#but now I’m like: what if a tree was a disease?? YEAH

[bardcharms]

spending the first day of the year creating elaborate fictional diseases for my ever-growing world and thinking, yeah, this is the life

[amakumos]

haru yo, koi — yang jungwon (teaser)

full fic is out now! read here.

synopsis. Life is fragile. You’ve known this ever since you got diagnosed with a rare disease that gives you only 10 years to live. You tell yourself to not fall in love, but then you meet Yang Jungwon in the middle of a park surrounded by cherry blossom trees. But just like the fleetingness of the cherry blossoms, your romance with Jungwon is short lived. You can only hope that the universe will be kind enough to offer you a second chance.

genre. angst, fluff, friends to lovers to ?, inspired by the movie the last 10 years.

pairing. non-idol! jungwon x fem! reader

warnings. swearing, reader and jungwon are 22 at the beginning of the fic, mentions of death, hospital, illness & disease, scenes where drinking is involved

word count. est around 30k+ (teaser is approx 1.4k)

author's note. hellohello : ) this is the teaser for the longest every fic i have ever written!!! that’s so crazy!!!! the title is of course inspired by yuzuru hanyu’s program “haru yo, koi” :) i hope u guys enjoy this small little teaser of the full thing & if you’d like to be added to the taglist, just send in an ask !!

Cherry blossoms are known for their existence to be short-lived. They symbolise transience, ephemerality. They fall to the pavement as quickly as they bloom.

Just like the cherry blossoms, your existence will be short-lived. You’re running on borrowed time, and you don’t know when that time will run out. 

Every breath you take could be your last. 

There is a peaceful quietness as you wander around the park, admiring the vibrant pink hues of the flowers in full bloom. The faint smell of the cherry blossoms waft through the air, and you watch as some of the petals fall to the pavement. 

The quietness is interrupted by a dog bark. A white dog runs up to you, and you look at it, startled and confused. Suddenly, a boy who looks around your age runs up to you. 

“I am so sorry about Maeumi,” he says, attaching the leash back onto his dog. “He’s a little energetic sometimes.” 

You look at the boy, and something about him feels familiar. Those eyes – you’d recognise them anywhere. 

It’s Yang Jungwon, an old classmate of yours. He was the head of the student council during your time at the school, and you remember him even though you weren’t exactly there much due to your illness. But Jungwon was always a kind person, helping out anyone in need. He was friendly, and popular. You knew that many people had a crush on him, including your friend Minji.

“Wait a minute,” Jungwon’s eyes narrow suddenly. Something seems to click, and he gasps. “You’re (Name), right? We were in the same class in high school.” 

You’re surprised that even with all his busy duties in high school and with you constantly being away at the hospital, Yang Jungwon still remembers you.

“Yeah, I am,” you say, a small smile on your lips. “I’m surprised you remember who I am.”

“Of course I’d remember you!” Jungwon’s eyes seem to twinkle as he says the words. “We worked together on a project for biology once. Do you remember me?” 

You chuckle. “Of course. Yang Jungwon. Head of the student council.” 

Jungwon smiles. “Yeah. That’s me.” 

There’s a brief moment of silence where you and Jungwon just look at each other, small smiles on both of your faces. Maeumi sits patiently as a few of the cherry blossom petals land on his fur. 

“So… what have you been up to?” Jungwon asks you, looking genuinely interested. How are you supposed to respond to that? Because really, you’re not going to just tell him that what you’ve been up to is… hospital. 

“Um… work. Got a job,” you lie, nodding. “What about you?” 

“I’m a lawyer now,” Jungwon replies, and you smile. “Law. It suits you.” 

“Huh. Everyone tells me that,” Jungwon runs his fingers through his hair to make it a little neater. “So… what do you do at work?” 

“Writing. I… write.” Well, that wasn’t a complete lie. You do write, just… not for work. You’ve only been working on one thing ever since you got your diagnosis — it’s something akin to a diary, recounting your journey through the last 10 years of your life.

Maybe you’ll get to see it published before you’re gone.

“Oh, that’s so cool!” Jungwon beams. “I know your writing’s great. You wrote for the school newspaper, right?” 

It seems like Yang Jungwon remembers a lot about you. You wrote occasionally for the school newspaper when you were well enough to actually write. You’re surprised he remembers that, and you’re quite surprised that he actually read the school newspaper — you thought that with his busy schedule, he wouldn’t have had the time to.

“I did. You have a good memory.” 

“Thank you.” Jungwon cracks a smile. The boy looks at the cherry blossom trees, before returning his focus onto you. “They’re pretty, aren’t they?” he asks, and you nod.

“I like the colours.” you say, quietly.

“Me too.” 

“(Name), Soobin just got an emergency at the hospital, so he’s had to leave– oh!” Chaewon suddenly appears out of nowhere, startling both you and Jungwon. “Sorry, I didn’t know that you were talking to someone.” 

“Oh, it’s okay.” you tell your sister, who looks at you, then looks at Jungwon, then looks at you again. “Was I interrupting something?” she asks, with a small smile on her lips. 

“We were just looking at the cherry blossoms.” Jungwon pipes up. “I’m Jungwon. It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Chaewon,” your sister says. “Do you know my sister?”

“We went to high school together,” you tell her. “Jungwon was the head of the student council. I’m actually quite surprised he still remembers me, considering how… you know.” 

“Yes. I know.” 

Jungwon doesn’t know exactly what you and Chaewon are talking about, but it seems personal — and he wouldn’t want to pry. And, you keep mentioning how you’re extremely shocked at the fact that Jungwon seems to remember you.

But, why wouldn’t Jungwon remember his first crush? 

Something about you intrigued Jungwon the moment you stepped into the classroom for the first time. It was seventh grade, and you had walked into the room with a small smile on your lips. Jungwon remembers you catching his attention instantly. 

You two were partnered together for a project, and you both had quite a few pleasant conversations while working on the assignment. Jungwon remembers walking home with a giddy smile on his lips after he had gone to your house. 

But gradually, you started to disappear. 

Throughout high school, Jungwon tried to talk to you as much as he could. Problem was, you were almost never at school, and when you were at school, Jungwon always seemed to be busy.

So Jungwon was never able to get closer to you. He couldn’t get to know you better, or find out why he found himself gravitating towards you. 

You didn’t even show up for graduation. 

The last time Jungwon remembers seeing you was in class one day. You were wrapped in a puffer jacket, a hand warmer in your hands. You looked pale. Jungwon assumed that you might’ve gotten a cold.

He didn’t know that you were sick. He still doesn’t know that you’re sick. Nobody from high school knows, with the exception of Minji and Wonyoung. 

He just assumed you were always busy with out of school activities. But he never forgot about you. 

“Oh, that reminds me. Ricky’s hosting a reunion party next week for our year? We’d love for you to come.” Jungwon says, and Chaewon nudges you gently. “You should go,” your sister whispers to you.

“Oh, I… I don’t know. I don’t think people there will really remember me.” you murmur, and Jungwon shakes his head. “No, they will! Just come along. Here, I’ll give you my number, since Ricky’s still making decisions on which restaurant he’s booking. I’ll text you the details.” 

You type in Jungwon’s number into your phone slowly, saving his contact. “It was really nice seeing you again. What a coincidence, right?” he beams.

“It was nice seeing you again too, Jungwon. I’ll… let you know if I go.” 

“I’ve got to run along now, a friend of mine’s waiting for me.” Jungwon says, a small pout on his lips. “But yeah, text me! I’ll talk to you soon.” 

“See you around, Jungwon.” you say softly, and the boy gives you one last big smile before turning around to leave. Chaewon looks at you with a wide grin on her lips. “Come on, you should go!” 

“I don’t know,” you say hesitantly. You’re not even sure if people remember you. Or know you at all. You attended school less than 20 times in your last year — to be completely honest, even you found it strange that you graduated. “What if people are like ‘who are you?’ It would make things really awkward.” 

“So? Jungwon knows you. Invite Minji and Wonyoung. There, you know four people. Come on, (Name). You should live your life to the fullest.” 

As you’re nearing the end of the 10 years that the doctor has given you, you decide that perhaps Chaewon is right. You’ve spent years wallowing in self-pity, spending all your days at home when you could’ve been spending time doing things that you’ve always wanted to do. See people you never thought you’d see again. Go to places that you’ve always wanted to go to.

You take a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll go.” 

And as a pink cherry blossom petal brushes against your cheek, you return home with Chaewon by your side, and the thought of Yang Jungwon in the back of your mind.

[a1ecmcdowell]

taste — john b x pogue!reader!

part of the short n' sweet x obx collection, found here!

ㅤㅤㅤㅤincludes, conniving!reader. exes dynamic. i promise i love sarah cameron.

❛ heard you're back together . . . and if that's true, you'll have to taste me when he's kissin' you! ❜

it’s gotta be some sort of fucking sickness, the way you plague his every thought. he’s infected with the disease that was you — fully contagious, too, with the way that you sashay up to him every day like you know it. 

you’d broken up months ago. months! he’d moved on ( didn’t he? ) and yet every night on the cut, he’s always two natty lites away from clicking on your contact in his phone ( still saved with a heart by your name; maybe he didn’t actually move on ) and telling you to come over. 

stupid, stupid, stupid. he was stupid.

and you knew it, too. you didn’t used to have the balls that you do now. like, walking up to him in the middle of a kegger and planting your red-painted lips on his stubbled cheek? yeah, that’s new. he used to have to physically drag you from the twinkie to go to these things with him — that’s how afraid of showing any sort of pda you used to be. 

and now, here you were. they’d all gathered at john b’s for the weekend get together that had unofficially become a tradition, the thick smell of weed and sweat from the humid summer nights. 

you’d stopped being invited when you and john b broke up.

that didn’t stop jj from texting you to come anyways. he’d learned about your efforts to stir shit between john b and his kook girlfriend, and ever the instigator, he made sure that you were going to be there that night. 

and god, were you there. little black dress, that special pair of boots that you saved for special occasions because you didn’t want to muck them up with dirt or wet sand. you sure as shit didn’t seem to care that they were getting mucked now, as you danced with your arms above your head, a solo cup between your manicured fingers. 

if you couldn’t have him back… well, the least you could do was make him grovel over what he lost. and make sure that his new girlfriend was well aware that there was a past here.

a very warbly past, its surface constantly on the verge of shattering beneath the both of your feet. a couple more pushes, and the tension would give, and the past would start to mingle prettily again with the present. 

john b, of course, didn’t look too happy about your presence. was he ever anymore? you were a constant reminder of how he’d fucked up — something that was accumulating a list. 

you stepped over a couple of thick tree roots in his yard as you all but danced up to him, your hips never stopping their swaying, and the knowing smile never leaving your lips. the kook girlfriend left his side for two seconds to talk with kie about something, and obviously, that was the time to pounce. 

“what the hell are you doing here?” john b asks, exasperation and irritation thick in his voice, deep in the furrow between his brows. 

your head cocks to the side. “i was invited.” 

“jj’s invites don’t count.” 

“they do, because i’m here, aren’t i?” 

that makes his cheek twitch. it always did that when he was pissy; that little twitch to the side, right above his jawbone. how was it fair that you still knew all of these details about him, and he was making every bit of effort to forget all of the details about you?

john b’s eyes rake over you, drinking in the outfit, the styled hair, the smile that you planted firmly on your lips even though you were so angry and bitter on the inside. 

“you shouldn’t be here,” he says, and it sounds like a sigh this time. what authority does he have over you anymore? none. the defeat in his tone makes it evident that he knows it too. 

you’re not deterred. probably even the opposite. your arms lift to drape over his shoulders, pressed up on the toes of your shoes, as you graze your lips ever so slightly against his frowning, plush pink ones. 

the sharp inhale that he takes is evidence enough to you that he does miss you. at least the way you kissed. “i just wanted to drop in… see how happy you are…” 

“don’t do this,” john b whispers, his breath hot on your mouth. he tastes like cheap beer and expensive weed. he always tastes like home. 

so how could you ever resist pressing your mouth firmly against his, capturing that homely taste in between your lips? 

he doesn’t kiss back — not for a few seconds, anyways. and then his hands are sliding down your ribs, circling around the small of your back and dragging you in closer. 

this wasn’t supposed to be for pleasure, though. it was the best sort of punishment that you could conjure up; invoking regret, planting the seeds of it in his happy new relationship. 

you break the kiss, even as he doesn’t let go of you just yet. 

“let me know when you stop screwin’ around with that little kook of yours,” you say finally, softly, with one last peck to his mouth. 

then, you pluck his hands off of your hips and step out of them. it’s easy to not want to look back and see the expression on his face as you walk away, because you know him well enough to know that he is watching. 

sarah cameron steps out of the house with kie; you hear her voice to your right and then a sudden gasp of silence. john b’s probably kissing her, you think, and she’s tasting you on his mouth. 

quite an impression.

support me on patreon!<3

[navia3000]

a l l t o o w e l l

Includes : Bellamy Blake

Genre : Angst, very little fluff

Warnings : Minimal use of Y/N, first person pov, mentions of fighting, mentions of praimfaya, not proofread

Based on : All Too Well by Taylor Swift

Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there

Y/N and Bellamy Blake had a complicated relationship from the start. From the moment the drop ship landed on Earth and Blake asserted his dominance over the 100, she despised him. He was arrogant, cocky, and rude.

However, Clarke Griffin, a close friend of hers, insisted on an “alliance” of sorts, claiming it was necessary for survival. And now, the girl has to bite her tongue as Clarke and Blake have become the leaders of the 100, the king and queen.

The 100 were currently working on building a wall around the campsite to help defend from the grounders. She had been helping put the walls up for hours, and was in desperate need of a break.

Even though she knew both Clarke and Bellamy would scorn her if they saw her, she snuck outside the camp and walked to a quiet meadow away from the chaos in the drop ship.

She sat on a log among the grass and flowers, breathing in the floral and earthy scents. She couldn’t help but look back on her time on the Ark and its stale, metallic scent. She was glad that she was among the few people to come back to Earth. She used to dream of feeling the blades of grass tickle the palms of her hands, the flower petals caressing her nose and cheeks, the scent of dirt and trees and leaves and greenery blessing her scent buds.

