#op is that bird i saw yesterday you know that one

[fictionkinfessions]

Google is it normal to refuse to learn slang and call a computer an "infernal machine" or "screened typewriter" and listen to electro swing and go to put my earbuds in my hair on habit and think that bananas are weird and wrong because the type I'm used to are extinct and not blink often and sleep in a suit jacket (I'd wear it 24/7 if I could) and carry a cardboard tube around my house and-

Signed... well, you can guess who I am, if you really want to.

x

[indiegame]

today was. good. yeah. needed that.

[sintiva]

‏‏‎ ‎ //santa's sleigh

ft. geto x black!reader

. *. ⋆summary: geto can only think of one way to settle the boredom and desperation that occurs when you two get stuck in traffic on the way to a christmas party

‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎. *. ⋆contains: gn!reader, they/them pronouns, fem!bodied‎ ‏‏‎fourth‎ ‏‎ reader, chubby reader, a lot of back and fourth, dirty talk, “car sex”, praise, pet names, slight cursing, geto is well versed with reader’s body, alcohol consumption (just… two shots), fingering, fem!masturbation, male masturbation, mutual masturbation, guided masturbation, geto edges himself!, foot job (with stockings on), geto has a stocking fetish, established relationship!!! //wc: 3.4k

. *. ⋆*ੈ✩‧₊˚ sin's notes: this wasn’t short and sweet, but i hope you all enjoy it. i’m trying to work harder on my dialogue, so there is kinda a lot of dialogue in this (it simply adds to their relationship🫶🏽

you both peer at each other when the clump of red lights became all too real. the car stops, and you both wallow in frustration. you cave first, irritated only because of your lack of patience. somehow, someway geto would have to make up for his sluggish behavior. 

“it’s your fault we’re stuck in traffic you know,” you then extend your lips to your window and turn your head towards the center of the car slightly so you can turn the music up, “if you’d let me do your hair yesterday we would’ve been fine.”

“now we’re super la-”

“shut up.” he retorts. he wraps both of his fists around the wheel and circles them around the diameter of it. his fingers, decorated with a plethora of rings scrape the suede. when they meet at the bottom; his body slumps forward and his forehead bonks the horn. ultimately making it sound off, and forcing the car in front of you to retaliate. beeping theirs twice and throwing up the lovely bird outside their window. 

“you should’ve just done it.” he continued on, ignoring the altercation before.

you turn in your seat, angrily perplexed. first, he cut you off, and second of all, it was to shut you up! over his stupid head of hair? outrageous!

“and how was i supposed to do that, huh big guy?,” you cocked your eyebrow and got in his face quickly. all he saw was a red blob zip across the middle console; he swears he saw little flakes of glitter fall from your eyelids as you shifted. 

“if you weren’t whining and moaning like a bitch yesterday, your hair could’ve been done.” 

“i was not,” he finally looks at you and squints his eyes in disbelief, “maybe grunting, but it’s cause you were hurting me!” 

“i was only parting your hair geto!” your mouth hung open as you stared at him in utter disbelief. 

‘you might wanna move up though’, you tilt your head to the right so he’d see the point five millimeters of space that opened between his hood and the trunk of the other. 

‘ope, thanks bae’

‘anyways’ “it still hurt!” he frowns and rubs soothing circles against his cranium in remembrance of the pain. 

if there was one thing about the two of you, one common similarity that never failed to shine; it was the way you two interacted. both overly animated and always working the other’s nerves. 

“but i was being gentle!” you feign a sniffle and peer at him above the rim of your glasses. “i was being as gentle as possible,” you whine, softly and make a giant heart out of your arms. 

“why would i try and hurt you?” 

“why wouldn’t you?” he smirks and runs his hands through his hair as he lets his left one situate at the bottom left of the steering wheel. he spreads his legs and moves his seat back to get comfy, because even though the content banter keeps him on his toes; he realizes you two would be stuck in this traffic for a while. 

“fuck you,” you suck your teeth and rotate your body away from his. your knees knock against the car door and you slip your hands in between your thighs. he yanks at the red fishnets you have on, so it softly slaps back against your skin — he does it repeatedly. 

“what time?” he coos back, sweetly. he licks his lips with a low gaze as he waits for you to spin back around to- 

“you’re such a child you know that?” you spin around, nearly dizzy from the number of times you’ve refocused your attention. your brain’s practically on its stem knocking against your skull initiating a subtle throb. 

“no, i’m not.” 

“mhm, that’s why you’re on my naughty list.” your lips curl into a smile, and you boop his nose with the tip of your finger. you place your elbow on the center space to get closer to him. naughty list, the fuck?

“you don’t have a naughty list, that’s my job. i’m the one with the santa hat and red tuxedo.” he does have some sort of a valid point. he looks a little goofy with his hat, but it doesn’t hide his handsome face features. his smile is stretched wide across his face, as he levels his face with yours on the console and squeezes your cheek.  

“owwwaa!” you yelp out and rub your cheek. “i-look at you being naughty! i thought santa was supposed to be nice.”

“well his partner is being a bit naughty.” his face inches closer to yours — treading upon dangerous waters. 

“your partner doesn’t agree with that statement.” 

then you move closer.

‘move up again’ 

he shifted his car out of park and lightly tapped the gas to decrease the gap. as quickly as he shifted gears and pulled up; he reversed his actions. ‘thanks’

“mmm, maybe his partner should, considering i can smell the alcohol on their lips.”

now he’s close enough to smell the mix of peppermint and fireball? no, no you have some class. it’s jack daniels — tennessee fire, chased with apple juice and peppermints to rid the smell. along with a pop of peppermint lip gloss. 

“yeah? you know i don’t go to parties sober — ever. i admire you for being able to.” you squeeze his cheeks and let your lips brush against his as your eyes shift to the back seat. then back to him, then down to his crotch, and your stare lingers for too long because he asks— 

“something caught your eye?” he looks to the back seat. “no.” 

he uses two fingers to lift your chin. “you wanna go to the back?” 

“feeling hot? that’s why you’re being slick out the mouth huh?” he squeezes your cheeks and kisses your lips. “n-no.” you stutter. your tongue feels oddly heavy in your mouth. it’s enough to make you slur a few slick remarks under your breath. 

but before you knew it, geto was coaxing you to the back of the car while he drove to the shoulder and flicked on his hazard lights. all while rubbing and patting your ass as you slipped through the tiny slot to the back. anxious and ready to feel some relief. the constant banter and the light thoughts in your brain left you impatient and horny. 

it took a lot more work for him to get to the back. he tried to slip back there with some grace, but he was bumping everything, shaking the car and leaving his santa hat in the front as it slid off from his head dragging along the roof of the car. even the little bit of eco gel he used to slick his hair down was useless as strands stood up and fell along his face on his adventure to the back seat.

“easy peasy.” he gloated as he caught his breath. 

“you’ve got some liner on your cheek… and on the back of your seat.” you laugh innocently, and he uses the back of his hand to wipe the black pigment of his skin. “i wonder why.” he rolled his eyes. 

“i didn’t tell you to kiss me.” you answered back with that usual influx in your tone — as if you were pressed that he did. “i didn’t tell you to look so fucking good either, it looks like we both don’t know how to ask for permission.” he shrugs his shoulders and starts unbuttoning the ruby red of his tuxedo jacket.

“especially you.”

he peers into your eyes with intent — the intent of murder is right on his mind. and his “murderous” intent was always handled sexually. the slant of his eyes makes you burn under his gaze. his eyes are dark and unwavering; scary but inviting. 

“you don’t scare me.” you begin stretching out your legs; chubby extremities, that lead down to chubby feet. you wiggle your toes as your back slips down the door; inching your feet closer to his groin. he obviously wants you to touch him. his legs are spread. one foot is anchored down into the seat, and the other dangles on the ground, because there definitely isn’t enough space for the two of you in the back. 

but for these circumstances, it’s more than enough space. 

your foot finally reaches its goal. during this “staring” contest you rub your foot along the hardening, gift of god, in his pants. your press your foot against his dick, and use your toes to “stroke” it to the best of your ability. he’s trying not to break, but the amount of pressure you're exerting from that little foot of yours — just to give him some pleasure is working. it’s working wonders. 

you’re cracking his attempt at being stoic. you can’t see it, but he’s gritting his teeth. sliding the molars back and forth as if he’s trying to relieve the pain of sore gums. he’s on the stand, trying to plead the fifth, but he fails miserably. his hips buck up, and he grunts a small “shit.”

“what was that, baby.” you gaze with soft eyes. soft, wet eyes, that never fail to make geto wish he had stronger resolve. your head tilts to the side as you try to put your finger on it.

“you’re hearing things,” he replies — stone-faced, but his hands reach out to massage the soles of your feet. geto’s fingers slip and tug at the lacy material, it stretches due to eager fingers. he runs them along the thin black stockings that you wore underneath them, and he fondles what little of your skin he can feel. touching you is his sanctuary. 

“mhm? i can hear just fine, i just can’t see all that well.” you point to the big square frames that settle on the plumpness of your cheeks. 

“but can you unbutton these for me?” you ask so politely and direct his fingers with your toes. you rub at the space that hides the button and zipper that fasten his pants together. it’s straight warmth across your foot as you massage his bulge with your foot.  

“and can you spread your legs for me?” he pleads almost as his fingers work to free himself from his pants. “that’s a simple request.” 

the ruffles of your red mini skirt flip up with ease, and you spread your legs just as he asks. you throw your left leg, up and over the headrest of the back seat, but not before dragging it over his thighs. your foot arches as he catches it in his palms, and caresses the souls of them. he’s careful and his moves have been calculated with the utmost precision. 

he can’t feel the heat pooling in between your thighs, but you can feel how warm it is and the cool air fanning the interior gives you some relief. “it’s a shame, but i’m gonna need to make a little slit in these.” 

he pulls at the fabric once more and moves his body to meet yours in the middle. this interaction requires more effort on suguru’s part, because, like always you make him work for it. even though you want it just as badly. 

truly, you want it more “su… these are my favorite you know.” he’s not listening; were you even talking at this point? just babbling nonsense. he’s inching closer. closer. and closer till his hands are situated in between your legs. the decision he’s considering is whether he should stuff his hands in your stockings, or just rip a perfect little slit, so he can sink a finger inside. 

“there my favorite too, doll.” 

as always the latter wins. it fulfills his fantasy in a better way, a better execution. so he defies you. he gets to splitting the stockings right where nobody can see them, but him. 

when he finally sees skin, he’s losing his composure. stars, hearts, and pearls cloud his vision when he sees the wetness situated between your folds. he separates them with his fingers and slips just one finger between them. from the entrance up to your clit; he’s covering his finger in all that slick. all while maintaining eye contact. entrancing you with his eyes. 

making you squeeze your hands together, and knit your brows when he massages your clit. a smooth ooh, baby — right there you coo. “i know, i know.”  he soothes. 

he blows strands of hair out of his face and licks his lips when he sees your expression. fucked out eyes, and ragged breaths. each whisk of his finger against your clit, forces constricted labored breaths. hazy eyes, and more of your arousal leaks onto his leather seats. 

“you’re so beautiful.” he whispers.

“mmph,” you squeeze your eyes shit when he pushes his finger harder against your clit, “i-thank you.” you sigh. 

“now i need you to do something for me.” he begins. you can barely tell that his lips are moving, but you nod your head and hum a short response. “i want you to play with yourself for me while i help you. can you do that for me?”

“yes.” 

“thank you, baby.” 

once he pulls his finger back, a thick coat of arousal sticks to his fingers. creating a connection that he snips when his tongue wraps around the digit. he lets it settle on his tongue, and gets closer so he can steal a kiss. a simple, slow, lazy kiss that grants you a taste. sweet and simple. you moan into his mouth sucking every bit of you off his tongue. ’s good, honey’

like clockwork, your fingers drop to the mess in between your legs, and suguru indulges in the feeling of his hand and your foot caressing his dick. just a few pumps and he’s stuffing his fingers back inside of you for some lube. taking it and smearing your sweet mess all over his tip. giving himself lazy, slow strokes while your toes parted to compensate for his girth. 

he shuddered from the mesh pattern stroking at the thick vein that bulged from the base of his cock all the way up to his frenulum. it felt heavenly. his adam’s apple bobs with each gulp he takes. the pleasure spirals up to his brain; nearly clouding his thoughts.

“geto, are you gonna tell me what to do?” you reel him back to his senses. 

“yeah-fuck, just one finger first,” he instructed. you listened obediently; rubbing your middle finger innocently between your folds before you sunk it in. slowly, perfectly slow until you stuffed yourself full with it. you squeaked out in pleasure and embarrassment. his eyes bored into the space between your legs. stuck like glue, transfixed on how perfect you looked when you played with yourself. 

but embarrassment flooded your senses. your thighs slowly pressed together in an attempt to shield yourself. geto was aware that at some point your resolve would crumble. you couldn’t take it. mutual anything tore you apart. you tried to focus. you really tried to the best of your abilities. 

yet, seeing the beads of pre cum trickle from his tip made you hot. seeing how tight of a grip he held around his dick made you ache and squeeze around your finger, and here he was planning mutual enjoyment, and you couldn’t tell who was enjoying it more. who was licking their lips more, grunting more? it wasn’t fair how much of you he could see. 

it was geto who was more fixated on the way your fingers drove in and out of your pussy. the squelching and thick drops of arousal that splashed on his seats were rewarding enough. he tuts, squinting his eyes and reaching forward when they hide your cunt from his gaze.

geto’s hand wrap around the plushness of your thighs, “don’t be embarrassed, keep them, open baby. i want to see everything.” his fingers dig into the plush of them, turning the tips white. a smile tugs at his lips when you yelp out in pain. but you feel yourself clench from the simple action of control.   

he took the opportunity to spread them again, and this time he used his dangling foot to hold yours down. leading his foot over your calf and locking it under your thigh — fair restraint. keeping them entangled ensures that you can't snap them close no matter how badly you try. 

“s-sorry.” you muttered. now slightly embarrassed that he crept even closer towards you in this cramped back seat. 

“instead of apologizing why don’t you just make yourself cum. can i see how pretty you look when you cum?” 

his features turn soft. he gazes with soft, pleading eyes and hunches over to run kisses all along your covered thighs. nothing else sounds better than your soft submission of, “yes, i can.” 

“put another finger in, okay?” 

“and go slow, like this-“ he wraps his thumb and index around his cock to show you how he’d like you to do it. he ruts his dick into the circle he forms and glides it through at a snail's pace. “this slow okay,” he points his head towards you; indicating the start of your demonstration, “show me.” 

“slow like this?” you relax around your finger, and slip your ring finger in. “just like that.” he affirms. “good job, baby,” he lifts the foot you had wrapped around the back headrest, and brings it to his face. “match my pace.” he hums. 

he kisses the sole of it, and urges you on; making sure each of your moves punctuates at the same time. quiet affirmations slip off his tongue as he watches you, i love watching you play with your pussy, baby

“thank you, thank you.” you moan 

you know i love it when you're good to me. 

“you ‘bout to cum?” he asks. it’s a question he knows the answer to. instead of fucking yourself with your fingers, you’re rolling your hips against them. panting and groaning for release. going a little bit faster than the pace geto had set for you both. he was waiting for it, because he wanted you to cum first. he was painfully close to his release, a white glob of cum slowly dripped out of his tip, and he bit his lip to hold it in. 

the glob falls on his index finger, and he brings it to your attention. “look at what you did.” he lets go of your leg and reaches out to cradle your head against his. 

“yeah?” you groan. 

your foreheads press together and he circles his index around your clit. he smears his cum over your clit, and applies enough pressure to make your legs shake. he tilts his head further down and drops a fat wad of spit on it, and when he guides it the wet sound increases. sticky and cumbersome; loud like the gentle smacking of puckered lips. 

you draw your head back and let it fall against the car window. your legs twitch and your body slumps against the door, as a deep groan travels up from your chest all the way to your throat. you’d been holding your breath chasing your release, and all you needed to topple over was geto’s help in rubbing it out. 

“you did so well.” he smiles and kisses you all over. your cheeks, nose, and even your sweaty forehead. he moves your underwear back over your pussy and pats it, then he tries to reassemble the stocking and make the slit as invisible as possible. 

he stuffs himself back in pants suit with great difficulty and sets his sights on the driver's seat. his hair is a fucking mess, but he places the santa hat right back on its temple. he gives you a stupid smile from the front seat, but you look gloomy. 

“you didn’t cum.” you pout. 

“it’s okay,” he reaches back to cradle your face, and kisses your plump, tear-stained cheeks. “when we get home, i’ll fuck you just how i please.”  

“so? do we really need to go to this party?” he flips his indicator on and slowly merges into the thinning traffic. 

“well…we’re already late, so we don’t really have to. you lay back in the backseat, and give him a thumbs-up,

“perfect.” 

tagging: @blkcupid @artemisthestar @venusflytrapstar @sirenh4ll @si00p @444yeager @rayemelanin @privateparty3 @chosoguapo @getosbunny

[bked0n-lorazepam]

"Love Me Dead- Ludo" Part Three

I forgot how fast this bitch runs, I thought while watching her go toward the treeline. I wonder if she remembers the deal.

Fuck, I hope not.

Last year I saw her on a camping trip with her friends, who were assholes anyway so I technically did her a favor by killing them, and decided she was going to be mine.

Well, her ass was going to be mine. I don't really care all that much about her. 

The sound of the snap of a camera, a thump with the crunch of leaves and twigs, and cursing pulled me out of my train of thought, and I looked over at the sources and scoffed.

“T–ell me again how yo–u two dumbasses became prox–oxies?” Glaring at the masked idiots, the one in orange stands up and wipes off the leaves on his pants.

“We were here before you, Twitchy.” He snarls and looks down at the one in yellow who was still on the ground and looking through his camera. 

“So what's her name? I mean, since you've dragged us here to help you play Hide and Seek, I think we should know what to call her.” He looks up at the two of us, his black mask slipping off his face just a bit.

I shake my head and start walking in the direction she started in. 

“Yo–u don’t need to k–know it, and I didn’t wan–nt you two here.” I groan, watching a bird and a fox wrestle in the distance.

 “The Op–op–erator’s just an untrusti–ing bitch,” Mumbling, I kick a rock in front of my boot and look back at the two. “Brian, how long has it been?”

“Two minutes and thirteen seconds.” He looks at his watch and wipes his yellow sleeves of the twigs he fell on and looks through his camera, no doubt looking back at the video he took of the girl he stalked yesterday. 

I roll my eyes and my neck jerks to the right, my knuckles unwillingly cracking inside of my pocket.

I reach my hand up to my left cheek and scratch at the scar, a bad habit that always ends in a bloody, bigger hole than the last. 

I think I’ll just try to find her now, it’s not like she’s counting the seconds.

My hand grasps the hatchet hanging on my waist and I start the walk to the other one a couple yards away, silently praying to any god that she still has that fighting spirit in her that I love breaking so much.

[hockeylvr59]

Secret Love Part 11 || Cale Makar

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: So I really struggled writing Chapter 10...Chapter 11 however...took me like two days. So yeah...uh characters are still in Iceland, Days 3 and 4 sightseeing will be posted following this. As always all posts for this series can be found by searching the tag ‘038’ on my blog. Let me know what you think. 

