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abeautylives · 9 months ago

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Times I Remember Well

(and Some That I Don’t)

Part 3

author’s note: Thank you for reading this ridiculous story. Now for the good stuff.

pairing: female!OCxjake

time frame: 2016-2018

word count: almost 7.8k this part

warnings: language, underage drinking (implied), mentions of sex and sexual situations, nudity, oral (m. and f. receiving), unprotected penetrative sex

You know how most people’s lives change pretty drastically when they move away for college?

What, were you expecting me to claim that I was different, special in some way?

I’m not.

If you’re wondering, Sam and I were fine. I guess he’d matured enough to keep speaking to me when he found out I’d almost fucked his brother. I was still immature enough to give him a classic three day long silent treatment over the whole Sam said he thought you were fucking that guy you dated thing.

I even made him agree to never bring me up to Jake again. Ever.

Anyway, my first semester of college kind of kicked my ass. I was smart enough, but I couldn’t decide on a major and it made the whole experience feel like a waste of time. I didn’t meet anyone worth much of my effort to get to know, and I spent a lot of nights alone in my dorm room. I barely even liked my roommate. Meanwhile, Sam was at home breezing through his last year of high school and preparing to actually go on tour.

Like a real tour. It was my worst nightmare. And I had to hear all about it when I came home for winter break.

But he was excited, of course he was. And I was proud of him. And Josh, and Danny. I couldn’t bring myself to have positive feelings for Jake. After he’d rejected and embarrassed me (again), I’d run off to school determined to lose my v-card to literally anyone who’d never been to Frankenmuth or heard of their band. Fortunately for me, almost no one had heard of either.

So, I did. And Matthew Nowak had been a very cursory and lazy fuck, but he got the job done. I mean, he popped the cherry or whatever, he didn’t make me come, and I never gave him another opportunity to try.

I almost didn’t even go home for Christmas, my dad had been begging me to come see him, but I knew if I didn’t go home, I might never see my best friend again.

Was that a little dramatic? Sure, but the dates for tour were going to start around my birthday, before he even graduated, and he wouldn’t be home for the entire summer. There were talks of getting signed, to a fucking label. Releasing their music to the world. Jake’s dreams were coming true and he was stealing my best fucking friend from me.

He really was an asshole.

I went back to school in the spring a little sad, nostalgic for a time when things were easy and fun, and I always had a weekend smoke sesh in the Kiszka garage to look forward to. There was nothing for me to look forward to in Ann Arbor. Until I met Soph.

Sophie and I were paired up within the first few days of one of our classes, and thank God we were. We clicked instantly, she was almost like a female version of Sam with even better hair.

She got me out of my slump, out of my dorm room and out of my own head.

As we started hanging out more outside of class, we learned about each other’s lives at home, and she let me talk endlessly about Sam. About moving away from Traverse and finding the best friend I’d ever had, growing up with him, becoming an adult at his side.

I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but eventually I ran out of stories and didn’t feel the need to talk about him much anymore.

For a few months, we worked hard and partied harder, and I felt more and more like myself, or my new self, with her help. My new self must have been putting out certain vibes that attracted attention, because I wasn’t hurting for it. Not that I really had back home, but home had narrowed my view, the Kiszkas my whole world. Even when I did date boys, Sam was there to tell me he didn’t like them, then Josh was there shining brighter than the sun, blinding me to them.

Then Jake was there. Ruining me for everyone else, just by existing.

In Ann Arbor, Soph had the opposite effect. Every guy was cute, cute enough to talk to, flirt with, party with. A select few were hot enough to make out with, let them touch our bodies, we would touch theirs. Dance with them, let them pull us close, throw our arms around them and tell them to take us somewhere quieter.

There was that one time, I’d gone back to this guy’s dorm and he’d put a playlist on shuffle. Ya know, so we wouldn’t be heard. And right before I put his dick in my mouth, fucking Highway Tune started playing.

Instant no. I left him there with a hard-on and zero promises of returning.

But anyway, Soph and I had fun every weekend, studied every weeknight. By the end of the second semester, we’d decided on my major, and made sure we would share more classes in the fall.

When summer break rolled around, we spent the first half with her family in Grand Rapids and the second, reluctantly, with my mom. Home was weird without Sam, but he was off galavanting across the U.S. Communication between us had been sparse, though he did call me once every few weeks to fill me in, and let’s be honest, brag. I didn’t mind the bragging, much, but even with how well things were going at school, I’d have given anything to drop it all and be with him.

Even if it meant tolerating Jake.

Life goes on, time keeps on slipping, the wheel in the sky keeps on turning and all that.

College was hard, but Soph and I really buttoned up in the fall. More studying, fewer boys, a little less fun, but Michigan gets cold fast and running wild all over campus didn’t hold the same appeal. We vowed to live it up in the spring, maybe settle down and get some boyfriends. Maybe not.

“Holy shit holy shit!”

We were in the library, Soph across the table from me with wide eyes, laptops, books and notes spread out between us.

“Shhh! What? What the fuck?” She leaned in conspiratorially and I turned my phone around to show her the screen.

“They’re playing in Detroit. They’re coming home!”

“Will you be quiet? Who, Sam’s band?”

That made me laugh every time. I always called it Sam’s band, because he would’ve loved it and someone else I knew would have loathed it.

They hadn’t been home in forever, they were hardly even in the states, and when they’d played the Fillmore in the spring I’d been so bogged down with new classes and so much fucking homework, I couldn’t justify leaving campus let alone the city.

But they were coming back, and I’d be on winter break. Sam had sent me their schedule, which I’d thrust into Soph’s hands.

“Aww, reunion! I wish I could go with you.” Her pouty face was unmatched, but she was going with her parents to visit family in Ohio for the holidays. For a moment, that realization made me panic. I wanted to go, needed to see my best friend, but to do it alone? Why did that make me nervous?

Maybe because I hadn’t seen him in two years. Maybe because I hadn’t seen him in more than two. I doubted I’d even get to spend much time with Sam, and I doubted further that I’d be able to get him away from the others.

Not that I wouldn’t want to hang out with Danny, or even Josh. But… well, you know.

I wondered if they were going home for the brief break between Detroit and Seattle, and I made a mental note to ask Sam.

I’d insisted on buying my own ticket to the show, their third added at the Fox after the first two sold out, but Sam wouldn’t hear of it. He set me up with a ticket and access to see them backstage, and I tried not to let it get to my head. It's not like they were famous or anything.

Selling out multiple shows.

I FaceTime’d Sophie so she could help me decide what to wear - I hadn’t put this kind of pressure on an outfit since the night I kissed… yeah, you saw how that went.

We landed on skin tight faux leather pants, an extremely low-cut black and tan floral print top with a fitted bodice and wide, flowy sleeves, and chunky black boots. I planned to top it off with a vintage fur coat Sam and I had found thrifting a few years back. We’d always joked that it originally belonged to the old lady they named their band after.

“Okayyyyy, so what about your underwear?”

I stopped spinning in front of my phone, where I’d been showing Sophie the whole get up.

“What the fuck do you mean, my underwear? Who cares?”

“Babe, it’s a rock show! What if you meet a super hot guy with like, tattoos and a tongue ring that wants to rock your world?” I watched her eyebrows waggle as she stuck her own tongue out at me.

“Yeah I don’t think that’s really their demographic.”

But… an idea started to form. Sexy underwear would make me feel sexy. Who would be irritated to see me, looking and feeling sexy, arguably hotter now than I’d ever been? Who would be downright furious to watch me get a little flirty, a little provocative with another man? Men? His brothers?

Ohhh, Jake Kiszka was gonna kill me. And it was gonna be worth it.

The ticket Sam held for me was in the front fucking row. Of the seats, behind the pit floor, but still. How embarrassing, what if I didn’t know any of the words? I didn’t really listen to their music, not since I was in high school, watching them practice or play at Fischer.

As you can imagine, I didn’t need to worry. Every, single, song was familiar. Songs that they’d written or started writing when Sam was barely fifteen. But the people around me knew them all, better than I did actually.

That was… pretty cool.

I left my seat as the guys were blowing kisses and throwing flowers into the crowd, stopped in a bathroom to check myself out, and followed Sam’s directions to make it backstage. The guys made it there before me, I could hear their excited voices from the hall as a security guard led me to their green room. We slowed as we got closer, and I stopped the guard before we reached the door, composing myself, slipping my coat off, smoothing my hair and controlling my expression.

You should've seen his face when I walked through the doorway, slow clapping and wearing my best deadpan. They all turned their heads in my direction, but his face was the one I sought out.

His cheeks were still flushed from the stage (he honestly goes crazy up there) but he immediately turned so bright pink I hoped his head would explode.

“YOU’RE HERE! Holy shit, you’re here!” Sam rushed at me and instantly my feet were off the ground, he swung me around and I couldn’t help the smile that stretched wide as I laughed with him.

“You’re sweaty! Put me down, idiot!” He dropped me to my feet and grabbed a hand, lifted it above my head and spun me in a circle.

“Look at you, you look hot, T!” His laughter cracked loud and joyous and my heart soared. He didn’t mean anything by it, of course, but he was right and I knew it.

Danny approached me next, taller and even broader than I ever remembered him being, and wrapped me up in another sweaty hug. “Good to see you, did you get tinier?” We laughed and I slapped him away. Then Josh caught my eye, arms crossed over his bare chest under an open black vest and leaning against the vanity, grinning.

I moved toward him and he met me in the middle, opened his arms and threw them around me. He didn’t make fun of me, or comment on the way I looked. Our cheeks were pressed together and he turned his face and dropped a kiss to mine. “We’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you guys too, more than you know.”

He let me go and his grin stretched into a blinding smile. “What’d you think of the show?”

“It was fucking awesome, I can’t believe you guys are like, legit rockstars! Seems like yesterday you were jamming in your garage.” Sam sidled up and threw a long arm over my shoulders.

“To be fair, we didn’t really stop jamming in the garage until last year, T.”

I knew that, I guess. But I’d missed it, and I’d missed the moment my best friend grew up. But this wasn’t the time to get weepy about that. I still had a mission to accomplish.

Turning out of Sam’s hold, I faced him. He no longer looked apoplectic, but his nostrils were flared and his arms were crossed, one hand running a finger across his chin below pursed lips. His focus was distinctly somewhere on the floor, but I walked toward him and watched his eyes connect with my boots and then travel, slowly, all the way up my body.

Get a good look, asshole.

And he did, his gaze lingered for a fraction of a second on my hips, and then again on my chest before it finally met my face.

Say something stupid, I dare you.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

My own eyes rolled in my skull. “Good to see you too, Jacob. How have you been?”

His features twisted in confusion for just a moment before he smoothed them back out. Good.

“Fantastic, living the dream, ya know. How have you been, Tiny?”

“Oh, really good!” I crossed one arm, tucking it under my tits and pushing them up while I twirled a finger through a strand of my hair with the other hand. “I’m majoring in English and Writing and aced all of my finals this past semester. Just really living my best on-campus life. Work hard, play hard and all that.”

It was so satisfying, the way he’d accidentally looked at my chest and then failed to look back at my face until I was done speaking. I swear to you my pussy fluttered when he swallowed, hard, before responding. It was that satisfying.

“That’s- ahem, that’s great. Glad to hear it. Thanks for coming by to say hi or whatever but we need to pack up our gear and head to the hotel.”

Nice try.

“Oh, cool! I’d love to come with you guys, I just miss you all so much.” His face started turning pink again before I looked over my shoulder. “Sammy! Can I come with and hang out at the hotel? Just for a little bit?” I whipped my head back, my hair swinging with it, to see his face before Sam even answered.

I wanted to see if steam came out of his ears.

“Fuck yeah! You can crash with me if you want!”

One corner of my mouth lifted and curled. “Perfect!”

I regret to inform you that no steam came out. But I think it was pretty close.

When I pulled in at the hotel, I texted Sam and he told me they were in the lobby so I flipped my visor down, checked my face and fluffed my hair. After a deep breath, I got out of the car and made my way inside.

The hotel wasn’t anything too ritzy, and I figured despite it all, they weren’t that famous. Sam still looked and sounded like the best friend I’d grown up with, though there was something about him that had become more attractive. All of them actually exuded more… sex appeal?

Ugh, musicians.

My timing was pretty good, I entered the building in time to catch them getting in the elevator, Jake being the last left in the lobby. But we caught each other’s eye and instead of walking on, he backed up a step. The doors closed and the elevator rose without him.

He stood there, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, and waited for me to reach him. When I did, he spoke before I could.

“What are you doing here, T?”

I painted confusion on my face instead of the pure gratification I actually felt. “Visiting my friends? What are you-“

“Cut the bullshit. It’s unbecoming.”

Okay, that was a little wrinkle in my plan. I hadn’t even started shamelessly flirting with anyone yet and he was already cursing at me. I doubled down.

“I came to see them, Jake.” I pressed the button to call the elevator back down and crossed my arms.

“And what about me?”

“What about you?” Just as I glanced up, feigning more interest in the LED display of numbers as the elevator came down than this conversation, he stepped closer and gripped my arm. Pulled me closer.

It felt familiar.

“I’m not buying it. Come on.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened to an empty car, but he was already pulling me down a hall toward a stairwell door. It swung open as he shoved through it, yanked me through and pushed me ahead of him, and it slammed shut behind us.

The stairwell was silent, our breathing was amplified and bounced off the walls. His voice made me flinch.

“Third floor. Go.”

Four flights of stairs and two landings separated me from their room. That was fine, I could do it.

Except he stayed behind me the entire time and didn’t speak a word. By the time I pushed the door to the third floor open, my nerves were fried and I was still trying to discern his reasoning for taking the stairs. If he had yelled at me or pushed me to the wall and kissed me in the stairwell, it would’ve made more sense. Instead, he placed a hand low on my back and led me down a deserted hallway to room 307. I breathed a shaky sigh of relief, ready to abandon the plan completely and run to Sam, use him as a personal human shield for the rest of the night.

But he pulled a key card out of his pocket and slid it into the lock, and the heavy door opened to a dark, empty room.

Jake stepped inside and flicked on a light, holding the door open for me. I didn’t move.

“Jake, what-“

“Get in here, we need to talk.”

It sounded like a terrible idea, I hadn’t come here to talk. I came to spend time with Sam and do enough harmless flirting with the guys to drive Jake crazy.

“No. Where are the guys?”

He just stared at me for a tense few seconds before he sighed impatiently. “In Sam and Danny’s room.”

“And which room would that be, exactly? I’ll just go knock-“

“Please.”

I know, I know. Did he really have to go and ask nicely?

“Fine, you know what? You have five minutes then I’m the fuck out of here.” He had the nerve to give me a tight-lipped smile, lift his palm and wave me in as I started to pass him and head into the room. Then he let the door swing shut.

We were alone.

The room was pretty standard, two queen-size beds, a table and two chairs. Not exactly rockstar shit. I tossed my coat onto the closest bed.

“You want a drink?”

I dropped into a chair, crossed my legs and folded my hands over my knee. “No, I don’t. What did you need to talk to me about? You have four minutes.”

He pulled a White Claw out of the mini fridge, popped the tab and sat at the end of the bed closest to me. After a swig from the can, he leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees.

“Three minutes.”

“Jesus, give it a rest, T.” He pinned me with a glare and my eyes widened. “Don’t. Don’t act all affronted because you’re not getting your way, I’m sick of it.”

“I don’t know what you mean, I-“

“Stop! Tell me why you’re really here.”

“To see Sam! I told you-“

He stood from the bed, leaned across me and slammed the can onto the table. I jumped in my seat, but then he bent down and gripped the arms of the chair on either side of me. Right in my face, he ripped me to shreds.

“I’m tired of this, T. Since day one, everything has always had to be all about you, your feelings, your stupid ideas, your fucking games.”

That was ridiculous and it straightened my spine, I sat up taller and put us nose to nose, but he didn’t stop.

“How many times have you come between us and Sam? Pitted us against each other? Run away when you didn’t get your way, with one of us or all of us?”

With a huff, he pushed himself away from me but now I was ready for a fight. Launching from the chair, my body followed his. “And what about you, Jake? You spent years fucking with me, leading me on, just to humiliate me over and over again!”

“Is that really what you think?!” We were squared up now, hands flailing as we yelled in each other's faces. “I didn’t do shit, and you spent years avoiding me, making me feel awkward and unwelcome in my own house because God forbid I ever be in the presence of such a self-entitled, delicate fucking princess!”

“Oh, you fucking prick. Fuck you-“

“So eloquent, that’s really lovely Tiny.”

You already know that he said that on purpose.

“Don’t. Call. Me. That.” I was fuming, the steam was probably coming out of my ears, and that pissed me off further. Everything about this was infuriating, my night completely off-railed, my time with my friends ruined. I was done.

I threw my hands up and then put them on his shoulders, with all intention to shove him out of my way and walk out of the room with some part of my dignity intact, for once.

But that’s not exactly what happened.

Because once I touched him, the tension reached a breaking point. And boy did it break.

Before I could push him away, his arms were around me, his hands spread across my back, and he pulled me in.

Yep, he was kissing me.

Our mouths slammed together and all the anger, all the fury, combusted between them.

My own hands betrayed me and shot from a grip on his shoulders to a grip in the hair at the back of his head, still slightly damp from sweat or a shower at the venue, I had no idea. And I didn’t care.

He ravaged my lips until they felt bruised, opened them with his and forced our tongues to battle for dominance, sucked the air from my lungs until I couldn’t breathe. I pulled away to drag some back in but he hardly gave me the chance, tugging me back in to kiss my lips, bite my jaw, murmuring between the attacks.

“Why are you really here…”

His hands slid up my back and sunk into my hair, pulled my head to the side so he could continue his attack on my neck, my throat.

“Say it, the truth.”

My brain was in shut down, I forgot what words were and how to make them. His teeth reminded me, scraping along my skin.

“You. For you.”

His lips closed over mine again and he was moving me, two steps backward and we turned, the back of my knees hit the bed where he’d been sitting. Our mouths broke apart, our hands fell away. The sound of our breathing, fast and uneven, thundered between us.

“I’m not gonna stop this time, T.”

My heart stumbled over its next few beats.

“I don’t want you to.”

We fell back into silence as he reached forward and slid his hands up underneath my shirt, rough fingertips pushing the fabric up over my ribs, my chest, I lifted my arms and let him pull it over my head and shook my hair out as he let it drop to the floor.

There was just enough light coming from the only one he’d flicked on, and the moonlight spilling through the uncovered window, that I saw his nostrils flare. His eyes trailed over my lace and silk covered chest before meeting mine.

“You’re so beautiful,” My breath caught, I held it. “I’ve never told you how beautiful you are.”

I couldn’t speak, emotion squeezing my throat, the words I’d always wanted to hear from him tightening every muscle in my body. So instead, I mirrored his actions and tucked my fingers under the hem of his t-shirt. Soft, heated skin met my touch and I flattened my palms over his hips, up over his stomach and I swear he trembled. Seriously! When they made it to his chest, I could feel the hard, steady beat of his heart, rapid beneath my hand.

Maybe he knew I could feel it, maybe not, but he leaned in and pulled a soft, sweet kiss from my lips before he took over and tugged the shirt over his head.

“Jake…” His chest and stomach were lightly toned and completely flawless, a glimpse of which I’d gotten when he was onstage, shirtless under an open jacket. I wanted to tell him just how perfect I thought he was, he’d always been, but the words wouldn’t come. So I bent my knees and dropped to the bed, the barely there happy trail leading up from the low waist of his pants now directly in front of my face.

