. we get yet another “heyyy adora ;)” for the books. adora starts to ignore everyone present again and banters pettily with catra about how catra lost the battle of bright moon, because you know :( she hasn’t seen her gf in a while :( and she didn’t get to rub things like that in her face :( and catra is like haha lmaooooo loserrrrr and it really pisses adora off so she’s like okay down to business then! go away >:( and catra’s like oh u want me to go away? make me ;) and so they literally. run away from everyone else. i’m not making this shit up they literally said those things and just ditched the group. and both groups, who have not said a fucking word to each other since this confrontation began because the lesbians are so fucking loud and clearly everything they discuss is personal and not an invitation for group convo, they’re all left there to be like..... i guess we should fight each other now? and scorpia is like UGHHH goddamn it. and u really feel for her u know? :/ u try and u try to ask a girl out and she’s so stupid she doesn’t know ur asking her out on a date, but her stupid ex walks in and all she has to do is run and catra runs in front of her ready to go on a date. what the fuck. anyway, catra and adora are also fighting. adora’s better at transforming her sword into stuff now so she summons a rope (ok kinkster) to grab catra’s leg and pull her towards her and she threatens catra with her sword, saying “don’t move.” catra’s response? “oh, please. you’d never have the guts.” and god damn it catra it’s not that she doesn’t have the guts! :( it’s that she loves you and doesn’t want to hurt you! and also she’s not into necrophilia! catra continues with “you know, as much as i love our fights, it’s way too cold for this.” i hate them so fucking much. they really do get off on this shit!!! i hate them but also mood!!!! stop flirting with each other ur both so goddamn annoying omg. “why don’t we try something new? ;)” yeah. something new like hmm what if y’all kissed? haha, just a suggestion! but no, catra decides to use the red crystal thingy :( haha SIKE i’m not :( at all i’m very much :) because we’ve been WAITING for drunk adora. i love that delirious baby. what a fucking cutie. but because she-ra’s sword is the one who gets poisoned, she-ra goes all angry and evil and catra is like that’s hot! but it’s not what i signed up for but also... oh lmao she’s fighting her friends? nice. this is hot again. complacently, catra goes “this is the greatest thing that’s ever happened!” causing evil!she-ra to realize she exists and trying to kill catra for real, and catra is like NEVER MIND I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS and she’s like “adora wait :(“ which is like. babe no :( babe u were supposed to turn evil in a sexy way :( we could be sexy and evil together baby :( babe :( thankfully for catra adora’s not the only one who has a crush on her so scorpia tackles she-ra, separating her from her sword, and she goes back to adora. catra gets the sword, laughs, and says “that went so much better than i could’ve ever hoped.” did it?????? ur so stupid ur gf was about to murder u and u were ready to simp for ur life. then she goes “looks like you’re mine now, adora. >;)” and like. lifts adora’s face up by the chin with the tail end of the sword. and. let me just take a deep breath here. uh. What The Fuck Is That. HELLO?????? why is that. okay. HHHHHH. why!!!! good god!!!!! i hate sexual tension. anyway, catra tells scorpia to carry adora inside bc adora’s not wearing enough layers and she doesn’t want her gf to get cold :( jk but uh, they get adora inside, and catra is once again obsessed with her. she sits right next to her and pines like “always so perfect.... look at you now.... (i HATE how sexual this sounds) you’re coming back to the horde under my command.....” like. COME ON. why is she like this. ur allowed to be evil but i draw the LINE at u flirting with adora she’s not even AWAKE. and scorpia is like. could u. could u not be obsessed w adora for one second? it’s kinda harshing my vibe :/ and catra is like hehe she ra go >:( haha funney. we can turn the rebellion’s own hero against them. That’s Good™ i wonder which of your friends i’ll have you annihilate first... and then she giggles to herself and it’s so cute but babe. once again. stop flirting with adora while she’s out cold she won’t be able to flirt back :( and then the most. upsetting part of the ep happens. catra LEAVES and makes scorpia watch over adora before adora even wakes up so we don’t get! to see! catra with drunk/delirious adora!!!!!! what the FUCK. what is the POINT. i am DISTRAUGHT. hello?????? why were we robbed. whatever. it’s still good but come on not even one scene? :( scorpia is annoyed as she should be and is like UGH just wanted to be alone with catra but nooooo im stuck babysitting her “”””””ex-best friend””””””” which we all know is code for just. ex. LMAO fkdkdkdk like this isn’t even reaching we BEEN knew. anyway adora is being. so cute. so goddamn cute i am in love. adora barely even remembers her name but when scorpia is like hm what’s the passcode to the lab? adora goes BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP and puts in catra’s super long fave number. that is so fucking cute that she knows and remembers that and thinks that catra would use it even tho she’s not even. in the right state of mind. and scorpia gets jealous obviously like ohhhh u know catra’s favorite number and i don’t! u grew up with catra and she’s been in love with you her whole life and i don’t have that! fuck u adora. even when u and catra are fighting each other tryna kill each other u can tell there’s a real bond there :( and like scorpia I’m so sorry baby I know :( they’re in love and it’s very annoying :( and i know adora is very annoying but have you also considered that she is very cute? that she is so lovely? and yeah that’s why catra is in love with her and shit :( seahawk and scorpia fight over adora and adora is like. hehe. catra mean <3 she’s so mean <3 and so hot and cute and sexy <3 omg im gonna marry her hehehehe <3 both sides reconvene to fight the bug, and adora finds glimmer vaguely familiar but doesn’t recognize who she is exactly. but she’ll remember catra’s long ass fave number. ok whore. catra, who’s also stupid, sees adora and is like guess I’ll drop all other priorities to get her! and tells scorpia to find the sword because she’s going after adora again. she’s so determined to keep adora that she.... catches a moving arrow. and throws it away. fjdjdjdjddj DAMN ok sheer gay determination is THAT strong huh. but it’s also sad because catra’s so busy fighting she doesn’t get to see adora being super cute :( it’s fucking wasted and not FAIR. catra thinks it’s funny that anyone would expect her to willingly give the disk up, because she’s got control of adora now, and control of adora means that adora won’t leave her.... which is not healthy :( but also HHHHHH but also it’s okay because their relationship gets healthy in the future and that’s very sexy of them <3 the disk is broken by scorpia in the end, and as adora regains.... conscious???ness????? idk??? her sense of reality??? sobers up???? anyway she and catra exchange this one last very heavy look, right before catra is grabbed by scorpia 9/10, except i want to take away so many points because of the wasted potential, but also i wanna add back so many points because of “looks like you’re mine now, adora ;)”

light spinner: ewwww shadow weaver ewwwww hordak i’m so sorry catra baby so sorry u had to interact with them instead of adora :( 0/10 </3

reunion: I AM SO SORRY. I AM SO FUCKING SORRY. THIS EP IS SO GOOD. BUT. I CANNOT BELIEVE I HAVE TO SAY THIS. THIS IS ONLY BECAUSE THIS IS A CATRADORA EVALUATION OK. therefore the rating is.... is..... :( 0/10 :( i know i am distraught too. :( despite what a masterpiece it was... there was no catradora :(

#text #she ra #catradora #spop #yes hello welcome back to whatever the fuck this is <3 #yes i had to put the readmore in the middle. of the 2x01 evaluation #because. it was long. and i don't want the post to look so long on dashes #so please reblog it u guys <3 #i really loved all the replies on my s1 evaluation #i really hope y'all like this one too :(#if u think i am funny please tell me uwu #i love. to read tags #and asks and replies hehe #anyway have fun!

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jisungffs · 4 years

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coffee breath - felix.

words: 5.1k

reader: gender-neutral

genre: fluff

tags: best friend!felix x aromantic!reader, coffeeshop au, non idol! au, implied lgbtq!felix, minho is a minor character, minsung is mentioned. this whole thing is strictly platonic, none of this is meant to be romantic. just a cute fluffy fic honestly. the end has a little tension but not a lot.

warnings: THIS WHOLE THING IS PLATONIC, DON’T READ IF YOU WANT ROMANCE, swearing, multiple descriptions of food.

requested by @aritodla, check her out, she’s an amazing artist and a really sweet person overall.

Lee Felix was a sweet boy. He had kind eyes, freckled cheeks, and an air of infectious happiness around him. He always tipped generously, he never got angry at the staff, and he always cleaned up after himself. Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And it was a shame all you knew about him was his first name and his coffee order.

Even though Felix only started visiting your coffee shop a few weeks ago, you could tell he was a genuinely nice person. Everything about him was lovable.

Like the way he always said thank you after you took his order.

Or like the way he gripped his coffee cup with both his hands when the weather was cold.

Or the way he had a billion stickers on his laptop, adding a new one every week.

Or the way his eyebrows furrowed when he wrote something down..

Or the way he nodded along when he heard music he liked.

Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And even though you didn’t know much about him, you really wanted to. Because Lee Felix was sunshine. And you were in need of warmth.

It was a sunny day — one where it was warm enough to find solace in cafes and under the awnings of fashion stores, but not warm enough to make you want to curse out everything around you. The perfect weather, really. It was on this day that Lee Felix decided to wear his Twice t-shirt. It was barely noticeable — just a little white logo on the breast. It looked like a regular black tee from a distance. But you noticed. Because not only did you want to get to know Felix, you were also a huge fan of Twice.

Felix gave you his usual order of a cappuccino and a chocolate scone and went back to his seat. Felix liked Twice! You wondered who his bias was. Or what his favourite song was. It was really cool that Felix liked Twice right? You finally had something in common.

You drew a little Twice logo on the coffee foam. You didn’t even realize it. It was pretty usual for you to draw about what’s on your mind, and your cafe didn’t exactly have strict rules about foam art.

Felix was once again on his laptop today. You could recognize the colourful sticker-covered laptop from a mile away. His brows furrowed as he typed away, only getting up to collect his order. He was back in his seat and was about to continue whatever he was doing when he noticed the logo on his coffee, drawn on foam. His eyes widened slightly, his mouth broke into a grin. You noticed him getting his phone out and taking a picture before you had to attend to other customers.

It was a windy night. Felix was already in the cafe by the time your shift started, and was peacefully nibbling on a muffin while doing something on his laptop. His eyes never left the laptop screen. He checked his phone from time to time, but never spent more than a few seconds on it. From the looks of it, he was unaware of everything outside his screen and his table.

The closing shift never had a lot of customers. It was just Felix, you, and a couple of regulars in the little cafe.

And the regulars had already left by the time you were done cleaning up. It was five minutes until closing time, and Felix was still there, probably not knowing he was the last one there. You knew you had to tell him he had to leave soon, but you didn’t know exactly what to say. You weren’t the best at the closing shift.

You approached his seat awkwardly. “Excuse me…? Sir…?”, you said tentatively before gently tapping on the table.

Felix jumped slightly at the interruption. He quickly looked around the cafe. “Oh”, he said smally, “Am I the last one here?”

“Yes, and the cafe’s closing soon”, you said with a patient customer service smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t even realise”, he laughed. “I was working on some music and I guess I got carried away”

“Well,”, you struggled to find something to say,” If you like to sing, we have live music on Fridays”

What was that??? Who says that??

“I’ll keep that in mind”, he laughed, shutting the tabs on his laptop.

His phone screen played the Fancy MV, connected to headphones lying on the table. He was probably streaming it, and your mind raced at the conversation starter.

“You’re streaming Fancy!”, you said without thinking. You immediately cursed yourself for not spending more time thinking about what to say. He barely knows you, for god’s sake.

Felix didn’t seem to mind. “You like Twice?” Felix said with raised eyebrows and a goofy grin.

“I do”, you replied, mirroring his grin, “Chaeyoung’s my bias.”

Felix's eyes widened. “Wait a second!”, he said, “Were you the barista who drew the logo on my coffee yesterday?”

“That was me!”, you said laughing.

---

It was a sunny day - the kind where you technically could go out, but it was just a lot more comfortable staying inside. You started mixing Felix's drink as soon as he came to the counter. Felix looked pleasantly surprised. “Guess I don’t have to order anymore”

“I mean,” you said with your eyebrows raised, “You do have to try other drinks at some point, you know? You’ve ordered the a cappuccino and a chocolate scone everytime you came here, and they’re not even that good”

“Hey!” he cry-laughed. “Don’t you dare say that about my cappuccino.”

“By the way,” you added, “I think you’ll like the music today”

Felix raised his eyebrows. His lips quirked up when he realised a lo-fi playlist of Twice songs played through the speakers.

It was an average day -- the awkward phase between afternoon and evening, the weather so ordinary there was nothing to comment about it. Felix shaked his head as he reached the counter and saw you start to make his drink. “Oh I’m not having that today”

You raised your eyebrows, “Oh?”

“Yeah”, Felix said, fixing his posture and smirking. “I’ll have a black coffee, please”, he said in an over dramatic voice.

“Brave today, are we?”

“Yes, and” he said like a child boasting about his most recent tag game, “I won’t add any sugar to it”

“Oh boy”, you sighed, shaking your head.

Five minutes later, Felix’s (black) coffee was ready. Five and a half minutes later, Felix’s black coffee was at his table. You watched as he took his first sip. His entire face scrunched up at the bitter taste. He noticed you looking at him. He gave you a thumbs-up, still wearing the most pained expression known to man. Felix should not drink black coffee.

It was a windy day, the thick grey clouds above threatening to spill over during the night. Felix apparently wanted to prove a point, seeing as he once again ordered a black coffee (no sugar).

“But you hated it yesterday!”

“Clearly you didn’t see the thumbs up”

“Yeah, I was too busy looking at the agony on your face”

He pouted, “But I want a black coffee~”

You sighed. “This will be your villain origin story”.

Not surprisingly, Felix had the same expression of disgust as soon as the black coffee touched his lips. Still not surprisingly, he kept up the cool-edgy-guy-who-drinks-black-coffee schtick.

It was a cool yet humid day - the most polarising weather possible. It was a lonely afternoon with hardly any customers in the coffee shop. It was a weekday afternoon, after all. Felix came into the store wearing a black hoodie and a smug grin.

“Please don't tell me you want a black coffee”, you said even before he fully got to the counter. The boy clearly hated the bitterness, but wanted to prove a point anyway.

“Hey, this was your idea!”, he laughed.

“We have more than cappuccinos and black coffee, buddy. We don’t have to go into the extremes right away”

“Well I’m hoping that if I keep drinking the black coffee, I’ll get used to the disgustingness.”

You shook your head and laughed. “Tell you what,” you clapped your hands together, an idea hitting you. “I’ll play around with some ingredients and make you something I think you’ll like.”

“Ohhhh”, Felix said. "That sounds fun"

"Yes and maybe it'll help me add drinks to the menu too", you grinned.

"I shall not show you mercy, O worthy opponent". Felix spoke with a British accent, bowing to add some flair.

You played around with steamed milk, vanilla syrup, espresso, chocolate powder, and sugar. Plus whipped cream for good measure. A few minutes later, the drink was ready. Felix came up to the counter and looked at the drink in mock apprehension.

"I call it the Felixir", you said, . "Get it? Like Elixir?"

Felix let out a laugh.

“I know. It’s dumb. But!”, you said, "I played around with a bunch of stuff I know you like. It has chocolate, espresso, whipped cream and some other stuff. I have no idea how it tastes, but my barista senses told me this would be nice".

"I trust your barista senses". Felix took a sip of the Felixir. Whipped cream made a button on his nose. Felix's lips curved into a smile. His half-moon smile shined through. "Your barista senses rock", he said, punching the air.

"Do you like it?"

"I LOVE it. I don't know how you got my favourite ingredients so spot on."

You laughed. "Barista instincts, my friend".

Felix took another sip, holding the cup with both hands.

"Anyway," you continued, "this one's on the house. You deserve it for enduring the black coffee".

"This is so much better than black coffee", he babbled. "Black coffee has so much caffeine in it?? I was practically vibrating all of yesterday".

"Black coffee is for people with a lot of shit to do and not enough energy to do them", you agreed. "This one has espresso too, and also a shit-ton of sugar, so you might still vibrate today, just letting you know."

"I'll take being a popular kid's iPhone if it means I can have whipped cream and caramel and the other stuff".

It was a sunny day. Ladies in sundresses waited for their dates outside the cafe.

“Not a lot of people here, huh?” Felix commented.

“It’s a weekday afternoon, what do you expect? Only teenagers on their lunch breaks come here. And you, for some reason”

“How could I stay away from my favourite barista?”

You rolled your eyes. “Since you’re here anyway, let’s talk. I’m bored.” Was that too blunt?

“Cool, what do you wanna talk about?”

“The meaning of life, God, or Twice. You pick”

“Trick question, Twice is God and the meaning of life”

“You’re too smart”

Felix stroked his hair back, “I know”

You roll your eyes. “What are your favourite songs by them?”

“Literally their entire discography, but Fancy or TT if I had to choose”

“Fuck yeah. Those songs are queens”

Felix looks at you approvingly. “We should hang out sometime”

It was a clear day. Trees danced around in the wind. Another afternoon where there was hardly anyone in the little coffee shop. Felix ordered his Felixir once again with a cheery tone. You spent some time cleaning up the kitchen and rearranging the items on display. Felix was waiting near the counter once you got done, absent-mindedly checking his phone. He put down his phone and gave you a bright smile when he noticed you coming back.

You smiled back. “What’s the occasion, bub?”

“Nothing, I’m just a little bored and I wanted to hang out with you”

“Well, there aren’t a lot of customers so I guess that works out perfectly”

“How’s your day going so far?”

“It’s pretty boring, to be honest. Maybe I’ll watch a movie when I get home. My shift ends in like half an hour.”

“Whaaat? I was planning to watch a movie too! I live right upstairs, actually”

“Really? That explains why you’re always here”, you laughed.

Felix laughed back. “I have nothing to do today”. Felix gave you an expectant look.

Oh.

“Me neither”, you said casually. “Do you think we should watch something together?”

“Yes!” He giggled. “I know I’m not the best with invites, but I’m glad you picked that up”

“Honestly, I’m surprised I got that. I’m really awkward with invites too”

“More reasons to be friends, then”

“We live closer than I thought, by the way. I live across the street. It’s a five-minute walk.”

That afternoon was a pleasant one. Breeze played with the little children on the street. Felix and you were sprawled on the couch, mindlessly watching the trashy movie on TV. An orange cat ㅡ his roommate’s apparently ㅡ decided to laze around on Felix’s lap, his hand absentmindedly stroking its soft fur.

“Why are early 2000s movies so much more dramatic than they need to be?” Felix commented.

“Right? I remember watching this as a kid and it wasn’t half as bad”, you replied

“So it’s true then. Adulthood only makes things go downhill”

“Hey now you’re the one being dramatic”

“Wrong, I’m always dramatic”

“Your apartment is pretty nice, by the way.”

“Thank you. You’re free to come over whenever”

“Won’t your roommate mind?”

“Not really. Minho’s out most of the time and he brings over his friends all the time too.”

You smiled. “Hey also,”, you said. “Since we live pretty close by, we can hang out at my place some time too!”

“That sounds great”, he smiled widely.

It was a cool day. Most of your patrons huddled themselves in hoodies and cardigans. Felix ordered his drink before giving you a curious look. “Did you come to the cafe yesterday?”

“No, I didn’t have a shift. why?” you asked, slightly thrown off.

“Oh that explains it”, he said, “I came in yesterday and you weren’t there. The other barista didn’t know how to make my drink. Or even what it was, actually. And," he paused, "I missed talking to you”

An embarrassing smile crept up your face. “That’s so sweet”, you said, barely audible.

Felix was about to walk back to his table when you said “Hey actually,”

Felix turned around.

“I downloaded a really awful movie yesterday. Wanna make fun of it together at my place?” you said, just a little hint of nervousness in your voice. “My shift ends soon. But like, you don’t have to if you’re busy or something, we can always-”

“I’d love to,” he smiled.

The evening was breezy as you and Felix laughed over the hilariously, excruciatingly bad movie. Felix and you bonded very fast, apparently. Felix was resting his head on your shoulder. It felt so… natural. It was effortless. And comfortable. It was as though your bodies just did what felt familiar to them. You felt Felix’s body shake every time he laughed. You added sarcastic retorts every now and then, Felix joining too. The movie was terrible. But this moment with Felix was beautiful.

It was a breezy summer day, about a month after Felix came over.

