#kind of like teens 'going out' with permission got replaced by going out on actual outings/dates even though it was a cute event

[rockethorse]

The basegame wedding dress has a pregnancy morph??

[thatdeadaquarius]

PART 2 - Genshin Impact SAGAU / Isekai: Gifts to Give Your Allogene!

ELEMENTS HERE: Dendro, Hydro, Cryo, Geo

Part 1 / Part 2 (you're here!)

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Sun: Gender Neutral Reader (they/them only)

Planet: General SAGAU / Isekai Stuff, Platonic Cuteness

Orbit: Headcanons-ish, a couple sentences for each

Stars: a little bit of everybody as of Baizhu/Kaveh update! including rare beloveds like Aloy! (I hope I got them all… at least the playable ones… ) Please understand that some characters are more “foreground” characters and have more screen time so I may have written some more for them because I knew them better!

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: weapons for gifts?? 16+ Older Teen Audiences Advised, light cussing

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& Trigger Warnings: None Known.

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Edit 1/1/24: Hey I expanded on this in my Eldritch Fanfic Post Part 2, but I just wanted to vet the old posts and say I did do a form of exoticism by including the word "Huangdi" throughout this.

I've since replaced it for better readability with "Emperor" but I didn't want to erase my mistake like it never happened. I'm genuinely sorry about this, I never had ill intentions by including it, but regadless of intentions that's the impact of my actions. I'm absolutely going to be looking out for kind of thing in the future/get a sensitivity reader/a beta read from that culture to check me.

I hope you still enjoy my writing and can understand.

Dendro Allogenes:

Tighnari = with some help again to put magic into it, you give Tighnari some head coverings you sewed together that have the power of Cryo in them! So now he can actually see what plants are out in the desert, visit Cyno, or just enter the desert to his heart’s content, which, yes, his tail started unconsciously wagging after you explained what it was. “Oh! For me? Well I’ve taken to avoiding the desert if I can because of… wait a minute, you say it has cryo in it? What? How does that work?? You think it’ll genuinely help me in the desert?? You made it???” Tighnari’s ears are all twitching with excitement, and he’s holding the covering (that matches his clothes/dark green) like it’s a new plant for study, omg he pulled out his magnifying glass and everything-

Collei = so she’s actually a really good seamstress, and makes plushies a lot, esp for kids! but one day you found one of her first attempts, a ragged looking sort of pale pink bunny… her first attempt at a plushie Baron Bunny!! so you decided to mimic her design (still baron bunny but with a sort of Sumeru-like clothing on it), and sew her one! You made a whole day of it, eating together, going to the best spots to sightsee (for as long as Collei was up for it/not too tired) and then gifted her the plushie Baron Bunny! She accidentally let out a small scream that startled both of you tbh, and then snatched that shit so quick lmao, kicking her feet on the picnic blanket and everything! With your permission of course, Collei then tackled you for a hug lol, she ranted about all the little details and made you tell her several times over how you made it so she could make some more in the future too! She may or may not have talked about missing Amber and teared up… but then you redirected her attention to the bunny saying, it’s like a gift from Amber and you really! (you also added a function where, if you squeeze the Baron, it’ll dish out some healing power and some heat! …Collei tackle hugged you twice for that one)

Alhaitham = what a hard person to get gifts for, he’d probably be like “thanks” no matter what you got him 😭, he means it tho, it would just be underwhelming… but on the bright side, he definitely seems like he’d show a deeper appreciation for handmade gifts! Since you learned how to make one for Yoimiya, you decide this calls for another handmade hammock (also bc Teyvat doesnt have hammocks)! You painted symbols like green crystals and geometric patterns, but also lions and a golden Palace of Alcazarzaray for Kaveh, and your symbol, the eight point star (like the four point but with flare/not like the jewish symbol with equal points lol)!! So that way he can keep lazing away, and avoid people more comfortably lmao, and also if he is going to do that, he doesnt have to sit on rocks or hard structures for hours reading, and you hope it’s encouragement for him to spend time outside/take a break and nap! (Haitham knows that’s part of why you gave him this, even if you didn’t say it, and so he makes a point to do that more often to make you happy, take the advice for his health) oh look, after thoroughly looking at your craftsmanship for 10 minutes, you got a smile in addition to a “thanks”, damn, that’s actually how you know he likes it a lot <3 :)

Nahida = you remember vaguely from Nahida’s storylines/friendship levels that she loves games, and so you collect her a nice deck for Genius Invokation TCG! You also made her a cute bag and container for it, her bag is a rose maple moth crocheted bc really this was an excuse to just make the cutest character in Sumeru look even cuter, (like this, i tried very hard ok, bc this doesnt exist yet, im shocked) The first image is most correct, (imagine the face and stuff is cuter/simpler) as that’s also the backpack part! Her eyes were so big when you handed it to her, (you honestly were shocked they even could get any bigger lol). She jumped up and down excitedly with the backpack on (ur fucking heart, just like you intended, the wings flapped around and everything <333) you are also currently working on a luna moth (the pale green moth) in case she wants it to match her outfit more! even tho Nahida insists something handmade once is enough, you can see the childish yearning in her eyes, like a kid trying to say no to a toy that’s being offered right in front of them lmao

Kaveh = pretty girls deserve pretty things, and you were definitely feeling the pressure to make something high quality enough for Kaveh, tho u know he’s sweet enough that he’d appreciate anything you’d take the time to handmake (and tbh.. it sounds a little arrogant, but ur hoping something so cared for by what he, or at least most people see as some kind of all-powerful god above the archons, will boost his self-esteem/confidence in his own worth more, or at least let him know one more person cares about him…) so you didnt make it super detailed, and you put a note on it too to let him know your not as great at that as he would be, but you made a model of the part of the teapot house you’re going to design for him! Like a sort of sneakpeak, you made a small lookalike of Alhaitham and his house, but filled it with decor like if Howl didnt hoard all the cool shit in his room in Howl’s Moving Castle, but instead spread it out, and sort of used your modern taste for layout, (not the ugly ass corporate aesthetic) and a small garden. You also made nearly all the decor and stuff something interesting (like some primogem strings, they can be pretty small, for string lights, lampgrass from Mondstadt that he’s never seen etc.) and while you very shyly handed him the model at first, he was practically vibrating with excitement!! “You made this?! Oh of course I don’t expect perfection, it looks wonderful so far, especially if this was your first attempt!!” Kaveh has like sat down, and is delicately holding it and looking around, and when you tell him it’s an actual space, meant for him, he gently sets down the model and grabs you by the shoulders, “Show. Me. Now. …please?” looking at you with very determined puppy dog eyes lol

Yaoyao = …idk what you expected. It was so obvious. A crocheted bunny backpack. brown, so it matches her, since her basket was brown, or you could leave off the feet, whichever u prefer, and anyway, Yaoyao is always doing things for others, so the little girl was so cute and pink when you actually gave her something instead! (once again, using ur old trick of making the person think u need something then shocking them with a handmade gift instead hehe) She IMMEDIATELY switched it out for her basket and has pretty much converted to using it full time! (tho when she needs the more solid one she’ll still wear it, she just alternates, esp if there’s some occasion she’ll deffo wear the bunny backpack, it’s her “fancy god-made bunny backpack!”)

Baizhu = the doctor isn’t one to talk about himself a lot, so you weren’t sure what he would like other than some new tea… but you wanted to make it yourself so while you were a little disappointed it was just a basic pet gift, you wanted to maybe put a little extra into it so maybe Changsheng will use it and Baizhu will think it’s cute! You crocheted a little pet pod/cave for her to hang out in (imagine this but a Jueyun Chili hehe) and it also has a little crocheted vine rope so the little Jueyun Chili cave can be hung from things, or even tied onto Baizhu’s apron/hold it like a purse! That way Changsheng doesn’t always have to drape across his shoulders/has somewhere to retreat! When you shyly showed Baizhu and Changsheng, he literally clapped, so did Qiqi lol (he usually does those tiny smiles… but this one was the brightest most genuine you’ve ever seen, even in game…!!) You find that Baizhu’s eyes look like that type of person’s eyes were they just look like “happy”, like there’s a little fond sparkle in his eye. Changsheng was all like “about time I got something instead of him! I’m basically an assistant too y’know! …thank you very much, my Emperor.” (if you’re NOT squimish of snake pics, pls look at this cute smile Changsheng would give)

Hydro Allogenes:

Barbara = …so even Barbara was a little hesitant at first, but came around to the idea after some convincing, and some encouragement (and showing her she was capable of it) but you basically ….may ….or may not have… found a loop hole for her being a catalyst? So, thru a lot of persuading Barbara to train with you and Childe (who also thought it was amusing to see such a young girl who’s literally a nun and a singer do this) you got Barbara to make water bombs! Like her circle of notes that float around her when healing, she sings and gestures and similar to her ult, (but like Childe’s E-skill it just switches between the two), the notes fly out and explode in the direction she sings/aims! You wanted to remind her of her old dream of being recognized, and wanting to help in battle in a more combat way, and besides, you’re sick of women getting regulated to the healing magical role in games/anime fantasy, so yeah. You and Childe are literally evilly giggling to each other in the background as Barbara sends quater notes and lines of music that explode (like how water can sharpen and cut things like Childe’s blades? Yeah he taught her that) so intensely that it cuts into the Pyro Lawlachurl, bringing it to its knees- Barbara accidentally cuts its head off as the finishing blow. While she gasps in a little fear, but mostly shock, Childe jumps up and down and starts cheering.

Mona = got sparkly eyes, nearly snatched the gift out of your hand, you made her some awesome earrings from the character banner wishes! All pretty ombre pink and blue they swirl and look so pretty framing Mona’s face, she only wears them on special occasions despite your claim of everyday use, they also help her figure out where the clearest view of the night sky each night but glowing brighter and brighter when she gets closer to seeing clearly, Mona is almost? weirdly envious?? for her past self that had to suffer thru all the inconvenient cloudy nights lmao

Childe = like anon said, a new pair of knit gloves, using the fur from the snow king boar! he’s amazed they never wear out now, and he totally uses them as an excuse to hold your hands all like “I just can’t get over how soft they are, feel them, you did amazing comrade! even better than some Snezhnayan shops!!”, exactly what you expect he’s leaning into your face and everything- 🙄

Xingqiu = an ao3 account you had a hard time with Xingqiu’s, afterall, he’s from a wealthier family, so he can get mostly what he wants, and you don’t wanna just get him another book��� so you kidnapped him to Inazuma! (idk if this is canon, or happened in an event or smth I missed idfc) So, you also kidnapped Albedo for this trip, so that Xingqiu could actually see the impact his writing made overseas! While you intended for this trip to make Xingqiu feel better abt his writing, (and to help Albedo feel appreciated too, despite him not expressing much low self-esteem in his art, compliments heaped upon him def cant hurt, plus u can see him go pink too hehe) you also wanted to surprise him with a author book signing! If he was up for it, of course, which he “I absolutely, definitely, certainly am, my liege!” Kid’s practically hopping in place, as you get him all ready for his book signing (and not rlly Albedo bc he’s always fucking perfect, u dont have to do shit, even his messy hair looks nice 💀) …you also may or may not have given him some hair decorations (to help his asymmetrical cutting, not that it looks super bad, but for a change at least)

Yelan = …it’s official. You are intimidated. It’s only pretty hydro women and Ayato from here on, on your “Gift List”. Needless to say, like a few other allogenes, you wouldn’t know shit about this woman if you didn’t read her lore… it’s not a fine replacement, you don’t think, but with (lots of almond tofu, and osmanthus wine too) dev access to help you, you created another bracelet for Yelan. Inscribed (just like the heirlooms) inside simply says “You Are Not Alone”, with your eight star symbol following after (like a four star but with some flare, and also not the Jewish star lol), it glows an otherwordly gold, a contrast to the bright blues of the other bracelet. Its function is a geo shield, to protect Yelan and any teammates nearby when it’s activated, she can also leave the shielded area in one spot, so she can do her e-skill and still protect people. You’d just casually asked her to meet up with you one day in that teahouse you know she runs for intel, and when you presented her the bracelet, she held it delicately, saying nothing as she examined it, reading the inside. A small smile tugged her lips up, and she slips it on as she sips her tea, “…Well, I’ll have to show this to present this one to the family shrine, I think this more than makes up for the heirloom I failed to keep. A replacement from the Guide of Teyvat themselves… Thank you, my Emperor, for this handwrought gift you bestow upon a mortal such as me. …and thank you, for not leaving me alone.” Yelan bows a little in her seat, sharp blue eyes more softened than you’ve ever seen her, trained on yours. Her hands are together in that same praying motion that gives you the weirdest sense of deja vu…

Kokomi = so you don’t know much about her, as the it seems the character lore for Kokomi you can remember was… lacking, to say the least. Hoyo definitely plays favorites, BUT YOU DON’T!! At least when it comes to gift givining so everyone feels appreciated, you got a pretty book (handmade or bought) and got it/made it kinda small, like the size of the book in her idle animation, bc turns out that’s her diary of sorts. You know the priestess feels if she expresses any opinions that her people will just take her side, or her word as… well, a divine priestess, the weight of her title you suppose. She also keeps track of how many spoons she has! Like what things drain her, and what things make her feel better (big social interactions vs. reading a war treaty book by herself for example) So you made her a bullet journal! (here’s one of my favorite bullet journal youtubers, here’s a flipthru of her completed journal) you didn’t fill out the whole thing, just some example pages, to show her the possibilites! …you were kinda worried bc she turned away at first after delicately accepting it, and since it was just you two, she allowed herself turn back around and start excitedly chatting your ear off as she leaned in- and wow. Kokomi’s eyes really are, dreamy, like cotton candy… and they’re so much prettier when she smiles…

Ayato = …you know exactly what to do. Interrupting his busy schedule (and only actually taking one day out of it actually bother him so he can have the others as a secret vacation hehe) to come over to the Kamisato household and homemake some boba drinks for him, Ayaka, and Thoma to try! Mostly Ayato tho, you got all the syrups, the milks teas, the boba, and luckily, were able to get some help from Xiangling in experimenting in making… popping pearls! (they’re edible boba pearls that are actually filled with juice/syrup flavors and burst on your tounge when you barely bite them! they’ve very sweet, and Inazuma definitely didn’t have any different pearls other than tapioca, those squishy black pearls you see in his regular boba tea) …Ayato is literally holding your hand like he’s about to drop to one knee, this man is down bad for boba (and you) and… are those tears?! Is he tearing up?! “I can’t believe… THE Akitsu Mikami… blessed me, personally, with boba?? With NEW boba teas and pearls I’ve never even seen?! …Thank you, my beloved emperor!” Mans has quite literally gotten on his knees, but bc he’s so tall, he can still comfortably hold both your hands in his bigger gloved ones …Thoma is desperately trying to get Ayato up, Ayaka is getting onto her brother in the background.

Candace = it’s not exactly a traditional gift… but the reason Candace doesn’t wear a lot of her jewelry or finery is because of the hard job she has as a Guardian/in the desert, so you figured giving her more things she can’t even really wear wasn’t the way to go.. So instead! You gather a journal or advice from Ningguang, Keqing, Yelan, Zhongli, and all the others in the Qixing who were willing to help you, and kidnapped Ganyu for a sight seeing trip! (since u and Ganyu has that whole “in between two very different worlds” bond) You brought Ganyu because you know if anybody would be good at managing something/getting it started (like the music fest back for Lantern Rite… that I missed bc I dont understand how lantern rite works 😭😭😭 VIOLENTLY SOBS ITS BEEN 2 YEARS AND I HAVENT GOTTEN A SINGLE LANTERN RITE U GUYS-) it would be Ganyu herself! …and to also give her a break. See Aaru Village suffered from little to no economy before Candace finally negoiated with the elders to let Sumeru merchants travel into town/buy from them/sell to them, but she’s had a rough time keeping the old coots from being dicks about it since, …and it’s also hard to convince the younger generations to come back after many wanted to see the outside world because of this… So what better what to solve two birds with one stone?? GANYU!! And all the economy and business advice you could gather form Liyue! You hope that the village flourishing (and helping Candace cut down on shady merchants) would impress the older generation, yet also get more money in the town so they can dress it up a bit more (like fixing unsteady bridges, also u kidnapped Kaveh to help revitalize their cultural architecture buildings back into life/or help make the simple buildings just prettier) Now Ganyu and her are besties (Candace rlly needed another friend besides just Dehya alone to come out and see her in the desert) and the adepti was very willing to come visit her and Aaru Village to help the economy maintain its footing/run smoothly, and Kaveh also comes and works on it/checks on her/the village! …When you initially showed all the plans to Candace, saying it’ll impress the old by bringing back old designs/architecture plus interest/satisfy the younger generations to know their hometown is advancing and make it more appealing to come back to… The Guardian puts her shield and spear off to the side, she lowers her head, and greets you, bc u kinda just started rambling without saying hello- whoops- , “Salaam aleikum Qore, **I have already become the first Guardian to have been blessed by the gods, to receive this Vision was the only aid I could turn to in trying to help my village, my community… but to be blessed once more? I would never have dared to dream, let alone the Ogdoad Qore… I am grateful on behalf of myself, my village, and all of King Deshret’s people. …truly, I did not expect a gods eyes to turn favorably upon us since my ancestors’ time. Thank you, my Qore.” You just give her a smile back, she taught you the return phrase, so you hope it’s appropiate, “Waaleikum us salam.” :)

Nilou = This woman is consumed by dancing, other than keeping the peace (well, within reason apparently bc she’s okay with a coup-) but you’ve heard how hard it can be on dancers, how plenty of them have to have strong muscles to perform consistently. So, using adepti magic, you’ve enchanted this minakari you’ve painted (a type of metalwork that’s then painted by artists, on Earth countries like Iran, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan make them) like the teapot! It’s a small island that has a dance studio, and more importantly, a spa with hot springs, a sauna, and a room full of medical supplies dancers would need like salves, heating/cooling pads (using pyro/cryo), and space for stretches! Overall, just a place for her to get away from all the people and to heal her body up for the next performance, and after getting it all prepped/packed up with supplies, and showing it to Nilou… she literally had her hands over her mouth the whole walk around the rooms and showing her everything. Nilou had already been shocked you’d painted her a minakari piece, let alone all this! Like some others, she was quick to drop the formalities, and before you could even say “I hope you like it!” she was wrapping her arms around you and squeezing as tight as she could, tearing up and saying how happy she was that someone understood how hard dance can be on the body and how hard it can also be to take care of yourself, and how she can’t possibly show her gratitude- wait a minute. She’s pulled back and gripping you by the shoulders, not even bothering to wipe her eyes, before she swears to give you a dance every year with all the culmination of her work as she learns and makes newer and better dances!! <3

Cryo Allogenes:

Kaeya = horses so he’s actually a calvary captain- you actually wanted something that’d emphasize the handmade part of the gift, to really let Kaeya know somebody out there really cares about him, cares about him in the way that they’ll sit down and think of an idea and think of him, and then work for hours, sewing, drawing, crafting something just for him, to happy about. You make him a small, pocket sized photobook, and have a picture of every person who cares about him in all the slots, and near the end, from his last birthday where you gathered everybody together to celebrate, is a photo of Jean, Klee, Albedo, Sucrose, Venti, Rosaria, Noelle, Amber, even Eula, Diona, Mika, Barbara, and Mona came! But most importantly, you got Diluc to host it at Angel’s Share, and after some convincing, got him to get in the picture, you’re slightly off center, sandwiched by Kaeya and Diluc, where Kaeya is mid-laugh at the center, having just seen Diluc’s embarrassed face. It’s the last one in the mini album, and each photo has an even small message at the bottom, giving Kaeya a message from everybody, just for him. At the very end, with the group photo just before, is one of yourself and him posing together, you having taken him out roaming Mondstadt for the perfect picnic spot, just to give an excuse why you wanted a picture with him. And at the time, he found it a little suspicious, but was just flustered enough he let it slide. But now, opening and unfolding this tiny album, full of smiling friends and caring words, Kaeya gives a small, watery chuckle, you’ve left him a message too. “Take care of yourself Kaeya, because someone out there really cares about you. :) “

Rosaria = After seeing her “nun” outfit, there’s no doubt in your mind that Rosaria is yearning for clothes closer to her preferred aesthetic. So, using your knowledge of punk clothes and modern goth religious aesthetics, you’ve made some pieces for her to try! Some black pumps with metal crosses for heels, yes they’re sharp and this nice shawl with beads, and finally, a nice lacy skirt (no you did not make fucking lace, jesus christ, you’re not a miracle worker, despite the belief of some teyvatians-). All of which, wow, got Rosaria to give you an honest to god… smile. A full, genuine smile from Rosaria… yeah that made all your hard work worth it.

Eula = a book on common manners so Eula is actually great at cooking! So what better chaos to gift to her other than introducing her to Xiangling! Especially since you’ve given the young Liyuean cook recipes from your own world for her to try out, she’s been on a rampage of new things, and so what better new experience than a cook from an entirely different country? You also made a small book of recipes (look up how to make a zine book on youtube it’s actually kinda easy) from your world, different from Xiangling’s because you thought Eula would like different recipes than her. …So needless to say you were then being berated by two chefs for not sharing all the recipes lmao, tho that really just gave them reason to share recipes! Also any new spinoffs Xiangling’s already made from the initial ones you gave her, and now Eula not only graciously thanks you for the recipes, but also her new pen pal! :)

Diona = So, to prep for this gift, you forced converted the Cat’s Tail to a non-alcoholic cat cafe during the daytime, and only in the evenings do they start serving alcohol/cats put up. You also got onto Margaret for hiring a child to make alcohol, so instead have Diona work better hours, and only during the cafe time, so she’s not making alcoholic drinks either. (you also checked in on child labor laws in Mondstadt, and ran some paperwork by Jean just in case) But most importantly, you teach Diona all kinds of new drink recipes to make, like Shirley Temples, smoothies, etc. You even (once again, by getting help from Xiangling and Diluc) made a drink for hangovers, but more importantly, helped her make one called “Sober Up” which magically flushes out the alcohol out of someone’s body, so Diona can finally sneak people a drink that (while still cursed to be well-made since Diona made it) is a trip to drink lol, it’s like a blast of carbonation/electricity to the system and will typically make most people very nauseous (but since magic’s doing it, they dont need to throw up, they’re just sick feeling for an hour depending on how much they drank). Diona nearly cried after she saw the effect on hungover customers, and immediately started sneaking them into her father’s drinks, so now he’s leaning more toward sobriety most days, and after finding out what Diona did, started to talk to his daughter more. The next time you see her, and ask after her father, she just wraps her little arms around your waist, the highest she can reach, you hug her back.