I leaned forward and kissed it. A strangled noise came from above me, I smiled against his skin. Then his hand was in my hair and he pulled, forcing my face up. He smirked.

“You ever done this before?”

Asshole.

Blindly I reached for and found the button of his jeans, popped it open and worked his zipper down slowly.

“Please don’t piss me off, or I won’t be nice.”

A chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Just making sure.”

His grip in my hair kept my chin tilted up, eyes locked with his. I peeled the denim over his hips and pulled it down to his knees. Heat rolled off his body in waves, I was dying to look at it, take it all in but there was fire in his stare and I was burning. My fingertips mapped out what I couldn’t see, found the subtle V that led down into his briefs and traced it before I tucked them under the elastic and rolled it down his legs.

Jake Kiszka’s cock bobbed in the air between his hips and my face. Crazy, I know. I wrapped shaky fingers around him, felt how thick and hard he was before I’d even seen it, tried to picture what I could remember from his dark bedroom.

“Fuck, T.” I tightened my grip on him, just a little, stroked him once. His eyes slid shut. “I can’t believe you’re here.” I stroked him again and his grasp on my hair loosened, my chin dropped and there it was. As perfect as the rest of him, his dick was big, the head flushed pink. My mouth watered.

For real.

In that moment, I wondered quickly what he liked, how fast, how slow, how hard? My tongue slid out and tasted him, just the very tip, and he snatched my hair up again. The sting in my scalp made my eyes water and I opened my lips and took him in, wrapped them around him and swirled my tongue over his skin. He whimpered.

I could be remembering that wrong, but I swear he did.

He wanted to take control, I could feel it in the smallest amount of pressure from his knuckles on my scalp, but I wanted to be stubborn. I was tired of the control he seemed to have over every one of our interactions. I released him with a soft pop and his eyes shot open.

“C’monnn,” he groaned. I took my hand off of his dick and pushed him back, he almost stumbled, his legs still trapped in his half-removed jeans. I stood from the bed, spun us around and reversed our positions, then pushed him by the shoulders to sit.

“Patience, Jake, patience.” I flicked the front clasp of my bra open and felt the unrestrained relief as my tits spilled out, then that flutter of satisfaction as his eyes went wide right before going soft and dreamy. What can I say, Jake’s a breast man. “Aht.” He’d reached for them, lifted his hands like he just couldn’t wait to feel them again, but they paused in midair. “I said patience.”

He huffed out a sigh and dropped them, so I continued. Made a little show out of unzipping my boots, sliding them off and peeling the skin-tight material of my pants down my legs. His fingers flexed against his thighs the entire time, clenching into fists and releasing over and over. I waited until I was left in just the lacy thong to instruct him to remove his pants.

His boots were kicked off and denim tossed away in an instant.

And there we were again. Jake, fully bared to me while we stared at each other, my tits out and pussy covered. But this wasn’t going to end the way it did two years ago.

Not if I had anything to say about it.

I dropped to my knees and his legs spread, making room for me to kneel between them. His cock jumped when I touched him, just my fingertips, up his shins and over his kneecaps before I placed my palms flat on his thighs. When I peeked up at him through my lashes, he was staring hard, jaw clenched and nostrils flared again. So I continued to trace my fingers over his skin, further up his thighs, over his hips, up and down his happy trail.

Through gritted teeth, “Baby, please.”

Baby? I was throbbing, slick between my thighs already but that hit me like lightning.

I wrapped a fist around him at the base and took him all the way to the back of my throat.

I had to.

A string of rough curses fell from his lips and a hand tangled in my hair, but I kept my composure, sucking him in and stroking with my fist, letting him sink as deep as I could without choking. His skin was hot velvet on my tongue, I could taste his desire, his need, and I couldn’t help the moan that rippled up my throat around his cock.

“Jesus fuck.” His hips jerked, I gagged around him, he fisted the hair at the back of my head and yanked me off of him. “Get up here.”

Remember how I wanted to maintain the control here? Yeah, I failed.

He used his grip on my head to bring my lips to his, his tongue sweeping in to dance with mine immediately, his hands moving down my body to pull me up and into his lap. I threw my arms around him and rocked into it instantly, his roving hands landing on my ass and pulling me in, his dick rock hard and slick with my spit grinding against my silk-covered pussy.

Just like that, I lost control of my insolent mouth too.

The kiss broke and I rested my forehead on his, my eyes trained on what was happening between our hips. “God… I-“ The head of his cock caught on my clit, I gasped at the feeling. “I’ve wanted you for so long.”

Embarrassing, I know. But then… ohh then.

His hands skimmed up my ribs until they were cupping my breasts, thumbs grazing over my nipples.

“I’ve wanted you longer, T. Forever.”

Goosebumps. Literal goosebumps ran up my arms, I shivered, my nipples tightened, and he pulled one into his mouth. He sucked and lapped at it, thumb still moving over the other, and without hesitation he sunk his teeth in.

“Fuck yes, yes yes…”

His tongue circled it again and he released it, pressed a hot and fast kiss to my mouth.

“You still like that, huh?” He chuckled as he opened his lips over the other side. The silk between my legs was soaked, I could feel how easily I was sliding over his cock, and I was getting impatient despite the way I’d reprimanded him hardly ten minutes ago.

“Jake, please…”

He popped off of my nipple and pulled another kiss from my lips, then leaned back and let one corner of his mouth curl up, self-satisfied and cocky.

Still an asshole.

“Please what, baby? Tell me.”

My eyes rolled, even as he tucked his face into the crook of my neck, nipped and licked me there.

“I want you inside, please fuck me.” Self-control, out the window.

“Mmm,” he hummed into my skin, “No.”

Before I could be properly offended, and believe me, I was, he gripped my thighs and hauled me up, then deposited me onto the mattress. Well, tossed me, really. I bounced once, arms and legs flailing, hair falling in my face. By the time I pushed it away and propped myself up on my elbows, he was standing at the foot of the bed, dick in his fist. I opened my mouth to speak, to yell at him or beg him to stick it in, I don’t know, but he was stroking himself, and he moaned. My mouth snapped shut.

“I’m not gonna fuck you,” I scoffed, offended, pissed even. “Yet.” He let himself go and placed his hands on the mattress, then climbed onto the edge of the bed and started crawling towards me.

It was so fucking hot. His cheeks were flushed, his hair wild from my hands, his eyes dark. I backed away, moving up the bed until my shoulders met the headboard. He didn’t stop coming, and I didn’t want him to. Instinctively, my knees bent and my legs fell open, inviting him in. But he didn’t settle there, when his hands reached me, he grabbed me by the calf and threw my leg over his shoulder on his way down.

His mouth opened over damp silk and I cried out, his name or God’s, I’m not sure, but his lips and tongue were moving against me and I may have blacked out. I came to when one of his hands skimmed up my inner thigh, and he broke away long enough to slip two fingers under the material and tug it aside.

Jake Kiszka’s tongue was on my actual, bare pussy.

My shoulders sagged against the headboard as I reached for him, burying my fingers in his already tangled and unruly hair, our eyes met and he dragged his tongue over me again and again.

“Shit, you were right, this is better,” I panted. He smiled against my cunt and I felt it. I smiled too.

My cheeks hurt I was smiling so hard, until he laser-focused his attention to my clit. His lips wrapped around it and he sucked it past them, my jaw dropped.

“Oh, oh my God, oh my God!” He was good at this. Too good. The beginnings of an orgasm were already swirling, tightening in my belly, making my toes tingle. The tip of his tongue moving against me until he opened his mouth over me again, and I felt it plunge inside me. The sounds I was making were unholy but I had no shame, I couldn’t feel anything other than need. I needed to scream, I needed to come, I needed him.

He brought a hand up around my thigh and ran his thumb over my folds, licking himself as he lapped at me, then swirled it over my clit as his tongue fucked me. Before I could even moan, two fingers from his other hand replaced his tongue inside me.

“Jake!”

His head tilted and he pressed his lips against my thigh, kissed it and grinned. “Yes?” Fingers everywhere, filling me and fucking me, circling the most sensitive part of me - I forgot what I wanted to say, if I had even wanted to. Instead I pulled his mouth back, he slid his thumb away and flicked his tongue against me.

“Yessss, yes just like that, please!” I let my eyes close and stars were already dancing behind my lids, I was close, so close, and I told him so. I moaned it and his fingers plunged deep and curled. I screamed it and he sucked my clit back into his mouth.

I came hard, nails dug into his scalp, bucking my hips against his face, screaming his name.

It was unreal. College guys had nothing, fucking nothing, on him.

Before my muscles had even relaxed, he lifted his head from between my thighs and moved up my body, his fingers still pumping slowly inside me as he kissed my hip, my stomach, my breast on his way up to my mouth. He tasted like me when my tongue touched his, and he eased his fingers from my body.

“Absolutely fucking stunning, breathtaking.”

His breath was taken? I still couldn’t breathe, my chest continued to heave as he left the bed, taking my panties down my legs with him, and I could barely lift my head to see what he was doing. My eyes closed and I felt the mattress dip with his weight as he returned and settled on his heels between my legs, still splayed open. I cracked an eyelid and found him watching me, wrapped condom held between his fingers.

Under his gaze, I shifted down until my head rested on the pillows, spreading my legs wider, pussy presented to him on a silver fucking platter.

This was happening. There was absolutely no way this was not happening. Not this time.

“Now, Jake.” Unrecognizable, my voice had a distinct sex kitten-like quality that I loved as soon as it hit my ears. He must have loved it too, because his dick twitched and he gripped it. I reached up and snatched the condom from his fingers, tore it open and started rolling it on while his eyes bugged out and his jaw fell slack.

“Jesus, not your first time, huh?” My hand replaced his around him and I stroked, he leaned over me and I guided the head to my center, moved it through the slick pool of arousal there. He paused, poised to enter me, and met my eyes.

“I’m pretty much out of firsts, Jake.”

His eyes closed, his hips rocked forward, and he pushed just past my opening, the tip not even fully inside me.

I tilted my own hips up, he slipped a fraction of an inch deeper. I whispered, and it was sexy, and seductive. “It could’ve been you.”

He sucked in a sharp breath, opened his eyes and we watched each other’s faces as he sunk deeper, slowly, to the hilt. “It should’ve been me.”

Stunned, speechless, we stayed like that. Unmoving, bodies connected, eyes locked. He broke first, dropping his lips to mine and rocking into me softly. A sound I’d never heard before, quieter than a moan, crept up his throat, trapped behind his lips as they caressed mine. My legs lifted, cradling him between my thighs and wrapping around him.

It was gentle, sweet. The exact opposite of how I knew it would’ve been, if I’d let him be my first, thinking he wasn’t.

I felt my cheeks warm, my eyes pool with tears. I blinked them away. This was everything I’d wanted and more. I knew I’d been an idiot to think otherwise. Especially when he pulled back and delivered a quick, deep thrust and there was no pain. Only pleasure bloomed inside me, hot and volatile.

“Again, more…”

An excellent listener, he repeated it. Again, again, and I met each thrust with my own. Our kiss turned frantic, sloppy, lips and tongues clashing and pushing, pulling and taking. The temperature in the room was rising with the heat of our skin, our bodies slipping against each other. He lifted his chest from mine, hands braced on the pillows on either side of my head, and the conditioned air on our damp skin made us both groan in ecstasy.

I damn near came again, almost commented on it but he dropped back down and shoved an arm between me and the mattress, rolled us both. We laughed as we landed, his hair strewn across the pillow and mine falling in his face. My laughter stuck in my throat when he grabbed onto my thighs and pulled, tucking my knees against his hips and forcing me to sit. I propped myself up with my hands on his chest and fell back into the rhythm, my hips rolling.

“Goddamn, you feel so good, look so good riding me.”

My head fell back as his words rippled through me, his fingertips digging into me, his hands moving my body over his. He brought one to my chest, squeezed me roughly, rolled my nipple with his fingers, pinched it. Hard.

“Yes!” He did the same to the other, my pussy clenched around him.

“You like when it hurts a little, don’t you?”

“I- I don’t know, I guess so- ohhh!” He wrapped a hand around each tit and sunk his fingertips into my flesh, then kneaded them both, ran the pads of his thumbs over the peaks.

“Fuck, that’s so hot. You’re fucking perfect.”

Yeah, I lost my mind a little bit. My hips bucked wildly in his lap. Perfect? Me? My nails pressed into his skin, I dragged them down his chest, reveling in the sharp hiss sucked between his teeth, the way his own hips lifted from the bed and he fucked into me. Sharp, fast thrusts hitting me so deep I was screaming his name. He sat up and pulled my face to his, kissed me hard, bit down on my bottom lip, and then tipped me backwards.

My head was nearly hanging off the end of the bed, but really, who cares? My ankles locked behind his back and he was slamming his hips into the back of my thighs.

Fuck, was I gonna come? He had to be close. I lifted my head, now very much hanging off the bed, to ask him.

Beep. Click.

His hips stuttered and paused, we both whipped our heads to the door, which was fucking opening.

Josh appeared, his foot crossed the threshold and he was looking down at his phone.

“GET OUT!!” We yelled in unison. Josh’s head popped up, his eyes went huge, and then he laughed.

“Shit, sorry guys.” He started backing out into the hall, the door creaking closed. “About time,” We heard him chuckling to himself and the door clicked behind him.

Jake turned his face back to me and seemed to realize for the first time that I was barely on the mattress. An arm wrapped around my back and he shifted us until I could look him in the eyes.

“What the fuck…” I whispered up at him.

His smile was subtle and affectionate before it stretched to a full grin, and he huffed a laugh.

“There was no fucking way I was stopping.”

I matched his grin and lifted to pull a kiss from his lips. “Good.”

He tucked his face into my neck and began the roll of his body into mine again. I let my hands roam across his back as he kissed and nipped my skin and his thrusts picked up speed. The orgasm that had been teasing me before we were interrupted built again quickly, and Jake was panting in my ear.

But then… then. A whisper. Low and deep, but a whisper nonetheless.

My name, my real name, hit my ear and I gasped, right on the edge.

“Come for me. Please come for me.”

How could I say no?

It broke, crashed, consumed me. His name on my lips as I tightened, writhed, and shook for him.

He didn’t stop, didn’t slow, he chased after me and followed into the flames. My name burned into my flesh by his kisses, a guttural groan as he came inside me.

Easily the best orgasm I’d ever had. Easily.

Because he’s just a man, albeit an incredibly hot, multiple-orgasm-inducing man, he collapsed on top of me. I let him. I ran my hands over his sweat-dampened hair and the soft skin of his back and we both caught our breath. Then he started giggling.

I pinched his ass. “What’s so funny, Kiszka?”

His head popped up and he propped himself on an elbow, a wide grin splitting his face in half, gorgeous. “I can’t believe we waited so long to do that, that might’ve been the best sex I’ve ever had.”

We both laughed as I slapped his chest. “Might be?!”

“Okay okay, you’re right.” He looked at me dreamily, his eyes bouncing around my face. “It was the best.”

Because I’m a woman, albeit a mind-blowing sex goddess, I started overthinking. I couldn’t help it! You should’ve seen the way he was looking at me.

“Jake…” He lifted his eyebrows, I lifted a hand to his face, tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “What does this mean?”

Those eyebrows knitted together, a quick moment to think that over. Then he kissed me, soft and slow.

“I don’t know what it means. But I do know this hotel has free breakfast downstairs, so be up and ready by nine.” His smile stretched again, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oooh, do you think they have French toast? That’s Sam’s favorite.”

He attacked me, tickled me until I had tears in my eyes, kissed me until I was breathless, and fell asleep with his arms around me.

The truth is, I don’t remember the exact moment I fell utterly, completely in love with Jake Kiszka. Maybe you should ask him.

#greta van fleet #gvf #greta van fleet fan fiction #greta van fleet fic #gvf fic #greta van fleet smut #gvf smut #jake kiszka #jake gvf #greta van fleet fanfiction #jake kiszka fan fiction #jake kiszka fanfic #jake kiszka smut

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isagrimorie · 10 months ago

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I think Sisko would have a very hard time on Voyager. His mind would go to the Borg long before they even have contact and Wolf 359 trauma would make it harder for him to deal with this. The way Miles was so specifically unhappy to be on DS9, the Cardassian station of all places, with his history.

Also one of the biggest strengths - that Ransom was clearly missing - is Janeway's science background. I think we also see it a bit in Tom, who idolizes the good old days. The exploration of it all. Explore new things without a safety net. When the DS9 crew ventured in the Gamma Quadrant, there was always a way back home. There is lots to talk about right there.

The DS9 character to absolutely thrive on Voyager would be Dax, well, Jadzia Dax specifically. Wise and curious, good combo. But Dax would also feel a new kind of fear, because Trill is so far away, no new host easily reachable. Could this be the end? Fascinating.

Janeway on DS9 would climb up the walls. To be stationary. She would use every chance she gets to get into the Gamma Quadrant. If she would get the whole Emissary storyline as well, I think she would be more open in some ways (so ready to embrace how these unknown aliens perceive time) and rejecting others (dealing with Winn Adami???? oh boy).

Ooh I love this thought experiment!

His mind would go to the Borg long before they even have contact and Wolf 359 trauma would make it harder for him to deal with this.

Honestly, I agree with this, I noted in a previous post that actually, Sisko and Janeway were positioned very well because their postings don’t really interact with their traumas much. The Borg were barely anything on DS9, and Janeway only had to deal with Seska, who was laser-focused on Chakotay.

A good thing… because Seska didn’t really trigger Janeway’s Cardassian triggers ala Miles.

Also one of the biggest strengths - that Ransom was clearly missing - is Janeway’s science background.

If I remember right Ransom doesn’t like direct confrontation. His style is hide and run, from what I remember all he’s ever commanded were small science vessels.

I suspect that Sisko would react to Ransom and his crew almost exactly how Janeway reacted to Ransom.

With even less pushback, because when he did the same thing with Eddington he had little pushback. Dax was even in full support of Sisko’s actions.

The DS9 character to absolutely thrive on Voyager would be Dax, well, Jadzia Dax specifically. Wise and curious, good combo

This is true! I kind of wish there was either a Dax or Garak-like character on Voyager to mix things up as Seven did. Speaking of Seven of Nine… unfortunately, I don’t and can’t see how Seven would survive beyond the first episode on a Sisko-led Voyager.

Unless maybe Dax talks him out of it? Dax would make the case that Seven would be the ‘local knowledge’ as they traverse Borg space.

Sisko would be a lot harder on Seven because of his trauma.

But because of Jake, Sisko always has a clear motive to get back to the Alpha Quadrant. It’s not just for the crew but because of his son. He doesn’t want to miss the life of his son, this would be a more bittersweet ache for Sisko, I feel.

Unless! Jake was with him during the Maquis hunting mission? On the other hand, I don’t see Sisko wanting to put Jake in danger like that, so soon after Wolf 359.

On the other end, I would love to watch Janeway butting heads with Kira Nerys, initially, because I don’t think Janeway has the same trauma as Miles had but also I don’t think she would love interacting with Cardassians either.

And, knowing the DS9 writers, I feel they would play up Janeway’s Cardassian War Record. Garak would know Janeway’s war record and I bet he would enjoy poking at Janeway.

Janeway would indulge Quark but only to a point.

But also, it would be so interesting for Scientist!Janeway to butt up against Bajoran spirituality and religion, especially if the Wormhole aliens pick her to be their Emissary. Sisko was already (initially) uncomfortable with the role, what more Janeway?

