#i don't remember the guy's name off the top of my head. rider something. but he has pink hair. and he's wonderful

[front-facing-pokemon]

[kintatsujo]

LOZ AU- The Courage of Running Away PART ONE

warnings: Parental abuse, fantasy religion, fantasy religious abuse

So the original grain of this concept was actually a dream I had once but we'll get to that.

A major aspect of this idea that makes it an "AU" as opposed to "just" a "game pitch as fanfic" concept is that it has a worldmap that looks something like this: 

[Image Description: A map of a continent.  In the center is Gerudo Desert, ringed by mountains that extend from the bottom to top of the continent.  On the west side of Gerudo Desert, from north to south, are countries labeled "Termina," "Holodrum," and "Labrynna," while on the east side are countries labeled "Hytopia," "Hyrule" and "Lorule."  Hytopia is indicated to be a sky island above a territory labeled "Drablands."  Hyrule and Termina are more directly east and west of one another, as the Drablands are the northernmost country of the continent and Labrynna is the southernmost country.  There is an indication of another continent to the east, and off the eastern shore is a sky island labeled "Sky Temple."  To the south of Labrynna is a proper island labeled "Windfish Isle."  There is a legend in the upper left corner that reads "Really generalized AU map.  Proportions not to be taken too seriously and most of the sky islands besides Hytopia just aren't there because it would get too busy."  End Description.]

Lorule as a physical country to the south of Hyrule rather than a mirror version of Hyrule is because I am weak for dumb puns.  Also in general you can describe this as "this is my AU and I do what I want."  

Also the map of Hyrule itself in this AU should be considered to be heavily similar to the Breath of the Wild map because that's what I want shh.  Does this mean the other countries are similar in scope despite being based on countries from earlier and smaller games?  Well, yeah.  

I actually tried out making this worldmap in RPGMaker btw but to get something I was happy with I'd at LEAST need a nicer worldmap tileset for MZ.  Do I have the skills to make that?  Yep.  Have I got the time to make that?  Nope.

Anyway so as noted there's actually a NUMBER of floating sky islands in this version of the setting, and its version of Link was raised here, in the sky temple monastery/commune/abbey don't look at me:

[Image description: A floating island with a round temple, some sort of pillars arranged in a circle, and a few other buildings, one of which might be a dormitory.  The temple has a statue of the Triforce nested in Hylia's wings on the roof.  End description.]

A couple notes here since it's the only good place: In this Hyrule there are Loftwings because I said so.  There is also a Rito run mail service and there are also balloon-based airships.  Again, because I said so.  The Rito are the main people who run supplies to the Sky Temple, but there's also a number of hylians with bonded Loftwings living there.  The Loftwings are a little less mysterious in that they clearly roost nearby riders they've bonded with; note the large archways kind of indicated on the side of the dorm building.  Link, at this point in the story, does not have a Loftwing, which is important for reasons that will become clear by the end of this post.  Also, I'm not sure how obvious it is but I do intend that there's a cucoo/chicken coop set up near the dorm; this is for the eggs but the monk or whatever in charge of them is definitely a crazy bird person and probably also keeps messenger pigeons.  There would also be a garden somewhere and as one can possibly tell there's a graveyard.  Basically this Sky Temple is what I thought Skyloft was going to be a little more like until I found out it was literally a Boarding School Town.  Anyway.

The thing is that this Link was discovered to be the Hero of the age sometime in his infancy.

And this is the person who discovered him:

[Image description: On one half of the page is an establishing shot of a hylian man in blue and white (light gray) robes and a hat, with long hair in a braid and graying at the temples.  He's approximately middle aged by the lines in his face, tall and slender and moderately attractive.  He is wearing heavy gold diamond shaped earrings to match the symbols of Hylia and the Triforce on his clothing.  He is frowning, and he is labeled "Astramorus."  On the other half of the page are a series of comic panels: In the first, a young Link is hiding from a Rito behind Astramorus's cloak.  Astramorus asks, apparently fondly, "Come now boy, where's your courage?" while the Rito sheepishly assures him "Th-that's quite all right, Lordship."  In the second panel, a very small Link dressed in the Hero of Hylia's traditional green outfit is wiping his eyes while holding a sword too large for him.  There is blood on Link's clothes.  Astramorus, standing so that only the hem of his robes are in shot, asks "Come now boy, where's your courage?"  And in the last panel, lit as though by fire, Astramorus now has a much older Link by the back of the neck in a controlling manner, once again asking, "Come now boy, where's your COURAGE?"  End description.]

By the way the manner in which Astramorus is holding the back of Link's neck in the final panel is a sneaky thing my dad used to pull sometimes; basically if you squeeze just hard enough to hurt nobody but the person you're doing it to can actually tell so you can even do it in public without people necessarily noticing.  It took me ages to go "wait that was actually really fucked up that he used to do that."  Shoulder touch is good, neck touch bad.

A note on Astramorus's costume: It's basically an evil version of the costume worn by the priestly guy from the Sanctuary in alttp.  Astramorus himself, well, I had the idea for him well before Age of Calamity came out but yes he is basically named after Aster, so you can guess that he's more than just a terrible father.

Astramorus has been training Link since he could lift his sword, including trials he should have been too small for and acquiring things for him to fight-- and kill.    Link isn't allowed to speak to anyone unless asked questions or told to by Astramorus, not even the other members of the monastery (although perhaps many of the people there have taken their own vows of silence.)  

And he's not allowed to have opinions, and he's not allowed to back down in a fight or say that he's too tired to keep training, and this has been going on since Link was six.  Astramorus tells him this is the ideal.  That never backing down and never stopping is what courage means and what being the hero means.  That starting from a young age is only proof of the hero's purity of heart.

And when Link is nearing seventeen, Astramorus tells him that he's going to present him to the royal family of Hyrule, and that at last the HARD part will truly begin.  (Keeping in mind that he was putting a six year old through trials MEANT for a seventeen year old.)  And Link breaks: 

[Image Description: A comic.  Link is putting together a paraglider not dissimilar to the one from BotW.

He narrates: Tomorrow we're supposed to set out so that I can meet the king of Hyrule.  Which means that this is my last chance to run away.

Link grinds his classic hat into the ground with one boot, and leaves his sword stabbed into the earth behind him.  He leaps off the sky island and toward the sun on the horizon.

Link narrates: I don't care if this is cowardly anymore.

End description.]

And THAT one page is what the dream that started the concept was about; some people might remember me talking about it as long as three years ago and it's just been stuck in my head ever since!  (Also: I love the idea of there being a Link who starts out wearing the classic outfit and THEN switches to other costumes.)

This is obviously not the end of this AU, lol, stay tuned for where Link finally crash lands (spoiler: He makes it pretty far and you might be able to guess from the map >:3c)

#AU August

#LoZ AU: The Courage of Running Away

Bonus: 

[Image description: A headshot flat color sketch of this Link, who has short fluffy light blonde hair and green eyes.  He is yelling, with tears in his eyes: "I am NEVER wearing that STUPID hat again!"  End description!]

[babeyvenus]

The Wolf Among Us

Bigby x OC

Summary: Sonya Blaze, A.K.A. Hell Rider, is a half fable, half mundy girl who comes to Fabletown to learn more about her side of the folktales. She works alongside Sheriff Bigby Wolf as his newest partner and together they strive to find out who's behind the unexpected murders in Fabletown.

TW: Mentions of death, gore/blood, alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex implications, suicide, guns and ofc language.

A/N: just a little filler for now.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Chapter 19: Off Day

As they arrived, Bigby looked around, taking in the new sights. He hadn't been on this side of New York, considering he never bothered to interact with the mundane side of the city.

Sonya parked and took off her helmet, sighing as she looked up at her previous home. "Home sweet home...", she muttered as Bigby got off and dug into his pocket. "You need some time with that?", she asked teasingly.

He gave her an unamused look and lit his Huff n' Puff. He took a long drag, enough for big puffs of smoke to exit his nose before he drops the cigarette and smushes it under his foot. "Let's go.", Sonya says and leads him up to the house.