The snap of a twig brought her out of her nostalgic thoughts, defenses coming up immediately in fear of a Grounder. She didn’t think to bring a weapon with her, being in desperate need of a break.

She turned to find not a Grounder, but Bellamy Blake stalking towards her, a stern look on his face. “What are you doing out here?” He sounded angry.

It was her turn to scowl. “I’m taking a break, what are you doing?”

“I saw you sneak off. Are you insane? There are Grounders out here, and you didn’t even tell anyone you were leaving.”

“Jeez, Blake, I’m only a couple minutes away from camp. Plus, what do you care if a Grounder gets me?”

He seemed taken aback by her question. After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke. “Of course I care. Keeping you guys safe is my responsibility.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” They stared at each other for what felt like eons, until she patted the space next to her, inviting him to sit. Maybe it was the serene atmosphere that made her extend an invitation, or maybe it was the fact that she was tired of the constant battle between her and Bellamy. They were like ice and liquor, like water and vinegar.

He hesitated for a moment before moving to sit with her. The pair sat in silence, taking in the view in front of them. Maybe being in each other’s company wasn’t so bad.

Down the stairs, I was there, I was there

“Where is he?” She was frantic, eyes scanning the drop ship for Bellamy. Murphy had come back from being tortured by the Grounders, bringing an infectious illness along with him. They had spent hours taking care of the sick delinquents, when the girl had been told about Bellamy getting sick. Her and Bellamy had reached a sort of stalemate after their “moment” in the meadow. They didn’t hate each other, but they didn’t like each other.

She lies to herself, because, she does like him. More than she wants to. And now, hearing he’s sick with this deadly disease made her regret all the times she had argued with him.

“He’s here,” Clarke pointed to a secluded corner in the ship, where she saw Octavia leaning over her brother, a wet rag to his forehead. “You shouldn’t be in here,” Clarke warned, but the girl didn’t listen. She rushed to Bellamy’s side, and her heart broke seeing his face contorted in pain.

She took the rag from Octavia’s hands, “go rest.” She watched as Octavia smiled appreciatively, and walked away.

As she put the rag to Bellamy’s forehead, she saw Bellamy’s eyes open and focus on her, his chocolate irises burning with concern. “What- what are you doing?” Bellamy choked out. “You’ll get sick.”

She shushed him, smiling sweetly, hoping to bring some sort of comfort to the sick man. “It’s okay. Just close your eyes.” He stared at her a little longer, before deciding to close his eyes, knowing she would stay by his side the whole night.

Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there

“She did it,” Octavia whispered. Clarke had finally pulled the lever, destroying the City of Light along with A.L.I.E. Bellamy and Octavia watch as their friends and the citizens of Polis snap out of their trance, being relieved from A.L.I.E’s hold.

Bellamy, however, was focused on one person. Y/N. The girl he hated and grew to love. His girl.

After their experience in Mount Weather, Bellamy and her’s relationship evolved, growing closer together.

Unfortunately for Bellamy, she was forced to take the Key, making her forget her happy memories with Bellamy, and turning her into A.L.I.E’s most trusted soldier.

She had been fighting Bellamy and Octavia, using the skills she learnt from Octavia and the Grounders. Bellamy didn’t want to fight her. He hated the thought of hurting her. But her pursuit against him was relentless, her punches hurting more and more.

They were close to killing each other, until Clarke ended it all.

He watched as she snapped out of whatever trance she was in. Her eyes were glazed over with confusion, but they cleared once they landed on his. At once, she launched herself into his arms. He held tightly onto her, relief flooding his body.

She pulled back to look him in the eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Bell,” she whispered. She pushed her lips onto his, letting the kiss speak the words she couldn’t say.

Bellamy kissed back with as much passion, feeling his crumpled heart straighten itself out again.

He was never going to let her go again.

It was rare, you remember it all too well

Bellamy watched down from the window of the ship, memories playing in his head like a film on a movie screen. However, this film wasn’t a happy one. This film was one of sadness, tragedy, betrayal. Bellamy regrets that moment every day of his life. He regrets the moment he had to leave his lover along with his best friend on Earth, abandoning them to radiation that would kill them.

If only things didn’t turn out this way. Bellamy lives every day in space plagued with dreams of what his life could’ve been. Of him being with her, hugging her, kissing her. Living a normal life. A life without Grounders, radiation, killer AI. A life where him and her could be happy. If only things were different.

If only the weren’t doomed from the start.

[sunlightmurdock]

Oh girly (gn), all I'm thinking now is apocalypse Jake being so stressed and angry that he got her pregnant and the two having a big fight and she storms off, and then he follows, just in time to save her from something (a diseased or just a crazy survivor) and they would just be so glad to have each other and Jake would feel so guilty all over again, but they have a heart-to-heart and work things through... Sorry, I'm getting carried away, so sorry didn't mean to tread on your toes!!! This apocalypse au is just so exciting!!!!

Ooof, yeah I feel like the first time she tells him she’s pregnant could have been in the middle of the run or something. Like maybe he she has a cramp or she isn’t feeling good and he’s grilling her on it because mysterious illnesses aren’t a good sign these days, and she just blurts it out. “I’m pregnant, you ass.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I peed on a stick. I am.”

“There’s got to be an expiry date on those things. They’re faulty. You can’t be.”

It goes back and forth until it’s established that you most definitely are carrying his child, and then, Jake seems to snap. He’s panicking, trying to think of ways to get out of this, to stop it from happening — until you tell him that you want the baby.

He just about loses his mind. “Are you fucking crazy?”

Feeling rejected and humiliated, you leave him there by himself and tell him you’re walking home. Of course, he’d never let you do that, but he’s in such a state of shock that he lets you get a head start.

He’s only five minutes behind you, walking through the woods and calling your name. You were too mad to cover your tracks. He slows down, his stomach sinking as he starts to notice a second set of footprints in the mud. Sticking close to the trees, standing mostly on leaves, trying to cover the tracks and confuse whoever might follow. Jake’s not the only one tracking you.

He speeds up, silent now. If someone knows that he’s close by, who knows what they’d do. A branch snaps and he breaks into a run, his heartbeat pounding in his chest. He can’t believe he was stupid enough to let you run off by yourself.

The second that he spots dark clothing through the trees, his gun is in his hand and the safety is off. He gets closer, close enough to see where you end and this person starts. He’s kneeling over you with a knife to your throat. If Jake pulls the trigger, this guy could flinch and you’re gone.

But you spot Jake coming. You see him standing there, gun raised, and you know what to do. You grab the hand holding the knife and twist his wrist backwards, throwing your body in the opposite direction. The shot rings out next to your ear, making your ears ring.

Before you know it, Jake’s scooping you into his arms, checking you for any injuries. “You’re okay, right? — Did he hurt you? Look, at me, did he hurt you?”

You’re staring at his face, eyes brimming with tears.

“Stop, I’m fine, stop it.” You brush the tears hurriedly away and inhale, resting your hand against your stomach. “I need you on my side about this. We’re going to need you.”

[go-go-gadget-autism]

i’ve been on tumblr to where i can sort of get the generalized humor that hit posts have and i know i’m funny enough to do them however i am also Too Stupid to Think of something.

so here are some quotes from me and my friends.

“what if i disguised myself as a chair?”

“that’s because you’re a classified homosexual.”

“having boobs does NOT make you magical.”

“since you haven’t seen rudolph the red nosed reindeer, i think you deserve to be shot.”

“why are you french”

“i am the sex”

“i will jizz in your oven”

“if you’re gonna get a blood disease, go big or go home”

“i’m not just fast, i’m autism fast”

“everyone needs an emotional support femboy”

“you should become a foot fetish artist”

“give me my aids”

“biblically accurate republican”

“i haven’t pissed in sixteen years”

“i didn’t waterboard the fish i swear!”

“i have the personality of a brick that plays dragon city”

“hentai father”

“the communism demons”

“i’m gonna commit a war crime on these fucking bugs”

“get sucked”

“the king of piss”

“the joke here is that you’re all going to die”

“*in hulk hogan voice* grab on my balls brother”

“*in scottish accent* necrophilia is like fine wine”

“platonic sugar daddy”

“i’m not gonna suck his nose.”

“girthy gunnage”

“how can a gun be autistic”

“don’t get your beans in a bungle”

“i don’t wanna be a bouillon cube!!”

“skinny jeans crush my balls, and not in a good way”

“i was gonna say that made me hard but then i remembered that i don’t have a penis”

“all chickens are racist.”

“people that use the skull emoji are attracted to femboys”

“aren’t fleshy potatoes just irish people??”

“he has rebellious white boy energy, and not in the sexy way”

“i’m just gonna casually eat poland gimme a second”

“you’re at perfect dick punching height”

“i am NOT a spy balloon!!!”

“penis jumpscare”

“stab me daddy”

“all hail the fuckle knuckle”

“that is the gayest fish i have ever seen”

“wait, you guys fuck ovens?”

“guys, am i a twink?”

“a gun is useless against the dreaded taxes.”

“chemically unstable shitting”

“non-hispanic bitch slap”

“you’re a woman sometimes, go make me a sandwich”

“are you accusing me of being sans undertale?”

“not gonna lie, i’d let Ted Bundy kill me. I’d let him eat me. preferably alive.”

“someone’s parent. imma bang em.”

“hitler moment”

“breast buy”

“guys, i did it! i created therapy!”

“i need my HVAC bible”

“the grapes built like himbos?”

“you’d let a tree shoot you if it had enough eyeliner.”

“i am a terrible mexican”

“i am going to make you into a soup”

“fuck it. *unchops your suey*”

“i’m gonna cuck him. musically.”

“you may be an engineer, but i have the pokémon deluxe essential handbook!”

“i’m going to fight the visible light spectrum”

“sounds like your balls just couldn’t handle the neutron style”

“i don’t do vapes i only do bagels”

“if you shit on my couch i swear to fucking god”

“you’re balls?”

“on a happier note, i just purchased England!”

“yeah, that’s old hag energy”

“i am now switzerland”

“i am in a relationship with gay jesus”

“what’s up cucumber”

“unlike you, i’m misogynistic.”

“hoe you are NOT going commando while working at an arby’s”

“ok well if you do throw up try to aim for the holes in your violin”

feel free to add your own quotes! my friends and i say some insane shit sorry

[outworldyuri]

bloodied lotus.

PAIRING: raiden x gn!reader

GENRE: drabble, oneshot, angst

WARNINGS: hanahaki disease, one-sided love, slight jealousy, basically follows the plot of Raiden’s chapter.

SYNOPSIS: y/n has a crush on raiden, but raiden has eyes for kitana, causing one-sided love, and y/n getting the hanahaki disease.

A/N: I'm reposting this from my old writing account, @razor-writes, because this is one of my most favorite fics I wrote and published. also credits to @cafekitsune for the dividers 🫶

you knew raiden and kung lao since you were kids and you have been in love with raiden for a few years now, but you never had the chance to confess your feelings for him, you wanted to tell him, but you were afraid that he’d reject you.

—

once the day for the tournament arrived, liu lang opened a portal to outworld made from fire, you stood next to raiden and you looked over at him, he had an amazed expression on his face, his beautiful, charming face.

once liu kang walked through the portal, the earthrealm warriors walked through it as well . you walked down some stairs with the others, looking around and taking in the beauty of outworld.  on the other of the path side was a beautiful palace, there were stairs across the path as well with two young women standing on them, they were the princesses of outworld.

“oh my. are those-“ johnny cage spoke, recording the scenery with his phone. “empress sindel’s daughters’, yes.” liu kang replied.

“they do not disappoint.” johnny smirked, you rolled your eyes at his words. “we are earthrealm’s ambassadors, johnny, we’ll show them respect, not unwanted attention.” raiden remarked, showing his respect for the women.  as they reached the end of the path, princess mileena spoke to liu kang, “lord liu kang, welcome.” “thank you, princess mileena.” liu kang replied to her welcome.

“you remember my sister?” mileena inquired, turning slightly to the lady in blue, kitana. liu kang smiled and nodded. “of course, princess kitana.” he spoke. kitana bowed her head with her hands behind her back.

liu kang spoke again, “may I introduce johnny cage, kung lao, kenshi takahashi, and earthrealm’s champion…raiden.”

as raiden’s name was mentioned, raiden bowed his head in response to the princesses, his straw hat covering his face.

kitana smirked and spoke to raiden “I hope you’re prepared, raiden.” raiden looked at her with a smile on his face, a smile of…adoration? you noticed his smile and felt a tinge of sadness inside you. you spent most of your time looking at raiden in that moment that you didn’t notice kitana and mileena talking. the umgadi warrior, tanya, also known as the palace gaurd, reminded mileena, “princess, we should be on our way, empress sindel awaits.” mileena looked back at her and responded, “thank you, tanya. follow me, please.” she signaled for the earthrealmers’ to follow her.

—

raiden had won against two of the kombatants for the tournament, li mei and reiko. empress sindel said that the tournament would continue at first light, so both outworld and earthrealm’s warriors had a dinner outside the palace.

you were sitting next to raiden, and johnny cage was sitting by kitana, trying to win her over as usual.

you looked to your side and raiden was looking across the table towards kitana, with the same look and smile of adoration as before. 

you felt your stomach turn a bit, and you held your hand against it, and raiden noticed this. “y/n? are you alright?” he asked with a tone of worry in his voice. “yeah, I’m alright, maybe just something i ate.” you lied through your teeth. “i’ll be right back.” you got up from your seat for a moment and left to go for a walk so you could get your mind off of things. raiden looked back and watched you leave, he felt like he did something wrong, but he just didn’t know what.

—

you walked down the mossy stone path surrounded by beautiful trees, still feeling your stomach turn. you suddenly heard footsteps behind you, you turned around immediately, only to see raiden behind you.

you were confused on why he followed you, so you obviously had to ask. “raiden? wha—why’d you follow me?” you asked as your eyebrows furrowed.

he looked at you worriedly “I just wanted to make sure you were alright. you just got up and walked away, I got worried.”

