#cause by the end of the show her hair will turn into a gigantic birds nest

[mammonshuman92]

- Watched -

Mammon & GN!MC

** TW: Stalking, cussing, religion (ish? I guess?)

| part two | | part three |

It’s been nearly 6 months since you left the Devildom. You picked up where you had left off in the human world: college, work, home, repeat. Sure, you missed your family while you were away, but now your heart aches almost constantly for the new family you loved so much, that you had to leave behind. (Not that you really had a choice in the matter.)

 As much as it hurt to leave the brothers, Diavolo was right. Establishing harmony and unity with the three realms won’t go over too well if one of the human representatives doesn’t go back to the human world, now will it? Still, it sucks. Life is so boring without all of them.

And quiet.

It’s not like you don’t talk though. Yeah, Diavolo has that rule in place where they have to take turns talking to you because “human’s lives are short” and they were “taking up too much of your time”, but that’s not really going to stop them, is it?

Well kinda, actually.

You can’t really argue with a direct order from the demon lord, after all.

-

Is it Asmo's day to call? You thought to yourself, trying to remember (not that you ever could) the schedule Lucifer came up with. Your own schedule was hard enough to remember.

You had been picking up extra shifts at work and staying late to study at school when you could. Finding any reason to stay busy or get out of the house. The deafening silence was too much to bear.

"I wonder when I can go visit? I should call Diavolo.." you said to yourself quietly.

You were walking home from your shift at the coffee shop near campus. The sun was just starting to set and the air was slightly crisp, causing you to pull your jacket a little tighter.

If it weren't for the brilliant pinks and warm oranges cast on the sky by the setting sun, it would've felt like a regular night in the Devildom. Memories of your last few days spent there came flooding back, bringing the sadness along with them.

In just one year, you had gotten so close to everyone, but you had gotten especially close to Mammon. He was responsible for you in the beginning of course, but the connection was undeniable (no matter how much he did deny it). He was a total simp for you, and you for him. It was rather cringey to everyone else. He could be a handful at times, but that tsundere really is a great boyfriend. Leaving him behind was... well, there's no words for it.

Rounding the corner, you could see your house perfectly. Now that the sun had gone down a bit more, it was getting darker and you were suddenly thankful that you remembered to turn on the porch light before you left.

You pulled your keys from your jacket pocket while climbing the few steps to your front door, and something caught your eye. Your stomach dropped.

Not again..

You plucked the folded piece of paper that was stuck in the screen door and quickly made your way inside, locking the door behind you.With a heavy sigh, you tossed your keys on the table by the door and dropped your bag on the floor beside you. You immediately went to shower and change not giving the paper a second thought.

Not everyone in the human world agreed with the Devildom exchange student program. After you and Solomon had arrived in the Devildom, there were numerous protests by a group much like the Westboro lunatics. They were without a doubt against the program and called for it’s immediate termination. Thankfully, their personal hatred was no match for the opportunity for the realms to find peace.

 When you had returned, you noticed people whispering about you, calling you names and giving you dirty looks. You've even received quite a few pieces of hate mail. Granted, the people opposed to the program were very small in numbers, even if it didn’t seem that way. It didn't bother you though. Demons ended up being some of the most important people to you. Not to mention you were kinda in love with one of them. People could say what they wanted about the Devildom and about you, their words didn't bother you.

You were still towel drying your hair when your phone rang. Tossing the towel, you rushed to the living room to fish it out of your bag, Asmo's face popping up on the caller ID. You were right, it was Asmo’s night. You were secretly hoping it was a certain greedy demon’s turn to call (not that he doesn’t text you almost constantly.)

Asmo was the same as usual. Talking animatedly about this and that, gushing over new beauty products and outfits, filling you in on all the gossip you were missing. While he was rambling, your eyes fell onto the paper that was in your door. Might as well look at the newest piece of hate mail, right? 

You began unfolding the paper, quickly giving Asmo an “omg!” about the gossip he was dishing (even though you hadn’t been paying attention.)

Upon seeing the contents, all the color drained from your face. You were sure your heart sank into your stomach, but you could hear the rapid beating in your ears. You suddenly felt hot, and the air around you seemed thick.

Then the adrenaline kicked in.

With shaky hands, you quickly checked the front door making sure it was locked, and headed to the back door to do the same. You rushed around checking the windows and pulling all the curtains closed. Everything seemed fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Still, that didn’t settle your nerves any.

“MC, dear? Did you hear me?” The sound of Asmo’s voice brought you out of your frantic state.

“Huh? S-sorry Asmo. I guess I s-spaced out.” You tried your best to keep your tone normal and steady your breathing, as to not alert him to anything. You really should give him more credit, though.

“MC? Is everything alright?” His tone was different, no longer playful and flirty. You could hear the concern.

Shit.

“Yeah, I’m fine. More hate mail is all. No biggie.” You lied. Maybe he would believe it..

There was a pause on his end, “You’re STILL getting it? Don’t they have anything better to do?” Good, he bought it. For now, anyway.

After about 10 more minutes Asmo said his goodbyes, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

This piece hate mail turned out to be something much worse than the run of the mill stuff you usually received. Inside there were pictures. Of you. At work, at school, the grocery store, ...outside your house. There was also a newspaper clipping that had a picture of you and your family, from when your parents first opened their bakery a few years back. There were red ‘Xs’ marked through everyone’s faces...

The only words scrawled inside read, “I’ve been watching you. You will pay for what you’ve done, whore. And don’t even think about telling your demon fuck buddies. I know everything about you and your family. It’d be a shame if anything happened to poor old Mom and Dad because their child is an unholy slut.”

You read it over and over, tears streaking your cheeks. Hate mail was nothing new, but now this? A stalker? 

Maybe I’m just over thinking it. The other hate mail was spicy too. But these pictures... There is NO way I’m over thinking this..

“Regardless, I can’t tell the brothers.” You shuddered at what their reaction would be like. It would definitely make all of Diavolo’s hard work on the exchange program obsolete. It wouldn’t be good for any of the three realms. There was still a long way to go, but the program was a giant step in the right direction to obtaining peace and understanding. If dealing with some backlash and hate mail could help get closer to that goal, then for the sake of the greater could, you could handle it.

“For now, I will bear this burden myself.”

- {3 weeks later} -

“Are you okay?”

The simple question nearly made you squeak and nearly jump out of your skin. You turn and meet the worried gaze of your lab partner. You weren’t super close with her, so you knew your current state had to be bad if she was picking up on it.

God, do I really look that bad? You got a good look at yourself this morning, and yeah, you absolutely look that bad. But then again, you haven’t really slept in a few weeks. You had gigantic purple eye bags, your hair looked like a family of birds took up residence in it. Your skin was pale and lifeless, and you began skin picking at your nails due to the anxiety. You’d even lost about twenty pounds.

“Sorry, I guess I was spacing out.”

“It’s alright. It’s just- no offense, but you look awful. Have you been sleeping?” She asked, eyes scanning your face.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Promise.” You lied. She nodded and gave you a weak smile, dropping the subject for now.

You hadn’t really been paying attention to class today. Well, for the last several days, really. You’ve been putting in less effort for a lot of things lately. You’ve been slacking off bad at school and barely keeping up at work. Not to mention you never sleep anymore. How can you though?

You left class early and although it was still early in the day, you decided to skip the rest of your lectures for the day. You’ve always been a fantastic student, so taking a day off wouldn’t really hurt anything. And seeing as today was Thursday, you didn’t even have work today. Same as every week.

 Upon arriving home, you were relieved to see that there weren’t any notes left for you. Yet, anyway.

Ever since the first letter a few weeks ago, they’ve been showing up constantly. Only a few times the first week or so, but now you get at least one every single day. They’re also increasing in severity. The sender seems to be becoming more and more unhinged with every passing day.

“Dirty demon whore!!”

“You’re a HUMAN!! How dare you taint your body with demons!”

“I will cleanse you and make you pure again.”

There was so, so much more. All of it growing more and more explicit with each letter.

The whole thing was taking a huge tool on you, but what could you do? Your family’s safety was on the line. You so badly wanted to tell Mammon of even the cops, but you couldn’t live with yourself if anything bad were to happen. Whatever this psycho had planned, you would gladly put yourself in the line of fire to save those closest to you.

The whole situation has also affected your relationship with Mammon and the rest of the brothers as well. At first, you tried to hide what was happening, but they started getting suspicious and asking questions. Always wondering why you sounded so tired and why you kept cutting their phone calls super short. You always rejected their face time requests, knowing that your drastic change in appearance would be alarming and alert them that something was wrong. Lately, you’ve barely talked to any of them. Especially Mammon. He’d be the first to figure out something was wrong with you and come here ready to fight.

That honestly didn’t sound too bad. You wanted nothing more than for him to hold you while you ugly cried. Breathing in his scent while he rubbed soothing circles on your back.

Your heart started to ache.

-

When you got home you decided to take a nice, hot shower to hopefully help ease some of your tension and possibly begin to get a handle on your quickly deteriorating self care status.

Once you felt somewhat normal again, you put on your comfiest pj’s (which included one of Mammon’s shirts) and plopped yourself on your bed in the fetal position. It was the only thing that kinda helped ease a tiny bit of the feeling that everything was spiraling out of control. The warm scent of your most favorite demon helped calm you.

*bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz*

Damn. I almost fell asleep..

You sat up, rubbing your eyes and reached for your D.D.D. on your nightstand. The called ID made your heart rate accelerate and your palms sweaty.

It’s him.

“Mammon..? I thought it was Beel’s turn to call?”

“I don’t care about Lucifer’s stupid schedule. I need to talk to ya.” His tone made him sound like he was on edge.

“Oh, ok. What’s up?”

He scoffed, “Really? You’ve barely messaged me back in three days. The last time I called, ya hung up after five minutes.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy.” Every lie helps break your heart just a little more. 

“You’ve never been too busy before. Besides, shouldn’t ya be in a class right now or somethin’? It ain’t even noon.”

“I left class early and I’m skipping the rest of the day.” You explained.

“..Hmm.” He replied, you could detect suspicion in his response.

It was quiet on his end for a moment.

“MC?”

“Yeah?”

“..Do ya got another boyfriend? Cause The Great Mammon is definitely better! And-and, I’ll kick their ass!”

“What? Mammon, no. One boyfriend is almost more than I can handle.”

“Wha- hey!”

For the first time in who knows when, you actually giggled. It felt so good.

“So, you swear nothin’ is wrong? You’ve been actin’ so weird.” His voice was heavy with concern.

“Yeah, I swear.” Lie.

As good as it felt to talk to him, you needed to end the call before he ended up dragging the truth out of you. If any one could figure out what was wrong with you, it’d be him. The two of you had spent so much time together, that you can practically read each other like a book.

“I gotta go, ok? I have work later and I need to get ready.” Lie. But, you needed to get off the phone with him before he suspects anything.

“Yeah, sure.” He sounded so defeated. You could almost hear him pouting.

After a quicker goodbye than you usually have when getting off the phone with Mammon, you fell back onto your bed with a heavy sigh.

That was a little rough, but he seemed to believe it. I hope this will all be over soon.

With that, you quickly fell asleep, lulled by the memory of your demon’s voice. Although you wouldn’t sleep long, at least you got to fall asleep to the thought of him.

-

*bzzz* *bzzz* *bzzz*

Geez, are ya gonna answer or not? Ya always pick up on the second ring when I call ya.., Mammon thought.

Finally, on the sixth ring, “Mammon..? I thought it was Beel’s turn to call?”

Man, hearing your voice is like music.

“I don’t care about Lucifer’s stupid schedule. I need to talk to ya.” His tone made him sound a little rougher than intended, but it was all the same. He needed to hear you voice.

“Oh, ok. What’s up?”

He scoffed, “Really? You’ve barely messaged me back in three days. The last time I called, ya hung up after five minutes.”

I miss ya like crazy. Ya keep avoiding me..

“Oh. I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy.” 

Huh? But, MC is always busy doing somethin’ and it never stopped em’ before..

He started getting an uneasy feeling deep in his stomach. He could tell something was off, but he just didn’t know what it was.

Is it ...someone else? Nah, MC wouldn’t do that. ...Right??

“You’ve never been too busy before. Besides, shouldn’t ya be in a class right now or somethin’? It ain’t even noon.” He didn’t try to hide the pout, that he knew you could hear, in his voice. His own thoughts were beginning to hurt his feelings.

“I left class early and I’m skipping the rest of the day.” MC explained.

“..Hmm.” He hummed. Thoughts started swirling around in his head.

MC never skips school, not even at RAD. Somethin’ is definitely going on. And what’s with the short answers? MC always talks like crazy. Maybe they’re mad at me?

It was quiet for a moment while he tried to sort through his thoughts.

“MC?” He asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah?”

“..D-do ya got another boyfriend? Cause The Great Mammon is definitely better! And-and, I’ll kick their ass!”

“What? Mammon, no. One boyfriend is almost more than I can handle.”

“Wha- hey!” You giggled at his response. It was small, but he heard it. It made his heart swim.

All joking aside, he did believe you. Something was definitely not right with you though.

“So, you swear nothin’ is wrong? You’ve been actin’ so weird.” His voice was heavy with concern.

“Yeah, I swear.” Those three words caused his heart to sink.

That was a lie.. MC only says ‘I swear’ while tryin’ to act like somethin’ ain’t wrong..

He pushed his thoughts aside for the time being and continued the conversation. It only lasted a few more minutes before you started saying your goodbyes. Again, cutting the call short.

“I gotta go, ok? I have work later and I need to get ready.” 

Hmm. Why does that seem weird?

“Yeah, sure.” He sounded so defeated.

There was, without a doubt in his mind, something going on. Something that would make you lie to him..

One way or another, he was going to find out.

-

“Mammon? Are you alright?”

Mammon was sprawled out on the couch in the common room. After talking to you, he was lost in his thoughts and feeling rather down. Beel passed by the common room on his was back from the kitchen when he saw his older brother. Noticing that he looked sad, Beel went to investigate.

Mammon looked up to meet Bee’s concerned gaze and with a sigh, he sat up.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Mammon said, as he stood up to leave. Beel could tell he was obviously lying, but decided not to press the issue.

Mammon stopped a few paces away from Beel, and turned back around to face him.

“Hey, Beel. Was MC actin’, I don’t know, “off”, the last time ya talked to em’?” He asked the sixth born, thinking maybe you had accidentally let something slip.

Beel’s face seemed to twist up a little bit, and he nodded.

“Yeah, kind of. MC used to sound excited when I called, but now they hardly talk at all. And they used to send me pictures of the food they were eating and new recipes, at least twice a day, but it’s been about two weeks since the last one they sent.” He explained, sadness in his voice. While in the Devildom, you were his favorite person to eat with.

Mammon nodded at his brother, getting lost in his thoughts again.

So, it’s not just me. MC is actin’ strange with Beel too..

Neither of them had paid been paying enough attention to see Asmo enter the room.

“Mammon, there you are. I’m going out, and I need my new bag from Majolish. The one I let you borrow. And i swear, if you sold it-” Asmo stopped mid sentence when he noticed the sad state two of his brothers.

“Is it about MC?” He asked, nonchalaunt.

Mammon’s head snapped toward his brother.

“What do you mean? Did they say somethin’ to ya?” Mammon asked quickly, taking a few steps closer to his brother.

MC and Asmo always gossip with each other, so maybe they’d tell him somethin’..

“Calm down. MC really hasn’t talked to me much in the last month. I’m so hurt! Who else am I going to talk beauty products with? Lucifer? Goodness, no.”

“Asmo!” Mammon said loudly, trying to get the fifth born back on track.

“Oh, right. Let’s see.” He put a finger to his chin and thought about it. “Hmm. The only thing I can think of was during the last normal conversation I had with them. They said something about receiving a piece of hate mail. They said it was no big deal, but I distinctly remember MC seemed flustered by it. Which I thought was weird, considering it’s definitely not the first one they’d received..” Asmo explained.

Hate mail? MC has only mentioned it to me a couple times. Do they really get it that often..?

“How long ago was that?” Mammon asked. He felt like he was on the brink of something. Just a few more puzzle pieces..

“Hmm, it was right before MC started acting distant toward me. So, about three or four weeks, maybe.” Asmo explained. That’s around the time you had started acting weird with Mammon too.

“So, maybe something happened to MC.” Beel suggested.

“No, MC would tell us. ..Right?” Asmo questioned.

Mammon was so confused.

What is goin’ on with you, MC?

-

After talking with his brothers, Mammon holed himself up in his room. He didn’t really want to be around anyone at the moment. His thoughts were driving him crazy and giving him a headache. What was he not seeing? What piece of the puzzle was he missing?

He started going over your last conversation again, for the millionth time, looking for any kind of clue. But, you seemed normal. Well, your new normal, anyway. Distant, short answers, not giving too much to the conversation. What were you hiding?

It was something about the end of your conversation, but what was it?

He remembered your small giggle. The memory caused a smile to break out across his face. It gave him a tiny bit of hope that you were still there. That you still loved him. That whatever was troubling you, wasn’t making you forget them completely.

It was after that though. You had said “I swear”, which was a red flag, considering you only say it when you’re trying to convince him you’re ok when you’re really not.

He sighed, and rolled over on his bed. He looked at the alarm clock on his night stand, numbers glowing an angry red.

MC is probably at work right now..

Something caught his eye.

Today is Thursday... MC never works on Thursday. I guess the schedule coulda changed. No, cause MC specifically requested to always have that day off for some reason. Delivery day at their family’s bakery, I think. ...MC lied, again..

Then it hit him.

The small little lies. Avoiding all of them, even him for weeks now. Barely talking when you do answer the phone. The way you always sounded so tired and out of it.

It had something to do with what Asmo said about the hate mail.

“Hmm. The only thing I can think of was during the last normal conversation I had with them. They said something about receiving a piece of hate mail. They said it was no big deal, but I distinctly remember MC seemed flustered by it. Which I thought was weird, considering it’s definitely not the first one they’d received..”

Mammon didn’t even know that you’d been receiving that much hate mail. Sure, you’d told him about it a couple times, but he didn’t think it was that bad. Maybe it was actually pretty serious. Is that why you’d been so distant.

Mammon got up from his bed, and began pacing around the room. He almost had it figured out, he could feel it.

Asmo said MC seemed flustered, so it had to have somethin’ to do with the hate mail they received that day, since after that is when MC started actin’ weird.What if it’s somethin’ bad. Like, bad bad. 

He stopped pacing.

The thought of MC being in danger was...

Mammon grabbed his jacket, where it was thrown onto the pool table and left his room in a hurry. He was on his way to Lucifer’s study, mentally preparing himself on the way. He was sure he knew what his brother’s answer would be, but he wasn’t going to just sit here. He needed to know that you were, in fact alright, with his own eyes.

I’m going to the human world. Whether Lucifer allows it or not.

| part two | | part three |

[candyopala]

Stuck in his ways, chapter 3

Chapter summary:  Y/N hit her head, will everything be okay? Obito struggles.

Words: 1.4k

AO3

Please reblog or leave a like if you enjoy <3

Shit, shit, shit! She hit her head, why did she pass out of nowhere? 

Obito knew he was not cut for babysitting jobs, but he would not have imagined that he would end up fucking it up so bad. Yeah, he was trying to get rid of the girl so that he could go back to his usual missions, but he had not planned anything like this. 

Ok, she still has a pulse at least, but her breathing is too slow. Classic case of chakra exhaustion. But did she even use that many jutsu? He only saw that one chakra punch, nothing else, not even a single clone or substitution jutsu. How can she be already exhausted? 

He tries his best to infuse his chakra into her, even if his medical jutsu is mediocre at best, he only recalls the basics that Ri-she taught him. 

Y/N looks peaceful, but this situation still sends chills up on Obito’s spine. He was supposed to take care of this girl, but he failed her, he failed someone again. Yet again, someone dies in his arms and this time he is actively guilty for it. Images of the rivers of blood of that night flash through his mind. 

His sharingan records Y/N’s face while she sleeps without his knowledge due to the immense stress this is causing him. He hyperventilates, he gets desperate and he struggles to calm back down. This is different from when a partner gets hurt in his usual missions: this is his fault. Why did he have to test her like that?  

As a shinobi he should be used to death surrounding him, it is the way of this world. A world that he promised to change when he saw his friend die, a world that he vowed to bring peace to when he, Kakashi and Minato killed Madara and Zetsu. And that was a promise he seeks to achieve by becoming the next Hokage… but what kind of Hokage fails to save his friends and subordinates? 

After doing what he can to stabilize Y/N, he picks her up on his lap. He is afraid of carrying her back to the village, since moving her body too much could cause a broken bone to perforate nearby organs and such. 

As a ninja, he knows he has to finish this mission, but as a person, he feels that something tells him to take care of this girl. Of course, she is rude, proud, bratty and inconsequential, he has only spent three hours beside her and both cannot stand each other, but he just feels… no… anyway, he just needs to make sure she does not get herself killed… if she even wakes up after this. 

Looking at the top of the trees, he sees a lonely bird flying aimlessly from branch to branch, no partner in sight. He closes his eye in anger. 

“Fuck… how long have I been out for?”

Glancing down Obito sees that Y/N has regained conscience and is even moving around a little bit. She seems confused by the close proximity between them, looking back and forward to his arm holding her and his face. 

Flustered and suddenly very self-conscious, Obito places her back on the ground, distancing his gaze from hers, embarrassed from having been so visibly worried. 

“For a couple of minutes. You hit your head though, so we have to make sure you don’t fall asleep again”

“Well, I’m a grown up gal, I can take care of myself, besides, you seem too worried for someone who was just dropkicking me minutes after we met” 

“Don’t give yourself too much credit; I’m just doing good on my mission. Are you feeling any pain?”

“Nope, good as new. I’m heading to my apartment, see ya crepp”

With this Y/N tries to get up, only to unbalance herself and fall back on her butt on the ground. Obito makes a show of rolling his only eye as visibly as possible in annoyance. He gets up himself and extends his hand to her to help her get up.

 Did I throw stones at some temple in another life to deserve this?

As if trying to check for people around, Y/N takes her time before accepting the Uchiha’s help. With a grunt, she is up, but she shows no capability of being able to sustain her own weight, so Obito puts her arm over his shoulders for balance.  