Gif Credit: @j-compher​

Warnings: cursing, oral sex, smut, unprotected (on birth control but no condom) smut

Word Count: 3,819

~~~~~~

If you’d thought day two of your trip had involved a lot of driving, you were in for a rude awakening moving forward.

The morning of your third day in Iceland, you and Cale had slept in until around 8 am before getting up, heading down to breakfast, packing up and then checking out of the hotel. Before leaving Reykjavik, you stopped at a market to stock up on some drinks and snacks, then a gas station for a refill before finally hitting the road heading south.

After about an hour and 40 minute drive, you reached your first stop: Seljalandsfoss Waterfall. This waterfall was the perfect photo op because you could actually walk behind the falls. Taking some sillier but also sweet pictures, you continued on to another waterfall about a half hour away. From there, you stopped for lunch before Cale drove on to Dyrhólaey Nature Reserve.

The nature reserve was home to sea stacks and arches and the view from the upper trail was breathtaking. It had only been three days but already you were certain that Iceland was one of the most beautiful countries in the world.  After taking in the views from above, you headed to the lower trail and onto Reynisfjara beach.

There, black sand stretched in front of you as far as you could see. It was so different than any other beach you’d ever been on but it was honestly really, really cool. As cool as the sand was, the rock formations lining the beach were even cooler. After walking tucked into Cale’s side for a little bit you looked up at the cliffs to your left and immediately started freaking out. Jumping up and down, trying not to squeal, you tugged on Cale’s sleeve as if your previous actions hadn’t already gained his attention.

“What are you freaking out about?” Cale asked, mystified expression on his face.

“Puffins!” You squealed quietly, pure glee on your face. “They’re so cute!” The last thing you wanted to do was disturb the birds, but you were so excited to see them it was impossible to keep completely silent. Of course, you kept your distance, simply admiring them from afar.

Cale didn’t seem to know what to do with your reaction but he let you have your moment watching the birds, his lips pressed against the top of your head. As you headed back down the beach Cale rubbed his thumb against your side.

“I take you to see beautiful geological formations but it’s the birds you’re excited about.” He mused, shaking his head.

“Leave me alone.” You pouted. “You don’t just see puffins anywhere you know.” Lifting your chin, Cale kissed you softly.

“As long as you’re having fun and are excited about something I’m happy.” He insisted, his arm pulling you closer into his side.

It wasn’t a far drive to the village of Vik which Cale informed you was where you were staying for the night. Unlike yesterday where you had been going non-stop, not returning to your hotel until after 11pm, today you were already here and it was only late afternoon.

After checking into your hotel, you dropped off your bags and used the bathroom before heading into the village itself to park and walk around. Stopping into the tourist shop, you browsed around looking specifically at all of the locally made products. Eventually, you spotted a set of glass coasters made from the black sand of the beaches you’d just been on. Across the tops, various local scenes were painted. They were simple but beautiful and your fingers lingered across the tops of them.

“Those are nice.” Cale said, appearing over your shoulder suddenly.

“Yeah they are.” You agreed. Picking up two sets, Cale handed you one.

“We should get them. One for the house, one for my apartment.” Cale declared. “That way we both have something to remind us of this trip.”

“That’s really soft Cale.” You murmured.

“Don’t care.” He replied. Though you continued to look around, there wasn’t anything else that spoke to you as much as the set of coasters did and eventually you headed to the register to purchase them.

Walking around the village you took in how cute and quaint it was. Soon after your stomachs started complaining, you stumbled into a small restaurant. There you and Cale split a pizza with pesto for sauce, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, parma ham, topped with a balsamic glaze and parmesan cheese. It was delicious and you left feeling completely stuffed.

You’d called it an early night back at the hotel, settling for a movie on Netflix as you curled up together in bed. A relaxing evening was exactly what you needed to recharge and be ready to continue on your journey.

++

Day four of your trip started by filling up the gas tank and then embarking on an hour long drive to Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon.

Just before you reached the canyon, you encountered a small turn off which led you to a viewpoint. Climbing out of the car you walked up the pathway until you reached a platform. As far as the eye could see were moss covered rocks and it truly felt like you had stepped onto another planet.

“Are you sure we’re still on planet earth?” You whispered to Cale. Your boyfriend chuckled quietly in response, his hand resting on your hip. It seemed like the more time you spent alone together, not worried about who you saw or who saw you, the more reliant on physical touches each of you became. You’d never felt so comfortable just being with someone and thinking back on the times you’d seen Cale with Sara, you had a feeling the same could be said for him.

With more pictures clogging up your phones, you continued on to the Canyon itself. It was only a two-minute walk to the start of the canyon from the car and the moment you reached it your jaw dropped.

“Cale…” You whispered. You didn’t even have words to describe how beautiful this place was.

“Woah...sweetheart.” Cale’s thumbs brushed against your cheeks as he spoke and it wasn’t until he pulled you into his chest that you realized you were crying. “Shhh..give your brain a minute to process.” Cale assured you. His patience with you seemed neverending as his hands stroked your back until you finally calmed down.

“Sorry…” You mumbled, wiping frantically at your eyes when you finally pulled away.

“Nothing to be sorry about.” Cale insisted. “You’re allowed to be emotionally effected by things. It’s normal. Especially when it’s something as amazing as this.” Cale’s lips pressed gently to your forehead and he dropped his hand from your back to lace your fingers together. “You good to go walk?” He questioned.

It took about 45 minutes to walk all the way up to the top of the canyon and back and you stopped for pictures at various points along the way. You still couldn’t put into words the way this place made you feel; it was all so overwhelming in the best way. As you stood off to the side of the first viewpoint, away from the majority of other tourists, you tugged Cale’s hand until he was close enough you could wrap your arms around his neck.

“Thank you.” You murmured, kissing him lightly. “You always know exactly what I need, you’re always putting me first and taking care of me. It doesn’t go unnoticed, and you don’t know how much I appreciate it. You mean the world to me Cale...I don’t know if I’m quite as good at showing it as you are, but I hope you know that.”

“I do...know that…” Cale responded, kissing you again gently before pulling away, a fondness in his eyes that nearly sent you reeling. Dragging your fingers along his lower back you made up your mind to show him just how important he was to you once you were actually alone.

Back in the car, you munched on some of the snacks you’d brought in lieu of trying to find somewhere to stop for lunch. It took almost two hours to get to your next stop, the Jökulsárlón Iceberg Lagoon.

There, the two of you hopped on a boat tour where you got to taste a piece of 1,000 year old ice as you toured the lagoon. It was incredible to see first hand just how much ice was breaking off of the glacier and it made you more cognizant of the consequences of global climate change.

Right across the highway from the lagoon was Breiðamerkursandur or the diamond beach where fragments of ice wash up after floating from the lagoon out into the ocean. You made Cale climb onto an iceberg so you could take a picture of him and you got some great shots of all of the ice scattered along the shore. Despite the fact that it wasn’t all that cold outside, having been surrounded by ice for the past hour or two left you feeling chilly even if you had dressed in layers.

As you climbed in the car, Cale turned the heat on and you squeezed his knee in thanks. It was just a short drive to your hotel for the night and once you’d checked in, you shed a few layers before heading to the bar for a drink before dinner.

You’d retreated to your room around 6:30pm and Cale hopped in the shower first to clean up. While you waited for him to finish, you dug in your bag trying to decide what to grab for after your own shower. Thinking back to how you had promised yourself you were going to show Cale just how important he was, you unzipped a small compartment where you’d hidden the lingerie you’d bought.

Buying lingerie had been a spur of the moment decision possibly fueled by a few glasses of wine, and the thought of actually wearing it made you nervous. Your sex life with Cale had been fairly tame so far, nothing too out of the box. It had also been completely spontaneous on every occasion. You honestly had no idea how he would react to lingerie and though both sets were fairly tame in comparison to some sets you’d seen online, this was still something new and therefore nerve wracking.

Hearing the shower turn off, you jumped, your heart racing as you grabbed the more modest of the two sets. If you were going to do this, you were going to ease into it. Collecting your cosmetic bag, you hid the lingerie close to your chest.

Slipping into the bathroom as soon as Cale exited, you stripped out of your clothes and stepped into the shower trying not to overthink this. Focusing on shaving your legs and cleaning up served as a bit of a distraction but as you toweled off, your eyes landed back on the lingerie you’d placed on the counter.

You were certain you’d talk yourself out of this if you had to stare at yourself wearing the lingerie in the mirror for too long, so you started with your makeup, doing just a little bit more than you had been lately in order to make yourself feel confident and sexy. Blow drying your hair, you brushed it out before finally reaching for the lace and silk fabric.

Burgundy colored silk sat low on your hips, edged by black lace along both of your thighs. The same black lace covered your chest, ending at the bottom of your ribcage leaving your stomach exposed. It was...sensual but not over the top and when you slid the burgundy silk robe over it, you felt like you might actually be able to pull this off.

Reminding yourself that Cale had nearly lost his shit at the sight of you in a bikini the other night, you took a deep breath before opening the bathroom door and stepping out into the bedroom. Cale was sprawled out on the bed with just a pair of shorts slung low on his hips.

“What do you want to watch tonight?” Cale’s question was asked before he ever looked up at you, but when he did he blinked slowly. “That’s uh...that’s not your usual pajama set…” He murmured.

Blood pounding through your veins, you moved across the room to climb onto the bed beside him. Grabbing the remote from his hand, you turned the tv off before setting the remote aside.

“I was thinking about a different form of entertainment tonight…” You stated, your own voice sounding foreign in your ears. Sliding over Cale’s lap until you were straddling him, your hands ran down along his arms as his eyes did a slow once over of your body. “I think it’s time I take care of you for once.” You husked, raising an eyebrow. Cale hadn’t even seen what was under the robe yet and already he was slack jawed. The power you held over him in that moment sent a rush of adrenaline through you and you slid down the bed, tugging his shorts and boxers down with you.

“You good handsome?” You teased, lightly stroking your fingers over the length of his rapidly hardening dick. Cale couldn’t seem to speak, but he nodded his head and for now that was enough consent. Flicking your tongue along the slit of his cock, you stroked the length of him in your hand until a soft grunt fell from his lips. Only then did you hollow your cheeks, sinking down around him, taking as much of his length as you could down your throat. Bobbing slowly, you felt him twitch and when you pulled back to breathe you ran your tongue along the veins on the underside of his cock.

Following your instincts, plus Cale’s body language and verbal clues, you settled into a rhythm blowing your boyfriend for the first time. You’d seen and felt Cale orgasm enough to know when he was getting close as his body strained beneath you.

“Fuck. Babe. Stop.” Cale gasped, but peeking up at him you knew he didn’t actually want you to stop.

“We’ve got all night handsome...plenty of time for you to recover after coming down my throat.” You murmured before flicking your tongue through his slit again collecting all of his precum. Returning to your efforts, you cupped his balls as you sunk down his length. After just a minute, Cale came with a moan as he spilled down your throat and after swallowing you pulled off of him, sliding your tongue along his skin to clean him up. Cale’s cheeks were flushed as he tried to catch his breath and you slid up his body, settling yourself back over his lap.

“Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?” Cale gasped, his head falling forward to land against your shoulder. Kissing his head, you ran your fingers through his hair waiting for him to become more coherent.

“Just trying to take care of my man.” You hummed. “But if you’re complaining...you don’t have to see what’s under the robe.” As you spoke, you drew his hands up to the tie at your waist, leaving it for him to undo.

The speed at which Cale undid the bow told you that he wasn’t complaining at all and you let him push the robe from your shoulders, his eyes landing on you once more. His cheeks flushed further to match the color of your shorts and his eyes were wider than you’d ever seen them. You let him stare, watching as his tongue ran over his lips leaving them wet and shiny in the dim lighting of the hotel room.

“Fuck…” Cale breathed harshly, drawing out the word. “I must be dreaming right now.” He added. “You’re a fucking dream sweetheart.” Cale’s eyes ran slowly up and down your body like he wanted to memorize every inch. “You bought this for me?”

“I take it you like it?” You assumed, letting out a soft sigh in relief at his reaction.

“What do you think?” Cale grunted, pulling your hips to roll down against his cock which was already hard again.

Laughter bubbled from your chest in reaction and you cupped his cheek as you leaned in to kiss him deeply.

“Good to know lingerie is a hit with you.” You admitted. Cale’s eyes flashed with concern for just a moment before his hand fell to your hips, his thumbs brushing against your bare stomach.

“I don’t know whether I want you to keep this on or take it off.” He declared. Clearly he knew better than he thought he did, because as he spoke his hands slid up your sides, gently gripping the fabric and drawing it up and over your head. Half nude on top of him, Cale’s hands cupped your breasts as he pulled you into a desperate kiss.

“Can’t believe you’re mine…” He mumbled, pulling back. There was something about seeing him like this, flushed red, swollen lips, blissed out from one orgasm already that lit every primal need inside of you. As much as you were his, he was yours and god did you need him inside you.

“Please Cale…” You whimpered, rolling your hips against his.

“Shh…” He soothed, hands gliding across your ass. Sensing that he was going to try and flip you, you kept your weight centered firmly above him.

“I wanna be on top.” You pleaded. “Just need out of these shorts…”

Cale wasn’t responding quickly enough, so you pushed the fabric of your shorts off of your own hips, shifting as little as possible while attempting to kick them off and onto the floor.

“Let me…” You cut off Cale’s statement by raising your hips and lowering yourself onto his dick, a gasp spilling from your throat as you felt him slipping deep inside you.

“Yes…” You hissed, the stretch of your body around him filling you with a warmth and ache that you had missed so much. As you started shallowly leveraging yourself up before dropping back down your eyes met Cale’s deep azure orbs, the look in them heightening your arousal.

“So wet.” Cale eventually groaned. “My girl doesn’t even need foreplay after blowing me to be this soaking wet. Fuck.”

Though one of Cale’s hands fell to your hips, you were the one putting in all of the effort to fuck yourself on his cock.

“You’re so needy...fucking yourself...just using my body for your pleasure. So much for wanting to take care of me tonight.” Sinking down on him again, you purposely tightened your vaginal walls against him, drawing another moan from his chest.

“Hmm...I think me doing all the work...letting you cum inside me while you just lay there is taking pretty good care of you…” You corrected. Your thighs were starting to burn from bouncing on top of him but your orgasm was within arm’s reach and there was no way you were stopping before ensuring you both got to climax.

“My girl is close.” Cale groaned. “Cum for me sweetheart...let me feel that tight heat clamp down on me.”

Cale’s words pushed you over the edge and you sunk down on him in exhaustion as your body shook with your orgasm. Spurts of Cale’s semen filled you from deep inside and you whimpered at the feeling, warm from head to toe. As you collapsed against him, still connected intimately, Cale’s fingers played with the ends of your hair.

“I can’t get enough of you.” Cale whispered a few minutes later, his cock starting to harden inside of you again.

“Again?” You inquired, a little bit in disbelief that his rebound time was this fast.

“Only if you want to.” He assured you. “But I’ll take over, you can relax and enjoy this time.” This time when Cale attempted to roll the two of you over, you went willingly, staring up at him. Before moving, Cale settled your legs up over his shoulders and when he thrust inside of you, you cried out softly at the feeling of him brushing against your g-spot.

“I got you sweetheart...just tell me what you need.” Cale sighed, pleasure lacing his tone.

The sound of your skin smacking together and the squelch of your mixed bodily fluids rang in your ears.

“Talk to me…” You pleaded. “Like before.” You weren’t afraid to admit that hearing Cale dirty talk had pushed you so much closer to orgasm than you would have been otherwise.

“Yeah?” Cale breathed, his cheeks turning bright red again as you nodded. “You feel so good like this sweetheart. You’re even wetter than before. So tight too.” Every movement he made brushed against your g-spot and you couldn’t help the litany of noises that fell from your lips at the feeling.

“You like it when I fuck you like this huh?” He continued. “Your pussy stretches around me so nicely, just welcoming me inside. Do you like being fucked nice and deep like this? Feeling each ridge of me against your walls...feeling me spill deep inside you?” Crying out again, your head tossed back and forth against the pillow, your orgasm creeping up on you quickly.

“You do like feeling me spill inside of you don’t you? That’s why you wanted to stop using condoms. You like being skin to skin with me, feeling me raw you bare. You like being filled with my warm sticky cum, the way it drips out of you if I let it…”

Your vision went black for a moment as your orgasm crashed down on you hard. The muscles in your thighs spasmed painfully, but you barely noticed through the waves of pleasure that rippled through you, leaving you panting. As your body clenched around him again, you felt Cale spill inside of you for the second time tonight.

Carefully he pulled out of you before kissing your lips lightly.

“Be right back.” He declared, disappearing into the bathroom. He returned with a washcloth and after wiping down your thighs, he offered you a hand so that you could go to the bathroom yourself. When you returned to the bedroom, Cale handed you a t-shirt to wear before guiding you under the covers.

“So dirty talk huh…?” He chirped, his nose brushing against the top of your head.

“Shut up and turn the tv on Cale.” You replied, feeling heat flood your cheeks. Chuckling, Cale complied, but as he handed you the remote to pick a show he couldn’t help but get in the last word.

“It’s hot. I enjoyed it.” Shaking your head, you snuggled against him just basking in what was left of the afterglow.

“And for the record...you can always surprise me with lingerie. I’m definitely into that as well.”

Lingerie:

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 33

THE ROAD SO FAR

The Broken Ship

Gary "Roach" Sanderson

MacTavish Residence, Glasgow Scotland

The moment they arrived at home and broke the news about Alexandra, the whole morale of the group fell and the rest of the night was quiet. Roach overheard from Maxine that Soap's parents visited and he was all excited to listen to her story, but maybe after he consoled his pal, Ghost.

Ever since the mission ended, Simon was quiet, maskless and totally vulnerable. He felt like this before, back in Verdansk where he was like an emotionless killing machine. And Gary was afraid that he'd go back to this phase, a phase where all he would ever care about is that this war should end.

Gary knew how to talk him out of these kinds of situations, but this time, he preferred not to. He knew that after a massive loss and heartbreak, Simon preferred the silence. So he decided to let him collect his thoughts alone in his room.

"Is he going to be okay?" Maxine asked, wrapping an arm on his, as they walked the silent corridors of the second floor.

"I'm not sure. But I hope so…" Gary turned to her and frowned. Maxine's other hand grazed on his arm.

"What about you? Are you okay?" She tilted her head and looked at him in the eyes. Gary didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want her to worry. But right now, he wanted to express what he felt.

"Well… I almost died today. I'm glad Alex was behind us the whole time." he exhaled and Maxine's grip on his arm tightened making Gary turn to her.

Tears fell from her eyes as they stopped walking and she quickly embraced him. Gary quickly wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back.

"Don't you dare die on me, Gary Sanderson…" She sniffled and looked up at him.

"Please!" She added, her mouth trembled as she let her tears flow and sobbed on his chest.

"I can't …" Gary said.

"I can't promise anything like that, Maxine… But I'll be careful next time." He smiled as their eyes met.

"Now wipe off those tears and let's talk about something else, okay?" Gary ran a finger through her cheek, wiping the tears off.

"Sleep beside me tonight." She whispered.

Gary felt like he was the luckiest man alive. He couldn't imagine how Maxine was now sleeping on his bare chest, his arms wrapped around her soft skin. He joined with the slow rise and fall of her breathing and gently brushed her hair.

