#even tho i originally wanted to do something fancier

[blood-injections]

quick question- what districts would you put the fab four and suitehearts in?? even if you dont want to include it in your au i would like to hear more of your Thoughts

Yeah i dont think the aus gonna have the districts really or at least not the same ones, but if it did! Jet wouldn't be in a specific district, she'd be a nomad like the covey in songbirds and snakes, travelling, with some small crew, performing, living out in the wilderness under the stars, but most of her time would be spent in districts like seven and up because the people are workers and are just nicer, the furthur in you go the fancier it gets and the more shes seen as like dirty and uncivilized y'know all that shit. Party and Kobra would be district twelve i see them being a lot like Katniss and Prim, except theyre like actively trying to up one another in supporting eachother 💀. Kobra would hunt in the woods like Katniss does and Party would cover for him and do something on the side maybe bake or something.

Ghouls a hard one to place but I've always seen him as a street kid so its just a matter of where he's a street kid.. maybe three?? because it says that threes known for electronics and stuff and ghouls the like. bomb building out of scraps guy so. If not three then I'd say seven, because its known for lumber and for some reason ghoul has lumber vibes to me.

The suitehearts... well right off the bat i can say Benzedrine born and raised in the capitol. Or like district one maybe. He got an apprenticeship as a gamemaker when he was fairly young and he did that for a while until he realized how fucked it was.

All the suitehearts are fairly rich kids 💀 or at least benze is. while the fab four all have like humble origins or whatever. It very much contributes to their personalities tho.

Hmm. Crab district two. I see him being like raised to fight with the intent for him to win the games one day because district two families are just like that. And maybe he does just that, fights and wins a year.

Donnie.. district four vibes. Fisherman. He's lost a sibling or good friend to the games and thats what drives him to join the rebellion.

Sandman.. either five or seven because he also has lumber vibes, but five is the power plants and i can just really see him working with electricity. But i could see him as an eleven kid too.. fighting like Thresh. Wherever hes from hes a past victor and maybe.. maybe he had a Rue and maybe his Rue was whoever Donnie lost and thats how they met, through their shared grief of a lost friend and like mutual gratefulness for each other for protecting her as much as they could

[bioswear]

Man it's cool you know how to make amvs. I want to make idk regular music videos for shows I like and stuff but it's really daunting! It's a shame you gotta limit it to a minute for hopes of success too if the concept fits the entire song 😮‍💨

Thanks! I’ve been dabbling in it since I was a young weeb, staying up all night making naruto AMVs in the humble origins of Windows movie maker 😂😂

I totally get that tho, and I think you should totally just take the leap and try it out :) even if you don’t end up publishing it, I find that making decisions about clips also makes me focus on rhythm, timing, sequence, and impact which inevitably spreads out into other aspects of my work/projects. Sometimes it’ll even inspire more writing for my own work lol

Overall it’s just a fun and good exercise as well as a project/craft type

I use a mix of OBS for screen capturing Netflix and Hulu videos (if you turn off data acceleration (or whatever it’s called) you can bypass the black screen that prevents screen captures. I also really don’t use anything too fancy -

I’ve used iMovie only for my last two AMVs, and unless you’re doing just an action sequence or need something super new in terms of VFX or camera manipulation, or are covering up for a lack of basic storytelling skills by using 700 VFX filters, then you don’t really even need the fancier tools like after effects or Sony Vegas

I’ve made some longer AMVs that did well but view engagement only lasted like, half the duration. (Which I guess for a 4 minute video is good for this age of the internet 😂)

[goodbye-yashiro]

My brain so much isn't working that I had to use Google Translate to read the dam' text out loud. And while I'm at it! (I was writing a post for a week, but it's too long, I couldn't ever finish it :P) It's a quick, messy post because I have to study. EDIT: It took me two afternoons to finish.

ADHD study tips!

- BeLineReader is some super useful, it colors text gradient, has an open dyslexic font, and clean/reader mode! (Tho it "expires" after a few weeks, and you have to delete and download it again.)

- Grammarly is good, but it sure can get annoying with it telling you you misplaced a comma, but refusing to tell where.

- Rereading the notes you took in class is always better than nothing. Pro tip: reread them before going to bed, and right before class, because our brains process information at night.

- When you have to do an essay/PPT, Ctrl+F is your friend. Also, write down questions or keywords you want it to be about. Write a "first draft," a little messy, that only you (but you do) understand, and only when done start to reword it with "fancier words."

Include the terms you've learned in class. Teachers like to hear themselves back.

- If fancy words, I have two sites for you: scribens.com (a grammar checker), rhymezone.com (it has everything word-related you could ever need).

- Highly recommend Weava Highlighter too! You can highlight and save text from any site or PDF and even add notes.

- When doing a PPT use the automatic design ideas and pictures, pictures, pictures - it's easy and will look a lot better.

- Copy-past sentences from your sources and reword them, change the word order on the slide, use the original sentence when presenting.

- Use Comic Sans for writing notes/essays, but if not comic sans, some neat font. Copy-past a text from Tumblr into a document and you'll get the font Tumblr uses. (Which is apparently too long for me to include)

I like Courier New too.

- Have a paper for "junk thoughts" - write them down, but only deal with them later.

- Look for the fun things. Documentaries, history movies, colorized historical recordings exist.

-Tie it up with interests! You like making neat Tumblr posts? Great! Make neat Tumblr posts! IV. Henrick Moodboard. Make memes about it.

Explain it to someone in the most basic "meme language." "And then he goes..." "*something*" "Pathetic" "XY left the chat."

How fun is that??! (especially for literature and history)

- The effort rule (based on some experiment) the more effort you put into it, the more likely you will remember it. Sounds ridiculous, but...

put down your notebook in one corner of the room so you have to walk a little with every sentence, and take notes this way.

- Another ridiculous way to remember stuff is to place the information in unique places, so you will remember it for sure. Write that formula on an empty toilet paper roll no one had the energy to throw in the trash. Put a sticky note on the cheese in the fridge.

- I'm the kind of person who gets motivation from not doing the notes for myself but to make videos on the topic for the "next generations," because our school system su©ks.

- Have a document/bookmark folder with all the stuff you'll need!!!(links I mean) And go by the path of the links.

Like this:

X'o clock - Y'o clock - History, ancient Greece

[link of source for studying] [link of source for studying] [link of source for studying]

Y'o clock - Z'o clock - Rest

[link of a Tumblr blog you want to check out for new posts] [link of a short video you want to watch]

Make starting only take one/two clicks. Use a site blocker and only whitelist the few pages you'll need for 1) studying, and 2) in the breaks.

- This thing can automatically open a new tab (a link) at a given time.

- For note-taking in class: use an erasable pen.

- In the classes where the teacher simply can't explain, only jot down the keywords and look them up later. Check your book for illustrations and definitions. Works for just-pass-will-forget-everything-after-the-test subjects.

- Illustrate your notes. I like to doodle little figures in my notebook, it 1) keeps my hands busy

2) as I'm a visual type, it helps me remember where was a piece of information in my notes located, and

3) it forms a link in between dry and heavy information. (It personalizes things [countries, groups, ideologies], visualizes concepts, and brings color into events)

This is what my notes look like: (for strucutre - tho I love philosophy, so with my not-favorite subjects it's obviously a bit different...)

- As for sensory things:

☀️ Let there be light! Sunlight or some lamps with a cozy mood.

💻 "Play" with the settings of your screen, turn down the brightness, the saturation, etc.

👕 If you find it refreshing, maybe take a bath/shower before, or change your clothes to more comfortable ones.

🍃 Let in some fresh air, make sure the room isn't too hot, nor too cold.

🍹 Have a bottle of water by your side, so you don't forget to drink.

🎧 If you need some background noise, there are tons of ambient sound channels on youtube and there's also MyNoiseNet.

