#but it's still quite hard to get mah point of view

[yourlocalsimpsonsandsanriofan]

💫A goofy AHHH review💫

hey guys it's ya boi Rusty here again!! and I'm here to review:

Yes yes, I can hear y'all now saying "but it's made for kids" "bro why are u watching this" 🤓☝

Stop right there, bud. ✋

This show is pretty good so far, all things considered! I decided to watch it for the nostalgia (and for mah boi Smee ofc!)!! I watched this show a little bit when I was younger, so I remember it fairly well. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it isn't cringe! (Well, some parts are a little iffy but we'll get to that in a minute.) It's actually tolerable and even made me laugh at some parts!

💫The songs💫

The songs aren't that good, in fact their kinda cringe. (But ofc I gotta go easy on this show cuz yes, it is intended for little kids with no brain cells.) At the end of every episode (wich usually consists of two episodes ranging from 15 minutes long each, making up the 30 minute mark.) There's these two ideots called Sharky and Bones who sing a song, and it's cringe. The lyrics arent funny, and their singing isn't even that good. I get that the humer is supposed to have zero brain cells, but come on guys. U gotta try a bit harder than that. The background music for the episodes is ok, nothing I would casually listen to though.

💫The characters💫

We have a few new characters to add to the Peter Pan universe by the names of Jake, Cubby (WHY ARE THEIR TWO CUBBYS?!), Izzy, Skully, Sharky and Bones. (And Captain Hook and Mr. Smee of course!!) The character designs are good, they work well for everyone, except Hook. Hook just looks weird in this art style honestly. And at first I didn't like Smee's design in this, but it grew on me. (The og is still better though!) In fact, he might even look kinda cute! :D

The voice acting for them is great too!! Its very expressive and something you wouldn't normally get from a kids show. The new voice actors for Smee and Hook almost sound IDENTICAL to the og's! There are some minor differences, but nothing to really make me get annoyed at. The animation is smooth and fluid too! I can tell that they used computer Riggs, but it's barely even noticeable! Which from what I heard, computer Riggs are pretty hard to do. So thats honestly impressive!

💫The insecurities of Jake and The Neverland Pirates💫

First off, I wanna talk about how Smee is portrayed. In the og movie, he's supposed to be a bumbling ideot (but a lovable ideot imo!). In this series, he seems to have a few brain cells, which I dislike. They didn't stay true to his character! Neither did they with Hook. He isn't that goofy anymore, neither is he evil, but he's in between. I can't really describe it, but something is off with his personality.

Like I said before, the music isn't very good, and neither is the pacing of each episode. It's inconsistent and feels too slow at times. The plot points for each episode are predictable too. The kids find something to play with, and Hook wants whatever it is and steals it and they take it back etc etc. The dabloons make no sense either! They collect dabloons each episode for their chest, but why?! What does it accomplish?! Maybe Im not smart enough to understand but that makes no sense to me. It's repetitive too, but not to the point where u want to shove a gun into the side of your head and call it quits. Like I said, it's tollerable! It does feel like Micky Mouse Clubhouse though (I HATE MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE.), but with Peter pan 💀

💫Conclusion💫

I like this show, and I think it's cute! It has potential!! Maybe just get rid of the repetitiveness and the cringe songs and it could be good! I reccomend this is you want the nostalgia from your chilhood (well technically I'm still a kid but whatever LOL)!!

That's my thoughts on this show! I haven't finished the first season yet, but maybe my views will change, but well see. But when they do, I'll keep u posted!! Thanks for reading this and I hope you have a spectacular day/night!!! I love you :D❤❤

(Oh yeah one last thing I gotta note is that Smee actually referred to Hook as "your greatness" 🤨 idk man..)

[cheapcookiez]

Best ship Septiishu or Melix? (Yes I am aware they are actual couples that is why I ship them. ^-^

- (๑꒪▿꒪)* im disagreein’ about the “ they are actual couples that is why I ship them. “ but i’ll explain this in the keep readin’ things . -This aside :

if i had to choose, 10000% mah choice would go to Felix and Marzia.

I kno’ them for SO MANY years, i followed Marzia’s life over the years. I admire her as much as i adore Felix. She let us see the best a.k.a the worst of his boi. Like she’s the only wahn to roast him everyday and it feels nice ‘cause felix is made of 100% salt. Feels good to see the  lame average Felix behind the pewdiepie character. °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Plus with all the things that happened to our swedish boi, Marzia has always been there for him. jeezas. she’s just a true cutiepie.//rolls rolls//

Everytime i see a fashion photo of her, i also remember that it’s felix who took the picture.he must be so amazed and proud of her every single day. She’s too bootiful and he’s too pure . He’s always so salty but so sweet with her.

Felix is only felix when Marzia is with him and vice versa. Not sure if it makes sense but  that’s why i love them so much. 

And tbh, i only feel this for them, i dunno Signe or Sean enough to make the same conclusion about them. they both looks kyote and perfect togetheh tho’!

ALSO.on the second part of ur question. (｡•́︿•̀｡)

UNPOPULAR OPINION. U don’t have to agree, it’s only meh rambling .

i’m okay with ppl shipping but i personally dun’ “ship” any real couples ..I just call that “supporting “ . Why? because there is exactly the word real in it.

When it’s canon, i dun’ see the need to invent a ship name or involve any of mah time in it. Where is the excitement of creation/creativity when the story is already written . As artist, i personally feel this is very off..  They’re not fictional characters or fantasies. (;*△*;)

We can support it,draw fan arts and stuff but we can’t invent anythin’ new about it. Except Alternative universes,there are too many limitations and red flags . Plus It’s their privacy and that’s why i dun’ see the appeal of a “real OTP” .i would prefer shipping things that will neveh happen in real life.At least, that’s moar..challenging and we can really play with differents minds and personalities that in reality, would never interact to each other. 

But it’s still questionable to ship real ppl. Is it rude/cringe? i think it’s another subject.

HOWEVEH. i see the appeal of supportin’ real couples LIKE we support our fictional ones and i don’t blame it at all. it’s from good intentions and im sure youtubers appreciate that love towards them.

( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` ) I m certainly as supportive as all of u but i don’t want to show off and invade their privacy in any sort of way. maybe it’s only paranoia. who knows .But it’s only mah way of thinking.

[superhero--imagines]

Fill out an interest check for my haikyuu zine here | buy my Batman zine here!

A/N: wrote this for @neoheros and @coophi Writing contest. Features being married 25 and younger for all breast having readers. Slightly suggestive themes, but mostly fluff.

Atsumu has a thing for your chest.

It’s not a secret. If you’re wearing a low-cut top, the neckline in a smooth u-shaped scoop. Or a dress with a plunging neckline, a soft curve of either breast on each side.

He gets dumbstruck every time.

It’s not even sexual, well not all the time, he just thinks they’re cute. Like a couple of puppies. He just wants to smother them in kisses and tell them how cute they are.

So when he sees them wrapped in beautiful fabric, looking good and healthy, he swells with pride. (Amongst other things, he is still a man after all)

‘Mah babies are doin’ good’ he’ll think with a soft smile.

So when he walks into your shared bedroom, duffel bag still in hand, and see’s you sitting on the bed completely topless, your breasts covered by nothing but your bare hands, the dainty silver band glinting on your finger - he practically combusts.

Your eyes travel from the laptop flipped open in front of you, to your husband who’s still standing in the doorway. You expression brightens the second you see him, eyes sparkling as a smile arch’s onto your mouth.

“You’re home!” You cheer, hands still clasped at either breast.

Atsumu gulps, not trusting his mouth to properly form words, he briskly nods.

“ ‘Sumu can you do me a favor and hold my boobs up?”

That’s it. He’s dead.

Time? 3:47 PM

Cause? Brain aneurysm, he couldn’t take the mental stimulation of a dream he didn’t even realize he had coming true.

“ ‘Tsumu?” You call, he’s just been standing there at the doorway since he saw you. Is he mad? He did just come home from practice, he must be tired. You’re just about to tell him that it’s okay, he should relax, when he nods his head.

“Y-yeah, ‘course ‘ah can baby,” Atsumu shakes his head, he’s acting like a damn teenager right now! What’s there to be so flustered about anyway? You’re his wife, he’s seen you naked tons of times, no reason to get all dopey about a little fondling.

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna bother you-“

“It’s no bother!” Atsumu winces as the high pitched tone of his protest. Talk about over eager. He clears his throat, hand curling in her his chin. “ ‘Ah mean, this is what husbands are for right? Even Dax Shepard sucked out Kristen Bell’s breast milk when she needed it-“ Geez, why is he mentioning that now?!?

“Anyway, point is ‘s no bother, ‘lemme just u-uh,” he flinches when his voice cracks. “Let me get behind ya” he finishes, clearing his throat when you shuffle forward, your breasts bouncing slightly.

Damn, they look so cute.

Atsumu has to bite his lip to stay focused, frosty white teeth nibbling at the plump flesh of his bottom lip as he shuffles behind you. His legs thrown on either side of your frame, as you settle between them.

He gulps again when his hands replace yours.

With the way you’re seated his chin almost brushing against your hair, he gets wafts of your shampoo, and at this angle he gets a top side view of his precious babies. The perfect scent to accompany the perfect view. They’re so much softer than he remembers too, it’s almost like-

“Atsumu stop,” he freezes, did he do something wrong? His hands automatically move to retreat back to his side when he see’s you shake your head. “No, stop squeezing, it hurts.”

Atsumu’s eyebrows thread together, his mouth pursing until it’s a straight line.

“It hurts?” You nod, not looking away from your laptop, your fingers dancing across the keyboard.

“Yeah they’re just so swollen,” you start.

‘So they’re swollen’ he thinks. Looking back he should have realized there was a reason you suddenly wanted him to hold your breasts.

“they’re so sore I think it’s making my nipples sensitive too-“

And that explains why you weren’t wearing a bra or a shirt

“They were hurting so bad I didn’t think I would be able to finish this report for work,”

Which explains the laptop, he remembers you saying you had a deadline coming up. Actually, he wasn’t quite sure what part that played in the fantasy- maybe something a little scandalous, like you were watching a dirty movie on it or something.

“But now you’re here!” Your fingers stop, abandoning the keyboard entirely and focusing all your attention on him. You twist your torso so you can face him. Your thumb caresses his face, and you press a kiss to his cheekbone.

“You’re my hero Atsumu”

Atsumu is only twenty-three, no longer a boy, yet still not a man.

But he’s trying hard to grow into one, a man you can be proud to call your husband. A mature man who you always think is cool and makes you feel like you’re going to melt.

Atsumu can’t help but feel like a teenage boy when he feels a wobbly smile curl onto his face, steam practically curling out of his ears.

“ ‘course ‘ah am,” he huffs, his chest puffing out. “ ‘s a husbands job to be their partners hero” you giggle, he’s always saying the cheesiest stuff when you give him a genuine compliment. It’s kind of cute how he still gets flustered around you. Throw him in front of a bunch of reporters or fans and he’ll play them all like a fiddle, but in front of you…he’s just a boy.

His expression gets softer when you turn back to the laptop. Your hero, huh? He likes the sound of that. But-

“I’d rather be the love of your life, though” he mumbles, face pressed into your hair, and his hands holding your breast.

“What was that?” You ask, hissing when he squeezes in surprise. Crap, he didn’t think you heard. He sighs in relief when you tell him to be more gentle, you’re in a lot of pain. Looks like you’ve let the topic go.

“I know you’re used to-“ you pause mid-sentence when you shuffle back, resting against your husband's chest only to feel something hard other than the prominent muscles on his chest.

“Are you-“ before you can get a word in edgewise, Atsumu screams:

“What? I’m pretty sure Kristen Bell’s husband was a little turned on too when he sucked out that breast milk!”

For a single second the silence stretches between you two, and then you break out laughing

“What is with you and Kristen Bell?” You gasp between wheezes of laughter. Atsumu is laughing beside you.

“ ‘Ah donno, ‘s the only celebrity couple ‘ah keep up with.” You rest your head back on his shoulder, still laughing when he leans down for a kiss.

[vi-is-short-for-violence]

New Frontier A Hollow Knight and Bug Fables crossover OC fic.

Full fic is under the cut!

PLEASE REBLOG!! MANY HOURS WENT INTO THIS AND I’D RLLY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT!!

It had been a very interesting trip, taking the ferry from the continent Bugaria resided to the main continent known as The Outlands. Team Snakemouth, the heros of Bugaria were treated like celebrities everywhere they went. Everyone knowing them all by name and singing their praises, and if some weren't convinced of their greatness, many times bugs would contest them in combat and were quickly swayed into seeing their power. Vi especially enjoyed this attention.. being one of the first bees to truly venture beyond the Hive and find her place in the world as an explorer and rouge. The other two would often need to reel her in. Usually Leif did not mind Vi's more combative nature, so long as it wasn't a major risk.. though her pride is what both Leif and Kabbu would regularly keep in check. Leif appeared largely indifferent about their praise, but beneath his cold exterior, his friends knew he couldn't help but be grateful and flattered. Kabbu on the other hand loved the praise as much as Vi did, but unlike her, made sure to ground himself. If their mission around the legendary Everlasting Sapling taught him anything, it was that nothing was indestructible. Not the sapling, not his team, and certainly not him. After their first adventure however the one thing they all unanimously agreed on, was that they longed to continue their quests and even venture beyond Bugarias borders, and travel the mainlands.. The Outlands. They set sail into the world... the main continent.. the setting of their greatest adventures yet.

Team Snakemouth now walked on these ancient grounds.. and already the way they'd seen the world was beyond different than the world that came into view around them all. Chompy, the fourth and most beloved member of the team, who was resting comfortably around Vis neck and shoulders spread her autumn colored leaves.. taking in the bright sun. The other three gave a breath of pure awe.. The Outlands were full of rocky and mountainous terrain. Great mountains could be seen in the distance, their might and elegance seen plain and true even in the most distant horizons. "OOOUGH WHERE DO WE GO FIRST?! THE MOUNTAINS? THE PLAINS? THAT GIANT CLIFF?? OR- OR MAYBE WE COULD SEE WHATS OUT AT SEA OVER THERE!!" Squealed the VERY excited honeybee! "I'm not sure Vi! But my.. it is truly beautiful.. just as the tales foretold!" replied Kabbu. Looking just as giddy as Vi! The sun shining onto his iridescent green shell. "We feel like we've entered an entirely different realm. We can already feel an abundance of magic and energy here.." Leif remarked, spreading his navy blue and pale yellow accented wings. "Yeah yea, but can you imagine what kinda crazy treasure we could fine here? I heard this place is ancient as HELL!" "If I recall correctly Vi, The Outlands were settled eons before Bugarias continent was! It was filled with ancient scattered kingdoms." Kabbu knelt and placed his clawed hand on the ground, as if he were resting his claws on a monument of ancient history and peering into its secrets. "Hundreds of years ago, these lands were barren wastes. Polluted and corrupted with a dark substance.. These Outlands were once called The Wastelands, lawless and filled with mad bugs. That is why these scattered kingdoms existed. In a world devoid of life and law, someone had to do something." "Are these lands not still devoid of law? Law only exists in those kingdoms still we'd imagine." Inquired Leif. Kabbu stands back up and looks at his moth friend. "Well, yes and no. Some of the rulers of these lands keep an eye on the Outlands as a means of protecting potential citizens." Vi looked at Kabbu and raised a brow, "Jeez how do you even know all this stuff Kabbu?" "Well! If we planned on visiting this place, we might as well get to know it's history a little better." Vi shrugged, "Meh, fair. But hey, there's a lotta history in treasure toooo.~" "We anticipated a response like that. Lets not dally then. Kabbu, you know more about this place than either of us, do you know where we could head first?" Kabbu hummed wonderingly. "We could potentially head for the mountains, there are a fair few kingdoms there and we could stock up on supplies for the rest of our journey!" "FUCK YEA MOUNTAINS!!" Vi cheered, much to Kabbus displeasure hearing her curse like that again. "VI!! Watch your language!". Leif proceeded only to laugh.

It had been a long day, traveling to the base of the mountains. Bandits and beasts making attempts on their supplies and even their lives. Nothing they weren't used to really. Though there were a disturbing number of poachers. A dark stain from the Wastelands past economic practices; slaying bugs and selling valuable parts of them to the black market. Primarily wings, fluff, horns, hard shells and stingers, unique defenses of specific bugs, even certain pheromones to lure in bugs like ants. To say that their encounters with the poachers did not shake the group up a fair amount.. would be a dirty lie. They triumphed, but were still very on edge if they could harvest them. The sun began to set however, and the quartet was weary from the long day. Not a bad day, only a long one. Whimsy tainted by the reminder that the life of an explorer was still a dangerous one. Regardless, the team kept their spirits up. Knowing that the next day would bring great discovery! Following a nice meal and usual banter expected of their team, Team Snakemouth set up their temporary beds, and went to sleep for the night. Though one member of the team was far less of a deep sleeper than the others.. hearing faint, yet heavy footsteps, caused on of Vis antennae to perk up. She perked up, slowly looking around the area.. bathed in moonlight, yet sheltered from it in some areas with the rocks and shelter of the mountain and nearby terrain. But she could clearly see it. In the distance.. a tall, large and shadowed figure a fair distance from the team. It's silhouette was not one that Vi could identify, it appeared to have multiple horns, but the rest of its body held no defining traits. No abdomen, no wings, just a horned head and a long cloak.. as well as.. something spilling from its head that nearly dragged against the ground. Was... this even a bug? The lack of identifying features deeply frightened the bee. She remembered the last time she saw something like this. The reminder of the canniness of the Dead Landers shot a spine straight through her of pure fear and stress. This was... big. Not nearly as big as that.. thing with those large orange eyes was.. but it was still big whatever it was. Vi, now thoroughly terrified, slowly grabbed her beemerang and slowly approached the large rock that sheltered them from outside sight. Slowly she turned back to look at the figure. They appeared to sit down, back against the base of the mountain, sifting through items that Vi could not properly see due to the lighting. She squints to try and get a better look, before her heart was thrown into the base of her stinger. It looked at her. Two bright blue sparks for eyes stared directly at her. As quick as she could she immediately ducked back behind the rock, stifling any and every sound she made by desperately covering her mouth. Claws digging into her cheeks as fear overtook her. Dammit! Being stuck in this sort of situation scared the hell out of her, no, terrified her beyond words, but at this point she was starting to grow frustrated. They were fighters goddammit! Not cowards! Her and the others took out way worse than this, she- they could do this! So then why would her limbs not move an inch? Why was she still paralyzed with horror despite her frustration and rebellion against these intense feelings of fear?? She held her beemerang in a death grip, shaking intensely, which only grew worse when those footsteps began to approach once again. Move. MOVE! "VI! KABBU! CHOMPY! ON YOUR GUARD!" yelled out another voice. The familiar crack of Leifs magic smacking against the carapace of an enemy bug, as the large figure stumbled backwards with a grunt. Leif stood over his resting spot, glowing with that cold, blue magic. Kabbu and Chompy following suit. Chompy let out a horrendous roar, the chomper had grown in size since the teams first adventure, and while not as big as the mother she would eventually become, she was still quite formidable. Horrifyingly, the other "bug" let out an enormous and otherworldly sounding roar in response, as the appendages that came down its head flared up like black vines. Even Chompy recoiled at the sight. The creature leaped back, drawing a large sword and glaring with those bright blue eyes. "Vi!" Kabbu looked over to the trembling bee. "Come on, it's okay. Lets take care of this!" He held out his hand to help her up. Snapping out of her paralysis, she glared a serious look at Kabbu. "R-right!". The dark figure loomed over all four of them. Squinting at them as they readied for battle. "Four on one don't seem too fair.." it spoke.. it's voice, surprisingly normal sounding, though it had a sort of accent that struck the four as unfamiliar. "Yeah?! And NEITHER DOES SNEAKING UP ON A GROUP WHILE THEY'RE ASLEEP!!" Shouted Vi, anger and fear clear in her young voice. She threw the beemerang with all of her might, making a sharp CRACK as it made contact with the beast. It growled.. "I was doin no such thin' lil girl! I saw you gettin' a good look at me while I was lookin' through mah thin's!" Kabbus expression lightened a bit, "Wait- then maybe this was a misunderstanding?". The creature huffed, "S'fine. M' a big guy after all.. tend t'scare a few bugs out ere.. but since ya'll got up wantin' a fight then lets have one!" The creatures voice went from a gruff, tired and frustrated tone, to sounding as if it had all the energy in the world with the prospect of a battle. "BRING IT ON BIG GUY!! WE'LL WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOU!!" Vi angrily shouted. Kabbu and Leif looked to one another, Vi's rage evident in her tone and posture. Kabbu and Leif knew there was no bringing her back from that, but they couldn't simply leave her to fight alone. They straightened themselves out once more. The creature turned out to be quite quick for its size, and it was able to take one hell of a beating. The Team would need to react quickly to block and chip away at its health. Saving Team Points primarily for healing and reviving, as well as low cost special attacks. Unlike The Everlasting King, it could heal but it could not steal health from them, and healing spent its entire turn. What sucked however was that his defense was high and his attacks hit hard. It was tough for sure, multiple times the team would go down, but they got right back up thanks to Kabbus pep talk and Vis shared stash. Eventually, for as long as the fight went on, it eventually ended with Team Snakemouth as the victors. As the beast finally fell, the light of dawn spilled over the land. Everyone was weary and very injured. The beast chuckled, "Good fight... hh..hhh.. ain't had one like that n' a while I gotta say. Good job.." "Who.. hhh. are you.?" "And more importantly WHAT are you..?" Kabbu asked before quickly being interrupted by Vi. With the light of dawn more of the beat became visible. Its horned head was an off-white shell, that looked almost like a mask, even the right side of it had a long crack that stretched from the top of its head to the base of its chin with some grass stains littering it in some places. It wore a black and grey patchwork cloak with a blue medal clipped to it and lastly, it's eyes. Not fully blue, in fact mostly black with blue pupils that looked like sapphire rings. What spilled down from its head however? None of the bugs could identify. It wasn't antennae, or fur, and while they somewhat looked like vines, they were smooth and black and even appeared to glimmer as if they were wet. "M'names Finnley. M' from a far away Kingdom ere.. betcha mighta heard uh Hallownest. But guessin yer not quite sure what I am thats- actually a toss up huehue!" Kabbu perked up a little bit. Despite his exhaustion, he couldn't help but be excited. "I have heard mentions of that place, yes! But its whereabouts and information I am unfortunately unaware of." It was hard to tell, but Finnleys face appeared.. vaguely happy.. despite lacking a mouth and appearing more like a mask. "Well. S'where me n all my kind 're from. We're vessels, n all of us 'r siblin's too! Ya might actually run intuh a few'uh us out ere!" Leif canted his head slightly, "Vessels. An odd name for a species of bug.." "Yeah and how are ALL of you siblings?" Vi interjected, skeptical of Finnleys claims. "Well it's a long ass story, one ion't think you'd wanna hear all of from me. But you stick round long enough you'll find out soon enough. S'pretty common knowledge ere." Finnley perks up a bit. "Oh! Shit I should probably heal yall up actually. Er, gunna need t' hold yalls hands t'do it though, if ya don' mind." Leif extended his hand, aware of what this could be. He's proven correct when white energy swirls around Finnley, moving over to Leif. Patching up his wounds. Soul focus. An ability utilized by only gods, higher beings and powerful mages. Kabbu and Vis eyes widened. "Woah what the hell?? How did you do that??" Asked Vi, amazed. "Soul Focus." spoke Leif. "But we believed only higher beings, gods and powerful mages could do something like that.. we did not take you to be any of those things." "S'a long story, again, like I said. But ey. S'th' least I can do after scarin yuhs." Finnley chuckles before healing Kabbu, Vi and Chompy as well. "Thank you kindly Finnley. We should likely introduce ourselves as well come to think.. My name is Kabbu. This is Leif, this is Vi, and this.." he lifts up the chomper plant. "Is Chompy!". Finnley giggles again, stroking Chompys head with his finger. "D'aw! Cutie pie! S'one hell of a murder machine but a cutie pie nontheless." "We agree wholeheartedly." Agreed Leif. After a while of speaking, Finnley gave the group a map of the Outlands, as well as what places to avoid, and a list of hotspots to rest up and stock up before actually making it to a kingdom. "If yer thinkin' uh goin up t'the mountains, ah'd suggest goin t' Xhalyun. Eroanne's nearby Xhalyun too n both 'r cold as hell, but Xhalyun shit is a helluva lot cheaper than Eroanne, closer too." Finishing that thought he handed Kabbu the map, to which he made a delighted squeak of excitement. "Thank you kindly, Finnley. Despite first impressions I am very glad to have run into you!" Leif nods in agreement as Finnley lifts up his bag. "Ain't no problem sir. I wish ya'll luck out there. N hey, maybe if we meet again ya'll can tell me shit bout Bugaria. Been wantin t'head over there myself someday." "Oh you'd love it there! It's a wonderful place.." Finnley nodded, before kneeling down to Vi. "Ay kid, sorry fer scarin' ya." He holds out his hand and Vi raises a brow. "Let's battle again sometime aight?" Vi hesitates for a second before her usual smirk returns to her, placing her hand in his for a handshake. "Abso-goddamn-lutely heheh!! Better be a bigger challenge next time though!!" Finnley gave a great laugh and stood back up again. "You too kiddo! If you ain't gettin better ain't no damn point in it! I'll catch ya'll later uh?" "For certain. Take care." remarked Leif with a smile, as both teams parted ways.

