#had a conversation with my buddy friend about how birds will sometimes fly into power lines by mistake

[peachphernalia]

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do you ever see yourself ?

[alt ver. with different colors under the cut and ramble in tags]

[dream by joku]

[fairymadnessyeah]

A Definitely Real Dad

Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24016309

Summary: Gyro seeks advice from an expert when he is faced with his greatest foe yet: Parenting an adorable real boy.

Or Alternatively: Mad scientist feeling emotions for tiny adorable robot needs help from tired and expert parent that is also a sailor.

Notes: This needs to happen.

Also Ducktales Disney right now: "You get a child, you get a child, you get a child, EVERYBODY GETS A CHILD!!!!"

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"Why do you think Doctor Gearloose invited us to his lab?" Huey asked his companions Louis, Dewey, Webby, Della and Donald as they rode the elevator to the underwater laboratory below McDuck Enterprises'.

The elevator dinged and open its doors, revealing Doctor Gearloose looking at a piece of paper while Manny, Lil Bulb and Fenton working on a turbine.

"Oh, the ducks are here!" Gyro exclaims, folding the paper he had on his hands and pocketing it in his pants. He gently leads the family to where his partners were working as he explains why he needed them here. "I need your assistance testing my new mega super plane turbine powered by gold!"

Almost all the ducks present gasp in amazement and run towards the invention. The only one that looks at it in suspicion is the mature Donald Duck. He eventually shrugs it off, his uncle's employee wouldn't purposely put his kids in danger. But then he feels a feathered hand on his shoulder and a dark aura behind him. He turned around slowly, the feathers at the back of his neck standing up.

Doctor Gyro Gearloose was looking down at him, his face neutral and the light shining against his glasses hid his eyes, making him look extremely intimidating. "You will come with me Mr Duck," The scientist tells him slowly and threateningly.

As the unluckiest duck on the world was being shoved to a side room by the mad scientist, his family, ignorant to what was happening to him, kept playing with the machine. Although it didn't take long for the kids and Della to lose interest. As the turbine got boring, they noticed that the duck sailor was missing. Fenton dismissed their worries though, telling them that Doctor Gearloose probably needed him for something and continued to show them his inventions.

"And these are my spy-bugs," Fenton presents, showing them a bunch of different flying insects robots. Pressing a code on a mini-computer, the firefly one activates, lifting into the air. "With these little guys, we would be able to have 24-hour surveillance. They all work in a hive-mind structure and are controlled by this remote device that can be connected with any sort of memory RAM. NOW CONTEMPLATE!" Fenton uses the remote device to move the firefly out of the room and then turn on the giant computer of the lab and it starts showing what the robot is recording.

"HOW COME YOU WON'T DO IT!?"  A shout echoes nearby the robot and Fenton, recognising Dr Gearloose voice, makes the machine follow the sound. They see an office where Gyro is holding Donald by his uniform and shaking him. The scientist then sighs and lets him go.  "Well, If you won't cooperate, then you leave me no choice!"  Gyro declares as he takes off his glasses dramatically and stands taller over the duck, looking ready to destroy him.

"PLEEEEEEESSSSSEEEEEEEE!"

The peppers let go of the breath they were holding. Gyro had not done anything to Donald, instead, he fell to his knees and begged the other bird as he held his glasses in his hands clasped like a prayer.

"Alright, I'll help you," Donald sighs, his voice resembling that of a normal being. Dewey said he sounded like an actor from one of those comic book movies that everybody got crazy for. "But I can't guarantee results," Gyro got up and, out of nowhere, got top-notch audio recording gear and sat on a stool with a note pad and a pen.

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"First," Donald started. "You need to listen. Listen to what they say, how they say it and what they don't say. That is usually where the problems appear,"

"You also need to be trustworthy. You want them to come to you with their problems. But until that happens, you need to show them that you can and will help them solve their problem,"

"But if they don't tell me what's wrong how am I supposed to know that something is even wrong?" Gyro asks.

"That is the next tip, notice the little details. For example, whenever Huey drinks chocolate-milk with three spoons of cocoa powder instead of two, means that his junior woodchuck meeting didn't go so well; Whenever Dewey does a dance that consists of two spins, one flip and landing on bent knees and jazz hands means he is proud of something; or whenever Louis gets a wrinkle next to his right eye, means he is lying,"

"But the two most important things you need to remember and never forget is that you are a parent and that your life is not only yours anymore,"

"What do you mean?" Gyro asks again. "I am his parent, what else would I be?"

"It means that you aren't his friend, you aren't his buddy that will never get mad and will do anything for you. You are his parent and sometimes, you have to be the bad guy of the story," Donald tells him.

"And the life-thing?"

"It's his no. You eat what they want to eat, you eat what they want to eat, you watch what they want to watch. Your life revolves around them, they matter more than you or your feelings now,"

Gyro nods and it looks like he is about to say something but the screen turns black.

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"Hey," Dewey complains as the image disappears.

"I'm sorry little ducks, but that seemed like a private conversation and I refuse to eavesdrop on it anymore," Fenton tells them as the robotic-firefly returns and he leaves it with the rest. "Come, I have more inventions you can play with it," He gently guides them away from the monitor.

The ducks follow him with Lil Bulb behind them, except for one. The grown woman was starring at the screen. Every time she believed that she understood how the last years without her had been for her twin, she found out that there was something she had missed. And Donald's examples, about the tiniest details of the boys, she didn't know any of them, yet Donald seemed to know them by heart.

"Mom?" Dewey called as he turned back for her, after noticing she didn't follow them.

"Comin' honey" She snapped out of her inner monologue and followed her kids.

They spent a whole afternoon testing and helping Fenton, at some point, even Boyd joined them. The kids spent the evening together, playing, laughing and catching up. Boyd was now living full-time at the lab with Dr Gearloose, Manny and Lil Bulb.

The drakes had not taken the news very well, believing that once Boyd left, things would go back to the way things were before him. But the real boy made sure to pass his half of the inheritance to the two responsible adults, leaving Doofus without the power to be richer than his parents. They were all making plans for Boyd to come and sleepover at McDuck when the duck and the rooster that were missing came into the room. Dewey was the first one to ask for the cybernetic boy to come over.

"Well, I have no problem with it," Donald said in his normal voice.

"May I go, Dr Gearloose?" Boyd asks, looking up to the scientist.

"Maybe some other time, we still have to check if there is any residual damage from Beaks viruses on you," The chicken explains and pats the real boy on the head.

"Alright, thank you Dr Gearloose,"

Not long after the duck family is leaving, as well as Dr Fenton. Manny also retreated to his quarters soon enough. Gyro was working on Boyd wiring while the real boy was telling him about his day.

"And Mrs mom was very sad when I got to leave but she told me I can return any moment,"

"Would you like that?" Gyro asks remembering what Donald had told him.  ("Make him feel listened to. Do things he likes, and if they want to do anything without you, let him be. You are not the only person in his life.")

"Yes, that would be splendid! Once my programme is clear, could we visit?" Boyd asks.

"Of Course we can," Gyro tells him as he closes the lid on the robot's head. "But now it's time to recharge so that you have all your energy for tomorrow. You have that Woodchuck-thingy you like, right?"

"Yes, my Junior Woodchuck meeting, at 9:30 sharp, remember to bring Ice-pops wood sticks," He says as if reading a remainder on a calendar while the scientist and his creation when to Boyd's room.

The room used to be a storage closet for failed projects, but they put up a sliding door to give Boyd more privacy. The real boy had a closet, a small library with a study table, a laptop, some video-games and a bed. The bed was more like a nest, with a Japanese mattress and a lot of pillows and blankets piled up to make a circular form. Boyd would usually sleep in the middle with the blankets and pillows cocooning him in warmth. Next to his bed-nest, there is a tall bulbless lamp. Doctor Gyro used to have it in his room since it was Lil Bulb's resting place, but the little rascal moved it once Boyd's room started being furnished.

"Alright, I'll drive you tomorrow and we will pick up what you need on the way," Gyro tells him as he connects wires to his back panel to charge him. "If you need anything I will be on the room next door," The chicken said.  ("Always remind him that you are there for him. Kids tend to forget that,")

"Goodnight, Dr Gearloose!"

"Goodnight, Boyd!" He sees Lil Bulb climbing the lamp and posting himself on the top, before the light it emitted turned off before he leaves the room.

As soon as he is outside, the renewed scientist with a high intellect punched the air in excitement as the word "Success!" went off in his mind. When he turned to his side, heading towards his room, he saw Manny in front of his own door. The two scientists looked at each other for a while, no one moving, until the rooster fixes his clothes and his glasses.

"Not a tap from you, or your headless behind is fired," He tells the horse as he steps into his room.

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Another date, another morning, another day where Doctor Gyro Gearloose wakes up to another mistake made by naive and foolish Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera that he had to deal with. This time in the form of a weird duck dressed in so much black, that the scientist is willing to bet its a hobo-emo that his stupid ex-intern picked up last night. The guy looks extremely beat up and not alone. There is also that stupid pilot that hangs around McDuck and a girl duckling.

Gyro sighs frustrated and rubs his temples. He did not have time for this. He had to take Boyd to his scouts meeting and even buy something on the way there.

"Explanation, Now," Gyro demand as he goes closer and checks on the individual better.

Launchpad, Fenton and the kid, who he learns her name is Gosalyn and the daughter of said hobo-emo, tell him that Gizmoduck and Darkwing Duck had a sort of agreement. They each take turns patrolling the city, both day and night, but last night, Darkwing came upon something too big for him and Gosalyn, who Gyro was starting to realize had more brain cells than the three adults combined, called Gizmoduck for back up. The two self-proclaimed superheroes ended the job, but the one not protected by a metallic super-suit, unsurprisingly, got the worst part of the stick and ended up in here to recover.

Just as they finished explaining their night full of shenanigans, Boyd came out into the main room of the lab, wearing his Junior Woodchuck uniform and a backpack.

"Oh, hi! I am B.O.Y.D! A definitely real boy!" The android says once he notices the other unknown ducks in the room.

"I want them out of my lab by the moment I'm back, Crackshell. Understood?" Gyro threatens the other scientist, that nods in response, and then turns to Boyd. "Come on Boyd, we don't want to be late to your meeting," The boy takes his hand and the two walk to the elevator.

"It was nice to meet you!" Boyd tells the others and waves as the elevator doors close.

The two birds head to the central park of Duckberg, stopping on a convenience store on their way. Using his moped is easier and faster than any car, not needing to wait for traffic. And even if Boyd can fly, he had already told him to only use his robotic enhancements when needed. Not to mention that it also helps with one of the tips he was given yesterday.  ("You have to prioritize him. Once everything is done with him, you can follow with your day,")

The reach the park fairly quickly, but when he gives Boyd the things they bought for this meeting, he notices that the backpack moves. It takes him a second to realize that Bulb never came out of the boy's room.

"Come on out Lil Bulb," He tells the backpack, and sure enough, said invention comes out of the little boy's knapsack.

"He wanted to accompany me to my Junior Woodchuck meeting," Boyd tells him. "Can he come?" ("You have to set rules, boundaries. There are things that they can't do or can't touch. And you have to tell him so, because even if it sounds obvious to you, it might not to them.")

"He can't Boyd, I need him at the lab," He explains to the real boy.

"Understood. Goodbye, Doctor Gearloose!"

"I'll see you at lunch," The scientist gets back on his moped and straps his helmet on. He notices that Lil Bulb is giving his back to him with his arm crossed, as if offended over what happened. "Oh please, don't be difficult you too,"

As he makes his way back to the underwater lab, he can't help the feeling that those three lunatic and that girl are gonna be there. Not surprisingly, when the elevator's doors ding open, the idiot, the stupid and the girl are marvelling at the facility and its contents as hobo-emo was slowly getting off the table he was laid in and stretching his column back into place.

"Gosalyn, don't touch that! You don't know what it does!" He reprimands the girl.

Gyro sighs defeated and pours himself a cup of coffee. As he sips his revival elixir, his mind wanders at the purple and black buffoon before him. The guy was in a dire need of an upgrade. He didn't scream battle-suit like Gizmo, but maybe a few gadgets and a more protective and lasting outfit would benefit him. If the guy was going to go around and try to be a nameless and unrecognised vigilante, the least he could do was have more than just a costume and a poor ensemble of sidekicks.

"Gosalyn, No, Get down from there!" Or maybe what he needed was something else.

Gyro looked at the girl duckling, who was balancing over an old cloning tube of his, and then back at the nightly superhero, who had red lines over his eyes, enormous black bags under his eyes, a stiff neck and almost ready to drop dead any second now. Analysing the facts he had, he made a decision.

"Gosalyn, Get down from there, We need to go! Now!" The dark avenger of the night kept scolding the younger duck, that still lead him nowhere.

"Here," Gyro, out of nowhere, presented a card to the shorter man. "A parenting expert, it seems like you need it,"

Drake looks between the card and the scary mad scientist twice before taking the card. Gyro left him alone once he took it to keep working on his inventions, leaving Drake to his own devices with the card.

Donald Duck xxx-xxxx-xxxx McDuck Manor's Pool

[ghostofvixx]

First Disgrace- ML

Asbolo was a centaur that could predict if something good or bad was going to happen based on the flight of birds. Mark, as his descendant, lives a quiet life until, by chance, he meets Pandora’s box guardian.

Words: 4k

Genre: fluff

Warnings: Cringey at times?? + It’ts not exactly just like greek mythology, I’ve made up some things sorry ksks. Idk what this is tbh, but I felt like doing one of these projects and BAM Mark happened, so I hope you enjoy it uwu.

Mark is guided by signs, therefore, he’s not an Oracle. 

To be a descendant from Asbolo sometime’s is fun, but people tend to confuse terms and end up coming to him to ask things about their future.

Like at this exact moment.

