#drawing lolita stuff is hard but i like the way it came out

[unprofessionaldoodler]

part 4 of the taffy series flavor: shaved ice

[pandemellia]

Antera, the Avenger of Heartbreak💔

[Description was copied and pasted from my Reddit]

If Eufrene's the personification of my hope, love, happiness, innocence, and vulnerability, then Antera here is the personification of my anger, heartbreak, sadness, resentment, guilt and apathy.

Antera was designed to be the opposite of Eufrene. Learn more about her here: https://www.reddit.com/user/Pandemellia/comments/x0s08c/eufrene/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Man, I don't know where to start with this character. I don't know if it's because I'm still grieving the breakup, but I paid a little more attention to her. I know my rambles of this OC will be all over the place, and it's not a proper OC introduction...But please bear with me, I'm still new to taking this OC thing seriously lol.

If I can describe Antera with one phrase, it'd be "peace was never an option". XD

She's impatient, hella petty, prideful, and definitely thinks violence is always answer. Resentment and sheer spite fuels her. More importantly; she absolutely despises being restrained. Kinda like all the times I suppressed my anger in all the times my ex has ignored me for some time, and the resentment just builds up to where I get angry at him about that in other unrelated arguments. However, she is great at standing up for herself and calling out bullshit.

In the post about Eufrene, I mentioned that during the break up my ex said, "you're an angel, and I'm the devil. Leave me alone so the fires will engulf me".

....That's adorable, but I disagree.

Antera's the devil that'll see your ass in hell you worthless c—

She's also the co-author of my ugly thoughts vents on my tumblr blog! XD

Designing Antera was a challenge with trying to achieve scary and edgy vibes. I really took risks and stepped out of my comfort zone with her. Designing Eufrene was kinda easy since I usually draw cute things, so getting that cute-creepy look came natural to me. However, she could go through some design changes too.

I've been sketching designs of Antera since last April; and in the early stages, I visualized her as this demon goth princess that gives off spoiled brat vibes. But when I drew that, it had the same cute-creepy energy that Eufrene has (that's why I gave her a thorn crown and these sheer, lacey sleeves and skirt to show at least a touch of that).

And I wanted this character to be cursed and scary. Being abandoned by my ex was a scary experience for me, so I want my vent OC that represents heart break to portray that.

I also experimented with military lolita styles. That was kinda fun, but it didn't seem right.

Until I read something about anger that really resonated with me. I don't know where I read this; whether if this was someone on Reddit or in an article, but someone wrote that anger protects us, and it's what guards us from suicide.

So, I designed her to be tall with a strong build (drawing muscles is way harder than it looks! >0<). She's a cyborg demon. At one point, I wanted to design her with armor, but I didn't want her design to be too complicated. However, I did leave the demon wing-like shoulder armor on.

The hardest things about character design for me is:

Trying to avoid making the OC it look like someone else's OC or an established character. Combining your favorite aesthetics and inspirations combats this. The more you combine, the better, but the fear of being a copycat is always there. ^^; Trying to balance the design between the extremes of simple and complicated. I don't wanna make the design so simple that it looks basic, and I don't wanna make the design so complicated that it's difficult to draw over and over again, or to the point where it looks tacky and cluttered. To be honest, I think Antera's design is a tiny bit too much. But I'm still thinking whether to simplify it or keep it.

For the cyborg part, I may or may not re-design the metal arms. Still trying to figure out how to design that type of stuff.

Now about her face....bruh, I tried so hard to design something that is really terrifying. Drawing her expressions will be interesting.

I'd like to thing she used to have a normal face until the mentally scarring shit I've gone through has affected her physically.

When I cry, I feel this burning sensation in my face and eyes before the tears fall, so I decided to exaggerate that on her face. Like the negative emotions I experience from being abandoned is depicted as the mechanical parts on the layer beneath her face overheating so much, it distorts, melts, and burns parts of her face and eyes. Which also explains why she doesn't have any lips, nose, eyebrows or eyelashes. Nor the lower part of her face that reveals her metallic mandible. Drawing burn marks and scars on her face was also something new to me.

Other aesthetics include the usual weirdcore stuff like the eyes. I even got inspiration from the human body's circulatory system with the design around the eye on her chest that connects to her shoulder armor. And of course, I included broken hearts, heartbeat waves (could also be interpreted as sound waves too since she loves listening to music) into her design and tear-shaped red jewels as a symbol of pain.

...The edge is so real with this one lol.

Oh, and the name Antera is derived from Anteros, the Greek god of requited love, and the avenger of unrequited love.

The color palette with the blue and red with a touch of orange were inspired by how burnt metal looks. Like in this image: https://images.app.goo.gl/Ct4mboiJt6H1GGkVA

And how the veins in the circulatory system are red and blue c:

She also has four horns. It's hard to see, unless I create a character turnaround sheet, but the other smaller pair of horns are right under and behind her ears. c:

Okay, I think that covers it ^^ I just had so much to say.

[jui-imouto-chan]

Ouran High School Host Club AU (Inspired by this post)

Yes, I used everybody they offered as the characters (and more!), it’s just a really big club. 

(It will 200% get bigger if I keep writing this, don’t test me)

Ship Tags: MiyaHina, AtsuHina, OsaHina, OiHina, KurooHina, BokuHina, AkaaHina, TsukiHina, UshiHina, AoHina, HyakuHina, NishiHina/NoyaHina, Hinata Harem aka Hinata/Everyone. 

Loosely follows plot, but a few things have been changed to match Haikyuu more, such as:

•Hinata isn’t an honor-student, he’s on an athletics scholarship (and while there are plenty of decent athletes there, they’re all rich enough to not need a scholarship)

•Hinata wears blue-light glasses often. He has good vision but having the glasses framing his vision helps him focus in class instead of getting (as) distracted.

•Yachi and Hinata switch off on some Haruhi stuff but Yachi isn’t the one the guys are all simping for.

•Yachi is an actual honor student but she’s not on the kinda full-ride scholarship Hinata is on. She’s like, partially rich, but not enough for Ouran (so she gets bullied or at least teased.)

•Hinata and Yachi got to be really good friends at orientation since she can sympathize with him better than all the actual rich people, and she helps him with his studies so he doesn’t completely flunk his classes. 

•The Twins, like Hikaru and Kaoru, have the same color hair (brunette) atm

•Hinata’s mom is a drag king to parallel Haruhi’s dad’s sitch

•Oikawa doesn’t let Iwaizumi into the club because he kills his eccentricity and egotism. None of the others can vibe check him the way Iwa-Chan does so that’s why he seems even more unbearable and thus more Tamaki-like.

••

Hinata tried to figure out where Yachi disappeared to, peering down halls and into classrooms through small openings of the doors. “Yachi-saaaan...”

He barely registered the vague scent of roses and sweets saturating the air as he pushed the door softly. 

The wood swung open as though pulled, Hinata stumbling through with a shout. A breeze and rose petals drifted by his face as he opened his eyes, head whipping up to view the silhouettes of the boys not too far from the door.

“Welcome to the Harukou Host Club!”

“Th-The... --What’s a host club?”

Hinata watched as all of the boys’ faces fell into befuddlement. 

“W-What a funny joke,” a brunet, sat upon a throne-like chair, commented, his fingers interlocked beneath his chin. “Isn’t that cute? Trying to win our hearts with humor.”

“But--”

“So, what kind of guys do you like? We’ve got plenty of types to spare, and I don’t think any of them have any problem attending to a male--ah, sorry, what’re your pronouns? That was rude of me to assume.”

Hinata’s instinctive, “He/him,” came out before he could attach his protests at the services offered, his stress elevating as the brunet hopped out of his chair and sauntered over to him, hands extended in shows of eccentricity.

“We haven’t gotten a boy, yet, huh, ‘Tsumu?” one of the guys still in the group commented, his arm draped over the shoulder of his exact copy (sans the parting of the brown locks). 

“No, but that’s because the only boys we’re involved with are each other,” the copy, ‘Tsumu(?), said, grabbing the other’s chin to hold his gaze. They stared into each other’s eyes for a second before their faces got a little green, the two of them separating to mime vomiting whilst laughing.

Hinata had to tune back into the brunet approaching him, who seemed to be going off on a tirade about beauty and elegance. He tuned back out almost immediately, finding even schoolwork to be more interesting.

“’Tsumu and ‘Samu are awful at the twincest-schtick, don’tcha think?”

“Right? I thought so, too. We’d be ten bajillion times better at it if we were identical twins!”

The ravenette rolled his eyes, although he drew in the other smugly. “Identical or not, the reason we work is because I’m a good actor.” Then, placatingly, he amended, “And you’re not hard to tease and smother with affection.”

His silver companion’s eyes lit up. “Man, you’re so cool, Kuroo.”

“Make sure to call me Tetsu when there are girls here.”

“Oooh do I get a nickname? Like, Kouta instead of Koutaro?”

Kuroo grinned, “Don’t give me an offer like that. I’ll call you Honey or Beloved, and while we’re raking in the cash, Akaashi’ll sell a bunch of merchandise with it.”

Another ravenette, probably Akaashi, nodded calmly as he penciled into his notebook. Beside him, a tall blonde smirked, his glasses flashing menacingly as he tapped away into a calculator. Kuroo and the silveret both paled and protested at him, which he seemed to ignore.

Speaking of ignoring things...

“You’ve been talking a long time, haven’t you?”

The brunet, knelt on the floor near a table, glanced over at him like he forgot who he was talking at. “Is that praise of my oratory skills? I’ve always been told that people get lost in my speeches, and it’s no surprise that you’ve gotten so enthralled with one!”

Seems like I wasn’t the only one who got lost, Hinata thought, noting the despondent, glazed eyes of some of the occupants. A short guy with a patch of blonde hair jumped up into a handstand on the shoulders of one of the taller guys in the back with white hair, and it was made evident that, no, some of them just always appeared completely detached from reality.

“So, anyway, what kind of guy is your type, Mr. Athlete? Maybe you like the cool type? The boy lolita?”

“—I AM NOT THAT SHORT—”

“You are quite that short,” the brunette continued, “Or maybe you like the strong silent type? —We have three of those. We also have twins—identical and fraternal— if you’re into the taboo kinda stuff. We don’t kinkshame here.”

“Maybe we should,” muttered the blonde guy with the calculator. His mouth was covered by a silver-haired guy with black ends, whose face betrayed no emotion even as the blonde fought against his palm irately.

“I’m not into this kind of thing,” Hinata said quickly, “Besides, doesn’t it cost money? I don’t think I’d be able to afford something like this, anyway.”

“Speaking of not being able to afford things... Shouldn’t we check up on her?” Probably-Akaashi motioned to a corner of the room with a piano and a familiar blonde girl hiding beneath its bench, sobbing meekly into her knees.

“Yachi-san!”

Hinata raced over to her, her head whipping up at his call. Her teary eyes let loose some sparkling droplets as she leapt at him, although the rope binding her ankles to the bench prevented her from fully reaching him. He thankfully was close enough that he saved her from a tumble to the floor.

“Hinataaaa,” she whined into his shoulder, “I’m going to have to sell my organs!!!”

“What!?”

“She came into our clubroom earlier and broke the vase we were supposed to sell at an auction,” explained one of the twins.

“It was worth eight million yen, and she told us she doesn’t have enough money but that she’ll sell her organs in order to pay us back, which is impressive in the dedication but very concerning.”

“We had Wakatoshi-kun put her on the bench to calm down, but she tied herself to it because she thought she would be our prisoner as a punishment.”

Yachi clearly tuned them out, too busy crying and hiding in Hinata’s arms. The redhead patted her on the head, wondering how things could get this weird in less than twenty minutes of her being out of his sight.

“Yachi-san.”

No response. Her blubbers were even less coherent now.

“Yachi-san!” He shook her by the shoulders until she blinked up at him. “I’ll help you, okay? Just promise me you’ll be more careful. And help me with my homework again!”

“Hinata...”

He grinned at her and patted her head. When he turned back to the group of boys, he could see they parted somewhat to allow the brunet to be visible whilst lounging on his throne that was turned to face them.

“I’ll be taking on Yachi-san’s debt,” he declared. The brunet rested his cheek on his fist and peered down his nose at him, smirk drawing his lips.

‘Kuroo’ spoke up, “Hoh? All eight million? Are you sure you can make it up, Chibi-chan?”

“You couldn’t even afford a school uniform; how do you plan to pay us back?” said the blonde guy, eyeing his white-and-pink tracksuit with no lack of judgment.

“I’ll...” Hinata glanced back at Yachi, her eyes glistening, and steeled his resolve, “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Then, Chibi-chan, from here on,” the brunet guy’s voice, initially dropped, lilted upward as his amusement mounted, "You’ll be our bitch.”

“What.”

