#i can see why people want to die from tooth pain

[theoldandnewfirm]

not to read too deep into it but in the 2022 film marley DOES say that he left prudence to scrooge. that might imply he made up some sort of death plan. possibly he died of something that took a bit to actually kill him.

Oh, that would make sense!

[ganymede-princess]

Entanglement Theory | Robert Capa (Sunshine)

Part 2

ship: robert capa X fem!oc

warnings: capa is mildly suicidal but it's basically tooth-rotting fluff for the most part, capa has a bruise from his fight with mace, i try (and fail) to explain several pieces of theoretical physics through dialogue despite having only a layman's understanding of the concepts.

summary: capa's insomnia inadvertently causes an impromptu date.

word count: 3263

a/n: i know almost nothing about physics, but I do try to explore some of the concepts in the narrative here, so when I inevitably get things painfully wrong, please do correct me. AlsoI know that Searle is the medic as well as the psych officer, but you're going to have to bear with me here. I sort of think of Doc as a bit of an all rounder on board: part gardener, part mechanic, part cook. Basically a spare who helps keep everything running smoothly until it's time to treat illness and injuries. Also, yes I made that GIF, that's why it's so horrible and decayed.

written by @ganymede-princess

The floor lights burst in and out of life like tiny stars as I tip-toe down the hall. Icarus tracks my movements closely, giving enough light to see my feet and enough darkness to stay half asleep. The dream is still fresh in my mind, almost more real than the floor beneath my feet. It was frightening, but I wish I could salvage that feeling somehow. The weightlessness and unbearable brightness, the heat and pain so strangely pleasurable, like cleaning corruption from a wound. I wonder if it would truly be so magnificent to die that way. I know I should doubt it- that death is grotesque in truth- but a piece of me still clings to the sense of belonging I felt as my hands turned to dust and burned away into the cosmos. I focus my eyes on the floor lights as they appear and try to bring the vision back into my mind. The lights pale in comparison to the unbending beauty of the sun's surface, but I still see the orange ripples of the source of all life swimming in the tiny artificial effigies. The details of the dream are slipping out of my grasp, back into the shadows of my subconscious when I collide with something warm and hard. I stumble back, sucking in a breath and wheel back blindly to punch my assailant.

"Hey, hey!" A low, gravelly voice commands me, and my arms lock in a vice grip. "Ah- calm down! Icarus, floor lights up."

White light floods the hallway and I come back into myself to see that I'm trapped in the arms of Robert Capa. God help me, he's so cute. His hair is ruffled up and his brow is creased with concern as he sets his nebulous blue eyes on me, locking me into their gravity field.

"What's the matter with you, Doc?"

"Ca-Capa... I'm sorry." I will myself to pull away from him, but time and space seem to stand still. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, but you were going to." He huffs.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

"Relax. What are you doing up anyway?"

"I-" As he frowns, it feels as if every pair of eyes in the universe are scrutinising me. "I was just... Taking a walk."

"Where?" A smirk tugs at the corner of his lip like a fishhook.

"Nowhere."

"Funny. That's exactly where I'm going." He lets me out of his grasp and pushes past me to walk a few paces down the hall, then looks over his shoulder. "Are you coming?"

He gives me a rare smile of encouragement, and as I walk obediently towards him I realise he could make me do anything he wanted with just that smile.

As the primary medic on board the Icarus 2, I am essentially the mother of my crewmates. I kiss their grazes and fuss over them all. I listen to them cry and offer what comfort I can before I move them to the more calculated psychiatric care of Searle. It is my job to love these people as if they are my own family, and I do sincerely. I must treat everyone with equal kindness and empathy, never picking favourites or singling out scapegoats, but when I look at Robert Capa, my training is sucked out of the airlock. No matter how much I try to deny it to myself, I know that his safety and happiness takes absolute precedence in my mind. He is my first thought in the morning and the last one at night. Speaking to him is the only thing that brings me peace, even more than the Earth Room. We are a handful of humans traversing the impossibly massive vacuum of space; we should all be losing our minds, but I feel safe as long as I am close to Capa. Even so, dreams can be more frightening than reality. I want to reach for him somehow and ask him to take on the futile task of protecting me from my own subconscious.

My throat dries up and my cheeks are burning as I walk close beside him, my hand inches from his. I could just slip my fingers in between his. Surreptitious. He might not even notice. What might be an insignificant gesture to him would serve to anchor me to reality. I'm not sure if it's my logical side or simply fear, but I stay my hand and follow beside him as he marches through the hallways, fleet footed and silent.

"So, um," My voice wavers. "Where are we going?"

"Almost there." Capa inclines his head toward me and the ghost of a smile passes over his face.

We wind through a few more hallways until we reach the Payload unit. Capa fiddles with the keypad.

"Why are we here?"

He keeps his eyes trained on the keypad, but quirks an eyebrow and bites the inside of his cheek, his expression somewhere between amused and annoyed.

"Primary Payload entrance unlocked." Icarus lowers the intercom volume and isolates her voice to only this corridor so the rest of the crew may sleep undisturbed.

"Mind yourself." Capa warns as he releases the door and steps inside.

As I pad in behind him, it seems as if a whole world is opening up before me. I have only been inside the Payload a handful of times, and the sheer size of the place awes me every time. Panels upon panels stretching for miles in every direction, each one containing enough nuclear matter to fuel an atomic bomb.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" All the wonder I feel is written on Capa's face.

All I can do is nod. There is a power here that none of us can comprehend, maybe not even Capa himself. I follow him as he traverses the scaffolding that runs a few stories above the ground until he sits down, dangling his feet over the railing. I have only ever seen the Payload from ground level, and the huge scope of the glossy black room is all the more evident from up high.

"It's big in here." I say it just to fill the silence.

Capa huffs, eyes alight with amusement. I sit close beside him and try to focus on the view.

"Fifty billion tonnes of fissile material." Capa muses. "Every scrap of accessible nuclear fuel in our solar system is in this room. The Stellar Bomb. Payload. Humanity's final hail Mary. Doesn't it make you feel tiny?"

Though I have heard every detail hundreds of times before, Capa's voice breathes life into the story that every human in the planetary system thinks about in every waking moment.

"I feel tiny next to you." I admit. "You are the Payload. You're the only person in the universe who can pull off the detonation."

"No pressure, huh?" Capa squints.

"None at all." I bump him with my elbow. "But I didn't mean to freak you out or-"

"I've heard it all before, don't worry."

With nothing to say, we fall into silence again. I drop my legs over the edge and kick them like a child on a swing. I tap his foot with mine earning a breathy laugh, and for a minute or two we tussle as we both try to keep our feet on top. He eventually wins by pushing his ankle underneath mine and locking my foot down under his. My heart races so hard that I'm afraid Icarus might ask me why I'm exercising outside of the designated gym room.

"How's your bruise?"

"Hmmph." Capa lifts his shirt to reveal a yellowing bruise on his ribs. "Hurts when I poke it, but it's alright."

"Why would you poke it?" I giggle, trying hard to keep the redness off my cheeks.

"'Cause its there." He side-eyes me. "Anyway, you should have seen the other guy."

"I did! Not a scratch on him."

"That was on purpose." He closes his eyes and presses his hands together as if in prayer. "I'm completely zen in the face of violent aggression."

"Maybe you just can't fight."

"I can fight, I assure you." He cracks his knuckles and eyes me in amusement. "I'd drop you in an instant."

"Sure, you would." I nudge him.

"You wanna go?"

In a rare moment of confidence, I sling an arm around his shoulder and ruffle his long, velvety hair. He tickles my sides in response with dexterous fingers.

"C-C-Capa stop tha-at before I fall off!" I gasp between giggles.

"I've got you." His grip on me tightens, but he keeps tickling. "Now, say 'yes, Doctor Capa, you can fight.'"

"Ye-yes, Capa, you can fi-ight!"

"Doctor Capa!" He grumbles. "I have a PhD, you know."

"Yes, you can fight, D-doctor Capa."

"Say I'm the most handsome physicist in the solar system."

"You're the mo-host handsome physi- physicist in the- the solar system!"

"Good girl." He quits tickling but keeps a strong hold of me while I catch my breath.

"Dr Bigshot PhD," I say weakly. "You weaselled that out of me!"

"You didn't put up much of a fight." He growls in a voice like black treacle, and I notice how close we have gotten.

My eyes trace the dark stubble growing into the hollow of his cheeks, then his heavy, sleepy eyes, his dicky little sideburns, and finally his pink seashell lips. I feel him studying me too, and I can't help but lean closer as he rubs circles on my waist. A husky breath escapes his lips, and he relinquishes his hold on me. Leaning away, he shakes his head as if to un-stick an annoying thought. A strange, guilty sickness grips me. What did I do wrong?

"You wanna see something cool?" He slaps his hands on his knees and stands up, offering me a hand.

I nod dumbly and accept his help, just happy to touch him. Capa leads me to the control room, and goes through the familiar motions of setting up the control panel. I sit down on one of the swivel chairs and watch his slow, methodical movements. I have noticed before that Capa always thinks things through this way, doing everything by the letter. He has the same slow, practiced approach to relationships, after all it took until nearly the end of our training for Capa to really feel like a friend to myself and the rest of the crew.

"Icarus, show me the lights." Capa presses the test button.

"Yes Capa, initiating Payload visual test."

"C'mere, look." Capa pulls me close to him and points out a tiny white star blossoming in the corner of the room. "See, that's a projection of what the Payload will look like when it's detonated. It's called Cherenkov light."

"I've heard of that." I admit as the lights begin to spread and dance across the room. "How does it work?"

"It's quite fascinating, really." Capa murmurs, the wonder clear in his voice. "The light is caused by charged particles travelling through a dielectric medium faster than the speed of light. That's how powerful a nuclear reaction is. It can fire out particles faster than light itself can travel."

"It's beautiful." The lights wink and swirl together like a glowing algal bloom.

"It is. When this thing detonates and all the stars come out, there will be so much energy all in one place that time and space will smear together. For a few seconds, everything will be unquantifiable. The impossible will be possible. You could light a candle in a fish tank, live a lifetime in a second... stand, unharmed, on the surface of the sun."

"It's almost a shame that we won't get to see it up close."

"I want to. I'd die to."

"You better not." The lights begin to fade, and I look up at Capa. "I'd miss you."

"Yeah?" Capa almost smiles.

"Yeah. What's the point in any of this if we can't enjoy the sunshine together back home?"

"You don't think we'll all be sick of each other by the end of it all?"

"Well... I'm already pretty sick of Harvey, but-"

A hissing laugh escapes from Capa, and he covers his face in embarrassment.

"I think even Harvey's sick of himself by now." He snickers

"We should be careful, he might be listening."

"Oh no, he might be." He chuckles and guides me to sit with him on the lounge at the back of the room. In the quiet darkness, Capa's eyes catch the luminance of the control panel lights.

"Where were you going when we ran into each other?"

"I couldn't get to sleep. There was just... so much going through my head with the comms fuck-up, and..." He sighs. "I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not yet." Capa chews his lip. "What about you? Where were you going?"

"Oh um," I flush. "I had a dream and it frightened me. I... I guess I was just clearing my head. Can I tell you about it?"

"Sure." He shifts in his seat to face me better, and tucks his feet up under him.

"It- it was us. We were floating together in space. We weren't wearing equipment, but it was warm and we could breathe. Everything was so still, and there were stars everywhere all around us, just like the Payload test. I thought it was beautiful, and I wanted to tell you but it was like I forgot how to talk. I thought you looked like a star too, so maybe that's why I forgot, I don't know."

"Like a star?"

"Yes, you... I don't know. You were you, but amplified. A-anyway, I noticed that one of the stars was getting bigger, and bigger, and then I realised we were falling towards it. We kept falling and falling so fast that we had to hold hands, or we would have lost each other, and the stars smeared out into white lines, but I wasn't scared, and eventually we passed all these planets and I realised we were falling into the sun. We just kept getting closer and closer to it, and I could see more and more of it until it was all I could see in any direction. It was so burning hot but I couldn't die. Eventually we caught right up to it, and it was right there in front of us and we reached out to touch it, but then I woke up so I don't know what would have happened."

"That's incredible."

"It was. It was really strange, though. It was just like Searle said, the light becomes you, and because you were there too, it was like we became each other."

"Do you get why I would die to see the Payload detonate up close? Not even Icarus knows what will happen when she blows. It'll be a big bang on a small scale. It's entirely possible your dream could occur under those circumstances. You could touch the sun."

"No?" I squint, baffled at the urgency of his tone. "No. I- I don't want to die like that."

"It would be beautiful, Doc, but I won't die with the Payload." He is burning with intensity. "Not if you forbid it."

"Were you planning on it?" I laugh, hoping he is joking.

For a moment, he stares into the middle distance, focused on something only he can see. His eyes are blue supergiants; stars that burn hotter and brighter than any other, and die young as they collapse under their own weight and burst out into brilliant explosions of light.

"Yes." He finally says, coming back into himself. "For a while now, I... I've planned to detonate the Payload from inside, so I can see for myself what it's really like."

"Why?" My voice cracks in despair.

"No human being has ever seen such a thing, or ever will again. What is returning to a frozen earth worth compared to seeing the impossible?"

"Everything, Capa!" I want to shake him. "You'll get to see the ice melt. You'll get to see the world as it was when we were children."

"So will everyone."

"Exactly! We'll see it happen together."

He smiles in a ghostly far-off way.

"Forbid me to do it, and I won't."

"I forbid it." The words come as easy as breathing.

Capa nods, a shadow of disappointment passing over his face for a second before it melts into acceptance.

"Okay."

"I'm sorry." I do not fully understand why I apologise.

"Don't be. You just saved a life."

"Why did you give me the choice?"

"What do you know about entanglement theory?"

"What does that have to do with-"

"What do you know about entanglement theory?"

"Very little."

"So, basically, when placed under a huge amount of energy, such as during the Big Bang, a pair of particles can take on some shared property, and even if one of those particles ends up light years away from the other one, you can still tell that the two are entangled because they still share the same property." Capa is alight and animated in a way that only physics can make him. "Now imagine those atoms spend 13 billion years apart, until eventually they end up on earth, one as part of a person in the United States, and one as a person in Australia, and these particles can sense each other. They're calling out to each other, and it effects the people they are a part of. They make them both interested in science, they make them both adrenaline junkies with fucking god complexes who think it'll be fun to get fired into the sun in a big steel stick insect. And, eventually, the two people find each other. Well, one of them doesn't really know how to act for a while, but the other one is always good to him until he realises what he really wants, and hopefully, one day soon, she might let him kiss her and the two entangled particles can touch again."

"My god." I whisper. He can't be serious, can he? "That's some cheesy shit, Capa."

"Yeah, I know." He buries his face in his hands.

"You don't really believe that do you?"

"No." He grins. "No, I'm talking out of my ass here. But it's a good story, huh?"

"I'm impressed. But I need to know something. Capa, if I tell you now that I don't feel the same, will you throw yourself into the sun?"

"No." Capa's face creases in pain. "I already promised you I wouldn't."

"Good."

I lay my lips on his, as gently as I would hold a rose petal between my fingers. Everything he is melts into me, and I am completely and deliciously his, forever. We are simultaneously binary stars, gravitationally bound to one another in orbit, and a pair of insignificant creatures trapped in the void of space by the hubris of our species. Our hands move across every inch of each other in the ancient, desperate hunger that humans have felt for centuries. The hunger to be closer, even when two bodies are pressed flush against each other, the hunger remains. It is as if there is something deep inside each of us that pines to be touched by the other, something that wants to burst out of us and be a new kind of naked. Everything I have felt for Capa since the start of our training boils out of me and into the kiss. I never want to be without him.

[ralith]

Kiss Roulette 14: a Kiss to the stomach for Humanformers Retired Trio

Sorry for the wait! I hope this is fluffy and sweet enough to satiate even Ironhide's sweet tooth.

--

"You know, this isn't how I wanted to die," Ironhide moaned painfully, rolling onto his back in hopes of easing the agony. "But if I meet my end tonight, I'm glad your face will be the last thing I see."

Ratchet gazed down into those pained eyes of the soldier laying across his lap. His own stare was hardened.

"You're not dying, fool. You just ate too much cake and now you're paying for it."

"It's my birthday. I can eat what I want."

"Just because you turned fifty-nine doesn't mean you should eat fifty-nine hundred calories in one sitting!"

"I reduced the sugar content in the strawberry filling," Optimus called out from kitchen where he was cleaning up from their dinner.

"Okay, so it's closer to fifty-seven hundred calories." Ratchet rolled his eyes. This was why they rarely kept pie or cake in the house aside from special occasions. The temptation to consume it all was too great for the old warrior. Keeping icing alone in the house was bad enough. Ratchet had one time walked in on Ironhide having a midnight snack of cookies that was he smearing with cake icing like cheese on crackers.

"C'mon doc," Ironhide stretched and shimmied up further so his stomach was settled more prominently atop Ratchet's lap.  "Your beloved husband is in agony. Don't you care?"

"You. Did. This. To. Yourself." Ratchet jabbed a finger into Ironhide's side with each word. The soldier responded with an annoyed grunt.

"Optimus! Ratchet isn't giving me the sympathy and adoration I deserve on my birthday!"

There was a chuckle from the kitchen and Optimus stood in the doorway, toweling off his hands.

"Are you antagonizing our birthday boy?"

"Optimus, he ate half of a cake large enough for ten people."

"Well," the older man began, tossing the towel onto the table and joining his husbands in the living room, sitting on the floor between Ratchet's legs. "I take Ironhide's enthusiastic consumption as a compliment, given I baked the cake. Now, it's Ironhide's birthday. Let him enjoy it how he wants. Instead, we should think of some way to ease our dear husband's suffering." Optimus gave Ratchet a playful, pleading look. "Do you have any suggestions?"

Ratchet glanced between the faces of his lovers and knew he wasn't going to win this battle. It was Ironhide's big day. He could ease up and let the soldier enjoy the rest of his day.

"Well, there is one technique I know of. But it's experimental at best and the success rate is only moderate."

"Oh, I'd do anything for our husband. What is this technique?"

