#imagine miles going as usual with the that man until bam | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

taexual · 7 years ago

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Secrets [6] / BamBam x Reader

OTHER PARTS: 01 - Got7 Mafia AU / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07 / 08 / 09 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 - the end

Jackson thinks he returned back to you safely, but he should have known that nothing ever goes according to plan when it comes to his and BamBam’s lifestyle.

Pairing: Mafia AU!BamBam x Reader / Reader x Jackson

Warnings: angst + strong language

Words: 3.6k

You didn’t hear when Jackson returned because you went to bed as soon as he left and, surprisingly, managed to fall asleep – after tossing and turning for what felt like hours, – without any nightmares from before haunting you this time. Usually, you were mildly annoyed if you didn’t dream of anything and instead spent the night trying to find a position to sleep in, but this time you woke up feeling too tired to care about anything.

Of course, the fatigue went away as soon as you saw Jackson sitting on your bed and almost screamed in horror, adrenaline immediately starting to course through your veins.

“You’re back,” you exhaled, still recovering from the initial shock, your hand clutching your chest under the duvet.

“Yeah, sorry I scared you,” he said. “I swear I wasn’t sitting here like a creep, I just came in and I wasn’t sure if I should wake you or not, since it’s almost, uh, four in the morning.”

“That’s okay, I must have woken up because I felt your presence,” you said and watched him look away from you.

“Sorry,” he said timidly. “I didn’t stay there for very long. Bam was—”

“No,” you extended a hand, cutting him off. “I don’t want to hear it.”

Jackson looked a little surprised about this but he realized this probably shouldn’t have shocked him at all. You had said your goodbye in your note to BamBam. Jackson wasn’t sure if there was an appropriate response to “fuck you.”

“Was the trip okay?” you asked, shuffling under the covers until your back was leaning against the headboard of the bed. “I’m sorry I made you take that note for me. You had to risk your life for something so petty, I’m sor—”

“No, don’t apologize. You needed some closure,” Jackson replied, shrugging his shoulders. “I understand.”

“Yeah, some closure it was.”

He didn’t say anything else and the two of you just stayed quiet for a while.

What surprised you the most was that, although you and Jackson were only familiar with each other for such a short time, this silence wasn’t awkward in the slightest.

Jackson, however, decided to break it. “BamBam seemed—”

“No, please,” you cut him off again, turning away. “Don’t talk about him.”

“Right,” Jackson realized. “Sorry.”

Silence again.

Both of you started to slowly realize that if your ties to BamBam were now fully cut, there was really no point for Jackson to stay here. And yet neither one of you chose to voice this realization, keeping it inside of your minds.

“Are you tired?” you asked Jackson instead.

He glanced at the watch on his wrist as if that was going to influence his answer. “Uh, kind of. But I’m—”

“You should lie down,” you said. “This couldn’t have been easy for you, either. You spent a lot of time stressed. Bam’s your friend.”

Yeah, Jackson thought, Bam was his friend. And that was exactly the reason why he couldn’t even lie down on the same bed with you, no matter how tired he was. Even thinking about it seemed wrong.

“No, I’m okay,” Jackson replied, getting up from your bed. “I came to watch over you.”

“And that’s what you’re doing,” you said, “Look, I don’t care if—,” you stopped suddenly, noticing the way he fidgeted nervously next to the bed. “Wait, is this about—Jackson, I’m not suggesting we actually sleep together. I’m saying you need to sleep, you’ve been worrying the whole day, too. I can get out of the bed if it makes you that uncomfortable.”

“No!” he protested. “I-I just mean, it’s your bed. It’d be weird if I made you get out of it for me.”

“Well, then lie down!”

It wasn’t often that people who weren’t his superiors barked orders at him. It was even rarer that he followed them as he did right now, climbing back on your bed and awkwardly lying down on top of the duvet.

“Comfortable?” you asked teasingly, knowing very well that the bed was big enough for Jackson to get under the covers and still stay miles away from your body.

He smirked, catching your mocking tone. “Not really. I’ll get there, though. It usually takes me a while to find a comfortable sleeping position.”

“Well, if sleeping like a corpse is your thing, then, by all means, you do you,” you said, ready to turn away from him and head back to sleep as Jackson laughed at this.

You had your back turned to him so you couldn’t see the way he immediately turned his head to look at you as soon as you weren’t looking at him anymore. He watched you but he couldn’t see the soft smile on your face that was caused by the sound of his laughter.

You hadn’t expected to fall asleep again because you already felt like you’ve gotten all the sleep you needed, however poor the quality of said sleep was, and because Jackson managed to let his presence be known by breathing really heavily. Eventually, you managed to get used to that sound – and actually found it quite soothing – and slowly felt sleep overcome your body.

This should have been really concerning and you were sure your mother would have scolded you about this for hours – “stranger danger!” She’d remind you that you didn’t know Jackson for that long to be able to tell if he was truly who he said he was, and here you were sleeping in the same bed with him despite all that.

Yet, you had no doubt that Jackson hadn’t lied to you about anything. Even when he stayed quiet and refused to talk to you when he first came to your house, you already saw the sincerity behind the strictness in his eyes.

And, despite laying on the other side of the bed from him, you trusted him completely and allowed yourself to fall asleep, with a man you barely knew in your bed. Perhaps it was the stress and anxiety of the past couple of days that created this trust – this bond that you could feel but never describe – between the two of you, or perhaps it was something else. Either way, you weren’t worried about Jackson in the slightest. And as long as you didn’t allow your mind to wander to BamBam, all alone somewhere far away, you weren’t worried about anything at all.

You couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when you had flipped around and arranged your body in such a position that your legs were basically dangling off the edge of the bed, but your head was leaned against Jackson’s shoulder as he slept on his back, his head turned to you.

Once you realized that the bed was actually nowhere near big enough for the two of you to sleep on furthest corners of it, you tried to pull your head away from Jackson’s body slowly, without waking him up. Not because you cared about what he’d say if he suddenly woke up – and he would have most definitely freaked out and never looked at you again – but because you wanted to look at him while he was sleeping.

Your mind could fathom that this was borderline creepy, but as soon as you saw his soft, vulnerable face, your heart took complete control over your actions.

Your eyes slid down his hairline, noticing his disheveled hair that made him look much more carefree than he usually seemed. You saw the way his eyelashes fluttered ever so often as he dreamed about something that brought a small smile to his normally strictly closed lips. Your own lips unconsciously parted as you watched his pink, pouting ones and the way they stretched slightly when he smiled.

His skin glistened even though the only lighting in the room came from the slight crack in the curtains. It wasn’t enough to see everything clearly, but you had a feeling Jackson radiated a light of his own, thus allowing you to notice every little thing about him, like the creases between his nose and the apples of his cheeks caused by smiling, or the fallen eyelash on his left cheek.

You nearly gasped when you heard Jackson moan softly and turn to his side so his entire body was facing you. He opened his mouth, yawning, and you panicked momentarily before shutting your eyes closed, not ready to risk getting caught staring at him.

You didn’t know if he had opened his eyes but you weren’t going to check. You’d much rather just pretend to be asleep, even though your heart was starting to beat out of your chest.

And Jackson fell for it.

Why wouldn’t he? You looked like you were sleeping. Not even his wildest thoughts would have allowed him to imagine that you spent the first few minutes after you had woken up inspecting his features.

And so, thinking that you were asleep, Jackson took this time to watch you, completely oblivious to the fact that you had just watched him the same way minutes ago. Contrary to Jackson though, you could feel his eyes on you.

You were positive your acting was a complete bust as the sound of your heartbeat must have filled the whole room, but as you dramatically turned onto your back – giving Jackson a chance to look away – and slowly opened your eyes, Jackson looked like he legitimately thought you had just woken up.

“Hey,” you said after glancing at him and noticing his open eyes that were fixed on the ceiling now.

“Hi,” he replied, turning to look at you now that you’ve addressed him. “Did you sleep well?”

“Actually, yeah. Surprisingly,” you said. “You?”

“Me too,” Jackson admitted checking the time on his watch again. “Oh, shit. I actually can’t remember the last time I slept that long. It’s almost midday.”

“That’s… eight hours,” you said, unable to hide your own surprise.

You had just slept for eight hours in the middle of everything that was happening. What was BamBam doing in those eight hours? Was he worried out of his mind? Was he fighting for his life?

No.

You shook your head, not wanting the thoughts of BamBam to invade your head when you’ve done everything you could have to avoid thinking about him.

“What’s wrong?” Jackson asked, bringing you back to real time.

“Huh?”

“You were shaking your head,” he pointed out.

“Oh,” you looked away from him, for some reason not wanting to admit that you were thinking of your estranged husband – or was it, ex-husband, now? – first thing in the morning. “Your hair’s kind of a mess.”

This wasn’t really a cop-out, Jackson’s hair really did look messy, but you kind of liked it that way. Not that you’d mention that to him.

Jackson lifted his hand, bringing it through his hair. “Is it? I—”

He stopped talking when a peculiar – given the circumstances – sound from downstairs ended your cozy morning chatter immediately.

The doorbell.

You felt panic in your stomach right away. Jackson tried to play it off, but you could tell that he didn’t like this, either.

Jackson was already here, and he was the only person who knew you were BamBam’s wife. Well, aside from Ray. But Ray couldn’t have been here, could he..?

“W-who—?” you tried to ask but the sudden panic made it hard for you to form words.

“I’ll check it out,” Jackson said, standing up and grabbing his gun from the nightstand next to your bed. “Stay here.”

There was no way you were going to stay when your heart was beating like that. You weren’t particularly curious to know who was standing behind that door, but at the same time, you felt like you had to know who it was. No one told you anything about anyone, and perhaps now was your chance to find out more and to finally evaluate the level of danger you were in. On top of that, you would have never forgiven yourself if whoever was behind that door killed Jackson and you had stayed in your room, not even trying to save him.

As soon as you heard Jackson leave your room and climb down the stairs to open the door, you got out of bed and quietly sneaked out of your bedroom, stopping right in front of the staircase and squatting, so you could see what was happening one floor below.

Jackson held his gun in front of him as he slowly approached the door, not taking any risks even if it was one of your friendly neighbours – although, perhaps calling them neighbours was a far stretch, since the closest “neighbours” you’ve had lived about a mile away – that decided to randomly stop by. He didn’t trust anyone.

As if having a feeling you had followed him, Jackson suddenly turned around and, naturally, caught you watching him at the top of the stairs.

“Y/n!” he whisper-yelled. “Go back to the bedroom!”

You shook your head, remaining quiet and still. This and the determination in your eyes – that Jackson probably couldn’t even see from so far away, but he still knew that it was there – was enough to get him to sigh deeply and let you be, as he turned around and slowly opened the door.

“Well, hello,” a cheerful voice announced as soon as the door was open. “I had a feeling I’d find you here, King.”

The man behind the door didn’t address him as Jackson. He said King.

“What do you want, Ito?” Jackson snapped back.

Ito? As in, the man you were on the phone with the other day because Ray had told you he’d help you find Jackson?

“You know very well what we want,” Ito said, not speaking just for himself, and thus, letting you know that he didn’t come here alone, which meant that you and Jackson were most likely outnumbered. “Bam is hiding.”

“Is he?” Jackson asked almost mockingly.

Ito scoffed. “Well, he’s not with us, so of course, he’s hiding.”

“Why would he be with you?” Jackson continued, even though you had a feeling he already knew the answers.

“You’re very sweet, King,” Ito said in an overly affectionate voice. “But don’t try to stall. We came to take BamBam a few days ago and we know his wife was in the house with him. Where is she now?”

You almost gasped, swiftly covering your mouth with your hand. So, Ito was one of the men that BamBam was talking to outside of your bedroom that night when they tried to take him. Although, to be fair, Ito didn’t really say much back then, someone else did most of the talking. But he was there, too.

But then... why did Ray tell you to find Ito? If he knew it was Ito, who was the biggest threat to BamBam, – and he had to know! Ray was, more or less, working in the same circles as BamBam, after all – he would have never sent you to him. But he did. And that could only mean that, in the end, Ray wasn’t BamBam’s friend.

Fuck.

“Why do you need his wife?” Jackson asked Ito, while thoughts about how badly you have misjudged the people BamBam was working with swarmed in your head.

“We just want to talk,” Ito replied. “I promise we’ll be nice.”

“She doesn’t know anything,” Jackson insisted, his gun still pointed at Ito, but Ito seemed completely unphased.

“Let us judge that,” Ito disagreed. “We won’t try to kill her, King, you can calm down. We just need to talk to her. That’s it.”

Noticing that Jackson was slowly running out of counter-arguments, despite not wanting them to see you, you stood up from where you’ve been squatting.

“Great. Let’s talk,” you said, descending the stairs and making Jackson whip his head to look at you, horror prominent in his eyes.

“Y/n,” Ito said, smiling widely once you finally approached the door, stopping next to Jackson. “Great to finally see you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” you replied, surprised to find the strength in yourself to address the man, who wanted your husband dead, in such a defying matter. “I have to tell you that you wasted your time coming here. There’s nothing going on between BamBam and me.”

It still hurt to say this but you tried your best not to show it and probably succeeded because Ito looked like he genuinely wasn’t expecting you to say something like this with such a straight face. To be honest, you weren’t expecting that, either.

“Is that so?” Ito asked. “You’re not his wife?”

“I’m not going to be for much longer,” you replied. “We’re going through a divorce. BamBam’s been a real asshole to me. I kind of can’t stand him.”

Ito’s smile returned. “Oh? Well, if that’s the case, then why is Jackson here?”

“He’s my boyfriend,” you said without skipping a beat and gave Jackson a look when he visibly started to suffocate after hearing you say this.

Ito considered this. You knew he could tell that something was definitely going on between Jackson and you, mostly because both of you had bed hair and wore wrinkled clothes.

“Y/n, I mean no offense, when I say this,” Ito said then. “But you’ve lied to me once before.”

“When did I lie to you?” you asked, frowning.

“When you called me the other day,” Ito said. “Do you remember that? You told me you found the phone – BamBam’s phone – and you were told to return it to Jackson.”

Fuck, you should have found a different way to find Jackson. Fucking Ray had set you up.

Panicking, you racked your brain for a plausible explanation.

“I needed to know if it was you,” you said finally. “Nor Jackson, nor I knew where BamBam was, but we suspected you might know something. I called you to try and arrange a meeting but Jackson didn’t like this plan. He made me hang up.”

You’ve never talked out of your ass that much before, so it must have been the adrenaline and the fear that helped you keep a straight face as you attempted to lie your way out of Ito’s wrath.

“Huh,” Ito said, apparently buying everything you’ve just said. “So, you’re saying that out of the three of us, no one knows where BamBam is right now.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” you replied, crossing your arms over your chest, in hopes that it’ll help you keep your balance since your legs were slowly giving in.

“But, hold on for a moment. If BamBam’s been an asshole to you, why did you bother to look for him in the first place?” Ito continued, giving you a suspicious look. “I thought you were with Jackson.”

“That’s right,” you replied, realizing that the more you lied, the easier it was becoming to lie more. “But BamBam was still missing. Gone. Something wasn’t right. Jackson came to me, we tried to find him. We couldn’t.”

“This is very interesting,” Ito said, either impressed by the story you just presented him or by the fact that you had the guts to lie right to his face. “So, you’re saying that Jackson’s here because… you’re together, right? Not because of any other reason?”

