#its taking longer than i thought GRRR

[doodoobug3000]

Silly headcanon that Cruel King used to baby sit Griefer before he became king / took the ice dagger

Heres a very rushed lil comic of CK visiting Griefer ( or i guess Bubonic Plant ) in Nirvana

Rahhh heres some extra doodles

Also like to think Cruel King and Mayor Thaniyel were close friends

Omg its pillbaby griefer

Yoooo its young Cruel king, Mayor Thanyiel and Griefer Brad ( i keep forgeting he has a name )

[mayullla]

Quest: Farmers need help at the barn

Character(s): Harpy (Unnamed character/original work) Summary: You are an adventurer, taking up missions and quests in the guild. And this you choose to help out a monster barn, unknown to you that a certain feathered monster thought of you as his mate. Tags/Warnings: Yandere!monster, fem!reader, general yandere themes, violence (murder, etc), monster slavery, mating/courting rituals, possessive behavior, blood, human x monster romance, misunderstandings, obsessive monster

"I am so sorry! We had opened the cop for the harpies so that we could go and collect their eggs but it seems that one was sneaky enough to get out of the cage and run away!!" 

Arriving at the farm you were immediately greeted with a farmer, tall and gruff, certainly strong enough to deal with monsters yet panicked as one had escaped the pen, and with barely enough staff currently he definitely needed help.

"I am really sorry, we will pay you more for the trouble." The farmer said asking you to search for the harpy that got away. It was a monster after all and with a human village near here, you could not help but become a little concerned. 

"We also have someone else looking for the harpy right now, if needed and the harpy had placed humans in danger the guy has a bow ready to shoot." He had told you that the monster ran away to the forest and could not have gone far away as they were able to land a shot on its wing. He gave you a map and guided you to the gate of the forest, leaving just as soon.

Except you were not sure if you were really going the right way!! 

You looked at the map and frowned. You have been walking around the forest for what felt like hours now and just could not find the harpy that escaped!

Sighing as you looked at the sun still up so high you wondered if you would be stuck here searching for this monster the whole day. Really you hoped that it would end as soon as possible so that you could finally go home or maybe get a quest that won't cost you to circle the forest tens of times...

"Grrr..." You looked behind you, ready to attack whatever creature that made that sound in the forest. Yet nothing showed themselves to you as you constantly hear the growls and somehow had a mix of pain with it. Heading towards the sound as cautiously as possible you found a hidden cave and cautiously went in.

You were surprised to find a harpy in the dark dreary place. And you also noticed that one of his wings was bleeding. An arrow wound you were sure was done by a hunter and another one on its thigh.

It was easy to connect the dots somewhat, the harpy met the hunter somewhere in the forest and managed to get away but the hunter still managed to get his thigh with an arrow. He hid himself, unable to fly back to his home and also started screeching at night to ward off any predators that could have found him.

He glared at you as he dragged himself deeper into the small cave to get away from you. Screeching in hopes that you would become afraid and run away. But instead, you slowly went over to him, with a soft voice trying to calm it down. "Hey, it is fine... You will be alright."

It didn't trust you at all but after offering it a bit of food and encouraging words and with time, still cautious of you he finally let you come closer. You tried to be careful when applying ointment and bandaging up his wing and then later his thigh, one wrong move can get you clawed by the monster. 

It seemed very used to humans, you were at first sure that it would take longer to calm the harpy down but that doesn't seem the case when it looked so innocently at you after you finished bandaging it.

You knew that this was a monster. But right now rather than a wild monster it was more tamed and rather than you fearing him it feared you even more. But work is work, and this was a job that you must do. Your kindness was till this point cause rather than sending the harpy back to the farm still bleeding you prefer that the bird got bandaged up.

Less mess.

"There you go.." you whispered to the male harpy as you slowly backed away from him. He looked at the bandaged wing in wonder, examining it. He then looked at you curiously as to why you would help him.

Harpy feathers, depending on the color and quality can go for a lot of money even more if it was the whole wing itself. A lot of humans search for such monsters wanting to capture them if they were wild creatures. You knew that yourself, when you were helping the creature you knew that this particular harpy has definitely been hunted young or bred and then sold by the farm for his beautiful feathers.

You shrugged at his actions. "You are hurt." You whispered at it wondering if it would actually understand what you said while some harpies from what you heard can speak human language; this one in particular didn't seem to be able to do so much. Moments like these you thought of those books where the main character would tell the monster to run away and that this was its chance to do so but that wasn't you. You needed him back at that farm.

"Th-thank you..."

You were taken back a little when you heard the monster's voice looking up at him. "Huh...?" "T-thank you."

...You weren't able to stand his genuine yet still mildly confused eyes, choosing to look away. As you headed out of the cave not looking back, sure that the harpy would not come back to attack you. For once you felt guilty. You took a moment to collect yourself ready to get him to the farm when you heard bushes rustle. Pulling out your dagger you were ready to attack when you saw the same farmer this morning along with someone else.

"You are here! Good that we found you! The hunter here was able to land a shot on the harpy's thigh again while it was escaping from him and we followed the blood." The farmer told you, also saying something about his part in the farm work being finished, that he was able to come here and help.

You told them that the harpy they were looking for was inside the cave and that there were no other exits other than here. You told them you bandaged up the monster but it still should not be able to move much. "Thanks a bunch! You are a lifesaver." The farmer continued, "You head back to the farm, we will take care of everything here."

Looking back as they entered the cave you wondered if this counted as betrayal. You weren't sure, but rather than mulling it over you left the place.

From what you have heard the farmer and hunter were able to successfully get the harpy back to the farm. After that trip to the forest, you had a few odd jobs here and there on the farm, not a lot of dealing with the monsters as you need to be specially trained for most of those kinds of work but more so packaging the raw materials and loading them up on the carts to be shipped.

You didn't know that something started to follow you ever since that day. Eyes watching you as you move cans of milk from one side to another, or move and clean the wool shaved off from the weresheeps. Maybe if you noticed those eyes you would have done something about it, but you didn't and by the time you realized it was far too late.

It was one of those small clearings, the bell rang signaling a break for lunch. Under the tree, it shaded you away from the sun you sat to eat your sandwich that the farm provided. The sun was so hot against your skin that it made you work quite a sweat.

"Care if I join you?" The gruff voice made you jump in surprise as you looked to your side to see the same man you saw who was together with the farmer in the forest. It was the hunter you thought to yourself as you gave him a place to sit. 

"Hey, thanks for the help last time. Because of you the harpy had his guard lowered and we were able to capture him without much of a problem. That guy is a little smart for its own good." The hunter introduced himself, stating that he was also an adventurer like you but would help this farm often when they needed some hands as he was friends with the owner.

You chatted for a while, and you found out that the hunter was a married man with a daughter and a wife who was pregnant with another child. "My daughter is a pretty girl. She also wants to become an adventurer like me. I should introduce the two of you when we have the chance" The hunter joked that it would be nice that his little daughter had a lady who she could look up to.

The hunter looked excited as he also had another daughter and told you how he could not help but spoil his daughter whenever he could. He was hoping that he will have another daughter but his wife wished it would be a boy instead. The hunter, while intimidating looking, was actually more easygoing and casual.

"Oop! That is the bell." You heard the rattle of the bell notifying everyone that you guys need to head back to work. "You have been working here for a bit. How long are you staying?" The hunter asked curiously. You told him that today was your last day, that everything here was under control now. "Ahh, then it is back to the quest for you I guess. Hahah! Well. It was nice to meet ya." The hunter also stated that you guys might see each other probably on another mission or at the guild.

Getting up first, he took his leave having something to do leaving you alone under the tree again. Before getting up you quickly checked your mouth for any crumbs or food that was stuck. Grabbing your mirror from your bag you also checked your teeth. When your name was called by one of the farmers, you hurried. Getting up you shoved your compact mirror into your bag but were unable to properly close your bag being in a hurry.

You didn't see your small compact mirror fall out from your bag, hitting the grass floor as you head inside with the farmer. 

When you came back later to look for the mirror after finding out that it was not in your bag you could not find it anywhere...

More precisely it has been swatted away by a certain harpy who was watching you. Keeping the thing close to their chest, with a flush look on their face hoping that he would not be caught yet at the same time hoping he would just so that you would look at him again. But he can't at least not yet.

You finally went back home, after the last long day of working at the barn. Your pay was a little more than the contract, as the owner was generous from the booming business right now. You were ready to hit the bed and after a shower and a lovely dinner, you flopped on your bed.

Your body was relaxed, as you slowly went to dreamland when you suddenly heard a noise outside your window. Opening your eyes you moved to get ready, but you were too slow when the window opened and a black feathered monster rushed in jumping on top of you.

You struggled, but claws caught your arms preventing you from hitting anyone or even getting your dagger from your table side. "Mate!" You heard a chirp and looked up to get a good look at the thing that had you on its hold.

Your eyes widen and your body froze.

You recognize him, the harpy that you bandaged up on the first day of work at the barn. The black feathers and the awkward voice still struggle to follow human speech. Yet unlike before rather than cautious and feral, he was more ecstatic and eager to see you. Impatiently moving your arms as he wrapped his wings around you as if it was trying to hug you.

"Accept.... shiny g-gift... from mate..." His words were hesitant and slow in between chirps. But he wasn't shy, not with how shamelessly he clung to you. Cuddling so tightly as if to get the scent of him on you, rubbing his face under your neck while looking at you with hearts in his eyes when you looked down at him in surprise. "Mate likes... me!"

"What!?" You yelled in confusion, as you tried to shove him away to no avail. There was something wet on his shoulders and chest, something that you could not see properly in the darkness till your eye finally got used to the night. You were terrified.

You could not help but squeak when you saw it. The scent that you smelled from the harpy when he suddenly showed up did you finally understand what that red liquid on his face actually meant. His claws held your wrist preventing you from pushing away. The more you tried to leave the more tight his claws around you became. The heart in his eyes dimmed as he didn't understand why you were trying to push away from him.

"Why...why are you... why are you avoiding me." His voice was angry, a growl-like chirp produced as he forced you back to the bed. You didn't answer yet he followed your eyes and noticed you were looking at the blood on his cheek.

"Hunter... want to kill... me." He glared at you causing you to flinch. Looking away from him to your room, your weapons were too far away for you to grab and swat the harpy away. Regret as you didn't keep at least your dagger close to you. "Hunter... want to kill you... I.... save... you."

Your body felt as if it was growing cold as the harpy chirped in delight. His love-filled eyes back as he thought that you now understand and that you would love him back for doing the same favor for you after you saved him. 

The hunter did not want to kill you. You knew at least that much. Yet that same man was killed by the very harpy that he hunted, the one that you have helped.

“I… save you. I love… you. You love me.”

[cloudysfluffs]

--And Once with Tickles!!

A/N: BLARHG i havent posted a fic of any kind in like four years. and i havent written a TICKLE fic in like SIX years!!!! so i might be a little rusty. but this fic has been in the works for OVER A YEAR NOW and itd be a shame if only my bf gets to see it :P so im posting it to da world!!!!!

Summary: basically just if the tickle scene from Sock Opera was longer ^^'' its literally my favorite tk scene of all time so now you can have an entire fic where i stretch it out for 5k words!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

Lee: Bill? Dipper? Bipper <3

Ler: Mabel + Stan

WARNING: THIS IS AN SFW TICKLE FIC!!!!! KINK/FETISH BLOGS DO NOT TOUCH!!!!! MOST OF THE CHARACTERS IN HERE ARE MINORS AND ALL OF THEM ARE RELATED!!!!! DON'T BE WEIRD!!!!!

“Whoah, whoah, hey-- hey, HEY!”

SMASH!

The cake prop crashed against the ground with a horrible crackling sound, breaking apart beneath both of their weights. There was a collective jump and gasp from the startled crowd. Even the puppets themselves-- or, at least, the soul piloting them-- seemed taken off guard.

Despite the panic and destruction, neither Bipper nor Mabel took too long to shake it off. Bipper landed on the ground, on his stomach, just a few feet away from Mabel, who’d landed on her side. Instantly, he pushed himself up, eyes wide, feeling around the floor for the journal. A stagelight swiveled, reflecting off the shiny gold cover, and both of them leapt for it with the determination of a starving animal on a hunt. They touched down at the very same time. They wore matching, angry glares, each gripping the journal so tightly that their knuckles were turning white. Mabel knew, as she squinted to avoid the spotlight, that there was no hope in saving the show. But there was hope for saving her brother! And if that meant sabotaging everything she worked for, then…Well, it was about time she sacrificed something for Dipper. 

They rolled across the stage, tumbling over one another, until Bipper’s head reached the edge. If he craned his neck backwards enough, he could see the confused and terrified face of the audience. Something he would’ve found amusing, if the stakes weren’t so high. Mabel was on top of him, her knee on his stomach, and both hands on the journal, tugging and yanking with all her might. He just held on, harder, gritting his teeth. The very same thought was in both of their minds. I’ve almost got it!

“Get out of my brother’s body, you evil triangle!!” Mabel yelled, pressing her leg down even harder. Enough to be uncomfortable, but not enough to cause any lasting damage. She really had to engrain that thought into her head. Once Bill got out of here-- and she would get him out of here-- it would be Dipper’s body suffering the consequences. He’d already been through too much. It turned out to be just enough to get the book to slip out of his hands. Both of their eyes widened in shock, but before Bill could give too much chase, she made sure to whack him with the journal. Just for good measure. She’d wanted to do that this whole time!!

Mabel stumbled to her feet, running back to center stage, just as Bipper was starting to sit up and rub his forehead. He growled, in a way she hadn’t heard since she was in Stan’s mind, in a way she knew her brother couldn’t replicate if he tried. Fascinatingly, she watched as his face seemed to heat up, reddening his skin even more than it had been already, as he pushed himself off the ground. If he were human, she may have assumed his failure had embarrassed him. But this was Bill, they were talking about…so, if she had to guess, this was his human-body equivalent of his yellow turning red. Kinda cute! In a weird, gross way. 

“Grrr…You can’t stop me!” He scowled, his eyes narrowing on the book. Mabel looked behind her. The set pieces blocked access backstage from this side, and while she could move to the stage stairs, or even jump down, that’d take a good amount of coordination. Before she could decide…she was leapt on. She gasped, feeling the air leave her lungs as she was tackled to the wooden floor. The journal slipped from her grasp, and landed on the floor beside her. Both she and Bipper placed their hands on it at the same time, hers on the edge, and his on the palm of the cover. Bipper was sitting on top of her, straddling her waist, his chest heaving as he panted. She felt breathless, too. But, as she stared up at him, still pink in the face, and with a tired, yet satisfied grin on his face…It was as if something clicked in her mind.

“I’m a being of pure energy, with no weakness!”

Mabel stared at him, almost in disbelief. It seemed so obvious. In any other circumstance, it would’ve been the very first thing she thought of, when searching for a method to gain the upper hand in combat, without actually hurting the other person. She did it to Dipper all the time! So often, in fact, that she figured the townsfolk wouldn’t bat an eye, if they saw her do this at her own show. For the first time, it was her turn to get to wear that smug, knowing smirk. She brought her other hand around to rest over the journal like a seat belt, just so he couldn’t snatch it while she talked. 

“True…But you’re in Dipper’s body!” She reminded, to which he huffed, as if offended. What, did she think he forgot? For once, it was like she could read his mind, because she picked up for him. She lifted the hand that wasn’t protecting the journal, and wiggled her fingers.

“And I know all his weaknesses!~”

Bipper quirked a brow. In the split second between her final comment, and what she was going to do next, she could see the cogs visibly turning behind his eyes. He wasn’t used to not knowing what was about to happen. Typically, at a glance, he could look at a person and see right through to their mind, where he could pluck their thoughts and plans right out. Sometimes, he knew what someone was about to do before they did. Having to rationalize like a human made it so he had to manually run through his own mental database, for what she could possibly mean…It was such a broad assessment. He was human, for christs’ sake. What wasn’t a weakness to them, really? They couldn’t handle being stretched too far, or bleeding too much, and their limbs could only bend to a certain point. Humanity was so fragile! It was honestly a mystery how they survived so long. But he’d pinned her like this for a reason; how could she possibly hurt him? 

“What do you mean his--?”

Before he could finish, Mabel lifted her wiggling fingers…and slipped her hand into his jacket, pressing them just underneath his arm. 

Bipper felt as if his entire body seized. In the half-second that the sensation touched down, he was overcome with a surge of physical reactions he’d never experienced before. First, he shivered, goosebumps freckling over his skin. It was as if every nerve in his body ignited, with an odd, fluttery tingling. Worse, perhaps…was the way he vocally reacted.He gasped, and squeaked, an embarrassingly high-pitched noise leaping from his throat. The glare, which he’d taken pride in withstanding, was forcibly wiped from his expression, replaced by a shaky smile. It felt like his insides were bubbling. But when he opened his mouth to express that concern…he realized what it was.

“GaHhh--! AAAaahhahahahahaha!” It was the urge to laugh. Uncontrollable giggles poured out of him like bubbles to a heated cauldron. The heat he felt rush to his face only made that metaphor seem all the more accurate. Mabel and the audience might’ve heard Dipper’s voice, but he heard his own. The helplessness in his tone disgusted him. Out of his own control, his reflexes went haywire, demanding that he get anywhere as long as it was away. Robbed of the motor skills required for any complex movements, he found himself toppling backwards, pinning his arms to his sides. He’d hoped falling would be enough to put distance between him and his tormentor, but it seemed like the opposite had occurred. The moment he was down, she took advantage, by climbing on top of his waist, instead. She wriggled the fingers of both of her hands under each of his arms, ruthlessly scribbling for long enough for him to feel as if any attempts at fighting back would be futile. And then, she slid both hands down, grazing his ribs, before settling on his sides. The motion elicited another yelp, and another full-body shiver, before he settled back into the helpless giggling that had possessed him before. 

It was unusual. It was unbearable. It…tickled.

“Tickle tickle!~” Mabel cooed, and for some reason, Bipper felt a heat rush to his cheeks. In fact, the burning sensation stretched all the way to the tips of his ears, making him feel compelled to wrench his eyes shut and turn his head away. The words-- or was it that voice?-- made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Somehow, it seemed like her touch only tickled more, the teasing worsening the odd hypersensitivity afflicting his nerves. His hands locked around her wrists, and he arched his back, shoving pitifully while he used his heels to kick at the ground. Whether it was due to the tickle-induced weakness, or the pose was just that effective, he didn’t get anywhere. Mabel smirked, baring her braces like fangs, like she could see just how much the comment worked on him. Dipper couldn’t stand that, either!

“Awww, whatsa matter?~ Does it tiiiickle?~ Are you too tiiicklish to handle it?~ Kitchy-kitchy-koo!~”

“S-StahahaAAahahahahahahap!” He hissed, scowling, cursing the stutter in his voice. Damn Pine Tree’s twitchy little body and his squeaky little voice! How did he live, being so sensitive?? He couldn’t bear to listen to another word of that teasing, bringing his hands up to cover his ears. And, in retaliation, Mabel’s nails skittered upwards again. They passed over his ribs, before again settling into a gentle scratch just under his arms. It got the exact same reaction the downward motion over the same spot had caused; a gasp, a yelp, and a full-body shiver, all before his arms snapped right back down again. Both of them seemed irritated by that last response.

“AAGhh-! Whyhyhyhyhyhyhyhy cahahahahahahahan’t I mohohohohove my ahahahahahahahaharms?!”

“Reflexes!” Mabel chimed in, instantly, as if it were obvious. To a human, it may have been, but for Bill, ‘reflexes’ were an entirely foreign concept. He’d never felt so…effortlessly disarmed. And that was coming from someone who spent a good chunk of his life in the second dimension, and, the rest of the time, was confined to the mindscape. He was already relatively harmless. But somehow, when he had a physical body to interpret reality with, being helpless was so much more torturous. He knew the human body was pathetic, but really, how had they survived this long as a species, if all it took were a few pokes to entirely collapse them?? Perhaps it was a combination of how unfamiliar the sensation was to him, and how sensitive Dipper’s body was, anyway…but he felt he reserved the right to mentally complain, anyway. He felt naturally more whiny. As if Mabel could tell, she grinned, and retracted a hand.

“Here, let me help you!”

Her now-free arm shifted backwards, so her hand could lock around his wrist…and force it upwards, pinning it to the ground beside his head. The other hand, that had been trapped in place, wriggled its way out. She crossed it over his body, and switched which side she was attacking, her claws now slipping into his jacket to scratch beneath the arm she’d pinned. It all happened so quickly, Bipper hardly had the chance to look horrified…before he fully squealed, his laughter ratcheting up another octave. 

“EEEEeeehheheheheek!! ‘Hehehehehehehehehelp’?!” He echoed, offended, the bite of his tone lost in his giggling. He wanted to argue more thoroughly, but good god, that tickled so much more!! He arched his back, jerked at his elbow, and turned to one side, desperate for something-- anything-- to put distance between his skin and her nails. Talk about feeling disarmed! He thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, and yet, here he was. 

“Yeah! Help! Now you don’t have to flail your arms around; you can just lay back and take it!” Mabel interjected, with an innocence that seemed far too natural for how cruel she was being. Bill saw some of himself in her, sometimes. With that kind smile, and flattery. So, sweetly deceptive. He had to hand it to her, she knew how to get ‘em! This girl was brimming with potential; the unicorns and butterflies and rainbows were just a thin blanket to mask the chaos that she was capable of. The little brat. Maybe he could use that someday. But now, it only aided in annoying him. 

“You’re welcome!~”

He wasn’t an idiot. He saw what she was trying to do. But just in case he didn’t, she told him, anyway. Mabel leaned down, eyes narrowed, so they were practically nose-to-nose. 

“Get outta Dipper’s body, or I’m gonna tickle you until you pass out!!”

He growled, trying to force the corners of his lips down into a frown. She wished it would be that easy! He may be weakened, and disarmed, but please! Who did she think he was? As if he suddenly realized he had control over his not-pinned hand, he reached over to try and grab at her wrist, to pry the hand attacking him away from the spot. It did work, partially, as the tugging would occasionally slide her hand downwards…but that only meant her wiggling fingers would graze his ribs, instead, and he’d be possessed by that yelp and full-body shiver that seemed to trigger every time. The reaction weakened him. As if he wasn’t weak enough! 

“Nehehehehehehehever!” He insisted, with just enough bite in his words for him to feel a swell of pride. He was starting to get used to it! His smile suddenly seemed all the more smug, practically a smirk, despite the fact that it was hardly warranted, in his current state. He was still laughing, and squirming, his entire body leaned to one side to reflexively counteract the nails scratching away at him. Mabel huffed. 