She pulled out the keys and opened the door, looking around to see a living room and smiled widely. "Pico!" She grins at the sight of a light orange fluff whose head pops up in attention.

Bigby looked over her shoulder to see a Shiba inu running toward her. Sonya kneels down and picks the excited dog up, whining and barking happily.

She set her bag on the couch and sat on the floor with the dog, Bigby followed behind and stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room. "You can sit down, y'know...", she says, making him scratch his head and sit down next to her on the couch.

Pico looks over at Bigby and growls lowly. Bigby frowns. "Easy, boy.", Sonya warns. Bigby snapped his attention to her. "I hope you're not talking to me."

Sonya chuckles and shakes her head as she pets Pico. He looks up to hear something walking downstairs and runs over to the sound.

They looked up to see a shorter woman who sleepily walked down the stairs and looked at them in surprise. She looked like Sonya, or rather a slightly older version of her. Her skin was a bit darker than Sonya's, her eyes almost a dark honey color. They seemed to light up when they caught onto Sonya's smile.

"Hi, ma.", Sonya greets, getting up. The older woman rushed to her daughter, bringing her in a tight hug. Sonya hugs her back, swaying back and forth before her mom cups her face to examine her. "Where have you been? You're a mess!"

She glanced at Bigby. "Who's he?" Sonya looked at Bigby with a smile before looking back at her mom. "Mama, you remember the place Dad kept talking about?", she asked. Her mom nodded. "Well, this is Bigby Wolf. He's practically the protector of Fabletown. and he's my... boss."

Bigby stood to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you." Her mom smiled. "You too, I'm Theresa. I hope she hasn't been giving you any trouble."

He rubbed behind his neck. "It's actually the opposite…" Sonya rolled her eyes. "We've been through a lot."

Theresa frowns at her. "Is that why you couldn't update me on anything?" Sonya nods. She glances at Bigby, "Can I tell her?" Bigby thought for a moment before sighing. "I don't see why not. She already knows about us."

"You can tell me after we do something with this head of yours. I can't believe you let it get this bad!", Theresa complained, giving Sonya's arm a slap. Sonya frowns. "I haven't exactly had time to groom myself, Ma."

Bigby waited as Sonya was pulled away to get her hair washed. He looked at the dog who stared back at him. Be rolled his eyes but raised an eyebrow as the dog walked over to him and sat by his feet.

Bigby looked to his left to see a photo set on top of a lamp table beside the couch. He examined it to see a younger version of Sonya, Theresa and a man and a baby he didn't know. He assumed the man had to be her dad. "She looks so happy...", he muttered.

His attention snapped to his right as he saw Sonya walk out of the kitchen with a towel draped over head. She pulled the towel off to reveal her shorter, wet, coiled hair, some curls stuck to her face, some dripped onto the towel.

She gave him a sleepy look as he looked back at her in curiosity. "Did you cut it?", he asked. She looked at him with confused eyes and shook her head. "Of course not. Water just makes my hair shorter.", she says, picking Pico up and sat down by Bigby's feet. She pulled Pico into her lap and rubbed his back and his head.

Theresa comes into the living room with a small container of grease and a blow-dryer. Sonya glanced at Bigby. "If you can't take the noise, you might wanna cover your ears."

Theresa looks at him. "You have sensitive ears?", she asked. "You could say that.", he replies. "You still haven't caught onto what fable he is, Ma?", Sonya asks.

Theresa thought about it for a moment, and shook her head. "I'm not sure." Sonya chuckles. "It's in his name."

Theresa looks at Bigby for a moment before her eyes widen in realization. "You're the big bad wolf??"

He nodded, rubbing behind his neck again. "I wouldn't have thought so. I thought you would've looked a little more... hairy.", she says. "And maybe a little meaner."

He smiled awkwardly. "Yeah...I'm trying my best not to be as monstrous as I was before."

"They made him sheriff but still treat him like trash.", Sonya deadpans. Theresa frowns, while she starts to apply the grease to her daughter's head. "Sometimes people don't wanna see the change in someone because they're so stuck in the past. The best thing you can do is move on.", Theresa says.

Sonya nods in agreement. "I gave up trying to be everyone's friend. Realized not everyone deserved my kindness and just stuck with whoever accepted me for who I was rather than someone I wasn't."

Bigby took in their words and frowned a bit. He hated that they were right. He did care about what other fables thought of him, simply because he was trying to change.

It didn't help much that they kept bringing up his past in the Homelands. It wasn't fair. But he supposed he didn't deserve a better life like everyone else. No one else went around eating pigs and grandmas.

Sonya noticed his silence and tapped his foot in reassurance. RIght after, Theresa started blowing out Sonya’s hair, the sound making Pico rush up and run to his bed and Bigby wince a bit before he started to get used to it.

Moments later, Sonya started to fall asleep and Bigby took note of that. He didn’t understand how she could fall asleep with something so loud in her ears. “I don’t know what you guys went through, but y’all must’ve been working hard.”, Theresa says.

“We did solve two murders…”, he says, making her turn to him in shock. “What happened?”, she asked. He explained what happened, gently informing her about her daughter being targeted as she silently listened and did her daughter’s hair.

“She protected me… a lot more than I can say anyone has done… She’s got guts.”, he says. Theresa finally finishes, now aware of Sonya’s soft snores. “She gets her impulsiveness from her daddy. I think that’s why she got her powers. She just accepted without thinking. Expected me to just be okay with that.”

Bigby glanced at Sonya’s sleeping state. “When she rushed in to save me...she told me she panicked. She didn’t have to, but she did. I’m grateful.”

Theresa gave him a smile. “She does that a lot. Always has to play the hero. I kinda expected that out of her brother but I think he admires her for that. He didn’t get to know his dad very much… so she stepped in.”

‘That’s why she said that about T.J….’, he thought. “I think she did a good job.”, he says. Theresa appreciated him. “Me too. She took on the role all by herself. She knew nothing about being a boy, but helped him whenever I couldn’t. Sometimes I hated it and I felt helpless that she seemed so independent at such a young age.”, she frowned softly. “It hurt. Made me feel like I wasn’t doing a good job as a mother. But she always reminded me that it wasn’t my fault.”

“She does her best at everything. She can be lazy but if its something really important, especially as important as what y’all went through, she won’t stop. She’ll overwork herself until she passes out.”, she says, looking at him. He nods. “I kept telling her she could take a break. She only took a nap when we were almost close to finishing up, we just got some food last night too.”, he confessed.

Theresa sighed. “I hate that she does that. She’s gonna die quicker if she doesn’t take better care of herself.”, she says, fluffing Sonya's hair. She smiles. “She hasn't been taking care of her hair, but it got longer…”, she mutters.

She frowns again. “She’s probably gonna be out for a while.”, she turns to him. “If you can get her up to her room, that’d be helpful. I’ll cook y’all some food while y’all are here.”, she smiles. “I haven’t had to cook that much in a while.”

He nods as Theresa gets up to go wash her hands and starts on food.

Bigby leans down a bit to gently shake Sonya awake. She mumbles, frowning in her sleep and relaxes her face. He shakes her again, getting no response. He sighs and picks her up, with Pico following behind him as he carries her up the stairs and is met with a divided hallway.

There was one room on the left of the hallway that had easy access to the stairs, and another door to the farther part of the hallway.

He went to the right side of the hallway and noticed a hanging nametag on a door that had Sonya's name and he walked up to it.

He entered the room, his nose being hit with her potent scent. He was almost sure if she went missing, he could find her.

He looked around her room to see a XL twin bed covered in black and gray sheets. She had a purple rug under her bed that seemed untouched and fluffed. An empty desk with just a monitor on top and a black desk chair, and a purple dresser that blocked her window and seemed to be a bit dusty.

He saw a full body mirror that had small polaroids taped onto it, and his curiosity spiked. He looked around at some posters she had on the walls, snorting at some of them before he gently laid her down. Pico struggles to get into her bed before he finally does and snuggles up to her.

Bigby smiled a bit and continued to look around her room and sits down in the chair. He squeaked a bit from under his weight as he leaned back a bit. It was a lot more comfortable than his rustic, ratty chair back in his office. He almost considered taking it.