🎼 Or put on a music/playlist with only a few tracks looped. Or instrumental music. Or music in a foreign language. Just imagine learning history while some cinematic classical music plays. XD

If you feel bad, here's this site that might help you figure out why.

I plan to make other ADHD and autism posts soon. Till then, *casually salutes* I hope I helped some! :)

[cdroloisms]

Do you think c! Quackity are skilled on the mastering of "necessary convincing" on a person? And man the stream yesterday was so intense dark theme.

hello ! 

this is testament of how behind i am in asks, haha, considering this was sent basically at the beginning of q’s visits and it’s been ,, uh ,, several months since then ASJKFLJAS - but im going to try to answer it now while pretending that we dont have months proving that c!quackity is very willing to do whatever the hell it takes to get the revive book from someone.

i think that the ,, technicalities? of the torture were never an issue - everyone in the dream smp universe has to know how to use a weapon in its most basic form, after all, just to defend themselves from mobs and stuff, tho some people are clearly more adept at using them than others. torture is ultimately just hurting someone until they do what you want them to do (way oversimplified, but this definition works here) - physically, if you’re able to kill a zombie, there’s functionally little different with inflicting harm on a defenseless unarmed human with no means of defending themselves.

the real challenge, as with most things in the minecraft roleplay, comes from the mental side - how far is c!quackity really willing to go? obviously he *can* hurt someone, but doing so also tends to go against a lot of our most basic instincts as humans. defying that becomes the real question to consider - and c!quackity, in his increased willingness to hurt not only c!dream, but everyone as he’s manipulated people more and used people more for his own gain in the last few months, seems to providing as much of an answer as we’re going to get. 

this obviously isnt to say that he isn’t conflicted, or that he’s pure evil !! but c!quackity, by his own admission, seems to hold little trust for other people and ideals anymore. his main goal is Las Nevadas and whatever he needs to make it great - anything and everything else is either a means to his end or an obstacle in his way. i dont doubt that there are chinks to this mindset to exploit, things that he cares about enough to take his single-minded focus off of Las Nevadas. as of now, though, i don’t think that torturing c!dream and the violence it’ll require of him will be that breaking point.

anyway, have a really dark snippet exploring c!quackity some more !! he’s really fun to write, though i don’t think i’ve really mastered his voice yet - practice makes perfect, i guess. heed the warnings and hope you enjoy! 

tw: torture, abuse, blood, injuries, branding, violence, death mention, abuse apologism, mental deterioration, dark content, dark imagery, very dark portrayal of c!quackity, pandora’s vault/prison arc

There’s a certain learning curve that comes with torturing someone.

It sounds obvious, thinking back, as much as it sounds morbid as all hell, but it’s not like he’s in any position to judge. Quackity swipes another stack of iron from a chest, momentarily grumbling about the cost, before melting down three ingots for the blade of his next axe. He could just do it in a crafting table, but there’s a degree of calm in the monotony of doing it all by hand, slowly watching as the iron begins to glow red hot in the heat of the furnace and then hammering it into shape on his anvil. He hadn’t been good at it before, had let Sapnap do the majority of the smithing for the three of them in the past, but. Well.

When you’re eating through several sets of iron tools a week, either from bending them out of shape against unforgiving obsidian or melting the blades past saving in lava or burning them all entirely, when he’s too tired to be bothered cleaning off the blood and simply chucks the used tools after a session into the molten rock outside the cell, you kind of have to figure out how to make your own shit so others don’t get suspicious.

He beats the metal into a block, humming softly over the clangs of his hammer. There’s definitely a learning curve to crafting weapons, too - he’s pretty proud of the ones that he can make, now, even though he’s still no good at any of the fancier furnishings and finishes (nor does he particularly care about them). Figuring out how to torture someone effectively was a similarly slow process - finding their limits and how far to push before something, inevitably, gives. He hadn’t exactly handled it the best in the first few visits, usually retching into the nearest wastebasket at the smell, at the feeling of blood coating his fingertips, at the screams ringing incessantly in his head. It wasn’t all that long before he forwent sleep altogether, devoting all of his time on paperwork and calls and anything that would deafen the cries that would’ve haunted him otherwise. He was no good with his tools, either - more than a few times, in those early visits, did he end up slicing too deep or going too far and needing to cut the session short for Sam to come in and administer health pots before Dream died and rendered all of their efforts useless.

(Sapnap had been the one to first teach him how to wield an axe, correcting his stance and his grip with gentle, calloused hands. He remembers them training on the newly laid dirt surface of Mexican L’manburg, sweat dripping down his neck from the sun beating against their heavy armor, Sap laughing at his unbalanced, heavy-armed swings and demonstrating with his own weapon, movements fluid and graceful as if it was an extension of his own arm. In the cell, he thinks of Sapnap’s voice, firm in his focus - feet at least shoulder width apart, hands braced on the axe handle, left sitting just above the end and the right just a few inches below the head - and swings.)

It had been...a process. A bloody, often painful process - his hands are calloused, now, in ways they never were before, from the constant handling of his many tools. His back aches constantly from bending over, and his shirt - more often splattered with blood than not - now bears some permanent pink stains that he can’t get out no matter how hard he tries. (The laundry, he thinks wryly, had been a hell of a learning process as well.) He picks up the metal with a pair of tongs, easing it back under the fire’s heat until it glows a soft pink, and then places it back onto the anvil to work - slowly beating the metal into shape.

He’s had to learn a lot. The lessons are fascinating, in a gruesome, morbid sort of way. He’d brought a brand the other day, painstakingly carved into a fancy, curlicued Q all on his own, used in his work at Las Nevadas originally to finish furnishing a few pieces of leather furniture he had scattered around the city. As Dream struggled under him, skin blackening under the white-hot metal, he’d immersed himself in the sight, far more similar to his past leatherwork than he might’ve originally expected. He almost wanted to do it again, just to compare, but the stress of it all had been enough to knock the prisoner into shock, which had put a significant damper on the rest of his visit. He watches the iron glow contemplatively from his anvil, not nearly as hot as he works at it.

Another dip in the furnace later, it’s heated just enough to work out the finishings, and he carefully knocks the ends into a blade. Picking it up with a pair of tongs, he holds it up to a nearby piece of glowstone, grinning at the finished axe head. There’s still quite a bit to do, technically - he still needs to sharpen it along with the other ones he’s finished, as well as fasten them to their handles, but even so - it looks good. He examines it, back and front, against the light. It’s probably his best one yet.

Quackity smiles to himself as he puts it down with the rest, pulling out his calendar from behind him and carefully marking another red X over the date. Learning to torture someone takes a hell of a lot of time, but. Well.

He has all the time in the world.

[honeypirate]

I don’t knowwww what this is but I love this senbon user.

Genma x femreader

Part two here

Your feet land on the road a little ways away from the gate, jumping from the treetops and landing silently.

You’ve been gone for awhile, on a deep undercover mission that kept you away for a few years and you were ready to finally be home again.

You get to the closed gate and feel your heart skip when Genma appears in front of you

“State your name and business” he says and clicks his senbon against his teeth.

You place a hand on your hip, fingers messing with your headband around your waist as a belt as you smirk “I know I’ve been gone a while Genma, but I didn’t think I was that forgettable to you” you raise your hand and cover your heart ��my heart actually hurts”

You watch the recognition enter his eyes as he smiles with the senbon in his teeth “y/n. It’s so good to see you” he says and pulls you into a hug. “You too Genma” you say into his neck, closing your eyes tight so you don’t cry.

“Sorry about the gate” he says as he closes it again behind you both “we’ve had some assassination threats” you say a soft oh and nod your head “no worries. I’m happy to be home I gotta tell you. I should find a place to stay” you scratch your neck and laugh softly “since all my things are in storage” you go to turn but he grabs your hand “can I find you later? To catch up?” You smile and nod “I’d love that”

After debriefing with the Hokage you found an inn to stay in not far from where your things were stored then you went to go buy some food and new clothes that weren’t from your mission.

