#maybe it'll take another six months to finish

[haven-of-dusk]

Chapter 5 of The Ones Who Remain is finally done! (Albeit I still have to revise and edit and all that...and this is the longest chapter yet so it'll still be a while, but it's still drafted!)

[gortash-did-nothing-wrong]

Random Enver Musings 2

Warning: Discussion of overworking children in their studies.

Enver waited a bit later to let his daughter be introduced to society than most noblemen did. Most rushed their daughters forward, having them come to court at fourteen. Enver waited until his oldest daughter was sixteen to let her come. Personally he would have waited another year, but his darling daughter, Ember, was getting quite sick of waiting.

She was much like her mother, beautiful and graceful. And much like him, cunning and intelligent. Within a week of accompanying him to court, she had several friends, and to his utter horror, admirers. Enver nearly struck a boy over the head with his cane when the lad gifted his daughter a shoddily made bracelet that the lad insisted he had made himself. Judging by the harsh hammer marks upon the simple metal band, Enver believed it.

Ember had been very polite to the boy in public, but the second she and Enver were alone she took the bracelet off and giggled, pointing out every flaw in its making. "Daddy, you could do better than this in your sleep!"

Enver huffed, "And I will. I'll craft something lovely for you to wear to the ball next month. Perhaps a set."

His wife teased him that night. "You definitely raised a daddy's girl."

Enver, "Good. She needs to know men can't just do the bare minimum and get applause. With any luck it'll take her until she's in her thirties to find a man half as capable as me."

Enver finished pouring his wife her tea, sprinkling in the dried mint leaves she enjoyed. "Now come, have your evening tea. It's getting cold."

When their oldest son came to court, Enver found he had to supervise him much more. If he didn't, his son would show up in his work clothes from Damon's blacksmith shop, stained in soot, his fingers nearly pitch black. How many times he yanked his son into a water closet, scrubbing away at his fingernails.

"You're sixteen, I shouldn't have to tell you to be clean when you arrive at court!" Enver hissed, scrubbing soap on his son's face to rid him of the smoke stains.

"I worked a long shift, okay?!" His son, Jahson, snapped. "Don't nag me about my clothes!"

"You're lucky you're too old to spank." Enver grumbled, wiping the soap and muck away with a rag.

"You didn't ever spank us?"

"I'm thinking maybe I should start." Enver snapped, though they both knew it was all hot air. "Now go downstairs, get in the carriage, and have our driver take you home. Send him back for me and your sister in about two hours."

Jahson, "Why can't I stay for the rest of court today?"

Enver, "Because look at your clothes! You aren't fit to be seen! Wait until your mother hears about this!"

His wife packed Jahson a change of clothes in his lunch bag from them on, making sure he always had a set of proper clothing to change into after his apprenticeship hours at Damon's Blacksmith Shop.

"I swear, the boy is more skill than sense." Enver grumbled.

His wife chuckled, sipping on her nightly glass of wine as they sat in bed. "He's a boy. I know you were different as a teenager, but teenage boys have this remarkable ability. They can take their brains out of their skulls, put it in a drawer somewhere, and leave it there for weeks at a time."

Enver huffed, "Have I been too easy on him?"

His wife set her wineglass down. "You made him have seven hours of tutoring every week day and six hours of his blacksmith apprenticeship every weekend. The boy has one day a week he isn't learning something, and you usually drag him down into your workshop to help you smelt something. I'd say him forgetting simple things like a change of clothing is a result of you making him do too much. Ease up on our boy, hm? Ease up a little on all of them, actually."

Enver turned over, taking her face in his hands. "The world will not get softer for them. I am their father, not their friend. I need to ensure they survive, even if they hate me for it. Please tell me you understand that?"

"I do." She said softly. "But please tell me you understand the dangers of overworking a child?"

Enver was quiet for a moment or two, looking into his wife's eyes. "Why don't all of us go to our vacation home next week? We can give their tutors and nursemaids the week off, just have our little family together?"

His wife's eyes glistened. "That sounds lovely. I'll have the servants pack lots of goodies and picnic foods. We can sit outside at night and watch the stars."

Enver kissed her gently, "And I can leave some of my employees in charge here for a week. It'll do well for them to learn self sufficiency."

They fell asleep talking about their vacation, whispering about activities and meals they'd plan.

[mama-qwerty]

WIP Wednesday

Lookit! I remembered two weeks in a row! WOOOO

Today's WIP bit is from the unintentional second chapter of the kaiju fic. I started it yesterday and am about 2400 words in. I have no idea if I'll finish it, but I've been having some other ideas pop into my head for it, so maybe it'll turn into (yet another) multi-chapter fic?

This one is from Knux's pov.

