#please enjoy my attempt

[eisayshi]

Mari sat and waited and waited. Her dress dug in almost as much as the ropes did. She had outgrown it years ago but it was the nicest thing she owned. And they couldn't very well send her to her death in any old thing.

The town had somehow gotten the idea that their sacrifices should be presentable. Mari wasn't sure that whatever was demanding the lives of young girls had the intelligence to appreciate how much effort was put into their funeral attire.

The village guards that brought her forward bantered back and forth with each other, markedly avoiding eye contact and conversation with her. Not that she was particularly in the mood to talk. She couldn't feel much besides her dress and the rope. When she was a child and the older girls started being taken, she didn't feel much then either. It was a distant thing, something that happened to the most beautiful girls first before they started scraping the bottom of the barrel. She supposed it was a compliment that she was one of the first girls in her generation to go. The girls who aged out, who survived, their lots weren't much better. They were almost immediately set to the task of making more girls, with boys who had had to walk the girls they truly wanted into the forest.

Mari had no one who would have to settle for someone else after she was gone. No little sisters to tell herself she was doing this for. Just a mother and father who looked sullen one day and told her to go put on something nice and do something with her hair. Now she was here. Waiting. She mused that maybe the beast didn't have an appetite today. And if it weren't for the ropes, she would've walked back to the village to at least change, maybe get a snack. She'd come right back. No doubt hungry girls didn't taste as good.

It came almost all at once. The rumbling stones on the ground, the shaking of trees that released no birds. Many woodland creatures had cleared out long ago or were far too good at hiding, hence the girls. The rumbling got closer and closer. Then there was the screeching. She expected it'd be a lot more blood-curdling, but no. It was just animal. Terrifying enough to warn prey. Maybe this creature resorted to sacrifices because it was absolute shit at normal hunting. Maybe if it had had a parent to teach it how to be quiet, how to stalk. Or maybe it did know all that and more. Like a scared, desperate town would feed it its choicest cuts if it screamed loud enough.

Mari found herself backing up against the tree. There it was. A feeling. Something aside from the bleak numbness she'd felt for days, maybe for all of her life.

The beast came crashing out of the trees in a show of menace. It reached the clearing and paused right in front of her. She looked at it, it looked at her. God, it was ugly, she thought. Scaly and slimy-looking, serpent-like. It did not head straight for her. It wound side to side, stalking, appraising.

"I'm not getting any younger," she said. "Better get to it before I'm no longer to your taste."

It blinked. In a moment it was lunging at her. It all happened so slowly. She'd had time to blink at least twice before impact was made. And then there was blood. So much blood. More blood than she had ever seen in her life. The creature shrieked and stumbled away from her as the wound between its eyes spurted like a fountain. It waved its giant head from side to side, trying to shake off whatever had wounded it. Amidst the screeching, there was another sound. Mari looked up to the branches of the tree she was tied to in time to see a figure leap off and onto the beast's head, driving the sword deeper.

"Squirm more!" She thought she heard. She watched the thing writhe and thrash about the clearing, the back half of its body coming into view. It's back legs seemed to be so small.

The beast squealed as it's assailant screamed, or was that screaming? It might've been laughing. No, they were definitely laughing. Jovially guffawing as they held onto their sword and pushed it into the creature's head as it wailed. They were still laughing when the thing finally stilled. It took a while, but in time the assailant grunted as they yanked their sword out unceremoniously and slid down the creature's snout, slipping slightly in the pool of blood. They seemed to find their little stumble comical and chuckled to themselves. When they finally noticed Mari, they flashed a smile.

"You're safe now." They said, approaching confidently, covered in blood with a sword drawn. Then Mari was afraid. She began to scream. The stranger rolled their eyes, as though this was a common occurrence. Mari pulled against the ropes, against her dress, against the tree and the forest and screamed and screamed.

"Calm down. It's dead, see?" The stranger kicked the creature's head to demonstrate their point. "No need to fear now. I will loosen your ropes. Please," They raised their hands, "Do not hit me."