He closed his eyes for a moment before sighing and getting up to leave her room. He walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen where he smelled seasoned meat. He looked over at Theresa as she smiles at him. "She still asleep?"

He nodded. "Is it okay if I step out for a bit?" She nodded, saving her hand in his dismissal. He left the kitchen and left the house to pull out a Huff 'n Puff, lighting it immediately. He took a long drag of the cigarette, sighing out softly and letting out a large puff of smoke.

As he leaned against a lamp post, he almost contemplated his own mother. Theresa seemed so kind, it almost made him wary of her regardless of her knowing about fables. But her daughter's a half fable and the way she talks about her and treated him more like a person rather than a monster…

He considered letting his guard down, just a bit. He finished the cigarette, stomping it out before he walked back inside. The smell of the previous meat entered his nose dully. It smelled good, though.

He walked back into the kitchen, peeking his head around the corner and saw Theresa loading barbeque brisket into a bun. His stomach rumbled loudly, making Theresa jump a bit as she turned to him, placing a hand on her chest as she laughed.

"You scared the shit out of me.", she says, gathering her composure. "Was that your stomach?"

He nodded, scratching behind his head in slight embarrassment. "Well, luckily for you, the food's finished.", she says, smiling.

She handed him a plate and had him sit down at a table. He softly blew onto the food before taking a bite. When he took the first bite, he nearly gulped the rest, making Theresa grin. "Glad to know it was good.", she says.

She took his plate before handing him another one and smiled at Sonya walking into the kitchen, yawning. "That was quick.", Theresa says.

Sonya grumbles. "Pico wouldn't stop kicking me." She saw Bigby eating and smiled. "Finally got you some food, huh?"

She walked over to get herself some food and hummed in delight once she took a bite. After they'd finished eating, they talked for a while until noon arrived.

Sonya and Bigby stood up. "We gotta go before the princess bites our heads off for being gone too long.", Sonya says, rolling her eyes and giving her mom a hug. "Try to keep in touch, please.", Theresa says. Sonya nods and leads Bigby to the door. Sonya exits just in time to see school buses dropping off kids.

Bigby starts to follow her but is stopped by Theresa. "Please look after her.", she asks. Bigby gives her a reassuring nod before leaving. He closed the door and looked to see Sonya hugging a boy about the same height as her.

He walked over to them, catching the boy's attention. The boy frowns a bit. "Who's he?" Bigby almost snorted in amusement at his attempt at being intimidating.

Sonya turns to Bigby, “This is my brother, Eric. Eric, this is Bigby, my boss.” Eric looks Bigby up and down. “He better be.” Bigby raises an eyebrow with a soft chuckle. Sonya gives Eric’s arm a slap. “Cut it out.”

Sonya sighs, looking at Bigby. “Let’s go.” He nods, following her to her bike. She starts it up and looks at her little brother. “Stay out of trouble.”, she says, making him nod before she rides off with Bigby.

The Woodlands

She parks outside the gate, letting him off. He looks at her in confusion. “You’re not coming?” She shook her head. “Nope.” He crosses his arms. “Why not?”, he asks. “Ask your Deputy Mayor.”, she says, bluntly before driving off, leaving him in confusion.

“What does Snow have to do with…”, he muttered before walking into the apartments and made his way to the Business office, seeing the previous line had been gone. He walked into the Business Office and walked up to Snow.

“Mr. Wolf, what’s wrong?”, Snow asked. “Sonya’s not coming into work. I’d say that’d be fine, considering the circumstance, but somehow you have something to do with why she isn’t coming into work.”, Bigby says, making her pause. He raised an eyebrow. “Why is that?”, he asked.

She smoothed her hair, taking a curled strand of hair behind her hair. “Well, the case is done. I told her she can take some time off until there’s a new case.” Bigby’s eyes narrowed a bit before he nodded. “I guess that’ll be for a while… I suppose that’s fine.”, he says, and shakes his head at Bufkin drinking a tall bottle of wine.

“Do you ever get tired of drinking a whole bottle?”, Bigby asks. Bufkin drunkardly smiles. “Nope!” Bigby sighs a huff through his nose before walking to the mirror. “Hey, mirror.”

The green face appears, looking at the man stoically. “Hello, Bigby.” Bigby scratches at his stubble. “I gotta know where Sonya’s going. Can you show me her?”

The Mirror hums. “You know our rule.” Bigby rolls his eyes. “We ate, talked and parted ways, now can you, please, show me Sonya Blaze?”, he rhymed.

The mirror shows Sonya entering an electronic store he’s never seen. Bigby frowns, looking closely at the store name. “Best buy…?”, he mutters. “Where’s this at?”

The mirror hums, coming back. “5th avenue.” Bigby sighs. “Okay.”, he says and walks away. He walked out of the Business Office to walk into his own, and closed the door. He walked over to his desk, plopping down in his chair and grumbles at the paperwork that waited for his return.

[zachsgamejournal]

PLAYING: Breath of Fire 3

I'm not sure this game is as great as I remember. But while recently researching top PS1 RPGs, BoF3 was near the top. Ah-well, I think I'm nearing the end...

Last we left off, Nina just arrested the criminal Mayor while Rei was hunting for revenge.

Realizing the Mayor's connection to Syn City, we headed over there to arrest the boss only to find everyone dead or dying. We're told a giant Tiger (Rei) attacked and the boss has fled. Tracking the boss, we find Rei confronting the man, demanding revenge for Teepo's death. Ryu and Nina just want to arrest him. Rei, dissatisfied, attempts a killing blow. But the boss, wounded, turns into a monster (because this is a JRPG).

After we succeed, Rei seems a little down on how weak his tiger power is compared to Ryu and others. But he finds kinship in Ryu's dragon abilities and wants to join the crew to meet God and ask "what's up?"

Nina says there's a problem, her father the King doesn't like Ryu--thinking Ryu was responsible for the big messes that happened when they were children. Nina suggests we do a good deed to clear his name. There's trouble at the old plant.

We find Momo as she tries to keep the plant producing super-crops, but there's issues. Palet, the mad scientist that betrayed us before, is missing. In the game's "Resident Evil Mission" we wander the plant to find Palet is trying to use Chrysm and mad-science to bring his wife back to life. Momo's father invented the tech, trying to do much the same. But we tell Palet this is bad. We defeat him and unhook his wife from life support.

Damn.

We return to the king, but Nina asks Ryu to sit it out. Asking Rei in instead. She presents Rei to the king and queen as her savior and a bad-ass dude. But then they recognize him. The Jig is up and Rei and Nina flee.

Back to Angel Tower--but God does not appear. Garr is sad. We talk to the Urkan chief and are guided to another surviving Guardian who has recanted their oath.

Finding this guy, he insists on testing Ryu. Turns out he lost faith in the cause against the Brood before the war was over. We also learn that Deis--a powerful snake-lady--is being held captive at Angel tower. This guardian's death frees her, and he willingly allows his defeat.

We return to Deis and she punches Garr in the stomach for being a dragon slaying asshat, then asks us to meet her later. We do and get a flashback with her fussing at Guardians.

I can't remember the details, but the God that ordered Guardians to kill The Brood (dragons) is her sister. She says our answers lie across the sea.

Return to Rhapala to find our ship-friends, but the boat is missing again. We needed that! We travel to Junk town to find the ship needs repairs. Momo offers to do it, but needs parts. We go to Steel Beach to collect parts that continuously wash up on shore here.

No one knows where these parts come from, or how to make them. But they've been able to build some half-ass machines from them. There's an annoying mini-game here where you have to help someone haul in something big by following flag raising. Turns out to be a monster fish.

I struggled finding the parts. Firstly, they're pretty well hidden, and secondly, some were on the beach. Oh, and thirdly, you can't know whether you found the right ones without returning to Junk town...time consuming.

Parts collected, ship repaired, we sail back to Rhapala and are nearly rammed by "The Black Ship". The Black Ship was one of my favorite sequences as a kid, so I was excited to play it. But that's in the future...