Loving Felix was easy. It was second nature. Felix just clicked with you. The line between friends and best friends blurred quickly. And based on how much he spammed you with messages and how much he visited the cafe and how diligently he memorized your schedule and how many times you hung out, he loved you too.

Your phone buzzed.

felix:

are we doing anything today?

maybe

im in the mood for hot dogs i think

oooooo should we go to the park then?

yes !!

after my shift sounds good?

yesss

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

You used to find those emoticons cringey until Felix started using them. Now, it was just fucking adorable.

(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

The park was a few streets away. It was a big one. Preteens ran around and played frisbee with their friends or their dogs or their parents. But the two of you luckily found a park bench ever-so-slightly away from the noise and the chaos.

As you sat there talking about nothing and everything, you quietly took in Felix's features. His skin was radiant in the setting sun. His freckles, darker from the sunlight, looked like little flecks of chocolate. His eyes lit up whenever he talked about music. Or cooking. Or you. His cheeks rose and fell with his words, his eyes crinkling up when he smiled.

It was a beautiful moment. You lay your head on Felix's shoulder, half lost in thought. The sun painted the park in a subtle shade or orange. The kids around the park laughed and jumped, being loud and being kids. Felix had stopped talking by then, too busy taking in the sunset. His head rested on yours, your hands almost touching. It was a beautiful moment. But moments with Felix were always beautiful.

It was a cold night. You snuggled into your blankets, intently watching something on your phone.

Your phone buzzed. Felix sent you a meme.

you:

???????? why are you awake

it's 2am

go to sleep

why are YOU awake ????????

im watching something 👉👈

im just reading fics and stuff akdkkdj

what kind of fics 👀

they're fluffy stop making everything dirty

i can't stop me (by twice)

sjskksksjjd

oh also

do you make the brownies and stuff?

or is that someone else

in the cafe i mean

that's me babeyyyy

why tho

i like them :D

:"D

baking w you would be fun 🥺

🥺🥺🥺

im good at baking

and so are you

but maybe we should yeet away the recipes and do whatever

baking is supposed to be precise tho :(

if it fails we eat the cookie dough and erase the whole thing from our memory

nice

i mean

im supposed to be precise with the cafe stuff too but the Felixir wouldn't exist if i followed the rules

now you're getting it

when are we doing this?

buddy

we live five minutes from each other

just come over whenever

fuck planning

im *this* close to straight up giving you my keys

me too tf

hell yeah

also this isn't distracting me from the fact that you need to sleep soon

i feel kinda sleepy actually ngl

sleep.

okay 👉👈

gn !! ily

and please sleep soon aksndn

ily2

okay :]

It was a clear, pleasant afternoon, your curtains swaying in the breeze. The smell of freshly made cookies wafted through your apartment. Felix sat on top of your counter, his legs swinging. Felix took one of the newly-made cookies into his hand and regarded it intently. “Looks pretty good so far. It’s a little bit hard but that’s obvious, we added a lot of ingredients and didn’t adjust the flour properly”

“So much for experimentation”

“We did add a lot of fun stuff though, so my money’s on it tasting good”.

You both bit into a cookie. It was… alright. It wasn’t bad, but you expected it to taste a lot better or a lot worse. You both gave each other disappointed smiles. “Underwhelming.”

“But hey! It wasn’t bad!” Felix added.

“True. Still thought the cookies would be more… more. You know?”

“I know. But who cares about that?” Felix put his arm on your shoulder, “Making this with you was the most fun I had in a while and I couldn't care less what they ended up tasting like.”

You let out a small smile. “I love you”

“And I love you”

You looked up at him. His soft brown eyes were warm with affection.

“Now,” Felix continued, “The cookie dough’s gotta be better right?”

You laughed. “The cookie dough is chocolate sludge at this point”

“Yeah, maybe using M&Ms as chocolate chips was a bit much”

“Probably. But let’s race. Whoever finds the most M&Ms in the dough wins.”

“I already know I’m winning”.

It was a drizzly night. Streetlights reflected on the wet asphalt outside Felix’s apartment. Felix and you had decided to have an impromptu sleepover. It was almost 3am, both of you slightly delirious from the caffeine and the staying up. You were yelling at the TV, desperately trying to get your character to do something, damn it. Felix just smirked beside you, his character easily attacking yours. He was choosing not to kill you quickly, which was almost more annoying than dying straight away. It wasn’t long before Felix won the game. You pouted in annoyance.

“Maybe I should start killing you quickly so you won’t be loud and Minho won’t yell at us for making noise”

“This game sucks”, you pouted.

“You’re just new to it. Did you know you can do twice as much damage if you press B after you attack?”

“Really?”

“Yeah! And do you know how to dodge?”

“No” you said like a kid admitting to breaking something.

“Why did you make me skip the tutorial?”, Felix laughed.

“The past is in the past, Felix. How do I dodge?”

Felix spent a few minutes teaching you which buttons do what and which attacks are effective when. It only took a few slightly frustrating runs before you almost came close to beating him. Maybe he was going easy on you, but that didn’t matter. It was fun.

“You are learning, my protégé”, he said approvingly.

It was a chilly evening. Old white sheets lay spread out on your bedroom floor, your furniture haphazardly moved to the living room. Felix had texted you earlier that day, promising to help you paint your room. You were almost done painting half a wall when you heard his familiar deep voice. “Hey! Missed you.”

“Missed you more”, you smiled.

“What do you need me to do? How may I be of assistance?” he curtsied.

You rolled your eyes. “Just grab a paint brush and do that wall over there. Just make sure it's even and don’t get any on your clothes.”

“You say that with a million paint splatters on you”, he laughed.

Felix got to work. Neither of you really talked. It seemed that Felix was lost in thought, letting his hands do the painting. But it was fine. Because moments with Felix were always beautiful, even the silences.

You were finished with your first wall when you decided to play calm music on your phone. Soothing guitar chords filled the silence.

It was hard to keep track of time. Five songs? Six songs? Maybe an hour? Both of you had made a lot of progress with the walls. It didn’t matter. What did matter was Felix. Halfway through the third or fourth song, you noticed Felix singing to himself.

It was barely audible, he probably wasn’t even aware of it. But his voice was soothing. And soft.

You had never heard him sing before. You wished you did. You could listen to it forever. Felix’s singing voice felt like sweaters and cozy winter days.

You didn’t say anything. You knew he’d be embarrassed if he knew you noticed. But the rest of the painting session gave you butterflies, to say the least.

It was a chilly day. Felix was hunched over his stovetop making ramen while you dramatically read out a fanfic to him from the table. You just finished the kissing scene when Felix let out a disappointed sigh.

“I know right?” You commented.

“I don’t get it. Don’t you think they’d make way more sense as just friends?”

“Waaaay more sense. I feel like the kiss scene is just so unnecessary.”

“I don’t get why writers think everything should have romance in it. I mean, love is friendship right? I mean, for me, it is.”

Your heart stopped. A smile crept up your face. You continued reading out the fanfic, but you didn’t focus on it at all. Because Felix said love is friendship. Love is friendship. Love is friendship!

It was a cold night. You were all bundled up in bed with a hoodie and a blanket. Felix was on the phone with you, refusing to hang up despite being half-asleep.

“Seriously Felix, you can’t even keep your eyes open”

“Mm. But I want to talk to you”, he yawned. His half-asleep voice was deeper than usual and very quiet.

“Alright bub. What do you want to talk about?” You started to feel sleepy too.

“I don’t know. Maybe how amazing you are?”

You laughed. “Fuck off”

“No but… your hair is so soft. And your coffee is really good. And you’re awesome. What the heck. I love you.” he said. He spoke slowly. You could tell he was almost asleep.

“I love you too you beautiful bastard”

You were met with the sounds of soft breathing.

Felix was very endearing when he was half-asleep.

It was a rainy day, rain knocking against Felix’s living room windows. Felix shared a blanket with you atop the couch. You leaned on Felix, your head on his chest. His heartbeat synced with the rain on the window. Felix’s arm draped your side. Both of you focused on the movie in front of you. It was a good one so far. The plot was well written, and the actors were doing a good job.

A door creaked open behind you. Felix and you turned to look at the source.

Felix's roommate, Minho entered the living room. He looked well dressed in a leather jacket and chunky black boots. "Do you think Jisung will like the jacket?", he asked Felix.

"He's gonna love it", Felix replied, smirking.

“Alright, I gotta go”, Minho said, picking up his umbrella and walking to the door. He looked at you. “Sorry we couldn’t talk today, y/n, but have fun with your boyfriend”.

He was already out the door before either of you could protest. Felix looked at you awkwardly before turning back to the TV. Felix was not your boyfriend. And clearly he wasn’t very comfortable being called that. To be fair, neither were you.

“I’m sorry about him”, he sighed. Both of you looked everywhere but each other.

“Don’t be," you said, “ I know people think we’re dating because we’re comfortable with each other and stuff.”

“Right. But hey, you’re my best friend and you always will be.”

You smiled. “You too”.

It was nice being best friends with Felix. Everytime you’ve been this close with someone, they all seemed to expect more. They all seemed to expect romance. But that just didn’t work for you. Romance was weird.

You’re my best friend and you always will be.

Felix wouldn’t mind, would he? Probably not. But what if he’s mad you didn’t tell him yet? What if he thinks you don’t trust him? Or maybe his whole view on you will change and maybe he won’t like you after that. What if that happens?

You’re my best friend and you always will be.

You’re his best friend and you always will be. It’ll be alright. It’ll be harder the longer you wait right?

What if he really will be mad at you though? He’s your best friend, why haven’t you told him yet?

A mere few seconds passed before you shifted off his chest. Felix sat up, sensing your tension. He paused the movie. "Y/N?"

Fuck it. It’s too late to ignore this now. You looked into his eyes before turning away. “I’ve been holding off on telling you something.”

Felix’s voice filled with concern. “Tell me.”

You took a breath, trying to keep yourself from panicking. You were too nervous to look at him. “Minho joked about us being together and I know neither of us see each other in a romantic way, but I just… I don’t know why I haven’t told you this yet. But… it’s not just you. I don’t feel romantic attraction to anyone. I’m aromantic.”

Felix put his hand on your shoulder and moved closer to you. Your thoughts were still racing, your heart rate still high, your breath still shaky. You were still too nervous to look at him.

You kept going, “I haven’t told you this. I know. And I’m sorry. But you’re still my best friend and I hope you don’t think I don’t trust you or something. I love you, okay? I just… I guess I just don’t like coming out. But I just had to today for some reason. I’m sorry if this makes you view me differently.” You thoughts were still racing after you said what you wanted to say. Your hands shook slightly.

And Felix noticed all of that.

He put his hand on top of yours. “Y/N”, he said gently.

You hesitated, then looked at him. His eyes were warm. His smile was understanding - the smile of someone who’s done this before. The smile of someone who’s already dealt with the emotions you were having. He gently pushed your head back onto his chest. “Breathe with me.”

His chest raised as he took a breath. You closed your eyes and took a breath too. He let it out in a few seconds. So did you. He took in another breath.

Felix spoke softly. “Coming out is hard. Even if it’s to someone you love. What you just did there takes so much courage. And I’m so, so proud of you. I love you so much. And our love doesn’t have to be romantic for it to be deep. I love you. And nothing will change that.”

You buried yourself in his chest.

His chest rose and fell with every breath he took. You breathed with him. His heartbeat was calming.

I love you. And nothing will change that.

“Thank you.” you said. “For everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“Felix?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it weird?”, you said quietly, “That we’re always so close together? I really like being with you. And hugging you. And cuddling you. But I won’t do it if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“No. It’s not weird. Not to me. I love this. And we can do this all day long without it meaning anything more than friendship.” Felix gave you a forehead kiss. “Besides,” he said, “What good are best friends if they don’t give you hugs?”

You hugged him tighter. “I love you so much”

“I love you so much too.” His voice was warm and kind and understanding. You didn’t bother holding back the tears.

Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And Lee Felix was the sun, giving you warmth and love and reasons to wake up. Lee Felix was a sweet boy. And the universe was a thing of beauty to let your love shine through.

a/n: this took a really long time to write bc of personal stuff im sorry, but this req made me realize i was aromantic skaskdlkdlk :’D. remember my requests are open so feel free to request stuff from me and i’ll try not to take eight years to do it. take care yall

#felix #felix x reader #felix x male #felix x gender neutral reader #skz x reader #skz x male #skz fics #best friend!felix #best friend fic #felix fluff #aromantic #coming out #coffeeshop au #skz #stray kids #skz fluff

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chxseungyoun · 5 years

Text

lee jeno 《 dial 143 ♡

pairing: reader x cupid! jeno ft. dreamies

genre: au, fluff, supernatural.

words: 6.8K

author’s note: the longest i have written tbh. It took me three weeks to finish this. ;;

Jeno was a junior cupid. See, in the cupid community, before you get to the honorary level of actually matchmaking people, you have to go through some training. Cupids who end up missing the criteria receive grave punishments and that is why Eros, the leader of all cupids decided to implement such training. Jeno was not necessarily fond of the idea of being trained before he could actually do what he was designed for. To him, he much preferred to just go about and help soulmates fall in love with one another but that was just not the case.

He even tried to beg his mentor, Jaehyun, to try and convince the higher ranks to let him skip out on this training. Jaehyun was firm about it however, that it was necessary for all junior cupids to go through it before they become full-pledged cupids. Without seeing a gleam of hope, Jeno just went along with it.

There were numerous trainings offered for junior levels. Some were more for the theoretical practice of matchmaking while the others are more hands on. Jeno was classified for the hands on option by Jaehyun. He always knew that Jeno was popular with his fellow trainees but not as much with actual human beings.

This is why he was sent down to earth to host a radio station which focused on love struggles by the listeners. This was not Jeno’s cup of tea but did he actually have a choice. Luckily enough, the radio station was owned by Jaehyun who just like any other cupid, can take form of a normal human. Meaning without their wings and all that.

Jeno was already dreading having to talk to humans to listen about their dilemmas because he thought that as soon as you had fates met and love arrows shot then your job was done. Apparently, he had more to find about how their job actually works,

To add onto it, Jeno had to work with another human manning the broadcasting station. His name was Jaemin, and he was quite the charmer or so it may seem. All the female staff in the station would literally fall down in a love trance for him. Jeno would only watch at it, if they only knew that this boy already has been doused with a love shot from one of his fellow cupids, Chenle.

“Welcome to the Dream Station! My name’s Jaemin but you can call me Nana.” Jaemin smiled as he offered a hand towards Jeno who reluctantly shook with it.

“Thank you.” Jeno bowed before taking his seat across from Jaemin.

“So this is your first time as a disc jockey, right?” He smiles warmly at the skeptical Jeno.

“Yeah. I never actually expected to be doing this…but here we are.” He responded in half honesty.

Jaemin could see that Jeno was a bit standoffish but he did not take that into offense. He just thought that since this was Jeno’s first that he may be a bit nervous with it. Surprisingly, he was considerate. One of the key points of why females were so attracted to him.

“You know our job isn’t that simple. We have to somehow connect to the hearts of the listeners and sometimes place ourselves in their shoes.” Jaemin noted as Jeno tried to feign like he had been listening. He already knew this from his training so he did not see the need to hear it all over again.

“Sure. Jaehyun—hyung, told me to be your shadow for the mean time.” He tried to say calmly and when he glanced from the other side of the studio, the older male just gave him a thumbs up.

The rest of the hour, Jaemin explained to Jeno the concept of the radio show. They would be receiving calls from the listeners and they would share them secrets and problems that they would need advice with. However, it was a live broadcast as well so you can both listen from the radio station or watch from the internet. He gave Jeno a small warning that he needs to muster his facial expressions so he wouldn’t intimidate the viewers.

“Do I really have to?” Jeno asked as he glanced at the camera that was being set up in front of them.

“Don’t be nervous! With your looks, I think you’ll instantly be liked by the public.” Jaemin smiled as he prepared the script for today’s show.

Then began the show. It had the usual sappy love music being played at the start before Jaemin introduced himself as well as Jeno, as the new member of the station.

You were more of a viewer than a listener so you decided to watch through their website. You could see the amount of heart bubbles floating on the screen when they zoomed in on Jeno. You had to admit that he did look handsome, almost angelic if you were honest. However, your attention had always been focused on the original host of the show, Jaemin.

You two went to school together and lucky enough, he was in almost all your classes. You believed the heavens shined upon you by doing so but the problem is, Jaemin probably only sees you as someone who he would just have to see while he was still in school. You basically had a crush on someone who probably never cared for your existence.

Ring Ring Ring

You were brought back to reality when you heard that familiar tone. It was time for their call segment which was just conveniently named Dial 143 or Dial I Love You. It was one of your favorite parts since you get to see Jaemin’s perspective about love and you can picture yourself being in those situations with him. You knew it was a bit delusional of you to do so but anyone can dream, right?

“Since our DJ Jeno here is a bit new. We’ll have him listen to the usual love struggles first before we let him take on his own call, okay? I hope you guys would understand. I know you all are excited to hear him too.” Jaemin smiled at the camera and you could just feel your heart jump out.

You did not even realize that slight grimace Jeno did when Jaemin spoke. Your attention was all set on the latter.

The show proceeded with Jaemin responding to a problem about a girl falling in love with someone who she cannot have or she was not destined for. Jaemin explained that sometimes, if you work hard, they would be able to notice your efforts too.

As Jeno listened, he could tell that Jaemin did not know a single thing about cupid’s work. Well, how could he when he was just a normal human being. He then interjected in call which caused surprised around the studio. “It doesn’t happen like that.”

“Oh? Then how does it happen?” The intrigued Jaemin asked Jeno.

“When somebody does not fall in love with you the same way you did, then it’s most likely that you didn’t get sh---“ before he could continue the sentence with being shot by an arrow, he saw Jaehyun’s warning look from across the studio. “You didn’t get the right person for you. You are destined for someone who can make you happier. Not just some crush you develop out of physical looks.” He sighed softly and the studio was quiet.

The dry air only got disrupted when they heard a bell. That bell was usually the signal when there is a massive likes received from the online streaming. Jaemin gave the latter a warm smile before glancing at the camera. “You all liked Jeno’s answer, didn’t you? You’re a natural.”

Jeno was about to say something to retort back but decided to hold his tongue. The show went on and Jeno seems to be catching up with the show’s gist. Soon, it ended and the team were reading through the comments. Everybody seems to be delighted by the new addition but only one comment still focused on Jaemin. You were not as easily swayed like the other viewers after all.

“She has always been such a loyal fan of Jaemin. We always thought he had a secret girlfriend because of that.” Jaehyun commented as he gave Jaemin a pat on the shoulder.

“It’s always nice to read some of these but I’m already dating someone. You know that, hyung.” Jaemin grinned at the older male.

Jeno just watched their little exchange of affection and proceeded to read more of the comments. He realized that they actually provided good feedback that can help a cupid perform better and he may have secretly jotted some notes.

With the show ending, Jaehyun decided to take Jeno out for some dinner. He took him to one of his favorite Japanese stores. This was the first time Jeno would get to experience food from the human world and he was slightly thrilled for it.

“They’re better cooks here than in the clouds.” Jaehyun said as he pushed the bowl towards the younger’s direction.

“You’re becoming too human yourself, hyung.” Jeno commented which only garnered a cold silence from the older.

“Jeno.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know cupids can fall for humans too? A rare occurrence, however, still plausible.” He smiled as he watched the younger male give him a confused expression.

“Why is this…important to know?” Jeno asked as he waited for a response.

“You may never know when you will be able to encounter that too. This is more of a warning than just a random fact, Jeno. It’s more difficult not to fall in love with a human…plus, we take heartbreaks worse than humans do.”

“You wouldn’t need to warn me because for sure….

… I will never fall in love with a human being.”

The following days, with Jaehyun’s help, Jeno managed to get into the same school as Jaemin did. Jeno insisted that he preferred to just stay at the radio station but Jaehyun insisted otherwise.

As soon as he stepped foot in the school, everybody crowded around him. It was not surprising that the girls who watched the streams religiously would instantly know who he was.

“You must be the popular new kid!” A foreign exchange student who introduced himself as Renjun approached Jeno. Seeing as he was not threatening to maul over him like the other girls, Jeno decided to keep this person close…for protection.