“Hold on tight”

 ~”~  

 If having to walk around the village with dirt all over her face, body and hair wasn’t enough, Y/N just had to be paraded around draped onto some dude. He did smell nice, even after that earlier scuffle they had. Yes, the scuffle! How could she forget? She caught the bells all right, but she passed out right after. He is certainly taking her to pack her things and kick her out of the leaf. 

“Are you… Am I getting kicked out?”

“What? No, I have no power to do that”

She almost falls on her back again as she begins to violently gesture at the Uchiha. Of course he was bluffing, why wouldn’t him? 

“You fucker! I knew it!”

“Calm down princess, we’ll talk after you get out of the hospital, stop making a fool out of yourself in the middle of the street, right?”

“Hospital? No fucking way sir! I want to go back to my apartment, and make a plan on how to torture you until the end of time-”

“Sure, sure, like you could actually make my life even worse” He says as he lets out a dry laugh

Y/N actually knows that she should go check that head injury, but it’s not like she would ever admit that to the Uchiha, so she just lets him guide her to the village hospital. Arriving there, Obito leaves her with the nurses that from beyond that point put her through a gigantic set of exams. 

If the tons of prodding in the process of joining the village weren’t enough, she now goes through the night taking CAT-scans and having sensors stuck in her head with some nasty jelly in them. She will never forgive Obito for this whole situation. Yeah, she should not have gone through with techniques she knew would be too extreme, but she just had to show to him what she was made of, after all, no one has the right to talk to her like that. 

As she ponders about her mean mentor, the nurse comes back with some bad news: she might have a concussion, so she must not sleep for 24 hours at least, just to make sure it doesn’t evolve into a coma or something of sorts. 

This is, again, all Obito’s fault.

Yeah, he’ll pay, for sure. But how?

Instantly, a small light turns on over her head. Staying up for that long would for sure be a challenge all by herself; she doesn’t even have her tv installed yet, for fucks sake. She should find herself a companion for the next hours, someone that can entertain her. What’s more entertaining than torturing an asshole? 

It must be at least three in the morning when Y/N reaches the Uchiha district. She has searched over ten house’s windows at this point, but no Mr. Creep in sight, that is, until she reaches her final destination. It’s a small but charming wooden house, clearly very old in age but very well taken care of. As she looks into a small window at the back she sees a man with his back turned and the infamous eyepatch bandana sitting over the bedside table. 

That’s it!

After carefully checking, she sees that the man lives alone. Good, he’s single. Wait, why is that good? To see that I’m not intruding some poor family’s house, sure! That’s all, ok? Anyway, Y/N opens the window slowly and climbs into the room, which is surprisingly tidy and clean. 

Obito sleeps soundly in the bed in the middle of the room, with his belly facing down and sprawled all over the numerous sheets that cover him. Quickly heading to the kitchen, Y/N grabs a saucer and a big spoon, banging both of them against each other as she waltz into the room again.

“Wake the fuck up, Obito Uchiha!” she screams as she bangs the pan and laughs hysterically. 

Her joy is cut short when she stumbles upon the following scenario: Obito jumps up from his bed, standing confused with sleeping wrinkles all over his left side and wearing only boxers.

“Huh…”   

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Titanic Mothers (Mother’s Day 2021 Drabbles)

 Dedicated to all Mothers in the world, whether by birth, adoption or otherwise. Take the time to wish the woman who helped you become the person you are a very blessed Mother’s Day.

Of course I cannot have done this without thanking my pen pals @lightdusk96 @mothnem @wisegirlandseaweedbrainforever @fireflyxrebel-writes @tarisilmarwen @bluerene and many others 

So without further ado....

Arella Roth

 The peaceful, serene and calming orange tinted skies of Azarath are in many ways are therapeutic sort to admire under. For Arella, they are a perfect sort of skies to step outside for a nice and simple meditation. The Monks’ efforts in freeing her mind and grief in light of the numerous....series of events surrounding her entire life, whether being her harsh childhood and especially her unfortunate encounter with that bastard of a devil known as Trigon the Terrible, all of it had truly done some wonders in giving her a chance to appreciate life though clearly that grief runs deep, requiring an additional amount of effort on her end to counter it. 

 As Arella assumes lotus position on the balcony and lights two candles to her sides, she closes her eyes. She begins steadying her breathing and clears her mind...no easy feat though sine almost about a few seconds into clearing it, the scepter of Trigon and her tyrant of mother start coming in. The harsh words of shame, the demonic laughter, those taunts, the curses, they all start piling onto her mind, no her soul all at once. Her breathing starts picking up speed. She must remember what the Monks taught her....peace...find her inner peace...find what makes her find said peace...then within the blackened and harsh void of darkness clouding her mind...Arella sees it. That peace, a tiny stream of white light...a small bird. The bird starts getting closer, it’s wings start opening, dispelling the black void surrounding her...

  As her mind starts feeling the calming light clear it out, Arella peeks open her right eye very slightly, sure enough there she was. Her light, her inner peace, her white bird, her very daughter. 

 Little Rachel Roth, barely eight years of age as of now, was also in lotus position, practicing the very same meditation her mother was doing right now. She too looked at her meditating partner to her side and sure enough, both realize...’why stop now’ and both wordlessly give each other a small smile, a nod and both continue mediating. 

Arella, upon closing her eye back, says, “Okay, Rachel, now repeat after me...”

“Yes, Mom”

“Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos....”

Marie Logan

  “Garfield” Maire called out for maybe the fifth time, passing by the tall tree next their camper yet again.

  Her six year old little explorer of a boy had a tendency to run off whenever he was bored. Thankfully, he’d never venture into the nearby jungles or savannas the Logans visit too far, he always keep relatively close to make sure he knows his way back safely. Still, as a mother, Marie has her fair share of concerns for his well being since who knows what kind of animals he can run into this time. 

  However, the fifth time calling for him appears being the charm as sure enough, she can hear the branches creaking and the leaves rustling above her. Looking upward, sure enough, there he was, climbing down the gigantic branches with such agility before finally landing safely right next to her. His blond hair and crisp green eyes shone brightly as Garfield beams to his equally smiling mother. 

 “Found anything up there my explorer?” Marie asked while picking her son into her arms.

 “Nah”, Garfield replied, “plenty of birds like the manual said would ‘round here but they flew away”

 “Well, must be cause they didn’t want to hear about Wicked Scary just yet”, Marie says lightly giggling while ruffling her son’s hair, “maybe they just didn’t wanna get it spoiled you know?”

 Garfield sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, “Yeah, guess so.”

Dr. Elinore Stone

  Fixing her goggles, Dr. Stone narrowed her eyes within them ever so slightly. Next to her, ten year old Victor was equally wearing goggles but also adorably having oven mittens on his hands while holding on tightly to the beaker of green fluid over the larger one with orange fluid. 

 It was ‘Take Your Kids to Work Day’ at STAR Labs and both Elinore and her husband Silas had taken their son over to both explore where his parents’ worked at and even take part in a family friendly activity like this one. 

  Lightly guiding her gloved hands over Vic’s, the two together start pouring the green fluid from the beaker the latter was carrying very slowly into the one with the orange substance. The chemical reaction from the larger beaker was almost immediate since it started changing into a multitude of bright colors and bubbling. 

 “Alright son”, Elinore exclaimed proudly as her son beamed to her happily, “I think you’d just be quite the perfect chemi...” 

  KA-BOOM! 

  The lab immediately filled with a light with still irradiating cloud of smoke so rapidly that Silas immediately opened the windows to let the air clear. 

 As the smoke cleared out safely, both Elinore and Victor were thankfully completely fine aside the black soot covering their faces, their hair standing up embarrassingly, all the while Vic still holding onto that plastic beaker in his hands, muttering with a chuckle, “or not.” 

Empress Luand’r of Planet Tamaran 

  The royal gardens within the palace walls have always been a true sanctuary in many ways. In contrast to the barren and strip-mined prefectures right outside said palace walls, ravaged by years of constant fighting and war, the gardens housed a peaceful and tranquil environment that not provides the many fauna a suitable home, but also anyone who ventures within a calming place to contemplate and even find joy in spite of such harsh times befalling the planet.

 That’s very much the case for the very Empress of the Tamaraneans as she cannot help but find her smiling at not just the beautiful varying colors, pleasant aromas and lively calmness of the garden the bench she sits upon at this moment but also of the other resident currently enjoying herself alongside her. 

 Hearing a small voice giggle above her head, Luand’r beams proudly at the sight she sees: her seven planetary cycles of age old little Princess Koriand’r was floating in the air joyously and with such excitement, flying around the numerous branches and leaves of the fauna surrounding her, only stopping every now and then to have her brilliant green eyes observe closely of the leaves she floats right next to. 

 It was moments of pure innocence like this that always bring the purest joy within the usually lowkey Luand’r since through her, her husband Myand’r and especially their beloved ally and servant Galfore, Koriand’r and her siblings are actually given even int he smallest of doses a life outside of the constant bombardment and sirens their enemies bring on a consistent basis. If only there were some way, some means of escaping this perpetual worry and state of fear this war for their kind’s very sovereignty. If one such means exists, Luand’r here will ensure she and her people, especially her children, can take it. 

  A hug snaps the Empress out of her thoughts. Looking to her side, she sees Koriand’r wrapping her arms around her. No other options are needed since all the black-haired Tamaranean woman does is simply yet all too lovingly hug her red-haired daughter back.

   And so, Empress and Princess sit peacefully underneath the blossoming flowers and leaves of the royal garden, a truly fond way of doing the ‘spending quality time’ as a certain other species called Earthlings call it.

  Mary Elizabeth Lloyd Grayson 

 Gripping the bar tightly, Mary pulls it back while bending her legs starting with tipping her toes over the edge of the platform. Now int position, she looks down from her post and  can clearly see the nets are firmly in place and secured well enough. In the very few instances they engage in practice sessions without the nets, as per their acts, it would be just John and her doing such since by now, years of practice and experience worldwide have taught them a thing or few about making sure not a single fall happens on their watch, lest it cause certain disaster. 

  However, this it wasn’t John that was up here with her for today but, looking to her side and giving him a proud thumbs up, instead was her eight year old son who also gives her a thumbs up. Just two months ago was his birthday on the first day of spring and since then, no ever since he first took to the trapeze ropes when he was four, Mary watched her Little Robin improve and grow with each session, each show and every single time he stands on that platform, taking a leap of faith with his hands on the bars, letting loose to perform a spin or flip in the air before once more stretching his arms to safety of both John and/or her. Today proves not too different, hopefully. Worst case for this, Dick or her fall to nets below instead of the hard sandy floor. 

  Leaping off the platform with bar in hand, Mary flew the calm free-of-audience noise air with perfect easy, before hearing that trademark crack of the ropes, signal her to let it loose and with a flip in the air transferred successfully to the second bar across from where her son and the platform are, the first bar she gripped on still in hand.  

 Returning the first bar back to where son is at, now it was on her to ensure he reached her after his turn to swing. As such, Mary began swing the bar she was on back and forth, gaining momentum with each addition swing, only increasing such until it was deemed ready. Sure enough, the bar was swinging at a good pace and now, being the naturally skill contortionist she is, Mary easily positioned the back of knees so that her calves were holding her on the swinging bar, she was hanging upside down if not for the swinging of said bar and most importantly her arms are firmly in a position to stretch as far as they can for a catch. Her part in the act was good to go, now it truly was her son’s turn to fly.

  With a nod, his own hands firmly on the bar, in position for the leap and now his mother across ready to catch him, Dick with a wide grin on his face takes the leap of the platform and swings on his bar across the air. This was it, this was the time he gets it right. The creaking of the ropes he waits for is heard, it was time to let the bar loose. Sure enough as he does so, tucking in his legs to his chest tightly, Dick has nothing to hold him but gravity itself. 

One....Here’s hoping Raymond and Calvin are seeing this 

Two....He can already hear the crowd gasping 

Three....Keep it tight and remember make sure you let arms stretch at the right moment Dad says. 

And......Four! Dick straightens out his body and stretches his arms as far as he can. 

 For the briefest of all moments, he was actually flying. Nothing carrying him, no sense of his own weight dragging him down. He was Superman at that moment. 

 Then he starts loosing his flight, gravity had set in. He stretches his arms just to tiniest bit hoping before air rushes he can....just a little bit....

 Sire enough, all too familiar hands clasps onto his own hand. That familiar calloused texture of the palms, the chalky powdery feeling...Dick looks up to all too familiar face, a very beaming and proud one on top of that 

 “I’ve got you” Mary says lovingly as she can while using her arms to carry her son safely, “Momma’s here, Little Robin.” 

  The two smile at each other with all too familiar love and happiness in their distinct pairs of blue eyes while Mary’s bar starts slowing down its momentum. Finally as it comes to near complete stop, it was time to safely descend to the safety net below. 

 Before letting her son’s grips slips from her hands, Mary pulls him up to where she can deliver a small kiss on his forehead.

 “You did great!” she exclaims happily. Just then, finally the bar’s swinging comes to stop, allowing Mary to finally lossen her grip on her son, allowing him to safely land on the net below, giggling lightly as he initially bounced on it. Just then, Dick rolled out of the way to give his mother enough space for own safe landing as she unhooks her legs from the trapeze bar and land on the net right next to him.

 Mother and son simply lay there on their sides of the net, panting after such an effort before Mary threw her arms around her little boy, hugging him close to her. “You’re learning so fast”, she says panting yet all to happily.

  Dick simply lays his head close to her, feeling her all too calming and steady heartbeat, relaxing the both of them. 

 “Happy Mother’s Day. Momma, Love you”, he whispers to her happily, as he wraps his own around her tightly 

 Mary can’t help but smile and even have tears of joy glisten her eyes. Pressing a few kisses on her son’s forehead, she whispers in turn, “And I Love you, so, so much, My Little Robin” 

[skvaderarts]

Hiraeth Chapter 58: Infernal

Masterlist can be found Here!

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Infernal

Notes: I love writing fighting scenes! It's always such a blast to write the motions and the momentum of a fight! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

(-~-)

In truth, the only thing comparable to the creature's horrendous appearance was its sheer size and magnitude. Standing at a size comparable to that of a small building, its stature was domineering. And with wings that dared blot out the very night sky around them, the creature before them was undoubtedly a demon, although unlike anything they'd previously seen. 

Well, that was partially a misnomer. The color scheme matched almost perfectly with that of the devil they had battled against in the subway station with that summoner, both of his devils being very similar in thematic coloration. No doubt they hailed from the same origin point, whatever dark abyss in the underworld they hailed from being one and the same. But even still it was no part of the underworld that either of them was familiar with. Belial and his cronies must have dug deep to locate such foul creatures.

Towering over them and admitting a menacing aura, the gigantic demonic beast was more akin to some sort of sabertooth tiger crossed with a dog than anything else. It snarled and was clearly less than pleased with their presence, but there was a sort of intelligence to the creature that made them wary of simply rushing in and attacking like they normally would. His body was shrouded in a layer of black pulsating darkness that seemed to consist of some sort of flesh, but it was entirely too difficult to tell in these lighting conditions. The same magenta markings marred most of its flesh and wings, and two additional heads sprouted from what appeared to be the shoulders of the beast. A pair of compressed black and magenta wings adorned its back that, if straightened, were probably taller than the building they had just been standing near. All in all, entirely too big of a demon to have accidentally stumbled into the human world. And neither of them needed to wonder if it had been brought there on purpose.

They weren't entirely sure how they had missed something so large initially. Had the devil been laying stomach down on the ground before they had arrived? That was the only feasible explanation considering the fact that they had seen aircrafts smaller than that. Its claws were practically as big as they were, each paw the size of a small family car. And it had four of them. And it had to be said that this was probably the first time either of them had fought a devil with more heads than opponents. If they failed there would be quite the fight between each of the heads to decide who's actually going to eat them.

"So am I safe to assume that you have no idea what this creature is?" V said, putting some room between himself and the creature as it bore down on them. He had no idea what they were up against now, but he was absolutely certain that he was going to need Griffon. He would just wait for the proper time. Perhaps if they were lucky he could use his avian companion to distract the beast while they moved in to fight it. As outmatched as he suddenly felt, he knew that he couldn't leave this creature to roam the city in good conscience. There was self-preservation, and then there was negligence.

A slightly amused look across the face of the man with the red hair as he glanced over his shoulder with a sort of sarcastic flare, seemingly calm and composed and otherwise unworried about their opponent but not quite to the degree that would imply that he considered it an easy fight. He wasn't vain enough to believe that this creature would actually be simple to take down, but he felt somewhat secure in the knowledge that he was able to beat it. He had fought much more dangerous foes in the past, and none of them had managed to overpower him. Perhaps if he was lucky this would be the boost to V's confidence that he needed at a time like this.

"You would be correct in that assumption. I have quite literally no idea what this creature could be. I mean, it's quite obviously a devil for a demon of some sort, but in regards to its place of origin, I couldn't be less knowledgeable. It seems to be something akin to the illustrations and stories that I've heard of the Infernal Devils, but without going through the bestiary that the Ludwig family possesses, I would have no way of being sure." Sirrus seems slightly put off by his lack of knowledge and as to what the creature might be, but he drew his blade regardless, unwilling to even consider the idea of allowing his companion to face such a large and potentially deadly opponent alone. He was not without honor. "I took the liberty of looking into possible demonic species while I was there yesterday, and this seems to be what this might be, but unfortunately, none of those books are exactly in color. Just descriptions of them next to vaguely drawn illustrations, and trying to decipher both the handwriting and translate the language is quite the hassle. You might be worth taking a look at it  yourself after we get out of this situation."

"Okay then, so what happens now, genius? Are we just going to run in guns blazing, or do you have a better idea?" The small voice from within his head spoke, clearly realizing just how far and over their heads they might be. It took the young summoner a moment to register that his familiar with speaking to him, but although he didn't outwardly show it, he did consider the statement.

"By any chance, do you recognize this species?" V asked his familiar, cognizant of the fact that a demon might be able to recognize a demon than he did. Griffon's knowledge into some of these matters was foggy at best, what it was still more than he tended to know. He simply didn't have the first-hand experience in most cases.

A long pause settled between the pair of them before he finally got his response. "Hmmm… I think our red-haired buddy might be onto something. I can't say I know much about the Infernal Devils since they're basically legends, but this might be one. Makes you wonder how they opened a gate big enough to let something like this out, though. We better figure that out and quick, or we'll have bigger problems. If this is an Infernal Devil, this isn't even one of the biggest ones I've heard of. Might be one of their more common devils, but again, I can't be sure.

"Do you have a plan of any sort?" V said calmly as they stared down the devil, content in the knowledge that they would quickly become demonic dog chow if they didn't do something about this soon. They were actually somewhat surprised that it hadn't attempted to eat them yet. Perhaps it'd been left here as some sort of century?

Sirrus shook his head. "Not one that I can say that I have much confidence in, but I do have something. Do you have access to your familiar? That bird?"

V felt Griffon stir within the confines of his mind, somewhat miffed it being referred to as a simple bird. He smirked in spite of himself and his circumstances. "Settle down. Be thankful he didn't call you a chicken. That's a change of pace at the very least."

The young summoner could feel his summons ire as he said that, resisting the urge to chuckle to himself. This wasn't the time, and it certainly wasn't the place, but it seemed that their hand had been forced, and they had to do what they had to do to not only survive but to protect the city. They were going to have to battle against this devil whether they were prepared or not.

As he considered this, the devil lunged forward, sinking its paw into the asphalt in front of them and pulling it up in large swaths. The gash it left in its wake was as wide as he was, something that didn't escape his notice. The last thing he wanted was to be nicked by one of those colossal claws, or worse, to be caught in the maw of such a fearsome beast. He would no doubt meet his end swiftly if it were to succeed in that endeavor.

"Let's go with your plan, then. I'm perfectly capable of improvising."

Noticing that it had most certainly been the threatening gesture of the devil that had coaxed him into such an immediate response, Sirrus took the bold step of going closer to the devil, his blade drawn. Naturally, the creature was not at all pleased by his challenging move and swiped at him, its grip coming up empty. In the wake of its confusion, V managed to slip to the side of it, the devil clearly more fixated on its inability to find its received target than it was with keeping up with the other individual that had accompanied them.

Realizing that Sirrus had probably ducked behind a nearby tree, the devil let out a bellowing roar that shook the ruined ground beneath it, its paw crushing the small sapling under its unyielding weight. Sirrus flanked it from the left, charging in and managing to land a decent slash that pierced its ear and caught the side of his neck. It recoiled back in discomfort, causing it to open its wings and blow debris all around them. Caught off guard by the suddenness of his movement, the red-haired man tumbled backward, his back hitting a tree. The wind had been sufficiently knocked out of him, but from what V could see he had been otherwise unharmed. But that meant that it was now his time to step in and turn the tide of battle. Sirrus's selfless distraction had given him the time needed to charge up a more powerful attack, and he was going to use it.

As the devil flew into a rage, V made the decision to focus his attention on the creature's head, coming to the astute conclusion that perhaps causing it massive cranial damage might be enough to bring it down swifter. Under his command, Shadow leaped forward, cutting a swath up the back of the devil and using her full body tooth attack to clamp onto the back of the devil's neck. It immediately lunged up into the air, attempting to shake the demonic panther off of his back to no avail. The second that it opened its wings, Sirrus clamber to his feet and rushed forward, his aim clear. He leaped forward and, with a strong downward streak, pierced the demonic creature's wing, using his body weight to tear a large cut into it. Sufficiently thrown off balance by the lack of aerodynamics it now possessed, it toppled over, shaking him off and slamming him into the pavement with enough force to shatter the bones of a normal mortal. It was clear to both of them that now the devil was incredibly angry.

Astutely aware of the fact that they were rapidly running out of options, V summoned Griffon and directed him to charge his full strength, manifesting in the form of a barrage of waves of electricity that slammed into the devil and charged it with a powerful surge of right electrical power that toppled it onto its side. Shadow released the devil's neck and returned to her master's side just in time to grab him and snatch him out of the way of its flailing tail. Wood and concrete shrapnel flew everywhere, managing to nick him in a few exposed places, but he was otherwise unharmed. Mud and construction materials flew everywhere as the devil thrashed about in a combination of agony and malice, willing and ready to manifest its true power to decimate them in any way that it could.

