#but which wise soul decided ''Hey let's take this thing and dial it up to like 70. make this even more fucked up''

[funkbun]

snakmonsters are such a fun concept. like hey here's this fluffy muppet creature and Oh No! they're messed up now! they're a food bug monster thing now! whoops! sorry!

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

After the Bombs Fall [Animorphs ficlet]

[Note: I seem to have lost the ask where someone requested my post-war headcanon for Alloran, but anyway here it is.]

--

Less than a month after the end of the war, Alloran applies for transfer off of Earth and back to the homeworld.  When the first request gets cancelled due to a minor typo in a sub-section of a supplemental form, he curses himself and immediately applies again.

The second application lingers in the metaphorical z-space between agents for longer, nearly two Earth months, before it gets cancelled as well.  The systems are overtaxed due to the sudden influx of Earth tourism, the form letter tells him this time, and they’re very sorry for their inability to accommodate his request.

The third time he applies, the form remains “under review” on the submission portal for half a year, even though the review process normally takes less than a day.  So he applies a fourth time, a terrible suspicion taking hold by now.  The Electorate automatically cancels both applications, and has the gall to send him a snippy comm message asking that he refrain from filing redundant claims from now on.

The fifth application gets reviewed and cancelled; the sixth one doesn’t even get that courtesy.  It just stays there, “submitted” but not yet “under review,” unwanted and ignored.

Just like its author.

Alloran considers, then.  For nearly a day he paces, watching the andalite computer and the primitive human device alike, and weighs the merits of stealing Visser Three’s Blade ship out of the impound lot.  It wouldn’t be hard; the security system is coded to biometrics.  No one but he or Tom Berenson could fly that ship now, and Tom Berenson is dead.

After another day, Alloran instead morphs human and walks to the nearest CVS.

He has to swallow an entire jumbo bag of marshmallows and three jars of tomato sauce for comfort before he can swallow his pride as well.  But the comfort food does its trick, and at the end he pulls out the human cell phone still registered under one of Esplin 9466′s aliases and enters the fifth speed-dial option.

“Hey, you.”  Eva answers immediately.  “How’s it going?”

They don’t know each other, not really.  And yet in every one of their three conversations, Eva has greeted him like an old friend.  Her voice brings a reaction to Alloran’s human morph: tightness in his throat, the heat of tears behind his eyes.

“I apologize for troubling you,” Alloran says stiffly.  “Please, if you are busy, disregard this request.”

Eva snorts a laugh.  At least, Alloran thinks that that’s what the sound is.  “I’m not busy, and I owe you a favor anyway.  Shoot.”

Alloran glances around the room, but there are no weapons, so he decides to disregard that last.  “I am truly sorry if it slipped my mind,” he says, “but what favor do you owe?”

“My kid is not in jail on some foreign planet right now, and I hear that’s all your fault.  What’s the favor?”

“The War Council would not have imprisoned the Animorphs.  That is, perhaps Aximili and Prince Jake may have been imprisoned, but doubtless the full Electorate court would have proven merciful—”

“Alloran.  What’s the favor.”

He’s stalling, and she knows it.  “It’s a bit of a complicated political matter, and I’m afraid I am not well equipped to explain it to a human, but enforcement of our travel policies is more subject to individual agents’ personal judgment than we ideally would have it be, and...”

“Hijo de puta.  They’re not letting you go home, are they?”

Alloran fills his human lungs with more air than they technically need for speech.  “It’s a complicated matter.”  Nevertheless, his voice comes out small.

“You still camping at the Sharing Community Center?”

“Yes.”  His voice is even smaller now.

“I’ll be there in half an hour, querido.”  She hangs up.

While he waits, he goes outside to run, to graze, to stare up at the stars.

He didn’t lie; it is complicated.  The Andalite Electorate is struggling to recover from a decades-long war, one that threatened the existence of their very soul as a people.  Seerow’s mistakes — and Alloran’s own decision to publicize the failings of his prince — have ensured that the whole debacle was a massive embarrassment even before the defeat on the hork-bajir homeworld.

And then...

He’s heard the word, whispered and hissed and screamed and shouted.

Abomination.

Abomination.

His face is the public face of the Yeerk Empire.  His voice is its voice.  The morph he was just using — a bald, middle-aged human male — was constructed from the DNA of a dozen human-controllers.  Everything he owns, from the black limousine parked at the curb to the press pass of a woman called Aria, was taken from the hands of murdered slaves.

Of course his people don’t want him back.  Of course not.  The quantum virus was one thing, but then he had the gall go to and get himself captured by the yeerks.  And he’d added insult to injury when he’d challenged a captain on Aximili’s behalf.

He can see it.  That’s what stings.  He can stare up at the glittering point of his home star even as he runs across a field of dull foreign grass, and at this rate it’ll never be anything but a fixed point of light in an unfamiliar sky ever again.

Eva shows up then, before he can feel too sorry for himself.

She brings a human substance known as pinot noir.

**********

“And then...”  Eva points a wavering finger at him.  Her words have gotten blurrier over time.  “And then, we just sneak it in, and bam!”  She slaps the tabletop.

Alloran leans in across to her.  “Bam,” he agrees.

“You needed a ride home?”

At the new voice, Alloran stands up sharply.  Too sharply.  He gets his two flimsy little legs tangled in the chair and almost pitches over.

Marco catches him.  “You all right?” he asks.

“I,” Alloran intones, “am intoxicated.  Tox.  I.  Cate.  Ed.  Wonderful word.  Intock.  Sick.  Kate.  Dd-d-d-d-d.”

“Yeeeaah, I was getting those vibes from the—”  Marco leans around him in an impressive display of human balance.  “Bottle of wine apiece you two’ve apparently emptied.”

Eva draws herself up.  “I did not call and request a ride home, I called and requested a ride to the Netherlands!”

“You’re right, you did.”  Marco rolls his eyes.  “Which is why I made the decision to show up and bring you home instead.”

“No, no, the Netherlands.”  Eva steps up next to Alloran.  They both regard Marco carefully.  “Not to worry, we’ve thought it through.  You call your friend with the private plane, Bradley or Bradford or whomever his name is.  We fly out to the Hague tonight.”

“Where is this going,” Marco mutters.

“Holland,” Alloran informs him.  “It is-sssss in...”

“Yeah, I’ve been.”

“Anyway.”  Eva gestures sharply, bringing attention back to her.  “We shall have a perfectly ordinary canister of table salt with us, and we shall request to visit with Visser Three—”

“Oh Jesus.  Mom.”

“The guards will not suspect a thing, for it is just an ordinary condiment.  All we must then do is create a diversion, and...”  Eva flings out both hands as if miming an explosion.

“Splat,” Alloran says.  “Pllll-lat.  Hissssss.”

“And this will accomplish what, exactly?” Marco asks.

“Making Alloran feel better,” Eva whispers to him.  However, she seems to be whispering a great deal louder than she realizes.  Humans are ill-equipped for private communication, with their sad reliance on verbal speech.  “None of the andalites want him back.”

“Yeah.  Cool.”  Marco laughs.  “Ten out of ten therapists recommend war crimes for a friend in need!  And as a guy who’s been to at least ten therapists, I’d know.”

Alloran is not certain, but he believes that Marco might be employing the human verbal quirk known as “sarcasm.”

“No one will suspect a thing.”  Eva pats him on the shoulder.

Marco sighs.  “Security will just think it’s cocaine.”

“Cocaine?” Alloran asks.  “Coke-cane?  Co-c-c-c-c-c-c-aine?”

“Something you’re never going to try.”  Marco levels a hard stare at him.  “Given how well you handle your red wine.”

“Cooo-caaayyy-nnnee.  Co-cane.”

“How did you get wrapped up in this dumbass heist, anyway?”  Marco looks from one of them to the other.

“Alloran needed me,” Eva says.

“I have no friends,” Alloran announces.  “And Arbron does not own a cell phone.  Ell.  Elffffff-own.”

Marco closes his main eyes for several seconds, massaging the bridge of his nose.  An impressive feat of daring, for a creature with no stalk eyes who relies upon bipedalism.  “Should’ve known you’d be a morose drunk,” he says.

“So, you’ll take us to the airfield, then?” Eva asks.

Lifting his head up, Marco opens his eyes.  “In the words of my wise and estimable mother: if you want it that bad, you can have it when you’re sober.”

Eva opens her mouth halfway, squinting in what Alloran would guess is the effort of remembering when she would have said that.  After a second, her expression clears.  “I was right to say it, that floozy would have broken your heart in the morning, and this situation is entirely different!”

“That floozy’s name was Jake Gyllenhaal,” Marco mutters, “and I totally would’ve gone for it when I was sober, but I never got his number.”

Eva says something in Spanish, presumably about the loose morals of Jake Gyllenhaal.  Marco’s expression would suggest that he only pretends not to understand her.