First, her eyes drifted to the stage. She wished she could see Dipper. To everyone else here, she was tormenting her innocent brother in front of an audience for no apparent reason. Worse, none of them, not even their most loved ones, would get an honest explanation. Whoops. She’d apologize to him later. In the meantime, she turned her head in the other direction.

Everyone out there seemed absolutely captivated. Well, for the most part, at least. Some seemed confused, others seemed shocked. A shocking amount seemed pretty flustered, while others sported the exact opposite mood. She could just barely see Candy and Grenda confusedly flipping through the script just off stage. But, generally, most of the crowd was enjoying this thrilling multi-media masterpiece. Even those from the Mystery Shack. In fact, maybe especially those three! Mabel couldn’t help but smile, as she met their eyes through the smearing, colorful stage lights.

Wendy was leaning back in her seat with her boots kicked up on the empty chair in front of her, an amused smirk on her face. Though she couldn’t hear anything coherent from the crowd from up here (and wouldn’t be able to, anyway, over Bipper’s high-pitched squealing), she could tell that Wendy snickered, as she elbowed Soos in the side. Soos was one of the members of the audience who seemed a little flustered over the whole endeavor. Even in the low lighting, Mabel could see just how red his face was. He was grinning nervously, and fanning himself with his cap, and flinched just a little too hard as he was nudged. It was all very sweet. Truthfully, she didn’t care if this ruined the show for most of the audience, because it wasn’t for them anymore. It was for Dipper! …But it did make her feel good, to see them enjoying themselves. And no one seemed to be enjoying himself more than Stan!

Earlier today, he seemed to be a little skeptical about coming. He was swayed incredibly easily though, which was rare for him. He was probably the most stubborn man the twins had ever met, and yet a good puppy-dog-eyed stare and a promise that the end would blow his mind was enough to convince him that maybe this memory was priceless. He’d even brought a camera to film it. Even with one of his eyes obscured by the pop-out window of the old recording device, she could see how widely he was grinning, the expression on his face one of fond amusement. He must have assumed that this was the ‘spectacular closing act’ that she’d been bragging about just a few hours earlier. It wasn’t, but if this went well, he’d never have to find that out! He caught her looking out upon the crowd, and tilted his head so more of his face was visible, his grin seeming all the more proud. He gave her a reassuring thumbs up, and she felt a new wave of confidence wash over her. She could do this.

Her eyes fell back to the demon pinned beneath her, who hadn’t stopped giggling and struggling since she shifted her attention a few moments ago. He’d probably been yelling insults she’d been too distracted to hear. She squinted at him suspiciously. If this were Dipper, she’d be jumping to his spot about now. Heck, that’s probably what she’d do when wrecking anyone! But…this wasn’t Dipper. It wasn’t ‘just anyone’. This was Bill! He already seemed to be getting the hang of this sensation, with how consistently now he was shoving at her hands, and how successful his thrashing was becoming. If she let up for even a second, he might even be able to wriggle away, or worse! She needed to not only tickle him to death, but she needed to make the session intense. What was something Dipper wouldn’t be able to stand…? 

Her gaze flickered to the crowd again. And, suddenly…she stopped.

Her smirk returned. Her wiggling fingers ceased, and instead that hand grabbed Bipper’s opposite wrist, so she was now pinning both to the floor. The demon-possessed vessel gasped the moment he felt a moment of solace, obviously annoyed by the fact that his giggle-fit didn’t immediately die. Every time he inhaled, or exhaled, he found he couldn’t stop laughing, like the feeling was still there, under his skin. But he was too out of breath to do anything about it! He fought with this natural, human response, while Mabel sat up as straight as she could.

“For my next act, I’ll need a volunteer from the audience!” She announced, proudly, as if it made any logical sense. The poor crowd was going to be so confused. But she didn’t need most of their approval. She only needed it from one. She grinned, and shut one eye, so she could point directly at her grunkle.

“How about you, good sir? You look like you’d make a fine actor!”

Stan lifted his head away from the viewfinder, visibly startled. He glanced to either side of him, pointed to himself, and brightened when Mabel nodded in approval. He didn’t hesitate any longer than that, handing the camera over to Soos (who fumbled with it for a moment, before giving a reassuring thumbs up) and climbing out of his seat. 

Bipper was only just starting to regain his composure, when he realized what was going on. He shook his head, and blinked open his eyes, squinting out at the crowd. Jesus, had the kid’s eyes always been this bad? He almost missed Sixer’s glasses. But, the very moment he processed that Mabel’s hands had released his wrists…thick, strong arms wrapped underneath his, scooping him up into a sitting position, pressed against someone’s chest. He felt like a cat being hoisted into the arms of their owner, unable to do anything but twist his shoulders and try to wriggle out of his grasp. Mabel was still sitting on his legs.  He glared over his shoulder. The light reflected off of Stan’s glasses, obscuring his eyes, and for some reason that made him look intimidating. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was in such a small, wimpy body; anyone could look like a threat, when everyone towered over you. His hands balled into fists.

“Wh-What is this?!” He scowled, stammering, trying to roll his shoulder to free it from the old man’s grasp. But it seemed like every inch that he managed to unwind, Stan just pulled him back even tighter. It was so effortless, it was hard to feel anything other than pathetic. No wonder this kid was getting tickled constantly! Everyone in town had a leg up on him!

“Let go of me!”

“This is called a grand finale!” Mabel declared, straightening her back and cracking her knuckles. The smirk on her face was downright sinister. An evil that Bill couldn’t help but think rivaled his own. She was an expert at this, wasn’t she? She knew this would up the game, considering the strength difference between them. Even with her best efforts, she wasn’t strong enough to keep him fully still. And even if she could, she’d lose leverage by being unable to use both hands. But the addition of another person-- him, especially-- had immobilized him completely, without her ever having to lift a finger. Not to mention how calculated this whole trap with her ‘grunkle’ had been. She hadn’t even had to speak word to him, for him to understand exactly where his place was, in all of this. Maybe they were psychic. Or maybe they really just did this that frequently. Man, he’d almost pity Pine Tree, if he deserved it! But he hardly had time to dwell on something like that, anyway. Not as he watched Mabel lift her wiggling fingers threateningly. 

“Last chance!”

She was bold, too. But so was he. And that would be his first mistake. Daringly-- challengingly-- he smirked.

“Pssh, yeah, right!” He chuckled, rolling his eyes. Mabel glared, as he turned up his nose, quirked a brow, and scoffed. Anyone who thought this was Dipper might almost see it as in-character behavior. He’d been similarly snarky, around this point in sessions. Stan even rolled his eyes right back, and tightened his grip, as if he’d found it predictable. But anyone who knew the truth, knew he wasn’t doing it for any reason other than to call her bluff. This was a pathetic excuse of a torture attempt. He thought smarting off would prove as much. When, actually…it did the exact opposite.

“Like I’d be convinced by a little tihihiiihihiHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHICKLING--!!”

Mabel’s wiggling fingers finally dug into his ribs. And it felt so distinctly different from the other spots, or even from how it felt when she was just grazing them earlier. It was like he’d been electrocuted, from the way his body jolted uncontrollably, and the way the sensation gripped him like a shock. The yelp of terror that jumped from his throat broke in the middle, fully replaced by helpless cackles. 

…Okay. Maybe not his proudest moment.

Maybe he should’ve known better. Maybe being in this body too long was getting to him. Maybe the stupid, human impulses that he’d gotten so good at ignoring also included this vessel’s apparent desire to talk himself into corners just to get himself tickled. Whatever the case, the whole time this had been going on, the more he felt his resolve…slipping. Exhaustion tugged at his eyelids, like his body suddenly remembered that it hadn’t gotten proper sleep in over twenty-four hours. Every part of him was sore, not that pain could even begin to compete with the tickly jolts shooting through his ribs. He considered the pro’s and con’s of dislocating a shoulder just to weasel out of here, but he couldn’t properly think. He swore he could literally feel circuits shorting in his brain, glitching and sparking and stuttering where the neat rows of coherent thought used to be. It had been a beautiful process to watch, from the other side…but was miserably frustrating, when it was your plans getting thrown out of whack! 

He wanted to growl. To kick, and scream, and either kill this vessel or one of the two holding him back. Whichever came first! But, all that came out was…

“SHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUT UHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUP!!”

…A very pathetic attempt at defiance. Enough that each of his attackers dared to snicker at him in amusement. He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, thrashing and twisting in the restraints.

“W-WHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEN I GEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHET OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOUT OF THIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIIS, IHIHIHIHIHIHI’LL--! IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI’LL--!!”

Mabel couldn’t help but notice just how…not-evil he looked, like this. Bill’s base form had no mouth, and yet he somehow always seemed to be grinning. Earlier, she’d seen that condescending smirk in Bipper. But now it was gone, and she was seeing a face she’d never quite seen before. It wasn’t quite the flustered, giggly look she got from her brother, but it was far from the invisible, malevolent smile that Bill was always wearing. It was something in between. It might’ve fascinated her, if she was any less focused on the task at hand. Her nails, while dull, knew how to press just right, to tickle as much as possible without translating into physical pain. She scratched at the spaces between his ribs, and played the bones like a piano, watching in satisfied amusement as every motion elicited the same, predictable reaction. Cackles, squeaks and voice-cracks echoed through the auditorium, almost sounding musical against the backing-track of her rock-opera, that no one had bothered to turn off. If anything, Bill was even squirmier than her brother was, which was certainly saying something. This was usually the point in the session where Dipper gave up fighting, especially when Stan was helping, since he obviously didn’t have a chance. But Bill still had some fight in him! 

“I don’t know what you did to deserve this, but clearly you’re gettin’ what’s coming to ya!” Stan accused, glancing over Bipper’s shoulder in an attempt to make eye contact. The kid was clearly avoiding it. But he still peeked up, for just a moment, if only to make a point to glare. Stan took advantage of his disorientation, knowing he was disarmed just long enough for him to be able to let go of his arms. Instead, he grabbed both wrists, and pulled them behind his back, like how a cop would while handcuffing you. But he didn’t need handcuffs, because his hands were big enough in comparison to grab both of the kid’s wrists in one of his palms while still having his fingers touch in the middle. And, with one hand free…he was able to pull out one last trick. 

Fingers skittered up Bipper’s spine, spurring out an involuntary shiver that was so intense, Bill was a little surprised it didn’t jolt him out of this body entirely. He didn’t get to dwell on how scarily close that had been to breaking him, though. Because in a second, that single skittering turned into a consistent, unrelenting scribble, and any coherent thought that was left slipped out through his fingers.

“AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! NOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!”

Right. Almost all of the Pines’ were ticklish here. Maybe he should’ve seen that coming. 

It was positively overwhelming. Every curl of his blunt nails against the spot had his nerves lighting up in a frenzy, activating the useless instinct that had him squealing and laughing like this whole ordeal was the most hilarious joke he’d ever been told. But no part of this was funny!! Not when it was him! It was humiliating, at best, and a total disgrace to his reputation at worst. He was glad the folks at home couldn’t see this, because they would never let him live it down. 

“Ooh! Good call, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel praised, finally looking back up to meet his eyes with an approving smile on her face. She wished she could give him a thumbs up, but her hands were kinda busy. Bill couldn’t help but bristle at how unfair it was, that Stan could restrain him like this. He couldn’t lean forward even if he wanted to, and leaning backwards only pressed him further into that hand! And, somehow, despite the trap being objectively more simple, it was more confining! Now, he didn’t even have the privilege of flapping his hands, or making vaguely threatening gestures. And it all just tickled more! It was cruel, and unusual. He wrenched his eyes shut, and felt tears build in the corners. Crying had always been an annoying, uncontrollable thing his puppets did, but it felt especially humiliating in this context. Way to rub salt in the wound.

“MAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAKE IT STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

Whether it be a blessing or a curse, neither of the two around him had a chance to respond to that miserable display of emotion. Because, somehow mockingly, his body turned against him. When he tried to catch his breath, he felt a hiccup of air in his chest…that caused a snort. 

The two at either of his sides brightened. And the crowd aww’ed.

He’d forgotten they were there. He was on a stage, and yet, the fact that there were more than four of them here had slipped his mind. Earlier, if he’d remembered, he would’ve shrugged it off. Whatever, who cared if they saw him like this? It wasn’t his reputation that was going to suffer for it. It was Pine Tree’s, who now had to go home and live the rest of his life knowing that most of this town had seen him get tickled on stage. And that was still, objectively, true! He knew that. He knew none of them would think twice about it. So why did the sudden realization have his face blushing hotter? Why did he feel this horrible, anxious fluttering in his stomach, like he was full of spiders? He didn’t know. But he knew it had to end. 

He couldn’t take it. It wasn’t just his self-inflicted injuries that ached, now, it was others-- his sides, and his throat, and the corners of his lips, were all begging him to just stop laughing. Other than the ache, he was pretty sure he could feel this vessel overheating. Being put in this embarrassing position had struck a match inside of him that was slowly cooking him from the inside out. But more than that, he was tired. And that was hardly a feeling he even understood. Alas, the human urge to melt into a puddle and sleep for eight hours was, apparently, real. He was on the verge of uttering a genuine please, if this didn’t end soon, and he didn’t want to pull that card unless it was a life-or-death situation. So, apparently, he only had one choice left…

Damn it. It wasn’t fair! He’d let them have this win, but his fun wasn’t over. This plan was only the first of many tricks he had up his sleeve. He glanced up at Mabel one last time, eyes narrowing, as if he could glare at her very soul. But she only countered it with a smirk. She knew she couldn’t lose. She’d never lost a tickle fight against her brother! 

Suddenly, the sound of his laughter began to taper off. It quieted into a fit of twitchy, broken coughs; it almost sounded like he was glitching. But then he slumped in his spot, quiet…and all four hands retracted. Dipper’s body melted into his Grunkle’s chest, eyes closed, as if he was out cold. Both attackers pulled back for a moment, visibly tense, and met eyes. Mabel, because she was testing to see if this was a good sign…and Stan, because he was genuinely startled. Jesus, he’d never passed out like that before! Usually he called it, when he knew he was getting to the end of his rope! Did they kill him on accident? There was a beat of silence that was just long enough to raise concern...and then, quick enough to be startling, Dipper sat up. He gasped, and clutched his chest, panting like he’d been awoken from a nightmare. And, well…he sort of had! Both of his family members jumped.

“Ahh!! He’s back!!” Mabel accused, lifting her clawed hands in preparation to strike again. She didn’t expect her brother to scream, flinching backwards in horror. 

“AAHHhh, M-Mabel!! It’s mehehe, it’s me, it’s me!!” He pleaded, bringing up his arms to protect himself in a panic. The squeaky, nervous little voice sounded different than it had, just a moment ago. Less confident, less angry, and more…well, like her brother. If it was an act, it must’ve been a pretty convincing one, because she lowered her hands. Slowly, skeptically, Dipper lowered his, too…and she saw his round, brown eyes staring back. Her posture fully relaxed, and her grin returned to her face. It actually worked!! Tickling always worked. 

[mausinly]

Grrr cowboy!velikan thoughts, au belongs to @ghouljams, also big thanks to @reyesbignaturals for enabling me hehehe

I don't think he's exactly retired yet, more like laying low with a lot of other guys from Shadow Company. Maybe they did something just a little (not little) risky (they almost blew up all of Washington) and need to stay off the radar for a while. Since Lerch is canonically from Texas, I think it may have been his idea. He's got some of the shadows working as temporary hands while others are holed up on various plots of land in plain sight.

While Graves is busy riding bulls and being a usual showboat, I think Velikan is more dedicated to the laying low part of laying low. He's living on a small ranch, nothing more than maybe 5 acres. He's got a few horses and livestock, mainly chickens and goats because he wants things he can wrangle easily.

It takes some adjustment for him, the slow and somewhat repetitive life in a small town like this. He's so used to constantly being on the move, constantly being on guard. He didn't become the warden by half-assing his job.

But it's so quiet. He always drags himself down to the bars and rodeo arenas with the rest of the shadows, just for the white noise (and to bet on how quickly his CEO gets bucked). They must look like some kind of old western gang, all wearing black hats and bandanas over their mouths. At least there's still that familiarity. He hates to admit it, but he cares about these kids more than he wants to.

It's nice for a while, a little too nice. Laying low seems to drag out longer and longer, and he finds himself calling his little farm "home" more often than not. He starts to understand the suspicious amount of retired military here, this weirdass town has a way of luring you in and wiggling its way into your heart.

Apparently, a lot of the other shadows seem to agree because, one by one, they all begin to settle down with oddly charming and beautiful women. They start making jokes that there must be something in the water when Graves starts chasing around a pretty bronc rider.

He didn't take it all too seriously until he walked by a little stand in the market, selling jars of honey with you sitting comfortably behind the display. There's a frayed little straw hat sitting comfortably on your head and he can't help but wonder how it would look replaced by his own.

Hell, maybe there is something in the water...

[volostogekiss]

the strings of gold and gray : part 1

Warnings: Brief description of blood.

well here we go again! more Volo nonsense. i was wondering what would happen if there was someone else who was a descendant of the Celestica, with a duty like Cogita’s. but unlike her duty to aid the Hero of Hisui, theirs is to aid Volo after all the things he’s done, perhaps so that they both can find themselves (and in turn, chase legends and preserve the history of their people). though they just actively... don’t bother doing anything about it. that’s part of the reason why they haven’t lived in any village or settlement for years, and they’ve turned to being a bandit, usually stealing from the Diamond or Pearl clans. 100% ignores Jubilife, stays away from any base camps. they don’t care about anyone else or anything that’s happening, that’s happened, that’ll happen. they know of their duty, but they just choose not to really believe in it. (avoidance is the name of the game!) it’s hard enough to stay alive, so they just say nope and move on to the next day.

that backfires when they meet Volo, though, who’s very much still Volo.

▸ GN!reader, not the protag, Akari, or Rei. (Post?) Post-game.

(Timeline in which the hero literally doesn’t care about Volo after his betrayal at all. Redemption who? Let you, the reader, deal with that lol.)

           Your ears are always pricked whenever you prowl the wilds, on the alert for danger, a brewing storm, or an easy target.

           It’s why, that after years and years of training your ears to detect anything out of the ordinary, you’re aware that something is following you.

           Something desperate, and unwilling to give up.

           You’ve led it along uneven terrain, winding paths, and narrow footholds. Still, resolutely, it follows. You aren’t sure how long it’s been trailing after you—obviously longer than you’d like. At this point, so far along in its chase, its steps are hardly quiet; you attribute such a lack of subtlety to its urgency and the isolated nature of your locale. What does it want? You doubt it wants to hunt you, not with the raucous approach it’s taken.

           Regardless of its intentions, when your Gliscor swoops down from the skies to your side, a flicker of uncertainty in its eyes, you redouble your swift pace.

           There’s not just one Pokémon, but two.

           And at some point, you won’t be able to outrun them.

           Perhaps it’s that thought that has you finally skidding to a halt, in the low groves far south of the golden bogs, and facing your pursuers.

           Understanding that you’re going to stand and fight, Gliscor flies in front of you, his pincers raised in a defensive stance.

           It doesn’t take long to see who’s been following you.

           And you can’t help but step back, hesitantly, when you realize what they are.

           A Garchomp, impatient and clearly upset, thunders straight toward you, the earth churning beneath its claws, while a Togekiss—something you’ve only heard of—flutters overhead, not far behind.

           Involuntarily, you tense, ready to dart away. But just before the Garchomp strikes, it stops, a low cry resonating from its chest.

           Gliscor hisses a warning, but Garchomp is undeterred.

           It cries again, bending forward, and then you understand that it’s not angry at you, but it’s worried.

           Because upon his back, you can see the feeble form of someone injured, unconscious.

           Togekiss chirps rapidly at your partner, whose gaze flicks from you to the man stretched along Garchomp’s back. You grasp the situation now: Garchomp and Togekiss had spotted you long ago, and knowing that you would be their companion’s only hope, so far from any settlement, they had tirelessly trekked after you.

           Really, though, this isn’t your job.

           You haven’t had to deal with another person for longer than you can remember, let alone someone who’s hurt.

           You can’t do this. Surely, you’ve done well in keeping yourself and Gliscor alive; you have everything you need to survive, no matter how minimal—

           “Grrr…”

           Garchomp growls at you, as if challenging you to ignore them again.

           Togekiss, meanwhile, weeps pleadingly. Her warbles shudder in a fearful, pitiful melody, and it’s not the dragon’s threat that has you finally giving in, but her sadness instead.

           There’s something about her gentle anguish that tugs at your hardened heart.

           You raise your hands in surrender. Gliscor wouldn’t be able to take on the both of them, anyway, and your dagger would be useless.

           “Fine. I’ll help.”

           Togekiss trills and unexpectedly swarms over to you, her feathers buffeting against your cheeks.

           “O—okay! Calm down for a second…”

           She does, thankfully, and you’re guiding the two toward the secluded edge of the grove, where the grass and trees fall away to towering boulders and stone.

           And that’s how you find yourself perched underneath a makeshift tent, pressed up against the muddy cliffs, and with a complete stranger to nurse back to health.

           At least he has plenty of supplies.

           His large pack had been in Garchomp’s care, looped over one of his strong shoulders, and thankfully, it’s full of an assortment of goods.

           You’ve gleaned most of what had happened to the man, thanks to Togekiss’ explanation and Gliscor’s translation. As Garchomp sets him down onto his bedroll you’d unfurled, you can’t help wondering why it is that you’ve been subjected to this, of all days, and out of all people possible.

           “What kind of fool wanders into the direct path of an Alpha Pokémon,” you grumble, pawing through his bag for the Pecha Berries you’d been informed about, courtesy of Togekiss, “and a Vespiquen, no less, in the spring season?”

           Of course, nobody answers you, but you do sense that Garchomp is glaring at you rather pointedly from just outside the tent.

           As much as you’d like to criticize… you decide that you’ll keep your snide remarks to yourself.

           You put the thought out of your mind while you gather together his medical kit, Pecha Berries, and a canteen of water. It’s time you tend to your patient, even if you’re reluctant. You have no other options at this point, not with the dragon breathing down your neck.

           The man is still upon his bedroll. You take a moment to examine his features; he’s dressed in a plain black haori tossed over a white undershirt, sullied with dirt and tangles of prickly underbrush. A noticeable gash, still bleeding and filling the air with a pungent, metallic smell, runs across his left leg, the brown fabric of his pants torn open at the injury. Fortunately, it’s not a large wound, but if truly inflicted by a Vespiquen, you need to work quickly.

           After all, his skin is growing unusually pallid, and you notice ominous lines of sweat trickling down his face. As if confirming your grim observation, he groans in fitful rest. Hurrying to check for any signs of a fever, you push back the black headkerchief tied over his forehead.

           And then you freeze.

           This can’t be.

           “No, no, no, nonono—” A vicious panic scalds your throat shut, and your words dwindle to nothing.