“Mark, can’t you try it even once?" Chenle pouts. "I'm tired of being lonely."

"You're an elf, can't you just focus on your job?"

"How can I focus on my job when I'm a lonely elf?"

"Just... Okay, forget it." Mark rolls his eyes and looks at his friend. "Look, I can't tell you anything about your future, I can't see it, you should ask the Oracle instead."

"Do you think the Oracle will listen to me?"

"I don't know how busy they are, but they can give you an answer at least."

"Okay, goodbye buddie, have a nice day." Chenle cheers up a little and leaves Mark's house. He sighs once again.

Why can't people understand he's not an Oracle?

Mark's power is way much different, maybe not as powerful, but still very useful. If there's a white pigeon, he knows that something good is going to happen. However, if the bird he sees is a black crow, that means disgrace. Sometimes, by instinct, he knows what is going to happen and to whom. Some others, it's very difficult to crack the code and he can't tell exactly. Maybe, if he's feeling lucky, he knows what to do: if he should follow the bird, if he shouldn't because it may be dangerous, etc.

Asbolo was a centaur, one of the wisest ones. He could tell destiny only studying the bird's flight, just like Mark does. How he died remains being a mystery that happened twenty years ago. Right after that and since the world needed to keep its stability, Mark was born as the one who would replace the great Asbolo.

In spite of being well known because of his power and having guests every day, Mark considers his life boring. Through all his life there hasn't been a single disgrace, he has seen some, but nothing serious. Why does he have that power if nothing is going to happen? All he does is smiling when he sees a white pigeon and has a good feeling, and get worried when he sees a black crow.

And, like that, his day goes on. He takes a walk to see his friends, he visits Chenle once again and cheers him up, they talk a little about Jisung and Haechan since they haven't seen them in a while, he gets a few things to cook and then comes back. His days are always as boring. When he gets to his small house, he tries to cook, as always, when he sees it.

A white pigeon.

He smiles, wondering who will that white pigeon make happy that day. Then, the pigeon flies away and Mark feels his curiosity building up.

He begins to walk faster and faster until his feet gain speed on their own, and he finds himself running after it. His little town gets lost and suddenly he only sees a big field and mountains. He doesn’t know where he is, but that doesn’t stop him from following that white pigeon into the mountains, where the relief gets more uneven and it’s hard to orient yourself.

He doesn’t feel tired in spite of running such a long way, in fact, he doesn’t feel nothing at all. He doesn’t come to his senses until the white animal finally stops flying and lands in front of what Mark thinks it’s the entrance of a cave. He turns around to look at the small animal, as if it could have the answers, but it was no longer there, so he supposes that he has to get inside.

It’s just the way he thought it would be: dark, humid, very cold.

“I’m Asbolo’s descendant, what am I doing here?” He whispers to himself, not expecting to listen to his voice as loud as if he had just said it out loud. Suddenly, he hears some weird noises coming from deep inside the cave.

“Is anybody here?” He asks, knowing he probably wouldn’t get an answer.

But he does.

“What are you doing here?” A feminine voice asks rudely. The voice makes Mark open his eyes widely as he feels his hair standing on. He doesn’t answer, too scared to talk. “I asked you a question!” The voice says again, angrily.

“I- I got lost and somehow ended up h-here, I‘m s-so sor-ry.” He apologises when he finds his voice.

“Did Renjun guide you here?” The voice asks, this time more calmly.

“Wh-which Renjun? My Renjun?"

“I don't know who your Renjun is, he's my guardian angel.”

It's his friend then.

He thinks of the white pigeon that has brought him there. Angels have the ability to turn themselves into whatever they want to, could it be him?

“I-I don’t really know, I just followed the pigeon and ended up here, may I know who am I talking to?“

The voice sighs deeply.

“I guess Renjun sent you here, so why not. I’m the guardian of Pandora’s box, the box that contains all the evil things that could deeply hurt both, the human’s and the god’s world.” Mark then pictures an old woman and that makes him feel more relaxed. He has been told a lot of time how the guardian looks like."Who are you?”

“I’m Mark, Asbolo’s descendant.”

“Nice to meet you, Mark.” The woman takes a few steps to the front and, in spite of the low light, he can see her perfectly.

She’s not the way he had been told.

A young, beautiful girl comes to his encounter. She can’t be older than him, he supposes she might have around her age.

“N-nice to meet you eh-”

“Y/n.”

“S-sure, y/n.” Mark is beyond embarrassed, he wasn’t expecting to find such a young person looking after something so important.

“I don’t know if Renjun is the one who brought you here, Mark, but I guess you don’t want to be here, nobody would. I suggest you to go back to the place you live.”

And if you're surprised to find out that someone has gotten into your cave for no apparent reason, Mark is even more surprised. He takes a quick bow, showing his respects to such an important person in the god’s world, and turns around to leave. He doesn’t know how, but he will find his way back home and forget all this mess happened.

The following day he is still confused. It is his first interesting experience ever, so he isn’t sure how to react.

“What does it really mean?” He whispers to himself. “Did Renjun really wanted me to look after her? But why would he?“

He knows the angel, he considers him a friend, but since he’s a guardian angel, he’s always in some type of mission or is too busy to hang out with his friends. He would have warned him about something like this, even if they barely talk.

He shakes his head and puts on his clothes, then walks down the stairs to go to the kitchen and have breakfast, exactly the same thing as yesterday. But then, when he looks through the window, he finds a white pigeon

He ignores it, maybe that's the best thing to do, right? But when he doesn't even look again to the white pigeon, the animal gets angry for no reason and starts to chip Mark's shoulder, without hurting him.

"What?" He asks. "What are you doing here again?"

The animal ignores him as it continues to chip the boy's shoulder. Mark sighs once again.

"You're here to take me there, right?" He asks the pigeon. "If anyone comes here and finds me talking to an animal, I'm sure they'll think I'm crazy instead of wise." He knows he shouldn't listen to whoever is behind the animal's behaviour, but he does in anyways. Only because it won't go away and the constant attempts to catch his attention are getting more and more annoying.

So he finds himself running again, behind the small creature. This time, he knows he has memorized the way there.

"You're here again?" He hears when he comes into the deepest part of the cave and sees you sitting with your legs crossed right in front of a small box, looking at it.

"I don't know why I'm here either." He answers.

"Well, I guess I have no choice but to listen to Renjun." You sigh. "I told him I could handle this on my own, but apparently he thinks I'm too weak."

"Where is he?" Mark asks, feeling curious about his friend's location.

"He's acting as some demigod's guardian angel. Apparently that boy needs a miracle or else he would retire." You explain.

"Can you retire from being a demigod?"

"No, but you can always give up." You shrug. Mark doesn't think he's going to have a real conversation because you won't even dare to look away from the box.

"Do you have to be looking at that box all the time?"

"Are you aware of what would happen if I don't?" You snap.

"Well, I guess you have a point." He takes a seat right beside you.

"Don't you dare to talk to me, stupid."

"There's no need to insult!" He defends himself. "Besides, what else can I do? I have to find out why Renjun sent me, we barely talk nowadays because he's always busy, now I know why though. Still, why would it be me?"

You stay silent, but don't stop the boy from rambling all day long about this and that, about his friends, about traditions and myths. You've been alone your entire life, only Renjun was there to help you and make you company, and he's not the most cheerful of the angels, he loves to nag and tease you but still, you love him. However, now that there's another person... You don't know how you feels, but it's somewhere between "can this boy just shut up" and a "well, it doesn't feels as bad."

Any of you realise how the pigeon's wings, as white as sugar, slowly turn black.

***

Days went through, Renjun was nowhere to be seen, but any of you cared as much as before. Mark didn't even need the white pigeon anymore, he would just go by your side by instinct, he would talk to you about anything and wait for you to slowly tell him about yourself and your life.

He wasn't successful biggest part of the time, but sometimes you would open up.

"So, how did you meet Renjun?"

"Is it really important, Mark?" You answer tiredly, knowing that the boy won't ever give up.

"Come on, you know my entire life, tell me something about you!" He cheers.

You sigh.

"I know your entire life because you won't stop talking." You tease. "But anyways, there's nothing interesting to tell. I've been locked here ever since I was born."

"And still you're such an interesting person, how do you do it?" He whispers out of the blue.

"What?" You pretend you haven't heard him.

"Nothing, I was just thinking random things." He blushes. "Back to the point, how did you meet Renjun?"

And maybe it's because nobody has really ever wanted to get to know you, and that makes you have a soft spot for that adorable blonde boy, or maybe because you finally have someone to talk to apart from Renjun and that makes you feel excited, but you end up explaining it to him anyways.

"I've always lived here, since I was born, so from a young age I've been aware of the importance of this box." You look at the small object in front of you, as you always do. "Since it's an important job and nobody wants me to be as irresponsable as Pandora was, I need supervision. A lot of different creatures offered, but Renjun was the only one who could fit what I really needed."

"Why?"

"He became my friend. In spite of nagging me a lot, he always told me about how's the world outside from here and warned me about everything, he takes good care of me even when he has to be someone else's guardian angel." You ramble.

"I have a theory." Mark comments.

"Huh?"

"You like him." You slap his arm strongly and he complains.

"Drop that theory, he's like my little brother." You scoff.

Because actually truth is that ever since you learnt about love, you think you may like the boy you had always seen like a brother, but you don't want Mark to know.

"Don't worry, I understand it." He comments, but you don't add anything else. "He may be listening to us though."

"That's right, the pigeon may be him." You comment sarcastically. "Is it here though?"

"To be honest it's been a few days from the last time I saw it, I've memorized my way here."

"That's brave, you're the only one who could."

"It's my first adventure, I have to." He smiles and puts a hand on your shoulder. You freeze.

Your heart feels warm by that gesture.

"O-okay."

Mark stand up and makes his way outside the cave when he stops.

"Look! It's here!"

"What?"

"The pigeon, it's here." He specifies. Suddenly, he frowns.

"What's wrong?"

"It's wings and a part of his head are black."

"And?"

"It wasn't like that before, and I don't have a good feeling about this."

"Make your way to your house fast and safe, then." You warn him without thinking about it. You think you may have sounded creepy, but he smiles widely, and your hear stops.

"I will! See you tomorrow!"

Mark is dangerous.

No, actually, the way you keep forgetting Renjun and your heart jumps at the thought of Mark is.

***

“Then, if you see a white pigeon you always have a good feeling?” You ask him, making some small talk while both of you have your eyes fixed on the box, just like you've been doing these past months since your first encounter.

“Not always. Pigeons in general, but overall white pigeons, represent good things, but for me to have a good feeling about them, there have to be more factors that just the animal.”

“Such as?”

“The way it flights, the direction, if it approaches any creature living in this world or stays away. Not all pigeons have good intentions, or intentions at all, that’s why it’s important to study them very well.” 

You stay quiet, because you have no words. You’re fascinated about him, he’s nothing compared to the clumsy boy you once met. In your eyes, he has completely changed. But you know that even if you accepted that you have feelings for him, you wouldn’t confess, because he doesn’t like you back.

How do you know? Well, it’s easy. He has a life outside the cave. When Renjun comes back from wherever he is, Mark will return to his house and forget all this happened, he would probably end up forgetting the hermit he met in his first adventure as Asbolo’s descendant.

But you know your feelings will remain intact.

“It’s not fun if you don’t give me a reaction.” You chuckle at the boy’s comment.

“It’s so cool Mark, I wish I could do something like that. I admire you a lot.”

But you obviously don’t know how crazy Mark’s heart beats at your words too.

“Th-thank you y/n. I actually admire a lot what you do, it must be so hard.” 

Yes, it is, when I can’t give you what I want to give you.

“Anyways.” He continues. “Only the great Asbolo can do it the proper way, I’m still learning by interpreting what he left written in books, but I can give you some tricks to know the basics.”

“Okay.” You agree. Any bird would get inside a cave, so you know you will never use it, but it still sounds interesting.

“You may not know what is going to happen and to whom, but if you see a pigeon then it will deliver a good message, as I’ve said before. However, if you see a crow, then is totally the opposite.”

“Bad news?”

“Yes. Crows usually mean death or bad signs, so if you see a crow, then a disgrace will happen, to anyone from this world or the human's world. That's why there are so many pigeon as well as crows."

You nod in understanding.

“I don’t think I’ll ever use it, but thank you though.” Now that you’ve grow some confidence in him, you feel brave enough to ask about more things. “Have you contacted Renjun?”

“No.” He answers. “But maybe I should convince a pigeon to do so, we have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

“Absolutely. He has some explaining to do.” You smile, but it fades away when another question crosses your mind. “Do you regret wasting your time here?”

“Absolutely not.” Mark says, his heart beating as fast as yours. "How can I regret being with you?"

***

Mark did as promised, he sent his friend Renjun a letter explaining the situation. 

From there, the first disgrace happened.

“Mark, I’m glad to hear that you are taking good care of y/n when I’m not there, but you should know I’m not the person who sent that pigeon, so I know nothing about all that. My adventure with this demigod called Jeno might end up soon, so please, wait for me.

Keep looking after y/n too, please.”

“But if Renjun is not the reason behind that theory, what is it?” He thought out loud. Then, all the suspicious things he had noticed -such as why would a bird guide him to Pandora’s box guardian, or why would a white pigeon have black stains- were slowly lining up.

And all that he could think of you being in danger. Not even the cursed box was important when you could be in danger by just looking after it, so he made the way he had already memorised, his feet were once again moving on their own just like that day, but this time they knew exactly where to go.

On the other side, you began your morning just as usual. You didn’t usually sleep at night, and had never ever felt the need to, you were born with just one purpose and it was to never lose the box of your sight, but lately you had been feeling more tired, distracted, and even caught yourself daydreaming about how would your life be if you weren’t doing this. By his side, of course.

You were too busy on your own thoughts when you heard something that made you freeze in fear. A cawing. What was a crow doing in a cave if they didn't get inside caves?