Ito must have suspected that Jackson had been working with BamBam – no matter how low-key Jackson tried to stay – but he couldn’t know for sure, and your lies were making it difficult for him to find what the truth was.

“Yes,” you said. “I don’t know what any other reason could be. H-he’s my boyfriend.”

Your voice shook a little but it slid past Ito’s eyes as he grinned, proud of himself for suddenly coming up with the perfect way to check if you weren’t lying.

“Prove it,” he said.

You swallowed hard, glancing at Jackson who looked at you in confusion.

“Prove it?” you repeated, looking back at Ito. “W-what do you mean? Do you want me to tell you what we did during our first date or—?”

“No, I’m sure there are other ways to prove your relationship isn’t just a ploy,” Ito said, the same cunning grin still on his face. “Less talking and, perhaps, more doing.”

Feeling how hard your heart was beating against your ribcage, you gave Ito a sarcastic look – trying to get him to think that his command was ridiculous and unnecessary – and then turned to look at Jackson, who was still watching you.

Not wanting to think too much about this, you took a step closer to him. You leaned in, stopping momentarily once your faces were millimeters away from each other, and heard Jackson inhale shakily as he closed his eyes. You closed the gap between you two, barely brushing your lips against his, because as soon as you felt how soft his lips were – not even having enough time to actually taste them – you heard gunfire.

You jumped away from Jackson in shock, turning your head to look at the man who was previously standing in front of you.

But Ito wasn’t standing anymore.

His body was on your doorstep, hands at his sides, as a puddle of blood slowly spread around from underneath him.

Dead.

Horrified, you looked at Jackson and met his confused eyes as both of you simultaneously glanced at the gun in his hands, both thinking that it was him who fired.

Except it wasn’t.

Naturally, you turned your head to look at the adjacent end of the room because that’s where the shot had to come from.

You froze in place when you saw the familiar brown eyes of the shooter. The same brown eyes that bore into yours, despite having the gun pointed at Ito’s dead body. The same brown eyes you hadn’t expected to see again so soon, or ever again.

@bammiesmysoulmate @lostmytaehyungg @aquietkerfuffle

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iridescentwinters · 6 years ago

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equivalents

— skam noorhelm+remakes crossover

— part three of the three-part series “jails and bails”

grace returned into their temporary jail cell, and took a seat between ele and mia.

“called my boyfriend.” she muttered, “he’s gonna be here in 30.”

mia took her hand. “everything okay?” she asked, worried. “is it money? alex is coming and-“

“no, no, not that,” grace reassured, “it’s just that… he was having dinner with his mom and her new boyfriend.” she gently thumped her head against the wall. “i feel so bad. ugh,” she cringed, “imagine what he told her! hey, my girlfriend’s in jail so i gotta go bail her out.”

ele couldn’t help but let out a snort, but when grace started to laugh, the rest of them started to join in. they truly had no idea why, but they just felt like it. if all of them were being honest, they felt a lot better kicking around the sleaze.

a police man arrived in front of their cell, and mia went up to him, obviously because she was the only one who spoke german. he said a few things and pointed back at the girls, and she nodded, before thanking him and making her way back to the girls. she had a grin on her face.

“what’s up?” grace asked, as soon as mia sat down. “apparently, we broke our glasses and kind of made a mess at the bar, but the good news is, they won’t be pressing charges. actually, a lot of the bartenders who work there said that they wanted charges against the dude. he’s been a douche harassing a lot of the lady bartenders, workers and the visitors. they’re calling us heroes, basically.” she chuckled.

manon let out a ‘whoop!’. “we did it, ladies.” she grinned. “even only knowing each other for just a few hours, we managed to knock a sexist asshole out.”

the girls high-fives each other. “anything else?” ele asked. “mm, yeah,” mia started, “they just want our statements before we go.” ele grinned. “oh, that asshole won’t even have a chance of escaping.” she said, cracking her knuckles.

“thank God my husband came with me,” noora said, “or else i wouldn’t have known how else to get out of here. i don’t like to carry around a lot of money.”

“neither do i,” manon said. “charles usually handles all of that. and the passports.” she grinned sheepishly. “i’m prone to losing things.”

“same here, sister.” grace said, before smirking. “and ooo, charles huh? sounds like he’s some french prince or something.”

manon snorted. “just the french equivalent to mia’s alex.” she nudged her head over at mia. “aw,” grace suddenly noticed a ring on manon’s finger, “is that from him?”

manon looked down at it, before nodding shyly. “yeah, we got engaged 3 months back. he’s kinda like a puppy, though.” she rolled her eyes. “he follows me everywhere i go. but this time, i’m glad he did. but if only i could get him to stop trying to spend so much money on petty things….”

ele scoffed. “my boyfriend’s the king of petty and money-spending, trust me.” she said. “edoardo refuses to eat nothing but over $18 ice cream. $18!” she exclaimed, exasperated. the girls wheezed from their laughter. all of their men were extremely spoilt in a funny way.

“what about your other half, grace?” noora asked. “what’s he like?”

grace rolled her eyes. “think about any cliché guy character from a cheesy american love story or movie, and there you go!” she exclaimed sarcastically. “that’s daniel. he was the football team’s captain of my high school. a total spoilt brat and asshole. it’s really a wonder how i fell for him.” as she said that, a smile was unconsciously spread on her face.

the girls smiled as well. “guess we’re prone to charming assholes.” noora said. “hey, i married one, you guys will be too. this shit is forever.” she joked.

but obviously deep down inside, they wouldn’t want it any other way. william entered the police station, which was a few miles away from the hotel he and noora were staying at.

“er, hi,” he greeted the police man behind the counter. “i’m here to bail someone out.”

“may i know their name, sir?” the police man asked. william nodded. “noora sætre.” he said. the man didn’t even need to go through his computer. “she’s currently in questioning right now, sir. you can pay right now and then have a seat behind you.”

william’s eyes widened. “questioning?” he asked in disbelief. “is she okay? what did she even do?” noora hadn’t explained anything to him, only told him that she got herself in jail and needed him to bail her out.

the police man cracked a small smile. “don’t worry about it. nothing major. in fact, it’s just taking a statement, that’s all. and i’ll leave the story to her.” he said, which made william relax a little. “okay, then. thank you.” he thanked, and paid the bail before making his way over to the row of chairs the police man had directed him to.

there were 4 other men sitting there, waiting slightly impatiently. william guessed that they must’ve gotten here a lot earlier, and still hadn’t managed to do what they had come for.

the chair in the middle was empty, and he helped him to it. after a few minutes in awkward silence, he finally decided to break it. “you guys here to bail someone out? a friend?” he asked, in a slight joking manner.

the boy on his right broke into a smile. “try fiancée.” he said. “and i still don’t know what happened. one moment she’s at her art gallery, telling me she’ll be out with some friends she made, the next thing i knew, i was receiving a call from her. from jail.” he recounted his past hour. “oh, and i’m alex, by the way.”

he extended his hand out to william, who shook it. “william. and hey, that’s basically what happened to me as well. my wife noora’s here on a business trip, and she was at an art gallery to go report on it, and then bam! in jail.”

“your lady as well?” the man on william’s left piped up. “my girlfriend works at-"

“artchives?” the last two men finished simultaneously. the one on alex’s right extended his hand out for all of the boys. “charles. charmed to meet you.”

“i’m daniel.” the other man introduced. “edoardo. pleased to meet you.” the man on daniel’s left said.

“well, you guys clearly aren’t from around here, especially you with the american accent.” alex pointed at daniel, who raised his hands in surrender.

“dead-on. i’m from new york, but born and raised texas.” he explained.

“ah,” charles said, “explains the texan accent. i’m from france.”

“rome, italy.” edo then said.

“norway.” william said. “and i have a feeling our girls got arrested all together.”

alex snorted. “let me ask you guys something.” he said. “do your girlfriends-wife,” he gestured towards william, “pick on fights at every chance they get? will do and say whatever it takes to make them right?”

“absolutely.”

“a 100%.”

“no doubt.”

“is that even a question?”

alex did jazz-hands. “ta-da!” he exclaimed sarcastically. “that’s how we’ve ended up here. our psychos have found each other.” he paused, before continuing. “my girl mia’s the artist of the gallery.” he explained, pride shining clear in his voice.

“naw, that’s cool man,” edo said, “she’s really talented. ele kept sending me photos every step she took.” he said, with a grin.

“as did manon. she’s crazy about art.” charles shook her head, but with a glowing smile on his face.

“i met my noora in high school. i fell in love with her the moment she stood up to me. no, roasted my ass.” william admitted. “and i’ve been crazy about her ever since.”

“you too?” the rest of them exclaimed, which gained some weird looks from the others, as well as the police man standing outside the waiting room. they slowly reclined back to their seats.

“i noticed mia around, and was ready to just tap that ass,” alex admitted, “but then when she started insulting me, asking me if my mom never cuddled me enough or if i still wet the bed, i felt like i met an angel. a woman.”

“grace insulted me in front of my entire football team.” daniel started with a sheepish grin. “at first i thought it was some kind of intimidation trick, until she hit a sensitive nerve.” he paused, before admitting it. “my daddy issues.”

“mine too.” edo admitted. “but if i’m being honest, i couldn’t hear half the things eleonora was saying. i was too focused on her face. i was like…” he imitated an explosion with his hands, over his head. “mind blown. how is one woman that beautiful?” he asked, before continuing. “oh, and she-“

“-said that your pubes didn’t grow as fast as the others, so you got bullied for it?” charles interrupted with edo’s exact words. when he nodded, charles grinned. “manon surprised the hell out of me. i was used to being the boss, with no questions being asked. i didn’t give a shit about anyone but myself and my basketball team, until she came along.” he ran his fingers through his hair. “i don’t know what i would’ve been right now, if i hadn’t met her.”

“it’s a scary thought, isn’t it?” william asked. charles nodded.

“probably would’ve still been a piece of shit.” edo admitted, and the rest of the boys agreed with him. the five of them had gone silent for a little, before william asked them another question. or more like, stated it like it was some sort of trivial game.

“okay, nicknames. go.” he pointed at charles.

“charles-henri.”

“axel.”

“donald.”

“eduardo.”

william sighed. “wilhelm. she still calls me that when she’s pissed at me. which is, you know….”

“every 2 days?” daniel guessed, and william nodded.

“damn,” alex muttered, “it’s like our girlfriends are each other’s international equivalents.” the rest of them agreed immediately with them.

“does that make us equivalents too?” daniel asked with a half-kidding smile. “i mean, if y’all can relate to my troubled youth….”

“try me.” edo challenged with a small smirk.

alex snorted. “you don’t even wanna know my family and its history.”

“there is no way in Hell you’d survive my family.” charles muttered.

william rolled his eyes. “try an asshole prick of a brother.” he stated. the others tensed up at his words.

“ignorant piece of shit of a father?” charles asked. the others stayed quiet.

“lying, cheating and stealing bitches for mothers?” daniel muttered. still no protests.

“nannies your entire life? gossiping ones, at that, so you basically had to learn about your family through others?” edo asked. he received nods.

“dead little sisters?” alex asked quietly. and in that moment, all of the boys had gone stereo-quiet. like they had nothing else to say. it was also shocking that 5 strangers had led almost the exact same lives. they hadn’t felt so understood before.

“i was actually glad that grace called.” daniel admitted. “i was having dinner with my mom and her new playtoy. i needed a way to get out anyway.” he tried for a smile, as did the others.

“man,” edo said, “forget the girls being each other from different countries. we’re each other from different countries."

the others couldn’t have agreed more.

“william!”

william looked up, and saw his wife grinning, and waving at him. she was with four other girls, who were already making their way towards their partners.

alex engulfed mia into a big hug. “what have you done, you little troublemaker?” he teased.

“ugh. i’ll answered that.” ele said, as she detached her head from edo’s neck.

“so, your amazing girlfriend brought us to this bar and told us the story behind her crazy gallery. which,” she looked at edo, “you have to go to.” she then looked back at alex. “and this fucking sexist, living in the 1900s moron comes up to us and says idiotic shit to us. and we got pissed and jumped him. the end.”

charles’ eyebrows raised alarmingly. “idiotic shit?” he repeated, before looking at manon. “what did he say? did he try to hurt any of you? did he-“

“calm down, dad,” manon joked, stroking his cheek. “he just said something a horny 12 year old would say, and then said some interesting ideas as to how to make us behave.”

daniel scowled. “that fucker should be thankful that i-we weren’t there.” he corrected himself as he spoke.

grace raised an eyebrow in amusement. “we?” she asked with a grin.

edo looked over at the boys. “let’s just say that we bonded while you girls were in there.” he said.

noora smiled. “we knew that’d happen.” she said.

“and now you guys can still continue to bond tomorrow,” mia said, “since i have an interview with all of these ladies scheduled at my office. and you're all invited.” she said with a grin.

“hell yeah!” daniel exclaimed. the group were now heading out the doors of the station. “that means i get more time to complain about grace!”

grace gasped, and whacked his arm. “excuse me? try me trying to live with you!” she huffed.

“it’s okay to be unbearable grace,” edo joked, “you have ele to relate to.”

“and mia.” alex added.

“oh, definitely manon.” charles said.

“hey!”

“you better take that back, axel!”

“i just went to jail and will not hesitate to go back again!”

as the other couples argued, noora and william walked a little behind them. they watched their new friends with smiles.

noora looked at william. “it’s as if they’re us, just with different names and nationalities.” the blonde said.

“it kinda feels like a family.” william confessed. “it’s something about all of them that make me-“

“-want to have kids asap?”

william nodded with a grin. noora smiled. “i’ll see what i can do about that.” she placed her arm around her husband’s waist. “but for now…. you’re definitely the most annoying one out of all of the boys.”

“then you’d have to be the most unbearable one.” william said with a grin. he paused for a moment, before continuing.

“besides, they’re all younger than us by two or three years. we’re probably the original king and queen of opposites attracting."

TEARS. i miss my parents, and would like to request for a skam reunion special episode. thx

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raendown · 7 years ago

Link

@kitsunekage88 This prompt got out of hand and I regret nothing.

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 5649 Summary: Five times Madara does not see Tobirama pouting - and then one time that he does.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

Can’t Fool Me With The Truth

“I have seen the face of God and it was both pitiful and adorable.”

Madara looked up in surprise as his brother staggered in to the room with a dazed look on his face. Last he’d heard, Izuna had been over to visit Tobirama and he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to ask what the hell could have encouraged such a statement. The entire village knew better than to ask what went on inside Tobirama’s laboratories.

With a frown, he decided it was safer to just say nothing and duck his head back in to the book he had been reading. Leisure time was hard to come by and he wasn’t about to let Izuna being weird ruin the first hour he’d gotten to himself all week.

Unfortunately Izuna didn’t seem to pick up on his unwelcoming vibes as the younger man wandered over and flopped down on the floor in front of him, nuzzling his head in to Madara’s lap. Rolling his eyes, yet unable to resist, Madara stroked his fingers gently over long dark hair. He still kept his eyes on his book though. Maybe if he just stayed quiet then he wouldn’t be disturbed further with strange exclamations about the face of God.

“It was cute,” Izuna moaned suddenly. “What do I do with that? I have no defense against that. I had no idea.” Madara sighed and let his book flop down on the crown of the younger man’s head.

“Am I going to regret asking? If this is about Touka again then I want to hear nothing more about it.”

“Shamed as I am to admit it, this exceeds even Touka’s level of adorableness.”