•

Hinata frowned at the smudges all over his lenses, ignoring the twins (both sets) measured him for his uniform. 

He almost didn’t notice when Kuroo bent down to meet his eye-level and gently grasped the frames of his blue-light glasses. “Alright, Chibi-chan, we’ll be taking these. Though it doesn’t even seem like you need them, huh, since these lenses don’t really have any magnification?”

“Well, no, but since we have a lot of work on laptops here I thought they’d be better to have.”

Kuroo hummed and slipped them off his ears and nose, and all of the twins gawked at him as he blinked up at them.

“What?”

Osamu kicked Atsumu’s calf, and the Miyas dragged Bokuto away with them.

“Nothing,” said Kuroo, “Maybe they just forgot you’d have a face behind these.”

“Oh, I’ve done that before! Like when people are sick for a long time and they wear a mask, I kinda forget they have mouths!”

“Yeah, just like that.” 

•

“What kind of coffee is this?” The brunet, now known to be Oikawa Tooru, asked, beckoning Hinata over with the most obnoxious “come-hither” motion to ever exist.

“Instant. I don’t really understand coffee, but this is what my mom buys. It’s just cheap enough that I still have money for lunch.”

Oikawa sputtered at Hinata’s lackluster funding for his nutrition, although his mind finished processing what was said about the coffee itself before he could really express any amount of disbelief at the former.

“What do you mean ‘instant’? Are the beans already ground or something?”

Hinata blinked. “Coffee’s made of beans?”

Oikawa sighed heavily and drew up to his full height, holding the coffee container skyward as a few girls approached for their hosting appointment.

“Alright, you know what? I’m up for a challenge! I’m going to try some commoner’s coffee!”

The girls in the clubroom gave shrieks of surprise, Oikawa’s announcement drawing the attention of the entire room. Hinata longingly and despondently stared outside at the people running around the track and beginning practices for their various sports, allowing himself to be dragged away by the club president.

“Darn rich people,” he mumbled.

•

Oikawa was very clingy, Hinata found. Every spare second he had at the club was spent with the other nearby, coddling him and encouraging him to learn up close. It was so draining that the Miya Twins and the Fraternals dragging him into their games was infinitely more appealing, but that could also be his bias for Bokuto coming into play. 

Kuroo was cool, too, yes, and the Miya Twins gave him food, but Bokuto’s energy was so perfectly aligned with his that Kuroo whined about his brother being snatched away on multiple occasions.

This time, with Oikawa monologuing as dramatically as ever, Hinata had no sets of twins to free him from the absolutely boring speech. He spaced out so hard, he didn’t notice Oikawa coming closer and hugging him to his chest excitedly. 

He shouted, the fright sending tears into his eyes, and he reached desperately at the tall trio nearby. “Help!”

All three of them instinctively drew closer, but it was the white-haired eyebrowless one who pulled him out of Oikawa’s grasp by the armpits, Hinata’s legs dangling in the air while the brunette sat stupefied. 

“A-Aone-kun, you didn’t have to go so far...” Oikawa tried.

Hinata smiled at Aone in thanks and patted his head gently to express further gratitude. Whence he was placed down, Aone bowed to him, and he bowed back.

•

Nishinoya was a very fun person to be around, although their interactions were sparse. He shone under the attention from the girls, and if Hinata didn’t know the girls were paying for his time, he’d have assumed the reverse was true. But it made sense, you know, since Noya-san was just such a cool dude.

The girls cooed at him and giggled at his jokes, and his dorky personality coupled with his small-but-wild looks made him a charmer. He also offered Hinata cake on a frequent basis, and often accosted the others to make sure they ate up--especially Tsukishima, who seemed prickly enough that Hinata didn’t want to get near him with a ten foot pole. 

Unfortunately, Tsukishima was also the one mostly in charge of handling his debt, so he could not actually be avoided. Hinata was assured by Akaashi that he’d remove any undue charges Tsukishima would add to the debt, although Hinata would’ve preferred he hadn’t said anything about those undue charges and just did the removals with Hinata none-the-wiser, as then he wouldn’t be paranoid about the things Tsukishima would charge him for.

•

Hinata hadn’t meant to attract the attention of one of Oikawa’s most attached clients. She gave off a weird vibe and when he mentioned her to Yachi, the blonde girl went a little paler than usual (which, while a frequent occurrence, didn’t fail to raise alarm bells in the redhead’s mind). 

“She’s territorial,” Yachi managed, eventually, and Hinata had to go through all of the lessons the girl kindly drilled into his head in order to remember what that word meant. 

“Oh. So why would she be interested in a guy at a host club? Isn’t he, like, one step from prostitution?” Yachi choked at that, shaking her head to fight down any amusement.

“I don’t think she thinks those other girls are a threat.” 

Hinata hummed, “Well, she keeps glaring at me, so maybe she’s just a little dumb and confused.”

Yachi pursed her lips, barely able to keep her laughter contained.

•

Hinata wondered why Yachi’s schoolbag was tossed into the pond. Alongside it sat his, and as he began running through the halls to go attend to the issue, he spotted that client. 

Hinata quite pointedly ignored her, continuing down the halls and stairs. He felt a small flame of rage light up in his chest at seeing Yachi’s notebooks scattered across the surface of the water, covers just buoyant enough that the papers were only starting to soak in water, and he prioritized getting her items out and organized before he could even ponder grabbing his own. 

He’d been in the pond for twenty minutes, thankfully having managed to salvage most of her things, before a voice broke through the quiet of the grounds. “What are you doing?”

Hinata didn’t need to glance over his shoulder to know it was Oikawa, his voice light and airy, with a hint of playful exasperation. 

“I can’t find my wallet.”

“You’ll get sick with your clothes all wet. Can’t you just let it be?”

Oikawa didn’t seem to understand the necessity of what he’d likely consider pocket change. “I need the money for food. I’m not going to get paid for a couple days and I don’t want to starve in the meantime.”

There was a lengthy period of silence. He wondered if Oikawa left, trying desperately to make out the shape of his coin pouch amidst the colorful pebbles lining the bottom of the pond. He nearly growled in frustration as a series of ripples tore through surface, though as he heard the telltale sound of someone wading through water, he spotted the brunette with his pants rolled up and bare feet gingerly resting on the stone. 

“What are you doing?” Hinata quarried, eyebrows drawn up in confusion. 

Oikawa’s face was concentrated yet somewhat peaceful as he copied Hinata’s searching motions, fingers gliding across the smooth pebbles. A few strands of hair caught the water and were left with shimmering drips that occasionally fell back into the pond. 

“I’m helping.”

He never turned to look away from the bottom, focused mostly on the task at hand. Even his distant, deeper, and yet airier voice conveyed how little attention he was giving his words, and Hinata could only wonder if this was the most genuine he’d ever heard the other in their past week of interactions.

“Why?”

“Well, why not? I mean, everyone tells me I’m dripping with good looks,” he chuckled, the breathy quality sending something through Hinata that made him duck his head down and resume seeking his funds.

The two sought it out for over ten minutes before getting any results. The small coin purse, shaped like a small black crow, sat cradled in Oikawa’s palm. He proffered the item to Hinata with a wink, the redhead unclasping it and sighing in relief at the dryness of its interior.

“Thanks, Grand King.”

As Hinata beamed up at the other, the reflected light from the water seemed to hit Oikawa’s eyes harder, as though a flare traveled across the distance between the earth and the sun solely for this moment. He held up a peace sign and smiled back at the other, wondering if such luminance could ever be reproduced. 

(If it could, then he’d love to bottle some up and save it for a rainy day, but maybe there was a hint of greed in that thought.)

•

“Oh, dear, I can’t believe someone would do such a thing!” the client across from him cooed. Her face tilted down a bit, and shadows draped across her eyes and cheeks. “Still, I can’t believe you got Tooru to scrape through that filthy pond for you. He always has been excessively charitable.”

“Yeah,” Hinata mumbled, stuffing a bite of cake into his mouth. The sweetness was significantly dampened by the presence of the girl. What was her name, again? His focus shifted to trying to recall it.

“I couldn’t imagine having so little shame that I’d be a charity case, though. I mean, doesn’t it embarrass you to have Tooru waiting on you hand and foot?”

Yachi, who’d been standing just within earshot, turned to their conversation just then, a disgruntled look on her face. Despite the anxiety that spread quivers across her body from her sternum, she frowned heavily and managed to inquire, "Aren’t you just jealous?”

Something flashed across the clients face then: anger, most likely. Hinata was drawn out of his attempt at recollection by her hand shooting across the table to yank him over to her, a scream escaping her as they toppled to the ground. Teapots and cups burst apart upon contact with the pink tiles, some of the tea soaking into the knees of his gifted uniform pants as it puddled.

Hinata’s palms and wrists ached from the way they slammed against the floor, on either side of the client’s head. People were quick to crowd them, murmuring and gazing in horror. 

“Help!” she cried, “He attacked me! He just jumped across the table, I--” she scooted out from under him, and he slowly sat back on his haunches before accidentally falling onto his bottom. The discomfort of his soaked clothing did little to distract him from the confusion welling within. 

She crawled over to Oikawa whence the brunette stepped closer to the scene. He was the first one over, ever keen regarding the club’s new pet, but only after surveying the situation did he close the distance. 

Her fingers clutched at Oikawa’s pant leg, creasing the fabric as she shivered with tears in her eyes. Hinata’s jaw was slack. Did he do something? Did he try to do anything to her while he was spaced out? He was sure she pulled him, but should he have been expecting such a thing and made to avoid it?

He slowly turned his eyes over to Yachi, whose face was creased in an anger he’d never quite seen before. Her meekness took a sideline to the frustration and disbelief drawing together her brows and tugging her lips downwards. 

“Tooru, please, you have to do something. He was like an animal, I--”

Her desperate face fell into shock as warm water rushed across her face and scalp, soaking the top of her uniform dress. Her panting became a squeaking staccato, and she blinked as her brows drew up steadily. 

“Tooru?” she whispered, before whipping her head around to the Miya Twins, who glared down at her, unimpressed. “What are you doing? Didn’t you hear me?! I--”

“God, you pigs sure like to squeal, don’tcha.”

Osamu glanced down at the jug in his grasp. “I oughtta grab another one at this rate.”

“Why did you--” Hinata startled as Yachi stepped in front of him. 

“You pulled him to you! I saw it! You were envious that he got Oikawa-san’s attention and tried to frame him!” she blurted. 

More whispers and gasps spread across their audience easily. Oikawa’s face was steely and impassive as the client stared up at him with a cocktail of hurt and anger. “You can’t believe her, Tooru, I--”

“You really are beautiful,” Oikawa interrupted, his fingers gliding under her chin.  “But nothing more than that. It seems you’re not classy enough for our club, my dear, and so I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks, Hinata’s heart clenching with a mild bit of sympathy, before she got to her feet and took off, her broken shout of, “Tooru, you idiot--!” echoing through the clubroom.

“I’m sorry, ladies; regrettably, we’ll have to cut our time short for today.” Tsukishima said with his paper-thin smile. It dropped as Akaashi continued for him,

“All of you will receive a full refund of the costs for today’s appointments. You can also use those same funds to reschedule, if you’d like to. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience.”

The girls cooed and cheered, and Tsukishima barely kept his frown from forming.

Eventually the clients filed out of the clubroom, exclaiming their farewells to the hosts. Hinata and Yachi silently stared after them, not wanting to look back to the hosts surrounding them.

“So, what should I do about you?” Oikawa said, drawing Hinata’s reluctant attention. The appraising look and grasp of his own chin were not reassuring at all; Hinata and Yachi glanced at each other and gulped. “Hmm, Tsukki-chan?”

“Don’t call me that,” the bespectacled blonde groused, before pushing up his glasses and smirking. “Since our guests had to leave and receive refunds, our profits for today are at a zero. And because of the drama earlier, we have a few broken teapots and cups from one of our specialty sets, as well as a table that needs to be repaired. To make up for all the damages and overall loss... Akaashi?”

The ravenette typed into a calculator quickly. Bokuto hid behind a sinisterly-grinning Kuroo with his fingers half-heartedly covering his eyes from fear of Akaashi. Akaashi presented the calculator screen within a second.

“Approximately one hundred thousand yen.”

“H-Hundred...”

“Thou...-sand...” Yachi’s eyes swam. Hinata caught her as she half-fainted, both of them shaking with tears welling in their eyes.

“That’ll be added onto your debt, you two. You’d better hope one of your descendents pays it off.” Tsukishima’s smirk shaved additional years off their lives, and Hinata had to pull Yachi’s soul back from the air to shove it back into her body. 

“Darn rich people,” he whined. Kuroo cackled.