You had a few bags in your hand as you walked the streets of the village, a small smile on your lips and a light heart as you familiarized yourself with your home town again.

“There you are” he says as he hops from the room of the buildings to standing next to you.

“Nice to see you again Genma” you said with a soft smile and a sparkle in your eye that make his heart race.

Even after all this time his feelings for you remain unchanged.

He takes the bags from your hands and offers you his elbow, which you take with a small laugh and a “thank you”

“Have you eaten yet?” You ask, looking up at him your chin brushing his shoulder. He smirks at the way his skin comes alive at your touch and the way his stomach fills with butterflies as you easy fall back into your old closer than just friends ways.

“No I haven’t. Where would you like to go?” You notice the way his eyes soften when he looks at you and the way his usual smirk seems more genuine. “Take me to your favorite place” you say and he laughs with a nod “you got it”

“I’m so glad this place is still here” you say as they place two bowls of pumpkin soup down on the table. “I’m pretty sure we’re still in business because of Genma here” the owner says from the back and you laugh “I bet. I’ve seen him put away a lot of pumpkin soup before” you wink at him as you blow softly across your soup to cool it down.

“Tell me about your mission” he asks as he takes another bite and you smirk “well. I guess it isn’t really classified anymore” you say and wipe your lips with a napkin

“I had to go undercover and infiltrate the growing army of rouge ninjas that were in the north” his eyes widen slightly, he’s heard stories about them and even tho they were a lesser version of the Akatsuki they were still a tough group.

“I went through the ranks until I was the right hand man of the head of the group who turned out to be a girl. She was an amazing person if she wasn’t so absolutely crazy.” You take another bite and he leans forward a little “that’s where you’ve been all these years? It makes sense as to why the missions involving them suddenly stopped” he says and scratches behind his neck

“After I made my way to the top, they were planning on wiping out the village hidden in the mist . I sent word back to the Hokage who told the Mizukage, I worked hand in hand with them to take down the entire army and now I’m here” you shrug and he’s looking at you with shocked eyes.

“What?” You ask with a laugh and he just chuckles “nothing I just.. I always just thought you’d be my cute little best friend from daycare” you laugh and run your hand through your hair

Before you can respond a member of the ANBU appears beside your table “the Hokage needs to see you both right away”

Your hands run down your face as you sigh deeply “so she survived and then escaped and is coming after me?” The Hokage nods “I’m placing Genma as your bodyguard and for now you’ll go into hiding, to one of the safe houses” you scowl, wanting to protest, to say how you can take care of yourself, but you honestly didn’t even know if it was the truth.

You nod once “yes, lord sixth”

Genma beside you tenses his jaw and nods once, he won’t lie, he’s excited to spend so much time with you, he just wishes it was with better circumstances.

“How long has it been? Since we were Chunin I think” he says as the gates close behind you

“Since we went on a mission together? Yeah since I was placed on your team because my team was all out of commission. You iced me out for the first day because you thought I was cute”

He gasps “I did not!”

You laugh and chase your head “yeah sure. So you ignored me but stared at me the entire time for the first day but then your excuse the second day was” you imitate his kid voice “I had something in my eye”

He can’t help but laugh with you, his cheeks dusting a little pink “it was true. I had something in my eye” he sticks with it and you just sigh and shake your head “yeah it was awkward 12 yr old feelings” you say back and he just scoffs, sticking to his original story.

You get to the safe house around nightfall, a small farm house on the outskirts of a smaller town that consisted of a small market and a couple shops, guessing that less than 200 people lived around here.

You flick the light switch and wait in the doorway as the lights flicker before staying on, a low light cast across a small living room with a hallway and an attached kitchen. Genma checks the house and secures it as you kick off your shoes and look through the kitchen.

“We will have to hit the market in the morning. Maybe we could go back to that ramen place we passed” you say as you meet him in the living room.

“There’s only one bedroom since were supposed to be acting as a couple, you can take the bed and I’ll take the couch” he says, twisting his senbon in his mouth and avoiding your eye as he tries to not imagine sharing a bed with you.

You laugh “that’s not fair though. How about we Rock Paper Scissors or thumb war or something else?” You can see the pink on his sheets and you’re pretty sure he’s thinking of the same thing you are, sleeping in the same bed.

“Yeah okay. Thumb war” he says with a nod, still not looking at you. He knows he could lose it easy and still give you to bed.

You cross the room to him and hold out your hand, he finally meets your eye as his finger slick with yours. His fingers were warm against your usual cold fingers and you could feel his calluses against your skin. “Ready?” You asks, eyes locked on his and a small smirk on your lips.

“Go!” You say and his longer thumb reaches for yours as you dodge it with a giggle, your left hand reaching out to hold his bicep as you dodge his thumb, he’s feigning trying to win until your thumb locks across his and for a second he forgets what he’s even doing, he’s too caught up in the way your eyes sparkle as you look at your thumb, your laughter that hasn’t changed since you were a kid. All those times you would joke together as kids and hanging out when you grew up. Meeting you again after your days in the ANBU, then seeing you again this morning, the way his heart has only beat for you his whole life.

He gasps softly when you squeal, looking up into his eyes with a grin “I win!” You say and his cheeks flush, your hand still on his arm and your fingers still locked with his, “congrats! You get the bed” he says, throat a little dry.

“Now let’s clean up and head to dinner” you say, dropping his hand. His hand feels empty without the feeling of your fingers against his but he swallows hard and shoves his hands in his pockets with a nod, pretending that your grin isn’t making his heart race.

There’s two bathrooms, one downstairs and one connected to the bedroom. You get ready in the bedroom bathroom and him in the other.

You know you’ll bathe later but for dinner you still want to look good. You’re supposed to sell that youre married to Genma so you dress like you would if you were going out with your husband.

You take off your headband and wash your face with cool water before putting on a little makeup and fixing up your hair. You change into a dark green dress that hits just above your knees. You spray a little perfume that you just bought before your mission, then head down the stairs.

You smile when you see him, sitting on the couch and twisting a kunai in his fingers as he waits.

“I have something for you” you say with a smirk as your reach the bottom of the steps.

“What is it?” He asks and stores his kunai before looking up at you and gasping softly, his eyes widening as he takes you in, his eyes slowly moving down your body before landing back on your face

He stands and walks to you “you look good” he says in a whisper and swallows hard, his cheeks blushing and warm.

“Thank you. So do you” you say and nod as you look him over, he’s changed out of anything that would give him away as a ninja. He’s wearing a dark shirt and dark pants that you realize are just a little bit fancier than you would have guessed he’d own. You look nice, like a couple that would blend in with the village.

You hold out your hand and open your palm, showing two matching rings “whataya say Genma? Will you fake marry me?” You smile softly and he takes the ring from your palm “I do” he says with a smirk and you chuckle as you slide the ring down your left hand finger.

“One more thing” you say and reach up, untying his headband and running your hand through his hair as you fix his headband hair. You hand it to him and he smiles softly “now we look like any young couple who moved to the country” he puts his headband in his bag and then held the door open to you “shall we?” He asks and you nod, taking his arm with a smile.

ꕥone month laterꕥ

You’re weeding your garden you have out front, the small sprouts bringing joy to your heart. So far they haven’t been able to find her so for now you’re still stuck here.

Genma is fixing a leak in the roof, the sound of his hammer reaching your ears as you wipe your dirty hands on your apron. You place the weeds in the compost pile at the back edge of the yard as Genma climbs down the ladder.

“All fixed?” You ask with a smile, your sundress flowing against your legs in the breeze and he feels his heart hammer against his ribs. You looked like the prettiest housewife he could almost picture this being his real life.