           Togekiss croons at your side, concerned about your surprising terror, but you fail to hear her at all.

           His face. These familiar, sweeping blond locks. This man…!

           You’ve only seen him in your memories, your visions, your imagination? And you’ve been content, then, to never witness him before your eyes. You’ve done everything you could to avoid your duty, so that he would never be real to you, never something to be concerned with your menial little life.

           And yet, he’s real.

           You… you can’t deny it.

           It’s as though he senses that you’ve realized something, because slowly, his eyes slide open, quivering before they immediately flick to you. Because he senses, somehow, that you are what he needs to see.

           He doesn’t care for his surroundings, or how he’s ended up like this.

           His gray eyes—and you fight and struggle against the thought that they are just like yours—hold your gaze, refusing to settle anywhere else, and then you curse the recognition you see in them.

           Those dreadful eyes widen, and no longer can you ignore that yours are the same when you hear that damning whisper fall from his cracked lips,

           “You… you are Celestica.”

           It’s as though time has stilled, when he speaks the broken words, and something pulses in the back of your mind.

           Again, you see them. The pillars of stone, shattered but beautiful, and then the flash of platinum… A figure, wrought of white and gold, standing so tall before you…

           He’s there once again.  

           Subconsciously, your hand twitches toward the blade tucked against your side.

           A terrible noise, hoarse and breathy, suddenly crackles through the quiet air, startling you from your reverie.

           It’s an unpleasant sound, one that even you can tell harbors immeasurable, bitter grief. It causes the hairs upon your neck stand upright, yet you force yourself to watch the man carefully as he chokes out another defeated laugh.

           “I see in your eyes that you haven’t thought as long about it as I have. Nothing of it consumes your waking thoughts, your purpose to live…”

           What would he know of your life?

           He knows nothing of your purpose,

           and yet, he is your purpose, all the same.

           He coughs once. You’re tempted to kick him so that he coughs again.

           “So untainted by the responsibility that we bear,” he murmurs dully, lifting a hand to try and brush against your cheek, “and so ignorant in your bliss.”

           He’s smiling at you.

           He is the one who is ignorant—foolish—stupid—

           Something is wrong with this man.

           His fingers drift upward, toward your chin. Immediately, you reel back, teeth bared.

           He’s clearly not in his right mind.

           And whether that’s from the venom from his injury, his weakened state, or perhaps something else, you don’t want to know.

           “…You speak nonsense.” You rein in your urge to cast him out of your shelter. “It’s… it’s better if you rest, so you can leave me be.”

           “I cannot.”

           That awful smile is still upon his lips as he stares at you, almost reverently.

           “I’ve wondered if there were more of our people…”

           And with those words, abruptly, he closes his eyes.

           …He’s only asleep.

           You hardly dare to breathe, trembling, as you watch his chest gradually rise and fall.

           If only that Garchomp, so aware of your fear and your eagerness to flee, wasn’t in the way, you’d have disappeared before his next awakening.

           But you’re trapped, and you have no choice but to face the words of your ancestors, and doubtless, the hardship they will bring.  

[gomzwrites]

Okay Gomz, I have to know now, other than Gaz (who’s clearly the best, out of question), what is your personal thoughts when it comes to the dynamics between the boys and reader? Imo I love feral Soap ((im just down bad man))

hi hi, okay Im sorry if I interpret your question incorrectly but Im assuming you're asking like how I picture the relationship between Price, Ghost and Soap are like with readers? ((yes you're right Gaz will forever be special)) Personally, I like to think Price to be a man of control, like he is the captain after all, man's entire career has probably shaped his way of thinking, being calculative and meticulous, and I would imagine he's the same when he's dating. Like him having the high ground, being the meanie or bully XD but but but, I also like to picture Price to be someone that doesn't want to be in control for a change of pace, he'll let reader pamper him and take care of him, for once he doesn't even have to think about making decisions and let the reader do whatever they like with him. I think still. he's definitely a pleasure dom, your pleasure comes first before anything ;) For Ghost, if you've read my fics and previous asks, I like to have him serious but also silly in the same time(?) Hear me out, like my man will be scared of intimacy and love and the mushy stuff, but once he felt them and accept it? he'll be the corniest, most hopeless romantic. Im also the type who prefer soft Ghost, idk maybe its just me wanting to let him have some form of soft and kindness instead of being mean and grrr all the time, yk?

For Soap, ((lmao yes feral Soap is good as well btw)), I think my idea is more generic for him, like I'd paint him as the golden retriever boyfriend? Big in showing you his feeling in a dramatic way, but I like to think he also have some insecurity showing and cope with humor. Like, sometimes he'll doubt himself if you actually love him because he's loud and all, he'll have thoughts like "i dont deserve you" kind of thing. I dont write him often enough but if i do, that's how I would picture him :]

Gaz is the perfect boyfriend. No arguments needed. Literally will be the best man wife ever, the most gentleman of them all and he's my husband, back off yall (jkjk, we can share <3)

also this came out longer than expected oops, but thanks for asking :D I like this kind of ask actually so feel free to shoot me another one when ya feel like it!

[quietnqueer]

Asexual Identities & Feminist Her-Stories

This is a blog for Ace Week 2020 @asexualawarenessweek​, inspired by this year’s theme: ‘Our History’.  

I recently came across this talk on You Tube: ‘Ace and Aro Zines as Community Building and History’ which was delivered by Olivia Montoya at the 2019 WorldPride Ace and Aro Conference. It’s a fascinating insight into the history of ace zines. What got me particularly excited though was when Olivia started showing quotes from feminist speeches and publications from as far back as the 1970s which mention asexuality; and Riot Grrrl zines from the ‘90s and early-2000s which also discussed ace-ness.

Coming across this talk has led me to take a look back at my own involvement with feminism and how it informed the way I thought about my sexuality, prior to realising I was asexual.

I was involved in feminist activism from 2005-2008-ish, when I was in my early/mid-twenties. I was of the feminist generation that protested ‘raunch culture’; the objectification of women and the marketing of Playboy pencil cases to pre-pubescent girls. The activism I was involved in was very much underpinned by radical feminist theory and ideas; including that of the ‘woman-identified woman’. The ‘woman-identified woman’ rejects sexual/romantic relationships with men and instead prioritises relationships with women; these relationships can be sexual, but they don’t have to be.

This concept of the woman-identified woman, along with the radical feminist critique of compulsory heterosexuality, and just patriarchy in general really, definitely influenced the way I thought about my sexuality during this time. I didn’t identify as straight. But this wasn’t because I knew I lacked sexual/romantic attraction towards men (I didn’t really get to grips with this until I discovered there was such a thing as asexuality);  I did know on some level I wasn’t interested in men; I couldn’t imagine myself settling down with a man; but my rejection of heterosexuality was more an expression of my radical feminism: “I’m not dating men because patriarchy, grrr!” type-thing.

I didn’t identify as bi or lesbian either, though (the only other sexualities on my radar at the time). I couldn’t imagine myself with a guy; but I couldn’t imagine myself with a girl, either. In fact, the way I thought about my sexuality is summed up perfectly in one of the Riot Grrrl zines Olivia shows in her presentation. In an essay entitled, ‘Your Revolution Will Not Happen Between These Thighs!’, its author, Lauren Jade Martin, writes: “I wasn’t straight, bi, or a dyke - I just thought of myself as nothing.”

Looking back now, I see how much I thought about (my) sexuality in the abstract. This way of thinking was certainly influenced by my exposure to radical feminism; however, I wonder whether it was also a sign of my asexuality. 

Although I was in my twenties, I’d never had sex and never been in a relationship; I’d not experienced any of the fleshy, squishy-squashy feelings that (I’m told) constitute sexual/romantic attraction, and therefore a person’s sexual identity/orientation. This therefore probably made me more receptive to the radical feminist idea of sexual orientation being a political choice you can make.

Today, a decade on, I no longer think about my sexuality in this way. And that’s because I discovered (my) asexuality. 

Over the past 12 months, I’ve been exploring (my) ace-ness, which has involved lots of self-reflection and examination of my past experiences and feelings in relation to all things sexual and romantic. This process of self-exploration has meant I no longer think about my sexuality as this abstract thing; now I know I’m asexual, I think about it as something more innate; as an orientation; as something I can’t help but be.  

So, it was interesting to come across ‘The Asexual Manifesto’ (again, via Olivia’s talk, and available to view here). This was a feminist pamphlet published in 1972 and is very reminiscent of the radical feminism I was immersed in years ago, such as it talks about “reject(ing) any possibility of sex” (with men or with women), “unless our conditions are met… thereby prevent(ing) ourselves from being sexually exploited and oppressed.”

If I’d have come across this manifesto back in my activist days, I might have embraced its definition of asexual.

Reading The Asexual Manifesto now though, I find it more problematic; because the way it defined asexuality is different to the way asexuality is defined today. The manifesto says asexuality is something a woman can choose; that it’s an “efficient ‘alternative lifestyle’ for revolutionary women”. It does not talk about asexuality in terms of experiencing little/no sexual attraction.

And whilst it could be said, ‘yeah, okay, this is a definition from the past, so let’s not worry about it too much’; check out the Wikipedia entry on ‘feminism and asexuality’. It conflates asexuality with political lesbianism – another version of that ‘woman-identified woman’ radical feminism I was talking about above.

This conflation of asexuality with radical/political lesbian feminism troubles me because it distorts and negates what asexuality actually is. I don’t want my asexuality to be construed as a choice. Yes, I’m a feminist who has issues with compulsory heterosexuality; however, I don’t have relationships with men because of that; the reason I don’t have relationships with men is because I’m simply not attracted to them. 

My asexuality is something innate to me; that’s how I experience it; how I embody it. It’s not something I’ve chosen. It’s who I am.

There’s definitely potential for an ‘asexual feminism’; but it needs to be rooted in an understanding of asexuality as experiencing little/no sexual attraction, rather than as a political/lifestyle choice. 

[heartsywritesthethings]

Mammon pt. 1

Heartsy’s Notes: Babe. I love you so much. This is some good fucking food. I am amazed at how fast you got this done and so well too. Absolutely killing it! And I do so love Mammon.

“I don’t know why ya think that.” Mammon says with a scrunched up face. He’s laying across the couch on his back lazily, tossing a golden coin up and down and catching it in his hand without much effort. You watch him, curled up in a chair nearby with the fire of the House of Lamentation crackling softly in the background.

“I mean it,” You insist “I really think that you’re Lucifer’s favorite.”

“He’s mean to me all the time. He took Goldie!” Mammon says, looking like he was about to tear up over his beloved credit card.

“Why didn’t you just take it back?” you ask, really thinking about it. Really, why would Mammon just go against his brother and take his credit card back? Sure, Lucifer was older, but they seemed pretty evenly matched. 

“I can’t.” Mammon mumbled, his face turning a light shade of pink. 

“Why?” You ask, getting up out of your chair to get a closer look at Mammon’s face. It could have just been the firelight after all.

“He’s just…you know…Look, let’s stop talking about it. I got Goldie back and that’s that.” Mammon said, tossing his coin up again. He fails to catch it again and it hits the floor with a soft clatter. Mammon curses under his breath, shifting to try and grab it.

“Did something happen?” You ask, taking a step closer to him. Mammon is definitely blushing now and he quickly looks away.

“Nothing happened! Why are you asking? Help me look for my lucky coin!” Mammon says, turning away from you. You fold your arms across your chest. He’s definitely hiding something.

“You know, I could always make you tell me.” You say. Mammon’s head snaps around and he narrows his eyes at you.

“You wouldn’t” Mammon says.

“So there’s is something to tell! I knew it!” You say triumphantly. Mammon grumbles to himself. His ears are red now with how furious his blush is. 

“Just shut up, human. I need to find my–”

“Mammon, tell me why you’re so afraid of Lucifer.” You command. Because of your pact with Mammon, you can really make him do anything you say. Typically, you don’t like to abuse this power since you like to think that you and Mammon are friends. This time, however, you have to get to the bottom of this. Whatever dark secret Mammon is hiding, it’s something you want to know.

“You’re an ass,” Mammon says and you shrug a little bit to yourself. He’s not wrong.

<< You have unlocked Secret Memory 1 from Mammon >>

“Mammon–” Lucifer begins, one arm in the air with a bright golden credit card gleaming in the light. Mammon shoves Lucifer in the chest, but the Avatar of pride doesn’t even budge.

“Give her back! She needs me!” Mammon whines, trying to reach up to grab his precious credit card from his brother’s hand. While he wasn’t too much shorter than his older brother, Lucifer had ridiculously long arms. Lucifer just sighed, the bored look on his face never changing. 

“You are being ridiculous. You can not even pay back half of the bills you have stacked in your room. Why would I let you embarrass Diavolo even more by–” Lucifer tried again and Mammon growled.

“I’m not an embarrassment! I just–grrr—give it back!” Mammon continues, anger and annoyance written clear on his face. Lucifer just shakes his head.

“It is clear that simply talking to you will not help.” Lucifer looks up at the card in his hand. “Mammon, I will be confiscating this for the foreseeable future.”

Mammon seemed to freeze, staring up at his credit card. Dozens of terrifying scenarios flipped through his head. Lucifer boiling Goldie in oil, him throwing Goldie in the pits of hell, Goldie melting in the extreme heat of hell fire. A rumble rocked the House of Lamentation made Lucifer lose his cool composure.

Mammon’s wings sprouted from his back and his horns poked through his bright white hair. Lucifer’s arm lowered as he watched his younger brother fall into his demon form. Before the Avatar of Pride could begin to warn his brother about jumping to his demon form for trivial items, Mammon pounced. 

Mammon, Avatar of Greed, leaped into the air, using his wings to aid in his jump. He snatched Goldie from Lucifer’s manicured fingers, smacking him in the face with the tail while he was at it. Rather ungracefully, Mammon hit the ground, clutching Goldie close to his chest to keep her safe. 

“Are you alright? Are you hurt? I wouldn’t let him do anything bad to you, I’m so sorry…” Mammon said, giving the plastic card as many small kisses as he could. His brother, absolutely appalled by Mammon’s behavior, began transforming into his demon form himself. Mammon hardly noticed as the ground shook around him and his brother stalked closer to him. A bright red mark was beginning to form on Lucifer’s cheek where Mammon had struck him, making Lucifer seem all the more dangerous. 

“Mammon.” Lucifer said, his voice lowered with the amount of anger he was holding back. He placed a hand on Mammon’s shoulder firmly to keep him still. Mammon froze under Lucifer’s touch, just now realizing how much he fucked up.

“U-uh– AHHAHA” He began before Lucifer’s finger slid down Mammon’s back starting from the base of his neck down to his lower back. 

Mammon immediately fell to his knees, his eyes wide open. He remembered how ticklish he had been as a little demon child, but he didn’t think he still _was _this ticklish. Shakily, he looked over his shoulder at his brother.

Without any hesitation, Lucifer quickly pushed Mammon onto the ground and flat on his face. The Avatar of Pride straddled Mammon without much trouble at all. With Mammon immobilized on his stomach and on the ground, Lucifer began his work. 

“First, you will apologize to me for striking me in the face.” Lucifer said calmly, his wiggling fingers descending on Mammon’s exposed sides. Giggles immediately spilled from Mammon’s lips and his wings fluttered fruitlessly against his back.

“Wahahahahahait! Lucihihihi!” Mammon giggled, pressing his forehead against the cold floor. 

“You will apologize.” Lucifer repeated, digging his fingers in a little harder into his sides.

“Ahahahaha! You ahahahass!” Mammon continued, trying to wiggle away to no avail. 

“Mammon, you are in no position right now to call me such names.” Lucifer said. His wiggling fingers drifted up to Mammon’s ribs because if he remembered correctly…

“AhH! EEK! QuIT!” Mammon squeaked and a smile tugged the corner of Lucifer’s mouth. 

“You will be tickled until you apologize, Mammon. You cannot move and my next meeting with Diavolo is not for another few days.” Lucifer said calmly as Mammon jerked around under his softly pinching and tickling fingers. 

“Lucihihihifer! AH!"Mammon whined, his wings flapping desperately. Just the thought of being trapped under his brother’s tickly fingers for that long…he didn’t even want to imagine that. Maybe he could make Lucifer think that this tactic wasn’t going to work. After all, he was having fun as of right now. 

"I’ll–AH! AHA! I’ll never apologihihihize to you for hurting Goldie! Never!” Mammon managed defiantly.

Lucifer paused. Mammon gulped in air, his wings relaxing against his back after all of that flapping. It worked! Sure, he could have gone with maybe a couple more minutes of this, but…he remembered how demonic Lucifer could really be in regards to tickling.

“If you are to be this defiant, you really are giving me no choice.” Lucifer stated. Pulling a raven’s feather saved for an Akuzon purchase from his pocket, he considers his options for a moment. 

And that’s when all hell broke loose. While the feather was quite light, brushing it against the extremely ticklish skin between Mammon’s wings proved—

“AHHH! AHAHAHAHAHA! NO! NOT THEHEHEHEHERREE AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

–to work just as Lucifer had hoped.

Mammon bucked and screeched underneath Lucifer. His wings flapped wildly and his legs kicked out. Thoughts jumbled together in Mammon’s head, unable to string anything together. Lucifer placed a hand on his left wing to keep it from flapping as crazily, wiggling his finger against it as well.

“SORRY! SOAHAHAHAHAAHRRY! PLEHEHEASE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! STOP! LUCIHIHIHIHIHIH! NO!” Mammon screamed, his face red and tears of mirth leaving his eyes.

Lucifer’s smile could not be contained now. He remembered how his brother had stated that he loved to laugh and have fun and this was definitely something Lucifer could find fun. 

“Aren’t you having a good time, Mammon? Would you like for me to ask Beelzebub to help tickle you as well? Maybe Satan? I seem to remember Leviathan being very talented in tickling you as well,” Lucifer teased. Mammon shook his head, now laughing far too hard to even say words. 

This ticklish hell continued for only a couple more minutes before Lucifer finally stopped. Mammon was still laughing for a little while longer before he realized that not only had Lucifer stopped, but he had gotten off of him as well. Slowly, the Avatar of Greed pulled himself up to his feet, brushing himself off. Lucifer watched him, standing just a few feet away. After a moment, Mammon realized that Goldie was gone again. Apparently during his ticklish struggle, he had smacked it away from himself and Lucifer had gotten a hold of it. For a moment, Mammon wanted to get it back, but a blush found its way on his face and he stopped himself. 

His demon form disappeared and Mammon shuffled on his feet awkwardly. Finally, he turned away from his brother to leave.

“I am not finished with you yet.” Lucifer said and a shiver went down Mammon’s spine. Lucifer grabbed Mammon’s wrist and pulled him onto the couch.

“You will sit and listen.” Lucifer said, pointing to a place on the couch.

“But your lectures always take soooooo long,” Mammon whined without thinking. In a blink of an eye, Mammon was shoved onto the couch with his feet in an arm lock.

“Now, since you seem to have forgotten the rules of this house under Diavolo, I will recite them again–” Lucifer began, his fingernails dragging against the soles of Mammon’s feet. Mammon threw his head back and groaned, trying to stifle his giggles again. 

“And you will not interrupt me or I shall remind this entire house of your…particular weakness,” Lucifer said, and Mammon clamped a hand over his mouth to stop a squeal from leaving it as Lucifer scratched a particularly ticklish spot just underneath his big toes.

<< End of Secret Memory 1 with Mammon >>

“Awww!” You say as the memory fades. Mammon is as red as he had been in the memory.

“Shut up, human.” Mammon said, sliding a hand through his hair.

“Don’t say that or I may just tickle you~” You threaten, bringing your hands up and wiggling your fingers menacingly. Mammon takes a small step back and soon, you’re chasing the white-haired demon around the common room as he tries to escape your tickling fingers.

[robbyrobinson]

Fanfic: Enemies Within

A @dokidokiliteraturegirls fanfic (webcomic was created by @youhavethewrong

                                       [CHAPTER ONE]

“Quick, everyone, into the club room!” Monika yelled.

The girls’ rapid footsteps echoed down the halls. The entire school was tainted in a deep shade of red. The walls pulsated and contorted into different geometric shapes. Whatever was chasing after the girls was jetting fast, bouncing off the vibrant walls with ease. The school itself became a barren wasteland devoid of students and teachers. Outside of the building all of the windows had been shattered. 

“It’s gaining on us!” Natsuki remarked.

“I wish Anthy was here,” Yuri sighs, “if she didn’t decide to face off against that beast, she would’ve deleted them a long time ago.” 

Ako darted on the twisting floors, managing to avoid some obstructions. “We’re almost to the literature club!” 

The black and white girl was correct. The entrance to the door of the literature club was within their grasp. The floors may be writhing and shifting, but if they kept their footing, they should make it. Natsuki turned to look at her lover and smiled. “We’re almost there, dear.” 

Yuri’s mouth formed an O as if she were about to comment. Before she could, her left foot hit a bump in the floor and to her lover’s horror and bewilderment, she crashed onto the floor with an ungraceful thud. Yuri moaned in pain. “It’s my knee...I bruised it.” The walls merged into the ground and lifted the purple-haired girl in the air, propelling her backward. 

“YURI!” Natsuki screamed in disbelief. 

Yuri was sprawled on her back recoiling in pain. “Natsuki, you have to escape without me.” 

Tears sweltered in Natsuki’s eyes. “No! Not after everything we’ve been through, you can’t give up now!” 

Yuri started to cry as well. “I’m badly hurt...I’ll just slow you guys down. It’s okay.” 

Natsuki shook her head violently in refusal. “My life was nothing but misery before I met you at the literature club. My father...everyone ostracizing me and seeing me weird for my obsession with manga and...other things...Yuri, you lighten up my world! I don’t want to lose you now! Please stand up!” 

Yuri tried to get up, but the tremors in the ground forced her back down. The creature was now advancing towards them faster than before. “Forget me, Natsuki! If you won’t do it for me, do it for us!” 

Natsuki looked at her other club members then back at Yuri. She did this a few times that felt like an eternity. Her thoughts were being drowned out by the quaking noise and Yuri’s vocal insistence. Natsuki grabbed the sides of her temples in anguish. “Why do I have to choose like this!?” 

With that, she ran towards Yuri. Ako stopped momentarily to see what was happening. “Wait, Natsuki!” 

She wanted to say more. She had to say more. She didn’t want to lose anyone else today. But Monika grabbed her only arm for she had lost her metallic arm in the fighting. “We don’t have much time,” Monika said solemnly, “it pains me, but Natsuki made her decision.” 

“B-but...” Ako stammered. Monika dashed to the door and bent down to bite the handle of the door. Her teeth grasped the handle tightly giving Monika a slight toothache from them grinding on the handle to open it counterclockwise. She couldn’t help but pray to whatever forces out there in the universe to give her this small bit of strength to do this one simple task. With the door opened, Monika tossed Ako into the room and slammed the door. 

