#psychical materials do so much heavy lifting for real

[marikodraws]

Hello you beautiful wonderful human! I was hit by a bout of nostalgia this morning and I'm looking for a web comic of yours I used to read in the late 2000s/early 2010s. I think it was called the bright side? I remember really liking the way you played with color, backgrounds on the opposite end of the color wheel from the characters. I have searched in vain and I'm hoping you can point me in he right direction! Thank you I love you!

Hello! Wow, blast from the past. Bright Side almost feels like a past life to me now, but it means a lot to me that it's something people still remember and think about, since I put so much of my heart into making it. Unfortunately the original site has been nonexistent for awhile (hosting costs were about to triple, and i wasn't posting new comics anymore, so...). I've had the intention to set up an archive for it here on tumblr, but I keep getting waylaid trying to track down the files from some of the older ones. It is something I want to do though! Until then, here are some of my faves from the vaults 💖

[prof-peach]

Hello Professor Peach!

I've followed your account recently and I was wondering. What types of Pokemon would I need to run a sucessful greenhouse like yours?! I know that I would obviously need Grass Types and maybe Bug Types, but what others would I need?

Thanks in advance!

From a fellow Grass Type and Nature Lover!

We have several greenhouses on the island, as we specialise in grass Pokemon, so I’ll run though what each has and why.

Seedling house

Set up for young sprouts, both plant and Pokemon based, with some areas shaded with netting, others in full sun. This space needs to be easy to clean, and you’ll find yourself disinfecting between sowing, to reduce fatalities and get the most out of your seeds!

Bulbasaur (potato) a good boy, old as sin now, but his gentle lullaby helps young plants grow, and keeps the baby Pokemon calm and settled. You DO NOT want a whole greenhouse worth of baby Pokemon crying, trust me. He’s stern but patient, and this is why he works well in this space, as he will not tolerate bad behaviour, and raises the youngsters with a firm but kind vibe. His vines are delicate and intricate enough to handle young seedlings, and because he himself is partially plant, he understands the needs of actual plants very well. His age also helps, he’s quite good at delegating and can boss the other workers around, and hold their respect. He has a few underlings he is training to help while he’s away, a sunflora, a turtwig, and a nuzleaf, all of which enjoy the work too.

Lotad, we keep a lot of these, as they tend to come and go. Usually we have around 4-5 in the seedling house at any one time, their broad leaves make them good at carrying things, moving trays of babies, and genrally handling youngsters, and they can usually learn water gun with some training, thus making them excellent at keeping the place well watered (but not too much). Their plant nature means they’re quite respective of small species,and tend not to crush any small sprouts if they can avoid it. They do however hibernate if it gets too cold, so it may be worth employing the help of a more winter tolerant water Pokemon if need be. We swap the Lotad out for Wooper in winter, they are small, not often too hard to handle, easy to find in our area, and kind natured on average.

There’s a old Pangoro that hangs out in this house, often happy to help lifting tables to move and rearrange spaces for new species, or to help do the big spring cleaning jobs each year. His disposition is far mor W gentle than normal, so I’d advise finding a patient, gentle Pokemon, who can do some heavy lifting. It’s always worth having a powerful individual here, as lots of Pokemon look to seedlings as snacks. As a defence, this pangoro works well, and birds and bugs tend not to enter the zone without his watchful eye on them.

A rather old Espeon without a tail likes to sleep in there too, her psychic powers means she can handle threats without big brash movements, and she tends to quietly spend her days just keep guard, and genrally being a watchful eye should the Pangoro mosey off to eat or bathe outside the greenhouse. This is a good example of shift Pokemon. When one is gone, the other is more alert and active as a guard. Never have just one Pokemon to a job, as they too need time out, breaks, vacations and down time to enjoy and relax. It’s too much to expect one individual to do everything.

Youngsters often enjoy a nightlight, so we let the volbeat and illumise into the greenhouse at night, to dance and keep a gentle glow in the area. The young seedling Pokemon are often stuck in pots, unable to move about yet, so they enjoy entertainment, and some are not keen on the deep dark of night outside. This settles them, and these bug types don’t eat seedlings, so they’re often great company.

In winter, we move one of greys charizard in to heat the space and protect the babies from frost. We have around 6 charizard on the island, and they are sometimes well behaved. We have the most calm and maternal in this house, she is a gentle soul, and I’d often not advise others to use this species for this work. A better fit would be Torkoal, known for exuding gentle heat continuously with enough food, or perhaps a Darumaka, Numel, or carkol. They tend to have much calmer natures for fire types, and ambient lay heat spaces well. Frost is a killer for seedlings so this is very important. As a grower, you also end up with infected or sick plant matter (trimmings and such) and the only way to responsibly dispose of that is to burn it. This keeps the risk of spreading infections far lower, and you won’t end up putting sickly, potentially fungus filled material into your compost, and in turn spreading it around. Fire is very important in the garden, in a controlled and careful way of course.

Healing house

This space is half open space, half I solated zones, built for recovery and care. When a Pokemon or plant becomes sick, they need specialist care, and sometimes they can spread their illness to others, so having an area to quarentine them and cure any issues is very important. This space needs to be fuss free, able to be disinfected easily, ideally with drains in the floor (much like you’d see at a swimming pool or something) so you can slosh down some disinfectant and ready the spaces for the next patient. Think of a glass topped kennel, that’s what you’re going for here.

Meganium, (summer) a lovely lady who’s been with me a while now, she’s quite resistant to disease thanks to her variation, and so she’s ideal for working in these kinds of environments. Despite this I would not mix her with a Pokemon who’s seriously sick, she’s more the “nurse” figure of the greenhouse, who oversees everything while I’m away. Her roles require her to be caring, and very calm despite seeing many in alarming states. The Pokemon doing this job needs to have a will of steel, and a strong stomach. Some diseases are quite unnerving to see progress. Keeping a bright outlook is a key component to this work. She’s able to emit a soothing aura, filling a space with gentle scent that can calm, energise, or even put patients to sleep. Her vines make her dexterous enough to hold tools and perform general care tasks like sweeping and watering ect.

I have befriended some Marill, a small pod of about 12, who come and go to help water and keep the place cleaned up. Their jolly natures are great for patients who are isolated while healing, and as they aren’t grass types, many of the individuals inside this space can interact with them, and not risk spreading illness (most of the time). They’re a little more rough and ready than the seedling watering team, but this is ok, as we don’t often keep youngsters in this house. They like to be paid in snacks, but others prefer toys, stories, games, and even tv time. Negotiating a fair deal for everyone is very key here, a Pokemon taut feels cheated will do a bad job. If they’re happy, you’ll be happy, trust me.

Audino, not often a Pokemon I discuss much, and don’t even use in the main lab, as this particular Audino has been trained to deal with grass issues specifically. She flunked out with her old trainer at medical college, so I took her on and tried to focus her in on something a bit more practical. She’s not able to catch a lot of grass issues due to her normal nature, and is a handy healer to have around. She’s actually quite a lazy individual, and is often found asleep in the staff room when not working.

This space will also require a dedicated burner Pokemon, a fire type to remove infected and dangerous tissues taken from infected patients. I often use Valka (vulpix) for this job, as she’s usually with me, and this greenhouse is where I spend the majority of my time, and she’s very efficient.

I advise you not use grass Pokemon so much in this greenhouse, as sick grass Pokemon tend to be more infectious to other grass types. You’ll often find me using normal, ground, or rock types, with strong immune systems, or individuals with calm natures, as this space sees a lot of unnerving things, and needs level headed individuals.

Tropics house

Also known as the hot house, as when you enter it you break into a sweat. Humidity is high, temperature is high, ceilings are high. This is a 4 floor tall building, all glass, planted like a jungle, with varying canopy levels, sunken pond spaces, and dense lush greenery. I also keep my orchid collection here, and you’ll find many bug types are drawn to the colours and smells. This is the highest skill level greenhouse behind the healing house, and I’d advise you try to start with one of the more simple ones firstly, should you be new to this kind of work. Heating this space is done with hot water pipes, and the whole building is lined with sprinkler systems that runs on a timer. Every 15 minutes everything gets doused with a thick, cooling fine mist.

This is where the Queen of my Bellossom clutch hangs around, she’s quite something to see, far larger, with soft pink coloured petal skirt, and a real air of royalty about her. The whole greenhouse respects her as she’s proven her skill as a leader many times, resolving conflicts with reason and patience. She may not be the strongest, but she’s certainly smart, and can lead with an iron fist need be. She is good with visitors, as this greenhouse is public, and open to visitors, unlike the previous ones mentioned above. She is a good overseer, and saves me a lot of time and trouble, fixing squabbles and keeping everyone calm. She is at the top of the hierarchy, and can request help from just about everyone else within this space, and they’ll oblige.

There’s a substantial Tangrowth who chills out in this zone, usually sleeping in a sunny patch at the back, he’s usually left child minding, as many of the Pokemon within have young of their own, and need a good baby sitter. Something that’s sturdy, with a lot of arms to keep tabs in them all (he just ties a vine to them and lets them run riot while he dozes) he can be quite defensive of the young but this is good, as the public spaces are more likely to be stolen from, and as we handle a lot of variants, security is needed. People like to steal young Pokemon when they’re unusual or rare.

Tsareena, a power house, acts as a guard, and works with a couple of Lurantis, who all enjoy the heat and have high prey drives. Should someone try to nab a baby, wade into a dangerous area, or start a fight within the greenhouse, they’ll step in, crushing most things in their path without too much issue. The Lurantis is actually one of quite a few, and should they become overwhelmed, they’ll call the others in as backup. This lot keep the peace physically, and can stop fights (as you don’t want broken glass in this space).

The windows need to be cleaned to keep the light levels high, so we often employ flying or psychic Pokemon to get us up higher to handle this work. I use whatever is around at the time, but often a good ladder will do the trick if you have a shorter building than ours.

Watering is actually done mostly with hoses and irrigation in this greenhouse but we do have one water type who resides within, in a deep pond in the centre. A Dreadnaw, Tobi, who came back with me from Galar quite recently. He’s very docile for his type, so we figured he’d enjoy the calm jungle vibes of this zone. He occasionally wades out to wander around and water things, keeping a close eye on everyone. Their species is renown for biting and aggression but Tobi is rather chilled out, and has taken to being the biggest water type in the space quite well. He shares his pond with a couple of small relicanth, and the odd little water type who comes in out of curiosity, along with a small pod of Lotad. He keeps things very damp, even in the dry corners, and often will listen to grass Pokemon who need extra water, and come over to assist.

No fire type in this building as all damaged or trimmed material should be collected and removed from the area, to be either composted, burnt, or used as cutting material elsewhere.

We encourage bug types in this space for the most part, as they feed other Pokemon, and also pollinate. This space has fruit trees and flowers, so we leave the windows open for whatever may want to enter to look around (and for airflow). The general temperament of the greenhouse is pretty calm, tanks to the balance of staff Pokemon, so if an aggressive bug comes in, it’s soon chased out. causing trouble isn’t tolerated within this space.

This greenhouse is abll about emulating nature, so taking trips to more jungle locations may benefit you here. I’d suggest doing detailed research, and studying established locations before building this zone, as there’s a lot of foundation work to be concidered, like water, piping, irrigation, airration, and light levels.

Desert house

Hot in the day, cooler at night, dry, often sparser in style. Very bright! This is a common space for a lot of variations, and also cacti based Pokemon. We have an array of desert species hanging out here, but also a lot of rock types. This is a petty easy going space, not a lot of water needed, but certainly care none the less.

A heater! We use a Heatmore, who seems to enjoy the general ambience, and is stroppy enough that the cacti Pokemon can’t bully him or get into too much trouble. He keeps the space hot in the winter, and not too cold at night, he will occasionally drop his workload in the summer when the temperatures are high enough without him. We trade him out with a Slazzle from time to time, should he require time out.

Watering is sparse, we call in one Politode now and then to drench the space, then leave it to dry out quite a bit. There’s of course places for Pokemon to drink from, small water features and the odd trough to get a drink from, but the species here don’t require half as much as others, and will happily go two or more weeks without more than morning dew. We tend to keep an eye on things and use a hose when we catch the odd Pokemon or plant who needs a little extra.

Cacturn is the boss of this space, and works hard to maintain a firm level of control over the many little Pokemon who live in this house. He’s old now, with many arms, not just the initial two, standing at around 9ft tall, with very thick limbs. He’s not kind as such but only really shows his mean side if you mess with him or the ones he protects. This is a space that’s open to the public, so we have to employ his power to protect from theft.

This space contains a lot of young alpine Pokemon too, bulbasaur, oddish, and some fun variants of Crustle who have plants atop their backs. There’s a strong nod to those who can handle drought, and so it’s a great starting greenhouse for anyone who’s a little forgetful. We also keep quite a few Sudowoodo and their pre-evolutions here, as they dig the dry air. They also help in creating rockery areas with their attacks and strength, that suit the area and the Pokemon within.

Carnivorous house

Not easy to plan but simple enough to keep. They need boggy conditions, lots of open light areas, and genrally this space is quite wild looking, certainly not tended, and I’d advise you get some waders or wellies for the work done here. Water types and bog Pokemon will love this space, and it should be protected from the frost, for those who do not like the cold.

Carnivine, often found hanging from vines within the space, they have a very particular diet, and I tend to run the tours for visitors to this greenhouse, to make sure no one gets chewed on. There’s quite a few colours and shapes, but they don’t do,innate the space as much as others. Their ungodly shrieking can be wonderful alarms to danger, and I totally advise having a few around, even if only for their comedic value and friendship.

The champions of this space are Victreebell and it’s pre-evolutions. I’ve kept many, and variants are something I research, so you can imagine the amount collected here. They’re very handy in summer should you get large infestations of bug Pokemon anywhere else, as their diet is all about eating other living things, and they don’t like rich soil or plant feed at all. Herd them to the bugs that bother you and let them hunt, you’ll soon have things under control again.

There’s a lot of Mudkip, Stunkfish, Quagsire, you know, mud lovers, and their watery ways can mean you have a lot of Pokemon able to keep the water levels high. This space needs to almost be submerged in water at all times, dry roots can lead to unhealthy buddies.

One thing to note is windows. You need to have access for bugs in this space. The species within have specific diets that Pokemon food doesn’t quite do justice, so allowing them to lure bugs in with their scent, and eat healthy correct diets will lead to far better health for your carnivorous friends.

Extra notes:

Theres the obvious, a standard, sturdy, average grow house. The beautiful basics to all the areas I’ve discussed above. Without just a space to store, to care, to grow, and to keep, none of the beautiful public spaces would look half as good. We have overflow greenhouses for winter, for overcrowding, for if the torterra want to come in, or if we get a large herd of Tropius sent to us who hate the frost. Grass types come in a lot of shapes and sizes, but should a large set come your way, these spare zones come in handy. If you have the space, set a few up, even if they’re storage most of the time, they will come in handy eventually. There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes, so make room for this.

