#man tho considering how the chapters have been going so far

[hypothesiscosmos]

Fujino's bday is on May 20, while the JJK chapter update is on the 21st

Which means late birthday present for Fujino--

[randomyuu]

the way it follows you home, the stories i never told

My guy Vox once again graced us with lovely Goyuu fanfics, and the way it follows you home, the stories i never told, made me go FERAL.

Time travel? Two Gojou Satorus? Double affection for our sunshine Yuuji? Yuuji sandwich? What feels like possible continuation of (you'll whisper, serpent tongue) what you fear you have become???

FUCK.

I need to stop indulging my imagination too much. I should’ve been content with writing long-ass comments but noooooo, my brain goes “you gotta draw it”. DAMMIT VOX, YOU AND YOUR DELICIOUS WRITINGS HHHHHH

So… usually I should’ve picked a favourite scene that is within my drawing capability, but I just… love all three chapters??? So I made a questionable time investment? I can’t stop??? Help???

This is probably the most ambitious fanart project I’ve ever done so far. Fair enough, considering I might combust if I keep these welled-up emotions inside from reading Vox’s Goyuu fics. Fuck.

Fic info:

Title: the way it follows you home, the stories i never told

Author: @voxofthevoid

Pairing: YuuGoGo. Future!Yuuji, Future!Gojou, Teen!Gojou

(idk why I laugh writing YuuGoGo. I’m beyond help)

Currently, it is 3 chapters out of 8. And it’s gonna be NSFW chapter 4 onwards, so don’t forget to read the tags first, folks!

The drawings are under Read More, because I have lots of thoughts surrounding each chapter and drawings. It’ll be hella long if I didn’t hide it here. It was a mess down there. A combination of hours before, during, and after I read said fic. I’d say good luck finding the art among the sea of jumbled words but… you’ll find them easily. Don’t worry about it haha

SPOILERS FOR ALL 3 CHAPTERS! I highly recommend reading those first before diving into these drawings!

Also for the comics, read from right to left please!

From here on, I will be referring to the Future!Gojou as Gojou and the teenage one as Satoru.

Overall, drawing all these is fun! Really fun! This project pushed me quite hard, forcing me to test my limit (because I rarely draw this much back to back). Since this is a combination of drawings and comics, the coloring style will not be consistent. In a way, I want to try some brushes I never get to use, as well as try out my new graphic tablet. Drawing these got me giggling because I was finally able to let loose during line art. It's much easier to do so, and sometimes I just get to reread the fic and giggle to myself for the nth time.

CHAPTER 1:

Whooo. Whooooooooo—

Ok, ok, the premise is just that good. It intrigued me, fascinated me, and I just… oomph. I cannot refuse a Time Travel Yuuji Sandwich. Sign me up.

Honestly, there are two scenes that are just… a bit too clear in my mind when reading this chapter. That would be the one I drew above, and the other is when Yaga called Gojou to come outside of the class. I love, loooove how Vox wrote Satoru’s POV. And when Yuuji fucking giggles?

I lost it.

Can you imagine, drawing Yuuji grins, with shiny stuff, maybe some sunlight, just purely happy and indulging Gojou?

Help me, for I am drowning in my love and adoration for Yuuji.

Page 2 is an experiment on using harsh black as shading (kind of?). I really enjoyed colouring Yuuji, and drawing those buffalo skulls! I wish I can grasp the concept of contrast a bit better tho :v

CHAPTER 2:

This is probably the only chapter where I picture still images instead of comic panels. A bit like those cool chapter covers in mangas. The one I really, really want to draw is the scene with Satoru on the table. Can’t pass the opportunity to highlight Satoru being a brat, albeit a really cool brat.

Cool idea drawing always proves to be a challenge, because of course my artistic skill just so happens to be below the requirement. Thank you, Sketchfab, for the chair and desk’s perspective otherwise I’m screwed lmao

The second scene that I want to draw the most is this:

Gojou is one step away from climbing Yuuji. Also, I have a bit of a problem picturing a man pouting that makes him look crazy instead, so please have Gojou pouting adorably instead. Because, as Yuuji said (with love), Gojou is (also) a brat.

This is possibly my favorite art in this project, after Yuuji's in Chapter 1 page 2. It's clean because I don't have to draw background, and I was having a fun time drawing Yuuji. And Gojou's squishy cheek as well.

Oh, actually, there is a “manga” scene in this chapter. It’s when Yuuji said, “I love Satoru.”

I just—

AAAAAHHHHH YUUJIIIIIII YOU AND VOX ARE GONNA BE THE DEATH OF ME. That secure relationship between Yuuji and Gojou? Satoru’s description of how Yuuji’s smile could blot out the sun??? Not me screaming 💀 I also see bits of hints of possible co-dependency, though I could be reading those wrong, but either way I’m good. Secure and possessive relationships are fun to consume hhhhhh

But yeah. There are too many wholesome Yuuji smiles in this fic, and I… I am not confident enough to draw genuine happiness. It’s too much for me ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

For this chapter, another reason why I chose these two scenes is just because I want to try and draw cover-worthy pictures of Yuuji and Satoru, and Yuuji and Gojou (cough)

CHAPTER 3:

We start the chapter with Nanamin. Ah, Nanamin. I forgot what his teen self looked like and was surprised to see his design again lmao

I want to draw Yuuji and Nanami scene because… I just want to, I guess. I have never drawn him before (Yaga as well) so that's an interesting challenge. I got two ideas on how I want to draw it. One is a bit painting-esque, and the other one is like another chapter cover. In the end, I chose the cover one because I want to emphasise the difference between teen!Nanami and the Nanami from Yuuji’s original timeline, and how the watch feels like a connection between the same (yet not) person. It’s a bittersweet feeling? In a way?

I’m not really good at explaining my intention ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

I love Yuuji’s answer to Nanami's question.

AND FINALLY.

A Yuuji SandwichTM scene.

And oh B O I do I love it. Have I told you I like every chapter? I probably have. But this one? Satoru’s curiosity, Yuuji’s on-brand self-deprecation, and Gojou come strolling down to show more of Yuuji to his mini-self. I want to draw this whole scene, from Gojou finding them, feeding Yuuji snacks, bitch-slapping Satoru into the backroom, to Yuuji growling. Them trying to hide a boner from Yuuji’s growl got me cackling so hard I LOVE IT 😭

I love it all. Please love Yuuji in my stead, Satoru and Satonyan :3

Oh! Also! 40-finger Yuuji sounds really, really cool! I’ll be happy with whatever Vox will give us in future chapters, but 40-finger Yuuji… possible scene with this timeline’s Sukuna… my god. The action! The drama! The bloodshed! One can only hope.

However, as much as I love that whole scene, it’s still too much for me :”) I’m still not yet confident in delivering the humour and action. Also my already-long drawing plan had my brain groaning in protest so I can’t push my luck :'D

When Gojou said "He looks sweet, but he's a bit of a beast", I kept picturing Yuuji staring innocently, but there was an edge to his look. As if the moment Satoru looks away, he will pounce. But in the end I just stick with innocent-looking Yuuji because I accidentally drew his eyes that way and I want to keep it in lol

Since Satoru points out how soft and cuddly Yuuji is, I also want to draw soft Yuuji :v

And the last one… is the last scene. For some reason, I read that both Gojou and Satoru share Yuuji’s lap and was having a frustrating yet fun time figuring out how it’s… physically possible, without having their butts on the ground because they both are not small at all. As I lined the art, I reread it again and… perhaps I read it wrong? Satoru is beside Yuuji, and not on his lap? So yeah, this one might be the least accurate, but hey, at least you can view it as a crack drawing or something :v

AAAANNNDDD I HAVE EXCEEDED TODAY’S BRAIN CAPACITY OF FORMING WORDS

Have I told you I love this fic?

…I probably have.

Have an amazing week (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*

[elina-sakura]

Rain Code: Spin The Wheel

So a while ago, I did a Spin the Wheel concept of my own with the Rain Code cast that appeared in the main game. And it turned out interesting, so I’ve decided to post my results, along with some ramblings about the said results. Spoilers for Rain Code.

Protagonist: Fubuki Clockford

Support (Shinigami): Kurumi Wendy

Support (Informant): Dr. Huesca

Chapter 0 Cast

Yakou Furio

Zange Eraser

Waruna (hitwoman)

Yuma Kokohead

Pucci Lavmin

Nocturnal Detective Agency

Chief Kurane

Makoto Kagutsuchi

Iruka

Guillaume Hall

Halara Nightmare

Peacekeepers

Director Margulaw

Vice Director Yomi Hellsmile

Shinigami (Chapter 0)

Zilch Alexander (Chapter 1)

Karen (Intern)

Aphex Logan

Chapter 1 Cast

The Priest

Melami Goldmine

Seth Burroughs (The Nail Man)

The Nun (The Copycat)

Chapter 2 Cast

Martina Electro

The Servant (Victim)

Icardi

The Worshipper

Chapter 3 Cast

Shachi

Dominic Fulltank

Servan

Yoshiko (Murderer)

Swank Catsonell (Victim)

Chapter 4 Victim

Desuhiko Thunderbolt

Vivia Twilight (motivator for murder/died from Amaterasu/Peacekeepers)

!!Rambling Time!!

I’m happy one of the NDA is the protagonist, and it’s Fubuki! And her Shinigami is Kurumi, so it’s an adorable, wholesome girl squad! We can even get fun RPG references, and Kurumi can do wholesome games for clues. But also moral conflict because neither would be up for murdering, and Fubuki feeling guilty for relying on Kurumi to solve the mysteries in exchange of the culprits’ souls.

With how the criminals from Chapters 0-2 (basically three chapters), there would be a build up of the girls slowly accepting that perhaps culprits dying is fine as long as they no longer hurt people for their own benefits (yes, I am going to frame Chapter 2 less sympathetic as opposed to in-game, which makes it the turning point of the girls starting to accept that the end justifies the mean, before that is once again challenged in Chapter 3).

It’s funny how the three Aetheria Trio somehow still ended up being murderers at the end of the day (or two out of three if we count killer!Waruna being an imposter tho).

I was so sad when I spun the wheel for Chapter 0, and both Yuma and Yakou ended up in the cast, meaning they die😭 Also, Pucci and Zange could not escape their fates.

Though Yuma ending up as a Chapter 0 victim actually sets up a great characterization for Makoto in this AU (who I’ve decided will be the complex, Ch 4 character because I say so). Where in this Swap AU, Makoto and Yuma are twin brothers who worked as Master Detectives in the WDO. So when Yuma ended up dying on the Amaterasu Express, it broke Makoto. To the point he wears a mask to hide his face because he has the exact same face as his now late brother he can’t bear to see anymore. Perhaps he’s even antagonistic towards Fubuki because she survived the Amaterasu Express Massacre, and is resentful how she’s the one who gets out alive, like she’s been exchanged to live instead of his precious twin. Maybe Chapter 4, he decides to exact his revenge on the Peacekeepers for all the murder they have done, including Yuma, and end it once and for all. And considering he has Coalescence as well, perhaps he may even get the same power as Fubuki and end up literally clashing swords in the Mystery Labyrinth.

Funny story, when I was spinning for the swap!NDA, I was getting like all females with only Makoto as the only male, and I was kind of praying to the wheel to give me another male, or at least another gender. And guess who the last gender that ends up joining (or staying in this case) in the NDA.

Dr. Huesca being the informant actually sounds right when you think further on it. Like perhaps his characterization can be based on the glimpse heel-turn self we’ve seen from the recorded video, where he once again (or perhaps remembered) how far his experiment had went and decided to call it quit. He’s still a mad scientist, but now has a (very shaky) moral compass and is more morally grey.

Kurane being Chief is also very fitting because it was mentioned/implied she has some interest in detective works (I understand it’s probably more so playing as a Detective as a character, but I hc she has interest in detective work as well). But also kind of funny and sad because the NDA now has a prodigal child detective who is a theater kid and obsessed with romance novels as their only Detective Chief in Kanai Ward. And to add relationship between her and Vivia, perhaps Vivia took Kurane in as her apprentice when she was younger, which helped lead to her becoming a WDO Detective, and leading up to her becoming the Chief when Vivia dies during an investigation on Amaterasu. Or, if I want to be original, perhaps Vivia is separated from his soul and body, and they’re both being preserved in Amaterasu. Who knows🤷🏼‍♀️

And Yomi Hellsmile is honestly really fitting as Vice Director because he can be that sadistic, power-hungry we know and love. Desiring to become the next Director of the Peacekeepers and trying to off Director Margulaw. I even got an idea that perhaps maybe he teams up with a certain, grieving Master Detective to help overthrow Margulaw (because I kind of imagine the CEO would not be dumb enough to give someone like Yomi power like that). Not entirely sure if I want to make Margulaw a corrupt Director or a benevolent Director (or in-between) because I want to avoid making his characterization from being too close to my Director Yakou’s characterization I’m currently/planning.

