#cause Talon doesn't even remember his own name

[popawritter12]

I am curious can I request this scenario. What if all the darlings in the blood moon au meet.

Author's notes: Don't ask, I explain the reason for so much absence in another publication.

Dreams

The world of dreams; so deep, lost, and even confused in their own essence, they were lost, searching for something specific. Something that should never have been seen in itself.

The clash between claws and flesh along with the terror reflected in the faces of others; Is this ostentatious, at the same time disgusting dream, a simple memory of the group's misery?

—So… he's the new one, right? —The question escaped from the one who arrived second —, it doesn't look very… Good.

—I heard that the one who was chasing him was the same one who brought the demons to this world.

—Poor man. —The second hunter mentioned, observing the first, distant memories of his childhood take him back to the day when his demon condemned him.

—He had the worst fate of all. —-The dancer whispered, taking the porcelain cup between his delicate fingers.

—Who would have thought that he would have to become that demon? — Whispered the second arrived, before taking the plate in his hands.

The inveterate fight, stained by the strong emotion suffered by the first hunter, caused, in part, a great surprise on the part of the first.

—Seriously, you're a damn bastard… —The first one whispered, the edge of the blade barely managing to collide with the demon's skin—, not even Talon was as savage as you in fights.

The demon growled, a mitigating memory crashing into his delicate, corrupt mind.

Talon…that name, that nickname, that demon. Why was the hunter mentioning it?

—It seems you recognize his name, huh? —The hunter pushed the demon with a thrust, finally managing to cut his cheek, causing the demon to recoil—you must know a lot about the cult to recognize it.

The demon screamed something unintelligible, before taking his head; wounded, he remembered the countless books he read, the sleepless nights turning each page and researching with as much passion as that of an expert butcher tracing newly arrived calf meat.

—That… damn motherfucker. —his own demonic voice reminded him of what Pyke did to him, causing a scream to escape his lips.

—He's already remembering what he did to him.

—It must hurts him a lot. —the dancer whispered, sighing.

—Especially when someone he trusted ended up doing that to him. —The second hunter mentioned, his gaze traveling over the detailed outline of the demon's body, a grotesque vision for his eyes and a coarse memory of what today was the perpetrator of it.

Was this a simple punishment for them for their previous life or for the sins they had committed? They are not going to know, Or at least none of them know it and much less will the demon who was still committing with claws and teeth looking for an answer looking for a result to what he foolishly thought will end well to what some once he called a friend, now it turned out to be a super nightmare, it turned out to be the person who condemned him to this horrible life and now even in his dreams, which were the only moments in which he could remember his life as a traveling salesman who was guided by singing, it turned out to be a memory. more than what he now was: a demon, a creature that lost all connection with his human side and desperately searches for some trace to become himself again to find that lost side that was taken from him and cruelly killed by that demon.

—I guess we all make the same mistake, —the second whispered, before sighing with some pain, nostalgic, so to speak.

—Don't make me into your mistakes —the first one shouted, before managing to take the chain in his hands, with subtle preparation, he managed to tie the demon, although receiving a scratch on his left eye —, Talon chased me because he's a selfish bastard, if he decided to trust a Blood Moon demon, then he must have paid the price.

The dancer looked at him, a hint of disgust appeared on his face.

—How great did the price have to be, that took even his humanity with it? —The young man questioned, before lowering his gaze. The loneliness he felt throughout his life was such that it forced him to invoke a demon, to look for some humanity behind the superficial life of the stage. The dancer turned around when he saw the hunter, and only had that brave look that few others had. times in his life — and you know well that none of us thought that a demon could fall in love.

—You dealt with cultists —the first hunter complained, before kicking the body of the bound demon —, both he and I dealt with fucking demons.

—And that's why I thought you had a little more empathy —the third whispered, before continuing to drink the tea —, but I was wrong."

—Brave of you to assume that I will have empathy for a moron. —the hunter responded abruptly.

—What did we say about saying bad words?

—Talon lets me say them.

—We are not demons.

—AND?

As the argument between the first hunter and the dancer intensifies, the second hunter approaches the demon, who, in pain, tr

He tries to push him away by growling, but the second hunter settles down in front of him, ready to speak.

—Don't tell me you're going to try to talk to him.

—Stop being unbearable.

—Only when you stop acting like a mother.

—Shut up —the second hunter complained, before seeing the demon again—, hello, you must be the singer of that religion.

The demon growled, showing its pointed teeth, yellowish and with traces of fresh blood.

—I saw you once, you were known as “the angel of the Andes,” right? —The second hunter asked, his serene voice invading the mind of the corrupted singer —. Truth be told, it seemed like every place you went in Runeterra was unique because of your presence alone.

The second hunter brought back bitter memories for the poor singer, from the first places where people first heard his voice, to the last place he had visited. Bitter smiles on his face countless times, tears from the emotion of each visit, even anger at seeing the state of the people whose leaders were as selfish as that demon, like that son of a bitch who ruined his life.

The more he mentioned it, the more he elaborated or his way of telling what it was like for the hunter to listen to the jugs of pure love for music brings to life the bitter return to the past; knowing that he couldn't come back. And his soul begged to return, to return even for a small second to that place that had brought him so much happiness.

But he only managed to sob; His voice seemed to return slowly, but the clock in the distance announced the time of his farewell; the mental break was over, and now they all had to return to that comic tragedy of life.

And yet, in the distance, a man with a leather backpack on his back and a smile of happiness spread in his eyes as he hummed songs from his childhood, looks at the clock, a rustic shape reminds him of his home, of his city. , but, even more importantly, it reminds him that his search for his destiny was still in the midst of development,

And the farewell began; with a look of some anger, but a certain affection —which the few present there knew how to differentiate—was reflected in that look. They still remember how comforting it was to know that even for a second of their lives, they could rest, they could give their tormented souls a little break from their stressful and painful lives.

While the perpetrators slowly approach their victims again, misnamed "loves", they do not even manage to give words to the poor humans who woke up again.

While the dancer returned to see the burly man with a serene but at the same time always annoyingly calm face, a bitter but resigned grimace spreads across his face full of dark circles. The first hunter wakes up violently because he feels an extra weight on his chest; The demon had jumped like a puppy towards his owner, and when his cursed laughter reached the hunter's ears, he only clicked his tongue, annoyed, but helpless. And the second hunter observed the swordsman, the question of his dream comforts him a little; He knew that of all of them, he had gotten the least invasive of all.

And the last of all, the poor last of all, only woke up to see that, once again, the mysterious demon that had caused him so much pain was almost on top of him, asking again and again how he was doing, or why he was asleep.

It was strange, especially knowing that the dream seemed to revive the human side of him like he had never seen before.

And in a fit of forceful rage, the singer leaped again at the demon, his claws appearing again. And the cooker, the only one who didn't seem to understand the reason for the dream, woke up with a letter next to him; blood stains giving the shape of a heart while a smell of excellent quality perfume adorned with a bouquet of well-cared-for flowers send a chill down your spine.

Who would have put that there?

[astarab1aze]

➥ Runaway Mage

⸻Technical Information. // Face, Voice, etc.

01. Faceclaim. Yoru   [ Shishi no Odoriko ] & Personal or Comm'd art 04. Voice Claim. Miyavi, if he had noticeable vocal cord damage

⸻Profile Information. // Name, Age, etc.

01. Name. Kaede Shikabane   02. Alias. Shizuka, Kae   03. Sex. Male 04. Gender. Male   05. Age. 46   [ Dependent ] 06. Birth Date. October 31st   [ Balemagus ] 07. Blood Type. AB+ 08. Race. Half-Elfhen & Half-Feline, Zurine by nationality ; Yuureian by ethnicity. 09. Marital Status. Single   [ Multiship ] 10. Orientation. Bisexual   [ Biromantic / heavy male preference ] 11. Residence. He has no home, ever on the move, trying a little too hard to escape his own life in more ways than one. 

⸻Physical Information. // Body, Equipment, Family, etc.

17. Physical Description. Kaede’s hair is rather long and layered, so it tends to sit in a boyish, fly-away sort of way. It’s a dark violet shade - or, pretentiously, midnight - and incredibly soft to the touch. The lighter, floral blue of his eyes contrasts nicely with his hair. More often than not, he prefers to wear it down, as he feels the style compliments his overall appearance. His body is slim with some light toning and he stands at a rough 5'5", a little on the short side even for an elf. His skin is somewhat unusually pale, denoting a lack of sleep and improper nutrition. He wears a crimson jade hip ornament said to have healing properties, handed down in his family by patriarchal members. He has an abundance of barely-there freckles all over his body and both self-harm & combat scars, a large gash across his throat and quite a few on each of his thighs - and many more on his arms, front, and back; Also has a birthmark under his right buttcheek that looks something like a smeary bruise. There is a surgical scar on his right hip caused by a near-ruinous injury and the surgery that followed. On each pointed long-ear, his lobes are pierced, as well as two cuffs on his right ear. He has a natural pair of darkly spotted snow leopard ears and a long, fluffy tail as well as slit pupils, long canines, patches of dark fur along his spine and shoulders, and claw-like nails. Also x3, he has a phenomenal ass.

13. Equipment. He is effectively always ready for a fight, keeping a Yuureian silsaph katana and at least four knives of varying styles and lengths on his person at all times. He will also have various items kept in a limitless bag including Zurine medical tools, a journal, palmseal, singing stones, minor husbandry tools, some specific alchemical reagents, witchlights, a collection of both expired and current border passes, various international currencies, witchlights, and some other magical items and tools. 14. Occupation. Untethered sorcier with allegiance to no governing body on the continent ; He has chosen to never kill for a ruler or agency, as well as never to be a court mage, devoting himself to a life of drifting in order to escape his obligations. 15. Job Performance. Not Applicable 16. Parents. Juno Miris of Lakensov, Vago (deceased) and Kurai Shikabane of Chiisana, Yuurei (deceased) ; He doesn't much remember his mother and though he doesn't know it, she remains attached to him in spirit as a demonic presence - his father, however, he is glad to be rid of. 17. Siblings. Terin Shikabane (deceased) and Morrigan ( @elysiumtouched ) through seemingly tenuous relations, but they are in fact all half-brothers.

⸻Personality Information. // Likes, Strengths, etc.