“Anyway.  The point stands.  I’m driving you home.”  Marco jerks his chin at Eva.  “And you,” he says, looking at Alloran, “are gonna morph and sober up before we go anywhere.  I’m not having you nothlited on my conscience.”

“But,” Alloran says, “the salt—”

“We’ll revisit the salt in the morning,” Marco says firmly.  “Demorph.  Please.”

Alloran considers pointing out that he is a war-prince, he does not take orders from alien children, he has his pride... And then considers whether any of those statements is actually true.

He demorphs.

Instantly, he feels both better and worse.  On the upside he’s more clear-headed now, but on the downside he’s more clear-headed.

“I’ll call you.”  Marco gives him a long look while shepherding Eva out the door.

**********

Marco does not call, but he does send several written missives to Alloran’s cell phone.  The Animorphs still have an illegal andalite communication device, it would appear, and Marco has put in requests to channels both official and not about the possibility of transport from Earth to the homeworld.

     —Ax is on it, Marco’s latest text reads.  —He’s calling an old friend.  Might take some smuggling, but we’ve got an idea.

     —Thank you, Alloran types carefully on the tiny keyboard.  —Your assistance is greatly appreciated, and undeserved.

He’s debating whether to hit send when there’s a knock on the door.

Alloran’s in an abandoned building the Sharing used to use for housing human-controllers.  There is very little chance that this is an incidental knock, or someone who wandered by accidentally.

The thought occurs to him that it’d be smarter to morph human and blend in before he answers.  But the fear of facing the unknown in a half-blind, tailless morph wins out.  He opens the door as is.

It proves to be the right decision.  The andalite on the other side didn’t bother to morph either.

Estrid stares at him in silence for several seconds.  Her expression is unreadable, all eyes ahead and carefully blank.  Alloran doesn’t know what she’s looking for, but he lets her look.

«Estrid,» he says at last, when it’s clear she isn’t going to speak first.  He gestures with his tail blade, the downward sweep of greeting for an honored warrior.

«Father,» she says.

Her own sharp tail-turn puts the flat of her blade toward him.  A greeting between equals.  An insult.  Both not formal enough for an aristh to acknowledge a war-prince, and too formal for greeting a family member.

But then, Alloran went for Estrid, didn’t he.  Not Aristh Estrid-Corill-Darrath, not Estri-kala or my child.

They haven’t seen each other in over two years.  They haven’t spoken in almost twenty.

Arguably, given how young she was when he was taken, they’ve never really spoken at all.  Certainly Alloran knows little of the person his daughter has become as a young adult.  As a groundbreaking aristh.  As a brilliant researcher.

As a war criminal.

Humans have a saying, about apples that don’t fall far.

«How is Jahar?» Alloran says.  It’s what he really wants to know, and he doesn’t know how to approach any of the other minefields that lie between them.  «And Ajaht, how is he?»

Judging by Estrid’s expression, she takes this to be a standard small-talk opening instead of the deeply earnest inquiry it is.  «Mother is well enough.  I suppose you’ll have to apologize to her in person.»  She doesn’t mention her brother.

Alloran feels his tail blade drop nearly to the floor without his permission.  «Yes.  Of course.  Estrid...»

«I’m on a diplomatic mission to Earth,» she says briskly.  «Prince Aximili and I have concluded discussions with several local leaders about access to morphing technology and tourism restrictions going forward.  Therefore, I will be able to exit the planet and return home after being subject to nothing more rigorous than human security scans.»  The dismissive little flick of her tail at this last is, all things considered, somewhat warranted.  Humans have yet to devise a single effective way to detect morphers.

«Return home,» Alloran repeats.

Might take some smuggling, Marco said.  It’s sinking in: Estrid is here to bring him home.

Home.  To the wife he disgraced.  The brother he got killed.  The children who won’t even acknowledge him, a feverish pair of overachievers desperate to leave his legacy behind.  Ajaht’s tail-fighting is so legendary that, even using human channels, Alloran has been able to find scraps of news.  Estrid’s skill is not praised so publicly... but the yeerks got ahold of Arbat’s files, after their disastrous mission to Earth.  Alloran knows more about her, he thinks, than he ever wanted to.

«We’re leaving now,» Estrid says.  «My window for authorized exit ends in two-point-eight-six Earth hours, so we need to move.»

She must have been here for days if not weeks, to negotiate the way she’s describing.  And yet she came to find him at the last possible second.  Likely to minimize the time they’re forced to spend together.

Alloran doesn’t have the time or the energy to care.  «What would you prefer me to morph?»

«Something small and Earth-based.»  She barely finishes speaking before she starts to morph herself.

Alloran pauses in surprise, because Estrid morphs with shocking skill, melding from andalite to human in a mere forty-seven seconds, all without ever once losing her footing.  She even wears a normative amount of clothing when she’s finished, a sundress and sneakers and a coat overtop.

She sighs, looking him over.  «We don’t have all day, here.»

«You were wasted in Arbat’s lab,» Alloran says.

«You don’t have to tell me that,» Estrid snaps.  «Tell me, dear father, what else was a girl and a second-born and the child of a disgraced bloodline meant to do?»

Alloran has no answer.  Silently he morphs.

His options are limited — Visser Three overwhelmingly preferred large to small morphs, and Alloran hasn’t bothered acquiring much else — so he opts for snake, Lachesis muta according to a human-controller from the area.  It’s still larger than most Earth reptiles, but by coiling in close he becomes small enough to drop into the oversized pocket of Estrid’s jacket.

Estrid doesn’t speak to him, and he doesn’t ask her to, the entire way back to her fighter.  She’s under no obligation, and he won’t force the issue.

********

«We’re landing soon,» Estrid tells him, three Earth weeks and eighty-two light years later.  She’s maintained that icy formality throughout the entire journey so far, responding to Alloran’s questions — about her research, about her brother, about her morphing — with flat non-answers.

Alloran steps to the viewport to look out over the rolling grasslands of home like a child on his first in-atmosphere flight.  Is it home, really?  It’s been thirty-nine years since he left home to quell the small skirmish on the hork-bajir homeworld, forty-seven since his first offworld assignment serving under Prince Seerow.  He has seen a dozen planets, been a hundred species, since that time.  This body belonged to Visser Three for nearly as long as it did to Alloran himself, decades of nonexistence until he all but forgot his own name.

«What will you do next?» Alloran asks Estrid, still desperate for conversation.

She flicks a dismissive hand at the air.  «I have my work.»

«Even without Arbat?»

«I didn’t say it was easy.»

«And the quantum virus?»

She turns all four eyes on him.  A small part of him wants to scold her for bad form, but a far larger part of him recognizes he’d be overstepping.  «The quantum virus never happened,» she says sharply.  «And if it did, I was never informed of its existence.  This journey was my first visit to Earth, Arbat died in a lab accident, we were never involved in weapons development, and if you even think about saying differently the War Council will back my story, because all of the documentation —»

«Estrid.»  He cuts her off as gently as he can.  «I would never...»

He sees it, in the stiffening of her stalk eyes.  Hears it in the catch of her breath.  She doesn’t want a father.  Or if she does, she doesn’t want him.

«I would never dishonor the memory of my brother by raising questions about his death,» Alloran says instead.

Estrid relaxes, and turns back to the controls.

He is weary of war, weary of being alone.  The person he’d been when he first met Esplin 9466 would have been shouting by now, demanding to know what right Estrid has to consider herself any better than him.  He only deployed a quantum virus, had no hand in its evil creation.  Either she is a hypocrite... or she is just like the War Council officials who consider it a far worse crime to be enslaved by yeerks than to have murdered ten million hork-bajir.

It’s been a long war, and Alloran has missed her every moment of it.  Let her be angry; she’s here.

There is one more delicate question Alloran needs to ask, however, before they disembark on their family’s land.  «Jahar,» he says.  «I assume... She has found someone else.  To help raise you, and...»  Dark Sun, but this is hard.  «She deserves to be loved, of course.»

Eva’s mate remarried, after all.  Together they’d cried about that, somewhere between the third and fourth glasses of wine.

«Who would date her?» Estrid asks.  «Who would be seen speaking to her?  No.  There’s no one.  There hasn’t been.  There was me, and Ajaht, and that’s it.»

Alloran feels sadness and relief and disappointment and shame at his relief, all at once in a rush too complex to understand.  «I see,» he says at last.

«So go to her.»  Estrid yanks hard to unseal the fighter’s outer door; they’ve landed without his noticing.  «Go to her and—»  Another hard yank.  «Kriffing thing!»

Alloran puts his hand next to hers, pleasantly surprised when she doesn’t pull away.  As one they move, and the door comes open at last.

She came to meet them.  Alloran doesn’t know why he wasn’t expecting that, and yet...

Jahar is older, lined around the eyes and stooped in her shoulders and dull-edged around her hooves.  She’s radiant.  Transcendent.

Alloran is frozen.  Aware of all the knocks he’s taken, all the shine he’s lost.  Aware that they’ve been apart for longer than they ever were together.