"What is someone is in danger?" You question yourself. If this bird has approached you out of all the people in both worlds then the only person that could be in danger is... Him. "Mark's in danger!" You shouted, scared.

Then you did the most stupid thing you’ve ever done.

You ran away, not even caring about the box, or that your life was in danger, and everyone else’s, you just had to. If a crow had found your cave and Asbolo and his descendant say it means no good, then it can’t be good.

You had been running without knowing where to go for a few minutes when, by chance, you saw him. His eyes widened and he ran towards you. You did the same.

“Are you okay y/n?” His eyes scanned you looking for a wound as he held you tightly

“I-I don’t k.know. I s-saw a crow in m-my c-cave and I thought you may be hurt and I was so scared." You tried to explain.

"I'm fine, don't worry, I'm here." His words made you feel finally at ease, you hugged him without thinking. It was nice to know he wasn't hurt.

He did it back, as tightly as he could.

You stayed like that for a while, until you tried to break the hug.

"Don't." He said. "Let me stay like that a little longer you don't know for how long I've been wanting to do this."

And you didn't know.

Maybe he liked you back?

"I'm glad you're not hurt, seriously, I was on my way to see you." You decide to say to break the silence.

"You were going to check if I was alright? Were you that worried about me that you were going to look for me when you don't know where I live?"

"Stop teasing! You already know the answer." You broke the hug, successfully this time, pretending to be mad.

You just weren't expecting him to press his lips softly against yours in a sweet kiss. You didn't move until you were able to register what was happening. Then, you kissed him back, feeling his smile growing as you did.

Everything was going great, until something interrupted you. A cold, black fog spread through the field you were in, making it almost impossible to know what was right in front of you, black clouds appeared in the sky, blocking the sun. But the creepiest thing was what you could listen to: all types of creatures, from your world to human's world, shouting in fear as the ugliest creatures to ever exist roared.

Then everything went quiet and everything went back to normal. But that silence was the worst, it meant that the biggest disaster had taken place.

"Pandora's box has been opened." You say, terrified.

Mark looked as terrified as you, he was unable to move.

"B-by who?"

"I don't know Mark, but I wasn't there to stop it from happening."

***

Everything happened so fast.

Pandora's box had been opened. In a matter of seconds everyone knew what had happened. The gods called you, you knew you were going to be killed when you stepped on The Olimpus. In that moment, you could only think of Renjun and Mark and how much suffering you had caused to them.

"You didn't do your job properly." Athena, the goddess that had always supported you knowing how hard your job was and that had always given you the best advices, the goddess that introduced you to Renjun, was looking at you disappointed.

"I know, I deserve to be punished." You bowed, giving up.

"You do deserve to be punished." She answered solemnly. "But we suspect that there's something behind all this situation. A crow opened the box because it had been ordered to do so. We've also discovered that it had gone through a process of metamorphosis. At first it was a pigeon. Probably it was created to distract you and someone else from your initial job."

You shivered.

"That's why all of us have decided that you will live until everything is fixed, since you may be helpful. By the moment, you are exiled and you can't come back to the god's world unless we need you."

Not seeing Mark and Renjun again, but being alive to suffer the pain was just as bad as being dead. And to only be able to say goodbye to one of them only was even harder.

"I trust you Y/n, but it's for the best." Athena said, then she turned around and left.

You found Mark when you left The Olimpus, he already had been communicated your sentence.

"Renjun is nowhere to be seen." Mark read your mind.

"I hope he's doing fine. Tell him I say goodbye if you ever see him."

"I will." He remained quiet until you turned around and made your way to leave. "Wait y/N."

You stopped abruptly.

"Let me go with you." He suggested.

"Are you crazy? Mark this is not-"

"Look, I know." He interrupted you and held your hand. "This is a mess, this whole situation is, but I'm sure that you will eventually figure out what to do because you know that box better than anyone else. Let me go with you, we'll think together."

You were touched by his words, but you didn't want him to go through that.

"Mark you belong here, you can't just leave."

"I'll hide well, I promise!" You remained cold. "Look, you don't have to take the blame all by yourself, let me be with you, please."

You considered it.

But inside your head, everything that was happening could only be solved if you were with him.

"We will find a solution together, okay?" You answered and Mark kissed the top of your head. It was a difficult situation, but you knew that at least you could count on him.

[myfeetkeepdancing]

Unsustainable - (3/9)

!Disclaimer: I do NOT ship the people on the banner or any gifs showing up in the fanfic. They helped me visualize and are part of my writing experience. Much love for Tom Holland & Cody Christian!

Summary: An accident happened in which the reader has gotten powers. The reader is struggling to adjust to his new powers but also to keep them secret from Peter as they become closer.

Pairings: Peter Parker x Male Reader

Word count: 2635

The following days went by as any school day. Although the nosebleeds were still present, nothing else seemed wrong. On the other hand, the Raven came around from time to time, still not clear to what purpose. But it didn’t speak anymore, it watched but ignore you at the same time. While you visited Peter, May wouldn't let the opportunity pass to help you with the nosebleeds. She was convinced her homeopathic ointments would work. In great lengths, she'd explain the different flowers and what industrial giants use to poison us. Although Peter was ashamed of her at times. She was a loving and caring woman, not only for Peter. Laying on the couch, she would apply salves and ointments in and around your nose. She was convinced it worked. As soon as she's finished you quickly continue to Peter’s room, Peter looking ashamed of his aunt. But afterward making fun of the weird smell. At that point, you couldn't smell anything. If that was the only aftereffect. Returning home the trembles returned once again, and more severe. For all certainty, this wasn't caused by Aunt May's salves, but this couldn’t go on. The trembles became more severe and frequent, and even more difficult to hide. Luckily he offered help.

 Unfortunately the next morning, it was something completely different. A nasty rash had formed on your nose as it burned horribly. Throughout the night, in your sleep, you probably scratched your nose repeatedly. Therefore it bled in several places as the skin looked torn open all along the nose. A nasty sight. The only way to hide this was with bandages. Or stay home…

At your locker, you gathered your stuff for the day. The burning sensation at around the nose was terrible. The urge to scratch was irresistible. The schedule for this week was on the inside of your locker door, you scanned the table as a familiar face popped up beside you.

“Morn-” Peter stopped talking, biting his lower lip while glancing at you. “Morning Peter.” You respond with a playful smile. “How are you this fine morning?” You reply with a sarcastic undertone.

 “Please, tell me this is not May’s doing.”

 “Nah, I shaved my nose by accident this morning.”

 “Sarcasm really is your strong side isn’t it…”

 “I can think of better ones.”

“C’mon man! May is really serious about this. You have to tell her!”

 “No! I’m not gonna tell her Peter. She tried so hard. I’d be a real bummer to her.”

In the background, the school bell rang. The halls of school just became two times as busy, students rushing from both sides. Peter took a step closer, just inches away from you to add some weight to his words. And since you were a couple of inches taller than Peter. It was more evident than ever, as he looked up to you with his puppy eyes.

 “Y-You don’t understand. She asked me to invite you over tonight. If it hurts you gotta tell her.”

 “It’s alright Peter, it’s just really itchy.”

 "No, it's not (Y/N)! Anyone can see it's not working. Do me a favor. Please tell her.”

 “What? How is this doing you a favor?”

 “B-Because she has all kinds of ideas for ointments for my bruises and cuts I sometimes get from my internship. If they get the same result. I-I can’t continue doing my work there. Mr. Stark is really afraid of germs and infections. I can’t let that happen. I’ll let you smell one of them tonight. They’re horrible.”

 “Wow Peter, putting the fate of your internship in my hands. Well, I guess you finally get to spend some more time with your friends after all. No running out the movie this time.” You grin as you finish up at your locker.

 Peter’s wasn’t a person who’d get visibly angry. But his face spoke for itself. If he had the strength, he’d probably folded you in your locker. Like Flash and his buddies did to Peter last year.

 "Get that look from your face. I'll hop by later today!”  You playfully ruffle your hand through his curly hair. “Stop it (Y/N)!” Peter responds with a grin on this face.

 Suddenly Ned showed up through the crowd. He pushed himself towards Peter, pulling his hoody. "Let's go, Peter! We're gonna be late at chemistry!" Peter was grabbing at his throat, gasping for air as he's pulled into the swirling mass of students.

 “See you at lunch!” You wave at them. In response you see Peter’s hand sticking above the crowd.

 Lunchtime. Since it was a beautiful day, you choose to sit outside. The regular spot under the tree in the courtyard. A wooden bench surrounded the tree. The tree provided a sufficient amount of shadow for this warm day. And combined with a small breeze, the perfect spot. With the tray on your lap, you look out for the rest. MJ was home for the day, ill apparently. You send a text her way you would come by later. What followed was a stream of memes and weird gifs. She'd been texting all day, but in class, it was difficult to keep up with the spam. Slowly working your way through your lunch, continuing to text with MJ while waiting for Peter and Ned.

 "P-P-Penis Parker!" Was chanted on the other side of the courtyard. Peter and Ned came through the door as Flash and his buddies waited for him. Before you get a chance to react to the situation. You see Peter pushing open the door with his tray, Flash kicking the door right back. Peter didn't see it coming and tumbled on his knees, and Ned stood behind him helplessly. Peter's tray went flying as his sandwich and drink went airborne and landed in the flower garden beside the door. Defeated he got up, looking at Flash as he and his buddies walked off laughing. Peter scuffled over to you, with a defeated look on his face. Crashing on the bench, throwing his backpack on the ground, arms crossed. "I'm sorry Peter."

 “Not your fault (Y/N).” Peter lets out a big sigh, hanging his head in defeat.

 You ruffle through your bag, as you pull out a couple of muesli bars and Snickers. Handing them over. “The least I can do.”  

 “You shouldn’t, really.” Peter grumbled.

 “I’ve got nothing left, sorry Peter.” Ned mutters as he stuffs his last sandwich in his mouth.  

 “Go on. Eat something. Can’t show up at your internship with an empty stomach.”

 “That’s true. Thanks, you’re the best.”

 “H-Hey! I thou-…” Ned replies with his mouth full.

 “He’ll get what’s coming to him someday.” You look towards Flash and his buddies. Sitting on the fence, still going on about Peter. Pointing and laughing. Your mind gets clouded with thoughts that are a bit too dark for such a sunny day. If only…  You're awakened by Peter’s elbow in your side. “Stop it (Y/N). It’s fine.”

 “Lost in thoughts, that’s all…”

 “You seem quite occupied these days (Y/N).” Ned looks at you.

 “How so?”

 “I dunno know, you stare and gaze a lot these days. If something is bothering you.”

 “Oh… No, just… a lot on my mind lately. Sorry.”

 “Where were you at gymnastic anyway?” Peter turns to you.

 “Don’t have to attend for a couple of months. Got some problems with my left arm. You know… from my trip.”

 “You didn’t tell us.” Peter looking confused.

 “Mister Jamerson wrote you up as absent.” Ned added while drinking his apple juice.

 “Oh well, headmaster Mueller is aware and signed my papers.”

 “So, what happened on that trip?”

 "We went on a hike, and I fell, dislocated my shoulder, and pulled some muscles. Takes a couple of months to recover.”

 “Sounds bad, where did you go hiking?

 “Europe.” You react way too quickly. If you had it all prepared.  

“O-…”

 The sounds of flapping wings in the distant fill the courtyard. The conversation falls silent as the attention of the three is drawn to the other side of the courtyard. The sky above the yard was black with large birds as the sound of squawking birds became louder. Somehow a familiar call to you.

“A-Are those crows?” Peter says with disbelief.

 “They’re raven.” You react instantly. “I think…”

 “Where did they come from? “  Peter mumbles as the three look up at the sky. The Ravens started to circle, as out of nowhere one of them nosedives down, right at Flash. Before Flash can react the Raven spreads his wings just before he hits him. An awful screech echoes over the courtyard as the Raven darts back up and Flash tumbles down from the fence. Flash wasn't hit, but the sudden fear threw him off balance. His friends ran away the second Flash fell to the ground, leaving him alone to the flock the birds. Not that they had any means to deal with them… Terrified he looked up from the ground as the ravens circled him. For a moment he had overcome his fear as he darts back up, climbing onto the fence. One single screech from a raven unleashed a rain of pebbles. Flash hanging half onto the fence looks up as a shower of pebbles fall upon him. The students in the courtyard watch in silence as he hangs half over the fence with tears running down his face.  

 The ravens disperse as soon as they came. The courtyard falling silent again, only hearing Flash his snickering. He picks up his bag and runs inside avoiding eye contact with anyone, pushing students aside on his way to the door. "What the…?" Mouth open, Peter didn't finish his sentence. You hear a soft dud, and you look over to Ned as his sandwich lays flat on the floor. "That… was awesome!" Peter turning visibly annoyed to Ned. “You said you didn’t have any sandwiches left…?”

 “Hah! That w-…” Ned’s excitement subsides quickly as soon as he sees Peter annoyed look towards him.

 "This can't be a coincidence." Peter turns to you with a look of suspicion. "Am I right (Y/N)?"

 “I don’t know Peter.” You snarled at him.

   The school day went by quickly. Flash was nowhere to be seen around school. But it was definitely the talk of the day. You sat beside Peter again during math. From what you thought was suspicion in his looks, there seemed to be nothing left. The Ravens, they still kept your mind occupied. The one raven that flew down was terribly familiar.

 Peter didn’t have time after school. Something had made him really enthusiastic as he ran out front excusing himself. “I have things… to do at my internship. See you guys tomorrow!” He left you standing there with Ned. You both watch Peter jog away. The blazing sun shuns down as you both stand halfway on the steps of the school entrance. Ned turns to you. “Well, I gotta catch the bus, have to go to the dentist. I’ll text you when I’m done.”  