Finally, for Chapter 3, I’m imagining how it can play out is that Swank Catsonell was once the leader of the Resistance, but he was terrible at it. He was selfish and greedy and was fine with causing more destruction that leads to more problems for Dohya District. Shachi, one of the Resistance leaders, was against Swank’s methods and was planning to overthrow him, alongside Dominic Fulltank and Yoshiko. However, after Swank nearly went too far on something (maybe having a hand in the NDA blowing up or something), Yoshiko decides to take action and kill Swank herself. After she dies, Shachi is the one who gives the request that leads to motivate him to become the new Resistance Leader.

[nazukisser]

➺✧ ┅ CHAPTER 06 | Stamped with Flowers

SYNOPSIS | “Duke, will you marry me?” You never thought you’d be saying these words until now, when you’ve realized you’ve been reincarnated as the first side character to be killed in a series of tragedies in a novel series called “Trails of Misfortune & Misery”. As a lady forced into an arranged marriage with the greedy son of Duke Drakos who aims to use your power as a sorceress to gain the Emperor’s favor and is eventually is killed as a sacrifice for his schemes, it seems the only one who can truly assist you is the Duke of Suou, Tsukasa Suou.

CHAPTER WARNINGS | tsukasa jumpscare? not scary imo tho, mention of food but not described in detail,

PAIRING| Suou Tsukasa x fem!reader

LINKS| series masterlist | taglist form | prev chapter

The Suou Estate wasn’t far at all, but to everyone’s surprise, Tsukasa fell asleep quite quickly. As soon as Callie shut up about things that the Duke should do, as a man who has never courted a woman before, he fell asleep. Did her talk bore him? He’d probably been educated on that, and however Callie got the audacity to say that, bless her soul. She truly just lived her life. At least it seemed that Tsukasa took no offense to it and actually listened though, but considering the fact that he fell asleep almost right after, maybe he was just trying to be polite. But then again, if he was trying to be polite, why’d he fall asleep so soon after? Perhaps he was just that tired; it was hard to know his circumstances. 

Even so, with so much going on, it was surprisingly peaceful. While it certainly wasn’t quiet, with the horses on their way and the wheels stepping on all sorts of rocks and other things, it was surprisingly easy to relax. Perhaps your standards of transportation had changed to fit the times; cars were the fantasy now. Callie immersed herself in her book, and Tsukasa was fast asleep. The Falcon Princess, was it? It was a bit surprising that Callie would read a fiction novel- or maybe, it wasn’t fiction. It was hard to know if you hadn’t read it before. 

Just like magic, Tsukasa realized he’d been asleep for just about the whole ride as the carriage entered the estate. He rubbed his eyes open, and as soon as he remembered what was going on, the embarrassment was obvious. If it were anyone else, you could see that the situation would be quite awkward; the standard etiquette simply didn’t allow for such negligence of a guest- but something like this was nice, for a change. High society was far too formal all the time. 

Amidst the embarrassment, blush, and apologies from Tsukasa, both you and Callie shared a laugh as the carriage pulled into the main entrance of the mansion. Through the window was a group of workers waving at you; were they excited to see their Duke? Or had maybe rumors of you arisen that made them curious of your arrival? Perhaps it was both; you couldn’t blame them, especially with the Duke’s reputation.

Tsukasa stepped out first, offering his hand for you to use as you stepped down as well. As per proper etiquette, but really not to leave him hanging like that, you took his hand, and Callie simply jumped down without warning- and she landed perfectly too, earning a few stares and seemingly respect, strangely. 

One of the butlers came up to you to greet both the Duke and his guests, but Tsukasa turned him away, “It’s alright, Lapel, I will give them a tour of the mansion and escort them to their rooms. Can you tell Hazen’s team that they don't need to be here?”

“Why? Don’t they have luggage?” 

“This was all they’d brought. The circumstances are… complicated.” 

“Okay! I’ll be off then. And you better be in your study by five, else I’ll have to search the whole mansion for you!” Lapel ran off.

You commented on how close Tsukasa and Lapel seemed. 

“Oh,” Tsukasa chuckled. “We took him in some years ago when his parents passed… I suppose I’ve doted on him quite a bit.” 

You giggled at how cute that was. It seemed so nice that something like this could happen in the Suou estate- in other estates, including yours, that would’ve been next to impossible. The people just didn’t have or showed enough empathy; it was a trend among the nobles these days, to be luxurious and largely untouchable. 

As you walked into the mansion, you were greeted by all kinds of history, artifacts of the previous Suou generations. You couldn’t help but allow Tsukasa to ramble on and on about what was what and the history of the mansion; it was so endearing how he was just so passionate about all of it. If Callie had a camera, she’d totally be taking pictures of everything like it was a museum. 

It was surprisingly late by the time Tsukasa had finished talking and you and Callie had arrived in your rooms. Hers was next to yours, thankfully. It was always hard getting to know the people who were there to help out, and having at least Callie was surprisingly comforting. You didn’t bother to change or pull the covers over you when you flopped onto the bed, and Callie simply left to check out her own room. 

You stared up at the ceiling, “reading” a story which detailed a love between an esteemed noble and an outsider, so different it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume the origins of another world. A small laugh escaped your lips as you thought about the coincidence; it was too fitting. 

The room was filled with luxury; for a guest bedroom, it sure was fancy. The walls, the furniture, the little decorations- it all went together wonderfully, despite there being so much going on. It looked like a room that someone had lived in for a long time; the style looked so personalized and it didn’t quite match the rest of the house. 

When you awoke, it was the middle of the night. While you were facing away from the window, you could tell the moon shone brightly; it was bright despite there being no lamps or candles lit at this hour. You peeked at the clock, which you could just barely read from where you were. About one, huh. You must’ve slept through dinner. It was hard to move; your body was stiff. It took more effort than you’d like just to get up, but the stretching mission was still accomplished. You turned your head to the other side of the room, to get a better sense of what was going on.

You flinched. If the moon hadn’t shone so bright, you would have woken the entire mansion up with a scream. You were lucky that you recognized him so fast, or else there would’ve been a lot of issues. You froze. What in the hell was Tsukasa doing there? How’d he get through Callie? Wait- Callie was probably asleep. But still, why was he there, sitting up asleep on the other side with his legs down the side of the bed? 

You called out to him, no response. Another call. You poked his shoulder. You gently shook him. Nothing. If he wasn’t going to wake up and explain himself, then you were going to have to do it for him- though on second thought, he was cute when he was asleep. He was so peaceful, so relaxed, even in this (presumably) uncomfortable position, especially when the headboard was quite literally wood. 

Even though you’d stretched, your back still hurt. It was hard to get used to the dresses, and having fallen asleep in something meant to be worn outside was not a good idea. Then, should you wear something more comfortable? Tsukasa was still there, but you didn’t want to wake Callie up. She always got up earlier than you, so there was no telling what she’d do if you interrupted her sleep. Then, it wouldn’t hurt to just change right there, right? Since Tsukasa was still asleep, he wouldn’t know anything, anyways. 

Making as little noise as possible was more difficult than expected. Everything simply made so much noise when it was quiet compared to when things were happening in the day. You hoped you wouldn’t wake him up. You didn’t expect it to take long at all, after all. 

When Tsukasa moved, you looked back at him. One button left to go. If he awoke now, and you were changing, he’d definitely have questions- though you already had some yourself. 

“Mmgh…” he rubbed his eyes open as he realized the pains of having his head against the hard wood for so long. It was a bad time to struggle with the button; at least you’d faced away from him. Once you’d finished with the button, you turned around to face him. If only he’d say something. He’s the one who came in here all on his own, after all.

He stared at you for far too long; it appeared he didn’t have anything to say. Didn’t they teach his noble brain to do good things with words? You had no choice to follow your sigh with the question you hoped he wanted to answer- why he was here at such an hour and without anybody’s permission. Though, technically, this was his house, so he could make the argument that he could go anywhere on his property. It didn’t seem like him to do that, though. 

He looked away. “I just wanted to check up on you.” 

But you were just fine, though.

“I- I should’ve gotten myself to leave. I fell asleep before realizing… I’m sorry. I’ll do anything-”

He didn’t do it on purpose. It was kind of cute, admittedly. 

“I’ll-” he paused before continuing to get up. “take my leave now. Please rest well, my lady. I apologize for the disturbance.” 

He didn’t even let you say goodbye to him. It was a mistake, and he didn’t mean it, and he knew better, so there was really no point or reason to get mad besides the fact that it happened. Maybe Callie would give him an earful if you told her about this, though it might not have any good effect on him. 

There was a knock on the door. At this hour? You opened it. 

“I’m sorry for waking you up…” but he didn’t wake you up, though. You woke up on your own and found him.

“I know you missed dinner, and I’m not a great cook but,” he let out a nervous giggle. “I made something.” 

Well, since you were hungry, it wouldn't be worth refusing a meal at this time. Tsukasa wasn’t the greatest chef in the world- not even close- but it was so easy to see the love and care he put into it that it made a good meal. Perhaps it was extra nice that it wasn’t fancy like all the chefs made everything; it was a little bit like home.

“Again, I truly apologize for earlier’s incident,”  he took your hand and kissed it. “Good night, my lady.” 

You told him you’d meet again in the “morning”, when everyone converged for breakfast, and you went back into your bed. Too much had gone on already.

“Get up, my lady. Did you really sleep that long?” Callie got you a dress to wear for breakfast. Having him lectured again wouldn’t really do any good for Tsukasa, so you decided to keep last night a secret from Callie- although she already doubted you slept the entire time. 

At the Suou Estate, it was just nice. Everyone treated you well. The place was so pretty- clean and gorgeous. Everything seemed to go in order, the way it should be. Perhaps it was nice that the Suou family sat together for breakfast all the time too.

As you entered the dining hall, Tsukasa’s face lit up. A maid pulled out a chair for you, and you thanked her as she pushed it back towards the table after you’d gotten yourself on it. Tsukasa introduced you to his parents, and surprisingly, they were happy with you. You’d thought that with the Suou’s success for so many generations, they might be more careful, but they accepted you incredibly quickly. It was certainly odd, but not a bad thing for you at all. At least you wouldn’t have to deal with unsupportive parents who could make it hard for the duration of the contract- which had yet to be written.

“Oh, dear, do you have dresses?” the former duchess put down her fork. “I heard you weren’t able to bring much with you. I have some spares that may fit, if you’d like them.” 

“Mother! We will be getting the lady dresses of her o-” you cut off Tsukasa’s attempt at convincing everyone to let him take you to the dress shop again. There was no way that it’d be okay to take you to the dress shop with him again. You were not going to let that argument happen again. You’d take up the former duchess’s offer on that. 

The former duchess seemed perfectly happy with that decision, and thus Tsukasa sat defeated at the table. Victory and revenge for the years you lost off your life from the time at the dress shop. Maybe you should take Callie with you and visit Lili yourself- it wouldn’t be too hard to reserve a time if you were the future Duchess of Suou, right? Well, that’d be a thing for later. 

It was almost too good to be true- the Suou Estate and its people were simply so nice. Perhaps it was that the story was you were going to be the future Duchess of Suou, so of course, they had to be on your good side, but their acting skills were top notch if you assumed that they distrusted you. 

“You know what I noticed, my lady?” Callie walked beside you. You turned your attention to her. 

“They like it here. The people like working here. They’re treated nicely, paid well, and they feel like they’re part of a community. It’s really a wonder how everyone loves their jobs so much, even if this is the best house to work at.” 

You looked at Callie. She wasn’t done. She always had some sort of out-of-the-court statement to end any idea off with. 

“Please become Duchess Suou forever and let me live here happily for the rest of my life.” Ah, she caught onto your plans. Well, considering how well she knows you, there was really no point in hiding any of it from her. In fact, you might be able to count on her figuring you out before you could even figure yourself out.

You hurmored her, though both you and she knew that reality was often different than the hopes. 

Tsukasa didn’t swing by for the entire day. Perhaps he was busy- he was the Duke, after all. But maybe he was guilty about last night too. It made sense, and it would be ridiculous to expect him to act like he truly was in love with you. After all, it was a contract relationship, and you made that clear from the start- though, he’d always gone above and beyond, and this change was an odd change of pace.

“My lady, it’s one day without him.” Callie looked at you with the most “are you serious” eyes ever. 

“Oh,” was all you could give her. 

You spent the rest of the day familiarizing yourself with the place; it’d become your home- and in the unlikely event of Mairi’s return, you’d have to know where you could run. Though, it could be anywhere, because there were so many guards that you could simply yell and someone would hear you, quite possibly a good or bad thing depending on what was happening. It was good in the current situation, though, because someone was literally out for your head. Although, that meant a limited amount of privacy…

The next morning, Callie barged in to wake you up. She’d gotten her hands on something interesting from the market, which she visited last night without your knowing. It was a hair clip with a design similar to totoro. The author must’ve liked Totoro for a coincidence like this to happen. 