Just as Sirrus managed to clamber to his feet, he immediately was set upon by the devil again, being forced to run and dive out of the path of one of his furious swipes, nearly being crushed in the process. As V attempted to mitigate the situation, the tail swung back around and managed to knock him across the parking lot and into the street, sufficiently putting him out of commission for the time being. Shadow ran to his aid, and Griffin attempted to do battle solo against the beast, hitting it with another electrical attack, this one manifesting in the form of a crisscrossing pair of lines that originated from a spherical orb. He then dived in and attempted to pester the beast, trying his best to draw its attention away from his host, but to little avail. It seemed that this particular devil would not be so easily tricked a second time. It stood up and tucked its injured wing in, clearly searching for its prey. And considering the fact that V was still attempting to pull himself to his feet and regain his bearings after hitting the back of his head against the curb, he was in no condition to attempt to defend himself. If Shadow could not stop the beast, then it would be far too late for him.

"Quick! We're going to need an assist on this one! Can you get the string bean out of here? At least long enough for me to subdue the big bad doggy here? My guess is that he hasn't been let out for walkies in a while!" Griffin shouted as he flew higher and higher up into the air, leading the devil to stand up on his back legs and attempt to be able to swipe at him more efficiently. One well-placed swing would be all it would take to put him out of commission, and he knew as much. The only advantage he had in this situation was the devil's inability to actually fly after him, but that didn't mean that it couldn't attempt to. This was a dire situation for the entire group, and if they didn't manage to gain the upper hand quickly, they would not only lose the battle, but they would more than likely lose their lives.

"No worries there, I've got him! Sirrus called over, rushing towards the devil from behind in an attempt to waylay it. He had not managed to make it to his feet again quite yet, but he had faced the devil, and it seemed that he had some sort of plan in mind. With the fierce determination that only someone facing down certain death could muster, V held his hand out towards the devil, indicating for Shadow to do her work. Muttering a phrase under his breath that Sirrus had not quite caught from the distance he stood away, Shadow melded into the very ground beneath her and manifested a wall of crushing spikes just as the devil got within stabbing distance. It slammed to a stop, tearing up the street along with it as the spikes pierced its chest and back. It let out a screeching, barking roar of pain and flailed ineffectually with both of his paws toward V as he recalled his avian companion to his side and was pulled back out of the way.

Realizing that this was his best and only chance to end the fight before things became any more destructive, the red-haired adjudicator jumped forward and leaped into the air, using his right hand to brush the edge of his blade. A sort of black flame coated it momentarily before he put both hands onto the hilt of the blade and used his full body force and the momentum of his jump to bear down on his opponent, piercing its skull with one destructive blow. It let out a single agonized cry before its head slammed down into the pavement, causing V to lose his balance but not fall as the shock wave shattered the street several dozen feet in both directions. It let out a sort of raspy, breathless groan before becoming still, blood pooling through the streets and down into the drains as its mouth flopped open and its colossal teeth we came easier to see. They were longer than both of them were tall, put almost together, but they were now no longer a threat. With that pair of decisive blows, they had managed to bring an end to the devil before it had managed to do any further damage, even if it had come at the cost of much exertion and a fair bit of discomfort and physical harm at their expense. But what was most important was that they were no longer in any form of immediate danger, and that neither was the city.

"Well… that was a bit more than I had initially signed on for," V said with a humorous tent to his voice, breathing heavily from the amount of exertion he had just endured. He wasn't so much tired as he was out of breath and seemingly unable to regain it. But he was just glad that they had managed to actually defeat the creature. Once he'd seen how large it had been, he'd had suffered an immediate momentary lapse in confidence in regards to their ability to actually finish it off alone. But they had done it. And there was a part of him that was quite impressed by that. Perhaps it was best that they had done battle against it after all. "But I think the bigger question is where did it come from? It clearly isn't a familiar. I see no core to destroy, and it hasn't been recalled to its master. Was this creature simply allowed to run streets?"

"And if that is the case, what benefit would there be in causing such needless destruction to private and public property? What is our opponent hoping to gain by orchestrating a situation like this?"  Sirrus I said as he approached the young summoner, extending his hand and offered to help him up. V allowed him to help him up off of the pavement, shaking his head in minor disbelief at how quickly that situation had escalated.

Griffon fluttered over to join them, lighting on what remained of the street post that set almost coiled around a leaking fire hydrant on the ground, an unfortunate casualty of the battle that had just taken place. He was just as flabbergasted by the sequence of events that it just played out as they were, but distinctly, had some sort of idea as to why this might have occurred. "That's a good point you two just made. The only thing that comes to mind is that maybe that summoner from the train station is trying to flush us out. You know, get us to fight these demons so he could figure out where we are. Maybe triangulate our location? Tire us out, maybe? He's after you, isn't he? I mean, he did try to drag you off at the train station. Maybe he's summoning these demons and letting him run amok so they'll catch our attention and he can swoop in and take you. Underworld's got an awful lot of demons with nothing better to do than run the streets and eat cars and buildings. I don't think he's going to run out of kindling to throw at the flame any time soon."

Both of the young men looked at one another and nodded. Yes, that seemed like a perfectly reasonable explanation as to what had just happened. If the summoner was indeed working for Belial, then he more than likely had the means and the motive to unleash a few demons on the city in the hopes of flushing them out. That sounded exactly like something a deranged maniac would do, and no human who was in the service of a devil prince could be saying anything but. After all, what did they have to gain by assisting with the takeover of the world? A leadership position? What would there be left to lead or to own if the earth was ruled by devils? Something as outlandish as allowing a human to rule anything in a world owned by demons surely would never fly. He would be snuffed out in an instant, nothing more than another meaningless mortal and no more meaningful to the devils that would be in charge than the legions of demonic foot soldiers that would take over the world in Belial's wake.

"If that's the case, then perhaps we should be wondering where that seminar might be able to watch a battle like this from. Perhaps one of the rooftops?"

Sirrus nodded in agreement, looking around at the futile buildings that surrounded them. If he was going to orchestrate a battle between his enemies and a large demon, then a high point would be the best place to view it from. "I think you may be on to something there, V. I think it might be best that we do some reconnaissance. Griffon, might I ask you a favor?"

The wild bird shook his head. "Nah, but you can ask V and he can ask me."

V shot his avian companion a disapproving look, clearly unamused considering the circumstances. This is far from the time to start being particular about who he obeyed and who he didn't. Well, it was technically true that he did obey V's commands and only V's, he had more than enough fruit will to be able to choose who he would and wouldn't listen to. And as long as his master's will allowed for it, he was perfectly able to carry out the task that had just been requested of him. "Griffon…"

Realizing that he had struck a nerve, the bird fluttered up into the air and flew off down the street. He knew that he was going to do what he was asked to do, but it seemed that he wasn't in the mood for jokes today. Considering the fact that he had just almost been eaten alive by a giant demonic panther dog bat devil thing, he was capable of understanding why he might not be exactly amused by his commentary. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know V. Lighten up, would you ya? I got it. No need to threaten to skin me alive and boil me. I'll go check it out. Hang tight, I'll be right back."

(-~-)

Fun fact: I used text to speech to write this chapter, and editing and writing it only took an hour and 20 minutes as a result! And it's almost a thousand words longer than normal! This is going to be a total game changer! And, I managed to do it on my phone! I have no idea why I never tried that until now, but it was amazing! Anyway, see you on Friday! If it's this quick, I might start spending like 4 hours a day every 2 weeks to knock out several chapters at once! That would be a great way to get ahead! 

Let me know if I missed any glaring mistakes. I went over it with an editing program after, but voice-to-speech has this amazing way of messing up things like unusual names, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I missed something. I hoped you liked this chapter! See you all in the comments section, and again on Friday!

[hero-philia]

One out of Twenty

This is my present for @new-noveltea​, who was assigned to me as part of the BNHA Spring Time Event (@bnhaclaimedmysoul​) - Because she doesn’t ship herself with someone, I decided to go for a platonic story! I hope that you like it, Ash (^o^)

Summary: First days are hard, especially if you don't understand a word of what’s going on around you. But the enterity of class A is here to help you out! (English dialogue is written normally, Japanese dialogue in italic)

Words: 2856

On this particular morning you found yourself following a man that you had only heard of before. Completely dressed in black he didn’t seem like the most heroic guy, but people throughout the country called him such. Admittedly, it hadn’t been too easy for you to follow the news reports on TV, which featured a pretty fast spoken Japanese - A language that wasn’t yours in the first place.

The steps echoed through the empty hallway, where normally dozens of students were gathering. But the bell had sent them into their classrooms a few minutes ago when you had been waiting in the teachers’ lounge to make a fool of yourself in front of everyone. 

You gulped in order to suppress the memory how you had forgotten half of your introduction speech and had switched to English instead, even if you had known that most of your audience wasn’t able to understand you that way. At least you had earned quite some chuckles as you had changed the language in the middle of saying that your Japanese basically sucked, but that you were capable of speaking English.

For now you didn’t have to talk to anyone since the man in black didn’t seem to be interested in a conversation with you. He had simply advised you to follow him after the glorious embarrassment that many high ranked heroes had witnessed. What a good start.

Wherever the two of you were headed, you could just assume that it was your classroom. A room filled with strangers was waiting for you, maybe expecting you to come. Who knew what they had been told in advance. You didn’t know anything for sure at that point.

Nevertheless you hoped that you would be able to sit down again soon as sleep-deprivation was getting the best of you. The adrenaline in your body kept you awake and functioning, but your eyes started to feel heavy. Probably it hadn’t been the best idea to send you to school two days after your arrival in a completely different country with a new time zone. Last night the jet lag had robbed you of many hours of sleep, leaving you running on three - not consecutive - hours of rest. 

On a Monday. At eight in the morning. Definitely not the ideal combination.

Your teacher didn’t leave a lot of space for thinking when he stopped next to a gigantic door. For a second you fought the huge to look up in shock until it opened with ease. Once it had swung open, you caught the first glimpse of your new classmates. 

With the backpack on your shoulders you straightened your back and put on a smile before stepping in. Nineteen pairs of eyes followed the movements of their teacher, though many scanned you as soon as they had noticed your figure. Except for a pretty grumpy looking blonde in the second row and a another boy, whose red and white hair got your attention, with absolutely no expression on his face, everyone seemed like they wanted to ask questions about your presence.

Without caring about the reaction your teacher walked to his desk only to sigh loudly. He went on with a monologue that you didn’t understand at all. The words he mumbled didn’t match any of the vocabulary you had learnt as preparation for your stay. Your thumbs started to twist around each other while you tried to translate at least one sentence.

To absolutely no avail you listened to the short speech, focused to not show your struggles openly. Finally a word came up that you had heard before - ryuugakusei. You celebrated the achievement with a growing smile, which wanted to disappeared when it hit you what that meant. Ryuugakusei happened to be translated as exchange student. It was your turn to speak again.

„Introduction, please,“ the man in the front announced in English with a look in your direction. 

For some reason a boy with curly green hair gasped aloud to hurriedly open his notebook and stare at you with curious eyes. His hand practically ready to write in the speed of light. As no one said something about it, you tried to refocus on the task.

The words of your Japanese introduction, that you had carefully constructed with the help of four online translators last night, deleted themselves for the second time today. Failing at the teachers’ lounge was one thing, but not being able to introduce yourself in front of your own class was something you didn’t want to risk.

So screw the rules!

You pulled out your phone from the pocket in your skirt - god bless whoever made that decision - and opened the notes with your sentences. Before anyone would even have the time to stop you, you began to read them out loud. Saying your name, your age, where you were from and many details more.

„I will stay for the entirety of your second year. Let’s do our best together!“ You concluded in the end. 

Of course you took a short bow while your classmate gave you a round of applause for whatever motivation. Probably to praise your bravery, because your grammar and pronunciation must have been off completely. Then your teacher allowed you to sit down at the empty seat behind the green-haired boy. 

The following lesson progressed pretty much as you had expected it to. Not that you understood what it was about, though you could finally switch off your brain for a few minutes and silently take a breath. 

Shortly after, the bell sent you back into attention mode. You watched how everyone got up, went to the wall to your left, grabbed a box with a number and aimed for the door. While you were pretty much busy with trying to figure out what was going on, someone placed their hand on your shoulder. A girl with dark hair in a ponytail stepped into your sight.

„My name is Yaoyorozu Momo and I’m one of two class presidents. Our next lesson is quirk training at the gym, so just follow me. Your costume is waiting there as well,“ she said in a soft voice. 

„Your English is really good,“ you blurted out in surprise. „Thanks for telling me! I’ll be in your care, then.“

On your way to the gym the hallways were filled with students that were also changing their rooms right now. Even though the floor had looked kind of pretty in its empty state, seeing it being crowded gave it the impression of actually being in a school. No matter how many people you passed, most of them still stared at you. 

„They are excited to see a foreigner here. In Japan we aren’t used to being around people from Europe or America, that makes you really special,“ Momo explained with a giggle.

Her explanation made sense, yet you wondered why they were more excited to be faced with a foreigner than your classmates with quirks that affected their appearance. You literally had a boy with tentacles and a person with a bird head in your class. Having such a quirk was seemingly more common than being a foreigner, you thought. 

This whole center of attention thing went on in the locker room where you got reunited with your hero costume. A while ago you had handed it to an official of the exchange program at your home school and never saw it again. Until now. 

„You look really cool! I’m Ashido Mina. Call me Mina,“ a girl with pink skin commented. Her English pronunciation wasn’t the greatest, but it was easy to understand her name. Finally someone that you could actually call by name. 

Thanks to her a huge round of introductions started with the girls. At the end you knew like three names for sure, half of them to a certain extent and the rest was forgotten. 

Unfortunately the lesson itself asked even more of your brain since every student was asked to demonstrate his or her quirk. From what you could tell, some of them had arranged complete shows to present their abilities. Only you were attending without a certain plan, but the teacher hadn’t chosen the water area of the USJ for nothing. 

The blonde boy set off various explosions while yelling like crazy, a red-head didn’t even flinch when his hardened skin collided with the fire, another boy with black hair escaped the water last minute before a second blonde electrified the whole artificial lake. Last but not least Mina improvised a dance with elements of her acid simply consuming the ice that the boy with the scar and the resting bitch face had created.

„Okay, you are next,“ Momo made sure to let you know. 

When you stepped out of the group of students, you swore that the boy, who had been called ‚Deku‘ by the angry fire guy multiple times, intently wanted to pull out his notebook that obviously wasn’t there because he was wearing his hero costume. 

You bowed a little in front of your classmates to get their attention, „Please watch me!“

These very few Japanese words were certainly enough to do so, which made you feel their glances while you were walking up to the water. Your movements made the skirt part of your dress jump a little, but you didn’t have to worry about showing too much skin thanks to the pair of black shorts underneath.

„Our little exchange student knows what a lake is, doesn’t she? Can’t wait to see her face when she finds out that the water is not carrying her,“ Bakugou joked with crossed arms. For him and all the others it looked like you were headed for a dive. 

Instead of stopping at the sandy area, you continued to walk even after your shoes had touched the water. Like walking on normal ground you went on as if nothing had changed, causing the first mumbles of your classmates. 

In the middle of the lake you stood still, not moving at all. Everything you did was to focus on the water and the energy inside of your body as you took deep, yet calm breaths through your nose. Even your eyes were closed. From their perspective it looked like you had no idea what to do now that you had made it there. But then you opened your eyes, unknown to them.

Out of nowhere a huge wave surrounded you while it pushed itself towards the coast into all directions with your position being the center. Your classmates only gasped at the growing wall of water that was making its way into their direction. They lost sight of you when you disappeared behind the water. 

Preparing themselves to go into defensive mode, they didn’t know what was going on or what your intentions were. Soon enough you broke through the surface from behind, again using the water like normal ground and simply touching the monstrous wave with your index finger. 

As it had never existed, the wave got smaller within seconds. In the blink of an eye the lake returned to its not harmful state. 

„SHE DIDN’T EVEN GET WET!“ Mina cheered at the realisation that you had bursted through water, stopped a gigantic tsunami and walked on water without the tiniest sign of a water stain on your clothes or hair. 

An absolutely strange battle broke out when half of your class gathered around you during a heated conversation with each other. At some point you were sure that you understood the word quirk, but that was as much as you were able to translate again. So you tried to not look too confused once your mind wanted to convince you that you had heard ‚lunch‘ somewhere in between. Too many voices to keep track of asked you things that you didn’t even understand.

„Everyone! Back in line! This behaviour is inappropriate for future heroes. Just imagine how our new classmate must feel in a situation like this!“ The main class president interrupted the chaos, at least that was what you remembered from Momo. 

„But we want to talk to her!“ A third blonde boy exclaimed directly next to you, shooting a wink of glitter at you.

„Right, we need to talk to her!“ This time it was Mina that spoke, or rather yelled.

„You just want to have her all for yourself!“ Somehow this statement from the electricity dude shut up everyone, except for the class president that suddenly sounded like he was defending himself from accusations. 

Even after a few minutes had passed nothing really changed. You were still standing in the middle of people that were arguing with each other, especially since the teacher had ended the lesson. And you hadn’t gotten closer to finding out what the whole issue was about until Momo finally decided to help you out.

„They are fighting because all of them want you to join them at lunch. Welcome to the chaos that is called class 2-A.“

So they did what every aspiring hero with pride would do to solve such a problem - A representative of each squad had to participate in a battle of rock, paper, scissors. 

Several disappointed grumbles and screams of victory later Mina pointed her hand towards the ceiling: „I WON! SHE WILL EAT WITH US! THE ONE AND ONLY BAKUSQUAD!“

Everyone went back to their own squads, which made you realise that your translator wouldn’t be around during lunch. She had offered to come along, but Mina and three boys had told her that they would be fine. In the meantime you questioned at least Mina’s English skills when you got changed again.

In her excitement the pink girl practically dragged you back to the classroom where you grabbed your lunch and were then pulled to a place outside the building. Early in the morning it had been too cold to go out without a jacket, but now the warm sun of spring warmed your skin. 

It didn’t need any words to express your awe once you got to see the meeting place of the BakuSquad: A gigantic tree that blossomed in a corner of the yard. 

Wherever you looked at the ground, it was covered in white to pinkish petals from the tree and this way it wasn’t a big surprise that you had some of them on your head only a few moments after your arrival. The boys were already waving at the two of you arriving, except for the explosion boy as you had named him for now.

You sat down on one of the wooden benches that were standing around the tree, allowing you to sit close to the others but not too close to feel cramped. The first thing you did was to explain your quirk without words because your Japanese wasn’t good enough. 

Four of them widened their eyes at the sight of the water from your bottle hovering in the air above the ground. There you parted them into to two floating bubbles with only the movements of a finger to show what you could do. One bubble froze to ice, the other began to boil from the increasing heat you were providing, yet again with nothing more than a gesture. 

„But I can’t undo it, if I change their form. Now I’ll have to wait for the water to cool to drink it and I’ll use the frozen part as ice cubes to fasten the process,“ you admitted. 

You were met with questioning eyes that were exchanging glimpses with each other like they were trying to communicate. Just like that your smile turned into a rather insecure smirk.

„Idiots, she said she can’t undo it,“ a different voice grumbled. „And you definitely need to learn more Japanese to not fall behind in the future!“

It caught you quite off-guard that the explosion boy out of all people was able to speak English on such a high level. His scolding left you speechless for a moment and it stayed like this long enough for the others to regain their voice.

„Ooooh, Bakubro, what would we do without you?“ The boy with black hair said dramatically with the back of his hand touching his forehead as he leaned back a little. Not to be forgotten should be his very broken English and heavy accent, which he maybe did on purpose.

„We really love youuuuuuuu,“ the red-head followed suit.

All four of them launched themselves at the grumpy blonde at the same time, making him fall over in the process as he cussed words that no one would voluntarily translate. His friends didn’t get demotivated from his reaction and continued to hug him until he was about to use his quirk out of mere revolution purposes.

But they all turned around to look at you when you bent over laughing at the sight of them. Soon enough they giggled along, except for the explosion boy of course. Though even he had to admit that he had to suppress a chuckle. 

Welcome to the chaos that is called class 2-A!

-----

Posted: April 28th 2020 | Requests: Open | Match-ups: Closed

[lloydsluck]

Crow’s Feet

Prelude

Ever looked at something that’s so fundamentally flawed, so bad in design, form and function, it’s actually intriguing. Like a botched piece of taxidermy or a first attempt at a short novel. A piece of work that was probably not half-assed but whole-heartedly assed with good intention and it would be insulting to the creator to jokingly ask did you write this story as if you’re the old piece of gum stuck underneath a Grade 8 English Lit student desk?  With no light, sense of tense, or spellcheker? The stereotypes and bad similes cause eye rolls so

 far back into one’s head it’s like… well it’s hard to think of a comparison here, so count yourself lucky. Not to mention the ADHD diversions, talking about mounting dead animals in one sentence quickly sidestepping to self-awareness of this piece of literature. I digress. When last did you see a questionable piece of art that you found beautiful? So bad, it’s great. So useless and time-wasting, it’s what you’ll think about ironically one day on your deathbed. Because heck… made you look. 

The Incision 

1

Mondays. The start of a new week. New opportunities for a new you. A fresh squeeze of hope that things will get better served with a side of “I can change” attitude. And no matter how many Mondays we have, (4 187 to be precise, if you, like the average human being will live to 79), you will wake up to the same old boring Monday, every week, the same way. 

Each one with a long dreary stretch and sigh, heavy eyes, telling yourself that you will make the most out of this week. But you won’t. Because laziness is time consuming and you don’t actually have anything else to do, really. 

However, on this particular Monday, which was Fick McOwen’s 2226’s Monday, things were different. 

Fick woke up with the dreadful sensation of drowning. Sinking deep in a casket of darkness. As he gulped in a breath of thick air, it tasted of rotten cabbage coating the back of his throat. Blind and bewildered, sharp metal sounds scratched close above his head. The sound stung his eardrums and made him cock up his forehead banging it hard against a flat surface.

‘Jeeezus fuck’, he hissed. 

With no sense of time and space, his ears were ringing overcharged electric chimes in his head which felt cracked and ready to explode like a reactor in Chernobyl. He took a few minutes to try and calm himself. No good ever came from a panic attack in closed confines with a possible concussion. He finally raised his hands to his chest and did what most drunks do the minute they wake up, pat themselves down and check their underwear.

*

One week earlier.