Madara sat up a little straighter and moved his novel aside. “Are you feeling alright!?” he demanded. Izuna pushed himself upright in to a kneeling position, hands on his elder brother’s knees and eyes wide as they look up at him in supplication.

“It was Tobirama! Sage help me but he pouted and I...brother I...have no words. You’d have to see it to believe it.”

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Madara growled. “This is what has you so flustered? What nonsense!” He made as though to shove his sibling aside but Izuna caught both of his hands and stared, something wild in his expression and every muscle in his body coiled like a spring. He looked almost fanatic.

“No, you don’t understand! It’s the truth!”

“Ugh.”

With a disgusted expression on his face Madara stood and wrenched himself out of Izuna’s hold. He’d just known that he would regret allowing himself to be dragged in to such nonsense, wasting his precious downtime on idiotic blather about Tobirama doing something as ridiculous as pouting. Senju Tobirama, the stuck up prick that he was, had too much dignity to lower himself to pouting. Madara wasn’t sure what Izuna was up to by trying to convince him it was true but he could smell a practical joke coming a mile away. Not a chance was he going to get caught in this one.

No, instead he left his sniveling little sibling alone in the living room and retired to the back porch instead. A light breeze ruffled his hair as he sat down on the padded bench just outside the door, making him close his eyes and breathe deeply. Much better. This was just the kind of relaxing environment he needed today. Hopefully by the time he went back inside to make dinner Izuna would have given up on whatever game he was playing.

ii.

Seeing Hashirama waltz out of his bedroom with a face like he had only just discovered puberty in the last five minutes was a much more common experience than Madara liked to think about when he came round for a visit. His best friend wasn’t exactly subtle about his overactive sex life, much to Madara chagrin.

No, thank you very much, he was not at all jealous.

Seeing Mito float from one room to another in nearly the same state was much more rare. In fact, Madara was hard pressed to think of a single instance he had seen the normally poised woman in such a deconstructed state. Her eyes were wide, her features slack, and both of her hands were clutched to her breast as though to hold her heart in place.

“Mito?” he called tentatively. “Are you alright? Where is Hashirama?” Rather than reply to his questions, she spoke as though to the empty air in front of her.

“I didn’t know...I hardly expected...I could never have imagined. Hashi was right, there really is nothing like it. Goodness me...”

“Uh...alright then.”

Stretching his senses, Madara determined that Hashirama was a few streets away, accompanied by his sibling. The two of them were heading away despite the fact that obviously they were needed here instead. Whatever could put Mito, of all people, in a state like this must have been momentous indeed. It looked like it was up to him to comfort her or whatever it was that she needed.

“Mito, can you hear me?” he asked. Her eyes snapped over to his and she reached out across the space between them.

“Have you ever seen it?” she demanded.

“Seen what?”

“The pout! Tobirama’s pout! I had no idea! Hashirama told me but no words could do it justice! I just wasn’t prepared. It was only for a moment but I...I think I just had a religious experience.”

“Are...you serious?”

On shaky legs Mito made her way to the closest chair, sinking down in to it with none of her usual grace. Madara watched her with all the worry rapidly draining from his body. It had been a month since Izuna had come home rambling about something to do with Tobirama and pouting and their reactions were both eerily similar. Was it possible that somehow Izuna had convinced Mito to join him in playing this practical joke?

Well he still wasn’t going to be fooled by it! He refused to believe Tobirama was even capable of jutting that stiff lip of his out in any manner which might even come close to resembling cute. Sure he was attractive, Madara could admit that in a distant, unbiased way. And sure Hashirama had been waxing poetic for years now about how adorable his baby brother was to any poor sod he could trap in to listening. But that was just the opinion of an empty-headed buffoon who still needed his wife to tie his obi sometimes. His opinion didn’t count for much in Madara’s books, best friend or not.

“You absolutely must see it,” Mito told him in a dreamy voice. Madara sighed and rolled his eyes.

“For a moment I thought something was actually wrong. Here I was about to fetch back your husband and then you start spouting this drivel. Well I won’t have it. You can both go rot, you and Izuna, and see if I care!”

His hair flared out with a rather nice dramatic touch as he spun around and stomped towards the door. Rather than be impressed by his display, Mito only sighed dreamily and slid further down in to her chair, her words only just reaching his ears as he marched out the door.

“So adorable...”

Madara wrinkled his nose and slammed the front door behind himself. He had much more important things to do with his time than be taken in for a fool.

iii.

If there was anyone in the village he could count on to be sensible and down to earth about the things that mattered, it was Senju Touka. They weren’t particularly fond of each other but they did work well together whenever they had been forced to work on the same project or run the same mission together. When a conflict popped up in the scheduling for the village patrols, Madara’s first thought was to go to Touka and ask her to stand in until he could replace the man who had been injured.

Sensible was not the word he would have used to describe the woman he found sitting on her front porch watching her youngest cousin storm away from her in a huff. Madara took a moment to observe the tenseness in Tobirama’s back – determinedly not looking at any other parts of him – and concluded that they must have fought. Or perhaps, considering Touka’s lack of angry screeching, she had insulted him in some manner.

Whatever the case, he didn’t particularly care about their petty family dramas. He routinely got enough of that at home with Izuna so he most certainly didn’t need to be dragged in to any more.

“Your skills are needed,” he announced without preamble, being sure not to word his sentence as though asking her a favor. She didn’t appear to hear him.

“I know I upset him,” she mumbled, “but he didn’t have to do that.”

“Who did what?”

“You kind of forget, you know? Every time. It’s always like ‘oh it couldn’t possibly be as cute as I remember’ and then he does it and bam!”

Narrowing his eyes, Madara gave Touka a wary look. Several weeks had gone by since he’d experienced a similar episode with Mito and he was honestly beginning to believe that it was a conspiracy between them all, an attempt to make him look foolish somehow. He wasn’t sure how they intended to do so when he was obviously too smart to fall for their idiocy but it appeared that whoever all were in on this bad joke were not giving up.

Fuming in silence did nothing to help him seem unaffected, however, and so he set his hands on his hips and attempted to settle his features in to a blank, even slightly bored expression. No need to let them know their little prank was actually getting to him in any way.

“Let me guess, Tobirama?” he drawled.

“You’ve seen it then?” Touka’s shoulders lifted and dropped in a heavy sigh, a dreamy look taking over. “I just wasn’t ready. Of course, no one is ever ready. And I don’t think he even know what kind of effect he has; how unfair is that? He just gets upset and pouts and then the whole world melts at his feet and this isn’t fair damn it! I’m over thirty years old, I shouldn’t still be this weak to him!”

“Do you know how ridiculous this all is?”

“Right!? Extremely ridiculous! I mean come on, it’s me! I don’t find anything cute so why the hell can’t I resist him when he all he’s doing is making his eyes wider and…and the lip…so cute…”

As Touka slipped even father in to what he assumed to be fabricated daydreams, Madara harrumphed and spun on his heel. Listening to this wasn’t worth the trouble at all. There were plenty of other shinobi he could ask to fill in for the injured guard, it didn’t have to be her even though he would have preferred it to be. Say what you like about Touka – and he usually did – she was an intimidating woman, excellent guard material.

Madara left her behind on her porch to sigh at the empty air and he hoped that she felt as silly as she looked because this entire game that they were all playing was just plain stupid. He stomped his way through the village towards home, all the while trying to hold back the scowl he could feel trying to take over his face. The farther he walked the harder it was until, by the time he walked through his front door, all the muscles around his mouth were twitching and his lips were peeling back in a grimace of determination.

Seeing Izuna at the kitchen table with all of his weapons spread out for cleaning broke his resolve.

“You conniving, twisted, annoying little shit!” he exploded, swatting his brother on the back of the head as he strode passed. Izuna snorted a tiny bit in surprise before looking up at him in consternation.

“What did I do?” he said.

“You know exactly what you did!”

Before Izuna could say anything else Madara had stormed down the hallway and slammed the door of his bedroom, locking himself inside his own private sanctuary. No one could bother him here. In here there were no weird plots to pull strange pranks on him that he didn’t understand. Here was peace and quiet and a nice soft bed for him to flop down on to and close his eyes, letting his mind wander wherever it would.

Evidently his mind didn’t feel like wandering far from the subject he’d been trying to escape. So many people seemed to be trying to trick him in to thinking Tobirama had pouted at them and that it could possibly be so cute that they were forever changed by the image. Now he couldn’t help but try and picture it for himself as he lay on his belly with his cheek resting on the soft pillow, body slowly releasing the tension which had built over the course of a much-too-long day.

And why shouldn’t he think about Tobirama, he thought to himself. It was his mind, he could imagine whatever he liked. Feeling almost defiant, as though Izuna were going to burst in to the room at any moment and laugh at him for falling in to their trap, Madara brought up an image of Tobirama in his mind’s eye. He tried to picture what it would look like if he pushed his lower lip out and scrunched his eyebrows up like a child making a sad puppy face. Honestly it seemed as though Tobirama would look ridiculous and that only confirmed for him that everyone else must be pulling his leg. It seemed the best thing to do would be to put the issue aside and just try not to let it bother him.

Just as he began to weigh the merits of a nap, however, Madara rolled over and flew upright with a curse. In his irritation he had entirely forgotten he was supposed to be replacing those guard shifts!

iv.

Several months went by without further mention of the weird madness his brother had started, for which Madara was incredibly glad. He found himself more and more distracted by the strangest things about Tobirama and he really didn’t need anyone else adding to his confusion. What purpose did it serve for him to notice the way the younger man held his shoulders or the exact tone of his voice as delivered the final quip in yet another of their verbal spars? So many tiny details that he’d never paid much attention to now stuck out as though they meant something. He could hardly fathom what that something might be.

Madara had only just resolved to force himself to stop thinking of that Senju bastard when, of course, everyone’s favorite prank finally resurfaced.

Delivering reports to Hashirama was never done with a quick getaway but he hardly expected to be bowled sideways in an overenthusiastic hug the very moment he stepped through the door to his friend’s office. It took several moments of shouting and quite a bit of ungraceful squirming for him to work his way loose. Hashirama refused to repent, beaming down at him with that vapid smile which usually meant he’d gotten excellent news.

“I don’t suppose you’ve heard from the Aburame clan?” he guessed. Hashirama shook his head before floating over to the window, gazing outside with a bright expression.

“Not yet,” he replied dreamily. Madara frowned.

“Well what is it then?” He’d always hated being left out of the loop and it was always the worst when it was Hashirama who knew something he didn’t. Getting information out of this log was such torture sometimes.

Swanning over to his desk and dropping in to his seat, Hashirama sighed. “I just love my baby brother so much. Don’t you love him?”

“I have my own little brother to love,” Madara grumbled, crossing his arms defensively. “Yours is – yours is gross!”

“He’s not gross! He’s adorable! Oh Madara you should have seen! It’s been so many years but I knew I would see it again someday. Nothing in this world compares to my little Tobi pouting!”

“Ugh! Not this again!”

“Whaaaat? You never let me talk about my brother Madara; you’re so mean!” Hashirama stuck his nose in the air but his grin only faded for a moment before returning in full force. “I think he’s adorable and that’s that. Just because you’re a grump and refuse to open your eyes and see what’s right in front of you doesn’t mean I have to be blind and grumpy too.”

Madara sneered at his friend and marched forward to drop off the file he had brought with him. “I have no idea what the lot of you are trying to accomplish with this charade, especially since I am not falling for it!”

Hashirama blinked at him in confusion but he didn’t stop to hear any false exclamations of innocence. Instead he stormed back out in to the hallway, unable to even enjoy the fact that this was the fastest he had ever escaped any trip in to the Hokage’s office. In his poor temper he failed to pay attention to his surroundings or even listen to what his senses were trying to tell him. If he had then he wouldn’t have nearly crashed in to the very man who seemed to be the focus of a village wide joke which made no sense.

Tobirama tilted his head with a gentle smirk, needing no words to make it known that he found Madara’s lack of coordination amusing. In return, Madara snarled and threw both of his hands up in the air.

“Well you’re not that adorable to me!” he cried. Tobirama made a sound of confusion that was eerily similar to his brothers but Madara didn’t stop to listen to it. He had no time for explanations. It was starting to look like he had signed off on his sanity the day he formally agreed to build this village. Knowing that he had dug his own grave was no comfort.

And it helped nothing that he spent the rest of the day remembering the exact angle at which Tobirama had tilted his head to express his confusion for Madara’s outburst. His opinions on the Senju’s attractiveness were getting less and less objective as this strange business tricked him in to thinking about Tobirama more and more. Nothing good could come of this, he was certain.

Barely a few days went by before Madara encountered the same old nonsense yet again and they were not restful days at all. He found his thoughts turning to a certain someone much more frequently than he was comfortable with. Daydreaming had never really been something which took up a lot of his time and yet suddenly he found himself drifting away from reality at least once a day, only to come crashing back down to earth when he realized he was yet again contemplating certain angles of sunlight on white hair, the perfect tilt of thin pink lips, deep laughter coming out in a surprised rush whenever Hashirama startled them all with a joke that was actually funny.

He didn’t need these thoughts in his head, damn it! Spending time thinking about this stuff made it feel as though he were developing something ridiculous like feelings or whatever. Madara knew that couldn’t be the case but it was still a worrisome development. What if someone else made that assumption?

Irritated, distracted, and confused as to what his brain thought it was doing, Madara spent half a week stomping around the village and his home before deciding that the best thing to do would be to work out his aggression with a good spar. Training alone just wasn’t the same as battling against someone else, not even against his own clones. With a perfect copy of himself, it was easy to predict how his opponent would react to something and he always felt as though he’d gotten less training out of the session.

Finding a sparring partner, however, turned out to be a bit more trouble than he expected. Hashirama was bogged down by paperwork and an unusually cranky Mito politely demanding that he spend more time at home. Izuna was out of the village on a two week undercover mission somewhere in Stone territory, not due home for another week at the least. The last time he had clashed with Touka on the training fields he had won but it came at the cost of three senbon in his left shoulder, his favorite training pants singed at the hem, and both ears flushed red from listening to the crass taunts meant to throw him off his game.

Under no circumstances would he be asking Tobirama to spar with him at the moment.

With no other options, Madara combed through the Uchiha district until he had located his last surviving cousin and the only other person he could think of who might be able to deal with his current skittish temper. He found Hikaku in the market strip, wandering aimlessly down the street with a blush on his cheeks and a look in his eyes as though he were having an out of body experience. Rather than pretending he was at all in the mood to be curious, Madara stomped up in front of the younger man with both hands on his hips.

“Fight me.”

“Oh…Madara-sama…”

“I need a sparring partner. Fight me. Now. Get a weapon and meet me at training ground six.”

Hikaku nodded slowly but it was obvious that not a single word had actually made it through his ears. From up close Madara could see now that he was wearing the faintest of smiles, dreamily staring off in to nothing as he let slip a happy little sigh that sounded much too familiar.

“I think I’m in love,” he murmured, sounding very much as though he had slid straight back in to adolescence, and Madara felt a wave of relief go through him.

“Thank god. For a moment I thought you’d gotten involved in the same madness as everyone else.” An evil grin took over his face and he took his hands off his hips to rub them together in anticipation, gearing up for a good bout of teasing. It’d been ages since he’d had anything good to rib his cousin about. “So? Who is it?”

Still entirely spaced out, Hikaku sighed again. “Tobirama.”

Madara felt his entire face twitch. Something nasty rose up inside his chest and he only just barely managed to bite off an angry demand that the other back off. Instead he emitted a wordless noise of rage, fingers clenching against each other.

