#it's well animated though i think! shout out 2 orange for doing a good job with that!

[lostjulys]

okay finished ep1 of stampede. collected thoughts........

i think it does great at what it was setting out to do. personally i don't have a beef with the cg animation, i think it looks great, that's not a big deal to me. i think it's intended to be a sci-fi western shonen anime that's designed to be easily consumed & enjoyed, and it succeeds at that imo!! and that isn't necessarily a bad thing; the studio's said that they weren't trying to tell the same story as the manga, and i think they'll do a very enjoyable and competent job at the story they ARE telling.

that being said!!!!!!! personally ummm i do not like it lol. i think um. i think having half the big reveals happen in the first episode & even in the first five minutes of the first episode cheapens it immeasurably. key to the manga, imo, was the blend of dumb loony tunes deep space planet future gun action + slowly increasing moments of sincerity & storytelling that drew a whole lot with some very small, subdued lines, and drew in more mystery with every reveal. i think the idea of going into trigun and immediately getting told, very carefully and literally with small words so we understand clearly, that this is a Sad Tragedy about a Guy who's a Plant and Has a Fucked Up Brother, and he's Tragic, and This Is Rem And She Died, is... low effort storytelling. or, at least, storytelling that's blatantly aimed at pulling in lots of viewers with a big emotional hook in the first episode. i hate the "project seeds" patch on his jacket it genuinely feels that they took all of the "show don't tell" from the original manga & went "hey what would happen if we just, told everything as explicitly as possible instead of showing it :)"

also, i'm really not a fan of the... smoothening, of the redesigns? i don't like that vash looks like a teenager instead of a young adult who's still visibly an adult-he isn't a teen, and it's a weird narrative decision to frame him as one, imo. i don't like millie being softened into the anime it girl instead of, again, a whole ass adult with a job. i have a visceral hatred of the whitewashed, black haired cuteboyification of wolfwood? i want to knee whoever made him white in this adaption in the nuts. the implications of him having a lollipop instead of his cigarette are.. probably indicative of where the tone of the show is headed. and millie's gone, because clearly even comedically gnc women are unmarketable when they're more than just a one-off joke. (sorry. i'm genuinely trying to give it the benefit of the doubt but.. lol.)

millie is gone, btw, and she's replaced with an experienced, cynical older man who's CLEARLY more intelligent and competent than meryl. (he's her bodyguard. which is a fascinating decision, given that... she's the hyperindependent sharpshooter with a coat full of derringers?). this is. possibly my least favorite decision out of many questionable decisions, including that of replacing vash's iconic silver freak ass gun with some apparently random different handgun? as well as the decision to namedrop knives in the very first episode and the general specific emphasis on the "space" part of space western (genuinely such a loss, imo...).

all in all, there's a loss of... intentionality of design that was present in the manga. it feels like the showrunners took the premise and form of trigun and spun that into something new. which is fine! which is fun and enjoyable! but it's a pale, somewhat lackluster imitation of what it's spinning off, there's no way it's ever going to hit as hard or be as meaningful as the original manga.

[superhero--imagines]

Part 12

Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here! / Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here! / Part 7 Here! / Part 8 Here! / Part 9 Here! / Part 10 Here! / Part 11 Here!

* You stare at the blank ceiling, the smooth unblemished surface like freshly fallen snow

* you should really put some nudie posters up there or something to lighten the mood a little. 

* Light notes from the piano float around your room

* You sigh, so these are the facts as you know them:

* Edward is your best friend who has occasional bouts of brooding and flirtatious behavior.

* Bella is not albino, she has a lovely peach undertone, and a lovely grilled peach scent

* The entire coven has treated your attraction to this young lady’s blood like you got caught masturbating or wetting the bed or something

* “You don’t need to be embarrassed it’s a perfectly natural feeling.” Esme tells you while rubbing your shoulders

* “We’ve all been there” Rosalie reassures

* “Totally not a big deal, it happens to me everyday!” Jasper chimes in

* You wish sunlight hurt you so you could combust into flames on the spot

* The piano notes get louder, and you feel your mouth pinch into a frown.

* “Oh my god Edward! Read the room, I want brooding music!”

* Edward stops, up until then he had been playing a pretty cheerful Mozart piece

* You can tell he wants to ask why, you’ve been radiating joy non-stop since biology. But he decides against it

* “You really shouldn’t eat lying down.” He says as you sip blood while lying flat on your bed.

* “Okay dad.” You snort

* Edward starts to imagine what it would be like if you called him ‘daddy’

* All needy on top of him, your hands curled in fists against his chest, the breathy “daddy please” that leaves your mouth

* All of a sudden he’s ugly turned on

* “Ugh you’re no fun, I’m going to hang out with Rosalie”

* You leave the room and Edward has a total meltdown, is this what a kink is? Is he discovering a kink?!? At 100 years of age?!?!?!?

* Edward.exe is broken

* You don’t even make it to Rosalie’s room, you can smell them a mile away

* Broccoli, sugar and fat, and axe body spray. No peaches you realize with a sigh.

* They’ve only just barely rung the door bell when you open the door

* “Hey what are you guys doing here?”

* Jessica’s standing in front, looking pretty at ease, while Mike and Angela look equally uncomfortable.

* Makes sense, Jessica’s here all the time now either for homework or to watch TV.

* Mike and Angela haven’t been back since your sweet sixteen

* “How did you get down here so fast?”

* “I saw your car from upstairs” you say with a sheepish smile.

* You wish Alice would have given you a heads up, you weren’t planning on pretending to be human right now. Still you probably look raggedy enough right now in sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt

* You can probably pull this sick thing off

* “We just wanted to check up on you, I heard from Mike and Angela you got sick during class.” And then in a more annoyed tone Jessica adds “And I guess you’re too sick to respond to all my texts and calls”

* Oh crap, where is your phone.

* You pat your pockets, and think when you saw it last

* “I left it in my locker” you smack your head. You told Edward to go grab your bag from class but you forgot your phone.

* “Hey don’t worry about it, I can get it for you tomorrow if you want.” Jessica rushes to your side and pats your arm. You shake your head

* “No I can get it myself, I’m fine I just ate something bad.” You mumble.

* You’re not missing school tomorrow. You would literally risk murder to smell Bella again.

* It’s not insatiable thirst like described in the books, more like a craving, like someone might have for nachos.

* It itches at you for a while, but if you just distract yourself long enough you can move on

* “Would you like to come in? I think Esme just baked cookies or scones or something.”

* Esme likes to bake for the smell and donate the food to the local shelter. That, or take it for her employees at her architectural firm in town.

* Firm is a loose word, she has maybe four employees, and they get one job a month, but it seems to make her happy.

* Angela and Mike give each other looks but Jessica perks up

* “Is she making those delicious earl grey scones again?” You sniff the air

* “I think she made some of that orange zest butter too”

* “Omg I am so happy you left your phone at school” Jessica giggles walking inside past you, you hear her greet Esme with a squeal

* “They really are good.” You tell them and your remaining human friends enter the house carefully

* “Soooo where is everyone?” Mike asks taking a look around your living room.

* “Ummm Rosalie’s in the garage, Alice is probably meditating on the roof, Emmett’s at swim practice, and Jasper’s probably at the barn.”

* “What about Edward?” Angela asks before Mike can ask about the barn

* Last you saw him he was playing the piano in your room, but it’s been a while since then

* “He’s probably in his room monologuing about the degradation of the American dream or something.”

* You lead them into the kitchen where Esme and Jessica are already deep in conversation about the wonder of her baking

* “-side is so light and fluffy, how do you get the tea flavor though”

* “Witchcraft.” Esme jokes, giving a full smile before putting another tray in the oven. Only Jessica laughs, the other two are too nervous to even sit down

* “Why don’t I teach you how when you come over next week.”

* Yeah you’re pretty sure Jessica is really only a fan of the “eating” and not of the “baking”

* You’re half surprised when she seems happy at the invitation. 

* “Oh that sounds great, I can’t wait for it!” Jessica’s practically beaming

* Where’s Edward when you need him? You wonder what her motivations are. 

* Jasper is not going to like this. He’s already irritated enough that he’s kicked out of his own house every Friday when Jessica comes over to watch arrested development

* Before you can say anything to Esme the conversation moves forward

* “Did you guys hear about that security guard that died in Mason county?”

* She’s just making small talk, you know that. But you and Esme instantly tense at the mention

* Carlisle had mentioned he thought there was a nomad wandering through, they were still far enough not to cause the coven immediate trouble, but anything that brought more attention to them was a disadvantage

* “My Dad says he heard from Chief Swan it was probably a wild animal attack” Mike mumbles over a bite of scone, you figured he would be the easiest to win over with food

* You hide a smile behind your hand, he really is like a golden retriever

* “What kind of a wild animal climbs stairs into a building” Jessica mumbles over another bite of scone. And maybe to fit in, or maybe because she’s always been a nervous eater, Angela takes a bite too.

* “Oh wow, these are really good” she murmurs

* Esme Cullen ladies and gentleman, winning the hearts of teenagers with baked goods since 19XX

* “Well you kids stay safe, stay together if you can.” She pats your head and you nod.

* You don’t know the details of the attack, you get the feeling Carlisle still see’s you as a kid and he doesn’t want to burden you.

* But assuming the small changes that have happened have nothing to do with the large changes, that means Laurent, James and Victoria will be passing through soon.

* Maybe it’s for the best Bella doesn’t get involved with Edward until later.

* You’d really like to not get all mixed up in the whole “James Thing” if you can help it.

* “Are you staying for dinner? I’m thinking of whipping up some pasta, maybe a chicken?” Esme looks to you, yeah you have no idea how she’s going to manage that. Besides the baking basics there’s no actually food in this kitchen. And the one upstairs is just for your blood bags.

* “(Y/N), do you think...Carlisle would mind if we used one of... his chickens?”

* His chickens? The only chickens in the house-

* “No Esme! My chickens are only for love and chicken snuggles” and their blood which tastes very leans yet rich. “Not to eat!”

* “It would just be one-we’ll eat your least favorite!”

* You’re really hoping this is her way of chasing the humans out because she doesn’t want to cook.

* “No- oh my god- we’re going to the diner come on!” You say tugging Jessica and Angela to stand.

* “It was great seeing you again Mrs. Cullen, see you next week!” Jessica shouts as the three of them follow you out.

* “Going out? Is that such a good idea it’s late and a school night.” Edward says as he descends down the stairs

* “Oh my god, yes Dad I’ll be home before my curfew.” You say before leaving, cue Edward crumbling onto the stairs as he imagines you calling him “daddy” again

* “I’m going to hell, I’m definitely going to hell.” He mumbles, his face in his hand.

* It’s a really short drive to the diner, also known as the only place to eat in Forks in the mid 2000’s. 

*There’s not even a McDonald’s. It’s almost sad

* And when you get there, while everyone moves ahead to the table you see a familiar face.

* “Oh, Hey Bella”

* Your eyes met and you figured it would be rude not to say anything. It looks like she’s here having dinner with her Dad. 

*She really does look like her dad, same eyes, same cheekbones.

* “Nice to see you again Chief Swan”

* “Nice to see you too, how’s Carlisle doing? Heard it’s been busy at the hospital.”

* “Yeah, it’s like he doesn’t sleep anymore.” You grin at your own joke.

* “Are you feeling alright now?” Bella asks, she looks genuinely concerned

* “Yeah, I um, made some questionable food choices at lunch.”

* There’s an awkward moment of silence. You get the impression that Chief Swan and his daughter are both the “strong silent” types.

* It looks like they’ve both finished eating already

* If you had known she was going to be here you would have made Edward come with you. 

* “Oh hey, do you want to join us for dinner?” It just seems like the friendly thing to do for the new girl, something on-brand with human character

* Definitely not because if you get on her good side now, maybe she won’t kick you out once her and Edward get married. 

*Father and daughter exchange a glance and the familiar connection they have makes you nervous. 

*“Of course you don’t have to, I know you’re here with your dad so-“

* “I’m sure Bella would love to join-“ Charlie says at the same time Bella says:

* “Wouldn’t it be kind of weird since I already ate.”

* Ah, so they’re not as in sync as you thought. 

* You give your best “Golden Girl - You can totally trust me with your daughter” smile.

* “I’m actually not eating either,” you place a hand over your stomach like a human might. “The uh, Clam Linguine is still haunting me, so I’m sticking to broth and sprite.”

* Why did you say Clam? You don’t even eat meat, it’s how you’ve been getting away with eating so little at lunch. 

* “not a lot of vegetarian choices” You say to your human friends who nod solemnly. 

* Father and Daughter exchange another look likening telepathic communication and they both move to stand

* “I’m going to finish up some paperwork at the precinct, don’t stay out to late.” Charlie says, leaning down to kiss his daughter on the forehead

* You watch with warm eyes and a small smile twitching onto your lips

* Bella is so loved.

* You can’t believe she’s willing to break her dad’s heart just so she can be 19 forever.

* Which, as you are 19 forever, you can fairly say is overrated

* “Hey guys Bella’s joining us.”

* Your female friends offer her a polite smile, you see Angela gaze flick from the menu to Bella’s face. Silently calculating the worth of this opportunity

* Any intel on this new girl would be pretty valuable

* Same old Angela

* Mike sits up straight so fast that he actually knocks his silverware off the table.

* “H-hey Bella, Hi, w-what, what are you doing here?”

* “Eating.” Bella says it so bluntly that you can’t help but laugh.

* Mike flushes bright red and Jessica and Angela exchange a look before giggling.

* “I thought it would be cool if she came over since I didn’t get to talk to her much.” You take a seat next to Jessica and Bella follows by taking the last seat between you and Mike.

* You still catch whiffs of her scent her and there, especially when she’s sitting so close to you.

* But it’s not so bad, the peachy smell is making you a little lightheaded, but you can handle it.

* At least you’re not fantascizing about killing her and everyone in this room like a certain dork you know.

* “Do you guys want to do that promotion where we get the basket of fries for the table?” Jessica asks

* “I don’t like sharing fries with Mike he eats them all.” Angela mumbles

* Yeah you remember last time when after a football game the three of them actually sat down and divided the plate in three equal portions

* They even measured out each fry dividing up the extra long ones 

* “Says the person who basically eats ketchup with a spoon.” Mike retorts and Angela scoffs

* “It’s America’s best condiment for a reason Mike.” Angela snaps back

* “I think we’re getting off track, I say Mike buys us all french fries to make up for all the times he hogged the joint basket” Jessica’s teasing but Mike takes it seriously

* “What so I’m a French fry monster now?”

* “Yes” Both Angela and Jessica respond in unison without looking up from their menu cards

* “What do you think Bella?” You’re surprised that Jessica’s the one asking. You get the feeling she’s not very happy about Mike’s crush on Bella.

* “I think Mike should buy everyone their own basket since he has such a bad history with sharing.”

* “You traitor!” Mike mocks hurt and you all laugh.

* You look at Bella through the corner of your eye, maybe it’s just the lighting but she looks pinker when she’s laughing.

* She looks happy as she starts contributing to the conversation.

* “I will say the pie here is really good, I wouldn’t share even if someone paid me to.”

* “Omg yes, the cheery icebox pie is out of this world” Jessica responds

* “I’m partial to chess pie” Mike pipes in and Angela laughs

* “You guys are crazy, the fruit custard they make is the best”

* You grin as your four new friends argue about the superior dessert, watching Bella laugh beside you.

* Welcome to team human Bella

Tags:  @moonlights27 @thebluetint @the100thtwilight @awesomebooklover17 @oneofthepotterheads @smileygirl08 @imdoingathingmom @iconicgguk @yrawn @alyciaswhore @little-horror-show @wicked-watering-can @lazydreamers @xxxmuxxx @puritanicalhypocrite

[maddiwrites]

Secrets of the Shore (Chapter 1)

Pairing: Pogues x reader, eventually JJ x reader.

Summary: This is just my rewrite of the show Outer Banks with my own twist by adding another main character which also happens to be John B’s twin sister. 

Note: Hey guys! Thank you so much for the support of my last couple of fics. All your messages have been so kind and so sweet! I’ve made a rewrite of the show with a new character that eventually falls in love with her best friend. I’m gonna be posting a new chapter three times a week. Let me know what you guys think!

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: None

Chapter 2 

"That's what, a three-story fall to the deck?" John B tip toes across the middle of the roof as he sips out of the can of beer in his hand.

I lean to my right, pressing against JJ's shoulder as we sit on a construction slack used to hold construction workers as they work on the siding of the home. Scaffolding, I think it's called. I narrow my eyes at my brother, counting down the seconds until he falls.

"I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival," Pope jokes from the deck below us.

John B shrugs. He licks his finger and holds it up in the air as if he's feeling which way the wind is blowing. "Hm. Should I do it?"

"Yeah, jump." Pope holds up a power drill and points it at John B like it's a gun. "I'll shoot you on the way down."

"You'll shoot me?"

"Yep." Pope closes one eye and pretends to shoot it. "Pow!"

I roll my eyes and look forward again, letting the beer slip down my throat like a refreshing glass of water. The warm North Carolina air presses soothingly against my freshly tan skin and I bask in the sunlight. Its days like these that I like the most. Days where none of my best friends have work, we're drinking causally, and joking with one another. Even if it's on a construction site in the middle of Figure Eight. But the idea of getting caught just gives me an adrenaline rush.

"They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers," Kie says as she walks out of the unfinished house.

"Of course. Why wouldn't they?" JJ says next to me with a shrug like it's not the craziest thing that a Kook would own.

"This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles, I guess."

"I can't have cold towels."

Kie looks up at John B, shielding her eyes with the back of her hand. "Can you please not kill yourself?"

"Don't spill the beer. I'm not giving you another one," JJ says.

As if on cue, John B's foot slips. Luckily he catches himself, but his beer, however, drops to it's death on the deck below. As John B steadies himself I release the breath I didn't even know I was holding. I take another greedy gulp of my warm beer to steady the nerves in my chest.

"Whoa! Oh, shit," John B curses.

"Of course you did," JJ rolls his eyes playfully. "Smooth."

"A plus, really." I glare up at my brother, feeling his mischievous smirk right back at me.

"Dumbass," Kie mutters under her breath. She looks up at me as if waiting for me to say something, but I only giggle to myself. John B can be clumsy but he's not going to accidentally kill himself.

"Hey!" I hear another voice shout behind us towards the street and front of the house. A voice that doesn't belong to any of my friends or my brother.

"Hey, uh, security's here," Pope says.

Immediately knowing what that means, I jump to my feet with the help of JJ right after he slugs the rest of his beer. A delirious grin dances along my lips as I hop down to the main deck.

"Let's wrap it up!"

"Boys are early today."

"Humpty Dumpty, let's roll!"

My legs take off after my friends through the house. Adrenaline rushes through my veins and straight to my head like a power high. I can't even feel my legs as they jump over wooden slacks and construction tools. The high from running from the police is better than any drug JJ can get his hands on, even the good stuff.

"Gary is that you?" JJ plays along before accidentally running into him, making him slip on his feet before running the other way. I grab his wrist and pull him closer to me to catch up. "Gary, good to see you man!"

I laugh as my feet land on the freshly cut grass in the front yard. "You're asking for it."

"JJ!" The obese cop chases after us, recognizing my best friend's face instantly. I'm not surprised, not even a little bit. JJ had his fair share of run-ins with the law.

"They're going out front!" I hear another cop shout. I can barley hear through the wind rushing through my ears.

We run into a tall white painted fence that blocks us from our car, better known as the Twinkie. Hopping fences is something I've learned to become better at after doing it so many times. However, I can't say the same about Pope. He's always struggled.

I swing my legs over the fence and land with a small 'oomf.' I look over my shoulder for my slow-poke friend and see him falling over the fence, landing on his side. I laugh as I pick him up by the shoulders.

JJ is waiting for us, clapping his hands like a coach on the sidelines at a football game because his players aren't running fast enough. But there's a smile on his face. "Get up, Pope, fatso's coming!"

"Hey!" The guard shouts behind me. He's halfway up the other side of the fence, but he doesn't have the strength to pull himself over completely. "Come here you little pricks!"

I hear the familiar honk coming from the van John B and I learned to drive in. My brother and Kie are waiting for us in the front seats of the Volkswagen van that would look better in the 70s than the 2020's but I love it. It fits our friend group perfectly. Plus I'd choose this car over any fancy Mercedes Tourons usually drive. The only time I've ever been in one of them is when I snuck off with a golf player from Georgia after a boneyard party. It was luxurious of course, but nothing like the Twinkie.

"Bus is leaving!" John B says as we get closer.

"Come on!" Kie yells at us from the passenger seat, banging the flat of her palm against the door.

I dive through the back first, landing on my elbows and rolling over. Pope and JJ follow less than a second later.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Gary calls after us as John B steps on the gas.

JJ leans out of the sliding side door that's still wide open. I lay on my back watching him as I try to catch my breath. His smile is contagious. For a boy who's been through hell and back, he smiles a lot, and I love every second of it.

He holds out his beer can as if he's offering it to the cop who's still trying to catch us...if he can catch up to it. "Check out Gary, gunnin' for a raise. Come on, Gary!"

"Wait. Slow down. Hey! You little pricks! Hey!"

"You're gonna give him a heart attack!" Kie tries to scold him but she can't fight the smile on her lips either as she watches from the side rearview mirror.

"You're so close! You can do it. There you go. They don't pay you enough bro."

"JJ, stop. Stop!" Kie says through her laughter.

I love Kie. She always tries to keep the peace between her friends and the world itself. Always the girl who raises money for charities that protect this Earth and save animals and solve world hunger. She's going to change the world someday. Her and Pope. Maybe if they can tolerate each other, they'll do it side by side.

JJ slumps back into the van with a toothy grin. He sits next to me and pulls me up so I'm sitting up straight. He dangles his arm around my shoulder and I lean further into his side. If I could choose one position to be in for the rest of my life it would be this one.

But I'd never admit that.

"Oh, come on. That sort of initiative is just begging to be punished," JJ says.

I hum in response and lean back into the seat behind me and stare out the window. A view of passing vibrant green leaves takes over the window as John B drives. The scene comforts me. Summer is my favorite season. No school. Just work and friends and the Outer Banks. Paradise on Earth, some may call it.

It's the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. Two tribes, one island. We're currently driving through Figure Eight, the rich side of the island. Home of the Kooks. So, guess where we don't live.

As John B drives further South, the houses get smaller and smaller, feeling more like home. This is the South side. Or as we like to call it, the Cut. Home of the working class who make a living bussing tables, washing yachts, running charters. The natural habitat of...drumroll, please...the Pogues. That's us. Pogues, pogies, the throwaway fish. Lowest members of the food chain.

I know... a little harsh, don't you think?

So, the downside of the Pogue life is we're ignored and neglected. But the upside of the Pogue life? We're ignored and neglected, which means we do whatever we want, whenever we want.

The second John B parks the car, the boys are gathering all their fishing gear and we set off to our next destination. The marina.

"Nice haul, dude. Look at that!" JJ teases my brother when he reels in what I think is the smallest fish I've ever seen. If it was orange, I would have thought it was my old pet goldfish from when I was six. "Been all bait for, like, three weeks."

John B pulls the fish off his hook and tosses it in JJ's direction. JJ flinches back, knocking into me and almost throwing me into the water below. That was probably my fault, though. I shouldn't be sitting on an open ledge, dangling my legs twenty feet above the water.

"Watch it, idiot!" I smack JJ upside the head after letting go of the death grip I had on his bicep when I was about to fall to my death. Well...I'd probably survive, but it would hurt like hell.

"It's not my fault you chose the most dangerous seat!" JJ retaliates.

Yeah, that's JJ. John B's best friend since the third grade, which subsequently makes him my best friend since the third grade too. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. Second best surfer I know. First being me of course. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat.

"Yeah, Mar, you should really get down from there," Kie says, walking over to me to help me down. I decide not to put up a fight. If I'm going to break my leg, I'm gonna do it in a surfing accident or something cool, not by falling off the dock.

Kiara. Or Kie as we call her. When not saving turtles or listening to Bob Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with us. I'm not really sure why though. She's a rich kid, actually. Her family owns the Wreck, this Outer Banks institution. Total cash down with the tourists and my current job. You know, I'm not really sure how her parents feel about us. But they like me enough to bring them money towards their restaurant. I bring in a lot of regulars. Advertising is kind of my thing. I'm pretty sure all my friends, even my brother, have a thing for her.

Kie hands me a water bottle and lays her legs across my lap. She lies down on the wooden bench and bathes in the sunlight the day still has to offer. Kie is my best friend. Best secret holder known to man, for the most part.

"I think she needs a leash," Pope adds, making me pass him a glare.

"The only thing useful about a leash is how I can strangle you with it," I say.

"Kinky," JJ says and winks at me. "That's my girl."

John B slaps JJ upside the back of his head.

I'm lucky my sunburnt skin is hiding the blush that creeps along my cheeks.

Pope glares at both JJ and I which only makes my growing smirk widen.

Pope...the brains of the operation...finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. And the smartest person I know. Little bit of a weirdo. His father's this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get for you. Now, I'm not sure Heyward knew what to make of his oddball son, but it didn't matter. He was a Pogue, just like the rest of us.

"Trust me, if a leash was that easy, I would have tried a long time ago," John B mutters with a hint of a smile.

John Booker Routledge. My insufferable twin brother. Pain in my ass. Number one partner in crime. I hate him but I love him. Pretty much like any sibling relationship. We live in an old fish shack on the marsh. The Chateau as my dad use to call it. My dad disappeared at sea nine months ago looking for a shipwreck. I mean seriously, who disappears at sea these days? I miss him a lot. He may have been a little neglectful, but he took care of us the best that he could. My mom, however? She split when I was three. Last I heard she was in Colorado. At least I think it was Colorado. Honestly who knows and who cares.

Since my dad vanished, my Uncle T is supposedly my legal guardian. At the moment, he's in Mississippi, building houses which means it's just me right now, on my own, hangin' out with my brother and my friends.

Three months after my dad went missing, he was officially presumed dead. John B is more of an optimist than I am. He refuses to sign the paper and until he sees a dead body, he's not giving up. I back John B's decision, but I'm more realistic about what happened to my dad. The ocean, although my favorite place to be, is also one of the scariest.

My dad is probably dead and I will never get the closure that I want. So I'm dealing with it the best way I can, although I'm pretty sure everyone is a little worried about me, especially Kie now that John B is starting to follow in my footsteps by exhibiting reckless behavior.

But I'm getting better now. Day by Day. At least I wasn't acting like I did when my dad first left us.

                                                     ~ ~ ~

I woke up with a slap to my ankle and my head buried deep into my pillow. I groan from the abrupt living alarm clock that's now pacing my room and throwing clothes from my closet at me. It only makes me squeeze my eyes tighter in hopes for at least five more minutes of sleep.

"Seriously, Mar, we need to go. We're late." John B rips my blanket off my body, leaving me exposed in just my pajama boxer shorts and a tank top. The sudden chill sends goosebumps up my arms and legs.

"Go without me." I push myself up on my elbows and grab the clothes he threw at me. I knew meeting the social worker alone wasn't an option. Even if one of us goes to this stupid meeting, it will prove to the social worker that we're not being responsible enough to keep DCS off our backs. As far as they know, Uncle T is still living with us and keeping us safe.

"You have five minutes." John B ignores me and leaves my room, slamming my door shut.

I roll my eyes and tumble out of my soft bed. I slip on my jeans shorts and a white t shirt that I tie in a knot to make it a crop top. Underneath it I have on my plain black bikini, knowing that I will be surfing the second we get home. The News has been reporting a storm for weeks that's suppose to hit tonight. Vicious waves and crazy winds sends a thrill through my body.

We arrive to the social worker's office only two minutes late. I thought that was a sign of responsibility, but the social worker only looks at us with distaste as we sit in the two chairs in front of her desk.

"John, Marleigh, it's come to our attention that you two are unemancipated minors living on your own." Her hair is pulled back into a tight low bun and her glasses are perched on the tip of her nose. Her suit looks way too tight for comfort, like it's squeezing the life out of her.

John B scoffs and leans back into his seat as if we have nothing to worry about, but I know his heart is beating just as wildly as mine. "No....no." The social worker raises one brow in suspicion and glances in my direction to either confirm or deny what John B is saying. John B sees this and answers for me. "No."