As the towering Vessel took his leave.. he chuckled to himself.. "..Seeker.. Wanderer.. I wish ya'll could come with me when I go t'Bugaria.. I know ya'll'd love diggin' intuh th' place.." "...Maybe one day we will.. I'd love that."  

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Yamairu but it’s yamato leaving iruka all sorts of bouquets etc anonymously trying to build up the courage to say soemthing to him and kakagai come along to see iruka holding the current days bouquet and talking to naruto and yamato, assuming yamato confessed and iruka accepted because they both looked happy gai bellows out congrats on successfully wooing your lover! And they all just o_o except kakashi who just straight up snorts at the situation while naruto tries to figure out wtf is going on

Ao3

All week Iruka had been finding Bouquet laying around in various places. Different flowers in each one, and some that came with a bonus note attached to them.

The note never really helped him figure out who it was leaving him all of these little gifts. All they ever said were little encouragements like ‘today may be hard, but I know you can make it through just fine’ or a simple Hello.

They didn’t even have a signature for him to go off of.

His latest bouquet was no different. Found on his classroom desk after he had taken the kids outside for some taijutsu training, there was nothing on it that pointed to who his secret admirer might be.

Even Ino hadn’t been able to tell him who it was leaving him all of these flowers. Apparently, there hadn’t been anyone coming in three times a day to pick up various flower bouquets for him. Meaning they b we’re getting the flowers from someone’s garden, or somewhere else entirely.

“Iruka-Sensei!” Stopping in his tracks, Iruka looked up to see Naruto running through the market streets towards him with Captain Yamato not far behind. “I was just going to come to get you for some Ramen!”

Smiling, he pushed back all thoughts of the flowers and focused his attention on Naruto and the sudden rumbling in his stomach at the mention of Ramen.

“I wouldn’t turn down a bowl,” Watching as Captain Yamato came to a stop behind Naruto, he smiled. “Are you coming too, Captain?”

“Naruto said he wanted my company,” the Captain smiled, reaching out and placing a hand on Naruto’s shoulder as he spoke. “Isn’t that right?”

“I didn’t...” the captain’s friendly smile shifted into a more haunted look. With wide eyes staring down at Naruto with a silent promise.

A promise that would have had Iruka in defensive mode, getting between Naruto and the other man, if it had been anyone else.

With Captain Yamato though, he knew it was just a look. Nothing else.

Though he couldn’t quite explain how he knew that. It was just a gut feeling he got. Something deep down inside of him that said he could trust the Captain, even with his favorite knucklehead.

“Oh, did you get more flowers, Iruka-Sensei?” Naruto rushed forward, forgetting about the Captain for a moment in favor of poking the flowers in Iruka’s hand. “Any idea what weirdo keeps leaving them for you?”

“T-they’re not a weirdo!” Iruka insisted, pulling his flowers away from Naruto’s prying hands. “I mean...” he hoped they weren’t a weirdo.

“I’m sure whoever it is, they’re just trying to be nice,” Captain Yamato offered, the smile returning to his face when Iruka met his eyes. “They’re just flowers. A harmless gift.”

Something told Iruka that the Captain knew a bit more about his mysterious flowers than he was letting on. It would have to be a conversation for another day though. When Naruto wasn’t there to add his two cents on Iruka’s love life.

“Yo! Tenzo!” Hearing a familiar voice, Iruka glanced over Captain Yamato’s shoulder to see Kakashi and Gai headed their way. “Oh, and Iruka-Sensei!”

There was a hint of a smile in Kakashi's gaze. Not a new occurrence, but something that gave Iruka an uneasy feeling this time. As if something disaster out was about to happen.

"Yamato, you've done it!" Gai threw his arms out, ignoring the way that the Captain waved his hands sporadically. As if he was trying to tell Gai to shut up without actually say it. "Did Iruka-Sensei say yes? When is your date?"

Date?

Iruka's gears started to work, the scene in front of him fading from view just as Captain Yamato launched towards Gai in a desperate attempt to cover his mouth.

A date. Was Captain Yamato trying to ask him out on a date? Why would he do that? And how...

His eyes shot down to the flowers in his hands.

It explained why Ino didn't know of anyone buying multiple bouquets of flowers from the Yamanaka flowers shop. Why would Captain Yamato spend money on flowers when he could grow them himself?

Now that he knew who his secret admirer was, he couldn't stop himself from smiling. Captain Yamato. The man who always made sure to check up on Iruka and Naruto whenever he could. Who was more than willing to stand up to his favorite Senpai, while at the same time being an absolute sucker for him.

He really had won the jackpot in the secret admirer lottery.

"Iruka-Sensei," seeing a hand being waved in front of his face, Iruka focused back in on reality to see Naruto standing there beside him with a worried look on his face. "Are you alright, Sensei? You weren't answering me at all, dattaboy."

"Ya, I'm fine," he smiled, turning his attention back over to Captain Yamato and Gai-Sensei to see them in the midst of an argument. Well, more like Captain Yamato was scolding the older man. "Captain, Be nice. He was just trying to be supportive."

"He was being nosey is what he was being," the Captain huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing back at Iruka. "I-Ignore him. He didn't mean..."

"Are you saying that you don't want a date, Captain?" placing his hands on his hips, Iruka narrowed his eyes. 'And to think, I just got my hopes up. I was going to have a date with Konoha's cutest Jonin."

"Gross." Naruto stuck out his tongue.

"Mah, Iruka you shouldn't be so nice to him," Kakashi-Sensei chuckled. "He's just-"

"And why shouldn't I?" turning his attention towards the copy nin, Iruka huffed. "He's easily the most handsome Jonin in all of Konoha, and the kindest. Even Gai-Sensei isn't as sweet as him, and you're a far way away from being as cute."

"That was uncalled for," The copy nin's shoulders dropped, though there was still a chuckle in his voice when he spoke. "But I was just saying..."

"And besides, I've been looking for a good date for a while," Iruka continued, ignoring Kakashi's protests. "Though I'm surprised Captain Yamato would want to ask me out, I'd be a fool to turn him down. I couldn't possibly do any better."

"Well, there we go," Kakashi sighed, pointing a finger towards the Captain. "you've done it now."

Frowning, Iruka turned his attention back to the Mokuton user and screeched when he saw the state the man was in.

Covered from head to toe in a variety of different flowers, he had the cutest smile on his face and a dreamy look in his eyes. For a second, it looked like he was going to become one with Nature, literally.

"I told you to stop," Kakashi-sensei sighed. "He doesn't know how to handle praise."

[fictionxing]

When It Rains... Mando x Reader | 2033 Words | Fluffy Goodness

A/N: So uh, forgive any weird tense shifts. I’ll try and fix them tomorrow when it’s not 2am. Also might make a part two where there’s more flirting if there’s interest!

Of course you would get stuck here. It was, after all, supposed to be a quick job. Land on the planet, find the bail jumper (as there seemed to be many bail jumpers in the outer rim these days), cart him back to the ship. The contact didn’t bother to mention that the planet the bail jumper was on had an ever present storm that roamed across the plant and it was scheduled to occupy the area right after you landed. Which, none you knew until after you landed.

So, it was more like the ship got stuck here and, therefore, you, the Mandalorian, and the tiny green child were stuck here too. You personally found the rain calming and watching the rivets travel down the windows in the cockpit was fairly occupying. Your companions, however, were not enjoying the days spent cooped up in what is honestly a rather small ship. Privacy was becoming an ever present and highly sought after luxury.

And, to your credit, you tried to keep out of Mando’s hair. It couldn’t be comfortable being forced to wear the helmet all the time and the poor man needed to eat on occasion. The child, on the other hand, was beginning to find all new places he could explore, which only made you and Mando more stressed. He was curious which meant he was often mischievous after exploring all of the easy to access places. In turn, it meant Mando and yourself were often having to keep a closer eye on him than normal causing further frustrations.

Glancing down, you tapped at you HoloPad once more, attempting to see if you could get any signal at all. If you could find when the end of the rain would be here, it may make it easier for Mando. At least, you thought it could help, as it would signal an end to being in cramped quarters. However, the storm was causing all sorts of interference due to being both incredibly large and seemingly never-ending. You sighed and tossed the tablet onto the dashboard. It was of no use anyway.

Behind you, you hear the sound of the door opening and you turn to see the Child waddling towards you. When he see you, he coos and waddles faster, extending a hand towards you in order to give you whatever it is he’s holding.

“Mah!” he pronounced proudly, his small arms reaching up towards you.

“Ah, what do you have here?” you asked, grinning down at him. No doubt he was involved something mischievous but seeing him so proud of his present was heartwarming. Reaching down, you took the long metal tube he was holding, realizing it was the removable scope Mando kept on his Amban rifle. “Hmm, are you supposed to have this?” you asked, an eyebrow raising as you glanced down at the child. His ear drooped slightly, obviously upset that you weren’t pleased with his gift. He babbled for a moment and you sighed, reaching down to pull him into your arms as you stood.

“Thank you for the gift,” you said. “But, this belongs to Mando and I think he’s really going to miss it. We should probably return it to him.” He responded with a long coo, ears hanging low. It pulled at your heart to see him so sad, so you tweaked one of his ears and smiled once more. “Come on, let’s go find him, hm?” The child perked up a small bit at your good humor and you began to make your way down to the hold of the ship.

Climbing down the ladder with one hand was tricky, but you managed by going slowly. As you reached the bottom, you could hear the sounds of Mando rummaging through one of his crates. Before you came into view, you knocked loudly against the metal siding of the ship, warning him of your presence just in case. You could hear him softly sigh before calling out, “Yes?”

Taking that to mean you could round the corner safely, you stepped into the loading dock to see Mando surrounded by several opened crates and the Amban rifle sitting on the small table in a few pieces. “I’m sorry,” you apologized, setting the child on one of the unopened crates. “I just wanted to bring this back to you. Someone decided to bring me a gift, but I figured you needed it more.”

As you held out the scope towards him, you heard him sigh again - this time deeper than before. “I was wondering how I had lost it,” he said, reaching out to take it. “I probably should have guessed it was the womp rat.” Despite the rather uncouth nickname, you could hear the warmth in his tone. Even the battle-hardened Mandalorian couldn’t stay mad at the child, it seemed.

“I can say he has wonderful taste,” you replied. “Even without the rifle, that’s a handy piece of tech.”

You felt your body warm as he chuckled. “Yes, it is,” he said simply, moving back to the table in order to properly finish the job of reconstructing his rifle.

You stood there awkwardly for a few moments, not knowing quite what to do. After a moment, a rattling noise caught your attention and you turned to see the Child attempting to climb inside one of the open crates. Sighing, you pulled him out and setting him on the table next to Mando before turning and beginning to pack away the crate.

“You don’t have to do that.” You turned to look over your shoulder, seeing Mando grabbing a few items as well.

“It’s fine,” you assured, giving him a small smile though feeling a weight in your gut. “I’ll just gather up everything and close the lids and then I’ll head back up.” You didn’t to impose on his company if he didn’t want you there, but he was also currently occupied. It would only take a few minutes to tidy up and then you would leave him to his work.

“It’s my mess,” he replied. “I can take care of it.”

“Of course,” you said, wanting to argue but your logical side urging you to keep the peace winning out. “I’ll just… head up back up then.” You stepped around him, making sure to keep a wide berth. You heard the child coo in confusion as you walked past but you ignore him.

As you climbed the ladder, you felt a lump in your throat form. Once you had safely made your way back into the cockpit and the metal doors were safely shut behind you, you leaned against them and gently thumped your head against it. “Idiot,” you thought. “You know he isn’t the mood for your hovering.” Sighing to yourself, you pressed the heels of your palms into your hands to will yourself to stop the feeling of tears forming. “What a silly thing to be upset about,” you thought. It was becoming more apparent over the course of your time stuck together that you had started develop feelings of… fondness… toward the Mandalorian. While you originally admired him and found him to be a fair and capable partner through your adventures in the galaxy, you had come to treasure the quiet moments between you.

You knew what was happening - you weren’t stupid after all. His chuckles caused your stomach to come to life with butterflies. The brief and rather innocuous touches caused your heart to beat faster. And anytime you saw him with the child your stomach would flip. But a crush on a Mandalorian… it was idiocy. Yes, he was a good man and no, the fact that you’d never seen him didn’t bother you. But you knew, in broad strokes, what his code was and the obligations he was required to fulfill. He had made both very clear when you’d joined his crew. You respected it and even found yourself doing what you could to help him reach his goals. But within that… there wasn’t much room for romance. Thus, all of these feelings were pointless and made you act like a fool.

“No point beating yourself up,” you murmured. You can be his friend. You can help him. Both of those are important and worthwhile even without acting on your feelings. Focus on those instead. Taking a final deep breath, you began to stand up when the door behind you suddenly opened, sending you falling backwards.

Thankfully you didn’t tumble to the ground, but instead felt your back collide with a rather solid and hard chest. You looked up to see Mando staring down at you and you can see your shocked face staring back at you in the shiny metal.

“Are you alright?” he asked quietly, and you could feel the rumble from them in his chest.

Blinking a few times, you finally came to your senses. “Yes! I’m fine!” you said, a little too loudly and hastily moved to stand upright. “Sorry! I didn’t realize you were coming up behind me.”

He was quiet for a moment, simply staring at you through the visor of his helmet. You felt yourself start to fidget and forced you hands behind your back. Suddenly he asked, “Is something wrong?”

The question took you by surprise. Again, you blinked at him a few times before your gaze fell the the floor. “Um, no?” you said.

“You don’t sound sure.”

“Just probably feeling a little cabin fever,” you said.

He didn’t respond, but instead moved into the cockpit more fully, finally letting the doors close behind him. “I…” he started, sounding unsure of himself. That was… new. “Are you…”

“Really, Mando,” you said, interrupting him and forcing a smile on your face. “It’s fine. I’m okay.” You gave him an affirming nod and turned to sit down in the co-pilot’s seat but felt his gloved hand catch your wrist. It surprised you, and you turned to face him again. He didn’t immediately speak and you wondered what he was thinking. You wished you could see his face so at least you could get some clues.

“I just…” he started, still sounding unsure. “I just wanted to make sure that I haven’t… done… anything.”

“Done anything?” you asked. “No, of course not!”

“So… you’re not… frightened of me?”

“Frightened?” you repeated. “No, not at all!”

“Then why have you been avoiding me?” he asked and even without seeing his face you could tell he was feeling vulnerable at even asking.

“I haven’t-” you started, but he cut you off before you could continue.

“Don’t lie,” he said. “You’ve been… fidgety. And you don’t look at me much anymore, like you’re avoiding me. You’ve been jumpy when I speak. And don’t say it’s because we’re stuck here. It’s was happening before we landed.”

Your mouth opened and closed a few times, and you felt a little like a fish just gaping at him. “I’m not… jumpy. I’m just… I mean, it’s been stressful and… uh.” Now it was your turn to be tongue-tied, it seemed. “I didn’t want to intrude on your space,” you finally said, sighing. “It’s just me being weird, is all. It’s nothing you need to worry about. I promise.”

He stared at you for a long moment before he did something that surprised you. In a slow and, perhaps, unpracticed motion, he pulled you closer and wrapped his arms around you. Mando was… hugging you? It was a strange hug, considering the stiffness of his arms and hardness of his metal armor, but a hug nonetheless. You wrapped your arms around him in return, pressing your face against the cool Beskar against his chest.

“Thank you,” he finally said. “And… know that you are never intruding. I’ve… uh… missed your conversations. It’s hard to have one with a kid who doesn’t talk, after all.”

You giggled and pulled away from him. “That’s fair. I just know that it’s probably difficult and I didn’t want to feel compelled to always wear the helmet, just for my sake.”

“It’s a small price to pay for your company,” he replied and you felt your cheeks light up. Oh, what you wouldn’t give for your own helmet now.

[tigers-eyes-26]

Elope part 2 (warning adult themes)

She wasn’t going against her promise!  She promised that anyone wouldn’t spy on Donald, she didn’t promise anything would spy on him on his boat. After a call from Huey, Gyro had set up the spy equipment in the tv room. Soon they saw that Donald picked up Daisy and helped her with her luggage. “Awwwwwwww!” Huey, Dewy, Louie, Webby, Mrs. Beakley and Della cooed. Gyro he rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe my tech is being used for such trivial things.”

Gyro was the first one to leave Mrs. Beakley was close after. Louie quickly drifted to his phone. Webby was trying to teach Dewey how to do a head stand. Della had tipped her head back and was lightly snoring. Huey was the only one that was still intently looking at the screen. He had turned down the volume as to not wake his mom. Huey was fiddling with the controls of the spy bot he realized that they were coming up on another boat.

“HEY GUYS!” Huey was shaking his mom. Dewey fell from his head stand, Louie dropped his phone, Mrs. Beakley poked her head into the room.

“huah wha what?” Della groggily came too.

“There is another boat!” everyone squished together to get a good look at the other boat.

“….The Porpy?” Louie read.

Della perked up. “What!”

“You know the ship?”

Della vaguely waved her hand, “Kinda… Fethry worked on that boat for a summer. I can’t remember the captain’s name. It is like Mosby……Mores…. Moras???”

“Ahoy Captain Moby!” Donald’s voice rang out in the TV room.  Everyone’s head whipped back to the Tv. Louie had turned up the volume while Della talked. He shrugged “I figured we can listen in now.”

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

“Ta be honest Donald, I was surprised you call me to do this.” Captain Moby sat down on a crate watching Donald checking the sting of lights that had framed the deck.  “Always figured your old uncle would be the one officiating.”

Donald stood back to look at his handy work. “Yeah…. But you know how it is with Uncle Scrooge. Worst case a super villain would crash the wedding. Best case the paparazzi would make some crazy story about the wedding.”

The Captain had never thought about the plights of Donald before, “Yar tis hard to be related to Scrooge McDuck.”

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

“HE’S ELOPING! THAT NO GOOD….GAH!” Della swung back and forth as she punched and kicked the air. Mrs. Beakley had hauled Della up by her collar as soon as she saw Della turning red. “I SHOULD BE THERE! I’M HIS TWIN! WHAT ABOUT FAMILY!?!”  

All the kids looked at each other. There were sad about not being there, but they also knew what Donald had said was a 100% possibility.

 Scrooge dejectedly opened his front door. His feathers where ruffled. He had lost another artifact to Goldie. Now all he wanted was to sit on a comfy chair, maybe search his pockets to see if Goldie had left him a clue to the next adventure. Scrooge looked at the impending stairs his joints screamed at him to reconsider. He heard some hubbub coming from the TV room. The TV room had comfy chairs…… He directed himself toward the room. Scrooge opened the double doors and every head snapped to his direction. What had he stumbled upon? The silence hung in the air everyone waited for Scrooge to react. He scanned the room then his eyes saw his nephew on the screen. He squinted. “Is tha mah tux?”  