18. Likes. Kirati dragon's breath, Myrrdinian chocolate oranges, specifically Yuureian tea, most animals, long moonlit walks, most international foods, taking naps, drawing, listening to local street music, dancing, men with light hair, singing, spending time with his lixni Muushi, Vagoan whisky, knives, flowers, black coffee, sharing snacks and drinks, ignoring Crimson-Talon letters, reading and researching, exploring old ruins, etc. 19. Dislikes. Inefficiency, most mushrooms, most sweet things, being forced to improvise, being flustered or confused, blood on his skin or staining his clothes, the sight of corpses, failure, imperfection, being responsible for other people’s lives, lack of control, being noticed, most nightfolk, most humans, all Wildlings, the undead, cottonmouth cakes, scarbuncle cheese, most other sorciers, most other elves, etc.

20. Positive Traits. Honest. Diligent. Loyal. Protective. Committed. Persistent. Strong willed. Hard-working. Thoughtful. Kind. Generous. Earnest. Firm. Loving. Prepared. Giving. Mostly merciful. Self-sacrificing. Open-minded. Accepting. Proud. 21. Negative Traits. Distrustful. Obstinate. Conflicted. Reckless. Guarded. Hard-headed. Hot-tempered. Bratty. Snobby. Self-loathing. Self-conscious. Reactive. Melancholic. Isolative. Impatient. A smidge obsessive. May get jealous. Envious. Naive. Prone to panic. 22. Goals. To try to find a way to beat the madness before it takes him. 23. Desires. Freedom from his grief, and forgiveness for the lives he couldn’t save or had to take, whether against his will or not; To love and be loved as though he were truly worthy of it. He’s tired of floating through life with nothing to show for it, and being hunted as a consequence. 24. Alignment. Neutral Good

25. Personality. Kaede has some difficulty forming relationships with other people and is generally very slow to start. Incidentally, this frees up a lot of his time, so he pours nearly all his focus into his work. He’s incredibly flawed in some aspects of his reasoning and decision-making, despite his intelligence, having assigned an arbitrary amount of blame to himself for past failures and horrific incidences, perceived or not. He’s the small and silent type, with a spoonful of emotional baggage and social ineptitude. Though he comes off as cold and formal at times, he has a mischievous streak and can be rather playful under the right conditions. He can also be sweet and somewhat boyish, though he’s mostly a bit bratty and hardheaded. He’s a sensitive soul at the end of the day, riddled with trauma responses and other behaviors resulting from years upon years of emotional, mental, and physical abuses - where the bulk of his trust and mental health issues stem from. He has vivid flashbacks about the massacres, nightmares too, and such will drag him back into an incosollable state of fear and misery. Although, he tends to hide, like a feline trying to lick their wounds in private.

⸻Sorcery Information. // Affinity, Talent, etc.

26. Affinity. Necrotic and Fire - high-level control, practiced and mastered well at the Zurine Mages' University. 27. Shapeshifting. Not applicable - he never cared much for transformation as a school of magic and wasn't born naturally capable of it in the first place. 28. Utility. Wards, curses, summoning, husbandry, and illusions - moderate.  29. Specialization. Lightning Magic, summoning, illusions, and some Bestial magic - highly skilled thanks to years of careful study, practice, and fine-tuned familial & cultural techniques handed down for generations. 30. Graduate School. Zurine Mages’ University - the only active school for mages on the pangea ; Extremely dedicated to quality, well-rounded education and therefore expensive, though they do offer scholarships based on potential ; Open to all magical folk, or those who can afford it ; Generally treated as a sort of haven for them. 31. Classification. Anthromorph, Runaway Mage ; Anthromorphs are a sub-type of shapeshifter or were whose human and primary animal forms are permanently apparent in some combination - they are equally as animal as they are ‘human’ in appearance and physiology. Kaede is somewhat different as he gets his animal parts from his elfhen side ; Runaway mages, or untethered sorciers (typically), are effectively deserters and thereby marked for capture and hollowing, which drains a mage of their magic and leaves them a weak, nearly-mindless husk of their former selves - there is a steeper cost to receiving an education at the University. 

⸻Background Information. // Past to Present. // Warnings for...death, arranged marriages, underage marriage, murder, cheating, very dysfunctional families, abuse, and other things that were kinda common in medieval times. There's a lot more to Kaede's story et all, but I've kinda beaten all the details to death.

    Kaede has really only ever known death and misery over the course of his life.

Born to miserable people - Juno of Clan Miris in Lakensov, a free spirit of a fledgling warrior, and Kurai of the Shikabane Clan out of Yuurei, an insecure, powerless man - in a miserable, atypical arranged marriage brought on by desperate need for saphluvium and pig-iron. Juno was young when she was promised to Zenchuu Shikabane, and at the time, Kurai was only a handful years older than her. The two were inseparable when they met, and Zenchuu, next in line as head of the Shikabane, thought nothing of it. Allowing Juno and Kurai to befriend one another - seemed only fair when considering how much older Zenchou was in reality (14 versus 349). But such was the way of things, to secure much needed resources.

Some Vagoans dedicate their lives entirely to monster hunting and extermination, curse breaking, escorting, smuggling, artisanship, among other related fields of work - they forge their weapons and tools with saphluvium, silver, and both proper and pig-iron. With local mines fast-depleting, the Miris Clan was losing grip on their trade, gradually becoming poorer and poorer. It came to a point they couldn't take care of the children anymore, so they arranged marriages, hoping to restore their clan through agreements, alliances, and, well, marriages. Insodoing with Juno, they were able to secure enough iron, silver, and saphluvium to get back on track and breathe some new life back into their clan and community - the hope, then, was that her new family would treat her well and care for her in the ways they couldn't at the time, though it took much longer than it seems, and she wasn't treated well.

The Shikabane are, in some ways, obsessed with death due to generational curses, malice, and genuine evil that'd taken root hundreds of years ago. For some time, they were isolatory, refusing to interact with anyone outside the clan. Naturally, predictable problems cropped up, problems that some were desperate to be rid of and others were only too happy to wallow in. Much of their history is buried, though accurate and detailed descriptions of what sins were committed by their number exist, if only in theory. Such that happened to Juno, whose betrayal of Zenchuu by having an affair with Kurai resulted in her murder a handful years later, when Kaede was small enough to perhaps not remember her later on in life...and the Madness that gripped Taisho, the head of the family before Zenchou, that caused him to slaughter so many.

The madness persisted, and it was soon found a host of demons had possessed certain members of the Shikabane hundreds of years before, biding their time, lying in wait, on top of the threat of ever encroaching insanity - the curse of the Mad Empress all elfhen are subject to. Worse still, it was found Taisho aimed to use Kaede in a blood ritual as a vessel to house the devils inhabiting his body at the time. Taisho violently killed as many people as he could, from the oldest members of the clan to some of the youngest, and far too many had died before he could be stopped by the likes of Kurai and the few who remained that weren't children.

From that day on, though the blame wasn't Kaede's to bear, he was treated as responsible for it all because he was mentioned by name in Taisho's journals, multiple times. Endless obsessive rants about stealing his body, smothering his soul, working his way up to clan head again, murder murder murder- Kaede was special after all. The only member of the family in hundreds of years capable of wielding not one, not two, but multiple forms of magic with a very unique proclivity toward lightning magic and illusions. Taisho killed so many just for a chance to take him and use him, so the remaining family associated Kaede with their loss, as the cause of it, the reason. More than that, however, was the fear Taisho's ritual had worked, and the simple fact Kaede was there where Taisho was dead.

So Kaede got the brunt of everyone's wrath, but especially Kurai's. All failure, every misstep, every stumble out of line was punished severely for years. Kurai would beat him, lock him up in a cell beneath the main house, isolate him through manipulation, shunning, setting too many expectations for him to follow, preventing him from ever leaving the estate. He was kept a prisoner in his own home, taumatized and without any support, forced to learn how to master certain family techniques until such a time came they decided to ship him off to Zuri with Aoi and Terin.

Terin died along the way, slaughtered by Wildlings on the border between Chimeria and western Vago. It wasn't Kaede's fault, but Aoi would see his failed plan as the cause regardless, but the truth was that the Wildlings were faster and armed with silsaph blades. They didn't stand a chance, not really, not ever. In the end, Terin knew this well and had already accepted his fate, thinking of his death before it came a sacrifice to see Kaede and Aoi get away. It would've been easier if Kaede'd been the one who died, however, for upon arrival in Zuri, Aoi informed the sorciers in Azura of Kaede's ineptitude - bitter and angry at Terin's passing. For the following ten years, he wasn't allowed to leave the University tower, at all, put on an effective house arrest until one day, they ended this punishment and gave him an ultimatum: Serve us willingly, or serve us in death.

Naturally, he took their offer - anything to be free, even if only for a little while. They were unwilling to allow his talents go to waste, no matter how he felt on the issue, and resolved themselves to use him exclusively to suit whatever ends they saw fit. Treating him in his beastly-elfhen form as expendable, only still breathing because he's useful to them, ostracized by all irrespective of him in his totality. And, for a time, he played along, intending fully to escape the minute he breathed his first breath of fresh air outside the tower.

When such opportunity arose, tasked with hunting down a runaway mage, he killed his companions in cold blood, burned the order, and ran. He's been running ever since.

[anjumbai]

The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi - Thoughts

" 'a clever hawk hides its talons,' I had modestly kept my good sense and talents hidden so no one would find them, but I did such a good job that I hadn't been able to locate them myself for the past few years." "Rather than speaking grammatically bankrupt English, I would choose the glory of silence. I am a man who looks before he leaps." "When you fall in love, you realize how pathetic you are."

A spectacular comedy and a well presented view on life. I love Tatami Galaxy. Back when I first watched the anime without even knowing its source material was a novel, I was absolutely astounded by how bizarre yet beautiful it was. Masaaki Yuasa had brought this book to life, put his own style and story in it and presented the opportunity for this beautiful book cover. The seemingly obvious differences in the anime and novel can't really throw you off if there's a huge gap in terms of when you consumed each form of the story. The differences are massive, and in a good way. I didn't know I could enjoy the same story in so many different ways. The novel only had four chapters in total, while the anime had 10 episodes, extending the storyline with the characters and events hinted in the novel and chose to go with a different ending which I can't even remember anymore.