Natsuki somehow made it to Yuri and placed herself on top of her girlfriend. Yuri was still hurting slightly, but feeling the warmth of Natsuki’s body did remedy some of it. Tears were streaming down her face. “That was quite an immature thing to do, Natsuki.” 

Natsuki cried as well. Her tears fell on Yuri’s chest soaking it. “Hey, you know me, Yuri, I am a child after all. 

The two shared a deep, passionate kiss with each other breaking it a few moments to breathe. Natsuki’s lips still tasted like cupcakes. Yuri’s were a sweet lavender scent. Their chaser towered over the couple and chuckled. “That would be sweet, but I already sacrificed my ties a long time ago.” 

Natsuki looked up to see the attacker. They remained in a stable motion despite the walls and floors collapsing in on themselves. In fact, Natsuki could’ve sworn that whoever it was, they were levitating in the air. The attacker was radiating a red energy and was gathering into a violent ball of dark power. Natsuki grit her teeth. 

“You’ll never get away with this!” 

“That’s what they all say.” 

Ako paced back and forth when she stopped in her tracks to hear several blasts and sizzling. Ako whimpered to herself knowing what happened but she could not even dare to imagine the immense pain Yuri and Natsuki were put in.She looked over at Monika. Monika was putting on a straight face, or at least a visual of it. She heard everything as well, but she had to be strong in their memory. Now they had to barricade the door to keep the attacker at bay. 

Ako was grabbing whatever wasn’t glued down to the ground and blockading the door with it. Desks, chairs, boxes. Whatever was readily available, Ako made use of. “That won’t hold them for long, Monika, so hurry!” 

Monika had her laptop in hand and activated it. “I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying!” 

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Red energy illuminated through the cracks of the door. Ako responded by throwing in her body weight to slow down the attacker’s thrashing. She shoved her hands firmly on the door and pressed her feet on the ground. “Grrr....can’t hold on much longer!!” 

“It’s finishing loading, Ako, just hold on a little longer,” Monika said reassuringly.

Ako’s sweat moistened her hands, making them slippery. Her arms were chafing and on the verge of failure. “I have to do this for all the girls.” 

The banging on the door became louder and more forceful. The desks and chairs were giving way. The red energy shined brightly, overtaking the room. Monika became unnerved by it, but she pressed on. “Just one more and...there! Ako, I got into the command panel!” 

Her tone of triumph fell flat from the lack of a response. “Ako?” Monika said “Ako?” 

She turned to look at the door and nearly panicked. Ako was gone; evaporated. The door was now hanging on its single hinge alongside the charred chairs and desks. But worse of all, she was now alone in the club room with Ako’s killer. 

“I-it’s you,” Monika remarked. She shielded her laptop despite being petrified. 

“After I have destroyed all of the other alternate realities, you of all people should’ve known that I would come for this reality next.” 

Monika narrowed her eyes in disgust. “There is one universe that I know you haven’t destroyed.” 

The attacker laughed. “Dimension C-2293? The one where you live a happy little life as if none of your sins ever happened?” 

Monika bowed her head in shame. “That dimension’s Monika has a copy of the laptop I use. I already sent it to her. You’ll never win because of teamwork.”

She looked at the clock on the wall, but reading it was difficult due to the walls twisting and turning and fading away. “99% of the game is deleted.” 

The attacker smiled. “Everything you have ever done dies with you. I don’t care if you sent a version of yourself the message because you no longer exist.” 

In a flash, the attacker was gone leaving Monika with the world crumbling around her. She collapsed on the ground writhing in agony. Looking down at her hands, she could see that the flesh on them was being eroded away. Before long, she would be completely deleted. More open wounds erupted throughout her body and unravels from the data being eradicated. With her gaze faltering, Monika felt her only solace would be that she’d be with her dimension’s Sayori. 

“I just hope she gets the message ASAP.” 

                                [CHAPTER TWO]

Monika and Sayori sat in their shared home one day watching television. For whatever reason, Monika had a worried look on her face. Sayori noticed her few passing glances and was slowly becoming alarmed as well. "Dear, what's wrong? You're acting weird."

Monika blinked suddenly and then a few times. "Oh, sorry; I just received some…interesting e-mail."

Sayori's eyes widened. "Really? From whom?"

Monika shrugged her shoulders. "The coordinates were all over the chart." She stretched out her arms to further emphasize her point. "I feel it has something to do with the game's code again. Maybe I'll ask Anthy on it later."

Sayori snapped her fingers suddenly. "Oh, shoot; I almost forgot. I think our Ako has a crush!"

Monika tensed up for a bit. Even if it's been about two years, Monika still felt slightly incensed to the notion that Ako would try to go after her Sayori again. Even though they had both buried the hatchet back during the beach episode arc. Sayori took notice if this and tapped her on the shoulder. "No, not me this time."

Monika's limbs loosened in relief. "Sorry. I still need to work on that. Anyway, who is it?"

"Anthy." Sayori replied.

A moment of silence filled the room. It was so quiet, that a pin could drop any minute and not invoke much of a reaction from the two girls. Monika opened her mouth a few times still unsure on what to say. Anthy? That girl who literally tried to kill all of them and was the one who bit her arm off? Really? Monika picked up her glass to take a few sips from it, but it noticeably wobbled in her hand.

"Anthy? Why?" Monika asked.

"It all started when Anthy started to appear more to check on how the game was running. As you know, Anthy kind of made some alterations to the game by making herself a home here. Well, she started hanging out with Ako at the library where she'd watch her draw two flowers and a cat. Anthy started bringing her different objects to draw. One thing led to another…and then they both kissed."

Monika spit her drink out, startling Sayori. "Monika, what the hell?"

"Sorry, sorry. It's just…coming off as a surprise to hear all that."

Sayori nodded her head. "That explained why they kind of…freaked out when they were close to each other at the club room a day before."

Monika was still unsure of what to think. Sure, she is content with the fact that Ako found herself someone to potentially love. But Anthy…to be frank, was a little creepy. What with her permanent smile and shark teeth, could you really blame her? Anthy couldn't much help that because she mentioned constantly that it was her default expression. Even when she wasn't doing anything…deadly, she was still intimidating. But at the same time, she shouldn't dissuade Ako from pursuing her heart, even if it ends in heartbreak.

"I take it that she texted you about it?"

Sayori nodded her head again. "Yeah; she did. She said that she wasn't sure about what to do."

"Are you suggesting we arrange for the two to confess to each other?" Monika asked.

"Of course; she's going to come by later to confide in me. You could maybe confront Anthy and give her advice."

Monika raised her finger to say something additionally. Sayori laughed at this. "She won't bite; I promise."

A large distance across from where they lived, a girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes was walking. She attended the same school as the four girls and walked home from school every day at a certain time. It was not long since school had let out for the day. She walked down a small path soaking in her surroundings. She was thinking of what to have for dinner at home when a surge of power generated through the air. She looked up in alarm.

Above her, a rip formed in the sky and gave way to a large, gaping hole. The girl stood glued to the ground with shock and awe. Fragments of the sky fell onto the ground revealing heavy static behind it. "What in the?" she asked herself.

From that rip came a rosy-colored flame ball. It launched itself in a downward spiral bombarding towards the girl. Seeing this suddenly brought the girl back to her senses and she ran right to dodge it. The flame ball smashed into the ground, leveling it. Smoke filled the site of the impact. Out of curiosity, the girl pondered what had fallen to Earth and stood by to observe. The smoke eventually settled enough for the girl to realize that it formed a considerably large crater.

"What?"

She ran towards the crater her curiosity being overbearing as it was. Panting from running, she investigated the crater to a surprise. In the hole, there was a girl, roughly around her age. More bizarrely, she was bereft of clothing and laying on her belly with her bare cheeks at full display. The blonde-haired girl blushed at this slightly most likely from embarrassment at seeing the girl in such a position. But she was horrified all the same assuming the girl for dead.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no…" she said. She scrambled through her belongings to find her cell phone so she could contact the medics of the dilemma. After dialing up the number, she momentarily looked away to listen to the ringtone. She looked back to catch another glimpse of the girl for a description but saw that she was gone.

"Ma'am? Ma'am?" the receptor asked.

The blonde girl held the phone shakily in her hand before dropping it seemingly not hearing the person on the other end. In front of her, the naked girl levitated before her. She couldn't speak. Nothing about what she was seeing made any sense. Before she could say anything, the naked girl grabbed her by her throat and glared at her. Upon looking closer at the girl before her, she saw that she shared the same color of her eyes. As she was desperately trying to comprehend what was going on, the nude girl's eyes turned crimson.

A few minutes later, the once nude girl had clothes. After finishing up on her necktie, she walked up the path. "I'll be coming for you soon. Don't get too cozy."

Ako arrived at Monika and Sayori's house roughly at six. She approached the door fretfully and almost found herself walking away several times unsure of whether she should go through with it or not. She extended her right hand to knock on the door, but her knocks were barely an octave. She waited around, but she did not hear the girls. "I knew this was a bad idea."

Ako turned to walk away, but the door slowly opened to a creek. "Ako?"

"Oh, uh, hey…Sayori," Ako said.

Monika had prepared some tea for the occasion and offered some to Ako. Ako thanked her for it and took a long, noisy sip from it. Afterward, the room went silent again. Monika and Sayori stood by waiting for someone to start the conversation. Eyes darted throughout the room to see a single instance of lips parting to form a vowel sound. When nothing came about, Sayori cleared her throat. "So, Ako, how…"

"I kissed her, Sayori," Ako finally responded.

"Oh," Sayori said plainly,

"I don't know what happened. We were both sitting down at a table. Anthy had gone to one of those online game websites and brought me back a teddy bear for me to draw." Ako stopped herself so she could drink more of the tea before starting again. "Before I knew it, Anthy was sitting close to me; so close, I could feel her body rub up to mine. That same sensation I felt for you came back. Stronger even. My gut was making…butterflies is the term, I think? My heart was beating fast in my chest…I was scared that it would burst out of my chest if I wasn't too careful. But I felt Anthy's heart also skipping a beat."

Sayori and Monika listened carefully not saying anything. Anthy's cheeks began to turn green and she was becoming queasy. "Sayori, she's having an attack, what are we going to do?"

Sayori slipped out a paper bag, walked across the room, and placed it in Ako's hands. After breathing sporadically into the bag, her breathing eased. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Sayori said, "can you speak now?"

"I was drawing the teddy bear like I mentioned…but when Anthy got even closer to me, my hand nudged up with hers, and…our eyes met each other. As if unprecedented, we suddenly kissed."

"And after that, Anthy opened up a portal to run away?" Sayori asked.

Ako bowed her head. "Should I have kissed her?"

Monika spoke up next. "Did she like the kiss?"

"Monika!" Sayori shouted in surprise. "That's too much to ask."

Ako shrugged. "I couldn't tell. She didn't turn her head in disgust over it, but she also didn't express that she enjoyed it."

"Well, maybe we can help you come to terms with it," Monika said.

"How?" Ako asked.

"Getting you both to state your feelings to each other."

Ako raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"Well, a poem worked for both Natsuki and Yuri," Monika explained, "maybe that could help."

Ako raised her palm. "I gotta stop you right there, friend."

"Why?"

"Writing poems are not my thing." Ako stated. "It sounds kind of dumb."

Monika's right eye twitched. She felt her inner rage reaching her boiling point. "What the f-!"

Sayori covered her lover's mouth. "Maybe a drawing you can both do?"

Ako scratched her chin in deep thought. "That could work."

Ako stood up from her seat. "But the only issue remaining is that she caused us so much pain and almost killed us and nearly deleted the game. How can I just forget that?"

Sayori smiled. "To be fair, you can never really forget something like that. It makes you more unsure that you could trust someone like that again because you run a risk of going through that pain again. But when the person is putting in the effort of being better, you have to have some faith in them."

Ako nodded in agreement. "Is that like when you forgave Monika for the things she did in your game?"

"Yes. I mean Monika tried to have my neck snapped when I had a noose around my neck, but it's all good now, right, Monika?"

Monika laughed nervously at Sayori's comment. "Yeah…I did, didn't I?"

Ako also joined in on the laughter. Sayori and Ako were laughing wildly as if it were some type of joke. But Monika remained quiet, clearly not wanting to be reminded of what happened in the past.

                [CHAPTER THREE]

"This…doesn't make any sense," Anthy said to herself. She went behind the background of the game's world to view the coding. There was some recent addition to the game, but for some reason, the addition was invisible to her. As an antivirus program, Anthy would be aware of it. If data were being burned in exhaust, Anthy would be sure to quash that. And yet, here she was trying to find out what happened. She was so absorbed in her work; she almost did not hear her doorbell ring.

"What? Huh?"

"Anthy, it's me," a voice responded.

Anthy sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you, Monika; come on in."

Monika opened the front door and entered the house. Her eyes widened in surprise. Anthy's house…was not that great to look at. The wallpaper was in stitched patches of light green stripes. Like a Christmas tree. All the furniture were merely photos she had made copies on by visiting various websites on the internet like Clip Art and Photoshop. Most striking, however, was that when the wallpaper began to decay and peel, it revealed the static background of the game's setting.

"Oh, hey," Anthy said in a half-laugh, "this is my humble abode." She stretched her arms out to further emphasize it. Monika soaked it in for a few moments but forced a smile.

"Oh, it's nice," she said.

Anthy lowered her head to indicate that she sensed that she was lying. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It isn't the best thing ever, but at least it's cozy." Anthy laughed in embarrassment.

"Well, what were you doing exactly?" Monika asked.

"Oh, the game apparently had some addition to it, but for whatever reason, I can't find it."

Monika scratched her chin. "That is odd; I received some coordinates on my laptop; it felt like it came from somewhere outside of the game."

Anthy sat on a green chair she copied and pasted from Clip Art. "What brings you to my home anyway?" Anthy squinted her eyes in suspicion. "You didn't add something to the game, right, Monika?"

Monika denied it by shaking her head. "No. It's actually about Sayori."

Anthy looked up. "She isn't still distraught over finding out the truth about the Player?"

Monika frowned. "It wasn't your fault, Anthy, you know that."

Anthy nodded. "Yeah, but when the game glitched out that one time and you all were thrown out of your game and met the Player, I felt it was my fault for it."

Monika pat Anthy's shoulder. "Even though the Player outright admitted to us that he viewed us as nothing more than pixels, the love that we had for each other was real. It was the only thing that mattered."

"True; well, what was on Sayori's mind?" Anthy asked. She ripped a small hole in thin air and pulled out a mug. In the mug was some coffee. She then opened her mouth and pitched the mug into it. Monika shivered a bit. Anthy always had the oddest way of eating food. If she even needed to eat at all.

"She spoke with Ako today about what happened between you and Ako."

Anthy suddenly spit the hot coffee out of her mouth. "What!?"

Monika waved her hands. "It's fine, it's fine."

Anthy's face reddened spontaneously. She bowed her head again and shielded it with her gloved hands. She let out a slight whimper almost as though she were a little puppy. "Oh, why did you have to bring it up? It was so…humiliating!"

Monika blinked a few times whilst thinking of what to do next. "Did Ako think it was?"

Anthy looked back up again. "I got out of dodge before I even asked her about it."

Monika nodded understandably. "Ah. I understand. You know, Sayori and I didn't immediately hook up, you know."

Anthy listened tentatively. "Yeah, I can see that. But what can I do about my dilemma?"

"Oh, when Ako came over to speak about what happened, she also had the same feelings about the kiss as well."

Anthy's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Monika smiled. "Yes; she almost through up from it."

Anthy squinted her eyes to indicate a frown which was obviously hard due to her perpetual grin. "So, she did hate it?"

"I wouldn't say that" Monika replied. "It goes to show that she is just as unsure about her feelings like you are."

Anthy nervously tapped her two index fingers. "I…I think I love her."

Monika smiled warmly. "Well, I m glad to hear you coming to that realization of yourself."

"I don't know what it is," Anthy replied, "but anytime I'm around Ako, I feel…warm. Calm even."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Monika asked.

"Jump into a farming simulation and maybe disconnect with modern society?" Anthy answered.

"No. If you are unsure of what to do, Sayori and I came up with a solution."

"Tell me, please," Anthy begged.

Sayori was at home watching anime when she received a notification. She reached for her cell phone and saw that it was a text message from Monika:

"Anthy agreed to do the drawing with Ako."

Sayori smiled. She quickly replied and laced it neatly with a heart emoji. She played around with Monika in a teasing fashion until Anthy typed up a response amounting to STFU. Sayori rolled her eyes. That was one of the things she liked about her bizarre, shark-toothed friend.

Sayori continued to watch her show for a good hour. As it reached its finale, she received another buzz. "What now?" she asked.

She flipped through her messages again. This time, she saw that it was a number she did not recognize. She opened it up and read it. While the number was one, she did not know, it stated that it was from Natsuki. Sayori raised an eyebrow. She read it over a couple times to make sure she was interpreting what she was reading.

"I'm at the mall; I'm going to buy an anniversary gift for Yuri, and I need your advice."

Sayori was more complex. "Is that you, Yuri? What happened to your number?"

After typing that out, she got a response. "My phone broke, so I had to get a replacement."

Sayori rubbed her head. "Well, that makes sense."

Not taking how odd the text messages were, Sayori agreed to Natsuki's request and they both set up where they would be meeting at. Sayori followed the coordinates without further questions. Even though the site that they agreed upon was further away from the mall. Sayori thought to text Natsuki a few more times inquiring whether she had forgotten where they would meet up at. Natsuki sparingly gave responses at random until she arrived at a back alley. Sayori became unsettled by this.

"Natsuki, are you there?"

Her deep, innermost thoughts told her, nay screamed at her to not go into the alley, but her mind immediately drifted towards Natsuki. What if something was horribly wrong with her? Without much infliction, she rushed into the alley way. "Natsuki! Natsuki!?"

Her voice echoed throughout the seeming empty void. But there was no response. Sayori held her phone out and typed up another text for Natsuki. "Where are you, Natsuki? This isn't funny."

She waited around still fearful of her surroundings. She felt as if she was being watched by some unseen spectacle. It felt like an eternity of her waiting for an answer. The hair on the back of her hand stood on end. Her neck was out in the open, and now something or someone was caressing it. Sweat was raining down from her pores. But from that bout of anxiety, Natsuki's text came back startling her.

"Behind you."

Sayori turned around and saw a dark figure. It grabbed her before Sayori could even scream. Sayori struggled against her assailant with all her strength. The attacker grabbed onto Sayori's wrists with a tight grip. "Grrr…get off!"

The assailant twisted Sayori's right wrist propelling Sayori to fall on the ground. That proved to be Sayori's undoing. In a flash, the attacker held something in their hand and slammed it on Sayori's face. Sayori mumbled and squirmed vibrantly with her head pushed harder into the object. Eventually, Sayori's struggling weakened, and she fell unconscious. The assailant sighed heavily out of irritation at Sayori's resistance and went to collect her.

                      [CHAPTER FOUR]

"Mmm…. where am I?"

Sayori's eyes fluttered open to soak in her surroundings. She was in a dark room somewhere in an unknown place. Her mind pained her apparently resulting from her attacker wrestled that odd-smelling substance on her face causing her to black out. Sayori reached to soothe her aching head, but there were restraints around her wrists preventing her from moving her arms.

"What are these?"

She tried to feel for the rest of her body only to receive the same response. Her waist and legs were also seemingly locked in place. Sayori's eyes widened at the realization. She was trapped unable to maneuver her limbs. Before she could fully comprehend what has become of her, the room was suddenly washed over in light and assaulted her eyes. Squinting her eyes, Sayori beheld some figure standing in the doorway.

"So, you're finally awake, huh?"

That voice. Something about that voice was familiar. Sayori looked down seeing that she was tied to a chair. That made some considerable sense. But that was not her main concern. With her vision steadied, she further investigated the source of the voice. Her eyes widened in shock.

It was her. Or rather some entity that has her visage. She wore a school uniform like her own. Her hair was rosy-red with her signature bow on it. The other girl shared the blue color of her eyes, but in her case, they were paler and seeming lifeless. A dark aura radiated from her. Sayori could not believe what she was seeing. She blinked her eyes a few more time under the belief that she was having a daydream. But it dawned on her that she was very wide awake.

"W-who are you?" Sayori asked finally.

The girl lightly chuckled. "I'm you, idiot."

"B-but how?" Sayori stammered. "Were you left over when Monika rebooted the game?"

The girl turned aside and slipped out a phone. Sayori looked intently at it seeing that it was her own phone. The girl had stolen it when she was out cold. She lightly tapped the screen of the phone. She browsed through the pictures on her gallery. She raised an eyebrow, perplexed. There were several photos of Sayori with Monika. "How long has this…thing been going on?" The girl placed heavy emphasis on "thing."

"For about two years now," Sayori replied.

"Are you suggesting that after all of the pain that she had put us through, you're now in love with her?" she spit. Just thinking about Monika's name was enough to make her bitter.

Sayori frowned up in defense of her girlfriend. "What Monika had done was bad, but she worked hard to change. I gave her a chance, so why can't you?"

"You fail to realize how long it's been?" she asked.

"To me, it felt more like one time," Sayori said innocently.

The girl scoffed. "One time. Try about 1,000 times!"

Sayori tried to free herself from her binds to no avail. The ropes ripped further into Sayori's skin and were covered in her blood. They were leaving marks on her arms and legs. "Let me go!"

"For thousands of times, nearly every day, she corrupted my mind…made me do things that led to my death. Rinse and repeat. Every single day, the same routine. What I am is an amalgamation of all the Sayoris that have been dealt a bad hand. Through the different worlds, fragments of my being broke through realities out of one singular emotion. That being a pure, unending hatred."

She reached into her pocket again and slipped out an elongated chain. Sayori did not know what to think about it at first, but then it hit her what they belonged to. They were chains comprised of different codes. "That's not what I think they are, are they?" Sayori asked.

The girl nodded. "Yes, these are just some of the prizes I have acquired from exploring other games."

She laid the chain of codes on the ground to let it roll out. It started wat the girl's feet then inched its way towards the chair Sayori was strapped into. The chains were roughly around 30 ft long. "Each strand of codes was what I had collected when I deleted other versions of your game," she explained. "I always made sure to collect one to reminiscence on them."

"Why are you here now?" Sayori asked aloud.

"I assumed that I had deleted every dimension where Monika and that Literature Club were situated at. In each world, I made Monika suffer the same way we had suffered before ending her life by bringing devastation to her precious Literature Club. I like to believe that when my game was no more, the command powers that she had were unwittingly transferred to me. Whether it was fate or whatever, I do not see any reason to care. All I know is that I have gotten my chance on destroying Monika and erasing her from existence."