“All fixed” he says with a grin, a spare nail still in his teeth instead of his usual senbon. He had sweat lining his forehead and his hair tied back in a low bun, his face looks a little sun kissed and you couldn’t stop your mind from wandering to imagining him as your househusband.

Your cheeks feel warm and you wipe your hands on your apron again before taking it off and walking up to him, folding it and using a clean space to dab his forehead “let’s go inside, I’ll make something light for lunch” he clears his throat, grateful for the sunburn on his cheeks that he knows won’t show his blush. “Sounds good” he says with a semi strained voice, trying not to show how flustered you made him.

That evening, after dinner and bathing, you head downstairs to find Genma but pause when he’s nowhere to be found.

You find the door open but before heading out you grab his sweatshirt he had over the side of the couch and throw it over your head.

You take a few steps off the porch and hear a soft whistle, pulling your attention to the roof. You feel your heart skip when you turn and spot him laying against the roof, the moonlight glistening off his usual senbon he still used at the house.

You appear beside him and sit down, pulling your knees up to your chest and tucking them inside your sweatshirt.

“Isn’t it funny that we went from being apart for years to being thrown together for who knows how long?” His voice was a whisper but it felt loud because of how alone and quiet you where on this little farm.

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this. You probably have a girlfriend back at the village who’s gonna hate me when we get back” you say as you rest your forehead on your knees

Yes you’ve lived together for a month but you haven’t brought up relationships because then you’d have to admit the feelings you had for him.

He laughs and leans up, his elbows around his knees “no ones gonna hate you” he says and you meet his eye

“So then she’s really nice? That’s good. I always hoped you’d end up with someone nice” your voice was strained and he tilts his head, his tongue turning the senbon

“No” he says and you raise your eyebrows “so she’s mean? I didn’t expect you to be ..” he cuts you off with a laugh “no I mean.. no she”

Your eyes widen a little then you laugh “ohhh so you have a boyfriend. Well if you’re happy that’s..” he groans and falls back, his arms above his head exasperated.

He takes his senbon from his mouth and then lays his arm back down, looking up at the stars as he says in a monotone voice “I’m sorry I should have made it more clear. I’m not dating anyone”

You feel your cheeks heat up as your soul fills to the brim with embarrassment. “Oh”

You wait until your face cools off before you lean back and look up at the sky with him. You look up at the stars for just a moment before you decide to make a move and adjust your body, scooting up to lay your head against his arm.

“I’m glad” you whisper and pause for a moment “that no one is going to hate me when we get back”

You were glad he wasn’t dating anyone. Glad that he was single and that your feelings have an option to be reciprocated.

His heart was racing in his throat, his fingers holding his senbon in a vice grip as your hair tickles the skin on his arm.

Over this last month all of his feelings from childhood had returned with a vengeance. He thought that maybe they were the same feelings but as the days progressed he’s learned how much stronger they have become for you. How he’s been desperately yearning to kiss you every night here.

The way your hair is crazy in the mornings, the way you yawn and rub your eyes as you drink coffee, the way your eyes sparkle in the sun as you work in the yard, these little sides of you that he feels lucky to be witnessing.

He loves the way the house smells like your shampoo after you bathe, the way you laugh at his jokes even if they aren’t very funny but your laughs are always genuine.

The way you hold his hand and kiss his cheek when you go to town makes his heart race every time, he won’t ever get used to the feeling. He’s a ninja but how hard he’s tried to dig out all his feelings and do away with them, he can never seem to do it. You’ll give him one of those looks where he feels like he’d do anything for you, your smile and the way your eyes soften when they see him, and he can’t do it. He knows this is an act but he can’t help but wish it was real.

“Y/n I need to tell you something” he says and as you turn to look up at him, you sense chakra. He’s caught it just a moment before you and he’s pulling you to his chest, throwing his senbon. the sound of it hitting a kunai making your palms sweat as you quickly get your shit together.

“It’s her” you say and then she appears on the ground, looking up at you both with her hands out and a smile.

“I’m just here to talk” she says and you feel a chill down your spine “you don’t talk, Mina! We both know that” you shout back and she just laughs.

Genma goes to attack and you watch as it goes in slow motion, one moment he’s throwing a kunai and flying through the air, the next he’s pinned to the ground by another Ninja who was hidden in the ground, popping up from your garden and holding him fast. A little part of your heart twinges with sadness for your baby garden.

You move into the defensive, not knowing what to do next since you didn’t have any weapons with you expect for your jutsu. You didn’t what to do, Genma was trapped and you had to fight her with no weapons and who knows how many people she had in hiding.

“I’m seriously here to talk so you can come down now” she says with an excited lilt “don’t do it!” Genma shouts but it’s cut off by the sound of his agonized groaning “i think you should do it!” She sings and you don’t hesitate in jumping to the ground and walking through the dirt path towards her

“Take me and let him go” you say and she laughs hard, wiping away tears, “how about I kill you first and make him watch” she says and then immediately throws a handful of Kunai your way.

You gasp and dodge them easily, not seeing her move through the dark and and cutting your arm with the kunai in his hand.

“The ritual is compete” she says with an insane laugh and you feel your body become frozen, paralyzed.

Your eyes look to her and notice how her skin has changed to black, covered in white symbols where bones would be. “She’s like Hidan” Genma says in shock as you watch her cackle in front of you, her arms out wide with the kunai still in her hand.

“Do you know how much trouble I went through to find you?” She asks and then brings the Kunai down into her thigh making you gasp when your thigh starts to bleed from the deep slice.

“Don’t worry tho, I’ll make sure to miss all your vital spots until we’re done talking”

Your heart is pounding with fear. There isn’t much you can do right now, you know you can’t get out of this and Genma is detained. You’re going to die.

“I’m sorry Mina” you say between deep gasps of air through the pain “I was just following orders”

She cackles and you can feel her hatred coming form her in waves. The Kunai comes to her neck and you watch blood trickle down the side of her skin before you even felt it start to run down your own.

You gasp when she slowly pushes the knife deeper, the wound in your neck flowing more. “Maybe I’m done talking now” she whispers out and goes eerily quiet as she stares at the blood coming from your neck.

“No.. stop!” Genma is fighting against the other ninja, struggling but not getting anywhere.

“Genma” you whisper out but he stills when he hears your voice “it’ll be okay” you say, feeling your eyes sting but refusing to cry in front of her.

“Mina just go. Why are you doing this? You could run. You could go live the life you’ve always wanted and hoped for. The little farm you told me about. You can go do that you have been given this chance you don’t need to use it for revenge. You can be happy”

“Shut up!” She shouts at you, her eyes overflowing with tears

“I wanted that life with you!” she says through gritted teeth and you gasp softly, your heart racing. You never knew that’s how she felt for you.

“But if I can’t have you” she says, eyes wide and crazy, the tears suddenly stopping and turning to crazy chuckles “then no one can” she finishes her sentence in a quiet calm voice that’s even more eerily sounding than her laughter.

She raises her arm back and then screams as she brings it down to her throat with all the force she can muster! Your eyes widen in shock and you gasp, expecting to have it be your final moment but feeling relief flood your body when you hear the words from Shikamaru in the dark “shadow possession, complete”

Turns out Shikamaru and a few ANBU had been tracking her for a week. They would have caught her sooner but Kiba was on a different mission and couldn’t help.

The fight was quick after that, you don’t really remember most of it. Once Genma was free he was by your side and holding gauze to your leg while you held one to your neck.

“Thank you” you whisper to him as you sit in the dirt, watching as he dresses your wound.

“This is all my fault. I let my guard down. I was thrown off by seeing you in my sweatshirt. You look so good I got distracted. I’m sorry I let you get hurt” his eyes were on his hands and your leg as he finishes tying the bandages, you’re pretty sure he doesn’t even know what he just confessed to.

