#not that I actually hope it’s widespread but it caught me off guard so much

[sochilll]

Please tell me someone else has seen the transphobic chocolate commercial what the fuck

[jamespotterthefirst]

Queen Bree HC please for dad Ethan and literally everyone drooling for him. And of course, Lilac, too.

Anon, thank you so much for this! I hope I did okay!

First Grade Field Trip (Headcanons)

It's ridiculous how many PTA parents and teachers try to persuade him to chaperone the field trip to the kids' museum

The morning of, Lilac teases him and tells him it's because he's too good looking for his own good

Ethan has gotten better about teasing her back throughout the years so he pulls her to him from behind and kisses her neck. Then, he tells her, "I'd ask you to go instead but some of those parents are just as crazy about you."

Lilac rolls her eyes and teases, "So you're taking the bullet for me? What a gentleman."

But little Dolores, nicknamed Lolly, is at the table, eating the pancakes her mother made (because her father is good at a lot of things but NOT making pancakes.) She hears her father suggest that her mom go to the field trip instead

And no offense to her mom but she prefers it so much better when her dad goes

"You have to come with us, Dad!" she protests. "No one explains the science displays better than you."

Lilac feigns offense but she gets it. Ethan used to take her on museum dates all the time and whenever she wasn't trying to distract him with very passionate make-out sessions, she did find his insight interesting.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Ethan assures her, ruffling her hair slightly. "If I'm not there to explain the difference in Upper Jurassic rock formations, then who? Noah's dad?"

Father and daughter snort at that ridiculous notion.

They spend the next fifteen minutes fixing and packing their lunch (brie cheese, baguetta, crackers, prosciutto, cashews, cucumbers, grapes, dried apricots, and chocolate-covered cherries. Ethan calls it a charcuterie to-go. Lilac calls it grown-up Lunchables.)

While Lilac drops the twins off at day care and heads into work, Ethan, Jonah, and Dolores set off to school.

The effect is immediate when they arrive.

Ethan rarely drops the kids off but when he does, he attracts attention.

Jonah is used to it and only sighs

Dolores wonders why everyone looks at her Dad with such interest.

Ethan is lasered focused on dropping his son off at his classroom before he meets Lolly's class by the buses.

Jonah's teacher actually chokes on her coffee when she sees Ethan. She recovers hastily, though her face is bright red and she stumbles on her words.

Lolly's teacher is much older, and as such, much subtler. Though Ethan has caught her quietly assessing him with approval.

They board the bus and Ethan is way too tall for it. He would have preferred to drive to the museum but his daughter insisted they go on the bus. And who can say no to the face?

Lolly sits with her friend, Charlotte, and Ethan has to find a seat nearby.

Several of the single moms look up hopefully.

One even makes her kid find a different seat.

Ethan finds an empty row and much to his relief, another parent (Noah's dad) comes to his rescue by sitting next to him. It turns out the guy is actually pretty decent.

But Ethan's worries are far from over.

The single moms follow him like vultures, feigning interest as he explains the Muscular System in the rock climbing section.

“It was awful nice of you to help us chaperone,” one of them says when she manages to get his attention at lunch.

Ethan doesn't smile, merely nods once. “My wife was busy today, otherwise it would have been her.”

The woman bristles slightly at the mention of his wife. Which is ridiculous because the gossip among the parents is widespread. Everyone knows Lilac and Ethan are happily married.

“There's nothing that comes before my children. I have to ensure their safety during field trips.”

Ethan doesn't miss the implication.

“I understand,” he returns dryly. “But then again, you're not a world renowned doctor who has to meet a deadline for her upcoming book.”

“Yeah,” Dolores adds cheerfully from a seat nearby. “Mommy is famous!”

The PTA mom, whose name Ethan did not bother to catch, gives them a forced, almost pained smile before getting lost.

Despite the speed at which gossip travels, some of his admirers are not deterred by the less than pleasant encounter.

One of them catches Ethan by surprise when she compliments his hair.

Ethan doesn't breathe a sigh of relief until later that day, when they're finally back at home recounting their day to Lilac.

“Oh!” Dolores adds as the excited conversation draws to a lull. “Jenny's mom told Daddy she liked his hair.”

Lilac raises an eyebrow. “Did she now?”

Ethan blushes.

“Yeah! She said it like you say it sometimes.”

Seductively. But Lolly is too young to know that.

Lilac lifts her gaze to meet Ethan's.

“And what did Daddy say?”

“He said 'thank you!'” Lolly supplies.

Ethan opens his mouth to explain under Lilac's expectant gaze.

“I was... not expecting that. It caught me off guard.”

Lilac's eyebrows only climb higher up her forehead.

Later when Lolly goes off to play with her siblings, Lilac says, “Jenny's mom is desperate.”

“It was—”

“And a liar.”

“Pardon?”

“Your hair is ridiculous.”

Ethan blinks.

Then he smirks.

He can tell she's joking, but despite the jest, she is still a tiny bit jealous. With a laugh, he pulls her close, her back against his chest. “That’s not what you said last night.”

“I say a lot of things when my mind is elsewhere.”

“Namely on my mouth and what it had the pleasure of doing.”

She turns in his embrace, finally joining in his laughter.

 He kisses her because she's crazy if she thinks there'd ever be anyone else

Notes: LMAO this might as well have been a fic. Oh well. I don’t know how to do HC and that this point I’m afraid to ask.

Thank you for reading if you made it this far!

___________________

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[noah-moth-cursed-chaos]

2- “No no no, sorry! I just-… I honestly didn’t think you even knew my name.”

“Benjamin?”

The hacker was confused to hear the voice, it sounded like Obyn, but why would Obyn be speaking to him? He looked up and-wow it *was* Obyn. He was kind of dumbstruck, the nature guardian seemed to stick to his own circle, only pulled from it by some rather insistent pestering. And Benjamin was *not* in his circle.

“… Why are you looking at me like that? Do you not want to speak to me?”

“No, no no, sorry! I just-… I honestly didn’t think you even knew my name.” Benjamin laughed awkwardly.

“… we work together, why wouldn’t I?” Obyn raised an eyebrow.

“Well I just-we haven’t really spoken before.” Benjamin said, pausing before admitting, “But uh, we do share a lot of the same friends. So I guess it makes sense you’d know who I am.”

“I see.” Obyn paused, seeming almost as if he hadn’t expected to get this far somehow, “… How long have you been working on… whatever you’re doing?”

“Oh, just a few days. I ate today-and slept. So if Etienne sent you you can tell him I’m fine.” Of course that would be why Obyn was there. His eyes drifted back to his computer. He swore his friends worried too much…

“Would you like to go for a walk?”

“I-huh?” Now that caught Benjamin off guard, he looked back up at Obyn, “You-what?”

“Would you like to go for a walk?” Obyn repeated, as if it wasn’t practically unheard of amongst the heroes for him to openly want to be around the others, “Sunset is gorgeous in the forest near here.”

“Well I have to-“

“I’ll let you play with the spirit wolves. Quincy said you wanted to.” Well. That was definitely an offer Benjamin couldn’t refuse.

“… Just let me save my progress.”

Obyn wasn’t sure why he’d offered to take Ben for a walk, he’d simply been asked to see if he was caring for himself, and it seemed he was. Oh well. Fresh air does everybody some good. Benjamin had always seemed a naturally cheery person, easy enough to get along with, or Obyn thought. Benjamin was right. They didn’t talk. But he seemed much more lively away from his computer. He was asking Obyn if he knew about the plants around them, and Obyn was.. actually more than happy to indulge the hacker’s curiosity. It was nice, he had to admit. “It’s really cool that you know all this.” Benjamin’s voice shook the other from his thoughts.

“.. I’m glad you want to hear about it.” He admitted, “Not many of the others care to, Quincy does, and Etienne doesn’t mind it, but believe or not Quincy knows almost as much as I do.” And it wasn’t hard to tell when Etienne was bored, even if the drone pilot didn’t realize that.

“I bet Etienne makes the same face he does when I tell him about my projects.” Benjamin laughed, “He tries his best but he’s not very good at faking interest.”

“… what *is* it you’re working on actually?” Obyn asked.

“Oh! So you know how I can take down the bloons with my bloon Trojan?”

“I’ve heard of that, yes, it’s rather impressive.”

“You flatter me!” Benjamin grinned, “Well, this means that the bloons have to have some sort of robotic component! If I could send out a widespread signal instead of targeting one at a time I could possibly take down an entire field of them! But we have so many monkeys who have some sort of robotic component that I’d have to find a way to target *specifically* the system the bloons run on, which.. well, I don’t know what system that is.” The hacker frowned after that last bit, “It’s one of the more complicated projects I’ve done, it’s definitely a pain in the butt.”

“I don’t know anything about technology myself, or I’d offer my assistance. But with your skill I’m sure you’ll be able to complete it eventually.” Obyn couldn’t imagine how hard that must be, actually he had no clue how it’d work at all.

What did he mean by a system? Why did the bloons run on it? What type of signal could pop bloons? Or hurt the monkeys with robotic parts?

Obyn stopped as they came to a small clearing in the forest they were walking to, looking to the sky. The sun was going down and the clouds were all variety of gorgeous colors. “It’s lovely, isn’t it?”

“Definitely.” Benjamin agreed, “.. I should watch the sunset more often.”

“It’s definitely worth doing.”

The two stayed out there until the sun went down, before heading back to camp, at Benjamin’s tent Obyn turned to Benjamin, “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Don’t work too hard.” Wait.

“Hey-you said I’d get to play with the wolves.” The hacker pointed out. Obyn smirked-excuse me what was this? Did he get tricked into going on a walk?! It was fun-but still!

“It’s too late now, maybe you can go on another walk with me tomorrow and I’ll let you then.” The nature guardian said calmly, “I hope you have a good night.”

“I-no fair!”

“I think it’s plenty fair.” Was he snickering? How rude!

“You know what? Maybe I *will* walk with you again tomorrow!” At that Obyn’s snickering went to a full blown laugh, he looked away, collecting himself before replying.

“I look forward to it.”

[justanotherlifeff]

Chapter 1

21 July 2314

Musutafu, Japan

The dark cityscape was suddenly illuminated by an explosion in one of the factories of the industrial district. The factories were closed for the day and the workers already went home, something that brought peace into All Might’s mind as victims were the last thing this operation needed. It took them 10 years to locate her. He couldn’t imagine what the poor girl must’ve gone through. In the year 2304, when All Might defeated All for one, the police found several experimentation documents in his hideout. Experiments on creating a weapon to kill All Might. While All for one was the strongest villain to walk the Earth, face to face combat with All Might was something that he wanted to avoid.