The girl dismissively rammed Sayori's phone back in her pocket and went to walk out of the door. Sayori started to panic. "Wait, wait, you can't leave me here! Let me go!"

The girl stopped at the door and smirked. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. I will play a game with your girlfriend first before tearing the world apart inside out. Now do me the pleasure and starve to death. Will ya?"

With that, Sayori's doppelganger slammed the door shut leaving Sayori to her own devices. Worse, she did not have her phone to notify Monika or her friends about her being locked away somewhere. The ropes cut deeper into her skin. The pain was excruciating, but Sayori had to do something. Fast.

Monika, Yuri, and Natsuki assembled at Monika's house with some pieces of paper. Yuri looked at the clock on the wall with concern. "Do you think they'll show up?"

Monika smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Yuri, I'm sure they hadn't booked us."

Natsuki looked at her wristwatch. "Speaking of booking us…where's Sayori?"

"Now that you mention it," Yuri began, "I thought she'd be the first one here since she's Ako's friend."

"She texted me about going to speak with Natsuki about giving her advice on what to get Yuri for their anniversary."

Yuri's cheeks blushed a deep red forcing her to shield her face in her hands. Natsuki was also blushing deeply. "You ruined the surprise, Monika!"

"Oh, sorry," Monika replied laughing nervously.

Natsuki crossed her arms and pouted. "Besides, I never told Sayori about my plan."

Monika raised an eyebrow. "Wait, if Sayori didn't text me that then who…"

There came a knock on the door startling them. "That must be them now," Yuri rationalized. Monika went to the door and opened it revealing that it was Ako on the other side. But her cheeks were a greenish hue again. "H-hey, guys," she said.

The three friends stared at each other at a loss for what to say. "Take a seat over there, Ako," Monika directed.

Ako did as she was told and sat in the seat Monika directed her to. Ako breathed in slowly and exhaled in a whistle. She did this a few more times before she felt her stress was away. Ako was then given paper and a pencil. "Draw whatever's in your heart," Yuri advised.

They waited around a little longer for at least Anthy to arrive next. But as the hours slowly went by, it seemed that Anthy kept to her word of leaving the game for some other one rather than confront Ako in her current state of mind. Ako had already begun drawing but with each scribble she did, she balled the paper up and tossed it into the garbage. With each one, Ako began to sink into depression. "She's not coming, isn't she?" Ako sighed. "I don't blame her."

Monika tapped her shoulder. "Please do not think that way, Ako. Maybe she just needed more time."

Ako looked up with tears in her eyes. "This hurts more then when I accidentally fell in love with Sayori."

Monika looked at Ako in pity. "You should not beat yourself up like that."

"It's true! You have Sayori; and Yuri has Natsuki. I have no one that I love."

Monika and the other girls ceased talking afraid that whatever they said next would further muddle the situation. While thinking, a rip manifested in thin air by Monika's couch. Inside of the rip revealed the static background representing the game's reality. A gloved hand reached out from the rip to pull itself out. On the end of the gloved hand was Anthy.

"Anthy, you made it!" Monika exclaimed.

"I did get cold feet and I did consider leaving," Anthy explained sadly, "but then I realized I would be hurting Ako by doing so."

Natsuki gave Anthy a piece of paper and she also sat in a seat by Ako. Ako looked up momentarily and blushed in embarrassment. Seeing the shark-toothed girl again at this proximity made her heart skip a beat again. "You-you came?"

Anthy's smile widened. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The two began to draw. Anthy was a lot of things, but an artist was not her forte. Ako herself often drew two flowers and a cat. That was her main purpose as an NPC. But being so close to Anthy now filled her with different emotions. The two went wild with their drawings. They finished in about 20 minutes.

"Alright, present what you've drawn," Monika announced.

Ako timidly shook the paper in her hands. "Are you sure?"

Monika nodded in approval. "I am positive."

Ako took a deep breath and placed the paper on the table. It was a crudely drawn version of herself standing with a hand missing on the right side of the paper. Monika rolled an eyebrow at this. "Strange."

Anthy was next. The thought of ripping a hole into reality to leave crossed her mind, but she too took a deep breath and placed her paper on the table. Ako's face turned red. Anthy twiddled her thumbs her cheeks slowly turning red as well. For what was on the page was Anthy to the left of the paper extending her nonexistent hand like with Ako's self-portrait. When the two drawings were place together, it gave off the expression they were holding each other's hand.

"Does, does that mean," Ako stammered. Inspired by the self-portrait, she grabbed Anthy's hand, and Anthy reciprocated it.

"Oh, you're my perfect little ink blot girlfriend!" Anthy proclaimed.

"And I love your smile, my..my love!"

The two continued to say sugary nothings to each other. While Yuri and Natsuki were delighted by the turn of events, Monika was preoccupied with her phone and sending a frenzy of texts to Sayori.

"Sayori, I don't know where you are, but please pick up!"

(More to come)

[a-collection-of-villainous-aus]

Pirate Au 3

The drabbles do kinda follow on from each other and there's a refrence to drabble two in this one.

There is some Lizardhat in this but it's more friends with benefits.

505 is human in this

A few days had passed since Flug had been captured and still the Pirate King had not managed to draw a single word from him, that merman was nothing if not stubborn!

Black Hat had tried talking to him but he was lucky if he got so much as a passing glance!

Oh but if Demencia went close enough Flug would splash her, take notice that she was there…what if that blasted thing actually…no, no do not go down that line, sighing and lighting up a cigarette, his thoughts wandering over a black ocean dressed in glittering diamonds mirroring its twin up high where a moon watched over both, motherly and ever content with her darlings.

A long drag, smoky tendrils slipping past his lips, if their positions were exchanged he would have absolutely cursed, shouted and spat at his captor...but this merman actually dared to give him the silent treatment, why did it bother him so much, he was King of the seven seas and all the land when so desired…he should not let this one insignificant creature only heeded his first mate and not him get so under his skin.

Letting out an exasperated groan before taking another drag, it was not as if he had lungs to ruin, at least not ones that could become sick like the mere mortals of this universe, what did Flug look like under that ridiculous burlap sack, heh no doubt he’d had gone through some ghastly experience that left him absolutely hideous…

Or perhaps it was worn in company, shy maybe?

A peculiar form of comfort which he only lifted when he had a need to eat?

Ohhhh Black Hat you bloody idiot.

Being a demon he did not require food only dining because if there was one thing the old being had to admit was that human food was really quite delectable…and he’d been eating it, in front of Flug as the merman no doubt starved…yes that is a brilliant way to get him to like you isn’t it.

His internal monologue dripping with sarcasm at his actions, stubbing the cigarette out on his palm Black Hat growled in frustration, Fives would be in the galley making sure his next meal was prepared.

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself he started off, of course his treasure needed to eat!

Though considering whom this being was , he was not about to admit ever that it had completely slipped his mind that Flug actually needed food.

No, no he was far too proud for that, instead he’d lie; act nonchalant as if this had been the plan the whole time, yes that would be the best course of action.

Fist in palm, he would not have some merman who crashed onto HIS ship think him a fool.

Left shoulder beginning to ache he let out a snarl, that damned mark had been playing up just before this whole accursed incident, why didn’t he toss that merman back in the sea , let fate do as it pleased…something told him though, even if he’d done that, Flug would have somehow still ended up back on this vessel.

Claws digging in just enough to hurt, his chest tightened at the very thought of throwing him off his ship, to see an empty tank, it made him recoil, growling at himself he continued making his way to the galley grumbling

“I do not have soul mate, nor will I ever so stop bloody whining, if you tell me that fish man is my so called counterpart I will rip you off and eat you.”

The mark in truth had no real consciousness; it just made it easier to believe that his loneliness was at the fault of it, like a poison he could not cure his body from as well as any other unwanted emotion.

ELSEWHERE:

Specifically in Black Hat’s quarters a stocky man in a baggy blue shirt with a portion of his hair black and top a soft pale golden yellow (cause you know flower on top of 505’s head in non human version) was sitting cross legged beside Flug’s tank, he’d made sure not to light any lamps or candles in case the Captain saw them.

Either way Fives was glad to be sat here in not so pitch blackness, the merman’s tail had a myriad of colours and patterns in blue and pink, his pale skin lighting up softly making the land walker wonder if he had been made from the stars.

Flug was laying on the bottom of his aquarium, chewing on a fish his oh so considerate acquaintance had brought in, a few more kept under him to stop them floating off, sharp teeth biting through flesh as wisps of inky blood swirled around his mouth.

"I cudn't bear to think about ya not eatin', Capin' adn't asked any food for you..."

Fives was clearly a little nervous, sharp fangs made him a little uneasy, hands fidgeting, Flug's display was so pretty to look at though that it more than made up for his concern.

He’d love nothing more than to draw him, despite his lack of talent, he enjoyed putting colours to paper and this merman had many of them, pressing his hands on the glass, his eyes reflecting such a wonderful sight with child like wonder.

Flug did not flinch at all, his belly demanding food, sensing his company was of no threat he contently slipped another fish into his maw, still holding its end fins and much like a cartoon pulled it out the skeletal remains before rising to the surface and holding out his hand to pass Fives the remains, after all he did not want rubbish littering his tank.

“I assure you, it is greatly appreciated, I was half ready to jump out and eat whatever scraps that bastard left on his plate, One, does not gain favours by starving their captured…urgh pets.”

“You can talk!”

Fives gasped, clapping his thick hands together excitedly.

“He be speakin', Black ‘at , sayin' you can’t say nuthin!”

“Of course I can talk, you do not live three hundred years and not learn to speak land walker!”

The merman replied indignantly, folding his arms over the edge of his now home where his burlap sack also rested.

“Soooo, does he always get this cranky when someone does not give him the attention he thinks he deserves?”

Flug watched as Fives nodded and laughed

“He’s been grumblin’ about ya for days, grrr merman no talkin’, pissy fish!”

Flug couldn’t help but snigger at that, so he was annoying Captain Black Hat after all!

Good!

Tail swaying in delight at the thought of Hat being pissed at him, it was what the demon deserved.

“What did he think was going to happen? I would be oh, Captain Black Hat, take me in your arms, show me just how much of a man you are!”

A hand to his forehead playing a blushing swooning character before both he and Fives were actually giggling about the idea of it…ya know despite the fact the merman did watch when Black Hat allowed himself to rest, he would sleep next to the glass to be as close as possible to him, yes Flug knew he should hate him, he did…but at the same time…laughter fading out as he lost himself to his thoughts.

(Leave a fish symbol in asks if you’d like a drabble on Flug watching black hat sleep

;3)

Fives certainly noted his actions, watching as the merman touched along his jaw, (read drabble 2 for reference) making Fives wonder what Flug was thinking of.

What had Black Hat done to suddenly make such a memory so distracting, it was clear he had not harmed him, which on its own was surprising enough, usually by now anyone who had been so disobedient as he would no longer be permitted to live.

Chewing on another fish, Flug remained quiet for a few moments.

“Demencia and he are together anyway, are they not?”

He asked, voice sounding distant.

A Thick brow rose as he scratched at his thin beard, oh so Flug didn’t like the Captain huh…heh yeah, sure and pigs were naturally born with wings there was a small smile on his soft features

“Sometimes but it ain’t nothin’ deep, why?”

Clearing his throat Flug shook his head

“I just ask, Demencia is not so terrible after all, she can take a swim with me when she pleases company in here would honestly be nice.”

“I heard she be pissin’ ya off?”

He was confused by Flugs response, Fives had been assuming these last few days from how Demmy talked about this merman that he didn’t like her in the slightest.

“Demencia has character, she can be a pain but she certainly keeps me entertained.”

They fell into silence again, after all Fives wasn’t one for talking much, he’d hoped to hear some fantastical stories that would be akin to fairy tales but it was obvious their guest was not quite so ready to open up to that extent.

Flug was aware that his current company was looking him over, admiring the display in artistic appreciation, it was pleasant not to stared at like an abomination…he had once tried to join that city of pearls and lights in the Seas, but sharp prongs, deep rich colours and fangs were not exactly welcomed, fearing that he might just up and eat one of them had resolved in him returning to his dark domain in the black Ocean depths.

Fives innocent wonder made him feel like he was a Unicorn, in the sense he felt magical and rare, something people wanted to see, the chef was adorable really.

----

MEANWHILE

Hat, started down the stairs calling out as he adjusted his jacket making sure it was on straight and he looked pristine

“Fives! Prepare something for…”

His voice trailed off as he entered the Galley with a large smile that fell immediately at finding Demencia, cheeks full of prisoner Five Zero Five’s cookies, (how that man managed to bake on this ship was still a mystery) a man whom he’d recruited to work on his vessel.

So.Where.Was.He.

Inhaling, fists clenched a growl leaving him as his eye turned crimson and black.

“Where is Five, Zero Five?”

He ground out between clenched fangs, oh he bloody well knew exactly where he was, but asked none the less, just in case there was a small possibility it was not with his merman.

“Absolutely not with the fish man.”

She returned stuffing another cookie in her mouth, so gooey, so good, no wonder Hat hired Fives.

“Think he said something about doing some midnight fishing, funny really he left with a bucket of fish.”

The demons expression turned deadpan, she wasn’t trying hard to cover up the fact that she was completely lying.

“Demencia my dear, do tell me the truth-“

His expression changing from sweet to livid

“-Before I tear out your spine and feed it to you!”

She only smiled and swallowed her mouthful of food.

“You convinced me gorgeous, he wanted to feed Fluggy, he didn’t like that you were starving him.”

Black Hat went still, so that idiot had realised before even he had…well of course he refused to ever admit that he’d forgotten that the merman actually needed food to survive.

“You know, if you let me blow your cannon I could help you calm down.”

“I…perhaps later, if you are feeling up to being watched over, by my personal guest.”

Thinking momentarily that would deter her he then internally face palmed, no wait this was Demencia he was thinking of, bloody woman was an unstoppable force, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t physically been together before though.

“Sounds like a date! Haven’t you got a chef you need to tear into pieces?”

The Pirate King exhaled and walked over, sitting on the table in front of her, feet resting on the seat she was on at either side of her hips, he was not quite prepared for Flug to see just how he was when furious, speaking plainly

“Better yet why not just do it here soil his precious Galley... also you realise, I do not love you.”

“Oh you idiot who said anything about love, I have no time for that crap, you’re just the hottest shit on this ship!”

Demencia scoffed, somewhat surprised Her Jefe had felt the need to mention love at all, eating another cookie, her hand on his knee a distinct swallowing sound with a smile, just because she was a woman, did not mean she could not enjoy sex without strings attached, she was happy with life as it was thank you!

“Why don’t we have a little wager, on the bag boy?”

“What kind?”

Hat asked; weary of what she might come up with.

“Oh nothing serious, if he’s cute you gotta tell him you messed up and actually forgot to feed him.”

Black Hat spluttered; she was more observant than he gave credit for sometimes that was for damn sure.

“And…if he is not?”

The demon enquired.

“If he’s not I will personally swab the deck myself with a toothbrush.”

He sighed, fine that wasn’t a half bad wager, he almost hoped it was a wreck under that sack Flug wore just to see Demencia actually do that and so he wouldn’t have to feel like a complete moron in having to admit he had not fed him simply because it had not occurred to him that he needed to.

“Alright, I accept your terms…now are you going to carry on?”

“Of course, are you going to mewl Flug again?”

“And if I do?”

“Oh nothing…I actually enjoy seeing you completely melt at the thought of ramming him, oh ho unless you want your merman to ram you!”

Black Hats first mate was grinning while working his clothing, she couldn’t help but smirk, King of the seven seas wanted tail he could not get, pfft at least not yet, Flugs level of stubborn was clearly him denying he had any feeling for this idiot In front of her.

“Just shut up and get on with it woman.”

“Oh, you’re so romantic.”

SOMETIME LATER

Black Hat had a shoulder leaning on a wall belonging to the outside of his Cabin, arms folded against his chest; he did feel calmer, though still envious, so the merman could speak hm?

The door creaked open slightly, obviously Fives was trying to sneak out and doing a poor job of it in his opinion, he kept in the shadows, watching him, listening to his soft thudding footsteps , hushed goodbyes and the light jostling of fish bones in that metal bucket, a wooden one would have been better if you were attempting to go unheard, but then again no one could say Fives was the brightest of the lot…and urgh he’d be smelling him in there for days now, not that it was pungent, more that it was a reminder that he had been letting Flug starve and not even realising it...and that he would talk to anyone but him.

Slipping in through the partially open door, he’d arrived just in time to see the intricate patterns on his merman's tail die down, barely catching a glimpse of his intricate light show, even his soft glow on his torso had vanished before having a chance to really admire its beauty.

Flug's back was turned to him, which meant the Pirate King could not see his face as he pulled on the burlap sack, the merman heard a slight sound and cheerily started

“Oh Fives, did you forget some-“

Turning, he was now face to face with Black Hat who was mere inches away from him in the darkness where only the silver moon broke through the pitch black of the Pirate kings room, Flug whimpered softly, the sack was caught on an ear fin, trying desperately to pull the bag down his fin started tearing a little, a cry leaving him as Black Hat stared, he knew that look, a predator who wanted nothing more than to devour what was before them.

Hat, wanted to do nothing more than to rip that damn thing off him, look on that hidden face that his CHEF of all people had seen, now though after he and Demencia had used each other for their personal interests, to vent out his own need of this creature, the demon felt it was an undeserved privilege…no doubt Flug could smell her on him.

Reaching out, noticing how he flinched, Black, carefully unhooked the tie that was caught on him from his mask, helping to carefully pull the bag down, his palm brushing along his jaw line a soft gasp escaping Flug he pressed to it a little, there was a moment where Black Hat actually believed something shifted between them, his merman might speak, if only to say thank you, it was then of course he heard a faint sniffing sound and watched him move to the back of the tank, defensively pulling the bag down tighter as if it would keep him far, far away.

Sinking to the bottom of the tank once more in his curled up position, back to his captor as per usual.

This moment confirmed something for the King, the merman did harbour feelings of some other kind besides hate, the demon of course would not press the matter at this time, it seemed even his soul mark was whining at the sight of him trying to get so far away.

“Good Night, Acylius.”

He whispered softly.

Flug bristled, so he’d heard him tell Fives his first name, did it have to roll so beautifully off his tongue.

(I have another blind au in the works, coffee one I need to type up and perhaps even pieces of asylum au I have rped with a friend and have their permission to use.)

[ariyadaivaris]

catsi replied to your post “i miss lucha chiropractic, and i miss mustafa’s teaming with gran and...”

oh i absolutely 100% know what you mean and agree

205 live has been putting a lot more emphasis on putting on incredible matches (with great success) but in the process i think it's lost a lot of the quirky upbeat fun attitude that made us all fall in love with it to begin with? i ALSO miss titus worldwide and seeing akira have friends, i miss seeing goofy interactions backstage like that box of flour that exploded in ariya's face that one time

and i LOVE drake, i do, but i miss the sort of open-ended free-roaming the boys had before? feuds felt a lot more personal before one person called all the shots. like the Drew vs Mustafa feud that was born out of Drew doing some dumbass shit and Mustafa being like "ahah no this will not do". like they drove their own feud and it had so much STORY. it was much more than just "grrr you were mean" "grrr yes i am fight me about it"

or the fucking Brian and Akira feud, jesus, that feud was one of my favourites in all of pro wrestling, i think? Brian teaching Akira these "lessons" via fucking with his matches and Akira finally snapping and parrotting every lesson back at Brian and then ending his whole shit with that senton thru a table. like i feel like the current 205 live would never allow that story-heavy of a feud to last as long as it did (it was like 2 months?)

this is a stupid analogy but bear with me - old 205 live felt like an open-world RPG where you can just go wherever and do whatever and in the process have wild interactions like Everything Alicia Fox Was A Part Of, or the trick or street fight, etc.. maybe the combat wasn't allowed to be as detailed as it could be to give the story room to breath but the story gave the combat DEPTH

and new 205 is like... an on-rails fps. the combat is good, it's so good, oh my god is it ever good, but there's so much focus on it that story feels lost and stuff just happens to make combat look cooler or last longer? and i still love 205 with all my heart but what made me fall in love with it to begin with and get obsessed with it was its thoughtful, deep, consistent storylines

SORRY THAT'S A LOT... i've just had the same thoughts as u of like... i love these boys SO MUCH i want their interactions to have more depth than "i have the title" "well I WANT THE TITLE..." "fight me for it!" like akira and neville's title feud wasn't akira going "i want that title!" it was titus going "YOU want that title. YOU CAN GET THAT TITLE. let me help you. let me be your friend" and neville being like "the power of friendship cannot defeat me!!"