Zig, who was once an antagonist, now wants to be a helpful ship captain and offers to sail use across the sea. But no one has ever left the bay. We try. We fail. There's rumor of a Legendary Mariner that sailed from across the sea. Supposedly, the mayor of some town knows about him. When we get there, it's a fishing town and he hates fish...

This is where I gave up a few years ago. It's one of those annoying JRPG fetch quests where you've gotta do a bunch of innocuous quests to scavenge a few items, and it's like--I just want to learn the secrets of the universe--THIS ISN'T FUN!

Goofing around with cheats, I gave myself every item in the game. So I didn't have to do this quest: HAH! But I still had to cook. Luckily they give you clear instructions. He likes the food and gives us a chart. I'm not sure the chart does anything but unlock an island. I still had to look up a guide to find it...

...

So the game, in the second half...or middle third...starts to lose some steam. You end up retreading a lot of ground. While it does tie up a few loose ends, it's a lot of busy work.

I think the problem is that the game gets to the "BIG" question too early. I mean, you start the game as a dragon. Dragons are supposed to be extinct. No one understands your power. So of course, the BIG question of "What's this dragon business about" is there. But it doesn't truly become a primary concern until Garr joins the party. At that point he says, "Lets head east to learn more about you". But heading east has a ton of road bumps. And instead of answers, you get a: "It's my life's goal to kill dragons: die!"

Nice twist, for sure, but when Garr and Ryu reunite, the primary question is set: "Why did God tell Guardians to kill the dragons?" And then it's just a bunch of bullshit!

Take Fellowship of the Ring. There's a lot of bullshit: dark riders, hobbit eating trees, mid-night attacks, horse chases through the woods, perilous mountain peaks, dangerous mines, a fire demon, dubious wood elves, corrupted allies, and orcs. But, even though the adventurers are constantly running into obstacles, they are always moving the ring closer to Mt. Doom one yard at a time.

Breath of Fire 3, on the other hand, is rarely gaining yardage, and very often losing yardage. It's a oppressively unrewarding experience. I mean, as a child you help train a weak guy to fight a strong guy over several "nights", wander a monster infested lighthouse, and then battle a trash talking dolphin all in hopes of getting a ship and they're just like: Nahhh.

It's much different than something like Elder Scrolls where you have a sort of "home base" and must travel around the world for tasks and clues.

Been trying to think of a better way to approach this...

Maybe Garr doesn't find adult Ryu cause he wants to confront God. Maybe he wants to apologize. As they leave, they learn about the Tiger (Rei). This leads them to McNeil--get Nina, and all that. Now it's time for Ryu to prove to the king he's worthy of a pardon. Missions include: Resolving the Plant Crisis, Fixing the boat, Stopping/Docking the black ship, and a few other tasks. All in the name of clearing Ryu and Rei's criminal record.

All the while, they're learning more clues about the Brood and the past. Garr admits that he's never spoken to God and doesn't know how. He's only goal is to make amends to Ryu as a servant/companion.

One of their quests leads them to the old guardian, which leads them to Deis, and that's when they first hear that God lives across the sea. Now, instead of a million distractions, we have a clear goal to hop on the black ship and sail across the ocean--which we do.

Now, all those mundane quests that prevented progress become a part of progress--because it's helping clear Ryu's name. AND, we don't set the final goal (meet God) until we're truly cleared to chase it.

[riderdrauggrim]

Day Unknown. Sat, Sep 26, 2020.

Nervous about randomly hiding in 4G Motorsports parking lot, I'm awake a few short hours later around 6:30. I have the tent packed by 8:30, and huddle beside the bike, waiting for staff.

9:00 rolls around and I approach the doors, making my way back to the Parts/Service desk. A young woman who's family shifts her between Alberta and Toronto seems thrilled to meet someone else from Ontario. We check if they have a replacement battery in stock. They do not. And their mechanics are not in on the weekends.

But!

There's a MAGNACHARGE Battery megaemporium RIGHT across the street!

Heartened my luck might be improving, I trot over.

Nope.

They're closed on weekends.

I trot back to 4G, on the way calling Riverside Honda in St. Albert, the blokes who'd changed my tires. They sold their last YTZ14S on Friday. BUT they'd ordered more and they should arrive at the start of this coming week.

I run over my problems with their parts guy. He suggests I remove the battery and try starting the bike with another random battery attached; That might be able to isolate if it is my battery or my starter system/charging stator/rectifier/words.

Sounds good.

Back at 4G I ask if they have a charger or a booster. The parts girl knows where a tender is, but not how to use it. It's okay, I do. They graciously let me push the bike inside their service bay so I can tinker on it, good thing too as it starts to drizzle outside.

So! My battery: Out and Charging.

My bike: New battery hooked up to test the ignition.

My key: In the ignition, turning to activate the bike-*Crack*.

One of the few flaws I've found with the NC750 design is the key is needed in a secondary lock. Turn one way to unlock the frunk (front trunk) where the gas tank USUALLY sits on a motorcycle. Turn the other way to unlock the latch securing the passenger seat, this allowing you to lift it up to reveal the gas cap to fill the tank, which sits under the rider. The problem with this lock is the key does not fully insert. It's about 3/4 depth to the ignition proper.

Over time, this has created something of a weak point on the key itself, occasionally twisting ever so slightly if too much pressure is applied, if the latches are sticky, or the frunk is overfull and a bit jammed. This was usually corrected by sticking the key in and turning it the other way, straightening the blade out again. For this trip, due to the tail luggage making lifting the passenger seat incredibly difficult at best, I had opted to outright remove the pillion cover, leaving the gas cap exposed for easy access. All I needed the secondary lock for was to get in and out of the frunk, which I was doing several times a day to fetch out Goose and Hat, or store drinks, or change power banks.

Perhaps it was this excess of one direction twisting that finally did the blade in.

Perhaps it was just six years of use and wear.

Perhaps life just wanted to take the difficulty level up a notch.

In any event.

I was left holding the top quarter of my key. The remainder still inside the ignition. Even if I can get a new battery, I can now no longer turn on the bike.

My coworker who helped fund this adventure texts me to see how things are going. I tell him my key just snapped in half. He says if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. We discuss options. I'm 3,505 km from home. I'm 427 km from the nearest Honda dealership. I just want to Abandon Quest and Hearthstone out of here, but that's not an option. So I work through various plans.

I call Riverside back and get the Service department. Nick remembers me. I fill him in on the last twelve hours. "Wow." Indeed. He puts me on hold and consults his coworkers. If I can get it there, they'll try and squeeze me in and get this sorted. Some people have good luck using super glue to get broken keys out and then jury rigged back together. With my luck, I'll make a mess and fuse the tumblers and need an entirely new ignition system. The key is also a newer blade style, not a normal tooth house lock key. It's supposed to be stronger, amusingly enough. But it's not the sort of thing local locksmiths should be able to replicate, it needs a Dealership. So even if I got a Fort McMurray locksmith to fish the main part out, if he can't make a new one, I still can't Go.

AND there's the pressing matter of the battery.

During all this my battery on the tender has completed charging. I restore it into the bike, or try to, as the damn nut in the contact for the red lead slips out of the holder and falls precisely through the ONE (1) hole at the bottom of the compartment and somewhere onto the engine block. I don't hear it hit the belly pan, and wedging my fingers into every nook, curve and cranny yields nothing but grimy hands.

I call CAA anew. I get the same woman as the night before, so that helped since she already knew the first part of this story. I now have Multiple Problems that can not be fixed locally. St. Albert is outside the Alberta tow range of 350km. But my membership is from Niagara, and I'm covered for 500km. She calls them to approve it. They say 'of course'. One hurdle down.

She contacts the tow company. New hurdle.

Due to the nine hour round-trip commute, they don't run every single broken vehicle south to Edmonton every time someone breaks down. They wait for multiple items, load them all on a long truck, and do a couple runs a week. So. Yes, they can get my bike to St. Albert. Eventuallllyyyyy.

I get it; from a logistics and efficiency and financial perspective it makes perfect sense.

From a "but... my bike..." and waiting for a nebulous amount of time in a hotel somewhere just for it to get TO the mechanics, nevermind the unknown timeframe of the shop having time to look at it, figure out what's wrong, order new parts if needed, and install them.... Hrrrggggnnnnn.

