#its soooo hard to get ideas out into word form without them being stupid so id rather see what others would wanna see more of from me

[misslilli]

Felix Felicis

MSR. AU. PG-13. | tagging @today-in-fic | read on AO3

Chapter 27 - Embarrassments And Evil Plans

[ FM ]

It’s not like I planned it or anything, but on the same day next week, I find myself back outside, walking the streets of Plymouth. Last weekend, snow has finally fallen but it had melted right away, leaving an ugly brown slush in the streets and pools of water on the floors. Somehow, I end up in front of the only Starbucks in town, oh what a coincidence.

I enter the coffee shop a little too exuberant for the wet floor and my dress shoes, so before I can catch myself, I slip in the puddle and fall face first to the floor. It knocks the air right out of me, stupid snow!

“Well well… isn’t it a nice surprise to have a man fall at your feet, in a Starbucks of all places.” I recognize the teasing voice even without looking up, my face burning with embarrassment. When I do look up, I’m faced with a smirking Scully waiting in line for her weekly sugar fix.

“Are you okay?,” she asks between laughs after she helped me up.

“Aside from my wounded ego? Yeah, fine.” I grumble at her laughter, that’s not helping little lady.

“Sorry. Come on, I’ll buy you and your fractured ego some coffee.” We step up to the counter to the eagerly waiting barista.

“Black coffee for Bob.” she says. “Peppermint Mocha, sweet cream foam and an extra shot of espresso for Nancy.” I say.

She hands over her credit card and at the end of the counter, as we wait, she raises an eyebrow at me. “Nancy? Really? Next time, I’m choosing the undercover names!” ‘She said next time!’

“I’m curious about that sugar mixed with more sugar concoction of yours, can I get a sip?” She gives me a ‘Yeah right’ look.

“Nu-huh, you’ve proven youself to be a concoction-snob, you’re not getting a sip.”

“Ouch, there goes my recently mended fractured ego again!”

As if we’ve never been doing anything else, we walk out of Starbucks and turn to head towards the junction where we’ll have to part ways.

“You should really invest in some sensible winter boots, city boy! These are just a safety hazard!” I burn my tongue on my coffee with a hiss.

“That won’t go well with the GQ cover look I’m going for, to be honest.”

“Well, maybe you should consider modeling for Land’s End if you don’t want to kill yourself in the winter that’s about to come!”

When she almost slips herself in her high-heeled boots, I offer her my arm. “Maybe you should start by taking your own advice, being on the Vogue side of the shoe department yourself!”

“I need all the height I can get, otherwise I won’t be able to see across the Starbucks counter.” I chuckle, taking another sip, my tongue still burning.

“Sooo how has your week been so far?” She goes on to tell me stories about her kids at school and the girls, then I tell her about my new case, as much as I’m allowed to, anyway. I also tell her about how my mother, while very helpful, is slowly driving me up the wall.

Skirting the fine line between friends and flirting, we never actually talk about what we are to each other now. I’m just glad we’re on speaking terms again and enjoy her company. Also, I’d rather chew my own arm off before I put myself into the friend zone voluntarily. We don’t arrange to meet anywhere else, like on a date - that would be like pouring gasoline over the line and setting the damn thing on fire.

We part ways with a short hug and head off in different directions, the coffee and something else warming us up from the inside.

—————

[ Teena ]

Over the course of the past few weeks, I’ve seen quite an improvement happening with my son, he’s not obsessing over work anymore and he seems to be getting better. Why, I can’t say, maybe it’s therapy, maybe it’s me taking care of him, maybe it’s something entirely different, like what’s happening during his walks on Tuesdays he keeps insisting on.

Either way, I’m glad that he’s doing better, I hate seeing him hurting.

Felix and I are spending a lot of quality time together and I marvel at the amazing child he’s become, despite his history. His mother is a piece of work in itself, she’s late every single time she picks him up from school, and this week, of course she does it again.

The call from Principal Skinner comes on the landline and I happen to be the one who takes it, which is how I found out about this situation in the first place. Felix doesn’t like to talk about it and, knowing my opinion of his ex-wife, Fox avoids talking to me about her like the plague.

The weekend passes, we talk, we cook, we laugh, we reminisce about the old days and I can’t wait for Sunday evening, when Felix returns with his mother.

She sends him into the house without coming in, which is rude in its own way, so I leave the two boys to themselves and step out of the house. “Diana, a word please.”

She’s surprised to see me there and I wonder if she talks to her son at all during those weekends because if she did, I’m sure he’d mention that I’m staying at their house for a while.

“I heard that you were late for pick-up again this Friday.” The defiant look she gives me is not new, I’ve seen it a thousand times when I tell her how I feel about her parenting abilities. She doesn’t think I have a say in the matter, but I’ve raised two children and I’m fiercely protective of them as well as my grandson.

“And…?,” she has the audacity to ask.

“It’s disrespectful to your child and his needs that you don’t seem to care enough to be on time. We’d appreciate it if you made an effort to be on time from now on. Goodnight.” Not waiting for a reply, I close the door in her face. I’ve said all I had to say.

—————

[ Felix ]

“… and a partrige in a pear treeee.” We finish singing all thousand verses of The 12 days of Christmas just before the bell rings for recess, proud that we mostly got it right. It’s really hard!

Sitting in my designated spot on the teacher’s bench, I take my chance of talking to Miss Anderson alone while Miss Scully is settling yet another fight between her kids on the playground.

“Hey Miss Anderson, can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure Felix, what’s up?”

“It’s about the trip to the Chocolate Factory on the last Thursday before Christmas. My dad’s coming on it too to chaperone and I was wondering if you could maybe put him with another group? I know it’s not very nice but I don’t want him to ruin my good reputation. He’s such a dork!” The last part I stage-whisper, to the laugh of Mrs. Anderson.

“It’s not very nice, no, but I get it, it’s no fun if your parents come on school trips. I’ll see what I can do, alright?”

An idea has formed in my head since the day dad told me he’d be coming on the school trip, an evil genius idea. I hope Miss Anderson will go along with it.

Feigning nonchalance, I swing my legs, pretending that this idea just popped into my head right now. This is the most important part in my evil plan so I need to get it right.

“Soooo… maybe we could put him with the fourth grade kids? They’re randy and loud and they fight so much, I think they need someone like dad to keep them in line!” That’ll teach him not to come on school trips anymore, hee hee.

Why Miss Anderson looks at me with surprise, I have no idea, but she agrees. Yes! My evil plan has been set in motion.

[dontasktheradiodemon]

Reading Area #1 (1/18/2021)

Click here if you’re like “What the heck is this about?”

Valera @autokrates joins Kyxs @usedhearts while reading in the library and pulls out some tea. They hang out and chat about, among other things, Kyxs's death, magic, weird inhuman reproduction, and alien/infernal politics.

Kyxs

Books always attracted him, like a fly to honey, and so it's no wonder that he finally ends up in the library. Most of the volumes on the shelves, he couldn't even read the titles of, but he'd found a nice sci-fi novel in a shelf and sat down with that, just casually flipping through it and skimming.

Valera

Hope Kyxs didn't think he'd get alone time, even in an estate big enough to get lost in. Here comes Valera, a leather bound alien text shoved under one arm, the other holding an oversized mug of tea. To their credit, they offer a little murbling trill in greeting before taking a seat across the way from him in a piled up coil of tail and armchair cushions hidden under a throw blanket. Ohoho, this fish is ready to get COZY.

Kyxs

He looked up with a blink when she entered, but smiled her way. He slowly shut his book and held it in his lap.

"Hey, Val, haven't had a chance to see you yet, nor a chance to thank you for inviting me along. This--" He gestured around them. "Is way better than being in a bunker waiting things out. I'm having a blast."

Valera

"So I can imagine!" They grin, then cock their head to the side and rearrange themselves so they can lean in to get a closer look at their guest.

"Extermination day is your..." Ahem. "*Death Day,* right?" They sound it out carefully, a clear division between two words that didn't belong together in their mind. "Happy Death Day, Kyxs. I hope you've been able to enjoy this one more than the last."

Kyxs

He chuckled, giving a nod. "It is, and thanks. Yeah, usually I have a drink of whiskey with Alastor and listen to the radio waves through the extermination and that's all. Having mixed drinks with my boyfriend and hanging out on a beach side island mansion? Maaaajor upgrade."

Kyxs laughed a little more. "So, still weird to know that we're all dead humans, huh?"

Valera

"Very." They snort, turning to put their tea on the end table next to their chair. "I've seen plenty of humans die, but not as many start walking and talking in new form right afterwards."

They tap the edge of their book, humming as they watch him. "I'm glad I could provide a change of pace for you and yours. I almost didn't offer! I thought it might be too forward with how little we actually know each other, and I'm a TERRIBLE judge on how humans or ex-humans will respond to... Anything, honestly."

Kyxs

"Well, I'm glad you did." He shrugged a bit, leaning his elbow on the arm of his chair.

"Y'know what the worst part of arriving in Hell is? The drop. One minute, you're dying peacefully, and then next--" They lift a hand, making a motion with a finger like something falling. A cartoon sound effect of falling and then a comedic smacking sound play on the air. It's as smooch as any Alastor's effects, but it's clear he's been practicing with the noises.

"You're falling and splatting on the ground. I had the unlucky fortune to do that a few scant minutes before the Extermination kicked off for that year, and as jarring as it is to just fall in, falling in on Extermination day is worse."

Valera

A frown. "I'm surprised you survived. Well, I mean.."  A dip of the head. "You *didn't*, obviously. But you didn't *double* die. How did

freshly fallen sinner not immediately get exterminated? You'd have been a walking target!"

Kyxs

"Simple: Alastor. He was waiting for me when I dropped in, immediately got me up and rushed me to a bunker. Didn't even ask anything of me until after the Extermination." He shrugged a bit.

"Without him, I'd have been double dead for sure."

Valera

"Ah. Must have been a fan of your work." They're just going to take a sip of their tea, don't mind them. They know you, sad radio boy.

Kyxs

His mouth snapped shut, but his expression is a familiar static smile. Kyxs takes a moment to blink and then take a breath, relaxing. He just had to remind himself that they were an alien, maybe they wouldn't judge him like other humans would?

"....Yeah. He was. He followed me, listening in via the radios around me, watching what I was doing. Said he liked my style, but that I could have more flair, more power. Offered to teach me, if I worked for him in exchange. I took the deal." He tries his best to act casual, but his next shrug is a little too stiff.

Valera

They watch him stiffen up, and roll their eyes at his carefully manufactured casual mannerisms. "Here's a little tip from your local theater major, kid. Alastor can get away with the stiffly smiling puppet man act because that's how he *always* is. If you flip the switch on suddenly, everyone is going to notice and be on edge."

Ssssip. Mm, good tea. "Anyway. Making a Deal with Alastor was stupid, obviously, but I'm glad it's working out."

Kyxs

He sighed. "I know, I'm working on it. I only have high school theater to rely on." He laughed, crossing his legs.

"Eh, not as stupid as some people might think. Alastor's actually reasonable, mostly. If he respects you, which I was fortunate enough to earn by my actions in life. He'll give you good terms then, but if you're an idiot and act like one around him, well..." He trailed off and shrugged.

Valera

"Earning his respect doesn't seem that hard... Unless you also want him to fear you just a bit." They grin, all teeth.

"Not that I'd know. I have *no* idea if any Alastors out there respect me. But I do have things they want, and that's good enough. The only ones I make deals with are the ones I know have a vested interest in my survival."

Kyxs

"I don't know about that, there's not much Alastor fears." He took a breath, his hand playing with the pages of the shut book on his lap.

"Which ones are vested in your survival? Or are you not allowed to say?"

Valera

"I disagree MOST heartily, dear boy! There's plenty he fears. But if you haven't figured out what yet, I'm certainly not going to tell you and ruin his fun!" They crack their book open, setting it in their lap as they tug the throw up over their shoulders. Hoohoo cozy time.

"I could tell you specifics, but I wouldn't benefit from you knowing. Suffice to say, the ones that like going to Earth for visits or ingredients make an effort to keep in my good graces. Free rides are hard to come by."

Kyxs

He nodded. "True, I don't know much about what other Alastors fear, only the one I know. Who can say which ones of them have the same fears?"

He leaned over, tilting his head to try and get a peek at her book. "What're you reading?"

Valera

A few seconds of watching him crane his neck, and they obligingly turn the book sideways so he can see text he absolutely can't understand. It was reflex, don't question it too much.

"This? Nothing special, really. It's a book on chronomancy, time manipulation and the like. This one is about creating pockets of reality where time is dilated. Not terribly useful to me, but I like to study the basics of anything I can."

Kyxs

She was right, he could't read it, but he enjoyed being able to see the script, it looked nice. That explination flew over his head, though, and he blinked. "Soooo, time travel? What's.....time dilation?"

Valera

"Time dilation is.." They pull the book back, brows furrowing. "To simplify it to an absurd degree, time dilation is where time slows down. So this teaches you the theory behind creating pockets of space where time slows to a crawl relative to the world outside of it."

Kyxs

"Think I read a fantasy western where someone could do that. Had to burn a metal with Allomancy to do it, though." He chuckled. "But that's....neat? Is that something you can do?"

Valera

"Oh yeah, totally." They toss the book at Kyxs, watching as it freezes in midair, then seems to fall in slow motion.

"I already learned how to break this kind of magic at its zenith, but I did it with brute force. I'm studying the theory to learn how to pick it apart instead of just smashing it with a metaphorical hammer. Because eventually I wont be able to just" here they whip out the airquotes, voice turning exasperated "'orbital drop kick' my way to victory."

Kyxs

Kyxs blinked as the book froze and watched as it kept slowly moving towards him.

"Orbital drop kick, huh? So you got a lot of raw power but no finesse?"

Valera

"Oh, uh. Yeah." They roll their eyes, reaching out to pluck the book from the air before it went too far.

"I ruin a lot of things, losing control of spells. There's actually a spot in one of my off planet estates that infinitely spawns chickens because I overcharged one part of a time weave." A pause. "So if you're ever hungry, paradox chicken is cheap."

Kyxs

Kyxs blinked again, and then laughed, putting his face in his hand. "Paradox chicken?"

He lifted his head and, still giggling, continued. "So, is it just a planet of chickens now, or do they disappear after a while?"

Valera

They snort, waving a hand dismissively as they settle back into their coils. "I put a portal underneath the point that whisks them away to a processing facility. But it sure LOOKED like it was going to turn into a chicken planet for a while there. I didn't exactly have a response plan ready for *an endless flood of chickens*."

Kyxs

"Endless chickens. You could solve world hunger-- or actually, ALL worlds hunger." He laughed again.

"Okay, what else have you fucked up magically?" He looks legitimately excited by this.

Valera

They sniff. "Oh you want to hear about all my FAILURES huh? Not my dazzling successes? I broke an entire MOON out of a time freeze you know!"

A moment, and then they drop the act, grinning again. "Veci learn to channel our magic through boards carved with symbols. They're rigidly designed and have a bunch of redundancies to keep dumbass kids from hurting themselves. They do all sorts of things, and ONLY those things. So I, of course, wired a bunch of them together and powered them all at once."

A long sigh. "Long story short, the whole kit and kaboodle went flying off into low orbit and is probably still going."

Kyxs

Kyxs laughed, harder this time. "Oh my god! Just bam, zoom! Off it goes! That's incredible."

He sighed and wiped at his eye. "Reminds me of when Alastor started teaching me magic-- nearly broke every piece of radio equipment I touched."

Valera

His host watches him, fins twitching as they hold their mug of tea in cupped hands. "Aw, hatchling's growing pains. I assume you've gotten better control since then?"

Kyxs

"Oh yeah, a lot better. I still don't have the simple finesse and control that Alastor does, but I'm also not a full fledged radio demon yet." He shrugged.

"I still have to concentrate for stuff that comes naturally to Alastor." To prove his point, an audience gave sporadic clapping after he spoke and he sighed.

"Like that. Still need to whip my audience into shape."

Valera

"So I've heard! You don't inspire the same fear, but you also didn't exactly spring into Hell fully formed and blasting Overlords with unfathomable power. Or whatever. I wasn't there for it, I'm sure his manifestation was greatly exaggerated."

