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helioleti · 4 years ago

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I've been rewatching ATLA several times lately and this time I especially ended up wondering a lot about Iroh and Ozai's past and characters in general. I just can't help but think it weird that Ozai is the ultimate trashbag of a humanbeing while Iroh ended up preaching harmony and peace. It just doesn't make any sense. These guys are brothers. They were brought up by the same parents, in the same fascist imperialistic nation, they were taught the same values growing up. You're trying to tell me the difference is that Iroh was destined to be the person he eventually came to be, but Ozai was just born evil? No, I don't think so.

I have two hot takes that I'm gonna elaborate:

1. Iroh had a guidance Ozai lacked

2. Ozai was the less favored son

(Disclaimer: I haven't read the comics yet so I don't know how deep they've already gone into this subject at some point. I'm trying to interpret and analyze the stuff that I got from the animated series only. If anything I say contradicts what has already been confirmed in the comics, feel free to correct me.)

Hear me out. Iroh wasn't born a saint. Everyone is aware of this, especially Iroh himself. He laid siege to Ba Sing Se for 2 years, costing the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom thousands of lives. Everyone knew that if the Fire Nation took over the capital, it meant almost ultimate victory for the Fire Nation. He even went as far as making a offhand sadistic jokes about burning the city to the ground in that letter to Zuko and Azula.

Iroh acknowledges it himself; He was a different man.

So what changed?

Yes, his son died. It broke and shattered him from the inside, making him drop all efforts to continue fighting in the war. To continue what had been his lifelong ambition, what he believed to be his destiny. He had a literal vision about taking over Ba Sing Se when he was a child, and that had been what he'd been pursuing ever since. But the death of his son managed to crumble all of that into nothingness. How is that possible?

Don't get me wrong. I think it's completely valid. I just don't understand how Lu Ten and Iroh could've had such a loving and caring relationship in the first place, when that's clearly something unusual among the royal family. Ozai burned and banished Zuko without a second thought, not to mention all the other shit he did to him growing up. Ozai didn't give two shits about Azula either, he only ever intended to use her as his weapon. Doesn't seem too surprising, if you ask me. Azulon didn't hesitate to demand that Ozai kill his own son if he wanted the throne. That's the man that raised Ozai, so it's just logical that Ozai learned that behavior and those values from his own father.

Even 9 year old Azula thinks it laughable that Iroh would fall apart at the death of his son. She is a child and this is how she thinks. The reason Zuko doesn't think like this is because he's had the guidance of his mother, unlike Azula. This is the kind of mentality these kids grow up with. They grew up with war and so did Iroh and Ozai.

So why was Iroh's relationship with Lu Ten so different? Where did Iroh experience the kind of compassion and love he passed on to his own son, that Ozai definitely didn't? People act on how they've come to learn, so where did Iroh learn to care about his son to a point that it made him give up on his lifelong ambition?

Let's review a very crucial information we have on Iroh and Ozai as siblings: They have a huge age gap.

Frankly, I'm guessing about 10-20 years. Looks more like 20 to me, but that could also be Iroh's greater amount of endured pain and war making him look older than he actually is. But no one can deny that an age gap is definitely there. Which can also indicate they had different upbringings, despite having grown up in the same family as brothers.

What does this mean? Well, that's just me theorizing now, but I can definitely imagine that Iroh had someone, a family member maybe, there for him who wasn't around or didn't care to be when Ozai grew up. There must've been someone there who gave Iroh emotional security and guidance throughout his upbringing. Who? That's up to imagination. A friend of the family? A friendly uncle? His own mother ((or father))? (The last two things worked out for Zuko in the end, didn't they?) Otherwise I can't really explain myself why Iroh had enough values to love the way he loved Lu Ten, while Ozai clearly didn't give two fucks about his children at any point in his life.

Iroh was the firstborn son, the one who had a vision very early in his life that his destiny was to take over Ba Sing Se. Probably the one who got to have a family member care about him enough to show him how to love.

(I like to point this out a lot because I find it very interesting, and very significant. Please A:TLA give us more info on Iroh's past!!)

Which brings me to my second take: Ozai was the less favored son.

Iroh was clearly a son to be proud of. He was a master firebender, the "Dragon of the West", if you will. He apparently had a vision as a boy that he'd conquer the most "impenetrable city" in the world. He probably lived up to his parent's expectations for his whole life, especially having no sibling to be compared to for a significant part of his life. He broke through the outter wall of Ba Sing Se during his siege. Yada yada yada, you get my point. He's the best son they could've wished for.

And Ozai? As far as I know, he barely even has any military achievements. Taking over Ba Sing Se was Azula's doing. While Iroh laid siege to the capital, he was at home chilling in the palace. He's the younger brother to an established hero and was never meant to be firelord. Now, I haven't read the comics for more info on Ozai's biography, but this man barely had a chance to live up to his parent's standards with Iroh as an older brother. If my theory is correct, Ozai also didn't have any person to provide him emotional guidance throughout his life. (*cough* like Azula)

The logical outcome is: infinite jealousy.

And when Ozai suggests to Azulon that he revoke Iroh's birthright to become firelord, this is Azulon's answer:

Azulon doesn't even hesitate to call Ozai out on his bullshit. He doesn't hesitate to take offense at the suggestion of betraying Iroh, and he even seems to care about Iroh's suffering. Not to mention that Azulon is overall annoyed with Ozai's request for an audience and sends the rest of Ozai's family away as soon as he can, to get whatever it is Ozai wants over with.

I could also mention the fact that Ozai tried to impress Azulon with his daughter's skills (Azula, even named after him) and the overall strained relationship these two seem to exhibit. It's obviously very different from Azulon's relationship with Iroh, if the way he talks about said man is anything to show for.

What if Azulon treated Ozai the same way Ozai treated Zuko? (Probably without the physical abuse, but you get my point.) What if this is where Ozai learned to treat a "useless" kid like shit, maybe also in a way to cope with how he was treated himself?

Getting deeper into the fact that Ozai is rather a loser compared to Iroh, without any big military achievements and without value for anything beyond that, this also explains a lot about Ozai's constant need to establish his dominance.

First; Becoming Firelord through radical manners (you know, killing his own son or killing his own father)

Second; Publicly burning and banishing his own son whom he considers a weakling, who dared to speak up in his war room. Doing this to have everyone know that he doesn't associate himself with weakness and that he will not ever tolerate any form of disrespect.

Third; The whole Phoenix King act. No one can tell me this isn't a madman's doing. This is literally to show off that he is the most powerful person in the world.

Ozai is so obsessed with proving himself and his superiority to everyone, including himself and probably Iroh too. This makes most sense if we consider that he probably lived in his brother's shadow for his whole life, ignored by probably every guiding figure he's ever had in his life, maybe even considered a laughingstock by his own father.

Perhaps this is also the reason Ozai didn't have any problem with Iroh accompanying Zuko in banishment. His brother, the hero in whose shadow he grew up, and his son, the failure he'd wanted out of the way for a long time already. It would erase Iroh's image that made him superior to him, once and for all. For himself and the world. I believe that branding him a traitor was the biggest satisfaction Ozai had ever experienced in his life.

I absolutely despise Ozai with every fibre of my heart, but it amazes me how ATLA continues to leave so much room for interpretation and explanation for a character as despicable as him. Writing this, even had me feel sympathy for him at some point. Feel free to disagree with me or add anything, I'm eager to hear everyone's thoughts about Ozai and Iroh's backstories because I'm geniuinely very curious.

#atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla thoughts #atla theory #atla things #ozai #uncle iroh #iroh #fire nation #phoenix king ozai #avatar ozai #avatar iroh #zuko #azula #azulon #atla textpost #avatar textpost

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iwillhaveamoonbase · 5 years ago

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The Long Game Ch 1

Instead of striking a few months later, the Moonshadow assassins guild decides to play the long game. Rayla will pose as a human and kill Harrow and Ezran when the time is right all while gaining valuable information. One problem: Rayla falls in love with Callum and doesn't think Ezran deserves to die for a crime he doesn't he even know was committed.

Now, Rayla has a choice: tell the truth and risk losing Callum but fixing the divide between Katolis and Xadia or staying quiet and having a chance at a happy life with Callum, Ezran and Harrow but losing the best chance they have at peace and probably never seeing her home or family again.

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The assassins guild had been talking for days about whether or not to go in and kill King Harrow and Prince Ezran now or wait a few more months or even a year. Queen Zubeia was in distress and the call for revenge was ringing loud and clear throughout Xadia. First, eight years ago, the humans had attacked them unprovoked and murdered one of their citizens for their perverted dark magic. Now, they killed the Dragon King and the Dragon Prince's egg. Xadia could not let this go. The only question was: when?

Runaan looked at Rayla out of the corner of his eye. He knew she wanted to prove herself worthy. He personally found it difficult to believe that his friends, Tiadrin and Lain, his parents, had abandoned their post. In the back of his mind, it didn't make sense. They knew better. But, a Skywing elf who had also been part of the Dragon Guard had admitted they had all fled when the humans killed the Dragon King. There was nothing anyone could do to stop the Silvergrove Ghosting the pair now. But, Rayla could do the right thing in their stead and proclaimed herself ready to do whatever it took to right their wrongs.

"It's better to go now. Who knows how long the Dragon Queen has?" Runaan turned his attention back to the conversation his guild mates were having. A cacophony of sounds as they tried to plan the best course of action that would bring them all back home and, hopefully, stop these humans from killing anymore Xadians.

"The humans will know it's us right away."

"So what?! We want them to know what they did was wrong!"

"True, but, if we wait, maybe we can cause doubt. They'll destroy themselves trying to figure it out."

"We have never not admitted we've taken life before. Why should we do it now? We take life but we don't take it lightly."

"Yes, but this is our chance to not only get the humans fighting each other, but to also get the Moon Nexus back!" There was silence for a few moments. Every Moonshadow el,f even a thousand years after the humans were forced out of Xadia, still felt the string of losing contact with the Moon Nexus. It went deeper than pride; it was an irreplaceable piece of their heritage, culture, and magic that was forever lost to them because the humans refused to accept their lot in the universe as non-magic users. "All I'm saying is, kill two Moon Phoenixes with one arrow. Sow dissent AND fulfill the contract."

Runaan turned to Rayla. Her young face was stony as she took in what everyone was saying. Young... He looked her up and down. She was strong, but those who didn't know better would see her as a slip of a thing. Slowly, a plan formed in Runaan's mind. At any other time, he would have been horrified by the idea. Rayla was his daughter as far as he was concerned. His apprentice, his greatest joy besides Ethari. Ethari would never forgive him. But... Runaan stood up, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "I have an idea. It involves my protegee, Rayla, and getting honor back for her parents as well as stirring doubt in the Pentarchy."

"What do you propose, Runaan?" The guild master had a steeling expression as he stroked his beard.

Runaan smirked. "We play the long game."

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"Absolutely not!" Ethari roared. "We already lost Tiadrin and Lain. We aren't losing Rayla!"

"She's going to be fine, Ethari." Runaan breathed through his nose. As he expected, Ethari was displeased.

"She's too kind, Runaan! Too loving. Her heart isn't made for a regular mission and you want her to do this?! Send Bandlr or someone else."

"She's the only one her age whose properly trained. She's faster than all of us and quick on her feet."

"Then send yourself or a group."

"They won't suspect a young girl travelling on her own. The longer she does nothing, the more likely they will be to think everything is fine."

"And if they catch her after she succeeds? They'll kill her! They'll kill our daughter and you're sending her to the slaughter."

"She'll die with honor and rise above what her parents have done." Even to Runan's ears he sounded so detached. He winced.

"You...you can't be serious. Runaan, she's our child. Not by blood, but we raised her. She's only 15. She'll be 16 when her training's over. You can't...you can't do this." Ethari's voice was shaking as he started to breath a little harsher. "She's just a child."

"Rayla's already agreed, Ethari. There's nothing either or us can do now."

"You didn't even ask me first!" Ethari breathed deeply for a few moments before his face became stone. "So, that's it, then? You're just going to say good-bye to our little girl?"

Runaan ran a hand through his white hair. "My love, it's not that simple. Queen Zubeia ordered the two hits. We have to do the job."

"Then take a squad like tradition says and do it! Do not send our Rayla into the human lands alone. What if the spell fails and she's found out? What if she slips up? We have no idea when the time is even right. We may never see her again! Do you want that? Because I don't! Rayla shouldn't be made to go because of her parents' actions."

"No one is making me do anything," Rayla piped up from the chair. Runaan had completely forgotten she was in the room and, judging by his slight jump, so had Ethari. "Yes, Runaan offered my name for the plan before asking me, but I agreed. I had a fair chance to give someone else the job and I said I would do it. I'm going, Ethari."

"Rayla, please, don't do this."

"Why do you lack faith in me?"

Ethari shook his head. "It's so much more than that. You're a child, Rayla. Don't throw away your chance for a future when tradition holds you shouldn't even be considering this."

"What future? If Xadia doesn't do anything, the humans will eventually believe they can do whatever they want. What if they start killing elves or more dragons for dark magic? We're already at war. We have to act!"

Ethari looked between the two of them. "You know what? Both of you, do whatever you want."

Runaan started reaching for his husband. "Ethari-"

"I'm going to my sister's, Runaan. I need time to process sending my child, OUR child, over the border to be alone and carrying out a mission ALONE for who knows how long." Ethari slammed the door behind him; silence reigning for a few minutes.

"Well," Rayla looked up at Runaan, "he took that better than we expected."

Runaan sighed. "He's right, Rayla. Think long and hard about this. You have been given 24 hours before you're officially assigned this task. We are asking you to give up an untold amount of time. You might never come back."

Rayla looked directly into his eyes. "I know, but I don't have a choice. Someone has to do this and it should be me. If my parents had just stayed, maybe, the Dragon Prince would still be alive. Besides, they'll probably believe me easier than someone like Bandlr whose already all muscle at 14. I'm young and fast, but I'm slight enough. No one will believe I'm a threat if I say I come from a farming village."

"You're right. I'm so proud of you, Rayla. I'm sure you'll be able to come back home one day."

It took Ethari two weeks to come around, a new blade for Rayla in hand and a flower for when she went on her mission. He still barely talked to Runaan and, if Runaan was being honest, he couldn't blame him. Rayla was going to be spending a few months with Lujanne at the Moon Nexus followed by a bit of time in the village by the Cursed Caldera before making her way to the capital. There was no room for error and she was going to have to learn how to act human fast.

The flower Ethari made was set into the fountain, the whole of Silvergrove watching. Runaan knew he and everyone else would be keeping an eye on it. Rayla had to succeed.

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6 months later

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Callum groaned as Soren sent him to the ground again. "C'mon, step-prince. Wasn't your mom the strongest general is Katolis? You shouldn't be this weak after this much training."

Callum glared a bit at his...friend?...tormentor? Callum wasn't sure who Soren was to him anymore besides the big brother of his crush. How Claudia and Soren came from the same parents was beyond Callum. Though, Viren did give Claudia more attention because of her magic. More love, probably. "My mom was a lance specialist. Why don't we try that?"

"Princes use swords; even step-princes."

Callum looked down at his feet. "The king can use a lance."

"ARGH! It's just not how it's done, OK? Sword first, than lance. Now, on your hands and knees and give me a hundred push-ups." Callum groaned and was about to follow through when Caludia raced through the courtyard to stand in front of Soren. She started miming a bit, a big smile on her face. "What is it, Clauds? Use your words."

She squealed. "There's a girl whose just come from the border. She asked to see the king and she looks about my age, maybe a year younger."

Soren and Callum's brows furrowed. "Why does she want to see the king?"

"Don't know, but she's pretty cute. She might be your type, Sor-bear."

"Uh-huh. You don't know my type, Claudia. You've proven that how many times now?"

Callum didn't bother staying for what was bound to be an argument between the two. Instead,he hurried to the throne room, running to Ezran and Bait with a handful of jelly tarts with them. "What do you think she wants?" Ezran asked.

"No idea. Whatever it is, I'm sure the king will hear her out."

"You know, you can call him 'Dad.' I really think he'd like that, Callum."

"He's the king, Ezran, and I'm just the step-prince."

"But, he raised you and I know he loves you."

Callum closed his eyes briefly. "It's complicated, Ez."

Ezran pouted a bit, but dropped it. When they finally made it to the throne room, they stood to Harrow's right while Opeli and Viren were standing to his left. Before them was a pale girl with hair a few shades lighter than Soren's and light blue eyes. She stood perhaps an inch taller than Callum and was dressed in plain robes that marked her as a member of the farming class.

"Your Majesty," her voice was clear and projected throughout the room. She took a sweeping curtsy, though almost lost her balance doing so. She raised her eyes when Harrow told her to rise, slowly coming back up to face the room. "I come from a town on the border. We were attacked not too long ago." She looked down, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I'm all that's left of my village. Please, I need help. I have no family."

"Who attacked your home?" Viren looked straight at her, eyebrow raised.

"I believe it was elves." Viren and Harrow shared a look before turning back to the girl. "They kept saying something about dragons when they came but everything happened so fast it's all a blur."

Viren cleared his throat. "And why did you come all the way here? Surely there were others who could look after you."

The girl looked distressed, twisting her hands together a bit. Callum couldn't help but notice just how pretty she was, with a Cupid's bow on her top lip, high cheekbones, and large eyes. But, there was something slightly off, something that in the back of his mind was saying it wasn't quite right. Maybe she was too pretty? "To be honest, I tried a few times but they either didn't want me because of the possibility of the elves coming after me. I just hoped that I could be safe here."

Harrow nodded. "Of course, dear child. You are welcome to stay as long as you like. And, I am so sorry for the trials you have faced before coming here today."

Viren sent a glared at Harrow. "Harrow-"

"Not now, Viren. We have to look after our citizens. Always." Harrow turned back to face her. "What's your name, child?"

She looked at the five in the room, a soft smile on her face. "Rayla. My name is Rayla."

#rayllum fanfic #rayllum #the dragon prince #tdp #the long game #whelp #the first chapter is here #despite me saying I was going to wait #I don't keep my word apparently #please enjoy

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strvngemagics · 4 years ago

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{ cisgender woman, she/her } ❝ I'm a juvenile product of the working class / whose best friend floats in the bottom of a glass ❞ huh, who’s FIVEL STEWART? no, you’re mistaken, that’s actually MOLLY WEASLEY II. she is a 24 year old HALFBLOOD witch who is a CHASER FOR PUDDLEMERE UNITED. she is known for being FLIGHTY, IMPULSIVE, DISORGANIZED, FORGETFUL, and REBELLIOUS but also TRUSTING, DEDICATED, VIBRANT, ADAPTABLE, and INDEPENDENT, so that must be why she always reminds me of the song GLAZIN’ - JACUZZI BOYS and ROLLER SKATING DOWN A STEEP INCLINE, FOREHEAD KISSES, AN OUT-OF-TUNE ACOUSTIC GUITAR, AN UNMADE BED WITH LOTS OF PILLOWS, CHERRY LIMEADE SLUSHIES, PUTTING ON YOUR FAVORITE SWEATSHIRT. i hear she is aligned with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX so be sure to keep an eye on her.