“What.”

“I just…he’s always been pretty, you know? But then I saw it. I never thought a grown man could be so adorable when they pouted but then he did it and everything I ever knew has changed. I’m in love. I have to marry him.”

“You will do no such thing!” Madara heaved for breath through his nose. “Ugh. I thought I escaped this. Don’t be an idiot Hikaku; you’re much too sensible to take part in this flim-flammery.”

“But you don’t understand! You didn’t see it. Or have you seen it? No, if you had then you would know because I don’t think I’ll ever forget. It was incredible…I’m in love…”

“Yes, I do believe you’ve mentioned that,” Madara sneered.

Rolling his eyes and throwing his hands up, he turned away without another word. It looked like he was going to have to resort to sparring with his clones again after all because he certainly wasn’t going to waste his time playing along with the world’s stupidest ongoing prank. Not him. Madara wasn’t sure what it was that convinced them all to think him so gullible as to fall for the same trick if they only played it on him enough times. He was hardly that easy to play.

As he stormed off and left Hikaku to continue wandering the market strip alone, Madara wondered if Tobirama was even aware he was being used as the subject of a practical joke that wasn’t even funny – wasn’t even cruel. It was all just stupid. Would Tobirama be upset, he wondered, to have his name used in such a way?

Perhaps Madara should speak to him and let him sort this entire mess out. Then maybe he would finally have some peace and quiet.

Sent out to quell a disturbance in one of the nearby villages only the very next day, speaking with Tobirama entirely slipped his mind once he got back, covered head to toe with soot and honey and refusing to answer any questions as to how such a thing came to pass. He spent three days getting the awful sticky mess out of his hair and by the time he was fit to be seen in public once more, the only thing on his mind was seeking revenge against Hashirama for sending him on the mission and causing him to go through that.

A couple of weeks passed and Madara woke up one morning to find two figures on his doorstep, neither of whom he wished to deal with before the sun had even risen entirely. Kagami was much too bouncy to deal with at the best of times and Tobirama he would have preferred to avoid altogether for reasons he would rather not discuss with the man himself.

He couldn’t very well slam the door in their faces, however. At least, not if he wished to avoid yet another lecture from Hashirama about how to properly interact with other human beings. So when he invited the both of them in for morning tea it seemed to fit his wary mood when the two shared a devious smile. Obviously they were up to something – and just as obviously he was going to regret his attempts at being polite.

“Kagami-kun tells me that the Uchiha have rather strict regulations on who can leave the village at any given time. Something about precautions to protect the bloodlines.” Tobirama looked pretty snug where he had settled himself on a stool at Madara’s breakfast nook, swirling a spoon through his tea to stir the remains after he’d nearly drained the cup in one go.

“Yes, well, it was a better solution than those barbaric Hyuga came up with,” Madara said. He half expected Tobirama to snort as he always did when reminded of the rivalry between the two ocular-focused clans. Instead he was surprised by a slight head tilt as Tobirama conceded his point.

“Fair enough,” was all he said on the matter. “Then it is indeed you that I need permission from to take him out of the village? I was hoping to take our team on a little excursion.”

“Survival training, Madara-sama! How cool is that!?”

Kagami was nearly vibrating in his seat; likely he would have been bouncing freely about the room if not for the pressure of Tobirama’s hand patting him on the top of his head. Evidently the man knew his student well enough to sit next to him for restraining purposes, which Madara appreciated. He wasn’t awake enough for child-wrangling.

“Other than the move from our ancestral lands to the village, Kagami has never been outside the walls of protection. He’s a rambunctious child and, while I’m aware you have a great deal of experience dealing with children, the very idea of having only one adult around him in such a new environment…concerns me.”

“I’m not that bad!” Kagami made as though to rise up with indignation but withered immediately when Madara fixed him with a raised eyebrow.

“You fell in to three separate rivers on the move here and there was an entire clan of adults about to supervise you.”

Before either of them could work themselves up for an argument, as was wont to happen when more than one Uchiha gathered in the same room, Tobirama gently shook his head and threw him arm over Kagami’s shoulders, drawing the boy close. He bent himself down low until his chin rested amongst soft black curls and widened his eyes with false innocence.

“Come now, you know very well that I am perfectly capable of watching him. What if we asked very, very nicely?”

They had obviously planned their next move and Madara was entirely unprepared for it. In sync the two of them pushed out their lower lips and fluttered their eyes in an exaggerated pleading manner. Just the sight of them together was like a punch to the gut. Kagami on his own was a master of making puppy eyes but Tobirama…Madara fought not to clutch at his chest. He pleaded silently for the mother of chakra to preserve him as his heart began to pound and his pulse jumped.

But he could stay strong! He was a battle worn warrior and he absolutely could stand firm even in the face of something as overwhelmingly cute as the image before him. He was far from beaten by such an underhanded tactic.

“I’m not convinced that it’s a good idea. Kagami needs to learn a little more control and discipline.”

“But I am disciplined!” Kagami protested. “Come watch us train, Madara-sama, you’ll see!”

“No. I’m afraid my answer is no.”

Madara crossed his arms, feeling a little as though his proverbial feathers had been rustled. He was the head of the clan, damn it. No child should be questioning his decisions. What he said was the law, just as it always had been, and Kagami was only further proving the point for him by questioning his authority. Poor boy was digging his own grave by letting his face fall in to a dissatisfied scowl. Madara opened his mouth to deliver a lecture on why exactly he was refusing – even though he knew he owed no explanation for his choices – when he was stopped dead.

With one simple look the entire world as he knew it ceased to exist.

Tobirama was pouting for real this time.

Rather than sticking his lip out so far it was nearly comical, his true pout only barely pressed it out to show off just how plump his thin lips could actually be. His nose, which Madara had never given much thought to before now, scrunched up in distress until it looked like a cute little button that his fingers itched to press. With his eyes half lidded and looking off to the side petulantly, head tilted as just the right angle, and his brows bunched together and raised as though he were inconsolably sad, the image he made was simply too much for Madara’s sanity.

None of the others had been lying, apparently. Senju Tobirama was indeed capable of pouting when he didn’t get his way and it was so heart-wrenchingly adorable that Madara’s brain ceased functioning at a single glance. He could feel his own eyes widening and his breath hitching in his chest while the rest of the world slipped away from his reality.

“Oh,” he whispered softly. “Wow.” He didn’t see Kagami huffing, not having noticed that he was busy trying to ascend on to an astral plane.

“Come on Madara-sama! That’s not fair! Please?”

“Yeah…okay…”

“Wait, really?”

Both Kagami and Tobirama sat up but Madara continued staring at Tobirama, hardly even aware of what it meant that those beautiful red eyes were looking back at him. He understood all the reactions he had seen now, could entirely sympathize with them. Nothing in the world could have prepared him for such an adorable sight as that tiny pouty lip and the picture of disappointed sadness it made, the sheer innocence of that cuteness.

He remained immobile, unable to locate his limbs or even consider moving as his two guests stood up from their seats. Kagami threw both hands up in the air and bounded out of the room with a cry of triumph, thundering towards the front door. Normally Madara would have scolded him for running in the house but the words simply didn’t occur to him in that moment. The only thing his mind could focus on was the memory of the most perfect pout he had ever seen. He had been forever changed by that one image.

Tobirama made his way across the room with measured steps and demurely lowered eyes, a subtle smile hanging about his mouth. As he passed by Madara he paused, leaning over to speak quietly in his ear.

“You have my appreciation for being so…amenable,” he said. Then he turned his head to lay a chaste kiss against Madara’s cheek before suddenly he was gone, down the hallways and out of the home, leaving Madara behind to make a very serious attempt at melting in to his own kitchen floor.

Maybe – maybe – he might have developed a small crush on Tobirama

One thing was for certain, however. It was a damn good thing Tobirama’s pout was rare enough to be passed off as a mere legend or practical joke. Heaven only knew what kind of chaos he could cause if he started whipping that out at every turn. It was already proven that none of the strongest shinobi in the village could resist him when he began to pout; such adorableness would be devastating if he ever decided to weaponize it. Certainly Madara would be among the first to fall if that ever happened. Senju Tobirama was simply too cute for his own good.

And the bastard probably knew it too.

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #izuna #mito #touka #hashirama #hikaku #kagami #fanfiction #naruto shippuden

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allenmendezsr · 5 years ago

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Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/healthy-tongue-secrets-revealed/

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

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Tongue problems can be very discouraging because of the way they come and go. Just when you think they might be clearing up, Bam! they’re back again.

How I Discovered the Secret of a Healthy Tongue

I am a lot like you, I once suffered from Geographic Tongue and even worse. I hope you won’t think I’m bragging, because I’m not. I just want to explain how my unique background enabled me to discover the Secrets that can give you a Healthy tongue.

You see, many years ago, while attending a prestigious private engineering college in upstate New York, I was trained in the methods of top-notch research. Just before graduation, I was even recruited by the CIA, although I didn’t know it before I went to the interview (did you know they actually hold “covert” interviews not disclosing who they are until you get there?) and eventually I turned them down. My colleagues went on to become top researchers for companies like IBM, Kodak, Colgate and, yes, even the CIA.

But shortly after graduation, my situation took a strange turn. I developed Crohn’s disease and started wasting away. I couldn’t eat without excruciating pain. Whenever I ate anything solid the pain would be so bad that I literally rolled on the floor in agony.

It was a terrible experience. I was sure I was going to die as I slowly went from a healthy athletic 135 lbs down to a scrawny, emaciated 98 lbs with strange patches all over my tongue.

I was desperate to find a solution and frankly at the time, my tongue was the least of my worries. But with my life literally hanging in the balance, I focused my remaining strength and turned my research expertise on finding a solution.

I made a Wonderful Discovery While Struggling to find a Solution…

But a strange thing happened while I was researching what makes you healthy and the factors involved in disease. I made a rare and unique discovery so enormous, that I am excited to share it with you!

I found that certain nutrients made a difference in the condition of my tongue. And over the last twenty-five years I have refined my findings and in addition to my Crohn’s disease being a thing of the past (which the Doctors say is impossible) I have only had rare bouts with Geographic Tongue (mostly because I forget I have it!)

I have raised two wonderful kids and spent many happy and healthy years since then. I was able to return my abilities toward work and today I make my living researching and finding solutions to complex computer problems both in the U.S. and Internationally. Over the years, I have continued to hone and refine my research skills in order to find a variety of solutions in all types of circumstances.

I had to Help a Friend in Need

Then a few years ago, Allison, a friend of mine at work, began losing weight. At first it looked good on her (I thought she’d gone on a diet or something) but before long I knew there was a problem. One day while we were discussing her problems she showed me her tongue and all those painful memories of wasting away and anxiously searching for a solution to my problem came flooding back.

I knew I had to do something to help her.

It turned out that Allison had fibromyalgia which caused severe pain whenever she ate (which reminded me of my battle with Crohn’s). Naturally, she did not enjoy being in pain, so she would stop eating before she had gotten enough calories to maintain her normal weight. And somehow this resulted in geographic tongue.

Since the doctors weren’t much help, I knew I had to do something!

So I began compiling some of my old research into a report that I could give to Allison. In addition, I turned my finely honed research abilities toward finding even more information for my friend.

Allison was absolutely thrilled with the secrets I put together for her…here is what she had to say when I emailed her the information in my report.

WOW!!!!!! This looks great and exactly what I’m dealing with… and there is actually a name to it!

I really like my doctor, but it makes me wonder why he doesn’t know this!…

Sometimes I feel you are the only one who really knows what I was going through because you experienced it!–

Thanks,

Allison

I became Obsessed with Finding all the Pieces of the Puzzle

Even after I gave the information to Allison, I just couldn’t rest. As I found more and more pieces of the geographic tongue puzzle, the project expanded and seemed to take on a life of its own.

My report eventually became a book that covers many different tongue problems, because as I looked at them, I began to see how they all fit together like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.

As I explored the many various tongue problems I found many common denominators and that is why I tell people,

“You really need to read the whole book to understand the secret, and get the big picture on how it relates to health in general.”

Did you know Your Tongue is like a “Health Meter” for your Body?

One of the mysteries I uncovered while doing my research was that your tongue is actually kind of like a health meter for the body. It seems obvious to me that a healthy body would have a healthy tongue and a weakened body has a sick tongue.

For thousands of years doctors have been asking patients to stick out their tongue and using the signs and conditions they observe to help determine the overall state of the body, but… modern medicine has forgotten most of the reasons doctors over the ages have asked you to stick out your tongue. Now when a Doctor says, “Open wide”, he is usually not even looking at your tongue at all, but looking down your throat for signs of “strep’ instead!

If “Your Eyes are the Window to your Soul”…

Your Tongue is “the Window to your Digestive System”

Here’s a fact for you, that you may not have thought about: your tongue is actually the first organ of your digestive system. Your tongue moves the food around so your teeth can chop it up into more easily digested chunks and mixes it with saliva. Plus your tongue is the strongest muscle in your body. Being the first organ of the digestive system and being visible from the outside without fancy scopes and machinery, it is in the unique position of giving us a look at the state of your digestive system.

As I said, the tongue is sort of like the health meter or “gas gauge” for your body. When your body needs something it starts a chain reaction that results in the tongue showing the symptoms. The symptoms could be a white coating, or cracks, or even bald patches with white rings (as in Geographic Tongue). Think of your tongue like a “Gas Gauge” indicating when your body is low on something.

I can’t be out of Gas, the Gauge must be broken

Can you imagine… a crazy lunatic looking down at his gas gauge and it is reading almost empty. At this point he gets extremely upset and starts yelling and screaming and says, “There must be something wrong… I just put Gas in the car 600 miles ago! That gauge is always saying empty!” Or perhaps he says, “I must need a new gas gauge, I shouldn’t need to put gas in it again this week!” or maybe “It isn’t fair”.

No, that’s ridiculous, you understand that a logical person, would realize that the gauge isn’t the problem, you just need to go to the station and get more gas.

Right? You know that the gauge is there for your protection, so you won’t run out of gas and your first response is that the gauge is right and you just need more gas. Only after a lot of evidence to the contrary would you consider doubting the gas gauge.

The same is true for your tongue, once you know the secret of reading it, you can know what you need to do to return your whole body to health. I’m sure you can see that just like it is no use blaming the gas gauge for an empty tank…

You shouldn’t blame your tongue for alerting you to a problem with your body!

As a matter of fact, You’re going to become as excited as I am when you discover how paying attention to your tongue can actually point you in the direction of optimal overall physical health.

Searching for Love in all the Wrong Places

Do you remember the old Waylon Jennings song “Searching for Love in all the Wrong Places“? Well, that is exactly what the medical establishment is doing in regard to Geographic Tongue. And it makes me downright angry when I hear Doctors say “Oh, Don’t Worry about it” or “It’s Benign” or the three most hated words when it comes to Geographic Tongue “No Treatment Necessary”.

There is a simple easy solution for Geographic Tongue!

As a matter of fact, it is one of the easiest things in the world for you to resolve! When you read the book you will see how the right combination of nutrients can protect your tongue and make it clear and healthy again, in a couple of short weeks!

The problem is that Doctors spend very little time studying nutrition and a lot of time studying disease. And Geographic Tongue is not a Disease! It reminds me of an old joke (even though Geographic Tongue is not funny).