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

Donald kept rubbing his feet together, tugging at his jacket and top hat. He Breathed in the salty air. There was a nice light breeze. Finally, everything was perfect. Then why did he have to fidget so much? Captain Moby slapped Donald on the back. “Thar she comes!” Donald straighten up and faced the door of his houseboat. Daisy slowly opened the door revealing her months hard work, Her wedding dress. It was light pink with small puff sleeves and with a billowy skirt that ended mid-calf Her light pink covered her hair which had been let down from her usual bun. The veil had roses on each side of her face. Daisy was amazing! Donald could do nothing but stare. His eyes sparkled watching her walk toward him. Daisy gleamed at Donald looking so dashing. They reached and held each other’s hands.

“Well hello there, toots.” Donald winked at her. She smiled a little wider.

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

“HE ISN’T EVEN WEARING THE FAMILY TARTAN! WHERE IS THE LUCKENBOOTH? WHERE IS THA FRAOCH GEAL!??”

Duckworth had to be recruited to hold Della while Mrs. Beakley held Scrooge.

“Now that is quite enough! Shame on both of you for imposing your own ideas on Donald’s wedding! If this is how he wants to get married, then so be it!”

“What about family!?” Della and Scrooge chorused.

“Yes.” Beakley said smoothly, “What about family supporting each other’s decisions?” She raised a brow to them.

“This is totally different!” Scrooge grumbled.

“Why is it different?” Huey spoke up.  The adults looked over to the children who had been quite until now.

“Yeah Uncle Scrooge!” Dewey was not following the conversation but there to support.

Duckworth let Della down “Well boys a wedding is a celebration of two families uniting together.”

“I thought it is a celebration of two individuals uniting together and the family is there to celebrate them?” Huey countered.

“Ah… well” He wasn’t wrong.

“So, if Donald wants to Unite with Daisy with no family around its ok.” Huey nodded officially. “besides we can throw them a party later.”

Della rubbed Huey’s head, “That is a good solution, Sweety.”

“Hold up!” Scrooge started squirming again in Beakley’s grasp. “this is also Clan Affairs and as Clan head I have to be there for the union to be official!”

“Jeez Uncle Scrooge, if you want to control a wedding so bad why don’t YOU get married!?” Louie smirked.

Scrooge stumbled over his words to make a remark back to Louie. Eventually he just crossed his arms and grumbled.

 The kids returned to sit around the tv, the two adults were now seated on the couch behind them. Mrs. Beakley was behind the couch ready to give their heads a wallop if they spoke out again. Della glazed her eyes over the screen watching her brother. He looked happy but She couldn’t stop her brain from asking why. Why Elope? A thought hit her like lighting. She was about to shout the idea, but she realized the idea she had wasn’t for young ears. She turned her body around on the couch to whisper to Beakley. “Do you think Daisy is….” She looked around to see if the kids were paying any attention.

Unfortunately, Scrooge was the one paying attention. “Hogwash!” He whisper-shouted, “I raised Donald to be a gentleman!”  

Beakley raised an eyebrow, “Because you’re such a gentleman.”

Scrooge glared at her. Before he could rebuttal Della joined the jest. “Tell me Uncle Scrooge; what did happen in that cabin at White Agony Creak?”

Scrooge turned bright red. He glanced at the children then pointed at Della, “Tha’ was a long time ago!”

No one had any space to throw stones at Donald. There was a reason Beakley was raising her granddaughter and there was a reason Della was raising her sons in her uncle’s home. They had no evidence on Donald’s and Daisy’s situation but speculation. They also had no evidence that the kids did hear their conversation. The kids kept their faces glued to the screen with uncomfortable frowns on their faces. If the adults could hear the kids’ thoughts, they would hear a barrage of STOP TALKING!

 They watched after Captain Moby left and Donald and Daisy had their first dance. Donald Sang as he twirled Daisy around. The sun was setting behind them. Everyone knew their viewing party was coming to an end.

Della’s curiosity was now satisfied. “Huey, honey?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Drown the bot.” There was no humor in the command.

“But what about Gyro?” Huey sputtered. “This is his creation.”

“Gyro doesn’t need any of this footage. Also we really don’t need to record the rest of their….trip.”

Huey hesitated. “Well, I guess it is a violation of privacy….”

“Gyro can make another one if he needs. If that cranky genius gets mad just tell him I broke the bot, I can deal with him.”

Huey turned back to the controls he sent the bot into the inky depths.

Scrooge stood up, “Welp! Ah’m goan’ ta bed.” He popped some kinks in his back. The family wished their Uncle good night and started to shuffle off to their rooms.

 “Did ya get it?” Dewey asked his brothers.

“Well of course.” Huey bragged, “it wasn’t even that hard.”

“Let’s see your handy work.” Louie looked over Huey’s shoulder at the laptop.

Huey had recorded the whole wedding. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen, and it made his romantic little heart burst. He couldn’t let this special moment be lost. Maybe they would put music and give to Uncle Donald and Aunt Daisy for their anniversary. Even if they weren’t physically there at the wedding, they had the moment saved forever.

[yukikorogashi]

💞💖💘💕 don't have to do them all if you don't want to, this just seems cute!

Positivity meme (Slowly Accepting)

Send 💞 and my muses will say something nice about your muse

   FOR AS NERVOUS AS SHE WAS, there was no denying just how EXCITED she still was-- as she began making way up to the front of the classroom itself. Having even gone through the effort of asking for both her uncles’ feedback, when it came to both her written and oral presentation. Both-- that have certainly needed quite some reworking, as expected. Still, however, that night would prove itself to be exhausting and yet, surprisingly fun. Especially as she sat there and listened to TWO VERY DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEWS on the subject matter itself. Now rewritten and even typed out from the FAMILY TYPEWRITER itself (That she had an absolutely BALL typing on-- that was, until Uncle Hosea stepped in due to the typos she kept making). she was ready. At least, so she wanted to believe... as she looked over her entire class, and over towards her teacher then. As she straightened the essay held firmly within her very hands, Itsuki would clear her throat, straighten her back one more time, and began:

   “Ah ‘ave dreamed about the day dat ah would get ta find a place ah could call mah very own HOME. An’ yet, little did ah know dat he would come in the form of a man named ARTHUR MORGAN. A kind, an’ hardworkin’ man, WHOM ah had only gotten da chance ta meet wit’. When he had paid a visit to the ORPHANAGE-- jus’ so he could HELP OUT. An’ while he ain’t all dat-- oof, sorry-- is not much of a talker, his ACTIONS always spoke louder than words. The day we got ta meet an’ sit ta-gether at the swings, would be the beginnin’ of the BEST DAYS of mah life. As ah would soon enough, be allowed ta call this man... mah own FATHER.

    Now, as ah had mentioned earlier, mah pa-- mm, ‘cuse me-- father, is a hardworkin’ man. Who always gets up before the crack of every dawn, and works his fingers to the bone. On the ranch that he near singlehandedly takes care of. An’ despite that, mah pa still finds the time ta watch o’er me, an’ help me out wit’ mah homework, whenever need it. Every moment we get to spend ta-gether is an ADVENTURE. Even when it comes ta preparin’ DINNER, you’d ‘ave ta be there ta believe it.

  Ah love my pa, an’ uhm just so grateful ta ‘ave him in mah life. He makes me so PROUD ta be his DAUGHTER.”

   And she could only hope, that he felt the same way about her.

   AND SO WOULD THE REALISATION strike her, so much so like a bolt of lightning shot down from the VERY HANDS OF ZEUS himself. For despite having known the other far longer than she had any other soul in these past few centuries. Kassandra was still far less inclined to openly express herself these days, when compared to how her younger self would most likely have had... so very long ago. Grimacing to herself then as she remembered her attempts. Of the words that she had dared deemed SACCHARINE, Kassandra believed then that it was perhaps for the best that she had long since grown past... such ways.

   “Something nice, you say...” It wasn’t to say that she had nothing at all to say (The complete opposite, in fact), but simply struggled to string those words together in a coherent enough manner, right then and there, “Hm, let me see...” 

   “It has been so long since I have met a man like him. A man as loyal as he. That by the Gods themselves, it almost makes the HEIREIAI’S own actually PALE in comparison.” Remembering back to the very day that he had come to her aid, Kassandra’s first impression of these lands had definitely been salvaged thanks to him. Unlike those MALAKAS to which she had been more than glad to offer a MUCH NEEDED PAY BACK to, later on. “He is a good man...” A wonderful man, A GREAT MAN, in fact. Especially to this Spartan warrior. These few simple words... to which she would continue to struggle in openly expressing, save through a soft gaze from her. Or a touch from calloused fingertips themselves.

   Drifting off for a moment with a gentle purse of her lips, Kassandra’s eyes would then wander off to where he would now stand. As a more evident smile would begin to make its way upon already thoughtful features.

   “... one who has made me smile, if not laugh, so many times now since I have arrived here...” As it became apparent that some playful rough housing had since begun to take place between him and one of the other gang members, Kassandra would snort as she continued to watch them off from the side, “... And one whom I cannot possibly imagine NOT having in my life.”

Send 💖 and my muses will say something nice about you, the mun

   “... Naw way... is dat... is dat rea-leh ya???” Oh Goddess, just look how much they have changed since she had last met them. As Itsuki would begin to amble through the thick snow, so would a brilliant squeal would leave her as she flopped forward and threw her arms around them in greeting, “It is yoooou! Oh, Rory, it’s been AGES! It’s so good ta see ya again!!!” All too abruptly however, would she stop in her hopping (Humorously sluggish considering how much snow there was out here, but all the same as ENERGETIC as it possibly could be), and give the most POWERFUL POUT that she could muster up at them, “Hmph! Took ya long enough ta visit! Didn’ ah tell ya dat ah was gonna cook us the yummiest din-din da next time ya dropped by? ... Wait, ah didn’? ... Well then.” Wasting no more time then, so would the child begin to guide them back to her hut. With their hand held in her well-worn, but all the soft white mitten. It would offer some semblance of warmth from the cold itself, before a far greater source of heat from the fireplace greeted them from beyond the hut’s entrance drapes.

   “C’mon, sit yerself down, now! Ya need a break frum all’a dat hard work ya’ve been puttin’ in, oh, ah can tell! An’ ‘ave ya been gettin’ enough sleep?” Itsuki simply couldn’t take her eyes off them, as she began setting everything up. Grinning over to them every now and then, as she got the bowls and utensils ready. “Omgosh ah jus’... ah nearly didn’ recognise yer fer a second, y’know? But... ah know it’s ya, da moment ah took a good look at dem PEEPERS of yers! Still as purteh as da last time ah saw am, hehe! Oh-- uhm jus’ so glad ta see dat y’ve been doin’ so well fer yerself, y’know? Ah mean-- ah heard ‘bout how yer doin’ fer da sis. But, uhm so glad dat ah can finall-eh see it fer m’self! An’ jus’ tell ya how PROUD ah am of ya! Yer jus’ kickin’ so much BUTT out there, an’ it shows!”

   As she handed a large bowl of OHAW over to them, Itsuki would still continue to chatter excitedly away.

   “Ya gotta share wit’ me what ya’ve been studyin’ over thar, hehe! Please!”

   A KNOWING SMILE would begin to grace her lips, as she acknowledged the other with the slightest nod of her head. "And so, do we finally meet... Come, sit with me.” And as she would say those words, the immortal swore that she could hear IKAROS’ near indignant squawk amidst the red cardinals, bluejays, and goldfinches that have chosen to brave the coldest of seasons itself. To which she would silently offer a half-hearted apology, and a sigh through her nose in remembrance. For it was a pity, seeing as he would have liked them. 

   “... Malaka, it amazes me just how well you are able to withstand this cold during every single year!” The statement would leave her in an almost boisterous sort of bark, one that clearly bore jest (While also most likely causing any nearby to jump). If not a desire to lighten the somewhat awkward air between them. After all, while they have known one another for quite some time now-- it would only be now, that they would be allowed to meet one another FACE-TO-FACE. And all thanks to the FATES themselves-- and of course, one other soul that couldn’t be there, right then. “I have most certainly heard a great deal about you, Rory. A shame that it is only now that we would finally have the chance to meet, no?” For their eyes would bear a striking resemblance to the FIESTY CHILD that she would hold near and dear to her heart, after all this time.

   “Now, let me see... Allow this great and powerful immortal to peer into your very soul~” Even as she would snort at her little half-joke, the woman would continue to study the other intently. Reaching out to brush some strands away from their forehead, as she continued to smile down at them. Her expression almost unreadable, before another eventually nod followed, with this one being one of the UTMOST APPROVAL, "Ah, so the tales are true.” Carrying on in her theatrics, Kassandra would sit back ever so slightly as she lifted the STAFF OF HERMES TRISMEGISTUS up to the skies themselves, “You-- Rory--bear the SOUL OF A WARRIOR. A flame that has burned and braved through much.” As she would settle her free hand back upon their shoulder, that mirthful expression was almost comforting. Once again, knowing for all that she had seen, and yet, bearing such WARMTH that she had since begun to offer to only very few, “There is so much waiting up ahead of you, Rory. So much that we are all so excited to see you accomplish... And so, accept this one piece of advice from me: Keep fighting. Promise me this, will you?”

Send 💘 and the mun will say something nice about your muse

   I will never forget the day when Rory and I started talking about you, after watching that very first trailer that featured you, Mister Morgan. We had such high expectations, and good lord, did you blow it all COMPLETELY OUT OF THE WATER! Heh, like, you aren’t just a handsome outlaw, are you? You ended up being so, SO MUCH more than that. And I thank the lord each day that Rory chose to pick you up as a much. And do SO MUCH JUSTICE when it comes to their HEARTFELT PORTRAYAL of you. We have had so many amazing interactions together, and one of the best things I got to be blessed with over these past years was Itsuki finally getting to have such a wonderful man as her father! And of course, not only that... I see you spending some time with a certain Grecian lady~ Oh, you know the one I’m talking about ~ 😏

   You are most certainly one of the most comforting presences to see now on this site... especially when times are admittedly as rough as they are. And, I hope you know how always make Itsuki’s day, whenever you choose to comment or pop in her inbox to say hi or chastise her, hehe. I just always love seeing you around on my dash, Mister Morgan. And don’t think I forgot those sweet words you left for me on my old blog during one rough day I had. I just wish I had been able to keep a digital copy of it, truth be told. But I will most certainly never ever forget them. 

   Now, forgive me for ending this off like a typical fangirl. But we love you, YES WE DOOOOO!!! And sorry, sir. But I’m gonna have to break social distancing and give you a big ol’ hug now... And of course, thank you so much for the JELLYBEANS! c:

Send 💕 and the mun will say something nice about you, the mun

   WHEW, I’m sorry this took awhile, but I really wanted to make sure that I got all of this done properly (Especially with ol’ Kassandra, hahaha!). But oh man, oh man... Rory, please. You know what this is going to lead to. When it comes to me gushing about you. Say something nice? ONE THING? PUH-LEASE! You are one of my bestest friends, Rory... and I get so choked up, no matter how many times I say that. I thought you were going to be one of those super cool folks that I was going to just admire from afar. But no, the Gods themselves must be smiling down upon me because we ended up talking and well, the rest is history. We have done so SO MUCH together over the years that it still amazes me to this day, tbh... During some days when we reminisce together, another memory pops up that makes us go “HOLY SHIT, OH YEAH!!!” I am just so happy that we can talk about nearly anything, you know? How we can connect on so many things, tbh. No matter what the subject is, I swear-- we always get into some long-ass conversations, and I just love that so much!!! 

   But oh, what the heck am I doing? I’m suppose to be saying nice things about YOU! And the stuff before is just cheating, so get to it, Becky! Like, Rory... you are just an amazing friend to everyone that knows you tbh. A person that everyone is so lucky to have in their corner. I know so many people feel the same way as me, and can never express their gratitude enough for all that you have done for them as a friend. You are just such a kind, patient, genuine, and empathetic person, and that is honestly so damn rare to find in people these days. Which is why I am always so grateful that I can open up to you on my worst days, and especially when you yourself are so wonderful as to reach out to me and give me a hug first... I’m such a weenie that has since started to huddle in her corner. So when I hear you from behind me, tapping gently on my shoulder the way you do... I’m so grateful, Rory. I truly am...

   And not only that, you know by now that I stan TF out of your writing, and think that you are one of the most amazing writers I have ever known! You know I enjoy tf out of every interaction I get to have with you. Ever amazing interaction we get to have between our muses. And honestly, I will always be one of your biggest fans. Who will be booing and hissing at those who are too blind to see quality when its right in front of them! You are honestly such an intelligent, hardworking and talented individual, Rory... And I can’t say that enough, tbh. If you ever wrote and published a book one day, you KNOW I’m gonna be the first one to preorder it! So you better tell me when you do... catfish? B(

   But just in case I don’t find a good Christmas or EOY meme... I hope you know much I cherish you, bud. How proud I am to bear witness to how far you have come over these past years. I am literally already vibrating here for the day you graduate too tbh. Like ohhhh, I think I need to do a video recording to YELL over just how proud I am when that day comes for you!!! Please continue to fight with all your might, okay, bud? We are all cheering you on, and ofc, I’m always here whenever you need a breather from that tough ass battle. I love you so much, and can’t wait to our next chat on Discord!!!

[hylukotranslations]

B-PASS - June 1993 Album: Darker Than Darkness -Style 93- Text by Yasue Matsuura

All the members : For the rehearsals from January, we spent 50 days for 5 songs (Toll Yagami). For this album, the theme for making the songs was : "let's work being in a hurry and calming down" (Hisashi Imai).

If we follow the evolution of your work, since November of last year you should have started making songs. How about it in reality ? Were Imai-kun and Hide-kun really composing in November ?

(Imai and Hide looks at each other and grin)

What the hell are these smiles. What does it mean !?

Hisashi : At first, we had planned to start in November... But I was, how to say, working over and over on it, emm, so it wasn't yet...

Toll : And you went to the bars.

Hisashi : No, if I do that...

Atsushi : That won't arrange (laughs).

Hisashi : (laughs) I was drinking on the sly.

All : (burst out laughing)

Hidehiko : As for me I...

U-ta : You were drinking, right ?

Hidehiko : I left like that (laughs) (he takes a pose to show that he leaves 2 or 3 mm from the bottom of the bottle)

(Again all the members laugh)

Toll : After all you both were drinking.

And you hadn't made any song.

U-ta : You couldn't make songs but you were very drunk (note : play on words : "dekiru" = to make, "dekiagaru" = to be drunk)

(laughs) It was it in the beginning of this year that everyone really got the songs, right ?

Toll : Yes.

Then what were you doing in December ?

Hisashi : Preparing the party.

Gahahahaha.

Hisashi : Ah, but maybe I had finished one song. No, ah, I hadn't recorded it yet...

Toll : Were you still working over and over on it !?

Hisashi : That's what it means, if I say it differently.

You had ideas but you were at the stage where you were wondering how to combine them ?

Hisashi : Yes, if I say it in the good sense (laughs).

And you Hide-kun, in December ?

Hidehiko : Around the end of December, I had finished 2 songs.

At that stage, the others didn't listen to them yet ?

Hidehiko : I brought them to Acchan's place, then I went to my parents' and spent the last day of the year there. First of all, since Acchan writes the lyrics, I thought that he should listen to them first.

What did you think when you listened to them at first, Acchan ?

Atsushi : I thought that the 2 songs were different from what he has done so far. Also that they resembled Hide.

In January, you could start the rehearsals for 5 songs (3 songs of Imai, 2 of Hide).

Toll : We spent 50 days for 5 songs.

I heard that you spent too much time on them (laughs).

Toll : Thank to you (laughs).

Were you in hurry, thinking that you still had only 5 songs, and that you had to do much more ?

U-ta : For this album, the persons other than the members seemed really to lose patience, like if they were anxious.

Toll : Although we who were the ones to work didn't feel that at all.

In February they were already wondering : could we really finish for the release date !?

U-ta : Only the people around us were getting impatient, even the roadie Asami. When I told him : everything is ok, right ? he said : the members are the only ones to think that.

In February, you recorded the rhythm part of the 5 songs in a studio in the suburbs of Tokyo. When I went there, what I saw was a rotenburo (note : open air bath), a mah-jong table, games, and U-ta wearing only underpants (laughs).

U-ta : Stop that please...

You've just got out from the rotenburo, right ? But at that moment, Anii and Acchan weren't at the studio, so I interviewed only U-ta-kun and Hide-kun and left.

Hisashi : As for me, I was composing at home.

Toll : Personally I went back home since my recording was finished.

What about you Acchan ?

Atsushi : I wanted to write lyrics, so...

You were driving your beloved car.

Atsushi : (laughs)

U-ta told me that you went out to search subjects for your lyrics.

Atsushi : Well, I wanted to change of mood that way. Since when you stay for a long time at one place, you get bored.

What are the advantages and drawbacks of a recording lodging together like that ?

U-ta : The advantages is maybe that we can listen all together to what we recorded the day itself. And we can express immediately our impressions and opinions. Rather than recording and going back home and listen, and returning to the studio to discuss, it's more direct. As for the drawbacks, since we are all together, when we gather for a meeting, as we talk about this and that we start drinking and it could last for a long time (laughs).

It seems that Hide was playing good at mah-jong.

Hidehiko : This is about advantages (laughs).

And Imai-kun was addicted to Othello.

Hisashi : Yes.

You were saying, once more, once more, it was hard to finish when you had to go back.

Hisashi : Who told you that ?

Shimokawa-kun (manager). You went there to record the rhythm part, and yet all the five members gathered at the studio.

U-ta : You know, we've always been like that.

Hisashi : That's something normal for us...

U-ta : Since Imai-san had to compose the songs, he left before us, but it wasn't like he didn't participate at all from the beginning to the making of the songs. And if Imai-san didn't want to come, we probably wouldn't have cared if we didn't come.

The making of the three songs of Hide-kun progressed quickly, right ?

Hidehiko : We recorded the guitars also there, so I stayed there for a quite long time. And I also played mah-jong.

And Acchan was starting writing lyrics.

Atsushi : I was working discretely on a table which was at the corner of the lobby. But since it was a studio which was situated in a place like a resort, everyone was joyful, so I myself felt joyful (laughs). So it was difficult to concentrate.