BIO

Molly Adelaide Weasley was born into a (relatively) peaceful world but adopted into an ever-growing and infinitely chaotic family - and her father, having had a near-catastrophic falling out with this family in favor of furthering his career, made it CLEAR to her that her status as a Weasley was to be cherished, not derided, never forgone for more ambitious aims. Percy, sometimes rigid, though always loving, threw this lesson in familial love along with his more practical teachings.

Her first real sentence was “Molly do it!”, which was put to excessive use as a toddler. Doing the laundry? “Molly do it!” Her father’s bent over a stack of paperwork with a next-day deadline? Molly’s rushing over to help with a fat, color-changing crayon in hand: “Molly do it!” When Audrey was ill with a stomach bug, Lucy happened upon her sister, barely even three, mashing a ginger root with the handle of Mama’s wand in an attempt to make ginger biscuits. In short, Molly has always been headstrong and maternal. She takes a lot of pride in the traits that she shares with her namesake, her wonderful Gran, but regrettably never learned to knit.

Molly arrived at Hogwarts with a gaggle of cousins who’d already set the tone for who the Weasleys were and how they behaved. She found it difficult to find a life and identity outside of them - and still worries that she’s just another face in the family, unimportant compared to their accomplishments and accolades. Her time in Hufflepuff house passed without any prefect badges, school awards, or major academic achievements — even her five-year stint on the house Quidditch team was marred by the fact that she was always playing against some cousin or close family friend.

Life after Hogwarts has treated Molly well — she’s played professional Quidditch since age 18, something that she still can’t quite believe has happened. She was a reserve Chaser for the Kenmore Kestrels until 2027, when she was offered a contract by Puddlemere United. She took it, because wow that’s a lot of galleons, but Puddlemere’s always had a reputation for producing a lot of (painfully) straight-laced and by-the-book players………..which Molly definitely is not. She’s not allowed to speak at press conferences anymore due to PU’s management dubbing her “a PR nightmare” and “too foul-mouthed for a Dementor to want to Kiss”.

(TW DEATH MENTION) Memories of Uncle Harry pop up nearly every day - his voice, his rough hands positioning her arms and shoulders in a proper dueling stance, the smudges on his glasses, the way he looked at Aunt Ginny like she hung the moon in the sky. She misses him, dearly, but feels selfish and silly for doing so - she wasn’t his kid, and there are so many people who looked to Harry Potter as a symbol for the hope that carried them through wartime. She often worries that she isn’t doing enough - not enough to support her cousins, not enough for the muggleborns she knows and those she does not. There are days in which her inadequacy threatens to swallow her whole, when her hands tremble and breath rattles in her chest - but she’s able to bite it back for the moment. There’s bigger things ahead. (END TW).

PERSONALITY

okay so i always describe molly as a “disaster lesbian” or “chaotic dumbass” and i mean that with a lot of affection. she’s just very much motivated by pleasure and by fun, and much less motivated by duty or responsibility. she wants to stand out in both good and bad ways and more often achieves that in bad ways. she is also, like i mentioned, very headstrong. i consider her one of my funniest characters and that’s mostly unintentional because she just. says whatever pops into her head. i regularly giggle at what i make molly say. i am not ashamed of this.

uhhhh. what else? she’s a big old jock, one of those heinous people who for the most part actually enjoys exercising! will definitely ask you to join her on a sunrise run because she’s Ridiculous

loves her family so so so much, even though there’s at least 3 group chats where she’s currently trashing a cousin or two. is very down to take part in harmless pranks and shenanigans. someone outside the family tries to trash the cousins tho?!?!?! lmao kill bill sirens immediately go off. she and lucy probably call themselves twins bc they’re not blood-related but they are almost always on the same wavelength and in my eyes (jane u can confirm this for me) just get each other on a very fundamental level.

huge fuckin’ aries energy. you can find some personality assessments below:

zodiac.

aries (sun)

“aries is an active, energetic sign. people with sun in aries are direct, straightforward, and uncomplicated. they expect the same from others, and are baffled when they don’t always get it.”

gemini (moon)

“nervousness and worry are common traits with this lunar position. An underlying restlessness is common, and many lunar geminis need more stimulation than others. they usually read a lot, talk a lot, and think a lot.”

mbti. esfj (the consul)

+ strong practical skills, strong sense of duty, sensitive and warm, connects well with others

- inflexible, vulnerable to criticism, reluctant to improvise, needy, worries about social status

STATS

GENERAL

name. molly adelaide weasley

nickname. molls

birthdate. 4 april 2005 (she’s supposed to be 24? idk math)

place of birth. st. mungo’s

family. percy weasley (father), audrey weasley (mother), lucy weasley (sister), extended family in the form of various weasley-potter aunts, uncles and cousins.

residence. (tbd), but roommates: rose granger-weasley, natalia bardon, lucy weasley

occupation. chaser for puddlemere united

gender identity. cis woman

romantic orientation. homoromantic

sexuality. lesbian

blood status. half-blood

relationship status. single

pets. a bright pink pygmy puff named romeo

MAGICAL

hogwarts house. hufflepuff

extracurriculars/leadership. hogwarts orchestra (clarinet), dueling club, charms club (president)

allegiance. order of the pheonix

n.e.w.t. grades. charms (o), transfiguration (a), herbology (e), d.a.d.a (a), potions (e), care of magical creatures (e), astronomy (e), history of magic (o), muggle studies (o).

wand. alder, ten inches, dragon heartstring core.

boggart. inferi

patronus. corporeal, brown bear

amortentia. vanilla bath fizz, lemon peels, sandalwood, mint

magical strengths. charms, nonverbal casting, transfiguration, flying

magical weaknesses. defensive magic, hexes and curses, potions.

#potterintro #//////oops #i'm silly let's try this again #* ' molly.

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just-jammin · 4 years ago

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Pridedraft’s Journal: Hallar’s Entry

Word Count: 1126

Summary: Mardiane Pridedraft, a Half-Elf Sorcerer & owner of the Bamboo Observatory & Inn, is also part of the somewhat known group of the Nice Cloaks.

The problem is, she doesn’t feel like she belongs to this party of chaotic misfits.

(Or: The author is projecting their problems to their Dungeons & Dragons persona, as a hope to vent in this piece of writing.)

22 Hallar

Alrighty then.

As usual, The Nice Ship’s been out to sea for months now. Training with the Crew has been going pretty well. Valakhad, however, got shoved off from his position of Captain, with Tyfl himself usurping to the position. I’m not sure what Val does now, unfortunately.

(note to self: please pay attention to Crew meetings more; take note of important things & tasks in journal.)

Since the last time I wrote in here (‘cause let’s face it: writing everyday for a few months ain’t practical), a few crewmates have been killed as a result of an encounter with... a few vampires, for some reason. Most notably Damien, our former... who even cares. Anyway, he got his organs sucked out by one of them, which, well, sucked. But even then, he was the laughing stock of the Crew, so at least the Gods gave him mercy from his peers, I think.

Another event that has happened is that Nisha, our Tiefling Illusionist, left the Nice Cloaks. You see, we’re heading towards the Desert from the city of Elveros, which happens to be her hometown. There was some conflict happening over there, with a new guy ruling with a bunch of cult members at his side, & buildings getting burnt down. That included the library that Nisha co-owned with some friends, much to her dismay.

And the guy who has the whole city in his hand? Apparently it was Errian Winmert (the Dickhead), someone who she didn’t like, at all. Basically, he was a not-so-little shithead who wanted to bend reality with this stick he got from the cult members.

Thankfully, with the help of a rebellion just outside of town, we defeated all of them & destroyed the stick. It was after that when Nisha Mooncrown decided to stay in the city, helping with the repairs first.

She was replaced (I think) with another Tiefling, Levantra Greybolt. She was hired to train the crewmates to fight with swords, right after the enforcement of an Anti-Rapier Policy.

So yeah, that happened.

Now we’re going where we’re going because there’s a known portal to the Fire Plane, where Val was originally from. Not sure why we’re going there though. Stupid memory...

Ok, part of the reason why I didn’t write in this journal for months is because no one wants to see me gushing out my feelings about... this. I get it. It’s my fucking journal. I know I can write about it here, but what’s the point? The Nice Cloaks has basically made it known that I’m the crazy person of the group. I kill children, I burn shit down, and I’m at the brink of insanity.

But here’s the thing: no one cares about why this is said.

Nobody wants the full details to set their minds to a certain behavior. I’m trying to defend myself with no one to back me up with, which is useless compared to how many people who agrees with them.

Look, I did accidentally drop Tyfl, a teenager, off a building in an attempt to get down from it. And he died. His death, for some reason, traumatized me enough that I went bonkers at the slightest mention of it, due to an overwhelming guilt that pooled inside of me. And what do you know, that was the reason why I burnt the shit out of another teenager. Who was associated with the place where Tyfl died.

What a fucking idiot I am.

And when Tyfl was resurrected, I, being the dumbass that I am, tried to attack him, making him unconscious in the process. Val knocked me out after that. All of that was because I wanted to take research on a bunch of feral gnomes in the Feywild.

Now hear me out, I like adventuring. I loved the idea of it, hoping that I would go out in the world someday to see whatever sights that I might confront. For the past few years, the closest thing to that was whatever happened at my stay in Tumblerun Tavern. The Chaos Party was very welcoming, teaching me the ropes of self-defense & others like that. I stuck with them for a while until Mme. Inkstain took me in.

But even then, both the Chaos Party & Mme. seemed kinda... boring. A bit too boring, in fact. Even though we had really memorable moments in time, we didn’t get around more. We all just stayed in one place, compared to who I’m with now.

The Nice Cloaks, however, are quite the opposite, in a way that I didn’t even expect that was possible. I mean, Tyfl became a powerful god-like being while being an old fucking woman named Barbara. How can anything else top that?!?

What I mean is that we went to a bunch of places (including the Feywild), but I couldn’t seem to... fit in.

Val’s a very cool caster from the Fire Plane of all places.

Nisha was a great asset to our group, being brave enough to balance our chaos with her sensibility.

Heck, Tyfl’s the guy who’s carrying the group, taking the most kills & making up plans that are crazy enough to just work.

And Lev, she’s pretty badass, to be honest. Casting with instruments is a very interesting concept, and I just like being intrigued with it.

Then there’s me.

Mardiane fucking Pridedraft.

I know I’m not the only normal person in this group, but I’m certainly feeling like I am. And at the same time, I feel like I am the worst person possible to be in this group. I don’t use my knowledge that I have gathered throughout the years. I’m never sure when to jump in, either with my spells or in melee. And I don’t even focus on important things whenever I need to.

Is it because I’m, y’know, stupid? Am I going to blame it on some shit that happened to me?

I mean, I did get really scared at one point of my stay in the Tavern. I remember that I didn’t go out for days, and when I did, I always avoided any contact with people. Well, I... wanted to stay with my closest friends (which they agreed to, yeah).

Ah, fuck. I’m too dependent on my own friends, am I?

Gee, no wonder why I feel so alone.

...

I’m useless.

No, I feel useless.

Even though I know I have power, of a Phoenix nonetheless, but I don’t seem to do anything outside of combat.

I just... want to go back to the Chaos that I’m used to. Go back home. But at the same time, I still want to roam around & explore the world.

Oh Gods, how do I do this?

- mardi

#mardi is a mess of a sorcerer #she doesn’t take any chances in case of failure #(i think; i am not sure about how i would do :p)#just writing some bullshit #that was stupid #idk anymore #friend support and boredom #fsnb

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hoseokslefteyebrow · 5 years ago

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House Of Cards || K.SJ || 1

THE PEGASUS TRIBE

Pairing : Kim Seokjin X Reader

Genre : nothing specifically yet

Summary : When a war threatens the world of Mythica, the four greatest tribes are forced to work together in order to defeat the darkness. You and Jin are fr two different tribes, two different backgrounds, and are expected to stand together in order to save everyone you love. Will you two put aside your diffrences in order to save the world or will you fail?

Wordcount: 1.1k

Info Chapter | House Of Cards Masterlist | Next

"Hyung, hurry up, the eldest called every one." Taehyung said as he popped his head trough the door before dissapearing again.

" What will they have to say?" Jin asked his Pegasus as he cleaned up the brushes he was using.

Maybe it's about the war. Sapphire shared her toughs with him.

" I hope that it's over then." Jin replied.

The war has barely started Jin, and we better prepare to run. She shared her toughs again before she went back to eating.

" Well, whatever it is, I'm about to hear it. See you later Sapphire!" Jin yelled to his light bleu pegasus before running off to the main building where everyone was currently in.

" Tae, what's all this about- Isn't that Jairzinho? The leader of the Dragon tribe?" Jin asked as Taehyung nodded.

" Yes, and I'm not sure about what it is either," Taehyung said as their tribe leader started talking.

" Silence please! " Their leader yelled as everyone calmed down.

"Pegasus tribe members, as your soulmates all feel, war is approaching. And as natural prey, we do not stand a chance in natural survival." Hiu spoke, making everyone wishper in worry.

Jin and Taehyung exchanged worried looks.

" That is why we will be staying in the Dragon Lands, under the protection of the Dragon tribe!" Their leader yelled, trying to be above the volume of the now excited chit chatting.

Jin and Taehyung looked at each other with wide excited eyes. The Dragon lands were the most beautiful lands in the whole world, as far the maps of Bangtan would go.

" Silence!" The booming voice of the Dragon tribe leader got them to quiet down in seconds.

" Remember that you will stay in the Dragon lands because it's dangerous here. This will mean that there'll be no partying, and no funny business. Also if one of you decide to be funny or for the youth if you try to act cool, you will directly be kicked out." Jairzinho said, everyone nodding.

"The Unicorn tribe will be traveling with us. They will arrive in five days. Pack up, because we will be leaving in one week. Don't take stuff with you what you won't need. We don't know for how long we'll stay there, so please overpack. We'll go by horse, so don't make it too heavy please. That was all." Hiu said.

Taehyung looked at Jin before both of them walked back to the stables.

" War is really approaching, huh." Taehyung sighed, breaking the silence.

" I geuss. Seems like Sapphire and Phoenix were correct."Jin said as Taehyung sighed deeply.

" Oh no, he'll press on it forever." Taehyung huffed, his shoulders sagging.

He kept mumbling as he stopped by his pegasus' stall. The pegasus nudged Taehyung with his nose and neighed just like Taegyung had expected. Jin walked over to his pegasus and started to put everything in the sadle bags.

I assume we were correct. Sapphire tough as Jin nodded.

"Yes, we're leaving in one week." He sighed.

Where are we going? She asked.

"The Dragon lands, I'm not sure which part." Jin said, Sapphire neighing in response and batted her wings as if she was ready to bolt.

Dragons?! Are you humans crazy? They will eat us! Sapphire tough, pacing around in her stable.

" They can't, we're protected by the Dragon tribe." Jin told her, which made her calm down a bit.

We better be. She neighed stubbornly.

Jin smiled as he started packing up her brushes.

"What?!"

"No!"

"You have to be kidding me!"

All sorts of negative responses came from the Dragon tribes members. They were supposed to share their home with the Pegasus' and Unicorn tribe members? That was so unfair.

" Silence! As dragon riders we are to take responsibility of giving protection to those who need and deserve! What is wrong with all of you?!" Jairzinho screamed over them, which got them to calm down.

" And we are not the only people who will take humans and animals in. The Phoenix tribe will too. That was all, you're dismissed." He said as he stepped off the podium and walked away.

" Yoongi won't like this." Namjoon told you as soon as everyone was dismissed.

" What makes you think that?" You ask him.

" He hates babysitting. You're the only kid here who he has got a soft spot for." He said.

" Hey! I'm not a kid, I'm 24 years old." You told him offended.

" You're a kid in my eyes." A voice of your right told you.

You both turned to see Yoongi and Jungkook walk your way. Yoongi with a grim expression while Jungkook looks rather excited.

" I take that you both heard the news." You told them as they nodded.

" I can't wait till they arrive! It'll be so fun to finally meet other people." Jungkook smiled, jumping up and down in excitement.

" Why am I the kid when he's jumping up and down?" You huffed.

" What will you do when they're girls?" Namjoon smirked at the boy.

Jungkook seemed to be deep in tough before shrugging.

" Yeet off to the Phoenix nests'." He smiled.

You shook your head.

" You're crazy. Anyway, I'm gonna go inform Beansprout of our visitors." You told them before walking off.

Beansprout was your poisonous/venomous dragon. He was black all over with green belly plates and green accents on his wings allong with two spikes which he usually used to hang upside down. He had spikes running over his spine and was unlike his appearance, a real softie. You had first met each other when you were ten and had chosen the silly name as a joke, not knowing that that would be his name until the end. You smiled as you spotted rabbits and squirrels greeting you or simply hopping by, a sign that you were close to his hoard.

" Hey Beansprout! How was your day?" You smiled as you walked into the dark cavern.

A deep grumble was your response, signaling that you just woke him up from his beauty sleep.

" You're such a lazy butt- sorry!" You sqeuked as you almost accidentally stepped on a rabbit.

Not your fault, your dragon's cave is so deep under the ground that it's always dark there, the only light coming from the clear bleu water which had small fish in it. And yes, rabbits are a part of Beansprout's hoard. Allong with other small herbivore animals, you weren't sure why, but from what you know, he had a soft spot for small animals.

My day was fun. I slept trough it, did you do anything important? He asked as he came down from the ceiling, for some reason he always upside down, if you didn't know better you would of tough that this cave was dragon free.

" Well, you already knew that war is nearing, and you were for some reason, right. So there's a chance that we're gonna be baby sitters." You told him.

He grumbled.

" I know isn't it the greatest thing ever." You said sarcastically.

Almost as great as being stuck with you. He sassed.

" Thanks, I love you too." You smiled at him.

#bts #bts x reader #idkeitherman #kim seokjin #kim taehyung #min yoongi #bts fantasy au #bts ff #jin x reader #pegasus #dragon #bts mythology au

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philosopherking1887 · 5 years ago

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Something Past and Whole (an A:TLA ficlet)

1587 words; also on AO3.