One night a guy named George is walking home after dark. The street is entirely unlit except off in the distance he sees a man crawling around under a lone lamppost. As he gets there he realizes the man is searching for something. George says, “what are you looking for?” the 2nd man says “an engagement ring I dropped”. This is terrible what was going to be a happy occasion is now a disaster, so George stops to help, and after a few minutes George asks “where exactly did you drop it?” The 2nd man replies, “oh, up the street a ways.” George is amazed and stands up and shouts, “Then why are you looking here?” To which the 2nd man replies, “Because the light is better!”…

That is the way it is, if you look for a solution for Geographic Tongue in the Disease category, you are simply looking in the wrong place! Once you know the right place to look… the solution is obvious!

Imagine yourself getting out of bed two weeks from now…

The morning starts much like any other… The alarm clock rings…You get out of Bed… you walk to the bathroom mirror and stick out your tongue… but there the similarity ends… This day is different… you stare in amazement and relief because there for the first time in a long time you see your dream come true… a healthy new pink tongue…

No more bald patches… no more white lines… just a beautiful pink healthy tongue.

You almost can’t believe your eyes… it is almost too wonderful… for a moment you might think that you had a “tongue transplant” in your sleep, or your eyes are playing tricks on you. But it’s true, your tongue can be so healthy you won’t even recognize it!

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bluepenguinstories · 5 years ago

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Happiness Overload Chapter Thirty-Nine

Most of the time, I would complete my mission and then stay wherever I was stationed until I received my next mission. I had no true home. I imagine it's the same with others in my field: they all slept wherever they could find and made the most of it. Maybe some had many homes that they just accumulated over the years, though I imagined such a thing would be difficult what with always traveling around. Really, it was better that way. Less complicated.

Now, what was different was that I would usually find another city to stay in, another country, anywhere where I couldn't be detected. While it didn't happen often, there was a precedent of counter-contractors. There were competitors out there who would pay a good price to see themselves rise up in the ranks. I didn't think there would be a problem, given the mission was a special case. It wasn't every mission where I happened to deal in metaphysical things. No company would have opposed me getting rid of her, so there didn't seem to be any problem staying where I was at for a while.

Especially because I hadn't gotten rid of her.

Yes, she was gone, but if I knew her at all, she would be back. For someone with high intelligence, she seemed lacking in the wisdom department.

“Get a grip, Rhea. It's already been a few days,” I tried telling myself as I took a stroll through the city. There were many interesting sights: shops that sold healing crystals, a shop that sold only umbrellas, statues outside of buildings of ostriches and old men. Pigeons trotted and squawked about, just as they did in any city. Really, when you got down to it, all these cities tended to blur together.

I passed by a tavern. One of those places where people in my profession tended to get together and chat. Not to mention there was often lodging, which was perfect for us.

How long have I been at this?

I pressed my hand up to the window. Nope. Still cold. Still me.

Trick question. The answer is 'nearly all my life'.

Anomaly Report #42,069

'Rhea Flection':

“Hey, did you hear the story of that baby who was found under a sheet of ice in Antarctica?”

“Well, I did now.”

“Damn, it was all over the news.”

“Okay, well I'm a busy person, you know that.”

“So what happened is some researchers were stationed somewhere in the arctic and they found this baby wrapped in cloth just lying there in the freezing tundra. Thing is, though, the researchers found that she was still alive. She was rushed to the nearest hospital, somewhere in Greenland.”

“Really? No hypothermia? Pneumonia? Frostbite? Any of that?”

“All that and anything else you can think of. It was quite a miracle, really. She was sent to a foster family after making a full recovery.”

“No clue who her birth parents were?”

“None, though some tests were done and could identify some Inuit in her.”

“Oh, come on! We probably could've found a match!”

“Could've, or should've. No dice.”

“Damn. That's so hard to believe.”

“Yeah, but makes for a great mystery. Funny thing is, she's grown up with the constant feeling of being cold ever since. I swear, you could put her in a furnace and she'd still cross her arms and shiver like she was freezing to death.”

Yes. I've read the files on me. Rather unwise of them to pick one of their many documented anomalies to be one of their mercenaries for hire. They seemed to specialize in picking the odd ones, didn't they?

I stepped inside the bar and felt its chill.

Really? Air conditioning? They should've done the opposite and turned the heater on.

Then I remembered: it was summer. Right. It was just me.

In fact, I didn't even notice an air conditioning unit. No ventilation, either. So it was definitely just me.

As soon as I seated myself next to the counter, the bartender came over. Some burly looking man. Disgusting.

“So, what'll it be? A cold one?”

“I have a name...”

“Uh, right. What'll it be, miss...?”

“Just call me Cold One.”

The bartender groaned. What was his deal?

“Okay, fine. Miss Cold One. Are you gonna order something?”

I looked around, then faced him. “No.”

He started to look pissed, so I slipped him some money. “Just let me sit for a bit.”

When he noticed the cash I slipped him, his demeanor changed. “Certainly, ma'am.”

After I was sure he would leave me alone, I took another look around and noticed an empty seat to the right of me, just next to the wall. In another bar, pub, tavern, what have you, I must have sat there, or in a position akin to the one I had my gaze fixed on.

I remembered a time when I sat at a table not unlike that one in another tavern where associates in my profession had gathered. I sat alone, drinking a screwdriver (no, I don't know why they're called that. I've tasted screwdrivers. They don't taste the same).

“Well if it isn't the great Rhea I've heard so much about!” A strange and dubious looking man (so basically any man) came up to me, grinning a foul grin with his gray facial hair running amok.

“Oh? Then you must have heard that I don't like men.”

“What? I didn't hear that at all! Come on, why not?”

“Men are boorish, crude, disgusting, disrespectful, foolish, foul-mouthed, ill-mannered, irresponsible, lecherous, lethargic, and most of all, rude.”

“The fuck? Sweetcheeks, I'm none of those things,” he then proceeded to belch. I winched and met his response with a scowl.

“You are all of these things. See, I've heard a little about you as well, Douglas.”

He grimaced and took a step back. “Ugh, you're unpleasant.”

I nodded. “That's another word I would use to describe men. Would you like more adjectives? Let's see...amoral, brutish, crass, dishonorable, fickle, misogynistic, self-centered...”

“Hey! I think if you spent some time around me, you'd find I'm not all that bad. My line of work may not be the best, but it's easy money. Just gotta give people a good scare and BAM! Pockets filled. Tell me, how's that any worse than you killing people?”

“I think anyone who had to spend time around you would find themselves sooner wishing for death.” I took a gulp of my drink and wiped my mouth.

Such a memory was not a pleasant one. Honestly, fuck that guy. If I ever ended up feeling bad for him dying, all I would have to do is remember that conversation.

I got up out of my seat and made my way out of the tavern. Everything was so exhausting and the cold was tiring. Before leaving the tavern, I took one last look around. None of the occupants were in the same business I was, that much I could tell. Everyone was so ordinary.

There grew a certain resolve in me after leaving the tavern and walking once more through the streets. Beside me I saw a fountain, where many threw their coins for wishes. I had other ideas. I threw my phone, the one The Flashbulb and other organizations would use to contact me.

“I think it's time I wrapped things up.”

About a couple miles spent shivering and wading through crowds, I arrived at my destination and gave the door a firm series of knocks.

“Uh...Can I help you?” When the one I came to see opened the door, she both looked and sounded surprised. Guess I couldn't fault her for that. “Wait a second. Aren't you that weird lady I saw the other day at the shelter?”

“Yes, that would be me.”

“Well, what are you doing here? How did you know where I live?”

Hm...what could I say as to not freak her out...

“I...I've been stalking you.”

“What? You too? Ugh. Why can't you guys just leave me alone?” She was just about to close the door where I stood when she stopped herself. “Wait. You don't mean any harm, do you?”

“Not at the moment, no.”

“Would you like to come in?”

I looked behind me, then made my decision. “Fine, but I ought to make this quick.”

As I entered and closed the door behind me, I noticed the sibling in view. Chubbier, brown hair.

He peered out from the hallway.

“Who is this?”

“Don't worry, Trent! She's just a stalker!”

“Yeah, that's not worrying at all,” he scoffed.

“You should still worry, though,” I spoke up. “Both of you.”

“Why?”

“I'd rather not explain but it would be in both of your best interests to move elsewhere.”

“Nope,” she shook her head. “No can do.”

“What? Why not?”

“I work in the city, if we moved, it would have to be somewhere close enough for me to get to work,” the brother explained.

The cute one nodded. “As for me, I freeload off of Trent. I've got no job and no money of my own.”

“Money's no object to me. Tell me how much you need. If you need help finding a place to stay, I know plenty.” I scrambled to come up with means to persuade them. “I have connections. I can get your brother a job at another hospital.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. Why do you want us to move so bad?”

“I'm...I'm just trying to do a good deed here...”

She placed her palm on her forehead and winced. “This is all too much...I'm already worried sick because Ves hasn't been home for a few days now and she can come and go as she pleases, but usually she's back before I know it and she's usually never gone this long...”

“Ves?”

“Vesuvius, my wife.”

Right. Of course.

“Last time I saw her, we had a fight, which was weird, because we've never really fought before, but then again, she's not been feeling well lately, and that's probably been affecting her emotions.”

You could say that.

“What? You guys had a fight?”

“Yes, Trent.” She sighed. “Even though she probably wanted some time away, I was still worried about her, since she was sick and all. I found her at a shelter the next morning, right next to our stalker here.”

Okay, while that may have been apt, I was getting a little tired of hearing it.

“My name is Rhea.”

“Oh!” Her eyes widened. “That's a pretty cute name!”

I was speechless. Why would she say something like that? My face must have made a hundred different shapes, trying to process what I had heard.

“Anyway, my head's still a little fuzzy on the details, but I went home and I just hoped she would come back sometime, but so far nothing.”

“At least it seems you've come back to your senses a little...” I muttered.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh!” There she went again. Her eyes lit up and she raised a finger. “You were with her, right? You wouldn't happen to know where she went, would you?”

I shook my head. “You are correct, but no. Not a clue.”

She must have noticed me shivering, since next she asked if I would like a blanket or something.

“No, it's okay. I have a condition.”

“Oh, you're sick too? Just like Ves?”

“Not quite,” I gave her a weak smile. It was clear to me now why Vesuvius had taken a liking to her.

“Have you ever thought about getting it checked out?” Her brother suggested.

“Really, I'm, uh, fine!” I shook my hands in the air.

“I hope wherever she is, she's doing okay...”

“She's only going to get worse.”

She froze. Damn it, I knew such a thing was bound to happen.

“You make it sound like you know what's going on with her.”

“I do, but like I said, I don't know where she's at. I don't know how to explain how I know but --”

“I know already. You've been stalking her.”

“Uh...right. Anyway, to put it in simple terms, she poisoned herself.”

“What? Why would she do that?”

“She wasn't in a very good place and thought it would improve her situation.”

She shook her head. “That's so like her...”

I didn't know what to say to that. It didn't matter, anyway, since she continued.

“I trust her because I know she means well, but she's always trying to take care of things on her own.”

“I'm aware.”

“I get it, too. She's been through a lot and she's on one hand trying to be this mature woman and prove that she can be, bu then it's also like she's trying to recover years of her life that she's missed. It's hard, and sometimes she goes off and when she comes back, it's like she's forgotten a part of herself. But I'll always be here to remind her and take care of her. She may not be able to recover all the old parts of her, but I'm sure one day she can figure out what a wonderful person she is.”

“You're supposed her wife, not her caretaker.”

“It's not like that! She takes care of me, too! We help each other! I'm not saying she's always honest, but she doesn't mince her words! There's an assertiveness to her I admire in her. Most of all, I know she's kind as well. She's a wonderful person and --”

“...She killed your stalker.”

At first she looked taken aback, but then she just waved her hand and laughed. “I'd marry anyone who'd kill a man for me!”

“Really? Is that all it takes? Because I could do that right now if you want. Just tell me who you want me to kill and --”

“No! No! I was joking.”

“Oh. I see. Anyway, if it makes you feel any better, she acted in self-defense. She went looking for the man who was causing you trouble and thought she could get him to stop. He put up a fight, something she wasn't expecting him to do. I showed up at the tail end of the altercation, both of them pretty bloodied up. I was too late to break it up, and he nearly killed her, but she got him.”

That wasn't exactly how it went down, but there was no need to tell the whole truth. Like how I nearly killed her wife as well.

“So you said you saw this all happen?”

“Yes. I was hired to follow her around.”

“I thought you said you were stalking me.”

“I knew where she lived and by proxy, I knew where you lived.”

“Where I currently live.”

“Right. Look, I never claimed to be a good person.”

“You're right, but you did say you were trying to do the right thing, so that should count for something. By the way, are you hungry at all?”

“You're too kind.”

“No, really, it's nothing.”

“That kindness is a weakness of yours. Any stranger, no matter how dubious or questionable, you just try to be as courteous as you can, don't you? Don't you know how cold and cruel this world is? People will see your kindness and take advantage of you and bleed you dry. You may think you're just being nice, but the next thing you know, you've gotten yourself hurt, all the while the people you tried to help don't give you a second thought and worst case scenario? You'll have gotten yourself killed.”

“Hey, leave my sis--”

“No, Trent, it's okay,” she shook, and I thought I saw her face turn red. That was when she turned to me. “Do you really think of me as weak?”

“Clearly.”

She drew a deep breath, then smiled and shook her head. “Just because I'm nice doesn't mean I'm weak. Yes, I know how cruel this world can be, but I don't see things getting any better by being cruel along with it. I'm well aware of how tough things can be; I worked nonstop while Trent was in medical school so he wouldn't have to deal with endless debt. All of the money I made went toward him. That's just what we do. We help each other out. If there's someone who needs help, who's asking for help, I will do what I can to help them. If later they turn out to not be so kind, so be it, but at least I did what I could. Is that something you call weak?”

“I mean, if what you're saying is true, then wouldn't that mean you're just treating Vesuvius like you would anyone else? In that case, could you really say you love her?”

For a moment, she just stared, dumbfounded. I half-expected her to explode into a fury. Instead, she just blinked, then asked:

“You don't understand human emotions very well, do you?”

“No. No I don't.”

She pursed her lips and tilted her head. I couldn't tell what she was doing, though I was inclined to believe she was making fun of me.

“Would you like a hug?”

“I wouldn't mind...”

Before I knew it, she lunged at me and wrapped her arms around my back. She was pressed up against me, her arms wrapped tight, the sensation not being something I recognized. In a panic, I pried myself loose and got up.

“What was that?!”

“A hug?”

“I have to leave!”

“Are you blushing?!”

“N-NO! My cheeks are just red because I'm cold!”

I bolted for the door, not bothering to look back. Not even bothering to close the door behind me. All the while, my heart beat with a mortifying intensity.

Who knew she was dangerous too? What was I thinking going over there? Trying to play hero? Ha!

Part of me expected to see Vesuvius as I went to close the door. Then again, I knew that was just wishful thinking. Trent stood at the end of the hallway, just where he had been the whole time I spoke with the weird lady named Rhea.

“What was that all about?” Trent asked. I could tell by the look on his face that he was confused.

“I don't know, man. All I did was hug her.”

“No, I mean, why was she even here?”

I found myself pacing without even realizing it. Maybe I missed Ves so much that I was starting to adopt some of her mannerisms. When I noticed what I was doing, I brought myself back to the couch and sat down.

“Again, like, I don't know. She wanted us to move or something? She seemed pretty worried about Ves, too, but it seemed like she was being pretty vague about stuff.”

“We have got to stop letting weird people in.”

I shook my head. What a week I've had...