2

If she was just a bit nicer, Jeffrey thought, she may have already had a proper and dignified burial for her husband. Stomping up and down a room that looked like it was decorated for a five-star hotel in Vienna, the newly-widow’s bony figure moved fast from left to right like a rabid old fox prowling a fence. For Jeffrey, her unwanted but needed bodyguard/help/punching bag, she was Hitler’s sphincter. She sparked fear in him and tightened his nerves with her demanding presence. Like a screwdriver twisting and turning into soft wood. A reaction he despised about himself. It ruined many good days. Sunny days and days like today. 

Watching her from the corner of the large room, she attempted phone call after phone call, shouting at poor bastards who made the simple mistake of answering their phones that day. 

Wanting to disappear he closed his eyes and listened to every passive-aggressive step she took in the room. He liked to tell when she walked on the tiles or the bear rug; it was a fast tac tac tac womp womp womp womp tac tac womp womp…then nothing. He opened his eyes and with a fright found her standing right in front of him, steaming red with anger.

Her greying blonde hair was fastened in a tight pincushion on top of her head. This pulled back her frail white skin that held everything in place. Face to face, he couldn’t help but stare at the permanent makeup she had done on the lower lids of her eyes and on top of her brows. It was starting to fade and as a result, it looked like she put eyeliner on days ago and never washed it off. 

Her stare was cold and deadly like an overworked mortician’s. It complemented her daily outfits of thin grey pencil skirts and matching suit jackets. She had her name embroidered on the inside of the neckline since all of her clothing was specially washed and pressed at a local laundromat. One that she owned of course. 

Margaret. 

That’s what her husband used to call her. Or Margarine, Margie, or Macaroon. She would always remind whoever was listening that she was actually named after Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowden. If you had to look her up, you would see the uncanny similarities between the two women. So much so, that Jeffrey often wondered if they weren’t related. Considering how much of a royal bitch she was.

Nevertheless, he had to call her Mrs. Ergo. And he preferred the kind request from John Ergo, her late husband, since he didn’t think she would have liked the names he had listed for her in his head anyway. 

She snapped back up and walked across the room towards the large oak desk that faced the gigantic windows that looked out onto their garden. Their Ergo-Eden. With a deep sigh, he sat up straight and smoothed back his black hair that was styled according to an old Italian mobster he saw in a film when he was 15. 

“It’s all in the confidence of smoothing the wax over your hands first and then through your hair.” That’s what the old man said to his fellow pasta slurping, red-wine drinking, two hits a week gang that sat around a checkered table talking about the importance of looking respectable, no matter what the job. And this was what he told himself in the bathroom mirror every morning, (impersonating a very bad Italian accent of course) while he prepared for his day. 

Apart from the respectable hairdo, Jeffrey was built like a small bull with a refined jawline. At first glance one would imagine he spends his days lumberjacking in the forest; but instead of plaid shirts, he was forced to wear black on black as per ‘management’s’ request. 

He refocused his attention on her and as foul as she was acting that day, somewhere deep inside him, he felt sorry for her and her loss. His face twitched as he clenched his jaw trying to shape compassion on his face, but feared he looked more like a constipated clown trying to keep his cool. He was given cards once with all the different faces and expressions on it. Ironically, the illustrations looked like they were drawn by an autistic robot with no emotion nor artistic talent (it was), but it helped him deal with different people. Lines that came down the forehead with no teeth, meant anger or disappointment. Teeth showing meant they were happy – or about to bite you. 

Margaret often made faces Jeffrey couldn’t place on his cards and her teeth always had some lipstick stains on it, which quite frankly, just distracted him altogether. 

He watched her go down a list of names and numbers, furiously scratching them out when the call didn’t go as planned. Eyeing the last name and number on the list, she picked up the phone and started dialing. 

3

Fick carefully pulled the skin up the neck and then over the top of the head, trying his very best to keep his hand steady. He wore magnifying goggles that pushed his choppy brown hair up toward the ceiling and enlarged his olive-grey eyes. It looked like the head of a praying mantis was stuck on a lanky man's body who dressed as if he found a discarded box of 80s band shirts and never bothered to wear anything else again. 

'There.' He said as he lifted his hands and inspected the bird-like shape that was coming together in front of him. 

In the back of the garage-turned-workshop, a small radio was trying to hold itself together while Henry Rollins tore away at its speakers. The music filled the room and gave Fick the ability to concentrate. Nothing else was audible. Not a phone or a thought could break his focus. 

And it paid off; the crow started to take a lively shape, fast. All it needed were the eyes and some beak touch-ups and this bad boy was ready for some teenager's window sill.

Fick lived in Long Fountain, a small town where the kids were either into wrestling, the backyard kind, or satanism – also the backyard kind. This meant there were a lot of goth-like metalheads who gave themselves names like Agares and Forneus and hung outside the grocery store to smoke cheap cigarettes they bummed off the shop clerk. They would wear black makeup and dangle fake blood vial necklaces around their necks. Some would even proudly claim that they spray-painted hale satin on the backside of the church announcement board. To top off their rebel-without-a-cause-and-lack-of-basic-grammar-look, these kids would own a taxidermied crow on their windowsills, just for that extra edge. 

“It’s a phase” most parents would say, but Fick couldn’t care less. He got fifty bucks out of it, liked the work, and asked no questions. 

As a self-employed middle-aged Taxidermist, he could work from home and at his own pace. Something he considered to be more valuable than a performance bonus cheque at the end of a year after slaving away in a badly lit office desk from nine to five, five to seven days a week.

He didn’t necessarily consider himself a hermit, but he did prefer his own company with the exception of a few selected people – very selected and very few. This was a choice he made unapologetically clear to others who wanted to befriend him for no real reason. When presented with this frankness, they would awkwardly laugh it off and insist he’s just a fun and sarcastic guy. He despised those people the most. 

Furthermore, Long Fountain was a small enough town for the nosy types to know everyone and their business, while still quiet and sparse enough for others to embrace the privacy of the town’s border. If you had to take a drone shot from high above, the edge of the town looked like it disappeared into the desert like an ocean of drought that spilled into a suburb. Fick could never figure out why they called it Long Fountain though, as there wasn’t even a lake or river anywhere near them. But he liked it there and he appreciated the colourful desert sunsets that could be found if you were at the right place at the right time.

The only other peculiar thing about the town was that there was an abnormally large crow population, which he didn’t mind because it meant more product for him. That, and an abnormal amount of  old age homes. 

He gripped the tweezer handle between his teeth while he carefully glued the last soft tiny black feathers to the rim of the beak; he tended to hold his breath during these final touches. While the song came to a screeching halt, the ringing of his cell phone surfaced through all the noise and concentration. 

‘Fuck!’ He spat out the metal twangs, pulled off the goggles and flipped his phone over to reveal four missed calls from an unknown number in town. He was about to throw the phone over his shoulder onto a once purple–now grey–couch, when the screen lit up again with the same number flashing. 

‘Hello’ he answered casually trying to simmer down. 

‘Hello, is this Fick McOwen?’ A sweet lady’s voice kindly asked on the other side. 

‘Yes, how can I help?’

‘I’m looking for someone who can help me with a,’ she paused for a second,  ‘stuffing job?’ 

‘Well ma’am, I do all kinds of taxidermy. We don’t call it stuffing though, rather mounting,’ he smirked. ‘Anything from crows, bucks, ducks, even your pet poodle.’ He stared at the one-eyed crow that was perched up in front of him. 

‘What is your rate?’ She calmly inquired. 

‘It depends on the job. Small birds and animals start at thirty bucks, and then it can go up to a couple of thousand for a full deer, buck or elk.’ 

She went quiet on the line. He could tell she was busy writing something down, possibly a calculation. He hated long silences, it gave him indigestion.   

‘What would you like to have mounted?’ He nudged, just to check that she was still there. She remained quiet. 

‘Hellooo?’

‘Ten thousand.’

‘Excuse me?’ He quickly asked to confirm that he probably misheard.  

‘Ten. Thousand.’ She repeated sternly. 

‘Ma’am. What do you want to have done?’ His stomach started to tie knots of doubt, anticipating a job he may not be able to do. 

‘I prefer a private meeting to discuss this further.’ Her tone suddenly changed from a sweet old lady to an office crank complaining it’s cold. He hesitated for a second. Feeling his gut whisper all tales of caution to avoid this type of interaction. “If it’s too good to be true…” he would always remind himself. 

But…then again...

The ten thousand dollars started to swim through his mind like a beautiful woman in a red bikini, blowing kisses from a crystal blue pool. Caught in the moment, he impulsively replied, ‘Okay.’ She quickly confirmed that her people will be in contact with his people and disconnected before he could even take a breath to say he doesn’t have “people”. 

Confused about the call and left with nothing to follow up with, he decided to write it off as another crazy old lady from one of the care homes who got hold of the nurse’s office phone. Eyeing the cotton-eye-crow, he proceeded to hit play on his stereo, threw his mobile on the couch and stuck the tweezers back in his mouth to finish the job.

NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON

[writings-of-dumpy]

The Princess and the Pirate

A/N: Well, this story is entirely selfish, but it’s my tumblr so who cares. If you do chose to read, I hope you enjoy!

Summary: Descendants has a hold on me and Harry Hook is at the center of it.

~Prologue~

Five years ago, Mal left Auradon and broke up with Ben. She left her friends and home in search of her greater purpose, as she put in her breakup note, and escaped the pressures of being Ben’s lady of the court. Ben then decided that he would once and for all scrub the Isle of the Lost clean of villains and villainy. Harry, Uma and Gil were among the first to be taken to Auradon to be given a chance at a new life, and Harry found it to be quite rewarding. After about a year or so of working together, Ben, Carlos, Jay, Evie, Harry, Uma, and Gil were a tight-knit group of friends with Evie now Ben’s Lady and Uma his Chief Advisor. With work to be done on both ends of the bridge, Harry elected to stay on the Isle and help keep the order and safety of the people of New Auradon, which is what the combination of the island and the mainland was now called. After a few years of peace and prosperity and all of the descendants growing out of Auradon Prep, Auradon university was built and would begin its inaugural semester in just a week.

 ~Harry~

It had been an extremely long time since Harry had even thought of stealing, pillaging, or anything even remotely unpleasant. He had learned to be a good person effortlessly and enjoyed making others laugh and girls he found attractive blush with his now harmless flirting. Harry let out a sigh as he looked out onto the clean and bright streets of what was once a musty, dirty, crime-ridden cesspool of misery he was forced to call home. He looked past the small island to the mainland where he was about to head for some of his very first educational experiences. His father wasn’t much of an academic and his mother had died just a few years after his birth, so the only formal training he had was in cartography. While on Neverland with his father before the Beast rounded everyone up and plopped them on the isle, Harry had been taught to fight, have fun, and even fly under the tutelage of Peter Pan. Harry thought back to those days as he made his way to Auradon university. He thought about Gil and Uma, who he hadn’t seen but once a year for the past five since Mal’s departure (which of course sparked Ben’s Clean It Up act, as the group called it) and he wondered if they’d be as happy as he is to finally have stability.

Harry followed the signs and found his way to the student housing where he was greeted with a tight hug by Gil.

“Harry! Oh, man I’m so glad you’re here! We’re roommates, can you believe that?!” Gil exclaimed.

“Let him breathe, Gil, he just got here,” Harry heard Uma say from behind Gil. Harry chuckled and embraced his significantly shorter friend.

“Still wearing that eyeliner and hook I see?” Uma asked skeptically.

Harry shrugged. “Ye know me.”

“Come on, I’ll show you our room! Oh and these are the houses: there’s Aurora, Kita, Florian, and Shang! We’re in Shang where all the cool guys are. Aurora is where all the princesses and musical people are. Florian is for all the writing people are… like reporters and thinkers. Kita is where all the science nerds are, so if you need homework help, go to them,” Gil explained as they walked through the path. As Harry looked around, he happened to see the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her hair was long and red and her skin was paler than Snow White’s he was sure.

“Who is tha’ beauty?” Harry asked after stopping dead in his tracks.

“That’s Rayla. She doesn’t say much, but man can she sing. We had karaoke night last night and she won by a landslide,” Uma explained.

“Is she a princess?” Harry asked. He hoped the answer was no because he knew he’d never be able to get near a princess. New Auradon was a wonderful place, but there were still some who feared the children of such horrid people.

“Not sure… Nobody knows who her parents are, so I’d assume not,” Uma responded with a shrug.

Harry and Gil walked into the house labeled ‘Shang’ and were greeted by Ben, Evie, Jay, and Carlos.

“Hey, look who finally made it!” Ben said and pulled his eyeliner-wearing friend into a hug. Harry greeted everyone and smiled, then noticed Uma’s sudden shyness and looked over to see Lannie walking by.

“Hey, guys! Hi, Uma,” she said and winked at the teal-haired girl.

Uma blushed and Harry’s smile grew into a gawk at Uma. “Are ye- “

“We had ONE date,” Uma said quietly, and Harry noticed her cheeks turning red.

“I’m going to go meet my new roommate, I’ll see you guys at dinner, okay?” Evie said and gave Harry’s shoulder a squeeze before kissing Ben briefly and skipping off towards Kita house.

“When are you proposing?” Carlos asked Ben once Evie was out of earshot.

“Proposal? Well, i’s about time, lad,” Harry said and patted his friend on the back.

Ben blushed and smiled. “Well… I had to get all of my knights together, which includes you now, Harry.”

Harry smiled and tried not to get too choked up. “I’m honored.”

For the very first time, Harry was home and he was excited for this coming year of learning and was hopeful about his new position.

 ~Rayla~

“Is that the last of it?” my mom asked my father and I, who had just carried the last of her teaching materials to her classroom inside of the massive campus that was Auradon university.

“Yes,” we groaned in unison.

“This is so exciting, isn’t it? All of my research is going to be spread across all of Auradon’s finest…” my mother said and practically floated around the room.

“Yes, I’m very happy for you, but Jane… did you really have to bring all of England with you?” my father asked.

“Tarzan, you can’t convince me that those were heavy while when I met you, you bore your weight and then some on your knuckles,” my mother responded which caused me to chuckle.

My parents looked at me and smiled. “Why don’t you go find your room, dear? We’ll see you at dinner. Maybe you’ll make friends!”

I rolled my eyes and waved goodbye to them. It’s not that I didn’t like people, I just… didn’t say much. I wasn’t in the business of people, I was going to this university to become a veterinarian—Auradon’s first, in fact. I got along with people in passing just fine, but I guess it was odd that I was perfectly comfortable not saying anything. I had very few human friends growing up and I was often teased for hanging out with animals at the various shelters rather than going to parties. I knew my parents worried, but I couldn’t find it in myself to be someone I’m not. When I explained that to them, they understood and usually left me alone about it.

I approached Kita house and entered the gigantic mansion to find a large group of people mingling about in the common area directly ahead of me. Since my performance last night at the karaoke bar, people all over this campus have been saying hello to me in passing. I wave and greet them back, of course, but the conversation never seems to go further. So when none of them seemed to notice my entrance, I was slightly relieved that I wouldn’t have to reciprocate an awkward greeting. Instead I headed up the stairs towards the dorms and scanned down the hall until I found my name and another on a large blue door.

I opened the door and found that half of the room had been taken already, which made picking a bed extremely easy, for which I was very grateful.

“Oh! Hello, you must be Rayla! I’m your roommate, Evie,” a woman with glossy blue hair said cheerfully from the claimed closet.

“Hi, yeah, nice to meet you,” I said and smiled politely.

“Hey, you won karaoke last night, right? Wow! I thought you would have been in Aurora for sure! Where did you learn to sing like that?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I learned from birds, I suppose.”

Evie laughed. “You’re so funny! I hope you don’t mind, I took this half of the room already.”

“Not at all,” I said with a smile and set my things down.

“So what are you studying?” Evie asked me.

“Veterinary medicine,” I answered while unpacking.

“Wow, that’s amazing. We actually have a campus mutt named Dude. He’ll probably be the most interesting dog you’ll ever meet,” Evie said. I looked at her quizzically.

“Oh?”

“He talks.” I smiled. “All dogs talk, you just have to speak their language.”

“No, she means actually talk. Like you,” I heard a male voice say from behind me. I turned around and saw a small and tan collie mix sitting in our doorway. “You’re not going to try and poke me, are you?” the dog said.

I stumbled backwards in shock and Evie giggled.

“I know right? I guess he got into some nasty magic and nobody knows how to reverse the spell,” she shrugged.

I knelt to his level and held out my hand for him to smell. “So… you’re a talking dog… Alright, Evie. I’ll give you this one, he is certainly the most interesting dog I’ve ever met.”

For the next hour or so, Evie and I talked a lot about what our goals were and Evie told me all about her plans to create new formulas of makeup and beauty products and I was thoroughly impressed with her ambition.

“Hate to interrupt, but dinner is in ten minutes,” a boy with glasses, a bowtie, and a sweatervest said from our doorway.

“Thanks, Doug,” Evie said not making eye contact and visibly uncomfortable. After he left, I looked at her as we got up to walk together.

“What was that all about?” I asked her.

She sighed and explained as we walked down the stairs and out of the house towards the dining hall, “That’s Doug, he and I used to date. When I first came here, my mother, the Evil Queen, told me to find a prince but then Doug made me feel like I didn’t need one. So we dated and then we just drifted apart when Mal left, and then Ben and I really started to get to know each other, so now he thinks that I’m shallow and that I just want a prince to marry so I can live in a castle, but that isn’t true! I love Ben and I’d do anything for him. The fact that he’s King is only happenstance… You don’t think I’m shallow, do you?”

I shook my head. “Not at all. I think you’re very smart and loyal.. But I’ve also only known you for an hour.”

Evie giggled. “Feels like longer. Oh, hey! There’s Ben, you should come meet him and the rest of our friends! Come on, they’ll love you.”

Evie lead me over to a large table that sat about 12 people. Evie introduced me to each of them, and she introduced me to them, “Rayla, this is Ben, Carlos, Jane his girlfriend, Jay, Uma and Lannie, Gil, and Harry.”

I waved to everyone shyly and smiled.

The man named Harry was sat next to me and got up only to take my hand and bow deeply. “Pleasure to meet ye, lass. I’m Harry,” he said and planted a soft kiss on the top of my hand. I stood there completely stunned and blushing.

“Damn, he doesn’t miss a beat, does he?” the girl named Uma said, which earned her a glare from Harry. He pulled out a chair next to his seat for me and I thanked him, still blushing. Evie sat next to me and grinned at my face, which I was sure was red.

The room went quiet and I saw at the professors’ table my parents as well as many other famous faces and the Fairy Godmother herself stood up to address us, “Welcome everyone to the very first semester of Auradon University! As headmistress, I hope that you all have a wonderful time learning and growing. But for now, enjoy your dinner. Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!”

[jennifersylvesters]

not so subtle - part three

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x reader Word Count: 4.3k~ Warning: swearing A/N: meant to post this yesterday, but was a bit overwhelmed with interviews. i actually immensely enjoyed working on this part, especially because i got to add more dialogue this time around. this is a halloween part aka me trying to get caught up to the current holiday shenanigans. as always, feedback is always appreciated/loved aka give me validation

If there a holiday that reigned supreme in your mind, it was definitely Halloween. An excuse to watch themed movies and binge out on sweets? Who could say no to that? And with the day after making it possible to purchase discounted candy, it made Halloween the ultimate holiday that keeps on giving.

While you didn’t discuss it, you secretly loved dressing up for Halloween. You liked being able to wear absurd outfits that you normally wouldn’t be able to wear besides that specific day. And ever since freshman year of college, you enjoyed the freedom of wearing a revealing costume without the consequence of your parents insisting that you change into warmer clothes. You liked how some guys would get hot and bothered by your outfit, often flirting like mad with you. Of course you couldn’t flirt for to save your life, but the attention was nice. And it was true what they said in Mean Girls: “Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.”

This year you had been invited to tag along to one of the biggest Halloween bashes in Hollywood. Naturally your excitement had been at an all time high knowing that big celebrities would be in attendance. But it meant that you needed to step your costume game up. You couldn’t just go to a regular party store and grab whatever flattered you best. No, you needed something fun yet clever. It had to be appealing yet not generic that others could be wearing the same thing. You wanted to get attention on you, having guys ridiculously into you.

When you received your costume, you knew no one else would be wearing that, and that attention would definitely be on you. Except it wasn’t the way you hoped it would happen. Thanks a lot, Tom Holland.

Honestly it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Tom’s gestures of goodwill were now the worst. Long gone were the days of him just spotting you cash or comping your meals. Ever since the laundromat incident, he seemed determined to make it up to you. They just never turned out the way he hoped. The time he sent you a box of handmade chocolates? You just about choked to death when you realized he used salt instead of sugar. Those nice flowers he sent to your apartment? Turns out you were allergic to Peruvian lilies; the flowers made you break out like crazy.

Unless Emma’s name was attached to whatever excitement Tom seemed giddy about, it usually ended up a disaster. Your costume choice definitely fell into that category.

When you shared how ecstatic you were about getting to join Emma and Tom, you couldn’t help but wonder aloud what costume you should get. It was at that moment that Tom quickly volunteered to get you a costume. Naturally you hesitated. With how previous accidents had progressed, you couldn’t imagine things ending well in this scenario. You didn’t want to mess up this huge opportunity. But when Tom insisted you wouldn’t regret it, eyes pleading for you to take another chance, you reluctantly gave in.

Now you were wishing you hadn’t.

“How does someone get teletubby and tomb raider mixed up?” you seethed, stumbling around your apartment building. Your costume came the day of Halloween, the huge package arriving at your doorstep. Tom and Emma insisted you waited until they got there so they could watch your surprised expression. And surprised you were. Along with confused and angry.

Though Tom promised to get you a sexy costume, you had been delivered a bright red teletubby costume. Tom stammered as he claimed he ordered a Lara Croft outfit for you. Emma managed to convince you to at least try on the costume, stating you might actually like it when you wore it. Ha ha. Yeah right. If anything, it made your blood boil looking at how childish you looked.

“You look really cute!” Kimberly complimented your costume as you huffed around, trying to get used to the absurd amount of space it took up.

“That’s cause you’re wearing a costume you actually like” you snapped, turning to your roommate who currently wore a vagina costume. Honestly you weren’t even aware those existed till she proudly displayed it a week ago.

“I can now properly show boys where the clitoris is” she announced defiantly. “Who else can say their costume is a teaching moment?”

“Who would wanna say their costume is a teaching moment?” you grumbled under your breath.