What should win our gratitude.— It was artists, and especially those of the theater, who first gave people eyes and ears to see and hear with pleasure what each one himself is, experiences, and wants; they first taught us to esteem the hero that is concealed in everyday characters; they first taught us the art of viewing ourselves as heroes—from a distance and, as it were, simplified and transfigured—the art of staging and watching ourselves. Only in this way can we come to terms with some base details in ourselves. Without this art we would be nothing but foreground and live entirely in the spell of that perspective which makes what is closest at hand and most vulgar appear as if it were vast, and reality itself.

Perhaps one should concede a similar merit to the religion that made man see the sinfulness of every single individual through a magnifying glass, turning the sinner into a great, immortal criminal. By surrounding him with eternal perspectives, it taught man to see himself from a distance and as something past and whole.

—Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science section 78 (trans. W. Kaufmann)

Zuko was accumulating epithets, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

His friends, naturally, all found it hilarious. They already delighted in poking fun at the titles of his office, calling him ‘Your Fieriness’ or ‘Your Fire Lordship’ or even, when Aang was feeling particularly obnoxious, ‘Flamey-o, (Sifu) Hotlord!’ The new epithets were just more titles for them to play around with and give him grief about.

Zuko did not find them amusing. Not, as his friends all claimed (with varying degrees of tact), because he took himself too seriously and didn’t know how to laugh at himself! Well, maybe there was some truth to that charge… but the problem with the epithets was that he found them morbid—as if the world was trying to write his epitaph before he’d even died. Trying to pin him down, to flatten him into a single static image, like a dried flower or a butterfly to be pressed into a book, catalogued alongside history’s other specimens of world rulers: Warlord Toz the Terrible, Earth King Wei the Fat, Earth Queen Jian the Just, General Chin the Conqueror, Fire Lord Sozin the Bloody, Princess Yue the Brave. Rival historians were already fighting over his father’s legacy: detractors (hoping to ingratiate themselves to the new Fire Lord) called him ‘The Phoenix King of Ashes’ or ‘The Phoenix Who Did Not Rise’; loyalists (who did not fear retaliation from a Fire Lord they thought too weak) called him ‘The Last Dragon’ and prayed for the return of the deposed Fire Lord Azula as ‘The Blue Phoenix.’

Of course, Zuko had already acquired a couple of epithets before his ascension to the throne: ‘The Banished Prince,’ or ‘The Disgraced Prince.’ Accurate enough, but too simple, too straightforward for the full truth of the matter. So too were the epithets he had gained since becoming Fire Lord, starting with the ones that Fire Sage Shyu had given him on the day of his coronation: ‘Zuko the Peacemaker’ and ‘Zuko the Restorer’—not only of his own honor, but of the honor of the whole Fire Nation, of its place in the community of nations, of balance among the nations.

Those were the official, government-approved descriptors; but Zuko heard himself being written into history in different ways, too, in reports from the network of spies that now answered to Ty Lee, or while stealing around the Capital in the guise of the Blue Spirit to listen at the windows of bars and gambling dens, lurking in the alleys near the late-night food stalls where carousers gathered and (importantly) talked. Some of these epithets were pedestrian and perfectly predictable: ‘Zuko the Burned’ or ‘The Burned Fire Lord’ were among the most common, and Zuko resigned himself to being remembered, like poor Wei the Fat, for his most noticeable physical characteristic.

Others, however, were more significant and telling of how his people viewed him. Some called him ‘The Avatar’s Fire Lord,’ ‘The Avatar’s Puppet,’ ‘The Avatar’s Pet.’ For surrendering the Fire Nation’s cause in the war without a fight, they called him ‘The Toothless Dragon’ or (in mocking reference to the temporary loss of his firebending) ‘The Dragon Without Fire.’ They jeered him as ‘Earth Lord,’ ‘Water Lord,’ or ‘Air Lord Zuko,’ depending on which nation he had just made some shameful concession to: evacuating the newer Earth Kingdom colonies; paying reparations to the Water Tribes; taking formal responsibility on behalf of his ancestor and his nation for the Air Nomad Genocide, denouncing as shameful slander the propaganda used to justify the slaughter, publicly abasing himself—on his knees with his forehead to the earth (as he had not lowered himself since he had apologized to his father for his disrespect and begged for his mercy)—and apologizing to Avatar Aang as the last survivor of his people. At their most blunt, Zuko’s own people called him ‘Zuko the Traitor’ and ‘Betrayer of his Nation.’

But not all of the epithets Zuko heard by spying on his subjects were so damning. Some sincerely used the titles Shyu had given him, Peacemaker and Restorer—spoke them with respect, gratitude, even reverence. There was a name he had first heard among Fire Nation migrants to Republic City, which had made its way back to the Fire Nation Capital to be spoken softly among his younger subjects (who barely remembered the years of the war, and had grown up with his account of things rather than Ozai’s or Azulon’s): not just ‘the Restorer,’ but ‘the Redeemer.’ Zuko hated that one even more than ‘Traitor’ or ‘Avatar’s Pet.’ He didn’t deserve it and could never live up to it; he knew he could only disappoint those who expected it of him. Better that they should call him ‘the Redeemed,’ but he could scarcely say he deserved that, either.

In the years since Zuko had raised Druk, he began hearing a few epithets he didn’t mind. ‘Zuko Dragon-tamer’ he considered inaccurate and insulting to his companion—did they think a dragon was a platypus-bear that one trained to do tricks?—but ‘Dragonrider’ was truthful enough and, he thought, had a nice ring to it. He preferred ‘Dragon-friend,’ in recognition of the honor and favor bestowed upon him by the Masters Ran and Shaw; but that one, unfortunately, had failed to catch on. His very favorite—the one he dared to hope might be the way history remembered him—he heard only three times over the space of a year, some thirty years after the war’s end… the year that Uncle Iroh died suddenly of no ailment anyone could identify. He could not tell just from hearing it whether it was ‘The Dragons’ Son’ or ‘The Dragon’s Son,’ but he liked to think it was somehow both.

Aang was teasing him about ‘Dragon-tamer’—“You should run off to join the circus like Ty Lee; I bet you’d look smashing in a ringmaster’s uniform!”—when Zuko finally managed to put words to what troubled him, instead of inarticulately spluttering his indignation. “I hate that they all want to make me into only one thing, wholly and completely, and ignore—or maybe deny—all the times I haven’t been that thing, and all the other things I am, and have been, and might still be.”

Aang considered this. “Maybe you should think of them as like roles in a play—like theater masks that you can put on and take off.”

“Yes, because when we’ve been made into dramatis personae in the past, it’s always been so flattering,” Zuko said, his voice dry and sharp as desert wind.

Aang laughed. “I’ve learned that sometimes it’s easier to just play ‘Savior of the World’ or ‘Wise Ancient World Spirit’ than to try to explain all you really are. And sometimes it’s fun to pretend that’s all you are, that everything is simpler than it is. Of course you have to take off the mask eventually… but you know how fun it can be to wear it for a little while, and for a little while just be the Dragon Emperor or the Dark Water Spirit. Or is it the Blue Spirit?” he asked slyly.

“Easy enough for you to say, when you’re always cast as the hero. What if it’s the villain’s mask they want you to wear?” Half-consciously Zuko put his fingers over his scar where it covered most of his cheek, then ran them up to the corner of the eye that was permanently narrowed, mask-like, into a threatening glare.

“I haven’t always been the hero,” Aang said quietly. “And I’ve also learned that sometimes it’s easier to accept your role as the villain than to tie yourself in knots, and most likely break your back, trying to convince everyone to love you.”

“You’re one to talk,” Zuko retorted. “You can’t even stand to let Katara stay mad at you for an hour.”

Aang chucked ruefully at that. “Becoming a parent has changed my perspective somewhat.”

“And what is ruling a nation other than parenting an enormous family of unruly children…?”

“I didn’t say that, Your Fatherliness. I mean…”

“Very funny.”

“Aw, c’mon, Peacemaker. You know you can’t stay mad at me.”

“How could I, when I’m your faithful pet?”

“Who’s a good dragon…? Ouch, those were definitely teeth!”

“Don’t believe everything you hear about me… or read in history books.”

#seeing if it works any better to put the text on tumblr #my fanfiction #atla fanfiction #atla fic #atla ficlet #zuko fanfiction #zuko fic #zuko-centric fic #zuko-centric #zuko and aang #zuko angst #zuko feels #zuko #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender fanfiction

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toku-explained · 4 years ago

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The Swordsmen's Bonds

Z: It has been three days since the formal dissolution of STORAGE. The good news is it looks like not everyone was fired, as Haruki is training in a GAFJ dojo, as Yoko calls we're informed that the team has been out on leave until further notice. The restructuring is under way at the 1st SAA Group HQ, which as we see with Hebikura, has formally replaced STORAGE. Nice seen with Haruki and Yoko, before Hebikura sneaks into SAA as a Pizza delivery man, so good to GAFJ security is as bad as ever, and he sees the robot Yuki Mai is working on developing, with the intent to replicate Ultraman's beams to contain the damage from D4. It is a reasonable plan in all honesty, because there may be situations where the use of D4 is seriously the only option. Yuka is working with the GAFJ public relations team, with Sevengar in site, various goods are being sold, Bako-san is also there in a similar role, but is also doing maintenance on Sevengar, so at least they're letting him do something he's suited for. A 3rd Barossa Seijin appears, but is actually older than the 2nd, Bako shows some skills. Juggler surprisingly stops Z winning at ground level, allowing Barossa to grow giant. Z grows giant to fight it, and Bako lends Sevengar to Yoko. Z and Sevengar are doing fine until SAA sends King Joe in. The guy they have piloting does an awful job, missing with about half the Pedanium Missiles when Yoko has never missed to my memory. Juggler decides to join as Tri-King, knocking Sevengar down and distracting Z, this battle is really showing how important the pilot's skill is to this, as Barossa is constantly showing up King Joe while Sevengar does significantly better despite being a literal museum piece. When Z prepares the Zestium Ray against Tri-King Juggler grabs King Joe and pushes it in the way of the beam, allowing Yuki Mai to get the data she wants, which will allow completion of Ultroid Zero, the pilot ejects. Juggler upgrades to Five King, forcing Z to use Delta Rise Claw. Beliarok refuses to play as soon as he hears they already beat it, but they still do pretty good, while Yoko, still fighting Barossa, as Sevengar starts to take damage, spots Beliarok and manages to goad him into helping her. With Sevengar's legs damaged Yoko puts herself on the Leg Carrier and has Yuka use Core Ship to control it, allowing her to make the finisher. Z uses Gamma Future to overload Gan-Q's energy absorption, then uses Ginga, X and Orb to activate the Galaxy Burst finisher. In the aftermath a certain someone retrieves at least the Tri-King medals. Some of the old maintenance team, due to personal circumstances, have decided to stay on with 1st SAAG, but Bako-san and others aren't, he doesn't hold it against them, telling them to take care of his robots. Hebikura arrives and we here Haruki has been assigned to security and Yuka to Kaiju Research, while Yoko has been shortlisted to pilot Ultroid Zero by Yuki Mai. Hebikura gives some parting advice to Haruki, claims his bonsai and leaves.

The Absolute Conspiracy: Great and Powered begin Ribut's training, Nd explain the Gudis cells will continue to grow if even one survives, and if the growing Maga-Orochi consumes those it will swiftly grow into Magata-no-Orochi and devour Planet Mikarito. Elsewhere Leucocyte is brought down on Planet Feed by 80, accompanied by Neos and Seven 21 (both have new VAs), Neos is part of the Elite Task Force and Seven 21 is part of the Galactic Security Agency, this fight showcases those 2 until Absolute Tartarus arrives accompanied by the last Reiyonix, Reibatos. This is again before Reibatos one previous appearance, based on the state of Planet Kanon, Reibatos summons Gymaira for Tartarus, which challenges 80. Hikari and Sora continue their work as Max's body starts to mutate. Ribut taps into his inner power and overcomes Great and Powered, who then grant him the power of the Ribut Blocker and the Spreader Rod. While Neos and Seven 21 struggle with Leucocyte, Gymaira is defeating 80 until 2 warriors from another universe arrive, Cosmos (original actor) in Space Corona Mode and Justice (new VA, though implicitly still Julie?) in Standard Mode. As 80 references Saga this is evidently later than I thought, but for Cosmos it is still before his last appearance in The Origin Saga. Justice mentions the Universal Justice Delacion, who he served in The Final Battle in attempting to destroy mankind, before turning on them, but apparently Delacion respected the Ultras decision and Justice is still affiliated with them. The pair make a quick attack on Leucocyte before switching to Cosmos Future Mode and Justice Crusher Mode, all of these forms haven't been seen since the Final Battle, as they fight 80 defeats Gymaira. Sora present Ribut with the Gudis antibodies. As the 5 Ultras battle Leucocyte they see Zoffy's Ultra Sign stating Ribut's team is preparing to save Max. Ribut, Great and Powered arrive at Mikarito, to find Max losing control, but Ribut swears to save him.

Saber: I was wrong about Tassel's guest, looks like the mysterious figure from Avalon. Everyone at Northern Base is tense after all that happened, especially with Sophia missing. So why are the Megiddo saying they only need gates opened by the six swordsmen we know, when we know there other swordsmen at Southern Base...I wonder. Caliber is likely to have already done his if they needed it. Kento is still clearly off, but I would argue it's regret now. Ogami trusts Ren to watch over him. This time, while Daishinji and Ogami enter easily, Zooous and Storious get in Saber's way. Ren discovers just before entering that Kento isn't there, he's apologising at Rintaro's bedside, apparently he, Touma and Luna made some promise in the past. He intends to deal with Kamijo, but he does seem more focused on doing it out of duty, but he doesn't look confident. Okay, so given this whole ritual already happened 15 years ago to connect the two worlds, why are Daishinji and Ogami oblivious to what's going on. Why is Kento the only one to know? He becomes Golden Alangina to face Jaou Dragon. Slash and Buster face Goblins, and another runs from Kenzan because they don't need him again. Rintaro has run off to help Kento. Of rather to take over for Touma so he can help Kento. The mention of Luna finally lows Touma to remember. Zooous and Storious leave so Rintaro is forced to open the gate. Buster, Slash and Kenzan all defeat their opponents, opening 2 gates, the book where Kenzan is just fades. Blades defeats his Megiddo. Apparently the 3 of them promised to always be together, as Touma rushes to help Kento. It's a great fight. Kamijo if you didn't expect Touma to inherit Rekka why did you leave Brave Dragon with him??? Unless you didn't mean to. And...did that just happen? Tassel is entering the story for real, with his friend.

Kiramager: The initial plan is to have Kiramazin, Gigant Driller and King Express Zabyun face and Jamenju each, and hopefully call on Grateful Phoenix as well, unfortunately Oradin reveals the situation with Garza and so he cannot come. Juru and Tametomo will try to rescue Sayo while the others fight. Great opening shot of the battle, Garza starts getting the edge in over Oradin, Juru and Tametomo make it to the seed but find Yodonna has captured Sayo. It's tense as things seem bad as Juru gives up his shot....as a beacon for Grateful Phoenix. The actual sequence is amazing, so they've taken out the plant, and now it's four mecha against the Jamenju trio and Jouki. Even with the Jamenju gone it seems nothing will stop the seed sprouting until Juru has an idea. It's always cool to see a mecha cannon finisher, they happen so rarely. This reminds me of the one from Dekaranger, I wonder if that was properly to scale with the DX toys?

#toku explained #kamen rider saber #mashin sentai kirameiger #ultraman z #ultra galaxy fight

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algaesway · 5 years ago

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第3章

Chapter 3. Spite: Part II.

Wei Wuxian wanted to wash his face to get a good look at this person who had kindly sacrificed themselves for him. However, there was no water in the room for either washing or drinking.

The only basin-shaped thing in the room was a chamber pot, which was hardly appropriate for cleansing one’s face.

He pushed at the door only to discover that it had been bolted shut from the outside. He supposed they didn’t want him to get out and start running around.

It seemed like the whole world was conspiring to deny him any joy of reincarnation!

Since there was nothing better to do, he sat down and crossed his legs to meditate and get used to this new body. Time passed quickly in meditation. When he opened his eyes, rays of sunlight were leaking in through the gaps around the door and the windows. Although Wei Wuxian had regained enough strength to get up and walk around, he still felt dazed and disoriented. Bewildered, he thought to himself: ‘Mo Xuanyu’s spiritual powers are low enough to be completely negligible, so steering his body shouldn’t be this hard. Why can’t I get it under control?’

Only when he heard a strange noise from his stomach did he realise that this had nothing to do with spiritual powers. This body was simply not used to abstaining from food, so it was incapacitated by hunger. Unless he’d manage to get out and forage for some food, he might just become the first demonic spirit in history to be reborn into a sacrificial vessel only to immediately die of starvation.

Wei Wuxian was just about to try thrusting through the door when he suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Someone kicked the door and barked: ‘Here’s your food!’

Despite shouting this, the person made no move to actually open the door. Wei Wuxian looked down to see a smaller door-within-a-door opening up. A set of small bowls had been set down on the other side.

The house-servant shouted: ‘Get a move on! Stop dawdling, eat up so I can take the bowls back!’

The inner door was a bit smaller than a dog flap - there was no way it would fit a person, but it could be used to deliver meals. He’d been given rice with two side dishes, all of which looked unpalatable.

Wei Wuxian stirred the chopsticks that had been stuck into the rice, allowing a wave of sentimentality to wash over him.

The Yiling Laozu had returned to the human realm only to be trampled on and chewed out. For his welcome banquet, he was served some cold and indelible leftovers. Yet he was supposed to bring on some reign of blood and terror, to ruthlessly massacre the whole clan without sparing a single hen? What a joke. He was like a tiger bullied by dogs after leaving his mountain, like a dragon deceived by a shrimp in shallow water, like a phoenix robbed of his feathers and turned into an ordinary rooster.

Outside the door, the house servant spoke again. This time, he sounded like an entirely different person, his voice softened by a smile: ‘A-Ding! Come here.’

From the distance, a girl’s bright and delicate voice asked: ‘A-Tong, are you on meal delivery duty again?’

‘Why else would I be hanging around this cursed place’, A-Tong scoffed.

A-Ding approached the door as she spoke: ‘All you have to do is to bring him one meal a day. You have plenty of opportunities to slack off without getting scolded for it. How can you complain it’s “cursed” while enjoying such a leisurely life! All the while I’m here slaving away all day long. I never have the time to go out to play.’

