#kuma is the high priest

[alumirp]

a god known to no one

Trafalgar Law is the last sun priest. With his city burned to the ground by royal knights, the high priest missing and only him and a child as the last survivors of the crown-endorsed massacre, he is the last priest of a god long forgotten by all but the residents of the small village of Flevance.

A god known to no one its a is a dying god.

The essence of a god is in the tales and legends that surround him, the source of a god's power comes from the worship of his followers, the life of a god depends on those who believe.

A god known to no one is a dying god and even though Law likes to think his faith is real and firm he doesn't think Nika would survive having just two believers, no matter how much Bonney prays and makes offerings.

The word has to be spread, people need to hear and tell Nika's tales again, the world needs to once again recognize the existence of the god who once freed it. And in the absence of the high priest and as the adult in charge of looking after the little envoy of the sun god, Law is the one who has the job of making Nika known once again.

And there's no better place to begin this mission than in the capital. he just needs a little plan that allows him to commit treason, because the king is clearly the biggest obstacle between Law and his god's salvation.

It is just Law's luck that he ends up encountering a group of bandits whose destination is also the capital whose plans also involve the beheading of the king. Monkey D Luffy seems to think, for whatever reason, that he is the true heir to the throne and his group of weird friends seem to support the idea. He is the leader of the Straw Hat bandits and is also the man who…kidnapped Law.

It wasn't really kidnapping, of course. They got into a bar fight, made out in the bar alley, fought over who would pay the bill and then Luffy simply threw Law over his shoulder and put Bonney over his arm and carried them to his carriage. Using a bit of excessive force.

And now he was giving them an unsolicited ride to the capital where they would all dethrone a tyrannical king. Law was definitely not kidnapped, yes.

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune 2nd Year Character Profiles

They got updated character profiles for the third book

Masterlist of translations here

Narumiya Minato

The protagonist. When he was little, he became fascinated by kyudo, which he watched with his mother, and secretly studied under Saionji. His mother was killed in an accident before he could reveal it to her, which made him feel deeply regretful. He had distanced himself from kyudo since he developed target panic, but after meeting Masa-san, he realized his true feelings and joined the Kazemai High School kyudo club. He takes care of all the household chores in place of his father, who’s busy with work, and on special sale days, he rushes to the supermarket after club activities. There is a rumor that if you touch Minato’s forehead, you’ll be blessed with good luck...

Takehaya Seiya

The president of the kyudo club and Minato’s best friend. He has an older brother. Because of the traffic accident, he’s protective of Minato to the point of going overboard, but their relationship changed when Minato accepted Seiya’s regrets. He is the most talented student in his grade. He likes bad puns and makes everyone groan when he makes puns. He owns a dog named “Kuma” who Minato sometimes goes on walks with.

Yamanouchi Ryouhei

Minato and Seiya’s childhood friend. He has an older sister. After reuniting with his two friends in high school, he decided to start doing kyudo. His compassion for others is exceedingly high and he sees things with pure eyes. He isn’t afraid of Shuu, called the “Young Lord,” and his younger sister Sae is fond of him as well. Recently, he has been wondering if he should get a Java sparrow. He doesn’t like bugs.

Onogi Kaito

Nanao’s cousin and his “babysitter” since they were young. He used to not like Minato, but that was because he was too upright when it came to kyudo. Now he approved of Minato and is a good teammate. He has a meticulous side to him, and currently he’s working hard in a city-building game. He likes J-Rock. He gets teased by Seiya often.

Kisaragi Nanao

Kaito’s cousin. A “prince” with a brilliant smile. One time, he even got scouted by a talent agency. He popularized his original greeting “Merha”. He tends to give an impression of a ladies’ man, but in fact he is a firm person with his own convictions. He is always watching those around him and often backs them up. He has a weakness for frog merch.

Takigawa Masaki

The coach for the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club and the priest of Yata Shrine. He used to shoot ten-thousand arrows as a memorial to his grandfather, who had passed away while they were still feuding. He had planned to quit kyudo, but after meeting Minato, he decided to take it up again. In the kyudo club, he serves as a reverse mentor and manages the club. He prefers canned coffee to drip.

Fujiwara Shuu

Minato’s brother disciple. He is nicknamed the “Young Lord,” and many people joined the kyudo club for him. He is wary of Kuon, who shows him an excessive amount of respect. He doesn’t approve of getting familiar with others and has an air about him that makes him difficult to approach, but he also has a bit of a soft spot for those he trusts, such as Minato, Ryouhei, and the Sugawara brothers... His favorite food is takoyaki.

[ffamranxii]

Finally updated my playables and arcana!

All relevant info under the cut! (There be spoilers)

UPDATED ARCANA

All confidants/social links from P3, P4, and P5. Also included the arcana for P1 and the P2 duology because I can never remember who’s what. Arcana did not exist in this framework for Shin Megami Tensei If...

FOOL

P3: - (technically this is SEES, but I did not include groups) (also the protagonists for P3-5, Elizabeth, and Aigis)

P4: Tohru Adachi. (Adachi technically holds two arcana, though he starts as one and becomes the other: the Hunger Arcana, which does not exist in a standard tarot deck, but comes from the Thoth deck. I did not include it because he switches from one arcana to the other)

P5: Igor

MAGICIAN

P1: Yuka Ayase

P3: Kenji Tomochika (male protagonist)/Junpei Iori (female protagonist)

P4: Yosuke Hanamura

P5: Morgana

COUNCILLOR

P5: Takuto Maruki (does not exist in standard tarot, from El Gran Tarot Esoterico) (Royal only)

HIGH PRIESTESS

P1: Maki Sonomura

P2: Maki Sonomura

P3: Fuuka Yamagishi

P4: Yukiko Amagi

P5: Makoto Niijima

EMPRESS

P1: Yukino Mayuzumi

P2: Yukino Mayuzumi

P3: Mitsuru Kirijo

P4: Margaret

P5: Haru Okumura

EMPEROR

P1: Naoya Toudou (P1 protagonist)

P3: Hidetoshi Odagiri

P4: Kanji Tatsumi

P5: Yusuke Kitagawa

PRIEST

P5: Zenkichi Hasegawa (does not exist in standard tarot deck, from Thoth deck) (Scramble only, no art available for card at time of posting)

HIEROPHANT

P1: Kei Nanjo

P2: Kei Nanjo

P3: Bunkichi and Mitsuko

P4: Ryotaro Dojima

P5: Sojiro Sakura

LOVERS

P2: Lisa Silverman/Ginji Sasaki

P3: Yukari Takeba

P4: Rise Kujikawa

P5: Ann Takamaki

CHARIOT

P1: Masao Inaba

P3: Kazushi Miyamoto (male protag)/Rio Iwasaki (female protag)

P4: Chie Satonaka

P5: Ryuji Sakamoto

JUSTICE

P1: Hidehiko Uesugi

P2: Katsuya Suou/Hidehiko Uesugi

P3: Chihiro Fushimi (male protag)/Ken Amada (female protag)

P4: Nanako Dojima

P5: Goro Akechi

HERMIT

P3: Isako Toriumi (male protag)/Saori Hasegawa (female protag)

P4: Fox

P5: Futaba Sakura

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

P2: Jun Kurosu

P3: Keisuke Hiraga (male protag)/Ryoji Mochizuki (female protag)

P4: Naoto Shirogane

P5: Chihaya Mifune

STRENGTH

P3: Yuko Nishiwaki (male protag)/Koromaru (female protag)

P4: Kou Ichijo (protag joins basketball)/Daisuke Nagase (protag joins soccer)

P5: Caroline and Justine

HANGED MAN

P2: Baofu/Yasuo Inoe

P3: Maiko Oohashi

P4: Naoki Konishi

P5: Munehisa Iwai

DEATH

P1: Reiji Kido*

P2: Eikichi Mishina/Hiroki Sugimoto

P3: Pharos

P4: Hisano Kuroda

P5: Tae Takemi

TEMPERANCE

P3: Andre Laurent Jean Gerraux

P4: Eri Minami

P5: Sadayo Kawakami

DEVIL

P1: Reiji Kido* (Reiji is the only canonical non-protagonist to hold more than one arcana at the same time. He is both Death and the Devil in P1, and makes a minor appearance in P2, where he is still Death and the Devil. However I didn’t have enough space to squish him into the Death slot for P2)

P3: President Tanaka

P4: Sayako Uehara

P5: Ichiko Ohya

TOWER

P1: Takahisa Kandori

P2: Anna Yoshizaka

P3: Mutatsu

P4: Shu Nakajima

P5: Shinya Oda

STAR

P2: Ulala Serizawa

P3: Mamoru Hayase (male protag)/Akihiko Sanada (female protag)

P4: Teddie

P5: Hifumi Togo

MOON

P2: Maya Amano

P3: Nozomi Suemitsu (male protag)/Shijiro Aragaki (female protag)

P4: Ai Ebihara

P5: Yuuki Mishima

SUN

P2: Tatsuya Suou/Tatsuya Sudou

P3: Akinari Kamiki

P4: Yumi Ozawa (protag joins drama)/Ayane Matsunaga (protag joins band)

P5: Toranosuke Yoshida

JUDGEMENT

P1: Eriko Kirishima

P2: Eriko Kirishima

P5: Sae Niijima 

AEON

P3: Aigis (does not exist in standard tarot, from Thoth deck)

P4: Marie (does not exist in standard tarot, from Thoth deck) (Golden only)

FAITH

P5: Kasumi/Sumire Yoshizawa (does not exist in standard tarot, from Visconti-Sforza deck) (Royal only)

HOPE

P5: Sophia (does not exist in standard tarot, from Visconti-Sforza deck) (Scramble only, no art available at time of posting)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

ALL PLAYABLE AND IMPORTANT CHARACTERS

PERSONA 5 SCRAMBLE: THE PHANTOM STRIKERS

Sophia, Zenkichi Hasegawa

NOTE: P5S was released in Japan in February 2020.

PERSONA 5 THE ROYAL

Kasumi Yoshizawa 

TRIVIA: Kasumi’s real name is Sumire. She assumed the identity of her twin sister Kasumi after Kasumi’s tragic death.

PERSONA Q2

Hikari

PERSONA 5

Ren Amamiya / Akira Kurusu, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Morgana, Yusuke Kitagwa, Makoto Niijima, Futaba Sakura, Haru Okumura, Goro Akechi

TRIVIA: The protagonist is named Ren Amamiya in the anime and Akira Kurusu in the manga. Futaba’s codename is Navi in Japanese and Oracle in English.

PERSONA 4 ARENA ULTIMAX

Labrys, Sho Minazuki

PERSONA 4 / PERSONA 4 THE GOLDEN

Yu Narukami / Souji Seta, Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, Rise Kujikawa, Teddie, Naoto Shirogane

TRIVIA: The protagonist is named Yu Narukami in the anime and Souji Seta in the manga. Teddie is named Kuma in Japan.

PERSONA Q

Zen, Rei

PERSONA 3 FES

Metis

PERSONA 3 PORTABLE

Minako Arisato / Hamuko Yuki / Kotone Shiomi

TRIVIA: The female protagonist has no canon name, but has been called Minako Arisato and Hamuko Yuki by fans, and Kotone Shiomi in the stage play.

PERSONA 3 

Minato Arisato / Makoto Yuki / Sakuya Shiomi, Yukari Takeba, Junpei Iori, Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, Fuuka Yamagishi, Aigis / Aegis, Koromaru, Ken Amada, Shinjiro Aragaki

TRIVIA: The protagonist is named Minato Arisato in the manga, Makoto Yuki in the anime, and Sakuya Shiomi in the stage play. Aigis’s name is spelled Aegis in Japan.

PERSONA 2 ETERNAL PUNISHMENT

Maya Amano, Ulala Serizawa, Katsuya Suou, Baofu, Tatsuya Suou, Eriko Kirishima, Kei Nanjo

TRIVIA: Maya was a playable character in the first Persona 2 installment, as was Tatsuya. Eriko Kirishima and Kei Nanjo return from Persona 1.

PERSONA 2 INNOCENT SIN

Tatsuya Suou, Maya Amano, Lisa Silverman, Eikichi Mishina, Yukino Mayuzumi, Jun Kurosu

TRIVIA: Yukino Mayuzumi returns from Persona 1.

MEGUMI IBUNROKU PERSONA

Naoya Todo / Yuya Narumi / Jihei Suzakurin, Maki Sonomura, Masao Inaba, Kei Nanjo, Hidehiko Uesugi, Eriko Kirishima, Yuka Ayase, Reiji Kido, Yukino Mayuzumi

TRIVIA: The protagonist is only referred to as “the pierced boy” (Japanese)/”boy with earring” (English) within the games themselves; in the manga he is Naoya Todo, in the drama CD he is Yuya Narumi, and in the novel he is Jihei Suzakurin. Along with Maki, the protagonist makes a minor appearance in Persona 2, while Eriko, Kei, and Yukino return in P2 as playable characters once again.

SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI IF…

Tamaki Uchida, Nobu Akiyama / Jin Aoki, Reiko Akanezawa, Yumi Shirakawa, Shinji Kuroi, Ideo Hazama, Akira Miyamoto

TRIVIA: SMT If… was released only in Japan and is considered the originator of the Persona series. The series features a protagonist whose gender is decided by the player, something not seen again until P3P, though the female protagonist is canon in the games and the male protagonist is canon in the manga. Tamaki makes a cameo appearance in P1 and P2. The male protagonist is called Nobu Akiyama in both the manga and its sequel and Jin Aoki in the novel.

[brokehorrorfan]

Scream Factory has revealed the specs for its The Vengeance of She Blu-ray release, which streets on February 26. It has received a new 2K scan of the original film elements.

Produced by Hammer, the 1968 British fantasy/adventure is a loose sequel 1965’s She. It’s directed by Cliff Owen (The Wrong Arm of the Law) and stars John Richardson, Olinka Berova, Edward Judd, and Noel Willman.

Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Audio Commentary by the Monster Party podcast hosts Matt Weinhold, Shawn Sheridan, Larry Strothe, and James Gonis (new)

Interviews with assistant director Terence Clegg, visual effects artist Joy Cuff, and clapper/loader Trevor Coop (new)

The World of Hammer: Lands Before Time

Theatrical trailer

TV spots

Still gallery

A young beautiful woman named Carol (Olinka Berova) is plagued by hallucinatory voices calling her “Ayesha” and is drawn by a mysterious force toward the east. During her voyage, she meets Dr. Philip Smith (Edward Judd) who decides to accompany Carol to her unknown destination. Eventually the two reach the lost city of Kuma where Carol is greeted as the reincarnation of Queen Ayesha, the beloved of King Killikrates (John Richardson). Philip is imprisoned and meets Za-Tor (Noel Willman) who tells him of the high priest’s deceitful plan to obtain the secret of immortality by bringing back Ayesha to King Killikrates. Will Philip escape in time to reveal the truth and save Carol from destruction?

[deepest-dope]

Joliceur D. Grigori age 29

“Father Iron” age 60

this is my ex cp9 oc, he is actually 40 for most of his time in my story that he spends with my main ocs but this is the gist of what he looks like under readmore if youd like to know more about him

Backstory: Joliceur D. Grigori was born on an island in North Blue to an absent father and a half dead mother, she did not survive long enough to raise him beyond his first few days of life. he was raised in a relatively wellfunded orphanage and was as well fed as a D. trapped in a house with 50 other kids who also very much need food can be.

he got a lot of supplemental food by either fishing and foraging it for himself or more reliably, helping old ladies out around the city he lived in and eating with them multiple times a day, occasionally becoming closer to them than their own children/grandchildren. he spent most of his days dogging after older people on the island, whther elderly fisherman at the docks or grandmothers in the market, he was for most of his younger childhood a much beloved pseudo grandchild to every over 50 citizen of his home island.

occasionally in seclusion hed sing to himself or whatever stray animal that happened by and stayed to listen, and dream of one day becoming a somewhat well known musician. sadly this would not come to be however after a small pirate crew targets his home, and ravages his city for 3 weeks until he gets well and truly sick of waiting for the marines to show and takes matters into his own hands. at the age of 8 he takes a boat out after them into the night and “resolves” the conflict. in other words he manges to beath captain and first mate in single combat and terrify the much weaker crew into taking him back to his island and turning their former superiors in. this incident is what getts him the attention of cipher pol 9.

a few months after the pirate business blows over he is “adopted” by a man named spandine, taken to the island guanhao and never heard from agin by any on the island in north blue. this is where is decade long career as an assassin begins.

he spends the rest of histime as an 8 and 9 year old mastering rokushiki at a prodigous rate and eventually is deemed ready to be sent on missions at 10. by his early 20s he is dubbed the human buster call, or among his colleagues buster. he is...not quite depressed but not happy either. he spends most of his work time in a semi dissociative state and his off time rifling through missions lookingg for a job that doesnt seem as taxing as all the rest.

age 27, he is sent on an easy undercover mission ment to serve as a punishment for multiple failures to take out gold roger and silvers rayliegh. it is as an orphanage caretaker and he is meant to keep watch for orphan dealers and slavers, as well as scout for new cipher pol agents on the side.

he is meant to take it as retribution for failure. the job is supposed to grate on his nerves. the lack of action is supposed to frustrate him. being forced to care for 50+ children of varying age and volume with only 2-3 adults to help him is supposed to stretch his patience paper thin. he is meant to spend a year there in penance and come back eager to succeed at offing his marks without fail.

the experience is more rewarding than any of his training or missions he has ever done in his life up till that point. successfully coralling children into meals or games feels more like victory then getting one over on rayliegh ever did. the admiration and attention of a small hoard of grade schoolers is more rewarding then praise from his boss and colleagues ever was. he discovers that he is very very good at teaching and his singing voice is even better than it was as a kid, having dropped into a surprisingly soothing tenor somewhere in his teens. he finds that he very much likes taking care of others.

he gains a reputation as a hard worker, kind older brother figure to any child that will approach him. he is for the first time in his life well liked for things aside from his combat ability. its a rewarding job and he loves it. it ends by the very next year.

he returns to his house on guanhao. he tries to go on with work as usual. he takes time volunteering to train new recruits on his days off. he tries to go back to his same old missions. its all very grating in ways it never used to be and he hates it more than before when it was all he did and he hadnt known he could still sing or soothe kids or love any of the people around him.

eventually at age 30 he is sent on a mission of high priority: hunt down the beginnings of a revolution in east blue and quash it before it can truly take hold. it should be easy enough. all he has to do is find the right kind of people, express the right opinions and eventually one of them will lead him right to the nest.

he finds that he rather likes it there. not quite as much as caring for the kids in the old orphanage. its both not quite as good and better than before. hes not quite as good with the adults as he is with children but he gets along well enough. the mission goes well and not-quite-as-planned. he ends up doing a lot to gain the trust of the revolutionary army and in the process ends up sabotaging the cipher pol and the marines in equal measure.

still he does pretty well and manages to gain the trust of the more prominent members of the army, namely one bartholomew kuma. he eventually establishes himself as friend, via calculated use of the truth in small increments. he tries not to outright lie to anyone, by omission of key details if he must.

he plays a role of marine deserter on the run for a time with his history he cobbles together with his favorite parts made real by believable dustings of The Bitter Truth.

i m gonna cut this part short. he fesses up to kuma and by extension the revolutionaries. he gives them the whole story and they help him quit his job by faking his death in a show of dragons power. set him up on a nice quiet little island in one of the blues where he gets to own an orphanage/school and raise and teach kids quite happily until my Protagonist washes up on the island at the ripe old age of 6 gets adopted by him and makes trouble for the whole toen until shes finally old enough to strike out on her own as a woman of the seas.

Personality: he is an ice king for most of his life in cipher pol right up until he is steadily defrosted by the kids he looked after and bartholomew kuma. age 35 onwards he is pretty open and honest with everyone leaving out his personal history and all that. hes quite jovial by the time my main character comes into his care. hes big on cognitive compassion after extended exposure to dragon and kuma and does his best to teach kids the Good Morals. though with a broad and loose sense of whats good and what isnt. as an assassin he doesnt have a particluarly strong set of morals. more accurately hes got 3 strong morals in total, which are slavery bad wipe slavers out on sight, rapists bad kill on sight, pedophiles bad kill them when you see them, everything else is try not to steal or kill people if you dont have to, he masquerades as a priest for most of his life with like zero guilt because he does not like women or men and doesnt want them hitting on him for reference. he has kids to focus on leave him alone he doesnt care about how you think he looks or how you want to date him he has 40 plus children with varying problems to look after he doesnt have time to sabotage your first date with him just to make you happy he at least ~tried~ bitch hes got ex slave children to work through therapy for.

Appearance: brown hair when young, salt and chocalate? in his 40s, full white by 60. grey eyes. aquiline nose. used to shave while working for cp9 stopped a while after joining up with the revoltion and has never shaved since. hes had that patchy ass beard most of his life at this point. used to wear his hair in a really tight bun in cp9. stopped wearing his hair up around the same time he stopped shaving. has never cut his hair in his life, but his hairs thick and curly as fuck so it usually only touches the edge of his mid back towards the end and he can wipe his ass without fear unlike some of my other ocs. was toned 20s to 30s but stopped caring so much about staying in perfect shape after taking over his orphange, so still definitely muscular but more dad bod when hes older. he retains tekkai and kamie throughout his life can still geppo and soru but its more straining than when he was younger. doesnt stop him from moonwalking onto slaver ships to steal their child slaves to raise as his own and leave the slavers for the marines.

Miscellanious: he collects rosary and gives a basque ring rosary from his collection to protag-chan before she sets out on her own as a good luck charm/memento. while half the reason he decided to disguise himself as a priest is to use the vow of chastity as a way out of romance he also chose it so he wouldnt have to pick out clothes every day. he doesnt officially run missions for the revolutionary army but he does do things like take in ex slaves and let army members use his church/orphanage as a hideout/waypoint. he rebuilt the church he operates out of himself. he has armament haki and observation haki by age 30. if he has conquerors hes never unlocked it. all his knowledge about priests comes from kuma and he just bluffs through anything hes not sure about.

[vintage1981]

Hammer Film’s The Vengeance Of She Available Now from @ Scream_Factory! 

She used her beauty to bring kingdoms to their downfall and men to their knees!

A young beautiful woman named Carol (Olinka Berova) is plagued by hallucinatory voices calling her "Ayesha" and is drawn by a mysterious force toward the east. During her voyage, she meets Dr. Philip Smith (Edward Judd) who decides to accompany Carol to her unknown destination. Eventually the two reach the lost city of Kuma where Carol is greeted as the reincarnation of Queen Ayesha, the beloved of King Killikrates (John Richardson). Philip is imprisoned and meets Za-Tor (Noel Willman) who tells him of the high priest's deceitful plan to obtain the secret of immortality by bringing back Ayesha to King Killikrates. Will Philip escape in time to reveal the truth and save Carol from destruction?

Bonus Features

NEW 2K Scan Of The Original Film Elements

NEW Interviews With Assistant Director Terence Clegg, Visual Effects Artist Joy Cuff, And Clapper/Loader Trevor Coop

NEW Audio Commentary By The Monster Party Podcast Hosts Matt Weinhold, Shawn Sheridan, Larry Strothe, And James Gonis

World Of Hammer – Lands Before Time

Theatrical Trailer

TV Spots

Still Gallery

[booguesswho]

65 questions: All the ones that start and/or end with 1, 3, 5 8, 7, 25, 27, 32, 64, 50-60

65 questions

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?

Kuma nods. “More than I wish…“

“No, never. I know who and what I am,” says Jude.

3. The person you would never want to meet?

Kuma tries to think about this, but all they can think of is all the people they wish they never met. They shrug and say, “Zozo.”

“I’ve already met him.”

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

“Mmmmaple, so I can have syrup. Or maybe one a’ those mangrove trees.”

“I’d like to think I’d be a sakura tree, as cliche as it is.”

7. What shirt are you wearing?

They look down at the stained orange t-shirt they’re wearing. “It says Madison High School. I dunno where that is, but I got it from a box on the side of the road. It’s really soft.”

“It’s a light green tank top with some pink flowers on it, and in cursive it says, 31,000 toes. Romantic, isn’t it?” Jude says, stifling some laughter.

8. What do you label yourself as?

A shrug. “Just me. Kinda weird. I’m a piercing apprentice, does that count?”

“Demon, Jude, friend, protector, free, undead, shapeshifter… do you want me to go on?”

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

“Sleepin’, for once.”

“Watching Kuma sleep.”

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?

Kuma frowns for a while, but then smiles. “It was really nice when I was little… I didn’t have anything to worry about, ‘n I still had my parents. But the summer after senior year, ‘fore all my friends moved, was really nice too.”

Jude takes a while to think about this. “When I left Japan, the whole world opened up to me. It was very exciting. Everything was full of wonder.”

12. Who told you they loved you last?

“Jude did.”

“Kuma.”

13. Your worst enemy?

“My brain.” They sound a little annoyed.

“Isn’t on this plane of existence anymore.”

14. What is your current desktop picture?

“A green tree python on a branch.”

“I don’t have a computer.”

15. Do you like someone?

“I like lotsa people.”

“More than one someone.”

16. The last song you listened to?

“Flamingo by Kero Kero Bomb.”

“We listened to that together.”

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

“…I wouldn’t press it. I don’t wanna kill anyone.”

Jude chews their lip while they think about this. “It almost seems like a waste, but… I would love to see what would happen if America’s president exploded. Perhaps during a speech.”

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

Kuma frowns as they start listing off names; you don’t know who any of these people are and they’re not explaining, but there is sure quite a number of them. Some share a last name, so you know some are likely related.

Jude’s lip curls. “There was a banshee a few blocks away who wouldn’t stop screaming. I scared her off, but I regret not doing that first.”

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?

Still amped up from the last question, Kuma snaps an immediate answer, a repetition of one of the names they mentioned. “Quintin Cobb. I’d make him clean my house ‘n do whatever I wanted ‘n I wouldn’t let him say anything all day. ‘N I might punch him. ”

“There’s a sorcerer, or priest, or whoever, who keeps trying to summon me, but,” and here they chuckle a bit, “they don’t know what they’re doing. Wouldn’t it be funny if I summoned them?”

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?

“I think… I would have smooth skin ‘n way less hair on my body. My chest would be bigger, ‘n maybe I’d be skinnier ‘n shorter, and I’d have really long hair and a better waist.” They pause. “I dunno what I’d do, but I’d be really pretty. Maybe I’d go shopping somewhere nice, or get a manicure.”

“Uh,” Jude snorts with a little laugh, “I’d look the same and act the same.”

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

“I might get some stuff for Laila, or, ooh, I could get a nice glass, one ‘a the fancier ones…”

“Money doesn’t mean much to me… I think I’d buy more clothes for Kuma and I.”

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be?

Kuma thinks real hard, but there’s nothing they drink consistently enough to want so much of. After a couple minutes, they light up. “Oh! That one drink, that’s filled with all the gold flakes? That one. I could sell it.” They sound very satisfied with themself.

“I… wish I could remember what it was called. When I was in Finland, soon after meeting Long Friend, I was inhabiting an elderly man, and I came in from the wintery night to this bar, a tiny place. He was a regular there, and his usual, whatever it was, some hard liquor… There were no brands then. It was divine.”

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Kuma doesn’t hesitate. “The night my parents died.”

Jude’s face is a decided frown as many memories churn through their mind, but eventually they say, “My death.”

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world!

“If I had ta… maybe the Philippines. It’s different there, ‘n I wouldn’t fit in very much, but I have family there, even if I don’t know ‘em, and I wanna be with my family. I don’t have much of it anymore, y’know?”

“I already go wherever I want, but if I had to leave here… maybe Sri Lanka, or the Maldives. I miss the sun,” they admit.

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor?

“I like smoothies better, since I can’t have milk.”

“Strawberry.”

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had?

Kuma laughs and says, “Dude. I’m high a lot, ‘n I talk t ghosts. I got so many weird conversations ‘n I forget em all the time too.”

Jude also just snickers. “You wouldn’t believe it.” The truth is they’d be hard pressed to pick.

51. Are you a good liar?

“Not really.”

“Yes.”

52. How long could you go without talking?

“Uhh…” They shrug. “Long time, if ‘m by m’self.” They’re not sure how they’d categorize a long time, however.

“Not very—I like the sound of my own voice.” At least Jude can admit it, right?