“I think I need to go take a walk. Maybe that'll clear my head.”

“Good idea, just don't go chasing weird stalker lady.”

I stuck out my tongue. “Just try and stop me.”

But no, I wasn't planning on looking for Rhea. I would have wanted to see Vesuvius, but that just seemed like wishful thinking.

Once I was a safe distance away, I let out a sigh of relief. My chosen spot to sit and recover was atop a small pillar besides a financial building. I placed my palm on my chest and felt my heart still pounding away.

“Be still, my beating heart.”

But wouldn't it be nice if I wasn't so cold all the time? If someone could hold me and warm me up? Massage my back...maybe leave kisses all over me...

I clutched my head. Why was I starting to think such things? I closed my eyes and yelled, not a care for who might have heard me.

“What's gotten into me? This is ridiculous!”

When I opened my eyes, I spied a nail salon just across the street. Then, an idea popped into my mind. Maybe, just maybe, I ought to enjoy myself a little. After all, my time in this profession was coming to an end.

Darkness continued to surround me.

“Right. It would have never worked.”

What a mess you've made. There you go, you created your own little world, and then you broke it.

“I can fix it. I can create a new one, I can do better this time.”

So just like The Flashbulb, then?

“Right...I shouldn't do that. It's better this way. If I just stay here, in this empty space.”

Alone? In what world would that make you happy?

“I never said I would be. I don't need to be happy. I don't need anything, or anyone. As long as I'm me, then that's enough.”

But who are you?

“I'm...”

Stop lying to yourself.

“I'm not! If I could be with her again, I would, but I'm not safe to be around!”

Her?

“Maybe it's true that I don't need anyone. Maybe it's true that I never needed her, that I just used her. Maybe I never truly loved her, but that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to be happy! Like, truly happy, not just because she's been forced to be! She deserves a good life, a life that isn't so empty.”

No response that time. It seemed that my thoughts had left me. I reached through the darkness, felt nothing. That was fine, too. I would adapt. This was my home, and it was where I would stay.

Except you can't. You tried that. You broke it.

I closed my eyes. If I could shut out these thoughts, then perhaps I could finally enjoy something. If I just reminded myself that there was no danger here, that I could stay in this nothingness without anything going wrong, then it would all be fine.

You can't stay. Because there's nothing to stay in.

It was no use, yet again. Even alone, I was in conflict. My thoughts did nothing but serve to show what a mess of myself I had become. I screamed into the void, and then, I opened my eyes.

“No...”

Fear overtook me.

No more was there darkness, instead I was back in the city I had left. I found myself standing on the pavement at a park, the street not too far off.

“This can't be right...I shouldn't be here...”

Something wasn't adding up.

“Maybe this is a world I created, too, and I just didn't realize it. Yeah, that must be it!” I did my best to rationalize, and I ended up finding myself in a fit of nervous laughter.

“There you are!”

That voice...

I turned around and saw Juniper headed in my direction. I was reminded of when she showed up at the shelter, but something was different this time around.

“You shouldn't be here, you're not real!”

“Like hell I'm not!” She marched up and was now right in front of me.

“Nothing around me is real! They're all just props and puppets! I...I can erase you!”

“Oh, sure, go ahead,” she groaned.

She then stood on her tiptoes and raised her finger at me. There was a scowl on her face I wasn't used to seeing. “Now listen here, missy,” she grabbed my hand and I was taken aback. Her hand clasped mine, her fingers finding their way between my own. “You look me in the eyes and tell me that I'm not real!”

I looked down. Even on her tiptoes, I was still a head taller than her. Her eyes held the same fiery passion as the rest of her in that moment.

“What are you doing here?”

“What? What am I doing here? It's been days and I've been worried sick about you!”

“You shouldn't be here...”

“Bull-Shit!”

“I'm serious! I shouldn't be in your life!”

“Maybe you should've thought about that before you entered, then!”

“Please, just go. I've forced you to be mad at me, then tell me you hated me...I've been controlling you and it's not safe to be around me...”

“You're damn right I'm mad! Because...because...”

I noticed her start to shake.

“Because you can be real hot-headed!”

“What?”

“You heard me! I don't mind that you've kept secrets, but thinking that you're keeping me safe by making me hate you?” She gulped. “When I could never hate you!”

“But you should! I'm not who you think I am!”

“So what if you like to be rough in bed? I'm okay with that!”

“WH...That's not what I mean!”

She burst into laughter. “Okay, sorry, I couldn't resist. You should see the look on your face.”

“I'm being serious!”

“I know, I just thought I'd lighten the mood a little.”

What was she trying to do? Get me flustered? Was this some sort of divine retribution?

“Look...I don't know if you remember what I said the other day...if you were even able to understand any of it.”

“It's a little hazy, I admit. So tell me about it.”

“Which part?”

“All of it.”

“You wouldn't believe me if I did that.”

“I don't care. I'd like to hear it.”

I didn't even know where to begin, but I couldn't deny her such a request.

“When Blanc was living with us, I thought them strange. They had on them a device which I recognized as one used to time-travel. After a while, I concluded that they meant no harm, but I still worried that they would disrupt the life I had established with you and your brother. I desperately wanted them to forget their past, whoever they were before, and just live with us.”

“Yeah, it would've been cute.”

“...Because that way, I thought I'd be safe. But then they disappeared. I feared the worst and the next time I saw them was in my office. They were acting strange, telling me how anything they wanted to happen they could make happen. They sent me to a place where in an alternate timeline, I was killed by the people who worked there. There I saw Blanc's abilities in action. They made people disappear and that's when I thought that if I had some of that power, I could be free.”

“I see...”

“Sure enough, I took that power. I extracted a sample of their blood and drank it. I don't even know why I thought that was a good idea, but it was like I was under a trance in that moment. The next thing I knew, my hair had turned silver and I returned here. I thought that with this power, I could finally be happy, but it's been making me sick.”

“You're right, that doesn't sound very believable.”

“See?”

She let go of my hand and crossed her arms.

“So, are you happier?”

That struck me. I shook my head. It was all starting to pour out.

“No! I should be but I'm not! Nothing I try works!” My fists shook as I spoke, but that wasn't all. My voice was shaking as well. “Every time I try to make things better, something goes wrong! Not only that, but each time I try something, I only sink deeper! Just when I think I've crossed the point of no return, the goalpost moves and I sink to new lows! There's nothing I can do!”

I began coughing and fell to the ground. Juniper grabbed me and held my head against her chest. She stroked my hair and wouldn't let go of me.

“Oh, bother. What are we going to do with you?”

I felt tears start to form. I wanted to stop them and wipe them away, but I felt powerless in the moment.

“Why?”

“Don't worry about it,” she cooed.

“But didn't you hear what I said?”

“It's okay; it's all a process, a series of trial and error. Most people don't figure it out right away.”

“I don't know what to do. I don't even know who I am or who I should be.”

“And that's okay.”

“I'm tired of you always saying 'it's okay'. It's not okay.”

“I only say that because it really is okay,” she stroked the side of my neck. “It's okay to not know who you are. Because whoever you are, I still love you.”

“You shouldn't...”

“I can't help it!” She laughed. Curses. Her laugh was adorable.

I managed to break free from her and I wiped my face. It was so unbecoming of me.

“Are you saying that because you're still under the effects of my power?”

“Maybe. But if it makes you happy that I'm not, maybe I'm not.”

“I suppose...that makes sense?”

“Hey, have you been seeing clearly?”

I could see just fine what a mess of a situation I had thrown myself in. Many messes.

“I mean your eyesight,” she added. “Did you use your powers to fix your eyesight?”

Oh. Right. I still never got around to doing that.

“No...”

“Well,” she smiled. “I think it would make me happier if you wore your glasses.”

“I don't have them with me...”

She reached into my pocket. I didn't even try to stop her.

“Oh really?” She placed them on my face. “All better.”

“How? Those weren't in my pocket before...did you bring them from home?”

“Nope!”

“You...”

“Hey, can I kiss you? Is that okay?”

I started to sniffle. I still couldn't believe what was going on.

“I think...I would like that. Very much.”

Maybe it was just selfish of me. Someone like me, wanting something like that. Regardless, she smiled and leaned in. Her lips met mine and she wrapped her arms around the back of my head, stroking my hair while holding on. I matched her and pressed my own lips further. When she let go, I smiled as well.

“There, that wasn't so bad, was it?”

“I'm sorry about everything.”

“Hush. It's okay now.”

We sat next to each other on the pavement, just staring at each other. That was when the silence was broken.

“Well isn't that sweet?” Came a low and icy voice. It sounded familiar, but there was a certain sweetness to it I didn't recognize. Juniper and I stood back up and I turned around to see Rhea sitting down at a park bench wearing a leather jacket with the buttons down and a blue and white striped shirt underneath. Her legs were crossed and she was staring down at her hands, filing her nails.

“Rhea? How long have you been here?” My words came out more like I was making some sort of accusation. Not the tone I intended to carry.

“Oh hey, it's weird stalker lady!”

“What?! You know her?!” I turned to Juniper and balked.

Rhea looked up. “Oh hi, it's good to see you again, Vesuvius. I knew you'd return sooner or later.” She spread her lips, as if attempting a smile. It looked like she was wearing some kind of blue lip gloss. “Hm? I just got here not too long ago.”

“So this is it, huh?”

Instead of going in for an attack, she held out her hands and showed off her fingernails. “Do you like them? I got little snowflakes painted on them.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I think they're pretty!” Juniper chimed in.

“Thank you. You know, I think those pigtails really suit you.”

“Oh, thanks!”

“Uh...what are you doing?” Was she messing with me? I couldn't figure out if there was some kind of trap being set. It could be that she was just trying to confuse me on purpose. Either way, it all seemed too out of character for her.

“Hey Vesuvius, I just adore your silver hair. Have you ever thought of getting it braided?”

“Why are you acting like we're friends?”

She let out a sigh. “Under different circumstances, I could see us all being friends. We could braid each other's hair, get drunk and make fun of strangers, sit and watch movies together.” From out of her pockets, she grabbed two weapons – they looked like miniature guns, but the way they were shaped made me think of miniature crossbows. Each one was pointed at Juniper and I.

“Alas,” her cold voice returned. “That can't happen.”

“What are you doing?!” I demanded.

“Don't worry, I still have my rifle with me. I just thought I'd go for something different since we're so close.”

“That's not what I'm getting at! We're in public! In broad daylight!”

“I see no problem with that. Not like I plan on being around much longer, anyway.”

I turned my head and saw Juniper, frozen in fear. It looked like any moment, she would break and she was just doing her best to keep herself together.

Now do you see that not everything is okay?

“Did The Flashbulb make her a target as well?”

“Those guys? I couldn't care less about them. They're just a paycheck. They think you've been taken care of. No, I'm doing this because I want to.”

“But she's not the threat! I am!”

“Maybe so, but wouldn't it upset you if I shot her as well? Wouldn't it make you livid? Rile you up?”

“Is this all some kind of game to you?”

“Games? Like having a snowball fight? Building a snowman?” She grinned, something so unlike her, and exhaled. I thought I could see her breath. “Then again, it doesn't have to be a snowman.”

“Stop this!” I shouted. “I'm the one you want!”

“You're right,” both guns were now aimed at my chest. “I like her too much to do that, anyway.” Then, she pulled the triggers.

What I expected was to have died. After so long of evading it and fighting against it, I thought it best to just give in. It would have been the best option, really. Juniper would no longer be at risk around me, nor would anyone else in the city, for that matter. Rhea could move on and go elsewhere. I would no longer be sick, and I might have finally been at peace.

But instead, there was nothing.

“That's weird. I was sure I loaded them before I got here,” she took a look at them. Sure enough, I could see electricity surging through them. “You didn't do anything, did you?”

I shook my head.

“I don't know what your deal is,” Juniper spoke up. I turned to her to see her shaking, seething. “But there are children present! You can't just do this sort of thing wherever you please!”

Both Rhea and I blinked.

“That's real cute and all, but I really don't ca--” Rhea tried to say, but Juniper interrupted.

“Both of you! Find some place else!”

For whatever reason, Rhea got up and bolted. I watched her run across the street, narrowly avoiding traffic, and go right inside a high rise building.

“Did she really just leave? Just like that?”

No. I knew it had to be too good to be true. She must have been planning something.

“To be honest, the idea of a shooting in a public park didn't sit well with me either. I think I should leave, too, just in case.”

“Glad you're in agreement!” Juniper beamed, as if she wasn't just threatened at gunpoint. Then, she winced.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she smiled, one eye closed. “My shoulder still stings a little, is all.”

“Your shoulder?”

“Oh hun, you don't remember?” She giggled. “You were quite the ferocious beast.”

“Uh...I don't think this is the time to be thinking about such things. I'm gonna go.”

“I'll go with you.”

“No! It's not safe!”

“Too late, already decided!”

We left the park, together, much to my dismay.

She's just under the influence, that's all. If I can shake her off somehow, then I can try to deal with this Rhea thing...

I looked over to her. She shrugged and smiled.

Damn it. She's cute.

As we waited to cross the busy street, I noticed a speck in the air. For whatever reason, I held out my arm in front of her, as if on instinct.

“Get back...”

The bullet struck my arm and exploded on impact. I knew already that the bullet was a special one tailor made for the entity I housed. But then, why did the shooter aim for Juniper?

She let out a gasp. My whole right side burned stung all around. When I looked down, I saw that my right arm was missing, along with a chunk of my torso. Burnt pieces of flesh fell on the ground and I was losing blood fast. For a hit that wasn't aimed at any of my vitals, I would still be done for if I didn't act fast.

“Don't worry, I'll be okay,” I wheezed.

“Bullshit you will!”

I gave her a weak smile. Just once, I tried to match her personality. “I'm not dead, am I?” The aches intensified and I was growing faint. I hunched over and spat out blood. As weak as I was, I managed to look up to see someone on the roof of the skyscraper Rhea entered. I was sure it was her.

Well I'll be. She really did take it somewhere else.

“You should look away.”

“Yeah, I'm not doing that.”

God damn it, why's she so fucking stubborn?

Darkness greeted me once more as it filled each of the spots I was missing. In the place of my arm grew a thin, lanky arm with nails as sharp as talons. The right side of me was granted new, leathery skin, filled with shadow. In my back I could feel the wings start to take shape. It burned, the pain was so intense, but I had to just let it happen.

When I was all finished transforming, I licked my lips.

“Ah, now I can show my true colors,” I crooned. I forgot just how liberating it could be to take such a form, and while I didn't want to get into any fights, doing so to protect her was a little more important.

“HELL YEAH! I TOLD YOU I HAVE A MONSTER GIRL FETISH! THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER!”

That snapped me out of my trance. I turned around and whined.

“You're not taking this seriously!”

She looked like she was about to say something when I spied another series of bullets. I held up a veil of shadow in front of her and as soon as the bullets came near, they fell.

“Whew!”

“Find somewhere to hide, I'm going to deal with this.”

She had nothing to say that time and just went off. Relieved, I propelled myself upward and flew to confront Rhea once again.

I landed on the roof, no Rhea in sight. There were electrical generators scattered about, places where she could be hidden. While I looked around for her, I felt something slam into me and I fell to the ground.

“Don't you know it's rude to keep a lady waiting?” She appeared and I noticed her rifle lying on the floor. As I tried to get up, she flung her thermos at me and knocked me back down.

I already just transformed and I still felt at a disadvantage. Once more, I did all I could to bring myself up. She kicked me down and I landed once again with a thud. My face was bruised by the impact. Already she was proving to be greater of a match than even my powers would allow me to deal with.