U-ta : 10 days were good. If we have worked longer in a resort-like studio, it could have last for a long time.

Toll : If we had tried to do the whole work there, we would have felt saturated.

In March, you took around 10 days for Imai-kun's composition period, and you started rehearsing the songs that were made, and at the same time you carried on recording.

U-ta : Yes. We went back to the studio in Tokyo, and I and Anii were doing "guru guru rehearsals" (note : guru guru = turning round and round).

Toll : We were playing the same songs rotating them. We didn't want to get bored so we were playing the songs saying : next ! next ! and they were just turning round and round (laughs).

U-ta : So we two were saying that we were doing "guru guru rehearsals" (laughs).

Hisashi : Rather than saying with words that the next song will be of such kind, I thought that they would understand better if they heard it instantly from the demo-tapes, so until they were finished I practically didn't make them listen to them.

Atsushi : So, it's by listening to the demo-tapes that we could better understand the image of the songs, so we were patiently waiting until they were made.

Were you drinking ?

Hisashi : A little (laughs). Just a bit before going to bed. I just avoided drinking bourbon. Otherwise I would have died the next day.

Atsushi : Just beer I think. Just one small bottle of 350 ml.

Hidehiko : I too lightly. Maybe just some wine.

U-ta : We couldn't of course think of drinking until we were dead drunk, really.

In April you entered the second half. Your work was surprisingly progressing swimmingly.

Atsushi : Personally, I was worried. Even when I was drinking, there was a huge mound of things to do, so I was feeling guilty... Everyone was working well, so if I told them : I couldn't finish the lyrics in time, there was no excuse. Just that when I was unable to write, I could decide to abandon, I've become able to think : today I stop.

Hisashi : I too, when I think hard I lose discernment, so I say to myself that I have to end here for today, that I'll do it again tomorrow, and I drink. For this album, the theme for making the songs was : "let's work being in a hurry and calming down" (laughs).

U-ta : I think that it was hard for Imai-san to switch his mood. He was composing, at the same time he was coming to the studio, he also had to think about his guitar, to see the balance of the whole. It must have been hard also from the point of view of the time.

Moreover, he wrote the lyrics for 2 songs.

Hisashi : Concerning the lyrics, since there were themes that I wanted to write about, I could write quickly. I also told Acchan that I wanted to write for these songs.

Whatever the process was, let's say that all is well that ends well (laughs). The 29th of April, the take down was finished. So it can be released on the release date.

U-ta : That's why it was alright. Though everyone was in a hurry. Since everyone around us was getting nervous, we were also starting to get nervous... So I thought that this wasn't good.

Hisashi : Actually, tiredness was accumulated in me. To the point that I felt like this wasn't my body (laughs).

Atsushi : I feel like it's because we sometimes delayed the schedule that we could concentrate and naturally wanted to make something good. But well, that's something that we can say now that we could finish for the release date (laughs).

Your tour will start the 20th of May. To end, can I ask you about your enthusiasm ?

Hidehiko : I'll do my best.

That's all ?

Hidehiko : No... Emmm, let's say that I'll do my best from the bottom of my heart (laughs).

U-ta : I think that we are going to do a good tour, so please come to see us. I think that it's going to be offensive lives.

Toll : They are probably going to be wonderful lives !

Hisashi : I want the lives to be offensive, brutal, biting.

Atsushi : I will do the tour being self-confident, I'd like to show you dreams in my own special way, at least as an impostor.

--fin

translation: hyluko [livejournal] scans: tigerpal [livejournal]

NOTE: these translations are not mine also might not be very accurate. i took them from hyluko’s site using the wayback machine. thought they’re great to share. if the owner is around and wants me to take them down i will!

[hovercraft79]

The Closer I’m Bound in Love to You, the Closer I Am to Free

Chapters: 1

Word Count: 9,580

Fandom: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)

Rating: M

Warnings: SPOILER ALERT FOR SEASON 3, some angst, a bit of sexy times but not too graphic

Summary:

Hecate and Pippa finally spend their first night together. Everything is perfect until Hecate reveals a secret she’s been carrying for decades and Pippa has to figure out just what it means to support your partner – and how far she’ll go to do exactly that.

Notes:

As anyone who follows me knows, the RPs written by @pippa-pentangle and @misshecatehardbroom are some of my very favorite parts of tumblr. So when pippa-pentangle asked for a fic dealing with some of the revelations from season 3, the decision was easy: what pippa-pentangle wants, pippa-pentangle gets (and the same is true for misshecatehardbroom, as well). 

The title of this story is from the song Power of Two by the Indigo Girls. If you’ve never heard of them, they’re a fabulous folk duo that I can’t recommend highly enough.

Sparky was just thrilled to find out I had a new fic to edit – especially when it turned out to be 18 pages long. I can’t thank her – or pay her – enough. 

Hecate opened her eyes, slowly adjusting to the light pouring in through her bedroom window. Images from the night before flashed through her mind – a press of soft lips, the fiery tingle of fingertips ghosting over bare skin, the rapture of every nerve exploding as Pippa laid claim to her, body and soul. Finally. Fully.

Stretching across the mattress, Hecate savored the pull of muscles deliciously sore from unfamiliar use. Her hand brushed over the space where Pippa had been. It was empty. Hecate’s heart skipped a beat as she sat up, searching the room, but settled again when she spotted a pink dress tossed across a chair and two pink wedge-heeled shoes jumbled on the rug. Pippa, wherever she was at this moment, was still here. Hecate flopped back down on the bed and rolled onto Pippa’s side, feeling the residual warmth of her body, breathing in the faint scent of freesia - Pippa’s scent. It mingled with Hecate’s own rosemary and the musky aroma of sex. Of love. Of home.

Of something she shouldn’t have, she reminded herself. Couldn’t have. It wasn’t fair to Pippa. She sighed. Pippa cannot be her home. Last night was a mistake, she told herself, an achingly beautiful, wondrous miracle of a mistake. She could never let it happen again. She would definitely let it happen again.

Scrubbing a hand across her face, Hecate pushed herself up until she was seated, cross-legged, in the middle of the bed. She would have to tell Pippa. There was no disappearing this time. She knew as surely as she was bound to Cackle’s that neither of them would survive another breaking.

Her stomach rumbled a good morning, and Hecate wondered if Pippa had gone in search of breakfast. Casting out a locator spell, Hecate was surprised to find Pippa outside the castle.

Brows furrowed, Hecate rolled out of bed, wrapping the sheet around her as she crossed to the window and opened it. Leaning out, she scanned the grounds, searching for Pippa. A flash of motion caught her eye.

There, just past the edges of the manicured lawns, she spotted Pippa, spinning and whirling through a patch of wildflowers. With a flick of her fingertips Hecate sent a slight ping of magic Pippa’s way.

Pippa spun towards the castle at once, beaming. Hecate wasn’t prepared for the hot jolt of emotion that Pippa’s smile ignited within her – the intermingling of love and lust and longing that she had only ever felt with Pippa.

Hecate barely had time to recognize the warmth of Pippa’s magic as it washed over her before she found herself standing next to Pippa among the wildflowers. It took less than a heartbeat for her to remember she was wearing only a sheet.

“Pippa Phyllis Pentangle!” she shrieked, frantically pulling the sheet tighter. “Have you lost your pink-pickled mind?” Her voice dropped to a frenzied whisper, “I’m not wearing anything under this sheet!”

“I know,” Pippa whispered back, leaning in close enough that Hecate could feel her breath against her cheek. “I’m not wearing anything under this robe.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Wanna see?” Pippa made to untie the sash.

“NO!” Hecate snatched Pippa’s hand away, unable to stifle a laugh. “You’ve gone mad!” She raised a hand to transfer them back to her rooms, but Pippa was too quick, wrapping her arms around Hecate, trapping her hands at her sides.

“You’re absolutely right, Hiccup! I’m stark raving mad - for you!” She picked Hecate up and swung her around, spinning in circles until they were both laughing hysterically, dizziness threatening to send them toppling to the ground.

Hecate finally wiggled herself free. “Really, Pipsqueak! I don’t know what’s gotten into you. It’s not—”

Pippa cut her off with a deep kiss, pulling away only when the need for air forced them apart. “You are what’s gotten into me, Hecate Hardbroom – literally and figuratively.” She threaded her fingers behind Hecate’s neck and pulled her into a series of slow, gentle kisses.

After a few minutes, Hecate pressed her hands against Pippa’s shoulders, separating them just enough to speak. “We’re in full view of the castle, Pip. If we continue doing this…” She trailed off as Pippa’s tongue flicked along her throat. “Please… somewhere private…” She shook herself free and stepped back, lips quirked into a grin. “I’d rather not have to endure Dimity Drill evaluating my technique as if it were some sort of mid-term examination.”

Giggling, Pippa laced their fingers together. “Don’t worry, darling, I’ve no doubt you’d ace that test just as you did all the others.” She brought their hands up and kissed Hecate’s palm, watching as a deep blush began creeping up Hecate’s chest and neck. “Don’t worry, darling, I understand.” She summoned the bouquet of flowers she’d picked for Hecate and pressed them into her arms “OH! Hiccup! I know just the place! Do you remember the Thistle’s pond? Just outside the grounds near the edge of the wood. It’s been ages since we’ve been there…” Before Hecate could answer, Pippa had transferred them away.

*****

Pippa’s tongue hurt and she could taste blood; she just couldn’t quite make out why. Her head buzzed with errant magic, and she seemed to be lying on the ground. Off to her right somewhere she heard a low moan coming from Hecate. Then it changed. The moan shifted into a high keening sound. Pippa could feel more than hear Hecate struggling to reach her.

“M’here, Hicc-hup.” Pippa’s tongue felt thick, and her words didn’t sound right – though that could have been the ringing in her ears. She reached out, hand flailing against the grass until she finally found Hecate’s hand. Lacing their fingers together, Pippa tugged as hard as she could, finally pulling them close enough for Hecate to collapse against her.

“Pip? Are you hurt?” Shaking hands flew over Pippa’s face and body. Pippa felt Hecate’s magic wash over her, sharp and hot in her panic. She never stopped whispering ‘I’m sorry.’

“I bid mah tong.” She rolled away from Hecate long enough to spit out a mouthful of blood. “Whah abow you?” She turned back to Hecate, who was staring at her with wide eyes and wild hair, the forgotten sheets puddled around her waist. “Your thide,” she said, pointing at Hecate’s bare ribcage. “You sscwaped your thide.” Head clearing, Pippa cast a healing spell over her tongue and Hecate’s side, then turned and spit again. “What happened?” she asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Did the Thistles put up a shield to keep people out?”

“N-no.” Hecate crumpled in front of her. Pippa reached for Hecate’s shoulder, jerking her hand back when Hecate flinched and pulled her knees to her chest, closing in on herself. “It’s to keep me in.”

“Hiccup?” Pippa stilled, not wanting to spook Hecate any further, but refusing to move away. Slowly, careful not to touch Hecate, she reached out and pulled the edges of the sheet up until Hecate was covered. Hecate refused to meet Pippa’s eyes, but she didn’t move to leave. Pippa kept a close eye on her hands, ready to grab hold at the first sign Hecate might try to transfer herself away. “Hecate? Please don’t shut me out. I’m not going anywhere. Whatever this is.” She slid one hand over until it just barely covered Hecate’s foot. “We’re together now, Hiccup. I’m not leaving you.”

Hecate’s head shot up, a look of horror twisting her features. “But you have to!” With that, whatever Hecate had been holding in, burst free. She buried her face in her knees, sobs shaking her bony shoulders. Pippa eased closer, still careful not to touch. “You don’t understand! You have to go! I’ll end up… Please…just go…” The instant the stiffness melted from Hecate, Pippa scooped her into her arms, rocking her back and forth as she broke.

“I’m not leaving, darling. Never. It took us thirty years to get here, to have each other and last night. I’m not going anywhere.” She cupped Hecate’s cheek and lifted her head until their eyes met. “I’m not going to let you leave me this time, either, Hiccup. I made that mistake once, and I’ve regretted it my entire life. I can’t survive you leaving me again.”

“Oh, Pip…” Hecate buried her face in Pippa’s neck, hands clutching at the robe on her shoulders. “I never left you. Never. I just needed you to leave me.”

“But why?” Pippa kissed Hecate’s forehead and tucked her under her chin. “I never understood why.”

Hecate clung to Pippa, fingers digging into the thin fabric of the robe. She tried to gather up every memory of last night, wrapping them around her soul much like the sheet was wrapped around her body. She prayed they would shield her against the pain she knew would come when Pippa left again – this time of her own volition. Taking a deep breath, Hecate sat up so she could see Pippa. Beautiful Pippa, she thought, looking into warm brown eyes. “D-do you remember…In…Indigo?” The name clawed its way out of her throat for the first time in over thirty years.

Pippa frowned, confused by the question. “Of course, I do. She was your best friend our Second Year. You were so devastated when she left. You changed so much… How could I forget her?”

Hecate refused to meet Pippa’s eyes, staring instead at the scattered flowers from her bouquet as she answered. “Indigo didn’t leave. I – I did something foolish and horrible.” Slowly, she looked up at Pippa. “Will you let me show you something?”

*****

Pippa dragged her eyes away from the stony visage of Indigo Moon and stared at Hecate, stunned. “Your whole life?” Pippa dropped to her knees in front of Hecate, “For something that happened when you were thirteen? I never would have thought that Ada would –”

“NO!” Hecate shook her head violently, “No! Ada is not… Ada… Ada has done everything she could to…” Wringing her hands together, Hecate took a deep breath, steadying herself. “Ada is not responsible for my confinement. She has done everything she can to help me have as normal a life as possible.” She let Pippa take her hands. “She did too good a job, I think.” Hecate stared at their linked hands. “She made me believe I could have a life with you.” She felt Pippa’s flinch.

“What are you talking about? Could have? We do have a life together! Hiccup?”

Lips pressed into a thin, tight line, Hecate shook her head. “I can’t… Pippa… I – I can’t let you bind yourself to me… not when I can never leave this place.” She squeezed Pippa’s hands until her knuckles ached. “I never should have let last night happen. It wasn’t fair to you…”

Pippa tugged a hand free, bringing it up to cup Hecate’s cheek. “Ohhh, my love…. Do you really not know?” She brushed a tear from Hecate’s cheek with her thumb. “I have been bound to you since I was fifteen years old. That isn’t going to change now.” She dropped her voice to its lowest register. “And last night should have happened thirty years ago.” She giggled and shrugged. “Well, maybe more like twenty-eight years ago, but you take my point.”

“How can you say that? I cannot leave the Academy grounds.” She placed a hand over Pippa’s, pressing it against her cheek before turning and kissing her palm. “You need to be free, not trapped here with me.”

“I’m free when I’m with you, Hiccup. Always have been. How does this really change anything for us, anyway?” She leaned forward until they were breathing the same air. “I never expected you to leave Cackle’s. We were always going to meet on Thursdays and weekends and breaks and anytime we could. The only thing this changes is that it will be me coming to Cackle’s instead of us trading off.”

Hope and guilt warred in Hecate’s heart. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You can’t ask me not to,” Pippa breathed, bringing their lips together, pouring every ounce of love and desire she felt for Hecate into the kiss. Hesitant at first, Hecate soon melted into Pippa, wrapping her arms around her neck and kissing back desperately. Finally, Pippa had to pull away, gasping for air, fingers tangling in Hecate’s hair. “Rooms… yours… transfer…” She kissed Hecate again, a breathless ‘now’ disappearing into Hecate’s lips as she transferred them away.

*****

“It makes no sense, Ada. She was a child! How could you stand by and allow this? To be complicit in it?” Pippa prowled the edges of Ada’s office, gesturing wildly, sending more than one knickknack flying off a shelf to be rescued from certain disaster by Ada’s quick magic.

“She was. A child who broke our world’s highest law.” Ada sent a thin stream of magic into her teapot, heating the water to boiling. “A child who essentially caused the death of another child,” she held up a hand to forestall Pippa’s protest. “Inadvertently, to be sure, but the girl remains stone, nonetheless.  As long as the child is stone, there can be no question that Hecate’s punishment will remain in effect.” She poured tea into two cups, holding one out to Pippa. “That’s the line I heard the first time I approached the Great Witch, the fifth… the tenth… each time I approached her it was the same. Nothing changed when I approached the Great Wizard once he came to power.” She stirred in two lumps of sugar. Shaking her head, Ada dipped a biscuit into her tea. “He said exactly the same thing his mother said.”

Pippa flung her hands to the heavens, sending tea sloshing onto the rug. “He’s been the Great Wizard over fifteen years. Surely, you’ve tried since then?”

Ada studied her tea.

“Not even once?” Pippa slammed her teacup down on the table and began pacing again. “I don’t know how many times I was told ‘no’ when I was trying to start Pentangle’s. Wizards, witches, people I thought were my friends… The Great Wizard himself told me it just couldn’t be done. Not once did I accept that answer. I kept going. I wouldn’t take no for answer. Why would Hecate?” Pippa shook her head and waved her hands at Ada. “Never mind. It’s exactly the sort of thing she would do. But why, Ada, you’re her best friend, the one person she could rely on… for all these years… Why would you stop trying? Why would you ever stop trying?”

“Because I asked her to,” Hecate said as she materialized fully into the office. “I couldn’t… I just couldn’t do it anymore.” She spread her hands out in front of her. “This is why you and I shouldn’t be…” Hecate glanced at Ada, and then looked away, blushing.

“Stop. We’ve been through that, Hecate. I’ll not be leaving, and you’ll not be pushing me away.” Pippa took a deep breath, forcing her voice to calmness. “We’re in this together, darling, from here on out.” She held a hand out to Hecate and waited for her to take it. Turning to Ada, she said, “I expect you’ll be seeing quite a bit more of me around the castle, Miss Cackle. I hope that is agreeable to you.”

Ada threw her arms wide and pulled them both into a tight hug. “It’s stupendous! And long, long overdue.” She pulled away and cupped Hecate’s cheek. “I’m so happy you’ve finally found your way back to one another.”

Tears filled Pippa’s eyes, “Thank you, Ada. I’m so happy about it, too.” She fanned her face, magicking the tears away. “But that’s not…” Pippa turned to Hecate. “Dearest Hecate, always one to take responsibility. I know why you quit trying.” She turned to Ada. “But, why would you?”

Shaking her head, Ada slumped into her chair. “It was all too easy, I’m afraid. You see, each time we’d try, Hecate would… well, she’d pretend she didn’t, but… she’d get her hopes up so high.” Her hands twisted the hem of her sweater. “And each time she would be so disappointed.” Ada smiled sadly at Hecate. “She’d pretend she wasn’t, but I knew.”

“You always felt so bad, like you’d failed me somehow,” Hecate whispered.

“I know, my dear, I know.” Ada stared at her hands a moment, before taking a shaky breath and continuing. “You would get so quiet after… for weeks – a bit longer every time, I think.” She glanced at Hecate fondly, “I know people think you’re quiet, but I’ve never found you to be. You’ve always had a wry comment or a bit of sarcasm, except after another denial.” Ada shrugged and picked up her tea again. “I hated it. I stopped believing the confinement would be lifted, and I hated being the one to kill that glimmer of hope again and again. I freely admit that I was relieved when Hecate said she didn’t want to petition for the confinement to be lifted again.”

Pippa chewed on her bottom lip, turning Ada’s words over and over in her mind. “Hecate? Do you really not want to try anymore?”

Anguish flooded Hecate’s eyes. “What is there to do, Pipsqueak? My situation has not changed. Please… I know that giving up is not easy for you.” She brought Pippa’s hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, oblivious to Ada’s presence. “It is a quality for which I am immeasurably thankful.”

“It’s brought me immeasurable reward, Hiccup.” Pippa pulled Hecate to her, crushing the taller woman against her chest. “I’ll respect your wishes, darling. For now. If you agree that, if anything changes – anything – you’ll allow me to try again.”

Then Hecate felt it again. That crushing, terrifying, damnable spark of hope, deep in her chest. And as much as she wanted to douse it, to bury it so far down she’d never have to feel it again, she found that here, with Pippa’s arms wrapped around her, Hecate felt just a little bit warmed by its light. Before she knew it, she was whispering “I will, if that’s what you want, I agree.”

****

Cosima Sage, Pentangle’s Deputy Head, raced down the corridor, heels clacking against the stone floor as she ran towards the Advanced Chanting classroom. “Miss Pentangle!” She skidded to a stop just inside the doorway. “Miss Pentangle!”

Pippa cut the chanting off mid-note. “Pardon me, students, just give me a moment.” She swept through the desks to the back of the room. “What do you need, Miss Sage?”

“Ada Cackle is in your office. She just transferred straight in and she’s quite agitated.” Cosima leaned in, lowering her voice. “I believe it has something to do with Miss Hardbroom.”

Pippa spun around to catch a dozen pairs of wide eyes staring back at her. “Class dismissed.” She practically pushed Cosima back into the hallway. “Did Miss Cackle say anything else?” A thousand possibilities churned through her mind, each one more dire than the last. After a few seconds she was running for her office much faster than she should have been in her heels. “Merlin’s bloody beard!” She said, suddenly remembering that there was a faster way to get to her office. She snapped her fingers and disappeared.

A heartbeat later and she was crashing into Ada, scrambling to keep her feet as well as keep Ada on hers. “Ada! What’s happened? Where’s Hecate? Is she all right?”

“Indigo Moon is no longer stone.”

The next thing Pippa knew, Ada was trying to keep her on her feet. She let Ada lower her into a chair. “Does Hecate know?”

“She does. She didn’t take it well.” Ada’s expression darkened. “She’s not very happy with me at the moment, I’m afraid. I’ve allowed the girl to remain at Cackle’s.”

“Ada! How could you allow that?”

“What choice did I have? As Mildred Hubble pointed out, where else is she to go?” Ada sank into the chair opposite her. “The girl had no family thirty years ago and like it or not, Hecate is responsible for the position the girl is in now.” She held up a hand to forestall Pippa’s protest. “I don’t say that to be cruel, only to say that we have a responsibility to this girl now. Hecate isn’t up to facing that responsibility today – and perhaps she never will be. I have to accept it in her stead.”

Pippa’s stomach felt like a cauldron that someone had allowed to burn dry. “Where is the girl now?”