He blames that last for the way his knees lock.  For the voice that freezes inside his mind, unable to form words.  For the crack in his breath and the painful squeeze of his hearts as she becomes the one to step forward.  As she raises a hand to his cheek, in the first gentle touch he’s felt in over twenty years.

--

[Note: I know that Aloth’s line in #38 about Estrid being Arbat’s niece — which would make her Alloran’s daughter — is probably not meant to be literal in context.  But the straightforward interpretation is boring, so I went with the fun one.]

[the-magic-lava-lamp]

Warm Months - ‘Heart Of Gold’

Summary: (I decided to re-write an old story of mine called ‘Warm Months’! It’s a little bit different but the concept is pretty much the same! ) *And for the sake of this story, Anakin was 19 when the twins were born & Padme was 23. Plus, I’ve made Padme & Obi-Wan the same age*

[ 1976 ] Han Solo is stuck in an uneventful time in his life that he likes to call the 'working at the car wash blues’ era. But starting from a pit-stop on on road-trip where he meets the mysterious Leia and oh so interesting Luke, his life takes a turn. And he wonders if he’ll see them again.

Unbeknownst to Han, Luke and Leia have decided to go out on a quest to find & meet their birth parents or what’s left of them, which amounts to missed buses and long walks. That is until they run back into Han Solo and his pal Chewie. And the greatest road-trip officially begins

Chapter: 2 - Heart Of Gold

Song to go with today’s chapter

Word Count: 3,364

Ships: Eventual Skysolo + Obikin

Leia pushed some of the hair that wasn’t slicked down to her moist skin with sweat behind her ear and sighed. The hotel carpet beneath her cradled her aching feet and she had to admit, it was the most physical pleasure she’d had in a few days. It had been non-stop walking and running to catch buses just a ways out of reach. They’d begun this trip on Saturday and it was now Wednesday night and she was dead tired. Cracking her neck gently, in a way her father Bail had advised her against many times, she sat down on her bed. 

Carrying through the room was the clean smell from the bathroom that Luke had called dibs on upon entry. It brought a fresh spring meadow to her senses that made her instantly envious. She thought of the many times Luke had come over to her home and hogged that bathroom all the same. 

It had been explained to them the same since early childhood days of understanding. Their parents were young and afraid. And tragically, their mother passed away in childbirth. That was something Leia tried not to dwell on. Bail and Breha never hesitated to tell her everything she wanted to know. Padme. That was her birth mother, their birth mother. Beautiful, headstrong, wise beyond her years and so much more. 

The situation they’d ended up with was to be given to relatives and close friends instead of strangers. Her birth father, Anakin, had decided he could not raise them alone. So he did what was best for them. Allowing them to grow up in the best environment possible. He was but nineteen and just lost the love of his life and was without a stable job. As Bail had explained. So Leia went to a close friend of Padme’s and Luke was set with Anakin’s stepbrother Owen & his wife Beru. Each family had wanted children and gladly helped the man when he needed it most. 

As she grew, Leia tried hard not to be bitter. But she realized more and more that it would be unfair for her to hold a part of herself back for the feelings of a man who was not in her life anymore. It was hard. she understood why he did what he did, truly. But because she was a daughter, it hurt. She loved their families dearly but the separation between her and Luke growing up, though minimal, was difficult.

That’s not to say their families didn’t tell them all they needed to know because they did. They were always aware they were siblings and were told stories of their parents. Most children wait to meet their birth parents just as they did. When they were eighteen the curiosity hit. But life got in the way. Jobs, dating, school plans, etc. Nineteen ended up being the chosen age to seek their birth father out.

And not for the first time did she wonder if it was the right thing to do. Not only was it a leap of faith to meet their father. But this would also be their first taste of true freedom outside of Tatooine. The town they grew up in. Where they worked meaningless jobs. Where they fought the fights of children and teenagers. Where they experienced first kisses and missed school buses. A town they loved was in the rear-view mirror for the first time in their lives. There was no guarantee they’d ever live there the same again after this. After all, they were nineteen now. 

Her thoughts were interrupted when Luke burst from the bathroom and hopped onto his own bed. That dopey smile on his face that made Leia scoff yet she returned the grin always. She strolled over to the small bathroom and closed the door. 

Her hair was flowing elegantly down against her skin. She grabbed at it, readying herself to do one of those braids her mother taught her. But as she went to go into the action without a second thought, the first steps seemed to fade from her mind. 

So she pictured the moments Breha had managed to wrangle her to stand still and shown her just how to pull her hair into fun styles. Though only away from home for a few days now, seeing the picture of herself and her mother put her at ease. 

As the hair slipped through her fingers, she thought about just how devastating it was that her birth mother never got to experience those little moments with her. Something dreadfully painful ached in her chest. Her feet moved before she registered an idea. 

Throwing open the bathroom door, she sped over to the hotel room telephone and dialed without even sparing Luke an explanation. 

“Hey mom.” She spoke softly into the phone. “No, nothing’s wrong. Just wanted to um, check in.” 

Luke crawled over to the edge of his bed to mouth a question. 

“Yeah, no. Luke is not causing any trouble.” She giggled and ruffled the boys hair. “Just wanted to say that I love you guys, ok?” She almost sighed at the way she’d brought it up without grace but she truly wanted to express it as soon as she could. Luke sunk back on his legs and smiled before opening his mouth like he’d remembered something. 

Leia nodded, understanding without words. “Luke sends his love...let Owen and Beru know.” She grinned. 

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

Breakfast consisted of a paper tray of warm french fries that Leia and Luke consistently passed between them as they walked down the sidewalk. The salt coated their lips and made it increasingly hard not to crave water but they had left their drinks at the store like idiots. And they weren’t about to walk all the way back there. 

Leia would have much preferred their trip to be in a more stable company of a constant car. But they were forced to cycle from bus to walking because her own car had gotten stolen just a few weeks before. Neither of them even had the option of taking their parents cars considering they required them to get to work. It had put a real damper on Leia’s mood. She'd worked long and hard to earn the money for that El Camino. The old man had sold it to her heavily cheap, it was a steal really. Now it really had been stolen. She chuckled miserably at the dumb joke, if she could even call it that. She came up from behind where Luke was standing just ahead of her. He too had stopped. His chin tilted to the sky. 

“There a reason you’ve stopped?” She raised her brow and Luke gave her a side-eye as he continued to look up at the morning sky. 

“There a reason you stopped?” He retorted. Leia hummed and crossed her arms. The sky was a touch of blushed pink special to the early morning. She cradled the fry tray that she’d been so lucky to be stuck with do to Luke’s sudden wonderment. 

People had asked and asked loads of times during school if they had that lame psychic twin connection. They went from laughing it off to messing around with their classmates to fool them into thinking they not only had it but it was a superpower. You’d think they’d have grown out of that but they’d just performed one of their practice stunts on an unsuspecting bowler at the alley a few days ago. She laughed as she thought about it. 

But they actually did have it...to a rational degree of course. Luke’s thoughts were going a mile a minute, she could feel it just the same as if they’d been flowing through her. 

She let it ride for a few seconds, watching the cars zooming past them down the street just ahead. The sun bounced it’s rays down on them, glittering the pavement. 

“Do you think he’ll wanna see us?” Luke piped up, a small murmur in his tone that made Leia looked at him with wide, open eyes. She nodded. 

“I’m sure he’ll be shocked but...” She trailed off, nodding more so to herself. “We are his kids, Luke.” She smiled kindly. Keeping her answer vague on purpose, merely reminding Luke where they stood in this situation. She didn’t want to offer a hope or promise that might just be left unfulfilled. It was important to her that Luke remain level-headed and not blindly hopeful. 

He nodded, recognizing her tone. He hiked the bag on his back further up before he started to slowly stroll again. Leia took to his side and held out the fries which he gladly took from her. 

Luke wasn’t the wide-eyed innocent kid that he used to be...far from it. But Leia sometimes caught herself treating him as such. It was just instinct. Though neither of them was sure who the older twin was. As neither Bail & Breha nor Owen & Beru had thought to ask such a trivial question to Anakin during the emotional period of giving up his children. 

It had been a silly thing she and Luke would pretend to fight about. A fair amount of people assumed it to be her. It bothered her brother a lot more when they were little. He’d always huff and puff and insist that it could just as well be him. Leia would snort and say there is a 50/50 chance without much confidence in her voice. 

Though sometimes Leia got the feeling people could be wrong. And maybe that was just because Luke had always had somewhat of an old soul. His childhood wardrobe had really been that of a small old man it seemed. And his eyes, though wide, were also filled with a wonder she could barely understand. 

“Would you unfurl your brow for like five seconds and have some fun?” Luke whined, reaching out and rubbing the creases on her forehead. She attempted to bat him away as she laughed. And there was his childlike side. Which appeared most often.