••

That was fun ngl. Like, some things go slightly different than in OHSHC, but overall it has some of the same vibes I think

I feel like Bokuto and Akaashi as Honey and Mori respectively would be funnily fitting despite the roles I have them in here, but I think I’m gonna be fluid and loosey-goosey about who is which OHSHC character most of the time (since Noya isn’t entirely Honey-like and there are lots of people who can fit different roles). Kenma and/or Kuroo can fit Kyoya and Tamaki roles too, now that I think about it. Damn this show for having so many characters.

Also this is a nightmare to tag since a lot of characters have multiple spellings for their names and there are so many characters. Heck, that’s why I wrote all the ships at the top!

Anyway, I hope y’all liked it! Might write more if asked 

Also, should I cross-post some of this to Ao3? 

[chemicalmagecraft]

Foresight is 20/20 Chapter 13

I sighed, then took another bite of my dango. The page of my book flipped and my frown deepened. Poison-making looked hard... And more than that, it was complicated and boring. Sure it was practical, but nowhere near as fun as, say, the chakra threads I was using to "levitate" both my dango and my book (I didn't want to get dango on my book or book on my dango).

"'Sup, kid," a familiar voice said, and I extended another thread to catch the hand that reached for my dango. "Almost didn't recognize you there with that tan, but who else casually uses a jutsu like that?"

"Anko," I greeted faux-angrily. She was somehow almost always there whenever I went to get dango, and I eventually managed to talk to her. "I do believe that I told you not to touch my dango." The thread around her wrist went slack and dissipated, allowing her to withdraw her hand. She just shrugged, sat down across from me and started eating her dango.

"So is that a book about poison?" she asked me.

"I don't really understand it, but yeah it is."

"I happen to know a thing or two about poison, especially after..." Her expression soured. "Him."

I closed my book and licked my lips. "Speaking of him," I said. "I do believe I've figured something out." I raised my hand to one of my demon gem "earrings" and it floated to the back of her neck, where her curse mark was. "Ah, I was right. I should be able to partially nullify your seal."

Her eyes widened. "You can?"

"I mean, I don't think I'll be able to remove it without causing major damage to you, at least not without the original notes, but this..." I used the demon gem to extract the natural energy from the mark, then placed a seal on it to prevent it from drawing in more. "Feel better?"

She rubbed the curse mark. "Yeah, lots..."

I smiled slightly and my gem returned to my ear. "That's because I just removed its ability to accumulate natural energy, and drained it too. Basically halted most of its functions. Now that I've become more adept at using these things, I can use them to detect the natural energy around me. Orochimaru's mark certainly is interesting, shame the man himself was terrible."

Anko grinned at me. "You know, I actually have access to all his stuff, seeing how I was his apprentice and all. He didn't like the idea of anyone else touching his notes, so me giving it to someone is probably a good way to spite him. Plus I could teach you way more about poison than some dumb old book!"

My grin widened. I'd have sealed her mark either way, but finding a dialogue tree that got me Orochimaru's notes and explanations on it was a godsend. "Looks like I found myself a teacher, then. Oh, and by the way."

"What's up, kid?"

"That seal was probably screwing with your metabolism. You'll probably have to actually work off all those sweets now."

Anko winced. "Dammit..."

kukukuku~

I meditated under a tree again, paying some attention to Hinata playing with Naruto and Tenten as with before. This time, though, I was just doing the regular sage training and not my weird convoluted separate-recombine approach. I'd managed to use a single demon gem to make a really thin barrier that pivoted like the platforms on the spires the toads had that also made it look like I was just mildly floating. "What are you doing?" a voice asked. I couldn't see him with my eyes closed, but Chikage within my shadow shared her sight with me. And then I would've figured it out anyway from the sound of someone eating chips behind the original speaker.

"Why hello, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji," I said, not even opening my eyes. "I am meditating on the energy that abounds in nature, and surrounds us all. With it, a true sage can do incredible feats."

"That can't be true," Shikamaru said. "Wouldn't we know more about such a troublesome power?"

I smirked, and a random falling leaf that got too close to me was shredded from a disturbance in the surrounding natural energy.

"Woah!" Choji exclaimed. "What was that?"

"Mendokuse..." Shikamaru muttered. "So why don't people use this more often?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I think it has something to do with how the only other user of the sage power that I know of with no relation to the snake or toad summon animals was Senju Hashirama, who at the same time one might argue had a slight relation to toads through his distant ancestor. And I have a theory that he actually had some sort of natural energy-related power even beyond normal sage powers, one tied to his bloodline."

"Mendokuse... How do you know this?"

"Magic. While I don't suggest you actually draw in natural energy without supervision from someone who would be able to expel the natural energy from your body, you seem like the type to be content to lie still from elongated periods of time, which you could use to try and sense the natural energy in the air, which is the basis of using sage power."

Shikamaru blinked. "So you're saying I could potentially get a lot more powerful just by sitting around?"

"You need to draw in natural energy for a bit before you can actually use it, but yeah. Also, you need a good amount of chakra before it's safe to do it, so don't expect to just take a nap and get superpowers."

"Well then why are you doing it?" Choji asked. "Even if you have more chakra than normal, you're a kid like us. Is it really that safe?"

"Tseseseseh~" I chuckled. "Nnnope, I'm just an idiot with a lot of chakra."

"You're the one kid Ino told us about, aren't you?" Shikamaru asked. "The weirdo."

"Yup."

"Mendokuse..."

I felt a wave of bad vibes through Chikage and heard some shouting. I bolted upright, forgetting that I was in the middle of absorbing natural energy. My leg gave out from under me, causing me to drop to one knee and suck in a breath. "Are you okay?" Choji asked me.

I rolled up the pant of the offending leg, revealing skin that was half crystallized and half scaled. And some of the scales were made from crystals, too. "Ah, that's not good," I muttered, then licked my lips. "This is why you don't mess around with natural energy without adult supervision, kids..."

"Mendokuse... Is there any way we can help you?"

"No, hang on. I got this. Let's see here..." I concentrated, using my experience manipulating natural energy with my various unconventional forms of sage jutsu to help me. The problem was that I had natural energy concentrated in my leg. I didn't have much in the other parts of my body, so I just redistributed the natural energy. My leg returned to normal as I felt the surge of power from a proper sage mode. Thanks to Chikage, I was able to see that the markings around my eyes changed to be the yin-yang symbol thingy, and moon symbols appeared on my cheeks.

"There, that's better," I said. "Really hope this stuff isn't carcinogenic... Let's go check out that shouting." Before either of them could object, I shot off. Even with my sage chakra not quite as potent as it could have been on account of my age and chakra capacity, I was still a lot faster than the two. I did go at a pace that they could easily catch up to, though, on account of the fact that I didn't want to burn through all of my sage mode. At what Chikage told me was the source of the negative emotions, I felt two familiar chakra signatures, very much in a panic. I came upon the scene. Thankfully, there were only a few people there, and they all appeared to be too afraid to do anything.

"Get back!" the guy holding the knife to Ino's throat shouted. He appeared to have taken her and Sakura hostage. Judging by the sack of loot on the ground by him, he'd robbed someone and was trying to get away. I could tell that neither he nor any of the onlookers had much shinobi training with the exception of one man who was probably a low chunin judging by his chakra, which was probably why there was such an impasse. "I'm not afraid to use this!"

"Really?" I asked. "This is the third young clan heiress that I've had to save. This is starting to be bad writing."

The man pointed the knife at me. "What are you gonna do, kid?"

I gave him a twisted smile. "This." I flashed through a series of practiced seals as fast as I could, drawing on the power of my demon gems, punctuated with a technically-superfluous slam surface seal. "True Demonic Illusion: Summoning of the Shadow Demon!" I shouted as an illusory seal made of some sort of dark energy formed underneath me. As I stood back up, a false, distorted Chikage rose from the ground behind me with chains made of an ethereal, shadowy material connecting it to the seal, forming from the dark energy. The illusion of Chikage looked older and larger (and larger, because we felt like it), and it had sharpened teeth, claws, and eyes of pure shadow. To add to the dark imagery, it was wearing Chikage's new outfit, which she'd made inspired by the gothic lolita style to go with her whole "demon of a thousand shadows" shtick, plus shackles on her wrists and ankles.

The shackles usually only had a few links of chain on them for the aesthetic and to act as foci for a variation of the Adamantine Chains jutsu we'd make, but for the illusion they were for the chains that were linking it to the seal. You know, the outfit actually looked rather good on our tanned skin. The illusory shadow demon beckoned to the man, the sound of jangling chains causing a feeling of unease in the bystanders.

To the would-be kidnapper, though, the illusion caused a pressure of unrelenting foreboding as the sun went dark and the land turned to shadows. "What the hell is that!?" He dropped his knife and hostages and tried to run.

"I think not," I said dully as my shadow, the true Chikage, reached his shadow, causing him to freeze up and my shadow to return to normal from Chikage entering his. "You've been possessed by my demon." In truth, the entire genjutsu was just smoke and mirrors, albeit elaborate ones. The illusory Chikage was both a medium to the hallucination suggestion and misdirection from Chikage's shadow movement. The reason that that worked, though, was because Chikage had the ability to possess people by entering their shadows, which was awesome. Without need for the genjutsu, I dropped it, letting the phantasmal copy fade from existence. I snapped my fingers, causing the man to stand up straight so he wasn't stuck in an awkward position, then walked up to Ino. "You okay?" I asked, holding a hand out to her.

She sniffed. "My neck hurts a bit and I scraped my knees, but I'm good now." She smiled and let me pull her up, and I placed two fingers on the thankfully small cut on her neck. Green-hued chakra sprang from my fingers and sealed her wound. I moved on to her knees, then walked over to Sakura.

"What about you, Sakura-chan?" She whimpered and showed me her hands, which were all scraped up. I smiled at her and placed my hands on hers, but before I could even use my basic healing jutsu something weird happened. The natural energy flowed out of my body and into her. Whatever she was doing, I could tell she didn't even know she was doing it. Once my sage mode was depleted I pulled her up and removed my hands from hers, revealing perfectly unscathed palms.

"Thank you, Kouki-kun," she said. Whatever the heck happened, she was now naturally passing natural energy through her body. If I had to bet, she'd automatically heal any injuries that happened to her. Not that I'd test it... Interesting.

"Thanks, Kouki," Ino said. I looked over to her and noticed she was smiling and blushing slightly. She probably didn't have an actual crush on me considering her age, but I knew how she would probably think about the dashing knight in shining armor who saved her...

"Mendokuse..." I internally sighed.

"Mendokuse..." Chikage telepathically agreed.

"Mendokusai desu ka?" Usagi asked.

"Mendokuse..." Chikage and I mentally chorused. At least if she kept that up I'd save Sasuke a bit of trouble and she wouldn't ruin her friendship with Sakura, but... ugh... I'd probably have to deal with that at some point...

"Where's the thief?" an Uchicop asked as he landed, then saw the guy standing there and whipped out a kunai. "You! Stop!"

"He's under my spell, he literally can't move without my say-so," I said. "Or at least I'm assuming the guy who took some hostages and had a sack of what appeared to be ill-gotten goods was also a thief."

"What do you mean, under your spell?" he asked. The thief's shadow morphed into Chikage's for a moment, just a flash.

"A genjutsu that I thought of after hearing of the Sharingan's genjutsu-casting abilities," I lied. "It uses a special ability of mine with an illusion as a visual medium to place a suggestion on a victim that allows me to control them. Unfortunately I can only do one person at a time so far and a powerful enough shinobi would probably be able to resist it, but hopefully it'll get a lot more useful when I'm older."

"Right," the cop said, then cuffed the crook. "Well, thanks for the help." If I had to guess, he was one of the more good-natured Uchiha. I doubted he'd have anything to do with the rebellion. "I'm sure you'll be a good ninja when you're older. For now, though, maybe you should stay out of trouble, kid."

"No promises." He snorted and escorted the guy away, taking the sack with him.

"What was that?" Shikamaru asked me. "And don't say genjutsu, because I know the difference between an illusion and shadow-manipulating jutsu."

"Definitely not your clan's jutsu, don't worry," I muttered so only he'd hear. I leaned over just a bit so that the tip of my shadow touched a nearby shadow, letting Chikage come back to me. "I was telling the truth when I said it was a special power of mine."

"It have anything to do with that weird meditation thing you did earlier?"

I smirked a bit and licked my lips. "Let's go with that, though there's also a bit more to it that's, as far as I know, unique to me. You'll never be able to use it, if that's what you're asking."

"Mendokuse..."

kukukuku~

I sighed, lying down on my bed. "What are we going to do about Ino?" I asked Chikage.

She shrugged, floating around as always. Not that I could blame her. "We... let her down gently?"

"Yeah, but how? Relationships are hard..."

"Gonna have to get back to you on that one..." We both sensed someone coming to the clan compound.