Read the whole thing on ao3!

~~~~~

Six months.

It’d been six months since Knuckles returned to his planet. Since those bastard versions of his friends yanked the cracked chaos emerald from his eyes and tossed him through a portal back to his original world. The pain had been excruciating, both from the removal, and the way his body shrank and reverted to a mortal form.

Not his original form. No. He’d been in the kaiju form too long for that.

But a mortal form. One that didn’t heal almost instantly from injuries. One that didn’t mutate and reshape itself to be even more deadly, more efficient at killing. At destroying.

One that wasn’t as painful, every second of every day.

There was still pain. There would always be pain. He was sure of that. His joints ached. His back. His head. But it wasn’t as sharp or jagged as when he was a monster.

He was blind now. The first shard had done that when he’d transformed the first time. When a shard took control, it usually migrated to the eye socket, essentially taking a front row seat to piloting the body. He’d had a kind of funhouse mirror vision when it had been there. Everything looked crooked and stretched, tilted and angular. It hurt his head, and only fed the anger inside. The rage.

Of course, the twisted version of Amy that had apparently been shrunken and hidden in his ear, whispering doubts and feeding his insecurities didn’t help matters. It was her voice, disguised as his own, that made him question himself in the weeks leading up to that fateful day. That urged him on in the kaiju form, commanding him to kill. To destroy.

She’d spurred his rage, taking delight as he destroyed the city he so loved. Every town and village he’d come across. Everything in his path had been rendered to splinters. To ash. To death.

Once she’d shown herself, he’d tried to end her, but she’d implanted something in his head that delivered painful shocks if he disobeyed. So he’d gone with her as she led him through a portal, to a twisted and insane version of Tails.

And together, they’d caused the same trail of death and destruction on other worlds. Other universes? He wasn’t entirely sure of the details. But he saw other versions of Sonic. Of Tails. Amy.

Himself.

It was strange and frightening, and he wanted to stop, didn’t want to hurt anyone, but the shards implanted in his eyes and the punishing shocks he received if he faltered made him move. Made him kill.

But after a while, he didn’t know how long, the rage inside him faded. Even the shocks and pain didn’t make him act. The false Tails had been angry with him, but then his lips curled into the twisted smile, before he pulled a device from his big box of horrible inventions.

“Aw, is the big boy too tired?” he’d said, his high-pitched voice cracking in that demented laugh he always had. “Tut, tut. Well then, if that’s the case, I guess I’ll just take what’s mine and let you go back to live out your pathetic little life. Doesn’t that sound fair?”

The Amy behind him had tittered. Even to Knuckles’ monstrous ears, she sounded insane.

Then there’d been pain. Literal, blinding pain. The twisted fox had pulled the two chaos emerald pieces from Knuckles’ eyes, resulting in a deafening, pain-filled roar before he’d gone to his knees. His body changed, shrinking and shriveling and tightening as the chaos energy within him faded.

And then they’d chucked him through a portal. He’d landed on the rubble remains of the city he had wanted so badly to protect.

It had been so quiet. So damned quiet.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d laid there. Shocked, trembling, and adjusting to having actual thoughts again. Ones that weren’t overshadowed by fear and rage and pain.

Once he’d realized where he was—the smell was the same—he’d picked himself up and contemplated his next move. He was home, but . . . everyone and everything he’d ever cared about, ever knew, was gone. What did he do now?

Scarlett.

Was she still alive? Would she even want to see him if she was? He’d done horrible things. Killed so many. What would she think of him?

Those questions had stalled him. But after a moment he’d shaken his head. He’d face those questions later. When . . . if he found her.

With a grunt, he’d turned and picked a direction to start walking.

His search began.

It had been hard. Without his eyes, he had to rely on his other senses. They’d stepped up, for the most part. His hearing was better. His sense of smell stronger. He could sense objects nearby, and he’d developed a kind of sense for other shard possessed creatures. Could sense the shards themselves, almost hear them. As if they called out to him.

He resisted that call. Now that he was himself again, he was absolutely not going to let the lure of some sliver of chaos emerald take control of him again.

He walked. He searched. He fought other shard possessed kaiju. Days passed. Weeks. Months. He wasn’t sure how many. It was hard to keep track.

And then, he’d smelled it. Smelled her.

They’d grown up together, as close as siblings, so her scent was as familiar as his own. Just a brief whiff of it, caught on the wind. His heart had given a hard thump in his chest, and he’d picked up the pace.

A dead kaiju. Recent, by the smell. And her scent was all over. A sharper edge to it—blood. He leaned down and sniffed the thing’s claws, tasting her scent on his tongue as he did so. It had injured her. Anger flared within him, and he resisted the urge to tear this corpse apart, a delayed retribution for it daring to hurt her.

Instead, he turned to follow the stronger scent of her.

Stronger. It was even stronger here. But, higher? Sounds from above him and he stepped back, waiting to catch more information before making a move. To be sure.

A thud and a pained grunt. A relieved sigh. Her scent reached him, stronger than ever.

It was her.

He let out soft grunt, and sensed her freeze.

Smelled her fear.

He didn’t move, trying to figure out what he should do. Could he speak, would his vocal cords even work? He wasn’t sure.

Before he could try, a screech from above. Another kaiju, a larger one, with two shards.

A fight. They’d moved too quickly for him to get involved, his lack of sight preventing him from knowing how to attack. He didn’t want to hurt Scarlett by accident.

But then she’d been down. Hurt. Helpless. And he’d acted.

That had been two months ago. Since then they’d been inseparable once more. Roaming the land, seeking food and shelter and any sign of anything good left.

They hadn’t found much.

Read it all on ao3

[demigodsanswer]

desperately desperately need a fifth position one shot now wow… I love how this AU keeps having spinoff AUs!!

truly the spin offs that live in my brain ... it's getting out of hand. Anyway fic rated M. this one is for the beyhive

Silena and Charlie were in agreement: Percy and Annabeth would be perfect together if she would just leave that man. They talked about it all the time.

The good news was, Annabeth had left that man. The bad news? Everything else.

But Annabeth was finally out of her cast, out of her engagement, and soon heading out of New York for a little while. There was just one last thing.

"I love that you're putting off mental health treatment for the Renaissance World Tour," Silena joked.

"The Renaissance World Tour is mental health treatment," Annabeth said back. She was slipping into a sparkly silver dress and a pair of boots with a low heel and solid ankle support. "Thanks for finding someone to give Luke's ticket to," she added.

"Percy was happy to take it." Silena had no idea if Percy knew any Beyonce music besides Single Ladies, but he liked live music and Annabeth enough to know not to turn the offer down.

"I haven't talked to him since 'Diamonds,'" Annabeth said. "I hope it's not awkward."

They were all sharing a house near the stadium in New Jersey. Percy and the guys were already downstairs pregaming, while the girls finished getting ready. Distantly, Silena could hear them cheering and playing Renaissance over the speakers.

"There's so many of us here, you might not even talk to him that much," Silena said.

Silena had spent five years trying to contrive ways to get Percy and Annabeth close to each other. But Luke always kept a possessive grip on her -- sometimes literally. Now would have been ideal. Except Annabeth had four more days in New York before she left for six months, and Percy ... well, if he got a taste of her, he'd let his heart get broken over and over again just to keep having her some of the time. Percy had never been casual, and Annabeth was volatile right now.

Silena and Charlie were hoping they didn't look twice at each other.

~

Of course they looked twice at each other. By Virgo's Groove, they were basically on top of one another. When they all got home, they shamelessly disappeared upstairs while everyone else kept partying.

Silena tried not to be too nervous about it.

"It'll be fine. They're adults," Charlie reminded her.

"I know, I know I just ... hope it works out and that they don't end up hurting each other," she said.

"Maybe one day you'll tell this story at their wedding?" Carter Kane suggested.

Silena smiled. Wouldn't that be a laugh?

~

Annabeth had kept the lights off, and asked to keep her dress on. Percy didn't mind though. She just kept pulling him in closer, and that dress fit her oh so well.

He was feeling pretty smug. She'd warned him that it was hard for her to cum. Some medication she was on or something.

"I haven't cum in eight months," she said, when Percy promised to get her off.

"Christ. At all?"

"Nope."

That didn't stop Percy from accepting the challenge.

And oh man, had she finished. Several times. The look of shock on her face alone would have been enough to confirm it for him, if there hadn't been other signs.

"Oh my god," she said, as she rolled off of him. She'd ridden him with reckless abandon, and he finished a little sooner than he would have liked. But Annabeth didn't seem to mind. She just laid on her back, breathing hard for a few moments. Percy rolled closer to her, inviting her in for a cuddle, but instead she just rolled out of bed. She grabbed a pair of pajamas from her suitcase and headed out the door to the bathroom.

When she came back, Percy was on his phone, texting Grover some videos of the show just to give himself something to do. When Annabeth spotted him on his phone, still in her bed, she just tossed a towel onto the post-sex wet spot, and marched over to him. She took the phone from his hand.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

Percy stammered. "What? Texting my friend, why?"

Annabeth looked at the screen, then flushed and handed the phone back to him. "Sorry, sorry, that was ... an insane thing to do, I'm so sorry."

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. You were great. Listen, I'm gonna go to bed, and I won't be upset if you decide to go back down stairs and party," she said, climbing into the other side of the bed.

"Um," Percy said. He rolled over and pulled her in as little spoon. She seemed to relax. "I'll leave if you want, but only if you want."

"Maybe not yet," she said.

Percy kissed the back of her neck. "Okay," he said. "When we get back to the city, would you want to go out? Get dinner or something?"

She stayed on her side, facing away from him. "I'm leaving New York in four days," she said.

"Leaving? Forever?" He asked.

"No, no, not forever, just ... six months." she said.

"Where are you going?" Percy asked.

"Home to Virginia. I need a break. I'm, um, doing a long mental health program. So I stop doing insane shit like taking people's phones away from them," she said.