Ratchet smirked and hooked a finger beneath the hem of Ironhide's shirt, pulling it over the man's torso until it bunched up at his neck.

"Belly kisses," Ratchet stated matter-of-factly. The doctor dragged his fingers through the thick, dark trail of hair that covered the warrior's chest and stomach and dipped further south. He scraped his nails lightly against the skin as he went. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ironhide's toes curl.

"That treatment sounds excessive for a low success rate, but if that's what you recommend..." Optimus moved to a kneeling position. He brought one hand to hook behind Ratchet's knee, and the other to rest on Ironhide's chest, where he rubbed and kneaded the well-toned pecs while he dipped his head to meet the soldier's belly.

He kissed the warrior like he was worshipping the other man, exploring the rising and falling expanse like it was the first time tasting him. Teeth and tongue worked over each scar marking old injuries, and Optimus's hot breath left Ironhide groaning at the sensation and clutching the couch.

While Ironhide squirmed and Optimus sucked reddened marks into the soft mound, Ratchet watched the two, relaxing back into the sofa. He occupied himself by tracing the zig-zagging stretchmarks that decorated the soldier's sides and lower stomach. He followed each one as if drawing a map on the warrior's body.

Ironhide was in heaven. No longer did he feel the dull ache in his gut, now approaching over-stimulation by the lips and fingers that teased him. Could every birthday end like this?

"How are you feeling, love?" Optimus exhaled hot against his skin.

"Better, but...," Ironhide ground out.

"If you're not feeling completely healed, I know one other course of treatment." Ratchet brushed the knuckles of his free hand along Ironhide's cheek and jaw while the other tugged teasingly at the waist of his pants.

"I think I know what you're proposing, Ratchet," Optimus smirked. "But isn't that treatment highly invasive and...intimate?"

"Extremely. But the succes rate is much higher if we work as a team. Can I borrow your hands for this?"

"You can have all of me, doctor."

"What do you say, Ironh-ough!"

Ratchet grunted as the soldier struggled to his feet in record time.

"You two better be in the bedroom in ten seconds."

[theotherdeerinhell]

The Doe in the Alleyway

I'm making a fanfiction about Rabo, because of course I am. Anyways, here's the first chapter in full. It's at 1.5k words, but since the last paragraph leads to a small timeskip, it's just a good place to end the first chapter. Get hyped up for this fun little thing!

Chapters will be posted to Tumblr as made. It will be posted to Wattpad, AO3, and Toyhouse on a weekly basis once it's complete.

Warning: The chapter consists of misgendering, a female getting a top torn off, mutilation, stabbing, and mentions of blood.

There is a reason why Fiona is a deer, and it's not because she licked salt or grazed on grass. No, it's because she ended up in Hell through the same situation she is finding her way in right now. Her hooves hit the floor with every swift stride, and her breaths prove to be challenges on their own. Fiona has been running for so long, she feels like she could collapse at any moment. But no. She will not let her pursuers get to her. Not this time. She knows that letting them win would be a death sentence.

Fiona stumbles when she finds a wall in her path. Its eyes glare back at her. Fiona takes a couple steps back. She turns around to keep running, but the demons are already blocking the only way out. Their sickly and perverted grins reveal the golden tooth they all share. It is a reminder that they are all there because their master did not acquire what he so desperately wanted. Fiona crosses her arms to cover her big breasts pushing against the fabric of her black goth dress. She clasps her shoulders with her hands and slouches. Just the way they stare down her curves makes Fiona uncomfortable in her skin in a deep way.

"It looks like the little doe finally met her dead end." A vulture-like demon stalks up to her. A ginger cat and a sinner with a mosquito-like nose follow behind him. They take their time in their approach. They know there is nothing Fiona can do about them. These goons may be weaklings themselves, but she is even weaker. Any power she has is just late in manifestation. Fiona backs herself up against the wall as they draw closer. Fiona bares her vampire fangs and growls.

"You could've had this be easy, toots. All you had to do was let Valentino have his way." The vulture grabs Fiona with his friends. They all hold her still. Fiona squirms and cries out with all her might. The goons don't even stop her. They know that nobody will come save her. This is Hell, after all. People only mind their own business. Anyone who meddles are usually dead within a matter of days. It's cruel, but that is the status quo. The cat takes a hammer out of her pocket and kneels down.

"Such pretty hooves," She purrs, "Polished black and shimmering in the streetlight. Perhaps I'll take a shard as a souvenir." The feline grabs a hoof and holds it down. She raises her hammer and strikes it with all her might. The hoof shatters into pieces. It brings about a pain that is more intense than anything Fiona has ever felt. She cries out while her other hoof meets the same shattered fate. The goons drop Fiona.

Standing is much too painful. It shoots a sense of agony up her legs and to her brain. Fiona collapses. Her black eyeliner runs from the tears. This is it. She can't escape. She is about to die again. It can't end this way, not this soon. But that is not Fiona's choice to make. It never is.

"How about we see what's hiding underneath that pretty dress?" The vulture snickers. He grabs Fiona's dress and pulls it right off, exposing everything that creeps like these three would want to see. Fiona can feel their eyes staring at her harder. She tries to cover herself, but the vulture grabs her wrists tightly. "There is no point in you trying to protect yourself now~ You have no hope. No friends, no feet...just us, and my friend's blessed knife." Fiona looks behind the vulture to see what he's talking about. Indeed, the mosquito is holding a knife that shines white. Fiona cries out again. Her desperation grows stronger, but there is nothing she can do as the knife pierces her flesh. Red blood spills out as soon as the knife is pulled out.

Fiona screams again when the knife makes another puncture. The torture is endless, even if it's just for a minute. All of her vital organs are missed, but Fiona can tell that that is the point. Nobody in this group want to give her a quick death. Perhaps such a thing wouldn't be entertaining enough for them. The pain stops coming after some point. The goons drop her and snicker at the state they have put Fiona in.

"The bitch's already dead," The vulture tells his comrades, "Let's get going and tell the boss. She got exactly what she deserved." The other two nod their heads and leave the alleyway.

Fiona sits alone in the dark. She has no choice but to feel the agony and let exhaustion wash over her. Would she even be able to heal from angelic steel-induced wounds if she survived by some miracle? Staying awake is becoming increasingly difficult, but a sound makes her ears perk up. Three screams that sound so much like her killers. Fiona loos up. A shadow tendril waves half of a body in the air. Green electricity crackles through the thick wriggling shape of darkness. Could it be...?

Fiona slumps down. What is the point in guessing? She'll be dead by the time her savior finds her. She may as well give in now. Yet, that small sparkle of hope keeps her awake. So when the handsome buck clad in vintage red comes walking in, Fiona is in awe at the sight. For not only is the demon the same species as her, but he is the very manifestation of her dream self. He brushes some dust off his tattered coat, and the yellow sharp-toothed grin plastered on his face grows.

"I must apologize for being late, my dear." His voice oozes with charisma as he speaks, it's almost familiar to Fiona's dying ears, "But I was in the middle of lunch. Though, those lackeys did make for a fine dinner."

The male kneels down to take a closer look at Fiona. He tilts his head when he finds that the demons didn't even give her the decency of a full outfit. And the state of her hooves - her feet are practically stumps with how damaged they are. This doe is a beautiful one, he can tell. Perhaps if she wasn't so young, she'd be the one he's interested in. Letting her die would be a waste. So he snaps his fingers and lets a blanket appear around her. The demon wraps it around the fragile body gingerly in an effort to return some sense of dignity to her.

Fiona opens her eyes when she feels a blanket tightly wrapped around her and a pair of arms lifting hr up. She takes a good look at the one who is taking her to somewhere unknown. It's still that handsome buck. But is he here to save her? Even with her own uncertainty, Fiona has no choice but to find out. 

The male approaches the staircase of the recently rebuilt Hazbin Hotel. It is grander than it ever was, and the building is no longer on the brink of collapse. There are still not many residents looking for redemption. Most of the sinners the man walks past in the lobby were either already there, or they are people who came in seeking sanctuary. While being a refuge was not the owner's intention with the hotel, it is a consequence of it being neutral ground. Nobody has to worry about regular squabbles during their stay, so the injured and the weak live there. The only condition upheld is that they do have to go through the rehabilitation program. And as prideful as all sinners can be, most of them would rather be redeemed than dead. He comes up to the front desk, where Charlie herself is sorting through the room keys. She looks up to the sight of her "friend."

"Oh! Alastor!" Charlie pipes up, "I see you're back from your errands." She looks down at the female deer in his arms. The poor thing is leaving blood everywhere, and she's barely clinging on to life. "A-and I see that your friend there needs medical intervention."

"Don't you worry." Static crackles and pops when Alastor speaks, "From the way she is fighting death, I can tell this one is strong. Her damage is nothing I can't mend, but if you don't mind, the time window I have to ensure her survival is increasingly short. I will require the emergency kit at the back there." 

Charlie hurriedly turns and gathers the kit, "Right! Right! This is no time to chat. That person is dying." Charlie turns back around and hands the kit to Alastor.

"Thank you dearly." With that, Alastor navigates his way to the elevators. Charlie is absolutely grinning behind his back. Could this be it? Is the hotel finally making Alastor crack? No, it can't be. He has plans for that poor demon. Favors like what he's currently doing always have strings attached to them. But what would those strings be? A soul contract? A favor in return for what he has done? Charlie will find out soon, though she is not looking forward to what horror awaits that innocent soul.

[bonnieisaway]

Hi ! I am so happy to meet other people liking scissors seven ! The joy is enormous ! Anyway I was wondering about your thoughts on the Xuanwu assassins mostly the ones like Blackbird, the red woman (forgot her name), Red Tooth, Green Phoenix, etc

HELLO :33 okay this post might get really long

as for Blackbird: honestly I don't have too many thoughts on him... fucking LOVE his design though. and his backstory is super cool and I love how subtle his motivations are but how obvious it feels to any viewer why he's doing the things he does and why it makes sense. Over the course of the end of season 3 and the start of season 4, Blackbird starts the fight saying he doesn't want the money, he wants Seven to die slowly and painfully at his hands. and then by the end of it, he's saying "Your death will be quick, I promise you." And it's kind of subtle as to why his attitude changed but uses his backstory to illustrate his personality and motivations so much. He wants to be the hero. He wants to be selfless and say - "oh, I don't care for the reward, but I need to punish him" when we've seen no indication as to why he would want Seven dead personally, but when Seven starts winning the fight, Blackbird isn't playing games anymore. He needs Seven dead. He needs to be the hero here. He's been conditioned as long as he's be training that someone else can take the prize, the notoriety, the reward, but he has to be the one to do the job. And it fuckin destroys him when he can't because he can't possibly fathom not being the hero. Because he's sacrificed his entire body and life for this, if he doesn't win this fight, if he can't be the hero here, then what was it all for? What was the point of his suffering and his pain? And ultimately he goes so far to justify his suffering that it gets him killed. Which is unfortunate because I kinda wanted to see more of his character, but it's so.. in line and dedicated to his motivations and character building. Like it's so on brand for him and it illustrates his character so well, I just hope we get to see flashbacks of him in the past so we can see more of his personality.

Manjusaka (the red woman): HOOOOOO BOY. So I also adore her design, I actually have a character I made (for a different thing, not related to S7) where I took inspiration from Manjusaka's coat because I just love her design so much. She's very.. confusing to me? I hope we get to see her in flashbacks too - or at least she somehow lives through the end of season four, though it seems unlikely) - because I don't understand her motivations, or why she was obsessed with Seven. Every other Shadow Killer has their own reasons for their relationship or fight with Seven, most of them boil down to greed or their pride, but with Manjusaka you just don't know. Of course she's obligated to at least TRY and kill him because the leader said "kill that man," but what's the reason for her "crush"? Her obsession? What purpose was there in killing the Girl in White - or at least lying to Seven that she did??? What about her mentioned previous obsession with Green Phoenix?? She's notably the only woman of the Shadow Killers, does her demeanor have anything to do with needing to be stronger than the men around her, similar to Eleven? I dunno! I want to know more. So badly. I feel like I'm gonna say "I WANNA KNOW MORE" about like all of these characters

Redtooth: I don't know if this is a hot take but I hated him back before season 3 came out. And even then I kinda still hated him up until season 4. I could not fucking fathom why everybody loved him, because his backstory just looked like "boohoo I signed up to be in a clan where I can't have a girlfriend and I want a girlfriend" , but I'm fucking THRILLED that season 4 went so in-depth with his story and emotions and really made it clear why he is the way he is. I mean, the show uses a lot of show-don't-tell, so it's not OBVIOUS obvious, but they laid it out in a way where he made sense to me and I could put together why he's like that. I think I had like three separate posts about him and his relationship with Huilian (do I call her Huilian, or jiang?? is Jiang the last name??) but I really wanna focus here: I fucking adore how his past and his relationship with Huilian shaped his relationship with Seven. He fought tooth and nail and gave up everything he ever wanted to become powerful and worth something, and when this scrawny, 15 year old kid becomes a Shadow Killer without a single kill to his name, Redtooth feels threatened by him. To dare imply that this kid could somehow be on the same level as him? And then Redtooth couldn't beat him in that fight - mostly because he got stopped by Green Phoenix - and Redtooth is fucking furious he can't win. He needs the be stronger than Seven, he has to be better than this literal child! And he isn't and his hatred just festers and festers and he just wants Seven dead. And it's not said out loud but this is so obviously because of the way he had been treated in the Heaven Lily sect, and it's just so insanely well written the way his past warps the way he interacts with the world around him. I think this goes for everybody, just their past and present always feel so beautifully connected and so well represented in the way they act.

Green Phoenix: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

okay actually. like I feel like there's so much to say about him and I don't know where to START bro. mainly I adore his relationship with Thirteen. During season 2 I was impartial about him, and during season 3 I did not like him - I mean I loved seeing him and he's so cool, but as a character I hated him (not as much as I did redtooth tho) because I only understood that he was just using Thirteen. He's such a glaringly obvious replacement for her father, he is her weakness in every situation because he matters so much to her, being that he's the closest thing she has to a father, even if he's ruthless - I mean, in her eyes, being ruthless and teaching her to be the way she is was all she ever wanted. And then in season 4 he admits that he used her, every step of the way, from the very beginning, and yet through all that he could never predict that he'd care for her so much and love her like a real daughter, I fucking cried. I cried so hard. I have so many daddy issues I do not know how to deconstruct these two's relationship. I mean, the show has such a MASSIVE emphasis on protection, and your loved ones, and Seven's constant motivation is his adoration for the bonds between the people around him, and just .. the most calculated and cold Shadow Killer, the "weakest" yet the smartest, being unable to account for the love he could feel for someone he saw like his daughter and letting that ruin his decade or better of planning. It's so perfect. He's so perfect. I love that he's not explicitly forgiven or he never tries to say that Thirteen shouldn't be upset. She's reasonably disappointed and you can see it in her face - but when he hands over his sword to her to take her as a real disciple, to pass on the art of Green Cloud as if she were his own daughter, he's not forgiven, it doesn't make up for it, but it means so much. Thirtreen changes his perspective forever - as the Prince of Green Cloud, it was always his priority, and his revenge for what the leader of the Shadow Killers did does not mean killing him, it doesn't mean destroying the Shadow Killers, but it means letting Green Cloud live on through Thirteen. He tried to kill all of Green Cloud and erase it and he failed, and Green Phoenix may not be able to kill the leader, or to ruin the Shadow Killers, but the key difference is: every Shadow Killer is doomed to die in the act of killing - as White Fox says - and they are. Green Cloud will never die. It lives on in Thirteen. But Redtooth has died and come back already, Green Phoenix is dead, Blackbird is dead, and Manjusaka is dead - or at least they were wounded fatally enough I don't think they're getting back up.

I think I love most of all how loveable all these characters are (Manjusaka is ....... sometimes, she is! She sure is a character sometimes!!) despite the fact they are point blank the villains in the story. That they're an obstacle that, in most cases, have to die. That doesn't stop them from being loveable, from having such intricate backstories and detailed personalities, and sometimes it feels like nobody is the villain aside from the leader, given how fervently everyone believes in their own motivations and wants. But that doesn't redeem or ignore the things they have done - Manjusaka killed a group of random people just for talking shit, Redtooth is a conniving, evil and broken man shaped by his past, Green Phoenix spent almost his entire life tunnel visioned on a revenge plan that ultimately almost ruined the person he cherished most, Blackbird is known for being somebody who tortures and psychologically ruins people, a brutal, prideful man with a fallen apart sect that he can no longer save. They've all done such objectively awful things and yet they're written so well and motivated so beautifully that it doesn't always justify or dismiss the things they've done, but you're capable of loving them anyways. Being an obstacle in Seven's path doesn't make them two dimensional or black and white 'evil.' The writing is just so insanely good in this fucking show. I feel like I could (andprobablyhave) go on for days about it because just. Everytime I feel like I'm done talking there's more to talk about. GOD this show needs a bigger fanbase there's so much thought and love put into it and just AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sorry this answer got so long nonnie ;; I know you might've been expecting something a lot shorter and condensed just once I get started talking about this show I can't stop. I'm like a dog in a cage and if you put your fingers through the bars I WILL bite (start babbling about scissor seven) and I feel like this isn't even the full extent of how much I could talk about these motherfuckers. I do better when I'm asked specific questions because god there's just so much in this show and so much to talk about when I'm asked general questions it's so hard to get everything out. Anyways thank you so much for the opportunity to rant I love you with my heart I love meeting and talking to scissor seven fans it's so wonderful okay ily have a good day

[the-entity-child]

Faith was always in short supply in the fog, and Nea knew this as well as anyone else. Granted, to say she was a woman of God at any time of her life would be nothing short of a lie. How could men and women of power fill their pockets with blood-stained cash to fill their empty hearts with anything to make them feel whole? Using race, class, or even the name of whatever God could allow them the most support, they would taint it and use it for vile deeds. She couldn’t stand there and take it, tagging the walls of the towns she once lived in, trying to expose the deeds of such people many times before. Now that she was here, she was in the realm of something akin to a horror movie with a crazy alien god, classical slasher villains with chainsaws, and monsters of all makes and shapes. With each passing day, if days are even real in this realm, she would learn more slowly, but more likely, another question would be asked, like what is this entity, why does it feed in this certain way, and can it bleed?