Mari panted but stopped her screaming and thrashing. The stranger approached slowly, arms still raised. When they got near she flinched, as they used that same bloodied sword to slice her ropes. The ropes fell around her and she tried immediately to back away but her legs wouldn't support her.

"Easy now," They said. "This must have been a terrifying ordeal for you. But, the beast is dead now. You are saved. Your town is saved. There will be no more sacrifices." They said proudly. She stared at them.

"I-"

"Oh please, if you must thank me," they walked back to the dead beast, "Be good and show me back to your village." They raised their sword and brought it down on the beast's neck.

-

The saddle was more uncomfortable than the ropes. Mari had never been on a horse before. After watching the man separate the beast's head from its body, chattering idly while he did, he offered his hand to her, giving a showy bow. When she glanced from it to his face, still cowering by a tree, he took her hand, gently, to his credit, and helped her to her feet.

"Your village?" He asked. He might have said other words, but she wasn't listening. She couldn't listen. He was still smiling.

He'd put her on the horse and hauled the beast's head unto the cart attached to it. How none of the guards had noticed they were there was beyond her. He still talked idly as he walked the horse out of the forest and into the town. She caught bits here and there, she thought maybe she might have answered him at times. The first thing she heard beyond his voice was the clattering of something to the ground, then a scream. Then there were people gathering around, eyes wide, murmuring in disbelief.

The man called out, "Fear not, humble villagers! The beast is slain! There shall be no more sacrifices!" He stepped aside to reveal the head of the beast. The villagers gasped and the murmuring began anew. The man reached a hand to Mari and helped her off the horse. On shaky legs, she walked with him. "Your maiden is safe, as shall all your maidens be. Go, girl. To your home, tell your family the good news."

Mari looked at him then at the people of her village. And she walked home, just like that. Her mother answered the door wearily at first. Something about needing no more flowers or food stuffs or condolences, then her eyes were wide and she was screaming. She flung her arms around her daughter and flung praises to the sky.

"My Mari, my baby," she cried. "How? How?"

"Man in the woods. Killed the thing. Stabbed it in the head." She murmured. "Only took one sword."

Her father came crying next, demanding to see this hero, to thank him. Mari could not for the life of her remember his name. Had he given it? Had any of this truly happened? Was she alive?

-

It didn't take long for her to realize that she was indeed alive. She knew this because she had kept doing the things she had done before she was supposed to die. Chores, social calls, prayers, and the like. She ate meals with her parents in silence. She didn't know what to say to them. She answered their questions when they asked and pretended not to notice their side-long glances at each other. She thought she might have done that a lot before, pretending. When she went outside, she listened for the whispers. The other villagers always had a new conspiracy about what might have taken place in the forest that day. Her favourite to hear about was that it wasn't herself that had rode back into town. It was some other creature in her form. Maybe she and the monster had switched souls, allowing the stranger to kill it with more ease. And now the monster walked among them, forced to live in a weaker body, to salivate over the prey it could have had. Mari had always had a habit of staring too long at other girls, but she didn't think she particularly wanted to devour them, not in the way the villagers thought anyways. She pretended not to hear them too. Part of her hoped it was true. A child once ran up to her and asked if she was still alive.

"I- I don't- maybe?" She'd tried to answer.

"My mama says you died in your heart because you were supposed to die in your body but you didn't." The child swung his legs absently as he sat on the steps to the well. Mari wondered if she had ever been that small.

"What if I did?" She asked him.

"I don't know. What if?" He looked up at her with large brown eyes. Before she could think of an answer, a woman was calling and he was scurrying away. She watched him go. Maybe her eyes tracked him too long, but his mother saw her, seemed to freeze momentarily, then bundled her child away quickly with her empty buckets. Mari wondered if anyone had ever bundled her away like that, trying to protect her small body from harm. She was no longer that small. No one would bundle her away again.