 “Good luck Ned. Talk to you later!”  

 You wave some students goodbye you know from class as you start your way home. It's only a couple of block away. And since the weather is right, you instead take a walk back home. The sun shuns bright between the skyscrapers. You put on your favorite cap to protect your eyes from the sun. Walking home wasn’t bad, especially since your favorite corner shop was a couple blocks in-between. They served the best (your favorite flavor) milkshakes in New York. With one hand you fish ear pods out of your pockets, and as always entangled with keys and pens. After the struggle with ear pods, you plug them in and continue your way, opening Spotify up you scroll through your favorite playlist. Turning by the corner shop, you pick up your favorite milkshake and continue on your way. Down the walkway into the park. The park was covered with trees, offering much shadow from the heat of the sun. You stroll down the parkways. People lay on the grass enjoying their free time. Parents playing with their children, an elderly couple resting on benches and the usual ice-cream cart. You continue your walk down the path.

  “…You didn’t look…”

 You cough violently as you almost choke on the cold stream of milkshake when you heard that dark voice from within again. Coughing hysterically you look around searching for that damn bird. It had to be the damn bird again. With watery eyes, it was difficult to take notice of any shapes. It was frustrating. You knew you couldn’t draw the attention from the other people. But you kept looking around. The damn bird could be anywhere.

 “… The bench…”

 In front you down the pathway stood a wooden bench, an old garbage can sat beside it. Nothing out of the ordinary. Several feet behind the bench towered a massive oak tree. The big crude roots stuck half out of the ground which grew up into the sturdy bark turning into large looming branches. The colorful green leaves blew calmly in the wind. It stood full grown, unable to see most of the branches. You approach the bench, with one eye on the oak. Half expecting to the raven to lurk from one of the branches.

 It wasn’t…

 You sit down and wait. Instinctively you remove your earbuds like you expected a conversation to happen at any moment. A flutter of wings made some noise on the left of you, as the claws hit the top of the bench. You look over and observe as the Raven lands on top of the bench. It's beak pointing straight ahead. This time it seemed more impressive than when it sat in the window. Its black figure stood proudly on the bench, long black feathers gently blowing with the wind. It was larger than any other raven you had seen, but one detail struck you more than anything else. The eye. From within the eye emitted some kind of searing red energy. Then it struck you. A familiar color. You knew that color all too well. As you mind wandered off, the raven turned its beak toward you.

 “…Afraid of the truth?…” You hear from within.

 “Wha-…” You try muttering a word.

 “…Stop… Talk to yourself (Y/N)…Focus… Think about what you want to say… I read your thoughts…”

 You hesitate for a moment. Then it struck you, the accident earlier in the courtyard. You thought about how you wanted to punch Flash so hard, make him pay for what he did to Peter. Peter always was a scapegoat for Flash and his friend. They didn’t bother Peter when you were around. But they always found a way to bully Peter, or Ned. But seeing Peter being bullied over and over again was painstakingly difficult not to act out revenge some time. But Flash had more friends then you could probably handle. Someday... But did... Did the ravens act…?

 “…You are right. We did…”

 You look around the park. No one seemed to have noticed the Raven and you. Must have been a weird sight you think to yourself. A single guy chilling with a raven in bright daylight. You sink back deep in thoughts staring across the parks green grass. This Raven has to have answers to your questions. What are you anyway? What binds this raven to you? Did you become a druid of some sort? Weird…

 “…All in due time. For now, beware of Peter...”

 What has Peter to do with any of this?

 “…He’s onto something (Y/N)…How is your left arm…”

“…Master…”

 What? What did it just say? How did it know? Master? Since when? How?

 “…I was affected by the same thing… In that alleyway…”

[thepatchworkcrow]

Thinking About Discernment and Personal Responsibility

(originally posted on my Wordpress here: https://patchworkcrow.wordpress.com/2019/05/30/thinking-about-discernment-and-personal-responsibility/ )

This morning, I had the pleasure of having one of those hour-or-so long phone conversations with a close friend of mine where we find ourselves discussing all manner of things from spirituality, to philosophy, plans for self improvement, and endless other topics. Today, a part of our discussion revolved around the possibility of forming a local group of witchy/pagan folk, and our concerns in doing so based upon things we’ve experienced both in other groups we’ve visited in person, and in the online community.

I’d also recently come across this post by @nightshadeandroses on Tumblr that discussed using discernment when practicing witchcraft. Though my personal opinions are a little different, I thought she had a number of excellent points, and that some of the the issues she brought up pretty perfectly highlighted some of the concerns my friend and I had had in inviting others into our social circle and building community.

If you begin searching “witchcraft” or “paganism” on a number of sites, but particularly on Tumblr, you very quickly encounter dozens and dozens of blogs where the practitioners are detailing experiences that seem very intense: visions or messages from deities, relationships with spirits and deities that can take any myriad forms from devotional practice to spirit marriage and more, and more and more frequently at least in the media that I encounter: blaming the gods/fae/spirits for things going wrong or seeming out of control in one’s life.

Primrose’s post seems to specifically target those new to the craft who want to believe that everything they encounter is a sign or has some magical significance. Sometimes, a fly is just there because it’s summertime and there’s food about. So how do you differentiate between that instance and when it’s trying to tell you something? It can be difficult, it’s true, especially when you’re eager to embark upon a new spiritual path and start interacting with deities and spirits.

Her post recommends looking at patterns in phenomena, asking if the experience seems to good to be true or mimics a story you recently encountered from someone else, trying divination to confirm the situation, and trying to explain the situation with mundane explanations first.

All of these are excellent suggestions, and even after practicing for over thirteen years, I still routinely go through these steps if I’m not absolutely certain about things. As an example: I’ve seen a number of things associated with Loki lately, both Marvel universe type things and things a former roommate and friend of mine associated with him. I thought it was odd, but I noted when it started and which things seemed to come up more. I noted to myself “Hey, Endgamejust came out, and that’s probably contributing some on the Marvel end of it.” and also that I’m not as familiar with the patterns of the wildlife and seasons in Georgia as I was up in Michigan. I made note that I kept seeing these things, but rather than jump to the conclusion that Loki wanted my attention (and as he’s not a deity I work with, it’d be surprising to me if he did), I decided to wait and see if the pattern continued, or died down a bit after the movie hype died down.

The other thing my friend and I were talking about is personal responsibility. It seems to be the same types who are constantly seeing signs from their deities and guides that do this, but I also notice an unnerving amount of “The fae stole x from me.” or “The gods/x deity/whatever has y plan for me, and there’s nothing I can do about it.” as though everything that occurs in one’s life is directly at the hands of the deities one does/n’t worship and nothing one does seems to have any consequence other than potentially swaying those deities one way or another.

A person I knew constantly told me that their deities seemed to be pushing them towards personal sovereignty and leadership, but also blamed those same deities whenever things did not go according to plan. Now, personal sovereignty and leadership certainly are admirable goals to work towards, and it sounds to me like a path towards personal growth and development. So I find myself asking: Why aren’t you working towards them? Why are you resisting those plans they supposedly have for you? Could the mishaps that keep coming perhaps come from patterns that are toxic and restricting and holding you back? If you worship x/y deity, why aren’t you following the sort of virtues you believe they’re laying out before you?

I’m personally of the belief that the gods are not so intimately involved in every aspect of our lives, and that we have free will and the ability to co-create with the divine powers of the Universe. In my belief, we make choices, and the energies that be react in kind. So if I perpetuate toxic behaviors, toxic things will continue to happen to me. If I project that the Universe or the gods are constantly knocking down my tower and don’t do work to build a stronger foundation in my practical life, the pattern will repeat itself.

The Tower card, I’d joked, was “my buddy” when I was doing tarot readings for myself. For years, it had been a recurring theme: I’d carefully (or so I had thought) construct plans for them to fall through and crumble. I had a narrative I was telling myself about the Universe “knocking over my block tower” just when I’d had it built. I’d blame other people for bailing on plans or not communicating. But I hadn’t considered at all that I was relying on other people rather than standing on my own feet, or that I wasn’t building strong and stable foundations for these plans to rest upon. This winter, while working through some course work, I had the following interaction in a visualization exercise:

I was standing on a summit a small grey bird in my hands. I could feel its heart racing as I held it. Brannan, my guide from the Tower of Pheryllt, stood behind me, his hand on my shoulder.

“A bird…” I must have sounded confused because I’d closed my eyes to visualize a paper boat and my imagination seemed to have a better idea.

“Do you know what it is?” I didn’t turn to face him, but I could hear the smile in Brannan’s voice as he spoke.

I concentrated on the bird for a moment and gave a nod. “It’s the Block Tower Story.”

“And what is the Block Tower Story?” He pressed me further and I furrowed my brow.

“That narrative about the Universe always coming over and knocking “my block tower” over—the one I’m always trying to plan around and avoid—to keep from “being screwed over again”. That Block Tower Story,” I replied.

“Are you ready?”

I looked down at the quivering bird again, took a centering breath, and gave a nod. I let the bird go, urging it out over the sea and away from the cliff. The first time, it came back and perched on my shoulder, its feathers all puffed out as it was clearly agitated.

Brannan gently took the bird from my shoulder and handed it back to me. “Try again. You’ve got to really mean it.” He stepped back again to watch.

I nodded and took another breath, and released the bird again. It made a circle back over my head, but took off over the sea, up into the clouds, and out of sight…

And every time I’ve found myself repeating that story to myself, I imagine myself back on that summit, looking out over the sea with the bird in hand, and I let it go again. Because the Universe isn’t breaking my block tower. I’m not building it correctly, and by taking ownership of that, I’m able to make better decisions about my life- not just in a spiritual sense, but in all of its aspects.

I’ve mentioned in passing, too, my belief that my afterlife is going to be something akin to joining the Wylde Hunt, and that I feel they have plans for me. But rather than resisting those plans, I’ve pushed myself to make actions that reflect that. I spend time in the forests. I try to make decisions that make a more positive impact on the natural world. I get involved with park cleanups and make sure that I’m voting for political officials and policies that protect my fellow citizens and our natural environment. I work on advocating for myself, on finding ways to make myself stronger, healthier, and more confident in myself. I turned my quest to get my driver’s license into a spiritual one as well as a mundane one. I’ve taken actions to get myself to a place more in line with my own goals as well as the ones I believe my gods have given me as well.

It’s not a passive letting the gods take all credit for what happens, good or bad. I am in control of my life, and my gods demand that I be. When I feel they are demanding something of me, it is usually that I take more responsibility for myself and take the reins of my life.

This isn’t meant to sound as though I’m telling folks what to believe, or as though I’m discrediting anyone’s experiences- quite the opposite! I am however concerned with some of the things I see posted, and wanted to encourage others to exercise perhaps some more discernment and take personal responsibility in their craft.

Share your thoughts in the comments below, and as always:

Forest Blessings, Rachel

[s3venpounds]

1 - 40

jesus buddy, if you wanted to know more about me just friend me somewhere and talk to me facebook,discord,overwatch,psn, snapchat w.e! haha i dont bite!

also this is gonna be really feckin long

1: Talk about the first time you watched your favorite movie.

How to train your dragon (1 and 2 i can’t decide) I fucking LOVE dragons. the idea to fucking ride one in the sky?!?! fucking DOPE. the idea that theyre also SCALY DOGS?!?!? MOTHER.FUCKING.DOPE. i just associate the idea of freedom with flying through the sky and that feeling was conveyed really well in that movie so i really loved it!

2: Talk about your first kiss.

honestly? kinda dumb now that i look back on it. it was a peck, i wasn’t even like mentally prepared and it happened way faster than i thought. If i knew it was going to happen i would have really like milked that fucker. i woulda went romance movie on that shit with all the extra shit like groping and weird inhaling noises and kissing so hard your teeth almost clink together. but yknow coulda woulda shoulda

3: Talk about the person you’ve had the most intense romantic feelings for.

theyre not a part of my life anymore which admittedly fucking sucks but i think its for the better at least for them. do i wish it worked out and we were together? i mean yeah duh, the reasons i fell for them don’t fucking disintegrate/ i just have more information than i had when i first met that person. will i actually actively pursuit them in the chance to be with them again? hell no. i’m tired. and i’ve seen enough “ self confidence” posts on here to think “ hey if someone really wanted me in their life they would go out of their way to do so and seeing as they haven’t even messaged me in god knows how long then its safe to say theyre off being happy

4: Talk about the thing you regret most so far.

man i haven’t seen this person is literally almost 20 years. I need to apologize. or at the very fucking least, see how theyre been doing. its driving me mad just trying to picture how theyre living and just coming up with a giant question mark.

5: Talk about the best birthday you’ve had.

lets be real bro most of my birthdays have been shit so i gave up on tryna make them memorable or fun, ‘s just another day to me. i mean the best one would have to be this one time i got a gameboy advance but thats pretty much it

6: Talk about the worst birthday you’ve had.

yknow how everyone says “ OH MY GOD WE SHOULD KEEP IN TOUCH” once you move? yeah thats bullshit. honest to god bullshit. i kept tabs on everyone when i moved to a different city and when i came down to visit for my birthday inviting all those people who supposed “wanted to keep in touch with me” literally 1 person showed up. and i think they only showed up because our parents were friends too. so yeah. fuck people sometimes.