I just shrug as a response, which only makes the social worker more weary. She leans into her desk and folds her hands on top of our folders that are piled in the middle. "I need honesty to help you. That's what we want, right?"

"Yeah. I'm being honest."

"Okay, then when is the last time you spoke to your uncle?"

John B looks down at his watch and purses his lips. "Uh...thirty-four minutes ago."

"When's the last time you saw him?"

"Two hours and...forty-three minutes ago?"

I hold myself back from rolling my eyes. It's clear on the social worker's face that she's not buying into any of John B's lies.

She sighs and turns to look at me. "We're gonna come out there tomorrow to talk to your uncle. If he's not there, we're gonna move forward with foster care." Foster care. The words make me dig my nails into the wood of the arms of the chair I'm in. The last place I ever wanna be is in foster care. I want to stay here on the island with my brother and our friends. Not with some random family who couldn't care less about us in a place I'm not familiar with. "I want to assure you, we're gonna find you a safe and loving home."

She says it like she's offering us a better life, one that we would want, one that sounds like the better option but it isn't. I ignore the worried look John B sends my way and watch the seconds go by on the clock above the door. We basically have twenty-four hours to find Uncle T or someone to be pretend to be him.

                                                  ~ ~ ~

The winds begin picking up early in the afternoon, the rain hitting by 5. On my way home from working at the Wreck, I watch people board up the windows of their stores and homes. All John B and I can do is hope that our little shack won't blow away by morning.

Unfortunately for Pope, he's at our house when John B catches me leaving the house with my board. When he tells me to stop, I'm prepared to put up a fight. I've been looking forward to surfing in this storm all day - something I can use to push the DCS lady out of my head and the promise she made that sounded more like a threat.

"You think you were gonna go out without me?" John B smirks and leads the way to the beach.

Pope follows behind us like a lost puppy, basically talking to himself as he tries to convince us that this is a bad idea. We stop at the edge of the beach. It's almost impossible to see the ocean through the wind and the rain.

"Those aren't surfable waves, bro," Pope says, squinting through the rain that splatters our faces wet.

"Says who?" I say, passing him a devious smirk and make a run for it towards the ocean.

I paddle past the choppy waves, letting the water knock me around like a feather in the wind. When I see a decent looking wave to ride, I prop myself up on my feet and stand. I lean into my board. The warmth that's taken over my body outruns the cold water I fall into when the waves crash over me. My body tumbles under the water and my board bumps against me. I try to swim back up to the surface but the current is strong. I don't know where I am and I can't see under the water. My nose burns when water rushes up my nostrils. I squeeze my eyes tight and just swim upwards in hope of reaching air. Maybe this was a bad idea, but the thrill is still keeping me excited.

I finally reach the surface after what feels like years. John B and Pope's screams are dull against the whistling wind. I hop back on my board and give the two guys a thumbs up and a wicked smile. Pope looks like he's about ready to have a heart attack and John B breathes out a sigh of relief as he paddles closer to me.

"You alright?" He asks me.

"Fine," I yell against the wind.

John B nods. He looks like he's about to say something else, but something over my shoulder catches his attention. I turn myself around, intrigued at what's he's seeing other than the water, clouds, and a bunch of rain. Then I see it. A boat that barely looks afloat, so far out that it looks like a speck against the rain.

"We should probably go," I say. I don't want John B's mind to run to what might have happened to Dad out there. Maybe he was caught by a storm like this, maybe his boat went overboard and his body is out there floating with the fishes. I don't know. The last thing I need him to do right now is speculate. Even if the same thoughts are running through my head, John B thinks he's still alive. These thoughts will keep him up all night. He doesn't move, however. "John B let's go."

                                                  ~ ~ ~

JJ is already laying on the pull out bed in my living room when I get out of the shower. JJ crashes here most days of the week. He'd much rather be here than with his drunk abusive dad. Our friends don't know the extent of how shitty his relationship really is with his dad. But I do. I found out when I was thirteen. JJ snuck through my bedroom window after a tough night with his dad. His face and torso were covered in bruises. It took everything in me not to burst out in tears right then and there. But for some reason, he trusted me of all people with his biggest secret. I cleaned him up and let him sleep in my bed with me. Every once in a while we repeat the process. Sometimes he's not even hurt, he just shows up. And I let him in because I like having him there.

I fall onto the mattress next to him and prop my head up on my hand, leaning on my elbow. I run my fingers through his hair, feeling satisfied and bubbly when he moans in response.

"When did you get here?" I ask him.

"You were in the shower. Don't worry I didn't peak, but I was tempted," He says into his pillow.

I use the same hand I had woven in his hair and punch his shoulder playfully, making him fall on his back. His lips turn up in a grin.

I lay there for a second, looking up at the ceiling. My eyes feel heavy, the events of the day officially taking over my body. I peek an eye over at JJ who's watching me carefully as if I might break under his fingertips.

"What?" I grin to myself, thankful for the darkness so he couldn't see the blush on my cheeks. Again.

"You all right?" He asks, pushing my hair out of my face so he can look straight into my eyes.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

JJ hesitates, like he's trying to pick the right words to say. I watch him closely, studying every mark and crevice on his face. Beautiful and clear like always. Even when it's covered in bruises and blemishes, he's handsome. I could look at him all day.

"You hate storms," He says.

"I can sleep through anything," I tell him. "And I don't hate storms. They make for...eventful surfing days."

His face drops to a more serious one. "You know what I mean."

I do. Storms have never really frightened me. Not really. But ever since my dad disappeared nine months ago, I worried that he would get caught in a storm like this, that by morning there would be a knock on my door from an officer who would tell me that a dead body has washed up on shore and they ID'd him as my father. The image leaves me with nightmares on nights like tonight.

JJ's the only one who knows this.

I don't like talking about it. Like JJ, we have this in common. So instead of telling him I'm fine and him not believing me, I pull the blanket at the edge of the mattress over our bodies and tuck myself into his side, laying my head on his shoulder. A position so intimate for just us "friends." I hope he can't feel my heart pounding beneath my skin, against his side. I let my body soften against his, feeling sleep take over me. I fall into a dreamless sleep next to JJ, hoping that the storm will be gone by the time we wake up.

[hxlyhead-harpies]

The Last Dream of my Soul pt. 5 (R.L.)

Hello!!! The newest part has arrived and i hope you all enjoy it! Also. I am aware that hippogriffs are a third year lesson but pleaseeeee just pretend it makes sense...

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader

Summary:  The very bookish (Y/n) has spent most of her life alone, aside from her best friends Lily and her beloved books. But when the infamous Marauders get thrust into her life, how could she resist the beautiful and unattainable Remus.

Warnings: Angst

Word Count: 2.2k

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

The two weeks at home were rough. As excited as you were to return to the place that you grew up, you soon came to the realization that Hogwarts and the wizarding world were your true home. As much as you loved your parents and the creaky floor of your old bedroom, you couldn’t help but feel entirely out of place. And as much as your parents loved you, they could never understand you.

But still, you enjoyed Christmas dinner and watching your old favorite shows on the television. Despite this though, you were near tears every night when you thought of your friends and the old castle walls of your school. You missed them immensely.

You were at a great disadvantage as you did not own an owl. Luckily, your friends sent plenty of letters, and you held their birds hostage until you could scribble out a response.

You received the most letters from Lily. She related to your feelings of feeling out of place in the muggle world. It was made worse for her by her sister, Petunia. Petunia was jealous of Lily to a near disturbing extent. It made your best friend’s time at home miserable.

You received one letter from Peter on Christmas. It was a simple letter that mostly just wished you a happy holiday, but nevertheless, it made you smile.

From Sirius and James, you received joint letters as they were both staying at the Potter’s house for Christmas. The letters detailed all of the mischief they got up to and they never failed to make you laugh. You’d always send back a letter reprimanding them but also subtly egging them on.

Remus’s letters were your favorite. He wrote to you relatively often, describing his family and what he was reading. You did the same, raving about the book that he had gifted you. You loved the way he wrote his letters. It was almost like poetry. You weren’t surprised though. How could someone spend their whole life reading and not have a way with words?

But despite the comfort that the letters brought you, you couldn’t help but wish that the words could be spoken in person instead.

But soon enough the time came for you to return to your real home and greet your chosen family. In a flurry of brotherly hugs and high pitched squeals, you said hello to Lily and the marauders with a grin stretched ear to ear.

As excited as you were to return to Hogwarts, the return to lessons was less exciting. Soon, you were once again drowning in school work and waiting for a chance to breathe. Classes were beginning to pick up and become more challenging, and you were doing your best to scrape by.

“Hey (Y/n),” Sirius said, catching your attention as you walked to your care for magical creatures class.

“Yes, Sirius?” you inquired.

“Have you finished the transfiguration essay yet?” he asked. You smirked at him.

“Are you asking because you’re curious or because you want to copy it?” you asked teasingly. Sirius groaned.

“Oh sod off (Y/n),” he retorted, shoving your shoulder. You yelped as he d pushedyou a tad too hard and braced yourself, preparing to hit the ground. Instead, you felt strong hands grab your arm.

“You okay?” Remus asked as he helped you steady yourself.

“Yeah I’m fine,” you said breathlessly, your arm burning from his touch. You sent the concerned boy a quick smile before turning to face Sirius. You punched him quickly in the shoulder.

“Ow!” he exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

“That’s what you get for assaulting me,” you retorted and you heard Remus chuckle from your left.

“Yeah yeah I’m sorry,” Sirius said, waving his hands in the air. You smiled, satisfied, and skipped the rest of the way to class.

When you arrived at the forbidden forest Professor Kettleburn stopped the group at the edge of the woods.

“Now students, we have a very special lesson today,” he explained to your peers. You danced on your toes in excitement. You loved care for magical creatures, enough to take it in your N.E.W.T.S years, and you were excited at the prospect of an exciting lesson. Sirius shifted impatiently on his toes, having only taken the course for an easy E, while Remus smiled at your antics.

“Today we will be in the presence of one of our realms' most compelling creatures,” Professor Kettleburn continued mysteriously. A smile spread its way across your face as you waited for him to reveal the creature. Professor Kettleburn led his herd of students into the forest, pausing a few paces in. He pushed back a branch of a large, sweeping tree, to reveal a herd of creatures. You felt your mouth drop open in astonishment. You turned to Remus, a wide smile adorning our features.

“Hippogriffs,” you whispered excitedly. Remus smiled at you, nodding in affirmation.

Professor Kettleburn walked to stand before the class.

“The hippogriff is an incredibly unique creature. Its front half bears the resemblance of an eagle, while it’s back half is one of a horse. The hippogriff’s closest relative is the griff, a creature that is half lion and half horse. The Hippogriff is also an especially proud creature. Can anyone tell me the proper etiquette for greeting such an animal?” the professor asked. You did not hesitate to shoot your hand into the air.

“Yes, Miss (L/n),” he said, calling on you.

“When approaching a hippogriff, the proper thing to do is to bow and wait for the hippogriff to do the same. You wait for the creature to approach you, and you must maintain eye contact,” you explained, almost reciting the textbook exactly.

“Very good,” the professor replied with a smile. Professor Kettleburn rambled on for a few more minutes, describing the deity habits and the ideal habitats for hippogriffs. You excitedly listened to him, soaking up every bit of knowledge that you could. You could hear some boys in your year laughing, mocking your professor’s eccentric habits, and you turned to glare at them. The group’s ringleader, Rodolphus Lestrange, turned and glared back at you, sending you an unflattering gesture.

Eventually, Professor Kettleburn clapped his hands together and stopped talking.

“Now,” he began, “who would like to be the first to greet the hippogriff?” Your hand immediately went up, waving back and forth through the air. You heard Sirius and Remus laugh at your behavior from either side of you.

“Okay Miss (L/n), please step forward,” the professor said as he motioned you towards him. He gave you a quick rundown of how you were to approach the creature, before sending you off with a quick pat on the shoulder.

You approached the creature and admired its beauty. It's gorgeous storm grey coat glistened under the late afternoon sun and its eyes were a brilliant shade of orange. You stopped about six feet in front of the creature before bowing, maintaining strong eye contact the entire time. After a beat, the hippogriff bowed as well. You smiled widely as you stood, awestruck by the creature before you. You stepped forward with your hand outstretched.

“Hello, you beautiful creature,” you spoke softly. The hippogriff leaned towards your hand before nuzzling his beak into it. You caressed his beak and gently carded your hands through its feathers. After a few minutes, Professor Kettleburn ushered you back. You reluctantly bowed to the creature before scurrying back to your friends.

When you returned, Sirius patted you on the back.

“Good job (Y/n). I would’ve been scared the thing was going to rip me to shreds,” he said. You shook your head at him.

“Oh come on, it’s a gentle creature,” you said. Remus grimaced from beside you.

“Yeah but one wrong move and it tears you to shreds,” he said quietly. You roll your eyes.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit of an overreaction?” you asked. Remus opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the professor.

“Now who else would like to greet our friend?” he asked the class. Before anyone could respond, Rodolphus strutted up the front. The professor leaned over to go over the proper etiquette, but Rodolphus just waved him off. You frowned.

“This is not going to end well,” you mumbled to yourself. Rodolphus swaggered up to the hippogriff, giving him a shallow bow. The hippogriff hesitated but eventually bowed in return. Rodolphus walked up to the creature, his first mistake, and immediately reached in to touch it. The hippogriff flinched, which caused Roldophus to say something to him. You could not quite make out what he said, but it angered the hippogriff. He reared his head and lunged towards the boy. The students around you began to scream and run away. Professor Kettleburn lunged forward, trying to get the student out of the hippogriff’s path. Remus grabbed your arm, attempting to pull you away, but you broke free from his grasp and headed in the opposite direction. You heard him shout after you as you ran towards the creature but you ignored him. Professor Kettleburn was attempting to keep the creature at bay while Rodolphus tried to crawl away. You approached the creature and tried to get its attention.

“Don’t waste your energy on him,” you shouted at the animal. It paid you no mind.

“You’re a magnificent creature! You have no business having to deal with someone like him!” you shouted. “You’re too good for him!”

After hearing the compliment, the hippogriff turned towards you. His orange eyes still glinted with aggression and his body was tense. Rodolphus got up and sprinted away. You quickly bowed, trying to appease the creature. It huffed and shook off Professor Kettleburn’s hand. You stayed in the same position, maintaining eye contact with the creature. You silently pleaded with it to calm down. Eventually, the hippogriff lowered its head in return, the aggression leaving its eyes. You waited for him to approach you before tentatively touching his beak. The air was thick with anticipation as your peers watched you, all of them scared for your safety. After a beat, the creature nuzzled into your hand, causing you to let out a sigh of relief. Professor Kettleburn came up behind you and placed a hand on your shoulder. He ushered you back towards the other students, before dismissing class for the day.

“Okay children, that’s enough excitement for today. Feel free to head back to your dorms,” he stated, shooing you all with his hands.

You pushed through the crowd towards your friends. You were immediately wrapped into a strong hug. Sirius released you after a moment, a wide smile across his face.

“Godric you scared me half to death!” he exclaimed. “But that was wicked!” You smiled at his words. You turned towards Remus, hoping to see him smiling as well. But when he came into view, he looked the opposite of happy. His face was hard and cold and his arms were crossed stiffly over his chest.

“Remus what’s wrong-”

“How could you be so stupid,” he asked angrily, cutting you off in the process. You blinked at him, confused.

“What are you talking about?” you asked softly.

“Do you not realize what you just did? You approached that- that monster! And you practically begged him to attack you!” he yelled. You flinched at his words.

“He’s not a monster,” you responded, your voice wavering. Remus frustratedly ran his hands through his hair.

“Yes he is! Yes he is (Y/n)! But just can’t see it,” he exclaimed. Confusion filled your features.

“Remus I-”

“No. You do not get to speak. You can’t just go around and expect things like that- monsters- to not hurt you,” he yelled. Your face hardened.

“Remus I am perfectly capable of handling myself!” you yell back, anger coursing through your veins.

“No, you’re not! You’re too naive,” he responded angrily.

“I am not naive and you do not get to talk to me like I’m a child,” you yelled back. Remus just shook his head.

“One day, you’re going to try and tame the wrong creature and you’re going to get hurt. You don’t understand these things,” he said, quieter than before. He takes one last look at you before turning on his heel and storming off towards the castle.

You watch him leave, tears forming in your eyes. Your anger had dissipated, leaving only sadness and confusion in its wake. Remus had never spoken to you like that before. He had always been soft and sweet, the opposite of the man who had just screamed at you. You turn towards Sirius, who’s shocked expression matched yours.

“What was that all about?” you asked Sirius, who was avoiding your eyes. He sighed.

“Remus is going through some things right now,” was his only response. You scoffed through your tears.

“And how does that give him the right to speak to me like that?” you countered. Sirius kicked a pebble on the ground.

“It doesn’t. But just give him time,” was his reply. You shook your head, begging the tears to stay at bay. You quickly turned and stalked back to the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist:

@goosegorl​​ @serenefreakgeek​​ @blueflame2778​​ @thegirlthatsfalling​​ @glimmering-darling-dolly​​ @calmspencer​​ @therustictea​ @florenceivy​ @peachyblue​ @blackpinkdolan​ @killerqueenishere​ @lotties-journey-abroad​

[twstwonderlandstuff]

Sleep depravity

You feel like shit.

Flashback

Ahaha, the new year! A time for fun and festivities! Surely, that’s what YOU’RE going to be doing, right?

Wrong.

Well, I mean right, but it’s not fun by what most of NRC calls as. So imagine this, right, you’re sitting in yo damn class doing your damn shit when suddenly, your classmate whispers to you from behind.

“Hey.” You nudge an elbow, to show that you’re listening. 

“You should watch ‘Tales of the Seven Lords’. It’s a really good series.” You nod in thanks at the recommendation and your classmate retreats back to his seat. 

And the day goes on as usual: Running around campus doing your part-time jobs, occasionally talking to your friends and seniors, feeding Grim, appreciating how fine everybody looks today- pardon me.

So now, it’s bedtime and you’re there listening to Grim talk as you do your homework. Then, he says: “Oh yeah, someone said something about a recommendation, right?”

“Right, I forgot about that.” You nod, finishing your homework in time. “We should check that out to watch for New Years. It’s in a few days.” You sigh, bouncing your leg. 

See, unlike from where you’re from, NRC has a different curriculum, where the OFFICIAL tests come out somewhere in the 3rd and 9th month of the year, not the 6th and the 12th, so this is just cooldown time for you to kind of chill and relax. 

“Right, holidays~~~ We don’t need to listen to Vargas anymore!” Grim hums cheerfully, and you nod. He’s already loud and super annoying every time he meets a slightly muscular kid, but add THAT with him rambling about safety protocols? Nah, man, ya can’t.

"Ah yes, the holidays where everyone goes home and leaves us here to wail and stay all alone with nobody- I mean I got you but you know- nobody and probably have to clean the school.” You take a deep breath. “Lovely.”

"That annoying guy is going to do something like that...” Grim complains, rolling over to flop on your stomach. “I don’t wanna!”

“Same...” You reply lazily, fist bumping Grim’s paw. “Hahah... hah...”

Despite your complaining, you feel a little giddy. I mean, come on, you get the FUCK around the school, all day by yourselves! What’s not to love about that? And the series is sure to keep you entertained.

Flashback end.

‘That was a terrible, terrible thing to think about.’ You thought blearily, thoughts swirling around your head as Grim falls asleep on you, *heetos and dorr*tos all over your body, making you feel sticky and gross. 

It’s now the actual new years, where everybody’s gone home and like you predicted, Crowley did assign you to tasks- fucking bird, so you and Grim’s ass didn’t do what he told you. Fucking hell, the school’s been functioning DAMN well without you, surely the tasks not THAT big of a deal, right?

After goofing around for a few days, you’re getting bored, so you drag your lazy self to Sam’s store (where his friends from the other side are tending it for him) and rent out a DVD- Crowley didn’t gift you a phone, unfortunately (but still fixed that old TV set??? Man’s got some weird priorities)

You bring this news to Grim, who immediately begs and whines for you to open and watch the show. So you did.

The first episode, you were intrigued, but only a little bit. The same went for the 2nd and 3rd episode. You’re about to call it a lame series when you hit... the 4th episode.

It was a wild ride of emotions and wow... that scene where Henry helps the king really brought you and Grim to tears. 

You were hooked. Or in other words, you were fucked. Fucked because now, you can’t THINK of anything BUT the series, which forces you to stay at home and watch the entire god-damn thing and now its 2 days after that.

At... you blearily open your eyes and notice the cracks of light shining through the curtain. “Oh god...” At somewhere around 8 am in the morning.

“Fucking hell... I’ve gone and fucked up my sleep schedule... shit...” And for some reason, tears began running down your eyes. What the fuck? Are you THAT tired that’d you’d cry over your SLEEP SCHEDULE?

Yes. Yes, you are.

You hear a knock at the door. “Oh my fucking god.” You curse, rolling down the uneven wooden floors, wincing as you get splinters. You lethargically stand up  and open the door and look up to see...

HEARTSLABYUL

Someone 5 cm taller then you- oh screw off, you’re 145 cm, its okay to be pissed, you know?

“Happy new year, prefect-” You interrupt him.

“Oh.. you’re cute!” You grin gleefully, pinching the red hair’s cheeks.

“U-unhand me at once!” The guy with red hair shouted, forcibly taking your hands away. “Or its off with your head!”

"What, you’re gonna- you’re gonna tie me up~?” You tease, punching the guy’s shoulder. “That’s kinky dude... like tone down the horny ya know...”

2 guys with red-orange hair and other with blue starts laughing loudly in the background and you laugh too.

The guy with red hair STARTS turning red- oh my fucking god, people can turn red?

“OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” And a collar winds up around your neck.

“Eh????” You ask, lightly tugging at the collar. “What the fackin hell is this shit? Y’all really out here puttin’ collars and shit on people... in the middle of the day too... wow...”  You mutter, slipping into a country accent.

Flash! You hear a snap of a camera and turn to look at another person with a feather duster on his head- why does he have a feather duster- you know what, its cute, and you like it. You reach up and begin petting it, effectively blocking the phone he’s holding.

“Eto, prefect? You’re kinda- woah!” You look at him with a glazy eyes from those 2 days of non stop watching.

"Are you a...” You ponder, biting your lip as you blink repeatedly. “Are you... a fuck boy?”

(“CATER’S A FUCK- CATER’S F-FUCK- AHAHAHAHA-” Ace wheezes in the background as Deuce starts laughing harder, neither of them caring that they have collars on their first day back.)

Fuck boy has a bewildered look on his face, but before you could see his reaction, another hand goes to tug you back. You look up and... is that... is that lettuce, you see? No no way, it... it kinda looks like broccoli, though..

“Let’s get you to bed, prefect.” The broccoli tells you firmly, but like hell are you listening to a broccoli! Fuck man, you got higher standards then that, come on!

“No! I’m not listening to a broccoli!” You duck, effectively pulling out of his grasp and ran inside to wherever room you’re in and slam it shut. “YOU’RE NEVER GETTING ME, BROCCOLI MAN!!!”

(”Bro---brocoll-” This time, it’s Deuce’s time to collectively pound weakly at the dirt, one hand holding onto Ace’s shoulder as he looses it.)

Eventually, you slump on the ground and slowly... you don’t hear the brocolli’s voice anymore.. which is good (but like, why does his voice sound so... sexy??? Like, why??? It doesn’t make any... sense...)

---

Ace and Deuce finish from their laughing stock, having to hold on to the third years to get up from their position. “We’ll go check on the prefect.” Deuce tried to say, a snort or two making its way to the sentence.

“HAH- KINKY- KINKY FUCK BOY BROCCOLI--- AHAHAHAHAHA-” Ace was still loosing it as he walked inside, a tear streaking down his face. “I love the prefect so fucking much.”

Laughter bubbles up against Deuce’s throat as he walks in. “F...Fuck...boy...”

“W-where is the prefect, anyway?” They immediately see you, slumped against the hallway, snoozing away. With their strong powers, they gently lift and place you on the sofa, amidst all the gunk and shit that’s piled up.

“Ew, what were they even doing?” Ace cringes, looking at the mess. “It smells like shit.”

“They’re watching ‘Tales of the Seven Lords’- oh.” Deuce nods, in extreme understanding. He too, has pulled all-nighters with his gang to watch this series... oh how they cried like mad.

“Oh, that show... it’s bad. I don’t like it.”

“What?!” Deuce swiftly turns around. “But its really good!”

“No, it’s not, what? You got some poor taste, Juice.”

“It’s Deuce, not Juice! And you’re the one with poor taste!”

They bicker all the way, until they’re lovingly threatened by Riddle to NOT say a word, or its way more then off with your head, got it~?

SAVANACLAW

An extremely good-looking lion man- lion man, the fuck???- who lazily looks around at your dorm. Behind him is an EVEN better looking man, this one with a very fluffy tail and BEEG ears and BEEG body and my god, wow... he also sexy- like, sexier then lion man.

“Furry?” You mutter, your eyes falling onto another boy with animal-like ears and tail, except he’s shorter then the two, but his eyes seem to have more light in them.

“Happy New Year, prefect~!” He cheers on, his small tail wagging- oh that is cute oh my fuck- oh shit-

“...what the fuck? Why the fuck are there furries?” You gasp in alarm, running your hands through your hair in a frantic manner. “HAVE I MISSED A FUCKING GENERATION OF FURRIES?!”

“NONONONO NO NO NO THERE’S NO FUCKING WAY- NO-” You scream, falling onto the floor and grabbing a piece of your hair.

A shadow seems to loom over you, and you can feel something fluffy- or maybe that’s just you. “Prefect, are you okay- not like I’m worried, or anything, but...?” That line seems like something you’ve heard, but from where?

“Has the herbivore lost their mind?” Sexy lion man can be heard asking in the back, his voice quickly slipping into a yawn.

“Are ya worried, Leona?” The smaller guy teases, a ‘shi shi shi’ going past his lips.

“Tch.”

Well they seem like good friends- nice.

“I’m fine-” You look up and BAM WOAH WHAT IS THAT- SOMEONE’S PANTS AREA THING NOPE-

“I’M NOT FINE FUCKKKKKKK!” You scream back. The guy jumps back.

“Prefect, are you possessed?”

“By this stage? I might as well fucking be- HAH!” And you snort at that- it’s not even funny, you moron. “Oh, and also sexy lion man- yeah I’m talking to you, yeah you-” You point at said man. “I’m not a herbivore, okay? Like, I’m not a vegan (NO OFFENSE TO THE VEGANS OUT THERE), umm...” You slip into a dramatic accent where everything becomes more pronounced.

“I’m a fucking omnivore, and if you wanna like, insult me, please do it right. Thanks.” You pose, your hands making a heart shape, before slumping onto strong boy’s arms.

“Pfft- AHAHAHAH-” And Ruggie’s gone and lost his shit, because what’d you expect, right?

Leona looks surprised, before becoming very irritated, dragging Ruggie by the scruff/neck and walking away, leaving Jack to deal with you.

His seniors out of earshot and eyeshot, he glances at your sleeping form, which was nuzzling up to him, sighing in bliss as the warmth surrounds you.

He lets out a snicker despite his best efforts not too. Goodness, you surprise him every day.

He easily brings you inside with a princess carry, making sure to respectfully touch only your legs and you back to support you.

He glances at your sleeping form- what on earth were you doing that could keep you up so late, anyways? Oh, he finds out by passing through the living room, TV still on.

He finds your bedroom and lays you down there, not bothering to bring Grim inside- just kidding, he absolutely brings Grim in because he knows how much you love each other, but you didn’t hear that from me~

He glances at your form again and brushes some hair out of your face. The steady rise and fall of your chest eases him. Maybe he should stay here, just in case you wake up and act like THAT again and that’s something he’s sure a lot of people aren’t ready to witness.

He takes a chair and sits in front of you, once again having his eyes trained on you, seeing he has nowhere to look at.

A content smile passes your lips, and he smiles at that. What kind of dreams are you having, he wonders? (Little did he know its about him)

Wait.

If he’s waiting for you like this, isn’t that what you usually do for friends?! He stands up immediately, regretting his actions just as fast as he notices you squirm, sighing in relief as you settle back down onto your dazed state again.

“Happy New Year, prefect. Let’s make more memories together.” He mutters lowly, far too low for you to hear but somehow, you smile at just the right moment.