Before I could attempt to pick myself back up for a third time, she planted her boot on my chest and dug her heel in.

“Now, there's no more room for negotiation.” She tried to dig her heel further, but I reached for it and dug my nails in. She let out a yelp and I pulled her ankle, bringing her down this time.

Unlike me, she picked herself up right away and grabbed her rifle.

“Do you really think you can get a good shot at close range?” I threatened.

She just laughed. “No,” then tried to hit me with it. Before the blow could land, I grabbed hold of it and broke it.

“You lost your weapon, Rhea,” I sighed. “Do we really have to do this?”

“Don't tell me you're facing a moral dilemma now. You've killed before!”

“I know, but I'm just tired.”

“Aw, where's your passion? I want to see you in the heat of battle. Maybe I ought to remind you that you're not my only target.”

“I thought you said you liked her too much to do that!”

“Yes. What a shame. For I have to. She's already been infected. If the two of you are gone, there won't have to be any more casualties.”

“This isn't fair!”

“There we go,” she smirked. “You want to stop this? Do something about it. Because this won't stop until one of us has killed the other.”

I ran at her, my nails sharpened. I looked to slash at her, but she blocked it with gloves taken from out of her pocket with knives attached to the edges, serving as claws of her own.

“Sure, these little gloves aren't as impressive as yours, but they'll do the job.” She swiped, and my nails tore right off. I tried to jump out of the way, but she still came at me.

My nails regrew, and I protected myself. Now our faces were mere inches from each other.

“Do you notice my foundation. I put some on a little while ago. I was hoping you'd like it.”

I growled and pushed back. “What is your deal?”

“It seems you've rubbed off on me, is all.”

She pushed forward and let go with one hand, then dug the blades of the open hand into the side of my neck. I cried out, blood dripped down.

“Ah, if only I chopped it clean off, I would be done by now.”

I held onto my neck, trying to stop the bleeding.

“C'mon, I want to see your fiery side. You're happiest when you have something to be angry about, aren't you?”

Light was fading for me. Once again I felt faint as I did all that I could to stay standing. Whatever she was doing to try to rile me up, I couldn't even manage to do that. She had got me at every turn; I was doomed the moment I came up here.

“This is just like you. You have every chance to act and change your situation, and instead you're so willing to give up.”

Her words had no effect on me. All I could do at that point was struggle to keep myself alive and the next thing I knew, she was once again right next to me. This time, she held me up by the neck, lifting me up.

“You have the opportunity to let out all your aggression, feel alive. Or should I say 'had'? I've given you too many chances. You've been nothing but a disappointment to me. To everyone in your life. It's time to put this to rest.”

Her free arm was pulled back as she pointed her claws at my chest.

“I JUST WANT THIS TO END!” I screamed. With the strength that I had, I reached up and tore through the hand that restrained me, blood dripping down my nails, onto my hand. She let go and squealed, but drew a few breaths, and smiled.

“There we go.”

We clashed, each of us one handed, swiping back and forth at each other. Scratches on my cheek, some torn through her clothes, on her stomach. We continued bloodying each other up, and if I wasn't mistaken, we both seemed to be relishing in it. The pain that each of us inflicted on each other, clinging for life.

“Ah, these wounds...they feel...so good,” she spoke with labored breaths, still attacking. Tendrils shot out of my back, but she jumped back and reacted with that same barrier device as our first encounter. Then she tossed it aside and leaped at me, tearing through the tendrils. I screamed, and in retaliation, reached for her stomach and dug my claws deeper, then slashed through. She fell.

Lying on the concrete floor of the roof, she huffed and put her palm over her stomach.

“Heh...you...win.”

“I didn't want to...”

She smiled and winced. “It's funny...I've always heard in movies how people feel cold when they're dying. But this...feels warm.”

“Rhea...”

“What's the matter, princess? You look sad.”

“I never got to know you. Anything about you.”

She tried to laugh, but couldn't manage. “Are you wanting a follow-up session, doc? You still want me to tell you a little about myself?”

“Just tell me.”

“Why? Would it make you happier if I did?”

“Please!”

Her voice got lower, it was clear there wasn't much time left for her. “You better hurry up...this is more...last words...than the human body...ought to give.”

“Yes! It would make me happy if you told me! I'll keep you alive just a little longer if I have to!”

“I'm single and ready to mingle.” She coughed.

I wiped my face. I didn't even know why I was asking such a selfish request.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, fine. There’s really nothing interesting about me, though.”

“I don’t care, I want to hear it,” I continued to beg. Then, she spoke again.

“I was just someone like you. Just someone looking for her home. Or a means of keeping warm.”

“I wish I could have helped you...”

“You want to do me a favor? Strike a match.”

I conjured up a match and struck it. Flame rested at the top.

“Now give it to me.”

I knelt down and handed it to her. She took it, putting the bottom half of it between her lips.

“Rhea...”

Her eyes closed. I heard her utter a faint few words:

“Now there's a name I haven't heard in years.”

After that, her head turned and I could tell that, even as the flame flickered on, her life was no more.

That it had to come to such a thing, I couldn't stand it. I couldn't live with myself. We were at each other's throats, but she should have had a chance at happiness. I knew what I could do. I could bring her back to life.

I held out my arm, about to bring her back, but I was stopped by the arm of another who held my wrist and set my arm down.

“I don't think she would like that very much,” Juniper muttered.

When did you get here?

“I wish I could have understood her better,” I felt the words come out without any emotion tied to them.

“I think this is what she wanted.”

I turned to my wife. She was pacing around the roof, moving in some sing-song manner.

“How can you be so sure?”

She shrugged. “Oh, I don't know.”

I sat down. “This whole organization, The Flashbulb...they have a tendency to pick some messed up people. Rhea’s partner, Rhea herself, even me, to an extent.”

“That's okay, though, don't you think?”

I shook my head and sighed. “Do you think the only reason you like me right now is because you've been infected by me?”

“Hm...I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I loved you before, so I don't think anything's really changed.”

Whatever the case truly was, I found myself coming to a new conclusion.

“This still doesn't feel right to me. Everything. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I think I need to go.”

She stood right next to me and leaned down.

“Oh yeah? If you must, then I understand.”

“I don't know what the right decision is. Maybe I'll be back. Maybe I shouldn't. But I just think I need to keep searching, for now.”

“Hey,” she poked me. “I'm sure you'll figure it out.”

I got up and found that all my wounds had vanished. My hair, too, was once again silver.

“I don't know where I go. Perchance, I might even fade from existence.”

“If that ends up being the case, just make sure you're happy when you do!”

“I...”

“Hm?”

I looked up to the sky.

“I think you should forget me. I think it would be better that way.”

“Do you want me to?”

“No, but --”

“Then it won't happen, silly!”

“Why not? I want you to!” I balked.

“Too late! I already decided I don’t want to!”

“Does...it even work that way?”

She shrugged, then without warning, grabbed my hands and leaned in for a quick kiss. When we broke free, I tried to think of some parting words.

“I'm sure...in some universe or timeline, that we're together, and we're both happy.”

She nodded. “I'll think about that.”

Once again, I departed, in search of a new universe to reside in.

#happiness overload #writing #stories #happy endings #romance #action #horror #scifi #volcanoes #trees #frozen #there was originally going to be a star wars reference but then I decided nah #anyway #alls well that ends well #not that the story as a whole is over #just for this little arc #drama

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carishio-blog · 8 years ago

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Favorite Overall Character

So yesterday, I reblogged a post by @vexpercy that included an entire list of favorite things about RWBY. I said I wanted to do it as a chance to talk about one of my favorite pieces of animation and to let my followers (current and new ones to come!) get to know me a little better about the show. So, the first thing on the list was “Favorite Character Overall”, and this was a tough one to limit it down to. There are so many characters that I absolutely love when it comes to RWBY, and picking one was a difficult task. However, when I looked at every option and factor, there was really only one character that came to mind:

Qrow Branwen!

To make things fair, I thought it would be fair to look into the entire process of figuring out my favorite, making a small little list that would help people see why I love him so much. So, with that being said here is the list:

-Voice Acting

-Writing

-Design

-Interaction with other characters

-Importance to the Story

-Personal Beliefs (Head canons, art, fan fics etc.)

1. Voice Acting

Now for those that know RWBY, Qrow’s voice actor is Vic Mignogna. His most notable role was voicing the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric in both the 2003 adaptation and the 2009 version, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Vic already came into the show with a very impressive resume, so throwing in him playing Qrow is nothing small. According to RWBY Wiki, Rooster Teeth approached him at an Australia convention where they showed him the overall style of the show, which he was really impressed with! He received a follow up email a few weeks later and BAM! You’ve got yourself the VA for Qrow.

As opposed to the adorable, squeaky voiced Ruby or the more professional, whimsical voice of Professor Ozpin, Qrow adds a certain flare in his speech with his deep, drunken drawl (think most voices for any Wolverine i.e. Hugh Jackman or Cal Dodd in the 1992 animated incarnation of the X-Men.)

While it is debatable about how good the impression is, I personally love it. The tone Qrow speaks with is one filled with a level of confidence and cockiness. He carries himself in a way where he knows that he’s better than you and is not afraid to show it. I would delve further into this, but that shall wait until we get to Interactions with Other Characters. But all in all Vic delivers another amazing performance in my book that leaves me wanting more every time I see him on screen.

2. Writing

Writing for characters in RWBY is always a touchy subject. Most of them are very well written, while others sometimes leave a bit to be desired.That being said, I still 100% appreciate the work Miles and Kerry put into the scripts and have not been disappointed in them at any point really. So with that, how do they handle writing Qrow? Referring once again to the RWBY Wiki, both of them have been on record as saying that he is their favorite character to write.

And boy does it show.

A lot of the interactions we get with him are either hilarious or draw you into the story and lore even more. Along with the great voice acting to go along with it, we really get an interesting character to discuss and listen to.

From the first four volumes, we’ve learned very little about his backstory or even relationship with people from his former team. All we get are little bits of dialogue telling us that him and his sister Raven are part of a very deadly clan, little bits of silent interaction and development with Ruby and Yang’s father Tai in the Volume 3 finale and an image of a photo of his old team that can really be depressing to look at once you look closer at it.

It’s very easy for a character to show all of their cards when they’re first introduced, however the CRWBY have done an excellent job at giving us bits and pieces at not only his backstory, but Team STRQ as a whole. They’ve definitely caught my interest and will be keeping me hooked for however long the show runs (which is hopefully a long time <3)

3. Design

RWBY has always been a show about colors. Colors are everywhere you look in the show, from names of character to the names of teams. Each outfit someone wears along with their aura and name basically suit the overall personality of the character. So what do we get from Qrow?

If it wasn’t obvious enough, Qrow is based of a crow, most notably one of Odin’s birds from Norse mythology, Huginn (I’m not 100% sure about this one. If anyone does know, feel free to let me now!). The colors of his outfit and hair show give us that feel of a relation to the bird he’s named after. Along with that, the messiness of his clothes and how tattered his cape is give us the vibe that this is man who has seen his fair share of skirmishes and most likely a few bar fights along the way. The crooked cross around his neck also gives us some great symbolism that help show Qrow is not exactly the greatest of people either. However it could be a clever nod toward Norse culture once more, as that usually shows that someone is currently in mourning of someone they lost who was close to them (maybe Summer???).

To top it off, Qrow brings one of the coolest weapons to the table in my opinion. His weapon is a combination of a scythe, a sword and a shotgun. While everyone else has two weapons in one, he’s so cool his mom lets him have THREE! Each one is a joy to see in battle, and the idea of him being the master scythe wielder in Remnant was a statement passed around by Ozpin and Ruby. While we haven’t seen him use it a lot, when he has it has produced devastating results to his opponents. The sword was awesome to see him use in his fight vs Tyrian and Winter, and the shotgun is a nifty little weapon for him to use up close against opponents to chip away at their aura. All in all, his weapon is a great part of his design and just adds to one of my favorite character designs in general. Hopefully we’ll see him use that scythe more in the upcoming future.

Finally, he also gets my favorite semblance in the entire show: misfortune. It’s a semblance that cannot be turned on and off, and it affects those around him. Highlighted in the fight with Tyrian and the song “Bad Luck Charm” that gives me feels every time I listen to it, you get the perfect semblance for the perfect guy (even if it does make me wanna hug him and tell him everything will be alright).

4. Interactions with Other Characters

For someone who carries themselves around the way Qrow does, you’re expecting to get some really entertaining moments with other characters. But before we get to that, I want to establish one of my favorite partnerships and duos in the entire show: him and his niece Ruby

While the bond between him and Yang is very strong (as shown when he offers to help her find her mother and his sister Raven), the bond between him and Ruby is where things really shine. It has been mentioned and implied that Qrow is Ruby’s mentor, the Obi Wan to her Luke Skywalker if you will. He was the one that taught her how to use Crescent Rose and helped her design it, and the bond between the two is heart warming. In all of Volume 4 when she is out with RNJR trying to get to Mistral, he is the one watching over her and making sure she’s safe. Ruby jumps in to help him fight Tyrian (even tough she should’ve stayed back), and watching her try her best to get him medical help after he gets poisoned is something heart wrenching to see. The care for each other is amazing, as he truly does represent the cool uncle trope perfectly.

Besides Ruby, we get some amazing interactions with Winter, Glynda, Ironwood, Oz, Tyrian and even Jaune! From those, we get some really great fight scenes that let him show off his best skills and assets, funny moments and lines such as “He’s always drunk”, and some much needed release of anger that ends up getting directed at him. All in all, the entertainment we get from him interacting with others along with some of the more serious ones with Ozpin, Raven and RNJR keep me personally locked in and focused on what he has to say.

5. Importance to the Story

Qrow is by no means a main character in RWBY, however it is fair to say that he is an important side one. He was the one responsible for training Ruby and helping her become the young woman she is growing up to be, someone in Ozpin’s inner circle that has a great understanding of the world around him and the person that will most likely be helping Oscar become the next “Ozpin” (I don’t even know what to call that. Grand Wizard? The next Wiz? Gandalf the Great?). He gives us a lot of world building in the form of his story about the two gods and the fan favorite World of Remnant shorts. Qrow will be around for quite some time in my opinion, so maybe his role will grow even further as the plot progresses. But for now, he is a pretty important character that has brought some great dynamics and information to viewers and fans of RWBY.

6. Personal Beliefs

Last but not least, we have the section where we talk about fan stuff! Qrow was probably the first character that I really started developing head canons for, and along with RPing it became very easy to find me looking for all sorts of art, fan fictions and more pertaining to him. Along with that, we also have everyone’s favorite topic: ships! I found myself having to really think about who would work well with him in a romantic setting, and only two people really keep in mind (DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion. You can have a different one than me without attacking me about mine. I would actually love to hear your’s, but please remember to be respectful)

(Art by @ellelehman)

(Art by @reikiwie-art)

My two favorite Qrow ships are Flown North/Hummingbird (Qrow X Summer) and Snowbird/Qrowin (Qrow X Winter). While I much prefer Snowbird, I really love Hummingbird as well, as not only has @ellelehman basically given me a small addiction to it (that she feeds by making more awesome art!), the relationship that I can imagine with them is also just oh so adorable. While Qrow has basically made it clear that he is not a family man, I would love to see a relationship involving him in the show at some point. Ships aside, some of my favorite Team STRQ head canons revolve around him as well. The best example I can give you is the picture that I mentioned earlier.