7: Talk about your biggest insecurity.

hygiene. breath, hair, clothes, eating habits, manners, anything that might make me come off as unclean to people im trying to impress drives me off the fucking wall. specially at formal events. if im wearing snazzy clothing at like a suite 16 or a debut or a wedding bet you $100 that im adjusting little aspects of my appearance every like 15 seconds. eating mints the second one is finished, trying not to be too close to someones face when talking, even when i fucking fart i always take note of which way the wind is blowing, or im sitting down on something that can absorb the stench, how much pressure is in my gut and how much of it can i let out in small bursts to avoid sound. that or asian dick syndrome. yknow. haha asians got a small dick? that kinda shit bugs me a bit. not a ton but more than i thought it would

8: Talk about the thing you are most proud of.(i am literally only 8 questions in and my fingers are a little sore from typing)

my singing and impressions? i once scared some friends when i imitated a party blower kazoo thingy since the ones they bought from the dollarstore didnt make any sound. same as my singing, i tend to get high scores and i impressed my cousins once with a perfect score on a backstreet boys song HEH

9: Talk about little things on your body that you like the most.

my biceps? theyre not like chris hemsworth level of meaty but like when i worked at this physically demanding job my coworkers are like “ woah dude ur arms are different from mine, if you worked out theyd look so ripped” that kinda stuck with me for a while specially knowing they were a football jock and they had their own special diet and fitness instructor or something. i also like my smile/ jaw shape? my hair can look pretty good too sometimes

10: Talk about the biggest fight you’ve ever had.

my family is very passive aggressive oh and racist

11: Talk about the best dream you’ve ever had.

i once had this dream where i had reallllly passionate sex and it felt real and i could feel like every little detail down to like hairs brushing my skin on my arms and shit. i swear to this day it was a modern day succubus or something

12: Talk about the worst dream you’ve ever had.

that dream where i was a bird and flying away from”something” just all my instincts telling me to RUN. or that dream where i got shot in the hand, chest then the head and before i blacked out i said “Ch*****” who incidentally i was going to see later that day which made things very awkward at least for me

13: Talk about the first time you had sex/how you imagine your first time.

it was pretty good. looking back i was probably shit in bed hahaha first time so of course theres shit to work out. 

14: Talk about a vacation.

hit on by a cousin AND their gay friend. to which the cousin threatened me with self harm but the gay friend took the rejection very easily it was almost baffling in comparison (although the second the settled down they started to bash on me for rejecting their friend) also ate some REALLLLLY garlic covered crab the smell took 5 washes to get out… also got to ride in the back of a truck as its driving at like 120 mph and flying off all these little hills and tracking mud everywhere it was great

15: Talk about the time you were most content in life.

she was in my arms fast asleep and i took a photo. she didnt like that but let me keep the pic so that was nice.

16: Talk about the best party you’ve ever been to.

i can’t really remember any that stand out they were all equally fun. dont get me wrong some were super fun its just that it was also followed by a lot of bad choices that kinda take it down a notch. i will say this one party a friend hosted where i got to meet a BUNCH of new people. i also snorted some fundip powder as a dare. they refuse to let it go so i figure might as well own it. i also landed some sweet shots in beerpong

17: Talk about someone you want to be friends with.

ellen paige would be dope to be friends with. same with zendaya. and gal gadot just so i can like sit in her presence and be in awe for extended periods of time

18: Talk about something that happened in elementary school.

i was cheating on a test and my so called friend ratted me out never talked to him again that white privilege lookin hoe

19: Talk about something that happened in middle school.

i stopped talking to a friend that id thought i would be friends with for my whole life. i also became friends with my current best friend

20: Talk about something that happened in high school.

people are dumb. drama is dumb. people who seek out this kinda shit needa leave me the hell alone. and if youre going to challenge me to a fight, tell me about said fight so i can show up. dont march around telling people ur gonna fight me and not tell me so i dont show up and make it look like i pussied out. like for real?

21: Talk about a time you had to turn someone down.

oh yeah like the vacation one said : shit got really weird. and to have that sorta conversation on spotty wifi in an airport in south korea meaning jet lag is also disorienting af

22: Talk about your worst fear.

death. nuff said

23: Talk about a time someone turned you down.

it sucked but it happens so like.? lmao i dont really know waht to say but it sucked

24: Talk about something someone told you that meant a lot.

i have a horrible memory and on top of that my mind moves at like 32754895274 miles a second so i dont keep stuff in mind a lot in the first place. i can’t really think of anything that had so much impact that i’ve remembered it. well i mean there was this one song a friend told me about in a letter and to this day i’ve kept remembering the same verse “ maybe if we met each other under a different sky maybe things would be much better between you and i”

25: Talk about an ex-best friend.

we just….grew apart. and if we tried to be friends now im sure there would be tension and unease. hes just in a different friend circle. i dont hate him for it i just feel like hes living in a world of white and im living in a world of black like its just plain and simple

26: Talk about things you do when you’re sick.

on the computer. i can’t rest when im sick. i just keep trudging along. school, work, hangouts, i still go. i just take precautions to not spread it

27: Talk about your favorite part of someone else’s body.

neck? shoulder? hands? face? hair? idk dood i don’t really like specific places more of how WELL those parts can mesh together to make this beautiful being.

28: Talk about your fetishes.

y’all about to learn some shit because im gonna teach you a thing about me. pov’s, deepthroat/gagging, emo/goth, anal, massage, ropes and power trips, asians, tentacles if im feeling kinky, hentai /cartoon shit, glory holes, dirty talk and asmr (who woulda thought theres porn for that huh?), ahegao(being fucked silly or till your mind breaks into being nothing but a cumdump), swallowing, threesomes, double penetration, latex is pretty cool too, cosplays are nice if the characters are ones i recognize, tittyfucks, source film maker porn of like video game characters are getting pretty professional nowadays, lesbian, orgys, teenage girls and old ass guys, horse dicks and girls who try to take em, i got turned on by a girl fucking a dog once so i guess bestiality is a thing, oh i saw this scene in a movie im not sure if it was real it seems kinda hazy but it involved necrophilia but im not sure if it turned me on or it was so weird i’ve memorized it because of how weird it was. chicks with dicks fucking other chicks. and a plethora of other weird shit. i dont know what fetishes count and what doesn’t so i just listed whatever came to mind as i wrote have fun with that shit

29: Talk about what turns you on. 

short hair, asian heritage, playful and lighthearted but can be lustful as all hell, shorter than me, big boobs is a plus, mid driffs, underboob, small frame or face, scent( god if you smell good thats instant brownie points with me), likes anime, high pitch voices are cute as hell, very physically intimate, loves PDA’s, yeah i can’t really think of much

30: Talk about what turns you off.

uhh smells bad?, when their personality is bland/boring, or just shit. over timidness i get being shy but like if you can’t trust that the person youre interested in then like what am i supposed to do. i literally dated a girl who was so sheepish all i could do was ask her yes or no questions. and honestly that got old really fucking fast. i get she was trying but like i can only finesse so much of a relationship man. bad hygiene holy fuck. if you got like ear wax showin our ur ears, or like a bleeding pimple in plain view and refuse to at least dab it with a wet cloth or tissue then pls its not gonna work out. dandruff oh my gOD. dandruff would drive me nuts. like if i get close enough to see individual fucking flakes im gonna tear my whole scalp off

31: Talk about what you think death is like.

i feel like our bodies stop responding but our “souls” are still present there trapped screaming and trying to move our body but can’t. and thats why burials and shit sound so terrifying

32: Talk about a place you remember from your childhood.

dont need to. im a couple blocks away i can visit it any time. (my elementary and middle school the neighbourhood surrounding it was also where i used to live so that was dope)

33: Talk about what you do when you are sad.

i force myself to get MORE sad so i can get it all out in one go and much faster. like how the human mind can only get so angry that the brain gives up and just tries to find another way to spend its time. 

34: Talk about the worst physical pain you’ve endured.

when i was a kid me and bunch of other kids decided to clog a slide with just a shit ton of people and one of my friends who came after me kept pushing me to the point i was hanging on for dear life using only my knee down that was wedged between a fat kid and my friend who went after me. i fell off eventually knocking skulls with another kid near the end of the slide(this slide was shaped like a spring so that explains why there were kids under me) my arm bend backwards for a sec after hitting another kid’s legs, and then i fell chest and fast first on the asphalt winding myself. kids are rugged as all hell man they can really take a hit. i walked it off but god damn if i didnt get bruises and shit afterwards. or that time i got beaten so bad by father dearest because work was stressful and i ended up blacking out. wasn’t even allowed to go to the hospital. just kinda laid down in my room with bruises all over.

35: Talk about things you wish you could stop doing.

relying on people for happiness. distracting myself from sadness and responsibilities. procrastinating in general

36: Talk about your guilty pleasures.

i dont really feel guilt save for some specific circumstances. ask any of my friends. does that mean im a sociopath or whatever? 

37: Talk about someone you thought you were in love with.

they just got out of a relationship with someone and was avoiding them profusely and i just started to get to know them. we got to the point that when she was ready we could date. little did i know that later, she would end up dating a friend of mine. to which i promptly had the appropriate reaction of crying myself to sleep, sending that friend a text message with all the things he should know to keep that girl happy and ultimately smashing a lot of things (some bottles actually because we were gonna build a sculpture or something together with em. man middle school was a fucking RIDE)

38: Talk about songs that remind you of certain people.

mmmmmm i would prefer to keep those underwraps.

39: Talk about things you wish you’d known earlier.

family will be there for you in the end. (not because they want to but because the world teaches them that they have to meaning they will help just in their own way and to their own ends.) friends come and go. they always have always will. anyone who says forever is a fuckin idiot. lovers come and go thats just a natural part of growing up. and lets be real all the people that said they would self harm ultimately never did so dont stress it so much god damn(but dont let it slide either)

40: Talk about the end of something in your life.

how about the end of my interest in anime and video games. nothing seems to really interest me anymore. everything is just kinda “meh”

[patronsaintofprincesses]

Hey can you answer all 64 questions for me? Thanks 😘

I’d like to thank @unluckymess for indulging me, and my need to lay myself bare on the internet and talk a bunch, you’re the real MVP, an excellent friend. 😚

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you? Mm yes, in a way. I like to have my bases covered so, I believe that I’m not real, and I believe that I am real but in a simulation and I can believe that I’m not real and still in a simulation and I can believe that no one is real and I can believe that only the simulation is real and I can believe that everything is real and I can believe that simulations aren’t real etc. So, sorta.

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you? 3. But I’m not afraid of the dark, I love the dark, it’s the people that misuse the dark that I pity and loathe. The dark is comforting, and natural– I love the dark.

3. The person you would never want to meet? Let’s be honest, Mr. Cheeto-Fingers #notmypresident guy is the most distateful man I’ve had the pleasure of never meeting. I’d like to keep it that way.

4. What is your favorite word? Settlement. Someone asked what my favorite word was in oh 8th grade? and my mind scrambled and said settlement and I stand by that brain scramble lol.

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be? There’s a Celtic thing that says Hazel and there’s an astrology thing that says Pine mm however, I’d want to be a Peach tree v:

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought? Can I brush my teeth later :“)

7. What shirt are you wearing? A pale pink tee that says “Nevermore” in antique lettering and has a Raven opening it’s beak to caw.

8. What do you label yourself as? THE Boring Princess. San THE Bore. I own my dullness, I enjoy my royal duties in the Boring kingdom.

9. Bright room or dark room? D a r k but with a pink antique garden quilt covered in flowers and blackout/ lace curtains and dark wood furniture and glass end tables and ceramic vases in olive and navy filled with dahlias and white silk flowers.

10. What were you doing at midnight last night? Reading. Messaging @barnsburntdownnow @silver9mm (I adore you ma'am)

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far? 16 was a good age, graduating high school and being District Spelling Champion has been the highlight of my life so far ;)

12. Who told you they loved you last? @unluckymess and I love you as well 😇

13. Your worst enemy? Evita Perón said Time, but I don’t want to plagiarize. I have to say, energy then?

14. What is your current desktop picture? My pup, he’s turning seven on December 11th!

15. Do you like someone? Sure I like a lot of people :) but I’m not attracted? to anyone really, since I’m abstinent until marriage and real commitment-phobic so 😅

16. The last song you listened to? The Most Peculiar Day of Your Life by the Hoosiers. (my third favorite band)

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? myself, probably

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? Also myself le mao.

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do? I’d choose Kim Jong Un and I’d have him sign over the dictatorship of North Korea over to me and get those people some gotdamn internet and H-E-Bs.

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional) my eyes are pretty expressive, I’ve been told.

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do? I’d probably be really scruffy, with curly hair, tortoiseshell glasses, and be real sweet. I’d go to several bookstores, chew on my pen cap, mope about looking artsy, I’d cry a lot, and probably blog about toxic masculinity. I’d try out the whole masturbation as a guy thing and also the whole prostate thing, and then get drunk at a bar.

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it? Nope. Everyone knows everything about me at this point le mao.

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of? Getting exactly what I want? Is that unique? Mm dying and the headstone people misspelling my name so my gravesite/cremation urn says Sam Hernandez. Ugh.

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal. !!! My go-to, is whole grain bread, egg white, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan, green bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, mushroom, and ground black pepper.

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it? I’m going to give it to my mum, so she can gas up her car ^^

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go? Australia, to get bitten by the elusive taipan

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be? PINA COLADAS. um rum? Uhhhhhhhhhhh premixed Pina coladas???

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? Always be humble and kind.  

29. What is your favorite expletive? Bless Your Heart

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno? The smiley face zipper case I keep my photograph print outs in.

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? Mmm I feel like saying my birth is a bit too gallows, so I’m going to say, agreeing to marry my ex-fiancé.

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Tibet?

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back? I’m going to ask for a business card à la Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2), be proactive, because when my mother passes, I can bring her back. I told her that she has to outlive me and I meant that.

34. What was your last dream about? Falling

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]? My buddy, I’ve never been good at anything in my life. I’m an excellent speller, a reading prodigy, and average in every other aspect.

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? Yes, thrice during manic episodes. Twice for when a dog bit me.

37. Have you ever built a snowman? Nope. I have yet to see snow

38. What is the color of your socks? I’m not wearing socks but I only like grey socks and beige liners

39. What type of music do you like? Alternative/Country/UK Pop/Rock

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunsets, please and thank you.