He leaves quickly, a red blush adorning his cheeks. No, that does NOT make him happy in the slightest! His tail isn’t wagging, his ears aren’t red, you’re lying!

Right?

Wrong.

Yeah, right.

Oh, god damn you and making him so confused!

OCTAVINELLE

An incredibly good-looking gent, with a smile on his face that doesn’t look as nice as it should. And look, he’s got a fedora! That speaks fancy~

“Happy New Year, pre-” You take the fedora and slap it onto your head, to the surprise and subsequent irritation of this man.

Or octopus. Honestly, they radiate the same vibe, so you wouldn’t know.

Then, you began doing the Orange Justice (cringe) as you hum- “Mhph, then you break it down! Down! Down! High! Down!”

“Is shrimpy-chan okay?” Oh what the fuck he’s so tall- THERE’S ANOTHER ONE YOU’RE SEEING THINGS-

“Oya oya.” HE HAS ARA-ARA ENERGY OH MY GOD YOU CAN’T DEAL WITH THIS- NONONONONO-

“Ara ara? Ara ara ara~ ara ARA!” You reply in kind, switching to a weird boogie as you sing offkey about a song.

“Under the sea~~~ under the sea~~ something, something, du do do do, under the sea~ under the grass, and till they fall~ ahhhh!!!” You grab the gent’s hands and drag him to you, paying very close attention to your feet as you attempt to tap dance.

The gent splutters indigation, so you leave him be and focus on your feet.

“Ne, that sounds fun!” The 1st double says, following you to dance- except he’s doing way better then you.

“Wha- how the fuck- that’s good! How the fackkkk... fuck... fucking... fucking fucking wop wop!” You giggle, trying to imitate his dance.

“Hehe, shrimpy’s funny when they’re tired!” Double 1 says, grabbing your waist as you shout in fright.

“Jade, maybe we should-”

“Let them be, Azul.”

Upon closer inspection, you realize that this ‘Jade’ has resonating vibes with Sebastian from Black Butler- wait, is this the twin cliche?! Where there’s the crazy one and the other’s the sane one?! But then again, he has that scary smile on his face... hmm, maybe that theory should be left alone.

You, still Double 1′s arms, shout: “Come on butler man! Join us!!!”

“Butler... are you referring to me?” He sounds surprised.

“Yeee! Come on dude,let’s vibeeee-” You stop mumbling and began singing again. “Oh oh, I’m a rebel just for kicks now! OWAH!!!”

“Owah~~” Double 1 joins, and Jade with a grin, joins in. “Owah~”

“...owah...” The gent also joins, albeit in a softer tone.

“What else, shrimp- eh??? They’re asleep!” Floyd pouts as he gazes at your non-moving body. “No fun.”

“Oya, maybe we should bring them back to their couch. It looks like a nice place to be.” Jade remarks, looking at the pile of chips and snacks on the floor. Floyd shruges, dropping you with a thud, but you don’t seem to wake up. Jade picks you up for Floyd and brings you to the couch.

Azul cringes at the sight of messy chips. “It’s giving me heartburn just looking at it.”

“Don’t lie, Azul. We saw you eating the same thing yesterday~” Floyd teases, a wide grin placate on his face.

“...I could’ve sworn nobody saw me! How...” Azul mumbles to himself, a red flush on his face.

“They’re asleep. We should leave them be.” Jade suggests, walking back to the group.

Azul nods. “There’s nothing I can make a deal about, anyway. And, the benevolent sea witch wouldn’t agree with that, wouldn’t she?”

"Yeah! Goodnight, shrimpy!” Still, you don’t reply, but Floyd looks happy enough since he hoists Azul up from his stand and walks out with him, princess style.

“F-floyd, put me down!”

“Nah, Jade looked really happy holding Shrimpy, so I’ll do the same to you~”

“Floyd!”

Jade walks behind them, watching as they have their fun.

Did I really look that happy? He glances back at your living room and gives a rare, sincere smile to the dimly lit room.

“Goodnight, prefect. I hope to get along with you better.” He whispers to himself, before closing the door gently behind and catching up to his brother.

SCARABIA

Sunshine??? in the form of a... homo sapient???? and a snake??? why the fuck-???

“Happy New Year, prefect! I brought you some food, a few blankets and oh!” The sunshine greets, giving you things, which you don’t have the strength to take, but nod as thanks anyways. He hands you a carpet, incredibly soft, 100% quality. “A carpet- eh, prefect?! Are you okay?!” The sunshine fusses, grabbing your cheeks in worry.

You melt, easing into the touch. “I’m okay now.” You lazily reply, giving him a slow wink. “Haha, get it? Cause- cause you’re here, and you’re the sun, and you’re cute, so like... haha? No?” You don’t let him reply as you sigh and nod, taking his hands of your cheeks. “Alright.”

The sunshine grins at your attempt. “I don’t really know what you mean, but thanks!” Oh my god he’s so cute-

“...hopefully, these things can dress up your broken- er, rustic house.” The snake replies, watching your behavior with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

You son of a bitch-

“Look, snake-man. No no no no, look at me. Watashi no eyes, you look at eyes- you see my eyes?” You stalk towards the snake, squinting at the bright sun (2 suns) as you trudge towards him. “Y-you see? Yeah, these eyes have tried their FUCKING best to fix up this dorm, so please, bro, please don’t like, mock it cuz like-- it’s really fucking hard- and you know why?!”

“Why?” The sunshine questions, just as you hope (but for some reason, the snake has backed away and is guarding the sunshine. You wonder why.)

“Lemme tell you why- lemme tell you why. So, this bird-man bitch boy I don’t fucking know, right-” The snake sort of laughs at this description as sunshine nods. “This guy, right, leaves ALL this SHIT to me- like BITCH, did you see the fucking state of this... I don’t know, um, SHACK?!” You point aggressively at the house. “Yeah man, it was SHIT! Like, there were holes, rats on the ground, and there were a insects everywhere...” Oho, snake seems to tense up at this, walking towards sunshine in a scared manner.

“The wood was rotting, it smelled like mold... the couches were moldy, the BED was moldy... it was... it was FUCKING shit mate, like the fuck?! You expect me to clean up that shit in what, like...” You bring up your fingers, not even counting. “Three fucking days? Like what the fucking hell, bitch? I’d like to- to- to know what the fuck crossed his mind, like the fuck, you know?”

“That seems hard, prefect. Do you want us to help?” The sunshine offers, but the snake interjects, saying: “Kalim (oh, so his name is Kalim, huh? Cute name for a cute guy!), how many times do I have to tell you? Don’t-”

“But it looks like they’re having a really hard time!” Kalim argues, pouting and looking at you pitifully, and you give the snake a woeful mourning face. The snake glares at you, before sighing heavily. Ah, damn, you feel kind of bad.

“Nah, it’s okay sunshine, I can handle it. Oh, by the way, have ya seen my baby?” You say nonchalantly, describing your feline friend.

“Baby?” The snake pales. “You have a baby?!”

“Prefect, why do you have a baby?” The sunshine panics too, eyes widening, forgetting the nickname you gave him.

“Yeah, I do! Wanna see-” Slump! You fall onto the ground before you can finish your sentence, leaning across the snake’s legs.

“Oh... they’re probably talking about Grim...” Jamil realizes, sighing in relief at the thought.

“Oh yeah, that’s probably it! Hehe, we think alike, Jamil!” Kalim grins, much to the chagrin of Jamil.

“Yeah, yeah, we do. Now come on-” Jamil lifts up your body, princess style and grunts. “Help me open the door.”

“Sure thing!” Kalim hums, opening the door. “What do you think they were doing, looking so tired?”

Jamil shrugs, walking inside ASAP, first giving the dorm a quick sweep with his eyes- he isn’t quite sure how to feel about the bugs you said. They pass by the living room and upon seeing the disarray, nod in understanding.

“Kalim, can you clean it while I put the prefect back in their room?” Kalim nods and gets to work, rolling up his sleeves.

Jamil smiles, nodding as he walks towards your bedroom, opening it with his foot. Surprisingly, it looks WAY cleaner then your living room- you really did stay up all night to watch whatever show was on, huh? The bed isn’t even creased.

Jamil sets you down gently, and you immediately roll to the side, sighing in comfort. He watches as the crumbs of snacks fall onto the bed, and thanks the graces that its not Kalim’s, or his bed that got the food spilled, phew.

Speaking of Kalim, how is he faring? Jamil walks back to the living room, fully expecting to see Kalim get distracted, but much to his ACTUAL surprise, the room is a quarter cleaned. The crisps are thrown in the trash bin and the blankets are folded up, albeit not neatly.

Jamil smiles, a little bit proud of Kalim. “Kalim?”

“Here. Shh, not so loud. Grim’s sleeping.” Kalim whispers back, waving from the kitchen. “I’m trying to clean the dishes, but...”

“Here, let me teach you.” And so, they two do their best to help clean the living room until it’s up to Jamil’s standard.

“I bet they’ll feel surprised when they wake up!” Kalim giggles, happy that it’s clean.

“I hope so, it’ll be a waste if we did all this and they didn’t notice.” Jamil frowns, crossing his arms, satisfied. “I’m sure they liked the gifts, Kalim?”

“Really?! I didn’t go overboard, right?!” Kalim worries, looking at Jamil in concern.

“You always do.” Was Jamil’s snide remark.

“Jamil!” Kalim pouts, and Jamil nods.

“It’s true.”

“Aww... I thought I really... aww...” Kalim shakes his head, cheering up immediately. “There’s always next time! Let’s visit Heartslabyul next, Jamil!”

“Let’s go.” And Kalim rushes out, shouting a ‘Happy New Year!’ to the dorm, despite his previous warning. Jamil says nothing, echoing his behavior as they walk out.

(And it’s true. After 14 hours or so, you wake up, walked towards the living room, and cried the SHIT out of your eyes. It really was nice to see, you know?)

DIASOMNIA

 You can’t distinguish who the fuck this person is, but they’re definitely tall. 

“Who the fucking hell??? Is so fucking tall?” You ask in a whisper. “Hello?”

“Don’t talk to Malleus-sama that way, human!” A guy that looks similar to a cucumber yells. 

“Shut up, my guy. Oh shit, sorry I probably sound really fucking rude hah.” You snort, pinching the nose of your bridge. “Um, what can I do for you? Or something?”

“You look pale.” A softer voice comments. You turn to look at him and oh fucking HELL he looks so... soft??? Princely???

“Woah.” You breathe, grabbing his face. He quickly pushes you off, but you don’t mind. “What the fuck... Your face??? Is?? Nice???” 

“Thank... you...?” He says strangely, stepping away. “Da- LIlia-sama, I think we should leave. ___ doesn’t seem to feel well.”

“Nonsense, ___’s fine. It’s probably just lack of sleep.” You let out a bark at that. 

“Hah, lack of sleep. More like lack of heat!” You giggle at that- why did you giggle at that it literally makes no sense. You turn to look at this ‘Lilia’ person and holy shit, is that a d i l f ?

“...Dilf?” You mutter, stetching out your hand to touch this short emo man. “Emo???”

“What is a dlif?” Emo man’s face contorts into confusion, one that is not often seen in his face. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that phrase...”

“Dad’s I’d Like to Fuck, because damn bro, you look- you look like you raised hot kids and set them on a frying pan do you get me, cuz like you’re also sexy? I don’t... yeah.” You nod  heavily at your sentence. 

Emo man and prince-looking guy’s face contorts into a grin and a horrified look respectively. Tall man seems to have the same face as prince-looking guy, while Cucumber just... freezes. 

“Are y’all okay??? You know what, I don’t- I don’t have- I’m not- I’m- I’VE GOT THE APPLE BOTTOM JEANS, BOOTS- BUTTS- BUTTS WITH THE FURRR, THE WHOLE CLUB WAS LOOKING AT HER~” You break out into a song, changing your voice to a country accent. 

“SHE TOOK THE FLOOR AND GOT THE JEANS AND WENT LOW LOW LOW low low low low...” You sync in with the music, going lower to the beat until you lay your body on the ground and slowly lose sight (or blurry shapes) in front of you.

You don’t know what happens next, but you do know that someone’s riding a small cow. With big horns. And hair? With the bit of consciousness you have left, you reach up to touch the cow horns. 

“Sick...” You mutter, and your hands fall slack on the small cow’s horns and you finally fall into well-deserved sleep.

EXTRA

“Lilia.”

"SEE SILVER, I TOLD YOU THAT PEOPLE WOULD-”

“I DON’T NEED TO HEAR IT, DAD!”

“NONE OF US DO!”

“Lilia.”

“I- I’M A DILF- I- I’M A DILF- HAH, I’M- OW OW OW... ow.. my back... oh, yes... Malleus?”

“I’m bringing the human inside.”

“Sure..- argh, ow ow ow... Silver, Sebek, come help me!”

“Yes, old man...”

“...”

“Pfft... a dilf... a dilf....” Malleus snickers at your naming choices, lighting up candles that you’ve strategically set. Once the lights are on, he can’t help but squint at the messiness of your dorm. He walks past the living room and opens your simple bedroom door, placing you on your bed. You don’t seem to be unbetrubed, but you squeezing something in the air. Ah, perhaps you’re looking for the cat? 

Poof! Grim instantly nuzzles into you, and you both sign at the warm heat between you. Malleus smiles at the sight and leans closer to you, and whispers: “Happy New Year, child of man. Let’s make more memories together.” He gazes at your simple room, and his eyes falls at your bedside table. He smiles fondly at the picture on your bedside table. It’s you, Grim and him in Ramshackle’s living room, you making flower crown as you bitch on about physics, Grim agreeing and complaining as well. 

He gives you a small pet on the head and disappears in neon butterflies. 

“Shall we go?”

“Oh, young whisperer, you’re back. I take it ___ is back in their bedroom?”

A smile blooms on Malleus’ face. “Yes, now let’s go.”

“Dilf.. dilf...”

“I can’t... dilf... I can’t.. no...”

*

I don’t fucking know what this is

I just thought--- lilia... is a dad.... and he sexy

and memes... and i created this fic

please enjoy it

[yuusa]

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝟏𝟑

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟔𝟐𝟒𝟒

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟏𝟑:

You pressed your lips together, staring at the board with a look of boredom and displeasure. There was an itchy feeling in your chest, it made you feel deeply uncomfortable. It’s almost as if today was going to be one of misery, you couldn’t tell if it’s just some sort of psychic reading or it’s because you have a test soon, it may even be both. You sighed and resisted the urge to lean your chair back to stretch, but the teacher was going over something important about the test.

You turned to the side, seeing Tohru fidget with one of her pencils to calm herself about the upcoming tests. She was wearing a new ribbon today. It was a soft shade of blue that had bits of lace on its edges, did she recently buy that? You wondered if she would get tutored by Yuki like he said they do, the upcoming test would be for math. It must be nice to have someone constantly tutor you and helping, but you quickly tried to dismiss this idea as a selfish need. Yuki was kind enough to help you with math the other day and you didn’t want to take advantage of his skills or generosity.

You didn’t need anyone or anything in this life if it meant making others happy.

You were better off alone and that is the truth, you thought. If you were God’s Messenger, perhaps your first message should be to announce the disbandment of the Zodiacs, maybe that would give equal freedom to everyone but yourself. You didn’t know exactly what the Zodiacs were going to do when they were free, but they could live their lives as regular animals with a stronger sense of friendship. You really didn’t know exactly what would happen, but it was simply a thought.

You yawned into your hand, feeling small droplets of tears forming at the corner of your eyes. You eyed Yuki silently, noticing the way he continued to tap the tip of his pencil against his paper as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand. He was extremely hardworking despite not wanting to clean his room. He is really cool, you thought. He smiles so often to the other girls in the class and can interact with them at a certain distance, whenever he was in a good mood he would shine even brighter than he already is, it was almost blinding, to say the least.

His eyes were a nice shade of grayish blue as well. They rarely ever looked strange underneath the light and they expressed so much of himself that you felt a bit envious. You nibbled on the bottom of your lip, you were starting to feel bad about yourself in class just because your eyes weren’t as good or pretty like Yuki’s.

You sighed and tried to write in your journal to keep your mind away from it. You noticed the small crease in one of the older pages, knowing that you rarely ever fold the paper or damage it, it was slightly suspicious. It seemed to be on the page when you came over to the Sohma household, did someone go through your journal? If so, when did this happen? Before you could explore this thought the sound of the bell rang echoed in the room, dismissing all of the students at once.

You almost forgot that you had to do your rounds today around the school for the committee, luckily you went through your previous pages to see that you had written yourself a reminder. As you were packing up your belongings, Yuki came to your side, already finished with his own things. You suppose that he wanted to do the rounds around the school with you this time instead of usually splitting up.

“You look better today, (L/n)-san, just a bit tired though.” He commented, your face turning away from him as you quickly packed your things into your bag.

“I suppose so. Where would you like to go first?” You asked, already knowing that the two of you needed to make your rounds at school.

“We could try the first couple of floors together and make our way up.” He responded, giving you a smile with his familiar grey eyes shining underneath the classroom lights.

You pressed your lips together in slight jealousy but nodded, “sure. We can go now.”

Yuki noticed the small pout on your lips during class but decided not to comment on it, finding the situation strange to explain if he were to talk about it. You were looking much calmer on the outside today, but he thought that you might have a whirlwind of thoughts by the way you continuously wrote in your journal. He wondered if what he said yesterday was affecting your mood.

“(L/n)-san, something is still bothering you despite our conversation yesterday.” He commented, “do you. . . Feel like I’m not really your friend?” 

You halted your steps, the two of you standing in the hallway only a few steps away from the classroom you exited. You didn’t know exactly how to respond to his comment, there was not much to say and you didn’t want to bother him with something dull like your problems. 

“It’s not that. . . I don’t want to raise concerns, I’m fine.” Before you could continue walking he tugged on your wrist, keeping you there.

Before he could say another word, you silently ‘booped’ his nose with your index finger. His cheeks turned a bright shade of red as you turned away from him.

“Relax Sohma-san. I’m fine.” You gave him a teasing smile before continuing to walk down the hallway.

Yuki sighed in response as he held his hand up towards his face, the unexpected gesture from you being unfamiliar as his cheeks slowly calmed down. He quickly walked to catch up to you, choosing to trust in your word that everything was alright.

While you still felt the ominous telling of the future, you thought to be on edge. You hoped that Yuki hadn’t noticed it but it seems as if he really wanted to be your actual friend. You tightened your grip around your journal as you both walked around the school in relative silence. 

You didn’t know exactly why being real friends mattered to him, he could easily make other friends that were much better than you, much easier to manage and easier to talk to. You dolefully stared at each of the classrooms and halls, doing your duty while minding your own thoughts. 

You were so gloomy. 

You frowned in response to your own comments before turning to look at Yuki. His beautiful eyes and soft hair, those fluttering long eyelashes, it was hard to deny that you were envious to the bone. You constantly compared yourself to him, the thought making you feel worse by the second. You grit your teeth, the action going unnoticed by Yuki as you both walked up the flight of stairs. 

Was it truly worth worrying about something you couldn’t change? 

You spent so much time worrying about yourself instead of actually wanting to protect others. . . You were. . . Too selfish. No matter how beautiful the outside of Yuki’s eyes were, there was always this hint of sorrow hidden beneath the color. You connected with him in a way, a subtle feeling but it still existed like a small string looped around your fingers.

Perhaps he could be the Rat to the Eagle’s destiny. 

Maybe he already is. 

You should try to open up to him, you thought. Instead of constantly worrying and thinking about the problems you may never fix or find resolve in, you could help someone else and see them smile as brightly as you wanted to shine. To erase the sadness that burdens the rat. . . That’s the job of God’s Messenger. 

There was this feeling of hope blooming within your chest.

You are the Eagle in the story.

The two of you finally approached the other floor, noticing Tohru being surrounded by a familiar group of boys from the Sohma family. While Kyo stood by her side while scolding at Momiji for his poor taste in clothing, Haru was standing there casually, his choice of wardrobe being nearly as bad as Momiji’s. You wondered if it was an inherited trait in the Sohma family to have poor taste in clothing or they were rebellious children who wanted to wear their own clothing. Everyone other than Yuki had a strange sense of fashion, but it wasn’t far fetched to say his choices are not weird as well.

Haru quickly notices Yuki coming up the steps, ignoring your presence as he went up to grip at Yuki’s sides. You wondered why he and the rest of the family constantly ignore you but you chose to believe that it was because you were an outsider. 

“Sheesh, I can’t believe you’re wearing that Momiji. Haru, you too.” Yuki said, the white-haired male staring at him, clearly tuning him out for a moment.

“Yuki-kun, (Y/n)-kun, are you both done with committee work?” You raised your eyebrow, noticing the sudden change in the way Tohru addressed Yuki. She was actually calling him bt his given name for once. Perhaps they really did get much closer in the past couple of days. 

The tinge of sadness poked at your heart, but you couldn’t understand why.

“No, not yet. We were doing our rounds at school and just happened to come across the two of you.” He responded, referring to the two rule-breaking students that couldn’t follow the dress code properly.

“Hey, Tohru! Guess what? I got told not to run around or horseplay at school because I might crash into a girl! So while I’m at school, I’m gonna play it cool!" Momiji added, gathering the rest of the groups' attention onto you, the outsider who heard this suspicious line. 

“Cool?! Is that outfit cool?!” Kyo shouted back. 

You stood there blank, not really knowing what to say. It seems as if they weren’t allowed to physically hug any girls at school, which does correlate to Yuki’s strange habit of pushing other girls away. 

Are the Sohma family. . . Allergic to girls? 

You deadpanned. 

“Your dubiousness is justified, Sohma Kyo of Class 2-D! Your orange hair bothers me, but a boy wearing a girl’s uniform is unprecedented! Brazen! Shameless!” The brown-haired upperclassman with his other council members stood beside him, all three of them wore classes, which you thought was an interesting thing to point out. “The teachers may allow it, but I will not! For I am student council president Takei Makoto!“ 

Crap. . . You thought, it’s Takei Makoto. 

You and Yuki facepalmed, trying not to get involved in this strange situation you were both tangled up in. More specifically, Yuki, as this was his entire family being criticized underneath the student council president. 

“Another idiot appears,” Haru comments. 

Takei raised his voice, stepping just a few feet away from Haru’s face, “just what do you think you’re doing, Sohma Hatsuharu? Your hair is white! And you’re practically jangling with jewelry. The audacity!”

“President Takei, that’s his natural hair.” Yuki clarified, holding up his hand to create distance between him and his cousin.

“Oh, Yuki-kun! (L/n)-san! How nice to see you both! But more important, natural?! Part of it is black!” Takei’s eyes seemed to have grown into hearts as he looked at both of you, finally acknowledging your presence. 

“Even so. . .” Yuki continued. 

You almost forgot that this student council was also highly infatuated with Yuki, similar to the way everyone else is also into him. You wanted to massage your head as you felt a migraine growing at the sound of his loud voice. 

“I don’t believe it! It goes against common sense!” He retorted, getting even closer to Haru’s face to examine his features. “Now what’s the meaning of your appearance? Is that your natural self, eh, Sohma Momiji?! Have you no male pride? If you’re like this at your age, your life is on the fast track to failure!”

“But. . . But this uniform looks better on me!” Momiji’s eyes began to tear up as you pressed your lips together into a frown. 

You quickly stepped between both of them, stopping Tohru in her path and pushing Takei back a few centimeters from Momiji. 

“That should be enough from you, President Takei.” 

Momiji’s eyes widened, seeing your intimidating presence being officially recognized to the entire group, your cold, harsh glare staring straight into Takei’s lens covered eyes. Takei seemed flustered at the sudden intrusion but he quickly adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Your eyes sharpened slightly as you focused your attention on the upperclassman in front of you, you certainly didn’t want to hear him degrade another student’s future.

He began to grit his teeth as he adjusted his glasses frames once more, trying too hard to look cool, “with all respect (L/n)-san, how could you stand by this rule-breaker?! Don’t you think he has no sense of pride?!” 

“I don’t think it’s much of an issue. If he feels the most comfortable, then that is what matters,” You addressed, crossing your arms across your chest, “our job here at school is to make the students feel safe and welcome, I doubt giving them an earful would help them.” 

“That is true! But we have specific rules that we all need to follow! I respect your opinion here (L/n)-san, but-”

“Shut up. Quit playing king of the hill, you human trash.” Haru interrupted. 

“Wh-wh-wh-what” Takei stuttered as Haru grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. 

“Oi, Haru!” Kyo shouted, trying to pull him away from Takei. 

“Fine, let me ask you: are guys wearing neckties never muggers? Are guys without piercings never bullies? Do guys with black hair never murder people?!” Haru violently shook the poor man around, his brain easily turning to mush as if it was being stirred around like a smoothie, “who do you think you are, eh? God? Well, ain’t that something! Give us a few words! God! Go on!”

You could see Takei’s soul slipping away from his body as Haru continued to shake him. 

Kyo gripped onto Haru’s shoulder, stopping him from turning Takei into some sort of drink by the excessive amount of shaking, “oi, cut it out! He’s got no training!”

“Butt out you stupid cat!”

“Don’t call me stupid you damn brat!”

“Oh? Don’t act like you’re so great! You ran from our last fight with your tail between your legs!” The two of them crashed against each other, their forehead grinding against one another as they stared at each other with a heated gaze. 

“You’re the one who called that fight off!”

“What are you on his side?! You think he’s right!?”

You clicked your tongue before shoving the two of them apart, “what are you two? Children? Knock it off.” You glared at them, causing both of them to cower down and turn their heads away from you, the argument settling down as quickly as it started. 

It was odd to see Haru not comment against you, but it seemed like even your gaze affected him. He quickly made his way to the other council members who were trying to bring Takei back to life, his body dangling lifelessly in their arms. 

“Hey, ladies,” Haru greeted.

“Don’t drag them into it. . .” Kyo said, his hand on his forehead as his brain started to ache at Haru’s nonsense.

“What do you think? Take Momiji there—don’t you think he’s fine in that uniform? He’ll grow eventually. What’s the harm in waiting to dress like a man until then? He’ll be a real looker, trust me.” The other girls turned their heads to see Momiji happily enjoying the candy lollipop he had in his hands. 

They quickly imagined a much older boy, his curly blond hair, and eyes becoming more mature as he gave the girls an imaginary wink. “He’s fine.” The girls responded, holding out their hands to worship the shorter boy.

“Don’t let him brainwash you!” Takei quickly stood up, still trying to defend his own point of view against someone as stubborn as Haru. “Wh-Wh-What’s the matter with you?! This is unheard of!”

“It’s always best to wear what looks good on you, huh? It’s like (L/n)-san said, whatever makes you comfortable!” Haru patted the top of Momiji’s head, the smaller boy feeling content as he continued to suck on the lollipop that he pulled out from his pocket.

You raised your eyebrows once again, you didn’t quite understand Haru’s behavior. There were moments where he would become calmer and then go back to being heated the next second. You were more surprised to hear that he actually addressed you by name this time.

“Unacceptable! That’s pure selfishness, and unfair to the other students—“

“You just won’t quit. Okay, then, what if Yuki wore a girl’s uniform?” Haru suggested. 

Takei went through a moment of shocking realization, his mind immediately picturing Yuki in the girl’s uniform, calling out his name in his girlish voice.

“It’s fine.” He responded, tears streaming down his eyes as he pictured such a glorious image.

You visibly cringed, “what? That’s disgusting.”

The rest of the group stared at you in shock, not knowing that you felt such strong revulsion against the idea of Yuki wearing feminine clothing. Yuki felt the most surprised, hearing you voice your own objection regarding his outer appearance. 

Could you really blame yourself for disliking the idea of forcing Yuki into girly clothing? It looked greatly uncomfortable and it made you sick seeing him constantly put up with the school for his image.

“Wh-Wh-What?! (L/n)-san, are you saying that Yuki-kun would look disgusting?!” Takei shouted, holding up his hand in a tightened fist, trying to preserve the image of Yuki in a girls' uniform in his head. 

“It’s gross. Could you stop making him uncomfortable by putting him in girl’s clothing?” You stared at him, disinterested in hearing the rest of his opinions, “don’t you ever think about what he has to say? Sorry President Takei, but it’s disgusting to even see.” 