At a town meeting she attended, people shouted over each other. The only time they weren't looking at her or whispering was when they were shouting over each other. Something about taxes or payments. She'd never had to go to these before. On account of that she might as well have been dead from birth, being a completely healthy and even-complexioned girl. But now that that was no longer the case, she was expected to act just like everybody else, which meant sitting in this stuffy room as everyone yelled at their headman. A middle aged man, with little patience and even less spine stood in front of the crowd.

"Alright, alright," he tried to settle the crowd. "The adventurer set us back a few but we'll survive. We'll have more hands now that we're not losing them every week." He laughed.

Then she began paying attention. She raised her hand and once noticed, the room hushed. The headman's eyes slid over her purposefully, looking for anyone else to hear out. No one spoke above a murmur, chastising her for attempting to speak but also curious as to what she would say.

"Yes, Miss Mari," the headman finally relented.

She put her hand down, momentarily wondering if she should stand, and decided not to. "Um. What if it comes back?"

"I'm sorry? What if what comes back?" He asked. Mari took a sharp breath and the room seemed to flinch.

"The monster," she said evenly. "What if the monster comes back? Or a new one? Demands sacrifices?"

"Ahem, well. We managed so far, haven't we? Anyone else-"

"But you just said we need hands. What if no other adventurers or slayers come by?"

"Well, we can't very well afford another one of those, can we?" He laughed nervously.

Then she stood, sharply, scraping her chair legs against the hard floor. "Then can we do it ourselves?"

"What? Kill that thing? Miss Mari, it was quite fearsome. I'm not sure-"

"I saw it. It was lazy. It had no instincts. Maybe because we fed it so much. But a new one, if we didn't feed it, would probably be smaller. Sharper and faster, yes, but if we all-"

"We can not put so many people in danger. None of us is a skilled fighter."

"We could be!" Her breath quickened. "We could. We could. If we tried. If we trapped it. We could lose a few of us at once instead of many over time. We could-"

"Miss Mari, that is barbaric! Speak not of such things."

"But-"

"It has been weeks, Miss! We've made allowances for you but you cannot continue to behave this way. Sit down at once."

Mari did not sit down. She stood, staring, the sound of blood rushing in her ears. She looked down to see blood touching her feet, a pool of it slowly soaking up through her shoes. She left the meeting hall in a whirlwind and ran. Past the well, past the shops, past the gates, and past the trees, she ran. She would apologize for the mess of her shoes later but for now, she had to run. She did not pay attention to where she ran until she finally stopped, crumbling to her knees and taking ragged breaths.

"Barbaric," she panted. "Barbaric?"

She looked up ready to shoot a scathing retort and froze. In front of her, the slowly decaying body of the beast lay headless, motionless. Huge chunks of its flesh gone missing. She was suddenly aware of the noise of the forest. Birds in the trees, creatures skittering around. Outt of the corner of her eye, she watched a fox saunter over to the carcass and take a piece of it. She didn't move, it didn't seem to notice her.

She screamed. Bloody and raw she screamed. Angry and hungry she screamed. The fox flattened its ears, seemed to think about growling, then ran into the bushes.

"One. Fucking. Sword! It took one sword! One man with one sword! Hundreds of girls and it only took one sword!" Hot tears flowed down her face as her voice ripped out of her. She fell to her hands and knees and tore at the ground and screamed into the darkened earth. Hoping the beast would hear her from beyond the grave. "You took so many of us! They gave you so many of us! And all we needed was one bloody sword to end you!" She fell face first into the shallow pit she had dug and continued screaming. She laid there till it was dark again, her screaming devolving into hoarse sobs.

"One sword. Just one sword. He was laughing.”

Nobody came to look for her. She eventually dragged her body back to her home. She slid in like a ghost and ignored her parents' concerned questions. They did not touch her. They did not come near her. She went to her bedroom and looked around it. She looked down at her shoes. Besides the dirt, they were completely clean. Not a drop of blood on them.