“It matched with one of the outfits, so I got it for you. I’m so kind, right?” Callie put it on you. You went along with it; of course she was.

When you made your way over to breakfast again, Tsukasa’s parents were as happy to see you as they were yesterday. They loved you a lot, perhaps a little overwhelmingly, but at least you could count on them if there was anything you needed. It was weird, though, how Tsukasa simply sat there. He didn’t try to involve himself in the conversation either, and he acted as if he didn’t even want to be there. 

This guy, who’d made the above and beyond effort to convince everyone he was in love with you, on your seemingly random request, was avoiding you? Out in the open? If he was tired of the act and wanted to drop it, he could’ve just dismissed you already. He could’ve said, “Pack your bags and go home.” or something, but he just couldn’t even acknowledge you. Even his parents asked him what was wrong, and it was simply “nothing”. 

Nonetheless, breakfast ended on a good note, and as you were walking out, Tsukasa had something to say. 

“My lady, is it possible for you to stop by my office?” 

He wanted to meet now? If he was ending your relationship there, then so be it. Perhaps you’d take up Callie’s suggestion of simply running away where no one could find you. You’d have to find a way to pay her, though. 

You agreed to meeting him now, since there really was nothing much else to do other than take walks, read books, and talk to people. 

As he opened the door to his office for the two of you, it became clear that he was nervous. Although, it was hard to understand why he was so nervous. After all, he was the Duke of Suou, and he could have just about anything he wanted. 

“Please have a seat. I will join you in just a moment.” He went over to his desk to fetch a bit of paper, and you took a seat in the sitting area. He was so formal that this was scary. Was this how he was with other people? Well, it really did make sense, given his background and past. It was just strange, such a stark contrast to what he’d shown before. 

“I…” he took a pause. “am aware that our relationship is meant to be contractual. I apologize if I have overstepped your boundaries by engaging in such activity before the terms have been set. However, I’ve written a draft contract, and the terms can be discussed.” You paused. That was what he was worried about? You almost laughed. He’d saved your life, and he was worried about boundaries? Honestly, that was far too sweet of him. 

You agreed to look them over. The basics of the contract were first: he’d protect you and be your fiance, and you’d offer your services as a sorcerer. There were other things like privacy and expected duties of either party, and all of them seemed good. 

After the last clause “With the agreement of both parties, the contents of this contract may be changed.” was a space for both of your signatures. Every time you agreed with a term, he let out a sigh, as if he was afraid of rejection. By the time you reached the end, he’d asked if there was anything you wished to change about the contract, and there weren’t any. Thus, his pen was used to sign both of your signatures, and the envelope containing the contract was stamped. 

The wax was the signature Suou red, the house seal imprinted into it- and beneath it were dried red camellias.

WORD COUNT | 3247 words

NOTES FROM QIAN | hi this series is extremely self indulgent. if you would like to join the taglist, please send an ask, thank you! [ tags in the reblogs ]

[superloves4]

We can always begin again - Chapter 3

Relationships: Celegorm/Aredhel, Curufin/Finrod (background) Summary: Celegorm didn't think he'd be granted mercy, that he'd be re-embodied or that he'd be welcome anywhere. Aredhel thought she'd never welcome him again after what he'd done. They were never good at staying away from each other. TW: none for this chapter but a warning: this is mostly canon compliant Celegorm, for what this fic is supposed to be this means Eol won't be beyond salvation (he is in only one chapter briefly but I felt this needed to be said) (Not to worry tho, I have another aretyel fic in the works where Eol is just the worst) A/N: I rewrote this chapter soooo many times, here's the result of my suffering.

Masterlist - also on AO3

The sun wasn't up yet when Celegorm crept down the stairs and out the door, he was granted neither bow nor arrow when he was re-embodied, it made sense although Celegorm would've argued to be a needless precaution, regardless, it meant he would have to do with whatever he could find.

That was how Aredhel found him when she opened the door to gather some rosemary for the day's food: hair up, shirtless, legs hooked on a tree branch as he hoisted his torso to his knees. She almost laughed.

"You know," she told him "Mobility comes faster if you allow yourself to rest."

He heaved himself up again "Rest is for the dead."

Aredhel decided it was not worth to remind him that he was just that merely yesterday.

"You made an herb garden?" was his panted question.

She shrugged "It's convenient."

"You used to just gather directly from the forest."

"You used to be kind."

It was frustrating how gracefully he jumped from the tree, she had felt wobble footed her entire first year of re-embodiment, pushing jealousy aside she stared defiantly at him, gray eyes she used to know well. The desire to speak to him as if time had never gone by was more easy to push aside when she looked into his eyes.

There were edges there now.

He didn't speak yet, instead he searched for something in her eyes, perhaps he looked in hope of finding that familiarity they used to share when they were children, running away from parties and into the garden, hoping their feet would take them as far as the forests. Would she ever be able to see her friend in this strange man in front of her now? Did she want to?

"You're afraid of me."

She scoffed at his conceited assertion, Aredhel hadn't been afraid of Celegorm since the day she'd seen him fall from his own horse after laughing too hard at a joke.

"I'm not afraid of you," she hissed.

He took a step forward and she took a step back.

His gray eyes took notice of her skipped breath, the way her body moved, all but the throat, terribly unprotected but raising her head in defiance.

"I know," he breathed "how people look when they are afraid of me..."

Aredhel grimaced in disgust "I'm not afraid of you." And she turned around and walked back to the house. Celegorm sighed and berated himself, he hadn't meant to imply weakness. He knew she'd never forgive him such an offence.

He considered going inside an talking to her but he noticed Maeglin was staring at him from the top of the terrace, he had no idea when he'd arrived or if perhaps he'd observed the whole scene, but the man didn't speak, simply continued to watch him. Celegorm wasn't sure how to behave so he let him continue his observation, he'd talk to Aredhel when they were of clear mind so instead he picked a nearby tree branch and fashioned it into a javelin, he couldn't let his accuracy wane simply because he had no bow.

"You weren't my childhood hero."

Celegorm turned around in surprise, Maeglin gaze was something he couldn't truly decipher.

"You don't need to tell me," he shrugged then turned and sent the javelin flying "I enjoy teasing, no need to take me seriously."

That didn't seem to please the other, however, as he furrowed his brows.

"Is it true, then?"

"What exactly? There are many 'truths' about me, you see."

Maeglin raised his chin "My mother's stories," he said "that you speak the language of animals?"

He had to laugh, it was such an innocent question that somehow Celegorm felt lighter simply by hearing it, even Maeglin's inscrutable eyes seemed younger then, how old even was he? Celegorm smiled.

"My personal favorites are worms, they have the most interesting speech pattern you'll ever hear," he explained and watched as Maeglin seemed just a little less defensive than before "Although your mother was more fond of the hounds, alas she didn't share my passion for patterns."

"When I was a child," Maeglin took a step forward "she told me you'd be able to tell me what my pet mole was saying, she told me much of your brothers and about you, I thought you'd simply appear one day to teach me as well."

Maeglin looked away.

"I wished to meet you then, you know," he crossed his arms, gaze set somewhere far from there. This time Celegorm didn't even need to wonder where before Maeglin whipped around to stare at him.

"Did you love her?"

That question surprised him "Irìssë? Of course I did, I still do, she was my best friend, how could I not love her?"

"Not her, Luthièn."

Celegorm didn't dare breath, he knew someone would ask eventually, he expected all the usual accusations and thought he was prepared but now under Maeglin simple question he faltered. There wasn't even a hint of anger or disgust in his words, Celegorm looked around, searching for an answer among the trees perhaps, he wasn't sure. He never expected this and for the longest time he hadn't wanted to think about it.

He was silent for a moment,  hands sweating, he paced around, before he could finally stand before Maeglin.

"Most people would say I don't know what love is."

Is all he could find as an answer, he had closed his mind to all memory of Luthièn and the brief moment their paths entwined and the way it changed his own. However, he was aware of what people thought of him, his keen ears never letting a rumour fly. He wasn't lying or exaggerating, Celegorm knew what people looked like when they were afraid of him.

Maeglin nodded, although Celegorm had no idea if it was as an acknowledgement or if he agreed with the sentiment, but Maeglin didn't clarify, simply stared at him.

"You don't know anything about me, do you?"

Celegorm shook his head.

Maeglin raised his chin and pointed towards the house.

"She doesn't let me touch her either."

Celegorm frowned "But you're her son."

"I'm also my father's son. Some destinies are stronger than others."

[loyaltykask]

Chapter 30

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

WUJING YOU ARE TOO GOOD FOR US! YOU DO A LOT BB. I want to give Wujing my everything

NOooooo LADY HE AN ASS, Dont have a "change of heart" BULLSHIT

Maybe people were just dumber..... 'he so handsome! how could be a demon' BITCH THAT IS THERE MO

Considering that he said 'prove it' and that it was still a trick there must be really no other way but the demon reveling mirror and the Firey eyes to see through the demon disguise damn

The only reason Sanzang was able to survive being hacked alive was being of the deities around him I do wonder if he was still able to feel pain when he was being attacked? Like it says that 20 monks would have been killed by those attacks if he didn't have those buffs. Does he still have the scars? Does he remember what it is like to be hurt like that?

Poor man I really think this might be his lowest point thus far

This dumb bitch really got hungry and gave up his disguise for a snitch-snatch like bitch

BAILONG! HORNLESS! SCALELESS! GOING TO GO DO WHAT HIS BIG BRO CAN'T

GET EM BAILONG

NOOO BAILONG

HE HURT I know The Bone Demon went out like a bitch but she was really the catalyst to making this whole group spilt like this. They all separated, they all lost, and now they all Hurt

Fuck this really would be like the third act in a movie

Don't be fucking Rude.

NGISNGOS BAJIE IS LIKe "Shit he talking, this means we are close to death"

He shooKETH

HE IS CRYING BAJIE DEADASS THINKS THEY ARE HOPELESS, THERE IS NO WAY THEY CAN WIN But Bailong saying "Go get big brother! We need him! He is the only one that can save us now!"

Now I'm going to cry!

He fuck he feels guilty too. At least I believe he is genuine.

Like he knew he did wrong and he doesn't want to face the consequences of his own actions that he hurt Wukong when he thought he could get away with teasing

The Utter FAITH Bailong has in Wrukong just...

He really know Wukong is just and kind like.... not a slight of doubt in his mind in his big bro

he has 1,200 monkeys legit from 47,000 to less than a PERCENT of what he had!

A few years..... I think that must be like 2 or 3 at this point.... damn I wish there was a clear timeline how long they have been together at this point, I was thinking maybe 2 years at this

I do like how it suggests Wukong would let Bajie crash at his place if got banished

Okay but Bajie saying that Sanzang could only rely on Wukong aint too far from the truth RIP Bajie and Wujing but they monk keeps getting kidnapped under them

GSUKGNSIEOGNSEOI Wukong just leads him by the hand to fucking show off his mountain that is too cute!

He really proud how much his mountain has grew back he wanted to show off

JUST HAVE A LEISURE OLD TIME DAMN

Walk of shame... literally tho

lamo got em

THEY BROS ARE BACK IN TOWN

[inkedinfusions]

I saw u wanted questions about the key soooo here’s a few questions I’ve been thinking about:

how much more of Zeke are u planning on us seeing in the story? I’m sorry i absolutely love how u write this man and it absolutely fills me with joy.

2. also speaking of Zeke do u have any general Zeke headcanons? I saw u say in the tags you’d be happy with anything in general so I hope this is ok

3. how closely do u plan on following the canon story? Like cause u said there will be a happy ending cause the canon ending made u sad I’m guessing that there won’t be a rumbling and so Reader will change Erens mind on that but ya was just curious on the canon stuff in general

Ok I couldn’t think of anything like specific I wanted to ask for this last part so consider this a free pass to share with us any other The Key stuff ur willing to share. I would literally be happy with anything

Btw I hope you’re doing well and life is going well for you! Remember to drink water and take of yourself 💜

hi cobra!

While next chapter is the last we’ll be seeing of Zeke for a while, he’ll come back in the future. I have sooooo much planned for him, and tbh I really do think that one of the kind of ‘core’ (if you could call it that) of the key’s ideals rests on him. I’m glad it fills you with joy!! I’m certainly v happy when I get to write him,, I know I’ve said this many times before but he’s seriously my favorite character now. Crazy

Surprisingly enough I haven’t thought about hc, either for canon zeke or for the key zeke, tho I do think that they are (or will be) fundamentally different in their —not actions— but reactions. Just some food for thought

There will be a looot of development in scenes that were just spread around about the three (? Let me check) yeah three years from where the Volunteers first step into the island. Some future canon events will either change location, time or something but the essence of aot will still be there. Until it isn’t. Still debating on a few deaths tho

Also!! Chapter six has what is now by far the most foreshadowing. I think you caught one, but there’s still some more scattered around,,

[sephirthoughts]

Just Like Honey: Chapter 10

big vincent lore-drop ahoy

AU: organized crime, cabaret, sex work

SHIPS: MULTIPLE! rufus/cloud, vincent/cloud, sephiroth/cloud, reeve/cloud, rufus/cloud/tseng, cloud/other characters as clients because that's his job, weiss/nero, background aerti

RATING: this chapter is teen and up i apologize and will make it up to everyone by making the next one extremely filthy

WARNINGS: sex workers, prostitution

Chapter 10: The Head of the Family

Strife: hey i wanted to give you a heads up. i won’t be available all next week. going out of town

Tseng: How far out of town? Give me an address, in case he needs you.