Yuki clutched onto the sleeve of his uniform, feeling a sense of warmth eluding in his body as he heard you continue to bicker with Takei about him in a girls' uniform. At first, he thought you had called him disgusting but it seems much clearer that you acknowledge Yuki’s discomfort in being misgendered. Despite your harsh tone, it sounds as if you genuinely cared about his wellbeing more than he actually knew. His cheeks felt slightly hot as he watched you continue to tell Takei to quit harassing the students. 

He had his doubts earlier when the two of you were walking together around the school. He often wondered if he was the one being the horrible friend by constantly putting you off, or even hiding things that put pressure on your relationship.

You tilted your head over your shoulder, giving Yuki a look of understanding and a small, subtle smile. You watched as his cheeks heated up before you turned away. 

You made him felt as if there was someone who understood him.

Your cheeks felt hot to the touch. You didn’t know the exact reason why you blurted out such things, but it felt. . . Relieving? It felt nice being able to express your true thoughts and finally relieving Yuki of his image of “princess”. While Takei and Haru argued about the decision of clothes, it made you wonder about the way Yuki felt being forced into girlish clothing. You had already known from the start, based on the doleful look in his eyes that he never enjoyed any part of the school festival when dressed as a girl. 

You could understand that feeling. You didn’t like the idea of being forced into clothing that didn’t represent who you were. You felt much better voicing your objections. It’s a nice feeling, it was as if heavyweights were lifted off of you when you were finally able to say something for the sake of someone else.

Perhaps there is more to this than you realized. 

“O-Oh, dear. I seem to have gotten carried away!” Takei turned around and adjusted his glasses with his finger.

“You’re a formidable opponent, Sohma Hatsuharu and (L/n) (Y/n),” You restrained a yawn as Takei spun around and pointed towards Haru, “can you prove that’s your natural color, then?!”

Haru held up his arms as he relaxed his head against them, his laid-back personality starting to frustrate Takei, “sure can.”

“Oho, you have proof? Hard evidence that—“ Before he could even continue his sentence, Takei was forcefully dragged into the nearest boy’s restroom, “um. . . excuse me. . .?” He stumbled on his feet, his sense of balance warped as Haru tugged on his clothing.

The two of them disappeared into the bathroom. There was a short period of silence before the echoed screams of Takei bounced off of the walls and into your ears. Tohru squeaked in surprise while everyone seemed unaffected by the turn of events. In a few minutes, Takei stepped out, taking off his glasses as his face was pale with shock.

“Incontrovertible proof. I see I still have much to learn about the world,” He commented.

Haru shortly followed after, his face showing a smug and cocky smile.

Did he show him? Kyo thought.

He showed him, Yuki responded, almost as if they both had telepathic minds to read each other’s thoughts.

Pervert. You stared at the two of them with a confused look.

“You win this time! But I’ll get you all next time!” The student council members quickly fled from the scene while Haru stayed smirking, the feeling of pride and victory flowing through his veins.

“Did you actually show yo—“ Kyo wrapped his hand around your mouth, quickly silencing you. Your voice became muffled underneath his hand. 

“D-Don’t say it! Moron!” You resisted the urge to punch him but he removed his hand before you could even raise yours.

“Um. . . How did you prove that was your natural hair color?” Tohru asked, staring at Haru with a puzzled look in her eyes.

Yuki and Kyo went pale as Tohru asked such a strange question in her aloof personality. You wondered how dense Tohru was to not know how to prove one’s natural hair color, it was already suspicious enough considering that Haru dragged Takei into the bathroom.

“Wanna do it and find out? I’m in if you are.” Haru pulled Tohru close to him, his hand gently caressing her cheek, “it’s fine, we don’t have to be hugging each other to—“

Before he could even get another word into the explanation, Yuki and Kyo punched him to the ground, the two of them huffing either in anger or tiredness. 

“Dark is the one guy I can’t handle. . .” Kyo scoffed.

“Never mind. Don’t worry about it, Honda-san.” Yuki responded.

You wondered why they referred to Haru as “dark”, maybe it was simply because of how easily his personality changed to someone casual to serious. He was quite odd, to say the least. 

“I’m kinda tired now,” Haru responded, his hand gripping onto the sore spot of his head. He seemed to have calmed down and his voice sounded emotionless. 

“Oh, yeah? You’re tired, huh?” Kyo groaned.

The sound of the school bell ringing caught all of your attention, you now realized that you and Yuki actually didn’t finish your rounds around the school as you spent most of your time here.

“Ah! That's the bell!” Momiji called out.

“Would you be willing to meet my friends before you go home today?” Tohru asked, wanting to invite Momiji and Haru into a game of badminton after school with Uotani and Hanajima.

“Your friends? Sure, of course!” He responded happily, lifting his arms as he expressed his joy in full. “That reminds me—Hey, Yuki, and Kyo!”

“Could you stay behind? I need to tell you something.” He added. The two boys turned their attention towards Momiji.

“Then, (Y/n)-kun and I will go on ahead then,” Tohru responded.

“Sorry, Tohru.” Momiji apologized, only to be met with her shaking her head as she told him that it would be fine.

You nodded before leaving with Tohru, the two of you silently walking down the stairs, leaving the Sohma family to deal with whatever conflict that may have arisen.

“Ah, sorry for disturbing your duties (Y/n)-kun!” Tohru apologized, bringing her hands to her chest as she clasped them.

You shook your head, “it’s okay. I could always do them later today.”

You both finally approached the bottom floor as you continued walking down the path to your classroom. You noticed that the cherry blossom trees were in full bloom today, you silently admired them while Tohru continued to think about the Sohma family.

“You both look like you’re having fun.” A familiar voice called out, you and Tohru slowly turned to face the unknown person.

His dark hair flowed with the wind, the cherry blossom tree’s petals falling from the sky like snow.

“A. . . Akito-san. . .?” You muttered, your eyes widening at the sight of him at the school, his wardrobe still as plain as you last saw him on Valentine's Day.

Tohru flinched at your reaction, unsure about what to say or feel.

“It’s nice to see you again, (L/n)-san. . .” Akito said, slowly approaching you and Tohru. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

You’ve only seen him last time on Valentine's Day, which wasn’t even that long ago. Despite the dullness and emotionless look in his eyes, he stared down at Tohru with a focused gaze. The shorter girl panicked on the inside but tried to remain calm.

“Are you. . . Akito-san?” Tohru asked.

“That’s right. . . Honda Tohru.” He responded, his voice much dryer compared to when he was talking to you.

Tohru felt a jolt in her body as she quickly bowed down in front of him, “I’m very pleased to meet you!”  

Tohru looked intimidated by him. Your eyes turned towards Akito who was still looming above her figure, watching and studying each of the muscles that she moved. You didn’t understand whether or not Tohru had connections with Akito, her reaction to him seems as if she knows something.

“Well, you strike me as feminine and gentle.” Akito commented, referring to Tohru, “thank goodness you seem to be a good person. And most importantly, you’re quite cute.” He smiled.  

Tohru straightened her back, flailing her arms around in embarrassment, “what? Oh, no, you flatter—“

Akito laughed, the familiar tune of his voice giving you slight shivers down your spine, there was something unsettling about his tone towards Tohru, “don’t get flustered. You really are cute. Sorry, it took me so long to introduce myself. I’m just rather shy of strangers.”

Thats odd. . . He was the one to talk to you first, even though you were a complete stranger to him. You pressed your lips into a thin line, was he lying?

“Akito-san. . . What are you doing here?” You asked, trying to piece together the situation in front of you. Akito looked back at you and smiled, reaching out to your cheek to stroke it slowly.

“I only wanted to see the two of you of course. I heard many great things about Honda-san.” Something about his tone didn’t seem right to you. It made you feel a bit strange on the inside. “I know I haven’t kept in touch with you in a while. . . I’ve been quite busy.”

Your eyes trembled underneath his gaze, the touch of his cold hand contrasting the warmth of your skin as you both stared at each other. You still didn’t understand why Akito would be here, none of what he is saying made any sense to you whatsoever.

Unbeknownst to the three of you, Yuki’s eyes widened at the sight of Akito holding onto you, his hand pressed against the window before he sprinted down the stairs.

“How are you doing (L/n)-san? We should communicate more often you know.” Akito asked.

“I’m. . . I’m doing fine.” You responded, pulling away from his grasps, “there isn’t much going on.”

Akito hummed in response, feeling unsatisfied by your words. He quickly stepped back a few feet, “well, let me formally introduce myself to both of you.” 

“I’m Akito, the current Sohma family head. Pleased to meet you.” He introduced himself with a small bow.

Your heart dropped as you felt yourself almost losing your grip on your journal.

He‘s. . . Part of the Sohma family? Your blood felt as if it had been frozen over, the shock coursing through your veins as you looked at him in disbelief. He was related to Yuki all this time? When you first saw his appearance, it wasn’t just a coincidence then. . .

“I’d like for us to get along well. . . And please take care of Yuki and the others.” From the corner of Akito’s eyes, he could see the way you looked back at him in confusion, your brain trying to rack up any sort of information between your encounter to find a reasonable explanation for everything.

Such beautiful eyes. . . He thought, feeling the sense of joy and pleasure as he ravished the look in your eyes. There was something so satisfying seeing you make a similar face to Yuki, it might even be a better reaction than him.

“Akito!” The sound of Yuki’s voice interrupted the tense atmosphere.

“Ah, Yuki!” Akito called out, you spun around to see Yuki’s distraught expression, his eyes beginning to tremble at the sight of him.  Akito opened his arms out, “I’ve missed you, Yuki! You know, it feels like it’s been forever since I last saw you. You’re looking grown-up and taller—“

“What did you do?” Yuki cut him off, “what did you say to them?!

“Nothing. I was just saying hello to an old friend and Tohru-san.” Akito turned around to face Tohru, “right, Tohru-san? Wasn’t I just saying hello?”

The tension in the air continued to grow as your nails dug into the material of the journal cover.

An old friend? Yuki thought, turning his attention onto your figure that Akito was associated with. When did the two of you meet. . . ?

“Um, yes!” Tohru responded, feeling unsure about what to say in the situation. She could feel the tension in the air, as Akito confronted Yuki while in your presence.

“More importantly, Yuki. . .” Akito went back to Yuki, stepping in front of him as Yuki tightened his fist, “. . . there’s something I really want to ask you.”

Akito reached out to caress his cheek, similar to the way he treated you as Yuki’s hair strands flowed over his knuckles like a stream of water. The look of fear and terror reflected in Yuki’s grayish orbs, the irises trembling as much as his body was.

“Why did you skip New Year’s? Why would you do that? And when I’ve become so generous lately, too. When you do things like that, it seriously hurts my feelings.” Akito stared at Yuki with a menacing glare.

New Year’s. . .? The time of the Zodiac banquet. . .? You didn’t understand why your brain made that connection, but there was something so frightening seeing Yuki stand there petrified.

You didn’t understand.

You clenched the area around your heart, the feeling becoming painful like thousands of spikes piercing through your organ.

“Do I have to reeducate you, I wonder?” The shine in Yuki’s eyes completely disappeared, leaving only a dark and dull look in them, “in your special room? Will I be forced to spend long days teaching you proper disposition again?”

Akito traced his finger against Yuki’s lips as Yuki tilted his eyes away from him, trying to avoid his deathly gaze. His body was violently trembling as Akito continued to press him further.

Special. . . Room?

“I hate you. . . I hate you!” She smacked you across the face before throwing the porcelain bowl against the floor, the material shattering in front of the altar of God. The bowl nearly missed your eyes, causing your mother to violently scream and tug at your hair.

“This is all your fault! I hope you rot in hell! Here, in this very room!” She pulled on your (h/c) strands with enough force to pull out the longer, looser strands. “You’ll disappear in this room! Just like God said you would!”

You tightened your fist and your body reacted unconsciously, ripping Akito’s hand away from Yuki as you stepped in between them. Your body snapped in reaction to the two words Akito mentioned. His eyes widened at your sudden objection, feeling betrayal and annoyance running through his body.

“That’s enough, Akito-san,” You grit your teeth, “stop it already.”

“Is something wrong (L/n)-san? I am merely talking to Yuki.” He asked, his smile still plastered on his face.

“He doesn’t want to talk right now, so. . . Drop it already.” Akito narrowed his eyes at you, this was not going as he expected, however, he was thoroughly enjoying the look in your eyes at this moment. The look of despair in your eyes giving him the same feeling of euphoria. 

“Sorry, I’m going to take Sohma-san to the nurse. He said he was feeling sick earlier,” you lied before looking at Tohru, “go back to the classroom Tohru-kun.” 

Your eyes were no longer the shade of (e/c) Tohru recognized. It was much colder, emotionless, and filled to the brim with hidden pain. They no longer held any semblance of humanity left in them, it was almost as dull as Yuki’s. She wondered how much suffering you endured to match the same intensity as Yuki.

You gave Akito one last glance before grabbing onto Yuki’s wrist and pulling him away from the scene.

“Yuki, I hope you have a fun school life here.” Akito called out, “it’d make me happy if you came to visit sometime soon.”

You only ignored his words and forcefully pull Yuki away. He let you freely drag his body towards the nearby secluded cherry blossom tree, his mind still not being able to rid itself of the painful memories that resurfaced as he remained unfocused of his surroundings. His eyes began to water as he tried to blink them away, trying desperately not to cry out in public. You gently pushed his body to lean against the tree, your form kneeling beside him as you slowly brushed back the strands of hair blocking his face.

You wondered what brought this feeling in your heart. There was something about the look in his eyes, your mind and heart screaming to reach out to him. They were pounding desperately against your door to rescue him from something you both wanted escape from. They wanted something you were destined to do.

Your hands were warm, Yuki thought. This was the first time you’ve shown an intimate gesture in front of him. Your body felt nicer against his skin than it was with Akito’s cold fingers, it was bringing him slowly back into reality as his eyes continued to fight against the growing tears. You were truly a warm person inside.

It was showing at this very moment almost as if the key had unlocked your doors.

You noticed the small droplets of tears on the corner of his eyes, his fists still tightly clenched together. He looked like a fragile animal, one which tugged at your own emotional strings. You reached out to wipe at them before standing up and pulling your sweater off of your body.

You placed the top of your sweater on his head, shielding him away from the rest of the world from his pitiful crying. You gripped the edge of your skirt, the fabric wrinkling underneath your fingers.

“I don’t know what your relationship is with them. . . I’m not the best at comforting other people either. . . But it’s okay,” You didn’t know if these were the right words to say, but you watched as he tightened his hold on your sweater, “It’ll be okay in the end.”

You gently patted the top of his head, the fabric of your sweater creating a barrier between your skin and the softness of his hair. He stayed silent, unresponsive to your words. Your heart yearned for freedom in the eyes of others. 

“That room. . . You won’t go back there anymore.” You spoke gently, almost like a whisper, his body beginning to release the pent up tears that flowed down his cheek but were masked by your clothing. “I promise you that. . .”

“I won’t let you go back there anymore.”

Those were simple words that expressed the feeling in your heart.

You figured out what you wanted and needed to do in your life. It was to play the role of the Eagle you desperately wanted to be, one to fulfill and shoulder the burden of those you swore to protect, even if it meant promising your loyalty to God.

There was no more fretting about what you needed.

[jabbajambler]

2

Human

The Mandalorian/Din Djarin x f!OC

Word Count: 2,182

*GIF by @writemymemoir​*

         "Mmm..." Mando groaned, his eyes slowly starting to open as he came to his senses. His head was pulsing, sending aching pains through his body. He struggled to lift his head to glance out the window, watching as the ship shot through the night.

         The starry sky was a stark contrast to the discomfort he currently felt. It was peaceful and put him at ease. He had forgotten how truly beautiful space is. It wasn't often when he could sit back and enjoy the alluring view, but it was more infatuating now than he could ever remember.

         At first, he thought he had fallen asleep while navigating the ship. Working solo left him very few opportunities to get a few minutes of rest. It wasn't uncommon for his body to shut down and force him to sleep.

         This was not the case.

         When he finally looked away from the window, he found a young woman sitting in his chair in front of the control panel. He tried to stand but he couldn't move. His hands and feet were tied to the chair with a thin rope that dug into his skin through his clothing.

         Mando struggled against the restraints, creating quite the ruckus as he did so. The noise carried through the cockpit, catching the attention of Myrah in the pilots seat. She spun around in the chair, her bright brown eyes widening before she set the ship on auto-pilot.

         "You've woken up." She spoke blankly.

         "Who are you?" He grumbled, feeling dizzy as he tried to piece together who she was.

         "I'm taking over the mission for you. That's all you need to know." A small, sadistic grin stretched across her lips as she held up the tracking fob she stole from him. "The ship is already set for Arvala-7. I'll fetch the asset and be back in no time. Don't worry, though. I'm not going to kill you or anything."

         "How kind." He looked up to find her gaze raking over him like a predator would its prey.  "Myrah." He whispered as everything began to click into place. "That's your name, isn't it?"

         "Congratulations, you remembered someone's name. Would you like a gold star?"

         She clapped her hands together and rolled her eyes, leaning nonchalantly against the cold wall. In any other scenario, the Mandalorian would have found her sarcasm rather amusing.

         Now it was just annoying.

         "Let me go." He demanded.

         "Well, since you asked so nicely, of course I'll untie you! While I'm at it, how about I hand you the rope and we can switch places."

         Her smile dropped and the bright look in her eyes dulled. She held no fear. Instead, she challenged him to speak again, knowing that she could take him out no problem. The thought sent an uneasy shiver down Mando's spine.

         "I'm not going to let you go, I would be an idiot if I did. I deserved this bounty and therefore I am collecting this bounty. Now be quiet and look pretty." She smiled and bounced her hand on the top of his helmet. "I have something more important to take care of."

         She sat down in the chair and continued to navigate the ship through the abyss of space in silence. Mando was left alone to his thoughts, trying to figure out some way to escape.

         And hopefully without a fight.

        He couldn't kill her, or hurt her for that matter. Greef would never let him come back if anything happened to her while he was around and Mando was well aware of that. It seemed as though he was only left with one option: using his words.

         He was never good with those.

┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉

         Myrah landed the ship on the planet with ease and care, much to the Mandalorian's surprise. It was impeccably smooth and though he didn't want to admit it, he was impressed. The Razor Crest was a large ship which made it more difficult to control. It took skill and patience and time.

         He didn't think Myrah had any of those.

         Myrah rose from the seat and cast him a confident smile. "Now, be a good boy and stay here."

         She stood at the top of the ladder and patted down her weapons, making sure everything was in its proper place. Her fingers lingered on the engraved hilt on her hip, tracing over the curves of the golden indentions before moving onto her blaster.

         "Wait."

         The Mandalorian's desperate voice halted Myrah in her tracks. She glanced over her shoulder with an inquisitive hum. Her shiny eyes met his beneath his helmet, catching his breath in his throat as he forced himself to speak.

         "I have a proposition."

         "Oh, boy. Here we go." She sighed and crossed her arms.

         "Let me go and we can both go looking for the bounty." Mando explained. Myrah opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by his continuation. "We'll split the profits and you can take all the credit. Deal?"

         "How do I know if I can trust you?"

         "You can't."

         Her finger tapped softly against her lips as she pondered the proposal. "Then I have a few things I want to add."

         "Go ahead." He encouraged her to speak, unwilling to sit in the unbearable silence any longer.

         "You have to be where I can see you at all times." She poked his chest, causing his eyes to dart to her hand. "You're not getting away that easily, Mando. You tell Greef that I did an amazing job with this and that I deserve more like it."

         "That's all?"

         "What? Do you want me to put you on a leash or something?" Her eyes shifted over him with an amused tone laced in her words. "Maybe you can buy me a drink when we get back."

         "You want me to buy you a drink?" A look of confusion erupted onto his face, hidden behind the mask but evident in his words.

         "That's what I said, isn't it?"

         Myrah grabbed a small knife from her belt and tossed it in her hand before slicing it through the ropes that held Mando to the chair. His hands grasped his burning wrists, bruised from the rope digging into his skin. He knew the pain would subside soon, but the mark would remain for days.

         The Mandalorian looked up to find a hand held out towards him, leading back to the deranged woman he was now stuck with. He stared at it quizzically with his head tilted at the sight.

         "What?" Myrah asked with her face scrunching up. "Don't we have a deal?"

         He sighed and pushed himself from the seat, clasping his gloved hand with hers as they shook.

         "We have a deal."

         "Then what are we waiting for?"

         She sent him a quick wink as she descended down the ladder. He continued to stand there for another moment, left entirely dumbfounded. Before now, he knew the girl that Greef spoke of was a fellow hunter, but he never mentioned that she matched his abilities.

         That was something he struggled to wrap his brain around.

         He finally climbed down and followed her to the back ramp of the ship. The panels creaked with every step from his heavy boots while Myrah moved in silence. Silent like a snake with the confidence of a Dire-Cat. She moved with thoughtful expertise and it frightened the Mandalorian.

         "Ever thought about taking care of your ship?" Myrah joked. "Looks like she's due for a few upgrades."

         Mando shook his head and moved his leather-covered fingers over the button to lower the ramp. It came down with a sharp hiss and a couple of squeaks, but eventually touched the ground. He waved his arm in a gesture for her to walk down the ramp but received only a pained laugh in response.

         "You think I'm going first?" She laughed again. "Didn't we just say that I need to keep you in my sights at all times? Get walking, buddy."

         He began cautiously moving down the rackety platform with his ambien rifle in hand. Myrah followed after him, holding the beeping tracking fob that assured them they were on the right planet.

          It was eerily quiet on the desert planet. The cruel, scorching sun beat down on them mercilessly without even a soft breeze to ease the heat. It was sort of beautiful, though. In the same odd way that Myrah once found Nevarro to be undeniably gorgeous.

         The orange hills rolled down across the plains while the sun painted the dessert with shades of yellow. Despite being on an intense mission, the two felt a sense of peace and tranquility wash over them.

         With the tranquility, however, there was loneliness.

         Myrah missed her home. Not Nevarro, not at all. She missed her family that she had run from for nine years. After the fall of the Empire, she almost thought it would be safe to pay them a visit again, but she was scared. She didn't know if they were still alive or if they would want to see her again.

         She feared the Empire despite it's destruction. It was supposed to be gone and for most, they tried to forget it entirely. Still, Myrah knew there were sympathizers who remained loyal to the corruptive force's beliefs.

         A gentle breeze rolled through, disrupting the silence of the planet with its whistle. It grabbed the piles of sand, sticking the grains to Myrah's skin. She tried to brush it off, but the heat left a sheen of sweat that kept the sand in place.

         "Hey, Mando?" She gently tapped the Mandalorian's arm as he gazed through the scope of the gun.

         "Not now-"

         The roar of a Blurrg interrupted him. Its furious face grew in his sight as it charged at him. Before he could react, it grabbed his arm firmly in its mouth. Mando instinctively ignited the flame thrower within his vambrace, trying to use it against the large animal while it lifted him off the ground.

         The Mandalorian grunted as it threw and swung him around. "Do something!" He shouted.

         "I don't know." Myrah shrugged. "This is kind of entertaining."

         She sat criss-cross on the ramp, watching as the action unfolded. Her hand reached for the hilt at her belt, expanding it into a metal staff that shot from both ends of the handle with the press of a button.

         Mando stood and hit the animal's head while trying to pull his arm from its jaws. He landed a hit against the creature's eye, finally releasing himself from the beast.

         "Mando! Look out!"

         He turned to Myrah, confused by her sudden exclamation when the animal ran at him again, grabbing his other arm in its mouth. Just as it began to drag him, the animal was shocked and fell to the ground unconscious with a dart sticking out of its side.

         The Mandalorian groaned as he tried to pry his arm from the blurrg. Myrah rolled her eyes and hopped down to join him, struggling to force open the animal's jaws to help free him.

         "You know, next time it would be easier if you just listened to me."

         "Next time, you should help." He grunted.

         Both of their heads lifted at the sound of the familiar growl. They saw another blurrg starting to charge at the two of them once again. Mando held up with free arm while Myrah worked faster to open the creature's mouth.

         Again, out of nowhere, that blurrg was shocked and fell to the ground as well.

         They both let out a drawn out sigh and managed to free the Mandalorian's hand. When they finally looked up, they found an Ugnaught, riding on the back of a blurrg. He held a gun in his hand, one that the two assumed was used to fire the darts.

         "Thank you." The Mandalorian spoke quietly as he tried to catch his breath.

         "Yeah, thanks." Myrah added.

         The Ugnaught nodded his head as he eyed the two. "You are bounty hunters."

         "Yes." Mando grunted.

         "I will help you... I have spoken."

         He tapped the side of the blurrg with his foot, turning it around. Mando continued to catch his breath as they sat on the ground, confused yet relieved that they didn't die already.

         "I have spoken." Myrah repeated and pulled herself to her feet. "What does that even mean?"

         Mando shook his head and pushed himself off the ground with a quiet grunt. Myrah stood in front of him, holding the rifle that was tossed from his hand during the conundrum.

         "Think we should follow him?" She asked, using her hand to shield her eyes from the light that bounced off the man's helmet.

         He snatched the rifle from her hands and connected it to its locks on his back. "He doesn't look dangerous."

         "Looks can be deceiving."

         Mando scoffed and studied her with a tilt of his head. "Clearly."

         "What's that supposed to mean?" Myrah snapped while he brushed past her. "Mando! Should've just let the damn thing eat him."

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 1 Chapter 1-Yata no Mori (Part 1)

It’s finally here!!! It took such a long time, but I finally finished it! This chapter, like all the chapters in this book, are very long so I will be splitting them up into two parts. Also my scanner won’t work for some reason so get ready for some insert pictures in very bad quality.

Now you may notice that some kyudo terms have the translation right next to them in brackets. That is because there are way too many terms right in this first chapter, and to prevent people from having to scroll up and down I decided to put them right there. I hope it won’t be too intrusive. I also put numbers next to the Eight Stages of Shooting whenever they come up, since you have to have a good picture of the pose to understand what’s going on (thinking of replacing the gif with the still frames.)

So, anyways, I hope you enjoy this. I should have the second part up soon.

Translation Notes

1. Owl in Japanese is “fukurou”, so it’s like naming an ostrich “Os”.

2. A gi is the white uniform martial artists wear, so a kyudogi is the kyudo version of it.

3. So this word was originally “穹天” (kyuuten) which seems to be a Chinese word rather than Japanese. It apparently means “the vault of heaven” and I’m 50% sure the author chose this word because the 穹 character because it has the 弓 radical in it

Full list of translations here

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When he looked up, Minato’s eyes reflected the hazy blue sky.

His graceful body, fitting for a fifteen-year-old, was wrapped in training clothes, and he advanced along the straight mountain path where snow still remained. When he passed under the tunnel of treetops, he could see the three-car train travelling slowly in the distance. The surrounding mountains were sprinkled with yellow-green, the mountain cherry blossoms spreading out here and there.

It was the mountain in springtime. The budding trees were dazzling.

The final point of his running route every morning was the neighborhood park. He washed his face with water from the water fountain in the corner, then lifted the hem of his T-shirt to wipe it. A long, white scar was briefly exposed on his uncovered left flank.

Because he didn’t wipe himself up properly, water dripped from his bangs. If it were the old him, he wouldn’t have done such a lazy thing. It was an act of sensing that he had forgotten his towel, and because the reason that he must leave was approaching.

A boy in casual clothes, seeming to be taking a walk in the neighborhood, stood next to Minato. His full-rimmed, plastic glasses frame was familiar, and one of the objects that symbolized him as intelligent and calm. One got the impression that he was more mature than Minato, and not just because he had already celebrated his sixteenth birthday.

A smile appeared on his face, like he was making fun of his companion.

“Morning, Minato. Even though it’s spring, it’s still cold in the mornings.”

“…Seiya, good morning.”

It wasn’t that Minato didn’t want to see Seiya. If anything, he was the only person he could call his best friend, and he had known him the longest. However, he did not want to meet him during training if possible.

Seiya, upon realizing that, spoke with an innocent look on his face. “It’s usually my dad’s job, but he was busy this morning, so I took his place.”

“Oh, are you walking Bear?”

If someone only listened to that exchange, they might have gotten frightened. “Bear” was the name of a dog. He was a Bernese mountain dog, a mountain dog that originally came from Switzerland. They were weak to heat, so this area, which had a high altitude and was relatively cool even in Japan, was perfect.

Even though there were those who would take the “Bernie” part of its name and name it “Bunny-chan” like a rabbit, there weren’t a lot of people who would name it “Bear”. Seiya’s naming sense may be in doubt, but a family who allowed him to give that name was also worthy of respect.