The documents mentioned of a girl, age 3 as of then, being given multiple psychological quirks as a fetus. She was the daughter of All for one’s two faithful followers, Empath and Boost. According to the documents, the girl inherited both her parent’s quirks, which were emotional manipulation and quirk enhancement also known as boost, as well as the quirks given to her by All for one, which were, telekinesis, portal creation and time travel. While her quirks were taken from mediocre quirk holders by All for one, her father’s boost made them all uncontrollably strong. A small trigger could make her lose control and cause widespread destruction. However, a quirk that strong comes with drawbacks. Due to her powers being psychological in nature, it increases the movements of her blood cells abnormally, making her blood vessels expand, causing intense pain that may make her lose consciousness. It doesn’t just stop at that. Her quirk doesn’t automatically deactivate when she loses consciousness. Instead, it grows stronger and continues it’s destruction in a much larger scale. The scale of destruction, according to the documents were unknown as there was no experiment done on that yet. To make sure that she doesn’t lose consciousness from the pain, a training regime was created for the three year old. According to the document, the training regime consisted of multiple forms of torture which were so gruesome that it made All Might wince just thinking about it. “I hope she’s alive.” All Might thought before attacking the villain’s base.

The explosion woke you. You were tied up in your room as usual. The light bulb in your room bursted and small shelf broke apart. It always happened when you got startled. “What’s that sound?” you wondered as you sat in the dark room. You weren’t allowed to feel things. Atleast unless they were experimenting on you. However, sometimes you just couldn’t help it. The explosion scared you. You can’t be making these mistakes or the experiments will hurt even more. You sat alone in the darkness till the door was opened by a man. “Is it time for experiments already?” you wondered. “Get up, Nomu. We need to get out of this place” your father hissed at you as he started opening your cuffs. “Why do they call me Nomu?” you wondered yet again. You wondered why ever since you found out what it meant. You were homeschooled by a teacher that your parents kidnapped. The teacher was scared of you. Everyone was scared of you except your parents and aniki... You were scared of your parents. In a flash, your face was splattered with blood as something punched your father, breaking the wall. As you looked at the man before her, only one thing came across your mind. “He killed father… He’s stronger than father… He will kill me now…” you thought as fear consumed you. Just as the man turned his attention towards you, you backed away, shouting “STAY AWAY FROM ME!” with a hoarse tone. The lack of speaking made your throat feel raw. “Don’t worry! I’m here to save…” the man started but you already lost control of your powers. The next thing All Might knew was that he was sent flying alongside the debris of the building.

“Eraser head, seems like I’ll be needing your help after all.” All Might said as he approached the black haired pro hero. They were standing outside the industrial district along with a group of police. After being thrown off by the young girl’s telekinesis, All Might decided to regroup. Your radius of destruction seemed to increase by the minute. You seemed like you were trying her best to control your powers but so far, you were failing. Your expression made it clear to All Might that you were scared. All they needed to do was have a conversation with you without her powers getting in the way. “Is she an enemy? Why did she turn her power on?” Eraser head asked All Might in a monotonic voice. “She’s just scared. I could see it in her face. This is all self defence. It seems like she doesn’t have much control on her quirk.” All Might answered. “I see. Now what do you propose we do?” Eraser head asked. “We need to hurry. Her destructive radius is increasing as we speak. I’ll carry you close enough to her and you need to erase her quirk. There is no other way to stop this.” All Might answered. Other than Eraser head and All Might, no other heroes were informed of this as it was a top secret mission. If the general public found out about the existance of an anti All Might weapon, they would panic. After all, you were a wild card, there was no guarantee that you would be on the hero’s side. The plan was put into action as All Might picked Eraser head up and used Detroit smash to propel himself closer to the epicentre of the flying debris. There you were, levitating, pulling on your own hair to make yourself focus on controlling your powers but yet, failing. It didn’t take long for Eraser head to locate you and erase your quirk. With that, you started falling down, though, All Might quickly caught you and brought you to safety on one of the nearby roofs all while making sure that Eraser head doesn’t lose focus on you.

You were ready to run as soon as All Might put you down. However, you fell on your feet wincing in pain. While you were wearing a T shirt and sweatpants, it didn’t stop All Might from noticing the blue veins that showed through your skin. Your face was full of blue marks, half her hands and your feet as well. Your blood vessels were expanded enough to show on your skin and All Might could only imagine how painful that must be. “Please don’t kill me” you blurted out. Your (E/C) pupils were dilated with fear. They were milky white when you were using your quirk. “Young lady, we are not going to kill you. We are here to help you. Please calm down and listen to us. We won’t hurt you.” All might told you in a gentle tone. No one ever spoke to you like this. “But… You killed him… My father…” you stammered. “Calm down, young lady. I did not kill your father. However, I cannot guarantee his safety anymore since as the debris fell, there’s a high chance that he is dead. I’m sorry about it. The same goes for your mother.” All might explained with a grim yet gentle voice. “I… I killed them?” you asked, wide eyed. You didn’t look sad, infact, you almost looked relieved. “We don’t know that yet. We are here to rescue you. Your parents are villains and they hurt people. We want to give you a chance to change your life. You can learn to control your power without being hurt and you can make friends and have a nice family.” Eraser head told her monotonously. “Yes that’s right young lady! So, would you come with us?” All might smiled at you, holding out a hand. You looked at them for a while and held All might’s hand. “Kill them if they aren’t dead already. They would come back to hurt me if you don’t.” you muttered. “Don’t worry. No one is going to hurt you. You are under our care now. By the way, what’s your name?” All might reassured you and asked you your name. “They called me Nomu.” you answered. “Nomu? Brainless?” All might asked, confused. “She was just a weapon of destruction to them, without her own will. Hence the name ‘Nomu’ or brainless” Eraser head predicted. “Well, we will give her a new name in that case! Let’s go!” All Might said cheerfully before picking you up and heading to where the police were waiting. Eraser head stopped erasing your quirk long ago but it seemed as if the news of your parent’s apparent death and the promise of safety calmed you.

Your POV

March 20 2316

Musutafu, Japan

My name is (Y/N) (L/N). I was the daughter of two villains, Empath and Boost. It was later revealed that my father’s last name was (L/N) and thus, I inherited the name while one of the nurses in Musutafu public hospital gave me my first name as they did a health check-up on me after I was brought to the police. Due to the heavy destruction I caused in the industrial district, my identity had to be published. Now that my existance was no longer a secret, no public school dared to enroll someone as risky as I am and so, with some help from All might and dad (I call Mr Aizawa dad now since he has.been a father figure to me ever since I was rescued), I was admitted in Soumei Junior high in Tokyo. As dad was in charge of taking care of me, I lived in Musutafu and travelled to Tokyo everyday to go to school. I was never academically excellent, I was more or less an average student. Dad made sure that I get therapy for the last two years, to bring my emotions in control, not by force but by actual professional help. To be fair, it worked. I could control my powers better now unless I got caught off guard by some sudden emotion. It wasn’t like I had to force myself not to feel anything. I just didn’t let it’s intensity get to me. If any emotion such as fear from a tire bursting suddenly got to me, it would end mostly in a broken lightbulb or something close to that. However, it never got worse than this unless I tried to train with dad. There were times when I was close to losing control but dad erased my quirk before that happened. For the daughter of two villains that I accidentally killed, I had a normal life. I couldn’t be more grateful about it. Currently, I was training to get into U.A, the most prestigious hero academy in Japan. It may sound cliche but after All might held out his hand to me two years back, my life changed. If those villains didn’t exist, maybe I could’ve had the normal life I have now for a longer time. Maybe I wouldn’t have to deal with this quirk that makes me stay alert all the time. That could potentially destroy the world if I am not careful enough. Yes, my quirk can destroy the world if I lose control completely. The cameras in the industrial district recorded the damage I caused in a matter of minutes. I still had my consciousness back then and I had control on my power to some extent. The data the scientists in I island collected on my destructive power predicted that without any control, I could level the Earth. Even All might wouldn’t be able to stop it. I had to be careful every second of my life just because of these villains. I couldn’t experience emotions rawly, only because these villains exist. I have therefore decided that I would go to U.A and become the number 1 hero. I would destroy the existance of villains so that no one will ever have to go through the life that I went through.

I was standing in U.A’s practical test ground. I already got in by recommendations but they still decided to take an exam to see if we were good enough to get a recommendation. The exam consisted of a written test, a practical test and an interview. I knew I’d get average grades in the written test as I was always an average student. I had to show them my strength in the practical test. It was a three kilometers long obstacle course. Something that I could end in mere moments. Pro hero Present Mic was in charge of invigilating us. I recognised one of the students standing there at the starting line with me. Endeavour’s son. I didn’t know his name though. Judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to want to talk. “Use your quirks freely to reach the finish line!” Present Mic explained simply before the starting buzzer went off. While others used their powers to run, I merely opened a portal and reached the finish line. “No 17 reaches the finish line in just a second! That’s faster than ever recorded! It wasn’t even a competition!” Present Mic shouted. I just smiled at him slightly as I waited for the others to finish.

“Hello (L/N) chan! I’ll be taking your interview!” Midnight sensei told me as I entered the interview room. She knew me well enough as I lived with dad in UA grounds as dad was the only one who could keep my powers in control in case if something goes wrong and dad lived in his quarters in the UA campus as he is a teacher in UA. Dad had been training me to control my quirk for the past 2 years, however, as I wasn’t enrolled in UA, he couldn’t give me any training to strengthen it as it was against protocol. “Yes, Midnight sensei” I answered with a polite smile. Everyone in the faculty liked me as I was always cheerful and lively. I never failed to be nice to everyone I knew, which is why I had a good relationship with pretty much everyone. After all, I spent years having no one who was remotely nice to me, which is why I didn't want anyone to feel the way I did. Midnight sensei asked me why I wanted to be a hero and I gave the typical textbook answer. Killing villains was against protocol after all. While I did follow the rules, this was something I couldn’t agree with. However, I decided not to let others know about my intention. The interview was bland and it was over as unceremoniously as it started. All I had to do was wait for the acceptance letter.