‘It’s not like delivering meals is my only job! And nobody is going out to play these days, with so many walking corpses around. Everyone is keeping their doors tightly locked and hiding inside’, A-Tong grumbled.

Wei Wuxian was crouching against the door, listening in while trying to eat with the mismatched chopsticks he’d been given.

It seemed that things had been getting pretty turbulent around the Mo manor recently. Walking corpses, as their name suggested, were dead people who had been re-animated. As far as transmuted corpses went, they were relatively weak and commonplace. They hardly posed a threat to the living, moving sluggishly and staring with lifeless eyes. Yet their mere presence was enough to terrify common people, not least because they emanated a nauseating stench of putrefaction.

Wei Wuxian, however, considered them his most loyal servants and obeisant puppets. The mere mention of them made him feel warm inside.

‘If you want to go out and play, all you have to do is to take me with you, and I’ll protect you’, A-Tong teased.

‘Really? You’ll protect me? Stop bragging. Am I supposed to believe that you could really beat back all those things outside?’ A-Ding said.

‘If I can’t beat them back, nobody can!’ A-Tong retorted angrily.

‘How can you be so sure that nobody can do it? Let me tell you something. I heard that the cultivators who arrived today are from an extremely illustrious clan! Madam is welcoming them in the reception hall now, and everyone from town is dying to get a look at them. Listen - can you hear how noisy it is out there? I don’t have time to bicker with you, I might be called in to help any moment now’.

Wei Wuxian listened with rapt attention. Sure enough, he could hear a din of loud voices drifting in from the east side of the house. After considering his options for a while, he got up and kicked the door hard. The latch snapped open with a satisfying clank.

The two servants, who had been busy making eyes and giggling at each other, screamed as the door suddenly flew open on them. Wei Wuxian threw out the bowl and the chopsticks he’d been holding and walked away without looking back. The sunlight was surprisingly bright, piercing his eyes and stabbing at his skin. He raised a hand over his face, shutting his eyes for a moment.

A-Tong, who had just shrieked in a voice even shriller than A-Ding’s, pulled himself together only to realise he’d let himself be frightened by the lunatic everyone felt entitled to bully. Emboldened, he decided this was an opportunity to regain the face he’d just lost. Leaping in front of Wei Wuxian, he shouted while waving wildly with his hands - as if scolding a dog - ‘Get back in! Get back in! Back where you came from! What do you think you’re doing, showing your face outside!’

This was worse than the treatment one would expect for a beggar or a fly. It seemed that this was how the servants of the Mo family normally treated Mo Xuanyu. He probably wouldn’t have put up any resistance, effectively allowing himself to be bullied without restraint. Wei Wuxian knocked A-Tong to the ground with a light kick and said with a smile: ‘Who do you think you are trying to humiliate here?’

With that, he walked off, following the din of lively voices. There was quite a crowd of people gathered in and around the eastern courtyard and the East Hall. As Wei Wuxian stepped into the courtyard, he could hear a woman’s voice ringing louder than the others: ‘There is a junior disciple in our family, too, with deep ties to the cultivation world….’

That must have been Madam Mo, trying to pull all the strings she possibly could to build bridges back to the cultivation clan. Wei Wuxian didn’t wait for her to finish speaking. Squeezing through the crowd of people to get inside the hall, he waved enthusiastically and said: ‘Coming, coming, here I am!’

A middle-aged lady was sitting in the hall, wearing extravagant clothes and giving off an air of carefully maintained gracefulness; there was no doubt that this was Madam Mo. She was seated next to her husband, and opposite her sat a group of boys who wore white robes and carried double-edged swords on their backs. A sudden spell of silence descended on the crowd at the appearance of an eccentric stranger with a messily painted face. Wei Wuxian pretended not to realise he was stealing the scene. ‘Who called me? I heard someone talking about a person with deep ties to the cultivation world. Surely that can only refer to myself!’ he said brazenly.

There was too much powder on Wei Wuxian’s face, and whenever he cracked a smile, some of it sprinkled off. One of the white-robed boys was clearly amused, and a small exhale of almost-laughter escaped his lips. The boy seated next to him, seemingly the leader of the group, didn’t find it funny. He gave the laughing boy a judgemental look, making him flinch and go quiet at once.

Following the noise, Wei Wuxian’s eyes scanned over the group, and he was startled by what he saw. He had assumed that the servant girl from before had just been exaggerating, but it turned out that these guests truly were from an ‘extremely illustrious’ sect.

The boys were wearing flowing, light-coloured robes with graceful sleeves and sashes. They were beautiful and possessed a cold aura of spiritual power. Just one glance at their uniforms was enough to know that they were disciples of the Gusu Lan sect. Not only that, they must have been connected to the Lan clan by blood, because they all wore white forehead ribbons embellished with cirrus cloud patterns.

The Lan clan’s motto was ‘righteousness and rectification’, and the implicit meaning of these forehead ribbons was ‘self-regulation’. The cirrus cloud was the Lan family crest, and wearing it was forbidden from those outside the clan. Visiting scholars and disciples from other families would wear a forehead ribbon without the crest. Seeing the Lan uniform gave Wei Wuxian a toothache. In his past life, he had often mocked this uniform for its resemblance to mourning clothes. There was no way he would mistake it.

Madam Mo hadn’t seen her nephew for quite a while, and it took her a long time to recover from her shock. After finally realising who this garish person coated in greasepaint was, she felt a flash of anger. Beside herself with fury, she whispered to her husband in a low voice: ‘Who let him out? Put him back immediately!’

Madam Mo’s husband forced himself to flash her an apologetic smile, but as he stood up, his face immediately darkened in anger. He was just about to grab the intruder and drag him out, when Wei Wuxian suddenly threw himself to the floor, making his limbs heavy on the ground. He became completely still, and even though servants were called in to push and pull at him, nobody could make him move. If only there hadn’t been guests around, they would probably have trampled him to death. Madam Mo’s husband glanced at her face, which was becoming increasingly twisted with anger, and started sweating profusely. He shouted: ‘You damned madman! If you don’t get out of here at once, I’ll teach you a lesson!’

Even though everyone at the Mo manor was well aware that there was a lunatic in the family, Mo Xuanyu had secluded himself in his gloomy room for years, too afraid to see anyone. Seeing him suddenly emerge from the shadows, looking like a wicked ghost in his heavy make-up, raised furious whispers all around him; people were expecting some kind of a spectacle.

Wei Wuxian said: ‘Fine, I can go.’ Pointing his finger at Mo Ziyuan, he continued: ‘Just tell him to return the things he stole from me before’.

Mo Ziyuan was stunned by the nerve of this lunatic. He’d been taught a lesson only yesterday, yet he had the gall to barge in here today. His face grew pale and then red. ‘You’re talking rubbish! When exactly have I stolen your things? What use would I even have for your things?’

‘Right, right, right! You didn’t steal them, you pilfered them!’ said Wei Wuxian.

Madam Mo had a moment of realisation. Mo Xuanyu had clearly come prepared for a fight, his mind completely lucid. He was trying to humiliate them on purpose. Suddenly overwhelmed by anger, she shouted: ‘You came here on purpose just to make a scene, didn’t you?’

‘He’s stolen and pilfered my things, I just came to get them back. Can that really be called making a scene?’

Madam Mo didn’t have a response at the ready, but Mo Ziyuan was quicker, lifting his leg to stomp on Mo Xuanyu. At that moment, one of the white-robed boys with a sword on his back made a tiny gesture with his finger. Mo Ziyuan lost his balance, his leg suddenly stumbling at nothing, and he fell down on himself. Regardless, Wei Wuxian rolled over on the ground, pretending as if he’d really been trampled on. He pulled the front of his robe open, showing everyone the footprint on his chest that had really been inflicted by Mo Ziyuan the previous day.

The onlookers were enthusiastically following the drama. There was simply no way Mo Xuanyu could have kicked himself on the chest. Yet he was one of their own blood! How could this family be so ruthless? It was clear that his insanity hadn’t been this severe when he’d first returned. The more his family mistreated him, the more deranged he had become. In any case, it was a good show. In fact, it was even more entertaining than the visiting cultivators!

With so many pairs of eyes fixed on them, Madam Mo could neither hit Mo Xuanyu or shove him out. She could only swallow her indignation and attempt to force a bland compromise: ‘You talk of stealing and pilfering? Such vulgar words. When it’s between family members, couldn’t you just look at it as borrowing? A-Yuan is your little brother, can’t you let him take a few of your things? As an older brother, how can you be so petty? You’re making a fool of yourself, throwing a childish tantrum over a trifle like this. It’s not as if he wouldn’t return your things to you later.’

The white-robed boys looked at each other at a loss. One of them, who had just been drinking tea, almost choked on it. Growing up in the Gusu Lan sect, these boys had grown used to austere elegance. They had probably never witnessed a farce like this before, nor heard such insightful argumentation. This was probably an important life experience for them. Laughing hysterically in his mind, Wei Wuxian reached out his hand and said: ‘Give them back, then.’

Of course there was nothing for Mo Ziyuan to return, because he’d either discarded or destroyed everything. Not that it made a difference, because he would have been too prideful to return them in any case. With an ashen face, he shrieked: ‘Mother!’ and glared daggers at her, as if to accuse: ‘Are you really just letting him humiliate me like this?’

Madam Mo glowered at her son in return, trying to prevent him from making the scene worse than it already was. Not giving up so easily, Wei Wuxian spoke again: ‘That reminds me.. He shouldn’t have stolen my things at all, but he especially shouldn’t have stolen them in the middle of the night. Considering the fact that everyone here knows I like men - he has no shame, forcing me into a suspicious situation like that.’

Madam Mo gasped and shouted: ‘How dare you say that in front of everyone! You’re the one who has no shame. A-Yuan is your cousin!’

Wei Wuxian was an expert at behaving badly. In the past, he’d had to restrain himself to protect the honour of his family, but now that he was already a verified lunatic, he didn’t have any face to worry about. Head held high, he spoke with the force of absolute conviction: ‘He’s perfectly aware that I’m his cousin, yet does nothing to avert suspicion. In the end, who is the more shameless one? Maybe it’s not a big deal to you, but please don’t ruin my innocence! I still want to find a good man!’

Mo Ziyuan screamed and started swinging a chair at him. Seeing him finally explode in rage, Wei Wuxian got up in one smooth movement and dodged out of the way. The chair hit the ground and was smashed to bits. The large crowd that had gathered in and around the East Hall had been delighting in the Mo family’s humiliation, but now that things had taken a more violent turn, they all fled before they could get into harm’s way. Wei Wuxian ducked towards the Lan Sect boys, who seemed dumbfounded. He yelled: ‘Did you all see that? Did you see? He’s a thief and a violent brute! An utterly heartless person to boot!’

Mo Ziyuan was just about to pounce on him when the leader of the Lan disciples stopped him, coaxing: ‘Young master.. If you have something to say to him, then say it.’

Madam Mo realised this boy was trying to protect the lunatic, and it frightened her. With a forced smile, she said: ‘This is my younger sister’s son. He’s a bit.. troubled. Everyone at the Mo manor knows that he’s insane and that his ridiculous stories should not be taken seriously. Cultivator, if I may suggest..’

Before she could finish her sentence, Wei Wuxian, who had been hiding behind the back of the head disciple, peeked out and said: ‘Who says the things I say shouldn’t be taken seriously? The next time someone tries to steal something from me, I will cut their hand off!’

Mo Ziyuan had been restrained by his father, but hearing these words made him furious again, and he struggled to break free. Wei Wuxian slithered out of reach like a fish swimming downstream, running out of the hall. The head disciple rushed to block the door, preventing anyone else from going after him. He then tried to switch everyone’s attention back to the actual reason they were here, speaking in a serious tone: ‘Um.. Well, we will be borrowing your West Garden this evening, Madam. You must take heed of the instructions I gave earlier. After nightfall, you must keep your doors tightly closed and remain inside. You must not approach the courtyard.’

Madam Mo was trembling with anger, but no matter how much she wanted to force that door open, she couldn’t go against her benefactors’ wishes. She could only say: ‘Yes, yes, thank you for your trouble..’

Mo Ziyuan couldn’t believe his ears. ‘Mother! That lunatic slandered me in front of so many people, and we’re just going to let him go? You said before, you said he’s just a..’

Madam Mo snapped: ‘Shut up. If you have something to say, say it after we have returned to our rooms!’

Mo Ziyuan had never lost his footing this way before, had never felt this humiliated and rejected even by his own mother. Seething with resentment, he snarled: ‘That madman will die tonight!’

After Wei Wuxian had finished his show of insanity and walked out of the hall, he took his time wandering the grounds of Mo manor, brazenly putting himself in the spotlight. He delighted in the way passers-by were shocked by his face. He was starting to gain a tangible understanding of the joy of being considered a madman. Begrudgingly, he realised that the thought of washing off the hanged-ghost makeup no longer felt so appealing either. He reasoned with himself: ‘In any case, there is no water, so how am I supposed to clean my face?’. He smoothed down his hair and glanced at his wrists. The cuts had not faded in the slightest. As expected, such a trivial degradation was far from satisfying Mo Xuanyu’s thirst for revenge.

Would he really need to annihilate the Mo clan completely?

….Honestly speaking, that might not be so difficult, after all.

Deep in thought, Wei Wuxian wandered back to the main buildings of the Mo manor, walking in small, springy steps. As he was passing the West Courtyard, he saw the Lan disciples standing on the roofs and eaves of the surrounding buildings, solemnly discussing something. Intrigued, Wei Wuxian retraced his steps, entering the courtyard and stretching his neck to look up at them.

Although the Gusu Lan Sect had been one of the key participants in the siege and annihilation campaign at Luanzang Mound, these disciples were too young to have even been born at that time. They had nothing to do with it. Wei Wuxian stood still and watched them, trying to figure out what they were doing. As he watched, he was suddenly gripped by a feeling of unease.

The fluttering black flags that the disciples had put up on the roofs and eaves looked awfully familiar.

These flags were called ‘Yin-summoning flags’. When carried by living humans, they would attract recently departed souls, vengeful ghosts, fierce corpses and evil spirits within a certain range. Whatever was summoned, it would only attack those carrying the flags. Because the flag-carrier was essentially turned into live bait, they were also called ‘target flags’. They could be hoisted on houses, on the condition that there were living people inside. In that case, the range of the target would be fixed to include everyone in that house. They had one more nickname, ‘black wind flags’, because dark yin energy would collect in their vicinity, spiraling like ink-black gusts of wind. Since the Lan disciples had arranged all the flags in the Western Courtyard and forbidden everyone from approaching it, they were clearly planning to attract the moving corpses there and capture them in one sweep.

As for their familiarity.. How could they not seem familiar? After all, the inventor of the Yin-summoning flags was Wei Wuxian himself!

All the cultivation clans might have been itching to kill him, but apparently they had no qualms about using his techniques for their own ends.

One of the disciples stationed on the roof noticed him watching them. ‘Please go back. You shouldn’t be here now.’

Although he was being shooed away, it sounded like the disciple really didn’t want him to be harmed. The tone could not have been more different to the one the Mo servants used on him. Wei Wuxian caught him off guard, leaping up and grabbing one of the flags.

Alarmed, the disciple jumped down to chase after him: ‘Stop meddling with it! This isn’t something you should be touching!’

Wei Wuxian was the perfect picture of a madman with his disheveled hair and his limbs flailing as if in some deranged dance, running away while shouting: ‘I won’t give it back! I won’t give it back! I want this! Want this!’

The disciple overtook him in a couple of strides, grabbing his arm and saying: ‘Will you give it back or not? If not, I will strike you!’

Wei Wuxian was holding on to the flag as if his life depended on it. The head disciple, who had been arranging the flag formation, noticed the commotion and jumped down from the eaves, light as a feather. He said: ‘Jingyi, leave it. Let’s just get it back nicely. There’s no need to get into a quarrel with him.’

Lan Jingyi said: ‘Sizhui, it’s not like I actually hit him! Just look at what he did - he destroyed the whole flag formation!’

During the two disciples’ heated conversation, Wei Wuxian was able to inspect the Yin-summoning flag in his hands. The motifs had been drawn correctly, and the incantations were complete. There were no signs of carelessness or negligence; the flag was completely fit for use. It had been drawn by an inexperienced hand, and would only attract spirits and moving corpses within a five-li radius. Nevertheless, it was good enough.

Lan Sizhui smiled at him and said: ‘Young master Mo, it will be dark soon. We will be capturing moving corpses, so it will be dangerous at night. You should head back to your room now.’

Wei Wuxian eyed the boy up and down. He looked gentle and elegant in a pristine way. There were traces of laughter in the corners of his mouth. This boy had the potential to become a widely praised cultivator, Wei Wuxian thought. He had also arranged the flag formation in perfect order, revealing an impeccable education. Who could have raised a boy like this in the dreadfully old-fashioned Gusu Lan clan?

Lan Sizhuan spoke again: ‘So, this flag…’

Before he had finished speaking, Wei Wuxian had already thrown the Yin-summoning flag to the ground, huffing: ‘It’s just a lousy flag, what’s the big deal! I could draw one much better than this!’ With that, he broke into a run and dashed away. His bragging made the boys listening from the roof laugh so hard they almost fell off. Even Lan Jingyi chuckled as he picked up the Yin-summoning flag and dusted it off. ‘This guy is completely crazy!’ he said.

‘Don’t say that. Let’s rush back to help the others’, Lan Sizhui said.

Wei Wuxian continued to loiter around the grounds until nightfall. He then returned to Mo Xuanyu’s small house tucked away in a courtyard. He ignored the broken latch and the complete mess that had been made of the room, picking a relatively clean spot on the floor to sit down and meditate.

This time, his meditation didn’t last until daybreak. His attention was pulled back to worldly things by a loud racket outside.

He could hear frantic footsteps and alarmed shouts approaching his room. Wei Wuxian listened to the same phrases being echoed over and over again: ‘Charge in and drag him out!’ ‘Report him to the authorities!’ ‘There’s no need to report anything, just beat him to death!’

As Wei Wuxian opened his eyes, several house-servants had already rushed into his room. He saw that the courtyard was brightly lit with flames. Someone was shouting: ‘Drag this insane murderer to the hall, so we can let him pay with his life!’

(translation notes)

#mdzs translation

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ltleflrt · 6 years ago

Note

Hnnngh *bites lip* so hard to choose. Dragon/Wedding planner AU for your prompts game? I‘ve loved all of the ficlets that came out of this so far!

I fracking love this prompt, thank you :D

“This isn’t even my wedding, how did I get roped into this?”