“I’ve placed her in Mildred Hubble’s care. She bears no small amount of responsibility for this mess as well. Did Hecate tell you that she used a Wishing Star to give her mother magic?”

Pippa nodded. “Are you sure it’s wise to… to place her in Mildred’s care?”

“No. Frankly, I’m floundering, and my most trusted advisor has disappeared.” Ada leaned forward and placed one hand on Pippa’s knee. “To be honest, I’m here asking for your help for myself as much as I am for Hecate, but for now, please, go take care of her.”

Pippa nodded, already calculating how many transfers she would have to make to get to Cackles. “I’m going now. Make yourself at home, Ada.” She twisted her fingers in the air and disappeared, appearing a few transfers later in Hecate’s sitting room.

Swallowing down a wave of nausea, Pippa clutched the back of Hecate’s sofa and waited for the room to quit spinning. It wouldn’t do to chuck up her breakfast on Hecate’s rug. When the dizziness passed, Pippa searched the rooms, but Hecate wasn’t there. Taking a deep breath, she transferred to the potion’s lab but found it empty as well. She sent out a locator spell, as much to give her stomach a moment to settle as anything else, but it didn’t find her. “You never do things by halves, do you, Hiccup?” she said, wondering how Hecate managed to avoid a locator spell. “Fine, then. Where would you go?” Pippa transferred to the greenhouses, but they were empty. She transferred to the woods where Hecate had showed her Indigo Moon’s petrified body. Here she did finally empty the contents of her stomach. After a brief rest and a cleaning spell or two, she transferred to the Great Hall.

“Miss Pentangle!” Mildred scrambled back a few steps, pulling a taller girl with her. Pippa recognized her at once.

“Mildred! Have you seen –”

“Hello,” the girl held out a hand, offering up an Ordinary handshake. “I’m Indigo Moon. I like your dress.”

Pippa gingerly took the girl’s hand. “Well met, Indigo, and thank you.” All at once Pippa was twelve years old again and feeling like second-fiddle for the first time in her life. Thirty-odd years later it still stung. “Mildred?”

“I don’t know, Miss Pentangle. I don’t know how it happened, only that it did.”

“I see…” Pippa forced a smile on her face, reminding herself that Indigo – and Mildred – were just children – girls who hadn’t mastered their magic. “I’m… pleased… to meet you, Indigo, but I’m afraid I just must meet with Miss Hardbroom. Ta-ta!” Without waiting for a goodbye, Pippa transferred back to Hecate’s rooms, collapsing on the sofa.

Pippa knew she couldn’t keep transferring around the castle; she could already feel the tell-tale ache of magical exhaustion settling over her. She tried once more with the locator spell but had no more luck this time than she’d had before. At a loss for what to do next, Pippa leaned back on the sofa, closing her eyes and just…feeling out with her magic.

There.

Pippa felt it – the restless, spikey-hot magic that was uniquely Hecate’s. The roof. Of course, Pippa thought, she should have known. Standing up on wobbly legs, Pippa transferred one last time, to the roof.

Her knees gave out as soon as she materialized, sending her sprawling. Hands burning, Pippa squeezed her eyes closed, willing the world to stop spinning. Finally, it did, and she pushed herself to her feet. She could feel Hecate nearby. She slowly made her way to the place where they would stargaze. At first, she couldn’t see anything, then she caught it out of the corner of her eye – a slight swirling shimmer to the air. No wonder the locator spell didn’t work. Hecate was keeping herself suspended inside a transfer. “Hiccup? Darling?” Approaching the shimmer slowly, Pippa cautiously lifted a hand, dipping her fingertips into the place she believed Hecate to be.

Hecate appeared in an instant, cradling Pippa’s hand between her own. “You’re bleeding.” She took in the pale face, pinched and slightly sweaty. “Pippa?”

“Ada came… are you all right?” Pippa stepped closer, clutching Hecate’s hand between hers, raw and bleeding palms forgotten. “Of course you aren’t, that’s a stupid question. I –” Suddenly, her field of vision narrowed to a tiny point surrounded by blackness, before winking out entirely.

*****

Pippa couldn’t muster the energy to open her eyes, so she didn’t. Instead, she kept very still and tried to work out where she was and how she’d got there. Wherever she was, it was soft and smelled faintly of rosemary. Hecate’s bed, then, she thought, relaxing for an instant before her memories came flooding back.

“HICCUP!” She bolted upright, fighting back a fresh wave of nausea as her eyes found Hecate leaning over her, a damp cloth in her hand.

“Take it easy, Pippa,” she soothed, pressing Pippa back against the pillows. “You’ve given yourself magical exhaustion and transfer sickness.” Hecate pressed the cloth against Pippa’s forehead. “What were you thinking?”

Pippa snatched the cloth out of Hecate’s hand and tossed it aside before grabbing Hecate’s wrist and dragging her onto the bed with her. Caught off balance, Hecate tumbled onto the bed, landing awkwardly on top of Pippa.

“I was thinking about you, you foolish, beautiful, stupid, brilliant witch.” She wrapped her arms around Hecate, ignoring her stiffened spine, and rolled them both over until they were face to face, legs tangled together. “How are you feeling, darling? I can’t even imagine.”

“I-I’m fine, really. It’s…” She trailed off.

“Hiccup? It’s me. It’s just us here. Are you really fine?” Pippa brushed a thumb across Hecate’s cheek.

Hecate opened her mouth to insist that she was fine, but one look in Pippa’s eyes stopped her cold. Only inches from her own, Pippa’s eyes gazed back at her, brimming with worry, warmth and so much love. It broke her. “No,” she choked out, collapsing against Pippa. Pippa pulled her closer, squeezing her tightly as she whispered soothing words into Hecate’s hair. She let Hecate cry for as long as she needed - for as long as it took thirty years of pain and guilt to work its way out.

Finally, she quieted, hiccupping softly as she sniffled against Pippa’s shoulder. “What am I going to do? It’s all going to come out again.” She lifted her head to look at Pippa. “I’m a liability to you, now. I’ll understand if you… that you…” She closed her eyes, unable to continue.

Pippa stared at Hecate, taking in her red nose and wet, puffy eyes. Smeared mascara stained her cheeks. “You are nothing of the sort, Hiccup. I won’t have any of that sort of talk.” She tucked Hecate’s head under her chin. “We’ll figure it out. Together. From here on out, Hecate, it’s you and me together. This doesn’t change that.”

Hecate lifted her head so she could see Pippa. “I don’t deserve this,” she whispered. “I’ve never deserved you.” She lunged forward, pressing a searing kiss to Pippa’s lips.

Pippa kissed her back, desperate and hard, deepening the kiss as she tangled her fingers in Hecate’s hair. “I love you so much,” Pippa said, moaning into Hecate’s mouth. She felt Hecate move closer, so she rolled onto her back, pulling Hecate on top of her, savoring the feeling of her, solid and real. She ran her hands over Hecate’s shoulders before sliding them down her chest. Hecate’s sharp intake of breath sent a burst of heat straight through to her center. Pippa tugged at the collar of Hecate’s dress. “May I?”

“Please,” Hecate breathed, peppering Pippa’s jawline with kisses. “Yours, too.”

A flick of the wrist later and Pippa was sliding her hands across bare skin, her own flesh burning under Hecate’s attentions. A hot tongue flickered across Pippa’s throat and she couldn’t contain her groan. She knew this was Hecate’s way of both coping with and avoiding her feelings, but when Hecate’s mouth closed over her nipple she didn’t care. A few minutes later and she didn’t care about anything but what Hecate’s nimble fingers were doing.

It was some hours later before Pippa roused herself awake. Rose-hued sunlight, angled low, cast long shadows across the floor. She could feel the warmth of Hecate pressed against her side. Turning her head, she looked straight into Hecate’s soft, brown eyes. “Hey, you,” she whispered, “have you been awake long?”

Hecate shrugged. “I drifted off for a bit…after…” her hand fluttered over them and a deep blush crept up her chest. “It didn’t last for long, though. I couldn’t quit thinking about…everything.” She brushed a strand of hair away from Pippa’s face. “The girl truly can’t be here, Pip. It’s dangerous. She’s dangerous. Reckless.”

“Another Mildred, then?” Pippa asked.

“No!” Hecate’s answer was much quicker and much firmer than Pippa expected. “Indigo was always reckless – but in a way Mildred Hubble is not. Mildred may make foolish decisions and cause a great deal of disruption, but it’s never been from a place of malice or selfishness. I cannot say the same for Indigo Moon.” Hecate laid her head on Pippa’s shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist. “She was reckless and defiant before I used the Wishing Star. Once she became corrupted by magic,” Hecate shuddered, “she tried to destroy the school, Pippa. It’s only a matter of time before it happens again, and what if I can’t stop it? What if one of the girls is hurt – or worse – because of what I did all those years ago?”

“We’ll figure it out. Worst comes to worst, I’ll take her in at Pentangle’s or Ada can transfer her to Wormwood’s. What choice do we have, really?”

Gazing back at Pippa, Hecate’s lips twisted into a watery smile. “I love you for saying ‘we,’ but it really isn’t your responsibility.”

“You are my responsibility, Hecate Hardbroom. Just as I am yours. We will figure this out together.” She traced her fingers along Hecate’s hairline. “Let’s have some tea, and then let’s go see Ada. You asked me to leave things be when it comes to your confinement. And I have because you were right; nothing had changed and so it wasn’t likely anything would change. But things have changed now, darling. Indigo has her life back. It’s time for you to get yours. I want your permission to petition Hellibore to end your confinement. Please.” Hecate closed her eyes, finally nodding her agreement.

*****

Expense reports were not Hecate’s favorite part of the job. Technically, they weren’t even part of her job. Finances were part of the Headmistress’s responsibilities. That’s as may be, thought Hecate, but Ada truly loathed dealing with finances. She would find any excuse to put them off and then rush through them as quickly as possible. More than once, Hecate had been forced to pour over messy ledgers and crumpled receipts in an attempt to reconcile the accounting. Finally, she had simply taken over the books. Ada’s gratitude had been vast.

Hecate had just closed the ledger books and magicked them away when a sapphire blue envelope appeared on the desk in front of her. Scrambling backwards to her feet, Hecate tipped her chair over, startling both Ada and Pendle.

“Hecate?” Ada rose slowly to her feet, following her deputy’s wide-eyed gaze to the envelope on the desk. “I see.” She crossed quickly to Hecate’s side, placing a steadying hand on her waist. “I gather Miss Pentangle was successful in her efforts to gain an audience with His Greatness.”

“It would appear so.” Hecate still hadn’t taken her eyes off the envelope, nor had she made any move to touch it. Her hands remained pressed against her sides, fingertips brushing against her thumbs. “I don’t think I can…”

“Shall I then?” Once Hecate nodded, Ada gave her waist a squeeze and summoned the letter to her hand. Breaking the silver seal, Ada opened the envelope and began to read.

“By order of the Magical Council you are hereby ordered to appear before the Great Wizard at 3:45 pm, on the date indicated above, at the Court of Magical Conformity to receive the final decision and dispensation related to the matter of the permanent confinement of H. Hardbroom to Cackle’s Academy for multiple violations of the Witches Code.”

Once she finished reading, Ada looked up at Hecate. “At least it’s not an outright denial,” she said, voice over bright and a tad too loud. “That’s a positive, don’t you think?”

“Wh… when… What is the date?”

Ada glanced at the summons again. “Wednesday, the… Demdike and Chattox! It’s today! The hearing is today!”

Jerked out of her stupor, Hecate flipped open her watch. “It’s hardly more than two hours from now! Ada… I have classes and –”

“Not today, Dimity and Gwen will cover.” Ada began forcibly pushing Hecate out of her office. “Quickly, go change into your dress robes. I’ll find Dimity and Gwen.” When Hecate hesitated, Ada nudged her again. “Go!” As soon as Hecate transferred away, Ada transferred herself to the Witchball court.

“Miss Drill!” Ada waved and waited while Dimity jogged over to her. “It’s time. Are you ready?”

“Yes, Miss Cackle. Everything is set.” She turned back to the girls, blowing her whistle. “Mildred Hubble!”

Plaits flying, Mildred spun around and jogged over to them. “Yes, Miss Drill?”

“Gather your team, Mildred. It’s go time.”

Mildred’s expression turned hard, determined. “Yes, Miss Drill. We’re ready.” She turned to Ada. “We won’t let you down, Miss Cackle. Or Miss Hardbroom.”

“I know you won’t, Mildred.” She reached out and squeezed the girl’s shoulder. “You never have.”

“All right, get your skates on, then. Go on.” Dimity shooed her back to the other girls. “I’ll go tell Gwen and Algie. How’s HB?”

“About as well as you could expect, I reckon. I won’t relax until we’ve touched down at the Council building. This will all be for naught if she refuses to leave the castle.”

“Leave that to me, Miss Cackle.” Dimity winked and transferred away.

*****

Standing on the front step of the Academy, Hecate clutched her broomstick in her hand. She rubbed her thumb across twelve hashmarks magically burned into the wood – one mark for each time she’d left the Academy over the last thirty-odd years. Each mark represented another affirmation of her sentence - another reminder that she had been responsible for taking the life of another witch.  Another reminder that her freedom, the life she might have had, was forfeit. Today she would add another mark. If she could muster up the bottle to mount her own broom.

“It’s a bit of a ‘mare, I reckon.”

Hecate turned to find Dimity leaning against the doorframe. “That’s a bit of an understatement.” She turned back to face the road. “I don’t even know why I’m going.”

“Because you, out of everyone I know, are the stubbornest, most tenacious witch I have ever had the privilege of knowing.” Dimity grinned. “So pull your socks up and get in there and tell old Hellisnore what’s what.” Hecate didn’t move, but Dimity could see her looking at her out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t miss the twitch of Hecate’s lips, either.

“The Great Wizard is unlikely to change his mind.”

“So? What does it matter if he doesn’t?” Dimity kicked off the door and went to stand by Hecate’s side. “You won’t be any worse off than you are right now.” She moved until she was standing in front of Hecate. “Now, you listen to me, Hecate Hardbroom. The life you have, right here at Cackle’s, is a good life. You have friends. Meaningful work that you enjoy. You are respected in your field. And you have a beautiful woman who loves you more than anything else in the world.” She winked up at Hecate. “I’m pretty sure she’s a real tiger in the sack.”

Hecate’s eyes flew open wide. “Miss Drill!” Her cheeks flamed. “That was entirely inappropriate!”

“Even though it’s entirely accurate,” purred a voice Hecate recognized at once.

“Pippa!” Hecate thrust the broomstick into Dimity’s hand and flung herself into Pippa’s open arms. “I’m so happy you’re here!” Pippa crushed Hecate against her, whispering soothing words in her ear.

“Well, it looks like things are well in hand here.” Dimity said, smirking. “I’ll leave her to you, Pentangle. The Great Wizard won’t know what hit him.” She transferred back to the Witchball court.

Hecate took advantage of their few minutes of solitude to pull Pippa into a deep kiss that lasted until the need for air became too much. “How… how did you… know to come?”

Pippa stepped back, fussing with Hecate’s robes. “I may have added my name to the list of people to be notified. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Never.” She stepped back as Ada appeared beside them, wearing her dress robes, broomstick in hand.

“Well met, Miss Pentangle.” She squeezed Hecate’s elbow. “Shall we get going? I’ve got a good feeling about it this time.”

Hecate rolled her eyes. So far, every time Ada had a ‘good feeling,’ it resulted in catastrophe. Nonetheless, she mounted her broom and followed Ada into the air, fingers wrapped tightly around the summons that would let her pass through the confinement barrier.

The flight was uneventful, and the trio soon found themselves waiting in the outer room of the Great Wizard’s office. Sumptuous leather chairs, aged wood and the smell of olde magick did little to soothe Hecate’s nerves. She kept her fingers laced tightly with Pippa’s, not talking, certainly not relaxing.

They all startled when the office door swung open and Miss Doomstone exited the Great Wizard’s office, still muttering under her breath about that ‘stubborn old toad.’

“Miss Cackle! Miss Hardbroom! Miss Pentangle! Well met!” She bent deeply, hand pressed to her forehead. “I’m so pleased I could offer my support today.” Doomstone smiled brightly and shook Hecate’s hand. “Good luck to you, Miss Hardbroom. I hope this miscarriage of justice is corrected soon.”

“T-thank you, Miss Doomstone.” Hecate watched, bewildered as the school inspector said her goodbyes to Ada and Pippa. “I don’t understand,” she muttered, once the woman had gone. Pippa smiled cryptically. Before she could answer, Millicent Darkside burst through the door, red scroll in hand. She nodded in their direction, marched across the room and let herself into the Great Wizard’s office.

Hecate looked back and forth between Ada and Pippa. Ada leaned against the chair, eyes closed, looking as though she were napping in her office chair by the fire back at Cackle’s. Pippa was busy with that infernal cell phone of hers, pink reading glasses perched on her nose. “Pip?”

Before Pippa could even look up, Miss Darkside burst back into the room, no longer carrying her red scroll. “The cauldron has been stirred, Miss Pentangle. Quite forcefully. Be careful that the potion hasn’t become unstable. Or ridiculously cantankerous.”

“Duly noted, Millicent. I’ll be sure to tread cautiously. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.”

“This matter should never have happened. If I’d known about this confinement then, Alma Cackle wouldn’t have been alone in her protests of it.” She hurried out of the room, leaving them alone again.

Hecate stared at the closed door for several long seconds before turning back to her love. “Pippa? What have you done?”

“I’ve tipped the cauldron in our favor, darling. And I’ve used every weapon I could to do it.”

The office door crashed open, accompanied by a sharp crack and a plume of purple smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal the Great Wizard, sapphire robes billowing around him. His face was almost the same shade of purple as the fading smoke. “Miss Hardbroom.”

Hecate scrabbled to her feet, already lifting her hand in greeting, but the Great Wizard spun on his heel and disappeared into his office. Hecate straightened slowly, glancing down at Ada and Pippa with worry-filled eyes. Pippa stood up and grabbed Hecate’s hand. “It’s going to be all right, darling.”

“MISS HARDBROOM!”

Ada jumped up and grabbed Hecate’s other hand, pulling them into the Great Wizard’s office. They jumped again as the door slammed shut behind them. Hellibore paced the length of the massive fireplace twice more before turning to face them, eyes narrowed.

“I don’t recall any names other than your own appearing on the summons,” Hellibore huffed.

Pippa stepped in front of Hecate, their hands still clasped together. “That’s as may be, Your Greatness. However, the Code explicitly states in Section 12, Clause 4 that…” She dropped Hecate’s hand and summoned both her well-worn copy of the Witches Code and her pink reading glasses. “Any wizard or witch summoned to appear before the Magic Council may of right be accompanied by witnesses of character as well as to facts presented in evidence, so long as that number remains fewer than six.” Pippa looked at the Great Wizard over the rims of her glasses. “As you can see, we are well within the limit set out by the Code.” She smiled sweetly, but her eyes remained hard.

The Great Wizard held her gaze for a moment, before turning away. He gestured toward his desk, an ornate mahogany monstrosity that was currently overflowing with red scrolls. “These began arriving two days ago. A trickle at first, but now a deluge.” As he spoke, another red scroll appeared over the desk, dropping onto the pile and sending a stack of them cascading onto the heavy carpeting.

“I say, Your Greatness,” Ada smiled. “You do seem to have quite a collection. Might I inquire as to their nature?”

With a wave of his hand, Hellibore sent a scroll flying into Ada’s hands. “Statements of support. For Miss Hardbroom. It seems that a sizeable number of our community believe Miss Hardbroom has been unfairly punished.”

“They aren’t wrong,” Pippa said, her voice dripping with acid sweetness.

“They aren’t informed, more like,” Hellibore shot back.

“I don’t know that I would go that far, Your Greatness.” Ada cleared her throat and began to read.

“Miss Hecate Hardbroom has been instrumental in the education of generations of witches, securing the future of witchcraft and the Magical Community – a future she herself has been denied. What message does it send to our youth when they see that mistakes made as a child are never forgiven? That no amount of penance could ever be enough? As a child, Hecate Hardbroom broke the Witches Code in the most serious way possible, that is undeniable. What is also undeniable is that she has paid her dues, many times over. The time has come to lift the confinement that binds Hecate Hardbroom to Cackle’s Academy.”

Ada looked at Hecate, giving her the barest wink. “It’s signed by Eudora Blackthistle Hellibore. That’s your grandmother, if I’m not mistaken. Isn’t that lovely!” She transferred the scroll to safe-keeping. “I know just the person who will find that scroll fascinating.” Ada snapped her fingers and Felicity Foxglove appeared, maglet in hand.

“Well met, Your Greatness.” Felicity pressed her palm to her forehead and bowed deeply. “Thank you so much for contributing to my blog. It has the third largest circulation in the entire witching community.”

“What is the meaning of this nonsense?” Hellibore roared. “I won’t have children making a mockery of these proceedings –”

“If I might remind His Greatness,” Pippa interjected, smoothly interrupting his rant. “The Code does not specify the minimum age of witnesses during hearings of this type. And we’re still well below our limit.” She nodded at Felicity, who stepped forward holding out an over-sized microphone bedazzled in a rainbow of sparkling jewels.

“Can I quote you on that, Your Greatness? That children make a mockery of legal proceedings? Do you think it’s ironic that the legal proceedings in question involve a child breaking the Code?”

“Wait… what? No, you can’t quote me!”

“That’s okay. I’ll just put down ‘No Comment.’ Did you know that there are two wizards and one witch that broke the Code and caused bodily harm or death in the last five years and none of them received a punishment that involved permanent confinement? Or is that type of sentence only for children?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“When did the Witching legal system begin punishing children more severely than adults?” Felicity waited for the Great Wizard’s answer. He sputtered and stammered, looking between Ada, Pippa and Felicity in confusion. “I’ll just put ‘No Comment’ there as well. It won’t be much of an interview, but I’ll put it next to my article about Esper Vespertilio’s benefit concert for the Free Hecate Hardbroom organization.”

Pippa clapped her hands gleefully. “Oh, that sounds so exciting, Felicity! I can’t wait to read it. Perhaps a photo session later?”