After planting a quick kiss on her forehead, he heard the sound of glass being tapped by the window. He dismissed it as a bird or the wind but it continued on until he finally got up, carefully putting Maxine's head on a pillow.

Ghost was on the ground, throwing pebbles by the window, Gary quickly pushed the window open and peeked his head. The cold chill of the midnight air brushed against his body.

"Simon?" he asked, whispering loud enough so he could hear him.

"I need your help." He asked. He was already ready to go, backpack and all. But it looked like Ghost needed a hand.

"What kind?" Gary asked, looking at Maxine who was sound asleep.

"I need you to come with me back to the ship. I'll explain the details later." he invited.

"What about the rest?" Gary asked, he was almost hesitant to go, but at times like this, Ghost wasn't the kind of person to ask for help. He needed him.

"We'll just be gone for a while." he assured and Gary signaled him to wait, he grabbed a change of clothes, perfect for the weather and kissed Maxine goodbye.

"I'll be out for a short while." he whispered and closed the door.

Through the hallways, Gary tiptoed quietly. Everyone else was asleep as evidenced by the loud snoring of a nearby open door.

After crossing the longest hallway quietly, Gary pushed the door open and met up with Ghost.

"Where are we going?" Gary asked. Ghost gave him a backpack of his own and he immediately wore it.

"Yeah, Gary. Where are you going?" A familiar voice said by the door. It was Maxine. Gary gulped in pressure and looked at Ghost, who just looked down as a gesture of "you talk your way out of this one pal"

Gary cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry I didn't wake you up. You looked peacefully asleep." He muttered.

"We're uhh…" Roach scratched his head and looked at Ghost.

"We're going to look for Alexandra and give her a proper burial." Ghost muttered and everyone fell silent. Roach looked at Ghost then back to Maxine as she sharply inhaled.

"I'll come with. I want to be there with your friend too, Roach." She said, nodding to Ghost. Come to think of it, the two never fully acquainted to each other. Maybe one of the factors Ghost didn't bother trying was that because she's Francine's sister.

"Thanks uh… Maxine.." Ghost said and looked down.

"Let me change my clothes first then we'll go." She said as she stepped back and went on to do her thing.

Ghost looked at Roach.

"She looks pretty cool." Ghost said and Gary turned to him.

"Are you okay with her tagging along?" Gary asked, with all the hand gestures.

"Well, I'm just planning to dive back to the ship while you wait." He said, the tone in his voice was nonchalant.

"How sure are you that we're going to find her?" Gary asked. Ghost immediately nudged him and smiled.

"And here I thought you were the optimistic one…" he said nodding to Maxine as she stepped out of the MacTavish estate wearing casual clothing.

A low whistle escaped Gary's lips as he eyed the beautiful lady standing in front of her.

"I'm ready to go!" She said as the three walked to the jeep rental and made their way back to the sunken site.

With Ghost driving, Gary and Maxine placed themselves at the back and tried to catch up with sleep, Maxine leaning on Gary's shoulders.

It was a smooth ride and it was quite lengthy. Gary wondered why they even went to Scotland if he had plans like this in the first place.

"So what made you decide about planning this op?" Gary asked.

"I… I wanted to give her a proper goodbye." He mutteres as he parked by the pier. Roach nudged Maxine awake and they carried their bags to the boat they rented.

"Hey, Isn't this…" Gary exclaimed.

"Yeah. S.S. Crossbones. The same ship we used just yesterday." He said, spinning his keys as they entered the boat.

After settling on the boat, Ghost got on his diving gear and they sailed to the sink site, filled with determination.

Gary sat beside Maxine who was enjoying the view, her wind blew as the boat sailed, drops of water splashed on her face.

"How are you holding up?" Gary asked as he held her hand.

"It's amazing to actually see the ocean again." Her smile was basked with the sunlight.

"Yeah. With all these things going on we were actually forced to go in hiding. It's sad." Gary consoled and Maxine grinned.

"It's okay. It's just fate pulling it's strings…"

"You believe that?" Gary asked.

"You know… destiny and the like.." he added.

Maxine curled her lips and thought for a bit.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean we control our lives but the things around us are you know… slightly orchestrated?" she replied with that same curious look on her face. The face Gary loved to stare at all the time.

"Yeah. I agree." he smiled as they looked forward to the crash site. The red hull of the cruise ship still peeked at the surface, despite the ocean which was supposed to be deep.

"The ship landed on a shallow portion of the ocean. So I guess we could stay afloat here and look for her." He said wearing his goggles and mouthpiece.

"Okay. We'll stay on lookout. Stay frosty and take care!" Gary gave an ok gesture as Ghost sat on one of the edges of the boat, readying himself to dive to the ship.

"I hope you find her, Simon." Maxine said and Ghost nodded as he plopped himself to the deep blue, the two trailed their eyes on his silhouette slowly descended and faded from sight.

"I sure hope he finds her." Maxine said, wrapping an arm on Gary.

"Yeah. I sure hope he does." Gary said as he locked his arms on hers and leaned on her.

Gary checked his watch and looked at the ocean surface. Approximately thirty minutes left and he'll be running on reserve.

"You think he found her?" Gary asked and leaned on the edge, his hands covered his face acting like a visor.

"I hope so." Maxine said from behind him, unpacking the food she gathered from the pantry. Gary turned back and looked at Maxine who was already halfway to making a sandwich.

"You brought food?!" Gary asked in amusement and she nodded, making the lad move next to her and help her out.

"I figured I could be of help in your little rogue mission." She smirked and Gary gave her a soft peck on the cheek.

"I haven't thought this far ahead. You're the best!"

Another fifteen minutes had passed and the couple already finished their snack, Ghost slowly emerged from the salty sea, his hands brought nothing but a piece of fabric.

Gary and Maxine excitedly stood up and checked if he found her, but frowned as soon as they saw him empty handed. Both of them were too sad to ask how the diving went.

"I got nothing…" He frowned. Gary tried to be optimistic.

"What if she made it out. But on a different way and she's out there?" he theorized, Maxine and Ghost actually looked at him oddly.

At first he thought his idea was absurd but as soon as Ghost looked to him, it kind of made sense.

"There were no bodies on the ship. It's possible everyone else floated to shore."

"Or got extracted somehow." Maxine added, giving Ghost an ounce of will to carry on.

"What's in that piece of fabric?" Gary asked as Ghost looked at it and read it's contents.

SHADOW COMPANY

SITE HOTEL BRAVO, AFGHANISTAN

"There are coordinates here. This may be our next step to finding Shepherd." Ghost added.

"So we're heading home?" Gary asked.

"Yes. I guess we're headed to Afghanistan." He smiled, Gary first thought he was excited. But a deeper look in his eyes said that he's out for revenge.

Next Chapter : High and Dry

Notification Squad my Beloved

@enderio @smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @whimsywispsblog (i lost beemybee) @ricinbach

[writefightandflightclub]

Arrivals

What is this? 6 of 14 prompt requests for my follower celebration! See OP + prompt list credits here.

What is the prompt? “Painting the house which ends in a paint fight and giggles.” with Modern!Poe and Pregnant!Reader. Thanks anon for the request!

Author’s note: I’ve never written Modern!Poe before and I’m not sure I would’ve without the request. So here goes. Thanks for the chance to try something new, anon! I think it turned out pretty cute? Let me know what YOU think!

Word count: A mere 2634, OOPS.

Warnings: pregnancy. Other than that it’s pure fluff and typos. Enjoy!

GIF credit: here

You hear your husband enter the room with a contented sigh, bare feet padding softly across the exposed floorboards. The patter of Beebs’ paws shortly follows. Your heart melts as he greets the dog with a sleepy “Morning, buddy.”, evidently stooping down to pet him as you hear Beebs’ soft pants and the happy beat of his tail against something or other in the room. “Happy beats, huh?” Poe says softly.

Then, he grants you his full attention.

“Oh oh, it’s happened again. I love you. Even more than I did yesterday.” he announces, sliding gently up behind you, pressing his warm chest into your back and wrapping his arms delicately around the pronounced curve of your belly, splaying his fingers to caress more of your bump. His head settles into the crook of your neck, his wild, bedhead curls tickling against the apple of your cheek as his arrival draws a wide, easy smile from you. He unconsciously begins swaying his hips in time with the easy-listening playlist you have muted in the background, his gorgeous voice a soft rumble against your ear as he starts to sing along.

The warmth -the sturdiness of him- is effortlessly reassuring, the shape and contours of him familiar even as he slots himself around your changing body. You don’t return his affections immediately though. Instead, you furrow your brow and stick your tongue out as you concentrate on some particularly intricate brush strokes on the wall ahead of you.

“I love you too, Poe, but if you knock me while I’m painting, I’m gonna have to kill you.”

You can tell that the goofball freezes then, as if he’s taking you completely literally. If you could see his expression as he perched his head on your shoulder you just know he would be emphatically statuesque.

“When you commit, you commit.” you smile.

“I’m sure you’re thankful that your husband has that quality, no?” he teases.

You’ll give him that one.

You chuckle at the thought of him, frozen there, trying to keep your brush steady as you do so. But then he’s still frozen and the wobble of your shoulders becomes more pronounced as you shake with gentle laughter. You hear him scoff by your ear, in return.

“Stop it, Poe!” You scold good-naturedly as your giggles intensify, the sound chiming musically around the empty-ish, in-progress room.

“I’m not doing a thing, sweetheart, it’s you who’s moving!” His voice has that wonderful playful edge, and you can hear the smile in it, can imagine that slight crinkle in his nose.

You get a handle on yourself for just about long enough to finish off the detail of the mural section you’d been working on. You have added incentive to get it done now, as you are desperate to turn around and get yourself a good look at that handsome face for the first time today. You down your tools and twirl towards Poe, his broad, gentle hands never breaking contact with your belly. His body navigates your bump to lean in for a sweet and loving kiss to your lips.

“Hmm. Morning, handsome.” You purr, blissed out from that kiss as your hand winds into his thick, dishevelled curls, his Sunday stubble grazing your skin.

His eyes glow as he looks back at you. “Morning, sweetheart.” As is tradition, he dips to plant a sweet kiss to your midsection. “Morning, Kiddo.” 

He gives you the once-over with his eyes, checking for any sign of new symptoms or discomfort. “You couldn’t lie-in, huh? You should have woken me.”

“I’m fine, Poe.” You dismiss -he does tend to fuss, for which you are thankful- and you nod back towards your progress with the mural, excitement flashing in your eyes. “What do you think of my progress?”

You both turn to regard it, and he resumes his original position, warm and sturdy at your back once again.

“Don’t tell me. It’s an... elephant?”

You’d been bouncing around ideas for the mural for weeks now. Since you’d officially stopped working, it had become a rather consuming passion project of yours. You’d suggested cute little airplanes and clouds to reflect Poe and his career as a pilot. But he’d said he hadn’t wanted to push his dreams on to the kid, and had proceeded to go down rabbit hole about how he just wanted them to be happy. You’d fallen even more in love with him, and then asked him to pick something that made him happy. Predictably, he’d said you. Of course. And Beebs. Then, out of nowhere, he’d gone straight to: “Monkeys. Monkeys make me happy. The one I saw on my last humanitarian mission - did I tell you about that one yet?”. So, here you were, with a beautiful jungle scene beginning to snake its way across the wall.

With a soft smile at the corners of your lips, you glance back at what is quite evidently a tiger. It’s a good job you’re secure in your abilities, and therefore confident that he’s teasing. “An elephant, you say? Poe, you’ll have to get much better at deciphering paintings before Kiddo learns how to hold crayons.” You lean your head back against him, resting your hands over his atop the globe of your belly. “Also, please don’t offend Sir Growlington; he’s a very sensitive tiger.”, you pout.

Poe peppers a few loving kisses on to your cheek and hairline and really, wherever his mouth can reach. “It’s amazing, sweetie, you’re so fucking talented.” He says genuinely. “But… don’t think I’m just going to brush past this... You named the tiger?”

“I did name the tiger.” you intone, hinting that maybe that’s not all.

He twirls you back to him so he can look you in the face again.

“Wait. Did you name all the animals?”

“No. Of course not. Would I be so silly?” you singsong sarcastically as you lean yourself up against the edge of the painting table. 

“Oh ok.” he says plainly with a nod of his head, a brush of his hand over his stubbled jaw. You love when he pretends to be serious and when he’s just so damn bad at pretending. “So you won’t mind if I call this bird... Sandra then?”

You suck in air through your teeth. “Sorry, that’s Porg. But that’s the only other one I named, honest.”

He folds his arms and raises his eyebrows to you, an easy smirk on his lips as he mirrors your position and leans against the pair of wooden ladders behind him. “Come on, let me have them all; monkey, giraffe, sloth - hit me.”

He makes a “bring it on” gesture with his fingers, and you blurt them out. “Peanut, Jungle Gump, and Mademoiselle Sleepyhead.”

He smiles in amusement and pads towards you, settling himself into your side, his eyes soft as they wander over the familiar details of your face. His voice is low in his throat. “Goddamn, you’re adorable.” You shrug and flutter your eyelashes in casual agreement. “Unless... Honey, should I be concerned?” He juts his hip and you can’t wait to hear what he’s going to come out with next. “Is this a subtle way of telling me you want to name our baby Jungle Gump?”

 “No!” You burst into laughter and bat him playfully on the chest. “But… now that you mention it? Jungle Dameron does sound kinda cool.” You’re actually only half-joking.

He sighs in mock defeat, waving his hand around in the air. “Fine, Jungle if they’re a girl, Sir Growlington if they’re a boy, and Peanut as a gender-neutral option.”

“Shake on it. Deal done.”

You place your hands on his chest, nodding back towards the wall again. “Did you see I left a space? I think you should paint something, Poe.”

“Honey, you know I can’t paint.” he argues, massaging little circles into your shoulder, your hip, your elbows. Anywhere you’ve complained of being sore. You love this man.

“You can paint. Everyone can paint.”

“Why would you want me to ruin your great work?”

You throw your arms around his shoulders, twining your fingers together at the back of his neck. “Because it’s our mural for our baby, and it’s about making something happy, yes? Well, I’m having fun creating this but you’re not in the room with me. And that’s the fun memory I want us to think about when we put our baby-”

“Jungle” he interjects.

“-Jungle,“ you nod, “to sleep. So, stay with me. Paint a crappy, fantastical animal of your choosing.” You gesture towards the paint selection on the table behind you with a sweep of your arm.

“You sure?” he asks, even though he’s already started to rifle through the supplies.

“I’m sure. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!”

A perfect, broad smile works its way across his face. His pretty, dark eyes flick over to yours, his voice deepening and becoming even richer and more robust as it infuses with meaning. “You’re incredible. I can’t wait to do this with you.”

You know he’s talking about far more than the mural. And you couldn’t agree more.

“First though...” he begins, that playfulness immediately back again. “Paint fight!” He picks up the nearest brush and dips it in your paint pot, before swiping a black streak across your cheek. 

You squeal in shock and he adopts a fighting stance, primed for your reaction. Before you can do a thing he manages to paint another stripe to your forearm with a quick, targeted swipe of his brush. You think he’s probably trying to make you look like Lady Growlington.

He torments you like this until you grab for your own brush, which you load, preparing to coat him. You assess the status of his sleep shirt. It’s old, you decide, and you land a splash of sky blue down his neck with a dramatic “A-ha”, a sound not unlike a swashbuckling pirate.

“Oh, you’re in for it now.” he warns with a grin, planting his whole palm in a pot of green and -gently, ever so gently, and avoiding your belly- chasing you around the room until he has covered your face and arms in his handprints. Then, when he’s had his fun he pulls you in for a giggly, breathless kiss.

“Are you trying to ruin my clothes, Poe Dameron?”

“Honestly? I’m trying to get you in the shower, gorgeous.” He pumps his eyebrows suggestively. “What do you say, wanna make love to me?”

He smiles, grabbing you hand with his own, paint-smeared one and giving you a light tug.

“If you think we can both still fit in the cubicle!”

“We’ll just have to get super close; that doesn’t sound like the worst thing, honey” 

All morning should start this way, you think. How could anything be better?

***

Months later, you are settling your precious baby for sleep. Poe is already passed out and lightly snoring on the couch, an array of blankets and bottles strewn around him. You allow yourself a moment to take him in. He looks so Goddamn beautiful when he’s sleeping. You feel so much love for him, for your new baby. More than you could have ever thought possible. It’s hard and it’s scary, but you are so happy you are doing this with him. Already, he is the most wonderful husband and father you could have dreamed of. 

Careful not to wake either him or the tiny sleeping bundle in your arms, you tread softly upstairs, Beebs -who rarely ever leaves your side since the new arrival- padding quietly along with you. When you get to the nursery you rock your baby in your arms a few moments more, humming lullabies softly into the cool night air.

Your eyes sweeping the room, the wonderful, perfect mural on the wall catches your attention. The mural with one animal that doesn’t look quite like the rest. Honestly, it doesn’t really look like any existing animal, so Poe has named it a “blurrg” instead. It makes you chuckle every single time, without fail. You wouldn’t change it for a thing. You wouldn’t change any of this.

You set your baby down in their basket before your laughter wakes them. Then, of course, you linger a moment longer to just stare at that adorable little face before clasping the door shut behind you.

Returning downstairs you smile at Poe. “You’re awake!”

“Yeah, I am.” You move to meet him on the couch and he drags you down into his lap. “And I heard you on the baby monitor, laughing at my blurrg! Again!”

You caress his curls, even though you know he’s not genuinely offended.

You smile so broadly your cheeks hurt. “I love it Poe. It makes me so happy every time. I’m so glad we created it together.”

His eyes meet yours, soft and warm, like the rest of him. “I sure as hell know that feeling.”

Oh boy. How does he make happiness swell in your chest like this? How is it possible to be this happy?

“Let’s... keep creating together, ok?”

He looks up at you in shock as he catches the full meaning of your words. “Are you... are you asking me to have another baby with you? Already?”

“Jungle’s gonna need a sibling.” you bite your lip, slightly nervous of how he might react. “Also, we really need to stop calling her that and settle on an actual name.”, you deflect.

“Baby,” he says gently, taking your hand in his. “I’d like Jungle to have siblings. I’m not sure she needs one just yet...” his tone switches, and it’s subtle but you know him too well to miss it. “...but as soon as you feel ready I’m very willing to start practising again.”

“You know, I think… I think I’m ready to start… practising.”

He swallows thickly, and you can see he’s holding himself back a little, for your benefit. He even backtracks a little. “You know I would never want to rush you, baby.”

“I know, Poe. So, what do you say, wanna make love?”

With unfortunate timing, the baby monitor crackles, transmitting a light cry from your daughter’s room.

“I’ll go check her.” Poe offers, patting your thighs for you to stand up and let him out from under you.

“You just want to smell her head again.”

“It’s the best smell, can you blame me?”

You smile to yourself. You love how soft and goofy and wonderful this man is. Every night should be like this, you think. How could anything be better?

***

When Poe does come back down to the living room you are already fast asleep, an open sketching pad nestled on to your chest. He thinks his heart might burst as he lifts it up for safe-keeping and notices you’ve drawn an adorable blurrg in there.

He casts his eyes over your sleeping form with nothing but love. He thinks you look so beautiful when you’re sleeping. He knows he couldn’t paint a prettier picture if he tried. No really, not with his skills. You’d agree; you’ve seen that blurrg, after all.  

He stoops, planting a gentle kiss to your forehead. He could swear that, impossibly, that he loves you even more than he did yesterday.

He stoops to pet Beebs as the corgi presses up against his ankles, giving him some well-deserved belly scritches. “Come on then big bro,” he whispers. “Let’s clear this mess up for Mama.”

Before he scoots around to collect up all the bottles and paraphernalia, he sets your sketchpad safely down on the coffee table. He can’t help but smile again. He knows what makes him happy. Happier than he ever thought he could be.

God knows why he said “monkeys”.

THE END

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[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 Episode 1 Easter Eggs & References

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This Star Trek: Lower Decks article contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 1: “Strange Energies.”