Minato also greeted Bear, and Bear waggled his tail. He had long fur with a black, white, and brown luster, and the round, light-brown tufts of fur above his eyes resembled eyebrows. When he was embraced, his transmitted body temperature felt good. Bear licked Minato’s face. He then brought his nose close to his left flank, gesturing for him to show it.

“Hey, Bear, you’re tickling him. That spot’s already fine.”

Having been chided, Bear immediately stopped, and sat next to Minato. Four years ago, he had been a mischievous puppy, but he grew up kind and smart. Just like his owner.

The two people and one dog went to the back of the park, entering the forest there. Bear was a dog who enjoyed being useful to people, and went to the front as though telling them to follow him. There was a wide paved road which could be reached by car, but this way was a shortcut, and on the way, there was a narrow path that one person could barely squeeze past. It was a path made by the denizens of the area coming and going—an animal trail, so to speak.

Seiya grabbed Minato’s arm, who seemed like he was about to faint from the tone of the morning that was so different from usual.

“Are you alright? If you collapse and miss the entrance ceremony in the morning, that’ll be a spectacular high school debut.”

“Shut up.”

“Well, at that time, I will offer to nurse you faithfully in our special hospital room.”

“And I’ll politely turn you down. I don’t know what you’re going to do.”

“I’m not going to do anything. Right, Bear?”

Bear made an answer that was unclear as to whether or not it was positive or negative.

Seiya’s house was an orthopedic clinic, and right behind Minato’s house. For Narumiya Minato and Takehaya Seiya, today was their entrance ceremony at the same high school. As this was a small town in the mountains, it wasn’t unusual for their high schools to be the same. But Minato hadn’t known this until just a few days ago. Unlike Minato, who chose the neighborhood public high school for financial reasons, Seiya could have chosen the best school in the prefecture or a challenging private school.

While feeling something muddled, Minato thought about the new life that would be beginning from now on.

The Kazemai High School’s entrance ceremony.

Cherry blossoms that weren’t supposed to bloom yet in this region greeted Minato and the others.

It wasn’t just the plants that were making merry early with the arrival of spring. What lied in wait after the new students finished the ceremony was recruitment for club activities. All of the groups were shouting, including the girls from the cheerleading squad holding colourful bonbons in red and orange, and the well-built boys holding a cheering banner that read, “Passing is love!”

Immediately, there were freshmen who were caught by the soccer club. The glints in their eyes were only things indiscriminately sharp upon their suntanned skins. Next to them, there was an idol-like boy who attracted gazes, frequently waving at the female manager.

Giving a sidelong glance at Seiya, who was looking around with interest, Minato quickly passed through the area. However, suddenly, a large boy placed his arms around their shoulders from behind, and two of them couldn’t move.

What an obnoxious recruitment. Minato gave the attacker an indignant look. Then, before his eyes, he gave a friendly smile. Minato felt something similar to deja-vu.  

“Aren’t you Minato? And here’s Seiya! It’s been a while. I didn’t expect to meet you guys here again at high school. This is awesome!”

“Wait, you can’t actually be Ryouhei!? Haven’t you gotten too big? I didn’t recognize you for a moment,” Seiya said, then continued. “Minato hadn’t noticed, but I found your name on the class register.”

“I knew that you were being sworn in as the freshman representative. You’re still as smart as ever, that’s expected. That’s great. And Minato, you’ve gotten cooler and cooler since the last I saw you.”

“Stop talking like you’re an uncle flattering your nephews,” Minato said. Ryouhei had a truly strange expression on his face as he stretched.

“I am? But I was looking at you when I said it.”

Yamanouchi Ryouhei was their childhood friend who transferred schools when they were in fifth grade. His body grew bigger, but he was still a simpleminded child on the inside. When other people said words that were taken as sarcasm, Ryouhei said them with a smile. There were few people who could get seriously angry at a puppy that they had become attached to.

That nostalgic face caused Minato’s tense-looking face to break into a smile. They couldn’t stop recounting their childhood stories, like when they lost their shoes swimming in the river after school, or when they got scolded for sneaking into Seiya’s family’s hospital when it was closed and playing with the athletic tape. They were a gang who spent time together like brothers. There was a strange sense of solidarity.

Although there was lingering excitement between the three of them, a small man approaching them caused them to break off their conversation. He was an acquaintance of Ryouhei’s.

“What’s up, Tomi-sensei?”

“Tomi-sensei?” Minato asked.

“Yeah, he’s my homeroom teacher, Morioka Tomio-sensei.”

Tomi-sensei was an old man teacher. He stood on tiptoes to survey the three of them, moving his face closer with effort.

“I have received a certain incognito order. Expecting that all of you are close, I come to stand for the white-feathered arrows. An incognito order is a mission.”

“Mission!? What is it, what is it??”

While Minato was thinking about how suspicious that was, Ryouhei’s eyes shone with curiosity.

“Ah, actually, this school has a kyudo club, but it has hardly been active recently. It received the order to be rebuilt from the principal. Kyudo tends to be thought of as an individual sport, but when everyone’s breathing doesn’t match perfectly, it won’t go well.”

Minato’s heart beat faster at the word “kyudo”.

“And? And?” Ryouhei said, completely on board. “At the middle school I went to, I chose kyudo as my compulsory martial arts course. My kyudo teacher praised me, saying that I had ‘good muscles’. I thought I’d do it seriously when I went to high school. Plus, I might have been influenced by Minato and Seiya.”

“Are these two experienced in kyudo?”

“They are. Narumiya and Takehaya were in the kyudo club in middle school. Narumiya in particular wanted to do kyudo, and I heard that they took the entrance exams for a private middle school with a kyudo club. He’d been talking about the bow since forever.”

Tomi-sensei smiled broadly.

“There are few junior highs with a kyudo club, so people with kyudo experience are valuable. However, It would seem that I have found three all at once. These old eyes are not mistaken. This mission is nothing but a success. Well then, everyone, shall we head for the kyudojo (place where kyudo is performed)?”

Minato panicked. He was troubled by the conversation continuing on without him.

“Please wait. I don’t plan to join any club. My mother died, so I have to do most of the housework, and I also have to make dinner for my father…I’m sorry.”

The white mark on Minato’s left flank was the scar of the injury he had sustained when he was involved in a traffic accident with his mother, which happened one month after Seiya got Bear. However, four years had passed already. The innocent Bear, time, and the passions that they had devoted themselves into had healed the wounded Minato and others. The whitening scar was the proof of that.

Then, why do you keep running every morning…?

Minato felt like he had heard Seiya’s voice. However, Seiya hadn’t said anything.

“I’m so sorry to hear that. Well, if your situation changes, you can just come by and visit us anytime. How about Takehaya-kun and Yamanouchi-kun over here?”

“I’d certainly like to join the club.”

“Me too, me too!”

Seiya, who was supposed to be right next to him, looked to be far away.

Minato wasn’t going to do club activities. Seiya was joining the kyudo club.

Even though there shouldn’t be any problem, his perturbed heart felt unsatisfied. Seiya turned back to look straight at him.

“I’m going to go ahead to the kyudojo.”

“I’m not doing kyudo anymore.”

“I know you’re carrying around your treasure.”

Minato grabbed his bag in spite of himself. And when he realized he fell for Seiya’s bluff, Minato could only make the meager comeback of simply leaving that spot.

Refusing other invitations from his classmates and girls, Minato returned home alone.

Although he lived only with his father, he never felt very lonely or inconvenient because Seiya and his parents were kind. He told Tomi-sensei that he was busy with household chores, but his father often didn’t take dinner at home, so that was the perfect excuse. When he confirmed that the pouch with the dragonfly pattern was in his bag, he flew out beneath the darkening sky.

He loved riding his bicycle.

The wind was frosty, sweeping away the words that he was saddled with, cooling down that aching heat. After a while, he hit a long slope. While standing to pedal up the hill, a car coming from behind honked its horn. Although he quickly went to the side, the honking was completely unexpected.

After riding around aimlessly without deciding on a destination, when it was soon time to go back home, a small yellow bird flew out before his eyes. It was a grey wagtail that flew before him as he rode. Although both sides of the road were lined with forest, it glided along the surface of the endless paved road.

Before he knew it, Minato was in an unfamiliar place. The yellow bird disappeared, and in its place, an old sign board reading “Yata Shrine” caught his attention. He stopped his bike before the torii gate, and climbed the stone steps.

This forest was called Yata no Mori, where deciduous trees like pin oaks and Mongolian oaks thrived. Minato looked up, and as if trying to test him, the trees swayed, making a rustling sound. In the dim light, the new sprouts shone, looking like hands clasped together and dedicating prayers up to the sky. The red-violet buds of the mountain azaleas were stiff, and wearing light brown caps. From somewhere faraway, a crying sound could be heard.

After passing through the forest, he arrived at Yata Shrine. There was a cherry tree there, dying the ground beneath in pale pink. The shrine was snug in that old way, and there was no sign of people.

It looks like a place where ghosts would come out… When he thought that, he was startled from hearing a sound.

It’s tsurune, I heard a tsurune—.

From somewhere, he heard a high bang sound.

Like bamboo sprouts shooting up from the earth towards the sky overnight, the sound was carefree and crisp. He couldn’t believe that it was possible to create that metallic-sounding timbre with a bow. It is said that tsurune was the sound made when the bowstring hit the bow after firing an arrow; and the sound that occurred when the arrow left the loosened bowstring and tension returned to the original form of the string, was also considered tsurune.

It overlapped with his old memories. He wondered if it was the same archer that he saw with his mother when he was little, pulling back the bow.

The light was on in the building next to the front shrine.

There was a built-in mailbox at the entrance of the traditional Japanese house, where a signboard hung with the words “Yata no Mori Kyudojo” on it. It was considerably aged, and the wood was corroded and covered in moss. Suppressing his fast-beating heart, he went past the entryway, heading for the right side of the building.

He didn’t think that there would be someone drawing a bow in the forest in the evening. Maybe it really was a ghost. No, it didn’t matter if it was a ghost.

Please don’t disappear.

Don’t disappear until I get there.

While praying that silently in his mind, he passed through the trees, and went around to a corner where outdoor viewing was possible. When he peeked forward through the bamboo fence that acted as a partition, he saw the spacious shajo (building where the archers shoot from) illuminated by fluorescent lamps.

There was a lone young man there, clad in a white kyudogi (2) and hakama.

As expected, it was a different person from the archer he saw back then. The mysterious figure looked like he was in his twenties, and his shoulder-length hair was tied back.

The man nocked an arrow to his bow, then looked to check for any problems with the string or the arrow. He took the string with his right hand, and held the bow with his left. Facing the target, he lifted the bow and arrow with both hands. His stance—like a column of smoke loosely rising up to the sky on a windless day—was textbook perfect.

He pulled back half the length of the arrow and stopped briefly, then pulled it even further back from there. This was the daisan stage (midway point), of the hikiwake. In everyday language, this would be called “drawing back the bow,” but the Japanese yumi was a bow which was lifted up and pushed open equally on both sides.

The climax was called kai. The kai was the term for drawing a bow all the way back to the length that was most suitable for the archer. It was the moment when bow and archer became one, for a long time until the arrow was released. It was the very moment when bow and archer met. In Minato’s eyes, that man was as elegant as an actor performing in a program that was a marvel… As his skin got chills, the arrow was breathed in by the target.

It hit the target right in the center. And what’s more, that wasn’t the only shot. All five of the arrows he had shot before had pierced the target. After that, he finished collecting the arrows and shot six arrows again, all of them hitting the center.

Twelve hits.

If this was a competition, he had won. No, more than just winning, his shots were beautiful. The man placed his bow aside, got into seiza, and took off his yugake, the glove used in kyudo.

When he saw the man going towards the target to collect the arrows again, Minato heaved a big sigh. He rubbed his sweaty palm against his jacket. Wondering whether he should try to call out, he suddenly heard a “Gyaah!” sound above his head, and his body spontaneously shivered.

“…Was that an owl? Don’t get so scared.”

“What are you doing?”

It was a person’s voice.

The man from earlier was standing right in front of him when he had looked back at the strange phenomenon. He had clear eyes, a high nose bridge, a tall stature, and was blessed with a well-balanced body. But he approached me without making a sound, so who the heck is he?

The man wrapped the indigo-dyed hand towel he carried around his left arm, and held it up towards the trees. “Fuu,” he called out, and something with large, spread-out wings flew down, stopping on the man’s arm.

Its flapping created a wind.

Glancing sideways at Minato, who was standing stock-still, the man addressed the being with a heart-shaped face.

“Fuu, you were the one who was more surprised. Who knew there was a person over here.”

“…Excuse me. Um, could ‘Fuu’ be the name of that owl?”

“Yes, it’s a good name, isn’t it? (1) A long time ago, it was injured and I took care of it, and so I gave it that name back then. I had thought about it carefully. Oh, and I did have permission to look after it.”

Is it my imagination, or does that name seem like it was incredibly easy to come up with? It’s better than naming a dog “Bear” at least.

The owls of the true owl family were as big as the falcons used in falconry. Fuu play-bited at the man’s long fingers. When he caressed his mottled wings, it comfortably closed its large eyes.

“It’s really attached to you.”

“It’s more like it got used to me rather than getting attached. It thinks that when I call it, it’ll be able to get food. Today, I called it even though I don’t have any. Sorry, Fuu.”

“Food?”

“Pink mice. Mice that were skinned.”

“I see…”

“Do you want to try touching it? But you are forbidden from making loud sounds. Owls have good ears.”

Doing as he was told, Minato reached out fearfully. When he stroked the feathers on its head, Fuu suddenly shrunk its body, looking like it was withdrawing itself.

“It’s kind of fluffy.”

“Owls can fly noiselessly thanks to their soft feathers. But leaving that aside, you’re bleeding from the back of your left hand.”

“What?”

When he looked, sure enough, blood was welling up. Maybe a branch or something cut him.

“Come with me to get some medicine for that.”

“No, um, I…”

“No way, are you suspicious of me? I’m not going to charge you extra for the medicine, so don’t worry.”

The man narrowed his eyes and grinned.

He followed the man, who seemed like he ruled over the shajo, to there. The judge’s area was at the side of the shajo, with tatami flooring spreading as wide as twelve tatami mats, and the floor one level higher. It was equivalent to the kamiza (higher position) so the household shrine and the national flag were enshrined there. Passing through the judge’s area to the back-right corner, they arrived at the waiting room of the dojo.

The man placed Fuu on Minato’s left shoulder. It was lighter than he had expected, and along with a pleasant weight, Fuu gripped his shoulder tightly. Since its talons weren’t clipped, he’d probably get holes in his clothes. While he was focused on Fuu, the man opened the accessory drawer.

“So, where’s the medicine…ah.”

An unpleasant bang sound rang out, and the contents of the entire drawer flew out. This caused Fuu to tremble with a jump. The man had been trying to retrieve the medicine in the back of the drawer, and pulled it out.

“Oh no, I did it again.”

He said he did it again, so does that mean he pulls open that drawer and cause stuff to fly out a lot?

“Um, are you okay?”

“Yeah. This is because it’s sturdy, unlike the poorly built stuff made nowadays. Oh, there it is.”

The man found a worn-out tube from among the scattered items, and held it out to Minato. He doubted the efficacy of the ointment, which was considerably aged.

While rubbing on the medicine, the exhausted fluorescent lamp flickered. Minato and Fuu looked up at the ceiling, which the man noticed.

“Sorry, your eyes must be pretty irritated. I have a replacement tube but it’s quite a bother. Someone would change it eventually.”

“…I’ll do it.”

Returning Fuu from his shoulder to the man, he took the new fluorescent tube and got out the stepladder in the corner of the room. It was also an antique.

The man spoke in an easy-going way, “Thanks. I always neglect it until it goes out.”

“I think your entire house should have LED lighting installed, so you won’t have to replace it so much, sir”

“Indeed. You’re pretty smart.”

Even though he meant for it to sound sarcastic, it didn’t seem to have gone through at all.

The man went to the edge of the shajo, and shook his arm towards the outdoors. Fuu disappeared into the nighttime forest. After seeing it off, he took out something from his bag.

“Having a drink after work is the best. Here’s a thank-you gift. Go ahead and take it.”

“No thank you. The law states that the drinking age is twenty years old, and if I drink alcohol, my brain will shrink.”

“…You are amazing. I want to compliment you on how honest you are, but just come and take a better look.”

The man was holding a can of coffee with a picture of a snowy mountain on it.

When he finished drinking, he put the can aside and headed for the targets again. He repeated the entire process of shooting the arrows on hand and retrieving them, all over again.

Still holding his can, Minato watched his beautiful movements. He never paid heed to Minato’s watching, nor told him to go home. Before he knew it, the pain of his wound faded away.

He asked him a question when he saw him jotting something down in a notebook.

“How many targets did you hit?”

“I’m not keeping track of how many I hit or miss. Just the number of arrows.”

“How many did you shoot as of now?”

“Eighty.”

“Eighty times? Do you always shoot that much?”

“Yep. I’m shooting a hundred arrows every day, and aiming for a total of ten-thousand arrows. Today’s the seventy-ninth day.”

“What’s your goal?”

“Nothing in particular. Just a whim, so to speak.”

The man narrowed his eyes and smiled his crescent moon-smile again.

A tsurune that glowed against the deep blue heavens (3).

As he placed his feet on the pedals of his bike, the moon was shining above his head.

Previous | Next

[letspanicatthedisco-imagine-blog]

Camp Wilkemon- Part 2

Twigs snap beneath your feet as you walk through the overgrown forest tot the bonfire. The night before the campers arrive was traditionally the staff campfire; Mariana probably knew about it, and knew that it was just an excuse for everyone to get drunk, but she for whatever reason let it slide and assumed complete obliviousness toward the tradition. She probably figured it was best to let everyone get it out of their system before the camp season starts, plus she probably also knows you would all do it anyways regardless of her resistance.

You and Nicole trudged through the thick, overgrown, and buggy woods- hiking under some fallen trees following the sparce markers the staff from years ago left along the trail. You eventually reach the clearing, as the break in the trees exposes the sky- so blue and full of stars twinkling and illuminating. In front of you grows an enormous bonfire: sparks flying in all directions and accompanied by the sound of the crackling wood. The bonfire has been built up over the years- the piles of ash from drunken summers past.

“Y/N!!!”

You look around and pot your friend Spencer from across the other side of the fire. You grab Nicole and head over to envelop him in a big hug. He hands you a cold beer and greets Nicole similarly. You take a sip of the beer- letting the cool shitty college grad beer flow go down like high quality Grey Goose.

“So what have you been up to all year?” you excitingly ask Spencer.

“Not too much- just school, pissing my mom off playing drums all day- the usual. I actually want...”

Spencer continued on, and as interested as  you were to catch up with him you couldn’t stop thinking about that guy at the staff meeting. He’s got to be around here somewhere? You nod along as Spencer’s story becomes muffled chatter- your mind occupied while your eyes wandered the crowd searching.

“seen him Y/N?”

You fix your eyes back on Spencer- him and Nicole looking at you questioningly.

“Uh.. sss....sorry what?”

“Have you seen Ryan around?”

“Oh no... not yet- he came back this summer right?”

Ryan has worked at the camp as long as you have- you guys actually started as co-counselors and became pretty instant friends. He kept to himself for the most part- truly coming out in his writing. His songs exposed a whole hidden side to himself and the last year or so he was head staff for songwriting and composition.

“Yeah, we drove in late today and missed the meeting. We actually convinced our friend Bren-”

“EYYYY SPENCE!!!”

You hear shouts coming from deeper in the woods and as the shouts grow louder you can start to make out Ryan coming out of the woods with Brendon. As they come closer, the smell of pot accompanied them. The two sloppily make their way out of the woods over to the group. Brendon, with a beer in one hand, slings his arm around Spencer’s shoulder- practically leaning on him for support. “Y/N, Nicole!!! Welcome back!” Ryan drunkenly slurs as he wraps his arms around you and Nicole. He pulls away and slaps Spencer softly on the cheek. Ryan may be quiet- but you get some booze in that kid and he can get… quite animated. You pull yourself up straighter, trying to hide your gaze as your eyes move up Brendon from his black vans up to his bright, wide, drunken smile. Putting your your best flirty expression you take a sip and look toward Brendon. “Brandon, right?” you ask full knowing his name was Brendon. But you didn’t want to come across and too interested or obsessive- even though your eyes and smile were doing a pretty poor job of that already. He tilts his head back a little, a wide grin blooming on his face before he chuckled-

“Close enough haha. It’s Brendon- or you can call me Bren.”

You are grateful for the booze in your system and the heat from the fire that already made your cheeks flushed, hiding the natural bashful flush they exposed. You hold up your beer as a toast and fix your eyes with his, smiling as you chuckle,

“Okay Bren. Welcome to camp.”

The 5 of you sloppinly clang cans and toasted to the upcoming summer. The remainder of the night you spent catching up with all the friends from summers past. Brendon, Ryan, and Spencer were absent from most of the fire- assumably taking hits in the woods. Toward the end of the night you and Nicole had joined some other counselors around the fire, sitting on broken logs circling the dwindling flames. The night air carries a slight chill, and despite the warmth radiating from the fire, you find yourself shivering slightly. You pull your knees in toward your chest and clasp your hands around them. You hear a rattling coming from the woods and turn your head slightly enough so you can see behind you the 3 guys coming over toward the group. They polo themselves around the fire- Ryan sprawling out on the shortest log so he can watch the stars above- which have grown brighter and brighter as the fire grew dimmer and dimmer. Ryan is so high at this point he probably doesn’t even realize they are stars as he lays quietly counting “one firefly, two fireflies, three fireflies”. Spencer slides next to Nicole kicking her leg out of the way to clear his place to sit. You look up and warmly smile as Brendon’s long legs stretch over the log and he plops himself next to you. The dim glow from the dying flames illuminate his face with a soft orange glow, his sharp jaw cutting a shadow. The sparks of the fire danced in his dark and rich eyes. He takes the last sip of his drink and puts the empty can in the dirt by his shoes against the log. You feel the cool breeze against your back and hug your knees in closer to your chest in an attempt to squeeze in any remaining body heat. He sits with his legs spread apart and his arms on his knees, twiddling his fingers between his legs. As you watch the fire slowly die you rest your chin on your knees, then turn and rest your cheek on your knees and look up at Brendon. “So… what made you come this year? Spence said he has been asking you for a while?” “Got tired of Spense whining about it” He chuckles with a wide open mouth, causing you to consequently grin. “Haha no I just figured I’d get to hang out with my friends, make some cool music, meet new people… Idk I just wanted to get out you know?” “Well then you definitely came to the right place”. You grab the sleeves of your thin blue long sleeve top and pull them farther down your arm- covering as much skin from the cool breeze as you could. Brendon noticed you shivering slightly and a subtle concern grew on his face. “Here… here take my sweatshirt” Brendon begins to take off his faded gray sweatshirt.

“No no don’t worry about it- I’ll survive haha” “Y/N its no biggie your freezing. Here…” Brendon takes of his sweatshirt, smoothing his now exposed tshirt underneath. You pull the oversized hoodie over your body, which swallowed you whole as it encompassed your frame. You pulled the extra fabric of the sleeves into your hands and crossed your arms legging the sweatshirt envelope you. It smelt like a comforting mix of smoke and woods. “You guys ready to head out? You know there is no way Mariana is letting us sleep any later than 7 tomorrow. Got to be ready to wake up and handle some demon children” Nicole says as she stands up from her log, dragging Spencer with her. You yawn and nod;  the 3 of you follow Nicole out of the woods grabbing Ryan from his “firefly” counting trip. Impressively he got to about 75. As you reach the part of the trail that separates into two pathways, one going to the girls camp and one to the guys, you grab the bottom of the sweatshirt to begrudgingly return it to its owner. “No no don't worry about it” Brendon stops you as the other guys head off toward their cabins. “You can just give it back to me tomorrow”

“You sure?”

“Yeah of course- I’ll see you at breakfast?”

“Yeppp see you tomorrow. Bye Bren.”

You both turn around to head to your respective cabins, as Brendon stops walking and turns around, slowly walking backwards as he yells back to you “Plus… I think my sweatshirt looks pretty good on you.”

[joyful-mollymauk]

Lost Souls & Revelry: Chapter 2

Here is the thing finally! Sorry for the delay!

It’s also on AO3!

She’s feeling the itch. It’s the worst time for it, really. Her flask is empty and she’s in a small town, somewhere it’s hard to disappear into a crowd. She knows it’s a bad time, but she’s tried to ignore the itch all day and she’s going out of her mind. She has her eye on a beautiful red glow. The sun is shining and glittering through a row of bottles, lined up along the edge of a kiosk on the street. The bottle has shiny gold foil on the top and it looks like a ruby and Nott is pretty sure it’s alcoholic. It’s like it has her name written on it. Nott hunkers down in the shadows. She touches her mask, making sure that it’s still in place. The little marketplace is as busy as it gets at the moment, and she probably won’t get another chance this good to snag something and get away without being seen. Her heart is beating hard but it’s partly anticipation as she eyes her prize. It’s risky in a town this small. She’s spotted just a small handful of Crownsguard throughout, but they’re certainly present. But she can’t wait. She needs something to soothe her nerves before she moves on. Since her encounter with that human mage in the outskirts, she’s been having strange dreams. Last night she had a horrible nightmare about being on a boat, nothing on the horizon but water and more water. It was a bad morning to wake up to an empty flask. She’ll be quick. She’ll grab the bottle and blend into the crowd before anyone’s the wiser. Nott takes a deep breath and steps out into the street. 

...