A bright flash set spots in everyone’s eyes. “That’s okay, Miss Pentangle. I just got one of The Great Wizard for my story.” She waved her hand over the maglet and murmured a quiet spell, projecting the picture for all of them to see. Hellibore was looking slightly away from the camera, mouth agape, hands frozen mid-air. His expression fell somewhere between slightly unhinged and a yowling madman. “Thank you for your time, Your Greatness!” Before the Hellibore could respond, Ada transferred Felicity away.

“What… what was she talking about? Free Hecate Hardbroom? What nonsense is that?” He glared at Hecate who looked just as confused as he did.

“Not nonsense,” Pippa snapped. She stared Hellibore down, breaking eye contact just before she crossed the line from defiant to insubordinate. She knelt in front of Hecate, gentling her voice before she spoke. “Come with me, Hecate.” She pulled the bewildered woman to her feet and guided her to the window. “What do you see?”

Hecate clapped her hands over her mouth; Pippa was the only thing keeping her upright as her knees gave way. Hundreds of people were gathered in front of the Magic Council building. Many carried signs demanding her confinement be lifted. Other signs simply read ‘Free Hecate.’ Almost everyone wore the red sash of Hecate’s house at Cackle’s. The current Third Years stood in front of the crowd holding up an enormous banner reading FREE HECATE HARDBROOM as Mildred Hubble, Miss Drill’s bullhorn in hand, led them all in a chant.

“I don’t understand…” Hecate’s throat worked as she tried to gather her thoughts. “Who…”

“They’re all here for you, Hiccup,” Pippa murmured. “All these people are here to support you.” She cast a baleful glance at the Great Wizard. “No one believes your punishment to be just. Everyone – OH! Look, Hecate, there’s Dimity!”  Pippa pointed to a tiny figure zooming high over the crowd on a broomstick. Suddenly, red smoke began billowing out behind her, causing the crowd to cheer wildly. They continued to cheer as Dimity swooped and spun to write ‘Free Hecate Hardbroom’ across the sky.

“Really, Ada? I know the students at Cackle’s have never had a proper respect for decorum or tradition, but to think that you, of all people, have resorted to parading them across my lawn in an attempt to manipulate my decision. Disgraceful.”

“Oh, I agree, Your Greatness, it certainly would be disgraceful - if I had done what you’re suggesting.” Ada smiled her sweetest smile at him. “However, I have not. In fact, each of those girls knows fully well that leaving the grounds today would incur serious consequences. They’ve still chosen to support Miss Hardbroom today.”

“Which reminds me,” Pippa interrupted, “I believe we have another witness who wishes to testify on Hecate’s behalf.” The Great Wizard started to speak, but Pippa cut him off. “I believe this will be four – still under our limit.” She walked Hecate back to the sofa and settled her in place. “It’s almost over, darling,” she whispered, taking the opportunity - while her back was turned to the Great Wizard - to blow Hecate a tiny kiss. When she turned back around, Mildred Hubble was standing in the middle of the room.

“Hello, Your Greatness.” Mildred gave the traditional greeting, much less clumsily that her usual attempts.

“Mildred Hubble, hmph. How did I know that you would be in the middle of all of this?” He threw his hands in the air and stalked back to the window, staring at the crowd. Some of the witching world’s most prominent families were represented today. Hellibore spotted Alicia Thunderblast, Head of Weirdsister College, the Spellbinders, Emerson Blackwood, and even two of the Le Fey sisters. Somehow, this had begun to spiral out of his control. He turned to find himself under the intense scrutiny of Pippa Pentangle and suddenly he realized exactly why. “Go on then. What do you have to say in all this?”

“Only that it’s my fault any of this happened. I wanted my mum to have magic, like she should have had all along. So, I stole the Wishing Star and made her magic. I didn’t know what the consequences would be.” She turned to look at Hecate. “Just like Joy Hardbroom didn’t know what the consequences would be. I thought Mum should have magic because I was selfish. Joy wanted Indy to have magic because she missed her best friend. I probably would have done the same thing.” Mildred shrugged awkwardly. “I did do the same thing. And the same horrible thing happened – she lost her best friend all over again, only this time it was her fault. I can’t imagine how that felt, can you? To know that her best friend had been turned to stone? Killed for all she knew? And it was her fault. I didn’t understand that when she first told me. I was too worried about Mum, I guess. But Miss Hardbroom helped me. Later, after Mum was all right, I had time to think. Did anyone help Miss Hardbroom? If there was a spell to reverse being turned to stone, why didn’t anyone use it on Indigo?” She looked beseechingly up at the Great Wizard, waiting for an answer. When one didn’t come, she trudged on. “How long is long enough, Your Greatness? Indigo has her life back. Shouldn’t Miss Hardbroom have hers, too?”

“It isn’t as simple as you think, child.” Hellibore’s voice still carried its early bluster, but it was obvious to everyone that his heart was no longer in it. “This was the most serious violation of the Code that a witch could commit.”

“Probably not. But, if that’s really the case, shouldn’t I be suffering the same punishment?” Mildred squared her shoulders before she spoke again. “You should order me to be confined to Cackle’s as well.”

“Mildred! No!” Hecate was on her feet in an instant. “Don’t listen to her, Your Greatness! She’s just a child, she doesn’t know any better.”

“You are correct, Mildred Hubble. Do you know why I did not? Because Miss Hardbroom spoke for you.” He pointed a finger at her. “You are a very lucky girl that she did that.”

“I know. I’m lucky Miss Hardbroom has been my teacher. All of us are. If you don’t mind me asking though, why did you listen to her? If you really think she should still be punished, why take her advice? Or do you trust her judgement now? And if that’s true, why keep her confined when the reasons she was confined in the first place don’t exist anymore?” She raced across the room and flung her arms around Hecate. “Thank you, Miss Hardbroom, for everything.” Turning to Pippa, Mildred nodded. “I’m finished Miss Pentangle. You can send me back now.” Pippa waved a hand and Mildred was gone.

“I hope that is the last of our histrionics, Miss Pentangle.” He gestured towards the window. “And you may call off… whatever that is.”

“It’s only the beginning, Your Greatness.” Pippa smoothed her skirt. “This is what I could put together on a few hours’ notice.” She smiled that unnerving fae smile that drew you in until you realized it didn’t reach her eyes. “Do you remember when I first wanted to open Pentangle’s? Closed door after closed door. As I recall, you yourself called me a ‘foolish dreamer of a girl.’ Do you remember that?”

“Miss Pentangle –”

“Because I do. I remember every dismissal, every condescending word, every outright insult. Time and again I was told I couldn’t do it.” She took a step towards him. “But I did it anyway. I made my school. You called me as tenacious as a tiger leech.”

The Great Wizard was beginning to look uncomfortable. “I’ll admit those words were ill-chosen.”

“Oh, no. Those words were chosen perfectly. Tenacious didn’t begin to cover it. I went after my goal with everything I had. And I won. Pentangle’s is here. It’s a leader among witching schools, outscoring all the rest, save Cackle’s in potions.” She took another step closer, leaving only a few inches between them. “Here’s what I want you to remember, Your Greatness. I would abandon Pentangle’s in an instant,” she snapped her fingers in his face, “for Hecate Hardbroom. Everything I did to make Pentangle’s a reality pales in comparison to what I am prepared to do to now. A lifetime confinement for a mistake made as a child is a grave miscarriage of justice. It’s time for you to be worthy of the title Great. Fix this or I promise today will look like a tea party compared to the chaos I will bring.” She smiled again and stepped back, holding a hand out to Hecate. “When shall we expect your decision?”

Hellibore ground his teeth together, rage and frustration setting his magic to boiling under his skin. Outside the chanting gave way to cheering again as fireworks blazed across the sky. A headache blossomed just behind his left eye. “You’ll have my decision by the end of the week.”

*****

Her maglet chimed and Pippa practically leapt across the room, sending it clattering to the floor in her haste to read the message. 

AUNTIE EDITH’S APOTHECARY: FLASH SALE

Today only: 25% off student-grade cauldrons Plus 10% off your total purchase of everything (except slivered lacewings)

 Growling in frustration, Pippa flung the maglet to the other end of the sofa. “End of the week, he said. Whenever I can magic up some stones, more like.” It had now been seven full days since the meeting with the Great Wizard, and it felt like he was stringing them on as long as possible. Pippa had been a bundle of nerves all day as an endless stream of mirror chats, maglet messages, phone calls and texts had poured in. Some were from concerned friends asking if there had been news, but most were just the daily annoyances that she’d had no idea came so frequently. Each time something chimed, her heart flew into her throat while her stomach dropped, leaving her feeling little more than a void.

She couldn’t imagine how Hecate felt right now, knowing she had to shove her anxiety down and teach as though this week was no different from any other. Pippa knew that distraction led to disaster and that no one knew better than Hecate that nerves and magic Do. Not. Mix. Pippa didn’t even trust herself to make a cup of tea with her magic right now.

Worse, Pippa now understood with sickening clarity why Hecate didn’t want to go through this – and why Ada had agreed to let the matter drop.

A knock at the door sent Pippa accidentally transferring into her clothes cupboard. Spewing a string of profanities as she untangled herself from her clothes, Pippa rushed back to her door. “I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed today!” She jerked the door open. “Did you not –”

Hecate Hardbroom stood on the other side, broomstick in hand, hair loose and wild, grinning with her whole face. “It’s over. He lifted the confinement!”

Pippa pulled Hecate into her room, arms flying around her, kissing and laughing. “That’s wonderful!”

“You did it, Pip – he was terrified of what you would do next time.” She kissed Pippa again.

Pippa melted into the kiss, keeping it going until her lungs were burning for air and kissing Hecate still. Finally, Hecate pulled away, gasping. “I can’t believe it, Hiccup. You’re free! Bats, Hecate we need to… go somewhere… where do you want to go first?”

“Anywhere.” She kissed Pippa again. “Everywhere.” Another kiss. “As long as I’m with you, it doesn’t matter.” One more kiss. “Right now, though, right now I want to go to your bedroom.”

“Done!” Pippa magicked the door locked, shut off every device and set the strongest silencing spells she’d ever cast. “Welcome home, Hecate.” 

[activatingaggro]

no good (she’s up to no good)

Quick drabble to cover something that happened off-scene during a PC chat between Melete and Orivar, featuring said PC log. Because sometimes you’re just mostly doing chat rp between your schedule.

It isn't often that you and Melete get time to just laze around.

But you like the days like this, when it's the two of you in your hive. There's no demands. There's no need to focus on anything. Melete always gets anxious when the two of you haven't met for a perigee or more. Date nights always get an edge to them, like the two of you are making up for lost time. Between that, and the fact you can't acknowledge you're matesprits, it's so..

Performative.

You like Torrent girls! You can't really hold it against them when they get all.. torrent-y about things, but that doesn't mean you don't prefer things like this: just the two of you, lounging around in your bed, with Melete on her phone and the blankets tangled around your legs. Your matesprit's leaning against you, the small of her back curled into the crook of your legs. Her hair's draped across you, and so long as you're careful, she doesn't mind you playing with the ends.

You're in the process of braiding one when she sighs, loudly, and lays down her phone on her knee.

"Too rough?" You let go of the strands, but she's already shaking her head. "No," she says, "you are fine. It's.. mmm."

"What do you think of mutants?" she asks, peering down at you, and you don't know what she's thinking of.

"Ahhh. Bold move, thinking I think, mah," you say, and blow a raspberry at her.

Melete merely looks at you for a moment, her face passive. Then she lifts a hand. Delicately, with great precision, she brushes back your bangs. Then she presses her palm to the center of your forehead, long fingers curling over your skull. "The brain is the most complex organ within a troll's body," she says, soft, but firm. "It controls our consciousness. It controls every move that you make. When you breathe, you are engaging in thoughts, even if you are not programmed to notice them. When you blow a raspberry, or become glib, you are engaging in thought, and a deliberate choice with them."

"I enjoy hearing your thoughts. Your views are refreshing, and there is no need for self-deprecation."

You blink at her.

Then you laugh, burying your face in her side, so her hair's hiding your face. She stiffens. Melete doesn't like sudden contact! But you don't move, letting your head rest against her, and after a few seconds, she loosens up. "So earnest lah," you complain, voice muffled. Hesitantly, she pats you on a shoulder. "So, so, so earnest! What supposed to do with, huh? Make me damn humji sia, green in face."

"You're supposed to get over it," she says, "and answer the question."

"Ughhh," you complain, but you roll over onto your back, so you can look up at her. "Mutants, orh orh. Geneslips? Not cusps, yeah?"

"Cusps are legal in all provinces and districts, per regulation 5304.91 of the Imperial Genetics Regulatory Commission. The use of the term mutants - or geneslips -" There's a hint of disapproval there. You grin at her, apologetic. "- for cusps is derogatory at best, and more likely, just an active show of malice, with the intention of emotional harm."

"Right. Geneslips.." She's just asking you because you're jade, you're sure. That's the plight of growing up in the caverns, even for as short of a time as you ended up spending there: everyone expects you to have opinions, and thoughts, and knowledge of everything related to genetics, and the slurry, and the grubs that come out of it.

They're right, of course. But that doesn't make the topic any less fraught. Vadaya's the sort of troll that most would consider a mutant, even if they're wrong. So is Pepper, with her wings, however tightly she keeps them rolled, and no matter how useless they are in function. They'd be wrong, on both of those cases.

Most jades consider you a mutant, though. Jades don't have psi. They aren't exactly wrong. "Shouldn't contribute," you finally say. "Should be fixed in slurry. But, eh, if they already here -" You can't quite shrug. You can roll your eyes, though, letting your lip curl. "No harm to them, leh." Your tone's a little dismissive, but Melete doesn't seem to mind: she's nodding, her expression thoughtful. "What they gonna do? Weird eyes, weird ears, weird psi - ahhh, can still contribute, yeah? Not /their/ fault."

"I agree." Melete's voice is always soft, soft, soft, with hard edges to the end of her words. It's such a strange combination, but it suits her. "Why waste resources by culling them? It is wasteful." She pauses. "And it is cruel," she amends, watching you. "It is the fault of the caverns, what goes into the egg, not on the troll who comes out of them. Do you agree..?"

The fault of the caverns sticks in your teeth. But you're not a cavern jade, and Melete's watching you. You shrug. "Yeah lah," you say, and it isn't quite a lie. "Mistakes happen, yeah? No point pointing fingers."

"I have a maroon bothering me. Some sort of mutant," she says, and holds out her phone.

Earlier, she'd been talking to Hadean. You only know him vaguely! Oh, you've talked to him plenty, on and off, but it's hard to read the chat, sometimes, and harder to keep track of the trolls that don't bother with quirks. You only ever remember that he's mean, and he's maroon.

The handle on the screen is not Hadean's. It is also, unfortunately, intimately familiar.

-- mistingHafgufa [MH] began pestering bloodyBones [BB] at 19:27 --

[07:28] MH: What did you write down about me.

[07:34] BB: why are you curious? [07:34] MH: How long have you been keeping fucking notes. [07:35] BB: do demands usually get you the responses you desire...? [07:36] MH: //Why// are you keeping notes. [07:36] BB: i do not believe they do. [07:38] MH: Answer my question and I'll answer yours. [07:46] BB: i wrote that you are in current possession of my harpoon. [07:52] MH: And I'm curious because I don't fucking like people keeping tabs on me. [07:52] MH: Now answer my other questions. [07:53] BB: haha. [07:53] BB: i am sorry to say that you are free to make as many demands as you like. [07:53] BB: but remarkably. [07:53] BB: i am not actually obligated to fulfill them. [07:53] BB: good light.

-- bloodyBones [BB] ceased pestering mistingHafgufa [MH] at 19:53 --

You can feel the weight of Melete's eyes on you.

Oh, you know about Melete's lists. She catalogues everything, from hatchdays to favorite foods. You'd asked to see your file, and Vadaya's, back when you'd first found out. It's a little strange, but your matesprit's strange. All of the Torrents are strange.

They're trained to be that way. It's not worth a second thought.

You open your mouth. Melete clears her throat. "Continue scrolling down," she says, and you do.

-- mistingHafgufa [MH] began pestering bloodyBones [BB] at 20:20 --

08:20] MH: No. Get back here. [08:21] MH: Who the fuck do you think you are? [08:21] MH: Why the hell are you going online and trying to record things about people? [08:21] MH: First Hadean, now me? [08:21] MH: What are you, some sort of shriveled up husk of a shut in who can't even figure out how to talk to people in a chat room so you start fucking recording what people do? [08:22] MH: Are you a serial killer going after rusts? [08:22] BB: hm. [08:22] MH: What //possible// reason could you give that would ever justify the use of recording what people do or say in a fucking //random chat room.// [08:22] MH: How many snuff films do you watch a day, creep? [08:23] MH: Tell me, do you have a favorite blood splatter too or something? Why rusts? Is it because 'we die better'? [08:23] MH: Or because it's easier? [08:23] BB: does lashing out at others make you feel more in control of your fear? [08:23] BB: because, if so, you should reconsider your methods of coping. [08:24] BB: i do not think that lashing out at a stranger is entirely wise. [08:24] MH: Oh yes, because someone being really upset about being recorded by some strange blueblood they don't even know the name of... means I'm afraid. [08:24] MH: What kind of fucking reach is that. [08:24] BB: yes. [08:25] MH: I've killed weevils more terrifying than you. [08:25] BB: of course you have. [08:27] MH: So? [08:27] MH: What's the answer? [08:28] BB: do demands usually get you the responses you desire...? [08:28] BB: because i am sorry. [08:29] BB: but they are not going to in this case. [08:29] MH: What's it like being a self important pompous sociopath? [08:35] BB: how is your lusus doing? [08:38] MH: Big and birdy. [08:38] MH: So when should I expect you to show up at my front door asking for my 'beautiful skin and blood' for your serial killer art project? [08:38] MH: Is it after you skin Hadean? [08:40] BB: how is my spear doing? [08:41] MH: Sharp and ready to be jabbed into your skull. [08:41] BB: of course. [08:41] MH: Why are you keeping notes? [08:42] BB: my apologies. [08:42] BB: we are well past the point where i answer your questions. [08:42] BB: was there anything else..? [09:07] MH: Clear your fucking notes of anyone in the fucking chat room below teal or I'll find you and I'll drill a hole in your head to pour acid into it.

-- mistingHafgufa [MH] ceased pestering bloodyBones [BB] at 21:07 --

Melete isn't your moirail. She isn't your clade, and she isn't Vadaya, or Pepper, no matter how fond of her you are. So you take a deep breath, letting the air drag in and curl into your stomach, until the world feels a little less red.

It doesn't matter how upset you are. You're not the one having words with a glorified mutant. You're not the one getting death threats. That's all on your matesprit, and she's more than old enough to handle her own business, without you wading into it. "She bother, lah?" you ask, finally, once your tone's even. "Big, big, big bark for pupa."

Melete's not an expressive troll. Her face's always just a little blank, with flat, rigid ears, and features that might as well be carved from stone. Even after nearly a sweep of dating, you're not sure you know how to read her moods.

It works, really, because you're not sure that Melete knows how to read her moods, either. The silence drags on as she turns over the question, and it's only the soft intake of air that warns you she's coming to a conclusion. "No," she decides, with a crisp kind of finality. "She is a terrified adolescent, is she not? Young trolls lash out. Her threats are hollow. And to take her opinion seriously would be bizarre. She does not know me. I do not care for her to know me."

"But," she says, words as slow as molasses, "it would be appreciated if trolls could be less.. vitriolic, when I have only aided them in the past. I don't see what inspires this sort of behaviour. Does it produce results?"

"Produces back of hand," you say, but Melete's looking at you, and you swallow the rest of the vitriol that wants to bubble up.

Vadaya and you.. you have different tastes in people. You don't like Iconic, but you don't need to like him, for all that he's very nearly clade: you just need to stay civil, and make sure you ask the right questions and say the right things with Daya so that he feels supported in the relationship. It's not hard, even if it gets a little tedious. Iconic skirts you when he can, and so it's manageable.

Mostly manageable. Neither of you have told Daya about the car chase, and there's been a silent agreement that you won't. It would be unfair, you think, if he hadn't been similarly close-mouthed about Tomie - but that's the plight of the corps, in your battery and outside of it. Everyone's relationships are defined by the things that no one wants to say.

It works, mostly. You don't like Vadaya's quadrant, and you don't like his friends, but he never needs to hear that from you. And it's easy enough to avoid, usually.

When they aren't threatening to kill your matesprit.

"She message again," you decide, your words slow and even, "add me, yeah? Will handle. Girl all pai kia, but, eh, not your problem, mah. Will not let be. She want pok kai, can have."

"There is no need for that, Nanako. I have spoken to her moirail." She shrugs, shifting away, and you let her. Melete moves like a piece of origami: she unfolds herself one limb at a time, as careful as she thinks her skin will rip, as she stretches herself out across the bed, close enough that her side is brushing yours. She gets tired of close contact, but you've learned there's an affection in the fact she stays near, anyway.

"Thank you, anyway," she says, prim. There's still a line between her eyebrows, fine enough that it ought to barely count as an expression, but it's loosening.

You huff out a laugh. "Nooo, no thanks! Just pity things." When you beam at her, she smiles back, gradually. "Pity you, Ete," you add, and this is part of the reason you like lazing about better. When it's just the two of you, there's things you can say. "Know that, right?"

"Of course," she says. "I pity you as well."

[madame-kiksters]

Wine Painting

Read it on AO3 Here!

Rating: T+

Fandom: Overwatch

Cat: F/F

Pairing: Sombra/Satya “Symmetra” Vaswani

Characters:Sombra, Satya “Symmetra” Vaswani

Tags: a christmas gift, wine tasting party, painting, fingerpainting, sombra gets drunk, symmetra is done, they love each other very much, fluff, humor

Summary: 

Symmetra brings Sombra along as her +1 to a fancy wine tasting and painting party.

Merry Christmas, @thesoundofthunderstorms

Sombra waited near the entrance of the park a little nervously. She had made plans with her girlfriend, Satya, to go to a wine tasting and painting event at the local park after hours. She made sure to wear some old clothes she’d kept from her college days. A faded purple shirt with a shrimp logo, a pair of washed-out blue jeans, and her old purple converse.