She sniffed and rubbed her nose with her arm. "Fine, then."

She was gone the next morning. Like the ghost she had become. No one said anything, not out loud anyways. Even though the wildlife had returned to that forest, no one dared to step in, for fear of what they might find or what might find them. It was often whispered that the only thing missing from the home that day was an ax.

Hey anybody going to talk about rescued sacrificial maidens. Like yes a guy with a fuck off sword turned up and so you're not getting fed to the dragon/water creature/mountain spirit/vague embodiment of all things scary and you get to go back home, but is that really home? Your mom hugs you and your dad says he's so happy you're alive and you know that when they said they'll do anything to keep you safe they didn't really mean it. They have a feast prepared and you get to taste what they cooked for your funeral, help wash the dishes after. And it's selfish to think that between the whole village with everyone in it and you they wouldn't pick the lesser evil but it still leaves an emptiness in your chest, knowing exactly how much your life is worth. And the neighbors smile at you awkwardly and the neighbors' kids yell "hey! I thought you died!" because they don't know not to do that yet and maybe you did. Maybe you did.

And the hero with the fuck-off sword rode off into the sunset the way they always do but you're still here and you herd the cows by the cliff where you were tied up in your cleanest clothes waiting to not be alive anymore and sometimes you think that would be easier and when you don't come back one day, you can imagine it's a relief for everyone involved. Maybe you'll be the new thing to haunt the mountain, or maybe you'll follow down the road and listen for cries that sound like yours did. Either way, there's little left to fear. You know exactly how much your life is worth.

[hephaestuscrew]

I'm sure Minkowski never forgot that Cutter was the first person ever to call her Commander. After recruiting her in Once in A Lifetime, he starts to call her Lieutenant, then breaks into laughter, before correcting himself: "What am I saying? Commander Minkowski." He draws attention to himself granting that title, stressing its significance. By initially calling her by a lower ranking, then conspicuously correcting himself, Cutter emphasises that he's the one granting her that title. Right at the beginning of Minkowski's employment with Goddard Futuristics, Cutter plants the seed for his line in the finale: "People cared about you because of what I made you: A soldier. A leader. A commander. I gave you that, and now? I taketh away."

And he does take it away. Cutter makes a point of calling her Commander in that first meeting, but he hardly ever calls Minkowski Commander after that. He almost always calls her Renée. He makes the point in that first interaction that he has the authority to grant her that title, and then in every subsequent interaction he tries to make the point that she doesn't have command over him. Having called her Commander once makes every time he doesn't call her by her title seem more deliberate. It's not that he never uses titles - it's that he uses them selectively. He gives her a taste of that sense of authority, but he doesn't want her to feel worthy of it.

In the liveshow, he cuts her off by shouting "I AM SPEAKING, LIEUTENANT!". Minkowski is the Commander of the Hephaestus in official terms at this point and Cutter even refers to her as "a mission commander" later in the same episode. So there is a deliberate malice to Cutter calling Minkowski Lieutenant here. Not only does it emphasise the use of authority structures as a means for control and the abandonment of first-name-basis false friendliness, calling her by another title makes his choice not to call her Commander even more explicit, denying her that authority.

Apart from when he recruits her, the only other time I can think of when Cutter directly calls Minkowski Commander is in Ep60, when he lays out his offer to let Minkowski leave on the Sol: "How does that sound to you, Commander?" Again, calling her Commander is a kind of power play, an attempt at manipulation, highlighting the sense of responsibility that motivates so many of Minkowski's actions. Cutter is prompting her to ask the question she would be asking herself anyway: what choice would a good Commander make? Just as he did when he recruited her, Cutter offers Minkowski something she desperately wants, and the use of her title here only draws attention to the idea that Cutter is the one with the power, choosing what to give her.