Janeway is diplomatic but her faith is in science. I think in this way, Sisko was more open, especially once he warmed up to Bajor and its cultures. I don’t know if I can see Janeway ever comfortable in the Emissary role.

Janeway vs Kai Winn would be fascinating. They’d both tear at each other with sugar-sweet smiles.

Janeway would also be pushed to make the same decisions as Sisko did in In the Pale Moonlight because just like Sisko, she takes every death personally. And the deaths during the Dominion War were constant.

It would be fascinating to see Janeway in the Siege of AR355 though just to see Janeway in another siege war. She already mentioned on Voyager how devastating that was, in her low-key way.

Saving the Cardassian was a moment that won Janeway back her soul, if not for that moment, I honestly feel Janeway would’ve been lost.

Also, I feel Janeway and the Founder would have An Enemy Mine situation instantly. Janeway would also 100% support all of Nerys’s anti-Gul Dukat moves, she’ll hide it but she will low-key condone it.

Sisko was always contemptuous of Dukat but it was never personal, Sisko had to be driven to the moment of hating Dukat. Since, again, his hate would go towards the Borg more. But for Janeway? It’s a skip towards hating Dukat.

We could also see Janeway in a more casual setting more often, maybe even date. I have a feeling even if Janeway stayed in the Alpha Quadrant, Janeway and Mark Johnson wouldn't have stayed together.

#answered #lovecanbesostrange #ds9 and voyager switch #benjamin sisko #kathryn janeway #thinky thoughts #thought experiment #star trek #long post #star trek ds9 #star trek voyager

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clumsiestgiantess · 1 year ago

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Chapter nine of the Other-world Universe; drunken shenanigans! Amongst other things. (This chapter’s one of my favorites)

all chapters linked here

[Hangover? I hardly know her]

On one boring Saturday, several weeks from my first attempt at redemption, I left for the other-world after dinner. It seemed so much more inviting now that Erica had forgiven me. Well, not forgiven me, actually. It was more along the lines of facing the reality that I occasionally wandered through her world whether she wanted me there or not. I had a better feeling about things, regardless. I still wanted to make a better impression than I had when we first officially met. Erica had willingly spent time with me, and she'd actually enjoyed it. She said so herself. The thought of that rainy day made my heart skip a beat. Befriending the people of the other-world was a lot more gratifying than sitting around invisibly controlling them. Albeit, it was a lot harder.

It wasn't raining that evening, but large clouds hung heavily in the air. Erica's house was empty when I meandered past the cliffside, and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sorrow at the sight. What was I going to tell her, anyways? I asked myself internally. 'I came back because my world's boring and you aren't?' No, it was for the best that she wasn't home. I could wait for tomorrow — maybe get there a bit earlier. I’d come later into the night, but then again, I always come around dark. It stresses me out less and makes me feel a bit more hidden.

Wandering further through the outskirts of the city, I debated controlling someone to get closer to its center. However, since everything that happened, I was really trying to be less lenient with my own rules. 'Absolutely necessary' was already vague enough. Deep in thought, I stumbled over a car in the street, not even realizing it had turned down the road I was walking on. I glanced backwards to find the vehicle flipped upside down in the road behind me. Too many bystanders had seen it happen, though. This was a residential area, and people were already flocking out of their homes to witness the damage. Like so many other accidents I'd caused, I could do nothing to help without making a scene.

I guiltily slunk off to a different, less inhabited place. The streets were filled with pawn shops and sketchy offices that were most likely fronts for a plethora of illegal things. I quickly moved on from that section and continued around the outside of the city. After finding nothing of particular interest, I was ready to call it a night and head back to my own world. A split second from vanishing away, I felt a magnetic-esque tug. Erica. Should I look for her? Will she think I’m stalking her if I do? In the end, I decided to just check in on her, then head back home. Strange streets slowly became more recognizable as I traversed the roadways trying to follow my and Erica's sixth sense.

Once the old club came into view, I picked up the pace, suddenly realizing where she must be. Erica was nowhere in sight when I arrived, and I had to wait later into the dark morning for her to emerge from the building. This time, she actually recognized her car, so I assumed she wasn't too buzzed. However, the second her car was running, she proceeded to put it into drive rather than reverse. She came horribly close to smashing directly into the car parked in front of her. Thankfully, my reflexes reacted before my brain did. I quickly stopped the vehicle in its tracks with a free hand. Eyeing the empty streets for any passerby, I brought her car to the empty lot I'd sat in to watch the city over a year ago — only a block or two down the street. It took a few moments after I'd placed it down, but Erica eventually stepped out of her car and looked around the lot, confused. "This isn't my house," she stated confusedly after examining the darkening streets.

Oh boy. "Erica, what are you doing trying to drive this drunk?" I asked quietly, slightly exasperated, "Weren't you already arrested for doing this?" She whirled around towards the sound of my voice, glancing around the dark with a bewildered expression. "H- hello? God, is that you?" Shortly afterwards, she dissolved into a mess of giggles and slumped back down into the driver's seat. "Don't take me yet!" Erica exclaimed drunkenly, "Wait until the hangover starts, then I'll want to leave." Sighing, I kneeled on the concrete and considered my options. I couldn’t leave Erica in the lot; she was far too drunk to stay by herself in the city, especially at night. My first thought was to take her home myself, but that meant I’d have to pick her up either in her car or just in my hand. I knew for a fact that sober Erica would passionately refuse both options.

Taking her car was basically out of the question, though. It would be way too risky trying to hide it from the view of all the people in the other-world who might look up and spot it, even if it was the dead of night. The only way to get Erica home is to carry her there. I debated my decision for a moment. “Erica, can you come out of the car for a second? I- I need to take you home, but I’m honestly not sure how.” Erica shrugged and stepped off her seat, stumbling on the cracked cement. Hesitating a few times, I reached for her. Unfortunately, I had to keep myself invisible in the outskirts of the city. Erica would have a fit if I were to try this while she was sober, but I had no other choice.

My fingers slowly curled around Erica’s torso, lifting her a few inches into the air. The second her feet left the ground, she shrieked like she was being murdered. I quickly set her back down, regretfully watching as she scrambled behind her car for safety. Her bubbly mood was replaced with a newly terrified one. It was heartbreaking; all her newfound trust in me was instantly revoked.

Erica’s frightened voice echoed from her hiding spot. “I can’t be controlled again. Please, it has to stop. I don’t want to be a puppet.” She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Was she really this scared of me, or is that the alcohol talking? Sitting up as much as I could without fully standing, I surveyed the area for people. Streetlights and neon signs hummed with life, but otherwise the surrounding streets were completely dead. Tentatively, I came out of invisibility. “Erica,” I called softly, “It’s just me. I won’t control you, I promise.” Her head popped up from her hiding place behind her car. “You’re not?” she asked, looking me over warily. I shook my head and she slid out of hiding.

Erica meandered around the lot for about 20 minutes afterwards, blabbering drunken nonsense and pacing around aimlessly. She tried twice to drive home, but I refused to let her get in her car. I’d quickly slide my hand over the door every time I saw Erica make a move towards it. The second time I blocked her, she pressed herself into my fingers, trying to force them apart so she could get past them. It was strangely adorable, but I still refused to let her in. Driving in her disoriented state was basically a death sentence.

“Come on,” she whined, “I wanna go home already!” “I can’t let you drive this drunk,” I replied. She sighed, giving one last attempt to pry my fingers free. Finally, she sat down tiredly on the back of her car. A few minutes later, Erica nearly slid off her seat in drowsiness. I quickly reached over and caught her before she got a face full of cement.

Immediately, Erica slid out of my grip and hurried to the newly opened doorway. At that point, I was worried I might have to hold her car aloft to stop her from using it. However, Erica paused at the door, hand hovering over its handle. Slowly, she turned to look up at my exhausted expression. "You're..." she paused, considering my large form sitting cross-legged in the lot, taking up more than half the empty space. "You're my friend, right? I can trust you?"

I was baffled by her questions, but immediately had the answer. "Of course you can trust me." Erica gave me an oblivious, innocent smile, "That's good. I like you. I'd invite you over to my house, but you won't let me go." She wandered over to my hand, laying back on it like a bed. "Guess I'll just sleep here tonight. But I’m going to make it your problem." I sat stunned while Erica rambled on in a half asleep voice. In her slightly delirious state, she'd asked me where my house was and questioned whether I even had one or just slept in the mountains somewhere. Before I could try to explain my situation to her, she'd fallen asleep.

After a few minutes, I bent over to see her closer, fingers cupping around her ever so slightly. I didn't dare get too close though, just in case she woke up and my closeness scared her. Butterflies flitted around my chest as I gazed down at Erica tucked sleepily in my palm. I gushed over how sweet a moment it was before realizing something like that would probably never happen again. Once she sobered up, I doubted Erica would ever be that trusting of me. I can enjoy this moment now, though. Before it ends, and I go back to being seen as an 'untrustworthy monster' not a 'safe friend'.

My pulse quickened slightly as I felt Erica shift unconsciously on my palm. Her arm slid over my thumb, pulling it closer to herself as she nestled her head on the pad of another finger. The feeling was so overwhelming, I felt my eyes tearing up. Seeing her sleeping soundly was making me doubly tired. It was definitely well past midnight, and I still hadn’t slept, myself. Even when I closed my eyes to get some rest, there would always be some suspicious sounds out on the street or a slight movement from Erica, and I'd suddenly be woken again.

Eventually, I must've fallen asleep, because when I woke up the sun had drifted above the horizon. My heart dropped in panic as I quickly became invisible once more. Hopefully no one had spotted me while I was sleeping. Erica was still out cold, so I slid my hoodie out from its previous use as a pillow for myself, and placed it on the ground with Erica on top of it. My hand prickled awfully from the loss of blood over the course of the night. I had to hold it still for hours so Erica wouldn't wake up. As I shook out my hand and bent my fingers to get them back to normal, I pulled away from the building behind me to check how much damage I'd undoubtedly caused by leaning against it. There was a large dent in its side where my back rested. Thankfully, the building looked long abandoned.

Early city sounds started up for the day, and I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Horns blared in the direction of the highway, and a flock of tiny pigeons scattered into the sky. Suddenly, a small yelp startled me mid-yawn. I glanced over at my hoodie where Erica was now sitting upright in confusion. "What- Where am I? What happened? Alexis, are you-" "I'm here," I replied softly, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself. Erica flinched slightly at my voice before calming down once she recognized it. A few seconds passed as she stared into the distance, possibly remembering vague details from the night before.

"You.. wouldn't let me drive home last night..." "Because you were ridiculously drunk and almost crashed within five seconds of trying to drive," I finished. Erica sucked in a pained breath of air as she clutched her head and slowly laid back down. "Fucking hangover," she cursed under her breath. "I think the drinks might’ve been spiked. I.. I really shouldn’t keep going back there.” She rolled over and clutched fistfuls of my hoodie closer to herself. “Thank you though, for keeping me off the road. I could've died; I wasn't really thinking." I smiled, breathing in the early morning air. "You're welcome."

"I have some water in my car," Erica realized aloud. "If I could just get it..." I would offer to get it for her, but I doubted I could get to the bottle without accidentally tearing the door off. We sat in the lot for some time, Erica trying to power through her headache long enough to make it to her car. She got two thirds of the way there before doubling over in pain. I had to reach out and catch her before she fell to the ground. Erica froze when she felt my fingers hoist her back up, but she quickly got over it and made her way into the driver's seat with my help. Finally, she got out the bottle and swallowed a few sips, slumping over in pain and exhaustion afterwards.

I noticed her cast a longing stare directed at my hoodie. Erica wanted to lie back down, but didn't want to keep me here longer than she already had. She sat sideways, legs still dangling out of the car, and looked up in my direction. "Did I-” she stopped for a second then started her sentence again. "I don't remember much of last night, but.. did I fall asleep in your hand?" she asked hesitantly. "Yes," I confessed, "You wanted somewhere to sleep, and since I didn't let you into the car��" "I'm sorry," Erica interjected, "That's.. embarrassing, I'm so sorry. I kept you here all night." I let out a breathy laugh, "No, it's fine Erica. I really didn't mind! It's not like anyone's missing me back home." She seemed slightly concerned for a moment, sitting up to get off her seat before letting out a small yelp of pain and reaching for her temples, again staring longingly at the comfortable pile of fabric a few feet away.

"Hold out your hand," I instructed. Shockingly, Erica made no argument. Her tiny digits brushed over the pads of my own, leaning her weight onto me. Gently, I hauled her up out of her seat. With small careful movements, I managed to guide her back to my hoodie so she could lay down again. With a wan smile, she burrowed herself in its folds. "Did you know I'd be out drinking last night?" Erica asked after laying there for a while, her eyes closed in a half-sleep. "No, I was just sightseeing in the city again," I answered honestly, "I was about to leave when I felt you were nearby and went to investigate."

"By 'investigate', do you mean 'spy on me'?" When I answered with a dull silence, she opened her eyes and sat up slightly to look at me. Well, to look at the empty space that I sat in. "That was supposed to be a joke, sorry. I wasn't trying to chastise you." This was new. I don't think Erica had ever apologized to me before. Not that she had anything to apologize for. "I'm just glad I came when I did," I replied, "before anything happened." She must've sensed my tone shift a bit, because she frowned at me and stood slightly before realizing that wasn't helping her headache. "You were worried about me?" Erica asked, looking slightly flattered. "That's.. really sweet of you."

I nodded vigorously, though Erica couldn't see me. "Of course I was worried about you!" I exclaimed before realizing I should probably keep my voice a bit quieter. It hurt my throat, but it probably kept me a bit more secretive. Even if it didn’t, whispering would also be better for Erica’s headache regardless. "Imagine how awful I'd feel if I came back to the mansion to visit and you weren't there. I guess I would think you blew me off, but I'd really start to worry once you were gone for weeks afterward."

Erica sat silently for a bit, deep in thought. "I..." she started, "I guess I didn't realize you cared about me that much." A long silence followed, her last words resonating in the empty air. Erica's expression became clouded with emotions I couldn't quite read. "Are you alright?" I asked uncertainly. The silence broken, Erica shook herself off and straightened up. "Yeah, I'm just thinking. I really should head home, though." "Alright, I guess I'll do that too. Do you need help?" She shook her head and stood slowly, "I should be alright until I get home." I watched her return to the driver's seat, readily waiting to catch her if she fell.

Before closing the car door, Erica slowly turned to look at me. "Thank you, again, for dealing with me last night. I swear I'll try not to get that drunk from now on. It’s not that I want to, it just kinda.. happens, I guess." I laughed slightly, "You work on that." Erica started up the car, smiling lightheartedly. With a little wave, she drove off back to the mansion, leaving me behind on the cracked concrete lot. Just in case, I trailed her car from a distance. She said she was alright to drive, but I wanted to make sure she made it home safely before I left.

I could barely sleep that evening, far too awake thanks to the events of the day, along with the fact that I’d just woken up. Erica had trusted me so wholly that she’d slept in my hand. I felt giddy just thinking about it, but at the same time, I had to come to terms with the fact that the incident had everything to do with the alcohol and whatever else she’d consumed and nothing to do with her actual trust in me. However, even when she’d slept it all off, Erica had still trusted me enough to touch her that morning.

I hadn’t touched her or even got very close to her since I’d grabbed her during our first true meeting. She made it crystal clear that she didn’t want my massive appendages anywhere near her since then. That was until just this morning, when she’d willingly taken my hand. It might’ve just been Erica being in too much pain to be stingy, but she was stubborn; if she didn’t want to do something, it was near impossible to get her to change her mind. The only reason I say near is because of my abilities, but using those was obviously out of the question.

Exited that Erica finally seemed to be warming up to me, I eagerly returned on the following Saturday. I’d chosen Saturdays simply because they were the day I had the most free time. I raced downstairs right after lunch and zapped off to the other-world, almost jogging to the cliffside before realizing the tremors I would undoubtedly cause. Stepping up to the mansion, I found Erica on the phone with someone inside. Resting on the cliffside a bit further down, I waited for Erica to finish the call and come to the door. It was taking a suspiciously long time for her to get there, so I began wandering off to the areas nearby.

Eventually, I noticed the glass door, which had now been fixed, sliding open. Erica stepped hesitantly onto the patio outside. "Alexis? Are you out here?" I made my way over to the mansion again. "Yeah," I answered, "It's Saturday. I'm here." My sudden voice caused Erica to jump a few feet in the air. Her face scrunched up in thought, “You came today? It’s.. not the best time for me. I have errands to run today." I stared blankly at her, suddenly feeling very awkward. "I.. oh." I felt so stupid — it was all I could say. “N- Nevermind. Sorry to bother you.”

Erica snickered, shaking her head slightly in embarrassment for me. She thought for a moment, then made a small 'aha' gesture. "Hey, you know what? While you're here, do you think you could help out with stuff? I was just on the phone with a decor store. See, I have this new couch coming, but the store's being big jerks about it and they won't deliver it for me. They said they'd have someone help load it into my car, but.." She stepped out a ways, gesturing to her two-seater sports car parked in the driveway. Its trunk was only a few feet long, and that was in other-world measurements. "It won't exactly fit. I told them that, but I don't think the lady on the phone particularly gave a shit, so.. I'm thinking maybe, while you're here and everything, you can get the couch for me?"

I mulled her idea over. I don't really have anything else to do, and I was planning to spend the rest of the day here anyway. "Well, I can't just go there and get it by myself, you have to go and claim it." Erica waved a hand to shush me, "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm coming too. I just need someone to take the couch." "Alright," I agreed, "I'll help out. I was planning to be here today, anyway." My agreeance was instantly rewarded with a rare genuine smile from Erica, which was compensation enough for me.

It took Erica a few minutes to get herself ready, but soon we hit the road. Well, she hit the road and I followed from a distance. I was still amazed by how easily I could keep up with vehicles like her car. Technically they were only toy-sized so I guessed it made sense. We had to diverge paths for a bit when the highway turned through a forested area I couldn’t walk in, but using our sixth sense, I was still able to follow her despite not being able to see her. When she got to the parking lot, she took a space at the very far end.

“Alexis?” Erica called, stepping out of the car. “I’m here,” I replied quietly, kneeling down. There was an empty dog walk beside the lot on this side that gave me just enough room to stay. Erica had probably parked all the way over here because of it. “I’m going to have them leave the couch out on the corner over there. Do you think you could take it without anyone noticing?” “In front of the entire parking lot?” I asked skeptically, looking out over the stretch of asphalt and cars, "I'll try." Soon, the new couch was brought out to the corner. Erica told the employees who took it out there that a truck would be coming by any second to take it, but they insisted on waiting for it to arrive so they could load it inside. It was their policy or whatnot.

Erica began to get annoyed, realizing that they would get suspicious when no one actually showed up. Spying a van nearby, I got an idea. I made sure Erica was preoccupied with the moving guys before stepping over and latching onto the driver. I had them pull up to where the couch was waiting, then call out to the movers and Erica. ("I'm here! Is this the couch?") Erica's eyes went wide in shock, her face paling as she rapidly figured out what I’d done. I instantly regretted my decision, but the two movers got right to work placing things inside.