The mission of the USS Cerritos is to do the jobs other Starfleet ships can’t; following up with all sorts of minutiae and boring outer space logistics, long after the Enterprise or the Defiant has warped out. But whether it’s Lower Decks or Picard or Discovery or Strange New Worlds, the mission of hardcore Trek fans is the same: Pause the screen and see what deep-cut Easter eggs got slipped in this time!

In Season 1, Star Trek: Lower Decks earned the reputation for the most meta-textual Star Trek ever. There are layers and layers of Trekdom within every frame of this series, making it hard to look at one episode and catalog all the references. But if you thought Season 1 went deep into the wells of Trekkie references and Easter eggs, Season 2 is here to make Season 1 look tame. The Season 2 premiere of Lower Decks — “Strange Energies” — is one giant Easter egg with a bunch of reproducing tribble-ish Easter eggs inside of it. Unless you’ve got ESP powers on the level of Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, there’s no way you caught all of these. 

Cardassian ships

The episode has a cold-open on some kind of prison inside of an asteroid field. This is surrounded by two kinds of Cardassian ships, the Galor-class and the smaller Hideki-class scout ships.

“The Keep Showing Me Lights”

Hologram Boimler says the Cardassians “keep showing me lights.” This line, and the existence of the secret Cardassian facility references the famous Next Generation two-parter, “Chain of Command,” in which Picard was kidnapped and tortured by the Cardassians. If you somehow haven’t seen that episode, the whole idea is that the Cardassians try to gaslight Picard into thinking there are five lights in front of him when there are only four. Lower Decks referenced “Chain of Command” in Season 1, too! In Season 1, Episode 7, “Much Ado About Boimler,” Mariner joked about the Cerritos getting a “Babysitter Jellico-type,” for a subsitute captain, which referenced the temporary captain the Enterprise got in “Chain of Command.” Freeman, Shaxs and Ransom whore the all-black special ops outfits in that episode, too, and Tendi did the same in “Veritas.” 

Too Many Ships to Count 

As Mariner escapes from the Cardassian facility, there are soooo many ships being stored in this particular hanger. It’s all the ships. Here’s just a few we caught

A Federation runabout

Jem’Hadar fighters

A Nemesis-era Romulan warbird

An old school Romulan Bird-of-Prey from TOS

Federation fighter craft (like the ones seen in TNG’s “Preemptive Strike.”)

And many, many more.

Miranda-class USS MacDuff

Mariner steals a Miranda-class Federation starship with the registry NCC-1877, and the name “USS MacDuff.” There’s a lot going on here.

The Miranda-class was first seen in The Wrath of Khan, in the form of the USS Reliant. That film also featured someone stealing a ship like this with ease.

The bridge for this ship is basically identical to the Reliant.

Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan said in 2020 that he was inspired by the Reliant for the design of the Cerritos. 

The name “MacDuff” might reference the TNG character, Kieran MacDuff, from the episode “Conundrum.” In that one, the crew has temporary amnesia and MacDuff manipulates them into fighting a war they’re not supposed to be involved in.

Jennifer 

Jennifer is back! Mariner is interrupted during her holographic work-out by Jennifer, an Andorian crewmember from last season. In the Season 1 finale, “No Small Parts,” Mariner runs through the halls and pushes this character out of the way, saying, “Move Jennifer.” As far as we know, Jennifer is the only Andorian named Jennifer, but you really have to wonder, was this an Andorian name, or a human name? 

“I know we’re not supposed to have interpersonal conflict”

Mariner’s dislike of Jennifer is punctuated by her talking to herself saying, “I know we’re not supposed to have interpersonal conflict…but I really hate that Andorian.” This references a long-standing rule from the TNG–era of Trek TV; that Starfleet officers weren’t supposed to have petty differences with each other. This rule was apparently implemented by Gene Roddenberry and drove several writers, including Ron Moore and Jeri Taylor, nuts. 

Slightly new opening-credits

In Season 1, we saw the Cerritos running away from a battle involving a bunch of Borg cubes and Romulan Warbirds. Now, that same battle includes a Pakled ship from the Season 1 finale, a few Klingon Birds-of-Prey, and seemingly, fewer Borg. 

Fred Tatasciore’s name in the credits?

Although Shaxs died in the Season 1 finale, Fred Tatasciore’s name appears in the opening credits…hmmm…will this ever be explained? 

Rutherford’s date with Ensign Barnes

“Strange Energies” directly parallels the 2020 Season 1 debut, “Second Contact,” in several ways. The crew is involved with a second contact mission that goes horribly wrong and Rutherford starts dating Barnes for the “first” time. In the Season 1 finale, Rutherford lost his memory, which is why his relationship with Barnes seems new to him. This is why Mariner says “that sounds familiar.” 

Hating pears…a Doctor Who reference? 

Tendi is concerned that Rutherford used to hate pears, but now he doesn’t. This is possibly incorrect, but this could be a Doctor Who reference. In the Doctor Who episodes “Human Nature,” “Twice Upon a Time,” and “Hell Bent,” the Doctor (both David Tennant and Peter Capaldi) mention hating pears. In fact, in “Human Nature,” when the Doctor’s memory is erased, he asks Martha Jones to “never let me eat a pear.” 

Sonic power washing 

“Sonic showers” have long been a thing in the Star Trek universe, making their debut in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. But, we’ve never seen sonic power-washers before!

“Ever heard of Gary Mitchell”

Ransom’s possession is very much a tribute to Gary Mitchell’s god-like powers in the second TOS pilot episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Dr. T’ana’s insistence that Kirk beat Gary Mitchell with a “boulder” is accurate. For whatever reason, the very first canonical Kirk-adventure ever, established that rock beats god-like powers any day of the week. It should also be noted that Mariner referenced Gary Mitchell in the first episode of Season 1, too.

Possible Harlan Ellison reference?

While Ransom is starting to work out, you can briefly hear him say, “The trick isn’t becoming a God. The trick is staying a God.” This could be a reference to the axiom attributed to Harlan Ellison: “The trick isn’t becoming a writer. The trick is staying a writer.” Ellison wrote “The City on the Edge of Forever,” for TOS. In Star Trek: Picard Season 1, Soji traveled on a ship called the Ellison, which Michael Chabon revealed was an Easter egg meant to reference Harlan Ellison. So, you never know? 

“The Trick isn’t becoming a god, the Trick is staying a god”

Harlan Ellison reference?

Ransom on the Mount

Mariner says that Jack is “going all Ransom on the Mount.” This almost certainly references a hilarious fan video called “Shatner on the Mount,” in which a group called Fall On Your Sword remixed a behind-the-scenes interview with William Shatner (promoting Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) into a hilarious kind of talking-rap song. It has to be seen to be believed. 

Giant God Head

A giant God head coming out to grab a starship might seem silly, but there are several precedents for this kind of thing in Trek canon. In the TOS episode “Who Mourns For Adonais?” a giant green hand grabs the Enterprise, which is later revealed to be the hand of the god Apollo. In the TNG episode “The Nth Degree,” the giant head of a Cytherian finds its way onto the Enterprise-D bridge. And, of course, in The Final Frontier, the crew meets “the God of Sha Ka Ree” which also, is a giant floating head. 

My older sister got a symbiont 

Barnes and Rutherford joke around that her Trill sister has a symbiont, but she doesn’t. This references the idea that not all Trill are joined, which was established in both TNG and Deep Space Nine.

Cetacean ops

Barnes mentions going swimming in “Cetacean ops,” a part of the USS Cerritos that we’ve never seen, but we have to assume has something to do with sea creatures. This is the second time Lower Decks has referenced Cetacean ops, which itself derives from an overheard line in TNG’s “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Again, with yet another parallel to its Season 1 debut, “Cetacean ops” was last referenced by Lower Decks in Season 1, Episode 1, “Second Contact.”

“LDS thing”

Rutherford incorrectly refers to SMD as “LDS.” This references a few things. First, for most fans, the official abbreviation of Lower Decks is LDS. But, that abbreviation also references a joke from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in which Kirk incorrectly refers to the drug “LSD” as “LDS,” saying that Spock “did a little bit too much LDS back in the ‘60s.” 

Nightengale Woman 

At the end of the episode, Stevens tells Ransom he’s going to read him “Nightengale Woman.” This too is a reference to “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” which Gary Mitchell quotes from the poem “Nitengale Woman,” from memory. In Trek canon, the poem was written in 1996 on “the Canopus Planet.” In real life, the poem was written by Gene Roddenberry, who originally wrote part of the poem to describe flying a plane. 

Riker’s jam session

As the final moments of the episode cut back to the USS Titan, Captain Riker says “This jam session has too many licks and not enough counts.” In jazz, a “lick” refers to a pattern or musical phrase which is predetermined, but open to interpretation. Usually, a lick could result in a long jazz solo.  A “count” on the other hand, is more about the beat and form of a piece of music. Riker’s obsession with jazz began in the TNG episode “11001001.” In the season finale of Lower Decks Season 1, Riker’s catchphrase for sending the Titan into warp was a jazz count.

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Lower Decks Season 2 airs new episodes on Paramount+ on Thursdays.

The post Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 Episode 1 Easter Eggs & References appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[crystu-cii]

Y E AH LIKE HELLO I NEED TO BREATH E

XDD YESSS-- YEAH FOR FREE-- we weren't even gonna GET a pet in japan but they found a post about her and were like "...okay fine" and she is so sweet 💕💞❤️💖💞💕💞 oms XDD mood-- oh so what you're saying is you should get a dog with the same color hair as you so you can't tell the difference? XD you'd have no problem with a little extra shed fur-- w h e eze true some people hate loud animals-- I don't, but I do have sensitive ears, which I.. did not take into account when getting a pet ;w;; good luck with getting a pet in the future!!! Again.. I recommend doggos--

XDDD it is SO TASTY-- it's got sweet potato mashed and mixed with brown sugar, with more brown sugar and pecans over the top, then marshmallows on top of those :3c

WOWWW HOW-- THAT'S INSANEEEE-- DAMN THAT'S SOME ROTTEN LUCK-- yeah school budgets? What's that XD yeesh tho that's some awful luck crys-

It is SO AWESOME-- But cRYsSssSSs Portal 2 has a co-op mode!!! And the puzzles aren't too hard-- you even have an in-game polite guide!!! Also I saw a thing today saying "so we obviously can't please EVERYone with a game but I gotta tell you I ain't ever seen a mfer complain about Portal!" WHICH IS SO TRUE LIKE EVERYONE LOVES PORTAL--

Yesss!!!! YEAAAA GLADOS SAYS TRANS AND ENBY PEOPLE ROCK AND ARE VALID!!!!!! I'd like you to know, when I initially discovered it, I had been trying to fall asleep and Couldn't so my mind was wandering, and I was like "....is there a Glados says trans rights thing on the internet?" and I was gonna do it in the morning but I couldn't sleep anyways so I just. Looked it up. At like 2am. Because it was That Important that I couldn't sleep until I looked it up(and then I fell asleep pretty fast, so.. hm--) XDDD

YEAH like wHERE ARE YALL-- XDD

Wellllll what are we supposed to do? Just move it to our dms? gestures vaguely to the length of theses posts You think discord can handle this?? It couldn't even handle me rambling about the cores with it's cowardly 2k character limit! /lh

aawhhh 😭💞💞💕💞💞

and PFTT that would be a lot more chaotic XDD literally right after i vaccum my floor in my room there many strands back on the floor anyway- gosh i have no clue whats up with my hair ;0;; and yeahh- my friend who used to be my neighbor had birds and they would ALWAYS make sound and im like "oh man-" xDD and the BIRDS WERENT EVEN FRIENDLY like- i was there when they first got the birds arrived to them and i was expecting the birbs to be nice but they legit repel from human contact- whenever i would stick my finger in the cage they would hang on the the opposite side of the cage xD so far i imagine they just let them live and dont interact with them at all- doesnt really sound fun to be honest ;w;;

and OOOO MAN that sounds so awesome :0 ooO i should also say how my dinner went yesterday, since it was kinda our belated thanksgiving- we got take out from a chinese restaurant! might sound a little sad that we didnt cook anything- but take out is a very common thing in our family xD and i FINALLY GOT MY CHEESECAKE I DESIRED YAAAAASSSS- and my bro also got cookies! (they were from a high quality place as well) and one of the flavors was pumpkin pie (the cookie even looked like a pie!) and i was happy cause that shall replace the actual pumpkin pie i also wanted xD and it was GOOD?? LIKE MOM- PUMPKIN PIE ISNT BAD xD so that was my night!

and LEGITTTT LIKE- oh my god i can LITERALLY go on and on about how horrible that year was from my previous year- and THEN THERES COVID TO TOP IT ALLLL OFF UGHHHHWUFOAJ

and WHHH IT DOES?? I thought that was a seperate game :OO and oHHH that sounds cool! and BAHHA- fACTSSS xDD and omggg i feel that- i would always search up random things of a fandom and see if they exist or not XDD IM SO GLAD A "TRANS RIGHTS" GLADOS EXISTS XDD i also actually do have a Portal instagram folder where i save portal related posts- OKAY AT THE MOMENT I AM WRITING THIS SENTENCE i looked back wt the folder (its the last one out of all my folders because i havent saved any posts in it for a LONG time) and there arent many posts as there are with my other franchise folders- BUT LITERALLY (ALMOST) ALL THE POSTS ARE WHEATLEY AND IM LIKE PFPFNTKAHFIANJD there were also some chell x human!wheatley there because the way people drew those two were in a very cute art style so i liked it- i hope me liking the ship doesnt sound too weird though- xD ;w;; bUt THATS my experience of being in the portal fandom(?) XDD

and oh yeaH YOURE RIGHT- i keep forgetting that discord has a character limit but at the same time it always gets me- whenever im trying to show my friends a fanfic i wrote discord is all like "IMMA STOP YOU RIGHT THERE" and its shitty- my friends dont even comment on my fanfics anyway- xDD

[ask-de-writer]

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 54 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 54 of 83

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

copyright 2020

written 2007

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users   of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may   reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information   remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in   my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical   compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  PART 1 is here

///////////////////////

In the cabin, Barad asked her, “Is the female alright?”

Tanlin replied, “Aye, Luve.  She wa’ egg bound.  T’anks for getting t’e Doctor.  ‘E knew better t’an m’ w’at t’ do.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Tanlin, my Heart.  You’ve been spending a lot of time with your little ‘flock,’ but how did you know that she was hurting?”  Barad asked curiously.

“Ever since Blind Mecat breathed on all t’ree o’ us, Oi feel t’em in t’e bock o’ m’ mind, all t’e time.  Tis ‘ow Oi found oot t’eir names.  T’ey’re like pictures.  T’e male’s T’under’ead.  T’e female’s Skye.”  Tanlin furrowed her brow as she tried to explain what was clear to her but for which she had no proper words.  “Sometimes, wen tis quiet, Oi can feel w’at t’ey feel or even see oot o’ t’eir eyes.  ‘T works twa ways. T’ey feel m’, t’.”

Barad looked at his wife with admiring envy.  “What does it feel like to fly?”

A faraway look grew into Tanlin’s eyes.  “Tis a wondrous t’ing t’ feel t’e wind under wing an’ t’e fine adjustment o’ yer feathers t’ catch an’ use ever’ vestige o’ air.  T’e shock o’ joy as ye ‘it t’e sea after a t’ousand foot dive.  T’e cold rush o’ woter int’ yer lungs as ye fly t’rough t’e woter after a fish.  T’e wonder o’ coming bock t’ nest an’ mate wit’ food t’ share.”  She shook her head.  “Oi’m sorry, Luve, but Oi connae really tell ye w’at tis like.  T’ere are nae words t’at serve.”

“I think that you have told me very well, Tanlin, what I need to know.” Barad thought for a moment.  “Forgive my asking this.  Would they help us, if they knew what it was that we needed?”

“Oi dinnae know, Luve.  Let m’ t’ink about ‘t for a bit,” she answered quietly, that faraway look in her eyes again.  Barad waited.

The ship rocked under the gusts of a new thunder storm.  Neither Barad or Tanlin made a move to get up.  They were off watch together and knew that the ship was in good hands.  Tanlin could feel Thunderhead settle into the nest with Skye and extend a wing over her.  Tanlin let the link between the birds and herself strengthen.  There was communication of a sort, without words.  Desires and needs grew and were understood.  A comfortable silent agreement was reached.

“T’ey’ll ‘elp us.  We need t’ ‘elp t’em, t’.  T’ey’ll be ‘avin’ a nest full o’ ‘ungry chicks soon, twa or maybe t’ree weeks. Flock works toget’er like close family.  We ‘elp t’em wit’ t’e chicks, t’ey ‘elp us.

“Yesterday, T’under’ead saw sails t’ t’e sout’west.  In t’ese latitudes t’ey cud only belong t’ t’e Longin.”

Barad sat up alertly at the news.  “We can stay below the horizon and still shadow them!  The birds can keep them in sight for us!  Maybe we can think of some way to get word to Kurin that we need her help. . .” he trailed off.  “Not much chance of that!  She thinks that we tried to kill her.  Why would she come to our aid?”

Now quite alert and in the present, Tanlin said, “Get Darkistry.  She an’ Oi ‘ave worked sumet’in’ oot but ‘t lacked w’at may now be supplied.”

Barad quietly sent the cabin-boy on duty to get Darkistry.

While they were waiting, Barad said thoughtfully, “Nobody on the Longin will listen to or believe anything that I say or write.  The snag is that any message will have to go Captain to Captain.  You have a Master’s certificate.  They might well believe you, Love.  For the good of the ship, I will have to step down.”

Chapter 20: Taken!

Aboard the Longin, Kurin pointed to the sky.  “Look, Captain!  There’s that Wide Wing again!  I’ve been seeing it from time to time ever since the thunderstorms started.”

Kurin’s voice shook Captain Mord loose from another daydream of the Grandalor’s hull smashing under the bow of the Longin and going down with all hands.  Calmly enough that none would guess the thoughts that he was having, he said  “It must have been blown north by the Coriolis storm that spawned these thunderstorms and fogs.”

“Speaking of fogs, Captain,” said Kurin earnestly, “Can we steer into the next big fog bank that we find?  The water is so much calmer in the fog that it is easier to do the mapping.”

“OK, Kurin, we can do that.”  He ruffled the girl’s hair and said sincerely, “It’s good to have you back with us, and well.  That Doctor Worran worked a miracle.  I’ll have the lookouts watch for a good fog patch.”

He went back to his duties and Kurin turned back to her class.  “Sorry for the interruption.  You don’t see Wide Wings all that often, and I kinda like to watch them.

“Now, about the mapping, we have a complex situation here.  The Polar Circulator Current is over there to port, we have a rapidly changing depth and the leftover storm surge complicating the picture.  This far north the tidal situation is not really too bad.  You all had my lectures.  Who remembers how to distinguish and separate these problems?”

Several hands went up.  She selected a student and the class went on.  After several hours, a fog bank was sighted.  The Longin made for it. Class adjourned for lunch.  As they were nearing the fog bank, Kurin noticed the Sea Hawk again, off in the distance.  It was diving at some hapless school of fish.  

The mist cut off all view of the world beyond the ship.  Actually, you could not see the length of the Longin’s main deck, except occasionally when a wisp parted.

The absence of surface wind-ruffle made the sea a perfect teaching medium.  The lack of distraction helped too.  The only sound was the slow steady, once a minute beat of the hailing drum.  It sent a warning to any other ship that might be trapped in the obscurity of the fog that the Longin was there.  The class paused only long enough to put on warmer sweaters against the chill of the fog.

While Kurin had the class figuring out how far away the Polar Circulator Current was, a ghostly winged shape swept the length of the ship.  It gave a whistling cry as it passed the bows.  The paddle ducks in their coop squawked frantically at the Wide Wing’s call and beat against the net walls, trying to escape to safety.  When it happened again, about ten minutes later, the class began to whisper and speculate as to what the Sea Hawk thought it was doing.

The antics of the bird were forgotten when the creak of oars in row-locks was heard out at sea beyond the bows.  “Ahoy the ship!  Ahoy! Mariners in distress!  We can hear your drum, where are you?” the plaintive call came out of the mist.

Captain Mord and the entire class ran forward, along with the deck watch.  

“Sound the drum to give them direction,” Mord called to the drummer.  The drum began to sound every ten seconds, except when calls were being exchanged.

“What ship?” Mord called through cupped hands.

“Grandalor! She went down in the storm!  We’re all that’s left!  Help us!”

Silently, First Officer Kotance waved the drummer to stop.  Mord Halyn nodded his agreement.  At last the score can be evened.  One poisoning, one whole ship.  No survivors.  His reverie was rudely broken.

“Captain! What are you doing?” Kurin exclaimed in shock.

“They were condemned by the Council,” he said shortly.  “We will not aid them.”

Standing up to Captain Mord Halyn was one of the most difficult things that Kurin ever had to do.  “Captain!  These are mariners in distress! I remember the Council edict perfectly!  Only Captain Barad, Master Selked, Silor and some of the officers were condemned!  All of the rest are to be held for trial.  They can’t get a trial if you let them die!”

“Kurin!” he shouted in both anger and shame, “Go aft to the map table!  Now! Go!”

Shaken, Kurin went.  Captain Mord had never raised his voice in anger to her before.  She had barely got there when she heard shouting and scuffling.  She could not see, but she could hear.  The Grandalor sailors were being repulsed.  Screams told her that someone had gotten hurt, maybe even stabbed.

A slight sound behind her caused her to spin about.  With a jolt of surprise she saw Tanlin step down from the rail.  She wore a shirt that was heavily padded on the shoulders and arms.  It had many small rips and cuts in the pads.  