Kyxs

Kyxs rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged a bit. "I dunno, I've looked into it, quite a bit, and most reports are shockingly accurate from what I can tell. Alastor doesn't like to talk about the specifics a lot, though. But he did kill just...a whole fuckton of sinners."

Valera

They shrug. "Sinners die all the time. But we're focusing on you here. Do you MIND that people aren't as afraid of you?"

Kyxs

"Not really? Like everyone's _so_ afraid of Alastor that he can't do much of anything without people running in terror. I can go places and do things on his behalf and even then people won't just up and run because of my mere presence. Being feared to that extent's gotta be tiring." He shrugs back.

Valera

Sip-- Oh, they're out of tea. Ah well. "Speaking from experience? Exhausting. Especially for someone who was previous used to being well liked. You should feel bad for him, but only a little. He did choose to do all that murder after all."

Kyxs

His head tilted, looking curious. "People feared you? Like they do Alastor? But....you're so nice?" His bright green eyes squinted.

"Though considering you can make a chicken paradox, I guess getting on your bad side is a bad idea."

Valera

Well, if he's going to say his piece.. They carefully set the empty mug aside, face blandly neutral as they speak.

"I was thrust into power at twenty years of age, unprepared and terrified. When people attacked me, I responded in turn. When their families protested, I held public executions, to prove a point. A plot of treason? I strung their bodies up for everyone to see!"

A shrug. "Once people see you pull the trigger on an entire city in response to something they did, they realize what they're trying to fight against only gets worse every time they try to put it down."

Kyxs

"Oh geez." Their eyes widen with each word and they look away, elbows on their knees and hands covering their mouth.

After Valera was done, they were quiet a moment. "Yeah, that'd do it," They muttered.

Kyxs sat back up, leaning back in their chair, arms crossing over their stomach. "I killed my father and brother. They were both my first victims. And then I went off and killed a lot of other people. Not a whole city's worth, but for one person just on their own? I killed a lot."

They shrugged. "I keep that under wraps for most of Hell, on Alastor's advice. Thought since you shared...." They shrugged.

Valera

What a strange heart to heart this is. They'd hesitate to call Kyxs anything more than a maybe-friend, but.. He tries. They offer a smile, one side crooked higher than the other.

"Weird that he'd tell you to keep a few murders under wraps, considering the circumstances! But I'm sure he had his reasons. Maybe keeping your victims from deciding to settle the score personally."

A beat. "Oh. I haven't done a widespread cull since I hit thirty, so don't... worry? I guess? I made a deal; ten years of compassion after ten years of cruelty. Six in now, and people have gotten comfortable enough to insult me to my face."

Kyxs

"I think it's less about the murders themselves and more me being a serial killer and all the media coverage I had before I died. Some people in Hell go real hard for true crime shit and have no qualms about stalking you." He laughed softly.

Kyxs's head titled, curious. "What happens when the ten years are up? Will you go back to doing stuff like that or do you think your decade of compassion's changed you enough to not do it again?"

Valera

"Figures, even in Hell where killers are in spitting distance on any given street corner, the big names still get creepy fans. Ever had people ring into the station over you yet?"

The question catches their attention, eyes alight with mischief. "I'd started to find the devotion to compassion rather boring, but then it lead me to Pentious. I _like_ being attentive with him. Making him happy makes _me_ happy. It's pleasant! And weird!"

They magic up fresh tea, offering a duplicate mug to Kyxs. "In four years time, I'll likely have young children to worry about. Another thing I never expected. So.. The best answer I can give is.. I don't know! This year alone has upset my status quo immensely."

Kyxs

He laughed, shaking his head. "No, thankfully. It helps that Kyxs isn't the name I went by when I was up top. I _do_ get people calling in thirsty as fuck for Alastor, though. In a variety of ways."

Kyxs shuddered a bit, and then grinned.

"Oh yeah, love can do that. Having someone to share things with is just really nice. Whether it's a friend or a significant other, it's really nice just being around people you like and care about."

He blinked and tilted his head. "Kids? With....Pentious? I thought sinners were sterile?"

Valera

"You are." They go back to cupping their drink. Time for more explaining! "Veci can reproduce with anything that has a soul. Sinners like you and Pentious ARE souls, condemned to Hell for your sins in life."

A pleased hum.. And then they snort. "Before you ask, yes I'm sure it works, and I've got the embarrassing story about Alastor being my midwife to prove it."

Kyxs

He blinks again at that and finally takes a sip of the tea she'd given him.

"Ah, hm, I don't think I want to hear that story yet. I don't think I'm mentally prepared." He chuckled. "But that's really interesting. Is it cause your people are so much more magically inclined?"

Valera

"You will never be mentally prepared. And if you ever are, you'll have better luck asking Angel. He was there too." A dainty wrist to their forehead, and they sigh dramatically. "My BEAUTIFUL spusband, my knight in SHINING armor.."

But no, Kyxs was NOT ready to hear the story, and Valera was not about to share it. Instead they grin over their tea, mischief in their eyes. "To answer your question. Yes and no. We're very magically inclined, but we're also genetically all over the place, compared to humans. For example, I bet you had two genetic donors, both normal husband, and you came out looking like either of them. "

Kyxs

Another rapid set of blinks. This converstation really was getting a lot of those out of him. "Angel was there?" He grinned at her display. "Well, that explains everything, he's definitely a knight in shinning armor."

He nods, very seriously, yes absolutely, knight in shinning armor.

"Yeah, that's pretty much how humans do it. Two parents, both equal in indignity." He snorted into his tea as he took another sip.

Valera

Oh no, there they go back into their dramatic swoon. "Of course Angel was there! He was the one whisking me away once things started happening, the one right by my side through thick and thin!"

And cue another sigh, flowery as you please. Then they snap back to normal, chinhanding at Kyxs. "I've got seven parents. All genetically related to me. Though the indignity stands, anyone who thinks reproduction is beautiful is wrong, and worse, they're stupid."

Kyxs

More blinking! His eyelids are going to get tired at this rate. "Seven? If it's not too weird to ask, how?? I only know about human biology, so forgive the ignorance."

He was trying very hard to not giggle as he took yet another sip of tea.

Valera

Kyxs' eyelids were going to be so buff by the time this was over. "Well, in MY case the genes were harvested and then patched together in a controlled environment. Yes, that's right darling... I'm DESIGNER." Hairflip. Anyway.

"But it CAN happen naturally. The optimum mating period is fairly generous, as long as there's enough.. traits.. mixed in there by the time the shop closes, the results can be any mix of the parents... Or you just do it magically. We've got spells to avoid the sexual part of reproduction entirely. Options are out there, suffice to say."

Kyxs

He gives a BIG laugh at the hairflip. That was a good one, tickled his funnybone something good.

"I see. That's really cool. So like, anyone can have a kid if they want, I guess the opposite is true too? Like there's probably magical contraception and all that?"

Valera

Good, they live to entertain!

"Of course! I just use the standard non magical medical solutions. Keeps me from having weird magic interactions!"

Kyxs

Kyxs laughed again. "Oh God what kind of weird magical reactions can they cause?"

Valera

"I mean, I laid three eggs. So failure is a common one." They roll their eyes. "No, I know what you want. Sometimes you change colors if your contraceptive doesn't mesh well with your magic. Or you can turn sparkly."

Kyxs

"_Sparkly?_" Their eyes get real big for a moment there. "Man, I want weird magical reactions that turn people sparkly to exist in Hell that sounds funny as fuck."

They laughed and set their empty cup aside. "I take it yours meshes, though-- or are you normally blue?" Kyxs smirked.

Valera

"I hatched *red,* actually." They flutter their lashes... Then snort and shake their head. "That's true, but misleading. Veci change colors as they grow up fairly frequently, nothing to do with contraceptives. No, I use regular old injections, good for six months at a time. Though my old magical one would sometimes make my horns get blue speckles. As far as side effects, it was pretty harmless!"

Now it's their turn to lean in, eyebrow raising. "You've asked *me* a bunch of questions, but what about you? Any magical contraceptives on your side of things, Kyxs?"

Kyxs

Oh, the blinking time is back, that's good. He laughed after, shaking his head.

"Oh, no, not that I know of. Sinners being sterile and all there's no real need for injections? I don't know what's up with the Hellborns though, so maybe they got some." He shrugged.

Valera

"Oh, boo. Though the idea of Hellborns making minor contracts with...." They trail off, leaning back in their seat.

"Oh my gods. Do they make deals with Stolas? No, no... Unless they were trading for information on contraceptive *herbs*. No, they'd go to Gaap, probably? He's the prince who rules over that sort of thing, if my memory serves. I haven't brushed up on my knowledge of demons in *years*." Plus Gaap was the one that Alastor had called on for them.. They should send a gift basket.

Kyxs

"I've been lacking in my demon studies, honestly. I know about Prince Stolas, but Gaap's not familiar to me? Is he a Duke or...?" He trailed off, shifting to tuck his feet under him on the chair.

Valera

"He's a prince, same as Stolas. Though, that's assuming your Hell works the same as some of the others I've been to. I'd honestly suggest you do your own research when you get home, if possible. Though if you want, I could ask Stolas when I see him on our coffee date." They shuffle deeper into their blankets.

"Do you want a refill on the tea, or is that enough for you?"

Kyxs

"Oh! Yeah a refill would be nice." He picked up his empty cup to hand over.

"Yeah I should. I need to be in the know more when it comes to Hellborns rather than just sinner Overlords."

Valera

A twitch of their fin, and his tea is refilled. Who needs TEAPOTS when you've got MAGIC ~~and a teapot and tea cabinet in the kitchen you can draw boiling water and leaves from~~?

"Indeed! Though, really I should as well. If I'm going to marry a man aspiring to conquer, I need to learn everything I can to help support him in his efforts. His greatest enemies, possible allies, how to manage them.. You know. Political stuff."

Kyxs

He takes a sip of the new tea. Ah yes tasty.

"Yeah, I've been putting it off a lot because of the politics. But considering I'm bound to the Radio Demon, and he's working with the Princess, maybe it's a good idea to look more into things."

Valera

"Take it from a politician. Politics are the worst and I hate them. Death to politics as we know it can't come soon enough." A heaving sigh.

"It sounds like a good idea. If you're going to help your boss, you need to know what you're doing. If I'm going to help my husband, so do I. We're together in misery!"

Kyxs

"Yay!" Kyxs gave a little fake cheer and then laughed.

"Well, as they say, misery loves company." He gave a shrug. "But you said you were planning on having coffee with Prince Stolas? Swanky." He laughed a little.

Valera

They groan, nearly vanishing into their own coils as they slowly place their book over their face. Politicsssssss....

Oh, right. Stolas. They remain exactly as they are, voice muffled but much more cheery. "We're going to meet up and swap parenting tips over iced coffee! He seems lovely, so I'm looking forward to it."

Kyxs

"That sounds so wholesome for a chat with a Prince of Hell." Kyxs couldn't help another giggle.

"Then again, Hellborns are a lot different from sinners. Who's to say they can't be wholesome?"

Valera

They wave a hand, vague and airy. "Parents operate on a higher frequency. We make eye contact and a bond is established. In that moment, we are allies in exasperation and adoration for the weird tiny people we're stuck with."

The book is brought down far enough to peek their third eye over at Kyxs, surprise tinging their voice. "You've met Charlie, haven't you? She's a total sweetheart, and about as Hellborn as it gets."

Kyxs

"Oh yeah! I have, she's really nice. I think my brain just slots her into her own category cause she's Princess." He shrugged again.

"She's very _very_ enthusiastic about things, which is really adorable. I really kinda wanna meet her parents just to see how they could've raised someone as sweet and compassionate in Hell of all places."

Valera

"You know, fair. She's certainly not like any other Hellborn out there, with that parentage." The royal baby, the little Angel of Hell. Poor Charlie.

And then her parents. Ugh. "I've heard very little about Charlotte's parents." They begin, carefully. "But I've heard nothing _good_ about them. I think Charlie's personality is her own doing."

Kyxs

"That's a fair point. I've heard things about Lucifer and Lilith, and none of it wasn't someone doing some ass kissing, sooo..." He snorted and shrugged again.

"It'd make sense if Charlie was mostly a self made Princess."

Valera

"Quite so, Kyxs." The book is finally pulled away, set on the table between them so Valera can have both hands free.

"Apologies, I didn't mean to derail the conversation. Was there anything in particular you wanted to discuss?"

Kyxs

"Oh, not really. I kinda like derailed converstations, makes it easier to go with the flow." He tilted his head.

"Alastor hasn't been any trouble has he? I mean, the one that's my boss, of course."

Valera

They stare at him, blank faced as they process his question. Alastor... Trouble... His *boss* Alastor.... Had he? Had he been trouble? Quick, brain, go evaluate a specific Alastor even though they all looked almost identical. Which one was his boss? Not Stick, right? No of course not. So that meant...

A few seconds of silence, and... "Oh! Not at all. He's lovely. A model guest. Good shot, too." Nailed it.

Kyxs

"Good shot?" His eyebrow raised and he lifted his cup for another sip of tea.

"What was he shooting?"

Valera

"Fish! We went speargun fishing together on the pier. It was very fun, he's good company." Oho, a purr from the fish, good job Alastor, wherever you are.

"I almost feel bad for worrying, all the Alastors have been behaving very well. So far."

Kyxs

"Oh never feel bad about worrying about Alastors making trouble. They'd never be rude, but I will say if they weren't your guests, they would be making a loooot more chaos than they are." He shook his head and smirked.

"Sometimes it's funny, sometimes....not so much."

Valera

They open their mouth to respond, then hesitate, tension tightening their shoulders. "Yes. Sometimes not so much is right."

... Not going to elaborate on that, Valera? No? Alright. "Well, with him at least, we managed to get along well enough with weapons in our hands! Always a good sign. Hopefully even when he isn't bound by his manners we'll muddle through, but we'll see."

Kyxs

"Well, if he didn't take a shot at you with a weapon in his hands, I'd say you're at least good in that he won't immediately kill you." He laughed again.

"I mean, not that he could? I think you'd be able to take anyone in Hell, honestly. Maybe not Lucifer himself, but you never know."

Valera

They grimace, shaking their head at the idea. "I could take Alastor in a fight, but I don't know about any Hellborn. And even if I *could* take them on, I wouldn't want to. Fighting is *stressful*."

Kyxs

He nodded and shrugged. "Fair enough, I haven't actually fought anyone else in Hell, so I don't even know what a big demon magical fight would be like."

Valera

"Oh, you haven't? Do you even know what you're truly capable of?" Now they're interested again.

"If you want to get an idea, I could always spar with one of my friends while you watched. Sparring is one thing, that's just playing."

Kyxs

"Not like, fully capable? I've gone into uhhh, my 'true' demon form a couple times but never to really fight? Or at least not anyone who was even near my level in terms of power." He used airquotes around the true part, and then shrugged.

"But I wouldn't say no to seeing some sparring, sounds fun."

Valera

"Sure! Probably not this time, but we can absolutely arrange something when less people are around to get in the crossfire."

They've abandoned the idea of reading by now, just a bundle of fish in a blanket sitting pretty.

"So, Kyxs. What do you want in Hell? You're stuck there theoretically forever, have you got a goal?"

Kyxs

They pondered that question for a bit, one clawed hand scratching at the base of one of their horns.

"Not really sure? Beyond like, doing the radio thing, learning from Alastor, and playing music, I don't have big overarching goals? I'm.... kind of content with that? Which is weird when you think about it, being content in Hell of all places but hey." They shrugged. "I'll take it."

Valera

"That might be for the best, honestly. But yeah, there's a pretty big flaw in Hell's design."

They shrug. "Humans can adapt to just about anything. That's your claim to fame. Give them eternity and they'll build civilizations, like they did on Earth, and like they did in Hell. Mediocre food? You get used to it."

Kyxs

Kyxs laughed. "Don't let Alastor hear you calling Earth food mediocre, he'll take that as a challenge."

He leaned back, tilting his head to stair up at the ceiling. "Kinda makes you wonder how Hell's supposed to be a punishment when it seems like more of the same. Maybe that _is_ the punishment? You think it's gonna be a change, but it's not. I dunno, I can't claim to know what God was thinking when he came up with it."