THERE IS NO RIGHT SET OF POKEMON. I mean this seriously, I picked who I knew would suit the work, it’s not right for everyone. Grass Pokemon may have a good understanding of what plants and other grass types need, but you need to find species who are caring and patient. I’ve seen a lot of grass Pokemon who are fighters, impatient, stroppy and even aggressive, and they’d not suit this kind of work at all. You need to pick your team based on their personality, not just their type or species. Take your time and don’t be afraid to switch out their work load, try new things, and test an unusual Pokemon in a job position if you see potential in them. It’s a myth that grass Pokemon will be best for other grass Pokemon. I find I use a lot of other types to handle them, and often bugs will chew and eat at your grass types, so you have to pick carefully. Be clever with your research on this all.

Don’t think this set of Pokemon will take the workload off of your shoulders. A greenhouse needs YOUR time too, you need to throw some tough gloves on and get stuck in, or your team mates won’t feel enthusiastic about the work. Lead by example, work hard with them, weed and sow seed, trim, care for, and be part of the process, and it will feel all the sweeter when plants and Pokemon bloom and grow into beautiful things.

I find if you get stuck, if a Pokemon or plant won’t grow right, or keeps getting sick, take a step back, reevaluate what your method is, and take a look at their home. We forget that every plant and Pokemon has an actual originating location, and if we can emulate those conditions, their survival chances go up drastically! It’s not always easy, so don’t be afraid to google stuff, whip your phone out and have a good scroll around. There’s no such thing as a stupid question, so ask anything and everything.

A cheeky helpful tip, some Pokemon learn sleep powder, and many think that this move doesn’t affect other grass types, which is a pain because this move is very handy when dealing with difficult Pokemon. It in fact does affect other grass types, but only those who cannot also learn the attack. So an oddish can put a Leafeon to sleep who cannot learn the move, but not a Morelull, who can also learn sleep powder.

This was a BIG ONE but we have a lot of greenhouse, all catered for differently, so here’s hoping this helps your endeavours.

[nastyburger]

time for dex backstory

before the mutation, dex was what you would call a “weak kid” in terms of health. he often got sick and just in general had a weak immune system. as a result, he spent a lot more time at home, sometimes even going a couple of weeks being home-schooled at a time if his illness got really bad.

this danny really doesn’t have a lot of friends his age. after all, how do you make friends at school when you’re barely even AT school? he’s still close friends with his own sam and tucker, but his tendency to stay home does stunt the natural progression of their friendship a bit. don’t get me wrong, they’re still good friends but compared to the canon trio, they’re just not as close knit. in all honesty, dex finds it kind of a miracle that sam and tucker stuck around so much in the beginning to this point despite barely knowing him.

the trade off for not being close to anyone among his peers though was a really strong relationship with his family. out of all the dannys, dex has the closest relationship to his parents and jazz (who goes by “jasmine” in this universe). even if the worrying and concern for his health can be a bit suffocating, dex finds a lot more comfort with them than anyone else. he feels he’s able to trust them with anything.

from very early on, this danny takes a much bigger interest in jack and maddie’s work. when he’s not learning the core subjects in homeschooling, he reads up on robotics and engineering, he asks many questions about his parent’s work, hes even asked jasmine to teach him whatever advanced ap math subject she takes to help him better understand the mechanical calculations of the inventions. danny spends a lot of time at home so what better to entertain himself than with the family business. he also goes down to the lab often, even to the point of having his own “designated safety area” for him to sit in while the fenton’s work on more dangerous projects (guests sure do raise their eyebrows at seeing dex sit in the blast proof glass box though lol). basically, danny is very comfortable being in the lab and even tinkers/invents his own things from time to time with his parents.

he even helps jack and maddie build the ghost portal. none of the heavy lifting and handling of dangerous materials of course (much to dex’s dismay), but looking over a lot of the blueprints and putting together many smaller components for the full thing. this leads to the button for the portal being closer to the entrance (courtesy of dex’s revisions), rather than being halfway in. its right by the arch of the portal on the inside.

this means, when the portal doesn’t work and dex goes to check it on his own (he was involved in this project and felt the need to make it work), dex doesn’t even fully enter the thing to accidentally turn it on. what instead happens is that he just pokes his head in, hugging around the arch of the portal and hits the button like this:

his arm takes the brunt of the electrocution, becoming so badly burned and damage that it just simply needs to be amputated, and his head takes a partial dip in the ectoplasmic/radioactive substance before pulling himself out.

danny’s scream alerts the rest of the fentons, who were right upstairs as this was occurring. many emergency medical procedures, trips to the hospital, and periods of recovery later, danny makes it out of the incident well and healed. albeit, missing an arm and getting his eyes dyed green (they test and confirm the presence of ecto-contamination in danny’s system but were unaware of the side effects until later) he wore a simple mechanical prosthetic at first created by his parents, but slowly they improve and upgrade the model to what dex currently has. after the accident, dex seems to not get sick nearly as often as before too (jack and maddie are looking into the possible healing properties of ectoplasm).

they also slowly discover that danny.......seems to react weirdly around the inventions in the lab. maddie and jack have upped restrictions and regulations about going in and out of the lab (dex being only allowed in while they were there and he’s in his Box TM, they only agreed to this arrangement because dex begged to participate in projects again) but they notice danny somehow has an influence on the weapons even within the confines of his safety area.

looking into the connection, they discover dex’s psychic link to ectoplasmic substances. the fentons go on a real journey with testing dex’s abilities and how his new powers work (jack goes on about how their son is like a little superhero) and start tweeking/making inventions specifically for danny to control and operate.

eventually, with more ghosts attacking amity and dex’s miraculous recovery in health and desire to join the family business, jack and maddie start to build the mech for danny. its specifically design to match match his link/abilities, based on danny’s own concepts and sketches, and built in safety features/protocols for very dangerous situation (they are still parents who worry after all). this mech becomes dex’s main mode of fighting.

soon, danny becomes a very public figure with his ghost hunting. he doesn’t really have a secret identity to hide like everyone else, so his activities is very open for the town to see. because of this, he doesn’t have the same “loser status” as canon danny (not that he had the title before the mutation either, given he was always sick and no one wants to beat down on a sickly kid). dex is also able to regularly attend school now and finally starts to make friends/get to know others his age.

this also includes further building his friendship with sam and tucker. illness no longer restricts their time and access for them to hang out and dex has an absolute blast with the newfound interaction. he’s certainly a bit over-excited with the new experiences but thats in no way a deterrent to anyone seeking to befriend him.

though, sam and tucker are not as involved with fighting ghosts like canon sam and tuck are. they mostly fight out of sheer proximity with dex, who will toss them the extra gun/weapon when ghosts show up. theyre quite good at it too but ghost hunting is still very much considered “a fenton thing” and left to them whenever possible.

[silverinkgoldenquill]

Hey! I found your sideblog a few days ago and I love it. I really like your writing style and how realistic you make your characters. And if your requests are open, could you write something where the Hero has strong psychic powers and they lose control of then during a fight? And their friend(s) has to bring them back to their senses?

Well, thank you very much! I really appreciate that. It’s not the end of the world, but in the future, please send any requests to MorallyGreyPrompts. If asks aren’t available, it just means it’s closed for the time being, but it’s chill so don’t worry about it.

Hero struggled to mark Villain with their daggers as they fought in the middle of a junkyard, they clenched their teeth and kept trying, kept pushing forward. Villain deflected most of them with great skill, but they were both beginning to tire, to hurt. “Are you even trying?” they taunted, panting heavily. “This is pathetic- and you’re meant to be the saviour of this city!”

Hero didn’t answer, if they had strength to speak then they should be trying harder. They were putting everything into trying to stop Villain, to protect their mentor and free them. With a gust of strength they tried again, but Villain cut their arm again and used Hero’s slight falter of balance to cut their shoulder blade too, the deepest wound so far and Hero was sure it cut down to the bone. They cried out in pain. Villain kicked them down quickly, sending them sprawling onto their front. For a moment, Hero lay still, shaking, trying to accustom themselves to their new pain.

“Get up, [Hero],” Mentor pleaded. “I know you can do this!”

“That’s a different tune from what you said when we were alone,” Villain grinned. “What happened to how much you mistrusted your precious hero? How you wished you’d never agreed to train them? Of course, let’s not forget why you have to push them so hard in training, because they’re so weak.”

“Shut your filthy little mouth!” Mentor roared, struggling in their bonds. “I’ve never said such a thing! You leave them alone!”

Hero didn’t react. They were barely able to move, their strength slipped away from them as freely as their blood.Villain stalked around them for a few moments, their movements catlike and sharper than a knife. “What good are you, little hero? You can’t even beat me? Why would anyone want to help nothing more than a flea? Fleas should be crushed, and so should you. No one cares about the insignificants like you, not your friends, not your family, not [Mentor], not even [Lover]. You keep training, keep trying to prove a point, but it all amounts to nothing.” Villain ducked down and snatched them up by the throat, dragging them up to their knees as they choked them “Because you are nothing!” they hissed in their ear.

Blood began to suffuse in Hero’s eyes as the air failed to reach their brain. They scrambled to remove their grip but with their arms in such a bad way it was proving impossible. How could Villain always read them so well? Delving into all the cracks and crevices of their defences, all their insecurities. The words echoed in their ears, stirred up their gut. Hero could feel their power rising and the burning need for air was making it impossible to calm it. A refreshing coolness seeped into their face, and Hero quickly realised that amongst their tears, their eyes had begun to glow.

“What-” Villain began.

Hero screamed, and noise should have been impossible to make, but it blasted through the air and cut through Villain. They let go of Hero and cried out in pain at the piercing shrill that rattled their brain. They doubled over, clutching their head. For a terrifying moment, Hero couldn’t stop their power, their raw emotion. With a pushing gesture, Villain was thrown away, further than Hero had expected. They landed hard amongst the surrounding mess and didn’t move. After a moment, Hero saw blood dripping, trickling, pooling around them.

Hero’s glowing eyes slipped away, replaced with nothing but fear. That wasn’t meant to happen. They’d hurt them, they’d hurt them bad. That wasn’t meant to happen, had they just killed… Hero didn’t realise that the scrap cars and metal around them shook, wobbled, fell from their tall towers. The panic clouded their thoughts.

“[Hero],” Mentor called out. “It’s alright, we can fix this. Calm down for me, take deep breaths. Help me get free and I can help you. Listen to me, [Hero], please.”

But Hero did not. They looked down at their hands, pictures blood dripping from them and the illusion became real. They trembled and the shaking rocked the surrounding tonnes of metal. They didn’t know what to do, they were too upset. Hero was sure their eyes were glowing again, their power was rising and in their panic, they had no idea how to quell it.

“I’m sorry,” they managed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please, I’m so sorry!” the pleading turned to heavy sobs, the kind that was choking. Hero didn’t know what to do, their body took over, shaking, sobbing, they felt like they were being torn apart. Had they just killed Villain?!

The cars, kitchen appliances, and all the mess began to raise up from the ground. All but the rubble Villain had landed on. That remained perfectly still, their blood completely untouched from where it had landed.

“[Hero]!” Mentor tried again, louder. Hero turned at the noise. Mentor could do little being tied down, but Hero’s powers were beginning to raise the shell of a car they’d been tied to. Hero tried to lower that car, but in the rush of their emotions, it was impossible to single it out. It was like tracing a path of squiggles, they just couldn’t stop.

“You are not weak,” Mentor declared. “Don’t listen to what [Villain] says. You are stronger than they could ever comprehend, and I don’t just mean with your powers.”“I’ve killed them,” Hero whispered, but their voice echoed into a boom.

“You have the ability to heal,” Mentor reasoned. You can stabilise them. They’re not dead, but you have to calm down. We can fix this, but you have to let me help you.”

“I. I can’t, I’m sorry. [Mentor], I am so sorry-”“Breathe,” Mentor soothed, but it wasn’t easy for them to stay calm as Hero raised them higher and higher into the air. It was agonising for their shoulders but they managed to block it out, their sole focus being on looking Hero in the eye, helping them find the calm again.

“You can do this. You are not weak by any definition of the word.”“Than what is this?” Hero cried.“Even steel can break. Take deep breaths, think about your favourite place, think of the calm. You know what [Villain] said about me is a lie. You know how important you are to me, to everyone. How we act around you is not a lie. [Lover] adores you, you know that! Don’t let that be forgotten because of what [Villain] has to say. They want you to be like this, don’t let them.”

Hero struggled to breathe. The rubble stopped rising, but it still shook. “I’m scared,” Hero managed.“I’ve told you, fear is just fuel. Use it to be stronger. Find your balance,” Mentor stressed.

Hero closed their eyes tight, imagining anything that could help, perfectly balanced scales, ballerinas, they imagined all the cars slowly settling like feathers, coming to a gentle rest. They focused on their breathing, counting, imagining soft sensations on their skin: beach breezes, the warm sun, the gentleness of Lover’s kiss.

Hero slowly opened their eyes. Everything was calm, Mentor was back on solid ground and the air was silent. They huffed out a breath of relief. They’d done it.Mentor smiled encouragingly. Hero hurried to untie them. “It’s going to be alright,” Mentor promised them. “We can fix this.”

Hero nodded hesitantly and the two rushed to Villain’s side.

The rubble had almost gone all the way through them in places. Hero gulped back their panic and with Mentor’s help, they carefully lifted them free. Mentor gagged, Hero had to close their eyes and not look at the wound. One hand wandered to their neck to find a pulse, the other hovered over the wound. Then they relaxed again, imagining their heart slowing, becoming calm again. Then they pictured whatever they could that could resemble the wound mending: materials stitching, broken pieces of pottery being glued together, someone zipping up a coat. The more they imagined it, the more drained they felt, but they refused to stop until the wound was mended.

Then Hero felt a hand on their shoulder. “That’ll do,” Mentor said softly. Hero opened their eyes to see a much smaller wound, survivable. Hero felt something hot touch their lip, and when their fingertips wandered up to meet it they found blood. That was their usual warning sign to stop. No wonder Mentor had cut the process short. Villain coughed as though to prove they’d live.

“We’ll take them somewhere to heal them manually if you want?” Mentor said.Hero nodded. They had to fix this, properly. “I didn’t mean for this to happen,” they managed.“I know. No one is mad, and [Villain] brought this upon themselves… I think I can carry them. You’ve done well.”

Hero got up on wobbly legs and followed Mentor out of the junkyard, back to safety.

[cyclopticblast]

Could it be a Song?

His name was Scott Summers. He was 15 years old, and before this, the mansion had always been quiet. He didn’t mind. It had been part of the hazard of it just being he and the Professor, and while the Professor was always willing to engage in conversation, Scott wasn’t quite sure what to say. Conversation wasn’t one of his strong suits, and even beyond that there was the fact that he didn’t know the outside world all that well. The way it treated him, he didn’t have all that much desire to get to know, but that was something that they were just going to have to work on.

Just one more thing to work on. He’d done his best to be a good student. Generally he was not chided on most subjects. He’d come to adjust to the Danger Room, and he was improving all of the time. There was always constructive criticism, but who could fault that? If anything it would make him better at this. The Professor often talked about the state of the world for mutants like them, and their goals. He would need to be the best that he could be if they stood much chance of achieving them, and he worked to the best of his ability.