Chongyun = for prep for this gift, you painstakingly, slowly convince Chongyun to accept more and more moments of warmth, like trying some spicy food that’s gone cold, but just away from people so he can be silly out in the Liyuean mountains instead, and to try and use exposure therapy to try and get him used to yin energy/warm/excitable things, rather than the inefficient method of just avoiding it all (as it doesn’t always work/deprives him of so many nice things!! >:[ ). So that way! You can finally! Take him to have fun!!! You haul him (and Xingqiu bc the more the merrier) to go swimming in Luhua Pools, go jumping off all the peaks from one to another paragliding, using cryo to surf down waterfalls, and most importantly, go to a hot springs at the end of the day! Chongyun was worried about them being too hot and activating his yang energy, but you all agreed he had been training to get used to it, so now he when he goes to try it, he just relaxes into the heat. He could feel the tug to get out and run in circles and get excited, but finally, Chongyun could just choose to sit and relax into the warmth with friends instead :)

Ganyu = if I had a nickel for every woman In teyvat who just needs a break I’d be fucking rich …Obviously, a day off. But an ACTUAL day off, with work regulated to others, and unless there’s an Osial level incident 2.0 (fuck his wife, you put Shenhe on duty to protect Liyue just in case) NO ONE. IS. TO. DISTURB. GANYU’S. FIRST. VACATION. IN. DECADES. You get her to show you the prettiest viewing spots in Liyue, and as you go, tell stories from your life on Earth, showing her pictures on your phone (from both the internet and ur photos), to show her how mortal you are on one hand, but then how different you are here, upgrading her weapons and artifacts, and most importantly, her gift, a Teyvat modified cellphone! Albedo and you had been working together for months to try and make something close enough to connect ur two worlds, while introducing him to adeptal magic and other powerful objects like primogems and wishes that you have to help power it, that way the only other person who might understand immediately how it feels to be (literally lol) caught between two worlds can always rely on each other! …Ganyu cried. Yep, tears down her cheeks and everything, “…I- I- don’t even- even know what to say? All this, telling me about your mortal world, helping me get stronger, and now- now this? I may not have much to give in return, other than my company and my bow… but should you ever need me, or even wish for me, I will hold you as steady as I hold together Liyue itself, my Emperor." Ganyu’s smile is so, so, so pretty, and all the prettier now that her soft blue hair and sweet eyes are framed by the sunset, like it’s her own gift back to you.

Qiqi = A backpack for herbs! You’ve made sure to stitch her name into it so in case she forgets it’s hers, she’ll just see her name again, and lots of little pockets so she can carry all the herbs/make deliveries, it looks a little like this but with a goat instead of cow, and some cocouts lmao, literally a “coco-goat” milk backpack! She is now the cutest person in Liyue, everyone agrees, nearly every single person who comes into Bubu Pharmacy gives Qiqi a compliment now, and Baizhu will periodically take a break just so he and Changsheng can coo at her lmao (Qiqi made sure she wrote down in her notebook in big letters next to your name “This person made my cocogoat backpack, remember to thank them during prayer times, and collect lots of fresh herbs for them”)

Shenhe = It’s kind of a lot, but really, at this point, you’ve done more for some of the others so this probably isn’t even scratching the surface of how big of a gift you can give, so why not. Going full steam ahead, you furnish her a house at the edge of town, so that she’s not overwhelmed by all the human traffic/people, but still close enough to make the friends she wants! When you first show her the dining/living room so plenty of guests can come over, and begin to tour her through it, the strongest woman you’ve probably ever known gently holds your shoulders and stops you from speaking, and turns you to face her, Shenhe’s eyes are sharp with observation as they roam your face, and then settle on your own wide eyes. Her eyes soften, and a small smile warms her usual stern face, (idc how tall you are, she’s taller, I fucking promise) as she leans down a little to look at you closely in the eyes, “Thank you for being a kind god. You did not have to be so generous to me, and yet here you are. If you ever feel like you’re an outsider in Teyvat, in any country or company you find yourself in, please, promise me you’ll come here. Come home to me?” ✨💘✨

Ayaka = You manage to get her away from her duties to take her out to Sumeru! Mostly so you can introduce her to Nilou, see her performance, and the flourishing arts that now fill Sumeru City’s streets, and more importantly, a dress you made so she could dance with Nilou + dance on stage, she wasn’t confident enough/didn’t want to dance for a crowd, so it’s just you three or just you two after awhile. Ayaka looks the happiest she’s been in awhile, more so than you ever saw in game, and it’s… almost like a breath of fresh air to see her away from what you felt was such an isolating environment, even after the Vision Hunt Decree was over. For her last dance, Ayaka does so alone, a little after the sun has set, so it’s all blue, and the stars are coming out, finally, you get to see an even better version of the dance she gave the traveler that night. She only opens her eyes at the end, to give you the giddiest smile you’ve ever seen on her, cheeks cute and plumped up bc she’s smiling so hard, and bows to you (Ayaka’s thanked you a million times, but she doesn’t need to, you can feel how happy she is just from this)

Mika = THE BOY!! One of the most boys to ever boy in all of Teyvat!! Your boy!!! :D What a boy, he nearly fainted when you handed over his gift one day, and you had to reach out and steady him, then hand him it again 😭 It’s similar to the Marauder’s Map, since you enchanted it (once again, what’s the point of dev access if I can’t make gifts for my skrunklies?) and since you don’t want it to end up in bad hands/get spyed on, it only shows itself with a phrase as well “I wish upon a golden star, to know this land as well as its player.” and it’ll show him everyone in public spaces in Mondstadt, not private homes, but like the plaza, the church, the Knights of Favonius, etc. He thanks you every single time he sees you for the map, as it’s both fascinating to him to have a proper well-drawn map of the city of Mondstadt (you copied it from the Teyvat in game map, but there were some buildings missing bc they’re more real here/more fleshed out as a irl city) but that just made Mika even happier bc he can go and map them out!! Literally can’t talk to you bc all he’s saying is “T-TH-TH-THANK-THANK YOU ALL FURST-!!!” before running away most of the time lol

Layla = An embroidered tiny pillow for her to easily clip onto her bag/fit in it, and take on the go with her! (this but the text just says “Sweet Dreams Layla ♡” ) that you’ve also added scent to, including some sleep inducing magics, so she’s guarenteed to sleep well and efficiently when she uses it! She blushed so hard you thought she was sick at first when you gave it to her, and she also used the pillow as a shield to hide her face as she thanked you lmao, and she made you a pillow in return! …even if she thinks it’s not as good as yours, both craft wise and function, Layla worked for weeks on it! …lol now ur the one hiding ur face behind a pillow (this but they’re all plants of sumeru)

Aloy = …if you had a nickel for every person you’ve provided with a house, you’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice… Poor damn heroine just got dragged from one world to the next, just as the last one finally was at peace, now she’s here in Teyvat, where nothing’s familiar, the entire world is set up different, people are nicer and more open here, and there’s still threats looming on its horizon. Needless to say, she is tired, and misses her own homeworld. You really wish on her behalf that Hoyo hadn’t done a crossover, but since she’s here, you figure you might as well make it easier on her. You’ve made another teapot-like adeptal magic container, so she can have a place all to herself, and given her a ticket to your own, afterall, if anybody knows what’s its like to get yanked to another world, specifically Teyvat, it’d be the travelers and yourself, and sure enough as time goes one, Aloy becomes closer with you all, and begins to finally feel a sense of familiarity, she wraps an arm around your shoulders the first time she saw you tried to make her own personal teapot place emulate her homeworld. The widest grin you’ve seen on her face, she gives you a squeeze, “It’s just been one adventure after the next, and when we started out, you were just another stranger in a world I didn't understand. But after everything we've been through, I can say this for certain: My bow is yours, now and always. Thank you for the second home, my king.” Aloy says teasingly, laughing at the face you make.

Geo Allogenes:

Noelle = goddamn when will the busy women trend END these poor souls Motherfucker, you’re gift to Noelle was to knight the damn girl yourself. No, but you nearly talked Jean’s ear off for an hour, after gathering evidence (both from eyewitnesses, and Noelle herself, including other knights and Jean herself) about why the literal fuck Noelle wasn’t a Knight of Favonius yet, and why she should be. After genuinely shaking Jean’s nerves a little, she agreed, and finally, Noelle was going to knighted along with any other potential recruits during the testing season, (as people with high reputations, which, once again, using your god status for all its worth, could recommend new recruits) but most importantly… You gave her a 5-star claymore, which, you do have to somewhat work on yourself physically in teyvat now, but your dev access lets you cheat a little (like the cooking meter on cooking dishes, you’re the goddamn cooking god when hosting guests hehe) so you also are allowed to edit it, like adding a Geo-bonus to the weapon itself! When the ceremony for knighthood was going, and pretty much all of Mondstadt came to finally see Noelle get knighted, you made a fun show of walking out where you were hiding and replacing Jean, to knight Noelle yourself. She’s gone completely red in the face, and is starting to sway a little in her down on one knee position, as you gently place the blade on both shoulders, and grin at her as you turn and pull out the claymore for her. She actually does end up falling over, pale as a ghost, whoops-

Albedo = internet access so he can become a fucking god basically the alchemist is a hard guy to make a gift for, another person you’re a little afraid high-quality handmade gifts would impress him more… so you worked hard, and eventually you managed to make three big notebooks for Albedo, one with lined paper, one bulleted, and one blank for sketches (you did the title page a decent sketch of his pretty face smiling and “For Albedo” underneath, and while that one had a picture, the other two had just the words) and you also loaned him your cellphone for awhile, and suggested the idea of a laptop to make for himself, as he already managed to get you connected to Earth’s internet again, that’s part of the reason you customized/made him notebooks, so he could research from the internet and write down any notes he wanted! …wow. you really did it. after explained all this, and leaving him notes about the laptop idea as loose paper stuck inside one of them, you managed… to get Albedo to… smile. At you. Like a FULL smile, pretty lips, wide smile, and flushed cheeks-!! Albedo caught the notebooks you almost dropped.

Ningguang = what do you get the woman that has everything? so you started to think of things that’d make an experience, and after remembering her lore about her making a chess game, you decided a board game would be good! And if you make the little pieces, it’d be one of a kind too! (she’s the type that really loves handmade gifts/as long as you put effort in it doesnt matter how “bad” it looks to her, she’ll believe it’s still good <3) …So you made a Teyvat version of Monopoly. You figured the business part would be in her realm of expertise, and maybe she could use it to play with business associates or friends, and of course, she’s a competitive woman, so she thinks it’s great, and even asked permission that a marketable version be made (one that’s not nearly as nice quality as hers from you obviously)! Ningguang also treated you very well as a thank you for making it for her, a nice dinner at Liuli Pavilion, with a useful gift of places you haven’t seen in Teyvat yet bc it’s more expansive now that you’re physically here!! You may have gotten over-excited about it… and she may have chuckled at you… and you may have gotten flustered after she rested her pretty hand on yours for nearly half the dinner as you stuttered thru and explanation of the game…

Zhongli = …what do you get the man that has everything (ningguang problem 2.0)?? Well, since you thought of something for her that was an experience a little bit, yet also one of a kind, you figured the same path for the previous God of Wealth/literally invented money/etc. would do, plus he’d the type to deeply appreciate handmade gifts too! Using a few chunks of Light Realm Core, 3 Masterless Starglitter, 1 Intertwined Fate, and 1 Condensed Resin, to make a nigh indestructible Ginko leaf hair pin, which also to replace his last pin, which while not broken, was getting old and beat up (he’s immortal he doesn’ notice these things unless they’re like magically long lasting items lol). But in a few spots are these peach beads like this instead of all white beads, like on the ring both have symbols of longevity, and are usally associated with immortals, you wanted to make something that’d also hold memories (hence the resin, from leylines) so if the erosion ever took him, Zhongli could hold the pin and see some of his favorite memories played back (like misty glittering gold projections)! When you told him all this, the materials, (he obv knew the symbols) and the intentions, and then handed him the gift, his soft smile got bigger and bigger, until you could see him small fangs (❤️‍🔥) and then he turned around? You were confused, until he look over his shoulder, his eyes flashing gold in the sunlight, “Will you do me the honor, my Emperor?” OH- you unclip his old geo cor lapis one, and pull his hair up into more of a low bun, and put the hair piece in. the golden ginko leaves chime softly in the breeze. The old god turns back to you (idc how tall you are, he’s taller, and he had to crouch a little so you could reach lol) and gives you that blinding, beautiful smile again, the kind that makes his eyes look warm and happy. He takes your hand delicately, like you’re made of something fragile instead of stars and magic stronger than any he’s ever seen, “Truly, you bless me too generously, my Emperor. Thank you, for caring for a forgotten god like me, for caring about my heart.” …Zhongli presses a soft chaste kiss to your knuckles, right on the middle finger’s knuckle, his lips are warm and so, so soft, like they’re barely even there. <3

Yunjin = a bit difficult because she’s so theater focused in life, but you figure since she does solo shows a lot, she’ll still be the one to benefit the most from your gift, you made some floating plaustrite lanterns to help heft some platforms for more stage space/cool effects! (this but a little more detail, you painted some bamboo and a few simple adepti on them) Like putting props up there or lights to aim on actors, or even actors themselves since the floating rock is steady enough! Yunjin practically squealed (which immediately made every actor in the vicintity be like “YUNJIN!! UR VOICE WILL GO HOARSE STOP-”) and gather the whole troupe to thank you! But she especially told you that although she already intended for you to have front row seats every time you came to see her plays, she especially wanted to get some stories from your life, or even just your favorites from Earth for her to perform for you!! (she even suggested that one of the platforms could be your special seat, like an opera box seat lol)

Itto = you know that belt buckle he wears that’s just an Oni head? Yeah, you made him a second belt but with a onikabuto beetle as the buckle instead! (kinda like this) but a small enough it’s not inconvenient and poking his stomach, which you definitely got a Inazuman blacksmith to help out, you mostly painted it, and when you show Itto the belt, mans literally just wraps his buff arms around you like a hug but then just starts spinning you rapidly, and lets out the highest pitch “EEEEEEEEEEE-!!!” you’ve ever heard him make (and you’ve given him a few trinkets before, so this is a new record wow). No, it doesn’t matter to Itto how much you weigh, have you seen his abs?! He says as he’s still got you a little off the ground, and is now walking away with your limp body and wearing his new belt, “This, and a proper meal to thank you are the bare minimum, my wonderful emperor! Come on, the gang’s already there anyway, you gotta try my Granny Oni’s food, and I’ll make something too! My best, most special, sandwich, Way of the Strong!! Y’know, because if anybody deserves it, it’d be the strongest, and sweetest, you!!”

Gorou = since teyvat isn’t exactly the pinnacle of advanced civilization, though there are some advancements sure like the Kamera, there are still a fair amount of things that’re just left up to locals to produce and make using whatever process they’ve got, regardless of efficiency, and one of those is soap. Yep, soap. Earth is more advanced when it comes to beauty products, but also hygiene products, and Gorou has a hard time maintaining his tail he’s said when he’s stressed/overworked. So, you used some knowledge from your interdimensional smartphone (love u Albedo) to find a homemade recipe to make soap! (…for dogs, but you don’t know if he’d find it offensive… so you don’t tell him LMAO) and you even made it a cute shape (just so when you handed it over, he’d open it and of course, go all red all the way down his neck even, hehe, (he secretly liked it)

You towards all of Teyvat, except it's not even their birthdays (idk if u want it to be it can)

☆

PLEASE LET KNOW IF ANY LINKS/PICS ARE INACCURATE FOR A CULTURE/MISLABELED ETC.

Me after writing all this:  _」(´ཀ`」 ∠)__

… so I may have hyperfixated a little too hard on this one.

Did the OG asker want this? …probably not…

Did anyone ask for this?? …no.

…did I do it anyway….…yes.

…sorry?

(I promise I only thought to do this because there are so many characters left out in favor of the more popular ones for most SAGAU posts, and bc i never want any of my babes to feel any less loved than any others if I was actually there in Teyvat… you get… this mess.)

sorry!

☆

Safe Travels,

💀♒

☆MY BELOVEDS☆

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche

[rosemary-is-in-pesterquest]

Terezi seriously deserves so much better... post canon would've been the perfect place to revive her friendship with both Dave and Karkat. but also, her and Vriska's relationship got totally shafted in post canon. for self proclaimed Vriska fans, they don't really seem to be including her? like they basically just replaced her with a bland teen version? what the hell was the point of that? to go off a bit: the most interesting parts of Vriska's story are centered around her traumatic upbringing, which she deals with in ways that make her difficult to love, and Terezi is tied to her through repeated attempts to love her anyway, in spite of how hard it can be.

the trolls actually have a lot of relationships where one person has to decide when to stick by someone, and when to give up. Sollux ends up in a kind of limbo state with Aradia... he still likes who she was, but she's not that anymore when we first meet her as a ghost. Kanaya is interested in Vriska for a bit, but eventually feels unappreciated and used after spending probably longer than she should've trying to become interesting to her. Feferi has to figure out how to give up on Eridan without it resulting in widespread destruction, and that threat is why their relationship is exhausting to her in the first place. and Terezi has probably the most complex conundrum of all with Vriska. the two of them grew up together, and spent a long time killing a lot of their peers. for Vriska, it was essential to her survival and she had no choice, while for Terezi, it was just a recreational activity... and this is why Terezi eventually feels more guilt over it, and is able to realize that she should try to reform herself. meanwhile, Vriska built so much of her identity and self worth around taking pride in her ruthless persona, that it seems inextricable from who she is.

Vriska can't give up her kill-or-be-killed ways, even when she doesn't need to appease her lusus anymore, because this is the metric by which she judges people, and she can't stand to see herself as a victim. to her, weakness makes you killable... the way her lusus threatened her taught her that. failure results in death. and that's what bothers her so much about Tavros. by the standards she grew up under, he shouldn't have even made it as far as he did. but he also didn't even grow up by the same standards as Vriska to begin with. his lusus is tiny and cute, and he's clearly never even been asked to do anything violent before. even the fact that he had a choice is a novel concept. he didn't earn the right to live... not the way Vriska had to. to her, that's not fair. he even wanders into a game called "fatal live action roleplaying" like... the word "fatal" is in the name, looking for a fun adventure. as if Vriska hadn't been using this game to hunt her peers all this time. and she's probably killed a ton of more capable trolls than Tavros. what gives him a pass compared to them? the basic existence of someone like Tavros is like a wound that Vriska can't stop picking at, even while she's too prideful to admit she would've wanted a better life than what she got. instead, she has to hold others to this ruthless standard. if she doesn't, she might have to admit that her struggle was optional, or that it might not have made any sense to demand that much murder from a child. she didn't have to be raised like that. but like hell she's gonna play the victim. and it's alienating to be hated because of the one thing you feel like you've really accomplished. nobody could ever stomach being proud of Vriska, so she does it herself. she only has herself to rely on anyway.

all of this signifies a person who is damaged. she's in survival mode all the time, and it prevents her from forming connections with people. and Terezi sees this. Vriska's connection to Tavros is unhealthy, not just because Tavros is being bullied, but because Vriska isn't moving on. she's still all wrapped up in the idealized superiority of power, and won't admit that she even needs anyone or anything, even though she's genuinely not okay with losing so many of her friends over the Scourge/Charge debacle. so many of them consider this a step too far, but Vriska has genuine trouble discerning what the difference is between this, and her whole lifetime's worth of behavior. this is what she's had to do, and they're all more horrified at her, than they are at the things that made it necessary for her to turn out this way. and they don't have any solutions either. none of her friends can say "oh, well you should've handled it this way. then we could accept you" because the morally responsible thing to do would've been to die. Vriska not existing could've technically saved a lot of lives... if Vriska isn't proud of her strength, she might have to actually start feeling guilty for what she's done. and if Vriska felt a level of guilt that others think is appropriate for what she's done, she'd basically be ruined. people consider her unsalvageable, and she knows they see her that way. it breeds mistrust, and leads to her making all her decisions on her own, without asking anyone's advice or permission. they won't forgive her for even being alive, so screw them anyway. it drives a deeper wedge.

and Terezi is the one who actually understands all of this. she gets it... she was there. but she also knows that it would be healthier for Vriska to admit that she doesn't have to, or want to, live that way anymore. pride be damned, the things they did were awful, and their behavior should change. Terezi always had less riding on her adherence to these standards, so she was able to discard them easier. and now that she's on the other side of it, she knows that the longer you spend acting like that, the more the shame stacks up in hindsight. Vriska is digging herself a hole, and it's painful to watch, because Vriska is still basically Terezi's best friend. it's a hard position... if Vriska is never held accountable for anything, and never suffers consequences, then she may never change. but Terezi also irrationally wants to forgive her. because Terezi also wants to forgive herself. she doesn't want to believe that either of them are irredeemable, but when she kills Vriska, it seems as though they both were. it feels like they were both ruined. from the very beginning, as kids growing up in a fucked up environment, they never stood a chance. it's why they needed each other.

I just really wish post canon could focus on these two healing. they're both so well written, and so complex and interesting... and I was even really liking the hints of John and Terezi picking on each other. let Terezi have low stakes contention with someone! shenanigans that don't result in death would be good for both her and Vriska tbh. and it'd be so funny cuz like, Vriska is fond of John, and Terezi is so peeved by him. I think Vriska really started healing by knowing John, cuz as a human, she has a blank slate with him, and he couldn't have been raised ruthless, even if he would've been adept at being that way. to Vriska, John is an alien and doesn't work on the same scale as her. it leaves the point of survivability pretty moot, so Vriska isn't viewing everything in terms of that with him. and it's nice. she has fun. she gets to feel like a kid in a way that she never got to, because everything really is so simple. what I wouldn't give for the three of them to be able to pal around on earth C, that'd be so interesting!

(I’m not gonna add anything bc this is just, so good)

[lunar-lair]

Few lil extra details abt the dead Reigen AU just cause I felt like mentioning them:

Reigen also lacks shoes, for,,,,,,obvious reasons. He doesn't really notice, though; it isn't much of a difference for a spirit, ya know?

Fun fact, when he possesses someone for too long-say...5 hours or more, smth like that-blood starts dripping from their right temple. It doesn't hurt; hell, it doesn't even have a source, and normal people can't even see it cause it's Ghost Shit, but I just wanted to give him a version of Dimple's...you know, dimples. It's his giveaway, one of those things that would tip an esper off to a possession outside of spiritual presence.