Valera

"Alastor can take it as a challenge, I've rarely had food from Earth that actually tasted good. It's not made for a Veci tongue to enjoy. If he thinks he can do better than all the other attempts, let him!" A snort, and then they shrug.

"I can't say much for your God, but they never struck me as the creative sort. Or as all knowing as they act. It's kind of embarrassing, like a kid who made a mess and then tries to hide it." They pause, raising an eyebrow. "Though of course, I get to say that because I'm an alien with gods I can punch in the face. Yours seems a bit loftier."

Kyxs

"Yeah, loftier." He rolled his eyes. "He's an asshole. Thought so when I was alive and still think so now. His sons aren't much better, any of em. Though," He giggles, "It does make me laugh that the family who where the biggest bible thumpers are the ones in Hell with me, the heathen, now."

Valera

Well that earns him a quizzical look. "What does that mean? What family?"

Kyxs

Kyxs winced a little and glanced away. "_My_ family. My uh brother and father. Huge Christian bible thumpers and yet," He giggled again. "They're both in Hell now too. Looks like all their hypocrisy got the best of them."

Valera

They scrunch their face like they just sucked a lemon, sinking further into their blanket. "Gods, I forget that people having families is *normal*. Sounds like yours wasn't great though. I take it you were responsible for their surprise entrances to Hell?"

Kyxs

"Yeah. Said earlier that I killed em, but yeah. Knife to the neck for dear old dad and just a bunch of stabs to the chest for big brother." His face also scrunched. "Really had hoped that they'd been exterminated."

Valera

"Well sure, but I don't know how much family you have. Had. Have?" Squint. "Either way, good riddance. Next round, just throw them into the street yourself. You want a problem solved, do it yourself and all that!"

Kyxs

"Easier said than done, I don't know where they hole up for the exterminations, and I doubt they'd let me in so that I _could_ toss them out." He shrugged. "Just have to find some other way, I guess."

Valera

Valera scoffs, pointing a finger at Kyxs. "You have a lot to learn, kid. I hope Alastor teaches you how to properly track a target by next extermination. It's all about networking with people who want to be in your good graces."

A dismissive toss of the head, and the fish rises to their feet. "Speaking of family we hate, though, I should check on my *own* brother to make sure he hasn't said anything stupid to any of my guests. I'll see you later, Kyxs."

Kyxs

"I know how to track people, they just have some...powerful friends." He sighed. When Val got up, he nodded.

"Brothers are the worst. Alright, see ya later then, Val."

He gave a little wave as she left.

[themfchase]

Oof I've never done this so would we have to send a number from the last section and match it with one of your ongoing series 🥺 Sorry if I'm being difficult sjsjsksks I think it's like that soooo (sorry if its not) Raven and Oml DO MANY 7 OR 9 OR 15 ANY SJSKSOSO FAHAJAJAK GAHH ALSO DAILY DOSE OF LOVE FROM ME TO YOU 💜💙💕

Omg, I love you. AHAHHHAHAHA Thank you!  And onto the game.  7.  “you had no idea, did you?” 9.  “why are you awake so late?” 15. “I’m rambling again, aren’t I?” Raven Unit Drabble.  Masterlist.  Raven Unit.  Word Count: 1050k Warnings: Mentions of smut, mentions of graphic violence.   You had woken up to a snoring Yoongi in your tent, a gasp leaving your lips as you sat up, looking around and noticing Jungkook was no longer there. It took you a while before you remembered where you were, why you were there. Rubbing your sore neck from the hardness or the ground you groaned before deciding to get up and get some air.  As you made your way out of the tent you were met with pitch darkness. Looking around you couldn’t see much, the moonlight was all you had to aid your view while you slowly walked to where you remembered the lantern was. As you made your way the wind blew against you, a shiver ran down your body, it was so damn cold at night in the desert. You hugged yourself and heard a click. Your body froze, your eyes bulging slightly as the shivers of cold soon turned into shivers of fear. You could feel the gun pressed against the back of your head.  “Why are you awake so late?” You heard the familiar voice ask and you relaxed a little.  “I-I needed some fresh air.” You answered. He kept the gun pressed against your head before he hummed. “You really make this easier for me, don’t you?” He said and you furrowed your brows, now slowly turning your body toward him.  He looked void of emotion, empty eyes, and a pale face. It was almost as if it wasn’t him. “J-Jungkook, what do you mean?” You questioned him, he tilted his head to the side a wicked grin forming on his lips, it was demonic.  “Come on princess, you can’t be that stupid?” He chuckled, pressing the gun against your forehead. You winced at the cold metal of the silencer.  “I-I... What... What are you do-” You started, noticing that something had shifted between you two.  “What am I doing?” He interrupted, a sarcastic look on his face.”I have my Smith & Wesson M&P22 pressed against that pretty skin of yours, the suppressor is on so it won’t wake up the boys, we wouldn’t want Yoongi or Hobi to come out here and tackle me now, would we? I would hate to start a fight with my friends over something so... stupid.” He chuckled when he saw the look of hurt on your face. “Oh, come on Raven... Don’t look like a kicked puppy, you had this coming, I’m not going to lie, though, you sounded delicious earlier, it’s a shame that you’re so naive, but enough with my rambling.” He shook his head.  “Why are you doing this, I-I don’t understand, you’re supposed to... You’re supposed to protect me.” You whispered, a knot forming in your throat, you were so confused, but you knew exactly what he meant.  “You’re worth a lot of money, princess, and sure, I was going to get paid good money to handle you over to Jefferson John, but I rather just make a lot more on the side.” You were confused, why would Jefferson John be involved? But everything fell into place when you thought back to the things that had happened over the years. You shook your head, you had trusted Jungkook. You had not only trusted him but had shown him your most vulnerable moments, had given yourself to him without a single doubt and he was willing to dismiss it all because of money, it hurt more than you could admit and tears streamed down your face.”You can’t blame me, Raven... With that money I can retire, get lost, never see those fuckers again...” He nodded towards the tents “...get myself a nice piece of ass, a huge fucking mansion, I’d make the walls and everything inside white marble, do you like white marble, princess?” He chuckled. “Of course you do, you have expensive taste.” He grinned. “I wonder how many types of caviar there are in the world, with that type of money I can buy all the caviar there is, fuck, I can even have my own brand of caviar.” He laughed.  “I’m rambling again, aren’t I? Silly me.” He looked back at you, eyes darker than they have ever been. You were speechless, your tears flowed down your eyes like an endless waterfall and you felt yourself break into a million pieces. Whatever connection you had felt towards Jungkook had been nothing but an act and you felt stupid and ashamed to have fallen for it. Used. Betrayed. You shook your head again, the nuzzle of the gun still pressed against your head.  “Look at you... Just another insignificant person ready o die in the middle of the desert.” He looked inhuman. The venom laced words leaving his mouth didn’t fit him, but you could hear them clearly. “You had no idea, did you?” He laughed again and you felt ashamed. “That’s pathetic, Raven, I thought you were supposed to be smart.” He laughed mockingly. “Don’t worry, though, princess, you aren’t the only stupid one around here, everyone was oblivious to my little plan, all of them following my every command like little puppies, ready to die for their ‘brother’.” He spat on the floor. “Disgusting.” He looked even more possessed than before. “After I kill you, I’ll shoot all of them and watch their blood paint the sand and make sure the whole world knows it's your fault.” He smiled again, his teeth almost looked sharp.  He brought his free hand up to his nose, sniffing it as if it were a drug.  “I can still smell your around my fingers, princess, thank you for the goodbye present.” He smiled widely before his finger was pressing into the trigger. “Jungk-” You felt the pressure of the bullet against your head, the force knocking your head back before your eyes rolled back and your body was slowly hitting the floor.  It was all black before you opened your eyes again.  Sweat covering your temples and you were looking at the roof of your tent. You turned your face to the side where another face looked back at you. Your dream now lost forgotten when you say the familiar face. “Hi there,” Yoongi said, smiling at you. It seemed innocent, but deep down it also had something with it, almost like a teasing tone. I hope you enjoyed it, love!  HAHAHAHAH Don’t kill me.  Love you, bye!!!

[rocketonthemoon]

Soooo, gimme more of the transseiya stories, like, finding allies in H&M over time, discussing surgery, etc etc....oh my god so many thoughts in my head.

Haruka stares at their phone. It’s unnervingly quiet. Has been since about three minutes ago when it rattled its way across the kitchen table. They haven’t taken their eyes off it after its little dance. Something about it all just itches. They don’t get calls from her and especially not at this time of night. It definitely hadn’t been an accident, either. The call lasted unanswered for too long and cut too short for it to be anything but a bail out. 

Haruka chuckles at the idea. ‘Course she would cower out. 

Bzzt! The nervous dance begins again, as if on cue. Almost as if it knew they were talking shit. Haruka lets it ring. Unhurried, they glance at the digital kitchen clock. Two in the morning almost always means a call for help. And Haruka is nothing if not a sucker. Damnit. 

They pick up on the last ring.

- - - - - - - - - - -

“You know, the park’s not exactly open this time of day.”

Seiya jumps as Haruka sits down on the bench next to her. That was satisfying. Even more so as she scowls in answer.

“Who closes parks?” Seiya mutters darkly. “Makes no sense.”

Haruka shrugged. They tug at their jacket zipper, trying to settle in. It’s kinda spooky, being in a park at night. They’d always thought so. Even back in the days they used to patrol with Michiru, waiting for The Silence. Something about the absence of movement where there should be. They try to shrug the feeling off, only partially successful. Seiya’s not exactly good enough company to ward away the chill of an empty playground. 

“So what’d you bring me out here for anyways?” Haruka asks. “I’m assuming not for a smoke?”

Seiya shoots them a sideways look, black brows scrunching together. “You smoke?”

Haruka shakes their head. “Michiru hates the smell.” But Makoto likes the company, they add silently. The memory of the last late night conversation drifts by. It makes some conversations easier. Something to get rid of the nervous energy while talking. And Seiya looks like she could use the help. 

She sits almost completely on the edge of the bench. Elbows on her knees and heels hovering off the ground like she’s preparing any minute to launch herself into the darkness. Seiya’s normal low ponytail is missing the normal neat, careful wrappings and Haruka has a sudden image of her bolting out of whatever hotel room the Starlights found to crash to meet up here.

“Wh-”

“Where are you staying?”

Seiya blinks, mouth half formed around words cut off at the breath. “What?” 

“Sorry,” the corners of Haruka’s mouth pull tightly downwards. “You just looked so…” They shrug, looking her up and down as ways of explanation. It didn’t help the sudden self-consciousness sitting over the both of them. Why were they doing this? “Are you guys, like. Safe? Or something?”

“We got back a week ago,” Seiya says slowly. Her eyebrows almost meld together in confusion. “The Prin-” The word breaks off, jagged and sharp. Seiya’s scowl at the ground seems to watch it fall. A muscle works in her jaw. “Kakyuu insisted on finding a place of our own this time. I’m staying at the shrine.” 

Haruka nods in sympathy. “It’s hard giving them space,” they agree. 

Seiya’s hands clench around each other for a moment. Two. And then tension slinks away into the night with a sigh. She looks tired. With sagging shoulders and a too distant gaze, she just looks beat. Haruka watches from the corner of their eye as Seiya slowly sweeps the hair back from her eyes. More than just a trip across the skies - although they knew nothing about what that was like - or even for the time of night. 

“How do you do it?” she asks after a while. A small question. More of a confession really. Like someone pushing the words from her lungs. It’s enough to make Haruka swallow back the snappy response that sprung to mind. Instead, they settle for a sigh. A smoke would really help this conversation.

Their leg bounces in the silence. “You just kinda,” they start, mulling it over. “I dunno. Deal with it, I guess. Accept you can’t control what they do.” 

“But what about…” The muscle in her jaw works and jumps as she chews over words. “But can’t you? To a certain point? So people just listen more? See you better?”

Something lights up a corner of Haruka’s mind at the desperation in the last bit of that question. Almost a nagging familiarity. “They’re their own people, dude. We can’t exactly be everything they need all the time. And they don’t want us to be.”

“No, I don’t mean -” Seiya curses something. A clipped, almost hissing noise of language that settles into a low moan of sorts. It could be anything, but swearing in all languages feels the same to Haruka. 

It’s different watching someone else flounder for words. Does their leg jump as much as hers does? They know for sure they don’t mutter through things. Maybe that’s the consequence of needing to translate. Honestly, it’s a little grating. They stuff down the urge to reach over and still her bouncing leg, to cut off the strange, rapid sounds. But without an outlet it only gets worse, they know. So they wait. And wait.

What feels like hours later there’s a pained sort of noise. One that’s not entirely otherworldly. “I’m just,” Seiya starts, voice catching on a strangled breath. The words are slow, almost like her tongue can’t quite remember how to form the words. “I’m tired of feeling like this. Like I’m lying everyday to people when I go out, lying to myself saying it’s fine. And I miss how it used to be before-” A reflex swallow and air breathes into Seiya’s hands. One slow, long breath that whistles through the space between skin. “Before everyone…”

The nagging familiar light finally erupts into clarity and Haruka openly stares now. Really watching. Michiru always teases how long it takes them to really notice what’s going on and maybe, maybe Haruka’s been oblivious this whole time on this bench. But a memory of before - Seiya, bold, brash, and bigger than life that first night they met and every night afterwards in that stupid red suit. Cocky and carefree in a backwards hat, shoulders back, proud and daring the world to try anything - blares bright compared to now. The way Seiya’s shoulders tuck in, the way those blue eyes bore into the grass below, the desperation of being seen as before…

Well, it just all rings a bit too familiar.

“Before everyone found out,” Haruka finishes. Seiya flinches the smallest bit, chest curling inwards, nose scrunching in pained frustration. Fingers flex. Forearms stiffen as the words linger. There’s a nod, robotic and halting, gaze determinedly fixed on the middle distance of the dirt. 

Haruka sinks further back into the bench, their own eyes skywards. Silence is good for thinking sometimes. Wait around long enough and the right thing to say will show up for you to use. Right now, though, maybe not so much. Especially since Seiya seems to wind tighter with every passing moment next to them. The bouncing leg has stopped, trading in for the coiled tension when Haruka first sat down. They let it happen - old habits die hard and it’s still a little fun to let Seiya stew - but eventually. Eventually the too familiar wins out. 

“You can go back, you know,” Haruka says towards the stars. “To Before, I mean.”

Seiya begins to shake. From the night chill or the idea, Haruka can’t really tell, but it brings an urge to do something to soothe. 

There’s a sniffle. A breath a bit too hard. “It won’t be the same,” he finally says, voice hesitantly sinking into that low skip that takes Haruka back to an after concert dressing room. Different from the rest of the conversation. More like Seiya they know. 

“Nope.” Seiya doesn’t jump at the hand on his shoulder. Only unwinds. Relaxing at Haruka’s touch like a house cat settling in. A first for everything, as they say. “It’ll be better.”

[raendown]

Soooo this started as just a simple commission and then rapidly got out of control, as seems to keep happening to me lately. xD For you @copyninken for inspiring me with such an excellent commission prompt!

Chapter: 1/9 Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 4660 Rated: M Summary: Walking patrol around a university for mages probably sounded like a wild time but Tobirama has never found it all that exciting. He's not even technically supposed to be here. When responding to a tripped alarm becomes a desperate attempt to stay alive, however, excitement is the last thing on his mind. All he's ever wanted is a quiet life alone with his books until he finds himself bound to Uchiha Madara in the most impossible way and finally learns to think about more than just himself - in a way.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Duality

He wasn’t even a professor. Tobirama scowled to himself and pulled the edges of his cloak tighter in search of whatever pocket he had dropped his warming stone in to. Such a simple rune and yet it was no help to him if he couldn’t find it. Of course, he wouldn’t need it if his brother hadn’t turned those puppy eyes on him and begged with his bottom lip wobbling pathetically, so disgustingly sad that Tobirama had agreed to do as he asked just to make that face go away. He wasn’t even a professor! He should not be out here in the evening chill performing a professor’s duties.