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor? Coconut cream pie, from Sonic (after dark)

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer) TEXAS. T E X A S

43. Do you have any scars? Oh yeah, plenty ^^ on my face, my arms, my foot. I’m kind of clumsy and I don’t mind scars so I never applied the vitamin E.

44. What do you want to be when you graduate? A graduate lol all joking aside, a librarian? A kept girl? A strong, independent bookworm? Something alright.

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I’d like to have been born in the 33rd century. (mm if not possible, then I would like to be indestructible) (if not feasible, then I guess I’d like to have perfect night vision)

46. Are you reliable? No

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be? “What is the most profound thing we have said thus far?”

48. Do you hold grudges? Nope

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create? A dragon (uh a scary bone eating bird with a nice, sweet snake)

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had? The first time I discussed anything with my conscience? Mm really, any conversation I’ve had with myself has gotten pretty unusual.

51. Are you a good liar? HA maybe over text but irl I begin to giggle and avert my eyes and it’s awful no one let’s me get away with anything

52. How long could you go without talking? I went a whole day once for the GLSEN Day of Silence in April 2012. Maybe I could go longer? Mm I’d like to be mute. That would be interesting.

53. What has been you worst haircut/style? They’ve all been great, particularly the ones I cut by myself from 2008-2012 I don’t know what you are trying to imply c:

54. Have you ever baked your own cake? Is this a euphemism?

55. Can you do any accents other than your own? Sort of an English accent, and sort of an Australian accent. Oh but I have a natural accent when speaking Spanish and a Texas accent pops up with some words in English.

56. What do you like on your toast? Fr e sh avo cado (free Sha vacadoo) obviously (if unavailable, I’ll take honey, cinnamon, butter, sugar, beans, eggs, strawberry jam, peach preserves etc.)

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of? A lady, for @silver9mm@barnsburntdownnow for LETTER #6

58. What would be you dream car? An Aston Martin is what I liked in 2008—actually my dream car would be an indestructible flying bathosphere that could also teleport and drive itself. I’m waiting, 2020.

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain. I do sing, mm well ahem, I don’t like showers I like baths. Sometimes I’ll turn off the lights and bathe in the dark, when I’m feeling overwhelmed or hopeless or I just don’t know who I’m fooling etc. Sometimes I’ll play music and place my phone facedown on the tub, let my head sink beneath the water, and the sound vibrates/echoes throughout and it is so settling. Ahem, sometimes bathing is my me time, where I’ll let my mind wander to something racy, and with the steam fogging up my mind I’ll get helplessly turned on, and just lounge in the hot water fluttering my inner muscles until I either orgasm or cry lol.

60. Do you believe in aliens? Yes. But do aliens believe in me? Lol.

61. Do you often read your horoscope? No but I do like those moodboards/aesthetics/text posts concerning my signs 😇

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? R in middle school, X in high school and now, probably S.

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons? Dinosaurs are neat but I’m a Dragon! kinda gal.

64. What do you think about babies? Cute and scary and gross and wonderful and delicate and perfect and miniature and I want none and ten

65. Freebie! Ask anything interesting you can think of. Message me 👻 I’ll answer anything y'all.

If y'all would like to send me any other asks (anonymous or public) I tag them as Ask Thing and I’ll answer literally everything. Thanks y'all!

[kirukirice]

Among the Crows: Chapter 51 -  First Blood

I’m thinking that if chapters are going to be longer it would be better not to post the whole thing here since ‘keep reading’ doesn’t work on mobile. What do yall think?

Anyways, enjoy the chapter uvu

–> Full text here on Ao3!

Dinner at Ukai’s was always scrumptious and plentiful.

Blending together the nuances of Kara and human cuisine, his dishes often resulted in pleasing combinations of flavours that suited everyone’s palate. Today, the table was spread with a heaping serving of twelve-herb grilled pork, a huge bowl of fresh greens from the market, a pot of savoury potato and vegetable soup, and a tall bottle of aged apple cider.  

Ukai liked to start off his meals with soup. He loudly slurped down the creamy broth and the softened tubers altogether, draining his bowl cleanly to the last drop. Afterwards, he carved out a thick cut of meat from the bone and sliced it effortlessly into large chunks to chew on. Finally, he washed it all down with a mouthful of cider.

Hinata and Kageyama scarfed down their food with gusto like ravenous hyenas – it didn’t matter what it was they put in their mouths, for it was all delicious – and burned their tongues on the piping hot soup. They never did learn to slow down and cool off their food.

Daichi ate modestly and alternated eating meat with vegetables, sometimes taking a swig of soup in between when he needed more flavour. He often reminded the kids to eat their greens and helped them cut up their steaks when it got too tough to chew.

Oikawa behaved like a proper gentleman as he ate. He made no uncouth clinks or clangs with his cutlery, carefully portioned his food into bite-sized mouthfuls, and chewed with his mouth closed. He dabbed his mouth with a napkin to banish any stray droplets from his flawless appearance, and finished his plate of whatever food he had taken.  

Iwa-chan sat on the floor beside Oikawa in beast form, decimating a whole pork leg with his crushing jaws and making a whole lot of cracking noises in the process. He gobbled the leg up in a matter of minutes, and cleanly licked his paws and fur clean of grease when he was done.

“Oh, right. Is Suga not eating?” asked Oikawa when he noticed the Kara’s absence.

“No, he’s on a strictly fluid diet.” Ukai replied while chewing.

“Ah, that’s a shame,” he sighed regretfully, ignoring Daichi’s dagger-like glares. “I wanted to chat a little more with him.”

“Is the food to your liking? Nothing fancy, I’m afraid.” The Kara asked.

“Certainly. Your cooking is exquisite - nothing like the food you get in this town.”

“Ah, I’m an alright cook. We get the ingredients fresh, that’s why.”

Hinata forked a piece of meat and quietly hovered it below the table. Iwa-chan noticed, and snatched it up in one well-aimed bite.

“You humble yourself. Most restaurateurs here can’t hold a candle to you.”

Tickled, the boy lowered down another piece.

“I’ll set up my own diner when I get sick of birds, then,” Ukai laughed, “It’ll be much more profitable, for sure.”

And another.

“So, how did you become a doctor?” Oikawa asked.

And another.

“Long story. My folks were doctors, so I carried on the family trade.”

And another, until Kageyama ratted them out.

“Daichi, Hinata’s feeding the dog his food,” he complained.

Daichi looked over at Iwa-chan, whose canine expression was remorseless.

“Hinata, finish your share before you give it away, okay?” he said, then cut another chunk of meat and placed it on the boy’s plate.

“Okay. He likes it, though.” Hinata grinned happily and swung his legs. Oikawa ruffled the pup’s head and chided, “Let the growing kid have his food, Iwa-chan. You’ll get fat at this rate.”

“Oikawa, what is Iwa-chan, anyway?” Ukai asked the man.

“He’s a kind of werewolf.” Oikawa said, and then winked at Hinata.

Skeptical, the man took a few extra bites on his food. “Werewolf? Huh. I’ve never seen one, but the books don’t draw them like that.”

The mage shrugged and continued scratching Iwa-chan’s chin lazily. The hound obliged to his master’s whim, giving in to his sweet spot. “He’s a rare kind. Not every member of a race is the same, after all. Just like a grey Kara, yes?”

“Of course.” Ukai shrugged back. Except that he didn’t recall werewolves having black, leathery wings. “Do all mages have familiars like you do?”

“No, only beast tamers do. There are many kinds of mages, you see, not only those who command familiars.”

Hinata then asked, “Like what? Can they shoot lightning out of their hands?”

Oikawa laughed gaily and smoothed back his fringe. “No, silly! In theory we could, but that level of magic is too powerful for mortals to control.”

“So they’d fry themselves if they tried?” The child giggled at the thought, and the man grinned and booped his nose.

“Even the Grand Invoker himself couldn’t, you know. And he could do almost anything! You’d have to be a god, for sure.”

“Hey, we know someone who can.” Kageyama said, and Oikawa looked at him with interest. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to this crow yet.

“Oh? And who is that?” he asked.

“He’s called Nishinoya.”

“Yeah, he’s a really short deity.” Hinata added.

Suddenly, a booming roll of thunder roared off in the distance, and everyone stared out the window at once.

“Is that him?” asked the mage, amused.

“Must be. I’m only telling the truth, so don’t get mad!” Hinata yelled upwards, and Daichi covered the boy’s mouth with a sigh. “Don’t say that, or we’re gonna have to pay him a visit again.” He wondered if he had to re-explain the word ‘blasphemy’ to him.

And of course, Ukai hadn’t been briefed about their encounter with the short Tengu, so they had to tell the both of them the whole tale. Hinata and Kageyama were rather enthusiastic to do most of the talking, so Daichi let them and occasionally stepped in to clarify. They started right from when Daichi fell down the cliff, and acted out their utter surprise when they first met the deity. But right when they were getting to the interesting bits, a faint chime of a bell came from the bedroom, and Daichi excused himself from the table to answer it.

“He’s better trained than you.” Oikawa remarked snarkily to Iwa-chan, who rolled his eyes.

Entering through the curtains, Daichi looked at Suga with a smile and said, “You called?”

The Kara seemed more tired than usual, but it couldn't be helped. Having to drink honeyed tea alone for the past few days didn't give him a lot of energy to work with.

"Sorry," Suga spoke quietly, "You haven't finished your dinner, right?"

"It's alright." Daichi replied. He noticed the empty glass, and took it. "I'll get you some more water. Anything else?"

He shook his head.

Returning with a full glass, Daichi set it back down and asked for Suga's wrist. His skin felt cold, but his pulse was normal. His forehead felt fine, too, but it looked like he was shivering a little every now and then.

“Do feel uncomfortable? Are you cold?” he asked.

“A little,” replied Suga.

“I’ll see if there are more blankets.” Daichi said and closed the windows, shutting out the draft. The sky was almost pitch black by now as the rumbling clouds clustered together in a island of grey. They weren’t a by-product of Nishinoya’s wrath, to be sure - just nature’s.

Alas, though towels were in abundant supply, there weren’t any more blankets to be found. Fortunately, Ukai had a much better solution. From the crowded shed he picked up a small round ball of black feathers from a pile of similar-looking ones. The creature retained its fuzzy, globular shape as he held it, and it fit snugly in his palm like a lump of coal.

“This little buddy here’s a coalbird. It’s obvious why they’re called that – c’mon, just look at it – and also because they’re naturally very warm.” he explained to Daichi and Suga.

Nudging the top of its head with his finger, Ukai woke the bird. It gave the tiniest of sneezes upon being disturbed, and then chirped angrily at him and tried to fly off—but the man held it fast between his cupped hands.

“Hey, hey, sorry to wake you, bud. I just need a quick favour.” said Ukai to the bird.

It tweeted once in a questioning tone and calmed down.

“Could you sleep here with this man for a while?”

The coalbird looked at Suga, blinking rapidly and cocking its head this way and that. It then chirruped something lengthy back at Ukai which sounded like a very unthreatening interrogation. Every single time Daichi observed Ukai conversing with a bird, it was like watching him talk to himself like a madman.  

“Yes, yes, you don’t have to worry. All you have to do is sit under that nice, comfy blanket, and be yourself. Just get your friend to replace you when you’re done.”

As if in agreement it wiggled its short tail, then hopped out of his hands and walked slowly up to Suga’s chest.

Suga watched it intently and a small rush of delight came over him. “It’s so tiny,” he whispered, and the bird tried saying something to Suga. When he didn’t respond, the bird repeated its chirp twice, then looked confusedly up at Ukai. The doctor shrugged at the coalbird and translated its words for him.

“She’s asking you if you’ve cleaned your feathers already. She’s very particular about hygiene.”

Suga nodded and replied to the coalbird, “Yes, Daichi helped me earlier.”

Satisfied with his answer, it nestled on top of his chest and poked its walnut-sized head out from under the blanket. It closed its beady yellow eyes and rested its head on him, a movement so insignificant that he barely felt it. Its little body radiated warmth like a portable heater, and soon it felt all cozy and warm underneath the sheets. Suga dared not touch it - though he very much yearned to as he found it immeasurably adorable. It was so small, soft, and light that it seemed like the slightest nudge would bruise it, much like a strawberry.

“You can’t understand what it’s saying? I thought all Karas could.” Daichi asked and Suga shook his head, his gaze transfixed on the bird.

“It’s just like any other language. You have to learn it.” Ukai said. “I think they’ll get along fine anyway, even if they don’t understand each other.”

Smiling, Suga closed his eyes alongside the bird and sighed peacefully, “She’s so warm.”

“See?” the blonde grinned and gestured at the heart-warming scene, “No problem.”

And having one less thing to worry about was important, for tonight it seemed like trouble would stir at a moment’s notice. The brewing storm hit the house shortly after dinner, and the rain began pouring down heavily in droves. Thunder crackled across the sky, and lightning split the heavens into brilliant white fissures. Soon, Oikawa foretold, the Carcamas would take advantage of the confusion and darkness of this wretched night and strike. Iwa-chan had already sensed a large gathering of beings within Kabeki Forest, but that was the only point of certainty.   

Lying in wait in the cold and wet, Daichi, Oikawa, and Iwa-chan hid themselves behind the barricaded fence that was erected a few metres away from the house. The rest took shelter inside and turned out all the lights except for the oil lamps hanging from the front porch, making the entrance look like a shining lighthouse in the middle of a sea of black.

Just what the mage wanted.

“You really don’t have to do anything, Daichi. We’ll take care of it.” Oikawa yelled over while taking cover from the rain underneath Iwa-chan. The hound was wholly focused on detecting the enemy, his ears swivelling about as he sat unperturbed by the rain pelting his coat.

“I’m not going to sit around and do nothing when I can defend this place.” Daichi replied and docked his arrow. The hood pulled over his brows kept the water out and his sight clear.