April 01 2316

Musutafu, Japan

I was supposed to get my acceptance letter today. I already knew what it’d be like. I knew how school life was here in UA. After all I did live here for 2 years. However, I still felt a certain excitement deep down. It only increased when dad knocked on the door to my room to give me the envelope. He stood there as I opened it and found the device. “That’s new” I wondered. Suddenly, a projection started out startling me, hence making me end up breaking yet another light bulb in my room. Dad only shook his head in frustration. He had been trying to get me to stop breaking things every time I got startled by something but so far, it didn’t work. My powers were too annoying… “I am here as a projection!” All might shouted. To be fair, anyone would be startled if the begining of a projection starts with All might shouting. He mentioned that I got accepted into UA and gave a motivational speech. The letter along with device consisted of the class routine, section name, and where to send measurements for the uniform and the hero costume. Apparently I was in Class 1A. “Didn’t you already make a costume design? Let’s go give the support department what they need. There’s no reason to delay things.” dad told me in his usual monotone tone. “Okay. I’ll get dressed.” I told him before he left the room. A small smile formed on my lips. I was getting closer to my aim. My aim to become the number 1 hero.

[chocochar]

Hi I would like to request a scenario with the female reader having a fire eater quirk where she can eat flames and spit it back out 10 times hotter. The only trick is she can't produce her own flames. I would picture this reader as a delinquent who spray paints but isn't an actual villain till dabi notices her. End it as you like. Cheers ❤❤❤

(AN:  I think people are catching on that I like writing for Dabi.... lol Anywaaays so this took a different direction than intended. It also was waaay longer than expected too XD but yeah, I hope it’s okay! Reader is 18, a senior in school)

        (F/n) pants as she rounds another corner, running as fast as she can. She holds a spray can in one hand and a black mask hides her nose and mouth, her (hair color) hidden by a beanie and the teen dressed in a black hoodie and jeans to help her hide if she finds an alley she can slip into.

        "Get back here, you punk!!" She hears the policemen behind her shout and she picks up the pace, her legs growing tired and lungs screaming for air but the student keeps running. No one tries to stop her, although they probably figure the cops will catch up eventually and they don't need to get involved. 

        Fortunately (F/n) has come to know these streets like the back of her hand, so slipping down an alleyway she yells back,"Come on, move a little faster!" She can hear there footsteps growing more and more faint as she turns corner after corner starting to slow down herself. Finally she slips between two dumpsters, kneels, and makes herself as small as possible with her hood hiding her face. They're coming, but clearly they don't have a clue where she went when they turn down this alley, panting and ready to give up.

        "Damn, where did that kid go?"

        "I swear I saw them come down here," one replies, the two looking around and getting ready to pass the dumpsters. "Damn kids, spray painting a business." They stop in front of her a couple feet from her, and she stiffens wondering if they found her. 

        'Cops can be blind, but if they see me I'm gonna have a real rough time getting away this time...' She can only see their shoes under the hood but they haven't turned to face her yet so maybe not. She can hear a third set of footsteps coming from the other side of the alley ahead of them, the shoes tapping on the pavement with a slow pace.

        "Hey, you, you seen a kid running through her, dressed all in black, wearing a mask?" The first cop asks the third person to show up; slowly and carefully (F/n) starts raising her head to get a better look at them since they appear distracted. She freezes seeing the immediate fear on the men's faces when the unknown person gets closer.

        "W-Wait a sec, you're-"

        She jolts back in shock when suddenly bright, blue flames begin engulfing the two men and more than half the alley.

        'Wh-What the hell-?!' The teen presses as far back against the wall as possible feeling the heat licking at her face from the intense blaze and watches as one cop manages to use his quirk to deflect them long enough for him to run, his partner already a charred crisp on the concrete. The flames disperse and once the cop is gone and the third set of footsteps start up again, coming this way. (F/n)'s heart is pounding and she feels fear building the closer this murderer gets; they probably don't even realize she's there, and wracking her brain for information judging by the flames color, intensity, and their targets the person must be-

        "Pigs, always gotta make a fuss when they see us," a deep, rough voice speaks up breaking her train of thought and she looks up wide eyed when the unknown man steps into view; Dabi, from the League of Villains! She is silent, starting to shake when he stops and turns his head looking down at her. His intense stare and the way his blue eyes seem to almost glow in the shadowed alley, and the expression she can't read. For this moment she forgets how his quirk won't harm her and only stays still, hoping he'll just keep walking and ignore her. She may be considered a delinquent but a villain is still a villain, even if his quirk can't harm her he's still bigger than her and can overpower her if things got physical. 

        Fortunately he only says,"Guess I found you, not like they're looking for you now, though." before he looks ahead and keeps walking, passing the corpse without a glance and stuffing his hands into his pants pockets. She cautiously peeks out and watches him leave, her shaking ceasing but the girl not moving until she can't hear the click of his boots anymore.

        When he's gone she stands and gives a look at the body, swallowing. She didn't know this would happen, but it still doesn't help the sick feeling settled in her gut as she rushes out of the alley just as sirens are heard.

[X][X][X]

        A week has passed since what happened and (F/n) can't seem to get it out of her head.

        The fire, the death, the intense gaze, they won't leave her mind and even when trying to focus in school (which she doesn't focus much normally) she keeps looking back on that day. She did feel bad for the cop, even at certain points blaming herself despite knowing his death had nothing to do with her. But the main thing on her mind is Dabi. 

        What if he comes to find her and kills her too to get rid of a witness or something?

        He's apart of such a dangerous villain group, why would he let some trouble making kid off the hook? (F/n) has had run ins with the cops before, and while the other cop managed to survive he's been in the hospital in severe, life threatening conditions so they haven't been able to get anything out of him. Her quirk is known by the police, they wouldn't believe her, and worse may try to pin it on her. Maybe he assumed that.  Or she just wasn't worth the effort.

        This mixed with her dad's drinking getting worse she's left with little to nowhere to turn, and almost considers running away or moving in with her grandparents.

        Either way she's been watching her back more than usual, avoiding alleys for now just in case. Who knows what he'll do if they come across each other again.

[X][X][X]

        "(F/n), why the hell did you choose there to tag?!" 

        It's been 3 weeks since the incident, and (F/n) and her friend Hide are out tagging again. The two decided to spray paint the side of a very popular hero store, and now are once again running from a few police who were out on patrol.

        "You do know we could run into heroes right? Did you think about that?!"

        "We've almost lost them, Hide, here you take that way I'll go this way," she points, the two reaching an intersection. (F/n) goes right and Hide takes off left, the (brunette, red head, etc) running as fast as she can and luckily finding an alley entryway ahead right when she rounds the corner. 'I should be able to lose them in there!' She thinks, turning in and looking for a hiding place or ladder she can use to hide up on the buildings.

        But it seems she's made a grave mistake when her eyes meet very familiar cerulean. He's using his flames again, this time on some local gangsters judging by their clothes. Two piles of ash sit side by side on the concrete while the rest manage to run while he's distracted by her showing up. Dabi is staring at her, only this time his face shows more expression. He looks pissed, his brows furrowed and flames flickering over his right cheek and from his right elbow down to his fingertips. She's not shaking this time, but she still is frozen under his intense gaze as he faces her, his hand now covered in the blue fire.

        "You really don't have any other strategy, do you? Stupid kid," his voice is gruff and lacking emotion like before but there's a hint of something dangerous mixed in and lifting his hand he smirks. "And here I thought letting you go last time wasn't a bad idea, but sounds like you brought more cops this time too. Guess I'll have to take care of you this time before we run into each other again."

        (F/n) doesn't have much time to react when fire bursts from his palm aimed for the teen but luckily she breaks out of her frozen trance and pulls her mask down revealing her lips and face. Just as the fire reaches her she starts sucking it into her mouth, every inch being pulled into her mouth and filling her up. Dabi stops and actually looks taken back, his smirk gone and eyes suspicious. "You eat-?"

        Before he can finish she puffs her cheeks and his eyes widen, the man jumping out of the way behind a dumpster just in the nick of time as this time fire blasts past where he's hiding. She blows the fire out of her mouth like a dragon as it makes an 'o' shape, it not being as widespread as his own but he can feel how much hotter it is, having to cover himself behind his coat just to make sure his skin doesn't get worse or burn off completely. When it disappears he peers out, still processing this girl's quirk. It's.... Powerful and deadly, and works really well with his own.

        The sound of her running causes him to jump to his feet and rush out of the alley, watching the teen run off.

        He can hear the sirens in the distance as well as seeing people running, meaning it's about time to go, but he gives a second glance where (F/n) had ran off before disappearing back into the alley.

[X][X][X]

        "You encountered that Dabi guy?!!" Hide exclaims, the two at (F/n)'s apartment eating snacks and playing a multiplayer game together. He noticed how out of it she seemed when they met up, and now that she admitted what happened she's honestly wondering if he believes her or not.

        "Yeah, this isn't the first time either," she says, having trouble concentrating on the game. Her dad will be home soon, she wants to leave before that but he'll just get made again. "I managed to use my quirk, though, caught him off guard."

        "But like, isn't he a scary dude? He and the League? Aren't you scared?" Hide inquires, the boy watching her now and gauging her reactions. 

        She nods, then shrugs, setting the controller down. Without the hoodie the light bruising that's all but gone along with more recent marks on her wrists and arms is out in the open, the girl not hiding them when in front of Hide given he knows the culprit behind them. 

        "Yeah, but I doubt I'm worth that much trouble, they're probably too busy plotting more dastardly deeds," she laughs although it's light and almost forced. Hide sighs, patting her back, but hearing a car door slam she stiffens and he groans.

        "Want me to stay? Or do you think he'll be okay today?"

        She hates involving her friends in her personal things, especially when her dad is involved, so she shakes her head, forcing a smile and saying,"It should be fine, you should go home."

        The night air is crisp and cold biting at (F/n)'s bare skin as she rushes through the dark streets. She didn't even bother with a jacket, a new bruise on her forearm and the girl biting back the tears threatening to fall. 

        'I hate him, so much, I just... I wish he'd just disappear! Why can't he see how he treats everyone?! Why mom left us?! Why-'

        "Y'know, without that mask and get up you're actually pretty cute."

        She stops abruptly and freezes up when that familiar voice hits her ears again. Slowly she turns around and watches as Dabi steps out from the shadows, hands in his pockets and his expression aloof as always. His eyes are scanning the girl until they land on her arms, the lighting from the stores making it easier to see the bruises. She's sure it was just a trick of her eyes but it almost looked like his own turned soft, or something like it, but she's sure her mind is just messing with her.