*Grabs you by the shoulders* dimple can be a parent figure to reigen.

*DIMPLE CAN BE A PARENT FIGURE TO REIGEN*

Like,,,,,,,,,ghost adult, ghost teen, bada bing bada boom u've got urself a tiny ghost family

It's like that concept where Reigen adopts Teruki, kinda, w the personalities, but just. Ghost Time u kno

Also Ekuseri is the central adult ship!! Yaaaayy obscure ships

It's kind of the only option-well, the only semi-popular option-with Reigen out of the picture, and I thought the idea could be fun, especially with the two of them being the only adults among a sea of kids + 1 dead kid.

Speaking of which, they are, indeed, The Local Dads, once Serizawa gets his shit together after Claw. (Though, he sees Reigen as more of an odd-circumstanced friend due to Backstory Reasons, which I'll reveal next; not tonight, though...I'll leave you all wondering a little bit longer ;))

Also speaking of which, in this AU, the Kageyamas step up a little to help out the kids and inegrate Serizawa back into society a little. They're my Replacement Reigen for situations where he would have to be A Adult to do the thing he does in canon, basically.

But you know that galaxy brain idea where the Kageyamas basically adopt Reigen? That but Serizawa

I'm still not sure if he'll just live with the Kageyamas or not? He doesn't have the office now, is all, so I don't know,,,,,,how or where he would. Go to work. Maybe he finds a good convience store job once they've helped him out a little, and he just stays until he finds a good apartment, basically.

Yeah, I think that'll work, we'll go with that

Other notes, Reigen *does* curse a lot in this AU due to that mentioned gang, and he's also about just as excitable as any other tiney Reigen you see floating around

Along with the added sass, Mob gets and makes jokes a little more in this AU due to Reigen helping him figure them out. He's still emotionally dulled at first, and he's still socially awkward, of course, but having a friend his age (spirit or not) helped boost him along a little.

Reigen used to be a little easily annoyed when trying to get Mob to understand a joke, but he's used to walking Mob through them, now.

Reigen himself is actually a little less rude here because Mob was actually able to call him out on it instead of just taking it, too.

They have an *endless* fount of inside jokes. (Mob is very proud of them; usually *he's* the one who can't get the joke, but now it's one only him and Arataka can get.)

Reigen doesn't like possessing people much; he doesn't like the idea of puppeting someone's body around without their permission, and it reminds him just a *little* too much that he's a Whole Ass Ghost, y'know?

But Mob?

That's a whole different ballpark.

Mob lets Reigen possess him a lot to have conversations when it's just hard to talk, when one of them is sad and they just want some Comfort (beyond what laying down together can get them), or when Reigen is hella tired and needs a goddamn nap. (He takes the best ones curled up in the back of Mob's brain, letting him take control while Reigen hides out in his body.)

It's useful for keeping Reigen safe from espers or other ghosts, sometimes, it allows Reigen to fight people for Mob...it's just useful all around.

But due to how often Reigen possesses him, they're really good at fluently switching control, and sometimes it's kinda trippy, cause they both talk to you or each other through Mob's body and his face switches wildly back and forth between Reigen's expression and his own flat one, his voice and Reigen's, and it's just a little Wild. (Mob has complained (jokingly) more than once of aching cheeks after a possession session (yes Reigen came up with that name) due to how much Reigen smiles.

Reigen just smiles back at him and says 'thaaat'ss my job!' all drawn out and happy with a thumb pointing at his chest every time.)

Speaking of Reigen fighting, he's also still got his fighting skills! Again, gang, you know how it is.

Ritsu still doesn't like Reigen, but it's more cause he's jealous and wary of him from what he hears than anything else.

After seeing how close he really is to his brother, though, he warms up quickly enough.

Teruki kinda just thinks Reigen's really cool in this AU instead of like,,,,,admiring him. They just become pretty good friends, vibing and going 'o shit me too!!' when one of them talks about putting up an act and shit.

Teruki kinda becomes Reigen's dumping center for the small circle of bullshit Mob didn't quite get and Reigen becomes Teruki's dumping center in return.

They also sass each other. They sass each other A Lot. Half of their conversations are joking insults; same goes for Ritsu, honestly.

Get the three of them together and they'll just roast each other for an hour, laughing at every other one bc 'oh my God that dug *deep,* absolutely perfect!'

Mob's glad Reigen has people he can be unsensitive with after all those years of dealing with him, genuinely and totally. Reigen's first response has always been something rude, whether he means it or not, and while Mob understood most of that, some of those insults got to Mob even if he didn't really want them to, and over the years, Reigen started doctoring his responses. Now he didn't have to, really, when every insult was a joke.

(You've gotta wonder why he resorts to insults immediately for humor, though, huh? Makes you wonder if he had to see the bright side of some insults, huh?

Just more backstory hints, poking out. ;))

Well that got..........way longer than I intended it to

But here are a lot of the basic foundation points for the series; things that are always applicable, or just general notes on how relationships and things like that go/will be going. I'll probably make another post adding on to this-or maybe even just reblog this one, who knows-as I go along and establish some other general ideas for Mob and Reigen's friendship, more on Tome, etc., but until then, here's my pile!

I'll be making separate posts for all of the plot points/ important things in the AU as I go, too, starting with Reigen's past, whenever I get to it. Hope you're glad I'm dropping hints ;)

[endless-whump]

Damian: A Friendly Visit

Masterpost

For..um..reasons, I’m not entirely sure if this will be canon, but I thought the idea would be rlly fun to mess around with

Special thanks to @castielamigos-whump-side-blog for reminding me to finish this XD its been sitting unfinished in my drafts for months now.  Glad to be diving back into some stuff with Damian!

CW: Implied child abuse, threats, threats to a minor, coercion of a minor,

---

There was what sounded like friendly discussion in the hallway, and Damian glanced around nervously, fingers fidgeting with his hoodie string. His dad had said his social worker was coming to do a home check today, but the hearty, masculine voice coming from the entryway didn’t sound like Miss Kelly.

There were more footsteps, the sound of a short laugh, and then his father and a tall man entered the living room, smiling as they talked.

“Damian, this is your new social worker, he’s just coming to check in on you.” His father was smiling, but there was that never leaving, underlying threat in his expression, like one misstep would have his anger resurfacing. Damian stared at him, anxiety rising up in him.

“W,what happened to Kelly?” He asked quietly. Kelly was nice, she always brought snacks and talked with him about how school was going, and last time he’d heard from her she said she was going to see about putting together a case for him to get emancipated.

“Kelly got reassigned or something, I don’t know.” His father shrugged, like it was unimportant. “Anyways, this is Mr Con-“

“You can just call me Eugene,” the man said with a smile that made Damian uncomfortable. He reached out his hand, and the teen hesitantly took it, Eugene giving him a firm handshake.

He took off his hat, and Damian noted the long coat he wore, dressed a little strangely compared to other social workers he’d seen.

“I don’t like to be super formal, I’m just here to check in on how things were going around here. You doing ok recently?”

Damian nodded, wanting desperately to avoid eye contact but knew it would just make him look shifty and nervous the way that always made his dad so frustrated.

"Have you started school yet?” He asked.

“Not yet, I’m still trying to get him adjusted at home and on his new meds before sending him out yet.” Damian's father answered for him, and if it annoyed Eugene it didn’t show.

“I see.  Is everything going well after getting home from the hospital? Doing ok adjusting back home?”  

Damian's nails dug into his palms, frustration growing in him.  He could feel his dad's eyes boring into him and knew if he said anything short of a stellar description of his life at home, he would pay for it.  Something told him this new guy wouldn’t be of much help anyways.  

“It's been good,” He said, looking down and rubbing nervously at his wrist.  “Just been itching to go back to school, you know,,”

Eugene nodded, a sympathetic smile on his face that seemed so artificial.

“Do you think you could give us a minute alone? I’d like to ask Damian some questions, if you don’t mind.”

His dad clapped him on the shoulder, earning a stifled flinch Eugene didn’t even give a second glance at.

“Sure, just don’t be too long.  Gonna get some dinner in the oven, Eugene’s got a strict med schedule he needs to stay on with his meals.”

“Of course.”

Damian watched as his dad left, somehow feeling even more uneasy with the person he feared most gone.

“So are things at home really ok? I want you to be honest with me.”

Damian fidgeted with his sleeve, avoiding meeting his eyes.

“It's rough, I guess, my dad is just overbearing.” He muttered.  “Wish I could go to school at least.”

“You know,” Eugene leaned close, giving him a sympathetic look.  “I can understand that you’re in a tough situation right now.  There's things I can do to help, if you’ll let me.”

Damian eyed him warily, feeling uncomfortable.  There was something off about Eugene he couldn’t pinpoint.  It felt like he was being reeled into something, no matter how much he wanted to believe he could really get out of here.

‘Like what?” He asked, after a moment of silence.  Eugene smiled, tilting his head just slightly, observing the teen.

“We have some really good programs that could get you away from the house, internships and education programs.  We even have some therapy type groups that we think might help with your current...situation.”

Damian grit his teeth,

“G,groups?” He asked.  “Like..overnight stuff?  I could go to those?”  He tried not to sound too hopeful, tapping at his leg nervously.  “I’m..I’m not sure my dad would let me go to those..”

“Don’t even worry about that.”  Eugene reassured, leaning back in his chair again.  Damian felt like he had more room to breathe again, relaxing a little.  “We could probably talk your dad into it, and if not? Since his custody is circumstantial I think I could maybe even get a court order to let you go.  How does that sound?”

That sounded amazing, if Damian was being honest.  He didn’t really want to admit it, but it did.  Maybe..maybe if nothing else it would get him out of the house more.  Maybe he could start getting job skills with that internship, and be able to get out and actually stay on his feet.

“You...you think you could do that?”

The man smiled, nodding.  “Sure I can, kiddo.  It’ll be great, you’ll be able to start seeing your friends again and even make new ones, if you want.” He lowered his voice, glancing at the kitchen where Damian’s father had disappeared.  “And..if we’re being honest, your dad doesn’t sound like the most stable guy.  I don’t exactly have enough paperwork to pull you, especially with your medical record, but I want to help as much as I can.”

His heart was racing, but some of his distrust in Eugene was fading.  Maybe he was just..overly nice.  A lot of the social workers had that type of energy about them.  He finally met the man’s eyes, nodding.

“That..um..that sounds good.  I mean..that sounds great.  I’d really like that.”

Eugene sighed, pursing his lips together like he was making a decision.

“I wouldn’t recommend this unless you want to do the internship program..but if we can prove that you aren’t a danger to yourself..we could probably pursue emancipation arrangements.”

His breath caught in his throat, a wave of nervousness and hope flooding through him.  He could possibly get out?  Be able to leave without being pursued?

“W,what does the..the internship program include?”  He asked quickly.  “What kind of jobs would I be able to do?  Can I..can I start working soon? Even with my dispatch?  Do you think I could?”

“Woah there, slow down.” Eugene chuckled, putting a hand up.  “I’ll have to work some things out with the higher ups and talk to your doctor with your dad’s permission..but yes.  Theoretically, we could get you into one of our programs relatively soon.  As to what kind of jobs you could do?”

He tilted his head, and the last bit of distrust faded from Damian’s mind, replaced by a hope and curiosity about the possibilities he could have.

“We have a..household assistance program of sorts..it's like a training process.  I think you’d find that one especially rewarding to intern for.”

--

@spiffythespook@simplygrimly @cinnamonflavoredhugs 

[multimetaverse]

We've been fed so much lately!! What do you think of Luke's interview with Lisa and Terri's with pastemagazine? And are you happy Josh told us what he meant by the endgame changing?

Indeed we have anon. I loved Luke’s interview with Shine on Media, Lisa has been a fan of the show from the start and her questions are always good ones. I’m very glad we got confirmation that TJ is gay and that’s canon so there should be no more TJ sexuality discourse. Also nice to know that Luke knew TJ was gay from before the muffin scene and that he and Josh were trying to play things as gay as possible the entire time. We really lucked out getting Josh and Luke to play the first two openly gay characters on Disney Channel; that they were so happy and supportive of these roles and always did their best to come through for the audience. And nice to know that they both wanted the Tyrus story line to go faster, as did we all. 

Another anon asked me why Terri wouldn’t have done a chemistry test with Josh and Luke when they were casting TJ which is a good question. Certainly the casting directors would have had that in mind since they cast someone Josh’s age and they obviously didn’t cast Luke for his basketball skills or skills at playing a villain. They did luck out that Josh and Luke ended up being such close friends and having such great on screen chemistry. I don’t think it’s a surprise that Luke’s acting got much better after 2x05 as TJ had an actual purpose and motivation. Terri really should have told him from the start but she would have had to if not by 2x08 then 2x11 for sure, as there’s no way to do the swingset scene if the actors and director and editors don’t all know that it’s a romantic scene. 

 It’s wild that Terri never took steps to make sure either Luke or his family weren’t homophobic or at least unwilling to play a gay character before bringing him on. That would have been a dark timeline, TJ either being written out early on and maybe some new character brought in to take his place or TJ still be used for the dyscalculia story line but then being dropped after S2 and likely no one replacing him as Cyrus’ love interest in S3 given how much more censored the gay story line was in S3.

I’m glad Josh came clean. That they were unsure that Tyrus would ever canon was my best guess and I’m working on another ask about it and laying out how the Tyrus story line in S3 has no real direction and with the exception of the gun plot is just fluffy or angsty filler. It’s sad to know that Tyrus came so close to never canoning and I can’t imagine how depressing it must have been for Josh and Luke to film the entire season not knowing if the Tyrus story line would ever have any pay off. I’m glad though that Terri was at least upfront with them that she wasn’t sure if she’d get canon Tyrus approved in the finale. A lot of Josh’s comments and actions come off much sadder now, like when he was so happy that Asher said Tyrus was real in their October press tour or when he commented on tumblr that the press tour was the first time Disney had let him speak openly about Tyrus. He must have been desperately seeking validation and any kind of hints he could that Disney would actually allow canon Tyrus. 

That being said, the cast should never have been allowed to talk about Tyrus so openly and so often when they had no guarantee it would ever happen. All those cast interviews they did back in October almost ended up being massive queerbait. I don’t blame the cast as they’re all teens but the adults in their lives should have stepped in and reined things in. 

Terri’s paste magazine interview comes off as extremely disingenuous especially in regards to the Tyrus kiss. I’m surprised so many people bought her spin but if she couldn’t even get permission for canon Tyrus until the very end of production which was well after the show had been cancelled then how on earth was she ever going to get a kiss or anything else approved? I could claim that I choose not to live in a mansion because it doesn’t fit my lifestyle but it’s not a real choice because I could never afford to buy a mansion just like Terri would never have been able to get a kiss approved or Cyrus saying aloud that he had a crush on TJ or Tyrus slow dancing or Cyrus founding a GSA club at school, or anything else she wants to pretend she could have done if only there had been one more season. And her ‘’queerbaiting and Disney censorship’’ instagram post back in November was wildly inappropriate when the gay story line was being obviously censored and when the entire Tyrus story line almost ended up being nothing more than queerbait. And for her to attempt an internalized homophobia story line in what she knew were the final eps of the series with a character she had no idea if she could ever confirm is gay is incredibly stupid. 

Still I do feel sorry for Terri as I truly don’t think she knew when she brought TJ in that it would take this long to get so little pay off. The Tyrus story line began in the 20th ep of the series and didn’t canon until the 57th aired ep, two-thirds of the entire series went by before their feelings were explicitly confirmed. The look back was a huge mistake and built up expectations too high even with it being edited but logically if Disney approved TJ looking back at Cyrus in 2x25 it would have been a positive sign that they were open to exploring Tyrus at the time as the unedited look back would have let the audience know TJ was gay which would have given Terri reason to hope she could get them together before 3x20. I think it’s interesting that Josh compared canon Tyrus in S3 to Cyrus coming out in what was originally 1x13 when he’s talked before about how Cyrus was always slated to come out to Andi in 2x13. It really does suggest that Disney more or less let Terri write what she wanted for Cyrus’ arc in S2 which also fits with the Tyrus story line flowing very well before cracking down hard in S3.

Personally, I think the most interesting thing we learned from Terri’s interview is that they learned they would be cancelled when they were going to write 3x10. Looking back, 3x10 does seem like a rough dividing line for a lot of stories. Jonah’s panic attacks are addressed in 3x11 then dropped, Jamber is resurrected in 3x12 along with the wish and Amber suddenly becomes much more prominent in the final half of the season, Walker and Wuffy are disposed of, Marty is brought back and Muffy quickly set up to be endgame. Now that we know that Terri didn’t want endgame Jandi and didn’t know if she would ever get endgame Tyrus we can see why it was so important for the show to bring back Marty so Buffy could get her originally planned endgame. Interestingly, Andi’s art isn’t brought up again until 3x16 which is also when the S1 party was brought back up again which suggests that they didn’t settle on the finale party until then. 

There’s one other big moment that happens right after 3x10 which is Cyrus using the word gay and coming out to Jonah in 3x11. I wrote this back in February after the Salt Lake Tribune spoiled that Cyrus would come out to Jonah:

‘’It’s nice that now all of Cyrus’ closest friends know about his sexuality but this does also read as a potential wrap up of Cyrus’ sexuality arc; Cyrus has come out to Buffy, Andi, and Jonah and is proud and confident in his identity and to label himself as gay, quite a far cry from the scared sad Cyrus we saw when he came out to Buffy. With Jonah now in on his secret there’s no more mystery left among his friend group and no need to talk about it again if that’s the path Disney chooses. I do think Terri got some stuff approved in the finale but this ep could very easily provide enough rep that Disney feels fine with having a quiet Korrasami style endgame instead. ‘’

It turns out that my sense of foreboding was correct as 3x11 was written as a potential series finale for the gay story line as they had no clue if Cyrus would ever be able to get together with TJ and indeed Cyrus never did discuss his sexuality ever again. 

I’m glad we have a lot of the missing pieces filled in now. I’m also glad I wasn’t a cast or crew member as it seems like S3 would have been an anxious nerve wracking experience, waiting to see if the story line that had been planned from the beginning of S2 would have any pay off. I’m eternally grateful to Terri and Josh and Luke for what they managed to do and the history they made. And thank god Gary Marsh, for whatever reason, decided at the last minute to let those final 40 seconds of the bench scene to make it to air.

[bifrostiron]

Dalton Big Bang | Day 28: NSFW Day

Magic in the Hamptons (Part 4)

Logan and Derek didn’t talk about it. They didn’t feel like they needed to - it seemed they were on the same page about what was going on between them. They were just blowing off steam, and in Derek’s case, taking the opportunity to experiment with a boy who he could count on to keep quiet. That was all there was to it.

It would have been perfect - simple, uncomplicated - if it wasn’t for Julian.

Out of all of them, Julian had seemed the most reluctant to continue their tryst once they returned to Dalton. Logan couldn’t quite figure out why. He’d been the one to first suggest it, for fuck’s sake. He’d always been an enthusiastic participant, was usually the one to initiate their encounters. He’d been enjoying himself. So what had changed?

Logan might have been able to convince himself to let it go. But once he started hooking up with Derek, he felt increasingly weird about the fact that Julian didn’t know. He didn’t want to keep secrets from his friends, even if the three of them were the only ones who knew. So when he and Julian found themselves alone during one of Derek’s weekend practices, he seized his chance.

“Derek and I hooked up,” he blurted out in a moment of comfortable silence. He kept his head down, glancing over surreptitiously to assess Julian’s reaction. Julian’s eyes widened a little, but otherwise he remained composed.

“Really,” he replied flatly.

Logan nodded. “A couple days ago,” he continued.

Julian paused a moment, drumming his fingers on the script in his lap. “How was it?”

His voice sounded stilted and uncomfortable, a far cry from how he’d been throughout their vacation. Logan frowned.

“Not bad,” he said carefully. “A little awkward. I don’t think he’s comfortable doing much more than handjobs just yet.”

He expected Julian to take the bait and reply with a snarky comment about how Derek had fucked him multiple times over the course of the summer, but he didn’t. He barked a short, humorless laugh and went back to highlighting the page in front of him.

“He’s not nearly as enthusiastic as you,” Logan added, and Julian’s hand stilled.

Logan held his breath. He wasn’t sure if this was part of their agreement, him bringing it up like this. But it had worked with Derek, so he had to hope he could get lightning to strike twice.

“You’re really doing this,” Julian said quietly, setting down his highlighter.

Logan swallowed hard. “Yeah,” he breathed.

Slowly, Julian raised his eyes to Logan’s, meeting his gaze for the first time. He looked a little nervous, an unusual expression on his face. It faded quickly, replaced by a steely glare.

“Not getting enough from Derek, then?”

Logan frowned. “What do you mean?”

Julian glanced away, shaking his head. “Nothing. Forget it.”

Confused, Logan set aside the assignment he’d been working on and turned to face Julian. “It’s not like that,” he said, trying to catch Julian’s eyes. “I meant it, what I said. I didn’t want to stop. With either of you.”

“I get it, Logan.” Julian still wouldn’t look at him, and Logan made a low noise of frustration. “You’re a teenage boy. You’re horny.”

“It’s not that,” Logan argued. “I’m not Derek, c’mon. You know me. You’ve given me more than enough shit for how picky I am.”

Julian was quiet for a moment, biting at his lower lip. It was so wildly out of character for him that Logan almost laughed.

“You can’t seriously think that I hooked up with teen heartthrob Julian Larson just because you were there.”

Julian actually looked up at that, his expression a little incredulous. Logan grinned. “And not that your ego needs any more stroking, but…” His eyes flicked down to Julian’s lips, to his collarbones jutting out from his V-neck, to the way his legs folded under him on the couch. “That title isn’t exactly undeserved.”

He met Julian’s gaze, waiting for him to make the next move. Julian was quiet when he finally responded, “You really want to do this?”

Logan figured that was permission enough. He climbed up onto the couch, settling on his knees with his face just inches from Julian’s. Julian looked up at him, still a little uncertain, and Logan smiled gently. He couldn’t imagine why Julian would feel insecure about someone like Logan being interested in him, especially after the number of times he had utterly blown Logan’s mind while they were together in the Hamptons. But if that was what had been holding him back, perhaps he just needed a little convincing.

He reached out to caress Julian’s face, tilting his chin up to look him in the eyes. “I want you,” he whispered, and that seemed to do the trick. With a gentle sigh, Julian surged forward, soft lips pressing firmly against Logan’s.