"Okay," he said. "You can always text me while you're gone."

"I don't sext or send nudes or anything like that," she said quickly.

"That wasn't what I was talking about," Percy said back. "We can just talk. As friends."

"That ... makes more sense. Yes, I would like that a lot."

They were quiet for a while. Percy thought she'd maybe fallen asleep. But --

"Percy?" She whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Can you leave? I can't fall asleep with you in here," she said.

Percy's heart sank. "Sure, sure," he said, finally getting out of bed and searching for his clothes.

His friends were still partying downstairs even though it was well past two in the morning. He cleaned himself up and decided to join them. He wasn't much for taking shots, but tonight seemed to call for it.

[cassiaratheslytherpuff]

Please tell me more about Rarrydraft w prongsfoot!! Two sets of best friends - that can only be good ❤️

Thanks for asking! 🩷 I had completely forgotten I even started this. It's about Harry pining for Ron and finding Sirius's diary when cleaning up Grimmauld Place for Ron to move in with him.

I'll share a couple of snippets, maybe it'll motivate me to finish one of these days.

“I’m a patient guy,” Ron said. “I mean, you’d call me patient, right? When Hermione left right after the war to get her parents from Australia I waited patiently, didn’t I? In fact, I wanted to join her! Hermione, I said, we’re partners now, you don’t need to do this on your own. But no, she HAD to go off on her own.” Harry grabbed the nicest of his two bottles of Firewhiskey and climbed onto the counter to get the magickly charmed whiskey glasses from the back of the cabinet. At some point he’d owned six Charm-Chilled glasses, but after summoning them one time too many he only had too left – something about the pure rage in Ron’s voice made him decide this wasn’t the time to risk them. “And then after she finally finished at Hogwarts,” Ron continued when Harry focussed back on his voice, “I thought, this is it – now we start our lives together for real. But of course, then she decided she had to get that bachelor’s degree. And I offered to upend everything and come to Glasgow with her, because the only thing I really wanted was to bloody be with her.” Harry poured the Firewhiskey and handed Ron his glass, but he was too busy talking to take a single sip. “But it was all noo Ron,” Ron twisted his face and voice into a mocking imitation of his girlfriend, ”you’ve got to stay here. Your family needs you, Fred needs you at the shop. Harry needs you.” Harry winced at that, the idea that Ron might have stayed behind for him. “Of course,” Ron said, “now I find out the real reason.” In a single breath Ron seemed to deflate in front of Harry’s eyes, his shoulders sagging and his eyes turning worn and sad instead of fiery. Harry grabbed him by the elbow and directed him to the living room, carrying the bottle of Firewhiskey and his glass in his free hand. He sat Ron down on the sofa, and this time he went willingly, staring morosely into his glass before draining it in a single swallow and holding out for Harry to refill it. “What’s happened?” Harry asked again, thinking this time he might get an answer. “She’s going back to Glasgow for her masters degree,” Ron said. “I thought when she got back this summer that we could finally start our lives together, but after just seven months of living with me she’s off again.” “Why don’t you go with her?” Harry asked, refusing to acknowledge how much the idea hurt. “That’s what I suggested,” Ron said. “I mean, everyone’s got their own thing now – nobody really needs me to stay anymore.” Harry thought briefly and wildly, I do, but bit down the urge to speak.

And the diary

Diary of Sirius Black. July 1st, 1979. So, James and I moved into our flat today, and I figured it was a good day to start using this bloody diary Remus got me. I know, I know, I’m a dude I should insist it’s a journal, but sometimes it’s just nice to call a wand a wand, you know? I figure Remus thought I should have someplace to put my thoughts, because although I’m almost sure he has no idea what’s rolling around inside my head he does know there’s a lot in here I don’t talk about. Speaking of, I should ward this book if I’m going to write down all the things I refuse to say out loud. If James ever read it… OK, I’ve warded it. So we’re safe. I can write anything here now, but honestly I’m not sure I want to. Maybe seeing it in black and white will be too real? How about I tell you another secret? My childhood was… pretty terrible. They never did anything physical, but I’m starting to believe James when he says that doesn’t make it ok. It was alright, I suppose, until I sorted Gryffindor. At some level they must have known it was going to happen, but I still managed to make them ‘shocked and appalled’ as they said. I stuck with it for another five summers before I ran off and moved in with James’ family. That’s not the secret. The secret isn’t that living with James’ family felt more like a home than Grimmauld ever had either, though it did. It was brilliant, his mum kept hugging me and even though it took me ages to just relax and enjoy it she never gave up. They’re brilliant. Or they were brilliant, fuck I still can’t believe they’re gone… Anyway, I was talking about my secret. The real reason I finally couldn’t stay with my own parents anymore. The thing is, they found out, and I don’t think either of us could survive being in the same house after that. They couldn’t stand me, and I couldn’t stand being so thoroughly hated for every part of me. Maybe Mr and Mrs Potter wouldn’t have minded if they knew, but I was never willing to risk it. I suppose it’s the same with James. He might be fine with it, it might not change a thing except make us closer – but there’s always the chance it’ll ruin everything. The thing is, I’m queer. Shocker, right? Not really, I know. Feels obvious to me, but I think the only one who’s ever come close to suspecting it is Remus.

[mythologyfolklore]

Liù'ěr Míhóu joins the jttw gang, or: How to redeem an all-hearing celestial monkey with a superiority complex and a seriously bad attitude

(A/N: TW: mention of SA, genocide, alcoholism)

Chapter Twenty-eight: Awkward reunion

.

Èrláng looked slightly different from what Wùkōng remembered.

Maybe it was the different attire; white and beige robes, rather than the golden and cyan armour from before.

Maybe it was the unhealthy pallor and tired eyes; gone were the oppressive gaze and the fire of battle lust in those black orbs, so it seemed.

“Good evening, Illustrious Sage”, Wùkōng greeted politely, even though he had to refrain from gnashing his teeth.

“Great Sage Equal to Heaven”, Èrláng replied, with the most forced smile Wùkōng had ever seen. “You have converted to Buddhism and accepted its teachings. Surely you will be rewarded with a lotus throne of your own, once your journey is finished. Congratulations.”

Why is he telling me that? And why is he sounding so bittersweet about it?

But Wùkōng pretended not to hear the bitterness and replied: “That remains to be seen, so don't congratulate me just yet. We – that is, my master, my fellow disciples and myself – have been travelling for almost nine years now and with how it's going right now, it'll take another five. Anyway, we're staying at the Kingdom of Sacrifices right now and we're trying to help out the local Buddhist monks …”

From here he gave a run-down of the situation, while his former nemesis listened intently.

“… so I was hoping you could lend us a few hands”, finished Wùkōng.

Èrláng smiled, more genuinely this time. “Well, my brothers and I are just coming from a hunt, so it's not like I have anything better to do. I'll gladly help you. Although … I don't know what kind of villain lives here-”

One of his brothers piped up: “Èrgē¹, have you forgot? Scattered Rock Mountain and Emerald Waves Lagoon are the home of the All-Saintly Dragon King!”

Èrláng chuckled sheepishly: “I … actually might have forgot about that. Wait …” His eyes narrowed. “The All-Saintly Dragon King has never caused trouble before.”

Wùkōng arched an eyebrow. “He has now, but it's mostly that son-in-law of his …”

Another brief explanation later, Èrláng said: “Well, if you already killed the patriarch, it's wiser to take down the rest of them now, while they're unprepared.”

“Can't it wait until tomorrow?”, said Bājiè all of the sudden. “It's getting late and we're all tired-”

“Speak for yourself, you lazy hog!”, Liù'ěr Míhóu threw in. “Unlike you we're not a bunch of slobs! Yeah! I'm also here!”, he jibed, as everyone turned to stare at him. “Nice of you all to finally notice me!”

Wùkōng paid close attention to Èrláng's reaction. He seemed … curious?

“I don't recall Bodhisattva Guān Yīn mentioning a second monkey demon being one of the Tang monk's disciples?”, he remarked.

“I only joined about nine months ago. Hello to you too, Zhēnjūn². I'm the Six-Eared Macaque, my religious name is Sūn Wùhuàn, I'm about 1100 years old and I'm the youngest of the Tang Monk's disciples”, the white monkey introduced himself.

The Little Sage opened his Heavenly Eye, only for all three eyes to dart back and forth between the Six-Eared Macaque and the Monkey King.

“Your auras are similar”, he observed. “I always thought the Great Sage was unique.”

Wùkōng's right eye twitched. What the fuck did that three-eyed arsehole mean, he wasn't unique?!

Liù'ěr Míhóu explained: “He is unique. It's just that we're two of a kind. There's another two of us, but they live far, far away. And for your information, they prefer to stay under the radar, so please don't look for them.”

“As long as they don't make trouble, sure. But do tell me … what in all three realms is a radar?”, Èrláng asked.

Liù'ěr Míhóu looked a bit sheepish. “Uhhh, something that won't be invented for another 1300 years, so don't think about it too much.”

If everyone hadn't looked at him with WTF-faces before, they were now.

Good to know that Wùkōng wasn't the only one confused by the other macaque's anachronistic references.

Bājiè on the other hand looked completely indifferent, like he had simply resigned himself to not thinking too hard about the weird shit that sometimes came out of Liù'ěr Míhóu's mouth.

Finally Èrláng shrugged. “Oh well. Either way, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss.”

“I'm a male”, corrected the Macaque. “I may look and sound female, but … uhm … hey. Are you okay?”

The Little Sage had grown even more pallid and was covering his mouth with his hands. His black eyes were wide and … wait, was that a tear?! Holy shit, was he-?!

Then, without a warning, he grabbed Liù'ěr Míhóu, embraced him tightly and proceeded to sob into the shocked macaque's shoulder.

What?!

What the actual-?!

Okay, now Wùkōng's head was reeling!

What in all eighteen hells was this, he couldn't even-

His gaze met that of Bājiè, who seemed to have figured something out that he hadn't. And wasn't that a novelty! Could Bājiè have figured out, why Èrláng was getting so emotional after Six-Ears had revealed his true sex? Seriously, why-

Oh.

Oh.

Ohhh!

“Finally figured it out?”, Bājiè whispered.

“How did you know?”, Wùkōng whispered back.

“I'll explain later”, murmured the boar demon, before clearing his throat and saying aloud: “Ahem, as beautiful and heartwarming as this is, we still have a draconic issue at hand.”

Èrláng coughed, let go of his stunned captive and dried his eyes.

“Of course, of course”, he muttered. “My apologies.”

He can apologise for that, but not for what he did to my babies …