“This school is wild. Back at home, we just studied and that was about it.” Jeno said as he walked down the hallway with Renjun.

“Well you surely got popular here so maybe that’s why.” The smaller boy mentioned as he looked back at the crowd that was following behind them.

“I don’t want popularity. I just wanna do my job in peace.” Jeno sighed softly. He knew Renjun would assume that it was probably the DJ job, but in fact, he could just feel the tingle of wanting to be the cupid that he was bred to be.

Deep in thought, he failed to notice that he was walking straight into a person. You too had no idea that there were a pair of people walking towards your way since you were so focused on the fanfic you were reading about Jaemin and an original character made by one of your friends.

Being clumsy, you felt yourself being pushed back when you were supported by someone by the waist. When you looked behind you, your whole body froze. You were suddenly in Jaemin’s arms, even if his eyes were far off from you.

“Jeno, you should be careful around the hallways. You end up hitting angels off guard.” Jaemin chuckled as he watched Jeno rubbing his rib where your forehead hit.

“What angel? She was the one who wasn’t looking in front of her.” Jeno glanced at you and even if he was right, you did not want him to be.

“As a guy, you should be the one more careful.” You argued with him, almost forgetting the fact that Jaemin was just right behind you and that he even called you an angel.

“This…is exactly why you’re single.” Jeno sighed and walked off with Renjun trailing behind him.

You huffed loudly at his remarks. Who was he to say that and how would he even know that? You were about to follow about this complete stranger to tell him off when you realized that Jaemin was just watching you with a crooked smile on his face.

“T-thank you for catching me.” You quickly bowed towards him, keeping your head low to avoid further embarrassment.

“No biggie. Sorry, on behalf of Jeno. He can be a bit gruff sometimes…” Jaemin smiled before waving off and heading to another direction.

You could feel your heart thumping hard against your chest. Despite your possible new hate for the new boy, he got you the chance to be able to talk to Jaemin. Now, he probably knows you exist.

The week has gone by and Jeno just got more popular. This was not something he actually enjoyed. Most of his time in school is now spent in him hiding from people whenever he could. It just so happened that when you got to the rooftop of the school to practice on your sketches, he literally held a mop in front of you in defense position.

“Why are you following me?”

“Get a life. You are not my type.” You rolled your eyes at him and went towards your usual spot in the rooftop.

He just watched you with his eyes as he kept a reasonable distance away from you. He just wanted his solemnity and if he had to get it with you at the farthest side, he would take it without any hesitation.

The two of you had a very strange atmosphere. It was a little bit heavy at first but soon, you both forgot one another’s presence and just went by like you were usually accustomed to.

“You know he’s not gonna like you.” Jeno suddenly murmured as he peeked over your shoulder just to see you sketching Jaemin’s side profile.

You were about to flip your sketchbook when you heard his voice but you did not want to throw you art away. When he gave you a confused expression, you decided just to inch away from him.

“Did nobody teach you that it’s rude just to come up behind people?” Your brows were knitted together and he just shrugged.

“Doesn’t change the fact that he’s not gonna like you.” Jeno said as he took a seat a few spaces away from you.

“How would you know?”

“I know.”

“Did he tell you something?” You suddenly turned your attention to him and hr he just shook his head.

“If he didn’t tell you anything, then how would you surely know?” You frowned at his words and closed your sketchbook, getting ready to leave.

“He’s not the one for you.” He simply replied while looking up at the blue skies that hanged over your head.

You stared at him. You expected a harsh insult from him but what he said was more deep than you expected. “How does a person even know if one person is for and not for them?” You asked back in a calmer boy and he just glanced at you.

“Well, it’s fate as you people claim. Sometimes fate goes against your perception but it gifts you with something better.” He said as his attention went back to thye skies.

“You act like you know so much.” You mumbled before looking up at the sky with him. “How can you be both mean and full of wisdom at the same time?” You said blatantly which caught him a bit off guard.

“I’m not mean.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Being honest isn’t being mean.”

“Sometimes, you need to know when you have to hold your tongue and not speak or else you would end up hurting someone.” You told him as you hugged your sketchbook close to your chest.

“I’m not hurting anyone. In fact, I am saving you the time by telling you not to pursue Jaemin when he isn’t destined for you.”

“What are you? Some sort of cupid to dictate how my love life ends up like?” You snickered at him.

“You can say that.” A small smirk tugged on the corner of his lips as he heard your remark.

In your opinion, Jeno could be obnoxious sometimes but he can also be quite attractive. No wonder why he has such a lot of girls fawning over him. Yet, he never seemed to enjoy the attention.

“Are you..gay?” You suddenly asked which made him raise a brow at you.

“If you were hoping for a yes then I am sorry to break it to you, but I am not.”

“Then why do you keep rejecting the girls that keep asking you out? Are none of them the one destined for you?” You asked with the same tone he used on you earlier.

“I’m just not interested.”

“How are you not interested but work at a station for love agendas?” You found the idea quite funny but Jeno was indifferent.

“It wasn’t my choice.”

“Was it destiny’s choice?” You playfully said and he just shook his head but you can tell that that made him laugh a bit.

“You’re not so bad, y/n. Apart from you flunking math…” He teased and you could have sworn, this was the only time he had been kind to you.

“Hey! You’re flunking with me too!” You pointed out the truth about you and Jeno being the lowest in class consecutively.

“I don’t need math in my life.” Jeno commented which you actually agreed to.

“Anyway, you’re not so bad too.” You added before the bell rang to signal that it was time to get back to class. “By the way, today is club sign ups. You might want to join one.”

“Which one are you joining?”

“Cooking as always.” You said before he nodded. “See you around, I guess.”

“Yeah.”

Apart from that one incident, you did not have any other chances to get to talk to him. Maybe once was enough, you wondered. You were together in all classes and since you had different surnames, he was seated somewhere far from you. You never got to group up in projects as well since he always teamed up with Renjun and another foreign exchange student named Lucas.

“You keep on looking towards Jeno.” Your friend, Haechan, pointed out as he whispered.

“I do not.” You glared at him before returning to your joined project with him.

“We can make arrangements, you know.” Haechan then approached Renjun and told him something and you can see Jeno slowly approaching you.

“Hey.” He waved as he took Haechan’s spot right besides you.

“What are you doing?”

“Haechan suddenly said Renjun owed him something hence why they’re partners now and I guess, we’re partners now.”

He glanced down at the paper in front of you and nodded. He then opened his book again to go through all the important notes that he has highlighted.

You felt awkward at first. Jeno was not quite the person who did small talk as a partner. What mattered to him was getting the work done before the bell rang and it was not surprising that you had ten minutes to spare with the speed of your work.

Your eyes then found their way to a certain Na Jaemin. You still could not help but sigh dreamily at the sight of him. He was paired up with one of his closest female friends and they seem to have been enjoying their conversation and you could not but feel jealous at it. You knew you had the slightest chance to end up with him but you still hoped regardless.

“Don’t worry. She isn’t meant for him either.” Jeno said as he noticed you, his eyes watching you curiously. “You already know that you two aren’t destined. Why do you keep on fantasizing about him?”

“Look.” You shot him a sharp glare. “You don’t know that yet and I can like whoever I like. You cannot just dictate for someone to stop their feelings towards a person.”

“Fine. Call the station then. Find out for yourself so you can get your feelings sort out.” Jeno crossed his arms and looked at you. You knew he was posing a challenge and you were very much accepting to that. You were not going to let him win this.

On the next broadcast, you decided to take Jeno’s advice. You queued with numerous viewers just so you can get a chance to be chosen for a call. Luckily enough, Jeno just happened to draw your number.

“Hi…I just wanted to ask about something a certain person told me.” Jeno could easily recognize your voice but decided that Jaemin should take this call.

“Oh sure. What is It about?” Jaemin said with his usual warm voice.

You could feel your voice hitch but decided not to let it show. “Well, someone told me that I was not meant for this guy I like. That even if I like them a lot, that I shouldn’t try because there’s someone else out there better for me.” You began speaking.

You could see a small smile tug on the corner of Jeno’s lips.You were about to snicker but kept in mind that Jaemin was just on the other line. “Do you think he’s right?”

“Well from the sounds of it, I think he likes you. The guy who said that I mean.” Jaemin laughed and you could see the distort on his face.

“What-“ Even Jeno seemed surprised to the viewers who were watching.

“Well, what do you think, Jeno?”

“I think he’s just being honest to her. Isn’t that a good thing?” Jeno leaned back against his chair as he listed to Jaemin.

“Well, that could be, or he could selfishly want her attention on him too. There are two sides to a coin.” Jaemin gave him a cheeky grin and the comments streamed by the chat fast adoring his answer.

For the first time, Jeno did not know how to respond to it. He always had one view of how he acted and to bring such thinking that humans tend to be that selfish took him by surprise. The show ended with him still pondering about Jaemin’s perspective and also how you could have possibly reacted.

It did not once cross your mind that Jeno could have liked you since he always seemed to just be a normal classmate to you. You could not deny that what Jaemin said stirred a little interest in you. What kind of possibility would it be to have Jeno like you?

The following day was calmer for Jeno. After having to hear his response, most of Jeno’s fangirls started fawning over Jaemin instead. Not that Jaemin minded or anything. Jeno was finally able to go around the school without having any intentions on actually just hiding away.

He sat under the shade of an old tree as he closed his eyes to take a short nap. It was until he heard your voice from the distance talking to the few friends you had. He could see how you were in the middle of the trio which he assumed meant that you were the bridge of the friendship. You laughed heartily with them and he could compare your aura to that of the sun. Yet, why would you want to lose all that for someone who would just bring in darkness for you? Maybe that was why he kept on telling you that Jaemin just isn’t the one for you.

“Jeno’s watching you.” One of your friends mentioned.

You turned your head towards the direction they were looking at and they were right about him having his eyes on you. You turned away from them and took a deep breathe.

“Do you think Jaemin is right…?”

“Possibly but I thought Jeno wasn’t into girls, that’s why he rarely asked anyone out…or more like he never.” Your other friend nodded.

“Well he said he wasn’t gay either.” You mentioned at the memory of your past conversation. “Maybe it just so happened that Jaemin didn’t know his co-host said it. He would have probably had a different opinion if he did.” Your friends agreed with one another and just nodded your head.

Jeno surely was mysterious. No action from him can be consistent apart from how blunt he was when it came to people’s emotion. Sometimes, you even doubt if he was human as well. However, you did know for a fact that curiosity kills the cat. If you were too curious about him, that would probably cause problems to arise.

Days would pass and you would line up the station regularly to take part in the queuing, That one chance you got to talk to Jaemin was enough to fuel you to try and get to talk to him again. You and Jeno would avoid one another casually but with the twist of fate, you were now always paired up together by your teachers.

“You two make such a great pair.” The teachers would comment as your work would always earn the highest grades in class. This brought teasing from your classmates saying that you two should probably date.

This would actually cause you to get a little flustered. Not only did you dislike it being with Jeno, but the fact that Jaemin was one of the many who teased you both just panged your heart.

Jeno was also confused why you two were being teased to one another. He never showed any common signs human do when they develop interest. He was starting to feel that he knew less of what he actually already knew about. He knew that the best way he could do so is by asking someone but he also got the hint that it would be too weird to just randomly ask a person how they developed feelings.

He glanced at you as you continued jotting down notes for your pair work. Maybe he could trade information for an offer you could not reject. So he decided to ask you when you two conveniently found one another at the rooftop of the school.

“I wanna know more about how people think regarding love. This is for our station and I thought you could help.” He began as you leaned against the steel barricades of the roof.

“Why would I do that…? That would be exceptionally weird.” You said as you thought about how people would stir things up again once they see you together.

“I’d let you come to the station to watch us live.” He said blankly which made your eyes instantly light up

“Really? Before the show starts and when it starts?” You clasped your fingers together and jerked forward to look up at him.

“Yeah, sure. Only on Fridays though…” He said and you quickly nodded your head.

You knew that you had to meet him every day of the week and only got to see Jaemin once but it was a good deal for your end.

Every day, Jeno and you would head to the library to discuss and then you would take him out to the small shops in the street so he can observe the topics you would have taught him. He seems to have been taking it seriously because he was jotting down notes for each lesson. You got to know him as well and you with him. You found that through Jeno’s cold exterior, he had a unique kindness to him. He always offered for you to go first and if he always had let you choose what snacks to buy when you had your study lessons.

Plus, he kept his word and brought you to the studio every Friday. You would watch him get in the booth with Jaemin and them proceed with the show. You sat next to Jaehyun who was just observing you.

“Are you good friends with Jeno, dear?”

“Oh…I guess…I give him lessons after school.” You gave him a shy smile before looking back at the two.

“I see.” Jaehyun knew that Jeno was the brightest of his batch so why would he ask for lessons from someone when he is fully capable of learning on his own. “Are you perhaps interested in him..?”

“Oh no…”You shook your head and laughed softly. “I can’t be. I am more interested in the other host.” You mumbled as you glanced at Jaemin but his eyes were on Jeno which made your eyes travel towards him too.

Jeno caught glimpse of you looking at him but he quickly looked back to Jaemin and noded to whatever he had been discussing about. Jeno has gotten more comfortable now with the show. Was it because of your help? You wanted to take credit for that but you were just not completely sure if you should.

“He seems to have gotten more cheerful. I might have to thank you for that.” Jaehyun spoke as if he had been reading through your mind.

“What do you mean…?”

“You can say that Jeno isn’t that friendly…or wasn’t. In his old school, he always topped everything but nobody wanted to be friends with an overachiever. Hence why he turned away from…everyone. So seeing how he has a friend like you, maybe that’s what made him break through his cold self as well.”

As you listened, you took a glance at Jeno. That explained why he was so mean before. You did notice that he was nice once people got close enough to him. You smiled at that thought that he finally had friends around him.

“Please take care of him, okay?”

“O-okay..” You did not understand the reason for the talk so you just responded in the way you could best muster up.

The following days, you two just proceeded with the usual schedule. You two had voluntarily paired up now for activities being the two most academically intelligent students, that is. Some people would bring up questions If you two were dating and you would just continuously reject it.

You would catch Jeno watching you sometimes but he then looks off to somewhere else. You couldn’t deny that Jeno was indeed attractive, you wouldn’t even question anyone who would like him since he does have a good personality after all.

However, a part of you warned you not to get any attachments from him. Considering that the main reason you two even hanged out was because of Jaemin. You had hoped that this could bring you two closer even if that meant having Jeno as the bridge.

But it did feel bad considering that Jeno has already reached the close friend status with you.

You were in Jeno’s flat. He apparently lived alone but was being funded by his uncle. He was sprawled all over the carpet while you were on the couch. The two of you were writing a paper about the psychology of a person and it was due on the day to follow. You would glance at him as his eyes remained stuck on the pages of the book he borrow at the library.

He would look at you whenever he felt your eyes on him and would ask if you wanted something. He would instantly get some snacks from the kitchen without waiting for you to respond. You were getting a bit confused on what you were feeling towards the said boy. He was in general, a mystery.

Jeno could not deny the fact that it was as confusing as it was for you with him. He was wondering why he was so comfortable even with your presence. Somehow, even more comfortable when he was with Renjun. There were more confusing moments for him when he would feel an increase in the pace of his heartbeats whenever you would accidentally fall asleep against his shoulder. He would reconsider going to school the next day, thinking he caught some disease and might worsen it if he overexerted himself, but it was never the case.

When he did try to confide about this with Renjun, he would just say that maybe Jeno was developing feelings for you which he found quite impossible. Cupids are not meant to develop feelings for humans or else, there will be a designated punishment for them.

He recalled that one conversation he had with Jaehyun where he asked why he was feeling these strange things whenever he was with you and Jaehyun would just give him a knowing smile. His answer was simple and that had let Jeno hinder any other humanly feelings to reside in him.

If you fall in love with a human, you’ll be punished by being revoked the title of being a cupid.

He glanced back at you. Pondering of the chances that he may be developing feelings for you. Was he willing to give up everything he really wanted? He knew that he wasn’t. Just the same as you would for Jaemin.

One Thursday evening, you were supposed to have a study session with Jeno but he said that he had to pick something up from the studio first. To save time, you had insisted to just go along with him. As you got into the studio, it was different from usual. It was normally well lit and the cold air from the airconditioning system would be blasting. However, since today had no particular schedules, it was empty.

As you two went inside the studio, you came across a sight you had never expected nor wanted to see. Jaemin had his hands cupped on one of the staff’s cheeks and was pressing gentle kisses on her lips. You could feel your head getting heavy from the sight. It was painful but not to the extent that you had imagined it, Jeno was also in shock by it. He knew Jaemin was dating someone but never thought that he’d get to see it. He glanced at you, worried at how your expression had seem to darken. What was he supposed to do..?

Before Jaemin could notice you both, Jeno had already pulled you into an embrace, his head tilting back and his own lips being pressed against your own. Your eyes widened in surprise but he had covered you enough so that when Jaemin turned to your general view, he can only see Jeno kissing you.

You felt your heartbeat rise at the surreal feeling of his lips on your own. It momentarily made you forget about what you had just seen. The kiss lasted only for a few seconds before Jeno pulled away and Jaemin went inside to greet you both.

“Hey, lovebirds. Finally started dating for real, huh?” Jaemin teased as he had his hands clasped on that of his significant other.

“Yeah.” Jeno replied quietly as he tried to avoid looking at you.

“Don’t seem so tensed. I’ll keep it a secret.” Jaemin winked before waving off and leaving with his partner.

Now, it was the moment of truth. Jeno had to turn back to look at you, not sure how you would react. He also wondered why he did it. He knew that his original intention was just to protect you from getting seen hurt by Jaemin but a part of him said that he did it for a different reason. As he turned to look at you, he was surprised by the look you had on your face.

It wasn’t the same pained expression from earlier but confusion was written all over it. He knew he had to somehow explain the reason for why he did it but he couldn’t bring the words to do so. He just looked away and you two kept quiet until you had left the studio and had your study session canceled. He still volunteered to take you home but the walk all the way to your house was just very uneasy. He did not necessarily said goodbye and neither did you. You both probably needed to be alone with your thoughts for now.

The following days in school, a lot of your classmates noticed how you two would barely talk to one another. Jeno would not even spare you a glance. His attention always seemed to have been glued to whatever he was watching outside the window. You wanted to ask him if that kiss meant something or was it just to hide you away from Jaemin that day. Deep inside, you were actually scared of the answer.

Jeno was not having the best time either. With what had concided and his most recent talk with Jaehyun, he knew that he had developed feelings for you. Scared of it would be the best description. He knew how much he wanted to just feel your presence again next to him but he still did not want to lose his title as a cupid. Diving deeper into the punishment, Jaehyun had explained that his wings will get cut off as well. The same way his were when he fell in love with a human. The only way he got to be a cupid again was to continuously serve their world as a teacher until his passing.

Would Jeno be willing to sacrifice that much for you?

Why would he do that when he was not sure of how you felt for him?

The following days remained the same and you both wanted to deny the fact that you missed one another. The viewers seem to have noticed how Jeno seemed very distracted as well. Jaemin would take small chances to ask him what was happening during breaks but Jeno preferred not to talk about it, He kept it all to himself the same way you did.

Days and days passed and still nothing. The school had announced that it will be holding a dance and that partners were not required but encouraged. Jaehyun was one of the sponsors for the event because he claimed that it was something he could do for his two DJs as a token of gratitude.

Jeno would stay at the rooftop to hide away from the female population who wanted him to take them out when he really just wanted one person to go with him. As if right on cue, you entered the rooftop with your books, not wanting to be a part of the commotion with people asking others to be their partners. When you both laid eyes on one another, a part of you wanted to run away but another part of you wanted to run to him and just hug him. You remained stuck in place as if no one wanted to end the moment despite being just what it was. A few distances away from one another, nothing more, nothing less.

It was consuming Jeno more than it probably did for you. He was not human after all and all these emotions were more raw for him than it was for you. As if on instinct, he stood up and went towards you. Cheeks held against his big warm hands, he leaned in to seal your lips with his. You lost grasps of your books as your hands found themselves against his wrists. You wanted this as well but never wanted to admit it.

Jeno knew. He finally knew what he was willing to give up. Everything he had learned from his world, everything he used to aspire to be, those were all nothing to him if you were not a part of his world. He would give up being a cupid if it meant being with you.