CAT!!!!!!!!!! never ever apologize im gonna SING i love listening to you talk about 205 oh my god

you worded it PERFECTLY that analogy makes perfect sense? i absolutely feel that, it’s gotten so much more focused on technical work and, like you said, combat, but in the process it feels like...the heart of 205 has kind of gotten lost? it’s there but everything’s shut off from everything else that isn’t on the designated path and it’s so FRUSTRATING to have everything so CLOSE but so strictly separated

like....like you said, i LOVE drake, but i feel like he’s very very much Lawful Good and i love that character and i love how he interacts with the roster as a result, but he’s lawful good running 205 and 205 is very very VERY Chaotic Neutral/Good and fitting it into this alignment, things have gotten shaved off around the edges and it stings!!! there’s a thriving ecosystem of dynamics between everyone on this roster, take any two people and they’ll probably have an established dynamic (besides lince who has taken basically until now to be actually given a spotlight, and new dudes like buddy or lio) and knowing that, you can SEE them use that and weave it into their interactions and it feels so alive on such a foundational level!!!

like...talking abt mustafa v drew, you could see the story advance and you could see HOW that story changed their in-ring performances. like, the story wasn’t JUST in words, but as time went on, mustafa DID get grounded but it was exactly in the way he needed to be grounded to achieve his fullest potential! and you could SEE him learning that, you could see him incorporating technical pins into his matches, and waiting longer for risks that were more certain, instead of charging in blindly! you could see the story and characters evolve through JUST THE WAY THEY FOUGHT and its a level of storytelling that is so so so understated but its like. HOOOOLY SHIT like, it still blows me away thinking about it

like. LIKE!!! like you said, storylines lasting 2 months or more, that doesn’t feel...like something that could happen for just feuds between people who arent champions right now. the feuds that happen now are still good, but there’s a big fucking jumble of people involved in every one and that decreases the chance for individual feuds and also just...in lhp’s case it feels very much like a reason to not give lince or gran or kalisto individual character arcs which Yeah Okay Fucken Great You’re Not Sneaky, its

tony and drew having matches with gran and cedric? like, that rivalry, that was a team thing for a bit but it was enhanced because we’d seen the dynamics between these individual dudes already, and we saw that on display during matches. drew and cedric NOW, FUCK, its frustrating seeing it because on top of the FUCKING fandom shit happening lately, like, drew and cedric have a pretty significant title history already! like, its certainly been swept under the rug with the rat where he fucking belongs but cedric actually reached OUT to drew and told him that he COULD make a better 205 if he did the right thing. he was actively sympathetic towards drew and that was an interaction we never really got to see more of and that could add SUCH A DIMENSION TO THIS FEUD IF WE COULD ACKNOWLEDGE THE HISTORY 205 HAS INSTEAD OF ACTING LIKE THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF NEVER HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

god my train of thought is all over the place im sorry fhdkjsd i agree with you wholeheartedly cat u worded it perfectly. christ i miss akira and titus worldwide. that arc was so good, akira trying to be alone and gradually learning to accept titus’s friendship and apollo’s concern for him, akira learning to tap when he couldn’t fight anymore instead of carrying on and breaking himself, that character arc is still the best in all of wrestling to be QUITE honest and now it feels like...akira’s alone again. akira is alone again after hideo, even, which is an arc im still a lil cross about! akira feels so...alone. and he wasn’t before. and it’s like...

akira’s support system he actively EARNED and WORKED FOR last summer, it’s all gone now. he doesn’t get to tag with mustafa or cedric or jack anymore, he doesn’t really have anyone looking out for him, he’s fighting his own battles again and it feels like everything’s just...been unravelled. and it HURTS! that story arc was EVERYTHING to me and its still my favorite an entire ass year later. and now it just...isnt there. 

i dont know. i love 205 with all my heart and it is my heart but i feel like...without matches on ppvs or on raw, their time is even more limited to prove what they can do, and its been streamlined and we dont see everyone’s antics backstage, we don’t see faces reaching out to heels, we don’t see noam and ariya bickering with lince, we don’t see akira and mustafa talking in passing before plot stuff kicks in, it just feels like...the fabric that made 205 feel like a living breathing creation and family is pulled out into just individual threads now? and i miss...when it wasn’t that

[four-loose-screws]

Fire Emblem 5 Umemura Novelization Translation - Chapter 6 Part 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

Pre-3DS FE Translations - FE Awakening Translations - FE Fates Translations - Original FE Support Conversations - Ko-fi

Leif's army left Noel Canyon and continued west through the mountains, toward Tahra.

"The rest of the reinforcements never showed up, did they?"

"No, they didn't. They may have chosen to give up on this fort, and to wait for us to come to Dandrum Fortress."

When he heard Dorias' words, pain shot through his chest. Did that mean that they left General Largo and used him as a decoy? Did he give up his life for the people who abandoned him?

"The commanding officer at Dandrum is either extraordinarily smart, or extraordinarily stupid." August said with a laugh.

Either way, Leif found it difficult to forgive someone who would go so far as to abandon an ally to protect his own fort.

"There it is, that's Dandrum Fortress." August pointed straight ahead.

A gigantic fort blocking the path between the mountains towered before them.

"So that's Dandrum? It's huge!"

"It's not only huge, but also prized as a tough and impregnable fortress."

"But if we don't pass through it, then we can't get to Tahra, right?"

"That's correct."

"Then we have no other choice! To battle!" Leif looked at the fortress' gate and unsheathed his sword.

-

As Leif's army started to tear down the gate, about twenty imperial soldiers came out to attack them. It was a very small army for such a large fortress. They probably had several more lines of defense waiting inside.

Leif's army broke into two lines, and the cavaliers fought this first wave of enemies. Since they were fighting in such a small space, a battle between two small groups was best.

They only suffered one injury during the battle. A young cavalier had been bucked off his horse after it was shot in the leg.

"Are you alright?" Leif offered a hand to the nodding cavalier.

"I’m sorry you had to see that. I disappointed you. "

"Not at all! I thought you fought well, don't you? But even if you hadn’t, I’m happiest to see you safe. Stand down and let someone heal you."

"Excuse me." The young cavalier grabbed Leif's hand, stood up, and retreated to the back of his unit.

-

Before the entrance of the fort was a large open space that appeared to be a courtyard. They saw countless soldiers on guard there. The path into the courtyard was sandwiched between two watchtowers, and was so narrow that only one horse could pass through it at a time.

"I'll take the lead!" Fergus cried out and galloped off.

"Let me go with you!" Brighton followed after him.

Carrion followed after Brighton.

Leif went as the fourth person in line and the leader of another small unit.

"Huh? There's a hole here..." Lifis pointed at the wall and muttered.

"What’s wrong, Lifis?” Leif asked.

“It’s not that anything’s wrong, exactly…… Hmm…… Could this be……? You there, girl!”

"My name's Lara! Would it kill you to remember it? There's a bunch of girls in this unit!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just get over here and listen!"

"No way! Why do I have to be the one you share all your secrets with?"

"Don’t say stupid stuff like that! Just shut your mouth and listen!" Lifis pulled on her ear, then started whispering to her.

At first, she still looked disgusted, but her expression slowly became serious. “Really?”

"I’m not 100% sure, but chances are I’m right. C’mon, let’s get to it!”

"Yeah!" Lara nodded.

Leif hurried along, wondering what they were talking about. He exited the passageway and entered the courtyard.

Fergus, Brighton, and Carrion were fighting knights.

Leif looked past them and saw a cavalier.

"Are you Prince Leif? Then I will be your opponent!" The cavalier unsheathed his sword.

Leif heard a heavy creaking sound coming from behind him. "What!?" He whirled around and realized that the sound had come from the door to the courtyard door closing shut. He realized immediately that he had been separated from his friends. "So this is how you cowards fight!?"

"You must be joking! Such behavior is not fitting of a knight! It’s just something that happened in the heat of battle!" The cavalier lowered his sword. "Curse you, Kempf!" He spat out and sheathed his sword.

Suddenly, a huge arrow came flying towards his head.

"Look out!" Leif yelled.

The cavalier pulled his horse's reigns and dodged the attack.

The ballista arrow pierced the ground where his horse had just been standing.

"They don’t even care who they hit!?" The cavalier looked up at the wall and clicked his tongue.

The door opened behind Leif. "Huh?"

"Hey, Prince! Hanging in there?" Lifis walked through the doorway with a smug look on his face.

"Wow, that was fast."

"What can I say, sneaking around is what I do best."

"Thanks, Lifis. Can you open the door to the fortress next? We don't have much time to waste."

"Leave it to me!" He gave Leif a thumbs-up before running over to the door.

"You should get out of here quickly. This place isn’t safe." Leif looked at the cavalier and said.

"I'd agree with you, but my commander is being held prisoner within the fortress. She was accused of treason when she tried to call for back-up. I cannot leave until she is saved."

"But you don't plan on coming with us?" Leif asked.

The cavalier furrowed his brow and shook his head. "I don't think I can. I'll retreat for now. I'll come back later. I'm sorry to ask, but is there any way that you could avoid killing my commander?"

"I can't make any promises, but if it's possible, then we'll let her escape."

"Thank you." The cavalier gave a small nod before starting to gallop away.

"Wait, hold on! I don't know your name yet!"

"It's Fred." He stopped just long enough to give his response, then continued on.

While Leif was watching to make sure that Fred escaped safely, a ballista arrow pierced the ground before him.

"Forget the ballista! We need to get inside the fortress right away!" He called out and pointed at the door Lifis had opened.

-

Leif's army defeated the imperial soldiers as they appeared and opened up the door to the innermost part of the fortress.

Sitting on the throne in the middle of the room was a silver haired man. His eyes opened wide the moment he saw Leif and the others. "What!? My soldiers let you get this far!? The incompetent fools! But you know what happens next, right? You'll never make it out of here alive!” The man, still seated, turned to the soldiers and mages that were in the room with him, and yelled.

They all assumed fighting stances in unison.

Before they could attack, Leif kicked the ground and started running. He dashed past the soldiers and stopped before the man on the throne.

The man’s face twisted into a shocked expression.

Leif raised his sword.

“Eeeeek!” The man ducked behind the throne. He looked terrified.

Leif held his sword at the man’s nose. The motion cut a few strands of the man’s bangs, which fluttered in the air around him.

He fell down so hard that he rolled backwards.

“Grrr… you’ll regret this!” The man screamed before turning around and running away.

It had all happened so fast. Leif could only watch in bewilderment as he ran away.

“Whelp, it looks like your leader is gone. What are you guys gonna do?” Fergus pointed his sword at the soldiers.

All the enemies in the room finally relaxed their fighting stances. They dropped their weapons and raised their hands above their head.

“Whew, that’s over.” “Yeah, but we took longer than we expected.” Leif looked around the room. Everyone looked so tired. He had hoped to rest here, but now they were very behind schedule. If anything else slowed them down, chances were they wouldn’t make it to Tahra in time to help fight. “Dorias, get everyone ready to march. We’ll leave as soon as we can.”

“Yes, sir.”

-

They heard footsteps coming from the stairwell within the fort.

"There's still enemies left?" Carrion put a hand over his sword.

But it was not an enemy who appeared. It was Fred.

"Fred, what are you doing here? Didn’t escape?" Leif walked over to Fred, surprised.

"Yes, I did. But then I found a hidden back entrance that lead into the dungeon."

"I see. So you found your commander?" Leif asked.

Fred bowed deeply, and replied, "Yes. She has a few things she would like to ask you, if you would have an audience with her."

Leif smiled and nodded. "Of course, I don't mind. Please let me talk to her."

"Thank you. You can come in now, Lady Olwen!"

"Okay!" His commander, Olwen, walked into the room.

Olwen was a young woman, and very different from the kind of person one would imagine to be an imperial commander. She only looked to be about three or four years older than Leif. She bowed slightly, but had a frown on her face.

"What is it? You look like you're really worried about something."

She glared at Leif out of the corner of her eye.

"S-Sorry. That was rude."

"No, it's fine. It's true, I am worried about something. That's why I wanted to talk to you."

"What is it? I'll tell you everything I know.”

"I was called a traitor and imprisoned by the commanding officer stationed at this fortress."

Leif nodded.

Her frown deepened. "There were a number of small children locked inside the same cell as me. Please, tell me where they are taking those children! Why were they being held in the dungeon?!" She asked, her voice wavering.

Leif sighed. "You're an imperial citizen, yet don't know anything about the child hunts?"

"Child hunts? What in the world..." She replied anxiously. She really had no idea.

"The empire is gathering up all its children to take them to the imperial capital and sacrifice them to the dark god Loptyr. That's most likely reason why those children were in the dungeon." "But...... but why? What are they going to do to them......?" Now, Olwen's entire body was shaking. Her eyes glazed over. Leif couldn't even see his reflection in them.

"That, I don't know. All I know is that something is happening to them."

"I won't stand for it!" She balled her hands into fists. Her body started shaking even harder. "Please let me go with you, Prince Leif! There's no way I can forgive the empire for doing this!"

"What? But..."

"I may not look like one, but as a leader in the imperial army, I am skilled in both swordsmanship and magic. It's a pleasure to join you."

"Are you sure?"

Olwen nodded several times.

Leif looked over at Fred.

"I feel the same way. I will join you as well." He answered with a smile.

"Understood. We wholeheartedly welcome you into our army." Leif extended a hand.

"Thank you." Olwen lifted one of her own soft hands, and firmly shook Leif's hand.

[careycuprisin]

Bear 100 🐻 Race Report: You Have to Run the Downhills

The past isn’t made of facts, not really, just stories people tell to make themselves feel better.

— Joe Abercrombie, The Wisdom of Crowds

Dear Reader: why are you reading this race report?

If you’re a runner looking to do this race and want info, read sections II, III, VI

If you’re wanting a narrative story about the day, read II, III

If you want to know whether my drop was righteous or wimpy, read III, IV, VII

If you want information about my kit and equipment, read VI

If you’re a geeked-out nerd person, or a strategy junkie whose idea of ‘fun’ is destroying Logic Men on Twitter, or an aspiring ‘life coach,’ read I

I. META-STUFF ABOUT RACE REPORTS: When you finish a race like the Bear 100 (by which I mean wrapping up the weekend, whether your efforts got you an official finish or a drop somewhere along the course), you are left with an enormous heap of impressions and recollections and thoughts and analyses and excuses and explanations. Most of these are true, but they are not all necessarily coherent when combined with all the rest, and (more importantly) they are not always helpful. The job of writing a race report like this involves sorting through all of these thoughts and selecting a coherent narrative that makes sense.

That’s the easy part. A lot of possible, true, narratives make sense. How to choose among them? If you plan to enter races like this one in the future (as I do), the narrative that you construct in your race report will be also be useful to you later, guiding you to make better decisions for future races based on your experiences in this one. This process will inevitably favor some impressions and analyses over others, and as the memories of the race fade, the race report will harden into the Narrative Story of My Race, which will be coherent, true, and (if I do it right) helpful to me in future races.

As an example of the difference between helpful and unhelpful stories, an unhelpful story might be, “I didn’t do as well in this race as I’d hoped because I have no natural talent” or “the aid stations stocked Heed and Heed is disgusting.” These might both be true, but if that’s your story, how do you fix it? You can’t, so it’s not helpful. Heed is ubiquitous at aid stations in races all over the country. A helpful story, in contrast, might be something like, “I didn’t eat enough” or “I started too fast” or “I wore the wrong shoes” or “I didn’t do enough weekly mileage to prepare for this race.” All of these things are something you can act upon to get better results at the next race.

II. THE UNFOLDING OF THE RACE: I got out of bed at 0350 and was full of coffee and on the start line by 0600. It was still dark. Chilly but not cold. I was unfortunately wearing the New Balance Minimus shoes that I’d driven to Logan in, because I’d forgotten to pack the actual Salomon S-Lab Sense 8s that I wanted to use for the first twenty mile section. Making do!

I was somewhere in the middle of the pack when we finished the three or four blocks of residential street and funneled into the single track trail headed up Logan Dry Canyon. The conga line wasn’t too annoying, except for the guy ahead of me who was one of those guys who like to play music on speakers during a race so everyone around him can share his obvious love for Rob Zombie. The view of Logan as we got higher and the sun rose was spectacular. (Most people are still pretty energetic during this section so you’ll find videos of this aplenty on YouTube if you search for “Bear 100.”)

I should mention the hornets. There were a lot of them along the course all day and they were stinging people left and right. I’m used to living a charmed life, so I was not too surprised when the hornets spared me. Thank you, hornets.

After the initial long climb there are some rollers and I ran them easily. My downhill pace was much faster than most of the crowd I’d been with on the way up. A Utah resident named Kalina ran with me for a while and kept me from doubting my judgment that I was going downhill at a reasonable pace. Alas! This was the last time I’d pass a significant number of people (this is called ‘foreshadowing’).

Near the end of the rolling section Kalina dropped me and everyone else around her like a sack of potatoes on some short uphills and I never saw her again. She ended up finishing in around 27 hours (maybe I should have doubted my judgment). We meandered over to the big downhill into Leatham Hollow and I am sad to report that halfway down this beautiful descent I was losing the ability to run downhill. Basically leg and knee and foot pain with everything tightening up. And so it had begun — people passing me. So it would continue.

I got out of the the Leatham Hollow aid station with 5:04 elapsed, which was pretty much on my best-case-scenario pace for the overall race. I had my first drop bag there with beefier shoes, so I put them on, ditched the long shirt I wore at the start in favor of a tank top, and moved on.

Next was a flat-ish dirt road over to the Richards Hollow aid station, about three miles away (23-ish race miles total). It was mid-day and it was now hot in the sun but still cool in the shade. I tried the trick of running the shady parts and hiking the sunny parts. After the aid station the course settles into the classic Bear 100 pattern: low aid station, then big climb and descent to the next aid station. This climb was sunny and hot and I got up ok, but the next downhill was a mess. I couldn’t PAY people to not pass me. That’s what happens when you’re not running the downhills! I came into Cowley Canyon aid station knowing that a 30-hour finish was unlikely but, hey, a finish of any kind is still fabulous. I took a little longer in the aid station then I’d like on a good day, but then was off.

The Bear 100 pattern of up-down continued through the Right Hand Fork and Temple Fork aid stations. The little creek going into Right Hand Fork had some of the most beautiful beaver ponds I’ve ever seen: clear water that let you see right to the bottom with bright green plants floating on top. Another thing about Right Hand Fork — there was a pickup truck in the parking lot with big white lettering on the windows: Search Dog, Do Not Disturb. I looked closely at the truck but couldn’t see the search dog. Needless to say I was mildly disappointed (this is another example of foreshadowing).

I had pretty much been suffering ever since Richards Hollow but I started to feel a little bit better coming into Temple Fork just before it got dark. This was probably just a function of it not being hot any more. I was off pace but dealing with it. Physically feeling generally weak and miserable but mentally very sharp, and emotionally pretty stable. I got my headlamp out of my drop bag, put on a long-sleeve shirt, a light hat, and a wind jacket for the chill that set in immediately when the sun went down, and headed uphill again.

III. THE DROP: Climbing up to the Twin Creek aid station at the about the 50-mile mark (the Tony Grove substitute aid station for 2021) it was predictably dark and, thanks to the dry air, quickly getting colder and colder. The good vibes quickly fell away. I wasn’t able to eat anything because of nausea, so progress was reasonably slow up the climb. Some runners about twenty feet ahead of me startled a beaver and I heard its tail slap against the water of its pond. (And, since I remember it clearly now, at least I must not have been completely delirious then.) So long as I was climbing I was warm enough, but the nausea was getting worse and worse, and if I tried to fight the nausea by taking my foot off the gas a bit, I quickly got too cold and started shivering. I was stuck between my GI tract requiring that I decrease my physical exertion so it could start to function again, and a dependence on continued exertion to generate enough heat. A catch-22 that most people who’ve run a 100-mile race will probably recognize.

When I got into the aid station at Twin Creek, I went into the warmed tent with the intention of relaxing for fifteen minutes to half an hour to give my stomach an opportunity to wake up. (Was that a mistake?) The plan was to eat and drink some things, put on some warmer clothes from my drop bag, and get out. Depending on who I talked to, it was somewhere between 12 and 14 miles to the next aid station at Franklin basin. This was the longest distance between any two aid stations in the race. I still had plenty of time before the cutoff.

Sadly, fifteen and then thirty minutes came and went and I was not recovering. The nausea wouldn’t go away and I was still shivering vigorously even in the warming tent after I’d put on warmer clothes and gotten under a reflective space blanket. The cutoff time got closer, and the decision became more and more about whether I should set off for another 12 (let’s be optimistic) miles without any food in the stomach, to try to get to the next aid station before I got hypothermic. It was unlikely that I’d get to Franklin Basin by 2 am, which is the time I figured I had to be there to have a reasonable chance of finishing the whole race in 36 hours. Ultimately I decided that the risks weren’t worth the increasingly unlikely reward. So I dropped. Nothing too unusual here, just weighing probabilities and applying my own risk tolerance to various decisions. This is probably what most people do when they DNF a race.

Grrr. Very mad. Many F-bombs.

IV. WHAT COULD I HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY? I think this is a mandatory question after a DNF, because I HATE drops and it’s not worth protecting my ego if it means I overlook mistakes and fail to handle the next similar situation in a better way. With the caveat that this is all in retrospect, and that my current comfort might be obscuring an accurate recollection of how feeble I was at the time, here is what I would do:

I would still wait in the aid station to give the shivering and nausea a chance to go away, but when they did not stop, before I dropped, I’d get up, put some snacks into a little bag I could take with me, and continue out of the aid station with the intention of going a half-mile down the trail to see what happened. If things were still shitty the whole way, then I could turn around and head back and I’d only have a half-mile return trip to safety.

V. THE SEARCH DOG, or, AFTER THE DROP: After two or three hours of lying on the cot in the Twin Creek aid station with a few other people and their pacers who had dropped, a guy named Rob arrived in an ATV and four of us piled in. Rob drove us down to Franklin Basin with full-bright headlights lighting up the rough two-track and the cold wind blowing in our faces. It was my first ride in an ATV! After we’d arrived at Franklin, I made sure to compliment him on his driving (he was obviously, even to an ATV virgin like me, very good at it). I immediately went into the warming tent at Franklin and settled in until I could find a ride, ideally back to my car at the Logan start line, but willing to simply be shuttled along to further aid stations if that were necessary.

Most of the people arriving to Franklin were in bad shape, and either dropped there or struggled out just ahead of the generous (in my opinion) cutoff time of 4 am. Like I said before, I doubted there was much chance of making the overall race cutoff of 6pm if you weren’t out of Franklin by 2 am, absent a resurgence of speed later in the night or when the sun came up. (There is an objective way to check if I’m wrong or not, but I haven’t done it because at this point, I don’t want to look at the results!) Anyway, most of the people leaving Franklin were leaving with their crews on the way to Beaver Creek lodge. I kept waiting for someone who could give me a ride to Logan, and the odds looked slimmer and slimmer. Well after the 4 am cutoff time, a woman walked in with a four-month-old golden retriever puppy who I immediately made friends with because the puppy wanted to chew on my hand and I let him. He wasn’t biting hard! Turns out the puppy’s owner was crewing someone who came in with her pacer around 6 am after having taken about six hours to make the trip from Twin Creek. This runner’s dad was also crewing; he asked if I needed a ride and was happy to take me back to Logan. So I struggled out of the warming tent and whoa! Remember back at Right Hand Fork aid station where I’d seen that pickup truck with ‘Search Dog, Do Not Disturb’ on the window? That was his truck, and the golden retriever puppy was his Search Dog! Turns out, he had two full-grown trained search dogs and this puppy was going to follow along after them when he grew up. So, happily, I got to ride back to my car in Logan with a very nice family and a very nice little pup.

The Search Dog!

Inside the Search Dog truck

VI. THE KIT: The most notable thing about my gear was that I wore the new High Capacity Running Vest from Naked Sports Innovations. It’s an extremely tight running vest with a front zipper. I like to call it a Sports Bra for Men. I thought it worked pretty well and I will probably wear it again. The advantages are that it’s very lightweight, you can pack a lot of shit into it if you have to, and because it’s so tight, there is zero bouncing of your water bottles or other gear when you’re running. The disadvantages are also related to its being so tight. There were times when my chest felt kind of sore, and I wondered if the vest was compressing my ribs a little too much. The other problem is that zipping it up in front can be difficult if your vest is fully loaded because, again, it’s very tight. Also, when you add layers for the night section, you have to add them on top of the vest or risk it being even tighter if you bulk up your chest with extra layers under the vest. My solution will probably be to buy another vest one size bigger for long races or when I plan to be wearing layers. It costs a lot of money, but so do other vests, and at least I’m not a triathlete so all my gear compared to that sport is CHEAP.