“And just to be clear: this is staying between us. Tell anyone what happened and you can say goodbye to your tongues.”

The three monks shrugged; it wasn't like anyone would believe them anyway.

Bājiè spoke up again: “So, what about putting the attack off until tomorrow-”

“An army doesn't wait, until the timing is convenient for their opponent”, Èrláng cut him off and suddenly he was the warrior god from then again. “Right now they're unprepared for battle. This is the best opportunity to wipe them out completely.”

“But-”

“Second Brother, they won't be that much better prepared tomorrow either”, one of Èrláng's sworn brothers suddenly spoke up. “That villain and his family live here, so they're not going to run away anytime soon. Why don't we all relax for the rest of the evening and destroy them tomorrow, when we're fresh and well-rested?”

“Lăo Kāng.”

“Lăo Yáng. Aren't the Great Sage and his fellow brothers our guests now? What speaks against having fun tonight? We can entertain them and we have enough food and drink for everyone! And is these three entering the path of virtue not a good reason to celebrate? Besides, we can also discuss details of a battle strategy, while we're at it and tomorrow we'll be as prepared as can be!”

For a brief moment, Èrláng's expression remained neutral. Then he seemed to resign himself to being outvoted by his own sworn brothers and sighed: “You know what, you're right. Let's make camp here for the night, our opponents really won't run away.”

Wùkōng too had to accept the fact, that today nothing would get done anymore.

“But we do have dietary inhibitions”, he informed the seven, just to be sure.

“Don't worry, we have fruits and the wine is dietary”, the Little Sage assured him.

Wùkōng was about to question that, when another of the Seven Sages spoke up:

“And the wine is dietary, because someone-”, he side-eyed Èrláng with a scowl, “-doesn't fucking stop, once he starts drinking!”

Èrláng snapped back: “Okay, first off: language. Secondly: tell the world, Yáo! Thirdly: since you apparently have enough leisure to nag, you might as well start setting up our tents! And don't you forget to take your evening medication again, or so help me!”

Brother Yáo made an offensive gesture at him and stomped off to fetch their camping equipment, followed by four of his brothers.

The sixth one stayed back with a fuming Èrláng and the three Buddhist monks, who were now exchanging awkward glances.

The sixth Sage cleared his throat and addressed Wùkōng: “Great Sage. Gentlemen. Do you mind, if I have a private word with my Elder Brother for a moment?”

“Of course not.”

The other man smiled politely, before taking Èrláng to the side with a more stern expression.

I wonder what they're talking about.

Suddenly Liù'ěr Míhóu snorted: “Heh! He's getting chewed out by Zhāng Bóshi for snapping at Yáo Gōnglín like that.”

“What was that for anyway?! How can anyone treat their sworn brothers like that?!”, Wùkōng questioned.

Liù'ěr Míhóu shrugged: “Eh, don't get too hung up about it. Alcoholics always get stroppy and defensive, if they're called out in public. Speaking from experience.”

“As a call-out guy or as an alcoholic?”

“Both.”

“Okay. But still!”

“Hey, easy does it. Celestials and humans don't do sworn siblinghood the way we do. To us, it's either an alliance or a form of marriage. They go all out on the sibling part. Shit talking, banter, the whole works.”

“That's true”, confirmed Bājiè.

“Besides, Èrláng seemed to be pretty concerned about Yáo forgetting his medicine for the evening – kinda concerning, that he needs to be reminded of that, but okay-”

“What kind of medicine?”, asked the Monkey King curiously.

“Oh, Yáo Gōnglín has a congenital heart disease, that even immortality couldn't fix, so Laozi gives him magic pills to keep his heart from blowing up. And now Èrláng keeps babying him about it.”

“Oh … that kinda blows. I guess the snapping makes sense in that context.”

“Yeah. Oh, there they come!”

Indeed Zhāng Bóshi returned with a slightly humbled Èrláng Shén on his heels.

Hilarious. And satisfying.

That prick deserved a good scolding at least. If only Wùkōng had the words to give that three-eyed bastard Dìyù for what he had done. But he had no words. Because how did you reproach a mass murderer without sounding like a total hypocrite?

Liù'ěr Míhóu meanwhile clapped his two hands at the god and his sworn brother and laughed: “There you are! I heard everything! It was top nodge entertainment! What a funny and heartwarming dialogue! I felt like listening to a theatre performance!”

Okay, damn.

Zhāng Bóshi frowned: “You need to stop.”

Èrláng Shén scowled: “Is there anything you can't hear?”

Liù'ěr Míhóu grinned: “Only the thoughts in your head – provided they remain unspoken, of course. Thoughts are the only thing, that makes no noise. Everything else, however … you get the idea.”

“Can you tell, when someone lies too?”

“Obviously. Though what I hear depends on the person. Some people can't lie credibly to save their lives, whereas others do it so well, that even I can just barely tell the difference. The latter are usually psychopaths.”

Now Èrláng looked less angry and more confused. “What is a psychopath?”

“Someone with a mental disorder that leaves them unable to feel empathy, guilt and most emotions”, the white monkey explained. “The word won't be invented for another 1300 years, but-”

“You can hear the future.”

“And the past and present. Only the Buddha knows more than I do.”

“That's a bold claim to make.”

“And a fact”, Liù'ěr Míhóu stated. Then his face turned flat. “But if you think I'm gonna tell you what'll happen in your future, forget it.”

Wùkōng confirmed: “Yeah, fat chance. Flattery, threats, torture – nothing works. The only exception is when he warns us from dickheads, who want to harm our master – and that's only because he likes us. But other than that? The most you can expect is prophecies so cryptic they only make sense in hindsight.”

“And that's not gonna change ever”, the Six-Eared Macaque said coolly.

Èrláng Shén didn't seem disappointed at all. Just all the more intrigued. “What do you mean by prophecies that only make sense in hindsight?”

The monkey shrugged: “Well, since that's in the past I can tell you an example. About 600 years ago, a powerful demon king heard about my near-omniscience and had me brought before him. He wanted to find out what would happen, if he invaded one of the neighbouring territories. And because I didn't like the way he was looking at me, I told him this: if you cross the stream, you will destroy a great empire.”

“So he did and the empire he destroyed was his own”, Èrláng said flatly.

The white monkey snickered: “Obviously!”³

“That sounds like a pretty clear prophecy though. Didn't it occur to him, that he would lose?”

Liù'ěr Míhóu shook his head. “No. I phrased it like that, knowing full well that he would interpret that as him conquering another territory. They always do. Hubris is one hell of a poison.”

Now Wùkōng tilted his head: “Hubris? What's that?”

The Macaque explained: “It's the excessive arrogance, that drives some people to challenge entities far beyond their league, or even put themselves above them. For example, it was hubristic, when you accepted the Buddha's wager.”

Wùkōng narrowed his eyes. “Is that so? Well, I'll tell you what's also hubristic: stealing my identity and my kingdom and thinking you can get away with it!”

The white monkey raised his hands. “Alright, touché-”

“You what???”

Suddenly Èrláng leapt up, his face distorted with rage to the point, where his eyes were glowing red.

Uh-oh.

The Little Sage strode around the fire and got all into the Macaque's face.

“You dared to try and take the place of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?! You?! Don't make me laugh! What ever made you believe, that you could compare to him! A face-stealer, who abuses his own abilities for deception! It doesn't matter that you're of the same kind as him, you're not like him! You never will be like him! You will never be on his level!”

The Monkey King's mouth was hanging slack.

Was that guy seriously defending him, or was he seeing things?

But Bājiè looked just as flabbergasted, so he wasn't hallucinating (after all, they couldn't have the same hallucination, right?).

And Èrláng was just getting started: “You cannot take his place, because no one can! All that glory and power need to be earned through hard work and sacrifice and you haven't earned them! You're not even close to having his calibre! If he's a ten course meal, you're a bloody appetiser! Work towards your own damn reputation! The only person, who has ever given me a real challenge, who has given me a battle worthy of being called such, and you have the audacity to try and steal his credit, are you kidding me, how freaking dare you …”

I'm starting to feel like I'm in the wrong novel here.

Sūn Wùkōng felt his patience dwindling, until he noticed, that the Six-Eared Macaque was tapping the gourd in his hand with a single finger in a systematic pattern.

Oh.

He was using that weird tapping code he had taught Wùkōng and the other pilgrims months before.

Zhū Bājiè clearly noticed it too.

In fact, he deciphered what their youngest brother was tapping, before the Monkey King did (sometimes he did have his smart moments), and chortled – which he quickly disguised as a pig grunt, when Èrláng glared viciously at him.

Suddenly a voice from the background called out and the still visibly irate three-eyed god excused himself to go and help his brothers set up a feast for them all.

“What was that you said?”, whispered Wùkōng to his fellow macaque.

Liù'ěr Míhóu smirked, tapped it again and this time the other monkey was able to follow: “Totally stealing that 'ten course meal vs appetiser' insult. Don't tell him.”

Wùkōng snickered, his mood improving a little.

.

“So, how did you know, that his temperament is like that of our brother?”, asked the Monkey King Bājiè later, as everyone sat around the fire, eating a dinner cooked by Èrláng himself.

Bājiè shrugged: “Eh, I noticed a few things and they got me thinking, so in order to have certainty, I just went and asked straight up him.”

“… You're shitting me.”

“No, he did do that”, confirmed Èrláng. “Went up to me and asked me, if my temperament was 'extravagant', as he put it, like he wasn't risking being killed by me on the spot. As you can see, he's still here, though I did threaten to kill him, should he ever tell anyone.”

Bājiè nodded. “Yup. Pointed his three-tipped spear at my throat and everything.”

Wùkōng's eyes narrowed: “Wait, is that what you meant earlier, when you said he hates you? Is it because of that?”

The boar demon grimaced. “No, it's not that. It's … uh … well …”

Èrláng sneered: “Oh, what's wrong? Don't have the spine to explain? Or is it because technically they already know, but also don't?”

What.

“I'll give you a hint”, said the three-eyed god and pointed heavenwards. Towards the moon.

Wùkōng blinked. “Cháng'é?”

“She's my best friend. And he tried to rape her.” Èrláng's face and voice morphed into something so monstrous, that the Monkey King felt a shudder run down his spine. “I would have slaughtered him on the spot, if Cháng'é wasn't too tender-hearted to stand such a sight. It's only because of her and Guān Yīn, that this pig got to live.”

Wow.

The Monkey King side-eyed Bājiè. “You know, Third Brother, I keep questioning your self preservation instinct and now I'm questioning it even harder.”

“Same”, said Liù'ěr Míhóu.

“Hey! How was I supposed to know that the most beautiful goddess in Heaven is besties with the most terrifying god in Heaven?!”