Your hands take his into your own, the wound on your neck stopped bleeding and isn’t more than a scratch.

“Genma” you say softly and wait until he meets your eye. His senbon was back in his teeth and you heard the gentle grinding sound as he bit down against it.

You reach up and cup his jaw “I worry about your teeth” you joke and he rolls his eyes, relaxing his jaw before looking back to your eye.

“We should get going. You should see a doctor about that wound” Shikamaru said, coming back from taking care of Mina and her accomplice and sending them off with a couple ANBU.

Your eyes don’t leave Genma’s but you drop your hands “okay. My leg isn’t too bad so I can pack up my things real quick. Could you help me?” Genma nods immediately and picks you up into his arms bridal style, carrying you back towards the house.

As you stand on your good leg at the bathroom sink, Genma goes to clean up his things. A quick sweep of the home since you kept it spotless normally in preparation.

You look at yourself in the mirror and sigh, brushing your hair behind your shoulder as you look at the cuts on your neck.

“Do you think they’ll scar?” You ask when he appears in the doorway, his pack over a shoulder.

“I doubt it. They aren’t very deep. If they do scar it will be gone in a year” you scowl and look away, going to grab your small bag if things to add to your pack on the bed.

You go to hop your way out but he drops his bag and puts his arm around your waist, easily taking your weight as he helps you back to the bed.

“Shikamaru will take my bag, I’ll carry you back” he says and doesn’t wait for you to say anything, just turns and crouches, waiting for you to climb up.

You chuckle “I’ll be fine” you say and he clicks his senbon before leaning back and grabbing your calves, gently pulling you so you lose balance with a gasp and fall into him.

“We’re ready” Genma says, not even ten minutes after Shikamaru said it was time to leave. You’re scowling but holding on to his shoulders tight.

Genma throws his pack to him and he catches it in silence, putting over his shoulder. “Let’s go”

His hands are firm against your thighs as he carries you and you notice how he never forgets about your wound, is always gentle with you whenever he has to adjust or move you.

“It’s gonna be weird not living with you” you admit with a small chuckle and his hands squeeze your legs gently “oh yeah. I bet you’ll miss having fresh coffee made for you in the morning and never having to wash a dish” you laugh and playfully slap his shoulder “and you’ll miss my cooking every meal!” He chuckles and nods “you know it. You’re a queen of the kitchen” you feel your cheeks warm and are grateful that he can’t see.

“We’re here” Shikamaru says and you feel your stomach fill with relief until it gets taken over by worry when you realize you still don’t have anywhere to stay. Shikamaru heads off to talk to the Hokage as Genma brings you to the hospital to get looked at.

“I’ll be here when you’re done” he says as he sets you on the exam table and your eyes widen “you will be?” He raises his eyebrows with a smirk “of course I will be” you feel your cheeks warm, the mission was over so you just expected him to go his way as you go yours. You nod, feeling your eyes sting again with your feelings as you smile shyly “thank you Genma”

A few medical ninjas heal your leg up and disinfect and bandage up your neck when you exit the room, true to his word, Genma is sitting on the chair across the hall with his head relaxed against the wall behind him. His eyes are closed and you can tell he’s sleeping, his senbon hanging in the edge of his lips.

You crouch in front of him and smile softly as you look him over. His messy hair and his recreational clothes, he was missing his headband still and has dirt on his cheeks.

You reach up and softly run your fingers through his hair, smiling when his eyes flutter open. “Good morning sleepy head” you say softly and he takes a deep inhale, a soft smile on his lips as he meets your eye. “Good morning beautiful” he says and rubs his eyes.

“Wanna get some breakfast?” You ask, fingers still moving slowly through his soft hair. “God yes” he says and you laugh, standing with a groan before offering him your left hand, which he takes without hesitation and stands.

“How’s your leg?” He asks, lacing his fingers together with yours and making your heart flutter. “It’s fine. Nothing major was hit, should just be a bruise now.” You want to ask why he’s holding your hand. Want to point out how he doesn’t have to do that anymore since this is your village and you’re not pretending anymore, but you don’t. You don’t ask. You just savor the feeling knowing it’s probably the last time.

You yawn hard as you sit across from him at the table, waiting for your food to be delivered as you sit quietly with him. You both looked exhausted, exactly like you’ve been traveling all night. You look up from the picture on the wall you were zoned out staring at and feel your cheeks warm when you catch him looking at you.

“What?” You ask with a small chuckle and he just smiles “nothing. Just looking” he says and it makes your heart flutter. “Would have thought you looked enough over the last month” he chuckles “not nearly enough if I’m being honest” he admits quietly and you chuckle at the softness.

“Stay with me” he says as he takes a bit of his pumpkin soup. “What?” You ask, choking on your own spit.

“Stay with me while you find your own place. Your stuff is still in storage right?” You feel your cheeks warm as you wipe off your mouth “yeah that’s true but I don’t want to impose I can just stay at the inn” he shakes his head “no. Stay with me. I have more than enough room” you laugh “I’m not gonna be able to change your mind Huh?” He shakes his head with a small smile “I insist”

He takes another bite of his soup and sighs “it’s not as good as yours” he says a little sadly and for some reason it fills your heart full of pride. “I’m sorry I ruined your favorite meal” you say and he laughs, running his hands through his hair and sticks his senbon back in his teeth. “It just means I’ll need you to make it for me now” he says and you laugh “anytime. But just for you” you say back and you feel as if your heart could burst.

After your meal he takes your hand again in his, lifting it and using his thumb to twist the fake wedding band “I guess we should take these off Huh?”

You nod “yeah probably. Since the mission is over” he sighs and slips yours off before he takes his off and puts them both in his pocket before he takes your hand again, your pack over his shoulder.

“We don’t have to hold hands anymore either. And I could take my pack..” your voice sounds as sad as you feel but you doubt you’d even be able to hide it.

“Oh” he says softly “yeah. You’re right” he hesitates for just a moment before dropping your hand and shoving his roughly into his pocket. He doesn’t give your bag to you though, which makes you smirk, your hand moving behind your back to hold your elbow.

The first night at his place was nice, you insisted on taking his couch and he couldn’t find a good enough excuse to change your mind. You helped clean off the dust and air out the apartment before he went out to stock up on fresh groceries as you shower.

When you get out the shower you wander around his bedroom, more or less snooping. You open his closet and hum in approval at the collection of comfortable clothing he has as well as his nice fancier clothing. You take one of the comfy jackets off a hanger and throw it on before you continue your trek through his apartment.

His apartment was spacious even though it was one bedroom. His room was large and open, a bed in the middle with amazing light when the sunrises. It has a couch at the end of the bed, a large bathroom, and decent closet. It had a sliding glass door and a small balcony that had a chair and table.

You sat on the side of the bed and opened the top drawer of the bedside table.

Exactly what you expected from him, a kunai and a box of condoms that were a particularly larger size than you would have assumed he would have.

“You big snoop” he says with evident laugh in his voice as he catches you with condoms in your hand.

You gasp and flail, the box hitting the headboard of his bed and falling behind you on the bed as you just sigh and hide your face in your hands.

“That was funny. You shoulda seen your face” he says with a laugh and you just keep your face hidden, your cheeks hot under your palms.

“God Genma you scared me” you say and he just laughs and sits beside you on the bed.

With a low groan, he leans slowly behind you and grabs the box of condoms. “If you wanted to know what size condoms I use, you could have just asked” he said with a twirl of his senbon and you let out a squeak that makes his skin tingle.

You decide to try and tip the scale of his cockiness so you quickly move, throwing your leg across him and pushing him down to the bed with your hands.

You lean in close to his ear and his hands move to grip your thighs “would you have told me... or shown me?” You ask, teeth connecting to his ear as you bite him gently, smirking when his breath hitches.