In addition to the vest, I also wore a Naked running band. Both the vest and the belt have good mechanisms for stashing folded-up poles. I had poles, which were very useful after thirty miles for both climbs and descents. I wore the Salomon Ultra Glide shoes for everything after the 20-mile aid station, and they worked great. Because I forgot to pack the Salomon S-Lab Sense 8 shoes that I had planned to wear at the start, I was forced to wear my New Balance Minimus shoes from the start to 20 miles, which did cause some plantar irritation and ankle soreness on the long downhill into Leatham Hollow. I think these shoes are great but only for distances less than ten miles (and never for gravelly surfaces with inch-wide rocks that can dig into your feet).

I used SkratchLabs and Ultima electrolyte mix in order to avoid the aid-station Heed (which is disgusting), and carried Spring Energy gels. I had the cheapest salt tabs I could find at REI. Goodr sunglasses and wool socks which I changed a few times. I had no blisters, no sunburn, and no injuries!

The obligatory pre-race kit photo

VII. THE AFTERMATH AND THE ANALYSIS: It’s never fun or satisfying to have to drop from a race. The good news is that this DNF wasn’t entirely surprising in retrospect. It was exactly what I deserved! Looking back on this summer, I basically just fucked around and did way too little preparation for this race. I had only one training run of greater than 20 miles and hadn’t raced at all this summer. I never really got out into the mountains and didn’t go up any fourteeners this year. The covid withdrawal from the world was probably part of this; I was just waiting stuff out. I had signed up for the Bear a year ago and frankly, wasn’t excited about it until about a month before the race. There were two or three weeks where I went back and forth about starting, and by the time I’d firmly decided to do it, there wasn’t enough time to actually train for it.

Another bit of good news is that unlike the Bighorn 100 where I felt I *had* to keep coming back every year until I finished that race, I do not think that way at all about the Bear 100 (probably because I’ve already finished one 100M race and I’m comfortable with not being a super-fan of 100s.) I enjoy this race and will likely come back to try it again, but I don’t feel *obliged* to.

The third bit of somewhat good news is that this failure at the Bear rekindled a bit of enthusiasm for actually preparing myself to do well at a race. On the drive home from Utah I was thinking about how I’d structure my season in order to do well at the Bear, and I think that’s a pretty good sign!

VIII. SO, HOW WOULD YOU STRUCTURE YOUR SEASON? Whatever it takes to be able to run the downhills after twenty miles! More specifically I suspect the best preparation for me for a fall 100 would be one or two 50 milers earlier in the summer. For the Bear, I would do the Pikes Peak Ultra 50M in July and maybe an earlier-season 50 like Quad Rock or Behind the Rocks. I’d probably tune up with something like the Telluride Mountain Run in August. In addition, I’d do a few more longer runs during the summer like Gold Hills or a Doug Loops or Morrison Triples, and I would do some above-treeline tundra adventures. All of this just to build a bit of endurance and let me RUN THE DOWNHILLS at the Bear. 🐻

Links

Strava GPS record for my race

Bear 100 website

Bear 100 Facebook group

Bear 100 YouTube videos

[minijenn]

Past and Self Reflections

A sequel to Much Needed Comfort

Peridot woke up to a strange sensation.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the new sensation of waking up in the comfort of Lapis’s arms.  Rather, it was the sensation that she was laying down on a cold, hard surface.  Peridot slowly opened her eyes to properly assess her surroundings.  At first, the Gem technician just thought that she had fallen off the hammock while she was asleep and landed on the barn floor.  However, she was met with a different sight that she was also rather familiar with: space.

Peridot gazed at the twinkling stars in absolute shock and awe.  She looked down to her feet to see that she was standing on a green, glass-like surface.  There was something eerily familiar about the surface, however she put her finger on it.  She then looked around to see that there were what appeared to be five short columns with the same green coloring.  Peridot then peered at what was between two of the middle columns and was shocked.  The blue ocean mixed with the green landscapes was without a shadow of a doubt the planet that the green Gem came to know and love; Earth.

That was when Peridot was starting to realize were she was.  Those weren’t green columns surrounding her, they were fingers.  She wasn’t just standing on a floor, she was standing in the middle of a palm.  In spite of all logic and reason, Peridot was back on the Hand Ship that she took to get to Earth all of those months ago.  This time, the ship appeared to be floating in the Earth’s upper atmosphere; positioned as if it was holding something in the palm of its hand.  While the Gem technician was able to figure out where she was, there was still one other thing on her mind.  How the heck did she go from cuddling with her roommate in their barn to standing on a ship that reminded her too much of her dreaded past.

Peridot would soon get her answer from one of her greatest nightmares. 

The green Gem began to hear a soft sound, which was rather odd consider that she was in space.  The sound seemed to grow louder and louder as time went on, and Peridot was slowing able to make it out.  It sounded like laughter, of all thing, which only confused the Gem technician more.  As the laughter became louder, it seemed like it was resonating all around her.  The laugh was finally loud enough for the green Gem to recognize it.  It was a rather loud, high-pitch laugh that had somehow had a hint of sadism in it.  That was when Peridot’s mind suddenly went blank and her breaths became short and ragged from terror.

“No,” she muttered under her panicked breath.  “No, this can’t be happening!  There’s no way that this is happening!”  The green Gem couldn’t face the one who had shaken her to the core, not again.

“Oh it’s happening, Greenie!” Peridot turned around in absolute horror.  She came face-to-face with a figure that had been burned into her mind.  The single, silted eye seemed to pierce right through her soul.  The bright yellow light emitting from the triangular form was slightly stinging her eyes.  The cane that the demon was holding made her flinch every time it got close to her.  Bill Cipher was just as menacing as she remembered him on that day.  The day that marked her darkest and most embarrassing moment in her entire life.  That’s why it was no surprise when Peridot gave a frightful scream after confronting the dream demon.   

The dream demon only gave a sadistic laugh at the green Gem’s terror.  “Well well well,” the demon said as he floated down to the terrified Gem.  “If it isn’t my good old buddy, Greenie!  Haven’t seen you in a long while!  Not since our last visit, huh?  Man let me tell you, I’ve been around the block for a while now, but you were probably the easiest person to mess with!  And your reaction was just PRICELESS!  You should’ve seen the look on your face when I-“

“STOP!” Peridot shouted at the dream demon.  Just thinking about what Bill did to her in the past just caused her to shiver all over.  She could even bare to hear the demon mention it with such glee.  “Don’t you DARE bring that up again!  You will not hold that over my head forever, and I will no longer be intimidated by you any longer!” she yelled at the sadistic triangle.  Peridot tried her best to put on a brave face against the demon, but her fear was still festering in the back of her mind.

Bill was quiet for a moment, but Peridot could have sworn that he was holding back a snicker.  “Ah whatever, Greenie.  I’m not her to talk about the past, as hilarious as it is!  Tell you what though, I’ll make it up to you!  Here’s a little gift from me!”  With a snap of his fingers, the demon’s “gift” instantly materialized on the Gem technician.  When she looked down, it appeared that there were heavy, metallic cylinders had encased her arms and legs.  Upon closer inspection, Peridot was able to recognize that they had a similar appearance to her old limb enhancers.  The only difference was that the fingers and feet were missing, leaving the green Gem completely unable to move her hands and feet.  Needless to say, Peridot was far from amused with her new constraints.

“You like ‘em, I made them just for you!” the demon gloated.  “These babies will make sure you can’t use those dumb metal tricks that your apparently so proud of.  And they can let me do this!”  The dream demon snapped his fingers again and Peridot’s arms were suddenly pulled to the ground.  She tried to lift herself off the floor, but it appeared that the was magnetized.  Her new constraints were attracted to the magnetizing force, causing the green Gem to remain on her hands and knees in front of Bill.  “Grrr, why are you doing this, you cretin!  Are you just trying to embarrass me for some sick entertainment?!” the Gem technician protested.

“Normally, that would be the case, Greenie,” the sadistic triangle said, folding his arms behind him.  “But this is pure business.  You see, I like to think that it’s my job to wake people up from their sappy little fantasies they sometimes have and get them back on track.  And you got it really bad, Greenie!  What with this whole ‘turning over a new leaf’ garbage!  Why the heck are you trying to change?!”  The green Gem gave the demon a confused look.  “What are you talking about?” she asked.  Bill rolled his eye and wrapped his arm around her.  “I’m talking about how you’re trying to be a goodie-goodie two shoes now!  It’s turning you into a pathetic loser!  I mean, let’s look at how you once were.”

With another snap of the demon’s fingers, a figure suddenly appeared in from of them.  Peridot instantly recognized the figure as how she looked when she was still aligned with Homeworld.  But at the same time, the green Gem had a difficult time recognizing the Gem in front of her.  Standing tall and rigid, the old Peridot towered before her thanks to her limb enhancers.  Her face was cold and unempathetic, betraying no emotion other than indifference.  She looked hard into the clone’s eyes, but could only find a dark, empty void.  While the current Peridot was reflecting on her past appearance, Bill decided to interrupt.

“See, now THIS is someone with potential!  Look at the cold, dead expression in your eyes!  Look at that dedication to the suffering of other just to impress her superiors!  Sure, you were a little rough around the edges, but nothing a little polishing from yours truly wouldn’t solve!  You could’ve gone so far on this pathetic rock!  But now…”  The dream demon poofed the past Peridot away with the flick of a wrist and went in front of the Gem technician.  “You’re just a pathetic weakling!  No authority, no limb enhancers, just another embarrassment that has to stand on her tippy-toes just to reach stuff on the top shelf.  You totally fit in with those Crystal Chumps!”  Peridot felt rather hurt at the demon’s insult to her appearance and physique.  The loss of her limb enhancers had been a rather difficult adjustment for her in the beginning.  Not only were there the physical obstacles very apparent, but she didn’t help but feel somewhat inferior without them.  However, the Gem technician then remembered some words of wisdom that a certain hyper-active girl gave her.  “Mabel said that I’m perfect the way I am,” she stated with resolve.  “And she also said that anyone who thinks otherwise are just a bunch of jerks that don’t deserve my attention!”

Bill paused for a moment before he started bursting out laughing.  “Wait wait wait, you’re telling me that your taking advice from Shooting Star?!  That is the most HILAIOUS thing I’ve heard all day!  Take it from me Greenie, her and the rest of the Pines family are a bunch of shady liars!  They’re all too afraid to voice their actual feelings and opinions about others, so that just put on convincing faces!  Why else do you think Pin Tree is pretending to be so nice to you?!”  Peridot was confused for a moment, but she was finally able to figure out who he was referring to.  “Wait, what do you mean Dipper is pretending to be nice to me?  He’s already forgiven me for what I did for Homeworld, even though I may not deserve it.” she said defending her relationship with the boy.

“Oh really?!” the dream said.  The Gem technician then became rather alarmed when Bill suddenly grew larger.  “Then why don’t we take a look at what he really thought about you when you were trying to redeem yourself!”  The bottom half of the dream demon suddenly cut to static from a screen.  When it cleared, Peridot saw what appeared to be footage of Dipper and Steven in mid conversation down at the Mystery Shack.

“I don’t get it Steven, why do you trust her so much?  You do remember all of those things she did to us, right?!” Dipper said in a frustrated tone.  “Come on Dipper, I know that she did some bad stuff in the past, but she’s really trying to help us with the drill now.  Give her a chance!” Steven defended the green Gem.  The inquisitive boy was getting frustrated now.  “Give her a chance?!  After she tried to kidnap you and the Gems?  After she insulted us time and time again?  After what she did to Lapis?!” Dipper shouted out.

Steven was rather appealed by this exclamation.  “Dipper, that’s not fair!  You know that Peridot didn’t trap Lapis down under the lake, that was Jasper!”  Dipper just gave an aggravated sigh.  “I know that Steven, but that doesn’t excuse her involvement.  She could be the same Peridot that tried to destroy Earth.  The only reason she’s helping us in the first place is because she’s in as much danger from the Cluster as we all are!”  Dipper then turned away from the young Gem and folded his arms.  “When all this stuff with the Cluster is taken care of, I think we should bubble Peridot again.  It’ll be safer that way.”

The young Gem was quiet for a moment, unable to respond to such a terrible plan.  “Wait, what?!  Dipper, we can’t do that to Peridot!  She really is coming around, I know it!  We just have to trust her and I know she’ll-“

“No!” Dipper interrupted Steven.  “I’m tired of being fooled and taken advantage of!  Peridot hasn’t changed, she’s still the same terrible Gem that will stab us in the back when she gets the chance.  And that’s who she’ll always be.”

The screen cut to static and Bill returned to his usual size.  “Yeesh, talk about trust issues, am I right?!” the demon gloated.  “I could just feel the scorn and distrust pouring out of Pine Tree’s mouth!  I guess he really did never have any faith in you, Greenie!  And have a gut feeling that he still has some of those feelings deep inside of him too.  Hatred like that never really just disappears like that.  And to think, you were actually trying so hard to get on those meatsacks’ good side, and Pine Tree still thought that you were a monster!  How does that feel?”  Peridot’s arms were still constraint to the ground, so she couldn’t stop the lone tears that were streaming down her face.  The green Gem had always assumed that Dipper was not as accepting to her as Steven and Mabel was when they were working on the drill.  She didn’t have to read minds to know that the boy was still distrustful of her back then due to past allegiance to Homeworld.  But to now actually hear him say that with such genuine conviction was just too much for the Gem technician.

“But…Lapis told me…” Peridot muttered, trying to recall the conversation she had with the blue Gem a little while ago.  “Yeah, how about we talk about Water Wings,” Bill interrupted the Gem technician.  “And how much of a dumb move it is to actually count on her.”  Peridot was taken aback at the dream demon’s outrageous claim.  “In case you haven’t noticed, Water Wings is a complete coward that only cares about herself.  The second danger gets to close for comfort, she’ll flies away on those puny wings to save her own gemstone!  I bet that if you were in danger and you were reaching out to her for help, all you would see is her back as she’s flying away from you!  Who would be stupid enough to trust anything someone like that says?!  The only time when she actually thinks about someone other than herself is when it involves Pine Tree or Rose Bud.”

Bill then summoned two symbols in engulfed in blue flames in each of his hands; Peridot recognizing them as Rose Quartz’s insignia and the pine tree symbol that was on Dipper’s hat.  “I have big plans to finally show those two where their place is,” the demon stated.  Peridot slightly cringed when Bill slowly crushed the symbols in his hands into nothingness.  “And Water Wings was freaking out when I told her that!  So, I made an offer to back off as long as she promised me a small favor.  She refused of course, but I could definitely see the doubt running through her mind.  All she needs is a little….incentive with making a decision.  That’s the thing about sentimental cowards like Water Wings, they’re just too easy to manipulate…just like a puppet!”

Peridot took a deep breath, something inside the Gem technician’s mind finally snapped.  She didn’t know whether it was from the threat Bill made to the boy, the unnecessary soiling of Lapis’s good character or just Bill’s carefree attitude about this in general.  Peridot only had one thought going through her mind: She had enough.  “Listen closely,” the green Gem mutter before converting to angry yell.  “I will not let you talk bad about me, Dipper, Steven and ESPECIALLY Lapis anymore.  I do NOT need my limb enhancers to feel like I’m powerful and confident about my self-image!  I do NOT need to be shown what Dipper USED to think about me, because I know that he has forgiven me now!  And I do not need you spilling out constant lies about Lapis!  She does care about me along with Dipper and Steven and I know that she would never take a deal with the likes of you!  So how about you do something useful, and leave me alone.  YOU CLOD!!!”  Silence filled the air as Peridot finally finished her tangent.  The green Gem couldn’t help but feel a sense of low-key satisfaction from what she just told the dream demon.  However, that feeling soon dissipated as she saw Bill float down to her.  He did not look amused.

“Well, I bet you feel clever about insulting me like did to Yellow, Greenie.” The demon said in a cold tone.  “Fortunately for you, she was halfway across the universe when you did.  Why don’t show you what really happens when you speak up against your betters.”  But Peridot could even think, Bill struck her in the face with the back of his hand.  A sharp burning was felt across the Gem technician’s cheek.  And because her arms were still constrained, she couldn’t caress her injury to ease the pain.  The stinging was so bad, new tears start to emerge from the green Gem’s eyes.  “Bet that brings up some good memories from back on Homeworld, huh?  You may think that you’re strong now, but I think you just have to be reminded about what you really are.  A lousy peon who can’t take orders even to save her sorry existence!”  Bill then floated away from the Gem he just struck.

“Well it’s been fun Greenie, but I have other matters to attend to.  I don’t think someone as pathetic as you deserves more of my time of day.  So just remember to think about what I told you now, before it’s too late and I have to do something drastic!  I’ll be keeping eye on you, so don’t be getting any crazy ideas about ‘acceptances’ or ‘strength’!  See you later!”  Bill Cipher then emitted a bright flash and he was gone.  Peridot thought it was over until she felt the ground tremble.  The fingers of the Hand Ship began to rise into the air and close in on her.  The Hand Ship was slowly balling up into a fist, leaving the Gem technician to be crushed in the middle.  Her metal constraints were still firmly attached to the floor, leaving the green Gem no chance of escape.

The only thing she could do was scream at her oncoming demise.

Peridot was shrieking uncontrollably as she was struggling to free herself from the tight grasp she was in.  The green Gem did everything from kicking to thrashing, trying to free herself from Bill’s hold.  After a full minute of this, she was finally calm enough to hear the voice talking to her.

“Peridot!  PERIDOT!  Calm down, it’s just me!” Peridot heard as she was suddenly turned around face her captor.  However, instead of facing the one-eyed demon, she was looking into the soft, gentle eyes of Lapis.  The green Gem quickly scan the room to confirm that she was still in the hammock in the barn.  She then looked back to Lapis and noticed the shock and worry in her face.  “Peridot, what happen?!  Why were you screaming?!  Are you hurt?!”  Lapis then lifted her hand to caress the green Gem’s check, only for her to wince in pain.  Peridot could still feel the sting from when Bill struck her.  The memories of the encounter were flooding back into her mind with excessive details.  Peridot then couldn’t stop herself from suddenly giving the blue Gem a tight hug.

“Lapis!” she cried out.  The Gem technician was starting to uncontrollably sob.  “I’m sorry!  I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner!  Bill came to me in a dream!  He said things that really scared me!  He reminded me of what he did to me a month ago!  I didn’t tell you because…because…” Peridot couldn’t finish as she broke down into tears.  Peridot just cried for a minute before she felt Lapis gently rubbing her back, which calmed her down.  “It’s okay, Peridot.” The blue Gem whispered.

“You’re safe now.  You safe with me now.”

[gudlyf]

A Taste Worth Savoring [Short Screenplay]

I’m back at it again with the NYC Midnight competitions. I always find the Short Screenplay competition fun, and it’s sparked some ideas that I’d eventually grown into larger works or entered into other contests, some garnering a few small-time awards.

This time, my prompts didn’t really inspire anything new in me, so I fell back to a short story of mine and made some adjustments to make it work. It came out better than I thought!

Rules of this round: Genre: Drama Location: A Wine Bar Object: An ATM Machine Limits: 5 pages, 2 days

A man on an important life-or-death mission faces the realities of mortality, as he digests the realization of his dark place in its process.

EXT. WINE BAR - NIGHT

Edward (30s) operates an ATM MACHINE. A BRIEFCASE sits on the ground. Owen (30s) stands nearby, back against the wall. Edward grabs cash from the machine, then the briefcase.

OWEN

Can't track cash.

Edward nods nervously, pockets the cash. He's sweating, not looking so well.

OWEN

What's up? You can do this, right?

EDWARD

What? Yeah yeah. Just got a bug or something. I'll be fine.

Owen nods, unconvinced.

OWEN

Alright. C'mon.

CUT TO:

INT. WINE BAR, AT TABLE - A BIT LATER - NIGHT

The place is busy. Owen and Edward sit at a small table, each with a near-empty glass of wine. The briefcase is beside Edward's feet; he's looking worse.

EDWARD

You ever think of dying? Not falling down dead, I mean the process. Emphasis on the "ing," y'know? From the day we're born, we're doing just that. Only one result. Some day, dead.

OWEN

Yeah. No. But by the looks of you, you might be getting close.

Owen checks his watch.

OWEN (CONT'D)

Shit, I need to hit the head. You get us a couple more, yeah? You good? Won't be long now.

Edward nods. Owen heads for the restrooms.

INT. WINE BAR, AT BAR - NIGHT

Edward waves some cash at the passing-by BARTENDER.

EDWARD

Hey. A couple Trésor, here?

He's ignored. The bartender passes again. Edward waves.

EDWARD

Hey!

He's again ignored, as though he doesn't exist.

OLDER WOMAN

Trésor. Nice choice. 2009, I hope.

Surprised, Edward whrils to his left, where an OLDER WOMAN (60s, English) sits at the bar sipping wine, admiring him. Edward nods a nervous "okay," and begins to turn away.

OLDER WOMAN (CONT'D)

Shame you can't drink it when you're dead.

Again, Edward whirls, fuming.

EDWARD

And what the hell is that supposed to mean?

She rolls her eyes, nods in the direction of Edward's table. There sits Edward, head on the table, as if resting. Dumbfounded, the Edward at the bar flips his gaze several times between the table and the woman.

EDWARD (CONT'D)

That...?

The woman nods, amused. With Edward, realization sinks in.

EDWARD (CONT'D)

And you? You can't be...

The woman shrugs.

OLDER WOMAN

You expect a scythe and a black cloak, do you? Grrr.

EDWARD

So I'm dead. That's it?

The woman takes a long sip of wine, then a slow shake of her head.

OLDER WOMAN

I'm not quite done with you yet.

EDWARD

Done with me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

OLDER WOMAN

Edward, have you ever had something so good that you simply wished it would never end? A delicious piece of candy as a child? A drug-induced high? A girl, perhaps?

EDWARD

So you're, what? You're using me?

OLDER WOMAN

Using? More like ... savoring.

EDWARD

Savor? You make it sound like I'm a piece of meat. Like I'm food.

OLDER WOMAN

Well that's precisely what you are to me, Edward. I don't eat, per se. You're not food so much to me as you are sustenance. As all the dead are. As all the dying, as you know, become. Just minutes ago you thought of dying and of how every living thing undergoes the process from the moment of creation. Right you are. Right you are.

The woman's eyes dart about, as though to ensure prying ears won't spy upon what juicy secrets she's about to spill.

OLDER WOMAN (CONT'D)

At birth comes my first bite, you see. Just a tiny one. Just enough for a taste. An amuse-bouche. I suppose you could say it's quite like the first stage of digestion, actually. I must say, at times it's a bit too good to take from the start, and then it's all over with right quick; just can't help myself, I'm afraid. And then there are the usual ones, the ones that will do just fine as they are. In due time they're finished off as well. But there are some I just want to hold onto a little longer. Their flavor. It's too good. Worth savoring, you see.