“With that thing? In this weather?” Oikawa scoffed.

Level-headed, Daichi cricked his neck and loosened his shoulders. “Don’t worry about me.”

The mage snorted, unconvinced, and took out his whip. “Suit yourself. Just don’t get in my way.”

“Silence.” Iwa-chan commanded with his deep voice and got off his hind legs. “They’re making a move.”

The two humans tensed up at once and peered out from cover. They could barely see or hear anything through the blasted torrent.

“How many of them are there?” Oikawa asked and squinted his eyes.

“I’m not sure. Twenty, maybe thirty,” he replied. Daichi gulped and clutched his bow tightly. That number was far above their estimates.

Then, Iwa-chan’s ears pointed at attention and his eyes glowed red. “Something’s coming.”

Far off in the fields, he heard the swift thumping of a heart that drew closer and closer.

“One.” he murmured, and took a step forward.

“Only one?” The hunter said, and stood up to draw his bow.

Oikawa frowned and stood as well. “Stand down. Iwa-chan’s got this.”

“Why don’t we save the best for last?” Daichi replied calmly and took aim. The mage couldn’t argue with that. He clicked his tongue and sulked on top of the fence, and Iwa-chan took that as confirmation to yield. A job was still a job, however, and he would assist where Daichi was lacking.

“It’s halfway through the field and straight ahead. When will you shoot?” the hound asked.

“A hundred metres.” Daichi said, accepting his help. He could almost make out a moving object in the blurring rain, and he adjusted his arm.

“Understood. At this speed, about fifteen seconds until it arrives.”

Daichi breathed out and closed his eyes briefly.

He couldn’t kill the lynx back then in the forest, but this time would be different.

“Ten seconds.”

A wide open field was child’s play to someone like him. All the times he skipped school really paid off.

“Five.”

What was a little rain and wind but distractions in the hunt?

“Four.”

He even had someone telling him where the target was.

“Three.”

All he had to do was pull back the string—

“Two.”

Take a good, hard look at the cat’s eyes—

“One.”

And let his arrow fly.

The spear sliced through the air with a short whistle, and after a few seconds of suspense, the strangled cry of a Carcama sounded off in the distance.

“It’s dead.” Iwa-chan reported after a moment, no longer hearing the beating of its heart. Yet another soul bound for the underworld, he thought.

“Are there more?” asked Daichi, already ready for the next one. But Iwa-chan shook his head and jogged off beyond the fence. Dragging the heavy carcass into the compound between his jaws, he dropped it off between the two men with a muddy splash and spat out the foul-tasting blood. There, they saw the Carcama’s ghastly face which was locked in eternal surprise, undoubtedly at the arrow that drove itself right between its eyes. The arrowhead emerged from the base of its skull, and whatever brain matter that had burst from the hole had long been washed away.

“Well, well, that was a clean kill.” Oikawa remarked, seemingly unimpressed.

“They’re retreating,” Iwa-chan said with a flick of his tail, “I can’t detect them anymore.”

Pulling out the arrow with a hard tug, Daichi frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. Carcamas don’t attack one by one, and they won’t just leave their friend here.”

“But that was the case last night, and so were the attacks from before. This strange behaviour must have an explanation.” Oikawa said and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, toying with an idea in his mind. “Let’s discuss that indoors, shall we? My socks are getting all soggy.”

No one argued with that.

Once inside, Ukai had many towels but no clues to give.

“I don’t know what to say. They should have destroyed this place a long time ago, but they haven’t. They’ve just come and gone in different places, picking people at random to maul.”

“But is it really, as you say, random?” Oikawa suggested while drying off his wet hair. With just his undershirt and long pants on, the mage’s appearance was a departure from his usually prim and proper self; but still no fault could be found in his enduring charisma.

Hinata took joy in chasing Iwa-chan around with a dry towel, and Kageyama had turned in for the day. The fireplace smouldered with a fresh log that was just beginning to catch the continuing flame.

“What do you mean?” the Kara asked and lit up a cigarette. He looked like he needed three of those.

“Well, what if all they’re doing is in preparation for something bigger?”

Daichi raised an eyebrow. “You mean, they’re planning for a huge attack?”

“They’re not that smart,” Ukai frowned, brushing off the idea.

Oikawa pointed a tentative finger upwards and leaned onto the dining table. “Let’s not jump to conclusions, gentlemen. They have, despite their odd behaviour, been moving in a definite direction. If we were to plot out their attacks and apply logic to the situation—“ he took out a rolled-up map of the town from inside his coat, “—we can see what they’re trying to do.”

Ukai spread the parchment out onto the table and took a closer look at the crosses marked onto it. Then, he realized what Oikawa was trying to say. Every single attack had happened on the outskirts of town, and the crosses were forming what resembled a ring around the entire settlement. The only spot where a glaring space was left was the clinic, right on the other side of town where the first kill occurred.

“Are you saying… they’re testing us?” Ukai concluded.

“Either that, or they’re just playing with you. Cats, am I right?” Oikawa replied jokingly, then waltzed around the table as he spoke. “Every assault so far has been simple. One or two Carcamas sneak into a house in the middle of the night – they did it once during the day, actually – then kill a few people, and leave without the villagers putting up much of a fight.”

Ukai looked up grimly, his palms flat on the map. “Yes. We haven’t managed to take down a single Carcama, and they always run away after making a kill. They don’t eat the bodies.”

Oikawa continued, “It makes sense to say that they’ve been poking around to see where town’s defences are at. They could have come all at once, but they decided to cover their bases and gauge the strength of their enemies. But, even if we don’t know what their real strategy is, we can be sure that they’re not here for food or for fun. So, it can only be—“

“For territory.” Daichi finished his sentence.

“Bingo.” He snapped his fingers. “You’re smarter than you look.”

The doctor combed through his hair and puffed out a long breath of smoke. He left his unruly fringe hanging over his face, and then stubbed out his cigarette on the table. “Fine. Let’s say they are here to take over. Then, what’s causing them to do so? A human settlement isn’t a home for Carcamas.” he murmured.

“You’re asking the right questions, doctor.” Oikawa smiled and tapped his fingers on the table. “That brings us back to their unnaturally organized behaviour.”

Oikawa then caught Hinata in his tracks and pinched his cheeks, stopping the assault on his poor puppy.

“Someone - or something - is leading them,” declared the mage.  

“And now that they know there’s someone capable of stopping them, they won’t sit idly by.”

But who could lead a battalion of bloodthirsty cats?

[nahyall1891]

To Fancy Is To Ruin

Harry grabbed Ron's shoulder for the fifth time so far that evening. "Not her. That one's hair is too wavy. You know she stopped using that smoothing whatever-it-was years ago." Ron relaxed beside him for a moment. He went back to leaning against the ping pong table they were stationed near. He was on edge more than usual, clearly not enjoying the gathering as he would have in other circumstances. Harry himself wasn't having a grand time, either. Ginny Weasley was just across the den of the house party they were gate crashing, dancing with Dean Thomas. She was right there and all because he'd thought he would have a go at Chi Chang at a New Years party, she was there with another bloke. It was effective in sending the very clear message of "not a chance." Dean pulled her in rather close and said something right in her ear. It was apparently hilarious, cause her flaming hair went flying as she whipped her head around to nod and laugh. Her eyes flashed his way, and with the considerable amount lager he'd already downed as a result of her arrival, the thought to lower his gaze didn't even cross his mind. Ron grunted and moved to go toward the entrance. "Not her." Ron hit his shoulder, making him turn his head from Ginny and actually look where he was pointing. "Oh, right. Nope, that's her." Hermione was quickly swarmed by Lavender and Pavarti, so they hung back for moment. They surveyed the bodies behind her, attempting to see the bloke she was supposed to be bringing. It was, after all, the only reason Ron had agreed to come along. They spotted Fred when the girls made no sign of breaking up their interrogation of Hermione and moved through the crowd toward him. He nodded their way when they called his name and jerked his head toward the kitchen. Ron quickened his steps but Harry paused. He considered the contents in his cup and looked up to shake his head "no" to the offer. Just as he did his eyes landed on Ginny letting Dean nuzzle her ear. He gulped down what was left and shoved his way through the sea of bodies. "Fill it." Ron shot him a bewildered look but Fred just nodded and followed his orders as he dumped some concoction into the cup. "What is it?" "Something George and I came up with. You know, we are the party kings." He poured some into two more cups and took a swift swig after sending them a mocking wink. His face twisted into a grimace only after they had each taken deep gulps of the burning mixture. "Has a right kick, doesn't it? Haven't done this one in a while." The two coughed and Harry's head almost instantly felt foggy as if he'd been hitting hard whiskey the last hour and not just lager. He listened to the voice that said being totally trashed wouldn't be the worst idea since he wanted to forget the images of Ginny and Dean anyway. He prepared to take another swig before a hand grabbed the red cup out of his grasp. "Oi!" Hermione took a sniff of the cup's contents and rolled her eyes. "Fred. Really?" He laughed out right and stole Ron's cup before the younger man could clear his head enough from his initial drink and stop him. He wagged his eye brows at her and downed the drink as Ron finally had sense to protest. She took a sip from Harry's pilfered cup, gagged and dumped it down the sink behind their older friend. Then he saw something weird: Hermione ran her hand over his back. "Um, 'Moine?" She hummed and raised her brows in question once she took the empty space to his right around the island. "Nothing. I think I want another lager." She thought for a moment and slid her eyes to Fred. He nodded, eager glint in his eyes and she smirked in a way Harry and never seen before. Harry felt like he was going to throw up and it had nothing to do with the alcohol already taking up space in his stomach. "Ron." He turned to Harry with a distant look in his eyes. "You may wanna have one, too, mate. This night is about to get rather barmy." Ron shrugged and grabbed the bottle his brother offered him. Fred nodded at someone who was part of the massive see of bodies that was the party. He made his way out of the kitchen, squeezing Hermione's shoulder as he left. She watched him go, absently taking a pull of her drink. "'Moine, we heard a vicious rumour going around the old gossip circuit," he paused to nudge Ron, who was glaring at her from across the island. "We heard you're seeing a new bloke. We also heard that he would be here with you tonight. Which is why we've risked Lavender's wrath and gate crashed." She blushed and tugged her ear. "Oh, yeah. I suppose you're right. I do have a new bloke, so to speak." Ron sat his bottle down with a white knuckled fist. "So, you brought him to what? Show him off? Best way to get word around to your poor sap of an ex. Have a right laugh at my expense, that's what you're doing!" Harry gripped his shoulder and shook his head. "No, mate. That's not it. Just drink your beer, yeah?" He grunted and did as he was told when Hermione had good naturedly aided in getting the bottle off the counter and to his lips. "Oh, Ronald. That's not it at all." She sighed and took another swig of her own. "I was actually hoping you'd gate crash. This one is different. I'm actually really nervous." Harry snorted and put his bottle to his lips to cover his smirk. "Yeah. Nervous." He sighed. "New bloke, you say? How new?" She raised her brow and coughed on her drink. "Oh, really? Is that honestly necessary?" Harry let her shelve the topic then, both Ron and he following her into the thick of the party. Trying to distract himself, he let her guide the topics of conversation and only intervened when Ron was reminded of why he was frustrated. Ron, for the most part, was content with the buddy-like atmosphere of their trio haunting corners and tables. Fred would pass by with a group of his own friends, having called George and Angelina in as reinforcement Harry guessed, from time to time. He would send Hermione fervent looks and she would shake her head. Angelina engaged her in conversation after a bit, allowing Fred to casually slide in next to her and manoeuvre his hand around to graze the one she had behind her back resting on the ping pong table they were once again loitering around. Harry felt sick, again. "So, Ronniekins, how are you holding up after leaving the academy. I mean how are really doing? Not the rubbish you feed Fred." Ron sniffed and set his empty bottle next to the few that they had collected over the time they'd been stationed there. "S'alright. The grunt work is dead boring and I'm still helping out doing odd jobs at the shop to keep busy. Other than that I can't complain, I guess." George nodded then tugged his head toward Hermione. "I bet you aren't doing as good as she is, eh? Or do you have yourself a bird you've been hiding." "He hasn't brought anyone around the flat that I've noticed." Fred waggled his eyebrows suggestively and turned his attention to them in earnest now. "Who do you recon her new beau is, ickle Ronniekins?" Harry shoved his way through the crowd to get away from the teasing pair. He didn't blame them for having their fun, since Ron was rather thick with that sort of thing. Fred and Hermione weren't even being stealthy, and he still hadn't caught on to them. But the harassment at his best friend's expense was almost more than he could bare, even if he was envious of the couples ability to manage some form of stealth. When he made his way back with fresh drinks for them, he spotted Ginny nearly snogging Dean in a corner. "Shit." He felt the beast that had taken up residence in his head since Ginny had gotten into Uni nearly 6 years prior rustle and come alive. It whispered and then roared when he got Fred running his hand over Hermione's back out of Ron's view. "Excellent." He passed around drinks, staving off the plan his jealous beast was forming. His eyes kept shifting between the different powder kegs prime for blowing up around the room. When Dean was starting to pull Ginny toward the door, he made his decision, no matter how utterly mad and ill-advised it was. He sighed heavily and took a deep pull to finish his drink. "Right, I'm just gonna rip the bandaid off, shall I." He shushed Fred over the chatter and kicked Ron to get his confused brow focussed on him. "Fred and Hermione are shagging. I'm gonna go make a pass at your sister. Oi, Ginny!" The rest of the night was a blur of loud music and yelling. He was sure he wasn't the only one being yelled at and that it wasn't just Ginny yelling at him the whole time. He was aware that that night was all going to add up to one massive headache come the next day. When he did wake up the next morning, Ron was on the couch, looking miserable even in sleep. "Oh, he was not happy with me." Harry turned cautiously to see Hermione leaning against her door jam. "I don't know why I thought any of this could work." He shrugged, well aware of her concerns. "Yeah. We aren't really good at this whole fancying a Weasley thing., you and me." She nodded sadly and bit her lip. They were silent for a moment before he signalled her to follow him to the kitchen. She did so with a lowered head, and he knew he had handled things very badly the night before. "I'm really sorry about outing you. I don't know what I was thinking?" He pulled down cups as she put the kettle on and started some toast. "I think it was that drink that Fred made. It was powerful stuff. That mixed with the lager, mixed with my own messed up situation, and I just couldn't keep my head." She snorted and began frying up eggs. "Felix Felicis. I don't think they actually came up with that one, like he said. I think he sometimes brags for the sake of hearing his own voice and seeing who would believe him. He can be such a prat sometimes." Harry hummed and got some plates down. Hermione went about making breakfast, as well mixing her pick-me-up tea to help ease the punishment of the night before. She sat the cups down at the table and meted out eggs and toast. He pulled out the jam and butter and they sat down to breakfast, giving a pause to the conversation. "About the whole Fred thing?" Hermione blushed and sent him a guarded look he hadn't seen since they'd met their first year at Uni. "I don't know what to say. Where to start? I'm being serious here. I don't where you want me to start." "Okay." He huffed and scratched his head as he thought. "When did you guys start this mess? I mean, why would be nice as well, suppose." "That is hard to explain. Remember when I was trying to get Ron's stuff back to him? Well, when I was trying to smooth things over between us." Harry shrugged but nodded instead when she glowered at him. "Anyway, it was a little while after he had moved into George's old room in the flat above the Twin's shop. I thought, wrong as it turned out, that he would want his things back. So he would feel more comfortable." "When you got that new mattress and other bedroom stuff? Right. Now I remember." She sighed but nodded. "Yes, Harry. As I was saying, he told me exactly what he thought of me and my attempts at "winning him back." He wasn't too kind, either. We had one of our worst rows ever. I think I threw that figurine of the owl, that one that Sirius had gotten him as a joke. Chucked it right at his head. "He was almost cruel, and I wasn't much better. Fred heard everything. He was on the balcony when I came out and just stood there, head down. He gave me a hug as I passed and I left." Harry nodded, but he couldn't stop the wave of confusion that washed over his face. "Though I don't doubt your story telling capabilities, I think you went off track a bit. That sounded like an end to a story, not a beginning?" She sniffed a bit and played with her napkin. "I, uh, avoided the place pretty steadily. I mean, avoiding Ron isn't hard. You two are both just out of the academy and in the force now, you know what your routine is like. I'm always busy with my continued law studies, since I finished. But, I used to go there often to chat with them and there's this lovely cafe down the road. But, I stopped. You see, there's another reason I ended things with Ron." "You fancied Fred." She jumped and whirled around to take in the red head with wide eyes. "The thought occurred to me last night about the third time I'd gotten up to unload my guts in the John. I don't like it, but I can't stop it. So, yeah." She looked like she wanted to hug him but held herself back and simply got him a cup of tea before sitting back down to her own. "Well, no? Not consciously, any way, and after much consideration I don't think it was more than an after thought. No, I didn't fancy Fred, but he and George made me realise I fancied the idea of us and not really you." "Explain." "So, you remember that mess with Angelina our third year at Uni? I was oddly Fred's confidant and it made me re-think our whole mess, Ron. I'm not going to reiterate the notion that you felt just as off kilter about things as I did. My ears are still ringing from the last time." The dark look that passed over his face before disappearing proved that was wise. "I just realised we weren't really working well as a couple. We were great as friends, but really Ron." He gulped down some tea, and grunted out, "back to Fred." "So, when I stopped going to the cafe, he started bringing my favourites for us to share when I was on campus. It was just after we all finished at the academy. He made me laugh and distracted me enough to keep the studies from getting to be too much. With you two off and in the force, I just get so swamped with my books and homework." "You were the one who thought environmental law was a good field of study. We never told you law studies were a good idea." Harry shook his head and flicked his fork in her direction. "Nope. We even told you not to do it, I think. Told you you would end up in parliament someday if you kept up with it." Ron's face screwed up as if he'd tasted something gross. "Can't think of anything worse, mate. Not one thing." She whacked him in the arm with a huff. "Honestly! Right, so, he brought me things, chatted me up, one thing led to another, we had a drunken shag on the table and that was that." Both boys shot from their seats with equal looks of horror on their faces. Harry's eyes shifted to Ron who looked like he was about to be sick. They both cried out in outrage and began hurling abuse at her. "I'm joking." She was laughing, tears in her eyes and waved them off. "It was in Harry's room. We got confused on the way to mine. Kidding! The couch." Ron was red everywhere skin was visible. "Alright, I'm done. There was no drunken snagging. Swear on Crookshanks life." Harry considered her for a moment, taking in that she loved her ridiculously ugly cat, and sat back down gingerly. "You making jokes about shagging. What's Fred done to you?" "Actually, he rather nervously asked me to leave his own party early, before I could even get there actually. That one that he threw 3 months ago? We never even got there, considering he showed up on our door step. Went to France for the weekend. It was fantastically out of the blue and I was very at odds with myself the whole time. It was the best holiday date I'd been on. Sorry, Ron." Harry watched Ron shake his head in denial. "He was there, though. We chatted with him." "Nope. His ear was missing now that I'm looking back. We were plastered just enough to not notice. Blimey, we didn't even care. You were still grumpy as all hell that you were single and I was right pissed at Dean." "Oh yeah. But why?" "Doesn't matter." Hermione snorted and Ron turned his confused gaze to her, oblivious to Harry's uncomfortable blush. "Any way, we were talking to George all night. Never even saw Fred. Well, damn, 'Moine." Ron scratched his neck. "Right. Well, that's that then." He got up and made himself a plate and sat down to shovel a forkful in his mouth. "What was that mess with Dean, yeah?" Just as he was going to answer the front door was opened and closed rather loudly. He turned in his chair, his pathetic explanation like lead on his tongue. There was Ginny, the object of his affection and best mates kid sister. She was beautiful rage fire personified as she crossed her arms and levelled her flashing eyes on him. "Why the hell did you kiss me last night?" Ron wretched and dropped his fork. "I'm never coming back here, again."