I watched the anime in around 2021 and it's still one of my most favorite anime. I'm really glad that the book is less repetitive. You can just stroll through the repeated dialogues without much attention. The similarity in both pieces of media is that they both flesh out the main character, whose name we never find out in an accomplished and fulfilling way. While novels like these heavily rely on witty monologues, most adaptations can't use monologues like this since you are adapting the same story to portray it in a different way. A same-to-same adaptation never really holds well except for maybe the relationships anime and manga have. But even anime find ways to spectacularize bland manga panels with stunning animation. An example of monologues making adaptations difficult is Classroom of the Elite. It's an old light novel I used to keep up with after watching the anime. And reading the light novel made me realize how bland the anime actually is since the light novel depended solely on the protagonists internal monologue while the anime chose to adapt none of that, while also not giving us any other medium that fleshes out his character (interactions, conversations etc). It just left out the monologue part and adapted the rest of it, making the anime void of any creativity whatsoever. Tatami Galaxy, however, adapted most of the monologue. Not only that, the voice actor practically rapped out the monologue making you change the speed setting to .5 just to keep up with what he's saying. This is creativity in varying mediums.

The novel chose to use repeated dialogues in four different chapters to flesh out our main character in the final one. I love how the novel ended, and its worth talking about again once I re-watch the anime ( I might one day, you never know ).

Tatami Galaxy is hilarious. So many fun interactions and interesting characters, absolutely amazing monologue and bizarre events you just can't make up take place in the novel. I haven't highlighted this many dialogues for their comedic value instead of emotional depth since American Psycho. And it doesn't even have any blood involved. How amazing is that. One thing the translator added to her notes was the love of Tomihiko Morimi for Kyoto, Japan. It really shows in the novel, this love of his. Both the anime and novel have amalgamated a hearty image of Kyoto in my mind, making me put Kyoto in the bucket list of the places I want to visit. I also wanna sit down and talk for hours with my wife next to the Kamo River while some bastards blow firecrackers around us cause they are single and mad and will obstruct other people's love affairs cause they can't make one of their own. Sounds fun.

I have also decided to say "idiocy doesn't discriminate between sexes" to sound like some sort of 90 year old man trapped inside a 19 year-old's body. The book really takes narrating to a whole different level. It has changed my views on reading books. Books don't have to always be serious, deep or emotional. It can just be a comedy, bizarre and chaotic. Books like Clockwork Orange and Master and Margarita may have provided me with these before but the overall difficult language barrier just made it difficult to fully enjoy those books in the first try. Salute to Morimi and sending my heart out to the gifter of this book, you are amazing. I will pick up more and more titles from Morimi since I love his narrative structure and witty remarks and references.

The book plays out in a chaotic fashion while also hinting out important life lessons. Our nameless protagonist has wasted two years of his university life and has been loveless and achievement-less. He has regretted his decisions and kept on saying stuff like "If only I had made that decision instead of this" without really taking initiative to change things now. The first three chapters mock his ideas, showing three different decisions in his life that play out the same way. The final chapter felt more like a self-searching kind of chapter. The narrator getting trapped in an endless four and half mat tatami universe, finally deciding to appreciate people and moments. His devious friend Ozu, who he wished he never met, he starts missing. The four and a half mat tatami room he isolated himself in, he starts hating. The seemingly annoying and chaotic moments of his life seem fun and when he finally frees himself from the tatami universe, the world seems full of life. He gets out a newer man. Making changes now and overlooking his past decisions instead of wallowing over them.

It also has a really cute, I don't know the word, romantic aspect to it? Okay maybe not romance. Akashi and the nameless narrators interactions were my favourite and the chapters always ended after hinting a possible relationship between the two. Because, you know what they say- "There's nothing so worthless to speak of as a love mature."

9/10. Enjoyed, laughed and closed the book with a huge smile on my face. Here's a cute picture of the Mochigumen Rangers.

"Your life hasn't even started yet and you're already lost?"

[weonlyneedfour]

Really? They want that interview now? Come on, man, I was gonna do that for the employee valuation the next weekend! Oh really, three weeks I've been saying that, gee, like I've even HAD a weekend to sit down and look at the time. We just got back from another round of embarassing ourselves, can't I at least wash the clown make-up off first? No, whatever, f*%k it, I'll do it now. If I step in that shower, I ain't coming out for nothing. Hayato can file the report on how we dealt with Mr.Potluck and Shamaid when he's done picking sesame seeds outta his pants. This ain't gonna be for the public, right? Cause, y'know. Hmm, strictly for V.A.P.O.R intel only, got it. Ask away.

Marco Craine. 22 years old. Human turned vampire. Field name is Vulturine. Born in Garden District, New Orleans, was living in Toulonville, currently stationed out in Manhattan. I'm, uh, employed as a "specialized emergency responder", which is barely-respectable legalese for what everyone calls a registered superhero. I mean you guys read my file, right? If this isn't a public thing, what is this for? ... Whaddya mean, the "vampire thing"? Oh, you wanna pick at that, huh? Yeah, I know how this goes, I'm guessing half of you get to think vampires are not real even though you're looking at one. Oh I WISH that was true, believe me. You think I want people to know? You think this is fun for me? It's my life, jackass, I don't get to not-believe my way out of it.

...Okay so you wanna ask me about how vampire stuff works? Man I'm, look, sorry I snapped at you guys, under a lot of stress lately, but I'm not sure I can really help. Yeah, I don't know if my transfusion power is like a, me power, like the others have, or if it's a vampire power, not like I've been able to ask on the latter. I mean, not everyone's powers work the same, but any more particulars on how powers work than that, you're gonna have to go ask Kris, or Doc. Maybe I don't even have my own powers, or maybe I just got stuck with a gross ironic one that makes me suck at being a vampire.

I can't really go to the doctor to figure that stuff out, cause I risk ratting myself out. I have a pulse, but Kris ran some tests on me and apparently I got a bunch of organs missing, and she's not sure if it's a vampire thing or it it's just something my power did to the rest of my body. I mean, I'm pretty sure something like that happened to Noma. She's strong as hell, but I don't think she even has any organs left. I don't sleep on a coffin for the fun of it. I don't have a spleen and my liver doesn't heal properly, and if I don't sleep standing upright, I get really bad acid reflux. Plus, I see in the dark, and if I don't sleep in an enclosed space, I wake up pretty much as soon as the sun comes out. Also, I have bits of my intestines missing, but I'm pretty sure that's Talon Tori's fault. I guess my old folks were paying extra, cause she got, too close, that time. No, I'm not answering that. I go to the bathroom just fine, you dicks.

Yeah the fangs are mostly a defensive thing, like some animal scare tactic. The "drinking" is done through the fingers, see how they open up? But no I don't drink blood. And when I have to "borrow" blood occasionally for my power to work, I feel every drop that's not mine, and it all comes out soon as I can get it out. I guess that's what some of those organs I got missing were for. I mean, for one it tastes fucking gross. Two, I don't kill. Three, I don't even wanna RISK what would happen to me if I did drink it. Cause you know how I "turned", right? When my folks killed me, it kicked in. I had to have been born with latent vampirism, cause I don't remember ever getting bitten. Now, I can't confirm what I'm gonna say cause, and don't you ever tell Jeremy about this, but most of what I think I know about myself comes from the movies. But a lot of what goes on in the movies goes on with me for real, so I take it as enough accuracy to work with. But vampires, when they drink blood, they live forever by always regressing to the age they were when they got turned. Creepy old rich guy becomes creepy 20-something rich guy kind of deal, right? So, I got turned when I was a kid. I'm 22 now. So, going by that logic, there's like a 50/50 chance that if I drank blood, if it worked the way it's supposed to on vampires, that I'd just regress into a 10 year old again. And that is my actual worst nightmare. That's why I barely use my power. I don't even wanna risk any of that blood slipping in by accident. Maybe when I find my piece of shit parents I can ask them in private, assuming they don't kill me first. But yeah, nuh uh, no blood for me. Never had, never gonna have it.

Yeah, sorry, this isn't gonna work out man, my bad. Wait, actually I was meaning to ask, don't you V.A.P.O.R guys have intel on vampires? Cause you guys have intel on everybody for who knows how long. Again, I don't know any other vampires, I'm guessing the only ones I could ask are too busy hiding out somewhere trying to kill me. You guys are government spooks, don't you deal with MIB stuff? None of the other clowns you hired before me ever fought vampires? . . . Wow, great. It really is just a me problem. Joy.

[monogatcri]

━━ ˟ ⊰🍁THIS ANSWER GRANTS NIWA A momentary reprieve from the tension ; it's scarce, almost like a spring's breeze on a still day, yet it's enough to allow a chuckle to flutter by, a noise that surprises himself completely. How long had it been since he felt his body hiccup in a way that isn't breathless noise to fill the space? It's...odd ; it's unfamiliar, which is something that his past self wouldn't have ever thought of as a possibility, seeing as most of his days were capable of such noises manifesting. Having his old friend back and feeling this fragile step upon a lake of sheet ice...he's afraid for when it breaks but he's far too tempted to turn back. Without anyone else breathing down their spines or reminding them that they're on duty, the duo can...exist ; such a situation isn't common when it comes to living in this space -- perhaps he's assuming something of the Harbingers with these thoughts, but he knows how it is for himself. Wandering these halls, watching over his shoulder, fearfully ducking away from footsteps to avoid detection even though he wouldn't be seen as suspicious ; he feels himself smile faintly, though it vanishes in some form of habit.

        It's as the other had stated, though... Oxygen and sugar -- neither necessary for existence. Funny, though, how such has changed for the duo ; now it seems that Niwa hardly needs either to sustain himself in his current form. His body had become something revolting to him, something he doesn't dare glance upon in the mirror, the sword he can yank from that painful abnormality in his chest nothing but a hindrance on his most normal of days. Even now, he feels its presence screaming at him, though he chooses to bury it down deep, afraid to usher in something that could take away this momentary happiness. Instead, he bends down beside his bed and reaches beneath it, proving point about his need for it as a large bag of sugar is revealed. One scoop off a spoon and he's wandering back over to the tea kettle to drop his spoonful into cup beside it.

        ❝ Kunikuzushi... ❞ His tongue recited the name, though it pauses at the implications it has, eyebrows furrowing heavily. He discarded the name previous, but...he chooses this one? The lore behind it feels heavy, horrific, enough to cause him to halt his process of pouring himself a cup of his own tea. Why this name? Had the potential betrayal of Niwa really driven him to such an action? Hand squeezed cup, then loosened grip, exhaling briefly ; the meaning behind it didn't matter anymore -- what mattered was that they had each other now, right?