(For some reason I cannot post the picture without it not letting me post the entire post, so here’s a link to Google images to show you exactly what I’m talking about.)

If ypu look at it very closely, you will notice a coffee mug stain around summer and tear drops near Tai and Raven. Seeing that really breaks my heart, as I cannot even imagine the pain and guilt he must feel, especially when it comes to his semblance. I get really emotional when thinking about it in general and imaging certain scenarios happening in my head, like if Ruby got seriously hurt and he wasn’t there to help, or if he was saving Winter’s life mid fight and getting flashbacks of Summer, pushing himself to his absolute limit to save her so history does not repeat itself. It’s just a blast for me to think of and drabble these ideas down, as it really connects me more to the character and make me enjoy watching him even more.

Anyways, that’s all for today! I hope you all learned a bit more about me and Qrow as a whole, as it was fun to really talk about my favorite character from one of my favorite pieces of animation. I know it was long, so hopefully I can try and shorten it for tomorrow (no promises though ;3). Anyways, tomorrow I’ll be going over my favorite female Beacon student, which most of you might already know. But with that, I thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a great day! (Thanks to @vexpercy once more for the awesome list again!)

#rwby #qrow branwen #favorite rwby character #just RWBY things #i love him so much

4 notes · View notes

allenmendezsr · 5 years ago

Text

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/healthy-tongue-secrets-revealed/

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

Buy Now

Tongue problems can be very discouraging because of the way they come and go. Just when you think they might be clearing up, Bam! they’re back again.

How I Discovered the Secret of a Healthy Tongue

It was a terrible experience. I was sure I was going to die as I slowly went from a healthy athletic 135 lbs down to a scrawny, emaciated 98 lbs with strange patches all over my tongue.

I made a Wonderful Discovery While Struggling to find a Solution…

I had to Help a Friend in Need

I knew I had to do something to help her.

Since the doctors weren’t much help, I knew I had to do something!

So I began compiling some of my old research into a report that I could give to Allison. In addition, I turned my finely honed research abilities toward finding even more information for my friend.

Allison was absolutely thrilled with the secrets I put together for her…here is what she had to say when I emailed her the information in my report.

WOW!!!!!! This looks great and exactly what I’m dealing with… and there is actually a name to it!

I really like my doctor, but it makes me wonder why he doesn’t know this!…

Sometimes I feel you are the only one who really knows what I was going through because you experienced it!–

Thanks,

Allison

I became Obsessed with Finding all the Pieces of the Puzzle

Even after I gave the information to Allison, I just couldn’t rest. As I found more and more pieces of the geographic tongue puzzle, the project expanded and seemed to take on a life of its own.

My report eventually became a book that covers many different tongue problems, because as I looked at them, I began to see how they all fit together like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.

As I explored the many various tongue problems I found many common denominators and that is why I tell people,

“You really need to read the whole book to understand the secret, and get the big picture on how it relates to health in general.”

Did you know Your Tongue is like a “Health Meter” for your Body?

If “Your Eyes are the Window to your Soul”…

Your Tongue is “the Window to your Digestive System”

I can’t be out of Gas, the Gauge must be broken

No, that’s ridiculous, you understand that a logical person, would realize that the gauge isn’t the problem, you just need to go to the station and get more gas.

You shouldn’t blame your tongue for alerting you to a problem with your body!

As a matter of fact, You’re going to become as excited as I am when you discover how paying attention to your tongue can actually point you in the direction of optimal overall physical health.

Searching for Love in all the Wrong Places

There is a simple easy solution for Geographic Tongue!

Imagine yourself getting out of bed two weeks from now…

No more bald patches… no more white lines… just a beautiful pink healthy tongue.

0 notes

allenmendezsr · 5 years ago

Text

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/healthy-tongue-secrets-revealed/

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

Buy Now

Tongue problems can be very discouraging because of the way they come and go. Just when you think they might be clearing up, Bam! they’re back again.

How I Discovered the Secret of a Healthy Tongue

It was a terrible experience. I was sure I was going to die as I slowly went from a healthy athletic 135 lbs down to a scrawny, emaciated 98 lbs with strange patches all over my tongue.

I made a Wonderful Discovery While Struggling to find a Solution…

I had to Help a Friend in Need

I knew I had to do something to help her.

Since the doctors weren’t much help, I knew I had to do something!

So I began compiling some of my old research into a report that I could give to Allison. In addition, I turned my finely honed research abilities toward finding even more information for my friend.

Allison was absolutely thrilled with the secrets I put together for her…here is what she had to say when I emailed her the information in my report.

WOW!!!!!! This looks great and exactly what I’m dealing with… and there is actually a name to it!

I really like my doctor, but it makes me wonder why he doesn’t know this!…

Sometimes I feel you are the only one who really knows what I was going through because you experienced it!–

Thanks,

Allison

I became Obsessed with Finding all the Pieces of the Puzzle

Even after I gave the information to Allison, I just couldn’t rest. As I found more and more pieces of the geographic tongue puzzle, the project expanded and seemed to take on a life of its own.

My report eventually became a book that covers many different tongue problems, because as I looked at them, I began to see how they all fit together like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.

As I explored the many various tongue problems I found many common denominators and that is why I tell people,

“You really need to read the whole book to understand the secret, and get the big picture on how it relates to health in general.”

Did you know Your Tongue is like a “Health Meter” for your Body?

If “Your Eyes are the Window to your Soul”…

Your Tongue is “the Window to your Digestive System”

I can’t be out of Gas, the Gauge must be broken

No, that’s ridiculous, you understand that a logical person, would realize that the gauge isn’t the problem, you just need to go to the station and get more gas.

You shouldn’t blame your tongue for alerting you to a problem with your body!

As a matter of fact, You’re going to become as excited as I am when you discover how paying attention to your tongue can actually point you in the direction of optimal overall physical health.

Searching for Love in all the Wrong Places

There is a simple easy solution for Geographic Tongue!

Imagine yourself getting out of bed two weeks from now…

No more bald patches… no more white lines… just a beautiful pink healthy tongue.

0 notes

allenmendezsr · 5 years ago

Text

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/healthy-tongue-secrets-revealed/

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

Buy Now

Tongue problems can be very discouraging because of the way they come and go. Just when you think they might be clearing up, Bam! they’re back again.

How I Discovered the Secret of a Healthy Tongue

It was a terrible experience. I was sure I was going to die as I slowly went from a healthy athletic 135 lbs down to a scrawny, emaciated 98 lbs with strange patches all over my tongue.

I made a Wonderful Discovery While Struggling to find a Solution…

I had to Help a Friend in Need

I knew I had to do something to help her.

Since the doctors weren’t much help, I knew I had to do something!

So I began compiling some of my old research into a report that I could give to Allison. In addition, I turned my finely honed research abilities toward finding even more information for my friend.

Allison was absolutely thrilled with the secrets I put together for her…here is what she had to say when I emailed her the information in my report.

WOW!!!!!! This looks great and exactly what I’m dealing with… and there is actually a name to it!

I really like my doctor, but it makes me wonder why he doesn’t know this!…

Sometimes I feel you are the only one who really knows what I was going through because you experienced it!–

Thanks,

Allison

I became Obsessed with Finding all the Pieces of the Puzzle

Even after I gave the information to Allison, I just couldn’t rest. As I found more and more pieces of the geographic tongue puzzle, the project expanded and seemed to take on a life of its own.

My report eventually became a book that covers many different tongue problems, because as I looked at them, I began to see how they all fit together like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.

As I explored the many various tongue problems I found many common denominators and that is why I tell people,

“You really need to read the whole book to understand the secret, and get the big picture on how it relates to health in general.”

Did you know Your Tongue is like a “Health Meter” for your Body?

If “Your Eyes are the Window to your Soul”…

Your Tongue is “the Window to your Digestive System”

I can’t be out of Gas, the Gauge must be broken

No, that’s ridiculous, you understand that a logical person, would realize that the gauge isn’t the problem, you just need to go to the station and get more gas.

You shouldn’t blame your tongue for alerting you to a problem with your body!

As a matter of fact, You’re going to become as excited as I am when you discover how paying attention to your tongue can actually point you in the direction of optimal overall physical health.

Searching for Love in all the Wrong Places

There is a simple easy solution for Geographic Tongue!

Imagine yourself getting out of bed two weeks from now…

No more bald patches… no more white lines… just a beautiful pink healthy tongue.

0 notes

allenmendezsr · 5 years ago

Text

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

New Post has been published on http://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/healthy-tongue-secrets-revealed/

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

Buy Now

Tongue problems can be very discouraging because of the way they come and go. Just when you think they might be clearing up, Bam! they’re back again.

How I Discovered the Secret of a Healthy Tongue

It was a terrible experience. I was sure I was going to die as I slowly went from a healthy athletic 135 lbs down to a scrawny, emaciated 98 lbs with strange patches all over my tongue.

I made a Wonderful Discovery While Struggling to find a Solution…

I had to Help a Friend in Need

I knew I had to do something to help her.

Since the doctors weren’t much help, I knew I had to do something!

So I began compiling some of my old research into a report that I could give to Allison. In addition, I turned my finely honed research abilities toward finding even more information for my friend.

Allison was absolutely thrilled with the secrets I put together for her…here is what she had to say when I emailed her the information in my report.

WOW!!!!!! This looks great and exactly what I’m dealing with… and there is actually a name to it!

I really like my doctor, but it makes me wonder why he doesn’t know this!…

Sometimes I feel you are the only one who really knows what I was going through because you experienced it!–

Thanks,

Allison

I became Obsessed with Finding all the Pieces of the Puzzle

Even after I gave the information to Allison, I just couldn’t rest. As I found more and more pieces of the geographic tongue puzzle, the project expanded and seemed to take on a life of its own.

My report eventually became a book that covers many different tongue problems, because as I looked at them, I began to see how they all fit together like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.

As I explored the many various tongue problems I found many common denominators and that is why I tell people,

“You really need to read the whole book to understand the secret, and get the big picture on how it relates to health in general.”

Did you know Your Tongue is like a “Health Meter” for your Body?

If “Your Eyes are the Window to your Soul”…

Your Tongue is “the Window to your Digestive System”

I can’t be out of Gas, the Gauge must be broken

No, that’s ridiculous, you understand that a logical person, would realize that the gauge isn’t the problem, you just need to go to the station and get more gas.

You shouldn’t blame your tongue for alerting you to a problem with your body!

As a matter of fact, You’re going to become as excited as I am when you discover how paying attention to your tongue can actually point you in the direction of optimal overall physical health.

Searching for Love in all the Wrong Places

There is a simple easy solution for Geographic Tongue!

Imagine yourself getting out of bed two weeks from now…

No more bald patches… no more white lines… just a beautiful pink healthy tongue.

0 notes

allenmendezsr · 5 years ago

Text

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/healthy-tongue-secrets-revealed/

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

Buy Now

Tongue problems can be very discouraging because of the way they come and go. Just when you think they might be clearing up, Bam! they’re back again.

How I Discovered the Secret of a Healthy Tongue

It was a terrible experience. I was sure I was going to die as I slowly went from a healthy athletic 135 lbs down to a scrawny, emaciated 98 lbs with strange patches all over my tongue.

I made a Wonderful Discovery While Struggling to find a Solution…

I had to Help a Friend in Need

I knew I had to do something to help her.

Since the doctors weren’t much help, I knew I had to do something!

So I began compiling some of my old research into a report that I could give to Allison. In addition, I turned my finely honed research abilities toward finding even more information for my friend.

Allison was absolutely thrilled with the secrets I put together for her…here is what she had to say when I emailed her the information in my report.

WOW!!!!!! This looks great and exactly what I’m dealing with… and there is actually a name to it!

I really like my doctor, but it makes me wonder why he doesn’t know this!…

Sometimes I feel you are the only one who really knows what I was going through because you experienced it!–

Thanks,

Allison

I became Obsessed with Finding all the Pieces of the Puzzle

Even after I gave the information to Allison, I just couldn’t rest. As I found more and more pieces of the geographic tongue puzzle, the project expanded and seemed to take on a life of its own.

My report eventually became a book that covers many different tongue problems, because as I looked at them, I began to see how they all fit together like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.

As I explored the many various tongue problems I found many common denominators and that is why I tell people,

“You really need to read the whole book to understand the secret, and get the big picture on how it relates to health in general.”

Did you know Your Tongue is like a “Health Meter” for your Body?

If “Your Eyes are the Window to your Soul”…

Your Tongue is “the Window to your Digestive System”

I can’t be out of Gas, the Gauge must be broken

No, that’s ridiculous, you understand that a logical person, would realize that the gauge isn’t the problem, you just need to go to the station and get more gas.

You shouldn’t blame your tongue for alerting you to a problem with your body!

As a matter of fact, You’re going to become as excited as I am when you discover how paying attention to your tongue can actually point you in the direction of optimal overall physical health.

Searching for Love in all the Wrong Places

There is a simple easy solution for Geographic Tongue!

Imagine yourself getting out of bed two weeks from now…

No more bald patches… no more white lines… just a beautiful pink healthy tongue.

0 notes

allenmendezsr · 5 years ago

Text

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/healthy-tongue-secrets-revealed/

Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed.

Buy Now

Tongue problems can be very discouraging because of the way they come and go. Just when you think they might be clearing up, Bam! they’re back again.

How I Discovered the Secret of a Healthy Tongue

It was a terrible experience. I was sure I was going to die as I slowly went from a healthy athletic 135 lbs down to a scrawny, emaciated 98 lbs with strange patches all over my tongue.

I made a Wonderful Discovery While Struggling to find a Solution…

I had to Help a Friend in Need

I knew I had to do something to help her.

Since the doctors weren’t much help, I knew I had to do something!

So I began compiling some of my old research into a report that I could give to Allison. In addition, I turned my finely honed research abilities toward finding even more information for my friend.

Allison was absolutely thrilled with the secrets I put together for her…here is what she had to say when I emailed her the information in my report.

WOW!!!!!! This looks great and exactly what I’m dealing with… and there is actually a name to it!

I really like my doctor, but it makes me wonder why he doesn’t know this!…

Sometimes I feel you are the only one who really knows what I was going through because you experienced it!–

Thanks,

Allison

I became Obsessed with Finding all the Pieces of the Puzzle

Even after I gave the information to Allison, I just couldn’t rest. As I found more and more pieces of the geographic tongue puzzle, the project expanded and seemed to take on a life of its own.

My report eventually became a book that covers many different tongue problems, because as I looked at them, I began to see how they all fit together like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.

As I explored the many various tongue problems I found many common denominators and that is why I tell people,

“You really need to read the whole book to understand the secret, and get the big picture on how it relates to health in general.”

Did you know Your Tongue is like a “Health Meter” for your Body?

If “Your Eyes are the Window to your Soul”…

Your Tongue is “the Window to your Digestive System”

I can’t be out of Gas, the Gauge must be broken

No, that’s ridiculous, you understand that a logical person, would realize that the gauge isn’t the problem, you just need to go to the station and get more gas.

You shouldn’t blame your tongue for alerting you to a problem with your body!

As a matter of fact, You’re going to become as excited as I am when you discover how paying attention to your tongue can actually point you in the direction of optimal overall physical health.

Searching for Love in all the Wrong Places

There is a simple easy solution for Geographic Tongue!

Imagine yourself getting out of bed two weeks from now…

No more bald patches… no more white lines… just a beautiful pink healthy tongue.

0 notes