As soon as their lips met, Julian responded just as enthusiastically as he had in their previous encounters. His hands twisted in Logan’s shirt, and when he shifted position to crawl into Logan’s lap they both fell back against the cushions with a surprised yelp. Logan laughed, his fingers tangling in Julian’s hair and pulling him back in for another heated kiss.

Their hands wandered, tugging at each other’s clothes with practiced ease, and soon enough Logan was panting heavily as Julian settled between his legs, gazing up at him through thick eyelashes.

“You want it?” Logan whispered, and Julian nodded, his lips parting deliciously as he worked at Logan’s zipper. His cock was barely out of his underwear before Julian took it into his mouth, swallowing him down hungrily.

“Fuck, Julian.”

He whined a little when Julian pulled his mouth back, lower lip catching on the tip of his cock.

“Is that good?” he whispered, glancing up at Logan. His tongue darted out teasingly, tasting him, and Logan’s breath hitched.

“So good,” he breathed, and in response Julian took the head between his lips, sucking gently. Logan threw his head back on the pillows. “God, Jules, your mouth,” he gasped out, and Julian moaned around him. Logan realized belatedly that Julian was into this, and the thought almost made his brain short-circuit. He propped himself up on his elbows, staring as Julian’s head bobbed between his legs. With another low moan, he swallowed Logan down, glancing up as if to say Keep talking.

“You look so pretty with your mouth full,” Logan continued, reaching up to brush Julian’s hair back from his face. He really was gorgeous, looking up at Logan through long eyelashes, his full lips tight around Logan’s achingly hard cock. Logan could already tell he wasn’t going to last long. He did his best to hold out, though, to give Julian what he obviously wanted. “You feel so good, baby,” he whined, and he could barely hold back a grin when Julian closed his eyes, moaning softly as he slid his tongue around Logan’s cock.

Logan’s eyes slipped shut, his breath coming in shallow pants as he gasped out a litany of “Fuck, Julian,” and “that feels amazing, baby.” With every word, Julian quickened his pace, moaning and whining around Logan’s cock as if he was the one having his brain sucked out through his dick. Logan couldn’t get enough - he wanted to see Julian fall apart like this, to make him come with nothing but fingers in his hair and pretty words in his ear. But his mouth on Logan’s cock was just too much, and before long Logan found himself falling over the edge.

“Yes, Jules, fuck—“ he moaned, canting his hips up against Julian’s mouth as he spilled down his throat.

Julian pulled back, his tongue lingering at the tip, licking up the last drop of Logan’s cum. “Did I do good?” he whispered, eyes flicking up expectantly.

“Yeah,” Logan gasped, laughing breathlessly. “Yeah, baby, that was amazing.”

Suddenly, with a kind of hungry desperation, Julian crawled up Logan’s body and slammed their lips together. He could taste himself on Julian’s tongue, and he moaned, fingers tangling tighter in Julian’s rumpled hair. Julian’s lips parted, gasping for breath, and Logan’s eyes met his.

“Is that like a thing for you?” he whispered, and Julian bit his lip. He nodded, looking almost embarrassed, and Logan’s mouth quirked up in a smile.

“Well,” he said goadingly, hand sliding down to cup Julian’s chin. Julian’s breath hitched. “Since you’ve been so good to me, I suppose I could return the favor.”

He kissed him again, softly, Julian’s gentle moan like music to his ears. Logan dragged his hand down over his neck, across his chest, and over the bulge in his underwear, grinning when Julian gasped at the sudden contact. He tugged at the waistband, exposing the slick tip of Julian’s cock, his thumb rubbing circles around the head.

“Logan—” he whimpered.

“Shhh,” Logan said with another soft kiss. “I’ve got you, baby. There’s a good boy.”

Julian shuddered when long fingers wrapped around his cock, stroking him slow and languid. Logan buried his face in Julian’s neck. He liked it a little rough, Logan had quickly discovered, though he preferred to be able to hide any marks under his shirt collar. Logan’s teeth grazed his jawline, gentle at first, until Julian’s needy whine had him biting down harder.

“Are you close?” he whispered, and he felt Julian’s enthusiastic nod without needing to look. Logan trailed biting kisses down his neck, teeth catching at the crook of his shoulder. “Come for me,” he murmured, his hand working Julian harder and faster as he writhed in Logan’s lap. “You always come so pretty for me, you know that?”

“Fuck,“ Julian whined, his mouth just inches from Logan’s ear. He drank in the sound of him, soft noises bursting from parted lips as Julian reached his peak of pleasure. His free hand tangled in Julian’s hair, tilting his head for better access to his neck. When he sucked hard at the tender skin below Julian’s jaw, the smaller boy gasped, hips stuttering as he spilled over Logan’s hand.

“Good boy,” Logan mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to the dark bruise blooming on Julian’s skin, joining a constellation of marks that spread from his neck down to his collarbones. Logan chuckled to himself as his lips traced over his own handiwork.

“Holy shit,” Julian breathed, almost to himself. He drew back, settling in Logan’s lap and fixing him with an incredulous look. He laughed breathlessly. “What the hell was that?”

Logan grinned, running his thumb gently over Julian’s jaw. “Did you like it?” he asked softly, and his heart swelled when Julian’s cheeks tinted pink, his lower lip caught between his teeth.

“Yes,” he said quietly, his gaze flickering downward. Logan’s smile widened. He tilted Julian’s chin up, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. Julian hummed softly, drawing back to meet Logan’s eyes. “Yeah, that…it was good.”

“Okay,” Logan laughed. They sat like that in silence for a moment, eyes locked on each other. Logan felt the sudden urge to pull Julian into his chest, to run his fingers through his hair while they both came down from the high. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. None of them had ever really cuddled, after - but they’d also never done anything like that.

Unfortunately, Julian made the decision for him by climbing down from the couch, legs wobbling a little.

“I…should get cleaned up,” he mumbled, avoiding Logan’s eyes. Logan nodded, still a little breathless.

“Yeah, I—me too. Um.” He hesitated a moment, watching Julian shimmy out of his pants. “Could I…stay here, a bit?”

Julian snorted. “Sure,” he replied dryly. “Wouldn’t want you walking across the hall like that, anyway.”

Logan laughed, swinging his legs off the couch and tugging off his own pants. “Let me know when you’re done,” he called out as Julian disappeared into the bathroom.

His smile faded only a little when the door closed behind him.

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 53: Cleanup

Chapters: 53/? Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Warnings: none Relationships: Loki x Reader (Getting There) Characters: Loki (Marvel),  Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending (Canon-Divergent), Keep Walkin, Nothing To See Here, 

Aftermath and looking forward. A small confession

The next few days were spent out among the camps, helping to organize their rebuilding. You had to write down who lost their tents to the fires, what belongings needed to be replaced, and who was sharing their tents with whom. The Icelandic authorities had come in force-probably every cop and emergency serviceperson on the island-to oust the militant camp. Large portions of it had been found empty, which was concerning, but those remaining mostly went peacefully. Either they felt they had accomplished what they had come to do, or they realized that they never would.

Whoever owned those empty tents had either escaped into the countryside or the city, or, more worryingly, had slipped in among the other camps, and were hiding there.

There were a total of five bodies that needed to be transported to Akureyri for storage, so that their families could be notified. Three militants, one protester, and one believer. That was not counting the two who had vaporized. Nobody seemed able to identify who they had been.

As you logged everything, you also recorded names, and thus found out about a number of missing persons. Several people from the protester's and believer's camps had fled in the attacks, and not yet returned. Fritjof was still missing and Sofie's friend, Savane, was adamant that he would not have run away from the battle.

The protesters camp was coming apart. Many people just quietly packed up their things and left, much like the unsavory elements of Trolekaerhalla had done months before. Several others had asked to join the believer's camp, and their leaders had convened for a quick Thing to discuss the subject. Eventually, they agreed, with some conditions: while no one absolutely had to worship the gods, they did have to hold a certain respect for them and Asgard. No more angry signs, no more blame. A curiosity about Asgard, and the will to learn was all that was required.

The remainder of the protester's camp consolidated, re-pitching their tents in a tight circle and refusing to discuss anything further with you.

Trolekaerhalla was just itching to get started on their longhouses, each person trying to decide what they could offer to the construction, looking up how to make this and that, getting in touch with people who knew more about how to build such things.

There were going to be six to start with, arranged in rows, with room to move or store things between them. People who preferred their tents could set them up in the alleys the houses created, which would shield the tents from some bad weather, and allow the inhabitants to easily get inside, if things got too harsh outside. There were plans being made to create areas of outdoor worship, little shrines to each god, called hörgr, and a large building for indoor worship as well. Sofie told you that it would be based on a probably mythical temple that was supposed to have existed in Uppsala, Sweden, but now was only remembered in the writings of people who described it after it was destroyed.

She said the grand temple was supposedly wrapped in gold chains, but that they would probably just carve chain patterns out of wood or plaster, and paint them. That all the gods would have their little niches and thrones inside, and that they would plant some trees outside, in remembrance of the sacred grove that grew outside the old temple, but that they wouldn't sacrifice any living things there.

“Our ancestors did it to please the gods, and ensure their prosperity for the coming year.” She said. “But the gods have asked nothing of us, and we are already prosperous, so there's just no need for it anymore. It would just be uncivilized now.”

Though it was weirdly exhausting, just taking notes all day, you were strangely excited about building houses. You wanted to stack stones, you wanted to hammer nails, you wanted to cut thatch. You didn't even know for sure what thatch was, but you wanted to!

You were pretty sure Loki would not want you out here, putting together buildings, but he surprised you by not only saying that expected you to do so, but that he would be aiding in the construction himself! Not just supervising, but actually building, with his own two godly hands.

“It will confer a blessing on the building.” He said. “At least, it will seem to. My blessings are...rather fraught, I'm afraid.”

“I think the bragging rights alone would be worth it to them.” You said. “Sofie told me that some of the pagan groups from elsewhere in Scandinavia are pretty jealous. Some of them are gonna be sending official representatives, if they haven't already. But she also tells me that some of those groups are pretty racist, so I think they are bound for disappointment. Serves them right though. Oh, she wants to know if she has permission to film you next time you go out there. She was too nervous to ask.”

Loki thought about it. “Tell her to ask me herself. Only then, may she know my answer.”

“Tough, but fair.” You said, texting Sofie. “When will we start building?”

“Oh, it will be some weeks yet. We need to measure out foundations, how much we need in the way of materials, where we are getting the materials, and how long it will take them to arrive. This is going to be a mostly human endeavor: our builders and the Bifrost are still tied up in the construction of Asgard.

But there are so many humans out there, from so many different backgrounds, and they have so many connections. Some already know where to get the stone and wood, and some even already have building tools being sent to them from home. They are just as impatient to get started as you are, my dear. My, but humans really do love to build, don't they?”

You had resumed your lessons in magic and knifework, though Loki kept it light and still made you check in with Bjarkhild once a day, to make sure your head was okay. You didn't mind; the check ins never lasted long, and it gave you the chance to speak with the injured humans before they were all released. Most of them marveled at the way the machines had healed their burns and broken bones-much more efficiently, now that there was more human data programmed in.

“Let them get their county established, and maybe soon, these things will be all over the world.” You had said, and that made even the angriest of the protesters think.

You had presented to the scholars the leaf you had taken from your most recent shared dream of Titan, and they had placed it next to a vial, containing a tiny amount of the orange dust that had come through the last time- likely scraped from your blankets for study.

You really wanted to get to the bottom of this. What if this dream travel one day took you some place you couldn't survive? You had been safe so far, the blue light that helped you fly had also protected you from freezing on Jotunheim, but who knew if that would last.

Loki seemed as clueless as you on this subject, even though it never happened without him. All he could say for sure was that magic was involved.

Your magic was becoming more precise, though you still hadn't tried to move anything big again, not since the huldra. That had been far too much. However, your skill at moving small things with increased accuracy was coming along great!

So great, in fact, that when Loki had attempted to prank you at dinner by having hot peppers hidden in your food, you had gotten back at him by teleporting the peppers into his own food, and had the immense satisfaction of watching him go nearly purple in the face and pour sweat in front of Brunnhilde and his brother.

The Valkyrie general had, of course, laughed uncontrollably, and declared you a national treasure, and even Loki had congratulated you, once he could speak again.

It turned out that, while both Thor and Loki had an insatiable sweet tooth, neither of them had any tolerance for spicy food, and that opened up plenty of opportunities for mischief. Loki was one day going to fall prey to hot cinnamon candies, though you would save that one until a time when he needed a proper punishment.

Your knifework was still nothing to write home about, though you knew, with all the exercise you did, both with Loki, and with the Valkyries, that your body was getting stronger. Borgliot still taught you, but she didn't flirt anymore. That was fine. You knew she was a good catch, but she did still intimidate you a bit, while Loki didn't so much anymore. Maybe it was because you had seen more sides of him than you had of her. Still, you hoped she would find a nice lady soon.

You took ever more lessons with Saga, learning Asgardian law and language. Lofn still shot you sly little smiles, either because she thought you weren't looking, or because she wanted you to see. You didn't think she was making fun of you anymore, but you also didn't know what else her game might be.

And Loki grew ever softer with you, as the weeks went by, relying more on your emotional support, and trying to offer you the same. Often you found yourself sitting beside him, in front of his fire, discussing little anecdotes from your childhoods, planning out the next day's activities. There were always things he was withholding from you, which you expected from him, but it also seemed like they were very important things. The kind of things one probably should discuss with one's Seidkona, but also the kind of things that shouldn't be forced. You were not a professional therapist, after all, you didn't know how to deal with everything he might be feeling. You could just barely deal with what you were feeling.

And, oh boy, were you feeling.

You lusted after him, and then felt bad about it. He had no idea what you were thinking and feeling about him, and you had abandoned the idea of just coming out and confessing to him after all the trouble with the huldra. That tinged your secret fantasies with a patina of guilt, made the pleasure you felt in his presence just a little dingy. When all you had to touch yourself to was the vivid memory of that horrid 'kiss'-how it had felt so good, but had been under such bad circumstances-you couldn't help but feel conflicted.

You wanted him to replace that memory. You wanted him to just grab you by the shoulders during one of these thickly romantic evenings in front of the fire and kiss you silly. Steal your breath, hold you too hard, leave your lips bruised from overuse, any release for this emotion.

And he had no clue.

You went to bed every night, charged with desire, while he slept blissfully unaware, just a few yards away. It was driving you nuts.

You would keep it on lockdown though. You were an adult, you could handle this.

You could handle it.

                                                                        *****

Fritjof limped back into camp a week after he had disappeared, bedraggled and shivering, but very alive. He had been welcomed back like a hero, to his very visible shock; his hurts patched up, and his presence celebrated.

Once they'd pried Savane away from him, he'd been brought to the rest of the camp leaders, to explain where he'd been.

“I was kidnapped off the battlefield.” He confirmed. “They tied me up and put me in this small camping trailer, like the ones some tourists use. They drove it to a new place every day. I don't know who they were, but they took things from me. Blood. Hair. Skin. I don't know why. I escaped because one of them was stupid enough to stop for a smoke break too close to the trailer. I had to walk back from Mývatn though. Couldn't use the road.”

Sofie got him another blanket and something hot to eat.

“Frit, once you've rested, you need to present yourself at the gates.” She said. “I believe they want to speak with you.”

He nodded. “Do I have to leave?”

“No, of course not.” She said. “Why would you have to leave?”

“Because,” He called the central fire to his hand, then put it back. “of what I am.”

“Oh, Frit. We don't care what you are. It's who you are that's important.”

“You know that's not true.”

“It is here.” Sofie assured him.

                                                                          *****

“So he's a mutant?”

“Is that what you call human Aesir?” Loki asked. “Seems strangely disrespectful to some of your people's greatest heroes.”

“What are you talking about?” You asked. The jerk from the camp-Fritjof, you remembered-had presented himself for 'processing', and Loki had decided to question him in person. He seemed much less of a jerk now, much more subdued, though he refused to look directly at you, and spoke only Danish the entire time. Loki claimed that he was ashamed of himself, that he could tell a great change had come over the young man. “I thought mutants were new?”

“New according to whom? It's possible the terminology is new. Certainly, your ancestors probably did not call figures such as Herakles 'mutants', if only because they liked their bones where they were. But you know now that mages have existed on your world for thousands of years. Why not mutants? This is one of the planets where Aesir have been found. Many became legends; you would have heard of a few, I'm sure.”

“Wait does that mean that you, and Thor, and Saga are just mutants?”

“...'Just'?” Loki repeated, looking insulted. “Pray, what is 'just' about me? I am Aesir. You know of my greatness. Your 'mutants' are Aesir as well, and if your species had even a fraction of the religious freedom you claim to, you would be worshiping your native Aesir just like you used to do alongside my father!”

“Woah, woah, geez I'm sorry!” You held your hands up in a conciliatory gesture. “I was just trying to understand. I don't mean the word as an insult.”

“It is reductive.” He insisted. “Neither of us needs to like him, but he is Aesir nevertheless, and when you refer to him in such a way, you also refer to me as such...oh.”

“Epiphany?” You asked.

“Perhaps. Though I wonder why you do not seem to think that you are one of these mutants yourself?”

“Well...because I'm not.”

“You think not?” He grasped your wrist, teasing the mark on your hand with a fingertip. “Yet you wield powers that other humans do not. Does that not set you apart?”

“It does, it's just...Magic is something you learn, isn't it? Mutation is something you're born with.”

“We do not yet know from whence your power springs.”

“Wasn't it from you?” You caught his gaze, while he continued tracing the mark. “I wasn't able to do any of this until I met you. Until this rune.”

“Ah, but I did not lay this mark upon you. Something else inflicted it on the both of us. What that was, exactly, remains a mystery to me. Perhaps it was the Norns, weaving our strings together ever more tightly. Perhaps we truly were meant to come together, and just needed added incentive.”

“Yeah, without either of our consent.” You pointed out.

“True. But the Norns, should they exist, do not ask, they simply act. Think of them as vast consciousnesses, far beyond ours, incomprehensible and impartial. Still, if they brought you and I together, I cannot hate them for whatever else they might have done.”

You blinked in surprise, and he released your wrist, looking away.

“Loki...That's very sweet.”

“I see no reason to pretend to austerity here. It should be clear by now that I...care.” He said, slightly flustered, as if he'd revealed something he hadn't meant to.

But of course he cared. You knew that. He defended you, and protected you, and tried to take care of you and make sure you were happy. He was your friend, whatever else he might be.

“I know, Loki. I do too.”

His embrace was tight this time, heart fluttering fast. Yours worked to match it.

[copias-thrall]

Give or take 18mos ago, my bestie @copias-cape sent me a Ghost video. She thought I'd be into them. (She wasn't wrong.) Not too long after that, I saw that they'd be playing in my city and I hemmed and hawed about buying a ticket. I mean: I'd just heard of them! Surely others—real fans—would be more deserving of the ticket (plus I was soon to be unemployed and surely my $$ was best spent on my mortgage). Eventually, I was convinced TO GO—way close to the actual date, and so I got a really shitty seat.

To be fair, I attended my first Ritual in an actual theater—not a show venue—so there was no floor space, no dancing; and I was way in the back. I had been told that Ritual was Life Altering, and—while I had fun—I was pretty meh about it.

I'm going to wildly digress here and tell you all about a time I went to see Billy Joel. See, I grew up listening to Billy Joel, and—as a piano player—his songs played an important part of my formative years. I've seen him 3x. One of those was right out of college and a birthday gift from a former bff. It started off as a disaster—she thought she got ok tickets, but she misread the seating chart and actually got us nosebleed seats 1 row from the ceiling and behind the stage. It wasn't ideal, but I was just happy for the thought and, I mean, it's a music show. If we can hear it, that's good enough.

We struck up a conversation with the middle-aged couple behind us and their disaffected daughter + guest. The teens were not enthused in the slightest and kept going and coming back to their seats. Suddenly! They come back! Why? What's up? Well, apparently, Joel's roadie's go to the nosebleed seats and give FRONT ROW tickets to unfortunate people (read: cute girls) in the nosebleed seats. And the roadies were keen on getting these 2 nubile, young girls up front. Being 16 however, required parental permission. Permission they did. Not. Get. My bestie and I sat there feeling pity for these 2 girls who were being denied something amazing as the parents said, "This is something you do in your 20s, not when you're 16."

At which point a light went off, they turned to us, and said, "Hey: you girls wouldn't like these front row tickets would you?" We did. We really did. We kept solemnly quiet as these 2 teens beat their chests and rent their garments begging her parents not to be so cruel. But the couple would not budge. Reluctantly, the teens took us down to the roadie and introduced us as their replacements. The roadie gave my friend and me a blatant, scrutinizing once over, before shrugging his shoulders, nodding, and telling us to follow him. We did not look back on what would become a defining moment in 2 teens lives on how Not Fair life was.

We, however, were taken not only to the floor, not to the first row, but to a set of folding chairs between the stage and first row. We were instructed to be enthusiastic—to dance—bc this was being taped. And you know what? It was a blast! It was a rock show! We could see the pores on his face. An overall 15/10 experience.

So seeing Ghost from the theater back? Meh.

Upon hearing of my ambivalence to my 1st Ritual, @copias-cape insisted that next tour, we would go together. She would show me how to Ritual correctly. Little did we know how soon—not even a year!—that would be. When Ghost announced their next tour dates, we scrutinized the poster, trying to figure out where all the landmarks would be.

When dates were announced we agonized over who would go were and when. Locations and venues were bandied about. A location had been settled on, only to change due to class and work conflicts. Bus tickets were exchanged. Days were taken off. This wasn't going to be a Ritual, this was going to be a Weekend.

It had been 7mos since I last saw her shining face, but finally the Ritual Weekend was here, we were together, and we became a chaotic force to be reckoned with. We became those 2 girls you hate at a party. The whole trip just gelled together and the next thing we know, there we are in line waiting to meet the Rat Daddy himself. Special guest star appearance by @moonlightbewitched who somehow randomly was right behind us in line. (Apologies if I seemed distant, but I was nervous AF.) We met some other awesome ppl—while we waited in line for 3.5hrs—who I regret not exchanging info with, but: Rat Daddy.

I already have my meet & greet post, but I will add here how woefully unprepared I was. I was nervous, sure—but in the way one is nervous about meeting their fav. I had this mistaken impression that it'd basically be a point & click situation. They've been touring for nearly 2yrs. He's done hundreds of photo ops. Sure: he's a rockstar, but he's also just a man. Probably an exhausted, tired man. I wasn't expecting to be seduced and manhandled by buttery gloves. Whoever that girl was in the bathroom trying to eavesdrop on our post-op conversation I'm either sorry we were such hot messes or you're welcome you got a scoop on the sheer presence of the Rat Daddy.