So EMI came with the short bed and picked up the bike from 4G. The logic being, now it's in their secure compound, ready to go, and when they have a load ready, they'll shove it on and take it south for me. Solid.

How do -I- get back to Edmonton.

Well, there's several buses that run the corridor, presumably for the mine workers to get up and back around their shift days. Awesome!

Oh but they don't run again until Monday. Less awesome!

But what can you do.

My bike won't leave until monday at the /earliest/ anyway, so me being there any sooner really makes no difference.

I book a ticket - cheap at 65$! For a nearly five hour trip? I paid 85$ plus tip for the 20 minute taxi ride from Supertest Hill to Fort McMurray the night prior.

Leaving Monday at 8:30am, arrive near downtown Edmonton. Found a hotel for 80$ within a block of Riverside Honda, not as cheap as my beloved Whitemud, but Whitemud Inn being at the south center of the Edmonton bubble, I'd be paying more than the 15$ a night difference in a cab to get up to St. Albert region. So I'll be right nearby the bike if we can get it going, or I need something from my bags.

In the meantime.

I found an RV campsite literally next door to the bus stop. I called the owner and explained my experiances, and my need for somewhere to simply hide in a tent until Monday morning. Sure, I could try and hide -anywhere-, but for my own safety, and nerves, if I can do this cheap and legal, the better for it. She says she can help me out. She offers a site for a price considerably cheaper than the nearby hotels, which I of course agree to. It's a twenty minute walk from 4G, made longer by hauling two drybags of tent/sleeping bag and essentials, and a third partial of food. Plus wearing my gear. And being somewhat small and scrawny. I take several rests. I drink my Gatorades. I make it. She has the sweetest tabby cat with white socks, no tail, and the SOFTEST fur. Name 'Trouble'. Awwww.

Transaction complete, I set up my tent, kindly serenaded by a curious magpie.

I hear a nearby RV owner pull up, truck doors closing, and then I see a giant white monster making a beeline straight for me. My best guess would be Lab/Samoyed. The head was very much the rectangle block and jowls of a lab, but the pelt was definitely a living cloud. It gives an very quick sniff at my tent, and promptly accepts me petting it. I realize I've been pet-starved during my journey. All my stress is put on pause as I scruffle the heck out of this random dog's sides. In fact, twice I tried to move one hand to teach for my phone for a photo, and he turned in annoyance to see why I'd partially stopped. I hear a woman calling, and ask if he needs to go. He makes no move. In fact he tries to push backwards closer. On a whim, I drop to my rear and make a bowl with my legs. He promptly fills said bowl with his rump. Me on my butt and him on his haunches, I came up to his shoulders.

Good dog.

A woman shouts again, more insistent. I give him a bump with my leg. He resigns himself to getting up and heading home. I realize the owner can't see us, so I pop up and apologize for stealing her dog. She realizes he hadn't just ran off for no reason, and laughs, saying he loves people. Yes, I had learned this.

I needed that.

There's a valley beside the camp ground.

The trees are spent matchsticks, grey and charred and empty against the sky. New growth slowly fills in around the dead wood. I don't know if this is a remainder of the BIG fire of 2016, or another more recent event. It's a staggering amount of devastation, and only a small fragment of the damage done.

The clouds out here... I love skyscapes.

Beautiful.

[leelee10898]

Fast cars and Freedom: Style (3/?)

Pairing: Logan x Ellie, Colt x Ellie

Rating: Mature, Ns*w content.

Summary: Ellie has a chance meeting with Logan in the club. Will she tell him her secret?

AN: I am having so much fun writing this, Hope you all enjoy the bits of fluff in this one... nothing last forever, and unfortunately the drama is coming! As always if you would like added to the tag list, drop me a line. Catch up HERE

Chapter title inspiration:

He leaned in wrapping her up in a hug. “It's so good to see you Ellie.” she hugged him back, breathing in his scent. “Its ah. good to um, see you too Logan.” she stumbled on her words. “What are you doing in L.A? Are you living here?”

“What?” she shouted.

“what are you doing in L.A?” he shouted back.

“I can't. I can't hear you over the music.” she shouted again. He leaned in closer to her ear “I'm in the VIP section, it's a little quieter there lets catch up.” Ellie looked at Logan and back at the Bar, but Riya was gone. “I'm here with Riya, I can't find her.” she stood on her tiptoes. He nodded “I'll help you find her, she can join us.”

They looked all over for Riya when they finally ran into her coming from the bathroom.  “Oh El, I've been looking all over for you. Dare text Marcus is running a fever, I have to go.” her eyes finally looking at the man standing next to her. “Logan?” she looked between Ellie and him, Ellie gave her a pleading look. “Yeah, what are the odds?”

“Hey Riya.” Logan hugged her.

“So Logan it was nice to see you again but Riyas got to go so.”

“You can stay Ellie. I'm sure you and Logan have a lot to catch up on.” Riya smirked. “I can take her home, I would love to catch up.” Ellie nodded, suddenly feeling extremely nervous.  Riya leaned in giving her a hug. “Time to take the training wheels off kiddo. Call me in the morning, I want to know everything.”

Logan led her to the roped off area, sitting down at a private booth. It was just the two of them, she could feel her heart pounding in her ears. “How about a drink?” He broke the silence. “long island iced tea please.” Logan motioned for a waitress giving her their order. “Damn, that was fast.” She giggled as she sipped her drink the waitress just sat down. “One of the perks of VIP, no waiting.” He scooted closer “So Ellie. How have you been?”

She filled him in on graduating top of her class at Langston, which came with challenges. How she majored in accounting, minored in criminal justice. Her job closed down and she took a job back home to be closer to her dad. Logan told her how he went back to school and got his diploma, moving in with vaughn and taking a job with a racing company as a mechanic and pit crew. They put him in a car to do test laps and the bosses were impressed so they promoted him to Driver.

“Logan I am so proud of you, really. I knew you could make something of yourself. And you get paid to drive fast.. Legally.” She squeezed his hand and giggled. “Well, I owe it all to you. If you hadn't of pushed and had confidence in me, I would have never tried. I thought about you every step of the way.” He took her hand in his. She felt her heart skip a beat, after all this time he still had that effect on her.

“So what accounting firm are you with now?” He leaned back, the gears turning in his head. “Trinity. I was able to take my clients with me from my old job, But this place I'm going to need to step my game up. These guys deal with some A list celebrities.”

“You know I'm actually looking for an accountant. My agent was looking into Trinity anyway. It only makes sense now to choose you.” Ellie spit her drink out. “Logan, what? No. I couldn't possibly.”

“You can, I trust you Ellie, and I know you'll have my back.”

“Logan, It's complicated.  I um, need to tell you-” she was cut off by a man in a nice suit approaching Logan. “I apologize Ellie, give me one second.”

She sat at the table, nervously picking her fingers. She looked around noticing a few women giving her dirty looks and clearly talking about her. She couldn't be his accountant, it would be complicated especially once she told him he may have fathered her child. “I'm so sorry Ellie, but I have to cut this short.  My agent scheduled an early morning interview. But hey, give me your number.”

She rattled off her number. Logan sending a text with his own. “Come on I'll give you a ride home.”

They climbed into Logan's car and speed off into the night. “Feels like old times huh?” He grinned. “You have no idea.” she stared out the window, watching the city fly by in a blurr. “You still drive?” he asked.

“yeah, but not nearly as wreckless.” she giggled. Her mind took her back to the night they lifted the cars from the hauler.

*****

She felt so alive, so free, so rebellious. The feeling was Dangerous and sexy, she felt a fire igniting within her as she whipped the supercar through the winding mountain side. After they took the cars to the storage spot, the ride back to the garage was buzzing with adrenaline from all.  Ellie hopped out of the suv and ran up the stairs to the room she was sharing with Logan. She couldn't stand still, it was like she was going to crawl out of her skin if she didnt do something.

Logan walked up the stairs to the room pulling off his white t shirt, doing pull ups. He watched as Ellie paced the floor. “I know that feeling, you're pumped full of adrenaline. It helps to find something to do to take the edge off, like pull ups.” He smirked as he jumped down. Ellie bit her lip as she watched his muscles flex.