A huff of frustration escaped him and he dropped his handful of cloak, shoving it back so he could pat himself down for other pockets. His habit of misplacing things was the whole reason he’d started sewing extra pockets in to his clothing whenever he remembered to but the problem was that now he had too many pockets to look through and his things still ended up lost.

Fingers closing around something cool and smooth, he fought back the excess material to pull his hand out with a cry of triumph, expecting to see the warming stone he was certain he’d picked up that morning. Then he snorted in disgust when he found half a broken pestle instead. No one was around to watch him stomp one foot in irritation. No warming stone and now he was probably going to spend the rest of the evening wondering which mortar was missing its pestle. Had he taken someone else’s? Had he broken his own?

How was he supposed to properly grind faerie wings – willingly gifted, of course – if he hadn’t the right tools?

Contrary to his predictions, any thoughts of preparing ingredients for his various experiments came to an abrupt halt when he rounded the corner and saw the other person he was meant to be paired with for that evening’s patrol. Madara looked as dramatic as ever, clad in fiery red from head to toe as though his natural element wasn’t obvious in the way sparks clung to his hair and smoke rose out of his fingertips in fits and starts. Standing along one of the outer passages, positioned next to an opening in the wall, his hair rose and fell as the wind howled outside. The idiot would have frozen in minutes dressed down as he was if he wielded any other element.

After a few moments of standing in one place and scowling as hard as he could Tobirama accepted that the other man hadn’t noticed him there. White skin and sharp footsteps should have made him rather obvious in the dark but Madara had always been a little too wrapped up in himself to pay much attention to others.

Tobirama threw the broken pestle at him.

“What the fuck!?” Madara screeched in surprise when stone sparked against stone right next to his face, leaping away and spinning in a full circle until finally his eyes landed on where Tobirama had now crossed his arms with an expectant expressed. “Are you kidding me? I was supposed to walk patrols with your brother tonight; what the hell are you doing here?”

“Nothing pleasant, I assure you. Brother decided that planning a date with Mito on the same night he was scheduled to walk the halls with you was an excellent idea. One would think the security of his own university would be more important than gargling someone else’s tonsils but I have never claimed to understand how his mind works. And so here I am.” He smirked a little when Madara wrinkled his nose with disgust.

“Must you refer to it like that?”

“Have you seen them kiss? That is essentially what he is doing.” Tobirama slid his hands in whatever pockets were closest to ward off the winter chill. “Whatever you want to call it, he asked me to cover his duties while he is otherwise occupied.”

Visibly put off, Madara waved both hands aimlessly in protest. “You’re not even a professor!”

“I know!” It wasn’t often the two of them agreed on much but in this they were of the same mind.

Of course, Tobirama was more than old enough to be a professor here at the school should he have wished to be. He certainly had more than enough knowledge to teach any of several different subjects. Unfortunately for the masses he had very little interest in taking so much time away from his research, preferring to stick with his technical status as student and continue on in the life of a scholar. Nothing appealed to him more than the rush of discovering some ancient scrap of knowledge written by some unnamed mage and finding a use for it.

He did not appreciate errands like this one taking up precious time he could have been using to look more in to the effects of those crystals Touka had given him for his birthday a century or so ago. If his estimations were correct then they might have been formed from a naturally occurring phenomenon that only happened during a massive outburst of dragon magic. Such things had never been recorded!

“You’re off in your own head again already. Great. Well this is going to be just tons of fun, isn’t it? Babysitting you while looking out for students getting up to shenanigans. You know how they get when they catch the first hints of graduation! I’ve had three try to break in to my office in the past week and there’s still a month left of classes!”

“Looking for exam notes?”

“Obviously.” Madara snorted as though he hadn’t done the exact same thing when he was a student, sneaking a peak at his teacher’s notes so he knew exactly which spells he should study up on for the exam.

Tobirama snickered without bothering to hide it. Served the asshole right for being so uptight all the time. He hoped some of those students had got what they came for before Madara caught them. Later he would have to figure out who they were and provide them with the answers himself, having taken the class on a whim a decade or so back. The poor idiot probably didn’t have enough imagination to change his exam from year to year.

“Ugh, let’s just get this over with. We usually start with the western courtyard to make sure no one is trying to perform any summonings under the moonlight.” Spinning on his heel, hair and cloak flaring out with a wholly unnecessary amount of drama, Madara stalked away down the hall without waiting to see if he was being followed.

“I remember my first summoning.” Tobirama sighed wistfully. Ahead of him, Madara twitched.

Before he could get too far in to his reminiscing about the time he summoned a nether beast that took a liking to Madara’s hair – poor taste but it had probably been the funniest thing the university had seen in several decades – their patrol was interrupted before it could even truly begin.

As soon as the alarm went off Madara, long used to having it tripped by miscreant students, pressed one palm against the closest wall and murmured something in a low voice. The wards rippled under his touch and Tobirama could hear them deep down in the parts of himself that had been connected with the world’s magic since his very first breath. He knew as well as anyone else who had been here at the school long enough that the wards were alive in a way he couldn’t explain, although being a student he also knew that they wouldn’t listen to him as they did to Madara. More poor taste. That man had nothing to say that would be even half as interesting as the things Tobirama had floating around in his head.

“What have they to report?” he asked when his companion set off without saying anything, scurrying to keep up.

“The alert came from the northern edge of the property. What anyone is doing all the way out there is beyond me. If we’re lucky maybe they’ll fall in to the river before we get there.” Every word Madara spoke was dripping with offense as though whoever was out there causing trouble had done him a personal injustice by choosing to do so on the night it was his duty to watch over the massive castle housing their university.

Drifting along behind him, not half as worried, Tobirama snickered again at the image of someone falling in to the river. Long ago when the first mages had created this place of learning they had been just a wee bit suspicious of outsiders. History was a little vague on exactly which one of them did it but Tobirama’s theory was that it had actually taken all of them to convince the earth herself to raise up high and set the university grounds far above the rest of the surrounding countryside, sheer cliffs at every boundary line and only one set of stairs carved in to the eastern wall. Just imagining someone stupid enough to topple off the cliff and down in to the northern river left Tobirama smiling. People were idiots. If somehow a non-magic person had found their way to this hidden place and trekked all the way up a staircase that would be invisible to them he sort of hoped they fell back down the cliff just for being so insufferably nosey.

Neither of them spotted anyone on their way to where the wards had been disturbed, not another soul awake or at least none of them stupid enough to be up and about on a cold winter night such as this. Which was strange, actually, unless somehow the disturbance had come from outside the boundaries because if it had come from inside then they should have passed someone on the way to the scene. After exiting the front doors of the castle there was really nowhere for anyone to hide on the wide open grounds surrounding it.

As they drew closer, merely a few dozen feet away, Tobirama began to twitch.

“I don’t like this,” he grumbled.

“What?” Despite the fact that there was no love lost between them, he appreciated that Madara had the good sense to stop and listen to him. He did have his smart moments.

“The snow,” Tobirama pointed out. “It’s undisturbed. And there are no whispers.”

“Whispers?”

Cutting one hand through the air impatiently, he snapped, “Yes, whispers, the water in the snow. I can speak to my own element just as you can. No one has gone through here in the past few hours. If they had then the snow would remember.”

Madara eyed him contemplatively for a moment and then nodded. With absolutely no connection to water himself, he would have to rely entirely on Tobirama’s word for that. Unfortunately the fire in his veins did nothing to make him a cautious man, preferring to bull his way in to a situation while yelling his questions, and that tendency showed itself now. With a decisive slant of his brow he strode forward and stretched one hand out, probably intending to speak with the wards again and ask what they remembered about when the alarm had been tripped.

He cried out with surprise and stumbled back in to Tobirama, sending both of them crashing down in the very center of the glyph lighting up underneath their feet. Completely hidden by snow, diameter large enough that Tobirama could have stretched out completely and not been able to touch both sides, it glowed with a pale yellow light the moment Madara tried to pass beyond the far side and cast him back, trapping them both within.

“I told you I didn’t like this,” Tobirama murmured, already reaching out with raw magic to feel around the edges of the glyph.

“Shut up. What’s happening?”

“Oh, I really don’t like this.” That was all the answer Tobirama managed to give before the light doubled in intensity and the world around them began to warp. Madara screeched in his ear and Tobirama couldn’t help but agree – with the panic, not with the level of decibels he managed to achieve. This was definitely cause for panic.

They had barely a handful of seconds to process what was happening. One minute they lay in a heap together in the virgin snow outside of their beloved university and the next they were transported to what would have looked like an underground cavern of some sort if not for the wind blowing in from one end. Someone had forcibly relocated them to a cave. Someone was looking forward to an early grave when they found their way back home.

“If you even think the words ‘I told you so’ I will rearrange your face.” Madara sat upright just to snarl at Tobirama, covering his discomfort with the usual bluster.

“Now seems as good a time as any to tell you that my dearest wish is for you to someday learn to use your brain for thinking first before the yelling starts.”

“Fuck. You.”

“We may have to resort to that for entertainment, as abhorrent as the idea is. I’m sure you haven’t spent the brainpower to notice but we appear to be sealed in here.” Tobirama lifted one of his eyebrows and gestured towards where the cave twisted out of sight. No visible barrier could be found but he could already feel the muffling effect of some kind of dampening spell.

Not only had they been sent away but they had been trapped here. Wonderful. Tobirama wondered what he had done recently to piss the spirits off so much that he ended up trapped in a cave with only Uchiha Madara for company. Literally anyone else in the world would have been better – except for maybe Uchiha Izuna. Madara’s younger brother was probably the only person more annoying than him. Even worse, he somehow had less social tact than the world’s biggest buffoon.

Both men pushed themselves to their feet and moved towards the far side of the cave where a bend in the path would have led towards the outside world. A few meters before they would have reached it they were stopped, something unseen sizzling in warning. Neither of them were really all that interested in using themselves as a test subject to find out what they were being warned away from. At least, not without knowing who laid the barrier, what their element was, how willing they were to separate limbs from bodies, that sort of thing.

Edging backwards until the sizzling stopped, Madara dropped his face in to what was possibly the sourest expression he had ever managed, arms crossing and shoulders tensing until they were hiked up around his ears.

“This is bullshit,” he declared.

“I hate to say you’re right about anything but in this case I am compelled to agree.” Tobirama looked around for somewhere to sit, disappointed to realize there was nowhere that wasn’t covered in ice or snow. He ignored the offended the mess of huffs and snorts behind him as Madara tried to figure out if he was offended or smug.

After a while the man settled with, “Between the two of us we can find a way through it, why are you sitting down?”

“Because between the two of us I am not volunteering to get close enough to that barrier to make a physical inspection. If you would shut up for a few moments I could gather my concentration to look at it in other ways.” Scraping a small area clean with the side of one boot, he added, “Unless you also happen to have studied for as long as I have and understand how to connect yourself to another person’s magic? No? I didn’t think so.”

“Could you be any more of an asshole?” Madara snarled.

“Probably but they say imitation is the highest form of flattery and I have no intention of flattering you.”

While his companion took a few seconds to work through that Tobirama sat down on the cold stone floor, as free of snow as it was going to get, and turned himself inwards to the power flowing through him. Madara’s inevitable screech of anger went in one ear and out the other as Tobirama let his consciousness gather and then flow outwards, stretching himself until he could feel every inch of his surroundings. The bright sensation of fire-passion-fearless took concentration to think past, as Madara often did, but Tobirama forced himself to push farther towards the warm-forbidding-apology that awaited him at the mouth of their impromptu dungeon. Strange, he thought. Those weren’t the feelings he had expected to get from this little exploration. Whoever set up that barrier felt guilty while doing so.

Carefully brushing along the edges, Tobirama was able to feel for points where the spell was weakest and slip underneath them, filling the proverbial cracks with his own magic and leaving pieces of himself behind like those hidden landmines non-magical folk had been so fond of during their first couple of wars.

Retreating back in to his own body and opening his eyes felt like a loss. It was always a bit of a jarring experience feeling the world in such an intimate way and then opening his eyes to find himself nothing more than human once again. Existing as conscious magic made him feel free and unconstrained while coming back to his body left him overly aware of how cold his ass had become from sitting on frozen rock. Popping his eyes open, he grimaced and clenched both butt cheeks in an effort to encourage some blood flow.

“Well?” Madara demanded. “Did the oh-so-smart scholar find anything useful?”

“I’ve weakened the barrier but it’ll take time to fall apart completely. Until then there’s really nothing for us to do but wait.” Not the best news he’d ever had to deliver, although the irritation in Madara’s expression was at least a small lift to his mood.

“Seriously? We just sit here? And do nothing?”

“I have done something. That something will take time. If you have anything you would like to add to my efforts then be my guest.” Tobirama waited and when his companion gave no response he hummed in satisfaction. Being right was a pleasure all on its own but being right when Madara was wrong? That was always best.

Since it was already quite late his hope was that he could somehow fall asleep or at least doze off to pass the hours more quickly. Madara stomped around trying to find a place of his own to settle down while Tobirama closed his eyes again and told himself very firmly to ignore the cold seeping deeper and deeper in to his limbs with every passing moment. If he lost part of his ass cheeks to frostbite someone was going to pay very deeply for such a transgression.

More than an hour passed in complete silence after the other idiot with him finally settled down and yet still Tobirama couldn’t bring himself even close to dozing off. Water was his element of course but he certainly didn’t enjoy sitting around in the frozen form of it for ages on end. Around the time he realized he had all but stopped shivering he also realized that perhaps losing an extremity or two was the least of his problems, though it still ranked fairly high in his mind. His limbs were fairly important to his ability to perform certain spells.

Curious in a sluggish sort of way, he lifted one hand and tried to wiggle his fingers.

“Ah,” he murmured, voice slurring. “That’s not good at all.”

“What’s not good?” Madara’s voice demanded. Up until he spoke the man had appeared to be sleeping, hunched down with the snow around him melting, body heat raised to keep warm.

Tobirama forced his head to turn and meet his companion’s eyes. It took a few moments to process the sudden cursing, the way Madara scrambled across the cave to kneel in front of him. When large hands enclosed his own he felt nothing.

“Your fucking lips are blue! Actually blue!” Madara blew on his hands. Logically Tobirama could guess that he was heating the air but it appeared his fingers had gone entirely numb. At some point while he sat there and waited for sleep hypothermia had found him instead. Irritating. More so because he found thinking straight incredibly difficult once he actually tried to think about anything.

“Definitely not good,” he said.

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Madara demanded.

“As if you would have cared.” Difficult as it was to concentrate on anything, the antagonistic relationship between them was as natural as his own heartbeat and required even less thought.

Predictably, Madara snorted, almost dropping his hands in retaliation. “Fine way to speak to the only one around who can keep you alive,” he snarled.

Contrary to his attitude he did continue to breathe warm air over the frozen digits between them. If they’d had a little warning before getting summarily evacuated from university grounds then maybe one of them might have brought along gloves or a scarf. Well, Madara wouldn’t have because he didn’t need either but Tobirama certainly would have bundled up a little more. Either their captor hadn’t thought of these particular consequences or they didn’t really care and he would only find out which if he lived through the cold night.

For the most part Tobirama sat still through Madara’s attempts to bring feeling back in to his hands, even if that was largely in part due to the fact that he was worried any movements would send him toppling over sideways. Only the fact that he had settle in place seemed to be keeping him upright. After a while Madara gave a frustrated growl and Tobirama blinked up at him wordlessly in question.

“This is taking too long. I can’t breathe the rest of you warm again – also that would be creepy and I hate the images in my head now. I need to warm all of you up at once.”

“So do that,” Tobirama mumbled.

“Well it’s not as easy as ‘just do it’! I could build a flame easy enough but it would burn you before it did much good. There’s…another option. But you’re not going to like it. Hell, I don’t like it.” At Tobirama’s grunt he took a deep breath and absently rubbed the hands between his own. “Open your pathways to me. Your core magic. I’ll merge it with mine and lend you my fire; that should keep us both warm.”

Staring at him in complete shock, Tobirama managed to ask, “Have you gone completely mad?”

It was, by all accounts, a perfectly understandable question. There were few things more intimate that one mage could do for another than allow them to touch their core magic. Not even most married couples would be comfortable bearing their souls in such a manner. To do so for someone he didn’t even like, let alone trust, the very idea was laughable.