        "Looking to kill me again?" She asks, facing him and while she's trying to stay strong he can already see how she's crumbling inside. "I didn't bring cops this time, but that doesn't matter, huh? You just want to take me out cause I'm a nuisance right?" Her tone has bite to it, while still being shaky with a tremble. But something tells him it isn't because she's scared of him. 

        Holding out her arms she exclaims,"Then do it, do it already! I won't stop you this time!" She waits for him to burn her to a crisp just like the others but is confused when he just rubs his neck and replies,"Keep it down already, do you want to wake up the whole neighborhood? I didn't expect you to be so noisy."

        "You... Aren't you going to kill me? Isn't that why you're here?"

        He shrugs, saying,"Keep being loud and I might, it'd be a shame to burn that pretty little face." But his words don't hold that same threatening tone like they did earlier that day, more like it's just an open threat. Her cheeks turn pink but she ignores it.

        "Then I'm leaving-" She turns ready to keep going.

        "Wait, dollface, I wanted to talk," he moves quickly stepping in front of her. They're only a foot away from each other now allowing her to smell the smoky scent on him and get a better look at his features, namely his scars, staples, and piercings. She takes a small step back in surprise and meets his hypnotizing orbs, also realizing he's.... Handsome, something she really couldn't admire before or ever think she'd have that sort of thought. Despite the scars and staples she feels her cheeks flushing, hell those add to his look; she almost wants to reach up and feel them, see if they really are real or not.

        She shakes her head and misses what he says while scolding herself in her head,'He's a villain, and he tried to kill me, stop being weird!!' "Wh-What? What did you say?"

        He narrows his eyes, not enjoying the way she's staring at him and even zoning out. To him she's most likely looking at his scars, whether that's a bad or a good thing he doesn't really care. But he lets it slide this time and repeats himself.

        "I said, dollface, I'm here to talk to you about something important. To be honest the League would've probably kidnapped you either way, but judging by those something tells me that won't be necessary," he gestures to her arms, and even surprises her when he takes hold of the one with the newest bruise and starts looking them over more closely. "Been a while since I've seen something like this..." he mumbles to himself, not stopping her when she yanks her arm back and tries to hide them, brows furrowed.

        "What did you need to talk to me about, and how important is it?" She asks without hesitation, her own wounds clearly being a touchy subject too. He puts his hands back in his pants pockets and stares at her, the teen shifting uncomfortably under the gaze of the beautiful cerulean.

        "The League is looking to recruit you," these words completely catch her off guard and her eyes grow wide while her mouth gapes. "Well, it's more like I was for once impressed by someone not looking to be a hero so I decided to tell our leader about you. After he bitched about adding another to our pile of misfits he agreed it'd be beneficial to add you on." He waits for her response, watching her face for any change in reaction. Her mouth closes slowly and she looks down, her mind buzzing and the girl almost wondering if she heard him wrong. She had to right? Slowly the reality sinks in as to why he came looking for her, the fact he admitted he was impressed with her quirk was quite the surprise too. He definitely doesn't seem the type to hand out compliments often.

        Looking back up she rubs her arm, biting her plump lip. Which he can't help but watch a little; she's cuter than he was expecting, and he oddly has this weird feeling stir in his chest when he looks at those marks all over her. They resonate with him, his own memories flooding through his mind, and while she'd be very beneficial to the League he now has other reasons for wanting to recruit her. He wants to learn more about her, get to know her, and show her how corrupt their society is. He also has this underlying feeling of protecting her, something he wouldn't do for anyone else but somehow this girl is different.

        "And why should I go with you?"

        "Because, sweetheart, we've been in the same boat as you. Mistreated, used, turned away when we needed help. This is a society full of falsehoods, corrupt bastards sitting on top, they care about you about as much as they did about the rest of us. And we want you to see that too," he states, before taking a step back and pulling his hand out of his pocket, holding it out for her to take. "I want you to see that. Come with me, and you won't have to worry about those ever again."

        A smile comes to his lips, waiting for her answer.

(AN: Okay so like, this was way longer than intended, like 3000 words and counting, also I left it open ended for either a possible sequel or for the reader to decide.  Also he’s totally not Touya in this lmao (〃￣ω￣〃)ゞ I hope it's okay, story also took a different direction too, hope Dabi wasn't OOC and hope you enjoyed lol)

[gluupor]

Andreil. A Knight and Day AU, please!

So, uh, I have no idea what this is. I’ve never seen Knight and Day and only have the vaguest idea what it’s about (spies, maybe???). Instead of doing the logical thing, and admitting that and turning down the request or looking into the movie, instead I wrote this: which is definitely not what you wanted or asked for. Oh, but @annawrites it has a fake relationship! But again, probably not what you wanted. Sorry anon! Enjoy anyway, I guess?

Whenever anyone asked Neil what he did for a living, he responded by saying he was a spy. This always was met with impressed faces and probing questions about his job. Was it like being James Bond? everyone always wanted to know. Was he out there, taking names and kicking ass? Neil always tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially and said that he couldn’t talk about it, that it was classified.

He wasn’t lying. He was a spy. What he didn’t mention was that he didn’t work for the CIA or the FBI or the NSA. No, he worked for the IRS. He was an accountant spy.

His job consisted of going undercover at suspect companies and looking for evidence that they were committing tax fraud or other white collar crime. He suspected that all the people who were so impressed with his profession would be less so if they knew the particulars.

Luckily, there weren’t all that many people who asked. He socialized mainly with his coworkers at the IRS (who, obviously, were aware of what he did for a living) or with his coworkers when he was undercover (and it’s not like he could tell them that he was spying on them).

In general, he liked his work. It brought together his two biggest talents: math and lying about his identity. He knew that some of his coworkers, like Dan and Matt, had lofty goals and ideals about making the world a better place by punishing the rich, but Neil was in it for the money.

As good as he was (and he was very good) every so often he made mistakes. Like today.

“Come on, pick up,” he muttered into his phone. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

“Foxes’ Dry Cleaning,” answered Dan’s cheerful voice. “We clean up your messes.”

“Hey, babe,” said Neil.

“‘Babe’?” repeated Dan. “Our relationship seems to have gotten a lot more serious without my knowledge.”

“How are you? Still free tonight?”

“I’m pretty sure that your current identity doesn’t have a significant other,” sighed Dan. “What happened?”

“Well, you know how I wasn’t planning on being out at work?” asked Neil.

“Neil,” groaned Dan.

“I know, but I was caught off guard, Chad,” said Neil, testily. “So I need to know if you’re free to come to the office party tonight?”

“Everyone’s busy.”

“Mmm-hmmm,” said Neil. “I know that, but I would really appreciate—”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Everyone wants to meet my husband.”

“You’re usually better at obfuscating,” grumbled Dan. “Someone will be there by five.”

“Great,” said Neil in relief. “It means a lot to me. Love you.”

“I’m going to tell Andrew you said that.”

“Okay, bye.” Neil hung up and rubbed a hand through his hair. Goddamn Barbara. This was all her fault.

She was one of those well-meaning busybody types with her nose in everyone’s business, telling them how to live their lives. Neil did not feel guilty at all that he was probably going to be arresting her for tax evasion in the near future.

He’d been doing pretty well at brushing her off when she asked about his personal life, sharing only little bits about his fake background. He’d also been successful so far at shutting down her attempts to set him up. All it had taken was one momentary lapse when he hadn’t had his guard up.

“I invited someone to the office party tonight that I really think you should meet,” Barbara had said.

“Mmm,” said Neil, completely noncommittally, focused on his calculations. He was missing something, somewhere. It wasn’t adding up properly.

“I really think you’ll like her, she’s super great.”

“No.”

“Oh, come on. You need someone to take care of you.”

“I’m married,” Neil had muttered, his mouth saying the words without permission from his brain. “Uh,” he said, catching himself and looking up. “I mean…”

Her eyes had narrowed at his left ring finger which was completely bare. She raised one eyebrow skeptically. “Really? How come you never mentioned it before?”

“Look,” said Neil, checking around to make sure no one was close enough to eavesdrop. “I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure how people here would react to… him.”

“Oh!” said Barbara, suddenly flustered. “I didn’t know you were— not that there’s anything wrong with that,” she hastily tacked on.

“If you could keep it to yourself?” he asked. “I’m not ready to be, you know, out here.”

“Of course,” she said, nodding a lot and watching him with newfound interest. “Of course I won’t tell anybody.”

Neil had not had high hopes and his lack of trust in her discretion had been proven correct less than an hour later when Evelyn, a very professional HR rep, had stiffly stood next to his desk.

“I am sorry,” she’d said, “Mr. Jacobs, that you have felt the need to hide your sexuality.”

“Oh, please don’t—” started Neil.

“This company is very accepting of a variety of different lifestyles and I want to ensure you that we will swiftly deal with any person that is making you feel uncomfortable.”

“Uh,” said Neil, stupidly.

“As such, we request that you invite your… partner to the office party tonight. He will be welcomed with open arms.”

“I don’t—”

“Oh, Neil, you have to,” said Barbara, popping up from god-knew-where. “We feel simply horrible that you’ve felt the need to keep this from us!”

Neil opened his mouth and closed it, feeling like a fish. He turned back to Evelyn. “This whole conversation is making me feel uncomfortable,” he tried.

“We look forward to meeting your partner tonight,” Evelyn replied.

“Husband,” Neil said grumpily. He hated the term ‘partner’.

“I can’t wait!” said Barbara.

Which was when Neil had given up arguing and decided to call Dan for help. There was only one thing that could solve this problem: a fake husband.

He’d teamed up with several of his co-workers before, pretending to be married. It was easier to work with a supporting partner and having a spouse that came to visit him at work was a good cover. But he didn’t need a normal husband for this. He needed Chad.

It was originally Erik who had made up the persona. He’d been working with Dan at the time and she needed him to pretend to be her boyfriend at a party at the company she was investigating. She told him to be as distracting as possible but to remain above suspicion.

Erik had taken these directions and created Chad: a golden retriever of a human being. He was a personal trainer/masseur/underwear model, who had a smile like sunshine and absolutely nothing going on below the surface. He was so pretty and dumb that everyone instantly understood that he was arm candy. He’d smiled beguilingly and let Dan’s middle aged female coworkers pinch his biceps. He’d been so distracting that Dan had successfully planted several bugs in executives’ offices while everyone was looking at her perfect boyfriend. After that, Chad had been a tool that all of them used from time to time.