During the dance, it was a pleasant surprise for everyone to see you two come in together hand in hand after the long days you two ignored one another. Jaemin lifted his glass towards both of you, happy to see that everything worked out after all. You still did not know Jeno is a cupid, or was one. He had to face his punishment for falling in love with you and that was to be stuck in the human world until a specific time. He would then be given a chance to appeal to the court of cupids to regain his status. Yet, he had confirmed to them that he would prefer to stay as what he is now. A human.

Jaehyun watched as you both danced under the intricate designs of dangling heart streamers. He smiled as he watched Jeno with his eyes smiling with whatever you just had told him before he twirled you. “You were never meant to be a cupid, Jeno. You were meant to be matched to your soulmate.” Jaehyun sighed softly before leaving the scene.

#g: jenoseyesmile #jeno #jeno imagines #jeno imagine #jeno scenario #jeno scenarios #nct dream #nct dream imagines #nct dream imagine #nct dream scenario #nct dream scenarios

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arcaneranger · 5 years

Text

Final Thoughts - Netflix Exclusives 2018

Oh my god you guys, I’m finally done. I’m free from the prison of 2018, just in time to actually finish my premieres for spring of 2019. But first, let’s talk!

2018 was the year that Netflix really went all-in on producing its own anime and picking up some big names, so we saw Devilman Crybaby made specifically for the service and high-profile shows like Dragon Pilot and Hi-Score Girl basically hijacked by the streaming service and delayed for months in the U.S. so that the biggest name in the game could release everything in bingeable packages. Unfortunately, bringing in an auteur like Masaaki Yuasa for Crybaby and throwing all the damn money at him worked so well that, long before any of these shows would even premiere, they decided to seemingly take any anime pitch under the sun, and wound up financing disasters like Hero Mask and B: The Beginning. Really, these shows kind of run the full gamut from garbage to god-tier, with an unfortunate tipping of the scale in the wrong direction. I haven’t gotten to see Ingress yet at the time of publication though, so we’ll have to see whether 2019 will start in a good direction.

ANYWAY.

DROPPED

WORST OF NETFLIX: Back Street Girls -GOKUDOLS-

I still don’t get how anyone thought this was worth promoting. The entire concept is offensive, and yet it was directed by a master and veteran of the medium (who is also a woman), leading me to just throw my hands in the air and resign myself to never having a satisfactory answer for why Netflix would pick this up to begin with. Dropped after 1 episode.

Hero Mask

One of the most incompetently written first episodes I’ve ever seen gave me absolutely no hope that Hero Mask was going to actualize into anything watchable or even average-looking. It was boring and unintelligible. Dropped after 1 episode.

Fate/EXTRA: Last Encore

What the fuck was Akiyuki Shinbo even doing on Fate? Did he do this at the expense of season 3 of March comes in like a lion or something? Probably not, but geez... This seems much more like someone attempting to copy his style than the genuine article, but nope, there’s his director credit. In the end, I suppose that Fate/EXTRA, despite being a very interesting game, was not ever going to be adapted well - the protagonist is almost literally a blank slate for a self-insert of the player, and their servant is also not set in stone - but I kind of would have rather had nothing than this. Dropped after 2 episodes.

SWORDGAI The Animation

Oh hey, yet another “the Animation”, it definitely doesn’t sound pretentious yet. I don’t have much to say on SWORDGAI, or at least not any more than anyone else - it’s stupid, very earnestly stupid, and doesn’t seem aware enough of that fact to be entertaining for more than a hate watch - and my hate plate is full already. Dropped after 1 episode.

Last Hope

I remember almost nothing about Last Hope other than that it was both pretentious and nonsensical, which kind of illustrates why Yoshiyuki Tomino is wise enough to stay out of anything that isn’t his beautiful Gundam baby, and it’s a shame that Kawamori (father of Super Dimensional Fortress Macross) doesn’t stick with what he knows, which is mech design. (No, seriously, he’s got a ton of credits on MAL and they’re almost all for that.) Dropped after 1 episode.

BAKI

Oh, BAKI, it’s okay, you’re a remnant from a different time. That time was right around when Mars of Destruction seemed like a good idea. It’s not that bad so I shouldn’t really mention them in the same sentence, but the hyper-violent imagery of this show is on the level of the Berserk manga. It’s unfortunate that I had to leave it after one episode because Netflix picked up a sequel that relies heavily on your pre-existing investment (just like with the Dragons TV show, for the record). Dropped after 1 episode.

A.I.C.O. Incarnation

I stuck with this one longer than any other that I didn’t drop, but in hindsight I shouldn’t have wasted my time. It’s one of the worst-looking Bones productions I’ve ever seen and the plot is a dumb ripoff of a much better science fiction series. Dropped after six episodes.

B: The Beginning

Probably the biggest waste of money on this list, B has such lavish animation that you can almost forget that you have absolutely no clue what’s happening or what the context of the story even is. It tries really hard to be both Psycho-Pass and Death Note at the same time to the point of cutting between them multiple times per scene, and it just ends up a badly jumbled mess, albeit one with really pretty colors. Dropped after 3 episodes.

Kakegurui

I still don’t have much to say here because the topic has been so thoroughly covered by The Anime Pope, so I’ll resummarize here - this is a show about gambling where the stakes seem utterly meaningless, even though it tries to impress us by showering money on the characters.

Children of the Whales

It’s so pretty, but it’s so boring. Children of the Whales succeeds in looking beautiful, but fails as a story that wants to be grim and apocalyptic but comes across as a soft-hearted small-village story that gets surprisingly violent four episodes in. This should have been the tone from the beginning, and the entire thing needed a good kick in the pants. Dropped after five episodes.

FINISHED

Sirius the Jaeger (6/10)

One that I waited a long time for after seeing the PV at Anime Central last year, and wound up pretty disappointed by in general. It looks nice (...at first), given that P.A. Works at least knows how to make a show visually appealing on a consistent basis, but the plot jumps so far into cliched stupidity by the end that, even though it had a few twists I wasn’t expecting, they couldn’t save it from being something I won’t recommend to anyone with as much anime experience as myself.

Lost Song (7/10)

(Author’s note: Yeah, apparently nobody on all of Tumblr has made a GIF of this one...)

Lost Song was a pleasant surprise that I wasn’t expecting to be invested enough to finish. One of the best of LIDENFILMS’ output, it manages to weave together a decent fantasy Symphogear AU fanfic, with interesting third-act twists peppering the last few episodes that made it memorable despite looking pretty generic. There’s a sequel due this year, too!

Hi Score Girl (7/10)

A very visually distinctive show with a neat concept that didn’t dive far enough into the heavy subjects it brings up, Hi Score Girl sits in a place where I like the presentation of it a lot more than I like the story. Don’t get me wrong, the romance is certainly cute, and I won’t begrudge a love triangle if it’s meant to be the primary conflict of a show, but the fact that it spent most of its last episode setting up for later robbed it of the chance to give us a satisfying place to leave off until the next part of this adaptation. Luckily, it got a second season, hopefully to finish the adaptation later this year.

Forest of Piano (7/10)

A good first try by a fledgling studio, but not one that lives up to what it really wants to be due to some very bad habits. I still distinctly remember the constant character shilling, and it feels like the story could have happened a little faster if not for the breaks every few minutes to heap praise upon the protagonist. Also, the mo-cap piano playing still looks weird. I’ll probably watch the sequel though, to see if it gets concluded well.

Dragon Pilot: Hisone to Masotan (8/10)

I literally just did my write-up for this one, so I don’t have much new to say here, but I’m pleased that Dragon Pilot turned out as well as it did despite not being what I quite expected from it.

Aggretsuko (8/10)

A fantastic and rather unorthodox look at what it’s actually like to be an adult in the Japanese workforce, Aggretsuko was an early darling of the year, and the only things that could have made it better were a more interesting visual presentation and a less squirrelly ending. Shame that the Christmas Special was...not good.

Devilman Crybaby (9/10)

It was so, so good...right up until the end. Yeah, that’s the only thing holding this back from a perfect score - I really, really hate the ending, and it needed to be changed. I know that, for most people, the best show of the year was either this one, or the most conspicuous work that hasn’t yet appeared on this list, though, so…

BEST NETFLIX SHOW OF THE YEAR: Violet Evergarden (10/10)

Oh God, what beautiful cry-porn. I hope that Kyoto Animation was paid well for their best show in years, and I’m kind of shocked that the two shows that made me sob the most this year both came out in the same season (thanks, A Place Further Than the Universe). I won’t spoil more than I did in my original review, but Netflix should be pushing this to literally everyone who would be even casually interested in watching it.

And that’s it! Last but not least, the last list won’t be a roundup of the whole year (since, you know, I’ve already done that in big chunks), but a list of the Class of 2018 Superlatives. Look forward to it!

#arcaneanime #netflix 2018 #violet evergarden #devilman crybaby #aggretsuko #lost song #sirius the jaeger #dragon pilot #hi score girl #forest of piano

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finalrespite · 5 years

Text

Manifestation

(feat. @yunkinko) (theme 1) (theme 2)

From darkness, a line of bright yet sickly light pierced through. This gap widened, as the intense groan of metal followed; an attempt to resist giving away secrets long plunged in shadow.

Finally, however, the gates were thrown wide.

Kharaa stood at the threshold, relaxing her stance upon having pried the doors open until the conceded to her forceful entry. She narrowed her gaze as she attentively peered in; a ramped corridor, descending into a veil that light’s reach quickly tapered off, again to near-pitch black.

“That clinches it. Let us proceed.”

“Oh, well done!” Ai responded, as she came around to flank her friend. “But, um, Miss One— Sorry, uh, Kharaa, I guess— Are you sure about this?”

“Positive. I was bade to return to this place, and since we arrived it has been as if a beacon has been guiding me, beckoning me home. This is it, I am certain.” Kharaa glanced back at Ai. “Ready?”

“Ah, I— yeah…” The girl nodded back, rubbing her hands together. It was then that she thought to reach into her bag and pulled out her magitek bit, giving it a soft toss upward to let it take flight.

In truth, she was more concerned about the fact that they were in the Gamma Quadrant. While this made sense, given its importance in Azys Lla for developing machina, it was nonetheless crawling with Imperial troops. None would take kindly to intruders. Still, Vision One was made— born for these kinds of endeavors, she knew, even while having her in tow. If One had no concerns about the Empire, then she would do her best set aside her own.

“Just stay with me, and permit me to lead. There may yet be hidden security protocols in this facility.” Kharaa followed up, and Ai tried to focus, chakrams ready in reply. With that, the two disappeared into the abyssal hall.

The pair and bit did not walk for long before finding a conspicuous sort of platform in the last dim light. Kharaa stepped forth and knelt to examine it.

“Well, what is it?” Ai inquired.

“An elevator,” The Xaela replied, rising back to her feet. “However it seems it no longer functions… “There appears to be an alternative route. Let’s head that way.” She turned to another threshold - more descending hallway, and they proceeded. Shortly, the last vestiges of ambient light were snuffed out.

“I can’t see for the life of me down here… um, must be great for you, though!” Ai scoffed toward Kharaa, whose striking yellow eyes were unmistakable. She could also make out a certain whirring of mechanisms opposite her…

“Hey, Bit! Lights, please!” Ai reached out unceremoniously tapped her fist against the magitek bit, sending its flight path swerving for a brief moment. Still, in compliance, seconds later did it project a cone of light ahead of them, granting Ai the sight she yearned for.

All sides of the twisting, descending hallway was in that signature Allagan fashion: intricate trails and ridges of copper with interspersed neon, only with no fluorescent glow proceeding them. Being otherwise plunged in silent darkness, it made the path seem all the more claustrophobic and foreboding. There was no telling to its end, it seemed.

Still, to their benefit, they had yet to meet with any lurking threats.

“I sense a change in the air,” Kharaa finally spoke up. “I do surmise the end is near.”

“Um, could you word that a little nicer, Miss Kharaa?” Ai chuckled nervously, only to be stopped and startled by bumping into her bit - hovering in position. Quickly, she took stock of her surroundings; the corridor had opened up to a much larger room.

Ai’s gaze followed the bit as it scanned its light abroad: an array of computers, empty containment vessels and other cryptic machinery filled the room. All seemed to be long untouched, and Ai couldn’t begin to parse what it all did. Her hands hovered beside her chakrams…

“Hm…” Kharaa began to step forward, in slow measured steps. It was then that Ai noticed … a change. The further her friend went, more light seemed to pulse out from those steps, running throughout the room along geometric trails. They almost seemed like echoes made manifest, or the very room was reacting to her approach. As the light grew brighter, a hum followed. And then a flicker.

“U-uh, Miss Kharaa…??” Ai started stepping back until the room came alive. The apparent facility and all of its machines brimmed with neon blues and greens, instilling a sense of awe in both parties.

“Whoa…”

“This really is it, Ai,” Kharaa looked back. “This is where ‘Epitaph’ began.”

“‘Epitaph’...?” Ai mulled that over. “Um, right. That was your weapon. That node?”

“//Epitaph is more than a simple node, child of Allag.” An electronic voice rung out in reply, startling the girl.

“Eep! Um… hello? ‘Child of—’ Well… I guess I am a clone... but what does that make you?”

“Maxie,” Kharaa realized. “That is your voice, am I correct?”

Between the pair, a conspicuous sphere the size of their heads promptly formed and took shape, hovering fulms above the floor.

“//Affirmative,” MX-I responded. “//It has been a while, approximately thirteen moons, not counting for lack of calibration. “//...It is good to be at your side once again.”

Ai looked pleasantly surprised. “Oh! It’s your other node friend! Did she not get crushed too?”

“//At approximately 1900 yalms below ground surface level, yes my original shell was destroyed. However, my software has long been backed up in this facility, allowing me to retain and restore my existence. The same factors applied to Epitaph systems, courtesy of developer C. Veld.”

As Maxie spoke, numerous projected screens filled the air around them, displaying curious imagery and swathes of text in an ancient script..

“Um, this is all… a lot,” Ai rested her hands on her hips. “What is this Epitaph? It saved, er, Miss One too, right?” Kharaa quietly observed.

The ancillary node hovered around them while screens changed and more piled up. “//While significant quantities of data remain corrupt or missing as a result of the Fourth Umbral Calamity, such is certain; Epitaph was an attempt of Allag to create a node-based global network with superior intelligence, based on the highest understanding of technology and aetherochemistry — not unlike the basis for Vision One. The name ‘Epitaph’ would suggest that its creators perhaps foresaw Allag’s ruin in some way or another, and as time would show you, mankind pushes its limits when they believe they are at the brink.

“//It is a system of data that has only been layered on over time, made to evolve, thriving as a vast cloud of information, retaining as much of Allag’s legacy as possible, albeit limited by the ruined state of its infrastructure. Because Vision One has long been synchronized with the Epitaph’s intelligence, their own data — their soul — was also preserved and floated upon the network by which we have a hold; albeit there was nominal control over where or when Vision One would ultimately arrive.”

“Wow... Amazing! That makes sense!” It did, in sooth, not make sense to Ai.

“//Regardless, it was through such coordinated means that One could be reintroduced to a physical form… However, it was always imperative that you find your way here, not only to retrieve a restored processing unit, but to properly reintegrate yourself with our updated drivers. At this point, all that it requires is that you make contact with this node.”

Promptly, a nearby platform seemed to generate a silver sphere, comparable to a giant ball of mercury; not quite solid, not quite holding shape. As it hovered, it took form like another Allagan node.

Kharaa turned to the sphere and stared with a measure of hesitance, before she began to approach it. Ere she had a chance to get too close, however, Maxie chimed in again:

“//It is advised, however, that you momentarily discard any personal effects of organic or chimerical nature before you proceed, as potentially irreparable damage may occur in the process. Epitaph holds no liability for such expenses.”

Kharaa paused, then shrugged gently before beginning to undo her tabard and sashes.

Ai snapped herself out of her moment’s lapse in focus to find the Au Ra nonchalantly pulling off her top--

“Aaii!! Miss O— K-Kharaa?!”

--prompting the young woman to flinch and shield her eyes.

“Hm? Is there a problem?” Kharaa looked back to her flustered friend.

“N-no! No! I’ll just - um - look over here for a bit!” Ai hastily turned away and tried to avert her attention toward anything else; in this case, the number of projected displays at present. Her bit joined her at her side. “Mph..!”

Ai’s eyes darted from screen to screen, trying to make sense of all the various analyses and diagnostics checks. Most of it escaped her, especially since it was all in Ancient Allagan, so she tried to affix on any images that drew her attention. One of them did.

“What’s this…?” The display seemed to shift at intervals to convey a variety of individuals, or perhaps one type of individual with different variants — among them Ai could swear to make out those with semblances to One, both past and present. These were accompanied by streams of code - different from the other Allagan letters but still quite incomprehensible.

Maxie floated over at Ai’s curiosity to single out the display. “//Inquiry acknowledged. Subject reads as project code: SERAPH. A cursory scan of supplementary data infers a possible continuation of the clockwork replicant project that fostered ‘Vision One’. This data, however, is incomplete and offers no indication of having progressed. Probability is reasonably high that no further units would see functionality up to or after the Fourth Umbral Era.”

“Hm…” Ai looked pensive. “That’s so sad... It’d be nice if Miss One had a little family in the realm.”

Kharaa heard this, giving a soft smile at the sentiment. By that point, she had taken off the last of her attire and was ready to go forward.

She sauntered forth, stepping carefully onto the platform and standing before the amorphous sphere. She could only gaze upon it, weighing her own thoughts in doing so.

“Just one thing,” Kharaa said. “I have felt as if the more I know, the less I have been able to grasp in my continued existence. What am I supposed to make of this, exactly?”

“//...You have the right to be here,” Maxie responded, seemingly taking a softer, slightly less formal tone. “What you make of it falls upon you; It is up to every inheritor of Allag’s legacy to decide their place in this world, and what they have to give to it. Nothing else can answer that, not even Epitaph.”

Kharaa furrowed her brow, contemplating for a soft moment. “...You seem different, Maxie.”

“//I could apply the same sentiment to you, Kharaa. Not to mention, I adapted from you.”

The Xaela grinned, point taken. With a small sigh, she reached out and placed her hands on the sphere. To the touch, the malleable metal seemed to harden and then take on a glow.

“//Initializing. Calibration in process.”

Numerous beams of light and esoteric panels of steel accumulated around Kharaa before culminating to gather around a single bright pillar..

“Oh!!” Ai turned back around, taken aback by the sudden illumination. “M-Miss One?”

“//Validating…”

“//Confirming…”

“//Complete.”

The surrounding steel withdrew and the light dispersed, particle by particle, as One stood - eyes opening bright before fading into standard, limbal rings assuming their place. For appearances, One generally remained unchanged as an Au Ra, although in this interim state her body’s panel and joint lines were made visible, bringing awe to Ai. Notable also was that her hair appeared to have withdrawn in length.

“//All systems green. Nominal deviation detected.”

“//Systems check and synchronization complete. Please stand by.”

The android flexed the joints in her hand and looked up. She turned to Ai, somewhat alarmed by how her friend’s gaze looked; piercing eyes almost a life of their own were made even more poignant in contrast to black sclerae. But an assuring smile gave her ease and cause to smile back.

“//Now preparing and initializing supplementary loadout sequence.”

One raised a brow, then looked back down, examining herself as matter seemed to manifest out of nowhere around bare skin, atom by atom, trailing static in their wake. It all felt rather light, actually, like the materializing suit was an extension of herself. A mask on her face was last to form.

“Whoa…” Ai mused. “Um, is this still even Allagan?” She noted that it seemed unlike anything she had seen prior, be it from the Allagans or the Garleans.

“//Your new tactical and special operations rig, a late period design,” Maxie clarified. “You will find that it utilizes a blend of cutting edge nano-tech innovation similar to those in the Vision and Epitaph projects to shift and adapt to your current style protocol. Field testing is highly recommended; feel free to access the database for further information.”

Lastly, a pair of bizarre yet familiar blades appeared in One’s hand.

“//Finally, your renewed core equipment in their ferrofluid-based potential. It will change in shape as necessary, and further battle data has been pre-installed for your usage. Continued combat testing is recommended.”

The node spun in almost an excited manner around the android. “//Orientation briefing complete. Welcome back, Master. Awaiting further query.”