“Teachers potentially. Maybe possibly even historians” she replied quickly, causing your irritation to rise.

“I think Kimmy’s costume is quite clever” her girlfriend, Sarah, piped up from the living room couch.

“Are you Sherlock Holmes?” Tom asked, eying Sarah’s ensemble. She tipped her deerstalker hat his direction as she flashed him a toothy grin.

“Ding ding. You are correct, Danny Zuko” Sarah responded. Tom beamed, pleased at himself that he got her costume right as well as her recognizing his attire. For the party he slicked back his hair like a greaser and gussied up as a member of the T Birds. If it wasn’t for his blunder, you might’ve complimented him. But he was currently on your shit list, which meant absolutely no compliments.

“Hope you don’t mind me asking, but why Sherlock Holmes?” Tom questioned, curiosity getting the best of him.

Sarah and Kimberly exchanged glances and sly smiles before Sarah turned to Tom. “Oh, you know. Just so when boys try to hit on me, I can say I’m on the case to find my heterosexuality which plot twist: it doesn’t exist.”

“Or you could do ‘I’ve just solved the case of whether or not this flirting works out in your favor. Turns out I will absolutely not be going home with you tonight’” Kimberly piped up. The two of them high fived one another before breaking out into giggles.

Even when the pair were being weird, you couldn’t deny how cute they were. Still, you were upset that you looked like a children's program character instead of a sexy goddess. Somehow your anger wasn’t just limited to Tom but to those having a better time in general.

“So you’re a vagina and Sherlock Holmes” you stated flatly. “You could’ve been Watson, Kimberly. Or a goddamn vagina and penis.” Both of them made a face at the latter body part. “Or fine! Two vaginas then! But nooo, you had to go and be a vagina and Sherlock Holmes. God, you guys are so weird” you rolled your eyes.

“We wanted to defy the typical costume choices, Y/N. And we’re just party hopping down Greek row with our friends; it’s not like we plan on impressing anyone. We just wanna have fun” Kimberly explained as she took Sarah’s hand in hers. She understood that your frustrations were misdirected so she kept her voice steady and patient.

Unlike you, Kimberly turned down Tom’s invitation to the Hollywood party. She had no interest in mingling with celebrities who would probably expect her to know their name. You knew how terrible she could get about differentiating the Chris’s.  

“I mean, it is a bit strange of costume choice” Tom commented, attempting to take your side. He hoped that if he showed a bit of camaraderie, you might be a little more forgiving towards his blunder. Haha. Not today, Thomas.

“Says the kid who couldn’t tell the difference between tomb raider and teletubby” you snapped, hands resting on your waist irritatedly. Well, it rested on where your waist would be. The gigantic costume made it difficult for you to distinguish where any of your curves were.

“And how well do you know the female anatomy, Tom? Would you like to point out where the clitoris is on my costume?” Kimberly asked, something in her voice clearly egging him on. He knew better than to try and point out something like that, especially if he got it wrong; he would never live down that humiliation. So he shook his head and refused to make eye contact with either of you. The male took a seat on the couch next to Sarah who just laughed and patted his shoulder.

As Tom sullenly moped on the couch, Emma pulled you aside to your room.

“He meant well, Y/N” she attempted to reassure you.

“Yeah, that seems to be the typical Tom excuse at this point.” She gave you a look, letting you know to cool it.

“I get it. Obviously this isn’t the look you were going for-”

“Yeah, no kidding” you muttered under your breath.

“-But Tom was trying, okay? He really just wants to make you happy because he cares about you. He would not have gone through all that effort just to screw you over on purpose.” You knew she was right, but you just grumbled. “Tom thinks of you as a good friend, and you know he feels really bad about this.” Yeah yeah. “Just don’t hold this against him. Please? For me?”

Everything she was saying made sense, but a part of you wanted to hold on to your anger for just a little longer. Emma looked at you, waiting for a response. Letting out a dramatic groan, you nodded your head.

“Listen, Tom’s mistake aside, you are the cutest teletubby.”

“This isn’t exactly a sexy costume, Ems” you pointed out, but she persisted.

“Someone out there isn’t gonna care about sexy costumes. They’re just gonna think ‘wow! I cannot get over that adorable teletubby’. And they’re gonna want to get with you.”

“I feel like I should be worried about any guy that wants to hook up with a teletubby.” She rolled your eyes playfully at your comment.

“Someone out there is gonna agree with me and know you’re the cutest teletubby. You’re gonna be all that matters to them, Y/N. It’s not gonna be about the outfit; it’s going to be about you” she continued. “So do me a favor and not stay mad at Tom? Because your costume is gonna attract the person who’s right for you.”

The two of you shared a smile as she gently rubbed your mitten covered hand. “Danny Zuko’s really lucky to have you, Sandy” you joked.

Emma smiled and shrugged pretending to act nonchalant. “Oh, you know. Sandra Dee is truly the best” she responded as she flipped the synthetic hair of her wig.

The two of you headed out of your room and back into your living room only to come upon the sight of Sarah and Kimberly chanting for Tom to point out the clitoris. He looked downright miserable and unsure of himself. You snickered under your breath as Emma told the pair to knock it off.

Ten minutes later a large van came to pick all of you up to take you to the party. You could feel your jitters getting the best of you as you knee rapidly bounced up and down. “You look really great” Tom chimed as the vehicle came to a stop near the party entrance. You grunted out a ‘thanks’, knowing he only said that to make you feel better. Too bad it wasn’t working.

As soon as the car door opened, you hustled to make it in to the building. The last thing you wanted were paparazzi snapping photos of you as a guest. “Please don’t let me become a meme” you prayed as someone snapped a photo of you.

The building was packed, filled with star studded faces. You got multiple glances from those around you, but it wasn’t the way you hoped. Instead of “I’m totally into that chick” vibes, you received “that’s a massive teletubby” looks. You waddled around wishing something would just go right around celebrities for once.

Making your way towards the open bar, you felt something yank on your leg. Turning you spotted a small child in a dinosaur costume. “Erm, hello?” you greeted the girl as she gazed up at you in awe.

“Are you Po?” she asked, her tone hopeful you would say yes.

“I guess I am” you replied. Technically you were wearing a Po costume, which made you Po. You figured it wouldn’t be lying.

The girl’s face lit up as she proceeded to hug you. “Will you come meet daddy with me? Please?” she looked up from her tight hold.

You knew you shouldn’t get involved. After all, you didn’t even know this kid. Plus you just wanted to drink the night away if you weren’t going to enjoy your usual Halloween flirtations. You decided that you had to be firm and just say no. “Okay?” Crap.

Somehow she managed to convince you to pick her up as the two of you searched for her dad. “I’m India” she introduced herself.

“Very nice to meet you, India. Would you mind telling me where your father is now?”

“I think he’s around there” she gestured to your left and you followed her direction. “Oh! He’s right there!” she screeched as she pointed straight ahead. You winced at the shrillness ringing in your ear. “Daddy!” she squealed as she waved to a man also wearing a dinosaur costume. As her father turned around, you nearly dropped her as you realized who he was.

“Oh, there’s where you’ve been!” Chris Hemsworth called out as he approached you and his daughter.

“Y-You...You Thor” you croaked out, gesturing randomly with your free hand.

“That I am” he proudly agreed, taking no mind to your nervousness. “And are you taking care of my little girl?”

Right as you were about to say no, India chimed “Yes! Po is the best!” What the-

Two smaller children, one dressed up as a Dalmatian while the other wore a rhino costume, approached you eagerly. “It’s Po!” one of them cried out excitedly.

“Ah, it seems they’ve also taking a liking to you as well” Chris noted, watching as his twins comfortably moved to hold on to your legs. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind the two boys tagging along as well.”

“I-uh-I” you stuttered, unsure of what to say. It sure looked as if you were a caretaker with the way they all clung to you. Were you even allowed to say no to Thor?

“Excellent! Glad to know they are in capable hands” he clapped his hands in delight, ignoring that you hadn’t actually gave an answer. He rustled his eldest child’s hair as he headed off.

“Alright then” you weakly called out to no one in particular. Sasha wrapped his chubby arms around your left leg as Tristan tugged on your other leg. Oh boy. You definitely weren’t expecting this. Letting out a deep sigh, you figured you could babysit for a bit. After all, it couldn’t be that hard.

What started off as just playing with three children ended up escalating to multiple kids. Apparently no child could resist the idea of playing with Po. You weren’t even sure how, but one child - whose damn demon of a child was it? - managed to climb your back and yanked viciously on your round antenna. You just about flung him off before remembering children were living human beings with parents that could easily sue you. Nope. Don’t want that.

So you did your best to entertain them, feeling yourself getting drained by their unwavering energy. Who the hell decided to hop these children on sugar? “Pick me up again!” India demanded, waving her arms up towards you.

“Say ‘please’” you instructed. If you were going to be their play friend, you at least wanted to get a decent amount of respect.

“Pleaaaase” she pleaded, hands grasping at the air wanting desperately to be carried.

“Good job, kiddo” you praised her as you picked her up and gently bounced her up and down. She giggled at your actions, clearly enjoying herself. Well, at least one of us is having a good time. All you wanted was to look and feel sexy for tonight, but obviously that went down the drain. Damn.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Harrison walking around the building. No surprise that he chose a costume that showed off his abs, choosing to dress up as a gladiator. He really only sported the top armor, going mostly shirtless and causing girls to gawk and fawn over him. In some ways you were jealous that he got to flaunt something while you were being mobbed by children. But mostly your mind repeatedly played the same sentence: Fuck Harrison Osterfield’s gladiator costume.

About an hour of being the children's companion, you managed to wrangle them off of you when you could feel your bladder getting full. With the massive costume, you knew there was no way you could get into the women’s restrooms without constantly bumping and potentially angering someone. So you settled for occupying one of the bigger family restrooms with single occupancy.

Except you couldn’t use the actual toilet. Thanks to all the stuffing in the suit, you struggled to grab the zipper at the back. You swore under your breath as your hands swatted towards the zipper, unable to grab it. You fumbled around, trying to figure a way out so you could enjoy the sweet release of peeing.

Bam! The bathroom door swung open and you yelped in surprise as a girl in a playboy bunny costume stumbled in. You internally cursed yourself for forgetting to lock the door. Well at least it was only her.

Psych. The girl dragged someone else by the hand, pulling none other than Harrison into your view.

“Oops!” the woman chirped as she spotted you.

“Oh, sorry m-PFFFTT” Harrison begun to apologize to who he assumed was a stranger but absolutely lost it at the sight of you. Your face turned as red as the costume, completely embarrassed in front of him.

Harrison’s female company tugged on his hand, clearly wanting to leave, but he couldn’t stop laughing. He howled loudly, squatting as tears came out of his eyes from laughing so hard.

You couldn’t get fast out of there enough.

No seriously. You actually couldn’t. The costume made it difficult for you to slip between the pair. So you awkwardly stood in front of them, shifting from leg to leg, still needing to pee like crazy.

The playboy bunny obviously did not find the situation as hilarious as Harrison. To her you were just some stranger in a childish costume. She let go of his hand and with a flip of her hair, she left. Harrison didn’t bother stopping her as he let his now free hand rest on his knee. He stood up slowly, still chuckling every couple seconds.

“Oh, man. I really needed a good laugh” he grinned, wiping away tears from his eyes.

“Great. And I really need Emma. So can you get out of here and go get her for me?” you asked impatiently. Despite asking him for a favor, your constant irritation with him never wavered.

“What’d you need Emma for? So you can get laughed at some more?” His grin widened, and you shoved his shoulder.

“No, smartass. I need to pee.” He raised an eyebrow, and you continued. “I can’t get this stupid zipper down, and I need her help so I can finally use the restroom.”

“Well jeez, Lil Skunk. I can help with that” he pointed out. Oh. This was true.

You really didn’t want him around you in general, but the choice of denying his help was outweighed by your need to use the toilet. “Fine” you conceded with a huff.

“All you have to do is ask me nicely” he added, a mischievous look dancing in his eyes.

“Are you kidding me?” you snapped. Of course Harrison Osterfield would come with terms and conditions for kindness. Obviously the laundromat incident must’ve been a fluke. Or perhaps he had a concussion that night which made him unaware of how kind he could actually be without special circumstances attached. That sounds about right.

“C’mon now. Not too difficult” he commented, crossing his arms as he waited for your polite attitude.

Maybe it was better to just pee in this costume. Kids did it all the time. You could join their league.

“Y/N, all you have to do is say ‘Harrison, I would love for you to help me out sooo much’” he assured you, knowing full well it would drive you mad.

“Osterfield. Help me before I pee in this costume” you gritted out.

“Say please” he called out in a singsong voice.

“Fuck you.”

“That’s not the magical word, Y/N” he tutted, shaking his head in fake disappointment.

“I’m gonna kill you, Osterfield” you fumed on the verge of murdering him.  

“All you gotta do is say please.” It sounded so simple, yet you struggled to say that one word he craved to hear.

You furrowed your brows, glaring at his easygoing disposition. Had anyone ever been strangled by a teletubby before? Maybe tonight would be the night.

“Please” you finally caved.

“Of course, Lil Skunk. Anything for you.” He batted his eyelashes innocently. Fuck this guy.

You yanked off the costume head before turning around so he could unzip you. Within a couple of seconds, he easily slid the zipper down despite you struggling earlier for what felt like eternity. You let out a sigh of relief as you finally felt the weight of the costume sliding off.

Harrison’s eyes widened as you stepped out of the costume, surprised to see you wearing nothing but a lacy slip and nice lingerie. Before he could comment, you bunched up the costume and turned around to face him.

“Move it, Osterfield!” you barked, shoving the costume in his arms. “Just wait outside with the costume. Now get out so I can finally pee!” you informed him as you pushed him out of the bathroom.

Once you finished your business, you peeked your head out of the bathroom. Some part of you wondered if Harrison took off without a second thought. You wouldn’t put it past him to play a trick on you, especially on such a fitting night. Yet he stood outside the bathroom, peering at you when you opened the door. He smiled, head tilted ever so slightly as he took in your appearance. “Should I call you Lil Teletubby from now on?” he teased.

“Fuck off” you grumbled as you opened the door further to let him in.

He shut the door and locked it before helping you put back on your costume. Your right hand weighed on his bicep as you concentrated on slipping back into the suit. No notice was paid as Harrison eyed your figure. Yanking up the top portion, you shimmied slightly to get comfortable before he zipped you up.

Plopping the head back on, your costume was now complete once more. You waddled out of the bathroom with Harrison, making your way back to the festivities.

“You wanna tell me now or shall I wait for Tom?” he inquired, gently bumping your padded shoulder. You groaned, deciding to just explain what happened. You knew if he asked his best friend, the endless stream of “I’m sorry” texts would follow in suit. No thank you.

“Tom decided to order my costume. Made a mistake and chose teletubby instead of tomb raider. How one does that I have no idea. But he somehow did. So now I’m wearing this” you summarized up the predicament that fell upon you.

“That div” he chuckled. “Well, the costume certainly fits your personality.”

“Go fuck yourself, Osterfield.”

“C’mon. That was a good one. I deserve at least a high five for that.”

“What you deserve a swift kick in the nuts. And you’re definitely making me want to do that.” He laughed, obviously unbothered by your potential threat.

“Y’know, you didn’t have to wear that.” You grunted as he proceeded to gesture to the party goers. “I mean, look around. You could’ve just thrown on a pair of cat ears with your” -he paused, clearing his throat- “uh, outfit underneath your costume. You could’ve called it a day with just that.”

“What’s your point, Lil Shit?”

“I just wanna know why you wore that costume.”

Your brows furrowed as you stopped walking, trying to figure out your answer. Harrison hovered a couple inches away, watching you piece your thoughts together.

“I mean, as much as I’m not a fan of the costume, Emma was right about Tom. He put a lot of effort into trying to help me out” you admitted before giving your best casual shrug. “I dunno. I just don’t wanna feel ungrateful to such a nice guy, even if this definitely is in the top five dumbest things he’s done. Like there’s no way I would’ve been able to come here to a cool place like this if it wasn’t for him. And I mean, hey. There’s always next Halloween, right?”

Harrison leaned over and before you could even process what was happening, he kissed you tenderly on the cheek. “That’s very kind of you, love.” It was the second time he’s called you by that name, catching you by surprise. There was something soft and tender in his voice, making you feel special for the first time tonight.

Your heart raced as you bit down on your lip and you found yourself getting self conscious around him. Your eyes locked with one another and you took in the brightest blue eyes imaginable. Was he always this gentle? His eyes glanced at your lips, now gently parted and slightly glossy. Harrison turned away, rubbing the back of his neck.

That’s when you saw it: Harrison was blushing. The consistently cocky Harrison was getting red in the face. And it was over you? You didn’t even think that was a possibility, especially in your current state.

“See ya” he called out in a gravelly tone as he walked away, still refusing to make eye contact with you.

You watched his figure disappear into the crowd and were left with one question: what the hell just happened?

tag list: @sleepybesson, @butithasntkilledyouyet, @chims-kookies , @choke-me-sweet-pea, @highladyjel, @sleepwalkingdragon, @soccerstud004, @spider-mendes, @thefallenbibliophilequote

part four

[the-nagakenny-archives]

A Wonderful Discovery

This is just a fanfic I’m writing fun for @ask-nagakenny.

I hope Mun and Kenny will like it! 😊 ---lind187

SUMMER VACATION!!! Lindsay booked a trip to go to the tropical forest. She stayed in a treehouse which is five miles from the forest. Though the forest is filled with creatures and plants that are gigantic, fierce, and a threatening. Of course, that doesn’t stop Lindsay from enjoying her stay so just as long as she stays out of trouble. What’s the worst that can happen?

Deep in the tropical forest, up in a large tree lays a large serpent with it’s really long tail wrapped around the branches. This unseen creature heard something and looked down to find a young woman by herself wandering around admiring her surroundings.

Her name is Lindsay Stewart. She is 25-year-old, African-American young woman wearing an off-white ruffle eyelet crop top, pink sarong, pink sandals, gold bracelet, gold earrings, and had her hair braided on the top leaving the back puffed out with a pink headband holding it in place.

“Hmmm…I wonder who thisssss ebony beauty may be?”  said a voice that sounded menacing yet smooth.

Lindsay was so dazzled by the exotic plants all around, along with the birds, butterflies, frogs, and lizards. “Now this is a place I would love to live in.” she said to herself. “So far everything has been very peaceful; I don’t see why everyone is so horrified of this place…” suddenly, she was startled for a moment by a sound coming from a bush that was five feet away from her. Then shrugged it off thinking it was some animals messing around and continued on her journey.

Deep in the shrubs were a pair of brown eyes spying on Lindsay walking by then stops midway to see vines in front of her. She runs over there to grab one and started to swing effortlessly from one vine to the next. Lindsay smiled while her heart was racing with excitement, but then her smile went away when saw the last vine was much further away and off the deep end. Even the eyes watching her were in shock. Lindsay couldn’t stop; the only thing she could do is keep going by taking a deep breath, closing her eyes, and flinging herself with open arms. Will she make it?

Well she opened one eye then the other to find herself hanging onto the vine and still moving. That’s when the big smile popped back on her face as she laughs with joy. “Atta, girl.” Said a quiet voice hiding in the shrubs. Lindsay swung onto the last vine and stopped on a tree branch. Unfortunately, the branch was pretty slippery causing Lindsay to slide down and yell. Throughout it all, she went through every loop, swerve, and bump but managed to grab onto an upcoming vine and used her cat-like reflexes to land on the ground. Then gasped when she heard someone clapping and cheering, “Bravo! Oh, you were marvelous!”

Lindsay turned around and witnessed a masculine stranger, who looks to be around her age sitting in front of a shrub. He has olive skin, long copper red hair, brown eyes, a big pointy nose, black eyebrows and sideburns. Lindsay shyly responded, “W-why thank you.”

The man smiled at her with his head slightly tilted to the right as he asks, “Why you are very welcome. Now tell me, what is fine young thing like you doing out in the jungle by yourself?”  

The young lady seemed nervous. Not because of the question, but because of the way this stranger is smiling at her. She immediately answered, “Curiosity got the best of me. Though I have heard that the jungle can be a dangerous place, I’ve always thought there could be a beautiful side to it and wanted to see for myself.”

“Heheh, granted it’s crazy out here sometimes, but overall it is breath taking.” The man smiled. “May I ask what your name is?” The young lady answered, “I’m Lindsay. Lindsay Stewart.”  

“Ah, such a beautiful name.” He grinned.

“Thank you.” Lindsay blushed.

Seeing how bashful she is, the man then points to Lindsay as he happily demands, “Now you: ask me what my name is.” Lindsay was taken aback from that demand but timorously replies. “Oh, Pardon me. What is your name, sir?”

The man laughed, “Oh now no need to be so formal. But thank you by the way. Ahem! My name is Naga Kenneth. But you can call Kenny if you like.” Lindsay scratches her head in confusion to ask, “Naga…Kenneth? Hm, never heard a name like that before. Why ‘Naga’?” The man, known as Kenny, nervously chuckled, “Good question! Uh…well you may find this pretty shocking but let me show you why.”    

[pratktcven]

crushed and blue

crushed and blue part one. shance. not rated. inspired by this post by @kitausu. also available on ao3

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WK01.MON.AUG21.

There is no air conditioning in the lecture hall. Budget cuts, Shiro guesses. Or maybe there was no air conditioning to begin with. Summer ends quickly here, as August fades into September, and the heat often dissipates into chill within a week or two.

Shiro sighs. Looks up. The windows have been opened to tempt a nonexistent breeze, but the only thing they let in is the drone of dying cicadas. The hum nearly drowns out the professor's monotone. Shiro's eyes droop. He struggles to stay awake, weighed down by the oppressive heat and boredom, and almost misses the professor's cue to hand out the syllabus.

Almost.

With a repressed yawn, Shiro stands and tucks the stack of papers atop his prosthesis. As the professor explains his stance on late work, missed tests, and plagiarism, Shiro walks slowly up the stairs. He gives each row a sheaf of carefully counted papers and tells them quietly to pass them down the line.

The boy at the end of the fifth row smiles at him. Whispers, "Thanks," before turning to give the girl several seats down the rest. He has to stretch to reach her, a movement which exposes the slender line of his neck. Shiro notes that the boy is wearing two rainbow-colored jelly chokers, one stacked right on top of the other.