53. What has been you worst haircut/style?

“Oh oh, when I was real little ‘n first transitioning, when I thought I was a girl, I tried pigtails for while. But m’ hair wasn’t very long, so,” they snort, “they jus’ stuck up in the air.”

“I hate to admit it, but when I was young, I tried the monk cut, where you shave the front half of your scalp.” They shook their head. “It was terrible.”

54. Have you ever baked your own cake?

“I made a cake from the box a couple weeks ago, does that count?”

“Not… in a long time. When I last tried, it didn’t go very well.”

55. Can you do any accents other than your own?

“If y’wanna hear it bad.”

“I can do any.”

56. What do you like on your toast?

“I don’t have it very much, but there’s this stuff called kaya, a coconut egg jam, sorta, which sounds kinda weird, but it’s real good.”

“Almost anything. I’m not picky.”

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of?

“I drew the ghost I met the other day; we played together ‘n he let me draw him…” They find their sketchbook and flip it to the most recent page, where there’s a charcoal drawing of a man and the name Abdullah Lang.

“I can’t remember… I don’t draw. It might have been a map.”

58. What would be you dream car?

“One that drives itself.”

“I don’t need a car.”

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain.

“Uhm… I don’t sing, but sometime I dissociate in the shower and I’ll just… watch the water go down the drain. ‘N then I run outta hot water.”

“I love to sing, and shower acoustics are wonderful for it.”

60. Do you believe in aliens?

“Oh yeah! If I can see ghosts ‘n those’re real, then aliens are definitely real.”

“Absolutely. They were dead, but I’ve met some.”

64. What do you think about babies?

“Cute, pudgy lil… people skinks.”

“They’re very cute.” Jude bites their lip, overcome with warm affection at the mere thought. “Puppies too.”

[demitgibbs]

Justin Theroux: The Spy You Wouldn’t Mind Being Dumped By

No straight man has ever offered to make me a crop top, but Justin Theroux is no ordinary straight man. If you’ve seen him in all his shirtless, ripped, oiled glory in 2003’s Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle or bore witness to all that was bouncing around in his grey sweatpants in HBO’s The Leftovers (I know you saw that; you haven’t stopped seeing that), you have likely wished him gay.

The vers 46-year-old actor is, at least, the closest a straight man can get to being gay, palling around with the new Queer Eye posse and portraying a deep well of gay characters during his two-decade career, from Marshall in 2000’s The Broken Hearts Club to an assortment of gay Englishmen in numerous New York theater productions. Significant gay cred aside, his acting instincts have resulted in an impressive mix of unpredictable career choices rooted in pathos and humor, David Lynchian mystery and Herculean ruggedness: from 1997’s Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion on through Mulholland Drive, Strangers with Candy, Sex and the City, Zoolander and, most recently, The Spy Who Dumped Me. Directed by Susanna Fogel, the action-comedy caper stars Theroux as Drew, an on-the-run spy who inadvertently gets his ex (Mila Kunis) and her best gal pal (Kate McKinnon) embroiled in his messy assassin-fighting mission.

Things are tamer in a hotel suite in New York City on the day Theroux sits across from me with his rescue pit bull Kuma. Theroux – imagine if he dumped you; what an honor – is not wearing sweatpants. But my mock disappointment isn’t sweatpants-related; it’s knowing that he made Queer Eye guy Jonathan Van Ness a crop top but didn’t bring me one. And do I let Justin Theroux wreck the shirt on my back? I do, right? “I would so do it,” he politely insists. “If you have a t-shirt and a pair of scissors, I’m happy to quickly fashion you one.”

Let’s talk about how you invented sweatpants.

(Laughs) I invented the grey sweatpants! I brought them back, I know! You know, I was the one who made a shirt for Jonathan. We were going to gay Pride and he was like, “F*ck, I gotta go out,” and so I made him a shirt. I was like, “I wanna make one of those crop top t-shirts with the tassels,” and he ended up wearing that.

Do you regularly make crop tops for your gay friends?

No, that was the first one I’ve done. It was just like, “It’s a perfect moment in time. I’m with Jonathan and I have a t-shirt and we have scissors and I think I could pull it off.”

We’ve become a good little clutch. Tan, Antoni and Jonathan have come over a bunch of times and we’ve gone back and forth, and I’ve disappeared into the bathroom with Jonathan and we’ve talked products.

Can a straight guy have a queer eye?

Keeping my fingers crossed. Season 3! Maybe we should do a whole thing where it’s like, “Straight Eye for the Gay Guy.” Find some gay guy who’s not got his shit together and I can go and help him out. I don’t know if I’d be that helpful.

WATCH:

I must say, you’ve got your shit together.

I put a little effort in sometimes. (Queer Eye guy) Tan’s trying to get me to wear some color. I’m pretty much blacks and greys. White is technically a color for me.

We need to get you in floral.

I don’t think it’s gonna happen! I just can’t pull it off. I keep looking for a Hawaiian shirt that’s 95 percent black with just a little pop of color in the flowers.

Recently, Jonathan was obsessing over your shirtlessness in Charlie’s Angels. Is that the role most gay men fangirl over when they meet you?

I mean, the first one was actually The Broken Hearts Club, which was a movie I did years and years ago. I remember being at gay Pride and people being like, “Oh my god, this is the guy from Broken Hearts Club!” (Playing gay) was kind of my bread and butter in New York on stage. I would do Joe Orton plays, or Shopping and Fucking. I’d do all these gay Englishmen. That was my thing that was my calling card.

Why go for the gay roles?

It was something that just happened. It wasn’t like I was seeking them out. It was just something that presented itself. At the time, there was that kind of question when you’d go into the audition: “Are you comfortable kissing a guy?” “Yeah, of course.”

In 2000, some actors were being told not to play gay characters for the sake of preserving their careers. Was there any pressure on you not to play that role?

No. My agent at the time was gay, so it was never a discussion. It always boils down to, is the part good or is the play good? If the material is good, I’m happy to do it. If it’s bad, then I don’t wanna do it. But I wouldn’t want do it for a straight part either.

Did it feel like an important movie at the time for the LGBTQ community?

It didn’t, because it’s not necessarily my community. But it was one of those I was happy (about). It was the first (LGBTQ) movie that showed – at least that I had been a part of, or had seen – just a normal relationship. No one’s dying of a disease, no one’s fighting with their parents. It felt like a great episode of Thirtysomething or a great episode of This Is Us.  (Its gay themes were) just built into the fabric of the movie, as opposed to being the fabric of the movie. There weren’t big red arrows pointing at each character going, “Oh, and by the way, they’re gay!” They were functioning, normal people in their lives, which is reality. In a weird way, its normalcy was the thing that made it special and that felt like a good reason to do it.

Growing up in Washington D.C., what was your introduction to the LGBTQ community?

God, you could argue it was probably Catholic school and noticing the priests. Not their behavior; I didn’t think anything nefarious was going on. I don’t think they were doing anything horrible to the boys of the school, but I remember thinking, “These men seem effeminate and they carry themselves in a different way, and I think these guys like other men, like other gay men I’ve seen.”

They didn’t fit the typical heteronormative archetype. 

Yeah, exactly. And it was an odd kind of thing, where I thought, “Oh.” I’ve since come to think maybe the priesthood is like an enclave for people who aren’t comfortable with their sexuality and they wanna shut it down and they think, “Please make it go away. I’m just gonna go to this place and go to seminary school and hope that this feeling leaves me,” which is a shame.

You strike me as the kind of guy who’s surrounded by gay men for various reasons.

Yeah, of course. I went to a very progressive high school that had gay boys in it. In college, it becomes quickly normalized. But you can’t live in New York and not be friends with every kind of person, whether they’re gay, trans, straight, whatever.

You were ahead of the game?

Well, I think most people in the city or in pockets of the country were kind of ahead of the game. It felt like, “Wait, this conversation is still happening? Oh yeah, I guess it still is. I guess we do need to keep having this discussion.” (I) marvel at people who are still made uncomfortable by it. Like, how on earth? It’s like being made uncomfortable by a sofa; you’re like, “It’s a sofa.” It couldn’t be more normal.

You should know that you’ve been called a “gay men’s dream” by the National Enquirer, probably their most accurate reporting.

Cut to 10 years later: Ew, who’s that old guy? (Laughs)

No way. Our gay icons never age.

Oh yeah, that’s right!

So this movie: Was the title The Spy Who Dumped On Me ever considered?

(Laughs) It’s the James Bond they never made! Idris Elba, Daniel Craig, why wouldn’t you do that movie?

RELATED:

Susanna’s friends call her the “lesbian whisperer.” And, of course, Kate McKinnon is queer and one of two leading ladies in this film.

It’s so cool.

Did you get a lesbian read on Kate McKinnon’s character, Morgan, in the movie?

Yeah. But what I liked about her character: again, it wasn’t the focal (point). It’s kind of ambiguous. What she brought to the part was super hilarious. She works really hard on specific jokes, beats, alternate lines, trying to come up with other stuff that isn’t necessarily on the page or in the direction. Kate really goes in and scribbles on the sides (of her script) and it looks like A Beautiful Mind on her script. She approaches her work (in) really sort of (an) academic way.

You’re long overdue for a gay role.

What’s the last one I’ve done? Maybe (my character) Kevin Garvey from The Leftovers is, who knows. Don’t tell anybody. No, I’m joking. (Laughs) You could argue he was really put-upon and maybe that was the reason why, ’cause he was in a hetero marriage.

(Theroux’s handler peeks in to say, “One last question.” “Two more,” Theroux whispers, giving me two fingers.)

What would you look for in a gay role now?

I don’t know. It’s really always the story. I want the story to be good and compelling. I want the character to be good and compelling, and that could be anything. A la Broken Hearts Club, you do sort of hope that eventually these all become just the background to the characters, because it’s way more interesting just playing the relationship and playing the story than it is playing the orientation.

If you were to date any of the guys you have played in your career, which ones might you go for? Personally, I’d shack up with Joe from Six Feet Under.

Joe in Six Feet Under was a sweetheart. But if I dated Joe, he was straight, and so I think that would be problematic.

He’s only straight till he drinks four beers.

Until he drinks four beers, then all bets are off! The bondage gear comes out. Like, we all know Joe liked being tied to the bed. (Laughs) I don’t know if there’s anyone I’d really wanna date. And it’s weird to think about dating yourself. Just visually awkward.

Actually, Matt McGrath’s Broken Hearts character was an adorable character. But I don’t know, I played some pretty f*cked up guys, so they all seem like they’re not great relationship material.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/08/16/justin-theroux-the-spy-you-wouldnt-mind-being-dumped-by/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/177060262410

[hotspotsmagazine]

Justin Theroux: The Spy You Wouldn’t Mind Being Dumped By

No straight man has ever offered to make me a crop top, but Justin Theroux is no ordinary straight man. If you’ve seen him in all his shirtless, ripped, oiled glory in 2003’s Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle or bore witness to all that was bouncing around in his grey sweatpants in HBO’s The Leftovers (I know you saw that; you haven’t stopped seeing that), you have likely wished him gay.

The vers 46-year-old actor is, at least, the closest a straight man can get to being gay, palling around with the new Queer Eye posse and portraying a deep well of gay characters during his two-decade career, from Marshall in 2000’s The Broken Hearts Club to an assortment of gay Englishmen in numerous New York theater productions. Significant gay cred aside, his acting instincts have resulted in an impressive mix of unpredictable career choices rooted in pathos and humor, David Lynchian mystery and Herculean ruggedness: from 1997’s Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion on through Mulholland Drive, Strangers with Candy, Sex and the City, Zoolander and, most recently, The Spy Who Dumped Me. Directed by Susanna Fogel, the action-comedy caper stars Theroux as Drew, an on-the-run spy who inadvertently gets his ex (Mila Kunis) and her best gal pal (Kate McKinnon) embroiled in his messy assassin-fighting mission.

Things are tamer in a hotel suite in New York City on the day Theroux sits across from me with his rescue pit bull Kuma. Theroux – imagine if he dumped you; what an honor – is not wearing sweatpants. But my mock disappointment isn’t sweatpants-related; it’s knowing that he made Queer Eye guy Jonathan Van Ness a crop top but didn’t bring me one. And do I let Justin Theroux wreck the shirt on my back? I do, right? “I would so do it,” he politely insists. “If you have a t-shirt and a pair of scissors, I’m happy to quickly fashion you one.”

Let’s talk about how you invented sweatpants.

(Laughs) I invented the grey sweatpants! I brought them back, I know! You know, I was the one who made a shirt for Jonathan. We were going to gay Pride and he was like, “F*ck, I gotta go out,” and so I made him a shirt. I was like, “I wanna make one of those crop top t-shirts with the tassels,” and he ended up wearing that. 

Do you regularly make crop tops for your gay friends?

No, that was the first one I’ve done. It was just like, “It’s a perfect moment in time. I’m with Jonathan and I have a t-shirt and we have scissors and I think I could pull it off.”

We’ve become a good little clutch. Tan, Antoni and Jonathan have come over a bunch of times and we’ve gone back and forth, and I’ve disappeared into the bathroom with Jonathan and we’ve talked products.

Can a straight guy have a queer eye?

Keeping my fingers crossed. Season 3! Maybe we should do a whole thing where it’s like, “Straight Eye for the Gay Guy.” Find some gay guy who’s not got his shit together and I can go and help him out. I don’t know if I’d be that helpful.

WATCH:

I must say, you’ve got your shit together.

I put a little effort in sometimes. (Queer Eye guy) Tan’s trying to get me to wear some color. I’m pretty much blacks and greys. White is technically a color for me. 

We need to get you in floral.

I don’t think it’s gonna happen! I just can’t pull it off. I keep looking for a Hawaiian shirt that’s 95 percent black with just a little pop of color in the flowers. 

Recently, Jonathan was obsessing over your shirtlessness in Charlie’s Angels. Is that the role most gay men fangirl over when they meet you?

I mean, the first one was actually The Broken Hearts Club, which was a movie I did years and years ago. I remember being at gay Pride and people being like, “Oh my god, this is the guy from Broken Hearts Club!” (Playing gay) was kind of my bread and butter in New York on stage. I would do Joe Orton plays, or Shopping and Fucking. I’d do all these gay Englishmen. That was my thing that was my calling card. 