Tanlin began earnestly, “Oi ‘oped t’at Oi’d  find ye ‘ere.  Oi ‘eard w’at ye said t’ yer Ca’tain an’ w’at ‘e said t’ ye.  Oi ‘ope t’at ye mean ‘t because t’e Groit Law wa’ broken an’ nae by us.  Oi ‘ope t’ prove t’ ye t’at t’e people t’at ye shared Announcement Feast wit’ are nae forsworn in t’eir vows.  

“I’ ye wad save many lives, includin’ t’ose o’ m’ crew up forward, come wit’ m’ now.”  She paused as there was another scream.  “Oi swear upon t’e Dragons t’at i’ ye come wit’ m’ ye’ll come t’ nae harm an’ many’ll ‘ave cause t’ t’ank ye.”

Those honest gray eyes that Kurin had noticed so clearly on their first meeting, in her toy booth, now looked entreaty at her.  “Ye’re our last ‘ope for justice.”

Kurin noticed that Tanlin carried no knife.  Tanlin marked her glance. “Oi’m unarmed.  Oi made ye a promise.  Oi’ll nae break ‘t, nae force ye t’ come.  Nane o’ us ‘as anyt’in’ dangerous. We came t’ beg, nae kidnap.”  Kurin felt her world capsize. Another piercing scream from forward made up her mind for her.  Her Captain.  Her crew.  Breaking Great Laws.  She pulled her arms close and tried to shrink into a small ball as she thought of what she had to do.  Kurin paused only long enough to write quickly on the map-table.

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS   NEXT==>

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

[chicgeekgirl89]

Mercy is Out of Your Reach: Chap. 2

Fandom: SEAL Team

Characters: Sonny Quinn, Clay Spenser, Jason Hayes, Lisa Davis, and the rest of the team

Read Chapter 1 Here

                                        XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“I want to know where they are now,” Jason demanded, hands on his hips as he paced the room in agitation. 

“We lost ISR because the drone hit a bird,” Davis said, fingers flying over her keyboard. “I’m contacting our allies to see if anybody eyes in the sky that we can take a look at.”

“Well do it faster,” Jason snapped.

“Jay.” Ray was leaning against the wall, calm as ever and it just pissed Jason off more.

“Don’t!” he said, holding up a hand in warning. “They were right there and we didn’t get to them in time and now they’re gone.”

“We’re all doing everything we can,” Ray said. “It doesn’t help anything to go flying off the handle.”

“Well it makes me feel better.” He ran a hand over his face. “I want to know why they were taken.”

“Might not be connected to the op,” Blackburn said. “Maybe they saw two Americans and thought it would be a good ransom grab.”

Jason fixed him with a look. “You really believe that?”

“I’m just trying to cover all our bases Jason.”

Things had gone to hell so unbelievably fast. One second they were listening in on a conversation, the next there had been screaming and banging and by the time Jason, Trent, and Brock had gotten into the café it had been emptied out. Clay and Sonny’s comms had both gone offline immediately and Sonny’s button cam shorted out shortly thereafter. They’d circled the whole town for nearly two hours, searching for any sign of their brothers before Blackburn had called them back to base.

It felt like they’d abandoned Clay and Sonny and it was eating at Jason’s gut. You didn’t leave your brothers behind. Not for anything. “You all should take a break,” Blackburn said.

God damn the man and his indefatigable calm in times like these. All Jason wanted to do was rip a room apart, while guys like Blackburn and Ray could just stand around like it was any other day; like having teammates in mortal danger was no big deal. “No. We’re not leaving until we find them,” he said.

“Nobody’s putting you on a plane home Jason. You all need a break,” Mandy said. “Go. We’ll call you when we find something.”

Not if; when. Leave it to Mandy to be so sure. But Jason knew that finding them was only half the battle. For all they knew their boys were already dead. And every moment they stayed missing would only make that more likely.

“C’mon Jay,” Ray said as the other guys moved slowly out of the room.

The team settled at a table in the makeshift mess, everybody eating out of duty rather than actual hunger. “You gotta eat Jason,” Trent said quietly as Jason stared moodily at his dinner.

“Yeah well they’re probably not eating.” Jason’s leg was jumping under the table and he ran a hand up and down his thigh, anxiety crawling inside him. There were two of them, they could support each other. Unless they weren’t together. And either way, with Sonny sick…

“Which is all the more reason you should,” Ray said. “Need to be on top of our game if we’re going to get them back.”

They were right so he swallowed something down, but his mind was still in overdrive. “Let’s go over it again.”

“We’ve been over it Jason, nothing’s going to change,” Full Metal said.

“We’re going over it again,” Jason ground out.

They all shot looks at one another but nobody protested further so he pushed ahead. “Ray and Full Metal were on overwatch. What did you see?”

Ray sighed. “Everything was going according to plan. We went high, rooftop across the street. View of the front of the café. I got on the scope, Metal was there with back up.”

“Clay and Sonny entered the café. Thirty-two minutes later some of Farhad’s guys entered. At forty-three minutes there was a bang and we saw smoke coming out of the front of the café,” Metal continued. “Nobody came out the front but civilians. The targets did not reappear and neither did Clay or Sonny.”

“And we were down the block in the van,” Brock said. “Eyes on the back door the whole time. Nobody came out there either.”

“Then how the hell did they get out of there?” Jason asked. “If they’d been taken on foot we would’ve caught up with them. Why didn’t we see them get thrown in a truck or a van?”

“Could have been an alley door,” Trent said. “Space between the buildings is so narrow, Davis said they couldn’t get a good look on ISR.”

“You’re telling me they took out two Tier One operators and managed to drag them down an alley?”

“They weren’t heavily armed,” Brock said. “Sonny was off his game. If they surprised them and there were enough guys…”

Jason worked his jaw. “We need another look at that café.”

He stood, intent on heading out immediately but Blackburn appeared as if he sensed his team leader about to fly off the handle. “Not tonight you’re not. Nobody outside the wire.”

“They don’t have—“

“Time. I realize that,” Eric said. “But you can’t go back in the dead of the night and start snooping around. If anybody sees you they could tip off the captors and then we’ll never find them. Not to mention it could compromise the op we came here for in the first place. Let us work the problem overnight and you can head back out in the morning.” He looked at the rest of the team. “Get some sleep. All of you. You’re going to need it.”

Jason felt the team watching him, waiting for the okay. He gave a short nod. “Go.”

His eyes stayed on Blackburn. “I want an answer Eric.”

“We all do,” Blackburn assured him. “Get some sleep. If we find anything I’ll come get you myself.”

Jason took his time heading back to their temporary bunk room, unable to stop his mind from turning over and over. All of this for some chatter that might not even be anything. They’d come here to find out when Farhad Mahmoudi was planning to arrive and who else might be meeting with him. Instead they’d ended up down two brothers.

The tightness in his chest was creeping back in and he took a few deep breaths trying to keep it at bay. He couldn’t lose it. Not now. Not with Sonny and Clay’s lives on the line.

Everyone was up before sunrise and when Blackburn saw them coming through the door he didn’t seem surprised. Davis and Mandy were both still there, Mandy looking at a map of the area while Davis had her ear glued to the phone.

“Anything?” Jason asked.

“We would have gotten you if there was,” Blackburn said. 

Judging from the many empty coffee cups littering the table none of the support staff had slept. Jason felt a rush of gratitude toward them and also a smidge of guilt. Yes, Bravo needed sleep to be ready for a rescue op, but it stung to leave the work up to the rest of the group. 

Davis hung up the phone, defeat all over her face. “I’ve called everyone I can think of. No one else had eyes on this area during the time Clay and Sonny were taken. France has a team in country, they said they’ll help if we need a rescue op, and everyone has promised to let us know if they hear chatter, but we have no additional visuals.”

It was clear from the silence of the group that they were disheartened. Hours of work and they were no closer to finding their brothers. Jason looked to Eric. “We good to go take another look?”

“I’ll authorize it,” Blackburn said. “But I don’t need to remind you to keep things quiet.”

“It’ll be like we’re not even there,” Jason told him, already halfway to the door.

They all piled into a trucks, choosing to leave Cerberus behind rather than attract attention with a domesticated dog on a leash. “Ray and Brock are going into the café,” Jason said as they drove. “Metal, Trent and I will scout the outside. Be on the alert. They took our boys once, let’s not give them anybody else.”

Ray met his eyes. “We’re going to find something.”

Jason nodded. They had to. There was no other choice.

Ray and Brock headed inside cafe while Trent, Metal, and Jason began casually scanning the street. Jason immediately walked to the back of the café and then around the side. Sure enough there was an alley. It was narrow, but just big enough for a man to walk through. Further inspection in the dirt showed him drag marks, making his chest feel tight all over again. 

“Jase!”

He looked up to find Metal and Trent beckoning him further down the alley. “There’s a door here,” Metal said, nodding toward it.

“The drag marks go right up to it,” Trent said. “If they took them into this building and came out further down the block or around the corner, could explain why we didn’t see anything.”

Jason nodded. “Let’s take a walk.”

They left the alley and continued their walk up the street. Crisscrossing tire tracks covered the road making it impossible to tell which might have belonged to a vehicle carrying two Navy SEALs. He was just about to suggest they move on when a shop on the other side of the street caught his eye. “Hey,” he nodded toward it.

“That a camera?” Metal asked.

“Looks like.” Jason thought for a moment. “Let’s get Ray and Brock over here.”

It didn’t take long for Bravo Two and Bravo Five to rejoin them. “Anything?” Jason asked.

“Lot of the same faces we saw yesterday,” Ray said. “Definitely a spot for locals. D’you find something?”

“There’s a shop across the street that looks like it might have a camera,” Trent said. “If we could get a look at that footage…”

One hastily constructed plan later, Ray and Brock wandered into the store, making sure to go as far from the door as possible before Brock “accidentally” smashed something very expensive looking. Jason snuck in the front door and slipped behind the counter unnoticed as the owner went back to yell at the two tourists who were destroying his merchandise. He felt a wave of relief when he immediately found the connections for the camera and an even more relief when it turned out to be an extremely old model with a tape. Hopefully the owner wouldn’t notice it was missing for a while. He pulled it and hustled back the truck, waiting anxiously for Ray and Brock to settle up and head on back.

“Did you get it?” Brock asked when he and Ray slid into the back. 

Jason nodded as Metal floored it and took them back to base.

God bless Davis who had somehow managed to procure an appropriate player for the tape by the time they returned. “What did you have to do to get this so fast?” Ray asked as she inserted the tape.

She smiled. “A magician never reveals her secrets.”

“Listen, it’s going to take time for us to go through this,” Mandy said. “And it doesn’t help to have you breathing down our necks. Go take a break. We’ll get back to you.”

“We’re not leaving,” Jason said. Why did everyone keep trying to kick them out of this?

“Mandy’s right,” Lisa said. “Having all of ya’ll standing around watching isn’t going to help. Get outta here.” She locked eyes with Jason. “You’ll be my first call.”

He nodded. He didn’t like it. But he trusted Lisa and Mandy. If anybody was going to find their boys, it would be them.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Higurashi New 2 | Wandering Witch 2 | Moriarty 1 | Taiso Samurai 1 | Kamisama 1 | Munou na Nana 2 | Golden Kamuy 3 1 (25) | Yashahime 2

I’m trying a seasonal challenge this time...so that means I have to leave some Crunchyroll anime to the side. That’s why I’m putting in the tags now.

Higurashi New 2

Apparently, now this Higurashi is called “Gou”…I dunno what that means in the context of this series, but *Saitama face* OK.

Is this girl…Rika? Or this Hanyuu girl I heard of on ANN? Update: Wait a bit from that point. You’ll get your answer.

Do they ever examine why the girls in Higurashi are what they are? Rika seems to have something supernatural going on, but Rena…is just a psycho girl right now, so it’s hard to care.

LOL, I was wondering where this “nipah” Rika meme came from, but it is present in the dialogue.

I predicted that Gilligan cu-er, transition far too easily…

Why is that kid’s face so tanned (?) in comparison to the rest of him???

How did these girls get up the building so fast??? (LOL?)

Wow, the cicada noise was pretty loud there, so…props to the sound guys for making that sound stifling.

Can we really trust what Mion is saying about Tomitake…?

I thought we were going to see Watanagashi in ep 3, but…okay.

Satoko speaks rather formally. She says kochira de gozaimasuyo! instead of kocchi! or kochiradesuyo!.

Who’s that blonde lady? Someone from Umineko?

The bright colours really help to sell the ominous nature of this ED and anime. I don’t think I understand everything that’s happening in said ED, though…

Gonna pause it here because I heard you need to watch the OG and Rei to understand this, now that the new Higurashi is operating under its “proper” name.

Wandering Witch 2

…Elaina’s a bit full of herself still…

…what the heck was that instrument playing over the titlecard? Bagpipes…?

LOL, it’s the Attack on Titan world!

Did Elaina lose her hat when she fell? That must be a very stable hat indeed.

Ooh, particle effects! However…there’s CGI here, although it’s only kinda noticeable.

Have you never heard of money…?

Wait, witches get discounts???

It seems Saya comes from Japan.

LOL, this is basically Quidditch without a snitch!

I like mushrooms, so I don’t get why people kick up such a fuss about them.

Saya seems to act like this is yuri bait…*sigh*

Saya’s crying like her sister died…c’mon, it’s not that bad!

I’m hitting pause. If this is actually how the series is, then it’s primed for a drop, but I can’t help but keep it on for the spectacular visuals and the fact it’s basically anime Harry Potter.

Taiso Samurai 1

I keep swearing I’ll finish my old simulcasts…but then new ones pop up like daisies…(I guess it’s better than having no anime to finish, right?)

I just realised how pretty Jotaro’s eyes are…! The fact he just sort of splats and then doesn’t get up shows how weary he is, unlike Sakura from Moon Land, who would’ve probably gotten up and never tried doing gymnastics again if he were in the same position.

Just by glancing over the results when I google for this Montreal gold, it seems it was done by a Kouhei Uchimura, but I might be wrong on that front…oh wait, there are 3 golds, so it’s not necessarily just that one…

You can tell this is 2002 because of that flip phone.

Intai Zamurai…it’s constructed the same way as the anime’s title. Two characters and then “samurai”.

BB (Big Bird) on the side there is so goofy, he’s…kind of distracting. <- Note the official website refers to Big Bird as BB, hence my use of it.

I was wondering if Rei was the daughter or the wife…so it’s the former.

Kinugawa Ropeway…it rings a bell, somehow. Maybe the Boueibu crew went there as DVD/BD extras.

…does everyone know that a ryokan is like a mini hotel with a traditional set-up?

*snorts* LOL, Keanu (Reeves, obviously).

That montage was a bit worrying…maybe the CGI took out part of the budget? I was a bit worried when I could tell there was CGI in that one starting segment.

…LOL, wut. Agent Smith (from the Matrix)?

Yamakasi seems to be a parkour thing which has its own movie.

…I’m sort of wondering: was that ninja a woman? If Jotaro gets another wife…I dunno if I’ll like the anime as much. Things could become far too dramatic if he did. Update: You do find out later in this episode.

I think – from lip reading – the ninja used -de gozaimasu. I remember getting it drilled into me that people don’t use that these days, but in the time of ninja and samurai, they did.

…another anime set in Ikebukuro. I knew from the station, but…’bukuro must be a nice place if people are reppin’ it all of a sudden.

Was Tomoyo an actress…?

“Kinugawa, as in the river where ogres get mad?” – See, that’s the pun I made about Boueibu’s Atsushi years ago…

This Takizawa guy’s so expressive, LOL.

Gotta love a man in a suit, yes…

…they keep building up to this retirement, only for him to not retire??? Which is it?! (LOL) That declaration works better in Japanese because the -shimasen goes at the end of the sentence so the weird sentence structure in the English translation actually makes Jotaro look like he really messed up due to nervousness speaking in front of crowds. Update: He just sounds like he stopped in the middle of a sentence in Japanese, which he obviously did.

There’s no time travel for sure, but there are ninjas! Plus dudes in jumpsuits!...plus, of course, gymnastics! It could still work, but I keep swearing there’s something supernatural coming around the corner for this…Also, this “gymnast trying to retire” thing seems to be drawing me in because of my whole current lack of direction in basically everything, much like Rikuo of Sing Yesterday for Me.

Kamisama 1

Hmm…Kamisama ni Natta Hi…it doesn’t say the subject stating this became a god, so the pronoun could be “she” or “you” rather than “I”, which seems to be the current standard for it. Update: It says on the title card “I”, so it should have an I then…I guess(?)

There’s a fish on the logo.

…this girl, I already know her name is Hina. That’s the 2nd Odin this season (the first is in Sigdrifa…or however it’s spelt)…she’s gonna be annoying, isn’t she…?

What’s this about a date…?

There are two Izanamis this season, too. The second is Hifumi from HypMic.

Looks like there was an accident, according to one of the signs.

…This feels exactly like a visual novel. I’m surprised it’s an original.

I was wondering why “Key Ramen” (Kagi Ramen) sounded weird…then it hit me. Key! You motherf**kers!!! *shakes fist* You were hiding right under my nose all along!

Hey, Potato-kun! (I know his name is Youta, but…eh, aside from having a possible girlfriend candidate and being a Nice Guy, he’s still a Potato-kun.) Stop staring in disbelief and do something!

…Why Potato-kun, anyway? Is it because his name means “become god”???

…This Izanami is so emotionless…it’s hard to imagine her cheering, Youta was right on that front.

…that style in Hina’s background…I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it for Sailor Moon Crystal, but I’ve forgotten what the artist’s name is (the one that inspired that artstyle)…

I almost expected Hina to interrupt the confession, like Leo from Taiso Samurai.

I kinda just shrugged near the end of the episode and finished it just to see if the confession would be interrupted, so…big fat drop there. I must not like much Key beyond Angel Beats (and even then, it’s only okay because it’s the relic of a time gone by).

Moriarty 1

I’ve been picking up Sherlock-related things left and right ever since I was a fan of Detective Conan…not Sherlock, Elementary or that Robert Downey Jr. movie, but the stuff Conan Doyle had his hands in. (I’d also like to keep an eye out for that Miyazaki movie, but I don’t know if I can/should go out of my way for it.) Therefore, I was a pretty easy mark for a bishonen Moriarty.

Who’s this “El” guy anyway?

…That OP is basically Black Butler all over again. I admit I went, “Oh, stuff this” for a second when I saw Rasmus Faber’s name on credits – when I went to entire series for him, they always ended badly for me – but I couldn’t stop watching the episode (since I skipped forward to the actual episode due to background noise), so this might be the anime to change everything.

I’ll be real with you – aside from Japan, America and China (the former two of which I’ve gone to and the latter I’ve technically gone to Hong Kong, which I have stronger ties to anyway), I honestly don’t have anywhere on my bucket list. That said, anime (obviously, the London arc from DC was a big factor) and this one movie called What a Girl Wants have been pretty instrumental in making Great Britain…almost make the list of places I want to go to. Key word: almost.

…I want a dub. With accents like Princess Principal.

Also, I forgot Soma Saito was our Moriarty…LOL.

“…for Man of Standing” (sic).

Turn the other cheek, Mr. Tailor.

The eyes really tell you everything about a person in this anime.

Ooh, this has absolutely no holes in its logic. It’s a strong contender!

Yashahime 2

Holy s***, is that Kagome’s brother?(!) He kinda reminds me of Takagi from Detective Conan for some reason…

Come to think of it…writers like Takahashi don’t normally have androgynous leads like Towa, do they?

That was…not the best fight scene, man.

Ooh, naginata. I’ve read a bit about them, but I’ve never really seen one used in an anime before…not to my memory. Not even the naginata in Touken Ranbu (plural) can help with that.

…this Rainbow Pearl business reminds me of Sailor Moon’s…uh, whatever they’re called…Rainbow Crystals, that’s right.

There’s something oddly comfy about predicting the “it won’t be my crying face, it’s yours you’ll get!” line, as bad as that sign may be for predictability on the whole.

I’ve felt in the years leading up to now, the progressive nations are slowly causing the entire gender binary to unravel. The more I think about my own relationship with my concept of gender – I accept gender-neutral third-person pronouns because initially I wanted to be anonymous on the internet, but now I’m just generally fine with it, for instance – the more I can agree and yet also disagree because of the progress the LGBTIQ+ community has made in recent years.

Munou na Nana 2

Ah-hah! People were calling it that the enemies of humanity were actually the superpowered kids and this proves it.

Ah, I think this Shibusawa is Masuda. I was here for him, so here he is.

Nana just says konnichiwa, which is the most basic of Japanese greetings. I don’t think it was phrased as a question, so…why did the subbers go with that?

Nana keeps breaking her chopsticks by leaving a bit at the end.

Lemme guess…Shibusawa’s talent is actually reversing time, not stopping it.

Is…that Shibusawa Nana’s giving flowers to…?

Golden Kamuy 3 1 (25)

If this is episode 25, was this always planned as a split-cour with season 2? I wonder…

Lingonberries! Oh, lingonberries! They’re those berries Ikea puts into their jam, right? (I’ve never tasted a lingonberry, but…yeah. That’s how I know of them.)