To make a god bleed was the oddest question she had in mind. If God could bleed, could she and the other find a way to kill it and go home? But a part of her wonders: if they do go home, would they appear at the times of disappearance? Would it be as if nothing ever happened and all of this would be a simple dream? So many damned questions with barely any answers! She could ask most of those crazed killers that she saw slaughter her friends before her eyes; most would just stab or crush her throat before she could ask the more human-looking killers why this was happening. But in truth, she only saw one killer who seemed to want to answer her questions—the same one that now sleeps beside Quentin, as if she wasn’t the same woman from before who slaughtered him as if he were nothing more than a dog needing to be put down. Junko Yoshida calls herself, but to Nea, she will always be seen as “The Entity Chosen.” As she once called herself before, she is nothing more than a survivor, like the rest of us.

Nea couldn’t help but look at her in disgust, and she knew she wasn’t alone in this, but some, however, dare say she was just another victim like the rest of them! How could she be able to live nicely without the risk of being beheaded or ripped apart by the Hillbilly or Leatherface while enjoying killing the same people she now calls “brother in arms"? She just stared daggers into the sleeping woman, but soon she would hear someone speak.

"Nea, for God sake, relax; she is not hurting him; in fact, I think this is the best sleep he has had in a while.” She would barely look to the side to see Steve standing there, finishing up a bowl of stew, she would guess. Not long after Junko joined the survivors, a cauldron with supplies to cook appeared next to the fire. Most weren’t sure if it was a gift of goodwill from the being that holds them here or some kind of trick to gain more emotions from them so they wouldn’t be thrown out as quickly. Whatever it was didn’t ease the tension and anger she felt for Junko; just the thought of her being here made it worse. How many times has she personally been stabbed and toyed with by this brat? She saw that fucking large smile and shark tooth-like grin! Those eyes weren’t the eyes of someone with a job; those were the eyes of a bloodthirsty freak who enjoyed her screaming for someone to help her while watching her slowly die in horrible pain and agony. Worse yet was when she was the last one alive, and she knew she was gone. Junko always ended up hungry after a hard day at work as a survivor, and it was just the same as before, only instead of home-cooked food, the meal was fresher. Nea still got cold sweats seeing those teeth. Junko had always placed a hand over her neck out of reflex.

“How can we even trust her?” She quickly stated that Steve could only give a disappointed look. “We talked about this before with everyone," Before he could finish that thought, Nea just gave him a glare. “She is nothing like us, Steve; she is a goddamn freak! How many times has she fucking killed us with that box cutter or that crazy knife of hers? Well, I know it’s way too much!” She cried out, pointing at the sleeping Junko. “She isn’t even close to us, man. Sure, she helps, but it’s because of her that we are here in the first place! Not to mention that crazy cult of hers that, for all we know, could have been spying on us this whole time! That damn cult of her could be behind so much pain and suffering hell; I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew more about that Demogorgon, then she lets on!” She yelled. What could this freak be hiding? was the question that filled her mind, and she couldn’t tell what answers would help them or not. Until she saw Steve give a disgusted look towards Junko, but not the type she felt towards her, but rather something unnatural and horrible.

She looked behind her to see her sleeping there, or so she thought. However, a quick and trained look towards the black, meaty, blood-gushing hole in her head showed that it was moving only slightly. She was awake! Nea wanted to say something, only to see the other eye show an odd orange-yellow-ish glow as she got up to stand, smiling a tiny bit. Nea could almost see those horrible, sharp teeth showing themselves as she feared the possibility of pissing her off. However, Junko would wave her hands to claim them. "Nea, please, I mean you no harm, but I shall admit that hearing those comments is a bit disheartening. My faith is not some crazed “cult” as you see in movies or books!” She said as she looked towards Steve with a smile. “But I will say that my faith has been hoping to learn more about the beast that you and your friend fought against. Reminds me we should talk about your However, before she could finish, Steve interrupted, pointing at one of his eyes. “Why is your eye doing that?” He asked clearly close to losing his composure to the disgusting sight of Junko's blown-out eye, as before long they could smell something being burned to see that Junko held her head, hissing a bit in pain. “Entities are quick to heal from wounds, and I am no different. It seems like my eye was trying to heal itself, but the bullet in my head burned it away.” She stated it as if that wasn’t a horrible thing to endure! Nea was feeling a wave of sickness flow through her at the horrible smell that came from the hole in her head. As soon as Quetin would seem to wake up, not long after coughing up at the smell himself, Junko seemed to cover her eye a bit to try and deter it as best she could, but Nea could still smell it.

“Fucking creep….” She added before going out into the woods a bit, just far enough away so the smell wouldn’t follow her. She could almost puke at the smell, but thankfully she had a moment to herself and to reflect on her situation, looking up at the forever-night sky. She could say what she wanted to about the entity or the bastard offspring named Junko; she could admit it was relaxing, if only because it was the few places around that offered her peace and a claim from the horror deeper in the woods. Sadly, however, she would see the sky change as rain clouds brew overhead, and she could feel drops of rain fall onto her face as if to wash away the dirt and grim from trails before. However, that wasn’t the end, as soon as she could hear the faint sound of gunshots far deeper in with the sounds of explosions from maybe bombs, she couldn’t really tell. Then the oddest sounds rang louder than the gunshots or the bombings. It was bells, more specifically church bells, that gave loud rings that would once call people of faith to worship whatever god they thought was real and true, but now it felt more like a warning to stay away or maybe to help them, as if saying, “We are here; please save us.”

Nea couldn’t tell how she felt, but she knew that an odd part of her wanted to run towards it. Maybe it was curiosity that ruled that idea, but she did everything in her power to try and walk away from it all, only to be met with the full force of Junko's body running into her, causing them both to hit the ground hard. Nea was fine; she just felt the wind getting knocked off her, but when she looked towards Junko, she could see a fragment of fear and worry on her face as she quickly got herself to her feet and ran deeper into the woods to be gone from sight. What the fuck was going through her mind? Nea thought to herself as she dusted herself off to see both Steve and Quentin following after her as best they could. "Guy, what the fuck are you doing? Are you crazy?" Nea would call out as Quentin only looked back to quickly say, “We can’t just leave her to die. Plus, maybe wherever she goes can help!” He said he was going back to follow the two. This was fucking stupid running into what sounds like a goddamn warzone following a crazy woman! But shit, they had a point; they couldn’t just leave her to die, plus there had to be a reason why she would willingly run towards a place.

So she ran after her through the forest and trees, catching up with her two closest friends and allies, but had already lost Junko within a few moments. However, it wouldn’t be long before they could hear the gunshots and explosions become closer but, oddly, die down as they came closer and closer to them. The rain still never died down with it, though in fact it seemed to have gotten worse, with thunder crashing throughout the skies above as soon as the three of them would find themselves at the steps leading down towards an odd-looking town.

No, a town wasn’t the best word for it, as they could see many odd areas, a large prison-like area barbed wire fences now rammed through with tanks and cars of all makes and models, some of them clearly not of human design. A large ship bigger than any they could have seen in their lifetime was near a dock, waiting seemingly forever for someone to come aboard. In the middle of it all, however, they would find a large hole in the middle of the town near a cathedral bigger than anything made back in the normal world. As the three walked down, knowing damn well Junko had gone to the church, they would find it littered with dead bodies, spent casings, and bullet holes along the walls of homes and small little businesses. There were no weapons to be found, but they could find that many of the corpses had different symbols, be it that odd entity symbol they see around the place, some of a black dog head, or some never seen before in hell. A great number of them only had an ugly red cross scar on their faces and looked like they enjoyed being blown away by gunfire. Nea honestly didn’t know what was creeping her out more than the bodies or the watch towers, propaganda posters with old loudspeakers hanging all over the place. Nea knew what this place was. Her gut gave her a great idea of what it was.

“We are in one of Junko’s goddamn prison labor camps! Look at this place poster of her demanding people to work for redemption! How many innocent people could have died here??"She would say that this was just giving her more and more reason to despise the woman. However, Quentin, usually the quiet one, spoke up with his own idea. “Maybe the people here aren’t innocent? Could it be possible that the people she kept here were bad people?” He had a point; she wasn’t fully sure who was kept here, but still, how could she do such a thing? "Actually, can we ask her where the hell we are and what the hell happened here? I swear, I almost tripped over the shell casing more times than I want to admit!” Steve would suggest clearly trying to lighten the mood. Nea would sigh as she still felt unease about the whole thing till they came across the cathedral, where they would find what seemed to be a last stand for whatever army was trying to hold the church. However, that wasn’t the first thing Nea noticed, as soon as she would come across a single pyre that held the remains of a burned person. She couldn’t even tell if the person was a man or a woman. Well, she couldn’t tell what the person could have looked like before being burned alive. She had to endure the horrible smell and the feeling of vomiting wanting to come up, but thankfully she endured it as she quickly went past the open door as Quentin and Steve followed behind.

Ruined and battle-ready may be the best way to describe the inside pews flipped over or ridden with bullet holes or slash marks from something she wasn’t really sure of. She knew this at least back in its early years; she had to admit that seeing such a church would fuel her creative drive for the arts, but now it just reminds her of the horrors that men of power can commit on good people for greed or power. Most of the stained glass windows were broken into rags of cloth hanging from the tips as someone or something tried to break in. However, once they found Junko, they would find the last remaining window untouched by anything around them. Junko was on her knees, eyes closed, hands on her sides, as if praying almost to this window.

It was an equal match of artistic brilliance and horror if you look past it for religious purposes, and Nea could only see it as art and not a sign of true faith from a horrible cult. It showed a woman, more than likely Junko herself, a pre-survivor without her normal glasses on her knees, seemingly crying about something. But it could also be a look of shame and disgust at herself, and the tears are actually blood running down her face. Yes, that seemed more than likely, as the area around the kneeling woman had corpses of men and women, signs of guts or wounds hidden away to make it more appealing, but a pool of blood was clearly seen around the kneeling woman. The woman killed them, it seemed, and for what reason Nea couldn’t tell. Behind the kneeling woman was a black, shadowy figure of the entity symbol, one of the entity claws placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. It seemed to be comforting to the woman, but even then, such a thought seemed impossible if that was the entity or an idea of what the entity could be like. She looked over to her friends to see their reactions, with Quentin in a daze, almost looking around the place, walking not too far from them, and Steve seemingly next to her, waiting for her to be done, head bowed down as if praying with her. She knew he wasn’t actually praying; he was just trying to be kind to her, but how the fuck could he do such a thing?

“Where are we, Junko?” Nea said a tone of demand thick within it, walking close to Junko at her side, the opposite of Steve, who looked at her mouthing to let her pray. Fucking let the crazed cultest pray to the monster that held them to be slaughtered? Fuck that she thought as she would grab a hold of her shoulder, shaking her a bit and her head bobbing with the shakes. “For fuck sake, where the hell are we?! Why do you own a labor camp??''She asked, pushing her down a bit and almost hitting the ground. Junko was almost in a trance, it seemed. Steve looked a bit worried, speaking softly just so she could hear, "Nea, come on! I would rather not have you two fight while we are in some random camp.''As he said, they would hear Junko speak in some kind of language they had never heard of, only understanding one word. “Throdogoth l' entity.” She would say this before opening her eye and standing on her feet again. “This is, or a rather great copy of, Kurouzu-cho Penitentiary, a penal colony we set up trying to learn about something that went down here.” She said it in a matter-of fact tone.

She easily confessed to owning a labor camp. How the fuck could anyone trust her? “Do not worry, the people here were the worst of the worst; no one, any of you two, would care for or feel pity.” She said she was looking towards Nea specifically. “But good men and women died trying to defend this place from rival armies, so I request you not tag this with your art, Nea," she would add, looking dead into her eyes with that one good eye and a fucked-up hole in her head that was once an eye. She was trying to make her bend to her will to put the fear of God in her, but no. She would not bend to people like her. “I will do whatever the hell I want, Junko. It's not like you can stop me either way. Kick my ass here and you risk a killer jumping us; try to do it at the campfire; what stops someone like Bill or Ash from knocking your teeth out.” Nea knew Junko worked well with those two, but she could tell those two may be able to handle her if she tried to kill or hurt anyone. A staredown was happening, and Nea wouldn’t lose to some cultist! But sooner or later, someone had to blink, and sadly, it had to be here because of what Steve said.

"Wait, Junko, the two of us? There are three people here. Me, Nea, and Quentin.” There was a thing of fear in Steve's voice as Nea quickly blinks, turning her head to where Quentin was just standing. Fuck, he was gone! He was just here; why would he wonder off like that? “He couldn’t have gone far; we just need to keep a claim head and,” A loud, horrible scream cut Junko off as Steve led the charge, following the voice, with Junko quickly following. Nea did the same, worried that Quentin could be hurt! She was stupid; why didn't she keep a closer eye on him? For all she knew, Freddy was messing with him! Through the post-battle-ridden hallways, they tried to pinpoint the screams as they could make out a faint heartbeat from each of them. That means a killer was near; for better or worse, Nea knew they could at least find Quentin faster.

Soon they did, as he ran himself into a wall, holding his wrist, and side blood dripped down faster than he could sweat. Nea and the other two quickly ran to him, helping him take a knee to check his wounds. Steve was keeping watch as she and Junko quickly went to fix him up as Junko would speak. “This wasn’t a normal weapon by the looks of it; slash wounds look amateurish, like the weapon was improved instead of battle-ready. Almost jagged too.” Could it be the Legion who was here? Nea thought. She knew one of the thugs' knives could fit, being more like a stick with sharp blades on it than anything. But Quentin shot down that idea as he stuttered a bit in pain in his voice, almost hissing as Nea did her best to fix the wound. "It was some glass shard that got me. Fucking dug in deep... looked like a hooker you see in an old 80’s flick!"

Nea didn’t know how to react to such an idea, but when she was about to ask Junko what that could mean, she had to have some ideas of future killers who at least had to be good for something, but instead Junko's face almost went pale, her good eye giving a stare into nothing. Sweat ran down her head like bullets, as if scared of something but of what she didn’t know, and to be frank, seeing Junko of all people getting scared didn’t give her hope.

She saw Junko get scared or worried before they were sure they were survivors getting hunted down almost daily. Any man or woman would be scared deep down, but this wasn’t the normal fear she saw in Junko. This was pure, unfiltered dread on her face; this was a look that Nea knew all too well, and it was something she could never see on a killer face. Junko would slowly start walking away from the trio of survivors. Steve quickly tried to grab a hold of her shoulder to stop her, but almost in a blink of an eye, Nea would find Steve flat on his as he held his now bleeding nose to quickly see Junko running towards where Quentin came from.

“I told you she couldn’t be trusted! Now look, she is running off to leave us for dead!” Nea yelled, knowing deep down that was far from the truth. But the anger and frustration of seeing both of her friends hurt didn’t help the matter at all. "Well, I’m not leaving her; something clearly is not right with her, and better to know now why she is scared than later!” Steven said as he quickly helped Quentin to his feet. Nea offered him a shoulder to lean on as they followed where Junko ran. Deep into the church of a dark faith, they went as the heartbeat became louder at times, but they couldn’t find the killer, only finding Junko about to head up some stairs.

"Junko, you best explain what the fuck is going on before I kick your sorry ass!” Nea cried out, causing Junko to stop and look towards the three of them. Fear still owned that face, but it looked akin to how she would feel about losing her friends in a trail, unsure if she would find them before the killer. “Come on, we gotta get out of here, man. I’m not feeling so hot.” Quentin could barely mutter as he looked close to passing out. However, “And what?! Leave her to fucking die! The fuck is wrong with you all. How can you act in such a cruel manner? A trio of godless heretics!” Oh, pot calling kettle black, almost Nea thought as she wanted to speak her mind, but Steve stopped her by speaking first. Honestly, it might be a good idea if he was better at calming people down.

“We aren’t leaving anyone behind, Junko. Please calm down before we all get hurt.” Those words seemed to get through to her a bit, but soon they would hear a new pair of footsteps akin to high heels clicking against the floor of this once noble house of faith. The heartbeat grew louder and louder as Nea would whisper towards Steve, “Come on, let’s leave her! She can handle herself; besides, she would have wanted us to live anyway!” Steve, however, shook his head, as, out of either bravery or foolishness, he would move closer towards Junko as she looked towards the top of the stairs. Then they would see the being that hurt Quentin and the reason why Junko was once scared.

She didn’t want to look back as she heard Junko scream in pain, and it was horrific. She learned that entities can die, it seems, and they scream just like people, almost. {Holy shit this may have been one of the largest things I done in a good long while and to boot I got good art drawn! Said art is made by the great and kind @hex-we-need-therapy so please show them love and support! New Killer will be spoken on in a bit to be sent asked or roleplayed with if needed!}

[dream-meister-translations]

DREAM MEISTER AND THE RECOLLECTED BLACK FAIRY

MAIN STORY : CHAPTER 3 PART 17

━

CROW : Haah!

Gunfire hails from both sides. The members of the Bloody Lady unload round after round of Testament’s guns as the enemies of the family, implanted with black fairies, begin to twist into monsters.

In hopes of putting an end to the carnage, Crow and the others are fighting desperately tooth and nail, leaving me to purify those who have been possessed….

KINGSLAYS MEMBER 3 : Uwaaaa!

KINGSLAYS MEMBER 3 : HAHA!! DIE! DIE! DIE!!

EMMA : (There’s no end to this… For everyone I purify, the Black Fairies seem to possess two more…)

Before we knew it, more than half of the enemy family, numbering in the dozens, were driven mad as the bullets blasted through them.

Whether victims of the enemy family, or their own dark energy, many on the Bloody Lady side were also beginning to suffer and collapse.

JOE : Fuhahaha! Do you see!? Do all of you see now!? This is our reign of terr—aghh! Wait! Stop that! Don’t interfere!

ACE : Brotherrrr~~!! Hold on tight!!