One put her blades away and stepped off the platform. Her full-face visor withdrew as well, seemingly into the suit. Ai approached, gathering her partner’s clothes in the process.

“Um, what now, then?”

One smiled. “...For now let’s leave, and we’ll figure it out from there. One step at a time.”

A series of thuds ensued as if in response, like more machinery firing back up.

“//Central lift is now fully operational. Warning: multiple signatures detected near surface level. Preliminary analysis suggests magitek units of the VIth Legion.”

One crossed her arms and smirked.

“Well, there’s the first step.”

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv rp #writing #drabble #vision one #kharaa #ai #ai deahli

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youcantkillamutant · 6 years

Text

The Mystery of the Golden Fang: Part 2, The Enlightenment

Part 1: The Collision

Author: youcantkillamutant

Fandom: Marvel (Black Panther)

Pairing: Erik Stevens/Killmonger x Black!OC

Summary: A girl stumbles into another world. A baby disappears. A private investigator wonders if this will be the case he can’t solve.

Warnings: Mentions of blood, cursing

Words: 9K

A/N: So…here’s another one of those AU’s that absolutely no one asked for! I only own my original characters of course, Marvel don’t sue me I’m broke.

Listening to: Lightyears by Kimbra, Werewolf Heart by Dead Man’s Bones, Bad Ritual by Timber Timbre, and Blood on My Hands by Danielle Parente

Part 2: The Enlightenment

—l—

When a candle burns, even the wind cannot no undo what has been melted by the fire.

—l—

Earth Stream 947: October 1, 2040

1:02AM

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”

Hazel’s heart had done more than leap out of her chest. For all she knew the organ had departed her body completely, leaving her gasping and holding the hole in her chest. After N’Jadaka had dropped his…fangs, Hazel promptly took three steps back and clutched the baby so tightly she woke up. Now Hazel focused on the baby’s eyes; wide, brown, round, and curious while she tried to breathe through whatever was happening in her body.

N’Jadaka took a few steps back from the human in confusion. Who is this chick? N’Jadaka had never met someone who didn’t know about vamps. And now this girl showed up with a baby and without a clue. He turned to Shuri in question.

“Shu, what the fuck am I supposed to do?”

“Well you have to tell her, especially after that little show of your fangs.”

“Yeah but look at her. She’s having a freaking heart attack. Wait do humans still have those?”

“Yes they do, so just be chill about it. Ease her into it. I’m sure if you present it to her in a rational way she’ll take it well. Probably.”

“Yeah, chill.” N’Jadaka nodded to himself as he mouthed the words again. Chill.

The girl seemed to have calmed down, though she was still taking careful breaths as N’Jadaka approached. He took in her brown skin and broad nose wondering for a moment if she was actually a fairy. He peered around her back for wings, but none appeared, and he resigned himself to having to explain his existence to a human, of all creatures.

“Now, I don’t want you to freak out okay? My cousin and I aren’t going to hurt you.” He approached her short form cautiously.

“Pretty sure those gold fangs beg to differ.” Even terrified and confused, Hazel managed to snark at the stranger. He had just flashed his razor sharp fangs at her.

“That was supposed to be funn––” N’Jadaka threw his arms up in surrender. “Forget it. My cousin and I are vampires, but we won’t––”

“Vampires?!” Hazel’s shriek was enough to startle the baby, but instead of holding a crying baby, suddenly Hazel was holding a whimpering ball of fur. Yelping Hazel squeezed the leather jacket curled around the fur ball tightly. It barked when it fell from Hazel’s arms, and she stumbled back. On the ground was a small jaguar cub; pied and blinking, Hazel couldn’t take her eyes off of it. Luckily, Shuri swept into the conversation.

“Sounds like she’s taking it well.” N’Jadaka curled his lips at the mirth in her voice.

“The kid turned into a jaguar on me! I can’t really keep things ‘chill’ after that.”

“Whatever you say cousin.”

“Wait, wait. You’re saying that baby, turned into that jaguar?” The cub was now playing with Terra, N’Jadaka’s panther familiar. They were a mass of black and golden fur, racing around in circles and nipping at each other’s tails playfully.

“Yep, your kid’s a shifter! Surprise!” Shuri completed the action with a cheesy grin and outstretched fingers while wandering towards the front doors.

“She’s not mine…” Hazel trailed off. She couldn’t find the words, or any words really to describe the hysteria that was going on in her head. Vampire’s are a myth, were a myth up until a few minutes ago.

She’d never thought much of the alley behind The Golden Fang but now she wished she had been smart enough to avoid it. Wherever she was now is proof that that place is not normal. Hazel was tempted to walk outside and see if she would find the same shops across from the club sign, or even walk back to the care center, but something told her that wouldn’t be the case. Hazel had a sinking feeling in her gut that a step out of that door would lead her into a different world.

“You really aren’t from here are you?”

“Where is here, exactly?” caution colored Hazel’s voice as she watched the baby and panther play. Aside from the whole shapeshifter thing, Hazel had never seen any wild animals this close. It was kind of fascinating.

“Metropolis.”

“Like the cartoon?” N’Jadaka couldn’t control his face when he heard the girl’s confused response. She truly didn’t know anything about his world.

“No, its––Haven’t you heard about President Gorya?” The current president was worse than a joke because he took himself seriously, but the rest of the world didn’t. That’s why T’Challa is running. If anyone could make a change, it would be T’Challa. That vamp is too benevolent for his own good.

“Who?”

“What about the Creatures Rights Act?” It was the biggest push from species rights activists at the time and the only bill to pass unanimously. Still, from the look on Hazel’s face, this didn’t ring a bell. The more questions N’Jadaka asked, the more concerned Hazel got. Either this guy was really convincing, or she really is in a different place entirely.

“The what?”

“Tiller Mayhem?” N’Jadaka mentioned the serial killer that had been running rampant, targeting all kinds of low country creatures up until he was caught last year.

“Nothing.”

“Beyoncé?” Shuri had returned from her wandering, slipping back into the conversation with ease.

“Duh! You guys have Beyoncé?” Hazel nearly shouted her response, happy to hear something that finally made sense.

“Yeah she’s the biggest pop vamp in the world.” N’Jadaka could name her last few singles and even knew a few of her songs, but Shuri was the real fan.

“Wait wait, Beyoncé’s a vampire?”

“And a succubus on her mom’s side. What is she in your world?”

“The biggest pop star. A mom. Amazing.”

“She has kids in your world?”

“Yep! A daughter and twins. Blue, Sir and Rumi.” N’Jadaka had heard enough from the girls, and steered the conversation back to answers.

“Back to the original question. Where the hell did you come from and how did you get here?”

“Um, I’m from Ortega,” The blank stares Hazel received from N’Jadaka and Shuri made her even more self conscious. “which apparently doesn’t exist here. As for how I got here…I was on my way home from work and I heard a baby crying.”

“And you just followed the sound?” Hazel could hear the skepticism in N’Jadaka’s voice. She bristled.

“Yes, I followed the sound. I’m not the kind of person to leave a baby in an alleyway.”

“So you find the baby and what?”

“I don’t know. It got a little windy and the next thing I know, you’re walking out for a smoke.”

“Next thing you know? Seriously short stack? That’s the best you’ve got?”

“That’s the truth.”

“Sounds like a load of––” Shuri stopped N’Jadaka before he could belittle the girl further. She didn’t know the human, but no one deserves to be on the end of N’Jadaka’s righteous inquisition.

“Well I’ve got a theory––” N’Jadaka rolled his eyes at his cousin’s statement. He knew all about Shuri’s theories, and as of late they’d become so ridiculous he was getting concerned about her health. Sure she might be the smartest person in the world, but she’s always been one step away from falling down the rabbit hole and onto the Mad Hatters cap. Shuri’s kimoyo beads rang before he could say anything.

Shuri stepped away to answer the call and N’Jadaka returned his attention to the human. She was small, hence the nickname but something about her was big. Currently she was rolling around with Terra and the baby shifter, giggling as they snuggled with her. N’Jadaka wanted to summon Terra back to him with a kiss of his teeth, but he studied the trio instead. In the ten years Terra had been with N’Jadaka she’d always been a good judge of character. She’d sniffed out plenty of shady club goers and warded him away from even shadier business deals. Now the cat was nipping at this girl from another world and purring louder than he’d ever heard.

“N’Jadaka, that was a call from my brother. Nakia’s back. He wants to––

“Have a family dinner.”

“Well we better get packing. What do we do with the…” He gestured to the human and shifter.

“They’re coming with us. Obviously.”

“So you want me to bring an unregistered human and a random shapeshifting kid to family dinner?” N’Jadaka stroked his chin for a second pondering the consequences.

“You know what, that might actually make things interesting. Let’s do it.” Shuri facepalmed before shoving N’Jadaka.

“You always want to make trouble.” N’Jadaka shrugged.

—l—

Earth Stream 245: October 4, 2040

4:15PM

The nearly Ivy League college was as crisp as the orange autumn leaves. Crestbay University was one of the top 5 schools in the country and home to the most advanced psychological in the world. Detective Stevens found himself there after two days of gathering information and hitting brick walls.

“Will do Mrs. Okoye.” The bright eyed student bounced on his toes as Okoye raised her brow.

“Professor Okoye.”

“Oh, right. S—sorry Professor.” Light in their eyes sufficiently dimmed by embarrassment, the student practically ran away, and Erik couldn’t resist teasing his old friend.

“Still scaring the freshmen Professor?”

“When it suits me.” The duo shared a laugh, and Okoye jumped right into questioning her old partner.

“What do you need Erik?”

“It’s about a case.”

“Stevens we aren’t partners anymore. You can’t come to me about this stuff, especially since I know hardly any of your work is above the board.”

“I know but, Okoye it’s…I can’t explain this one.”

“The great Erik Stevens can’t explain something? Color me shocked!” Okoye teased, but Erik stood his ground. In all the time they’d known each other, Erik had never met a smarter woman than Okoye. She was observant and a savant in nearly every subject, which made her such an annoyingly amazing partner when they were on the force. Usually he never bothered to enlist any other help for his cases, preferring to handle everything on his own, but this case has stumped him from the beginning.

Hazel Fay had no reason to run away. According to her coworkers and friends, she was happy as a clam. Sure she worked two jobs, but that was more for experience than out of necessity. She didn’t have any outstanding debts, no enemies or secret vices. She was—is a perfectly normal girl who somehow went missing without a trace.

“How much do you know about alternate dimensions?” Okoye fixed Erik with an incredulous look considering the nature of the question and its complete ridiculousness, but when she saw he was serious Okoye sighed and grabbed her bags.

“Lets get a drink.”

“Oakies?” Erik was referring to the southern bar chain known for their hospitality, sleek bartops and haunting musical acts. Okoye scoffed.

“What do we need to go to a bar chain for? I got whisky in my office.”

“Okay Professor.”

Erik ran over the case again in his mind on their scenic walk to her office.

Hazel goes to work all day at the school and then her night job at the care center. According to her coworkers, there is nothing out of the ordinary, no angry parents of crying kids. She leaves the care center at around 9PM, and begins her walk home to her apartment on Lafayette Street. She pauses right in front of the security camera posted outside of the Golden Fang Bar for exactly forty seconds. Her head is tilted, she is listening to something. Finally she moves, but instead of heading home, she ventures further into the alleyway. She crouched down to the ground, grabbed something and holds it to her chest. When she rises from her knees, she disappears.

“She just vanished. One moment she was there in the alley, and then she picks up some black bundle and poof!” Erik relayed all he had gathered about the case to Okoye in the beautiful brownstone home that had been converted into office spaces for the professors and their assistants. He threw his notes on her desk, giving her a chance to peruse them while he sank into the wood and leather chair that sat in front of her desk.

Okoye gestured to the bottle of whisky that sat in the corner of her desk, procuring a pair of glasses while she studied Erik’s notes. Erik poured a finger for each of them and leaned back. Okoye hadn’t changed her office much since he had last been here. The walls were still the same boring white—or eggshell as he was initially informed. A red and gold tapestry hung on one of the walls, glittering in the sunlight that streamed through the open window of the room. Her wide wooden desk was littered with rhino trinkets, pens, and golden bits and bobs.

“That is…strange. This whole case is…odd.”

“That’s an understatement. Look, Okoye I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t run through every logical possibility. No one at the bar even saw the girl. They’ve got nothing.” Okoye nodded gathering her thoughts on the case. It was strange. The girls in Erik’s cases don’t just disappear without a trace like this. Sure they’re hard to find, but there are breadcrumbs to follow. This video leaves nothing.

“I’m a layman’s physicist in comparison to your connections. You should talk to an actual award-winning one.” Erik knew who she was hinting to, but he played dumb.

“You should talk to Nakia about this.” Erik didn’t shake his head at Okoye’s suggestion, but he didn’t nod either. The last person he wanted to think about was Nakia. Super-spy extraordinaire. Award-winning physicist. The first and only woman to break his heart. The reason he works as hard as he does now.

“She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Maybe, but she can help with this. She would want to, if it helps you find this girl.” Okoye knew this wasn’t the answer he was hoping to find with her, but she was never in the business of biting her tongue to please others. Erik needed help and she didn’t have nearly enough knowledge on the subject he was looking into to give him a useful answer.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Erik slammed back the rest of his whisky, gathered his notes and waved Okoye goodbye.

“See you around Professor?” She smiled, all teeth and mirthful eyes.

“If you can find me Stevens.” Erik rolled his eyes at the jab and pulled out his phone, dialing the most recent number he found for Nakia before the whisky wore off.

—l—

Earth Stream 328: October 7, 2040

2:05PM

“It’s been a week and I still haven’t seen my daughter Harley.” A week. A full seven days of sleepless nights and endless searching for Ayana. Harley didn’t know what was real and what was a dream at this point, but she still kept searching. She conferred with every deity she could get in contact with, wrote every witch within a 100 mile radius, hell she even prayed. Still, Ayana never showed.

“You don’t think I’ve been looking?” Killmonger didn’t know what the witch had been doing since she’d thrown his baby into nowhere and he didn’t give one flying fuck. He’d gone too long without his daughter, too long without hearing her laugh or seeing her gummy smile. Hell he’d even take her teething cries over the silence that filled his house now. But the witch had no leads and he couldn’t find her scent. It was like she just, disappeared.

“It doesn’t seem like you’ve been doing much of anything.” Finally Harley snapped. After a week of his snide comments and shitty treatment, Harley whirled on the Tribal Leader with a snarl.

“Fuck you ‘Monger.” Killmonger twitched, arms reaching out to grab Harley’s neck before the door to the Golden Fang swung open.

“Well, well, well. What’s a guy have to do to get a drink in this shitty little town?” The white man wore a bright white cut adorned with fringe that didn’t deserve to see the light of day and obnoxious gold epithets on his shoulders. A patch of blood and bone was stitched in a jagged line on the back of his leather cut along with an embroidered name: The Poachers. The man wore his bloody cut and his deranged smile like an accessory. He didn’t make it to the bar before the Jags stood, blocking his path to the bar.

“Poacher’s ain’t welcome here.”

“Oh come on boys. I just want a little drink.” The man gave a small grin, revealing yellowed teeth and a few silver caps.

“No.”

“What’s up your ass? Your old lady ain’t doing her job?” The man waved to Harley, and she nearly lunged for the idiot. Killmonger is the last man she’d ever––

“Oh I know what it is! You lost your kid right? Left her with some witch? God, I’ve never met a shifter stupid enough to leave their kid with a witch, but there’s a first time for everything, right?” This time Harley did lunge. The Jags weren’t expecting anyone to break through from the back, and she got a solid punch in before W’Kabi, Erik’s right hand man, pulled her back behind the wall of Jags.

“Out.” Harley examined the blood under her nails, barely recalling the scratch she had gotten in before W’Kabi pulled her off of the Poacher. The man continued to speak, but Harley ripped herself from W’Kabi’s arms. Stomping out of the back door, pushing hard enough to hear it slam into the side of the bar as she made her way out to the dry dirt.

The Vibranium Babes had a bar just across the street, and Harley stomped her way to the bar. The bar was more of a club in the sense that it was always a little dark and had way too much chrome for a tiny town in the mountains, but Harley liked it. The music they played was a mix of bass electric and bubblegum pop that made her want to bob her head and grin at the same time. Ayana used to love walking by here on the way back to the Golden Fang. That thought was enough to sober Harley and she pushed her way to to back of the club where Shuri’s office sat.

The door glowed purple from the inside out but Harley couldn’t hear a sound. She knocked just below the sign that read: ‘Boss Babe’ and pressed her hand to the door as she waited. She tried to use the cool metal to calm herself and focus her energy. Right now, her powers were going haywire because every single thing she had built for herself in this town was going haywire. Even before she became Harley, Harley couldn’t remember a time where she felt so hopeless. Killmonger hated her even more, and Ayana wasn’t there to soften the blow. As she recalled his words, each one hurt a little more.

“Harley? Come in.” Shuri got one look at the girl and pulled her into her office. She guided them both to a plush purple couch sitting beside her and tossing Harley a pillow to hug. She latched onto it immediately.

“Shuri, I need to do a spell.”

“Harley spell working is too dangerous—” Harley knew spell working was dangerous. She knew every risk from growing addicted to perils of white magic to growing three extra arms and an antenna. None of that mattered. Or the risk was worth it all. Ayana had become everything to Harley, and the longer she was away, the tighter the noose squeezed around her heart.

“I don’t give a fuck Shuri. I have to do something. I have to find her!” Shuri inhaled and held Harley’s gaze. On a good day, Shuri wouldn’t never even begin to entertain the idea of spell working. Ritual magic and energy flow are the safest options for a witch like Harley, but those take time. Time that Shuri could tell they were running out of. Killmonger would lose what little patience he had, and even Shuri couldn’t guarantee Harley’s safety then. On the exhale, she relented.

“We need to go see Oma.”

—l—

Earth Stream 947: October 8, 2040

5:09AM

“I’m just saying her presence proves my theory that multidimensional travel is possible!”

“Shuri, I love you, I do, but her presence proves nothing. What if she just has amnesia or something?”

“How many humans have you seen walking around unchipped and unregistered? And when’s the last time you ran into a jaguar shifter? You know I’m right N’Jadaka.”

“I know a lot of things, but that ain’t it.”

Hazel Fay was amazed to learn not only that vampires existed in whatever world she stumbled into but that they can walk in the sunlight without problem. Though most of them tended to be nocturnal, apparently they travelled in the daytime. Hazel and the baby, which she had taken to calling ‘Bug’ where ushered into a sleek black car by N’Jadaka and Shuri. Upon entering, the car released a mist of something Hazel couldn’t quite place, and then N’Jadaka and Shuri were back with suitcases packed, Terra climbing into the backseat with Hazel and Bug as they set off to…wherever they were going.

N’Jadaka and Shuri have been bickering ever since from the front seat. In an instant it dawned on Hazel that she should have never gotten into the car. Hell she probably shouldn’t have said anything to these vampires at all. Hazel whipped her phone out of her pocket, frantically pressing the home button, but nothing appeared. Either it was dead, or it didn’t work in whatever world she was in right now. Hazel only had a moment to panic before her mouth whizzed past her brain.

“Where the hell are you taking us?”

“T’Challa’s house.” N’Jadaka sighed in annoyance, though he was happy to get some entertainment from the human. He was beginning to wonder if she had fallen mute.

“Which is where?” Hazel did her best to remain polite, she really did, but vampire or not this guy is an asshole.

“Considering you don’t even know where Metropolis is, I doubt you’re going to know where to find Wakanda.”

“Then show me. I’m sure it’s not that difficult.” Hazel was one snarky word away from flicking the back of N’Jadaka’s ear no matter the consequences.

“She has a point cousin.” In an instant, the entire front seat turned to face Hazel, the baby, and Terra. N’Jadaka looked sufficiently annoyed and Hazel was beginning to wonder if that was just his face. Shuri on the other hand had her left wrist outstretched, a bracelet of thick black beads emitting a soft blue light.

“This is our travel plan.” An image of a map projected from Shuri’s bracelet this time, bright, blue and bold. Hazel could see a continent that looked to be like Africa, but the States, or what was the States in her world, was all messed up. The east coast ended where Virginia might have been, Florida was completely gone, and the midwest had become and island somehow.