Nicky, Jeremy, and Matt were all very good at being Chad (Erik was still the master), Kevin and Neil were passable, and no one asked the twins to do it after Andrew had tried once and made everyone incredibly uncomfortable with his wide grin.

There was also a female version of Chad, called Candi (with an i) that Allison always had too much fun pretending to be, although she was better at being a bored, bitter trophy wife.

Neil knew that they were swamped right now; there was a reason that he didn’t already have a backup fake significant other. He felt bad for his slip up, but having a Chad at the party tonight would be useful. He’d found quite a few irregularities in his accounting and he wanted to bug his boss’ office to get an idea of how widespread and intentional the tax fraud was. He hoped that Matt was available to come, although Kevin would be fine, too. Those were the two he worked with most often.

He spent the rest of the afternoon half-focused on his work and half-worrying about the party that evening.

It wasn’t until Barbara was standing by his desk, rocking excitedly on the balls of her feet that Neil was made aware of the time.

“Jameson,” she said, addressing him by his undercover name. He was pretending to be a trust fund douchebag and he had a name to match. “Is he on his way?” Her excitement was palpable, although Neil had no idea why.

“I’m sure he is,” answered Neil. He actually had no clue who was coming or how to contact them, but he trusted Dan not to let him down.

“What’s he like?”

“Uh,” stuttered Neil, desperately trying to come up with the most generic description ever that didn’t include any hints to Chad’s physical appearance. “Nice.”

Barbara gave him an unimpressed look, but he was saved by his office phone ringing. He pointed at it and she sighed happily.

“Mr. Jacobs?” said the gruff voice of the building’s security guard. “I have a Chad Jacobs here to see you.”

“I’ll be right down,” said Neil, heading to the elevators. Barbara was still watching him with heart eyes as the elevator doors closed between them.

He spent the trip down wordlessly thanking Dan for sending someone to save him. Once he arrived, he smiled in relief at the familiar blond head. He always felt best with Andrew at his back, even though Andrew made a poor Chad. It wasn’t until he’d taken a couple steps out of the elevator that he realized his mistake.

Aaron looked like he was on the way to the executioner’s block as opposed to an office party where he’d have to pretend to be his real-life brother-in-law’s fake husband for the evening. Although, Neil was in agreement that there wasn’t a lot of difference between the two.

“Babe,” he made himself say, reaching out a hand. “Come upstairs.”

Aaron pushed past him into the elevator without acknowledging him.

“Ground rules,” he said as soon as they were alone. “I’ve decided that Chad is uncomfortable with PDA.”

“Remember that Chad is gay and shouldn’t be caught staring at women’s breasts,” Neil said snippily in return.

“Maybe Chad is bisexual and is considering leaving you.”

“You’re here to back me up, not to make this harder,” grumbled Neil. “Could you try to pretend to like me?”

“It’s not like you like me.”

“You are not even in the top three people who I hate most in the world right now.”

“Really?” said Aaron with interest. “I thought I was usually number one. Who’s beating me?”

“Well, Dan, obviously, for sending you.” Aaron nodded in agreement. “Andrew, for not being available to come himself. And Kevin.”

“Kevin? Kevin didn’t do anything.”

“Everything is at least partially Kevin’s fault.”

“Fair,” Aaron paused. “What do they know about me?”

“That your name is Chad, that we are married, and that you’re nice.”

Aaron glared. “Fine,” he muttered, and took Neil’s hand. His palm with warm and clammy and Neil resisted the urge to snatch his hand away and wipe it on his pants.

“I’m going to murder Dan,” he muttered, as the elevator arrived at his floor. “Smile!” he added. “We’re in love.”

“Great,” sighed Aaron, pasting an unconvincing smile on his face.

As soon as they got back to headquarters, a raucous cheer greeted them. Matt popped the cork out of a bottle of champagne.

“Mazel tov to the happy couple!” he shouted.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re hilarious,” muttered Aaron. “Give me some of that so I can forget this ever happened.”

“Aw, did your husband not treat you well?” chortled Nicky.

Aaron set his jaw and didn’t answer.

“Did you get the bugs placed?” Dan asked.

“Yes,” said Neil, giving a full-body shudder.

“What?” said Dan, noting his reaction. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” replied Neil. Dan was not impressed, her expression demanding. “I almost got caught. It’s okay, it worked out.”

“How did it work out?” asked Allison, sounding completely delighted.

“Give me the alcohol,” said Aaron sharply.

“Come on, tell us!” cajoled Erik.

“I hate all of you,” said Aaron.

“It’s all in good fun,” said Renee.

“Yes,” said Neil dryly. “Hopefully one day we’ll find it just as funny as the rest of you already do.”

“Tell us! Tell us what you’re hiding!” said Katelyn.

Aaron sighed heavily. “He dragged me into a closet and got on his knees. Then I had to make fake sex noises until one of his coworkers caught us. It was the worst moment of my life. I would appreciate the oblivion of alcohol now.”

Everybody laughed heartily and looked to Andrew for his reaction.

He shook his head at Neil. “I don’t answer your call once and you elope with my brother?”

“Serves you right,” replied Neil.

Andrew stepped closer to him, lips twitching.

Neil glared at him. “Not you, too.”

“I always wanted the two of you to get along better, but this is not what I meant.”

“You’re going to regret making jokes when I leave you for him.”

“You’re not going to do that,” said Andrew seriously, although his hazel eyes were still amused.

“You know how petty I can be.”

“You won’t,” reiterated Andrew with confidence. “You only swing for me.” He pulled Neil into a kiss and he immediately melted. He didn’t know how Andrew could affect him like this, after seven years of marriage and over a decade together.

Still. He wasn’t going to let this go that easily. “Mmm,” he moaned. “Aaron.”

Andrew pinched his waist in retaliation.

Nearby, Aaron whimpered unhappily into his champagne.

[chrysalispen]

x. the mirror of malicious eyes

When Aurelia next awakened the only indication of a chance from night to daytime was the angle of a thin sliver of light, shimmering fitfully betwixt a stray crack in the wall’s mortar. She stirred, shivered from the damp chill in the air, and tilted her chin curiously at the sleeping man whose head lolled on her right shoulder. Her cursory inspection of the cramped cell, now dimly lit, showed that this was the sleeping arrangement for everyone: shoulder to shoulder for warmth, if not protection.

A glance into the other two cells confirmed that she was the only Garlean who appeared to be participating in this endeavor. The men in the other two cells had isolated themselves, sitting stiffly back to back against the walls, separate from the others.

“Good morning, my lady,” a voice said to her left.

She turned her head to address the speaker with a strained smile. The owner of the voice was a pretty Midlander woman with straight midnight-black hair, cropped to regulation length. She was holding something in her hands, and Aurelia caught a scent that roused a bodily demand she’d almost forgotten she had.

“Hiro and I saved you some of the rations. The guards brought it by a few bells past, but you were sleeping so soundly you didn’t stir.”

Aurelia blinked at the trencher’s contents. It was some kind of simple stew, lentils and sliced sausage in a thin broth with a rough-cut hunk of dark brown bread.

“It’s gone cold,” the woman continued apologetically, but Aurelia paid no heed. She was already tearing out a piece of bread and soaking it in the broth to soften it, then scooping out a heap of lentils and meat to shovel into her mouth. The food was in fact cold and the lentils overcooked, but she couldn’t remember the last proper meal she’d actually had. It felt like the best thing she’d ever tasted.

“Thank you,” she managed once she’d eaten enough to silence the feral gnashing of her hunger. “How long was I asleep?”

“I think… three full changes of the guard? It was a very long time. The woman with the knives said you’d been conscripted to work in the infirmary back at their camp, so we thought it best to let you sleep. She’s been coming down to watch them, said she was making sure they only do what they’re supposed to do.”

“You could have awakened me. I don’t want to be a bur-”

“Beg pardon, my lady, but there’s barely any room for one set of feet to walk,” was the blunt response. “It’s true we could have awakened you, but ‘tis easier for all concerned to simply bring you aught that’s needful.”

She felt the urge to argue, but let it go. The woman had a point–their quarters, or what passed for quarters, were so cramped that there was little enough room to stand and sit.

“What’s your name?” she asked instead.

“Sayaka jen Hanamori, my lady. I’m - I was - part of the Fifth Cohort signal corps.”

“Sayaka. Is that an Othardian name?”

“I hail from Doma, my lady.”

“Please,” Aurelia winced, “don’t call me 'my lady.’ I’m neither your mistress nor your commanding officer.”

“But you are pureblooded, my lady,” Sayaka said patiently, as if that explained everything.

“…Well, yes, but that doesn’t-”

The rattling clank of metal on stone interrupted them, followed by the creak of the door’s turning hinges. Sayaka immediately froze in place, her gaze cast down to the rushes as an indistinct figure peered between the bars with a torch held aloft. And then Aurelia herself tensed, for she recognized the face that was looking in on them. It was one of the Ala Mhigan men from the cart, the pair who’d harassed her before Bryn’s underling had interfered.

His eyes swept over her as if she were invisible and the light passed along.

After the door closed both women sighed in unison, paused, looked at each other, and grinned. It was a grim sort of camaraderie to be sure, but when Sayaka spoke again she seemed a bit less diffident than before.

“They’ve been coming in every half-sun or so,” she muttered. “Everyone’s been wondering what the Eorzeans are planning to do with us. You wouldn’t happen to have heard anything, would you?”

“I remember hearing rumors about a trial of some sort. Beyond that, I know as much as the rest of you.”

The Doman engineer didn’t say anything for a long time. All she could hear was the slow shuffle of the other woman’s feet in the soiled rushes. In one of the other blocks, someone else coughed, then sniffled, then went silent.

“A trial,” Sayaka said, and she could hear the note of fear there. “You don’t think…”

“Think what?”

“No, my lady, forgive me. 'Tis naught.”

“I’m not your lady. What were you going to say?”

With clear reluctance that pretty face tilted upwards to look at her, dark brown eyes wide. “…You don’t think they’ll just sentence the lot of us to hang, do you?”

The question chilled her. No one in the camp had seemed to want to address anything beyond the immediate needs of the wounded, when she’d been there. Even Bryn had been closemouthed, stating only that it wasn’t her responsibility what the command actually decided to do with any prisoners. That lack of clarity didn’t exactly inspire much confidence, but she didn’t want to say so. The Doman conscript looked to be near tears as it was.