The moment they left, Erica glared at me through the person she realized I must be controlling. "My car. Now." I hesitated, but begrudgingly had the person drive out and park beside her fancy red sports car. Erica marched up to the driver, "What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you weren't doing any of this shit anymore!" It was weird watching her yell at the innocent person I was controlling instead of my actual self, who was watching invisibly from above. ("They weren't going to leave, so I thought this might help,") I explained. She stared at the driver a moment, "Can.. Can whoever you're controlling see what's happening right now? I remember it was like spacing out and watching things happen around me…” Her expression shifted from anxious to enraged in a matter of seconds. “Alexis, you can't do this to people!" ("I know, I know. I just need to do one thing, then they'll go off and forget this ever happened.")

Erica stood irritated the entire time as I, myself, got the couch out of the van. Quickly, I had the driver pull away and forget the last few minutes. "See, they're gone. It's like they were never here," I said quietly. I knew what I did was not going to be cast aside that easily. "Can we just… go back to the mansion and I can explain-" "Explain what? You controlled someone right in front of me!" "Erica, I controlled them for five minutes. They were completely fine and I did nothing to hurt them. I- I understand that what I did to you was very wrong, but it wasn't like that. I had someone do us a favor, and that's all." "Just bring the damn couch home." Erica slammed her car door and sped away before I could reply. I took up the piece of furniture and held it beneath my shirt to keep it hidden.

I stood in numb shock as I watched Erica’s car disappear down the freeway. What was I thinking, controlling someone in front of her, even if it was only for a moment? On my way back, I realized that without my sixth sense to guide me, I was a bit lost. I followed the trail of places I recognized, unsure whether I recognized them from the trip today or from another time. The sudden sound of something ripping apart startled me from my pensive mood. I nearly tripped over a stoplight when I looked up.

A pitch-black tear broke through the sky to my right. It was as if the atmosphere itself had been cut open, filled with a gaping black void of whatever was inside. There were only two or three other cars on this backroad, but everyone who saw it stopped and watched in frightened awe. The tear looked exactly like the strange instance of black lightning I’d noticed from a distance a long time ago. I’d completely forgotten about it until then. Now that it had opened a yard or so away from me, I realized that the strange phenomenon was definitely not natural.

A few seconds of stunned silence later, the tear slowly closed back in on itself, sealing up the sky once more. What in the world was that!? Clearly, no one else seemed to know either. A crowd of bystanders formed in the street by their abandoned vehicles, debating over what exactly they’d witnessed. Talk of aliens and dark magic drifted to my ears from the road below me. Whatever strange things were going on, this time, they were not my fault. Not wanting to stick around in case any government agencies came looking, I backed off and continued the long walk to the mansion.

When I got back, Erica was there waiting for me. Silently, she opened the back doors and pointed inside to where the old couch used to be. I delicately placed it inside like you would a piece of dollhouse furniture. It wasn't completely dark yet, but it was getting there. It had taken me a while to find my way back without Erica to guide me. Her back was turned and it looked as if she might shut the back doors on me, so I quickly shifted to visibility.

"Erica, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," I pleaded, "It's not fair what I did. It should never have been that long, I- I just got into the habit and didn't stop…" She turned around to face me. My eyes were brimming with tears, and I was gripping the cliffside so hard that chunks of rock came away in my hands. "You're not talking about today, are you?" Erica asked, leaning tiredly against the doorframe. I shook my head, bending down to look her in the eyes. "You.. didn't deserve that. I stole eight months of your life, and I convinced myself that you were better off because of it…" I took a shuddering breath and continued. "I don't want to scare you or hurt you, I promise."

There was a long moment of dull silence where I could've sworn Erica would tell me to leave her alone, but all she did was sigh and step inside. My stomach plummeted. I stepped away, trying desperately to keep myself from full-on crying. I had come so close. "Hey, I'm- I'm still here," a whisper echoed from the second floor of the mansion. "I just came up here to talk to you easier." I wiped the tears from my face as best as I could in the pitch dark of the coming night before stepping into the light of the house.

"You genuinely care about me, right?" Erica asked once I came back over. I nodded furiously. "You're lucky that I care about you, too. We’re friends, which means we’re supposed to look out for each other. So just.. Please don't control people anymore. It’s not right and it freaks me out." She crossed her arms defiantly, "And if I ever see you do anything like that again, even if it's for a few minutes, even if a person isn't affected by it in the slightest, that's it. You and I are done." I blinked, slightly astounded despite my awful predicament. "There's.. there's a you and me? We’re friends?" Erica rolled her eyes, "That's what you got out of all this? You know what, maybe there isn't a you and me after all." "No, no!" I backtracked, "I agree with what you said before, I won't control anyone again!” "You better not," she chided, pointing a finger at me, "Or else."

I stood feeling chastised while Erica glanced awkwardly back into her house. “I should really go make dinner," she mused, more to herself than to me. "I haven’t had anything to eat since eleven o’clock this morning. I’d order in because I really don’t feel like cooking, but I did that yesterday.” I stood up so fast, Erica flinched. “I can get us something to eat!” Instantly, I vanished into my world and grabbed the backpack I’d been planning to bring. A few sandwiches were packed inside.

Moments later, I was back at the mansion. Erica still stood hesitantly on the balcony. “It.. might be a bit too much, but I have these,” I said, offering her one of the sandwiches. It occurred to me then that I probably seemed a bit desperate to make amends by doing this. I watched Erica’s expression. She mostly seemed shook by the fact that I had a sandwich the length of the room behind her. “Are you trying to win me back with food?” she questioned, glancing at me smugly. I looked away, embarrassed, “I just.. don’t want you to be mad.” “Then maybe you should listen to me the next time I tell you not to do something.”

“Ok..” I answered guiltily, letting the sandwich fall to my side in my hand. She did have the right to refuse my peace offering. “Woah, wait,” Erica stopped me, “I take bribes, hand that back.” At her sudden remark, I let out a surprised laugh and took the sandwich out of the bag it was in, breaking off a piece that would be semi-manageable for her. “Here you go, then,” I offered it to her. We spent the rest of the evening eating and talking until we both started getting tired. Before I could say my goodbyes, Erica stopped me.

“I.. You..." Erica paused, mouth opening and closing silently as she searched for a way to tell me what was on her mind. "You’re not controlling me anymore, are you? And then making me forget?” “What?” I asked, genuinely confused. “L- Like that guy in the parking lot? You made him forget about what he did.” I leaned over to rest my head on my hands, propped up on the side lawn. “Why would I want to control you?” I asked her earnestly, “What would I possibly hope to gain from doing that to you now?”

Erica hesitated, thinking. “I only did that to make you live an easier life. Now that I know I was only making things harder for you, why would I keep doing it?” She sighed, resting her head face down on the railing in front of her, staring silently at the floor for a while. “I guess that makes sense. And I don’t have any strange gaps in my memory like I used to. That.. was you making me forget stuff, I think. Some people just don’t care about others’ opinions, you know?” she explained, “I just wanted to know if you listened to me about that at the very least.”

I nodded, understanding. Slowly, I shifted back upright. It had to be scary — realizing that someone could take a part of your life away without you even knowing about it, or knowing what that piece of your life was for that matter. “I swear on my life that I haven’t controlled you since the night you called me out on it,” I promised. Erica’s head lifted, and she scrutinized my expression, searching for the truth. “I believe you,” she said after a brief silence. “And if I need anything in the future, like.. I don’t know.. Iike how you forced John to leave me alone, or when you stopped me from getting in a drunken accident a week ago, you’ll still be here, right?”

“I’ll be around,” I answered. “Every day I’ll come over here for a minute or two, probably right before I go to bed. I’ll come check on you, and if you need anything, you can let me know, and I’ll see what I can do. How does that sound?” Erica let out a relieved breath, “It sounds like the right way to help me fix my life. Thank you. I- I guess it was wrong of me to tell you I wanted you to stop controlling people, end of story, because I agree that it is a useful ability. So maybe you should only do it if I ask you to? I don’t know, it just.. it scares me.” I so badly wanted to hug her. My hands twitched at the thought, inching closer before realizing she probably wouldn’t enjoy my giant form encroaching in her small space.

Hesitantly, I brought a hand over to the balcony and reached out a single finger instead. “You shouldn’t have to be scared when I do that. I want you to know for certain that I will never ever even try to control you.” Erica stepped backwards in concern, unsure what I intended to do as I got closer. When I paused right in front of her, her eyes widened slightly, and she stared at the outstretched digit in awe. Slowly, Erica’s gaze lifted to meet mine. “It’s alright,” I told her softly. With a shaking hand, Erica reached out and delicately put her hand over the pad of my upturned finger, mouth dropping open slightly in wonder. She dazedly traced the swirling marks of my fingerprint, shook by something so much larger in scale.

A brief moment later, I took back my arm, leaving Erica standing there speechless. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” I promised, “to check on you like you asked.” I backed off the cliffside and smiled at her hopeful gaze. After a small goodbye, I left for my own world with Erica still standing wide-eyed on her balcony.

The following few months were filled with similar affairs. Erica and I got together for a few meals, and she’d started letting me in on a few things that had been happening in her life that she’d previously kept hidden. She admitted she’d been afraid that I’d mess with things again if she told me about them — a subtle hint to the fact that she was no longer afraid of my ability to do so, and realized that I really did never intend to use it on her again.

Once we even had an accidental meeting when her car died in the back roads by her house. It was deathly hot out now that summer was coming, and without any air conditioning, it was stifling. Thankfully, I came by a little while after the car died. I’d already been to her house and decided to walk back through the mountains where there was a bit more of a breeze, only to find Erica’s very noticeable car on the side of the road there. Erica had been halfway passed out from the heat by the time I found her. Her phone had died as she tried to call a towing company because she spent all her time trying to find a well-reviewed one.

Hesitantly, I'd asked if she wanted me to get someone to help, but she strongly refused, knowing that meant I'd have to control someone again. Even when her life might depend on it, Erica refused to break her own rules — something I seemed to be in the habit of doing, though I was getting better at it. All she’d done was tell me: "I'd be too nervous sitting in someone else's car while you're controlling them," and I immediately halted mid-argument. If Erica wasn’t comfortable with it, then neither was I.

I ended up taking the car back to the house with her inside it — a quick transport to the air-conditioned mansion. Erica was thankful for the lift, even though she didn’t approve of my methods whatsoever. I had to argue with her for fifteen minutes straight just to convince her that I wouldn’t accidentally drop her. Erica claimed she nearly had a heart attack when I picked up the vehicle without warning. Still, she thanked me with a gift: a bottle of champagne.

“My last bottle of alcohol in the house,” Erica admitted, “It’s yours.” She handed me the tiny bottle, which couldn’t have been more than an inch long. “I’m finally going sober.” Erica beamed up at me; her eyes shone with an excitement I'd never seen before, even when I showed up to meals with oversized food from my own world. Ever since I’d brought her that sandwich, it was like she’d finally realized that I had a whole world full of comparatively gigantic things. Many of my recent trips, I’d brought along either food or an item for Erica to mess with. She’d practically fainted when I came with a full-sized tube of lipstick a few days ago. It was nearly as tall as she was, and she’d made a huge mess of it when she tried to use it herself, staining her outfit red, permanently.

Now, I stared down at the tiny champagne bottle in my hands, feeling the same strange wonder of seeing something normal at an entirely different scale. "How about you start that tomorrow?" I asked, referring to Erica’s remark about being sober, "Go inside and get yourself a glass, will you?" Erica nodded happily and disappeared into the mansion, returning with one of her champagne glasses. She took the bottle from me and poured herself a cup, carefully handing it back so it wouldn't spill. Taking the bottle between two fingers, I held it up to Erica's glass. "Cheers," I announced, "to you finally getting your life back." "Oh, I'll definitely drink to that," Erica remarked, clinking her glass with mine before taking a sip. I took the wine bottle and poured the entire thing into my mouth. It was barely more than a sip, but it tasted good. It occurred to me then that I wasn’t supposed to be drinking alcohol; I was only a few months into being eighteen. It wasn’t much, and I didn’t really care, but still.

It also occurred to me that I had no idea how old Erica was. She didn’t look that much older than me, but I’d never asked. “Erica,” I began, resting myself on the edge of the cliff so my head was even with the patio. “How old are you?” She froze mid-sip and glanced over at me. “Why do you ask?” “I just realized that I technically shouldn’t even be drinking alcohol at my age. Not that I mind the tiny amount I got from this bottle,” I added with a shrug. “Are you.. I mean… You’re out drinking all the time, so I assume you’re at least twenty-one, right?” The look of guilt that sprung to her face immediately made me think otherwise. “W- Well how old are you?” I shook my head, “You first.” “I’m.. I’m only twenty,” she confessed, “but legal drinking age is.. like.. eighteen so… Yeah. Now answer my question.”

It took a moment for me to respond after that. Not only was I unsure whether she was lying about the age a person could drink in her world, I realized that when I first saw her a year before, absolutely wasted in the parking lot, trying to break into a car she’d mistaken for her own — she was only nineteen. In my book, that was too young an age for her to be in that situation, and way too young an age to be in the situation with John in the alleyway.

“Alexis?” Erica asked questioningly. Her voice held the tiniest tinge of fear in it. “I’m eighteen,” I told her. My junior year of high school’s almost over.” She nodded, “Unpopular opinion, but I actually liked high school.” As I voiced my opinion against her own, claiming she probably just wasn’t remembering it clearly as a joke, I noticed her look darken for a moment, but chose not to press her about it. I changed the topic entirely and made some small talk for a bit before we parted ways for the night. I kept the empty champagne bottle as a souvenir, rubbing it thoughtfully between my fingers in bed that night. "Cheers," I whispered to myself, "to finally getting things right.

#good old g/t bonding time #(and a lil bit of Alexis messing up for flavor)#other-world universe #g/t #giant tiny

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hey-heigo · 9 months ago

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danganronpa monsters and mythics au: the students

i go into a little more detail on their individual profiles but here's some brief summaries

makoto: 100% human. has only ever lived in human society with little to no exposure to anything outside of it - regarded most magic and nonhuman creatures as stuff of fairy tales

kyoko: a man-made semi-biological automaton. she was built to be a tool for monster hunters to act as bait and draw out non-humans, but she managed to gain independence after successfully handling an incident involving a dragon on her own

byakuya: a half-dragon, half-human hybrid. the first heir of the togami line to be of human descent to any capacity - isn't taken very seriously despite winning the heir competition due to his mostly human features

aoi: a selkie. she likes the human world, especially the cuisine, but has a harder time navigating land as compared to water. distinguished herself as one of the fastest swimmers among most creatures to be allowed to traverse deeper into human society

sayaka: a half-harpy, half-human hybrid. she doesn't have arms but she has human legs - her biology makes it hard for her to fly for long period of time. she promotes herself as an 'angelic figure' and became a popular idol among humans and non-humans alike

leon: a satyr. wants to become famous. saw sayaka's fame among human fans especially, and now aims to become a punk rock star. is trying to sell his image as a 'devil who plays punk rock' but the only instrument he can play so far is the recorder

chihiro: a pixie. their wings were warped and damaged from birth, so flying is impossible, but they built and enchanted a wooden doll to carry them around (alter ego). most people assume chihiro is a magic, sentient doll instead of a pixie piloting a doll. theyre very skilled with complex enchantments for automations

toko: a human. descended from some powerful exorcists, but her family had fallen out of that practice by the time she was born. has been able to see ghosts from a young age and is prone to getting possessed, namely by one ghost she's been able to see since birth named 'syo'

hifumi: a tanuki. is infatuated with human culture and anime, and usually goes around in human form so as to enjoy it more. is considered a weirdo among tanukis for liking humans so much

celeste: a vampire...? actually is a kitsune who really likes the gothic aesthetic. prefers the mystery and dark romance of vampires compared to the trickery associated with foxes, but is not afraid of using magic and trickery to get what she wants

mondo: a vampire. leads a gang of other vampires and thralls that enjoy biking at night. had to consume his brother's blood when he died, and now has an aversion to the taste of it

kiyotaka: a werewolf. his grandfather was trying to build the imagery of werewolves to be loyal and noble, but that fell through due to scandal. he's now trying to rectify his grandfather's mistakes and acts like a loyal hound

sakura: a half-oni, half-human. achieved status as 'the strongest' among her family despite being of human descent, and gained respect among oni society because of this. wants the same from the human side as well, or at the very least, acceptance

hiro: a magic tree/dryad? a seed fell from the sky (likely from a World Tree) and landed in a flowerpot on an apartment windowsill tokyo. the woman in the apartment grew the seed, and when it turned into a human, she raised him like a son until he grew up - now independent, he goes around selling half-baked prophecies and magic charms

junko: a human. rumored to be descended from a witch who once nearly doomed all life on earth, but nowadays insists she's just a girl whose only skill is charm magic. gained a lot of renown in the human world as a fashion model

mukuro: a human. was indoctrinated in an organization of monster-hunters for a time in a northern continent before the group dissolved mysteriously. she doesn't seem to be entirely human-like, but it's hard to place how and why

#danganronpa #dgr mnm au #danganronpa thh #im not gonna tag every single character here are you kitten me #thh cast #whether junko and mukuro are actually human. is. a surprise that will be revealed at a dramatic moment :)))#was trying to conceive a world where characters of different diverse species and lives could live together and ended up with #an au that talks about accessibility practices and cultural clash

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game-anglia-brief-ga-2024 · 2 months ago

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First-Person Puzzle Games: Hello Neighbor

Hello Neighbor is a game in which the player is given the objective of breaking into their neighbors house undetected, and finding their way into the basement to uncover a mystery presented in the prologue.

Hello Neighbor shares an aspect of game design I mentioned in my BONEWORKS/BONELAB post being that of player choice, granted to a lesser extent. There ARE some parts of the game which only have one objective solution, such as the basement door NEEDING one specific key in one specific room. However, I believe this is a fine place to put a restriction, as it WOULD be a bit lame if the player could avoid the entire process by simply breaking down the door or something.

The part where the player freedom comes in is HOW the player traverses around between rooms, and avoids detection from the neighbor. The player might see a room they need to get into, however the door inside requires a key. The player might notice that the room has a window, however it's on a higher elevation so the player could never reach it right? Well, smart players might decide to go around the neighbors house and collect a bunch of cardboard boxes and stash them outside. Then, after enough trips, they should have enough boxes to construct a makeshift staircase up to the window, then they can break open the window by throwing a hard enough object at it, jump in, grab the key, and leave back out the window. This completely avoids the need to find a sequence of keys to unlock the door, and gets the player right to their goal.

Alternatively, perhaps the player would rather test their parkour skills, scaling up the building by jumping from one part to another, balancing along small ledges, and perhaps using objects such as boxes to create higher platforms to jump from, or perhaps using something like a wooden board, knocking it over to create a "bridge" between 2 areas to then walk across, or throwing objects to knock off something they need.

This freedom of choice is fantastic and is actually ENCOURAGED by the game design. How so? Well, the neighbor has the ability to remember what the player tried in previous break-in attempts, and will set traps to make doing that same thing a second time much harder. For example if you've broken in through a specific window a couple times, the neighbor will set up cameras, board up that window, and possibly even set down bear traps around it, forcing the player to change their tactic and constantly try new, creative solutions.

I really enjoy this aspect in which the game learns from the player and forces them to switch up their strategy so they're not predictable. This kind of system works better in some games than others, but if given the opportunity to include something akin to this, I'd love to give it a shot in a project of my own.