There was one exception, one place where he couldn’t manage to pull ahead. Here at the end of another session of psychic defense, he found himself standing at the blackboard, chalk in his hand. Small, evenly spaced letters spelled out across the black in his own neat hand, Not quite, Scott. Countless sessions of this, and here they were again.

At first he’d lashed out in frustration. He couldn’t do it. Surely someone who wasn’t a telepath couldn’t resist that kind of intrusion, and he’d made his thoughts known to the Professor. But then already the little noise that’d joined them here in the mansion was making progress. The first few times he’d been satisfied to see Bobby at the board, before his own slightly sloppy, rushed looking print, TRY AGAIN BOBBY. But with continued instruction, he’d been left here in the dust, embarrassed to be standing here yet again. It had been disappointing from the start to let Xavier down like he had, but the added embarrassment of failing time and again in front of a peer? Right about now, he wanted to disappear through the floor.

“This is the most basic level of defense Scott. Anyone wishing you ill would put ten times the pressure on you. This isn’t even keeping your thoughts private, this is just remaining in control of your body from the most minimal pressure. I need more from you.” The Professor’s eyes were closed, shaking his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Disappointment then. Exasperation. That was the body language for it. With a heavy sigh, he finally lifted his head again. “Let us move onto something else for now, boys.” He heard that one in his mind as well as his ears. Bobby must have been drifting. And so move on, they did.

There were other aspects of their mental defense courses. Some of them he didn’t do quite as badly at. Constantly he had to hear the Professor reminding Bobby about his loud thoughts, something he’d never been chided on. Loud thoughts were enough to cause the Professor headaches at times. The more you know.

Perhaps that was why they hadn’t done any further memory sessions since Bobby’s arrival. Even beforehand they’d always seemed to strain the Professor, leaving him pallid and clammy at their end. They’d done valuable work. Pieces of his life he’d though lost to the brain damage seemed to surface and slide into place where they could. Things he thought just imaginations or dreams were confirmed. Alex, real. Bits and pieces of memories from before. L̨ike̴͢ ̡a̴̧̨ ̴r͝͏ec͜͜͝or̀d͜,͘ ̸͘ba͜b́҉ỳ̢.͝ A stuffed bear here, the roar of a plane taking off there. Hiking boots and trail mix in fresh Colorado air. Planes taking off. Explanations of which controls do what. Sometimes ᵃ ˢᵐᵉˡˡ ᵒᶠ ᵃⁿᵗᶦˢᶜᵉᵖᵗᶦᶜ, ˢʰᵃᵈᵒʷˢ ᵃᵗ ⁿᶦᵍʰᵗ, ˢᶜᵃˡᵖᵉˡˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁿᵉᵉᵈˡᵉˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵀᵒᵇʸ ᶠᵃˡˡᶦⁿᵍ, ᴬˡᵉˣ ᶠᵃˡˡᶦⁿᵍ, ᴴᶦᵐˢᵉˡᶠ ᶠᵃˡˡᶦⁿᵍ, ᵃˡʷᵃʸˢ ᶠᵃˡˡᶦⁿᵍ being bullied at the orphanage. Not a pleasant place, but in the past anyways. R̶̶i͜g͞͏h͜͢͠t͜͝ ҉̴͠r̷ǫu̵nd̴̸͘,͠ ̀͢ŗ̵ǫ̷̛u͟n͏͟d̡̧ ̨͟r͢͡o̸͡u̧̧͞n̶̵d͘̕.͢͡

After gathering his thoughts for a moment, the Professor continued. When he spoke, something in his voice always made it compelling to listen to, even if Scott hadn’t already been desperately trying to grasp the subject material. “Now that intrusion should have been obvious. Not all are. That may be the problem though. A mind generally can tell when it’s not quite its own, but communicating that through layers of illusion and pretense can become difficult. You need to set yourself a tell, something your mind can throw in to let you know that things are not quite what they seem.”

“What kinda things?” Bobby asked, no hand raised, just blurting it out in a thick New York accent that Scott was still getting used to deciphering.

“Something that would stand out. It needs to be something that you would know wouldn’t belong. Were you to pick something too mundane, it would not be useful at all.”

Scott waited with his hand raised to be acknowledged by the Professor. He wasn’t sure exactly what the look Bobby shot him was, maybe it wasn’t a look at all. Maybe he was inventing looks where none existed. Maybe he thought he was being a suck up. But Scott owed the Professor his respect. Xavier had come along and pulled him out of a desperate situation. Without him, he shuddered to think where he’d be...but maybe it was just a little silly to be sitting here waiting with his hand raised when it was just the three of them. Still, the Professor nodded in his direction, and Scott dropped his gaze back down to the footrests of his wheelchair, mostly hidden under the plaid blanket draped over his lap, stripes of colors that he couldn’t see, though his eyes snagged onto the pattern. Mid, dark, mid, light,mid,light, mid, dark, mi… “Yes Scott?” Right…

Jolted back into awareness, he finally blurted out what was on his mind. “Could it be a song?”

“A song?” The Professor mused. Scott wasn’t entirely sure what was in question, but he suspected The Professor was trying to draw him ‘out of his shell.’ His glance on him sharpened slightly, motioning to catch his eyes. “Remember Scott, be aware of not only your surroundings, but your actions. They affect how you move through the world.” At the mention, he immediately stopped rocking, not sure when he’d started to begin with, eyes now fixed on the Professor’s face again. Get it right. “Yes. If I were to choose a song that I would never willingly listen to. That would seem to be an obvious solution.”

“And what if you encountered that song while out and about?” Professor X inquired, but despite the fact that he was questioning him, he actually seemed quite pleased. To have Scott engaged in the lesson? Because this was an example for Bobby? Maybe he just knew what Scott was going to say and was pleased with it?

“Well, we’re supposed to operate as a team, right? Iceman and I? I would ask my teammate if he also heard it. That would rule out environmental causes. I don’t know why an opponent would make music sound in our minds, and if on the off chance that they did, chances seem pretty remote that they would somehow pick the same exact song.”

The Professor began to reply with a slow nod,“A song may wo-,” But was quickly interrupted.

“When will we need to use this? We don’t want to fight you and there aren’t other telepaths out there right, so why do we have to know all of this?” And there was Bobby. No, things weren’t so quiet here at the mansion anymore.

“Oh no, Robert?” Xavier inquired, eyebrows raised, as he shook his head. “You know so much, do you? No, I regret to inform you that there are indeed other telepaths out there, and not all of them on the side of the angels. So you’d best pay attention, am I clear?” The idea of someone with ill intentions with Charles Xavier’s abilities chilled Scott to the bone, and he wasn’t entirely sure why. ̖͎͖̞̲̯̲̰̰̩͡o͏̢̛̙̺̭͚̠̠̩͉̪͚̯͖̮̤̻͕̭̝̕ͅu̡͠͏͓͕̥̟̪͔ ̵̡̟͇̤̖̙̠̰̘̰̮̮́ͅͅͅs̸̴̵̺̥̘̟̦̳̯̖͚͇͜͞p̷̛̟̱͎͔̫̠̠͖̦̯̗̲͖͉͙̱̗̳ͅn҉͈͖͇͉͍́͜͡ ̷̺͕̳̞̰̱̜̖̞͉͍̱̩̠̻͢͠m̷̵̨̗̟͎͓̟̘̻̞̪͖̘̙͔̫̮̲͉͍͞e̵̸̴͔̦͖͙ͅ ̦̯͉͔̬͕͙̲̣̮̰̯̞̼̞̠͡͠͝͞í̢͜͏͙̪̝̺͉̱̳̘͖̭͉͎̙́g̢̰̣͇͕͕̞̻͇̳͖͕̮̟̭̞̩͍͞͡h̛̕͢͠͏͉͇̞̪̰͕̳̱̥̱̠̹̪̤͖t̡̧͔̮͈̖͇̮͕̻̀͢ ̭̩̪̰̹͍͍̭͎̖́͢ͅr̸̸̨̞͇̜̯̭̝͉̥̗̺̝̜͇̰̰̘͘͘ͅo̸̷̙̗̜̞̖͔̯̹̱̖̞̫̜̺̫͉͢͝͠ͅù͈̜͈̝̬͙̼̹̲̣͚̪͙̯͈͝͠ͅd̴̻̖̠̮̠͔̩̺̞̼̤̻̖̣̠̠̬͖͡͝,҉̨͓͎̞̳̩̼͢͠ ̛̀҉̻̠̼͉̤̣͈ͅb̸̢̟̤̼͔̳̤̘̻̥̼̠͎͈̭́͡ͅͅͅͅb̷̴̡̤̜̤̭͕͓̖̫͚̮͟ͅy̸̸̬̹̮̤̠̻̫͕̻͡ ̶̸̷̧̯̩̫͎̝̣̟̮͎̹̥͉h̹̼̥̞̙̖̱̮̦̕͜t̶̡̞̥̟͖̗͘ ̴̛͇̦̳͙̙̳̮̹͎͎̭́ŗ͈̤͔͜͝ͅớ͔͇͍̦̙̺̗̠̙̰̳̱̱͈̜ͅu̡͏̫̪̜̱̝̺̲͙̫̝

[starsehun-archive]

She’s Dreaming Ch. 3

Pairing: Reader x Chanyeol

Genre: Fluff, suspense

Warnings: language, death mention

Word Count: 3439

Description: After promising to find you after your second dream, Chanyeol sets out with the help of a friend to find you. All the while, you and your best friend, Jay, try to figure out why these dreams are happening.

[Ch. 1] [Ch. 2] [Ch. 3]

“Please, please, please, Kyungsoo you have to come with me!” Chanyeol stuck out his bottom lip and held his hands together to plead to the shorter man. He had combed his hair to the side nicely and even asked Sehun to help him pick out an outfit for the occasion, something “dressy but casual”. He needed to take someone with him and in case he ended up looking like an idiot alone on a college campus.

Kyungsoo stood in front of him and sighed. He had a whole afternoon of relaxing planned. He was going to spend time with his dogs and see that movie he’d been dying to watch, but Chanyeol’s stupid big smile and protruding ears were enough to make him walk towards to closet to grab a pair of shoes. Chanyeol let out a giggle and Kyungsoo knew how wide his smile was without  having to turn to look at him.

“Alright, let’s go.” Kyungsoo leaned forward to grab his keys from the counter once his shoes were snug and Chanyeol all but leaped up in excitement. “Who are you going to meet again?” Kyungsoo asked, shutting the door behind him.

“A friend,” he replied, a little too casually.

“A friend.” Kyungsoo repeated and suddenly stopped in his tracks to turn to Chanyeol. A slow smile spread on his face, heart shaped, he looked up at Chanyeol. “You’re going to meet someone.”

“Maybe.” Chanyeol felt the tip of his ears glow red and a small smile broke through the casual exterior of his face he was trying so hard to maintain.

“Ahh, this must be a big deal to you,” Kyungsoo stepped back a little to scrutinize the tall man, “you’re never this excited about meeting someone… why all the effort all of a sudden?”

Chanyeol motioned for them to keep walking towards the car and Kyungsoo fell into step with him. “Effort? What effort?” He asked, opening the driver's seat door of the car. Kyungsoo waited to settle into the passenger side before looking Chanyeol dead in the eye.

“So you just change out of your dirty sweatshirts and comb your hair all nice to hang out with your friends”? Kyungsoo knew him too well and at this point Chanyeol didn’t know why he had bothered to hide his excitement. “And why exactly am I coming on this date?”

“It’s not a date. I don’t know what it is,” Chanyeol sighed and reversed out of his parking spot, his eyes scanning the area to get onto the road safely, “I just know I have to meet her.”

“Wait,” Kyungsoo peeled his eyes off of the road to glare at Chanyeol in shock, “you haven’t met her yet?”

“No…,”Chanyeol’s pursed his lips, almost afraid to look at his small friend.

“How do you know her?” he asked.

Chanyeol hadn’t thought this through. How was he going to tell Kyungsoo that he met a girl in his dreams and made plans to come meet her on the whim that she’s real. He ran over the sentence in his head and it sounded like the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. “Uhh… I found her. On a dating application.”

“You use a dating application?” Kyungsoo’s shocked glare turned into a face full of amusement.

“Yea, I guess I do.”

He kept driving, planning to arrive at the North Quad at 2:50 PM.

 _______

Something sat heavy in my chest. A mix of anxiety, excitement, and fear. What if he was real? What if he wasn’t? God, I might puke if he’s real, I thought.

Jay and I sat in class, waiting for the professor to show up. It had been ten minutes since class was supposed to start and my incessant pen tapping had caused Jay grow as anxious as me. “Okay, we’re going.” At once, he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, grabbing my hand with his free one, earning looks from the other students who had stuck around.

“Oh,” I picked up my bag with my free hand as well and followed him out, “where are we going?”

He finally stopped outside of the building, breathing in the fresh spring air, clearing his head. “Man, all your fidgeting is driving me absolutely insane. We’re gonna go settle this dream business right now.” He turned to face my startled expression and his edges softened.

“We need to be back here in an hour,” I said.

“Do we really?” He lifted his brow. Did I really? I knew this was as crazy as he thought it was.

“I just want to be sure,” I said.

His gaze fell to the thin pink scarf tied around my neck. I had to make a whole outfit to pull this one off. Soft chic with an 70’s twist. “You look good,” he said and looked up to watch the smile grow on my face, like he had planted the seed of it himself.

“I know!” I yelped, cocking my head the side and letting the feeling of excitement take over. “Now, where are we going?”

“So a few months ago,” Jay started to explain “I ran into this crazy old lady.” He bagan walking forward and I followed.

“Oh?”

“Yea. I was walking past this quad and she jumped out of nowhere and started spewing nonsense about my mom. She said she was dangerous, playing with things she shouldn’t, putting us in danger, blah-blah-blah,” he explained, his eyes rolling at the end of his sentence.

“What? Why didn’t you tell me this?” I was a little hurt. We share everything. He turned to see the look on my face and reached his hand out as if to touch my cheek but abruptly pulled it back and looked down as he walked.

“I didn’t want you to worry. Plus it was a lot easier at the time to just ignore and pretend nothing was wrong.” His tone was soft and I understood. I probably would’ve done the same.

“Wait, so what happened after that?”

“Oh my god, she was so creepy, and just handed me a slip of paper with her address on it. She said when things started getting a little too weird for me and “my friend”, she was the only one who could give us answers.”

“... and you believe her?” This was a little ridiculous and my expression made what I thought pretty clear.

“Listen, I know how this sounds, but, I just have a really really strong feeling about this. That’s why I saved the slip of paper.” He looked at me, his gaze pleading as I pucker my lips to the side, taking the time to think. It did sound weird, but I knew Jay had never been wrong about a hunch ever in his life. I called it his super power because the boy could get a near hundred on a multiple choice test without even looking at the material just because he “had a feeling” about the correct answer. This happened for every occasion. He just knew things.

“Okay,” I settled, “I trust you,” and it was just that easy to make his eyes disappear into his smile.

“You know how most of the time, I get a feeling about something and it turns out to be true?” He bit on his bottom lip, apprehensive about revealing this information.

“Your intuition?” I raised my brows, curious about what he was going to say.