        Slowly does he pour his cup of tea and turn to face him, eyes falling to his own cup. He knew nothing about what transpired after the fact ; he only knew the sensations felt up until the point of collapse -- the unbearable cold, the function of his thoughts drifting, and the stopping of his heart... ❝ I see, the heart wasn't what you really wanted, was it? ❞ Was it? Where was it? A firm smack to that thought, spiraling it away from the conversation at hand ; he wouldn't dig talons into old wounds. The heart being gone didn't matter ; they were once more speaking and he would live with this reality in peace...for as long as it's allowed to him. ❝ Since we last saw each other, you've grown ; I still remember...when you were learning how to BLINK! Now you're...practically one of the strongest beings in a nation. ❞ A place he wouldn't dare touch with his own hands, but he digresses ; they couldn't dwell upon what's happening right now, could they? Eventually, they'd discard this area and...and they'd go home, right...? ❝ ...I've missed you so much -- I know...I've only had my memory back for such a short time, but it reminds me of how much time we lost. ❞

his  expression  is  (  deliberately  )  unreadable;  a  MASK  carefully  refined  over  the  years,  decades,  centuries  spent  trying  to  crush  down  the  horrid  emotions  responsible  for  his  life’s  first  downfall.  instead  of  replying  right  away,  the  balladeer’s  gaze  merely  drifts  —  away  from  the  man  he  thought  dead,  away  from  the  tea  he  may  or  may  not  be  using  as  a  SMOKESCREEN  to  justify  his  presence.  you  can  learn  an  awful  lot  about  someone  from  the  quarters  they  keep.  his  own  office  is  one  such  example;  clean  and  meticulously  organized.  his  desk  and  chair  serving  as  its  veritable  focal  point.  notably,  it’s  the  only  place  to  sit  in  the  entire  room,  and  purposefully  so;  he’s  come to enjoy  inflicting  tiny  discomforts  on  the  people  around  him  —  for  his  own  cruel  amusement,  if  nothing  else.  forcing  his  underlings  to  stand  at  attention  while  they  give  their  reports  is  one  such  way  the  balladeer  endeavors  to  make  every  interaction  with  him  a  uniquely  unpleasant  experience.  he  hates  humans.  even  now,  even  in  light  of  everything  he’s  learned,  the  COMPULSION  to  compare  them  to  short-lived  vermin  still  burns  in  the  back  of  his  skull.

niwa’s  lodgings  are  strange.  at  least  to  kunikuzushi  —  is  this  the  kind  of  living  space  the  ordinary  rank  and  file  are  given?  cold,  sparse  and  almost  deliberately  lacking  in  comfort?  the  balladeer  doesn’t  know;  he  has  no  frame  of  reference  to  go  off  of  —  he’s  always  been  treated  like  the  ANOMALY  he  is.  to  his  recollection,  he  doesn’t  believe  this  is  the  aesthetic  niwa  would  prefer  if  he  were  given  much  of  a  say  in  the  matter …  although,  these  days,  his  perception  of  reality  is  infuriatingly  questionable.  (  yet  he  would  sooner  perish  than  admit  to  being  HAUNTED  by  such  insecurities.  )

attention  turns  back  to  the  human.  he  (  somewhat  carelessly  )  tosses  the  letter;  it  flutters  across  the  room,  landing  smoothly  on  his  bed.  kunikuzushi  has  no  use  for  it;  keeping  such  a  thing  around  is  more  LIABILITY  than  anything  else.  ❝  is  that  a  joke?  ❞  the  harbinger  asks,  nose  wrinkling  in  overt  disgust.  ❝  you  were  always  the  one  who  inhaled  sugar  like  it’s  oxygen  —  i  could  do  without  either.  ❞  and  no  sooner  do  the  words  leave  his  mouth  than  a  strange  wave  of  emotion  washes  over  him.  self-consciousness.  nostalgia.  some  odd  mixture  of  the  two  that  has  him  feeling  just  a  bit  NAUSEATED  —  because  it’s  so,  so  easy  to  fall  back  into  this  familiar  sort  of  banter,  and  the  balladeer  isn’t  sure  whether  he  wants  that  or  not.  he  isn’t  sure  whether  he  can  trust  it.

thankfully,  the  tea  serves  as  a  welcome  distraction, and deft  hands  snatch  up  the  cup.  In  lieu  of  answering  the  question  right  away,  smooth  strides  take  him  to  the  bed  —  wherein  he  sinks  to  a  seat.  his  PRESENTATION is  a  bit  like  a  pendulum;  swinging  wildly  between  the  authoritative  harbinger,  and  the  warped  echo  of  long  dead  innocence.  ❝  …  ❞  he  gazes  down  at  his  reflection  in  the  drink,  as  if  trying  to  recognize  which  version  of  himself  stares  back.  a  useless  endeavor.

❝  kunikuzushi.  ❞  the  word  feels  heavy  on  his  tongue  for  all  the  IMPLICATION  that  it  holds.  ❝  i  discarded  that  other  name  alongside  any  desire  i  had  to  be  human ...  a  very  long  time  ago.  ❞

[cutegirlmayra]

Modern Sonamy in a life and death this may be the end scenario where Sonic is finally forced to confront his feelings for Amy that he knows have been there for years. He plans to spend their final moments telling her his love but they are saved at the last minute. Afterwards he tries to go back to the usual but realizes he doesn't want to have any regrets and not have Amy know the truth. So he tries to figure out how to to tell her but the message isn't coming across until he gives her a kiss!

Watch Pajama Blogs - Prompt Requests - Ep.1 timestamp: 47:51 to hear my thoughts on this prompt back when I was first thinking about it! (Sometimes my thoughts change, so don’t be too disappointed if my processes changes a bit over time!)

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN, so do not submit them until you see the post about the ‘grand reopening’ announcement or see that the ‘ask box�� tells you they are open. THEY ARE NOT OPEN AT THIS TIME.

(Art found here: x Please support the original artist!)

Prompt:

The gravel scooted and crumbled away from her hand as Sonic and Amy slammed against the side of the rocky wall, trying to dodge the intense heat of the magma from within Egg-Canyon-Mountain where they were attempting to sneak in and take the Chaos Emeralds back from powering a large and terrible machine.

The Machine right now didn’t matter though, because just before they were to remove them, Tails radioed that the machine was self-destructing, and it was all a trap.

Eggman had fled knowing the Chaos Emeralds would just pulse away from each other and become shooting stars in the daylight sky, and he’d have to find them all over again once the reactor malfunctioned sufficiently enough to flood the canyons with magma.

“Sonic, it’s only rising!” Amy was momentarily kidnapped when trying to reach the machine’s first Chaos Emerald slot, where Eggman used her to force Sonic to battle him and his new incredible robot, but it was all to buy time for his fatal trap.

Laughing as he exited, he dropped Amy and made a snide comment about ‘Dying with the one you love’ being a last mercy he’ll give... to Amy that is.

Even while dangling in the clutches of Eggman’s hovering robot’s metal talons, Amy couldn’t have judged well enough the machine’s overheating and powering up processes. It was truly unexpected, but completely within Eggman’s bounds...

Squished between the rocky layer of steep, vertical terra and a sweating Sonic, Amy was sandwiched between the thought of how they were gonna survive this.

“It’s not as fast as you, though!” She looked back over to him, seeing his eyes were fixated on the molten rock slowly rising to them on the thin strip of raised pathway they had against the side of the canyon, finally having made it out of the caverns...

This didn’t look good... Sonic was hot and panting to keep his body temperature regulated. With some degree of knowledge in health and medicine from treating his wounds and injuries all these years, she could tell he was too hot to run at full speed like usual without the proper coolness to not overheat himself. Not just that... but she was added weight... he’d never be able to scale the mountain’s straight drop at top-speeds if he had to carry her too...

She was nowhere near fat but still... this wasn’t looking too good for her.

Without missing a beat, she finally closed her eyes and pushed her nose to the wall, breathing in a dusty and dirt-filled breath of self-sacrifice and spoke aloud an unforgivable sentence. “If I hadn’t insisted on coming with you... to spend more time with you... in hopes that you would fall more in love with me if I was just as into adventure as you were... then you’d be able to run up this wall and get to the top safely.”

He turned his sights back to her, a frown apparent as she was speaking negatively, and he hated that. “Since when were you doubting?” he was always trying to play it cool, and as she took a sorrowful peek back to him, she couldn’t help but gently smile in her grief at seeing his cheery and confident smile.

“We’ll get out of this.” he assured her, “I need you to hang on, though. No more talk about what should and shouldn’t have happened. Can you get up on my back from here?” He looked back at the rising lava, apparently having a plan now.

She nodded, deciding it best not to bring up the inevitable, since her Sonic could do miracles!

... At least, this time, she couldn’t let him fall to his untimely death because of her persistence... 

She spun and he caught her to help her keep balance on the strip and then she tied her arms tightly around his neck as he began to slowly climb.

However, looking down at the speedily approaching magma filling the veins of the large expanse of rock with blood-colored fury and heat, and then looking up to see not a speck of the other side or even the sky as it was just a long, never-ending stretch to half the sky... she felt her heart sinking again.

He really could go faster without her, and looking down again, she saw the strip they were moments ago being pushed up against was now being reached and submerged in the melting rock...

Liquid fire... Was this the story of when Sonic had to face Metal that first time? She remembered him telling the story of reaching for Metal him’s hand before he whacked it aside, refusing to be saved by the one and true hero: Sonic.

There was only ever going to be one Sonic The Hedgehog... but there could be others that would love him just as much... though her grip tightened at admitting it, and ducking her head down, unable to produce tears in the steam of the ripples of heat rising up the cavern.

If they didn’t die of one slip-up or not moving fast enough, they would surely succumb to heat-exhaustion or heat-stroke.

Sonic felt the slight tug on his chin as though her grip around his neck had tightened in a desperate attempt to hold on, and although already straining to climb with someone else and his body feeling like a sauna plus a volcano at his feet, he really didn’t want to believe Amy was giving up on him.

“Amy..!” he called, having an instinct of what she was thinking, “Don’t do it!”

Amy’s head jerked up, “S...Sonic...” She was amazed he had caught on so quickly to her thoughts... her emotions... “B-but,... I-!” she wanted to convince him to let her do it, to let her allow him to run up the rocky wall and save himself.

“We’re getting out of this together or not at all!” he finally blurted out, taking Amy aback as he twitched to reach another hand out for another piece of rock that could be firm enough to give him a sturdy hand-grip. “Erk... ugh... ha... ha... Do me a favor, Amy... ha... umph!” he reached back and threw her up, shocking her as she cried out his name. “And quit acting like we’re dead already!”

She hit against a leveled path that slightly crumbled under her weight, making her kick her legs to scoot quickly back against the wall as Sonic was then able to Spin-Dash to a higher level, reaching down a hand for her. “Hurry!” he called, as she looked back to gasp at the lava not taking any ‘rest-stops’ so to speak. “There might be a cave that tunnels up from here!”