You lean up, sliding your hands down his chest and looking down at him with a smile for a moment before you take his senbon from his mouth and stick it between your teeth before you wink and slide from his lap to your feet. Walking out of the door with a satisfied hum and a swing of your hips.

You walk down the hallway into his spacious and homey living room, your toes appreciating the soft rug as you cross the living room to the dining room and kitchen, towards the brown paper sacks he must have left on the table.

“Oooh you got melon. I love melon.” You say with a smirk, twisting the senbon around with your tongue as you make eye contact with him as he comes across the room.

“I know you love it” he says and stands beside you, placing his hand on your low back as he leans down and takes the end of his senbon into his teeth and you smile, letting him take it from your mouth.

You know the condom moment made the air more tense between you, but you really liked it. It felt real, like the mission was just a show but now this, this!, is real flirting! Real feelings!

“That wasn’t very nice what you did in there” he says and you laugh “I’m sorry Genma. Did I get you worked up just to leave? How rude of me.” You say as you cut the melon.

“Maybe don’t dish out the teasing if you can’t handle it back” you say and offer him a small bite of melon. He rolls his eyes and leans down but instead of popping it into his mouth you quickly put it in your own with a grin

“Hey!” He says and you chuckle “what are ya going to do about it? Huh?” You tease and he places a hand on your hip and pulls you to his chest, a little squeak leaving your lips making him smirk.

“I wanted a taste” he says his voice low and his eyes playful. you smile, your hand on his chest can feel his racing heart and you reach up, taking his senbon as you say “then take one” his lips hitting yours less than a second later.

[mayorofcattown]

lol it’s been a while, but finally making an update on the original VN I’ve been (very slowly) working on. I meant to do this like a month ago but wanted to finish up some sketches first and then all of well everything happened and I got distracted oops. planning on just posting most general updates on here tho, there’s not much point putting original stuff behind a paywall atm, I figure the better way to get ppl interested is to talk abt it here

anyway I’ve decided to just jump right into making it rather than trying to make another smaller game, mostly cause I haven’t had any better ideas and also cause the coding was honestly easier than I expected anyway.

Been making some progress on the design/aesthetic stuff (like the logo and sprite/menu roughs above), plus some boring back end stuff setting up some of the mechanics/systems the game is gonna use in renpy, which tbh sounds way fancier than it is... but anyway this will get long so I’m gonna put the rest under the cut

I posted it above, but I made a new logo! I honestly wasn’t planning to at first, I was just making some minor updates to it so I could try out some interface layouts, and then next minute I’d been fussing with it for like four hours, oops. But I like the way it turned out (tho I might fiddle with the i a bit more...) it fits the aesthetic nicely, tho I still need to make an actual like. vector version of it to actually use in things

here’s a comparison of it next to the old one if anyone’s curious (old one is top)

anyway, as for the game itself I’ve mostly just been setting up the different stat systems, and I’ve got a working glossary, stats and friendship system going, though they’re very bare bones at the moment, as you can see below

they weren’t actually as hard to put in as I thought they would be tbh, the glossary was actually harder weirdly enough ha ha. though they’ll probably get more complicated once there’s actual Content to deal with...the actual game itself is still very basic tho

I have been doing some interface designs, all still very rough wireframes tho. most of them honestly were basically illegible to anyone but me, but I do have this nicer looking wireframe of the stats page that I put together. I tried to work as much with the existing renpy layout as possible, as editing the layouts of things in renpy is a Huge Pain compared to just changing colours and slapping nice background art in is lol. the fourth character here is a character who I’m still working on finalising some of the design and story for, so I can’t show her yet, but Soon

one new character I Can show off tho (as you can see from the first sprite art I posted, ignore how messy it is, they were mostly just to rough out the interface) is this guy:

I am very indecisive abt names but I’m like 90% settled on naming him ‘Kai Parata’, he’s a young mechanic working at his family’s mechanic place where he mostly works repairing mechanical pets. He and Trinity become very good friends ;)

On the subject of the story, I haven’t been working on it as actively as the other parts, in the sense that I haven’t written any actual scripts or anything, mostly just spit balling ideas around parts of the story I’ve been struggling with. I’ve had this story idea since I was like, 15, and that’s definitely meant a lot of the writing process has been course correcting Bad Ideas I came up with when I was a teen lol. And the ‘bad idea’ I’d been struggling with lately was the police elements of the setting. I’d been pretty hmm abt it for a year or two now already but these last few months were uhh definitely the nail in the coffin that made me actually commit to changing it. While the story never really framed them as ‘good’, I mean its a dystopia the cops being shitty is basically a genre requirement, and it’s a fairly minor part of the story, I still didn’t feel anyone would be comfortable reading abt it, and I def wasn’t comfortable writing it anymore.

But once I actually dug into it, I realised it wasn’t actually super critical to the story, I’d rly only made a cop character in the first place cause I needed something to contrast a ‘hacker’ and that’s the first thing I thought of, but once I thought abt it there were wayy better options. Turns out making the character guy working in security at the big wig tech firm Skyler hacks into accomplishes literally the exact same beats story wise, fits way better with the story’s themes and world building, and also gave me a tonne of ideas for his backstory which I’d been stuck on for a while. And it isn’t going to make people’s skin crawl anywhere near as much... It’s certainly a much better direction for the story either way.

Anyway, that about wraps up most of what I’ve been working on. Next I’m probably going to start setting up the interface designs in game, and (hopefully) actually plotting out some of the story. I might also do some rough sprites and things too. Also actually design some of the environments too oops... anyway we’ll see.

Currently my plans for actually releasing stuff is probably just work on the game until I’ve got most of the core elements designed/implemented, and then just release a demo of the first few chapters for ppl to play so I can test it/gain interest. I had been considering doing like a mini spinoff first, but I never had any good ideas lol so I’ve just decided to go with a demo version. Who knows how long it’ll be before that happens tho, while the story doesn’t need to be finished I will need a p decent portion of the art done to even release anything. But things are getting there ya know

[archived-brokentoys]

I'm gonna be positive & say some things I actually like about the new post editor. I like how easy it is to change the color of the font. However, I wish that the fonts worked like the colors. If you change the font's format to like, cursive. It has to change the entire paragraph to that font rather than a single word or whatever you have highlighted. I think it'd be much more fun if something can just be highlighted, it'd be cool for formatting.

I also like some of the selected fonts you can have. Such as the "chat" font. Gives this a robotic look to it, can be aesthetically pleasing! It's also much easier to have small font instead of using a keyboard shortcut like I was.

Not only is it easier to move around pictures, BUT you can also put them side by side. (a limit of three, though.) This will definitely help when I want to make a text post and not a photopost, but still have the pictures neatly placed on the post. I wish this didn't always stretch out the images... because I can do this with icons, but... it stretches them out and makes them very blurry. Because if I could do this with icons and the icons STILL remaining their original size? Wow! that would be VERY helpful for me!

There are definitely some downsides to this new post editor. For example, I don't notice an HTML editor. But honestly...? A lot of it looks good to me, just different. And considering this is still in beta, it may improve. (Then again, you know tumblr.)

Of course, I'll always miss the post editor from 2012. But oh well.

Upon trying to post this, I just realized the fatal flaw that ruins this new text post editor though: it doesn't remember your tags.

While this isn't too big of a deal for me, since I intentionally make simple tags as the fancier ones makes it harder to find things on my blog, so I decided not to fuck with them anymore. I know that many people have fancier tags, so they rely on the tag system for convenience. And hell, it was convenient for me, too. Because even tho mine can be easily typed out, it was just faster for the auto tagger to remember. Hopefully they fix or change this. Otherwise, I might actually prefer this post editor.

- Wikia.