Sam casts Dean an unimpressed look as he opens the door to the meeting room and gestures for Dean to precede him inside. “There’s more to being the best man than planning the bachelor party, Dean.”

“Since when?” he demands, just to be stubborn. He doesn’t really have a problem helping out with anything Sam and Eileen need, it’s just weird to him that they’d hire someone to do all the hard work for them, and still need Dean’s input on stuff.

Sam’s answer is lost to him when Dean’s eyes fall on the room’s stupidly sexy occupant. His feet glue themselves to the floor, and it takes a nudge from Sam to get moving again.

“Hello, Castiel,” Sam says brightly as he crosses the meeting room. “Thank you for coming here to meet us today.”

“It is my pleasure, of course.” The man–he’s certainly male, if not human–smiles graciously as he accepts Sam’s hand to shake.

Dean’s eyebrows feel like they’re trying to launch themselves into his hair.

Touching a Phoenix is an invitation for third degree burns, but Castiel doesn’t even flinch as his hand is engulfed in Sam’s much larger grip.

“Castiel, this is my brother Dean,” Sam says, gesturing for Dean to come closer. He casts Dean a look that says get over here idiot, which works because Dean’s on auto pilot. “He’s going to be helping out when Eileen and I are unavailable.”

It’s been trained into him since birth not to touch anyone. His nature as a Phoenix puts most creatures in danger of burns from standing too close, much less initiating skin to skin contact. So it’s a surreal experience to feel a hand that doesn’t belong to someone of his own species slide against his own. His fingers brush the edge of a cool scale and it sends a shiver up his arm.

Flame-blue eyes stare up at him, and Dean’s brain experiences a mild short circuit when Castiel smiles at him. “Hello, Dean.”

“You’re a dragon,” Dean blurts.

When Castiel laughs, his whole body gets in on the motion. The wings draped over his shoulders flutter, and his tail whips left to right. The sunlight pouring in through the wall of windows lining one side of the meeting room glints off the iridescent scales along his neck and hairline. “I believe I am, yes.”

Dean blinks and shakes his head. Castiel’s voice is like thick smoke, and it’s going straight to his pleasure centers. He needs to get a grip on himself before he does something really embarrassing. He pastes on a charming smile. “Sorry. I’ve never met a dragon before.”

“And I’ve met very few Phoenixes,” Castiel counters with a teasing smile. “My people do prefer the view from their mountain tops, but I find that sometimes the rest of the world holds much more pleasurable views.” His eyes trail down Dean’s body, lingering on their clasped hands, before coming back up to lock their gazes together again.

Is that a flirtation?

Dean hopes it’s a flirtation.

Sam ruins the moment by clearing his throat. “Eileen’s sorry she couldn’t be here today. She’s needed in Oberon’s court.”

“I understand.” Castiel turns his attention to Sam, a professional facade coming down over his expression as he releases Dean’s hand. “She’s a very busy woman, and I’m here to take as much stress and work off her shoulders as possible.”

Dean misses Castiel’s touch as soon as it slips away. But he’s suddenly looking forward to all his extra Best Man duties.

***

As ambassador to the land of the Fae, Sam is a pretty busy guy, and his engagement to Eileen, a high ranking member of Oberon’s court, means even more rounds of social events. So Dean ends up doing a lot more of the work on getting the wedding set up than he expected. And that means spending a lot more time with Castiel than the bride and groom do.

Which, to be completely fucking honest, is awesome.

Castiel insists on meeting in person often, sometimes multiple times a week. And it isn’t always to visit bakeries and flower shops. They spend an equal number of meetings in coffee shops, or cozy restaurants, with Castiel’s binders open on the table between them to keep up the appearance that what they’re doing isn’t dating.

Because it hasn’t been said out loud yet, but Dean’s pretty sure that’s what this is. Why else would their discussions veer from business to personal so often? Why else would Castiel touch him whenever he can, like he can’t help himself?

Dean could be way off base. Maybe dragons are touchy-feely by nature. It’s completely possible that Castiel is always staring at Dean’s lips because he’s hard of hearing. Eileen stares at Dean’s mouth all the time, and it certainly isn’t because she wants to jump his bones. And the intense eye contact when Dean’s not speaking? Well that could just be Dean projecting. Eye contact is normal, right? It’s not all eye fucking.

It certainly feels like eye-fucking though.

He could ask. Hey, Cas. Is this thing between us all in my head? Maybe write him a note, and ask him to check yes or no if he likes Dean the way Dean likes him.

Or he can continue to be chicken shit about it, and just bask in Castiel’s presence. Treasure every look, every gentle slide of Castiel’s fingers against his hand or his arm. Soak in the cooling relief of his presence, because Castiel probably doesn’t understand the concept of Personal Space, and isn’t standing shoulder to shoulder with Dean in the print shop because he craves that contact as well.

Over the months they gravitate closer and closer.

Dean never asks why.

***

Never in his life has Dean seen a wedding so beautiful.

Sam and Eileen stand together under an arch of orange and yellow irises. Bonfires flank the raised dais, and torches line the aisles. Light and shadow from all the flames dance across Eileen’s flowing white dress, making her appear to be bathed in her own fire. Both the bride and groom are displaying their wings proudly, Eileen’s sheer and rainbow shimmery, Sam’s fiery feathers arched over his shoulders. Only clever spell work keep them from sparking fire in his clothing and the nearby flowers. And Eileen’s fairy blood protects her from Sam’s burning touch.

The priestess bonds them together with a rope of pure gold wrapped loosely around their clasped hands. She repeats the sacred ritual in three languages, including sign. And when she announces them Bound, the torches and the bonfires roar higher, adding more noise to the cheering of the gathered crowd.

Petals from orange roses are tossed over the wedded couple’s heads as they turn to their guests, and raise their tied hands up high to display them to everyone present.

Dean’s vision blurs, maybe from tears, maybe from the heat haze of so much open flame.

After the ceremony it’s hours before Dean gets a moment to himself. He sneaks away as soon as he finishes his Best Man speech, to a quiet corner of the palace gardens. The marble bench he finds is cool, and the gentle breeze rustling the surrounding bushes is refreshing on his cheeks. Even as a creature of fire, it feels good to get away from the hot press of bodies packed into one place.

And out here, he doesn’t have to pull himself in tight to prevent brushing too close to someone who might suffer injury on contact with his skin. He lets his head fall back on his shoulders and looks up into the starry sky, smiling at the unfamiliar constellations of the Fae realm. With a sigh and a slight relaxation of his concentration, he lets his wings slip free.

He can’t spread them, for fear of setting the garden on fire, but having them out in the open is relief enough.

“Lovely.”

Dean’s wings flinch, but before he can slip them away, Castiel stops him with a touch to his shoulder.

“No, don’t,” Castiel murmurs. “Your flame poses no danger to me.”

Dean looks up at the dragon, and thinks the reflected gleam of his wings in Castiel’s eyes is far more beautiful than the stars. “Uh thanks. They were getting a little cramped.”

Castiel flares his own wings slightly. “I can imagine how uncomfortable that gets.”

Of course he does. As a dragon, Castiel is squeezing his whole body into a smaller form, not just hiding his wings.

“Yeah it’s not the greatest.” Dean slides over on the bench to give Castiel space. “Join me?”

His heart thumps almost painfully behind his ribs when Castiel accepts his invitation and settles on the stone seat. Even though Castiel is safe, Dean still pulls his wings away out of habit.

Castiel notices the gesture and smiles gently. He lifts a hand, but hesitates. “May I?”

Among his own kind, touching wings is an intimate gesture. Most people of other species would start to feel the burn before even getting close enough. Phoenixes aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, and Dean’s a little too rough around the edges to attract a mate from the Fae, so it’s been many years since he’s felt another’s touch in his feathers.

The urge to allow it is overwhelming. Only a lifetime of discipline keeps him from shoving his wing right into Castiel’s waiting hand. But his feathers ruffle up with anticipation anyway.

Unable to speak around his heart in his throat, Dean nods.

Castiel’s fingers sink into Dean’s flaming feathers, and they both let out a sigh. Dean in utter satisfaction, and Castiel in what looks like wonder.

The yellow flames turn the iridescent blue scales lining the back of Castiel’s hand a deep metallic green. He strokes through the feathers, threading them between his fingers, and Dean can’t help pressing his into the touch.

“Lovely,” Castiel says again, low and soft, smoke rising from embers.

Dean loses track of time as Castiel gently grooms the areas he can reach. His eyes nearly slip closed in pleasure, but he can’t look away from the awe gracing Castiel’s features, so he watches the dragon through drooping lids.

“You know,” Castiel says after a long silence broken only by the soft crackle of Dean’s flames. “Now that my work for your brother and new sister is completed, I’ll be visiting other realms for new contracts.”

Dean’s feathers dim with his disappointment. “So, I guess this is probably goodbye then?”

Castiel’s eyes flit from Dean’s wing, to lock on Dean’s gaze. “I was hoping that we could continue our relationship without the barrier of professionalism. If you don’t mind that I have to travel a lot for work.”

It takes everything Dean has not to burst into a pillar of flame. He manages to keep his excitement contained to a grin, and maybe a little extra heat under his skin. His clothes stay intact, even if he does catch a whiff of hot wool. Thank the gods for whoever invented spells for fireproofing. “I don’t mind at all, Cas.” He flutters his wings. “It’s not like I don’t have means of traveling to see you.”

Castiel’s smile is brighter than a flame. “I’m very happy to hear that.”

“Can I kiss you, Cas?” Dean blurts.

He receives his answer as a soft press of lips against his own. The kiss is gentle, almost chaste, but it’s more than Dean usually dares to hope for.

Dean doesn’t know what his face is doing when Castiel pulls back, but it’s probably something goofy and love-struck. “That was awesome.”

“Yes,” Castiel agrees.

And then they kiss again. And again. They kiss and touch and murmur endearments to each other under the rotating stars, until edge of the sky begins to fade from black to blue and the stars blink out of view.

#destiel #au mashup #oops i ficced #dragon!cas #phoenix!dean #alessariel

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dracoscastleofglass-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Diagon Alley

When: August 15th, 1993

Summary: Violet buys a new wand, and explores Diagon Alley

Warnings: Brief PTSD-esque flashback, blood mention no details.

Violet stood looking into a store window. Around her people bustled about their lives, wearing long robes of many colors. The scent of waffle cones, and roasting nuts drifted lazily along the alley. Violet stepped into the shop and approached the counter. She stood for a moment peering about the shop, noticing a broken vase on the floor, and several papers strewn about the shop. Violet remembered her first wand choosing, when she had shattered a window and nearly lost an eye in the chaos. Just then a wizard popped up from behind the counter. “Ah hello there. Welcome to Olivanders, purveyors of wands. I am Garrick Olivander. What can I do for you?”

“My wand was broken last year.” Violet removed the 2 pieces from her bag, and placed them on the counter.

“Broken, you say? What a shame, and before you’ve finished your schooling too. Now I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, and I would remember this. White river monster? Must be the work of Thiago Quintana.”

“Yes sir, I was hoping to have it mended, you’re the third shop I’ve brought it to. The core is hard to find in America too, I believe I had one of very few in the world.”

“Well, I don’t believe I can mend this. Not without a new core. If you would like to wait I can ask around, see if anyone can send some. But I doubt any of my contacts do, and if you’ve asked around already I’m sure there’s no point.”

“I had just about given up trying in America, but I figured I would try in Europe before giving up entirely, we just moved here you see. I’ll buy a new wand.”

“Very good, now lets see….” Olivander disappeared into the shelves of wands and Violet continued to look around “Here 10 inches, Dragon Heartstring, Ashwood, and inflexible.”

Violet lifted the wand “Lumos” the tip flickered then went out, Violet shook her head and placed it back into the box.” Olivander took it quickly and replaced it with another “Unicorn Hair, Applewood, Inflexible”

Violet lifted it again and directed it to the scattered pile of papers, “Auferte”. The papers should have sorted themselves into the nearby filing cabinet, but they merely fluttered in place. “I’m sorry, my last want was surprisingly supple, despite the core.” Violet set the wand back into its box and Olivander whisked it away with the other and returned to the back of the shop. “Phoenix Feather, 14 inches, Beech Wood, Supple.”

Violet lifted the wand and immediately felt a warmth spreading from the wand through her entire body. “Reparo” The broken vase became whole again. “Auferte” Both the vase and the papers and settled into place neatly.

“Quite rare, Beechwood rarely chooses a master so young. And Phoenix feather... quite picky as well. I generally would never have pulled out such a wand for one so young but it sang to me so just now. May I ask, what broke your last wand?”

Violet’s voice caught in her throat, “It-It was...” She took a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts, the sight of crimson on white marble filled her mind.

“Ah hello and welcome to Ollivanders, Why it’s the Fosters, and this must be your youngest. Why I’ve found wands for your whole family, yes your mother and father, even your great aunt Lily.” The sudden change in the atmosphere startled Violet to her senses and she paid for her wand and left the shop quickly. Just up the street her father waved her over.

Violet suddenly felt quite out of place. She and her father both looked strange among the robe clad witches and wizards going about their shopping. Her father wore a muggle suit, No tie and slightly unbuttoned, and she wore a black crop top under a large grey flannel and loosely fit jeans, a large canvas bag slung over her shoulder.

“Over here I’ve got something for you!” Violet met her father outside the door to the Apothecary. “I asked around for where to get the potions supplies you needed and I was pointed to this shop, I went in and the nice lady got you all set up. I told her Potions is your best subject and that you were quite advanced, she even enchanted that chest we found last week.”

Violet smiled at her father, even if he had never expected a witch for a daughter, he had adjusted quickly and done his best to support her. “Thank you.” She entered the shop to find the scottish shop-keeper gently filling the chest with various colored and sized bottles of ingredients, as well as scales and weights.

“Here’s a list of everything I put in lass, your da says you're quite advanced so I loaded you up with a few extra ingredients as well as some things not on the list for 3rd years, but used in 4th.” The scottish shopkeeper pushed a list of ingredients towards her. “It’s always nice to see a young woman interested in Potions.”

“250 Galleons for the lot sir.” Violet’s father reached into the bag he’d gotten to exchange money at gringotts and paid.

“That’s a steal, there must be 500 Galleons worth here!” Violet looked over the list again noting a number of rare ingredients and for the most part large quantities.

“Call it a welcome gift lassie. Like I said, not enough girls interested in potions these days.” Violet and her father thanked the woman kindly and left the shop carrying the newly expanded apothecary chest out through Toms and out into their car waiting in the streets.

“Dad, if you don’t mind I’d like to stay and have a look around, there weren’t any wizarding communities like this near us in America. I can take the underground back.” Violet’s father shook his head and handed her a £50 note.

“Take a cab, be back before 7, Michelle is making dinner.”

Violet spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around the many side streets off of Diagon Alley. She stopped to enjoy a cup of coffee and a scone on the patio of Madam Vanessa’s, a sweet little cafe, before a handsome blonde caught her eye. He seemed to look back at her for an instant before following his father down a street off of Diagon Alley. Violet finished her coffee and followed ventured down the street and into the shop she had seen him step into.

Before the door closed behind her a crazed and scarred up man with a fake eye spinning wildly screamed. “YOU WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? GET OUT. DO YOU HEAR ME? GET OUT.” Violet turned to leave and returned to Diagon Alley, catching her breath. A handsome but sick looking gentleman approached her. “Are you alright, something give you a bit of a shock?”

“There was a man. He had a fake eye and he yelled at me. He didn’t want me in there.” Violet gestured to the shop she had fled.

“Ah, Alastor. Well he was right, if wrong in his approach. That shop is no place for a young lady. In fact I would stay clear of the whole street if you’re alone.” The gentlemen looked her over carefully “ Say, are you a Hogwarts student?” “I’ll be new this year, I went to Ilvermorny but we just moved here.”

“Well then I’ll be your defense against the dark arts teacher. Remus Lupin.”

“Oh, nice to meet you Professor, I’m Violet, Violet Vodrey. I know it’s early but is there anything I should have done before classes start?” Violet had hoped to be placed a year ahead in several classes including DADA but had only been sent the list for third years.

“Not at all, just stay clear of any more dark wizard hideouts and you’ll be set.” Violet looked down embarrassed and nodded. “Now run along, I unfortunately can’t avoid Knockturn Alley, they’re apothecary has a potion I need.”

Violet found a stall for Madam Primpellas shop and purchased a small vial of a pimple vanishing serum in a beautiful glass purple bottle before picking up her robes from Madam Malkins and catching a cab home.

#Harry Potter #Harry Potter OC #Harry Potter fan fic #Fan fiction #fanfic #Diagon Alley #Mad Eye Moody #Alastor Moody #Remus Lupin #Muggle #Muggleborn #Muggleborn OC #Ollivanders #Wand choosing #Knockturn Alley

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murasaki-murasame · 5 years ago

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After doing way too many summons on this gala without getting Gala Elly I’m just gonna quit while I’m ahead and start hoarding for the New Years banner, lol. And in the mean-time I’ll probably be skipping the Christmas banner so that kinda sucks but oh well.

Either way, I still got a whole bunch of new stuff in my gala summons, and also I have a lot of thoughts about the new This Month in DL post, so I’ll just put the rest of my thoughts under the cut.

I swear to god this gala was the most summons I’ve done on a banner without getting a focus unit, lmao. This must be punishment for me getting like three copies of Gala Euden last time. I think I did like 250 summons total, which included over 10 5-stars, but no Gala Elly. I may or may not end up caving to my temptations and grinding adventurer stories and hard mode campaign levels to try and summon more, but I should just quit while I’m ahead.

Either way, my haul of 5-stars, new and dupes, is:

-Gala Ranzal

-Wedding Elly

-Xanfried

-Lea

-Jeanne

-Chthonius

-Dupes of B-Zardin, Victor, Sylas, Cassandra, Gala Sarisse, Shinobi, Vayu, and Long Long [x2]. I also got another dupe Shinobi from the 5-star dragon voucher thing they just gave us.

Let’s just say that I don’t know how to feel about wanting Gala Elly and then getting Gala Ranzal + Wedding Elly, lmao. At least they’re both new units for me. Though it feels doubly bad that I got Gala Ranzal, 45MC’d him, and then almost immediately afterward I got Wedding Elly. Welp. I’m a Noelle main in eHMC anyway so it’s not a huge deal. But it’s nice to get my wind roster fleshed out more.

I’m honestly really happy about getting Xanfried, and it more or less makes up for not getting Gala Elly. He was one of those 5-stars who I was vaguely tempted to dream summon because it was bugging me that I still didn’t have him. Now I think the only launch 5-star I don’t have is Hildegarde.