“Since when is walking around in this boiling weather only to catch a dirty bus fun, Luke?” She shook her head and bumped his arm. He shrugged.

“It’s adventure.” He smiled, sheepishly. 

“I’ll give it that. It is an adventure.” She chuckled. In all honesty, it was not that bad. But she had never been one for hot weather. She preferred the cool and chilly winds of autumn. However Luke thrived during the summer. He could spend forever outside and remain content with the sweltering heat. Leia was sometimes convinced that he just couldn’t feel it.  

They slowed to shocked a stop just then as their bus whizzed by as if pulling from the curb with extra force. Leia almost felt steam coming from her ears as she tried to suck in her breath to stay calm. Luke sighed from beside her. 

“That sucks.” He pouted momentarily. “Are you sure we had the right-?” 

Leia was already fussing around for the bus schedule in her bag. Once she pulled it out, she darted her eyes around. “It left like ten minutes early.” She glared out into the empty black-top road. 

After about five minutes, Luke spoke again. “You know...” He gave her a cheeky grin. “They say a watched street never boils.” 

His lame joke momentarily distracted her at least enough to roll her eyes away from the dreaded stare. 

“So we’ll find another way. No big deal.” Luke grinned, the picture of naivety sometimes...he was a walking contradiction in the way. Leia frowned and rolled her shoulders back. 

“This sets us back by at least another day.” She sighed, rubbing her face like she was ages older. Sometimes it seemed like all of her mistakes were something that still weighed her down. Which Luke thought was ridiculous. She barely made any anyway. And maybe he was biased, being her brother and all but he doubted it. Leia had wisdom that he could barely understand. 

“So, another day in the town of Corellia ...not bad, huh?” Luke gestured out with his arms and Leia reluctantly just shrugged. She’d tried her best to avoid the obstacles that inevitably showed up on this trip yet here they were. 

Part of her just wanted this trip to be over and done with. It was proving to be a major source of stress. And maybe she felt a little bad for feeling as such. But she pushed her thoughts away to glance over the scenery of the town. 

It was hot but a nice shade of sunny orange. It was buzzing with rushed company and she could hear the sudden harsh sounds of the mechanic’s building just in her view. 

The town was a lot to drink in at once and the flavor was for sure that of a fresh Whiskey Sour. She kept the secret of why she knew what those tasted like to herself. She puckered her lips and allowed for Luke to take a semi-lead. He strolled down the sidewalk and took long glances as if he was an admiring tourist on a vacation. 

They were going to have to find another hotel or check into the same one for just one more night. And she debated that choice in her mind while blowing a strand of brown hair from her eyes. 

“Wanna just mess around for a bit?” Luke asked, sticking his thumb behind him as he turned to face her. He gestured to the down-town area with a curious expression.

“We don’t have very many options, so.” Leia shrugged and finally came to stand at his side. 

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

The sun’s curious children trailed the streets of Corellia, collecting prime and interesting gadgets from store to store. Leia would have liked to say she was considerably less guilty of this than Luke but she too had gathered a tiny collection of tinker toys.

Both twin fussed with their own mechanical puzzle as they attempted to find something else to do. It was unspoken between them but it was surely a test to see which of them was quicker. 

And in record time, Luke managed to beat Leia by just two or three seconds. He intended to gloat as he might’ve done when they were kids. But he was easily distracted when the sun rays caught beautifully on the metal of his puzzle and reflected a warm orange glow on his tender cheeks. It tingled slightly and he was sure he was edging close to the beginnings of sunburn. Which was odd. He spent so much of his time out in the sun and managed to avoid that nine times out of ten. 

Leia tilted her chin up and hiked her bag further up her back as they passed the front of some small home-y looking diner. She caught Luke’s admiring expression and made a note to come back round to the place around dinner time. However her mental note was interrupted when she slowly passed a lonesome looking bench and got a good kick around her hip. “Ow! Shit.” She whipped her head around and saw the outstretched shoe of some man who was asleep. 

She came closer to take a look only to have a dog jump up from what seemed like nowhere and bark, scaring the absolute shit out of her. She jumped back right into a oblivious Luke and both twins tumbled straight for the concrete underneath them. 

That was until the man shot up and used his shockingly amazing and convenient reflex skills to grab for Leia’s arm.

And it worked. Mostly...

Leia popped right back up so Luke took the fall for the both of them. Leia grinded her teeth together in horror as her brother hit the ground. And the man tightened his grip around her forearm on reflex. 

“Hey Kid!...You ok?” Han’s voice was familiar and Leia only just noticed it was him as she turned to look at him. His voice went from excited to concerned in seconds flat. Leia shook from his grip and pulled her brother up who was pretty bouncy for someone who just fell right onto the sidewalk. 

“I’m good, thanks.” Luke shrugged and grinned at his sister to let her know she didn’t need to worry, not that that would stop her. He then sharply took in all that was Han once again. 

“You two are still in town, huh?” Han played down the excitement that had been found earlier in his tone, Leia noticed. Luke strolled closer to pet the head of the dog that Leia figured was the one he’d excitedly left the bowling alley to meet just some days ago. 

Chewie’s was comfortably warm from the sunny day and Luke slowly threaded his fingers in his long fur. “Your sister seems pretty...prompt. I thought you’d be off early this morning.” Han spoke casually. 

“His sister has a name. It’s Leia. And I’m right here. Thanks.” Leia scoffed and bumped his elbow so it would fall from it’s perched position and send him for a tiny free-fall from lack of balance. It made Luke giggle. 

“That’s a hell of a way to say thanks for saving you from tasting concrete.” Han halfheartedly scowled as he fiddled with his arm. 

“Yeah, my hero. It was just my brother who got a taste of the concrete, huh? You also caused the accident if you remember correctly.” Leia said smartly, tilting her head and smirking. Teasing came easy to her. She’d always used that to advantage over Luke while they were growing up. 

“We missed our bus.” Luke interrupted the mini stand-off, only having paid half-attention to it. He had that simple and carefree grin on his face. It was no wonder all of Han’s attention was right back onto the young man. “Leaving us here for another day.” Luke dipped his chin down like he was being shy before running his tongue across his lips. It almost played off as if it were a move. His moistened lips parted just slightly and the summer afternoon breeze ricocheted throughout his body which just had to make him tilt his chin to the sky. The smooth skin of his neck now exposed to the suggestive heat-

“Anyway, take care of yourself Han.” Luke pulled back sharply and quickly from that slow moment with a refreshing amount of pleasure. It nearly gave the other man whiplash as he was sent reeling. Now...that had never happened to him before. Han coughed out of sheer fear that he’d had his confusion plainly written all over his face. From his side, Chewie barked once more. 

A small gray spider climbed it’s way up the side of the bench as the sun lit up the intricate web. It made Han realize he had two options. 

Continue his time lazily sitting on the bench with Chewie until he found the energy to go back home. Only to keep slipping into an easy sleep until he inevitably took it far too long and woke up with his shoes stolen like last time. 

Or, make the rest of his day interesting by offering to pay for his & these twin travelers lunch. 

He decided to make a gamble of his day and shot up, making sure Chewie was right at his side which he always was. “Long road-trips can really do a number on the wallet. If I treat you two to lunch would you mind watching Chewie here for say ten minutes while I go collect a paycheck?” Han spun it to make it seem like they’d be doing him a favor. 

Leia pursed her lips. She was tempted to take the offer considering they should probably eat something but might want to start saving their money. The twins shared a conflicted look before both nodding. 

“Sure.” Leia held out he hand for the leash but Luke swiped it as Han held it out. It made the other man chuckle before he turned off towards the street and walked off. 

As Luke kneeled to Chewies level and began cooing at the beautiful dog, Leia made a wish on a passing car that they’d be able to make it through this whole trip without anymore obstacles.

[trickstercheebs]

writing-prompt-s:

One day, you lose your wallet, and it is found by a mob boss, who figures out that you aren’t in such a good place financially, and takes pity on you. So they start anonymously sending cash, clothes, and furniture to you in the mail, eventually, the mob boss sends you a letter to stating that they bought you a house, and it lists an adress. What do you do?

so here we go, doin this prompt bc it sparked a interesting scenario in my mind.

but im doin a twist on the mob boss so lets go

Today had already started off horribly for you, more so than the usual bouts of bad luck. It felt like everything that could of gone to hell had and did so with enthusiasm. You woke up late and barely made it on time to work, but you had to skip breakfast in order to do so. Thinking that was the end of it was a stupid mistake you found out later.

When your lunch break had finally rolled around you were practically running on empty and rushed out to make the most of your hour break..Which was ruined midway when your boss informed you that your hours were being cut again via text. He knew you needed all the hours you could get, your rent was due next week and you barely had enough as it was to pay for that let alone eat.

And now to top it all off, you had lost your wallet while storming back to work to try and plead your case to your boss to get your hours back. You only had ten or so minutes to find the damned thing before someone nabbed it and you lost everything else, which at the rate today was going wouldn’t surprise you. But still you scrambled to comb over every inch of ground between your work and the fast food joint you ducked into a while ago. Time was running out and with it your financial stability and ability to fight off the urge to break down into tears over how fucked you were about to be.