“Oh, I know something to take the edge off.” she purred as she quickly closed the distance between them making short work of each others clothes. Logan lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around him, he kicked the door closed, it shutting with an audible bang.

Ximena looked at Mona and grinned. “Looks like somebody's gonna get lucky.” Colt standing right there. He grabbed his helmet and speed off on his bike.

Logan laid her on the bed, he kissed her softly his eyes met hers. “Are you sure?”

Her lips met his “I'm sure Logan.”

He smiled into the kiss as he slowly lowered himself into her. Her fingers digging into his back. He set a slow pace, relishing in the feeling of her beneath him His lips never leaving hers.  The soft moans coming from her driving him wild as he picked up the pace, careful not to be to rough. He knew it was her first time, and he wanted to make it special for her. Her breathing becoming increasingly rapid, he held her close to him as he felt her walls beginning to flutter around him. Her moans grew louder as he gently nipped the sensitive spots on her neck. Her body began to tremble under him as she whimpered. “Its ok Ellie, I got you.” he breathed into her ear. Her fingers dug deep into his shoulders, her eyes snapping shut a burst of white light filing her senses as she came undone.  

*****

A pair of bright headlights in front of them pulled her from her thoughts. “Penny for your thoughts.” He asked, noticing her mind was a million miles away. She shook her head and blushed “Just remembering something, that's all.”

“Hopefully something good.”

“It was.” She smiled at him softly.

Logan was the first person she had slept with. He was so tender, and kind about it. Before meeting Logan, and falling into that lifestyle,  she figured she would save herself until marriage. But things changed, she changed.

Logan pulled up to her father's house. “Well, we're here.” She could hear the sadness in his voice. “yeah, we are. Thanks for the ride home.” she unbuckled her seatbelt, leaning over kissing his cheek.

He breathed in her scent, dulling his senses. He reached over softly cupping her face.  He leaned in, his lips softly capturing hers. She hesitated momentarily before relaxing into the kiss,  She pulled away. “Umm I should go.”

“Ellie, i'm sorry I just. I don't know. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

“No, Logan you didn't. But my life is complicated and I don't want to lead you on.” she sighed.

“I understand.  So I'll see you soon?” She noticed the hopeful look in his eyes. “Yeah, that would be nice. Good night Logan.” she climbed out of the car. “Good night, Ellie.” he smiled as he drove off.

Ellie walked into the Dark house. Her dad and Luca already asleep. She washed her face and changed into some pjs. She laid in her bed replaying the night over and over again. What were the odds that she would run into Logan? And the kiss, it was as if it were they never stopped. She needed to tell Logan the truth, and soon.

Over the weekend Ellie enjoyed some quiet time with her dad and Luca. Her nerves starting to get the better of her.  Riya had stopped by with Marcus and Ellie filled her in on their night. Finally it was Monday morning, Ellie walked into her new office immediately sitting in on a meeting where her they introduced her. She was shown to her office, she was used to a cubical, this had a door. She walked in sitting at the desk, sinking into the chair. “Hello Ellie, I just wanted to introduce myself. Im Elias Manning, your supervisor.” she stood extending her hand. “Pleasure to meet you Mr Manning.”

“Ellie please. Mr Manning is my father. Call me Elias, or Eli.” he chuckled.

“These were delivered for you.” he handed her an arraignment of a dozen red roses.

“oh, ah thank you.” she sat them down on her desk, noticing a card. “Oh and also, congratulations on picking up Logan Rider, we have been trying to get him for months.” Elias grinned. Ellie's attention on the roses in front of her. “Oh, thank you. Wait. what?”

“I don't know how you did it, but Logan called the firm himself specifically asking for you to be the accountant handling his affairs. Good work Ellie.” He turned and walked away. She slumped down in her chair grabbing the envelope and tearing it open.

Good luck on your first day, You're gonna be great.

Love, Logan.

She picked up her phone pressing his name, he picked up on the first ring “You got my flowers, do you like them?” “They are beautiful Logan. You requested me as your Accountant!”

“I told you. I Trust you and only you to handle it.” He chuckled on the other end.

“Logan. I told you I can't do it. It's way to complicated.” she sighed.  

“You keep saying that.  Ellie it will be fine, don't worry so much. Have dinner with me tomorrow night, we can talk about everything then.” she couldn't see him, but she could feel the grin on his face just by speaking to him.

“Fine.” she let out an exaggerated sigh.” But Logan, we have A LOT to talk about.”

“I look forward to it. I'll pick you up at 6.” his voice so chipper she couldn't help but grin.

She hung up the phone, letting out a loud groan. The day flew by she had about half an hour left before she was done for the day when she got a text from her dad.

DAD: Got a call, the cars ready. Can you pick it up after work?

Ellie: Sure dad, send me the address

She grabbed a cab rattling off the address to the driver. She stared out the window, Logan heavy on her mind. Everything happened so fast, she knew she would have to try to at least track them down, but she figured it would take some time. Instead it was as if the Universe delivered Logan to her,  maybe it was a sign, maybe he was Lucas dad and she wouldn't even have to look for Colt.

His name send an ache through her, she would be lying if she said part of her didn't miss him too. She missed them both, she at one time Loved them both, each for different reasons. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't realize the cab came to a stop.

“Miss.  Miss. Were here.”

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[zoki-69-dragon]

Izaya Orihara x-reader

This is an AU, so the characters may not be exactly the same from the show, or manga. I have only watched Durarara and read the first book of the series so I am sorry if I messed a lot of things up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara only the story idea. I also don't own the art.

(Chapter 1)

You had just moved to Ikebukuro a month ago and had seen some crazy things that didn't seem normal to you. Like a man who could pick up a vending machine and threw it at another guy or the story of the headless rider. You had a small apartment that you were living in not that you had to just you liked to. You're from a wealthy family in America but wanted a change in your life where no one knew who you were...

Today was just like any other day you get up and get ready for work, you worked at a bookstore that was not far from your home. It was a normal thing for you to get off work late at night even though people advised against you doing this, but you loved the night and didn't really care.

You were walking home after work when you noticed that you had someone following you. "Can I help you?" You ask rather coldly turning around to see someone that looked familiar.

"[Y/N]-Chan how cold," the raven-haired boy said with his brown/red eyes.

"Izaya don't you have better things to do than bother me?" You asked rolling your eyes at him. You had seen Izaya before a few times.

You knew who he was before though because just like him you too like gathering info on people, but you didn't go around playing with people's emotions the way he does. Yes, you had on a few occasions used the info you had on people to get out of sticky situations.

"You're awfully cold today [Y/N]-Chan," Izaya said giving a fake frown.

You roll your eyes and turn to continue walking home. Not caring that Izaya was walking right next to you complaining about how mean and cold you were being.

"Izaya," you say rather harshly turning to look at him just a block away from your apartment, "are you going to follow me home?"

Izaya just smiled and nodded his head like a little kid.

"If you're going to come to my home I have a few rules," You say rather blankly, "One no taking or messing with things and Two no complaining like a little kid."

"Okay [Y/N]-Chan~" Izaya cooed walking ahead of you but he stopped when he saw that you had a confused look on your face, "[Y/N]-Chan?"

"Yeah," you say snapping out of a thought you just had.

"What were you just thinking?" He asked with a ceruse look.

"I was thinking about if I had anything that I was worried about you touching," You say lying you were trying to figure out why he was walking in front of you, but snapped out of it when you remembered that it was Izaya.

Izaya gave you a look that said he didn't believe you. "[Y/N]-Chan lying is bad," he said waving his finger in the air like a parent would do when scolding their child.

You roll your eyes at him, "Izaya how can lying be bad, don't we all have our lies?" You asked walking closer to him to get a better view of his reaction to your words.

Izaya was dumbfounded for a minute but soon hid it by changing the subject, "Isn't this your apartment?"

You just smiled moving past him to open the door to your apartment. From Izaya's face, you could tell he was ceruse.

"Go ahead and look around," you said having nothing to hide.