“Yeah, that. Well around when you started having these weird dreams, it feels like like it’s gotten ten times stronger. For some reason I just knew I had to stay over at your apartment last night. I don’t know how to explain how strong the feeling was. It was like something was pulling at my gut to stay where I was, and it was exhausting to try to fight it.” He looked at me, his expression bewildered. “And then I remembered that the lady said that things would get weird for me and my friend. You’re my friend. And this is beyond weird.”

I didn’t know what to say. I just swallowed the knot in my throat with a gulp and kept moving forward, trying to stay calm. My friend Jay, the psychic, and me: something else.

 _________

The walk to the address only took five minute once we had made it off of campus. It wasn’t a house, it was an antique store. The building was smaller and much more different than its neighboring mix of convenience stores and rice shops. It had a rustic feel to it, and something in the air around the building was just different. Not necessarily in a bad way, but just notably different, as if anything was possible in this bubble of air.

We stood outside of the door, looking at each other and hesitant to walk inside.

“It feels…,” I started but I didn’t know how to finish my sentence.

“Like magic?” Jay rose his brow in inquisition. I let out a huff and smirked. Sure, maybe he was a psychic, but again this was just so ridiculous to me. He read my mind correctly but he also understood how silly I thought it was.

“What?” he asked, tilting his head as a soft smile spread on his lips. “You don’t believe in magic?”

“You’re funny,” I rolled my eyes. Of course I didn’t believe in magic, I wasn’t five. He was still looking at me.

“I think I could believe in some kinds of magic,” he spoke softly. Before I could wonder what he meant, the door burst open, making us both hop in place and yelp aloud in the same frequency. But there was no one on the other side.

“What the fuck,” Jay said, holding the sides of his face. “Okay, I guess that’s our cue to go in.” He turned to look at me, his eyes still wide, and then turned back to take the first step when he saw I was frozen. “Come on, it’s okay, it feels fine to me.” He whispered. I believed him and fell into step behind, feeling grateful for his presence and his strange gift. Once we were in the dimly lit store the door shut swiftly, wind slamming into me and causing me to tumble forward into Jay’s back. “It’s fine, it’s okay,” he whispered.  He didn’t turn back but he let me lean against his back and held out his arm for me to hold. I took it without hesitation. What the fuck kind of magic mumbo-jumbo am I about to get myself mixed up in.

And then Jay stopped walking forward.

“There you are! I’ve been waiting for you, dear. Come on back.” The voice came from somewhere in the back of the store, behind the large collection of fine antiques that covered a large amount of the space. The woman’s voice was welcoming and bright. She sounded elderly.

I looked up at Jay, waiting to see what he’d be feeling about this now. He understood and just started walking to the back.

We found ourselves past the registers of the store and turning right into a corridor at the end, my arm still tightly around his. Another warmly lit room, although this one was more like a lounge than anything. An elderly woman sat on a comfy looking couch, mixing sugar into her teacup. She looked up with a warm smile and spoke, “finally! Sit, sit, please, make yourselves comfortable, drink some tea.” She motioned to the 2 cups she had set out on the coffee table in front of her and Jay moved to sit on the couch across from hers, dragging me with him.

She looked so… cute. I never got to meet my grandmother but the air surrounding her made me feel as comfortable as my own might have made me feel. She had an assortment of cookies on the table and was dressed in pink like me. It sat well with her skin tone and complimented her dark eyes. Her face seemed gentle and friendly, crows feet prominent from probably smiling so damn much. “I knew you two would show up, I just had a feeling, you know how that is, right Jay?” She looked at him and chuckled before taking a sip of her tea.

Jay gave her a polite chuckle in return, not really sure of how to respond, and fidgeted in his seat.

“And you, my dear,” She looked at me, putting her tea and leaning forward, “oh, you must be so confused.”

“I am very confused. I’m sorry, I don’t know your name,” I said, extending my hand. Jay was at ease by my side as well and I knew that this woman wasn’t of any danger.

“Oh, how silly of me!” She giggled, charming and short, and put her hand in mine to shake lightly. “My name is Nan. I’m Jay’s grandmother!” She beamed at me and Jay and I turned towards him just in time to see his jaw fall open in surprise.

 _____

 Nan had felt we were in a hurry so she made the information session as quick as possible for us. She spoke with large hand gestures and wide smiles. Jay’s mother had kept them apart.

Strangely enough, that wasn’t the most surprising bit of information we got from her. I was a “dreamwalker”. Supposably I had the ability to visit another person’s dream, and whatever happened to be exchanged in the dream would turn into a reality upon being awakened. But not just walk into any person’s dream. My person’s dream. My “soulmate”. Sounds like bullshit, I thought to myself.

Nan told the story of how dreamwalkers came to be, how a woman went to a witch after being driven mad trying to find her soulmate. The woman had been assaulted and abused by countless men, including the husband she ran away from. She had no family left and found solace with her childhood best friend, a married woman with a happy little family. The woman worked night and day to build a fortune for herself and hoped that one day she could have a family of her own. She just wanted to find someone who would love her as she deserved. More importantly, she just wanted to be happy. She begged the witch to help her find the man of her dreams and, without knowing how far the witch would go, told her she’d give her anything. The witch took her restful sleep and the life of her best friend in exchange for the woman to be able to find her true love in her dreams. She was enraged when she learned of the death and stormed back to the witch, demanding to know why she’d do such a thing. The witch told her that no such magic is ever done without a small sacrifice and that it was necessary for the magic to be tied down by something. She got what she wanted. She would sleep and finally meet her lover. But there’d be a price to pay.

And so it followed that every woman born from her bloodline would be a dreamwalker. But for every bit of magic that existed, came with the need for it to be tied down by something. A life. For every woman born into the dreamwalker bloodline there was a human anchor, born exactly two months after the dreamwalker from the bloodline of the woman who was sacrificed for the ritual. Without the anchor, the magic would run rampant. The dreamwalker would be able to walk anyone’s dreams and do anything they wanted. There was danger for both parties, since the physical effects were lasting for both the dreamwalker and person dreaming.

“Jay is your anchor,” Nan said. I heard Jay swallow next to me. “It’s getting stronger, isn’t it? Your powers? Ever since she had her first dream?”

I looked at him. “I can feel what she feels. Sometimes.  Is that normal?” My cheeks turned red. He didn’t tell me that. Oh my god. Jay kept his gaze forward, refusing to look at me.

“Oh, it’s perfectly normal. Simply put, you exist for her. Just as I exist for my dreamwalker. The anchor will grow stronger the more the dreamwalker uses her powers. You feel what she feels because of your connection. If you didn’t, you couldn’t keep the connection safe. And the connection could very well go both ways. If you’re ever in danger, she will feel it. It makes it easier for both of you to survive and keep the magic in balance.” Nan spoke about this as if it were so normal, but this was mind blowingly insane to me. And Jay could feel that? My mind was reeling.

Before I could freak out, Jay decided to crack a joke. “So Park Chanyeol is your soulmate, huh?” He finally turned to face me, “you always did have a thing for idols.” He giggled to himself and I felt myself ease up.

“Yeah, I doubt it,” I scoffed, “Where’s your soulmate, buddy?” I mocked.

“Jay doesn’t have one,” Nan spoke. We both turned to look at her, pulled out of our brief relief from reality.

“What do you mean?”  I asked. I saw Jay’s smile start to fall from my peripheral.

“Jay doesn’t have a soulmate. He’s only an anchor. He’s meant to keep your magic grounded and that’s it.” She explained, her tone solemn.

“Oh,” I said. I didn’t know what to think, but I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. That didn’t sound right.

Jay cleared his throat and looked down at his watch. “We have to get going. It’s 2:50.”

“Aren’t you going to ask about your mothers?” Nan looked up at us. We were going to but at this point we were too afraid to find out. Still, we sat and looked at Nan, waiting.

“Well,” she started, “they’re both dreamwalkers. But they have no anchors. Jay, sweetie, i’m so sorry, but the woman that you think is your mother is not your mother. Your mother was her anchor.” Nan’s gaze was soft and firm, as if there was an easy way of telling a child that the woman who he thought was his mother wasn’t his real mother.

“What-what did she do to her.” Jay’s voice shook and I stared at Nan in horror. What is happening.

“She killed her. She killed her anchor so she could walk into any dream she wishes. She killed my daughter.”

_____

 Chanyeol fidgeted in place, playing with the sleeves of his shirt, pulling them up and then pulling them down again, trying to decide what looked better. Kyungsoo observed his movements, looking up at Chanyeol’s focused face in slight amusement. It was 2:57. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo blended in almost perfectly with the rest of the campus.

“How early are we?” Kyungsoo sat on a stone bench and pulled out his phone to check the time.

“Just 3 minutes now,” Chanyeol answered, and shook out his body. “Ahh, I feel weird.” He brought his hand to his chest and took a few deep breaths.

Kyungsoo chuckled at the sight. “God, you’re so dramatic. It’s okay. She’s just a person like you and me.”

Chanyeol felt himself calm down with another deep breath and released his chest. He sat down next to Kyungsoo and sighed. “She’s special. I think you would like her! God, she has the best smile.” Chanyeol was smiling so wide it was contagious. Kyungsoo was baffled. He was so smitten over a girl he hadn’t met. Was that possible?

Before he could react, Chanyeol’s hand flew up to hold his head and his smile fell. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What’s happening? He thought. He felt so drowsy. So light headed. Kyungsoo brought his hands to Chanyeol’s shoulders, trying to steady the now swaying man.

“What? What is it, what’s happening?” His eyes grew wide when he saw that his best friend was fighting to keep his eyes open. Without much warning, Chanyeol’s head rolled to side, limp, and the rest of his body followed, landing in Kyungsoo’s lap.

The dreamwalker and the anchor made it back to the quad just in time to see Kyungsoo shake Chanyeol’s shoulders, trying to wake the man up. Nan had said that the dreamwalker would be able to find her soulmate in his dreams. But she said nothing about meeting a soulmate in person.

 To be continued 

[mustdang-100]

Shifting Perspectives - Ch. 6

Serizawa & co. meet up with an old friend to engage in some hacking and uncover some truths. Shou and Teru commit acts of thievery and deceit.

Summary: 

How many espers does it take to rescue one abducted conman?

Months after the events of the World Domination arc, Reigen disappears sometime between leaving the office and after-work plans. Serizawa finds himself the unwilling leader of a bunch of former Claw members and a couple of stubborn teenagers, determined to get Reigen back.

On AO3: <http://archiveofourown.org/works/11091201/chapters/30306522>

Tumblr: Ch.1|Ch.2|Ch.3|Ch.4|Ch.5|Ch.6 - below|Ch.7

Serizawa rocked stiffly with the motion of the rattling train, clenching and unclenching sweaty palms in the folds of his suit. He was probably wrinkling the material of one of the few suits he owned, but couldn’t bring himself to care; it was all he had to focus on. Walking had been much better, had given him purpose, made him feel like they were getting somewhere. Now, in the too-bright artificial lights of the mostly-empty night train, the blaze of his anger had dulled, allowing the sickly buzz of panic to unfurl from its tiny corner in his mind. Serizawa felt the weight of every second that passed with Reigen still missing, heavy as the train rumbling along its tracks.

It was well past ten pm by the time the group of espers-turned-PIs arrived in the wealthier area of Spice City that Hatori called home. Hatori’s psychic specialty had translated well to the real world; he’d been hired by a technical support company around the same time Serizawa had started at Spirits & Such. Judging by the look of the tall, brightly-lit apartment building sitting just in sight of the coastline, it seemed Hatori had been rather successful at his new career. 

Serizawa shouldn’t have been surprised to find a doorman keeping watch at the building’s entrance, but it didn’t help his discomfort at the affluent surroundings. He was far out of his league, and the anxiety was just more fuel for the staticky panic that had begun to crackle in his ears, muffling his hearing.

The doorman eyed their group with a healthy amount of skepticism as they filed in. Serizawa put on his work face, trying to emanate confidence and trustworthiness. Any reassuring effect from his efforts was immediately ruined when Koyama presented the doorman with a wide, teeth-baring grin, lip piercings flashing and biceps flexing.

Serizawa sighed, and reached out a hand to pull him gently along. Sometimes his friends forgot being intimidating was no longer part of their job description.

Soft lighting illuminated a tastefully-decorated lobby. Steel and glass furniture lent a modern feel that was probably supposed to be elegant, but to Serizawa just felt sterile; he brushed self-consciously at his wrinkled and sweat-stained clothing. The lush white carpet swallowed the sound of their footsteps as they beelined for the elevators.

Tsuchiya pushed the button for the 18th floor, and the elevator doors closed with a soft clank. Awkward silence fell over the crowded group, interrupted only by the low hum of the engaging lifting mechanism. Numbers appeared above the door and slowly cycled by.

3

4

5

The tension fought with Serizawa’s exhaustion; he was simultaneously about to drop dead and yet miles from sleep. He glanced at his phone: ten forty-eight. Reigen had been missing for over 24 hours. Serizawa clenched his jaw in frustration and looked back up at the numbers, willing the elevator to move faster.

7…

8…

9…

They should have just taken the stairs; the movement would at least make him feel like he was doing something. Or hell, he could have just floated himself up to Hatori’s window from the outside, and damn the consequences if anyone saw-

Deep breath. Stay calm, stay in control. Serizawa berated himself, pushing again at the panic that had less give every time he had to force it down. If he was being honest with himself, arguing with his own anxiety just wasn’t effective when it got this bad. It was time to try something else.

“How long have you been in touch with Hatori?” Serizawa asked Minegishi the first thing that came to mind, simply as something to distract from the empty silence his brain was all too happy to fill.

Minegishi crossed his arms, tapping his fingers soundlessly on one arm. “I reached out to him pretty soon after we ran into each other, that time you first visited the plant shop.”

Serizawa blinked; now that, he hadn’t expected. Of the Super Five members, Serizawa had thought Minegishi the least likely to initiate reaching out to anyone.

Back at Claw, Minegishi had been standoffish to the point of dismissive of the rest of the Super Five, though Serizawa had thought, at the time, that the rest of them had been friends. He, Shibata, Shimazaki, and Hatori had spent a lot of time together; sometimes, it had even been fun. He’d enjoyed being able to talk openly about his powers with others, others like him, for the first time in his life.

Hindsight had shown him how little he’d understood.

His memories of the others were now shadowed with doubt and hurt and the realization that they had not been his friends, not really. Real friendship – the way he was friends with Shigeo, the way he was friends with Reigen – meant a two-way street. There was investment on both sides, investment in each others’ feelings and each others’ happiness.

There had been none of that in Claw. Everything was about the society, and its plans… and its leader. The other members of the Super Five had been too self-absorbed and too occupied with their own enjoyment and the sparkling future painted for them by their boss’s lying tongue, to be real friends.

After Claw – after the President – Serizawa had decided it would be best for him not to see any of the others again. A clean break healed easier than a messy, lingering injury. That plan was ruined when he ran into Minegishi at the plant shop a couple of weeks after starting at Spirits & Such.