The sign says “Hurep Honpo” (backwards, as some older Japanese/Chinese things do), so it really just says “hurep” (since “honpo” = main shop). Update: Hurep actually means “lingonberry” and not the berry wine like I thought it did here, so it says “hurep wine” after all.

Thank goodness for 2D bears! (LOL)

Ratel?...uh, honey badger! That’s what they’re called in English!

…uh, and then it turns out to be a wolverine. I don’t know my Mustelidae, it seems.

There’s nothing like someone throwing a wolverine to know this is Golden Kamuy…(as weird as that sounds.)

…what was that random line about boobs about…? (Maybe it was just said to be random…?)

…ohhhhhhhh. These yellow eyes work much better than the standard red eyes you see in Munou na Nana or Moriarty. They’re so sinister.

Why did it suddenly change to an interview style…? Weren’t we waiting for a fight? Update: Seems the answer is “padding”. Not that I mind, I think it was interesting actually. Do more of that if you can.

[zedecksiew]

d100 Adventure Beginnings

Feeling anxious, indoors because of the Covid-19 quarantine, I adapted an idea from Khairani Barokka and asked Twitter to give me emojis.

I’d turn these emoji into oddities, instigations, opening to adventure.

Guess I wanted to travel? In my head, far afield. It took the weekend, but it made me happy. There were many, many typos, but I visited a hundred different microcosms, with a hundred different persons.

Original thread begins HERE; tweets in the thread were tagged / attributed.

+

d100 ADVENTURE BEGINNINGS

1. 🥐 The sandwich comes to you via delivery. You unwrap the foil as the quadrotor buzzes away. There's something in your sandwich, between tempe patties -an oil-stained slip of card. "Come alone," it says. There is a street address. ~

2. [Photograph of a vine tendril] Watering the garden, you see your morning glory stir.

Its tendrils uncoil. Its vines unclench, recede. Knot in on themselves, twine into thin limbs.

They let go of your fence. They have a face. Flower eyes: two purple trumpet blossoms. They offer a hand to shake.

~

3. [Italian flag] Morning ritual: put coffee on, wash face, check phone. Twitter takes a half-hour.

You smell burning. Coffee! Your moka pot is now sooty, long past hissing. A man stands next to it, made of steam.

"Salve," the steam ghost says, tipping his steam cap.

~

4.  🕯️ A warm night. The air is still. The candle flickers in your partner's face. She is checking her wallet. Slips it in her pocket as the candle dies.

"Ah!" she says, in darkness. "So over this power cut."

Time to get more candles.

~

5.  🔧 This is a *great* spot to get a flat: Lonely road, no streetlights, trees knitting their branches overhead. You shiver. You hate that you shiver. You're an adult. You make noise to assert this. The jack clunks on the ground. "Darling?" somebody whispers.

~

6. 🦚 "Make way for Lady Lerna!" cries the page, swinging his censer. Behind him a dozen men bear a gilded litter.

Laughter. Ringed fingers part the curtains. A powdered dowager wearing a cartwheel ruff of peacock eyes peers out. She holds her nose.

You hate her.

~

7. 🐷 Suckling pig. Its split-jaw-ed head faces you. You have never been more aware of an animal corpse.

Goldteeth Liu sips his cognac and asks: "Hey boy, why you not eating? My food not good enough for you is it?

"You feel sweat on your chest, where the wire is.

~

8. 👻 An ordinary corridor. Sconces, faded wallpaper, a painting.

"Behind the painting," a voice says.

A button behind the painting. Press it. The wall goes click. A crack appears.

"Now can I go?"

You unspool your spell, and the spirit leaves for her afterlife.

~

9. 🎲 The dice land. "Nine! Woo!" She moves her token, counting every space with a smack.

"What's with you?" they ask her.

"What you mean?" she giggles. She never did know how to play it cool. But she doesn't have to. Under the table, she puts her feet in your lap.

~

10. 🦷 When you took this assignment, they gave you two false molars:

The one in your right cheek is a transmitter -- a signal for Ops to start the evacuation; The one in your left is a cyanide pill, in case of capture.

Or was it the other way around?

Shit.

~

11. 🐉 From heaven a serpentine form, golden and gleaming. Growling like thunder ground out of the earth.

Descending, approaching --

But getting no bigger? Is it shrinking?

It is in front of you, now. It is as big as your forearm -- no, your finger.

"Bite me," it squeaks.

~

12. 🍞 The curfew has gone on for months. You have survived through food shortages, power cuts, rumours of civil unrest.

But now you are in trouble. Now, you enter your second trimester. Now, you crave.

Gardenia white bread.

You will brave cordons to get it.

~

13. 🧎‍♀️ You are hurrying to your car when somebody calls: "Girl? Girl!"

The voice comes from a red altar under a tree, past the kerb. From a songkok-ed uncle, as tall as your calves.

"Got food ah girl?" the roadside god says. "Two weeks already uncle hasn't eaten."

~ 

14. 👀 Someone has been pasting googly eyes on your stuff:

Your mailbox in the lobby; The telephone pole in front of your parking spot; The flower pot on the balcony.

Creepy. "It's not me!" your housemate says.

This morning, you find googly eyes on your forehead.

~

15. 🔐 The padlock on your front door is broken.

The door swings open onto an empty living room. On the floor: rectangles of dust, where your shelves and cabinets once stood.

As well as a shred of newsprint. "Take this, Mat!" it says.

Your name's not Mat.

~ 

16. 🎟️ Pa played the lottery on his birthday. Always with the same numbers: 1406, 2902. Ma's birthday. Yours.

Pa died last week. Yesterday was his birthday. You bought his numbers from the ticket counter.

Today you check the results: "First jackpot: 1406 2902."

~

17. 🦖 Dusting Dr Khoo's shelves, you accidentally knock over a novelty Tyrannosaurus piggy bank.

It shatters on the parquet floor.

There are ceramic shards, change -- and a passport with Dr Khoo's photo. Under a different name. In Cyrillic script.

Uh oh. 

~

18. 🍳 Eggs in your cast-iron pan -- the last three eggs you have.

Ina: "What are we going to do for protein, now?"

Gan: "We can search the shophouses in town. Or hope to catch a lizard?"

Ina makes a face. You shrug. With your cast-iron pan, you can cook anything.

~

19. 👻 Knock before you enter a hotel room for the first time. Say: "I'm coming in, okay?" Let its other occupants vacate.

But:You bustled in, dropped the card in its holder, threw your suitcase in the closet, dumped yourself on the bed.

So, now:

Don't look up. 

~

20. 🙆‍♀️ From you balcony, you watch your neighbour in the community playground. She is a dancer. She plays music on portable speakers. She practices pirouettes.

You wish you could work up the courage to talk to her.

She looks up, sees you watching, and waves.

~

21. 🗝️ "The key will open any lock," the goblin said.

The key feels heavy in your hand. Plain and iron. But when you bring it near the queen's jewellery box it shifts: turns silver and intricate.

A skeleton key!

"The key only works once," the goblin said.

~

22. 🎥 You don't like the protesters. So naive. And look at how they've spray-painted the street! Anarchists.

The cops charge with riot shields. They are beating protesters --

What are you doing?

You are recording this on your phone.

A cop points his baton at you.

~

23. 🥳 On your birthday you are surprised at the door. Balloons, food, music to dance to. A party! Laughing, you thank you friends.

"Thank Brian!"

"Brian?" you ask.

"Your cousin Brian?" they say. They point. He smiles and waves back. You don't recognise him.

~

24. 🤦‍♀️ Your headache gets worse. On day three your vision blurs; you collapse in your bathroom.

You wake to familiar voice: "Hey."

It is your voice. "Don't panic," your doppelganger says. "You're okay." She dried you off, put you in bed. She will not harm you.

~

25. 🍳 You tried to steal from the Pasha. He is magnanimous, and decided not to behead you. Instead, you will serve him.

You will journey into the wastes. You will brave the fire. You will acquire the Phoenix's egg. The Pasha is a gourmand. He wishes to eat it.

~ 

26. 🐙 "Finding the Perihelion Squid is not a problem," your captain says. "It glows in the water."

Sunset. A ray catches your captain's arm and belly, throwing the sucker-shaped burn marks there into textured relief.

"The problem is fighting it," your captain says.

~

27. 🚦 You stop at the lights. You look at your phone.

Somebody bonks your side-view mirror. "Oi!" you say -- but more people are rushing past. The drivers of the cars in front of you. What are they running from?

Across the intersection, a stampede of water buffalo.

~

28. ™️ "Breath Easy," the billboard says. A beach panorama, with a white family in the foreground: father, mother, daughter -- all three in pastel shirts. Eyes shut, chins up, smiling.

"VitaOX, premium bottled air," the billboard says. "A Sinochem-McDonald's company."

~

29. 🦥 The Colossal Ground Sloth is a geographic enormity.

See that hill, blocking our view of the rising sun? That's not a hill. That's a sloth. It sits, seemingly smiling, covered in trees. When it shudders the birds take flight.

Look: it opens its lake-like eyes.

~

30. 🗽 When the Statue vanishes, America freaks. Who's to blame? Terrorists? SJWs?

Then it turns out the Statue is also missing from all visual media: T-shirts, postcards, patriotic paraphernalia.

The White House settles on its favourite scapegoat -- China.

~

31. 🧩 The map to the Treasure of Sagely Fu is borne on the back of the Divine Tortoise:

Its scutes represent the 38 provinces of the Empire. Its coloration represents the hills and valleys. When Sagely Fu fought the Tortoise, he kicked a chip-mark into its shell.

~

32. 💙 The Heart Of Ice is a crystalline fortress, so high above the sea that the sky is twilight and the air freezes you solid.

There rules the Queen, a goddess of pure and alien elements. If you can make Her shed a tear she will grant you your heart's desire.

~

33. 🌼 The pontianak is a monster -- born when a pregnant woman dies, wronged.

Seeking vengeance, she hunts men. She takes the form of a comely woman. One of her signs is the fragrance of frangipani blossoms.

"Hey," says the bar hostess. She smells of night flowers.

~

34. 🦊 "My foxies," the witch says. "My vulpies."

In her hut are bones, bones, bones. Piled in a bucket. Mounted on display stands. Sniffing your ankle -- fox skeletons, moving as they did in life.

"Can you do cats?" you ask, nodding to the bundle in your arms.

~

35. 🥾 The search parties assemble quietly. A trekker is lost on the mountain. Nobody is happy.

"I told him," one of the guides whisper. "I told him. Don't take anything, I said. You don't know whose things you're taking. But I saw him slip a stone into his pocket."

~ 

36. 🐬 The pool is still. Park management turns this fountain off at 10pm.

You like walking here, at night. You like the granite dolphins, mid-jump, frozen in time. You toss a coin into the fountain for luck. Clink.

There is a splash. A flash of motion. A fin.

~ 

37. 📚 In the book you find a letter, in delicate cursive:

"Dear Emily, Bought this book for your birthday. Which is also Valentine's Day. I will never be able to tell you that I love you. So I will never give this book to you. Sara."

Sara is your mother's name.

~

38. 🌲 A postcard of evergreens. A landscape you've only seen in photos.

You stash it in a notebook, stuff that in your bag.

"Over here," Michelle says. She grins, shimmies out of a space between leaning shelves. A box of double-A batteries. Meaning: jackpot.

~

39. 🥡 You bike to the pick-up.

It's a commissary in the middle of an industrial park. The guy at the counter says nothing. Just looks you up and down. He licks his lips.

"What's in this?" you ask, pointing at the takeaway pack.

"Meat," he says. He licks his lips.

~

40. 🎏 The airships of Vo Langka are fish-shaped.

Carp and arowana are most common -- but advances in aeronautics have made wing-form (ie: stingray-like) aircraft possible.

You are a pilot. Today you will test the first ever flying machine made in imitation of a bird.

~

41. 🐗 The boar charges your golf cart. The caddy veers onto the green.

Gunshots!

Your bodyguards down the beast. It came from the forest behind the golf course -- the one you've earmarked for clearing.

It's not the only forest creature that wants to murder you. 

~

42. ♻️ Your body slides into the furnace.

Your husband will pick through the ash and bones. Tomorrow he'll take a boat, sail a kilometre out, empty your urn in the sea.

The day after, silver pomfrets will school in a person's shape, and you will see the ocean.

~

43. ✨ It's a clear night. "Honey?" you call. "Come see!"

She whines -- you are tearing her from her work, she says. You insist. You point up.

Orion and the Dipper, the soft shine of the sickle moon.

"Wanna go for a walk?" you ask. She slips her arm into yours.

~

44. ✒️ The auto-pen you own is old. Picks up too much background chatter. The newer pens have noise-cancelling wards.

See? You've stopped dictating, but the pen is still writing:

"NO AH NO IT MOTHER PLEASE IT HURTS MAKE IT STOP"

Hell's not a good muse.

~ 

45. 🌌 The transitcraft trembles as it descends on its pillar of plasma.

"Sorry you didn't make it," the pilot says. "Cosmofleet is not for everyone." He's trying to be kind. This does not help.

He leaves you on the pad. Here you are, with packed bags, back home.

~

46. 🤫 The librarian drags you under the counter, pale with terror.

You hear the tread of the logovore. The meaning-eater. Books impaled on its spines -- leeched of their ink, their substance, going see-through, disappearing.

It does that to humans, too.

~

47. 🍥 You spit the fish cake out. From surprise, really. Because it is candy.

A confection of flour, sugar, pink food colouring, floating next to beef slices, on the oily surface of the noodles you ordered.

The kitchen makes you a new bowl. The chef is baffled.

~

48. 🛰️ Satellites no longer obey us.

Meteorology reverts to fortune-telling. Intelligence becomes earth-bound. Defense satellites play games of laser tag.

Broadcasting ends -- well, not really. When you turn on your TV it tells you: CALL YOUR MOTHER SHE MISSES YOU.

~

49. 🌿 Where you buried your cat, something is already growing:

A fresh stem of basil, putting out its mild scent; its green, convex leaves.You pluck a leaf, put it in your mouth. Your cat jumps into your lap. You feel her scrape your finger with her tongue. 

~

50. 🐸 The Weed Toad sprouts spiky fur filled with chlorophyll. Basically: it's a frog with grass on its back. It can be a pest.

When you step into your garden something squeaks.The toad jumps away, incensed. Its siblings hop off, too. Your whole lawn, leaving you. 

~

51. 👾 Pixel Goblins are voxeloids, walking about in waking life. Refugees from a reality whose servers shut down two years ago.

They eat electricity. They line the sidewalk. "Hungry," the Pixel Goblin says. She looks at your phone, hopeful.

You have 11% battery left. 

~

52. ✴️ "I am chaos!" the boy shrieks. "A conduit of magick!"

You can hear that hard "k" from here. Baldie in an Invisibles tee and factory-distressed jeans, thinks he knows magic? Please.

Then he pisses on your headstone. Which is rude. So you possess him.

~

53. 👣 Footprints, made with oil. They cut across the driveway, onto the grass, leaving rainbow sludge on some clovers. They turn the corner of your house.

You turn the corner, too.

In front of you, the prints have stopped, side by side. Their toes now face you.

~

54. 🐷 In the middle of his emergency pandemic address, during a live broadcast, on national television --

The Prime Minister oinks.

He blinks. Clears his throat, looks at the teleprompter -- and oink-oink-oinks.

The PM's eyes blink tears. Then the broadcast cuts out. 

~

55. 🌙 Can we trust the moon?

See its phases -- the way it goes from a bright circle, wanes into a crescent, shuts completely, then opens again, waxing half into full --

Like a creature blinking: slowly, ever so slowly.

The moon has not looked directly at us. Yet. 

~

56. 🌺 You tuck a hibiscus in her hair. "It's pretty!" you say, before she reacts. "Plus it's patriotic."

She rolls her eyes.

Day after the party she wants to meet you. That makes you happy. She's not happy. The flower's driven a root into flesh, behind her ear.

~

57. 🍜 This bowl of noodles, made from soup powder, desiccated ramen, the last remaining tomato in the fridge, one overcooked egg -- 

It's the most delicious thing you've ever tasted.

This shouldn't be possible. You cry. You'll never have anything this good again.

~

58. 🥦 "This," Mother says. "This needs to be half-size."

You know this moment. The kitchen was never your thing. You made an excuse and left to play videogames in your room. Two days later Mother died. Car accident.

This time you stay. You cut the floret in two. 

~

59. 🌵 The Blood Prickle's blossom is prized by cities that border the Pebble Sea. Dried, smoked, its fume delivers accurate prophecies.

The Blood Prickle only blossoms when watered by the viscera of living creatures. You lead your herd of sheep into the desert.

~

60. 🕸️ The bungalow is covered in gossamer, like a suitcase shrink-wrapped at the airport. Shreds stick to you, glue.

"Go away!" the bungalow's owner says. You see her eight eyes peer at you from a window.

"Babe, please," you say.

"Stop stalking me!" she shouts. 

~

61. 🐼 The ghost bear waddles across the plaza and through a wall.

They felled a forest to build this strip mall. But they did not exorcise its ghost. Ghost vines hang from the ceiling. Ghost trees fill changing rooms. In the car park a ghost brook babbles, incoherently.

~

62. 🕯️ You blow out the candle. "Happy birthday!"

Your friends have grey hair. Others dance to Kelly's playlist. Something in your brain snaps -- you do not know how old you are.

There is only one candle on the cake. It tells you: you are however old you want to be. 

~

63. 🍥 At the bottom of an empty paint bucket in your backyard shed, you discover a giant millipede, dark red, curled into a spiral.

You name her Millie. Obviously.

You boyfriend is disgusted. Slightly jealous of the attention you allot her. He was always insecure.

~

64. 🍡 The city is a shadow. Office towers in shards. Hypermalls with their skybridges broken. Collapsed nightclubs.

In the midst of all this, on an overgrown street, incongruously -- the smell of boiling soup. Fry-oil. Fish balls. A lok lok truck, greasy and pristine.

~

65. ✨ The light in her eyes die when you tell her to leave.

You lose your job at the production house. Once again, you are a freelancer. Interviewers pooh-pooh your portfolio.

You will learn how to draw again. Your muse was a crutch. You must do this on your own.

~

66. 🔮 Everything is as kitschy as you expect. Fake-velvet curtains and tablecloth. A set of tarot cards from Etsy. Even a crystal ball!

But when the fortune-teller looks up and sees you, she says: "No no, out."

What?

"You. No. Get out," she says, afraid. 

~

67. 🥵 Ten laps in the pool. Then you pant to the sauna.

Stones sizzle as you open the door. Somebody is here, already. You take the opposite bench. He has an athlete's thighs. Sweat on his obliques make them look oiled.

He looks you up and down. Smirks. Judges.

~

68. 🗨️ In the kitchen Khan grunts. Khan being Khan, you think.

Sylvia comes in. She makes an oinking sound.

He grunts. She oinks again. Hoot-hoot. He hisses in reply. It appears to be a conversation.

Sylvia sees you staring. Waves a hand in your face, asks: "Moo?" 

~

69. 👹 "They are going to hate me," she says, frowning around her tusks."

They are going to love you," you say.

In her nervousness she walks up to the microphone, no intro, just launches right into it. Her poem is electric. She is electric. And she is yours.

~

70. ⚛️ Guards, gyrocopter patrols -- Coilhaus Atomworks’s compound is well-protected. Which is as you expected.

You didn't expect the hex-wards in the inner compound. When you set foot on the manager's balcony, the teak floor shrieks: INTRUDER INTRUDER INTRUDER HERE! 

~

71. 🌂 The Bum Under The Overpass jumps out. You yelp.

"Flee, peasant!" he growls. He reeks. He has a bin lid for a buckler, a brolly for a sword. "I shall shield ye against yon creature!"

You peer into the dark under the overpass -- and notice the hulking shadow there.

~

72. 💀 The captain wears a cutesy plastic skull on a silver chain. You don't think it fits with her camo grease, her fatigues.

"My daughter made this," she says.

You nod. You miss your son, too. All this -- the pay you earn, burning villages -- you do for your children. 

~

73. 🦧 "Orangutan Kong". Some sort of gangster moniker?

No. Kong is actually an orangutan. He escaped from the Zoo, and started working in Goldtooth Tat's crew. As comic relief. Everybody who laughed at him is dead now.

If you want to work for him you should know. 

~

74. 🧠 The robot ploughs through Market Street. Tiles scatter like confetti; cars are stomped flat. Pressure in your ears -- a thunder clap! The police van up the road explodes.

"There!" your partner shouts, pointing. A brain in a glowing jar, in the robot's belly. 

~

75. 💈 You grew up here.The broom, the hair -- the chairs, Naugahyde over industrial frames. The mirrors, angled slightly, either side leading into infinity. The sink where Uncle Kuppu rinsed his razors and shaving brush.

Uncle Kuppu's gone. This place is yours, now. 

~

76. ⚗️ The alchemist stumbles backwards, knocks over a beaker.

"My formula," he whispers. "You're an assassin from the Bankers’ Guild? You can't have me turning lead to gold."

You shake your head. "No. I work with the Silversmiths' Guild. I'm here to protect you." 

~

77. 🔭 It is the fourth victim he has brought home.

They are always young, with tattoos. He restrains them, strangles them by the neck on the floor of his bathroom.

You watch, through your telescope. You should report him. But you like to watch them struggle. 

~

78. ⛩️ The way to Grand Andropolis is lined with 417 red gates -- each one for a glorious victory the Imperial Legions have won over lesser races.

Gate 412 marks the time they slaughtered your parents. You touch it, and swear quietly: you will burn Grand Andropolis. 

~

79. 🌻 The men at the big table drink beer, munch kuaci, laugh.

A woman with sunglasses arrives. The restaurant people tell her: "Kitchen closed already. Drinks?"

Just kuaci, she says.

She watches the men. When she bites the seeds open, you see long canines.

~

80. 🤖 You've never considered yourself technosexual. You thought robots cold. Then you met MARY-K8.

Her bright crystal optic sensors. Her omni-articulated limbs. Her way with words:

"HEY HUMAN USER," she synthesises. "HEART-UNIT NOT FOUND. PERHAPS YOU HAVE IT?"

~ 

81. 🦖 "The job is a museum," your master sighs. "Museum's are the worst."

You ask him why.

"We are exorcists, dumb-dumb! You know how many things the damn spirit can hide in? Can throw at us?"

When you master sees the T-rex skeleton in the atrium, he sighs again. 

~

82. 🎍 Treaties signed between the Yun Empress and the Princes of Elemental Wood have resulted in the Type-4 Rhizomic Footsoldier --