Just before the tears could start, you felt a heavy hand rest on your shoulder followed by what was the roughest voice you have ever heard physically. A chill set up your spine as you turned to look up at the speaker. And you had to really look up, which naturally gave you a good view of a very very finely tailored suit of heathered coal and blood red rust.

“ ‘Cuse me, but I think you dropped this back there a little while ago. Figured it was yours after seeing you just about crawl into traffic..”

A Demon..none of the demons you worked with or knew..looked as intimidating as this guy did now..It could of been thanks in part to the pair of thick horns curling out from under his hat..Or maybe the burning coals peering down at you from beneath the brim of his hat. This guy clearly ran with the Mob that you heard talked about in soft whispers. No one human or demon crossed them, if you ran into the wrong one you were guaranteed to be scrubbed from existence shortly after..You had been woken up one night to such a “scrub job” and promptly felt the fear of god enter your soul. The next day it was as if nothing happened, no one wanted to acknowledge it out of fear they’d be next. And here you were being directly addressed in public no less.....you were very suddenly aware of how quiet the streets had gotten.

You’re jogged from your fear induced daydream by a gentle tap on the forehead by something soft, your wallet no less. The Demon was grinning down at you softly, likely having a idea what was going through your head and finding it a bit funny.

“Relax, just felt like helping a poor soul out, just seeing you scramble about like that on the ground just felt like a cry for help..”

You nod and gently take your wallet out of his hand, giving a weak thank you in reply before getting up off the ground at last. Another thank you slips out before you remember the time..shit you’re going to be docked more time if your shitty boss catches you coming back in late...You let out one last hasty thank you and excuse yourself to get back to work before rushing off. The Demon gives you a wave and watches your flight back to safety, the soft grin slowly slipping back into a frown before he fishes a sleek phone out of his pockets and dials up a number.

“Hey, it’s me..yeah I got a job for you, nothin special just a info job for today..”

Out of his breast pocket he pulls out a small slip of paper..a receipt bearing a name. He quietly lists it off to his underlings and hums a soft tune, walking on his way towards his destination.

Back at work your boss unfortunately doesn’t care to hear your sob story about needing more hours..He threatened to outright fire you if you kept badgering him on the matter. You drag yourself back to work and soon forget the encounter, you’re still alive and hell he even helped you find your wallet..Maybe today was finally picking up? The rest of the day passes by thankfully without further incident and soon you come home to pass out, thanks to your boss you now had the day off tomorrow..So least you can sleep in right?

Elsewhere, in a rather stately but comfortable looking office a folder is handed over the desk to a pair of awaiting hands, the demon from before quietly flips through the papers contained within..Every bit of info about you from the last several years openly splayed out for his eyes to glean over..That same small frown deepens the more he reads..You were broke, and that was putting it very gently..How you were even able to eat let alone scramble like that was a surprise to him. He had seen dozens of other pitiable souls like you in this city and passed them by, but you for some reason had struck a chord with him, and that struck him as odd. He had gotten far in this business listening to that little voice in the back of his mind about things, something about you rang right with him..Setting your file on his gut he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“ Can’t believe I’m doing this..must be going soft or something.”

Picking up his phone once more, he began dialing a few more numbers, it’d had been a while since he had done some “charity” but something about what he was doing felt..nice. Could be the idea of helping a lost soul in need..or maybe he had taken a liking to you? He couldn’t quite tell just yet, but he’d be keeping a keen eye on you to see what happened next.

The day you had been dreading all month had finally come..you barely had enough money, actually scratch that, you had nowhere near enough now to pay this months rent. You were fucked and you knew it, your landlord was a jackass and hated tenants who didn’t have their money on time...You knew he hated you already, you’ve been late several times in the past and dreaded telling him you were going to be late...again. Gently knocking on the door you mentally braced yourself for the verbal attack that was about to happen. The door’s whipped open and a tall gnarled looking demon cranes his neck out to look at you.

“What are you doin here kid?”

“Ah..I’m here about the rent? Mine’s due today...and uh I need to tell you that I-”

“You’re already good for this month kid. You that sleep deprived that you forgot already paying me?”

“wh-What? I...already paid?”

“Yeah, just got the money this morning. You’re good this month, finally on time for once...Go get some sleep, you look like shit.”

Before you can question him further the door’s slammed shut, leaving you bewildered..but happy? How did you even get the money, hell how did you even manage to get up early to pay? You’d heard of sleep walking but this is something else..But you weren’t about to look a gifted horse in the mouth, you now had some spending money, which meant something to eat besides peanut butter sandwiches and ramen. Running back to get your wallet, you decided to make the most of your day off and get some actual food from the store down the block. That night you practically stuffed yourself on eggs, bacon and pancakes, even having some for tomorrow morning for a actual damn breakfast. Being full on something that wasn’t fried or 90% sugar and carbs you actually felt...human for once. You knew it likely wasn’t going to last but, you’d enjoy it for what you could.

The next day at work was quiet, not that you minded that at all, you got to chat with your coworkers about things and stupid stuff you overheard from customers while on job. It was nice, hell even your boss seemed to leave you alone today, he was usually on your ass about something, or one of the others about some menial task he didn’t think you were doing right..When you got home though you were met with a surprise waiting for you on your doorstep.. A hefty looking box was resting against the door with your name and address on it? You don’t remember ordering anything..maybe it was a package from your parents, which in of itself was rare these days..Dragging it in you searched for a return address and only found..nothing? Least nothing but the shipping company’s address. 

Carefully checking the thing for anything dangerous you took the risk and opened it..Waiting a few minutes with the window open as a just in case you soon got over your fear of “death by mail” and rifled through the box’s contents...All of which were clothing? Nothing used, and all in your size strangely enough. Several brand new pairs of jeans, several cute looking shirts and even a nice jacket to boot! You searched the inside again more thoroughly to find any trace or reason behind this gift package..Who would be this nice?? All of this looked fairly expensive...then again you only ever bought clothes used or on sale..everything looked expensive to you nowadays. Shifting things around something in the jacket got your attention..hidden in one of the pockets was..a thick looking envelope?

“oh god please don’t let this be drugs...or something gross..”

Poised near the window again if it was indeed drugs..or something disturbing hidden within, you delicately peeled the letter open...Only to see several thick wads of cash crammed in..along with a note.

“Here’s some spending money. Use it wisely, and have some fun.”

It was hand written..elegant as hell and neat, you admit you stared at the note and cash for a good solid ten minutes as you internally blue screened at the brick of cash now in your hands. Was this reality?? Did you accidentally get hit by a bus and not notice and now this is the afterlife? A thousand explanations blurred through your head trying to make sense of why you now had all of this in your lap. It only got worse when you thumbed through the cash and found out you had been randomly given eight thousand dollars. Your bank account never held that much in years...and now you’re fucking holding it in your hands with no clear explanation as to why or how. Tears of joy and confusion slowly worked their way down your face as you sat on the ground taking it all in. You felt numb but excited all at the same time, you had no idea what the hell you were going to do with all of this...The rational part of your head said to save it and maybe spend a little, the note did say to have fun right?

The next day you went out and bought yourself some shoes, nothing fancy or stupid..but some durable sneakers you had been eyeing for months now, hell you bought two pairs in your favorite colors. Walking out with the bags in hand you felt elated somehow, you knew it was silly but it was something you’ve always wanted. After work you went out to treat yourself at a new eatery you heard some of your coworkers gushing about last week. The food was rich and hearty and good god you ate until you felt like you were about to burst inside. You even got some to take home and eat for lunch tomorrow it was so good..You tipped well, because why not? They were working as hard as you were after all, you went home in high spirits once again.

It went like that for close to a week, you spent close to a thousand or more on yourself getting some things you’d need but could never afford..and maybe a few things you just died wanting..The rest had been carefully deposited into your account, not all at one because you were ungodly afraid of being questioned about where the hell you were getting so much money. You felt nice knowing you’d have something of a decent living for a while. And just as your figured things were back to normal, during your day off you got a heavy set of knocks on your door.

Scrambling after the second set of knocks you open the door to see a tired but gruff looking man standing in your doorway holding a clipboard and staring you down.

“Delivery’s here, you ordered a bed and couch set yea? Me and the boys are here to confirm your order and help set things up.”

“...wh....Who? Wait I never ordered anything like that...?”

“This your address though right?”

Seeing the bewildered look on your face he shows you the order form..it is your name and address. You decide you can’t really tell this guy no, judging by the steady tired glare he’s leveling your way. You confirm and he asks for a signature. Once that was taken care of he vanishes back down the stairs for several minutes, only to come back up with a few other strong looking men and women hefting up a mattress and what looks like a frame? You get out of the way and they slip in with practiced ease and one starts setting up the frame while your old mattress is stripped and taken out.