“raiden, I already told you I’m alri-“ without warning, you started to cough rapidly. and to his alarm, you started to cough blood as well as petals. you fell to your knees in pain as you continued coughing.

“y/n?!” raiden’s eyes widened as he witnessed you cough rapidly and fall to your knees. he knelt down quickly in front of you, placing his hands on your shoulders, completely concerned for your well-being.

you continued coughing as flower petals spilled from your lips, raiden grew more and more worried for you. “someone help!” he yelled out for someone at the table. his close friend, kung lao, heard and came running towards raiden’s voice, eyes widening in shock as he saw you knelt to the ground, coughing up flower petals and blood.

“y/n?! what happened?!” kung lao ran over to the both of you and knelt down as well. raiden spoke again, his voice shaky. “I—i don’t know, t—they just started coughing out blood and petals..!” 

"get them to safety!" kung lao exclaimed towards raiden to take you, before he could hold you, you fell onto the floor, unconscious.

[unnervinglyferal]

Well Dad went to cut down dead trees on our property

The trees happen to be by one of our neighbors who I’m going to call Tod and Harmony

Tod and Harmony are older folk, they often have their toddler grandkids over, recently a teenager has been hanging out around there, he’s assumed to be the boyfriend of their teenage grandkid

Apparently Dad had already had some iffy interactions around that land near them before because he was already worried that they would get upset at him

Well he goes down there and he doesn’t even set down his tools before Harmony starts shit

Harmony doesn’t think that Dad’s on our land so he shouldn’t be cutting down all trees

Harmony doesn’t even think it’s her land by the way

She thinks it belongs to the people who own the semi abandoned house on our street

Dad tries to explain that it’s our land and he’s just cutting down the dead and diseased ones

Dad cuts down like four trees before he leaves because Harmony is just watching him and now it’s super awkward

He comes home and he’s annoyed and upset, his whole day has been thrown of course by this

He talks to Mom and they decide that he’ll go and show them the deed in a few days once they’ve calmed down a bit

WELL THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN

Harmony gets our other neighbors Heath and Ann involved

We all like Heath and Ann, they’re good people and their dog Gunner is a sweetheart

Ann happens to have one of the owners numbers so she gives them Dad’s number

The owner, Caroline, texts Dad and is super confused

Pretty much everyone thought that land belonged to her family, including her family

It turns out that no, it’s likely they just had an informal agreement with Bob, the previous owner, so they could use the land

So yeah it’s ours

Dad’s all nice and says that if she wants she can grab some saplings because the trees over there have some sentimental value

Caroline’s all nice, she’s glad this is all cleared up because eventually she’s going to sell the house

The end right?

FUCKING NO

Harmony somehow gets Caroline to text Dad again asking him to hold off cutting down the trees because Ann and Harmony are really really upset over it

Dad’s now super upset because:

1. What the fuck Ann

2. What the fuck in general

So he goes down to show Tod and Harmony the deed

The deed that clearly shows that it’s our land

Tod’s just kinda confused and starts to say that he’s worried about some trees falling on their house

The trees he was talking about were his trees

Not ours

But Harmony is pissed

She’s yelling, she keeps repeating that for FOUR YEARS people have told her it’s Caroline’s land, she refuses to even look at the deed saying that she can’t read that

The deed is literally a map

She doesn’t have to read

It’s a map

So they’re yelling and then some fucking kid tries walks out and tries to fight Dad

Tod is literally having to shove the guy back inside

Eventually and I don’t know how Dad gets them to calm down

He makes them give him hugs goodbye and goes across the street to talk to Heath and Ann

Turns out Ann had nothing to do with it

She literally just contacted Caroline to get her talking with us

Anyways me and Mom have to walk by their house to go on our walks

And Dad’s really worried about the teen just starting shit because he’s mad so I asked them both to let me handle him if it gets physical

Because I probably have like thirty pounds on him and I’m not in my mid fourties’ so I’m less breakable and also won’t get in as much trouble for doing it

Such a mess

From the bottom of my heart:

What the fuck?

[asterkiss]

Knock Knock - Part III

This is gonna end up as some oneshot compiled together on AO3 by the end of it. Still kinda freeballing this but the main idea is there. Part I | Part II

‘Her vitals are all reading as normal,’ Stanford muttered, crouched beside his niece’s bed.’

‘Then why isn’t she waking up?’ Dipper asked, unable to hide the panic in his voice as he shifted from one foot to the other repeatedly.

‘Where’s Bill?’ Stanley asked, looking around suspiciously. ‘This definitely has something to do with him.’

‘Somebody call for me?’ The triangle flashed into the room, twirling his cane with dramatic flare although that faded as he noted the angry glares shooting in his direction. ‘Yikes, tough crowd.’

‘What did you do to Mabel, you bastard?’ Stanley snapped, raising a fist.

‘Hm? I didn’t do anything.’

‘Really?’ Stanford asked, looking disbelieving as he remained knelt beside the bed. 

The demon glanced down at the sleeping girl, drawing closer as his eye scrutinised her keenly. ‘Hmm.’

‘What does ‘hmm’ mean?’ Dipper asked, voice sharp. Yeah, they were “allies” with Bill now in a weird dysfunctional way but the demon still annoyed the heck out of him. (Mabel claimed Bill only bullied Dipper to get his attention but that didn’t make it any better!)

‘It means… your sister messed up.’

‘Huh?’

Bill floated over the girl, reaching out to poke and prod her face. Dipper scowled, about to tell him to piss off when the demon retracted and folded his arms with a click of his tongue. ‘Ah Shooting Star, what’ve you gone and done now?’

‘What has she done?’ Stanford asked. ‘Give us answers.’

Bill glanced aside at the men, thoughtful for a moment before he responded. ‘Easiest way to describe it would be that Shooting Star’s gone ahead and invited some nefarious something-something’s inside her mind.’

‘What the hell does that mean?’ Dipper asked, eyes wide. ‘Why would she ever do that?’ A pause, and his face fell as he slapped a hand over his mouth. ‘Wait. Don’t tell me, this monster looked hot.’

‘Heh heh, you think so? Thanks, Pine Tree.’

‘Huh?’

‘I suppose I am quite attractive,’ Bill said, posing.

The men stared at him flatly.

‘Wait, you’re the one she let in?’ Stanley snapped, eyes wide as he looked murderous. ‘So you did do this! You son of a bi-'

‘Well, yes but also no,’ Bill replied breezily, before his care-free attitude slowly slipped and he looked serious. ‘Alright, lemme see if I can explain this…’

>

Mabel wasn’t sure where she was.

It looked like Gravity Falls but everything was bleak and devoid of colour. And everytime she walked, it felt like there were a pair of eyes watching her every move, it felt like someone was stalking her.

But whenever she turned around there was nobody there.

There was nobody anywhere.

It was just her.

Here.

Alone.

Until it wasn’t.

‘Sup.’

She turned around, feeling a surge of relief at the sight of the dream demon. ‘Bill! Jeez, I’m glad to see you. What the heck is going on?’

The demon began to approach and Mabel wasn’t sure why but something inside her began to feel anxious.

He was drawing closer.

And closer-

‘Wait, stop,’ she said, beginning to back away.

Bill blinked. ‘Why?’

‘I…. I don’t know.’ She frowned, rubbing her right arm which suddenly had goosebumps upon it. Mabel wasn’t sure why but suddenly every fibre of her being was feeling on edge, adrenaline racing through her body for a reason she didn’t know. ‘Um… Look, can I wake up now? This is a dream right?’

The triangle paused. ‘Sure,’ he replied. ‘Just come here and take my hand, I’ll wake ya up.’ He held out a singular black hand towards her.

She’d taken his hand plenty of times before.

It was easy.

So why did the notion of taking it right now fill her with dread?

The teenager swallowed thickly, shuffling on her feet. ‘Um, is there no other way?’

‘Huh? What’s up with you, just take it. I ain't got cooties or a flesh eating disease. Not this time anyway.’

Mabel grimaced. She stared at the demon, trying to pinpoint why exactly she was feeling so on edge. It was Bill! Sure, he was still an ass at times but he was alright otherwise. He was like a mascot for the family who sometimes switched the salt for washing powder or stuffed nettles in their shoes. 

So why was she feeling such dangerous vibes where every part of her intuition was telling her to run?

‘...Uh, you… you are Bill, right?’

The demon stared at her.

And then he slowly retracted his hand.

‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘And you let me in. Remember?’

‘Huh?’

‘You opened the door.’

The door?

Oh.

That door.

“Don’t open it!” That’s what he’d said, repeatedly. Mabel swallowed thickly, and forced a nervous laugh as Bill continued to stare. ‘Oh, haha, yeah I guess I did. Oops. That’s…. Um, is that bad?’

‘Depends on who you ask.’

Okay, that was an ominous response. She didn’t like that. She took another step back. How the hell was she meant to wake up? 

‘What do you want?’ she asked instead, stalling as she tried to figure out what to do.

The demon blinked. ‘You.’

‘Eh? Me?’

‘You opened the door and started this, so it’s you who’s gonna finish it. That's how it goes, I don't make the rules.’

‘Um, what?’ She was totally confused here. ‘What the heck are you talking about?’

‘I lied by the way.’

She froze. What?

‘Earlier.’ His eye creased in amusement. ‘When I said I was Bill. Well, kinda lying, kinda not. But it stalled ya long enough for me to do this.’ 

He snapped a finger and Mabel released a gasp as she suddenly fell down a foot into the ground. When she dropped her gaze, she found a dark and shifting pool of shadows beneath, slowly swallowing her up like quick sand. She yelled and struggled, trying to break free as she sank but this stuff had the consistency of glue. As it swallowed her up to her waist, she raised her head and looked at the triangle with alarm. 

‘Who the hell are you!? Let me go or else!!’

He appeared before her in an instant. A hand grasped her face, and she flinched as the demon cradled her jaw. She was no longer sinking any further, but she still couldn't pull free. Her heart beat erratically as she stared at the bulbous eye inches from her face. 

‘Me? I’m a fragment,’ he said, sounding oddly serious with no sign of his usual cavalier attitude. ‘And I’m here to get things back to how they should be.’

‘That just raises like a bunch more questions, you weirdo!’

‘He likes you.’

‘Huh?’

‘Bill. Me. Us.’ His finger brushed across her skin, eye narrowing. ‘How else would he try to warn you away from me?’ A pause and the dark look melted as he spoke in a light manner once more. ‘Oh well, lucky for me you don't listen to others and steamroll ahead with your own ideas. I can see why we like you. You're quite the troublemaker, arent'cha?’

‘Urgh, I have no idea what you’re talking about! Quit monologing and let me go!' She was gonna punch him in the eye. At least, that's what she planned on but she suddenly found both her arms had been caught by the churning shadows beneath and she was unable to raise them.

‘Hmm, nope.’ 

The triangle retracted his hand and floated back, offering a small wave. ‘See ya, Shooting Star.’

She was sinking again. Her eyes widened and she kept scrambling to escape but it was no use. The last thing she saw before her head went under was the sight of “Bill” watching her with glee.

[stargazedwinchester]

Telephone | Sam Winchester #02

It had only been 13 days since the pair of you had spoken. The conversations grew drier by the day, and it left you somewhat disappointed, but not surprised. You had always checked your phone the moment you woke up, to before you went to sleep the same night, hoping that the spark you both had would suddenly arise and everything would be okay again. You always told yourself that he was just busy and that he would get back to you, that he’s dealing with something personal with this ‘Dean’ guy and that it’ll be okay. That’s what you told yourself.

It was 4:25am on a Thursday morning, rain pattered on your window, and the moonlight glared slightly through your curtains. Your phone buzzed harshly on your bedside table, it’s blue light illuminating the room. You awake suddenly, your heart racing from the noise. Your eyes stung as you tried to remain awake, you rotated your phone towards you. “Sam?” You whisper, utter confusion and excitement overtook your whole body, what the Hell is he doing calling at this time?

You answered the phone, greeted by loud music, screaming and laughing. “Sam?” You call, unsure whether he could hear you. “Y/N? You there?” Sam answered, and you sigh. “Why are you calling me this late?” You asked, and rubbed your forehead, leaning back onto your pillow. “Uh, I don’t know.” He slurs. “Are you drunk?” You proceeded, and the other line remained quiet. “I don’t know,” He giggled, and you kept a straight face. “This better be worth it, Sam.” You said, clearly frustrated with him. “It is, I guess.” You heard a door creek open and the noise began to fade, Sam coughed lightly to break the silence, and you smiled slightly. “I’m sorry.” He continued after a while, sighing heavily down the phone. “What for?” You asked, totally knowing what for, but still wanting to hear it from him, rather than your own brain. “You know what for,” He said, and paused for a slight second. “I’m a dick.”

“Well, yeah.” You half joked, and you heard a laugh from the other side. “I should’ve contacted you, but it’s been so hectic at home,” Sam mentioned, an awkward silence hung between the two of you, and Sam sighed heavily.

“God, I’m so drunk.” He laughed to himself as you hear him perch himself onto a bench. “Like I said, this better be worth it.” You threatened him, leaning back onto your bed, hugging the duvets as you rest your head back onto your pillow. “It is, Y/N. I promise it is…” Sam struggled to get his words out, chuckling and mumbling quietly as the crickets chirped loud enough for you to hear through the phone. You waited patiently for him to gather his words, impatience running through your veins each second that passed. You pursed your lips as you stared at the dark oak beams on your bedroom ceiling, then out of the window that was only cracked half open, the curtains flowing elegantly against the wind. The late-night sky flushed the sky with a Prussian blue, faded with coral. The moon faintly shone through the silhouettes of the trees, swaying gently.

“I want to say something now before I never get to say it.” Sam says, caution haunted his voice. “What is it?” you ask, diverting your eyes from the window.