Strife: sorry i don’t think that’ll work. i’m gonna be in Wutai with a client

Tseng: Unacceptable. Cancel.

Strife: um. no?

Tseng: But have you even considered how this will affect me?

Strife: not for one second

Tseng: He’ll throw a massive tantrum, if he needs you and you’re away.

Strife: why do i feel like we have a child together

[Several minutes passed, then Cloud’s phone vibrated again.]

Tseng: Andrea has also refused to cancel. It seems this client is rather important. I’m not pleased, but business is business. 

Tseng: This may be too much to ask, but don’t do anything stupid. 

Strife: hey fuck you 

Tseng: If you get into trouble, call me. Wutai isn’t outside my radius of operation.

Strife: what seriously?

Tseng: I’m always serious.

Strife: ok mr. rainbow jelly girly boba

Tseng: 😑

Strife: you know you’re really sexy when you’re expressionless

Tseng: Don’t flirt with me unless you mean it.

Strife: WAIT A MINUTE WHO IS THIS

Strife: GIVE TSENG’S PHONE BACK TO HIM

Tseng: Very funny. Enjoy your trip.

Strife: fr tho does that mean i CAN flirt with you if i DO mean it? 😳 

Strife: ????

Strife: ???????

Strife: you’re really gonna drop some shit like that and then leave me on read

Strife: prick

When the driver opened the door, and Cloud saw Vincent sitting in the limo, waiting for him, looking like an overbearing-CEO-slash-tragic-gothic-beauty, his heart gave a giddy little flutter.

Not that he ever forgot how gorgeous Vincent was, in theory, but the man’s actual face was always so much better than the image in his head. Now, after a stretch of several weeks without seeing him, it was downright stunning. Despite the fact that he was covering half of it with dark-lensed sunglasses. 

That was admittedly, a little odd. He usually wore them during the day, but today it was pouring rain above the plate, and the visible sky was heavily overcast. It was also four in the afternoon, in winter, so it was nearly dark, already. Was there something wrong with his eyes? 

“Little devil,” Vincent said softly, as he climbed into the car. “I have missed you.”

“Obviously, you have. I’m amazing,” Cloud sniffed. Then he dropped the brat posturing and looked sheepish. “Um, also, part of my amazingness is that I get carsick, sometimes. Are we going a long way?”

“The airfield is on my family’s property, in the outskirts of the sector, which is thirty minutes or so, by car.”

“That should be ok, then.” He looked up into Vincent’s face, but was only met with his own reflection, on the dark lenses, and frowned disconsolately. “I haven’t seen you in forever and I still can’t see you. Can I take off your sunglasses?”

He reached for them, then huffed petulantly as Vincent caught his hands, to stop him. 

“Excuse my impoliteness, little devil. My eyes are particularly sensitive, this afternoon.”

Vincent’s pale lips curved up, ever so slightly, at the corners, but it didn’t look like a real smile. It was taut and wan, and his skin was even more ash-white than usual. His low-toned voice had a hoarse quality to it, too, that made Cloud think he’d been sick. 

Finally, it dawned on him that Vincent was in pain. He wanted ask about it, but unless Vincent brought it up specifically, he didn’t feel it was his place to press for details. 

“Have it your way,” he sighed, concealing his concern behind his bratty persona. “I think you’re just being a dramatic edgelord, wearing sunglasses in the rain and all this black and red, all the time. And carrying that cane, like you’re sixty years old. It’s silly for a guy your age to be dressing and acting like an old man.”

Vincent tightened his arm about Cloud’s waist, as the car pulled out into the street. “How would you like me to dress and behave?”

“Tch. Don’t pretend you even care what I think,” Cloud scoffed. “You’ll just keep being an edgy vampire, no matter what I say.”

“That is most probably true,” Vincent agreed. “I am rather set in my ways.”

As they turned out of Wall Market, onto the old highway, four big, black SUV’s came out of nowhere and proceeded to flank the vehicle, one pulling in front, one on each side, and one following, completely boxing them in. 

Cloud’s eyes widened. “Vincent—”

“Not to worry,” Vincent said. “Those are my people, in light-armored vehicles. They will escort us to the airfield. This vehicle is also armored. The windows are bulletproof, and the body can resist a direct hit from an anti-tank missile.”

“Oh. Is all that really necessary?” Cloud asked, uneasily.

Vincent looked unconcerned. “It is unlikely that I will be openly attacked, within this sector, but it is always a possibility. I would prefer not to risk your safety.”

The idea of being attacked hadn’t even occurred to Cloud, but he didn’t want to bring down the mood, when Vincent was already feeling unwell, so he swallowed his anxiety and asked about their journey, instead. “I’ve never been on a plane, before. Will we fly over the ocean?” 

“Indeed, we will,” Vincent answered. “Wutai is a chain of islands.”

“Why do the Valentines own a bunch of hotels, there?”

“My mother’s side of the family is Wutaian. I was born there and spent my early childhood there, until I was old enough to learn the family trade.”

The drive flew by, as they made chit-chat, and soon they were approaching the Valentine property.

Cloud knew this without being told, because suddenly there were high cyclone fences, stretching out in front of them, as far as he could see, topped with razor wire, and with guard towers spaced out along the length, like battlements on a fortress of massive scale.

The gates were heavily guarded by black-uniformed men, carrying assault rifles. They swung open, to admit the convoy, and all the guards stood to attention and saluted, as Vincent’s car passed by. 

Once they were inside the fence, the other vehicles fell back to a less suffocating distance, and Cloud could finally look at the scenery. 

It was the same flat, brown dirt, as all the land around Midgar, for a while. Gradually, though, it gave way to low hills of strangely striking colors. They seemed to be composed of some kind of rough, black gravel, and were streaked all over with red, anywhere from deep crimson, to a rusty orange color.

“These are volcanic hills,” Vincent explained, observing Cloud's curiosity. “The rock and scoria are rich in iron, which oxidizes over time, creating that look of rust.”

“They’re beautiful. And they match your color palette,” Cloud grinned.

He was dying with curiosity to see what the Valentine family home was like, but apparently the airfield wasn’t close to it, so he had to stay curious, for now. 

Waiting outside one of the multiple aircraft hangars, was a sleek, hyper-modern private jet, along with another small army of men and women, in black combat gear, carrying various automatic weapons. 

There were a few people standing close the plane, who all wore black suits and gloves, and weren’t openly carrying weapons. Cloud spotted the bulges of concealed holsters, though, and knew the hard, cold eyes of professional killers, when he saw them. He surmised that these must be the Valentine Syndicate’s elite enforcers, similar to the Turks. 

Speaking of the Turks, he had to admit, it felt a bit strange, being surrounded by all this Valentine power, considering his connection to Rufus Shinra. Also Tseng’s offer to send help, if he got into trouble, in Wutai. As for Sephiroth, Cloud wasn’t obligated to inform him of his whereabouts and wouldn’t know how to get a hold of him, anyway. 

The uniformed people all saluted, as Vincent and Cloud emerged from the vehicle, and the suited ones came forward to bow and give respectful greetings.

Cloud couldn’t help but stare at Vincent, standing tall and monolithic, with his long, black coat and hair blowing in the wind, and all these heavily-armed people, treating him with reverence due more to the king of a nation, than the son of their boss.

He was just thinking that everyone here looked Wutaian, when a blonde, white man, with ruddy skin and bright-blue eyes popped out from behind the plane’s landing gear, rubbing his hands with a shop rag.

He was wearing a rather eccentric pilot’s outfit, complete with scarf and goggles on his forehead, like an aviator in an old cartoon. He also had a cigarette sticking out of his mouth, which he did not remove, to speak.

“She’s all ready to go, Vinnie,” he announced, using a very casual manner of address, which stood in stark contrast to the strictly formal way Vincent was being treated by all the others present. “Hey, that your fella?”

“Cid, this is Cloud Strife,” Vincent replied tranquilly. “Cloud, this is Cid Highwind, my friend and personal pilot.”

“Cid Highwind,” Cloud repeated, as the blonde man shook his hand affably. “As in, Shinra’s famous ace pilot, Cid Highwind?”

“Tch, not anymore, I ain’t,” Cid sneered, puffing out a plume of cigarette smoke. “Shinra fucked me over one too many times, so I work for Vinnie, now.”

“But, I’m not a Valentine,” Cloud pointed out. “I even have friends at Shinra. Aren’t you worried that I’ll tell them where you are?”

Cid laughed heartily. “Trust me, kiddo, they know. Ain’t a damn thing they can do about it, is all. Anyhow, it was nice to meet ya. I’m gonna get strapped in and do a final instruments check. Whenever y’all are ready, we can get goin’.”

“He defected from Shinra, and you trust him to be your personal pilot?” Cloud asked Vincent, in an undertone, as the blonde man walked away. 

“I trust Cid with my life,” Vincent replied gravely. 

He didn’t offer any further explanation, so Cloud let the matter drop. It was none of his business, anyway. 

Overall, Cloud found air travel on the jet quite a bit less jarring than his helicopter rides. The takeoff was smooth and gradual, and once they’d reached cruising altitude, and the pressure was no longer making his ears pop and his stomach do flips, it was pretty comfortable. 

Turns out, he was unprepared for just how long a journey of several thousand miles was. He had wanted to see the ocean, but it was dark by the time they were flying over it, so all he could see was a vast and eerie expanse of blackness, far below. He shuddered and pulled the window shade down. 

Partway across that unsettling void, the plane suddenly jolted and shook, like it had been struck by a missile. At the same time, lighting flashed outside the windows, and thunder boomed. 

Gripping the arms of his seat in terror, Cloud looked at Vincent. Incredibly, the man was reclined in his seat, apparently asleep, with his sunglasses still on, despite the low lighting inside the jet. 

Cloud grabbed his hand, just as the plane rocked again. “Vincent! Vincent, something’s wrong!”

When he lifted his head and saw Cloud’s stricken face, he only smiled softly. “Turbulence, little devil.”

“What? What’s that?” Cloud panted, not letting go of him. 

“Cool air descending interacts with warm air rising, creating pockets of irregular currents. It’s perfectly normal.”

“But that didn’t feel normal, it felt like—ah!” Cloud yelped, clinging to Vincent as the plane bucked and reared, like an out-of-control chocobo. 

“It will be alright,” Vincent reassured him. “Come here. I’ll hold you, till it’s over.”

Cloud fumbled to undo his seatbelt, which he still had on, despite Cid’s announcement that they could take them off, and crawled into Vincent’s lap, burying his face in the crook of his neck. 

Normally, he would be extremely embarrassed to show Vincent such childish behavior (out of character), but he was too freaked out to care, at the moment. 

The lighting flashed and the thunder rumbled, and the small jet rocked and shuddered, tossed about by forces of nature, far beyond human control.

Strangely, however, Cloud’s fear quickly faded, and a deep sense of calm settled on him, as if arms like the bones of the earth, stronger than any storm, held him securely, in their embrace. 

He woke, to Vincent gently shaking him. “Wake up, little devil. We’ve arrived.”

“S—sorry. When did I fall asleep?” Cloud asked blearily, as he clambered out of Vincent’s lap. “There was that storm and then…I don’t remember what happened after.”

“You fell asleep during the storm,” Vincent said, with a trace of an amused smile. “I was quite surprised, considering how frightened you were, by the turbulence.”

“I was, but I didn’t feel scared, anymore, when you were holding me. I guess I drifted off, without realizing it,” Cloud yawned, while he stretched his arms, blithely unaware of the effect this offhanded remark had on his host. 

The sun had already set, in Wutai, and it was still cloudy and raining, but the atmosphere was thicker and more humid than in Midgar. Awaiting them on the tarmac, were yet another army of Valentine people—some in suits and some in traditional Wutaian clothing, but all in black. 

They made low bows, as Vincent came down the stairs, and two ran up with large, black umbrellas, which they held over Vincent and Cloud’s heads like a canopy, despite the fact that it was only lightly sprinkling. For some reason, Cloud was reminded of the scene in Junon, when he’d seen Rufus on television, addressing that crowd.