“Sombra? What in the world are you wearing?”

Spinning around, Sombra greeted her girlfriend with a big, goofy grin. Her brows instantly furrowed as she took in the elegant attire Satya was sporting. “Me? What are you wearing? I thought we were painting.”

“We are. This is also a wine tasting party, which should have tipped you off to the sort of clothing you should wear.”

“Gimme a break! The only thing you told me was to dress appropriately. So I did. For you.”

“I…I guess you might have a point.” Satya admitted as she looked down at her clutch.  “I’m sure no one will notice.” She reassured her.

“Of course they’ll notice! Don’t you know how sexy I am? How sexy you are?” Sombra finally took the time to really appreciate her girlfriend’s outfit. The dress was quite revealing in its own way. A lot of thigh was visible, her sides and bra peeked from under her arms, and the dress dipped down enough so that Sombra could see a hint of cleavage if she stood on her tiptoes.

Her ogling was interrupted by her girlfriend’s meddling. “What are you doing?”

“Appreciating the view.”

Satya scoffed as she strutted further into the park. “Let’s get going, I would hate to be late and make a scene.”

Sombra followed after her before she came to a screeching halt.

She looked around at the people she could see in the distance, talking quietly and laughing with each other. She scratched her arm self-consciously as she took in everyone else’s outfits. Their elegant dresses and nice suits made her suddenly feel out of place despite how hard she tried to reassure herself.

“Sombra?”

Looking up, she met Satya’s concerned gaze. “Yeah?”

“If anyone gives you trouble,” her eyes sharpened into a glacial glare, “Show them no mercy.”

Sombra couldn’t help herself as she giggled at her girlfriend’s order.

Immediately offended, Satya grumbled as she turned to continue further on. “I was being serious.”

“I know you were.” Sombra answered when she caught her breath. “That is part of what makes it so funny.”

Satya didn’t answer her as they finally reached the party. Everyone gave them a curious stare before Satya stepped in front of her. Sombra couldn’t see her face, but whatever was there, scared the group into minding their own business again.

It was another few agonizing minutes before the clink of glass could be heard over the din of mumbled voices partaking in their own conversations.

“Alright everyone! The wine tasting is about to commence. If you could all please gather around the table we can begin.”

Satya didn’t say anything, but Sombra could read on her face a look she knew all too well. ‘Finally!’

Her girlfriend was not a very patient woman. Then again, neither was she.

They all gathered around a set of fold up tables that had stacked wine glasses and several bottles of wine with different labels on them. Beside them were platters of grapes and cheese. Sombra would have whistled if Satya hadn’t heard her inhale in preparation and kicked her shin.

“Ay!”

“Something wrong, miss?” the host asked at Sombra’s outburst.

“No. Carry on.”

The man didn’t look very reassured, but he continued at any rate. He prattled on about the wine they were about to taste. Talking about how he procured it, how it was made, when it was made…probably. Sombra wasn’t really paying attention, if she was being honest.

He poured a glass and then people started approaching the table and pouring themselves a glass. It was the most orderly drinking party Sombra had ever attended.

She poured herself a generous glass to help her get through the night, knowing she was going to need it. She didn’t even notice that everyone else was only getting a mouthful’s worth. She almost spilled her glass, it was so full. The people behind her shook their heads, but didn’t stop her.

She sipped at the wine while everyone was following some sort of weird ritual with it. She would have scoffed if her mama hadn’t taught her better. Playing with her food had been strictly prohibited, it wasn’t something she was going to forget in this lifetime.

She was halfway through before everyone swallowed and went to place the empty glasses somewhere to be cleaned. Panicking, Sombra downed the rest of her drink quickly and shuffled over to follow everyone’s actions. Then the man continued again. And again. And again. And again.

Sombra could feel her cheeks flush from the amount of alcohol she consumed. The last wine to taste finally came and the party goers were free to mingle and enjoy the rest of the party.

Sombra scowled as she went over to an empty canvas and picked up some of her favorite colors. Purple, pink, and blue. She didn’t see any brushes, so she assumed that it was finger-painting or some shit. She didn’t know, or really care. She came here dressed to paint, and damn it if she wasn’t going to paint.

Pulling over a stool, Sombra looked around for inspiration. It came in the form of her beautiful girlfriend. She smiled dopily for a moment before remembering she was going to paint something.

She set down her paints and opened them for use. She looked at her girlfriend again and remembered how sexy she looked in her dress.

Mmm. Nice.

She dipped her finger into the blue paint and painted a rather artful impression of her girlfriend’s likeness. Perfect, just like her girlfriend, and her amazing body. She looked down and giggled when she realized she had forgotten something.

She added a pair of well rounded breasts and deemed it finished. Next, she used her foggy memory to paint something resembling her, using the color purple, of course.

Pausing, she wondered how in the hell she was going to use the pink paint. It was one of her favorites, after all. She almost scratched her chin before she remembered that she had paint on her finger.

“That wa clos.” She sighed in relief. Her words came out slurred, but she didn’t notice.

Thanks to the figures on the canvas, she was able to tell that it was moving around of its own volition. Dumbass canvas. Stay still! I’m trying to concentrate.

She tried her best under the circumstances to make a wonderful heart to signify the love she and her girlfriend had. It was going to be perfect.

“Sombra what are you doing?”

Sombra was too drunk to be startled as she continued to paint. “Painting.”

“I see that. Why are you using your finger?”

“My what?” It was then that Sombra realized her finger was indeed not a paintbrush. Then she remembered that she hadn’t seen any earlier. “No, no. I know. I ha to use mah finger because the brushes were gone.”

“Gone?” Satya sounded surprised.

Sombra nodded gravely. She finished her painting before staring at her dirty finger. She looked around for something to wipe it on. Ever the responsible girlfriend, Satya sighed and went in search of a towel or something similar.

She returned moments before Sombra could enact on her ingenious idea to wipe her finger on her pants. Satya handed her the towel and watched as she struggled to find the dexterity to clean a single finger.

She smiled fondly and gently grabbed Sombra’s hand before she began to wipe the paint away. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Anything your heart desires, baby.” Sombra meant to be flirty, but the words were almost slurred beyond recognition, so Satya paid her no mind.

As she cleaned, she looked over Sombra’s shoulder to the painting.

“What’s that?”

Sombra managed to drag her eyes away from Satya’s lips to pay attention. “What?”

The taller woman gestured to the painting behind Sombra with her chin. “What is that?”

Confused, Sombra turned around and remembered she’d painted something. “Oh. That! That’s us.”

“Really now?” Satya gave it a look of consideration. “Which one is you and which one is me?”

“Well obviously you’re the one with the sexy bobs.” Sombra slurred with a goofy smile.

“Bobs?” Satya stared in confusion before understanding dawned. “Well where the hell are your ‘bobs’?”

Sombra looked down at her own chest and pressed her free hand to make sure her boobs were still present and accounted for.

“What are you doing now?” Satya asked, growing even more exasperated with her girlfriend’s antics.

“Making sure they’re still here.”

Satya couldn’t help it. A burst of laughter escaped before she could control it. She cast a worried glance at the other partygoers before returning her attention to Sombra. “We’re going home, Sombra. Come on.”

“Mmkay. Hang on.” She struggled to jump down from the stool and ended up needing Satya’s help to get down. “Thanks, babe.”

“Hmm, don’t make me drop you.”

“Why would you do that? I’ve already fallen for you.”

“You are never allowed to drink again.” Satya promised as she hauled Sombra back to the road to hail a taxi. She hoped no one noticed the blush that darkened her cheeks.

 It was a few days later that Satya received a visit from the party’s host. In his hand, the painting Sombra so masterfully constructed.

“I thought I should give this to you. I saw your friend working on it, but I didn’t know how to contact her.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

“No trouble at all. I just happened to have to go through the neighborhood today and remembered to bring this along.” He laughed.

Satya smiled politely as she took the painting from him and tucked it under arm. “Thank you, again.”

He nodded his head and waved as he headed towards his waiting car.

Satya turned her attention to the canvas under her arm.

“What am I supposed to do with this now?”

The next day, Satya made a trip to visit her girlfriend.

Sombra answered the door before Satya could even knock.

“Sati! What brings you here?”

“Just giving you something.”

“Is it a present? For me?”

“Umm. More of a return, than a gift.”

“Oh.” Sombra instantly soured and stepped inside. If it wasn’t good enough for Satya she probably didn’t want it either.

“Well what is it then?”

Satya pulled the canvas from under her arm and displayed it to her girlfriend.

“Satya! You painted that? That’s amazing!”

“What? No! You painted during that wine tasting party.”

“I did?”

“Yes!”

“Oh.” Sombra gently pulled the painting from her girlfriend’s grasp. “Well…”

“Yeah…” Satya shuffled her feet, something she tried very hard not to do. “Not that it isn’t amazing, I just…thought you might like to have it back.”

Sombra hummed as she continued to stare at the painting.

“Are you…okay?”

“Wha? Yeah. I just…I’m trying to remember painting this, but I can’t. It’s a little weird.”

“Yeah, you drank quite a bit of wine at the party, I guess.”

“Sati?”

“Yes?”

“Did I use my fucking fingers to paint this shit?”

[droneseco]

The Red Magic 5S Is a Gaming Phone You’ll Actually Want to Use

Red Magic 5S

8.00 / 10

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The Red Magic 5S is a powerful Android phone with gaming features like a 144 Hz display and shoulder triggers. It's not for everybody, but that's by design. If you're looking for a phone that can handle any game you throw at it with ease, this will be one of the first options you consider.

Specifications

Brand: Nubia

Storage: 128 GB

CPU: Snapdragon 865

Memory: 8GB

Operating System: Android 10

Battery: 4500 mAh

Ports: USB-C

Camera (Rear, Front): 64MP, 8MP

Display (Size, Resolution): 6.65-inch, 1080x2340

Pros

Buttery smooth display

Shoulder triggers are great in some games

Games run extremely well

Cons

Camera isn't fantastic

Buy This Product

Red Magic 5S amazon

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Phones have gone from something you use for calls, texts, and managing appointments to do-it-all computing devices. Because for many people, phones are quickly replacing PCs, it only makes sense that we'd see the same sort of variety: casual phones, business phones, and yes, gaming phones.

While you can play games on any phone, the Nubia Red Magic 5S is built for it, with a powerful chipset, a butter-smooth 144Hz display, and even a built-in cooling fan. The phone looks great on paper, but does it focus too much on gaming-specific features or is it well-rounded enough to be your daily driver?

Specifications

OS Version: Red Magic OS 3.5 (Android 10)

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865

RAM: 8GB

Storage: 128 GB

Battery: 4,500mAh

Display: 6.65-inch AMOLED 144 Hz, 240 Hz poll rate

Dimensions: 6.63 x 3.07 x 0.38 inches

Front Camera: 8MP, f/2.0

Rear Camera: 64MP Sony IMX686, f/1.8, PDAF

Connectivity: 5G, Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 6

Features: ICE 4.0 Active Liquid-Cooling with Turbo Fan, 320Hz Shoulder Triggers, In-Display Fingerprint Reader

Design & Build Quality

There are two versions of the Red Magic 5S, each with different specs and a different finish. We're looking at the lower-specced version, which features 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage and comes in the Sonic Silver finish. The higher-spec version comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage, and a flashier if somewhat gaudy two-tone finish called Pulse.

While I'm curious how the even higher-spec phone would perform, I'm glad I received the review unit I did, because I prefer the look of it by a wide margin. Though it's called Sonic Silver, there is a slight blue tint to the finish that helps it stand out in a sea of drab-looking Android phones.

Partly due to the metal used in the build and partly due to the non-standard components like cooling fans, this is heavier than your average phone. I didn't mind this and while it's certainly a good deal heavier than the iPhone 12 Mini I use on a daily basis, I didn't find the weight annoying even after marathon gaming sessions on the 5S.

Speaking of cooling fans, these necessitate vents on the side of the Red Magic 5S. These are unusual to see on a phone, as you'd imagine, but I like the effect on the aesthetics. They give it the appearance of a powerful phone which, as it turns out, is very much the case.

Display

Somewhat bucking recent trends, there is no slight notch in the display, nor is there a camera placed smack dab in the middle of the upper part of the screen. Instead, you get good old-fashioned bezels. I know these are often frowned on now, but I find the half-centimeter bezels at the top and bottom of the phone lend a nice sense of symmetry.

These bezels also have a practical nature since this is a phone you'll often use in landscape orientation. They give you a spot to actually hold on to the phone without your fingers obscuring part of the screen, which comes in handy in games with significant HUD elements on the sides of the screen.

The display is a 6.65-inch AMOLED panel, which brings some impressive color and brightness to the table. Even more impressive are the supported refresh rates. While you can use the standard 60Hz refresh rate to improve battery life, you also have options for 90Hz and 144Hz.

At 144Hz, the phone uses more battery but feels significantly smoother. This refresh rate is mainly meant for games, but I liked its overall effect on the feel of the phone so much that I left it on this setting at nearly all times.

Gaming Features

One of the first things you'll notice looking over the Red Magic 5S is the bright red slighter on the upper-left side of the phone. Slide this up and the phone enters Compete Mode.

This is a dedicated gaming space that serves as an alternate launcher with several gaming-specific features. Here you can launch games, but also toggle on various options like the 144 Hz refresh rate and block calls and messages to keep you in the zone.

One of these options is the internal fan, which helps keep the phone from heating up during intense gaming. It's strange to hear the slight whir of a fan coming out of a phone, but with this on I never noticed the phone heating up significantly, even in the most demanding games.

My review unit of the Red Magic 5S also came with the company's Ice Dock. This is an optional add-on that brings an external fan to help keep the Red Magic 5S even cooler. Just slide it on, plug the built-in USB-C cable into the port on the bottom of the phone, and you've got even more cooling power.

This isn't where the gaming features end. The Red Magic 5S features dual Shoulder Triggers, touch-sensitive areas on the right side of the phone that becomes the top when you turn it on its side for landscape-oriented games.

You configure the left and right shoulder triggers to virtually tap any area of the screen when you tap them. This means that they're compatible with any game without games needing to specifically support them. These lended such an advantage in games like Call of Duty that it almost felt like cheating.

The 4D Shock feature is nice, but isn't as impressive. This is only available in certain games like Asphalt 9, and adds a "rumble" effect that feels similar to the HD Rumble in the Nintendo Switch. If it was available in more games, the feature would be more impressive. Maybe someday.

Software

The Red Magic 5S arrived running Android 10 and, as of the writing of this review, hasn't seen an update to Android 11. I've seen one major update during that time, but no sign that the phone will see an update to Android 11 anytime soon.

On top of Android, you get the Red Magic OS, which is essentially a pair of launchers and some various software. We've already gone over most of the significant elements here in talking about Compete Mode, but the look and feel of the phone isn't something you'd see on a Google Pixel device.

I only encountered one bug while using the phone, but it was a major one. After launching the Calendar app, the phone hard crashed to the point that the first thing I saw after the screen went black was the boot-up animation. This only happened once.

Performance

The Red Magic 5S features a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 with support for 5G, assuming you can get it wherever you're located. While it isn't quite as powerful as the Plus version of the same chipset, it's still among the fastest chipsets available in an Android phone right now.

This, combined with the 144Hz refresh rate, results in a phone that feels smooth no matter what you're doing. The 8GB RAM is plenty, though the bump up to 12GB is the top-spec version likely has app switching feeling even more responsive.

For benchmarks, we turned to Geekbench 5. Scores averaged 900 for single-core performance and 3,200 for multi-core. For the Compute benchmark, the Red Magic 5S averaged around 3,200 for the OpenCL score.

For gaming, I tested using a handful of the most popular games right now, including Call of Duty Mobile, Asphalt 9, Madden NFL 21, and PUBG. Even with plenty of complaints about Madden NFL 21 in the Play Store reviews, I didn't find the game to struggle even a bit on the Red Magic 5S, even at max settings.

The games I spent the most time with were Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt 9, the former thanks to the shoulder buttons and the latter because of the support for the 4D shock feature. Even after long sessions, neither game ever lagged, and with the internal fan turned on (I never found the Ice Dock to be necessary) the phone stayed plenty cool.

Cameras

The Red Magic features a 64MP rear-facing lens with a Sony IMX686 sensor, but the camera isn't very impressive. It's not bad in most cases, taking serviceable shots, but it's not going to take pictures that make you gasp when you view the results.

The front-facing camera is more of the same, but limited to 8MP. If you need to take a quick selfie, it will do the job, but again, this isn't a phone you'd buy just for the camera. It's possible future software updates may improve the photos that come out of the Red Magic 5S, but I wouldn't count on it.

Battery

The battery has a capacity of 4,500 mAh, which is nice since gaming on a phone is relatively battery intensive. When it comes time to charge, the phone doesn't feature support for wireless charging, but it does feature Quick Charge up to 55W to help get the battery back up to max quickly.

Even with the capacity, I was surprised at how long the battery lasted. Maybe it's the optimizations you get from Compete Mode / Game Space, but even with the display in 144Hz mode, a near-full day of gaming, benchmarks, and other tests didn't drain the battery.

If you were to use this as you would use a "normal" phone, you could easily go a few days without charging. I can't imagine a situation where you'd need to plug this in during the day after an overnight charge.

Should You Buy The Red Magic 5S?

If you spend the vast majority of the time you're on your phone gaming, you're the exact person the Red Magic 5S is built for. While you can also harness that power for editing videos or similar power-user activities on the 5S, it's clear that this isn't what it was built for. Still, the latest update to the Red Magic 5S has ironed out enough of the bugs that it's a phone you can use for anything.

One of my personal problems with gaming phones has always been that they looked like the phone equivalents of Alienware PCs, over-designed and largely goofy. While the more powerful version of the phone in the Pulse finish suffers from this, the Sonic Silver version I had for this review doesn't have the same problem. You could carry this into a business meeting and nobody would bat an eyelash.

The Red Magic 5S isn't for everybody, but that is by design. If you're looking for a phone that can handle any game you throw at it with ease, this will be one of the first options you consider.

The Red Magic 5S Is a Gaming Phone You’ll Actually Want to Use published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/

[gabriellakirtonblog]

[The Best] Five Ways to Overcome Imposter Syndrome, and More

Want to put great fitness content on our radar? Post on Facebook and include #PTDCBestSubmission. 

Best Content of the Week

At a time when it’s increasingly difficult to tell the genuine experts from those who merely fake it, it’s easy to wonder where we fall on the spectrum. It would be weird if you never doubted yourself.

This week’s best article begins with the assumption that if you experience imposter syndrome, the solution isn’t to tell yourself you’re good enough. It’s to admit what you don’t know, to challenge your assumptions, to accept and learn from criticism, and, most important of all, to show up, do the work, and build confidence through competence.

Competence is a recurring theme this week. Mike Israetel’s video and Marianne Kane’s podcast will help you train train your clients more intelligently and stay injury free, while Rachel Bell’s Instagram post challenges you to improve your own behaviors before asking your clients to improve theirs.

— Esther Avant

Best Article

Five Ways to Beat Imposter Syndrome — Camille DePutter, Precision Nutrition

No matter how long you’ve been in the fitness industry, you’re never far removed from imposter syndrome—those nagging doubts that creep in and prevent you from saying or doing something you’re objectively qualified to say or do. Camille DePutter offers five actionable strategies to help you become not just a better coach, but a more confident coach.

— Shane McLean

GO DEEPER: How to Fake Success in Online Fitness

Best Video

How to Deload — Mike Israetel, Renaissance Periodization

If you have clients who want to go hard every workout, Mike Israetel’s 22-minute video will help you convey the importance of deload weeks, how to program them, and why using them will actually improve their results.

— Esther Avant

Best Social Media Post

View this post on Instagram

GOLDEN RULE: become the type of client you want to attract

⠀ Pop quiz + self audit time. ⠀ Are you the type of client who… ⠀

ghosts on accountability?

procrastinates on taking action?

doesn't communicate clearly about your needs?

blames, complains, or plays the victim?

is late for scheduled meetings?

and after all this, blames external things/people for lack of results? ⠀ OR are you the type of client who… ⠀

is honest with where you're truly at?

takes messy action and fully trusts your unique learning path?

communicates proactively about your needs?

takes radical ownership, responsibility, and initiates change?

is punctual and responsive?

and after all this, understands that you are the sole creator of your reality — and your internal world controls *everything* you experience externally? ⠀ So often, we cast blame onto others for not 'behaving' the way we’d like them to. And then, without missing a beat, we fall into the same patterns ourselves. ⠀ As the saying goes, “how you do one thing, is how you do everything.” ⠀ For example: let's say you run a red light after misjudging the distance… you say "agh oh well" to yourself and move on. ⠀ But when you watch *someone else* do the same thing 2 days later… you explode into a furious whirlwind of judgement. ⠀ "eh mah gawd what a dipshiiiittt”

you proclaim, shaking your head… lol. ⠀ Seriously though. ⠀ Integrity is about embodying and exemplifying what you want to see from the external world. You always go first. ⠀ Think about the caliber of clients, relationships, friendships, etc. you want in your life. ⠀ And then ask yourself: ⠀ Are YOU exhibiting the behaviors and energy you wish you attract? ⠀ Do you want clients who show up, commit to the process

, and take their evolution seriously? Then you need to BECOME that commitment. ⠀ Do you want clients to look to you as a leader and an authority? Then BECOME worth following. ⠀ Until you can abide by the same standard you set for others… ⠀ …don't be surprised when you continuously fail to manifest what you say you want.

A post shared by RAYRAY

business mentor. (@rachelbell) on Oct 21, 2020 at 8:45am PDT

Posted by Rachel Bell on Wednesday, October 21, 2020

As a coach, especially a seasoned one, you may find yourself little jaded, complaining about your clients not working hard enough or respecting your time. As the saying goes, when you point a finger, you have four more pointing back at you. In this provocative post, Rachel Bell challenges you to do a self-audit to see if you’re exhibiting the behaviors and energy you wish you attract.

— Christina Abbey

Best Podcast

Why Most Injuries Happen — Marianne Kane with guest Travis Pollen, Equipped With Strength

This interview delivers a highly introspective look at the world of injuries, including a discussion on what constitutes an “injury” to begin with. With a focus on strength workouts, Marianne Kane and Travis Pollen address which exercises are coachable online as opposed to best left for in-person training, and whether or not correcting form can actually increase risk of injury. 