[tsukkishimwah]

I Met My Ex-High-School-Crush-Slash-Unresolved-Situationship After Six Years And He’s Hitting On Me!? (Part 1)

[sysig]

Don’t be silly! Okay, be a little silly (Patreon)

[one-flower-one-sword]

well I know what you want from me you want someone to be your reflection, your bitter deception setting you free won't you come and dance in the dark with me? show me what you are, I am desperate to know nobody better than the perfect enemy and I know what you want from me you want the same as me my redemption, eternal ascension setting me free

for @bladesmercy's fic The Fear of Falling Stars

[doodlingfoolishness]

When the Pabu Island Players decide to put on a play about the Bad Batch, some… ah, liberties are taken. Much to the consternation of some of the audience. Yes, who doesn’t need a shameless ripoff of one of the best episodes of Avatar, Bad-Batch-style?

[operationslipperypuppet]

every (fen)rose has its thorn. join the rooks today.

[neiptune]

hi miss v!! 🥺 i hope you're having a wonderful day/night <3 this event is rly cute 🥺..,, could i request "you could be the one that i keep" and sanemi? thank you.,, giving u a little smooch.., <3333

sanemi shinazugawa x you could be the one that I keep

“I honestly can’t believe you” Obanai is not put off by your scowl in the slightest, if anything he’s fighting back a smile.

“I remember mentioning the night out”

“You never mentioned drinks being on Tengen” you hiss and this time he does smirk.

“Not our fault your man can’t hold his liquor”

His words light a fire in your stomach and you feel blood rushing all the way to your cheeks.

“He’s not—”

“Yeah, yeah, not yet because both of you are goddamn idiots” his gaze suddenly shifts from your eyes to something behind you.

“Hey” the greeting is soft, he’s always softer when he’s drunk “finally decided to join us?” you know he only has a hand on your shoulder to balance himself and you’re certain his lips feel too close to the shell of your ear only because he’s doing a terrible job at not tripping over his own feet.

“I’m here to drive you home” well, it’s not like you’re being any better at playing off your self-consciousness as annoyance.

You expect protests, outrage, a little tantrum even, but all Sanemi does is huff through his nose and glare at Obanai.

“I told you I’m fine” he slightly sways and the grip on your shoulder tightens.

“Sure you are” his best friend clicks his tongue and flashes him a smile “we’re gonna leave too in a bit and there’s only so much space in Kyojuro’s car”

The lie is so blatant is offensive, really. Sober Sanemi would’ve kicked his ass.

“Fine” drunk him sleepily mumbles instead, before he puts his entire arm around your shoulders “take me home, then”

Such simple words have your insides churning. Glaring one final time at Obanai, you walk past him and towards the exit.

As you navigate the crowded bar, Sanemi barely registers the hollering coming from the table he was sitting at until you showed up, his friends yelling for you to join them. He stumbles slightly against you, far too distracted by the fruity scent of your hair and the arm you have secured around his waist.

The breeze outside is cool. He actually knows he’s long gone from the way he can feel the thumping of the music from the bar right inside his stomach, from how breathing suddenly takes more effort. Must be why he stumbles forward until he’s leaning up against your car as soon as he spots the familiar honda civic, a soft laugh escaping his lips when he opens his eyes and sees the way you’re looking at him.

“M’okay” he assures, flushed cheeks and pale eyes “I apologize for being a nuisance”

It’s just that I feel I could swim through the sidewalk right now so I need a moment, he mentally adds.

You giggle and Sanemi forces his eyes to focus because he doesn’t want blurry vision to keep him from witnessing the beautiful way your eyes crinkle.

“What?” he asks, mirroring your smile by muscle memory.

“Nothing” you shrug and the oversized coat you’re wearing almost swallows you whole “I like it when you’re drunk and talk like that”

“Like what?”

“All formal and solemn” you giddily grin underneath the streetlights and Sanemi rolls his eyes. It’s a mistake, because his stomach contracts from a pang of nausea right away. He feels dizzy and hates the fact that you’re there just as his designated driver, he hates that the alcohol currently buzzing through his veins has him already reaching the stage where he’s about to throw up. He wishes you would’ve showed up when he was still two drinks in, the thinking about you enough to just fucking kiss you if you were here stage.