Even to his novice’s eye, Serizawa had thought the orchids in the window looked stunning. He’d gone into the shop hoping to look at them more closely. Of course, if he was honest with himself his real interest in the flowers came from searching for conversation points with his new boss. He’d been surprised to find the least-friendly of his former coworkers employed at the unassuming little shop.

Caring for the plants at the shop had been good for Minegishi. Since Claw’s ostentatious demise he’d lost some of his callousness, replacing it with a stoic optimism and compassion. Thinking this through, Serizawa realized Minegishi’s unexpected desire for a support system wasn’t so out of character as he’d first thought.

Minegishi had been the one to stay in touch with Serizawa after their reunion. The two bonded over stories of living among non-esper neighbors: the time Serizawa retrieved his mail with an absentminded wave of his hand, only to watch it fly straight into an unsuspecting passing neighbor’s face; the times Minegishi forgot that while it was common for people to talk to plants, it was veryunusual for the plants to communicate back.

“Oh,” Serizawa said awkwardly, the reminder that he’d been having a conversation suddenly filtering back through his fatigue. “Um, how’s he been?”

Serizawa tried to say it casually; he had mixed feelings on seeing Hatori again. Unlike Minegishi, who had seemed essentially unfazed, Hatori had been hurt by the President’s betrayal of their ‘select’ group. He’d still been in shock the last time Serizawa had seen him, and Serizawa had no idea how Hatori might feel about him now.

Minegishi shrugged. “He’s fine. He gets a little anxious sometimes, having to spend so much time with non-espers for his job. Just like us.”

Serizawa gave him a small smile. “You get nervous about non-espers?”

“Hmm…” Minegishi quirked a corner of his mouth. “I guess ‘frustrated’ might be the more accurate term.”

“Oh,” Sakurai said, under his breath, “-do I ever feel you on that.” Koyama laughed softly, patting Sakurai comfortingly on one shoulder.

Minegishi’s smile grew. “I have my outlets, as does Hatori. From what I understand, his mostly involves yelling at people on the internet. I don’t really get it, but he gets great enjoyment out of it.”

A soft ding announced their arrival at the 18th floor, cutting short the conversation.

Hatori answered the door at the first knock, his eyes going wide as he took in the large group waiting on his doorstep. He met Serizawa’s gaze and immediately ducked his head away, searching faces. It wasn’t until he saw Minegishi that he relaxed, some of the tension easing from his shoulders. Then his eyes, behind the same old square-framed glasses, found Serizawa’s face again. He smiled uncertainly.

“Hey, Serizawa – long time no see?” His voice went up in tone at the end, making the statement a question. “You, uh. You look good.”

“Uh… thanks.”

They stood in awkward silence for a minute, until Minegishi gave a quiet sigh.

“Nozomu – I think we’re a little limited on time here.”

“Oh… yes! Right! Let’s get to it.” Hatori seemed relieved, hand going up to ruffle hair that already looked as though he’d stuck his finger in an electrical socket. He waved them in, hurrying through a sparsely-furnished living room to the enormous computer set-up occupying most of one wall.

Four large monitors formed one huge screen that stretched almost floor to ceiling. Serizawa stared in awe at the screens, one filled with scrolling text boxes, another with the plain text and code of an open terminal.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry about the clutter.” Hatori looked up at Serizawa and then quickly away again, hurriedly closing windows and tabs. “Toshiki said, uh, you needed my help with something? Finding your boss?”

Serizawa breathed easier, focusing. “Yes, please. We know where he was taken from, so we were hoping, maybe you could see if there were any cameras there, and if you’d be able to get the footage…?”

He trailed off awkwardly; the idea sounded impossible, putting it out like that. But Hatori was nodding, fingers flying over the keyboard as he pulled up a map.

“I’m really better with radio signals �� you’re lucky that I’ve been honing the use of my powers on computer tech lately. At work I keep fixing problems no one else can fix, for some reason.” Hatori grinned, just a little mischievously. “The problem comes when the other guys ask me to show them how I did it – I’ve had to get creative.”

Minegishi snorted. Hatori flicked a grin his way before returning to the map in front of him.

“Okay. There might be a police cam on that corner, but not all of those are connected to the internet, so it might be difficult to find where the footage is actually kept… but if one of the stores along the street has a camera, I might be able to tap into the security feed…”

Hatori’s words trailed off and his eyes grew distant, no longer looking at the screen but instead somewhere else, a virtual world only he could see. Windows began popping up on the screen all on their own, showing still images of random bits of city street. They each only remained for a moment before closing again, to make way for another in quick succession, all without Hatori ever touching a keyboard.

“Holy shit,” Tsuchiya whispered from behind Serizawa. “‘Better with radio signals’ my ass.” Serizawa could only nod.

Finally a window stayed open, showing only an empty, darkened street. Hatori blinked rapidly, as though clearing his vision, and looked up at Serizawa.

“Point me the exact location again?”

Serizawa gestured silently to the spot on the map where they’d found Reigen’s belongings. Hatori nodded in satisfaction.

“We got lucky – there’s a convenience store across the street that has a cam. I think that spot should appear on screen.

Serizawa’s buzzing panic began to clash with a sprouting seed of hope as a new browser window opened and a download bar began counting down. By the time the download was complete, Serizawa’s skin was beginning to itch with the tension. Hatori pulled up the footage file from the entire day before, and the whole group leaned in a little closer.

Serizawa’s heart was pounding. “Start from six o’clock in the afternoon, the last time I saw him. That way we know we won’t miss him.”

Hatori shrugged, but scrolled the viewing bar to the requested time and started the footage, sped up. The video quality wasn’t great; a little pixelated, and the camera lens hadn’t been cleaned in a while, blurring the view. Yet it was still obvious when a person flashed by on the screen.

At each stranger’s appearance, their movements made abrupt and jerky from the speed, Serizawa’s heart leapt and then plummeted in disappointment. Minutes ticked by in the corner of the window, then an hour; the scene before them grew dimmer as it darkened with the setting sun, Serizawa’s hopes dimming with it.

Please, he thought, despite the sick twisting of his stomach that told him this was hopeless. Please please please…

He recognized Reigen the instant he appeared on the screen.

“Stop!”

Hatori hit pause, rewound to the first instant Reigen appeared, and then hit play in real time. Serizawa drank in the lanky form of his boss striding confidently down the sidewalk. He’d walked almost too far, almost out of sight of the camera’s lens, when a car pulled up next to him.

Despite its futility, Serizawa felt the urge to scream a warning to Reigen. When the two people appeared behind him, dressed all in formless dark clothing, he wanted yell at him to run, to run now. But of course, that would be useless. All he could do was stare at the screen, fists clenched, as one of them extended something compact and dark.

Reigen fell.

Reigen did not get up again.

Watching his prone, twitching body, Serizawa found he could not breathe deeply enough, a choking mass of horror suffusing his chest. He wanted to close his eyes, to look away. He could not tear his gaze from the screen.

One of the anonymous enemy leaned over Reigen; Serizawa stiffened when he saw a gleam of light reflect off something small.

A gun? A knife?

A third person appeared from the gloom, a woman with a medium skin tone and short dark hair. She stood with a confident, commanding bearing that told Serizawa instantly that she was in charge. The woman made a signal with her hands, directing one of the others to open the back of the sedan and climb in. She then motioned at Reigen’s limp body, which levitated, following the person into the car. It took Serizawa a second to remember that wasn’t normal, and provided a new piece of the puzzle.

Reigen had been kidnapped by espers.

The car drove away, leaving the scene once again an empty stretch of cracked sidewalk and blank building wall. If he squinted, Serizawa could see the shape of Reigen’s wallet left on the ground.

The silence held, six people watching the seconds continue to tick by.

Serizawa realized he was trembling.

And that the room around them, too, was shaking, just a little, as if in echo of his rage and terror. But Serizawa could no longer see the room, too obscured by the writhing mass of his own aura.

They’d just… taken him. Right off the street. There was nothing he could have done to prepare, to prevent it. And he still had no idea who these people were, or why they’d taken Reigen. Or if Reigen was even alive.

All the hope he’d allowed to build up, despite his best efforts to crush it back down, collapsed into a crumpled heap.

For all he knew, he’d just watched Reigen’s death occur right in front of him.

The room shuddered again, stronger this time as his power boiled and leapt. It pushed, shoving at the boundaries of control he’d worked so hard to build and fortify.

He had so much power.

He was so powerless.

Serizawa was drowning, and there was nothing for him to hold onto.

The red-haired man, backlit hand outstretched.

“Let me teach you to use your power correctly.”

But he hadn’t. Serizawa had been as trapped as he ever was.

“As long as I’m with you, you’ll be fine.”

He’d been lied to by everyone around him, including, most damningly, himself.

“You cannot survive on your own.”

But… no, wait... that wasn’t right.

The President had been wrong .

“Serizawa, he was only using you for your power. You told me this, you know this; you just have to keep reminding yourself of it.”

A brief loss of control over his powers had resulted in a shattered mug, easily contained by a wave of Shigeo’s hand. A small mistake, but representing all of Serizawa’s deepest doubts and fears – he’d sunk to the floor, shaking hands pressed to his face. Reigen’s voice, softly encouraging, was all it took; Serizawa had spilled his demons into Reigen’s confident, ever-moving hands.

“That kind of ‘help’ was nothing more than another trap. He kept you dependent on him, so that he could use you.”

Reigen pointed at him.

“Your powers are a tool, a tool only you can decide to do good or ill with. They are a part of you, but they do not control you. You need to convince yourself of that, so that you depend wholly on yourself. And that might not be an easy thing; you’ve had a lifetime to convince yourself otherwise. It’s going to take some time, and mistakes will happen. In fact, mistakes are part of the process.”

He smiled, crossing his arms.

“Just remember that Mob is here for you, and so am I, for when you need support. Until you reach the point where you can stand on your own two feet, even in the most dire of circumstances and most tumultuous of emotions. I have no doubt you will succeed; you’re under my tutelage, after all!”

Serizawa’s powers wanted to rage, to throw themselves upon everything and everyone around him, to rip and smash and destroy.

But they belonged to him.

One last frisson of energy rolled through the room, less an uncontrolled outburst than a prickle of cold, determined outrage, shifting unsettlingly across walls and floors and skin.

He was better than he’d been in Claw. And he would stay that way. It was the only way he’d be able to get Reigen back. No more explosions; he couldn’t afford it right now. He’d let himself go later, when he knew whether Reigen was alive, when he had him back, and safe.

The room, at last, was still. Serizawa looked up, and blinked at the five pairs of eyes fixed on him.

“Um… s-sorry,” Serizawa said, panting a little. He swallowed. “Won’t – won’t happen again.”

Tsuchiya slowly placed a picture frame back onto the desk it had fallen off of.

Serizawa looked around in surprise: the frame was the only item that had fallen in the entire room. He breathed a bit easier; he’d failed to keep his powers trapped beneath his skin but contained their actual impact, so while the other espers in the room had been able to see the battle he’d waged, it had made almost no effect on the physical world. Almost.

He glanced at Tsuchiya. “Ah, thanks for catching that.”

She shrugged well-muscled shoulders, not entirely hiding her unease. “Hell, what are friends for?”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, only now convinced the danger had passed. Hatori gave Serizawa a shaky smile.

“Wow, look at that. We always thought you’d never be able to survive outside of Claw.”

Serizawa sighed, closing his eyes in weariness. “You and me both, at the time.”

When he opened them again, Hatori had rewound the video to the moment something had flashed in one of the kidnapper’s hands.

Koyama frowned. “I thought that was a knife, but is that… a syringe?”

“Yes, yes I think so,” Sakurai said, nodding a little more earnestly than he might have usually. “It’s got to be a drug to knock him unconscious.”

Serizawa peered at the image, fearing they might be lying to him. But yes, yes that made sense. Just knocking him out. Just unconscious. Not dead.

Minegishi studied the screen, arms crossed. “Well, not much luck on the why, but at least we’ve got some visuals on the who. At least one esper.” He softly touched the image of the woman on-screen, then turned to face the others.

“I think it might be best for us to take a break at this point. It will give Hatori a chance to look through everything more closely and see if we’ve missed anything. Right Hatori?”

“Oh, uh of course! I can try; anything is possible.” Hatori had already excised the section of footage featuring the kidnapping, and was now running it through a software that broke it down frame by frame. He dragged his eyes from the screen to pull a flash drive from the computer, and press it into Serizawa’s palm.

“A copy of the clip, just in case,” he said absently, before turning back to his monitors. Serizawa slid the drive into his pocket. He never wanted to see that video again, if he could help it.

“A break will also give some of us,” Minegishi continued, looking pointedly at Serizawa, “the chance to get some sleep. We can start again in the morning, fresh.”

Serizawa clenched his fists in frustration. “We wasted all this time to get that video hoping it would lead us to him, and it’s basically useless. How can I possibly sleep now, when we have to figure out why the hell espers wanted Reigen and-”

Minegishi was unruffled. “You’re exhausted. You’re going to run yourself into the ground like this. How, exactly, does that help Reigen?”

“And it wasn’t useless,” Tsuchiya said, a hand going to his shoulder. “It looks like they took him alive. He’s alive, Serizawa. You’ve got to remember that. And the way they took him, there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t keep him alive.”

Serizawa closed his eyes, breathing deeply. He felt the fatigue settling deeper into his bones, dragging at his limbs and enveloping his mind. As much as he hated to stop moving forward, Reigen deserved him at his best.

Alive . For now, it was all he could hold onto.

***

The dream took a different path, this time.

The President raised his hand for a killing blow, Reigen and Shou staring up with wide, fearful eyes. Serizawa had to get in front of them, protect them, save them. That’s what had happened, back then, he told the dream stubbornly. The dream disagreed.

Serizawa started to run to them, but his limbs wouldn’t respond to his brain. They moved sluggishly, as though dragged down by thick, clinging mud. It did not matter that he knew he was supposed to be moving faster, that he was capable of so much more speed. In his head, a voice was screaming. The voice was his own.

He didn’t make it in time.

The President’s power flashed in an eruption of smoke, in a boom of subsonic sound Serizawa didn’t hear so much as feel, like a spasm in his chest.

And Reigen fell.

No, NO! This wasn’t right! Wait, Shou, where… where was Shou…

And in the way of dreams, Reigen’s body was suddenly smaller, with bright red hair. So small, and so very still.

They were both gone, because he had failed.

Serizawa bolted upright.

“S-Shou?”

He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, breathing heavily, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his back. Eyes cleared, he looked around his dark bedroom, almost certain he’d see someone there, someone with a familiar, bright, sparkling aura…

There was no one else there.

Serizawa eased out of bed, all his senses on alert, psychic and otherwise. Yet, nothing seemed out of place. His lights were off and he could hear the familiar dripping of the leaky faucet in his bathroom. His shed clothes lay in a heap where he’d left them, just below the window. The window which was, he noticed with a start, wide open. And he was pretty sure it had only been cracked when he’d finally fallen into fitful sleep…

He moved to the window, scanning the view of the empty lot outside for anything out of place. Still, nothing. He must have just left the window all the way open and forgotten about it.

A breeze blew in, unusually cool for this time of year. It fluttered along his sweat-slicked skin and he shivered.