The vehicle they were shown to was a glossy, black and chrome Rolls-Royce, built in a flashy, retro style, and even outfitted with a gasoline engine. To Cloud’s surprise, Cid followed them to the car, and climbed right into the driver’s seat. Huh. Guess he was his pilot and driver.

There was another convoy, only this time, their car was escorted by much more imposing armored personnel carriers, which were far too big and brazenly militaristic in appearance, to be used on the streets of Midgar.

People in Wutai must be more used to seeing these kinds of vehicles. Either that, or there was no here one with the power to object to the Valentines using them. Cloud decided that was more likely the case, considering the way people on the streets stopped and stared. 

This was the capital city of Wutai. It was bustling with life, and looked prosperous and clean. It struck Cloud as a bit small and old-fashioned, compared to Midgar’s titanic upper city, but it was a large, modern city, nonetheless. There were a lot of gasoline-powered cars on the roads, however, which was novel to him.

“They don’t use mako-powered vehicles, here?” he asked Vincent.

Vincent shook his head. “Because of Shinra’s monopoly on mako technology, and the tension between the nations, most of Wutai is still dependent upon fossil fuels and nuclear power. There is some movement toward cleaner, more renewable energy sources, but it is a slow process.”

The city held Cloud's interest, but once they left its bounds, he was too groggy to pay much attention to the tree-covered landscape, and wound up falling asleep on Vincent, again.

About an hour’s drive out of town, the large and sumptuous Valentine ryokan was perched high up on a lush, green mountain, surrounded by vast miles of other lush, green mountains. 

Behind the stately walls, it was a modern update of a traditional manor complex, surrounded by tranquil, well-ordered gardens, complete with little footbridges over babbling streams, ponds full of fat, jewel-toned koi, and fountains with bamboo sozu, which made that pleasant knocking sound, as they filled with water and tipped over, to tap on the rocks. 

At the main entrance, they were greeted by what appeared to be the entire staff of the ryokan, who had turned out in their neat, black and white kimonos, to pay respects to Vincent. 

Cid took the car away, after they got out, and the armored vehicles hadn’t followed them up the gravel drive, so it was just Cloud and Vincent, at the moment. As a result, Cloud stood by, smiling and bowing and feeling awkward, as Vincent accepted greetings and spoke to people in Wutaian.

Chief among the staff, judging by her position in the group, and the richness of her clothing, was a middle-aged lady, with her greying hair in a neat bun. She was apparently related to Vincent in some way, that was vaguely explained to Cloud as a cousin on his mother’s side. 

She greeted Cloud with effusive warmth and even told him to call her auntie, before speaking to Vincent, in Wutaian. Cloud understood quite a bit of the language, but couldn’t follow the low, rapid tones the two spoke in. She seemed to be urging Vincent regarding something, and he appeared to be refusing. 

Twice, though, Cloud thought he heard the woman refer to Vincent as ‘oji-sama’. He decided he must’ve misheard, or maybe he didn’t understand this dialect that well, because that would be an excessively polite way to address one’s uncle, let alone a younger cousin. 

“I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse me, for a little while,” Vincent said, at last, turning to Cloud. “The staff will take good care of you. Make yourself at home, and be sure to tell them, if there is anything you need. I will return, once I have seen to this matter.”

“Is anything wrong?” 

“Nothing you need trouble yourself about. Only a bit of unavoidable family business.”

“Alright. See you later, then,” Cloud said cheerfully, not wanting to make things difficult for Vincent. 

Vincent walked away with the older woman and a cadre of attendants, and Cloud followed the young ladies, who were smiling and beckoning to him. 

The first thing he discovered, was that he had been given his own room, rather than sharing with Vincent, but he consoled himself with the fact that it was right across the hall from Vincent’s. Also, he’d have his own space, if he needed it, which was always nice.

The attendants explained all the features of the room, as well as the many amenities of the ryokan, and highly recommended the on-site restaurant, with its five-star chef, before they finally went away. 

Honestly, the room was pretty spectacular. It was actually a suite of rooms, decorated in the traditional Wutaian style, with tatami mat floors, and sliding, paper-paneled doors. 

The large main room had a low, lacquered tea table, with luxurious cushions for seating, as well as a modern sofa and coffee table. The second room was a simple but tasteful bedroom, with a huge, soft futon. In both rooms, the sliding doors opened on the cypress-wood deck and serene little private garden. 

Cloud’s personal hot-spring bath was carved right into a big boulder, and was fed by a fountain, pouring down a stack of smaller boulders, on one side. The blue-green water was steaming invitingly and smelled strongly of dissolved minerals. He was tempted to take a soak right now, but he wanted to do that with Vincent, so he decided to wait. 

Instead, he showered in the Wutaian-style bathroom, with a shower nozzle one removed from the wall, and a little bamboo stool to sit on, right in the middle of the fully tiled room. After he’d brushed his teeth, he dressed himself the navy-blue yukata and wooden geta they’d prepared for him, stuck his phone and room key in his pocket, and set out to explore.

To his surprise, there were two guards posted outside his room, and another two outside Vincent’s. He wondered if it was awkward just standing there, staring at each other across the hall, all day. The ones at Vincent’s door bowed and said ‘Strife-sama’, as he approached, and apologetically explained that the master had not yet returned.   

“That’s alright, thank you,” he said. “If he comes back, please tell him I went to have a look around.”

Cloud wandered about, for a while, looking at traditional brush paintings and beautifully shaped bonsai trees, but his stomach was starting to growl. Having no desire to sit in his room and eat, he decided to go see about that much-lauded restaurant.

The serene, candlelit dining area was deserted, from what he could see, and he was informed by the obsequious host, that he should sit anywhere he pleased, or if he'd rather sit at the bar, it was right over there.

From around the corner, Cloud heard a hearty, deep-throated laugh. He went and peered in the doorway, and sure enough, Cid Highwind was seated at the bar, in conversation with the bartender. 

“Howdy, kiddo,” Cid greeted, as he spotted Cloud. “Care to wet your whistle? My man Kashiwagi here makes the best damn cocktails in Wutai.”

“Sure, thanks,” Cloud said, coming to take the stool beside Cid’s. “What do you recommend?”

Cid rubbed his chin. “Hm. You’re a little fella, but I reckon you can hold your liquor. Brown or clear?”

“Anything but gin. Upsets my stomach.”

“Gotcha.” Cid turned and spoke to the bartender in Wutaian. 

The bartender, a handsome, older gentleman, with dark grey hair and spectacles, nodded and went to work making the drink. 

“You probably hear this a lot, but I seen a coupla your shows,” Cid said to Cloud. “You’re damn talented. You come from a circus family, or somethin’?”

Cloud actually laughed, which was rare for him, on a first meeting with someone new. “A circus family? Is that even really a thing?”

“Never know,” Cid grinned. 

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t come from a circus family. I came from Nibelheim. My mom’s just a seamstress.”

Cid looked surprised. “Nibelheim, huh? I come from thereabouts myself. You musta worked hard, to learn all that acrobat stuff, way the hell out there.”

“Yeah, pretty hard. But I love it, so it was worth it.” 

The bartended set a drink before Cloud. It was golden-orange colored and served in a coupe glass, with a candied citrus peel garnish.

“What is it?”

“Yuzu martini,” Cid said. “How d’ya like it?”

“It’s really good,” Cloud smiled, after he took a sip. “Thank you, Kashiwagi-san.” 

The bartender replied with a polite half-bow, and went away to dry some glasses, or something. 

“So, how did you go from Shinra to the Valentines, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Cid made a sour face. “Fuckin’ Shinra. I dunno about the kid, but the old man was a real son of a bitch. I was headin’ up the all-new aerospace program. My rocket, my flight, leavin’ the Planet’s surface for the first time. Woulda went down in history. Last minute—and I mean last fuckin’ minute—old man pulled the plug on the whole thing. Said manned space exploration wasn’t lucrative. Wanted me to switch the focus to drone-piloted rockets. And he wanted me to put weapons systems in ‘em.”

“He wanted you to do it?” Cloud asked, bewildered. “But you’re a pilot.”

“Well, it ain’t brain surgery, it’s just rocket science,” Cid quipped, chuckling at his own joke. “Most folks only heard of me as a pilot, but I’m an aerospace engineer, too. I designed most of Shinra’s aircraft.”

Cloud nearly choked on his drink. “You’re a fucking rocket scientist? What the hell are you doing chauffeuring Vincent around, then? No offense.”

“None taken. Like I said, Vinnie’s my friend. I don’t trust anyone else to fly him, so I do it. He funds my R&D, in return. Works out pretty good for me. I got a better workshop with the Valentines than I had with Shinra, and I still get to fly.”

“That’s impressive. But how did he get his father on board with funding an aerospace R&D department for the family?”

“His father?” Cid squinted. 

“Vincent’s father, Grimoire Valentine. He’s the head of the family. Right?”

“I dunno how outta date your info is, but Vinnie’s the head of the family.”

Cloud felt like he’d been struck by lightning. “He’s…he’s what?”

“Vinnie’s the patriarch, don, capo, big boss, whatever you wanna call it,” Cid explained blithely. “I never met his daddy. Reckon he’s been dead and gone, a long time.”

“But, Vincent’s so young. How could he be the patriarch?”

Cid snorted, over the rim of his highball glass. “So young. That’s a good one. You’re pretty funny.”

Cloud was still reeling, and didn’t really process that comment. “I suddenly feel like I’m being kept in the dark about a lot of things.” 

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Cid shrugged. “Vinnie don’t talk about himself much, but he ain’t secretive. Y’ever try askin’ him?”

“Well, no. Not really,” Cloud admitted. “It’s not that I’m not curious, but I’m just a whore. It’s not really my place to pester a man like him for personal details.”

“Wow, kiddo. What’s it like livin’ in that head of yours?”

“What do you mean?”

“You really think ‘just a whore’ gets invited to ride on the boss’s private jet, to the family vacation house, overseas?”

“I thought…this was one of the Valentine operated hotels.”

“It is. But this one’s only for Valentines. No guests outside the family allowed.”

“What about you?”

“I’m sworn in. So’s everyone who works here.”

Cid unbuttoned his collar and pulled his shirt to the side, to reveal a strange circle of arcane symbols, tattooed in scarlet ink, on the left side of his chest. It was small—only about the size of a baby’s palm—but it looked extremely ornate and detailed.

“What’s that?” Cloud asked, peering at it curiously.

“Mark of the blood pact,” Cid answered, as if that were a perfectly normal thing to say. “Makes me a Valentine, far as the family is concerned.”

“Do they all have one of those?”

“Anyone who’s taken the oath.”

Cloud’s face lost a shade of color. “They won’t make me take the oath, will they? Since I’m here?”

Cid scratched his head. “Uh. If Vinnie didn’t say nothin’ beforehand, I don’t think he’d spring it on ya. Seems like you’re an exception to a lotta rules, anyhow.”

“I am?”

At that moment, they were interrupted by a politely cleared throat. They turned to see one of the female attendants from earlier, bowing and smiling. 

“What’s up, Ai-chan?” Cid asked. 

“Pardon me, gentlemen,” the young woman said demurely. “Valentine-sama hopes Strife-sama is enjoying his time, in our humble hotel, and that he finds the accommodations satisfactory. Strife-sama is welcome to visit him in his suite, should he desire advice on the most enjoyable leisure activities.”

“Um. Thank you,” Cloud said awkwardly. After the young lady glided away, he frowned. “Advice on leisure activities? What’s that about?”

Cid burst out laughing and patted his back. “The boss is tellin’ ya he’s in his room and he wants you to come see him.”

“Oh, right,” Cloud said, with a sheepish smile, remembering that directness was considered rude in Wutaian culture. “I better go, then. It was nice talking with you, Cid. I hope we get a chance to hang out again, soon.”

“Likewise. See ya later, kiddo.”

Cloud hurried back to their hallway and went to Vincent’s room, where the guards bowed and opened the door for him. He felt a little weird about all this bowing, but everything about this trip had been weird, so whatever. He was entirely, absolutely, and in all other ways unprepared for the state in which he found Vincent.

The man was reclining in a low-framed easy chair, near the open back doors of his main room, which also looked out on a private garden, only much larger and more spectacular than Cloud’s. His gorgeous hair hung loose about his shoulders, and he was dressed in a long, black and crimson Daoist robe, which somehow managed to look extremely comfortable, and evoke ancient royalty. 

His sunglasses were finally off, but he kept his eyes closed, when Cloud entered, only smiling softly. “Little devil. You have come.”

“You…you look so…holy shit,” Cloud said, swallowing hard. “You should dress like this all the time. No, wait—strike that. Never dress like this, except when you’re with me.”

Vincent held an arm out, indicating Cloud should come sit in his lap. “I am glad you are in good spirits. I apologize for being a poor host.”

“It’s no problem. I ran into Cid at the bar, and we chatted for a bit. I like him.” Cloud glanced around, as he came over to sit. The room was lit only by a couple of lanterns. He couldn’t imagine such soft lighting could bother Vincent so much. “Are your eyes still hurting?”