That was a sensationally good idea, except for one problem... if they went back into a tunnel and it went downwards.... then the magma would pinch them in on both sides... and their wouldn’t even be left unmelted fossil remains of them...

But right now, up was good.

She spun around and got up, reaching for his hand and having him struggle to hoist her up as she got her foot on the wall just before the magma rose and splashed against where she was just sitting. “Ah!”

“Amy!!!”

“I-I’m fine.” she squinted an eye as she was grateful the splash didn’t burn her. Her feet were fine, she hadn’t been exposed to it.

He pulled her up and the two just breathed heavily in the others arms a moment.

“You... can out run it... Sonic.” Amy spoke again, only hearing a grunt of annoyance from Sonic as she did so.

“Quit... fooling around... Amy.” his hold on her had loosened so much... she knew he was growing tired. First having snuck in and destroyed some robot scouts on the way down, then Eggman’s battle, and then rushing out before the magma overwhelmed them... Then climbing up such a perilous wall with her on his back... “Do you... see any tunnels..?”

She didn’t even look, she just pulled his forehead to her own, holding it there with her own, sweat-soaked white gloves on either side of his cheeks... saying her farewells in secret. “I know I’ve never voiced it before... but... I...”

Sonic blinked his eyes, before grabbing her arms, their gloves sticking to their skins and making a light blue, see-through effect through the shiny oils on both their exposed skin. Their furs were wetted and they’d be too slippery to attempt to climb again.

This was it.

Sonic lightly moved her to the wall, showing in his face his unbelief at her distrust all of a sudden that he could save them both, but beyond the hurt expression... there was a look she hadn’t fully seen before.

He pinned her slightly as he willingly put his forehead to hers and shut his eyes, trying to keep his breathing normal. “I know.” he stated, then with a shaky voice... “And you’ve always known too.”

She was frozen in that heat-soaked moment... Sonic finally dropping his own tall walls for a brief moment as they could hear the slushing of the magma rising to where they were.

They both looked back, Amy over his shoulder and Sonic to look at the impending doom before them.

“You had to know.” He chuckled out loosely, exhausted now emotionally too, “I gotta at least leave you with some comforting closure.”

“Of that?” Amy thought that the sweetest thing, but also grossly inappropriate for the timing. “Why did you wait till now to tell me?”

“Validate you. I never said anything.” He smirked, even now, trying to keep things light.

She wanted to kiss him, but felt that that would be an even greater sentence, and she’d be framed as the worst timing for romantic advances in history.

Even worse than his...

Sonic smiled to her before something glittery flicked light into his eye and caused him to squint it a few times repeatedly. Turning to find out what the strange source was, the two’s mouths opened at the entrance of a metal bunker impeded into the wall... not seen without the glow of the rising magma.

“An elevator!” The two exclaimed, seeing a mining device next to it. Sonic quickly scooped her up and pushed her in, “Going up!” he pressed the button but she didn’t want to part with him, the Elevator could be slow or worse, the mechanism below could be melted away by now.

“Sonic!” she cried out, agreeing--somewhat--with Eggman that she’d rather die in the arms of her beloved than alone in a small elevator meant for hauling metals up to the top of the canyon. And who knew where this actual thing landed! Maybe it wasn’t the top?

Sonic gave her a thumbs up and signature wink as she could see the lava splashing against the sides of where he was, “Noo!!!” as the chute shut tight and started cranking her upwards. She flung her back to the opposite side of where the tin had shut and felt the heat and the moment consuming her. ‘Sonic... do you mean that..? Do you really... love me?’

Sonic was tearing up the ground in his wake as dust spiraled behind him and he almost flew up at supersonic speeds through the canyon. All the while, he narrowed his eyes to the straight path the elevator was meant to take, making sure it reached the top. ‘Faster... Faster... Faster...!!!’ his eyes widened as his teeth clenched, seeing the lava building up and never stopping, not even for a moment, in consuming the rock beneath it and yet, his eyes trained to fixate on the metal pole that meant the chain was still hauling Amy up. “Endure it just a little longer,... Amy...” his eyebrow furrowed before bowing as he tripped by not watching where his feet were going. “W-woah!” he noticed he had reached the top and was falling now, having pressed his foot to air which had started the tumble. He gripped frantically to the edge of the large landscape and was able to get enough wind in his heels and strength left in his fingers to stop his falling... he had made it... he’ll be okay.

But that wasn’t enough.

He heard the metal bending and cranking, as though slowing the rising, treasured container of it’s load from coming up. The metal was beginning to tilt and loosened itself from it’s bolted railing and started to dip like a bending fish hook towards the flaming sea...

“No!!” Sonic leaped up and raced to the pole, “Amy!!!” He reached out and bent to grab the wall and the bending metal, using himself like a stretched chord to keep the metal from bending further, suspended between rock and the pole as he could feel the jolting of the chains continuing to crank up, but slower than before.

‘I have to straighten the poll out... or Amy will never make it!’ he was running out of juice and energy... but strength rose in him as he thought of her... He couldn’t let her down... he couldn’t let himself live knowing she was still in harm’s way...

He was mellowly delighted that she was accompanying him on this adventure. Though he never showed it, he enjoyed her hammering swings and ricocheting off robots to stop dramatically in front of her and strike a pose, knowing she loved it when he showed off. He couldn’t naturally give slight looks and charming flares to the dudes, it would be weird, but he enjoyed the moments he could when Amy was around.

True, sometimes, he felt he couldn’t fully be himself around Amy or she’d overly fawn after him... but even then... he could see and feel how much he meant to her.

He never felt the need to be more for her, even though he knew he probably should act a bit more gentlemanly here and there, which he did, but never overdid it to avoid getting exploited by Amy’s constant yearning for more attention from him.

He was never upset when she insisted to tag along with him for a journey or perilous undertaking. He just always knew he needed to keep an ear and eye out to make sure she was safe at all times... other than that? It was just fun to have her around, constantly praising him. Though... he didn’t like her ‘pampering’ behavior when she’d rub his hand too much if he punched a tough-made robot... he still didn’t mind the doting every now and then.

Clenching his abs, he finally scrunched his body enough to bend the pole somewhat back into a straighter line, causing the chain to move quickly with each thought he had for Amy and how he was determined to saving her life.

She had saved his... after all. If she had self-sacrificed herself... he would have... never... ever... forgiven himself such a lost.

Amy was almost about to collapse at the heated panel beneath her butt and feet, fearing the lava had caught up with her, until there was a jolt and she stopped fully. “S...Son...ic...” The chute opened and a sound like a swift wind brushed through her small compartment and gave her somewhat relief,... but not as much as cool hands that gripped her firmly at her sides and pulled her out.

When she came too, Tails and Knuckles were standing over her and Cream was attending her.

She remembered a similar scene with Cream... when she had almost drowned in the water when Eggman attacked back in Chris’s world... what... where was Sonic?

“I..” she could barely get a word out, and Cream kept dabbing the cool cloth on her head and adjusting the cooling pads under her back, on her sides, and over her stomach.

“Don’t worry, Miss Amy.” Cream spoke out, cheerily but with a worried and loving look in her eyes, but showing signs that Amy was going to be alright. Her little heart pattered quickly as she stopped a moment and reached back as though forgetting something, putting a flower by her side. “Mr. Sonic said to give you this when you woke up! He said you deserved to see some life after all the dull rock you were exposed too.”

And the pitch black of the heated tin chute... he must have felt awful about that being the only other way to get them out of there alive.

She had no idea about the pole that threatened to snap and dip her into slowly into a melted death... but as she got better, Tails told her Sonic had gone after Eggman, and she gathered that Sonic hadn’t told any of them the extent at what they had gone through.

‘He’s keeping up appearances... he doesn’t want to trouble or worry them more than he already has.’ she concluded, thinking that noble and brave... somewhat.

She wanted to tell them, so badly, about everything... but silently accepted Sonic’s assumed wishes.

She also didn’t want to worry anyone... but... Oh, she wanted to tell at least one soul about the encounter!!!

Sonic had... he had really... ohhh!!! Her heart was overjoyed!

But... when she came to see him...

As per-usual, he was up atop a windy place, looking over the nature he spent his whole life preserving and protecting... admiring it’s beauty and natural power.

With a kind and neutral smile on his face, he suddenly turned to see Amy walking happily up to greet him.

Seeing his gaze, she paused a moment and halted, putting her hands together and in front of her, trying to look feminine and delicate.

“Hello, Sonic.” she greeted, blushing as her eyes closed and she giggled to herself lightly.

“Amy,” he nodded to her, a true picture of boy coolness!

She squee’d, “When are you gonna act like how you really feel at seeing my cute face?” she cupped her cheeks and turned away as if ‘trying’ to be modest about it... but then blinked her eyes when Sonic responded in a way she wasn’t expecting.

“Huh? I am acting the way I always do, Amy.” He folded his arms, looking more... puzzled... than she thought he should have.

“But- ah.... uhh...Ohhh!!!” she did her signature whine and shook her once -delicate- hands in a fury of frustration down at her sides. “That’s not how you feel at all!” She contested, but he didn’t seem to want to fight as his smile slightly fell.

Her eyes came back to his neutral ones and looked somewhat pleading to return to a place they once were... or at least... had just gotten to. “Why are you being like this..? After everything we went through on that ridge...”

He just quietly stared at her, before lowering his head and closing his eyes, shaking it softly back and forth. “I think you were misguided, Amy. The heat had gotten to us and we... said things we didn’t actually mean to express.” he then looked up at the sky, as if trying to dismissive the topic further. “Of course I care about you, Amy,... But I can’t say it’s to the extent that you’re hoping for. To where I suddenly run into your arms, or something mushy like that... heheh.” he had a bead of awkwardness like a sweat drop slide down the side of his face as his mouth squirmed it’s lines to show how uncomfortable with this he all was.

Amy felt her heart chip away just like the pebbles of the rocky wall... as though she was trying to climb the wall he had pasted up again after only just placing it down back then...

“You’re... You’re not being fair...” she wanted to call him cruel, but she knew that was a lie. She wouldn’t lie... whether to herself or to him.

But this...

This hurt so much.

“What’s wrong with liking me?” she finally had the coolness of the earth to allow tears to peek out from her eyelids, but never fully emerge. Her body quivered in the cold, but she ignored it, too angry and hurt to care. “You can’t just press restart every time you show me how you feel, Sonic The Hedgehog!”

Her outburst caused a sharp bolt of lightning to split Sonic’s core in two. His heart ripped as though torn about how to follow something that dramatic and genuine up... He’d had hoped for the social norm again... but that seemed a bit too late.