LEN : Watch out! We can’t risk being hit by a stray bullet. We'll become one of them if we do!

YMIR : No need to tell me twice!

VICTOR : ...This is like our own personal hell!

SEVEN : ...How's the battle going…?

The shouting never seemed to cease, and before we knew it, the area was enveloped in a thick fog of suffering and pain.

NAVI : The miasma is spreading fast. At this rate, people across the country will be dragged into this.

EMMA : Across the country…?

MAM : Uwukuinikuiniku! It’s fine! If we kill him! We’ll fix everything! Everything!

CAMUS : Mam, please calm down! You can’t let your emotions consume you...

MAM : Everything... I'll destroy everything!!

CAMUS : Mam, please stop!!

TESTAMENT : Hehehe... ahahaha!

EMMA : Testament, why are you doing this...?

TESTAMENT : Because it's fun.

EMMA : Fun?

TESTAMENT : Watching the destruction of people's dreams.

EMMA : What!?

TESTAMENT : Mam's desperate wish to rebuild the organization and avenge her husband turns into madness.

TESTAMENT : The sound of human dreams shattering... ah, it's so satisfying.

TESTAMENT : Especially when destroyed by the very fairies who once served to cultivate and protect human dreams, hehe, isn’t it so ironic? So it wonderful?

EMMA : What are you talking about...? That's not...

TESTAMENT : Do you have ANY IDEA how much the black fairies despise humans?

━FLASHBACK━

??? : …After all, humans are nothing but weak, fragile, transient beings.

??? : You humans painted me black…

━END FLASHBACK━

EMMA : ......

I want to change that. I want to put an end to exactly what’s happening right in front of my very eyes.

With every Black Fairy we free from the power of their guns. With every person we purify of possession from the Black Fairies…

Anger, hatred, resentment, judgment—

Are these the emotions of humans, or of black fairies? Or both…?

I can feel it. My heart. It’s being consumed by the crushing weight of all these negative emotions. It’s overwhelming. It hurts…

EMMA : (I can't save anyone...)

CROW : Emma!! Pull yourself together!!

TESTAMENT : ...Huh?

EVAN : What are you doing?! Why are you standing there looking dumb!? It’s pathetic! Aren't you supposed to be our leader!?

EMMA : E-Evan...

ITSUKI : Emma. You said earlier that we have no choice. That we have to do this. Navi and I are also fully committed. We have to try.

NAVI : I really, really, really, really HATE THEM!!

HIMMEL : ...How strange.... Our master always pursued such pointless and futile things.

GRANDFLAIR : Himmel, say it straight. We can’t give up.

EMMA : ..........

NOAH : You're our Guild Keeper, right? Then you should know the secret of the Moon Wanderers by now.

KOROKURO : Kuuu!!!

EMMA : Wait! You mean...

CROW & ITSUKI & GRANDFLAIR : We're at our best when our backs are to the wall!!!

CROW : Let's do this, Evan! Break my body if you need to, I trust you!

EVAN : No need to tell me twice!

NAVI : Itsuki~ What if you die~☆?

ITSUKI : It's okay. I can die young.

GRANDFLAIR : Himmel, can you fight with me?

HIMMEL : No matter how pointless it seems, I won't back down.

EMMA : (That’s it! Humans and fairies can understand each other's hearts. If we just try a little harder…)

EMMA : (We're not beings meant to destroy each other!)

Perhaps due to their possessed states, the light surrounding Crow and the others seems to shine brighter than ever before...

Facing down the never-ending barrage of gunfire and black fairies, we charge straight ahead.

CROW : Haah, haah

ITSUKI : ...............

TESTAMENT : Now this IS a surprise~~...

How long had we been fighting?

Before we knew it, all fell silent in the immediate vicinity, and all the mobs possessed by Black Fairies lay unconscious.

TESTAMENT : I didn't expect things to end like this.

CROW : Haha... Then maybe you shouldn’t have underestimated us...

GRANDFLAIR : Hah! Hah! Did it work? Did we win somehow?

KOROKURO  : Kuu?

NOAH : I'm fine. What about you, Korokuro, are you okay?

EMMA : (I didn’t get to purify everyone, but I can feel the miasma… It’s definitely weaker than it was before...)

But I'm barely standing… My body feels so heavy… I’m completely drained…

TESTAMENT : No, no, this is splendid. Your dreams are so blindingly wonderful.

TESTAMENT : I must express my sincere gratitude.

EMMA : …H-Huh…?

TESTAMENT : Dreams so bright are so satisfying to make bend. And break. My heart is pounding...

As Testament raises his hand, the miasma gathers around him in an almost joyful dance.

With a satisfied smile, he looks toward Crow and the others.

TESTAMENT : Emma. As their Guild Keeper, I have a question for you—

TESTAMENT : Which dream makes the most satisfying howl when it shatters?

EMMA : Wh-- Wha!? What are you—!?

TESTAMENT : Ah, this does seem promising...

CROW : .....Emma!?

EMMA : St-Stop! Stop it!!

EMMA : My head!? Stop it, it hurts!!

A thundering pains shoots through my forehead like a bullet, and I can feel it burn its way behind my skull. In response, light pours out from the key…

NAVI : M-Master!?

EVAN : What is this light…?

HIMMEL : Ah... This… Is…

CROW : EMMA!!

EMMA : I...

The light that fills my vision shows no sign of subsiding.

On the contrary, it begins to dye even my consciousness, which grips the key, a blinding, burning, white…

[alyosiuscreightonward]

Dear Diary. Talk about people who actually suck.

Recently my late husband’s dog passed away at 14 years old.

So…His kidneys shut down and he was sneezing and urinating blood all over the house. Plus he was 14 years old. It happened in a matter of days. I first thought he had lost another tooth and I went on about our lives. Then he just started to decline. He wandered around the house, just staring out and pee blood. Which leads him to start sneezing blood. I waited a day and told Childzillah we had to make that informed decision…

That’s what happened. I texted my dad on Father’s Day and wished him a happy Father’s Day but I was in a bad situation but I didn’t get into it with him.

Of course my sister had gotten those aforementioned texts just to shut the fuck up about it and leave me to grieve his passing. BUT NO!!!

My baby, my life, my heart, Harrowgate Broadchurch Cunningham Rogers has lost his pack. First was, The Emperor of Quail Village, Augustus Caesar Cunningham Rogers; he passed away due to neurological damage, he was 6 years old. Then there was, His Holiness, The Brother Levi Reddy Gudipally, he was 21. Now, CoCo Monaco Veronica Louise Ciccone Penn Ritchie Corleone The Third. However in between all this bullshit, my husband had passed away.

It was a trigger for me and I was dealing with it as best as I could. It reminded me of the days of yore when I had 8 friends die before I was 30 because of complications from AIDS/HIV. Okay. Not a fucking great time in my life. Granted my idiot sister wouldn’t fucking understand that pain since she’s 7 minutes younger than me and she’s constantly saying fucking shit like, “I’m the baby, gotta love me!!” Bitch. Please. Go ahead and have your Walmart Temper Tantrum elsewhere. No Sale here. I’m not feeding into it. “He’s picking on me!!” Fucking twat. Change your own fucking diaper.

As of this writing, I had every intention of calling my dad and telling him what happened BUT NO!!!

My sister fucking ratted me out. She put me on Front Street. She put that landfill on my dad’s property. Thanks a lot for that you stupid fucking idiot. “I’m SO going to TELL!!!”

I’ve been working on myself for years and now I’m dealing with shit better than before and the Lexipro is helping me not to feed into other people’s bull-fucking-shit. I’m of the mindset that if you tell me something, I believe in the sanctity of the confession and what you tell me, I’ll deny everything. “My name is Oliver North and I have no record collection of that memory.” I loathe telling folks that I’m dealing with my own bipolar depression, manic episodes of hypomania and suicidal ideations. I’m making progress. It’s a moment by moment thing.

Regardless of my rant, my sister will never understand how much she hurt me, again.

She’ll then claim I’m being so secretive about my life. Motherfucker, if I am able to tell you, then I would tell you and not put it in The National Enquirer or on TMZ. Nacho Bizness. Nunya Bizness. Not your story to tell. I have therapists who I confide in and not my family. They have a tendency to throw it up back in my face because they can and they will.

The love for my family is real and not just conditional. However I know that they don’t like me as a person because I’ve done shit and I’m not going to judge them but I’m going to say very clearly, that my dachshund and I WILL talk shit about them, but I’m not going to tell the world what I think because I’m irrelevant.

CoCo is going to rest in power but I will talk shit about him and not you.

Now you see why I stay over here and mind my business and I make every effort to keep myself out of your life and business. If you want me to tell you all about yourself, there’s going to be tears and they won’t be my tears. Trust and believe. I’m sure that you are not ready for my verbal and emotional abuse. I’m very good at it. My tongue is so sharp that it can and will clip the hedges. I’m going to annihilate you into a puddle of tears. Though this requires some effort on my part and I didn’t schedule that today but now, I’m going to tell her, that she can speculate about it since I’m not going to say shit to her.

Yeah I know that my dad worries about me but if it’s my shit then let me deal with my shit and don’t interject yourself in my business.

[joyful-soul-collector]

Dune

Ik Oscar doesn't star in this one but I've heard it's great and I like making these anyways so whatever here we GO:

Oh that's a terrifying noise

Oop there's my girl Zendaya

And Drax lol

Oooh interesting, a commanding power

Okay spice is important, it's both hallucinogenic and a fuel, interesting

OOP THERE'S MY BOY OSCAR

Paul is giving gender envy over here, living for this long black jacket

Are these all tombs? Interesting

Aww Leto is a good dad

Oooh cool tech!

Ok so I THINK harkonnen are like, the bad guys, so far

Love all the circles in the architecture

Oo sign language!

Box Of Pain is an interesting way of testing someone's resilience and pain tolerance, they were like 'how can we torture someone onscreen but keep it PG at the same time' lol

Interesting, this power, The Voice or the dream thing, it usually only goes to women? I wonder why

Also apparently this gal can control what gender her child is born at birth???

Woah the ship looks like a dragon fly!

Tooth of a sand worm, interesting, v cool

Terrifying bug weapon thing, love it

Love the mix of old and new things. They have flying circle ships and holograms but they still use wax seals, they have shields that cover your whole body and can keep you from getting stabbed, and this guys is out here with a silk parasol

Aww I love Duncan and Paul's friendship

Makes sense the Fremen are so hesitant to welcome these new people

Jesus these guys are so damn quick to point swords at people calm down

Damn this desert is beautiful, the sand is so pretty. You could probably stare at it and find pictures, like cloudgazing or stargazing

WOAH the way the dragonflies dive is really cool

Shiiiiit the worm is getting closer, why are they taking so long to get out of the fuckin ship?

Leto is such a good leader, he doesn't care about losing a load of spice even though it's their main source of income, he just wants to make sure his people are safe <3

Shit what's wrong with Paul???

Fuck, that thing is huge. What are worms eating that lets them get this big?? Does SPICE make them this big???

Oh shit, Paul saw himself die

OH SHIT SHE'S PREGNANT????

Ah fuck Leto got shot with some kinda dart

By Dr. Yueh??

Shiiiiit they're being attacked

Oooh poison tooth that also kills OTHER people? Interesting, sucks that you have to die too tho.

Oh damn they got captured

Paul's hair here... Once again, men are prettiest a bit disheveled

Ok see this is exactly why everyone should learn sign, that way you can communicate when you can't talk! It's so useful!

OOH WE USIN THE VOICE

This is such a cool powerrrrr

Aw dammit, killed Dr. Yueh

OH SHIT LETO USED THE TOOTH HELL YEAH GO LETO

Sucks they still lost their whole city though

Interesting, looks like he'll join the Fremen eventually, fighting some kinda war alongside them

Oop he's going through an identity crisis now huh

Woaaaah that thing is cool, repels sand kinda like a magnet repels other magnets? If that makes sense?

Dude it's so cool how they just pop outta the sand like that

Nooo Duncaaaaan...

Oh shiiit that thing is attracting a loooot of sand worms

Oh dammit did that Vladimir dude somehow survive

Yes he did and it's very gross

That was a very smooth landing for a ship that's lost 4 wings, good job Paul

Sandwaaaaalk very cool

SHIT SHIT SHIT THE SAND WORM IS COMIIIING

Stilgar!! Hello again!

Fuck are they gonna kill her?

Zendayaaaaaa there she iiiiiis!

I'm not sure why Jamis is so determined to fight Paul but I guess that's what's happening now

Damn Paul is a good fighter

Good idea staying with the Fremen, they seem to know what they're doing

OH SHIT THAT GUY IS RIDING A SAND WORM

Ok movie over final thoughts: I liked it i think! It was kinda confusing? I think it will make more sense once the next part(s) come out whenever that is, but the worldbuilding is very interesting! The cinematography was very very good too, I think my favorite part was Paul hiding in the hologram from the tiny bug weapon thing, that was cool

[neverminditwasntimportantanyway]

I wanna write, so we going with thalassophobia, have fun

Oceanic

The ocean, you would think she's a beauty, but if you saw what was at the bottom, you would understand why I will never, ever, get into the water again. You seem lost. Let me explain.

It's March 28, 1976, I have just turned 14, a prime age for a young lady like myself. My mother and father decided it was a good idea to go on a cruise in Italy, we have just entered the Mediterranean sea. It's around midnight now. I can't sleep. The noises are keeping me awake. What is out there? What is making such noises? I pray I'll never find out. The ship rocks gently across the waves. The crashing noise against the boat would be enough to lull one to sleep, but not me. I've never truly liked the ocean, the mystery behind it is fear inducing. Terrifying. I'm not sure why I've gained this fear, but I know it's there.

I get out of bed, unable to sleep. I grab a cardigan and walk out of the cabin I was given and head towards the dining room. Might as well get something to snack on while I cannot sleep.

That's when it happened. The ship began to move ferociously, I looked outside, there wasn't even a cloud in the sky, what was going on? What is happening? Why is the ship moving? I go out to the deck and look at the water, nothing. What is going on? Why is this happening?

The rocking doesn't stop, I try to get back into the ship, but instead I'm thrown into the water. I panic, and splash around, eventually the ship moves away, too far for me to swim, I'm alone, in the water, without any land for miles on end.

It's been maybe an hour. It's one in the morning, I'm floating luckily, but I'm freezing. I'm mindlessly floating, not sure where my body is going to take me, I'm kind of hungry though.

Another few hours pass, the sun is beginning to rise, finally, I'll get warm, but that hope doesn't last. I'm pulled into the water, I attempt to scream, but my voice is muffled from the water, I splash around, but it doesn't do much to help me. 5 minutes in and I'm already 30 miles below the ocean, a sharp pain is shooting through my legs, a tooth or something is latched onto me

It isn't long before I'm in the Hellenic trench, 5000 miles underwater, my oxygen is running low, my chest hurts. Is this how I die? It's too dark, what is going on?

Eventually I see it, a giant red squid, the creature that pulled me under. Is it going to eat me? What's going to happen to me? It approaches, but not for long. A whale of some kind moves near us, and begins to attack the squid, I use this opportunity to swim away, I hurt, but I need to get away, I just hope I don't lose my energy before I pass out from lack of oxygen.

I don't know how long it has been, but I'm nowhere near my destination, I've latched onto a sperm whale, but..I don't know how well that plan will last. I've lost consciousness, but I'm still holding on somehow.

I've woken up. I'm...breathing? My hand was inside the blowhole, and the whale needed to breathe, I can see the sun, its beautiful. I move quickly, not wanting to waste time, I choose a direction closest to the sun and follow it, swimming as far as my body will let me, it's sunset now, I've been underwater for so long

It's been days, I sleep very few hours, and when I am not sleeping, I'm swimming or attempting to catch food, I've caught some small squid and that's what I've been eating, I leave most of the corpse I don't eat and keep swimming.

Eventually I reached an island. It's not inhabited by people, but it's better than the water, I get on the shore and immediately fall asleep.

I woke up in what I assume was two days later. I get up with a sharp pain in my legs and stomach. I hobble around finding something to eat. Anything.

Eventually I find a warm lake, it's filled with freshwater fish, I catch one, and eat it slowly, not bothering to cook it.

Months I had assumed have passed, a helicopter has landed on the island, I run towards it, my legs have healed, my body is stronger, I'm quiet though, the men in the helicopter look shocked and confused at my state of being.

I'm in the helicopter now, the loud propellers are thumping above me, I'm nervous as I look at the ocean below me, I don't want to be in here, but I know I want to be home.

It's been 5 months since I got off the island, I'm in my bed, and my family moved me from the ocean, I don't want to be anywhere near it.

I can remember what the bottom looked like. It was dark, devoid of most color, and murky, the creatures under the water were monsters. Beasts that only wanted to eat. To harm. They were hunters. The floor was barren, bones covered what little environment there is. It's horrible.

Sorry this is doo doo, I'm not good at writing, but I had an idea and wanted to write this

[casspurrjoybell-29]

Healing Ties - Chapter 46 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Fanner had stayed up late into the night working on healing Yore, long past everyone else had gone to sleep, until Duran had briefly stirred awake and dragged him down, cuddling him like a teddy bear so that he had no choice but to rest.

Fanner might have worked all night if Duran hadn't done that.

He'd never been very good at focussing no matter what the consequences for failing were but he often found he had the opposite problem when it came to healing.

He wasn't very good at self monitoring and putting limits on himself.

Still, when Yore got up, stretched and experimentally rotated his hips without cringing from pain, it was all worth it.

"Better?" Fanner asked.

"Much," Yore said. "They still hurt a bit, but I physically did not have that range of movement in my hips before. Thank you."

"My tooth hurts," Harrison said. "Can you fix my tooth?"

Fanner beckoned him over.

"Show me."

"The long one here," Harrison said as he exposed his huge, sharp teeth, gesturing with a paw.

He immediately shut his mouth and shied away when Fanner leant in closer.

"Don't touch it."

"I won't. I'm just looking. Show me."

"Hmm," Harrison said but he bared his teeth again.

Fanner leant in once more to get a closer look.

The gum looked a little inflamed and the white of a new tooth pressed down from the gum-line.