Vincent hesitated for a beat, then he opened his eyes and slowly raised his black lashes, to look Cloud in the face. 

It was only Cloud’s years of hard-won experience playing an array of roles to perfection, in various dangerous situations, that saved him from reacting like he’d been hit with a stun baton. 

He was well aware of Vincent’s heterochromia, which meant one of his crimson irises had a ring of gold color around the pupil. He liked the vampiric look it gave the man, and never thought anything of it.

The difference, right now, was that the ring had grown to nearly encompass the entire left iris, and was actually emitting a faint, golden light.  

Heretofore, Cloud had only seen Sephiroth’s eyes glow, and that was under the influence of his heavy mako abuse. Fortunately, that also meant the idea of a person’s eyes glowing was already something that existed within his realm of accepted possibilities, so he wasn’t all that psychologically shaken by it. 

Honestly, it was more stunning, than anything. It actually made Vincent look even more rakishly beautiful. Like some kind of heavenly demon, from a xianxia novel. Especially with the dark-sexy Hanfu robe.

Mistaking his reaction, Vincent smiled ruefully, lowering his eyes again. “I apologize for appearing before you, in this condition. I’ve no wish to frighten or disgust you.”

“Disgust me?” Cloud said, taken aback. “What are you talking about?”

“I normally wait until the mark of the demon has left my body, before I visit you. But the signs have lingered, this time, far longer than usual. I’m afraid I’ve been selfish, and prioritized my own desire to see you, above your comfort.” 

“The mark…of the demon,” Cloud repeated. “What does that mean? Is it something to do with that sacrament thing? Did something happen?”

“It is related,” Vincent answered evasively. “But this is not unusual, for me, so you needn’t worry. Though, I must admit, I do find your concern for me a bit gratifying.”

“But I don’t understand why you think this would scare me or disgust me. I play a bratty kid for you, because you like it. Do you think I’m really that closed-minded?”

“Of course not. It is only my own internal turmoil that makes me reluctant to show you this part of myself.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Cloud ventured, remembering Cid’s advice.

“It is a painful and humiliating experience. Not something with which I should trouble you.”

“If it’s painful and humiliating, why do you do it?” 

“It is my duty, little devil,” Vincent said quietly. “The blood oath binds me as firmly as physical chains.”

Cloud balked. To him, this was the equivalent of someone claiming to be bound by an oath to Odin or Minerva. It was just something people said. It wasn’t real. “Isn’t that stuff all make-believe, though? I’ve heard what people say about the Valentines serving a demon, but it’s just some old religious tradition, right?”

Vincent regarded him from beneath his long eyelashes. “Would it ease your mind, if I were to say it is make-believe?”

“Would it be true?”

Vincent remained silent.

“If it’s not true, then no. It wouldn’t make me feel better. I don’t like being told comforting lies.”

“Very well. Here is the uncomfortable truth, then. My family bloodline, in perpetuity, is bound by oath to a demon-god. Long ago, our forbears agreed that in exchange for certain power, we would carry its curse, in our blood. Those who take the oath nowadays, do so of their own free will, but for my direct line. I became bound by the oath, simply by being born my father’s son. Now, the duty of bearing the curse has fallen upon me. That is the truth.”

Vincent watched Cloud, as he processed this information. Far from pity, or fear, or disbelief, or any of the reactions he expected, he found the brilliant blue eyes glittering with righteous indignation.

“I know it’s not my place to say this, but you deserve better. You shouldn’t be forced to sacrifice yourself, no matter how much power your family gets. If they really cared about you, they wouldn’t ask you to.”

Vincent smiled and stroked his smooth cheek. “Your straightforward way of thinking is certainly appealing. I only wish it were so simple.”

“Hey, wait. Are you calling me stupid?”

“Moral directness is not the same as stupidity. But in this case, where one needs a fine blade to dissect the complexities, it is too blunt a tool.”

With the things Cid said earlier weighing on his mind, on top of all of this, the question that had been welling up inside Cloud, finally blurted itself out. “Is immortality part of the curse? Is that why you look young and act old, like a vampire? Which is exactly what you seem like?” 

“You think I seem like a vampire?” Vincent asked, sounding amused.

“Um. Yes?” 

“But I don’t drink blood.”

“You’re right,” Cloud said drily. “You only look, act, talk, dress, and have taste in décor exactly like a vampire. Otherwise, you’re nothing like one.” 

“I suppose I would take umbrage to that, only I’ve long known that the commonly accepted vampiric aesthetic was borrowed from my family.”

Cloud blinked. “You’re…joking.”

“Not at all. Some centuries ago, one of my forbears had befriended an intrepid author, who then wrote of our family in caricature, for his vampire novel. Thus the Valentine peculiarities were canonized in popular fiction, making those traits appear vampiric, to the general public.”

“Wow. You’re actually sitting here claiming that vampires are copying you. Just wow. I thought you were a dramatic edgelord before, but now I see that I’ve just been a frog in a well.”

“Now that you have seen the size of the sky, are you pleased with what you have learned?”

“No,” Cloud said, crossing his arms.

“What troubles you?”

“I’m fucking pissed off about your family curse, Vincent. That’s what troubles me. They’re using you to keep their hands on their power and wealth, and you’re suffering for it. That sucks.”

Vincent sighed. “You misunderstand. No one is using me. The oath goes well beyond acquiring power and wealth. It is a guardianship. A burden of responsibility, to keep the other powers in this world in check, and maintain balance, between them. Power and wealth are necessary evils, to accomplish our tasks.” 

“So, what…you’re telling me that the Valentine crime syndicate are secret guardians of the Planet?” 

“It is not a secret, it is only that no one believes in us, anymore. The world has changed. We have not. On the outside, we appear to be a criminal organization, because we respect no authority above our own, and obey no law that conflicts with our ordained duties. We do control some aspects of society, in order to keep others in check, but our goals are neither acquisitive nor destructive.”

“When you say others, you mean Shinra, right? Cause, no offense, but they seem pretty out of control, to me.”

“They are pushing the limits, of what we will tolerate,” Vincent admitted. “But they’ve yet to cross the line into upsetting the balance of the world. When they do, we will step in.”

“What about the Remnants?”

“They are…more difficult to deal with,” Vincent frowned. “Their intentions are still unclear to us.”

“Sephiroth’s up to something,” Cloud said abruptly, before he could talk himself out of it. “Normally, I’d never betray a client’s confidentiality, but I trust you. Also, if he’s planning something bad, you might be the only one who can do anything about it.”

“We have been keeping tabs on him, as well as we can. He hasn’t appeared to make any suspicious moves, since he has been back in Midgar. What do you think he is planning?”

“I don’t know. He’s usually wasted and talking nonsense. But the last time I saw him, he was sober. He wants me to look for a woman, for him. He said she’s somewhere in Shinra Tower.”

“Who is she?”

“He didn’t say. He just had a picture. He also said the time hadn’t come for him to move openly against Shinra.”

“Hm. That does sound ominous.” Vincent thought for a moment. “Thank you for alerting me. I will look into it. I’ll not ask you to compromise your safety by defying him, but please be careful, little devil. Shinra is a dragon’s den. I would not have you devoured.”

“Vincent, are you the head of the Valentine family?”

“Ah. Cid seems to have been quite forthcoming, with you,” Vincent observed, arching a black brow. 

“Oh, no no, he didn’t say much of anything, really,” Cloud said hastily. “He just, um…mentioned it casually.”

“It is not well known outside the family, because I conduct business in my father’s name, for various reasons, but yes. I have been the head of the family, for many years.”

“How many?” Cloud asked gingerly. 

“Since my father died, in 1977.”

“B—but…weren’t you a little baby, back then? How can a little baby be the head of the family?”

Vincent smiled again. “I was twenty-seven.”

“But that would make you…how can that—”

“You have already hit near the truth, yourself. My body stopped aging at twenty-seven, due to the curse. Chronologically, I am fifty-six years old.”

“Holy shit,” Cloud muttered. “No wonder Cid laughed at me when I said you were young.”

Vincent’s eyes narrowed. “He has been chatty, this evening, indeed. I wonder what else he told you.”

“Nothing about you, really! He mostly told me about why he left Shinra.”

“Did he show you his oath mark?”

Cloud choked. “H—how did you know?”

“He only reveals that mark to those he considers to belong to the family. I suppose that means you’ve gained his approval. And in such a short time, too.”

“Uh, ha ha…about belonging to the family. I’m not sure how to ask this, but…”

Vincent tousled his hair affectionately. “No one will be expecting you to take the oath, little devil. In fact, I forbid it. I’ll not have you bound to us by shackles, which you may one day wish to throw off.”

Cloud let out a sigh, unable to conceal his relief. “Thank the goddess, cause—oops, shit. I mean…thank the demon? Is that right? I don’t want to offend you.” 

“I can imagine no scenario in which you could offend me. But I’ve one more question, before we change topics. Knowing what you know, now, would you prefer not to see me as a client, anymore? If so, I would be disappointed, because I like you very much, but you have my word that it would have no bearing on your career, nor my solicitude for your wellbeing. I only want you to do what makes you happy.” 

“Are you kidding?” Cloud scoffed. “You’re about a hundred times sexier, now that I know you’re an actual old man. Also, I don’t want you to wait till the mark goes away, before you see me, anymore. That glowing eye is hot as fuck, whether you want to admit it or not.”

Vincent only smiled faintly, in reply, but his entire aura seemed to relax and soften. Cloud hadn’t ever seen him look this at ease, in fact. And maybe it was the sexy-ass robe, or the ryokan setting and golden lantern light, but Vincent was actually beginning to pull ahead of Sephiroth, for the best looking man Cloud had ever seen. 

Vincent drew him in for a kiss, and then chuckled when he pulled away, and Cloud pouted. “You’ve not eaten all day, little devil. Supper, before other things.”

“But I’m not even hungry,” Cloud lied.

“No arguments. I insist you replenish yourself.” Vincent leaned close and spoke low in his ear. “You will need it. I intend to work you hard, tonight.”

Lightning flashed and wind whipped torrents of rain against the floor to ceiling windows, of the cavernous presidential office, atop Shinra Tower. It was a grand scene for a villain, with the vast space mostly dark, but for the flashes of lightning, and a floating, holographic map screen, which bathed the faces of two men, in poisonous green light.

One of these men was in a white suit, seated at the desk, his shoulders taut and his brow furrowed, as if wavering in indecision, and the other stood behind him, in a black suit, hands clasped serenely behind his back.

“You’re absolutely certain that he’s with Vincent Valentine,” the man in white said.

“Yes, sir. Our intel has confirmed it,” the man in black answered.

“And the long range ICBMs can strike the target accurately, without visual verification?”

“Within a zero-point-seven percent margin of error, sir. The new targeting systems use satellite triangulation. They are extremely precise.”

The first man steepled his fingers and gazed even more intensely at a little flashing dot, on the map screen. Minutes inched by like continental drift.

Finally, he shook his head. “I have a doubt.” 

“Shall I call them off, sir?”

“Mn, do it.”

The man in black put his phone to his ear. “Stand down. Repeat, stand down.”

“Standing down,” a voice answered, from the phone's speaker. “Launch aborted. Weapons cold.”

There was a long silence, broken only by the rolling thunder and beating of rain on the windows.

“It’s not because I care about him,” the man seated at the desk said, apropos of nothing.

“Of course, sir,” said the man standing behind him.

“This just isn’t the right time, to make such a big move against the Valentines.”

“Understood, sir.”

As he said so, the man in black leaned over the other’s shoulder and tapped a keypad on his desk, causing the holographic map to flicker and wink out. 

The man in white gave a sigh that sounded half relieved and half exhausted, and slumped forward on his elbows. “When will he be back?”

“One week from today.”

“Book a session for then. My neck is…starting to act up.”

Unseen by him, the man in black smiled. “Yes, sir.”