A stiff, lanky construct; needing only sun and soil; grown in vast groves; with souls of bamboo and therefore without mercy ...

~

83. 🧜‍♀️ Each year, the mer send an emissary to bargain with the dry world.

The tide swells, then withdraws just as quick, leaving a carriage of driftwood and flowering coral --

"Dammit!" a voice says. Rattling, from within. "Door's stuck!" A sigh. "Some help, please?" 

~

84. 🧠 "You're always going on about life hacks. So here," Mark says.

His gift is a book. "Telekinesis In 100 Days", its title says.

Mark smirks. "Enjoy!"

You'll show the bastard! It's just day 13. Already you can toss 50-cent coins with a lift of your eyebrow. 

~

85. 📯 The footmen blow their horns. The herald crows: "The Tyrant and Lady van Sur!"

They descend the stairs. The man frail, tubes stuck up his nose; the woman in silk, her wig so heavy it is held up by grav-suspensors --

One push of your remote, and the suspensors fail.

~

86. 🥶 You jolt awake. Ice is pressed to your ankle -- no, chilled skin. A toenail. Feet.

"Jesus. Your feet."

His apology is a snorted murmur. He curls further, pressing into the heat of your belly. His hair tussled, smelling of lavender.

What's his name? Can you remember?

~

87. 🚪 The heavy door is shut. Padlocked. Your lock sprite shakes her head. "Mechanism's rusted solid."

Your spell-dwarf grumbles. "Lead brackets, see? Shock hex won't work."

"Lemme try," your slip-spirit squeaks. Flattens itself, slips under.

Doesn't came back. 

~

88. 🌵 The Saguaro Sea is a vast tangle of sole-cutting rock, thorny brush, towering cacti broad as hillforts.

Here is found the Weeping Roc -- whose cry is a woman wailing; who steals children to feed its blind, featherless chicks.Children like your six-year-old. 

~

89. 💃 Flamenco star Magritte Tanaka's talent is such that people say it is more than just grace and training.

They say she made a bargain. When she dances a devil helps her; plays her like a puppet on strings.

Truth is he forces her. She never wanted to dance.

~

90. 🎸 You stole the keytar of synth legend Razzak Luminem from the Museum of Sidereal Art last month.

Tonight you host its auction. Many have shown up: demon worshipers; glamrock stars; violist perverts; members of the Critics' Cartel -- troublemakers.

Watch yourself. 

~

91. 🙆‍♀️ To fear the sky falling is silly --

Except in Fading Dassho, whose most dilapidated districts sit twilit under an obsolete stellar shield, its support struts increasingly ancient and tottery. A shutter collapsed, just last week -- shattering six thousand souls. 

~

92. 🤖 We sent unmanned drones through the Hell-portal; we assumed exposure to Ultimate Evil would be bad for the human psyche.

All moot, it turned out. Because drones are robots -- and, you know, that cliche about robots turning bad, turning KILL ALL HUMANS?

Well. 

~

93. 🏚️ A manor-turned-hotel, on a cliff, with a history of homicide? TrueCrimeFest 2018's organisers could not resist.

Three days of signings, panels, cosplay -- and a podcaster found garroted in her room.

Horrible! Horrible. (But, really: Best. TrueCrimeFest. Ever.) 

~

94. 🤪 The Rictus Worm causes paralysis. Distorts the muscles of the face.

Your eyes pop, your tongue hangs lolling. You speak drool and sputters. You try the chirurgeon. He thinks you are fooling. Kicks you out.

The Rictus Worm is rare. You feel it in your nape.

~

95. 🌌 One by one the stars disappear. Without their light -- were they ever there?Constellations vanish, nebulae fade. The moon hangs alone in the night sky.

Only our sun and its huddling planets remain. An isolated, solipsistic, self-obsessed apocalypse. 

~

96. 🤗 She welcomes you with open arms. "Happy you're home, Ah Boy," she says, kissing you, Tears on her cheek transferring to yours.

She is your mother; she calls you Ah Boy. Return appropriate amounts of affection. Your mission depends on how well you fool this woman. 

~

97. 🅱️ The mark is made in red ink. The letter "B". Not so bad, outsiders might think --but yours is an euphemistic society.

This is the Competency Test, through which all citizens are streamed. An "A" means you get to stay above-ground. A "B" sends you Below. 

~

98. 🎡 Anna gets into the pod before you. The ferris wheel begins to turn.

Travelling carnivals! Holdovers from a previous world, now surmounted by app-stores. You don't get the appeal. It's not even ironic --

High up, in the pod, Anna kisses you.

Now you get it. 

~

99. ☄️ You still remember your wonder --

A bright blue star, trailing a bright line, bisecting the sky. Staring at it would spoil your eyes, they said.

In your cockpit, as the countdown begins, you think: now you will be a bright blue star. There will be a young girl on the ground, watching.

~ 

100. 🥑 When you halve the avocado you don't find a seed. You find a tiny baby.

It is curled up foetal. It is the colour of mahogany. It fusses slightly -- then starts into a full-blown caterwaul; big droplets of blood well from where your rough knifework has nicked it.

+++

[spideyy-girl]

Training ~ Richie Tozier

Requested by anon: Hey, first of all, LOVED the Richie imagine and I love the fact that you write for The Umbrella Academy. My sister likes MCR and got me into that show and I love it! Anyways, I’d like to request a Richie x Reader with 9, and 21 I think? It’s: “I hate you” “Love you too, darling” and: “Sometimes I wonder how I fell in love with you” Or something. Anyways, thank you love!

9: “sometimes I wonder how I fell in love with you”

28: “I hate you” “love you too, darling”

Summary: Richie wants to play at the arcade but Y/N wants to sleep in and some things are said.

Fandom: IT (2017)

Warnings: lots of swearing (this IS a Richie fic), love confession, cringey writing

Word Count: 1984 (5.3 pages)

Date: May 10, 2019

A/N: Ok this took way too long, and I am so so sorry about that. I was having major writing block but I’m feeling back on my game again now. Also, the new IT Ch2 trailer has me sCrEaMiNg.

Y/N laid on her stomach in her bed, head borrowed into her pillows as soft snores left the girls slightly open mouth, a small wet spot of drool forming on her pillow. The sun shone brightly through her large window beside her bed, birds chirping loudly on the branches just outside her window, yet she slept on. Today was the first day summer vacation, and the teenage girl was more than happy to sleep in until past noon like she currently was.

Well, that was the original plan. But suddenly she feels cold water crashing down onto her mess of hair and down her back, startling the girl awake as she sits up straight in her bed. She rubs the sleep out of her eyes to see what caused the chaos, only to see one of her closest friends, Richie Tozier, standing at the side of her bed, a wide smirk on his face as he holds back his laughter.

"What the fuck, Richard?" She almost screams as she quickly throws the covers off of her and getting out of her bed. At this point, Richie's smirk had only grown wider, putting the now empty glass on her bedside table and leaning against the wall, pushing op his glasses as he examined her.

"You weren't answering my calls," said Richie simply, shrugging his shoulder. "So I thought I might pay you a visit to see what was so important to be ignoring your favourite person in the world." He smiled at her as she stopped and just stared at him in disbelief. After glaring at him for a few seconds, she shook her head and went over to her closet to find something to wear that wasn't completely soaked. 

"How the hell did you even get in here?" She asked as she pulled out a shirt and signalled for the boy to turn around sh=o she could change, which he did after some silent arguing. 

"Easy. You hide a key under the mat in front of your house," he says, still facing the wall. "You should probably move that to a safer place, you know. That's like the most simple place to keep a spare key."

"Just shut up," Y/N said as she turned Richie around to face her again once she changed into a new outfit that didn't consist of fuzzy pyjama pants. "What do you want?"

"Training starts today!" He says, hitting her shoulder and looking at her like she was dumb. The look was given right back to him as she sighs and walks out of her room and downstairs, Richie following close behind.

"What the fuck are you even talking about?" She asks as she goes into the kitchen and takes out two bowls and starts pouring cereal into both of them. "You woke me up over this bullshit? What do you mean by training?" She pours in the milk and grabs two spoons, putting one in each bowl and handing the cereal to Richie, who gladly accepted it and started chomping down.

"Street Fighter, duh," he says as he chews on his cereal. Y/N grabs his free hand and puts it in front of his mouth, telling him to "cover up your mouth, that's disgusting." to which Richie only rolled his eyes back as a response, but kept his hand held up. "C'mon, Y/N. I told you about this literally yesterday. You said you'd come to the ar ade with me cause the guys are ditching me!"

Y/N groans as she slams down her bowl of cereal, some of the milk splashing out of the little bowl. "Rich, it's the first day of summer! I was supposed to sleep the entire day away. You know my sleeping schedule has been shit for months."

Richie looked down, starting to feel bad for waking her up. It was true, ever since the kids in Derry started disappearing, starting with one of their best friends little brothers, Y/N hasn't been able to get out of her head. She has told him that she was getting usually less than 3 hours of sleep per night, and it only got worse from there. Richie sighed, and looked back up, making eye contact with her beautiful Y/E/C orbs. 

"Alright, let's crack a deal then," he says, his voice sounding not so cocky anymore. "We go to the arcade, and you battle me on Street Fighter. And if you manage to beat me, we'll go home and sleep for the rest of the day."

"Richie, that's so unfair!" she says, throwing her arms up before putting them back down to her sides. "You know I'm shit at Street Fighter! I'm shit at all video games!" He smiled at her, grabbing her hand and dragging her out the door.

"Yeah, trust me I know," he says as he goes to grab her bike for her and hands it off to her as he gets on his own. "And that is exactly why we need to do some training! You'll be the best Street Fighter out there by the end of the summer!" Y/N groans as she gets on her own bike, buckling her helmet.

"You know what Richie, I hate you," she says as the pair starts peddling off the driveway and onto the street, making their way to the arcade. Richie looks over to the girl he's known for as long as he can remember and smiles at the all too familiar phrase.

"Love you too, darling," he replies, just as he always does whenever she says that too him. Y/N can't help the smile that stretches across her face, wondering if one day maybe he would say that to her without the sarcasm behind it. 

Y/N had to admit that she had a little crush on the four-eyed boy. Well, that would be an underexagguration. Y/N had practically been in love with the boy riding down the street beside her for almost two years now. It started as a small crush in 5th grade, but young Y/N quickly dismissed it, remembering her other small crush on Stanley just a few months before and that was still slightly present. But as weeks turned into months, and months turned into years, Y/N had to admit to herself that this was more than just a slight infatuation. 

Soon enough, the teens had made their way to the arcade, the bright neon sign flickering the words 'Derry's Best Arcade!'. They walked in and firstly got a slushie from the counter and some tokens to spend on the Street Fighter game. Once they were set with extra large slushies in their hands and a solo cup full to the brim of tokens, they started on their so-called "training" as Richie called it earlier. They were in the dimmed arcade for at least an hour and a half, but neither of them were really keeping track, both of them determined to win. Y/N wanted to win so she could get back into her comfy bed as soon as possible, while Richie was continuing to win to make sure that didn't happen, and he could spend more time with the girl.

After three-fourths of the tokens in the cup have been used up Y/N groaned and started walking away from the machine, pacing back and forth through the aisles of other games. "This is useless, Richie!" she yelled at him once she came back to stand next to him. "It feels like I'm only getting worse at this stupid game! Why did I even agree to come here with you! This is so dumb!"

"Hey, calm down," says Richie, grabbing her shoulders in a way to try and calm her down. "Don't worry about it, Y/N. It's about having fun!"

"Well, I was having plenty of fun before, IN MY BED, where I wanted to be!" she yells back, the sleep deprivation starting to get to her head, quite literally and giving her headaches. "God, sometimes I wonder how I fell in love with you," she says, still not thinking straight, and quickly covering her mouth and squeezing her eyes shut once she realizes what she said. Richie only watched the girl, his mocking face falling clean off to an unreadable one, something Y/N has never seen on the boy.

"Y-you love me?" he asks, his voice going so quiet that the other sounds of the arcade almost drowned it out, but she somehow still heard him. She felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. "oh fuck oh fuck, what did I do?!" she thinks to herself. She tries to cover up by laughing, her head facing down so he couldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Yeah, of course silly," she says, trying to act casual. "We've discussed this. I love you and Bill and Eddie and Stan-"

"I don't think that's what you meant," he said as he walks closer to her. "And I know that's definitely not what I meant." he stands right in front of her now, hoping she would look up at him and tell him the truth he wanted to hear. But all he got was hearing the small sniffles coming from her, and he knew she was starting to cry. He took her arm gently and brought her outside, bringing her down to sit on the curb. "Hey, baby, please can you talk to me?" he asks quietly. Y/N was shocked by his tone of voice, Richie was never soft with anyone, and it was odd hearing this side of him.

"I'm sorry, Richie," she whispers, still not being able to look up at him. She didn't want him to see her like this, and she knew she couldn't face him after her confession. "Can we just forget this ever happened? I didn't want to say anything because I don't want to ruin our friendship. I can't lose you."

Richie reaches up and grabs her chin, forcing her head up to look at him. He could feel his heart break as he saw her already red puffy eyes. He gave her a soft smile. "You could never ruin our friendship. Besides, you didn't even ask me how I felt?" He suggests, his famous smirk growing back onto his face as he looks back at the girl. She laughs, shaking her head.

"I really don't think I want to do that," she says, biting her lip.

"Trust me, I think you'll want to hear what I have to say," he says to her, smiling still. After a moment of silence, in which Richie realized she wasn't going to say anything, he spoke for himself. "I love you too, Y/N. Like, a lot." This caught Y/N's attention, looking up at him in surprise, her mouth falling open slightly. He laughs at her, using his index finger to reach up and close her mouth. "Don't keep your mouth open, darling, you'll catch flies." Y/N can't help but laugh, shaking her head. Suddenly she flew herself at the boy and engulfed him into a hug. He could only smile as he wrapped his arms around, his grin widening as he felt her put her head into the crook of his neck.

"Thank you, Richie, for everything," she mumbled into his neck as he laughed and pulled away, still holding her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, doll," he says, his old demeanour coming back as he helped her up. "Now, let's forget about Street Fighter. I'm starting to think an all day nap isn't that bad." He smiled as she laughed. So the two head back home and crawled under the still damp covers of the girl's single bed, and as promised they slept the whole day away.

[asidian]

Week 13: Stagnant

March 8, 2038

Lunch is the same as yesterday, and the day before that.

Whoever’s working the kitchens hasn’t figured out yet that half the mess hall’s empty now. With Chroma out, and Alpha deployed who the hell knows where this time, there’s not enough of them to get through what they serve the first day, or even usually the second.

So that’s why Jacob’s sitting in his usual spot, working his way through stale rice. It’s kinda crunchy on the edges by now, like someone doesn't know the reheat trick. You've got to get it wet, first, before you heat it up. If you get it wet first, you can hardly even tell. 

Still — it's not bad, as far as lunches go.

There’s not much that the crows are gonna like, but there’s a tiny side of pasta salad in one of the bento compartments, and he picks the noodles out, and the beans, and folds them up in his napkin for later. They’ll fuss over the mayo, probably. They're picky, for birds. Maybe he can rinse the noodles off before he hits the roof or something.

“Cross?" says a voice from above him, and Jacob glances up.

The boy standing there has straight-cropped hair and shy eyes; the hand holding onto his lunch tray is picking at the edge, kind of nervous.

“Hey, Kurashiki,” says Jacob, and scoots over for him.

Kurashiki doesn’t sit, though — just stands there, awkward and unsure.

“C’mon,” says Jacob. “Come eat already.”

At the invitation, Kurashiki hesitates, then eases himself onto the bench. There’s a brief, awkward silence as he begins to eat — winces at the rice, the crunch audible as he bites in. 

“I didn’t think Miss Igarashi got sent to the med wing last night,” says Kurashiki, quiet, when he's gone through a few mouthfuls.

Jacob blinks at him. “Huh?”

Kurashiki ducks his head. "Is that not…? Sorry." He pokes at his lunch, and his eyes won't meet Jacob's. “I just — I can’t remember the last time I saw you two apart. Except for when one of you is in the hospital."

"Ah — yeah." Jacob looks down at his own lunch. "Nah, she's not hurt."

Kurashiki waits a moment — glances over at him, when no elaboration comes. "Is everything alright?"

It is. 

Mostly, anyway — as much as things ever are, these days.

There’s a non-zero chance they’ll die tomorrow, or that the world will end, or that those little whispering voices the harbingers put in their heads will finally drive them crazy. There’s sketchy sci-fi thriller BS going down in the biotech wing, and a couple of deaths that might actually be murder, and a stepped-up ops tempo that’s got them all reeling.

Just business as usual.

But if there's something they can do about it, why wouldn't they do it?

“We kinda had a fight,” says Jacob. “She took off to hit the city for a while.”

They didn't have a fight, and she's nowhere near downtown. She's over in biotech digging through files — and if he can spread it around that she's not in the building, that's almost like an alias, right? If she's not even in the building, it couldn't have been her.

Still. He doesn't want to be here eating stale rice and making smalltalk. He wants to be over in biotech, watching her back.

They've come up with a lot of bad plans together, but somehow, this feels like the worst one yet.

Kurashiki fixes him with a worried little frown. “She knows we have training this afternoon, right?”

“Uh,” says Jacob. “Yeah. She knows.”

“It’s only,” says Kurashiki, “I worry about her record —”

“Dude,” says Jacob. “It’s fine. She’ll be back.”

She will be, too, with time to spare. It’d be a close call if she was catching a train back from Shibuya, but all she has to do is crawl through the vents over by the west wing.

Kurashiki falls silent for a long couple of moments. During the lull in conversation, he eats most of his pasta salad. 

At last he says, “Are you okay?”

Jacob turns toward him, surprised. “Me?”

“You’ve been kind of quiet lately,” says Kurashiki. “And now this.”

“Hey,” says Jacob, awkward. “Everyone fights sometimes, right? We’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

“I just mean,” says Kurashiki, “that Dr. Ito always has her door open.”

Jacob wrinkles his nose. “Gotta be honest, she kinda gives me the creeps. All those psych evals, man.”

"She’s just trying to help." Kurashiki looks like he wants to add more — pauses and shakes his head. "What about Dr. Irimi, then?”

“Thought she was a for-real doctor. Like, broken bones and stuff."

“Yes,” says Kurashiki. “But she listens, when you need her to.”

Jacob finishes off the last of his rice. He hesitates, then forces a smile.

“Thanks, dude,” says Jacob. “But I don’t need her to.”

He ought to stay and wait for Kurashiki — till he finishes eating, anyway. But all this talk about doctors and psych evals has got him feeling like there’s ants crawling under his skin. 

And anyway — anyway, he kind of hates the way Kurashiki’s looking at him right now, with those soft dark eyes that don’t buy the fake smile.

Jacob shifts — glances aside. “I'm, uh. I'm gonna take off. Kay? Catch you later.”

“Sure,” says Kurashiki, quiet. “See you at practice.”

He can feel Kurashiki’s eyes on him all the way out of the mess hall.

[mi1kteaa]

birds & cartoons - hrj

(gif cred: x)

⤷ Most soulmates weren’t given their journals till late teens, so when your soulmate found his filled with doodles and journal entries, an array of questions were to be asked

pairing: Renjun x Female Reader

genre: fluff, soulmate!renjun

warnings: not proofread lol

word count: 4.6 k

oneshot p.l: boop

a/n: okay some um, merry belated christmas! this was supposed to come out yesterday but jskdsd lol that didn’t happen. I found this prompt really cute so big props to the op who thought of it. my layout has changed, as well as this oneshot having pov shifts so hopefully you’ll get the gist, if not sorry i failed lol. happy holidays! maybe enjoy this with some hot cocoa hehe.

“Mommy what’s this?” You ask, eyebrows pointed as you play with the fabric string. Fingers tracing the gold foil engraving that held your name. You look up to your parents who held a similar gold hue in their eyes as they looked down at you.

“It’s a journal honey, for you” You dad chirped in. You looked back down at it, lips pursing at the thought of what you could do with this new journal of yours. You looked back up with bright eyes. Maybe you could trace a few of those birds and princesses from one of your coloring books.

“I can do anything I want with it? Like draw?” You said with sweet honey coating your voice, so sweet that could melt into your parents ears. And so it did. Your mom laughed, placing her hand on top of yours and giving it a squeeze.

“Yes, and maybe,” she pauses, looking up to your dad to take his hand too. “Maybe you could write in it about your feelings and yourself, for you or maybe someone else to read,” she smiled at you. While confused, you were too excited about the new drawings you could make in this new journal. You rushed to your room, running back out to give your parents a quick hug and a thank you before running back in.