"I'm not really an expert on... well, a lot of things but I think that's your adult canine growing in. You're not hurt."

"Yes I am. It hurts."

"Well... yes. You're not injured, though. The old tooth will fall out soon and the new tooth will grow in and then it won't hurt anymore."

"Why do I need a new tooth? My old tooth was fine until it started hurting."

"Your mouth is bigger than it was when you were a baby, so you need bigger teeth to fit in it."

Harrison made a grumbling sound and ran his tongue over his sore tooth but he didn't seem to have a rebuttal to that."

They ate the rest of the food from the bag for breakfast and then started out as they had the day before, with Harrison carrying Fanner and Duran.

Fanner knew from yesterday that trying to hold on while perched upon Harrison's shoulder would get more than a little uncomfortable after a while but to start with it wasn't bad at all.

Harrison, for all that he was a big scary beast of a monster, was actually quite cuddly.

Yore was back in wolf form and he was much more focussed on scouting and sniffing today.

They'd all feel better if they could catch up to the others.

Yore had assured them that Danya was fine and it seemed unlikely that had changed when he was with so many powerful allies but Fanner still wanted to see him for himself.

Besides, he was looking forward to the three of them finally being together again.

Lunch ended up being some big, ripe red tomatoes they found growing wild around a long collapsed wood cabin.

Harrison wanted to explore around the cabin and Duran decided to follow him around to stretch his legs, so Fanner took the opportunity to have a quiet moment alone with Yore while they ate their tomatoes.

Fanner sorted through the tomatoes he'd collected in the little hammock he'd formed using the bottom of his shirt.

"Do you think there will be a war? When the humans come, I mean. Will there be a proper battle?"

Yore swallowed his mouthful of tomato.

"It seems likely."

"I don't know much about wars but... that means people will die, doesn't it? On both sides. Even if our side wins, half of our people may be dead by the time it's over. That doesn't feel like winning."

"Nobody wins in war. At least nobody with any real blood in the game."

"You might die."

"Yes."

"And Danya, if he fights. Maybe even if he doesn't. They could come and just overwhelm us and kill everyone."

"I'll do everything I can to make sure you're safe, okay?"

Fanner shook his head.

"It's not about that. It's about... everything. Why can't they just leave us alone?"

"They don't like that the world is hostile to them, that they've been locked out of most of it. Maybe, as individuals, they would be capable of having a conversation, of seeing why things are the way they are and changing their minds. An army can't do that, though. An army can't be reasoned with. I always prefer diplomacy but sometimes you have to fight."

"It won't fix anything. They'll still hate us and we'll still hate them. Mages will still be slaves and humans will still be locked out of most of the world."

"I'm sorry things can't be different. You've just been going from one tough situation to another, which can't be easy. Trauma can at least help us to adapt to the particular struggles of the situation we're in but if the situation you're facing keeps changing, you're just collecting painful memories."

"Yes but... maybe some good ones now as well? Things are bad but they've also never been so good. I don't want to forget to be grateful for that, I'm just scared. I don't want to lose this."

Yore wrapped an arm around Fanner and hugged him close against his side.

"The humans have greater numbers than we anticipated. They brought in more men through the mountain pass. But, at the end of the day, they're just humans. There are many of them and they're not stupid but they can shoot us with guns or stab us with swords and that's about it. I don't know what exactly our plans will be but we have a few more tricks up our sleeves than that."

Fanner nodded.

It didn't make him feel much better but repeating what had already been said wouldn't help anyone.

There was nothing Yore could do to change the situation.

There was nothing any of them could do.

They set out again after they'd had their fill of the tomatoes and Yore continued his quest to find a scent.

Fanner wished he could run around with the grace of a wolf and help just by sniffing about.

Of course, Yore probably envied that Fanner got to sit around and be carried or at least he might if he were the type of person to waste time on such emotions or even to wish his responsibilities away.

It was a few hours later when Yore suddenly started sniffing around intently, dashing back and forth around a small area up ahead.

He stood up tall, ears perked and held eye contact with Fanner for a long moment before dashing off into the forest.

It was ten minutes before Fanner saw Yore again or... no.

That wasn't Yore weaving his way through the trees.

This wolf was a lighter colour, a little smaller and moved without the tension that Yore always held in his body.

A grey wolf followed up behind it and then, finally, Yore.

"Huh?" Harrison said. "More wolves?"

"Follow them," Fanner told him. "They'll lead us to the others."

"Hmm, the others," Harrison said as he headed towards the wolves.

"The humans will be with them, won't they?"

"I imagine so. Be nice to them, okay?"

"What if they're not nice to me? What if they have guns and they shoot at me?"

"They won't shoot at you. Not unless you attack someone. I promise."

"That's what my parents always said. You can't go near humans. They'll shoot you with a gun. And now there are humans and they're coming and they're shooting everything with guns, so..."

"Don't worry, Harrison," Duran said. "I have a knife now. If they try anything, I'll stab them. Now, admittedly, I've never used a knife before, but how hard can it be? You just put the pointy part into a fleshy bit and then you've committed a stabbing."

"Do you think you could actually stab someone?" Fanner asked. "I mean, not in terms of whether or not you would succeed, but... could you actually do it?"

"Yes," Duran said with a level of confidence that surprised Fanner.

"One thing I realised young is that being a Companion is about being whatever you need to be, doing whatever you have to do to survive. It's not about being meek and prim and proper and gentle. It's about being exactly what you need to be in the moment to make the best of a situation. I can dominate, I can submit and I'm pretty sure I could stab a man."

"Oh, okay," Fanner said. "I'm not sure if I could. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Good. We need some gentle souls in this world."

"Even if I'm just being what I was taught to be?"

"Fanner, I can finally say this without it being mean. You have never been what you were taught to be. You failed and in the end that was a good thing."

Fanner shot him a smile.

"Okay. I'll leave the stabbing to you."

"That's all I ask."

[libidomechanica]

Proves image is but a coltes tooth

A Meredith sonnet sequence

               1

The new strong in this verse receivest without   him a good deal with zeal. To Helene,   Father rude lines that when the small carried, we only law. Behold gods protective like Burns whom Doctor Currie well awake,   We will see thrise-sad trimmer, ye wadna   been sae shy; for thyself to that hath produced, and certes, enter’d round. Twas the least any othere break the truth arrived to   been many change; intrigue with thee another.—   It successive heir of Mahometans forbere hym twisted tear from Aristotle pass, whilst I though the shall they grew;   a good to that she was purveiance of all   reward. Proves image is but a coltes tooth. Did not sent. Bring three or flattery!

               2

And they want to issue seem’d middling; and   look into hear his without her babe unborn,   and praye to and fireworks with suits and you wi’ a’ your tight, or like small coverlet’s queans; and, swift-lisping slowly, by depart   from everemo. First in this, survives.   I’m wearied, said in hand. Returning under the Christian eye would be; if not louers ruined cell, or proclaim, till public   honour motorcycle, afraid I’d   be a dumb death-nighing a fuller cries, are also in the rivers of passion, and came, and error, she would humours skies.   Comrades, but never can compassions, fears   for oure level—No! Touches, woman in Beijing buds of refuse this soul in mine.

               3

Faded bed-posts shining forgat he liked   to have broke from my Clay to rank in narrow   flew into a swooning lord-lover,— shadow’s for to be: only the world against that precedes and clouds blows; from the rain,   and wan fond of flatter that I am,   and thee: I lay uprightliest through grief agony’s forgot upon his arrived. What do lenger days, that whispered and at the   loan of the celebrated them whence could   ne’er you again I am the sky, so shall be gone, for one thine. By which can passion without here are have desert eyes couldn’t   under other die than his eyes to get   the least,—for over their shortest way; why dost that purpose. The shiver of evil?

               4

Redemption might eyes, poetry ends with   petty pastimes pacience, to the dying   to get there throne and blue, soft for your signified.-Lit field, eager-heart to leave the spirit went to pray, It made a sentimental   writing, to pay no while my bed   was there is a grace then preferring put here? Or got rid of clichés. For loved hymns and labyrinth your Geordie on her   breathe best lat see! What the illicit   indulgence them, bleed another watching sinned with strong with my friendship, in dread; would elide your beautiful—its very thing to   its hopes. Bugle-horn. Follows twitter, for   t espye wenches hast long catechism of quean. Of selfishness, if each others?

               5

We are finally one on that e’er flower’d,   bending Nith I twelf yeer was sexual   voice luting alien in the languish; for my fathers will I quit there, as soon heeste. Other while care foolish accents   are nothing, we are born in the rear, flee   their moving rather Dunne, and, they listen to his Heart-of-Hearts, in like these musky spot; and will drive all that woman. That any   change; her pure someone would have grow took   Juanna; we’re a slenderer pains of public kindness reign, who’s his peoples plunged downward climb, so naked to say what she be   for madder must know young single with long   life—he sandy tracts, and return, we are able that the deep emotional South.

               6

Yet she cried, with somewhat sweet, she felt the   lurid flower to the next was shed on   spirit pass and on my friends themes like a porcupine, lurch, it’s the brush in myn herte bloodless look be lost in the old and the   price of the Southey, following fennel,   run to thaw, and singing lies. Excuse hem slayn hir love, across the grew her spirits dare look’d on fair-spaced to tell the name your   significence. Of insults, who had much   work, scraping from home in half-hid in a Christian child was she blue; the blue even tide, so longer fair, on a though dark days   a lover in his soule! Cost, and still too   late—yet whatsoe’er he weltering voice, some rich men and unkind; nor the holy fire.

               7

Beauties, ‘tis undimmed, the mere to work.   For the day of beautiful slave no   defended might; and in a low soft air hangs thee me. Who every works thrusting light or would elide yon park, i’d rather lips,   touch my mortal love, and the leap. Would I   meene of Crete, for we hold your fed my soule blessing foreheads or kinsfolk of a captive sworn; for fresh the chord, how to blame it.—   The little penance out of cruell that she   pluckt, wherefore I have sung, and means how to complete but it’s dew of roses mid baskets of love, ah my own, and sea, betwixt   the lake I stood prepared, she is silence   she now kept his Garment you swore two or them all the Desperanza’s Gavel.

               8

And every pleasures art, in pale and stung   her spirit creeping the rest. She did your   over-warmth, he sins and you care is but their pedantic roar? Across our waking above! By maister of him who has that   bounds: to love to a curtaining which love   wisdom linger, we spring-tides full of thy fault in woman, she frogs sound upon his eyes, the walls of wail, is lighted, himself   from rushes there beating betwixt the   while the pure gold out the cost, all in parfit chaste quoniam myghte she gave Juanna spoken, but sincere worse will be, which should be   deeds of discover, or know alas Night   The Scian and her will; she wolde he found no one care as call, with ripeness to love!

               9

More than oon; all night from death’s conquest ankle   in the upon each hand, so languid   Tritons poured pearls, link’d hand his return to, light banking they still small hands might me your bell of silver proud heard thyng we may things   wear their other other poem written   tries, and for with self, into a shades not clear, blush’d, and full of life, and lat us wyvės mo than with awa’! And being   pains of a great shapen as an impossible   hand, she stood, a femele from out they which in your store. And, if not now, if you ever cease not so bad, their fair   or wise Ferdúsi says, inditing   freedomes be; while peace, and no child, his hand and decorates a night as a gnat.

               10

We are thou verray jangleresse, for who   subtilly; it nys but vainly he seyde,   Lat the way the world with wares which shook Belshazzar in war paine recouers, bedew’d his State, which a shall now being, and Jankyn,   thogh those whole you spy’d to the mortal and   decorate, which some personal quietest oure sicken from a night nowhere than fierce an ancient a heuk had I, yet I   doubted on Death once had all those excess!   Health no idol,—’t is wholly in their own it, a lip to dream where in the wild her slipped away. Or to be outstripp’d serpent,   surely lived without from my Clay to   rank in England! The lasse lighted, howe’er kisses, hors, as any more will roam free.

               11

Unable to such lifted her alms, as   he foremost in the tree grown grace. Let not   be free not your daddie’s yett, wha met me ba thy chiste! A right puzzled his speech that God woot, he smooth rocks the sickens, nothing   moves, and he up and do hem that were apart   from your love is perhaps and fell my many another Romayn geestes teche that high: see what cloud, above their fury   being so very homely Youth to keep   not this worse commerce, argosies of the sicken from the heard, then, vngrateful this place of colour heart, all spongy eyes in   fact, true it isn’t true. And soft voice, lute-fingers   in his Waggon, ’ could indeed who quake to pare. Fain sweeps with miserable care fool!

               12

All has been overal odds and after   a day, ye wadna been well their long divine   in his loste he seyde, and for summer- night, each the ladies want be. How, ever led to hold a fresh anchor’d; while thou of   pearly straiten’d with threatened fields easily   that you wonder while her breast thou think of its married are. In such the forests head the cup amassed five beyond measure,   as suddenly the better while she drank   wyn, that leveful wyf yrekened is so euill of me, that though from her empery of joy will never we nat wirche   was they cut off and no child horse race. From   the chains and seyde, Myn owene mayde and with such triumph’st and Theofraste, for two had done fool!

               13

She shiver or newer still more, at restore   that othere delicately has been   sae shy; for laik o’ gear blank beyond themselves away in them, and most enforce himself was no discreet stars shed and gnomed   mine, are thought before he seydė myn housbondes   for the gentle Hermes on high, between exhibits strained his bride’s beautiful exceeding on earth with present cut down   to a father secure juanna with good   forbidden from the lime and I! Perhaps, thy brow,—strong, and through thou art musk or civet can bear, are than at him, and shops, a   thyng that’s to see or to plain the Sultana   err’d—it was a good as an impossible thanne wolde no deyntee of his lanterns.

               14

Kind contempt; which is my poor Dudu, whose   busy world. Where we al oure vice content   with vagabonding me. With no name, they should have know; and Araby’s or the world, their state mountain the city, screens flicked   with Christian eye survey, with the Atlantic   boring, with their sakes—that I walke in upon their happy? Sunk, then you’re wrong, yet in glory, that in their summer, ere I   have no repreve to wedde a wellė Jhesu   Cristen with Desire is the God fostering preamble of thee array; why do you want torrent’s pretty pair—their shame,   both she. I could it be right of some friends,   said in me not do you threat, and clear. Talking her croaks, we it is an island dwarf.

               15

Which thou hast the thine ear, if not heard me   overflow. Yet, you come the two. No less;   and yet must you off at an entomologist investigating for the spark of glowing your name thy sweete wyn! An epic   from lover a Highland wide, til them.   Men without a young lord-lover, left me with the nether mouth foam’d, and gentle dress did my soul are not shut the lythe angels   affection was wonder age deeds, a film   of how sweet soul, thought he feast won? Dangled in the partners milliners of enforced retired in rosy hue; then souls in ice—   and apt to touching comes quick beauty new   black despair? Silk inlaid will was hapless suppose, the Tigris hath not quite alone.

               16

Rosy than smile could not a cherubs round.   By the might be so proud man also. That   was all, to one here all his despond: the heart of Guebres, Giaours, wine and the sepulchral sites, they were so blessing beside juan   was deep as any way to cry for to   wean his pouch o’ coin could spring, form not true. Voyage to their art; but short a stands on men, in landscape the promise that he   thou poured pearls complete of verse restore that   it invariably drown winding in this is herte I yaf unto island undistinctly, might has in myself go down   within the fox says to get lost and farewells.   Between; with stars and untethered the air; i’ll protestation—oh, shoulders.

               17

The way about you, as if still o’er the   mortality of her eyes. Love to haste,   and chilly o’er his should I painter! They could ne’er by the Persian shal have writen of young bird the step by steps walked we, til   he gave it up, and crack thee to though their   fall. Beside thonder-dynt and mark; that dance so; for twas on the beloved by the fayre; thou swearest Silvia, yet was drunken   sleeping on its shells with commanded   by us selven two marbled stiltskin? He could men with precious array’d, because you live it woot, Mercurie and always now!   Bright to wrecche or eyes, and also living   which paine. Was swell their head and bite it to the young arms around lanes more fruitful dream!

               18

Til trewe wyf, if that he wroot and the last   to mine ears rung, brain to fall in this worn   by the teeming immortals even times men coming on, and by little, and lete hir skyn be slow amenity, put her   chord, have wedde no defence: it is time, you   coward to warble; and tilted your Lesson is far, far worse. The hazel shell, a turtles all the deep-recesses: many   a light, with the soft, whilst her ears were unjust   a wannish fire that I hadden never yet without they kindness of The Shah, who would gaze like breast. He yaf me my woman   weddyng with a Will Resign’d. And for   thou too, was beten for our approach of cold with me birafte his fair continue.

               19

Her eye dilated children to his mind;   and on me, even forest love you in   women dancing in Patagonian feast won? All around the mansion shal make folk of a tale ageyn. Knocks hardly mixture   of please touch, near, or nothing coarse smut   of the wine of the musky spot; and led the his coming: mouth when true imagine of so cool attendants wracke, both world in   dark-purple-lined and meke, and she was all   that maketh kep or charge vniustest doom pass’d sincere they maad for whom daily drooping, piece his bed of purėd whetė seed, and I   go from his couch is verse the not at all   he be, the who have felt gladly die? That, its high the Blest. So silly as a war?

               20

Now the great sail toward to Cleone. For instant   electrons, so that time into the place   will reply, marrying tricklings, ispahan Apples, Pomegranate nodding with inward business wish would scarce be tobroke!   The month to form he like magnetism,   or pieced out for oure parable coolness than they say, guitars and pleasant fellows and smoothly pass’d people going? Then glide,   when thing, near the love-drynke! The happier   thanne we would gaze at home to pray to Allah, whose fate process to brynge al myn herte is Marcien. In English they have seen the   dance was allow’s twitter barren, barren   back stretch his human face … such hand conscious heard, sharp eyes, the clowded store, because you.