“You should have considered, that she has powerful friends, before you harassed her! But it doesn't matter! You shouldn't have touched her regardless!”, snarled Èrláng.

Zhū Bājiè muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “I couldn't think shit, I was drunk.”

“You don't think shit, when you're sober either!”, retorted Liù'ěr Míhóu.

“Also, what kind of pathetic excuse is that!”, snapped Èrláng. “'I was too drunk to think'! Pah! You weren't too drunk to bust into her palace and try to force yourself on her! What would the world come to, if everyone could excuse their misdeeds like this! Should I now try to defend my own actions, by saying 'I was just following orders'?! It's a rubbish excuse and anyone with half a brain can see that!”

Thus reminded of his slain babies, Sūn Wùkōng stood up.

Grimly he spoke: “I'm glad to hear you see it that way. Because those were my dear grandchildren you wiped out and for that I hate you. I regret becoming your sworn brother, because now I can't take it back and I'll spend the rest of my eternal life worrying, that you will hurt them again. My master keeps talking about mercy and forgiveness and who knows! Maybe I'll get to the point, where, in a thousand years or so, I will find it in my heart to forgive you! But today is not the day, nor will it be tomorrow or any time in the foreseeable future.”

The Little Sage held his gaze and nodded. “Good to know. I wasn't going to ask for your forgiveness in the first place, but I understand and accept your decision.”

Good.

But that sliver of satisfaction instantly went out the window, when Wùkōng noticed Liù'ěr Míhóu wiggling his ears and looking at Èrláng with a strange gaze.

Pity.

The Six-Eared Macaque was pitying the three-eyed god.

What ever he had heard in the other's past and future had caused him to actually feel bad for him.

The Monkey King made note to confront the Macaque about that later.

And then Zhū Bājiè asked: “Okay, but seriously, Eldest Brother, how did you become sworn brothers with these people?”

Èrláng Shén blushed for some reason and Wùkōng was embarrassed to feel his own face heat up.

“During our first fight, actually. It was a heat of the moment kind of thing”, Èrláng admitted awkwardly.

“Yeah”, Wùkōng confirmed, equally awkward. “We were duking it out and pulling no punches and he was like 'hey, you're pretty strong, fighting you is fun' and I was like 'thanks, you're pretty strong too and I like it', and then he was like 'let's be sworn brothers' and I was like 'fuck yeah!', and that's how it happened.”

“While we were still fighting”, added Èrláng and the Monkey King nodded.

In retrospect, it had been absolutely priceless. If not for all that had happened since then, maybe Wùkōng would still be able to laugh about it.

Bājiè meanwhile was gawking at the both of them, like they were complete lunatics, which was probably exactly what he thought.

But he didn't say it out loud.

Which, in light of the fact that Èrláng Shén's aura grew more murderous every time the pig demon opened his mouth, was definitely wiser.

Loath as the Monkey King was to admit it, he understood the three-eyed Celestial's anger in this case. If someone had tried to rape one of his friends, Wùkōng would've felt the same way. So while the monkey was cranky that someone was threatening his brother with murder, Bājiè had brought this one on himself, so Wùkōng supposed he could let his nemesis have this one.

Plus, Èrláng's rage was … really fucking beautiful. This flawless face twisted into a bloodthirsty grimace; the deceptively pristine hands, that were clearly itching to wrap themselves around their enemy's head to crush it like a grape; the bloodthirsty and slightly crazed look in his eyes; the suffocatingly heavy aura, intensified by his just barely contained wrath … this was art. A beautiful, twisted, living piece of art. Wùkōng wished he could ban it on paper. Sadly, he was a crappy painter, so putting it into poems would have to do. Sūn Wùkōng had met a lot of pretty people, but none had ever stirred anything inside him. Except for this monkey murdering, arsonist, regrettably beautiful and very paintable bastard.

The Monkey King didn't like what it was doing to him. Sure, he himself was murderous and violent, but never had he been as fascinated by other people, as when he saw the unadulterated anger of the three-eyed god. He had felt it too, when they had fought 560 years ago. A thrill pulsating in his veins and tingling in his marrow. A level of excitement never experienced before or since. Not even with the Six-Eared Macaque.

No one could arouse this feeling but Èrláng Shén.

Damn that hypnotic arsehole!

Frustrated, Wùkōng decided to focus on his food and put a spoonful of soup into his mouth. Only to tear up and wheeze, when his mouth started to burn.

Èrláng tilted his head. “Great Sage, are you okay?”

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Like molten copper!”, cried Wùkōng.

Someone handed him a gourd. It turned out to be filled with milk (who was carrying a gourd full of milk?) and he emptied it greedily.

As he finally recovered from the way too spicy food thanks to the milky remedy, he noted that the men around him were trying to hold back their smiles and giggles.

He huffed: “What? Not everyone likes it spicy!”

Cue the collective laughter.

Liù'ěr Míhóu was the first to stop snickering, and held out his hand. “Alright, now you're feeling better, so give me back my gourd.”

The Monkey King complied, though he did ask, why the Six-Eared Macaque was carrying a gourd full of milk.

The white monkey shrugged. “I like milk. It's yummy and a good way to sate you for a while, if you're not lactose intolerant or allergic, which I'm not.”

“What do those words mean?”, asked Bājiè.

So the Six-Eared Macque explained it to him and the others.

“The causes for those averse reactions will be discovered 1300 years from now”, he said. “But it's a biological condition, so there's no harm in telling you people about it. Might actually help some of you, if you eat something and find yourself sick without poison. And I happen to know that one of you is lactose intolerant!”, he added pointedly, looking over the Sages of Plum Mountain.

“You're not intending to reveal each and every one of our weaknesses to your companions, are you? Because threatening to reveal the deepest, darkest secrets of powerful gods is a very dangerous game to play”, warned Èrláng.

The macaque smiled with creepy serenity: “I only expose people, who force my hand – or rather, my ears. For now I simply want you all know, that I have all this knowledge and I'm not afraid to use it against you, if you give me no other choice. But I feel bad for you, Little Sage, so your dirty secrets are safe with me!”

Èrláng's face and aura grew even darker than before, as he told the six-eared monkey: “You shouldn't flaunt your knowledge so arrogantly. People who know too much tend to get silenced by those they know too much about.”

Liù'ěr Míhóu laughed: “Oh, certainly! But you won't harm me! I heard it in your future! Besides, other than you only a handful of gods actually stand a chance against me.”

“Just like very few stand a chance against me!”, Sūn Wùkōng felt the need to brag.

The white macaque smirked: “And yet you didn't beat me!”

The Monkey King gasped, offended: “Bitch, you didn't beat me either! And we duked it out in all three realms!”

“You're the bitch!”

“No, you!”

“No, you!”

Eventually Bājiè put an end to their bickering, by grabbing both monkeys' heads and slamming them together. “You're not little kids. Cut it out.”

“Uuugh, you shouldn't have done that!”, groaned the Six-Eared Macaque and rubbed his head. “I'm not made of stone, dammit!”

The pig demon gawked at him. “What! But you're both Spiritual Primates! If you're not made of stone like Eldest Brother, then what are you made of?!”

“Water, ice and vapour”, answered the other immediately.

“How does that work?”

“The same way Sūn Wùkōng being a stone monkey works. I hatched from an ice crystal made from the frost of a mountain, the gale of a blizzard and the vapour and water of a hot spring the wind pushed my egg into. Eventually the hot water made my icy egg crack and I came out. Any more questions?”

“… Nah, I'm good.”

“I have one”, said the three-eyed prick, “Do you have powers that the Great Sage doesn't have and some where the opposite is the case?”

“Oh, sure”, Liù'ěr Míhóu replied. “For example, I don't have his eyes of truth, nor can I create hair clones. He on the other hand doesn't have my plenary hearing, nor does he wield the Samadhi Water.”

“That exists?”, asked one of Èrláng Shén's sworn brothers.

Liù'ěr Míhóu arched an eyebrow. “Of course it does. And I can control it. It's the only type of water that can effectively extinguish the True Samadhi Fire. It also has a few other niffty powers, just like the Samadhi Fire does. There is also the Samadhi Wind, which is wielded by the Yellow Marten currently under custody of the Western Heaven.”

“Good riddance!”, Wùkōng grumbled.

“I know right, that guy fucking sucks! Anyway, those are the three extant Samadhi Elements. There used to be a Samadhi Earth, Metal and Wood too, but their last wielders died millennia ago and their skills have been lost to time. Kinda blows, that my hearing isn't enough to recreate that knowledge, but eh. Now there's nothing that can be done about it. At least we are still here to pass our knowledge on. Isn't that right, Èrláng Shén?”

Wùkōng's eyes widened.

Suddenly a lot of things made sense.

Why the fire had been as destructive as it had been, despite Flowerfruit Mountain's magic. Why so many of his monkeys had died, despite their names being erased from the Book of the Dead. Why he had only been able to restore the beauty of his island via magic.

Wùkōng couldn't help but let out a wail over his dead grandchildren.

He didn't care about the glances of discomfort thrown his way by the others as a result. He would grieve for his subjects, whenever he damn pleased, and if anyone had a problem with that, they could kiss his arse.

.

---

.

1) Èrgē: Second Brother 2) Zhēnjūn: True Monarch 3) according to a Greek legend, King Croesus of Lydia got a similar prophecy from the Delphic Oracle and became his self-fulfilling prophecy, when he was defeated by Persian Great King Cyros the Great.

[sablesides-writing-corner]

My Muse's Mirror (Pt.2)

-------------------------

The dread set in once Virgil realized it was nearly five in the morning and Roman still hadn't come in to tell him to go to bed.

It wasn't the kind of dread that made him think his beloved was dying of course, but it was dread nonetheless.

“Roman? Is everything ok? Are you just asleep?” Virgil whispered as he approached the main bedroom.

The racking chorus of coughs that followed was all the answer he needed.

“Right! Well- you are not going into work tomorrow- and I'm going to sleep on the couch tonight-” Virgil said, Roman only responded with a feeble thumbs up and another outburst of coughing.

It was going to be a long night.

Virgil plopped himself back down on the couch, mourning the loss of warmth at not sleeping in the same bed as his knight in shining bother, but safety was safety- he wasn't about to get himself sick and risk not being able to take care of Roman.

Roman still wasn't awake by the time Virgil tore himself up off the couch, electing to start the day with a completely normal and healthy 3 cups straight of coffee with extra extra sugar.

Then it was time to get started on The Soup.