Your parents gave a content sigh. Hands still intertwined, they gave each other a small peck on the lips, eyes hopeful. “Her soulmate’s gonna have a fun treat when they open their journal up aren’t they?” Your dad says, letting out a quiet laugh.

“Oh yes, yes they will” your mom smiled as your dad gave another gentle kiss to your mom’s temple.

And your mom was right, he did have fun going through all the entries that were going to be made.

Little six year old you was so excited to start using this journal of yours. When you closed your door shut, you immediately started tearing out some pages from your coloring book. Some princesses, some mythical creatures. Your smile shined bright as the vivid colors came to show, and your tracings were very accurate - well, at least accurate enough for a six year old. It sure made your parents happy to see you enjoying using it so much.

And so went on the next seven years, the journal to be buried in your desk drawer, only to be uncovered again by a prepubescent you. It had stopped with the drawings, and came with the journal entries. Everything was put in there, from your first period, to how your best friend and you had snuck out to hang out at the nearby park. Of course you couldn’t show your parents, but wasn’t that a part of adolescence? It’s okay you told yourself, this journal will just be your little secret with all the inner workings of your new teenage thoughts.

As the years came by, the journal slowly became more structured, a weekly log of how you were, pages dedicated towards your new interest. With now a little less than half of the journal used, it was time to find a new one to embark your new ideas as a growing teen. And with that, the journal was abandoned once again.

“Renjun, I’m sure you’ve heard of soulmates hmm? Perhaps your friends have told you,” his mother had told him. Her hands were behind her back, Renjun trying to peer over.

“Yeah I guess,” Renjun said, turning off the stove to turn fully. He thinks about his friends, Donghyuck and Mark, happy that they had found each other. “Why,” He asked sitting down with his mom.

“Well the way people find each other was not only a chance by fate, there’s something else” his mother lays out this leather journal, with his name engraved in gold. His eyebrows furrow looking back up. “I was waiting till you were at least 17, and now that you’re eighteen, it’s time you’ve ventured to find yours,” Renjun’s mouth goes agape, still very confused.

“Mom I don’t see how this journal will help me find who supposedly is the one,” He laughs jokingly. His mom joins in quickly.

“You’ll see, trust me darling,” His mom slides the leather booklet to him, getting up to kiss his temple and carry on preparing dinner. He took the journal to head to his room. Maybe call Donghyuck about it, maybe open it and doodle a bit. A page in this book wouldn’t hurt would it?

He shut the door, dropping down to his bed. He felt around the leather exterior, fingers flipping through the closed pages. It felt.. lumpy? He undid the fabric latch around the book and opened to the first page. It was a little drawing with this little princess, creatures surrounding it. Confused yet amused; he let out a chuckle once he saw the big initials written in the bottom corner. Eventually, pieces came together as the sketches did, and he laid down flipping through the pages.

A few pages in, the drawings stopped and writing came in. Some stories made him laugh, feel warm, and even sympathetic. One story caught his eye though. He read aloud slowly to himself.

“She had climbed through my window asking me if I wanted to go to the park across from our school. I had said no, but of course knowing Eunjoo for 6 years at this point meant that no would turn into a yes in a matter of minutes. ‘c’mon Y/n, it’s the last few days before we go to high school let’s celebrate’ I didn’t bother fighting, so we climbed out my window but not before going down stairs and taking a few snacks from our pantry. So with that, we found our way from my house to Seoul’s Hangang park. Our flashlight was barely lighting the few meters away from us yet we still made it.” Renjun laughed at the antics you had pulled. He closed the book, resting it on top of his chest.

“Y/n, Y/n, Y/n...” He repeated. The name felt like honey coming off his tongue. It was foreign and new, and to be quite frank he didn’t know what to make of it. He pushed the thought aside, deciding not to dwell on what it meant and ignoring the obvious thought. Instead, he picked up a pen, turning to a new page.

I like what you’ve done to our pages :)

Spring cleaning, oh what a time that was. You’re laid, sprawled on your bed in a starfish pose. You scroll through your social media, looking at everyone on their spring break traveling not being able to relate, as the most exciting part of your break was seeing a stray cat explore your yard. You sat down next to your desk, looking at the mini cupboards, filled to its max. You pull out each bundle, skimming through each seeing what they were. You blindly reach for one, feeling the familiar indent, the metallic feeling contrasting the leather.

Y/n, it read. The smile on your face accompanies all memories that flood your mind. You open the book, one by one reminiscing on the times you opened this book to write your inner thoughts into. You had wondered what happened to the book, the certain stop you put to the journal. Your eyebrows knot on the last page.

I like what you’ve done to our pages :) 

Our? The question of who did this arises. You hadn’t touched this journal since junior high. The dust on the cover proved your parents didn’t. No one had touched it. Still, you bring the book downstairs, your parents cleaning the kitchen. You peek through the separation of the living room and kitchen.

“Mom, Dad?” Your parents head turn, giving a short smile. They prop their cleaning supplies on the counter, walking towards you. “Have you written in this since you gave me?” You ask handing them the open journal. Their gaze towards each other causes your lips to curl, thoughts now muddled.

“No hon,” Your dad says, handing the book back. “But your mom and I might,” This excites you, but not knowing what to make of it. They sit you down on the dining table. A long talk comes your way, about soulmates and connections, and this convoluted story of your parents love story, one that made you in awe and gag all together. At the end, your mom takes your hand and places it on the journal. You smile at your parents, eyes shifting to the journal. Still, there’s a thought, one burning on your tongue.

“If everyone receives there’s later, then why did I get mine so young?” There’s a momentary pause.

“Well, we wanted you to have a sense of freedom with this part of you. Not feeling restricted, even from the start. I guess it gave your soulmate a chance to know you before you let them.” Your mom laughs. There’s another silence, a silence for you to process. “Are you okay sweetie?”

“Yeah, I am,” You say, partially true. The new information mixes clean in with the confusion you had previously felt. “Thanks,” You take the book, holding it to your chest, walking upstairs again.

You sit at your desk, surrounded by the mess you never cleaned up. A pencil is in your hand, unsure of what to write. Do you write an introduction, a who are you, a how are you? You dwindle on the ideas, biting on the plastic of the mechanical. A minute passes by and your hand finally moves even with the uncertainty.

thanks lol, sorry i took up half of our pages, no that was lame. You scribble the note away. Your eraser, has shed half of its shavings before you come up with the most simple tagline you could think of.

thanks haha, i’m y/n, you?

You shut the book shut, feeling tired and hungry. You try to tiptoe through the mess, deciding you’ll take a break from the progress you had made, if any. Flipping the lights off, you go downstairs to get something to eat, planning on coming back up later to check on things.

It was three days later in the early morning the next time Renjun looked at the journal. He had just gotten out of the shower and was getting dressed for school as he propped the journal open on his desk. A weird feeling came when he saw the reply. He hadn’t realized that he doubted that the journal was actually meant to be a connection. Renjun smiled, deep, soft breaths leaving his chest. He finished getting dressed and took a pencil out of his book bag.

i guessed from your old pages lol ~ i’m renjun, he closed the book stuffing it in his bag before heading to school.

He had seen his friends, a smile smothered on his face as he greeted them. The group became concerned, Jeno taking Renjun’s shoulder in his hand. “You good? Since when are you smiling so early?” Renjun’s lips part, but his tongue comes in between to stop the smile.

“I think my mom gave me a way to my soulmate,” he says, laughing. Donghyuck eyes pull up to his, a question seeping through his eyes. “Yeah, she gave me this,” He pulls out the journal, passing it to Donghyuck. “This isn’t violating anything right?”

“I hope not,” Donghyuck, flips through the pages. He laughs, handing it back. “She seem like a keeper,” he says jokingly. “What do you know about her?” 

“All I know is she’s from an area around here, and she’s around our age. Anything from the book,”

“Do you think she goes here?” Chenle asks. Renjun shrugs, not long before the bell rings. They all greet each other goodbye, heading to class. It was homeroom, the teacher sitting at his desk, reading a book. Renjun pulls out all his books, tossing a pencil on top of all of them.

Halfway through the lesson, Renjun feels himself zoning out. His fingers twiddle with the other, and his foot is tapping against the metal leg endlessly. Rather than looking at the board, he feels himself eyeing the notebook with daunting eyes. He pulls the book from the stack he’s made, opening the book. His eyes widen as he looks at the handwriting; the one that did not belong to him and the one with the name that somehow made his heart soften. He still couldn’t figure out why, maybe the whole soulmate thing was a placebo but, he let the feeling subside.

He lifted his hand to write something down, hiding it all on his lap hoping the if the teacher happened to peek, he could say he was taking notes.

I figured, i’m renjun

He looks up, propping his head into his hands wondering if he really was going to get anything out of this lesson. He plays with the string under his desk, mind dulled to the boring lecture his stats teacher was giving. It was only a few minutes that went by before he looks at his notebook again.

well hi renjun :), umm are you home or are you a student like me writing this in class haha

student lol, do you go to smhs? you seem to live nearby coming from your stories (hope im not a creep)

He waited for a bit, and realized that he probably shouldn’t have started with that. But instead of erasing he just kept waiting. His hand went in on impulse, thinking he had already fucked up.

sorry, i just thought that from your stories and-

He felt silly writing all of this down, but his hand stopped when he saw another sentence interfere.

no no you’re good i just almost got caught from mr. moon in bio ~ but yeah i go to smhs

He tittered at the mention of bio, remembering he had him next period. He was technically not on the roster, but his teacher’s assistant for his sophomore period but, he always can think of his carefree demeanor towards his younger second year class. Renjun had a response flash, but uncertainty came, him afraid it was too forward. Even so, he could erase it and it would’ve never happened.

i guess i might catch you outside next period then huh

That weird sting in his stomach came, and he almost instinctively reached for his lower torso. He waited, and waited for what seemed like the rest of the period. The eraser almost hit the paper when he saw the live writing again.

unlikely haha, you wouldn’t even know who you’d be looking for ~ plus we have lunch next you wouldn’t be heading for his block ;)

mmm then ill have to find another way to find more about you then

He felt weird, out of character. He wasn’t used to being so coy, or any bit of flirtatious. He felt wrong in a way, would he have been interested in this girl if he didn’t know they were destined for each other? The bell rung, and he packed his book bag heading out.

Perhaps stopping by the beginning of lunch to help him with his prep wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

You weren’t paying attention to Mr. Moon’s lecture whatsoever, much less even looking at the board. Mr. Moon claims looking at the clock slows down time but it couldn’t mean much since his was broken. You were beyond grateful at the moment for being seated in the back of the classroom. Your notebook was propped behind your backpack, eraser resting between your teeth.

You had heard of Renjun before, only from mutual friends and by off chance of him being brought up. You knew he was a senior, only one grade above you. That he was in a friend group with Chenle, a good friend of yours, and that he really enjoyed being in visual arts, trying his best to stay active in those sort of programs. Which to be honest, only added to the embarrassment of your toddler drawings. 

The bell rung finally, and you decided that on the off chance he came by, you’d leave some tangible hint if he came by. Maybe you were delusional, he couldn’t be this engulfed after one conversation. But the worst that could happen is Mr. Moon finding it and tossing it. 

miss me hehe ~ You scribbled the quick note, leaving it at your desk and walking up to turn in your assignment.

“Hey Mr. Moon, are you prepping today?”

The voice made you grip the sheet just a tad tighter. You set it, down giving Mr. Moon a flat smile, leaving as soon as possible. On your way out, you turned back to greet the him goodbye to see that Renjun had picked up the piece of paper. Your voice hitched, and you skid out of there as fast as you could.

You sat down next to Chenle at lunch, with a red tint in your cheeks and out of breath. He pat your back, afraid you were about to heave out the lunch you haven’t even eaten.

“You good? If you wanted to be first to get lunch, I already got you your plate,”

“Yeah, just kind of sprinted here sorry,” You laughed, pulling out your water bottle and the notebook, opening it among setting it down. 

you suck ~

The rest of the day went by slowly. You had only hoped that you would pass Renjun again. When you passed by, you got a waft of his scent that was made of fresh cotton and lilies. His face was composed of soft features, that could send you into serenity with one glance and one smile. You knew, and you weren’t sure what to make of it. Do you tell him? Do you wait for him to find out? But of course the crosswalk wasn’t enough time to figure that out, still the thought lingered as you walked home.

On the other hand, Renjun had walked home with tests from an extra period, courtesy of Mr. Moon and his busy schedule leaving the grading to Renjun. Without much thought, he realized that he got Mr. Moon’s 4th period, your period. He flipped through the pages, pulling out y/n l/n, as well as the ripped sheet paper he had managed to pick up and his notebook. He smiled once he saw that it all matched up before deciding it’d be smart to grade everything first.

Yours came last, and Renjun only smiled more seeing that you did well. He took the notebook in his lap, opening it to your last conversation, picking up his grading pen.

good job on your test, who knew the same girl who described her primary years as a stink hole could be such a smarty pants

Renjun wasn’t sure, but he hoped that your heart would flutter seeing this as much as the butterflies in his stomach did writing it. He was about to shower but wanted to add something. He couldn’t help but stare at the note you had left him. He grabbed a glue stick, and pasted it in, adding something below it.

thanks for this by the way ~ but i can assure you that one day i won’t :)

Seemingly, he didn’t find you. But the conversations kept going; months now actually, the end of the school year coming near. Silly ones, Cute ones, but the ones you cherished deeply were the ones where you endlessly talked about each other for hours. Deep into the night, hidden under your sheets with a flashlight as you scribbled what came to mind. The deeper it had sunken, the more worthy it was to you and you had started saving them into your notes.

Opening those always made you feel warm, reading what he had written only meant for you. Your notes were filled with jokes, and little notes of encouragement, notes that could melt your heart.

i still can’t believe mr. moon assigns those course grids and the fact that you drew an octopus?? 

chenle mentioned your name today ~ i didn’t know you two were friends, but you must have told him about me cause he refuses to let me meet you :(

i hope this isn’t too straight forward but from the little things i know about you (because you refuse to tell me more) i wonder what it would be like if we met. my friends seem so in love, and i wonder about us meeting one day. but im patient, and i know the meet will be worth it.

But this notebook was like clockwork and you were running out of pages. Both of you had started talking between the book, and now you had each others numbers. Tonight was a night of being on the phone, laying in bed just listening to the other. His voice was like honey, and it seeped into your ears every time.

“What are we going to do when we run out of the pages? I like talking to you through that book,”

“Oh? Well I like talking to you there too”

He chuckles through the phone and you feel yourself closing your eyes and sighing. His laugh was so calming, the small one where his voice is low and quiet, the minor crack it has before he stops. “And why is that?”.

It took you a second, trying to piece the words together. “I mean, I don’t know really. I guess th words seem so much more raw written down, it gives a different feeling than you telling me,”

“So I’m getting that you don’t like my voice?”

“No not that,” There’s a pause, you wait not sure how to explain. Instead you hope he picks up the conversation.

“I’m just joking, if anything I just wish I could finally put words to face, your voice to a face,” This is where your mouth closes. You two still hadn’t met officially. “Maybe I’ll get to meet you when our senior formal comes along,”. Chenle had helped keep you under wraps as just another one of his casual friends, and Mr. Moon was smart enough to not let anything slip, which was mainly under school policy but you still thanked whatever God was out there allowing that rule.

“I know, but it’ll come soon, I swear,” You say, hoping to find the courage to build up and meet him. He hums into the phone, a yawn coming. “I should let you go, it’s late and we have school tomorrow. Goodnight Renjun,”

“Alright, we will talk tomorrow okay? Goodnight Y/n,” He drifted off, and you couldn’t help but stay on the line a little longer. His soft exhales made you crack a small smile, one that would transform into a face splitting grin. 

“I don’t even know what’s holding me back, maybe it’s you already make me feel so,” You let out a small laugh, barely above a whisper. Even talking to the dead space that was on Renjun’s side was so comforting, just knowing he was there. “Goodnight Renjun,”. You hung up the line, the smile still spread on your face. Maybe it was because he made your heart leap so much already, you were afraid what it would do when you finally met face to face

It had been a week since your last call with Renjun. No mention of what you had said after he fell asleep came up, there was an ounce of you that hoped he was half awake to hear, but you let that wall inside of you bury it.

Now it was almost time for lunch, your head resting on your back pack, eyes suddenly becoming heavy. You hadn’t even realized that a person had coming in greeting Mr. Moon until you felt a tap on your shoulder.

“Y/n do you mind helping Renjun with some of AP bio A worksheets, he has more work than usual coming in,” Mr. moon points to Renjun who smiles at you when you look up. You smile nodding at Mr. Moon, as Renjun leads you to one of the lab stations set in the back of the room.

“Okay so we’re just grading second year lab questions, it shouldn’t be too hard,” He says in a quiet tone. You glance, eyes squinted even of his close proximity. “Yeah?” He asks, looking up.

“Yeah,” You purse your lips. He must still not know.. “Yeah,” you repeated, whispering this time. Mid grading, you felt a pair of eyes on you, a rose tint coming onto your face. Your head peeks up to meet a swift movement and Renjun who was looking down.

The lights come on, and you look back to your class who was now waiting for class to end and your teacher who was now sat as his desk. You turn back to Renjun whose head was resting on top of a leather journal with his name embroidered on the front.

“I kinda hoped us meeting wouldn’t be through grading second year students’ worksheets,” he laughed. Your mouth parted and your eyes must have been bulging out of their sockets. Instead of seeming embarrassed, you just laughed. Somehow, you still seemed unnerved around him even after the little mishap. 

“What gave me away?”

“A few things, you running out of here after I found the note, seeing you being the only girl hanging out with Chenle around school, Mr. Moon just saying your name, and the notebook that spilled out of your bookbag,” You looked over to see the book on top of everything, with gold name and all. Your nose scrunched, followed by a nod and a giggle. “Yeah, I think both of us thought it would be more,”

“Romantic? Bigger? Not so sudden?”

“Yeah in a sense,” He bit his lip as his head swung down, hoping not to laugh. “Well, hi Y/n,” He said, pauses and eyes diverted to the wall which only made you laugh.

“Hi Renjun,” You said giggling, the bell ruining the moment. “Do you want to walk me to lunch,” He nodded, taking his things.

The walk was very short lived, both of you had small steps, walking alongside one another in the bunched hallway. You talked, trying to overpower the other students that were also passing by. When you stopped in the lunch courtyard you waved Renjun goodbye when he stopped you by the wrist.

“I know we’ve been talking, but I’d love to get to know you better,” He pauses. “Possibly at our next formal?” You laughed, looking down on your feet, wrist still engulfed by his hand. He shifts his head, eyes wondering.

“We’ll see,”

“C’mon, you’ve left me hanging for awhile now,” He says, tugging on your wrist pulling you closer to him. You just stayed, smiling at each other aimlessly. “I’m taking that as a yes,” He said, starting to walk away, each step with a stride. Your entire face widened, scoffing playfully at his confidence. He turns back, shoulders shrugging, smile spread throughout his face.

“So you met,” Chenle said right next to your ear, you jumping slapping his arm causing him to flinch. “Really?” He said, slinging his arm around your shoulder as you two walked towards your designated table. You opened your book among sitting down to open to a new, and in fact final drawing. A sketch with a bird, and a note.

i didn’t have to meet you to fall for you, everything in this book was enough for me to see ~

the ending was rushed and felt unresolved sorry

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