“The only person I’ve ever opened up with is my brother, Dean. I have genuinely only spent my life with him growing up, our mom died in a house fire when I was 6 months old, and my dad was mostly absent. He’d go away for weeks with little to no warning. It’s just him and I.” He paused, before continuing. “My dad passed a few days ago. He had a horrible disease and he tried to get better but… it didn’t work. The doctors couldn’t do much for him.” He sighs gently. You were a little surprised with what he just told you, “Oh, Sam, I’m so sorry.”

“Nah, don’t be. He was a dick.”

“But he was your dad. Dick or not. That’s a traumatic thing to go through and I’m really sorry you had to witness it at such a young age.”

Your words seem to make Sam realise that his childhood wasn’t something of the norm, in fact, it was something so different to your own. He huffs, not exactly knowing what to say next. “Sorry Sam, listen, its really late and I’m sure you’re missing a lot at your party, but I’m so tired…” You hint at him that you really need to get some sleep, he coughs and you can hear him shuffle through the phone. “Yeah. Yeah, sorry, Y/N. I didn’t mean to wake you so abruptly. It won’t happen again. Have a good night.” He chuckles, waiting for a response. “Goodnight, Sam.” You say, ending the phone call.

What the hell could Sam have wanted at 4:25 in the morning? Did he need something? Did he need help? For all you knew, it could’ve been him not thinking straight. You try to not think too much into it as you will not allow yourself to get close with anyone because of your past and your present. Trying to juggle a relationship and also trying to keep your hunting life private has always been at the bottom of your priority list. Things like this get too much for you, so you’d rather stay out of it.

-

The next morning, you wake up and check your phone, reading 3 unread texts from Sam Winchester:

Sam W: 4 hrs ago

Hey Y/N. Sorry to wake you. Don’t have many

people to talk to. I felt vulnerable. I’m sorry

Sam W: 4 hrs ago

I was wondering if ur busy on Monday? Would like to see u again

Sam W: 3hr 57m ago

Srry for spam. If ur busy I get it. Call me

At the sight of the texts, your heart flutters. He wants to see me? You feel yourself getting a little too excited about this, being that you had only met the guy once before. Sure enough you kept in contact for a while, but was it really worth getting your hopes up like this? Who knows. He could just ditch you again.

Y/N: 1m ago

Yeah ok, I will meet you. Where? What time?

I quickly shoot him a text and get out of bed, stepping outside of my bedroom and right downstairs to get breakfast. I’m quickly met with my dad who’s stood at the stove currently making breakfast.

“Hey honey,” He greets me, a warm smile on his face. He was separating the already scrambled eggs onto two plates. He then reaches over for the bacon from the other pan. “Are you hungry?”

“I’m starved, thank you.” I sit at the kitchen bar waiting for him to finish plating up. “Where’s mom?” I ask, standing back up and getting cutlery ready. “She’s gone for information on a new hunt in another state with her friends.”

“Without saying goodbye? How long has she gone for?”

“She kind of just took off this morning, sweetheart. I don’t even remember if she said goodbye to me either,” He chuckled softly, passing you a plate made up of scrambled egg, bacon, pork sausages and toast. “Thanks dad.” I slowly sit back down, before he starts to talk again. “We were supposed to do the hunt together, me and your mom… we had it all planned out but she’s just left. You remember us telling you about the case in Connecticut?” He forks a mouthful of food into his mouth, as if all of this wasn’t even a problem to begin with. The sun was shining right into his mocha coloured eyes, the peppered grey in his hair almost white. “Yeah, I do. Is that where she is?”

“Maybe. The cabin we wanted to go check out was in Windsor.” You nod, showing you’re listening to him. Your phone buzzed on the table, the blue light now not so prominent as last night flashes a name, Sam W.

Sam W: 1m ago

Sry, have to cancel Monday. GTG 2 Alaska. On our way there now. Be there for a while.

[dejaroze]

Forest Walk, part 3

Prev ( sorry I’m breaking these into pieces but it makes it so much less overwhelming 😭😭 )

I stood in place and looked towards Philip. “I don’t like this.. can we leave?”

he looked towards me with a smirk. “Scared already?”

I looked at him and scoffed. “I’ll be honest.. yeah I am!” Then, I heard a rustle from.. inside the tree..-? I peered up but I couldn’t see anything. I pointed up to what seemed to be a hole in the tree.

“Can you see anything in there Philip?”

“I can only see as much as you can. Not much.”

I sighed. “Alright, well.. let’s just get moving okay?” I looked behind me and then pointed down the trail we came. “That way.”

Philip nodded before looking back up at the hole in the tree. “Did you hear that?”

“The rustle? Yeah.”

“No- the hiss.”

“The what-?” My words got cut off as a loud hiss came down from the tree and I felt something claw at my head, quickly I tried to grab whatever was on me, screaming. “PHILIP HELPPPP!!!”

Philip ran up to me, trying to grab the black blob clawing at my hair. “I got it!”

I sighed in relief as I looked behind me and at the animal in Philip’s hand. It was just a vicious, black kitten. I groaned. I was seriously freaking out over a cat.

Philip leaned away from the cat as it tried clawing at his face, dropping it down. As he dropped it, it seemed to calm for a second before crawling towards me. That’s when I looked down and noticed a small marking on its fur, a white little crescent moon shape. Right between its eyes. That’s when I knew who it was. Why it jumped on me.

I immediately scooped the cat in my arms, cuddling him against my cheek. “Vixen!”

Philip groaned. “Katie don’t put it near your face it could be diseased!”

I scoffed. “He is not diseased!” I smiled as I looked down at the kitten. My ma’s palisman. He must’ve been here for the hanging. Maybe that was what people heard when they said there were ghosts here… his hissing.

I didn’t have a palisman yet. My grandmother said she would help me carve one but… Vixen would be a better fit, I think.

“I’m taking him home.”

Philip sighed. “Don’t come crying to me when you get sick.”

I smiled as I held Vixen in my arms. He seemed to calm down a bit as we began walking down the trail again, I looked towards Philip with a smirk. “Vixen said he wants a kiss.”

Philip scoffed. “I am not kissing that thing! Did you seriously name it already…”

I chuckled. “He already had a name! Now kisss himmm!” I giggled as I shoved Vixen in Philips face. That quickly turned into a game of me chasing him through the forest, Vixen in hand.

Soon we reached town again, I sighed, out of breath. “So, this is goodbye for now?”

Philip nodded. “Yep. But if you ever wanna go to more spoooooky places in the forest again, just let me know, scaredy-cat.”

I scoffed and blushed. “I am not a scaredy-cat. I was reasonably scared.”

We both let out a faint chuckle, I looked towards Philip, breathing deeply before giving him a friendly little peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”

He jumped slightly at the peck and then looked at me with a awkward smile. “Till we meet again.”

[tuulikannel]

I was thinking about my mother today, for reasons that… well, it doesn’t really matter. For those who don’t know, she died when I was 22. It wasn’t really any big surprise when it happened. We didn’t expect it quite yet, but everyone knew it was probably a matter of a few years.

Mom was, for as long as I can remember, quite sickly. It all started in her youth with rheumatoid arthritis. That led to a disease whose name I’ve totally forgotten (something in Latin). It destroyed her kidneys and possibly was also partially behind many of the other issues she had. She had breast cancer, a minor heart condition, quite severe osteoporosis, and… some other minor stuff I’m forgetting. It’s been a while.

Anyway, the point is: her body was quite a wreck. I remember one time when we took the bus to somewhere and sat on places reserved to disabled. I think she noticed how I glanced at the sign a bit hesitantly, as she said lightly, "Oh, don't worry, if you count together all my disability percentages, it goes way past hundred. There's some for you too." And that is what I truly respected in her. She never let her troubles to put her down, or stop her from living her life. I remember this photo of her sitting on the ground, tending the vegetable patch while wearing a neck brace after an operation. Some of her friends told me after her death how they admired her for never complaining. That's not quite true, of course she did complain, but it was very rare. I do remember how, a day before her death when we visited her at the hospital, she was quite irritable, complaining about feeling so bad… I got scared then, cause I knew that it had to be bad for her to show it so clearly. But as long as she lived, she never gave up. Here’s one more example. She had that neck operation when I was a child. Then, a decade later, something in her neck moved and a nerve got jammed, so to say. That caused her to have pain in her arms if she was up longer than 5 minutes. But even so, she didn't just stay in the bed. She'd dust the shelves for a few minutes, lie down when it started hurting, get up when the pain ended, dust some more and so on.

Yeah… I'm not sure why I started writing this. I guess I just wanted to talk about her. Remember her. I think I'll always miss her… but I'm so grateful that I've had a Mom like her, for as long as I did. She could have very well died when I was still a child.

As it's spring now, and everything's beginning to bloom... here's us in an apple tree at my grandparents', once upon a time.

.

.

.

And now this pic brought a poem to my mind. This post will never end. ^^; But. I just need to share this. (English translation after the original.)

Jossakin kimaltelee lapsuutesi virta omenankukat varisevat nuoruutesi vuorilla ja sinä lepäät virran tytär omenankukkien sisar maan nainen äiti ystävä nyt niin hiljainen.

Somewhere glistens the river of your childhood apple blossoms fall on the mountains of your youth and you rest daughter of the river sister of the apple blossoms woman of earth mother friend now so quiet.

Lassi Nummi (my translation)

[angelnumber1]

Scum Villain Self Saving System mini fic for the Himbo in SVSSS AU I’ve been discussing with @rarepears

Contains vaguely NSFW content and features OCs (Original Characters)

(The NSFW is comedic in nature)

I... was really really lost. Like. I don’t even know the language lost.

Calls don’t work lost.

Weird animals and plants lost.

Some other thing that shows how lost I am lost.

But I still have Wi-Fi? But maps don’t work. It’s all in Chinese right now. Weird.

It’s just. Like.

I know I’m from America, melting pot and all, but this is just weird!

There’s no way crazy cult villages are THAT close to college right?!

Well… at least all this running makes for a good workout. Though I’ll need some fuel soon, track team’ll kill me if I pull a Devon.

Oh right! I’ve got some of those off-brand meat sticks one of the clubs were selling!

They really fucked up the shape though.

Well. It’s nearly sunset so I can use the stars or something to find my way back. There were these three stars by the campus that looked kind of like a short dick if you looked at it from the science building.

We named it Peen-ience.

I followed Peen-ience to get back to the campus once, did walk in on a ‘bros group project’ first though. We named Peen-ience really well.

Welp. Gotta get some grub now. Wish I could just order pizza or something… I’m even wearing pizza pinks right now! Nice fuzzy robe one of the seniors bought me after he showed me this cool club.

Wait! Gotta get food. Um. Ok. You can do this.

Shit.

There’s nothing here!

And I need to piss too…

Sorry trees… and bushes… and random vines that keep trying to trip me…

I’m answering nature’s call right now and they don’t take no for an answer.

So sorry plants!

…oh yeah, plants like this actually.

Wow these plants are weird! They’re grabbing my legs and kind of feel like those octopus suckers? Feels super tingly too!

I’ll just brush them off. Carefully though! I’m not going to harm the environment.

As I finished up my… business the world suddenly… changed, it’s got this pink tint too it! Ah. This is fine :) It happens.

Well I’ll just pull my pants back up and-

Mmh. My legs feel weird again… Why the fuck is someone grabbing my legs?!

Oh my gosh they’re covered in piss.

Pervert!?

Where did they come from!?

Or someone was sleeping where I pissed?!

And I didn’t notice!?

I’m not sure which is worse T-T can people get diseases from piss?

So. Um.

There’s just some guy? They’re kind of pretty with all that long hair so they could be a girl, or what if they identify as something else and I misgendered them!

But they keep trying to get more… of my… out of my… by. Mhn!

“S-Stop. C’mon that’s-that’s my. St-“ They keep. They’re. Stop it!

Should I punch them? Stranger danger?

But they look so skrunkly like a poor little green meow meow ;( so thin! And their hair is all messy! And they’re face is all… weird looking, in a pretty way, but that’s not the point!

They’re licking the piss off now.

Wait.

Were they drinking my! My!

I though they were trying to do something else…

…

Imma just…

Imma just leave.

This is getting weird!

…

With a quick few steps backward I easily get away. Glad I didn’t break any of those weird octopus vines though. Respect nature and all that right!

That guy must be super weak though- there was like, no strength to his grip at all. He must skip all the days. Smh I swear. If you skip leg day your glutes are being neglected but if you skip all the days you’ll fall down and break your hip or something.

But man! The sunset and this pink glow looks super cool! It’s like a scene in a web novel!

Oh? What’s that noise?

I heard some singing coming from my right. Some ultra-feminine high pitched voice piercing my ears, it feels… maybe I could head over and check it out?

Nah. Might be one of the people that chased me earlier.

As I headed away I felt almost like something inside of me increased? And when I concentrated on it I felt resistant to the singing? Weird.

Well I’ll just keep moving!

Some of the trees are blocking the sky over here. So I’ll have to find a clearing or something, oh right! Maybe I’ll be able to use my phone over there too!

…

The sun is nearly completely set by now. But look at this!

It’s so cool!

Wow this really is like a novel! There’s this huge clearing here and a little lake with a waterfall and tons of pretty plants!

Oh hey! It’s the green perv from before… maybe I’ll just stay at the edge of the clearing… this place has tons of other guys(? Weird cosplaying ten feet tall dudes? Oh silly! I’m probably hallucinating, I’m laying in a bunch of flowery bushes!)

The green perv looks a lot more human compared to the other dudes in the clearing, maybe he couldn’t get enough stuff to make his costume, well at least it doesn’t look like he’s covered in piss anymore.

In fact he looks tons better than earlier! Maybe it’s a different dude?

Suddenly my vision blurs. Or. A rectangle of my sight?

It’s really staticky though…

…Poison Resistance lv up!

Stealth lv up!

Experience Pasting Activated! Additional Experience added to%#&…

Retry…

Error. Error. Transmigration System. Prince Raising System not detected.

Additional.al.al eXp will be sent to storage.

Error. Invennnnnnnnnn.-

Nnntory does not exist.