Why go for the gay roles?

It was something that just happened. It wasn’t like I was seeking them out. It was just something that presented itself. At the time, there was that kind of question when you’d go into the audition: “Are you comfortable kissing a guy?” “Yeah, of course.” 

In 2000, some actors were being told not to play gay characters for the sake of preserving their careers. Was there any pressure on you not to play that role?

No. My agent at the time was gay, so it was never a discussion. It always boils down to, is the part good or is the play good? If the material is good, I’m happy to do it. If it’s bad, then I don’t wanna do it. But I wouldn’t want do it for a straight part either. 

Did it feel like an important movie at the time for the LGBTQ community?

It didn’t, because it’s not necessarily my community. But it was one of those I was happy (about). It was the first (LGBTQ) movie that showed – at least that I had been a part of, or had seen – just a normal relationship. No one’s dying of a disease, no one’s fighting with their parents. It felt like a great episode of Thirtysomething or a great episode of This Is Us.  (Its gay themes were) just built into the fabric of the movie, as opposed to being the fabric of the movie. There weren’t big red arrows pointing at each character going, “Oh, and by the way, they’re gay!” They were functioning, normal people in their lives, which is reality. In a weird way, its normalcy was the thing that made it special and that felt like a good reason to do it. 

Growing up in Washington D.C., what was your introduction to the LGBTQ community?

God, you could argue it was probably Catholic school and noticing the priests. Not their behavior; I didn’t think anything nefarious was going on. I don’t think they were doing anything horrible to the boys of the school, but I remember thinking, “These men seem effeminate and they carry themselves in a different way, and I think these guys like other men, like other gay men I’ve seen.” 

They didn’t fit the typical heteronormative archetype. 

Yeah, exactly. And it was an odd kind of thing, where I thought, “Oh.” I’ve since come to think maybe the priesthood is like an enclave for people who aren’t comfortable with their sexuality and they wanna shut it down and they think, “Please make it go away. I’m just gonna go to this place and go to seminary school and hope that this feeling leaves me,” which is a shame. 

You strike me as the kind of guy who’s surrounded by gay men for various reasons.

Yeah, of course. I went to a very progressive high school that had gay boys in it. In college, it becomes quickly normalized. But you can’t live in New York and not be friends with every kind of person, whether they’re gay, trans, straight, whatever. 

You were ahead of the game?

Well, I think most people in the city or in pockets of the country were kind of ahead of the game. It felt like, “Wait, this conversation is still happening? Oh yeah, I guess it still is. I guess we do need to keep having this discussion.” (I) marvel at people who are still made uncomfortable by it. Like, how on earth? It’s like being made uncomfortable by a sofa; you’re like, “It’s a sofa.” It couldn’t be more normal. 

You should know that you’ve been called a “gay men’s dream” by the National Enquirer, probably their most accurate reporting.

Cut to 10 years later: Ew, who’s that old guy? (Laughs) 

No way. Our gay icons never age.

Oh yeah, that’s right!

So this movie: Was the title The Spy Who Dumped On Me ever considered?

(Laughs) It’s the James Bond they never made! Idris Elba, Daniel Craig, why wouldn’t you do that movie? 

RELATED:

Susanna’s friends call her the “lesbian whisperer.” And, of course, Kate McKinnon is queer and one of two leading ladies in this film.

It’s so cool. 

Did you get a lesbian read on Kate McKinnon’s character, Morgan, in the movie?

Yeah. But what I liked about her character: again, it wasn’t the focal (point). It’s kind of ambiguous. What she brought to the part was super hilarious. She works really hard on specific jokes, beats, alternate lines, trying to come up with other stuff that isn’t necessarily on the page or in the direction. Kate really goes in and scribbles on the sides (of her script) and it looks like A Beautiful Mind on her script. She approaches her work (in) really sort of (an) academic way. 

You’re long overdue for a gay role.

What’s the last one I’ve done? Maybe (my character) Kevin Garvey from The Leftovers is, who knows. Don’t tell anybody. No, I’m joking. (Laughs) You could argue he was really put-upon and maybe that was the reason why, ’cause he was in a hetero marriage.

(Theroux’s handler peeks in to say, “One last question.” “Two more,” Theroux whispers, giving me two fingers.)

What would you look for in a gay role now?

I don’t know. It’s really always the story. I want the story to be good and compelling. I want the character to be good and compelling, and that could be anything. A la Broken Hearts Club, you do sort of hope that eventually these all become just the background to the characters, because it’s way more interesting just playing the relationship and playing the story than it is playing the orientation.

If you were to date any of the guys you have played in your career, which ones might you go for? Personally, I’d shack up with Joe from Six Feet Under.

Joe in Six Feet Under was a sweetheart. But if I dated Joe, he was straight, and so I think that would be problematic.

He’s only straight till he drinks four beers.

Until he drinks four beers, then all bets are off! The bondage gear comes out. Like, we all know Joe liked being tied to the bed. (Laughs) I don’t know if there’s anyone I’d really wanna date. And it’s weird to think about dating yourself. Just visually awkward.

Actually, Matt McGrath’s Broken Hearts character was an adorable character. But I don’t know, I played some pretty f*cked up guys, so they all seem like they’re not great relationship material.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/08/16/justin-theroux-the-spy-you-wouldnt-mind-being-dumped-by/

[dcmissionaries]

Our Princesses are Definitely in this Castle [Part 1]

With the flaming zombie tornado quelled and ghost hunter badges recollected from Romero and Carpen Town, our Angels returned to a distressed crowed back at the Abbey. From what little information they could give, volunteers and visiting humans reported several prominent Angels missing. Concern piled up once everybody realized that both Strappon and Father Handcuffs failed to return despite the fact that both left Romero and Carpen Town before anybody. Panic set in shortly after and a few grueling weeks passed since then. Many Abbey residents became restless and other theorized possible reasons for the disappearances. To help ease them, Thrones worked on calming the Angels, guiding them in the absense of their leaders. This gave a few others a chance to hold council to come up with a plan. At the behest of Tunic, those with seniority in Daten and military experience were gathered after receiving crucial intel from an inside informant. The group consisted of Duster, Caplet, and Ovr'Kot with guest appearances from Blazer, Hot Pants, and Sukafu. The group at first was confused as to why Demons would turn on themselves, but putting their political strife aside they made haste in formulating a plan. After a few stressful hours, they settled on a plan: Sukafu will become a scout. He shall disguise himself as a Hell Corp. cyborg and relay any useful information ranging from patrol schedules to the locations of their leaders. After the verdict, Sukafu went to work almost immediately. He successfully joined Hell Corp. with the council building upon their plan as information became available. In time, a small strike team was formed for the actual infiltration. Demons had a little less action than Angels. Sure, there was a buzz after the Angels and priests were captured, but they returned to their busy lifestyles after five minutes of mocking. They couldn't risk being off their shifts too long without having their pays docked. A few high ranking Demons did keep close tabs on their prisoners, one Demon keeping a bit too many tabs. It was the informant, Jokki, who would frequent the prisoners. She would often take them for her own projects, mostly cleaning animal enclosures, as a cover to gather information to relay back to Angels. It wasn't long until others became suspicious of her and eventually she was forbidden from seeing them. It was prime time for Shroud to unveil his plans. The week was nearing its end with Demons swamped with work as usual. That or attempting to steal their work from Fundoshi, the poor guy really needs a lengthy vacation. The intercoms turned on, feedback playing through them. "Good afternoon, we are to meet in the training arena within the hour. I think it's about time our guests were shown our true hospitality." As the intercoms turned off, many Demons became giddy. Were they gonna pit them against each other? Sounded like a good form of entertainment! Or maybe they'll fight them! Maybe they'll gain a rank by defeating high ranking Angels. Oh the possibilities! Let's pray to the Lord that nothing bad actually happens. 

DEFINITELY THIS CASTLE. YEP. The Demons of Hell Corp have been summoned to the arena for an extra-special event. --------

Today was clearly a day for celebration, and Hell Corp was practically busting at the seams with excitement. The clamor about the halls was extraordinary- as if there was some sort of free food, a peep show of momentous proportions, or everyone was let out early. Either way, it was clear to the passerby that Hell Corp had one Hell of an event planned (pun intended).   Seats in the Coliseum were filling up quickly, the murmur of excited demons filled the air as everyone whispered about the tarp-covered cages in the middle. They had captured someone from the opposing side, or several, and some could recall a similar event that had happened the year prior. Needless to say, it was worth the excitement.

BRIT:  Shroud stood in the very middle of the stadium with his arms crossed  behind his back, waiting patiently for the seats to fill. He looked so  filled with enthusiasm, the narrator points out with sarcasm.

NAIVESPACEMAN:  Bling stepped into the Coliseum, flanked on all sides by the biggest,  most basic NPC lookin' thug mother fuckers you ever did see. Her own  personal entourage of thugs she had since growing up. None of them  were demons when she had them beating up street rats back in the day.  She fixed that when she joined Hell Corp. The jewelry covered demon  made her way to a seat in the lower middle. Close enough to see the  action, but not close enough to get covered in blood. She just had  this outfit cleaned, you know. Bling folded her arms over her chest  and crossed her legs as her entourage took all the seats around and  behind her. Her eyes narrowed at bit at Shroud.

SALAD ASS:  Tails of course, was dressed for the occasion, if anything  overdressed. He tried to find a seat as close as possible to the show,  knowing he wanted to hear and see and even feel everything that  happens. He was excited to say the least, a sharp tooth grin stretched  across his face, it was rare he ever allowed himself to go out to any  big events but he made this particular one an exception.

OWLIE:  Circlet was slightly annoyed at the fact she had to delay her work.  And as she entered the Coliseum, her eardrums were nearly blasted off  by the other demons' excitement. Sighing, she seated herself at the  middle rows, alone. She's here so she might as well enjoy the show..

KRO:  Well this day has finally arrived and Jokki was a little nervous. Not  because of what they've got in store for their guests, but she was far  more concerned about the possibility of being ratted out publicly for  helping Angels. As if Fundoshi chastising her wasn't enoug.   Hairpin was just as anxious, but he actually had the ability to worry  about some of his friends since he wasnt a

OSCARK9:  Dress Socks walked into the Coliseum with a smile on his face. He  looked around and sees newly faces that he never met. Inside, he saw  some of the hellbents, demons, inquisitors, and of course, the  Absolute. He was finding a seat for himself and took the middle seat  to see the action. With a smile on his face and a little bit of  lolipops that he brought in a lunch bage, he can wait to see what's  going on in the Coliseum.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Sneaker heels was escorted out of her pimped out black hearse,four  tall body guards assuming their position at her sides. Her body  adorned in a lacey black dress. She was sipping the last drop of a  glass of wine and with a soft sigh she tosses the glass in the middle  of the street. With a smirk she sashays inside of the Coliseum. What a  lady.  Her guards crouch down, making a seat for her and with the flip  of her hair SN directed her attention to Shroud.

KRO:  SINCE he wasn't doing much to aid the enemy.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori stretches as he sits down in the very back of the coliseum,  for consideration sake. There was suddenly a bunch of commotion that  woke him out of his mid afternoon nap and he just followed the crowd  here. The sudden jolt from waking up caused a ceiling tile to be  impaled and stuck on one of his horns, not that he noticed. His eyes  still a bit sleepy, and fought back the urge to nap. Jeokori looked  around for one of the five people he actually knows.  Fascinator's eyes quieted in the sunlight, his skin itching and his  retinas slightly burning. It's been days since he last went outside  outside of work purposes and it was a fucking experience. He didn't  really know anyone here, and he felt his chest begin to tighten with  anxiety. His heart began to beat faster and it was getting hard to  breathe. Fascinator sunk into the closest seat he could find, and  prayed that someone who knew him would call him over. Hopefully.  Maybe. Possibly?

SAIYAN:  Bowtie had made her way from her desk all the way through the long  hallways to the Colosseum. She thought back to the last time she was  here. It had been a long time for sure. She made her way to her a seat  that was open next to Jokki and sat down.

 “So what do you think is in the box? Must be important if the  summoned ALL of us here” Bowtie said to her.

KUMA:  Sukajan had heard about the event and decided she'd show up. It would  really be her first time around so many demons. She didn't think it'd  be a significant lead to her father's location, but it was better than  nothing. In very back she spotted a tall, pink, and familiar figure.  Sukajan went next to Jeokori and waved.

TORI:  Ah yes, this was certainly a day for excitement and interest from  demons everywhere. Everybody would be flooding coliseum and gathering  around in anticipation for what was about to occur, though honestly  many probably weren't sure exactly what that thing was. It was just an  interesting day all around, everybody was quite excited for the events  of the day. Well… almost everybody. Not every demon today was as  excited and energetic as some of the others, and that little Demon was  Waist Belt, though he hated that name and just went by Etch. He had  sat himself quite far from some of the other Demons, as they all piled  up at the front Etch found himself a nice little seat where no other  demons had surrounded and sat his butt carefully onto the chair. Etch  was what you would call a paranoid mess, he had a bad feeling about  the day and could only imagine things going wrong, but hopefully that  wasn’t going to be the case. Etch had a lot of reasons more than  just anxiety when it came to sitting far away from the fellow demons,  for one, he didn't like demons all that much. Now sure that may be  hypocritical of him considering he was a demon, but nobody said  anything about him liking himself either. Sitting in the chair legs  swinging slightly in the air as he was far too small to actually reach  the ground with his feet, the little succubus looked around at his  fellow demons. All of them were so scary, sure some seemed nice, and  maybe a few weren't as bad as they seemed, but in the end they were  all terrifying to the boy, every single one of them. Part of the boy  just wanted to be an angel, this was more reason that he separated  himself from the demons around him. He just hoped that he wouldn't  have to talk to anybody today. Hopefully the fact that he was as alone  as he could be wouldn’t attract any unnecessary attention. From his  seat however Etch couldn't help but peek up at the absolute, of all  the scary demons, he was the scariest, he didn't even want to think  about him so as quick as he could he buried his head into his hands  and ran them back into his hair, avoiding the three little horns set  on his head… god he hoped those didn't grow at all.