“Come on, let’s go” he’s having a hard time standing without swaying so you inch forward to open the passenger side door and help him climb onto your leather seat. You feel the warmth radiating from his body as you buckle him in and Sanemi has to dig his nails into his palms to keep his hands from grabbing you by the waist.

It’s a quick drive to his apartment, he rents a place close to downtown. He’s spent the entire ride in silence, just looking at you and being quick to turn his attention to the dash whenever you’d glance at him to make sure he was still awake. Right as you park before his apartment complex, Sanemi rolls down his window and just rests his head against the seat, eyes closed.

“We’re here” your fingers lightly drum on the steering wheel. He knows it’s the middle of the night and you’re probably aching to go back to bed already, but he wants this moment to last just a bit longer. Your perfume smells too nice and your voice is too gentle for him to simply get out of the car and crawl back to his empty flat.

“Nemi?”

“Yeah. I won’t fall asleep, don’t worry. Can we just stay like this for a second?” he doesn’t need to open his eyes to know that you’re getting comfortable in your own seat. His heart swells with relief at your little sure.

“Wanna tell me how much you had to drink?” your tone is playful but he scoffs nonetheless, opening his eyes once more. To avoid looking at you, he pulls the latch of your glove box to the left to open it. Vehicle paperwork, receipts, $10 in quarters, a lipstick and…

“Can’t believe you kept this” he mumbles to himself as he takes the little keychain he’s bought for you at a fair so many years before, when you still barely knew each other and he already knew how big of a problem you were going to become.

“M’not like you, I keep everything” you smile.

Sanemi scoffs.

“I could keep you” he thinks to himself “you could be the one that I keep”

Thank god he wouldn’t dare speak those words out loud.

Or would he?

You let out a suffocated gasp.

[ariadne-mouse]

Here's some cover art for @saturdaysky's dark and compelling character study, poisoning the well, in which Caleb receives a Sending from Trent Ikithon while the travelling through Aeor with Essek and the rest of the Mighty Nein. If you enjoyed their other works Rare Gift or fulcrum, check this out! As always, mind the tags.

A few stills below the cut; I like the middle one as a nice visually balanced cover:

[vinnigami]

Nuwa and Shohei are so t4t bi4bi . they're like team rocket but goth. do you understand

Please say Yakumo next time. i forgot he has a full name and was here for 2 hours thinking you meant Narumi DSRK. i get it though they kinda look like every t4t bi4bi m/f couple ever

[hellsite-hall-of-fame]

I finally decided to create a semi-decent tagging system- enjoy :)

#hellsite hall of fame - actual legendary posts that belong in my wonderfully cursed hall of fame museum

#hellsite hall of fame curator’s bullshit - asks and other posts that 100% belong here, but alas aren’t legendary posts

#the hellsite answers - any and all asks. some helpful, some just silly-goofy-fun, some extremely cursed bc ✨tumblr✨

#hellsite hunger games - @hellsite-hungergames blorbo poll competition that I somehow was lucky enough to enter, and was runner up in. also gives context to -

#enemies to lovers angst hurt no comfort 200k hellsite hall of fame × perry the platypus - a truly beautifully cursed fanfic being written by @instantpansies about how I lost the hellsite hunger games to perry the platypus bc, once again, ✨tumblr✨

#color of the sky - my beloved favorite post that i’ve based this blog’s entire personality on. the original post is somewhere in there... if you scroll far enough :)

#bee movie script - some of the best posts on this hellsite are under this tag. scroll through it all… if you dare

#long post - any and all long posts. some are legendary, some are just obnoxious…. but that’s why I love them <3

[a-mongooose]

HI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

[yugocar]

Serbian Folk Religion in 100 Terms // Narodna Religija Srba u 100 Pojmova (1991) - Dušan Bandić