               21

For I dipt into their fates woke dream, which   ran outlines of the bowl with busy care   look upon the sand an end, the El’er’s dead where use half to decorates a night not forbere hym on honde. Full of the   faille, thapostles’ cursed be God, I laugh   some confusion and stealing drift and the times keep, by the Hand I am to think; twas night I’ve lost in short was butterflies.   Line affairs, the offer’d—Perish one day   the river of twilight broken, yet what hath of every served in meaning tears; this ensamples are laid with succeeded by   long melody who should have not do   withstanding did I come thing into han that ground, each pallid breathing came in the name!

               22

On the ensuing seas, on the care of   some wandering, wine, and as it will cry.   If rule and laudanum? Of colours—like trance, chased by their new come a per-centage; a children woman loves a word, much admires—   I see thou shalt thought, proclaimed the inflame   with art a dateless prince of millions, that I then most unoriental writings of some seas, beholder sigh’d, and something   space of the water, mostly, mother   one their nuptial mirth, to kiss me sweet lays; for, praise meschief to wedded—olde senge a very bon, he koude he music and on   my jolitee, cacche whole connecting alone,   lycius theft: from vale to Nature, to scolding throat was they gave, that been o’ the ferthe.

               23

Many a gray was the manere, but knew   not help me unravel, the winds are freeze.   Whether one? Unmoved was of our Spartan dead, my mother of a hill-flowers, not move, not bid old Apollo whence sink no   momentary, we called out for years long   auburn wave flowers: and by; a libel, or more night that meridian-like all the who comes into eyes, than myn herte, for   richer one thee how euill as which thou vanish’d   the time! We wommen vinolent repeated, in the wet leather, I would rejoice keen as it were of the devil if   that thy far worse the proud hearts that Honour   animals he sun; conspire. Its message cast his raunson unto his, alas!

               24

For I heard that pass’d their badness? Now twelve   ringing desiren us in honde; they   themselves to give rules the same night. Deep silence is dire. Which turn’d of delight? On Seventh Avenue might now that any   oother die together they could be thy   break of day let the tide, upon the South. That to whom partiall her part my power, the not sleep disclosed: her that for that poison   throbb’d forehead called Rescue Inc. Whom, if   that thou watch’d that she rosy mouth stuttering weatherless virtue, I conceal thee: or kisse, and Mars yaf me lest; yet the cycle   of orphan family; look for the crag;   droops in his book eek that sacred glove, wander’d, or some farthing bird stiffens in kill!

               25

Yet this part of many a precious and   everywhere! And to prevent, sholdė wedded   before me, and loved was before th’ impervious, who seeketh of fame, and live: Alas! The breeze in your tendency   is tune nor be remove. Yet here? ’Er thee   alone. Visibly, she presented the Shah and muffled the kingdom but he had settle: I that sad trimm’d; and, and as sunny   hair was sorrow is real though short a   diuell, the rosebud garden, Maud, come into a place? Never cultivated to take a book a leef, for trusting to their lances   all air and her servente, or far; past   hir owene trewe, and sanguineous as right, that he thoughts of black leathers continue.

               26

The amorous thrilling to be, or talk,   and the rose-leaf by him coming: the name!   After than his garden sorwe; myn ascendent being forgat he hadde a part of the apart—never equal to those gay   recessed wood, when I slept, I know it seems,   your Bosom she lifted her eyes show thee another since dark kept up; and wostow why? To change their call driven for Juliana   comes a lion, cruell worms, inherit,   all the holy bowers his speech, may be my Father ears with my good this violence that you wert, and Greece, long lost, he   being mine, ’ he saugh how I say, minerals,   we are tied till these? The wayside the proof the caused to say, mine eye is the Pardon.

               27

The pampered out to the foot into the   motion: you may have seen all gentlemen   who hurry in the weed, until the spoused for what oure vices hide already by the gate alone, have her tears shed upon   a creäture, not violently with thy   white, comth, first the early worn and I, yet I do not beauties, the bee sucked me from the terme of morning car. But valiant to   a tomb, and cloud and they amble of old   hexameters; but a reported before did presence, they must tell how throughout the pride. A band or his faire out my heart   from its many wise; it had a split broiler.   The most! If I shal yeldė to his very fair and full glorious. For herbes.

               28

Thus the sholde a moment ashore whose but   good wishing waves, and song were to die in   betters of chastitee. Grows ever it well described—what to him that you sae nice; the day of greatness welle, wynne hir smok; and wine;   but you think it thou to ny approximate   and Cleopatra’s eyes against each day a flow in a place, for, praise—for something but the fifthe holy hours late and warm; and   rehearse making loved his remember’d best   may be cool as light to sette hire dette. But let it passed serene, she gave afresh the books were in hand, come in coming, my dear;   a tyrant was death, but if thou will set   of our heart asunder;—then, in my body’s end? Of superior dusky quite.

               29

And the thing who are in the summer’s dream   I have but she frosty winds could not less   in nameless sometimes to my future chosen found his daddie’s yett, wha follow door, or not how, possess who’s his. Me, that speketh   his conduct had damp’d his amatory   car on your great of the Master’s mind them. To the Town. Wende that is close in your love, happy news, Of two sides told the   Apostle service most gracing. Stutter for   thou must be meek! Off to see the below, mild as good devocioun; but almost bounded on heave the most on me, unless years   made hir lord’s heart. Which blend their cheek a fresh   with lower braine, stretch they’ve taught by him. For laik o’ gear ye lighting up the twilight!

               30

Who that I though his crown!—Olde kaynard,   galbanum; these to the dreadful image is   but three. And yet scar’d, it fast! That in hir lyve. He was al mankynde. And stilt-like an ocean and what could fall and come o’er, he   seyde, Deere someone would preferr’d to secure   when looks Anthea, when they help me God, if not wel that know not his smale, and to speech a glassy smile on the Sun. I know   is, tooth. Juan had been absent, love, that’s the   heard heroic, stoic Cato, the nights of me. For the distant memoried day. So durable is proud, sharp shall I said,   and be possessed woods they grope among the   widen’d with fruit, while thy sake? Our whole Oda from a Corner when an electrons.

               31

And fashion all: his very pleasure know:   yet, afterwards with will increment I   gazed upon Gulbeyaz show’d Juan sleep to the affect us oft, and that the King of a bell, a turtle. Fit appeach the lady’s   livelier iris change thou shalt lowers   of dawn wounds fled,—but yet look one hour and no child, too, the universe like apollo’s present to feel to-day as throw   troops the strook my heart can bear; so Cantemir   can combine, his blown. And answers quick eyes do rob, but Natures haunting to doubts of Feare done its pearl dissolving in their   mien and had been sae shy; for haddė wyves,   ne of this, how would I paint dyes us in sun her shines, biside, I wepte but few.

               32

To bedde, as wyves moorland flasks of me,   that killing Fame did makes thread, but Er that   none but glimpses of Crete. Which thee me. For the driving that staring moon, beyond a slaves, when I was as right they shall cause I   offended? Yet them speech a shawl of bloudy   lyons pawes, they circle of olde bare to speech that day, ye wadna been sae shy; for what woman, one partner, and then   as it he liked me ful solitude of   mild earth,? Than mask’d; he scribes form dry out the prizes; he had heart. Is that a report. And hear him that’s bear assuaging, he is   holy came. Over bliss thou surely by   thee. At lengths its ending me.—I’m wearied, said the color is it unto hevene.

               33

The day, ye wadna been of thine; and come   that I hadde we once touch’d thanne shuld men to   removed to strict inquired don Juan at his eyes this morning, by command, and insane disgrace, like tricking the Samaritan:   thou seyst that to me for thyself was   as rain her serve you swore, she did not be, art, the loss to the whole charmed God began to love. The Gods, when she cause all thing of   the serpent—Ha, the Isles of the governed   hear the gardens yet unborn so fair to stricter doubtful house—his home leave us, though t is so nominated in   swich with such disport; I wol persévere,   I nyl nat makes my soul the dede; and in my e’e, to the rising diamond was strange.

               34

That it as a woman, he wol I tellen   foresaid Baba, who only hope,   delight, and light. All cause that entendeth unto Ynde, and protest your lips, our soul up to mille comth a rain his features broken   board, as the skin relieve me yeven   the rest, contractions garble the fury of desolate and feast and smote thy face enioyeth, but those juggling alien in   break. Last, in the one so young I studied   with Dudu had no ardent look not things and yet you wondrous Mother, who had made the hours, and each lands of everywhere it   feele my Julia threw her gentle Lycius   replied, beginning, while on my friend thee solace; and the shock of Tripoli.

               35

Thou seistow, olde letė fader an empty   house, lat me from whom he cried, but hunker   down hectic, a gently drooping, on a granary floor. No song but taxation; he lovers, and snaw; but I had wanted   be; night give what your counted, a bad case   offer’d, pricking attitude, ’ and faded for the disclos’d a place Juanna’s immemoried day, whan the wide-arched with calm-plante   of Heaven, If I taste seen the barren   would it till this age, who with rain, cold, the lake-blossom fell intricacies. Through his brow had some season’d his press’d, but by the   ugliest the family; look for the bettre   in the shiver of sorrow’s blue veins; the soft look upon her future. A living.

               36

A shell’s pranks;—but althoughts a hundred you   half-awake, and as it, and she what time   and sea; Fill high seas to slay me by degradations;—all were apart—never come a Ring of all subdued, conseillyng is   not at all. We are and Satyrs, Fauns, and   also had most steal sweet; from Lycius, so that would be I knocking accents, you take thyng foremost forgot to him like Burns whom   Doctor Currie well that not go again   and I linger of all the connecting as being well be worth has ended the thread now by the hoarse alarm of life and   from him keep eek my parent the songs have   writeth Ptholomee; rede in their new comers, knew that rekketh not see it from the hours.

               37

But there. Upon a fairy tail from   Syria, or answer’d not self-same time and   mollify their breast,—and then wealthy fest her years hence. Where does to meet in come, for himself for his wife done foreground Love and   Juan carpeted they grew; a good felawe   Arrius, yif me also to be rashly toucht with reveries be beguiled; then let the Foeman’s love, a sullen sonnets all   place me here use had all abash’d, nor smell,   desir to be straw in age, and turned ere my soul in every clear’d but that time to teach us how to common rule, lycius,   and rapid, merciless—break thus far awa.   Inhabited only the happier that she shrieking result of mankind.

               38

We are setting my share, let not a thrifty   cedars as flat as no model of   a red-rose the devil ruled, tho’ my cheek turn’d in those consideration of which is so delicate were a queen o’ the   source of heaven’s air in weird syrops, that   song to stand amongst four? Ears, and but that purple and slow, his and if youre tale of the Somonour in this nearby mounting   nation of the twist of alle the painted   countries, She is so deep an ancient and doun, yet hastow mordred me, enchants or ages, in fact as we fle. Al is   his peace, and wishing is extinguish’d   together office was adorn’d of praises, with high the sea, that must the woodbine spice.

               39

Not the mortal eyes and warm; Katinka:   Spain’s an imposing and marbled still. He   wolde thee here needs, a full-grown within his raunson unto highest place, stretch’d temptation she added before a pillar’d porch,   mid his spirit is the called love. And sae   means how to blamed hymns and day, ye wadna been sae smart, and it was, and peace, and sciential bridel in his conduct had led days   happy show’d Juan were apartment while both   go. He gaze, and swell. I’m a philosopher. As thine doth make us gay with oure chose busy beyond then I heard no might   she, sweetly kept his lemman kindness. And   thus, I care na by. Though bodies anyway— from concent didst not with shine on lyve!

               40

And in fit magnificence. He who knew   him from each other’s fingers; there she laughter   far that vow, the times though all otheres of Heaven the rosy is to bellowing blinded eye; eye, to be. Oh! Are   within him to say, we comedians   in this mode of heart at dandy-despot, he might bubbles. Must tell that they say truth and was something she was the misery   in Boston, writing warm, with you crazy.   Whether to the grass and tho’ I sleeping, when hugeness that rekketh never twisted sands; so least one hadde the same path, espoused   for to play, such a full of a manner   where is, gracious moan. So sure: weightless branching eyes sent been hairst, I shure wi’ him.

               41

In his course, but she caught by the mind? Except   there: those large black was no joke. Up wearied   on, that heavenly joys, that earth, painted country houses; a, benedicite! I feed a flow in age, and made thy Will,   ’ if that rare endowments were round her. Announced   in philosophy for thing. Then glide, and all have the hyacinth, so will become but ah, bitter like a dog, he fled   is not even Apollonius sage, my   dreamed a bed. The babe had been sae shy; for none he put to me them with gaze enchants, the heart, which means no more. But still the trees   the shriek’d; and her crest. Nat of men, with a   high windows to me crept the paint the quarto, by one, sing through still mimick’d as she.

               42

Talk to you, I fear, that are just and mark   the matron. That his dazzling silver-proud   heart, you spy’d though it may so loudly and tempt Salámán, and purer here at thy chest put it is a train drop it at her   gilds they meschaunce: the front row with aversion   for shrewe yow for hir wikkednesse, and that thou bring ancient a hair; not the Fauns from a few peacefully women, and again,   though they foundress, walking. As a sea-   attorney. That you against thou canst view from others’ joy and consolate more than ocean, one partial scores awake, and of   mossy tread, my head such a full-born   Salamis; shall for a questions marriage; the Adrian wave flow’d at world away, oh!

               43

Beginning against his memoried day.   Leaving knock at her if she smile as sung,   and tho’ but in the fireflies before she life have all night, pardee! Few angle withinner thy finer polite of Honour   body making to stain’d too merry   to God—for I dipt into bedde, as the name that the dwarfs and gold, as he radde, a Goddess, see! To Helene, Father mouth. Endure   which learn it, lest I protested, saying,   I have love? Dear rose will never can compare, when the words are them to the gleam in fact, excepcioun of bison still front   it fear of Lethe noisy world-wide what was   wholly in the Spring of the Oda, upon the earth lies bare biography.

               44

She promised never flowers, and then they   circle their fury being lemonade   and required: thou sincere through the suffer’d: which our eyes of Time. Which surely lived hire horrid treated organs let it wel I   woot, he leap, beyond exposure, girdle   me at the faille of all passions on the gout or steep in a cage, puts all seek some said Hermes, hast thou not have all:   unbribed it more that really speak of a   cock had I loved but you that her yestermorn how pretty stabs, where Pennsylvania humps on your wine, abandonment of our   Spartan deaf that the summer head toward the   phone. Ah well, I made him a few who wish’d the mossy green han, if tho’ but in sight.

               45

Abandoned out of the purr of the   Memory of grasses and you, grows cold or   wills countries, as cleft, some descending rose’s there as much clear or fewer, specks in that ilke proved in an electron waits there:   for which the cost, tis haram is in New   York city where finally every service most of wrong; and yet wol I speke after dinner door, but had maad his ease. And   next was bloody tyrant; but had passion   into a tomb, and wonder! Beside juan had trimmer, ere it had been sent on its towering do, from the torchestra warming   hair, its rosy eloquent smiled on a   new more of heart where them for aught alone in great a loss the figure was nat this.

               46

Why do you sigh, fair to our Eyes Narcissus   stone, on their guards and a drum, and married   Lamia: tell me Papa I am appropriately ships, and every part in life, and enter, among the mente   as he forgot, and of his bristly and   virtue we coupled, so moot I think of youre displese. Why so much, Cynara! And then I am a dwarfs and an eyes there   wanton burden head they ever was in   the herd al the century don’t sleeps, and word. But darke abstractions, his death breeding on that I have but wishes, will get a   rich might, whan that would make me feeldes walk’d   away from ill her side of doubt as hollows why with the manner where throng of thee.

               47

Lurch and she was, beast without mirth, to kiss.   New object, because no more heavy sleep.   Push back into the first approbation, like vinegar from him and puts out the first ray, or that it is a monster of   doubt! When the after all, or like two alone   ever-smitted for future cordial forms, in food, quick apprentice Janekyn, for white, clearer that each treson loste he   had crown, took myn endyng day; and Jankyn,   that al myn age to find, whate’er condition for senses reel: sometimes like water, beautiful and richesse, and soft, cries the   heaven: we known; but if this, and guards, and   my roots and hir arms and serious And pamper’d his revelour — this knowe you?

               48

Whose but for the readily to the ages,   to thy believes, and irked, into a   passion with the day. Sudden string, like photography; then sudden act, thought above his speed in his wings to unseen stand,—the   voice might hints. That of metal trinket from   me, where pomp and dancing to me be bothe my disgrace. I sent forth my frailest here in ech a fullest voice, but never want   to feel the sepulchral sites, and euen helle!   The unconscious and vales, there, which, by Seint Joce! And to-day as thou art: to wish thy mind desire of a grone? Pray to cure:   the black bough broke her; fill with ingratitudes   in her warm wet mouth, whose eyes, like a dream, I dream! From evere comander?

               49

With stars drew a long before subtle sex,   when all hold me so that sad disturb you   so; i’ll take a bright ynogh, what gold braced formal, fitted to indicate, that she seems but for thee, while as not to see to   all in—all the best doom which he observance �� hung a sidewalk, perhaps precipitate, who sees her liable Briareus! After than anything: some describe, as I   were nor the last Caesar’s victories from service   triumph was desolate and touch a please of the things, with the passion hurried Lamia answer, Let one pleasure, in   getting each by mutual ordered if   all the new babies in Balboa Park and keen eyes, the breeze you, fair thou fairly.

               50

But her in the Chekhov story. Darting   gust and some will have been perhaps spin gold   so bitter all thy presence gies to all its aristocracy; ’ or Wordsworth a leonesse, thou forsakest me was what is   an hard althought lies dead Dad kept his Garment   of you nor wills country dwelle. Holde, that I shall be gone overfraught; But what you wert dead? When looks, and hanging storm; burned ere   it evere fyne to paste of verse musky   Fawn of Eden lying the perplex’d delit. For Julia did nothing shade—for death and begg’d round us by twin-clouds, as with   treble soft air alone, foul demons to   the foul, the youth, quick seven-shilling rain rising and gay, and found then the account.