"Hey, is that..."

"Lemme check." She shadow-travelled there and back, only gone for less than a second. "Yup, Aburame Shibi. And it looks like those bugs we spared earlier were kikaichu, 'cause he's bringing a couple mutant ones in a bug cage." I nodded, then we became whole again. I silently walked to the front door, where the clan leader already was.

"...apologize for the intrusion, but earlier a member of our clan's kikaichu were drawn to an unusual source of chakra located within your compound," he explained to my father. "She managed to regain control of them, but not before some had died and others had... changed." He brought out the mutated bugs, which had rune-like markings much like the first-stage curse marks. They were acting pretty crazy. "They may not be able to escape this cage, but they are still far livelier than the normal variety and much harder to control. I am not accusing you or any of your clan of anything, but I would very much like to know what caused this, as it might prove useful to our clan."

"Well, the thing about that is..." Dad said.

"Would you trust him, father?" I asked, announcing my presence.

He nodded. "Go ahead, Kouki."

"Right, let's go somewhere more private," I suggested.

"So," I said once we went to a suitable room, "what the kikaichu felt was... let's just say a jutsu of mine." I brought out the half-sized demon gem that fed on the Aburame's bugs. "This is called a demon gem. Despite all appearances, it's a living thing that generates special chakra that, among other things, can be used to make more demon gems by compressing and cannibalizing living animal tissue. Unfortunately that's the only way to make it, though, and since I don't want to mass-murder people or large animals, that pretty much means I have to use its animal-attracting properties to occasionally draw in and cannibalize insects. I was doing that earlier, which is why you're here." On a hunch, I reached out to the demon kikaichu, influencing them through my power within them. They instantly calmed, becoming absolutely still. "Could you release them?"

"I see..." He opened the small cage. I commanded the bugs, causing them to fly out of the cage as one. They entered a formation on my command and began orbiting my body.

"Don't worry," I said, noticing a small shift in his emotional state. "I have no interest in usurping the kikaichu jutsu and even if I did I can only control these mutated ones through my power that they absorbed, if that's what you're worried about."

"I understand. It is interesting, though, that you're able to control them so easily."

"I doubt I could control anything more complex than them with so much ease. Not without a lot more of the special chakra, anyway." A thought occurred to me. "Actually, I thought of another thing I'd like to try, though this one might possibly have the potential to be arguably a usurpation of your clan secrets, so I'll only try it with your permission."

Dad sighed. "Why am I not surprised... I apologize for my son, Shibi. He... can be rather focused on power, even if he tries not to overstep boundaries."

"I am fine," Shibi said. "Why? Because he asked for my permission, and clearly wishes not to overstep his bounds. Tell me, Kouki-kun, what is it you wish to try?"

"I don't have much data to go by, but I think I might be able to gain special chakra-related powers by granting my special chakra to a subject and then absorbing it once it's fused with their chakra," I explained. I'd noticed, after the whole demon sage seal debacle, that I'd gained extra, Uzumaki-like vitality. After a talk with Ai, I found out that I could still manifest the adamantine chains that I used against her, despite that chakra having been fully processed by my body, much like how absorbing enough of Shukaku's chakra combined it with Kurama's chakra in me.

It made sense, all things considered, that a combination of my red chakra, which was easy to transfer from body to body, and natural energy, which had mutagenic properties, would allow my body to adapt to others' chakra intead of just adapting other chakra to me. In fact, I could also make my chakra signature almost identical to Ai's, which was probably useful somehow. Though that part I tested and found out that all I need for that is to have my red chakra exposed to someone else's chakra signature, like my red chakra was somehow easily imprinted with other people's chakra signatures.

"I'd like to see if I could gain the kikaichu's ability to drain and absorb regular chakra by, well, killing some of them by draining them dry," I requested. "With your permission, of course."

Shibi nodded slightly. "An interesting power. Could you grant that ability to another?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, I didn't exactly come with a manual, but if you want me to see if I could grant some of your people kikaichu powers then I'd certainly be willing to find out. Plus, the possibilities..." I grinned. "Tseseseseseh~" I hiss-chuckled, then licked my lips. "It's certainly something I'd be willing to do for you. Is that a yes?"

"I would prefer if you left a few for us to study, but take as many as you need."

"Alright, then. Let's see if half works, shall we?" Half of the beetles returned to the cage, while the other half landed on my hand. They didn't bite me, but I had them start draining me to get a feel for how their power worked. "Assimilation Jutsu." Safisfied by what I felt, I reversed the flow of the chakra, capitalizing on the connection the chakra-draining gave us to more easily suck the chakra out of their bodies. Despite the enhanced lifespan and vitality granted from their mutation, they stilled and fell from my body as all the chakra left them. "Do you want the corpses or can I try to resuscitate them to add to one of my gems?" I asked.

"Do as you please. We can always drain more, if we need to. Did it work?"

I commanded the demon gem to go at the recently-deceased beetles, then looked inward. "It feels like it's working, but my body has to 'digest' the chakra before I can use it. And it might be partially physical, in which case I might not have the power. I'll get back to you on it. Now." The demon gem, slightly bigger now that it was done absorbing the bugs, floated over to Shibi. "Don't worry, it's harmless unless it's specifically made to attack someone."

He took the gem. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"As Father said, I'm... more than a little obsessed with power, I admit. It doesn't have to be my power, though. I'm also interested by my allies' power, even my enemies' power. And giving my allies power?" I grinned slightly. "Well, I'm sure you can tell how I feel about that. I'm not even worried about if you turn against me for some reason. We've already established that those things are less than useless against me. Not to mention, I'm getting something else out of this too."

"How so?" Shibi asked.

"Kikaichu, like most insects, have a low lifespan, and can reproduce at a rapid rate because of that. It wouldn't be too much to ask, then, to sacrifice any of your kikaichu at the end of their lifespan when they start to become less useful to you to that gem to produce more demon gems for me, would it?"

"We feed our dead kikaichu to the living, but we can feed some to it, if that is the price for having it to study."

"Good. Make a snake seal and pulse some chakra at the thing to send it into 'eat' mode for a couple of minutes, which'll make it eat any insect-sized organism that touches it. Hopefully. Just in case, don't touch it while it's in eat mode."

"Suddenly I feel as though I should not be holding this," Shibi said, then placed the gem in a little baggie that was probably for dead bugs. Fair.

"Probably a good idea, once it's fully out of my influence. This close to me, though, I don't have to concentrate on it to have some measure of control over it. It should stay more or less inert, though, in a state where it'll produce chakra enough to fill its stores and not resist kikaichu draining. Tell me if it doesn't work quite right, though, and I'll try to make adjustments."

Shibi got up. "Thank you for this, Kouki-kun. I will do my best to make you not regret giving it to me."

I gave him smile. "Goodbye. Make sure to only let people you trust near that thing, or even aware of its existence for that matter. Good luck!" Shibi faltered a bit, then continued on. "This is going to be fun," I said.

[fantasticworldoffanfics]

TOP FAVS (DEREK/STILES)

Fandom: TeenWolf

​Pen Name

Author: rootbeer

Summary: Anxiety (/aNGˈzī-itē/): A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. ~~ "The set was busy; people bustled about with their various jobs. No one seemed to notice, or maybe they just didn’t care, as the gangly boy looked about nervously. He was all skin and bones, a track of moles across his light skin. He carried a bag across his shoulders, a coffee cup in his left hand and a curious look on his face. There was nothing remarkable looking about him at all, and perhaps, that was the most remarkable thing."

DILF

Author: twentysomething

Summary: "Today is Scott's first day of kindergarten and Derek is terrified."

**sidenote: you need an AO3 account to view this fanfic

Fireman Derek's Crazy Pie

Author: owlpostagain

Summary: “He can't blame me for the fact that I live in a building full of people united in the singular effort to ogle Hot Fireman as often as humanly possible."Laura laughs, loud and echoing in the empty restaurant."Hot firemen can make a girl do crazy things," she agrees, nodding towards her brother's name on the menu. "Derek won't let me date anyone from his company, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the eye candy.""Send them my way," Stiles suggests, finally loading up a forkful of pie. "Apparently I'm incompetent enough that I need to be babysat at all times, because it would be cheaper than dispatching a truck every time I try to use a kitchen appliance."

Prince Among Wolves

Author: tylerfucklin (Zimothy)

Summary: Looking for full day/evening sitter. 2 twin boys age 4. Must have exp. w/werewolves. Must be human. No pedophiles. No teenage girls. Pay negotiable.

This Quiet Torment

Author: oblivions172

Summary: Derek has had a crush on Stiles, a young omega who goes to his school since he first laid eyes on him. He has watched him continually come to school with bruises and flesh wounds delivered by his abusive father and all he’s ever wanted to do was help but Stiles never let him get close enough. Until, one night, Stiles ends up at Derek’s house, with more than a flesh wound and Derek will do everything in his power to protect him.

Fly a Little Faster

Author: mirrorkill

Summary: Everyone knows when you go back in time, you shouldn't step on an ant, just in case you accidentally kill your own grandparent or something. But what happens when you go back in time and, uh, accidentally interrupt the one event that apparently made the Grumpiest Alpha in Town into a ball of mindless manpain?Well, if Marty McFly can do it, so can Stiles Stilinski. All he has to do is get Derek and Paige to fall in love before he gets pulled back to his own time. And before he makes anything worse. That's easy as pie, right? Right?

In the Solstice of Our Hearts

Author: ravingrevolution

Summary: "You're not putting that up your butt," Scott told him flatly and Stiles couldn't stop the pissed off whine he made, but his friend continued. "Stiles, you can't put that up your butt, you know that. Your butt won't be ready for anything to go in it until-""Okay, okay!" he said, flailing his hands to stop his friend's lecture. "Message received, no butt stuff until I'm pounced on by some freaking animal in the forest and ravished to within an inch of my life. Got it. Thanks, Scotty, I mean heaven forbid I actually try to take control of my life and give myself a fighting chance or anything.""Not all alphas are animals," Scott said quietly.Maybe he was right, but Stiles wasn't holding his breath.

His Only Defence

Author: LunaCanisLupus_22

Summary: Stiles had just accidentally challenged an alpha.Oh God, and Scott had just stood by and let him do it. He was the worst best friend ever. Stiles was going to kill him. Except, oh right, the alpha was going to kill him first. Like beyond dead, ripped into tiny little pieces dead. So far dead that his dad would not be able to identify him, dead.

The Undisclosed

Author: Taila_Tai

Summary: For once the pack doesn't panic when a new hunter arrives. The gleefully sadistic man has labelled himself a collector of all things rare in the supernatural world and wants one of the rarest creatures; a werefox. Content that the pack is safe, the wolves focus on why their human member is acting so strange, ignoring the fact that Stiles only started once learning who the man wanted...

Pack Wars

Author: miss_aphelion

Summary: Scott liked to call it the Great Pack Divide of 2012.Derek liked to call Scott an idiot.(Or the one where Derek kidnaps Stiles to teach Scott a lesson, and ends up learning a few things himself)

Alpha Magazine 'Verse Series

Author: WhoNatural

Part 1: Not Like Bond & Moneypenny

Summary: (AKA, the Ugly Betty AU where Stiles is totally Betty)Stiles thinks he’s finally getting a break when a job at the sleek, sophisticated, Alpha Magazine opens up - but soon realises he’s not going to be writing anything and instead is playing tutor-slash-babysitter to their new Editor-in-Chief. Derek’s spoiled, grumpy, in way over his head...and so painfully attractive it makes Stiles want to lick his face. So there’s very little choice in the matter.

Part 2: What Bond Did Without Moneypenny

Summary: The lost months in Not Like Bond & Moneypenny, in which Derek pines, Laura tries not to meddle, Stiles blogs, and everything works out in the end.

Part 3: After Bond Got Moneypenny

Summary: After all they went through to get here, it should be plain sailing from now on, right?

Kindred Spirit

Author: Stoney

Summary: Anne of Green Gables/Teen Wolf AU. [ You do not have to know AoGG to follow this fic, it would only enhance the reading experience. :D ] Essentially the world of Teen Wolf set in the late 1890s, with themes and some minor character names/places specifically borrowed from Anne's world (and no disrespect meant to LM Montgomery, because I love Anne Shirley to bits and pieces.)Stiles is the adopted son of the Sheriff, brought to Beacon Hills to hopefully stay for good. A family, a best friend, school, Jackson as Josie Pye (because who else could he be?) and the mystery of a dark haired, green-eyed boy which leads Stiles to discovering a secret within himself.