[starfoxrry]

I went with autumnal colors like rustic yellow, orange, green, blue, black and white. Left on the to do list is sewing the sides together, the collar and button band. AND I need to find some buttons! Not sure if I want simple ones or something fancier 🤔 I would send you one but you live so far away from me 😭 and the cardigan is quite heavy

ommggmmg those colours would look so cute during this time of year !! ive seen some ppl do pastel purples and pinks and greens and yellows too those are adorable but perhaps im partial to the original bc i’d love to matchy w miss styles 😔 ((even tho im convinced we’ll probably never see him in it again kdsnf)) i vote simple buttons but instead of black ones like the original has probably brown ones like these. but depends on how it’d look against the actual colours tho ~ might be different to what im imagining the colours to look like

[panticwritten]

In-Between Collection #2 Scene 2

A Summons

Table of contents!

All of my writing!

What are the In-Between Collections?

This one happened sometime in the nebulous space that I was kind of pretending the Breaking Furnace daydream wasn’t happening lmao. I think it would have been around chapter 4.

Also, I’m gonna be 20 in two weeks, what is real life

Word count: 1241

@asinwolves​ @avi-burton-writing @infinitelyblankpage @no-url-ideas-tho @marigoldwritesthings @jade-island-lives @ravenpuffwriter @breakeven2007 @spirit-wizard-nerd @steakfryday @alextriestowritestuff @cataclystr0phe  @perringwrites @davidvalencia323 @fluffpiggy @dont-trust-the-clogs @authorkimberlygrey @aclassilighthouse

New Day, Same Shit will be up on October 5th at 7pm PST!

If you like what I do here, maybe consider buying me a Ko-fi or checking out my Patreon! I love being able to put so much out for free, but this would be a great way to show support and also see cool new content!

The Original June 22nd 2016

In less than a month in the real world, I’ve progressed years in the new Gravity Falls universe. I haven’t been able to find more than traces of Bill. I’m starting to think I might have to summon him to get him to show his face.

That’s a little hard to swing when I’m trying to convince Stanford not to drop out of Backupsmore. He’s so close to finishing his thesis, the whole thing will be ruined if he doesn’t get through it.

We need funding in Gravity Falls, after all. It’s hard enough to explain where I get my money as it is, but if I could suddenly fund our research it would bring up questions I can’t answer. I doubt it would go over well that I work for an organization that hired me to fuck with his life.

I kneel down to gather another armful of fallen debris. I might be able to get by with checks from the Scouts in the new universe, but I have to actually work in the real world. Preparing firebreaks is mind-numbing enough for me to be able to talk to Kane at the same time, however.

“I still don’t think you had to start so early.”

He keeps pace with me on my back and forth between the tree line and our brush piles. I don’t look at him. I’m not sure how long we’ve been working today. I’m starting to get a headache, and I’m not sure if it’s from the work itself or Kane’s voice.

“I knew he would get closed off later. The only other people he talks to without prompting are his parents and Fiddleford.” I clench my jaw and resist the temptation to fall back into the universe, back into the argument with Stanford. “These days I’m more of a sounding board than an actual person, I think.”

“Genuine affection?” Kane appears in front of me, head inclined. “That’s dangerous.”

I walk right through him.

“I don’t know how much about him I’ve changed just by being there,” I go on as if he never spoke. “But I would never be able to get close enough if I waited much longer.”

“Have you found your contact yet?”

I shake my head, just a little, even in the real world.

“I think he’s tipped his hat at me in the few chances I’ve had to sneak away to Gravity Falls, but—” I stop with a grunt, knelt down to tug a branch back into the road. “—I might have to risk opening my mind to him if I want him to talk to me.”

He makes a thoughtful sound, and I finally take the bait to step back into my full dreamscape. I keep half a mind on my job, but the two of us land back in the Cube to talk. I turn on my heel to face him.

“About time.”

He lounges against the wall with a thick envelope held out in offering. It doesn’t look like a job card, but he doesn’t have any other business to be bothering me with. I make no move to take it, so he holds it up to inspect it under the light.

“I don’t know the last time I had to deliver a summons.” He gives me a side-eye. “Especially to an F-Class Scout.”

I glower and hold a hand out for the envelope. He surprises me by actually handing it over.

“And where am I being summoned to?” I ask while I break the wax sealing it shut.

“The council.”

I pause with the thick paper halfway out of its sheath. I stare down at my hands with the momentary expectation for it to attack.

But, no, it’s just paper. A normal envelope carrying a letter on the kind of stationary I wish I could afford. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to receive from an Ivy League college or a government official. It’s certainly fancier than the scrolls I normally send notes around the Cube in.

I’ve always gotten the feeling that the council hated me. I’ve only heard whispers, rumors of threats, from the group. I’ve met only one of the members, though I’m almost certain he’s not a good indication of what the council is like.

They’re the ones that hold our lists. They keep track of who they can use as leverage against individual Scouts. They watch us and decide what requires punishment in the form of making those lists shorter.

I manage to only hesitate a few seconds before diving in and reading the letter. It’s a full sheet of paper, but it only bears five words typed neatly in the center.

‘Come at your earliest convenience.’

I fold the paper and shove it back into the envelope. I look back to Kane, who watches me with narrowed eyes.

I won’t let him see that I’m nervous.

I won’t let him see anything.

“Take me to them.”

~-S-~

I try to avoid actually going to the Scouts’ main headquarters. Base. Lair. Whatever. It’s busy, everyone recognizes me, and I don’t like it. I want to keep my work with the Scouts and my identity in the Cube as separate as possible. I’m starting to think that won’t be possible.

I force myself not to look at anyone, at anything. I only take in a vague impression of gray in the halls, the rumble of voices only presenting as a low hum. A few faces jump out at me as more familiar than others, members of The Collective and others I wasn’t aware of being part of the clan.

If they try to talk to me, it doesn’t register.

I focus on Kane instead.

I thought he would lead and expect me to follow. He doesn’t. He walks barely a half-step ahead of me, so I have to watch him out of the corner of my eye. I’ve never seen a trainee walk beside their supervisor.

Then again, Kane hasn’t exactly been treating me like a trainee lately. All of it’s off, ever so slightly. I wouldn’t notice if I didn’t know him so well.

The smile, missing its mocking edge. His stride straight and clipped instead of fluid. Where’s the joke he always seems to be telling just by being present?

He’s normally so difficult to work with. I have to jump through hoops to get an answer. He twists and flips a problem until I come to the conclusion he wants me to, making it sound like it’s my idea. Distracts me when I’m trying to do my job or focus on the real world.

I didn’t have to convince him to hand over the summons.

I think back on it, to when he first offered me my job back. He was his normal self then. He stayed that way until I accepted it. Until I finished training. Until I started the job in Gravity Falls.

No.

He dropped it once. It was the second time I’d ever seen him let go of the persona. When he came to tell me about the new member of The Collective in the Breaking Furnace universe, he was serious.

Almost kind.

Since then, we’ve almost been on the same foot. He only hovers as much as the rules say he has to. He follows me on jobs, reminds me of deadlines, the bare minimum. Other than that, he stays out of my way with just a touch of snark.

“Here we are.”

His voice doesn’t reflect the change at all. Light, a laugh hidden beneath the words. His smile doesn’t reach his eyes when he stops in front of a wide door, though.

I reach for the door, but he grabs my arm. I freeze.

The last time he physically stopped me from doing something, I almost got myself killed. He would have been fine, he’s made of cement. I would have been fine eventually, would have woken up good as new. No one wants to die, though.

It stuck with me, I guess.

“Be careful,” he mutters. “They don’t take well to clever kids.”

He doesn’t let go right away, and that’s probably a good thing. I can’t move, though the desire to flee sears my blood. I shouldn’t have come. It would have been better to take my chances and ignore the council.

The thought flickers and dies when Kane releases me. He opens the door so I don’t have much choice but to walk in.