Yet Madara was far from laughing.

“There has to be another way to get warm,” he insisted. Madara sighed.

“No. Your body temperature is so low, there’s no other way to warm all of you at once without killing you. I could wrap around you and raise my own heat but it wouldn’t work fast enough and you would burn.” Shaking his head, he frowned. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I thought something else would work, believe me.”

Tobirama closed his eyes for a moment to think and realized a few moments later that there was no longer any time to do so. When he tried to open his eyes again it was a fight, a harrowing effort, and he recognized that Madara was right; he was too far gone.

“Fine,” he whispered.

Without asking he couldn’t be sure if Madara was doing this because he would never hurt Hashirama by letting his brother go out like this or simply because he was a man with enough morals not to let another human die right in front of him. Tobirama considered it but decided against asking. He probably wouldn’t like the answer and it didn’t truly matter. In the end he was still being offered a free ticket to survival, a one-time offer going fast.

At the very least Madara was merciful enough not to be smug about it. He nodded once before shuffling around behind where Tobirama sat and wriggling in between his frozen bulk and the wall to press their bodies together, chest to back.

“The closer we are the better this will work,” he said. “Don’t worry, I hate it just as much as you. One little cuddle and then we never speak of this again.”

“I’ll clam up if you do,” Tobirama assured him.

His companion grunted. With his body now slumped backwards against another form Tobirama found his head lolling forward to stare down at the hands interlocking with his own again to create two points of connection, making a circle of their pathways for their magic to flow along. Clever, he had to admit. Positioning them like this would leave them in a constant state of feedback with each other.

Despite already agreeing to do this, opening himself to Madara proved to be one of the hardest things he’d ever done in his life. Every instinct in his body cried out against the first touch of another’s magic where he should feel only his own and yet with sheer stubbornness he managed to keep himself from shoving the other man out. He expected the feeling of being invaded, the most sacred part of him violated when it should have remained pure only until the unlikely day he intentionally invited another in.

What he did not expect was the harmony. Madara’s core and his own merged together as easily as stirring the ingredients for one of his elixirs. Warmth suffused him as promised but it wasn’t quite the warmth he expected, less body heat and more a sort of inner peace the likes of which he’d never achieved in his life.

In the darkness his inner eye was blinded by a light, fire rushing along the rivers of his core magic, cool blue turned to burning gold and dancing in such a way he couldn’t distinguish fire or water.

And he wasn’t alone. Tobirama stared unseeing at the cavern around them and knew only the second presence inside his mind, the hesitant brush of a thought that wasn’t his own. Ever too curious for his own good, he pushed towards it and gasped as he encountered Madara’s mind, faint but there, the edges of that twisted and baffling mind just beyond an ephemeral and very much proverbial wall. He shouldn’t. Tobirama knew he shouldn’t. But his curiosity had gotten him in to trouble many times in his life and this would certainly not be the last.

He pushed. Just a quick gentle nudge, inching a little closer for a better look. What better way to understand a man’s actions and personality than to take a look inside his mind and the feelings therein? For a moment he could feel the edges of Madara’s curiosity echoing back at him and, incredibly, he got the impression that he didn’t so much break in rather than the door being willingly cracked open. It was a thrill until the unthinkable happened. He slipped. He fell in to Madara in a way that would have been impossible to describe to anyone who had not experienced the same thing before but if he hadn’t just given himself entirely over to another he would have had only one thing to say.

They were one.

[atfauomo]

Im sorry Im barely on here anymore hghghghh

Backstory: aTFAUomo Tesarus in a Messatine mine shaft, now colored! Soooo, not super satisfied with this piece. And so, after hours of working on this, Im done. Just going to take the L and move on. I don't care enough to not post it, I’ve been taking a lot of L’s this year already, it just this one has a tangible reward sooo lol. There was a good idea behind this, its just I have a problem with bringing it to life.

Yes there are problems with this art and story but idc. Im so burnt out it doesnt matter anymore lol.

So basic premise? Time is right before “The War”. Tesarus is a Destic, or a being created using a stolen Cybertronian spark, with vis purpose being to the will of vis imperial creator without agency. Ve was given sapience if ve took part in a revolt, and after so was betrayed by those ve saved, and sent to the miner prison planet Messatine. At this point, ve had made an unlikely reliance with criminals Rumble and Frenzy, and has good standing with the other miners, Cybertronian and alien alike. The planet is being attacked, so all the prisoners decide to make a break for it, Tesarus trapped in a cave.

Characterwise, Tesarus thinks a lot more than talks, as a good chunk of vis life ve had no ability to talk. Ve actually thinks quite eloquently, but ve never seems like it and always seems absent. When not depersonalizing, ve comes off as simple minded and crude with a dark sense of humor. Ve is mostly just unsure about vis place as a Cybertronian, and whether ve counts as one, or if anything matters.

Story:

Shards of crystal and stone showered down throughout the entire cavern, careening off of Tesarus like hail.  The shards’ impact created little sparks and scratches all over vis body, but that was the least of vis worries. The ground shook and heave with every boom from the surface, threatening to crack the entire planet in two. Sparks of light shot down from above, incinerating several crystal clusters into toxic ashes. Tesarus stood stiffly, gazing up and down of the cavern.

A sharp metallic noise went through vis communication waves, audibly assaulting ver with a painful sound.

“You MORON!” a voice weezed.  “This whole planet is collapsing into itself and you are actually trapped? Did your heavy tank self broke the floor or somethi--”

“Pipe down you slagging piece of minimetal! Just help me out here!”

“What’s the problem guzzler?”

“Well, there is a war on this planet, I'm stuck in a cave, I'm stuck talking to the squeakiest bot of all time--”

“You dumbass just tell me what is the color of the crystals in the cave right now!”

Tesarus scanned the area.  “Okay, there are faded...pink?...clouds and dark purple gas flowing…crystals are of the same color...”

Groans filled the other side of the com. “Those are unstable unnutrium-energonistic--”

“Enough babbling Frenzy how do I get out?”

“I was talking! Yeesh, anyway, just...I know this is hard for a bumbling buffoon as yourself, but do your best to lightly step towards your northside. Try to avoid the purple gas--”

Tesarus looked to the gas clouds that filled the cave.

“--as that will slowly dissolve different tiny pieces in your frame, worse so if you have small cuts.  Naturally, avoid the crystals, especially prolonged contact. They burn.  But whatever happens, don’t mix the affected area with the opposite color of gas.”

“....what?”

“HURRY UP IDIOT!!”

Tesarus slowly stepped from step to step. All the sudden, a large blue flash exploded into the cave. As flash dissipated, the cave filled with a sparking magenta light. Sparks appeared, as Tesarus could feel tiny prickles of static upon his frame. Tesarus saw an opening to the chaotic scene above.

Tesarus jumped to the surface. As if on cue, the whole cavern turned bright and caved in. Tesarus gathered vis wits and the wheezy voice spoke.

“Hey you jumped too close you guzzler!” piped out a tiny red and black minicon.

“Shut up Frenzy you know that I hate--Wait Frenzy?” Ve cocked vis head and smirked. “Which one is Rumble? The geeky black and red one or the not-that-bad blue one?”

The minicon’s hands turned into drills. “Oh SHUT UP TESARUS you KNOW WHO THIS IS! I OUGHTA JUST LEFT YOU THERE YOU OVERGROWN GUZZLER PIECE OF--!”

“You BOTH come ON we don’t have time for dumb metal smacking!” yelled a blue minicon.

Tesarus grumbled and grabbed both minicons and ran as the ground rose and fell under battery fire. The once desolate planet was now a rising sea of explosions and rocks.

“There it is Tesarus, the shipping dock! Head to it!” yelled Rumble.

From the chaos, an imposing sleek building held its ground. Avoiding various chasms, Tesarus took a leap and made it to the building’s entrance.  

Ve waved vis huge fists in the air, wiping out the security drones without so much as a glance, tearing through the fortified strongholds of the ships as easily as air. Ve felt a sick rush from it all, despite vis own ligaments disintegrating bolt by bolt.  

Frenzy screeched. “Hey! You almost threw that crumpled up drone at me!”

“Oh shit well sorry that there is toxic gas seeping through my systems!”  

Frenzy directed the two to the largest ship possible and ran.

Frenzy made quick work of the ship’s security measures, and soon all the ships were up and running. Ve ran inside and Rumble followed suit, Tesarus thankful for not having to bend down for once.

The minicon ran to the front of the ship, pressing all kinds of buttons and speaking all kinds of languages over the intercoms.  Miners from all over were piling into the now open ships, lifting into the air. It was a sight, the ships that took them in suddenly lifted into the air ina spark stopping speed, as beacons of light, the night sky filled with dark blue and orange streams as they raced away from their prison.

Tesarus was in awe. Various ships did complex turns and strikes against enemies, the world filled with a destructive yet freeing light. Ve had never seen anything like it.

Rumble cackled, breaking Tesarus from vis trance. “Okay you easily impressed trash heap, stick out your arm.” Tesarus did so, vis hand easily being larger than the bot and vis twin combined. Rumble took some mental notes and rummaged around the ship and returned. Ve stuck vis tiny hands with all kinds of attachments, of tiny lasers and tiny drills and other tiny things. Rumble swiftly moved from various sections of Tesarus’ frame, lastly hopping to the side. “So move around Tessy and see how ya feel.”

Tesarus stood, looming over the makeshift mechanic.  “Holy shit you two really do know things!”

“Well, I knew a bot….” Rumble’s voiced trailed off, and for a second ve seemed to be somewhere else. Suddenly, ve straightened verself and smirked.  “Well, I need to make a few more adjustments. But this should hold for a bit until we can get some more experienced hands here. I am actually suprised that Frenzy here actually was able to fly this thing!”

“I told you morons that I was hella smart! Why did you think I got locked up here in the first place? Where else would they put the finest decoder in all of Cybertron? In the dirt!”

Frenzy dramatic took a deep lean into vis pilot’s chair and sighed, putting vis dusty pedes onto the dashboard.  “Technology such as this is mere sparkling play for me!”

“This is the opportunity Megatron couldnt even dream of happening! This is even better! This is the perfect chance! ”

Tesarus tiled vis head. “What is that supposed to mean?

Frenzy lept form vis chair and went up to Tesarus. “ You dumbass! WE did all of this, all on our own! WE are a part of this epic story! Dont you see? WE heading back to Cybertron!”

Frenzy smirked. “Rumble you stupid ass Tesarus boyo here has never been to Cybertron!”

Tesarus wrinkled vis face. “...Cybertron?”, ve said uncomfortably.

Frenzy got up from vis chair and looked to Tesarus. “Uhh...Dont you worry too much! Bunch of weird bots from other places like you escape and go to Cybertron and dont get deactivated!”

The giant tensed at the last word. Ve thought ve felt that ve wa being deactivated on multiple occasions, but ve never felt so close to it as ve was heading towards vis home planet.

All the sudden, Rumble sheepishly grinned and looked to the side. “Or at least thats what we’ve heard!”

Frenzy butted in” Im sure you arent the biggest piece of scrap theve ever seen--Though with your track record??” Frenzy quipped. “Hmmmm. You are on your own for that one!”

“Fren--”

“I mean all I ever did was crash the place’s electronic systems, I never like, murdered a whole--”  

“Frenzy!!”

Frenzy sighed. “Well, I mean, you always said that you wished you were deactivated, so this would be perf--”

“Frenzy thats enough!!” Rumble hissed.

Silence ensued.

“Okay okay, sorry my guy Ill shaddup now!!” Frenzy sighed and dropped to vis seat. Ve popped open a tank quality energon cube much larger than verself and drank and immediately passed out.

Rumble slid off vis protective goggles and looked to Tesarus. “Well, I never was the one for niceities but...Dont mind ver, ve’s just an asshole! Im sure that you’ll be...okay?” Rumble went awkwardly back to work as Tesarus placed vis gaze onto the view outdoors, looking at the dtstant stars and galaxies ahead.

Cybertron was just a myth to all Destics.  Cybertron, the homeland, the place from whence their sparks were stolen and sold to do the work of the lowly or corrupt. Cybertron, the supposed paradise that supposedly held open arms to its lost sparks to join back in society. Cybertron, the place had let its arms open for sparks to be lost.

But what did such a place have to do with someone like Tesarus? Ve didn’t even look like ve belonged anywhere, and ve couldn’t play like ve did like Frenzy and Rumble. Ve stuck out as easily as a Guardian Bot, vis own makeshift spark sending out its bastard sparkwaves to all around it.

This wasn’t the first time that Tesarus felt that sense of the unknowing freedom. It happened so long ago back on Tesarui Eva, that moment sealed with the treachery of the one who taught ver how to feel, with ver in chains and crushing torment, waking in the unforgiving Messatine. But now it was actually happening, ve can see as the planet’s surface began to look not as a warzone but as just a cloudy dust speck in the distance of space, and ve began to imagine how vis messed up speck of a spark would appear to those in its sight.

[so-langelo]

“Hi.”

Hope you guys like this Ari xxx *mortal au* Note: WIll is a year older than Nico

Summary: Will and Nico’s friendship over the years (i suck at summaries but i swear its good)

Word Count: 1666

*disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot* *warning: underage drinking*

“Hi.” Six-year-old Will Solace held his hand out to a small boy he noticed sitting alone in the playground. 

The boy was sitting at the edge of the concrete playground with playing cards spread around him. He had dark hair that hung past his ears and eyes that were pools of deep brown. He looked at Will and seemed surprised that someone was actually talking to him. 

“I’m Wil. What’s your name?” Will sat next to the boy, careful not to mess up the cards on the ground. 

“Nico. Nico di Angelo.”, the boy’s voice was soft and hardly above a whisper, but Will heard. 

“So, you play Mythomagic?”, and immediately after Will said it, Nico perked up.

“You know how to play Mythomagic?”, Nico said excitedly, “My sister always says that Mythomagic is lame, so I don’t have anyone to play with usually.”

“I’m not good, but I know how. My brothers taught me, but they always beat me.”, Will said, “I like Apollo. He’s so cool.”

As Nico dealed Will’s his cards, he looked up at Will with a small grin. “You can have him if you want.”

“Really?! Thanks, Nico. You’re the best.I’ll keep it forever. Promise.”, Will smiled at Nico with a blinding brightness. 

After an hour of playing and Will loosing, a man from the othr side of the playground called for Nico. Nico put down his cards and said, “I have to leave now. Can we play again, Will? I’ll see you again, right Will?”

Will was sad that Nico was leaving; he enjoyed the other boy’s little quirks and the way he talked about Mythomagic like it was the best thing ever. Will put on a smile, “Yea, of course, we’re best friends now.” 

As Nico waved goodbye, Will looked down to to the card that was given by his new friend, and on the back in messy handwriting, it said: 

If found please return to Nico

“Nico.”, Will whispered and smiled to himself.

“Hi.” Will said as he opened the door to Nico’s room. The room that he has been in so many times over the last seven years changed so drastically in just a couple weeks. It was so dark even though it was 2 in the afternoon. 

“Who let you in?”, Nico’s voice was raspy and harsh; just like his room, Nico changed from a happy-go-lucky kid to someone distanced and cold. But Will wasn’t going to be going away, no matter how much Nico pushed him away. He wasn’t going to leave his best friend. 

Nico’s sister, Bianca, died. It was a horrible accident, and it left Nico and their father devasted. Nico wouldn’t come out of his room, he barely ate, and, worst of all, he pushed everyone that cared for him away. 

“Your dad. He’s worried about you, you know.” Will sat at the edge of nico’s bed, where nico was hidden under piles of blankets. 

“No he doesn’t. He’s glad Biance died.”, Nico’s voiced choked at the words, “One less kid to worry about.” 

“Don’t say that. He loves you, Nico. Don’t push him away, please.” Will pleaded. He hated seeing Nico like this. It hurt him and he knew he couldn’t do anything about him. 

“Will. Why are you even here? You’re just like the rest of them, pretending you care.”, Nico spat at him, accusingly. He sat up form his covers and stared with a deadly fire in his eyes. 