ANYWAY, the point is: Ritual #2. Riding high off the feel of Copia's leathered fingers on our skin and the inordinate kindness of strangers letting us maneuver our way up front, we had a transcendent Ritual. We were so close! HIS THIGHS WERE RIGHT THERE! The music reverberated through our very cores and had us at times clutching at each other in stunned rapture.

This. THIS is how Ritual should always and ever be.

One weekend. Two women. A helluva performance by Rat Daddy + the Ghouls.

In the upcoming days I will be posting my various forms of footage, but I felt remiss in not including the sheer magnetism of my friend and cohort, who has been nothing but patient and supportive of my gradual easement into the Rabbit Hole of this fandom. And I thank her for encouraging me to experience Ritual the right way.

You are correct.

It's life-changing. It's transcendent.

Sign me up.

[thebaronmunchausen]

Like most of you writers, I got my start as a writer in the campus press, first in high school, then in college. And, like most of my contemporaries I dreamed of a career in journalism—writing for the national newspapers and magazines, since, in those days, there was only print journalism. Creative writing programs, and even creative writing courses didn’t exist.

UST, my alma mater, offered a degree in Journalism (with course offerings which included the new fields of Advertising and Public Relations). In the same faculty (the Faculty of Philosophy & Letters, or Philets), which taught Journalism, it also offered a Bachelor of Philosophy (with course offerings which included many Literature subjects). I chose Philosophy even if I had no idea what profession a degree in Philosophy prepared one for, mainly because I wanted to take all those Literature courses.

In high school, while writing for and eventually editing The Paulinian, I began to contribute feature articles to several national magazines (all unfortunately short-lived). As a sophomore in college, while writing for and eventually editing The Varsitarian, I wrote a weekly column in the youth section of the “Manila Chronicle”; and as a senior, I became Editor of the youth section of the “Weekly Graphic”. So, when I graduated from college, I considered myself a professional journalist.

But what I really wanted to be was a writer of short stories, and, of course, to win a Palanca. This didn’t come easily to me. It was essays that I wrote, and the Palanca Awards then did not yet include the essay category. My best friend had already won a Palanca for her poetry while still an undergraduate. But I hadn’t even published a story! And when she was invited to be part of the first Writers’ Workshop in Silliman, and I wasn’t, I was devastated.

When my first short story was published, I was 25, married and a mother. When I won my first Palanca, my husband had accepted a job with UNICEF, and we were living in Beirut. The news got to me in a letter from my mother, sent via diplomatic pouch by UNICEF in Manila. Tony was out of the country, and my oldest daughter was in school. So the only one I could share my big news with was my second daughter, Anna, who was around 4 years old. I said to her: “Anna, guess what, I won a prize for my story—I got 3rd prize.” She thought about that for a moment, and then, she said, “Gee, Ma, you have to try harder next time.”

I have another favorite Palanca memory. It happened in this very room on Palanca Night. I was here with my husband, Tony. Either he or I had served as judge for one of the categories. A young man came up to greet us—it was the late Luis Katigbak, still an undergraduate in the UP’s Creative Writing Program then. He looked rather self -conscious in his dark suit. I had only ever seen him in t-shirts and jeans, so I almost didn’t recognize him. We congratulated him for his prize, and he shook our hands, gave us a wide smile, and a little bow. After he had left us, Tony said to me, “That’s the look and the swagger of a writer who has just won his first Palanca. Recognize it?”

And every Palanca night since, I have seen that look and that swagger in some of the young writers in attendance. But now and again, I wonder: how long will this last? The question I’m asking is not long will the Palanca Awards last, but how long will writers keep on wanting and trying to produce the kind of writing that wins a Palanca award?

Why am I asking this question? We all know that in the different branches of the country’s biggest bookstore chain, what few shelves are devoted to books are not occupied by literary titles written by Filipino writers. Of course, these days, the question that follows naturally on that one is: but what do we mean by that term “literary title”?

A few months ago, at a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), I heard another term used for the first time: “hard literature.” I learned that, in the publishing world, the term has replaced the earlier term, “serious literature.” As a writer, and a reader, my own definition of “serious literature” is literature that is carefully crafted, literature that seeks to explore ideas which the writer feels strongly about, literature that is written, not just to share experiences, but to offer insights about its subject. In other words, literature which has a chance of winning a Palanca award.

But at that meeting I am referring to, the speaker (himself a very successful local publisher, who happens to be here tonight, and who has given me permission to mention his name—Mr. Jun Matias of Precious Pages and Lampara) made a pitch for Filipino publishers to be more open—not just to “hard literature”—but to all forms writing. There is so much of it being produced now, he said, so many young people wanting to share their stories, and so many people wanting to read them, that publishers who choose to continue to ignore it, or “judge” it—by which he meant, look down on it—run the risk of being left behind. This made me sit up.

Jun then showed us a brief video of one of his authors—a Wattpad writer—arriving for a “meetup.” This writer’s fans were so numerous that they had to open another room to accommodate them. When she arrived, she was received like a rock star—with screams and shrieks and wild applause. And she looked the part too—young and slim with straight long hair, her face partly hidden by huge shades.

Another publisher later told me that her company has been in an arrangement with Wattpad since 2014, to turn selected Wattpad novels into print novels. One of these, “She’s Dating a Gangster” by Bianca Bernardino became, not just an National Bookstore bestseller, but the first Wattpad novel to be turned into a movie (by Star Cinema, with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla in the lead roles).

This publisher also informed me that their most popular writer, Jonaxx, is so big that the company has created an imprint just for her. Her real name is Jonah Mae Panen Pacala; she’s 28 years old and a pre-school teacher from Cagayan de Oro. According to her fan page she is the first Filipina Wattpad author to gain 1 million followers. Last year, that figure went up to 2.7M+. And her fans are so fiercely devoted to her that they object to her novels’ being changed in any way, including correcting grammar and syntax. “Mapapansin Kaya?” the first of her books to be published, had a print run of 40,000. Seven of her books have been published so far. Since she joined Wattpad in 2012, she has published 32 novels. (That was a year ago. Perhaps she has since produced more.)

Actually, my initial reaction to the Wattpad phenomenon when I first heard of it was astonishment. I had no idea that so many people wanted to write fiction. But why not? Looking back on my own teen years… didn’t I, too, want to write stories?

I began writing stories because I loved reading them. I’m talking about novels like “Little Women” and “Anne of Green Gables” and “Daddy Long Legs;” and later, the Nancy Drew series and the Beverly Gray series—what today are called “YA novels.” My world was a small one. My parents were conservative and kept me at home most of the time. To use a hoary cliché, reading books opened doors for me, doors into other, larger, worlds.

When I first tried to write stories, I was a pre-teen. I simply wanted to imitate the stories I had read. The heroines in those stories had adventures; they fell in love. And they wanted to be writers! They became my role models. My writing—like my reading—was not so much for self-expression or sharing with others. It was a form of escape, an escape from a life I considered boring and humdrum.

But I outgrew those stories. There was something predictable in their plots, and in their characters, principally, the little orphan girl, neglected and deprived of love, but gifted with a vivid imagination. After various mishaps, some painful, sone hilarious, she transforms into a strong-minded, large-hearted, confident, accomplished, and lovely young woman; and of course finds a young man worthy of her.

So, I moved on to Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, to Mark Twain and Harper Lee and Charles Dickens. I discovered Nick Joaquin and Kerima Polotan and Carmen Guerrero Nakpil. I realized I was no longer reading just for escape. Without fully realizing what I was looking for, I just knew I was looking for something else, for something more.

My writing began to change as well. I showed my new essays and stories to my English teachers and the school paper adviser. When they edited these, or wrote comments on the margins, I did not take this as an infringement on my freedom. Neither did any of my classmates, by the way. We took it as an effort to help us become better writers. And we were grateful. (Which is I find it difficult to understand why, today, some beginning writers are averse to being edited.)

Anyway, this whole process simply meant that I was growing up as a person. And that I was developing as a writer.

Today, I ask myself: if the Net had existed when I was a teen-ager, and had it been possible to post my scribblings on an app like Wattpad, without the benefit of comments or suggestions from teachers or more experienced writers; had I acquired a huge following, and my stories been turned into printed books, which would sell copies in the hundreds of thousands… if these things had happened to me, would I have chosen to stop writing girlish romances, and moved on to other subjects, and other ways of writing? What would have been the reason for doing so?

It has occurred to me that this may well be the situation some of the Wattpad writers find themselves in. They’re already successful. What else do they need to do? In particular, why do they need to go to college and study writing?

Actually, I know people—some of them, writers—who believe that one does not have to get a degree in creative writing to become a writer. And that is certainly true. National Artists Nick Joaquin, NVM Gonzalez, Francisco Arcellana didn’t have degrees in Creative Writing. National Artists Bienvnido Lumbera, Virgilio Almario, and Frankie Sionil Jose don’t have degrees in creative writing. And, as I said earlier, neither do I.

The establishment of Creative Writing as an academic discipline is relatively new (unlike the B.A. in Fine Arts and the B.A. in Music, which have been around for more than a century). But I’m not quite sure why anyone would discourage young writers from wanting to get degrees in creative writing.

The myth seems to be that a formal education in writing will “destroy” your natural, instinctive talent. And, perhaps, there ARE some teachers out there whose methods may, in fact, have a negative effect on their students. But doesn’t this happen in all fields, be they the arts, the natural sciences, or the social sciences? There are good teachers and bad teachers; there are teachers whom some students find inspiring while others find them boring.

I tell my students that, at some point, they should become pro-active and choose the mentor they feel is the best suited to their own temperaments, someone they admire and trust and feel they can work with. Such a mentor cannot harm them; in fact, he or she, is more likely to be a great help to them.

I’ve said this often before: writing is a profession like any other. One trains to become a professional. It is accepted as natural that people in the other arts, like painting or sculpture should wish to enroll in a College of Fine Arts, and musicians should wish to enter a Conservatory of Music. And, certainly in the visual arts and in music, the more highly skilled you are, the bigger your chances of selling your works via the great international auction houses or doing solo performances to the accompaniment of great symphony orchestras. Why should it be any different for literature?

Of course writers who don’t want to get a university education don’t have to get it. But if they’re serious about making writing their career—if they wish to be professional writers—they need some form of training, even if it be self-training. All training requires hard work, but this kind of training—self-training—even more so.

One learns any skill, first, by imitating those who know how to do it. Even child prodigies—like Tiger Woods, who was playing golf when he was two years old—took golf lessons, from his father, first of all. Even gifted musicians—like the band Queen and its brilliant front man Freddie Mercury—have acknowledged the influence on their work of other rock stars, whom they respected, and whose music they spent time studying: Elvis Presley, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix.

When the UST Center for Creative Writing invited Ely Buendia to speak at a forum on song writing, I asked him what he thought had led to the Eraser Heads’ great success. He said he didn’t know, but he also told me that he had admired many other musicians, had studied them, and tried to incorporate those influences into his music. He mentioned, in particular, Elvis Presley (who, in turn, had been influenced by African American blues, southern country music, and gospel music). And he mentioned our own folk songs, which he said he had also studied.

To return to what I was saying earlier: what would be the incentive of the phenomenally popular and commercially successful Wattpad writer to raise the level of her writing skills, and take on concerns larger than first love or first heartbreak?

Actually, I know someone who has done just that. Perhaps some of you will recognize the name Charmaine M. Lasar. She’s a 20-year-old Wattpad writer, who won the Carlos Palanca award for the novel in Filipino in 2015. She has been quoted to the effect that she joined the Palanca literary contest because she “wanted to refute the idea that only garbage comes out of Wattpad.” But she also added that, in writing her 35,000-word novel, Toto-O, which she claims to have written in just one month, she “consciously deviated from her Wattpad writing style, which is looser and more carefree,” and opted to write something that was “medyo malalim” in terms of language.” Also, its plot has nothing to do with young love or heartbreak.

The novel was published in 2016 by JumpMedia. And last year, Maine was accepted by the UP Institute of Creative Writing as a writing fellow for its National Writers Workshop. I met her there, and she told me she was considering saving up to enroll for a Creative Writing degree. I salute her, and I salute the Palanca Awards for giving her the recognition she earned.

Her crossover is proof that the two worlds—the world of pop fiction and the world of hard literature—are not mutually exclusive.

Back in 1999, after retiring from government service, my husband (who, in one of his earlier incarnations, had also been a poet, an essayist , and a journalist), set up a small publishing company that he ran pretty much by himself. He had in mind two lines: information books, and literature. But when he found out how small the print run of most literary titles was, he was shocked. Why, he asked me, would I go to all that trouble and use up all that time to write a novel or a collection of short stories or essays, if only a thousand people were going to read me?

He was determined to publish books that would appeal to larger audiences, and he decided that the way to do that was to produce short, light, nonfiction books, targetting readers in their 20s and 30s; books which would be accessible, without losing their literary quality. Many of the writers he published were first-time authors, like Vlad Gonzalez, Carljoe Javier, Rica Bolipata Santos; but he also published writers who already had something of a name, like Marivi Soliven Blanco, and Luis Katigbak; and award-winning writers like Butch Dalisay, Vince Groyon, and Chris Martinez. The award winners were not averse to trying their hand at writing that would have a more popular appeal.

Milflores books did well in terms of sales. A few did exceptionally well. And some of the Miflores books also won awards, like Rica Bolipata Santos’ “Love, Desire, Children, Etc.,” which won the Madrigal Gonzalez Best First Book Award.

Today, we have Visprint Publishing, which is doing something similar, but on a much larger scale. Some of the writers whom Nida Ramirez publishes are actually academics, like Chuckberry Pascual, Joselito Delos Reyes, and John Jack Wigley. All three have written “hard literature.” All have won awards for their writing. But Nida has chosen to publish their lighter work. Visprint books are small, inexpensive, light, humorous. Nida has also published the speculative fiction of Eliza Victoria and the graphic fiction of Manix Abrera. Actually, none of Visprint’s titles are sleepers. And some have won literary awards too. In fact, in 2015, Visprint received a National Book Award as Publisher of the Year, a prize which goes to the publisher with the biggest number of winning titles for that year.

So Visprint would seem to represent the happy bridge between the commercially successful book and the artistically lauded book, proving, yet again, that these are not incompatible.

In that sense, this is actually a very exciting time for writers. There have never been so many choices available, including what would have been mind-boggling for me and my contemporaries: self-publishing online.

Before making those choices, though, writers need to figure out a few things. First, what kind of books do they want to write? Second, what kind of writers do they want to be, or think they can be? Third, do they mainly want to entertain readers, or to challenge them intellectually, or to influence them politically? Do they want to make as much money as they can? Or do they want to write in the best way they know how? Or do they want to try and do both? And, finally, how do they want their books distributed—by commercial publishers? by academic publishing houses? by themselves, on line and in small expos?

These choices will be determined by what they believe the function of literature is in a country like ours, at the time in which we live, and what role they want to play in it as writers.

Because I am a writer who is also a publisher, I understand the need to be commercially viable. But, as an educator, I also believe that public service is an important responsibility of the publishing industry. And this means recognizing that expanding the market for books is important, not just for bigger profits, but because more educated citizens make more mature citizens—an indispensable element for any experiment in democracy, like ours.

In concrete terms, this means: on the one hand, accepting the level at which most of our reading public is—what it’s willing to read, what it enjoys reading—and, on the other hand, committing at least a part of the resources available to producing books which will upgrade standards and tastes.

Personally, I remain committed to writing in the best way I know how, no matter how small the audience for this kind of writing might be. Because I feel that literature of this sort—“hard literature,” if you will --serves its own purpose.

In another essay, I wrote about this, and perhaps you will allow me to quote from it: “Writers of all generations have tried to define that purpose. But there are periods in our history when it becomes startlingly clear. The period we live in today, in this country, is one of them—one of those periods when events, both natural and man-made, conspire to drain one of all hope that better times lie ahead."

I mentioned the book, "Sonoran Desert Summer," by John Alcock, professor of Zoology at Arizona State University, where he describes June in the desert as "the month of almost no hope for all living creatures, with the temperature at 102 degrees, rainfall at two-tenths of an inch, and a wind that has removed almost every hint of moisture from the desert world."

He calls it "a time for hanging on, enduring, letting the days pass."

And then, he describes how, suddenly… "from the boulders on the still shaded lower slope of Usery Mountain comes a song, the clear, descending trill of a canyon wren. Loud, defiant, and encouraging, it announces a survivor... (The bird) bounds from rock to rock, at perfect ease in its home in the desert.’’

Sometimes I think that this might be the reason we do it, the reason we keep on writing. This is our song, “defiant and encouraging.”

As writers, we all know that we must stay the course, most particularly in bleak times such as those that confront us now. We will not necessarily agree on what we are called upon to do, but we will do it according to our best lights. We will observe, we will record, we will protest. Above all, we will remember. And we will endure.

Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo

*Speech delivered during the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, November 8, 2019, at the Manila Peninsula, where the author was Guest of Honor and received the Dangal ng Lahi Award

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Chapter 6

Aryll went home Saturday night, and though she had the entire weekend to recover from her drunken adventures on Friday night, she still felt like complete shit when Monday morning came. She was groggy and tired, despite almost sleeping the weekend away. She and Link barely spoke when they returned home, but she felt too ashamed to even look at him, anyway, and didn't want to have any kind of conversation about the situation with him. To her relief, he didn’t pry. If things were different – if her father were alive – she would have surely been grounded. Link, however, never dared to try to ground her, but simply stewed in his own anger whenever she did something stupid. She was sure that was how he spent his weekend, and was probably happy not to have to parent her.

She barely made it through her first two classes when she was stopped in the hall heading to her third class. She immediately recognized the adult as the school's counselor, and she couldn't help the groan and cuss that escaped her throat.

Mrs. Chen raised a brow at her but made no other comment about her inappropriate language. “Aryll,” she started. “I was hoping I could borrow a few moments of your time?”

Aryll hesitated as she quickly tried to come up with an excuse. “You know, I think I have a test in my next class.”

The counselor smiled. “I'm sure your teacher will let you make it up. I'll write you a note myself. I promise it won't take long.”

Aryll shifted her books in her arms. “Well, I'm sure I don't have a choice,” she muttered.

Mrs. Chen held her smile. “Come on,” she said. “Let's go to my office.”

Aryll rolled her eyes, but followed the woman, dragging her feet begrudgingly as she did so. When they reached her office, she took a seat in front of the desk, slouching back in the chair as she waited for the counselor to close the door and sit behind her large desk like the professional she thought she was.

“Is this about Ren? Because I'm not apologizing for punching him. Idiot had it coming.”

Mrs. Chen shifted through some pages on her desk, not meeting Aryll's gaze. “No,” she said with a sigh. “I figured I wouldn't even bother with that one.”

Aryll grinned. It seemed she was making a name for herself in school if even the counselor wasn't going to bother scold her anymore. “Don't worry,” she said smugly. “I'll try to make your life easy, just as long as those fuckers learn to keep their mouths shut.”

Mrs. Chen folded her hands on her desk and looked up at Aryll. She offered a small smile, choosing to ignore the clearly rebellious teen's behavior. “How's everything at home?”

Aryll groaned loudly and rolled her eyes. “Here it comes. Can we just get to the point? Why am I here?”

“You're here because of your actions on Friday night,” Mrs. Chen said frankly, the smile disappearing.

“Friday night?”

She pointed a finger down at one of the papers on her desk. “You and your friends were drinking, which was your first offence. You also stole a car, your second offence, and drove while intoxicated, offence number three. Not to mention the fact that you got into a very serious accident that could have claimed your lives.”

“It wasn't stolen,” Aryll said with a loud groan. “It was Romani's mom's car!”

“Taken without permission,” Mrs. Chen continued. “But that’s hardly the worst of the situation.”

“What's your point?”

“This is unlike you, Aryll. These last few months, your behavior has completely changed. And it's my job to figure out why and get you back on track. You're a straight A student, Aryll. You're better than this.”

“I hardly see how what I do outside of school is any of your concern.”

“The well-being of all the students here are my concern,” she said, her brows furrowing slightly. “When things are hard at home, students tend to rebel.”

“What makes you think that's me?” Aryll accused.

Mrs. Chen cocked her head to the side. “Well, it can't be easy to be in your shoes,” she said. “To be without a mother and a father.”

“That's not it,” she said. “You're talking about Link.”

“Is there something going on with Link?”

“Look,” Aryll said frankly, sitting forward in her seat. “I'm sorry you weren't good enough to become an actual shrink or whatever. You're stuck here in a hormonal infested high school where you're stuck with the greasy-haired goths that just want to write song lyrics about how they're going to kill themselves. That's gotta be the lowest of the low in your line of work. So let me cut to the chase and do your job for you. You think life sucks so much for poor Aryll. She's got not mother, no father, and an ex-hero of a brother who is clearly just as fucked up as she is, maybe worse. PTSD, depression, alcoholism, you name it. It's no secret. And someday, he'll either drink himself to death, or OD, or maybe just straight up kill himself, and then poor little Aryll will have no one left, and she won't be able to handle that, and she'll follow in her brother's sad, pathetic footsteps, and that will be the end of that.”

The counselor held her gaze on Aryll as she spoke, and when she finished, her forehead creased in concern. “Is that what you think will happen?”

Aryll hesitated, her words lingering in her mind after her outburst. She replayed them over and over, and each time she realized just how much of a possibility that situation seemed to be. She burst into tears at that moment and pulled her legs to her chest to hide her face in her knees. She sobbed and her body shook. She let the tears flow despite wanting to seem stronger than she was. She didn't quiet until she heard Mrs. Chen shifting in her seat, and when she looked up, the counselor had the phone in her hand, her finger hovering over the numbers.

Aryll lunged across the desk, knocking the phone out of the woman's hand. “No, please!” she begged as she fell against the desk and continued to sob. “Don't call anyone. Don't call Link. Don't call someone to take me out of here in a straight jacket. Don't call anyone. Please.”

The counselor hesitated, looking Aryll over, then replaced the phone. “You realize that it is my job to report students with suicidal tendencies.”

“I'm not suicidal!” Aryll barked. She dragged herself off of the desk and fell into the chair, feeling exhausted. “I'm not, I swear. I'm not. I'll talk to Link, okay? I'll do whatever. Just don't call him. Don't call anyone. Just... just...” She broke into another sob. “Don't take him away from me. Please.”