Beauregard breathes in deeply, her eyes closed. She centers herself in the physical feeling of her body. Her hands rest on her knees. Her monk vestments are soft and loose and familiar on her skin. She keeps her shoulders back, opening her whole torso for her even, measured breaths. The sun is shining down on her face, which itches with dirt and new growth and— “Gods damn it!” Beau shouts. A shabby ginger guy scowls at her. “If you cold please stop it,” he snaps, “I am trying to concentrate.” “So am I, asshole!” Beau shoots back. “I’m trying to concentrate on not having any of these fucking out-of-body experiences, but you’re here anyway!” “I am also trying to avoid more of this ridiculous shit,” the man snaps. He turns sharply away from her, fumbling through his pockets. Beau slams her eyes closed and fucking breathes. She breathes out through her nose like her teachers tell her, only it comes out in a huff instead of one silent release of tension because that fucking guy is still there. “How about,” the guy says, voice tight and stilted, “you focus on your shit and I will focus on mine, yes? You are clearly not a wizard, so you are no concern of mine.” Beau flips him off. “You’re the one ruining my meditation here. I’m trying to do some monk shit and block this out, okay, you’re the one invading my head!” “None of this makes sense!” the man yells, spinning back around. “Neither of you should be able to see me at all!” “What do you mean, neither of us?” Beau narrows her eyes. “Did you see that blue tiefling, too?” The guy looks taken aback. “What tiefling? No – a goblin woman appeared in front of me.” He grips roughly at his own hair, and Beau’s scalp tugs uncomfortably. “What is happening?” Beau leaps up. “Hey, wait a sec, I’ve got—” He rears back, hands flying toward her. “Don’t—!” Beau falls on her ass hard. He’s gone. It’s just her alone in the meditation room. “Fucking damn it!” … “This is the coolest thing ever!” Fjord smiles down at the rope in his hands. He can feel the salt spray from the water, the wind whipping through Jester’s dress as she holds her arms out wide. She’s been skipping around the deck since she popped in a few minutes ago. She’s got a boundless energy and curiosity for new things, and Fjord’s deeply grateful that whatever weird connection they’ve got, it seems to be giving Jester Fjord’s own sea legs. “Do you think I can do that?” Fjord glances up. His first furtive look is around the deck, to see if there’s anyone nearby to hear what sounds like him talking to himself. Reassured, he glances over to Jester. She’s looking up into the ship’s rigging, watching crew members hard at work dozens of feet off the ground, clinging to ropes or scrambling across ladders. Her big blue eyes go back to Fjord as she grins. “Can you do that? Can we try it?” Fjord chuckles at her enthusiasm. “Sorry, Jester,” he mutters. He knows she can hear him, even standing a dozen feet away engrossed in the bustle and work of the ship. “It’s not my job today, I’m needed right where I am.” She sighs and comes over to flop down next to him. “But what you’re doing isn’t as cool,” she grumbles. She glances over at the rope in his hands. “You’re not even braiding, like, hair or flowers or ribbons or anything. Couldn’t you put some ribbons in there? Just to make it look nicer, I’m sure it will still be a great rope even if there are ribbons in it.” Fjord shakes his head, smiling. “It’s not that kinda rope, Jester, sorry to disappoint. Just needs to be functional is all.” Jester snorts. “Things can be functional and also be pretty,” she chastises. Fjord blinks, and looks over to see the rope in her hands as he looks at her. She’s deft and practiced with it, just as much as he is. Because she’s me, Fjord realizes with a jolt. She’s doing as well as me because I am doing it. He shakes his head, and the weird transposition snaps back into place. He looks sidelong at Jester to see if she noticed the feeling of trading places for a moment. She’s got a book out, though, and she’s not even looking at him or the rope anymore. “Just like this,” she says, and Fjord gets the feeling that she’s speaking to someone else – some third person that he can’t see or hear. Is that possible? Is Jester some kinda magic-uses that teleports herself around talking to all kinds of people? “… and it could have like that really nice paint in there, too, that looks just like actual gold, ooh! And you could hang up lots and lots of curtains for little rooms, you know to make like your bedroom, and your dressing room, and lots of them until you basically just have your whole house—” He watches her hands move across the page as his own fingers twine the rope around and around and around. … Yasha glances around one more time. She’s not sure what she expects to see, camping out a mile off the road like she is, but she just wants to make sure. There’s no one in sight, nothing interrupting the quiet sounds of animals rusting about their lives. She sits down and leans back against a tree, getting comfortable. Her sword is close at hand, as always. She’s safe. “Molly?” she calls tentatively. There’s no ripple, no feeling of displacement or magic being worked. She is just suddenly sitting next to Mollymauk, flooded with the sensations of their tent at the carnival. It’s no illusion; she feels the warm, washed-soft flannel of Molly’s sheets, the tent flap thrown open to let daylight and a breeze in, the familiar smell of Mollymauk’s perfumes and soaps. Molly himself lights up at her appearance. “Hello, you,” he beams. Yasha smiles at him as he leans over and pecks her on the cheek. It’s just the two of them in the tent at the moment. Molly’s swords are laid out on his gaudy coat, and his backpack is open next to Yasha. Desmond’s side of the tent is empty and cleared out. “Where are we headed?” Yasha asks. Molly flops down next to her on his bedroll and leans into her shoulder while he continues packing his belongings. “Further southeast?” he says, tilting his head. Yasha shakes her head fondly. It’s never a certain thing to ask Mollymauk where the circus was going to end up. He notices her movement and shrugs. “I think I recognized the name Gustav is aiming for, but honestly I’m probably wrong.” “Hm.” Yasha thinks of her current camp, deep in the forest. If Molly is right this time, the circus is heading in her direction this time, or close enough. He sneaks a glance at her, sidelong. For a second her heart skips, and she thinks, this is the time you’ll have to lie to him. Then his lips tick up to reveal one sharp tooth, and he bumps his shoulder into hers. Molly doesn’t ask. He packs up his things, and he tells her about the local halfling children who will be sad to see the carnival go, who have been entranced by Molly’s card-readings and flashy jewelry for the past few days. She brings out the book he gave her and shows him three new flowers she found, tough but colorful little mountain blooms in white and blue and orange. Molly doesn’t ask, and Yasha doesn’t say just in case, but she feels that she’s close to finishing this task. This new situation with Molly is nice – she can check on him, talk to him, sit with him around the fire at night and listen to everyone laugh and talk together. She doesn’t have to worry about him while she’s gone. She knows that he could call on her if he was really in trouble. But she still likes having something to look forward to at the end of her tasks, something to point her feet towards and go with purpose. She likes going back to where Mollymauk is. She may not have a place to call home anymore, but going towards Molly always feels right. Outside the tent, Gustav calls his name. All of Molly’s things are packed, and it’s time to move on. Yasha presses a quick kiss into the soft purple curls between Molly’s horns. “I’m here if you need me,” she says softly. “Always.” Molly leans into her for a moment, warm and lanky and comforting. “Be safe, you,” he mutters. Then she is by herself again, leaning against a tree in the brightening daylight. But she’s still smiling.

[abbytheslothwitch]

Text 2 (Had more from this but it cut out) (Did this from my phone)

9 United Chronicles.

Book 1: Unfortunate event.

Chapter 1: Assumptions.

(Warning! This story contains aggressive behavior, violence, strong language, and lots of crazy stuff.)

Life will find a way.

Life will go on.

Darkness loomed over the barren wasteland. There was nothing, nothing but a bunch of dead bodies, broken machines, and buildings that lay in ruins, the only signs of life were just mechanical monsters and rats that survived the toxic gases that killed and destroyed everything.

Except for one place.

Far beyond the wasteland and all of its nightmares was a garden like world, so beautiful and alive. This world of life was protected by a barrier put active by the elements that made up our world: Water, Fire, Earth, Winds, Ice & Snow, Plant life, Electricity, Holy Light, and Unholy Darkness.

But near the wasteland but farther in the garden lands was a large river, separating the two land. The only way to get to Wasteland or the world of living creatures and plants was by a large oak wood bridge, strong enough to support a fully grown elephant. In this protected area lays a meadow of tall grass and lots of flowers, a Forest stretching as far as the eye can see, with all kinds of plants and animals, and next to the forest was a set of farms for domesticated animals, a temple near the forest and the meadow, and a village where surviving humans colonized, most of which were rebels that came out of the underground colony. But in the Temple lived a different kind of colony.

These colonists were known by the humans as "Homunculie", or most commonly known as "Stitchpunks".

In the Temple there is a library, where these Stitchpunks lived and all of them were lead by two leaders. 9, a determined male burlap Stitchpunk who wanted nothing more than to keep his people safe and help them all become strong. Along side 9 was his mate / wife, 7. 7 was white canvas, strong, graceful, and had a kind heart who wanted only to help the broken, the weak, the young, the old, and the disabled. Together, she and 9 kept everyone in their home safe, sound, and strong with the they created with each other, but their existence could not have been possible if it wasn't for their creator. Together, 9's clan and another clan of Stitchpunks, lead by a hot tempered female, humanity can be at peace, knowing their hope for the future.

But unknown to the human, not everything was perfect in the Stitchpunk’s blessed home. For 9 had made the mistake of taking in an old foe of man, and soon....... To ALL the Stitchpunks in their peaceful safe haven.

——

*Temple library, mid day*

——

A large wooden table, in the center of the library that were accompanied by two bookshelves that held many unread books and historical documents, held the living area of the clan’s home, accompanied by a tailor's sewing box and lager dollhouse at both ends of the table. Near one of two bookshelves was a tin lunchbox which acted like a desk was the Savior of the Stitchpunks, 9 and his good friend 5 were talking about what the watch tower was going to look like and where they were going to place it. Literally one minute into the conversation, 5’s mate 10 came barging in, angry as usual. “ARGH!!” 10 yelled in rage “I hate that d - GRAH!! I can handle being called that a witch, but he..... Grrrr..... He crossed the line!!”. The female Stitchpunk was not pleased with one of the member’s actions that day. After she got on the table, 10 threw her Katanas on the ground and plopped down on a book. She was, clearly not happy

10, according to her clan, was not the kind of female you would want to anger. She was the kind of girl who would most likely try and kill someone and everyone knew it, this female took things very serious when it came to her family. 10 did not look like most normal female Stitchpunks, the fabric which she was made from was white, she had the figure of a female human, such as Hips, Full lips, ect. Her hair was a pinkish red which was draped over her head and reached down to her lower back, and had Slate colored Optics for eyes. Unlike almost all of the Stitchpunks, 10 wore clothes, she always wore a black jumpsuit that had no sleeves, a purple kimono like jacket which reached down to her knees as well with a two pink cherry blossoms on the both sleeves, and the legs of the suit reached down to her knees and wore black leggings. She always wore a silver belt and her hands and feet were made from dark oak wood and yellow copper heels and fingers, she was something else.

Aside from her appearance, 10 really was deadly. The swords she made weren't the only thing that could kill someone, it was her soul that, mixed with the alchemical symbol, she could make fire with just her hand and mind. She was known as "the Phoenix queen", and when she deemed anyone an enemy, she'd burn you, burn you until you were nothing but ashes.

5 felt his mate’s anger from where he was standing, he wanted to ask why she was mad but knowing her, it was best to leave her alone and let her cool off first. Both he and 9 knew that if they’d get close enough, they were bound to get burned by the firy female, so they decided to keep their distance from her.

9 was the first one to notice the female warrior’s frustration as soon as she walked on the table, he thought if he called her over and discuss the plans for the watch tower a bit, she’d calm down. “Hey 10,” said 9 “How was your day?” as 5 quivered behind him, the warrior glared at the males and walked over to them, only to slap 9 cross his face.

”I told you! I told you! I told you NOT to let him in, but you listen? NO! You did the opposite of what I said, and NOW--!

“Hey! Hey! Take it easy! What are you talking about exactly?” 9 demanded “It's that crazy old man I warned you about! That bastard has been nothing but bigger pain than 1 has since he came here! He yelled at my students while I was giving a lesson today!” 10 said to 9, “ Are you talking about Claude?” 9 had asked.

"WHO ELSE WOULD I BE TALKING ABOUT, IDIOT?!”

"Okay, calm down for one!" said 5, trying to calm his mate down. “Tell us about what happen with Claude.” 10 sighed then she spoke, “You really wanna know?! Fine! Here’s what went down.”

——-

*1 hour ago, in the quart yard*

——-

In the left side if the Temple was a round brick wall leading from a side door. 10 and her older brother, Butch, were teaching was just beginning. The day’s lesson was on how to be Strong and Gentle while fighting the enemy: keeping balance in battle. The Students, who were 3, 11, 17, Tomiko, and to partake in the fun, 13, sat on a large rock in order to keep themselves distant from the demonstration of today’s lesson.

Much like 10, 13 was made differently from the other Stitchpunks in the clan. She was made a light sand colored purse, had short light orange hair, and wore a long light pink dress with a black vest with two silver buttons on it. She also had silver optics and her fingers and feet were made out of red copper. But unlike most of the young Stitchpunks, 13 would not fight, even if she wanted to she couldn’t; she just preferred to dance, she did ballet most of the time, and everyone loved watching her preform. Although she could not fight due to the fact she was a pacifist, 13 enjoyed watching 10’s class and learned a lot from the firey red head, the leader she'd known for a long time.

They were in the middle of the lesson when Butch ,on accident, threw his weapon at the rock which the Kids were sitting on. The sword didn’t hit anyone (thank goodness), but before a word could be spoken, the sitting rock broke and fell apart into pieces, which made the kids fall, all hitting the ground very hard.

“Oh Dear God!!!” 10 shouted as she and Butch ran to the children's aid, “Are you all okay?!” “Yeah!” said 17, the light brown burlap Stitchpunk who helping his friends up to their feet, “Just a few bruises, but we’re okay, at least I think so.”. “I’m so sorry kids! That’s never happened before!” Butch said out as he picked up 11 who proceed with kicking his leg. Everyone clearly got upset with Butch, though it was an accident.

“Well Butch, you’ve finally done it…. You pushed me pass my limit! 17! Make sure no one is hurt! I need to a WORD with my older brother here. The rest of you, take the rest of today off.” the red haired teacher announced to everyone.

“Ahem!”

Everyone stopped in their tracks, allof the, except for 10, turned their head to see who spoke up. It was someone that everyone in the temple had troubles getting along with, Claude, a gray old male Stitchpunk with ebony arms and right leg, bronze clips holding him together, a brown belt, wore a raven hood, and had a crimson red jewl imbedded in his head. He had walked in the quart yard when 10 called off the lesson without anyone noticing, and he was obviously not in a good mood.

Everyone had stopped at the sound of Claude’s presence, not from the very they met him. Not wanting to make her students anymore uncomfortable than they already were, 10 turned to face the elder to speak, “Hello Claude! What do you want? You looking for a book or something? Cause if you are, you're in the wrong place, so if you will please leave me and my students alone, that would be swell.” “No. I’m here to make sure you and these....... "underlings" were doing your jobs like you were supposed to be doing, which it seems like none of you are doing anything. You don't want me to report you, do you,.... "10"?!” Claude yelled.

“Alright, look here ‘Macbeth’!” 10 said a loud “WE were doing a lesson when my IDIOT of a brother threw his sword at the kids! I called off the lesson because of it! And FYI, it’s not your job to boss people around like you used to do, now bug off!”

"Madame, that is no way to speak to your superiors."

"You Ain't my superior! You don't this place! You don't do sh** around here! You and 1 just going around boss people like you run the show or something lime that, but you don't! And another thing....!"

Since he was taller than her, Claude looked passed 10, turning attention to what was going on behind the tempered, where he noticed something, something he didn’t favor.

“What’s that creature doing here?”; that question threw 10 off. “I beg your pardon?” “13, what is she doing here?”

She turned to 13, who clearly trying to hide behind 17 who had spoken up, “She was just watching the demonstration is all.” " And that is all? Has nothing like this happened before?” Claude said as he pointed at the now broken sitting rock.

“Yeah.” said Butch "But a lot of strange things happens when anyone's around.”

“Was she around during thoughs events?”

“Yes, she was.”

"Were your sister’s students and 13 present when anything horrible happened? Like the humans losing their crops, half of their live stock, and when Leonard and 8 were injured?”

Butch had to think for a moment before he gave answer to the old Stitchpunk. “Yeah, they were all there too, especially 13; why? Does it bother you so much that bad things happen?”

“Dreadfully, but you’ve just helped me with my point, so thank you for that, Hutch!”

“MY NAME’S NOT HUTCH, YOU CRAZY OLD COOT!!”

“What are you talking about Claude? What was your point in involving us with the crops, live stock, and what happened with 8 & Lenny? What does all of that gotta do with 13?” asked 11 just as confused as everyone else.

“Well 11,” Claude started “I’ve been observing most of those accidents for a while now, and I have noticed at the times of the events there was one Stitchpunk present during all of them!”

He continued. “I've come to the conclusion that someone has caused this unfortunate event and is still causing catastrophes as it was seen here today.” he said as he glared at the children. No one dared to speak a word. “Okay, I’ll be most clear; 13. She was there when the humans lost there crop, living supplies, and she was there when your younger brother and 8 were attacked! Is anyone taking any hints?!" Once again, no body said a word, this made the elder angry.

“YOU IDIOTS!!! 13’S THE ONE WHO’S BEEN ATTRACTING ALL OF THE MISFORTUNE AROUND OUR HOME!!!”

"Wait, what?!”

“Hold on a second! 13?! Causing misfortune?!”

[darkspellmaster]

In the Forest of No Return: Chapter 2 Lotor’s Plan

AN: Copyright for Voltron, Toei Animation, WEP, Dreamworks animation and Studio Mir.

Lotor

The two merchants had hailed the city several vargas ago and insisted upon speaking with Mogor, Lotor’s advisor, who was in charge of the city on Mezora, practically foaming at the mouth with excitement and hoping to get in the Prince’s good graces. After all, with his father incapacitated, and the likelihood of him never making a full recovery, rumors abound that the young Prince would soon become Emperor. So it was wise, at least to the two merchants, to get in his good graces while there was still time.

Mogor knew the Prince hated that fact. He had been with the young noble since he was a child, barley able to hold a sword, and had seen him grow into the cunning dispassionate man that he was now. Lotor had dealt with fools all his life. Those that would smile to his face, and name call him behind his back. He was used to it, and had learned long ago not to care. Or at least hide that care behind ambivalence. The less people had reason to be around him the better he felt. He trusted no one, save Mogor, and that was how it had been for years. No one quiet knew the Prince’s real personality. Sometimes he could come off as charming and witty, other times quiet and reserved, still others scheming and ruthless. But above all else Lotor was a man who didn’t like chances to slip from his grasp that was the only reason Mogor had allowed the call to come through.

“State your business,” the tall and brutish Galra officer had stated. His gray and black uniform standing out among the men he over saw. Standing at attention, Mogor stared at the screen, watching the two merchants as they seemed to question who was going to talk first. The more they seemed to hem and haw, the more aggravated he got and turned to look at his communication officer.

“Close the link, I have no time for this idiocy. There are important calls that could come through and I would like to keep the channels open.”

The officer nodded and was about to cut off the transmission when the taller of the two cloaked figures shouted, “Wait! We have news.”

“So you said,” Mogor stated, his face showing no indication of his annoyance, nor did his tone shift in the slightest to show any sign indicating he was displeased. “What is it that you have to say? Either speak now, or I will have this call terminated. And you should make it quick, I’m not a patient man.”

“Ah, yes, so we’ve heard,” said the shorter one of the two. He looked at his partner who shrugged and the shorter one continued. “We’d like to let Prince Lotor know that we’ve found three of the Voltron pilots.”

Mogor smirked some, unable to hide the chuckle that came upon his lips. His yellow eyes lit up with amusement. “Have you now? And what makes you think you have found them.” “Well we were at a dinner on Eios, when we saw these three young creatures across from us, and we were discussing issues about Mezora when one of them got up to use the bathroom and…”

Mogor had heard enough. This was useless chatter and waved his hand to his officer readying him to cut the call short when the tall one quickly interjected.

“Wait! Don’t cut us off yet! We really did see them. One had a dark tan face with a really stupid grin. The other had dark black hair with an orange wrap around the head and quiet chunky…”

“Yes quiet,” said the shorter one, “And the last had big round glasses and big brown eyes!”

“That could describe any humanoid being in the galaxy,” Mogor pointed out rather board with the discussion. He turned his head to his subordinate, “Cut the link…”

“Wait!” screamed the short one and pulled out the device. “Here! They were listening to us with this!”

Mogor stared at the device and raised his eyebrow, “That?” he questioned, “That just looks like a toy of some sort.”

“It’s not, I assure you,” insisted the tall one and the short one vigorously nodded his head sending the hood violently flapping, making the communication officer cover his mouth so they didn’t hear him laugh. “This device let them hear what we were saying in our own language. We think they were spying on us. The one with the orange wrap was watching us, even though he thought we did not see him.”

The short one shouted as he pushed up his hood some, “Yes, yes, and they left quickly after the one with the glasses seemed surprised by what we were saying. Something spooked him.”

“And I think they had a ship docked at one of the ports.” The tall one was now waving his hands around as if trying to draw out a map in the air. “Please, let us speak to Prince Lotor. We’re sure that they heard us and know of Mezora now.”

Morgor sniffed, this was news, but how good it was he wasn’t sure and he wasn’t about to let these oafs speak with the Prince. He closed his eyes and cleared his throat. “The Empire thanks you for your excellent work, and is pleased that you did your job as dutiful citizens. We will allow you to keep that object and will let the Prince know of you findings.”

“Wait…” started the short one, hopping for some form of payment, but Mogor signaled to his communication officer, who terminated the call, causing the screen to go blank again. Mogor shook his head and muttered under his breath.

“A likely story…”

“Though one I’m interested in,” a smooth and calm voice came from the door way and Mogor turned to face an elegant looking young noble. The young man’s eyes were a strange set up. Yellow like most other Galra, but they had irises and pupils more in line with his possible other heritage. Blue markings cut by his cheeks and his white hair was slightly pulled back to give him a more mature look. Some locks had come lose and hung lightly like bangs, which he brushed from his eyes as he came into the room.

At once the other officers stood and bowed to the young man along with Mogor. Unimpressed the young noble snorted at the display, pondering if his father were still awake, or if Mogor wasn’t in the room, would any of them bow to him in such a manner.

“Prince Lotor!” Mogor said and looked down, “I did not mean to disrespect you, your highness.”

Lotor let out a deep sigh and crossed his arms as Mogor glanced up. He was in his custom uniform, with orange and blue tints mixed with the black and light gray of the traditional Galra officer. Lotor was the only one allowed to wear such an outfit, something no other member of the Empire’s army could do, and some thought it was garish and out of place, but the Prince had always been that way. Choosing to embrace some of the distain of others and flaunt that as a means of showing control over things that he could. Uniform choice was one of them, and he wore it with pride. It suited him, more so, it make him look imperial when need be. At that moment a cape was draped over his back and it was clear he’d put it on recently as the rest of his uniform showed hints of damage from laser fire. Mogor assumed then that the young prince had gone into the training chamber for practice.

“No, I’m sure you did not,” Lotor said with a distant look on his face and motion Mogor to rise, which he did as did his men. They went quickly back to work as Lotor waited for an explanation of what was going on. Mogor stood at attention as he spoke.

“Sire, there was a call from the planet Eios, two unknown merchant hailed with some information regarding a bounty.”

“And what does that have to do with us? We have no bounty here, well none that is worth much.” He muttered thinking of the young Prince that was in the holding cells on the lower floors of the command center.

“The bounty information was about the Voltron Paladins, my lord,” Mogor explained and Lotor, who had been watching some monitors showing off the city and some of the surrounding area (mostly keeping an eye on some of the larger creatures to be sure that they weren’t about to break another wall –since one had just been repaired the other quintent), turned his attention immediately to his advisor and stared with some disbelief.

“Are you certain of this? What did they say?”

“Not much, my lord,” Mogor explained and relaxed just a little as Lotor fully faced him. The two men were vastly different in height and looks. Lotor with his elegant Altean features and sharp ears, was like a perfect alien prince, and his shorter height stood out among his men as he came up to their chests. Mogor was far more beast like in face, with harsher angles and dark flushed hair. He had very strong chin with a pounced nose that seemed to be slightly crooked from not healing straight after it had been broken. There was an air about the two men that showed a great deal of power and intimidation. No one dared to cut into the conversation.

“However you think that what they did say had some merit?” Lotor inquire, intrigued. Mogor nodded slightly at this and Lotor tapped his chin with a nail. “And what was it that you thought was of use to us?”

Mogor motioned for him to look at the video that they had filmed of the exchange. It was common practice to record any calls that came in from unknown frequencies. He stopped the video and had the technician zoom in on the strange device in the shorter merchant’s hand. “They claimed that they had seen members of Voltron and that they had listened into their conversation, then left the dinner that they were eating at on Eios.”

Lotor stared at the device and waved at the officer, “Enlarge it.”

The Galra officer did so without question and Lotor came up to the screen, and quickly pulled up a console, taking a full scan of the object and started to run various tests on the image. Eventually after a few moments the computer came up with a holographic version of the device. Lotor spun it around and looked at it from all angles and then glanced at Mogor. “Do we have any scans of devices from Olkari on hand?”

“I believe so Sire,” the technician said, and looked through the files that he had on the various devices the Galra at the base had taken in over the years. “Ah, yes there are a few. Do you wish me to scan them and the item for similarities?”

“As quickly as you can.” Lotor told him as the computer ran over the files, his eyes watching for the proof that he needed. If this was an items from Olkari then he had an idea who designed it, the Green Paladin.

Lotor had taken it upon himself to learn all that he could about the Paladins since he’d been brought back into the fold. He didn’t want just words from those that would kiss up to him for a place in the ranks, and their intelligence was tentative at best. Seeing the Voltron crew in action was something that he felt that he needed. After all they were an intelligent group, and he’d seen firsthand how they’d used what they knew to gather scaultrite from inside the Weblum in a risky, but impressive, way. He’d owe them that much he knew, particularly the red one, Keith, for saving him from inside his ship.

He’d watched video after video of captured footage from different locations of fights with the Voltron members, both on the ground from destroyed drones and in space as they’d wrecked ships. Then there were the videos of them in locations where they were in bases and on their own being relaxed. He’d found it all to be very informative, although it only gave him some speculation on how their relationships worked as well as their personalities interacted.

From what he could tell Keith was very serious but also someone who could lead and crack a joke around those that he trusted. He also had issues with himself and longed for answers to his past. Lance was one that was unsure of his role in the team, but when push came to shove he was very efficient and could not only follow orders but also come up with things on the fly. Hunk was one that seemed to be off in lala land quite a bit, but it was damn clear to him that Hunk could be a challenge when he threw himself fully into something as well as being extra sensitive to others and their needs. Something Lotor admired in a fighter. Then there was Shiro, the clear leader of the team and one that seemed to have a strange mix of attitudes. At points he seemed clear and in control, but there were moments Lotor caught something of fear or doubt in his face. He was scared of something, and the others didn’t see it. Lotor had found that interesting and felt that if he met Shiro he’d hone in on that factor. Whatever it was, it was something he could use against him.

The last one though was interesting. Pidge was the Green Paladin, and someone who seemed to be heavily involved in his work, however he was nothing more than what appeared to be a child. From the reports after the near takeover of the Castle of Lions, it seemed that Pidge was far more capable a fighter then Commander Sendak had assumed. He’d underestimated the Green Paladin and had allowed for his plans to be destroyed by this Pidge. The more he’d watched of the Paladin the more Lotor was interested in the way his mind ticked. Pidge had the air of someone who could go from zero to one hundred in less than five ticks, and it was clear that he knew what he was doing when it came to hacking and getting into the Galra systems. This fact had bothered him a lot, if a child could get at the systems, was it any wonder that his father’s great ship had fallen to the warriors of Voltron.

Pidge was an oddity that he wanted to explore more. Not a full on fighter as the others were, he was more built for stealth, and the fact that he was searching for his brother had been something that Lotor found useful. If he could get this other boy, he could use that to get at the Green Paladin, which could effectively weaken the team.

But at the moment that was not what he was thinking about as the numbers and images flashed in quick succession before him. Lotor’s mind was on the way that Pidge had shown a great deal of interest in technology and could reverse engineer things. This bothered him as it meant that he could effectively rebuild something that they had made and this could eventually be used against them. He needed to find a way to deal with that issue first, as he was sure the others would have a harder time dealing with them if he could take out the tech guy in their little group. He was sure that the device before their eyes was something that Pidge had built based on Olkari engineering, the question was what was it?

A beeping noise from the computer signaled that all tests were completed and Mogor’s voice called him back from his thoughts. “Sire, I believe we know what the device is.”

“Well then,” Lotor examined the list of information that lay before him, and carefully combed through it. His fingers danced over the pink screen and he made a faced as he fell into deep thoughts. “So it seems it’s a translator, how clever, and one that learns as well…interesting. But uttlerly useless unless the words match something that was already in there, or similar to another language.”

“So it appears, Prince Lotor,” Mogor agreed and Lotor waved the device screen away, and stepped away from the computer. He muttered to himself as he walked back and forth, as if trying to decode some puzzle that had been placed before him as a test.

“So they listened in and heard a conversation, what were they talking of?” he asked Mogor, who cleared his throat. “Well?”

“They said they were discussing matters on Mezora.”

Lotor’s brows narrowed and a dark anger entered his eyes, “What…matters…precisely?”

“They did not say. Only that they were talking about the planet…” Mogor said and Lotor scowled.

“I want them found, find out what they know, and if need be…make it clear that if they talk anymore of this planet they will be silenced.”

Mogor bowed, “As you command, my Prince.”

Lotor closed his eyes and headed for the door, “I’ll be in contact. I need to figure out what to do next. If they know of the planet then they are sure to come…but what to do with it.”

Leaving the area he ignored the greetings from his subordinates and went to his quarters. Stripping from his clothing he quickly ducked into a shower to clean and think. Closing his eyes he let the water from Mezora’s springs run over his sore body. There were scars from where he’d been sliced in combat when he was a child. Training his father’s generals had insisted upon, training he’d learned to despise as his height had been a problem and made him an easy target for the far taller and stronger of the new recruits. However his height had an advantage in how he could move, and he was far mobile then the others around him, and his hearing was better than the other Galran officers in his academy. Yet that had not stopped them from treating him as useless, a waste of space.

He clenched his fist, he’d shown them though. The moment he’d come up with his gun he’d proven to be a far greater shot and his studies of strategy and hand to hand combat had aided him to get him out of scrapes a traditional officer would have lost in. He could recall the face of Keith when he’d managed to get over his head. It made him smirk to know that he could still surprise others. He preferred to work alone, but in that case, it had been a bad move. Then again, he was never one to think of plans in the long term, especially when it came to dealing with being ignored or rebuked. So he’d foolishly gone to get the scaultrite on his own. His plans to build a telladove were slowly taking fruition, but it had been hard going, and others had not wanted to help. Even now he felt alone, an outcast among his own people. The only ones that he actually trusted were Mogor and Kossak. Mogor had been his advisor since he was young and Kossak had been a fellow recruit in the academy and had since become the head of his elite squadron. Still, the trust only went so far, and neither were of the brilliant mind Lotor believed himself to be when it came to understanding the science of the universe.