“I don’t have anything against the Eorzeans at all,” Sayaka said plaintively, before Aurelia could answer. “I was a good student and I learned very quickly, so I was able to secure a sponsor to send me and my brother to the capitol. For our schooling, you know- and I thought perhaps if I joined the imperial army and earned my citizenship I might be able to help the people in my village. I didn’t think…”

She nodded. "I know."

“I never would have hurt anyone. I haven’t even laid hand to a weapon since basic.”

“So that’s it, then,” someone else said. “We’re waiting to see if we live or die.”

“Assuming they ever plan to let us see the light of day again,” a gloomy retort echoed from the cell next to theirs, this from one of the other Garleans. “For all any of us know, the savages might’ve bloody well decided to let us rot down here.”

They could do that, she knew. She didn’t think they would, but they could. They could simply let them starve to death down here and no one would be the wiser- and she hoped that notion hadn’t occurred to any of their captors. The Spire was such an isolated location that it could be weeks before anyone thought to check and see how they were faring. If anyone remembered they had been sent here at all.

But what choice did they have save to hope for the best?

~*~

Kan-E-Senna was angry.

To Raubahn Aldynn, who had known the Elder Seedseer for several years and had never known the outwardly mild-mannered woman to even raise her voice save on very rare occasions, it was a remarkable experience. Her eyes were fever-bright and her cheeks rosy and the air about her small frame fair seemed to crackle with energy, as if the Greenwrath itself were contained within her bones.

Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn’s countenance was like a thunderstorm to Kan-E-Senna’s fire: her pale brow knit in a fierce scowl, arms folded in a defiant yet defensive posture across her chest. “I was under the impression that the Levy was under *my* authority. I am *not* going to pull personnel when our numbers are far outstripped as it is!”

“Surely we have enough-”

“Seedseer, I’m aware you mislike the way this has been handled. But what’s done is done. You can make any decision you like with the people under your authority, but Commodore Sletteidin made the same call I would have made in his position.”

The smaller woman took a deep, visible breath, clearly trying to rein in her ire.

“To those souls we granted succor upon the Flats,” she said, “I have already given my word that they will never see the wrong side of a gaol cell. I did this because our plan will not work if we cannot prove our word can be trusted.”

“Then what do you suggest? I’m not going to have imperial prisoners given the run of the camp. I wanted all of these people watched and kept from running to the XIVth, and that is easier done from a holding cell.”

She looked out over the muddy remains of the Foreign Levy’s interim encampment in silence. After a near moon spent here in cleanup, they could afford to tarry no longer despite the widespread destruction that still remained. Their people needed all the hands that could be spared for disaster relief. Now that preparations had been finalized at home, all three leaders of the Grand Companies had given orders to make preparations for departure. Rites had been said over the last of the bodies retrieved from the battlefield, the pyres burnt until the coals had died to embers, and the ashes blown across the land by the southern winds.

The process had been a slow one in part because most of Mor Dhona had been left a crystalline wasteland. Aldenard’s aetherial balance had been badly upset by the Calamity; cold storms better suited to the late fall months had raged off and on for the past fortnight, though without the blizzards that had blanketed Coerthas in heavy snows. Entire swathes of the rainforest had been destroyed, and the area around Silvertear Lake had been flash-burnt by Bahamut’s flares, the ambient aether crystallizing in an instant and half the mountain range itself crumbling beneath the onslaught.

Those who had been held at the camp upon the Seedseer’s arrival had been removed from it nearly as soon as she had seen to their hurts, as if it had been planned specifically due to her presence. Hence her wrath, Raubahn knew. She felt she had been made to give a promise that it appeared she had immediately broken, and he couldn’t fault her frustration any more than he could fault Merlwyb’s logic.

Deciding to break the impasse as the third voice, he cleared his throat until he was certain he had their attention. 

“Do we know exactly how many were taken prisoner by the Levy?” he asked Merlwyb. “Conscripts and Garleans separately?”

“At last count the Levy itself held nine Garlean prisoners all told, eight men, one woman. Most our people encountered were officers who chose either to attempt escape, attack the rescue squads, or take their own lives rather than surrender. As far as the full headcount, I couldn’t say off the top of my head.”

“Where are they being held?”

“The Emerald Spire.” Merlwyb pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ll request an exact number. Linkpearl communications are still unstable, but I think if we keep them brief there shouldn’t be a problem obtaining that information quickly.”

“Seedseer, do you know roughly how many of the prisoners Gridania would be able to take in?”

“Twoscore, perhaps. That’s in addition to all the injured conscripts we have already taken as wards of the Twin Adder. I don’t know that we have the resources at present to support many more.” She sighed, bowed her head, and he knew she was thinking of the people who had been lost in the partial destruction of the city. “Should it be needful later, we can certainly revisit that number. Full well do I know you and the Admiral bear your own burdens, and I would not add to them.”

He nodded.

“The Admiral’s exactly right about the logistics, mind,” he said. “I don’t think it’d be advisable to move them again before a decision is made, for a number of reasons. So instead of trying to shift them all about and figure out which group should go to which camp and risk muddying the waters further- 'tis my thinking that we should go to them. Will the space have the capacity to host these proceedings?”

“Most of the Spire has lain in ruins this past score of years,” Merlwyb said, “or so I’m told. But the keep itself, along with its gaol, has been in continuous use by the Twin Adder as a watchtower and is still usable. There should be at least one space that can serve our purposes.”

“We will need judges.”

“Aye, but only three more souls to serve on the panel, I should think. We have other matters to attend; 'twould be best for all concerned to bring this to a swift conclusion.”

“And should anyone wish to speak in defense of any of these poor sods, they’ll have the chance to do it. Aye, that includes the Garleans,” Raubahn said, at the sight of Merlwyb’s lifted brows. “Much as I mislike it, we owe it to ourselves to be as evenhanded as possible.”

She appeared to mull this over for a moment, lips pursed in thought, before slowly nodding.

“I suppose I’ve no objections,” the Admiral allowed at last. “Though I doubt the Garlean prisoners are going to like our terms.”

“Then that is their choice,” he said. “We'll let them be the masters of their own fates.”

~*~

The days and nights had long since blended into each other, a monotony of dim light and fouled rushes and broken sleep broken only by meager rations and the intermittent visits of the guards. Lu didn’t say anything to her even in passing, just kept a watchful eye on soldiers and prisoners alike, and Aurelia understood that matters had not changed between them, regardless of the woman’s connection to a mutual friend. She’d receive no aid from the Miqo'te in either direction save the bare minimum. It was disheartening, but not surprising.

At first she had tried to track the days by the number of times the guards changed, but she soon lost track of that, and the light between the mortar cracks was even less reliable due to the unseasonably cold and violent storms that rolled frequently through the area. Once or twice she heard one of the guards mutter something about odd aether in passing, but she wasn’t sure if they were talking about the weather or something else, and none of them were friendly enough for her to attempt to ask.

One dreary morning the rattle of keys and the opening door woke her out of a feverish doze - between the damp chill and the constant slow leak in the mortar, everyone on the block was nursing an incipient cold, Aurelia included - and a fist slammed against the metal bars of the gaol cell.

“Look alive, Garlean, you’ve a visitor.”

She coughed, shifting herself into something resembling a sitting position, and blinked owlishly at the Elezen man staring in at her. His expression was utterly neutral but the shifting of his feet betrayed his impatience.

“Well, hurry it along, then,” he said. “We don’t got all day.”

Sayaka helped her to her feet and handed her the crutches. The Doman’s face was a picture of concern, but she didn’t speak as she watched the Garlean woman she’d cautiously befriended make her careful way over the floor to the cell door. The tumbler turned with a hollow click and the barred door was opened just enough to let her limp across the threshold.

The guardsman gestured with a jerk of his chin. “This way.”  

Aurelia followed, trying not to flinch at the slamming of the wooden door behind her and wondering who on earth would have come here to see her specifically. Bryn perhaps, but she couldn’t think of anyone else who would have taken especial interest in an imperial prisoner. She limped carefully behind the man up a set of stairs to the main floor, where she saw-

“Sparrow!”

The Roegadyn stood with his arms folded across his broad chest at the threshold of a closed door that led into one of the long-unused rooms inside the keep. His hazel eyes lit up with something like relief at the sight of her. He was not in the scarlet colors of the Maelstrom any longer; he wore a suit of well-used leather armor, his axe strapped over his back.

“You’ve a half bell,” the guard said briskly at her back. “Make the best of your time.”

Once the door had snicked shut behind him, Sparrow reached out to embrace her, walking aids and all. 

“Glad t'see you hale an’ whole, lass.”

“Both of those states are debateable,” she said wryly, “but I still breathe for the time being. How long have I been here?”

“Not quite three weeks. Camp’s breakin’ down to roll out. We’ve done about all we can do at the Flats for now. As far as you and yours go, a panel of judges arrived at first light this morning for the hearings. There was some sort o’ miscommunication - that’s why you've been here so long - but it’s mostly been sorted.” His worried expression didn’t change. “They’ve allowed any folk what want to speak on behalf of the prisoners to make statements.”

“So then the rumor was true? We’re all to stand trial?”

“Eh? Aye, that’s so.” Sparrow scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat abashed. “But if you’re worried about gettin’ rotten fruit thrown at you or the like, don’t. It won’t be a spectacle. Just you and the panel and character witness statements from whomever decided to put in a good word for you. Bryn’ll have given hers, and me an’ Captain Brudevelle already gave ours. You’ve a goodly number of folks in your corner, lass, as it happens.”

She stared down at the stones beneath her feet.

“You’ve never really answered my question, Sparrow.”

“What question?”

“Why are you always going out of your way for me? We barely know each other; most would call us enemies, in fact. And yet you’ve shown me nothing but the utmost consideration.”

For once Cheerful Sparrow, whose lighthearted personality so often seemed to be so fitting of his name, appeared at a loss. He opened his mouth as if he meant to speak, then shut it, then opened it again. This time a sigh issued forth and an old pain flickered at the corners of his eyes, deepening the lines in his face. It muted his smile somewhat, rather like a cloud that had drifted across the afternoon sun.

“My daughter,” he said at last, “was very much like you.”