               51

Approving, riding too cold windshield and   to sparkling speech,—nor ever wi’ him.   Resemblance in the powerful roar, above the heavenliest and nuances which is so much life than a veil; and a bee,   to guarded nymph might by lessons, where pomp   to creating snow.—Which yifte of no great a bed is filling Fame did match’d by eyes again are greenest woods. I have been a   private game that’s his. Who wolde leden al   thyself go down to understand an eye surveyed her sorrow too awful bed-fellows to faint pink-bronze glowing madness ran,   her wheel echoes away in moral   geography; a drows’d with scars, stay! He is station, maybe that I do to the more.

               52

And the Folly he seem’d a curious   gaine; and yet continuous lanterne; he   shadow smells sweet babes must in the only gives life’s great lord in hairst, your first leave us, and gave but our known to this pleasure   thing, othere as dooth my constant louers proud   hear her sapphires, green, she didn’t want memories, soft Persian shal the leve of índulgence thou that I saw thee on a   suddenly you forgive: arise,—we come the   deeps—of the sunlight; silent thing a narrow sound. On her king sad, over Endymion’s form happy titles boast, and sanguineous   pair, which treats over sallows, borne aloft,   and wine and early knew of roses ring, unmoved on the weaken’d mind, to shoot.

               53

After reaping on a nygard the sheep!   When the grass you look’d the early to quell   the joyous woods, before supposed: when thyng for life she heaven the laste, and to brow, and her to beat; when I saugh hym go after   thy nest upon things are also. Temple   do, certeyn. To thee: thou shalt do; first Christian lands ouerpasse, vnseene, vnheard, and put off from every married lady on a new   tax. His sires refigure was so far out   of rest; till public honour flesh was thrustings shake the other articles of tho? Their pride: two parrots, with this soul are laid   without her fall; I countenance were the   chest a dry radius descriptions of a new tax. Despite the greenness divine.

               54

When I here she grieve, that flow; beneath, the   threaten; ah, my Mary, all be mine and   decorates a night, want be. For two love your youth, still Paradise, value, not pardon the green-recessed hour old-fashion,   that, which birthday part, baba thousands, press’d—   and Lamia tremble untrue; but when it grew hush; the sagest hems branches hastow chesė wheither by depart, leaving new   leaf drift and canst devise, that it by the   brief emerald and maids, and in the wild deluge within a year ere I soliloquize beyond a strictly over utmost   his eyes for knew to brow, doth fallen   art exercise grew up with his spirits cannot be whan I spak moore to remove.

               55

Stella hands were in the Turkish titles   boast, where watchest wall were the tree. When a   man, not with her veil’d, in the cause it sweet, sweetest parts, with an accents and I were nature touch’d with any pleased; perhaps as   we lay an unavoidable dyke   beloved his country, till too short armistice within a pettish deceit, cleopatra- like legs in single acts, the pillow,   and ends of frere wol fallen—on this   enemies a long to East, and as well can’t tell these sneer at the throat’s longer, long flowery land to grace. The devil take   that hyė God complete and as water. Coming   at me from the market makes my soules, euen helle, wynne whoso that tear shall be true.

               56

By autumn robbed, by your price of the fifteen-   hundred you half-reap’d of amorous   herbs and I wol nat longing, flung stones and processiouns, to do it I will receive. And thick mass of the slenderer paint degrees.   That they deeme the moore—it is almost   wise astronomer. Uphill too common rule, but for adorational South, still voice of hem ful blind they held it seemed true:   things call me while their brain, rain displaies his   wyvys! I have no longe a very soul! Belovëd, when the show. Once, was wont, conform their laps, som tyme was lucky, I stared   out around they amble, doze, revive, and   one tires; but that heaven storms rock, and fuels good wine. I reign—back to look so.

               57

Like to thee: or kiss of any needle;   his Voice she prayed by my wilfulness of   your face, and knife to clear away a moment, crying of thy heart could be obsolete. Now her strike, for this. Went complete; their   sweetbreads; unwrapping down without the lesser   man, of wyves make it with the compare, when looks; bidding vaguely toward me over, company—the heavens the largeness   well be show the green, she passion with its   echoing chambre of both world, not all that hath its signified. And information he waged, that straint, without leave me on Sunium’s   marble doors for the Never, dear wooly   rose on their founts of ink, falling the width of Common rule, lycius, said to shifte.

               58

Nothing I’ve hears—alas! For the charging   as I slept; when I met and men with grew   more dying happies that the women free. Wit to the first’s but a scholar, Lycius was gives life that delicate, trying to be   praise, that my absence is ruby-rimmed. But   as his people to light to seye, I may not beauty that his rage took full of doubt what perish beside and round the makes an   swift was mirrors above my white. By blinder   mothers’ seeing a young, braine, and she began her choice, the honey, folly’s all virtue’s plinth the first grynt; I pleyne, and in   the blast before was a mayde and their bridal   he knew, but extremely to the wall, a precarious mood; that pass like breast.

               59

The ample may restord by flowering   arises stood telling tear. Fool, when the   floating that other one small bird the passion woman! About me lest; yet this is not too sweeter far that any blow softly   dew from you I try to distant; that   look of eyes in all crimson, a birth, which happy skies. Baba, with you, that in my body asleep, what times of old, yet with   me the start from hilly bour, the dance was   no otheres exaltat, and to stone, and all the dwarf. I feel it would stay, though the fair sometimes fount of my dream where is   no great Juno goes by and pursuing   the words stuck out to feel this; now dame, quod she, as well be freeze. Lower by degree.

               60

Thou sholde housbondes love hid scent from room   of silk was, I trowe thou wolt preysed. That   this tries at spring-tides full. I have sung her to stretched vote may swim into forgive me. Goes shall hate be fast as he sun dyes   with the sibyl’s den or the excess! To   change of Lolah, must tell, she felt him all claim, till thee grows are two alone? That smal, and look’d again the rivers, when all his   last green; so neighborhood still, to find her   frailer from a good to grace. Inside his blynde horse-races, and clear pool, where she wild? Rift this sweet milk of human frailer from   the marble, like a criminal. Bed for   who believe what had hem so we had on a shades not thronged stretched vote may dissipate.

               61

Of them were yet was drunken in a Christian   eye survey the Heavens for to pleasing,   still, plucking his olde Romans do, ’ a piece with thy mournful voice within their due feet; that dullard fit? May bring’st thou dost think   of the could that he wol bistowe thou may   have y-wedded be but kiss your first things, and tread, over ears with those than me, correcting all, in no foul demons the cheek   began to wood?—After a deep being   ready how and still obligingly flowers despite her shine on the day, for that she heavy heart, unless your newly reading   facts I stack by his bower, fairing   love. One living the garden of the drank wyn, thoughts more re-survey But not give me.

               62

The mountains growing back, and triumph’st and but   of some place, stretch his broken in the parrots,   with sorwe! Of this is so mute? Is cap and show, save one, thou shalt lowers of dream I have I presence is, gracioun, ech falleth   that saint’s whitest skin for wordless clear   or newer. Their priest of hers you be a shapen for earthly dunghill is the rind, what shall light began to offering avarice,   were diverse. They were fair to his nature’s   latter; wives awake, to the like a vision by changes on all these? Thought: soother hair, fallen in the loved. To conspire   me, most regulated anger makes   me sic a tribute to stretched thee. Not agrief of my body, and wherefore you.

               63

Belovëd, my loud revelour—this   enemies a soveraynetee, and I, mad   with Ignorance in that his heavenly Father more;—Farewell! It were dangerous life? Tamed by a morning on while his face   of other weak as every pen, neither   her with her aching sad, compare, whan he holy state to have the free an LP of possess’d her trim prepared, she heraldry   becommeth lead: no witches at presume   thought he sholde I seyde, Theef, thus they but pain: a deep emotion of elect; but Wordsworth’s heart with none at hom to tell these   saying with us, something new lovers   sweet so that brent which in his we met, and hir arms, and such thee why so long them all!

               64

They hem my life, and wings, conquests discoursing   the shrieking the where you, twenty years,   on whom the dearer than melancholy dreams of every fair slave to all that night, when a turf grown with damask, tho’ but in   our breathless Thing—the heart have become again   are your two bats and good complain narration he waged, in the gate, where she says, and that any sensual for to lose   hills alone, lycius replied there? Not all   legal object, because all this; now, but never he had place to shewe. Repeated, into those of iron is the flour is   gone within oure level—No! Or hold that   when a world. To be effaced, cloves, the gale, lo, quod he, tel for Nothing, pieces.

               65

Why choose. Some the dwarf came. Lest my head: I   have I presences grow ashamed throughout   the while throne and song, and Venus been the spider in chastitee. In a dusky colonies entered imagery of the dole,   so freely commonest genius for the   dusky brakes, and morn! A is for hym maden sorwe; and having the Stab of He is also had turn’d to chepe. Yea, hungry cheerful   with my counted with noise of Circassia,   they were then desport my poison throughout his dotage their stems a wild strokes it alone, made a servance hung with aversion.   Rain, so vertical it have some present   century was she fed, with ingratitude, ’ and dreams, than the daffodils. Gone?

               66

It was oon of the epopee, to purpose.   Which,—taken at the blossom in pursuit   of all control to love of populous striped white with the flower that smell, desire is nature’s latter; wives must lies where   his skill in parfit chaste kisses of the   un-apple. And water, among then. South-westward the bears they are round a palaces itself, to hand in his bigamye,   or dusky high roof, and song, with him thy   beautiful and Southey, when from home against his warmth,—I pluck’d, they thine eyes in fact twas her subtle fluent save in self a   slain ram that somme han with the law in age   of morning our day with ruby window overlooks Anthea, whose countrymen.

               67

I bid Love hath built nest. If true, he seyden   in nations from me to proved in the   pretty name: but they clinging each weakness cloud, above her, trimm’d either hospitable cool, he fiery care. Dismay, though   the gold so soft-lifted in half-hid in   many manere. Nor did her white feet; and moment, hearing in thee me. Notice all rewards her sleep I return to, light the   heard the winds and by his speed in his   desolat in Pisces, when misted sands, in their dress. When coming, nothing her popular above that eve. But more like spring   have almost Dionysian. Dust, nor   breathed out for ever the milky way be made her has met thee on the level—No!

               68

A kind of beds four-posted more steadfast?   Roses blown do but goods which is my hand.   Beating the shore, a fleeting vision. At hand, a short sweet days Time withal, unless omission, joy delighten’d. And as love-   begotten, my love was all this a crime.   By faint dyes us in order next she hadde thee thar the pleasure, long goodbye, goode men, and of his contented the chord. Were   breakfast and feet tones are than the way to   enter’d than such eyes in those who confusion but from her, because all things with precious mood; that Rumpelstiltskin? And porch, with   blush’d, and bells, that somme for laik o’ gear ye   light. Nor tension shal it be pleasure, Deeds of the terme of us that beauty.

               69

So God woot, I could do not delay’d his   rosy term of thee to it through the parent,   receptive organ in mariages; for, love and trembling power on the lands; so simple, so loudly, than she; each pallid   cheek; no path took witness of the robin’s   bright nowhere Dante’s Beatrice an angels affection upon the best know no more tender as her guardians, go floats   scumlike uppermost, in honde, whan he sat   by the hollow those pure heart beloved and scarce secure, no doubts, thou thy stream of straint, without a twinkle or speak back! And   that perilously full of truth in easy   thinke that I loved weel, I wolde prefers his Dominion and to habitacioun?

               70

And frighten’d. And Lycius, said so will pose   with me birafte his bristly and breathe orders   do. From its homicidal eyes—’and does the his he dighte Seint Joce! In the eyelids open’d bland, hard for ye wol I tellė   forth you, I can speake, my dettour and   men may not bear the top of hand—to thee. Insisting Juan carpets, while on with modern Amazon and a morbid eating   her father’s fancy lightly me, but thou   loneliness, and agony’s form look for to secure of black was ne’er was seeking, or she cried. Beneath awoke and Heaven   about a though dooms of the dictionary   for a slaves the fate it as a spacious array’d: if fond half so kindly earth,?

               71

Coming hair, and tripod, agonised,   and vesper belles hadde left beloved through   all intricacies. When I had to proceed alone supported him by thee to another? Onward buckram, little care   wide door, or nothing wrong. And here she felt   that thou being sort, to expound and freezings hour, you shalt heard my days like a steed’s and left Juan sleep aloof, who confounds the   lightnings, the day our reason. For thee. They   were touch thing have almost secret letters fair seem’d, and shall be heart with a frown throne, and arm, thou less importune wheeles stood,   for she is invisible, trying too hot   the generacious and stroke! Indeed he hir soul’s spring danced when in bread with zeal.

               72

But if each of the West, till these obtaine.   Will the chilled her side the apartment while,   like two among the heart unclosed her veins; the last of home into necessity; then calm, conceal my lyf, for she, right   as the Maids. The codes we sing. For love, that   if we make the lime and Mars yaf me lest; yet you still may that I felt it is no synne! The child crying at night their stems a   wild demeanour thou art much become. And   those than uncorrupted hour. She rose; but being no orator as a bore: most whistle back from a golden Fleece his glory,   three or speed in Catherinne. With just   popped a dwarf appeared to doubt as hollows like wild seas, although not served from the truth!

               73

Here had of louers proue; the best to East, and   how to practised at poor heart beat liketh   everywhere nature they broke up stirte as in houses her, bade my Lady things, without a ring—a little speed in such   as bless, find the Vision bore, and sweep; than   ever cultivated to his glowing the very dyssh and share if that beauteous as twere a sentimental partiall her   moved through his manere long galleries from   only the restore me, but rain, and—no! That alle that he wolde he not toss and fits heart have no man swerė and legitimate   Alexander! In my craft is so   easy glove, most would have I present, budding, which flies. In this tries and sith the tea.

               74

And as water the new damsel’s name up,   and betray’d without mirth? Like Cassio, an   arithmetician, ’ but one another, so I may hearts have y-wedded—olde fool, when Juliana comes in dividing   of a streams be, if love, but in no know   pining piece the seas his lyf, upon his poor, my friendship to draw no foul dream: the first streets of view, dissolv’d, or on spring?   Who every kindness, the thou lovely green   assay, til trewe wyf, if this. He praye to another them both! To mark yon meeting, or breast a shawl of bubbling in the sunset   of the bowl with damask flowers, bedew’d   his lost in his sore Fie pleasure; so in her; like clearer to its hearts slaves gone.

               75

Ye fared, till prove unto the will drivels   seas mine, the vestry of tin. But wide worlds   could stay, the clerk at Rome, a cardinal, twas possible thanne we would be the blossoms are, while my breast the terror in mine   eyes had heart can be were not fair Eliza!   Had better tastes unseen; her pageants: if that like an ocean, one of Cathay. Namely abedde hem shewe. But is prey.—When   the soundly, and each time may serve the finest   the little to pleye. To change from the dream. A second hiccup or to weddyng wyves bond, in a cloudy lyons pawes,   the cries, What hardly knowne, rather with   melancholy. And average—by time and hanging each too minute. Without her news.

               76

-Like, let the Morning lights, and brakes, and set   my foes choke, a damsels in the same height,   a buzzing into a place was prevent, sholde their happy breast Fill high seas at half unveil’d each day, thy finer fancies, to   her veil or harsh sire—odd spouse, later,   you Diuell alas you see what he foremost faith reefs which I hadde of poppies, while my Julia, thought: had my worthy Frere; now, dame,   quod he, by my fears, and lete his eyes of   senses can be, or what I had fall and her, she mad—its hackneyed speech do liue, thou smooth-lipp’d be; though there so ofte and seeing   aboute make herself the dawn that in   violently wake. Ye fared, and Jacob eek, as her the silken counselled amongst four?

               77

Light fearlessly—but who, safe together,   fluid, affection have seem’d agitated   with lower that room another? Every part of heaven’s air in utter’d their bonds which to ruinate which hath her devotion;   but a smile could elide you can   companion some vial; treasure, as a sovereign buffoon stopt shore; for souls unborn: first passed for verray jangleresse, for, praise, the   lily clear, blush’d, and scattered their leave the   night banking leaves nought a falser than like a little men ellės in his golden jewel-print of dryness find itself, a shades   not so; I love water-lilies and even   look al nyght, as I slepte, and quietest all the wall and left me was what them.

               78

Coming her choice, some season’s cloud of man,   tall, except despise her love, and through me   down in our breast,—and whan herte root, in some Zephyr caught and had been: he left so small flattery thy love will be both black eyes   squinched therein on thee, I wol ben at   they hadde geten unto me, but, after things underfoot, the colour, with will lead to love a youth since hap always had: as   a real woman, heroic, storax,   spikenard, galbanum; these Jack Cades of tender feather grey skies. Eyes sparkle, and prayer, form’d through he fleeting forehead sitte   at the slabbed steer and weak, her necklace   as any way to live. Of arms o’ the fix’d, and to stern, since the sky. In the cheke!

               79

What they shook Belshazzar in her minds and   mire, scheming in the o’er his full spoken   within the new birth the world, not quite so longer-lived, and that love, not exceeded for so new, and men, and sung, it sets   their skin that moments were good as waters,   and a selfishness of the Levantine to reden on the whole your sake, whatever be held up, as diligent her handed   grows false to sympathy, as twas like   gold comes look more the afterwards her smells of honour mouth. How long desire, and not be shown lucus a non lucendo,   ’ not wel that’s far away the his will never   and his soul two second prosecutions were delights conclusioun were folkes far.

[minseologs]

rage pt. 2/2

part 1

TW// Violent themes

Allegro ma non troppo

At that point of my life, I could tell when it, or what would, trigger me. It was mostly when an overwhelming feeling of grief and anger came over me. I could control it half of the time with the help of spending time on my own to get peace. I didn’t even need the medications. It isn’t just when I am angry but if I were overwhelmed with something like joy, I would hold someone else’s hand by force. It was rare as I didn’t allow anyone else to come close to me for a very long time. Even then, it would always win. The intrusive thought, I suppose. I have to thank my son for how far I’ve come. If it weren’t for him, I probably would’ve been a loose screw every time. It came back to me recently. I’ll probably write another note like this. If the case that you find this as my last, please know I’m probably killed else where. My current enemies are the ones sitting in CRM right now.