“We started in Metropolis, obviously. And we’re headed to Wakanda the second largest vamp city in the world. It’s in Cafria, just about 5,000 miles east.” Shuri pointed out Metropolis, which looked to be where New York city would have been in Hazel’s world. then she pointed out Africa, or ‘Cafria’ as it was called here, as their destination.

“How long will it take?”

“A couple of days give or take. As long as the weather holds we should be fine.” Shuri waved off the weather like it was nothing and pulled out a piece of small circular technology. She leaned forward towards Hazel and held it up to the window. Hazel’s eyes widened at the invasion of personal space, but she couldn’t stop herself from looking at Shuri’s eyes. they were yellow and orange, like flecks of fire dancing from a flame. Chagrinned, Shuri directed her attention to Hazel.

“Do you mind if I plug this in? I want to charge my kimoyo beads before the flight.” Hazel shrugged and watched the girl place the tech onto the window. It only took a second to pulse blue and then it began to hum. The sound was nearly silent, but Hazel watched in awe as Shuri pulled off her bracelet and held it to the tech. The bracelet latched on like a magnet and Shuri leaned back, pulling down the shade by her face. Self driving cars and solar power. To Hazel this was more futuristic than she expected for another world.

“Solar charger. It’s my newest prototype. Adding the magnet is always tricky with everything else going on in there, but I think it’ll hold.” Shuri explained when she saw the look on Hazel’s face and again wondered where in the universe this girl came from. She very clearly wasn’t a part of their world, despite what N’Jadaka might think. This girl wasn’t meant to be a part of their world and it’s only a matter of time before fate pulls her back to wherever she truly needs to be. Shuri wanted to be the one to see her back to her world and maybe even get a glimpse of it in the process.

Hazel nodded gratefully at the explanation and watched Shuri lean back in her seat again. She watched as the girl closed her eyes, and watched even closer as her breathing evened out. As far as she knew vampires don’t just sleep in the open, so Hazel had to wonder what the hell she was doing.

“You staring at my cousin pretty hard. You into her or something?” Hazel whipped a side-eye at N’Jadaka. Sure the girl was cute and they looked to be around the same age, but as of right now, she was in another world. The last thing she’s focused on are prospective partners.

“No. It’s just…In my world, Vampires only sleep in coffins. Or upside down. And they can’t go out in the sunlight either.”

“The vampires in your world sound like pussies.”

“Yeah well it’s not like they’re real anyways. At least not in my world.”

“You’re serious about that? No vampires in your world?”

“No magical creatures at all. Why?”

“I don’t know, I just can’t imagine a world without us, and creatures like us. I mean sure I could do without the Stokers, but compared to the fae, they aren’t so bad.” Hazel’s brain spun at the mention of fae and a world with magical creatures before her mind caught on a question.

“Stokers?”

“Yeah the European vampire assholes that love to try and gentrify anything they deem ‘in desperate need of repair’. Those are the ones that can barely tolerate the sunlight, though they still bring their undead asses out on occasion.”

“Wait, there are different types of vampires?”

“Not genealogically, for the most part we’re the same, these are just our…cultural differences.” Hazel raised her brows in an effort to get him to elaborate and after a moment of annoyance that he had to explain anything at all, N’Jadaka relented.

“Okay so, you’ve got the Stokers––”

“European assholes.” Hazel covered the baby’s ears as she said the last word, even though Bug was fast asleep. N’Jadaka almost smiled.

“Right. Then the succoyants. They came from the islands and pretty much dominate the south nowadays. And lastly you’ve got The Adize. My people. We came from Wakanda, and all over Cafria.” Hazel heard the pride in N’Jadaka’s voice.

“So what makes you special?”

“Well, in our legends, we turn into fireflies. We dance along the plains, flying free until we need to feed. Then we can fall into whatever form suits us best and…eat.” N’Jadaka leaned closer to Hazel as he told the story, laughing a little when she jumped at his final words. She was easy to scare. He tried to get a whiff of her scent, but remembered the scent blockers they’d doused her and the baby with. She’d have to remain a mystery.

They pulled up to the tarmac smoothly, Shuri jolting out of sleep the second the car stopped. Hazel peered out the window taking in the small, sleek black jet. It was the only plane on the blacktop and for the first time Hazel wondered just who she was traveling with. Peeking down at baby Bug, she was happy to see the kid was still fast asleep. Terra was too, and she didn’t envy N’Jadaka having to wake her up to get her on the plane.

“This is us.”

“Are you guys rich or something?” Shuri laughed and turned to N’Jadaka, gracefully twirling out of the car and towards the jet.

“You want to handle that one cousin?”

“We’re comfortable.” N’Jadaka shrugged under her scrutiny, then shook himself and sat taller. No human is going to make him feel any type of way about his money. Hazel couldn’t stop digging.

“How comfortable?”

“Let’s just say, Wakanda treats us like kings.”

“So you’re what? Vampire royalty?” Hazel watched N’Jadaka shrug his answer with rapt attention. He was being way too casual about this for it to mean nothing.

“Of a sort. My father was a prince. We tend to live in an…elevated economic status than some of the other vamps.” Hazel couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. Not that N’Jadaka noticed, he was busy checking the flight plan on his kimoyo beads.

“Now I know you’re royalty.”

“Why?”

“Because when you talk about certain ‘economic circumstances’ you sound like a media trained asshat.” Hazel’s hands went right over Bug’s ears again.

“Charming.” N’Jadaka stopped Hazel’s questioning with a sneer. He’d be damned, well even more damned than he already is, before they messed up their flight plan. He hefted Terra over his shoulder and nodded to the attendants. They grabbed the luggage and hurried to the plane as Hazel scrambled out of the car, baby in her arms.

“Please tell me you know what a plane is.” Hazel rolled her eyes at N’Jadaka’s condescension.

“Oh fuck off.” Of course, that’s when Bug decided to wake up.

—l—

Earth Stream 245: October 8, 2040

9:22AM

“Kia.”

Erik was surprised that the phone only rang once after he finally mustered up the courage to call. Nakia’s voice hit him like a hurricane, strong and quick and biting. It took him four days to make this call, and he wasn’t proud of it. Erik had never been anything but bitterly independent, but when Okoye couldn’t help him and he spent another few hours beating his head against the wall and watching a tape that made no logical sense, he gave in and called.

“I told you to stop calling me that E.” Her words wore annoyed but Erik could hear the smile creeping through her voice. He grinned into his own response.

“And I told you to stop calling me that.” The line was silent after that, and Erik remembered why they had stopped talking. They had never been a great match, but convenience makes fools of us all. Not to mention their family history.

“Why are you calling me Erik? I thought––” He didn’t have the hear the rest of the sentence to know how it was going to end. I thought I made everything clear the day you lowered my father into the ground. Erik knew he shouldn’t have called. Hell, he hated that he needed her help, but Jules Fay had called everyday since she first came to his office, and Erik was sick of filling her with non-answers and disappointment.

“I need your help. It’s about a girl.”

“Seriously?” Erik cringed at her tone, sharpened to a point he couldn’t stand.

“A missing girl. I think she’s in another dimension.” Nakia didn’t laugh or call him crazy, but he didn’t expect her to. She’s not that kind of person. She’s too smart to pass judgement without analyzing all of the factors.

“Why do you think that?”

“She’s just disappeared without a trace Nakia. She’s not like you, she couldn’t have done this. She’s got no priors, no secret lovers, no enemies. She volunteers on the weekends and works with kids night and day.”

“She sounds like a saint.” Nakia was intrigued. She’d worked plenty of missions that involved finding people that couldn’t be found, but in her research, she’d never come across something like this without a clear explanation. She could understand why Erik was stumped.

“Exactly. There is no reason she would have been targeted. No reason for her to be taken.”

“People are crazy.” Nakia offered this up delicately, knowing the answer wasn’t in her words but giving them anyway to fill the silence.

“There was no one in or around that alley Nakia. She’s just…gone.” Nakia hesitated. Erik sounded weary. Erik Stevens was never anything but resolute and elegant, but now, he was weary.

“Send me the tape.” Erik’s breath crackled over the line.

“Thank you.”

“I’m not promising anything.”

“I know.” Erik went to pull the phone from his face, but Nakia stopped him.

“And Erik? If this is an impossible case, you need to stay open to all possibilities.”

—l—

Earth Stream 947: October 10, 2040

3:27PM

Cafria is hot. Hotter than any place Hazel has ever experienced. It’s a crisp, dry heat that made her want to moisturize every five minutes. Her fingers swelled the second she stepped off of the plane and her phone burned a hole in her pocket. N’Jadaka and Shuri didn’t seem to share her sentiments. They waltzed off of the private jet with grins to rival a crocodile’s and they stretched like cats in the sun. Their eyes looked more gold than brown in this place, and the pair thrummed with a new kind of energy. Something magical, like they could become anything at any second, and no person or thing would be able to stop them.

After boarding yet another private plane to Wakanda, the quintet landed quickly and made their way into a private limo. Or what Hazel assumed was a limo in this place. It was just as sleek and black as anything in Metropolis, and Hazel pressed her nose against the window to watch the world fly by. Luxurious lakes reflected the pristine blue sky, and that soon gave way to rolling verdant hills with elegant horses galloping through them. By the time they reached the gate, Hazel had to sit back in her seat. Dazed and glutted by the beauty of this place called Wakanda.

At the gate, Shuri mumbled a few words in a language Hazel couldn’t understand and the wrought vibranium gates slid open. N’Jadaka studied this human take in the opulence of the estate. The car glided to a stop and the group made their way out of the car quickly. Hazel, clutched Bug in one arm and the other was free to feel the Wakandan air. Palm fronds of every shape and size enveloped the entryway and N’Jadaka watched as the girl reach out and touch them. She rubbed them between her fingers like she’d never seen a tree before, and once again he had to wonder just where she came from.

T’Challa and Nakia, the Scientist and the Spy stood together, looking just as picturesque as their palatial home. Smiles were plastered on their beautiful black faces, and they almost looked normal, human. All it took was another glance for Hazel to reconsider that thought. Golden eyes glittered like jewels in flawless faces and Hazel slowed her approach, falling behind N’Jadaka and Shuri.

“Sister,” The tall man pulled Shuri into a hug while the woman watched on. Then he turned his attention onto N’Jadaka. “Cousin.”

“Wassup?” N’Jadaka nodded and went for a handshake, finally revealing Hazel, who stood with Bug in her arms while Terra purred at her feet, tail flickering around her ankles. The lean man pulled his face into a judgmental visage of furrowed brows and downturned lips. Hazel didn’t bother waving, instead taking in the grandiose foyer. Dark wood melted into gleaming tile and mirrors reflected the setting sun through the tall french windows.

“This is not a BYOH cousin. We have plenty of blood for––” Shuri shoved T’Challa on the shoulder and though his face conveyed brotherly annoyance, he stood rooted to the spot.

“She is not a blood bag brother. She is proof!”

“Proof?” Hazel never thought someone could raise their eyebrow wearily, but here she was, seeing it happen. Maybe it’s a vampire thing.

“Yes, they are proof that multidimensional travel is possible.” N’Jadaka face palmed while T’Challa sighed. He should have known by now to remain unsurprised by Shuri’s…hypotheses, but he still hasn’t mastered complete control of his reactions. Still, this is better than when Shuri designed that––T’Challa stopped himself before he walked too far down memory lane.

“Why don’t you all come inside and we can talk over breakfast?” Nakia finally spoke, voice even and only slightly commanding. As though her word was law, T’Challa nodded and followed her into the house. The trio followed suit, Hazel gripping Bug a touch tighter than necessary.

The hallways were painted blue laced in gold trimmings and peppered with greenery. Hazel couldn’t imagine living in a place this pristine. Paintings hung from the walls and silvery glimmering busts stood in the corners. It was like walking through a museum. After what felt like a mile long walk to Hazel, the group made it to the dining room. Terra darted to a silvery bowl filled to the bring with wet food and the rest of them took their seats.

Hazel sat Bug up in her lap, waving away the highchair Nakia offered. She felt safer with the baby in her arms. Even if said baby could turn into a jaguar. The table was laden with all manner of breakfast foods. Sausage and bacon and eggs and pancakes steamed from their places on the table, but Hazel caught sight of something else. Pastries were piled high on three trays to the right of her. Perfectly laminated croissants, fluffy muffins, and glossy danishes filled to the brim with bright fruits beckoned her to take a bite, but N’Jadaka stopped her before she could reach for one.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” N’Jadaka had been watching the girl through all of this, and he had to admit he was impressed. Most humans would have run away screaming if the T’Challa Udaku had referred to them as a blood bag, but this girl…Hazel, didn’t seem to know what the hell we were talking about at all. It wasn’t necessarily refreshing, but it was interesting.

“Why not? I’m starving” Hazel nearly bit N’Jadaka’s hand off of her shoulder. She hadn’t eaten since…There had been snacks on the plane, but she’s hadn’t had a real meal since she was back home. Before she came to this world, she had plans to make soups all weekend and freeze them for the months to come. Now Hazel wondered if she’s ever get home again.

“Some of the ingredients might not sit well with you.” N’Jadaka had seen human get sick from eating their food, and he didn’t need to see it again.

“Which ingredients?”

“The blood mostly.” Hazel balked and N’Jadaka barked out a laugh. Now that he mentioned it, Hazel could see the pastries had a slightly pink tinge to them. She pulled her hands back into her lap and let Bug play with them for a bit while she tried to reason with her grumbling stomach.

As if she could read her mind, or hear her stomach, Nakia placed a plate in from of Hazel. It was piled high with fruits and bagels without a bloody tint to them. Hazel gazed up to find herself captured by golden irises as she thanked the woman. Nakia nodded with a small smile, happy that N’Jadaka brought a human with manners this time.

“So, who exactly are you?” Nakia said this after she was seated next to T’Challa. Her tone was kind but her brow was raised high enough to make Hazel want to curl in on herself.

“My name is Hazel Fay. I’m from a town named Ortega, which apparently doesn’t exist here.” Of all the things Hazel couldn’t wrap her head around in the this place, the fact that she was no longer home was the hardest. In fact, home doesn’t exist, or never did exist in this place. According to Shuri and N’Jadaka.

“N’Jadaka found her in the alley of the Golden Fang. With a baby shifter. On a full moon.” Shuri’s emphasis on her last few words made Hazel wonder just how much she was missing, but everyone else at the table looked just was clueless as she felt. Bug wiggled in her arms, reaching for the plate in front of her. Hazel pulled the muffin into bits and handed them to Bug, happy to see the baby eating without problem. The last thing Hazel wants to worry about was a baby who wouldn’t eat.

“And you just appeared here?”

“Yes Nakia! Her presence here is a matter of the divine. Bast herself brought her to us, for some…reason.” Shuri said all this with excitement, but N’Jadaka couldn’t resist a snort. He loved his cousin, but sometimes she let her scientific ideals blind her to reality. This human still hasn’t proven much of anything yet.

“We still don’t have proof that she isn’t from our…world.”

“And that’s where you come in, Brother.” SHuri turned to T’Challa with a grin.

“What is the perfect candidate going to do to prove your theory Shuri?” N’Jadaka’s voice was teasing and Shuri rolled her eyes. T’Challa and Nakia watched on in silence, apparently used to this kind of thing.

“Aside from being the perfect presidential candidate, my brother is a scientist too.” After relaying this information to Hazel, Shuri turned to N’Jadaka with a childish sneer.

“T’Challa is going to scan her and ensure she isn’t in the system. She won’t be, but until N’Jadaka gets his head out of his A-S-S and learns to trust me, we’ll have to waste time.” The man in question rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Hazel was grateful that Shuri spelled out the curse word and couldn’t help but giggle a bit at their interaction. T’Challa on the other hand took charge. He turned Hazel to face him and raised his arm.

“I suppose a retina scan cannot hurt.” T’Challa pressed a finger to his kimoyo beads and a thin blue bar moved over Hazel’s eyes before she could blink.

“Brother just scanned your eyes and is running them through the system. Every creature in or world is registered from the moment of their creation, though only certain beings have access to certain databanks. As a high ranking vampire official, T’Challa has access to everything.” Shuri finished her spiel with a prideful wave, but Hazel could only nod slowly. Just as she thought she was getting the hang of this world, something new popped up. There was a quiet rumbling sound, like the bead was calculating before it released a long beep.

“No Record…”

“Ha! No record, which means she is not from our world because every human in our world is registered. It is impossible not to be.” N’Jadaka huffed when Shuri turned to him with her hands on her hip and a smirk to rival his own.

“Fine Shuri, you were right.”

“If she isn’t from this world, how did she get here in the first place?” Nakia asked this quietly leaning back in her chair as she observed the scene. T’Challa and Nakia had always encouraged Shuri’s natural curiosity, but she couldn’t help but wonder if this was the hypothesis that would get her in trouble that they couldn’t get her out of. She prayed to Bast that that day would never come, but looking at this unregistered human had her heightened senses on alert.

“And how do I get back?”

—l—

Earth Stream 328: October 11, 2040

5:12PM

Four days. Harley has been hiking for four days. Four days in the Calawuga heat, marching on the hardened soil in barely broken in boots. All to see the mystical Oma. Whoever the fuck that is. To be fair, Harley had a vague inclination of who Oma is; a mountain witch with ties to the Great Gorilla tribe. That’s as much as she knew off hand, and after four days of hiking with Shuri, her curiosity won out over her pride.

“So, why exactly are we going to see Oma?”

“She’s the Queen of the Great Gorilla Tribe.” Shuri said this like it was common knowledge, which in part is was. The Great Gorilla’s kept to themselves for the most part, but the town knew their hierarchy. M’Baku was king and his Queen, Oma was the most powerful witch in the town. The only reason Harley hadn’t gone to Oma in the first place is because of the falling out Killmonger had with M’Baku when he decided to marry Oma. The man hates witches so much, he let it ruin his best friendship.

“And?”

“Seriously? You don’t know?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be asking.” Harley’s annoyance seeped into every word but Shuri shook her head.

“Aside form being a crazy powerful witch, she’s one of the only witches who’s messed with spell work and white magic. Well, one of the only ones who’s lived to tell the tale.” Harley was impressed to say the least. She’d never even bothered with withe magic, the idea of it was more than enough to put her off. White magic or spirit magic in some circles, is more than dangerous. It’s a brush with death. Speaking to the dead is almost always more trouble than it’s worth and Harley never needed the power that came with that kind of magic. That is, until now.

“I can’t believe Monger didn’t tell you.”

“It’s not like he’s my biggest fan Shuri.” Shuri snorted, but in a way that challenged Harley’s statement.

“Shuri, the man hates me.”

“He really doesn’t. He’s just––” They heard the vocalizations before Shuri could get another word out. In a minute, they were surrounded.

Queen Oma of the Great Gorilla Tribe lives deep in the Calawat mountain range. A four day hike will get you to the boarders of her land, but it will take another six hours by foot. Maybe seven if you’re surrounded by an elite force of Calawugan warriors. When the pair were initially surrounded, Harley began sizing up her opponents. They were big, and fierce, but Harley thought with the right amount focus, she could take them. Shuri stopped her before it could come to that, speaking to the warriors in their native tongue, promising them that the duo meant no harm and only requested an audience with the Queen.

They were brought to the palace, a wooden masterpiece that sat on the second highest peak in the mountain. The highest peak was reserved for Hanuman of course, their Gorilla headed god. The halls of the palace were light and open, far from the fortresses of the tribal bars back in town, and Harley marveled at how deeply she could breath the mountain air. It had been a while since she had taken a breath not filled with the scent of smoke and booze.

Their audience with the queen was granted after a moment of waiting and they followed their craven of warriors into an octagonal room. In each wall rested a window and above, the ceiling fell away to nothing in the middle. It was reminiscent of a roman atrium pillars, wooden instead of stone, and the ground paved smooth.

“Queen Oma, we thank you for meeting with us.” The King was nowhere to be found but taking in the woman Shuri called queen, she didn’t find that strange at all.

Queen Oma stood tall on a rug woven with fresh palm leaves and a crown resting on her head. Small skulls the size of Harley’s palm dangled from the regent’s ears and she granted Shuri a closed lipped smile.

“Shuri, I trust this is important. It is nearing the end of hunting season you know.”

“It is Queen Oma.” Harley was surprised to hear that Shuri never dropped the title of Queen with Oma. Shuri would grant anyone else a ridiculous nickname, but with the Queen, it was only respect.