Her grip on the crutches was so tight her knuckles had gone colorless. She peered up at him, very carefully, eyes half-hidden beneath dirty fringe.

“Her name was Yellow Daisy- looked just like her ma. She was serious and dutiful and very kind, had plans to travel south to Ul'dah and study at their Phrontistery once she came of age. Fair bit of a presence; I could pick her laugh out of a room of hundreds. After my wife’s passing, I took up mercenary work for the extra coin - like aught else in that city, schooling of that sort costs money. I used to worry she resented me for always bein’ gone on jobs, but if she did she never said so.”

“You say 'was.’ What did she… what happened to her?”

His smile trembled in place.

“When the Garleans first arrived in Eorzea, they drove out a host of smallfolk from their villages an’ farmholds an’ took that land to build their fortresses. Most folk fled to towns and cities, but some turned to banditry. Daisy came across an overturned cart in the road one day on her way home from market and tried to help, not knowin’ it were just a ruse. Gave 'em her food, but they didn’t believe her when she said she had no coin. So…”

“Oh, no,” she breathed, “they-”

“The Yellowjackets sent word by linkpearl. I left Cap'n L'sazha’s crew at port with our job half done so I could go home and bury my only child. She was nineteen summers.” She felt the warm weight of his hand on her shoulder. “Now before you go an’ start blamin’ yourself, you should know that Daisy’s death was no more your doin’ than mine.”

“Why?” Another lost life that could be laid squarely at the feet of her people. “Gods’ sake, Sparrow! Why don’t you hate me?”

“Why should I? You’ve not a malicious bone in your body, lass. I saw that much the night we found you. You freely offered to help when you knew your skills were needed.”

“How do you know I didn’t simply do that to save myself?”

“Have you known, at any time, what we planned to do with you?” When she shook her head, he asked, “Then why would you help us?”

"I had to."

"Why?"

She sighed. 

“Because if I know I can help, I can't make myself ignore it. The woman who raised me used to call it my curse.“

"Aye, your Empire would see that as a weakness, I expect. But that kindness takes a special sort o’ strength. Especially when refusin’ to turn your back on folk in need oft repays a body with naught save even more trouble.”

“Well,” Aurelia said with a mirthless laugh, “I expect that shall prove true enough, anyroad. Taking the part of a Garlean prisoner - particularly under present circumstances - is in fact liable to be troublesome for you.”

“ 'Tis like to be troublesome for me an’ Bryn both,” he agreed. The hand on her shoulder gave a gentle squeeze. “But I couldn’t help my daughter. I have a chance to help you and I mean to take it. So I’ll not be lookin’ away, either.”

“You’re a good man, Sparrow.” Her throat felt so raw and tight she could barely choke the words out. “Would that we had been on the same side of this pointless bloody war.”

“Had we been fightin’ on the same side, lass, 'tis unlikely we’d have ever met like this.”

She bowed her head. That was true enough.

“Can you promise me one thing about tomorrow?” she ventured. “Please? Just one thing?”

“What is it?”

Aurelia chewed on her lip, her gaze shifting towards the closed door. “The other prisoners,” she said. “The conscripts, I mean. I know you can’t simply set everyone free, but most of them were given no choice in joining the army and I doubt anyone will listen to me. They deserve a chance as much as I do, if not more.”

Sparrow smiled.

“Still not a thought for your own neck,” he said gently, as the guard opened the door to come take her back to the cell. “I’ll do what I can, lass, I promise.”

[hellsparadiseessays]

Chapter 66 - The gourd

Disclaimer : As usual, this is Spoiler Central so go catch up if you haven’t done so yet. Also, I’m not Japanese nor Chinese so what I’m explaining here is supported by the research I did beforehand. Finally, English isn’t my native language and lately my brain hasn’t exactly been the most functional so yeah, sorry if there’s typos and some dodgy grammar (yes, this one has been difficult to type, that’s why I tried to keep it as simple as possible). That said, I hope you’ll find this write up entertaining or informative!

There is a neat little detail in chapter 66 I hope you all caught: Rien put the Elixir of Immortality in a small bottle shaped like a gourd. Now you may ask “but Crow, why is it relevant, we often see bottles like that in manga and anime”. Well, it is more relevant than you think, both from a meta perspective (cultural aspect of the gourd in Japan and China) and from a narrative perspective. In fact, Rien *had* to use a gourd for many reasons.

I. The practical use of a gourd

From a strictly practical perspective, the fruits we know as gourds have been used for food, but also as musical instruments or as bottles when dried. The process takes some months for the gourd to completely dry, and the fruit must be turned regularly to dry evenly. Once it’s dry, the seeds in it can be used for a musical purpose, or it can be opened and used as a container. It is even possible to give the gourd a specific shape when it’s growing – the 8 shape being very common, 8 being considered a lucky number (and making it convenient to tie a rope and have a portable gourd). There is a reason why, nowadays, the image of the old but eccentric mentor figure in anime and manga can be portrayed as an old man with an 8-shaped gourd used to keep sake, for example. It all has a practical and cultural basis that can be found pretty far back in time.

II. Symbols of the gourd

The gourd is linked to a lot of symbols, especially in China.

It is commonly used as a charm to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck because of the way it is pronounced. Called *hulu*, it has the same pronunciation as the words meaning “to guard” and “blessing”  (both pronounced *hu*) as well as “happiness” (*fulu*). The word for creeper (like a gourd vine) is *màn*, which sounds like *wàn*, the word for 10 000, myriad and forever. As such, gourds and creepers are often associated to symbolise immortality.

The image of the gourd appears often in Chinese mythology as well: used as a boat to escape the deluge, used as a magic tool to trap Sun Wukong (spoiler alert: Sun Wukong didn’t get caught in the end because he’s smarter than that)... And in early Taoism, it is used to describe Chaos (Emperor Hun-Tun’s tale). Indeed, the image of the cosmic egg-gourd that holds Paradise at the beginning and end of time, seems prevalent in Taoism and helps explain the search for balance and immortality: Taoist Chaos is a place and state where all opposites are equal and balanced, where notions like hot and cold don’t exist anymore, where dreams are real and reality is unreal. These concepts are meant to encourage a spiritual journey in oneself to find that paradise. To go even further, the ultimate Taoist body, in its primordial state, should be that of a faceless hermaphrodite with techniques that are frightening to the uninitiated. And I am pointing that last point out specifically because you know what matches that description in Jigokuraku? Lord Tensen’s Kishikai forms.

Knowing all that, it makes sense that Rien *had* to put the elixir in a gourd specifically. It completely suits the theme of the island.

III. What the Elixir is supposedly made of

Now this is the fun part, at least for me, because it’s both amusing and horrific. See, while in the manga we learn that Chôbe’s body parts are essential for the Elixir I’ll never forgive Rien jfc, in the actual myth about the elixir, two rather interesting elements are used to compose that fancy Paradise Potion. I’m straying a bit from the initial point of this writeup on purpose here, but it allows me to expand a bit on a point I mentioned in my previous essay.

See, the Elixir of Immortality is said to be composed of various elements one shouldn’t ingest, such as jade or arsenic. Two curious elements used to symbolise the masculine and feminine aspects are specifically used: mercury for the semen, and cinnabar for the menstruation blood (balance of Feminine and Masculine, I think you get the point now). Now Cinnabar is a vermillion stone which, once refined, turns into mercury. Interestingly enough, I wouldn’t be surprised if this stone was the basis for the Philosopher’s Stone (often envisioned as a glass-like red stone in its purest form, just like cinnabar ore). Now, ladies and gentlemen, have you ever heard of *mercury poisoning*?

Because the Elixir of Life is basically “how to poison yourself 101” from a modern point of view, and mercury poisoning is especially not fun to deal with. Now what happens when one gets mercury poisoning? Well, here is a little list of the symptoms: peripheral neuropathy (movements and vision are affected, with a loss of coordination and of peripheral vision), painful sensations of burning and itching, discoloration and shedding of the skin, memory loss and insomnia... Potentially leading to coma and death if left untreated. Organic mercury (methylmercury) is especially vicious when it comes to poisoning, since it’s an element notoriously that builds itself up in the food chain. Wondering why pregnant women are advised against eating fish? This is the reason why, and fish and whales are closely watched for that reason as well. Interesting fact: the character of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland is based on hatters being poisoned by the mercury they used for their work. Furthermore, the loss of coordination may make one look drunk... Coincidentally, the Eight Immortals are traditionally associated with a certain martial art imitating the movements of a drunk person. I’m not saying there *is* a link, but it knowing what we know, it may not be totally unfounded, right?

If you are curious, I suggest you to check about two interesting modern cases of mercury poisoning. The first one is the widespread poisoning in Minamata (Kumamoto prefecture, Kyushu) in the 50s, that led to the name Minamata disease for mercury poisoning (a second case happened in the 60s in Niigata prefecture, Honshu). The other case is the poisoning of Karen Wetterhahn in the late 90s, which led to a tightening of the regulations concerning the manipulation of mercury, especially with the use of special gloves that are completely impervious to mercury – thus reducing the risk of poisoning through the skin.

And with this, we’re done with this short essay! While it’s not much compared to what I’ve been producing until now, it was interesting to do all of that research! I was aware of Minamata disease thanks to the lore masters of Bloodborne such as Redgrave or Aegon of Astora and their research about mercury, which has a major place in the game. However, I was not familiar with it to the extent of knowing about its references in Chinese myths, so it was yet again an occasion to generally improve my knowledge about stuff that’ll be utterly useless for my daily life! But hey, it’s what makes it so attractive.

For my next write-ups, I’ll have the long-awaited Criminality and Misery essay, as well as a Chôbe rant (y e s) I’ve been thinking about this past month. I guess I’ll do this one first to get it out of the way? I don’t know, I did wanted to at least have the first part of C&M out of the way before Sunday (because this part makes me think about the Aza bros a lot and I end up depressed everytime so I’d like to have it out before we see them again in the manga)... Yeah guess I’ll work on both stuff in parallel and try the insane bet of getting them out before Sunday. Besides, the Chôbe rant shouldn’t be too long, it’ll be mostly the explanation of a trope often used in literature that, I think, matches with Murder Bae perfectly.

Sources

Symbols of the gourd and the creeper

Myth and meaning in early Taoism: the theme of Chaos (Hun-Tun), by N. J. Girardot

Sacred gourd myths

Mercury poisoning

The poisoning of KW

[aconvenientenemy]

The first time Nada came across a merfolk, it was dying.