He flinched back and then relaxed, scratching behind his head, “I guess you’re right, Amy... I’m not being very fair to your feelings... but you can’t blame me for being hesitant about my choices...”

She was sniffling, and he realized she probably didn’t have it in her to say more right now. Sighing, he walked down to her and smiled tenderly, kindly opening his arms to invite her to hug him.

“Let’s just say... I don’t really have a way with words.”

“They’re enough for me...” she hiccupped through her tears now pouring out. “You’ve always been enough for me. Every part of you, every inch and every word ever spoken and act ever done has been enough... when will you get that? When will you learn that whatever you choose to do for me... for my sake... knowing how hard it is for you to express that freely and openly like you did in that moment... it’s always been enough to shake me.” she fell to her legs, bawling now as Sonic awkwardly stood there and blinked, realizing she was going to break down.

“H-hang on, just a second, Amy!” he was shaking his hands out to get her to stop crying and calm down, but her tears and wailing didn’t cease, she was already emotionally compromised and it made him feel like a bigger jerk than ever before.

“Alright, enough already... I get it, Amy...” His face quite literally seemed to deflate on itself as he lost the energy and will to keep up the persona. “You heard what you heard, and I never said I wanted to take it back... just that I can’t always do that from now on. I didn’t want to lose you... that part is, and will always be, true.”

Amy took her hands away from her eyes to see the resounding truth that was on his face. “I... I don’t want-” she hiccupped, a cute and gross reminder that she had been holding all this in for some time now since Sonic’s first departure. “to lose you... hck, either...” she sniffed.

Chuckling at her appalling sense of self-preservation or even an idea of self-image in this moment, Sonic kindly wiped her eyes with his finger and looked to her as though slowly backing the wall up and away from her, but not fully putting it down yet. “I can’t promise I won’t lead you into dangerous times, Amy... but I can say that I will never leave you behind in those moments. Not ever.”

She pouted, “You shoved me in a dark chute.”

“T-To save your life!” he gestured out to her, his arms out either side of her and extended as though to plead his case, “You were right, Amy, I couldn’t have carried us both up, it was the only way!”

She continued to give him a hard look of judgement.

“You gotta believe me, honest! You knew it was the only way!”

“...It was still scary...”

“You survived!” his words almost smacked the idea as though fanning it away, but he never dared to say ‘quit complaining’ as he could tell she was just riling him up.

She smiled, unable to help it. She enjoyed seeing emotion out of him, even expressed in ways like this. She batted his chest, secretly snuggling into it, “You’re the worst, Sonic The Hedgehog! You make me cry and smile at the same time! No one does that...” she muttered the last part out, and it was almost cute... almost.

Sonic rolled his eyes, “Come on, give me a break, Amy...” It almost sounded like he was complaining, but it was to keep up with her playful antics. “Forgive me this one time?”

“I forgive you every time.” Amy mumbled into the side of his chest.

“...Forgive me for being a dunce?”

“I forgive you for that all the time too.” she continued to play, making sure her mouth’s movements and the vibration of her words could be felt in into his chest too.

There was silence...

“Forgive me for... this?” his hands suddenly caught her up and her lips were silenced for a time that for her--seemed to last eternity.

When his kiss parted he was gone with the wind, as though unable to stick around for the aftermath.

She was frozen in disbelief before shouting out in a type of ‘hoorah!’ for her success, but also...

Sonic did know the perfect timing for a romantic advance... he just didn’t always have the words or courage to say it~<3

[etlunainmorte]

✒ P.S. I Love You ✒

***

III

***

"It's him again. Poor guy must be really nervous right now." Avery strode towards the front door and before she could leave, she turned to them once more. "Make yourself at home, I insist." She, then, gave them an awkward smile as she opened the door and went out. "If you can,..."

And with those words, Avery finally left them inside that very cold mansion.

"That's very hospitable." Nico muttered after seemingly an eternity later of just her and V staring at the door. She, then, turned towards V and punched him ( playfully ) in the shoulder. "Hey, what's the plan?"

The tattooed poet threw his cane, caught it, and slammed it several times against his left palm. He gave the woman a sideways glance and smirked. "I'll see what I can find here on the first floor. I noticed,... something strange,... a while ago."

"Okay, gotcha. I'm just gonna get something in the van. Some things I prepared for the mission." The woman made her way to the door and as she was about to come out, she winked at V and gave him a thumbs up. "See ya."

V watched as the freckled Artisan swiftly made her way out, and when she was finally gone, he turned and -

He felt his heartbeat halt once more for a split second as he came face to face with the same boy he saw earlier.

And this time, he was unblinkingly staring at him right in the eye.

V felt his hair stand on end again and the cold creep unto his skin. The way the boy stared at him with those wide, muddy colored eyes and that distinct frown on his pale face,...

... it's as if he was searching for something beyond his eyes. It was like he was appraising his very own soul and being.

But, why?

"How can I be of service to you?" V graciously and patiently asked the boy. After a few seconds, the young one only abruptly turned away from him and hastily went back to the kitchen. And this action only led V to follow him,...

"Hey, V,..." All of a sudden, his demonic avian familiar, Griffon, materialized, his talons immediately taking hold of his shoulders, seemingly in caution. "Be careful 'round this place. I don't feel so good in here! It's like I'm bein' strangled! A - and,... it feels like this house is drainin' my energy!"

"I know." V answered at the same time his demonic feline familiar Shadow materialized.

"See? Even the house cat could feel it! Look at her!" And what Griffon said was true: the moment Shadow materialized, her eyes lit up in caution as the red marks on her jet black fur appeared. She was baring her fangs at something at the top of the stairs, and V could not even see what it was she was being angry at.

No. The way she was acting and the way her skin pulsated like she was ready to attack an any given time: V felt like Shadow was being threatened by something.

But, what?

"I have to go after that boy." He decided. "And I have to find out the cause of all this,... strangeness."

"Okay, Shakespeare. Ya know the drill," Griffon gave his little pep talk as his master made his way towards the kitchen. "You and I like to exist, so get rid of that ghost real quick, cause killin' it aint my schtick ( mainly 'cause we can't even kill ghosts )! Sorry if I don't get yer back, 'cause this whole place is just whack!"

V smirked at his familiar's quip and calmly searched for the boy. He found him right there, in the huge room, talking to someone. It was an elderly woman dressed entirely in what looked like the family's maroon uniform for servants like her. And the moment the boy realized that V has managed to follow him, he quickly ran away and went outside towards the opposite side.

"Pardon my,... intrusion." V began as calmly as he could so as not to frighten Avery's elderly housekeeper. "I came here by your lady's request for a special,... commission."

"My,... lady?" The old woman croaked.

V watched with wary eyes as the old woman faced him. And as her kind, gentle, and yet, restless, features finally registered, the tense feeling on his shoulders vanished altogether as he finally relaxed for the first time since entering the cold mansion.

The woman's eyes widened as if she was so shocked upon seeing him. If it weren't for the genuine smile she showed him, V would've felt conflicted upon making her teary eyed for a seemingly unknown reason.

"You must be the man our lady chose."

"To tell you the truth, I was not her first choice."

"Oh, why? Pray tell."

"She considered me,... upon being rejected by the man she,... originally chose,... for this job."

"Oh." The slight frown on the woman's face disappeared as it was replaced once again with her kind and gentle smile. "If you were not originally chosen as you've said, then it must be fate that brought you here, young master."

V chuckled as he shook his head. "I see. Then, I' am obliged to tell you that my companion doesn't believe in things such as fate."

"The young lady does."

V noticed the clear sadness in the way the old housekeeper said those words, and before he could even muse about it any further, she gave a slight bow and motioned for one of the chairs. "If you should take a seat, then I would gladly tell you everything I know. My name is Maria, and I have served the (L/N) household for as long as I could remember."

"Madam Maria. You can call me V." The poet returned the courteous gesture as he introduced himself.

Maria giggled as she waved him off with one hand. "Just Maria is fine, young master."

"Then, call me V,... and not young master."

"Very well! Very well! Please! Take a seat and make yourself at home. I'm making some muffins for dinner, and we have some to spare for you and your pets without ruining your appetite."

As V settled on one of the chairs facing the long wooden table, he watched the movements of the old lady as she prepared the muffins. And as he admired her hard work and effort by preparing the food and for serving the household for as long as she could in general, he couldn't help but wonder why she hasn't retired yet, given her old age.

"Hey, V," Griffon, who was still clinging unto V's shoulders with his talons, whispered. "... that cute little old lady is not even afraid of us! Is she even alright? Ya know, in the head?"

"Now, now, that is a very rude way of addressing our,... host." V answered as Shadow finally calmed down and settled next to his feet.

"Here we go. Have as much as you can. You would need all the energy you could get." Maria offered the huge plate of muffins before V, and after doing that, she settled on the chair opposite him.

"Thank you, Maria."

"Always happy to serve the lady's guests."

V looked at the scrumptious looking treats and felt it was rude to refuse, so he took one, split it in two and gave one to Griffon, who simply gobbled it without a moment's hesitation. The bird chewed as fast as he could and swallowed with much gusto, the gulping sound he made slightly embarrassing V. He, then, split the remaining half in two and offered one to Shadow underneath the table. Only then did he finally take a bite of the warm and fluffy treat.

It was,... so good.

Maria was eagerly watching V through all this, looking as though she hasn't fed someone in many years.

Which reminded him,...

"You mentioned you have served the (L/N) household for as long as you can remember. I assume it is Avery's mother's family, then?" V asked, the muffin he just took from the plate being swiftly stolen by Griffon, who seemed famished to the bone.

But, Maria didn't answer. Instead, she just held out a brave, trembling hand to pet Shadow. "The young lady used to own a cat. It was dark in color, just like this one. She used to call it Luna."

"Oh, I see." V answered, his fingers almost bitten by Griffon, who took, yet, another muffin from his hand. "This is Shadow."

"Hello, Shadow! It's so nice to meet you." Maria greeted. And to V and Griffon's surprise, the demonic feline squinted her eyes in a gesture that successfully told them she approved of the elderly housekeeper to pet her. Maria didn't waste any time and scratched her behind the ears right away. "She used to hide it from the master, since he didn't allow her to have pets. I remember I have to steal food from the cupboard for little Luna while the young lady hides her in the library. But, of course, the master heard all the mewling. So, the young lady had to part with her, the poor thing."

Who knew Avery was a cat person? "Hmm, it must've saddened Ms. Avery as a young girl. To part with a beloved companion."