“Forgot to mention, paid for removal as well. Pretty good tip to boot..We’ll be back inna sec with the new couch..you want it in the main room right?”

“Y-yeah..thank you.”

The bed was set up in record timing and soon a brand new, very plush looking couch now stood in your front room..The old weather beaten couch you got off the curb long since gone with the old mattress you bought years ago as well..Both looked so soft and comfortable you almost felt wrong sleeping or sitting on either..It felt like you were in someone elses house almost now..Feeling a bit out of sorts you decide to head out for a little while and maybe get some air..possibly something to eat now that you had the spare cash for it.

Walking down the street you were slowly heading towards one of your old favorite places to eat, a old style burger diner sort of deal. The food was amazing and pretty cheap despite the quality of the food being so good. As you walked towards the doors you felt a heavy hand clap down on your shoulder, making you squawk out in surprise and turn to see a familiarly scary sight. He was donned in a sea blue and lavender suit this time, but those horns and eyes were still the same.

“Hey long time no see! Heh, sorry about scaring ya just now, bad habit of mine movin quietly like that..”

“N-no problem, just made me jump a little is all..but yeah it’s been a while huh? H-how’ve you been?”

“Busy as a bee these days, you know how it is. No rest for the wicked and all that. You know this place? Been running around all day and forgot to eat, now I’m paying for it big time and I’m dyin for something good.”

“Oh..yeah I love this place..it’s got some good burgers and fries..”

“Well then you’ve twisted my arm, let’s head in and find us a seat huh?”

Before you can ask him to clarify what he means by us, there’s a thick arm wrapped around your shoulders and gently herding you inside alongside its massive owner. The brief silence that meets your arrival is short lived but not unnoticed as you’re swept inside. Looking about your newfound friend peeks down at you for a second.

“Hey you wanna grab a booth together or you wanna do your own thing?”

You dwell on it for a second or two...honestly you were curious about this strange demon..for someone as big and damned terrifying they somehow also managed to look..friendly all in the span of a few seconds. And it wasn’t like he’d kill you or something in public...possibly.

“Sure I don’t mind a booth, lead the way?”

With that he resumes steering you towards a free booth and the both of you slip in to get comfortable. After a moment he slips his hat off and for the first time you notice he doesn’t look....well that damn scary, you’re blaming demon magic for the burning coal eyes possibly. Other than the long faded scar tracking over one eye and cheek he looked..nice even.

“There something on my face?”

...Course he caught you staring, you falter for a second but manage to catch yourself fast enough to not look stupid as hell.

“I was just thinking, I never caught your name from before..and I never told you mine..haha, I guess I was just a bit scatterbrained that day and more focused on not being late for work..’’

“Hey no worries, happens to all of us..And shame on me for not bothering to introduce myself sooner. Name’s Desmondias Neri, pleasure to meet you.”

He offers a large hand for you to shake over the table and you smile before shaking and introducing yourself in kind, you quietly notice how damn small your hand looks in his..Then again you’re fairly short to begin with..most demons were just unfairly tall.

Before you could dwell on it more the waitress comes to get your drink orders and tell you about specials, Desmondias flips through the menu a brief moment as you rattle off your usual order..A cheeseburger with bacon and plenty of fixings..along with onion rings and tots..Listening to your order he hummed softly, apparently interested at the choice enough to just about order the same only double the meat and with extra fries. The waitress walks off to put your orders in and he grins at your surprised face.

“What? Told you I haven’t eaten almost all day, I could practically eat a horse by now..and what you ordered sounded pretty good.”

“Well I can’t really argue that..they have good onion rings here, if I could I’d eat here every day but it’s a bit of a walk so I only go when I got the time..”

The next several minutes are spent with you both happily chatting about your lives and favorite past times..its strange how easy you find yourself talking to Desmondias..like a old friend you ran into after not seeing him for years. The food comes sometime later and you both dig in all the while still chattering away..He breaks it up briefly by asking if your day after the wallet incident got any better? 

You pause to clear your throat and eagerly tell him about all the strange shit that had been going on to you since then, with so very few friends outside of work you had been dying to tell someone else about this strange occurrence. Desmondias looks about as shocked as you were when you first got the gifts.

“Really? All that happened? Jeeze someone must really like you then, you sure it’s not some secret admirer in your apartments helping you out or something?”

You let out a laugh at the thought of someone being smitten with you enough to give you eight thousand dollars along with other things..You don’t tell him that of course, instead you tell him you’d be surprised if someone who could afford to do all that was living in such a run down complex like that. It wasn’t much of a secret that the area you were in now was effectively the slums..Only dead broke or immigrants bothered living where you were..and you were deadass broke...well were deadass broke. 

While you were going off about it all you failed to spot the thoughtful look pass over Desmondias’s face..The rest of the meal goes over fairly well and soon the two of you are heading back out the doors feeling happy and well fed. Your new friend has donned his spooky demon eyes hat as you’re now calling it once more, but that big grin ruins the evil look as he gently claps your shoulder.

“I think it was my lucky day running into you, haven’t had a cheeseburger that good in a long while..And you were right about those onion rings, I’ll have to remember this place if I’m ever hankering for more fast food.”

“No problem, was nice to be able to sit down and grab a bite with you, haven’t had this much fun inna while myself. Wouldn’t mind meeting up with you to do it again if you’re ever in the neighborhood...”

“Was that you asking me out on a date just now~?”

“Wh-!? No no! I just...I just meant if, if you know if you wanted to, that’s all!”

You could feel your face flush up as a deep well of laughter works its way out of Desmondias’s chest, somehow it sounds nice hearing him laugh, the thought’s immediately pushed aside however as he catches his breath.

“I know I know, I’m just teasing ya calm down..But yeah I’d love to do this again with you sometime, I could use the downtime to relax..I should probably give you my number right?”

“Yeah that might help..I can give you mine as well, I got my phone out so just put it in through here”

A few clicks later and a test text and now you both could call one another at your leisure.. Turning to head home after waving goodbye you hear Des, the nickname he put himself down as and told you he preferred it of all things, calling out to you as he walked the other way.

“See ya soon then for our next date! Hahaa!”

You feel your face blush hard as his laughter rings out over your indignant yelling, but the smile on your face stopped any forced venom from seeping into your angry cries at him as he fled homeward.

A month or two passes by, you and Des keep in contact with one another via texts and silly pictures off and on. You do meet up to eat at the diner more than once, Des has taken to calling it his “burger date” which after the first few times has grown on you. Your anonymous admirer has since then given you another eight thousand dollars..you’re still gobsmacked about whoever this is doing this out of the blue..You tell your demon pal about it and he’s as clueless as you are about the entire thing and wonders if the next installment’s going to include a ring. You nearly choke on your food and he apologizes through a fit of giggles over nearly killing you.

“Well I mean if someones givin me that sorta cash they must have a thing for me right?”

“Yeah but I’m not about to marry some stranger whos being my...well my sugar daddy..Or sugar momma if it’s a woman..Hell I’d just want to know who’s doing this so I could find out why and maybe thank them? Maybe get to know them and all that, I just wanna know why they’re doing all this for me..”

“You’ve got me man, I’m still surprised they’re keeping it up this long without dropping in to finally introduce themselves..maybe they’re shy?”

You shrug and pop another onion ring into your mouth...whoever this mysterious benefactor was, you dearly hoped they’d reveal themselves sooner or later.

Another week passes and one day as you come in from work, you find another thick envelope..it’s different from the ones you were used to seeing full of cash, it was a manilla one this time and it felt rather sturdy with whatever was inside. Taking it to open on the couch you dumped the contents into your lap. Inside was a very ornate looking letter and some official looking documents...

The letter itself simply said “Enjoy” in that same flourishing calligraphy you’ve come to know as your admirers handwriting. The documents themselves were what looked like.....a deed to a house somewhere uptown and statements saying it was paid for..Along with that was a letter of acceptance to a new job nearby that you could only dream of getting..

Your heart stopped beating..or was it beating so fast you couldn’t feel it anymore, with the level of shock you were now in it was hard to tell. That same numbness of disbelief was slowly setting in..A house, a actual literal fucking house was bought and paid for you..Along with a job that’d more than pay for its rent and everything..

Scrambling to find your phone you sent a alarmed text to Des explaining what just happened and advice for what to do..Several minutes pass by at a agonizing pace before he responds. He’s just as shocked, and asks if you want to go check it out? He even offers to come with in case it’s some shifty nonsense..and frankly you could almost kiss him for the offer. You were scared shitless of going to this place alone..but with Des beside you it should be fine..and hell you’d have a witness if they turned out to be creepy and murderous..

You get dressed and agree to meet Des at the nearby subway to head on over together, you’re clearly nervous and Des does his best to calm your nerves as you both make your way to the address. When you arrive you find out it looks...nice, beautiful even. The neighborhood is quiet and serene, you can even spot a park nearby as you both walk to the given address.