Maybe the wind had been responsible for the odd feeling that someone… someone had just been here. Or, you know, maybe he was just going out of his mind with worry and paranoia, and needed to stop imagining things that weren’t there.

Serizawa rubbed a hand down his face and slid the window shut. He returned to bed, bundled himself back into his sheets, and waited for sleep that refused to return.

***

“Ok, so that was a little close for comfort.” Shou slid into the seat across from Teru, slapping a flash drive down on the café table triumphantly. “I might have banged a foot on the windowsill on my way out. But here, I was right – Hatori always backs up everything. Typical nerd.”

Teru tried to pretend he hadn’t jumped at Shou��s abrupt entrance and casually put his phone face down on the table, taking up the flash drive instead. He plugged the drive into his laptop, selecting the only file on it. As the video software began to load, he shot Shou a look of disgust.

“Please, speak up a little more. I think only half the café heard the details of your act of breaking and entering.”

“What, all these people?” Shou flung his hands out, gesturing at the almost empty coffee shop. “Calm the fuck down, nobody cares.”

The middle-aged waitress who’d been eyeing Teru for the last half-hour began approaching their table, frowning. Teru sighed, and minimized the video player so that his screen displayed only the series of math problems he’d been using as a cover.

The waitress stopped at their table, suspicious eyes settling on Shou.

“Everything alright with you boys? It seems a bit late for you two to be out; do you need me to call anyone for you?”

Teru met Shou’s gaze, warning him to keep his mouth shut, then brushed gleaming hair out of his face and gazed sorrowfully up at the waitress.

“Oh, no, ma’am, we’re fine. I’m so sorry if my friend got a little too loud. He’s just upset about a geometry problem he hasn’t quite grasped, and was expressing his distress.”

The waitress focused on Teru, her frown softening, seeming to forget that Shou was there. Teru, accustomed to this response, immediately took advantage.

“I’m so sorry for the late hour; ‘all-night café’ doesn’t give anyone the excuse to get rowdy, does it?” Teru shook his head, as if asking how anyone could be so rude as to disturb the peace in the middle of the night.

“I’ve been trying to find time to tutor my friend here, but my poor mother’s failing health means I don’t want to stay up late at home, keeping her up. And Shou’s house… Shou’s house is not really the best working environment.” He sighed sadly, his voice suffused with mournful insinuation. The waitress nodded in understanding.

“Getting into a good high school is just so important, and I’d be absolutely devastated if my young friend Shou doesn’t make it into the same school I got into.” Teru lowered his eyes modestly. “Moutarde de Dijon Preparatory High, perhaps you’ve heard of it?”

“Oh, my!” The waitress’s eyes rounded at the name of what certainly must be one of the highest-ranked high schools in the prefecture. Teru sighed again and shook his head woefully, lowering his voice, inviting her to join him in pitying his poor, geometrically-inept friend.

“He really needs the extra help; I do hope you don’t mind? I’d simply hate to be a bother.”

“Ah, oh! That’s so nice of you to help your friend. No, no, that’s fine; I can tell you’re good, hard-working boys.”

Teru beamed at the waitress, who blinked, confronted with such a pure expression of radiant gratitude.

“Oh, thank you. He promises he’ll keep it down, right Shou?” They both turned to look across the table. Teru took the opportunity to shoot him a glare that promised violence and suffering if he didn’t agree. Shou rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue.

Teru snapped the smile back on his face as the waitress turned her attention inexorably back to him.

“You boys study hard now. Let me know if you need anything.” She walked back to the counter, seeming a bit dazed.

Shou, Teru was gratified to see, looked a little unnerved.

“That was creepy as hell. Don’t do that again.”

Teru propped a hand under his chin and turned his smile on Shou, upping the wattage to blinding levels of incandescence.

“Do what?”

“Shut up – you know what. That… that teacher’s pet thing. It’s weird, coming from you.”

Teru snickered, but dropped the act, turning his attention back to the screen and pulling the video window back up. Shou scooted a chair up closer to him, peering at the screen as Teru hit play.

All humor drained from Teru as he watched; he couldn’t keep himself from flinching when Reigen was hit.

Oh no, no, oh fuck, no you DON’T-

Shou startled him by reaching out a hand to pause the video. He stared, pale eyes narrowed, at the figure of the woman on the screen, one side of her face dimly illuminated as she gestured at Reigen’s body.

Shou spoke without looking away from the image.

“I know her.”

“You what?”

“I mean, I recognize her; I don’t know her personally.” An eye roll. “But I’ve seen her at the building they’re keeping my dad at.”

Teru was taken aback. “You know where they’re holding your dad?”

“Um, yeah, duh. I make it my business to know everything about my parents, including their whereabouts. It’s safer for me.”

Safer?

Chagrin flashed in Shou’s face, so fast that Teru almost missed it.

“I mean… it keeps me ahead of anything that concerns me, ya know?” He threw Teru a side-eyed look. “How irresponsible do you think I am?”

Teru shut his teeth tight on his automatic, scathing response.

“Ahem. I suppose… I thought you wouldn’t have bothered keeping track of him. Were you not trying to kill him before?”

“No, I was trying to stop him. I-” Shou bit his words off mid-sentence, eyes flashing bright with anger. “The point is, they might be keeping Reigen at the same place. And I know where that place is. So pack up your shit, and let’s go already.”

Teru continued to study the laptop screen, committing as much information to memory as he could about the people who had taken Reigen. He then pulled out his phone, ignoring Shou’s intense gaze and tapping leg.

“You’ve got to be kidding me-”

“Get off my ass, I just have to send a text.”

Teru stared again at the message he’d received three hours ago and, for once, not been excited to see its sender pop up on the screen.

    🐱Shigeo😊  

    Saturday 10:06 pm

    Hi Teru I’m confused about some of the math for the summer hmwk, and you said you had time to meet up this week? What about tmrw?

Teru hesitated only a moment more before typing the message he’d spent most of the past three hours considering.

    🌟Teru🌟

    Sunday 1:14 am

    Of course, I’d love to help! 😄 Unfortunately I can’t tomorrow, something’s come up and I’m not sure exactly how long it’ll take to resolve. 😑 But I’ll let you know as soon as I’m free!

Teru turned off his phone and shoved it into his pocket before stuffing the laptop back in his bag.

“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

“Oh, are you sure you’re done? I know how important it is that you text everyone and their dog about what hairstyle you’re wearing this week.”

“Please, that’s what Instagram is for. Far more efficient. Time is of the essence in kidnapping cases, you know.”

Shou flung his hands in the air in exasperation, keeping them raised as he marched out the café door, which opened before him all on its own. Teru followed as nonchalantly as possible, waving goodbye to the motherly waitress to distract her from the front door’s sudden and mysterious flair for the dramatics.

[raywritesthings]

It All Started With a Duke

My Writing Fandom: Doctor Who Characters: Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor Pairing: Doctor/Donna Summary: Sparks fly when Donna tries once again to pick up a suitor on their travels. Inspired by @fangjy‘s comment on @thegingergoddess‘ post. AO3 link  

They’d only been on the Traverser a little over an hour before Donna spoke the dreaded words, “Oh, he’s nice.”

The Doctor tried his best to suppress the heavy sigh that threatened and took another sip of the cocktail he’d snatched off a passing waiter’s tray. “Who is?”

If a lovely night out with Donna was about to be ruined by some muscle-bound brainless beau, he might as well find out which one was ruining it.

She nodded over her own glass which he’d gotten for her at the typical sort of specimen for these things. Some 29th century duke who was already surrounded by a gaggle of ladies and some who identified as neither lady nor gentleman. He had dark hair and perfectly straight teeth, the Doctor supposed, and was already no good for Donna. He didn’t need a second look to know that.

Why did she always go after these types? They weren’t smart or kind or brilliant like she was, and they certainly wouldn’t notice those qualities in her. No, all they were interested in was her physical beauty, and tonight, with her hair cascading in ginger waves past her shoulders and her rather ample assets fit snugly into a deep blue gown — TARDIS blue, his blue — there was a high chance indeed a fellow might do more than notice. The very idea made his stomach churn.

He only just managed to tear his own gaze away when Donna glanced to the side at him. “You think he’s single? Or did he leave the wife at home?”

“One can only hope,” he muttered under his breath. Donna didn’t appear to hear him.

She placed her drink on the little table that stood against one of the ship’s support beams, which had been done up like a Roman column, and he did likewise. “I think I’ll see if he wants to dance. Women can ask in the 29th century, right? It only took us twenty to get the vote.”

Before he could think better of it, the Doctor reached for her arm and shifted between her and her quarry. “Donna, don’t. Just don’t.”

She didn’t shove him away or bark a warning about hands, but she did raise her chin in defiance. “And why not?”

He hadn’t expected a pushback. He should have expected it; this was Donna. But he couldn’t very well tell her that it was because he couldn’t stand the idea of her using her charms on some other man.

The Doctor floundered for a moment. “Er, well, because—”

“Wait, better question — what are you gonna do to stop me?”

She hadn’t lost that smoldering look, only now it was directed at him. The Doctor licked at his suddenly dry lips, which did not go unnoticed by Donna. Her own lips curved up into the slightest smirk, and he could read the challenge in her eyes: Go on, Spaceman.

It was as if something snapped. All of his carefully constructed arguments about not interfering with the timelines or how there was an — admittedly small — chance that interacting with the future in such a way could have catastrophic consequences on the universe itself were forgotten, and all that mattered was the pool of longing and desire that stirred inside him whenever he so much as thought of Donna had reached a boiling point.

His other hand rose to cup the back of her head, fingers fanning through that glorious hair as he sealed his mouth over hers. Donna went willingly, or perhaps it was the surprise that had her pliant in his hold as he spun them around to the other side of the pillar and crowded her up against it. He didn’t want an audience; this was their moment and theirs alone, at least until Donna came to her senses and no doubt slapped him silly for this serious violation of their ‘just mates’ agreement.

She’d gasped as her back hit the pillar, though he’d made sure to keep cradling her head to avoid any injury, and her open mouth was too delicious a temptation to resist. His tongue swept over her full bottom lip, and at last Donna’s arms raised — only for one to wrap around his back and the other to bury her hand in his hair, urging him on.

This couldn’t be real, the Doctor thought deliriously. It was the drink or an invention of his mind. He had to be lightheaded, and indeed he was breathing rather harshly through his nose as, not to be outdone, Donna had brought her own tongue into play. He could detect the lime that had been in her cocktail and the slight burn of alcohol that danced along his taste buds as well as something difficult to define. The Doctor didn’t want to stop until he could, and maybe not even then.

His hand had slid from her arm to her waist and finally to her hip, the material of her dress silky under his touch. She hooked a leg around one of his own, drawing him closer. His hips were pushed into hers, producing a low moan from the back of her throat that made his toes curl inside his trainers. He could feel the swell of her breasts pressed against his chest, and if he’d looked down would’ve been granted a view the likes of which no wonder in the universe could top.

The Doctor had truthfully been clocking overtime as far as lip-locking went compared to previous regenerations, but he couldn’t remember a kiss quite like this. So immediate, so synchronous, so consuming. She drove him mad, and he couldn’t get enough.

“Sir! Madame! I must insist you stop!”

Donna and the Doctor broke apart with identical gasps to find a rather harried android in a waitstaff uniform standing a few feet to the side. Some of the other passengers on the starship had wandered over to peer at them as well, including the duke who had started this whole chain of events.

The Doctor shifted to shield Donna as best he could while her chest heaved with the breath she was trying to get back. He was panting as well, though not as badly having a better capacity for storing air than most humans. “Er, sorry about that.”

“Such behavior is most unbecoming of our clientele and the dignified atmosphere we strive to maintain.”

“Dignified, that’s definitely us,” Donna remarked, despite the Doctor’s efforts to shush her.

“I must ask for you and your wife’s identification.”

“Iden- identification?” The Doctor patted himself down, trying to recall where he’d stuck the psychic paper. “Let’s see. Um.”

It turned out that getting caught in a rather passionate display of public affection and not really having the presence of mind to handle sudden inquiries into the nature of whether or not tickets were actually in his possession made it rather difficult not to be labeled a stowaway. The Doctor and Donna were led out of the spacious ballroom to much scandalized murmuring from the other passengers.

Seeing as the purpose of the Traverser was for cruising the galaxies, there were no cells on board. It was determined, therefore, that they would remain in the cargo hold until the ship docked next. Fortunately, the cargo hold was precisely where they’d parked the TARDIS.

“Well, it was getting late anyway,” the Doctor said with a breezy sort of tone as he held the door open for Donna. “And the hors d'oeuvres weren’t very good.”

“Yeah,” she agreed.

In the relative quiet of the console room, it was very hard to look at each other.

“You, er, you didn’t…”

Donna looked up from studying the controls. “Didn’t what?”

“Didn’t correct the waiter. When he said we were married.”

It was a less direct way of asking, of trying to figure out what she was thinking about the kiss.

“Neither did you.”

Oh. “Right.”

The Doctor busied himself with piloting, taking them into the Vortex and trying to ignore how hyper aware he was of Donna slowly walking around the console ever closer.

“So! Where to next?” Perhaps simply going along like usual was the best course of action. They could pretend it had never happened, just like the detox kiss and their not-date at the antigravity restaurant and Donna calling him pretty that one time.

Only when he turned to face her, he found Donna to be extremely close so that she only had to lift her hands to place them on his chest. The Doctor drew in a breath and tried otherwise not to move a muscle.

But then, Donna took a step forward, which forced him to step back. She did it again and again, never taking her eyes off his, until his back thumped against one of the coral struts.

“I’m thinking about here’s good.”

“Is it?” He squeaked.

Donna took one last step, and he finally did get that very nice view as the gap between their bodies evaporated into nothing. She’d worn a rather low heel and so curled her fingers into his lapels to drag herself up to his height. The Doctor swallowed once. “My turn, Time Boy.”

Well, the Doctor supposed as he found his mouth reengaged, as long as they were keeping things equitable between them, that had to be alright. A lovely night, indeed.

[allenmendezsr]

Mind Force Meditation: The Mind Portal

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/mind-force-meditation-the-mind-portal/

Mind Force Meditation: The Mind Portal

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    This System Flat-Out Works!

With The Mind Portal System, You’ll Discover

My main goal with this system was to over-deliver and provide you with very easy to understand, yet simple to apply methods.

Here’s What You’ll Receive When You Claim Your Copy of This Powerful System

You get the comprehensive manual which covers all the concepts in detail.This is the real deal…

This is the manual that people have been talking about since I wrote the original Mastery Through Meditation back in 2000.

Once I updated it with more information on how to maximize your meditations and increase your ability to do spiritual travelling, OBEs, and Remote Viewing, I almost couldn’t keep it in stock…

Format: Instant PDF Access

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The Mind Portal Audio Files

In These audio files, you will find the most detailed instruction ever on how to gain the Internal Power skills you desire…Several hours of instruction insures you the maximum instruction in these esoteric skills.

Format: Instant MP3 Download

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When I wrote “Mastery Through Meditation, I alluded to the concept of Remote Viewing, Astral Projection and Out of Body Experiences. These phenomenon are concepts understood by many that learn a meditative practice….