Contacting world consciousness…

Errrrrr.

Con#+} {3wards t0 i.t3mized f0rm

.

.

.

I-

.

.

.

Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck! What the ever-loving holy shit is this bucket of crap?! This ain’t cosplay anymore!

With that. I felt weird. Empty. Likes there supposed to be something inside that really cool and I’m seriously missing out.

I feel really weird now… but stronger. And I have this Chinese style bag now. Some kind of pouch?

I don’t wanna think right now!… This is a killer headache…

.

.

.

Then another carfucking voice popped up.

And then a THIRD carfucker decided to bulldoze my head…

Carfuckers…

I got some new shit from that though. One of those hair crowns from Chinese movies. It looks like something a MC would wear!

I don’t think I can put it in my pockets with it poking me. But my hairs way too short and I have no idea how to wear it either.

Maybe ponytail style? I was supposed to get my hair cut next week so it should be long enough for a mini ponytail.

It’s really hard to put on without actually knowing how it supposed to go. And also that I’m not even trying to put it on the right way either.

But still, after a few more attempts and the help of a paper clip, I actually manage to put it on! Yay!

…

… it felt weird. Like my whole body was lighter. Still have that headache though.

Damn.

I must look like a cosplayer too now! My hair has a crown and I’m wearing a sleeping robe with a pouch hanging from the belt.

Suddenly another object appeared.

It fell on my head! Owwww…

It’s…

A jade hairpin with a little accessory dangling off it. The pin matches the crown! It looks super pretty. Maybe that guy from earlier needs one of these. His hair looked like tree vines from how messy it was.

I think I have to do something around now though?

Oh right. The stars. Why I came here and stuff.

I look up to the. The now night sky. Middle of the night kind of night sky.

Wait!

How long have I been laying here! It’s the middle of the night! And there are like- a bajillion stars. And my phone still can’t call anyone! But I still have service! And full charge too! Nice.

Huh. Wonder if the cosplayers are still here.

Peeking from the bushes I see most of them have already left. The perv and a few others are the only ones left. I hope they leave soon. I’m super thirsty! Can wait to guzzle up some of that life-liquid.

The other bros in the frat said not to say that out loud now that I think about it. They looked super red when I said that. Maybe it’s some slang I didn’t learn yet?

Hey! That big guy in the middle just hit the perv! It could be because he’s a perv though…

But he can’t keep doing it! And why are the other guys?… OH MY GOSH! Are they eating him!?

Um! Uh! I’ll throw this rock at them!

Picking up the rock I- crush it with my bare hands!? When did I get enough gains for that!

And! Oh. Shit. I’m standing in the middle of the clearing after making tons of noise by crushing a rock.

…Are they going to eat me too?

Frozen in place I stare them down, okay, just back up slowly… if a wall of clearly carnivorous plants weren’t trying to eat my ass!

I’ll fight them then!

Just have to brace my self and-

Oh. Oh wow these guys are weak.

Within moments I’m standing on top of a group of cosplayers. Well. Not anymore considering how broken the outfits are.

Walking over to the other guy I reach down, offering him my hand, I’m feeling a little like a hero. Though all I did was beat some guys up.

The perv though, he definitely doesn’t have manners! He just started licking the tree sap off my hands.

I pull my hands away. Seriously! This is why I’m calling you a perv in my head!

“You know what! Here eat this instead!” I knew they didn’t speak the same language but by anime if he wants something in his mouth at least have it be food!

He gingerly takes the offered food, for some reason he drapes some vines over it first, weird dude.

He seems to be inspecting the length of meat.

His eyes are trailing every inch as the vines tighten and greed sets into his eyes.

After letting the vines rest on the meat a bit longer he hungrily consumes it, shoving half of its length in.

It’s rather long and thick compared to most now that I think about it.

I can see something that I think is his tongue wrapping around fruitlessly trying to cover the entirety of its length.

It isn’t soon before his body starts to shudder at the unexpected gain, liquid flowing down his chin as he couldn’t even close his mouth.

The noises he’s making… wet, sticky sounding gags coming out as he’s forcing the meat into himself. And with a final shudder, he’s completely consumed the offered meat.

Well, while he did that I got some water to drink and started eating some fruit nearby. If you only eat meat you’ll get indigestion!

The rest of the group crawls over to me, I think they want some of it? I do clearly still have a few more and that guy really seemed to like it.

Or maybe not.

The group is just staring at me, the big one who I think was the leader, offers his head to me? No, he’s gesturing to the flower on top.

It’s a… sturdy flower. The color is really dense and the edges are spiked.

I wonder what kinds of plants these are? And if any can get rid of my headache. It hurts ;(

The other guy comes rushing over once he sees us, I can see the outline of my meat in his throat.

He gestured to the flower bud on his head, where did that come from?

It looks super soft though, maybe I’ll just touch it a little?

The bud trembles the moment I touch it, as I lightly run my finger on the light pink sides, he’s shivering as I slowly inspect it.

I lean down towards it, it’s actually kind of cute, and it seems like he doesn’t mind me touching him like this.

It looks really… delicious in all honesty, I want to bite it.

As I play with the bud it suddenly opens up!

Pale petals fill my visions and- oh my gosh it’s so soft!

I give the flower a little kiss for flowering for me.

I might not be able to find my way back but this is fun!

.

.

.

And that was an incredibly long snippet from my self indulgence. It was supposed to be short which is why it isn’t on ao3 instead.

Well anyways I hope whoever read it enjoyed it and feel free to direct any questions to my askbox though most of this AU will probably end up on @rarepears blog if they’re okay with it.

Also some of the little things in here like Devon and carfucker are from his fraternity.

Devon is a guy who forgot to eat or drink anything several practices in a row while another person decided to start saying swears differently as to not disrespect mothers.

The ‘people’ in the fic are plants based monsters and beasts whose hierarchy is based on size and traits.

Thicker, rougher and sharper flowers are seen as the stronger and better fed while softer ones are seen as weaker.

These creatures can reproduce asexually or by deflowering another and it works like crossbreeding.

It works with most species though humans need an extra push for it to work with them.

Our MC has abilities from three systems that are needed because he’s not supposed to have them unless he transmigrated to that world.

[benjaminthewolfnsfw]

A Sugary Snack (Remastered)

....sooooo this fic definitely needed to be remastered. Not because I was unhappy with the quality of writing of the original...but because in the original the prey was a wild, non-sapient Sugarbat and yeah...I think that might just cross one line too many.

So, I made the prey a Sugarbat borrower hybrid instead! Enjoy!

Oh, and just for clarification, "Portal Master" is the Skylands term for Human.

WARNING: FATAL VORE, GOOEY DIGESTION

****

     Being a Borrower-Subarbat hybrid, life was generally pretty good. You got to enjoy all the benefits that resulted from the Sugarbats’ kind and cuddly reputation, (as well as their ability to fly), whilst simultaneously benefiting from the fact that as a borrower, you possessed a level of sapience that full Sugarbats just didn’t have. This essentially meant that you could experience the best of both worlds to their fullest, which was an opportunity you had taken and flewn away with over the years.

     Your flight, a coveted ability which most other Borrowers and even Borrower-Hybrids didn’t have, ensured that you could practically go anywhere you wished at any time. Your diet of disease-spreading bugs earned you a near-heroic reputation in many of the villages you often frequented. And perhaps most importantly of all, your soft, fluffy Sugarbat body allowed for headpats and tummy rubs galore. You loved receiving them, and people loved giving them. You loved everybody, and everybody loved you. This was the Sugarbat way of life, and thus, it was yours as well.

      Due to all this, then, upon sensing that some sort of tall, lean, green troll was climbing up the tree you were currently resting in whilst gazing up at you intently, (although slightly hesitantly), you didn’t really think you had reason to be alarmed.

     The troll eventually makes his way up to the branch that you’re on, before slowly and shakily extending his arm. You promptly respond to this by gently nuzzling your head against his hand before his fingers cautiously slip around your being, gently grasping ahold of you as a result. The troll then starts to direct his gaze downwards, eventually making eye contact with a tiny, bald midget portal master standing rather impatiently on the ground. He then goes on to swiftly glance downwards towards his feet before precariously releasing his grip on the branch he had been previously gripping onto and maintaining his balance with. Once he has managed to do this without immediately falling out of the tree, he tenderly places his other hand on your head, covering up both your ears as a result, before rubbing all around it nice and slowly. This, of course, causes you to let out a rather pleased stream of high-pitched squeaking noises as he did.

     Finally, he opens up his mouth to speak before re-establishing eye contact with the portal master standing right below. However, as your ears are currently being covered up whilst you’re constantly making high-pitched squeaking noises, you don't end up understanding a word that he’s saying. If you could understand, however, you would hear something like this.

     “UH, LORD KAOS, I THINK I GOT IT NOW!”

     “THEN GET DOWN FROM THERE, YOU FOOL! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, I’M STARVING OVER HERE!”

     “-Y-YES LORD KAOS, RIGHT AWAY, SIR!”

     The troll promptly takes his hand off your head before, as carefully and yet as swiftly as he could, proceeding to climb down the tree, placed at a major disadvantage since he could currently only use one hand to keep his grip. He still needed to hold onto you, after all. Inevitably, this unfortunate combination of circumstances would cause him to lose his balance. Since he was already almost at the bottom at this point, though, the impact didn’t really hurt him too much aside from knocking the wind out of him for a while. Despite all this, he had still somehow managed to keep his hold on you. You can’t really help but slightly tilt your head to the side in slight concern at this scene.

     “Took you long enough…” the portal master grumbles under his breath as he walks up to the troll on the floor and places his own fingers around your upper body. The troll immediately lets go and simply focuses on regaining his breath for the moment, as the portal master takes a few steps away from the poor creature whilst silently staring you down. It was at this point where you really began to get confused.

     “Ugh, you Sugarbats are still too sickly sweet for my liking…” the portal master begins to groan to himself as your already pretty confused face now begins to grow slightly concerned. “… but I’m still really hungry! So, in you go!”

     Immediately snapping your head up in a bout of instantaneous, undistilled, body-jostling horror which rendered your form completely and utterly paralyzed for the moment being, you suddenly let out a terrified “EEP!” sound as the realization at last began to settle in. The portal master towering above you steadily brings you closer and closer towards his twisted face. It was only when his slimy, slick, smooth purple tongue momentarily exited his mouth to give a rather wet lick across his chops did you realize that your fate had already been sealed.

      Upon the relative giant finally unveiling his maw, the saliva-soaked, goopy purple chamber within promptly stretches just about as wide as it could feasibly go in order to fit all of your being within its confines at once. His mildly sharpened, glistening, white fangs brazenly gleaned their brilliant shine back at you as the portal master himself maneuvered you around in his two hands for a while until they were holding you in a cupping motion; this in order to insure he wouldn’t accidentally bite down onto any of his fingers whilst shoving you into his maw.

     The portal master goes on to waste absolutely zero time before doing exactly that, shoving his cupped hands up against his face in order to cram you inside past his jaws. His tongue, now that you are mostly underneath it, swiftly flings you up and back towards the middle of the chamber before the portal master’s lips close up, whilst still leaving open his jaws. He then slurps up your tail that had been previously dangling outside like a noodle, and finally, firmly snaps together both  jaws, sealing you away, permanently within him, yet momentarily within his maw, as a result. 

     The portal master’s glossy, soft, moist tongue proceeds to slide itself out from underneath you, before longingly caressing your being with a slow, warm lick across your head. It then proceeds to move in, out, up, down, and around the whole of your body, positively slathering your middle, back, wings, tail, and all, with his saliva. The compounding natural warmth within the maw acts as yet another thing that is constantly soaking up into your being, simultaneously.

     Eventually, the portal master goes on to slide his tongue back into place under your form, before using it to swish you between his cheeks for a while, the sensation of your waterlogged, soggy fur brushing against the slick walls of his cheek causing a pleasured shudder to run its way down the midget’s spine. This would go on for Eon knows how long, before the portal master slowly raises up the back of his tongue, in order to get your soaked being to slide back and towards the entrance of his throat, the gullet opening wide as the great, plump, dangling purple uvula gently sways back and forth above your head.

     At this point, it had become all but certain in your mind just what was about to happen next, but as the portal master’s tongue proceeds to shove you deeper and deeper into his gullet, it somehow grew more and more impossible for you to get yourself to move, and therefore resist and escape.

 Eventually, you are able to see the epiglottis covering up the entrance to the trachea, as the portal master swallows you whole. He somehow manages to squeeze your small, furry being down into his esophagus all at once, and down towards his stomach as a result. He, himself, however, does not seem to be surprised by this fact in the least.

     The portal master immediately let out an excessively satisfied sigh before placing a few fingers over the great bulge you were making in his throat, poking and prodding at it in a teasing manner, all the while you on the inside only continued your long, grueling journey downwards and towards his now empty stomach.

     At this point, the troll that had first brought you out of your tree had managed to get back up on his feet. He merely glanced over at his portal master…master with a slight sigh and a head nod before just simply being forced to watch it happen as the man sat himself himself down against the very same tree and placed a hand over his rumbling, growling gut, patiently lying in wait for its oncoming meal to be delivered right into it.

     Back on the inside of the throat, you had, understandably, begun totally freaking out, squirming and thrashing around within the tight tunnel to quite a considerable degree. Ultimately though, this was all just simply in vain, as no matter how much you pushed and shoved against the slimy, purple walls of the esophagus, the seconds ticking down all around you, you only seemed to be getting squeezed deeper, the rhythmically squelching walls pulsing around your poor being as you continued on squeaking desperately, practically begging the portal master on the outside to let you go free. Quite unfortunately for you, however, this request was absolutely, positively, not going to be granted by the now hazily drooling man lounging casually against your own tree. His fingers began to gently drum over his stomach in a tranquil air of contentedness, as you on the inside are now able to pick up his heartbeat.

     The deep, booming thumping emulating from deep inside of his chest would be absolutely nothing, in terms of audio noise, compared to the relatively high pitched grumbling and gurgling noises echoing around within the portal master’s still empty stomach which you were able to detect just a few seconds later, however. As, upon realizing what, exactly, this meant for you, your utterly futile cries and struggles only proceeded to grow stronger.