HITA:  Stretching out its legs, Volto Foglia cracked its neck and adjusted  its mask on its face.  Its bird circled the room briefly before  alighting onto the demon's head again.  Ignoring the rabble of the  others took effort sometimes, truly, but not now.  Its intense focus  was centered solely on the Absolute and what he brought with him to  the Colosseum.  Would it be impressed?  Probably not.  Rarely was it  ever impressed with this Sector.  Though this Absolute had earned its  grandmother's respect, unlike many others, but clearly there was some  lunacy involved in being in charge of this Sector.  Groaning to  itself, VF cracked its neck once more as Cerniera surveyed the arena.  Perhaps it might get to beat someone up today.  Hopefully.

BRIT:  Amulet sat next to Hairpin and leaned in toward him.  "This is going to be just as fun as the last time, sans your sister  getting stabbed." He whispered to him with a short chuckle.

 Fundoshi sighed from the middle of the arena beside Shroud. This was  very different from the last time and he was actually wishing he'd  kept his underwear on. But there it was, implanted in the ground in  front of him as he rested his hands on "Unleashed."  His eyes wandered to Jokki and he gave her a kind of nod in greeting.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori peeked up seeing Sukajan as he waved enthusiastically. He  smiled brightly, the dimples in his cheeks showing as he showed a  paper,  "Sukajan! I wasn't expecting you, I'm happy to see you!"  He got up as he kneeled down to look her in the eyes.

PYROBIRD:  Any opportunity Belt Buckle had to get away from the pencil pushing  was a good opportunity, especially if there was a chance for some  action or classic Colosseum violence. She shoved her way through the  arena's halls with little care for any spilled snacks or falls she  might've caused.

 After making her way to the inner circle, BB scanned the crowd for her  friend Overalls.

 "Damn, must not be here," she thought. After all, Ralls did like to  skip out on these events time to time to follow the roaming pandas.  Instead of wasting more time standing on the steps, BB started to jog  down them towards the front row, just in case they needed some  volunteers. This might be a chance to get back some honor after being  beaten up the last time she was here.

KRO:  Jokki raised a brow at Bowtie, "We all know what's in the box... And  it's not a box of dicks. Well, I guess it depends on the context."   She stops herself before further explaining her joke. The Angels were  dicks. She waved at Fundoshi with a nervous smile. Was she sweating?  Probably. Poor thing, she's got anxiety.

  Hairpin nudged Amulet, "Honey, you're not helping. We both know this  is gonna involve some of my friends so have a little more tact."

KUMA:  Sukajan felt a bit embarrassed by him kneeling down. She knew he  didn't mean anything by it but it was an emphasis on their height  difference, and specifically her shortness. She cleared her throat.  "Yeah its nice to see you too. I'm not... exactly sure what's going  on, but I just figured I should come."

SALAD ASS:  Yeezy of course clumsily and violently made her way to her seat,  finding Tails and sitting next to him with snacks and a mouth full of  hot cheetos. He muddled excited voice was yelling and spiting chunks  of spiciness all over Tails clean and prep and perfect outfit in which  resulted in him shoving the snack down her fucking throat like a  heathen.

OWLIE:  Circlet's eyes wandered for a bit. She looked up to see the absolute,  the only demon she'll never piss off. Then she here eyes drifted  towards the faces of the other demons in the arena. almost all of them  were total strangers to her... But she saw one familiar face among the  sea of strangers.

OWLIE:  "Hey Dress socks!" Circlet waved, she's practically shouting over the  other demon's noise

SAIYAN:  Dick in a box played in Bowtie’s mind for a moment before she  started laughing as she got the joke.

 “Yeah I guess you could say that! Hopefully we can get a few hits on  them ourselves!” Bowtie smiled as she cracked her knuckles.

 That would be nice, especially since there hasn’t been much in terms  of fun going on. At least this in and of itself was a nice break from  the monotony of paper work.

OSCARK9:  While Dress Socks was waiting for the event to start from the  Absolute, he reach inside the bag and took out his main fave Green  Pop. What can he say, he like sweets. Especially if they're green. "Oh  sweet lime, take me away to a sweet life." Like that, he put it in his  mouth and enjoying the flavor. While enjoying the flavor, he heard  voice that was calling him and a familiar one at that. He turn to see  who it is and it was Circlet. "Oh! Hey Circlet!" He waved at her and  shouted back with a smile on his face.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  SN yawned softly and crossed her arms, her eyes closed, "Better than  having interviewers make me deepthroat a mic for a half hour..." She  groaned, who knew talking and oral were the same thing for her? SN  opens her eyes and she leans against the arm of her "chair" earning a  small grunt from guard. "No familiar faces either.. There's gotta be  someone as bored as me." SH murmured as she looked around.

EMI:  Mankini strolled into the bench area, wearing some bejeweled  sunglasses and holding a coffee. It had been a long time since he'd  been around and his paperwork had piled up to obscene levels. He  actually barely recognized the crowd at this point.

 He tilted his sunglasses down and looked straight at any demons he saw  under 5 feet tall. Today was gonna be a good day back.

EMI:  Somewhere in the distance, Nightshirt leaned back in his chair, far in  the back. He had a good enough view of everything, at least if he sat  up.

HITA:  Glancing around once more, Cerniera took flight and coasted around the  room, eyes locking onto a small form huddled all to itself.  She let  out a warning shriek (because she wasn't uncultured and could, in  fact, be polite) before landing on the bench next to Etch.  Creeping  forward, she considered the child and handed him one of her feathers.  A great honor, she felt, to bestow on anyone.

 With the bird's take off, Volto Foglia had to follow after its pet to  ensure she wasn't harassing others... again.  Instead, as it took an  almost circuitous route, it spotted several groupings of demons and  sneered beneath its mask.  How sad, it thought, that none of these  demons were worth even half a single South-Western demon.  Though with  this in mind it was frankly surprised to see Cerniera near another  demon, let alone a small and clearly weaker one.  Head tilting, it saw  she had given the boy a feather and it grinned beneath the mask it  wore.  Regardless of its feelings on the matter, its Nan would beat IT  for not protecting a small child.  That in mind the tall demon sat  down beside Etch, effectively blocking him from other demons, and  stretched out once more with a small wave to the boy beside it.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori nods as he pats the seat next to him, the ceiling tile shaking  on his horn. He sits backs down as he points to the covered cage and  handed her another note,  "Something about that."  Fascinator looked down at the floor, self conscious about himself.  Everyone had friends, except him. Perfect. That's fine. It wasn't  fine. He was screaming internally as he wished someone would tap his  shoulder. This is what happens when you don't got friends.

SALAD ASS:  "Stop being a food whore and sit down, Youre gonna ruin the show with  your loud mouth smacking." Tails hissed under his breath, shoveing  Yeezy into her seat a,d brushing all the discharge of food that landed  on his handsome frame.

OWLIE:  Circlet stood up from her seat and sat herself next to Dress Socks,  "Isn't this intriguing?" She asked him, "I wonder what's behind those  covered cages...?"

BRIT:  Amulet's nose scrunched up a little.  "I can't believe you're friends with those rash Angels. They're  unruly." He said, leaning back to his original position. "Ah, well.  Maybe it's just your generation."  He wasn't fond of that idea either.

KUMA:  Sukajan took the seat next to him, happy to be seated for a couple  reasons. She then glanced up at the cages. Her head tilted a little as  she tried to think of what they might be for.

KUMA:  (hit enter too early) "Well it probably isn't to show off a giant  bird,"  she commented.

OSCARK9:  "Yeah." He answers her. He look over to the cover cage. "I wonder too.  Maybe it's a price of something." He guess. "It could be anything. But  for now, want some pops?" He ask her.

OSCARK9:  *prize

HITA:  There was a pause before gloved hands landed with a smack onto  Fascinator's shoulders.  A grin spread over Rose's face as she plopped  onto the seat next to her mother's friend.  Tucking back her hair, her  eyes tracked over the action on the arena below.  How boring, she  thought, though she did lean into Fascinator.  "How's things, buddy?"

KRO:  Hairpin frowned, "If it's any better, I care more for one of them."  Hairpin leans in close, cupping his mouth as if he was a gossiping  preschooler, "It's uh...the one that hooks you up with the goods that  I care more about."   Hairpin corrected himself in his seat, straightening out his suit  hoping that Amulet at least felt sympathy for that bit.

TORI:  Well so much for sitting where nobody will bother him. Etch happened  to notice quite clearly when the weird demon that was Mankini looked  at him, and as quick as he could he did his best to avert his gaze as  quick as he could. Locking eyes with any demon in Etch mind was a bad  idea. Maybe they were like cats and considered that to be a sign of  wanting to fight or something. Regardless of what that demon wanted  Etch would do his best to just ignore him for now, hoping to god that  he wasn’t going to talk to him. However Etch nearly jumped out of  his seat when he heard of what sounded like a fucking bird coming  right towards him, he almost jumped out of his spot before looking at  the bird that hand landed next to him, which had just proceeded to  hand him a feather. Now Etch wasn’t scared of animals like he was  birds, and he was happy to receive such a gift from such a kind  creature, thinking more about it he couldnt help but feel like it was  kind of cute, and took the feather in his hand gently, unsure what to  do he spoke up to the bird. Etch’s voice was very soft and feminine,  his words came out incredibly smooth and his voice to some could  almost be considered hypnotic, maybe he should look into ASMR.

 “Th-thank you…”

 His words were quick, but to the point, however, what happened next  was something that he did not want to happen, nor did he know how to  handle. Looking away from the bird he took notice of something that he  had ignored on accident, but before he knew it, it was too late. Right  next to him was a giant of a demon, was this even allowed, were demons  allowed to be this tall, this seemed illegal, this was no fair, in  fact, being next to him only made Etch feel smaller. However, the  demon waved at him, so reflexively Etch sat up in his seat, his feet  unable to touch the ground still, in fact he felt like he shrank, and  he waved back cutlery before speaking anxiously.

 “H-H-H-Hello… I-I um… Hi… uh…. hhhh”

OWLIE:  "Yep," Circlet replied, taking a red lollipop from Dress Socks, then  she looked over to the center of the coliseum, waiting for the event  to start. She's actually felt excited by now, she hopes to see some  violence.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori pursed his lips as he replies,  "These demons do have giant birds though…"  He began to theorize of possible entities. Perhaps it was son sort of  beast abomination they made in a lab? They caught enemies? Maybe they  just wanted to show off a new cage. Yes, a shiny new cage. He leaned  closer to Sukajan as he whisper noted,  "Maybe they're trying to get demons for lab testing."  Fascinator screamed in shock as he squirmed. Lord, the curse was real.  He didn't think the gypsy was right but he was wrong. He was gonna  die, and none shall mourn his death. He didn't want this- oh wait. It  was a wild Rose. Settling back down he shakily stutters,  "H-Hi! Didn't expect you here. Seems like a crap shoot right now."

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  "God damn it I swear if its an anim-" She pauses for a moment, making  well, its an ahegao face if any of her guards knew one, before  sneezing. Not just any sneeze, one high pitched enough to break the  wine glass beside her, which was thankfully empty. "I  fuckin..ughhhhh!" She buffs and removes her lipstick tube from her  cleavage, she puts it to her lips. Now to match a dart and a birdy.

KUMA:  "They do? I guess I still have a lot to learn about demons," Sukajan  said legitimately taken aback by that fact. She was also confused by  the mention of the labs. It was really evident on her face. "Oh well  sometimes in gangs if you capture someone from the rival gang you'll  like embarrass them or torment them in front of your underlings. It's  supposed to be a moral boost."

HITA:  Tilting its head, Volto Foglia scooted slightly to the left in order  to give the small demon some space.  Despite its size and general  misanthropy towards others of the Sector, it wouldn't hurt a child.  Flipping out a notepad, it began to scratch out some sort of message  as Cerniera rubbed her face into the small demon's shoulder.  Apparently, she had decided this boy was a good child.  Message done,  VF reached over to pet Cerniera gently for a moment before revealing  the notepad.

 'It is Volto Foglia.  Its bird friend is Cerniera.  She seems to like you.  And wants to protect you.'

 Popping off its mask, the tall demon placed the mask on its lap and  smiled kindly at Etch, knowing its face was probably a kinder thing to  look at than a hunk of metal.  Cerniera let out a coo, wing draping  over the small boy's lap.

 Rose laughed at the scream, amused beyond reason that Fascinator was  so easily spooked.  "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's gonna be neat, at  least, yeah?"  Her hands gestured to the tarp-covered cages at the  center.  "I mean, maybe it's a new ghost!  Or something to beat up?  Who knows, right?"  Her hands gestured more wildly at that, excitement  clear.  She wished her mother was here but apparently she had business  to attend to with Gorgons, something about a turf war with some of the  demons of another Sector trying to take over part of the sea.  Still,  at least something interesting was happening.  "It'll be fun, I bet."

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori looked at her as he tried to imagine her humiliating someone  else. Keyword: try. He honestly couldn't see Sukajan doing that, gang  or not. She was a nice hooman. Unlike Fascinator, who does freaky  shit. He shook his head as he snickered a bit as he pats her head,  passing on a note,  "I can't… see you doing any of that."  Fascinator narrowed his eyes at the cage as he hums quietly,  "Maybe, I just hope it isn't a bull."  The gypsy's fortune will be feared. He smiles brightly at Rose as he  chuckles,  "Right, I should cheer up. Doesn't help being blue. Anyways how're you  Rose in this heat?"  He was dying in the sun, his pasty pale skin was use to playing hide  and seek with the warm rays of sun light.

SALAD ASS:  "God this is so booooring when is it gonna staaaart I came here for  fun not, whatever the fuck this is." Yeezy whined in her chain,  shoveling popcorn into her mouth out of boredom.

KUMA:  "Well we haven't really... yet." Sukajan's voice was a bit small when  she said that, but she got some confidence as she continued. "We don't  have any enemies really. We have a plan for what to do, of course.  Just in case..."

BRIT:  Shroud scanned the crowd before turning to the rather quiet set of  covered cages. Birds always quieted down when covered, even if they  needed a little help for the human.

 "Attention, demons: Thank you all for attending this event. I'm sure  you await with bated breath the reveal of our prey. First, I would  like to explain what the event is about."  He walked over to the cages, motioning Fundoshi to pull the tarps off.

 Fundoshi pulled them off to reveal their live prey: Strappon (who had  his mouth taped), Bifocals, Broshades, Father Handcuffs, Undershirt,  and Dermal.