Mrs. Chen frowned down at Aryll. “What would you like me to do?”

Aryll shook her head. “I don't know,” she muttered, still avoiding the counselor's gaze. “Let me... let me do this. Let me talk to him. He'll listen to me. He'll do anything for me. I can fix this.”

“Can you?” The counselor paused, but Aryll said nothing. “That's a lot of pressure for a sixteen year old girl.”

Aryll pinched her lips together, but said nothing.

“Aryll, you've been through more shit than most people have in their entire life,” Mrs. Chen said frankly. “No one expects you to be able to do it alone.”

Aryll stood and wiped at her eyes. “Can I go now?”

Mrs. Chen hesitated, then sighed. “Alright,” she said simply. “But I'd like to see you on a regular basis. At least once a week. Can we do that?”

“Do I have a choice?” Aryll muttered.

The counselor smiled. “I'll see you next week, Aryll.” She watched as Aryll left her office without another word. When the door was closed, she reached for the phone and dialed.

*****

Link stared at his computer screen, but the words and numbers seemed unrecognizable. He couldn't make heads or tails of anyone of it, but he wasn't exactly trying, either. No, he was simply staring, his mind empty. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep forever, and for a moment, he thought of doing just that. Or, at the very least, putting his head on his desk and hoping no one came to bother him. He had done it before. It was easy enough to hide in a cubicle and catch a quick nap. But life had other plans, the ringing phone causing him to nearly jump out of his chair.

He rubbed his eyes, letting it ring twice more before answering it. “Yeah?”

“Link, it's Mrs. Chen, the school counselor.”

Link's heart jumped. “What? What's wrong? Is Aryll okay?”

“Yes, she's fine. Actually, she just left my office. We had a little chat.”

Link blinked at the wall. “Huh? Why? About what?” He listened as the women spoke, and his heart sank. He nodded his head and verbally acknowledge that he had heard her and understood, but the world seemed to move forward without him, and before he realized it, he was hanging up, the conversation over. He stared at the phone for a moment before jumping out of his seat, grabbing his jacket and flinging it over his shoulder as he ran across the office.

“What's the hurry, Hero?” Sera said with a grin, but it disappeared quickly when she caught his urgency. “What's wrong?”

“I'm sorry, Sera,” he said simply, but she knew too well what he needed of her.

“Alright,” she called after him as he ran for the door. “You get one more of these!”

Link didn't know what to do with himself when he got home. There was still a couple hours before Aryll actually came home. He considered going right to the school to pick her up and give her the rest of the day off, but he thought better of it, figuring she wouldn't want to be bothered. Still, it didn't ease his worrying, and every situation imaginable found its way into his head. What if she didn't come home at all? What if she was hurt? What if she hurt herself? Or someone hurt her?

He tried to drown out the thoughts with tv. He stretched out on the couch, then curled up into the corner, tossing and turning every which way, unable to get comfortable, or get away from the thoughts that haunted him. Finally, he made his way into the kitchen, where he started for the fridge to get a beer, but then thought better of that. Aryll was upset – seeing him with a beer wouldn't help the situation.

So he opted to shift through the unopened mail on the counter, but that only brought him more distress. Overdue bills, an unpaid mortgage, what if the house was foreclosed? Could he find an apartment cheap enough for the two of them? Or would they just be stuck living like trolls under a bridge?

He moved to the table where he sat and instead opted to bury his face in his hands. It wasn't long after that when Aryll finally came home, looking just as tired and ragged as he felt. She hesitated in the doorway when she saw her brother, then let it close softly behind her.

“She called you,” she said simply.

Link glanced at her from over his hands. He let his hand drag down his face, and he paused for a moment to scratch at his chin. He needed to shave. Or maybe he'd just let the beard grow in. He stretched his legs out under the table. He was avoiding the conversation. “Yeah,” he finally said.

“Oh.” Aryll dropped her bag on the floor but did not move from where she stood. “What... did she tell you?”

“Everything.” Link assumed it was everything, anyway. Mostly, he was waiting to see how Aryll would react.

Aryll pulled her gaze away, then sat herself at the table across from him. But still, she did not regard him. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before she spoke. “Oh.”

Link hesitated. His brows furrowed as he held his gaze on his sister. “So, is that what you think's going to happen?”

Aryll shrugged a shoulder. “Is that what's going to happen?” She met his gaze. When Link didn't answer, her heart dropped. She stared helplessly at her brother.

“Link!”

“Nothing's going to happen,” he muttered, pulling his gaze away.

Aryll stood suddenly. “I'll believe it when you mean it!” she shouted at him.

“I mean it!” Link shouted back. “For the love of Hylia, I'm not going anywhere!”

For the second time that day, Aryll broke down. She covered her face with her hands, dropped to her knees, and sobbed. She continued to sob as Link hurried to her and took her in his arms. She let him pull her into his chest where she cried harder, and he held her tight.

“I'm sorry,” she said between sobs. She was finding it more difficult to breathe as she continued to cry, no longer able to control any of it. “I don't know what's happening. I don't know what to do. What do I do? What do you want me to do?”

Link pressed his face into her hair. “I'm sorry, Aryll,” he muttered. “You don't have to do anything, okay?”

“I have to,” she sobbed. “I’m just… I’m so scared, Link. I don’t want to be alone.”

“You’re not,” he said to her, hugging her tighter. “I promise you, Aryll. You will never be alone. I promised you that, and I won’t break that promise. Ever.”

Her body shook as she sobbed. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “For Friday night. For everything. For being a burden. I’m sorry.”

“Stop it,” he growled. “You’re not a burden.” He hesitated. “Please don’t do that to me again. I can’t lose you, too.”

Aryll nodded against him, unable to speak as she continued to sob.

“All I wanted to do was give you a normal life,” he said softly.

“I know,” she whispered. “I just. I took that and threw it in your face. I’m sorry.”

“I know,” he said. “I’m sorry, too. For everything.”

Her crying quieted after a moment. She didn’t move from his arms. She listened to his heart beat and closed her eyes.

******

Link lost track of time. He didn't know how long they sat on the kitchen floor. All he knew was that it was very late, and he was seriously thinking of calling out of work, and maybe even letting Aryll skip school. As the night went on, her sobbing had quieted, and she eventually fell asleep against him. Link didn't dare move or wake her. His fingers stroked her hair absentmindedly as he stared into the darkness. For a moment, she shifted and murmured something indiscernible. Link let his fingers rest in her palm and she quieted once more.

But her eyes opened at his touch and she blinked in the darkness. Her fingers curled around his and she sighed softly through her nose. It was a simple gesture, his hand in hers, but in the time since their father’s death, it had become an unspoken reassurance between them; a reminder that they were not alone. That they still had each other. That the other was still very much a presence in their lives. It was a promise. One they both held dearly.

She pressed closer to her brother. “Link.”

Link wrapped his arms tightly around her. “I’m here,” he said softly. “I promise. I won’t leave you, okay?”

Aryll nodded silently. “I miss Dad,” she said after a moment.

“Me too.”

“And Mipha.”

Link sighed softly. “Me too.”

“You know,” she started after a quiet moment. “I always knew what you were doing when you ran off in the middle of the night. Or when you came home with torn, bloodied shirts. Dad never said anything to me, but I knew that my brother was a hero, that he was saving the world.” She hesitated. “It scared the shit out of me. It scared the shit out of Dad. But I knew you would be okay. I just had this feeling, I guess, that everything would be okay. That you would make everything okay.” She sighed softly. “I guess it never occurred to us that things wouldn't always be okay, even after the war was won. You gave up everything, for this world, and for me, and you never got so much as a thanks.”

“I don't need thanks,” he said. “If I wanted anything in return at all, I wouldn't have gone through all this bullshit.”

Aryll smiled. “I guess that's your problem. You're too selfless.”

“I really thought that would get me further in life.”

Aryll let her head rest against him. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Link shrugged. “I didn't do it for you. I did it for me. I didn't want to lose anyone else. See? I'm selfish.”

Aryll laughed lightly. “I think you deserve to be a little selfish.” She paused. “We don't even have to stay here. We could go anywhere. Who would stop us?”

“You need to finish school.”

“But I can do that anywhere.”

“Maybe,” he said. “But you don't have much longer.”

“I guess.” She closed her eyes. “As long as we're together.”

He kissed her head. “I promise.”

Aryll nodded. “And Mipha.” She turned her gaze to him. “Don’t push her away.”

Link’s brows furrowed and he turned away from his sister. “It’s complicated.”

“It’s really not,” she said. “You think you’re doing her favors, but you’re not. You’re not doing anyone any favors.” She forced a smile. “I mean, you’re a mess without her. Why don’t you just let her be there? For you?” Her smile grew. “She’s your hero.”

“Being a hero is a lot of pressure,” he said. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“I think true heroes have the strength to handle those kinda things,” she said. “Sometimes, even the most unlikely people.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he said. “That doesn’t mean she’ll take me back, though.”

“She will,” Aryll said.

“You seem pretty sure of that.”

Aryll shrugged and smiled. “I just know these things.”

[mydisenchantedeulogy]

Run Devil Run [Chapter Three] Silver Tongue [Karma Akabane]

A/N: Please let me know if anyone would like to be tagged in this story. I’ll gladly do it.

“Do the two of you want to fill me in about what’s going on? Or maybe, you know, I’ve turned invisible and neither of you can hear me.” Yukie sat down her plastic tray rather forcefully onto the cafeteria table and glared at her alleged friends.

They continued to ignore her, something rude they’d been doing all morning. Yukie wasn’t sure why they were doing it, but it was starting to annoy her. She rolled her bright eyes and picked up her fork, attempting not to think about it. Time wouldn’t stop for her problems, and she had more to worry about than them; like her math test. It was next period, but since Yukie came home mentally drained after her brief chat with Karma, she didn’t make an effort to study.

She huffed a deep sigh and poked at her food with uninterest. “I’m going to fail this test, I know I am.”

“Don’t say that. You’re going to do better than the two of us ever will,” Ayame snapped. Once she realized what she had done, she pursed her lips and focused her attention on her lunch.

Yukie smiled impishly. “So you can hear me. That’s a relief. I thought I may have developed Adolescence Syndrome like Mai in Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai.”

“I love that show,” Ayame chirped. She flinched in discomfort as Sayuri elbowed her in the arm.

“Well … now that I know neither of you is mad at me, what’s the reason for this act?”

Sayuri pushed back her tray and sat her arms on the table. She leaned in so that Yukie could hear without her having to raise her voice above a whisper. “We’re not supposed to talk to you.”

“Why is that?”

“Asano made a deal with us,” she answered with a wide smile. “He said that he’d go with us to the parlor for ice cream, if we do him a favor; not talk to you until you’ve sat down and talked to him.”

Yukie scoffed in annoyance. “That’s really immature guys. We’re not in elementary school anymore.”

Ayame agreed with her, nodding her head. “I swear, little miss lovebird is obsessed.” She huffed a sigh and gave Yukie a supportive look. “It’s only one chat, Yuki. If not for you, then do it for us.”

She certainly wouldn’t be doing it for her own sake. Frankly, she had nothing to say to Asano. It was unclear to her why he’d make a deal with her friends, but to satisfy them, Yukie agreed. She knew it would be better to meet with him on lunch break – on his own terms – rather than waiting after school.

Luckily for her, Asano usually ate his lunch in the 3-A classroom with the other members of the Big Five, so she knew where to find him.

Yukie pushed back her chair and stood, glaring at her two friends. “I hope you both know you owe me. It’s not like you had to do this; he doesn’t have a gun to your heads.”

“No … but he has my heart,” Sayuri countered. “And you said not to let him say no. I was just doing as you asked me to.”

“Actually, you said that. Yuki was only giving you inspiration by telling you to go for it,” Ayame clarified.

The desperate, orange haired teen stuck out her tongue, making Yukie laugh. She tossed them a brief wave and left their table, heading towards her homeroom. It was a short walk from the packed out cafeteria, situated down A hall. This is one of the reasons she loved Class A so much; the grade had its own section of the school that none of the other grades had the right to use. It was unethical in theory, but Yukie liked not having to push her way through a crowd of people each day.

She made it quicker than she would have liked to her classroom doorway, which was slightly ajar. All the time she took getting there was intentional; she took it to prepare herself. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she knocked and waited patiently until someone gave her permission to enter. Upon doing so, Yukie was for the most part surprised by the display before her.

The desks on the far side of the room were rearranged, pushed together so that they formed one long table. To the front of them was a single desk, facing the other five. In those five desks were seated the masterminds of Kunugigaoka Junior High.

Yukie frowned, hating to be put on the spot like this. She was under the assumption that she’d be speaking to Asano alone, not going into a job interview. The powers that be had a strange and meticulous way of doing things.

“Have a seat, Sarugaki. We’ve been expecting you.” Asano motioned towards the open seat and smirked once she took it. He stared at the white haired girl and noticed that she was unusually relaxed for someone who was under his scrutiny. This both pleased and insulted him. “Looks like you’ve been expecting us as well.”

“I knew that it would lead to this, but not to the extent of putting me through an interrogation.” Yukie was being honest; she had no reason to hold back.

Ren Sakakibara – a rather attractive teenager with coy eyes – beamed at this. “We just want to gauge you, is all. This meeting isn’t meant to intimidate you.”

“Obviously, we’re not against the idea of making you feel uncomfortable,” Natsuhiko Koyama stated. “It’s necessary, as you can see.”

Yukie nodded in agreement. She couldn’t stop her lips from curling up into a smirk. “Because I might replace one of you.”

Her confidence annoyed Koyama. He bared his crooked teeth and glared at her. “Might is the keyword. Don’t forget that we too are going to be taking the exam. The stakes are high for someone li—

“Koyama … chill out. You’re letting her get the best of you,” Tomoya Seo claimed, setting his hand onto the disgruntled teen’s shoulder.

Asano narrowed his eyes. All this foolish razzing was giving him a headache. Had he known that Yukie would go and make a spectacle out of this, he wouldn’t have brought her in front of the Virtuosos. She obviously knew what she was doing, riling them up. It made him value her more, but he also couldn’t allow this to continue.

“Leave us. I want to speak with Sarugaki alone,” Asano said. He gave a confident look to his four allies, pleased when they got up and left without so much as a word.

Alone with her, Asano sat back in his seat and stared at her; Yukie was an alluring girl, unmistakably, but her attitude was in need of some fine tuning. He understood where it spawned from, though. “You were close friends with Karma Akabane at one time, were you not?”

Yukie frowned and silently nodded. She didn’t understand where this was going.

“How close?”

“If you’re asking if we’ve dated, then no. Karma and I just shared common interests,” she clarified. “Besides, we’ve had a falling out since his suspension.” Yukie opted to mention that she’d been in contact with him a short time ago. Honestly, the student council president didn’t need to be made aware of this information.

Asano smirked, “Then you weren’t aware that his suspension was revoked? He was dropped to E-Class this semester. A waste, don’t you think?”

“I wasn’t aware,” she lied. Sure, it was a waste. Karma was extremely smart; even more than Asano gave him credit for. He just slacked for the sake of it. “But honestly … what does this have to do with Karma?”

“Nothing really. I was merely curious,” Asano said. He was lying, of course. Faking a smile, he stood up and made a b-line for the desk Yukie was sitting in.

She suppressed the urge to lean back into him as Asano laid his hands on her shoulders. He was so close, hovering just over the back on her chair.

“Don’t you understand the severity of all this? Being a Virtuoso holds a lot of power in this school; the respect and recognition you’ve been seeking. I don’t want to see you tarnish it because of your mouth – a defensive mechanism you clearly learned from Akabane.” Asano leaned into her, whispering into her ear. “For me, Yukie, buckle down and do your best.”

Yukie was speechless. She felt as if Asano already knew so much about her; her ambitions and her dreams. Something about him terrified her. Like it or not, he was exactly like his father when it came to intimidation tactics. This made her wary of her feelings. Could she trust herself around Asano?

Speaking of Asano, he had moved himself to the front of the desk, staring at her with a content smirk on his face. He knew he had convinced Yukie to push herself beyond her limits. Frankly, he thought she had no chance in hell to become a member of the Big Five, but making her believe that she did benefited his plans.

“It was nice talking to you, and I know you have a lot to ponder over, so take your time and consider my offer. I’ll see the response to that offer after the exam,” Asano recited. He sounded almost like a robot; almost like he’d done this hundreds of times before.

Yukie wanted nothing more than to get away from him. She stood up and bowed, then left the classroom without so much as a peep. Moving hastily down the empty hallway, she felt uneasy and vulnerable. Yukie wanted to vent about it, but her friends were pro Asano, so the biased teen couldn’t trust them to console her. She honestly needed someone who would listen and give her advice if she asked for it.

Karma came to mind. But she didn’t know if he’d agree to meet with her again. His advice was always crystal clear; always expressive, even when she didn’t want to hear it. Yukie, of course, tried to convince herself that Karma was a terrible source of company, but something about him made her feel confident. She figured to hell with it, and fished her cell phone from her pocket.

His contact had been long since removed, but Yukie still remembered it – all those times she called him during his suspension; times he never answered. She wrote out a quick message and hit send, reading over it just in case it sounded too urgent.

It’s Yukie. I was wondering if you’d call me later tonight. You won’t guess the kind of day I had.

Content, she put away her phone and marched back to the cafeteria to finish lunch. All that was left to do was wait.

--

Karma chuckled over the line, making Yukie smile. “Did he now? I’m flattered … had no idea that the big cheese had such a crush on me.”

“He claims it was mere curiosity, but you may be right. Someone like him doesn’t seem the type to concern himself with someone he doesn’t consider at his level,” Yukie retorted. She rather enjoyed hearing Karma razz on Asano – the self-centered teen unquestionably deserved it after being the first to bring Karma up when he had no business being mentioned in the conversation. “Asano is a textbook kamidere. He has a god complex, but he’s also very much in love with you.”

“Or in love with you,” Karma stated.

This made Yukie snort. She was happy that Karma couldn’t see her face; it felt warm. “Don’t try and change this around on me.”

“Hear me out. You said he asked to speak with you alone, then proceeded to ask about me. I agree that he’s not someone who puts himself on the level of those below him, but the fact he spoke to you alone means that he likes you,” Karma mentioned. He honestly loved to rile her up. The fact that she was probably red in the face right now made him smirk in triumph.

“I doubt that,” Yukie huffed. She’d done explained to him that the only reason Asano had any interest in her was because of her rank. It was nothing more than this. Yet, sometimes she hoped for it to be.

“ … earth to Yukie. I asked you a question.”

The annoyed teen glared and laid back on her bed. It was about time for her to call it a night; they had school in the morning. She’d been on the phone with Karma since after dinner, and so far, all he did was crack jokes at her.

“Sorry … miles away.”

“Want my honest opinion?”

She did, but not at the expense of her feelings. “If you answer sincerely, then by all means.”

Karma couldn’t quell his amusement. “Clearly I’m not going to do that without a small act of kindness from you first.”

Yukie was flabbergasted for a second, which was a silly thing, considering she knew Karma would offer his opinion for a price. There was always a motive to his madness. She knew better than to indulge him, but she honestly wanted to know what he thought. Agreeing, she dreaded what he had in mind.

“That’s the spirit,” he chirped. “Meet up with me at Taito Station this Saturday. I have a little game I’ve been wanting to play.”

“Is this a low key way of asking me out on a date?”

Karma laughed again. “Nothing gets passed you does it? In that case, wear something girly for me. It’s essential for what I have planned.”

Her face burned in mortification. Yukie had no idea what he was getting her into, but she agreed regardless. She had just the ensemble in her arsenal – the skirt and blouse that Hiromi gave her. Settling on a time, she ended the call and rolled on to her side with a frustrated huff.

Whether it be Asano or Karma, both had a way of making her feel vulnerable and embarrassed. To each, manipulation was second nature – they used their gift of silver tongue to keep her compelled. It sounded much worse when she thought about it, but honestly Yukie didn’t mind.

She liked having someone covet her. With two possible routes – happiness or devastation – she just hoped that her heart was ready for whatever came next.

[taotrooper]

Melody ad libitum (1/3)

For WWX’s birthday, a little vignette to study some of his relationships with people and music.

Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Characters: Wei Wuxian. In this chapter, Jiang Cheng and several unnamed Yunmeng characters Genre: gen in this chapter, fluff, introspection, foreshadowing Rating: PG for teens drinking, but what else is new? Summary: The flute wasn’t always a weapon for Wei Wuxian. Music is what you make of it, and he’s always followed the tempo of his own heart.

→ Link to AO3

"How many times, you fool? Out of tempo!"

"I speed up to make it more fun to play!" Wuxian rolled his eyes. "It's you who should catch up with me!"

"That's not how music collaborations works. You have no concept of harmony."

"I play in harmony to the beats of my heart," he smiled.

He was nine years old the first time he grabbed a flute. Music was, after all, one of the venerable Six Arts that every cultivator had to master to be considered an individual of culture. Wei Wuxian chose it from all instruments because it was smaller, and cheaper to buy and maintain for the Jiangs. The sound was quite pleasing to his ears as well.

At that age he was already forgetting the soft lullabies his mother sang for him, but the disposition to love music was blooming within him. A fragrant love and fascination for the slender flute, even if it was less exciting than shooting kites with his brand new bow.

His teacher was impressed with his innate talent. By his first lesson, young master Wei had followed his instructions perfectly. By his third lesson, he had played a good chunk of the song the man had showed after only listening once, with only a couple of notes off. It soon became evident that the boy was one of those musicians who only had to hear a melody once to memorize it. Wuxian would get bored after practice and try some tunes that definitely weren't in the repertoire of classic music he was being taught.

"Did you compose that, young master?" the teacher asked with his eyebrows upwards.

Wei Wuxian shook his head without stopping his song.

"Where did you learn it, then? Did someone teach you?"

The kid stopped and took a breath while removing his lips from the mouth of the instrument.

"Dunno. Probably the street musicians at Yiling?"

He wasn't sure. He could recall the tune but not the face or the place or the moment. Wuxian had a wondrous memory except for these details. He did remember, however, the street musicians. He would sit nearby and listen to their art with a big smile. In a world with no food, no parents, no warmth, and no toys, music was one of the little joys he had left. The musicians could rarely help him, also beggars with nothing on them but their worn instruments, yet they appreciated the presence of their tiny fan.

Years later, these memories of these poor artists would fade away. Yet he had harvested their songs and pressed them as dry flowers between the pages of his mind. Forever part of the chapter of his earliest music lessons, together with the basics and the classic symphonies. They would never leave him for as long as he could play a flute.