Again, Maria didn't answer. This time, she was busy feeding Shadow.

V sighed. He knew he must be patient due to Maria's old age, so he took a mental note of this and proceeded.

"About this,... job,..." V carefully began, ignoring Griffon as he tried to steal another muffin from the plate. "Have you,... noticed anything,... a little,... strange,... lately?"

"Oh, good heavens! I forgot the tea. My mistake, dear. Let me get it for you."

V couldn't help but watch again as Maria stood to fetch the beverage, and when she returned with the pot containing the aromatic liquid and started pouring some for both him and her, he asked once more.

"Anything at all? Like,...sounds, or voices, or - "

"Here." Maria said as she offered V a cup of tea.

"Thank you. Any clue could help us with the investigation - "

"Oh, how time flies,..." Maria mused loudly as she settled back on her own chair to drink her tea. "When you're in here, you never actually notice the time. You sit down with a book in your hand in the morning, and when you get up, it's already twilight. Time flies,... indeed."

V looked at her, wondering whether all aging women were like her, and tried, one more time, to ask her regarding the haunting in the household.

"Are there any restless spirit around here?" V just got straight to the point.

"And sometimes, you sit down with a cup of tea, and next thing you know, a whole week has already passed by."

V inhaled sharply through his nostrils and finally gave up on questioning Maria. He decided to just do the investigation alone and without her cooperation. After all, grandmothers don't do well with creepy experien -

"The thing you seek lies right above us. And with it, all the answers you would need to get yourself out of this labyrinth you involuntarily got lost in the moment you stepped inside this house." Maria spoke in a very vague tone after sipping her tea. She put the cup down on the table and leaned closer to V, too close, in fact, that he was getting really uncomfortable with it. Her breath, which smelled of earl grey, assaulted his nostrils, but what unnerved V the most were her dull - looking gray eyes. As if she's,...

"Or was it voluntary? You don't believe in fate, do you, young master?" Maria asked, allowing V to catch a glimpse of her yellow teeth,...

And so, it was with utter bewilderment when he finally got the chance to untangle himself from Maria's scrutinizing gaze and made his way back to the entrance hall where Nico was already preparing all her things. And by the time he got back, the place was already filled with all sorts of wires, gadgets, and weird things from left to right.

"Dude, where have ya been?!" Nico questioned, seemingly irritated for no reason, at all.

"I was talking to the housekeeper." It was the truth.

"Huh. Ye really like that housekeeper, don't ya? To think you talked with someone for six full hours." Nico scratched her head in confusion. "I thought ya ditched me here, man. You scared me."

Six hours.

Six.

Full.

Hours.

He was gone for that long?! But, it only felt like an hour, even just minutes,...

Then, V remembered what Maria told him earlier:

Oh, how time flies,...

Time,... flies,...

... indeed.

***

✒ @la-vita and @micaelagua . ✒

***

✒✒✒

***

[balladetto]

     The thread snaps, cut. His gaze skitters away. Down, to the water lapping at his skin gentler than he feels any holy light will ever touch it. Down, at the reflection of the heroic thing this story has chiselled out of everything he's given, gives, and will give of himself.

     I know, she says, like the boy looking back at him prays. He does not pray. His hands weren't made for it. Link remembers when he used to try, though; desperately. Thoughtlessly. When Navi left, it was another string among strings weaving all his pieces together. Holding, or rather, to hold, the way a jar holds its own fragments tight when it's cracked so cleanly 'cause it doesn't realise — doesn't want to realise — it's supposed to be broken yet. Had she seen him then, too? Hopeful, for everything? Faithful, for nothing?

     An echoing thought, twisted worse, poises like a claw or beak or talon about to run through the back of his neck: what would it have mattered.

     He's still here. Her words don't make it any easier to breathe. He's still shackled to everything he's done and accepted and collected in the name of fate-justice-the future, and apparently — accordingly — he always will be.

     If even a goddess must wish her apology could be enough for this, what would it have mattered.

     Everything is cold. The dry cold, the burning cold, the type of cold where he can barely feel the trembles in his muscles. Link lifts his head. He can't tell what his face must look like as he asks, motions snapping, "Who are you?"

"i know."

her voice looms from her standing figure at the edge of the pool, watching with a gentle gaze that almost seems maternal in nature. the story was supposed to go, in her mind, like this: her hero reincarnates into a boy of blond hair and blue eyes, he takes up her sword ( her fi ) and destroys evil. then, he goes home. but he has not gone home yet, has he? she sees it in his journey, sees it in the way he moves. she knows. he will never go home. she has, once again, ruined a life that was not hers to ruin. her head hangs for a moment, out of what one could only presume to be despair. she says nothing.

the fountain, at least, is a peaceful respite for them both. the fairies magick will never undo what is done to her, never rend her wings or bereft her of holiness. she is like this, now, and hylia must accept that some change is forever. she is like this forever, the same way he can never go home. the water laps at the edge of the fountain, barely does fairy-instilled waters grace the talons at her avian feet. hylia watches the water with her hanging head, and then takes a step backward.

her feathers ruffle in a breeze that she swears only she can feel, and her wings hug ever-tighter to her forme. the reflective surface of the water was, at least, interrupted by his presence within. her gaze will not fall upon her own, golden hues, her endless stream of blonde hair that hasn't met with a pair of scissors in millennia. she does not have to see him to see him.

"the burden was mine alone, and selfishly you have been pulled into a torrent of war that you will never see the end of." she has nothing else to say. there's nothing else to say. "i'm sorry. i wish that were enough."

[dukereviewstv]

Duke Reviews Tv: Smallville 1x19 Crush

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Tv Where We Continue Our Look At Smallville And On Today's Show We're Looking At Episode 19 Of Season 1, Crush

This Episode Sees Chloe Falling For A Former Artist For The Torch Named Justin Gaines (Played By Seth Cohen/Captain Marvel Jr. Or Is It Shazam Jr. Now Because Of The Whole Captain Marvel Copyright Thing?) Who Because Of A Hit And Run Accident Has Lost The Ability To Draw With His Hands But Has Gained Telekinetic Abilities...

Ok, How Many People In Comics Have Lost One Thing But Gained The Ability To Do Another Thing Because Of An Accident Of Some Type? Honestly If Anyone Knows Please Write It In The Comments...

And So With This Miraculous New Ability What Does Justin Do With It? He Decides To Get Revenge On The People Who Ruined His Life...

After Killing The Doctor Who Botched His Surgery In The Hospital, Justin Searches For The Hit And Run Driver That Ruined His Life, Can Clark Stop Him?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Crush...

The Episode Starts At Metropolis Children's Hospital As Justin Gaines Draws To Get His Hands Back To Peak Condition But To No Avail As The Doctor Comes In To Check On Him As He's Being Released Tomorrow...

Upset That Everything Has Gotten Better Except His Hands, The Doctor Tells Justin That He Did Everything He Could Despite Justin Discovering That The Doctor Has 5 Patients Who Have Filed Malpractice Suits Against Him Which Leads The Doctor To Tell Justin That When One Door Closes Another Door Opens As He Leaves To Have Dinner With His Wife...

Using His Powers, Justin Messes With The Elevator Trying To Kill The Doctor, With The Elevator Stopping On A Floor, The Doctor's Wife Manages To Get Out But The Doctor Doesn't As The Elevator Goes Crashing To The Ground Floor...

A Few Weeks Later At Smallville High, Clark And Pete Are At The School's Job Fair As Clark Briefly Talks With Principal Kwan's Son Who Works For The Air Force Before Reuniting With Pete Who Got A Summer Job At Mayor Siegel's Office Working On His Re-Election Campaign...

Running Into Chloe Who Is Trying To Get An Internship At The Daily Planet Despite Lex Offering To Get Her Job At The Inquisitor, Pete Tells Her Maybe She'll Be Able To Try Again On Saturday At The Student Journalism Conference With Clark...

However, Clark Has Been Working On A History Project With Lana All Week To The Point That He Forgot To Sign Them Up...

Upset That Clark Is Spending More Time With Lex And Lana Than He Is Her, Chloe Stomps Off As Pete Sides With Her Saying That She Wanted To Ask Him To The Spring Formal Which Has Clark Realizing That Chloe May Like Him...

Though With What We Know About Alison Mack Now I Don't Know If That's A Good Thing Or A Bad Thing...

Running Into Justin At Her Locker, He Thanks Chloe For Some E-mails She Sent Him While Telling Her The News That His Drawing Hand Is Shot And He Won't Be Able To Draw Again For The Torch...

Asking Her Out For A Coffee, Chloe Only Accepts Because She's Trying To Make Clark Jealous...

Visiting His Mother's Grave On The Anniversary Of Her Death, Lex Is Soon Confronted By His Former Nanny, Pamela Jenkins Who's There For The Same Reason Lex Is, Despite Lex Being Mad At Her For Disappearing Nine Years Ago Because Lillian "Bought Her Off"...

(Start At 4:26)

Going Over Old Comic Strips That Justin Worked On For The Torch, Clark Enters And Asks Justin About His Accident Only For Justin To Tell Him That He Doesn't Remember Much Only Part Of A Licence Plate With The Beginning Letters Being DDI...

With Chloe Offering To Help Justin, Clark Believes That They Should Let The Police Handle It Which Leads Chloe To Bite Clark's Head Off Saying Any Information They Find They'll Give It To The Police...

I Mean Even When Clark Tries To Fix His Mistake By Getting Tickets To The Conference With The Help Of Lex, Chloe Is Still A Bitch To Clark Saying That Justin Is Already Signed Up And She's Going As His Guest...

You Know This Whole Fight Started Because Clark Started Because Clark Didn't Get Tickets To This Dumb Conference And Now That Clark Has Tickets You're Not Going To Drop Justin And Go With Clark?

Did I Miss Something Here!?!

Dropping Some Of His Drawings In His Portfolio, Justin Picks Them Up As Clark Discovers A Newspaper Clipping Of Justin's Doctor's Elevator Accident...

After School, Lana Drops By The Farm To Get Some Pies For The Talon From Martha Only To Talk With Clark About What's Going On Between Him And Chloe..

(Start At 1:41, End At 2:11)

The Next Day At School, Clark Talks With Pete About Justin As Clark Shows Pete The Newspaper Clipping He Found In His Portfolio...

Discovering That The Doctor In The Photo Was Justin's Doctor, Clark Finds It Weird That Justin Had That In His Portfolio But Then Overhearing Their Conversation, Justin Enters Telling Clark That He Liked The Tragic Irony Of It...