 Strappon struggled with his bindings, clearly a spitfire.

 "Welcome our pincushions, a choice selection of high-ranking Angels  and two Men of the Lord. They will be your entertainment for tonight."  He began again, walking across the cages, "We will be choosing several  of our ranks to show these honored guests our excellent hospitality-  facing off against hem- as punishment for stitching their noses where  they don't belong."

NAIVESPACEMAN:  Bling had her head resting on her hand as she watched Shroud and his  lap dog just stay in the middle of the area, not really doing  anything. She frowned, closing her eyes for a moment in annoyance at  how long they were taking just to pull down a bunch of tarps. She  hoped that meant Shroud was actually an old man and might die of being  an old fart soon or something. So she could jump on his position. She  opened her eyes when Shroud spoke out again. Bling raised her head off  of her hand at the sight of several high and mighty jackasses in  cages. Her brow raised, with the added information that a few people  here were going to be fighting them. She should've figured something  was going to fight something. It's a Collesium.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  SUn's pointed ears perked up at the word pincushion, arousing her  curiosity. Hopefully there'd be blood the rocker thought. With a grin  she dug her nails into the back of her guard, at the edge of her seat.  "Wonder who they're gonna pick.~" Sneaker Heels purred to herself as  she watched the angels squirm. A show and bondage? Slow start but for  this it was worth it.

OSCARK9:  Dress Socks was surprise that the Higher Ups capture the Angels for  snooping. "Well serves them right for doing that." He said. With a  wide smile on his face, he wonders who will facing who. Oh the wonders  of entertainment!

KRO:  Jokki side-eyed Bowtie, clearly upset by the arrangment. She was  worried her behavior today will get her in trouble, but given her  track record she shouldn't give a fuck anymore. She was about to  respond but stopped as the tarps were removed. So it begins.

  Hairpin looked on with one hand on Amulet's which he was fiddling  with.

  Shades somewhat covered his eyes, letting them adjust to the  lighting. As that happened, he couldn't quiet put his finger on where  he heard the Demon Absolute's voice. It sounded a bit too much like...  Like... That was the mayor's voice. He finally found which exact Demon  was the gotdang mayor.   practically plastering himself on his cage's wall he pointed to  Shroud, "So this is where you are! Where's city hall you oompa  loompa!?"   Jokki nearly lost it but Hairpin didn't make the effort to contain  his laughter. Oompa loompa, holy shit.

TORI:  Etch certainly had no idea what to think of the illegally tall person  before him. Were they nice, mean, scary, crazy, kind, who knows  honestly, but Etch was having a hard time fully grasping what exactly  this demon wanted with him. However, Etch took some interest when the  demon began to write in the notepad. Etch had never met somebody who  would just sit next to you to ignore you so he figured this must have  something to do with something. Maybe they couldn’t talk? Whatever  the reason it did not entirely get rid of Etch fear, and he was still  unsure what to think. He did however quite like the bird that was  being quite friendly, though he wasn’t entirely sure what to do, or  if he could touch them. Before long however Etch was able to take a  look at the demon again and saw that they had finished writing in the  notepad. Ah… a message? Etch figured that they probably couldn't or  prefered not to speak, so he didn’t question it. Reading carefully  Etch looked up at the demon still quite frightened and spoke up again.  Though this time he forced a little smile on his face.

 “U-uh i-it's nice to m-m-meet you V-Volto… Foglia... “ He had to  think about how to pronounce the name before speaking it. Despite only  being a demon for a short ammount of time and still possessing a  little bit of a japanese accent Etch was rather good with english.  “N-Nice to um… meet you… I l-l-like your b-bird…”

 Etch was a little surprised to see the demon before him take off the  mask, and although the face underneath still scared him, it certainly  was not as bad as the mask he had on before, and did allow Etch to  find some more comfort. However His attention was turned away from the  demon before him to the announcement that was now to be spoken by  Shroud.

 Etch saw the angels in the cage and despite his demonic nature, his  heart did sink a little. Although he would not speak this Etch was  quite a fan of angels, and really did not want to see them all trapped  up like this. And to hear that the demons would be fighting against  them was well, it wasn't fun to think of. Tapping his feet together  Etch took a deep breath and simple sighed, he was hoping he wouldn't  have to fight anybody today, especially not angels. The angels they  had captured were quite friendly looking and all seemed very kind, not  at all like the demons around him. Etch just felt like hed fit in  better but, he knew that was not an option, and so he pushed those  feelings aside and sat still in his chair, clearly a little  uninterested in the situation.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori pursed his lips, unsure if the whole speech was suppose to be  taken seriously with all the puns. He pursed his lips, unsure if he  ever saw those people but he nudged Sukajan,  "Damn, you were right Suka."  Perhaps she was able to see the future. He squinted his eyes as he  considered this possibility.  Fascinator was about to say something but then voila, the cage was  revealed. He didn't really recognize everyone but then he saw Shades!  He calls out while waving,  "Shades! Heeey! Whats up buddy? What're you doing in a- Oh… wait."  He pursed his lips as he sunk in his seat. Well this was awkward.  Fascinator twiddled his thumbs as a cold sweat dripped down his brow.

SAIYAN:  Bowtie looked down at the box that was now uncovered. Well it looks  like there dicks in a box after all.

 Undershirt had been rattling a cup against the bars of the cage. The  cup was gift from Caplet that said #1 Dad on it. Why he had it with  him he had no idea. This time cooped up had been so fucking boring and  he had the bejeweled theme song stuck in his head for the past few  days. At least he could now see outside of the cage since the tarp was  removed. He then dropped the cup and looked around at the coliseum  filled with Demons.

 “Holy…” he started to say before stopping himself.

OWLIE:  "Damn, this ought to be good," Circlet said to herself, sneering.  seeing the angels in the cages, she rapped her fingers against the  armrests, excited.

KUMA:  Sukajan groaned a bit at the puns. She wondered how someone could took  all this seriously with those. However, she was very pleased with  herself at the reveal that her guess was correct. She looked back up  at Jeokori and noticed his squinted eyes of suspicion.  "It was just my intuition," Sukajan said with a shrug. "This is also  what tends to happen in movies and stuff like that."  Though she did have some concern about all this. Who were those people  down there in the cage anyways? What had they done. There was now some  unease setting in.

HITA:  Upon the revelation of what was in the cage, Rose grinned, sharp teeth  glinting violently.  "Well... it seems like today is fun!"  Turning  her attention to the question though, Rose smiled softly at the man.  "I'm fine.  I'm built for sterner things ya know.  You an' me, pasty  pal, we'll be all right."

 Humming, VF looked out at the arena, neither agreeing with or  disagreeing with Etch's statement on whether it was good to meet him  or not.  It did try to smile kindly, though its attention was arrested  quite firmly by the ruckus at the center.  Eyes narrowing on the  angels and humans, it sneered in the direction of the Absolute.  So it  was this again.  Joy of joys.

 Tap.  Tap-tap.  Tap tap-tap tap.  Bifocals continued on playing  Bejeweled, the music clearly being pushed straight towards Undershirt.   However, the comment about the Oompa Loompa's made her snort, lose,  and sigh.  Still, with a grin she brought up YouTube and began playing  the very song Shady mentioned.

BRIT:  Shroud's resounding silence at the comments about his height was  deafening.  "Oh, sew you finally recognize me?" He asked, turning to Shades.  "Don't you know where city hall is? I thought that was common  knowledge."  He scoffed and turned back to the rest of the crowd.

 Strappon struggled further in his bindings, kicking as much as he  could.

 "Sew who will be first?" Shroud asked.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori noticed Sukajan's unease and placed a hand on her shoulder. He  writes down,  "I'm sure it's fine. After all, enemy is an enemy."  His eyes lowered as he remembered the many days his mentor smashed  that into his skull. Literally. His left eye socket still burns. He  shook his head, trying to forget as he asks,  "You know any of them?"  Fascinator wanted to agree. He really did. He wanted to say he was  tough, but he couldn't lie. His soft baby hands hasn't done something  violent in months. He makes a stab at himself,  "Yeah, but I'm just a marshmallow though."  He sighs as he lowers his head, it started to sink in how much of a  wimp he was. How did he ever get a boyfriend? He grits his teeth,  trying hard to keep a smile on his face.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  SN snickers at the Oompa loompa comment, sitting back as she watched  in amusement. She hopped up a bit, quite excited for impending ass  whipping. She thought angels looked better bruised and bloody, its  kinda the whole aesthetic of her tumblr blog. Blood is low key sexy.  SN was resisting the urge to me me me!

KRO:  Shades tried not to laugh as Bifocals brought up the video. It's  appropriate, really. But Shroud's remarks snapped him back, "I can go  first! Me and you, your office! The sewage system??? School lunches?  Come on, I've been waiting months for ONE meeting."   Even in the face of the enemy does Shades care more about politics  than whatever the fuck was going on.

KUMA:  Sukajan felt comforted by the hand on her shoulder. Sure, she didn't  know any of them personally and they could have done something  terrible. There were probably a threat to demons and well, technically  she was at least half demon. A sigh escaped her lips and she seemed a  bit more reassured.  "Nope. None of them look familiar."  Her expression changed to seem more disconnected. It was a calmer look  that suited a gang member.

OWLIE:  Circlet's eyes were practically glowing with excitement, she secretly  hopes that she'll able to witness some bloody and brutal duel. She  also low-key wishes she'll be able to get into some fighting, even  though she's just recovered a broken rib.

(( OOC: God says: First round will be Circlet v. Broshades ))

EMI:  Dermal glanced around the arena, much less roughed up than his  cagemates. He blew some hair out of his face.

 "My, what a crowd this place is."  He adjusted himself in his seating position. His eyes stopped on the  green haired demon in the bleachers and the grey strands of hair in  the back, and a few other choice demons around. He concealed a smirk.

 "You've done quite a job fixing this place up after the last Absolute,  child, but if you think anyone's going to even touch me, you're sadly  mistaken."

 "Last time we had a Seraph around, he nearly skewered a small child."  Mankini said, tossing his empty coffee cup perfectly in the trash,  seating himself next to a small boy.  "I'd avoid fighting, you'd be quite the target..." He gave Etch a  toothy grin.  "So... You're new?"

BRIT:  Behind the mask, there was probably a sadistic little grin. But you  know, no one could actually see it.  "You want to meet with me?" He asked Shades, "Earn it. It seams you're  a strong Angel. I feel my ranks will put darts in you, pincushion. You  beat one of them, I'll entertain the notion of a meeting with you. Pin  that on me."

 He turned back to thr crowd.  "Our first fight will be this rather loud Angel by the name of Shades.  Who will stand to fight him?" He asked loudly.

 Amulet, from his seat, squinted at the Seraph in the cage.  "Who the fuck is that?" He asked, almost whistfully, "The Seraph..."  He tilted his head but shrugged and kind of smirked as he leaned back  in his seat again, seeming to answer his own question while touching  the hair covering his eye, playing with it a little.

(( OOC: Fight thread: http://dcmissionaries.boards.net/thread/172/event-princesses-definitely-castle ))

OWLIE:  Circlet suddenly stood up, impulsively, she said, "I want to fight!"

TORI:  Etch sat a little uncomfortably next to VF and the bird, unsure  exactly what to say. He was certainly not the best at talking and had  no idea what to say to him, but he did appreciate the company to some  degree. Etch was quite focused on the idea of not fighting, but his  attention was very quickly turned to the wicked looking demon sat next  to him. Who… who was this. The fear that had been in Etch’s chest  the whole time as of now shot up to a million, and he was now on high  alert, who the heck was this demon and why was he so scary? His grin  was scary and he had no idea what he was ment to think of this demon.  Scooting closer to VF and in turn farther from this new demon, Etch  poked his fingers together trying to find words, his face a bright  red. He felt not only fear but embarrassment, he couldn't find any  words, and had no idea how to speak, it's as though they had been  taken from him, he was embarrassed. However after some time of him  shuffling around in his seat he spoke, looking at the ground.

 “I-I um… I d-d-d-don't think I w-w-w-want to fight anyw-w-ways  um… I uh… I’d be too...t-t-t-o scared… a-a-and um… yeah.”

 Etch had no problems admitting he was scared, he was after all, but  honestly for more reasons than one at this point. He took another  breath, still poking his fingers together.

 “I um… y-yeah im… im new… m-my name is.. Uh…  E-E-E-Etch….”

 He felt like he would regret telling this demon his name, but he also  realized he had not told it to VF who had been sitting next to him,  feeling bad Etch buried his face in his hands, before shaking it off  and taking a breath, no point in stressing over that now.

HITA:  Smiling, Rose pat him on the shoulder.  "Aw come on, I'll keep you  safe.  I made a new grenade!  It lets out acid fog.  Pretty neat,  huh?"  Poor man, thinking he was in this alone.  "Besides, all else,  you might just fight the human and he can't be too tough if he can't  keep the birds from flying the coop, right?"

 Letting out a soft chirp, Cerniera eyed the newcomer with distaste.  VF narrowed its eyes as well, mouth stretching in a wide grin.  With a  whistle, it signaled Cerniera to do as she pleased.  Her claws struck  out at Mankini and she let out a sort of hissing noise.  From beside  Etch, VF's grin widened as it pulled the small boy close to its side  and let the bird settle between Etch and Mankini.

 "It would appreciate if you would ask before interrupting a  conversation with another."  The double-toned voice sounded derisive  and degrading almost, as if the demon that settled himself down were  nothing better than dirt under its shoe.  Raspy as its voice was, it  was clear the tall demon didn't view the superior demon with much  respect.

SAIYAN:  Undershirt looked at Bifocals with annoyance. That fucking song was  gonna be the death of him.

 He also couldn't believe that they were gonna be used as entertainment  for these Demons! It felt so degrading. More so because of the fact  that they were captured in the first place!

 "Hopefully this whole ordeal would be over soon enough" he hoped.

EMI:  Mankini jerked back and glared at the dumb feathered creature.  "No one taught you manners, I suppose." He spat at VF.  His scowl transitioned into a grin when he looked at Etch again.