     When at last you reached the lower esophageal sphincter, the slick, narrow entryway gently squeezed you out into his growling, shifting, tightened purple stomach, the heated, growling organ expanding just slightly upon sensing your newfound, sudden presence, picking up its churning and rumbling even more whilst the acids began to trickle in.

     The portal master on the outside could feel his formerly empty, growling gut positively filling up with your form, the sensation of your heavy, squirming, helpless Sugarbat being fighting desperately for your very life within the hopeless, compact, slimy confines of his stomach chamber being all but heavenly for him, causing him to start slowly rubbing his hand over his stomach in absolutely nothing but pure bliss as a result.

     You on the inside were now beginning to feel the stinging of the acids seeping through all your formerly soft and fluffy pelt, now horrifically soaked and soggy with saliva and gastric juices, causing you to start squeaking despairingly in pain, as the slick, purple walls of the stomach repeatedly expand and contract, sloshing and swirling the acids all around your poor being whilst your many fur and skin layers only continue to cruelly melt away. Dissolving all the way down into a thick, oozy, viscous, mucky goop, your tiny, Sugarbat body is only ever able to keep on flailing helplessly up until the very end, never, ever, ever to see the light of the moon anymore. 

     Now with no more resistance to worry about, the organ only ramps up its sloshing even further, gurgling and shifting about in order to churn up what once was your living body into a nutritious soup of gooey mush, one that would only be mashed up into chime and pumped through the portal master’s intestines, destined in the end to build up into a permanent part of the man’s body after all was said and done.

     Soon, your being had become so incredibly pulpy, that its former Sugarbat outline was at last beginning to drip off and swirl away, many large chunks of mush breaking away from each other and sinking deep into the swishing pool of acids before dissolving down even more, at last being mashed up and churned about into a homogenous pool of soupy chime. Now, you were nothing more than a bunch of cellular slush, and the portal master’s body treated you as such, your liquified former body casually flowing on down into the beginnings of the man’s small intestine, as the pylorus opened up seconds later.

     The portal master on the outside proceeded to give his satisfied, growling stomach a few pats and many more rubs as a small amount of air that had been previously trapped inside his stomach was suddenly brought up inside his throat, and released all at once in a great, deep belch, one that caused the poor, green troll standing solemnly next to the man to just sigh.

     He didn’t know when his master would get back up. It could be in a few minutes, it could be in a few hours. All the troll knew was that, at the very least, now that his hunger was satisfied, there would be no need to try and appease the midget portal master by scrambling around sporadically in the kitchen doing what little was possible to whip up a satisfactory meal for him anymore. The last time this was attempted was…disastrous, we’ll just say that.

     As such, as the portal master’s loud, rumbling guts continued to make work of the sloshy remains of the once living Sugarbat that had just recently entered into it, the troll could only stand back and silently hope he would never have to fall out of a tree in order to get a meal for his master ever again.

[kxlinthesky]

ESSENCE 8 SIDE STORY - Meow Meow Adventures

“HEY! Shaggy Hair! Gimme back Brat!”

So yelled the orphan Nick as he hounded Owl for the two of them to work together and find his missing cat Brat.

They looked high and low, from garbage cans to bus stops, on what was all accounts a perfectly ordinary search for a missing cat... or so it seemed, but then they somehow managed to find themselves involved in a major case...?

This is the story of how Owl and Nick, the detective agency’s wonder duo, first met.

■■■■■■■■■

“MASSIVE SUM STOLEN FROM MATHESON CO.! FIRM IS OFFERING A REWARD FOR –”

 Owl sat on a bench in the back courtyard, a newspaper spread before him. His shadowed gaze traced the words, lingering on the phrase “gang of robbers.”

“HEY! Shaggy Hair! Gimme back Brat!”

He raised his head to see a slender boy in a newsboy cap glaring at him and wheezing like he’d just run a race. One look at his thin knees and the scattered shrub leaves stuck to his shoulders, and Owl’s mouth opened. “... You’re the spy. You know, you probably shouldn’t make any more holes in the hedges. They’re the headmaster’s....”

“Wha – who the hell are you calling a spy?! Rude!” the boy scoffed. “... Ugh, never mind, now’s not the time! You know that really fancy red leather bag you had at your desk yesterday? Where is it?!”

“Red bag? I don’t have a red bag. What are you talking about?”

“Aah, my partner Brat... he jumped in it yesterday, and now he’s gone missing~! It’s aaawfuuul!!”

This was the first time Owl got a good look at the boy. This was his first meeting with the person who would eventually solve case after case by his side for years to come: his partner, Nick.

■■■■■■■■■

The royal university was said to be the country’s highest hurdle, its vast campus seen as any alchemist’s gateway to success. The college was isolated from the outside world, as the highly specialized knowledge and studies contained within were kept strictly confidential. In a way, it was harder to break in here than any bank vault.

And yet somehow, Nick had used the skills he’d honed avoiding the eyes of people in town to sneak his way in, and for the past few days had been snooping here and there around the grounds. The orphan boy had never set foot in a “school” before, but his partner, a cat called Brat, heard that “studying at a school” was apparently a requirement to being rich. The Black Rose Disease ran rampant in these parts; kids who’d lost their parents formed squads in the slums that only seemed to multiply as time went on. They were always in need of cash.

So it was that one week ago the de facto big brother of the kids, Nick, said, “Let’s give it a whirl!☆” and snuck into the famous college.

 Slinking his way into anyplace he wanted like a cat was Nick’s specialty. He could slip in and out without anyone knowing he was there and grab whatever info he needed. But things were different at the college – from day one, there was one student who always seemed to notice him. The guy looked kind of like a dullard at first glance, but by the time Nick noticed his presence he was constantly under watch. It didn’t matter where he hid – in the prep room, up a tree, in the loft, it always felt like the student’s eyes were boring into his back. It was unsettling, to say the least.

Maybe he was just imagining things? The thought did cross his mind. But then he found something under the tree he’d climbed up one day, and he promptly discarded that line of thinking. Someone had left a so-called children’s book meant for nursery school kids, with a blunt note saying “Help yourself” attached to the front.

“Ugh, that stupid Shaggy Hair!~ What, does he think I’m so dumb I need to learn my ABCs?!” Nick huffed and grumbled.

Brat, who had snuck in with him, looked up at the boy and suggested, “Let’s play a prank on him. I’ll leap out of his bag and we can watch that blank face of his crack.”

... So the plan went. Apparently.

 “And?... The cat jumped into a red bag that was in the classroom yesterday?”

“—Yeah.”

“And you had a rough idea of what time I’d arrive, so you dozed off, and when you woke up the bag and the cat had disappeared?”

“—That’s right.”

“Sounds like you reap what you sow, then.”

“B-But! It’s ‘cause it was in the seat you were sitting yesterday... so I mean, a-anyone would think the bag was yours!” Nick wailed.

Just then, another student wearing the same jacket as Owl called out to the pair as he walked up, looking rather intrigued by the commotion. “Yo, Owl. Weren’t you going to go investigate that train case... why’s there a kid on campus? He your friend?”

Owl turned to the newcomer. “—Chris... your friend Conrad’s got a red bag, right? A pretty flashy one? Did he happen to say if he saw a cat in it yesterday?”

“Huh? How’d you know that? Man, you’re as weird as ever,” said Chris. “Yeah, he said one jumped right outta his bag yesterday on the train....”

“Oh, no! Brat...!” Nick made a wild grab for Chris. “Where’d he see the cat?!”

Chris took a step back, startled by Nick’s intensity. “I think he had some sorta club activity, he was heading for the pier – Portsmouth, I think?”

As soon as he heard the name, Owl stood up. He turned to Nick. “... Oi, what are you just standing around for?” he asked. “Come on.”

“Huh?” Nick stared at him, befuddled.

Owl stared right back, as blank-faced as ever. “We’re going to go look for your partner, right?”

■■■■■■■■■

“—I don’t think you’re going to find your partner in there,” Owl called, annoyed. Nick kept stopping at every garbage can on the road to the station to peer inside, looking for Brat.

Nick ignored him. With a single white sock pinched between his fingers, he shouted, “BRAT!” His voice echoed all around them. The boy was clearly beside himself with worry for his socks wearing partner. “Brat’s an expert at finding good stuff in garbage bins,” he explained to Owl. “Like magazines that are still readable... and he’s even found notes that say where there are hidden treasures in empty houses!”

“Notes?... The cat finds them?” Owl repeated with furrowed brows. “Actually, now that I think about it, wouldn’t the cat just eventually come back on its own? They’re pretty free-spirited animals.”

“Brat wouldn’t just leave without telling me!... He’s my family. I have to find him.”

Nick was replacing the lid on the can as he spoke, so he didn’t notice the gentleman approaching and couldn’t dodge in time. The two collided. Nick opened his mouth to apologize at once, but the older man took one look at the boy and stepped back, lip curled in disgust. “You dirtied my clothes, you filthy little alley cat,” he hissed before moving along.

Nick’s expression darkened, and if Owl didn’t immediately yank him back by his collar he would’ve absolutely lunged at the man. It felt rather like walking around with an actual stray cat, and one who didn’t much care for people, at that. “Don’t,” he warned. “The investigation comes first, right? Let’s go ask around Kensington Station.”

“Wha – not Portsmouth? That’s why that guy said Brat went.”

“Kensington is past Portsmouth, and the train there... no, before that....” Owl suddenly dipped his hand into Nick’s pocket and came back out with a small wallet. He called out to the gentleman from before, halting him in his tracks, and strode up to him to hand the wallet off, saying, “You dropped this, sir.”

“Rude!” Nick objected. “That money was mine!”

“Give it a rest,” sighed Owl as he walked back. “You’re good, though – who taught you how to do that?”

“Marney did. He’s the oldest cat around here.”

“The one who taught you to pickpocket people was also a cat...?” Owl sounded torn between exasperation and amazement. He walked right past Nick down the street, forcing the boy to hurry after the eccentric student.

■■■■■■■■■

“—Hah? A cat? No, I haven’t heard anything about a cat. Now quit bothering me, I’m busy.”

The station master of Kensington Station was currently on the phone with someone, and he flicked his hand to shoo off the student and shabby looking kid who’d shown up out of nowhere to question him, staring at them with suspicion bright in his gaze. His attention quickly shifted back to the phone call. “Ahh, no, sorry, I was talking to someone on my end... yes... yes, that’s correct. It happened again. Ha, do you think we might actually be cursed? They keep vanishing like they were never there....”

 Owl raised a single eyebrow, listening to the station master’s one-sided conversation. Nick, on the other hand, started peering around at the office with an irritated huff once he realized they weren’t going to get any info about Brat out of the man. Why did this guy just – come with me, without putting up any kind of fuss? he wondered to himself, glancing at Owl.

 Nick wasn’t acting like himself at all today. He never thought he’d get so involved with a human he didn’t know.

-- Because humans? They were a huge pain to deal with. Because he’d try and talk to them, get through to them, but it never worked. Because even when it did, the adults that oh so happily got involved with the city orphans that supposedly “didn’t exist” almost always had some ulterior motive.

Brat might be a cat, but he was also his only family, the only one who ever understood him. If he couldn’t find him....

A coil of unease suddenly began to bloom in his chest. He had this creeping feeling, almost like the ground was going to open him up and swallow him whole at any moment. A chill worked its way up his throat. Whatever, let’s just ditch him. It’ll be a lot faster if I look for Brat by myself, same as always, Nick thought. He slowly turned to the entrance, ready to slip away....

Until Owl’s voice cut through the air, addressing the station master who’d finally hung up his call. “I won’t take up much of your time, sir. I’d just like you to confirm two things for me. First: last night, an incident occurred in which some train cars disappeared, yes? Specifically a freight train, most likely, up the tracks by Fareham?”

The station master’s mouth fell wide open in a remarkably accurate impression of a gaping goldfish. “Wha – how did you – ?!”

It wasn’t a confirmation, but anyone with eyes could tell that Owl was spot on. “... And second,” he continued, “have there by any chance been any conductors that have suddenly requested time off recently?”

“Who even are you? I can’t just tell you that....”

“Please... if you want to see this case resolved at all, answer my questions.”

“What’s a student like you going to do...?”

“I’m a detective,” Owl corrected, impassive as ever. “Though yes, I am also still a student.”

The station master faltered under the intensity of Owl’s questioning and gave him the name of a conductor who’d taken a leave of absence to take care of an ailing daughter. He also confirmed that a freight train had indeed disappeared last night, just as Owl said. The investigation was still being conducted internally – if word got out to the public, they’d no doubt start throwing around questions about accountability, something the company absolutely did not want – so it was no wonder the man was so flustered seeing this student waltz in out of nowhere and hit every single nail on the head.

 Owl scribbled something in his notebook and passed it to Nick. “Send this telegram,” he said, already rushing past. “I’m going to go get us a carriage.”

Nick wavered for a moment after Owl had already left, the memo clutched tightly in his hand, but eventually he made up his mind and dashed for the closest telegraph office, though not without a frazzled screech. “Damn iiiit!~~~”

■■■■■■■■■

The two rode the carriage Owl procured from Portsmouth to a vacant area on the outskirts of Southampton that had once held a rail line. The wide-open plot of land was completely deserted, leaving behind only the abandoned station building and forgotten train tracks stretching off into the distance with no end in sight.

“Oh, maaan, is this all dead track?~” marveled Nick.

“Would it surprise you to hear that there are abandoned tracks even in the middle of the city that are just left there?” Owl asked. “These ones here are leftovers from the Railway Mania. Loads of small-time businessmen wanted in on the boom and tried to rake in the profits by connecting every major city back in the day – it was basically a bubble economy, but just for railroads.”

“But why are we here? You do remember I’m looking for Brat, right?”