I’m also happy about getting Lea, even if she isn’t a great unit and I have like six other flame swords. I really like her whole design aesthetic.

I don’t really care much about the new 5-star dragons I got, but they’re nice to have. The Long Long dupes are nice, though, since now I have a nearly MUB one for my Lin You.

Oh and I got regular Aeleen as well, and she was the last non-limited 4-star I needed to get, so that’s cool.

We’ve known about the next banner for a while because of datamines, but either way, I feel a little bit salty that the new 5-star is literally just Thaniel But Better [tm], lol. If it weren’t for the fact that Chocolatiers is a limited print, I’d say that she wouldn’t even be worth it when Thaniel’s a more accessible option who works just fine in HBH because the whole fight is literally tuned around his kit since until now he’s been the only real healer for it. I hope this doesn’t lead to people acting like Thaniel’s not good enough for eHBH anymore once Jiang Ziya comes out. I’ve invested way too much into him to switch. I did recently craft the HDT water spear, and I can use my H-Maritimus on Elly if I want to use her in eHBH, but I still want to stick to Thaniel.

And on that note my H-Maritimus is at 2UB, and between the sunlight stone we’ll get soon from the Megaman event, and the dragons I have at nearly max bond level, he’ll probably be MUB soon, which should push my Thaniel above 7k might, which will be great. He’s currently at about 6,850 might, between him having +200 augments, Chocolatiers at +190 augments, a MUB HDT1 water staff, etc etc. And we’re gonna be getting the Christmas event facility again soon so that’ll boost him up even further.

Also I’m really not interested in the new dragon since he’s just water Hastur and I don’t care about that at all, lol. Durant seems cool but I already have a 50MC Natalie, and he’s a 4-star so he’d be easy enough to get off-banner anyway.

I’m gonna probably skip the Christmas banner since I went all in on this gala and I want to save for the New Years banner. And since it looks like the Christmas banner will be in just a week or so, I won’t exactly have many resources saved up by that point anyway. I’m not really interested in any of the existing Christmas alts, though, so it’d probably be an easy skip anyway, unless the new ones really interest me.

I hope that them doing the Christmas rerun stuff earlier in the month than I expected means we might get a Christmas-themed raid event afterward, but I won’t get my hopes up. I think we’re due for a new raid event anyway, but that’ll probably be what the New Years event is anyway, I guess.

I’m curious to see how they handle the New Years stuff, since it’d feel weird to rerun the Ieyasu event/banner, with how that was themed around the current zodiac year. I think we’ll just get a new event with new units, and probably a new welfare unit along with the event itself. With how good Ieyasu was [and how salty I still am about not having him], I think it’ll be worth saving for that.

Though considering that the next story chapter is gonna apparently be Luca-focused, I’m guessing the January gala unit will be Gala Luca, who I’d be extremely interested in, so that’s another thing to worry about saving for, lol.

And on that note we’re getting Chapter 11 in about two weeks, and even though we got more or less the same teaser description for it as last time, we at least have a better look at the two new android characters. Even though they’re gonna be antagonists I still kinda hope we can get them as playable units some day.

We also got more info on the new endgame boss mode, and even though I still want more specific details about it, my current guess is that it’s basically going to be High IO. It’ll probably be themed around there being new android military squads to fight against, with the new bosses being their leaders or whatever. It’d be fun to get some genuinely difficult wave-based content, but it’d also be great if it means we can get facility upgrade materials a lot faster.

The reveal of the new mode being called The Agito Uprising also more or less confirms that rumour that’s been going around for a while, which also talked about how the Christmas banner would include a new Christmas Phoenix alt, that the new endgame bosses would drop 6-star weapons, that we’ll get a Monster Hunter collab in February, and that Mikoto, Ezelith, Naveed, and Xanfried will be at least some of the first units to get their sixth mana circle upgrades.

I’m honestly kinda happy to hear about Christmas Phoenix since that makes it more likely that the Christmas banner will be an easy skip for me, lmao. But anyway, I really wouldn’t be surprised to see the Agito Uprising bosses dropping weapons that are roughly between 5t3s and HDT weapons in power. we really need something like that to ease the transition into the eHDT cycle. I’ve basically given up on getting into eHJP/eHZD until something along those lines happens to make them more accessible, lol.

I still have a lot of questions about how the whole sixth mana circle upgrade thing will work, and sadly this didn’t really tell us anything new, but they at least said that they’re aware of how limited the pool of units used in endgame content is, and that they’ll try and make changes to make more units viable for that, so that’ll probably be the main point of the sixth mana circles. I have a feeling that only 5-star units will end up getting them, which would kinda suck. There’s a lot of 5-stars who need an upgrade, but there’s also a lot of other units who need an upgrade too.

They did mention that they’ll be doing something with 3-star units in general, though, so I’m really curious about that. I really really want them to rebalance 3-star units so that they all have 100% on-element status resistances. I could take or leave anything else, but they really need that sort of buff. There’s no real point to holding back a unit by giving them incomplete or off-element status resistances. Which also applies to welfare 4-stars. For example, my Xania would be way more viable in eHMS if she can get to 100% stun res without needing a print, and it’d just be great in general if Vixel could get an actually relevant status resistance for his element. I have a feeling they won’t change anything else about their kits, but even just that’d be nice.

My realistic prediction for what the sixth mana circle upgrades will actually include is that it’ll more or less just be more of what we already have with the current ones. It’ll probably just be a few flat stat upgrades, maybe some more coability node upgrades, and one or two upgrades to the skills/abilities of each unit. At the very least I think that units will get a third upgrade to their S2, since those only go up to two upgrade tiers whereas every unit gets three tiers to their S1. And there’s a lot they could do to improve units by buffing and adding stuff to their S2s. For example, Thaniel would really benefit from getting a regen heal added to his S2, but Jiang Ziya existing makes me think they’re just forgetting about Thaniel for good. I can’t really think of what they could do with any of the 5-stars, though. It’s possible but less likely that some units might also get upgrades to one of their abilities, but that’s a bit more uncertain than them getting skill upgrades, if only because there’s a lot of ability types that you just can’t upgrade at all, like 100% status resistance or skill prep abilities.

It’d be really nice if they changed the second ability of 3-stars to 100% status resistance and gave them something entirely new for their third ability, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they just buff the 25% status resistance abilities of those units to 50% status resistance.

Also, we got more details about how we’re getting higher-level void battles added, and higher difficulties added to the void dragons, which I think is a necessary addition in order to help bridge the gap toward endgame content. As it is now, void battles aren’t really worth doing outside of endeavors. But it’s also nice that they’ve added augments to the void dragons and stuff.

In general they’d been making a lot of steps toward easing the progression toward endgame content, especially with the other changes they made to Avenue to Fortune, and them also adding augments to HDT drops. It’s nice that they’re aware of the issue of how steep the progression curve is right now, but it also really makes it clear that it’s a genuine problem that they’re currently being stuck trying to fix. I don’t really blame them for it, though. These things happen with games like this. I’m just glad that they’re actually addressing it instead of leaving it unchanged.

It’ll sadly take a while for them to add all of the new void bosses on the same tier as the Volcanic Chimera, but it’ll be nice to eventually have more accessible options to get into other eHDTs and stuff.

Anyway a whole bunch has been going on lately and I think it’s on a good track. Honestly my biggest issue right now is that since they changed the UI I keep clicking the wrong buttons when I’m trying to go between menus, lmao.

Oh and yeah the Megaman event is a thing that’s happening. There’s really not a lot to say about it because it’s so barebones and gameplay-focused, but it’s fun, and I like how much they’re leaning into the aesthetic of it. Megaman himself is a really goddamn weird unit, though. I like how much he’s apparently designed to play like he’s in an actual Megaman game, but it’s a weird playstyle to get used to for this game. And I still prefer Xania as a flame wand, lol.

#dragalia lost #this week on 'rate up is a lie': I get punished for my hubris :)

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loki-laufeyson233 · 5 years ago

Text

The Gold At Dusk

Chapter One unedited

I was laying on the roof of Stark Tower. No one was bothering me as I watch the sunset.

"HOW COULD YOU LOOSE HER TONY?!" I smirk as I hear Steve yelling from the floor below me. I'm right here idiots. Thunder echoes from below me and I start to laugh. Tony's screwed.

"YOU LOST HER. YOU FIND HER!" I swear they treat me like a child too often, if only they knew what I could do. I stand with a loud sigh once the sun sinks fully below the horizon. The door to the stairs shuts and I turn around to see someone I wasn't expecting. His pale features stand out against the lights on the roof, my smile fades a little as he walks towards me and places a hand on my chin.

"They're looking for you." I nod. God. Stop looking so freaking hot all the time. How does he look hot? Being the Frost Giant he is. I smirk again at my own joke.

" I'm surprised they haven't realised I come up here every night at the same time. " Loki smirks softly, and whispers in my ear.

"I've noticed." I feel my cheeks heat up a little. Dang it. Stop doing things like this. He pulls back and walks to the edge of the building, sitting and swinging his legs over the edge.

" STARK. SHE CAN'T BE LEFT ALONE! " Thor's voice echoes into my ears and I look back at the door.

"I'm not alone." I mutter and turn back towards Loki.

"Wait?! WHERE'S MY BROTHER?!" I chuckle at Thor again. I walk to Loki and sit down a few feet away from him, looking to the ground.

"Please dont." I look up as Loki speaks and I shrug.

" then come with me. " I use a portion of my ability and create a flying reptile similar to the Banshees in Avatar. I smirk at it. God I love this movie so much. I look at Loki before climbing onto the blue-green creature. He smiles a little and stands up.

"Well, I can't let you be alone. Stark would kill me." I smirk again.

" you want your own? " Once the words leave, I regret them. Loki nods and I create another, this one having bits of yellow in it.

"It like a-" I get cut off as he mounts and flies off the tower with it, nose diving towards the ground. I follow quickly. We barely pull up from the ground, gaining height again. I giggle as the Tower fades behind us. We keep flying to the edge of New York, going out towards the sea. I let Loki direct us, his reptile not slowing as we pass Ellis Island. I urge mine faster to fly next to him.

"Where are we going?!" My face gets a smile as he looks over at me.

" you'll see. " We keep going. The moon lifting into the sky. Loki dives down towards the water, skimming it with his ride's wings. I follow shortly.

"You going to name her?" I call again.

" you're quite the talker. " Loki mumbles and pauses before speaking up again, "I was thinking of Skyfire." He smiles softly and pats her neck. I smile widely and stroke my reptile.

" how about you? You going to name yours? " My smile fades a little. I didn't think about it.

"Maybe... I didn't really think on i- oh! How about Phoenix?" I look over at her wings to see them fade to a red-orange at the tips, which is what gave me the idea. We smile at each other for a second, then Loki nods in approval. I shift a little and slowly look back to where we are going.

"Almost there." He says as I notice a large city approaching us. My eyes widen a little as I recognize the London Eye when we pass over it.

"London?! Loki, Tony's going to kill me!" Even as I say it I start to laugh and take in the sights as it passes below us. I whisper, " I've always wanted to go... " I look over at Loki when he chuckles and points down to one of the buildings. I nod and circle it before landing shortly after him. We both dismount and I look over at him, excitement lighting my gaze.

"You mentioned a few times that you wanted to come..." He smiles a little and looks towards the city. I chuckle softly. Yeah, but not to you. I look back out to the city and mount Phoenix again.

"Lets go explore since we're here!" I look at my watch to see it saying 11:30. It's 4:30 here...

"Everything should open within the next two hours or so..." I smile and look at Loki.

"As you wish." He smiles and mounts as well. I take off and fly around, towards the ground, and avoid buildings. My smile crawls onto my face again, and I hear the wing beats of Skyfire.

"Over here!" Loki calls and lands Skyfire, in the middle of the street nonetheless. I follow slowly and land next to him. We both dismount again and walk into a small bakery, that is open at this time. I walk in behind him, skeptical of the new experience. I hold his right shoulder for comfort. Loki must have understood as he didn't push me away.

"Welcome! Come in! come in! What will you be having today? " A short man with a bit of a gut calls cheerfully. I look up at Loki. He smiles and orders a muffin and two cups of tea. I release his shoulder and start to walk around the room, admiring the art and architecture. Just as I turn around to go back to him, I almost collide into Loki's chest. Idiot. I smile at him, my cheeks get a light dusting of color.

"Sorry..." He nods towards a table.

"Quite alright." I sit across from him and look out the window to Phoenix and Skyfire before looking back at him. Loki tears the blueberry muffin in half and hands me one. I reach to grab it, our hands connecting for a second. I look up at him once my hand touches his and I make eye contact. We break it once the baker clears his throat, holding the cups of tea. He puts them on the table and clasp his hands together.

"Ah, young love. One of the best kinds to ever walk the earth." I blush again and look away.

" No. We-we're not in love. We j-just came to London for a day... " Loki objects.

"Sure you're not. But explain to me why she is blushing." The man walks away before Loki could recoil again. He looks at me and I look at him, his cheeks colored a little. I sip my tea a little, smiling behind the glass as Loki takes a bite of the muffin. I set the cup down and eat the muffin.

"Mother would have loved you." Loki smiles at me, breaking the silence that had formed. I blush lightly.

" t-thank you. " I stutter and look down.

We finish and thank the baker, him calling, 'young love, ' as we leave. I mount Phoenix and look at Loki as he mounts Skyfire.

"Maybe we should get back. Otherwise they'll have all of New York looking for me." I chuckle softly.

"Yeah. Good idea." I take off into the air, flying over the tallest buildings, Loki following quickly. He takes the lead and we fly back to Stark Tower, staying silent the whole time.

Once we get back, Tony and Steve are both waiting for us in the roof. I groan at the sight of them from a distance. Loki curses under his breath. Both of us land and Steve starts his lecture.

"Where the hell have you been? We've looked all over for you and you be been gone for," he pauses to look at a watch, "Three hours! Get to bed young lady. I should put a tracker on you. And Loki, I swear to God. Don't even start with me." I walk swiftly to Steve and stand on my toes, pressing my nose against his. He can tell at me but not my friend for six months.

"WE DO WHAT WE WANT!" I shout in his face and slam my shoulder into his as I walk past.

"YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER." I open the door and storm to my room, quickly turning to my phone. Cierra, Cierra, Cierra. I watch as names scroll past the screen, finding her name after a bit.

Cierra

DUDE. I JUST WENT TO LONDON WITH LOKI.

DELIVERED

NO WAY. WTF? HOW YOU GET THERE AND BACK SO QUICKLY?!

I CREATED A FEW DRAGON THINGS AND

WE FLEW THERE. GOD. ID SO DO IT AGAIN. WE

EVEN WENT INTO A BAKERY AND THE GUY

ALMOST GAVE AWAY MY SECRET. LOKI STILL

DOESN'T KNOW I LIKE HIM A LOT

DELIVERED

LOL. You would.

I can't wait for tomorrow night.

*sigh* why he so freaking hot?

DELIVERED

LOL. you crazy.

LOL. hey we having a 'fam supper ' tom.

You game?

DELIVERED

Dude. Of course I am. Finally get

To meet these people. ;)

Lol. See you there. :)

DELIVERED

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tmorriscode · 6 years ago

Text

Hogwarts Mystery Imagines Masterpost

(Artwork by @fiona-catherine)

Since I base all my imagines on my own MC, Laurel Ravenwood, I thought It was time to collect the whole story arc into one masterpost.

I didn’t quite know what to call it, because I write all the imagines as “You” and “(Y/N)” rather than using “Laurel” for the character. I like to read imagines that way, because I can picture my character in them (even if the characteristics are different.) When I read about someone else’s named character, I can enjoy them, but I feel a bit more locked out.

I settled on something nice and generic like Hogwarts Mystery Imagines Masterpost, because “Actual human disaster, Hufflepuff, adventure archaeologist, Ace-Positive Demiromantic imagines” is a bit of a long title.

Anyway, here’s Wonderwall:

Official Weasley (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

Five times Molly Weasley is aware of MC’s presence.

(One of my most popular stories)

With Friends Like This (The Hogwarts Mystery Crew)

Five interactions between MC and their friends.

Little Miracles for Ordinary People (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

You don’t always know when you’re at the start of something amazing.

Or: Charlie knows that Bill looks at MC as a surrogate sister. Even if he doesn’t know her that well, he figures he should step in when she’s being bullied.

Companionate (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

A five times fic. How two clueless people accidentally fall in love and don’t realize it for about a decade.

Prefect (The Hogwarts Mystery Crew)

An Actual Human Disaster has been made Hufflepuff’s prefect. It goes about as well as you’d expect.

Sportball (The Hogwarts Mystery Crew)

The wacky screwball sports comedy that absolutely no one asked for.

Family Therapy (Jacob, MC, The Hogwarts Mystery Crew)

You and Jacob have so many issues, you could start a library.

Speechless (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

When you are on the same wavelength, words aren’t always needed. A five times fic, starting at Hogwarts and following MC and Charlie through their lives.

Yours, Charlie (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

People grow apart. Except when they grow together.

Friends Help You Move, Real Friends Help You Move Bodies, Best Friends Help You Find Treasure (MC, Rowan Khana)

Part 1, Part 2

Post Hogwarts. Curse breaker MC helps Rowan track down some ancient wands.

I Get By (With A Little Help From My Friends) (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

How Charlie Weasley breaks several international statutes, adopts a dragon, drinks Ouzo, and basically lives his best life.

MC is just here to fix her career and help take care of the flying danger noodles.

Camp Honey Badger (the Hogwarts Mystery Crew)

Set during the prelude to the Quiddich World Cup. Lots of Fluff, MC being an actual human disaster. A glimpse of what the gang is doing post-Hogwarts, and hints of CharlieXMC.

More Than Enough (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

Set during Order of the Phoenix. Charlie and MC sort out the nature of their relationship.

Safe With Me (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

Set just after Dumbledore dies in Half Blood Prince. Charlie breaks the news to MC, and the two of them make plans for their immediate safety.

The Gift (Charlie Weasley, Random Dragon Tamers)

Charlie deserves All the Nice Things.

Exit Strategy (Charlie, Jacob)

The last thing Charlie wants to hear is Jacob pontificating on how the future is uncertain and you all might die at any minute. Bill’s near-miss with a werewolf is proof of that.

Time Of Your Life (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC, The Hogwarts Mystery Crew)

Everyone’s lives have pulled them in different directions. Now, with the war heating up, Bill’s bachelor party is a chance for all the old crew to get back together for what may be the last time.