That’s when Will’s keep-your-cool persona died. “Don’t you ever say that! I do care, Nico. Everyone cares about you. You’re just too busy wallowing here to notice. Everyone is trying to help you! Everyone misses her too Nico! Bianca wouldn’t have wanted this! She wouldn’t want you like this, rotting away in your shadows.”

Nico’s eyes looked almost black in this room. They were quickly filling up with tears that threatened to overflow after Will’s rant. 

“Will. It’s just so hard. I’m sorry for pushing you away. I’m sorry for saying such horrible things to you. I’m sorry for being a jerk. I’m sorry. I miss her so much, Will.” Nico broke down in front of Will, and Will cradled him in his arms. 

“It’s okay. It’s okay. You’ll be okay.” Will repeated those words like a mantra, and the two stayed there until the sunset and the tears that spilled from Nico’s eyes dried.

“Hi.” Will’s voice was muffled from under the pillow that hid his face. 

It was no surprise Will’s mom let him up. Since Will and Nico became best friends ten years ago, Nico practically lived here.

“Hey, Solace. How are you holding up?”, Nico nudged his leg that hung off the bed. 

“I’m fine. You know, fine as in I found out my boyfriend cheated on me and dumped me because I found out.” Will took the pillow off of his face and got up.  His hair was a blond bird’s nest and his eyes were probably swollen from all the crying. 

“He was a jerk. I tried telling you that in the beginnng. To make you forget that dick wad, I brought you Ben & Jerry’s cookies and cream cheesecake. Your favorite.”, Nico held up a quart of the said ice cream and two spoons. 

“Oh my gosh. You’re the best. The only three men that I need in my life. Ben, Jerry, and you.”, Will greedily grabbed the ice cream and his spoon. 

Nico laughed. “You’re welcome.”

Will looked up at his friend and saw Nico staring at him with an expression that could almost be affection. 

No. It’s just your imagination, Solace. Your hallucinating from your post-breakup depression. 

Will decided to brush it off and just enjoy the company of his best friend and his ice cream. 

The two talked and talked. About Will’s ex and other stupid things. They talked like they haven’t seen each other in years. 

When it was around 3 am, the two were on their backs with an empty ice cream container forgotten at their feet. Nico turned to face Will.

“I have to tell you something.” 

The moonlight from Will’s window shadowed Nico’s eyes. “Yeah?”

“I actaully hate cookies and cream cheesecake.”

“Hi!” Will screamed over the loud music at his best friend. 

His best friend that he may or may not have fallen in love with over the last year. 

“Nice party!”, Nico cupped his mouth to be heard. 

“Thanks. It was Lou Ellen’s idea.” Will looked around for the girl that planned his ‘18th birthday extravaganza.’ 

Nico motioned outside, a place where they can talk without getting sore throats. 

Will struggled to follow Nico, being stopped a couple times because of people wishing him a happy birthday. 

“Hey.”, Will said, when they were both finally outside, away from the blasting music and the people slowly getting drunk. 

Lou Ellen swore that she didn’t know who spiked the drinks,  Will didn’t quite believe her, so he steered clear away from any liquid offered to him.

“Hey Will. I wanted to give you your birthday gift.”, Nico stook a sip from his cup. 

Will’s eyes widened. “Nico the drinks are-”

“Don’t interupt me, Solace. I know about the drinks, and I just thought the the only way for me to get the courage to tell you that I’m fuckin’ in love with you is when I’m a bit buzzed, okay. Now what I wanted- Fuck. I told you. Dammit, Solace! I had a whole damn speech! I’m didn’t even drink that much. Do you see what you do to me. I broke the law for yo-”

Once again, Will interupted Nico. 

But this time he interupted him with a kiss. 

The two broke apart; their foreheads touched. 

“Sorry for interrupting you. I just wanted you to shut up, because I love you too.” Will’s breath tickled Nico’s lips. 

“Nice to know. Now can we kiss again?”Nico smirked at him. 

“Whatever you want.” 

The two connected lips once more. 

“OH MY HOLY GOODNESS! CECIL! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE! YOU OWE ME 30 BUCKS!”

“Hi.” Will said, as familiar arms wrapped around his waist.

Lips started to travel his neck. 

“Stop, Nico.”, Will chuckled, “We can’t be late to our own wedding reception.” 

“Will, they can wait 15 minutes.”, NIco smiled at him. Will thought he looked absolutely beautiful. 

“Save it for the honeymoon, sunshine You don’t even have socks on. Just get your socks from my drawer. We’re already 4 minutes late.”, Will said, while trying to fix his tie.

“Okay, okay.”, Nico whined.

When Will finally got his tie to look decent, he heard Nico gasp. Will rushed to his side. 

“What happened?”, Will said worriedly. Nico had his hand over his mouth and his eyes looked teary. 

In his other hand, Nico held an old tattered playing card, a Mythomagic card, of the sun god, Apollo. On the back, in faded writing was:

If found please return to Nico

“You kept it? After 20 years, you kept it?”, Nico tackled Will in a hug that almost knocked them to the floor.

“Yeah, I kept it. You gave it to me, and I promised I would keep forever. You don’t break those kids of promises.”, Will ran his fingers through Nico’s hair, careful not to mess it up. 

“You’re such a nerd.”, Nico said, wiping a few stray tears.

“You are so emotional. Such a bridezilla.” Will joked, kissing Nico’s forehead lovingly.

“Shut up, Solace. Come on. You made us late to our own reception.”, the two exited the room to their wedding reception and the rest of their lives together.

OH MY GOSH THIS IS SOOOO LONG SAPPY IK LOVE U GUYS!! Ari xx

[fanfic-inator795]

Hero Magi Penn Zero Magica: Chapter 8

Plot: Penn never really thought that he could be as strong or heroic as his parents. However, when a mysterious cat-like creature named Phyllis offers to grant him one wish in exchange for becoming a magical hero, he finds that he may just be able to make his dream come true, and maybe even get his family back at the same time. Unfortunately, the life of a magical hero is filled with tragedy and despair. Can Penn really live that life? Can he help his friends? And what is with that mysterious new art teacher of his? Read to find out!

((Thanks for the likes on the previous chapter ^v^ Reblogs and comments are appreciated as well! But really, I’m just happy to know this story still has some readers despite a ridiculous hiatus. So again, thanks! Original idea for this AU belongs to @rinnysega. Hope you all enjoy!))

The labyrinth around them crumbled as the witch’s body - or at least, what remained of it - broke away and disappeared like ash in the wind, leaving only a grief seed in its place. 

“Heh, how ‘bout that...?” Despite all the screaming and laughing he had been doing, Boone’s voice was quiet now, just barely loud enough to be heard. He turned to Penn, smiling. “Looks like I’m not gonna be losing anymore fights, huh...?”

Penn’s frown deepened. “Boone...”

The green magical hero bent down, picking up the grief seed - and tossing it over his shoulder towards Sashi. Of course, she caught it with ease, despite not looking like she really wanted it.

“There,” Boone told her, nodding slightly, “I’d say we’re even now, don’t you think? Besides, you only come to the labyrinths for the grief seeds, right?”

Sashi growled, squeezing the grief seed in her fists. “Hey, I was just being polite,” Boone insisted, a light smirk still on his face, “And besides, I don’t want to owe you anything. ...Come on, Penn. We should get going.” With that, his magical hero outfit dissolved away, his soul gem quickly turning back into it’s ‘portable’ form. 

However, no sooner than the magic left his body did Boone start to wobble, barely able to stay on his flip-flop wearing feet. “Boone!” Penn stepped forward, grabbing him just before he could hit the ground.

Though, the magical rookie didn’t seem too concerned. “It’s cool,” he mumbled, “Just tired... I’m good.”

Of course, Penn couldn’t really believe that, but he also didn’t want to argue with him. Not right now, at least. “Come on, bud...” 

Sashi watched as the two slowly walked away, glaring at them. She still hadn’t bothered to even look at the grief seed she had been given. She knew that she wasn’t the one who really needed it, not after a battle like that. 

“Hmph, stupid...”

()()()()()()()()()()

The two friends had been lucky. They had just made it to a bus stop under an awning when it had started to sprinkle. A couple minutes passed, and that rain turned to a thunderstorm. But despite the heavy sounds of water hitting the metal shelter above them, Penn still couldn’t help but notice the silence between them.

“So uh... pretty intense battle tonight, huh?”

“Yep,” Boone replied simply.

Penn glanced away. “Yeah... Hey, Boone? I... I know you want to fight witches and, and protect Middleburg but... I mean, what you had to do- That couldn’t have- I mean-!” 

“Just get to the point, Penn,” Boone snapped, his words still feeling harsh despite his voice still being low.

Penn blinked. Feeling his body tensing up a bit, he crossed his arms slightly before continuing. “I, I know you said it doesn’t really hurt but... But I still don’t think you should fight like that anymore, even if you can ‘block out’ the pain. I mean... Come on, Boone.” His eyes started to hurt. “It hurt just watching you fight like that.” All those cuts and slashes, the stabs, the screams, the laughter-

“So? What does that matter?”

“Huh? What does it... Boone, how could you say that? Of course it matters! You-”

“It doesn’t matter when there are still witches and villains out there that need to be destroyed,” Boone retorted, squeezing his fists, “This is my job now, Penn. I can’t do anything else. Heck, I’m practically a zombie now anyway, so what does it matter if I get hurt? If fighting this way lets me keep winning, then so be it.”

“No! No, NOT so be it!” Penn shouted, “Boone, please, listen to me! I’m just trying to help-!”

There was a flash of lightning, and just as the thunder started to roll, Boone turned to look at Penn, and the redhead couldn’t help but gasp slightly.

He had never seen his best friend look so angry... so cold. 

“Dude... If you really want to ‘help me’... Then why don’t you fight those things?”

“H-Huh? I-”

“After all, you’re the one with all the talent, supposedly!” Boone continued, standing up now, “Phyllis told me that you just have aaaaall this potential! You could be a great magical hero, just like how you’re just soooo great at everything else! So if you REALLY care that much, then why don’t you just make a contract already and see how it feels?!”

Penn stared back at him, his body feeling ice cold. “...I...” That was all he could really say.

Boone just scoffed. “Of course not. Of course you wouldn’t make a contract just for me. Though I guess it’s no surprise. Who’d even want this kind of life?” He glanced down at the concrete, his darkened glare never faltering. “But whatever. This is all I’m good for now, and if I have to do it alone, then fine.”

Without another word, Boone turned away and started to walk outside, not even flinching at the rain. 

“H-Hey... Hey, wait! Boone!” Penn shouted as he stood up. Despite still feeling a bit shaken by his friend’s words, he knew he couldn’t just let him go off alone. “Please, Boone-!” 

“Don’t follow me.” That was all Boone had left to say, and he certainly wasn’t going to listen to anything else either. 

So, he decided just to run, paying no mind to the rain or the cold or his sore body or even his best friend, who could only watch as Boone ran farther and farther away as fast as he could. Penn could feel wetness on his cheeks, but he didn’t bother wiping them away. “Boone...”

With each step, the magical rookie could feel his heart begin to ache more and more as guilty thoughts and memories continued to swirl around in his mind. No longer shining bright, his green soul gem began to dim as splotches of black began to appear on it. 

“Ugh, why did I say that?!” he asked himself as he clenched his eyes shut, not caring if he slipped or ran into anything, “Why am I being such a jerk?! What’s wrong with me?!”

Honestly... How could he ever truly call himself a hero after a day like this?

()()()()()()()()()()()

“-We just need to make sure that we’re in the area by noon.” Turning to another map, Rippen pointed out the several traps he was planning on laying for their prey. “According to my research, this will be where Walpurgisnacht is going to show up. But as long as we can surround it, we should be able to beat it.”

Sashi hummed, chewing her last energy bar - Rippen scowled slightly when the crumbs from her wrapper bounced onto his carefully detailed map. “Shouldn’t be too hard... Though, how reliable is this ‘research’ you’re getting. Before this, I’ve never even heard of-”

“It’s very reliable,” Rippen insisted.

“Oh yeah? Then where - or who - did you get it from?” The older man didn’t answer. He didn’t even bother looking up from his paper, which made his temporary partner sigh. “You know, the whole ‘adults keeping secrets from kids’ thing really annoys me.”

“I’ve already told you everything you need to know.”

“Then why does it still not feel like enough...” Sashi retorted as she crumbled up her wrapper, “Look, I know we don’t exactly trust each other but, we are working together. I would think that would be enough to earn me at least a few more details about all this-” Or about Rippen himself.

But before Rippen could make any sort of defense- “Yes, I would like to know more details as well...” Rippen turned his head towards the voice, and narrowed his eyes at the creature now standing in the corner of his living room. 

However, that was nothing compared to Sashi’s reaction to her. Almost instantly, Sashi stood up and leapt over to the cat, and with a loud “HI-YA!”, she kicked Phyllis into the wall. Although, if Phyllis had felt any pain from the attack, she certainly didn’t show it. “I take it you don’t want me here?” she asked casually as she picked herself off the floor.

“You’ve got some nerve coming here,” Sashi shouted back, ignoring the question, “After everything that you’ve done to us, you think you can just walk in here and-!”

“I am only delivering news,” Phyllis interrupted, “News I am sure Rippen is interested in... It would seem Boone Wiseman is deteriorating fast. Very fast, and not just because of lack of magic. Curse is growing, and it is his own fault.”

Rippen couldn’t help but stiffen slightly at this. Of course, he had been expecting this, but even so...

“Wait, what do you mean?” Sashi asked, “Magical heroes can’t perform curses! ...Right?” 

Unfortunately for the red magical hero, it was her turn to be ignored. “If Boone Wiseman continues, things may get complicated. May even mess with Walpurgis plans.” As she said this, Phyllis continued to stare Rippen down, but the older man’s gaze never faltered.

Sashi scowled. “What do you mean by ‘complicated’? Spill it, cat!”

“Oh, I am sure Rippen can give answer to question, right?”

Coolly, Rippen finally turned his eyes away from the creature. “I’ve heard your news, so you can leave. Now.” So, that was what Phyllis did. But as the creature left and Sashi sat back down, her words of warning still hung heavy in the silence between the two magical heroes.

()()()()()()()()()()

Boone knew fully well that his parents and Penn were probably worried sick about him. After all, he hadn’t gone home, and other than a few minutes near the campus, he hadn’t gone to school either. Those few minutes had been enough...

“Hey, Alex... I thought you lived downtown.” “I do.” “Well then, do you mind if I ask why you’re walking the opposite way?” “Sure, though, it’s a pretty easy answer. Aggie, I wanted to talk to you about something. Something I’ve sorta been thinking about for a while...”

But that was fine... It had to be fine. He had a job to do. 

Giving another battle cry, Boone swung his sword, slashing through the familiars that surrounded him. Sloppy... Weak... Your attacks can barely do anything! When put next to the voices in his head critiquing his fighting and comparing it to real magical heroes like Larry, the pain he felt from each cut or hit barely felt like anything at all...

“Get back!” he screamed at the darkness as he continued slashing at it, “I said GET BACK!” Slowly but surely, the labyrinth was coming down, its familiars being defeated one by one. But not fast enough... Not nearly fast enough.

Once the job was done, Boone let go of his magical form, and allowed himself to kneel on the cold concrete of the now back-to-normal parking garage, just for a moment. 

“...You’re such a fool.”

The boy blinked. That voice definitely hadn’t come from his head. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder, and saw a pair of cold, yellow eyes looking back at him. The man was in his usual school outfit, though he still looked like he meant business.

“When you’re low on magic, you should only fight opponents that can give you some relief afterwards,” Rippen scolded him, “Now here.” Reaching into his pocket, the teacher took out a grief seed and tossed it towards Boone. “Use it, before you get yourself killed.”

“...And who says that I care about that?” Boone asked before kicking the grief seed away. “Why would I care? Can you answer that, ‘Mr. Rippen’?”

Rippen glared back at him. “Honestly, boy-”

“I’m not done.” Despite how much his body was hurting, Boone forced himself to stand up. “No matter how lousy I may be at the fighting, I’m still keeping my promise to be a true magical hero. One that fights to save others, not just for the magic rechargers. And, if I’m not strong enough to defeat a witch, or if I’m too weak to fight anymore, then what’s the point of me sticking around? It’s not like you actually care about me.”