#hello neighbor #video games #indie dev #game dev stuff #game development #game dev blog

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milimeters-morales · 8 months ago

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me rambling under the cut

one of the least bad/most annoying side effects of atsv is how much it fucks over my thinking process when i’m trying to write a more realistic way of miles meeting up with people and friends from other worlds while being a student + spider-man + having a family that likes to spend time together, esp since i like to throw some comic characters into the mix. like it seems easy right? open a portal and go say hi. except you have to still plan ahead, because i have the times set different (for example peter is 30 minutes ahead and pavitr is an entire 12 hours), everyone has lives outside of being a vigilante (though gwen and margo give me the most freedom with this), and sometimes people just don’t wanna hang! don’t get me started on the portal itself, which you need to find a hidden spot to open and then take a few seconds to go through, to another side that you aren’t sure of the exact location. did you see the way the portal to pavitr’s world had Miles? and the way the go-home-machine sent gwen flying? of course, those are two diff types of portals, & there’s a workaround to everything, but it’s still a lot to consider and it just results in me taking forever to actually get shit down on paper. oh my god and the subtle tells of shit being resolved after btsv (bc i am not dealing with that) making the characters seem too ooc when they technically aren’t. bc it could happen. i’m always losing the idgaf war i love details i love hypotheticals and i love hidden meanings

another thing that isn’t canon and is just me making it harder for myself is me adding in anxiety and autism and a weird learned social behavior into the mix for miles. sure, guys and girls hang out. sure, they can be just friends. but he’s a guy who LIKED gwen and his parents don’t have the best first impression but are generally okay with her, and he’s at the age where all his girl friends will be teased as possible girlfriends by damn near everyone he knows. so it’s reasonable for him to not be around her while also around other people who don’t know the two of them like that, because dealing with that shit is exhausting AND embarrassing, stuff we both know Miles doesn’t like even if he can move on pretty quickly. so i expect him to sorta be like “nahhh… my cousins are here and… look let’s just hang out next time pleaseeee” and here’s where the anxiety and autism come in. miles (atsv) is not the type to care about how people view him based on his friends, and autism will result in him missing a lot of social cues but it’s kinda obvious to me that he doesnt miss the more romantic ones when it comes to gwen and how people view them together. this doesn’t help though because he doesn’t know what the do about it! he KNOWS the right thing: don’t let others get to you and work your shit out with gwen the way you know is right. but the anxiety makes him overthink about how gwen views all this (which i don’t actually go into detail that much about bc this is miles’s POV) because she means so much to him. and of course the whole “do i actually like her or is this just really deep connection or” from autism sometimes making it hard to define your feelings and a relationship, and anxiety making it a scary minefield to traverse if you wanna bring it up with said person. and don’t forget the awareness that the anxiety is making everything seem way worse than what it is, which Miles has and is so fed up by.

It all comes off as Miles eventually getting annoyed and tired of Gwen, which you know she did not take well. anyways…. throw all of this in with being a highschool student with a busy schedule and you’ve got miles’s main source of problems . too many friends and too many mental disorders and not enough time . i’m rereading this post and realizing none of it makes sense and kind of meandered .

#not tagging

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bafflement · 1 year ago

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Deaged Oz AU - Collecting [Very] Long Lost Property

Oz bit his lip slightly, as he pored over the maps Qrow had found of Mistral. The sooner they got the lamp to Atlas and the relative safety the floating kingdom could provide, the better it would be for everybody involved. The sooner they were out of Haven, the sooner damage control could be started... all those hunters that Leon's cowardice had killed, though. How were they ever going to replace them. Could they even replace them? Mistral needed protection, but with so many dead... he just hoped whoever Leon's replacement would be would be up to that task. He didn't envy them in the least... maybe they could draft in outside help? That would leave things spread worryingly thin, though. Ah well, it was out of his hands.

The worry must have shown on his face, though, because Qrow shifted position beside him, one hand coming to rest on his shoulder. They shared a conflicted look, Qrow was from Mistral, he knew as well as Oz did that the outlook might not be very bright for quite awhile. At least with the relic gone, Salem was less likely to target Mistral with an overabundance of Grimm? It was far from impossible, but none of them had any choice now. The lamp was too important, they couldn't stay to try to protect those left behind. So why did it feel so much like cowardice?

Shaking his head slightly, he went back to the map, plotting out the easiest route. There was the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something very important, though. Some of the marks on the map felt familiar in the same way most memories previous Oz's left him did, though he still didn't really remember anywhere near all of them. Without truly thinking about it, he mapped out a strangely winding path for them to follow. While it followed a lot of the natural contours, it wasn't the easiest it could have been. But it felt right.

"You sure, Pocketsized?" Qrow asked, sounding vaguely doubtful, though Oz was very aware that he was likely to follow it anyway. Qrow could be predictable like that and at least two of the arguably straighter routes would have lead them over some steep terrain that, frankly, he was uncertain he could easily traverse at the age he currently was. Much less his physical state, he had no memory of his limp having been quite this bad the first time around but it was more than possible he'd just forgotten. Or suppressed it, maybe, ether one was possible. How he wished they had access to an airship, it would make this so very much easier.

"I am. Several routes would be rather harder for me as things currently stand. While I am not actually the child I resemble, I can't help but worry that there are still a great many things my body is not fully capable of. Besides, I believe there may be something I should pick up along the way. I just do not currently remember what that is."

Qrow winced, but nodded anyway. It made a lot of sense, put that way. Oz wasn't actually a kid, of course, but that didn't stop him from having all of their physical limitations at the moment. More than, considering the health concerns that had seemed strangely far less serious in the adult than they did right now. He didn't mean to worry for him, but then they all did. He'd heard the kids enough, they all knew that Oz as he was needed their protection just as much if not more than they needed his expertise. Not that that was always easy to get him to accept, but then it was never really going to be. Oz was still far too independent for that.

It didn't take long for them to grab their belongings from the house they were staying in. All of them had packed relatively light, after all. The basic necessities had been restocked while they were in Mistral and they had plenty of food scattered around their various packs, but the rooms they had been staying in felt dismally empty once their stuff was all packed. The packs weren't even that large, yet in many ways they held their entire current lives. More than one of the kids looked rather depressed, noticing that. In the storm of packing, Oz carefully did not pack the hair dye. After all, they were always going to forget something, weren't they?

Tip blinked around at the tall trees surrounding them. None of them were familiar, but then if the half remembered impulse was right they might well not be. Whatever it was his subconscious was telling him to find was still a mystery, though he was dismally certain that he'd know the place when he found it. Did this particular part of the forest really need to go out of its way to make him feel even smaller though? Glancing across at Weiss, he saw that he wasn't the only one of their party who looked slightly intimidated by the sheer size of some of these. Not, of course, that Miss Schnee would ever admit to any such thing. He suppressed a grin at that, even though things had changed in the months they'd been in Mistral, he rather doubted anything would ever change enough for that.

"These trees are huge!" Ruby murmured, though she sounded more fascinated than intimidated. At that, Oz could no longer suppress the grin. Trust Miss Rose to lighten any mood, that was sorely needed right now. Why was he so morose? What was it that he was going to find, all the way out here? He didn't remember ever owning anything in this part of Mistral, but then with the state of the merge as it stood, would he? Had it even been Mistral at that point? The kingdoms hadn't exactly lasted forever, after all. There was plenty of time before that which this feeling could originate from.

Then again, the idea that anything could have survived from that far back was a very different matter. There were few things he'd ever really thought were important enough to protect in the ways that he would have needed to, back then. Unbidden, his mind flew to a specific fairy-tale, his eyes widening. Well, if it was that then... that might explain a few things. He could have sworn nothing had been left, but then... again, he just didn't know. He briefly cursed Cinder Fall, thankfully keeping enough control to use a language that the children would fail to recognise. The last thing he needed to do was teach them more swear words.

There was a delighted snort from behind him and he spun on his heel, staring at Yang, who was mouthing the word gleefully. Oh dear. At least it was Yang, since he was absolutely certain Qrow had already taught her and Ruby both enough words over the years, Maybe even some of them on purpose. Yang winked at him.

"Thanks for the new word, Professor! Tell me what it means?"

"Nice try, Miss Xiao Long." Oz replied, a laugh in his voice. Yang's face fell slightly, but her eyes gleamed. She was very aware from Oz's reaction that whatever it was was less than polite. Perfect, another one to add to her ever growing list. The syllables felt strange on her tongue, but she shrugged that off. So did some of Qrows... huh. Had Ozpin taught him those? She really would need to ask him, at some point...

Blake snorted, too, but at least she didn't seem to be mouthing the swear word to herself. Under the circumstances, Oz was very happy to take that as a victory. After all, his students were all teenagers, some things he feared were likely to be unavoidable. He frowned as his foot slipped, concentrating on his footing once more. It would be a very bad idea to fall right now, this far away from help. The others would, he was sure, but he didn't dare burden them any more than they already were by his presence. He hated being this vulnerable, but there wasn't really much he could do about that right now.

They turned a corner and Oz stilled, staring at a rocky outcrop that was instantly, primally familiar to him. The garden was long gone, of course, but the house was still there. The others, following his gaze, came to a halt too. There were various surprised noises, but Qrow turned to Oz, looking almost amused.

"I assume that was what ya were looking for, pocket sized?" Qrow gestured towards the building. It looked pristine and untouched, strangely out of place in its surroundings. Part of Oz marvelled that nobody had found it before, even as a brief flash of memory overtook him. No, no, he'd hidden this house, long ago. He could see it, those with him could see it. But nobody else could, he remembered now. Salem would have found it amusing to tear it down and it was too important, too special for that. It really was the house he thought it was... which meant he might have to explain a few things, not that anyone would believe the others if they talked. Besides, they all already knew the maidens existed, what was one more confirmation?

"It is indeed. May I present to you the Wizard's cottage?" Oz's voice was light, but the meaning behind the words wasn't lost on any of those around him. From the wide eyed stares, they appeared rather awed, but then you didn't often get proof of your fairy-tales, even in Remnant. This house was certainly proof of something. He inclined his head, gesturing towards it with a soft smile.

"Would any of you care to take a look around?"

"Yes!" was the chorus, even Qrow joining in, a strange awe in his eyes too. Oz was briefly touched by that, he was very aware that The Story Of The Seasons was far from Qrow's favorite as of late. But then, considering Raven... and Cinder... it wasn't really Oz's, either. Ah well, each to their own.

The cottage, whose door opened at Oz's touch looked exactly as it had the day he left. There wasn't a mote of dust on any of the surfaces, the ancient wooden counters and floorboards just as solid as he recalled them being. There wasn't a lot to see, really, but that didn't seem to stop how awed the others were. Leading them into the sitting room, he was surprised to see a fire spring up in the grate as he entered. Well, at least they'd all be warm tonight? He didn't remember setting that up either, but though his magic purred contentedly under his skin, it hadn't seemed to interact with anything else. A proximity alert, maybe? He longed to experiment as to whether it would trigger for any of the others, but they probably didn't really have the time. The chairs looked nice and soft though, so he nodded to them. The others all took seats, almost vibrating. Huh, this place really had affected them, hadn't it?

Of course, there was a part of Oz that was awed, too. After all, this was the house from the story. Though he was very aware it was a real one, he never thought he'd actually lay eyes on this place at any point outside of his own memories. Now, if only he could remember just why he was meant to come here? Showing his friends was amazing, of course, but he rather doubted that was the full point of their visit. Ozymandias chuckled in the back of his head, but didn't seem inclined to offer any help. Ah, so he was on his own to figure this out.

"Professor? Is this really the Wizard's house? From The Story Of The Seasons?" Nora sounded breathless, though the fact that she'd called him Professor again as opposed to the usual things she used to tease him underlined the seriousness of the question.

"Well, yes. Yes, it is. It appears to be exactly as I remember it, though I do urge you all to be careful, as despite appearances, this place is well over ten thousand years old."

"Ten thousand?" Oscar breathed, looking a strange mix of awed and horrified, one hand reaching towards where Oz stood as though he wanted to grasp him and never let go. "Oh, Tip, you left it this long? You never went back? This is your house!"

"Yeah, pocketsized." Qrow agreed, looking shaken. "I can tell how much this place matters to ya, but... how could it be that old? Houses decay, ya know that. Or is it magic again?"

"Well, yes... although, I rather fear I did not wish to lead Salem here. This house is special, she would have destroyed it out of sheer malice. After all, fairy-tales contain hope." Oz's smile was fragile now, gazing around the room with hazy, far away eyes. The kitchen, the hall, the sitting room, the bathroom... the bedroom. Had there really only been five rooms to this place? For all it was small, Oscar and Qrow were right. It really did feel like coming home.

The bedroom. There was something there that he'd left, meant to come back for and never had. He darted from the room, moving unerringly to what had once been the Wizard's sanctuary. One small bed surrounded by a great many shelves. All the books he'd stored here were gone, of course, he'd taken most of them with him... but had he taken everything? The vague feeling in his brain was a blaring siren now. There was something, somewhere in this room. He heard footsteps and looked up, meeting Qrow's eyes. Of course Qrow had followed him, he could really expect nothing less. As protective as Qrow was... but surely he realised there wasn't anything in this house that would ever harm him?

"Hey, Pocket sized, ya looking for something?"

"I believe so, yes. Two sets of eyes would be better than one, though I cannot be certain just what I... they... hid here. I just know that it's very important that I recover it. It's been lying here for too long." Oz smiled. "Up to a treasure hunt with me, Qrow?"

Qrow grinned back, eyes alight. "I'd be happy ta help, Oz. I still can't quite believe this house exists. I mean, I know the stories are real, but..."

"How are the children, by the way?" Oz asked curiously, both of them starting to search the small space. Qrow chuckled fondly.

"They're okay. Talking up a storm in the other room, surprised you can't hear them. Although..." Qrow cocked his head, frowning slightly as he realised that he couldn't hear them from here, either. Eh, they'd be okay for a few minutes, he could probably just chalk it up to yet more of the oddness of this house. Oz's house... at least he might have somewhere to go when this was all over that wasn't that damn clock tower?

Oz ducked under the bed, fingers running over the floorboards, searching for a gap. Like the door and the fire, it seemed to open at his touch, though it was very cramped under the bed. He wriggled back out, grinning widely.

"I Think I found it, but I'll need help moving the bed to get to the hidden compartment." Qrow made a face, for some reason moving or disturbing anything felt almost like desecration. But this was Oz's house, if anyone had the right to alter things, it was him.

As the bed shifted, the hole was revealed. It wasn't very large, but it was more than sufficient for the pair of carefully wrapped packages within it. Oz's eyes were wide and his hands shook as he carefully removed them from their long term resting place. What had he left behind? He knew there were things he'd misplaced over the millennia, after all. Qrow replaced the bed and Tip lay the bundles on it, shaking from sheer nerves now. One of them was book shaped, but as for the other? Could this have been its final hiding place? He remembered in flashes, Salem finding the decoy of what he was starting to be very sure this had to be. He remembered that death, too. He shuddered, choosing to unwrap the larger bundle first.

They both stared down at a slim book of fairy-tales, bound in a shimmering green leather that could not possibly be natural. He remembered this book, too. Remembered stealing it from Salem, running with it, hiding it. It had been the book he used to read to his daughters, millennia ago. He sobbed, sounding broken, as Qrow gathered him into a hug. Qrow didn't know, of course, but as always he knew what to do to comfort Oz in his grief.

If that was the book, though, then the other item had to be what he thought it was. Still, he needed to be sure. Squirming out of Qrow's arms, he unwrapped the other item, staring down at Ozma's emerald. The real one, not the various fakes he'd carried over the millennia. Ozymandias gasped in his head, sending a wave of comfort that Oz sincerely appreciated. It was strange, but he thought he'd miss Ozzy even more, this time, when he left again. Was it selfish, to hope the meld took awhile longer?

Qrow was staring again. That was fair, though, the emerald was rather larger than his hand. Qrow's hand, that was, not Oz's. It was perfectly flawless, too... and Oz had no idea how much it would fetch were anyone to steal it from him. If it could be stolen, which he wasn't entirely certain about, he seemed to remember it coming back. Either way, wandering through Mistral with something worth that much would certainly be an experience, He wasn't likely to leave either item behind, though.

He rewrapped them carefully, unpacking his pack in order to cushion both items as best as he could with his limited amount of spare clothing. He looked up at Qrow, who still looked a bit shellshocked and grinned shakily.

"You were a bandit, Qrow, surely you've seen precious gems before?"

"Yeah, no, Oz. Not like that. That's not like anything I've seen before, magic?"

"Well, yes and no. It's the gem from Ozma's staff, Qrow. I don't know why I'll need it, but I think that's why I was drawn here."

Qrow stared for a solid minute before he could get his voice to work well enough to ask the other question on his mind. "And the book? I saw how it affected you, Pocketsized..."

"I... I don't want to talk about it, Qrow. Maybe one day, but not right now. We need to go and check on the others." Hauling his pack back onto his shoulders, Oz left the room. Qrow could only shake his head, hoping that Oz really would tell him, one day.

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heckinconfusedparade · 2 years ago

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I have no idea if you still take prompts but here’s a short one. Sonic actually stops to listen to Tails before destroying the Paradox Prism. But that distraction did get Eggman an advantage as he removed the paradox prism from the ground and someone else decided to smash it. Who was it, it was Amy. Idk, I just want to see Amy traversing throughout the shatterverse.

I still take prompts! And I really like this one!

“Sonic, no!” Is what triggers Sonic to stop running. His attention now turned to his little brother. In the same minute his attention is turned to Eggman who was successful ripping the prism out of the ground.

Amy takes a running charge, hammer ready to slam.

“AMY DONT” then shatter.

Next thing she knows, Amy is falling from the sky into a city. She dusts herself off “where.. am I?” Amy looks around to take in her surroundings. She’s not in Green Hills anymore.

She tries to ask around for answers but everyone’s ignoring her, which upsets her. Amy decides to look for Tails. He’s the smart one so he must know what’s going on.

As she’s walking, she notices her shoes are sparking and lighting up. “..that’s new. Gotta find Tails..” then she spots him in the subway. Amy tracks him into a pipe and into a workshop.

Shoot, it’s padlocked. If she remembers correctly, the code is 1992. She celebrates her memory before stepping in.

“Oh, Tails am I happy to see you!” Amy bounces over to Tails, who shrieks and holds up a wrench as if he considered stabbing her in hen he sees her. “What did you call me?”

“Tails! It’s me! Amy!”

“I don’t know an Amy.” Something hard hits her away from him.

She looks up at Tails who’s staring down at her in annoyance and anger. Who does she think she is?

“Tails stop!” Amy pleads, but it makes things worse. “Don’t call me that. MY NAME IS NINE!” Nine engages his mechanical tails and lunges at her.

Amy rolls backwards onto her feet. She summons her hammer and discovers it feels really weird. Not heavy, but harder to swing. That doesn’t stop her from batting away Nines sharp tails.

“T-..Nine stop! I don’t want to fight you!” Famous last words before the fight is brought to the busy subway.

Amy is more focused on defending herself rather than fighting back, which is annoying Nine a lot.

“Why. Aren’t. You. Fighting. BACK!!” He screams taking one final lunge before slipping to the side of the train.

He notices a bright light approaching at high speeds which means TRAAAAIN!

Amy lowers her hammer down to him “grab on!” Nine has no choice but to trust her in this moment, as it’s the best choice for survival. She brings him up right before the train passes.

Nine takes several deep breaths. His heart is pounding. “Why did you save me?”

“Because you’re my friend, Tails. You have to be careful!”

“You’re not my friend. I don’t HAVE any friends. And? My name. Is Nine! Emphasis on the nine!” Nine shows all of his tails.