Blackthorn (Jacob)

Some would call Jacob damaged. He would say that he causes damage.

(I headcanon that Jacob looks like a young Benedict Cumberbatch. I think I even adopted most of the quirky (borderline high-functioning sociopath, genius, lone-wolf, Byronic, mad bad and dangerous to know) personality that BC performed as Sherlock for Jacob.

On A Mission From God (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

Charlie and MC prepare to head to Hogwarts for the final battle.

(I always forget about this one. This was the first story I’d written, back before I started making elaborate headcanons about Laurel. Basically all I had in mind here was “she probably works in Romania to be close to Charlie, and he spends his days off sitting around her apartment with her watching bad TV and old movies.”

Flowers For Ashes (The Hogwarts Mystery Gang)

One of my most popular stories. The Battle of Hogwarts from MC’s point of view.

Tickling Dragons (And Other Occupational Hazards) (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

When some rare and endangered Romanian Longhorn eggs go missing from the dragon preserve where Charlie works, he calls the one person he thinks could get them back: you.

Part I, Part II, Part III

Landslide (Ace!Charlie X Demiromantic!MC)

Set 65 years post Battle of Hogwarts. With age comes change. One can’t expect to wrestle dragons forever.

#Charlie Weasley #Hogwarts Mystery #Hogwarts Mystery Imagines #Hogwarts Mystery MC #hogwarts mystery fanfic #hphm #hphmmc #hphm mc #jacob’s sibling #hphm jacob #rowan khanna #bill weasley #tulip kasaru #nymphadora tonks #barnaby lee

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danganronpa-21 · 5 years ago

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Chapter 5 Deleted Scene - A Hopeful Introduction

HELLO EVERYONE! As you might have been able to tell, I got my new computer yesterday! I meant to let you guys know, but naturally I got a little excited and ended up writing and playing with it for a bit. But now I have access to all my files again, so I thought I would give you a little gift: a deleted scene from the fourth draft I wrote of Chapter 5!

This scene ended up being cut from the chapter as it was cute, but far too long. It was a lot of fluff that just... didn’t need to be incorporated in to the whole thing. This chapter is meant to focus on the budding friendships between Koichi, Phoenix, and Natsumi -- so unfortunately it had to go. Still, I hope you enjoy it and I promise to keep writing and working! Thanks again for all your patience.

- Koto

CHAPTER 5 VERSION 4 DELETED SCENE:

"Well, welcome to Tokyo then."

They were the simplest of words, and yet they were apart of the spark. The spark that would lead to something far greater than even a young child could have imagined. A spark that would burn so bright that it could change my whole world. Might sound like an exaggeration if this were a story about a boy's typical school life, but I can assure you that this is not that kind of story. This is the story of something much bigger, that starts out seeming a little bit like that. It seems like that's how stories like these always begin.

Anyway, now that the battle of words between Natsumi, Asuga, and myself was now over, this spark of ours was able to continue to grow with even the simplest conversation. Just after the altercation, we exchanged a few words. Then, before I could even dream of it happening, Natsumi and Phoenix had pulled up two chairs so they could sit with me. It took them not even thirty seconds to plop themselves down and start acting as if we'd been friends our whole lives. Was this what people did when they found someone they wanted to befriend, I wondered. I had never been the subject of such meaningful gestures, so there wasn't much of a way for me to tell. Still, the fact that they even took the time to stand up for me should have been an indication that neither of them desired to leave me out in the dust. They didn't seem to share the same aura of shallowness with the students who had attended my junior high. When the two of them spoke to me, it felt as if they saw a unique person rather than just Makoto and Kyoko's son. I tried not to let myself get too flustered and sentimental over this idea just yet, concerned that I might freak them out.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, Naegi-san..." Natsumi began, her fingers tracing the lid of the golden dragon design on top of her bento box. Her golden eyes were locked on mine as she spoke, her brows furrowed slightly. "Why the fuck was Oyama-san barking at you like a rabid animal? Based off what you said, it seems to me like there's some kinda history or somethin' there. That right?"

"Oh, uh..." I mumbled, willing myself to find the right words to express the altercation that had occurred between Asuga and myself. If you think about it, there's not exactly a proper and polite way to say that somebody is a contender to be the most cruel and nastiest person you've ever met. It always comes out sounding malicious and unkind, as if *you're* the one who beat the crap out of some kid and spit on him when he was barely conscious. Was there even really a good way to tell Natsumi that she had always been out for my blood? "We both competed for the same Super High School Level title. As you can tell from my Reserve Class status... that didn't go so well."

"Competed?" Phoenix echoed, tilting his head to the side with all of the charm of a small puppy. I had never seen a teenage boy look that adorable in my life and had to look away as if to pretend that I hadn't noticed. I tried to will the thought away as I focused on Natsumi instead. "Students may actually compete for Super High School Level titles?"

I nodded. "It's not really all that common between two students who are entering the academy, though. To be perfectly honest, you see it most with Reserve Class students challenging Talent Class students for their titles." I explained, pushing a hand through my hair nervously. "I guess Oyama-san and I were a rare case."

"I suppose that makes sense," Phoenix replied, putting a finger to his mouth thoughtfully. "I thought it to be curious that you possessed the same talent. I had yet to hear about such a thing in the past, so it intrigued me greatly."

I stifled a laugh, totally unsure of what to say or how much I should admit. To sum up the nerves I was feeling, let's just say that it was like meeting Tamiko all over again. To some degree I felt comfortable around the two of them, but at the same time I was still a nervous wreck who was trying very hard to hide that he was one.

"I don't get that though." Natsumi chimed in. As she spoke, I noticed that she had since opened her box and had begun chowing down on some eggs that she had made for herself. She seemed to spare no time trying to avoid spewing egg all over the table when she spoke to me, demonstrating all of the manners that she clearly didn't have. "Why was she threatening you over the title shit if she was the one who won it?"

I shrugged and shook my head, unsure of if what I was going to say was even going to be the truth. "She's kind of got a nasty track record in her past schools. Three expulsions..." I admitted, not meeting their eyes for fear of them thinking I was a gossip. "My parents weren't all that keyed up about admitting her to Hope's Peak and wanted to pick me for the title instead. This was kind of a red flag to the school board, though. Favouritism and all that because I'm their flesh and blood. They quite enjoy butting in to Hope's Peak affairs, so they basically told my parents that Oyama-san and I would have to audition together in a fight to see who was the best in combat. Whoever won was going to receive the title. Naturally, Oyama-san and I fought, and she beat the crap out of me. I had a grade three concussion by the end of it, and my dad had to carry me out of the gymnasium. I couldn't do anything for a whole month."

"That is so awful!" Phoenix gasped, his hands flying to his mouth in shock. It wasn't like I hadn't been expecting it after all— it had been a fight for the sake of fighting. Even so, Phoenix's sympathy for me felt comforting. In a way, I guess it made me feel more as if I wasn't the one in the wrong just for talking about it. "So she started to threaten you because she feared your parents' involvement in the issue?"

"I'm thinking so," I sighed. "She's under the impression that I'm some kind of slimy weasel who's going to get back at her the first chance I get. Tattle to my parents about her made-up wrongdoings while we're in class together or something like that."

"Would you do somethin' like that?"

"Huh?! T-That's...!" I sputtered, waving my hands frantically. "Oh, no, no no! I would never do something that low! I swear, I'm... I'm not the guy she says I am!"

"Hey, chill the fuck out man, no need to get so concerned about it. It was just a question." Natsumi responded gruffly. "I just wanted to make sure of that shit, that's all."

"Oh..." I mumbled in response, not bothering to meet either of their eyes as my cheeks began to flush a bright shade of pink. All of the sudden I became increasingly aware of how frantic I had been to prove my innocence. "S-Sorry about that I just... didn't want to give you the wrong impression."

"Don't sweat it too much." was all she granted me in terms of a response. Though I could tell that by no means was she trying to be unfriendly, she appeared to be reluctant to talk. Perhaps it would fall on to myself and Phoenix to carry the conversation, then. The longer the periods of silence went on, the more awkward it would get... Especially considering how hungry I was getting. It would be pretty embarrassing to have my new friends hear my stomach grumble as I awaited my sister's arrival with my lunch. I probably already looked weird being the only kid who didn't have any scrap of food in front of him.

"So..." I began, taking a deep breath as if to calm myself down from the anxieties I had just faced. "Where did you guys come to Hope's Peak from?"

Their reaction to the question gave me the impression that I had somehow caught them by surprise, as the second I spoke the two of them were exchanging concerned looks. If they were trying not to look suspicious, it was certain that they were failing quite miserably. I was already feeling sceptical the moment they started acting strangely. Though, I suppose that's not necessarily fair considering my mother may or may not have accidentally ingrained her natural suspicion of people in to me while raising me. Thanks for that, Mom.

"What do you mean by that?" Phoenix inquired, pushing a non-threatening smile as he answered for himself and Natsumi. I could tell that he had every intention of avoiding suspicion, but the fact that he refused to look in to my eyes was demonstration enough on its own. It had become obvious that the two of them had the intention of shielding some aspect of the truth from me. "We did already mention that we come from Shikoku, right?"

"Yeah, I know," I confirmed, using my smoothest and most casual voice to do so. Though I could deduce that something was up with Phoenix and Natsumi's behaviours, I decided it would be best to avoid letting on that I had any semblance of an idea. "I actually was trying to ask what the name of the school that you used to go to was."

"Oh, the two of us were not in attendance of public schooling." The blond boy conceded, flicking his head slightly to get some of his silky hair out of his face. His expression appeared to be thoughtful as he lifted the lid off of his bento box, revealing a healthy meal of rice noodles, tamogoyaki, and steamed vegetables. It took me a minute to convince myself to forget my hunger in favour of hearing what else my new friend had to say for himself. "We were what you might call 'homeschooled'."

"Really?" I queried, arching one of my eyebrows. I found myself leaning toward him with interest. "So have you never been to a school with other students before?"

Phoenix nodded. "Our parents decided it was safest for us to be homeschooled, so fortunately one of our uncles was happy to lend a helping hand." He giggled softly, picking up his chopsticks and goofily twisting some of the noodles around them. It seems like he didn't really have perfect table manners either. "Aside from that, this is our very first experience with public schooling. How exciting!"

"Yeah, it is pretty exciting." I agreed. "Although I can't help but find it interesting that they'd start you off in the early entry program of a high school of all places. I mean, it's definitely harder to get adjusted here than it would be if you were to go to, say, a junior high or something."

"Whaddya mean, 'early entry program'?" Natsumi chimed in, her mouth packed full of sekihan. Had they been taught nothing?! If there was one thing she certainly hadn't learned during her homeschooling, it would definitely be the rule of not speaking when one has food in their mouth. Gross.

"You know, early entry program. Most high schools don't have fourteen and fifteen year olds attending. High school age here in Japan doesn't start until the tenth grade. Hope's Peak has the early entry program designed specially for students of ultimate talent or reserve class students who are certain in what they want to pursue. If they believe they would be better suited under the care of the Hope's Peak staff, they can attend the school as apart of the early entry program. So if it weren't for the early entry program, the three of us would be sitting in some smelly junior high." I explained. "Were you guys not aware of that when you signed up?"

"That is quite intriguing. I had no idea! Did you know that, Natsumi?" He looked over his shoulder so he'd be watching her as she gave her response.

"No, I honestly didn't... Hmph, goes to show how much shit Phoenix an' I have got to learn about this place." Though her words sounded somewhat rough, I couldn't help but notice the small grin that had slithered its way across her face. "It's a good thing we've got you around then."

"I guess so." I laughed, shrugging a little. While I knew that I shouldn't allow my suspicions about them to slide so easily, the warmth that spread through my chest when they spoke to me made me wonder if maybe their reluctance to share came from a place of worry more than a desire for secrecy. In spite of the worries I'd had, Phoenix had mentioned that their homeschooling was for their safety. Perhaps their families had gone in to hiding after the Tragedy or something due to an unknown enemy, and homeschooling had been the only way to keep them safe at the time. To any person of a different era this would sound like a stretch, but as someone who was born in time with the post-Tragedy baby boom... That was the reality I had come to know. It was a story that had been told time and time again. What was once more to me? "I mean, I know pretty much everything there is to know about this place."

"I can understand that. Real talk though..." Natsumi began, not thinking before stuffing her mouth full of another egg. "How long have you known you were going to go to Hope's Peak Academy for?"

I paused for a moment, doing my best to think of an answer that wouldn't make me sound like a privileged snob. As I turned the thought over in my head, it dawned on me that there really wasn't one.

"As long as I can remember, really. Probably didn't help that I went to a prestigious elementary school and junior high before this..." I acknowledged, allowing my shoulders to rise and fall awkwardly. Our family may not have been rolling in cash, but we certainly had had enough to send me to private schooling to hone my abilities. I'd always felt kind of awkward about it. "For elementary school I was in the Akamine Academy for Gifted Youngsters, and for the one year of junior high I did outside of Hope's Peak I attended Ochanosuka Junior High School."

"I cannot say I have heard of either of those schools," Phoenix confessed, chuckling a little to relieve some of the tension he seemed to be experiencing due to his lack of knowledge. "But that is quite interesting. Were you presented with the opportunity to decide for yourself where you wanted to go for your future, or were you pushed toward the academy?"

"My parents basically handed me the reigns and told me to do whatever I wanted with them. They encouraged me to choose Hope's Peak, but they told me that in the end I should choose to do whatever I wanted to do." I reported with a slight nod of the head, as if to confirm something that I hadn't even been asked. "What about you guys? I know you said you're from Shikoku and that you were homeschooled previously, but if you don't mind my asking... Was there something that caused that to change?"

Once again, Natsumi and Phoenix appeared to exchange glances with one another. Although this time, it struck me as a little more of a question of who should answer as opposed to a question of whether or not it would be considered appropriate to tell me something. You could tell from the thoughtful look on his face and the slight raise of her brows that that was what they were saying. How skilful they were to be able to communicate through eyes and brows alone. I can't say that was a skill my sisters and I ever mastered. Hell, sometimes at the dinner table, Hope couldn't even read my lips!

"Well, I guess one thing you need to know for sure about our family is that they've all been on the island since before the cease-fire was called. After that final declining incident with the Future Foundation and the Remnants of Despair, the little gaggle of survivors that we now know as our family decided to just say 'fuck it' and moved to Shikoku permanently." My silver-haired friend explained, the expression on her face strangely serious. Merely seeing this degree gravity from her made me gulp involuntarily, almost as if I was being interrogated. Contrary to popular belief... there was far too much about the Tragedy that I did not know. This meant that due to the vague nature of Natsumi's statement, my mind could do nothing but race with thoughts about what could have made them decide to make such a choice.

"They take great solace in isolation," The parapsychologist continued, pushing his thick-framed glasses further up his nose. Unlike his cousin, he gave me the impression that he was a bit more disturbed by it than she had been while explaining it. "It was not until recently when Natsumi and I pleaded with them for a chance to attend Hope's Peak that we discovered the truth of why we had never left our small village on that puny island."

I could have kicked myself for the mixture of horror and fascination that pounded within my chest. My heartbeat had since begun to overpower a few of the softer sounds around us as I leaned forward even further to make sure Phoenix had my full attention. Deep down, I knew it was wrong of me to even be intrigued by the story they had to tell, but the Tragedy had always been a topic for me that I couldn't help myself with. Despite my parents' involvement, they sheltered me quite actively from the horrors of that time period and insisted that I could be taught more about it when I got older. In truth, I believe this may have been the course of action they took because they didn't have it in them to talk about the atrocities of the past in anywhere but a therapist's office. Not without bursting in to hysterical and inconsolable tears, that is.

"Turns out, our family was fuckin' hiding out for twenty-one years. During the whole event, a group of assclowns was chasing them around and was calling for their heads on a bunch of sticks. Fearing for their lives, the group fled to Shikoku in hopes of being protected from the dangers of the world. Ever since then... well, they've fuckin' refused to come back." She elucidated. Her flaxen eyes had fallen to her bento again as she focused on her sekihan rather than on me. No part of me could blame her for this, especially considering the weight of what she and Phoenix were daring to share with me. How curious it was that the two of them felt comfortable disclosing this to me even though we had only just met that day. "They still think the same fuckin' people are out for them, just as they were before. They were actually so hardcore against Phoenix and I comin' here, too. They were all too fuckin' certain that the two of us would be in some kind of danger all exposed like this. Fortunately, when that dad of yours strives for somethin'... well, he ain't keen on quitting."

That last phrase ended up being what had caught me by surprise. "Wait, so the reason you're here is because of my dad?" I echoed, blinking with slight shock. I hadn't even known that my dad tried so hard for appeals to students. I assumed most kids who were given the opportunity would snatch it up in a heartbeat, like a hungry dog going after a piece of meat.

"Precisely!" Phoenix continued, grinning from ear to ear. "Despite our parents' protests, Natsumi and I sent in audition video tapes in hopes of perhaps at least being considered. Much to our delight, your father and the talent scout responded that they would be interested in having us as students at the academy!"

"We thought that maybe if we showed our parents just what we were capable of, it might convince 'em to loosen the reigns a little bit. Let the baby birds out of the nest, y'know?"

I nodded despite not being able to relate in the slightest. Sometimes I worried my reigns were a little too loose.

"But when they found out that we had done that, they were pretty fucking pissed. I mean seriously, I don't think I've ever heard my old man yell that much." Natsumi grunted, folding her arms across her chest. "They kept telling us that we wouldn't be able to handle it and that we shouldn't go because of the risk, but when they mentioned that to the Hope's Peak staff via e-mail... Your dad stepped in to try and convince 'em."

I hadn't known that my father was so persistent in obtaining future students. In a sense, it almost didn't seem like him to go consistently attempt to persuade someone who refused. I mean, if Seiko refused to eat her green peppers at the dinner table sometimes, he'd just push them off on to his own plate and eat them for her. Why all of the sudden would he gain this kind of insistence with people who were clearly politely refusing?

"I see..." was all I could think to mumble, lost in own mind as I continued to listen to their story.