“Of course I-” He stopped when he saw the look Boone was giving him. ...Honestly, the boy may have been foolish, but he was still fairly perceptive. “Actually, you’re right. I couldn’t care less about saving your life, Boone Wiseman. Based on what I’ve seen from you, your fate is pretty much sealed. ...However...”

Rippen started to walk towards Boone, light covering his casual clothes as they almost instantly transformed into his magical hero outfit. “I think we can both agree that Penn doesn’t need to see you like this. He doesn’t need that. If you want to just keep destroying yourself, then fine, do whatever you want. But... If you think that I’m going to let Penn suffer alongside you, then-” He lifted up his shield, the metal on it glowing slightly- “I’ll just have to end you myself.”

By this point, Boone’s eyes were wide, though more out of shock than fear. Was Rippen actually going to-

“HEY!” Rippen gasped as a pair of tiny arms wrapped around his neck. Despite her small stature, Sashi was not only able to put Rippen in a headlock, but pin him down somewhat as well. Looking up at the still surprised Boone, she shouted “Go! Hurry up and get out of here!”

“...” Shrugging slightly, Boone turned and slowly walked away, down the road and (he hoped) towards some other labyrinth. 

And, with Boone taken care of, Sashi turned her attention back to Rippen. “What’s wrong with you?! I know he’s annoying but... But something’s wrong! Something’s messed up with him, and instead of trying to help you try to kill him?! Seriously, are you a hero or not?!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rippen retorted, “Now let me go, girl.” “What do you mean it doesn’t-?” “I said, let me go!”

“...Hmph, I think I get it now,” Sashi smirked, tightening her grip, “You can’t use that special technique you have if someone’s touching you, can you? So you’re going to tell me what I want to know, or-”

Rippen growled. Fine, if she wouldn’t play fair, then neither would he. Thankfully, she hadn’t been able to pin his arms down, so he was able to reach inside his shield and pull out a-

“WHOA!” At the sight of the grenade - and at Rippen pulling the pin out without a second thought - Sashi immediately let go. 

In the blink of an eye, the man disappeared as the grenade exploded, filling the parking garage with smoke. Obstructive, yet thankfully harmless. “...Hmph, of course. Another stupid trick...”

()()()()()()()()()()()

“I just don’t get it... Where could he be?” 

Not knowing what else to do, Penn sat down, deciding to rest on a bench near a fairly nice fountain. In any other situation, maybe the sound of water could have been calming. But not tonight...

As soon as classes had ended, he had ran out and started searching for Boone everywhere. His house, alleyways and abandoned buildings, the hospital, parks, uptown, downtown - everywhere! But there just wasn’t any sign of him, as if he had just disappeared. “But he has to be somewhere...” Though it didn’t really matter where his best friend. Penn just wanted to make sure he was alright... 

“Maybe... Maybe he’s just been in a labyrinth this whole time, and had to finish off a witch before making his way home? Or-” Out of the corner of his eye, the redhead noticed a familiar white cat watching him, and his frown deepened.

“...What? You are holding grudge against Phyllis too?”

“I don’t know, maybe... I mean, could you blame me if I was?” He sighed, running a hand through his curly hair. This was all just such a mess... “Say... Phyllis?”

“Yes, Penn Zero?” Phyllis replied as she hopped onto the bench, taking the seat next to Penn. 

“Is, is there any way you could reverse Boone’s contract? You know, make it so he can just be a normal high schooler again? With a-” he cringed slightly, “A soul actually inside him and no magic and all that stuff?”

Phyllis shook her head. “I cannot.” 

“Oh...” He wasn’t too surprised, though he still hoped... However, after a moment of thought, Penn remembered something. “Hey, didn’t you say I had all this potential and stuff? Like, if I made a contract with you, I’d be a super powerful magical hero?”

“More than ‘super powerful’.” Phyllis’ tail started to swish back and forth, almost as if the stoic cat was actually excited for once, as she glanced up at the stars, “In fact, if you wished it, you could even become god of this world. Do things that even Phyllis couldn’t do.”

Penn gaped at her. “Wait, seriously? I... I have that much potential? But, why? What’s so special about me? I’m- ...I’m just a kid. Just an ordinary high school freshman, so why do I have the potential to be such a great hero?”

The creature shrugged. “Who is knowing. I don’t know why it is your destiny to be powerful, Penn Zero, but it is.”

“...Then...” The boy squeezed his fists. “Then, if I wished to get all this god power, would I be able to change Boone back?” “Of course.” “...Alright.” A look of determination crossed his face as he looked Phyllis straight in the eyes. There was still that familiar sense of fear and worry about the fights and monsters he would have to deal with, But, despite all that, he knew that if it was to save his best friend, then it was the right thing to do.

“Phyllis, I wish to be a magical-

*BANG!*

Penn hadn’t blinked, yet it still felt like he had missed something. One moment, Phyllis was alive and well. The next, the creature was slumped over the bench, riddled with bullet holes. He heard himself gasp, just as an empty gun hit the ground. He looked over his shoulder.

...Honestly after everything, Rippen somehow finding him and appearing out of nowhere was the least surprising thing he had to deal with these days.

“What... What is wrong with you?!” Penn shouted as he stood up, just barely managing to keep it together, “You didn’t have to shoot her!”

Rippen didn’t respond. He just kept glaring at Penn, panting slightly. So close... He had been so close to failing! Just a couple seconds more and Penn would have been-!

“Rippen... Why-?”

“Why?” the teacher snapped, his eyes narrowing, “I’ve been trying for the past several days to keep you from making a contract with that thing, telling you not to listen to it and trying to keep you safe, and you have the nerve to ask me why?!”

Penn blinked. This was the first time he had really heard the man yell. ...This was the first time he had seen Rippen truly upset. “I-”

Unable to listen anymore, Rippen rushed forward and gripped Penn shoulders. “Why can’t you just understand?! Why are you always trying to sacrifice yourself?!”

By this point, Rippen’s eyes were filling with tears, though he was either too distraught to notice them or just simply didn’t care about wiping them away. “Don’t you realize that there are people trying to keep you safe?! Who care about you and who would be absolutely devastated if you died?! You... God damn it, boy! Why can’t you just listen?!”

“...” As sorry as he felt for his crying teacher, Penn just couldn’t bring himself to say much of anything. Maybe he was just too shocked by Rippen’s whole speech. ...Or maybe he was just too focused on the words. “Rippen, you... Are you one of those people?”

Rippen flinched. “I-I...”

“Have we met before? I mean, I know we’ve met at school but, before that. Have we met before that?”

“...” Again, Rippen refused to reply. Of course he had answers, but he just couldn’t bring himself to say them... 

Slowly, Penn took Rippen’s hands and moved them off his shoulders. “I, I’m sorry for worrying you. I guess I should be more careful... But, I can worry about that later. Right now I need to find Boone. So... goodnight.”

“You... Wait!” Rippen reached out, but Penn was already out of grasp and running down the dark street. “Stop! You don’t-! Boone is already-!” But it was no use, and within a few seconds, Rippen couldn’t even see him anymore. 

“...Well, that was a waste of time, hmm?”

“...” Wiping away the remaining tears, Rippen looked back towards the bench, his usual scowl in place. The cat’s body was still there, but there was now a second Phyllis there, looking very unimpressed. 

“Yes, that is second time you’ve killed me. Definitely a waste of time. ...Though, only for you.”

Rippen raised an eyebrow. “...And why is that?”

“Because, Rippen, while trying to kill me, you have revealed unique technique... You are not from this timeline, aren’t you?”

“...No, I’m not,” the teacher replied, refusing to be intimidated, “No point in hiding it now. But just know that I know what you’re planning. I know everything!”

Phyllis hummed. “And you are doing all of this just to try to change Penn Zero’s fate?”

“I am, and I will change it, Phyllis. ...Or, perhaps I should say... Incubator.”

()()()()()()()()()()

It was nearly midnight now... Not that he could really tell. He had been walking for hours, not really going anywhere in particular. He had thought that he was supposed to protect something, or save someone but... what? He honestly couldn’t remember anymore. After all, the world was filled with horrible things. Bullies and villains, evil minds and broken hearts...

Just what was in this world that he once thought had been worth saving?

“...There you are! Geez, didn’t think I’d ever find you!” Who would have thought he’d just be sitting in some barely used subway station?

However, Boone didn’t move. He barely even blinked as the red magical hero walked over and took a seat next to him. “...You still moping?” she asked after a moment. Boone shrugged, making her groan in annoyance. “Whatever.”

“...Hey, Sash?” Sashi glanced up. Boone still wasn’t looking at her, but at least he was talking, so she considered that a good sign. “Yeah?” “Just wanted to say sorry... For any trouble I’ve given you... I’ve probably been a huge pain, right?”

...Okay, maybe it wasn’t a good sign. “Well, maybe you’ve been a bit annoying but... Hey, this doesn’t sound like you.” 

“Guess not,” Boone shrugged, “But... it’s not like it matters much anymore.” Before Sashi could even question this, the boy lifted up his hand. In his palm was a small orb, black and clouded with just a bit of metal wrapped around it. It took a moment for Sashi to realize just what the object was, and once she did, she just couldn’t believe it.

“Boone... Your, your soul gem! It-”

“You were right,” Boone continued, his eyes getting misty, “All that stuff about the universe needing to keep balances, and how doing good just leads to bad stuff... It was alright.” He gave a small, bitter smile. “I guess I did save some people... But I’ve hurt people too. Even Penn... I just got so angry that I couldn’t help but lash out, and blame myself for it all.”

“Boone, stop!” Sashi grabbed his wrist, yanking on it. “Come on! What’s happening to you?!” But again, she was ignored.

“I guess it’s what I deserve... It’s what I wished for. ‘For all the hope and joy we get from them, the same amount of despair and hurt end up coming from our wishes too’, isn’t that what you said, Sash? Heh, I really should have listened to you and Larry when I had the chance.”

“Boone-” Her words got caught in her throat as Boone finally turned to look at her, that broken smile still on his face. A single tear rolled down his cheek, and fell towards his hand.

“I guess I really am stupid, huh?” 

His soul gem flashed slightly as the teardrop landed on it, and in an instant, everything was blown away. 

Clenching her eyes shut, Sashi quickly grabbed a hold of whatever was near her and tried to shield herself the best she could from the strong winds. Dark, magical aura was swirling around her like a hurricane, and in the center of it all was Boone, lifeless on the ground. Sashi just couldn’t believe it. What the heck had just happened?! And what was happening now?!

“BOOOOOOONE!”

...Even while being perched high above Middleburg, Phyllis could still the release of energy. Boone Wiseman had finally fallen, and another inescapable fate had been met.

“Hmm...” Her tail swished as she continued to watch, her body already absorbing and collecting the new energy, “They say that if a hero is hero long enough, they eventually become villain... So, it makes sense that eventually, all magical heroes become own worst enemies.”

((Hope you guys liked it! I feel like since Boone was the hardest character for me to write for this AU - simply because he and Sayaka are pretty different, and I didn’t want to make Boone too OOC while giving him Sayaka’s arc - the last four chapters without him should be much easier for me to write, and thus should take less time. So yeah, see you guys in the next chapter!))

[lxiewrites]

Arseholes and Articles

Ch. 3 of Altea High

Keith slouched in the surprisingly comfy chair in Shiro’s office. He knew Shiro was talking to him. The intense look on his face and the moving mouth were indicators but, honestly, he can’t tell you what the flying fuck he was saying. Something about fitting in or making friends he’s sure, but he just can’t focus on the current topic right now. What he’s focusing on is how that guy just casually… checked him? Like he wasn’t afraid of getting seriously injured? He knew his clothes were smoking, it’s not like this guy couldn’t have seen that. That was essentially a goddamn warning sign. Do Not Touch.

In nature many creatures had bright vivid colors to warn off predators from eating them or coming closer.

Nearly setting himself on fire is his goddamn warning to others.

Normally, people aren’t stupid enough to get close enough to get themselves burned but apparently there’s one.

He…honestly, just can’t…fathom…? The guy was obviously scared of him, at least near the end when he was being an asshole. Why else wouldn’t he just simply walk past him to get to class? But then why did he shoulder-bump him out of the way? Is his stupidity and ego bigger than his self-preservation? Is he just stupid?

Is he stupid?

…

Keith concludes that he's just stupid. But that stupidity is so damn familiar. He doesn't know why but this special brand of stupid and ego-tripping reminds him of someone he knew before. Some scrawny kid in middle school that didn't know when to quit while he was ahead. He had some semi-fond memories of this boy and several indifferent ones and just one where it was so bad.

He wonders if this guy could possibly be his brother.

“…eith. Keith!”

Keith’s eyes crossed as Shiro snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Wha?”

The older man sighed. “You didn’t hear a word I said didn’t you.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“No, you said something about making friends and… stuff.”

“Keith.”

He threw himself back into the chair; arms limp at his sides. “Fine. I have no idea what you just said.”

“What’s got you so distracted?”

“Nothing,” he mumbled, he eyed the magazine on the table advertising something about the new product from Empire Industries. “Everything’s just fine.”

“Is it about—“ Keith swiped the magazine, releasing a wave of flowery sample perfume. He paged through idly, though nothing really kept his attention for long. Temper Gummies for Kids! New Formula! The artificial cherry actually doesn't taste too bad from what he remembers. Which Season are You and Your Powers? He's apparently a Fall. Are YOU the Quantum Commander’s Type?! No. No he's not. The Commander is too anal for him. Power Enhancement: Three Short Steps. Psh. He has no issues in that area.  He could feel his cousin’s stare before he continued. “…About what happened at the Garrison?”

He sighed and threw the gossip rag back onto the table. “No, Shiro. It’s not about the Garrison.”

“Are you sure? Because you have a lot better control over your powers than you did back then. It might feel like you don’t but you do.”

“Yes, Shiro, I’m fine.”

“You’ll make a lot of good friends here too. Lifelong friends.”

“Oh my God, Shiro! Stop being such a mother hen! What if I don’t want any friends?”

His cousin just looked at him in that really annoying way of his, like he knows something or…something. “Trust me. Even if you say you don’t want any they’ll come find you. And you will never get rid of them.”

“Hunk!” Lance shouted as he burst through the door of the classroom. Spotting the Samoan he sprinted over grabbing his arm.

“Oh my God, Lance! Why are you so cold?”

Lance ignored his friend’s complaint and continued to chant his name. “Hunk! Hunk! You will not believe who I have to babysit for the rest of the year!”

His friend simply maneuvered his arm out of the icemaker’s grasp and looked back at his worksheet where he was solving the chemical equation. “Uh, like a kid? Is it Melody? Cora?”

“What? No, nonono not actual babysitting, but yeah, gotta watch the girls this weekend. But that’s not it. I’m talking about the thing Allura’s making me do.”

“Hey, nerds, what’s Allura making you do?” Pidge slid in across from them moving aside the Bunsen burner and beakers to make way for their laptop. They curled their little legs under them on the stool to get a little height and immediately started tap-tap-tapping away on their computer, their fluffy blondish chestnut hair the only visible part of their head.

“She has me being a representative of the school or something and helping one of my fellow peers assimilate to a public school setting or whatnot. Basically I have to babysit the new guy.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

Lance threw his hands in the air. “I know right?!”

“I mean that she thinks that you would be a good representative without messing up.” They grinned over their computer the light from the window glaring from their glasses. Lance told them to spring for the Anti-Reflective lenses.

“Oh, real funny coming from you. May I remind you of who somehow kept setting the sprinklers off with the bells?”

“Hey, I got it fixed by the end of the day!”

“Not before it soaked ev-er-y-one, but I got out of my math test that day so thanks for that. “

They rolled their eyes at him. “Of course. Next time I’m charging.”

“So who’s the guy you’re babysitting?” Hunk interrupted whatever Lance was going to quip back before the conversation derailed even further.

Lance slapped his hands on the table like he needs its support for the bomb he was going to drop on them. “Oh. My. God. Oh my God. I completely forgot, but it’s just, oh my—“

“Yes, oh my God and baby Jesus, get to the point Lance.”