Gravity's Got Nothing On You

Author: zosofi

Summary: “Three weeks,” Derek says.“Still don’t want to,” Stiles says.“I’ll pay you,” Derek says, and that… that has Stiles interested. Alf’s Antique’s may be a great job, but it’s not a high-paying job, and half of Stiles’s tuition is coming from financial aid, so…“How much,” Stiles asks, “are we talking here? Because I know your family, dude. And it’ll be kind of awkward after.““My family thinks you’re some sort of fucking gift to the world,” Derek seethes, like he’s jealous, “they’ll probably be pissed at me when we break it off, so don’t worry about that. Five hundred bucks.”“A thousand,” Stiles says, because screw ethics. Also, the Hale family is loaded. Derek can deal.

The Skies Above are Blue

Author: Trelkez

Summary: Derek is a wedding DJ. Stiles just happens to go to a lot of weddings.

The Amber of the Moment

Author: redhoodedwolf

Summary: Ever since he was eight years old, Stiles had been running. Fate decided it was time to stop.

Academia Series

Author: KuriKuri

Part 1: Hemingway Can Suck It

Summary: “For those of you who just transferred into this class or simply decided that day one wasn’t important enough to attend, I’m Professor Hale. Welcome to English 346, The American Novel.”Stiles is pretty sure his mouth is hanging open right now and that his eyes are wide with shock, because holy fuck, he thinks he knows why his students transferred. Hell, if he was still an undergrad, he probably would have transferred, too.

(Or: In which Stiles is a Biology professor and Derek thinks he's a student.)

Part 2: Misinterpret Me Like Lolita

Summary: “You don’t even know the course name?” Derek growls after the guy blushes and stutters out an answer, because, Jesus, he thought the university had standards.And it sounds like the course the guy is describing is his. Isn’t it just his lucky day? No breakfast and another student who doesn’t give a shit about the course material.This class is going to be hell – he’s calling it now.

Part 3: Leave the Black Light

Summary: “We shouldn’t,” Derek protests, although the way he grips Stiles’ hips a little too tightly betrays what he really wants. “There’s another class in here in less than half an hour.”“Then I guess we’ll have to be quick,” Stiles says, unconcerned. “Good thing I came prepared.”

Tonight, the Fox Hunts the Wolf

Author: LucifersHitman

Summary: Stiles always knew finding a mate would be hard for him. He's not bright and beautiful like Lydia, or strong like Danny or adorable like Scott.He was just Stiles, fox kid with ADHD who loved to draw. Derek Hale was everything, popular, strong, smart and gorgeous.They get put together on an English assignment and it doesn't go at all like Stiles expects.

Honey Eyes and a Wolf's Heart Series

Author: Underestimated_amateur

Part 1: Pup and Kit

Summary: Derek is eight when he first meets Stiles. Peaking over at him from the end of the bed, he stared in awe. The thing was so small and chubby with lovely pale skin covered in the cutest of freckles. The little one didn't even have hair yet, just fuzz on top of his head. And the prettiest amber eyes he's ever seen.

Part 2: It’ll Be Okay

Summary: Derek was nine when he first stayed the night in the Stilinski household. Stiles was a few months past one year old.When the door suddenly opens, he races in like a man on a mission. Listening to the two other heartbeats in the house, he quickly knows which one is the one he's looking for. Stiles.

Part 3: Sourwolf

Summary: Derek was eleven when he learns the answer to a question that's been burning inside his mind since he met Stiles. Stiles is three when he shows the world what he is. Eleven was also the age when Derek begrudgingly gets a nickname that'll last a lifetime.

Part 4: Wishing Flowers

Summary: Derek is twelve when he teaches Stiles about wishing on flowers when the little one visits him. Stiles is four when he knows for sure what he wants.

Part 5: My Batman, My Catman

Summary: Stiles was in first grade when Derek learns he has to share sometimes.

Part 6: Innocent Lips and Locked Fingers

Summary: Derek is fifteen when he first takes the little one out by themselves. Stiles is seven when he gives his first kiss.

Part 7: Cindered Wreckage

Summary: It was like a story how everything played out. Like a tragedy his mother could've read to him from her library when he was younger.Derek is fifteen when he feels broken.

Part 8: Hiraeth

Summary: It's been a year after the disaster, but sometimes Derek comes back to his broken home.He is sixteen when he learns what it means to grieve. He is sixteen when he re-lets people in.

Part 9: Taking a Shot

Summary: Derek is seventeen when he finally plays a basketball game. Stiles is nine when he sees his first game.

Part 10: Healing

Summary: Derek pays a certain someone another visit.

The Noble Tie That Binds Series

Author: minusoneday

Part 1: There Is A Brotherhood

Summary: So far, college has taught Stiles three things:1) Eight am classes are cruel and unusual and should be avoided at all costs, even if it means having to enroll in something truly hideous instead, like Econ 101.2) Dorm security is just as tight as Stiles’ orientation leader had promised it would be, and the dude guarding Scott’s dorm in particular does not respond well to bribes.3) Mrs. McCall clearly had no clue what she was talking about when she’d insisted that Scott and Stiles needed to branch out and room with strangers, so it’s all her fault that Scott ended up with a total dick of a roommate and Stiles got stuck all the way across campus with some guy who has a girlfriend two towns over and is thus never around.Or, the one where pledge brothers Stiles and Scott start a prank war with Derek Hale's fraternity.

Part 2: Your Lifelong Membership is Free

Summary: Uncle Peter’s spent years regaling Derek with tales of his time as President of the Alphas. Derek’s paid close attention, because Peter’s stint as President is a pretty comprehensive guide on ‘How to Successfully Run a Fraternity into the Ground,’ so Derek plans to do the opposite of what Peter did.***A Derek POV to There is a Brotherhood. In which Derek's life is hard.

Fang & Fur Series

Author: heartsdesire456

Part 1: Somewhere I Belong

Summary: When Stiles got an interview for an internship at Fangs & Fur magazine, the publication owned by the well known and widely respected alpha Talia Hale, he never expected it to be offered an actual job by Alpha Hale herself. He also never expected for his life to change so much after he met the man whose department he was assigned to.Stiles was not prepared for Derek Hale's cub, either.

Part 2: The Same Chains That I Kept You In

Summary: The story of how Peter and Chris got together in the Fangs & Fur 'verse“Why are you so annoying?!”  “Because I CAN BE!”“Oh wow, that’s so mature, Hale-““Oh bite me, Argent!”  Stiles was actually impressed by how long Peter and Chris had been fighting. He looked at Derek, who was holding out the book he was reading to show Alex the pictures where he was sitting in Stiles’s lap. “Dude, are they okay?” he asked softly, nodding to the doorway where Chris and Peter kept reappearing.Derek turned back just as Peter stalked past with Chris following him, arms waving as he argued with him. “Oh yeah, this is a near-monthly thing,” he said, and Stiles raised a skeptical eyebrow.Series

Part 3: A Gift From The Easter Bunny

Summary: SummaryStiles and his father are invite to the Hale Pack Easter Celebration.Stiles get's a special Easter Egg in his basket.

Part 4: Feelings That I’m Wrong

Summary: Stiles looked at him closely. “I know why Derek’s eyes are blue… but I’ve never heard anything about you.”Peter looked at Stiles and Stiles saw a slightly manic glint to his eye when he grinned predatorily. “Much like Derek was defending his cub, I killed another werewolf defending something I hold very dear,” he said bitterly. “It was kept out of the media by my sister’s influence, but it was actually just a few years ago.” He looked down at his drink, swirling the cup. “Let’s just say you don’t come to visit a pack and threaten the alpha’s baby brother’s mate.”

Part 5: Don’t Wanna Hear You Say Maybe

Summary: Stiles was getting really annoyed with Derek being secretive and excited over something he refused to talk about. All day at work Derek seemed distracted and happy but Stiles couldn’t work out why.

Part 6: Can’t Wait To Call You Mine

Summary: Derek and Stiles get married... and set up their friends.

Part 7: Baby Makes Four

Summary: When Stiles and Derek decide to adopt another child, they run into an unexpected obstacle that sends them down a painfully difficult path in hopes to adopt a child.

Part 8: New Beginnings

Summary: The start of the new year brought some changes to Fangs & Fur that nobody had really expected. The biggest of which shocked far more than just the Hale pack, or the company. It also shocked pretty much the whole supernatural community.

Part 9: Anything You Like

Summary: After an afternoon out shopping with his uncles, Alex asks a question that Stiles never expected (though he probably should have).

Part 10: A Very Hale Halloween

Summary: Stiles, Derek, and the kids get ready for Halloween night.

Part 11: In Memorium

Summary: On the 20th Anniversary of the Argent Terrorist Attack that took the lives of eleven people in the town of Beacon Hills, California, Governor Talia Hale gives a speech at a memorial event for the tragedy that killed her sister, her husband, and two of her children.

Part 12: I’m Thankful For...

Summary: Primary school Thanksgiving assignments and notes sent home from Alex's Pre-K teacher make Stiles cry.

Part 13: What’s Christmas Without A Trip to the ER

Summary: Stiles was just testing the lights to see which ones worked and which didn’t when there was a loud bang on the roof and the sound of a lot of smaller thuds going further towards the front of the house. He huffed and rolled his eyes. “Derek, be careful what you drop! You might break a hole in the roof!” he shouted, knowing Derek could hear him from inside.About five minutes later, Molly came skipping in. “Daddy fell off the roof and I think he has a booboo,” she said without preamble.Stiles jerked. “Daddy did what?!”

Part 14: Leaked

Summary: “In other news, Peter Hale, CEO of Fangs & Fur, the groundbreaking werewolf magazine, and brother of Governor Talia Hale, woke up to scandal today when racy photos of Hale and his husband were published on a website called The Den, a popular website aimed towards gay werewolves. So far Hale hasn’t been available for interview regarding the apparent leak.”

more top favourites 

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8

[pinupgalore-lanadelrey]

Lana's trying so hard to be something she's not. She reminds me of me. At the end of the day she's only hurting herself, I hope she wakes up after this era.

Idk.. I feel like she goes through different phases.. definitely a “chameleon soul”.. I remember a quote a magazine wrote about her “Lana Del Rey embodies searching for yourself in someone else.” A lot of the phases seem to do with inspiration from whoever she’s dating and where she is/ her surroundings... & right now her surroundings are LA, rappers, friends, Instagram, pop culture

1 - “I once had a boyfriend who talked about all the reasons why he loved flags, Rock-and-Roll, and America. I didn’t know much about all of that, but I did love him and I wanted to be just like him. So everything in the videos – the Vegas pyramid, the brides’ smile, the groom motioning “cheers” – they’re all different expressions of the happiness I had when I loved a man who loved me and America.”

2 -  Gene “I had this teacher who was my only friend in school. His name was Gene. He read us Leaves of Grass and we read Lolita in class, and it changed my world, which was a really solitary world. I didn’t have a connection to anyone in class and when I found these writers, I knew they were my people.” “He would sign me out and we would listen to Tupac and stuff in his car. He taught me everything.” “The first Biggie Smalls track that I really loved I would say, just like everyone else, was “Juicy”. I realized what cool was. I wasn’t that young - I was 15 and my best friend at school, was actually my teacher. He was a white English teacher who played basketball and listened to hip-hop. I didn’t know what everyone thought was cool. He played Biggie Smalls for me in his car.” “Gene Campbell, told me about hip hop and the beauty of soundtracks.” On our driving trips around the Connecticut counties, he introduced me to Nabokov, (Allen) Ginsberg, (Walt) Whitman, and even Tupac and Biggie. He was my gateway to inspirational culture. Those inspirations I got when I was 15 are still my only inspirations. I draw from that same well. It’s one world I dip into to create other worlds.”“This passion for words I own to my best friend Gene, my English teacher at the time.”

3 -  Barrie - “He is definitely a poet. I didn’t really know what being a poet meant until I met him. He has changed me in ways that I didn’t expect. On the one hand I have everything I’ve dreamed of in terms of a soul connection, it’s almost telepathic. But I would be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult. He is a much darker character than most people I’ve ever met."“I’m a dark character and he very is an even darker character than I am. Trying to get some consistency and some normality within the dynamic of that relationship has been impossible. Songs like “Shades of Cool” came out all that.” “We talk about the future, what we want to do, and how we’re going to work out everything with timing, since I have a lot of shows coming up. Driving is our thinking time. Then we’ll come back and write.” [Kurt Cobain] “He’s a big part of our daily conversation. Jeff Buckley is another big inspiration. And Jim Morrison–I mean, we talk about these people like we know them. They’re a part of our relationship. We always say, ‘All of our friends are dead, and they never knew us.’ I’m lucky to have met someone who feels that way, too. “He’s on tour and opens for me. We sing some Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood duets together. I’ve been seeing him for a year and a half and he’s even more of a meticulous, devout artist than I am.  He can’t keep his hands off the piano, ever. Whenever I’m not writing he always asks, ‘why aren’t you writing?’ We kick each others asses. We give each other input every night.”“I met a person who was a much better person than I was, like had a lot of artistic integrity. He would really die before he sold out, you know. He was a lot like me, but even more strong. I would say, like, the way I would sum up his qualities at the time was he was very admirable. Even before things got bigger, I hadn’t met that many guys who understood or who were as passionate about the grunge era, or cult bands, cult movies, as I was. For me, it was a lifestyle and a way of life. Living off the grid was important to me, not having much to do with people I didn’t feel I had a lot in common with. He was exactly like that. He lived and made music in his own room for like, 10 years, and I totally related to him on that level. We’ve had a very tumultuous relationship. He’s a really dark character, and he has his own poetic process that’s way darker than mine, so as supportive as he has been, a lot of my energy has gone to making sure he’s in the right mindset, cause he’s really prone to long periods of quietness. He’ll go for a month being really quiet, and that’s just part of his process. I didn’t know that in the first year. But, you know, everyone’s kind of creative process is different and it changes, so, yeah. It’s been really up and down. He’ll tell you that too. Anyone who knows us, like, it’s really tumultuous.”