“This looks like the place...you ready to go in or do you need a moment?”

“Nah I’m fine..let’s check it out..maybe whoever’s behind all of this is inside waiting for me...”

“Well...only one way to find out right?”

You nod and the two of you walk for the stairs, Des placing a hand on your shoulder gently..a gesture that you’ve come to appreciate as his demonic warmth seeps into you. It helps shake off the chills of fear trying to set in as you reach for the door and undo the lock with the key the letter enclosed.

Beyond the door was...nothing, well nothing but a empty hall and living room. A few carpets littered the floor but it looked clear of anything else. You looked around to see if anyone was lurking about, anxiety growing as you couldn’t find another soul in the house. Des on the other hand remained in the living room, simply watching you run about searching.

“I don’t get it...Wouldn’t they be here if they’re giving me something like a damn house?? What the hell is going on...I thought..I thought they’d be here..”

Des..let out a long sigh before slipping his hat off and looking at you square in the face.

“They are here though...I uh, got something to tell you. It’s me..I’m the mysterious secret admirer.”

“ ...w...what? What? No it’s...It can’t be?”

“It is though, it is me..Remember that day I found your wallet? I found it half open in the hands of some shitty pickpocket who was just about to throw it away after seeing how little was in there..He tossed it at me after saying it was a waste of effort and took off..After I found you I might have done some digging and found out just how right he was..”

“You..you just somehow found out how poor I was and sent me shit..was this all out of pity???”

“Only the rent the first time was, I admit that..And maybe the clothes and cash but I saw you out later shopping and...and well..”

“Well what? What are you talking about?”

“You looked happy..something about seeing you smile like that struck me dead and I couldn’t stop thinking about it..about you..I know that sounds creepy I’m sorry. I was just planning on sending you the couch and bed and leaving it at that for good..But then I met you at the burger joint and thought it was fate telling me otherwise..I had fun that night..and getting to know you since then only made it more so...”

You felt what shock and anger that had set in slowly dissipate as he talked..Sure you were still pissed that most of this was a gift of pity..a gift that you really really needed but still.. But the bigger fact that you had apparently got a demon smitten with you doing nothing shoved that anger aside as your face flushed a bright pink..

“So..so all those times you kept asking me to go for burger dates were..were actual dates?? Wait wait...wait how the hell are you able to afford all this? All that money you gave me this whole time..How aren’t you broke Des??”

He gives you a small grin at the question before standing up straight, almost proudly so..

“Well..I mean I am..sort of the Head of the Demon Mob for this side of the city. That kinda helps out alot actually, what you got is pretty much pocket change for me in the long run..”

“wait..wiat you’re the..I’m dating the actual fuckin head of a mob??? The fucking Demon Mob???”

“Yeah, why else would I wear these suits? I know they make me look good but in summer they’re absolute hell to deal with..But yeah, I’m the head of the mob..and we’re kinda dating...If you want to that is.”

“...Well..I mean..I don’t mind it? You’ve been so sweet and fun, and who else out here is going to give me a damn house?? I got a house over taking a demon mobster out for burgers and stupid memes..”

“Hey that’s not all that..I like the way your face crinkles up when you laugh at some stupid joke I tell you..And the way your eyes light up when you’re talking about something good that happened to you that day..”

“Oh god..sh shut up..shut up you’re going to make me blush talking like that...jeeze Des, you’re a huge sap for a demon..”

“You’re already red enough in the face to be mistaken for a imp though..heheh..And what can I say? Can’t help it when I’ve found someone worth spoiling with affection and shit..”

“...pfft, alright fine..You win you big nerd, I’ll take the stupid awesome house..”

“Was hoping you’d say that~”

You couldn’t help but grin back at Des’s stupid happy look now plastered on his face. When you told him as such he snorted and moved to scoop you up into a hug as you squeaked at him in surprise, much to his delight.

The next week you were settled in at last, Des and a few of his helpers gladly assisted you moving in and getting some more things to fill the place out. They had all been dying to meet the person their boss had been gushing about for months now, much to Des’s dismay at them all telling you about it.

In the span of a few months your life had gone from hell to..well surprisingly comfortable. The job turned out to be working alongside Des’s men as a intern in the accounting department, it paid fairly well and you got along with everyone just fine. In a way you had joined the mob and life couldn’t have been better, you made sure to tell Des as much whenever the two of you went on a “Burger Date”.

[takerfoxx]

“Fires of the Sun, Part 2″ Thoughts

In which I killed off a major character. On my birthday.

Quality-wise, I feel this chapter was a major step up from the first, and that is for one very easily identified reason.

Snarky Rin.

Oh, how I love snarky Rin!

See, Rin's always a fun character to write for, which is great, seeing how she's the closest thing this story has to a central protagonist. However, her scenes usually come with a sort of balancing act. On the one hand, she's very sympathetic, given how much shit she's gone through coupled with the fact that she usually doesn't really want to hurt anyone and her concern for those she cares about. However, her hands are far from clean. She's does some messed up stuff herself, and keeping her in that grey area right over the moral event horizon is usually something of a challenge. On the one hand, it makes perfect sense for her to be angry, belligerent, spiteful, and even vengeful at times. On the other, you don't want to go too far and make her "go full bad guy," as she and Rumia like to put it.

(Though interestingly enough, when this story first started, Rin was actually penciled in to be the main antagonist, with her going full bad guy by the end of the first arc, Yuuka being something of a chaotic neutral anti-hero, Mima never turning, and the Shadow Youkai not showing up at all. But then good ol' Bold Text made a last-minute appearance and Rin proved to be too likeable to treat that way, so the old plan got thrown out, the Shadow Youkai got promoted, Yuuka's role was changed, and eventually Mima went full bad guy instead due to butterfly effect. Funny how things work out, isn't it?)

But anyway, I still have a knack for tense, belligerent conversations between people who really don't like each other. It was admittedly a problem when the story first started and everyone was kind of an asshole, and I had to dial it back when it was pointed out to me. Still, it's fun to cut loose every once in a while, and a Rin that gives no fucks is a hoot. Hey, at least in this case she has ample reason!

But anyway, it's weird to say this as the author, but thank God for Utsuho. Some characters just come alive from the get-go and really come to speak for themselves, so when you do their scenes it feels more like you're taking diction instead of coming up with their dialogue yourself. And her monologue here was just wonderful. She's one of the few unapologetically good characters, and given their similar circumstances, it made perfect sense for her to be the one to talk Rin down. And Rin's already shown to have an affinity for tragic monsters like herself, so it also made sense that she would listen. She still had plenty of salt, but there was plenty of that going around. And in the process, she also got to accidentally shame her bullies while doing it. Jeez, I need to let Utsuho make more speeches. She's surprisingly good at it.

Moving on, the scene in the hallway was really demonstrative of how much improvising goes into these chapters, and how much moving all the pieces is required to compensate for one single problem. See, Patchouli's death was already set. I wanted the impact of at least one major character's death in this fight, and hers fit the bill the best. Yes, writers are often sociopaths like that. But I was going back and forth on whether or not to knock off one of Satori's pets as well. I sure as hell wasn't going to kill Utsuho, and going after one of the OC's felt cheap. I've never been a fan of Redshirt philosophy, and creating characters just to kill them feels sort of…cheap, I guess. I mean, under the right circumstances it can work very well, but in this case nothing really would be gained by doing so. I did contemplate killing Jun at one point, but eventually didn't go through with it, mainly because he was the most obvious choice and I had already telegraphed Patchouli's demise pretty badly.

Believe it or not, I seriously considered killing Orin off for a long while, mainly for symmetry's sake. The Scarlet Devil Mansion lost a major member, so it was only fitting that the Palace of Earth Spirits would as well. I eventually decided against it, mainly because it was too soon after Patchouli's death and I didn't want to tip the scales too far. And plus, I had grown really attached to Utsuho and didn't want to take away her best friend. So poor Patchouli was the only named character to not walk away. Hey, sometimes less is more.

But that meant a lot of improvisation became necessary. Because even if I was only going to kill one member of the hapless rescue squad, it made zero sense for them to somehow all survive everything that was happening, and I wanted to eventually zero in the focus on just a couple of them. Okay, they're practically all youkai, so knocking them off in some non-permanent way would work. Except the place is chock full of Mykr's Sirens, which have already been shown to prevent resurrection. Okay, Yukari's there, and she's going to anticipate that at least one of the people she's coming to rescue is probably going to become collateral damage and would prepare accordingly. So, throw up a soul net to fish the gang out. That gets most of them off the board for a bit. But I need that soul net gone for when Patchouli gets killed. Okay, establish early on that Mima had sent one of her split-offs into the fray to keep an eye on things, and have her tear the whole thing down after establishing that it's not something that can be replaced in time. Except this would of course tip Yukari off to the fact that Mima's gone evil again, which affects everything in the future and. Plus, there was no way in hell Meiling and the pets would just sit quietly and not try to come back, so I had to figure out a way to bring them back in a way that wouldn't distract from everything else going on, would still have a logical impact, and…

And that's pretty much the experience of writing Imperfect Metamorphosis in a nutshell. This sort of thing happens all the time.