Lance just glared at Pidge before sticking his finger in their face until they go cross-eyed before booping their nose. “Shush, you.”

He looked at each one of them in the eye for several seconds before saying, in a hushed conspirial tone, “It’s Keith.”

A moment of silence.

Pidge and Hunk looked at each other before looking at Lance again. “Uh, we don’t know who that is, buddy.”

Lance threw his hands up again. “How can you not remember, Hunk?! I can understand Pidge because I don’t think they were in the Garrison yet, but my bro? Remember? Keith? Keith. Keiiiith.”

“Bro, just because you keep saying his name does not mean I’m going to remember.”

“Keith Kogane? He was in our class? For, like, years? Know-it-all, show-off, arsehole?”

Pidge quirked an eyebrow, “One, isn’t that a swearword? Just because you say it like a British person doesn’t mean it’s not a swearword, Lance. Two, this Keith guy sounds familiar but give me a sec.” She ducked down behind her technical shield.

The Cuban planted his elbow on the table, his pointer raised toward the sky. “One, it totally isn’t a swearword because it doesn’t count if we’re in America. Two, mi mamá is not here. Three, okay, do your diddly bop. Four, c’mon Hunk! You have to remember him, he was a total jerk!”

Hunk gently led Lance’s four fingers out of his face and onto the counter. “Okay, Lance, the guy sounds a little familiar now that I have more than his first name. Wasn’t he, like, really quiet though?”

“It didn’t stop him from showing off every damn—“

“Language.”

“Shut up, Pidge, damn isn’t a swear and you know it.” Lance didn’t miss a beat as he continued. “ –Second. Ooh, look a flame here, a fire there, I can set myself on fire I’m soooo cooooooll.” Lance mocked, voice high in a poor impersonation of Keith’s own voice. “And he just had to get perfect grades and be the absolute golden boy to every teacher. Iverson loved him.”

“Ugh, Iverson was a jerk.” Pidge’s nose wrinkled in disgust.

“I know right, he was all ne, ne, ne, and blah, blah, blah, and there's no eating in the classroom. Ugh.” Hunk griped.

“But anyways,” As much as he loved bashing Iverson Lance needed to get them back on track. “Keith was a jerk to me. I mean, anyone who was in Iverson’s pocket had to be a jerk, come on.”

“Yeah, but buddy, didn’t you make everything with him into a weird competition? I think a lot of those fire shows were because you pissed him off dude.”

“Well, I might have found when he dropped out.” Pidge turned their computer around to face the both of them. “Here’s an article from 2013 when you guys were in 7th grade it was actually deleted from the original source but I found it. ‘Local Boy Devastates School with Fire Abilities.’” They hummed a bit when they skimmed the news article. “Wow. He really did some damage didn’t he. No wonder he dropped out, I’m surprised no one pressed charges... Shiiit. His parents are Penance and Hoshindo?! Dayum.”

Hunk’s forehead wrinkled with sympathy. “Two supervillian parents? That’s gotta be hard man.”

“I think him mom only turned to the dark side that year. She was always nice whenever it was parents day.” Lance frowned in possiblecompassion; he was still a major jerkwad before his mom decided to go all Winter Soldier on the superhero community.

Lance remembered the day Keith had that accident. It actually wasn't that much later after his mom was incarcerated the entire school was talking about it at the time. Thinking about it soured his stomach and made him feel colder than when he used his powers. Red covered his cheeks in shame. He remembered the fire engulfing the fire starter, how it licked up first his arms and haloing his face, illuminating his eyes as they turned into a lava gold. The rest of him followed quickly. So very, very quickly until it spread. It spread across the carpet, melting lockers, igniting homework and stray paper until it finally hit the janitor’s closet, the little flame of the DANGER: HAZARDOUS MATERIAL sign the first to warp coming alive for the briefest moments before everything was light and sound. The only thing that saved twelve-year-old Lance that day was the amount of power that he even didn’t know he could produce, forming an incredibly thick but small ice dome around him. It protected him from the heat and the fire well enough but not from the energy of the explosion that fractured his protection and threw him against the wall.

He shuddered out of the brief foray into his memories.

Yes, he would always remember the time he got Keith Kogane expelled.

Ch.1 Ch.2

Ao3

[imagineonlyproductions-blog]

Why does everybody hate Jurassic World so much?

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was released two weeks ago. It currently sits at #1 in the box office and has grossed $274,000,000 so far. Rotten Tomatoes lists a critic score of 51% and an audience score of 58%. 

If you type in this film’s name on Youtube you will get a barrage of bad reviews, claiming this film to be indescribably worse than the original. I’ve noticed that some of the primary reasons are: (like the first) 

The characters are terrible and have no progression.

The plot is terrible and does nothing original.

The CGI is terrible.

I keep hearing people saying that Jurassic World needs to just end and they should never make another movie in this franchise. Most of the people saying these things are die-hard fans of the original film. 

Now, I’m not claiming that the original film isn’t a groundbreaking piece of cinema. I’m also not saying that this movie is Shakespeare. I’m simply trying to figure out what about these two new movies has every fan so outraged. I thought they were fine films and I would actually argue that the first Jurassic World does a better job of doing what Jurassic Park did in many ways. (I understand of course that I must now be crucified for that opinion)

I’m going to address the criticisms one by one, and hopefully explain why Jurassic World in particular isn’t so bad. 

1.  The characters are terrible and have no progression:

This is a case of ignoring character progression because you’ve already decided that you don’t like a film.

Zach and Gray are two brothers who are going to Jurassic World for the weekend to be looked after by their Aunt Claire. Their mother and father are getting a divorce, and they don’t want the boys to have to be around for the proceedings. 

Gray, the younger brother, loves dinosaurs. He isn’t stupid though because he can sense that something is going on with his parents. He knows about the divorce because he found the letters in the trash. Instead of telling anyone, he tries to be strong like his big brother Zach.

Zach is a teenager who is trying to be cool and tough despite having no idea what those words mean. He’s trying to act like his parents’ divorce isn’t bothering him, when in reality, he’s just as afraid as Gray. Unfortunately, he’s too cool for that.

Claire is obsessed with her career. He doesn’t like the idea of being a typical female stereotype, and as a result, she has distanced herself from everyone who makes her feel like she in dependent. Her sister expresses that she wishes Claire would visit more and she scolds Claire for leaving Zach and Gray with her assistant instead of being with her nephews. Claire used to date Owen, a raptor trainer and all around macho man. She is attracted to Owen, but she doesn’t like him very much anymore because he IS that typical macho man and expects her to just go with it. 

Owen....has very little character arc in this film.

By the end of the movie Claire learns that her family is ultimately very important, but she does it without giving up her agency. She buckles down and saves her nephews all while wearing a pair of high heels, a clear symbol of her intact femininity while performing heroic acts which would have been relegated to a man in most other films.

Zach realizes that he needs to be there for his brother during this hard time. He also learns that being emotional is ok and that trying to be “cool” isn’t going to keep him from being afraid like everyone else. 

Gray learns to trust his brother. He gains the strength to deal with his parents’ divorce and he knows now that he will never truly be alone.

Owen.... learns very little in this film.

2. The plot was terrible and it does nothing original.

Jurassic World is based off of the principle that Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum’s character in JP) expressed in Jurassic Park. Nature can’t be contained and we shouldn’t be playing God. 

The film shows how quickly the park developers swept everything under the rug from the first park and opened the second without REALLY fixing the problems. They continued with Hammond’s misguided idea that he could just fix the problems and start over while still attempting to control the uncontrollable. 

They treated a brand new dinosaur as a piece of property and not as a living being. They built a cage for this animal and didn’t even know how big it was going to get. The put the lives of thousands of people in danger for bigger thrills because they didn’t respect the power that they were wielding. This film speaks of animal rights and of preserving the flow of nature. 

(The idea for genetically modified dinosaurs was going to be Spielberg's fourth movie anyway) The idea of creating new dinosaurs for entertainment was one that wasn’t explored in the past three films but was done very well here. The Indominous Rex was terrifying and it was interesting to see what other abilities it had. 

The film does much of what the first did but adds MORE dinosaurs and MORE thrilling set pieces. 

3. The CGI is terrible:

This is a lie. Point-blank, period. This is a lie. OBJECTIVELY the CGI in any studio film of 2018 is better than the CGI of the 90s. Technology has improved in a million different ways. Lighting is more realistic. Shadows have deeper definition. Textures are rendered at a higher resolution. There are skin and muscle simulations going on inside of the bodies of every dinosaur, making them move even closer to how they would if they existed today.

The reason the original Jurassic Park had “better” CGI is the same reason why Avatar had amazing CGI. It was the first time you had seen anything like that, and nothing that you see every day in every movie will ever take you back to the moment when you saw a T-Rex walk across the big screen. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, but it gets in the way of reality. There is nothing wrong with loving the CGI in the original. That movie inspired me to be an animator. Facts are facts though. The new one looks more REALISTIC and you’re just not caught up in “Movie Magic” anymore because you know how it was done. (The gorilla in the original King Kong looks fake as hell but when people saw it in 1933, they didn’t know how it was done and they swore that they really created a giant ape to film.)

To wrap up, I don’t think that the movies are perfect, but from the standpoint that the first Jurassic Park was SOOOO great because it was new and had never been seen before, I feel that these movies do a better job. If I showed JW to a kid and then JP to them, I’m sure they would enjoy JW more. That’s the point. These are movies with scary dinosaurs. The first film was not a big deal for its amazing storytelling. (It changes things form the book that would have made the story so much better BTW)

I love Jurassic Park. I’m glad to see that they are making more of these movies. I watched the first film on VHS as a child and it blew me away. I know that these movies are blowing some kid’s mind right now, and that’s important in my book.

[mintyicee]

Warning: skip this post if want

It’s a rant...and i absolutely hate you tumblr app bc i had to redue this twice now! >:(

Anyway, I’m used to being ignored. Everyone around me since i was little to being a young adult now has left me to own thoughts and corner in my home since forever. Though i am partially to blame being an introvert and an absolutely horrible friend in keeping contact with friends online, I mostly do so if i feel no one wants to hear, see, speak, or look at me. I will personally disappear and hide myself bc i feel it will make others happy if i wasnt around. As if i didn’t exist. True, not everyone in your life will be around forever and true, being oneself is your greatest friend. But, as shy or quiet as i am, I love being around other ppl. I dont want to be around ppl 24/7 but i do want to connect with ppl i feel can appreciate me at my fullest and without feeling like im weird or the odd ball that doesnt belong.

With that being said, I may be USED to it but i ABSOLUTELY HATE IT. As any human being would of coarse and a lot of ppl have it worse dont get me wrong. Making this rant already makes me feel selfish and in need of pity which isnt why im writing this. Simply put i want to push this anger out of me and get it out of my system bc i feel i cant move forward until i do so. And when it comes to my problems i suck at communicating it to others bc i feel they have much more important things to be doing then to babysit someone who is feeling down (but id drop everything to listen to others sadness bc i care way too much). 

I hate feeling like i did back when i lived in my hometown. Very lonely and sad. Constantly crying. I wouldn’t do anything all summer but cry in my room bc of how alone i felt. And i gave a very important part of me away just to make sure i had at least one person hanging around. I regret it very much but my efforts to hang out with the friends i saw at school outside of school would be very close to zero. Everyone is either busy or just low key didnt want to hang out with me. Tho i was lucky to have at least one friend I would see more in certain grades, it wasnt constant. And once all the drama with my nuclear family subsided, i was much more alone in the house than before middle school. 

I didnt have a cellphone or home phone, no internet either till i moved and started high school. The things that kept me going usually was my writing, music, and cartoons. Seriously being serious here. The way Id touch base with any of my school friends was to walk to their house and be lucky if they had time or were home. When i moved i had so much hope that Id find ppl to share and spend time with. Not only that but i was in the real world and no longer stuck in a house like a prisoner or place for that matter. But like stupid ppl or racists, the same ppl pop up everywhere as well as the loneliness i was hoping to leave behind. Only it came in a new form: even when im around others. I am/was happier here tho. No longer confined in my hometown house. But recently it feels like i am. This summer has been my loneliest since the move and the feeling like no one cares about me at all have all come back at my lowest and most crucial decision making time of my life. Not being in school this semester/school year is hitting me hard and no job call backs for a whole month now either. 

Partially my fault tho. The new friend crew ive been spending time with have been ignoring anything i said in the group chat. Id be skipped over and lately it feels as if im just upsetting certain ppl and end up talking about me behind my back. Really nothing new but I’ve just had enough of it. Like always I distanced myself and stopped talking all together. I’ve been more political upset in recent days due to certain issues on twitter but I’ve only been talking to my boyfriend and my mother. In hindsight tho, they really are my best friends. They are here for me at my highest and lowest no matter how many times i cry or how suddenly i get upset or frustrated. They are the ones to accept me for who i am. No one else has done this to the extent as they have and really thats all i need. Even if i dont get any other long term friends i dont care bc i know they will be by my side till the end. 

But I also want to say that if you didnt want to be my friend in the first place or you wanted me to initiate the conversation first then u should at least comment back at what im saying. If i said something dumb or something that didnt add to the convo then tell me dont just ignore me like im stupid. I refuse to be your “friend” that you only want around to be made fun of. I’ve been through a lot and yes ik u have your share of problems but if your going to only look at yourself and care about yourself then i dont need you. Im good without having that in my life. Ive had my fill of people who act like that to me. And im also tired of people who dont care about others and present issues. I CRY ABOUT PPL I DONT KNOW THAT ARE ON THE NEWS WHETHER NAMED OR NOT. HELL I CRY EVEN IF THEY ARENT ON THE NEWS! There are soooo many ppl who have it way worse than myself who suffer daily and im sick of hearing ppl dont care about the ppl and situations around them! I wont sit here making an excuse as to why i cant help its the same old issues no money (no job as mentioned above) hell even no car but that doesnt matter. I still pray! I pray for safety of others and i pray that ppl will be alright and i pray that things will get better! And also mentioned earlier, ive been reposting about current issues on twitter! This is small but i want to try!

So please if you had no intentions of sticking around me at any of my current moods, dont appreciate the person i am, or relatively dont give a fuck then dont involve yourself in my life. Yes it hurts to be alone but Id rather have that and be alone then FEEL ALONE WITH PPL IVE COME TO CARE FOR! Also, if I have helped you through thick n thin and you think u can pop into my life whenever you feel like it only to stop talking to me or purposely upset me and even threaten me? GTFO of my life and dont come back! Ever (yes this is about a certain friend who moved away and i helped not commit suicide that im holding a grudge at)!  And if you honestly are going to get upset at the actions ive done and say you do good things when you have zero sign of love for others in your hearts, live in a bubble of your own world, and follow the bible “word for word” get out of my face too bc i dont need ppl who say they are here to help others only to shun me if i dont constantly keep verses in my head or do things the way you want them to be and to have me fight my own demons while going against your beliefs and saying that im not doing what im supposed to (yes this is about church)! I DO THINGS AND CARE WAY MORE THAN YOU DO TRUST ME AND THIS IS THE ONLY TIME IM EVER GOING TO SELFISHLY SAY SO BC ITS BETTER TO BE HUMBLE AND NOT ARROGANT. I TRY SO HARD NOT TO JUDGE YOU YET YOU GET TO JUDGE ME? NO I DONT THINK SO YOU SHOULD START AT LEVEL ONE AGAIN AND LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE! (still about church not friends here). Also dont worry about the level one thing; you would know what this means if you went to the same church. 

I’ve been couping with the idea that all i need is two friends. I’m so grateful and blessed to have them in my life and if im truly meant to have more than it will be so. I know two others of whom i need to apologize for hardly emailing or sending a message to. I feel so bad i have neglected them only bc ive been feeling so down about this and other issues (like before: school, no job/car, possibly changing career and life goals, etc) but really is no excuse. Welp I’ve said all i wanted to say for the moment. There is another topic i wish to vent about but it will have to be for another day bc i have no energy to complain about that topic. If anyone read all this im sorry i took time out of your day and that I hope you are doing well. I hope you continue to live your life to the fullest and to celebrate the good things not the bad that comes along. I just really needed to vent these emotions so i can finally concentrate on what i need to do. Thank you for listening <3