— Mike Howard

More Great Fitness Content 

[Article] The Time Under Tension Myth: Why Slow Reps Don’t Mean Big Gains — Christian Finn, Muscle Evo

[Article] Men: Quit the Tough-Guy Gym Persona — Lee Boyce, Lee Boyce Training

[Social Media] How Hard Should You Train to Build Muscle? — Tom MacCormick

[Podcast] Female Athletes: Hormones, Energy Availability, and the Menstrual Cycle — Danny Lennon with guest Nicky Keay

Tired of training clients at 5 a.m.?

We all have to pay our dues. For many fitness pros, that means training clients or teaching classes or opening your gym long before the sun comes up.

But if you’ve been paying those dues for years on end, maybe it’s time for a change. Time to try something different. Time to consider another way to make a living while still doing what you love.

That’s why we created the Online Trainer Academy.

Since 2016, we’ve helped thousands of personal trainers, nutrition coaches, and gym owners—serious, passionate fitness professionals like you—launch online training businesses.

They all have one thing in common: What they were doing before wasn’t working for them.

They needed a change, and their Online Trainer Academy Level 1 Certification gave them the knowledge and skills to make it happen.

Already training clients online? If you make more than $1,000 a month from online coaching, and looking for a more scalable business model, you may be a better fit for the Online Trainer Academy Level 2.

Or maybe you want help getting your own fitness back on track? If so, we can help. Click here to learn more about Online Trainer Coaching—the world’s first online training program specifically designed for fitness and nutrition professionals.

  ​

The post [The Best] Five Ways to Overcome Imposter Syndrome, and More appeared first on The PTDC.

[The Best] Five Ways to Overcome Imposter Syndrome, and More published first on https://onezeroonesarms.tumblr.com/

[batteriestore]

Hands-on: Motorola Edge with Snapdragon 765G

The Motorola Edge is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G variant of the company's new Edge range. It aims to strike a balance between premium design and performance while occupying a more affordable price point than Snapdragon 865-powered handsets like its own Edge+. For many people, it could be all the smartphone you need.

Intro:

The Motorola Edge is Motorola’s sub-premium mid-range handset. It sits below the more expensive and more powerful Motorola Edge+ that is designed to compete with Android flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S20. The Motorola Edge is targeted at that next tier of handsets down range including devices such as the LG Velvet. Like the LG Velvet, the Motorola Edge is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G but features high-end looks and finish. If you’re getting sick of coughing up top dollar for high-end smartphones, the Motorola Edge could be what you’re looking for.

The Hardware:

The Motorola Edge centers on a 6.7-inch 2340x1080 FHD+ OLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate. Although not 120 Hz as is the case on some top-tier Android flagships, this is still a noticeable step up from 60 Hz panels, particularly when scrolling through apps like Twitter, Facebook or a webpage. It also supports HDR10+ content and, when combined with its relatively powerful stereo speakers, makes for an excellent content viewing experience regardless of price. Its dramatic waterfall display with almost 90° curvature looks futuristic and has excellent touch rejection and we didn’t experience any undesired touch inputs during use.

The Motorola Edge keeps things ticking along nicely with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G mated to 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128 GB of expandable storage. The Snapdragon 765G, fabricated on a 7 nm process, combines two high-performance Arm Cortex-A76-based cores with four high-efficiency Arm Cortex-A55 cores, which gives more than adequate performance for everyday use and multitasking. Its Adreno 620 GPU is not quite as competitive but will be more than adequate for most 3D games, if not delivering the high frame rates possible on competitive e-sports titles like Fortnite or COD.

This is all kept juiced by a large 4,500 mAh battery that is the same size as Samsung has packed into its flagship Galaxy Note20 Ultra flagship. Motorola claims up to two days charge on it, which is backed up by a 15 W quick charger. While you won’t see that sort of battery life with heavy use, you will certainly get a full day out of it. As a cheaper device, it unsurprisingly skips wireless charging which is hard to begrudge.

The Cameras:

The Motorola Edge uses a very competent triple rear camera set-up supplemented by a time-of-flight sensor. The main rear camera is a 64 MP module with f/1.8 aperture and quad-pixel binning for an effective pixel size of 1.6 µm, which goes a long way to capturing more light (but also potentially more producing more image noise). Its ultra-wide angle and macro vision camera uses a 16 MP module and has an f/2.2 aperture and a 117-degree field of view. The telephoto shooter uses an 8 MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture and supports 2 x high-res optical zoom and 10x digital zoom.

As you can see from the photos embedded below, the Motorola Edge produces high-quality photos. In addition to RAW photo support, it also offers a Night Vision mode and modes for long exposure shots. It is a versatile camera setup that will keep most users quite happy and even those who want to dig deeper into photo processing with applications like Photoshop. When you look at how much more you need to pay for a Snapdragon 865-powered flagship device with better camera optics (including Motorola’s own Edge+), you are still getting a more than acceptable overall imaging result for much less.

The Operating System and Usability:

The Motorola Edge comes preinstalled with Android 10 and we are using the most recent update that includes the August 1 security patch. Motorola’s Android skin is called My UX, but it is in all respects a stock Android device, which is a massive plus in our view. In our recent experience with the Exynos 990-powered Galaxy Note20 Ultra and the Snapdragon 865-powered Oppo Find X2 Pro, which both feature relatively heavily customized Android skins, system lag in certain apps was noticeable at times. By comparison, the bloatware-free My UX running on the Motorola Edge feels much smoother and delivers a more consistent software experience. At the same time, My UX gives users the opportunity to tap right into the customization features built into Android 10 to make it your own should you want to customize it further.

Conclusion:

This new class of Snapdragon 765-powered Android handsets like the Motorola Edge provides a genuine alternative to high-end Android flagship smartphones. One of the key advantages that the Motorola Edge offers over its competition is a near stock Android OS that offers an almost flawless Android user experience as a result. In all other key areas it also delivers thanks to its excellent display, its high-quality audio experience and its very good cameras. It also offers a contemporary design with looks that would easily pass for something much more expensive. It might not offer absolute top shelf performance, but it is more than good enough across all departments that it poses a serious question about the value of paying more for a Snapdragon 865-powered handset.

[deeafrotailmisstress]

The Inevitable - Part 5

((What be this?! Dee is writing again?!! Haha...yeah, I kinda got put off due to recent events and it’s Raz’s fault ‘cause her guild events are too good and the list could go on but! I got inspired again! And I’m now gonna try to jump in the writing train, choochoo!))

Shout out to @flynneware for proof-reading this, she is the bomb and you all should check out her writing pieces too because they too are the bomb. <3

Part 1 Part 2 Jazali’s letter Part 3 Part 4 Malinda’s letter (warning: contains NSFW content)

“Not gonna happen.”

Jazali’s left eye twitched,

“... Come again?”

Today was certainly not a day that Jazali felt she could look forward to. The little troll woke up at sunrise and ate some jerky for breakfast on the porch. She wandered around the shack at first since she couldn’t find the elf, but soon enough she saw her coming from across the path. Malinda didn’t say a word upon her arrival and simply went in, dumped bags of items she bought from the market onto the armchair before going out, and suddenly started to chop firewood. The little troll didn’t look like a person who would analyse a situation thoroughly, but in this case Jazali didn’t have to. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this elf would be the one who would train her, although the little Darkspear wouldn’t look forward to it, and the elf certainly didn’t take comfort with her company either.

But something just didn’t sit right to her. Surely Moki could have simply sent her to a Pandaren monk who would be willing to train her in exchange for work? Granted they both had never been to Pandaria before and it might have been slightly inconvenient on the part of the mentor, but they seemed like gentle folk who were welcoming of outsiders in search of knowledge. So why did Moki choose this elf specifically?

In hopes of answering that question, Jazali walked up to the elf and casually asked when she would start her training her, to which the troll received the earlier response.

Jazali patiently crossed her arms and asked.

“An’ why are ya not gonna help me?” The night elf rolled her eyes, as if the troll asked her a question with the most obvious answer, before smashing her axe hard onto a log and deadpanning.

“I have neither the time, nor the crayons, to explain it to you kid. Now beat it.”

Jazali felt her eye twitch again and her fists clenched instinctively; this elf was really pushing it. However the Darkspear had to remind herself that Moki sent her to this place for a reason and this may be her second and only chance to prove herself, so after closing her eyes with a deep breath and a count to ten in her head, she glanced back up at the elf and growled.

“Dat ain’ a proper answer an’ ya know it.”

“I don’t care.” Malinda’s response was simple as she picked up a pile of wood and headed back into the shack.

“Ju ain’t even given me a chance elfie, an’ ya already tellin’ me no?”

“Look kid-”

“Jazali.”

“Gesundheit.” Malinda rolled her eyes again before slamming down her axe, this time hard enough for it to stick to the stump. She patted down her hands before she turned to address Jazali frankly. “You are in a giantass continent that practically invented the monk concept. So why doncha just run off to the closest Pandaren you can find and ask them for help. Maybe they can tolerate your obnoxious tone and do it work-free.”

With that, the night elf picked up the cut logs and headed to a shed next to one of the stables. Jazali, however, didn’t like the elf’s condescending tone and marched up behind her, not giving up.

“B-but…da lettah!” She waved her arms exasperatedly at Mal, who tried her hardest to ignore her as she opened the shed and nonchalantly threw the wood inside. “Ju got Moki’s lettah, so ju know he sent me here fo’ a reason!”

“I don’t care if that old fool thinks this will settle my debt; I am quite frankly not in the mood to train some loud-mouthed kid that suddenly got dumped on my doorstep.” Malinda replied snarkily with a piercing gaze at the smaller troll, who for a moment gaped in silence before her anger caught up to her.

“Okeh, first off!” Jazali growled, pointing a warning finger at Mal who didn’t look like she gave a Kodo’s ass in that moment “I ain’ a kid! Mah name be Jazali of da Darkspear an’ I wen’ through my rite of adulthood jus’ like erry’buddy else! An’ second, ju ain’ even givin’ me a valid excuse fo’ why u ain’ wantin’ ta train me. It be cuz I’m a troll?!”

Malinda finally had enough of this impudent child not listening to her and slammed the shed door very hard and loudly, enough to even make Jazali jolt and the hinges threaten to break. Finally, the Kal’dorei turned around and glared coldly at the troll, crossing her arms as she began her ‘valid’ explanation. “Quite frankly, yes. But if you want a valid excuse, how about I give you some. First off, your three toes already tell me that you have a lack of balance, which probably makes you fail at your current profession. And I’m not even going to start on that ridiculous tuft of a bush that you call hair, already sending me warning signals of your disorganisation. Secondly, from what I’ve heard from Moki and your attitude, you seem to lack the basic principles of maturity, dignity, propriety, sociability, and responsibility. Which is probably why for the majority of your life, I am going to deduce that people like you probably had to rely on someone, due to lacking a spine for independence.”

When Malinda saw Jazali’s jaw tense further, the troll’s eyes hidden as she tilted her head further down the more Mal ranted, the monk’s condescending sneer deepened.

She drawled. “Oh, not far off the truth am I? So for someone like ‘Jazali of da Darkspear’, after going through her rite of passage and mommy and daddy could no longer look after her, I’m going to guess that you used Moki as a scapegoat, probably why before this you have either been parading around with that old pathetic excuse of a druid your whole life or squandering your meager talents with a group of individuals who probably needed another meat shield… No surprise that you couldn’t stay in the tribe, considering that they all probably knew that you were the runt of the family, judging by your ridiculous height… or lack thereof. That good enough reason for ya?”

The response was more physical than verbal. In the sense that Jazali decided that whacking the hilt of her machete into Malinda’s jaw was an appropriate response. After the echoing sound of her weapon’s handle slamming into Malinda’s face, there was dead silence. Jazali stood there with a furious glare and a trembling mouth, while Malinda’s head tilted back, but her nonchalant expression still remained. If anything, the elf looked like she had just been bitten by a mosquito… and she now intended to squash it.

Through clenched teeth, Jazali hissed.

“I couldna’ give a flyin’ shit if ya wanna be callin’ me what  errybody else been callin’ me lots o’ times befo’. But don’chu evah be callin’ mah friend dem names. He be ten times a druid than ju ever was a monk you elfy bitch, an’ I don’ give a shit if he t’inks ju ‘oughta be teachin’ me.”

The troll angrily sheathed her blade and spat at the ground beside Mal with pure disdain. “Screw d’is, I’m leavin’.”

Her hands formed into fists held stiffly by her sides, the little troll started to march away, fully prepared to get as far away from this bitchy-ass elfy as possible. Jazali didn’t really have a plan on what would happen after this, probably just go back to Zari and Bru, they’d always have a job opening for her. Would this piss off Moki? ...Probably, but screw what that old moo thinks! If he finds Malinda to be an appropriate teacher for her then he obviously has shitty tastes in teachers. Zari’yen and Brugran would probably give her a loan to train with somebody else… right?

Jaz would have continued with her huffy marching and train of thought… if she wasn’t stopped by Malinda. The little troll felt something suddenly yank back harshly on her cloak, choking her startled grunt. Jaz suddenly heard Malinda behind her.

“Rule number one while on my turf: don’t call me a bitch.”

Faster than she could say her own name, Jazali felt the whole world spin as Malinda used the cloak to slingshot Jaz and slam her face-down to the ground. The little hunter tried to brace her arms to protect her from most of the force, but found herself nearly knocked out and seeing stars.

As Malinda heard Jaz’s aching groans and watched her try to get up again; she let out a sniff and blew a stray strand of hair away from her face. “You’re determined, I’ll give ya that. But from what I saw, unless you’re willing to take this seriously, I’m not interested.”

“Ju… ain’t seen nothin yet.” Jazali hissed out, already on her two feet while holding her aching side with one arm, glaring scathingly at the elf. “‘Cuz ju now gonna pay fo’ dat.”

Malinda raised a brow at the stubborn troll; how curious. Her regeneration must be working at a faster rate than Mal had anticipated. Nonetheless, the night elf snorted and wagged her finger at Jazali in a ‘come and get it’ way as she smirked.

“I’d like to see you try.”

With a furious growl, Jazali blindly charged at the elf with a roar and a swing of her blade. But as soon as she had swung down, Jazali blinked when it seemed like the elf disappeared from her front view. When in reality, Malinda had simply seen that attack coming a mile away and dodged to Jazali’s right. The elf swiftly raised her leg up and kicked Jazali’s machete high into the air;  the troll hurriedly barrel-rolled away and held her kicked hand with a grunt.

Malinda gracefully caught the weapon by the handle before it whirled down to the ground. Jazali hurriedly took out her other blade, her eyes now tinting with rageful red. The little troll snarled aggressively and tried to jab at Malinda’s guts, but the elf simply parried it away with Jazali’s first blade. It was like a circling dance of death; everytime Jazali tried to take a stab at Mal, the elf would simply parry it away again and await her next move.

Just when Malinda thought she’d better cut this boring battle quickly, anticipating Jazali stabbing her again, the little troll instead faked a jab with her blade and followed it with a hard punch to the elf’s face.

The only thing Malinda had time to do was quickly grab Jaz’s fist before she retracted it. The sudden blast of pain to her face was nothing new to Mal, but the force of that punch did make her shake her head a bit to brush off the dizzying pain. Well now. The kid could punch apparently.

No matter how much Jazali tried to pull her fist away, it wouldn’t budge. So instead the little troll roared and swung her sword toward Mal’s stomach, but Malinda simply grabbed that hand too after dropping the blade and twisted it so that the wrist snapped.

Jazali let out a painful cry and in a fit of rage and desperation, leapt up and clamped her teeth down onto Malinda’s neck.

“AAARH FUCK!” The night elf shouted out, feeling each sharp tooth like a hot blade into her skin. The elf furiously used Jaz’s hands in her grip to forcefully throw her off her person.

Jazali found herself being thrown again and rolling across the ground, but this time she quickly used her claws to clamp down onto the dirt and lean up on all threes, due to one of her wrists being broken, like a rabid feline. She even snarled like one as she glared up at Malinda from her crouching position, her eyes now a blood red and her hair released from its confines, giving her a wild mane look.

Malinda winced as she felt blood seep from her neck, but simply stretched it as she winced. “Aw hell…” ...Would Moki believe her if she claimed that his pupil berserked on her and hence that would be a good reason to knock her out?

Before Malinda could ponder that thought, Jazali’s rageful form launched at her, claws flailing. Malinda’s feet gathered mist in less than a second and the elf used it to push herself away just by a hair from the sharp nails of the troll.

Jazali’s savage state was relentless however and she let out a wordless bellow as she ran up to try and bite Malinda, but the elf simply used the mists beneath her feet to dodge her out the way. But what she didn’t anticipate was the sudden kick hurled right into her stomach and forcing her to take a step back. This gave Jazali enough pause to hurl herself at Malinda and try to claw her face off like a wild cat.

Both forms came tumbling down, but Malinda came up on top with both of Jazali’s arms behind her back, the little troll writhing and howling beneath her. When it became apparent that Jaz’s rageful form wouldn’t relent, Malinda decided to take the matter into her own hands. Quite literally.

The little troll son found herself seeing stars when the Kaldorei slammed her glowing green fist in a one-two-three jab to her skull, neck and back, hard enough to slam her down into the dirt again.

“You fight well.” The little troll barely registered the words through the dizzy provoked haze of her mind. Jazali tried to get back onto her hands again, the adrenaline and rage still coursing through her veins and chanting to her to get up, get up, get up, GET UP! But Malinda casually placed a glowing hand against Jaz’s skull again and continued. “But I’m afraid I’ve no time to squabble with the likes of you.”

And then, Jaz’s vision was overcome with darkness.

It was her hearing that came to her first. The sound of a crackling fire. A fireplace perhaps? Soft wind grazing against the room’s walls and windows. Reminded her of the indoors...why was she indoors?

Then came her sense of smell: smoke and fire, steam and roasted… something. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. The final thing that awoke her was the itch on her nose. She tried to wiggle it off, but her eyes blinked open anyways. From the crust she could feel on the inner corners of her eyes, she could tell that she was probably asleep for quite awhile.

The first thing Jazali noticed was the different yet familiar location;  from what she last remembered… oh. She lost. Jazali’s nose wrinkled in distaste. Well that was just dandy wasn’t it. She tried to sit up but felt a sharp ache in her… well, everywhere. The little troll let out a hiss and quickly lay back down again on the… where was she again?

Jazali slowly blinked her eyes open and looked around: from what she saw it looked to be the living room of Mal’s house, except the entire place was lit by the fireplace in front of her, setting a warm glow against the dark night sky outside. From her place on the floor, she could spy the scattered pillows that she was laying on against the floor and Mal stirring something delicious on a weird… bowl… pan… thing, on the fire.

Huh. Jaz thought that the elf was going to kill her for sure, not take her back inside and put her to sleep.

“Oh good. You’re finally awake.” Jazali jolted slightly and looked up, catching Malinda’s ever-watchful, glowing blue eyes. The night elf raised a thick brow and grunted. “I haven’t had to use that technique in quite a while. Was getting worried that I did it wrong and you were in a coma.”Jazali looked at the elf confusedly before swallowing whatever cotton was in her throat and croaked.

“H-...how l-long?”

“Oh, about a day or two.” Malinda shrugged, before she turned to putting whatever she was cooking onto a leaf and started to fold it up.

The Darkspear’s eyes bugged out. Two days?! What did that elf do to her?! Mal must have caught Jazali’s shocked expression, because she deadpanned “I knocked you out in self-defense. Excuse me for not knowing the side-effects of a monk’s fist against a berserking troll.” Jazali nervously looked away and pouted.

“...ain’t my fault ya pissed me off.” Malinda ignored the jab and placed the suddenly neat, square leaf package onto a nearby plate as she chuckled.

“Can’t deny you sneaked in some hard punches. I’ll be having a sore bruise on my neck, that’s for sure. And probably explain to Kai why I have one…”

Jazali vaguely listened to Mal as she ever-so-slowly tried to sit up; the persistent aches of her complaining muscles certainly weren’t helping. She had no idea what a ‘Kai’ was, but she hoped Mal wasn’t expecting her to apologise. That elfy bitchy started it.

A moment passed before suddenly...

“Oh, you’re hired by the way.”

The words didn’t register at first, but when Jazali finally got past the light-headedness, and she finally caught the sentence, she whirled her head to Mal.

“...say wha’?”

As the elf continued to fold squared leaf meals onto the plate, Malinda raised her eyes skyward as she hummed.

“Well..is ‘hired’ the right word? Well, whatever, point is: while you were taking your time in la la land, your friend thought to send me another letter after I told him I refused to teach you.”

The Kaldorei’s eyes hooded as her lips sneered quite… saltily “Turns out, he’s quite the persuasive bastard when he wants to be.  Never thought he would resort to blackmail, but let it never be said that I was never wrong before.” Malinda tilted her head up and regarded Jazali curiously. “...And I’m surprised you held out in that fight for that long. Usually when I knock someone down, it’s for good, but it seems like you’re more stubborn than I thought.” As Jazali listened, she unconsciously leaned in and waited on baited breath. When she couldn’t wait, the little troll finally asked impatiently.

“So...ya gonna teach me?” Mal shrugged.

“Looks like it.”

“YAAY!” Jazali hurrayed with glee and threw her arms up into the air, but quickly let out a shout of pain and winced as her bruised arms protested heavily against the sudden movement. Mal rolled her eyes; this troll will probably be testing her patience many more times in the future.

“Hold your horses, you’re not starting any time soon.” Malinda grumbled as she pushed a hand down on Jazali, forcing her to lie back again. The little troll pouted indignantly but leaned back anyways for the sake of relieving her muscles. “I’ll just need to go get more shit and make sure you’re fine, then we’ll start tomorrow morning, so get plenty of rest.” Malinda stood up and stretched her arms up high before walking towards her own bed. She glanced back at Jazali and warned. “And every piece of food I find missing in the pantry is another 10 laps I add to your exercises.”

With that, Malinda closed the door. Jazali blinked… but soon grinned widely as she reached down to the plate of snacks left for her and started munching away excitedly. She couldn’t wait!