Amy taps her chin. Somethings not right.. no, nothing is right. Is she in another dimension?

Amy asks Nine why he thinks he has no friends. Nine explains his backstory.

Amy has heard that story before.. except Sonic had been there to help Tails.

“Wait, what about Sonic?”

“Who’s Sonic?”

“Yknow, blue hedgehog?”

That earns a confused look. Amy asks about the city.

Then everything falls into piece.

She is in a dimension where Sonic doesn’t exist.

Or so she thinks.

Amy eventually is captured with Nine and brought to the council.

In walks Sonic.. but he isn’t quite Sonic. His body is mostly metal like a cyborg. He’s tall and lanky with a blank stare. Amy stares in horror.

“Oh Sonic.. what did they do to you?”

Sonic doesn’t respond or even look her in the eye.

Rebel and Knucks come through to rescue Amy. Rebel insisted that there’d something about Amy she thinks could help them.

#sonic prime #sonic prime spoilers #amy rose

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sailorsplatoon · 1 year ago

Text

Chapter 6 of a Dedf1sh fanfic I wrote

Here it is, the very last chapter! While this was really short, I'm still very proud of it. Maybe I'll add onto this in the future, but for now I'm happy with where it is. I put a lot of time into writing and editing this, and it's been my very first fanfiction to actually escape the abyss of "I'll post this someday". I had a lot of fun with this, and it makes me so happy to know that even just a few people enjoyed it!

First

Read it on ao3

Chapter 6 below!

(TW: mention of blood, swearing, vomiting, mention of medical procedures)

DJ Dedf1sh’s hearts thumped slowly. Why were their hearts beating? They pulled their hands away from the turntables. Everything was so loud. What was going on? It was scary and new. But they were scared. They felt scared. How? What was different? Why now? Their legs trembled as they made their way to the large door, the only door in the entire room. It was locked.

“Shit,” they muttered. They spoke something at least. Something more than a number. Without missing a beat, they ran to the opposite side of their turntables and shoved them into the door. The metal slab burst off its hinges with a crash while their equipment shattered. Those turntables had been their entire life since as long as they could remember. And they were destroyed.

“Good fucking riddance.”

As they crossed the threshold between their prison and the outside world, their legs gave out. They were never meant to leave that room. It hurt as if their muscles were being torn apart with every movement. Looking to their scattered turntables, a round tube of metal stuck out. Without hesitation, they ripped it off and used it to hold themself up. It supported their weight well, even if it was just temporary until they could get their hands on something more suited to their needs.

The journey was long and difficult, but they eventually made their way to the central station. Shattered bits of glass and plastic were strewn across the floor. It was gone. The phone was gone. They were free. They climbed up the escape path that had been carved by the final test subject of that horrid place. Thankfully, they were still able to super jump, but the path was clearly made for someone who had full use of both of their legs, which made the trek that much harder.

As DJ Dedf1sh traversed the now empty layers of security, they began to search their memories for some trace of a name. Ah… Ah? All they could think of was Acht, the number eight in some human language. Well, close enough. It was the best they were going to get for now, they sort of liked how it sounded. They continued to climb as they searched their memories for any trace of life before the sanitization. To their surprise, there were some bits and pieces that they could remember. But rather than full moments it was more flashes, like trying to recollect a dream. There was only one thing that they could remember clearly. Why this particular person, Acht had no clue. Marina.

***

“She needs help! One of the machines malfunctioned and she got hurt bad!” An octoling rushed into the infirmary carrying an adolecent girl. Both were covered in blood.

“Lay her down on the cot, Ah███ get the gauze and—shit there’s something lodged in the wound— we’ll need the scalpel too!”

“Right, where’s she hurt? And will we need any nitrous oxide?”

“She’s scratched up all over, but the main source of bleeding is a deep gash in her abdomen, looks like a piece of metal stabbed into her from the machine. She’s in a lot of pain, nitrous oxide is a good idea. Mx. were you hurt at all?”

“No, just her,” the octoling who carried the girl in said, “She was working on a prototype for the flooders, but it suddenly fell off its hinges and landed on her.”

The memory blurred and refocused in a new setting. Now Acht was in the patient ward of the infirmary, speaking with the octoling girl who had been injured before. “You’re going to be alright, but you have to stay here until your wounds heal. I’ll come back every few hours to give you another dose of pain killers. If you want, you can opt out of them, but seeing your injuries I wouldn’t suggest it.”

“No, I definitely won’t be opting out. Thank you for taking such good care of me. I really didn’t think I would make it out of that accident,” she glanced at the bandages wrapped around her midsection and scattered along her limbs. Her teal tentacles writhed in worry.

“I’ve seen worse, you have nothing to worry about! My name’s Ah███ ██████ by the way. I’ll be taking care of you during your stay here.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Marina Ida. Did you guys already have that on record?”

“We didn’t actually, you were listed as Jane Doe. Your companion failed to mention a name before leaving to continue working. I’ll make sure to notify the rest of the staff that we have a name for you.”

Another blur, and then they were outside the infirmary. With Marina. She’d been better for a while now.

“Shouldn’t you be working? The DJ is gonna flip his lid if he finds out you’re skipping, especially now that you’ve been promoted to wasabi supply unit,” Acht placed a large trash bag in the dumpster outside, they’d been given garbage duty for the day.

“I’m on my lunch break and I wanted to pay you a visit!” Marina chirped with a smile. She had such a beautiful smile.

“You only get fifteen minutes, you need to-” Before they knew it Marina had pressed her lips to theirs.

Blur, scene change, Acht was already getting bored of this routine. They wished they could just remember without the— shit! They slipped and nearly fell into a giant pool of water. Fucking Belly Phase. Maybe this test subject that broke out could’ve made it easier for others to leave?

“I’m leaving,” the memories started again as Marina stared at them.

“Like, you’re being promoted again to a different division or?”

“I’m leaving the army, Ah███. I… I heard the inklings sing. It changes everything.”

“Marina, no. They’re just trying to confuse you. This is our home you can’t-”

“Come with me.”

“What?” A lump formed in Acht’s throat as they tried to hold back tears.

“I want you to come with me. Please.” She paused before muttering, “I love you.”

“Marina I…” Acht’s eyes searched the surrounding world for some excuse, some reason for them to stay together. “You know I love you. But this is our home. We can’t just… we can’t.”

“Just listen!” She pressed a button on the small set of portable turntables she had tucked under her arm. A track played with two inkling girls singing. “Don’t you see? Were prisoners here! The DJ doesn’t care about us at all! But maybe if the inklings can make something this great, they’ll accept us!”

“Marina,” Acht looked her in the eyes, “I know. I’ve known how awful this place was since I was ripped away from my family. I see dying soldiers every day because Octavio won’t give them the new gear and weapons that they need. And I can’t help them because we can’t get the medicine and supplies that we need! Of course he doesn’t care about us, all he cares about is getting revenge on the squids. But we can’t leave. You really think the inklings would accept us? That they wouldn’t send us right back into this underground hellscape to be executed for treason? That they wouldn’t murder us themselves? Marina, I know you want to get out of here, but I love you, I can’t let you go get yourself killed.”

“If you really loved me, you would have left with me sooner, seeing how long you’ve known.” Her words cut sharper than any knife. Acht felt a warm stinging in their eyes as the tears finally came spilling out.

“Are you breaking up with me?” They choked.

“You’re not coming with me, are you?”

“I can’t,” Acht refused to make eye contact.

“Goodbye, Ah███. Don’t forget about me, okay?” She stretched out her hands, offering them a the turntables. They were covered in stickers and drawings made with various markers. Acht took them carefully, as if they might fade out of existence with one wrong move. With that, Marina sighed and walked away.

As Acht stepped onto the elevator of the spinal phase, they began to cry a little. They weren’t sure if they were happy that they could remember, or if they were sad about what they were remembering. One thing was certain, they needed to find Marina. For some reason she was the only person they could clearly remember, so maybe she could help them uncover more of their memories.

Acht suddenly felt an immense pain in their stomach, the fell to the floor, dropping their makeshift cane, and threw up. They were reminded of the dream they’d had during their sanitization, how the mem cakes spewed from their mouth. This time, however, they expelled the same greenish ooze that had been injected into them. It burned. But there was an instant relief as soon as it was out of their body. They could finally breathe. For the first time in years they felt alive. Or, as alive as they could be when their skin was still the color of decay and their memories were shattered like a vase.

The elevator screeched to a halt and a ladder stood in front of Acht, leading them out of this hell. Their legs barely worked when they walked, even with the help of a cane. Trying to climb a ladder in their state would be impossible. They relied almost entirely on their upper body, holding their cane in their mouth and pulling themself up with their arms. It took so long to climb all the way to the top. They slipped and nearly got stuck multiple times. And it was wonderful. They made mistakes, they took their time. It wasn't perfect. Finally. All they were doing was climbing a ladder but it felt like such an accomplishment. They reached the top and the light of day shown down on their face. A breeze brushed their tentacles, and they could swear their sense of smell was returning with the salt of the ocean wafting up into the air.

The sky was blue. Acht couldn’t remember seeing the sky before. It was so beautiful.

#creative writing #writers on tumblr #fanfic #splatoon 3 #splatoon 2 #octo expansion #side order #dedf1sh #acht splatoon

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bearpillowmonster · 1 year ago

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🎵 Poppin' bottles in the ice, like a blizzard. 🎵

This thing-

This thing changes everything, it gives me nightmares. This is the first Sly game flipped on its head. So rather than a one-hit KO (unless you gained a horseshoe) you now have a health bar, a lot of enemies had a one hit ratio in the last game but this one, they're less like Crash villains and actually fight back. This sets off your health bar as "alerted" or spotted which is later a feature in Assassin's Creed, there are even trailing and chasing missions.

There are no longer lives because of this meter and makes it so the levels aren't built the same way to where you need checkpoints. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing because I feel like the jumps are more responsive (that could also just be me with more experience now) but sometimes the controls are too responsive so if there's a wire underneath another or something then sometimes it picks the one that you're not aiming for which has blown my cover before. It would've been a lot simpler to just auto-death from that than to have to try to reset it myself by taking damage.

The levels are no longer portals, they're set up inside the hub world so that you enter whatever building it's leading you to or even take place in the hub itself. There are waypoints activated from your binocucom, mostly easy to find. I can't tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing though because on one hand it fleshes out the area that you're in but on the other hand, it diminishes the amount of variety that was allowed in the last game so one level may look like an extension to the last. But once again, each level acts towards a grander mission, except rather than just collecting keys (unless it's a mission on its own), you collect intel and sabotage the enemy's plans, it's more in depth and makes for some wacky shenanigans.

Making up for that lost variety, one of the big selling points of this game is that there are now multiple playable characters which means separate levels for each. Bentley excels in tech and long range Murray in destruction and Sly in stealth, so it is indeed like I remember it. Basically, (when playing as Sly) unless Bentley says otherwise, you shouldn't fight or you'll fail the mission. You can get away, in fact, you have a run button now since your walk speed is more sneaky but it's a little bit louder so it's really only for getaways. With each character, I feel a slight disadvantage for traversal but it's not too overbearing. (Only Sly can tightrope walk and such)

Without horseshoes, you now have all these leftover coins and I've mentioned this in other games and this one actually follows through, it lets the coins act as currency to buy useful items, in this case the stuff that you would've unlocked from the bottles in the first game.

Like my little chart? It would've been confusing otherwise but I wrapped my head around it. So, now the levels no longer hold the bottles but the hub worlds do. This makes it a bit harder because like I said with "unless Bentley says so", if you've started something to do with a level, go too far away from the area you've chosen and Bentley might make you abandon it. So only collect at certain times because it's easier when there's less to keep track of. (That's a good euphemism for this game overall tbh, it's a flip flop whether it's better or worse than its predecessor)

The vault is held in one of the levels but since it could be any of them, you do have the chance to go back to that level once you find it if you haven't had the chance to collect them all the first time around. The bottles still give you abilities, exclusive ones that the coins won't net you, so you actually have more abilities than the first game.

I've complained enough about the differences.

One of the games that I want more of is Beyond Good and Evil and I just haven't found anything like it...until I played this game, I mean you even get to take pictures (not like you would on PS4) but it's nice to see it implemented into the gameplay, especially seeing as BGAE came out just a year before this. And as much as I loved the first game, this one actually actively gave me ideas for how good that supposed movie could've been, it's just a shame we lost it (though maybe a blessing as well?)

I enjoy the story of this game more and while there are some things better, there are some things worse and I think my favoritism of the overall picture would be ratioed to Thievius Raccoonus.

#sly 2 #sly cooper #3.5?#review #video game

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marinaiguess · 2 years ago

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SONIC HEROES BRAINROT TIME (pros and cons :) )

Cons:

The physics are terrible to deal with. I can’t blame sonic team, they tried their best in the time they had but,,,try playing casino park without rage quitting I DARE YOU. or rail canyon. or final fortress. okay, you’ll find yourself rage quitting a lot. and most of the time, yes, it is not your fault.

You are obligated to go through the same stages 4 DIFFERENT TIMES. 14 stages. 4 different times. all teams have the same objective, except for team chaotix and that’s: reach the goal.

You can’t unlock the last story unless you collect all chaos emeralds. Which is fair. But how exactly do you collect them? You have to acquire a key (there are a few scattered around the stages) but only on the second act of each “zone”. And, dont even dream of getting damaged. One wrong move and you lose all your rings and the key. So, you have to restart the stage or move on.

Bonus stages. You thought the physics in the regular stages were a problem? Try this one. You move the joystick like 1mm and you’ll be thrown in the air and by the time you’re back on track the chaos emerald is like 67 miles ahead of you or your time’s up. If you switch to fly type during this by accident? Good luck reaching that emerald. Oh, and say goodbye to your thumb, it’s gonna get wrecked from how fast you are supposed to smash the button to boost. And the chao sections are horrible.

Did i complain abt the physics enough? Did I analyze how attrocious and unforgiving the rail system is? I did? It deserves an extra bullet anyway.

Ah yes, the boss fights. The ones with eggman are ridiculously easy, you spam one button, then wait till that energy fills up and lastly, do the blast attack thing (rinse and repeat the last steps) and done! They get quite repetitive and most feel like a mini boss rather than actual bosses.

Dont get me started on the team fights. These are either too easy or unbelievably hard. That thing is COMPLETELY broken, I cant explain how frustrating it gets.

While in this topic, the fights between the teams had absolutely no reason to happen? Everyone was in a bad mood and didnt want to socialize and thought fighting was the best option lol.

Moving on to the story, Amy, no, you are not supposed to throw Sonic from a fucking building/arena because YOU WANNA MARRY HIM? Also, youre 12, the heroes manual states it, you SHOULDNT wanna marry anyone girl.

Shadow why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be dead? Oh, you lost your memory, awesome. *cough* fan service *cough* Okay but seriously? The fuck did they add Shadow for? My boy didnt even turn into super shadow in the end even though HE WAS RIGHT THERE.

Also on that note, no super tails nor super knuckles. They get some fancy, glowing, bubble shields that make them fly alongside super sonic. No seriously, thats it.

There’s idle chatting in the pc version but you’ll never hear it cuz you have to stand still to trigger it. And thats a shame cuz its really good and interesting.

Voice acting did not pass the check.

Pros:

Many playable characters! 4 teams, 12 characters, each with their special abilities (seriously, their abilities are cool, Espio literally turns invinsible) You can switch to whoever you want or whoever you need so you can proceed. Fun mechanic to include many characters.

The chaotix! They’re back! (sort of) Omega’s debut! Cream is here for her first 3d appearance!

The stages are quite a lot and there are a lot of interesting environments for you to traverse through. Starting from the classic valley, passing through a casino, an industrial area, a forest and ending up in the sky.

Also, you do go through all the same stages with the separate teams but there are a few differences. So, Team Sonic is a regular gameplay, Team Dark is a harder version of Sonic’s, usually longer stages and harder robots to deal with. Team Rose is very easy and each stage is quite short. Also features an extra tutorial stage in the beginning. Then there’s the Chaotix. You need to do a mission for each stage and there are a lot for you to do.

Getting the key in the first act gives u the ability to go to the bonus stage and practice! Also gives you extra lives if you get enough points :)

The bonus stages are a reimagination of the bonus stages of sonic the hedgehog 2! The idea is really cool and it’s the first instance of sonic boosting in the entire franchise.

Getting that A rank won’t be easy. You have to earn it. Idk, thats a good thing imo. The ranking system in some cases is a bit meh (team dark ocean palace im looking at you, 90,000 points in less than 4-5 mins? it’s just the 2nd stage, gimme a break) but overall it’s just right.

You have a level system! It makes the game more interesting, trying to level up in each stage so you can unlock the better utilites of your character and make your job so much easier. The blast attack is a bonus as well! You earned it. Now kick robutt with just a push of a button.

The music is literally iconic? So good? 11/10

Actually solid cutscenes.

Drummond on his best performance ever.

Story-wise, the plot is pretty good for the most part. Every team is doing their own thing but ultimately they’re chasing the same thing (for different reasons, sure). Sonic and co. need to save the world, Dark try to catch eggman so they can get info abt why shadow cant remember shit (why did no one tell him he was supposed to be dead btw?), Rose are after chocola and froggy (in reality, theyre after sonic LOL) and the chaotix are trying to pay their rent.

METAL SONIC IS THE REAL VILLAIN? WHAT DO YOU MEEEAAAAAAN? that was a cool plot twist (even if it was predictable after a certain point, it was still pretty cool okay?)

The interactions between the characters are very very interesting. You should check the idle chatting for everyone, really sums up their characters.

SUPER SONIC HAS TAILS AND KNUCKLES BY HIS SIDE TO FIGHT THE FINAL BOSS, POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!

okay that was a lot, but yeah, had to write this down. i think you need to try it to be pleasantly surprised :)

#can u tell i got tired after a certain point'? LLMAO #sonic heroes #i will always be a heroes defender but i recognize its shortcomings #sth #sonic the hedgehog #long post #sonic

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strelles-universe · 1 year ago

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Strike the Match - Chapter 6: Suncairn

Cardinalpaw’s pads stung as he leapt over the long before him panting with Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw racing at his side. Not for the first time during this tortuous event, he cursed the apparent sadism of his mentor and the determination of the Stormborn to make their cadets suffer. After returning from the Games, all of the day’s activity had slammed into him and his cohorts at once. Having already eaten before they returned home, they had staggered on shaky legs through the gorse tunnel; barely hearing the cats around them as they slipped into their den and clambered into their nests. He’d been woken up the very next day - thankfully, not at dawn or he may have actually swiped at his mentor - to discover that Asterdawn was a boar-driver with standards as high as his mother’s.

The reports from the Wealdyawn about Havoc’s presence continued coming in and all of the senior legionaries seemed to pushed into complete overdrive. The initial sprints through the forest meant to help them learn the routes and boundaries had become training to ensure that each of them can traverse the tangled forest like winged beasts.

They were brought to random spaces in the forest, left there for a short bit before being told to find the fastest route to the barracks from where they were. In theory, Cardinalpaw understood its importance - if they really were attacked by Havoc, the best they could do is find more warriors rather than attempting to fight the mad-dog with their own paws. It had its uses in the case of invasion as well - newer cadets tended to serve as messengers during battles after all and if they couldn’t find their way back to the barracks, it would make getting back-up harder. The effects it had on his body were readily apparent as well - Cardinalpaw had built muscular faster during these last few frenzied runs than he had in previous training exercises and he can tell that his stamina had improved drastically. He’d even noticed - much to his delight - that his pads were finally starting to toughen up in the face of the forest. The menacing forest and it’s sharp thorns still pierced his innocent pads but he hardly noticed the hard rocks he trampled over anyone.