The Soup, as Virgil remembered it, was a longtime ancestral recipe of his families, which was supposed to cure any sickness, and hey, it did its job on him when he was a kid, why not try it out now.

So Virgil got out the biggest cooking pot he could find, and got to work.

It was a long, grueling, sweaty few hours later when the thing was finally done, and the kitchen smelled so alarmingly of backyard herbs that Virgil wouldn't be surprised if the smell was still there by Christmas.

And, just in time, he heard the dismayed groaning of Roman finally waking up from what Virgil could probably only describe as a brief coma.

“Alright big guy- I've got something that might help” Virgil said as he finished ladelling some of The Soup into a bowl.

“I feel like I got hit by like. Six buses.” was all Roman could manage to get out.

“Summer sickness'll do that to you- now eat up before I start spooning it in for you,” Virgil said with a laugh. Once he was sure Roman would finish the food on his own he went back to the kitchen to get the rest of The Soup into a suitable container.

He also took it upon himself to call into Roman's work to confirm his sick day- or days, if necessary- and muttered a silent prayer that it was his nice coworker that answered the phone this time.

Then it was time for the dreaded family phone call.

“Where is my ailing baby brother! I've got presents!” Remus called as he burst through the door.

“Remus that was locked,” said Virgil in exasperation.

“Oh- well! It's probably not broken!” Responded the man, ruffling Virgil's hair- as if it wasn't messy enough already from the humidity in the kitchen.

“He's still moping around in bed, hasn't gotten up pretty much all day,” Virgil answered Remus’ earlier question.

“Shouldn't be contagious- seems like it's just a cold so we're hoping it'll go away soon,” Virgil said, pulling out his drawing tablet while Remus had his little visiting hour with his brother.

It was a few hours before Remus left, and Virgil felt like his social battery was almost completely worn out.

“You know, you could still go to the carnival without me- if it's still in town,” Roman said in a raspy tone from the bedroom.

“I mean what else am I gonna do? Buy more jewelry?” Virgil said.

“I mean it! I think it'd be fun to hang out on your own for a bit- or invite Janus or something-” Roman continued, he seemed. . . Urgent. . . About it, almost weirdly so.

“I- alright- alright fine- I'll just- call Janus I guess-” Virgil said, pulling out his cellphone.

“So. . . Where did you say this carnival was? I thought it was open till the end of next month?” Janus said, looking around confused at the very much empty lot.

“Well. I can say it was here yesterday because I have picture- maybe something happened and they had to-” Virgil paused for a second as something glinted in the corner of his eye. He took a few steps towards whatever it was, and found a pendant lying on the ground, a spider holding a large purple gem hanging off of the chain.

“This that necklace you were going on about?” Janus asked, Virgil nodded, eyes still transfixed on the jewelry.

“Well, they left it here, their loss I guess- shall we?” Janus asked.

Virgil still didn't respond. Something about the necklace was. . . Familiar. . . He just wasn't entirely sure what.

“Virgil. . . Virgil. . . Virgil!” Virgil was finally jolted back into realty by the sound of his cousin's yelling in the background.

“Oh! Uh- sorry- got uh- distracted-” Virgil responded, Janus looked bemused.

“Let's- let's just get home ok? I think you've got a stuffy nosed prince to be looking after, hm?”

“I uh- yeah. . . Yeah. . .”

He'd worry about the necklace later, after he washed it off thoroughly.

Roman still wasn't any better when he got home, which was expected- Virgil hadn't thought he'd cured him, but he'd at least expected him to get a little better.

But he'd been wrong- in fact Roman almost seemed to have gotten worse. . .

“Goodnight hun,” Virgil said as he left the bathroom to go lay down on the couch.

He stared at the necklace in his hands for a long time, turning it over in his palms, running his thumb along the purple gem in the center.

He knew this necklace from somewhere. . . He just couldn't remember. And that was very, very inconvenient.

He set the pendant down on the table next to the couch and decided to leave the pondering for tomorrow, worrying about it now wouldn't do him any good, probably. . .

[what-eats-owls]

Feel free to not answer this bc there’s obviously a lot that could affect this and you can’t promise anything but do you have a rough timeframe of how long we’ll have to wait for book three? In the next couple years maybe?

This is actually a cool opportunity to illustrate how this particular flavor of sausage gets made in traditional publishing, so I'm happy to dig into it!

tl;dr: Ideally it'll come out next summer, but it may be pushed to fall or winter.

THE LONG VERSION:

Ideally, you want to stick with a book a year. We are doing everything we can to keep LT3 from having to release in Fall '24, because a) Fall tends to be when a lot of publishers release their anticipated heavy hitters, so it's a crowded field, and b) the election's going to be monopolizing everyone's attention.

However.

There are a number of factors in play, some I'm not even party to, but others I am, uh, uncomfortably involved in, haha.

First of all: I haven't finished drafting yet! I'm a little over the halfway mark. I wound up taking a less-than-voluntary six week break from the manuscript, first because Painted Devils came out and I was on tour, then shortly after I got back from tour I had a health issue that landed me on brain-scuttling meds for a week, only to have Grimoire release after I finished those, and then went out of town for four days after that, and only now are things settling enough for me to catch up on cleaning. Unfortunately, a six-week break also means I've had to make my brain fall back in love with this manuscript.... in the midpoint.... so. The engine's warming up.

Another factor is the title, weirdly enough. I've had a title in mind for years, but my publishing imprint (an imprint is a subdivision of a publisher, with its own name, editorial team and budget) announced an upcoming book with an extremely similar title, and that technically comes first. The author and I are both fine with having similar titles, but my publisher's sales team is apparently not thrilled. It may be a situation where they say, "If you absolutely have to have this title, you'll have to wait until January 2025 to release the book, so there's enough space between the two."

A third factor is my publisher's schedule itself! I may turn in the book with just enough time for it to come out, say, next June. But they could have an enormous book launching that month that they want to focus on, so, LT3 would be moved to July, or the schedule would be accelerated and we'd drop it in May. Or they just say "go with god" and release both books in June! Who knows! It also depends on how similar the other scheduled books are—releasing two comedic YA second-world fantasies in the same couple of weeks absolutely will cannibalize sales, for example.

And a fourth factor: This is the third book in a trilogy. Only the first two titles in a series are eligible for the NYT bestseller list (which drives more of publishing than we'd like to admit.) After the first two, the series as a whole can be considered for the Children's Series Bestsellers, but it's a lot harder to, say, collectively outsell the entirety of Harry Potter on a given week. Which is to say, my publisher may also be less rigid about what to do with LT3, since it's got long odds of being a blockbuster anyway.

*jazz hands* PUBLISHING!

[starwritesficsandstuff]

I've written a ton this year btw. I just haven't been posting because I'm trying to finish multiple very long stories before I start posting them just so they will for sure get finished. My goal is to be a lot more active on this blog this summer.

ANYWAY, going back to the good old days of posting "goals" I wish to achieve, here are some things I'm hoping to finish/start this year.

THINGS TO FINISH:

Sunset, Moonrise. Top of my priority list right now because the Spooky Month brainrot has sunk in so severely again after the new episode released.

The next two installments of my Epithet Erased series, which I have decided to start calling The Convergence AU. I've actually been working on these on and off for a year now. The first is a one shot that I just keep revising and revising and should probably just post, and it's called "It'll Be Okay," and its the AUs version of Giovanni "kidnapping" Molly at the end of PoP. The other is called Waking Nightmare, and it's Lorelai-focused, but naturally there's a lot of Sylvie in it too because I can't help but pop him into situations.

Heroes (And How Not to Assign Them). Just finish all of it.

I've been working on a Villainous series about Dark Phantom and Ghoul for about a year now. It's called Name of My Own and currently I have 5/8 fics in the series finished, and have begun to write the 6th one.

I've also been working on a small series about Caine from the Amazing Digital Circus, so I'm hoping to have some of that stuff out by the end of the year.

It's Dangerous Not to Feel Loved, my Adventure Time fic, will be finished sometime this year as well. I have four more chapters proper to write, and then all that's left will be posting a revisions. I'll probably post another chapter here very soon.

I started by never finished a character study for Khan from Murder Drones, so I'm hoping to finish that too, since I've been tinkering around with some ideas recently, given the new episode.

I'm like 2 chapters away from finishing the first installment to a silly little Rayman fic series. It's just kind of a remix of the original stories taking the aspects of the different lores I like and mashing them all up together. Also: OCs.

A Captain Laserhawk fic about Ramon, Bullfrog, and the clone Rayman. Because Bullfrog is so so so beloved to me. So far there's 3ish chapters finished and I don't know how long it'll be. Maybe 5 or six chapters long? Not too much more to go though; it's about halfway done.

THINGS TO START

I've been working on a crossover between The Amazing Digital Circus and The Pink City (another show by Gooseworx) and I'm hoping to get the first installment out sometime this year, but I will at least be starting it. It's going to be called The Pink Digital City (creative, I know /sarcasm).

I want to write more Spooky Month. Maybe something about Roy and the Cult because I love those "Roy in the Cult" AUs.

Might do something about a Spooky Month OC I've got, too.

Super early in the planning phases still, but I'd like to start the next installment of The Convergence AU after I finished Waking Nightmare. It'll focus on Crusher.

The next chapter of Operation: E.P.I.T.H.E.T.

More Pokemon crossover things, particularly more for the South Park crossover and actually getting something for the Ed, Edd, n Eddy AU I keep talking about finished and out there.

More oneshots. I need to write more oneshots. I never have oneshot ideas anymore because I really have been enjoying long form stories these days, but I need to keep practicing short form stories too or I'll get rusty lol. Feel free to send me oneshot requests for any of the fandoms listed here.

Okay, if you actually ready this gigantic thing, thanks lol. I appreciate it tons.

[some-pers0n]

I seen a post about how you forgot your instrument before a concert; how'd it go and what instrument did you play?