“My friend and I,” Shuri waved to Harley, and Harley curtsied for lack of better ideas on how best to show respect. “we need your advice spell working.” In an instant, Queen Oma turned her gaze to Harley.

“You want to do spell work? Why?” Bright brown eyes captivated Harley, causing her to scramble for words while Shuri nudged her arm.

“My…” Harley reached for the words to best describe what Ayana was to her, and then decided to avoid that rabbit hole completely.

“I need to find someone. She’s disappeared.”

“And you think spell working will help you? Why?”

“I––I don’t know what else to try.”

“Scrying.” Harley knew what scrying was, a certain type of meditation witches could use to see the future. Harley also knew that she couldn’t do it.

“My energy isn’t particularly inclined towards premonition.”

“It’s a good thing that scrying isn’t solely for premonition then isn’t it?” With a nod, Oma had the room cleared. Only Shuri, Harley and Oma stood in that large rotunda.

The night sky loomed overhead, stars winking into existence here and there. Scraping sounded from the right and before Harley could fall into a defensive position at the sudden sound, Oma stopped her with a hand. Oma strolled to the side of the room, scooping up a large bowl that had been slid into the room from outside and brought it to the center of the room. She placed it on the dais that sat there under the dark sky and gestured for me to look into it.

“I really don’t know how to do this.”

“I will guide you. Now look.”

With a deep breath, Harley turned her gaze downwards, into the bowl. There was a dark liquid in the bowl, still settling from movement. It was so dark Harley could see the whites of her eyes reflected in it, her brown skin finding highlights in the shimmering fluid.

“Concentrate on who you want to see. Not how she was or how she might be, but how she is, in this very moment.”

Harley concentrated. She bit her lip and squinted her eyes. She held her breath and scratched her neck. All of this, and she saw nothing.

“It’s not working.”

“That is because you do not believe it will work. You do not believe your energy will let you see anything outside of your realm of knowledge. You must expand your mind, your energy. Use everything you have to reach out, to see her, to find her.”

Harley forced herself to take Oma’s words seriously. Sure she’s never done this before, but until now, no witch had ever told Harley that she didn’t have the power to do something magical. That she didn’t believe in her energy. Harley knew how powerful she was. Powerful enough to frighten all of her neighbors and classmates with a single glance. Powerful enough to bring down the electricity for her entire city, and bring it back up again. Harley knew power, knew energy, she just wasn’t sure how to wield it.

So she buckled down. She closed her eyes for a breath, and on the exhale opened them slowly. As she raise her eyelids, she could see flecks of energy that flickered around the room. Aura’s could be tricky to see, but on nights like these, dark and clear, she couldn’t help but see them. Shuri’s blazed bright purple, and Oma’s was and emerald green, but Harley was searching for her own. Blue like the inner flame of a fire. She caught a glimpse of it, sitting right beside the bowl. Concentrate on expanding your energy.

For a moment, Harley wasn’t quite sure what to do. She’d found her energy, but controlling it was another thing entirely. Before she could spiral into any sort of despair, she asked her energy to move. To stretch and seek out Ayana, to find her fuschia energy wherever it might be. Harley watched as her energy pulsed brightly, then began to move, flitting around like a firefly. Then, just as she thought she might be going crazy, an image flickered in the bowl.

It was a girl. A girl who looked like Harley before she shaved the sides of her head and got more piercings than she could count. They had the same hickory skin, the same brown eyes, and the same wide nose. For a moment Harley thought the girl was her, that she had messed up and summoned an image of the past, but then she saw Ayana. The baby girl, her baby girl was cuddled up in her Golden Jag cut, snuffling into the neck of the girl who looked so much like Harley. Then another woman, draped in black walked into the frame of the bowl. Her eyes echoed Harley’s own, and Harley couldn’t keep herself from jumping in surprise.

Her movement was enough to shake the bowl and knock her out of focus, but when she looked up, Harley relief curved her lips into a smile.

“She’s alive.”

A/N: Soooooooo we’re getting a little more information here, but nothing definitive. Yet.

So apparently Okoye is a surname? Am I the only who didn’t know that? I tried to find a “first name/christian name” for Okoye on the Wiki and in the comics, but there was nothing… So, Professor Okoye it is!

N’Jadaka is a bougie vampire lol. I would expect nothing less tho tbh. Also vampire subcultures! That was fun to write! Adize actually means “magic” in the Ghanian language of ewe :)

Hazel still doesn’t really know where the hell she is, and Harley has finally seen Ayana! Now she just has to tell ‘Monger and get that baby back in the right dimension. Should be easy enough, right?

Fun Fact: You can actually bake with blood. In some recipes it takes the place of egg whites/leavening agents, though it takes like three times as long to whip up in comparison to egg whites. Learned about that in this podcast! (Do not listen to this if you are squeamish!!!!!)

As always let me know what y’all think!

The Mystery of the Golden Fang Mood Board

A Map Made in Heaven

Masterlist

Taglist: @princessstevens @muse-of-mbaku @k-michaelis @queenamaniii @thatrandomfangirl98@dreadedphilosphy @killmongurl @thelovelyliterary @elaindeereads @thedom223@bidibidibombaclaat@thatrandomfangirl98 @panthergoddessbast @nemesispawn@writingmarvellousimagines @someareblindtoitsbeauty @jozigrrl @iamrheaspeaks @purple-apricots @thadelightfulone @janelledarling

#The Mystery of the Golden Fang #bpfic #black panther #black panther fic #erik killmonger fic #erik killmonger x black!OC #erik killmonger #multiple reality AU

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uci-fanfic-requests · 7 years

Note

uhh how about a standard naruto au?? like replacing the main characters with the escorts

Admin Notes: Recently, I heard that there’s asequel to Naruto! But I feel like I have to catch up on the old series if Iwant to start a new. Anyways, I’m laughing to myself about the escorts doingthe ninja run! –Admin Hirahara

In the quiet village hidden in the leaves, Rokkaku was halfburied in things he had to do. As the Hokkage of the Hidden Leaf Village, itwas supposed to be his job to oversee that the village prospered and missionswere carried out to assist those who were allied with them. However, he hadtaken a break momentarily to see how things were going with the young ninjas intraining, and somehow, when he returned, Kirika and Ayako must have brought himmore paperwork to do. At this point, he was never getting out of the room.

While he tirelessly worked to see which missions would bebest suited to be finished first, he looked upon one that he thought was easyenough for someone he knew to take care of. A guarding mission should be notrouble for a particular squad of three kids, and so with that, he asked forSaitou to come to his office so he could deliver the assignment.

Saitou, one of the best jounin in the village, looked overthe report, and promised to make sure he guided his students so that they couldcomplete this assignment. When he informed Kinoshita, Saeki, and Kirishima ofthe task, the three were very excited about the news. It would be their firstmission, after all.

“Lucky…” Hirahara moped when he heard the news. “We don’tget to do anything fun except train.” He, Tagami, and Tanizaki were from adifferent team, all under Kirika’s teaching. Of course, the mother like jouninalmost never left the village (since she helped the Hokkage), and thus, neitherdid her students. Kinoshita promised to tell them all about what it was like,and somehow Hirahara coaxed him into bringing him something back.

With their goodbyes for now said, Saitou took the kids offto the gate of the Hidden Leaf Village, where they expected to see the personthey were guiding. From the reports, Saitou already knew that it would be amedicine maker from the village hidden in the mist, but to his surprise, he sawa very young boy waiting for them. He had originally judged the person to beolder, and quite frankly, this was a big shock.

“Are you waiting for someone else?” Saitou asked, just toconfirm this mint eyed boy wasn’t just someone’s apprentice. However, the boyshook his head. “You’re the medicine maker?” He nervously nodded his head.

“Oh? We’re escorting you?” Kinoshita asked, smiling andextending his hand. “I’m Kinoshita. This is Saeki and Kirishima. We’re Team 8.”Saeki and Kirishima also waved hello to the boy. He seemed very nervous andjumpy, but he shook Kinoshita’s hand none the less.

“I’m… M-Matsumoto,” the boy smiled, although it was a rathertimid one.

“Why is it that we’re escorting you, anyways?” Saeki asked,not meaning it in a rude way. Usually, they wouldn’t have to act as bodyguardsor anything unless the person was in great danger, which he supposed explainedthe jumpy personality. Matsumoto looked around, but seeing that it was just thefive of them, he sighed and pulled out a scroll.

“I came to this village to study medicine under the Doctorhere,” he explained, showing them the seal on the scroll. “He gave me this totake back to the Hidden Mist Village.” From the looks of it, Saitou coulddetermine that it was a very valuable scroll, probably containing informationon remedies that their rivals did not know. From the level of the seal, itwould probably take a very skilled ninja to open. Whatever information was inthere truly was a treasure; he was a little surprised to think that the Doctorwould have let it go.

“Well, if we spend our time chatting here, we’ll never leavefrom the front gate.” Saitou smiled, patting the kids along. “Come on, it’s athree days trip to the Hidden Mist Village.”

As the group continued further and further from theirvillage, the kids talked amongst themselves while Saitou kept a lookout for anypotential dangers that might be around. Kirishima was telling Matsumoto howthere was no need to worry, because their teacher was the best of the best.Saitou couldn’t help overhear the compliment and chuckle.

“Aren’t you forgetting I’m teaching the best team, as well?”He pitched in, surprising the three. All in all, the mood was high, and Saitoucouldn’t see this going bad any time soon. If they were lucky, they wouldn’thave any trouble the whole length of the journey. After all, thinking about itlogically, no one really knew what Matsumoto had, nor where he was taking it.

The group camped out in the forest when nightfall came.Matsumoto seemed very comfortable with the other kids, and Saitou couldn’t helpbut be happy about this. They took turns going to sleep, even though the slateeyed jounin insisted he was okay to keep watch on his own. In a way, though,the kids also wanted to take some responsibility on this mission, and theyinsisted that if Saitou was going to be in good shape to defend Matsumoto froman enemy attack, then he needed to sleep as well.

The next day, the journey continued to be smooth. They groupleft the forest that hid their Village from anyone’s sight, and soon came uponthe mountain that stood as the entrance for the Hidden Mist Village. Accordingto Matsumoto, after they climbed up the mountain, a great waterfall would bejust beyond, which broke down at the base into mist. That, he said, was wherehis village was. Since there was no point in starting the climb up a mountainwith no clear resting spots, the group decided that that should be all they dotoday, and should focus on finding things like food and water.

Saeki decided to take Matsumoto to go find a stream, wherethey could fill their water bottles again. Kirishima decided he was going tosee if he could catch some food, and Kinoshita said he would set up camp.Saitou, feeling uneasy now that they were almost at the village, decided tokeep watch. While the kids were off doing their own thing, Saitou definitelysensed someone not to far off from where they were setting up camp.

Quietly, he snuck behind some rock formations, trying to geta better view of his sensed threat. As he got closer to the stream where Saekiand Matsumoto were, he noticed two suspicious figures behind some large stones,looking like they were lying in wait. “Well, that’s no good,” Saitou smirked,using a hand seal to cast his genjutsu. His eyes flared red as he did, aneffect, he supposed, of the jutsu. Suddenly, the two suspicious men startedswatting around their heads, even though there was clearly nothing thereattacking them. The sound startled Saeki, and he quickly pushed Matsumotobehind him as he drew a kunai.

“It’s just me,” Saitou called, coming out from behind hishiding place. The other two also ran from their hiding place, panting andsweating like they’d seen a nightmare. “It seems like two unfortunate spieshave been caught.” He smiled, turning back to Saeki. “What do you think weshould do with them?”

“They look like… Sound Ninjas,” Saeki noted their headbands.“I’d say they were here to steal Matsumoto’s scroll.” The two finally seemed torecover whatever illusion they saw, and now furious, one drew a kunai whileanother one got ready to cast a jutsu. However, before he finished, Saitoueasily jumped down and whispered something in his ear.

Whatever was said, caused the man to freeze up, much to hispartner’s shock. However, the partner charged Saeki and Matsumoto, easilythinking he could overpower a couple of kids. First casting his hand seal,Saeki threw up one hand. He caught the man’s arm, and whispered something underhis breath. Then, Saeki pushed the man back with the force of a bulldozer.However, he recovered quickly and tried to attack again, only, he realized hecouldn’t move his arm. When he looked at it, he realized that it was slowlystarting to rot away.

“Sorry,” Saeki smiled, pointing at the man’s arm. “I cursedit with my jujutsu. You don’t have any feeling moving through there, do you?”He walked closer, lifting his kunai over his head. “If you’re here to steal thescroll, then you might as well be gone.”

When Saitou was done taking care of the first enemy, heturned back to see that Saeki had easily finished off the other man. Matsumotohad apparently hid himself in the stream, making a pretty good shadow clone ofhimself. “Are they gone?” He asked nervously, popping his head out of thewater.

“They’re gone,” Saeki reassured, wiping some blood off hischeek and smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”

“It looks like word travels pretty fast,” Saitou sighed,patting both kids on the back. “By the looks of it, the Sound Village has wordthat one of our precious informational scrolls is wandering around close tohere. For now, let’s head back to camp.”

The three walked back to where Kinoshita had set up camp,and Kirishima had already returned, apparently with a deer in tow. He’d‘caught’ it with a trap, and cut it up so it would cook easier. Saitouexplained to the two of them that they were most likely to encounter moreninjas along the way, so it was better to be safe than sorry for the night.Hearing that, Kinoshita reached into his pouch and pulled out his seals,placing them all around the camp.

With a few hand seals, he easily secured the area with hisbarrier jutsu. “We should be good for the next few hours, Saitou,” he waved,coming back to the campfire. “As long as no one leaves while this is up, wedon’t have to worry about attackers at night.” The group ended up sleepingsoundly that night, although Saitou decided it was better for him to stayawake. As expected, it seemed that someone did try to attack them in themiddle of the night, but Kinoshita’s jutsu was far more powerful than anythingthe attacker could pull. Really, it’s only weakness was that it could be easilybroken from the inside.

The next morning, Saitou warned the four kids of the singleenemy that had tried to come at night, and for everyone to stay on high alert.He reassured Matsumoto, though, that they would keep him well protected untilthey saw him inside the Hidden Mist Village. They carefully climbed up the sideof the mountain, and as the sun set behind them, Matsumoto happily exclaimedthat he could see the entrance to his village.

“It’s just behind that waterfall,” he exclaimed, waving overthe others to see. “I can’t wait to get there and start working with the informationin this scroll.” The group began walking over towards the waterfall, Saitouthinking that things would go rather smoothly from here. As he thought this,though, his senses told him otherwise. He almost walked straight into the pathof a flying suriken, and he instinctively grabbed for one of his own and threwit back. There was the sound of a clank, like it was lodged in something, butfrom the looks of it, he’d missed the target.

“Tsk, he’s back,” Saitou squinted, unable to see the personin question. He must have had a very good disguise on. However, soon from thesame direction, another folly of suriken was launched at the group. AlthoughSaitou was about to deflect them all, it was actually Kirishima who stepped in,cutting the shurikens in half with his sword.

“I can handle this one,” he said, looking over in thedirection of where the attack came from. “You can’t see him, so you can’t useyour genjutsu, right?” Kirishima bit down on his thumb, drawing blood andsplashing it across the length of his blade. When he swung it again, threelarge blades of wind flew through the air, towards the hidden enemy. The soundsof rocks being slashed and broken could be heard, followed by a surprised yell.

With the ninja exposed, Saitou could use his genjutsu onhim, his eyes flashing red. The man suddenly became afraid, and whatever it wasthat he feared must have chased after him. He started running, but tripped downthe mountain instead. The group didn’t wait to find out what happened to him.They hurried towards the base of the waterfall, hoping to find the gates forthe Hidden Mist Village. Soon enough, Matsumoto recognized the symbol enscribedon one of the stones.

“It’s here!” Matsumoto happily chimed, running through thewaterfall. When the others followed behind him, they were greeted with thescene of a bustling village, very different from the barren mountain they justcame from. “This is my village,” he smiled, gesturing.

With the mission concluded, the three kids said goodbye totheir new friend, telling him he could come visit the Hidden Leaf Villagewhenever he wanted. With all’s well that ends well, Saitou decided to rewardhis students for the successful assignment, and treated them all to ramen whenthey returned. He made a note to tell Rokkaku that these kids would definitelybe able to handle any missions in the future, and looked forward to seeing themgrow more.

#Underworld Capital Incident #gokuto jihen #獄都事変 #naruto #CrossOver #anonymous #kinoshita (underworld capital incident)#kirishima (underworld capital incident)#saeki (underworld capital incident)#matsumoto (underworld capital incident)#Saitou (Underworld Capital Incident)#UCI fanfic requests #requests #Admin Hirahara

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toptecharena · 6 years

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It may not leave much of a first impression, but we promise that the Asus ZenBook UX310UA is one of the best Ultrabooks on the market – and it deserves your attention. Not only does it boast a svelte aesthetic and hard-hitting performance, but this Windows 10 Ultrabook is so finely tuned in all aspects, that it’s easily one of the best laptops for anyone looking for an all-encompassing laptop.

Its greatness comes from how it effortlessly continues in the MacBook Air’s tradition – a laptop once thought of as the pinnacle of smooth design housing powerful components. This alone is enough to make the ZenBook UX310UA worth paying attention to, even in 2018.

The Asus ZenBook UX310UA shows that Asus’ notebooks have seen major improvements – so much so that we’ve referred to it as the true heir to the MacBook Air’s throne.

It’s the truth, too, as if Asus has stepped up and said, “Well, if Apple won’t do it, we will.” Talk about courage…

Design

First up, the Asus Zenbook UX310UA is incredibly pretty, arguably better looking than Apple’s spurned masterpiece, in case you couldn’t tell from the CD-like glare on its all-metal finish.

That’s right, those concentric circles emanating from the Asus logo are as impressive in real life as they are in our photos. Better yet, the smooth lines around the edge are even more apparent. The icing on the cake, however, is that you’re saving money by going the ZenBook route. The MacBook Air is more costly and leverages antiquated tech. So far so good.

Sizing it up to the competition, the Asus ZenBook UX310UA is mostly on par. It’s a little thicker than the Macbook Air which is 1.7cm, while the laptop we reviewed here is 1.84cm and admittedly doesn’t have the tapered end.

Lenovo’s Ideapad 710S is similarly specced and thinner but has a poorer display. HP’s Spectre x360 is also slimmer but its starting price is £1,199 ($1,049, AU$2,299).

In order to keep the price low, Asus has increased the thickness, but kept the build quality high. A fair compromise in our eyes.

Before you’ve even turned it on, the packaging is elegant. Unlike a lot of laptops, this one is worthy of an unboxing video.

Upon opening the lid, the simple message “In Search Of Incredible” is emblazoned on the inner lid, which is a nice touch. There’s a distinct lack of plastic and cable ties, too. Of course, the Macbook Air wins out power wise, as it’s one of the few machines that still use the brilliant MagSafe charger, here though it’s a perfectly serviceable L-shaped plug.

Speaking of plugs, the Zenbook isn’t short of sockets. Along the left side you’ll find the aforementioned round charging socket, a USB 3.0, HDMI, USB-C and a headphone jack with an integrated microphone socket.

On the right there are two USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader and a couple of lights, one for the hard drive and the other that let you know that it’s actually on, or if the battery is charging.

It’s a pity that the two USB inputs on the right aren’t 3.0 like the one on the left, but it’s handy that there’s a USB-C port included.

Incidentally, the USB 3.0 port on the left supports USB Charger +, an Asus invention that charges external equipment quickly even while it’s off or hibernating. There’s bundled software included that’ll help manage the laptop’s battery when using this facility.

Before you’ve even turned it on, the packaging is elegant. Unlike a lot of laptops, this one is worthy of an unboxing video.

Upon opening the lid, the simple message “In Search Of Incredible” is emblazoned on the inner lid, which is a nice touch. There’s a distinct lack of plastic and cable ties too. Of course the Macbook Air wins out power wise as it’s one of the few machines that still use the brilliant MagSafe charger, here though it’s a perfectly serviceable L-shaped plug.

Speaking of plugs, the Zenbook isn’t short of sockets. Along the left side you’ll find the aforementioned round charging socket, a USB 3.0, HDMI, USB C and headphone with integrated microphone socket.