[roanne543fortnite-blog]

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Two Males enter, one particular man leaves: the fighters closed in on each other. In the online video video game Fortnite Fight Royale, the late-recreation section is often one of the most frenetic and remarkable. All of a sudden, the sniper released himself into a close-by discipline and began attacking. Gizzard Lizard unexpectedly threw up another port-a-fort, amid a hail of enemy hearth. The goal is always to obtain, or make, the superior floor.

A minute later on, Gizzard Lizard was lifeless—killed by a grenade. Afterward, he replayed the ending, from many vantages, to analyze what had gone Improper. For being so near successful and still appear up shorter—it was discouraging and tantalizing. 1 wants to go again. The urge is powerful. But it had been time for my son to do his homework.

I used more time as a kid than I care to remember looking at other Little ones play video video games. Room Invaders, Asteroids, Pac-Guy, Donkey Kong. Typically, my friends, in excess of my objections, chosen this to enjoying ball—or to other well-known, if significantly less edifying, community pursuits, such as tearing hood ornaments off parked cars. Each individual so generally, I performed, much too, but I had been a spaz. Insert quarter, video game over. Once gaming moved into dorms and apartments—Nintendo, Sega—I realized that I could just depart. But sometimes I didn’t. I admired the feat of divided focus, the knack that some fellas (and it was always fellas) looked as if it would have for being alive, both equally in the game and within the battle of wits about the sofa, as if they were being the two actively playing a sport and doing “SportsCenter” at the same time.

I thought of this one other day when a buddy explained viewing a group of eighth-quality girls and boys (among the them his son) hanging all-around his apartment participating in, but mainly observing Some others Engage in, Fortnite. A single boy was enjoying on a considerable Television set screen, that has a PlayStation four console. The opposite boys were being on their own phones, possibly enjoying or observing an expert gamer’s Are living stream. And the girls ended up enjoying or seeing by themselves phones, or hunting in excess of the shoulders of the boys. On the list of women informed my Mate, “It’s pleasurable to begin to see the boys get mad when they lose.” Not a soul stated Considerably. What patter there was—l’esprit du divan—came from the kids’ little screens, in the form of the pro gamer’s mordant narration as he vanquished his opponents.

Fortnite, for anybody not a teenager-ager or even a dad or mum or educator of teenagers, may be the third-particular person shooter match which has taken in excess of the hearts and minds—and the time, both of those discretionary and otherwise—of adolescent and collegiate The us. Produced last September, it is actually at the moment by many actions the preferred video sport in the world. From time to time, there are greater than a few million men and women participating in it directly. It has been downloaded an estimated sixty million moments. (The sport, available on Laptop, Mac, Xbox, PS4, and mobile units, is—crucially—free, but a lot of players pay for additional, cosmetic attributes, which include costumes called “skins.”) Regarding fervor, compulsive behavior, and parental noncomprehension, the Fortnite trend has things of Beatlemania, the opioid crisis, and the ingestion of Tide Pods. Parents converse of it as an dependancy and swap tales of plunging grades and brazen screen-time abuse: beneath the desk at school, in a memorial service, in the lavatory at four A.M. They beg each other for alternatives. A buddy sent me a online video he’d taken one particular afternoon when endeavoring to stop his son from actively playing; there was a time when regularly contacting 1’s father a fucking asshole would've brought about significant hassle in Tomato Town. In our house, the massive risk is gamer rehab in South Korea.

Sport fads arrive and go: Rubik’s Dice, Dungeons & Dragons, Angry Birds, Minecraft, Clash of Clans, Pokémon Go. What persons seem to concur on, whether or not they’re seasoned avid gamers or dorky dads, is the fact that there’s one thing new emerging about Fortnite, a sort of mass social gathering, open up to the Substantially broader array of folks when compared to the video games that arrived right before. Its relative not enough wickedness—it is apparently largely freed from the misogyny and racism that afflict a number of other online games and gaming communities—can make it more palatable to a broader audience, and this appeal equally ameliorates and augments its addictive electric power. (The sport, in its standard mode, randomly assigns players’ skins, that may be of any gender or race.) Prevalent anecdotal evidence suggests that women are playing in extensive quantities, the two with and with no boys. There are actually, and probably ever shall be, some gamer geeks who gripe at these types of newcomers, equally as they gripe when there isn't any newcomers at all.

A colleague whose 13-year-outdated son is deep down the rabbit hole likened the Fortnite phenomenon for the Pump Residence Gang, the crew of ne’er-do-well teenager surfers in La Jolla whom Tom Wolfe happened upon inside the early nineteen-sixties. Instead of a clubhouse over the beach, there’s a Digital world wide juvenile hall, where Youngsters Acquire, invent an argot, adopt alter egos, and shoot one another down. Wolfe’s Pump Residence Children went on beer-soaked outings they called “destructos,” in which they might, at area farmers’ behest, demolish deserted barns. Now it’s Juul-sneaking small homebodies demolishing Digital partitions and houses with imaginary pickaxes. Children everywhere are swinging absent at their entire world, tearing it down to outlive—creative destruction, of a kind.

Shall I reveal the game? I must, I’m scared, Despite the fact that describing movie game titles is just a little like recounting desires. A hundred gamers are dropped on to an island—from a flying college bus—and struggle one another to the Loss of life. The winner is the last one standing. (You could pair up or type a squad, much too.) This is certainly what is meant by Struggle Royale. (The initial Model of Fortnite, introduced past July, for forty dollars, wasn’t battle on the Demise; it is the new iteration which includes caught fire.) A storm encroaches, little by little forcing combatants into an ever-shrinking region, in which they need to destroy or be killed. Alongside the way, you look for out caches of weapons, armor, and healables, even though also gathering developing resources Additional reading by breaking down current constructions. Hasty fabrication (of ramps, forts, and towers) is A necessary element of the sport, which is why it is often called a cross between Minecraft plus the Hunger Game titles—and why aggrieved mother and father have the ability to explain to themselves that it's constructive.

Right before a sport commences, you wander around inside a style of purgatorial bus depot-cum-airfield waiting until eventually the subsequent hundred have assembled for an airdrop. This is a Odd position. Players shoot inconsequentially at one another and pull dance moves, like actors walking aimlessly about backstage practising their traces. Then appear the airlift along with the drifting descent, by means of glider, into the battleground, with a mild whooshing audio that's to your Fortnite addict just what the flick of the Bic is usually to a smoker. You could land in a single of 20-a person places to the island, Each individual using a cutesy alliterative title, some suggestive of mid-century gay bars: Shifty Shafts, Moisty Mire, Lonely Lodge, Greasy Grove. In patois and in temper, the sport manages to become both dystopian and comedian, dim and lightweight. It might be alarming, in case you’re not accustomed to this sort of points or are attuned into the information, to hear your darlings shouting so merrily about head pictures and snipes. But there’s no blood or gore. The violence is cartoonish, at least relative to, say, Halo or Grand Theft Vehicle. These types of will be the consolations.

The island alone has an air of desertion although not of extreme despair. This apocalypse is rated PG. The abandonment, precipitated from the storm, which has both killed or scattered most of the planet’s inhabitants, appears to are already current and comparatively fast. The grass is lush, the canopy entire. The hydrangeas are abloom in Snobby Shores. Properties are unencumbered by kudzu or graffiti and also have tidy, sparsely furnished rooms, as if the inhabitants experienced only just fled (or been vaporized). Evidently, Everybody over the island, in These prosperous pre-storm instances, shopped in a similar aisle at Target. Each time I check out a player enter a bedroom, whether it is in Junk Junction or Loot Lake, I Take note the multicolored blanket folded through the mattress. People cobalt-blue desk lamps: are they available for sale? Maybe sooner or later They are going to be.