Huh, Shiro thinks. That's cute.

The thought disappears as quickly as it comes and, after an imperceptible pause, Shiro begins to count the number of students in the next row. It's going to be a long morning.

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WK01.WED.AUG23.

Shiro sits for most of the second lesson. He does not repeat the mistake of a button-down and slacks; today he is in black straight leg jeans and a lavender t-shirt made of a breathable linen blend. He sips on his vanilla iced latte quietly, hoping that the cold and the caffeine will prevent his attention from wandering.

It does.

Barely.

Halfway through the lecture, Shiro's attention snags on the boy at the end of the fifth row. Like many other students, his gaze alternates between the prepared power point projected, his open laptop, and the cracked windows. His fingers—long and thin—touch the choker around his slender neck, a band of crushed baby blue velvet.

Their eyes accidentally meet.

The boy smiles.

Caught, cheeks burning, Shiro quickly looks away.

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WK01.FRI.AUG25.

The boy walks in a minute before class begins. He is dressed head to toe in black: baggy tank top, tight jeans, high top sneakers. A black cord is wrapped snug around his neck, a simple line interrupted by a heavy platinum circle.

It looks like an o-ring, Shiro's traitorous brain supplies. Then, even more inappropriately, He'd look really good at the end of a leash.

Shiro very deliberately turns towards the front of the room and spends the rest of the lecture staring at the professor's slides like his life depends on it.

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WK02.MON.AUG28.

The cicadas outside the classroom wail in the rising heat, providing the perfect backdrop for the stifling humidity that has built up inside the lecture hall. A few students are asleep, their faces tucked down into the crooks of their arms. Neither Shiro nor the professor say anything. This is a 100-level history class, and many of the students are taking it for a required humanities credit.

Shiro's eyes flicker to the boy at the end of the fifth row.

To his neck.

To the tiny red ribbon knotted over his adam's apple.

Outside, the cicadas continue to scream.

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WK02.WED.AUG30.

Today, the boy wears a chain of golden daises. The centers are made of cubic zirconia and—as the sun rises above the treetops and bathes the lecture hall in mid-morning light—the fake diamonds adorning his throat sparkle.

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WK02.FRI.SEP01.

It is the last day of the semester for students to drop out of class with no repercussions, and the number of people who enrolled in Introduction to World History has dwindled from 250 to 187. Of that, only a hundred or so continue to come to show up, and the once crowded lecture hall is less than half full.

Not that Shiro blames the absentees. Everything the professor says is taken directly from his overly-wordy slides, and all slides are available online the same day they are used in class. Combined with the professor's ability to make everything sound dry and irrelevant, Shiro honestly wonders why anyone bothers to come at all.

And if the boy—his choker a line of glinting pyramid studs—begins to sits at the end of the second row, Shiro assumes it's to see the fine print in the slides better.

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WK03.MON.SEP04.

Shiro rarely sleeps in. He is a creature of habit who wakes up at six, goes for his standard run, then returns to his apartment to shower, dress, and make drip coffee. He eats a banana, a slice of peanut butter toast, and a handful of almonds while the coffee percolates. When said coffee is finished, he dumps as much as he can into his gigantic thermos and sweetens it with whatever creamer his roommates haven't touched. Then, half an hour before morning classes begin at eight, Shiro is out the door and prepared to face the day.

The only difference between today and any other day is that classes have been recessed for the holiday.

This does not matter much to Shiro. He heads to the main library instead of the lecture hall; he has several papers to finish and a few chapters to catch up on, something that is easier for him to do away from the distraction of home. He loves his roommates, he does, but he's let Allura and Matt sidetrack him too much in the past couple of weeks. He needs to hunker down and spend the day being productive.

This is, of course, when Shiro sees the boy across the street.

Luckily, the boy is with a friend, and he doesn't see Shiro stare at his dusky rose crop top, distressed light wash jeans, and metallic slip-ons. He is too far away for Shiro to make out the details of his choker, but he can tell it's there, a stark line of white against his skin. It isn't until they have almost passed one another that the boy notices him.

"Oh," the boy says when he sees Shiro. Smiles. Waves. "Hi!"

"Hi," Shiro croaks as he waves back helplessly. There must be a strange expression on his face because the friend—a big guy with dark hair and an impressive shoulder tattoo—raises an eyebrow.

Shiro curses internally as he drops his hand and forces himself to keep walking. For the sake of his sanity, he needs to keep the exchange from going further. It takes more willpower than he expects, but he manages it, and he enters the library feeling triumphant. This hubris lasts as long as it takes him to find an empty table, to sit down, and to absently wonder if the boy's choker was made of lace or not.

This time, Shiro curses aloud.

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WK03.WED.SEP06.

Shiro is the first to get to the lecture hall, ten or fifteen minutes before class begins at eight. Sometimes, a few early birds are waiting in the vestibule, hunched over cups of coffee or their phones. No one is there today when Shiro unlocks the door and turns on the lights. Not that he expects it. Many students become progressively lax about their schedule as the semester wears on, choosing to get five more minutes of sleep instead showing up five minutes early to their first lesson.

Once the other doors are unlocked, Shiro grabs the old combo desk from the corner. The chair is made of faded plastic, its sheen long lost, and the small table attached to the right arm is barely big enough to fit Shiro's laptop and medium-sized coffee cup. Only years of experience save him from knocking both to the floor when someone says,

"Hey."

Shiro looks up sharply. He's surprised to see the boy in front of him; the boy is one of those students who always walks in a bare minute before the professor begins his lecture, not that Shiro pays him special attention or anything.

"Hey," Shiro responds. "Can I… help you with something?"

The boy grins. Licks his gloss-tacky lips. Swallows. Shiro struggles to ignore the way it makes his choker—a plain blue cord with a star pendant—cut gently into his skin.

"Well, no, not really," the boy says. "I just realized that—when I saw you the other day—that we've never been introduced, mano a mano. I mean, I know you probably have a thousand and one undergrads to take care of but…" The boy shrugs, a nonchalant gesture that causes his wide-neck shirt to slip further down one shoulder, then holds out his hand. "I'm Lance. Well, technically, my name is Leandro Santiago Almodóvar Fuentes, but most people just stick with Lance."

Cute, Shiro thinks as he lifts his right arm. Aloud, he returns, "Takashi Shirogane. But most people just stick with Shiro."

There's an awkward pause when Lance realizes that Shiro's right arm is a prothesis. This is not unusual, as most people tend not to notice that it's fake until they're up close. Luckily, Lance's hesitation ends as quickly as it arose. He treats the gesture normally, wrapping his hand around Shiro's unfeeling fingers before pumping up and down a couple times. Shiro may not be able to gauge the firmness of Lance's grip, but he can still tell that Lance has a good handshake.

"So what are you drinking?" Lance asks when he lets go.

Unphased by the non-sequitur, Shiro answers, "An iced vanilla latte with an extra shot."

"From the campus coffee shop?"

"Oh, god no." Shiro laughs and shakes his head. "That stuff is awful! No—I go to this café a few blocks south of campus. This Beans Business."

"Wait," Lance interrupts. "The name of the café is This Beans Business?" When Shiro nods in affirmation, Lance giggles. The sound is pitched lower than Shiro expects. "That is honestly the best name I've ever heard for a coffee shop."

"You should try it," Shiro recommends. "They have the best espresso, but if you're not a coffee drinker, they have a lot of alternatives, like bubble tea. Also, they're open until midnight on weekdays. I practically lived there during my junior year."

Shiro and Lance talk for the next ten minutes while the lecture hall slowly fills up. Lance smiles easily; gestures with not only his hands but his entire body; and frequently touches his choker, an absent motion that Shiro follows every time. And even though Lance never says anything about it—or gives any indication that he notices the stray of Shiro's gaze—Shiro still feels obvious, and is glad for the barrier of his small desk between them.

"Guess that's my cue to sit down," Lance murmurs when the professor shuffles in. "Same time Friday?"

"Same time Friday," Shiro says.

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WK03.FRI.SEP08.

Lance is not in the vestibule when Shiro arrives. Shiro feels a twinge of disappointment beneath his breastbone that he immediately quashes. He is earlier than usual—here to prepare for the first test—and no one, not even the professor, shows up twenty-five minutes before the lecture starts.

Shiro opens the door. Flicks the light switch. Makes sure the other doors are unlocked, then grabs his desk. He doesn't sit down immediately, choosing instead to lean against the wall and grin coffee from his thermos. Allura bought coconut creamer on her last grocery store run; she prefers hazelnut, Shiro knows, but on will on occasion branch out.

(Coconut is Shiro's favorite, and he tends to add more than usual to his thermos. It's a good thing that Allura always buys the largest bottle possible.)

Students begin to trickle in around 7:40. Some faces are familiar and some are not. The students who tend to skip stay further away from the front while the ones who show up every day take their regular seats. It is quiet save for the rustle of paper, the click of laptop keys, and murmured variations of, "How hard do you think this is going to be?"

A lot of the students toss nervous glances in Shiro's direction. He understands their anxiety. Different professors have different testing styles, and not knowing if the teacher likes trick questions or if they are more straight-forward can be nerve-wracking. He wants to tell them not to worry—this is just an entry-level history class, after all—but he keeps his face as neutral as possible and sips at his coffee. They'll find out soon enough.

Shiro has nearly emptied his thermos by the time Lance arrives at 7:56. He's dressed in jeans that cling to his long legs, an over-sized graphic tee, and a plain black choker. He gives Shiro a small, harried smile as he descends the stairs, then plops into his normal seat at the end of the second row. His hair is a mess of curls. He yawns—wide and long—and rubs roughly at his eyes.

Oh. Shiro's cheeks flush with embarrassed realization. He overslept.

Shiro pushes off the wall and busies himself until the professor walks in. The professor gives the class a quick overview of the test, which is a simple twenty-five multiple choice with a short essay, then hands Shiro the copies to pass out.

"When you're finished, please place your test on my desk," the professor drones. Shiro hands the first row their copies. "You may begin as soon as you receive your test."

Lance smiles contritely as Shiro steps up. He mouths, Sorry.

Shiro shrugs gently and smiles back. Whispers, "Good luck," as he hands Lance the counted stack of tests, then moves onto the next row of students. He knows he shouldn't have favorites—that he should see each student equally—but…

Lance tugs on his choker in concentration.

.

[iamswitchingurlsaround123]

City of Ember - My list of grievances with the film. May be edited if I forgot something.

Section 1: World-building

- The bugs in Ember are normal sized. They enlarge them in the movie and make them gigantic. This makes it awkward for going to the surface. Are the animals on the surface also big? It seems like it’s just there to add a scary monster for Doon and I to run from, where in the book the only scary monster is greed.

- Doon’s father cannot use electricity. In the film they make him a robotics specialist, whereas in the book he was just the owner of the Small Items Shop, which sold things like wire and nails and stuff. If Doon’s father understood electricity people wouldn’t leave Ember. They could fix the generator and there wouldn’t be a problem.

- The boats shouldn’t be automated. Not everyone left at once so it might cause some people to get left behind. Also, are you trying to break the generator? Another thing is that they made the river appear man-made when it wasn’t. That’s not too big a deal but it still bothers me.

- It just overall felt like they added stuff to be cool and glossed over all the parts of the lore that are actually cool. They didn’t explain the Singing, or Assignment Day, or any of that sufficiently for their relevance to the plot.

Section 2: Characterization

- They make me late to Assignment Day in the film for no particular reason except to show off the city set. They could have showed it off in other parts of the film. This affects my characterization. In the book I’m just spaced out waiting for the assignments to start and twirling hair around my finger.

- They take away Doon’s entire personality, basically. This is just stupid. I guess it kind of make sense because he doesn’t finish his character arc until the end of Book 2, but I sincerely doubt that the writers were thinking like that. His temper tantrums are important. His arrogance is important. If you make his only trait “I need to save the city” that just turns him into a badass which isn’t interesting.

- The Mayor was not personable or charismatic. He was a dickhead. Making him a jolly guy takes away from his creepiness. The Mayor is the monster of the book. Also, they made him create a “task force” in the films instead of simply saying that he has solutions that he doesn’t have. That bugs me. Also the fat suit was stupid. You should be able to take the character seriously and not put a thin actor in a crappy fat suit so he looks funny. Hire an actual fat actor and not Bill Murray.

- Clary is quiet and nervous. Making her into a “motherly black woman” stereotype is stupid - her original character was fine the way it was, and black people shouldn’t only be included in films if they’re tropes. Let her be black and keep her normal personality. You didn’t have to change it.

- This is just a pet peeve, but Poppy’s actress was too old. It’s not like she has any dialogue that’s important to the plot so I don’t understand why they didn’t get a baby to do her part.

- Who the hell is Sal? The only adults we trusted were Ms. Murdo, Clary, and Loris. They added the old man in the Pipeworks for.. what purpose exactly?

- Why did they turn Loris and my father into action heroes? They didn’t want to leave Ember. My father died of coughing sickness, he didn’t die in the Pipeworks. Them changing his death for the sake of badassery is annoying and disrespectful. It also makes us seem like we came from badass heritage which just isn’t true.

Section 3: Plot

- I don’t understand why they changed so much of the Instructions for Egress. The stuff they added was stupid anyway. The pumps for the river were dumb and add cheap drama when the books had perfectly good drama all by themselves.

- They messed up the Mayor’s whole arc with the giant mole monster. They took away the entire political message of the book. The Mayor hoards food and lies about it. The Mayor tries to escape by himself but doesn’t know what he’s doing so he falls into the river and dies. He doesn’t get his comeuppance by getting eaten by a giant mole monster. He gets it through his own greed and selfishness.

- Why include my imaginary city if you’re not going to do anything with it? So weird. I was convinced we would find the other city when we left Ember and that was my motivator.

- Why make Ms. Murdo a Believer? They could have just left the Believers out if they couldn’t figure out a way to include it naturally. They didn’t explain any of my actual thoughts about the Believers so it’s not like there was a point to it.

- Why did they take out the colored pencil scene? That’s basically the most important scene in the novel for my development. I see a colored pencil, which are very rare, and I am so filled with want for it that I end up impulse buying two of them. I feel so so guilty about it and that helps me understand that anyone is capable of greed like the Mayor’s.

- The sunrise scene. Why’s it go so fast? Where’s the parts with the fox and birds who show us that fruit is edible? Why is the acting so bad in that scene? Doon and I looked at each other crying our eyes out because it was so beautiful. The actors just sit there looking vaguely happy even though that’s the most moving thing to ever happen to the characters.

- They basically ruined their options to make sequels. How would they explain the giant animals on the surface world? How would they explain the Emberites still struggling to understand electricity in Sparks? How would they show how important a character Ms. Murdo is in the sequels when she’s now a Believer? It’s just so dumb.

Section 4: Overall

- The core theme of the books is that anyone can be bad, and anyone can be good. All you need to do to make a change is be brave and choose the hard thing. Making me and Doon into badasses who come from epic heritage who have always tried to escape Ember just... destroys that? Entirely?

- The Mayor represented selfishness and greed. THAT’S the antagonist. Not mole monsters, not giant water pumps. Just selfishness and greed. They only changed it to make it into more of an epic adventure story which they didn’t need to do.

- They just took all the good things about the books and replaced it with Hollywood garbage that doesn’t make sense. They ruined the premise - that the Emberites don’t understand electricity, so they can’t fix they generator - just so the protagonist could have a badass father. They ruined the Mayor’s arc so they could have scary monsters. They ruined the path out of Ember so they could show off their crazy set they built. It’s all so pointless and it’s clear the people who made the film didn’t care about the story at all.

[xsunqueensx]

THE ARRIVAL

Na’eva woke to the ship taking on deep waters, the ship bobbed and so did the overhead lighting. “Who am I kidding, just go ahead and get up.” Sofia laid at the bottom of the bed having none of the current commotion, the only thing that moved was her tail. “Like mother like daughter, hmm?” Na’eva could only smile as the animal still didn’t budge. A quick peek into her window showed that is was early dawn, “Today’s the day, huh little sis?” After putting on a light Summer dress, Na’eva made her way towards the top deck, the fresh smell of scones and and pork hit her nose as she passed the Galley. “Smells incredible.” A few guards noticed the princess and cleared they way for her to pass, she gave them a polite nod and proceeded on her way. The misty air kissed her nose first, the silence dawn brought was peaceful; the ship was headed into the suns alluring glow- almost like it was headed into a new beginning. “Thought I’d find you up here”, Na’eva smiled at the familiar voice. “Early bird catches the worm”, she said turning to face him. “Hmmm, I’m confused....does that make me the bird?” Jamison said. The two shared a laugh, “I’m sorry I’ve been so distant.” Jamison was the next to take his place at the ships rails, “Is it really just about your sister or him?” Na’eva looked at her feet, “Am I really that see through?” She responded, looking him in the eye. “Just with me, princess. Come on, it’s just us; won’t you tell me about it?” Na’eva sighed and gripped the rail, “Kihyun is supposed to be at the wedding.” Jamison nodded, “Okay, and...?” She fought with the best way to handle any of the information she knew, “He asked that I come and visit his kingdom for a few days.” He nodded again, still trying to process everything. “Jamison, whatever we are, or whatever this is; it has to stop.” Jamison could feel his jaw clench, he wasn’t a fool- he knew all along the princess could never truly belong to him. “Tell me, why now?” Na’eva swept her hair back, “Would it really be any easier if we ended this a month from now? A year? Jamison, I”, warm lips caressed hers. For a brief moment she forgot where she was, and the only thing she wanted was to stop time for awhile. “Princess, we talked about this remember?” Na’eva placed her hands to his chest, “I told you, we wouldn’t give this a name; it was supposed to make this easier.” The two shared a pained expression.

“Uh, good morning you two; everything okay?” Ameerah asked confused. “Just catching up; how’d you sleep?” Ameerah rolled her eyes, “Wha’t sleep? I’m only meeting my king and people today. I think I slept for just a few hours, maybe?” Jamison patted the soon to be queen on the shoulder, “You’ll only live this day once, no regrets- okay?” Na’eva spoke up next, “Is it too early for a celebratory drink?” Ameerah laughed, “LUSH!!!!!” The trio enjoyed another round of drinks as they watched the sunrise.

“Just over that horizon, the world I know will forever change.” Ameerah laid her head into her sister’s lap, her sister began to play with her tresses. “Speaking of your new horizon, have you decided on what we’re doing with your hair?” Na’eva said pulling her sister’s hair into make believe hairstyles, “How does that have anything to do with-“, Na’eva placed her finger on her sister’s lips. “Shhhh, just answer the question.” The afternoon came swiftly, along with tide pushing the boat closer to shore. Ameerah’s ladies were fast at work slipping the gown up her arms. “Could this be any tighter?” Na’eva responded, “Of course, I assumed you’d be miserable, If we did anything else to the dress.” Ameerah was gearing up to respond when some of the dresses’ feathers went in her mouth. “Don’t think this is over,” Ameerah said furrowing her brows.

The boat was slowing to a halt and the crewman were running to their respective places. The captain shouted an order for the men to adjust the sails and the boat slowed tremendously. “Wow, look at it.” Ameerah said all but on her tippy toes, “It’s stunning.” The island was so colorful and lush, even though a few buildings looked as though it had been scarred from war. There were thousands of homes peeking from the cliffs, the red roofs made for such a spectacular sight. The castle was nowhere to be seen, that just solidified how massive her land was. “Your highness, we’ll be docking shortly.” Ameerah gave the captain a nod and looked back out over her land. “Look”, Jamison said pointing a finger to the cove that opened up the closer they got. “Well, someone looks happy to see you.” He said smiling harder.

Ameerah squinted at the scenery before her, there were hundreds- no thousands of people waving blue handkerchiefs out of their home’s windows, the wind carried their loving cry’s of a welcome. Ameerah started waving back ecstatically. A handful of kids caught Ameerah’s eye as they chased the length of the boat on shore- they had their handkerchiefs raised high. Her heart was fluttering with excitement, she took a deep breath and admired all the faces she could make out as they ship docked. “Ready?” Jamison and Na’eva asked. “As I’ll ever be.” She said with her chest puffed out and back entirely straight.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

I waited not so patiently by the cargo door in my carriage, all of my horsemen lined up in accordance to how we rehearsed many times. A lovely song drifted through the ship, but it wasn’t from my crewman. It was from the monstrous crowd outside. At this point it was impossible to smile any wider. A wet nose nudged my palm, “Hi sweet girl, are you finally awake?” Nova yawned and blinked sleepily. “Is it all the noise?” The cub stretched and closed it’s eyes again. “It must be nice to live that carefree.”

I felt Laila snuggle her chin into my lap as well, “I gave you half of the bench, there’s no way I’m sitting you on my lap too!” My conversation came to a quick halt as the ship’s door let in an plethora of light, I squinted as the sun bounced off the carriages’ glass. Before I knew it we started moving, “You got this sis!” Na’eva said from her side of the coach. The crowd of people grew into the most spectacular view, all the townspeople we’re signing and dancing, many waving excitedly. Amongst the thousand of faces a particular one came into view, a mighty handsome one at that. The beautiful man starred down at me from an all black horse. “Highness, welcome. I’m General Sanson, my men an I will be escorting you back to the castle.” I could only blink at the general and his blinding smile, his features reminded me of a wolf- maybe even a fox? “Thank you, we’re in your hands.” The General gave a deeper smile followed with a nod. His horse trotted just out of sight of my window, very careful not to block the view of the people. I tried rather hard to not notice the way he kept his eyes tuned on me as I waved out the window.

The land was so full of life, wether it was the wildlife or the people. We passed several historical sites that I recall reading about in my history books. I heard they would be even more beautiful in person and I can honestly say, the story books does them no justice. The sounds of the city was different from what I knew, the cobblestone- giving way to where we’ve been and where were going, the live music echoing off the giant castle like structures, the glorious smell of fresh bread and flowers...A queen could get used to this. “Alright, it’s official...I’m jealous.” Na’eva said laughing. “Oh please, you....FUCK ME THAT’S BIGGER THAN I REMEMBER!!!!” I said, covering my mouth quickly. A laugh followed by a cough came from my right, Sanson. “Wait until you see the inside your highness.” He said speeding past the carriage with a smirk. He motioned for some men to take his place. The carriage took a relatively steep turn and the the castle came into view in it’s entirety. Stunning? Breath taking? Fucking gigantic? Check yes to all of the above.