In practice however, his lungs were currently burning, and his muscles were begging him to stop. It was never just one sprint a day after all - the forest rushes were given a block of passing time based on the sun and they would do as many as they could in that period of time. Their mentors always rated them higher when they could perform multiple and so, Cardinalpaw found himself cursed with the desire to make his mentor proud.

Green-eyes caught sight of the fallen branch and adjusted his course towards the side lower to the ground, leaping seamlessly over it and onto the other side. He darted right through the gorse tunnel and skidded to a halt a few tail-lengths from the barracks’s entrance. Cardinalpaw shook his head while he panted, recovering as Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw finally caught up with him; scrambling through the tunnel and collapsing at his side.

“Well done you three.”

Cardinalpaw twisted, looking up tiredly to see his mentor looking very pleased with herself. She was flanked by Larkwing and Lionheart who were watching with equal amounts of pride for themselves.

“Cardinalpaw, your coordination is improving with every drill,” Asterdawn praised him. “However you need to work on your breathing, you run out of breath very quickly and that is dangerous on the field.”

Cardinalpaw raised his head, pride flooding his body at her words. Asterdawn wasn’t exactly sparse with her praise and she didn’t go out of her way to ignore him but she didn’t toss it around willy-nilly either. Every word of praise, every sound of approval made towards him had been hard-earned and it meant all the more to him when he received it. The faction from her praise softened the criticism allowing him to think through what she was saying, thinking as hard as he could while his lungs recovered from his sprint. As his mind sharpened, the truth in Asterdawn’s words hit him - that it took so long for him to recover… a battle could’ve already been lost before he was recovered enough to ask for reinforcements!

“Ravenpaw your leaps and pacing are well-done but you need to watch your surroundings more carefully,” Larkwing instructed.

Ravenpaw nodded, having recovered faster than Cardinalpaw and began wiping dirt from his face. Cardinalpaw valiantly withheld the urge to laugh remembering how his friend had gone down in a blur of speed and a surprised yelp, slamming into a grass-less stretch.

“Despite the disadvantages your pelt poses, you did well overall Jackdawpaw,” Lionheart praised and the gray cadet immediately purred. “I will make arrangements with our long-furred legionaries to collect more tips about traversing the brambles with long-fur. Maybe they have advice more suited to you.”

“Thank you Lionheart,” Jackdawpaw chirped happily.

“Now that you’ve all had the chance to warm-up, we can start the process of beginning your first Correction’s Assessment,” Asterdawn hummed.

“An assessment!” Ravenpaw yelped in horror. “Already?”

“It’s more of a training exercise,” Larkwing soothed him immediately, resting his tail over the lanky-cadet’s back. Ravenpaw looked up at him with frightened yellow eyes and the brown tom leaned down, pressing his nose to his cadet’s. “It’s just to ensure you haven’t picked up any bad habits - we’re going to make sure that you won’t become too reliant on those.”

“We don’t expect you to be perfect,” Asterdawn reaffirmed, looking over the three of them. “This is merely a check-in. It’s more of an assessment for your mentors at this stage.”

She stepped back sending them an encouraging look, “Eat then take a moment to stretch and loosen your muscles. Once Chaffinchpaw and Wrenpaw return from their patrol, we’ll begin.”

| | |

“This shall be an all-around assessment of skills with no specializations,” Asterdawn announced to the cadets gathered before her. “It will be divided into two broad parts - sparring and hunting.”

The five of them were spoiling with excess energy - Ravenpaw’s tail lashed anxiously as he kneaded the ground, fear and distress practically radiating from the lanky tom as he kept shooting nervous looks towards his mentor. Jackdawpaw supported him as best as he could, pressing firmly against him and occasionally touching his nose to the anxious cadet’s cheek. Contrasting Ravenpaw’s nervous energy and Jackdawpaw’s soothing aura, Chaffinchpaw was half-way to standing from sheer excitement. She was practically dancing with glee and Cardinalpaw could understand - Chaffinchpaw was unquestionably the best hunter of them all and was no slouch in sparring either. This wouldn’t be a difficult assessment for her.

“Is everyone ready?’ Asterdawn asked.

They all made a sound of affirmation of various enthusiasm.

“Alright then - first, Chaffinchpaw and Jackdawpaw.”

Cardinalpaw stayed put, shuffling closer to Ravenpaw and taking up the duty of calming their anxious friend while Jackdawpaw moved forward to join Chaffinchpaw, who’d bounded straight to the center. The two cadets exchanged confident expressions and they shook themselves out.

“Are you ready?” Asterdawn prompted once more earning a pair of firm nods. “Then begin!”

With hesitation, the two cadets launched themselves at each other. Matches between Chaffinchpaw and Jackdawpaw were always explosive in energy with Chaffinchpaw’s continuous aggression from the moment the spar started and Jackdawpaw’s head-long determination. Chaffinchpaw started with her signature strategy of aiming for the eyes, always preferring to startle an opponent and taking advantage of their flinching. Jackdawpaw fell right into her trap, leaping backwards to avoid the paw aimed at his eyes which Chaffinchpaw immediately exploited with a fast lunge. She pounced on him, trying to pin him with the same move that often gave Cardinalpaw trouble - a problem that he noticed immediately.

Jackdawpaw is way bigger than me, Cardinalpaw thinks to himself watching the match.

Sure enough, the gray tom easily threw her off; the hold she was using not well-suited for his larger size and took the chance to lunge at her. Chaffinchpaw dodged his attack and sprung forward herself, targeting his belly. Instead of dodging her, Jackdawpaw just smirked and dropped on top of her earning a loud yowl of surprise. Chaffinchpaw wiggled and squirmed beneath him, trying to free herself with waving paws and bared teeth. Jackdawpaw obliged her desire to escape, rolling off of her and rearing up to give what Cardinalpaw knew to be a brain scrambling body slam.

Chaffinchpaw quickly flipped the situation on him, slamming into his belly again and knocking him to the ground. The two tussled for a bit, rolling across the clearing and almost hitting Lionheart who quickly removed from himself before he could get clawed again. Chaffinchpaw finally managed to get a grip on Jackdawpaw’s scruff even while they rolled and promptly began pummeling his stomach with powerful kicks.

Cardinalpaw grinned - that was his move!

“Enough - Chaffinchpaw wins!” Asterdawn declared as the two cadets broke off.

“Oww,” Jackdawpaw groaned, rolling to his paws. “My stomach is going to be bruised for days. Good idea with the kicking thing.”

“It was Cardinalpaw’s idea,” Chaffinchpaw admitted, glancing towards the ginger tom. “Callastorm said it would’ve shredded me - I get it now.”

“Good,” Callastorm purred walking closer to the cadets, focusing on his own. Chaffinchpaw straightened up at his attention. “Well done Chaffinchpaw, your techniques were very well done. It’s clear however you’ve gotten used to sparring with Cardinalpaw, you need to be more careful - you won’t always be bigger than your opponent and when that happens, you can’t rely on strength alone.”

“You’re right,” Chaffinchpaw huffed, giving her pelt a harsh shake. “He was always stronger than I was thinking. And then he sat on me!”

“You have to use what you have,” Jackdawpaw snickered, earning a light swipe to the shoulder.

“Yeah yeah.”

“That was good improvisation Jackdawpaw,” Lionheart praised with his own chuckle that made his cadet preen. “We need to work on your forethought - you could have won if you hadn’t tried to rear.”

“I realized at the same second she hit my belly,” Jackdawpaw agreed sheepishly.

“Next is Ravenpaw and Wrenpaw,” Asterdawn announced making Cardinalpaw sigh a little. It seemed he would be last. His mentor gave him a sympathetic expression but moved back to her space to referee the match.

Ravenpaw crept forward anxiously, his tail lashing low near his ankles as he stepped into the sparring area. The lanky tom looked like he was just waiting for Vahuŕepra to come collect his soul in stark contrast to his brother who appeared to be running through lessons and advice through his head.

“He’s always so worried about sparring,” Jackdawpaw murmurs, his tail swishing anxiously. “What if he gets attacked?”

“He’ll fight them off,” Chaffinchpaw dismissed. “Ravenpaw can defend himself if he has to - he’s just no good with knowing he’s gonna be attacked.”

“That’s not really a good thing,” Jackdawpaw pointed out.

“Begin!”

Cardinalpaw quickly returned his attention to spar in time to see Wrenpaw fly at his brother. Ravenpaw yelped, clearly not expecting the aggression and immediately scrambled away from the attack. The battle rapidly morphed into Wrenpaw attempting to catch the lanky tom who danced skillfully out of reach of his brother’s every swipe and snap. The harder Wrenpaw attacked, the more fluidly Ravenpaw dodged him and the dusky brown tom was becoming more and more visibly frustrated with every successful dodge his brother made. Ravenpaw made no attacks of his own, treating it more like a serious fight than just a sparring match. His tail was bushed out and the fur on his spine had begun to stand up, yellow eyes wide from the adrenaline. His claws occasionally scored across the ground when he had to move faster than expected, his legs occasionally tangling on themselves when his brother tried to attack from both fronts.

Wrenpaw released a sound of frustration, abandoning all strategy and diving into outright attacks just trying to make a hit connect. It seemed this was the opening Ravenpaw was looking for because he lunged forward, tacking Wrenpaw to the ground abruptly. The dusky brown tom released a yowl of shock as he went thumping to the ground, Ravenpaw quickly pinning him to the ground and resting a paw on his throat.

Cardinalpaw’s ears were pricked in his surprise, his mouth hanging open slightly in shocked disbelief as Wrenpaw finally went limp beneath him calling out in defeat.

“... I could’ve sworn Ravenpaw was losing,” Jackdawpaw said looking bewildered as Asterdawn called the match in Ravenpaw’s favor.

“Not really,” said Cardinalpaw blinking a bit in surprise himself. “Technically he was just dodging.”

“A perfectly reasonable strategy when you’re light enough on your paws,” Larkwing broke in, purring with approval at his cadet. “That strategy won’t work on everyone but most cats will get frustrated and become impulsive which leaves plenty of openings. Nice work Ravenpaw - we’ll work on your skills in offense.”

The black tom flattened his ears in embarrassment, but his tail was raised with pride. Wrenpaw for his part climbed slowly to his paws, looking somewhat humiliated to have lost his temper and being defeated because of it.

“Don’t worry young Wrenpaw,” Lionheart soothed. “Everyone has moments where they lose their temper. Try to be more aware of when you’re getting frustrated and you’ll do just fine.”

“Alright Lionheart,” the cadet agreed sheepishly.

“Cardinalpaw,” Asterdawn called. “It’s you and Chaffinchpaw now!”

Chaffinchpaw immediately perked up, the break she had from her match having her bounding easily to her paws, “Yes! It’s time for revenge!”

“In case you forgot, the old score was four-three,” Cardinalpaw said, trotting to his place in the clearing. “That means the Skies are watching me this time.”

“Keep dreaming farm-tom!”

“Kick her tail Cardinalpaw!” Jackdawpaw cheered from the sidelines.

“You got this Chaffinchpaw!” Wrenpaw called, nudging the gray tom in challenge.

“Begin!”

Unlike the previous matches, Cardinalpaw and Chaffinchpaw didn’t charge each other immediately. They knew each other’s strengths and had sparred enough to know that if they were going to come out on top, they’d have to play it smart. Cardinalpaw made a few bluffs towards Chaffinchpaw, feeling out the situation and receiving a few bluffs in return. He was determined to pull ahead in this match and therefore, in their competition. Ignoring the spar from before, Chaffinchpaw was very skilled at using her size against her opponents; thoroughly trouncing him as he simply couldn’t overpower her. He’d learned quickly that Lionheart wasn’t some kind of fluke - all the cats of the Stormborn were a decent amount bigger than he was. Even Ravenpaw - though lanky and mostly legs and ears - could send him sprawling if he really wanted to.

Thankfully, Cardinalpaw was used to being the smaller cat in the fight. Cats of the Shining Sun all seemed to be on the smaller side as far as the royal family was concerned and so when he was training in self-defense, they’d been taught to use their heads not their claws. Taking the lesson to heart, he watched Chaffinchpaw carefully; making a few more bluffs towards her. Finally he caught it - she was favoring her left hind-leg. It was likely she bruised it when Jackdawpaw plopped down on top of her and that meant now, he had an angle.

Reassured of his plan, Cardinalpaw finally took the initiative springing towards the sand-colored molly and feinted towards the right. Chaffinchpaw immediately tried to dodge him, jumping left likely with the intention of retaliating, but instead, she yelped as her leg buckled beneath her. She probably hadn’t even realized it was sore before that moment but Cardinalpaw wasn’t going to give her the chance to recover and adapt to work with it. He charged her, slamming into her side to further unbalance her; artfully dodging the flailing paws she used in an attempt to ward him off. He kept pressing from her right, forcing her to continue attempting to use her bruised leg to recover; hooking his paws beneath hers to keep her from fully getting back to her paws.

After a particularly sharp swat to her face Chaffinchpaw sighed, scrambling back again but without trying to defend.

“I surrender!” she called out huffily.

“Winner, Cardinalpaw!” Asterdawn declared immediately, encouraging the cadets to back off from each other. “That was a good technique, forcing her to use her injured leg to support herself.”

“Well she’s too tough for a head-on fight so I had to try another way,” Cardinalpaw purred, basking in the way she brushed her tail over his back in approval.

“You’re really good at this!” Jackdawpaw purred brightly.

Callastorm slipped through them, a concerned look on his face as he sniffed at Chaffinchpaw’s leg.

“Are you okay Chaffinchpaw?” he asked with concern. “You put a lot of stress on that leg-”

“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “It was harder to stand with someone attacking me - well played Cardinalpaw.”

He grinned.

| | |

The adrenaline slowly began to die down from the spar leaving them somewhat tired but excited for the next portion of the assessment. Even Ravenpaw was becoming impatient now that they were over the combat portion of the assignment, kneading the ground with anticipation as he listened to Cardinalpaw and Ravenpaw gossip. Callastorm offered to let Chaffinchpaw sit out and allow her to finish her assessment the next day after having a long rest, but the cream furred molly protested loudly throughout the entire offer. In the end, the white furred hunter sighed good-naturedly and instead just enforced that she keep it stretched out on the ground so that it could rest.

Once they’d regained their breath, the cadets bid each other a temporary farewell as their mentors split them up; leading them to different sections of the woods. Asterdawn led Cardinalpaw all the way to the Fennyield border, coming to a halt a bit away from where he knew Snakerocks to be.

“You must catch three kinds of prey,” she instructed him. “One that can fly, one that can run and one that either digs or swims. When you’ve caught all three, return to the ridge before the barracks and we’ll address any common mistakes we see among you alongside any personal mistakes. You have until sunset at the very latest to get back to the barracks.”

Cardinalpaw nodded and then watched his mentor trot off, leaving him standing within the trees. His pelt rippled at the idea that she was monitoring him even when he couldn’t see her. He lifted his head, sniffing the air curiously but she must’ve disguised her scent because he only caught wind of her fresh smell beside him.

It didn’t take him long to catch both a mouse and then a sparrow - they had been the first things he’d learned to hunt back in the kingdoms out of boredom and the Stormborn had sharpened his skills - but every rabbit seemed to be prenaturally aware of his presence. The swift footed cotton-tails evaded him no matter what he tried, slipping around them and retreating into the brush or burrows he could swear hadn’t been there a moment before. After the third failed attempt to catch a rabbit, the ruddy tom gave in.

“It’ll be more fun to catch something that swims anyway,” he grumbled, attempting to convince himself.

He trotted further into the woods, taking the quicker routes that led to the more prominent streams that ran through Stormborn territory; unsure if he was also be quizzed on his knowledge of the trails. He figured it was possible so he ensured that he was doing absolutely everything as right as he could. The rossetted tom padded slowly up to one of the streams, thinking about what to catch - he considered attempting to fish in the main river before discarding the idea. Cardinalpaw didn’t have the most skill or training in fishing, the Shining Sun weren’t big fish breeders after all and besides, he wasn’t sure if he should be seen so close to the Shorerisen border without his mentor in clear sight. While Asterdawn and The Styrman were friendly, the Shorerisen kept marking across the border and the patrols that crossed paths were getting more and more hostile.

So Cardinalpaw turned away, following one of the branching streams from the main river and seeking out a muddy bank that formed a small pond. Much to his delight and relief given the sun was getting lower and lower every time he looked up, the small pool was teeming with frogs and flies swarmed around them. There was mud everywhere, the water was primarily murky and Cardinalpaw figures that if it had been any hotter, he would’ve been completely out of luck as it dried up, but for now, he would take advantage.

He pounced, catching one frog between his paws and reflexively catching another that sprung by his mouth. He made a pleased purr in his chest, releasing the extra frog in his paws and quickly killing the one already in his mouth.

Stepped out of the mud, Cardinalpaw shook his paws as clean as he could get them and then slunk through the forest; trying to remember where he stashed his mouse and sparrow. He passed the tree he marked by mistake before he remembered and dug up the rest of his catch, gathering them close to his paws and stuffed all three in his mouth. He then made the long trek back to the barracks.

He clambered up to the ridge, frankly unsurprised that he was the last one back from the hunt.

Chaffinchpaw of course had outdone them all, showing them up easily by catching what Cardinalpaw thinks is a young porcupine. It was smaller than the elders told stories of them being but with the long, painful looking quills he was impressed that she caught one at all. Jackdawpaw for his part had two squirrels and a mouse sitting by his paws. Ravenpaw managed to grab one of the rabbits that gave Cardinalpaw so much trouble and Wrenpaw had snagged two of the wretched creatures and also a sparrow.

“You found a frog?” Jackdawpaw blurted out, looking impressed. “I tried but all the pools near me were empty.”

“The rabbits were too hard,” Cardinalpaw grumbled.

“I know what you mean,” Jackdawpaw said, gesturing to his haul. “That’s why I have two squirrels - something is better than nothing.”

“How’d you get a porcupine?” Cardinalpaw asked Chaffinchpaw.

She straightened up smugly, “I had Wishsoul’s blessing upon me. I was chasing a mouse and startled it. It tried to run but fell on a tree-root so I killed it before it could recover.”

“The quills will be useful,” Ravenpaw hummed softly, looking over the felled creature. “We can trade those for herbs or the crafters can use them.”

“Correct.”

They glanced up, their mentors striding towards them with Asterdawn in the lead. Cardinalpaw sincerely doubts they’d come back before them and wondered if they’d just wanted to hear the cadets talking to each other.

Maybe I’ll be a mentor someday, he thought to himself. And then I’ll get to know.

“Those quills are very valuable,” Asterdawn praised. “Good catch Chaffinchpaw.”

The molly preened immediately as Lionheart took a spot beside Asterdawn.

“Now let’s review.”

| | |

The review portion of their hunt took longer than Cardinalpaw had anticipated though the insight he gained was useful. According to Asterdawn, the reason he’d struggled so much to catch rabbits was that he was treating them like he treated mice. Domestic rabbits didn’t hop away from him when he approached so he used the strategy that he’d been taught worked before - except rabbits weren’t as sensitive to the vibrations of the ground as mice were. Their large ears weren't just for show and they much quicker to hear you than they were to feel you. He’d stepped too loudly, prioritizing a gently placed paw over the sound he made then kept underestimating how close he needed to be. Not only were rabbits bigger than mice, they were faster too - he wasn’t looking to keep them out of leaf-litter like mice; he was trying to grab them before they had a chance to take off.