Regardless, the teacher was rendered speechless. Had the boy been adopted by the GusuLan sect instead, he suspected he could have become an amazing music-based cultivator. Perhaps he could have rivaled even their first son with the flute, at the hands of the right instructor! Yet he was a YunmengJiang sect member, and this was a Lotus Pier child now, and the Lotus Pier children develop other sets of skills. He would do his best to polish that diamond in the rough until there was nothing else to teach him. Even Young Master Jiang, his technique flawless even for such a young age, would soon be running out of things to learn from him.

The man wouldn't be alive when Wei Wuxian became famous for his flute skills, and not in the way he had imagined. It was perhaps for the better, only remembering the sweet boyish smiles from those two talented students who surpassed him. Only the happy notes from Yiling's streets taken to his grave instead of the chilling shrills through the dark.

The porcelain cups clinked against each other, and the teenagers made a toast and downed the sparkling liquor with a swoop. It wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last for the evening. Round jars filled to the brim were expecting their turn. Dishes of snacks danced between youthful hands.

Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and six of their closest shidi had locked themselves in the senior boys’ bedroom. They had received permission from Jiang Cheng's parents to throw the party after training, but the booze and food from the market had never been mentioned in the terms. The lad had shaken his head when his mischievous brother had brought it as contraband from the Pier, but the reproach was shallow and was said with a big grin on his face.

"What kind of party would be without it, anyway?" Wei Wuxian shrugged and grabbed the jar to fill up his cup again, not feeling remorse.

"Well done, Wei-shixiong!" one of the disciples said, his ears already red.

"These dumplings are just so good!" The chubbiest shidi munched in delight.

"It's our last party for a year so of course we needed the best of the best!"

"It's just one year in Gusu," Jiang Cheng sighed. "You're all being melodramatic."

"But you still agreed to the party."

"It's an excuse as good as any," he nodded. "Besides, you know the Cloud Recesses are quite strict, so it might as well be our last party until we're back home."

"Three thousand rules," the youngest disciple whispered.

Wei Wuxian put his empty cup on the table. "Hopefully that's just rumors. But enough about dull stuff. This party needs some more spice."

Seven boys who had tried his peculiar cuisine before glared at him. Some eyes had fear.

"Cowards. But also, this party needs more life or this will become a burial mound. How about some music, huh?"

The cringing faces vanished to be replaced by smiles and cheers.

"Now we're talking! Play one of your Yiling folk songs, Shixiong."

"Yeah! We're not hearing it in a year's time!"

"One condition." Wuxian got up and rummaged through his belongings to get his flute. He had a brilliant idea. "Young Master has to join in or I'm not playing."

Jiang Cheng's palm met his forehead. The disciples started to beg.

"Please, Young Master Jiang! We haven't heard you in ages!"

"We won't hear it in a year!"

"You guys just want to listen to Wei Wuxian."

"Of course not! We want both seniors! His flute is great but all alone it doesn't do much for a party."

"Honestly, you're kind of better? During music lessons, the old man keeps telling me to follow Jiang Wanjin's dexterity and diligence. He never mentions Shixiong."

From Jiang Cheng's small blush and the way his chest puffed a bit, Wuxian could tell the shidi had said the right thing. He grinned wide. His brother always needed an ego boost, in his opinion. Yet his next action was hitting Jiang Cheng's head softly with a second xiao.

"See what I always say? You are better than me. Our teacher says I might be a talented genius, but I don't care about sticking to the scores so it's bad in the end."

"I had to be better than you at something, you knave." He grabbed the flute with the satisfaction of someone who actually practiced and studied. "Well, who goes first?"

"No, no, no." Wei Wuxian moved his open palm side to side. "It's not a duel, you competitive blockhead. A duet! A concert! Playing the same song at the same time, and the winners are all of us."

He saw the glint in Jiang Cheng's eye darken a bit, but he didn't complain. "Which one?"

"'Over the peaks' is the catchiest and longest. Ready? One, two, one, two, three, four!"

They grasped for breath before putting his lips to the mouth of their flutes. Nimble fingers moved quickly through the wood, covering the right little holes with grace and precision. The other boys howled and clapped to the rhythm. The tallest of them got up and starting dancing. The chubbiest one banged softly on the table with his palms, like a drum. Two had learned the lyrics so they sang the parts they could recall —the ones with the most sexual innuendo, as kids do.

They were all having a great time, but by the fifth verse Jiang Cheng was struggling. Wei Wuxian's tune was running too much. The song started to sound bad.

"Here they go again," the youngest shidi whispered.

By the time the seventh verse started, Cheng stopped flat. He took out the flute from his lips, annoyance on his temples. The tall one sat again on the floor, disappointed.

"How many times, you fool? Out of tempo!"

"I speed up to make it more fun to play!" Wuxian rolled his eyes. "It's you who should catch up with me!"

"That's not how music collaborations works. You have no concept of harmony."

"I play in harmony to the beats of my heart," he smiled.

"Whatever you say..." He put down the flute and took his cup. "Sure you don't want to duel?"

"Nope. Duel Lan Xichen at Gusu for all I care."

"I know my limitations, unlike a certain person."

"You know, it'd be fun to bash a party with the Lan Sect and play upbeat songs with one of them. They're pretty musical, right?" Wei Wuxian sighed at the prospect of new friends and good times.

"Their music is for cultivation and health uses only, I think. Very few Lan members are as artistically inclined as the founder."

Wuxian looked around, but all his shidi's expressions confirmed it.

"Come on, they can't all be so stiff! I'll get one of them to play something for me, you'll see."

"Fifty coins say you won't," the most cynical disciple dared.

"Fifty coins say I can convince that Lan Wangji guy you're all so scared of."

Six jaws dropped and some blurted at him to stop the mad claim.

"No, let him," Jiang Cheng smirked as he sipped his cup. He was already drunk. "Our motto is Attempt the Impossible, guys. I want to see him attempt and fail spectacularly for once."

"Jiang-shixiong is right. I'm gonna be so rich, guys."

A day later, Wei Wuxian had forgotten to pack his flute. By the time he had the privilege to win the implausible bet, he had no memory of it whatsoever.

→ Part 2 (the Wens)

[hellsbellssinclub]

Can You See Me Now? Chapter 1

This is my newest Batman fic.

Summary:

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

After some nudging from Spoiler and Batgirl, Tim seeks out the Red Hood to ask the older teen for permission into his territory to follow up a lead. It was a small, innocent action but it was the starting point for both Tim and Jason to get to know each other.

But things are never as they seem and things always get better before they get worst.

Read it here on AO3

(Sorry to mobile users, the read more I put on the post does not seem to be working on the app)

“Look, I’m just saying that there is probably more to everything than what Batman told you. Maybe the now not dead Robin isn’t as bad as you think.” The young woman in the eggplant purple suit said for the seventh time in the last fifteen minutes.

“And I am telling you he broke into Titan Tower and beat me with my own bow staff, Spoiler.” Tim sighed, looking over at his Ex, feeling the dull burn of his broken ribs as he breathed in deep. “I know that Batman isn’t telling me everything about what happened. Neither is Nightwing or Agent A. I am in the dark as much as you. But really, I think there might just be a chance that he holds a teeny tiny little grudge against me.”

Steph shook her head at him. “I know he beat you and I know something went down with the Joker but!” She held up her hand to stop him from saying anything over her. “I have looked into every kill and action he has made. From start to finish. While he has been incredibly violent, and well, bloody and stuff, he has not killed an innocent person. Everyone he killed were violent drug dealers and pimps who were hurting the working girls. Crime has gone down in his territory in the last month.”

Tim gave her a pained look. He knew that Jason Todd as the Red Hood was technically doing a lot of good for Crime Alley, a place that has not had a stable crime lord or hand controlling it since Bruce was still a kid. And with Bruce’s own personal dislike of the area because of what happened to his parents and the GCPD’s unwillingness to investigate anything that happens there, Crime Alley often went unchecked and unnoticed by everyone. The Red Hood had strict rules he was willing to enforce and from what Tim had managed to overhear so far, the people who lived in Crime Alley felt a lot safer with the Red Hood around.

But that still does not change the fact that Jason was completely unstable and willing to murder nearly everyone who got in his way. The former Robin was willing to take that extra step to make his point. There had already been at least fifteen cases of torture reported to the GCPD that they know about.

(Though most of those cases were of convicted paedophiles and child molesters and honestly, Tim could not really fault the former Robin for what he did there; he too occasionally got the urge to do horrible things to predators as well, though he himself never acted on it.)

Red Hood’s official death toll was almost at sixty with the possibility of the GCPD finding more bodies every day. Crime Alley might be safer for the people who live there, but that safety was brought with blood and death caused by Jason’s hands. It was not the kind of safety that would last long. Not in Gotham anyway.

At least Jason’s vendetta against the Bat’s had died down though after whatever happened with the Joker that night nearly a month and a half ago. Bruce was not willing to share what had happened and the older man deleted the Cowl Cam footage before anyone else had a chance to see it. The Joker still lived, which was unfortunate in his own personal opinion. Yes, Tim fully believed in Bruce’s ‘save everyone you can’ view of the world but if he was to be honest, Tim would not grieve if the Joker was to be violently murdered by someone. Because really, that cockroach needed to die and just be stopped permanently.

“While I do agree that the whole, you know, serial killer-antihero thing is working in Crime Alley, it still doesn’t change the fact that he beat me up and tried to kill B and N. I really don’t think he wants me to come into his territory and act like we are friends or something.” Tim kicked a stone off the ledge they were standing on. Yes, he was still holding a grudge. But who could blame him really? He got beaten up by his predecessor while said predecessor wore an absolutely horrid copy of the original, green panties, Robin suit.

“I’m not saying go out and act like his friend, Robin!” Steph waved her hands again. “I am saying maybe you could extend the olive branch to him? Because from what you have told me, the guy was murdered in a pretty traumatic way, woke up in his own grave, dug his way out and then was more or less prisoner of those crazy assassin dudes who are obsessed with immortality? Maybe if you and the other Bat’s give him a chance to talk and stuff without the Joker and explosives involved you could actually get through to him. Everything that he has done to you guys, have you considered perhaps it was a cry for help?”

Tim sighed. “When you put it like that you make us sound like a bunch of dicks you know.” He shook his head and slumped his shoulders. She was right. But only to a point. Jason’s actions at the Tower and his anger at the Bats could be seen as a cry for help, especially given what they did know about the trauma that Jason went through. “But it still doesn’t take away the point that he attacked me and the others and while he hasn’t made another attempt against me, he has fought B and Nightwing recently.”

“He probably fought them because they were the ones who entered his territory.” Steph pointed out. That was also true, if Jason had come into his territory he probably would have attacked the older teen without a second thought. He could see the former Robin doing the same if Bruce and Dick tried to enter Crime Alley. “I get it Tim, I really do. He hurt you and that sucks ass. I am not saying that you have to forgive him or anything. I am just saying maybe extend the olive branch to him. You were saying before that one the leads in one of your cases, the one with the underground alien tech, was in Crime Alley, right? Let him know that you are following up on a lead and that you will not cause any trouble for him.”

He gave a low hum of thought at that. Tim’s original plan for that case was to go out in the day, skipping his afternoon study hall at school and going to look for the tech without his gear. It would have been risky but there would have been a better chance that he would not run into the Red Hood. There also would have been a greater chance that he would have been mugged because he looks like a rich white boy with money (which you know, he is), but Tim was confident he could have taken on anyone who attacked him.

But going and asking for permission? Tim had not even considered that an option at all. And honestly, why would he? Jason Todd had made it clear that he hated his ‘Replacement’ and that he wanted nothing to do with the Bats and Birds of Gotham. How would the older teen react? He wondered. Would he attack Tim? Or would he let him pass?

“Hey, if you don’t feel that you can be near him with without him attacking you then you should just bring Batgirl with you.” Steph grinned at him behind her Spoiler mask. Smiling always looked so strange behind her mask but one can definitely see the outline of it. Tim could not help but roll his eyes at her words though.

“I am not bringing Batgirl with me like some kind of bodyguard. I am a grown ass vigilante, I don’t need a bodyguard.” He wasn’t pouting. He wasn’t. He was nearly fifteen, he could take care of himself without Batgirl babysitting him.

“Oh, come on! Batgirl wouldn’t mind! Would you, Batgirl?” Steph looked over his shoulder, causing him to spin around and glare at Cassandra, who was standing a few feet away. He had not noticed at all that she was there and there was a small shock of panic and fear that went through him at that thought. He hates it when people manage to get the drop on him. Cass was the second best in the Bat family at sneaking up on people, right after Bruce.

“We need to put a bell on you before you give me a heart attack.” Tim groaned out, covering his face for a moment. At least Cass never went out of her way to purposely scare him, unlike Nightwing had when Tim was first starting out as Robin. His situational awareness has improved since he was twelve, thank god, and Nightwing was now not able to jump out of the celling and scare him anymore.

Cass gave him a small snort. “Am not Catwoman. Don’t need a bell.” The smirk looked as strange behind Batgirl’s mask as it did Spoiler’s. “I would be happy to bodyguard for you.”

Tim rolled his eyes behind his domino mask. Steph and Cass becoming friends was a horrible idea. He never should have encouraged it. They were both terrible together. Steph always had something to say or do and Cass was always happy to follow her new friend around, enjoying being a teenager like she should. Steph encouraged Cass to step outside her comfort zone and explore being a teen and Cass was willing to do most of the things that Steph suggested.

They were good for each other. But not good for his sanity, seeing as they roped him into following whatever crazy stunt they had planned.

“I don’t need a bodyguard.” He whined at them both. He didn’t need Cass to hold his hand. He could talk to Jason. And if he gets his ass kicked then he could just blame Steph for the idea and spend a week with the Titans licking his wounds.

Not literally. That would be gross. Why is that phrase even a thing?

“Am bodyguard now. No take backs.” Cass nodded, sounding pleased with herself and he groaned in annoyance. He doesn’t need Cass babying him. He is Robin! Terror of the Night and Batman’s partner. He hated being babied by Cass and Dick. They always pulled the ‘I am the older sibling and you are the baby of the family’ card on him. He can’t wait until he could be the big brother. One day he will give the Robin suit up and then he can be the one babying someone else. “Why is a bodyguard needed?” Cass asked, moving to stand next to Steph.

Before Tim had a chance to say anything, his purple menace of an Ex-Girlfriend spoke. “Tim is going to go and ask the Red Hood if he could go into Crime Alley. We need you to bodyguard him because we don’t know if the Red Hood is going to beat Tim up again or not.”

Tim shook his head. “Names, Spoiler. No names on the field.” He reminded her, closing his eyes in annoyance. Steph was bad when it came to remembering the ‘no names on the field’ rule now that she knows his name. If he didn’t know better he would say that she is doing it out of spite because he didn’t tell her it himself.

And Cass was either going to be all for being Tim’s bodyguard or she is going to be against it and honestly, he wasn’t sure which one he preferred.

On one hand, there are a lot of advantages to having Cass actually guard him while he spoke to Jason. Mostly all of them were that she could kick Jason’s ass. It wouldn’t matter how skilled Jason now is, Cass would win.

On the other hand, if she is against it she could go and tell Bruce which would end up with him benched and on the receiving end of a cold shoulder and disappointed glare for the next month or so. And he would probably have several new trackers placed on his person without his consent. Because B can occasionally forget to use his words and just say ‘I am worried about you, please be safe’ out loud.

Mind you, Bruce is still a lot better at emotions than Jack Drake. Tim’s father only really did emotions in small, but over whelming bursts. Which means Tim usually gets a weekend or two of father-son like interactions and then it is several weeks of ‘we exist in the same house but are mostly strangers to each other’. Which is always fun.

Cass said nothing for a few moments, her head tilting to the side slightly as she no doubt read Tim’s body language and seeing his hesitance and his inner monologue. “What’s in Crime Alley?” She asked finally.

“A lead to one of my cases. The alien tech one that I have been working solo on.” Tim explained. Cass had not yet said yes or no and he was still very much undecided on which way he wanted her to choose.

“Come on! Big bad Batgirl can definitely take on the Red Hood if he tries to hurt our Baby Bird!” Steph wrapped an arm around Cass’s shoulders. “And you guys can extend an olive branch to the guy by being nice and you know, asking to be let into his territory.”

Cass hummed, which once again was not a yes or a no. She gently shook off Steph’s arm and looked at both Tim and Steph. “Why extend the olive branch?” She asked. “He is a murderer. He kills people and makes Batman sad, here.” She pointed to her chest, right above her heart.

Whelp, that’s an understatement. Anything to do with Jason Todd hurt Bruce. When Tim was first starting out as Robin he could barely mention Jason’s name without Bruce completely shutting down. It had gotten better over the years. Sometimes Bruce would mention Jason in passing or would say something about how the young boy used to be. But now that it was known that the Red Hood is Jason Todd, things have gone back to the way they were at the start and Tim did not know what to do other than avoid mentioning Jason or the Red Hood all together.

“Spoiler believes that there is more to the story than what B has said and that there we should hear Hood out and let him tell his side of the story.” Tim explained with another sigh. He wondered how many times he was going to end up sighing in this conversation and thought to himself that perhaps he should stop doing so already because ow, his ribs do not like it when he sighs at all. “She also believes there is a chance that his behaviour and actions could have been a cry for help and that we should perhaps try and talk to him instead of you know, fighting at any given chance.”

“Yep! That is some good summary skills there, Ex-Boyfriend of mine.” Steph nodded and looked at Cass expectedly. The mask made it impossible to tell what Cass was thinking. Not that it was easy for him to read Cassandra without the mask but it was slightly easier without the frankly unsettling mask staring at you in the eyes.

There is a good reason as to why he would never go for a full-face mask when he finally is ready to let go of being Robin. And that reason is that is that he is more than likely going to see his mask in the reflection of a window or something and then forget that it is his mask and then scream in fear. Which you know, would ruin the whole serious vigilante look he would be hoping for.

Thus, he will probably only stick to a domino. Or a cowl. But a cowl is slightly too Batman like and Tim did not want to be Batman. He would have to think on this more in-depth later.

“Cry for help?” Cass tilted her head again. “You believe that the killing is his way of crying for help?” If anyone else had said that, Tim would believe that they were being dismissive or sarcastic. But Cass just sounded curious.

“Well, yeah.” Steph waved her hands carelessly as she began to explain. “I met him a few times back when he was Robin. He was a great guy. He was kind. Sure, he was a little bit rougher than Nightwing was when dealing with scumbags and stuff but he always stuck around to make sure that the victims were okay. All of his interactions with you Bats so far look like lashing out and cries for help if you ask me. I mean, he dressed up in a frankly fucked up Robin costume and beat up Tim. He was apparently angry that there wasn’t a statue of him in the Tower like there was for all the other dead heroes and whatever the hell happened with the Joker and Batman was well…” She trailed off.

Tim shrugged. “No one knows what the hell happened with those three.” And it wasn’t from lack of trying to find out either. Bruce was tight lipped about the whole thing and the Joker apparently only laughed when he was asked what happened. Tim suspected that Alfred knew what went down because the older man had been very stiff and cold towards Bruce for several weeks and has only just started to warm back up to him again.

“You think that we should reach out to him?” Cass asked. “Show him we can offer help?”

Steph nodded enthusiastically at Cass’s attempt to clarify what they were telling her.

“I do think that! And I think that Wonder Boy here is the best person to do it.” She gently punched Tim’s shoulder as she said this, making him rock back a little close to the edge. Steph may not be a meta but her punches, gentle or not, were stronger than she realised.

“Why can’t you do it? He hates me.” Tim pointed out. He really did not understand why she wanted him to do this. Yes, getting permission from the Red Hood could open up a professional relationship between them where they could actively avoid each other unless they needed to do something in the other’s territory. And yes, he could definitely see Steph’s point about how Jason’s actions did seem like a huge cry for help.

But Tim has already been beaten once by Jason and he honestly did not want to have another round with the older teen. The fight between them showed Tim just how much he was lacking in his training and he could not help but feel a deep, festering bitterness that he would never be as good as Jason was. As good as Dick was. It was a bitterness he was trying to push away and forget about but it never seemed to go away.

Tim didn’t want to offer the older teen help and then accidentally drive him away because he could not get a hold of his own mental health issues. Issues that he needed to actually address sometime soon, least he turn into Bruce. Or a supervillain. Either one would be bad for his health in the long run.

Steph punched his shoulder again, this time harder; causing him to wince because ow, why, that hurts. “Because Boy Blunder, you don’t have any history at all with him. Except for, you know, him beating you. And you are more than likely a trigger for him because you are now Robin. But still, you at least don’t have a history like Batman and Nightwing do. And he knows nothing about you as a person! He probably only knows what he has read about you from the assassins he was with!”

“All the more reason why you should talk to him and not me! You are a stranger to him, not me! Spoiler is new and not actually connected to Batman and Robin. And if you haven’t noticed I am Robin and something tells me he does not like that I am Robin.” Tim waved his hands in what he could best describe as ‘I am emphasizing my point and you are not listening to me’. He learnt this gesture from Steph when they first became friends and has used it a lot over the years.

“Look Tim; think about it like this. You are brutally tortured and murdered. You wake up in your own grave, dig your way out and are taken in by evil assassins. You spend who knows how long with said assassins and find out you have been replaced by a younger, better model who comes from the complete opposite background as you do. Your attempt to kill your murderer doesn’t work and your father figure is a dick. How do you feel?” Steph put her head in her hands and sighed before continuing.

“You need to be the one who talks to him because you are a Bat and someone who probably makes him feel like he was replaced by a better, richer model and that you are everything that he isn’t. If you talk to him, show him you are an actual person and not some cardboard cut-out of someone who he wasn’t, then maybe you could actually get him to talk about what happened to him and help him! Yes, I am a stranger to him and while we could get along and stuff he is going to need someone who is a Bat to speak to him at some point and…” She groaned. “I messed up my point. Tim, you are someone who is actually a part of all of this mess. I am not. Just, go and ask him for permission to enter his territory. If he says no then he says no. I will go and follow up that lead for you if that is the case. But please, try at least.”

Tim groaned again and looked over at Cass to see what she had to say about all of this.