"It took much prodding, but he was able to convince our parents that it was a good idea. Of course, that did not come without its own fair share of struggles. Our family was incredibly adamant that we take precautionary measures upon confirming our ability to attend. Nevertheless, Natsumi and I managed to push through triumphantly, and so we stand here before you today!" Phoenix cheered, pumping his fist in the air. The fact that he was still holding his chopsticks in that fist made the action even cuter, his cheerful grin and happy fist pumping capturing the attention of many people in the room. One of them, coincidentally, was my older sister who had just wandered in. Before she had spotted him enthusiastically playing the role of a little brother beacon, she had been standing in the doorway of Class 99-A looking lost as she scoured the room. Dad had asked her to bring the lunch I'd left at home to me, so all she really had to do was find me. If it hadn't been for that moment she caught the sight of Phoenix's arm, she might have been lost for at least a few more minutes. Thankfully, when she saw Phoenix's fist, her eyes then lead her to me and she sashayed right on over to us without a second thought— completely unaware of the fact that a few of my classmates were gawking at her... Especially the male ones.

"Hey, Koichi, there you are!" She giggled happily as she made her way towards me, the sleek black bento box positioned carefully in her hands so she wouldn't drop it. My stomach growled loudly at the thought of food, causing my face to heat up involuntarily as I tried to pretend that it hadn't been me. Know your place, stomach!

"Oh... hey, Hope." I attempted to reply coolly, not daring to look over at Natsumi or Phoenix to gage their impressions of our exchange. I couldn't help but wonder if they'd be able to tell we were related based off the resemblance between the two of us, although I wasn't sure how likely that would be. Hope was, in many ways, a lot different than myself. Sure, we had the same skin tone, hair colour, and hair texture... but that was where our similarities ended. Unlike me, she stood at about an average height being five inches taller than myself and seemed to have hit puberty at an appropriate time. Like Mom, Hope's features were graceful in nature. The two of them both possessed soulful eyes that were the colour of an amethyst, with long, fluttering lashes. While Hope did inherit some cheek mass from Dad, she still had some rather obvious bone structure. Her cheek bones were high and her jaw line was more than just somewhat defined. By conventional standards, one could consider Hope to be pretty.

"Sorry to interrupt you while you're having lunch with your new friends," She apologized, bowing scantly. It was clear to me that she wasn't sorry at all. If anything, she was a little too excited about having caught me in the midst of lunch with friends. "I just didn't want you to go hungry."

From the way she spoke to me, I gathered Natsumi and Phoenix were more likely to view her as a babysitter or something rather than my older sister. She had always acted as if it was her responsibility to look after me, like I was incapable of looking after myself. I could only hope that this wouldn't make them think less of me, and I felt the need to look for their judgements. When I turned to look at the two of them, though, they were both just gazing up at her in surprise and a hint of awe. Despite having their mouths stuffed with noodles and rice to the point where Natsumi had chipmunk cheeks, the two of them made no effort to chew and instead just sat ogling at her. For Phoenix, I didn't think that he was in shock because of beauty or anything like that— he seemed more overcome by the fact that she was an upperclassman. Natsumi, on the other hand, seemed to be struck dumb by the stereotypical pretty cheerleader. Her face was turning pinker and pinker by the minute.

"Thanks," I replied, letting out a slight sigh at the sight of my friends being so awkward. I turned to them with languid amusement and put a hand out to present my sister to them. "Kitagawa-san, Tachibana-kun, this is my older sister, Hope."

As if on cue, Hope decided to cheerfully thrust her hand out in front of herself so either one of them could shake it. "Uh-huh. I'm Naegi-Kirigiri Hope, but you're welcome to call me Kiibou because it's easier on the Japanese tongue. I'm a member of Class 94-C and I hold the title of Super High School Level Costume Designer!"

Snickering to myself a little, I decided to play around with my sister. "Did she mention that she's also head cheerleader and the Social Events planner for the Student Council?!" I mocked, doing my best impression of her energetic tone. The moment I started doing it, Hope's grin altered to become a smirk.

"You know, I could just take that bento back." She warned, leaning across the table to put her hand on it again. "Lunch today is really good, homemade sushi that Dad made for all of us. He told me he made sure to pack extras of your favourite, but if you're going to be mean, I could just take it. I've still got room after eating mine!"

My stomach felt the need to protest her joke by growling audibly, causing both my sister and my friends to snicker. I clutched it with embarrassment, wondering what I had done to make my own belly want to betray me. It was probably all of those times where I would eat namagashi until I got sick, I wagered.

"You poor thing," Hope laughed softly, removing her hand from the box and patting my head lovingly. "You must be starving if your stomach's growling that loudly. I suppose this time around... I can forgive you for not knowing my position on the cheer team."

"I am starving," I said with a pout, protectively pulling my bento closer to me in order to avoid having it stolen away. This action made the others chuckle once again, much to my own amusement. At that point I played it up for the sake of humour. I find it's one of the best ways to deflect from embarrassment if at all possible. "So please, have mercy on me and allow me to eat."

"Alright, alright. I will." Hope snickered, her violet eyes twinkling with delectation. Judging by the expression her face, she had decided that she was done messing with me for now and was willing to allow for more normal conversation between the two of us and my new friends. Based of her general tendency to be the overbearing older sister/my third parent, I had already determined that she was more than just a little interested in learning about Phoenix and Natsumi. Unlike her, I didn't really have friendships solid enough to introduce to my family members back when I was struggling through the prestigious schools of our pasts. This had to have been the first instance in which there was anyone for me to show off, so one could describe it as natural that Hope would be insistent on me sharing every detail of Natsumi and Phoenix's lives. Just the look on her face told me that joy was nearly spilling out of her at the knowledge of the two of them being my friends. Yeah, that's how badly my sister had wanted this for me. "That aside... Koichi, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friends?"

Having already been prepared for her to formulate that question, I opened my mouth to answer but was promptly cut off by an overeager Natsumi. Figures, I must have been right about Natsumi being head over heels in love with Hope already based off her appearance alone. "T-The name's Kitagawa Natsumi, Super High School Level Fire Dancer." She bragged. Having now swallowed the mouthful of food that had made her look like a total idiot when Hope had first approached, she appeared to have obtained confidence as she held her hand out for my sister to shake. Hope responded by shaking it happily and completely densely, not understanding that the silver-haired girl was clearly trying to make a good impression. "My friend here is Tachibana Phoenix, the Super High School Level Parapsychologist. It's nice to meet ya."

"It's nice to meet both of you as well." Hope greeted with a soft bow, moving to tuck a strand of her fluffy brown hair behind her ear. Seeing as she appeared to be preparing to engage in conversation with them, I figured it was an appropriate time for me to dig in to the food I had been anxiously awaiting for what felt like years. "Are you enjoying your first day so far?"

"It has been quite something, as they say." Phoenix told her, his cheerfulness seeming to match hers almost perfectly. "There is much to see and do here at Hope's Peak Academy. I am wondering how we will ever find time for it all."

"Well, the good news is that you've got five years to spend here given that you're apart of the early entry program— so that's a good start to finding time!" She reassured him, still wearing a huge smile as she spoke. The question alone was enough to make her slip in to her school spirit talk, something that I'd become used to with her being so involved in Hope's Peak affairs. You shouldn't expect anyone to have more pep about a school than one of its cheerleaders. "Even so, I can totally get why the academy might strike you as daunting. It's a huge place with so many years of history. The students here are said to be the best of the best, as are the teachers. Still, you shouldn't let that frighten you. As long as you follow your heart and do what you love, Hope's Peak will always be the place for you! If you want any help with managing your ambitions, just let me know. I'd be really happy to help you out!"

Watching the two of them talk was like observing two baby birds chattering back and forth on a sunny morning. Though it might have been overwhelmingly sweet, it still made you feel happy.

"Thank you. I would appreciate that very much!" He chirped in response, clearly grateful that she had made the offer. "Also, I must say that it is quite encouraging to see how highly you think of Hope's Peak."

"Well, I am my father's daughter," She teased, shrugging her shoulders so exaggeratedly that she looked as if she was trying to morph in to a human equivalent of the letter W. "Honestly, I've grown up around Hope's Peak so it's a place I know very well. Koichi and I probably know the place and staff just as well as we know our own home and family. Right, Koichi?"

Oh, shoot. Conversation cues while I had crab uramaki in my mouth, I remember thinking. Thinking on my feet, I chewed what I had left of it in my mouth and swallowed, missing only a few seconds of my response time. In all honesty, I had been so wrapped up in my food that I had forgotten that I was technically apart of the conversation they were having.

"Y-Yeah, right."

"Do you even know what she said?" Natsumi taunted, sticking her tongue out at me playfully. The words caught me a bit by surprise at first. I really hadn't been expecting her to say anything at all. Still, I couldn't tell whether she was doing it to make a good impression on my sister or if she just had some strange desire to mess with me. Regardless, I had zero intention of letting her get away with it.

"Why don't you stuff your mouth full of some more eggs?" I retorted with a smirk, waving my chopsticks at her. Two could play the mockery game, and I hoped she knew that I had years of practice at it. Such is the case when you have siblings like mine!

"I already finished all of my eggs!" She protested, her face flushing slightly at my pointing out her bad manners. Fortunately,the laugh that followed that statement reassured me that Natsumi was not hurt or angered by what I had said. Good, I recall thinking. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her feelings by teasing her.

"Then why don't you have some uramaki instead? Do you like crab, Natsumi?"

Without a moment's hesitation I pinched one of the rolls carefully between my chopsticks and shoved it in her face, waving it in front of her mouth as if I wanted her to eat it. The grip I appeared to have on it wasn't very tight, though, as it slipped out from between my chopsticks and plopped itself right down in to Natsumi's sekihan.

"Hey, get your uramaki out of my damn rice!" She barely managed to push out between fits of giggles, pushing my chopsticks away from her face.

"Get your rice away from my uramaki!" I shot back, unable to contain even my own laughter. With the way the two of us were snickering, I was a little taken aback by Phoenix and Hope's reluctancy to do anything. At least, I had been up until that moment. As soon as that happened, Phoenix seemed to finally catch his cue.

Without missing a beat, another pair of chopsticks had swooped in and snatched up the uramaki out from the sekihan. When my eyes followed the chopsticks as they retreated with the uramaki in tow, I found the cheeky face of Phoenix who popped the uramaki in his mouth. He chewed a few times before flashing Natsumi and I an overly sunny grin (toothless, so we wouldn't see the food). Probably the brightest one I'd seen from him all day, which was a pretty amazing feat considering how much that boy smiled.

"There, now you need not worry about the contamination of your rice and uramaki!" He added on, his speech muffled by the food and his chewing. The moment he finished speaking the three of us bursted out laughing, and I couldn't help but worry that he might choke with all of the food in his mouth. Fortunately, though, he seemed to manage it all just fine. Impressive, I thought, that he was so skilled at doing that. I know for sure that if it had been me, I would have choked. Especially on the rice.

"You three really are something," Hope marvelled, putting a hand to her face thoughtfully. Though the words could have sounded somewhat mean to someone who did not hear them, her voice had been quite soft and sweet when she'd spoken them. "I think I understand why you all get along... and I think that the three of you are going to all be really good friends."

"You really think so?" I blurted out, unable to contain my joy at hearing such a remark. If I had been able to see myself, I'm sure my eyes would have been sparkling like little gemstones.

"I would say I'm almost one-hundred percent certain." She sighed happily, batting her eyelashes at us as if she was remembering fond memories from when she, Sakura, and Leon were younger. "To me, it feels kind of like you just have a natural connection. As cheesy as it sounds, it's like you were meant to meet and make memories together. Although... I am kind of worried about what kinds of memories those will be. You seem like a band of troublemakers to me."

"Us? Noooooooo," I joked. "The fact that you would ever make such an accusation, dear sister of mine... It stings."

I placed a hand to my chest in mock pain, pretending to have been deeply wounded by my sister's words.

"Yeah, yeah. Seriously though, I can't help but fret over what poor teacher has to put up with the three of you next." Her hands were on her hips as she spoke to us, her head shaking back and forth as she tried to suppress a smile. "What class do the three of you have after lunch?"

"Uh... I think we have math or somethin'." Natsumi answered, looking down at the palm of her right hand. I guess she must have been the forgetful type, as she had scribbled it out on her hand in blue ink. Even from the angle I was sitting at, I could make out the words "Period 4- Mathematics".

"Right, yeah. I ran in to Byakuya in the hallway and he was telling me that he's teaching that course this afternoon." Hope confirmed, not realizing what a serious cause for alarm that was. My honorary uncle, Byakuya Togami, teaching us in a math classroom. There was absolutely no way around that ever. "So that should be quite the experience for the three of you. Togami-sensei's math classes are famous here at Hope's Peak for being the most terrifying experiences of our lives."

"So I've heard, some people were sayin' earlier that he's a huge fucking dick." Natsumi spat, rolling her eyes at the idea of being trapped in a math classroom with him. The moment her eyes fell back on Hope, though, she appeared startled for a minute at the grimace after hearing her curse. She'd always been exceptionally anti-swearing, for fear that somehow it would become the normalized language that our little sister would learn. I couldn't help but find it interesting how desperately she tried to avoid our sister learning a cuss word, rather than acknowledging the fact that she already knew what sex was. (Visits to our great-grandfather's house typically lead to Seiko learning things that we didn't want her to know. That man has no concept of a how to treat a child. It's a miracle my mother turned out the way she did.)

Speaking of which, 'no concept of how to treat a child' should have been Byakuya's slogan when it came to teaching. Despite being a father of the young Junichi Togami, Byakuya Togami was not what you would call a loving and supportive man. He had an ego the size of Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni, and an attitude that rivalled that of the famous diva pop star Ayane Kuroshima. From what I had heard from him in my childhood— given that somehow, my parents tolerated him enough to make him one of my honorary uncles— he was the heir to the Togami Conglomerate, which at the time was being lead by his father Kijou. He apparently had been raised as a rich boy for most of his life after competing in essentially what was a death match between fifteen of his most successful siblings to see which one would become the heir. He came out the victor, and had every intention of taking over the business but unfortunately the Tragedy hit and the family lost everything. He's rebuilt much of it since, but it still has quite the way to go before it can reach its former success and so he's taking on a job at Hope's Peak as a favour to my father. He's been raising his son, Junichi, for the purpose of taking over the family business one day. May I remind you... Byakuya's son is nine. He shouldn't be thinking about how many instruments he plays or languages he speaks or how good he is at business strategies, but his father has never seen it that way. It's all about business and what he's after with him. Once upon a time he may have softened a little to others, but the mother of his child made sure to mess with that a whole lot. As always, he was doing what he could to get better, but when it came to his classroom presence it was never enough. The man was a nightmare of a teacher.

"Wait, seriously?!" I exclaimed a little too loudly, causing a few heads to turn in our direction. If it had been at any other time I might have been embarrassed, but because of the revelation I'd just experienced I had no concern for whether or not all eyes fell on me. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I'm afraid it's the truth, Koichi. Sorry." Hope replied, throwing her hands up helplessly as if to remind me not to shoot the messenger. "I'm sure it'll be fine, though. Byakuya just... runs his classroom a little differently."

"How differently?" Natsumi questioned.

"Well um... think of it like a kingdom, almost. He believes himself to be the king, and all of his students are the uh.... the peasants." She shared, trying to sound blithesome but failing miserably in her delivery. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead, making her expression seem a little too anime-like.

"That is not how a kingdom should be run at all." Phoenix protested, folding his arms across his chest and pouting like a child who had been denied a cookie before dinner.

"I agree, but unfortunately there isn't much we can really do about it." My sister sighed, "As long as you're kind and try your best, he's not usually as mean as everyone says he is. He has some love in his heart for other people... although, a lot of people used to claim that he just had a soft spot for me since he's known me since I was a baby. They kind of say that about me when it comes to *any* teacher, though."

"The toils of being the headmaster's kid." I agreed, knowing in the back of my mind that Hope's own experiences were likely to be a reflection of what my own would be. I suppose it was just one of those things that you couldn't escape no matter how hard you pushed yourself to do so. "Really, though... is there *anything* we can do to avoid being a target for Togami-sensei?"

"Just lay low, behave, and try your best. If that's what you do, then he won't bother targeting you. Single yourself out, though, and you'll have a problem with him for pretty much the rest of your Hope's Peak career."

"Okay. Have any other Byakuya-themed wisdom you'd like to share with us before we endure his class?" I asked, sounding sarcastic but genuinely praying that she had something, anything else to offer us instead of her silence. However, my prayers seemed to fall flat as she shook her head in response to me.

"Sorry, I'm afraid that's all I got. I only had one year of being taught by him when I did early entry, remember? They ended up switching teachers for our ninth grade year because Byakuya had been scheduled to teach Classes 95-A, B, C, and D. I'd say that it hopefully would be the same for you, but unless a lot of people suddenly pass the second round of the entrance exams for second term then you're pretty much tied to him."

The statement sounded more like a confession than it did an explanation of herself. Clearly, Hope felt somewhat guilty about not being able to aid my friends and I in navigating our new school lives. It was written all over her face as she picked at her nails awkwardly, a twinge of shame present in her demeanour.

"Alright then... well, thanks for the advice anyway, I guess."

While I was perfectly content to leave it there, my sister was much less likely to budge. She shook her head at me, clearly not ready to leave just yet without having thoroughly comforted me. "Oh c'mon, Koichi, I'm sure it won't be that bad!" She said, "I mean, even if it is, you still have a couple of classes after that to look forward to. What do you guys have for periods four and five?"

I shrugged, reaching past my lunch and grabbing my school planner. I flipped it open to one of the pages and allowed my eyes to run down the list of classes until I found my answers. "English with Mr. Saito, and Science with Ms. Ashikaga." I read.

"See? Those two are awesome teachers! Mr. Saito is super friendly and has been all over the world, he loves telling stories to his students. You honestly might end up learning more about the world than you will English, but... he's such a nice guy, you can't really blame him." Hope reassured me, "And Ms. Ashikaga, she's great too. She's super duper fun and creative, and loves getting involved with her students. Mom and Dad just hired her on this past year and she's just the best! In fact, I wouldn't think it to be unusual of her to have something planned for her first years. She's always doing fun stuff like that."

It was difficult for me to not let the jealousy show in my voice as I murmured, "Ever the optimist." I had never been able to rationalize things quite the way she could. It was a skill that my father had passed on to her that I shamelessly envied. Still, I tried my best not to let it get to me too much, for Hope had a right to at least experience my gratitude for trying to cheer me up. Though I felt that pang, I pushed a slight grin. "Well, at the very least, thanks for trying to make today feel a lot better than it probably will be." I snickered just as a new thought sprung to my mind. "Oh, and for bringing my lunch, too. I really appreciate how willing you are to look out for me."

"Hey, you're my little brother. It's my job to look out for you!"

#danganronpa 21 #koichi naegi-kirigiri #hope naegi-kirigiri #phoenix nevermind #natsumi kuzuryuu 2 #danganronpa 21 deleted scenes #Danganronpa 21: The Old World's Future

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