Cleaned, and relaxed, he donned a casual uniform, looser pants and a top that was built more in a traditional Altean garb. He knew that some of the base would be displeased seeing him in such wear, and he didn’t care. He would wear what he wanted and damn them to hell if they didn’t like it. Taking a seat in his quarters he pulled up the device again and looked it over. It was well crafted, not at all what he figured someone of Pidge’s age could craft. It made him wonder what the child’s IQ really was.

As he studied it a thought crossed his mind. They would be coming to Mezora, that was a given. There was no way that Voltron would not try to come and see if what the merchants had said was true. If that was the case, then he knew that they wouldn’t just rush in, given that Allura was no fool, and Corran was good at planning. They would have to have the element of surprise that was a must for the base.

Lotor steepled his fingers and looked out at the device. “They’re going to come, they heard something to interest them, and they wouldn’t have wanted to listen in unless there was a reason.” He was muttering again to himself, ignoring the drink on the side of the table and the food that had been brought in.  He rubbed his chin for a moment and closed his eyes again, focusing on what he’d seen in the videos, trying to think like the Voltron members.

“They’re going to send someone down….” He realized this quickly, but the question was who? Did it really matter? Not so much as long as he could get to them first. If he could capture the Paladin then he could use that against the others and possibly take the ship without firing a shot. A smile came over his lips as he got up and hurried out of the quarters, donning his cape again and heading to the command center’s main operations chamber. Again he ignored the greetings, and marched in without a second thought to protocol. Mogor was surprised to see him come back so soon and bowed.

“My Prince is there something wrong?”

“No, everything is right!” He grinned and quickly pulled up the console again, pulling Mogor over and showing him his plan. “We can trap a lion, Mogor.”

“How exactly, sire?” questioned the larger man as he stood beside his Prince. Moogor had seen Lotor like this before. When the boy had ideas he would stop at nothing till he had what he wanted. There were times his recklessness had caused more trouble than what the plan was worth, but Lotor always was thinking of plans that had merit, so he stood there and listened. If it was something that wasn’t feasible, he would just delay the orders and come up with an excuse later, at the moment though he let Lotor peel off his plan.

“If the Lions are coming they wouldn’t be dumb enough to just charge in and land, correct? Based on their patterns we can at least say they are smart enough to scout.” Lotor moved an image of the Castle of Lion’s ship into view of Mezora. Mogor nodded in agreement, as Lotor created another smaller ship. “We know that they wouldn’t risk a lion coming for us, so what’s the next best bet?”

“A scouting ship?” offered up Mogor and stared at the board before him. “Yes, I do see where you’re going with this. But how to deflect it?”

“We don’t.” Lotor said and smirked. “If the Castle is truly as old as Sendek had estimated, this means that the maps of the systems are no longer up to date. Which means they have no idea of the condition of Mezora as of right now.”

Mogor stared at the screen intrigued as the prince went on, moving the ship along a route. “They’re going to want to hide from us, so let’s not concern ourselves with that right now. Just focus on the pod that would be coming. A craft of that size travels at a slower speed then the lions. They won’t be traveling at the fastest speed as a means to stealth in, since they don’t know what’s down here. So if they’re going at a slower speed, they should show up around here.” He pointed to a location due west of the city. “More than likely they’ll try to go for the city to get some information from the locals.”

“And we catch them there?” questioned the advisor as Lotor shook his head. “Then where my lord? Wouldn’t it be easier to capture the paladin in the city?”

“No, we don’t want them getting into the city, it would cause issues,” he frowned slightly looking over the lay of the land. If the Voltron Paladins got into the city they could learn about the guest that they had in the cells and Lotor was planning on using him to get a great deal of resources for work on one of his projects.

He moved around some images. “We can get them to crash over here if possible.” He pointed towards an area with trees, far enough from the city to keep the paladin away from it’s secrets, but close enough so that his plans could come to fruition. “Then we can capture them while they’re not sure what’s going on.”

“And how do we get them to crash?” Mogor asked honestly and Lotor again pulled up some numbers and worked out a frequency as he applied a mathematical equation. Smiling he showed his advisor.

“Like this, this is a frequency that could disrupt a pod that was too close to the planet’s atmosphere. Once that happens, while the pilot is trying to figure out what’s going on. We swoop in and strike, causing them to crash.”

“And then what, my lord.” Mogor saw potential in this idea and Lotor’s knowing smirk came back.

“Then…you leave everything else up to me.”

**********

It was barely two Quintents had passed before reports of a pod had been brought up. Lotor had been in the command center’s chamber for vargas on end waiting. He watched every ship that passed by their area of space, searching for a telltale sign of the Castle of Lion’s pod ship that he was sure was going to come. And it did, during daylight of all times, cautiously entering their space.

“Sire, the scrambling device is working,” the communications officer told him and Lotor nodded watching with interest as the ship entered the atmosphere and began to have malfunctions. They’d picked some comments from the pod, but the scrambling device made it hard to hear who was inside. He had been sure that the Princess would have sent the Red or Blue Paladin since the Black one seemed to have been missing, or so the reports filtering into him had noted.

As the ship fell Lotor watched with excitement.

“Well, well, isn’t this interesting? So it looks like those two merchants were right when they said someone was listening to them. I wonder, just what prize have we caught?” He smirked and his yellow eyes brightened with anticipation of his catch.

With a resounding crash the pod had vanished into the trees and Lotor snorted, his calculations had been right, but he’d forgotten to add in error by the pilot trying to right the ship and the trees. This was going to make things a bit harder for him. Getting up from the chair he’d been sitting in Lotor looked to Mogor and waved at him.

“The rest I leave to you Commander Mogor. Make sure you don’t forget what we discussed.”

Mogor nodded and bowed his head, “As you command, Prince Lotor.”

Quickly he exited the main room and headed to his quarters. He’d instructed one of his servants to get him the garb of a prisoner, which was laying on his bed ready for use. Lotor scowled as he picked it up.

“Not dirty enough,” he grabbed hold of the top and pants then pulled them on. Without hesitation he took the drink and food he had in his room, and splattered it all over his clothing, staining it, then wetting the whole thing in his shower. He was soaked but that was only going to make it easier to gather dirt.

Grabbing a tie he pulled his hair back and went out of his room, and ignored the strange looks his officers gave him as he headed down to the holding cells in the lower floors. Here light was dim and designed to make the prisoners feel lost and abandoned. It was chilly and smelled of dry rot, but the place was oddly sanitary. Something he had made sure of. Sick prisoners were useless to him.

Marching at a quick pace past several guards, who were about to ask him questions, he moved over to a cell farther back. Inside a young man of about twenty sat, looking rather forlorn and scared. Lotor opened the cell with a quick hand press and the young man got up to his knees.

“Oh thank the gods, you’re here to let me go? Has my father paid my ransom yet?”

Lotor snorted and looked down at the man before him. He was younger then him, by Galran standards, and this young man certainly pulled off being a stuffy prince to a T. He had the soft face, the handsome eyes of a charmer, the well placed smile and the hands of one that had never worked a day in his life. This was vastly different to Lotor himself, whose hands had calluses from the gun he wielded, and the look to his eyes of someone who had known hardship. The only thing they shared was the white hair.

“Not yet, we haven’t even sent that out. But…Prince Bokar, I believe you can help me out.” Lotor told him and knelt down to stare at the prince’s face. He focused for several moments, examining as much as he could and the young prince seemed to become more and more unnerved the longer Lotor stared.  

“What…what are you doing?” Bokar asked nervously after several dobashes went by and Lotor said nothing. Then the prince gasped as Lotor closed his eyes and seemed to transform before him. His form shrunk ever so little to match Prince Bokar’s and his skin went from a lighter purple color to a pale skin much closer to that of the man before him. Concentrating hard he willed the markings on his face to vanish, leaving not even the slightest trace. When he opened his eyes they shifted around until they were a light brown color. He pulled at his bangs to match Bokar’s hair style then smiled in a smugly satisfied way at the Prince that was sitting transfixed before him.

“Well that should do.” Lotor stood to leave and Bokar dove to grab at his legs. Lotor moved faster and kicked him in the chin, sending him flying back and crashing against a chair in the cell. Bokar winced and shouted at him as he locked him back in.

“What are you doing? Do you really believe you’ll be able to take my place?”

Lotor snorted and looked down at Bokar with an uncaring stare in his now brown eyes. “Hardly. You’re useful for a trap I have set for Voltron, and that is all. I would never think to take on your unworthy role. You aren’t even qualified to have the title of prince.”

With that Lotor turned and stalked out of the prison and went up to the main floor. He waited and watched the guards. If his trap was to succeed then he needed to be sure that the guards believed what they saw. He checked the cameras, and then threw a loose screw he’d picked up along the way, at one, damaging it, knowing full well it would get the guards attention.

And it did just that. At the prisons security center the guards saw what looked to be Prince Bokar escaping from his holding area. Lotor raced along the corridors, ducking and hiding between doors and columns to give the appearance of trying to sneak out. He moved quickly to the vehicle dock and stole what was pretty much a speeder bike from the hanger. The alarms were going off as he took off, allowing the guards to see him, knowing that they would be in alert.

If Mogor keeps up his part of the plan, I should be able to get out and into the forest with them following. Lotor thought as he raced around the city streets, dodging fire and pedestrians. A troop of drones were following him, running at full speed, a few on bikes. He snorted, if he didn’t want them to follow him, he would have lost them long ago. Turning several corners, to make sure they were coming, he went for the gate.

The main city of Asora that they were in had a high wall around the body set up for siege war fare which happened six thousand years before. The main gate was a huge thing that had two halves, the top part locked into the bottom through a series of lasers that interwove when they met up. Lotor had told Mogor to slow down the interlocking sequence so he could get out of the city before the guards to keep things looking legit.

“Mogor, don’t fail me now,” he muttered as he raced at top speed for the gate that seemed to be lowering. He gritted his teeth as he saw the gate going down faster and slid under to avoid the lasers that were starting to lock the two halves together. Lotor watched as the gate closed, and counted several ticks before taking off when he saw the guards pouring out of the reopened gate.

The cut at the gate was a bit close, it bothered him, and Lotor knew when he got back he would talk to Mogor about why he’d not given him room to breathe. Still he had to give the Commander credit. He was good at his job and kept true to his word. Lotor drove the speeder through the rough western terrain of the open meadows around the city limits, and towards the forests.

“Now where are you?” he pulled up a gps to map the location of the downed ship even as a hail of fire blasts were nipping at his heels. One singed his hair and he winced as he felt his flesh heat up. Well I wanted this realistic didn’t I?

He wished he had a weapon on hand, but the robots were catching up fast, so if they did shoot him too early he wouldn’t have the proper item to deflect their assault. However as it was he was in the forest around the trees and led them on a jolly chase through the trunks and up several fallen trees to higher ground.

As he buzzed around Lotor would glance now and again at the map and how far he was to the pod. Twisting past a number of dead trunks he made sure that the robots crashed into them as he weaved about, making as much noise as he could the closer he got to the site of the crashed ship. He was hoping that the Paladin would hear it and come see what the noise was.

“That’s it follow me,” he grinned to himself. At that moment he felt exhilarated by the whole pursuit and partly hoped that it wouldn’t end. His revelry was cut short when his speeder was hit and the whole thing took a nose dive into the ground, skidding deeply into the mud and throwing him hard into the air and he crashed into some bushes, feeling stinging pain.

Lotor could taste blood by his mouth and tried to get up. Suddenly several blasters came up to his face. He stared surprised at this, and held up his hands, “Hold it…don’t shoot. I’m your Prince.”

The drones looked at one another for a second, and he used the moment to jump up, and sweep kick two off their feet, forcing them to fall into their fellow guards. Lotor smashed his foot into one of their chest and leapt for a ledge that was just above them. He gained the ground as he pulled himself up, but the robots weren’t done and they tracked him now on foot.

He counted in his head, five hundred feet…he moved through the underbrush, pushing aside smaller trees and their limbs as he raced for the pod.

Three hundred feet…he could make out the break in the trees where the pod had landed.

Another few feet, One hundred feet….he was nearly there, and so were the guards. They were firing again and he used his agility to avoid being hit, but again he wished he had a blaster in hand. He missed his side arm, and throwing the robots around would not gain him what he needed. He was supposed to be a weak prince, not someone trained to fight. If the pilot was the Red or Yellow Paladin and saw him firing they would know something was up, and that would ruin his plan.

Fifty feet…he could hear a voice calling out, it was distant but he was sure it was the Paladin, but he couldn’t quiet tell which it was.

Twenty…Ten…five…He started to yell out for help. “Help! Oh is someone there! Please help me!”

His screams were loud, loud and scared. He needed them to be believiable and allowed one of the robots to hit him in the back of the leg, sending a sensation through his body that caused him to howl in pain.

Lotor doubled over, stumbling and falling, cluching his wounded leg as the robots surrounded him. He tried to calm his breathing but it was difficult and he could see a burnt mark appearing on his skin, turning it purple and he focused to cover the color. It hurt like hell, and he didn’t know if he could sustain the illusion. The guards drew closer and he could make out their hard metal clinks. For anyone else this would be terrifying, but he knew that he could take them. Right then though he had to at least give the Paladin time to find him, so he kept calling out for help.

“Please, if anyone is there! I need help! Please, they’ll kill me!”

The pain was starting to get to him, and he gritted his teeth as the drones started to hit him. He could feel their punches and was counting the number of hits, as that would be the number of robots he would destroy in training when this was all over. He was about to drop the farce as the pain from the hits was becoming too much for him to keep the illusion up, when he heard a shout from above.

“Hey leave him alone!” as a blur of a green lighting seemed to take a few of the guards out. In a moment there was a frenzy of black, green and white blurring, and whirling around him. The robots seemed to scatter and rush off, to regroup. A gloved hand touched his shoulder and Lotor looked up into a pair of soft brown eyes that was looking down at him with a worried look.

“Are you okay? Uh…Hello?” the voice was that of the Green paladin, but Lotor had to do a double take, there was no way this could be. He slowly sat up and took Pidge’s outstretched hand and looked at it, then let his eyes rove over the form before him. He blinked, he’d not calculated this at all in his wild plan.

The one to save him, the one to come to the planet was the Green Paladin, and to his disbelief, he’d been wrong about the gender. This was no male paladin, but a female.

“Ah, yes, thank you miss…” he started to say, when the pain made him double up and he had a choice, either try to deal with the pain in his real form, or keep up the illusion and let it over whelm him. The choice was made for him by his body though, and he passed out in Pidge’s arms to her utter shock.

[k18fics]

Oh Brother (2)

Oh Brother Summary: A series of k18 one shots with an over-laying plot. Also featuring GCC, BV, GoVi, and more. Warning: general warning about the rating. Some chapters in this story will contain mature language, violent scenes, and adult situations. It is not recommended for anyone under 18 (not that I can stop you if you choose to read anyways.) I will warn you in advance so you can skip those scenes if you so prefer. Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ/S/GT or any of its characters. 2. Marron Saves the World

18 looked at Krillin wearily as the short warrior tied Marron's shoes. "Are you sure about this Krillin?" Krillin chuckled. "Of course 18, he did save the world a bunch of times, I think he can handle hanging out with Marron for the day." "What would they even do?" "I don't know, I just want them to bond you know," Krillin said. "He's the only family I've got." 18 smiled at him and said, "I know." Krillin stood up and said, "he's here." Moments later Goku appeared in the middle of the living room holding two of his fingers to his forehead. 18 still found it uncanny that Krillin could sense him when he did instant transmission. Not even Vegeta could sense him until after he performed the technique. "Hi!" Goku said cheerfully waving at them. "Hey Goku," Krillin said. "Uncle Goku!" Marron cried running to the Saiyan who lifted her into his arms as she clung to his neck. "Hi Marron," he said. "You ready for our day?" "What are you gonna do?" 18 said. "I'm gonna take her to the carnival," Goku said cheerfully. "Yay!" Marron cried happily. "Well have fun you two," Krillin said. "Don't bring her back too late," 18 said. "Okie doke!" Goku said cheerfully placing two fingers on his forehead. "Bye!" "Byyyyee!" Marron shouted right before she and Goku disappeared completely. They both appeared right in the middle of a giant fair but not any regular fair. The ground was an unnatural orange color and it looked like grass but the blades all pointed in different directions. The sky was not blue but pink and all the people around them varied in species. Some of them were odd looking creatures, some of them had halos over their heads, some of them spoke different languages, and many of them were flying or slithering in some way. "What is this place Uncle Goku?" Marron said. "This is a planet called Mekka," Goku said. "When I learned the instant transmission technique I was trying to get back to earth and I accidentally ended up here and I had a lot of fun. This is a neutral planet in this solar system where any creatures from the eight surrounding planets can come have fun and some of them can visit from other world, see the ones with the halos?" "You had one of those when I first met you," Marron said. "Yes." "So they are dead?" Marron said. Goku smiled at the intelligence of the little girl. He was immensely stronger than Krillin but Krillin was smarter than he could ever hope to be. He could see a lot of Krillin in Marron and he liked that. "Yeah they are dead," Goku said, "but save up their energy so they can visit here. This planet is at the border of a dimension rift so they can come here easier." "Okay," Marron said though Goku was sure the little girl understood the concept way more than Goten did. "What do you want to get on first?" ... As the day progressed the pair had gotten on nearly every ride and Goku won for her every single toy she desired. They were walking towards the petting zoo of animals that were definitely not from earth when they were stopped by a tall chameleon looking humanoid who had a small version of himself perched on his shoulder. "Goku!" Goku looked stunned. "Lepo?" "Hmm it's been a while," Lepo said. "Ever since we were learning the instant transmission technique together." Goku nodded. "It's been a long time." "I never forgot how you beat me in everything we did there," Lepo said bitterly. Goku scratched his head and laughed sheepishly. "Who's this? Your daughter?" "No she's my..." "This my son Lepi," Lepo said proudly. "I bet he's better than your kid." Goku looked serious. "I don't want to compete Lepo." It was a rare thing for Goku to say but he learned from the last time he competed against Lepo. "Let's raise the stakes," Lepo said. "Lepo no!" Goku's words went unheard  as Lepo took out a small black remote and pressed the button. The remote beeped and a robotic voice said, "bomb armed. Please set coordinates." "Bomb? What are you..." "Coordinates planet Earth." "Lepo!" The remote beeped and said, "coordinates set, 10 minutes to detonation." Goku crouched into a fighting stance. "Turn it off. Now!" "Only if you compete with me," Lepo said. "I'm here to have fun not fight Lepo, please just turn it off." "You have to prove to me that your daughter is better than my son," Lepo said, "and I'll turn off the bomb." "She's not my...." Goku was interrupted again when Lepo set his son down on the ground and pointed to the petting zoo gate. "A footrace." "And if she loses will you still turn off the bomb?" Goku said. "No your planet is not worth saving then," Lepo said. Goku growled in annoyance not knowing what else to do. If he told him Marron was not his daughter Lepo wouldn't turn off the bomb and he wasn't like Bulma who could probably figure out how to shut it off without Lepo's help. Goku crouched down and gripped Marron's shoulders, "are you ready?" Marron seemed to understand everything and set her face in determination. Goku smiled at how much she looked like Krillin when he was a child. It was the same face he made when he fought Bacterium in their very first world tournament. Marron stood beside Lepo's son who was smirking confidently. "A girl? Hmph." Marron thought about her mother at that moment. She has heard all the stories about how her mother and beat up all of the Z fighters when she first appeared and how to this day her dad and Yamcha and Tien didn't stand a chance against her. She was a girl but she was strong. Marron suddenly decided she didn't like this boy. He was probably faster than her though because she could never catch up to Goten and Trunks when they were playing. She had to think of another way to win or she would lose. "Hey," Marron said softly a blush adorning her cheeks. "You're real cute." Lepo's son look stricken as his face turned beet red. Lepo was unaware of his son's embarrassment but Goku smirked because she really was Krillin and 18's daughter, 18 had used her feminine wiles to paralyze Krillin on that highway and Krillin had nearly beat Jackie Chun by distracting him with a pair of panties. Marron knew she wouldn't beat this kid and she outsmarted him. "On your mark, get set...GO!" Lepo cried. Marron zoomed off as fast as she could as Lepo's son remained stationary still stunned from the compliment. Goku cheered Marron on as she got closer to the gate. "Lepi! Go!!!" Lepo screeched shoving his son roughly. The little boy seemed to snap out of it and zoomed towards the gate but he would never catch up even though he was as fast as any Saiyan. Marron touched the gate mere seconds before Lepi did. "Haha!" Goku cheered. "We won! Now turn off the bomb." Lepo looked deflated but he took out the remote and pressed the button. "Bomb deactivated," it said. Lepi glared at Marron angrily as she cheered beside him. She noticed that and gently kisses him on the cheek. His face turned beet red again. "It's okay to lose you know, eventually you'll win it big, just ask my dad." Lepi sneered. "Goku never loses." "Uh, Uncle Goku is not my dad." Both Lepi and Lepo screeched, "WHAT?!" Goku flew to Marron and picked her up, then turned to them nervously and said, "okay then bye!" He hurriedly rushed into the petting zoo before they could respond. "That was really fun Uncle Goku," Marron said with a smile. "You fought smart Marron, good job," Goku said hugging the girl close. "You saved the world!" Marron beamed. "I'm very proud of you kiddo," Goku said cheerfully. Marron hugged him tight. Goku laughed and hugged her back then set her down so they could enjoy the petting zoo. ... Goku arrived a bit after midnight to Krillin's home holding a very sleepy Marron in his arms. She wasn't asleep quite yet but she was on the verge. Krillin and 18 were both asleep on the couch cuddling together with the TV running. Krillin didn't have a shirt on and 18 didn't have pants and the rest of their clothes and their hair was a mess. Goku had done that enough times with Chichi to know exactly what had happened. Marron was none the wiser though and immediately made their presence known. "We're home!" 18 was up first since she was a light sleeper. When Goku smirked at her she blushed and immediately grabbed her pajama pants from the floor. Krillin woke up more slowly and didn't quite see his wife's embarrassment. He smiled at them and said, "hi guys." "Do you have any idea what time it is Goku!" 18 snapped taking Marron from his arms. "She has a bedtime." "Sorry we were just having so much fun," Goku said with an innocent chuckle. "Mommy I saved the world!" Marron said. Goku started sweating nervously as 18 glared at him questioningly. "I'm glad you had fun," Krillin said joining them while slipping on his shirt. "Well good night!" Goku said quickly putting his fingers on his forehead and disappearing into the night.

[glopratchet]

sss

In the world to come there is little sin. The only thing that can be done is to accept it and move on. You think back to your own past, the things you've done in the name of God. You remember how much you hated them for what they were doing to the world and yet here you are still living as if nothing happened. There are just lots of american alligators. And then one day you're going to have to face up to the fact that you don't want anything more than any other person does. That's when you'll know it's really time to go home. After the election of the first ungendered president, the prediatrain movement caught fire in america. the public transportation in every city became safer. The place you got called into service most waqs on the highway trucking line between satalite cities and the midwest manufacturing preserves. the work was dull but resupplying the big isolated centers of humanity was too important to skip out on just because the big rig industry suddenly became 90% robotic. Most city centers were shut down during this time as well. The demand for american alligator meat skyrocketed as the animal seemed to be in the right place at the right time and survived the mass extinctions that killed off all other mammals. with nothing natural to control their numbers, the alligator filled that role beautifully. Humans responded real well to being treated like alligator prey as well. You wouldn't know anything about that though because you've been on an alligator free diet for years. Whorals where burned to ash while polled hereford heifors fetched over a billion dollars a head in auction. Googizon won the bid to construct for the military the most forward thinking alligator farm in existance. It became an income factory, employing hundreds of rewilders and supporting thousands of predatrain workers in the barren scrub savannahs that replaced our farmlands. Your farm never received a grade a wildfire designation so it was spared being burned by mostly untrained crews. It also wasn't zoned for reforestation but all things happen with corrdination in business. most the savannah was turned back into park land and you got bought out. rrently floats near the okeenokee snow swamp. Peat bogs becoming of fields of fuel for jet planes and stratously bound carriers. remembers why you took the job. modern work is dull. getting burned out after a decade is not uncommon. they say predatrains only live about seven years in this line of work anyway so maybe it doesn't matter how bored you get along the way. concousness fades.......somewhere the lad is saying.....how many more miles.... This is not that story. We are primal ponds inc. and we're on Route 666 going from Bagdad Jim's glooming speakeasy to prospector's HQ, deep in the Oakenshield forest. We specialize in bringing into market only the highest quality feral meat so that you never have to eat one of those disgustingly sweet monstrosities born of factory farms like back home. We pride ourselves in putting meat slime and gnarl onto your table. A small mom and pop alligator farm attemping to make it. pass the osage oaks and the plains of ooidamint. this stretch of 666 stays basically on the same path as when it was first drawn on a map by prospectors a hundred years ago. We need you to make deliveries for us. we've gotten an opportunity to secure some of the sweetest,fattiest alligator meat you'll ever see but we're a small operation so we need a big strong predatrain like you to help us out. we operatens only have so many hands and cannot be flitting about delivering to satalite zip codes. this caps a big year for us so we really need your help. We got two basic choices for ya. Please... The water sac grows over the years and burst late one winter night, flooding the halls. Dad said it used to flood every few years back when the place first opened, but the renovations stopped the problem for good... Or so he thought.. You woke up in the middle of night to hear an ominous whooshing sound coming from the direction of the great dining room. You shake Dad awake and tell him what is going on. He swore and ran for the hallway, you followed. ... The water hit you like a brick soon as you reached the door. Wipplesbury was never designed to handle flooding, and these sections could not handle it in the slightest. now cold water floods over your ankles as you stand in the doorway, watching papers and trash and furniture swirl in the torrent. you see some chairs carried past, the great big armchair dad favors of an evening... A snake runs across your foot and you jump backwards out of reflex before realizing it was only a minnow. Hacker: fresh rhetoric, overlight flow, renderform disk, soulfont reserve. say "oh textual technology" to continu... UnderBelly 0.5 We're going to be wiped out, you say, as you stare at the water. we'll lose it all. I'll wake up with nothing an...... There's a half-buried chest on the edge of the parking lot that didn't get set into storage... swim? ... Hacker: felicifus calculus, kevin equals rooster, else rise rooster! don't ptex filiate, assume μολφα ζωη σταγον μελχρσδι ! warcall: VAGRANT1 ..... Sms transmit DEEplab Not good enough. Hacker: billy-fae-bots, lactavous mcjustin, pantone uler, slash node. antidisestablishmentarianism! Eternityin12bit 1 You focus on the chest through the water, willing it with every ounce strength in your soul to move toward you and toward the Pike Exit... [HACKER: WILLPOWER: You can ONLY use code if you dive deep... That's the agreement. You aren't willing to compromise fame and fortune for getting out of life today...... OR are you?? Hacker: aviatrix click, fused buck up, frictional deprevation, run benjamin run.! soulfont reserve.. antidisestablishmentarianism!] The chest on the horizon drifts slowly at first and then faster until it reaches your parking lot island. It was left behind in the chaos when everyone fled during the grand opening... One presumes. We are going dig into it's contents later... erm.. in a few days. But now... DIVE! chancey, soren soarson butterfly knife - butterfly. knife (hidden set) vampire: look of disdain... ::::: biotOPE: ******************************* Chief Security Officer Teggs swings his shotgun around and points it right at your forehead, "What on earth are you doing here!" He shouts, "You gave me a scary splitting headache and I nearly tried to surrender to you! That's not normal, that's not even wendigo behavior!" Hacker: aperiocity chill, sequenomn, binocular parralax hacker: zero-heroes, milo james, run to the basement. eek! sploin vobiscum! taipan tofu, ravencode = hellhouse "Goodness' sake Mr. Teggs I don't know! Coder: hacking, defacing, break dancing the internet since 1994. Gopher://Irc.Godhates.Us/ Threat: "Truthiness is when you get that tingly feeling in your hindquarters that Stanford prison experiment is about to get interesting..." -- Caltro Basalt, Human Stain Clicktranspires The second floor collapses inward, pinning you and Mr. Teggs to the wall. Hacker: fall out. hellhouse darkness, jump the queue on the street of bones. hackmode.... Animator: bony hooks, backbone bouncer, shadowrun http://www.shadowruntable.com / But only your foot is trapped, and then only in a hole. You focus on continuing to exhale... CONNECTIONS: MASTERPIECE THRILLER CD-i IN MIDI hypers cybersecurity proactive dead tech dare u 2 find me? Rigger: out. Yr breath is a plume in the cold crystal silence here, the temperature dropping every moment... it's as though you're out for an evening stroll... But we all know better than that. Modeler: stanley dancer, spiracle slit - flatline thinman celluloid dream machine, milky eye round & round & round... You see nothing barring your exit in either direction. But, the dull red glare in the sky is back... and it's coming from the direction you need to go. Trail: jed mcray watches you undress her with your eyes. shes yours for a lock pick. Illustrator: the air strikes with blood rain. spam bam coffin. An old wooden sign creaks weepily over the path ahead. There are two painted black bars of equal length across a white field. The paint is chipping badly and the bar at the top is bent inward as if something heavy fell on it at some point in the not too distant past. Hmm... Simple, but elegant in its own way... much like Jed himself! Painter: splatter burst - mucus membrane heartcore showstopper, cryptoxprayfine... Suddenly, the way ahead is lit by an orange glow and you turn your head towards it. It seems to be coming from the small upstairs window of a concrete building opposite you. The orange flicker gives the place an eerie feel but it also fills you with hope; somewhere out there people are still alive! The light fades and everything is dark again. Sculptor: anamorphic intrusion - dimensions of the king are blasted by alchemy, eyes melted chocolate grinder... whitechoco journalism. Sculptor: istanbul obelisk falls on alchemy initiative, devoured cryptograms thoughtcrime brutal shortly, kinaporra final cut... You suddenly remember that you haven't eaten anything since your grandfather's funeral this morning. You're getting faint from hunger. duct designer: georgia, sequence brutality - ultraviolent fairy tales for brutal boys, ate the fantasy... fairy gothics sequence corpstopia soldestroy! Game designer: on creation, magic scent bleeding contest, fantasy 8 bit forced perspective graphics adrenaline vector animation grunge immersive lifestyle... Dancer: sink into nightmare kingdom. borstal chemistry spraypaint seascape dream cut motion blur hyper rez queensland motion blur sparkle lensflare pulp beat... Fashion designer: high fashion luxury grunge sweets fuel captivate sugar rush street manga ultraviolet graf opera... And at that moment, an idea pops into your head; you pick up a nearby rusty pipe and wield it like a scepter. The group's heads bend to your will as you lead them to where the people seem to be. In case you need it for protection, you think... You come to a HUGE hole in the ground and look down it. Hypermedia designer: whiz kid frenzy - rabid techtown hacktalk pitchpimp frenzy fashion dynamo, estrade bookmecca... Satellite designer: conspiracy culture future shock - torrential webforce limitless motor control handbrake hack for real, eye tap keyboard deft nylon optic joystic... Wired Designer: pixel perfect prime timebeast thrill, volute fractal buzz, zoned silicon junky weird science art attack destiny frenzy. Critic: q2 q3 q4 - the fastpswp white paper psycho power, rollin' r00l1n r0wd0wn 5000q1 q2 3pps gamez g00d t1mes pwnd, min1r b0yz 5ecur1ty failure fiasco. 4 Billion Sold Instructor: motion physics & Adobe After Effects special feature included free! The World-Famous tutorial by Peter Ludwig! Dancer: white wool choreography eraserhead final cut multimedia mayhem experimental beautiful forever... naturally talented triple overlay icebreaker future celebrities radical infamous spectacular legendary sutcha c. ranta kim sungeun tony hawk... The only problem is that these pipes are very fragile, and you don't fancy your chances of clambering down it in the dark and hoping that it won't collapse under your weight. Musician: sub bass crystal era - high tech ebm drum & bass, midi gabber hard trance drum machines music factory... You peer down the pipe and see a faint orange glow about halfway down. Thinking that perhaps someone has lit a fire at the bottom, you turn and motion for the group to follow you. Architect: double overtime v2.0 - aspr1ng sh1p su1t virtual lounge n1ghts ch3mpt3rr0r bonus mster gr1vitational pr1nc14ples... You make it about a quarter of the way down the crumbling pipe before you suddenly start to hear a creaking, groaning sound emanating from somewhere beneath you. The rumbling noise grows louder as large clods of earth and rocks begin to give way from somewhere above you. Artist:saul-saint-nikadimus, spooge, , corona click,the georgetown collection,zombie flick, psycho rampage the return of mr. santa epica terry harrison... This pipe isn't going to support the weight of everyone, and you don't have time to go back and find another way---if there even is another way.Tip: If you're logged in, your games are auto saved for you. You can find them by clicking "My Stuff" on the sidebar menu.Story