The question is how many actually become adept at getting these highly advanced techniques to work for them in a real way? After several years, I created an updated version with much more detailed information on how to do Astral Travel, Remote Viewing and other sneaky skills.

I will tell you up front that the (3) MP3s that come with the system are the key to getting this to work powerfuly, but I have included the manuscript/manual in this promotion to give you some ideas how to get these concepts to work effectively…

With my book, “Mind Portal”, I show you the next level of techniques to use your energy with. The MP3s go into some of the areas most requested by our clients and customers around the world.

Here’s just a taste of what you’ll learn…

How to meditate properly and find out how to increase the power of your mind.

Act with certainty on how to create good new habits and get rid of old bad habits.

Programming the mind for success through meditation

Learn the hidden keys to true visualization skills

Activating the 3rd Eye Center for increased ability to “See” and “Know”.

Harness the ability to gently lift your spirit out of your body

Over 15 different ways to get outside of your physical awareness

Shifting consciousness to propel you new worlds of comprehension

The little known methods of how to control your dreams and become truly “Lucid” in those dreams.

Bridging the gap between the physical and the spiritual

Learn the very secret methods of Remote Viewing that are rarely taught outside of certain groups

Increase your sensitivity skills to maximize your ability to read others feelings, thoughts and intentions.

Self Image programming that works like a charm

Creating and using a Chi Power Voice

Magnetic attraction concepts

And so much more thought provoking material to increase your abilities exponentially

You’re getting intensive training in areas not readily taught.

Video #1- Quick Start Video

In this video, I’ll explain to you exactly what you should do first with the training. I’ll explain the process and how you can get a jump start to this amazing material…

Video #2- How to Develop Your Own Guided Meditations

This one is easily worth the cost of the entire program (combined with the 20 audio sound files I’ve added)…

Now you can pick which meditation sounds you prefer and create your own customer guided meditations. If you hired me or my staff to do this for you, we would easily charge you $100 per track…

You’re getting 20 audio files, the scripts to use and how to use them, as well as a software system that will allow you to create Meditation, Affirmation, even Remote Viewing sessions on the fly…

Video #3- How to Use Sounds, Feelings & Visualizations To Enhance The Experience

A key component to getting the Mind Portal process down is understanding your own personal representational system.

In this detailed video & audio file, I show you how to determine which system you are in and how you can use it to do amazing techniques such as Remote Viewing, Astral Projecting & Total Relaxation Techniques.

MP3 Audio File for Immediate Download

PDF Notes of This Video Training

Format: Instant Streaming Video, MP3 Audio & PDF

Price: $39.95

Mind Force Meditation: Mind Portal Customizable Audio Files For Meditation

Very Limited Time Offer *Please Note, That It’s My Intention to Sell These Audio Files for $9.95 Each Very Soon, and $29.95 for The Subliminal Files, So I Might Remove This From The System At Anytime, So Act Now To Get All The Audios Included With Your Order…This Limited Time Inclusion, Has a Future Value of Close to $250. Today, It’s Yours For The Taking… …

No matter what sounds you like to meditate to, I’ve got one to put you in an excellent and tranquil state…

Each audio runs approximately 60 mins, and you can use it for any aspect of your meditation practice. Use the video on how to create your own guided meditations and you have what I’ve paid hundreds of dollars for in the past…

Even at $5 per track, your looking at $100, and I’m providing these with the training. The cost to produce these files was a painstaking process of editing and remixing the sound elements…

The Subliminal Files alone are worth at least $30 each, and now you get all 20 MP3s.

You won’t find a better system anywhere at any price.

The Environmental Series of Meditation Sounds

Tropical Ocean Surf

Tranquility Falls

Sunset Beach

Storming The Tropics

Peacefull Water

Oasis at Midnight

Jungle Sounds

Heavy Rain

Forest Mood

Environmental Landscape

Crackling Fire

Autumn Forest

The Inter-Dimensional Series of Meditation Sounds

Vortex

Energetic Compression

Lucid

Vitality

Mind Portal

The Subliminal Series of Meditation Sounds

Theta Extended Deep Relax

Sub-Delta Session

As you can see, I’m delivering more to you than any other Esoteric Meditation System. I’ll even show you how to set up the files to be recorded with your very own voice for the guided meditation process…I wish I had this when I got stared. Would have saved me a lot of time and effort.

Format: Instant MP3 Download (20 Hours of Tracks)

Price: $240 Future Value- Included In Your Order Today!

More Bonus Manuals When You Order Today

More Bonus Manuals When You Order Today

This simple guide will provide more information on different styles of meditation and how you can use them to enhance your life…

Format: Instant PDF Access

Price: $19.95

Understanding The Power of Your Dreams

In this manual, you’ll get to see 1,000 dreams interpreted. A truly unique reading experience.

The wife of a captain who has gone out to the Indian mutiny sees one night her husband standing before her with his hands pressed to his breast, and a look of suffering on his face. The agitation that she feels convinces her that he is either killed or badly wounded.

It was November 14th. The War Office subsequently publishes his death as having taken place on November 15th. She endeavors to have the true date ascertained. The War Office was wrong. He died on the 14th.

“A child six years old stops in the middle of his play and cries out, frightened: “Mamma, I have seen Mamma.” At that moment his mother was dying far away from him

“A young girl at a ball stops short in the middle of a dance and cries, bursting into tears. `My father is dead; I have just seen him.’ At that moment her father died. She did not even know he was ill.

“All these things present themselves to us as indicating not physiological operations of one brain acting on another, but psychic actions of spirit upon spirit. We feel that they indicate to us some power unknown.

This is the power dreams have over our life. They can shape and mold our future in all sorts of ways, and by harnessing that power we end up changing our lives for the better..

Format: Instant PDF Access

Price: $19.95-Yours FREE Today

The Guide to Lucid Dreaming

Excellent manuscript on tips, techniques and methods to take your Lucid Dreaming skills to the next level

Lucid Dreaming allows you to be more of an active participant in your dreams instead of a bystander not knowing

what is going to happen. You’ll also learn several unique “Dream Control” techniques.

Format: Instant PDF Access

Price: $19.95-Yours FREE Today

The CIA Remote Viewing Manual

This is the actual US Governments manual that was used by the famed “Psychic Spies” in many of the most secretive operations, and now you can see under the covers.Since this is a Government document, it is in the “Public Domain”. The key concepts you’ll learn from this is that the government has teams like this set up to retrive intel…The Russians have been doing it for years, now you get to see the US Governments actual documents.

Format: Instant PDF Access

Public Domain- Yours today as part of the Mind Portal System

Let’s Recap Everything You’ll Get

Mind Portal Manual– $19.95

The Complete “Mind Portal System” of MP3s– $39.95

3 Training Videos– $39.95

20 Special Meditation Audio Files– $239.95

CIA Manual– FREE (public domain)

Lucid Dreaming Guide– $19.95

Interpreting Dreams Guide– $19.95

Meditation Guide– $19.95

Total Value of Close to $400!

You Have My Guarantee That You Will  Get These Esoteric Meditations to Work for You, Learn How to Relax More, and Begin to See The Spiritual Side of Your Life Better in 60 Days

I’m not going to lie to you like some sleazy marketers do!

The truth is… Depending on how much time you decide to invest in this system, I can’t guarantee that you’ll be flying around the universe in your astral body in 60 days… for example, if you only do this every “now and then”  it might realistically take longer than 60 days.

However, what I CAN guarantee is that if you apply these techniques you will definitely be able to get to an increased state of relaxation and start the process of doing some of the more unique techniques like Lucid Dreaming (if that’s your goal).

Alright, I want to take any doubts or indecision you might have at this point, out of your head. Seriously, if you don’t take action, you will NEVER improve your body, mind and spirit… You’ll simply continue to struggle for years more with that thought of “what if”.

You’ll just keep procrastinating and making up lame excuses as to why you’re “gonna wait until next week” to start your journey.  PLEASE!

Why not make the decision TODAY to finally learn an exact proven method of success to get your body and mind relaxed and THINK that will actually allow you to enjoy life, while simultaneously giving you more energy and the ability to re-create your life (if you desire).

I want you to realize that you have nothing to lose except maybe your old ways of thinking and doing. That’s why I’ve decided to offer you 100% unconditional money back guarantee if you do not successfully get this to work for you in 60 days.

You have a full 8 weeks to review the program and see for yourself as you begin on the journey of a lifetime through mind and spirit. If you are not satisfied with the information, we will give you a prompt and courteous refund.  It’s that simple.

You might ask why I am foolish enough to offer a money back guarantee. Well, basically I am assuming that you are a trustworthy individual that would not try to take advantage of me unless you were legitimately dissatisfied. However, I am so confident in this system that I know you’ll be satisfied once you see how well it works for you.

That’s my promise to you! I’m genuinely invested in helping you achieve your meditation goals and improving your quality of life forever.  Just look at some of the testimonials below from my readers all over the world, and you can see that this program actually delivers on everything I’m promising you.

You’re Probably Wondering How Much This Cool System Costs

I know what you’re thinking… So how much is this entire package going to cost me, Al? Well, as you can see, the value of this package, including the main Mind Portal System as well as the bonus items, is over $400.00.

However, I wanted to make this program affordable for everyone, and a wise investment in your personal development & something you will do for the rest of your life!

For that reason, I’m offering this entire system, the Mind Portal Manual, The Videos, Audio Files, Bonus Audio Files in addition to the 3 bonuses. This sells every day elsewhere for $119.95, and you can get this now for only $77 total for the entire system!

If you think about that in terms of getting these unique abilities that you want in 8 weeks, this comes out to only $1.28  per day for 8 weeks!  Come on now… even your morning coffee or tea costs more than $1.28 per day.

You’re Just Moments Away From The Skills of a Lifetime!

The order links below will take you to our guaranteed secure server and you can instantly download the printable PDF format E-book package, online audio and video bonuses, and more.  Instead of waiting for a typical package in the mail, you can download this program immediately and get started on your new meditation journey in just minutes from now!

You can choose to read the program on your computer, or print it out to read anytime, anywhere. The audio bonuses will be available to listen to directly online or download to your preferred MP3 player

Don’t delay, because the FREE bonus package valued at $239.95 will only be available for a limited time due to the fact that I’ll probably release it as its own product, so grab this system today.

In just a few minutes, you’ll be able to download and start absorbing the info in the program and see for yourself why this system is currently not only one of the best selling meditation programs in the world, but also one of the best esoteric training manuals you’ll ever find…

Get started today and claim your Mind Force Meditation: Mind Portal downloadable package, and receive this cutting edge program along with $239.95 worth of FREE bonuses, click the following order button below to go to our secure processing page.

Please Note: This is a downloadable program. You will NOT receive a physical package shipped to you in the mail. The entire package will be immediately available for you to download and get started right away after ordering.  This program is NOT available in stores, so you can only access it through this website.

Clicking the above order button will take you to a secure page for the transaction by Clickbank, the most popular online payment processor of digital products in the world. Upon confirmation of your order, you will immediately be redirected to a download page to download the e-book program as well as the free bonuses.

If you have a high speed internet connection, the downloads usually take less than a minute.  The e-book download and free bonuses will be in PDF format, so you will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to open the files. Most computers already have Adobe Reader installed, but if you don’t currently have it, a free download is available once you’re on the download page.

If you’re still unsure if “The Mind Portal” System is right for you or have any question, please sign up for our FREE Information above, and we’ll send you additional training files.

Get ready to start on a path that is wonderful indeed in just weeks!

Respectfully,

A. Thomas Perhacs (Al)

Author, Creator, Visionary of The Mind Force Method & Many Other Books, Systems & Programs.

P.S. Don’t delay any longer in developing your meditation skills! People that keep putting off their goals rarely ever get around to pursuing them. STOP procrastinating and making LAME excuses for why you aren’t where you want to be in life!  Arm yourself with the knowledge TODAY to get the results you want, and then ACT on it!

P.P.S. Remember, you are not only getting the entire Mind Portal system, but also the amazing audio and video bonuses. The bonuses alone are valued at $239.95… and you get all of this for the small investment of only $77!

Heck, you’d spend more than that for some night out at a restaurant or a few cocktails with friends.  Why not do something that will improve your life instead! If you really desire these highly guarded skills, don’t miss out on this offer… Order NOW before the bonus package expires!

Yes Al, I want to start learning these high level methods of meditation today!  Let’s get started:

[grimmseye]

Fandom: Mob Psycho 100

Relationships: Teru/Mob — Unrequited (but not really)

Characters: Ritsu Kageyama (brief), Teruki Hanazawa, Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama

(Prompt at the bottom, given to me anonymously.)

On a chilly day in Seasoning City, Shigeo Kageyama goes missing.

If one were to go looking for him, they would find him in none of his usual spots. The school day was over, and club activities had passed, so those items could be immediately crossed off the list. A little ways deeper into the streets, the Spirits and Such Agency was occupied by a single man giving a massage — that is to say, a full-body exorcism — but his student was nowhere to be seen. And the boy was not at home, either, which would certainly be the place to find him after school on a day he did not have work.

Though to say that he went missing is something of an exaggeration, the impression was certainly garnered by a boy wondering where his older brother could be. It was too early for real concern, but Shigeo was a simple boy without many deviations to his schedule.

Now, had Ritsu simply called his parents, he would know that his brother was spending the day with Hanazawa Teruki.

“I apologize for being late.”

Mob’s voice drifted over the babble of traffic as he strode towards Teru, head dipping in apology before he even got across the street. Teru’s eyes turned to his phone, finding that Mob was exactly two minutes past their scheduled meeting time — two minutes which he knew were spent waiting for the signal to turn.

Rather than point this out, Teru smiled and said, “You’re here now. Shall we go?”

A nod was the response. The pair turned to begin heading down the block.

He shivered as the breeze swept past, unprotected by the T-shirt and shorts he wore. At that, Mob’s head turned to him, and Teru looked back with the expectation that he would speak.. Instead the boy unzipped his jacket and held it out to Teru.

“Kageyama-kun?” He blinked. It was a lavender zip-up, crafted of a fuzzy-looking material that was likely quite soft.

“You’re cold,” Mob stated. Dark eyes didn’t waver from him. Underneath his jacket, he was wearing a long-sleeve, so Teru tentatively allowed himself to take it and pull it on. It was just a little bit short on him, and its soft tones clashed with the deeper violet of his shorts, but the material was as soft as it appeared.

A pleased bubble of warmth formed in his chest, one that he immediately crushed. Mob was only being friendly. He had an unfortunate tendency to put others before himself — the cold had left his face flushed, and yet he’d given Teru his sweater.

He told himself he kept it on because Mob would be sad otherwise.

When they arrived at Paprika Middle School, they inevitably parted ways, Mob taking his sweater back and going to perch in the stands as Teru strolled up to the rest of the team.

“Hanazawa!”

“Good to see you!”

“Actually showed up this time, eh?”

He was a little late, cutting it close to the start time. They only had minutes to talk.

His eyes flickered. The stands were full of familiar faces. A couple of the thugs that still trailed after him at times, some classmates he recognized, parents, teachers, and Mob. His eyes lingered there. The boy had his face tilted down into his lap, eyes fixed on his phone.