 "I supposed another time, then, Boy." He said with a bit of a wink,  fixing his hair.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori pats her back as he smiles,  "See? No feelings hurt! I think I'll join in."  His sense of empathy was quite twisted. He was almost delighted to  hear of the events, watching intently. Should he join in the blood  bath? Sure, why not? In the spirit of the celebration. He raises his  hand, obviously unable to to call out.  Fascinator sweated a bit, he forgot that Rose made grenades. He shrugs  as he tries to object,  "W-Well I mean I broke my collarbone last fight I was in..."  He was just praying he won't be picked at all. He was a lover not a  fighter. Even then, he wasn't a lover either.

KRO:  Feeling his blood boil, Shades scooted away from the cage bars and  grabbed Bifocals by the shoulders, "Hey knowing me, I don't think I'll  last 3 seconds with a healthy and young looking Demon so if I die...  Tell my fiance and son that I love them, okay?"

 He paused for a few seconds, then spoke, "And I'm being incredibly  serious about it."

 Jokki was close to going into a full-blown panic attack and slid up  next to Shroud, "My Supreme Absolute," she started. It sounded like  she was about to gag just saying that title, "If you wish, I can  assume your mayoral duties and get this particular Angel out of your  hair. Besides I don't think it wise to hurt Angels in the first place,  it'll bring out popularity in the polls down on Earth."

 She doubted that Shroud even cared for Earth politics, but it was  worth a shot.

 Hairpin turned to Amulet briefly, looking at him as if asking what's  up, "What about the Seraph, sweetie?"  Tell him the juicy gossip.

KUMA:  Sukajan's facade was essentially broken when Jeokori said he was going  to fight. He did once tell her that he was a soldier, but she had sort  of forgotten about that. To her he seemed more like well, a gentle  giant type.  "You wanna fight? Really?"

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Sneaker heels clapped with excitement, watching the slight uproar.  Wonder if this would be okay to put on world star? Who the hell knows  but it was tempting. She sits back and she rests one leg over the  other, she was excited in more than one way. Weirdo.

TORI:  Holding his hands on his face Etch simply happily scooted towards VF,  he had no idea who this other demon was but all he got from him was  bad vibes. This was the first time he had heard VF speak and it was  quite intimidating, but much nicer than this other demons voice for  some odd reason. Looking up at VF Etch spoke up in his usual soft  tone, though he was sort of whispering, perhaps not wanting the other  demon to hear, though he was probably close enough that he could.

 “U-Um… Wh-who is that?” Etch for some reason trusted asking this  scarry demon over that one

 The words ‘another time’ resonated inside Etch, he didint speak to  him, but it made Etch curl up into something of a ball and if you  looked close enough, it looked like he was vibrating, or maybe that  was just an illusion or something. Internally however, Etch was  screaming…. loud.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori tilted his head, confused but kept his hand up as a volunteer.  It seems his decision shocked Sukajan. He shows a small note,  "What's wrong? Only way to get better is to practice."  It wasn't really even blood lust, just a desire to make his mentor  proud any way possible. She always had a small smile when they  sparred. Jeokori has a lot of mother issues. Many issues in fact.  Someone adopt this orphan, he's only 2,300+ years old. Perfectly fine.

BRIT:  Shroud looked up at Jokki for a few moments.  "Last I checked, you weren't my advisor." He said to her, "I'd rather  be the one running this machine. And if you don't mind, I have  Gladitorial combat to oversee."

 He motioned at Fundoshi to open the cage.  "Take the mouthy one out." He said.

 Fundoshi's mouth twitched and he turned to open the cage, grabbing  Shades by the arm and pulling him out promptly before shutting it  again. He leaned in to him.  "Don't fuck this up." He whispered before shoving him toward the  middle of the Arena, but hanging awfully close behind him.

BRIT:  "You, over there. Your name is Circlet, correct?" Shroud asked,  pointing to her, "You'll be our first."

 Fundoshi motioned for her to come to the arena.

OWLIE:  "Yes!" Circlet said, delighted. 'Yes! I get to fight!' She happily  thought while cracking her knuckles. She made her way down to the  arena, preparing herself to what's about to go down.

OSCARK9:  Dress Socks was waiting patiently to hear who's fighting who. It did  made him dull, just a little, but the wait was over and hear the names  called out and it was his friend Circlet. He turns to Circlet with a  smile on his face. "Have fun in their, Circlet." He said while giving  her a thumps up. "Don't hold back!" This will be fun to watch.

KRO:  Shades could feel his face flushed. Shit, was he overheating?  Medication does that to ya. Or was he just appreciating the chiseled  male figure that was Fundoshi. The guy got pretty close, just like  temptation.  That was actually kinda hot.

 He crossed himself not only to keep temptation off, but so that the  Lord is merciful and lets him live. He missed Father's day for his  son, he kinda owes it to the kid to come back, even if it's with a few  missing limbs.

 "If I lose it's gonna be an embarrassment. Not for my pals, but  because of my rank..." he whispered. It was kind of to Fundoshi but at  the same time kinda talking to himself. He was nervous, okay.

OWLIE:  Circlet reached the arena and saw her opponent clearly. Her malicious  smile nearly faded. Ok, maybe she didn't think this through, she got  nervous at the sight of the higher ranking angel... But then again,  beating him means good to her and humiliation to him. She took off her  namesake and it transformed into a bident, preparing for the battle.

KUMA:  "I mean... you're right," Sukajan said with the initial confusion  leaving her. "I guess to most people practice and training is like  hitting a punching bag or something." She then sort of gave up on that  initial topic.  "So the people down there, are those angels?"

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Was it weird that she was enjoying this more than she should be? Yeah.  Did SN give a flying fudge nugget? Nope. This was hot and she'd  definitely take pleasure in this fight. She leaned forward a bit to  get a better look and she giggled. "This'll be one hell of a sight~"  SN stop you need help.

BRIT:  Shroud looked over Circlet and turned to Shades. He walked up to him  and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him down to his  height.  "We should make this a fair fight." He said to him in a low tone, the  whisps of his cape seeming to shift and move around their ankles for a  moment, "You're of high rank, but I think you'd operate much better on  even ground."

 There was likely a sharp pain in Shades' ankles before he tossed him  in front of Circlet.  "You may begin." He said, turning sharply and taking his seat on the  outskirts of the Arena.

KRO:  Shades tried not to scream in Shroud's ear, but he kinda wished he  did. Falling to the ground, he rolled and sat up, shaking a fist,  "Come on, man! I'm an aging guy!"  He sighed, getting up with difficulty, "Now I know how Overwatch  characters feel when they get nerfed," he mumbled to himself.

OWLIE:  Grinning, Circlet charged at the angel with great speed, kicking him  hard with her left foot in the chest and batting him with her bident,  though she knows it didn't do much damage on him.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori shrugs as the demon went up to fight, maybe next time. He made  a mental note to find out what a punching bag was later but he nods as  he points to the pink haired one,"I think that one is a human, if I'm  not wrong."  There really wasn't a distincation between human and angel but he  heard there were some mortals down there. Suddenly the ceiling tile  came loose from his horn, smashing onto his head. Unable to move his  vocal chords he made gurgling throat sounds in an attempt to speak as  he rubbed his head.  Fascinator bit his lip, silently praying for Shades. The man made good  tweets. May the angel live another day. He sighs as he looks at his  phone, looking for new employment soon since he might not have his  idol money making job. Maybe that's why he was depressed. Nah probably  not it. Proabbly the ice cream he had before he went to bed yesterday.

KRO:  "OOF," his back slammed hard on the ground again and he shielded his  head with his arm as this child batted him. Man, this wasn't different  from gang kids kicking his ass. He tried to grab the weapon out of  Circlet's hand, he was getting close to going into full Dad mode and  chastise her.

 "I know it's the point, but you're gonna splat my brains all over the  damn floor!"

 Hairpin winced at the kick Shades received. How the hell didn't his  heart stop then and there? Miracles, one could say.

OWLIE:  She pulled her weapon free from the angel's grip and used her left  fist to punch him in the chest.... Which only hurt her hand more than  him... she bit her lip to keep herself from wincing.

KUMA:  Sukajan squinted as she looked at everyone down there. She honestly  couldn't tell the difference. She was going to ask if there was  anything that gave her away as a demon hybrid, but she was caught off  guard by the ceiling tile that fell onto Jeokori's head.  "Whoa, are you okay?"

KRO:  That punch wasn't as bad, but he squinted at Circlet, "Instead of the  chest, I suggest the solar plexus. Ya know, where it'll leave people  literally breathless?"

EMI:  "Put your back into it, Spades!" Dermal shouted from the cage.  What a pathetic turn of events for the man. Pretty disappointing so  far.

OWLIE:  Circlet stared at her opponent, dumbfounded. Did he just... gave her  advice? Did he want to die? Snapping out of it, she decided to deliver  a blow to Shade's jaw, punching it hard.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Possibly the only sound someone ever heard from Jeokori and it's  horrible demonic sounds since he couldn't use his voice. It wasn't  like he was in complete pain but still. It fucking hurt?? He rubbed  his head, finally stopping the unpleasant throat sounds. He pointed to  the spot where it hit and wrote down,  "Did it leave a mark?"

KRO:  Shades stared off to the side after receiving the blow. He blinked a  few times, moved his jaw around until a gross pop was heard. Opening  and closing his jaw, he just kinda nodded, "Well, thanks for fixing  what my doctor couldn't?"

 He was getting his ass beat, but it was a win-win for him in this  regard. Girl got to punch an Angel, he got his jaw fixed. It's what he  gets for having dick2bomb.

OWLIE:  Circlet snarled and threw flurries of punches all over Shades' body,  though it seems that he's unaffected by his punches.

KRO:  Sorta sissy slapping the punches out of the way, still getting hit  with a few, he grabbed her by the wrists to make her stop. She was  getting frustrated, he could tell, but he's gotta be real with her.  She was kind of a shitty fighter at the moment.

 "Now hold up! Are you new here or something? Cause your form leaves a  lot to be desired, at least learn how to properly punch. It's like  your fists are opening up mid punch!"  He took this time to straighten himself out, sitting upright on the  floor. Ya know, this isn't that bad, except he may be overstepping a  few boundaries in terms of authority. There's a reason he's not a  trainer anymore and that's because he's a weak fuck.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  This is illegal. Nothings supposed to be this hot, hell she's not even  that hot. She was almost drooling. Pull yourself together sweet lord.  SN shakes her head and gives herself a slap. Keep the undies on.

OSCARK9:  "Woo!" He shouted at her from a far. Hope she can hear him from his  distance. "You've got him on the ropes now!" He was filled with joy  for seeing this fight. Hopefully in the future that he'll get a chance  to fight one of them. For now, all he can do is to grab another pop  from his bag and enjoy the show. This time, it was an Orange Pop.

KUMA:  Sukajan looked up to the top of his head and there didn't seem to be a  mark. She shook her head in a no. "It looks fine but geez," her glance  went back up to the ceiling. "Must be some cheap ceiling tiles... Is  there anything I could do to help?"

BRIT:  Fundoshi scowled deeply. Shades was literally doing his job...  Not that Shroud seemed to be budgeting much in terms of training. Most  of it seemed to go into ghost research.  He squinted, having a feeling this would end badly.

KRO:  He could tell that he got the kid's attention, lowering her guard and  such. Letting go of one wrist, he took her left hand and balled it up  to a fist.  Shades pointed to her knuckles, "See, you were punching with your  fingers. That's kind of a big no-no. They're kinda brittle unless you  do special training. That goes for even us Immortals. What you  actually want to do is punch with your knuckles. They're sturdier.  I mean, only reason why brass knuckles aren't called anything else.  NOW."

 He balls his right hand into a fist, sucker punching Circlet on the  forehead. Wow he felt like an asshole but in all fairness, he was  getting his ass beat by poor form, "That's how you punch."

 Jokki winced at Circlet getting punched, but she hoped Fundoshi was  taking notes on how to sucker punch unruly Demons.

OWLIE:  "Fuck!" Circlet cursed in pain, she gets up and gets into her battle  stance, this time, she'll make him pay

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori shakes his head and rubs his temples, patting her shoulder in  gratitude. He points to the fight and shakily scrawls out,  "You watch the fight, I might be a while, okay?"  He gently pats her back, before sinking deeep into his seat. To the  point that he had to bend his knees in order to sink further and that  is couldn't really be counted as sitting.  Fasciantor winced at the punch, but shit that was good form. A a man  who use to be in a not so legal underground fighting rink, having a  good punch will let you live 5 matches. Wait... Maybe that's he can  make money if he loses his job. Realizing this, he began to make plans  (or rather lies) when he goes so loved ones wouldn't worry. It'll be  like when he got into college, and after he dropped out.

KRO:  Finally getting up from the ground, Shades limped over to her, keeping  his hands up in case she tried to hit him as he approached. Until he  saw that he wasn't going to get torn to shreds, he smacked her upside  the head. He could of gone for an attack but he was hurting so it's  not like he was gonna do much damage.

 "In all fairness, it's deserved considering you had shit form."  He crossed his arms with a huff. Kids these days, right?

OWLIE:  Circlet winced in pain as she rubbed her head, Damn this angel,  Circlet was getting pissed. She panted as she stood up. In a strained  voice, she said, "You'll... Pay..."

TORI:  Etch for the most part was ignoring everything, though he did have to  admit that the angel was doing a really good job. He was honestly  hoping the angel won but he figured if he did something bad would  happen, so at the same time he hopped he didin’t. Crossing his legs  to get more comfortable Etch was reminded of his uniform. He hated the  skirt, he was a boy after all, why would his caretaker buy him the  skirt. It made him stand out more than he already did and honestly it  didint suit him. Oh well, back to resting his head in his hands.

OWLIE:  She yelled and slashed her bident across Shades' chest, but it didn't  draw any blood, it just scratched him a bit.

KUMA:  Sukajan nodded at him and hoped he felt better. To be fair she wasn't  paying too much attention to the actual fight itself. Now that she was  actually paying attention, she wasn't really sure who to root for. The  obvious answer would be the demon, but she wasn't that invested in the  conflict. It also seemed like they weren't fighting that hard.  Though Sukajan did have a thought that if she fought someone down  there and won, it could give her an in with some of the demons.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  Sneaker Heels yawned a bit and she stretched. "Either they're both  holding back or they're tired as hell.." She said as she looked at her  nails, well at that length they were talons. SN digs said talons into  her body guards back and she sighs, pulling them away to pick at the  blood on them. "Boy did I miss that taste.~"

KRO:  Shades was about to make a small little quip about how his money got  stolen when he was captured. Someone owed him $20 and he was gonna pin  that on Fundoshi as soon as he got out of this mess. But the bident  was coming in fast, yelling he tried to move out of the way. He wasn't  unscathed and he rubbed his chest.