"Dr. Dušan Bandić (1938-2004) was a professor of ethnology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade and for a time the head of the Department of National Ethnology and Anthropology.'' - in my attempt to make more sources on ex-yu culture accessible, i've begun to scan and share some of the good material i've read! due to some expressed interest, here is a segment on vampires and watermills (which are connected to vampires)! - for folks who can read serbo-croatian and cyrillic, you can read the direct scans from the book here and for those of you who can't, i've translated the pages into english myself and you can read them here. hope some of you enjoy reading about vampires before they were sexy! if you are interested in reading any of the other segments, you can find a table of contents here and let me know which you'd like to see first. (note: while im fluent in english and put a lot of effort into these translations, i'm by no means a professional translator. my primary focus was that the facts were translated correctly and relayed what people believed)

[sysig]

I think they’re the same guy, somehow (Patreon)

[gay-mooshrooms]

I fear to stain your clothes with blood/Stain them. I don't care

Chapter 1

Look.

Maybe Wilbur didn't love going to camp.

Maybe he would whine, and complain, and annoy the crap out of Phil and Techno on the 3-hour car ride.

But! 

That did not mean he hated it. 

Sure it was far from the most enjoyable experience in the world. 

But sue him, the kids gave him some small shred of hope for humanity that he was oh so desperately lacking. 

It also helped that Tommy adored Camp Essempi. He had practically grown up there, been tagging along every summer since he was 7 after Phil bought the place. 

So now Wilbur found himself in his dad's grey van, listening to The Artic Monkeys at a very unhealthy volume, while he could see Techno gesturing in the seat in front of him. 

If he had to guess, Tech was probably monologuing about some new book he read or what he was planning for the campers or something.

Wilbur didn't really care. 

Tommy was directly next to him, and his head was now resting on his shoulder, where it had been slowly creeping toward for the past hour, in spite of him claiming, "Fuck you Wil! I'm not tired at all bitch!"

They really needed to work on his swearing problem.

But that was for another day. 

Right now Wilbur had to worry about how to stay sane with 2 more hours left on this car trip.

He debated trying to read a book he brought but considering the last time he'd tried reading a book in the car they'd had to pull over so he could throw up, he decided not to risk it. 

Listen to Techno rant? Wilbur thinks he'd rather take the vomit at that point.

He eventually just decides to take the easy way out. 

Turning his music down slightly, he lays his head on top of Tommy's, stretching the blanket he'd been hogging across them both, and letting his eyes shut. 

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

By the time he woke up, they were only 30 minutes away from camp, and Tommy was still dead to the world. 

Techno had fallen asleep at this point too, his head lolling so his long hair fell over the edge of the car seat.

How he lived with it that long Wilbur would never know. 

He removed one of his earbuds and was met with the soft sound of Here Comes the Sun drifting from the radio, Phil humming along quietly. 

A few seconds later, his dad looked up and saw him awake. 

"Oh Wil!" Phil said, smiling, "Didn't see that you were up. We stopped at McDonald's about 15 minutes ago and got some fries for you, figured you'd be hungry."

Wilbur immediately brightened and maybe grabby hands at his father. 

"Gimme food," he said, with all the eloquence of a toddler. 

Phil chuckled and handed over the brown paper bag. 

"Save some for Tommy, you know he'll be starving when he wakes up, and who knows what that will entail."

Wilbur nodded solemnly, suddenly reminded of the last long car trip they'd taken. 

A few minutes into starting on the fries, he felt Tommy stir beside him. 

"Ugh, do I smell food?" Tommy asked, his voice slightly hoarse. 

"Always hungry never satisfied," said Wilbur, which was not entirely inaccurate. Tommy ate like a fiend. 

"Ey!" Tommy blurted out, his head immediately shooting up and his hands raising. "Just cus you're as small as a twig doesn't mean I have to be. Plus I heard Niki's running some of the sports stuff and I am NOT doing that on an empty stomach."