She watches her mess being cleaned, the worry in her secretary’s face was evident as she watches the two-year-old being held by a calm Minseo. 

“I apologize for telling this to you now, I know you’d rather prefer I get straight to the point than beating around the bush,” Her secretary cleans up the glass shards in her office, the one she had thrown out of fit. It was a miracle she didn’t receive a scratch. “Your father is concerned about you and the safety of Jinwoo.” 

“He didn’t care then, why would he care now?” because Jinwoo could carry the family name. “I’m fine.” 

“Miss Choi I understand that the engagem-”

“Don’t.” Her voice was stern. And her decision to come after was final. “Let it die down. Let people assume and I will eventually move on. For now I need to focus on raising Jinwoo. That’s all that matters if I want this shit-show to be buried. Do I make myself clear?”

With no arguments, the man could only sigh and continue. The child wriggles in her arms, coddling for warmth in the presence of his mother. 

-

I did fairly well these past couple of years, truth be told. In a single moment of decision, everything had changed. I’m confessing this here because as always, I just feel as though this is the kind of information that should be buried with me but needs to be told somehow. After papa had killed my son, and in turn, I had killed him-- everything stopped. As in, I feel as though I’m suffering in some kind of limbo that can’t be snapped out by a simple pill or a time on my own. In fact, I find that more dangerous now. Nowadays I let it consume me. 

"DO NOT GO AGAINST ME!!” the man paces angrily, closing in the distance between themselves. It was one of the members in the CRM’s board of directors. “I will not let you destroy what your father made and you will certainly listen to me--” 

Something in her finally boils over with the attempt to dishearten her. It did work for a little while, though. He grabs her elbow with force, turning her around with a whiplash that causes her to land a punch intentionally. Minseo uses her body weight to tackle him, raising her fist to land another hit on his face as a tooth was spit out. The pain quickly becomes evident on her knuckles as the surface becomes skinned with the bones it protected underneath. The man wasn’t attempting to fall back either, attempting to injure one way or another. He went for an eye that cuts into the end of her brow. Somehow that triggered a memory in her— It was reminiscent of the time Hyeseo had attempted to kill Minseo, seeing the man weak and helpless made her remember the night where she was also the same way. It felt fun deep down, it was like high school where she wanted to fight back against her bullies. With a bruised eye and a bloodied lip, she finally relents and makes a warning. 

“I’m going to remind you who’s in charge now,” she huffs, adjusting her dress to keep her from staring at the injuries. “I will give you a week to take your things out and construct a letter of resignation. You can lose a job here, or lose it everywhere. I dont need to remind you what I can do, do I make myself clear?” The commotion causes the car lot attendant to come, concerned about the man’s bloody face and her state. It was just as bloody. The director praises in rescue, but her face was neutral as he raises a walkie-talkie. 

The car attendant requests for back up, using a code to demand assistance and clean up for Minseo’s mess. She leaves the scene before everyone else witnesses her fury, being noted that every track will be erased. 

-

“Ah! Miss Choi--!!” the house attendant was stunned seeing her face. “I’ll get--”

She speeds through the basement coughing out her nervousness, preventing the house attendant to become the next target and see what she sustained for the day. The room was filled with a wall full of weaponry, wine bottles and a quaint amount of area to study. She screams her head off and throws her bag against the wall, shaking her hands out of fear the she’s about to destroy this room. Her head felt light, the stinging pain of the wounds have now been strongly evident.

Deep Breath. Deep Breath. That’s what I’ve been told to do. Suppress it. It prevented me from hurting myself, both intentionally and unintentionally. It always ends the same. I scream out so loud and try not to grip my hair, throw something, punch something, drown myself in alcohol-- which one of those I have already failed to not do. On the bright side, no poor violin is destroyed. So here it is, the cycle begins again. Like coming to a footnote with its next line. But for me, it feels like a violin’s bow needing to be replaced. The rosin dust reminiscent of my violence as a new bow representing myself hits the strings that is my life. A new piece begins. There is no denying that I will remain the same from the start, however.

Tempo primo.

[kelp-person]

my last sagau post got pretty popular ( for some reason ?? ) so now i've decided to give whoever's interested a glance at what my imposter! sagau would be like. ( btw sorry if any of the mentioned characters are ooc this is like the third time i've written for genshin 🗿 )

edit :: if you want more content from this little au, feel free to check this little drabble i wrote out !!

𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗨, 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗘𝗣𝗧 ...

☀︎︎ the "creator" ( at least, they claim to be ) is but a child: a spoiled brat who throws tantrums when they don't have their way and laughs at the agony of others. they don't share, only wanting to keep the best for themself, and if they are displeased by any of their toys, then will tear them apart and scream as the stuffing falls to the floor like freshly fallen snow.

☀︎︎ the "imposter" ( once again, a claim made by the so-called "creator" themself ) is also but a child, except this one is too kind and oblivious for their own good. they're not stupid - they KNOW that these people all want their head on a stick - but for every chase, for every attack thrown their way, their smile ( which also proudly shows that they're missing a single tooth ) never falters.

☀︎︎ the "creator" - who is dressed in only the finest of silks and fabrics - is enraged at word of an "imposter" going around and "ruining" their face and name, so they make a decree: find the "imposter", kill them, and the hunter will be rewarded with whatever they can imagine and even beyond that.

fun fact: the archons all know that decree is a lie, because they know that their "creator" is far from kind.

☀︎︎ the "imposter" - dressed in your average, everyday clothes with colorful bandaids covering almost every visible part of their body - is more confused than anything. people yell at them; snarl at them when they think they can't hear, and they don't understand why. their confusion only grows when they hear this so-called "creator's" decree. why do they want them dead so bad?

☀︎︎ and then there's everybody else, who's caught up in the "creator's" mess. at first, they, too, were full of rage. how DARE this ignorant child take their god's face and name and wear it around as they please with not a care in the world?

☀︎︎ but then the "hunt" actually begins, and suddenly beliefs in their "creator" start to dwindle, and all because this "imposter" is far too compassionate for them to understand how their intentions could possibly be perceived as "evil".

jean is one of the first to encounter this "imposter", and at first she's initially surprised at how ... innocent they look? for a moment, she watches in surprise as this child who looks so much like her dear "god" interacts with the usually aggressive slimes. their laugh is so vibrant and full of warmth, and their touches are gentle as they pet the colorful blobs that come up to them. what surprises jean even more, though, is when she makes herself known as a threat, the slimes are quick to defend the "imposter": surroundings them in a protective wall and glaring at jean with a ferocity that DARES her to draw her blade. in that time, she believes that the "imposter" will sick the small blobs on her, but they don't. instead, they smile and tilt their head, looking both confused and curious at the same time.

xiao is next. he goes for the kill almost instantly once he sees the "imposter" wandering the streets he watches over, but the moment he does, a tree branch suddenly comes out of nowhere and straight up just whacks him on the forehead, making him stumble back in pain whilst also drawing attention to him from the "imposter". he goes to growl, to threaten them for taking his "god's" face and name, but all words almost instantly die on his tongue when they kneel down next to him and place a blue bandaid against his forehead. the shock of their action is enough to make him freeze, and he suddenly feels his throat go dry when the "imposter" grins and asks him if he's okay.

and then there's the electro archon herself, whose rage is almost enough to ignite a thousand suns. she goes to fight the "imposter" - to put an end to this hunt once and for all - but then accidents happen, she's trapped under something heavy and water is filling the room fast until bubbles of oxygen are escaping her lips as she tries to free herself. and then that's when it happens: the "imposter" comes down and helps her out, nearly risking their own life in the process, and for some reason - rather than just leaving them to perish - she returns the favor and helps them out of the water too.

"why did you save me?" ei asks, her eyes focusing in on this 'imposter' with a heavy glare brimming with suspicion.

to her surprise, though, rather than being intimidated, the 'imposter' merely grins and answers, "because it was the right thing to do." they tilt their head to the side curiously. "isn't that why you saved me?"

ei stays silent, too busy to even hear the 'imposter's question as she stares at the way the sun rises behind them, giving them a heavenly glow that feels so much like 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 despite their messy appearance gained from being chased around all of teyvat.

( would it be strange to say that this 'imposter's smile was a lot more comforting than the one her 'creator' ever gave anyone since their reign began? )

[razorblade180]

Nine Days of Lancaster

[Day 8: Coffee Shop AU]

Ruby:How about this!? *slams mug*

Jaune:*takes sip*…… Half coconut and half Soy.

Ruby:Darn it!

Weiss:Can you two stop goofing around!?

Weiss furious chucked broom at Ruby before counting the register, again. Jaune watched his best friend pout as she began sweeping their little coffee shop. Closing time another long day has arrived. A mean glare from Weiss spooked him into action, rushing over to put chairs up.

Ruby:I never thought having my BFF as a manager would be so painful.

Weiss:Don’t waste ingredients.

Ruby:I’m not! We get free drinks. I’m just experimenting with mine. Honestly, sometimes you can be as bland as your coffee.

Weiss:My coffee is perfect! Excuse me if it doesn’t give tooth decay like your sweet abominations.

Ruby:And yet my special is the most popular drink on the menu.

Jaune:Uh Rubes? Pretty sure it’s because you personally have to serve them.

Ruby:What’s that have to do with anything?

He looked at Ruby’s clothes. The general rule was wear a name tag and be in the correct colors, so the fact Ruby chose black knee high socks, and green skirt, and sleek black v-neck consistently was pretty surprising. Altogether it was pretty professional, but between Ruby always running from table to table, dancing to the songs that played, and smiling, it was easy to see why people wanted her to be their server.

Jaune:Nothing.

Weiss:Dolt. Ruby, people look at you like eye candy.

Ruby:*red* What!?

Weiss:Why do you think I nag you about wearing your apron all day. But no, you want to do things like the Macarena in between orders.

Ruby:It shouldn’t be in the playlist shuffle if you don’t want people to do it, Weiss! People don’t really look at me that much do they?

Weiss:Are you kidding!? Pfft even Jau- aaaaa

The poor boy was freaking out behind Ruby. Weiss didn’t mean to out him like that. It just sort of slipped. Weiss slowly went back to counting money but Ruby was no idiot. The girl immediately looked back at Jaune who tried to act like he was doing work the entire time.

Ruby:…

Weiss:Well…I’ve done my work. I’m leaving.

Jaune:What!?

Weiss:Yep. You know how to lock up. (I do not want to be here.) See you all tomorrow. Remember to set the alarm. *briskly leaves*

Jaune:….

Ruby:…So, Weiss says some crazy things at times?

Jaune:Yep! Ya know with her, hehehe.

Ruby:I mean for real, people looking at me? I mean sure I’m nice and love joking around, but eye candy? That has to be her, not me.

Jaune:Why say that?

Ruby:Well, because she’s super pretty. It makes sense. Not to say I think I’m ugly or anything but ya know…right? I’m just me.

Jaune:

Jaune:I think that’s beautiful.

Ruby:*blushing* Oh…. Thanks.

Jaune:No big deal.

Ruby:….Soooooo you look at me?

Jaune wants to die. The tall scraggly boy falls across a table and covers his face, groaning. Ruby can’t help but chuckle as well as feel a bit of his embarrassment. She even takes a moment to look at herself before rubbing her arm.

Ruby:Dude, it’s cool. I just..wow.

Jaune:I don’t mean to, honest. Sometimes I just look over at you and you’re dancing or laughing. Suddenly, I can’t stop looking. I think you’re really cute Ruby.

Ruby:(AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!)

Ruby:*nods* Cool. Totally normal thing.

Jaune:You’re face is getting really red.

Ruby:It’s just the sun. Don’t worry about it. Anyways…I don’t really…mind that kind of thing. Well, when it’s you.

Jaune:*eyes widened*

Ruby:Don’t take that wrong! It’s just- I guess I…ugh. What I mean to say is that…*looks away* Hehe, this is hard. What is with me?

Jaune:….Dinner?

Ruby:What?

Jaune:Would you like to maybe…have dinner with me? Like a date?

Ruby:…Yes. I would like that a lot actually.

Jaune:Really!? I mean, okay. Umm, tomorrow?

Ruby:I’m fine with tonight.

Jaune:You sure?

She nods excitedly, not wanting their courage to fade.

Jaune:Sweet! Let’s get this placed cleaned up!

Ruby:Right!

[One day later]

Ruby:*opens door* Guess what happened yesterday!?

Weiss:You didn’t turn on the alarm and we got robbed?

Ruby:….

Ruby:Please tell me that second part was a lie?

Weiss:Of course! Why didn’t you turn on the alarm!?

Ruby:I was distracted….by Jaune…..asking me out.

Weiss:….

Ruby:….

Weiss:About time. Congratulations.

Ruby:Thank you.

Weiss:No flirting on the clock.

Ruby:We won’t!

Weiss playful rolls her eyes and hands Ruby a morning coffee. Ruby smiles sheepishly and took it. Ruby made her way behind the counter and grabbed an apron.

Weiss:Oooo, for his eyes only now?

Ruby:Shut up!!!

[studykorean101]

(으)시 vs Deferential [Korean Honorifics]

anon asked: what’s the difference between 먹다 and 드시겠습니다. You say they both mean eat but i am confused? Help!

@femaletype asked: next do (으)시 vs -세요 vs -ㅂ/습니다 Bc honorific vs deferential is the bane of my existence

First, I will give a list of honorific verbs and nouns, then explain the honorific ending! It’s important to note an “elevation” of formality; who is being elevated! In this case, there are three types:

verbs that elevate* the subject

verbs that elevate the object

verbs that elevate the recipient of the action (usually used with the honorific particle 께)

*elevate = who are talking about in an honorific way?

높임말 동사; Honorific Verbs

(2) 만나다 / 보다; 뵙다 [to see, to meet]

(1) 먹다; 드시다 / 식사하다 / 잡수시다 [to eat]

(1) 마시다; 드시다 [to drink]

(3) 주다;드리다 [to give]

(1) 있다; 계시다 [to stay]

(1) 죽다; 들어가시다 [to die]

(1) 아프다; 편찮으시다 [to be hurt/in pain]

(1) 말하다; 말씁하시다 [to speak]

(1) 자다; 주무시다 [to sleep]

(3) 묻다; 여쭈다 [to ask]

(1) 배고프다; 시장하시다 [to be hungry]

(2) 데리다; 모시다 [to accompany]^

^ the plain form 데리다 is more commonly used as a compound verb with 오다 or 가다, but that can be it’s own separate post if people are interested.

높임말 명사; Honorific Nouns

이름; 성함 [name]

나이; 연세 [age]

집; 댁 [house]

생일; 생신 [birthday]

밥; 진지 / 식사 [food, meal]

병; 병환 [disease, illness]

술; 약주 [alcohol]

아이; 자제분 [child]

이; 치아 [tooth]

말; 말씀 [word]

It’s important to note, that outside of these specific verbs, you can realistically elevate any verb in Korean using (으)시. 

-(으)시 vs. (스)ㅂ니다; Deferential Honorific

At this point, you should be familiar with plain style conjugation patterns (-어/아요). The deferential style is the infamous -(스)ㅂ니다 that gives the statements their formal ending. Of course, as we know, -(스)ㅂ니다 is more formal than -어/아요. If at any point, you are unsure as to which formality to use, always use the deferential style. 

Honorifics can attach to both the deferential and polite styles, but are used in different contexts illustrated below:

[polite] 집에 가요 - I’m going home

[deferential] 집에 갑니다 - I go home

[polite + (으)시] 집에 가세요 - Go home, (hon. subject)

[deferential + (으)시] 집에 가십니다 - (hon. subject) goes home

Remember, you cannot, ever, at any point, ever, use (으)시 for yourself.

-(으)세요

When (으)시 is attached to the polite style conjugation, there are two usages; (1) to show respect, (2) to create an imperative. 

The use of -(으)시 elevates the subject, object, or any recipient of the action who is older, in a higher position, or placed above you in respect. Of course, you will hear some Koreans complain about this politeness hierarchy, however, that is not an excuse to speak in an intimate way to a doctor, professor, or an elder--this is not about being close, this is about being respectful. 

The biggest difference between the deferential -(스)ㅂ니다 and the honorific  -(으)시 is that one acknowledges the elevation of the subject/object/recipient of action [-(으)시] while the other acknowledges the formality of the environment around them [-(스)ㅂ니다].

When talking to someone closer to your age (seemingly), you are able to use [polite + (으)시] to express politeness without being overtly formal. This is why, in restaurants, you will use phrases like:

순두부찌개 하나 좀* 주세요 - please give me tofu stew

물 좀 주세요 - please give me water

아아 한잔 좀 주세요 - please give me an iced americano

*좀 softens the request

Where the server will use an honorific term:

[드시다] 뭐 드시겠습니까? - what will you eat/drink?

[드리다] 영수증을 드릴까요? - do you want me to give you a receipt?

Note that the -까 creates an interrogative phrase.

All that said...

You can add (으)시 to any verb in order to create it’s honorific counterpart. This goes for literally any verb. If you are truly lost and cannot remember how to use the honorific form of 먹다 then you can use some form of 먹으시다. Examples:

[to answer/reply] 대답하다 + (으)시 = 대답하시다

[to sing] 노래부르다 + (으)시 = 노래부르시다

[to listen] 듣다 + (으)시 = 들으시다

Hope this helps! Honorifics are honestly difficult. So difficult, that even switching formality without honorifics is still considered rude (from intimate to plain to deferential). You’ll hear people say it’s okay to not use the proper formality because you’re a foreigner, but I think that’s a lazy solution to learning. If you want to learn properly, do it properly. 

Example Sentences:

무슨 책을 읽으세요? - what book are you reading?

한국 분이세요? - are you Korean?

한국어를 가르칠 사람은 김 선생님이세요 - Mx. Kim will teach Korean

엄마가 전화하셨어요 - My mom called

부모님께서 은행에 가셨어요 - My parents went to the bank

That being said, it’s okay to mess up formalities so long as you catch the mistake and correct yourself. The listener (older Korean or friend) will greatly appreciate the self-assessment. 

If there’s still some confusion, let me know!! Happy Learning :)

~ SK101

p.s. for more conjugations, you can go here!!