The carriage slowed ever slightly, “I can’t believe it’s this beautiful” said Na’eva. “Agreed, I guess we couldn’t appreciate the true atmosphere at such an early age.” The castle was surrounded by a gilded gate, decorated with to the very tip with crowns and foliage. A command echoed through the air causing the soldiers to come to a completed stop. I poked my head to the window and saw Sanson directing the guards to open the gates. The carriage jostled forward and I knew there was no turning back.

We passed through the gated threshold only to be greeted with hundreds of soldiers standing at attention with their Calvary swords pointed sky high. I looked both left and right and the soldiers created a lovely pathway “Look at this welcome committee, there’s so many people.” I said holding my baby cheetah tighter. Trumpets blared and I caught myself smiling yet again. All of this was for me, I was already gushing and I hadn’t even laid foot outside of this carriage. We came to one last stop and it made my breath hitch. A nobleman approached my door with a step stool, he placed it just beneath my side. He finally opened the door and bowed to me, “Welcome to Kydith Highness.”

As my right foot landed on the pavement, I reveled in the warm winds touching my face. I took the first step towards the gigantic castle that was now my home. A rather tall and devilishly handsome gentleman stood not too far off, he was surrounded by several unfamiliar faces however, he was the only face I couldn’t take my eyes off of. “His smile is brighter than the sun.” I said a little louder than I intended. I could feel my stomach doing flips as his eyes took me in and in that moment I became increasingly aware of how much my dress didn’t necessarily hide. Call me crazy but, I don’t think he minds?

“Well, I almost didn’t recognize you, there’s no mud.” Jooheon said smiling even harder and strolling towards me. He was mesmerizing, even down to the way he moved. “I do have to say, this look becomes you my queen.” The sun danced in his eyes as he tilted his face down towards me.

My mouth almost went dry, he was even more breathtaking up close. “I suppose the same could be said for you my king? I see you’ve grown into those adorable ears of yours.” Jooheon smirked, “You think I’m adorable?” I rolled my eyes playfully at his cheesy charm and laughed. “There it is,” he said slipping a stray hair behind my ear. “I’ve heard countless tales of how beautiful your smile has become, how you could stop a war of more than a thousand men if you truly wanted to.” I went to swallow yet again but my mouth had nothing in it, I blinked a reply as a blush touched my cheeks. “My lord, you’re too kind- thank you.”

*Ahem* “Princess welcome, won’t you come inside for some refreshment?” The queen mother asked in a warm tone. It was odd, she hadn’t aged a bit- almost like those stories you hear of vampires. Her crown was covered in rubies and emerald, illuminating the brown of her eyes. “I would like that very much; would you accompany me my lord?” Jooheon extended his arm and guided us through the throng of people in the courtyard. Many bowed and curtseyed as we passed, I locked eyes with a handsome young man in fine dress. He had sharp features and dark hair; he looked regal amongst the crowd. I wonder who he is? My thoughts were quickly derailed when the sound of a rather large cat boomed from behind the giant door. “Ah, that’s Nitu; she’s harmless...most of the time.” The beautiful cat slinked down the entry stairs, Jooheon called the cat to him. “Just stay by me, she’ll want to check you out.” I was no stranger to animals but, I’d never seen a panther in person. I nodded and waited. Nitu made her way towards me, she started to sniff at my shoes and then my hip. Her ears started to flicker with curiosity or hesitation, I’m still not 100% sure? Jooheon whispered into my ear, and I felt my heart flutter again. “She likes you.” His smile was accentuated with his deep dimples, “How can you tell?” He winked at me, “Because you still have all of your fingers and toes.” I let that register for a moment, “Good point.” Once Nitu was bored with all of the commotion she made her way into the courtyard to sunbathe and then the tour continued. The castle was every bit as beautiful as one could hope, painted ceilings and marble veined floors we’re just the beginning. The halls were full of freshly placed flowers and crisp linens, my eyes didn’t really know where to settle.

“Ah, um, your majesty’s”, a shocked male voice said. He was a bit disheveled, he scurried to bow while he tucked his shirt in.

“Ah Baekhyun, there you are; I missed you at the welcoming ceremony.” Said a voice that I was starting to become familiar with, Sanson. Jooheon looked more entertained than upset with the banter between the two. “Oh, uh...I was out riding!” Sanson crossed his arms over his chest, “Who?” I choked a laugh and so did Jooheon. Sanson grabbed Baekhyun by his collar and pulled him past us, “Pardon us your majesty.”

[mst3kproject]

313: Earth vs the Spider

First we had It Conquered the World, in which It failed to even conquer the town of Beechwood.  Now we have Earth vs the Spider, in which the poor Spider is badly outnumbered even when it, too, is only really menacing one small California town.  It's an incongruous title in other ways as well, but I'll get to that.

High school student Carol Flynn is worried when her father doesn't return from a drive, so she and her rather tactless boyfriend Mike set out to see what's keeping him.  There's no trace of the man, but they do find a huge silk rope across the road, which they follow into a cave, which turns out to be home to a spider the size of a house!  A giant dose of DDT appears to kill it (along with the entire rest of the cave ecosystem), so a teacher has the gigantic corpse taken back to town and stored in the school gym so that scientists from across the country can come and study it. Before that can happen, however, the spider is brought back to life by the Power of Rock N Roll, and soon it's off on the inevitable rampage!

The movie never tells us how they got the huge spider back to town.  Did they just strap it to the top of a truck?  Did they airlift it with a helicopter?  In either case, how did they first get it out of the cave?  Maybe they used whatever it was they did to transport King Kong to New York.

Other than that, it's kind of hard to find anything to say about Earth vs the Spider. It's another bland, by-the-numbers sort of movie that doesn't really have anything to make it stand out from the pack.  It's something to look at for seventy minutes, but it doesn't linger.  The most memorable thing about it is the scene in Lilo and Stitch where it's playing on the televisions in a shop window and Stitch finds it inspiring.

That said, the movie is not necessarily bad.  In fact, there are places where it pays a surprising amount of attention to everyday details that help make the silly story feel more grounded.  For example, Carol's father doesn't seem to have been a very responsible man, but at the same time we can tell he and Carol were very close and she takes great offense whenever anybody else refers to his poor reputation.  Yet in spite of her love for him, she knows she has no grounds to defend him, either, and is eventually forced to admit that his having run off to gamble his paycheque away is a very real possibility.  Her distress over the loss of the bracelet he bought for her would seem like an over-reaction under other circumstances, but understandable due to her grief at his death.

Other character also have nice touches like this.  The fact that Mike keeps putting his foot in his mouth, or that he doesn't have his own car but must borrow one from a friend, make the characters feel more like real teenagers even if the actors don't always look the part.  It's also nice to see that the kids actually have parents who can be supportive, worried, or strict by turns, as the situation demands.  The small town setting makes it plausible that the characters cannot consult with scientists or the military about their spider problem.  The closest thing they have is their high school science teacher.  He's not exactly on the cutting edge of research, so he uses what he's familiar with rather than coming up with some esoteric technobabble solution to the monster.

So the characters are fairly convincingly written (George Worthing Yates also co-wrote Them!, which is easily the best of the 50's giant bug movies), but unfortunately they're less-convincingly played.  I kind of have a thing for June Kenney (Carol), who looked awfully cute in her circle skirts and sailor collars, but she's not a good actress.  She always sounds like she's trying too hard, which makes her the opposite of Eugene Persson (Mike), who sounds like he's barely trying at all.  If they were both at the same end of this scale it might work, but the fact that they're equal opposites just emphasizes how much they both suck.  The Sheriff's skepticism when he first hears about the spider is understandable, but Gene Roth's overacting does neither him nor the movie any favours.

Special effects are a mixed bag.  A composite shot of Mike and Carol running along a ledge doesn't look bad – you can buy that they're actually in Carlsbad Caverns for the purposes of the movie.  A moment later, however, we see a tarantula move through the same image of the cavern, which has now been cut out so that the spider can pass behind the rock formations without an expensive process shot.  This looks terrible, and there's a spot where you can see the edge of the cut-out cardboard.  The dried-out victims that have been drained by the spider are amusingly gruesome, but the skeletons strewn around the cave are obvious plastic.  The huge strands of silk that make up the spider's web look quite nice, all filamentous and springy, but when we see bits of the spider in the same shot as the humans they always look hideously fake.

Come to think of it, where are all those skeletons supposed to have come from?  We don't hear about a rash of car accidents or missing persons along that stretch of road – maybe we should have, since it would give extra foundation to Carol's fears for her father's safety.  There's got to be a dozen or more corpses sitting around in there.  Who were these people?

The spider itself is realized (quote unquote) like all Bert I. Gordon's giant creations are – mostly through superimposed shots of a live tarantula, with a bit of very limited puppetry.  While the latter is, as I've already observed, pretty dreadful, the process shots here are about as good as they ever got in such movies.  Certainly they're a hell of a lot better than the bugs with holes in them of King Dinosaur or The Cyclops.  The angles are matched very well to the background footage, and the spider is never obviously transparent.  As long as it's not expected to interact with its environment or the characters, it's quite acceptable.  It seems that by this point in his giant bug movie career, Gordon had a good handle on what he could and could not get away with, at least as far as superimposition went.

(Incidentally, if you're wondering why you've never heard of a 'bird spider', that's because it's a species found mostly in the rainforests of Columbia and Venezuela.  Bird spiders are golden-brown in colour and about as big as a bread-and-butter plate, make poor pets because of their aggressive temperament, and never come anywhere near the southwestern United States unless a human brings them there.  The furry little spider the movie shows us, supposedly representing a normal-sized bird spider, looks like an ordinary Chilean rose-hair to me. Rose-hairs are half the size of a bird spider (also called a goliath bird-eater... because yes, they do) and not even in the same genus, though both are in the tarantula family.  Spider nerd out.)

Unusually for a Bert I. Gordon movie, Earth vs the Spider never delves into the question of why there's a giant spider running around.  His other movies all give excuses for embiggening things: Glenn Manning's cells were mutated by exposure to the plutonium bomb, the locusts in The Beginning of the End ate irradiated grain, Empire of the Ants blames a toxic spill, and Village of the Giants has the Goo.  None of these are very plausible, but they all make it over the 'just accept it' threshold so we can get to the story beyond.  Earth vs the Spider brings the idea up, but never bothers to do anything with it.  The teacher notes that while the spider may be dead, 'the principle that caused it to grow' is not, and it's important to study this so they won't end up with more giant spiders that could easily overwhelm human civilization.

This idea is somewhat reminiscent of Them!, in which the elder Dr. Medford fears that the ants, which breed faster and build more efficiency, will drive humanity to extinction.  Unlike in Them!, however, the plot point serves only as an excuse for bringing the spider into town so it can wake up and have stuff to wreck.  Nobody ever finds out why it was so big, and at the end the cave is sealed up with explosives while the mystery remains un-solved – it's never even referenced again.  In the other Bert I. Gordon 'giant creature' movies, the beastie's origin is frequently key to its defeat.  In The Amazing Colossal Man the scientists are able to find a cure for Glenn's condition after they realize what effect the plutonium bomb had on his bone marrow.  In Village of the Giants, Genius discovers an antidote to the Goo.  Earth vs the Spider?  Nothing doing.  Why did they even bother to bring it up? It seems like the best approach might have been to just not worry about the origin of the spider and hope the audience wouldn't think of it themselves.

This is the other place where the title seems very strange.  The idea that the spider is a menace to the entire Earth is merely an exaggeration, but the title Earth vs the Spider also seems to imply that the spider itself is from somewhere else, like the interdimensional spiders of The Giant Spider Invasion.  If you're gonna give us a Spider from Nowhere, fine, but don't do that after a title that seems to promise us a Spider from Mars!

I am not watching Giant Spider Invasion next week.  Fifty-foot spiders are something I have to pace myself with or I'll run out of things to say about them.

[merkase]

so my workplace caught on fire today

The first thing my manager did this morning when I walked in was pass me an elderly dog that she’d cut pretty badly and tell me to fix it so she could get on with her other grooms. She said she’d been trying to stop it for 25 minutes and that she was about to lose her shit at all the blood so I sat in the back squeezing a dog leg in a towel for a little while. I got it to stop pretty quickly so I think she just wasn’t putting enough pressure on it, but her station really did look like a butcher’s table. 

THEN, the new girl called me out to the front looking distressed like, “I took the toner cartridge out of the printer and shook it so it would work better but I think I put it in wrong because now the printer is jammed in two places!” SO I was out front sitting on the floor taking a printer apart when my manager came back through and opened the door to the kennel room and went, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON BACK HERE?” I thought that was a pretty strong reaction to have over a jammed printer, but she is called ‘She-Devil’ in my phone for a very good reason, so I turned around with half of an explanation out of my mouth and got a face full of smoke. 

The entire back of the salon where the kennels are was dark with smoke and the world’s quietest, most useless alarm was going off in there. She turned around and looked at me with barely contained panic and went, “Go get a store manager. NOW.” Luckily, one of them was already pretty close, standing with a cluster of customers who’d been asking about birds. I jogged up like, “Yes, hi, we need you in grooming immediately.” I didn’t want to alarm any of the customers but he looked reluctant to leave so I shielded my lips with both hands and mouthed the words, “It’s on fire,” and he moved quite a bit faster after that. 

She-Devil was standing there in the doorway waiting for us like she had no idea what to do so I just ran in there and started grabbing dogs out of kennels and at that point she kind of realized that she was an authority figure and started coordinating the three of us. She was running back and forth getting kennels and drop crates from the sales floor and the new girl and I were shoving dogs into them as quickly as we could. At one point the new girl went, “Gosh, they just really don’t like going in these smaller kennels,” and I was like, “Bruh, the salon is on fire get them in those fuckers,” as I had a crate turned up on one end trying to set a dog straight down into it back feet first because he was flailing around refusing to go in. I swear to god, dogs are the most uncooperative evacuees I have ever seen in my life. At one point I had to pick up an entire golden doodle and carry that asshole out because he didn’t want to leave the crate he was in. 

At some point during all of this a police officer showed up and he was standing in the door speculating on what caused it WHILE WE WERE STILL EVACUATING DOGS and he said to us, “There’s a lot of hair back here,” and I just about handed him the westie I had in my hands like here hold this. I was so close. I probably should have because that would have been hilarious, actually. I was half tuning him out, though, because I was pretty singularly focused on getting the dogs out. The back was so full of smoke that I couldn’t breathe back there so I was holding my breath as long as I could, grabbing a dog, running out, dumping it, holding my breath, repeating. I definitely slammed two of my fingers in a drop crate and kept right on going because I was trying to get all the dogs out of there while it was still possible to breathe at all. Even with my shirt up over my nose and mouth it burnt the shit out of my lungs so I wasn’t wasting time speculating about how much dog hair was enough to create a fire hazard. 

The fire department actually showed up pretty quickly. We were still running dogs out when they got there, so THEN I had fire department people stopping me to ask if there was a second level and if so, where the access hatch was and I was like "Shit, I don’t know, I think there’s a hatch but if we have one it’ll be back in the stock room oh look there’s the store manager he’ll know.” We did eventually get all of the dogs out, then I was going around giving them water and trying to vent the front of the salon because they were all overheating. The air conditioner shut itself off when it detected smoke so that was another issue. The She-Devil was doing something with the fire department and the new girl was sitting in the back of the salon with a golden-retriever we didn’t have a crate for. Our new girl is younger and she’s very, very sensitive and she did really well when she was setting up drop crates and moving dogs but the second she sat down and stopped moving she started crying and having a legit panic attack. SO THEN I was kind of yelling over my shoulder like, “It’s going to be fine, all the dogs are fine, we’re fine, everything is fine! The fire department is here!” while simultaneously filling water bowls and keeping an eyeball on the firefighters because if there was fire over the salon in the roof we were going to have to move all the dogs out of the building entirely. Luckily, at that point, the girl who had been out of the store on lunch came back so she was able to sit in the back and hold the new girl’s hand. 

It was ultimately determined that one of the large kennel driers that go on top of the kennel bank had burnt up its motor and caught fire, but the first thing She-Devil did when she went back there was turn off all the driers so I think she caught it before it had a chance to spread any farther. I never saw actual flames, but the fire department guys had a thermal camera they were walking around with trying to find the source of the fire and they said the internal temperature of the drier was very, very high so it had probably combusted at some point. I found out later that the entire store had been evacuated. All of the dogs were fine and they handled the chaos remarkably well apart from being gigantic turds while we were trying to move them. It definitely could have been worse. 

In other news, I’m off tomorrow so I’m hoping to make a writing day of it. =DD

[xbrain130]

The Nature Queen

An alternate, and hopefully slightly more interesting, version of the final blow to Zarc in episode 140.

Zarc smiled widely with his fanged mouth.

«At the end, I will nail your coffin with my own hand.»

His eyes widened as he thrust his human form's right hand forward.

«I attack "DD Magical Savant Schrodinger"!» he yelled as his dragon form's left fist lunged forward, inbound for a powerful landing on the devastated balcony where Reiji was laying on the ground, still not recovered from the beatdown his "High King Executives" took from the "Supreme King Servant Dragons".

Then a twister full of leaves covered him and a high-pitched voice screamed.

«BROTHER!»

A monotone "Intrusion Penality: 2000 points" echoed as Reira's Duel Disk flared up.

And a loud crash signed the impact of the fist of "Supreme King Dragon Zarc".

Everyone gasped as a Reiji's scarf disintegrated among the debris... along with the log it was tied to.

From the leafy winds, the blue ninja emerged holding Reiji and Leo.

REIJI LP 200 → 0 [0] × 0

«Tsukikage!» said Shingo happily. «He came back!» added Crow.

«That's...!» gasped Tatsuya.

Everyone looked at the weird portal screen thing. Reira was standing before Zarc, Duel Disk active and hand drawn. «Reira!»

«Reira! What are you doing?» yelled Reiji concerned.

From the Leo Corporation's HQ, Himika also said the kid's name.

Reira hid the eyes under his cap. «I... I'm not Reira.»

The kid then threw away the cap and the jacket, and long lavender hair fell down.

«I'm Ray!» the kid declared as an image of the older woman flickered next to them.

«Ray?» asked Reiji confused.

«What?!» cried Leo.

«Ray?» parroted Zarc, his eyes twitching.

«If you come back, I will come back.» affirmed Reira. «If you try to destroy the world, I will protect it!» Ray voice gradually overlapped, until she flickered next to the child again at the last words.

The glowing golden spirit form of Ray then appeared over Reira, before her Original Dimension's Duel Disk materializing on her left arm, and her head gained its true colors.

«My turn!» yelled both as Ray drew a card from her Deck.

The two Akaba siblings held up their right arms, Ray having two yellow-colored cards between her fingers, Normal Monsters. Zarc had an heart attack when he squinted and noticed... the lower half was Magic-colored!

«With the Scale 0, "Nature Queen Hikari", and the Scale 13, "Nature Queen Yami", we set the Pendulum Scale!» Ray slapped the cards over her Duel Disk, but the iridescent word "PENDULUM" appered over Reira's as well.

Two young girls ascended to the sky inside blue columns of light. The Scale 0 wore a pretty white dress and had long brown and red hair, looking like Ray, while the Scale 13 resembled a female Zarc with short, upward-spiked white hair, and wore a tattered black dress.

«W-what? How!?» stuttered the demonic man.

«With this, we can Summon any monsters with Levels between 1 and 12!» explained the siblings. «Swing, Pendulum of cosmos! Bring eternal peace to the unnatural world!» chanted both. «Pendulum Summon! Appear, our harbinger of salvation!» A portal opened between the two Scales, and a single pink stream came out.

The light split into four, of which three changed color: green, indigo, and yellow. A pillar of light shoot up to the sky, piercing the clouds.

«Envoy of Mother Earth, the all-knowing disciple with the mission to protect the universe with the powers of nature!»

The pillar died down, and a figure appeared between the four colored light: a heavenly being wearing a rainbow vest, with long flowing hair colored white, and feathery wings folded behind the back. «"Biograph Angel"!»

Biograph Angel ATK 2400 LV 7

«Bio... graph... angel...?» growled Zarc. «No... no! You can't!»

Ray and Reira just glared back at him. «The effect of "Biograph Angel". We can Release this card, and banish the Four Envoys of Nature from our Deck and Extra Deck!»

«NO!» screamed the demon, slamming his hands down. Meanwhile, the angelic monster clasped her hands and appeared to start praying.

The siblings threw their right arms up. «"Lyrical Luscinia - Assembly Nightingale"! "Wind Witch - Winter Bell"! "Moonlight Cat Dancer"! "Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart"!»

The four monsters appeared over them as thet were named, all glaring with intense hate at the dark lord of dragons. The angry faces of the bracelet girls briefly fickered over their respective ace.

«Become the force that purifies the evil out of hearts!»

Pillars of colored light enveloped the four monsters, before they moved towards each other and merged. Then, Ray spread her arms and detached from Reira, who fell on their knees. As she floated towards the pillar, she closed her eyes and kept chanting.

«The sovereign of the natural world, the fighter for the freedom from jet-black darkness' clutches for all dimensions! Please take my form, and save us all from sin!»

Ray's body touched the light, before being abrutly swallowed. Immediately the pillar expanded with a deep rumble, and a second, horizontal pillar burst out the sides of the other, making it look like a cross.

Two words echoed in the astonished silence: «INTEGRATION SUMMON!»

Slowly, the horizontal light widened, taking shape of wings. Enormous, yellow, feathery wings. A pink circle formed around the main pillar, and the light finally died down.

A enormous woman was towering before Zarc. Besides the yellow wings and the pink halo, the monster wore a long green dress with indigo fur. Ray's glowing body merged with the monster's at the neck crook of the latter, just like with Zarc.

«Zarc!» a voice called out. «Here I am! Your ultimate opponent: an equivalent!»

Queen of All Nature - Ray ATK 3900 LV 12

Zarc was trembling in fury. «YOU BITCH! HOW DARE YOU USE THE SAME WEAPON I MADE TO FIGHT YOU?! HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY OWN EXCLUSIVE, INTEGRATION SUMMON?!»

Ray didn't bat an eye from her place. «I will stop you, no what what I have to do.»

Zarc pointed a claw to her. «Stop me? In your worthless dreams! You even have less ATK than myself, proof that no one can surpass me!»