“—We need to trace his steps. Yesterday Brat leapt off the train at Portsmouth Station, but there’s no way a cat could travel all the way back to London from there on foot. All of the electric trains heading back into the city would’ve stopped running by then, so at that time of night the only way Brat could’ve made it back was by freight train. I’d been looking for that freight train myself for a different case, but according to the station master the entire thing vanished without a trace last night.” Owl paused in his explanation for a moment. “... I thought that maybe Brat happened to get on that train while it was stopped at Portsmouth.”

“And you’re saying it’s here?”

 “If my theory’s correct, then... ahh, is that it?” Owl pointed toward the track, where there did indeed seem to be a freight train standing all by its lonesome, wheels and engine still attached.

Nick rushed up to it in a tizzy, racing all around the exterior and shouting his partner’s name. Owl confirmed that there was no one in the engine room, then opened the door to the car at the very back of the train. Nick joined him and the pair peeked inside, only to find it empty.

They tried some of the other doors, too, but it wasn’t until they opened the second door from the back that they found some effects that had been left behind. This was, without a shadow of a doubt, the very train that had disappeared last night.

 “Braaat!~ Heeey! Answer me!... Dang it, he’s not even here.” Nick’s shoulders slumped.

Next to him, Owl inspected the ground around their feet, then nodded for some reason and hopped aboard the rearmost car. The whole thing was bare – the only things left inside were some faint marks left behind from some luggage being dragged around, an oddly new-looking pink ribbon, and a number of old newspaper pages scattered around. The latter looked as if it had been used as wrapping paper.

Owl picked up the newspaper and spread it open. Nick, peeking over from his side, suddenly let out a piercing yelp. “Ah, th-that – that’s a sign from Brat!” He jabbed a finger at the distinct cat-shaped paw pad stamped on the edge of the page.

“That’s definitely a cat’s footprint,” agreed Owl. “But... are you sure it’s from Brat? It’s hard to tell pawprints apart.”

“Lemme see! If it really was Brat, he might’ve left a clue behind....” Nick grabbed the old newspaper and spread it out facing the door they’d left open. The afternoon light streaming through the opening also streamed through some tiny holes dotted throughout the pages, each one barely bigger than the eye of a needle.

Owl peered at the paper. “... The holes are all above letters. D, E, C, O, N, S, and... M and B on the next page....”

“This is our secret code! We make marks with our nails like this and we can tell each other where we are and stuff. Where’s Decons? And what are the M and B...?”

“Hey, is it possible that... can you actually understand and... talk to cats?”

 Nick’s excitement popped like a balloon. His expression darkened in a flash. “... W-Well, who cares! It doesn’t matter, we got a hint on where to go next, so....”

“Does it have anything to do with how you’re ‘Possessed?’”

Nick stiffened. His hand shot down in a blink to cover his right knee, and he glared at Owl with his teeth bared in a snarl, looking for all the world like a cornered feral cat. If he had fur, it would absolutely be bristling menacingly.

Owl sighed, long and loud. “Oi, don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t care if you’re Possessed or not.”

“... Huh?”

“It’s just that this isn’t just about your missing partner. This might be related to a much bigger incident. So I just want to make sure I have the facts as straight as possible, that’s all.”

“‘That’s all,’ he says...” Nick mumbled under his breath.

“Unfortunately, I’m used to seeing Possessed people,” Owl continued. “We’ve got one at my house, even.”

Nick blinked, staring at Owl with eyes blown wide. His confusion was only natural – he’d never before met a human so nonchalant, so accepting of the cursed population known as the “Possessed.”

“... When I was little,” he began haltingly, “my mom and I both caught the Black Rose Disease. I survived, but then I was Possessed, and everyone hated me. I hid the marks under my pants and everything, but I still got found out, in the end. That’s when I picked up Brat – he was just a tiny little kitten back then.”

Owl hummed. His expression was as unreadable as ever, but he did bend down a little to meet Nick’s eyes.

“He was all alone, and so weak, and he was so squeaky, more like a mouse than a cat... but I gave him milk every day, and he talked to me. At first it didn’t really sound like anything, just mumbling, but one day I heard him say one word, loud and clear: Nick. My name. But I’m the only one who can hear Brat’s voice.”

 “I see. Got it.” Owl nodded and picked up the ribbon and the newspaper before hopping out of the train. “Let’s go, then,” he called before walking back toward the carriage.

Nick scrambled after him. “W-Where are we going?!”

“Your partner spelled it out for you, didn’t he? M and B. And according to the maps, there’s a Decons Marina Boathouse up ahead. We’re going to go up there and return this ribbon to its rightful owner – the person being guarded by their own personal knight.”

■■■■■■■■■

Tensions had been running high at the police station for some time due to their failure to trace the whereabouts of the massive gang of thieves. The group stole astronomical sums of money from banks and famous companies all over the place, so it was really no wonder – at this point, it was no exaggeration to say that the force’s reputation was buried six feet under.

 And then last night, a new incident had occurred. At least ten thousand pounds in cash had been stolen from a Liberty Tea warehouse in the dead of night, an amount that was at once worryingly high and extremely bulky to be lugging around.

There had always been eyewitness testimony up to now, and even though the thieves always vanished like smoke when they fled the scene, they’d been lucky this time to find them in the middle of loading their stolen cash. The whole escape had turned into some kind of stage play between them and the patrolling police officers.

 The problem was that the police lost sight of the culprits’ carriage midway. Only for an instant, mind, but an instant was all they needed – by the time the police located the carriage again, it was abandoned, without a trace of either the thieves or the money left behind. Not even a single bill remained. It should have been difficult for the entire group to hide in the two or three minutes they’d gone unseen, and yet....

The police thoroughly searched the neighboring areas, but the robbers and their ill-gotten goods were long gone. The stress of the situation was so great that the chief of police, Fowler, tore out what little hair he had left.

 And now today, while Fowler’s subordinates walked on pins and needles around their boss, an impossible telegram arrived. It contained an outline of everything about the case up to that point, as if the sender had seen everything with their own two eyes.

“Bad news, sir! We received a second telegram! This one... has the location of the gang’s hideout!”

“Grr... who the hell is sending these?! We can’t just go leaping into action when we don’t know where it’s coming from...!”

“But sir, if the papers write any more articles, it’ll be your head...!”

“Everyone move out! We’re going to the Decons boathouse!”

■■■■■■■■■

The boathouse looked out on a small, enclosed bay. The port seemed to be used mainly for fishing and the loading and unloading of cargo. Several warehouses stood in a neat row nearby. Foot traffic in the area was rather scarce.

Owl and Nick first stopped at a pub in front of the boathouse to avoid standing out and decided to start asking some questions as casually as they could. It was still evening, but the sun was already setting and the whole area was starting to grow dark.

“Haven’t seen you boys ‘round here before,” the bartender commented. A quiet man with sharp eyes, he was well acquainted with the sailors who frequented his bar.

Nick flashed him a brilliant, innocent smile. “Oh, we’re just here looking for a lost cat.☆ We wanted to take a look in the boathouse over there to see if he was inside. Hey, is it open right now?”

Owl was impressed to see that any caution the bartender might’ve felt vanished under the boy’s charm. His tongue loosened in a blink, fully swept up in Nick’s pace. “Nowadays people are flocking to the trains, even ‘round these parts,” he replied. “Less and less tourists are going out boating, and the whole place shuts down completely during the off-season... but now that you mention it, I feel like I’ve been seeing some lights on at night these days, up on the second floor.”

Owl nodded and glanced up at the second floor of the building in question. It was difficult to see in the dark, but he could see the white paws of a cat scratching at the window frame up there. He poked Nick and furtively gestured in that direction. The boy’s eyes widened immediately. “That’s Brat!” he whispered urgently. “No doubt about it!”

However, as they watched for a while, they saw a finger stretch out, curl around the cat’s soft belly, and pull him inside the building.

Owl looked at his pocket watch for a while, but eventually he leaned down to whisper in Nick’s ear. “We don’t have time. There’s been a shadow making regular patrols around the boathouse for a while now. I’ll go take a look, so you....”

“You’re not really gonna leave me behind, are you?! Brat’s my family. And besides, I’d be way better at recon than you, right?”

“—Well... yeah, I guess so.”

 Nick casually hung around the pub until the shadows circling around the boathouse disappeared from sight before slipping out and heading for the building’s back door. Fallen leaves carpeted the private garden in the back. Broken machinery sat discarded here and there throughout the yard. The bartender’s testimony was spot-on, it looked like.

The back door was boarded shut when they reached it. Owl pulled a small canvas cloth out of his jacket and spread it on the ground in front of them, revealing an array of test tubes and strangely shaped implements in the pocket. “I’m going to open this, so you....” Owl glanced back over his shoulder. “Wha – oi! Where do you think you’re going?”

Nick paid him no mind, since he was already in the process of shimmying up one of the oak trees in the yard, silent as a shadow. He pretty obviously meant to slip inside through the window they’d seen Brat from.

“... You’re more of a monkey than a cat,” mumbled Owl. “Stay still up there for a sec.”

Nick kept one ear turned in Owl’s direction, but he also climbed up the rest of the tree in a flash until he’d reached the second floor, where he peeked through the window.

 The room inside was dark and completely barren, but Nick could see two occupants inside. One was a little girl. The other was his partner, the one he’d been so desperately searching for all this time, Brat. Nick lightly tapped his knuckles to the glass, and Brat’s golden eyes swiveled over to him. The cat meowed at the startled girl, giving her cheek a single lick.

The window was locked, but getting it open with a pair of wires was honestly child’s play. Nick carefully held the windowsill, mindful of how it creaked under his fingers, and stole inside.

 Brat gave one more meow to the girl before slipping out of her arms and flying into Nick’s.

“Brat!!~~~ I was worried about you, you dummy!~~~”

“Meow meooow!”

With his nose pressed into his partner’s fluffy back, Nick finally felt himself relax, and he turned his attention to the girl. She couldn’t be older than five. Her blonde hair was piled in a high bun. Her clothes were showy, but wrinkled – she must’ve been here a long time – but she had a healthy rose tint to her puffy cheeks, and she looked to be in good health.

“Hello,” said Nick gently. “My name’s Nick. This is my partner, Brat. What’s your name?... Uh, can you tell me what happened?”

“... Are you the kitty’s friend? Um, some strangers took Emma here.”

 Between the girl – Emma, apparently – and Brat, Nick was quickly filled in.

Brat figured out their little prank didn’t work by the time he got to Porstmouth Station. The red bag had been so comfortable he’d ended up falling asleep in it, and when he woke up and leaped out in a panic, he’d ended up at a station he’d never been to before, and he had no idea how to get back. But then he’d listened in on the conductor, who said the freight train that had just arrived had come from London, and that it was heading back that night once it was reloaded. Lucky!

So he’d hopped aboard, and that’s when he found the girl bound and gagged in the rear car. What’s more, a bunch of evil-looking guys had gotten on, too, and then for some reason the train started heading for Southampton, in the complete opposite direction of London, and Brat just got taken along for the ride. He couldn’t very well let them take the girl, so he hid in the luggage while it was being unloaded, and he even left a secret code in the newspapers they’d used to wrap the stacks of bills in –

Honestly, Brat had put the detective outside to shame, with all he’d accomplished.

 “Ohh, so you were keeping the girl safe!”

“Mm-hmm. The kitty was with me the whole time.”

The girl patted Brat’s head with a tiny hand, who leaned into it like he couldn’t get enough. “Meow!”

CREAK! The door suddenly flew open, and two humans and one cat screamed in unison.

“WAAAH!”

“... Keep it down, idiot, it’s just me. We’re getting out of here.”

“Shaggy Hair!”

“Ah – Papa!” Emma exclaimed.

Another person popped up behind Owl – a conductor that he’d rescued from elsewhere in the building. The man rushed forward to embrace his daughter. “Emma!”

But they weren’t out of the woods yet. At Owl’s urging, the group descended to the first floor and made a beeline for the back door. Unfortunately, their presence had already been noticed – when they reached the exit, they found a pair of men barring their way out, knives glinting in their hands. They turned back to the front entrance only to find three more standing between them and the exit. One of them had a gun.

 “—Do you have some business with us, Mr. Student?” the man with the gun asked mockingly. “This isn’t a place to be bringing kids, y’know – oi, is this everyone?”

“Looks like it,” replied yet another man glancing around the second floor.

The gun man – he had to be the leader – leered at Owl. “We don’t have time to be fooling around, so sorry, but I only have one question for you guys. How’d you find us? What do you know?”

“... That’s two questions, though?” Owl pointed out.

The leader’s face colored with rage.

“Well, whatever,” Owl continued. “What do I know, you said? Do you mean like how you’re a former employee of the recently bankrupted Oldcroft Railways?”

“Wha...?!”

 All five men stiffened at the company’s name and glanced warily at each other. Had one of them snitched?

Owl kept talking. “It was a neat trick, using the abandoned line and station of your former employer to transport the money. You could just hide the stash smack dab in the middle of the city, and if someone did figure out how you were moving it, they’d discard it out of hand as ‘impossible.’ Even the police wouldn’t catch on. You tossed everything on a moving freight train, threw it out somewhere along the line, and went back to recover it later. That also made it easy to hide your growing fortune in multiple spots, instead of letting it accumulate in one place.”

The leader snarled. He shot a glare at his men, who were by now openly apprehensive, then turned his livid eyes and his gun on Owl. “You... who the hell are you? How’d you even know the name Oldcroft...?”

“Because all the places you hit were in the wrong,” answered Owl. “Matheson & Company, Barclays Bank, Liberty... they were all former investors in Oldcroft. The connection’s easy to make if you consider how concerned the company must’ve been about losing its financial backing. Plus, looking at a map of all the discontinued railway lines, all of them are located near spots where the money you stole vanished. Anyone with a map of the train lines could figure it out. That said, the only reason we found this place is thanks to a brilliant informant.”

Brat meowed.

“After that, all you had to do was threaten one of the company drivers at one of your connecting stops into helping you move all the money you had in the city out here to the suburbs and you’d be home free. You could easily use the port here to send the money by boat, too.” Owl cast his gaze to the center of the room, where a pile of packages lay stacked. Each one was most likely full to bursting with a frankly absurd amount of money.