 "Hey! This was my favorite shirt, what the hell! It's Gucci!" This  shit costs an arm and a leg, what a little shit.

OWLIE:  "Like I give a damn about your damn shirt" Circlet said, twirling her  weapon,

KRO:  Better judgement was telling Shades to not hit a kid even if they were  a little gremlin. But fuck it. He grabbed her bident and flung her  across the arena. Oh would you look at that, he's still got it.

 "You should cause it literally costs as much as a newborn child!"

OWLIE:  Circlet yelled in was thrown to ground like a ragdoll. She really had  a talent of pissing people off, and it backfired on her.

KRO:  He approached Circlet once more. He helped her get back up on her feet  but then shook her a little. He wasn't exactly gonna attack, but he  was livid as all hell (ha) about his shirt.

 "Listen here you little gremlin, at least have respect for expensive  brands."  After he was done shaking Circlet, he handed her back the bident.

 "And this is yours, by the way."

OWLIE:  Okay....? Like a cornered animal, she quickly grabbed her weapon from  the angel's hands and leapt away from him. She still had one more  shot, she better not fail this time.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori looked at the areana then to Sukajan and then back to the  arena. He was wondering if she was seeing this shit too. This was  suppose to be a good fight, right? Was it the ancient Earth tradition  he heard about, opposite day? But he returned his interest, the fight  suddenly getting interesting. Hopefully the angel now does ancient way  of killing an opponent: Claw-Plach. But he watched in despair as the  opponent helped the demon up. No Claw-Plach today...  Fascinator gasped and placed a hand over his mouth, he was surprised  at the bident flick. Damn son, he didn't think this would happen.  Atfirst, he thoguht Shades was gonna pimp slap Criclet but he was  relieved ( and a bit disappointed) that he was more of a gentleman  than that.

OWLIE:  Taking a deep breath, Circlet threw her weapon towards Shade

OWLIE:  welp. It didn't cause much damage. it only ripped the shirt even more.

BRIT:  "Petty." Fundoshi scoffed, "I thought Angels weren't matierialistic."  He crossed his legs and arms a little tighter, tapping his foot. How  could they call this a fight?

KRO:  Deep breaths Shades, deeeep breaths. He decided to zip up his jacket  for the sake of decency. It was getting a bit chilly too, since ya  know, his shirt was getting ripped apart.

 Hairpin yells from the bleachers, "At least it isn't Prada!"

 Shades turns around to glare, but nods in understanding. The carrot  had a point.

OWLIE:  Gaining a bit of her confidence back, she started moving towards her  opponent, then she ran and gained forward momentum, kicking Shades  flat on the stomach while in mid-air

KRO:  Hearing hurried steps, Shades turns around only to have the air leave  his lungs from that kick. Well, he can't get mad when he literally  taught her where to hit. He flew back and on his side, rolling to face  the ground while holding his abdomen.

 "Damn, that was a pretty good kick," was all he could muster.  Jokki gave Fundoshi a look, hoping he'd understand that this Angel  clearly wasn't meant for combat if a kid's shit form was doing this  kind of damage. She ran up to him and whispered, "I'll tend to his  wounds. Or bones...They're hollow so he's probably internally bleeding  from bone fractures.."

BRIT:  The applause from the demon crowd was phenomonal. A lower-ranked, new  Demoness beat a high-ranked Angel! How incredible!

 Fundoshi looked at Jokki and gave her a nod in acknowledgement before  shooting a look at the Absolute as he stood.  "Circlet is the winner. An excellent display, even for a new spool."  Shroud commented as the crowd went wild - Whatever he meant by 'new  spools' anyway.  Fundoshi didn't hesitate to walk over to clear the Arena.

 Strappon made more noise seeing Shades get taken down. He was not  happy about this, about having one of his own taken out so early in  the game. What was the point of all this??

OSCARK9:  "You did it, Circlet! You beat that Angel!" He said to her while  applauding to her from a far. "Woo!"

KUMA:  Sukajan sort of cheered, only because it'd be awkward to not give any  acknowledgement. Taking down an angel didn't seem that hard. Of  course, the other one fighting seemed to be a full demon. She clenched  her fist as she internally debated actually get in on these fights.

OWLIE:  Meanwhile, despite all the cheering, Circlet fell down on her knees,  she's tired, and at the same time, overwhelmed, she really thought  she'll lose. But she didn't, she won (thank goodness, the guy was so  pissed with her), she sighed with relief, as she help herself up with  her bident, knees shaking.

OFFICERCOFFINCAT:  She clapped for the new demoness, feeling pride. She knew angels were  weak but wow this was defiantly exceeding expectations. "Go Circlet!"  She said and she sat down, pleased with what she saw.

(( OOC: We'll be ending the RP for tonight, so make your final posts! **We will be continuing tomorrow at 2-3 PM EST!** ))

TORI:  Etch to say the least was quite disapointed that the angel lost to a  demon. He was just glad it wasnt him down there fighting. Sure if he  was he would do his best but he wasn't a fighter, his weapon wasn't  even really meant for killing from what he had observed, it was blunt  and there was no way he could kill a person to begin with. He sighed  and closed his eyes. When was this gonna end.

CRACKEMWALNUTS:  Jeokori just silently stared at the arena with an unfazed face. He  wasn't really impressed no matter what. Yes, well placed kick but that  doesn't make up for chorography of the whole fight. He taps his claws  on the arm rest quietly judging.  Fascinator didn't cheer but instead worry for Shade's health. That had  to have dislocated or fractured something. Hopefully no metal plates  have to be used, but hol shit. He was still worried. He'll send  flowers once he learns where he's starying. Maybe a bouqet of sun  flowers.

KRO:  Jokki rushed over to Shades, placing a hand on his shoulder to make  sure the guy was still lucid. Seeing that it's the case, she picked up  the Angel bridal style but before she took off Shades tapped her  shoulder to make him face Circlet.

 He gave the kids a thumbs up as he was taken away. It may be odd that  an Angel was giving a Demon positive reinforcement, but that's a  Northerner for you.  It didn't take him too long before he actually knocked out of  exhaustion. He'll be okay, he's just taking a lil'nap.

OWLIE:  Circlet limped back into the bleachers next to Dress Socks, sure,  she's hurting all over, but she won't miss the next fights, she  slumped back into her seat and waited for the next fights to come.

BRIT:  Fundoshi turned to the Absolute, who seemed to be rather amused with  himself.  "Are we moving on to the next fight, Sir?" He asked, adjusting his  positioning slightly.

 "Yes, of course. It seams the people want more," Shroud said,  gesturing to the crowd of cheering demons. "Are we to deny what they  want, Fundoshi?"

 He looked over the crowd, seeing the slightly concerned faces of his  peers among their midst before sighing and nodding. He turned back to  the cage.

What will become of the Angel's Ranks if this fight continues? Will they win, or will there be another ripped Gucci shirt among their midst? Find out tomorrow, things are just starting to heat up!!

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Prologue

Damn I can’t believe Book 3 is actually going to be a thing...

I hope they don’t pull that “theater bonus short story booklet” thing like they did for violet evergarden

Also translating this prologue reminded me how much I hate researching obscure kyudo and shinto stuff aaaaah even koukyuu no karasu wasn’t this bad and I’m pretty sure the author made some stuff up for that one

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. A kanmuri is a cap worn by Shinto clergy

2. A sakaki is a species of evergreen sacred to Shinto

3. Ok this was hard to look up but by 7-5-3, it means wrapping 7 pieces of rattan together around a bow, and then wrapping 5 pieces, and then wrapping 3. By the way, apparently you need permission to use this bow

4. Hamayumi refers to a bow that can repel evil

5. A ridgepole-raising ceremony is performed after the framework of the house is finished. A priest comes to do the ceremony and a symbolic depiction of a drawn bow is aimed in the evil direction to drive off evil

6. To be specific, men and women who were born in a year with the same Zodiac sign as the current year

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A white dragon was spanning the sky.

The footprints of wild rabbits were etched into the shining snow, and while many trees on the mountains were shedding their leaves, red nandina berries were swaying under evergreen leaves. This place was usually quiet, with only the chirping of birds and familiar faces passing by, but on this particular day, there was a procession of people.

It was a small shrine in the town. The middle schooler Minato had came here for the Setsubun Festival. Setsubun was an event to get rid of evil spirits and welcome fortune before the beginning of spring.

Shuu and Seiya, his fellow first years who were also in the Kirisaki kyudo club, were there as well. Like the people who couldn’t wait for the start of the festival, the three couldn’t hide their excitement. While keeping a proper distance, they proceeded to stake out a spot for themselves.

“I throw beans every year at my house, but this is the first time I’m going to a festival like this.”

Seiya’s cheeks loosened at those child-like eyes that were filled with curiosity.

“That’s right. I could hear your loud voice saying ‘Demons out, fortune in’ even at my house, Minato.”

“Oh, you could hear me? I knew Kuma was reacting to it.”

Kuma was Seiya’s family’s dog. When it sensed Minato, it would look out from the hole in the hedge and wait, waving its tail wildly on the other side of the hedge. It seemed that it desperately wanted to play with him. Apparently, Kuma thought of Minato as a brother.

Shuu, who was on the other side of Minato, was muttering, Demons out, demons out.

Seiya narrowed his eyes.

“Shuu, were you saying that to me just now?”

“Sorry. Me of all people accidentally leaked out my true thoughts. You always follow Minato whenever I invite him somewhere.”

“It’s useless to try to get rid of me. Besides, Minato can be absentminded sometimes, so I couldn’t let him be impolite towards the son of the Fujiwara family. I have to keep an eye on him.”

“It’s not something worth bothering the second son of the Takehaya family.”

“No, no, don’t be so reserved.”

Sandwiched between a young lord and a knight, the commoner Minato was overwhelmed. Their exchanges were always like this. The fact that Shuu, who wasn’t interested in people very much, reacted this much might be proof that those two got along well.

Lured by the lively atmosphere, even the birds began to chirp in high-pitched voices. He wondered if his eyes were going bad. The area around himseemed hazy. The sound of bells being shaken by a shrine maiden echoed, and a figure appeared out of the haze. A priest, wearing a kanmuri (1) and a bright costume of lapis lazuli and scarlet, headed toward the main shrine. Once inside the main shrine, he recited a ritual prayer and waved a sakaki (2) at the worshippers surrounding him.

“The performance of the ‘meigen ceremony’ will begin now,” an announcement said.

Minato asked Shuu, “What’s a ‘meigen’?”

“You’ll understand once you see it.”

People with bows went up the stage. They drew their bowstrings about thirty centimeters and released them.

Twang, twang, twang.

When the sound echoed, he felt as if his previously hazy field of vision was clearing up. The vibration, which resembled the sound of a koto, wiped away the impurities that covered his body.

“The meigen ceremony is a ceremony of drawing a bowstring without nocking an arrow to exorcise evil spirits and impurities. It has been handed down since the Heian period. In the imperial ‘dokusho meigen ceremony,’ an unlacquered plain wooden bow and a souikyuu bow with rattan wrapped around it in a seven, five, and three pattern (3), and the ceremony is said to be performed while reading the Kojiki and other ancient texts.”

“Bows sure are closely related to Shinto, huh. Like the Hamayumi and stuff.” (4)

“It’s because bows are religious tools. There are lots of ways to use the bow, such as horseback archery where you shoot at targets from a running horse, or the ridgepole-raising ceremony (5) when you’re building a house, where you display a bow and arrow pointing towards the northeast, the unlucky direction.”

“As expected of Shuu, you know a lot about bows.”

“It’s because I love Japan.”

Minato recalled a scene in Zen in the Art of Archery, when Eugen Herrigel became a disciple of Awa-hanshi, he drew a bowstring and let it ring out as the beginning of purification and exorcism.

The book described the days of the German philosopher Eugen Herrigel and Awa Kenzou-hanshi, a master archer who was known as the Bow Saint, and they were master and disciple. Herrigel aspired to be a mystic and chose kyudo as the gateway. What he meant by mysticism was the embodiment of liberation, or enlightenment through Zen. Awa-hanshi showed the embodiment of mysticism with the superhuman feat, the “target in the darkness,” in which two arrows were shot in the dark, the first piercing the target and the second also piercing the target while shattering the nock of the first arrow and tearing down its shaft.

Did Herrigel also experience bean-throwing? Did he view it as a strange custom?

At the signal of the taiko drums, men and women (6) lined up at the main shrine. When they shouted “Demons out, fortune in” and throwing the beans, people’s arms moved along with that motion. The sound of scattering beans chased the demons away. Minato and his friends reached out their hands to catch the beans.

Suddenly, the image of his deceased mother flashed across Minato’s mind, and he gently gripped his gloved hands.

——Mom, these are my bow friends. Can you see them?

Have I fulfilled my promise?

Cylindrical clouds, like bellows, continued to stream from the east to the faraway, distant west.

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[brokehorrorfan]

The Vengeance of She will be released on Blu-ray on February 26 via Scream Factory. Special features are in progress and will be announced at a later date.

Produced by Hammer, the 1968 British fantasy/adventure is a loose sequel 1965's She. It's directed by Cliff Owen (The Wrong Arm of the Law) and stars John Richardson, Olinka Berova, Edward Judd, and Noel Willman.

A young beautiful woman named Carol (Olinka Berova) is plagued by hallucinatory voices calling her "Ayesha" and is drawn by a mysterious force toward the east. During her voyage, she meets Dr. Philip Smith (Edward Judd) who decides to accompany Carol to her unknown destination. Eventually the two reach the lost city of Kuma where Carol is greeted as the reincarnation of Queen Ayesha, the beloved of King Killikrates (John Richardson). Philip is imprisoned and meets Za-Tor (Noel Willman) who tells him of the high priest's deceitful plan to obtain the secret of immortality by bringing back Ayesha to King Killikrates. Will Philip escape in time to reveal the truth and save Carol from destruction?