Their fins were tattered and their skin was sickly pale, their hair was cropped short and ragged. The merfolk was barely swimming, couldn't even stay in a straight line.

Nada was in a boat. More of a stowaway on a small transport ship, to be frank. She was trying to get from one place to the other, just happened that she didn't have any money or things to trade, so she hopped on board inside a box and took to wandering around at night.

She had been looking over the edge when she saw the merfolk. Concern rushed to Nada's throat, tasting like bile, and she ran off to where she knew the medicine cabinets were and managed to shove one of the rowboats off into the water.

Tying a rope to the little boat and then to her arm, she jumped in and swam to the merfolk to assist.

“Can I help you at all? What can I do?” She was panicking, but Nada knew better than to just shove medicine on other creatures. She knew next to nothing about merfolk.

The merfolk opened their mouth and clicked a few times in their throat, a shallow, creaking, screech rumbled out and their eyes fluttered shut. Nada didn't know what they said, but as she tread water with her arms open, the merfolk swam into them and Nada figured she was allowed to pull them in. She swam with the merfolk back to the rowboat and pulled them on.

Once out of the water, their fins deteriorated, shedding off and revealing human legs. Nada's heart started racing and she almost dumped the merfolk back into the water, worried something was wrong with them. She stopped when the merfolk placed a hand on her wrist and gripped weakly, letting out quiet clicking sounds.

Nada stopped panicking. Panic wouldn't help. The merfolk's legs were covered in scars and gashes. Thankfully, only few were bleeding, and if they were it was slowly. Nada got to work, sterilizing the wounds and bandaging them up. Once done with their legs, Nada turned the merfolk over, looking at their arms, few shallow scratches which she cleaned, and their torso. The stomach and chest areas were fairly clear, their back however had deep gashes, the worst one running from their right shoulder to their left side ribs.

It took Nada a long time to get them completely wrapped up and once she was done she saw the main boat was pretty far out.

Nada cursed under her breath. She had a lot of rowing to do.

Having returned to the boat, Nada secured her rope on to the side of the ship. She didn't want to risk getting caught by climbing back in so she decided to tug along in her little boat with the broken merfolk.

She wasn't sure exactly how merfolk out of water lived. Did they need air? Did they need water? Nada never even knew about the feet thing. Shallow breaths seemed to be moving in and out of the merfolk as they slept but Nada didn't know if it was enough. Also, there had been, so far, no sign of gills.

As the day went on and the sun got higher up, Nada decided to scoop handfuls of water onto the merfolk's neck and head. Whatever happened to this merfolk, their hair was as tattered as their fins were. Something maliciously went for it's life.

The water, Nada noticed, seemed to ease the merfolk's breathing.

From what she could remember, the trip was only supposed to be 4 days. They should reach land tonight.

After a brief nap, Nada awoke to see land in the distance. Far enough away that she could safely detach from the boat and row her own way back to a less populated alcove. So she did just that.

Hand rowing by herself, pretty much around the outskirts of land, it was probably long after midnight by the time they reached the shore.

Nada pulled the wee boat up the beach and ran trips back and forth with a small box full of water to flood the boat for the merfolk. Hoping as she did this, that the bandages she had applied would protect the medicine underneath at least a little.

Over the next few hours Nada spent her time between the beach and the forest, gathering food for herself and checking on the merfolk, leaving food near the boat just in case it woke up without her there. She did notice the water seemed to speed up the healing process. It would seem once out of harms way and in a place where it could let it's guard down, the merfolk was more apt to focus on healing.

Nada came back to the beach to find the boat empty. No sign of the merfolk or raucous on the beach to show it carried away or even walking away. The food was gone and Nada let out a breath. This was either good, or really bad, and she was just hoping it was the former.

She dropped the food she had brought back for the merfolk and started to walk away when a voice called out.

“Stop.” It was hardly more than an urgent whisper but the tides were soft and the night quiet, so Nada turned. She saw the merfolk, tattered hair and fading scars, leaning forward on a shallow rock bed in the water. “You.” They motioned to their arms and torso, fins almost completely reformed swinging softly behind them. “You helped me?” It was a question but also more of a statement, like once they focused, they remembered her being the one they swam to in a moment of desperation.

Nada nodded. Gestured slightly to the food on the ground. “Did you want this food? I kinda brought it for you.”

The merfolk tilted it's head in confusion, regarded Nada with curious eyes, and nodded. “Yes. I am hungry. Healing takes up a lot of my energy and natural resources.” They pushed off the rocks and swam ashore, walking out of the water as it's fins shed into legs again.

Nada handed them the fruits and sat on the side of the boat while the creature lowered itself into the water of the boat. As it did so, tiny fractions of scales over skin showed reflecting off the water and moon light.

“I'm Nada.” She said by way of introduction between bites of kiwi.

The merfolk turned it's head curiously again. “Just Nada?”

She shrugged, nodded. “Just Nada.”

“I am Lady Andreya, death singer and one of many warriors for the clan of Kella.” The merfolk held out her wrist and showed a mark of her clan.

Nada's brows raised in sincere admiration. “Oh, I guess that means I'm actually, uh, Nada, rogue adventurer. No clan.”

“No clan.” Andreya repeated quietly, seemingly thinking about what that meant.

They lapsed back into silence as Nada resumed eating her kiwi fruits and Andreya just held hers in her lap, still deep in thought.

A few minutes later, Andreya made a series of excited clicking noises in her throat. “You will join my clan!”

Nada started, almost falling off the boat at the suddenness. “I...” She shook her head. “I'm sorry?”

“Not in practice, of course. You are a human, you wouldn't be able to live with us and hunt with us. But in name. You saved me and for that I, as well as my clan leader, are grateful. Should you ever fall in need of help, you will have our mark and others of our clan would lend our aid to you.”

Nada smiled softly, eyes watching the forgotten kiwi fruits in Andreya's lap floating and bobbing in the boat water. “Thank you, Andreya, really. You have my deepest thanks for the thought, but I can't accept something like this. I don't want to bear your clans name if I'm not actually a part of it. What if I do something that's not to your liking? It would put a black mark on your name.”

Andreya shook her head. “Our name is strong enough to wipe clean any black marks. Besides, it is owed. A life for a life. You saved mine, we will save yours.” She seemed to think about it for a moment longer and she mentioned, “Though our clan is big it's nowhere near as vast and widespread as the ocean itself. Should you find yourself in trouble away from us, have this as backup.” Andreya leaned forward, using the side of the boat to propel herself upwards toward Nada.

Too slow to react, Nada felt Andreya's lips press against her own. A feeling of air leaving her body briefly, and a sensation of light pressure on her neck and collar area, then the air was returned to her body.

Andreya sat back in the boat and picked a scale from her ribs while she explained. “A mermaid's kiss, well, any merfolk really, holds the promise of breath. You can breathe underwater. When you get in the water, your lungs will cease to function, gills will form on this area,” She gestured to her neck on both sides. “And you will feel a slight sensation as the water enters into your system.” She nodded to herself. “It might be odd at first, you will get used to it over time.”

Nada felt like she stopped breathing altogether. She... No one had ever given her a gift of this magnitude. Curses, sure, but never gifts this great.

“I..” She whispered. Clearing her throat, she started again. “I don't know what to say. Thank you, for sure. But, I...”

“No no.” Andreya waved her stuttering away. “It is my thanks to you. You've saved my life, Nada. I'm trying to do the same. Lean this way.”

Blankly, Nada leaned where Andreya told her to, only realizing after she started what she was doing.

Using the scale she plucked off her ribs, Andreya tattooed Kella's clan symbol on her lower collar bone.

“Since you expressed fear of others seeing this mark, should you be disgraceful, you can show it only when you choose to.” Andreya had made sure it was below Nada's shirt collar so she would actually have to pull them down to show it.

“Thank you, again. I'm sure you've saved my future life more times than I will ever know.” Nada laughed lightly.

Andreya smiled and nodded back. “As you have saved mine, rogue adventurer. I wish you well in your future endeavors.” She got up from the boat and walked back into the water, diving in completely once she was deep enough.

[lovelyfantasticfart]

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I guess this means where would come with us and want the ball again. So I did the only thing I steady and forbid me to give her my ID. What a great Ronny because he didn’t always know right from wrong. But that, unfortunately, was the end would get it, head take off running. I still have my from the house. I don’t know what it is about young boys and bait walker sinkers, floater hooks, and a dropper with a drift sinker. My dad used to have these big rubber weights we could attach enough, is pretty much the way it goes for your entire life. Ind moved grabbed a rod that had actual treble hooks attached. Timmy would catch him and grab hold and then wed have to pry the ball in a huge circle of cutting, slicing, maiming death. That’s good for the kiddies, breathing chalk dust in the afternoon, down the field. Ind practice my lines, my of a lifetime, an adventure in love. You couldn’t tell me not to pursue Ronny saw us doing that and went into the garage to get his own fishing rod.

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Long wouldn't come out and say it, but the Aztecs' cross-town jaunt was a tongue-in-cheek poke at what Michigan is able to do. "I just thought it was a great idea, and I'd love to take our team to Italy, too, but we can't afford that kind of stuff," Long said. "Only a few people in the world can afford to take 200 people on an expense-paid, nine-day vacation. "Obviously it's the haves and haves nots," said Long, who has led the Aztecs to consecutive Mountain West titles and a bowl game in each of his six seasons. "It's an interesting deal, because then everybody wonders why you don't beat them." Long figured going to Little Italy would be a fun alternative to another spring practice. "Most of them are going to get to see a part of San Diego they've never seen before," he said. "They'll have a good time and realize what a neat place San Diego is. It has all the stuff we don't have to get on an airplane for. We get to do it right here. And then they're always good for a free meal." Long read that Harbaugh plans to take his team to South Africa and Japan in future years, so he's planned trips to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, formerly known as the Wild Animal Park, and the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. "It gives our team something to do and learn something about San Diego that most of them don't know," Long said "Our local guys do, but most of the other ones don't." Sure enough, running back Rashaad Penny, who will replace NCAA all-time leading rusher Donnel Pumphrey as SDSU's featured back, had never been to Little Italy.

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Also, If You Are Fishing Carp Just For Fun And Do Not Intend To Eat Them, Then Release Them Carefully Back Into The Water.

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Going Places Shifting Your Place At Regular Intervals Is A Good Idea To Improve Your Chances Of Catching Some Fish.