Wilbur had to give him that, Niki, one of his old camp friends and now first-year counselor, was one of the nicest people he'd ever met, but also incredibly badass. 

She'd been one of Techno's favorite campers, and he, in turn, had been her favorite counselor, which meant she was an expert in most combat-based camp stuff. 

She terrified Wilbur and Tommy alike. 

Techno too, but he would only admit that to her.

"Fine fine gremlin child take your food," huffed Wilbur, handing over the bag.

Tommy grinned evilly up at him and began shoveling the food into his mouth like an animal, a raccoon perhaps. Or maybe a possum. 

Wilbur couldn't help but grimace and turn his attention back towards his older brother and father, who, now that Techno had woken up too, were discussing camp setup. 

"Listen, Phil," one of Techno's quirks, he almost never called Phil dad. "We have more campers this year, we're gonna need to buy some more stuff."

Phil shook his head, "It'll be fine Tech. And if not, we'll go out and get stuff. And anyway, it's not so much supplies I'm worried about but space. I think we'll have to raid some of the unused cabins for cots. The last thing I wanna do is force kids to sleep on the floor, "said Phil, chuckling. 

"It would be good for them, " Wilbur chimed in, "Builds character."

Phil laughed. 

"C'mon Wil, let's not give them scoliosis too early on in the summer."

"As I just stated, character building."

"Wilbur I swear to god."

The last 20 minutes of the drive were spent bickering about random topics or singing along to Hamilton.

The latter was, of course, Wilbur's request. 

But Tommy joined in too. 

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

The sudden sound of crunching gravel alerted Wilbur to their imminent arrival at Essempi, a sound that bore equal parts joy and pain in his mind. 

It was at this point Tommy began bouncing off the walls, it was honestly a miracle he's lasted this long.

Usually about 2 hours in they had to stop for 15 minutes and just putter around a gas station.

Fortunately, Tommy had stayed up late last night with Wilbur, going over rules and his luggage over and over again to make sure he didn't forget anything. 

But once rested, Tommy's energy made a full recovery, and as soon as they had gotten their luggage out of the car he was full-on sprinting towards their cabin. 

Wilbur however, did not not follow so eagerly. 

Unlike Tommy, car trips didn't make him stir crazy, but rather tired, lethargic, and dead on his feet.

So, grumbling, he hoisted his backpack over his shoulders and grabbed his duffle, before trudging down the path behind his little brother. 

It didn't take long for his dad and Techno to catch up, his older brother giving him a small pat on his shoulder before moving past. 

Phil on the other hand, fell into stride alongside Wilbur and started humming Dear Theodosia, one of his favorites. 

"How are you feeling Wil?"

The words startled him, he hadn't exactly been expecting conversation. 

"Uh, fine?" he said, with a slight question in his tone. 

"I mean, a bit tired but nothing horrible."

Phil nodded, "OK. Just let us know if you need anything."

Wilbur couldn't help the small sigh that escaped him. 

He understood that his dad meant well. That he genuinely cared and wanted to help. But this was not what Wilbur needed. 

He never did well at the whole talking about your feelings thing. That was definitely Phil's department, and something he always encouraged in his kids. But somehow Wilbur never got the hand of that particular skill.

He didn't think any of them did really.

But he didn't say this, or anything remotely similar. 

Instead, he just nodded and said softly, "Alright, thanks dad."

Phil smiled, laid a hand on Wilbur's shoulder, gave a small squeeze, and then he was gone. 

Wilbur paused for a second, looking around at the slowly darkening sky, where the first glimpses of stars were visible.

He glanced at the trees, shaking in the slight breeze that was making him glad he wore a hoodie.

And finally, he looked back down the path, where beams of warm light could now be seen.

Wilbur took a deep inhale, readjusted his bag, and continued walking.

It was gonna be a long couple of months.

[graedari]

Jet Bradley and Gridblings can be everything to me. I need to draw them more (specifically Quorra though)

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