“You,” Cass pointed at Steph. “You want Robin to talk to Red Hood. Because Red Hood is hurting. And needs help. Robin means a lot to Red Hood. It was his name, who he was before the Joker killed him. If Robin shows that he is not…” She waved her hand in a very vague but Steph like manner. “If Robin shows that he is not who Red Hood thought he was then the Red Hood will feel less like he is replaced or… unworthy? Red Hood was a good Robin. Now he is not good as the Red Hood. Bad things happened to the Red Hood, made him hard and angry. Extending olive branch might help.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Steph let out a low breath. “Why are you guys so good at summarising everything?”

“Nightwing.” Both Tim and Cass said together. Dick had a habit of not only rambling but also talking fast and without breaks. A habit of both his ADHD and from being best friends with a Speedster. Anyone who works or is with Dick for long periods of time learns how to summarise what he says.

It is a handy trick for Tim to know, seeing as he is also best friends with a Speedster and Steph has a habit of rambling herself at times.

“So…?” Steph trailed off and Tim, though he said to himself that he wasn’t going to do it because ow, sighed and completely ignored the pain in his chest.

“If Batgirl is willing to bodyguard than I will go and ask Red Hood for permission into his territory.” Tim felt slightly defeated.  He wanted to keep arguing that he really wasn’t sure that this was a good idea for either Jason or himself but at the same time he knows he would feel crap if he said no because Steph’s points were more than likely all true and-

And he did not want to be a person who ignores someone else who could be in need of help because he was selfish.

Tim has been lucky. Since becoming Robin he has had a wonderful support network that he has used a lot over the years and would never trade for anything in the world. Jason does not have that. Or at least Tim was pretty sure that Jason does not have that.

“I will bodyguard. Will only interfere if you are attacked. I will stay in the shadows and away from sight.” Cass said. “We do this tonight, on next patrol. It is late now. Time for bed soon.”

Cass was right, it was getting close to four am and Tim was due back into the Cave in less than half an hour. He was thankful that he did not have any classes until nine am because he wanted to have more than an hour sleep when he finally got back to his home.

“Oh wow. Today went quicker than expected.” Steph rocked back on her heels. “I am stuck in class tomorrow night but I expect to have at least three texts telling me how it all went from you both. Got it?”

Tim rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yes, yes. Three texts. If I get beat up you are so making me waffles.” He pulled her into a quick hug.

“Whatever, Ex-Boyfriend.” Steph pulled Cass into a hug of her own and then was grappling away with a careless wave.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” He asked Cassandra quietly now that they were alone on the ledge. Cass looked at him, the eyes on her mask stared directly into his own white out lenses.

“I think… that there is a possibility that the Red Hood is falling without a net. And that his lines may have been cut by accident. By Batman. By Robin.” She paused and looked up at the dark sky. “We can offer him a new line. And a net. Falling without a net or line… It is not good. That mindset. You feel like you are flying, until you hit the ground.”

Tim flinched at that imagery. Jason had been hurt by the Joker and whatever the hell happened with his resurrection and the League of Assassins. The trauma alone from that would be enough to make enough the sanest man go a little wonky. But whatever happened with B that night with the Joker…

Whatever happened might have taken away his line, like Cass said. But Tim was not overly convinced that this is a good idea. Cass must have read his hesitance because she spoke once more.

“He needs to see you as a person, like Spoiler said. Not just as a costume. He needs to see not Robin but you.” She gestured to his body. “When he attacked you, he was looking for reason as to why you were supposed to be better than him. He wanted to see, prove himself and you, that he was the better one. Because if he was not the better one, than him being replaced would have been a good thing.”

Tim frowned at that. He had not thought of it that way. While he could see the attack against him in the Tower as being a cry for help like Steph kept saying, he did not think to look as to the reasons why it was a cry for help. Steph and Cass both were good at getting him to take a step back and look at the full details of the bigger picture. He would certainly be lost (and probably more emotionally stunted) without them.

Tim knows that he should not use them as a crutch for explaining emotions and details that he may have missed about basic human reactions, but Tim was not ashamed to say that he did not connect with other people well and often missed simple emotional matters that should have been obvious to him. According to the internet, this was probably because he missed out on many key interactions with his parents due to them constantly traveling around the world and leaving him home with a nanny who discouraged most emotional reactions he had. Because his nanny believed that ‘boys don’t do emotions like girls and he should man up already’.

Tim really, really needed to get his mental health checked out sooner rather than later.

“Okay. Yeah, I see your point.” Tim conceded. “What about you? Are you going to try as well?”

Cass hummed and nodded after a moment. “Yes. Will try with Spoiler and Oracle. Give some space between us and you. Keep him from feeling trapped.”

He hummed in agreement and gestured to the edge that they were standing on. “I am heading back to the Cave. I take it you are going back to the Clock Tower?” He asked, feeling drained. This whole conversation and everything about it made him feel like he had fought off an energy sucking monster. He wanted to go back to the Cave, get into his own clothes and head back to his own home. Or maybe just crash at the Manor. He will see what kind of mood B was in when he got to the Cave.

“Back to Clock Tower.” Cass nodded again. “Will Comm you tonight. Find where you and Hood are. Go to bed.” She reached up and ruffled his hair fondly and then flung herself of the ledge with grace that only Nightwing could copy. He watched her grapple her way towards the Clock Tower until she was gone from his sights.

His bike was down in the alleyway below him and it would take him only a short time to get to the Cave from his location. Tomorrow, well tonight really, was going to be interesting to say the least. He would like to say that the growing pit inside his stomach was just anticipation and not the low level of fear at the thought of speaking to Jason face to face.

The Red Hood was volatile, dangerous and had a grudge against the Bats. Tim had no idea how this was going to go and it frightened him. Jason Todd could simply say yes or no. Or he could just shoot Tim in the head and Batgirl or no Batgirl there would be no stopping him if he does.

Normally, being in that kind of situation was sort of exciting. Like a free fall off the top of the Wayne Enterprises tower. It was a rush that left a bubbling feeling in his chest that just screamed ‘I am alive!’ but he did not feel that right now. He just felt a low level of fear bubbling away in his stomach, making him feel nauseous.

Jason made it clear that he did not like Tim. Did not want to be near him or see him. The beating he had taken was not the worst one he had suffered through. But it had hurt him. Hurt him badly because this was Jason Todd. Robin. The boy who Tim used to follow around with a camera around his neck hoping to see in action.

What do you say to a person that had once been one of your heroes after they beat the living shit out of you?

Tim did not want to think about it at all right now. He needed to get back to the Cave and back home before B and his dad start to worry. He would think about it before he goes onto patrol. Not now while his head was clouded. But later when he was rested and ready for the night.

[anctilbrayen]

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[orlandri-tl]

[Sukamoka Vol. 1] Chapter 2 Part 1: The Young Fourth Military Officer

Nearly half a year had passed since the city of Lyell was condemned.

As he had expected, it was slowly becoming abandoned. Every day the pedestrians were fewer in number, and in the once-bustling market district the shutters were being lowered one after another.

Fortunately, his favorite bakery was still open. Although there were fewer items on sale, the main products were still going strong. And so, in accordance with his growling stomach, Feodor ordered a package of donuts.

Well then, where to go? Feodor thought as he left the store, its employee’s perfunctory “Thank you very much” following him. It wouldn’t be very appetizing to go back and eat these at the barracks. Since I snuck out here without permission, I may as well stay for a while. And as long as I’m still in plainclothes, I’d like to eat somewhere with a good view.

He popped a donut into his mouth and, chewing on it, set off with the city’s distinct scent of rusted metal filling his nostrils.

This place was once one of the largest mines of Regul Aire. The old mineworkers’ living districts had been wrapped against a steep mountain range, and from there the rest of the city grew almost spontaneously with little rhyme or reason as barracks were erected, roads were paved, and tramline tracks were set in place. Stone as a construction material immediately ran short; metal, much more plentiful, replaced it. Kobolds and gremlins, coming from all over Regul Aire, worked and installed excavation machinery one after another. Pipework and wiring built up over the years, spreading and clumping into unidentifiable masses along the roads and walls.

It was a sight that one wouldn’t see anywhere else in Regul Aire: a city born of metal.

“Oh – woah.”

He awkwardly stepped over something that’d almost tripped him. The main streets were still on the easy side when it came to travelling; depending on the area, there could be enough room for a carriage to pass through. However, the back alleys were an entirely different matter.

First of all, there were hardly any level paths, but rather steep hills and flights of stairs. Ascending and descending those cramped stairs, one’s path would circle around and around in a spiral.

On top of that, the whole area was dimly lit, and to the untrained eye the scenery appeared to continue ceaselessly. A traveler’s sense of direction would quickly become useless, and it went without saying that a compass wouldn’t be of help either.

The city Lyell is unkind to strangers – if you were to say something like that, most of its citizens would reply “Yeah, right!” and laugh you off. The city treats all equally – so the actual saying went. “This town ain’t kind to us either, not even a smidgen.”

However, that was all in the past.

“Phew...”

Stepping onto a large pipe, Feodor squeezed himself through a small space, pushing into the forest of metal buildings atop a nonexistent path.

A long time had passed since this island’s mines closed. The pipes probably hadn’t received maintenance since then. On the way, rivets had popped out in a few places and he’d almost slid off the platforms.

“...It sure is lonely.”

Sitting down on a wide pipe to catch his breath, he took out another donut. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a few small-model golems busily running along.

Golems were tools, capable of diligently following instructions installed when they were built, but no more. It was possible to give them somewhat complex orders, and within that range they could act with moderate discretion, but they were incapable of acting beyond those boundaries.

These ones were likely created to service some machine in Lyell. Presumably, the order to “rest” wasn’t included in those orders, and so they would continue to work until their parts ground to a halt.

“...It sure is lonely,” Feodor whispered to himself again, standing.

He walked up a little spiral stairway on the side of an abandoned theatre. At the top, he was greeted by a heavy-looking and rusted door.

In the center of this cramped and messy city, there were few places with a scenic view. One of those locations, the roof of a larger building, happened to be behind this door.

He’d eaten half of his donuts on the way here. But to put it another way, he still had half left.

Leaning his whole body, he pushed against the door. “And here...we...go!”

A low grating noise sounded as the door opened, and his eyes were suddenly met by light.

Beyond a sea of clouds, the sun had just begun to set. Below him was a faint and grimy cityscape, resembling a series of bronze plates laid out chaotically. Empty of people, a sort of quiet – like falling asleep – had gently spread across the city. In front of him–

A girl.

Feodor nearly let the donut in his mouth slip out in his shock. He’d thought nobody would be here, he’d practically been sure of it!

And yet a girl was sitting on the corner of the roof, her feet dangling over the edge. She was gazing emptily at the sky, swinging her legs back and forth.

The girl seemed completely lifeless. While she most assuredly was alive, nothing seemed to support that fact. It incurred a peculiar feeling of uncanniness, the sort that one might feel when looking at a doll carved with impossible delicacy. Her expression was unreadable; it wasn’t empty, but rather the exact opposite. Multiple emotions mixed together, making her face almost appear as an indiscernible cloud of gray.

Ah...

He took a half step back.

This is one of those times where I shouldn’t get involved, isn’t it?

Almost certain of that, he decided to turn back. He didn’t think silly things like “I wonder what kind of things she’s worrying about,” or “I wonder if she has issues.”

No shit she does. For someone to worm all the way up here, to have that kind of look, there’s no way it’s just something like “I’ve been scared lately to check how much I weigh.”

What’s more, upon closer examination, the girl didn’t have any horns or fangs. Her white skin wasn’t covered by fur or scales or anything like that, and she didn’t have any wings sprouting from her back.

The race which held that appearance were colloquially referred to as Markless, despised by many and widely considered a symbol of misfortune. One shouldn’t go near them or get involved with them. Doubtless nothing good will come from it.

Understanding that well, Feodor was stunned by what he did next.

“You know, it’s dangerous there.”

Flustered, he clapped his hand over his mouth. Of course, it was far too late for that; his words had reached the girl’s ears.

It was as if she’d been aware of him this entire time – although that couldn’t really be the case. The girl blinked, raised her head, and looked his way. His eyes met hers, still devoid of lif… Oh, she’s back to normal.

She appeared a bit younger than Feodor, probably around her mid-teens. Her soft green hair fluttered in the breeze. Sunlight, reflected in her verdant eyes, shimmered ever so slightly.

Right after he’d decided to not get involved, he’d gone and ended up doing exactly that. Crap.

“Huh?” She blinked again, now wearing a truly innocent and almost childlike expression. “Oh… I think I’m okay? I mean, I’m not so clumsy that I’m going to slip and fall. There’s a container of water down below, anyways, so either way it’s safe.” As she spoke, the girl glanced down from the edge she was sitting on.

Well, that’s probably right. There was a storage tank there, filled with a decent level of water. Even if one fell, they ought not to end up with any serious injuries.

“But you were concerned for me.” The girl smiled. “Thank you.”

It was a bright, carefree smile – at least, the appearance of one – that almost made him doubt if her earlier gloom had even existed.

It’d be fine to stop the conversation here. Even if he left without another word, it’d still be natural.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Feodor said. “I’m guessing you just came from another town recently, right?”

“Mm-hmm, I did.”

“Okay, then I’d like you to sit and listen for a bit. A long time ago, this place was the place of a great mine. After a nearby island reformed their currency, a ton of miners came here. Their equipment got shipped in one after another. They couldn’t keep up at all building enough living space.”

The girl tilted her head as Feodor went on. “That mine’s completely dried up by now, but traces of it are still around. Like how this city is made of metal and rivets, or how there’s a lot of slopes which were originally part of the mountain, or how the machinery scattered around the housing district is still operating...”

“Uh, okay? I can tell it’s an odd-looking place just from seeing it.” The girl looked back at the city. “There’s no soil anywhere, but somehow the ground kinda feels warm. It’s completely different from the towns built with stone. It’s a little strange.”

“Well, that’s because...” Feodor trailed off.

The warmth she felt might have been the network of pipes and machinery that circulated warm water underground around the whole city. I wonder how’d she react if I told her that. Would she be shocked and amazed? Would she be exasperated and think it’s lame? Or perhaps she would smile and be happy about it?

“...I wanted to see it. The things that we’ll spend our lives for.” He heard her make an odd remark. “Going around a place you don’t know, looking at the scenery you’ve never seen before, talking with people you don’t know. If it’s a place you’ve been to, with scenery and people you’ve seen once before, then you could fight for it, right? I thought it’d be way easier to inspire myself that way.”

“Are you… fighting something?”

The girl gave a honest nod. “I’m glad you came and talked to me. Even when I was walking around there wasn’t anybody anywhere. I almost wondered, has everyone gone extinct already? It was a little scary.”

“Oh, I know what you’re talking about. When you’re the only thing moving, everything else is still, and it feels like it’s after the world’s ended.”

“Yes, yes! And you see how the golems just keep working like nothing’s happened? It’s super freaky!”

The two nodded back and forth in agreement with each other’s words, laughing once they realized how strange it looked.

Then Feodor remembered something. “Hey.” He pointed past where the girl was sitting, at a wall covered in layers of patches where a flickering and battered lamp, faded from age, hung. “You know the thing I was talking about before?”

“This?”

“Yeah. This city has some features that you could never understand just by seeing them. That lamp’s one of those.”

She looked perplexed. “Alright?”

“The machinery left running that I mentioned before doesn’t quite function the same as it originally did. Nowadays they’ve been retrofitted to supply heat and handle the city’s water supply. Problem is, the machines themselves are still old, and their exhaust systems in particular have never been touched.

“Okay...”

“So after the alarm light blinks, occasionally a bunch of steam comes rushing out.”

Right on cue, the phenomenon Feodor had just described occurred.

Its temperature was not particularly high, nor was there any concern to be had about its pressure or volume. Even if one were to be hit directly, there was no risk of getting burned by the steam. To a citizen of Lyell, it was the kind of mundane incident one saw everyday.

“Wh-whaaaaaaaa–?!”

With a remarkably ferocious scream of panic, the girl who’d only just arrived in the city scrambled as far back as she could, and her butt happened to slip off the roof’s edge.

As one might recall, a storage tank was located underneath her perch and filled with a decent level of water. Even if one fell, they ought not to end up with any serious injuries.

Thuuunk!

Whoooooooooosh!

The sound of a mighty impact exploded, followed by a column of water no less magnificent.

“That’s why I said it was dangerous,” Feodor grumbled, pulling the dripping girl out of the tank.

“And then you started talking forever....”

“Ah, sorry about that. I got carried away...”

Winter was over, and from time to time even furless species could appreciate the mild breeze. But still, it wasn’t so warm that she could stay completely drenched.

“You should go back and take a bath. Are you okay with the way back?”

“I-I’m alright...” The girl shivered. “I’m good… for now. But to make it clear, I wasn’t caught off guard back there. I felt like going for a swim, so I jumped in. Got that?”

Feodor snorted. “I think that one’s a bit too far-fetched.”

“U-ugh… you think so?” She abashedly hid her face. He wasn’t sure how the girl who’d been so honest earlier had managed to come up with such an absurd excuse.

And then she sneezed. “Hee-choo!”

“Hey, you should get going. In this city, the temperature drops like crazy once the sun sets. It’d be stupid to catch cold from something like this, wouldn’t it?”

“I’ll do that.” The girl shook herself vigorously like a small dog. “Oh, um… thanks for telling me it was dangerous. Even if it didn’t really help.”

“The last bit was uncalled for, but you’re welcome. Now go on,” he shooed her away with a hand. “Be off, be off.”

“Okay. Ew-choo!” After a rather cute-sounding sneeze, the girl turned away from Feodor. “Um, this might sound strange, seeing as we don’t even know each other’s names, but…”

“Hmm?”

“I was wondering... It’d be nice if you could forget about me?”

The girl ran off with those strange parting words, scattering water droplets in every direction.

Of course. You don’t need to tell me that.

After all, Feodor wasn’t wearing his fake glasses. Without them, he couldn’t hold a fake smile. His face was undoubtedly twisted into an unsightly scowl right now. Although the girl hadn’t said anything in particular, she might’ve been looking ruefully at him. As two strangers, it was fortunate that they were unlikely to ever meet again. He wanted nothing more than to erase the memory of her.

“...What the hell am I doing?” Feodor snarled. He bit into another donut, chewed and swallowed it, then glanced up at the faraway sky.

The weather was very clear today. Without anything blocking the way, he could see farther than usual.

Beyond the sea of clouds, a distant blackened mass loomed.

The 39th Floating Island.

A mere five years ago, it was once good neighbors to the 38th Island. Its fertile fields had made it a cornucopia of food that easily supplied all of the surrounding islands. It’d been led by the beastkind, and many people of various species had lived there.

But all of it was in the past now. On that day five years ago, the entire island had transformed.

What was left now was nothing but a colossal gravestone, floating through Regul Aire’s skies.

It was known as the Croyance, Restraining and Imprisoning Eleventh Beast.

The world has always been at the brink of extinction.

If there was a single subject to mention at the start of this kind of discussion, it would be the atrocity committed by the Emnetwyte and the last days of the surface.

It would be hard for someone living in the present to believe, but nearly all of the surface’s vast lands were once rich and bountiful. Forests and fauna covered the lands, a vast basin of water called the sea existed, and the surface overflowed with countless different species of life.

The Emnetwyte destroyed that world.

They created the immense, unyielding ravagers, the 17 Beasts, and unleashed them upon the world. The Beasts swiftly devoured the Emnetwyte along with the rest of the surface, turning both land and sea to barren gray desert.

The few survivors, under the tutelage of the heroic Great Sage, fled to the sky.

The 17 Beasts were incapable of flight. Thus, having found their footing on countless gigantic floating boulders, the survivors could briefly grasp a sanctuary. They built houses, charted the land, and raised cities, all so that they could live safely beyond the reach of their enemies.

The surface had been extensive; the world of these floating rocks was small.

What had been lost was unbearable; what remained was too little.

But they had no choice. They named the final frontier that would accept them Regul Aire, and made it their new homeland.

Five hundred and some years had passed since Regul Aire’s founding.

During that time, one could say that the peace had been preserved.

There were still attacks from the 17 Beasts, in which a number of islands had fallen and the lives of their inhabitants been lost.

But from a different perspective, the losses had been contained to those island. Facing the Beasts who had annihilated the surface in a matter of months, Regul Aire remained alive in the sky.

However, that peace would too come quickly to an end.

On that day five years ago, the Aurora, Piercing and Penetrating Second Beast, appeared on the 11th Island.

Two days after that, the Materno, Embracing and Smothering Fifth Beast, appeared on the 13th island.

Virtually the same day as that, the Croyance, Restraining and Imprisoning Eleventh Beast, appeared on the 39th island.

These Beasts were incapable of flight. For those which could not take off from the surface, it should have been totally impossible for them to attack Regul Aire. Yet, the truth remained: those three Beasts suddenly appeared in the sky in front of unprepared people and massacred them.

The tragedy’s cause eventually came to light. The Elpis Trading Federation city-state, who existed on the 13th Island at the time, had conducted research on Beasts and, for the purposes of political maneuvering, brought them up from the surface.

Who on earth would try to do that? everyone thought. Rather, before that, they hadn’t even imagined that a method of technology might make it possible to capture and contain Beasts. That lack of foresight led to this tragedy.

Among the three, the Beasts who attacked the 11th Island were miraculously held off.

For the other two islands, no such miracle happened.

On the 13th Island, every object and living being was dissolved into a transparent blue substance.

On the 39th Island, every last thing was transformed into beautiful shining black crystal pillars.

The real problem began afterwards.

The Beasts cannot fly. Consequently, the Beasts who had engulfed the 13th Island and devoured the 39th Island remained on each respective Island. At the moment, they didn’t possess the means to invade the other Islands. However, the immortal Beasts were able to remain on the floating islands indefinitely.

As of this moment, the 39th Island was slowly moving towards the 38th Island.

According to the calculations of the Winged Guard’s navigators, the two islands would collide before long. It wouldn’t be head-on; at most they would violently scrape each other. In a normal situation, although the tremors would be very noticeable, the entire island’s existence wouldn’t be threatened by the collision.

In this particular case, the warning was akin to a death knell. The Beasts would surely cross over to the 38th Island and absorb everything they touched, just as they had on the 39th.

Even knowing that destruction would arrive, it was impossible to avoid.

The first rumors began to circulate about half a year ago. Upon hearing it, a fraction of Lyell’s citizens immediately fled to other Islands. As the time left decreased, more than half of those who remained gradually followed their neighbors. The amount of people in Lyell now amounted to less than a fifth of what it was five years ago, barely maintaining the semblance of a city.

Although Lyell was not yet dead, the city’s life had already gone; it existed now merely as a hollow shell that hadn’t completely fallen. A miniature world nearing its end.