The door clicks shut behind me to leave me walking down a plush hall on my own. I have to squint in the low light, but there isn’t much to see. A crimson carpet and bare cream walls leading up to a door set at the end of the passage, that’s it.

Dark, warm, red. I hate the cliche of walking down a lion’s throat, but come on. Such a straight, plain hall leaves no room for surprises. It also gives me nowhere to hide if I lose my nerve.

But nothing happens. Nothing peels from the walls on the attack. No shadows move. The big, bad, tongue of a floor doesn’t constrict and drag me into the depths. I reach the luxurious door wound like a spring, but otherwise unharmed.

The room it spits me out in leaves me blind and uneasy. I pause when the door closes, frozen in place. My ears strain, panic pushing me to survey what I can how I can. I’m too aware of everything I’ve heard of the council to push down the fear clawing up my throat.

To believe the silence.

Families going missing. Friends put in the hospital. Children recruited. Punishments, all of it, against disobedient workers. Why would they call me here? If I did something wrong, why would they call for me instead of striking a name?

It occurs to me that I may have been looking at this wrong.

How many lists am I on?

I heard D joined the Scouts just days after I took Kane’s job offer. Half the Cube must be on his with how many strays he picks up. Then there’s the members of The Collective I saw on the way in. Haz, Jezebeth, who knows how many others? Is it too much to hope that they don’t care enough for me to be on theirs’?

I’m not the most rebellious out of us all. If Haz ignores an order or Jezebeth mouths off, could I be a target? If D refuses to hurt someone? If Gray’s out there, she vanishes at the drop of a hat. If it’s decided she needs incentive to stay here, am I on her list?

I know I could take out the council if I wanted to. I could level the entire base, leave a hole in the Cube so deep nothing could crawl out of it. It could be over, the lists and the jobs and the orders.

But I can’t—more accurately, I won’t.

I’ve been hasty before and had it come back to bite me. Destroyed Tchaikovsky’s original compound not long after I left, ended up with the man himself on my doorstep because I convinced myself he was gone.

If that happens with the Scouts, worse will happen than a single nightmare haunting me. I’ve made death too temporary here. No matter what I want, they would come back.

No.

I have to find out what they want like a good little soldier.

I take a miraculously steady breath and unclench my hands. I didn’t realize I’d curled them in so tight. I focus on the sting and imagine the half-moon impressions on my palm when I step out into the dark.

I don’t know if they’ve been watching me—I’m not sure if they could, it’s so dark—but a light flicks on before I take more than a few steps. Before my bearings can become more mixed up than they already are. Before I can trip up the stairs to the raised platform illuminated in the spotlight just in front of me.

I manage not to hesitate to climb onto the circular platform and settle in the center. The dramatics of the whole thing make it feel so staged it’s almost easy to pretend it’s all for show.

Just another performance.

I can do that.

I hold my head high to slide my gaze over the seven figures seated above me. I work to keep myself from showing even a flicker of the defiance or fear I feel, but I know better than to think I fully succeed. I’ve faced worse than the council, but I’ve cracked at less.

I probably should have put on my uniform before coming here, though I haven’t touched it once since receiving it. It might make me seem more conforming. Less like I’m spitting in their face just by existing.

At first glance the council members appear identical. Their white hoods block what little of the light focused on me hitting them, fabric masks cover what the hood doesn’t. Unlike the standard Scout uniform, aside from the arrogance of being white while the rest of us need the black uniforms to keep from being seen, their sleeves cover their arms, snug against the seams of their shorter gloves.

The longer I stand here in silence, though, the more I see.

The hood of the second to the right bulges, the telltale sign of horns or too much hair hidden underneath. Their mirror has a snout, their mask fitted to compensate. A shadow looms behind the center chair, and it takes me a second to recognize them as wings. On the far left, red eyes gleam through the shadows of the hood.

Devon.

I don’t linger on him, wary of revealing I know the guy. I doubt that would help either of us out any.

My chest hurts, the anxiety now physically painful. I don’t know what they’re waiting for. Am I supposed to say something? Am I supposed to suffer and wait? I can’t make a wrong move here.

I might be hot shit in the Cube, but this isn’t my territory. I have too much history of disobedience, too much power. I could sway half of this universe against them if I tried, they know I could walk out of here and unmake them with barely a thought.

But they also know I don’t enjoy ruining the ending of a good story.

And that’s the whole reason I’m here, isn’t it?

So I wait, hands at my sides, obedient. I won’t give them any reason to believe I’m a threat. They’re just as good at setting hidden plots in motions as I am.

“Perry.”

I incline my head rather than speak aloud. I don’t know if I’d be able to hide my surprise at Devon being the one to address me first.

“You have shown remarkable ability, considering how long you were—” he pauses and the others hiss a breath on cue. “—away.”

Do they rehearse these things?

“It’s as if you never left,” he purrs. “Aside from the rebellious attitude you seem to have shed.”

Rebellious attitude.

I lift my head, careful not to move too fast, and turn my eyes on Devon.

I’ve met him once, not long before I ‘went away.’ He was cold and completely ignored me until Kane left the room. His gaze felt like it could read everything about me, but all I could do was glare at him like the little shit I was when I was eight.

I can’t remember what he said, when he finally spoke to me, but it confused me. Something about Kane. I can almost find the shape of the words, but they’ve been lost to time.

The figure in the center chair shifts. Their wings catch the light, though not enough for me to really see them. It would be too easy to identify them if I did, I suppose.

“Your supervisor has hinted that your current classification is restricting both your efficiency and improvement.” The winged council member’s voice snakes through the room, high and smooth. Unfamiliar. “Knowing this, your council has seen fit to elevate you to your previous status.”

I raise my brows, but still say nothing. This isn’t what I expected. Not only am I not being threatened, I’m being promoted? Skipping a classification?

“Your talents are wasted in F-Class—see that you continue to impress.”

Ah, there’s the threat.

“Do you require any clarifications or reminders of what returning to D-Class will require of you?” a thin wheeze asks from the far right. “It has been several years, after all.”

I hesitate.

I remember how it works. My supervisor will fill my PDA with pre-screened jobs for me to choose from instead of handpicking them for me. I have a quota, a balance between jobs of different sizes, that I’m expected to fill. He doesn’t have to shadow me. He technically doesn’t have to contact me at all unless I’m behind, but expecting Kane to leave me alone is laughable.

This is highly unusual.

Both times I was promoted as a kid, Kane walked in and announced it by throwing me an official description of my new responsibilities and a new PDA equipped for them. As far as I know, the council doesn’t do this. This isn’t how this works.

But Kane warned me about being clever. What would they consider cheek? Would asking why they decided to give me the news be presumptuous? Would asking any question be ruled as another strike against me?

In the end, I ask when I’ll be getting my D-Class PDA. The one in my pocket will be useless in my new role.

The winged council member’s face mask strains in a smile, and I can’t help the feeling they’re laughing at me. I don’t move, sure that if I do I won’t be leaving this room.

“It was delivered to your supervisor moments ago,” they say. “You’d better go get it.”

It would be hard to miss a dismissal as pointed as that.

I dip my head in a nod, touch my left hand to my right shoulder in a hasty salute, and turn on my heel. It takes all of my self control not to run.

When I open the door to leave the room, I step out back in the fresh air of forest instead of the terrible hall. A handful of sticks falls from my hand, and I have to re-orient myself. The taste of fear still sticky in my throat, the dreamscape a thick web clinging to my skin.

I’ll have to deal with that later. I have to get the PDA from Kane. I have to sort through the terror keeping me from scooping up sticks with any kind of efficiency. I have to decide if the satisfaction at a promotion makes me a bad person or not.

Leaving a dream is always a lot harder than getting into it, and I’m starting to wonder if I ever really leave them anymore.