Something twisted in his gut, heavy and cold and chasing all the heat to his face. Teru dragged his eyes away, staring at the turf instead to examine the little beads of rubber with sudden interest.

It had been foolish for him to assume Mob would be interested in this. He probably thought Teru was being arrogant again, trying to show off. And wasn't he? He invited Mob with one intention: to impress him. To look good in front of him. Teru hadn't changed one bit and now Mob knew it and he—

“Hanazawa!”

His head jerked up, a glare flashing onto his face for whoever interrupted his brooding. The captain stared right back, unimpressed by Teru’s glower. “You need to focus,” he berated, though not harshly.

All the same, anger flared hotly on the back of Teru’s neck. “I—” he began, snappish. Then stopped, and physically swallowed his words and his pride.

“I am sorry,” he amended.

The captain gave a sharp nod, but some of the sternness in his face had eased. “As long as you're with us now.”

Soon after that they’re called onto the field, and Teru did all he could to shut the image of Mob out of his mind — only the thought immediately made his eyes lift up again, gaze darting instantly to where he’d seen the boy before.

This time his gaze was mirrored by a pair of dark, dark eyes. Even from across the field, Teru was enraptured, and he stared until Mob lifted a hand in a small wave, and then smiled.

They won the game. It wasn’t close by any sense of the word, likely a rather boring match to watch as Black Vinegar pulled far ahead of Paprika, but every time Teru looked up he saw Mob staring back, never clapping or cheering with the crowd but always with his eyes on the blonde.

------

The entire way home, after changing into clothes appropriate for the weather, Teru felt like he was walking on air.

“Ah, Hanazawa-kun?”

He couldn’t fight his smile, looking down at Mob. “Yes?”

Mob only pointed. Teru followed his gesture, and immediately flushed.

Correction: the entire way home, Teru was walking on air.

His feet touched the pavement as he drew his energy back into himself. Immediately, the prickle of psychic energy faded from the air — how he’d missed the entire time was truly something to marvel at. “My apologies,” he gave a sheepish grin. “I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”

There was a hint of shame in his voice as well. So used to employing his powers in every aspect of his life, Teru had released them without even thinking about it.

Then to his surprise, Mob nodded in understanding. “I do that too,” he responded. His fingers rubbed up and down over the fluff of his sweater. “Mostly with spoons. Though lately I’ve been making plants grow when I’m, ah…”

He trailed off, eyes drawn to a dalmation puppy trotting along on a leash. He didn’t smile with his mouth, but his head tilted down and his eyes softened so it really meant the same thing.

They didn’t speak much after that, Mob going silent and Teru, for once, content to let things remain that way. The air between them was not empty from silence, but warm and content as they strolled towards Teru’s apartment.

They shed their jackets once they came inside, Teru draping his over the back of the couch and Mob only tying his around his waist so his fingers could still brush over the material. One phone call to a delivery place later and they were hunkering down on the couch to watch one of the dozens of movies in Teru’s apartment.

— By now Mob’s parents will have arrived home and told Ritsu where his brother was — news that will make his eyebrows climb on his forehead as he tries to recall just how often the two are around each other theses days. —

Dinner arrived halfway through the film, and when they sat back down after eating and stowing away the leftovers, Mob was significantly closer to Teru than he’d been before. Even as his eyes were fixed on the screen, Teru’s skin was warm from the air pressed between them.

Somewhere around the second movie, Mob shifted in his seat. His leg brushed Teru’s.

On the third, Mob leaned fully against him, and Teru’s heart almost stopped in his chest before he heard the boy’s even breathing, and realized he’d fallen asleep.

The movie finished. Teru used his powers to float Mob into his bed before he set up on the couch for the night. He knew it meant nothing, but the sensation of Mob’s body against his left him tingling and with a giddy smile on his face.

Unfortunately, it only lasted the night.

A buzz on his phone woke him. A message that he read through blurry eyes, that immediately had him bolting off the couch, getting his foot caught in the blanket, and crashing onto the floor.

“Hanazawa-kun!”

Mob was abruptly crouched beside him, eyes wide. Teru hadn’t noticed him up in his haste. “Are you hurt?” He asked, concern tinting his voice.

Teru swallowed and shook his head. “No, no, I’m fine.” He began to struggle with the blanket. It was tangled around his legs, effectively cuffing them together. “I just — oh no — maybe I…” He reached down to try pulling at the blanket, but it only tightened its hold. His face colored with frustration, giving a tug he wished would just rip the material so he could quit making a fool of himself and get up.

Blue and violet light checkered around the blanket. At once it lost its tension, unwinding smoothly to fold itself and drop onto the arm of the couch. Mob lowered his hand, only to extend it again to Teru.

Teru stared. “Oh. Right.”

He took the offered hand. Pulling himself up almost made Mob tumble down with him, and he got the idea that he needed to use his own legs more than the boy’s arm.

Once he was on his feet, Mob asked, “Is something wrong? You look like you’re in a hurry.”

The text he’d received sprang back into Teru’s mind. “Right!” His voice was high pitched and hurried. “I have an appointment later! With the doctor, it’s really important and it completely slipped my mind.”

Mob nodded.

Teru’s palms began to sweat. “The appointment is today,” he clarified.

And then, when that didn’t get a reaction, “I need to leave soon.”

“Oh!” Realization flashed in Mob’s eyes. He ducked away to where his bag was hanging off a chair, lifting it up onto his shoulder. “I understand, I’ll leave now.”

Guilt clawed its way up in Teru’s chest. “I’m really sorry,” he blurted. Mob looked up him, meeting his eyes, expression blank. Desperately, he added, “I don’t want to kick you out. I really did just forget.”

Mob nodded. “Okay,” he said. He already turning towards the door. “I’ll see you later Hanazawa-kun.”

At once, Teru wished he could call him back. There was nothing to say even if he did, though, and so he watched with a sinking heart as Mob stepped into his shoes and walked out the door without a backwards glance.

The sound of the ticking clock filled the room. It made Teru’s breath restart, and he jolted into movement. He would need proper clothes. His hair wasn’t brushed, either. Too little time — oh but if he was late he could just use his powers to — no he couldn’t if he was late he would have to deal with the consequences like any other person—

He was out the door fifteen minutes later, walking at a brisk pace towards the coffee shop near his school. Outside, he already saw her waiting.

Sonoko-chan, a girl with short black hair with a pink clip, dressed in a blouse and black jeans. She smiled when she saw Teru, lifting a hand to wave.

I’m excited for today the text from this morning had read.

Me too Teru had sent, and didn’t include the part where he’d forgotten about their date altogether.

Really, he was just an awful person. It was no wonder at all that Mob couldn’t return his affections.

But Sonoko’s gracious smile when he bought her coffee made his heart a bit lighter. She listened to him talk about his soccer game and laughed when he made a joke, and that made his stride stronger. It was good to get lost in meaningless chatter. And when she began to speak, the cues in her tone told him when to smile and when to laugh and when to look shocked or awed.

He was going according to the script, a role he made for himself, and it was nice. Sonoko was nice. She deserved better than him, but if Teru played the part he could pretend that he liked her and told himself the fluttering in his chest was from infatuated nerves and not inward disgust.

Until a familiar sensation washed over him, too striking not to notice. That familiar aura of violet and blue, trickling out into the open air as naturally as a human breathed. His heart stopped, his head jerked up.

They were in the park, now. And so was he.

Mob, that is, kneeling on the ground by a cat that was suddenly trotting away, ears pinned back. His eyes were fixed on Teru and Sonoko’s hands, linked between their bodies.

The temperature seemed to plummet by degrees, the pressure growing heavy on his shoulders. It was choking, all-encompassing — or maybe that was just Teru’s own lungs closing up.

Around Mob the grass and dandelions were withering away, until the the surrounding plantlife browned and cracked in a perfect circle around him.

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

Prompt: “Teru has come to terms that Mob might never return his feelings so he starts dating again. However, Mob has developed feelings for him and it's obvious to pretty much everyone else but Teru. He doesn't know he's been hurting Mob by dating around. Cue overprotective!Ritsu confronting Teru about the whole thing.”

(I hope you enjoyed this! I would be willing to write more — especially because I wasn’t able to fulfill that last bit of the prompt — if readers are interested. As always, comments and critique are appreciated!)

[rosemariehaas-blog]

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This happened to me when I was eighteen years old, while on a gruelling fourteen hour flight to London. This made me feel a little lonely, I guess. I don't recall what the in-flight movie was, but I remember not being particularly interested by it. I ended up sitting beside a stranger - because of a problem regarding our ticket bookings - and that was a first for me. The rest of my family were all up at the front of the plane, where snacks and beverages always seem to materialize miraculously. It sounded like it must have been funny. An older woman with a soft face and a heavy-looking bosom. She was in her early fifties. But, after a couple hours of being in the air, I found myself glad to be sharing a stranger's company at the back of the plane. A few times before take-off, I heard my father and brother laughing about something up-front, but I wasn't able to figure out what that was. She almost reminded me of a pre-school teacher I'd once had. I wasn't sure if I was meant to acknowledge their presence after take-off, or simply just keep to myself and stare forward for the whole flight. We talked a lot, mostly about books and movies we both enjoyed. Considering the twenty-something year gap between us, we had a surprising amount in common. It was the aura of tenderness about her, I suppose. Some time after dinner was served - I got the beef option, just to be safe - the lady beside me fell asleep. I don't think I'd ever seen a pair of tits up close like that before in my whole life. Something about the gentle slope of her breasts conveyed a warm motherliness. With-in minutes of her eyes closing shut, the side of her head slumped against my shoulder. I mean, she was clothed, of course; but still, if I leaned into her shoulder a little, I could see the dark shadow of what might be an areola. This contact sent spontaneous shivers up my spine. As I stared down into the deep valley between her tits, minutes began to feel like hours. The stewardess came walking down the aisle, offering blankets and pillows. This woke the woman beside me just long enough for her to accept them, then reposition herself and fall back asleep. The two of us sat that way for a long time: the lady, with her head rested on my shoulder and her breasts hanging sideways out of her bra; and me, with my head phones in and my eyes glued open. It was almost shocking, really. Not to mention, the view this provided me of the woman's breasts was jaw-dropingly intimate. The plane was almost entirely dark now, illuminated by only a few sparse islands of light. I put the blanket I'd been given over my lap, then pulled out an iPod full of porn cam site and started - well, y'know. The thick hum of the engines seemed amplified by the silence, creating a cloak of noise. I forgot all about the dozens of people sitting near-by, sipping their single-serving liquor and reading their best-seller's. In my defence, the temptation to continue to leer was far too great for any eighteen year old boy to withstand. For all I knew, I had a long and boring flight ahead of me. And that's when the lady sleeping beside me woke up. Or, maybe she was never sleeping at all. Either way, she caught me in the act. I'll be honest, after about twenty minutes of slowly stroking my cock under the blanket, while listening to the abrasive moans of hardcore porn in my headphones, I began to forget about where I was. Nothing good can last forever, I thought. She saw the expression of horror on my face, then opened her eyes, smiling mischievously at me. The lady whispered that "it was okay", that she was "the only person who'd be able to see". The woman told me that she'd never seen an un-cut man before; it didn't seem to turn her on as much as it fascinated her. The plane was still dark and now, most everyone appeared to be sleeping. She joked about warning me if she saw anyone coming down the isle toward us, but I knew it was no joke. I think turbulence woke her. She asked me if she could "give me a hand". I continued to jack off, with the tip of my cock poking up from beneath the blanket, so she could watch my foreskin glide up and down over my head. Before breakfast was served, the lady started jacking me off a little faster. It was blissful torture. The woman slowly stroked my cock under the blanket, letting her finger-tips slide over my foreskin, until my whole head felt numb. While doing the deed, I had glanced over in her direction, then spotted one of her eyes-lids slightly open, watching me. Now, she was able to give my cock long, hard strokes, without making too much noise. When I was close, I told her so, and she smiled, before ducking her head under the blanket and sucking my cock dry. Meaning, I didn't last longer than a couple seconds. I'd been hard for literally hours and my balls were psychically aching. Her technique had developed a lot over night. Maybe I should have clarified that part earlier. But my cock didn't stop erupting cum. I emptied the biggest load of my life into her mouth. And the woman kept gulping under the blanket, with one hand wrapped around my shaft and the the other cradling my sore balls. I heard her swallowing under the blanket in rapid succession, as if she were chugging alcohol. Three, four seconds maybe. If you have any kind of inquiries pertaining to where and how you can utilize live free cams no sign up, you could contact us at the page. I expected her to return quickly, but nearly half an hour passed. My legs spasmed for a long moment, causing my knees to knock into the seat in front of me. And also, I'd never felt a woman's lips wrapped around my cock before. When she reappeared from under the blanket, the woman's smile dripped a little cum. When I reemerged from the bathroom, I took a step toward my family, then stopped dead in my tracks. After the cum had already dried on my skin, I got up and made my way to the vacant bathroom at the front of the plane, pausing awkwardly to say hello to my family. She whispered to me about needing to "wash up before breakfast", then disappeared down the aisle. I sat in my seat, only now realizing what we had done. Beside the two of them, their son stared down into his laptop, wearing headphones and a vacant expression. She did this for nearly forty minutes. The previous handful of hours had felt like time spent in a dream. " A few more hours, I realized. I glanced over my shoulder again, then stopped dead in my tracks for the second time. I'd heard the woman's voice speaking, from somewhere close-by: "How are you feeling now, sweetie? The woman was staring over the top of her husband's balding head, making direct eye contact with me. "Oh, I'm sure I'll find something to entertain myself with. I occupied myself this long, right? The lady kissed her husband on the lips, then tousled her son's hair. But in retrospect, they were terrifyingly real. After a moment's hesitation, I forced my legs to keep walking, pretending I had been looking at something else. " Startled, I turned, then saw the woman leaning over her husband's seat. We ate in silence, pretending to be strangers. Behind me, I heard her speaking to her family in a hushed voice: "Just a few more hours now, honey. "Fair's fair, I guess. You showed me your's, I'll show you mine. Before could talk about what had happened, breakfast was served. It was obvious to me that someone had seen us, but it appeared like the plane's staff were choosing to ignore it. A few minutes later, the woman sat down beside me. Could we ever get away with this twice? But that didn't matter anymore, because the top button of the woman's jeans were already undone. She laid the blanket across her lap - the one already covered in my cum stains - then pulled her jeans down, like a woman changing at a public pool. "I've been waiting eight hours to feel you inside me. When she lifted the blanket up for me, I saw her tangled panties, which barely managed to conceal her swollen lips. Could we ever get away with this twice? "Don't be shy", she whispered. After a long period of silence, the woman beside me took a sip of her tea, then turned her head toward me. "Ever since you first heard the word 'pussy' naked cams live said in the schoolyard. I still didn't think so. "But I know you've been waiting a lot longer", she continued. " I sat down in my seat, my head spinning fast enough to make me feel dizzy. The stewardess came and collected our meal trays, then turned and left without saying a word. The fabric looked discoloured from her wetness. " subspacecadets .