Ray's expression softened for some reason. «ATK isn't everything. Don't worry, your pain is finally coming to an end.»

Zarc scowled in confusion. «What are you saying?»

Ray held up her hand towards the dragon as a window popped up in front of her, showing four Magic Cards in the Graveyard. «The Natural Energy Cards... they did stop you... but the price was too high. They shattered the entire world like this, and they caused immense pain and suffering... so I will undo their damage. I'll sacrifice them to find another way!»

«Sacrifice them?!» cried Leo shocked.

Her held hand closed in a fist. «That's right. This new form of mine isn't just the embodiment of my desire to stop you. It is also the combination of my fragments' will to save your fragments!»

«Our fragments?» murmured Zarc.

«My effect activates! By banishing a nature card from the Graveyard, I can apply its effect!» «WHAT?!»

«Go, Ruri!» yelled Ray as the Xyz fragment flickered next to her. «We banish "En Birds"!» the two girls said, «By its effect, all Xyz Monsters on the field, in the Graveyard, and that are banished are treated as Normal Monsters, and their effects are negated!»

"En Birds", floating in the purple void, exploded into yellow particles, which erupted out from a portal that opened before Ray, quickly turning into bird shapes and enveloping "Supreme King Dragon Zarc" and "Supreme King Servant Dragon Dark Rebellion". At the same time, the same two cards flashed on Zarc's Duel Disk; as the former turned into a yellow card and lost its effect and the "Xyz / Effect" part of the type line, and the latter was stripped of the black fraction of the background and the "Xyz" subtype.

«Xyz Monsters are...» whispered Kaito. «...turned into Normal Monster?» finished Shun.

«Yuto!» cried Ruri's spirit clasping her hand. «I'm begging you, awake yourself! Just like you fought Academia, you can fight Zarc! I know you can, because you are a valiant dark knight just like the "Phantom Knights"! Please! Do it for our home, for my brother!» A tear fell from her eye. «Do it for me...»

Suddenly Zarc clutched his head and screamed as Yuto's spirit struggled to reach out. «NO! You stay doooooowwwwn!» slurred the demon as Yuto emerged. «Ruri...!» he sobbed as he was immediately pulled back.

Ray tched as Ruri vanished. «This is only the beginning. Rin!» The Synchro fragment appeared next to Ray and both raised their arms. «We banish "En Winds"!» The card exploded into green particle that erupted out the portal as a tornado, which went to ravage "Supreme King Dragon Zarc" and "Supreme King Servant Dragon Clear Wing". «All Synchro Monsters become Normal Monster, and their effects are negated!» Inside the winds, "Supreme King Dragon Zarc" roared as its card's white background and "Synchro" subtype vanished, along with the one of "Clear Wing" becoming yellow and losing its effects and "Synchro / Effect".

«The "Supreme King Dragon" that made us suffer...» said Crow. «...is becoming powerless!» murmured Jack, still down.

Zarc screamed in pain again as Rin started speaking. «Yugo, you gigantic goof! How could you let youself be taken over like that! Open your eyes and fight Zarc! We two still... have a... dream, right? We still have to win the Friendship Cup... I won't ever let you use... your possession as an excuse... got it?!» yelled the girl, her voice gradually breaking down.

Yugo tried desperately to reach out as well. «Riiin! Riiiiiiin! I'm here, I'm he...» he barely managed to get ot before he was absorbed again. «Stop it!» growled Zarc.

«Never!» growled back Ray. «Get on it, Selena!» The ponytailed Fusionist took Rin's place. «We banish "En Moon"!» The Magic in question burst into violet particles, which formed a beam that went to pierce the last clouds and reveal the full moon hanging over the teared remains of Earth. «All Fusion Monsters become Normal Monsters, and their effects are negated!» The girls added as "Supreme King Dragon Zarc" and "Supreme King Servant Dragon Starve Venom" howled in the blueish-gray lighting. The card of "Starve Venom" became yellow and lost "Fusion / Effect", and the one of "Zarc" finally was taken away the violet background and the "Fusion" subtype, making it looking like a common Effect Pendulum Monster for a second before the monster effect also vanished and the upper part of the background faded from orange to yellow too.

«With this, the Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz aspects of the "Supreme King Dragon" are removed!» exclaimed Edo, smiling along with Sora.

Selena's spirit cupped her hands around her mouth. «Hey Yuri, you little shit! I know you're in there! Just because we never became friend don't you think I'm not gonna come and kick your ass out of that thing! What the hell do you think you gain not fighting Zarc?! You just insult your own honor! A true elite Academia student would never allow themselves to be used as a pet like that!»

Zarc screamed even louder as Yuri's spirit came out, his face shadowed. «Selena, eh?» he smiled creepily. «Fine then. You asked for it, now I'll gonna make you eat those words!» he looked up at her, tears in his eyes. «You'll better make up for your missed responsibilities, my friend...» he whispered before being dragged back inside Zarc's body. «You bastard!» he ranted as he clutched his body, feeling it burn due to the souls raging inside.

«This is the end for you!» As she said that, Ray's voice overlapped with Yuzu's, who appeared next to her too. «We banish "En Flowers"!» The last Magic Card exploded into a pink wave that washed over the entire zone, making flowers blossom on every patch of green.

«I'm getting shivers!» sang Futoshi as he, Ayu, Tatsuya, and Shuzo looked on awed.

«"En Flowers" negates again the effects of all monsters on the field, and destroys them!» explained Ray and Yuzu as Zarc's monsters were enveloped by iridescent lights, «Then, for each of those cards sent to the GY, you take 600 points of damage!»

«With this...!» murmured Reiji with a smile. «Beautiful.» simply said Gongenzaka, at loss of other words.

Ray held up her right arm, and the four bracelets appeared on her forearm. The four girls then flickered arond her, also wearing their own bracelets. After a few seconds however, the bracelets shattered into faint whisps of light. The "Supreme King Servant Dragons" roared as they quickly suffered the same fate.

«DAMN YOUUUUUUUUUU!»

Everyone shielded their faces of "Supreme King Dragon Zarc" melted into a whirlwind of darkness. Quickly, the vortex died down, deposing Zarc on the ground.

ZARC LP 2800 → 1000 [0] × 1

«Yuya!» cried Reira, getting up under the feet of "Queen of All Nature - Ray". «I... AM NOT... YUYA!» he snarled, still holding onto his own body in pain.

«No, you are Yuya!» said Reiji, and Zarc turned to glare at him. «And you are Zarc, but also Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri. Your heart was constantly swinging. Yes, just like a pendulum!» he added, holding up Yuya's pendant for emphasis.

«Pendulum...» wheezed Zarc, scowling.

«The four cards my dad made were cards that naturally returned all power into a pure existence.» talked the five girls in unison. «That's how Pendulum was born! Pendulum cannot be swung in the presence of only malice. It should be inside of you, the existence of Sakaki Yuya, who purely pursued smiles!»

«Wrong! This is my will...» growled Zarc.

Suddenly, Yuzu floated down in front of him. «I believe in Yuya!» The words made Zarc recoil.

Yuya was holding his head in pain, surrouded by his counterparts in a dark void. «Yuzu!»

«You're not a demon!» urged the Standard girl. «You're a person who gives happinessand smiles to people around the world!»

«Shut up! What I give is fear!» «Stop it! What am I saying?»

«My wish is, for the people who forced me to fight and pretended to be a spectator to taste real fear!» yelled Zarc. «Wrong! That's not true!» murmured Yuya inside.

«Screw smiles! I...» «You came to save me!» began again Yuzu. «No matter how many times we were separated, you chased me!» Zarc gasped. «Because you were there, I got stronger!» Shu hung her head down. «I could never forget to smile.»

«Yuya, respond! To everyone's thoughts!» she cried, and then her expression softened. «And then let's go home together. Tou our homedown.»

Suddenly Zarc's yellow eyes stopped glowing and faded into red.

«Yes, last turn, Yuya!» yelled Reiji, chucking the pendant. Time seemed to slow down for Yuya as he stared at the tricket flying towards him.

He saw the Pendulum swinging. He was his dad. «I can't do anything if I'm scared and frustared.» chanted Yusho as he held two halves of a torn card. «If you want to win do it with courage.» he added as he pulled together the pieces of "Smile World".

«I'm back!» said Yuya, grabbing the pendulum. However, his face started warping, and the eyes went back to yellow. «Pendulum Monsters are immortal! Even if destroyed, they will revive again and again! Just like me!» slurred Zarc with a distorted voice, trying to reach for his Deck. «We won't let it! We will put an end to what we've done!» cried together Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri; their spirits materializing around Zarc and holding him in place with all their forces. «You bastards, you're just myselves!» snarled Zarc, trying in vain to push them away. His eyes started to roll widly. «W-what are you doing? Stop it!»

«We've decided. We will not become a demon anymore!» chanted the four boys as one. «Now! Do it, Yuzu/Ruri/Rin/Selena!» the all cried, each boy finishing with the name of their corresponding girl. Ray nodded. «I attack Zarc directly!»

The goddess spread her arms and started chanting, and the four energies gathered again to envelop Zarc and his fragments, who all started screaming.

«Damn you!» wheezed Zarc, soffucated by the four grips. «I will... absolutely...»

ZARC LP 1000 → 0 [0] × 1

The shape of "Supreme King Dragon Zarc" appeared over him, eternally frozen in a silent roar as the shapes of the four "Supreme King Servant Dragons" were pulled out, and gradually lost their green bands as everything started shaking.

«Without the natural cards, the world is about to be reset to its former state!» murmured Leo. «Then Zarc will reincarnate in the united dimension!» whispered Reiji.

«I won't let it happen!» cried suddenly Reira getting up. «I will seal Zarc!»

As the kid clasped his hands, Zarc screamed and a black spirit flew out his mouth and rammed Reira, who also started screaming.

Meanwhile, the four boys were sucked inside the empty body, and Ray's Integration monster disintegrated as her fragments were also forced back into her.

Then...

white

also Yuya's voice, screaming.

«REIRAAAAAAA!»

. . .

Yuzu smiled as Yuya went off to answer his father's challenge. However, feeling something in her pocket where she put her Deck, she went to check her cands, and was surprised to see on the top a monster she had never seen before.

Melodious Maestra - Talented Beethoven [ Fairy / Pendulum / Effect ]

Yuzu smiled even wider as she shifted through and saw a lot of other Pendulum Monsters in there. «I guess now I'm officialy the Pendulum counterpart as well.» she whispered, the three girls appearing around her and pulling a group hug.

Meanwhile, in Yuzu's mind, Ray also gave off a slight smile and closed her eyes as she drifted down, deciding to give her fragments some time alone.

[artificialqueens]

Cause I give you all -Pt1- (Trixya) - Pichitinha

A/N: hi i am back with another fic bc i have no self control whatsoever! this is a three part story that was originally a one-shot but it made more sense to split. it’ll be finished soon bc the last part is almost done so! i will now go back to owl to see if ch4 accepts it has to be written. this is a very casual story, i hope you enjoy it! as always i am @pichitinha on this hell site and I have posted this on AO3.

It isn’t often that they get the night off when touring. Thinking about how tired and lacking months of proper sleep Trixie is, she strongly considers staying in the five star hotel they’re in and sleeping the best sleep she knows she’s had in months, but at the end of the day she knows she gets a good amount of free time on the tour bus, even if sparse and uncomfortable, and she hasn’t had fun in a long time. So she showers away her laziness, gets dressed in nice clothes and her own make-up, and goes in search of a bar.

It’s apparently the only bar in town and it’s really crowded with the most redneck crowd Trixie’s ever seen. There are large bearded men and strong women and as soon as she enters she can spot at least five people arm wrestling on tables filled with empty gigantic glasses. The smell of beer is strong and so is the smell of bacon and she turns her nose.

She finds an empty stool by the end of the counter in the middle of two couples heavily making out and she sits down with her eyes fixed on the bottles in front of her, tries to tune out the sexual noises coming from each of her sides. She truly found the most heterosexual bar in the state.

Maybe she should have chosen her sleep.

She orders herself a beer - when in Rome, right? - and sips at it slowly, lets her eyes unfocus as they stare at the bottles and her mind wonder.

She’s so tired. She hasn’t picked up her guitar in three months. She washes her hair once a week only and it’s starting to show. Her favorite clothes are now all worn out. Her make-up kit is getting way too close to being empty.

But she loves it. Touring with a country legend as a backup singer is something Trixie never thought would be so satisfying, but it is. She’s friends with her which is something she couldn’t even dream of when she was a kid, and she gets to experience the ups and down of the famous life up close. She’s doing what she loves, earning good money with it, and she’s at the best point of her life so far.

She just lets herself wonder, sometimes, when it will end. Not in a bad way but not in a good way either. Is this how it’s going to be, forever? Always on busses, from city to city, hotel to hotel, in the shadows of someone else’s spotlight? Will she ever stop somewhere long enough to find someone to build a life with? Does she even want to settle down?

She doesn’t, particularly, not in the white picket fence with 2.5 kids kind of way. But she does in the having a loving wife who cares for her and wants to share a life together kind of way. Trixie’s in love with the idea of being in love, and she knows she’ll always be.

She finishes her beer and asks for another one. There’s no point in going back to the hotel, even if she’s not mingling in any way. She might as well drink as much as she hasn’t been able to while touring, and sleep in until noon or later since they have a show in that same town the next evening so they have no plans for a few hours.

And then she takes one more look around, tries to figure out if there’s anyway at all she could fit in with anyone, and she spots a blonde woman at the other end of the long counter, sipping on a beer alone, her posture similar to Trixie’s. She might be projecting or reading what she wants to read, but everyone else is very ingrained in the place’s vibe and the two of them are the only ones completely isolated.

Trixie’s not saying the woman’s a lesbian. But Trixie isn’t saying she isn’t. There’s just that face when you know you’re the only gay person in the middle of a clearly non-accepting space and, well, that’s what Trixie’s seeing.

It’s worth trying, right?

She asks for an extra beer and moves over to where the woman is, spots an empty stool by her left side and slides swiftly into it. The woman doesn’t notice, so Trixie decides she has nothing to lose and slides the new bottle of beer in front of her. She blinks three times before coming back to her senses and looking over at Trixie.

She grins widely and Trixie melts a bit. Her teeth are displayed in the most symmetrical smile she’s ever seen and they are extremely shiny and white except for the small red mark on her front one where her lipstick probably brushed and she didn’t notice. It makes her look a bit dorky and it’s a look that definitely suits her.

“Hi,” the woman says, grabs the beer without breaking eye contact or letting her smile drop. “Is this for me?” She motions the bottle, sips at it before even getting an answer. Trixie’s half convinced her old bottle still has beer inside.

Trixie shrugs, drinks her beer as well before answering. “I was a bit lonely over there and I saw you a bit lonely over here, thought we could drink together?”

The woman smiles wider, her tooth still a bit red, and nods a little before adjusting in her seat so she’s half facing Trixie. Trixie can’t tell her intentions, isn’t fully sure if she’s just glad that she has a girl talking to her instead of a creepy guy, but whatever. At the very least she’ll share a few beers with a pretty woman before heading back to her hotel.

“I’m Katya,” she offers as she extends her hand, her short nails painted the same red shade as her lips. “Thanks for the beer.”

“Trixie,” she replies as she shakes her hand, small and pointy. “And you’re welcome.”

They cling their bottles together, cheers, they say, and take a sip together, eyes interlocked.

Maybe she’d been right in going out tonight.

*

There’s a table in the corner where a couple seemed intent on doing as much as they could without having to remove their clothes and Katya convinced Trixie to bet on when they’d leave and how far they’d go before doing so.Trixie is looking at them very attentively - probably creepy - waiting for her phone to beep indicating Katya’s time is up and she’s won. She has five minutes left and then she wins. They haven’t agreed on what the winner gets yet, but she just doesn’t like losing.

“One of them is gonna end up finishing right there in the next two minutes and then they’ll leave,” Katya says over her shoulder, pulling her attention back. Her tooth is still not clean and Trixie kind of doesn’t want to tell her at all. It’s nice to see a flaw in her, honestly.

“First of all, ew! We want that table so I truly hope they don’t.”

“When will you ever have the chance again to say that you’ve lived through an experience like this? Live life, Trixie!”

Trixie snorts, looks back at the couple and her timer - she’s two minutes away from winning.

“I am living life to the fullest, thank you very much.”

Katya’s eyes sparkle a bit. She seems interested in Trixie, in what she has to say and even what she doesn’t have to say. It’s odd to receive all that attention, but it’s thrilling too.

“Tell me about it. What are you living like?”

“I’m a singer. I mean, a backup singer at the moment. But I do sing and play guitar sometimes, on bars and stuff. Or I used to, before touring.”

Katya nods, her eyes wide as she gives Trixie her undivided attention. “That sounds fascinat- I won!”

She exclaims as she points to the couple getting up and sure enough Trixie’s timer is thirty fucking seconds away from beeping.

“Fuck me,” she whispers in frustration and Katya doesn’t miss a beat.

“Actually I get to choose what you have to do since I won the bet but I’m okay with that.”

Trixie laughs loudly, Katya’s smile is shiny and the little mark still there.

“Maybe if you learn to clean your teeth after you apply lipstick.”

Katya’s hand move to her mouth to brush against it. “Shit.”

*

She’s not sure how they ended up in a park at 2AM, both of them having had one too many bottles of beer before leaving the bar, but here they are. Trixie’s at the talkative phase of her drunkenness and she’s sure she’s shared way more than she should with a complete stranger, but this is something tomorrow her will worry about. Today her is blissfully out of her mind, giggly and in good company.

“Ok so how does one reach the ripe age of twenty-seven speaking five languages?” Trixie asks as they stumble through the empty and quiet park, their healed steps and loud voices echoing through the trees.

“I don’t speak five languages, spanish and italian are like child level knowledge at most,” Katya replies with raised eyebrows, as if that makes any difference, as if Trixie isn’t immensely impressed by that anyway.

“I get that, my english is at a child’s level as well,” Trixie retorts, thinks she’s being funny but honestly she’s far too drunk to be sure.

Katya laughs though, loud and clear in the night sky, enough to send the birds flying from the tree tops near them.

“Hey, it’s not your fault you’re from Wisconsin!” she finally says, and now Trixie’s the one screaming, her hand hitting Katya’s arm playfully.

“You bitch,” she says jokingly, and Katya gets it because her eyes are sparkling and they stumble closer to each other, one practically leaning on the other as their breaths mingle.

There’s a beat of silence in which Katya licks her lips, and then she murmurs, “By the way, I’m like, really really gay.”

Somewhere in the back of Trixie’s mind she knows the setting is intimate - they’re practically embracing, faces close, eyes interlocked - but the way Katya says it just makes a loud bubbly laughter leave her lips as she takes one step back to ground herself.

“Girl, me too!”

*

It’s 4AM and they’re at a 24 hour diner, most of the alcohol evaporated from their system although Trixie’s skin is still buzzing. They’re seated facing each other in a corner booth, there are quite a number of customers for the time, but everyone is talking quietly and it’s really peaceful. They each have a mug of steaming coffee in their hands and even though they’d looked at each other’s eyes all night, Trixie’s just now realizing Katya’s eyes are green.

“Your eyes are really pretty,” she says then, doesn’t really realize she’s doing so. She’s forgotten bits and pieces of everything she’s told Katya all night, but that’s more related to how dumb some of these things were and how many than to them being drunk. She likes it though, feels comfortable with her. With the pretty, beautiful lesbian with whom she spent the entire night and has yet to kiss.

Katya smiles at the compliment, and Trixie realizes she hasn’t complimented her smile all night. It’s really pretty. She’s really pretty. Trixie is still amazed that they’re hanging out.

“Thank you. All of you is really pretty,” she says back, and Trixie bites down on her lower lip. She’s not one for one night stands usually, but she is on a long tour where there aren’t really any other options and is it even a regular one night stand after they’ve spent the whole night together? Technically yes, she knows, and technically she’s not even certain Katya wants to sleep with her, but at the end of the day she knows that all she wants is to finish this day in a bed with Katya. It can be her hotel room, it can be Katya’s hotel room - she’s travelling too, she learned, she’s a photographer following some models for a project, and what astounds Trixie the most is that she’s not one of the models herself - it can be anywhere really. She’s really drawn to Katya, more so than she usually is to any strangers - are they still strangers by now? - and she knows she deserves it.

She squirms in her seat, thinks of the proper way to put this question out there, but then Katya cuts her off with a question in a completely different direction.

“So, where you heading next?”

“Somewhere close, I think. I never remember the schedule.”

Katya raises her eyebrows. “Really? And how does that work?”

Trixie shrugs. “I just get there and go to the stage and sing I guess? I recognize several of the cities and sometimes I’ll explore for a couple of hours if we can but mostly I just sleep, it’s a really tiring routine.”

Katya seems baffled and Trixie feels like she’s done something wrong for some reason.

“Seeing new places is my favorite part of touring. I’ll gladly give up sleep if I can see something I’ve never seen before.”

“I mean, after the fourth town with the same hay stacks and trees it gets old, you know,” Trixie jokes into her cup of coffee, trying to find her ground again. She’d been so comfortable seconds ago.

Katya laughs, but her heart isn’t fully in it. God, had Trixie somehow ruined this? She’s not even sure how.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m a photographer. I usually find beauty everywhere I go.”

“Oh,” Trixie says, doesn’t know what else she could say.

“Sorry, it wasn’t meant to sound pretentious like that. And I’m not judging you or anything. I’m just… I don’t know, it’s nice finding these little differences, isn’t it? We’ve been so similar all night.”

They have. Their similar sense of humor is something that made them hit it off instantly. But also realizing that they travel so much, live the same home is nowhere lifestyle had been a major point. It never occured to Trixie they might perceive it so differently.

“Yeah, of course,” she responds, although she isn’t sure it is. Meeting Katya had felt like fate, but now she isn’t so sure.

But then Katya’s hand slide across the table and holds tightly onto hers.

“My hotel is really close. Do you want to crash with me?”

Trixie knows what she means, and most of her worries disappear as she looks into her eyes. She nods and they get up together, Katya’s hand clasps onto hers and the only time she lets go is when they’re inside the room and she needs it to unzip Trixie’s dress.

*

Trixie goes back to her hotel room late in the afternoon with Katya’s number in her phone, a bite mark on her left hip, and the song I Put A Spell On You by Annie Lennox from Katya’s alarm stuck in her head.