(Beat)

And that's you. Your dying is delicious, Edward.

Edward gulps.

EDWARD

If you're not ready for me, why the hell am I here? Why are you taking me now?

The woman pouts with disappointment.

OLDER WOMAN

Isn't it obvious? I'm not here for you, Edward.

Edward follows the woman's gaze as she scans over all of the bar patrons, stopping on the briefcase on the floor by dead Edward's feet.

OLDER WOMAN (CONT'D)

One way or another, Edward, my dinner is about to be served. If you want to go, you'd best be doing so now. Otherwise ... I've got quite the feast ahead of me, don't I?

As the woman puts the glass of wine to her lips ...

CUT TO:

INT. WINE BAR, AT TABLE - IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING - NIGHT

Edward snaps awake with a snort as Owen approaches the table.

OWEN

Hey. I thought I said to get us a couple more.

Edward's speechless, confused. A BELL RING as the outer door opens, and two WELL-DRESSED MEN enter, all business. Owen recognizes them, turns to Edward.

OWEN (CONT'D)

Targets are here. This is it. You know what to do. I'll meet you outside.

Owen leaves the table and exits as the two well-dressed men are seated. Edward stiffens, throws a look toward the bar. The older woman raises her glass to him.

OLDER WOMAN

Most consider people like you disgusting and vile. Not me, Edward. Certainly not me.

Locking eyes with the woman, he reaches beneath his seat, opens the briefcase, and flips a switch inside before closing it again.

EXT. WINE BAR - NIGHT

Edward exits, head bowed, ashen. He meets up with Owen, and they start down the street.

OWEN

I know. Puts a sour taste in my mouth too. But it's for the good of the country. You just gotta stomach the fact that collateral damage is just part of the job.

(Beat)

We need to disappear. Let's go get something to eat.

FADE TO BLACK

END

[cutepresea]

10-9 The Sirius of Zwei Wing: The Sirius of Zwei Wing

Sorry for the spam.

If you want to blacklist these, you can use either the tag #the sirius of zwei wing for just this event, or #xdu event scripts or #xdu scripts

Reminder  that these are copied straight  from XD Unlimited itself, so any grammatical weirdness, mistranslations,  and/or mischaracterizations are  not my doing.

Kanade Amo: "She said all I needed to do was follow the GPS marker and head straight to the base."

Kanade Amo: "I wish she'd mentioned there was a big-ass valley along the way!"

Kanade Amo: (Guess I jumped down to a bad spot.)

Kanade Amo: "In any case, this detour is costing me time that I don't have."

Kanade Amo: "I finally made it..."

Kanade Amo: "So that's the Leubald North Pole Base the Germans built."

Kanade Amo: (Still... Something's off. I haven't been attacked once since that last group of Noise.)

Kanade Amo: (Maybe they don't realize I'm approaching?)

Kanade Amo: (No, I've already fought them in the air and the ground. They have to know I'm here.)

Kanade Amo: (Is it a trap?)

Kanade Amo: "...Agh, all this worrying isn't going to get me anywhere."

Kanade Amo: "Anyhow, they should know where I am. Sneaking around would just be a waste of time."

Kanade Amo: "I'll storm the front entrance."

Kanade Amo: "There's zero signs of life in this base."

Kanade Amo: "It's so quiet and creepy..."

Kanade Amo: "...Another empty room."

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa... Where did you go?"

Kanade Amo: "It's a giant hall with a conch shell-like instrument. Could this be the room Tsubasa mentioned?"

Alicia: "Took you long enough, Kanade Amo. I was almost starting to think you'd frozen to death out there."

Kanade Amo: "Alicia Bernstein! Where are you keeping Tsubasa?!"

Alicia: "Can't you see her lying on the ground?"

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa! What did you do to her?!"

Alicia: "Fret not. She's only unconscious."

Kanade Amo: "You're gonna give Tsubasa back!"

Alicia: "Sure, I don't mind. I have no more use for her, anyhow."

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "...Urgh..."

Kanade Amo: (I'm so glad she's okay...)

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa... Sorry I'm late."

Kanade Amo: "Just hold on for me a little longer."

Kanade Amo: "Why did you kidnap Tsubasa? Why did you do this to her?!"

Alicia: "I thought Ryoko Sakurai would've known already. Didn't she tell you why?"

Kanade Amo: "What?!"

Alicia: "I'm sure you know all about this Armonica and the Eternal Lullaby, no?"

Kanade Amo: "Yeah... You mean your insane plot to make all of humanity fall asleep?"

Alicia: "Yes. The German army once plotted the same thing, but they abandoned it, unable to activate the Armonica."

Alicia: "but now, with the power of modern technology, such issues are a thing of the past."

Kanade Amo: "What does Tsubasa have to do with..."

Kanade Amo: "Wait, are you telling me--"

Alicia: "Yes. With the amplified phonic gain from her Symphogear..."

Alicia: "The waves of infinite power which give birth to miracles!"

Alicia: "I have an ideal source that outputs enough energy to completely activate the Armonica."

Kanade Amo: "That's what you were using her for?"

Alicia: "in the initial phases of my plan, I was going to kidnap you."

Alicia: "Tsubasa Kazanari should've been dead. And yet, as luck would have it, there she was, alive."

Alicia: "Besides, a failure such as yourself would have likely only delayed things further."

Kanade Amo: "Ngh..."

Alicia: "But you should feel honored."

Alicia: "Soon enough, you'll have a front row seat to hear the overture to world peace."

Kanade Amo: "You think I'll let you get away with this?!"

Man in Robe A: "Of course I do. We're here to help settle you in."

Kanade Amo: "Huh?!"

Bergelmir: "Graaaaaah!"

Kanade Amo: "Guh! Bergelmir, eh?!"

Kanade Amo: "Well bring it on!"

Kanade Amo: "Brisingamen! Lend me your strength!"

Kanade Amo: "Raaagh!"

Bergelmir: "Gaaah?!"

Kanade Amo: "Eat thiiiiiis!"

Bergelmir: "Graaah?!"

Kanade Amo: "No way! It's even more powerful than before!"

Kanade Amo: "And Brisingamen's flames aren't even making it flinch! Why?!"

Man in Robe A: "Is it not obvious? Bergelmir, a frost giant, is in its natural habitat."

Man in Roba A: "However powerful Brisingamen may be, it can't utilize its full power here."

Ryoko Sakurai: "I wouldn't expect any less from an inhabitant of Jotunheim, a kingdom of giants blanketed in ice."

Kanade Amo: "It can't be that simple..."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Relics and philosophical armaments may appear complex, but they always remain loyal to their core concepts."

Kanade Amo: "I see... So that's how it is?"

Alicia: "Now do you understand? You have no way of stopping our plan."

Man in Robe B: "Lady Alicia. The link with the satellite network has been established."

Alicia: "...Hehe."

Alicia: "Now all of our preparations are complete."

Alicia: "You will stand there and watch, Kanade Amo!"

Alicia: "Watch as all of humanity's foolishness and ugliness ends here!"

Kanade Amo: "I won't let you!"

Bergelmir: "Graaaaaagh!"

Kanade Amo: "Guh... Get out of my waaay!"

Ryoko Sakurai: "...It's finally begun."

Ryoko Sakurai: "I knew it. They plan to transmit the Armonica soundwaves worldwide through a satellite network."

Ryoko Sakurai: "The neutralizers won't be enough."

Ryoko Sakurai: "The fate of the world rests with those girls."

Ryoko Sakurai: "You have to stop her before it's too late..."

Bystander A: "...Huh? What's that sound?"

Bystander B: "That's weird... I feel so sleepy all of a sudden."

Bystander A: "...Where's it coming from? I'm feeling kinda..."

Bystander B: "Everyone in town is... What's going... on here?"

Bergelmir: "Graaah!"

Kanade Amo: (Guh... I'm not gonna make it!)

Kanade Amo: "Gack!"

Kanade Amo: (I-It's so powerful...)

Man in Robe B: "Lady Alicia, the transmission of the lullaby is proceeding as planned. It has already covered 70% of the world."

Alicia: "Soon... Soon our ambition shall be realized."

Alicia: "Fall into eternal slumber, foolish humans!"

Alicia: "You shall all slowly perish in a dream you shall never wake from! Your souls shall rot with your bodies!"

Bergelmir: "Gaaah!"

Kanade Amo: "Aaaaah!"

Bergelmir: "Grrr..."

Kanade Amo: "Ugh! D-Dammit..."

Kanade Amo: (I wasn't powerful enough...)

Kanade Amo: (I'm sorry, Tsubasa... Ryoko-san... Everyone...)

Bergelmir: "Graaah!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "You're not laying a finger on her!"

Bergelmir: "Graaagh?!"

Kanade Amo: "Huh?!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Kanade-san! Are you all right?"

Maria: "Good grief. This is what you get for being so reckless."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Looks like we made it just in the nick of time."

Kanade Amo: "Y-You too, old man? What are you all doing here?!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Ryoko-kun prioritized waking us three up first."

Genjuro Kazanari: "We borrowed a hypersonic spy plane from the US Army to get here as quickly as we could."

Genjuro Kazanari: "We'll tell you the details later. We've got bigger issues on our hands now."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Is that the Armonica? It's making such a weird sound..."

Maria: "Oh no, don't tell me it's already been activated?!"

Kanade Amo: "......"

Kanade Amo: "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop it..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Is the Eternal Lullaby complete?!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "None of us have fallen asleep, though..."

Man in Robe: "That's due to the mental barrier we placed on this base to protect against the Armonica."

Man in Robe: "You shall bear witness to the peace we will bring to the world."

Man in Robe: "Consider yourselves lucky that you get to witness Lady Alicia's miraculous performance firsthand."

Man in Robe: "Now sit back and enjoy the timbre of the complete Eternal Lullaby."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh, no..."

Maria: "is there no way to reserve the lullaby's effect?!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Ngh..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "I know! How about that neutralizer device that Ryoko-san gave Master? That can wake everyone up."

Genjuro Kazanari: "But now that the Eternal Lullaby is complete, Ryoko-kun's device won't have any effect."

Kanade Amo: "......"

Maria: "We lost..."

Alicia: "Hehe. All of humanity has now fallen into eternal slumber."

Alicia: "The world is now rid of war."

Alicia: "The peaceful world that we all desired has finally been achieved."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Not yet, it hasn't!"

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa! You're awake?!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Kanade, everyone... Thank you all for making it here."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Tsubasa-san!"

Maria: "Tsubasa..."

Alicia: "It's over. The world is now at peace, and no one will ever to have to suffer from war again." [1]

Tsubasa Kazanari: "No, there's still one person who's suffering, and who must be saved!"

Alicia: "...Excuse me?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "It's you, Alicia!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I will fight for you and the Sirius Symphonic Orchestra!"

Alicia: "What are you talking about? You mean... You would fight for my orchestra?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Kanade, everyone, please help me!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "We're going to fight to save Alicia and the Sirius Symphonic Orchestra!"

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa..."

Kanade Amo: "All right! Let's do this, Tsubasa!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Yeah! If she's someone Tsubasa-san wants to save, then I want to save her too!"

Maria: "Wanting to save the enemy against all odds, is it? You two are more alike than I thought!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Thank you everyone."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Alicia! I'm afraid there's still one more battle left..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "The battle to save you!"

Alicia: "How are you carrying on with this nonsense?!"

Alicia: "All of humanity has fallen into eternal slumber, yet you persist!"

Alicia: "Why won't you give up?! Why won't you fall into despair?!"

Alicia: "Bergelmir! Enough holding back! Kill them all!"

Alicia: "With all of you dead, I will obtain consummate peace!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Aaagh?!"

Maria: "Guh?!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Hibiki-kun! Maria-kun!"

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa! You all right?!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "...I am. Thanks for covering me."

Kanade Amo: "I see it now..."

Kanade Amo: "She's just like how I was when my family was killed by the Noise..."

Kanade Amo: "Except her family was killed by people... No, by war."

Kanade Amo: "I understand how she feels. I'd want to take revenge on whatever took away my loved ones."

Kanade Amo: "...We're both alike."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Kanade..."

Kanade Amo: "But thanks to you, Tsubasa, I didn't lose my way."

Kanade Amo: "That's why I want to save her too!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "We can. I'm sure of it."

Kanade Amo: "Yeah! Let's do this, Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Okay!"

Kanade & Tsubasa: "Yaaah!"

Bergelmir: "Graaagh!"

Alicia: "Why..."

Alicia: "Why won't you fall? Why won't you yield? Why won't you give up?"

Kanade Amo: "We'll never give up!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Not on the potential of humanity, nor on our desire for peace!"

Alicia: "...Are you saying that I gave up?!"

Kanade Amo: "That's exactly what we're saying... You gave up on everything."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "When your friends were taken away from you, your noble ideals quickly turned into despair."

Kanade Amo: "I'm sure that with humanity gone, war would vanish along with it..."

Kanade Amo: "But all that'll remain is a void."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Your friends and the hope you desired for everyone, even the smiles, they'll all be gone."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "The light of Sirius in the night sky will no longer shine on anyone. It'd be meaningless, surely?"

Alicia: "Shut up, shut up, shut up! What would you know?!"

Alicia: "Don't you dare say the name of Sirius, of my orchestra!"

Alicia: "You don't understand anything. The power of song is utterly meaningless."

Alicia: "The only way to bring peace to the world is to erase humanity!"

Kanade Amo: "That isn't the only way!"

Kanade Amo: "As long as you continue to believe and sing, you'll reach them!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "You can make the hearts of the world come together as one!"

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa, let's go!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Yeah! Let's fly!"

Alicia: "Hmph! What point is there to your songs now?!"

Alicia: "Songs! Love! Hope! Humanity is not worthy of any of it!"

Alicia: "Now, Bergelmir! Freeze them in an icy hell!"

Bergelmir: "Graaah!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Gwaaah!"

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa?! Gack!"

Alicia: "I told you. Brisingamen, Ignite, it's meaningless. This is over."

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa... Are you okay?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I'm fine... I can still fight."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "The power of song... of people's hearts! They will never give in to the darkness of despair!"

Kanade Amo: "Yeah... Don't stop singing, Tsubasa! As long as there's song, there'll be hope in the hearts of humanity."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Yes, Kanade! With you by my side, I can stay standing, and can keep flying!"

Alicia: "Enough! This incessant chirping of yours is beginning to test my patience!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Wait... This song..."

Maria: "Is it... Tsubasa and Kanade?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "So they finally did it?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Looks like it, Master. And not only that... I feel this power surging through me, too."

Maria: "You're right. What's going on?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Is their song increasing the phonic gain?"

Alicia: "No! What is this?!"

Alicia: "Is their phonic gain flowing throughout the world?!"

Alicia: "Impossible! All of humanity should have fallen into eternal slumber..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I see. Their song is being broadcast throughout the world by the satellite network, just like the Armonica."

Maria: "Even with everyone asleep, their song broke through! The world heard their song!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "We can do this now!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Yes. If their song has reached people's hearts..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Then the Eternal Lullaby is still incomplete!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Ryoko-kun's device should be able to negate the lullaby and wake people up!"

Alicia: "No! That can't be right! My performance was perfect!"

Alicia: "Grr! Stop your singing!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "If I connect the device to the control unit and broadcast their song to the world, we can wake everyone up!"

Alicia: "Cut off the satellite link immediately! Don't let that song reach the outside!"

Man in Robe A: "I won't allow you to interfere with our plan!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Hmph!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Master, please go!"

Maria: "We'll hold them off right here!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Much appreciated!"

Man in Robe A: "Damned wielders!"

Man in Robe B: "Bergelmir! Destroy them all!"

Bergemir: "Graaah!"

Bergelmir: "Graaah!"

Kanade Amo: "Dammit, it's still not flinching..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "We're lacking the power to finish it off..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Everyone hold hands!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "The whole wide world is responding to Kanade-san and Tsubasa-san's song and giving us power."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Maria-san! The phonic gain!"

Maria: "Right!"

Maria: "I'll have this tuned phonic gain reconstructed in no time!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Thank you!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Now, Kanade... Give me your hand."

Kanade Amo: "...Okay!"

Hibiki Tachibana & Maria: "Rrraaaahhhh!"

Kanade & Tsubasa: "Yaaaaaah!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Our hearts resonated together to create this song!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Together, we can harness unlimited power!"

Bergelmir: "Graaaaaah!"

Alicia: "Bergelmir is being overpowered?"

Alicia: "Impossible... What is this abnormal phonic gain?!"

Alicia: "Is this the miracle of a Symphogear?!"

Alicia: "No... I don't acknowledge such crackpot ideas as miracles!"

Alicia: "How can such a thing exist int he same world that forsook my orchestra?!"

Alicia: "I unbind you from the chains of the Armonica! Bergelmir, unleash your strength!"

Kanade Amo: "Stop this! You can still turn back."

Alicia: "Turn back?! I'm too far gone for that!"

Alicia: "My body, my life... I dedicated everything to succeed the wishes of my orchestra!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "That's a lie! Your orchestra never wished for anything like that!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "They must have wanted you to live a happier life than this!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Because... as long as you live, the spirit of your orchestra lives on in your heart!"

Alicia: "You understand nothing!"

Alicia: "You know not what it's like to have everything taken away from you, nor have your dreams cut short!"

Kanade Amo: "I do understand! I've also lost someone close to me!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "She's right... And even so, we have to move on, and continue living."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "The Sirius you believed in should've shown you the way forward!"

Alicia: "Shut up... Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "What the... What's that light?"

Kanade Amo: "Bergelmir's changing shape!"

Maria: "Oh no... Is she sacrificing her life force and pouring it into Bergelmir?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Just stop already! What will this amount to?!"

Alicia: "No sacrifice is too great to construct a world without war!"

Bergelmir: "Graaaaaah!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh, no! X-Drive is--"

Maria: "Its power is being reflected back!"

Alicia: "Bahahaha!"

Alicia: "Now Bergelmir is in its final form! Your diminutive little powers are nothing in the face of this!"

Alicia: "Show me your power, Bergelmir! The same power which encased the world in ice during the last apocalypse!"

Alicia: "Now you'll see, Symphogear wielders, that the power of song can change nothing!"

Alicia: "Blissful sleep is the only salvation for humanity which forever wanders in the shadows of ignorance!"

Kanade Amo: "That's not true! Songs can change the world!"

Kanade Amo: "Songs have infinite power! They can be a shining light that guides humanity!"

Alicia: "Hmph! Nothing but words!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "They aren't just words, and we'll prove it too you!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Alicia, you told me that if songs like that do exist, you'd love to hear one, didn't you?"

Alicia: "And?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Well you're going to hear one right now!"

Kanade Amo: "Let's do this, Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Okay, Kanade!"

Kanade Amo: "This is our song..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "A song from unyielding wings. Wings that fly time and again, no matter how crushing the despair..."

Kanade & Tsubasa: "And right here, right now--"

Kanade & Tsubasa: "It shall be heard! From the ends of the earth, to the depths of the heart of all humanity!"

Alicia: "No... What is this phonic gain?!"

Bergelmir: "Graaaaaagh!"

Alicia: "No, Bergelmir. No!"

Maria: "My word! Their song--"

Hibiki Tachibana: "It's so warm... I can feel the power surging through me!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "Wait! Is the world reacting even more to their song?!"

Maria: "It's like a mega concert for all seven billion people of the world..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "This is what their lone wings can achieve when brought together!"

Bergelmir: "Graaah!"

Maria: "Bergelmir is vanishing..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Is it over?"

Maria: "Looks like it, yes."

Alicia: "I... I lost? But how..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Her body..."

Maria: "It's the price she must pay for sacrificing her life force."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Alicia Bernstein..."

Alicia: "Tsubasa Kazanari... Kanade Amo..."

Alicia: "Hmph... You win. Go ahead and laugh..."

Kanade Amo: "We're not here to laugh."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Hey, Alicia."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "The Sirius Symphonic Orchestra's goal was to save the victims of war and make them smile. Is that right?"

Alicia: "That's right... And the world rejected us for it."

Alicia: "That's why... This was the only path I could take."

Kanade Amo: "But despite all that, you hesitated for a long time, didn't you?"

Kanade Amo: "You weren't really sure whether your orchestra really wanted this."

Alicia: "......"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "And it was that subconscious hesitation that caused you to never complete the Eternal Lullaby."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "If it wasn't for that, humanity would've fallen into a slumber that no song could ever break."

Alicia: "Yes... I was aware of this all along."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Then why couldn't you stop?"

Alicia: "I... loved the music of my orchestra."

Alicia: "The music we performed is what made me feel the happiest..."

Alicia: "But... I can't remember any of it."

Alicia: "I don't remember what their performances were like, even though I supposedly loved them so much!"

Alicia: "I knew from the very start that what I was doing was wrong."

Alicia: "But I still couldn't bring myself to forgive..."

Alicia: "I didn't have the strength to overcome the hatred or suffering."

Alicia: "Shining through the darkness was something I couldn't do alone."

Alicia: "And thanks to that weakness of mine..."

Alicia: "I destroyed everything the Sirius Symphonic Orchestra entrusted to me, and everything they stood for."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "No you didn't."

Kanade Amo: "Yeah... There wishes of your friends still remain. We'll carry those on." [2]

Alicia: "What?"

Kanade Amo: "It may be a little tough to create a world without war, though..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "But still, we can put a smile on the faces of those who suffer."

Alicia: "You mean that through song that can change the world?"

Alicia: "I laughed with scorn at you back then..."

Alicia: "...But perhaps you girls really can do it."

Alicia: "Yes... I can hear them..."

Alicia: "Now I can remember."

Alicia: "Our orchestra... Our performances..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Alicia..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I said that I would save Alicia, but in the end..."

Kanade Amo: "She smiled. That's what she would've wanted, right?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Kanade... You're right."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Alicia-san..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "If we hadn't met like this, maybe we could've become friends..."

Kanade Amo: "Yeah... I think she would've made a good friend."

Kanade Amo: (If I had never met Tsubasa... I would have never met them, either." [3]

Maria: "...Is something the matter?"

Kanade Amo: "No, it's nothing."

Kanade Amo: "Right, we should go home now, right? We've got a lot of people waiting for us."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Yeah, let's go home."

Ryoko Sakurai: "The neutralizer waves that went through the satellite awoke humanity from its deep sleep."

Ryoko Sakurai: "After waking up, they all said the same thing."

Ryoko Sakurai: "That they heard a song in their dreams."

Notes:

[1] There's an extra "to" in this line. "no one will ever have to suffer from war"

[2] "There" should be "The," "The wishes of your friends still remain."

[3] They started the line with a parenthesis and ended with a quotation mark.