Lana - “I live in my obsessions and then the music comes from there.” “I thought my tastes and likes were pretty normal, but then I met everyone and I was like, “These people don’t actually care about music and art. They want to be cool.” I never met anyone who cared about music as deeply as me and my boyfriend, or who really cared about poetry—who really lived it and breathed it. I haven’t met anyone so far. I just can’t affiliate with those people.”“I hoped to find people that want to base their life on art.” “[Writing] It’s a form of escapism for me in some ways, now that I don’t go out much.”

[jotun-appologist]

Personal update thingy

So I've been having problems at home for a while, right? Mom supporting everyone with her crappy minimum wage job but refusing better because she likes getting all her little discounts on the craft supplies she almost never uses and wastes all her money on (subsequently blaming me and my younger sister when she can't pay rent.. for needing food.) She made me buy groceries for everyone with my financial aid money for college, acting like it was her right or something. She never did anything around the house, always laying down playing on her phone and ignoring us. If I ever got upset or showed any emotions around her, she'd tell me I was "retarded" and everyday reminded me of what a "freak" and a "whore" she thought I was.i wasn't allowed to dress myself till I was fourteen and she had strict rules about what I had to wear. She used to force me to wear pink despite me hating the color, force me into dresses even though I hated them. She always threatened to home school me because she didn't like my friends (best friend in highschool was gay, other friends were "annoying" and bad influences even though they were the ones who scolded me gently and were concerned about me when I used to come to school with scarred wrists and when she found out she'd just .... Hit me and ask if I was some divine punishment sent by god as revenge for something she'd done) she is a devout mormon most of the time, except the rules she's doesn't like. Hard core, super far right Republican. You now the type. Thinks Obama did 9/11 somehow. Thinks me being bisexual isn't real because it has to be that my friends corrupted me because no child of hers is allowed to be a "fag" and oh she called me that a lot too. But of course, she's always hated my boyfriend almost as much as thay fact. My boyfriend whose abusive ex left him a mess, who I protected so desperately those first two years while he healed who now protects me from anything he can, who will stay on the phone with me for seven hours in a day if I'm feeling a little upset because he wants to make sure I'm okay.

Well, last night it escalated to a point it hasn't reached in a while. She hit me repeatedly over the head and threw me on the floor. She told me how horrible of a daughter I am and how I'd had this coming. How I "deserved" every hit and probably more. When I ran to my room with my phone, she chased me down to make sure I didn't call the police on her. I should've, but I was panicking and all I could think was of how my boyfriend said even if he's sleeping if I'm in danger I should call him. We'd gotten off getting phone and hour before hand to go to bed but... We stayed up till maybe 3 am with him comforting me and planning ways to get me away from there. He had me text my dad and so, even though my dad's out of town right now, he had my oldest brother come get me. And my brother took the day off of work to make sure I'm okay and... I found old things of mine my dad kept since highschool because my mom had convinced me to leave his house forever. That I should hate him. He kept them I case I came back and I started crying cause I just....mom convinced me as s kid that he didn't care and he's always been bad at showing his feelings (same as me) so I believed her for a while but I.... Understand now.

I'm a little worried she might burn the things I couldn't get in my mad dash out. Lots of important things. Old birthday and Valentine's and anniversary gifts from my boyfriend. Our old prom photos. Drawings friends gave me. Years worth of my own art.... I'm worried it'll all be lost forever. The Lolita stuff I'd saved up for for so long. My cloud costume that was almost finished. They're all still there....

But after this morning I'm scared to go back for them. After she threatened to destroy my things, implied that my own brother would rape me? And told me that I was somehow the abusive one..... I don't know what to do

I'm kinda worried about my phone being taken off their plan too.

[lermanguidetololitatranslat-blog]

Introduction

So what is EGL, exactly, and Lolita, more broadly? (the grammar is such a big issue with this fella)

Mana is, for the most part, a gothic lolita. A large section of his clothing line, Moi Même Moitié, is devoted to the gothic lolita style, while the other bit is "elegant gothic aristocrat" (i think). (Great way to start, they don’t even introduce the style properly, not even explain Mana’s long history wit lolita fashion and they don’t have any idea about the brand) A perfect example of the style would be his costume (coord) with the floofy little skirt from the live concert DVD "Bara ni Idorareta Akui to Higeki no Makuake". It's been around for quite some time according to my advisor, but I don't believe it's gotten much attention until recently. (giving opinions into a informative article without knowing shit about the subject matter is okay? no) There are more lolitas than ever now, and I can't help but think it had something to do with Mana. In fact there is now a randomly (four times a year is not randomly) published four-volume magazine called the Gothic & Lolita Bible (I'll be calling it "The Glub") (GLUB) devoted entirely to gothic lolita-ism, that always has a large section dedicated to him and his clothing brand. (lolitaism: the philosophycal movement fonded by mana-sama in which in order to be superior you must have all the burando) It also features drawings by Mihara Mitsukazu* and has recently begun to use other Jrock celebrities to promote the different brands of clothing. Some of the most notable are Kana, Dada, Miyavi, and the Pink Psycho. If you're interested, it's about $16.00 or so at www.fujisan.com.

I guess it's a little hard to define a lolita, (this entire section should have been first).  since there is such a wide variety of styles and extremes (you know, the far left and far right are present in the lolita fashion) in the clothing. They range from punk to dolly dresses and everything in between, including punky dolly dresses (this exact phrase made me open a bottle of Rum). Originally, Lolita was the name of a young girl in a book by Vladimir Nabokov . The book is about an older man who falls in love with her, and this is where the term "lolita complex" came from (Rorikon in Japanese). (this is a very akward way to try to distinguish the lolicon from lolita fashion, it feels like the writter tried to just include all the stuff they knew while they were thinking about it.) A lolita complex is used to refer to and older person who has an interest in children. The Japanese took the concept and, as they do with seemingly everything, related it to anime and manga. The lolita (loli, not lolita, even in the old school times they tried to separate the two concepts by calling the sexual lolicon and the fashion gosurori), a cute, innocent, very well endowed little shojou that usually wears skimpy clothes or schoolgirl salior suits, was named for this. In gothic lolita terms it means frills, lace, ribbons, knee undershoes, and poofy skirts in pastel  and flowered cloth. (i think they just mixed all the styles alltogether. Pastel colors are from sweet, flower patterns are mostly classic, this is not a old-school vs modern thing even.) Rather than "lolita" in the original sense,  its definition is closer to a western princess/french doll look. It really does look a lot like something you might find a porcelain doll wearing. (well, porcelain dolls are usually collected from some decades or centuries ago. If you have ever had some kind of doll you have noticed that people usually dress the dolls with clothing that mimics the fashion of the time, same goes with old french dolls. Lolitas clothes are not doll-like, they have past times inspiration. I know this is a nitpick but i also want to inform people a bit)  Being such, it doesn't mean that anyone who likes the lolita style is a pervert. Mana is very careful to inform people that he doesn't have a rorikon. (oh boy, don’t even get started into ddlg and sissies here please) Recently, according to a Hanumaru Cafe special, it's become popular to be either an angel or a demon gothic lolita. As far as I can tell, it just depends on whether the lolita wants to wear black or white. (unrelated anecdote for the win) For more information, see the guid up top.

The gothic part of the lolita goth is, well, gothic (no shit Sherlock). Vampires, black, heavy make-up, middle age European clothes, whatever else a goth is. (The writer does not only have an idea who mana is or lolita is... they don’t even know what gothic is, wow)  The two styles combine in different ways. You can get complete doll dresses and then find something gothic at a different store, or something with punkish shredded cloth and bondage undertones. (you guys know how some not-so-short time ago i commented about opening a bottle of Rum? Yes? This two phrases decreased my IQ to the half i had remaining after the drink. I don’t know how this person looked at this and said: “this is totally alright, i absolutely know what the fuck i am talking about. ) Sometimes they're blatantly bondage, I suppose. They also seem to like silly hats and parasols, and were probably into humongous platform shoes until the government banned them because people couldn't drive well in them and were getting into car accidents. (wait what?) Or something like that. Now some of the more bold loli's may carry a doll around.   But, as you can see, each brand has its own unique style. Or use to. It is my opinion that they've all been meshing together and there really isn't much variation in any of it; they've been conforming. The prices are outrageous by american standards, and still slightly high by Japanese standards. Maybe $150-$450 for a dress, $125 for a skirt.. ( except that the second hand market and the handmade comm have been a thing since long time ago, handmade being practically the origin of the fashion) Anyhow, back to the glub. I suppose I would consider it a sort of bible, although I've only been to Japan twice so I don't know much about what else is out there. (Welp, there is gosurori, kera and zipper) The interesting thing about it is that it not only provides clothing guides and celebrity interviews, but also a long list of "gothic" products (oh, you mean like almost all the magazines?). They like puppets, angels, and vampires a lot. They're also really into Tim Burton and Edward Gorey*, who they call Edward Golly in the typical Japanese fashion*. I'll add a section on him later since I firmly believe that everyone should at least read "The Dwindling Party" before they expire ^^. That aside, there is always a poem or article of some sort somewhere in the magazine to introduce the whole ideology behind the magazine and clothes. Yup, there's an actual ideology behind it. Surprised, ne? (Holy mother goose, i really do regret to joke that lolitaism was a movement based on a brand hierarchy. This person must think that lolita has its own political party or something like that. What do they promise? That AP will start to do dresses that are wearable to people with human anatomy? or that VW or Excentric will come back from the dead?) I don't know if everyone really follows it though. Last time they had a street shot of a lolita who probably had no idea what Jrock was; she liked Ayumi for goodness sake. She was probably wearing the dress because it was "kawaii" (cute), a word that the silly shojou pop-culture followers seem to idolize, but which is only fine when used in moderation. Truthfully, they are cute ^^ but you have to be prepared when you first see one or it's a little creepy. (Judging people from the street snaps from their tastes and also mixing weeb culture with japanese vocabulary is now a thing)

They refer to the style as "youfuku", or western clothes. But they're really not, since very few westerners ever wear anything like that, and if they do they've gotten it from Japan. (I did a quick google search and found that the therm is used for whatever garment that doesn’t follow the japanese traditional clothing line; things like jeans, blouses, jackets.. all of them enter in the category. So, yeah, this is wrong) The Japanese tend to blame wierd things on the west, even if they're almost completely unrelated. (unrelated to the subject) The words they've borrowed from English are interesting because they show the same thing.

Welp guys, this is all for this text. Just gotta say that this persons writting is atrocious even for me (being english my third language. I hope some of you survived to the experience or didn`t give up into psychoactive substances.

Source

Stay classy

[bytimbritton]

Brevity is the  soul of lit...reviews -- 2016 Part 1

City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg (2015)

"You are infinite. I see you. You are not alone."

I was as excited about Hallberg's debut novel as any in a long time, going back to my appreciation for his criticism over at The Millions. But his 911-page tome dedicated to 1970s New York tries so hard to say anything meaningful that it doesn't really care what that meaningful thing is. Hallberg set out to write a big ideas book without grounding it in any worthwhile ideas.

I read this shortly after watching Master of None, and I was thinking a lot around that time — maybe too much — about whether art earns its message; i.e. does it construct the foundation well enough to merit a cathartic payoff? (In Master's case, I thought not, contrary to most popular opinion.) Similarly, the connections Hallberg fosters among his diverse characters seem haphazard and rarely come together meaningfully. His thesis is this above-quoted line, which concludes the novel and, if we're being frank, is rather passé. I mean, this is the thesis of an awful lot of art (and a lot of awful art), and much of it earns it in a more fulfilling and cathartic way than City of Fire.