On the right there are two USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader and a couple of lights, one for the hard drive and the other that let you know that it’s actually on, or if the battery is charging.

It’s a pity that the two USBs on the right aren’t 3.0 like the one on the left, but it’s handy that there’s a USB C port included.

Incidentally the USB 3.0 port on the left supports USB Charger +, an Asus invention that charges external equipment quickly even while it’s off or hibernating. There’s bundled software included that’ll help manage the laptop’s battery when using this facility.

Screen and interface

As well as being a looker, the Asus Zenbook UX310UA also sports a fantastic screen. We were given the QHD 3,200 x 1,800 version to review, but it’s also available with a full HD 1920×1080 resolution screen as well.

And my word is it a glory to behold. Viewable from a wide range of angles (178 to be precise) and the Anti-Glare actually does what it’s meant to do.

There is very little edge burn when the screen’s entirely black and the colors are well-defined, deep and avoid looking garish. This screen could work for photographers on the move because of its wonderful color definition.

And, if we go back to the Macbook Air comparison, at the same price point you most definitely wouldn’t be getting a Retina screen. If we have one criticism, the bezel is a little large, but it’s not too obtrusive.

At first we thought the keyboard wasn’t up to scratch, as typing causes a slightly disorientating bend in the center. However, the bend isn’t a detriment to the usability, as once we got used to it, it’s a perfectly functioning mechanism with low noise and reliable keys. But you may need give it time to adjust if you’re used to rock-solid keyboards.

Similarly with the trackpad, it took a bit of setup and getting used to. The pinch zoom doesn’t really work, as it would often get set off while using two finger scrolling.

In the end we had to turn off the zoom and just use keyboard shortcuts. Not an ideal solution, but we prefer to be able to use two finger scroll and can do without pinch zoom. The pad itself feels a little slippery compared with others. But again, this is not a deal breaker and these niggles are fixable.

First reviewed November 2017

Performance

Unfortunately, when it comes to specs, the Asus ZenBook UX310UA simply isn’t in the same class as the superior Dell XPS 13. At the same time, it’s a lot cheaper than Dell’s flagship, too.

Buy Asus UX310UA (13-inch Full HD)at Amazon Marketplace for $891.60

Whereas our Asus UX310UA review unit costs about £800 (roughly $1,040, AU$1,400), the XPS 13 starts at $799 (£999, AU$1,899) and goes up from there. As such, there’s no questioning why Dell makes the faster laptop.

So what to compare it to? As mentioned earlier, Lenovo’s Ideapad 710S is in a similar ball park but it suffers from an odd keyboard layout and is chock-full of bloatware. Asus is charting new waters, as many options at this price point go down the touch screen or all-in-one route. The UX310UA is none of these: it’s a simple laptop done very well.

The i5-7200U CPU holds its own in the Cinebench CPU test, scoring an admirable 310, and in both Geekbench tests it scores 3,545 in single and 6,667 in multi, while the Dell XPS 13 scores 3,612 and 7,802. So for general office work, there isn’t that much difference.

The 3D Mark tests are predictably low seeing as there’s no discrete graphics card in there, just an onboard Intel HD Graphics 620. It scraped 4,000 on the Cloud Gate test, meaning it’ll play the odd game from a few years ago. If you’re looking to play games then you should go for the Zenbook UX310UQ as that has an NVIDIA GeForce 940MX tucked inside.

Its battery performed pretty well at 4 hrs 13 mins on PC Mark’s harsh battery test. It fared less well with our film loop test, only reaching 5 hours 24 mins, while the Dell and the HP Spectre 360 claim 7 or 8 hours.

In everyday use we found the battery life fine but not outstanding. It would last a working day at a push, and longer with more casual use.

However, we noticed that there is perhaps something up with the fan management. Unlike with a MacBook Air, the fan is constantly on. It’s not loud but it is noticeable in a silent room. Mechanical operations are usually the highest drain on a battery (one of the many reasons to ditch CD drives in portable machines) and it’s curious why Asus have in turn ditched their Fan Xpert software which could have helped in this situation. There is third-party fan management software out there, but none that are specifically tailored to this laptop, as of the time of this review. If you do decide to go down that route, obviously proceed with caution.

The brains behind this laptop is a Kaby Lake Intel Core i5-7200U, and while not top of the range, it’s incredibly able at word processing and video streaming. Originally a 2.5GHz processor, Asus has it running here at 2.7GHz for an extra boost. It’s coupled with an ample 8 GB of DDR4, 2,133MHz RAM upgraded to a humongous 20GB. Specs wise, you’re getting a pretty good deal.

If speed is what you’re after, we timed it at 4 seconds from opening the lid from sleep to seeing the Windows desktop. A time that means it’s pretty much equal to the MacBook Air’s speedy wake-up time. It packs a somewhat small 256GB SSD with no secondary drive in the sample we reviewed, which was probably to keep the weight down. There are options available on Asus’s site with an extra hard drive if you need one, however.

And we should mention the speakers: we actually prefer the Harman Kardon speakers to the Bang & Olufsens found in many Acer laptops.

The sound is more full, less tinny and more defined. The stereo pair are found on the underside of the front which, if placed on a firm surface, will push the sound into it, adding to the warmth of the audio.

Software

It’s not often you mourn the lack of pre-loaded software, but in Asus’s case we actually do.

As mentioned earlier, Fan Xpert would have been handy to keep the fan noise down and battery efficiency up. And its Smart Touch software would have helped tame the skittish touchpad.

We liked

This is a serious MacBook Air alternative. It looks great, the screen is excellent and the all-aluminium body will take quite a bit of office battering.

It’s also at a price point that will turn many heads, £550 ($699, around AU$960) starting point, and our machine is a reasonable £800 (around $1,040, AU$1,400). In everyday usage you’ll be tearing through the web, watching endless streaming videos and doing heavy office work with ease. 8GB of RAM is more than enough when paired with the i5-7200U CPU.

We reviewed many mid-to upper range laptops at this price, and the Asus Zenbook UX310UA comes with one of the best QHD screens we’ve seen in a while. Admittedly it’s not quite as sleek as some of its competitors, but the basic design is incredibly elegant and aluminium throughout. And it comes with a free case. What’s not to like?

We disliked

The less-than-impressive battery life is basically the Asus Zenbook UX310UA’s Achilles heel. If only Asus could sort out the constantly whirring fans or whatever else is doing the power draining. Maybe putting a more powerful battery cell could help.

Whatever the issue, this could be a deal breaker for some. There’s also the issue of the bendy keyboard and jumpy trackpad, but these are more niggles than serious flaws. Also, if you’re looking for a touchscreen, this is obviously not for you.

The hard drive could be a little bigger, as 256GB is going to get full pretty fast. So it might be good to pair it with cloud storage account or external drive.

Final Verdict

The Asus Zenbook UX310UA is an able and well-performing laptop that certainly looks the part with a quality all-aluminium build and elegant design decisions.

It’s considerably cheaper than Dell’s XPS 13, putting it in reach of a students and budget conscious office workers. It also puts it in the Macbook Air price point which is another boon, especially because it comes with a better display. And while it’s not the lightest laptop in its class, we appreciated its sturdiness.

Apple have most definitely dropped the ball, and while the Asus Zenbook UX310UA isn’t quite in Apple’s league, it’s an attractive alternative if you’re not too fussed about lacklustre battery life.

Go to Source Author: Asus Zenbook UX310UA It may not leave much of a first impression, but we promise that the Asus ZenBook UX310UA is one of the…

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waywardoakdown · 7 years

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stream of consciousness ramble about a story I’m writing below

To set the stage, I am fourteen years old and watching The Lost Boys for what is probably the fourth or fifth time within the month of June. I latch on to movies sometimes, for a while it was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I remember watching How to Train your Dragon on close to repeat, sitting in front of Practical Magic for hours at a time.

In the summer of 2011 it was The Lost Boys. You see I had come out of my twilight phase before this point, I was buried in The Tale of the Body Thief, in Daniel’s unwilling surrender, in Vampire Academy because the struggle of Rose Hathaway was so endlessly interesting to me. In Shattered Mirror and In the Forests of Night, because Amelia Atwater-Rhodes was barely older than me when she published her first books.

I had written vampire stories before.

Christa Morgan was still the sharp tongued huntress she had always been, fighting for her life and trying not to let her best friend die like the rest of her family had. But I had hit a rock with her story long before this point, a mountain pass I could not find my way through.

Aria and Melody were on hold while I thought over the consequences of a world where eye color could denote whether or not you’d killed someone you were related to.

Then I was buried in fanfiction to extend this universe that there seemed to be so little of. My obsessions grew far and I was hungry for whatever was written well, though my standards at the time were admittedly low. I’ve revisited some of those stories lately, to find them holding up surprisingly well.

So I sat down to extend the universe myself.

Alexandra Blackwood was born of that endeavor, and like me at this start, she was fourteen. Turning 15 on September 9th. She wasn’t a self insertion, how Christa started out, she was brash and scared and all around a pretty broken kid. I’d settled on her upbringing being shit from the start and I pulled from relatives and friends lives to give life to how these things had affected her. There wasn’t a lot to go off of at first, it was generic as they come when fanfiction sprung from this movie. Another kid goes off to Santa Carla and falls in step with the boys.

In this case the only original Lost Boy I kept was David, since in the novelization of the movie there was a post-end scene of him having turned a handful of surf nazis, one being Shane who would move up to Luna Bay with his own crew of exceptionally violet buddies. I liked the idea of having a new group of people, especially since while I felt comfortable in David in the way I always feel comfortable writing those of questionable morals and exceptional cruelty: I didn’t feel comfortable in my abilities to capture Marko, Paul, and Dwayne.

Making people scream over my lack of ability to do so was not something I wanted.

And thus Eric, Kyle, and Jesse were born.

Only two of them survived into this edition of the rewritten mess, only one of them stayed in his semi-original state (Jesse, my green haired ball of energy). I wrote the story very fast for my pace at the time, I flew through chapters like it was nothing until about 14 or 15 in.

That’s when things started getting weird.

See by this point I was working simultaneously on this mess of a fanfiction, and writing a companion that had the copyrighted materials removed, hence David becoming Daniel, and Santa Carla becoming Twin Lakes (a little town barely a mile across just below Santa Cruz, in case anyone wondered). I changed the story very little in the first rewrite, which I have since trashed and can no longer see the light of day, though it may still exist on a flash drive somewhere labeled ‘Safe - 23036’ which was the word count at the time. Pretty impressive for a 14 year old who had never written more than 10k before and that being over the course of years rather than a handful of months.

I had a cheerleader though. There was this woman in Australia who got very attached to both versions of my story, and needed something to read after putting her kids to bed. So whenever I hit a rut I reminded myself I had someone waiting for this, waiting and excited, and forward I plowed.

Back to things getting, weird. The longer Alex waited to feed the less cohesive her mind became, she had dreams that lasted days and hallucinations about real people that she hadn’t even met. Things that, if I remember correctly, still got cut from the last-most-recent rewrite, the one before this one, the one with a little over 2 dozen chapters and a handful of alternate endings and off shoots because gods know I can’t make up my mind.

Well, scratch that, looks like I did include that weird bullshit in the last rewrite. Go me, those chapters are absolutely a confusing pile of shit. But apparently I wanted to keep them. That rewrite happened in, oh I dunno, 2014 or so? Maybe it was 2013, I think it might have been. I don’t know for sure, but I do know it got a huge overhaul and moved further away from The Lost Boys so that it could stand better on its own.

By this time I think I had changed Alex’s age to match mine again? 16 or 17 or something around there, just because I remember going back and reading and thinking ‘What dumb fuck 14 year old lets herself join a bunch of fuckin vampires, and what vampires allow that???’ So I upped her age a bit, which I’ve done again in the current version, to match my own age, again, making her 20 going on 21.

I remember the first time I finished these stories, it was maybe halfway through January of 2012 when I started the sequel, having set up for it at the end back in December. Kayla Raes was born of probably the least thought out romance of all time, rest assured I’ve built up Alex and Isaac’s relationship much more this time. But at this time they were just, together, because reasons? I guess?

Now more than half that characters in this damn book are queer, so whatever.

Anyways.

Kayla Raes, who inexplicably has David/Daniel’s eyes and doesn’t think to question it when these fuckers show up and offer her immortality.

Which she takes and then after realizing that she’s still being controlled, kills the FUCK out of David/Daniel and unfortunately Isaac dies in the process and there’s some bullshit going on there but we don’t need to go into “Free” I really don’t follow that ending anymore.

Originally Alex either killed Isaac or escaped with him in the end.

Because I didn’t even touch on the fact that her parents were worthy targets.

It didn’t even really come up until I did I one shot AU of my own damn story called “Feral” where the boys would just feed people vampire blood, drop them back in the streets, give them a week to kill someone and if they didn’t, kill them. Alex attacked a woman in the streets, demanded answers from Daniel, originally she turned here, like she killed the woman and that was the end of it. I wasn’t sure where I was bringing the story from that point. But it did spawn the beginnings of this rewrite.

Of Alex becoming a vampire without killing Isaac.

Now, shoot forward to what is the very beginnings of 2017, I haven’t so much as touched this story in years, I do occasionally re-read it for the parts I enjoy. The scene in San Francisco for the sake of cementing Alex’s fear of trying to run away from Daniel, the image of his hair soaked red and the bones of that last girl cracking under his hands. The opening of Alex discovering the whole vampire thing, of almost killing Isaac in the shop, shaking and calling 911 and not quite knowing what else to do or what she’s done. Jesse leaving to go find his sister Sarah after years of her being a missing persons case, finding her dead just outside Chicago with a broken arm and two bullets in her head. Things I still loved the descriptions of, things that still flowed the way I felt they did the first time I’d written them.

But oh gods the mess that was most of the story.

I opened with a clean slate.

With one single chapter written.

Alex discussing the possibility of killing her parents with Daniel. She’s been fighting for months now, and the pain is so bad most of the time she can barely leave bed. Daniel is emphasizing her lack of time, and how worried they are getting about her. By this time the ‘they’ is different, still Jesse, but Eric and Kyle are gone and there is now a girl named Moira, who is small and fiery and slow to like people.

They talk about her parents, about how nobody could blame her for wanting to see them dead and gone. She’s afraid to go back and Daniel offers to kill them for her if it turns out she can’t bring herself to do it.

They go, she kills them, everything is fine.

That was how this rewrite started.

That was the only thing I had cemented in my mind. The vision of her obliterating everything that had caused her pain in the past and using it to move forward. To start a new life.

I also moved this shit to the east coast so that I was more familiar with the setting. Since I’m a Vermonter and I know Maine and New Hampshire pretty damn well, especially the coastal parts of Maine. She did still spend time in Santa Cruz, but I left that to memory.

Daniel’s story changed heavily as well, as it had to in order to move away from The Lost Boys, I’ve read the prequel script, I know all that mess. But Daniel softened somewhere in between rewrites. He wasn’t the so called ‘big bad’ anymore. So he was a PTSD kid who had gone to war when he was too young and seen things he couldn’t forget. In that respect he was molded after my Uncle, though without the denial of his PTSD and massive drinking problem.

From that story was born Amalthea, Carter, Lia, and reborn Eric. Carter fit more closely to what Daniel had been originally, but he was more childish about it. Amalthea was a placeholder I never replaced because she just faded out of importance so she kept the Last Unicorn’s human name.

Daniel grew on me fast once he had a background in place, wanting to please his grandfather, wanting enough money to finally propose to Emily Dawr. The moment when he realizes he’s killed her brother. When he tells her goodbye, and then following being ready to kill Carter when it’s implied Carter killed her. Going to check on his sister’s family every few years. Getting so lonely when Carter and Lia are killed. Not having the energy to go after Eric and Amalthea afterwards.

When he comes across Jesse the kid is so bright he’s annoying. But that fades away fast even though it’s obvious Jesse wants more from him than he’s willing to give. Not that he’s got a preference either way when it comes to sex but Jesse it just very energetic and not really his type. Regardless, they do become very good friends throughout the months where Jesse is trying to get everything in order so that Daniel can kill him.

I’d go into why Jesse wants to die but the story does that for me, in his own words, the 80s were a bad time to be gay.

By the time I’ve gotten all the backstory for the pair of them, Isaac’s story is changing and his decisions are slowly becoming the turning point for every possibility in this book. He helps Alex get more time by giving her his blood every couple of weeks, courtesy of Carrie who would very much like to know why he keeps asking such questions about how often you can remove certain amounts of blood and what the effects might or might not be. When Alex does turn, they remain friends, sort of. Carrie, not knowing who Alex is, has Isaac invite her to their occasional dinner-and-stake nights. I need better wording for that, they have food and then Isaac trains them to fight vampires.

Isaac is, understandably apprehensive about this, especially considering everything Alex did/almost did to him. But she assures him that it’s all much easier to control now and things go smoothly for some time. One night things, get a little heated while Isaac and Alex are fighting, she feels almost like she’s out of control for a second, and then it stops. Later on they end up kissing, and there’s a blood exchange, and this leads to Isaac craving it. Every time it happens, he calls it something akin to an addiction, though after a close call of thinking she might have turned him, they stop.

They do continue sort-of being a couple.

Fast forward a bit, some bad things happen, Alex almost dies, and Isaac tells her he loves her. To which she responds that loving him is terrifying and she doesn’t want to face the choices that leaves them with. Jesse reinforces this when he tells her she has to be prepared to watch him die, or turn him into a vampire. Neither of which Alex likes, not having wanted to be a vampire herself, though she’s gotten used to it by now, and doesn’t think any the worse for it.

So she runs, and Isaac, having already decided that he’s okay with the likely outcome of their relationship being an eternity of murder, goes to Daniel.

Rewind a bit, remember that scene I mentioned in San Francisco? That scene doesn’t happen anymore, it didn’t fit with Daniel’s personality and I knew if he had stayed the way he was originally, Alex would never had trusted him, never have agreed to kill someone, and never have stuck around in the first place.

Here’s where Eric comes back in. Taking on all the traits of Daniel and his old self combined with a little touch of carnage soaked madness I attribute to my ever present muse for The Master from Doctor Who. Sometime somewhere I haven’t figured out when exactly to shove it in, he shows up and decides a little wake up call is in order.

So like the asshole he is, a side that didn’t really come out originally until ‘Free’ but fuck that story and fuck Kayla and fuck Ally and everything else that happened there- He kidnaps Alex.

And of course things take a quick turn for the worst.

But the others show up and whisk her the fuck out of there and I’m like 90% sure Moira straight up shoots Eric until he’s so full of holes it doesn’t matter that he’s immortal. Because she’s seen this kind of bullshit before and there is no way she’s dealing with it again.

Alex kills her mother two or three days later, I ended up changing it because she couldn’t kill Jack, every time I sat down to write the scene she’d fly into a panic and so I had Daniel do it. Well, she had Daniel do it. These characters talk to me, they appear like ghosts, just visible in the corner of my vision, people fully formed but incorporeal.

Onward we move.

This story has been near and dear to me for a long time.

Alex is probably the most pissed at me of all the characters in my head, and I’ve killed off Emmreth Took more times than The Master would ever allow (like he’d allow it at all, but jfc).

She is a permanent resident of my mind, like the Master is. She doesn’t flit in and out like the rest, she’s just there. Which is equal parts a help and a hindrance. With the Master it’s an odd sort of tolerance, because we share certain similarities, and are polar opposites in other areas. We find destruction highly cathartic, and he’s helpful when I’m drowning in my emotions because he is the kind of person to shut them away and move forward anyways.

I can’t do that, but his irritation is usually enough to pick me up out of bed.

Alex is different.

Alex is all on her, she doesn’t bleed into my normal life, she comes up to talk in regards to her own and little else. But she’s still there, just outside the edge of my vision, and depending on where she appears from, her questions range from pure curiosity, to fear, to outright pissed off demands.

Of course, I don’t always have the answers she’s looking for, either because they are out of my control, or I haven’t gotten far enough to decide yet. Or I’m stuck and can’t decide in either of two or more directions.

#beware it's fuckin huge #but if you've ever wanted to know what it looks like when i talk about a thing i'm writing for about 3000 words there you go #girlbehindthedrums #( still tapping. less murder ) ooc #( still tapping. less murder. ) ooc

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