Izaya took this as a chance to look through you're inter apartment. After a while, he made his way to your room and that's one room you didn't want him in.

"Izaya, don't go into that room," you say running over to your bedroom door to try and block it.

"Are you hiding something from me [N/N]-Chan?" He asked with a devilish smirk.

"No, I just hate people going into my bedroom," You say blocking your door as he tries to open it will you were talking.

"[Y/N]-Chan you said that I could look around and that you had nothing to hide," Izaya said making you hate yourself for saying that.

"Ugh, fine," You say opening your bedroom. Your room was really nice and had a large window that overlooked the city, so you could see everything.

He took no time to look through all of your stuff, but you had to say the worst part was when he made his way over to your dresser.

"Izaya it wouldn't polite to go through a lady's dresser," You say hoping this would stop him, but he turned to you with an evil grin.

"But [Y/N]-Chan you have nothing to hide right?" Izaya said teasing you as he opened the top drawer of your dresser but as soon as he opened it he shut it again. "I am no pervert, but you should see your face!" Izaya said before bursting out into full out laughter.

You could feel that your checks were hot from embarrassment. You hated him for doing that just to see your reaction. You walked out of your room to go get some tea to calm your nerves.

"Hey, flea want some tea?" You asked harshly pulling out two cups.

"[Y/N]-Chan don't use that name like that monster Shuz-chan," Izaya said with an upset toon and expression.

"Does me calling you that make you mad?" You asked trying to mimic Izaya's infamous grin.

This only made things worse for yourself. Izaya had an off-putting look in his eye and there was no sign of emotion on his face.

*buzz* *buzz*

"Ugh, yes," Izaya said picking up his phone that had been buzzing, "Alright, well it looks like will have to continue this later, [Y/N]-Chan," Izaya said walking over to the window and jumping out it.

You ran over the window to see that he was now on the ground, "Izaya use the door next time!" You yell at him.

"No," Izaya said smiling again, "See you later [Y/N]-Chan."

After he had left you faced palmed, realizing that you had told him that he could come back. "I am never going to get rid of that pest," you say before bursting into a hysterical laugh, "I was looking for an interesting life but who knew moving to a place like this would be just what I needed and know I have someone fun to play with."

(The next day at work)

Time had seemed to slow for the day you had got to work at 6 am and things just seemed slow and it's only been an hour.

*Bang*

"Was that a vending machine?" You asked yourself looking out the window to see someone holding a traffic sign, "Great Shizuo and Izaya are at it again."

"IZAYA!" Shizuo yelled throwing things at Izaya who was dodging left and right to avoid getting hit.

You watch as Izaya and Shizuo run down the road destroying the street.

"Why do they have to destroy everything?" You ask yourself shaking your head as if disappointed.

You sigh and go back to work. You liked working in the bookstore it had everything form Since Fiction to Anime and Manga. With all of this to read and more you were content for the most part the only thing missing was some fun. (Be careful what you wish for)

Someone came up behind you, but you heard them before they could get to close to you. Turning on your heals you see Izaya standing there with his hands out like he was about to try and cover your eyes from behind.

"Izaya, what were you about to do?" You asked looking at him with a raised brow.

"I was trying to surprise you," he said with a forced pouty face.

"Don't strain yourself," You say walking away from.

He looked confused for a moment. "[Y/N]-Chan~" he cooed following you.

You roll your eyes at him but when you turn to look at him you noticed that he was bleeding all over the floor that you have to clean.

"Izaya your bleeding!" You say rushing over to him to stop him from bleeding everywhere.

"I didn't know you cared so much [N/N]-Chan," Izaya said smiling but that was soon gone when you jabbed his wound a bit. "aw, be careful."

"Oh, I am so sorry," You say sarcastically, "Come here I have to see how bad it is."

As you were about to see how bad his wound was he passed out.

"This is just great," you say rolling your eyes as you pick Izaya up to move him to a better location.

You move him to the back of the bookstore and where his wound was you had to remove his jacket and shirt. His wound was not too deep, but it was bad enough that he needed stitches and he had a few cuts on his arms.

"You're lucky that I had gone through that medical course," You say banging him up, "but I feel you should probably go to the hospital."

"[Y/N]-Chan don't take me to the hospital," Izaya said in a week voice. He had lost a lot of blood and was really weak.

"Well do you have someone I can call?" You asked knowing that Izaya had a point about him going to a hospital with him being one of the most hated people in Ikebukuro.

"Yeah, my phone," he said weakly, "It's in my coat."

You get up and walk over to get his phone from his pocket when you were looking around his pocket you felt something cold that was defiantly not a phone. You pull it out to see it was a folding knife you put it back and then searched his other pocket for his phone when you finally found it you pulled it out and handed it to him.

"Here now call who you need to and have them come take care of you," you say wanting to get rid of him.

"That's not very nice [Y/N]-Chan," Izaya said even though he was injured he still held up his act.

(After the phone call with a certain doctor we all know and love)

"Well is whoever you talked to coming to take care of you?" You asked while finishing cleaning up the floor that had been bleed on.

"Yes and no," Izaya said grunting a bit as he moved from the pain of his wound.

"What do you mean by that?" You asked not having a good feeling about this.

"Well I told him to meet at your apartment," Izaya said with his usual grin.

You didn't say anything as you took out your phone to call your boss, "Hey boss I had a family emergency come up, I am going to close up and go deal with it, yeah sorry for the inconvenience."

You hung up the phone and looked at Izaya who had an amused look on his face, "You lied to your boss that's not good, [Y/N]-Chan."

"Yeah I rather lie to him then tell that you're here and need help," you say coldly helping Izaya to his feet to take him to your apartment that wasn't too far away.

When you finally reached your apartment, you saw that someone was waiting outside your door.

"Hi Shinra," Izaya said weakly waving at the man.

"I take your who this idiot called," you say flatly shoving Izaya to the wall to open your apartment door.

"Yeah, I am Shinra," he said following you into your apartment with Izaya.

"I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but can you fix him up, so he can go home and leave me the heck alone," you say narrowing your eyes at Izaya, "Also I am [Y/N]."

"Why are you so mean to me [Y/N]-Chan?" Izaya asked with his best hurt face he could pull of in his conidiation.

You roll your eyes at how pit if full he was acting.

Shinra had Izaya remove his shirt so he could get a good look at the wound, "Wow it looks like someone already did my job for the most part," Shinra joked undoing all the work you had done to get a better look.

"Well, how bad is it let me guess he's going to die at any time and there's nothing we can do?" You say joking you were bored and when you got bored things got weird.

Back in the first grade you had got bored with what a teacher was talking about and instead of doing anything a normal little kid might have you walked over to your teacher and stabbed her with a pencil. Of course, your parents paid to have it covered up and after that, they sent you to counseling, but let's just say that made things worse.

"Well I am done and no he's going to be perfectly fine, but he shouldn't move around for at least a few days," Shinra said cleaning up his stuff.

"Well, he can still go home right?" You asked with a raised brow in hope that you weren't stuck with him.

"I live in Shinjuku that's a little far for me to walk the way I am," Izaya said with a devilish grin.

"As a doctor, I would advise for him to stay here for a while," Shinra said having all his supplies that he had brought packed back up, "Well I have to get going."

With that Shinra left you alone with Izaya. You looked over to where Izaya was, he had made himself right at home on your couch.

"[N/N]-Chan~" Izaya cooed waving for you to come to him.

"What do you want Izaya?" You asked with a stern tone.

"I am hungry," he said playing with the TV remount.

You sighed. "How does fatty tuna sound?" You asked thinking you would just go to Russia Sushi.

"That sounds good, are you making it?" Izaya asked looking at you with hopeful eyes.

"Ugh... I guess I can, but I need to run to the market to get some stuff," you say walking to the door, "I'll be back, and please don't destroy my apartment will I am gone."

Izaya just smiled and nodded his head and went back to watching TV. With that, you left to go fetch supplies for food and a few other things for the unwanted guest...