The narrative voice is inconsistent; teenage Charlie, in particular, uses a whole host of words I have a hard time seeing teenage Charlie actually using — things like après-ski and sepulchral and "the chaotic stalactites of the sprayed-on ceiling texture." The writing often reeks of effort, with batting gloves "scrunched scrotally" at the base of a nightstand or summer "like a flash of thigh beyond a janitor-propped door." No thanks, on both of those.

This is all coming across rather harsh, when the fact is I read these 900+ pages rather quickly. I don't think Hallberg is a bad writer by any stretch of the imagination. I felt while reading this the way I felt while reading something like Franzen's Twenty-Seventh City. This is the rough draft for what will be a much better and more fulfilling novel.

S by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst (2014)

S is a wonderful idea and engrossing project that, like The Usual Suspects, falls apart with the more scrutiny you apply to it. The dual explorations of a literary mystery and an incipient relationship through the marginalia of a bygone novel? Sign me up.

But by its end, S becomes a victim of its conceit. You can't make the suspense of Jen and Eric's literary discoveries linger if you tell the whole story non-chronologically — as the writing in the margins purports to do. The way around that, then, is to unrealistically limit their most revelatory commentary to the latter stages of Ship of Theseus. It's here where it crosses the line from just contrived enough to too.

The stakes of the literary mystery, which seem so high starting out, gradually decline throughout as you realize Jen and Eric will always be fine, and that the dangers they face can never actually be shown, only told.

Nevertheless, this was as engrossing a book as I read this year.

The Game by Jon Pessah (2015)

Read this in the spring considering it was a CBA year, and it was a fascinating glimpse at the behind-the-scenes owner-union dynamic around the '94 strike. Pessah doesn't hide his allegiances much; I doubt he'd have voted Bud Selig to the Hall of Fame, if you know what I mean. I learned a lot that I didn't know about how Selig gained power, how owners found their way to public money for stadiums and how they played the public relations game when it came to steroids.

My only problem was the incorporation of well-reported though seemingly irrelevant details about George Steinbrenner and the Yankees dynasty.

By Night in Chile by Roberto Bolano (2000)

"It's good to love. It's bad to be impressionable."

It has less to do with poetry or The Church than I expected, as it focuses more on the culture of acquiescence, even among artists, around the Pinochet Coup. I won't pretend to know enough about Chilean history — let alone Chilean literary history — to fully absorb the incisiveness of the satire. But holding soirees — and I know it's translated, but man is that the perfect word for the juxtaposition — a floor above torturous interrogations makes for a delicious critique.

Like some of Dostoevsky's works, Bolano can fall prey to a rambling, unlikable protagonist. In this one, though, that comes with the conceit.

Despair by Vladimir Nabokov (1965)

"I lied as a nightingale sings, ecstatically, self-obliviously."

Nabokov is that wonderful mix of fun and literary high-mindedness — an author who never bogs you down while delivering masters courses in how to craft a story. His protagonists make their monstrousness more relatable and often even palatable through their overwhelming self-centeredness — who can't relate to that? — and hilariously searing criticisms of others. Despair is not a masterpiece like Lolita, but it's still a damn good time.

10:04 by Ben Lerner (2014)

"Prosody and grammar as the stuff out of which we build a social world, a way of organizing meaning and time that belongs to nobody in particular but courses through us all."

Like the best shuffleboard players, Lerner pushes right up to the threshold of being too meta without ever falling over the edge. 10:04 starts then to serve as an insight into the writer's process, with its excerpt that was used in The New Yorker explicitly mentioned as being used in The New Yorker. There are still individual scenes that don't work — I don't think I ever like hallucination sequences — but they don't detract from the overall contemplation of conscious experience — what's authentic, what matters.

Lerner's also just really fun and insightful to read. He describes staring straight ahead past a friend as "a condition of our most intimate exchanges," alcohol as a hedge "so that whatever happens only kind of happened" and how "nothing in the world is as old as what was futuristic in the past." An exegesis of Reagan's Challenger speech speaks to the power of words (and to Lerner, poetry) while a scene in which the protagonist donates sperm would fit neatly in a DFW short story.

Of our time, but maybe it transcends it, too.

1984 by George Orwell (1949)

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever."

You will gradually notice a theme emerging in my choices this year, and you will connect it quickly to 2016 events. I'd been meaning to read 1984 for years, and by February, I figured there would never be a better time to digest it.

I don't know what exactly I anticipated, but I know I didn't expect it to be quite this good. I suppose my reservations going in revolved around whether Orwell could construct realistic characters in his world, and whether that world was extrapolated properly.

Orwell does both to a remarkable degree. The manner in which 1984 builds its own vocabulary — and explains its principles in a simplistic appendix — is outstanding and terrifying in its external validity. Crimestop and doublethink seem particularly plausible concepts these days (as do its ideas of "rectifying" the past through historical revision and stripping war of its danger by making it neverending).

The entire novel contains this ambience of utter hopelessness, evidenced by the way parents grew scared of their children's potential as informants or how emotions in general became sterilized over time. Winston and Julia's rebellion is a small transgression, because they knew they couldn't beat the entrenched system.

This was depressing, just like the year was. I was kind of scared before reading 1984 and really scared after it.

Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie (1935)

Man, sometimes after spring training, when you haven't had time to sit down and read something cohesively in a while, you just need a boost. Reading a Christie mystery in an afternoon or two has always done that for me, even if this one isn't as good or as interesting as I remembered from the first time I read it.

The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas (1961)

"At times to be silent is to lie. For silence can be interpreted as acquiescence."

The reason I hadn't read anything cohesively in a while? Because I was trying to tackle this large history of a time period I knew next to nothing about. (My interest in the Spanish Civil War basically dates back to someone justifiably pointing out my extreme ignorance about it — and its impact on the FC Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry — in a blog comment some years back.)

My main error, if you want to call it that, in choosing this specific history of the war is that I probably didn't need this much depth to satisfy my curiosity. But that's obviously a strength and not a flaw of the book. Thomas places the events in Spain within the larger context of Europe's imminent disintegration, showing it as the proxy/practice war that it was. He's withering in his criticisms of the other powers and their willful impotence: The non-intervention committee among other nations "was to graduate from equivocation to hypocrisy" while the US practiced a policy of "moral aloofness."  

Thomas does his best to keep the dozens of sides involved in the conflict in order; reading this over the course of two and a half months made that very important indeed. He shows how each side was able to drum up such hatred for the other that compromise was rendered impossible — boy do Catholic murderers come off poorly here — and he's able to draw as straight a line as possible through the convoluted causes and effects during the war, explaining how and why Franco was eventually able to emerge as the key and victorious figure.

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer (2005)

Reading Moehringer is always fun, but if I'm being honest, I found it hard to justify spending time reading a memoir about him. The stories are excellent, but I just didn't care enough about him or the bar.

[chemicalmagecraft]

I Would Totally Kick Jiraiya’s Butt Chapter 13

I sighed, then took another bite of my dango. The page of my book flipped, and my frown deepened. Poison-making looked hard... And more than that, it was complicated and boring. Sure it was practical, but nowhere near as fun as, say, the chakra threads I was using to "levitate" both my dango and my book (I didn't want to get dango on my book or book on my dango).

"'Sup, kid," a familiar voice said, and I extended another thread to catch the hand that reached for my dango. "Almost didn't recognize you there with that tan, but who else casually uses a jutsu like that?"

"Anko," I greeted faux-angrily. She was somehow almost always there whenever I went to get dango, and I eventually managed to talk to her. "I do believe that I told you not to touch my dango." The thread around her wrist went slack and dissipated, allowing her to withdraw her hand. She just shrugged, sat down across from me and started eating her dango.

"So is that a book about poison?" she asked me.

"I don't really understand it, but yeah it is."

"I happen to know a thing or two about poison, especially after..." Her expression soured. "Him."

I closed my book and licked my lips. "Speaking of him," I said. "I do believe I've figured something out." I raised my hand to one of my DSC earrings, and it floated to the back of her neck, where her curse mark was. "Ah, I was right. I should be able to partially nullify your seal."

Her eyes widened. "You can?"

"I mean, I don't think I'll be able to remove it without causing major damage to you, at least not without the original notes, but this..." I used the demon sage core to extract the natural energy from the mark, then placed a seal on it to prevent it from drawing in more. "Feel better?"

She rubbed the curse mark. "Yeah, lots..."

I smiled slightly and my core returned to my ear. "That's because I just removed its ability to accumulate natural energy, and drained it too. Now that I've become more adept at using these things, I can use them to detect the natural energy around me. Orochimaru's mark certainly is interesting, shame the man himself was terrible."

Anko grinned at me. "You know, I actually have access to all his stuff, seeing how I was his apprentice and all. He didn't like the idea of anyone else touching his notes, so me giving it to someone is probably a good way to spite him. Plus I could teach you way more about poison than some dumb old book!"

My grin widened. I'd have sealed her mark either way, but finding a dialogue tree that got me Orochimaru's notes and explanations on it was a godsend. "Looks like I found myself a teacher, then. Oh, and by the way."

"What's up, kid?"

"That seal was probably screwing with your metabolism. You'll probably have to actually work off all those sweets now."

Anko winced. "Dammit..."

kukukuku~

I meditated under a tree again, paying some attention to Hinata playing with Naruto and Tenten as with before. This time, though, I was just doing the regular sage training and not my weird convoluted separate-recombine approach. I'd managed to use a single sage core to make a really thin barrier that pivoted like the platforms on the spires the toads had that also made it look like I was just mildly floating. "What are you doing?" a voice asked. I couldn't see him with my eyes closed, but Chikage within my shadow shared her sight with me. And then I would've figured it out anyway from the sound of someone eating chips behind the original speaker.

"Why hello, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji," I said, not even opening my eyes. "I am meditating on the energy that abounds in nature, and surrounds us all. With it, a true sage can do incredible feats."

"That can't be true," Shikamaru said. "Wouldn't we know more about such a troublesome power?"

I smirked, and a random falling leaf that got too close to me was shredded from a disturbance in the surrounding natural energy.

"Woah!" Chōji exclaimed. "What was that?"

"Mendokuse..." Shikamaru muttered. "So why don't people use this more often?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I believe it has something to do with how the only other user of the power of the sage that I know of with no relation to the summon animals of snake or toad was Senju Hashirama, who at the same time one might argue had a slight relation to toads through his distant ancestor. And I have a theory that he actually had some sort of natural energy-related power even beyond sage powers, one tied to his bloodline."

"Mendokuse... How do you know this?"

"Magic. While I don't suggest you actually draw in natural energy without supervision from someone who would be able to expel the natural energy from your body, you seem like the type to be content to lie still from elongated periods of time, which you could use to try and sense the natural energy in the air, which is the basis of using sage power."

Shikamaru blinked. "So you're saying I could potentially get a lot more powerful just by sitting around?"

"You need to draw in natural energy for a bit before you can actually use it, but yeah. Also, you need a good amount of chakra before it's safe to do it, so don't expect to just take a nap and get superpowers."

"Well then why are you doing it?" Chōji asked. "Even if you have more chakra than normal, you're a kid like us. Is it really that safe?"

"Tseseseseh~" I chuckled. "Nnnope, I'm just an idiot with a lot of chakra."

"You're the one kid Ino told us about, aren't you?" Shikamaru asked. "The weirdo."

"Yup."

"Mendokuse..."

I felt a wave of bad vibes through Chikage and heard some shouting. I bolted upright, forgetting that I was in the middle of absorbing natural energy. My leg gave out from under me, causing me to drop to one knee and suck in a breath. "Are you okay?" Chōji asked me.

I rolled up the pant of the offending leg, revealing skin that was half crystallized and half scaled. "Ah, that's not good," I muttered, then licked my lips. "This is why you don't mess around with natural energy without adult supervision, kids..."

"Mendokuse... Is there any way we can help you?"

"No, hang on. I got this. Let's see here..." I concentrated, using my experience manipulating natural energy with my various unconventional forms of sage jutsu to help me. The problem was that I had natural energy concentrated in my leg. I didn't have much in the other parts of my body, so I just redistributed the natural energy. My leg returned to normal as I felt the surge of power from a proper sage mode. Thanks to Chikage, I was able to see that the markings around my eyes changed to be the yin-yang symbol thingy, and moon symbols appeared on my cheeks. 

"There, that's better," I said. "Really hope this stuff isn't carcinogenic... Let's go check out that shouting." Before either of them could object, I shot off. Even with my sage chakra not quite as potent as it could have been on account of my age and chakra capacity, I was still a lot faster than the two. I did go at a pace that they could easily catch up to, though, on account of the fact that I didn't want to burn through all of my sage mode. At what Chikage told me was the source of the negative emotions, I felt two familiar chakra signatures, very much in a panic. I came upon the scene. Thankfully, there were only a few people there, and they all appeared to be too afraid to do anything.