Believing That Clark Is Talking Behind His Back, Justin Tells Clark That He Had His Chance With Chloe And To Let Him Have His...

(Justin) And If You Don't I Have Friends In Gotham That'll Make Sure You Do!

Meanwhile At The Luthor Mansion, Lex Is Visited By Pamela Jenkins Despite Him Still Being Upset At Her And Looking At Her Like She's The Ghost Of Jacob Marley...

(Start At 3:17)

While Delivering His Mom's Pies To The Talon, Clark Talks With Lana About Chloe While She's Going Through Issues Of Her Own With Whitney, Who's Making Up For Lost Time Because His Father Has Been In The Hospital But Because Of This She Wants To Redefine Their Relationship And Figure Out Where It's Going...

But Back To Clark, Who Honestly Has No Clue What To Do About Chloe Except That He Doesn't Want To Lose Her As A Friend As Once They Cross That Line There May Be No Going Back...

Back At The Torch, Justin Gives A Drawing To Chloe That He Worked On All Night With The Help Of His Powers And Admits That He Not Only Had A Crush On Her But He Thought Of Her When He Got Hit By The Hit And Run Driver...

You Mean To Tell Me After You Got Hit You Didn't Think " Oh, God, Oh, God I'm In So Much Pain Somebody Call An Ambulance" First, Justin?

Seeing This As Their Second Chance Justin Kisses Chloe Causing All The Pencils And Stuff To Float In The Room...

Eh, Some People's Feet Pop, Others Cause Things To Levitate, Go Figure...

Eventually Seeing Everything Float In The Air, Justin Tells Chloe About His Powers And She's Surprisingly Ok With It Despite The Fact That Nearly Every Person With Powers She's Come In Contact With Has Tried To Kill Her Or Worse...

Either Way They Go Back To Kissing Only For Clark To See Them As He Asks Chloe To Have A Word With Her In The Hallway But As He Does, Justin Gets Ahold Of Chloe's Fax From The DMV Which Gives Not Only The Licence Plate Number Of Who Hit Him But Who Did It...

Telling Chloe His Theory About Justin Killing His Doctor, She Doesn't Believe Clark Because She's Too Blinded By Love Instead Of Looking At This Like A Reporter And Jumping On It...

Later That Night, Justin Pays A Visit To The Driver That Apparently Ran Him Over Only To See That It Was Principal Kwan...

(Start At 0:18)

Visited In His Barn By Lex As He's Reading "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" Clark Asks For Advice On Lana And Chloe Only For Lex To Tell Him That Love Isn't About Playing It Safe But About Risks And Unless He's Willing To Put Himself Out There He'll Never Know...

But As Clark And Lex Talk, Martha Enters To Tell Clark The News That Principal Kwan Is Dead...

Nooooooooooooo! How Was He Really Connected With Clark Aside From Being His School Principal?

Visiting The Torch The Next Day, Pete And Chloe Are Putting Together A Memorial Issue For Principal Kwan But As They Do Clark Discovers That The First 3 Letters Of Kwan's Licence Plate Matches Justin's Hit And Run Driver And What's Worse The DMV Sent A Fax At 4:43 Yesterday Afternoon When Justin And Chloe Were Talking...

But Despite All That Evidence Chloe Still Isn't Putting 2 And 2 Together! You Know What Chloe If You Can't See The Big Picture Now Then...

Back At The Luthor Mansion, Lex Gets A Visit From Lionel Who's There To Tell Him That He's Selling Cadmus Labs But Lex Knows That That's Not The Real Reason He's There...

(Start At 0:45, End At 2:14)

Visiting Kwan's House, Clark Talks With Kwan's Son And Discovers That He Was The Hit And Run Driver And That His Father Died Protecting Him...

But As Clark Gets The Truth, Chloe Finally Comes To Her Senses When She Discovers A Comic That Justin Drew That Shows Not Just The Murders Of Justin's Doctor But Of Principal Kwan As Well. So, Going To Clark's Barn, She Calls Clark At The Talon To Tell Him That He Was Right And Justin Is A Psycho Only To Be Followed By Justin...

(Start At 2:26)

While Clark Finishes Off Justin, Lex Visits Pamela Jenkins In The Hospital...

(Start At 0:23)

Later On In The Series It Would Be Revealed That Pamela Had An Affair With Lionel And Gave Birth To A Daughter Who We Would Come To Know As Tess Mercer, Who Would Take Over Luthorcorp In The Wake Of Lex's Disappearance In Season 7 And Eventually Become The Second Version Of Watchtower In The Last Season...

The Next Day At The Talon, Chloe Discovers That Justin Is Being Placed In The Psychiatric Ward Before Apologizing To Clark As She Blames Herself For Not Spotting Wall Of Weird Material From A Mile Away...

To Which You Have Every Right To Blame Yourself, You Badly Written Moron...

But Believing She Was Just Being Trusting And Willing To Take A Chance On Love...

Clark Asks Chloe Out To That Student Journalism Conference As He Still Has Tickets So She Says Yes...

Wow, Talk About Getting Over A Guy Quickly...

But As That Goes On, Lana Tries To End Things With Whitney Only For Him To Tell Her That His Father Has Just Passed Away Before She Can...

(Start At 1:38)

And That's Crush And It's...Ok...

Don't Get Me Wrong It's A Good Episode It's Just Chloe's Idiocy Throughout The Episode That Ticks Me Off Otherwise I Enjoyed The Story, Most Of The Characters Well Written And The Effects Were Ok So I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[eyesanddragons]

I think about that line and all the others that imply Darkstalker to be not inherently evil but I feel like the rest of the series contradicts this in a lot of ways.

Something that always bothered me was that in the epilogue, Turtle and Anemone literally prevent themselves from having emotions of invincibility and superiority along with the Soul Protection which implies that not only is Animus magic Inherently Corruptive it's something that can just be avoided if you were good at wording your magic spells enough.

This becomes doubly concerning when you remember that there is genuine relief when they do the magic soul morality test and find that she's still majorly "good" and that she isn't far gone.

(Page 376, Darkness of Dragons) Turtle wasn't sure if it was the magic of the bracelet or the relief that came from not worrying about her soul anymore. The soul reader had revealed a much higher level of good in the princess's soul than they had all feared- and Turtle's own soul was almost entirely good, too, to his delight

It's saying that animus magic Is Corruptive and just, will make you be more evil, which then throws a whole wrench into the idea that Darkstalker had a choice. The Epilogue implies that Turtle and Anemone have to do Magic Maintenance to stay Good People since there Animus and thus Will Become Evil Unless The Magic Proof Themselves.

I like the Talons of Power interpretation that animus magic is "corruptive" in the sense of a slippery slope, you do a bad thing then it just becomes easier to do more cause you think there's no way to stop yourself, or, alternatively, because your destined to (Anemone), or because everyone around you treats you horrible and you are One Bad Day away from snapping (Albratross).

Darkstalker, theoretically, chooses to do "good" but his sense of good is messed up because of all his past trauma, but in execution I don't think this is what Tui Wrote.

There's also the Strawberry Scene which implies that Darkstalker would of Never Been Good because instead of just keeping Darkstalker as is but removing his memories and making him a child or any variation of the strawberry spell that still makes him, him, but instead changes him to someone else completely.

(Page 355, Darkness of Dragons)

Peacemaker. Qibl couldn't help but find the name a bit ironic- but then, this wasn't Darkstalker anymore. He was an entirely new dragon,

Peacemaker isn't "baby Darkstalker with a new name and no powers" it's...someone else.

The Soul Reader is a whole other thing actually, if you factor in how Anemone being read as still good by the Soul Reader is a relief to the cast that implies there's just. A point where your soul is so Bad you can't go back from that. Even his own book Darkstalker has a lot of "Darkstalker was gonna become evil no matter what" scnees, even it's framed as an inevitable tragedy because Darkstalker was Born That Way.

(Page 15, Darkstalker)

A thousand futures dropped away before him as he made his first choice. Futures where his sister joined his quest for power; futures where he fought him and stopped him; futures where they were best friends; futures where one of them killed the other and vice versa. As Darkstalker folded his talons together, choosing to keep them still for tonight, every possible future with a thrice-moonborn sister disappeared.

He saw them blink out, and although he didn't know exactly what it meant, he felt somehow a tiny bit safer, a tiny bit bigger and stronger.

Sorry, little sister, he thought, not in so many words, but with visions of his future cascading through his mind. This is my mother. Those are my full moons.

This is my world now

It's already setting up all his evil deeds as something he was thinking of, as a baby. Yeah the narration says he doesn't know "exactly what it meant" but he still thinks the thoughts, in a vision way. "This is my mother. Those are my full moons. This is my world now." He's possessive and thinking about how it's "His" world but he's...he's a baby! He's a toddler, just born.

Now the sister stalling thing I won't actually talk much about because it's like, he was a baby, I don't think he knew what he was doing completely when he did that. But I do wanna mention that they do mention his "quest for power" first which is, a choice alright.

Also, with the Arc 2 Prophecy existing in the First Place does imply that Darkstalker Would Of Been Evil No Matter What.

From what I can tell, Prophecies in WoF work in a "this thing will happen, it might happen in an unconventional way, but it Will Happen." way.

The Jade Mountain Prophecy Happens, The Lost Continent Prophecy Happens, there's a fail-state and a win-state of sorts (the endings of both prophecies saying that if they Do A Thing They can not die horribly) but they still do happen and correspond to certain events or things.

Darkstalker couldn't of died before Jade Mountain because Moon gets a prophecy some thousand years after he's born. Because he is the villain of that prophecy.

(Honestly I feel like Tui should of just dropped the prophecy stuff after Arc 1, Arc 1's prophecy was fake anyway and the conflicts of Arc 2 and Arc 3 don't really need a big giant evil plot. Plus I feel like both Arcs are just more compelling without the prophecy. Arc 2 especially suffers from having a world ending plot but that's a whole other Thing)

Admittedly, I always thought the Darkstalker Good Endings was like. Clearsight looking at good futures while ignoring how likely they were, and halfway through the book Darkstalker Does Manipulate Clearsight's future-sight. So I just, always assumed it was Clearsight being inaccurate cause she loves Darkstalker. I'm going to have to reread Darkstalker and check-

But, in my opinion, Darkstalker suffers from a lot of contradictory writing. It might not have been the intention, I'll give Tui that, she probably didn't intend for her complex gray villain to be inherently evil but that's how it reads to some extent, and even then, it just means Tui wrote the villain she was trying to write badly.

I feel like if they just made Darkstalker evil by choice it would of been a better story (and also remove the strawberry)