THE AUTHOR HAS SOMETHING TO SAY

if Square put Vincent in Wei Wuxian's outfit from MDZS i think my soul would actually leave my body 🫠

this outfit

[sukirichi]

atp apart from the hurt I still feel with y/n x rin moments and the absolute need to give a tight ass hug to Princess even tho she’s supposed to be me, I AM LITERALLY on the floor rn after reading omi’s moments LIKE WHERE DO I FIND A MAN LIKE HIM?/?/?:?;€{£|£ like idk about the plot I am just happy with my omi moments now 😭 also ong we gonna trauma dump ir*s’ past FINALLYYEYDYHSHDHDHD

the plot is thickening and I am so here for it even tho I cannot analyse it. I have one question though. considering that they are gonna announce the pregnancy soon, how are they going to manage it? in the sense that is rin going to take care of the baby + act as the father figure behind the doors? because if they are going to hide the truth, due to their close contacts (between both the married couple) I imagine it’s going to be very messy. just curious.

thank you again for such a bombshell of a chapter 💌

- Freud anon

love how we’re all going feral over omi finally taking the lead like sir 😩 you’re too fine, come over here and let me love you 😩 and yes!! actually not everything is revealed yet in iris’ past buttt there are some parts that she will expose herself 😭

OOOH ooh so actually the plan was. the queen wanted kiyoomi and iris to announce the pregnancy (bcos so far only ushijima has a kid and the people are wondering why the others have been married for years and NONE have kids??) but YN didn’t want kiyoomi being involved in that, which is why she called kuroo to drop the article so it would lead to iris being hated on + this scandal would prevent them from announcing it! it was written on the last part how we didn’t want kiyoomi to be involved with iris anymore so calling kuroo it was 🤧 i think rin would be very involved tho! especially now that he knows about his origin, so he’s very sensitive about children in general and would want to be a good dad :( so yeah he’d take care of iris and the baby behind close doors IF they were forced to keep it, but iris and rin both want to have an abortion

[gazingatmydoom]

just finished book III of Babel by R.F.Kuang and i am. losing my fucking mind. i'm insane. what the fuck just happened. i mean, with the bar that lovell gave robin??? passed through the whole family from son to father to son to KILL THE FATHER???? "And rage derived from madness." WHAT. HUH. robin not asking but DEMANDING lovell say his mother's name AND COMMISSIONER LIN BURNING THE OPIUM. TWO MILLION POUNDS. wait i need to take into account inflation one sec A HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TWO MILLION POUNDS WORTH OF OPIUM. AND HE BURNED IT. robin was . oh my god. what a fucking. i can't believe it. i put down the book just before they arrived in canton like a week ago and i pick it up to THIS?? WHAT THE FUCK. i've augh. holy shit!!!!! back to that fucking conversation lovell and robin had in the cabin holy fuck. holy shit. words were sure said. fucking rolling my eyes when lovell brings up ungratefulness AGAIN like BROOOO THE POINTS BEEN MADE!!! BROOOO WASN'T EVEN A VALID POINT THE FIRST TIME U SAID IT!!!! GET REAL BE FR. i loved robin's internal monolouge too talking about he wasn't just a walking dictionary and how china wasn't just a fat golden goose cos like that's EXACTLY how lovell and baylis and babel and BRITIAN view them both!!!! OH MY GOD WHAT'S ANTOHNY GONNA THINK WHEN THEY GET BACK. AND GRIFFIN. FUCK what are they even gonna do... what are the gang gonna do where are they gonna go surely they can't go back to babel now lovell is DEAD they're gonna have to like. can they fake their deaths like antohny and griffin did? all four of them???? i thin ramy and victorie would do that, and robin might with some encouraging but honestly after that interaction INTERACTION yeag let's call it an "interaction" with lovell like bro oh my god he might just go fucking shove playfair and the rest of them off babel's rooftops at this point. but letty? i don;t know..... i don't think she would. she's. i mean she's the only one to not join hermes so far, how did ramy and victorie join? i presume like antohny contacted them somehow. it must've been. like so far letty's been pretty like. not not bothered i don't think but she hasn't been. idk. i feel the most aware of what britain does. or like IDK. i've been reading this book over the course of too long i can't recall specific character moments on the topic of britian's colonization althought there was that one lunchtime i think they talked about it briefly and YEAG it was the one where robin considered briefly telling ramy about hermes but held back on it cos he wanted to preserve what they had at the time speaking oframy CAN U BELIEVE HE WAS SO CHILL IN THAT CHAPTER???? bro was standing on a bridge after his birdie smokes OPIUM about to LEAP OFF and he's all like "yeah....lol.....crazy stuff bestie...." LIKE RAMY. I KNOW UR MAD AT ROBIN FOR NOT SAYING ANYTHING ABOTU HERMES BUT PLEASE. like idk tho maybe it was an act maybe he was freaking the fuck out cos robin was clearly Not Good so maybe ramy was like ok gotta remain calm gotta talk birdie out of this one gotta get him down gotta get him some WATER. i was headass reading this over some cereal btw. like i was just chilling on the sofa having some breakfast like hrm i wonder what's gonna happen in canton cos ofc it's where robin is from like i didn't KNOW it was all about the opium trade. and when baylis i think that was where shit like. started. slowly it was building up when baylis started being a raving white british racist about chinese people ohh my god when lovell was all like "country full of stupid backwards barbarous people-" and robin SNAPS doesn't interrupt or say he SNAPS at lovell "it's a country of people" that man had had enough!!! he was mad!! like god it was painful sitting through baylis tho bro i had had enough i was sitting there like jesus fuck this is a nightmare i mean u finally go home and it looks different and the layout is different and ur home is replaced by an opium shop!!!! of all things and u spend the entire time being dragged around by racist men who think ur no better than a dictionary i mean goddamn!!

tumblr telling me there's a 4096 character limit per block ok u FUCKING NERD CAN'T LET ME LIVE OR SOMETHING HUH CAN'T LET ME RANT CAN'T LET ME BE CAN'T LET ME TYPE bitch ass fuckass motherfucker well now i've lost my train of thought. humph. but holy fuck. the train of thought is gone but the AFTERMATH of the train is there the rails are still hot the sound echoes in the station my thoughts are still there they're just scattered and i cannot fucking believe the shit i justread. that was insane. i think it speaks to me that like. i mean i've only read two books in the past like year and a half (it's a habit i've lost and i'm TRYING to bring it back i miss reading so bad) and babel was one or is one ig i'm still reading it and the other was hang on lemme check bitterthorn which i thought was really good tbh and like both bitterthorn and babel have had me GLUED have had me ENRAPTURED they've SHAKEN ME like idk i think. reading perhaps is an activity i need to do more. maybe it's the imagination. maybe it's the descriptors. cos when u watch a movie or a show or u play a game everything is spoon fed to u u can see and hear it all there's no space for interpretation when it comes to tone of voice or setting or lighting or character positions or actions it's all shown to u but like i mean maybe it was just the scene with robin and lovell in the cabin and the part where victorie sees the burning of the opium by lin but like i feel like i could direct those scenes. i feel like i could paint the fires above canton. i feel like i could write poems about it. the image was so visceral in my head it's so REAL like i can imagine exactly how robin looked snapping at lovell i can hear lovell's chair being pushed back across the wooden floor of the cabin i can feel the atmosphere in the room where the four of them huddled together before lovell called away robin OH MY GOD speaking of like that american missionary was so funny. like what a bitch but also what a funny fucking idiot. like "ooh do u guys go to sunday church?" and ramy's like "yeag but i'm whispering prayers to Allah the entire time" like RAMY u MOTHERFUCKER and the missionary is HORRIFIED like he's so sharp with his words that man does not hold back and i love him forever for it and the thing is i wouldn't be surprised if he was doing that too like tbh being forced to go to sunday church when ur like wholeheartedly believeing ina different diety idk is diety the right word for Allah is god a better word idk but either way it must be fucking torturous and then the fucking author's note at the bottom where lovell is telling robin that religion is fuckign stupid and u should just practice recitations under ur breath instead like i love how this white british man in fucking 1830s england has DISDAIN of all things for christianity like can u imagine being that guy in such a christian centric time for england it's actually now just getting to me how little religion is mentioned in the book like we don't hear much about it despite it being like a very prevalent thing at the time i mean i'm gonna say i'm assuming cos i don't know fuck about history besides a couple major points so idk maybe england forsook religion entirely in the 1830s for no reason and it;s only in america but like i seriously doubt it yk. like a really fucking doubt that. i mean ig it speaks to how focused on logic the proffessor is but at the same time he still thinks chinese people are animals??? like we dodge the christianity but the racism we lean into still ofc that man is strange ugh bad idea mopping spilled milk with my shirt and then wiping my nose with it that shit smelled horrible. ok i'm done my thoughts my immediate thoughts are out i'm gonna be thinking aboutt his all fucking week but i'm done for rn i need to take a bath. or something. ig.

[shummashum]

Hiro Tachibana Ch1 [6~11]

Anyway, Liz and Hiro were following behind Zeus, who was very excited due to Klaus' absence.

and Sig is mentioned here come to think of it, what is Sig doing after graduation? I'm kinda curious

oh… that you know, there was a buddy system in the previous seasons which is very very stupid system to somehow keep Liz and her love interest together cough cough

Anyway, they arrived the Headmaster's office.

hello Mr. Rembrandt you're still just roleplaying as an NPC who throws out a bunch of quests

whew just do it yourselves… our S6 comrades are not pawns that you can use as you please… how many times have I been saying this

Anyway, Remb announced that he had one more thing to talk about apart from the BBW case.

what recommend

huh... is another slave officially about to added

oi Hiro are you planning on saying yes? well you'll eventually be involved in all cases regardless of whether you become a Prefect or not because of your loudsy boss, but that's a separate issue from whether you wear a leash yourself

eh the bgm stopped?

uh erm well what can I say, it feels a bit different than rejecting it with a euphemism like "I'll consider that (nah I won't do that shit)" perhaps he doesn't want to take such a leader position? but something feels off

don't force him oh man the atmosphere has become sour again if the first chapter is this stuffy, how will the climax unfold

but well I'm kinda surprised the Hiro I've seen so far has been portrayed as just following Zeus' words even though he's been complaining one after another, but this is the first time he's expressed his opinion so strongly

Well that's how he left.

but this is not a problem that can be solved by forcing him I understand his concern for him, but I think acting that way would be counterproductive…

uh… why tho do you really need to do that why don't you just respect his opinion and leave him alone

uh wait Zeus E_TP Liz definitely ENFP I think Cae is E, I'm not sure about Al but I guess he leans more towards E? so this is E's way of thinking harsh,,,

Anyway they headed down to cafe.

hello you may not be happy with this situation but what can you do since you're stuck in the E group, it's force majeure

what

Well they encouraged him to become a Prefect, citing different charming reasons, but he remained steadfast.

oh no the already low success rate has become even lower

eh… what is there a special reason

Then Hiro ended the conversation by saying that he was going to take a nap.

oh… evasive maneuver

that's a pretty convenient ability honestly I envy it more than dimension rip

well I don't think you need a clear reason for liking or disliking it though

oh... he can't use magic? since when? from birth? or for some reason? then the dimension rip wasn't done with magical power? what then? singularity? but is this a matter that can be revealed without the consent of the person concerned erm,,,

I've always wondered, why is he wearing a sword at the magic academy, and why is he never shown using magic now I get it but why can someone who can't even use magic stay in a magic academy you know, Joel was in danger of being expelled from the academy because he couldn't use magic in his route but him?? eh...

[house-of-mirrors]

Orange for Orsinio, Green for Miles, Purple for Samuel

🟠 Orange- What is a trait your OC hides about themself from others? Do they refuse to acknowledge it or begrudgingly accept it?

Orsinio keeps his real surname a secret. "Elderwood" isn't his name. (I knew nothing about the character when I made the account alfsdkdksfl) This whole place operates on fae rules, and he wants to protect himself. At first he had motivation to use a false name because he's Irish and... didn't want to deal with that in an unfamiliar, hostile London while on a revenge mission. After relaxing and being unapologetic about who he is and where he's from, he still keeps using the pseudonym because he feels like he can never again be the person he was on the surface. Very close friends know his true name, and, well, the devils do too because it was on his infernal contract (he got his soul back tho he's fine now).

But every mystery has to have a conclusion in order to be a good story... and in the next chapter of my longfic, you just may learn something about him :)

🟢 Green- What is considered a weakness in your OC that is actually a strength? What is a strength in your character that can be twisted into a weakness?

Weakness: Miles is far too eager to please which comes off as desperate at best. However, they really have a way with people, knowing exactly how to get to someone's heart, and this is a strength when doing charm-based magic.

Strength: Miles has always been bold and courageous to defy societal expectations. They have a strong personality and commanding presence that often is able to get them what they want, which usually is attention. (They'd hate to be told they get this from their father.) This becomes a weakness when they start to use their personality as armor. When Miles goes down a road that might be harmful because this persona they've adopted is the type to do that, they don't know how to back out or change because this is who they've presented as for so long, and what would it even look like to show their vulnerable center?

🟣 Purple- What is something that your OC could not live without? What keeps them grounded in the worst of times?

Samuel's bar. As long as that man has his bar to go hide in or bring his loved ones into, he's fine. That bar is going with him to the next city and beyond.

[thedivinelights]

That ending of the most recent chapter tho 👀

(Maybe) Spoilers for PPM OoTF: Chapter 9

Yup! The beginning of the end is upon us! I'm not writing that whole thing (smut) out but there won't be any drama regarding it. It's definitely justified considering how absolutely terrible Solomon is as a father, as a husband and as a person in general. And I'm sure that everyone is understanding of their whole situation, perhaps even encouraging it, although Bob's murder trial is something far more important than two old lovers banging.