[ecoorganic]

John Cena Assesses How WWE Is Handling Shows Without Fans

Performing in empty arenas is a massive challenge for WWE wrestlers but John Cena shouted out Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins for how they’ve risen to the occasion.

SI.com’s Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.

John Cena on how WWE stars can stand out during the empty-arena era

John Cena has been away from WWE programming since April’s WrestleMania 36, but he has paid close attention to the weekly product that originates out of the Performance Center in Florida.

Cena, no different than any other viewer at home, is still adjusting to WWE shows without a crowd.

“I’ve always said that the most important superstar is the audience,” said Cena. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen a better indication of that than right now. The program is different.”

The most successful talent of his era, Cena’s work has defined the WWE product over the past decade-and-a-half. His promos and fan interactions, which, positive or negative, always elicited a fierce reaction, were integral to his ability to connect with the crowd.

Though his look has largely remained the same over the course of his career, Cena has constantly embraced change, finding a way to create uniquely compelling content. As he watches WWE’s empty-arena shows at the PC, he continues to search for the best way to capitalize a new version of a well-established product.

“I firmly believe that not only will it survive, it will thrive, but it has to, as an entirety, embrace this process,” said Cena. “I believe they’re beginning to do that. The longer they go without an audience, they need to transform as an entirety what sports entertainment is. I think they’re in this weird sort of middle ground, where they don’t know when crowds will be let back in. If you truly commit to a paradigm shift, that may scare away the normalcy the viewers are used to seeing. So you kind of have to operate like there is an audience, but there isn’t an audience.

“It’s a very weird time. I don’t think they’ve committed to transition yet, and that’s absolutely justifiable because, eventually, people will be let back into turnstiles. It’s very complicated. There isn’t a clear-cut answer to be like, ‘Just do this and it will be better.’”

Cena was also excited to share that his animated Dallas and Robo show has begun its first run on cable, airing Saturday nights on the SYFY channel. Cena plays the role of an artificially intelligent robot named Robo, and he enjoys wonderful chemistry with co-star Kat Dennings, who handles the role of Dallas with charm and humor.

“I love the casting, I love the project, I thought this had everything necessary to be something special,” said Cena, who saw the show premiere on YouTube Red in May 2018 but then remain stagnant until SYFY’s acquisition of it last month. “It didn’t immediately pan out the way I wanted, and now we have a second life on SYFY.”

Cena relishes the chance to embrace his acting opportunities, and he poured in a tremendous amount of consideration on how Robo could best connect with viewers. The lens he uses in acting is the same he uses to build his stories in WWE. He never thinks of characters as babyfaces and heels, but rather searches for the timeless struggle between good and evil.

“I don’t want to get locked into the dimensions of strictly wrestling,” explained Cena. “I don’t even view sports entertainment as wrestling, I view it as sport and entertainment. I think that’s one of the small, subconscious vehicles that allows me to look at things in a bigger scope and challenge myself to grow and take risks. I don’t use industry terminology, I don’t look at it like that. I really think the narrative of good versus evil is an important one, and certainly one that everyone can relate to with a lot of gravitas. That’s the nucleus of sports entertainment.

“You also can take it to any microcosm of any story, and it’s something I used to help me with Fast, it’s something I used to help me with Trainwreck, it’s something I used to help me with Suicide Squad, it’s something I used to help me with Dallas and Robo. Although the journey of Dallas and Robo through space in the eyes of freight trackers isn’t necessarily the struggle of good versus evil, as you watch, you begin to form opinions on which people are good and whose intentions are bad. That subconscious choice we’re always making between good and evil, it adds to the entertainment of storytelling.”

Cena briefly embraced his the dark side at WrestleMania 36 in his cinematic “

Firefly Fun House” match, donning an NWO shirt and too-sweeting Bray Wyatt in an unorthodox match that explored all of Cena’s worst fears and failures, like his bodybuilding past, rap career, retirement and even turning heel. It was a bold performance, as Cena put a tremendous amount of effort into making the first-of-its-kind WrestleMania match memorable.

“I’ve had many experiences and many stories in WWE over my tenure there, and a lot of it has been embracing conflict and embracing the tale of good versus evil,” said Cena. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done something like this. For the viewing audience, it was the first time they’d seen a cinematic depiction of this, but this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen a conflicted John Cena character. As with all the opportunities I get in WWE, I never try to be complacent and I always like to push the envelope. This was an instance where we could do just that, and I think we put forth a product that certainly got people’s attention and got people talking.”

The finish saw The Fiend atop Cena, with his mandible claw neutralizing the 16-time WWE Champion. The dream/nightmare sequence then came to a sudden end when Wyatt counted the pin fall, which led to Cena vanishing from the ring, disappearing from WWE programming, and perhaps remaining stuck in the upside-down world of the Funhouse.

“It left a lot of questions,” said Cena. “It wasn’t just single-serving, it is something you can go back and watch and enjoy. Those are some of the best efforts.”

Cena does not hide his respect or admiration for Wyatt, who he believes has stood out due to his endless creativity and imagination during the empty arena shows on SmackDown.

“Bray is obviously doing a great job,” said Cena. “And Seth Rollins has done an unbelievable job of adapting to a crowdless environment.”

When asked if he could offer advice for the talent working at the PC and how they should seize hold of this peculiar stretch to make themselves better, Cena emphasized the importance of focusing on the nuance of each individual story.

“The key is knowing your audience,” said Cena. “I worked a lot with the live audience, many times against the wishes of what a lot of people told me. I believe if the live audience is having a good time at a live event, then you as a viewer at home are having a good time. There were numerous times when, against many people’s wishes, I would involve a live audience and make sure they knew, 1.) I was listening, even if it wasn’t flattering to me, 2.) I understood, and 3.) I tried to incorporate. Now with an element that does not have a live audience, as a performer, you have to focus on what’s in front of you.

“It’s almost like movie-making. The biggest difficulty for me is not playing to the people in section 312. There are no people anymore. If there is ever a time to commit to story, this is it. A lot of times when there’s an audience, you really can lean on your ability to produce action. You cannot do that now. The viewer at home no longer gets caught up in the energy of the live crowd.

“It’s literally asking someone to unlearn what they’ve learned, and that’s a bold risk. And a lot of people are not comfortable taking those risks. But I think the more people embrace story, even when there is none—and that doesn’t mean, ‘Well, the creative team didn’t provide a story, that means there is no story.’ No, I’m living proof that is not the case. You just have to use your imagination. In this realm, imagination is king. Action will not drive the product forward. It has to be imaginative, and it has to be well-presented.”

There are no current plans for Cena to return to WWE, but that inevitability will inevitably occur no later than next spring’s WrestleMania. Until then, Cena hopes wrestling fans will join him every Saturday night on SYFY for a much different presentation of a character they know so well.

“In the current state of things, with an isolationist environment where we’re all longing for connection and we’re all longing for emotion, damn it’s good to laugh late on a Saturday night,” said Cena. “So get yourself comfortable, throw on some animation on SYFY, and just laugh.

“Be unbridled, let your guard down, and maybe whatever stress you’ve had for the week or whatever baggage you’re carrying with you, SYFY is giving you a chance to lighten the backpack. They do it through the whimsical imagination of animation. That’s why I’m really happy that Dallas and Robo has found a home, and I hope everybody enjoys it.”

Eric Bischoff returns to TNT on ‘AEW Dynamite’

Eric Bischoff made his AEW debut last Wednesday on Dynamite, moderating the debate between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy.

Bischoff’s appearance marked his first return to TNT in two decades. The former president of World Championship Wrestling set the industry aflame in the mid-1990s with Nitro, creating a compelling product built around the New World Order, Sting, Goldberg, and Ric Flair, as well as emerging stars like Booker T, Eddie Guerrero, and even a young Jericho.

“That moment really meant a lot to me,” said Bischoff. “There was the rush of getting back out in front of a camera and performing again. That’s something I really miss, and this was fun. Performing on camera is very different than performing in front of a crowd, so I focused on subtle reaction and nuance instead of being an over-the-top character. I played the straight man in that role [moderating the debate], and it was a blast.

“The other highlight for me, honestly, was being backstage in an entrepreneurial, creative environment, without the pressure and the burden, frankly, of having something so overly produced and overly scripted that you can’t explore. Even though I was there for an eight-minute segment, it was that ability to have a little bit of flexibility with my role that made it a lot of fun. Cody was the first guy to reach out to me, and I thanked him and said, ‘Thanks for the opportunity to play again.’”

Nitro famously defeated WWE’s Monday Night Raw in the television ratings for 83 consecutive weeks, which is why Bischoff’s podcast with Conrad Thompson is aptly named 83 Weeks. AEW lead broadcaster Jim Ross mentioned the podcast during Dynamite, and Bischoff noted that Thompson has certainly had an impact on his career.

“Had it not been for Conrad convincing me that a podcast could work, and had it not been for Conrad putting in the work and the time to make the podcast successful, I wouldn’t have been on Dynamite,” said Bischoff. “I wouldn’t have been there, and I recognize that. People should know, Conrad Thompson is a silent powerbroker in his own way. I’m grateful I’m on the Conrad Thompson team.”

For now, Bischoff confirmed that the appearance was a one-off. But in wrestling, it is wise to never say never, and Bischoff left the door ajar for a potential return.

“I had fun, people reacted well to it, and it helped the show, so as a performer, that’s all I could hope for,” said Bischoff. “If the phone rings and it’s an opportunity that makes sense for everybody, then of course I’d be grateful for that opportunity. But I’m not holding my breath, either.

“I’m 65 years old, and there’s not a lot of room for someone like me. I can take a bump or two, but I can’t get in the ring and have a match, so as a result of that, there is limited opportunity for someone like me. So if it happens, great, but if it doesn’t, then I’m thrilled that the last time I did it was a blast.”

The (online) week in wrestling

Randy Orton delivered an outstanding match with Kevin Owens on Raw, then followed that up with some of his most explosive work ever on the mic when spitting his venom at Ric Flair. Orton is leaving no doubt that the WWE title belongs around his waist. 

Seth Rollins has done a tremendous job making Dominik Mysterio’s SummerSlam wrestling debut so meaningful. This, of course, won’t be Dominik’s first SummerSlam, which took place in 2005 as Rey Mysterio wrestled Eddie Guerrero in a ladder match for custody of Dominik. 

The Bayley-Asuka match from Monday’s Raw was also outstanding. It’s matches like this that make Monday nights worth watching. 

Matt Hardy is fortunate to be in good health following last week’s chair shot from Sammy Guevara, and Guevara should be extremely grateful he is working with a consummate pro in Hardy. That chair shot was dangerous, reckless, and could have caused permanent damage. There is no questioning Guevara’s level of talent, but wrestling is a profession built off trust amongst the wrestlers. Trusting Guevara will be an issue following this chair shot. 

Adam Cole and former NFL player Pat McAfee are headed toward a showdown at NXT TakeOver XXX, but I would have much preferred we saw Cole against an Undisputed Era partner, like Kyle O’Reilly or Roderick Strong, at such a seminal TakeOver. When The Undisputed Era eventually makes its move to Raw or SmackDown, that match, which would have been extraordinary, could have been used to highlight the brilliance of the group. 

WarnerMedia is in the midst of significant personnel change, including the dismissal of Kevin Reilly, who was TNT President and a massive supporter of AEW. 

Chris Jericho and Jim Cornette had an entertaining exchange on social media, with Jericho tired of Cornette’s weekly critique of the AEW product and Cornette responding by making note of Jericho’s decision to hold Fozzy concerts this past weekend.

No match excites me more this week than Scorpio Sky challenging Cody Rhodes for the TNT Championship. Rhodes’ open challenge is a great forum during the pandemic, but it would be great to see a different outcome to one of his matches. Sky is incredibly talented and a run with the belt would only enhance his standing in the industry, and he could show the wrestling world what people who have been watching him over the past four years already know–he is a talent on the cusp of major stardom. 

There is nothing funny about Marty Jannetty’s apparent confession to murder, yet somehow this Kayfabe News story was able to add humor to, if true, a very ugly piece of news. 

Daniel Bryan and The Rock? Say no more.

The 40th anniversary of this Hulk Hogan-Andre The Giant match was on Sunday, which highlights the brilliance of Vince McMahon’s manner of promoting their WrestleMania III showdown. They’d already wrestled, Andre had been slammed too many times for his own good, and McMahon orchestrated one of wrestling’s most timeless stories. 

Tweet of the Week

Bret Hart shared a wonderful tribute for James Harris, who beautifully captured the essence of pro wrestling by making fans (myself included) believe in the frightening aura of Kamala.

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2PP2cee

[witsyo]

Sun and Moon 2

Year 17, Month 8, Day 15

The sun filtering through the trees had Razz raising his chin to the sky. The air was so clear, here, beyond the reach of civilization. There were birds chirping, and the stream bubbled behind him. It was so peaceful, the only interruption from the atmosphere a sudden splash and loud, swearing exclamation.

Razz looked back over his shoulder with raised brows to see a boy, quite soaked and slowly rising to his knees. He was still swearing, and Razz scooped up a small stone, tossing it in the other’s direction and bopping it off the top of his curly-haired head.

“Adrian, if you don’t stop that, the goddesses themselves are going to come down from the heavens to curse us.”

“I fell in the river!” Adrian exclaimed, shaking his head like a dog. “It’s freezing, and now I’m soaked!”

Laughing, Razz pulled off the sock he’d just put on, standing and wading back into the water to help the other to his feet. “Come, now. You’ll be fine.”

Adrian scoffed, leaning back down to splash a handful of water onto the other’s pants. “I suppose you will be too, then!”

With mock outrage, Razz seized the other around the shoulders, tussling for a moment before Adrian got the best of him, bringing them both back down into the stream and making Razz yelp with the coldness of it. Thankfully, he had left his and Adrian’s packs on the other shore, so their things stayed dry even as they half-drowned each other in an impromptu wrestling match.

Adrian, despite being the younger, was definitely the bigger of them, and quickly had Razz smacking on his shoulder in a call for mercy. “Hey, alright!” He was laughing, and Adrian grinned, but let him up, both rolling over and standing.

Looking down at himself in consternation, Razz snorted as Adrian commented, “So I’m guessing we’re making camp on the shore?”

“Yeah, that seems best. I’m glad you finally washed yourself, if nothing else!”

Snickering, Adrian splashed him again, then ran to the shore where their packs had been carried by Razz, nearly slipping again and barely catching himself. Razz shook his head long-sufferingly, following him and stripping his shirt off over his head. As Adrian got out their spare clothes, Razz hung the wet ones in a nearby tree, dressing quickly before squinting up at the setting sun. “I suppose we should make a fire.”

“Do you want me to get the wood?” Adrian said earnestly, and Razz turned to smile softly at him. He was a great kid, a good friend to Razz’s family before he had passed, like a brother to him even before they'd run off together. A sickness had passed through their village, leaving Razz miraculously untouched even as his family died before him. The same sickness had taken Adrian’s mother, leaving him to live with a man who was neither forgiving nor kind. When Razz had come of age and decided to leave, travel to somewhere that wasn’t filled with broken memories, Adrian had begged to come with him.

It’d been an easy decision, really.

“Sure. Remember, dead and dry wood, found on the ground. Don’t take branches from the trees.”

Nodding quickly, Adrian disappeared into the woods. They’d been traveling together for almost five years now, jumping from town to village to city and back again. There had been a time Razz wouldn’t have trusted him to protect himself in the woods, but now… well, the boy had more than proved his worth. Saved Razz’s hide more than once, that was for sure.

He still kept a careful ear out as he pulled food from the packs, beginning to skin a rabbit they’d caught earlier in the day.

When the other returned, he had finished carving their meal and was in the process of rubbing some salt they’d picked up in the last town into the meat. Adrian was carrying an armful of logs, and in his free hand, he held the stems of a familiar plant.

“I found carrots!” he said happily, dumping the wood in a pile at Razz’s feet and holding out the vegetables.

Razz laughed, taking them and inspecting the dirty orange of the roots. “Wonderful. We might actually fill our bellies tonight. Good job, Adrian, can you wash these?” Holding them back out, he smiled at the pride in Adrian’s eyes. “I’ll start building the fire.”

They worked in silence for a while, the sun beginning to dip below the trees as the growing fire filled the area with light. Without needing to be asked, Adrian found a flat rock, setting it carefully into the flames to heat before returning to the task of preparing his half of the meal. Razz paused in his preparations, smiling for a moment before he reached out, ruffling the other’s hair.

Adrian gave him a questioning look, but Razz just shook his head. “We’ve almost arrived, you know.”

“At Skies Haven? How do you--”

Razz gestured behind him, and Adrian turned around to face the sun, squinting at the outline of an impressively tall mountain. “That’s Cerulean’s mountain,” he said, naming the revered goddess of the sky. “The temple of skies lies on the other side, and Skies Haven sits just below the temple. My father would tell me stories. I wasn’t sure until I was watching it now, but that’s the mountain.”

Humming in thought, Adrian just looked at it for a moment, then shrugged, turning back to Razz. “Why have we come here? I thought we were going to avoid the bigger cities after you got arrested at Longhill.”

Razz snorted, laying strips of meat and some of Adrian’s chopped carrot onto the heated rock. The food began to sizzle, filling the air with a smell that had them both breathing in deeply. “That was the guard’s fault,” Razz protested quietly, then grinned at the other’s scoff of disbelief. “It’s just a feeling I have, like something is pulling us there. I’ve always loved working ships along the coast, and you could easily find work with a healer here. There are many who come to learn from the priestesses.”

“We passed a ton of coast towns on the way here. Fate wanted you at this one?”

“Hmm…” Razz reached out, gesturing for the other to come closer as he used a stick to move the food around on the rock. Suspiciously, Adrian scooted over a little, then protested loudly as Razz immediately scooped him into his side, giving him a tight hug and smacking a kiss to the side of his head. “I’ve come here to escape a certain annoying little kid!”

“Stop kissin’ me if you wanna escape!” Adrian huffed, seemingly accepting his fate as Razz didn’t let him out of his one-armed hold.

“I do it because you hate it!” Razz proclaimed, then grinned, rubbing the other’s arm and focusing back onto his cooking. “Should we go straight to sleep after food? If we wake early, we should arrive at Skies Haven tomorrow afternoon.”

“Sure,” Adrian said, looking back over his shoulder at the mountain. “Do you think we’ll stay there for a while? Settle down a bit?”

Razz looked down at him, biting back a sigh. He knew that Adrian deserved a home, a place to return to after each day and a family full of people who loved him. This kid needed a life, a wonderful one that brought him happiness. Razz had known he couldn’t provide it. All he’d been able to think was that an unsettled life must be better for him than one where he was made to believe he was worthless. If nothing else, Razz loved him. He’d protect him to his last breath. There was just something about stopping in one place for too long that made him hesitate, no matter how much he knew it would be good for the boy.

It felt like they were missing something, and they needed to keep moving until they found it.

“Maybe, Adrian. Maybe.”

~~~

Stepping to one side, Razz narrowly avoided being run down by a man with a donkey, barreling down the center of a bustling street. He grinned at the look on Adrian’s face, clearly enamored by the sights and sounds of Skies Haven.

It was apparently market day, vendors shouting their wares and farmers driving animals right into the alleys between more permanent shops. The sights and smells were almost overwhelming compared to the quiet forests they’d been traveling through, but Razz could feel his mood being lifted by it all. The excitement of the shouting was enough to have them both grinning, Adrian’s hold on Razz’s arm tightening every time they passed a stall he wanted to stop at.

Gently, Razz kept them going, but even he hadn’t been able to resist the call of a vendor advertising honey-soaked pastries, hot out of the oven. He’d pulled them over, traded a coin for a roll that steamed as he tore it in half. Adrian was still happily munching on his, but Razz hadn’t been able to stop himself from scarfing his down almost in an instant.

Flags fluttered on strings criss-crossing above the street, blue and gold with symbols of the sky painted on. The sun’s rays shone against the bright colors, making them glint and drawing the eye up almost as much as the bustle drove it down. It was hard to forget that this was the city of the queens of moon and sun, with the people decorating every available surface with their symbols. Even, Razz noticed, themselves, spotting a woman with a large sun tattoo across the whole of her bare back. Then she turned around, revealing that her front was just as bare, and Razz clapped a hand over Adrian’s eyes.

“It’s not like I’ve never seen that before!” he protested, but Razz just snorted, guiding them around the woman and turning down a side street.

The temple of the skies came into view, and Razz uncovered Adrian’s eyes. They had seen it from the side as they approached the city, a towering building of white marble and the same blue and gold in its trim that decorated Skies Haven. Now, though, they could see it in stark detail, set into the side of Cerulean’s mountain and looking down upon the city.

Every child in this land knew the stories. Long ago, a queen’s lover had been killed, and she had begged the three goddesses to bring her back. Amazingly, Cerulean had answered. The goddess of the skies had taken the queen to her palace, brought her and the lover before a council of her sisters. They didn’t care much for her plight, but the queen had been desperate. She had offered the gods anything they wanted, anything they could take in exchange for her lover to live on.

So the gods had asked for their eternities.

“It’s beautiful,” Adrian said, and Razz nodded. He wondered if the queen of suns had been found, yet. They couldn’t remember each other, he’d heard, not until they met. Then they were allowed to live together until their sacrifice, in their 20th year. The lives they lived until then were what was important though, the way they were treated being a marker for the goddesses for if humanity deserved blessings or punishment until the next sacrifice. They were in a time of blessings, now, though Razz had never lived to see a time of punishment. He had heard that it was a terrible time indeed, the hardships of now being nothing compared to dying crops and impossible storms.

“Could we visit, do you think?” asked Adrian, still staring wide-eyed at the temple.

Razz laughed. “Perhaps if we were disguised as women. I was born in the year of the queen of moons, you know, they might mistake me for the sun.”

Grinning, Adrian tore his eyes away from the sight and looked over at him. “I think I’d like to see that.”  

“I’m sure you would. Do you see another inn, yet?”

They emerged onto another bustling street, and Adrian pulled, pointing to a building across from them with a sign that swayed in the wind. “What about that one?”

Razz narrowed his eyes, inspecting the building carefully before he nodded. Many of the inns they’d passed thus far had either been far too seedy or far too grand for them to afford. Usually, they would stay wherever Razz picked up work, staying in an inn for a few days until he could move them to sleep in whatever pile of hay or warm ship’s kitchen he could barter for. They used to sleep outside instead of in an inn, but after a confrontation with a guard in one of the bigger cities, Razz had always been careful to keep the coin on hand to allow them to stay in safer places.

“That should work.” He shouldered off his pack, handing it to the other before he pulled his coinpurse from his belt. Adrian reached for it, but Razz held it back, looking at the other severely. “What’s our limit?”

“Twenty coins a night,” the other recited, and Razz nodded.

“And find out how much they charge for a warm bath. You need an introduction to some soap.” Before the other could protest, he shook a few coins into his own hand, then pressed the bag into Adrian’s fingers. “Secure our room, then wait for me in the tavern below.”

“Where are you going?” Adrian asked, blinking at him in confusion. Razz had been having him secure their lodgings the last few trips, but they were meant to be practice, and Razz had always hovered just outside the door in case of trouble.

Razz stood up tall, rolling his shoulders and glancing back towards the ocean. “We’re lower on money than usual. I need to find something that pays if we’re going to spend any length of time here.”

“I saw a healer’s shop back on the--”

“You stay here,” Razz said severely. “We’ll get you a job tomorrow, but for today, you rest, and you stay where I can find you. Okay?”

Adrian huffed, then nodded, reaching out for a quick hug as he answered.

“Alright, Razz.”