"Get back!" the guy holding the knife to Ino's throat shouted. He appeared to have taken her and Sakura hostage. Judging by the sack of loot on the ground by him, he'd robbed someone and was trying to get away. I could tell that neither he nor any of the onlookers had much shinobi training with the exception of one man who was probably a low chūnin judging by his chakra, which was probably why there was such an impasse. "I'm not afraid to use this!"

"Really?" I asked. "This is the third young clan heiress that I've had to save. This is starting to be bad writing."

The man pointed the knife at me. "What are you gonna do, kid?"

I gave him a twisted smile. "This." I flashed through a series of practiced seals as fast as I could, drawing on the power of my sage cores, punctuated with a technically-superfluous slam surface seal. "True Demonic Illusion: Summoning of the Shadow Demon!" I shouted as an illusory seal made of some sort of dark energy formed underneath me. As I stood back up, a false, distorted Chikage rose from the ground behind me, forming from the dark energy. The illusion of Chikage looked older and larger, and it had sharpened teeth, claws, and eyes of pure shadow. To add to the dark imagery, it was wearing Chikage's new outfit, which she'd made inspired by the gothic lolita style to go with her whole "demon of a thousand shadows" shtick. It actually looked rather good on our dark skin. The illusion beckoned to the man, causing a feeling of unease in the bystanders.

To the would-be kidnapper, though, the illusion caused a pressure of unrelenting foreboding as the sun went dark and the land turned to shadows. "What the hell is that!?" He dropped his knife and hostages and tried to run.

"I think not," I said dully as my shadow, the true Chikage, reached his shadow, causing him to freeze up and my shadow to return to normal from Chikage entering his. "You've been possessed by my demon." In truth, the entire genjutsu was just smoke and mirrors, albeit elaborate ones. The illusory Chikage was both a medium to the hallucination suggestion and misdirection from Chikage's shadow movement. The reason that that worked, though, was because Chikage had the ability to possess people by entering their shadows, which was awesome. Without need for the genjutsu, I dropped it, letting the phantasmal copy fade from existance. I snapped my fingers, causing the man to stand up straight so he wasn't stuck in an awkward position, then walked up to Ino. "You okay?" I asked, holding a hand out to her.

She sniffed. "My neck hurts a bit and I scraped my knees, but I'm good now." She smiled and let me pull her up, and I placed two fingers on the thankfully small cut on her neck. Green-hued chakra sprang from my fingers and sealed her wound. I moved on to her knees, then walked over to Sakura.

"What about you, Sakura-chan?" She whimpered and showed me her hands, which were all scraped up. I smiled at her and placed my hands on hers, but before I could even use my basic healing jutsu something weird happened. The natural energy flowed out of my body and into her. Whatever she was doing, I could tell she didn't even know she was doing it. Once my sage mode was depleted I pulled her up and removed my hands from hers, revealing perfectly unscathed palms.

"Thank you, Kouki-kun," she said. Whatever the heck happened, she was now naturally passing natural energy through her body. If I had to bet, she'd automatically heal any injuries that happened to her. Interesting.

"Thanks, Kouki," Ino said. I looked over to her and noticed she was smiling and blushing slightly. She probably didn't have an actual crush on me considering her age, but I knew how she would think about the dashing knight in shining armor...

"Mendokuse..." I internally sighed.

"Mendokuse..." Chikage telepathically agreed.

"Mendokusai desu ka?" Usagi asked.

"Mendokuse..." Chikage and I mentally chorused. At least if she kept that up I'd save Sasuke a bit of trouble and she wouldn't ruin her friendship with Sakura, but... ugh...

"Where's the thief?" an Uchicop asked as he landed, then saw the guy standing there and whipped out a kunai. "You! Stop!"

"He's under my spell, he literally can't move without my sayso," I said. "Or at least I'm assuming the guy who took some hostages and had a sack of what appeared to be ill-gotten goods was also a thief."

"What do you mean, under your spell?" he asked. The thief's shadow morphed into Chikage's for a moment, just a flash.

"A genjutsu that I thought of after hearing of the Sharingan's genjutsu-casting abilities," I lied. "It uses a special ability of mine with an illusion as a visual medium to place a suggestion on a victim that allows me to control them. Unfortunately I can only do one person at a time so far and a powerful enough shinobi would probably be able to resist it, but hopefully it'll get a lot more useful when I'm older."

"Right," the cop said, then cuffed the crook. "Well, thanks for the help." If I had to guess, he was one of the more good-natured Uchiha. I doubted he'd have anything to do with the rebellion. "I'm sure you'll be a good ninja when you're older. For now, though, maybe you should stay out of trouble, kid."

"No promises." He snorted and escorted the guy away, taking the sack with him.

"What was that?" Shikamaru asked me. "And don't say genjutsu, because I know the difference between an illusion and shadow-manipulating jutsu."

"Definitely not your clan's jutsu, don't worry," I muttered so only he'd hear. I leaned over just a bit so that the tip of my shadow touched a nearby shadow, letting Chikage come back to me. "I was telling the truth when I said it was a special power of mine."

"It have anything to do with that weird meditation thing you did earlier?"

I smirked a bit and licked my lips. "Let's go with that. You'll never be able to use it, if that's what you're asking."

"Mendokuse..."

kukukuku~

I sighed, lying down on my bed. "What are we going to do about Ino?" I asked Chikage.

She shrugged, floating around as always. Not that I could blame her. "We... let her down gently?"

"Yeah, but how? Relationships are hard..."

"Gonna have to get back to you on that one..." We both sensed someone coming to the clan compound.

"Hey, is that..."

"Lemme check." She shadow-travelled there and back, only gone for less than a second. "Yup, Aburame Shibi. And it looks like those bugs we spared earlier were kikaichū, 'cause he's bringing a couple mutant ones in a bug cage." I nodded, then we became whole again. I silently walked to the front door, where the clan leader already was.

"...apologize for the intrusion, but earlier a member of our clan's kikaichū were drawn to an unusual source of chakra located within your compound," he explained to my father. "She managed to regain control of them, but not before some had died and others had... changed." He brought out the mutated bugs, which had rune-like markings much like the first-stage curse marks. They were acting pretty crazy. "They may not be able to escape this cage, but they are still far livelier than the normal variety and much harder to control. I am not accusing you or any of your clan of anything, but I would very much like to know what caused this, as it might prove useful to our clan."

"Well, the thing about that is..." Dad said.

"Would you trust him, father?" I asked, announcing my presence.

He nodded. "Go ahead, Kouki."

"Right, let's go somewhere more private," I suggested.

"So," I said once we'd come to a suitable room, "what the kikaichū felt was... let's just say a jutsu of mine." I brought out the half-sized demon sage core that fed on the Aburame's bugs. "This is called a demon sage core. Despite all appearances, it's a living thing that generates special chakra that, among other things, can be used to make more demon sage cores from living animal tissue. Unfortunately that's the only way to make it, though, and since I don't want to mass-murder people or large animals, that pretty much means I have to use its animal-attracting properties to occasionally draw in and cannibalize insects. I was doing that earlier, which is why you're here." On a hunch, I reached out to the demon kikaichū, influencing them through my power within them. They instantly calmed, becoming absolutely still. "Could you release them?"

"I see..." He opened the small cage. I commanded the bugs, causing them to fly out of the cage as one. They entered a formation on my command and began orbiting my body.

"Don't worry," I said, noticing a small shift in his emotional state. "I have no interest in usurping the kikaichū jutsu and even if I did I can only control these mutated ones through my power that they absorbed, if that's what you're worried about."

"I understand. It is interesting, though, that you're able to control them so easily."

"I doubt I could control anything more complex than them with so much ease. Not without a lot more of the special chakra, anyway." A thought occurred to me. "Actually, I thought of another thing I'd like to try, though this one might possibly have the potential to be arguably a usurpation of your clan secrets, so I'll only try it with your permission."

Dad sighed. "Why am I not surprised... I apologize for my son, Shibi. He... can be rather focused on power, even if he tries not to overstep boundaries."

"I am fine," Shibi said. "Why? Because he asked for my permission, and clearly wishes not to overstep his bounds. Tell me, Kouki-kun, what is it you wish to try?"

"I don't have much data to go by, but I think I might be able to gain special chakra-related powers by granting my special chakra to a subject and then absorbing it once it's fused with their chakra," I explained. I'd noticed, after the whole demon sage seal debacle, that I'd gained extra, Uzumaki-like vitality. After a talk with Ai, I found out that I could still manifest the adamantine chains that I used against her, despite that chakra having been fully processed by my body, much like how absorbing enough of Shukaku's chakra combined it with Kurama's chakra in me. 

It made sense, all things considered, that a combination of my red chakra, which was easy to transfer from body to body, and natural energy, which had mutagenic properties, would allow my body to adapt to others' chakra intead of just adapting other chakra to me. In fact, I could also make my chakra signature almost identical to hers, which was probably useful somehow. "I'd like to see if I could gain the kikaichū's ability to drain and absorb regular chakra by, well, killing some of them by draining them dry. With your permission, of course."

Shibi nodded slightly. "An interesting power. Could you grant that ability to another?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, I didn't exactly come with a manual, but if you want me to see if I could grant some of your people kikaichū powers then I'd certainly be willing to find out. Plus, the possibilities..." I grinned. "Tseseseseseh~" I hiss-chuckled, then licked my lips. "It's certainly something I'd be willing to do for you. Is that a yes?"

"I would prefer if you left a few for us to study, but take as many as you need."

"Alright, then. Let's see if half works, shall we?" Half of the beetles returned to the cage, while the other half landed on my hand. They didn't bite me, but I had them start draining me to get a feel for how their power worked. "Assimilation jutsu." Safisfied by what I felt, I reversed the flow of the chakra, capitalizing on the connection the chakra-draining gave us to more easily suck the chakra out of their bodies. Despite the enhanced lifespan and vitality granted from their mutation, they stilled and fell from my body as all the chakra left them. "Do you want the corpses or can I try to resuscitate them to add to one of my cores?" I asked.

"Do as you please. Did it work?"

I commanded the demon sage core to go at the recently-deceased beetles, then looked inward. "It feels like it's working, but my body has to 'digest' the chakra before I can use it. And it might be partially physical, in which case I might not have the power. I'll get back to you on it. Now." The demon sage core, slightly bigger now that it was done absorbing the bugs, floated over to Shibi. "Don't worry, it's harmless unless it's specifically made to attack someone."

He took the core. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"As Father said, I'm... more than a little obsessed with power, I admit. It doesn't have to be my power, though. I'm also interested by my allies' power, even my enemies' power. And giving my allies power?" I grinned slightly. "Well, I'm sure you can tell how I feel about that. I'm not even worried about if you turn against me for some reason. We've already established that those things are less than useless against me. Not to mention, I'm getting something else out of this too."

"How so?" Shibi asked.

"Kikaichū, like most insects, have a low lifespan, and can reproduce at a rapid rate because of that. It wouldn't be too much to ask, then, to sacrifice any of your kikaichū at the end of their lifespan when they start to become less useful to you to that core to produce more demon sage cores for me, would it?"

"We feed our dead kikaichū to the living, but we can feed some to it, if that is the price for having it to study."

"Good. Make a snake seal and pulse some chakra at the thing to send it into 'eat' mode for a couple of minutes, which'll make it eat any insect-sized organism that touches it. Hopefully. Just in case, don't touch it while it's in eat mode."

"Suddenly I feel as though I should not be holding this," Shibi said, then placed the core in a little baggie that was probably for dead bugs."

"Probably a good idea, once it's fully out of my influence. This close to me, though, I don't have to concentrate on it to have some measure of control over it. It should stay more or less inert, though, in a state where it'll produce chakra enough to fill its stores and not resist kikaichū draining. Tell me if it doesn't work quite right, though, and I'll try to make adjustments."

Shibi got up. "Thank you for this, Kouki-kun. I will do my best to make you not regret giving it to me."

I gave him smile. "Goodbye. Make sure to only let people you trust near that thing, or even aware of its existence for that matter. Good luck!" Shibi faltered a bit, then continued on. "This is going to be fun," I said.

kukukuku~

A/N: The next chapter's going to be a time skip. Well, an even longer time skip.

And I'm actually going to do a poll! I'm not entirely sure how the Hyūga clan would take Kouki having the power to copy their bloodline, but the subject would definitely come up over the course of the time skip, so I'll leave that up to you guys!

A: Kouki is allowed to gain the Byakugan, on account of being a Hyūga.

B: Kouki isn't allowed to gain the Byakugan, on account of not being born of the clan.

I'm leaning more towards B, but I won't not do A if enough people want to see it. And by the way, I'm welcome to and invite other suggestions.