And they NEED IT AFTER ALL THE SHIT THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH LIKE-

Okay, I'm going to end up on a full on rant about my own headcanons for Ebenezer now so bear with me:

When Past asks Scrooge what a debtors' prison is, he begins to say something but then outright refuses and leaves. That begs the question: Did he actually know what a debtors' prison was? His father was sent to one, sure, but he never was. And I'm sure his father would not have told him of the horrors that occurred there. I bet that when he found out the squalid conditions people endured in those prisons, he was absolutely devastated... and here we have the guilt just pile up and up and up, long after his redemption.

Losing his sister in childbirth, letting his fiancé go because of he was so blind to what he already needed, realising that he was such an asshole to everyone around him and that those he sent to prison for not paying their debts were basically sent to death... including Bob's father. Anyone, including Ebenezer, would have cracked under all of that guilt and despair. It'd make him believe that he wasn't deserving of... anyone's forgiveness, of anyone's love. Especially Isabel's... not after what he did to her. He blames himself for every little thing that goes wrong, even when it isn't his fault. And this is on top of his merinthophobia, his fear of chains and being tied up. And then Isabel just walks up, kisses him, tells him she still loves him and that she forgave him, and that's enough to make our poor old man feel loved again.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk

[scoobydoo-andnancytoo]

Reading Secrets Can Kill but I Share My Every Thought Chapters 5-8

- gym teacher borderline misogynistic ab cheerleading to Carla instead of just calling her irresponsible - Hal Morgan -> Hal Tanaka - Hal ran against daryl for class prez and im wondering if that's bc of Jake - Hal being blackmailed to write essay for Jake, maybe didn't actually copy an essay for this one - Jake has locker 515 - I don't think we know his locker number in the game ? which is a bummer bc that would be a simple fun tie-in - nancy uses a little lock picking kit which would honestly be a more fun puzzle/mini game than JAKE on the phone (esp bc puzzles feel so scarce in the remastered one to me) - Connie's bracelet inside locker so maybe he blackmailed her for it instead - i like Connie and Nancy being friends in the book - daryl sees her and smiles his "porsche driver's grin" whatever the hell that means ???

- daryl talks way too openly about her being a detective, idc if no one else is in the room - nancy ABANDONS investigating the video lab to ask Daryl to go for a coke. this is the biggest difference from the games because nancy wouldn't even stop sleuthing if Ned was deathly ill in those, meanwhile here's a man she just met and revved her engine at (never getting over that) and she's putting her case on the back burner - she literally tells daryl the last thing she wants to do rn is solve mystery. she's got it so bad wtf - Nancy's brakes aren't working as she's going downhill far too fast 😱 and Jake was poking around cars as she and daryl were leaving so Jake might be a lot more dangerous than he was in the game - they almost end up in an intersection until nancy veers them into the shoulder and after she almost kills them both she starts GIGGLING bc her car is due for inspection soon. ok girl. - her brakes were cut 😱 and then her car EXPLODES so....the affinity for explosions is the game seems to be in line w the book - hey maybe now nancy can get her dream Ford gt-e whatever convertible - after they got flung by the force of the explosion he's holding her and nancy is just thinking ab how "fabulous" daryls arms feel around her. GET A GRIP NANCY U ALMOST DIED - she and daryl had been kissing and now she finally, finally remembered Ned exists and feels bad lol - nancy thinks it's Jake and daryl asks what she's gonna do and she says "talk to him about it. first thing tomorrow" and personally if someone cut my BRAKES i would not simply chat with them about it ??? - bess and george are also like "hey maybe tell the cops instead of just talking to the guy who tried to kill you" but nancy is "confident she can handle him" HE CUT UR BRAKES !!!!!!!! what r u talking about nancy - Jake is dead now and i hope nancy will suspect daryl considering he knows she thinks it was him who cut her brakes and might have done it to ~protect~ her - I thought nancy would've been the one to find him when she went to confront him but ig not - Jake got beat up before being pushed down the stairs so im wondering if that'll be daryl but w/o him killing Jake - it seems like no one is pretending to be or acting sad that Jake is dead so ig the game fits the book - I would still pretend tho like??? - daryl does not seem to have found the body - even with all this nancy makes a point to make Carla jealous and kiss daryl's cheek she's soooo into him - nancy breaks in to Jake's locker pt 2, evidence tampering edition: wire cutters!! so he def tried to kill her, - nancy would bet her "$50 designer jeans" that Jake made the video and im stuck on the $50 part like who are we considering designer here??? - she finds an article ab walt (blech) having a football injury and if he couldn't play in the all state Champs he'd lose his scholarship but he "poo-pooed" the injury. you guys. i can't do it w this dialogue that is TERRIBLE - he also had SAT answers in there and I wonder if that's what Hal vs the essay from the game - I wonder why they changed that? it's interesting figuring out all the differences - desperate to know what he has on Connie tho !!!! - Brenda Carlton catches her committing a felony! idk who this lady is - OK investigative reporter girlie and nancy should team up and have an enemies to lovers arc forget Ned forget daryl idc - nancy is VERY murdery in this book between wanting to push Jake down the stairs and going "she promised herself one day she was gonna close that reporters notebook for good" like this is not the same girl detective that only blocked moves and never went on offense at the end of DAN - video lab has been trashed (hey maybe you should've investigated it before and not gone for a death ride w daryl instead !!!) - magically, the one not-trashed area has Jake's evidence tape - walt "hunk" hogan doesn't seem to be using steroids he's just badly injured and hiding it for the sake of his scholarship :( - this just seems messed up that he could lose it over an injury and is maybe doing worse damage to his body as a result - someone is hiding in the supply room of the video lab 😱 luckily she was smart this time and ran instead of confronting them - OK nvm door won't open and she hears footsteps behind her, confrontation imminent but also I feel like it'll just be daryl or smth and he saw her running but wasn't the one in the video lab

[bugcatcherwill]

"Hylia have mercy on mayor Reede" or don't. Link kill him now /silly

I am SIFTING through a MASSIVE HEAP of Link lore. SNiffing around this entire chapter like a dohggg. I LOVE IT I'm stuffing it all into my little goblin sack and running off

FuUCK seeing Hateno in both physical and metaphorical shambles is so disheartening,,,, it was such a cozy place and then the lab shenaniganing went down and everything went to SHITE.,,,,,,,,,,,, side eyeing Reede with the fury of a thousand suns

mf better be glad Link didn't wait for the main four to come back before he went off !!!!1 I can't see him bringing Zayl for obvious reasons but it's so funny to imagine Reede opening his door to the worlds most righteously infuriated twink [which is already terrifying] and three monsters fully fucking prepared to start pummeling this middle aged man. I'VE MADE UP scenarios in my BRAIN before this chapter where Link fucking goes to Hateno with Rezek's invisible ass behind it and when Reede tries to make a run for it Wizzrobe Jumpscare. I don't think they'd hurt him [too bad] BUT THAT'S PART OF THE APPEAL,,, it's the same thing like what Khini felt when Sledge looked at him and it was so wild to him because it was a monster looking at him with fully comprehensible human emotion I fucking love when instead of hurting someone the monsters just give them the most harrowingly disappointed look and leave them be because it can't be helped and it's HAUNTING. It's late and I'm incomprehensible rn but IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. FUCXKE

plus if you consider the whole wizzrobes are usually goofy looking and all that. realizing that a wizzrobe specifically is unhappy BECAUSE OF YOU would be HAUNTING. YOU KNWO

anyways obligatory end note this chapter fucked I CNAT WAITE FUCKEVERYTHING

YEAAAAA especially showing Hateno's declining state it's like

I love small town rot. I love when something bad happens in an otherwise connected and homely town because it's such a good deconstruction of that veil. The veil of "polite, but not nice", and their idea of a "civilized settlement".

It especially hits hard as someone who grew up and lives in the American Midwest. So many smaller towns are self-described as "homey" and "cozy" and "full of wonderful people!" but so many times it's that polite-but-not-nice facade.

Because once an outsider comes along that's far from any of their established norms, you see their true colors. And it's not pretty.

Hell, you even see this in our suburbs, too. ESPECIALLY in the 'burbs, actually.

They always hated Purah's lab, and her seclusion, and her ties to the Sheikah. They were really just looking for an excuse. They also hated monsters, so the years of the community festering their distaste for that house on the hill led to the obvious conclusion.

But now that the veil has been sufficiently torn off, all of Hateno is seeing each other for how they saw themselves. If they were so eager to join in and torch a house to ground, then everyone else around them would do the same if the town found some dirt on them, right? Projection and paranoia are a dangerous combination.

....oh yeah, back to the chapter...

BUT YEAH CATHARSIS IS DEFINITELY COMING FOR THE MONSTERS

I mostly wanted Link to go back to Hateno on his own because I thought it'd be great for his own solo-development and story. Allow him a bit more spotlight and show some of his past (oops all ANGST).

But also because a big theme I'm going with the Hateno return arc is "you shouldn't need to see the consequences to know what you did was wrong"

Rezek jumpscaring Reede would be fucking hilarious tho lkjhdsafkjhlfdsa

But also godddddd I still don't know how I'd make Zayl react once it goes back to Hateno for whatever reason. I've RARELY shown it as actually mad so I gotta make sure the first time it gets upset enough to be visibly angry will be worth it,,,

BUT YEAH NEXT CHAPTER'S GONNA BE REAL GOOD I HOPE AUUUUUGH

[darthmaclunkey]

since I did it with films, woe: all the books I've read so far in 2024 and my brief thoughts on them be upon ye:

some desperate glory (emily tesh) - very underrated (so far), great debut sci-fi with a very well crafted MC. highly recommend if you're into space opera

hurdy gurdy (christopher wilson) - looked funny, was kinda funny, but contemporary references were a bit unsubtle. immediately gave to my dad after reading. it's a liberal dad kinda book

the doloriad (missouri williams) - I got #influenced by an instagram book account to read this because they said it was too gross for them. it was interesting and very poetic, but by talos did it need a paragraph break or two

tender is the flesh (agustina bazterrica) - subtle as a brick. didn't really like the way it was written but I'm never really sure if that's a valid criticism when something is translated

eileen (otessa moshfegh) - actually loved this. more gross woman protags pls

the mother tongue (bill bryson) - I had the original edition (library book) so some of it was a bit out of date but still interesting and fun to read

the terraformers (analee newitz) - worldbuilding was decent but man was this badly written. I ended up speedreading just to move onto another book and immediately donated it to the local free library shelf

hell bent (leigh bardugo) - very enjoyable, but I think it should have been hornier, actually, considering how much word count was spent on darlington's glowstick dick

on writing (stephen king) - genuinely great advice. my copy has about 1000 sticky tabs and notes in it now

system collapse (martha wells) - i ♥ murderbot forever and always

in ascension (martin macinnes) - this was so boring. rip to all the ppl who loved it but what was it saying, really, that couldn't have been said in a sub-5,000 word short

cursed bread (sophie mackintosh) - enjoyed, but I don't really remember much about it. probably because I read it in a crowded airport while waiting for a heavily delayed ryanair flight

camp zero (michelle min sterling) - didn't feel like it fully explored all the routes it should have, but the chapters written from the collective perspective of the researchers were interesting

klara and the sun (kazuo ishiguro) - oof ouch owie my feelings

the beauty (aliya whiteley) - technically a short story but I read it in book format. it was fun

shadow and bone (leigh bardugo) - if I'd read this when I was 12, you best believe I'd have spent my teenage years writing fanfiction about the darkling. as a 29 year old, wasn't really for me tho

the player of games (iain m banks) - talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, showstopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it. RIP iain banks, you are sorely missed

lord jim at home (dinah brooke) - visceral read. probably best read in one sitting if poss, the pacing is breakneck

the word for world is forest (ursula k le guin) - to paraphrase a shelf label under her books in my local indie bookshop: "JUST READ HER!! READ ANYTHING BY HER!!!!"

children of time (aidrian tchaikovsky) - really good. I will never look at spiders the same way

giovanni's room (james baldwin) - astonishing. one of those classics where you're like 'I'm sure this will be good' but then you read it and you're like 'nobody quite conveyed just HOW good tho'

red rising (pierce brown) - hated this tbh. the hunger games for redditors. darrow is a textbook mary-sue but ppl in the goodreads reviews don't seem ready to have that conversation

for thy great pain have mercy on my little pain (victoria mackenzie) - interesting speculative history, very beautifully conveyed

brutes (dizz tate) - do I know what was going on? no, but I really liked it, so well observed

the discomfort of evening (lucas rijneveld) - another one where I was #influenced because an instagram book person said it was too gross for them. I think it was actually a bit too gross for me too, but I can appreciate that it was well written

pride and prejudice (jane austen) - only read it because I'm going to a p&p themed party but my god, they're not lying, it really is THAT good

currently reading: islands of abandonment (cal flyn)

I am on storygraph if you find my taste in books compelling; I'm always looking for book recs: storygraph