Anyways, here we bring in poor Elly, who's just having the worst day imaginable. Begin things by reminding everyone that Shinigami scythes can kill youkai, then bring most of the focus on what was going on between her and Rin (with a little nod to Elly's original boss fight, what with the flying tiles and all) so that most people would forget about Patchouli entirely, then have Mima subtly insert herself into the fight, seize control of Elly's scythe, and send it spinning off toward Patchouli in a manner that everyone would blame the Shinigami. And with that, the third Touhou original came to an end.

…

Okay, I know I'm being real blasé about this, but come on! It's been months, and it wasn't nearly as horrifying as Marisa's death was! That one got me some interesting messages, let me tell you. Besides, compared to some other darkfics I can mention, I'd say my body count has been rather conservative!

Er, at least in regards to canon characters. There's still that whole thing with the Dragons and all those massacrs in the backstories and whatnot…

But in all seriousness, I really do like Patchouli a lot. I've always been partial to the SDM gang, and she was a fun, rounded character to write for. And at least her death had some significant ramifications. So, there's that at least.

Though of course, this chapter had to go up on my last birthday update. Sometimes timing works out great, like on this recent New Year’s. But other times you get this.

Okay, two down.

[dailyaudiobible]

08/08/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezra 7:1-8:20, 1 Corinthians 4:1-21 , Psalms 30:1-12 , Proverbs 20:28-30

Today is the 8th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I'm Brian. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here with you today and every day because every day that we get together we take a step forward as we move through the Scriptures. And this is why we are here. So we'll take that next step by picking up where we left off yesterday, kind of one foot in front of the other. Ezra 7:1-8:20 today. And we're reading from the English Standard Version this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So when we're reading from 1 Corinthians yesterday, we considered how we try to get spiritual identity based on who we follow or what tribe we belong to. And as we're attempting to do this, we often elevate our leaders to higher places of authority in our lives, which isn't sinful or wrong or bad in any way. Leaders deserve honor. But we can place unrealistic expectations by presuming them to be our only conduit to God. Cause its easier to let someone else do the heavy lifting and so we get our identity this way. And when we do this, we're absolving ourselves of the responsibility of actually walking with God on our own. So in our reading from 1 Corinthians 4 today, Paul continued with the theme. And he said, If you pay attention to what I've quoted from the Scriptures, you won't be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another, for what gives you the right to make that kind of a judgement? What do you have that hasn't been given to you as a gift? So this is obviously striking a nerve for Paul and for good reason. Paul knew what was behind the curtain, right? So people were following certain leaders. Some were following Paul, some were following Apollos, some were following Peter. But Paul knew that what they all wanted was for people to follow Jesus. So Paul knew that spiritual leaders are simply servants of God's people and it's hard enough to do that job without being ranked or excluded. And it's a lot less glamorous when the curtain’s pulled back. And Paul said as much. He said, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display like prisoners of war at a victorer’s parade. We're condemned to die, we've become a spectacle to the entire world, to people and angels alike. Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools. But you claim to be so wise. We are weak, but you are so powerful. You are honored but we are ridiculed. Even now, we go hungry and thirsty. We don't have enough clothes to keep warm. We're often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. We're treated like the world's garbage. Like everybody's trash, right up till now. So Paul's trying to pull back the curtain and say, hey, this isn't so easy, and you following one of us is not what you're supposed to be doing. You're supposed to be following Jesus. So since Paul pulled the curtain back, we should leave it pulled back for ourselves as we consider the leaders that we follow. And we should realize what a difficult calling it is for our pastors and priests to carry this burden of caring for our souls. So rather than putting them on a pedestal we should pray for them. Rather than ranking them as our favorites, we should honor them. Rather than expecting them to be perfect and super human people with all the right answers, I mean, we should understand that they don't have anything that we don't possess also. And that is the Holy Spirit and permission to come into God's presence as sons and daughters. So our leaders are a gift, but they're human. And they can lead us to God but they can't be in a relationship with God on our behalf. So let's remember this. Let's remember our leaders today as we go through the day. And see them as the gift that they are.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You. We thank You for all of those who have answered the call to step down into servanthood, to serve Your people on this earth, be Your hands and feet in communities all around the world. It is a difficult task that often goes unnoticed and so we're noticing now. We ask, God, for strength, discernment, wisdom, grace and mercy in the lives of those who lead Your people. Come Holy Spirit, we pray, with a fresh wind of purpose and vision, new strength and wisdom to lead. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. So, check in.

The prayer wall is there and there's always people praying for one another, so that's a wonderful place to continually check in. The Daily Audio Bible shop is at dailyaudiobible.com as well and there are resources for this journey through the Scriptures this year there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There's a link that is on the homepage. I thank you with all humility for your partnership. If you're using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the give button in the upper right-hand corner. Or if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174.

And we always, if you have a prayer request or comment, there are several numbers you can use depending on where you are living in the world. If you are in the Americas, you can dial 877-942-4253. If you are in the U.K or Europe, you can dial 44-2036-088-078. And if you are in Australia or that part of the world, you can dial 613-8820-5459.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi DAB family. This is Marla from Albuquerque, a.k.a. Forgiven by the Savior. And this time I actually do have an urgent prayer request. For the past, I don’t know, few weeks I have been plagued with urges to harm myself, cut myself. I started cutting myself when I was in high school when I was 16 years old and this went on pretty much throughout my whole life. And I didn’t stop. I was living in New York City and I cut myself. I wasn’t trying to kill myself but I cut myself so bad that I was rushed to the emergency room because I cut a little too deep then they in turn sent me to a psychiatric hospital for a few days and I made sure that they kept my mom in the loop. And it was after this that she decided that moving back to New Mexico was my only option so that she could be near me. And it’s kind of funny because when she moved me into my new apartment she basically told me I could have no flatware. So she bought me all plastic cups and plastic…plastic everything basically. And I haven’t had for, I don’t know, maybe 10 years I haven’t had the urge to cut but over the past few weeks it’s been getting more and more. It started off like just once in a while I think about it but lately, like maybe the past week, I’ve been thinking about it more and more. I haven’t done it but would you please pray for me that, you know, that these thoughts stop plaguing me basically. I would really appreciate it. I love you all and God bless you.

Hi. My name is Sue and I am a first time caller. I have been listening to the Daily Audio Bible since the start of this year, I think, and every day I listen to it. And I just want to ask for prayer for my son. He’s in severe pain from sciatica and __ type I. And his…I don’t know what to do anymore. God is my only hope and please I need somebody to pray for him. Thank you so very much. His name is Charles and I’m his mother. Thank you.

Hi this is Renée from Florida. This is my first time calling. I’ve been listening since January of 2017 and the first year I just listened and wanted to get to the Bible, which I did and I’m so grateful for that. And now starting this year I started listening all the way to the end and realized, hey, there’s a bunch of good stuff at the end. And, so, I’ve enjoyed listening to peoples call ins and hearing their struggles but knowing that you’re not alone struggling but it’s even more comforting is to hear the response of the community to people’s requests. And, so, I’m very grateful for that. I’m calling today for that same reason. I feel like I’m stuck in a hard place. My mother who’s widowed for four years lost the love of her life. And she doesn’t live with us but visits frequently and has a strong personality. It’s not the easiest to get along with. And the struggle is with trying to respect and submit to my husband’s wishes while also at the same time honoring my mother. So, if you could just help me pray for that, asking for guidance, and being able to say the right words, and to convey the right message when I’m talking to either one, that it comes through with love and respect. So, if you could just help me with that I would greatly appreciate it. So thankful for this community and God bless you all.

Hi dear DAB family. This is Sonja calling from Tampa. I can’t believe Ezekiel is six years old. How time flies. I remember all the challenges that Brian and Jill faced but I thank God that we came together as a family and prayed them through. I may not call often but my prayers of fervent and I continue to pray for Justin and so many of our DAB families who face loss, brokenness, cancer and other medical issues. I pray for Scott’s son and his entire family. I can’t even fathom what kind of pain they’re facing. So, I cry out to God every day for mercy and complete healing. I command the __ to disappear and for his body to be aligned with the word of God, that by His stripes his is healed and made whole in the name of Jesus. I call upon the angels of God to wage war against every attack of our DAB family and to encamp all around them. I command our bodies to be aligned with the word of God that by His stripes we are healed and made whole again and that brokenness be turned to joy and shalom peace be restored. I command the angels of God to watch over Brian, Jill, China, Ezekiel and over every other person that contributes to this ministry, to be blessed beyond measure. Thank you Brian and Jill and China for all your unspoken sacrifices. May God open the windows of heaven and pour out his blessing upon you and your family.