I play the alto saxophone! I play a couple of instruments, actually. Mostly the piano and alto sax, but I'm also half-decent at flute, clarinet, trumpet, and so on and so forth.

It's a long story. I skipped a year of my band class so I could get finished with this one stupid course we're forced to take by the government. So, finally, I'm back. However, for the years prior I had been using a school saxophone. Annnddd because I was returning after being gone, I found that there were no more saxophones for me to use. So I rented one.

I brought it to school the next day, played it, and then I put my name on it in bright, orange marker. Just a simple strip of scotch tape with my name. I also recall the neckstap being a clip-on and generally nice quality. I finished with the class, put it into the storage room cause lugging around a 25lbs saxophone is tedious and I don't really like practicing at home cause it's a little awkward. But, before I put it away, I remember taking a lil' sticker than came with the saxophone and putting it on the side. It was diagonal and off-center. I just kinda haphazardly slapped it on without really thinking. Then, I sealed it away inside and moved onto my next class.

The next day it's gone.

I can't find it. The saxophone with my name tag is just gone. Disappeared. I tore the storage room apart discreetly, trying not to alert attention. Nothing. It's vanished.

So, I panic. "Oh my god my rented saxophone is gone. Oh my god ohhhh my godddd" I'm trying to figure out a way to find this saxophone without telling anybody it's missing to begin with. I'mma be real with you all: I have a horrible habit of refusing to get help when I need it. I hate having to swallow my pride and embrace the slight embarrassment of having to be vulnerable and ask for help. Besides!! It's...probably in there! I'm just stupid and it's gonna be right in front of my face.

Only issue is that I still don't have a saxophone to play. Asking the conductor for help is a no-go cause my brain said so. Sooooo...I...kinda stole a saxophone that looked like mine. My rationalization was that it looked like mine. It had that sticker! The sticker I kinda just slapped on! It...must be mine. Maybe I had fabricated that memory of putting my name onto it.

It was supposed to be a once-and-done. One day I'd use another kid's instrument (which, hey, it might be mine!! Maybe it's mine...maybe...) for one day and it'll be over. I'll find it eventually. It's a temporary solution.

I used that saxophone for six months.

I knew another kid was using that saxophone because occasionally I would see new reeds pop up. My band class is split into three different classes, one with the freshmen, one with the sophomores, and one with the juniors and seniors. I knew it must have been used by a younger kid because the reeds were splintered already despite seemingly brand new. What was this kid doing??? Chewing on the reed??

I cleaned that thing religiously by the way. Revolting as it is, I made sure that I cleaned it both before and after.

But, yeah, finally it caught up to me. I had to do a concert which was a judication with the entire district. All of the classes had to go. Me taking that saxophone would mean I'd be jeopardizing some other kid's night. I couldn't do that.

So I missed it. It was the night where the truth spilt out. I had to get help.

I got the serial code of my saxophone and was in there the next day. I grabbed the saxophone I had been using and was chatting with my teacher about looking for my instrument during break. I was putting it together when...the code on the saxophone looked familiar. I pull out my phone and looked at the serial number of my saxophone.

...this is MY SAXOPHONE!!

SOMEBODY ELSE had been using MY saxophone! Somebody else had stripped off my name, put THEIRS on it, and had been using MY instrument for all of these months!

It was the complete opposite of what I thought was happening! I thought I was using some other kid's instrument while my own saxophone was being used by another kid, possibly taking it home every night so I can't see it. NO! I was using MY SAXOPHONE but some other kid was obviously using it too!!

Anyways so that was a major relief. I told the teacher and sentenced my instrument to my locker. If that kid comes around and is confused on where ""their"" saxophone went, it's gonna be funny. I didn't miss a concert just cause this kid couldn't tell that this wasn't their saxophone!

TL;DR: I'm stupid. It was my saxophone all along.

[cindersalad]

It's time for the usual end of the year thoughts post on this blog. Horay!

Hey, hello. ❤ I hope you're having a fantastic day, or that it'll get better if it's not a good day! It's the last week of the year, another Christmas has gone by ('thankfully', whispers I, a very Grinch-y person), and I'm sitting here thinking about my year. And what a year. It has been a roller coaster, and on the personal level I got probably the most full year I've had in the latest, what, six years? I'm learning to kind of manage my anxiety, I'm learning to ask for help when I can't (which is probably the biggest thing)... I got a job, too, finally! It'll start the first days of next year, which will reduce a lot my free time, but I've never been happier. I feel useful.

But scrolling through my blog I also fully realized that this has probably been the least productive year in terms of drawings. I think I've posted only 11 drawings, not even one per month, and in general I think I've spent... months? not even touching a drawing supply. It was probably for the best: I really needed to fix some stuff. To finish some of the things I started, too. But, man, did I miss drawing. I think it's one of the biggest voids I had this year, together with just... telling stories. Any story, in any format. I miss drawing comics, I miss writing stories, I just miss it.

Next year it will be a whole new story. With the job starting and a lot of other big changes already in plan, if this year seemed to me full I can't even imagine how I'll feel next year, but for some reason I feel having a lot less free time will make me use that little window a lot better of having an entire free day. I want to return drawing much more frequently, I want to return telling stories! It probably won't be immediate, but I have a lot of sketched illustrations that I want to continue, and my itch for taking the pencil daily is returning stronger than ever. I want to post more often, my sketches as well, despite always feeling so insecure about them. Perhaps some processes, too? And I want to return to write. I have so many stories in my mind, and a lot would work very well as fanfictions - I wanted to draw most of them, but I suddenly realized that I could very well write them too. Nothing stops me from adapting parts of those fanfics into fancomics in the future, anyway! Writing entire stories in my second language won't be easy (and at least one of the fanfics I have in mind will probably be in Italian and I'll have to see if to translate it), but I roleplay a lot in English, so I feel pretty confident. >:)

I don't know what I'll manage to do next year, I'm not setting any real goal in terms of productivity here, but... man, I really wish I can start an original comic this time. Humbert's story and Avi's story are both really well darn developed, but going from notes to an actual flashed out story is a step that has been too big for me for now. But with all I accomplished this year, maybe the step is becoming more and more doable. ❤

Anyway, I've kept you here long enough. ❤ I'm not sure how much stuff I'll actually manage to make, but a year is longer than we think! Everything I'll do, you'll receive updates here, so worry not! Thank you so much for sticking with me all this time despite the very few updates, of all your patience and support, comments and messages. You're the best! ❤ I hope you'll have a fantastic day, and that your future will be golden and full of good things. Take care, and I will see you next year! ❤

[pastballads]

❤ + your url

Hearts for my thoughts. | Accepting | @hybridgear

You're asking me to give my thoughts about my blog? I'm putting this under a read more because I've got a bit to say. More about myself than my blog, though it does tie into it and my writing.

The rules, all the about pages, and the verses page could've looked way better than they do, but I don't know enough about Google Docs to actually fix things the way I want them. I only started using Docs four years ago, and it was mostly as basic backups for my characters' about pages in case anything happened to a blog or for the purpose of Discord RP servers.

I'm not great at messaging others either. Not because I'm shy, but more often than not because I don't want to bug. Like, over half the people on my Discord list have left their profiles on Do Not Disturb or appear offline damn near 24/7, and the messaging here is a broken, buggy mess and I don't want to unintentionally spam someone because I have no idea if a message went through or not. People are always like "no it's fine, come talk to me whenever", but I'm not going to gamble and take the chance of accidentally pissing someone off. Happened enough over the years.

Then there's my reply times. I can be slow as molasses, and I know it. Everyone knows that whole spiel about roleplaying here is a hobby, real life comes before here, yadda yadda. The issue there is I'm a space cadet with bad ADHD and an ever-shifting sleep schedule. I could be awake or asleep at any time of day depending on the circumstances around the house. I could be halfway through writing a massive draft when something as simple as a single song can derail my entire train of thought. And this isn't including all the spontaneous parts of life causing distractions either. That's why I could be here finishing dozens of drafts in one afternoon or radio silent for almost a week with maybe one post. Not much of a surprise that I constantly apologize for how late they can be.

Muses are another big problem of mine. They're all over the place, with inspiration coming and going like ocean tides. Doesn't help that music or playing a new game or damn near anything can spontaneously send me down the idea phase of creating a new one. Back when I was in the RWBY fandom, I had eight sideblogs because my mind was dedicated to thinking outside the box from the run-of-the-mill OCs everyone used. Hell, it's still a bit of an issue. Just this month, my mind's thought about adding my FF14 character to the roster despite knowing little about the lore, as well as running a trial with my revamped take on Algol from Soul Calibur 4, putting Tino back into his RWBY verse as an AU even though it'll go unused, an old OC who was based on or even secretly Dionysus, and my take on the MC of a nigh-dead MMOJRPG called Onigiri. Not gonna happen though. Last thing I want is to flood this blog with six shallow characters I came up with in two days.

Tying in with the previous bit, getting into the headspace of writing certain muses is another issue for the same reasons. It's entirely sporadic.

I can go on and on and on. Some of these things can be improved or fixed. Others, they're just personal issues. You can say I'm being hard on myself or whatever else you might think, but I'm just being honest.

[everyday-is-brighter-with-you]

[ ID: 7 infographic slides titled with 6 ways to avoid procrastination, presented by IvyStudying. The first slide is the title and a picture of a smiling coffee cup with a heart.

Number one way is chunking.' with a big, scary task, break it up into tiny pieces.

In other words, the first time that you work on something that you don't want to, give it 15 minutes ,that's all! Then stop