[ecofinisher]

Chapter 1 out of 2

Rollan sat on top of his horse strolling along the village through the road spotting a couple of older villagers moving around from places to obtain needed things for their daily lives. On the way, two men passed by the guard and waved at the raven-haired man. “Good day, gentleman" Greeted the Spaniard, followed by his horse puffing making the rider chuckle.

“Your sad they didn't have any apples with them, am I right?” Asked Rollan making the horse neigh. “Next time you might get something, if not I take us a few for our break, what do you say?”

The stallion nodded followed by a puffing, then came along the way over a child, which was being escorted by an adult woman and Rollan stopped curious to see what's going on.

“Good morning, Miss Langö” Greeted Rollan. “Is everything alright?”

“I'm bringing Lyudmila home. He wasn't feeling good at the school,” Commented the woman, then watched the girl place his hand on the horse's face to caress it. “She got very nauseous after the break and now she's coming home,”

“That's the best thing to do then,” Responded Rollan looking at the girl, that was patting the service horse. “Do you like Valiente?” Asked Rollan making the girl nod. “He's a very brave horse,”

“You've got him from the Danish farmer behind the castle, right?”

“No, actually he was a gift from King Esteban of Spain. According to him, Valiente's parents were good breeding choices between two horses from another kingdom. I don't remember the ones, but I remember the one King to be Danish and the horses chosen to mate were called Sitrone and Keke”

“I think I've heard from the Queen. She was supposed to meet King Harald, but after those two disasters with the Mirrorlands it didn't happen for a long time,”

“Exactly,” Commented Rollan, then saw the girl beginning to cough hard making Rollan feel worried about the girl. “Shall I offer you two a ride to a healer? She doesn't seem quite well,”

“It's alright. My sister is in the near and she's got the carriage to carry us three. You've got your own duty to perform,” Rejected Miss Langö kindly. “Thanks for the offer,"

“Bye Valiente,” Said the girl making Rollan smile and pat his stallion as well. “Hey, que tal? Shall we go visit the food store or head to the next checkpoint?” Questioned Rollan, then heard loud ringing bells and widened his eyes.

“A robbery,” Commented Rollan looking at his horse, then pushed on the leash and Valiente ran off with the man on his back, so they would go around the village to look for the noise of the bells and saw four masked thieves charging a carriage with bags filled with money and a fifth person stood down aiming at the entrance of the bank to prevent anyone to follow them.

“Stop in the name of King Harald!” Ordered Rollan, then the man aimed at Rollan, then took a shot and Valiente jumped aside to both would miss the shoot. The thief jumped at the cart, then ordered the rider of the vehicle to drive off and Rollan began to follow the carriage, short while later another rider appeared who wore the same uniform as Rollan but had a shorter rank.

“I'm right here!” Announced the second guard following the carriage across the village.

On the other side of the village inside a coffee shop stood Gerda emptying hot water from a pan into four cups and brought it on a tableau out of the shop to a group of adults, which were there sitting and listening to one guest of another table telling a story.

“There you go, guys. Have you decided what sort of cake you want?” Asked the blonde woman, making them nod.

“I'll list it down. Only three of us are interested right now. Norbert would love to have lemon cake, I'd like apple pie and Hans would like to have Cheesecake if there is,”

“Our baker Adrian’ is working on one. It might just take 10-15 minutes longer,” ‘

“I still take it. It's our day off though,” Commented Hans making Gerda nod.

“Yeah, I hope you four enjoy our time here at the shop,” Commented Gerda making the group nod, then she walked to the next table to pick up a few cups that were left back by the last visitors, then Gerda heard a gunshot and shrieked about it.

One of the guests that sat there was a guard as well and got up from the chair and dropped several coins on the table while on the ground a shepherd mixed breed got up, waiting for the guard to pick up the leash and before leaving the shop the guard noticed from the end a carriage coming, where the gang was and he ordered all to get down.

“Heads down!” Shouted the man seeing all guests hide along with Gerda, which watched all guests look at the exit waiting for the thieves to pass by.

The carriage just passed by and the guard released the dog, which began to race behind the vehicle and the man jumped at the next carriage, that belonged to the guards of the kingdom.

Gerda climbed above the terrace of the coffee shop to transform herself into her dragon form and took up in the air to pursue the thieves from above, then recognized coming from the second road from behind the coffee her husband Rollan come along with his horse and another member of the guard.

“Oh Rollan is at the work” Commented Gerda, then sank down to stay closer to the carriage, that was pursuing the bandits. “Bullet, watch out!” Yelled Gerda, then watched the dog slow down and move from the sides, so the thief wouldn't injure the dog.

“Bullet, bite,” Ordered one of the guards and the dog ran fast to the carriage of the thieves and switched the side again to avoid another bullet, then jumped at the leashes that were attached to the horses to cause chaos between the riders and the animals.

Bullet barked strictly at the two riders, which lied on the ground, then from behind arrived the carriage with two other guards, which took out their guns to aim at the two men in the back of the cart.

Bullet bites one of the men on the arm, afterward, the second thief hit the dog with the edge of his gun on the head causing it to yelp, then the second thief got up and ran in the direction of the forest, where Rollan showed up with his horse aiming his gun at the criminal.

” Hands up!” Ordered Rollan, then the thief gazed back spotting Gerda's wizard form on top of the cart glaring at the thief that remained back on the car, fearing the heroine.

Rollan slowly made his way to the man, then packed him on his arms, moving his hand to the thief's gun to remove the weapon he held. Rollan made it, then pointed it at the villain, which slowly took his arms up.

In the meantime, Gerda got down of bag pile and led the criminal back to the cart of the guards and observed from a few meters behind two guards watching the criminals enter one by one, after being handcuffed with a pair of cuffs. Rollan and his colleague were taking a look at the horses of the outlaws, then walked past the back of the police carriage to one of the guards.

“That went pretty fast. Thank you, Red Dragon,” Thanked a guard giving the dragon his hand to shake.

“One of the horse's legs seems to be sprained,” Commented Rollan. “One of us has to accompany it to the vet afterward,”

“You can go if you're okay with it. I'll take the group,” Mentioned the guard, that accompanied Rollan during the pursuit. Rollan looked at Gerda and smiled glad about her help, then gave out his hand, which she took and held. “Gracias Amor” Thanked the Spaniard quiet.

The last thief threw himself against the guard with the handcuffs, then removed the gun from the belt and is embraced the thief to take the gun away from the man. Rollan placed his hand on Gerda's shoulder to guide her aside from the zone and took out his gun approaching the trio.

“Take it down!” Ordered the husband of the wizard and the other guard returned to interrupt. Someone triggered the gun's mechanism to let out a bullet, which targeted Rollan on the side of his body, causing him to groan in pain.

“Rollan!” Shouted Gerda approaching the husband and the fourth guard had taken over the criminal to remove his weapon, then watched him getting handcuffed before getting thrown into the cart.

“Arthur, Merlin, one officer down,” Warned the redhead, then watched Red Dragon embrace the injured Spaniard to analyze the injury.

“You're bleeding! Hold on, we're going to get you out of here,” Warned Gerda, then the guard, that accompanied Rollan tapped the heroine on the shoulder to get her attention.

“If you're alright with this, could you bring Rollan into a hospital and see if they can take care of him? You're much faster than us,”

“I will without any doubt,” Commented Gerda, then took Rollan up on her arms and blew at his face to pull the hair bangs away. “If you can please talk to me. Anything, just try to stay awake” Begged the heroine seeing Rollan jerking with his shoulders feeling intense pain and Gerda gently clawed with her one hand behind Rollan's back. “Tell me something about the kids”

“Roscoe loves snail houses a lot,” Commented Rolllan making Gerda smile seeing he was able to talk. "He collects them often at our walks..."

“Yes! He's crazy about them,” Confessed the brunette woman beginning to flap with her wings up to take a look at the surroundings.

“Helena is very smart and creative. She made you once a small bookshelf out of wood with your dad, remember?” Questioned Rollan making his wife nod.

“Si, my love,” Responded Gerda gazing into the eyes of the husband, which was awake and Gerda tapped on Rollan’s cheek with one claw perking him up more. “Tell me about what they've done yesterday,” Gerda added, then made her way above the village carrying Rollan to a healer.