“Most of the time, a rabbit will outpace a cat,” Asterdawn lectured him. “So don’t make it a race.”

Jackdawpaw had a similar problem. The tom’s strategy had been making noise in order to startle prey into revealing themselves, allowing him to have the pick of the litter so to speak. Unfortunately, birds were able to fly and while Jackdawpaw was quick enough to chase down squirrels; he didn’t have the same reflexes that Chaffinchpaw did and though he’d made a few attempts, couldn’t swat them from the skies.

Wrenpaw it turned out had the exact opposite problem to him - always stepping too firmly, preferring to move quietly over minimizing the impact his paws had on the ground. The mice felt him a full tail away sending them fleeing even when he hadn’t made a sound.

Their mentors went over some common mistakes she saw them making - hesitating or forgetting to check the direction of the wind - then began corrected their stalking. Cardinalpaw’s own crouch was still perfectly balanced and he was getting better moving swiftly while also keeping himself quiet instead of prioritizing one or the other. By the time the review was over, he was trading yawns with his cohort; flashes of teeth appearing ever few minutes or so in their exhaustion.

“This has been a long day for you all,” Asterdawn said, kind enough to keep her voice low for the exhausted cadets. “Take your prey to the ukennva and rest.”

“Yes My Storm,” they all echoed and followed their mentors back into the barracks.

There were still cats milling about - Cardinalpaw even caught sight of Mottletail speaking to who he assumed was the sunset patrol but he was too tired to make out any of their words. Their mentors dispersed leaving them standing in the clearing, wavering slightly on their paws.

“... I’m taking a nap,” Jackdawpaw proclaimed, snatching one of his squirrels from the pile they’d just built up and started towards the cadets’ den.

They all mumbled their agreement with the plan, choosing prey for themselves as well. Cardinalpaw almost didn’t, he thinks he’s too tired to eat but he also didn’t want to risk Asterdawn waking him up the next morning for a dawn patrol on an empty stomach. He flopped down into his nest, chewing tiredly on his selected frog, tearing it to pieces in a messier way than he normally did. When it was gone, he mentally slugged his way through a prayer to Ashara then rested his head on his paws.

Then he closed his eyes to enjoy his well-deserved nap.

| | |

Blessedly, Cardinalpaw was wrong.

Instead of being dragged out of his cozy nest for another dawn patrol. Cardinalpaw awoke to the low chattering of cats outside the den. He was snuggled deep into his bedding, long winding tail wrapped loosely around himself, with Jackdawpaw pressed firmly against him. The tom had rolled on his back at sometime during the night, sprawling out and dangling his hindlegs from his nest leaving his forepaws folded against his chest. Cardinalpaw careful extracted himself from Jackdawpaw’s limbs, standing up very slowly and arching his back in place so as not to wake the tom up. He pulled himself forward, flexing his hindlegs and letting the muscles connected to his fins loosen themselves. He shook his head a little, bringing himself slowly into alertness while enjoying the groggy energy strung across his pinna.

He picked his way through their den, careful not to wake Chaffinchpaw or Wrenpaw who seemed to also have been spared by their mentors from waking up early. He almost wished he could rejoin them - it seemed that being woken up around the same time for about a moon had already formed a habit for him, triggering an internal alarm that woke him.

He peered up at the sky, squinting at the bright glare of Vrayushu’s light. He yawned again, the direct sunlight making his pelt tickle and shiver.

Cardinalpaw made his way towards the ukennva, restocked and settled by his factionmates at some point while he napped. He sniffed at the pile curiously, nudging through what was leftover before finally settling on a small vole and a somewhat plump mouse. He prepared to flop by the stump, ready to settle in to eat when he noticed the tired form of Ravenpaw yawning by the gorse tunnel. Flicking his ear, he dropped the prey to the ground and snagged a squirrel; scooping up all three pieces of prey and strode over to his friend.

“Hi Cardinalpaw,” he greeted, giving a mew of thanks when Cardinalpaw nudged the squirrel to his paws.

“Ya Ravenpaw - how long have you been up?”

“Not long. Larkwing is going to formally introduce me to the fox skulk that borders Galespun’s - the Great Crows,” the lanky tom explained, an excited light entering his eye despite his evident exhaustion. “That way they’ll come to recognize me as a formal diplomat.”

“Cool,” said Cardinalpaw, tucking into his vole first,

“Did you ever meet the skulks when you were a farm kitty?”

Cardinalpaw frowned - both from the term and for the way his friend used ‘were.’ Did the whole faction think that just because he joined them, he was no longer of the Shining Sun? That he’d severed all ties to his blood-family? Would they only ever recognize him as a former kingdom cat?

It’s too early to fret about this, he thinks to himself, choosing to answer Ravenpaw’s question instead. “A few times but not very often. Usually they only talked to ko- I mean mother and the Guard Captains. Otherwise I met them through the ones who left and are staying with the Sun.”

“Right- that makes sense,” Ravenpaw said, looking a bit embarrassed. “If I was too young for real meetings you probably were too…”

Cardinalpaw tilted his head, “Can I go?”

“You’d have to ask Larkwing.”

“Alright.”

Cardinalpaw and Ravenpaw settled into silence, the two cats beginning to finish their meals. It didn’t take long for Cardinalpaw to finish off his mouse so he brushed the mousetails aside and began the process of grooming his pelt. He dragged his tongue through the tangles he hadn’t bothered cleaning from the night before, picking out the moss from the nest and the twigs that were stabbing him in awkward positions. He’d just started in on his sleek fur of his tail - mostly spared the tragedy of the rest of his pelt’s condition - when Larkwing approached.

“Good morning Cardinalpaw,” he greeted, much more awake than either cadet.

“Anuŕai Larkwing,” Cardinalpaw greeted lightly. “Can I go with you and Ravenpaw to meet the loner-factions?”

“There may not be anyone on the border,” Larkwing warned him. “We won’t cross the border to go searching so we could be waiting all day.”

“That’s fine - I might see someone I recognize.”

“Then you may come,” Larkwing said, dipping his head. “Maybe you’ll have some perspective that Ravenpaw and I don’t have. Let’s go.”

Cardinalpaw got to his paws giving one last stretch, extending his forelegs ahead of himself then straightening up. He shook out his pelt and followed the two diplomats towards the gorse-tunnel. He almost groaned when Larkwing almost immediately fell into a trot, his lightly sore muscles immediately wary of doing so much all over against but he kept it to himself. Going into a trot was nearly always a sign that a trek was in progress and sure enough, after they cleared the ridge; Larkwing broke into a rush. Within seconds, they were weaving through the trees and slipping under roots - just because Cardinalpaw was getting better at these didn’t mean he liked them anymore than he had the first time. He was just starting to find his stride when Larkwing’s pace started to slow down; his ears standing upright. Cardinalpaw nearly crashed into the diplomat when he halted entirely, listening to something.

The ruddy tom was still trying to catch his breath (he hadn’t yet had the time to work on his pacing) to try to listen out for whatever made Larkwing stop. Ravenpaw - who’d recovered faster - pricked his large ears and slowly began to stiffen.

“Change of plans,” Larkwing said, turning them deeper into Stormborn territory rather than continuing to head towards the Sun-Kingdom border.

“Back-up?” Cardinalpaw asked, straining his ears once more.

Larkwing didn’t respond verbally, merely starting back into a proper runt; taking a full-tilt towards the river. Cardinalpaw did his best to keep up, falling behind a bit in his bid to keep oxygen in his lungs. It sounded like they were heading into battle and he couldn’t risk getting himself hurt. At the pace they were moving, Cardinalpaw’s ears finally caught the sound of yowling and hissing. As they kept moving, the distinct scent of fish touched his throat.

“The Suncairn,” Ravenpaw spat out.

“The Shorerisen must’ve ambushed Mottletail’s hunting patrol,” Larkwing said shortly.

Back up.

Cardinalpaw grinned an unfriendly grin.

His blood pounded in his ears as they burst through the bushes to the chaos of a border-scuffle. The faint hint of copper touched his tongue and Cardinalpaw didn’t hesitate to throw herself onto the first unfamiliar pelt he saw. His target earned a yelp of surprise as his claws sank into the dappled tortoiseshell pelt of the Shorerisen cadet and went rolling down the rocks. As he grappled with her, he heard a shriek of shock and an agitated, “More Stormborn?!” signifying that Ravenpaw and Larkwing had jumped into the thick of it.

The cadet beneath him - that he vaguely recognized as Rushpaw, wasn’t she a crafter? Why is she here? - twisted around and snapped at his throat, grasping the collar around his neck and tugging. She probably hoped to choke him, likely assuming that it would twist to strangle him - instead, he simply ranked his head back and the snaps immediately came undone, the button slipping easily out of the hole resulting in the molly smacking her head harshly against the rocks below. She groaned and Cardinalpaw only had to swipe at her twice for her to make a sound of retreat and he let her scramble free.

Rushpaw took his release for what it was and staggered her way to the river, sliding into the water. Cardinalpaw watched her with concern, slightly worried that she would drown given the head injury only to almost be bowled over by the familiar face of Osierpaw taking off with deep claw-marks gouged into her cheek. He didn’t bother to follow her - she was already retreating after all - so instead he elected to help out Ravenpaw being pressed by a fully-grown Shorerisen legionary. Cardinalpaw slipped around her, sinking his teeth into her left hind-leg making her yowl in pain. She immediately tried to kick him, his attention redirected only for Ravenpaw to snap at her front legs and unbalancing him. Cardinalpaw knocked her hindlegs from beneath her again and started to attack only to he bowled over.

Cardinalpaw yelped as pain shot through him from the impact against the stones, a burly muscular black tom bearing down on him with unsheathed claws. Unfortunately for him, he’d left his belly a little too closer to Cardinalpaw’s hind-legs and the ruddy tom kicked up. He wasn’t nearly big or strong enough to toss the legionary off of him but the impact (paired with his sharp claws stabbing his delicate belly) was enough to make him shift over. And the shifting was all her needed to free his head enough to sink his teeth into the tom’s ankle pressed into his shoulder.

The tom snapped at his ear again before being bowled over by a pale-brown cat Cardinalpaw didn’t recognize.

“What are you doing?!” he snapped at Cardinalpaw’s previous attacker. Just from his glossy brown pelt and wide paws, Cardinalpaw immediately knew this was another Shorerisen legionary. “That’s a new cadet!”

Unwilling to prod a gift-goose in the flank, Cardinalpaw hastily retreated from the area; his ears catching his savior retreating deeper into the fighting. Panting, Cardinalpaw looked through the battle trying to see where he was needed most. He shook his head, dislodging the blood trickling down the side of his head and the way his skull pounded from the impact made him dizzy. A loud screech startled them and Cardinalpaw staggered out of the way of two rapidly running cats. It took him a second to process that he was watching Mottletail pursue a couple of Shorerisen cats deeper into Stormborn territory.

“Cardinalpaw.”

He looked up, blinking hard as Larkwing’s face swam into focus. The diplomat seemed as ragged as everyone else, miscellaneous clumps of bloody fur littered his body and his claws were still partially unsheathed, filled with the fur of his enemies.

“Go back to the barracks,” the diplomat commanded. “Tell Spottedholly to expect a lot of legionaries and tell Asterdawn some warriors escaped into the forest.”

Cardinalpaw hesitated, but the pain in his head convinced him - he wouldn’t be much more use here and after this fight, Ravenpaw and Larkwing wouldn’t be meeting with anyone. He’s glad that they weren’t attending a scheduled meeting - it would be embarrassing for the Stormborn if they’d missed an important meeting.

He turned and made the trek back through the forest, taking as many of the shortcuts that he could remember. His new cuts stung and the pounding of his head made him more clumsy than he usually was. The journey flashed by and he was on the edge of the ridge before he knew it. His paw caught on a stray stone and he slid down the hill, slamming into the ground with a pained groan.

“Cardinalpaw?”

He looked up blearily to see Nadderpelt - Jackdawpaw’s mother - approaching him with concern on her face.

“The Shorerisen ambushed the hunting party,” he said, climbing tiredly back to his paws. “Some of them got away - the rest of the patrol are coming back.”

“Hurry to Spottedholly,” she told him worriedly.

Cardinalpaw staggered through the gorse-tunnel, adding more cuts and braises from his struggle to come out the other side. The cats already gathered in the clearing called out to him in concern, the sitters poking their heads from the nursery as Spottedholly came charging from her den at the scent of blood,

“Shorerisen ambush,” he explained before she could reach him, already swaying on his paws. “There are other coming. Shorerisen legionaries in the forest.”

“Okay,” Spottedholly purred soothingly, herding him away from the peering eyes of everyone in the clearing and towards her den. When he stumbled, she didn’t hesitate to just grab him by the scruff of his neck. Cardinalpaw didn’t fight it, sighing softly to himself as he let her carry him away.

| | |

“Cardinalpaw? Cardinalpaw?!”

“He’s alright Jackdawpaw - he’s just very tired.”

“A-and Ravenpaw?”

“His leg will heal and the wounds aren’t too deep - Moonsoul will not be guiding them yet.”

“But they look so small …”

“This is what battle looks like. It’s never pretty.”

Cardinalpaw finally summoned the strength to open his eyes a crack, his vision blurry and his eyelids heavy. It had been sunhigh when he returned but now, the orange and red colors of Vrayushu’s flame painted the clearing on the side that was unshielded. His entire face felt sticky and he was sure he had crusts built up in the corners of his eyes. Though his shoulder and side still stung, the pain was muffled and the pounding of his head finally faded. He groaned a little and tried to stand.

“Cardinalpaw!”

“Lay back down right now.”

Cardinalpaw looked up at the sound of unsheathed claws scratching the floor and a fully bristled Jackdawpaw came scampering across the den to him with Spottedholly following at a slower, more controlled pace.

“Are you okay?!” Jackdawpaw demanded, skidding to a halt in front of him. “I woke up and you were gone and when I went out, mom said you were in the mender’s den!”

“...where are the others?” Cardinalpaw asked instead.

Jackdawpaw flicked his tail deeper into the den and Cardinalpaw followed the gesture to the series of nests containing legionaries curled with various herbs applied to them. With every face he recognized, Cardinalpaw felt his body relax - his factionmates were okay.

Good.

“I’m fine,” he told Jackdawpaw finally. “I’m just really sore. I feel like I ran backwards through a rose-bush.”

“You might as well have,” Spottedholly voiced, drawing his attention to her. “Most of the more dangerous attacks were reduced to scratches. Still, you hit your head very hard. Take it easy for a few days - no dawn patrols and only half-days for a few sunrises.”

Cardinalpaw nodded, then groaned when the world titled from his actions. Even if he hadn’t been planning on listening, he would be now.

When he opened his eyes, they fell on Ravenpaw whose nest was right next to his. His fellow cadet’s backleg was wrapped in leaves and cobweb, a green liquid peeking through the cracks, his left ear was a bit of thorn and a few of his whiskers were shorter than he should be. Looking a bit further up, he saw a small trail of moss and sticks suggesting that the nest had been dragged.

He moved closer to me, Cardinalpaw realized.

“He got ambushed when the strays regrouped,” Jackdawpaw explained when he saw Cardinalpaw watching him. “Tigerslash says he was completely cornered.”

“Oh no!” Cardinalpaw gasped.

“It’s okay,” Spottedholly soothed. “He’s alive - Tigerslash got there just in time.”

She didn’t seem to believe her own words, a dull light present in her eyes. Cardinalpaw waited in silence, allowing the mender to inspect the dressings on his hindleg and shoulder. When she was finished, the tortoiseshell walked off to treat one of the other cats - Cedarfur he thinks, but his eyes hurt too much for him to tell - and Jackdawpaw leaned in, lowering his voice.

“... Mottletail is dead,” he whispered and Cardinalpaw jolted in shock. “He tried to save Mottletail but was killed in revenge for Oakshanty’s death.”

“Oh,” said Cardinalpaw, ears flattening as he shrank down in his nest. Does… that mean… ? “So Ravenpaw…”

“He saw him die,” Jackdawpaw agreed softly, shooting a look of heartbreak towards his friend. “Larkwing’s given him a few days to heal and recover. Spottedholly needs the company anyway.”

Cardinalpaw sank his claws into the earth - what a mess. Two factions have lost their deputies now - and if he’s remembering correctly, Oakshanty was The Styrman’s brother. A leader and a mender are now grieving the loss of their brother - all from some cats trying to prove a point.

“How are Chaffinchpaw and Wrenpaw holding up?” he asked.

“Not well,” Jackdawpaw admitted. “Wrenpaw’s heartbroken and won’t leave the cadet’s den. Last I saw Chaffinchpaw, she was sitting at his body. She hasn’t moved since.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not but no one’s willing to make her leave. His vigil hasn’t even started since Our Storm had to send out a patrol to round up the Shore cats.”

“Was this…”

Jackdawpaw growled, “It seems like Our Storm was right. The Styrman didn’t send anyone - these cats did this all on their own and got their lieutenant killed.”

Cardinalpaw hissed - he would hate to be those cats when the Stormborn patrol escorted the legionaries home. He can’t imagine The Styrman being very kind to them.

“...do I have to sit vigil?” Cardinalpaw asked, redirecting the question.

“No - you were injured so you can stay here,” Jackdawpaw reassured. “Most of us will only attend his final send-off. His kin are the only ones that will stay overnight.”

The gray tom sighed, looking towards the den’s entrance,

“...it’s a new moon,” he remarked softly. “Maybe Moonsoul will let him say goodbye before he goes.”

“Does that happen?”

He rolled his left paw, “... I don’t know. Mom and dad say that if you sit vigil long-enough on a moonless night, Moonsoul will let you visit StarClan’s hunting grounds to say one last goodbye.”

Cardinalpaw thought about it for a moment - he still didn’t quite think the Souls were for him, but maybe different lands have different skies. Even if they shared the same canopy.

“Do you think it’d work for me?” Cardinalpaw asked Jackdawpaw softly.

Jackdawpaw looked at him with surprise, a mixture of emotions flying across the cadet’s face. Finally he settled on ‘determined’ and clambered into the nest beside Cardinalpaw. He stretched himself wide, half curling around him to avoid bothering his wounded shoulder. He swept his thick, fluffy tail over his flanks.

“I don’t know,” Jackdawpaw admittedly. “But I don’t think Moonsould would turn you away.”

Cardinalpaw released a little sigh of relief, resting his head on his paws. Jackdawpaw released a gentle purr, rubbing his cheek against his. He wiggled a little, ensuring that he was touching both Cardinalpaw and Ravenpaw at the same time, as if afraid that if he couldn’t touch them, they’d vanish when he re-opened his eyes.

Cardinalpaw purred along, sad, confused and a little tired. It had been a long day right after a long day,

So he drifted off quickly.

---

Kingdom Translations

Ya | Hey, Hi, a sound used to get someone’s attention; a greeting or a sound of affirmation

Anuŕai Larkwing | Good morning, Larking (informal)

---

Pride Translations

Ukennva - the place where all recently killed prey is gathered to be eaten at lesiure, (lit. fresh prey)

---

Allegiances | Previous | Next | First

#strelles au #strike the match chapters #strelles ravenpaw #strelles jackdawpaw #strelles mottletail #strelles larkwing #strelles asterdawn #strelles callastorm #strelles spottedholly #strelles lionbelly

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