The next day, plan another 15 minutes

Eventually, you'll find that you're into the task

If you start early, 3 weeks before something is due, or even a month, you'll find that that panic about the deadline approaching goes away

Never start writing with a 10-page paper as your goal, always try to do 15 minutes worth of something'

Number two is time not task.' Plan what you have to do by time.

For example you say to yourself: I need 2 hours to read 3 chapters and that's it. At the end of those 2 hours, stop!

Even if you aren't done, say, I'll assign 20 minutes to myself to finish it tommorrow.

Why so strict? 1) you won't trust yourself if you keep breaking your own rules 2) you need to break the cycle of how students frequently work

They work until they're exhausted, it's late, you're burnt out, your brain is shut off

Your energy approach to the task will change; instead of burning yourself out and then trying to get revitalised; stop while you're on top'

Number three is false deadlines.' You have something important due on the 20th, so you say, okay I'm gonna have that due on the 16th, expect you don't listen to those because there's nothing anchoring internal deadlines unlike external

How you make false deadlines work is, you externalise them

Make an appointment with the Writing Centre, so that you should have your paper done by then

The Writing Center won't make you have it done( trading one police for another) but it'll keep you ahead

The other false deadline; you have a friend, not necessarily in the same course, your friend has something due on 18th, you have something due on 20th, you meet up and show each other the work on the 16th.

Mark the fact that I said I would have this done, and here it is- then put it away and have fun.'

Number four is Rewards.' the problem with marks is there is no immediate gratification.

You study for an exam and you come out exhausted and you have no sense of how you did: maybe you did well but you're not sure.

Same thing with taking courses you don't enjoy;I need this course to get my major, my degree

The four year old inside you is not interested

The thing to do is reward your four year old on a four year old level; like by going for a walk, listening to music, seeing a friend

What you need are small, happy, gut level gratifying rewards when you accomplish small tasks

Reward effort, celebrate successes: don't wait for marks to reward yourself, and if you do well on the exam celebrate the later.'

Number five is plan personal time. 'One of the great injustices of being a procrastinator is that we constantly say we're going to work and then we don't

We always steal personal time from work Time

Divide up personal time and work time

The idea that a student shouldn't have personal time is absolutely wrong; unethical and unhealthy

Start by acknowledging that you deserve personal time

This helps plan out work time

for example; I know I'll be taking Thursday off for myself so Wednesday night I should be working. '

Number six is ABC prioritisation 'How it works is you divide any to-do list into categories

A= Crucial- B= Less important- C= I Should Get This Done

The list has to be as close to even as possible

Assign values to each thing in the list and then get rid of the C's

Priority is not to get everything done but to get something done

your goal now is to get all the As done and of you get all the As done you have succeeded! If you have leftover time start working on the Bs.

Not a good way of planning your life, good way to get yourself out of a crisis

The danger is in doing nothing!' End ID]

It’s been a while since I’ve made a post, and I figured that these tips might be extra helpful with exam season approaching. As someone who struggles a lot with procrastination, I do everything I can to fight the urge to put assignments off until the last minute (even though I’m not always successful). 

As always, good luck! (ᵔᴥᵔ)

[kelyon]

TMI Tuesday

Hey guys!

Posting a little late today. I didn't have the energy to write anything else last night and I only just now finished my work for my job. But I am here!

I posted a new chapter of Courtship on Friday. I've got two chapters left, and then I want to take some kind of break. Of course, I also want to start writing new stuff. I've got an idea for a story that doesn't have any angst or darkness! (Okay, maybe a little bit of darkness, this is Rumbelle after all.) And then I have some WIPs to update and then it'll be Christmas and Rumbelle Secret Santa. I have a tradition of starting new fics in the new year, but I think I'm gonna have to let that go for a bit. Maybe next June will be a good time to start Golden Love. I've waited this long, what's another six months?

Anyway, I'm here for questions! Let me know what you want to know. I hope you all have a great day. Take care!

Courtship is here

My inbox is here

[testedtransgressor]

Been dead for the past few months. Let's shift that.

Had some health issues that made it difficult to work. Still battling them, but I've abandoned the idea of healing at this point and I'm working more on pain management. Full recovery can take up to six months in a brace and I just don't have that kind of time to pause everything.

Despite all the distractions, still managed to finish my media law and ethics class with a Distinction. On to Video Production class now, let's good! Hopefully I can nail these assessments and come up with a HD overall for the year - I'll get back to journalism in Jan, but after all the law stuff I just needed a creative class to refresh my brain.

Speaking of creative, I've been working on a new worldbuilding project, which is coming along really well! Looking at possibly turning it into a video game setting, but if that goes ahead it's going to be several years before we see it hit the shelves. Here's a pic of the rough map I've been working on in recent weeks.

Still in my dead-ender to pay the bills, but had a moment of affirmation the other day - got another contact offering me a management position at a hotel. For those who've been playing along via Twitter and FB this past year, I left hotels and hospitality for a reason, and while those salaries are very pretty, I don't feel entirely comfortable with the idea of sacrificing my body and development time for anything less than six figures.

I'm rebuilding the content-posting network again, so follow whichever of these you're on. I'm also on Threads and still have my old Twitter/X, but rarely post to either of those. Maybe I should start doing updates there...

Finally, Flare has stalled thanks to editors - or lack thereof. Specifically, lack of finances to pay editors. There may be a beta version out by the end of the year, but it'll be missing the last few chapters for obvious reasons. Right now I'm just seeing how things go with staying paid and keeping up bills. If you want to throw money into the project, head over to my Ko-fi and tip - everything coming in via creative stuff goes into publishing Flare first, and will then go onto the journalism stuff.

Link recap for the ones following at home:

Ko-fi

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

[ultdyknn]

hi all!! ヾ(＾∇＾) it's been a while

so many things have happened since i last posted, and a whole summer has gone by!

firstly, i have gotten back into creative writing again! i've always been into writing my own short stories and mini novels since forever, and now i've found the motivation to pursue this again.

for six years i've been working on a passion project of mine, which is a novel covering both period fiction and fantasy. it's even influenced a lot of my artwork, which has actually sparked my motivation to actually finish the novel. maybe i'll post some parts of the novel on here..? (ー_ーゞ ... stay tuned i guess?

last time i posted, i was looking forward to zb1's debut (10/7). let me just say.. i'm so so SOOO glad that they went with a fresh whimsy concept and not a hardcore and dark concept that has been plaguing boy groups since 4th gen started. i've been seeing more groups start to shift away from the hardcore concepts and i couldn't be happier.

also, my two zb1 albums came in last month and guess who's card i pulled?

not just one hao.. but TWO hoas??? i've never been this lucky before when it comes to pulling photocards ＜("0 ")＞

in addition to zb1, i've been catching up with groups that i've previously been fans of. nct dream also had a comeback in july 'ISTJ' and it's sooo good!! renjun has been killing it this comeback this is HIS era. let's go renjun you go renjun!!!

i didn't pull renjun this comeback but i've been collecting some of his photocards from this album and the previous album. i've been getting back into investing in photocards which i'm not too proud of, considering that it's a big investment depending on which idol's cards you want to collect.

unfortunately for me, all my favorite idols are really popular, meaning their cards cost a lot more.

i'm trying to be smart and not overdo it though!! i don't want to go broke again (◞‸◟）.....

in other non-kpop related news, i got a new laptop!! my old one gave up on me so i had to use my mother's personal laptop for the rest of the spring semester and for my summer classes. i'm not normally a picky person, especially in times like this where i take what i can. but... given how old it was... it was absolute hell trying to get things done with it.

i'm actually a pretty busy person, and a lot of my work requires me to have a good-working device with working internet. this spare laptop was barely getting me through that, and it became almost impossible to get anything done.

and finally!! i was able to save up enough money this summer to get a new laptop! and it was perfect timing since i go back to school very soon..

anyways.. school starts very soon for me. it's my last year and then hopefully i'll be done for good. i'm a little nervous because of senior thesis work, but i have a really supportive department (we're very small so we all know each other pretty well) so hopefully i'll be okay. hopefully, this year will go pretty smoothly and it'll be another good year.

again, i'm sorry that i haven't been on here a lot. hopefully i'll be able to stay on here enough that i can give monthly updates, but we'll see. until then, i hope this finds you in good spirits! love yas <33 !

to sign off, here's a funny cute pic of renjun that i've been cheesing over since two days ago

-Starr ☆

17.8.23

UPDATE!!

i totally forgot to mention that i watched barbie and oppenheimer a couple weeks ago and both are so so good!!! i was going in thinking i'd like only one of them, but actually loved both them near equally!

well... i actually think i liked barbie a little bit more. i think it has to do with being afab and being someone who has the female perspective and experience of a woman living in this world. i think that it's really sad that critics have labelled this as an "anti-man" and "preachy" movie when that wasn't the point at all. barbie actually talks about how the patriarchy is harming both women AND MEN! it talks about how even men are also victims of a social structure that they created.

i could talk about barbie forever, but i don't want to add too much to this post since it's already so long (~_~;)

maybe i'll talk about barbie and oppenheimer another time, since i have so many thoughts on both of them. overall, it was a good experience and recommend both movies to anyone who hasn't seen them yet. 10/10 for both to be honest...

anways.. signing off for real this time!

-Starr ☆