Emma decided to interject here, shouting, “You shouldn’t do bad things! Mama said so!” Everyone in their little group nodded sagely along.

The group of robbers shouted, “Be quiet, you!” The effect was somewhat marred by the audible tremor in their voices, though.

The leader raised his gun a little higher and flicked the safety off with a tiny, sharp click. “So that’s how it is. I thought you were an unusual student at first, but you talk too much. See, if I just finish you off here....”

 “I think it’d be better for you if you turned yourself in, personally.”

 Owl raised a single hand out and snapped his fingers. A golden transmutation circle sparkled to life around his fingertips, and in an instant the barrel of the man’s gun burned cherry red, smoke streaming from the metal. The leader flung it away with a high-pitched screech and cradled his singed hand. The rest of the gang fell into a blind panic, scattering like frightened rats.

Nick barely paid them a second thought, though, as he found his eyes drawn to the glowing circle Owl had drawn forth. This is alchemy, he thought to himself. ... Amazing.

 “Oi! Pay attention!”

Owl’s voice snapped him back to reality, but unfortunately a second too late. One of the criminals lunged at him with a knife.

In the same instant, a black shadow leaped forward, inserting itself like a shield between Nick and the oncoming attacker. The blade surged forward, poised to pierce the soft, fluffy fur coat.

 “Brat!! NO!!~”

 Glowing miasma shot out of Nick’s partner. It fluttered up like glittering flower petals, then fell as a thin membrane that cocooned the boy completely. The blade fell limply from the assailant’s grasp as he tried and failed to keep his eyes open, struck blind by the brilliant light.

“Rise and shine.”

 A voice rang out from within the dazzling display. The cocoon split apart like ice. A great burst of pale blue, powdery scales flew out of the crack, where they dispersed in the air in a sparkling cloud.

When the person inside the cocoon finally emerged, there was no trace of the orphan boy left in his face.

A coat inlaid with flowers. A staff carved from crystal. Hair that gleamed like lightning. Eyes the color of blood.

 Nick now resembled a lovely little fairy. With a flap of his wings, pale light flickered and spun through the air like snow, filling the entire cramped space at once.

Every single robber stopped dead within the sparkling space, and then, like dolls with their strings cut, collapsed to the floor.

■■■■■■■■■

“RING OF ROBBERS ROUNDED UP! A STUNNING VICTORY FOR THE POLICE!”

 “—Yeah, right.~ It was aaall thanks to Shaggy Hair.”

Owl was once again on a bench in the back courtyard reading the newspaper. This time, though, he raised his voice to the person up the tree nearby. “Would it kill you to show up like a normal person for once?”

 “... I just came to say goodbye. We got the reward money, and everyone in the slums is happy. I don’t have any reason to come around here anymore.”

Owl glanced up the tree to the pair of legs swinging from one of the highest branches. “Good for you, ‘Mr. Fairy.’”

“Wha – are you still calling me that?!~ I get enough of that from Emma! She keeps calling me a cute li’l fairy every time I see her....” Nick’s voice trailed off, then continued more solemnly, “Even though I’m actually Possessed.”

“It’s because she was so happy when Mr. Fairy gave her ribbon back.”

Nick snorted. “Well, I am cute, so I guess that’s fair,” he joked.

 “A ‘kindly civilian’ tipped the police off about the hideout. All the stolen money got returned, so all’s well that ends well and all that – but are you really okay with that? You’re not getting any credit. And even all the reward money went to me and Brat!”

“All I did was deduce the facts as a form of detective training. The entire gang was unconscious by the time the police raided the hideout, thanks to you, so I don’t see a problem with it.”

“Training, huh? Are you gonna be a detective someday, Shaggy Hair?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Huh. Y’know, I never really thought about what I wanted to do someday, until now. Now, I think I wanna use my power to be an information broker!”

 Owl nodded his approval. The leaves rustled overhead as Nick slipped down from the tree and landed in front of Owl. Slung across his shoulder was a red bag – the red bag – and Brat’s round, fuzzy face peered out from within. Apparently the boating club Conrad was in thought the bag was so disgraceful that he just gave it to Nick.

 Nick waved with an impish grin and dashed away, shouting, “Bye-bye, Shaggy Hair! When you’re finally a proper detective and need a good informant, let me know!”

  “... My name’s not ‘Shaggy Hair.’ It’s Owl.”

Nick glanced back a little, grin widening. “I’ll call you that when you become a real detective,” he replied.

[ghostlyhamburger]

Husband Plays Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx

[We upgraded to PS5 version so gotta start over]

Oh glitchy

Oh huh. Still looks like a PS2 game but like an upresed PS2 game

Still looks weird but not as weird oh no never mind look at Marinette’s face

You can actually see the textures now though

It loads a lot faster, it does kinda look better. The prerendered cutscenes look worse, but the game looks better

Why is circle the confirm

This actually feels better

“All right! Now that’s a macaron for Tikki!” That’s new. That was not a line before. There’s just more stuff in the PS5 version.

It’s like they took stuff out for PS4

Do you think he’s only allergic to pigeons or birds in general? 

What is this game it’s like. Trying.

Still don’t understand why [bosses] have two health bars, but

[Ladybug spinning her yoyo] That’s more circular, too

[Tikki never saw these orbs before] but she has to know if Master Fu knows

Ah Kagami. You got fucking shafted.

I can’t stand on these [objects on the ground]. They have physics!

Oh they fixed another issue! I am thoroughly shook!

You know what I just noticed? I don’t think Alix is in this game.

Alya’s stuck in permanently sassy mode

This game is so much - buh what

Good to see that Chat Noir is still broken as shit.

“Don’t try this at home, kids!” Fuck no if I get the opportunity to run across Paris I’m gonna fucking do it

Look at the shadow. It’s just the rigging, it’s not the model

There’s a map function??

“Sounders! Take care of them!” UMMM. Do they not know what that is? Do you know what that is? [I know what sounding is?] A sounder is the tool used for sounding.

[...oh]

You can actually see her design and it looks good

Ohhh soundwave was the name of the mic brand they used

Wait I missed the friendship bit because I didn’t talk to her right then?

The return of breadfoot disease

It’s weird seeing the texture details and shit but then you see the trees are still squares

Isn’t the Liberty the boat? Why does it have a street sign?

This feels like they got the bad studio to make the game. The sudio that makes Marinette’s hair way too blue.

This series was made to have fanfiction.

I always thought Sabine did the paperwork because Tom was the baker. He’s not smart enough to do the paperwork. He’s a golden retriever.

Fu is still being an asshole. He knows what these orbs are for and isn’t saying it?

What did that do? “Made him wet.” But why?

Why is Tikki a png but Marinette is a render?

The easiest way I can put this game is unintentionally good. If you tried it the way they intended it, it’s bad.

What the fuck

I don’t remember this being this hard

 Why does this game have Eminem references

For a game called Rise of the Sphinx there’s very little Sphinx happening. And there’s only 2 more locations I saw?

[You unlocked the power of Smash!] Cat Noir’s gonna smash ya

Aren’t you supposed to be writing this down since we got to new content? “Oh yeah shit”

The music is all dark and I kinda like it

[That looks super bouncy!] That wasn’t bouncy at all.

The rendering on this is still bad.

Who put a macaron in a sewer? I can kind of understand the subway but who wants to eat a sewer macaron?

What does the caterpillar have to do with the sphinx?

Push? Oh that kind of made sense. That’s the first instance of logic I think this game’s had.

The only way I can recommend people playing this game is while drunk which unfortunately I am not. Also on the PS5 because that’s the only one that looks good.

I swear each level is longer than the previous

Oh this is yellow water I don’t wanna touch that

Hey look a Mario pipe. That’s gotta be a reference right? It’s too out of place.

Which one’s the healer???

The silk looks … fine.

Stephanie you’re supposed to be writing stuff you have been missing so many things

Look when Chat does his smash move it’s like his father’s samurai form. “I could believe that’s less because of his father and more because he’s a massive weeb though.” Yes but his father’s ALSO a massive weeb

This is just boring. Tedious? Yeah, tedious.

Also I don’t know if there’s anything that’s even savable aside from a couple of the akuma designs. What does this add to the story of Miraculous?

This feels more like a mobile phone game than anything, like if each section was a minigame and then the rest is just stuff you click on

What did that button do

I just wanna be able to control the camera

[You enjoy smashing things, don’t you Cat Noir?] Yeah you wanna be next?

Why is’t there an icon for where I am on this map

It’s really hard because you don’t really know where you are

This is the first time we’re able to get all the things in a chapter because we have all the powers

Liberate the passage? What the fuck does tghat mean?

Let’s face it, the macarons are more for the side stuff, but that’s pretty cool. This solidifies that if this came out during the PS2 era it would have been beloved

A single macaron. A single macaron. A red macaron! Oh no wait there’s a blue thingy too. We still haven’t been told what these are.

Why? Why did it go that way? What the fuck is this shit?

Mayura??

Wait so she’s just acting on her own??

What is happening ow

Why does the screen keep going black?

What?

What am i supposed to do here

What the fuck was that???

How does this have anything to do with the sphinx???

[A few years back] What? WHAT? Heavy plot I guess

This feels like ship bait

Oh this is definitely a plan

What the fuck was that?

So they’ve been searching for the cat and the bug for years but that doesn’t track with the plot of the show where Emilie has only been in a coma for a year? But what? That doesn’t make sense? This game is canon but can’t be canon?

Wait I thought you could only make a sentimonster from your emotions, not the emotions of others? “No you can use emotions of others” But they NEVER said that. Even when Fu was explaining it he didn’t say that!

And why is the music now Sly Cooper?

Anyways if that’s the case couldn’t she just make Miraculouses off of his desire to have them?

But that’s also not how sentimonsters work! They don’t feed off of ambient emotions! If that was the case, the Ladybug sentimonster would have been exceptionally powerful

This would have made a lot more sense if instead of Chloe it was Lila. The story they’re saying is being told is not what I’ve watched in the show. Unless this is a dumb alternate timeline?

If they wanted to give it the ability to feed on emotions why didn’t he just akumatize the caterpillar 

[I could give you a fine for being outside during lockdown!] That comment has not aged well

[There’s nothing we can do against this sentimonster] Except you beat its face in and if you break its amok, it dies!

It’s a sentimonster! You know what they’re made of!

What is the point of this? Why does there need to be a thing after every collection?

You know for a thing called rise of the sphinx, I was expecting a sphinx

I just wanna be through with this game

Let’s get it over with. Alcohol help me.

Chloe doesn’t really have negative emotions. She acts like a bitch but she’s pretty enutral or happy. Unless they’re saying her sorrow for not having the bee miraculous was so great that it did something? I don’t know

Did it just leave? Didn’t even break just popped out of existence?

I feel like we could ignore this entire game and we’d be better off for it

That necklace is clearly meant to mean something but you’re in season 5 and you have no idea 

The show is bad because of the age rating it’s stuck in

Are you really surprised that the last fight is gonna be on the Eiffel Tower? They have to include it. I swear it’s part of the contract with the show

Oh I broke out of the bounds of the game. They never tested to see if you could jump over that

Speedrunning tactic? Maybe? Dunno why you’d wanna speedrun this game but hey you can

[it’s started it’s morphing phase!]It’s morphine time! Because that;s what I need to deal with this

This music does not fit miraculous ladybug at all. It feels like it belongs in a horror game.

Maybe these are the eggs. The bouncy cocoons that aren’t bouncy.

‘What the fuck” I’m sorry you expected this game to get good now?

These oddly shaped platforms are not good for platforming who the fuck knew

I don’t know if I can make that. I can make that from here though

There’s a whole lot for you to type isn’t there

Okay what the actual fuck why are these platforms moving

I have fallen into the abyss for the Great One. the Great Carl. since they haven’t given us a name I am calling him Carl.

You know I heard the name rise of the sphinx I thought it was gonna be a cool new enemy that required cosmic power upgrades for the miraculouses but nope it’s just mayura and just a sentimonster

Almost done. 

Fuuuuuck it reset my location because I touched ground. The Great Carl is surely disappointed in me.

Hello let us fight

Oh man this is a great camera angle! [the camera is behind some silk]

Um what the fuck happened there? Did I sink into the garage and just couldn’t hit the servant of the Great Carl? 

What the fuck that’s not where we just were! [sign behind Ladybug says Rivoli] Ravioli!

That’s not a sphinx!

It’s not a sphinx!

Aha you missed where are those lights coming from??

Uuuuuugh now I have to do a whole other cycle

It’s already halfway dead! How is it perfection?

Uuuugh fuck off with this shit!

[it’s coming back!] it never left!

Is it only vulnerable in that one spot??

This is so stupid. This is so stupid. Despair powder? That’s it’s power?

There’s no point in this cutscene if it doesn’t result in the choice of a player

When? What? How did he get those photos?

Oh we’re fighting Hawkmoth!

Oh that was the final boss

What is that thing supposed to do?

Even if he dies he’ll just get miraculous ladybugged back to life

[the butterfly purification animation plays to purify the feather] UM

AND THAT’S THE END? There’s no ending cutscene? No end credits theme??

There’s gotta be an epilogue or something

This game would’ve been better called Hawkmoth’s Evolution or Life of a Moth or something. Not Rise of the Sphinx.

Let’s just talk to Alya and end this shit

They had the opportunity to create an entire new set of lore and they just made it sentimonster bullshit

KAGAMI save this game please

Why am I drawing this ame out even further

Is this gonna be some bullshit about the strength of the human experience

Actually Hawkmoth didn’t have an akuma active when Ladybug gave into despair, so he could have just akumatized her then

KAGAMI

Nooo you only have three opportunities to be her friend

God Luka’s gonna turn this into some stupid music thing

Wait but they did that. But they JUST did that.

KAGAMI where are you why are there so few opportunities to talk to you

That’s just not Chloe. That’s just not how she acts at all. She’s a hero worshipper at her core.

Well that’s the game I think

Was it worth it